#fact: nobody knows arias real name yet

[louuucifer]

Aurora is slowly getting used to her new life and the girls at the Apple are all extremely nice, if a bit over the top.

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[shadowqueen402]

Prim And Proper Origins: Prologue

I will be starting a fic series based off of the popular fic Prim And Proper Problems that was written by the talented @kayssweetdreams. Here, I will write how Madame Prim became the horrible woman that we all know and love to hate.

With that said, enjoy!

Madame Prim's lips curled into a sickeningly sweet smile as she watched her students take notes and work silently on how to be proper and perfect. Not one student dared to make a single whisper in the classroom. Aside from the sounds of pencils writing on paper, the entire atmosphere was silent. What made the perfection-obsessed headmistress even more proud was that her own daughter, Dolly, was in this class.

As far as she knew, her daughter was considered to be the most perfect girl in Prim, Proper, and Perfection. Along with Delilah and Delancey, that is. The rest of the girls looked up to the three of them as role models. And with Madame Prim's harsh teaching, they trained real hard to be as perfect as the three girls.

Yet, Madame Prim knew that there would be a day where she would meet a girl that she could train to be even more perfect and proper than her own daughter. It may not be this day, but it will be one day. She was sure of it.

The real question was: who would be the 'lucky' girl that Madame Prim would bring to her school so that way, said girl would receive the 'proper' training to perfection? Considering the fact that Madame Prim had lots of documents containing the names of all of the women and girls that lived in Timeville or other cities, this would be hard to choose. So many options, indeed…

"You keep a eye on my students," Madame Prim said to a guard. "Make sure that they're doing a perfect job with their work. If any of them behave improperly, there will be consequences." She then walked out of the classroom, leaving the guard on watch duty.

Making her way into her office, Madame Prim closed the door and locked it behind her. This was the only place that she kept her documents, letters, and other personal stuff hidden. Nobody, not even her own daughter, was allowed in this room.

Madame Prim turned on the lamp and opened up a drawer. She pulled out a file, which contained lists of female names as well as replicas of their birth certificates, and placed it onto her desk before opening it.

With graceful and careful movements, Madame Prim sorted through the lists and birth certificates. The gears in her mind were spinning. Maybe, once she found this girl to bring to her school, Madame Prim might have a 'special' uniform crafted only for her. She might let this girl have a few certain 'privileges' too.

However, despite wanting to find a new girl to turn perfect, Madame Prim was still on the lookout for one particular student that had the 'audacity' to escape from her school. She will find Misère and bring her back, whether that girl wanted to return here or not.

As she sorted, Madame Prim's hands stopped when she saw a certain name pop up on a list and a birth certificate. It was a name that would always fill Madame Prim with a mixture of emotions.

Aria Montgomery.

It had been so long since she had last seen that young lady. This was because after that incident, she and her family moved from Scotland. Now that she found her name on the list, Madame Prim was able to determine where Aria and her parents now lived: Timeville.

A smile crept onto her face again as she pulled out the replica of Aria's birth certificate and set it on her desk before going back to look through the rest of the lists. This is it! She thought to herself. I'll finally see my darling Roy again! Then, I can make him see that he made a terrible mistake of marrying that imperfect prostitute and that sending his daughter here is a PERFECT idea!

Her thoughts were stopped when her hand landed on a list that had one particular name: Kaylo Bruno. Madame Prim wasn't exactly sure why, but there was something about the name of this girl that…interested her. Yet, she'd never met this girl before. She pulled out the replica of Kaylo's birth certificate and placed it onto the desk, closed the file, and put it back into the drawer.

Now, she was left with two birth certificate replicas. She carefully read each of them, mesmerizing all of the information that was written on them. Not only did Madame Prim find out what their middle names were, but she was also able to learn when their birthdays were, how much they weighed as newborns, and other health-related information about the two girls that was written on the certificates by the doctors.

"Now that I have the information I need, all that's left is to look for them," Madame Prim said to herself, grinning. "They will be the most perfect young ladies of them all. A new era of pure perfection will finally begin."

The students, teachers, and guards simply knew Madame Prim as the headmistress of Prim, Proper, and Perfection who was only interested in making sure others looked flawless and behaved properly……

…

…But none of them knew her story… Specifically, what she had done in the past…

Kaylo belongs to @kayssweetdreams

Aria and her family belong to me

I do not own Madame Prim, Dolly, Delancey, or Delilah

[marshmallowprotection]

I HAVE FINISHED TURQUOISE’S INFO (her name is now Jessamine)!

Also heres a link to the song “The Last Revolver” by Mothy, though note this is a cover with a newer version of Gumi’s voicebank, and this is also a fanmade PV remake of the original PV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xsdMtgEJEg 

This song is directly responsible for giving me the inspiration to make Jessamine. uwu

Also ignore the weird spacing I made this in google docs originally and apparently it decided to copy paste like that and im too lazy to fix it oof also its kind of long sooo oof.

like…2398 words long ;-;

I suggest you listen to “The Last Revolver” whilst reading this. idk gives mood lol

Name: Jessamine ‘Jess’ Belle 

 Aliases (If Any): Evera (Assassin Name)

 Age: 20 (On Liam’s Death)

24 (Currently)

 Date of Birth/Birthday: Day 31 of Aria’s Star, 2045 T.C. (the equivalent of December 31st)

 Zodiac: Sagittarius 

 Status: Alive

 Species: Human

 Magic:

 Height: 5'0 (152 Centimeters)

 Ethnicity: Mijean

 Relatives: Unnamed Mother✝

Unnamed Father✝

Liam Adelson (Fiance)✝

 Birth Place: Collapsed Kingdom of Mijea, Theda

 Nationality/Current Residence: Mariah Empire, Theda

 Religion (Which Goddess Do they Worship?): None

 Occupation: Assassin Employed By Kiara Malories (Formerly)

Wandering Gunner

 Affiliations: Kiara Malories (Formerly)

Kingdom of Mijea (Formerly)

None

Personality (In Phrases): Uptight, Cold, Adorable (According to Liam), Secretly Really Kind, Just Kind of Quiet, Stubborn, Was Kind of Clingy To Liam Due To Having Literally Nobody Else, Her Parents Died In The Mercenian Invasion of The Kingdom of Mijea In 2062, And She Had Basically No Friends, So Liam Became Her Rock, She’s Still In Mourning, She’s Extremely Suicidal, Pretty Unstable, Has A Temper

 Marital Status: Engaged To Liam Adelson (Formerly)

Single

 Sexuality: Heterosexual

 Likes: Her Revolver, Macarons, Liam, Cherry Blossoms, Hummingbirds, Butterflies, The Color Purple, People Who Don’t Get In Her Way of Revenge

 Dislikes: Spicy Foods, Her Height, Kiara Malories, Mercenians, The State of Mercenia, Killing For No Reason (Developed After Liam’s Death), The Ocean (She Doesn’t Know How To Swim), People Who Do Get In Her Way of Revenge, Anyone Who Tells Her Suicide Doesn’t Solve Anything, Anyone Who Tells Her She Doesn’t Need To Get Revenge, Anyone Who Claims Liam Wouldn’t Want Her To Do [Anything Under The Sun]

 Role: Secondary Character

Debut: Undecided

 Random Facts: 

Her smile is absolutely beautiful to see. However, she hasn’t smiled since her fiance, Liam, died.

She’s one of the last pure Mijeans still alive, as most were slaughtered in the Mercenian Invasion of 2062 T.C. in a genocidal sort of fashion. There are an estimated 500 Mijeans still walking the planet, and likely a lot more half-Mijeans exist than pure Mijeans.

The revolver she currently uses is a very expensive, efficient one that is very rare, which Liam gave to her for her birthday a few hours before she realized she had to kill him. 

Jess is the definition of a person who gets really, adorably mad if you dare mention how short she is. 

Liam was 6'0, a full 12 inches taller than Jess. You can bet that Liam teased her about it constantly. 

Liam often picked up Jess in order to kiss her without hurting his neck. It wasn’t very hard since she’s fairly light. She was a flustered mess about it constantly.

When they first met, Jess didn’t tell Liam her real name on the spot, instead telling him her assassin name, Everina. He called her Ever most of the time, and when she confessed to him, that was when she told him her real name. He still called her Ever sometimes, but usually only if they were (for any reason) in public.

Very rarely, Liam called Jess “Mina”, which was a nickname he alone used for her. He only called her that during extremely personal, special moments (e.g. first kiss, kisses in general, making love, and when Jess had to kill him)

It’s very easy to fluster Jess, usually, just give her a peck on the cheek or her lips, or pick her up, and she’ll get flustered immediately.

Jess’s most sensitive spot is the right side of her neck, like sort of between her neck and shoulder. Liam used this to his advantage ;3

Jess is extremely ticklish on her sides, but nowhere else.

Jess’s favorite season is Spring due to it being when she met Liam, and her least favorite is Winter due to it being the season where she had to kill Liam.

Jess dreads and just plain old hates her birthday as her birthday doubles as the day where she had to kill Liam. 

The only reason Jess hasn’t killed herself yet is that she feels she needs to kill Kiara first as vengeance for Liam. She plans to kill herself immediately afterward.

Jess plans to give Kiara an extremely painful, long death.

Jess is terrifying when she is determined to kill someone. Seriously, don’t get in her way. Else you’ll be killed too.

Jess’s favorite things about Liam according to her was his blue eyes and his dark, maroonish hair. His eyes because to her they were beautiful and she loved staring into them, his hair because it was extremely soft. 

Jess is a total bottom 99% of the time…except one time when Liam let her top.

Liam constantly attempted to make Jess laugh, which was usually successful whether his joke was good or not, most times she laughed because his jokes were just stupid but in a funny way

Liam is 3 years older than Jess, being 22 when they met in 2064 T.C. and 23 when he died in 2065 T.C. as he was born on Day 13 of Ayja’s Star/September 13th, 2042 T.C.

Jess’s situation is a bit similar to Cora Hallow’s, as Jess lost everything she loved and became a wandering gunner, and swore revenge upon the person responsible, where Cora lost her entire family (supposedly) in the fire of Saseraia and swore revenge upon Nymeria believing her to be the one responsible; The fact that actually Jess is descended from a bastard line (descended of a bastard child of one of Cora’s descendants- also can I just say, Cora had one biological child, a daughter, who was conceived using early, experimental artificial insemination technologies and paved the way for refinement of such technologies for same-sex couples- it’s not that important but I wanted to mention it cus why not) of Cora makes it kind of ironic because history is sort of repeating itself in a way. 

The reason Liam was targeted by Kiara was that he found out what Kiara was through overhearing her talking to someone at his police station, and due to that, she wanted him dead because he was also getting in her way by rescuing some of the other people she wanted dead or killing the criminals she wanted to recruit. He was also planning to reveal to the world what she was.

Backstory: Jessamine “Jess” Belle was born the only child of a pair of general store owners in the Kingdom of Mijea on the coldest day of the year. Jess’s childhood is relatively uneventful, until when she was 17 in 2062 T.C., when the State of Mercenia invaded the Kingdom of Mijea, looking to absorb it into its territory as it was falling into chaos anyway. Jess’s parents die helping Jess escape. She flees the country and ends up passing out on the border of the Kingdom of Lavinia, being found by Kiara Malories (who is really just Aya having possessed Nymeria’s body and using the body appearance changing spell that was within Nymeria’s ability pool to make herself look different), who takes her in, on the condition,  however, that Jess becomes an assassin working for her. Having basically no other choice, Jess agrees and is taught how to use a gun by another assassin in Kiara’s employ, as it turns out Kiara had a whole group of assassins and other people working for her for vastly different reasons. Jess begins her work as an assassin for Kiara by killing about 40~ people within the next 2 years (20 per year).

 On the first day of spring (Day 1 of Xomura’s Star/February 1st, Note The Calendar of This World Is Different In Which The Year Starts In April Instead of January And Thus Ends In March) of 2064 T.C. Jess goes to a small hill with a cherry blossom tree on it, which was a spot she loved to go to think about everything. However, that day was different in a significant way: Jess met a tall man with maroon hair and eyes. She indulged him with some idle chatter, telling him her name was Everina when asked. As he talked (and flirted a bit) with her, she learned his name was Liam and that like her, he was one of the survivors of the Mercenian Invasion of 2062, but that he was spared only because he was not Mijean, rather, he was from Aleon, at least, he was born there, but his parents moved to the Kingdom of Mijea when he was young. Jess also learns he is a police officer, and due to that remains cautious of him, always being prepared to kill him in case he ever suddenly turned on her. However, as they continued to meet up together at that cherry blossom tree, Jess steadily began to trust him.

