#girl why did i decide to add like. plot and shit.

[smolalienbee]

tomorrow. i post.

[trippinsorrows]

looking through your eyes + eight

authors note: so....i like cliched shit, so there's some of that here. hope it's not too much. this one is also very heavy at points, so please read the warnings, but it def has its moments that help progress the plot. also, the book referenced is a real work that we often use in therapy with survivors of sexual trauma. an excellent, powerfully healing read. i own neither the book nor the excerpt used.

if any cw/tw’s are missed, please let me know, and i will add them!

cw/tw: references to csa, aftermath of csa, character being triggered, scene of violence/torture, fluff, angst, language, and suggestive themes

song inspo: ‘looking through your eyes’ by leann rimes

masterlist

words: 12k (i clearly don't know how to stop. it is what it is)

It's out of our hands We can't stop what we have begun

---Leann Rimes

“Clarke.”

There’s a heavy sigh followed by continued writing, icy blue eyes focused on the report before her instead of the irksome man before her, no doubt giving her those ‘fuck me’ eyes that would be an HR nightmare if HR actually did any fucking thing at this precinct.

She finishes her quote before asking with all the intentional disinterest, “what do you want, Reed?”

His question, as well as his intrusion by her desk, is expected. “why aren’t you joining the rest of us for the luncheon today?”

It’s none of his business, and Danica has no issues telling him that in intentionally vague terms. “Got somewhere to be.” 

Finally looking up, she sees Reed’s gaze go cold. “Where?”

Danica drops her pin and answers in the sweetest yet nastiest voice she can muster before 10am. “Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but the Miller girl is being released from the hospital today.”

Reed is just as confused as he is stupid. “Who?”

His obtuseness shouldn’t surprise nor irritate her, but it does. She remembers every single case she’s ever worked, and she’s certain this one will always remain at the top of the list. No matter how far she gets into her career. “Solana Miller. Xavier Miller’s daughter. The home invasion—”

“I know.” Reed’s almost relaxed, nosy disposition has entirely shifted. “Captain said the case was closed. Kid doesn’t want to press charges.”

“That kid is fucking traumatized. Don’t put that on her. Xavier is the one refusing to let us proceed.”

Reed leans forward, harshly whispering, “keep your fucking voice down, alright? Miller is…..he’s not someone you want to piss off. If he says we don’t run it, then we don’t run it, got it?”

“And who the hell is he to decide how the law works?” Clarke is also leaned over her desk, almost a month worth of pent up frustration with the lack of justice bubbling to the surface. “You read that medical report. You were on the scene. You don’t beat a grown man the way they beat that little girl. She could barely fucking walked. Dragged herself to a neighbors to ask for help. It’s a miracle she’s still alive.”

“But she is, okay?” He’s also matching her energy, just as passionate about blatant injustice as she is for said justice. “The best thing to do for that kid is to let her go home, heal, and move on with her life.”

And that’s the part that almost breaks her, that almost makes her shift from her role as an advocate to the survivor within that so deeply identifies with Solana.“You really think it’s that simple? Like she can just go back into the house where she was raped and almost killed and pretend like nothing happened?”

“No, I don’t know, Clarke, and quite frankly, I don’t care. I’m moving on and picking my battles wisely.” His voice switches to something ominous. “And if you knew what was good for you, you’d move on too.”

Aware of the underlying implications of his warning, she calls his bluff, “you threatening me?”

“Believe it or not, I actually do like you, Danica, but you’re playing a dangerous game.” Reed’s voice lowers again, and Danica almost feels like he’s trying to be genuine. “I know you’re still new around here, so let me give some free advice. Xavier Miller is a dangerous man. He’s got friends in places you don’t want to find out about. Leave this alone before you’re the next mutilated body we find floating in the river, alright?”

________

Danica Clarke has always been stubborn, a trait she’s certain will lead to her demise, but if this is the route that brings her to said demise, she’s okay with it. 

Danica waits in the doorway, aware of how knocking can be alarming. She waits and assesses for the moment Solana’s gaze is close enough to where she won’t be as startled. “Hey there, pretty girl….”

Sure enough, Solana jumps a bit, and Danica is pleased to see the swelling on her face has gone down tremendously and the bruising has started to fade to an almost flesh toned color. She looks less at death’s door than the first time Danica was introduced to the 12-year-old.

“Can I come in?”

As expected, Solana doesn’t say anything, just nods quietly. 

Danica moves to sit in the chair on the side of the bed. “Heard you were getting released today….” Danica studies Solana carefully, adding kindly, “may be kinda nice to have a change of scenery.”

Solana remains quiet, but Danica has been around enough survivors, remembers her own survivor story, to know that nothing feels nice or good in the immediate aftermath. There’s just numbness and pain. No in-between.

“I’m so sorry there’s nothing more I can do to help you, Solana. I really am.” And she means that with every fiber of her being. “You didn’t deserve this. You deserve justice, and I wish there was more I could do, but….my hands are tied.” Danica’s only been at this precinct for less than six months, and while asking to be transferred won’t be a good look when evaluations roll around, she doesn’t give a fuck. She can’t serve with bastards who would let sick fucks like Solana’s attackers walk around freely. 

It’s too repulsive.

“But, I do…..I want to give you something.” Danica reaches into her backpack and pulls out something she hasn’t had to look at in years. A book, thick, with yellow, paperback binding. The edges are a bit worn, and certain parts are highlighted, but it’s still just as powerful nonetheless. “When I was….a little younger than you, I was raped too.” Danica sees Solana’s gaze lift up, surprise and shock written on her face. “And it wasn’t until I was a freshman in college that I started to heal and finally process what’d happened to me.” Danica’s lips press together. “The counselor I saw in college, she gave me this book, and it changed my life.”

Solana looks down, reading the title, typed in big, black letters: The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse.

“I wanna read something out of it for you, if that’s alright?” Consent, especially now, is everything, so Danica waits patiently for Solana again to nod, permitting her permission to read. 

With a deep breath to also prepare herself for revisiting the past, she begins reading a passage that Solana can see she has highlighted. 

“I know you're in a world of pain, but that pain will lessen. At the beginning you can't see that. You can only see your pain and you think it will never go away. But the nature of pain is that it changes— it changes like a sunset. At first, it's this intense red-orange in the sky, and then it starts getting softer and soften. The texture of pain changes as you work through it. And then one day, you wake up and realize that life isn't just about working through your abuse; it's about living, too.”

Danica looks up to see Solana sniffling, wiping at her eyes. She’s tempted to reach and take her hand, but she also knows better, knows that the last thing this child wants is to be touched.

“I want you to have this, Solana. I want you to take it, and when you’re older, when you’re ready to reclaim your voice, and you will, I want you to read every word in here. From cover to back cover. You’re gonna be okay, sweetie. You don’t feel it now, but you have to believe it.” Her eyes gloss over. “Don’t ever stop living, Solana.”

“Solana.”

Flashbacks and memories from that time of her life don’t happen often, and it’s an intentional thing on Solana’s part.

She doesn’t like thinking about that part, but this certain memory has now revisited her a total of three times now. Twice in a dream and now in the middle of a conversation with Bayley and Naomi.

That…..that can’t be a coincidence.

“I’m sorry.” Apologizing seems like the most appropriate thing until Naomi shakes her head.

“Roman said we’re not supposed to accept or condone you apologizing for anything, so imma pretend like I didn’t hear that, sis.” 

Roman….

He confuses her. 

He’s certainly unlike any man she’s ever met. And though that number is far from generous, he’s still the anomaly. 

After essentially rejecting what was an….interesting, unfamiliar, different experience between the two of them, she expected him to be upset. To be frustrated. To be absolutely all over her baggage. To ignore her.

But, that’s not what happened, none of that has happened. Instead, he’s carried on like nothing happened, like she didn’t run away from him in near tears. 

Like they didn’t….like they didn’t almost have a moment.

He’s stayed true to his word in that he’s met her every day after work in the week that’s passed. And while the first day was awkward, mostly on her part, they’ve fallen back in that same confusing yet peaceful space. 

Confusing yet peaceful…that seems to be the theme since the day she said “I do.”

It’s not uncomfortable nor unpreferred over where she came from.

It’s just…..different. 

“Oh—okay.” Solana doesn’t know what else to say but notices that Naomi looks like she has something else to say but is hesitant. “Is—is everything okay?”

That seems to be the door that paves the way for said conversation.  “I’ve been thinking. You’ve come a long way. Like, you’ve really got the basics down, all the defensive positions, even fluidity of movement.” It’s leading up to something, Solana is certain of this, but it also means a lot to her that Naomi believes she’s progressed. Doing well with this or even retaining Naomi’s training is something she never saw for herself. “I want to advance you to learning attacks. Solana’s stomach starts to tighten. “With weapons.”

And there it is.

Solana winces. “Weapons?”

Bayley sighs, joining in to help Naomi present her case. “We wanna teach you how to use knives.” Solana’s stomach tightening quickly morphs into twists and knots. “Hear me out, please. I know….I know that’s gotta be a sensitive thing for you, and I totally understand why, but knife fighting is a really great skill to have, even if just to have one on you at all times and know how to use it if need be.”

“And let’s be honest, Roman isn’t going to let anything happen to you to where you would need it, but still.” Something tells Solana Naomi isn’t wrong about that. That neither woman is wrong in what they’re saying, but just the conversation brings back flashes of that night, the night that left the physical and mental scars she still bears now.

Bayley offers a sympathetic smile. “Just think about it, okay?” Solana can do that. She will do that, just….maybe not right now.

And she doesn’t have to because Roman and the twins suddenly enter the gym space. Solana’s stomach tightens seeing Roman shirtless, a sight that’s happened a couple times now, and each time doesn’t seem to make it any easier on her nerves. If anything, it gets worse.

“Whassup, ladies.” Jey greets, clapping his hands as he asks, “ya’ll ready for tonight?”

“Tonight?” Solana speaks up, not directing her question to anyone in particular, but Bayley is the one to answer. “What—what’s tonight?”

“Night of Champions.” She then goes on to explain. “It’s one of our annual wrestling events. Naomi and I are competing.”

Curious, Solana turns to Roman. “Are you fighting?” 

Jimmy, however, is the one to answer. “Soso, Big Dog don’t do these events no more. Not very often anyway, but he’ll be there.”

“Can I come?” Solana directs her question to Roman, knowing that it will be his call. He eyes her unexpectedly. 

“You want to?”

She nods, referring to the group. “I—I wanna see them fight.”

It also feels like the right thing to do, to support the two women who’ve been nothing but supportive of her since day one. Even Jimmy and Jey with their often inappropriate comments about her body and continuous praise over her cooking abilities. It’s still always been very respectful in a strange sort of way.

Roman steps towards her, and Solana finds that it takes a concentrated effort to keep her eyes on his and to not gaze downward. Him being shirtless before her doesn’t help with the attraction she’s still trying to wrap her head around and navigate. 

He lowers his voice, asking, “you sure?”

