#elsa should show off her legs

[femalewarrior222]

Elsa Should've Walked Around Naked in Frozen 2. She Should've Been a Nudist. She'd Be a Liberated Woman in Her Birthday Suit

[doberbutts]

why do dobs have such curly tails? is there spitz in them?

No, but spitz aren't the only ones with curly tails, and even some spitz don't even have curly tails.

I was just discussing this with @elvenferretots last night because I get a lot of negative comments on Fenris' tail from doberman people. The issue is that the majority of dobe people in this country have no idea what their dogs' tails look like because they cut them off 🤷‍♂️ so they are unused to seeing a natural tail and somehow believe their dogs have german shepherd tails when breeding for an upright tailset.

Compare these two images of a fairly young Creed. His tail was docked, so it is impossible to know exactly how much curve he had. One of these looks far more natural than the other, no? If the docked nubbin is held up, the significantly more likely answer is that there is at least a moderate curve to the tail.

In this one, the curve is more extreme, but his tail is also being held higher. He may have had a looser curve than that, but the tail would still curl somehow.

Compare this to my natural dogs:

Fenris with his fairly high tail set looks like every other doberman with a docked tail. This is why I say when you breed for an upright nubbin like this, what you're breeding for is curly tails.

Phoebe has a lower tailset, but it does still curve and does curl in a wide arc over her back when she's excited about something (peep the old fencing solution lmao). When held loosely, it falls rather than curls in a tight arc over her back the way Fenris' tail does.

Technically none of these are 100% correct, but Creed's was the most correct as the tail is supposed to be a natural continuation of the spine rather than snapped up over the back or hanging freely between the legs.

This bitch, who I got off a quick Google, illustrates the "continuation of the spine" I'm talking about. Her tail still curls, but not to the degree of Fenris'. Again, she was produced in a country that has banned cropping and docking for quite some time, so there's a clearer picture of what tails and ears are being produced. In this country, as well as the country Fenris was produced, cropping and docking is still the majority expectation, and so it is significantly more difficult for breeders to actually know what these tails are going to look like. In addition, most people *prefer* the upright nub to one that sticks out of the spine line that, show and working breeders both.

Phoebe is working line, so "looks like a doberman" is the standard she was bred to rather than any nitpicking over tails. Fenris, as well, is half working line.

His father, Sarek- pure working line, also has an upright nub, which means his tail also would probably curl over his back to at least some degree.

And his mother, @themiscyradobermans's Elsa (super pregnant here)- American/Canadian show line and South American blend- also has an upright nub, meaning her tail would also curl, again the degree of which is unknown because these dogs are docked.

Fenris' tail is *really* curly for the breed (but not as curly as I've seen in other dobes), but at the same time some curl should be expected.

AKC vs FCI standard- despite the original standard stating the same as the AKC, once FCI ruled that dobes need to be natural all the time, the standard changed to define the higher tailset as correct since so many people had spent so many decades specifically breeding for an upright tail nub and thus immediately got curly tails when they stopped being allowed to dock.

[ditaliaa]

Creature Comfort

Jack Russell x Elsa Bloodstone

A gift for @iamalinarose!! Thanks for the prompt, this was a lot of fun to write!! (Sorry if there’s a lot of errors, it’s late here and I should be sleeping but I wanted to get this posted!!) this will also be added to my AO3 later!

Masterlist | AO3

Summary: Elsa and Jack are stuck in a cave during a snowstorm and resort to desperate measures to keep warm.

Word Count: 2.2k

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him.” Elsa growled, frustration lacing her tone. 

The bright spark of anger in her chest served as a distraction from the cold creeping into her bones. Her gaze fell to the opening of the cave - the sanctuary they now found themselves trapped in. Wind threw snow and ice around in a flurry, snowflakes turning into daggers that had cut across any surface of skin it could find. They had been lucky to find the cave, despite her jacket and gloves, Elsa would have died in the storm. At least here she had a chance of surviving, though the rock offered about as much comfort as father, was just a cold too. 

Jack remained silent as she continued and watched as she kicked a rock in a petty show of annoyance. The pebble skittered away, sending soft clacking sounds down the mouth of the cave. 

“It’s alright, Elsa.” Jack called, distracted from the task of building a fire for the moment to look at her. “You couldn’t have known.”

Her chest twisted at his words and for a moment she seemed ready to argue with him, but her mouth remained in a firm line as she slowly walked toward him. She sat next to him with a dull thud, watching as he returned to his task. 

“Anything I can help with?”

His hands jolted in sharp, quick movements to create a spark. The two sticks made a soft humming sound as he rubbed them together, and soon the telltale scent of smoke curled up toward them. She watched as he continued the movements, mouth pressed into a line of concentration. 

“Grab those strips of cloth and put them near the base.” He answered and she listened, following his orders. 

She stuffed the pieces near the smoke and watched amazed as they caught fire. The delicate flame danced, fragile in it’s new state before she shoved more kindling near it. Her gaze flickered to Jack who held a proud gleam in his eyes, his smile as gentle and warm as the fire they had just created. He cleared his throat. 

“As long as we keep this fed, it should stay lit for a while.” He spoke, rubbing his hands over the tops of his thighs as he looked into the growing flame. “In the meantime, you should rest.”

Elsa’s gaze remained firmly on the fire, fingers outstretched to the little warmth it offered. She hadn’t even realized her jaw was clenched so tight until Jack settled his hand against her leg, dangerously close to the Bloodstone resting at her side. Her gaze flashed to his and she swallowed at the pleading look in his eyes. 

“We don’t know how long the storm will be or how long it might take for Ted to find us.” He said, “But we’ll get out of here.”

She nodded, the slight tug of guilt pulling at her heart. 

“Rest.” His eyes were earnest. “You need it.”

Elsa watched as he sat back tending to the flame. Reluctantly she felt a bone-deep weariness settled into her, pulling her eyelids down with every breath and she laid next to the fire, hoping the warmth of it would stave off the chill of the ground. 

***

Something roused her from her sleep, but so deep in her mind, Elsa could not find it within herself to care what it was. 

It wasn’t until the fourth disturbance that her consciousness finally surfaced to recognize her name. 

“Elsa!” 

She hummed her acknowledgment, not entirely awake enough to form a coherent response. Her body jolted again, the violent motion rattling her from the tempting edge of sleep enough to fully bring her to reality. 

Elsa’s eyes peeled open, gaze searching angrily for her disruptor. Stiffly, she moved, uncurling her arms and fingers from their frozen position around her midsection. Her eyes found Jack’s who looked at her with a strange mix of fear and relief in his gaze. 

“What?” She asked groggily before her mind finally pricked to awareness. “Is something wrong?”

Her body seized, attempting to startle forward, but her muscles were so tight and cold it was a halted gesture. Jack rested his hands on her back and shoulder, offering her some comfort. Her body hurt and an aching feeling had settled into her jaw. 

“You’re freezing.” Jack said, worry laced in every word. 

Her biting retort was only choked off by the realization that he wasn’t, the warmth of his hands a surprising weight upon her. 

“And you’re not?” The words shivered out of her, frustrated and confused. 

Had she rolled away from the fire in her sleep? Her eyes strained to look over his shoulder, but found she was in the same spot she had been in. 

Jack didn’t answer. 

“We need to warm you up.” He spoke, busying himself. 

“We?” She arched a thin brow at him and his concerned expression dropped for a second, replaced by another type of worry. Embarrassment creased his face. 

“I didn’t mean-“

“Of course you didn’t, Casanova.” She smirked as she sat up and he glared. 

“Glad to see you still have your sense of humor.” 

She was about to speak as a shiver wracked her body, the quip exiting her brain as she involuntarily bit her tongue. 

“Ah!” Elsa winced and Jack was quick to attend. 

“Like I said.” He spoke, unzipping his jacket. 

“And how do you propose we do this?” She asked. “The Bloodstone can do a lot of things, but it can’t keep me warm.”

“You’re right.” Jack agreed. “But I can.”

Elsa stared at him, mirth curling the edges of her lips. “You do realize I was joking earlier?”

“If you transform me, then the wolf can keep you warm.” He clarified, wringing his hands nervously. 

It took a moment for her mind to catch up, but immediately she was shaking her head. 

“No.”

“Elsa.” He growled at her stubbornness. 

“No.” She repeated, firmly and angrily. “I won’t do that Jack, I can’t.”

“It’s either that or you freeze to death, and I can’t let that happen.”

They both glared at each other, not allowing the other an inch. After several more moments, Jack’s eyes melted into a pleading expression. 

“Elsa, please.” Her heart stuttered in her chest as she shivered once more. 

Since their initial meeting, Elsa had come into contact with the wolf few other times. At first, she had been terrified, the memory of the night of the hunt coursing through her mind, but as she took the time to watch his movements, Jack’s counterpart never made any move to harm her. A tenuous trust had formed between her and the wolf. At first Jack had been averse to the idea, and if he was honest, still was, but this was a necessity.

All she could do was nod, not allowing herself to speak. Jack remained silent as well, deftly moving to shake off his jacket and unbutton his shirt. He took the jacket and placed it around her shoulders, still warm from his body, and she moved to grab the stone at her side. 

The scarlet glow lit up the cave, casting a red tint to both their bodies as she lifted it. 

“Are you sure this is alright?” Elsa asked, her gaze traveling from the stone to the man across from her. His chest heaved and he nodded. 

Her tongue felt thick and heavy in her mouth as she swallowed and lifted the stone, the chains clanking with a weighted presence. She hated using it, whether it be for healing or any other thing, but she especially hated it because of the ease in which she had grown accustomed to it’s power.

The stone glowed as she spoke and her blood sang, it’s power vibrating through her hands to envelope Jack. The transformation itself wasn’t as violent as the first one she had witnessed, and whether that had to do with Jack’s own comfortability in this transformation or her own part remained a mystery, but it was one she was grateful for. While his growls and labored breaths still echoed down the cavern, he did not appear to be in any pain.

Elsa watched as the magic surrounded him, fear niggling in the back of her mind as he hunched over. Hair sprouted from his skin as he grew, fingers cracking and elongating to allow for the new bone structure. His jaw crunched as teeth sprouted from the lower part and in a manner of seconds Jack Russell was gone, replaced by the wolf.

Elsa couldn’t help the shuddering breath that escaped her as his gaze found her, the shine of his eyes glinting red in the fire light. A chill wracked through her body, the Bloodstone clattering to the ground as she closed her eyes. Her head hurt, pain surging through her jaw and skull as a wave of tiredness rolled through her body. Elsa’s eyes flickered open once more as she heard the hesitant drag of his nails upon the ground.

Jack watched curiously, sniffing the air before continuing toward her. His slow walk sent her heart skittering as he drew closer, crouching cautiously next to her as he looked down. She stared at him, daring not to even breathe at his proximity lest she spook him. His nose twitched and his eyes held that familiar gleam, intelligence and concern creeping through.

“Jack.” She whispered, her voice weaker than she would have liked.

He crooked his head and quickly lowered it to nuzzle into her neck. His hot breath fanned over her skin, nose leaving a wet trail up her cheek to bury itself in her hair as he smelled her. Finally, he pulled away again, curious gaze flicking over her body and around the cave. He seemed to be confused for a moment, eyes finding hers once more as her muscles convulsed again.

Deftly, he moved around her, positioning himself to her back so she could face the fire. Elsa remained still as Jack’s arms wrapped around her, molding his body to her’s, legs cradling her’s to allow as much contact as possible. He was impossibly gentle in his approach, carefully yet firmly holding her tight.

Now, facing the fire and curled up next to Jack, Elsa could feel the heat of him leech into her back. The slow yet persistent warmth of his body melded into her, spreading through her stomach as his arms held her tight. His chest moved slow and deep against her back and with every exhale she could feel the heat of his breath rustle against her hair and neck. He seemed to be breathing her in, nestling his face further into her hair as she stared into the fire.

Elsa stayed like that, fear keeping her movements still and small for worry he might change his mind, but the longer they stayed in this position, the more her body relaxed, allowing her muscles to ease into his touch.

After a while, her side began to ache, protesting painfully at the position it had been kept in. Elsa swallowed, gaining the courage to shift a little in his embrace. She moved and Jack made no motion to stop her, but as she began to lift herself, something stopped her.

A hot stripe licked it’s way up her neck, his tongue darting out to leave a wet trail along her skin. Elsa froze for a moment, allowing her mind to judge the situation.

“Jack, what are you-“ Elsa paused, noticing the tightening of his grip. “I’m not going anywhere.” She assured him and she waited. Her patience was rewarded as Jack shifted a little, opening his arms to allow her previous movements.

Elsa flipped her body around to face him, her arms much stronger thanks to the warmth and rest Jack had given her. In this new position, her head now rested against his bicep, forming a pillow of sorts. His fur tickled her cheek and nose, and she nestled her hands to rest against his chest, curling her fingers into his fur. The hard plane of muscle rose with each inhale, offering warmth as she settled into his embrace. Elsa’s eyes remained glued to his neck as she moved her legs, the incremental movements allowing their limbs to tangle together. Jack’s arms cradled her back, pulling her closer without hesitation and she looked to meet his gaze.

His eyes held that same spark of recognition and familiarity as they had the first time she had come into contact with the wolf and in them, she could see him. Elsa shifted, a sudden sense of bravery spurring her on as she leaned closer into him. Her lips trailed along his skin, gentle and soft and his chest vibrated, a growl rumbling from his lips. The sound was low and pleased and Elsa smiled, the fear she had felt earlier now gone. Jack tilted his head, nuzzling his face into her neck again and she could feel the tug of exhaustion pull her down once more. Her eyelids grew heavy, breaths growing to match the slow, deep ones of her companion until sleep had almost claimed her.

She would stay here in this creature’s comfort.

[madman479r]

Hiccelsa NSFW Alphabet

A=Aftercare (What they're like after sex)

Both enjoy a good cuddle, talking and may play with the other's sex if they plan on a round 2, Elsa giving him slow strokes while Hiccup rubs her clit. But they each love just being beside one another.

B=Body part (favourite body part of their's or their lover)

Hiccup loves Elsa's legs, just how smooth they are and how long they seemingly go on for, that's why Elsa makes her dresses with leg slits that reach either her hips or mid thigh because she knows they drive Hiccup mad.

Elsa has a hard time picking between Hiccup's chest or hands. Chest because she loves how despite his lanky frame he has a well built chest that also has her name tattooed on it. Also the odd scar here and there tell her how much of a man Hiccup became.

His hands are another part because she loves the feel of his rough, callous hands running against her smooth flesh, sending tingles up her spine. The hands of a viking blacksmith caressing a fair princess. Two worlds that should never meet joining together.

C=Cum (Anything to do with it)

Elsa has lived a life of pristine perfection. Even during her days of isolation, she's always had to look her best and look the role of a princess soon to be queen. So she loves being covered in Hiccup's cum. The thrill of doing something so un-princess-like and self degradation. Besides, with her ice magic it's an easy clean up.

Hiccup ironically is the more clean freak. Having his face be covered in slobber by Toothless countless times, he isn't too keen on leaving Elsa's pussy juices on his face. Quick to clean himself of it.

D=Dirty secret

Elsa likes the idea of Hiccup fucking her like a whore. She's a Queen in the streets, a whore in the sheets.

Before they got together, Hiccup has sketched Elsa and jeked off to said sketches.

E=Experience.

Neither had been in a relationship and when it came to sex, both were clearly inexperienced.

Elsa, despite having more control and confidence with her powers, was worried of losing control during a bout of passion and freezing Hiccup.

Hiccup was just afraid of not meeting Elsa's expectations and leaving her unsatisfied.

Though their first time together put away these feelings, leaving Hiccup unfrozen and Elsa very satisfied.

F=Favourite position.

Elsa loves positions where she surrenders control. Be it mating press (Where an act of love is replaced by wild lust), bent over (Taken like some common whore in a back ally), carry fucked (Imagining her body being showed off to a crowd, her shame for all to witness and loving every minute of it).

Hiccup loves both cowgirl and missionary. Cowgirl because he can watch Elsa riding him, her breasts bouncing with each motion and his hands on her hips and missionary because of the way Elsa's hair is strewn about, looking like an angel as she looks him the eye, gaze full of love and lust as she pants.

G=Goofy (How serious are they)

Both being in positions of authority and needing to be serious, Hiccup and Elsa like to goof around a bit, wanting to make the other laugh and loosen up, but when it comes to making love (not just fucking) they become tender and serious.