 In Summer (Day 28 of Kaila’s Star/August 28th; Summer Starts On June 20th/Day 20 of Eros’s Star In This World; Also The Year Is Now 2065 T.C. As April Has Passed), Jess was invited by Liam to a “date” according to him, though she chalked it up to him just flirting with her yet again, but accepted the invitation anyway. He took her to a park where together they watched a meteor shower that only happened once every 460 years, and that the last time this meteor shower happened was around when Archbishop Briella, the first archbishop under the new government system and after the Second Great Theda Civil War, was on her death bed. After the meteor shower was over, Liam confessed that he had fallen in love with Jess, and conflicted, Jess asked him to give her some time to think. After a few days of thinking, Jess realized she had fallen for Liam as well, and asked him to meet her under the same cherry blossom tree that had met at originally, and when they both arrived, she confessed to him that she had fallen in love with him as well. She also told him that she had lied to him about her name, as she didn’t trust him originally, and revealed to him her real name was Jessamine or Jess for short. Liam, overwhelmed with joy, picked her up and kissed her, calling her “Mina” for the first time, and over time it evolved into a special nickname that only he was allowed to call her. Liam also laughed when he saw Jess’s extremely flustered face after he kissed her.

 In Autumn, Jess and Liam’s relationship truly blossomed, and mid-way through the season, they made love for the first time. And, mid-way through the last month of the season, Harmonia’s Star, Liam proposed to her, and Jess accepted. However, near the end of the season, Jess learned her next target was a man named Liam Adelson. While she was distressed at first at seeing the name “Liam”, she calmed herself by telling herself that the Liam she was engaged to and Liam Adelson must be different people- but deep inside there was a feeling of dread that told her that the two Liams were the same person.

 In Winter, Jess asked Liam what his last name was, and he said he’d tell her if she told him hers, and she agreed. He revealed that his last name was Adelson, and in shock, she slowly said her last name was Belle before collapsing onto her knees, breaking into tears. Liam asked what was wrong but she fled not even a minute later. For the next month, she avoided Liam as much as possible, but eventually, he found her back at the cherry blossom tree they met at together all the time in mid Aria’s Star (December). Jess revealed that she was actually an assassin and that all the murders that had been happening had been her and her colleagues working. She told him she didn’t have a choice because she had nowhere else to go. She had been lying to her colleagues that she hadn’t been able to find him anywhere and that’s what it was taking so long to kill him because she desperately didn’t want to kill him. Before Liam could say another word Jess fled once again. On the 31st of Aria’s Star (December 31st), Liam got Jess a gift: a very rare, very efficient revolver, having known she had a fascination with revolvers and had planned to buy herself one. While she had originally claimed she was going to use it for self-defense, Liam knew she was likely using it to kill people. Liam managed to find Jess under the cherry blossom tree yet again, presented to her his gift. When she asked why he had gotten her a revolver, Liam told her to kill him with it. It was made to kill people as quickly as possible. He had even gotten her bullets. He told her that he didn’t want her to lose her home, or neglect what she had to do. In tears, Jess told him she didn’t want to kill him and even suggested they just run away, but Liam told her that there were others after him and that he would likely die anyway, so if he was going to die, he wanted it to be by her hand. Before Jess could say another word he picked her up and kissed her. When he finally broke the kiss, he quickly grabbed Jess’s revolver, knowing she would be unable to gain the courage to shoot him, and shot himself for her, his last words being “I love you, Mina.”

 That day, Jess ran away from Kiara and swore revenge against her. 

And to this day, in the year 2070 T.C., she still looks to do that, waiting for the day she can kill Kiara and then kill herself so she can be reunited with Liam. 

— Submission

Ah, yes, holding the gun that tilts the fate of the universe. Gumi songs always tend to have a really specific note to them and this one assuredly is wild and a lot to take in when you listen to it in the context of the Villainious series. Glad to see it play out, though. I think there’s something bittersweet about how she was forced to do this, but her love stopped her from having to stain her hands with his blood. Him taking the shot himself implies that he loves her enough to die for her if he must. 

It’s upsetting that there was no way out. But, pain and grief in stories like this provide an arc for a character to follow and deal with, and perhaps her story will not entirely end in misery, but peace and resolution of the fate that she’s been dealt and what it means to be okay with where you’re heading and what you’ve been forced through. 

[walkerismychoice]

Unwritten - Chapter 3

Book: Platinum

Pairing: M!Raleigh X MC

Rating: This series will contain mature themes. Any necessary warnings will be listed before each chapter, but the overall series rating is 18+

Series Summary: Newly discovered talent Aria Campbell get unknowingly assigned to help write Raleigh Carerra’s latest album and rehabilitate his image in the process.

Summary:  Aria is ready to start writing. Raleigh? Not so much.

Chapter Warning: Hints at excessive drinking/alcohol abuse

Word Count: 1750

Master List

She should really go back out there and try to start writing. They only have six weeks to write enough songs to fill an entire album. Then again, six weeks is kind of a long time. What’s a little bit longer?...

Aria picks up the flip phone from her nightstand. She would just text, because who actually likes to talk on the phone anymore, but texting without a keyboard is hardly worth the effort. Seriously, why do they still make cell phones like this? Her finger hovers over the call button momentarily, and then makes the call.

Several rings go by before Aria hears an agitated voice on the end of the other end of the line. "How many times do I have to tell you to take me off your list? How can my car warranty be expired when I don't even own a car?"

"Shane! Wait, don't hang up," Aria pleads into the phone. "It's me!"

"Aria? What are you-" His angry tone gives way to confusion. "Whose number is this and where are you? Wait, are you doing your writing thing? Tell me who you are writing with - is it Avery Willshire?"

If only, she think to herself, hesitating a moment before replying. "I can't tell you that. It's in my contract. If it were to get out, they'd kill me."

"Who are they, the mob?" Shane chuckles. "How many years have we been friends? You know you can trust me. And besides, I had to sign an NDA to be on your contact list, if you go down. I'm going down with you."

"Well that's reassuring," she answers dryly. Sure Shane's in film school and could be the next big director, but as of right now he's unknown, and Aria's got a lot more to lose. But he's right. They tell each other everything and she knows she can trust him. "Fine. But you can't tell anyone."

"Promise."

Aria inhales sharply. “It's...Raleigh Carrera."

"No fucking way!" Shane practically screams into the phone. "Binge drinking, property destroying, R&B singing Raleigh Carrera? You writing for him is...unexpected."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She replies dryly.

“Ari, you know what I mean. You're more indie pop, with meaningful lyrics. He sings about getting laid in the club. You've never so much as had a tardy at school, and he's got quite the bad boy reputation.”

"Yes, Shane, I know I'm a boring, wholesome girl from the Midwest.”

“No, no! I just don’t want you to have to sacrifice your integrity. It can’t be easy to make sure your voice is heard with with someone like that.”

“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself,” Aria asserts trying more to convince herself than anyone else. It’s not like she hasn’t feared what Shane has said and more ever since she got here. But she’s determined to fake it until she makes it as they say.

"I know you are. I've seen it in action - like when you dumped that smoothie on Chad's head because he made a comment about your ass."

"Oh my god. I can't believe I didn't get fired for that." Aria laughs genuinely for probably the first time today.

They continue on their path down memory lane until Aria's cheeks hurt from smiling, and she finally says goodbye.

 "Maybe I should just call mom first," she ponders out loud before thinking better of it. Things ended on a high note with Shane, and she doesn't need get all homesick and weepy right now. She supposes it's time to face the music - literally.

Aria peeks in the open doorway across the hall, and Raleigh's room is empty. She checks the main areas downstairs, but all is quiet. Finally she looks out the the beachside picture window to see a human form spread out on the sand.

As she heads out and towards the beach, she makes out a familiar object next to Raleigh and rolls her eyes. Apparently he has no plans to fully sober up before starting to drink again.

His eyes are closed as she approaches, and when she calls out his name, he doesn't stir. She won't shake him awake because that feels a touch too intimate for someone she just met. Especially someone of his status, lying their shirtless in the sand, a sheen of sweat glazing over the tattoos covering his neck and torso. Ugh stop ogling him, she thinks to herself. You hate tattoos and he's an ass. Aria grabs the bottle of rum and jabs him in the side.

"Huh?" Raleigh jolts upright and frantically looks whips his head around until he gets his bearings. "Oh, it's you." He grabs the bottle from her and takes long swig.

"Bacardi straight from the bottle in the middle of the day? Doing your best to live up to the cliché rockstar lifestyle, huh?” She immediately regrets the words and wonders if she went too far.  

He shrugs it off with a laugh and points the bottle at her. "Want some?"

"No." She scrunches her nose and shakes her head. Sipping straight out of the bottle is not her style. Not to mention they're supposed to be working and she prefers to write with a clear head.

"I guess Learning How to Party Like a Rock Star 101 is not part of a music major’s curriculum. You could use some real-world instruction from Professor Carrera." Raleigh teases.

"Haha, very funny.” Wait, how does he know she majored in music? Probably just a lucky guess. "Anyway, I came out here to see if you wanted to get started."

"Nah, I'm good." He takes another pull from the bottle. "I like to write when the mood strikes. If you're so moved though, feel free to whip something up on your own. I really don't give a shit what's on this crap album anymore."

Her blood is boiling now, and she fights a juvenile urge to kick sand in his face and stomp away. "That's not how this works. If they wanted me to just write everything on my own, I could have done so from the comfort of my own home rather than being stuck here with you."

And there it is again - that mischievous twinkle in Raleigh's eye. And before she has much time to worry about what it means, Raleigh's up and scooping her off her feet. He runs towards the water as Aria yells at him to put her down to no avail, and once the water level reaches his knees, a wave hits, sending them toppling under.

Before Aria can get her bearings, she feels Raleigh’s firm grasp pulling her upright. She wipes the seawater from her eyes to see Raleigh standing there with a big shit-eating grin, his hands still bracing her arms to keep her steady. Maybe if she wasn’t so pissed off at his antics she’d notice the slight tingle where her skin was touched by his, but then again she might just attribute that to the chill from the cool water.

She shrugs out of his hold with an exasperated groan. “Why are you such an asshole? I know you don’t want to be here with me, but this wasn’t my idea. You don’t have to take it out on me.”

“Relax, Ice Queen. I’m just trying to thaw you out a bit. We’ll both have a much better time here if you can learn to have fun.”

“Ugh! I’m not..” That remark cuts Aria deep, more than Raleigh could possibly know. “Maybe if you actually agreed to do some work with me, I’d be more in the mood to have some fun.

Raleigh looks her up and down with an undiscernible expression that makes her uneasy before plopping back down on his towel and putting his sunglasses on. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

Fiona looks up from her laptop and spots Raleigh and Aria emerging from the ocean and engaging in what looks to be an intense conversation. The guest house has a spacious wraparound porch with cushy patio furniture. If she’s got to be stuck somewhere on glorified babysitting duty, as if she’s got no other clients and nothing better to do, it’s not a terrible place to be. At least there’s wifi and she can keep working on her projects with other artists on the label.

She’d been skeptical, to put it mildly, when Ellis brought Aria in to discuss working with Raleigh, and based on his initial reaction this morning, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Aria had tried to quit on the spot. Sure Raleigh getting wasted on the beach and throwing his writing partner in the water day one would look bad by anyone else’s standards, but Fiona’s know him a long time. The fact that that he’s engaging at all is a good sign. Maybe that little chat she had with him earlier stuck.

“Looks like things are going as well as can be expected with those two.” Fiona muses aloud. Hank stands and watches attentively, arms folded across his chest. You’d think he was guarding the President with how serious he takes his job. There’s not another human in sight aside from the four of them. He weighs his words before responding. “It seems so, ma’am.”

“Eww, don’t call me ma’am.” Fiona visibly shudders. “We’ve worked together for years now. You can call me Fiona. And anyway, nobody is around. You don’t have to take your job so seriously here. Why don’t you go grab a beer.”

Frank tugs at the knot in his tie. Yes, he’s still wearing his suit and tie - at the beach. “Drinking on the job would be unprofessional, ma-, I mean Fiona.”

"Okay then," she utters under her breath. It says something that self-described workaholic Fiona is the fun one here, but if she's going to make it through this period of time without dying of boredom, getting Frank to loosen up might just be the side-project she needs. Maybe he'll even take his tie off at some point. Fiona looks back to the beach where Raleigh is sunbathing and Aria is nowhere to be seen. "Would it be unprofessional of me to run out there and smack him upside the head?"

"Yes, I believe so," he replies dryly, but Fiona can detect the corners of his mouth curving upward ever so slightly. There might be hope for him yet.

[waveridden]

FIC: we only ever wanted one thing from this

“Aria, you recently passed away after one of your concerts. Right now, you and I are in what you would call the afterlife.” 

A Good Place AU, Aria/Jacqui, 1.7k. All my love to @leonstamatis, who had the original idea and let me use it for this.

AUcember || read on ao3

#

The door opens, and there’s a man standing there, handsome and dark-skinned. “Aria,” he says, and smiles. “Come on in.”

Aria isn’t sure what’s going on, because she doesn’t remember coming to this room, or where she is. But years of practice take over, and she gets to her feet and smiles. “Of course.”

She lets the man lead her into what must be his office, a simple and brightly-colored room. There’s some clutter, enough that it looks lived in, but Aria’s first thought is that it feels like a movie set.

“Have a seat,” the man says, and Aria does. He sits at his desk and smiles. “Aria, my name is Ibex. I’m the architect of this neighborhood.”