She’s confused only for a second when she remembers why he seems to be ensuring this is what she wants. This will be the first time Solana has returned to the Warehouse since Grayson and Austin’s attack, since she caused a whole scene that resulted in the whole damn place being shut down and Roman sending a grim message to all.

For a second, she backs away, retreats from her initial desire. Briefly tells herself that this isn’t what she wants, but that other distant voice in the back of her head, not as present or loud, seems to win the battle this time around.

“Yes,” is the final answer she settles on. “I’ll be fine.”

Roman nods, informing. “We leave at 6:30.”

Solana starts to wonder about what this night could entail when Jey suddenly expresses, “It’s kinda nice outside. I think I’m gonna go for a swim. Get in that aquatic cardio.” 

Jimmy also cosigns this after sharing a quick kiss with Naomi. “Oh shit, yeah, lets’ do it

Roman is instantly annoyed, asking with all of the exasperation. “Don’t ya’ll have a pool at your houses?”

“Yeah, but yours is nicer.” Jimmy answers like it’s the simplest thing in the world. He then looks over at Solana, asking, “you joining us, Soso?”

And that, not the idea of returning to the place where she was almost attacked, is what brings on the heavier anxiety. Once upon a time, Solana loved the pool. Swimming with her mom on hot, summer scorching days used to be some of her favorite memories. Now, those memories are plagued with flashbacks of being held under water, a form of torture implemented by her brother.

“N–no.” Solana catches Roman’s gaze on her, the way his eyes dip to her running her fingers against the sides of her workout pants. “I—ummm—I’m going into work for a little bit today, so I should get ready to go.”

Roman speaks up first, skeptical.  “I didn’t know you were going in today.”

“I have to take care of something.”

Solana being vague is new, it’s unfamiliar, and it doesn’t feel the best to lie to him in a sense. Even if it’s less a lie and more a vague answer. 

There is something she needs to take care of. She just has no desire or even ability to tell him just what she needs to take care of, because that would mean she has to tell him the why, and that is something she’s never discussed with anyone and has no desire ever to.

________

Dear Mom,

I’m sorry I haven’t written you as much. Life has been….very confusing and different, but not bad. I think….I think I like living here.

I like Bayley and Naomi. They’re so nice to me. I think you would like them too. Bayley is Mexican, so we talk in Spanish sometimes, and I love that because it reminds me of us, mama, all our conversations and writings.

Jimmy and Jey, Roman’s cousins, make me laugh. They’re also nice to me, and they really like my cooking, your cooking. I still use a lot of the recipes you taught me.

I finally have a dog, mami! Her name is Dulce. She’s so sweet and little and adorable. Roman got her for me. 

Roman…

He’s not what I expected. I don’t….I don’t understand why he’s nice to me. Cause that’s what it is. That much I’ve finally realized. He’s….nice to me. 

I’ve never had a man be nice to me. 

We had….something happen a week ago. I still don’t really know how to describe it, just that he was touching me, not even inappropriately. And I think…..I think I liked it, but then I got scared because it was like….it was like it wasn’t him touching me. It was them. 

And I….I hate that. I hate it because it’s miserable feeling this way. Wanting something but not wanting it. Being scared of something but wanting it. Desiring to be close to someone but not wanting that either.

I feel so torn sometimes. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about that book the detective gave me after it happened. There’s gotta be a reason I kept it all these years. I think….I think I want to read it.

I don’t know what to expect, and I’m nervous because I don’t like thinking about it, but I can’t, I don’t, want to keep living like this.

I can’t.

________

When Solana asked to attend Night of Champions, she was thinking it would be similar to WarGames. A foolish assumption. It is in the sense that the arena area is packed, not a single seat unoccupied, the boisterous sound of loud chatter and music serving as a backdrop against said chatter. That’s all the same and unchanged.

What is different and what Solana should have thought about was the fact that the two women who made her feel so comfortable last time won’t be there this time, because they’re competing. And so are the twins. 

And Nicki is apparently upset with Jey—a recurrent theme, it seems—so she also won’t be present.

That leaves one person.

Roman.

Solana didn’t think about the fact that she’d be seated with Roman. It’s not as nerve-racking as it could be, as it probably would have been almost three months ago when this whole new, unexpected chapter of her life began. 

But, it’s still a bit anxiety inducing.

She doesn’t miss how Roman’s grip on her hand remains firm on hers from the moment he helps her out the SUV, his eyes again taking her in the same way he did when she met him back in his office to tell him she was ready to go.

Solana initially felt unsure of herself given the fact that Naomi and Bayley could only pick out her outfit, shoes, and accessories for the night but couldn’t actually help her get ready given the fact that they were competing. Solana struggled to navigate her hair, as always, pinning it up on her head, and her makeup definitely isn’t as nice as the night of WarGames, but it mostly covers up her facial scar, and that’s all that matters.

Still, she must not look completely awful because Roman did not hesitate to give her a slow one over followed by a muttered “damn” and more vocalized, “fuck, you look good.”

She’s starting to lose count of how many times he’s said that now, and each new occurrence still gives her the same butterflies as the first time.

Roman escorts them to their seats, the twins and Paul already being present. Jimmy is the first to speak, whistling loudly.

“Damn, Soso. How we supposed to fight and you distracting us looking all fine and shit?”

“If you want to live and make it to the actual fight, you’ll shut the fuck up.” It’s hard for Solana to tell just when Roman is being completely honest with his cousins or just deadly honest with his cousins. 

This is one of those moments. 

“Thank you.” She doesn’t know what else to say, what kind of response is appropriate to something that isn’t as so.

Roman then motions for Solana to sit down and easily props his big body down in the seat right next to her. Their arms are nearly touching, but she tries not to think of that. Tries to distract herself by asking the twins, “shouldn’t you be in the locker room?”

“Naw, we fight toward the end of the night, so we like to assess with Roman till then.”

“Assess?”

While Jey was the one to provide the initial answer, Jimmy handles the clarification. “You gon be a member of the Warehouse, you gotta earn that shit. That means doing your thing in the ring. You ain’t cutting it, you out.”

Solana nods, quietly. It makes sense. Roman seems like a man with high standards. “So…you all have the final say?”

Jimmy takes a sip of his beer, shaking and nodding his head toward his cousin. “Naw, that’s all Big Dog.”

Solana glances at her husband who’s focused not necessarily on the conversation at hand but the preparation for what’s sure to be an eventful night. 

“If you don’t mind, My Tribal Chief is trying to focus here.” Paul’s voice, equally nice as it is nasty, reminds her of his presence. For some reason, she’s surprised by said presence, though she shouldn’t be. It’s clear the Wise Man is an important asset to Roman. 

“Whassup, my dogs!”

Just then a lanky man comes over to the group. He’s wearing a black t-shirt that says ‘honorary uce’ and has wild red hair that looks like it hasn’t seen a brush in weeks. Solana takes a second to look at him, finding him strangely familiar. It’s then she realizes that he fought with Roman, Solo, and the twins during WarGames.

He goes for some kind of special handshake with Jimmy, then Jey, and finally Roman who looks like he’s contemplating murder rather than wanting to return the greeting. He quickly plays it off, “that is well—okay my tribal chief, and—wow—” Him turning to Solana, finally noticing and acknowledging her, is an experience for the both of them. She notices his initial gaze sets on her chest which is uncomfortable but not entirely unexpected given the style of her dress. Still, she shifts in her seat, uneasy with the attention. “Those are—-ummm—” His eyes go wide, as he moves to backtrack on an obvious Freudian slip. “I mean, it’s uh, very nice to meet you, ma’am, or Mrs. Reigns, or your highness. Whichever you prefer is a-okay with—“

“Sami.”

His shoulders hunch and head drops in shame, like he already knows what’s coming. “Yes, Tribal Chief?”

“Go sit somewhere else.”

This Sami person doesn’t even hesitate, confirming he already knew he fucked up in the less than five minutes he was present. “Yes, my Tribal Chief.”

Solana watches, still partially confused but also kind of amused as he wastes no time in departing. 

Paul then leans over, chatting away, “I told you, my Tribal Chief, I never liked Shmuel. He’s always been so beneath you. I understand he makes easy collateral, but—“

Roman sighs loudly. “Wise Man.”

“Yes, my Tribal Chief?”

“Go join Sami.”

“But……” Solana looks over at Paul. His expression is one of devastation, like he’s just been told he had six months to live. “I—I always sit with you for Night of Champ—“

“Wise Man.”

Paul swallows. “Yes, my Tribal Chief?”

“I’m not gon tell you again.” Roman finally looks over at his closest advisor, forcefully enunciating and instructing, “go.”

Similar to Sami, the Wise Man walks off with his tail between his legs, leaving just Solana, Roman, and the twins. 

She has no idea where Solo is. 

“See, now you ain’t even have to do all that, Big Dog. You be getting yourself all upset over nothing. You need to start doing some deep breathing or shit, then maybe you could get off them high blood pressure pills.” 

It’s that last part that Solana zones in on, that makes her turn to Roman, “you have high blood pressure?”

He lifts his eyes, dismissing, “it’s nothing.”

“Can’t—can’t that be dangerous?” It’s not necessarily a question she needs him to answer. Solana is well read on a variety of subjects, especially subjects pertaining to physical health. High blood pressure can mess with a lot of things, a lot of organs. Eyes. Brain.

Heart

Jimmy is the one to chime in, asking with that typical tone of humor. “Soso, you do know what he does for a living right?”

But, it’s hard for her to find said humor when all she’s thinking about now is how certain meals she’s prepared for him could maybe not be the best for his high blood pressure. How she could be exacerbating that.

Feeling pressured by her inner monologue, she offers, “I can change how I cook for you.” And she can. She probably will, making a mental note to peruse through her mom’s recipe books that would be more aligned with the type of diet he probably needs. “I know there’s certain things you probably shouldn’t eat—”

“Solana.” He interrupts, but it’s not with that same irritation he had towards Sami and Paul. “I’m fine. My numbers weren't that bad. The doctor is just being over cautious.”

She wants to believe him, wants to not be as…bothered by this as she is, but something tells her Roman isn’t unlike most men who downplay these sorts of things.

Letting the conversation go, her determination to help him maintain his health remains. 

The conversation shifts to a dialogue between the twins and Roman, the three men conversing in Samoan. She doesn’t mind this, as it also allows her the space to catch the gaze of Bayley and Naomi who look freaking amazing in their gear.

“Soso.”

“I swear to God, if you call her that one more fucking time—”

Jey, possibly foolishly, waves off Roman’s threat. “You understand Yeet, right?”

Blinking twice, she asks, “what?”

“Yeet,” Jimmy says it too, like it’s as basic a word as they come. “Our motto.”

“I—” Honesty is a bit easier with her husband’s cousins. “N–no.”

“Man,” Jey makes a sound with his teeth and jumps right into the explanation. “It’s like a way of life. Like, you yeet when life going good—”

“—when life going bad.”

“—or when you leaving.”