H=Hair (How well groomed are they.)

Elsa likes to keep her crotch smooth and bare, even before getting with Hiccup.

Hiccup keeps his trimmed but not completely bare all the time, only shaving when he grows too much hair. He hates hair in his mouth so why would he want the same for Elsa? 😏

Elsa also like to change her regular hair style. Sometimes she lets it down which Hiccup thinks makes her look angelic. In her French braid Hiccup likes to pull it and knows Elsa loves it

I=Intimacy (Romantic aspect)

Hiccup and Elsa know what it's like to be lonely and feel unloved so they each make sure the other knows how much they love them. There's a difference between fucking and making love and both know it.

J=Jack off (Masturbation tendencies)

Elsa didn't explore her body much during her teenage years, still having to endure her uncontrollable bouts of magic and fearing what may happen but Hiccup awoke something in her. Whenever Hiccup is gone for long periods of time, Elsa tries to satisfy her urges but always feels unsatisfied, Hiccup ruined masturbation for her.

As stated before, Hiccup has pleasured himself to his sketches of Elsa but not often seeing as he also has responsibilities. Besides, he's grown use to Elsa's soft flesh and velvety depths, his rough hands aren't a good substitute.

K=Kink (What they're into)

Elsa likes the idea of Exhibitionism or semi Exhibitionism, things like hidden sex or being touched intimatly in public. Feeling Hiccup molest her ass or tits, Hiccup dragging her into a back ally to have sex or getting fucked on the high balcony of her bed chamers, imagining her people looking up and watching her be taken. One of her role play fantasies is Hiccup acting like an invading Viking Chief who takes Elsa as his personal whore and fucks her in front of her subjects as a show of dominance.

Hiccup has a thing for lips and lipstick. Lipstick wasn't a thing on Berk or for Vikings in general, so upon seeing Elsa's crimson coloured lips for the first time, he was sold. He loves the feeling of Elsa kissing his body and leaving various lipstick marks, even on his face though he had forgotten to wipe them off a number of times. He also likes it when Elsa edges him, bringing to near orgasm just to tease him.

L=Location (Where they prefer to do it)

When being romantic and making love, the bedroom.

When fucking, anywhere is game. Elsa has spent enough of her life in her room.

The hallway? Oh you mean the 'The bedroom is too far away and I need you now' spot.

The forge? Oh you mean the 'Hiccup is overworking himself, time to help him relax' spot.

The cove? Oh you mean the 'I wanna fuck under the stars' spot.

The stables? Oh you mean the 'Right from the saucy romance novel' spot.

The back ally? Oh you mean the 'Elsa's kink spot' spot.

M=Motivation (What gets them fired up?)

Elsa seeing Hiccup shirtless. You bet watching Hiccup work in the forge, watching sweat run down his chest and back and watching him pound that metal gets her more heated than the actual forge and wanting to be in the metal's place.

For Hiccup it's two things. One is feeling Elsa kiss his sweet spots like his ears or neck. The other is when Elsa modifies her dresses to show some more skin, be more scanty like or a tad bit transparent, letting Hiccup see the dark spots on her breasts that are her areola and nipples.

N=No (Turn offs, something they won't do.)

Both hate bandage. Hiccup has been tied and chained up his fair share already during his days of fighting the Outcasts, berserkers, hunters and such. Elsa also hates bondage because of the fact that there were specially made cuffs for her made by her parents should her powers become to much of a threat.

During flying. Elsa is strictly a ground only type person and Hiccup has too much respect for Toothless or any other dragon to fuck Elsa while on top of them.

O=Oral (Preference in giving/receiving, skill)

Both like giving and receiving. Watching their lover wither in pleasure with just their mouth and tongue. Elsa likes to take advantage of Hiccup's lip and lipstick kink by kissing his cock and balls, lathering them in lipstick marks. Elsa also likes having Hiccup finish on her face, the bigger, the better.

P=Pace (Are they fast and rough or slow and sensual? How many rounds?)

When love making? Slow and sensual.

When fucking? Rough and fast.

Hiccup tends to have more endurance seeing how he grew up compared to Elsa's sheltered and simple life. There first time together led to three rounds that night.

Q=Quickie (Opinions on quickies and how often)

Neither are opposed to it. They both have stressful jobs and the bedroom is so far away so whats wrong with helping each other get rid of that stress?

R=Risk (Do they like to spice it up?)

When they first started the sexual part of their relationship, Elsa didn't even think about taking things out the bedroom but later on got more bold and convinced/encouraged Hiccup to do more public things.

This happened because Anna had accidentally walked in on them once and once she left (albeit a blushing, stuttering mess) Hiccup looked at Elsa's blushing and trembling form as she hugged her body to his, her face buried in his neck and realised she had cum from being walked in on.

Elsa is the one who tends to initiate these moments, though Hiccup, adrenaline junkie he is, doesn't mind it.

S=Stamina (How long they can last)

Outside of quickies, Hiccup can last a long time and keep going, having gained the stamina over his years of adventures and training. He can leave Elsa a bumbling, drooling mess when he really puts the effort in. (One night Elsa asked for Hiccup to use her, not make love, not fuck her, to use her and at the end all three of her holes were filled.)

T=Toys (what they have/use)

Considering this is in the past before vibrators or such existed, they dont really use toys. Maybe Elsa will make an ice dildo but out of that nothing.

U=Unfair (How much do they tease or like being teased)

Elsa has a body that Hiccup loves and knows it~. She'll ravage his mouth with her own, run her hands under his armour and shirt and grind against him, just to pull away, leaving him with an angry erection to deal with. Knowing that once he gets his hands on her she'll feel amazing and sore in the morning. The more she teases him, the better.

Hiccup likes groping Elsa in public, making her all hot and bothered, with her pussy gushing by the end of the day.

V=Volume (How loud are they)

It's a good thing Elsa's room is the highest tower because she isn't one to keep quiet. She's quiet during more risky sex but other than that she lets others know how good she's feeling. Toothless has gone to Anna's room on several dozen occasions because of this.

W=Wildcard (Random Headcanon)

A secret Elsa will take to her grave. Nothing nefarious or morally wrong, more out of embarrassment but during the first time Hiccup was away from months after they had sex, Elsa tried to burn off some energy by creating ice sculptures. Only Hiccup was on her mind and she made a inanimate ice sculpture of Hiccup... with an erection. But Elsa wasn't that desperate so she got rid of the ice construct... after staring at it for a solid minute

X=X-ray (A look under the clothes)

Elsa doesn't wear underwear. Under her magically made clothes she's completely nude. Before she made her own outfits and dresses, the ones she wore were always tight and stuffy.

Her body is nice and slim with a hourglass chest and ass. C'mon she got that Disney build.

Hiccup has been on many dangerous adventures and has the scars to prove it. Scars from swords, talons, fire and lightning.

While Hiccup is far from the hulking, hairy mass of fat and muscle, he isn't the same twig from when he was a teen. More of a swimmer physique, his time as a dragon rider, running, forge work and sword fighting has shown.

Y=Yearning (how needy are they)

Before they met and had their first time together, Elsa never explore herself sexually, having been more focused on trying to control her magic. But after that night together she couldn't get enough.

Same for Hiccup, she was the complete opposite of what Berk was. She was soft, kind, fair, beautiful. She was like a drink of the Gods and Hiccup wanted every sip he could get.

When they're apart they can't wait to get back to one another and feel each other, spending the night showing how much they missed the other.

Z=Zzz (do they sleep after)

After some bedroom shenanigans, the pair like to doze off together, Elsa being wrapped up in Hiccup's arms and hearing his heartbeat which puts her to sleep and Hiccup likes playing with Elsa's hair, sniffing the pleasant aroma before drifting off to sleep.

[fancylala4]

I rewatched watched the Disney princess scenes from Wreck it Ralph 2 and I have some random thoughts on it because I’m bored. After all, they are the only part of the movie that people actually remember.

First thing I didn’t like about these scenes were how the writers just went with how the general public views of the princesses instead of showing who they actually are as characters. For example, they showed Belle as this book worm when she’s more than that. She a dreamer and stands up for what she believes in. Same thing with Ariel, they showed her as this girl who gave up her voice for legs and she loves singing. They should have clarified who the princesses were as characters and make fun of how the general public misunderstands them to be something they’re not.

When the princesses were going to attack Vanellope, why didn’t they have the princesses use some of the weapons that princesses actually used their own movies? Like Tiana used a book to hit Naveen when she first met him and Belle used a branch as a weapon to fight off the wolfs. They just had Tiana used a rolling pin because she cooks and Belle a book because she reads. It’s boring.

The comfy clothes the princesses wear are so boring. Most of them are wearing leggings and tank tops with generic call backs from their movie. I’ve seen more creative outfits from fan art. I think it would had been cute and interesting if they wore comfy outfits based on the fashion of the year their movies were released. Ariel would look good in an 80s inspired outfit. They would also make good doll sets as well.

It’s ironic how they had Rapunzel of all the princesses say “do people assume that you were saved because a man came along” when that line applies to her the most. Also, why the heck did she have the most lines of all the princesses? I’m not just saying this because I hate her. I’m just curious. Is she the director favorite or did Disney made them do this? I know it’s not because she the most popular princess there(Ariel and Elsa were right there) or that her VA is good (she sucks). Plus, Snow White should have been the one to say the line before they saved Ralph. Snow White was the first princess and the first movie Disney produced. Or Cinderella since she is the most iconic Disney princess of all time. What was the reason for pushing rapunzel so hard in this movie?

I’ll say this as many times as I can but Pocahontas should have not have been in here! They whitewashed her and she looks terrible. In fact, they whitewashed all of the princesses of color! They did this and didn’t even bother to give them more than 5 lines. The only one they “fixed” was Tiana and that was because there was so much backlash against her design. Even after they fixed her, Tiana still doesn’t look like herself. Don’t get me started on the hairstyle they gave her when she’s in her comfy outfit. The hair is lighter than her normal hair and is super curly. It’s nothing like the hairstyle that she has in her movie! Why couldn’t Disney hire a black artist to oversee Tiana’s design?

Another thing about the saving Ralph at the end. I wonder why they didn’t have Ariel do anything? All she did was swim in the water Moana summoned, did her iconic hair flip and sing.

[razieltwelve]

Considering Murder (Final Rose AU)

Weiss took another sip of the brandy. It had a delightful peach flavour, and she should probably have stopped drinking it a glass or two ago.

“If I didn’t know any better,” Weiss drawled. “I’d say you were trying to get me drunk, Yang.”

The blonde took a sip of her own brandy and favoured Weiss with a toothy smile. “That’s because I am.”

Weiss raised one eyebrow, or at least, she thought she did. Judging from the amused snicker from Blake and the mirth in Yang’s gaze, her expression was likely less than imposing. “Are you planning on taking advantage of me?”

“Nope. I’ve got Elsa and Averia for that sort of thing.” The words were met with another snicker from Blake. The Faunus had drunk at least as much as Weiss, but she wasn’t handling it quite so well. Hah! Weiss might be tiny, but she’d done more than her fair share of drinking. “You just looked as though you could use a good drink.”

Weiss huffed. “Fuck, yes, I could use a good drink.” She was normally more on guard around other people, but this was her team. They had literally killed for each other. If she couldn’t trust them, then what was the point of even being here? “My father called the other day, you know. He’s been looking for people to marry me off to.”

“Well, shit,” Yang said. “Do we need to get rid of him?”

Weiss giggled. “Yang...”

“If you want,” Blake offered. “I know some people who could do it.” The Faunus patted Weiss’s leg. “They’d make it look like an accident.”

The best - and worst part - was that Blake was completely serious. It was a far cry from the initial wariness they’d felt toward each other. “While I appreciate the offer, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Yet,” Yang said. “It’s not necessary yet.”

Weiss giggled. Her glass was empty, so she poured herself more brandy. Dust, it was good. She’d have to ask Yang where she’d gotten it from because it hadn't come in a labelled bottle. “I should be worried that we’re discussing my father’s murder. Instead, I just feel... liberated.”

“Murder tends to have that effect,” Yang replied sagely. “Not that I would know.”

“...” Blake eyed Yang speculatively. “You’re not nearly subtle enough. Averia?”

“Diana,” Yang replied. “Trust me. If you ever need to get away with murder, ask her.”

“Oh, I have to hear more,” Weiss said. “And where did you get this brandy?”

“We have a neighbour back home,” Yang replied. “He owns some orchards. He grows Sally’s favourite mangoes, as well as a bunch of other stuff. He makes booze in his spare time. Peach brandy is something he’s been working on for a while. He sent some to my Uncle Qrow, and my uncle passed on a few bottles.”

“Your uncle is a scholar and a gentleman.” Weiss raised her glass. “And you can tell him I said that.”

“I think he’d find that hilarious.”

“Back to the murder,” Blake said. “What happened?”

Yang flopped back onto the floor. Honestly, sitting in a circle and drinking booze was hardly the height of maturity, but Weiss found that she rather liked it. Sally padded over, and the true salamander flopped across Yang’s belly. Weiss giggled again and reached over to scratch Sally’s scales. Intimidating appearance aside, Sally was a sweetheart.

“It was a mission back when I was at Signal. Diana and I went together. She’s young, you know, but she’s got Ragnarok. Hell, even without it, I’d trust Diana to kick just about anyone’s ass. Anyway, we get there, and it turns into a complete shit show. The guy who posted the mission had lied about just about everything. The settlement came under attack almost immediately, and he’d done all sorts of evil shit. I’m talking about embezzling funding from the militia, abusing his authority, all that kind of crap.”

Weiss’s nose wrinkled. “Murder is sounding more justified by the moment.”

Blake’s lips curved up into a cold, cold smile. “Back home, someone like that would get a knife between the ribs before being kicked off the walls to feed the Grimm.”

“Anyway,” Yang sat up and lifted Sally into her lap. “We kill all the Grimm and sort everything out, and it occurs to me that if we leave, this guy is just going to pull the same crap. Even worse, he was well connected. Getting him to quit or removing him wouldn’t be easy.”

“So what did you do?” Weiss asked.

Yang shrugged. “Punched a hole in him.”

“...” Blake shook her head. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Hey, he was an asshole. More to the point, we found out how he’d gotten the position in the first place.”

“Oh?”

“Killed his predecessor. We even got Aunt Yeul to confirm it.” Yang glared. “I would have done worse, but it just made me so mad. We’re fighting Grimm, for fuck’s sake. We’re not supposed to be stabbing each other in the back.” She sighed and drank some more brandy. “Anyway, Diana finds me, and she just looks at me.”

“And then?”

“And then she shifts her arm into a claw, the kind a Beowolf has... and she rips him to bits. Next thing I know, she’s shouting for people to come over... and then she kind of, I don’t know, pukes up this Beowolf. She must have eaten it earlier or something. When everybody gets there, she just shakes her head and tells everyone what happened. He and I were on patrol when we got ambushed by Grimm. He got caught off guard, and I killed the Grimm. You should have seen her. Diana sold that lie like it was nothing but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Shit. I would’ve thought she was telling the truth myself if I didn’t know better.”

“What happened next?”

“They chalked it up to a bit of good luck. Everybody wanted him gone, and they figured the Grimm just did us all a favour. Later, Diana slapped me over the back of the head and told me to speak to her the next time I wanted to commit murder.”

“Damn.” Blake nodded respectfully. “And she didn’t think any less of you?”

“Nah. It turns out she was already planning to sabotage his stove, so it would explode. If anything, she was more annoyed that she didn’t get to pull off her plan than anything else.”

Weiss sighed. “The frontier is rough, isn’t it?”

“You bet it is. You see the best and worst sort of people out there. My mother’s tribe earned their reputation out there. Shit. There’s still places where the Branwen name has people running for their lives or running over with gifts.” Yang glanced over to Ruby’s bed. Their team leader was out on a ‘special mission’ with Diana, which was a polite way of saying the two of them were going to stuff their faces down at Port Beacon’s newest bakery. “Ruby is going to be pissed when she realises we’ve been drinking without her.”

“It’s probably for the best,” Weiss replied. “Your sister can’t hold her liquor at all.”

Yang laughed. “She’s a damn light weight. It’s why she knows to never drink unless she’s around friends and family.” Her expression sobered. “Besides, she knows there are things she’s not quite ready to talk about yet. She’s younger than all of us.”