“What, like the landscaper?” Aria cranes her neck to look out the window. The neighborhood outside is positively idyllic. Everything is sunshiney and pristine, and there are people walking by holding hands and laughing. “Whoa. We’re in a nice part of town.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“I’m assuming I’m still somewhere in LA, right?”

“Not exactly.” Ibex’s smile takes on a sympathetic turn. “Aria, you recently passed away after one of your concerts. Right now, you and I are in what you would call the afterlife.”

“Oh,” Aria says, because there’s not much else to say to something like that. She lifts one of her hands in front of her face. It doesn’t look ghostly or anything, so she lifts her other hand and pokes her palm. Her finger doesn’t go through, so that seems like a good sign. Or maybe a bad sign. She looks up at Ibex, who’s still smiling sympathetically at her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m afraid I’m sure.”

“So did I make it up top?”

Ibex laughs. “Yes, Aria, you made it up top. You’re in the good place, don’t worry.”

Aria relaxes into her chair. “Okay, good, because this would be a really weird aesthetic for hell.”

“It would, wouldn’t it,” Ibex says musingly. “Well, you’ve arrived in your neighborhood, where you’ll be spending the rest of your days. As the architect, I wanted to be the first person to welcome you, and I’ll be personally showing you around soon.”

“Cool,” Aria says. Something about this seems incredibly weird, but maybe she’s just not used to the way that the place works yet. Of course she feels out of place when everything around her is manicured to hell and back. She’s sure she can find ways to manicure herself to match. That’ll be fun, getting to look like she’s a native person in literal, actual heaven.

“Excellent,” Ibex says. “AuDy?”

“Hello,” says a voice behind Aria. She nearly falls out of her chair turning around in surprise, and there’s a robot standing there. An actual robot.

“Uh, hi,” Aria says. “How did you-”

“I am Automated Dynamics,” says the robot. “You may call me AuDy. I am the physical form of the informational system for this neighborhood. I am here to guide you and answer your questions.”

“All my questions?” She pauses. “How did I end up here? Not that I’m disappointed or anything, but-”

“You earned a total of more than twelve million points,” AuDy says, which explains both everything and nothing.

Aria turns back to Ibex. “Can you tell me what that means?”

“Every action that you take on Earth accumulates points, whether those are positive or negative. Only the people with the highest point totals are able to enter the good place.” Ibex smiles faintly. “AuDy, Aria and I are going to walk through the neighborhood. Can you ensure that her home is prepared for her?”

“Of course,” AuDy says, and then vanishes out of existence. It makes Aria’s ears pop.

Ibex gets to his feet. “Anything you need, you can just call for them, and they’ll be there.” He offers a hand to Aria and helps her to her feet. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  #

  The neighborhood is full of gourmet popcorn places and people who seem really excited to tell Aria about themselves. It reminds her a lot of Los Angeles, and she’s not sure if that’s a good thing just yet.

But everyone she meets is nice, and Ibex is friendly and informative, answering all of her questions easily. He takes her through the neighborhood and explains things like points and the kinds of torture that famous people are going through in the bad place.

He also explains that Aria can’t swear anymore, which is kind of disappointing. She would’ve hoped that heaven had freedom of speech, or something.

“There is one thing I haven’t mentioned,” Ibex says, towards the end of the tour. They’re on the outskirts of the neighborhood now, moving towards a cute little cottage, and also a massive palatial house. Aria doesn’t know which one they’re going to turn towards, but she thinks she’s okay with either one.

“Is it restaurants where you can get food other than popcorn?” Aria asks jokingly. It’s not a joke, but she doesn’t want Ibex to know that. It’s probably rude to be ungrateful for anything in the good place, even if that thing is limitless popcorn. Aria doesn’t even really like popcorn.

Ibex smiles. “No, we’ll have people opening those up soon. The thing I haven’t mentioned is the existence of soulmates.”

“Of what? ”

“Romantic or platonic, these are people who have been matched perfectly, based on personality and life on earth. You have one soulmate, and in order to save on accommodation, she’ll be living with you.” Ibex takes a distinct turn towards the cottage.

Aria lets out a breath. “What’s she like?”

“You’ll have plenty of time to get to know her.” Ibex laughs. “The rest of eternity, in fact.”

The rest of eternity is kind of a daunting thing to consider, but Aria squares her shoulders as they approach the door. “Great,” she says. “Cool! Let’s meet her.”

Ibex opens the door and Aria steps inside. It’s a cozy place, smaller than Aria’s penthouse, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Everything is very sparsely decorated. Tiny kitchen, small living room, pretty big TV.

And there’s a woman standing in the living room with purple hair and the biggest arms Aria has literally ever seen outside of a movie.

“Aria, this is Jacqui Green,” Ibex says from behind her. “Jacqui, this is-”

“Aria Joie,” says Jacqui.

Aria startles. She moves forward to shake Jacqui’s hand - wait, is that weird? If it’s her soulmate, should she go straight for the hug? Jacqui doesn’t look like a hugger, but those arms… “You, uh, you’ve heard of me?”

“You’re kind of famous,” Jacqui points out. “I’ve heard your music. I didn’t realize you’d… be here.”

“I didn’t either.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Ibex says. Aria can hear the door close behind her, but she doesn’t bother turning around.

Jacqui glances over her shoulder as Ibex leaves, then looks back at Aria. “Okay, we’re soulmates, right?”

“Uh, apparently.”

“I’m going to ask you something, and you need to be honest with me.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you think you’re supposed to be here?”

Aria shrugs. “I mean, who can really say who’s supposed to be in heaven? I’m surprised that I’m, like, top-tier, but I tried to do a lot of charity work. Apparently that paid off.”

“Okay,” Jacqui says. “Great. I’m pretty sure I’m not, actually.”

Aria frowns. “You’re not what?”

“Supposed to be here.”

“As in, in this house…”

“As in, the good place at all.” Jacqui frowns. “Is there someone we can ask about this.”

Aria turns around. “AuDy?”

“Hello,” AuDy says.

“What the fork,” Jacqui says, and then, “gosh forking darn it, I miss cursing so forking much-”

“Me forking too,” Aria says, and grimaces. It really just doesn’t feel the same. “AuDy, is it possible for someone to end up somewhere by mistake?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Like…” she tilts her head. “Let’s say that two people die at the same time in the same place. And one of them was good, and one of them wasn’t. Can they get mixed up?”

AuDy stares at her for a long second. Aria arches an eyebrow at them, presumably as they think.

“Everyone here is supposed to be here,” AuDy says at last. “Ibex and I have personally confirmed it.”

“Great, thanks, bye,” Aria says. AuDy pops out of existence, and she turns back to Jacqui. “Okay, so what do you want to do about it? And why do you think you shouldn’t be here anyways?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“I’m your soulmate.”

“Probably not,” Jacqui points out. “I mean, if there’s a mistake and I’m not supposed to be here, I’m probably here instead of your real soulmate.”

Aria makes a face. “Well, we live together, apparently, so you’re as close as I’m getting to a soulmate right now. But if you don’t have any better ideas, I want to meet our mansion neighbors.”

“What, Cassander and Larry?”

“Larry?” Aria repeats. “Like, a full grown adult who goes by the name of Larry?”

Jacqui shakes her head. “He’s some famous philanthropist dude. Lots of charity missions. He seems nice. Cassander is the prince on some tiny island nobody’s heard of, and they’re kind of stuck up.”

“They sound like my kind of people.”

“Yeah, they would.”

Aria frowns. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but I still want to meet our neighbors.”

“You seem awfully okay with me being in the wrong place.”

“What am I supposed to do about it? Tell Ibex and get you sent away? That would be awful, Jacqui, I don’t want to do that to you.”

Jacqui stares at her. Aria raises her eyebrows. “You don’t have a very high opinion of me, do you?”

“I don’t have a high opinion of most celebrities,” Jacqui answers. “But you’re not what I was expecting.”

“Good,” Aria says. “I want to meet our neighbors. You can introduce me. And we’re going to figure out how to deal with this. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jacqui says. The corner of her mouth quirks up, and that feels like a victory for Aria.

[genesisarclite]

Hi can I get some uhhhhhh....., some more of them Jensen headcanons?

Yes, Anon. Yes. You most definitely can. Below the cut, because it got stupid long.

- Owns a black dress shirt with gold (real gold threads, by the way, thank you TF29 commission-salary) embroidery across the shoulders. Resembles his coat in MD to a point. MacReady snarks about it being black like everything else he wears, but it looks real slick on him and he knows it. On that same note, his coat in MD cost him several thousand dollars. ACRNYM practically knows him by name once all was finally said and done with the thing…

- Augs allow him to live longer than the average human, and his aging process has already slowed down a noticeable amount. It’s unknown just how long, but some estimates place him in the 150-200 natural-years range.

- Did not like having to walk around without his shades in the Pent House. Felt naked and extremely vulnerable. Being surrounded by a lot of criminals, zealous guards, and lacking access to his defensive augs did not help. Didn’t have nightmares, but does not like to think about it.

- Stoicism comes from a forced emotional shutdown in response to the trauma of almost being killed, then coming to in a world where everything he ever cared about is gone. Smashed his mirror more than once as a result. First time was an accident, others not so much. Claims structural issues. Maintenance is not convinced or amused.

- The presence of a mirror in his Prague Apartment indicates acceptance of his fate. He can’t fight it, can’t change it, so he decided to do whatever he can to make good use of what he’s become. While he still doesn’t really like his augs, he deals with it and has become comfortable enough to function as though they were there from the beginning. He no longer tries to hide them, from himself or others.

- Discussed more at length by others, but is very empathetic and feels very strongly about everything. Becomes a problem when he constantly falls into Hero Syndrome and has to help everyone who needs it, any way he can, all the time. Can’t abandon someone who’s suffering, can’t make anyone suffer, can’t ignore a cry for help, can’t kill without being given literally no other option. He just can’t do it.

- Has a mild case of “survivor’s guilt” that flares up whenever he sees someone hurt or die in front of him, and sometimes questions why he couldn’t save someone that time, though he doesn’t talk about it.

- Tends to express most of his emotion through his eyes, which he’s aware of, so he stays hidden behind his shades. Retracts them when he wants someone to see him for who and what he is, but is reluctant to do so to begin with. Becomes more willing to do so with time and trust, but it’s a long road.

- HR comics are considered, personally, non-canon, so he hasn’t had a significant other since Megan. Is reluctant to do so, due to pining for her even still, but wants to move on. Is willing to love again, but has had his trust shaken and been hurt enough that he’s extremely reluctant to do so. It’s thus been a good three (or more) years since he’s been intimate with anyone, and the resulting lack of emotional intimacy, trust, and physical affection has affected his psyche negatively.

- Doesn’t mind being touched or touching others, per se, but generally likes to do so on his own terms. All the same, can generally figure out when Touch = Bad and react accordingly. If someone needs a shoulder or a hand, he will give it.

- Despite his rather gruff, snarky exterior, is actually warm and affectionate with his SO. Can get rough if she asks, but won’t usually opt for it on his own, mostly due to underlying issues of trust and anxiety. Not huge on actively approaching her for physical affection, but won’t mind if she asks for it or initiates it, and will respond (willingly) in kind.

-Leg augs go up to his hips and lower back, but nothing in his groin has been replaced, leaving his body from there on up mostly organic. Beneath the skin is a metal frame that has replaced his spine and some of his ribs, while also adding a reinforcing bar across the chest to support the arm prostheses. Some of his organs, damaged by Namir, have been replaced with printed synthetic copies, while others were turned outright cybernetic. For the most part, they function like his original organs.

- (yes, you read that right - he still has his genitals. Would be very odd if Sarif, of all people, decided to cut them off!)

- Doesn’t trust Delara and hates discussing personal details with anyone. Tends to deflect attempts to dig under the shell with snark and sarcasm, or gives just enough truth buried under just enough BS that the other person thinks they got something out of him. They almost never do.

- Doesn’t mind being on bottom. Partly because he doesn’t want to risk hurting her (he is pretty solidly built and rather tall, and has great control over his augs but still doesn’t want to risk losing control of them), but also because he likes the form of intimacy it brings - it’s a representation of trust, which he so, so badly desires (though don’t say that about him - he’ll just deny it). Also actually tends to prefer it, in fact.

- Is a fantastic kisser. You’d never guess from looking at him, but he is very good at it.

- Likes to be kissed along his neck. Like, a lot. A lot.

- Respects MacReady and is ultimately less likely to snipe at him than he does Pritchard. They eventually grow to become grudging(ish) brothers-in-arms, with each willing to watch the other’s back whenever they’re in the thick of it. Adam hasn’t been on a team in literal years and forgot how much he missed it.

- Likes to keep lots of little lights on in his apartment, and turned down low. Makes him feel cozy and safe, and helps him sleep, because his circadian rhythm is all out of whack (thanks, Sarif!) and never really reset itself. Has gotten much better at keeping the place clean, but still forgets to do simple things like get the utensils out of the sink from time to time.