“—or going.”

“It’s a way of life.”

Jimmy and Jey playing off of each other for their presentation is entertaining, at best, but it doesn’t leave her any less confused than she was just a minute ago.

“I—I still don’t get it.”

And that, for the first time, is when Solana hears Roman laugh. It’s not something she ever thought possible, but it’s there, his handsome face turned into an amusing expression as he expresses vindication. “I told you it was fucking stupid.”

“See, I thought we was close, Soso. I thought we was becoming family and shit, but I see you a hater like your husband.”

At that, Jey punches his brother on the arm, reminding with a rough mutter, “man, she be cooking, don’t be fucking up our good thing.”

“Aww shit.” Jimmy quickly moves to backtrack. “I mean, I could see your point.”

Conversation continues as such until the start of the night, Solana watching as the three men around her easily shift into an almost business mode. Their gazes are almost intense, watching closely as matches begin.

Solana partially expected to have to sit and remain quiet for the evening, but certain moves, similar to what Naomi and Bayley have taught her, catch her attention. And it must show, because Solana finds herself occasionally being asked by Roman if she has any questions or if she understands why a fighter did a certain mood.

Some she can answer. Some she cannot. 

So she asks him.

And he answers all of them, clearly, concisely, in a way she can understand.

If Roman is irritated by any of her questions, he does a damn good job not showing as such. And to her credit, she does her best to take a guess vs asking outright with certain things, pulling from her time with Bayley and Naomi. 

And in certain matches, she’s fully immersed in watching their expertise that questions aren’t even a thing. Like the tag team match between two of the most beautiful women she’s ever seen, Jade and Bianca, as Roman called them. Same with Naomi and Bayley who independently show her a side of their ruthlessness she figured existed but hadn’t seen firsthand until tonight.

“Do you all learn how to fight when you’re kids?”

“More or less,” Roman answers, and Solana has a hard time not staring, not being caught up by how handsome this man really is. “This life….it’s kill or be killed. So to not be killed, you learn how to fight. How to survive.”

Survive…

Solana has such a complicated relationship with that otherwise simple word. 

“How come….how come you don’t fight as much?” She’s wondered about this, come up with speculation but would like to know for certain, especially as he seems to be in a relatively decent mood.

Like most things, he keeps his answer nice, simple, and vague. “I don’t have anything to prove to anyone.”

“Did–did you?” He looks over at her, and warmth rises back as she tries to clarify. “At some point, I mean.”

Again, it’s a one-worded response. “Yes.”

She’s not entirely sure just what he’s saying ‘yes’ to, but a full blown out explanation was never expected. He doesn’t seem like the type. But something more would have been….nice. Granted, Solana realizes she’s probably pushing her luck in asking all these questions anyway and sits back in her seat, relegating herself to focusing on the current match.

The chill of the arena makes its reminder yet again as Solana crosses her arms over her body, trying to warm herself. The man beside herself notices this, accurately assessing, “you’re cold.”

True to her nature, Solana shakes her head, downplaying the fact that she is very much cold. “I’m fine.”

Downplaying or being outright dishonest is clearly something Solana would do well to push away, because it seems like this man is capable of seeing right through any and all lies.

Roman shifts forward in his seat and removes his jacket, reaching it to her. “Here.”

Rejection would be rude. It would also make her feel even more bad than she already does at inconveniencing him. Still, her options are really singular, meaning there are no others. Only one.

Mustering a small smile, she accepts his objectively kind gesture, sliding her arms through and adjusting as best she can given their size difference. Warmth overcomes her as well as the scent of his collage, something masculine, almost minty. It fits him.

Silence befalls them for a comfortable while before Solana excuses herself to use the bathroom, Roman only nodding in acknowledgment. 

It’s in walking down the hall that Solana sees Jade and Bianca chatting away, admiring their championship belts. The taller of the two, Jade, happens to glance her way and smiles, exclaiming, “Girl, you are wearing the hell out of that dress!”

“Absolutely killing it,” Bianca also compliments, her smile just as genuine and affable. 

Solana is certain she’s just staring dumbly for a good couple of seconds, because such a compliment from two objectively stunning women towards her was the last thing she expected. 

Descending off her shock, she offers an equally genuine smile and expression of appreciation. “Thank you so much.”

The compliment keeps that smile planted on her face. It’s so unexpected but deeply appreciated.  

Solana dries her hands and tosses the used paper towels in the trash. It’s a brief glance at herself in the mirror that serves as the start of the slippery slope, landing her back in a brief state of uncertainty. The dress is so revealing, much more revealing than anything she could or would ever wear. But it’s hard to think or sit too much in that discomfort when the night has consisted of several compliments. Sami, Jimmy, Jey, now Bianca and Jade. Not to mention the biggest one, or maybe the one that gives her the most butterflies, coming from Roman. 

“Fuck, you look good.”

Her smile shifts from something more silly to something a bit more bashful, her cheeks warming at someone as handsome and powerful as Roman Reigns thinking that she looks good.

Thinking that she’s beautiful.

A toilet flushes from the only other taken stall, and the door opening reveals the perfect reason why Solana should have just went straight back to join Roman instead of having a mental discourse in the bathroom.

Samantha’s long, shapely legs are the first thing Solana notices along with the way her dress melts to her toned, curvy body. She looks good, and she has to know that she looks good. A woman like her probably has men lined up by the dozen, Roman being at the front of that line. 

Samantha’s dark lips form into a smirk as she walks over to the sink. “Surprised to see you tonight.” She moves to wash her hands. “After that not so little incident a while back, I figured that was the last day you’d step foot in here.”

Solana swallows. She’s managed to not think about that day since it happened. Samantha bringing it up is definitely salt on an open wound. “I—umm.”

“Nice dress. A lil snug though. Maybe go up a size next time?” Her voice, so sweet and sugary, is also venomous and knowing. “Or two.”

Solana’s hands naturally move to her stomach, forearms trying to block the part of her body she hates the most and is certain Samantha is primarily referring to.

“Sage, right?” She doesn’t give Solana a chance to respond. “Let me give you some advice. Woman to woman.”

Something tells Solana she’s not going to like this advice. 

Samantha dries her hands and walks up to Solana. “I know you’re Roman’s wife, but you can’t seriously think that means anything to him, right? It’s just a title, and he’ll defend you only because it’s defending his pride.” Solana tries to not put too much into Samantha’s hurtful words, but it’s hard not to when Solana knows Roman continues to be intimate with this woman, even after their marriage. She can’t blame him for that, though, especially since he’s definitely not getting it from her. Still, it does sting a bit. “Trust me, I’ve known him very well since we were in high school.” Samantha smirks, chuckling. “So, I would know.”

“Bitch, you don’t know shit.”

The last voice Solana expected to enter the conversation was that of Nia’s. But sure enough, Roman’s’ cousin stands near the bathroom door, arms crossed over her body. 

Samantha’s expression sours tremendously as she icily greets the other woman, bigger, stronger, maybe even prettier. “Nia.”

Nia ignores the greeting and comes to stand near Solana, immediately going in on the slender women. “If you know him so well and you supposedly mean that much to him, how come it’s not you with a wedding ring on your finger?” Solana says nothing, keeping her gaze down, but it doesn’t stop her from also thinking about that very valid question. Just why didn’t Roman marry Samantha? “Or better yet,” Solana glancing back up allows her to see Nia’s cruel smile. “Why is it Solana’s name he said when he was fucking you?”

What?

Solana is visibly shaken by that because where in the hell did that even come from? There’s no way that can be true. No way Roman could be in bed with someone like Samantha and say her name. 

But Samantha is visibly disturbed, lip almost curling into an almost snarl as she spits, “fuck you, Nia.”

“I’d call you Solana too, so I don’t think you’d want that.”

Samantha storms out of the bathroom without another word leaving Solana alone with Nia, Solana who is still trying to process what was just said and finds herself asking Nia. 

“Is—is that true? Did you—did you really hear about Roman—ummm—”

Typically, Solana would keep her questions in the safety of her mind, but this…..this feels almost impossible to not seek clarification on. 

“You know he’s my cousin, right?” Nia looks visibly disgusted but still answers her question. “I would never make something up like that about family. Samantha is a blabber mouth that doesn’t realize she shares her shit with that dumbass best friend of hers, Tiffy, and the whole town knows.”

The answer is appreciated, but it still leaves Solana with so many questions. 

“I—I don’t understand.” Again, it’s something meant to stay inside but manages to slip past the cracks. 

“God, you are naive.” Nia rolls her eyes and explains while crossing her arms. “Sweetie, if a man is balls deep in Woman A and says Woman B’s name, Woman A is not who he wants.” 

That seems almost inconceivable to Solana. For Roman to think she looks good and maybe even consider her beautiful is one thing, but for him to desire her in that way is something entirely different.

She doesn’t know what to do with this information.

“Don’t let that skinny bitch get to you.” Nia seems eager to switch the conversation to something different. “She’s a pussy. All bark and no bite. Remember, you have the ring on your finger. You just have to put her in her place one good time, and she’ll leave you be. And if not, let Roman know. He’d never hurt or kill her himself, but he’d definitely ask me to, and truth be told, I’ve wanted to snap that bitch’s neck since high school, so you’d be doing everyone a favor.”

Solana can’t allow herself, or maybe more so doesn’t have the capacity, to think about that right now. She’s still trying to get a grip on chapter one. Still, she offers a quiet ‘thank you’ to Nia, turning to leave when the taller woman says her name. Solana turns back around. “Yes?”

Nia sighs and rolls her eyes. “I know you think I hate you, but I don’t. I may hate how soft you are, but I don’t hate you.” Nia then smirks with an almost playful add on of, “I don’t care enough about you to hate you.”

________

As expected, Roman is immediately asking what took so long the second Solana is back in her seat. 

Her excuse is weak. She tells him that there was a line, but it’s the best thing she can come up with on the spot. His expression is all the answer she needs that he certainly doesn’t believe her but will let it go.

For now. 

The rest of the night seems to be more of a blur, Solana now more consumed with trying to wrap her head around this newest bit of information. 

The twins end up finishing off the event with a brutal but successful match where they, as expected, retain their tag team titles.  

Solana could see this, understandably, pleased Roman. 

And outside of some constructive criticism towards Jey and Jimmy, Roman expressed his desire to leave as soon as they got cleaned up, which took less time than she expected. He’s guiding them, her, out to leave, her hand still in his, when a thickly accented voice calls the attention of the man beside her. 

“Roman Reigns.”

Solana can barely turn around to the source of the voice when Roman’s muscled arm is stretched across her body, moving her behind him, his big body serving as an impenetrable shield.

Because of their height difference, Solana can’t see a whole lot outside of the instant shift of security and even the twins toward whoever this person is. 

“How wonderful for you to bless us with your presence so soon after WarGames.” The man scoffs, clearly trying to bait Roman. “What is this, the second appearance in how many years? Hell hath fuckin’ froze over.”