“She’s older than Diana,” Blake pointed out.

“It’s not just about age,” Yang replied. “Ruby is... sweet. She thinks the best of people, and she hasn’t seen all the shit I have.” Yang ran one hand over her face. “Fuck. I hope she never does either. It’s... yeah. You know, my Aunt Lightning will be taking Ruby on some missions soon, try to get Ruby up to speed on that... that side of hunter life. But for the time being...”

“She’s the optimist,” Blake said quietly. “And I hope she never changes.”

“Yeah.” Yang smiled. “That’s right.”

“I’m glad someone on our team can be an optimist,” Weiss said. “Dust knows I’m not an optimist.”

“Like I said,” Blake murmured. “If you ever need your father murdered... ask me, not Yang.”

“Yes, well, if my father suddenly turns up with a hole punched through his chest, I know who’s to blame.”

“Hey!” Yang huffed in mock anger. “I’ve improved. I’d totally stage an accident or something.”

[adamwatchesmovies]

Legally Blondes (2009)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Calling Legally Blondes an insult might sound like an overreaction, but hear me out. This film is cheap, badly acted and poorly written. It attempts to cash-in on the popularity of Legally Blonde while featuring none of the characters we fell in love with. Worst of all, it doesn't even understand the appeal of the series, meaning it had no chance of pleasing its intended audience.

Elle’s twin cousins, Annabelle “Annie” and Isabelle “Izzy” Woods (Camilla and Rebecca Rosso) move to America with their father to study at Pacific Preparatory. Their love of punk and family reputation draws the ire of Headmistress Elsa Higgins (Lisa Banes) while the school bully, Tiffany Donohugh (Brittany Curran), sets out to get them expelled.

This is clearly another script re-worked to be part of the Legally Blonde franchise. The twins are not attending law school, they’re given chihuahuas at the beginning but the dogs play no part in the story and there are no familiar faces to be found. Not even Elle. That’s right. Reese Witherspoon does not make an appearance. References to her character are made and the twins stay in her home while she’s away but if you sit through the end credits hoping to see a cameo, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, you’ll see something I’ve never seen before: the movie’s deleted scenes. They play while the names scroll. I guess director Savage Steve Holland knew no one would bother to check out this disaster’s special features but wanted us to see them nonetheless.

2001's Legally Blonde is not a perfect comedy but it has a lot of appeal. Although she didn’t fit initially, Elle had a good head on her shoulders. She had a few things to learn but ultimately, law school was where she belonged. The same can’t be said for the twins. It’s obvious to everyone watching that Tiffany hates them but every time the conniving brat approaches the sisters to give “helpful advice”, they accept it. Her true colours are first revealed when the girls show up at a party in inappropriate outfits. Sound familiar? I’d say spoiler but if you’ve seen Legally Blonde you saw that one coming. You��ll see everything coming, in fact. Izzy and Annie are introduced with title cards that describe what their character arcs will be. One can’t stand public speaking. The other is terrible at history. How profound.

You’ll be so bored you’ll want to stab yourself in the leg just to stay awake. Legally Blondes does nothing interesting until 2/3 of the way in when the plot FINALLY kicks off. It’s a school trial. Ah, so that’s where the title comes from. Took you long enough. This is where the film could have earned itself some points. At least now there’s a clear thread to follow. There are stakes and in theory, figuring out how our heroines will win the case should be fun. Too bad the screenplay by Chad Gomez Creasey and Dara Resnik Creasey can’t even do that right. The jokes are so terribly executed you won’t understand the punchlines until the movie is a distant memory and certain ideas introduced earlier that should be important turn out to be useless, making you feel like you're wasting your time paying attention.

Legally Blondes has no reason to exist. It won’t please fans of the series, it won’t win over anyone who didn’t like Elle previously. The apathy everyone had for the project is obvious. There are numerous logical gaps, the funny jokes are rarer than four-leaf clovers and there’s little to like. I’d say there’s nothing to like but it does get slightly better as it goes along. Not enough for me to recommend, mind you. Not to anyone. Not ever. (July 31, 2020)

[frozenprocedural]

TDOE Day 8- Frosty the Snowman

Here’s day 8! Alarik belongs to @patricia-von-arundel.

Frosty the Snowman Creatures OF DOOM

Rating: K

Alarik often walked the halls while reading, so it took him several seconds to realize he was being followed that day. 

The patter of feet against stone eventually diverted his attention from the paper he was reviewing.

"Neta, how can I-" 

His mind was still pulling away from the text, so when he turned, it took him several seconds to process what he was seeing. 

"Wha-"

The…beings- for he could think of no better word- were crowded behind him in a silent group. Round heads sat atop blocky bodies, supported by two stubby legs. Their eyes- if they could even be called that- were simply two depressions in what Alarik suddenly realized was… snow.

There were a half-dozen of them, no higher than mid-calf, and each of their not-quite eyes remained fixed on him.

Alarik whimpered and took a step back. In complete synchronization, the snowmen advanced a step.

He screamed.

………..

Elsa woke to a scratchy throat and a headache pulsing at her temples. Worst of all, she could feel a rising itch in her stuffed nose. She barely had time to throw her elbow in front of her face before sneezing thrice in rapid succession. 

"Oh no… no no no."

In quick succession, six misshapen creatures made of snow and ice materialized. They glanced in her direction- or at least she assumed they did, given they didn't have true eyes- before collecting in a group and squeezing through the door that had been left cracked open. 

Elsa groaned, waiting for the inevitable yell from Anna. They always gravitated towards her, for whatever reason. And Anna was far from happy about that fact.

But it never happened. Anna did pop her head in moments later, her face curious rather than angry.

"Did I hear you sneeze?"

Elsa nodded, pressing a finger under her nose as the urge rose again. It did nothing to stop the sneeze, and two more snowmen popped out in flurries of snow, pattering past Anna without a glance. 

"They didn't even look at me," she commented as they disappeared, "And they never leave me alone. What-"

A high-pitched scream cut Anna off. She and Elsa shared horrified glances, speaking one name at the same time.

"Alarik!"

Anna was nearly bowled over when Alarik came charging up to the room, pursued by a small writhing mass of white. His face was a mask of panic, and Anna had to take hold of his shoulders to stop him.

"Alarik, it's okay! They won't hurt you!"

He broke free and slid behind her, peering at the snow-things as they too stopped in front of the door. 

"What are they!?"

"We're… not sure. They show up whenever Elsa gets a cold and starts sneezing. They're completely harmless. All they'd do with me is follow me around and watch."

"I don't know why they're following you now." Elsa pushed herself upright and swung a leg over to stand.

Almost immediately, Alarik and Anna were at her side, imploring her to get back in bed and rest. She, of course, argued, but between the two of them, they got her back in bed. Elsa grumbled and complained about not being an invalid, but Anna merely fluffed her pillows and pulled a lightweight blanket over her. 

"Rest, Elsa." Anna said, placing a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "We can take care of anything that needs to be taken care of."

Alarik cast a quick glance over at the watching snow creatures, then stroked a thumb over her cheek. "I'll ask Olina to make a broth and tea. Please, älskling, rest."

Elsa mumbled something incoherent, but her eyes were already beginning to flutter closed. Within moments, she was fast asleep. 

…………

Anna couldn't return to the residential room until near dinner time. Elsa's schedule, as was frequently the case, was completely full. 

Thankfully, either because of her own exhaustion or Alarik keeping her in bed, Elsa hadn't been seen. Neither had the snow creatures, although Anna didn't know if she should be relieved or worried. She, at least, had some familiarity with them. Alarik did not.

The door was cracked open, and Anna leapt back as a snow creature trotted past her, with a cup in its… hands? Not hands, she realized as she got closer, but little nubs approximating arms. When she entered the room, Anna saw a dozen of the creatures, all with arm-nubs, standing around Alarik almost…expectantly. He had a comfortable chair, lap desk, quill, ink and several papers with him. When the snow creature from the hallway came up to him, presenting the cup, he smiled and took it.

"Thank you."

The creature bounced a bit, then returned to the group. Rather than seeming perturbed, Alarik simply placed the cup on the nightstand beside Elsa. He caught sight of Anna then, and waved.

"What am I looking at right now?" Anna asked, careful to keep her voice low. Elsa looked to be asleep, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Alarik glanced at the creatures and shrugged. "They stayed here with me. I hypothesized that they may be attuned to whomever takes care of Elsa when she is ill. Especially because you stated that they would follow you around before I was here, and you took care of her those times."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "So what does that have to do with them growing arms? And why did one have a cup?"

"I decided to see if they would respond to requests. I started by asking one to get a pillow from the other side of the room. It… well, it grew those nubs and did as I asked. It turns out that they can get almost anything, and do not need descriptions. I tried to limit them to my lab and the kitchens, although it seems the staff are familiar with them."

"They are." Anna said. "Well, don't get too used to them. They don't last more than a few hours. And they have a propensity for wandering into fires."

"I saw." 

Was it Anna's imagination, or did Alarik look sad when he said that? She shook her head. 

"I'm going to go to dinner. Should I have a tray brought up for the both of you?"

Alarik nodded. "Thank you, Anna."

She started towards the door. "Let me know if you or Elsa need anything else. But NOT with them!" She gestured to the creatures. 

As she left, she could have sworn she heard them giggling. 

[femalewarrior222]

Elsa Should Celebrate the Holidays Naked

She should celebrate Christmas with no clothes on. In her Birthday Suit.

[nycbabyjoey]

Diapered at Disney - Part 2: A Daycare Far, Far Away

NSFW 18+ Only

Contains ABDL Content

Note: For everyone here reading this caption, thank you! Tomorrow marks my one-year anniversary since starting this blog (including my brief six-month hiatus lol). It might not be a big number to some but I never imagined I would have 700+ followers, so thank you! This is a follow-up to my very first caption and, although you don't need to read it to understand this one, here's the link. Enjoy!

It had been only a month since Nate had last been to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, his favorite park at Disney World. He and his girlfriend Laura had built lightsabers, conversed with stormtroopers, and finished the day with a nice cocktail at Oga's Cantina. But, Nate's life had changed entirely since last month and his experience this time around would be much different.

His girlfriend Laura was now his Mommy, pushing him happily in his made-to-size stroller through the Star Wars park. Last time, he wore a Darth Vader t-shirt that he bought, but this time he didn't even have a shirt. The only article of clothing he had was an oversized diaper around his waist designed to look like R2-D2.

This is the predicament he had found himself every day since his day at EPCOT, which ended with Laura telling him off when he forgot to book their meet-up with Frozen's Elsa and Anna. The next day, everyone saw and treated him as an infant and the day ended with him pooping and cumming himself in front of the two princesses.

Nate had spent the month trying to figure out what caused his situation, but with his lack of motor function he had really just spent it being carted around different Disney parks sucking his pacifier, wetting his diaper, sobbing, or all of the above. But today, he was determined to investigate.

"Does little Nate like the stuffie?" Laura cooed as she waved an Ewok plush in front of Nathan's face. "Yes, he does. Yes, he does!"

No, he didn't. Nate couldn't have had more of a frown if he had tried. He was just waiting for the perfect moment for Mommy... er, Laura... to get distracted so that he could escape the confines of his stroller. The moment came as Laura turned to another shelf full of Porg toys, leaving Baby Nate unattended. Nate immediately began to wriggle his arms violently until they were both over the harness and then pulled the rest of his body from underneath.

Nate immediately took a tumble to all fours. Try as he might, he knew he was embarrassingly no longer capable of walking on his own. He managed to crawl behind the shop's counter. Laura had turned around.

"Nate?" Laura queried. "Nate! Nate! Has anyone seen my baby?" Nate hated to see her like this. She actually did see him as a baby now, rather than a boyfriend. Hell, she showed a lot more care now than she did when they were together. But, Nate had to try to get things back to normal.

Laura had frantically left the store as Nate crawled out from behind the counter. He wouldn't get anywhere fast and he didn't know where he was going, but he may as well start crawling. He made it about thirty seconds before a pair of hands reached under his armpits and began to lift him from the floor.

"No! No! No!" Nate yelled, frantically kicking his legs.

"Hey, little guy," a female voice said. "Are you lost?"

As Nate was cradled in the smaller woman's arms, he saw that it wasn't Laura. It was Rey.

"I can sense you are looking for something," the Jedi said.

Of course. Rey was using her Force Awareness. She could sense how he really felt. "Yes!" Nate shouted. "Yes, I am not a baby. I need to find something in the park that will change my life back to normal."

"Ah yes," Rey responded. "You must be looking for your Mum."

Nate groaned. He should have known better. Whenever he spoke, everyone heard only baby babble. Even the Jedi.

Suddenly, Nate felt a familiar sensation. It was one he had grown especially accustomed to the past month, being scooped up, cradled, and cooed after by so many different women. He didn't mean to, but Rey was attractive and so he couldn't help himself. He came for the hundredth time that month in his diaper despite the fact that his crotch had not been touched.

"Uh-oh," Rey teased. "I know that face. We'll look for your mum, but first, a nappy change."

Nate rolled his eyes as he was carried by Rey to a changing station, which of course was sized appropriately for the grown man as if by magic. Nate groaned as he underwent yet another diaper change as an adult man. He had at least gotten over the incentive to cover his manhood. Nobody batted an eye and Laura would always hold his arms in a lock above his head to make sure she could seal his diaper shut without interference.

So, Nate just lay there staring at the ceiling as he underwent the "nappy" change. Wipes, powder, tape; he knew the routine. But, Rey's diaper change ended a bit differently from Laura's as she began to slip her breasts out from under her top.

"Now, someone looks a bit thirsty," Rey hinted. Nate's eyes widened. Breastfeeding?! Was Rey really going to breastfeed him? Laura had never done that, choosing to bottle feed him instead which was already bad enough. Honestly, Nate's infantile treatment over the past month was so bad that he hadn't even considered this awful possibility.

Nate struggled pushing away from her with as little might as he had. "Nuh uh uh," Rey said waving her fingers across his eyes. Nate immediately stopped struggling. Oh no. She was using a Jedi Mind Trick on him.

"You will love the taste of my breastmilk."

So he did. Despite resisting just a second ago, Nate immediately began rhythmically sucking on Rey's teat and warm milk poured into his mouth. Although his mind tried to fight against it, Nate couldn't help but think it was the best thing he had ever tasted even from before he was caught in this magic spell. So much so that when Rey put her top back on, Nate couldn't stop himself from full-blown crying.

A few pats on the back didn't help, but another Jedi Mind Trick sure did. Nate, tired from the already eventful day, eventually fell asleep on Rey's shoulder as she carried him through the park on his padded butt.

Hours later, he opened his eyes to realize Rey was gone. He saw the familiar sight of bars. The bars of a crib, that is. And the familiar feeling of a wet diaper.

"Welcome to Batuu Nursery and Daycare!" a robotic voice chimed. Nate turned his head around to see a droid standing over the other side of the crib. A droid designed to look like a woman. "My name is 4-3DL."

"Messy diaper detected," the robot caretaker said. "Would you like a change?"

"No, no, no!" Nate moaned. "I am sick of all the goddamn diaper changes. I'm an adult, not a baby!"

"Understood."

"Thank you," Nate sighed. Wait. He did a double take. "Whoa! You understand me?"

"Of course," 4-3DL responded. "I am fluent in over six million forms of communication, including baby talk."

"I'm not a baby!" Nate cried. "Please, you have to get me out of this daycare."

"Doing so would go against my protocols," she informed.

Nate rolled his eyes. Just his luck. He pulled himself to a standing position by grabbing and pulling on the top bar of the crib. "Fine," he complained. "I'll do it myself."

With all his strength, he pushed off the cushy crib mattress with one leg, hoisting the other over the crib's railing. In an instant after, a light alarm started blaring and a pair of robotic arms came from the ceiling.

"Alert! Alert!" chimed 4-3DL's robotic voice. "Baby Nate's escaping! Alert!"

Nate gasped as the cold metallic hands placed themselves under his arms and lifted him from out of the crib. Why were they taking him out of the crib? The arms whisked him across the room and placed him face down on a changing table. But Nate still wasn't going to be changed out of his dirty diaper.

The two arms continued to pin him to the table as a third arm appeared and placed its hand on the exposed skin of his butt. Nate's eyes widened as the third hand wound itself back.

"Wait, wait," Nate pleaded. "I'm sorry! Please don't!"