- Aria Argento is the only person who’s genuinely kind to him, consistently, and worries about him (one of the most powerful Augs in the world) even when he assures her she doesn’t need to. Doesn’t mind. Rather likes it, actually. Finds it refreshing she never asks anything of him or makes demands, never expects him to do anything for her, or even treats him as anything than Adam Jensen, a normal man. She eventually becomes somewhat of a confidante, though it takes months for him to trust her enough to start cautiously reaching out.

- Can’t get drunk. Metabolism too fast. Also can’t damage his liver (synthetic), lungs (partially cybernetic), or cardiovascular system (wholly cybernetic). Has cut back on the vices since HR, mostly taking them in moderation now, except during periods of extreme stress.

- Usually smells of fine leather (you know the scent), mingled with the faint scent of whiskey and cigarettes. Neither linger long - he keeps himself clean enough that they literally can’t. Occasionally smells faintly of roses. Nobody knows why, and Adam isn’t telling, no matter how many times he’s asked.

- Hair is thick, but soft. Rarely acquires a coarse texture, except if he lets the ends split too much. Skin is generally smooth, due to protection from his dermal armor, and hasn’t developed many signs of age or wear yet. Scar tissue doesn’t form easily, explaining the lack of significant scarring across his abdomen when it was slashed open by the glass.

[angelofthenightposts]

Broken Heart. // Ch.8

 Bill is ready for the next stage of his life after reaching the happy life he can be with the people he loves and the successful career he has always dreamed of. Marrying his fiancé, Alida. But it all takes an unexpected turn when he asks his wedding planner friend, Y/N, to help plan their wedding.

Series Masterlist || My Masterlist.

   Bill enters his home and places his key on the coffee table after removing his jacket and hanging it on one of the chairs around the rectangular dining table. He pours himself a glass of whiskey and settles into the L-shaped couch; it's dark inside and he doesn't want to turn on the lights; he's exhausted, not physically but mentally. His gaze wanders around the room; it doesn't feel like home to him because he only spends a few months of the year here when he isn't traveling to different countries or vacationing with his family. Except for a few frames and trinkets, he has nothing of his own at home. Of course, it looks stunning; with open floor plans and marble counters, it could be the cover of an architect magazine. But for Bill, the things that make a house feel like home are the memories and the people who live in it. It's so sad that Bill has no one but himself. He stretches out his long legs on the coffee table and closes his eyes; he isn't sleepy, in fact, he has so many thoughts racing through his mind that he knows he won't be able to sleep for days.

    He recalls childhood memories and smiles when he recalls the name of his first love or his first kiss. He remembers the wonderful memories he shared with his family, such as how they all watched his first role on the big screen together. When he thinks of Alida, he gets a stomach ache. Being with Alida and attempting to fit into her lifestyle is his biggest regret. He vividly remembers the day he ended his relationship with the woman. It was the same day you abandoned him. If he knew then what he knows now, he would never leave you, he would wrap his arms around you and hold you tightly. He can't get the image of you out of his head; he's spent countless nights trying to forget your piercing eyes and lovely smile. He stopped caring about what was going on around him once he realized you are dug into his brain. He has no idea how many nights he has waited outside your door just to see you for a second. He didn't give up on you or your relationship until he saw the "for sale" sign one day and decided to let you go. You've been accompanying Bill in his dreams for six years, and it's always the same one. You're just staring at Bill with your lovely gaze, and he's holding you tightly in his arms at times. Even though he knows it's all a dream, he swears you're real and present. He can feel your hair as if it were a silk waterfall at his fingertips, as well as your warm body. He's accepted that he'll never forget you, but he also understands that he'll have to learn to live without you. Oh my god, that is the most difficult part of it, so fucking painful...

He stands up quickly and walks to his jacket to retrieve the cold object from his pocket. He shifts his weight to his right and turns on the lamp. He looks at the necklace and attempts to clean it by rubbing the mud off of it. It has a small heart attached to the chain, and when he opens it, his heartbeat quickens. The other side of the heart features a photograph of Aria and you. She has your smile, and it is lovely. Bill falls asleep that night, the necklace still in his palm.

//xxx//

“Are you saying Aria is your daughter?” Bill sighs heavily and looks at his family, who appear both uncertain and happy. Bill drove to Eija's first thing in the morning to share his thoughts with them because his mother is staying there. Even Alex is here; pretty sure he didn't expect to be in this situation when he decided to visit his siblings, but it's a family issue.

“But you don't have any proof.” Alexander speaks up, his voice proving his skepticism, and he has every right to believe it's all Bill's unhealthy obsession with you. He and Bill exchange glances, and Alexander feels compelled to express his thoughts; he knows his brother will be upset, but he need to. “You're hoping that, Bill, because you saw Y/N years later and want to be a part of her life.”

They all watch Bill get out of his seat and pull a gleaming necklace from his jacket pocket. He shows it to them and receives mixed and perplexed responses, "I gave this to Y/N.  I gave her that necklace for her birthday. Aria told me that she had lost her necklace. The one that her father gave her mother a necklace years ago...”

Eija is the first to get up; she quickly takes the necklace into her palms and examines it. "Are you certain that it's the same necklace?"

“Yes,” Bill groans, taking it back with care as if it were the most valuable piece of jewelry.

“Then you should get in touch with Y/N as soon as possible.” As he wraps his arm around his wife, Sam tells him.

Bill is already aware of all of these facts. The only issue is that you don't want to speak with him. “I tried last night in the park before I found the necklace. She walked away. Actually she chooses to ignore me at all. ”

He has no idea where you live, and your new phone number is unknown to him. He doesn't even know your e-mail address, for God's sake. It's more difficult to contact you than it is to travel to the moon. And he's not sure how to approach you; anger and heartbreak don't always bring out the best in both of you. And this is too important a subject to dismiss because of a stupid argument.

“Bill, you have a daughter. Oh my God, what a miracle. ” Bill smiles for the first time after My gets off and hugs her son; it feels great to have someone's support about it.

“I don't want to ruin your happiness, but I think we should wait a little longer before speaking. We do not yet have any information on this subject. The necklace may be meaningless."

Alex and Eija both nod, indicating that they all agree on Sam's point of view. "I, too, want to share in your joy; I really do. But we'll never know for sure unless Bill goes and finds out the truth."

Bill nods and looks down at the necklace he is still clutching tightly in his hand. The necklace pleases his interest a little, but what Aria said is the only thing that keeps him happy and positive. Bill, if the little girl is correct, is her father. For the first time in a long time, his heart is pounding with joy. He found the miracle he needs in his life. A princess of five years old…

//xxx//

"You always say, 'I'm as fast as a flash,' so what took you so long?" Bill steps out of his car and walks over to his nephew and sister. He takes Felix's backpack from his sister and opens the backseat door for him.

“I have to look especially handsome today.” He assists Felix in getting into the car and closes the door. Eija embraces Bill with a bitter smile on her face. It is two days later, the day Bill will try to persuade you to talk.

“Don't screw this up. Try to be gentle with her; remember, everything is up to her. ” He nods and kisses her cheek in response to her wise words.

“Don't worry, everything will be fine.” He winces as he buckles his seat belt, the smell of cologne filling his nostrils. He looks over his shoulder at his nephew before starting the engine, saying, "Really? Was it necessary for you to wear the entire bottle? ”

“Come on, Uncle Bill, we'll be late.” As Bill begins to drive, he recalls that he took extra care to look good today, as well.

It's been over fifteen minutes since Bill dropped Felix off, and he's been sitting in his car waiting for you and Aria to arrive. His fingers keep a rhythm on the steering wheel while he anxiously chews his bottom lip. There's no way you dropped Aria off before them; Bill saw nearly fifty kids enter the building, and Aria wasn't one of them. A black car passes by him and slows down in front of the school building a few minutes later. He straightens up with excitement when he sees Aria getting off the back seat. With a charming smile, he observes the little girl talking to her teacher. Aria waves to the driver's side, alerting Bill to the fact that you're about to drive away. He quickly exits his car and begins walking on the sidewalk. Before entering the yard, Aria notices him and exclaims, "Bill!"

“Hello, beautiful.” The little girl wraps her arms around Bill's neck as she closes the gap between them. Nobody could convince Bill that Aria isn't his daughter as he lifts her up and kisses the top of her head.

“Aria, honey, we need to get to class; your lesson has already started.” Aria reluctantly lets go of Bill while still holding her teacher's hand. When she turns around and blows him a kiss, Bill pretends to catch it in the air and smiles. He has no idea you're watching them in the car. It's incredible how quickly Bill and your daughter became friends; Aria doesn't like everyone. Either out of rage or jealousy, you get out of your car, your teeth clenched.

"Good day, Y/N." Bill is aware of the angry gaze piercing his body but chooses to ignore it. He takes a deep breath and braces himself for the most difficult battle he's ever encounter.

You ignore his attempt to make a good first impression, instead raising your left index finger and pointing at the man. “Keep your distance from my daughter and me, Bill.”

Bill is lost in your gaze as you both stare into each other's eyes for a few moments. You're the first to look away and turn to walk away. “Wait a minute; you're not going to be able to flee as easily this time. We'll go somewhere quiet and talk. ”

“I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to say to you.” When you reach out to open the driver's side door, Bill grabs your wrist, forcing you to face him. For a brief moment, you appear to be peering into his soul; he notices your tenseness and recalls what his sister said, "Everything is up to her."

As he gently releases your wrist, he says, "Please, Y/N, don't go like this. I'll go insane if I don't talk to you a little more. ”

“As I previously stated, Bill, I have nothing to say to you.” You turn around to try to open the door.

“OK, I tried in a good and kind way. You haven't given me any other options." He grabs your waist and starts dragging you to the passenger seat. He is aware that from the outside, he appears to be a crazed lunatic. However, if you want to play harder, he will give you what you want.

"You are aware that this is a crime. You've kidnapped me! Bill has been listening to your scolding for the last twenty minutes and is thoroughly bored. He activates the stereo by pressing a button on the steering wheel. You appear to accept defeat and sink back in your seat, whereas he grins triumphantly and drives close to the shore.

"Come on,” He looks at you before getting out of the car; your arms are folded across your chest, your brows are furrowed; you are not getting out of the car. He sees your obstinacy and rolls his eyes as he opens the door for you. You don't even look back; your gaze is fixed on the water ahead. He licks his lips; his patience is wearing thin. “Y/N. Look, if you want to be tough, I can also be tough. So don't push me and get out of the car.”

You do as he says and walk beside him, both of you silent. He notices your arms snaking around your body and your nose is the prettiest pink. You say, for the first time in a long time, "I don't want your coat," as he begins to remove his coat.

He doesn't listen to you and throws it over your shoulders, but you catch him off guard by shaking your body until it falls to the ground, at which point he arches an eyebrow and picks it up, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

“All right, give me a minute to think about it. You dragged me into my fucking car and drove me here. And I don't care for you. “He laughs at your irritated tone of voice. You, of course, don't like how he reacted to your words, so you confront him. “Tell me what you're going to say; I need to get some work done.”

“All right, I'm not going to beat around the bush,” he pulls out the necklace and shows it to you, he knows he's on the right track when you become even more tense, “I found the necklace. I wanted to speak with you before returning it to Aria. She stated that it was given to you by her father. We're both aware that I'm the one who gave you this. ”

“You did all of this just because of a necklace?” With your harsh and snide voice, he averts his gaze and you continue, "The story of the necklace is a lie. Look,  Bill. She's so young. She is intrigued by her father. Her father is sometimes a magician. He is a captain at moments. She sometimes believes her father is a pirate. She is too young to understand the truth. I'm not thrilled about lying to her about the necklace, but it's what I have to do to make her happy. The necklace you're holding has no importance. It's just a small part of a lie I told to make my daughter happy. ” Bill tilts his head and looks at you, hoping you're lying about it having no meaning. He knows how much you value the gifts, and it is a gift from him. He hopes you're just saying it to upset him.

”Can you tell me who her father is?”

“As I said, it's none of your business. But, if you're curious, she's not yours."

"Don't lie, Y/N.”

“I'm not lying, Bill,” you say as you push a lock of hair behind your ear. "Leave Aria alone. You have no place in our lives."

You turn to leave the scene; you've had more than enough time with him, and when he catches your wrist this time, you're not gentle. "If you don't let go of my wrist right now, you'll regret it," you take a step closer to him, your eyes challenging him.

Bill lets go of you but does not take a step back; instead, he tilts his head and looks you in the eyes, saying, "Tell me again that I am not her father. Look me in the eyes and tell me.”

"You are not her father."

“I know you're deceiving me. Aria is my child. There isn't any other way. I considered her age or the date she was born. We left each other's lives six years ago, and now you're here. You have a daughter who looks exactly like me. You gave her the necklace that I gave you. ”

You bite your bottom lip to keep the tears from falling, and Bill is no exception, tears pricking his eyes. “Y/N, tell me the truth; tell me she is my daughter.”

“She is my child. Bill, we’re happy. My daughter and I are happy.”

“Our. Aria is our daughter, Y/N.”

[avehoneymoons]

Opinion on marlene king :)

YES, you know I’ve been waiting for this one. Buckle your seatbelts kids. 