Solana catches a brief glance of the mystery man and gasps. He has an imposing figure, similar to Roman but there’s something cold about him, something….sinister. 

“How dare you acknowledge the Tribal Chief—” Roman lifts his hand to silence Paul. 

Roman simply states, “talk.” 

“You know what I want, Reigns.” Solana hears a footstep and notices how Roman makes a subtle movement that results in the twins also moving closer towards her, shielding her from this man. “You don’t deserve that title. You may have been a fighter then, but you ain’t now. You’re about the Bloodline, and I respect that, mate, but the Undisputed title deserves to be with someone who defends it more than once a fucking year.”

“So what, you think you the one who gon’ take it? Man, we outta kill your ass right now for talking out your neck like that to our Tribal Chief!”

Solana hates being unable to see Roman, to see his face, to be able to gauge and read his facial expressions. He’s an enigma of a man, typically oscillating between irritated, angry, and indifferent, but not having the option altogether to know where he currently lands is bothersome.  Especially with what comes out of his mouth next.

“Do something.”

Solana freezes. That….that can’t be good.

“You standing up on me. You make a good tough guy face. Do something.”

Solana’s fingers tap against her side, that familiar knotting in her stomach returning. She glances over at Jey who seems to also be a bit confused by Roman’s response.

“Uce—”

Roman ignores him. “Go on. Pull it.”

Jimmy speaks up this time, rough voice quiet but urgent. “Roman, we got Solana here—”

“Come on. Make it happen. What’s different? Ain’t nothing changed. Think back to the last time you challenged me.” Solana hates when Roman moves away from her, because it means he’s a step closer to this man, this man who seems determined to pick a fight with the Tribal Chief and may get just that. “Think about it. I whooped you then. I’ll whoop you now.” Roman speaks with such a confidence about him, the most violent, straightforward promise of sure brutality she’s ever heard from a man. “Ain’t nothing changed.”

Solana isn’t necessarily thinking about what she’s doing when she suddenly moves herself in between Roman and this man who’s apparently hellbent on getting her husband riled up. It’s another unconscious act as she plants her palms against his chest, both relieved and nervous by how his gaze instantly drops to hers.

Solana licks her lips and finds herself pleading in an unexpectedly calm yet typically soft voice. “Let’s just go.” His initial expression of fury and simmering anger seems to lessen the longer he looks at her, and Solana adds on, desperately. “Please.”

This act of boldness is completely unplanned and entirely stems from Solana unable to stop thinking about how Roman being so upset all the time can’t be good for his blood pressure. It can’t be good for his health. 

And for reasons she doesn’t quite understand, that bothers her. It concerns her. 

Him not being healthy concerns her.

What does not surprisingly concern her is when Roman moves his hands down to her hips and almost gently moves her to the side, forcing her hands to drop. She expects him to lunge at the other man or to scold her for interfering, but he does neither.

He steps toward him and simply states with all the coldness, “you’ve got your match, but I set the date when I want it.” Solana’s more or less holding her breath, waiting for Roman to strike the man, or worse. “But know this, McIntyre, you step in that ring with me again, I’m not just ending your career this time, I’m ending your fucking life.”

Roman’s threat sends uneasy chills down her spine. There’s no mistaking Roman’s promise, something she’s certain he will be sure to fulfill.

He then takes her hand again and moves her to the side opposite of the man who looks like he hates Roman as much as Roman probably hates him. Solana is almost entirely eclipsed by Roman’s big body as he walks her past the ordeal.

The car ride is a bit uncomfortably silent, Solana recognizing that Roman is still seething from the exchange but most likely waiting until she’s out of his vicinity to express that rage. 

But, it's when she’s walking back in the house after letting Dulce do her business that Roman catches and speaks to her. 

“Solana.” He’s leaning back against the counter, big arms crossed over his muscular body. He’s so….big. “What happened when you went to the bathroom tonight?”

She can’t be surprised, can’t feel caught off guard by his question. It’s still not something she necessarily wants to talk about or knows how to discuss, but she’ll do the best she can. 

“I ran into Samantha.” Taking a deep breath, she tries her hardest to keep it vague but still an acceptable answer. “I don’t—I don’t think she likes me.”

At that, Roman nearly growls, “what did that bitch say to you?”

Solana winces at his tone. “It wasn’t that bad…”

He’s quick with the dismissal and redirection. “That’s not what I asked you.”

“She just—she just talked about my outfit, that—that was it, because Nia came in there, and well, I don’t—I think Nia might hate her more than she hates me.”

Roman sighs, running his hand over his face. “I’ll handle Samantha.” Before Solana can protest, he adds, “Nia doesn’t hate you.”

This brings a small smile to Solana’s face. “That's what she said.”

Roman also looks slightly amused by this, studying her for a second. “Solana.” The surprises keep on coming, because he takes an unexpected turn in the conversation. “I almost lost my temper tonight.”

This….this feels true. His issuance of threats were delivered in an almost calm manner, but it was more deceptive than anything. Like a setup for violence that was potentially about to unfold if she didn’t interfere.

Still, nothing ended up happening, so it doesn’t make sense for him to act like it did.

“But, you didn’t,” she points out quietly, offering a bit of an olive branch. “And….you were upset.” 

Solana would maybe argue that he’s always in varying states of upsetness, but that’s not the point of the conversation at hand. 

“I have no shortage of enemies, Solana.” His voice takes on a darker, almost subdued tone. It makes her previously amused expression slip into something more somber. “But, I need you to know that I would never do anything that would put you in danger. Drew wanted to issue his challenge. That’s it. He wasn’t going to do anything, because he wants an audience for that. I had it under control.” Solana isn’t questioning that nor did she plan to, but Roman’s next question definitely takes her for a loop. “Were you scared?”

It’s a valid, understandable question that she didn’t think about until this moment. There was anxiety, maybe some element of fear but also concern, so she decides to play down the first two. 

“I wasn’t scared.” It was more concern than fear, which, in her mind, are two different things. “Just….confused about what was happening.”

“That’s not what I meant.” His dismissal is nicer than what anyone else would receive. “Of me, Solana. Were you scared of me?”

Another valid question that she’s actually been thinking about on and off for the past few weeks. Solana would like to consider herself not naive to a lot of things about this life that she was born into. She knows that most of the people who surround her are killers. And Roman is no different. The king of that, maybe.

But…..

But, he’s done nothing thus far to make her ever believe she would ever be subjected to that side of him. If anything, he’s worked to stress and help her understand that she’d never be hurt by him. And adding up all of the things he’s done to support said message, Solana feels it only appropriate to be honest with him. 

About more than just his question.

“When—-when the twins asked earlier today if I wanted to go in the pool, I got nervous because—-” Solana displays her textbook signs of discomfort with the stammering and playing with her fingers but still manages to get out what she wants to share. “Wes, he used to…..hold my head under water until I almost passed out.” Solana looks away for a second, shifting her weight from one foot to another. “That……that’s who I’m afraid of.” Solana manages to set her gaze back on Roman, almost confidently assuring, “I’m not scared of you, Roman.”

He steps toward her, and Solana’s eyes never leave his, mindful of the way his hand lifts, tensing when he rests it against her face, palming her cheek almost gently. Solana stiffens but easily shifts into something not calm but not on edge either. “You don’t have to be scared of him anymore, of anyone. I won’t let anyone else ever hurt you again.”

And for the first time, she believes him without the speck of doubt and uncertainty in the backseat. Solana has seen nothing from the man before her to indicate otherwise. She doesn’t know a lot of things regarding him, regarding them, regarding just why he’s so hellbent on defending her, but one thing she’s realized is that he’s intentional and determined with his dedication to protect her.

This is similar, very similar, too similar to that night where her fears got the best of her, where she was unable to overpower the discomfort and fear. But, this isn’t that night, and Solana doesn’t feel that building dread in the core of her stomach. It could be the fact that it’s only one hand on her, cupping her face. Nowhere else.

It could even be a very early sign that maybe, just maybe, that book she was given so long ago really does have the healing properties someone from so long ago once promised. 

There’s even her conversation with Nia from earlier that sits in the back of her mind, the undeniable confirmation of Roman’s attraction to her. Enough to where he would say her name during that.

Whatever the case, she doesn’t move away, just nods quietly, slowly moving away from him. 

“I’m—I’m gonna get ready for bed.”

Roman says nothing, also nodding as acknowledgment, watching as Solana grabs Dulce and disappears out of his sight but not the front of his mind.

________

The Reigns estate is as spacious as it is grandiose. There are several ways and paths to reach a destination. 

So, Roman doesn’t have to pass Solana’s room to reach his bedroom. There’s an alternative route in coming from where he was working, but he decides this specific way for reasons he’s not entirely sure of.

It ends up being a good decision because it’s in walking past her door that he hears low scraping against said door. Instantly, he knows it’s Dulce clearly needing to go outside. And she confirms as such with her soft whimpering. 

Rolling his eyes, Roman opens the door just enough for Dulce to run out, stopping when she sees it’s him. He glances at the bed to see Solana sleeping, open book on her chest, indicating she fell asleep while reading.

Dulce whines again, and he chides quietly, “be quiet before you wake her up.”

Dulce’s ears go down as Roman picks up the puppy that’s still too little to walk up and down the steps, hence needing human transportation. It’s annoying, but he brings her down the steps and out the backyard. 

Settling her down, he instructs, “go on. Do whatever you gotta do.”

He’ll give the dog some credit where credit is due. She’s far more obedient than he expected for a puppy, because in less than 10 minutes, she’s emptied her bladder and is being carried back to Solana’s room. 

Roman is careful to lay her little ass back in her bed, aware of her bristle looking legs that would probably break with one bad drop. 

Rising back to his full height, he catches Solana turning on her side, the shift in position causing the book to slip and almost fall out the bed, but Roman is fast, catching it before the crash and potential disturbance can wake her up.

Naturally, he glances at the front cover, noticing the age of the book. But the aging look doesn’t mean shit to him when he sees the title and a piece of paper that clearly has Solana’s handwriting. He doesn’t read that, wanting to respect her privacy, but he definitely reads the title, and it instantly shifts his entire mood. 

The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

It shifts his mood from his default state or irritation to quiet rage. 

There’s only one reason she would be reading this book, working out of this book. And it’s not that he didn’t already know she’d been violated in one way or another. Her medical records confirmed as such.

But, he was thinking she was a teenager, not any better, but definitely not a fucking child.

Someone hurt her when she was still a child, a literal goddamn kid, and this is something Roman cannot find it in him to avoid investigating. He’s always been a man uncomfortable with unanswered questions, and there are no shortage of them in regards to Solana. Not that he would ever put her in a position to answer them. No. He wouldn’t do that to her, would never make her share something like that with him.

But, he does know someone else he can demand answers from. 

Two people, actually. One of them being shit out of luck after narrowly avoiding Roman’s wrath from earlier today in learning that he fucking tortured Solana.

Roman carefully places the book on her nightstand and makes sure Dulce is still in her bed on the other side of Solana’s before quietly closing the door.