It was too late as the robotic hand systematically and harshly slammed the baby's backside. Nate howled in pain, kicking his legs against the changing table with each brutal smack. "Ow, ow, ow!' Nate cried. "Please fucking stop!" Nate knew that the hand was only slightly tapping his butt, but because of the spell each hit stung like a million sharp needles.

Nate sobbed even harder as a fourth arm administered his punishment for using naughty language, a bar of soap directly into his mouth. The gross, sudsy taste of the soap in his mouth combined with the repeated smacking of the daycare's hands against his ass made Nate cry in hysterics in a way he had not even since he soiled himself in front of Elsa and Anna months ago. Not to mention, Nate couldn't stop himself from wetting his diaper yet again during the painful punishment.

After ten agonizing minutes, the arms placed him sat and facing the wall, causing his drooping, soaked diaper to press up against his crotch. "Fifteen minute timeout," 4-3DL announced. "No movement starting now."

The android's extended arms had disappeared for now, but a still-sobbing Nate didn't dare move. He had undergone intense humiliation the past month from having his girlfriend change his constant messy diapers or being cooed or even breastfed by one of his favorite Star Wars characters. But, he had never been spanked before and the pain of this corporal punishment had hurt more than any pain he felt as an adult.

As he wiped his neverending tears away, Nate accepted his predicament for the first time. Diapers, pacifiers, and stuffed toys were bad, but the spankings were another level. He had to accept that, to avoid more punishment, he must be a good baby boy from now on.

"Timeout's over," 4-3DL said after a while. "Now, would you like your wet diaper changed."

"Yes," Nate responded shamefully. "I would."

Nate laid still for his diaper change and spent the rest of the afternoon in the daycare, quietly watching cartoons and playing with blocks until Rey arrived with his Mommy.

Mommy cradled him, petted his hair, and repeated how she was "worried sick." It was all quite embarrassing, but after his time at the daycare, Nate had to admit it was preferable.

As Nate was placed into his stroller and pushed out of the park exit, he reflected on the time since he was last here. He had hoped to find an answer for this madness while here, but the experience had broken his spirit. Looking back, he felt like an idiot for bragging about how Star Wars was for big boys. Looking down at himself, clothed in a fresh diaper and locked in a baby stroller, he had come to terms with the fact that he wasn't a big boy anymore. He was Mommy's baby boy. And he would be for a long, long time.

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Gosh, the Hawks x intern! Reader sure made me tear up :(

Like imagine him regretting not being there for her and his baby girl from the start and trying to make up for it now 😭😭💖

I was going to imagine this, but I couldn't because I ended up writing 3000 words. 😭 I just love fictional babies so much and want them to be happy, okay? I left it open-ended, so I wouldn't betray the "kick his ass" gang. I'm a weak woman 🥺 I still don't know much about him other than what Wikipedia and memes tell me but here we go!

Part One | Part Two

Hawks doesn’t think you’ll ever let him in, not that he could blame you. Every time you see him, your expression hardens, pretty eyes narrow into a glare, nostrils flare, breathing heavy. His only bright light during your last exchange is that you wait three seconds before slamming the door in his face rather than the usual zero.

Oh, he’s definitely softening you up. Not.

It’s been a month now that he’s been at this, and he is starting to wonder if this entire thing is worth the headache. All he’s accomplished so far is bothering you with his requests to talk. Then, he remembers the little angel that you have with you and thinks it’s worth the headache.

At first, he had ignored your previous exchange that day at the park and the nagging feeling in the corner of his mind upon seeing the two of you. Until that same feeling started to weigh on his heart. He quickly realizes what those feelings were. Guilt and regret at not taking another path with the high schooler he so carelessly took advantage of and impregnated.

If he had, he could be annoying Endeavor about his cute little wife right about now.

Hawks feels a bit like Icarus flying too close to the sun and now sinking in a turbulent ocean of his own making. Instead of drowning, the world decides to throw him a lifeline as the receptionist patches a call through to him.

His heart jumps when he hears you on the other side, resistant but succumbed in your plea, “I need your help.”

The very next day you arrive at the agency, a small hand latched in your own as you stand in the middle of his office. You didn’t want to be here. The thought of being in the same place where your daughter was conceived with the same man who left you makes you antsy. You can’t believe you actually let Fumikage talk you into this.

You remember that phone conversation.

Your daughter’s quirk had been coming in full force, so fast you didn’t know how to handle it. You hoped that Tokoyami would have been able to help her control it since he trained with the very person she received her quirk from much longer than you had and that he was part avian himself.

“Please, Fumi. It’s getting worse,” you begged over the phone. “She accidentally hurt a few of the kids at school. No. No. They’re fine, some cuts and a little shook up, but fine. They won’t let her back in until she gets it under control though, so please.”

“I told you there’s not much else I can do. The best solution would be to go to the person with the same quirk.”

He’s right. He’s absolutely right, but you don’t want to rely on someone like that man especially now. What if he ended up hurting her?

“I don’t want to do that.”

“I know you don’t, but he’s been trying to contact you, right? So I'm sure he'd do it if you asked.”

“Yeah…” You growled. “I swear if he makes one smart-ass remark, I might kill him in front of her.”

“Remember it’s not for you. Although, I don’t think you could kill him even if you tried.”

“If we combined our strength…”

“No,” Tokoyami immediately shot down.

You sighed. “I’m only joking. Do you have the number to the agency still?”

Now you’re here, watching the very man who abandoned you kneel down to your daughter’s eye level. Hawks couldn’t believe he’s actually seeing her. It’s a bit exciting to see how much bigger she’s gotten in such a short time with big fat wings at her back holding way more feathers than she can probably deal with.

“So, this is the special girl,” he says. She shies away from him, hiding behind your leg for protection. “Come on out, Baby Bird, you don’t have to be scared of me.”

Slowly, she peeks from behind you, fingers still clutched in your pants leg, and Hawks smiles.

“There you are. Did your mommy tell you who I am?”

“You’re her and uncle Toko’s old teacher, and you’re going to help me control my quirk.”

“That’s right. You just turned five, right? That’s when a lot of quirks can get kind of hectic.”

“Yeah. I had a birthday party with Elsa last month.”

Hawks’ smile falters for a second as he thinks he doesn’t know exactly what day her birthday is. At least now he knows the month. Quickly, he’s back to normal to keep an air of happiness in the situation. “You know I know a lady that looks a bit like Elsa. She has ice powers like her too,” Hawks says, having grown a little closer to the number one hero's family as he tried to figure out what to do about his own family situation.

When her eyes widen, Hawks knows he has her hook, line, and sinker. She throws her initial shyness to the wind in exchange for excitement. “She does? Can I meet her?”

“I’m sure we could make that happen. If not, her son has an ice quirk, too. I’m sure he’d show you.”

The young girl smiles at him, but Hawks notices her vision drifting to something else. Cautiously, her tiny hand stretches out to him, making him nervous as to what she’s doing, before chubby fingers clutch around the edge of his wing, squeezing into his feathers. “They’re pretty,” she mumbles.

“Want one?” he asks, and she nods.

“This is my birthday present for you, don’t lose it,” he says, offering her a single long feather from the back of his wings. She clutches it to her chest tightly, a happy smile plastered on her face.

Then, you interrupt.

“Baby, mama has to run some errands, but she’ll come right back to pick you up when the clock says twelve. You remember how that looks like, right?”

“It’s a 1 and a 2,” she says, bringing up her hands to show you.

Hawks decides to walk you out as your daughter sits in his office chair, twirling around his feather in her hand. He isn’t sure what to say to you now that he has you near him. Should he thank you for bringing her? Or would that only serve to piss you off since it’s not like you wanted to do this by choice?

“Hawks,” you say, bringing him out his thoughts. “There’s one more thing before I go.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell her,” you order. “Don’t you dare tell her.”

His chest squeezes at that but he can understand why you wouldn’t want her to know that information when the two of you aren’t even on speaking terms outside this issue. He didn’t want to do anything to make the situation worse either, so he brings his fingers to his mouth and zips his pinched thumb and index finger across his lips. “I’ll make sure mine and anyone else’s lips are sealed if they want to keep their job,” he calmly reassures you, always calm and carefree so you wouldn’t think that your rejection is successfully deterring him.

From then on, you drop your daughter off at his office twice a week to get a better handle on her powers. You didn’t stay long aside from that, but Hawks likes the small moments when all three of you are in the same room together.

The hero can be thankful that at least one of his girls likes him. His Baby Bird quickly attached herself to him, always pattering after his footsteps like a shadow, and always asking if he’d hold her hand, a smile forming whenever he engulfed her smaller one. He even keeps his promise to let her see Rei, or Elsa as Baby Bird so passionately refers to her, now that the woman is out of the hospital.

He thinks that if that family can recover from what happened then his shouldn’t be much different as long as he keeps trying to put in the effort and not step on your toes too much.

It isn’t long before Baby Bird begins to get a hang of her powers. At least enough that she wouldn’t be hurting anyone at school. Hawks had hoped you would still allow him to train her past that point though, but you quickly told him that she wouldn’t be returning to the agency when she reached that point.

He was sad to hear it of course, but he didn’t want to cause what little progress he made to be broken even if he really wanted to see her fly at least a few inches before she left. She’s been getting into the habit of jumping instead of walking to practice like he used to do. Although, she resembles more of a bouncy frog than a bird, to be honest.

He watches, amused, as she bounces along next to him in the hallway.

“You’ve gotten good at that,” he compliments, drawing her attention upwards.

“I’ve been practicing lots at home, but I’m not that good yet. Will you teach me how to fly like you do tomorrow?” she asks.

“No, Baby Bird. Didn’t your mommy tell you that we’re done with training after today?”

She hangs her head down, her bouncing stopping as she drags her feet. “…Yes,” she answers, letting his arm go lax as she releases his hand. Hawks pauses, watching as she draws her hands to her waist and anxiously bunches and twists the bottom of her shirt, and Hawks throat goes dry as she asks with glossy eyes, “Daddy, why doesn’t mommy like you?”

He’s completely silent, wondering exactly when she figured it out or if someone in the office had told her, let alone told her the fact that you didn’t like him. Well, he guesses it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. “How do you know to call me that?"

“Yesterday, my teacher told us that we inhe-inhe-inherent our quirk from our parents. I remember you said Elsa and her son had the same quirk, and you have big wings like mine and can make your feathers move.”

Hawks smiles. She’s a sharp one to piece it together in a day. “Your teacher is right. I bet you’ve never seen anyone else that looks quite like us.”

“No,” she answers, sniffling. “I don’t want to go home. I want to stay and play with you. Mommy is so mean to you. I hate her!”

Hawks cups her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Look at me. Don’t talk about your mommy like that. It’s my fault she always gets upset when I’m around. I was mean and bullied her a lot, so if you’re mad, be mad at me. I’m the reason we can’t play together more.”

She sniffs again but it isn’t enough to stop the globs of tears running down her cheeks. “When we saw you at the park, mommy started crying when we went home. I didn’t know why she did.”

Hawks knows why. The reason you’re always so angry at him is because of the hurt you still hold inside for what he did to you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have cried. The opposite of love is indifference as they say, and he knows it’s true because he had been indifferent to the pain he caused ever since the day you came to him with weepy eyes and shaking arms as you told him you were pregnant. You had been scared, and he told you to deal with it.

Hawks scowls. He’s starting to feel sick.

"If you make someone cry, you should say sorry."

Hawks smiles. “I know, baby. I'll apologize to your mama, and I’m going to try my best to make it up to her, and you, too. I’m not going to make either of you cry anymore. Then, when she forgives me, we’ll play together again.”

She looks to him, a small glimmer of hope. “You promise?”

Hawks chuckles and grins at her, the same charming expression that made you fall for him in the first place. He holds out his hand. “Even better. I pinky promise,” he says and confidently hooks her finger with his. “Repeat after me: birds of a feather stick together.”

“Birds of a feather stick together.”

“That’s my girl,” he praises before dropping her hand to pet her head. “I think we might have a little time for me to teach you something before your mommy gets here.”

At the end of the day, Hawks is already waiting for you at the front steps of the agency as your call pulls into parallel park at the sidewalk. You step out and walk towards the steps, but your daughter meets you halfway by hopping over them, her wings flapping to hover before she falls back down onto her feet.

You smile at her. You can’t believe she’s actually flying, at least a little that is, but your surprise is ruined when she cheers. “Mommy, look at what daddy taught me,” she says, bouncing to show you her new hovering skills. “Are you looking? Are you looking?”

“Yes, I’m looking. You’re so good at that. You need to show me more when we get home,” you say but to be honest it’s the last thing on your mind as you glance over to Hawks. “Baby, why don’t you go sit in the car, and I’ll be right there.”

Hawks watches as she obediently follows your instructions, turning her back and happily hopping towards the vehicle.

“(Name), I-” Hawks says, unsure what to expect when your angry glare turns back on him. It isn’t until his yellow visors are already clicking against the pavement that he realizes you hit him. He hisses at the sting on his cheek. “That actually kind of hurt. I guess I had it coming, but I’m not really sure what I did at least recently,” he tries to play off, but you aren’t having it.

“You told her, you told her,” you keep repeating, and he’s backing away in case you decide to strike him again. “Are you trying to get her on your side?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking, and I didn’t tell her,” Hawks explains. “She pieced it together on her own. She’s sharper than you think, she can see that we look alike when she looks in a mirror, and she knows how quirks work. That’s more than enough for her to tell.”

His explanation is enough for you to halt in your assault, and you angrily huff under your breath. You don’t shift to leave, and there’s no door for you to slam away. He finally has you available. “So, what do you want to do now?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean she knows; and honestly, I’m glad she does,” he confesses. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her again if you’d let me.”

Hawks swallows his anxiety as he waits for you to answer. Your eyes shift from him back to where she sits in your car, fiddling with the toys obviously left to clutter in the back before you look back at him, thinking.

“She does seem to like you…for some reason,” you add distastefully, but you know full well how happy training makes her. How her little smile beamed when she fluttered over those steps. How the word daddy came from her so sweetly. “She always likes talking about you after she spends the day here. You make her happy. But that’ll just make it harder for her when you leave ag-“

“I won’t,” he cuts off.

“How do I know that?”

“You don’t but I promise not again. (Name), I’m sorry. I’m sorry for telling you to go away like a burden and for not being there. You must’ve been scared, but I won’t leave either of you alone from now on even if you don’t want me there. I’ll be there if you need me.”

“Drop it. I’m not a part of this,” you tell him.

He knows that you’re rejecting his apology, but his ears can pick up what others can’t. He can hear those soft inflections in your voice right before you harden it into aggression, the slight stutter that you so cleverly thought you hid from him as you nearly fumbled your words, a little glimpse of a teenage girl with a crush on her sensei. “Not yet but do know I plan on trying until I make you fall for me all over again. I miss your cute little face when I'd smile at you.”

You glare. “Say that again, and I will smack you in your "cute little" face.”

"You already did that, but if it makes you feel better go ahead, I can take it if it helps you forgive me.”

He just didn’t expect you to actually take him up on the offer. This time, it’s the other cheek that burns.

“You’re right. That did make me feel better,” you say, smirking as you shake the sting from your hand. Hawks grunts, rubbing his jaw as you begin to walk towards your car. He bends down to pick up his shades before following close behind. You open the driver’s door, and say, “I expect you to pick her up at 9 tomorrow. If you’re late, don’t bother showing up ever again.”

Hawks smirks. You certainly became aggressive these past few years, but he thinks he kind of likes it. As you get in your car, he notices Baby Bird smiling at him from the window, her hand up and clutched around that birthday feather he gifted to her as she waves him off.

He’ll definitely be there on time.

[asexualone]

(pls take the time to read)

Signs I should have known I was aro: Disney edition

I think this topic has been stressed a lot already. But here is my take, anyway.

Of course, romantic love had been, is and will always be one of the main themes in kids' movies. Why, I can never fully understand. I'll explain below how I like other themes more.

Some time ago, I did a post on the kiss/hug scenes in Rapunzel which depicts how much more I value acts of showing love that don't include kissing.

Not only those two. I have a history of hating Disney on-screen smooches. As a kid, I thought, "Well, maybe, I don't like seeing these characters kiss because it's a grownup thing."

Could you blame me? When my parents were in the room and a kissing scene appeared on the screen, they changed the channel. So my toddler brain concluded that the reason I didn't like watching kisses was because I wasn't of age to like it. Or something.