Okay, where do we even start with her?? Of course I don’t know her personally, so I’m not going to bash her as a person. But as a writer, that’s where the problem lies. Miss I. (ruin your ships as well as your life) Marlene King is the biggest liar of them all tbh. The first four seasons of the show were written well in my opinion. Ships aside, the episodes kept my interest and had suspense. Moving on to season 5 is where things got messy.

Season 5 and beyond is where Marlene got greedy in my opinion. She saw the money the show was bringing in and couldn’t stop. It’s fine if she wanted to continue, but honestly, she had no more storylines left to give. Take the time-jump as a prime example. Nobody’s storylines made sense. Everyone was petty as fuck and back to their season 1 selves. That time-jump made everyone soooo terribly ooc, but Mar didn’t seem to care. However, she cared a whole hell of a lot about those ‘HbO LeVeL sCeNeS!!!!” of some irrelevant ass ships, like Jordan/Hanna and Spencer/Caleb. No offense if anyone likes those ships, but if Mar knew they weren’t going to last, why go on and on about these scenes on Twitter, hyping them up??  

But through this all, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. It can’t be easy to run a tv show. Being the pll fan that I was, I trusted her word. I trusted her when she baited us for months about certain scenes or ships. Told us countless times on Twitter how ‘good things are worth the wait’. Now this is where any respect I had for her went down the tubes.  

THE FINALE. Don’t get me fucking started. She absolutely blew it and she knew it. After the constant baiting, we were handed with that finale. All of our feelings pushed aside because she thought ‘shock value’ was more important than the loyal fanbase that kept pretty little trash going for as long as it did. 

The way the show treated rape and mental illness is absolutely disgusting. Mar did nothing to fix this and didn’t seem to care. In fact, I recall her saying that the Alex/Toby scene in the finale was ‘a hot sex scene’ or something like that. WAKE UP CALL HONEY, that’s not sex, that’s rape. Why can’t Mar admit that?? Why can’t she admit that she wrote rape into her show and chose not to address it?? She took a lot of fucking serious issues and tried to normalize them. This includes several jokes about mental illness that were shown in the show for a ‘quick laugh’. Not sure why she thinks that would be funny. 

But one of my biggest gripes is the way she reacts to fans of her show. After the finale, many of us were upset, for rightful reasons. Now, this is no excuse for people to bully her or call her names, but we have a right to voice our opinions on the show. When several fans began expressing their concerns with the finale, she never seemed to listen. Instead, she always felt the need to back up her storylines, even if they were extremely problematic. 

Take spoby as an example (because when am I not spoby as fuq let’s be real). When fans asked why we were baited to keep watching and when we civilly expressed our concerns, she shut us down. To this day, she is still defending shit on Twitter. She makes fans feel like our opinions don’t matter. Like we all have to agree that spoby ‘HaD aN ePiC tRuE lOvE sCeNe!!!!!’ She sure goes on a lot about how great the finale was, but has yet to address mental illness jokes or rape that occur on the show. 

And how she always mentions how the show is about friendship. Bitch, where???? I don’t remember a genuine friendship scene between these girls in ages. Aria was up Ezra’s ass the whole time and couldn’t care wtf was going on, Hanna didn’t seem to care much about anything the entire time-jump, Emily was given some shit ass storylines (like why did Wayne have to die??? still unsure), and Spence (although she’s my fave), acted completely ooc, only caring about Rat Rivers. And the only guy friendship on the show was shattered too with that dumbass Caleb love triangle. 

Clearly, I still have some open wounds here and I’m tired of Mar acting like our opinions aren’t valid.  

ASK FOR MY OPINIONS! 

[handheldromancenovel]

Lost In You

A/N: This is going to be largely AU due to the fact that the plot in my head came up out of characters I haven't completely sussed out yet. I've only been writing them a few weeks based off real life circumstances that has led to inspiration of things that could happen in the future. That said, a plot bunny happened, and it kinda ran away with itself, so prepare for something really cheesy ahead.

Also, rated T for suggestive language and situations. 

It was bitterly cold outside, and Aria didn't want  to get out of her uncle's jeep just yet. If she turned the car off, the heat would stop running and soon the cold outside the car would cause it to dissipate, leaving them chattering in their clothes, because neither of them thought to bring a jacket. Then again, they were both too stubborn to wear a real jacket most of the time in winter anyway. They were used to the bitter cold winters here; why have a coat when you were only outside for two seconds, from the house to the car, from the car to wherever you were headed into next? It didn't ever make any sense to her.

"You have to stop doing that," she commented gruffly as she glanced over at Ezra. His hand was gripping her inner thigh so tightly, she was sure that by the time they arrived at their hotel later, she was going to have fingerprint bruises.

"I can't help it," he rasped. His pupils were blown, his irises a mere thin blue strip around them. "That only made it worse."

Aria huffed, gulped. She bit down on the inside of her bottom lip.

They had volunteered to go to the store on purpose, because they'd been apart the past few days. Between work, their current living arrangments, and just the general business of the holidays, neither of them had had much time for the other in the past ten days or so. Granted, they had talked copiously on the phone every night, but they were used to a certain lifestyle with one another and being apart so much was a deprivation neither of them knew how to deal with. They didn't know how to function without one another--two halves of a whole.

So when he'd turned up at her mother's that morning, the plan had been to sneak a quickie in, in Aria's bedroom before they had to leave. But of course the snow that hit the night before kept Ezra stuck in a traffic jam that made him fifteen minutes late instead of half an hour early like he'd hoped to be, so when he arrived, they'd promptly left with Ella and Zak, and headed out of the city towards Aria's aunt's house where the rest of her family would be gathering for holiday festivities.

They'd arrived to brunch, and then everyone exchanged gifts, and Aria recieved her gifts from her father as well, which felt out of place, given that they had largely fallen out of touch before Ezra had come into her life, and then upon meeting Ezra and realizing the younger man worked over him at Hollis, he had almost completely cut them both off. It also didn't help that Aria didn't get along with her step-mother, a vile woman whose name she refused to speak, and who had hurt her many times in the past. Still, it was ironic to her when she received the large bag from Byron that morning, that he passed her another, albeit smaller bag, for Ezra.

Shortly after gifts, the younger kids split off to watch a movie while they waited on dinner and dessert to finish cooking, while the older adults settled around the table, talking about the current goings-on in their lives. The millenials settled about the house, and it was around that time that Aria and Ezra started trying to figure out a way to break off from the crowd, into the bathroom for a quickie, but everytime they sought to sneak away, someone was in there, or there was a line three people deep.

Of course, dinner eventually finished. They settled down with their food, and Aria was mentally sending out signals towards her family members parking her in to get the urge to want to leave shortly after dinner so she and Ezra could make a quick exit to their hotel they'd gotten in Philadelphia for the next three nights. It was their big present to each other--four days and three nights without her mom, Zak, and without Hardy.

It was just as she was finishing up the last of her candied yams that her aunt piped up about forgetting to unthaw the cool whip for pie. Aria didn't waste a second; she shot up out of her seat with her keys and insisted she and Ezra would go before he could even say word, even if he did have a forkful of mashed potatoes halfway to his mouth.

"We parked you in," her uncle piped up.

"So give me your keys," she had insisted. "Unless you want to go."

That had been all it took for him to shake his head. He unclipped the keys to his jeep and tossed them across the room at her, and she snatched Ezra's hand yanking him up from the couch, barely muttering 'we'll be back' before they were out the door.

"There's no way it's going to be any easier to break away now than it was before," she said. "Everyone is still here. we're still parked in."

"Then what do we do," he asked her, pouting. He was clearly suffering. So sad.

Aria thought for a moment, her eyes drifting to his lips and how badly she wanted to- fuck- no! Nope. Okay, think.

"A diversion," she said after a moment. "We need a diversion."

"Okay, but what kind," he asked.

Aria looked around and then glanced in the rearview mirror and spotted the grocery bag. She looked back at Ezra and smirked. "Dessert. You and I start a food fight with each other. Start sticking food on each other, we'll HAVE to take a shower."

Ezra furrowed a brow slightly at her. "You want me to waste pie?"

Aria rolled her eyes. "How badly do you want to fuck, Ezra?"

"Okay, okay," he replied quickly. "Let's do this."

.,.

Some minutes later, she stood in the kitchen holding her plate, watching as her cousins piled their plates high with snacks of all different kinds. She was smart, and had stuck with two brownies and a slice of apple pie with whipped cream. Ezra had gone with several slices of different pies, all of which he'd put whipped cream, and she'd told him she didn't care what he did with it as long as no chocolate ended up on her very white, brand new Christmas sweater.

When everyone had finally filled through with their desserts, she waited for him to strike....and waited.

And then waited some more.

When a full five minutes had passed, she glared at him, and he stared back at her, only to shrug his shoulders slightly. She tilted her head back at him, as if to say 'oh, come on. Man up.' Still, he did nothing. So finally, she swiped three fingers through her whipped cream on her untouched pie and wiped it across his right cheek and the side of his nose, smirking at him before wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"Seriously," he asked her.

"Serious," she replied, smirking. She leaned over and licked his cheek.

"Okay," he responded. He swiped two fingers through some of his own whipped cream and proceeded to brush them across her chest, marking her. It was on.

A grin crossed her face, and she rubbed her fingers through the frosting on top of one of her brownies and proceeded to stuff her fingers down the top of the collar of his black dress shirt, rubbing chocolate frosting on his chest.

"Oh hell no," Ezra commented as he placed his plate on the counter. Aria followed in suit, raising her hand as he reached for her arms, and she began to giggle as he tried to fight her into submission. In their squirming, she caught the left side of his face with more chocolate frosting, and before she knew what was happening, giggles were bursting through her chest, and she could feel his body spasming against her own as he laughed. A fistful of apple pie suddenly fell down her chest, and then he swiped all the way up her neck until his fingers caught her mouth, and she bit down, gently catching one of his fingers.

"Ow!" He whined between laughs.

"Bull," she cackled as she pulled half a brownie off her plate. She split it in half in her hand and shoved half of it down his shirt while she reached for his belt buckle with her other hand and did her best to wedge the brownie between his jeans and his body. Ezra took the opportunity at that moment to cover her face with his handprint, which happened to be covered in whipped cream. In the very same moment, Aria grabbed a generous finger full of whipped cream and slipped it along his crotch very suggestively. Unfortunately all the movement at once and Ezra pushing on her head caused her to shift wrong, and her feet began to slip. She grabbed onto his belt buckle, and he slipped his hands around her as she went down so she didn't slam her head against the floor. They both giggled endlessly, staring at the other as he knelt above her a few inches...at least until Aria yanked him down to her level, finally fully shoving the brownie in his jeans and laughing more.

"I love you so damn much," Ezra laughed as he leaned up over her.

She was still laughing, but it was one of those moments where everything was starting to fade back into focus, and she was very aware of what the moment was. She could hear her family members laughing around them, clearly at the sight of them and what had just taken place, and she didn't mind. But more than that, she knew this was one of those moments. This was the kind of moment girls hoped for when they were crying in their beds, contemplating suicide, wondering why they were still trying. This was the kind of moment girls hoped for three days after they met a guy and knew they were falling for them, but were terrified of getting hurt.

Moments like this didn't come often when you'd been broken like they both had been, and you had to learn how to love, by loving each other. But Ezra could still be a closed off person sometimes, so when she got to see this side of him....this kind of moment was what she lived for. This was the man she fell in love with. Nobody really understood that, but nobody needed to,because she always had, even when she hadn't.

"I love you too," she murmured back, smiling at him when she'd managed to catch her breath a bit. He leaned down and pecked her on the lips, earning an 'aww' from a number of family members.

"You guys gonna stay down there," her aunt commented a few seconds later.

Ezra was still staring at her, and Aria's heart was hammering in her chest. She was having one of those 'holy fuck I love you' moments and sometimes when that happened he made it really hard to breathe or move or think or even really just be alive. But he wasn't moving, and he wasn't looking away from her, and it was still quiet.

She wanted to ask him what it was. She wanted to move, or breathe, or speak, but he never did anything fast, and she knew if she did any of that, the moment would be done, and whatever was happening in his head would be over.

She was so aware, in that moment, of her hands. Her left, still gripping his jeans. Her right arm wrapped over his shoulder with her fingers under his collar. She'd gotten frosting on the end of his hair and the back of his neck as well as the top of his back.

Just then, there was something in his eyes, so quick she barely caught it, but it was there. She narrowed her eyes just the slightest at him, was about to inquire, and he finally spoke.

"Marry me."

Gasps drew from the peanut gallery, and if she thought she was supposed to flood with any kind of emotion at the statement, there was no sudden rush, because she'd always known. Within days of meeting him and their innocent flirtation that eventually grew, she knew. Even though he was supposed to be the guy that was out of her league, and she was supposed to be the girl that couldn't handle him and his baggage, they just fit. So she'd known long before there was ever even an 'I like you' thrown into the mix.