Roman is down the hall, powerful strides taking him to his room as he pulls out his phone, dialing the one person he knows for a fact will answer his call at any time. Hitting dial and switching it to speaker, Roman tosses his phone on the bed to get dressed. 

Sure enough, he answers on the second ring.

Roman jumps right into it. “Meet me at the Miller house. Get your brothers.”

Solo only pauses for a second, answering in that stoic voice, “we’ll be there in 30.”

Not good enough. 

“Make it 20.” 

________

As expected, Roman is met at the Miller house by his cousins, all three.

Slamming the car door shut, Roman hears Jimmy yawning loudly. “Man, why the hell is we here?”

Ignoring his older brother, Solo straightens his stance and informs, “I had Pearce disable the security system.”

“Good.” It’s the fact that Solo already knew to do so without being told. Moments like this is when Roman knows he made the right decision promoting and moving Solo up the ranks. He’s more than proved himself.

“I have questions. Miller has answers.” Roman’s answer there is intentionally vague. Solana’s trauma is no one’s business but her own, and just because he is also aware doesn’t mean he needs to broadcast it. “And Solana told me today her brother used to waterboard her.”

“Waterboarding? Like actual fucking torture?” This information seems to awaken both the twins, eliciting angry reactions. “What the fuck is wrong with his ass?”

“We killing them, right?” Jey, forever the hothead and also relatively equal with Roman in terms of how quickly he travels from zero to one-hundred, is the first to ask the most obvious question.

“No. Not tonight. That would be too easy.” And it would. Roman meant that shit when he said he wanted their asses to suffer. “But that doesn’t mean we have to make living easy for them.”

They don’t deserve to live, let alone living easy lives. Not when they’ve done everything seemingly possible to make Solana’s miserable.

Roman then looks towards the twins, instructing, “take care of the brother.” It’s not a necessary directive, but he doesn’t hesitate to add, “make him fucking suffer.”

He then motions for Solo to follow him, the men headed toward the house as Roman swears out loud, “Xavier is mine.” 

Roman steps back as Solo waits zero time in shattering the large window in the living room, providing an entrance for the men. Roman grabs his gun, nodding for the twins to move first, followed by Solo, each man armed with a gun. It’s unnecessary, Roman is certain as they’re more likely to find father and son in the midst of illicit acts vs prepared for the onslaught headed their way. 

Up the stairs and on the second floor, Roman quietly motions for them to split up, Solo and the twins to the right while he moves to the left, the most likely location of the master.

Solo seems to give him an uneasy expression, but Roman simply nods and heads toward his target.

Xavier is his.

The combination of the brothers works just as Roman predicted, them successfully locating the brother’s bedroom, confirmed by his horrified shout of ‘what the fuck! 

It’s followed up with a shout of pain and Jey yelling “Get your bitch ass up!” and “Solo, fill up the tub!”

Pleased, Roman is standing directly outside of Xavier’s door when the older man rips the door open, face contorted in a mixture of shock and anger. That quickly morphs into fear when he realizes just who is responsible for this attack. 

Roman brings the gun across upside Miller’s head, watching the man fall down and writhe in pain, holding his hand against his now bleeding head. 

Undeterred, Roman reaches down, yanking the man up by his neck as he jolts his body against the nearest wall. “We need to talk.” Straight to the point and not in the mood for any bullshit this fucker may try to spew his way, Roman demands,  “I want to know what the fuck happened to my wife.”

And there’s a brief but telltale sign that Xavier knows exactly what he’s referring to without Roman even needing to elaborate. 

That only pisses him off even more. 

Still, Xavier stutters, shaking his head, “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Roman gives a bitter smile, shaking his head and scratching his beard. It’s the last thing he’s certain Xavier sees before Roman again has him up by the collar of his pajama shirt. 

“You really want to play these fucking games with me?” It’s a no. It’s a hell no, but Xavier insulting Roman’s intelligence by lying to him indicates the opposite of no. So, Roman will treat him as such. “Who the fuck touched Solana?”

His question is followed up by screaming coming from down the hall, the beautiful sound of a piece of shit getting exactly what he deserves. 

“What? Ain’t so tough now, little bitch! Like to beat on women but a pussy when it comes to fighting another man!”

And while it could bring a smile to Roman’s face, Xavier looks horrified in hearing Jimmy’s taunts. Instantly, he’s pleading, pathetic and pitiful, “pl—please.”

“I’d torture and kill that bitch right in front of you tonight if I could.” It pisses Roman off to no end how this man can care so much about his demented son but not give a flying fuck about his innocent daughter. “Now, answer my fucking question, who touched Solana?”

Again, Xavier decides to test Roman’s patience, offering unasked information. “She—she was a virgin before she married you.”

“I don’t give a fuck about her being virgin or not!” She could still be a virgin and have been touched. But truth be told, that shit’s never mattered to him anyway. Virgin or no virgin, it’s always been an irrelevant deciding factor to who he took to bed. “Tell me what happened to her or I’ll blow that bitch son of yours fucking brains out right in front of you—”

Roman pulls the gun from out of the back of his pants, knowing full and well that while he would love to empty the entirety of it in the scum before him, it’s better served torturing him in another sort of manner.

Mentally.

And it does the trick.

“Alright, alright!” Xavier finally caves, sweat bubbling across his wrinkled forehead. “She was raped, alright? Two men broke into the house when she was 12 and attacked her. Beat her real bad. They—they never found them. Okay? That—that’s the truth. That’s what happened.”

No. Not fucking okay. Nothing is fucking okay. Roman wanted answers, felt like he needed them, but knowing the truth, it doesn’t do shit but paint his vision red. 

He knew something happened to her. 

He just didn’t know how bad.

Raped. 

Beaten. 

Twelve.

And then another thought hits him, the absolute terror on her face that day when she was faced with what should be the most simplest thing for a person: going into their childhood bedroom. 

Roman remembers her fear, the dried blood, the scratches on the wall. 

It all makes sense.

She was attacked in her fucking bedroom.

The thought of a child being hurt at all has never sat right with him, but to be hurt in that way. As a child, and for that child to have been Solana. 

He’s fucking breathing rage. 

“Where the fuck were you, huh?” Roman jerks his body back against the wall, half ready to break this fucker’s neck. “Answer me!”

“I wasn’t home!” Xavier’s sweating has progressed into droplets from his forehead onto the bridge of his nose and shirt. “I—I was out on a fishing trip with Wes.”

A fishing trip…..

This man was out enjoying fucking nature with his dimwitted offspring while his daughter was at home alone fighting for her fucking life.

“You left a 12 year old home alone?” It keeps getting fucking worse. “How long was she alone!” Roman is fully prepared to risk snapping this motherfucker’s neck when he spits out a desperate answer.

“A week. It was just a week.” And if it makes a fucking difference, he desperately adds on, “I—I’d done it before, and she was fine.”

Xavier is either stupid or very stupid, because Roman can’t conceptualize how this imbecile would think the additional information makes it any better. 

Solana was hurt.

She was hurt in the worst way possible, and it’s all his fault. 

With all of the aggression in his body, Roman throws the piece of shit across the room, intentionally aiming for the glass coffee table that instantly shatters under the weight of his fat ass.

Without a second of fucking hesitation, Roman fires two shots directly into Xavier’s body, one in his right hand and the other in his left foot. Xavier’s shouts of pain do little to dull the unadulterated rage coursing through Roman’s body.

Shouts morph into tiny, pathetic whimpers as Roman slowly walks through the broken glass, tossing his gun to the side as he pulls out the brass knuckles in his back pocket. 

“I told Solana I wouldn’t kill you until she gave me the word, and I’m not going to take that from her.” He crouches down besides the now crying older man, crying in the way Roman is certain Solana did when she was alone and helpless. His fury is practically bubbling over now as he coldly vows, “but that doesn't mean I can’t make your life a living fucking hell until then.”

________

Roman walks back into the house with a weight he can’t shake, even with the brutal carnage he unleashed on the Miller household, leaving father and son on the brink of death. That type of violent release typically abates his anger, and it did diminish a lot of it, seeing that piece of shit pummeled into a bloody, broken mess.

But Roman is still plagued with thoughts of the hell Solana endured living in that household. To be attacked in that way in her own home, in her fucking bedroom, it makes Roman want to get right back in his SUV and carry Xavier and his equally piece of shit over the doorstep of death.

But, he couldn’t do that to Solana, take that away from her. He’s just the executioner in this situation. He’ll let the day of reckoning be determined by her because that’s the least she can get. 

Coming straight back home, Roman didn’t bother to stop and get himself cleaned up. His guards have seen much worse, and Solana is asleep, so that’s not a concern either.

But, it is a concern because in an almost scene of deja vu, Solana is most certainly not asleep. She’s sitting on the sofa, Dulce right beside her when she hears his heavy footsteps. 

Roman doesn’t have time to say anything, too stunned by this happening yet again, even later than he’s returned before. 

Why is she up?

Solana jumps up off the sofa and is suddenly standing across from him, her face painted in what’s obviously a moderate to tremendous amount of worry and anxiety. 

But, she isn’t looking at him. Not really. She’s more so focused on the blood stained and splattered clothes that adorn him.

“You’re hurt…..” He’s heard her say it the last two times they were in this type of situation, eerily similar in a lot of ways, but this time….this time is different.

It’s different because she rushes over to him, her hand floating over his chest, one place, two place, another place. Like a plane trying to find a safe space to land, she’s unsure where he’s hurt and clearly overwhelmed by it all.

And then he sees it, the blurry overlay of water over her eyes and the slight tremble of her lip.

Roman steps towards her, trying to be respectful of the distance between them. Her discomfort with touch makes all the sense now. “Please don’t cry.” And this is yet another new, unfamiliar, unexposed territory for him, seeing her so distraught at her belief that he’s been hurt. The way that the thought alone clearly wrecks her.

Roman quickly notices the changing of her breathing pattern, heavier, rhythmic almost. 

“Shit…..”

Roman has heard this song before.

Realizing this is a matter of de-escalation, he does what’s needed in the moment and brings his hands to her face, cupping her face.

“Solana, breathe, baby.” The term of adoration isn’t even something that really registers with him at the moment, not an intentional addictive or something he gives two fucks about in this moment, really. He’s solely focused on settling the woman in front who’s on the brink of a panic attack.

He can’t see her deal with that again, especially now that he knows just why she had the first one.

Roman has no hesitation in pushing away loose strings of her hair, never once taking his focus off her. “I’m fine, Solana. I’m not hurt. It’s not my blood.” Recognizing she clearly needs to see it, he moves back to lift and toss his shirt on the floor. “See?”

And that seems to do something for her, something to help settle the panic. 

Roman watches her and forces himself not to think about the heat that fills him at her hand on his chest, over his heart. It’s all so innocent. Recognizing her breathing has settled into something less alarming and more familiar, he moves his hand over hers, reiterating once more, “I’m fine.” He waits for her to finish taking a deep breath to ask, “why are you up?”