At the time, I had no idea that I was hand-picking my favorite movies by the level of romance they had in. Or lack thereof. And I was a very judgemental kid. Let's go through my original thoughts on some Disney classics.

Snow White — No. Just no. She's a child, fourteen. Marrying an older guy she doesn't even know. After he kisses her corpse. NO.

Cinderella — The age difference is a little better, I guess. So is the age of consent. But they only talked one (1) night and he relied on that slipper to find her instead of asking to meet all women and see for himself. Fairytale logic I guess. I didn't like how she called it love immediately and kissed the prince at least once that same night. Or how they got married immediately.

The Sleeping Beauty — Must I even explain? Aurora didn't even know Philip that much, had only met him once (if you exclude the "dreams"). And yet, he's her true love, the only one who can revive her corpse. Ridiculous. And yes, kissing a comatose body, ew. Also, the arranged marriage trope pisses me off, royalty or not. Aurora was engaged as a newborn baby, come on.

Mulan — Cinematic gold. I didn't know it back then, but the fact that romantic love is such a pushed-aside aspect in this movie gives me life. The songs give me life. Especially when the trio dresses as concubines and "Be a Man" plays in the background. An absolute gem, lmao. The sequel however ruined the story somewhat for me, too much lovey-dovey stuff. I like Mulan more when she's fighting than when she's acting all sappy towards Shang, sorry not sorry.

Peter Pan — Loved it, still do. But I did dislike the mermaids, the image of fangirls who are petty towards other girls. And Pan's brief "relationship" with Tiger Lily was nauseating to me. I couldn't explain it but when Pan blushed at her nose-nuzzling thing, I always pulled a face.

The Princess and the Frog — In my opinion, (remember, always my opinion): Tiana, this hard-working girl who doesn't belong to anyone, was lost to love. Well, not lost. But falling for Naveen in the course of three days? Unrealistic and kinda unnecessary. Sweet, but still. I adored the "relationship" between Ray and Evangeline more. Either way, it's a movie that I enjoyed when love wasn't that prominent on screen.

Aladdin — I love this movie because of the Genie. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin is meh. She forgot his face and didn't recognize him until later. Their coming together is a lot like that trope "first guy who treats her right sets the expectations and wins her heart". Usually that's a thing, not only in Disney movies but media in general. The female lead settles for the first guy that treats her right because the bar is that low. A good movie, all in all. Love how Jasmine stands up for herself at least. Not a lot of princesses fight against the objectification of women.

Pocahontas — I used to hate this movie. I didn't sit right with me: the racism in it, the manipulation, the murders. And the romance, yes. Pocahontas fell for the strange man who tickled her curiosity in the span of two days. I also hated how her father just sold her to marry Kocoum like that. I know it's tradition. Heck, that's a tradition that still goes on in my country. Maybe that's why I didn't like seeing it on screen. And Pocahontas doesn't even end up with John Smith. The second movie definitely ruined the story. So yes, she's the first princess who fell for a man in three days, TWICE. Needless to say, only the songs kept me from blacklisting the movie entirely.

The Little Mermaid — I actually loved this movie for some reason. I can't explain why, maybe it was my obsession with mermaids. Yeah, that was probably it. But I was pissed when Ariel exchanged her tail for legs. Not to mention human periods and overall, all the bad in the world, for a man she'd only seen once. As I grew up I realized just how f*cked up that story was: Ariel giving her entire lifestyle, family and identity up for a guy she hadn't even spoken to. I don't know why I loved that movie, alright? Hell I still do a little. The sequel too. Say what you want.

Brave — (I know this is technically Pixar, shut up) Much like the paradox with Ariel, I didn't like this movie. I can't explain it. Maybe because Merida wasn't the typical Disney princess I had been used to seeing. Now though, I ADORE that story. No, it's not because Merida knows archery... Okay, yes maybe a little. I love the aro-arrow word play, alright? Anyway, the way Merida fights against being shipped to a husband like the "tradition" I aforementioned asks her to, has always had my heart, even when I didn't like the movie. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship is special, I love it. Stellar movie.

Tangled — One of my favorite Disney movies, my favorite princess. But her relationship with Eugene.... Well. Again, three days. That's all it takes to fall in love. Classic of Disney. Not only that, but Eugene is literally the first man person Raps has ever since, besides Gothel. The bar is nonexistent for her, she would have fallen for anyone. He lied to her and she still... Well, I won't stress that any longer. Their relationship in the end is sweet, one of the few cases where we are actually shown that they would risk their lives to save each other. Respect that. Mostly, I love her magical hair and Pascal. And the guys of Snuggly Duckling.

Moana — EPIC MOVIE. The story, the culture, the character growth, the plot twist, everything! Loved it at first sight, at second and forever. Even more when I became aware that there's no romance in it. I don't think I need to say more.

Frozen — My opinions on this movie have always been changing, accompanied by mixed feelings. So the relationship between sisters was cute, but Lilo and Stitch made that more realistic. Anna's relationship with Hans, ugh. I think that for a long time I used the fact that he was the antagonist to justify my absolute hate for the way Anna "fell" for him in one evening. Again, Anna sweetheart. This is the first man you've met. The bar is nonexistent for you too. God bless Elsa for forbidding her to marry Hans. And while it's cute to think Elsa as a lesbian, she has aromantic vibes. Sorry not sorry, but she's also a God by the end of Frozen 2. Gods are beyond attraction, I said what I said.

Raya and the Last Dragon — Loved it, still do. Say what you will about "dragon Elsa". Sisu is her own character, and I adore her. And yes, I love the lack of romance in the movie. Make no mistake, I shipped Raya and Namaari from the first moment they smiled at each other. I swear on my name that I paused the movie and screamed, GAYYYY, at the top of my lungs. Luckily, I was home alone. If only Disney directors would do the right fcking thing and give me a queer main couple!! I swear I wouldn't mind the lovey-dovey romance one bit.

Of course, I've left dozens of movies out. This post is already way longer than I wanted it to be. But I think that was enough to make a point.

While I'm not romance-repulsed, seeing animated kisses (and unnecessary relationships) on screen makes me uncomfortable. As a child and as a grownup. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention all these princesses who identify with their princes and specifically their relationships with said princes when they're perfect on their. Wreck it Ralph 2 made them a favor, I think, by making them work together and showing their strengths. Another movie I love.

Friendship just makes an overall better theme to apply to kids shows, my opinion. Family, work, self-discovery, mental health, happiness. These are all better themes to portray in media dedicated for children. Which is, again, my opinion.

And yes, Disney has been getting better. They've fixed the age difference and the age of consent. The female characters no longer depend on the male ones, at least not as often. They understand the assignment, alright. There are still many questionable things about Disney's reputation though, things we all choose to overlook for the sake of the good movies. But who knows? They might change. Hopefully soon we'll also have an obviously queer couple in a movie. Hope dies last.

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

and then the world stopped (1/2)

Summary: Vic wasn’t unhappy when she moved with her husband to Washington D.C. She was happily married, had a new job as a teacher and was trying to get pregnant. But after a year of trying still nothing has happened. She didn’t know that just one accident of the nanny of one of the children in her class was about to change her whole life.

Pairing: Dave York x OFC

Wordcount: 4.4k+

Warnings:fluff, smut (shower sex, fingering), Infidelity, mentions of physical abuse

A/N: Okay I have no idea what’s going on with me but the words are flowing. I decided to cut this into two parts. Part 2 is coming next week :) Big thanks @yespolkadotkitty​ for being my beta on this. I guess I really am in the pit now :D

Taglist in reblog (join my taglist here or drop me a message)

Masterlist

Victoria didn’t even know why she bothered taking the test. She was only three days late and she knew it would be negative. She had been trying to get pregnant for almost a year now. She was healthy, her husband was healthy, but somehow, it just didn’t work out. 

When the test she took confirmed that she indeed wasn’t pregnant she just sighed and put it in the trash, then slicked on some eyeliner. 

Her husband, Phil, was standing at the kitchen counter, his phone in his hand, his cup of coffee next to him. He looked up when Victoria entered the room, hopeful. She just shook her head, grabbing her purse. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

When Vic moved from New York City to Washington D.C. she had plans. She had just married the man she thought she loved and they were happy. She had gotten a new position at the elementary school close to where their new house was, while Phil had the job he had always dreamed of. They were happy. 

For a good year.

Children were always on their wish list. So even though they both just started their new jobs, Victoria got off birth control, and oh, did they try. But the longer nothing happened, the more frustrated both became. She could handle her frustrations by going to the gym. Phil on the other hand… It must have been the fifth negative pregnancy test when his hand slipped the first time. Victoria had been so shocked she had just left the house, not knowing how to process what just happened.

This wasn’t the man she wanted to spend her whole life with. Somewhere that man got lost and she wasn’t sure if he was still inside of there, or if she could find it in herself to forgive him.

The bruises on her skin faded, but not the ones on her soul. She threw herself into her work, treating the sex they still had like a chore to maybe get what she wanted. It didn’t feel like before, there was no passion. At some point, she asked herself what would happen, if she would end up pregnant? She couldn’t bring a child into this mess of a marriage. 

Thankfully she didn’t have to make that decision because Phil had to travel more and more for work. The last time they had sex was 6 weeks ago and she clearly wasn’t pregnant. He would leave again today, and this time, she didn’t bother to ask for how long. 

Maybe it was time to end things. But a part of her missed the man she had fallen in love with. The man who might be hiding somewhere deep inside of the corpse of a man she was married to now.

“Hi Miss Vicky,” she shook her head to clear her thoughts, a smile coming to her face as she spotted Alice.

“Hi Alice. How are you?” She asked, seeing the girl’s eyes shine enthusiastically.

“Dad tried to make pancakes.”

“And they were good?” Victoria saw her shake her head with a sour expression and tried not to laugh. She didn’t know much about her father, only that his wife died. She only ever met the nanny.

“But he’s the best at making sandwiches.” Alice grinned and Vic chuckled.

“Then maybe your Dad should stick to sandwiches.” Vic winked. 

Vic didn’t mind when parents were running late picking up their kids after school. Though most times it was a couple of minutes, 15 max. But when the clock was running towards 45 minutes after the bell rang and her colleague brought Molly, Alice’s sister to her class, because she couldn’t stay any longer, Vic grew a little worried. The nanny, Sarah, had never been late. She was one of the few people who were always waiting outside. Watching Alice and Molly draw, she dialed the three numbers that were listed as the emergency contacts. The first one was Sarah, the nanny. The call went straight to voicemail again, but she left another message. 

The second one was the cell of their Dad. David York. It went straight to voicemail, too. Sighing she dialed the third number, that didn’t even connect.

The next thing she would have to do was to call either child services or the police but as she watched the girls drawing and playing together, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. 

When another 45 minutes passed she asked the girls if they knew anyone else they could call.

“Just Dad or Sarah. There’s no one else,” Alice shrugged before she got back to drawing her picture. 

“Hm… What do you think about going to my place to wait until someone calls? I bet you are getting hungry, huh?” Vic asked before she couldn’t think more about it. She sent a little prayer that their father was only held up at work. 

“Can we make pancakes?” Alice asked excitedly and Vic chuckled. 

“Breakfast for dinner? I like the way you think.”

She called both contacts again, saying that she hoped it was okay not to call the police and that she would take the girls both home with her. She gave her address and then went out. Hoping that she was doing the right thing.

“Miss Vicky?” Molly was sitting on the kitchen counter. They had been at Vic’s house for a good two hours now and the pancakes were almost finished.

“Yes Miss Molly?” She asked with a small smile, making Molly giggle as Alice insisted on setting the table. 

“Where is our Dad?” She asked. Vic flipped the last pancake and overplayed her concern at their Dad’s disappearance before she smiled. “I bet he’s only stuck at work. He’ll be here before you know it.” She tapped on Molly’s nose, making her giggle.

“Maybe you can show him how to make pancakes, Miss Vicky. They are soooooo good.” Alice hummed and Vic turned her head, suppressing her grin at the girl stealing a piece of the plate full of pancakes on the table.

“I bet your Dad knows to make other stuff instead,” she winked.

“Yes! He makes the best blanket forts.” Molly clapped her hands in excitement.

“Does he?” Vic asked.

“One time, when Mum was just gone, Dad made the whole living room a blanket fort. It was the best thing EVER!” Alice giggled. Vic was about to answer when she heard her phone ring. She turned off the stove, setting Molly down on the floor before she went over to grab her phone, sighing relieved when she noticed it was Mr. York calling. 

“Mr. York.” Vic said relieved, taking the call.

“I’m so sorry. I just got off the plane. Sarah had an accident and is in the hospital.” Vic ignored how deep and velvety his voice was.

“Oh no worries. Is Sarah okay?” Vic asked.

“Just a broken leg. She has to have surgery, though. Again, I’m so sorry. I’m on my way now. Thanks for taking care of my girls.” She could hear his relieved sigh.

“Oh, they’re just precious. We are actually about to have pancakes for dinner and their homework is done too,” Vic smiled. She heard a chuckle on the other end of the line and found herself smiling at her phone.

“Pancakes… They really love their pancakes.”

“They do,” Vic walked over to where the girls were waiting patiently for her.

“It’ll probably take me another hour to get to your side of town.”

“That’s no problem. It’s Saturday tomorrow, I have nothing planned.”

“You’re an angel,” she heard Mr. York say. Her heart fluttered.

“I really am not. See you in an hour, Mr. York,” she smiled.

“Thank you.” He said again before he ended the call. Alice and Molly looked at her as she set her phone down.

“Your Dad will be here in an hour. How about we save him one of the pancakes?” Vic asked.

Elsa was just about to sing “Let it Go” when the doorbell rang. Vic had seen the headlights of a car outside the kitchen window only moments before. Molly and Alice were sitting to either side of her, cuddled against her. It felt natural; like they had been doing this for years. Shaking her head, she untangled herself from the girls who were so invested in the movie, they didn’t even notice that there was someone at the door. 

Slowly Vic walked over, looking at herself in the mirror next to the door, to check her appearance before she opened the door.

Vic wasn’t a big fan of romcoms. She never believed life could throw you just this one person in your life, that made the whole world stop when they look at you. She didn’t have this ever before. Yet when she looked up into the warm brown eyes of David York, it was just like that. 

The world stopped and she didn’t know for how long. He looked tired, yet a relieved small smile graced his lips. His hair looked like he had run his hand repeatedly through it, probably in frustration, and she wondered if it would feel as soft as it looked.

“It took a bit longer,” he said before he held up a sunflower. “I would have gotten something bigger, but that was all they had at the gas station,” he said hesitantly. Vic was so awestruck by the handsome man standing in front of her that she had to shake her head a little before she chuckled.

“You didn’t have to. They were little angels.” She took the sunflower, daring herself not to smell it as she stepped to the side to welcome him in.

“Yeah? They can be little devils, let me assure you,” he said, watching her closely. She closed the door, suddenly very aware of the weight of the ring on her finger. Sucking her bottom lip in she turned back around to find him standing in her hallway.

“I’m just glad nothing happened to you, Mr. York,” she nodded towards the living room and he followed her.

“Please, call me Dave,” he winked and she only nodded, ignoring the shiver that went over her body when he smiled at her.

The girls really wanted to finish watching the movie. Vic didn’t mind but she could see that Dave wasn’t happy about it.

“It’s okay. Really. I actually love Frozen. I can understand if you want to go home, but don’t think you have to leave right away on my account,” Vic said.

“You sure? Your husband won’t mind?” Dave asked, looking at her from the side he was standing. It had been a long fucking day. Well, two days. The job should have been easy, but he should have known better. And of course, his nanny had to break her leg today. Not that he was mad. It had just been shit timing. But standing in his daughter's teacher's home, watching said teacher bend over to load the dishwasher, might be the peak of his day. It was a pretty little house she was living in and he made the mental note to find out more about her. And her husband. 

She was absolutely beautiful. Her dark hair in a loose braid over her left shoulder. She was wearing a soft white sweater dress that went just above her knees. She wasn’t wearing any makeup. He found himself asking how on earth he had never seen her before? Then again, he hadn’t been around to pick the girls up from school lately. 

The only thing that he didn’t like about Victoria Stone was the ring that marked her as clearly taken. Dave did like a challenge, but making his daughter’s teacher cheat on her husband wasn’t on his agenda. 