"That was always the only plan ever, from the day I told you I felt bad for the woman who had to wake up next to your grumpy 'not a morning person' ass," she chuckled as tears began to roll down her face.  Ezra smiled at her and leaned down and kissed her. She was sure there was clapping and hollering, but she could barely hear it.  

They finally stood a few minutes later when she managed to remove her lips from his own, and she remembered that they needed a shower. Aria asked one of her cousins to retrieve a bag from her car with their clothes in it while her mother and her aunts insisted on snapping a few pictures, since this would now mean they were officially engaged. Aria did her best not to glance into the other room where she could hear her stepmother muttering something about her father not being asked permission for Ezra to propose. Aria didn't care. She knew that he'd asked Ella, and that had all she'd ever required of him.

When her cousin returned with the bag, Aria grabbed Ezra's hand and headed towards the bathroom, tossing the bag onto the bathroom counter when they arrived. Her aunt followed after them, only to pass her a plastic bag for their soiled clothes. Aria closed the door behind Ezra and began to remove her clothes. Once she was down to her lingerie and had her clothes bagged, she turned on the shower and glanced back him, confused that he was still fully dressed.

"What's going on," she asked. "I thought you were all excited."

"I just realized it wasn't a real proposal," he replied somewhat sadly.

Aria sighed and walked back to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Come on, Ezra. It was."

"I didn't give you a ring, I didn't get down on one knee-"

"You asked me to marry you," Aria replied. "I said yes. Some people don't even exchange rings. It's fine. We'll worry about the semantics later."

"People will want to see a ring and proper photos," he insisted. "And I didn't give that to you. I had it all planned too. A few weeks from now."

Aria frowned and then scowled. "Are you really going to take this away from me?"

Ezra looked back up at her after a moment and then gulped and shook his head, albeit a bit sadly. "No." He took a moment, and then spoke again. "No. Just give me a moment." He opened the door and walked out and she gaped at him, muttering a 'what the fuck' under her breath as he closed it behind him.

She didn't bother to wait for him, instead removing the rest of her clothes and stepping into the shower and the inviting heat of the warm water.

Ezra returned about ninety seconds later and removed his clothes without speaking before stepping into the shower in front of her and stepping under the stream of water with her, wrapping his arms around her. Aria sighed into his mouth, leaning against him as he brushed his fingers up her sides until he reached her arms. He ran his fingers up the length of them and clasped their hands together.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips between water droplets.

"Love you more," she replied before shoving her tongue back in his mouth. Ezra let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her again, turning them in place so that she was facing the back of the shower. He steadily walked them backwards until her back hit the wall.

"Mmm, and I need you more," he replied huskily as he ground his hips against hers.

Aria moaned, but shook her head. "Mmmm....mm-mm."

Ezra sighed into her ear, lifting her up as she buried her face in his collarbone. "Yes, hun," he rasped. "I'm always gonna need you more."

.,.

Twenty minutes later, Aria stood in front of the mirror, trying to make sure there wasn't a single hair out of place on her head while Ezra was continuously suckling on her neck, leaving is third hicky since they'd gotten into the shower. She'd long since given up trying to wave him off since it wasn't doing the job. His apetite was clearly going to be insatiable for the moment, but she was pretty sure he'd be tied over at least for a few hours.

"Alright," she stated after a long few minutes. "I give in."

Ezra looked up at her in the mirror and smiled. "You look beautiful."

"Good enough for pictures?" She asked. "Because they're going to want to take more."

Ezra nodded. "Did you get all that food out of my hair?"

Aria nodded back at him. "Yeah, that's why I kept running my fingers through it."

"I thought you were just playing with it like you always do," he replied.

Aria laughed. "No. I was looking for chunks of brownie."

Ezra grabbed their bag off the counter and Aria opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. They walked back out into the family room and Ezra dropped the bag near the rest of their gifts before grabbing her hand, stopping her from going into the kitchen. Most of the family had settled back in the family room as it was, and others had cleared out.

"Here you go," Spencer stated. Aria turned around, suddenly very confused. As she did, she saw her best friend, Hardy, and Hardy's parents all standing nearby. She looked back to ask Ezra what was going on, but he wasn't there. And then she looked down.

"Ezra-"

"I said I didn't do it right," he stated. "Let me do it right."

Aria inhaled a deep breath and then let it out before nodding.

Ezra didn't look up at her for a long a moment, though he held tightly to her fingers in his hand. When he finally gathered his words though, he looked straight up at her.

"You weren't supposed to happen. Not just when you did, but ever. We've both said that. You...you never existed in my wildest dreams. You were unattainable. You don't lose everything the way I've lost it, and make the mistakes I've made, and fail the way that I have failed...and then get you. You just don't."

He paused, and his chin trembled, and it was all Aria could do to not throw herself at him.

"So I pushed, and in a lot of ways, I think I've probably pushed you to the point where I really don't deserve to have you at this point. Because you are so god damn right when you said you love me more. You have loved me through so much bullshit that you didn't have to, and you have loved me when I was putting you through crap because of stuff everyonne else has done that had nothing to do with you, even though you kept saying over and over again that you were nothing like them and you were right, and you kept showing me over and over again that you were different...

"But fuck, baby, I also mean it when I say I need you more," Ezra stated shakily. "You say you can't imagine a life I'm not apart of? I can't, and won't, live a life you're not in. And I don't want to go any longer without recognizing that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and as much as that scares the crap out of me, I've known that for a long time." He took a moment and inhaled a few breaths, blinking a few times. A single tear rolled down his cheek. "So Aria Rose Montgomery, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

That was it. She felt as if someone had her with a sledgehammer in the gut as tears began rolling down her cheeks and she responded in a high-pitched cry, nodding. Ezra opened the black velvet box in his hand and pulled a ring out and slid it onto her finger before Aria launched herself onto him, clinging for dear life as she cried into his shoulder. She was so happy and elated, but also overcome with emotion by all that he'd said that it took her a solid minute to gather herself.

When she finally did, she leaned back and glanced at the ring on her finger, getting a good look at it for the first time. Ezra adjusted it slightly on her finger.

"Does it fit okay?"

Aria nodded. "It fits perfectly."

"Good," he replied. He looked up at her. "This was the one I told you about that my mom really loved. The one they made her take off at the hospital, and she told me never to lose."

Aria's chin began to tremble again, and she wrapped her arms around him once more, clinging tightly to him.

"It's okay," he told her as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. "I figured the best way to not lose it now is to give it to the one person I'll never lose. Right?"

Aria nodded, still clinging to him. She had to remind herself to take deep breaths. Her brain was doing the whole 'he's had a crappy life' thing, and anytime it went there, it was a rabbit hole that was hard to climb out of.

"Okay," he said after a long minute. "Okay?"

She took another breath, and then leaned back and nodded. Ezra kissed her once more and wiped her tears away before kissing her forehead, and Aria finally stood back up before offering him a hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the soon-to-be Mrs. Aria Fitz," Ezra said as he offered Aria's hand towards her family members. That quickly, her mom, aunts, and half her cousins shot up out of their seats, ready to see the ring. She just looked up at Ezra and laughed.

"Love you," she murmured.

He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. "Love you more."

[tremolux]

Darkness Rising

Over the past two years, many of you have asked if I would ever write a followup to my original Lucas theory, Uber A: What’s in a Name?

Well my friends, the wait is over.

The end is near.

The darkness is upon us.

Darkside/Lightside

Grunwald: I've never considered the content of dreams to be important; it's the impressions they leave that affect me... In this case, the dream left me quite unsettled. The sense was strong enough that I felt compelled to come here.

Hanna: The sense of what?

Grunwald: A darkness, around you and Caleb.

Those of you who have already ventured down the rabbit hole of my original Lucas theory will remember a very literal interpretation of one of Mrs. Grunwald’s impressions that singled out Lucas as “the one Alison fears the most.”

My interpretation of that scene has not changed since it was written. Not only was Grunwald speaking in reference to Lucas back then, but she still is now.

In 7x08, Mrs. Grunwald returns to Rosewood with an ominous message about "a darkness" around Hanna and Caleb. Several factors make that statement particularly interesting. Not only are they standing in Lucas’ apartment when she says it, but the idea that “the darkness” lingers specifically around Hanna and Caleb as opposed to the others seems to point towards Lucas. After all, Hanna and Caleb seem to be Lucas' only friends in Rosewood, as far as we can tell. 

Aria: It’s no coincidence that he turned dark after the masquerade ball.

Spencer: Well, Jenna has that effect on people.

Aria: Yeah, but she’s been gone all summer, and he’s still ‘Boo Radley.’

Have a look at 3x01, the episode that Marlene King called "the return of Uber A" when it initially aired, and watch for when the liars observe Lucas in the cafeteria. Aria calls Lucas "dark," point blank, and then says that he's been that way since the masquerade ball, which is when he started hanging around with Jenna. The Boo Radley reference is also a play on words, foreshadowing Lucas’ suspiciously skulking about at Radley later in the third season. 

Lucas is "dark" + Hanna & Caleb his only friends = "darkness" around Hanna & Caleb 

Hanna lives in Lucas’ loft. Caleb is there all the time. Caleb is an investor in Lucas’ business. Hanna is doing business with Lucas.

Lucas is the "darkness," just as much as he is "the one Alison fears the most!"

The Grunwald strikes again! Just like in the previous theory, the profile fits Lucas like a custom tailored suit. 

Having studied Latin, I'm well aware that the name Lucas is rooted on the Latin word lux (lucis), meaning light. "Bringer of light" is the meaning typically attached to the name Lucas. What a perfect synchronicity for a character described as one who “turned dark!”

Interestingly enough, the "bringer of light” meaning is equally applicable to Lucifer, a fallen angel commonly associated with Satan. 

Stunningly, this recent message seems to allude to a fallen condition: 

Embrace your darkness, Em. I’ve had to. That’s how you win the game. A.D.

What’s fascinating is how A.D. seems to offer a glimpse of something personal here, as if speaking from experience as someone who “had to” embrace their own darkness. 

Why did they have to, I wonder? 

Perhaps in order to win a game in which A.D. was an actual participant. A player, as opposed to the conductor. 

Or maybe the oppressed, rather than the oppressor. Sound familiar? 

Lucas is someone who took a dark turn, just like Aria pointed out. Maybe he felt that going dark was the only way to win the game he had been dragged into, as in Mona’s original A-game. 

It’d be kind of a Batman move to do so, wouldn’t it? Kind of a Dark Knight feel to it? 

For Love of the Game

When Lucas returns to Rosewood (post time jump), he’s shady from the get go. He’s barely been in town five minutes before he bumps into Hanna, which comes across as planned. Heavy stalker vibes. He immediately makes it known that he’s extremely rich, as if he’s been patiently waiting for the moment to impress Hanna with the fact that he drives a Jaguar and owns houses all around the world.

Later on, Hanna asks him to be her alibi for the night that Charlotte was murdered, and Lucas has no qualms about lying to the police, even though he’s terrible at it (or purposely flubbing the story.) That’s shady enough as it is, but it’s not long after that when the first message arrives, stating “you know who did it and I’m going to make you talk.” 

Of course Lucas should have suspected their involvement from the moment Hanna approached him for a fake alibi. But he questioned nothing and carried on with a foolish looking white knight act. Of course, you have to consider that he’d really have no need to press Hanna for answers if he could do it more effectively (and anonymously) as Uber ‘A’. 

But by far the most important thing to take away from Lucas’ arrival is that he mentions he’s a highly successful game app developer. Not just software, but specifically games; which is exactly the skill set one would require to create such a monstrosity that combines aspects of a traditional board game with modern technology and real life consequences. The centerpiece is of course an iPhone running a custom designed app. 

It simply can’t get any more on target for clues that Lucas is Uber A. Considering this game has to be his greatest creation to date, his masterpiece, then the very execution of the game becomes a motive in itself. 

There was a brief time (before the messages were signed as ‘A.D.’) when they referred to the sender as “the techie.” Uber A’s work space has been shown full of stray PC boards, disk drives, wire, soldering gear, and electronic test equipment. Definitely “techie” stuff, but the only legit “techies” we know are Lucas and Caleb.  

There’s literally no wiggle room here, folks: it’s either Lucas behind this game, or some new techno-wiz character we haven’t been introduced to yet. It’s getting to the point where it’s impossible to deny that Lucas is involved. Caleb might have the technical skills, but he certainly lacks the specialized game design experience that Lucas has. 

Furthermore, the level of personal detail involved in this game means that the creator has to know everything about the players, the rules, how it’s all supposed to work together, and the game’s ultimate purpose. So there's no chance of pleading ignorance or passing the buck when the nerd finally gets caught. 

Revenge of the Nerd

Please excuse the brief rant, but this needs to be said:

Good luck to Marlene King if she thinks she can pass off this dude as Alison’s twin, or Spencer’s twin, or some other physically impossible, equally nonsensical garbage. It just doesn’t work in any way, shape, or form. And the devil’s advocate argument that “A has all kinds of helpers” gets tiresome and annoying, because it’s pointless and anticlimactic to have an uber villain who never actually gets their hands dirty. 