This has to be the third time Roman has come home at an ungodly hour to find her waiting for him, and he’s trying to figure out what the real reason is. 

She licks her lip, clearly working her way up to a response. “Dulce had to…..had to use the bathroom, and I saw you weren’t here, and you didn’t answer my text.” Roman curses himself. He was so caught in his uproar that he didn’t even bother checking that thing, never expecting for Solana to be the missed notification on his lock screen. “I just…..I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Roman has heard this part before and tries to navigate how he wants to push back on his belief that it can’t be just that, but Solana surprisingly beats him to it. “I get….I get worried when you’re not here at night and—-and I can’t sleep until—-”

“Until I’m back….”

He has a good guess why. She was attacked in the middle of the night, and he’s also pretty certain he remembers reading that the attack that killed her mother also happened at night.

“Solana…..” For the first time in a while, if ever, Roman is active in his attempts to explain this to her as gently as he can. “What I do…who I am…I can’t always be here.”

“I know,” she sniffles. “I’m sorry—I don’t mean to bother you—”

“You could never bother me, okay?” He wipes away more of her tears, hand back to cupping her face, realizing she’s not going to pull away from him this time. He takes full advantage of that. Roman moves his other hand to the small of her back, holding her against him. It’s not missed upon him how she also brings her other free hand to his chest. “But, I always make it back, alright?” She nods, as he runs his thumb over the apple of her cheek. “Can’t no man put me down.”

She smiles, a little laugh that does more to him than he’d like to admit, that he feels comfortable with. And this settles him. It settles him more than nearly killing her dad and brother for hurting her, directly and indirectly, did. 

Solana nods, murmuring a quiet, “o–okay.”

He’s studying her. Closely. Maybe more than what’s necessary. It comes from a place of concern, and he’d admit as such. “Are you good now?” 

She nods again, and he believes it enough to let her go, watching her start to walk away when he’s caught off guard again because of her body, so soft and warm, against his again. Her sweet perfume filling his senses, her arms around his neck.

She’s hugging him. Solana is actually hugging him. He can’t remember the last time someone did that shit.

But he doesn’t waste a second of time accepting her embrace that seems to end just as quickly as it began. He can’t be surprised or upset. This is big for her, obviously, and he would never push her past her comfort zone, but he also can’t deny that the absence of her in his arms is noticeable. 

And uncomfortable.

Solana murmurs a rushed goodnight and grabs Dulce to head back up the stairs, Roman eyes never leaving her until she’s completely out of view.

Roman stands there for a few good minutes, unsure of what just happened, working to process the same unfamiliar feelings that coursed through him the last time they had a moment like this. It’s the same as before, just ten times stronger, more intense, more consuming.

Unsure of a lot, two things he knows for asbolute fucking certain:

He’s going to find Solana’s rapists and make them pay for every sick fucking thing they did to her.

There’s not a fucking force on earth that could take this girl away from him.

She’s his.

And he’ll protect her with everything in him.

No matter what the cost.

[renren-006]

Love Ties

Yuji Itadori/Sukuna x Fem Reader

✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎✳︎

Plot: Itadori is smitten with you. Sukuna adds you to his list of people he may not kill

a/n: hey hey! enjoy!

“Well well well so this is the brats girl” Sukuna said. You had been walking to one of the training grounds with Yuji when the demon inside your boyfriend spoke. A part of Itadoris cheek opened and there was a mouth. 

“Ah shit” Yuji said, trying to hush the mouth away.

“Stop it you brat” He swore, making you laugh. “Let me get a look” An eye poked out by the mouth letting the demon now be able to function on Itadori.

“You're freaking her out man,” he said trying to get the parts of Sukuna to go away.

“Aw,” you said. “Does he get lonely”

“I do not get lonely” Sukuna swore at you. “I happen to like the solitude”

“Uh…sure,” Yuji said.

“Any demon would get lonely trapped away” you said looking at the eye of Sukuna. It blinked at you. 

“I'm leaving” he said and vanished from Yuji's cheek.

“I think you made yourself embarrassed…Actually nope i'm certain you did” Yuji said scratching his head. “He is not happy”

“Too bad. If he wants to come out and say hi, I may as well call him out on his bullshit” you told your pink haired boyfriend. Yuji laughed, not once ever being upset with the burden of being Sukunas vessel. 

Times like these happened often, Sukuna would appear, talk for a a bit, and then leave. Some of the time he would make Yuji seem like an idiot and other times he was the big idiot. What you didn't know was that Sukuna started to like our presence, more so than he wanted to admit to his host Yuji. 

“Hey Yuji, how come ... .You're not Yuji,” you said when you came out of your boyfriend's bathroom in his clothes. There on the bed sat Sukuna, looking around the strange home of his host. When his eyes landed on you however you could see a little light behind those eyes.

“I came to…” He said, never finishing it.

“You sound confused,” you said. you were also confused. Why was he here?

“Well, I never thought the boy would switch places”

"Did you ask him?” you inquired.

“Yes, out of respect for you,” Sukuna said with pride. He wanted metal for being nice. 

“Respect for me? How come this feels like I'm about to get told something” You asked, moving further into the room. 

“That's because I am here to tell you something” Sukuna said, standing. 

“Go on” you told the demon. He cleared his throat before he spoke. 

“I have decided to add you to my list of no kills”

“Okay. wait a no kill list?” “Yes. I have a list containing you and Fushiguro added. You are two people I will not kill, out of respect and talent”

“Does Yuji know about this list?” “No. He assumed when we made that pact I wouldn't kill any of his friends” Sukuna said, “But it's really only you two I wouldn't kill, the others well…”

“That's so…weird” you told the demon. The marks around Yuji's face began to fade away slowly. 

“The boy wants back” he told you, “Till I see you again princess”

Yuji switched back with Sukuna, having no knowledge of the switch or the conversation. Once you old Yuji he mentioned how Sukuna would often grow quiet when you were around. Something about this demon inside Yuji has grown to become attached to you. While you thought it was weird, Yuji couldn't wait to use it against Sukuna.

[moralofallthestories]

CK s6 part1 spoilers‼️

This is going to be mostly my rant on ep5 and some plots from the previous episodes

- My heart BREAKS for Tory, it’s like the writers just decided to add more on top of the misery from her story last season. S5 the girl broke up with someone she loves and cares about for Kreese’s plan, ended up hurting herself badly and had no one by her side the entire season, and now they just decided to kill off her mom just when her life is starting to get better. What did she do to deserve this??

- Look how quickly Daniel and Johnny moved on to Hawk for their selections literally after they all learned about Tory’s mother’s death, like if you both are such good senseis, wouldn’t it be nice to actually give a shit about Tory and her grief?? Instead of making if about yourself, how about we actually go console her and making sure she’s okay or at least be there? Both of them are such bad mentors for the kids, first is how they handled Kenny’s situation after he got humiliated with the accident, Johnny only spoke up when he’s fighting for Devon and Daniel rlly favors his kids than his other students. If any of these two even showed the same attention and support to Kenny and Tory, I’m sure neither of them would actually quit Miyagi-Do so quickly on the spot. Some sensei they really are huh.

- Robby my man, I get that going to the Sekai Taikai is important for you but are you really gonna do nothing after your girlfriend’s meltdown about her mother’s death? At this point this show’s writing is so bad I don’t wanna hear about any “they probably did this off-screen” kinda bullshit no more. I swear if part 2 has any point of showing him standing on the moral high ground accusing Tory of switching sides like what he did to her in s5 imma riot, cancel my Netflix subscription along with my family plan :))

- Based on s5 and what we’ve seen so far, my headcanon for Robby & Tory is that he’s the one that usually texts her first and he texts more but she’s not good with it, she’s not good with expressing her emotions either so sooner or later they’re gonna face this communication problem in the relationship (of which the problem was clearly shown before in s5 when they “broke up”)

- While the privileged kids talking about their top colleges and applications, what Robby and Tory had was the Sekai Taikai - underdogs in the top 4

- Devon, my girl…not a good decision…why you choose to go on that path

- I can never like Anthony he really gets on my nerves

- Bad writing with all those conflicts overall, hated how they handled Kenny’s character especially trying to embarrassing him for the flag fight. I was hoping to see him and his brother in more action but you can never expect too much from Cobra Kai writers I guess

- The baby storyline continues…the most boring and unnecessary storyline that ruins Johnny’s character as a father and a sensei

- CK really has this type of half assed writing throughout all seasons why am I surprised lmao

The good part:

- Sam & Tory’s reconciliation and their apologies to each other, the sleepover pillow fight was so cute and I love seeing both of them are so done with Johnny’s instigating

- Robby and Tory’s promise of standing together

- How Robby found himself & his confidence again after seeing Tory showed up, this is what partners influence each other

- Robby & Tory’s little nod to each other whenever one of them is fighting someone else, no words but it means so much more

- Johnny & Mike’s fight - it has to be purely a fan service kinda fight but I’ll take it

- Hawk & Demitri’s fight, unnecessary but it surely was entertaining

- Kyler’s redemption, I’m actually happy they didn’t give him a glamorous redemption and try to change him completely to let him join Miyagi-Do, it’s nice to see that his frat boy personality is still there

- Kwon’s fighting skills are some real deal

[its-in-the-woods]

Chapter 2 of down the rabbit hole

Chapter one here chap three

MDNI

Pairing: Walton Goggins x You

Rating: Not much for this, brief mention of SA, mention of alcohol.

Slow build like novel damn length okay, Very Fluffy, Pinch of Angst, Relationship Development, Hurt/Comfort, Older man/ Younger(30s) women, Alternative universe, fictional work (IDK WHY BUT I AM PUTTING IT) Probably more as I go.

Synopsis: Working in film as a make-up artist is hard enough, but then Walton Goggins requests you, well it's way too easy to fall down the rabbit hole.

Note: they are both single, all for fun.

WARNING I do not have this all written out, I do have it plotted out, but it may be a little slower for chapters to come out. Please bear with me. If you know a Beta to edit please send them to me.

*Before we get into things. Thank you 100x for all the love. It means the world to me*

Somehow four weeks have slipped by. As always, TV series runs like a machine on fire while driving through a snowstorm. Long days, and even longer nights. You wonder briefly why you chose a profession that meant you average four to five hours of sleep. But then Walton brings the whole trailer their favorite coffee and you just shrug the thought off. Working with the cast and crew was like being in one big dysfunctional family. One part hated each other, one part was fucking each other, and another part just held on for the ride. You liked to think you were in the last group, but sometimes when you caught Liz glowering at you, you wondered if maybe you were in the first group. 

“Why does she hate me?” You ask Trevor as you try to eat lunch. Fish wasn’t your first choice but it’s what they had had. 

“Who?” Trevor asks, munching on some strawberries, how the man ate as much as he did and remained tiny was amazing. 

“Liz.” You sigh moving your fork around the plate.

“Liz hates everyone, don’t take it personally.” He grabbed a couple more pieces of fruit. 