Yet.

“The girls left you one pancake.” 

“Really?” He asked, surprised sitting down at the table. She nodded with a small smile. 

“They also told me about you trying to make some last weekend. They really are not that hard to make.” She pushed the plate towards him. There was one pancake with a whipped cream smiley face on top of it, making him smile a little. 

“They decorated it,” she explained. He looked up, finding her green eyes already looking at him. Fuck he liked her. And he had only met her twenty minutes ago.

She felt the shift in the air as he looked at her. His eyes, fixating her like he had some kind of spell over her. She swallowed, feeling nervous.

“You mind if I grab some wine?” She whispered. He shook his head.

“Please. It’s your weekend too,” he whispered back.

“Okay, girls. The movie is over. You’ve been annoying your teacher for long enough today,” Dave called out. Alice and Molly ran over to him and into his arms and Vic’s heart just melted. This, this was what she wanted. A loving husband. Dave didn’t seem like he would blame her for not getting pregnant. Then again he probably wouldn’t have any problems getting her pregnant. 

Her eyes shifted over his broad back as he helped his daughters with their shoes. Fuck, she shouldn’t be looking at him like that.

God damn it you’re married, Vic.

“So even though I sound like a broken record, you saved my ass today.”

“DAD!” Alice shouted, making Dave wince.

“Swear jar. I know.” He groaned. Vic chuckled.

“Seems like we’re gonna see each other a lot more in the coming weeks,” Dave continued, as he stepped out of the house, Molly on his arm who fought against falling asleep. Alice was already climbing into the car.

“Huh?” Vic asked.

“With Sarah out, I have to pick the girls up.”

“Oh. Sure. Yeah. Well then, see you next week?” She asked.

“I look forward to it.” He winked at her before he turned and walked to his car. She looked after him, before she closed the door behind her, her back against it.

“You are in so much trouble, Vic,” she groaned to herself.

Vic wasn’t a newbie at covering up bruises. At the beginning of their marriage, she didn’t mind the hickey and bruises, mostly because they were somewhere where only she and Phil knew of their existence and they existed out of passionate moments in the first place. But looking at herself, the imprint of his hand on her upper arm clear as day from when he had dragged her to the bedroom last night, all she felt was shame. 

He had locked her into the bedroom. When she woke up the next morning, he was gone. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of the thoughts when the bell rang and the children packed their stuff together.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Vic smiled. Alice grinned at her. It had now been almost two months since the day she took the York girls home. Their father, Dave, had been picking her up every single day since then. She found herself looking forward to seeing his face. The most disturbing thing for her was that she didn’t feel a single bit of guilt. Phil had been home less and less and she couldn’t even remember the last time he had looked at her the same way she saw Dave looking at her. She did notice the way he checked her out last week when she was wearing that summer dress she loved so much. Later that day, when she was home alone again because Phil was gone, it was Dave York’s hands she thought about as she touched herself.

David York didn’t seem like a man who smiled much, but every time she looked at him, his lips twitched into the ghost of a smile, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“Penny for your thoughts, Miss Vicky,” he asked as he stepped into the classroom. Turning her head to look at him, she had to suppress the urge to bite her lip. He was wearing his dark suit pants, a crisp white dress shirt, the first three buttons undone. He looked good enough to eat.

“You don’t want to know what's going on up in there.” She pointed towards her head.

“Oh you’d be surprised.” he winked, and she blushed. When did she turn into a giggly school girl again?

“Ready for some Ice cream, Alice?” He asked and Alice nodded enthusiastically, making both Dave and Vic chuckle.

“You wanna join us?” Dave asked, his hand coming down on her upper arm and she flinched slightly. She didn’t think he noticed, but of course, he did.

“That’s nice, but no. My husband is supposed to be home tonight.” She said with a forced smile. She wanted to talk to him tonight. She couldn’t do this anymore. Not when she spent every living moment with another man on her mind.

“Well then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dave smiled. She only nodded, looking after them before she packed her stuff.

Dave was sitting at the ice cream place when he typed a message to one of his contacts, ordering a full background check on Victoria Stone’s husband. There was something off about the man, and the way she flinched away from him left questions he wanted answers for.

Phil didn’t come home that night. And frankly, Victoria was pissed. He didn’t call her back, and she’d come to a point where she didn’t care. That’s how she found herself in the late night at the gym on the treadmill, “Footloose” on her ears, powering herself out. The gym was relatively empty, only a few people were there. Who would want to go to a gym at 1 am anyway? She didn’t care who was watching as she began to dance along while trying not to trip on the treadmill. Out of breath, she grooved to the last notes of the song when she heard someone applauding behind her. 

Looking over her shoulder the inevitable happened and she did trip when she looked at Dave York behind her. Before she could fall, two strong arms wrapped around her, catching her, before her face met the ground. Looking up at him, his brows furrowed in concern, she was sure her heart stopped beating for a moment. He was just so close. All she had to do was lean in and her lips would be on his… Shaking her head to get rid of this though she let him help her up before she brought a little distance in between them. Trying to get fresh air into her lungs, his scent lingering in her nose like an aphrodisiac. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked, pulling her earbuds out, suddenly feeling too naked to be standing in front of him. She was wearing her workout clothes. Some very tight leggings and a blue sports bra. Dave didn’t hide the way his eyes lingered on her body.

“Working out? It’s the only gym that is open around the clock, and this is the only time someone can watch the girls at the moment.” He shrugged, his tongue daring out to wet his lips. His eyes lingered at her cleavage before he looked up into her eyes again. Victoria was glad that she did just work out, otherwise, he would have seen the blush on her cheeks. She tried her hardest to ignore the way his sweaty shirt was clinging to his chest.

“Didn’t take you for someone who likes to work out,” she teased, and this time she couldn’t hide herself biting her lip as she admired his strong arms.

“I hate it - but I have to.” he shrugged. “Need to work on my stamina.” Dave stepped closer, tilting her chin up, and there it was again, the feeling that the world around them stopped. He didn’t care for consequences as he looked down at her. She was smaller without her heels. And he wanted her.

“You wanna help me?” he looked down at her lips before his eyes flickered up to hers. She swallowed, her breath getting quicker. She couldn’t think when he was this close. But maybe it was time to not think for a moment. No matter the consequences. 

“Sure. How do you want me?” she whispered and he grinned, leaning down, his lips close to her ear.

“Wet and naked under the shower.”

The first time Dave kissed Vic would be burned into her memory. She imagined it to be hard and desperate but it was soft, his hands on the back of her neck as he brought her closer towards her. She gasped when her back met the cold shower wall, her hands wandering under Dave’s shirt, pushing it up until he took it off, letting it fall to the ground without a second thought.

Holding on to his back, as his lips wandered down her jaw, her neck, her throat she whimpered when she felt his hands cupping her boobs.

“Been dreaming about this for weeks…” he groaned, his fingers pulling down the elastic fabric of her sports bra. He kissed every part of skin that was revealed to him until his mouth closed around her nipple.

“Fuck…” Vic moaned, her hands in his hair. He blew on her hard nipple after sucking on it, making her shiver. She could probably come just from the way he was looking at her. Like she was the most precious thing in the world. Like he wanted to eat her alive. And she was ready to let him.

“Dave…” She whimpered and he came up to kiss her again. “I need you inside of me.” 

He smirked. 

“Take off your clothes.”

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to her that Dave York was someone who went commando. Without breaking eye contact, he slipped his pants down and Vic was sure the temperature in the shower went up. 

Pushing her sports bra over her head, her pants and panties down her legs, she and David just gazed at each other before she turned around with a little shy smile, stepping into the warm stream of the shower. Letting the water run down her body, she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. Dave drank her in, her body wet, her hair clinging to her back. It was at this moment, that he decided to never let her go again. Stepping closer, he kissed her shoulder, his arms wrapping around her stomach as his cock twitched in contact with her hot wet skin. And then he surprised her again by grabbing the shampoo and washing her hair.

In a way, this was even more intimate than what was bound to happen. His strong hands  massaged her head before he guided her slowly under the hot stream of water, to wash her hair out. It was like a dream.

“Think you can keep quiet?” He asked, kissing her neck.

“Why? Do you want to make me scream your name?” she challenged and she felt him grin against her skin, as one of his hands, dropped lower, two fingers circling her clit.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” he asked with a predatory grin. He pushed his hand in between her legs, finding her slick and warm. When he pressed his two fingers inside her, she knew that there was no way she would be able to keep quiet. Letting her head fall back against his chest, she closed her eyes. She only hoped that these showers would be unoccupied for a little while longer.

“Keep going....” she whispered. His other hand came up to massage one of her boobs while his finger kept slowly fucking her.

“You gonna come for me like that?” he asked, sucking on the skin behind her ear. He added a third finger, feeling her hips move to meet his fingers.

“Yes…” She whimpered. He pinched her nipple before he brought his hand up to turn her head to kiss her hard, swallowing her moan as her orgasm washed over her. 

Fuck that felt good. She couldn’t remember the last time she came so hard. Out of breath she smiled against his lips, turning in his arms, bringing his fingers that had just been inside her to her mouth to suck on his fingers.

“Fuck me…” Dave groaned and she grinned wickedly.

“What about you fuck me?” Vic hummed, her hand reaching for his thick cock in between their bodies, slowly rubbing his length as she smirked up at him. His eyes were as dark as night as he looked down at her. Something seemed to snap inside of him as he pushed her against the cold tiles, his mouth on her. 

He grabbed both of her hands, bringing them up above her body, keeping them pressed against the wall with one hand, while he pulled one of her legs up with his other hand, hooking it around his hips.

“You’ll be the death of me,” he whispered as he lined himself up and filled her with one thrust, making her cry out. He waited only a moment before he started to move. Thrusting deep, while his lips left bruises all over her neck. She didn’t care, she would wear those with pride. He let go of her wrists only to pick her up, her legs now crossed behind him, as his thrusts became harder. She held onto him, one of her hands on his shoulder, her other hand in his hair. 

“D...Dave…” She moaned, pulling at his hair hearing him groan. He twitched inside her, and she did it again.

“Keep doing that…” he mumbled against her skin before his lips closed around her nipple.

She pulled at his hair, her fingers digging into her shoulder, as she felt her second orgasm fastly approaching.

“I’m close…” she moaned and he snapped his hips faster.

“Then cum for me, sweetheart,” he moaned, close himself.

Vic was glad for his strong arms around her as she cried out in pleasure, her orgasm making her whole body shake.

“Fuck... you’re so fucking perfect…” Dave groaned, his thrusts getting sloppier before she felt him spill deep inside of her. His lips searched for hers, kissing her deeply, as he held onto her.

Trying to breathe, he leaned with his forehead against his.

She couldn’t name the expression on his face as he looked at her. It seemed like he was trying to analyze her.

“We’re doing this again,” he breathed before he kissed her.

[emkay512]

Once Upon A Time

Chapter 1

Summary: This starts at the beginning of TRR book 2 with the Fydelia ball but with a different series of events. This AU is based off the show Once Upon a Time with Riley and Liam mirroring Snow and Charming. Characters belong to Pixelberry.

A/N: This is my FIRST EVER post and it’s literal trash 😅 I’ve never written before I found you all, and I’ve never had so much fun reading all the stories I found. If you read this please know I’m a complete rookie and I have no idea what I’m doing haha. I welcome and encourage any thoughts and feedback!

A/N 2: my biggest thank you’s to @queenrileyrose and @bbrandy2002 for pre-reading and giving me endless boosts of confidence!!! This first ever, cherry popping post, is in honor of you ❤️

Warnings: This will contain NSFW adult language and content. By reading, you acknowledge you are 18 and over.

I’m tagging those I’ve connected with and thought would be interested. Please let me know if you do or don’t want to be tagged!

@burnsoslow @ao719 @kat-tia801 @callmeellabella @charlotteg234 @neotericthemis

The welcome ball had been exhausting. Riley finally saw them, all of them, the good and the bad. Mostly bad with Liam being the exception.. except the fact that with him came his stupid fiancée. She was forced to deal with the Penelope’s and Kiara’s of the court, and got none of the Olivia’s and Drake’s of the world, with Olivia blackmailed and Drake most likely avoiding the court. Majority of the conversations she had to deal with throughout the night consisted of her rebutting all the allegations against her, most people believing that she had jilted their king. At least she had Maxwell and Bertrand, her home away from home. With the maybe two seconds she had Liam to herself and the amount of work and effort she had to put into her first public appearance, she was completely drained and changed from a gown and into more comfortable leggings and tank after she got back to her room of the Fydelia estate. Just as she was decompressing from the stress of her night, there was a knock on the door. She opened the door to see a particular grin on the face of one Maxwell Beaumont carrying a vase of two dozen roses.

“Greetings, little blossom! One of the staff members stopped me on the way of delivering these, asking what room you were in and I insisted on catching you myself.” Maxwell invited himself into her room after handing her the arrangement. Riley pressed the roses to her nose, inhaling the beautiful scent, and she noticed a note wrapped around one of the stems. She unwrapped the note and turned to Maxwell, who had already cozied himself up on her bed, clearly excited to hear what was on the note. “I noticed the paper in the arrangement too, it’s clearly from Liam isn’t it? You did so great tonight and he had the biggest puppy dog eyes on you, I knew his Prince Charming ass would pull off something like this.. well, go on! Read it!”

Riley quickly unwrapped and read Liam’s note, she had no idea the girlish grin she had plastered on and Maxwell was beaming. He had hated these past few weeks so much, he had been watching one of his closest friends, his makeshift sister, live in desperate torment, questioning her worth after hearing nothing from those she cared most about. She put the roses down and placed the note down next to them and looked up at Maxwell, “He wants me to meet him on his balcony in 20 minutes..”

“That is charmingly romantic, but did he slip in his royal socks and tumble down Madeleine’s overly buffed stairs?? He’s clear across the estate, it’s way too dangerous for you to get out of here alone.”

Riley sighed and collapsed onto the bed with Maxwell, “I don’t know Max, his note is sweet and remorseful, but.. maybe this isn’t about getting back together.. maybe I should just focus on helping house Beaumont and getting home..”

Maxwell stretched across to Riley and smacked her across her head, “Come on, Riles! You have been unable to go a single day without asking about him.. at least twice a day! You NEED to go meet him, otherwise I think both of your little fairy tale hearts will die.”

Riley smirked and rolled her eyes, “You’re so dramatic! And please tell me what fairy tale involved a half nude photo scandal and public humiliation leading to a bullshit engagement between a king and the only ice queen that would rival both Olivia and Elsa while singing let it go? Plus, didn’t you just mention that it’d be too dangerous for me to get to him?”

“Hellooooooo?? Ok first of all, literally all fairy tales are structured that way, couple meets and falls in love, and a public enemy curses them with a dramatic, heartbreaking lie, and then they defile all enemies and live happily ever after.. you’re just living the 21st century version of that! Nudes are basically the most vanilla scandal these days anyway. And secondly, have you JUST met mr covert ops extraordinaire, Maxwell Beaumont!? I said it’d be too dangerous for you to go out alone. Let’s just simply walk out together, and if we get any questions, we can just say we’re meeting my brother for.. you know.. this and that diplomacy reason.. whatever, I’ll wing it. Plus, look at you, you’re already dressed for stealth. I just need to get you outside, and then you can scamper over to Liam’s side of the building. Whaddya say, blossom?”

Riley was exhilarated. Maxwell always knew how to say the right things. She locked eyes with him, pointed straight to his chest and said, “You son of a bitch, I’m in.” They shared a mischievous smile and giggled their way out of her room, totally giddy without even shutting the door all the way. They were completely unaware of the royal guard that had been manning her room and slipped inside.

Thanks to Maxwell, Riley had successfully snuck out of the estate and crept to below the balcony of Liam’s room. She had to think fast as to how the hell she’d get up there, and then she spotted the flower vine growing on a trellis against the building, and she let out a small victorious, “Yes!”

But as soon as she took a step in that direction, a hand grabbed her shoulder and jerked her around so she was facing one of the royal guards. “I don’t think so, lady Riley,” he put a heavy sarcastic emphasis on the term lady, as he was clearly disgusted by her newfound tarnished reputation. “You’re coming with us.”