On the other hand, Lucas has about the right height and build, and the capacity for explosive anger. The sadism and latent misogyny inherent in the cattle prodding of Hanna comes across when this guy beats the pulp out of Ali. I would wager that once Lucas found out Alison covered up the death of her own husband, it enraged him. He saw the perfect opportunity to terrorize her, and he seized it. 

Lucas was low-key happy when he heard Alison was in the hospital after her fall, and I’m sure he’d be thrilled to send her back to the emergency room for a second visit. 

From the very beginning, A’s style and attitude has been an intentional mimicry and mockery of Alison DiLaurentis. Now we have ‘A.D.’ as a new incarnation of the same old patterns. Could it be that Uber A’s endgame strategy is the ultimate set up: to pit Alison’s friends completely against one another, turn them to the “dark side,” and then pin the blame for everything on Alison “A.D.” DiLaurentis? Is that not a brilliant method of destroying Alison once and for all?

“It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame.” -Oscar Wilde

Back in high school, Lucas swore that one day Alison would one day “get what’s coming to her.” An old saying goes that living well is the best revenge, and Lucas certainly lives well, but there’s always the chance that maybe that’s not enough for him. As another saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. And seven years after high school is certainly a cold dish.

Never underestimate a patient nerd who harbors a long term grudge.

Uber ‘A’, Ubergeek

Since the time jump, the Lucas clues have been dropping so frequently that it's hard to even keep track of them all. Lots of people have noted how comic references like The Wrath of Kahn (Star Trek) and The DArkest Knight (DC Comics, Batman) could be a nod towards Lucas and Uber A’s ubergeek status. His bedroom during high school contained several Batman figurines on display. 

Most recently, Emily mentioned the exam that A.D. passed for her; a situation that serves as a reminder how Lucas was known for selling test answers in high school.

And then there are more subtle hints, like Jenna saying "we have an Uber waiting for us," which seems a cheeky double meaning of an Uber driver and Uber 'A', and recalls the season six prom when the Liars saw Lucas and Jenna together, and Spencer remarked that "she probably thinks he Uber'd her there."

That’s all cute, but the important point is: 

Nobody doubts that Jenna and Uber ‘A’ are connected. 

Everyone associated with Jenna turns out to be bad news. 

Lucas has been connected to Jenna since the masquerade ball, yet he's managed to dodge suspicion thus far. How? Why? Just because he seems nice and friendly? Because he let them use his apartment? It doesn’t matter how secure their phones are if they’re always hanging out in an apartment that’s wired with secret microphones and cameras. 

The fact that Lucas has consistently been involved in sketchy situations since the very first season, but somehow stayed off the radar, makes me confident that he’s not simply a red herring. 

Noel Kahn was the latest of Jenna’s long time co-conspirators to be exposed and brought down. And although the narrative hinted towards him being the one who tortured Hanna in the barn, he died before we could get proper resolution on that.

However, this leaves the door open for a hideous and shocking betrayal when the curtain is finally pulled back on Lucas, and reveals that he was the one who stripped Hanna down to her underwear, hosed her down with cold water, and sadistically tortured her with a cattle prod. 

Now that’s what I call dark.

The very idea that this superficially nice and friendly guy would do this to his friend, business partner, and long time crush will send shock waves throughout the fandom, and blow the minds of those who never saw it coming.

Lucas will be exposed as the one behind the masks, and the one behind the game. And then like a broken dam, the truth will come rushing forth, concerning everything he’s done since day one of playing the game with Mona. 

Lucas is the darkness.

Lucas is “the one Alison fears the most.”

Lucas is the genius behind the game.

Lucas is Uber ‘A’.

[ghostie-hoe]

BETHANY IS UBER A AND SPENCER'S TWIN [WREN IS THE REAL CHARLES]

Side note - Theories are supposed to be personal thoughts and speculations, not facts therefore, Don't hate someone for sharing their theories. Theories are for fun. In this theory, Bethany is Spencer's twin and the one calling all the shots - Uber A. Her brother, Wren Kingston is the real Charles. All of what Cece told us was a lie. She was a decoy for Wren. Let's start off by talking about 'that night' as everything will come full circle to this event. So, Alison wants to go out but Jessica gets a phone call from Radley that Bethany has escaped and therefore knowing how much Bethany hates their family - her own family, she refuses to let her daughter out. However, Alison sneaks out and is met with Bethany who throws a rock at the back of her head. This when we see Jessica through the window panicking. Her daughter had just been murdered. Cece Drake was also there that night, she knew what Bethany was planning and went to stop her by throwing a rock at the back of her head minutes later where Melissa Hastings buried her alive. This means that both girls were buried alive and saved by Grunwald. So, as we know Mona was the first A, she found Ali walking around in her dirt-ridden clothes and offered her some help. She helped her fake her death. This would protect her from Bethany. I just want to note - Jessica and Peter = Jason Jessica and Kenneth = Alison Mary and (Peter???) = Spencer, Wren (Charles) and Bethany We don't know who Spencer, Charles and Bethany's biological father is as it hasn't yet been revealed to us. However, we can safely speculate that Peter could have had an affair with both Jessica and Mary or Mary's husband remains unknown and she was forced to give her children up. Spencer went to the Hasting's family who wanted only a second child, already having Melissa and Charles went to the Dilaurentis family where he was given away to Radley and probably mistreated for being Mary's son. Bethany, had the worst of it and was kept in Radley where she had contact with her father however under the rules of the institution wouldn't have been able to socialise with her. In 3x02, when Spencer visits Garret in prison, he tells her "Someone you know well has you completely fooled. People lie but medical records don't." This is aimed at the Hastings family concealing the truth to protect Spencer. As we have been told millions of times "You can't trust a Hastings." and they are remarkable at keeping things hidden. Melissa has on multiple occasions told Spencer that she's been trying to protect her "since before it happened." Garret knew of the existence of Bethany and feud between the families of which got him killed. Veronica has brought up Spencer having an evil twin before in 4x23 - "It was as if there was two of you living in this house. The Spencer we knew and your evil twin." Veronica proceeds to tell Spencer of a story that she doesn't remember of a fight between her and Melissa. It's possible that Spencer doesn't remember as it could have been Bethany Bethany's identity hadn't been revealed for a reason. We have only ever heard her voice and never seen her face. This could point towards her being a twin, Spencer's twin. This also explains why A.D identifies themselves as a master of disguise by wearing masks and various other disguises to hide their identity. It was revealed in an interview that Maddie Ziegler is a huge fan of the show and that's why she was able to be featured in a dance on there. However, the dance could have been symbolism of the events from years ago of Mary giving birth to Spencer and Bethany and then having them taken away from her. In 7x08, Dr Cochran tells Spencer and Aria that he delivered two of Mary Drake's babies (Spencer and Bethany) meaning that there would have been another child, the oldest child, Charles (Wren). You're probably wondering about the Marion situation, this ties in with why Bethany resented Jessica so much. Jessica pushed Marion from the rooftop and blamed it on Bethany, claimed that Bethany had a violent outburst. Her reasoning for this was to prolong their time in Radley and so nobody would find out about Charles and Bethany's existences. Bethany witnessed the murder and used it in her art with the picture of the woman falling. The staff at Radley would believe Jessica over Bethany due to Bethany being a 'fragile patient' And so Marion's death was ruled a suicide. This wouldn't be a Bethany theory if I didn't decode her art work. We know the character of Bethany Young by her art work. The most significant one being Jessica represented as the devil with the words Liar around her. Bethany hated Jessica, this was evident by the stories of Jessica taking Bethany out to the stables and buying her a horse and her getting frustrated and throwing a bucket at her for Jessica asking her to call her 'Aunt Jessie.' Bethany had befriended Charles (Wren) and therefore knew a little about the family already, therefore some of the hate Bethany had for Jessica could have been bread through that. The drawing of the young girl being taken away by the monster could represent Bethany being taken away from her twin - Spencer. Yes, Spencer and Bethany would only have been present together at birth but Bethany probably had an emotional connection whe finding out about Spencer's existence and drew that picture. The monster represents the Hastings and Dilaurentis family who 'tore them apart.' The next drawing I'm going to be talking about is the therapy session. We see a young girl with blonde hair having a therapy session. However, we only see her from behind. This picture could represent multiple situations - Jessica meeting with the Radley staff to talk about Marion's 'suicide', How Bethany sees herself (people turned their back on her etc) or Cece Drake admitting herself into Radley as Ali as we find out in 1x01, Cece tried to get admitted under Alison's name. Due to the fact that Aria seems to be obsessed with Mirrors, when I first saw the pictures Bethany drew of the blonde girl looking in the mirror similar to the way Aria did in 1x01, I always thought that tied into Bethany being Aria's twin or Aria being A. However, the concept of a Mirror means parallel, the other half. Spencer can be seen looking into a mirror in a scene where the girls are searching Mona's bedroom and it only shows one half of her face. Foreshadowing her having a twin? Another half? In the dollhouse, Spencer has a run in with Charles where she's stood face to face with him. I don't believe for a second that the person opposite Spencer was Cece. If that Charles story was true, Why would she go through the trouble of dressing up as a man? Spencer said the person felt familiar. That's because the person opposite her was Wren. Wren would feel very familiar to Spencer. When Mary visits Spencer, she decides to bring up how alike Melissa and Spencer look and Spencer proceeds to mention that they would get confused as twins. Could this foreshadow Bethany and Spencer being twins? Spencer comes to Hanna in a dream in the same way that Alison would in flashbacks. However, we know now that some of those dreams/flashbacks were actually Alison. Like when Alison visited Hanna in the hospital. Could the same thing be happening here? When Hanna is captivated by Uber A, Spencer comes to her and says "if there's a way in there's a way out.' And mentions A.D coming in and out. Spencer got in.. or rather Bethany got in to tell Hanna this. Also, Spencer now has a full fringe and this 'Spencer' doesn't. Hanna doesn't even know of A now going by A.D until Bethany mentions it. Now let's talk about Wren as Charles. I'm not fully dismissing the story Cece told. A small fraction of it could have been true as for example the bathtub story. Kenneth and Jessica gave up Charles after the incident and that's where Charles and Bethany met and found out about their connection - Being brother and sister. From there, they hatched a plan to ruin the lives of the people that ruined theirs. (Think Emily Thorne on Revenge) Wren studied medicine and soon became a doctor under the name Wren Kingston. When he was released from Radley he had an identity change and was 'Wren Kingston' a British doctor. His part of the deal was to seduce Melissa (who he isn't related to in anyway' to get close to Spencer and the liars. We later find out in season 7 that Wren broke up with Melissa upon finding out she killed his sister. However, he knew that she didn't kill her because he was working with her. - [ ] How do Cece and Sara come into all of this? Cece and Sara both worked for Wren and Bethany throughout the series, after the game was stolen from Mona. Sara was runaway who was recruited by Cece. The team needed all the the help The could get. A is everywhere. And the only way A could be everywhere is by having accomplices. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK OF THIS. I WOULD HONESTLY LOVE FOR BETHANY TO BE UBER A AND SPENCERS TWIN AND HAVE WREN BE CHARLES BECAUSE IT ALL MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

[grabtee]

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It’s time to get real folks. Known for setting a new milestone in alcoholism. How alcoholic u should be to drink the liquid where a dismembered human body part of a dead dude was immersed. That alcoholic. There’s another reason to not donate your body parts to ‘science’. Your toes end up in a bottle of plonk. I’m scratching my name off the organ donor list, thanks to that dead waste of oxygen. May the Sugar Skull Tattoos Christmas Shirt feast upon his toes. The fact that there are people willing to eat live insects just for the sake of being on TV is horrifying enough.

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I’m not expecting anyone to change their opinion I think it’s fantastic that you appreciate the Sugar Skull Tattoos Christmas Shirt and good insect munching celebrity community. The world needs many more people like you. Your opinion is very valid and when the planet and human life and all animals are extinct we know who to thank for it. It will be all those celebs spending such valuable time in communities around the world eating insects. As long as they also stop tormenting live snakes and rodents by inflicting the loud, terrifying shrieking of vacuous nobodies on them as well. It’s funny.

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People freaked out by insect-eating. Which is actually healthy and part of many cultures’ diets. Yet the Sugar Skull Tattoos Christmas Shirt freaked out people will happily eat that modified shite from Maccies. What a time to be alive. For what reason. The of my knowledge considered backward by some of the West world called civilized by more and more people, marriage consists of a man and a woman. Tolerance doesn’t mean do whatever you want at any cost. The term family in its classic meaning seems to be dying, unfortunately.

[beasuniverse00]

  1961 Betty and Barney Hill Abduction

1975 The Travis Walton Abduction

1976 The Allagash Abductions

These are just three of some of the best documented alien abductions . Despite intense investigations and obtained evidence proving the truthfulness of abductees’ confessions, most of the people don’t believe in existence of extraterrestrial life, or probably a chunk of them do, yet they are scared to admit it, in case if they were to be ridiculed.