“Have you seen the way she looks at me? Like, why bring me onboard if she was just gonna avoid me like the plague?”

“She’s jealous of you.”

You turn and raise your eyebrows at him. “What are you talking about?”

Trevor lets out a snort and chomps down on some cheese. “Girl. Don’t play down your talents. You have worked your damn ass off to get here. One of the best makeup artists out there and Liz knows it. Why do you think Mr. Goggins likes you so much?”

You shrug and pick through your food, the fish was not sitting particularly well. “I am not better than anyone else.”

Trevor swats at you playfully, “Shut up. You can wrangle through asshole actors like no one else. You take zero shit from anyone and you get stuff done on time or before they are needed. You’ll be one of the most valued artists in town in no time.” He chuckles and pushes his own plate away. “Just make sure you bring me along with you.”

You grin back at him. Trevor had never jerked you around like most others. He was right, you did a good job and people appreciated your blatant lack of kiss assery. You fiddle with your fork for a moment before deciding that you had enough for the day. 

***

It was Thursday, which meant the week was almost over. The end was in sight and your bed was calling your name. You’d probably sleep the weekend away and indulge in some overpriced Chinese food. Your thoughts about sweet and sour pork are broken when someone announces they are coming in. Liz walks in and looks you up and down. Dear god, that woman has a chip on her shoulder. She went and pulled out a couple of empty totes. 

“It’s going to be you and Trevor tomorrow and the following week.” She says her lips pressed firmly together, as she talks she goes through drawers grabbing different products.  “Walton is here doing some scenes, Laura will also be here but she shouldn’t be on camera. If she is, I've emailed you notes and pictures.”

You nod, not bothering to look at her as you continue to wash your brushes. Liz continued to add to her bin.  “Sounds good.”

“Look, I know we haven’t been exactly- Friendly.” You turn to look at the woman, she is putting the lid on to the tote. Writing info on a sheet of paper on the top. “But, you do a good job. The director has been very happy with everything. “

“Thank you.” You reply, giving her a small smile. “I appreciate that Liz.”

Liz nods back at you and grabs the tote, waddling out the door. It’s probably the closest you’ve come to liking her. You sit there for a moment, taking in the compliment, maybe things are changing for the better. 

***

Friday is here, and you decided to bring some timbits to celebrate the end of the week. The usually bustling studio lot was quiet. Construction and Set Dec had busied themselves with various other needs. It was refreshing to have a little quiet. You had even been able to park your car right beside the trailer. As much as you loved the absolute chaos that was a film set, the calm was a nice balm. You knew that before long you would miss the chaos, and it would be back with vengeance. 

Laying things out you felt like you could breathe. You had put on some gothic country on the stero, something that only you and Trevor really enjoyed. Both of you had moved from rural areas to do your job. It was another reason why you enjoyed his company. Trevor had set himself up on the second workspace, the two of you spreading out a little while the boss was away. 

“Hello. Lady and gentleman,” Walton’s voice shrill as he came up the stairs. The man was a never-ending ball of energy. You were positive you could do a month of night shooting and he still would come in chipper as if it was his first day. 

“Hey Walt,” Trevor said with a grin, it was hard not to be happy around the man.

“Excited for the weekend?” You ask as you drape him with a cape, popping off his sunglasses and grabbing his other glasses off the counter. As he rereads some lines. 

“I sure am. It feels like it’s been an extra long week.” He sighed, rubbing at his hazel eyes before grabbing a timbit. “These things are delicious, I am going to steal the whole box..” 

You slap playfully at his hand.“Hey now! Make sure I get a few” He gives you a crooked smile and holds one up. You don’t hesitate to lean forward and let him feed it to you. He swallows and looks up at you, as the realization dawns on you as to what you just did. 

“Well-Umm- Next week doesn’t look to bad,” Trevor pipes, shooting you a look, his voice squeaking slightly.

“This is true, just the three of us enjoying a few short days,” Walton says, you are desperately trying to move past what just happened as you grab a moisturizer and apply it gently. His eyes follow you.

“I can certainly say I will enjoy not having to drive all over the place.” You reply, trying not to let your cheeks flush. Reminding yourself sternly that you were a professional and for Pete’s sake you’d been working together for over a month now. 

“You have the craziest eyes.” He whispers as the two of you look at each other. There is no way of hiding the fact your cheeks are burning. Trevor graciously comes over and starts to fuss with his hair. 

“Thank you,” You reply, words caught in your throat. Turning to start packing your set bag, anything to hide the fact that you were bright red. You look up to see Trevor raising his eyebrows at you. You look away and finish things up before sending Walton off to set.

“What was that?” Trevor drawled as he slid into the chair, the look on his face made you want to crawl under the counter. 

“What was what?” You try to dismiss things even if your face is on fire. What the hell had just happened?

“He just fed you a damn donut hole and you are blushing all over Goggins?” Trevor pushes fiddling with a comb, and you really want to throw something at him. 

You freeze a bit and look up at him in the mirror. “Don’t do that.” 

“Do what? See the fact that you two have been goggling over each other for the last four weeks. You just ate food out of his fingers. Wait what does he taste good?’

You do throw a powder puff at him. “You. You stop it. I don’t know what the hell I was doing. It just kind of happened.” 

Yes, you had noticed the little things, but really the man was friendly with everyone. He had always been touchy-feely, but maybe there had been more that you had missed, including eating food out of his fingers. You remember him kissing you on the cheek yesterday morning before leaving. But there couldn’t be anything there, there was nothing there you repeated to yourself. 

“Oh give me a break. He brings you coffee and touches, and kisses your cheek every day. The man has been fawning all over you.”

You bite your lip and turn to look at your colleague, ‘He does that with everyone, Trevor. He’s just friendly.”

You’re now madly stuffing stuff into your bag trying to get out of this newly warm trailer. Trevor snorts and puts his things into his bag. You wish he would drop it, but he was never good at leaving things alone. 

“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” He giggles in an imitation Southern drawl. The two of you hop out of the trailer. You aren’t sure whether to smack him or hug him, either way, there is a job to be done. 

***

It was a textbook day, Walton had nailed almost everything. The man could act there was no doubt about that. The character was a belligerent drunk detective trying to solve a cold case. The script was dark, moody, and well horrible. You didn’t shy away from horror, but true crime always made your stomach flipflop. Your stomach also flipped as you watched Walton go from looking like he was gonna bite someone's head off, to all smiles and laughter. 

You, Trevor, and Walton are walking back to the trailer together. It was actually sunny out, a rare moment for the Pacific Northwest. Costumes had been busy with some extras so you decided to start with him and finish with the others. 

“So do you two have any plans for the weekend?” Walton asks, walking in between both of you.

“I think I might have a date on Saturday,” Trevor replied cheerfully. 

“Oooh and who's the lucky fella?” Walton sing-songed.

Trevor looked flush for a moment, “Decon, from props actually.”

Walton chuckles elbowing Trevor “Well that sounds like an excellent Saturday. Man is gonna have some fun.”

Trevor shakes their head and rolls his eyes “He better show or I am going to have to send you both after him”

Walton bares his teeth and growls, which send everyone into a fit of giggles. Decon be aware, there was a madman coming for you. You thought as you get to the trailer opening the door.

“And what about you, little lady,” Walton drawls, that damn southern accent creeping in. 

“Nothing special. Think sleep and Chinese food are calling my name.” You reply as everyone settles in. Really that would be the best way to end the weekend. 

“Oh, Chinese food sounds amazing.” Trevor pipes in, turning on some tunes. 

“Who needs sleep, it's not that important.” Walton chides as you get to work. ��I was wondering if you both would like to come to a small bar not far from here. Transport can drive us there and back, a few of us are getting together for some drinks.”

You catch Trevor's gaze, a sly smile spreading across his face. “Oh, I would love that! Little get-together with our mess of a family.”

“What about you?” The lead asks, rubbing your arm. His hands are warm, you’re surprised to feel a few calluses on his fingers. 

“Oh. Yeah sure. That would be good.” You give a small smile, trying not to let your mind wander too far. If you were honest, the prospect of getting together with a bunch of coworkers was low on your want list. But the look on Trevor's face tells you that you aren't allowed to say no. Your stomach clenches as the memory of a wrap party gone wrong rumbles past your mind. You push that down. It had been almost seven years since that happened, these were different people. People you knew and trusted.

“Fantastic, I am excited to have you both there,” Walton exclaims before closing his eyes to let you finish your job. 

Once Walton is released to Costume, you and Trevor busy yourself with cleaning the trailer. Getting extras cleaned up and making sure everything is ready for the early morning come Monday. You can tell Trevor has been watching you but you can't make yourself say anything. Anxiety has pooled in your stomach like a cold stone and you are struggling to shake it.

“What's wrong?” Trevor asks bluntly sitting down in a free chair. You shake your head and keep your hands moving.

“Come on now. I've never seen you get this clammed up over an invitation to a party. To be fair I've actually never seen you go to a party–” Trevor’s words trail off realization washing over his face. “I know you like your peace, and quiet, but what is going on”

You collapse into the other chair with a deep sigh. Trying to find the words, you really didn't want to explain things too much. That said if there was anyone who'd understand it be Trevor.

“When I first got into the industry.” Your mouth feels so dry even at the thought of it. You grab your water bottle taking a swig.“I went to a wrap party. Got drunk and a guy from Sound took advantage of me. So I've never gone to one since.”

Trevor looks shocked, sadness creeping in at the words. “Hon.That is awful.”

“It happened almost a decade ago. It's fine. Just makes me nervous.” You let out a breath. You weren't going for sympathy, despite it being the worst night of your life, all you wanted was understanding.

Trevor comes over and gives you a big hug. You feel tears prickle in the corner of your eyes. As you let yourself sag against him. You were so thankful for this man, that he was understanding and seemed to care about you. 

“Honey, nothing like that is gonna happen to you tonight. We'll go together and enjoy ourselves. And if any man or woman tries to hurt you I will beat them with my handbag” Trevor reassures you with a small smile. You both chuckle at the last statement 

You sniffle a little, grabbing a tissue from the counter to dab at your eyes. “Thank you, Trevor”

He gives you a reassuring nod as you both get ready to go out. You were determined to make it a good night one way or another. 

Chapter three

Maybe.. maybe.. I will post the next chapter tomorrow cause I am too excited not to share it. Likes, comments, and reblogs are so greatly appreciated. Y'all keep this northern person happy.

[abombihoney]

my thoughts as I read the new (6 months old) chapter of ethnoentomology bc i said would live blog it and this is least annoying way i can do so.

Hornet really just fucking pulled a gun out im like 1 minute fucking in jesus girl.

---

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ooooooooh my fucking god he's literally a sopping wet little meow meow. i WILL be coming back 2 this.

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what this fucking pronoun fuckery i need to reread this shit im onto something. i need to add all my annotations together. i need a conspiracy board. i need to make a chart with color coded lines

---

I wish Hallownest’s official language was anything other than “cryptic riddles.”

me too dude the fuck.