“Us?” And then from behind her, another guard bagged her head and she felt the grip of two men on each of her arms as they forced her to their destination, practically dragging her as they went. Riley’s heart was thundering in her chest. Where were they taking her? Back to the airport? A jail cell? A dungeon? A firing squad? She wasn’t at all expecting what she got. She was sat on a decently comfortable chair. The guards removed the bag and revealed to see she was in a study. A large one. And there before her on the opposite end of a mighty desk, was the king father, Constantine.

Constantine nodded a dismal to both the guards, and they took their leave. “Well, well. If it isn’t the disgraced American.” Riley was utterly confused and could feel the former kings command in the mood of the room. He did not like her, and she could feel his dislike radiating off of him. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, you foolish girl?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You had your exit, your out. You were scandled. Ostracized! I even had you as far as at the airport gates. But no, you came back. You came back and left me back at square one on how to get rid of you!”

Realization dawned to her, “It was YOU!” Riley leapt to her feet. She felt no fear, only anger coursing through her. “YOU staged those photos, YOU unleashed Tariq on me.. and you timed the release of those photos, at the most prime time allowing maximum humiliation and zero time in between Liam’s announcement. You’re despicable, I bet you’re even disappointed that Tariq’s attack on me didn’t end.. didn’t end up the way he planned.” She had deliberately slowed her speech as each new revelation came to play in her head, she had lowered her voice with disdain and disgust.

Constantine let out a scoff-laugh at what he considered to be a poor attempt of exerting dominance. “You’re right, and quite honestly I don’t care what that pompous buffoon would have done to you, but I must say, those pictures certainly did deliver.” Constantine was teasing and patronizing her, “And now you’re here, still trying to get to my son.”

Riley crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him, “I don’t know what you’re tal-“

“Enough. I know everything.” He waved in front of her the very note that Liam had written inviting her to his balcony that he got from one of the guards. “You poisoned his heart, and now his marriage. And with that, the entire kingdom is poisoned, all because your feelings.” He spit the last word out as if he found it vile.

“I wish feelings could be helped, but they can’t.”

“Of course they can. Love is a disease, and like all diseases, it can be vanquished in one of two ways. A cure, or death.” Constantine stood and leaned both of his palms flat on the surface of the desk. “Do you know where your beloved is right now? He’s right down that hallway, he should be packing for his new life, prepared to take on his engagement tour to unify two Cordonian houses and assume the responsibilities and sacrifices it takes to be king. But no.. He’s pining for you. Awaiting your arrival.”

“And I suppose you intend to keep him that way? Waiting for me, only to be rejected, never knowing I came for him?” Riley’s voice was desperate, but still cunning in reality. She needed him to know her questionnaire was not doubtful, but challenging. That she hated his deliberate intentions.

“No. In fact, you’re gonna walk down that hallway. You’re gonna sneak in and tell him you got his note,” Constantine slid the note across the table, no longer wanting it in his possession, and Riley picked it up. “You’re gonna tell him why you answered his call.. Because you don’t love him. It’ll break his heart.. And that will cure him.”

Wide eyed, Riley could only assume the consequence if she didn’t do as he said, “Or you’ll kill me.” She stated with no question in her mind.

“Oh no. I’ll kill him. Killing you would only make him love you more. And the marriage and kingdom would ultimately crumble.”

“And what about your precious Madeleine? I know how this works this is all about mergers and business transactions. How else would you get Godfrey and his house to join with yours?”

“Please, if Liam were to die at an assassin’s hand, he would die a martyr. Godfrey would forgive, even laud, the death. And the merger would be complete.”

“You would do that to your own son?”

“I’m doing it FOR my son.” Love was once Constantine's weakness and it led to Eleanor’s death. It scarred him and he became brainwashed. Convinced love was the enemy. And now, the product of his foolish love, was Liam, who he groomed to be the perfect king. Constantine applauded himself all these years. It was clear as day that even Leo knew the job belonged to Liam, so Constantine did everything to assuage any of Liam’s hesitation into taking on his duty. He always planned on Liam being the logical one, ready to take on the duty and a loveless union. Then that damn New York trip happened. And that damn Riley came in the picture. Immediately Constantine couldn’t tell if he actually hated Riley, or if he hated the idea that Riley was basically the new version of Eleanor that he’d never have.

[let-it-raines]

I Hope We Never See October (3/?)

When his personal life and football career go up in flames, Killian Jones escapes England for America, finding seclusion in Martha’s Vineyard in order to hide from his demons. It’s a fresh start, or at the very least a paused moment in his life, and all he needs is a few months alone to allow his heart to heal. He doesn’t count on meeting Emma Swan.

Emma’s life depends on tourists who come to the island every summer. It’s how she makes her money working in restaurants and clubs across the vineyard, but every year, she cannot wait until autumn comes and her life returns to normal. She especially cannot wait for Killian Jones to leave.

Rating: Mature

a/n: Not gonna lie, I forget I'm writing this story, remember, and then the moment I sit down to write, I get called away. But here's part three!

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: One | Two | Three

-/-

His head is pounding. It’s been awhile since it has pounded like this. Usually, it’s from a lack of sleep from the nightmares or the stress. This morning, he knows it’s from the rum. He did everything he could to cancel it out – coffee, water, food, medicine – but his head is still pounding. He is a bloody lightweight now.

Huh.

Killian is making it sound like that’s a bad thing, when really, it’s good. A week ago he was standing with a beer bottle in his hand early in the morning tempted to drown his entire day away. Last night, he made it the entire day without wanting to get pissed and only had two small drinks to toast his friends goodbye.

That’s progress.

This hangover, though, damn. It’s a sign he’s making progress, but damn.

Or he’s simply getting old, which is something else he doesn’t want to think about.

“Fuck,” Killian moans, pressing his fingers against his temples as he opens his eyes. His neck is also killing him, probably from how he slept on this damn couch all night. He should have driven home, but he didn’t trust himself to. Besides, Ariel had offered the couch before she went to bed.

Emma had too.

He’d nearly left after she offered. She was likely only doing it because she assumed Ariel or Eric already offered. He gets the feeling the woman doesn’t like him, which usually isn’t something that happens with him, and that intrigues him. It also makes him realize how much of an asshole he is.

How has he gotten to a point in his life where he expects women to always fancy his company?

Killian sits up, his muscles aching, and slowly, he rises from the couch. The lights in the house are all off, and he knows he can leave now with no one knowing the wiser that he slept over, that he felt bad enough to not be able to drive home. Or maybe that he didn’t want to spend another night in that giant house by himself.

The floor creaks beneath him with each step he takes, but no one seems to stir. Killian finds a notepad and pen in the kitchen and quickly scribbles a note to Ariel and Eric. He said his goodbyes to them last night, and he’ll talk to them on the phone at some point today. He doesn’t need to stick around to say another goodbye this morning. It’s still early enough that the sun hasn’t risen, and they won’t be up for hours. Killian finishes his note, grabs his wallet and keys from the counter, and heads out the front door to his car. It takes him a moment to find his car, to remember what said of the road they drive on over here, but he eventually spots it across the street under a large tree when a light from the house turns on.

Killian turns to see it’s coming from an upstairs window, and Emma Swan is standing between the curtains. He nods, and he swears he sees the slightest nod in return before the curtains rustle and she turns off the light.

She didn’t get in until two this morning, and she’s up at six. How the hell is she functioning?

Then again, how is he functioning?

Killian’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and after he gets in his Jeep, he checks the message.

Elsa Jones: The girls say thank you for their new Leggo set. My bare feet do not.

Killian laughs and puts his phone back in his pocket. That’s how he’s functioning. He may have flown across an ocean, but he’d never leave Ally and Sophia. They’ve already lost enough, and Liam will have his head, someway and somehow, if he doesn’t do everything he can to make sure all his girls are happy.

To make sure Killian is happy too.

“Bloody hell,” Killian whispers to himself as he cranks the engine, “it’s too early to be thinking like this.”

He should be able to have at least a little reprieve from the voices in his head.

-/-

Killian doesn’t leave the house much over the next few days. He doesn’t have reason to. He’s got everything he could possibly need in the house, including his own private stretch of beach that he walks along a few times a day, but the repetition of nothing begins to drive him mad. He trains in almost the same way as he did when he was playing, and while that takes up a good portion of his day, it’s not enough to keep him occupied. He reads the books that the owners of the house left behind but finds it’s mostly romance novels he can’t stomach. For a day or two, he binges Netflix, leaving a permanent imprint of his ass in the couch cushions, but there’s only so much time he can spend staring at screens.

Elsa and the girls call more than once a day with them being on summer holidays, and he gets a call or two from Scarlet, who finally had the bullocks to ask Belle out to dinner. That was good to hear since Killian has been giving Will shit about doing that for years now, and it’s good to see that people are moving on with their lives.

He’s not, not really, but he’s not trying to move on so much as he’s trying to not be a total disaster every day.

Sitting in this house alone all day every day isn’t helping. Why did anyone think sending him to be alone would be a good idea in the wake of his brother’s death? He knows it’s more so the scum English tabloids would leave him alone and he could fix his public image so he doesn’t go broke before he’s forty from loss of sponsorships and possible opportunities to get involved in the league, but damn, this was a bad idea.

At least he’s not drinking himself to sleep anymore.

Or drinking himself awake. He thinks that feat is slightly more impressive.

Killian puts his bottle of water down and opens the door that leads to the deck. It’s cool out today, the sun hidden behind the clouds, and since he cannot stay here anymore, he decides he’ll go for a run. It’s been years since he ran outside and not on a pitch or a treadmill, but maybe it’ll be a good distraction. He’s noticed more people filling into the houses around him, the summer tourists showing up in large droves now, so at the very least he can pass time watching people while hoping no one watches him.

It takes him little time to get dressed, lace up his trainers, and pop headphones in his ears before he’s out the door. The roads aren’t flat around his house, so he drives the Jeep a few miles until he finds smoother, less crowded ground. Maybe it’s a way to keep him from running that little bit longer, but mostly he knows his knees need the flat surfaces right now.

He really has gotten old, hasn’t he?

Eventually, he finds what looks like a good path behind a long stretch of beach, finds a place to park, and then he starts running.

It’s horrible, which was expected, but he does it anyway. There are families lining the beaches, music playing from speakers and phones, and he watches as boats skip out on the water. Maybe he should rent a boat for a weekend and take it out. It’d be nice to be out on the water again. He hasn’t been since Liam’s death, the fear of something similar happening to him despite the unlikeliness, but maybe one day while he’s here. It’s not as if he has anything better to do.

Killian runs until the endorphins kick in and then again until his legs get tired. He’s an idiot, however, because he doesn’t think to turn around to his Jeep.

Bloody hell.

He stops and reaches his hands over his head, stretching out his shoulders, and looks to see what’s around him. It’s mostly beach, but there are several restaurants and shops a few blocks down. He notices the familiar Blue Dog Tavern sign and the long deck filled with their outside seating. That means he’s minutes away from a populated area of shops and restaurants where he could cool down and catch his breath, but he still walks toward the Blue Dog. There’s another diner around here he went to that was horrible, and he doesn’t feel like taking the chance again. He’s still over his phase of twenty-four-hour diners. He doesn’t think he can handle more sticky tables.

Killian cools down on the walk to the restaurant, taking in the people walking along the sidewalk, and he dodges them until he’s inside and the cool air is hitting against his skin. It’s past the prime of the lunch rush, so the place is mostly empty. He thinks of going to the bar again, but as he wants to stay as out of the way as possible, he asks the hostess to seat him at a booth in the corner.

“Is someone coming to meet you?” she asks, smacking her gum as she hands him a menu.

“I’m afraid not. Just me today.”

She smiles, popping her gum again, and leans forward, casually popping a button on her shirt. Killian tries not to snicker at the obvious attempt, mostly because she is attractive, but the last thing he needs is to burn more bridges at one of the few places in towns he likes. “Well, if you want company, all you have to do is come find me. I’m Marina.”

He raises his brow. “Seems like you were born to work by the ocean then.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because your name is Marina.”

She cocks her head to the side and laughs. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing, love.” Killian smiles and nods toward the front. “I believe you’re needed.”

She jumps and walks away, obviously putting a little sway in her hips when she moves, and in another life, he’d ask her to join him for lunch and meet her after her shift. He nearly does it now, but the man he’s been and the man he’s trying to be war with each other in his mind.

No burning bridges, he reminds himself. He’s done enough of that in his lifetime.

He orders water and coffee and avoids eye contact with Marina as much as possible, especially when she keeps finding ways to come by his table despite there being no other customers in his section. He texts Will and Rob, sends Elsa some pictures of the beach to show the girls, responds to Ariel about him doing another video conference with a hospital back home, and then he puts his phone away and tries to focus on his meal.

Unsurprisingly, it does not take a hell of a lot of focus to eat a sandwich and chips.

The music coming over the intercoms keeps him occupied for awhile, so does the television hanging over the bar until someone changes it to ESPN, and eventually Killian starts fidgeting for headphones and something to do while he waits for his meal to settle and drinks another cup of coffee. He needs to start the trek back to his Jeep, but that’s the last thing he wants to do.

“Heather, I get that you don’t want to be here, but your uncle and your parents want you here. And you either need to take it up with them or start doing some actual work.”

Killian recognizes that voice, and he sinks in his booth. He was hoping to get away with not running into her here today, if only to save himself the headache. He doesn’t have any paper money on hand, so he can’t pay and leave, and he imagines there’s very little chance he’ll avoid her when she’s walking right toward him with Heather, his server from last week.

She’s in those bloody jean shorts again. They barely cover anything and hug her ass to show it off, and the blouse she’s wearing is fitted to her skin. Her hair is down, hitting past midway on her back, and she looks just as gorgeous as she has every other time he’s seen her…which is exactly why he needs her to not notice him.

So, of course, she does.

Right after she teaches Heather how to clean the tables, she looks up and over at Killian, raises both brows, and walks toward him with her arms crossed beneath her chest. “Anything I can help you with today?”

“The check may be nice, Swan. Lovely to see you again.”

“Uh-huh.” She looks over her shoulder, holds up a signal toward Killian’s server, and he hustles to the back, presumably to get the check. “I can recommend other restaurants in the area. This place is great, but I promise there are better ones.”

He shrugs. “I like the food and how calm it is during off hours. Are you enjoying your house with no Fishers in it?”

“I don’t mind when they come to stay.”

It’s a lie if he’s ever heard one. Killian points to his temple and taps. “I know this may surprise you, but I’m actually quite perceptive.”

Her smile is tight, and she tucks her hair behind her ears. “The Fishers are great landlords, and I can’t complain.”

“I’m not going to tell them what you’re saying, love.”

She smiles again, and he can tell she’s still faking it for him. “All I can say is I’m glad not to have strange men scaring me in my kitchen at two in the morning. Now they simply show up at my work.”

He lifts his glass. “It’s good food, and you’re right, I don’t know of many other reliable eateries around here. Some of them seem a little too…made for tourists.”

“And the Blue Dog Tavern doesn’t? I mean, come on. We have a giant blue animated dog cutout outside. We’re on all those lists of ‘Places in Martha’s Vineyard you have to visit.’ We’re made for tourists like you.”

“I am not a tourist.”

“Says the man who is renting one of the big houses out in Edgartown and staying here for the summer. I’m guessing you go to the beach and lounge around the pool and go through way too many of the bad books the owners of the house have on their shelves.”

Killian huffs and crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back in the booth. That was a little too spot on. “How do you know where I’m staying? Wait, no. Ariel, right?”

“Yeah,” Emma smiles, and God, it feels like a hell of an accomplishment to get her to smile. “She went on and on about the great Killian Jones.”

“Ah, so you know who I am then?” He leans forward and waggles his brows, flashing his brightest smile.

“Yeah, a rich British tourist who is friends with my landlords.” Someone calls her name from across the restaurant, and Emma holds one finger up. “Your check will be with you soon. I’ll ask Marina to give you some other restaurant recommendations on your way out. You’ll get sick of this place soon enough.”

“I’m perfectly happy with it, Swan.”

She shrugs and walks away, and Killian chuckles to himself. He doesn’t understand this woman at all, but she intrigues him.

He knows that’s a dangerous game to play.

Killian gets the check, pays it, and before he can escape, Marina corners him to give him more recommendations. She ends up veering into bars and clubs on the island and the surrounding towns, asking him if he wants her to show him around, but he declines and takes the list of places. Maybe he’ll check them out, but the last thing he needs is to go to a club. A bar, maybe, but not a club. He’s learned that there’s a hell of a difference.