Betty and Barney’s case is the earliest one that has been efficiently documented. That doesn’t mean that it was the very first abduction. In fact, I tend to think that one of the earliest, documented evidence of alien abduction can be found in the most popular book in the world. Yes, I am talking about The Bible itself. Am I too much? I don’t think so. Just have a look at those religious ones. The same Wise Men (scientists and whatever sceptics) that draw a circle on their foreheads when you mention a little grey man, they do believe in God and Immaculate Conception. Even if they don’t run to the Church every Sunday, they still celebrate Easter and Christmas, send their kids to Catholic schools, organise Christenings and Communions, prey when in trouble… Royal weddings and coronations are performed by Church Officials… All this in the name of God! But please, let me ask one question: has anyone ever seen the God? And the answer is – no. Yet many, many people take and do things “on faith”. Why? There is no one (documented) case of a person from Earth being face to face (not to mention visitation in Heavens) with the God. There were reports of Holy Apparitions but no one has ever seen the God “in flesh” or at least “in silhouette”; the only experience was a beam of light or a voice heard coming from somewhere. Yet people firmly state that it was the God talking, or showing a sign. Nobody can say what does He look like but they know that He exists.

How about Aliens then? People have seen them, people have heard them. They can describe them, they were even taken by them, touched, experimented on etc. So why are the aliens a “myth”? Because they are too real? Because they are not magical enough? Because they are far smarter than us? Well then, I dare to ask – what if “little grey men” ARE THE GOD? HUH?

  The Madonna with Saint Giovannino – Arcangelo di Jacopo del Sellaio

Rama being welcomed upon his return to Ayodhya in his “flying car.” Some ancient astronauts proponents claim this narrative is further evidence for flying vehicles, or Vimanas, in antiquity.

If we look back as far as the ancient times, we can find the evidence of someone/something coming to Earth from the skies in murals and paintings from that era. We can see that evidence throughout the centuries in art, and later, in photography. The proof is sometimes so evident that it’s quite a ridicule to listen to some “simple” or “scientific” explanations of some things that we saw. Following this ridicule we learn about diamond or triangle shaped weather balloons (size of the football pitch), military flares flying upwards (often leaving a spiral shaped trail showing their “ordinary” trajectory). Huge beams of light coming from giant, silent objects hanging above our heads are explained as Hollywood reflectors shooting beams towards the sky. The list goes on. And you know what? People say “oh, that’s right, it must be”, just because it came from the authorities. Deep inside, everyone knows that all this talk is just a pile of BS, yet nobody dares to say otherwise. Well, I do. But… I am nobody, so who gives a damn?

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The cryptic drawings, known as petroglyphs, appear to show two men in helmets with strange weapons – proof that ancient astronauts came to Earth

The so-called “Helicopter hieroglyphs”, at Abydos, Egypt, which are argued to depict flying craft

Ezekiel’s vision – Wheel within the wheel

Ancient astronauts proponents suggest that aliens came to Earth long ago, citing such things as this ancient Mesopotamian cylinder seal.

We can’t deny the evidence though. It’s all there. Whether in ancient times or now, we have to stop fooling ourselves and look at things as they really are.

If we assume that God is actually an alien being, it all fits. Our moral qualities are all depicted in the Bible, which was dictated by the God. We are God’s (Aliens’) end product, which is still being modelled and improved. As in every experiment, there are successes and failures. In ancient times, vision of Heaven and Hell were the tools used to keep the subjects in order. As we (humans) became smarter over the years, many of us diverged from religion and therefore different measures were necessary to keep the experiment going. However, we have to admit that civilisation on Earth seems to be a project that is heading towards a disaster.

Assuming that we are an experimental creation, it is not said that we have to be the only one world created by the God. Let’s just consider for a moment that there were numerous worlds created on other planets, other galaxies, other universes. The civilisation developing such an experiment would have to exist far before our one and long enough to acquire the knowledge that would make it all possible. By mastering the interstellar travel and communications, they were able to reach planets positioned so far away from each other that it would be impossible to separate worlds to get in touch with each other. It is possible that every environment, where life has been planted, differ very much from one another. We know that life developed from a single cell. A cell that underwent enormous evolutionary changes to achieve the best adaptation to the surrounding environment. Various factors, such as the atmosphere, gravity, pressure, temperature, and many others have been considered to create the life as we know it.

The same cells could be planted in various environments, with different atmospheric conditions and therefore whatever developed there, could take completely different form. We could even speculate that there is a life form of some kind on all the planets! Why not? Because on some of them nothing what comes from Earth will survive? How do we know that? We, creatures from Earth, are so much up our asses that we blindly assume that our conditions are the only ones that can support life. We need water because our bodies are made mostly of water. The cells planted on Earth used water as a building material and combined it with another sources to create a human being. It could be that cells on other planets used other materials to create something different. Maybe more resistant? Maybe even more intelligent? How can we know? There was no need for water to build life. Maybe elsewhere life is build from completely different materials?

Do you remember my theory about our physical bodies being just a housing for energy? Well, that theory seems to be very plausible, if we assume the existence of life on other, harsher than ours, planets. Energy doesn’t need water to survive, nor does it need habitable conditions to exist. Energy IS life in itself and the way it presents itself depends on the physical conditions surrounding it. Isn’t it scientific enough theory to consider?

Numerous alien abduction cases support the theory too. Many of the abductees report remembering being taken to the alien spaceships through the walls or closed windows. Obviously human body would not be able to perform such a task but an astral body – very much so. This would also explain how husband/wife of the abductee, sleeping in the same bed, has no idea what’s going on. You might ask – how about scars and microchips found in physical bodies? Well, I don’t know if you noticed but abductees reporting “going through the wall” were not subjected to experiments. They were just in “verbal telepathic” contact with aliens. Those who found physical evidence of being taken, were usually transported via opened doors, or windows, or simply while being outside. Just that should give you something to think about. For now – good bye and see you in another Chapter.

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WE ARE NOT ALONE!!! Another proof that EVERYTHING in this world has a scientific explanation. 1961 Betty and Barney Hill Abduction 1975 The Travis Walton Abduction 1976 The Allagash Abductions These are just three of some of the…

[walkerismychoice]

Unwritten (Raleigh X MC AU)  - Chapter 1

Book: Platinum

Pairing: M!Raleigh X MC

Rating: This series will contain mature themes. Any necessary warnings will be listed before each chapter, but the overall series rating is 18+

Note: So I've been trying to come out of my unofficial writing hiatus for quite some time. Leave it to @choicesarehard​ having a birthday to get me to jump right back in with a whole series. This is an AU, and although some of the story follows along with parts of the book, there are major deviations as well. If anyone wishes to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know.

Word Count: 1369

Happy Birthday (belated) birthday @choicesarehard​!

Master List

"Ms. Campbell?"

"Huh?" Aria snaps out of her meditative trance. It feels as if she' been waiting for hours, but she's been too nervous to keep track of the time. "I mean, yes, that's me."

The young but already hardened looking executive assistant seems unimpressed as she gives Aria the once over, lips pressed in a thin line. "Mr. Knight will see you now."

Aria self-consciously smooths her pencil skirt and tugs at her thrift store blazer. What is she doing here trying to pretend she belongs amongst this designer-clad crowd? Just days ago she was working in a smoothie shop, and now she's meeting with Ellis Knight, owner of Overnight Records and probably the biggest name in the business. She hesitates, telling herself this is the last chance to turn around and run back out the door, but finds the courage to move forward following the assistant through Ellis's office door.

Aria had always dreamed of a career in music. With her parents both being music teachers, her musical talent and interest have come naturally. As much as they had encouraged her to follow in their footsteps and go the practical route, it wasn’t her dream. Singing and songwriting have always been her passion. However after multiple rejections and being stuck working a mall job, she’d been beginning to think her parents were right when fate stepped up to the smoothie shop counter in the form of pop-star Avery Wilshire. Too stunned to speak, she’d been mortified when her coworker and best friend Shane gushed about Avery being Aria’s musical idol and slipped him a piece of paper with the link to her YouTube channel. The only way it could have been worse would have been if she’d been wearing the store’s banana costume. She’d gone to bed replaying the embarrassing exchange over and over in her head, but it had been all but forgotten when she woke up to her notifications blowing up after Avery followed her on Instagram and shared one of her music videos. Several phone calls and one week later, and now she’s here in Ellis Knight’s office surrounded by important-looking people, wondering if this could be the start of something big.

“Ms. Campbell,” Ellis begins as he shakes her hand and they all sit down. He’s even better looking in person than in pictures with his perfect, bright white, probably veneered teeth and neatly coiffed, dark silver-gray hair, making him all the more intimidating, even if he is old enough to be her father. “I’ll cut right to the chase. I’ve listened to your demos and you have a raw talent; that’s undeniable.”

“Thank you, Mr Eliis,” Aria blushes.

“...But, I don’t see us being able to sell you as a mainstream artist.”

Aria’s heart sinks to her stomach and she’s wondering why he brought her here just for another rejection. ”Okay, well thank-”

“Wait, let me finish,” Ellis insists. “I meant yet. You do have potential, and that’s why you’re here. But like I said, your talent is raw and you need time to develop, and time is money in the music industry. While you aren’t ready to make it on your own yet, paired with the right artist, you could have hits on the radio in no time.”

“So what are you saying? You want someone else to sing my songs?”

“Not exactly. We have an artist that’s struggling, in more ways than one, to finish out the last album in his contract.”

“You can’t be serious!” A petite woman with a sleek black bob and striking blue eyes interjects. “Her style is all wrong for him.” 

“Fiona...” Ellis warns.

She shoots Aria a mildly apologetic glance. “No offense.”

Once he says her name, it sparks her memory, It’s Fiona Syed, manager of Avery Wilshire among other big names. Aria tries to play it cool. “None taken...I guess. I’m not even sure who we are talking about.”

Ellis clears his throat. “Unfortunately due to the need for discretion, you won’t know who this artist is until after the contract is signed. Like Fiona said, your style does not quite mesh with this artist, but there are elements there. As mentioned, we can’t use any of your current songs for him, but together, I think you could create something with real mass appeal.”

None of this makes sense. Why all the secrecy, and why her? Aria has so many questions. "What are the terms of the contract?”

----

On the way to the beach house, it all seems so surreal. Aria has agreed to spend the summer holed up with an unknown artist in an undisclosed location writing songs. At least Fiona, now also her manager, will be there. Wow, just even thinking about having her own manager feels so weird. Despite their rocky start, Fiona has been polite and professional, if not exactly warm towards Aria. Her chest flutters as they approach the light blue, cape cod style home on a secluded area stretch of Atlantic beachfront. Knowing that Fiona is also Avery’s manager has Aria both excited and terrified that he could be the mystery artist.

Aria steps out of the car just as a black Escalade with dark tinted windows approaches.

Fiona holds out her hand. “Give me your phone.” Picking up on Aria’s confused expression, she elaborates. “Remember the contract? We can’t risk anyone finding out about the location or who’s here. Streams of fan-girls traipsing along the beach trying to get pictures will not bode well for productivity.”

“Yes, that’s right.” It’s a little annoying because it’s not like Aria would break the contract even if she had access to her phone, and she’s most definitely going to feel like an appendage is missing the first couple days, but she gets it. She knows from her days in the Avery Wilshire fandom on Tumblr just how crafty those fan-girls can be. They can give the CIA and FBI a run for their money. Even one non-descript photo could lead to their location being found out. 

Aria has little time to grieve the loss of her phone before the Escalade stops and the back door opens up. She reflexively stops breathing as the figure emerges and has to make a conscious effort to pick her jaw up off the floor. It's not the sandy blond, squeaky clean, heartthrob she was expecting. Quite the opposite, in fact. Raleigh Carerra, the tattooed, dark, smoldering-eyed, hotel room-destroying, Puerto-Rican boyband member turned solo R&B artist, has an image that’s far from wholesome. Not that she’s a puritan saint herself, but she now see’s why Fiona had objected to Aria writing with him. What could they possibly have in common, musically or otherwise?

“There’s no fucking signal out here.” Raleigh holds his phone up, seemingly searching for service.

Fiona reaches up on her tiptoes and snatches the phone out of his hand. “Good thing you won’t be needing one anyway.”

"Hey, give that back. I need to let everyone know where the party is tonight since nobody would tell me the address before we got here." Raleigh reaches for his phone just as Fiona tosses it to the Escalade driver, an imposing figure in a navy suit and dark sunglasses.

"Hank...C'mon man," Raleigh pleads.

Hank slips the phone in his suit pocket and crosses his arms across his chest, face fixed in a stone-like expression.

"Fine, but we'll be discussing this later. Where are the guys? How am I supposed to write without my team?"

Fiona rolls her eyes. "Seeing as you've been working with them for months and all you have to show for it is a lot of late night partying and charges for property damage, we figured a new approach was needed. Meet your new writing partner, Aria Campbell.

Aria smiles sheepishly as Raleigh seems to notice her for the first time. He smirks ever so slightly, before his lips turn downward and his eyes narrow.

"What, am I supposed to write a fucking Kidz Bop album or something now? I'm sure you're lovely, sweetheart, but this isn't going to work. Hank, take me back home." Raleigh gets into the back seat of his car and slams the door shut.