He’s also learned that he’s bored to tears in this place, and no amount of calls to Ariel and Elsa can solve that boredom. He finds himself googling pre-season training information, checking up on mates and rivals, and while that’s a bit of a slip-up, he does manage to still stay away from looking himself up. He never used to have the urge to google himself or to read any of the tabloids, but ever since his retirement, he’s been curious. Were people sad? Happy? Did he leave any kind of lasting impact? Or did they all just see him as the drunk, washed up old man with a dirtied past?

That is a path he absolutely cannot go down, and since he’s already run a half marathon today, he decides to shower and get dressed to go to one of the places Marina recommended. If his time alone doesn’t start to get less depressing, he thinks he’s going to have to fly back to London and bother Elsa and the girls until they kick him out. He’ll pay for the remaining time on the house, but he won’t be staying there.

While the sun sets, Killian drives down new roads on the island, going to different towns and neighborhoods to see what others are doing, before ending up at a bar near his house. Marina said it was a spot for locals with good food and a quiet energy, so he doubts Marina has ever stepped foot into it. Killian pushes open the old oak door, and the lights inside are dimmed, the music quiet. There’s a guy playing guitar in the corner hidden between two pillars, and Killian finds himself sitting at the opposite end of the bar on a stool that’s cushion squeaks when he sits down.

Charming.

“You eating, drinking, or both?” The bartender asks, wiping his hands off with a cloth.

“Eating. Have any recommendations?”

“You have an objection to seafood?” the old man asks.

“Not a one.”

“Good. I’ll fix you up with the daily catch.”

Killian nods as the man makes his way through a door behind the bar, and then Killian swivels on his stool, looking around the place. He doesn’t know about the food yet, but Marina was right. It definitely has a quiet energy to it. There are people in nearly every booth and at every table, but there’s a hushed tone except for a laugh in the booth nearest him. His eyes are drawn there, and to both his surprise and horror, he finds Emma Swan with her head tilted back with laughter.

Fuck.

She’s definitely going to think he’s stalking her, and as hungry and bored as he is, he’s still tempted to leave. So of course, that’s when Emma stops laughing and looks directly at him.

Bollocks. Utter bollocks.

She blinks and stares at him a little longer, her brows raising before falling, and then she turns back to whoever is sitting in the booth with her. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see her arms moving, but he turns on the stool until he can see her no longer, wishing at the very least he had a water to nurse.

“Hiya. Come sit in our booth with us.”

Killian twists and looks at the brunette who’s now sitting next to him. “Pardon?”

She sticks out her hand, and he takes it, shaking it. “Ruby Lucas. You’re Killian Jones, the – ”

“There’s no need to – ”

“ – the guy who scared Emma half to death at her house in the middle of the night,” Ruby completes, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “And I must say, you are much more attractive than she described.”

“So she talked about me then?”

“In her own special Emma way.” Ruby tilts her head back toward their booth. “And in my own special Ruby way, I’m inviting you to eat dinner with us. It’s me, Emma, and this super wholesome woman named Mary Margaret who will take you home and bake you cookies while asking you about your childhood because she had a good one of those.”

Killian chuckles, cheeks still flushed from him thinking Ruby knew who he was earlier – he is a pompous, entitled ass obviously – and from being invited to their table. “I couldn’t intrude.”

“I insist that you do.”

He likes her, he decides. She’s stunning and funny with no filter, but she reminds him too much of a dirtier version of Anna. It’s a rather peculiar comparison, but it’s true. It’s also half the reason he agrees to switch tables, rising from his stool and walking toward the booth. The other half a reason is the blonde woman with her face pressed into her forearms against the table top.

She looks beyond thrilled for him to be joining them.

“Oh, Emma, you were right, he is handsome!”

Emma bangs her head into the table as who he presumes is Mary Margaret smiles at him from across the booth. Killian slides onto the seat and elbows Emma’s side before patting her shoulder. “It’s alright, darling. I told all my mates you were beautiful, so we’re even.”

“Go to hell.”

He laughs, grinning at her, and slowly, she peels herself off the table. “Just so you know, I’m only here because Marina recommended it.”

“Remind me to fire her in the morning.”

“So,” Mary Margaret interrupts, tucking her short hair behind her ear, “tell us about yourself, Killian. Where are you from? What do you do for work? How long are you planning on being here?”

“Good God, Marg,” Emma sighs, slumping down, “give the man some room to breathe.”

“What? I’m curious.”

“You’re nosy is what you are,” Emma corrects.

“Aren’t we all?” Killian shuffles in his seat, hoping they move on to another subject, but when Mary Margaret turns to him, he knows she isn’t one to forget. “So, how long are you staying?”

“I have the keys to the house I’m renting until the first of October, but I imagine I’ll leave sooner.”

“And why’s that?” she asks.

Killian shrugs as the man behind the bar drops off a glass of water at the table and tells Killian his food will be ready in ten minutes. “I’m afraid no matter how nice it is here, I don’t know many people. I miss the people I’m closest to. A man can only spend so much time alone.”

“Then why’d you book a house for so long?”

“I needed to get away.”

“Yeah, but – ”

“Marg,” Emma interrupts, placing her hand over her friend’s, “please. You don’t have to know everything about him. Not everyone wants to reveal their entire life to complete strangers.”

She’s right. He doesn’t. But for some inane reason, he doesn’t think he’d mind revealing most of his life to her.

He has obviously lost his damn mind.

But it’s nice to spend a night with other people, to be included in the conversation, and while Mary Margaret and Ruby are delightful, he finds Emma captures his attention, not that this surprises him.

What does surprise him, however, is how much friendlier she is in this environment. He knows it’s her friends and not him, and maybe the glass of wine she had with dinner, but it’s nice to see her laugh freely and blush when Ruby tells stories of Emma he cannot imagine knowing otherwise. He can’t imagine Emma ever scaling a building to break into an ex’s apartment to get her favorite sweater back, but then again, that seems exactly like something she would do if she wanted it badly enough.

He fancies her.

He has no business fancying her, none at all, but when he ends up driving all three women to their homes because Ruby and Mary Margaret had too much to drink and Emma can’t drive the stick shift in Ruby’s car, he accepts Emma’s invitation inside for a cup of coffee.

He also accepts her invitation upstairs into her bed.

To hell with the consequences and burning bridges. He’ll deal with those in the morning when he isn’t so enticed by the trail of freckles running down Emma’s bare stomach.

-/-

-/-

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[bigfrozenfan-fanfics]

Chapter 10 - Skalastet

Links: Chapter overview, Character list, Map, Glossar Rating: M over all Publishing cycle: each Friday at 6:00 pm CEST dst/UTC +2:00 on (link)

Remarks: all my chapters contain carefully selected music tracks. It’s your own decision if you want to use them or not while reading. The purpose is to musically support the respective mood of the plot. If you can please use a browser for reading (not the Tumblr app) due to the text formatting and music.

Ryder stood there with arms crossed, leaning against a kota and watched their friends from Arendelle talking to Elsa. The wrong moment to disturb Kristoff for a serious talk; he thought. But maybe that was just as well. He pondered and weighed his options, but he just couldn't decide what to do.

He was constantly thinking about what he had learned at the Norting, and he was now very worried about all of them, but especially about Kristoff and his great love, Anna. If this son of Gyda, what did Yelana call him ... ah yes, Kolgrimr, was capable of all these things then ...; Ryder could not and didn't want to imagine what could happen then. His father had patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him on his first Norting in adulthood and that he was proud of him. But he almost wished now that he hadn't known about any of this. What was he going to do? Should he just ignore Yelana's warning and warn Kristoff and the others anyway, or wait and see? What if they stayed here in the camp a little longer? They would perhaps unknowingly find themselves in great danger. Would they even believe this story and warning?

Behind him he heard soft footsteps rustling in the grass and turned around. In front of him stood his sister with her battlestick in her hand.

“Fancy a little Skalastet?” Honeymaren asked cheerfully and grinned broadly, “You need some practice“. But her grin quickly evaporated when she noticed his depressed mood. She came closer and put one hand on Ryder's shoulder. “What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Me? No, there's no ... everything's fine. But stick fighting? Now?” Ryder warped the corners of his mouth.

Of course, it had been a long time since they competed, Ryder knew that and he also realized his sister was right about it. Since the forest had been liberated there was no reason to defend their home against soldiers from Arendelle, they had already returned to their home. But he could still remember too well the bruises Honeymaren's battlestaff had inflicted on him often. She was just one of the best fighters among them, fast and agile. Most of the time he had no chance against her, even though he wasn't so bad himself as he thought. Honeymaren nudged him in the side with the end of the stick and grinned mischievously.

“Oh come on, do we have to do this?” he asked.

“It keeps us fit,” she replied, grinning a little wider. It had been too long since she had shown him which of them had the say in the duel. But of all of them he was still one of the best training partners, she had to admit. She took two steps back, whirled her stick over her head and looked at him challengingly. “Go on, get your staff.”

And Ryder sighed, “All right. But let's not overdo it like we did last time.” He walked the few steps to their kota and grabbed his long polished birch stick.

They walked a little way until the trees were a little closer together and started to tactilely stalk each other. “Come on Ryder, try to hit me!” She took her staff in her left hand, turned it casually around her wrist, and then went into a defensive stance.

Ryder dared a lunge and tried to hit her, but was too slow. His staff missed Honeymaren by far, she only had to take a step to the side and in one flowing movement effortlessly gave him a slap on his wrist. He cried out briefly in pain.

She laughed. “Come on. You can do better than that.” She bounced on the ball of her foot and made the stick spin around her waist.

Ryder looked at her grimly. “Whatever you say.”

Then he grabbed his battlestaff in the middle and struck with the ends of the sticks in quick succession, alternately, sometimes above, sometimes below. And each time, she parried his strokes, but moved further back. They danced around each other and the sequence of strikes accelerated. Sometimes he struck, sometimes she did. They jumped and ducked to avoid the opponent's strokes. Of course, both of them took light hits every now and then, that could not be avoided, but that was the purpose of the exercise, to be faster and more accurate.

The forest echoed back from the clacking sounds when their sticks met. They circled each other while searching for a gap in the other's defense, skillfully avoiding the surrounding trees. It was a constant back and forth, neither of them slowed down noticeably.

“Slowly I'm getting the hang of it again,” Ryder pressed out at some point, coughing but triumphant.

Meanwhile a few Northuldra, attracted by the sounds of the fight, had gathered nearby and watched their dance from a proper distance. Most of them cheered on Honeymaren, but there were also some voices shouting the same to Ryder.

Honeymaren slowly but surely gained the upper hand and pushed her brother back. In a desperate stroke, he raised his stick and swung it against her shoulder. But his sister was able to duck in time and in the same movement pushed her battlestick with force against his stomach area. However, he pulled his belly in just in time and made a leap backwards, directly between two trees standing relatively close together.

Honeymaren had intended exactly that, and with quick short strokes drove him back even a little further behind the two birches and then jumped forward. But not directly towards him, instead to the trunk of one of the two trees. She pushed off there, repeated it on the other tree trunk and in this way was six feet high in no time. Only now she jumped directly towards Ryder, the battlestick raised high above her head. This was a dangerous situation for any opponent.

Ryder followed her movements with his eyes and showed himself surprised. But in reality he had foreseen her move, timed the right moment and then whirled his staff around behind his back. He took advantage of the momentum, let it slide through in his palm on the other side, held the end in time and pushed the staff upwards. He hit Honeymaren at the thigh with force, causing her to groan in pain, and therefore took her out of her balance. Her intended strike missed its target and she hit the ground behind him and rolled to the side. Ryder, standing with his back to her, laughed out loud and raised his battlestick with both hands triumphantly over his head.

He was about to turn to her with a grin when a forceful strike against his feet took him off his legs and he crashed hard to the ground. His staff slipped out of his hands and rolled towards Honeymaren. She cleverly caught it with her tip of her foot and delivered it into her free hand with momentum. Ryder stared at her speechlessly.

“Well, little brother, you'd better watch your guard,” Honeymaren said, grinning but out of breath, and with these words held the ends of both sticks to his throat.

In the background, loud howling and the clapping of their audience could be heard. She finally took both sticks in one hand and with the other grabbed his arm to help him up on his feet.

Ryder rumbled softly, “Next time it will be different, for sure.”

They reached out conciliatory hands to eachother, but Honeymaren didn't let it be taken on whispering in his ear, “Dream on, little brother ...” when she pulled him to her.

One moment later, they both had to laugh loudly about it and walked exhausted and satisfied between the still clapping Northuldra. Some patted Ryder on the shoulder and one even gave him the compliment that he was getting better and better and it had been a great fight.

~~~

Arriving at the camp, they first laid back their battlestaves, then Honeymaren looked at him with a serious expression while she rubbed her thigh where he had hit her. “You can't hide anything from me, Ryder, you know that. I know you too well for this. There's something important on your mind today. Please tell me.”

Ryder put his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he looked at her with a forceful look. “All right, but you have to promise me it's just gonna be between us, okay?” His sister pulled her eyebrows together and then nodded.

“I promise. So ... shoot. I suppose it has something to do with the disappearance of the men this morning, doesn't it?”

“How do you know?” Ryder asked and looked at her in amazement.

Honeymaren tilted her head and looked at him reproachfully. “I'm not naive. I overslept today and father woke me very late. If he had been in the camp, he would not have hesitated so long, as angry as he was at me. So what happened?”

Ryder sighed and nodded. “Yes, you're right. There's been a meeting, a Norting. My first, as you can imagine. Yelana called it out and told us something I can't handle.”

“So that's it, a Norting.” She lowered her eyes and had a bad premonition. She felt her stomach begin to contract and said in a low voice, “Tell me.”

“Not here. Let's go somewhere quiet and unobserved.”

“Let's go into our kota,” Honeymaren suggested. He nodded and as they sat inside, Ryder told her in a low voice everything he now knew. Honeymaren listened very attentively and her face became visibly gloomier.

~~~

“Hello, Kristoff. Do you know where Elsa is? I was going to check on her, but she's not in her kota and I haven't seen her anywhere else,” Myrtha asked, who just stepped next to him. Kristoff looked up and rose. He now noticed another woman standing behind her.

“Hello, Myrtha. She's with Anna right now and hasn't been gone long.” He pointed in a direction where the four monoliths stood at the edge of the forest. “They were going to the waterfall to have an undisturbed private conversation. Sisterly conversations, I guess.”

His eyes fell on the small wicker basket she was holding in front of her. It was full of little birch wood boxes of various sizes, some of them open and filled with all kinds of pastes in greenish colours, next to them were various small bundles of herbs and a small mortar with a wooden pestle. The woman behind her carried a small bucket of water, and also some cloths and leather straps over her arm. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Myrtha noticed his looks and smiled at him. “Oh, that's not all for Elsa. I'm just making my morning rounds. There are always minor injuries and it is my job as healer to make sure everyone is comfortable. This is Ikka, my young assistant, by the way. I teach her everything.” Ikka gave Kristoff a shy nod. “Is everything all right with Elsa? What is your impression?” Myrtha then asked.

“Everything seems to be fine again, as far as I can tell. At least physically.”

“That's good. Some exercise will certainly do her some good. I'll come by again this evening, but I must be going now.” She nodded at Kristoff and left.

When Ikka passed Kristoff, she hesitated briefly and smiled shyly at him, but said nothing and then quickly scurried after the healer. Kristoff looked after them, thought for a moment and then shook his head before he sat down again.

“She likes you,” Olaf said after a few moments and smiled at him.

“Who?” asked Kristoff, who was already thinking about something completely different.

“Well, Ikka of course. Didn't you notice her looks when you talked to Myrtha?”

Kristoff laughed. “Yes, I noticed. But she's still young, and I'm obviously very attractive to her. She also doesn't know that I'm already engaged.”

“That's true,” Olaf confirmed, and fell into Kristoff's laughter.

“Which part of it do you mean? That I'm so attractive?”

Both snorted with laughter.

~~~

---

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know.

Remarks: For the training scene with Honeymaren and Ryder my beta reader and I would have liked to have a fanart of HARU (@ xlayers), but since Ryder is not yet available as a model I took the liberty to make a small edit based on Jin Kim's concept art. It's just a pity that Ryder was apparently not intended to be handled with a fighting staff. 

Tagging: @karma26 @whether-near-to-me-or-far @annaofthenorthernlights @igotelsapregnanthelp