---

CHANCE BEING EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT???? telling lurien he isn't at fault for the radiance's actions

however... how could he think anything else really. he is all for blaming the radiance for everything.

i'm feeling a delicious mix of "can i even trust my own thoughts" mixed with Chance trying to separate what was him versus what was other.

What happens when (if) he manages to separate what actions were wholly him with no outside influence? What will he regret? What will he desperately try to justify?

How would he even determine what is him and what is the influence of the radiance? He has no memory of past actions to compare against. He can't necessarily even trust the memories he does have, they're full of hallucinations, gaps in memory where he doesn't know what he did. If it was "him" that did it. AAAAAAAAAAAUGH

___

is chance checking out of reality a lot rn or am i looking too deep. there seems to be a lot of "jump cuts"

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back 2 valleri. info dump for me lurien i only read a handful of chapters of midnight rider.

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 "I couldn’t tell you how many times she would’ve been jailed or worse"

wait wasnt she jailed tho. didnt she like. immediately punch pk in the face or am i misremembering. does lurien not know this. i feel like he should be told this information somehow bc like. i feel like it would give him a heart attack.

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VALLERI LEFT SOMETHING FOR CHANCE???? THE PLOT THICKENS HELLO???

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why is chance so gay he is SO focused on lurien all the time jesus christ man. i feel like i keep getting trapped in one of them slow burn fics where they keep almost kissing.

FUCKIGN 2 SECONDS LATER:

Having grabbed something from a small drawer in the table behind Chance, Lurien settled back, (disappointingly) further away from him.

chance ur down bad. this is going to blow up in his face spectacularly somehow. good 2 know i wasnt imagining the horny descriptions of lurien from last chapt.

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new theory: valleri is a time-traveling post-transition chance. source: my other theory that valleri and chance are closely related. similar temperament and appearance. both from california or w/e.

wait i think i remember valleri have future seeing powers. i refuse to finish reading midnight rider until ethno is done tho so i'm keeping my theory

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Chance reflexively rejected this information before he could begin processing its implications.

side effects of having magic powered by belief: may decide to just ignore things bc if u believe it you make it true. denial is a powerful drug

wait. hmmmmm.

did the radiance take chance's memories? or did chance want to forget? like could also totes be the cool magical barrier that wipes ur memories to prevent the radiance from escaping the corpse of hallownest. but now i am thinking of all the fucked up implications of something so horrible (by a teenagers standards) that chance wanted to forget everything.

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TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSK MY BABY TUSK POV TUSK POV TUSK POV

oh no the baby is injured.

They needed to find Chance. He would heal them, like always—

ur honor they love each so much!!!!!!!!! might be becoming a lil codependent but ITS FINE

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checks out that hornet was a vicious little child lmao

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“For Hallownest, there is no cost too great. That is what I told Him.”

OH SHIT

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oh fuck yeah i fucking love use of game mechanics in stories for problem solving. go little guy go!

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HEY WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

Like life’s just a script and she’s waiting for her cue.

OH? paralleling what lurien said about PK. INTRIGUING.

(fucked up evil theory: The parallels between PK and Valleri that are being drawn here... from what I understand Valleri became INCREDIBLY close and attached to hallownest. What if Chance is Valleri's hollow knight?)

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The White Palace was destroyed. But so was the Watcher’s Spire, and Chance could put that back.

my sweet child, you are going to fucking kill chance

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Too cowardly to confront her own cowardice.

ruh roh raggy. hornet's going to have to contend with the fact that she has killed her own siblings in cold blood eventually. possibly soon

---

fuck yeah i love worldbuilding. tell me more about how the fictional bug city built in a wet cave functioned and how the class divide determined transportation methods.

---

*slaps chance* this baby can fit so much PTSD in it

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this is spelling euphoria isn't it.

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hey wait doesn't chance have boat trauma??? didn't he see a corpse under a boat in the last chapter of act 1???

---

something bad is going to happen. we're building so much suspense.

---

"Chance"

??????? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON NOW???????

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 draped half overboard like a dirty wet rag

chance's natural state really.

---

something in their Void was churning

This happens directly after Chance has his little episode with the boat. Are Chance and Tusk connected by the void? Didn't something similar happen in the last chapter??

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Hornet i love u. She's so spiderman coded.

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—Tusk whacked the switch to the elevator and went up and away. “Wh—Vessel! Hold on!”

see u idiot

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Ah Lemm, the confidence of a man who is very very wrong. he'd shit his pants if he saw all the human shit in the junkyard lmao.

---

Several photos were attached to the line and dangled from ceiling to floor. Dozens of lines around the room like party streamers, a hundred little memories swaying gently in the dust.

megamind ass organization system

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burned painting frame.... coating the room in ash.. im sure this holds no significance whatsoever and won't come up again.

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Tusk has so much youngest sibling energy lmao

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uh oh hornet. ur getting attached.

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this is to hornet also, isnt it?

WAHT THE FUCK

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oh okay they are connected. poor tusk and chance. they r gonna become a feedback loop up fucked up huh

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wait does chance not know shes the princess. lmao

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aww hug fest JEREMY REAL??? or is hornet infected too hello????

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IM GOING FERAL VALLERIS SEEING SO MANY THINGS AT ONCE AND REACTING TO ALL OF THEM HELLO?????

---

oh my god i feel like ive been punched seventeen times in a row. i have so much hype i need to run a marathon. im fucking spinning in circles im filled with unrestrained summer fun oh my god im supposed to sleep soon i dont know if i can manage stop thinking long enough to do that holy shit

[mdhwrites]

FYI, Amphibia actually got to have a full 20 episode season for its third and final season, while Owl House's third season was shortened to three specials. So don't go saying Amphibia exists as an excuse that Owl House could do better without needing more time when that show got to have a full season 3.

Answering this late night because it's just kind of... Frustrating because I chose the examples I did for a reason. The blog they're responding to for context.

So, part of the point of the blog was to compare two elements that got roughly the same amount of time. The same amount of episodes/appearances and critique which one did it better. This is also part of why I stopped the analysis when the characters finish their arcs because Amity finishes her arc BEFORE the show's shortening could have even affected it. Before it could be excused. Dana has said (interview here) that Eda's Requiem was in production when news of the cancellation came down. That is still two episodes AFTER the latest point, the one that is the most equivalent with Sasha's arc, that I place the end of Amity's character arc, Looking Glass Ruins. Amity's arc, or failure to properly have one, is NOT a product of the shortening.

It is just a product of bad, wasteful writing. Amphibia was able to do an arc more impressively, more robustly and more meaningfully to its actually story than TOH was in the same amount of time. The ONLY difference is that yes, Amphibia's plot got to move forward but that isn't an argument in Amity's favor. In TEN. EPISODES (and more appearances), Amity has literally NOTHING to do with the actual overall plot of The Owl House. She is a romantic subplot who doesn't move other characters' arcs forward, doesn't add to the world building besides a single time of going to a new location, or even adds much depths to the themes because of how botched her motivations for her change are. Or, you know, how there's a lot implied Amity but actually very little exploration of her character or relationships (this is part of why Alador's change of heart sucks so much because Amity seems to give zero shits about him before suddenly being a daddy's girl) which isn't nearly as compelling as what Sasha got because her appearances are DRIPPING with character and exploration.

This also ignores that Amphibia is quite literally INFAMOUS for the amount of episodes that don't technically need to exist. There are a LOT of episodes, even in S3, that serve more to add flavor, fun and small bits to theme than move the story forward. I love this flavor because Amphibia is genuinely fun and has a lot of fun with its world so it actually has flavor but... Well, it's not like it couldn't have been shortened. I actually wrote up an outline for how to do it but decided that that deserves its own blog if people are interested because it is still pretty long and doesn't actually address the real problem here.

Amity's arc finishes before the shortening. It wasn't affected by losing out on those extra episodes. It was written as intended for her going from enemies to lovers. That is part of why I feel it's so okay to compare the two because if Amphibia had been shortened, Sasha's arc might have had to get worse. Amity's literally didn't get affected by TOH's though. Maybe how she is post her arc could have been explored more but that's it. Her actual arc to becoming a good person was untouched. I am harping on this because I am SO TIRED OF HEARING THIS FUCKING EXCUSE.

But despite that, her arc also did very little actually with her and/or the world. That's the bigger point. You can argue that TOH had plans to do that post her arc (Reaching Out shoots that concept in the head admittedly) but why wait until then? Why be that wasteful? Even if they had three full seasons with 20 episodes each on average, Amity's arc, at its furthest point, takes up a SIXTH of that time. Ten of Sixty episodes. And in that time, they do such a piss poor job actually exploring her changing and wanting to become different. Meanwhile, Sasha spends 9 segments, because True Colors and the like are counted as one segment in the overall segment count, of a show with 106 segments. A bit less than ten percent. Even if we say 10 segments to include Commander Anne, it's still under ten percent of the runtime, which is WAY less time devoted to Sasha's arc percentile wise while Sasha ACTUALLY FUCKING MATTERED. She is also explored, expands the lore of the world, show us sides of it we wouldn't get otherwise and actually presents compelling, thematic arguments that challenge Anne and the show. Now yes, Amity doesn't literally get the full runtime of her episodes but she gets the majority of almost all of them but Looking Glass. If it's literally time spent on a plot line featuring Amity? She probably still clocks in at just around the same amount of time for her arc as Sasha did for hers.

TOH has flaws that run DEEP. Flaws in priorities, planning, pacing, actually exploring its own world or keeping things consistent. Amity is actually one the best examples of it because while yes, I like the character in S1... It didn't feel like she was actually ready to have her arc wrapped up soon after Winging it Like Witches. There was simply too much potential, too many problems in the way between her and Luz, or her and happiness in general, too little actually explored about her place in the world, for it to wrap up in two episodes or so.

And then it did, despite the fact that it wasn't shortened at that point. Then you look back on her arc and holes just keep showing up. Not because of Disney. Not because it was gay. Not because of the shortening.

It's because it was badly handled and not actually well written, especially when compared to its contemporaries. It just looked that way for a while but looking like something and being something are vastly different.

======+++++======

Sorry for how repetitive this blog probably is. I'm just really tired of hearing this excuse.

Edit: Shout out to the fact that someone actually, before the blog was published, asked me what would have happened with Amphibia if it had been shortened like TOH. So... I'll set that one for the morning.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[thefloatingstone]

Sailor Moon Questions: Why is Mamoru the worst part? Is it a Kaiden Alenko sort of thing or did you inherit Kunihiko Ikuhara's dislike maybe? Also, what about PGSM gets past your dislike of live action remakes?

Mamoru is the worst part of Sailor Moon because he is BORINGGGGG. He is literally just a prize for Usagi. And I mean that's perfectly fine because, to put it bluntly, "this ain't about him". Mamoru is only important because he's important to Usagi. We only care about him because Usagi does. If she didn't care about him we could kick him out of the group and never think about him ever again.

The problem is just that sometimes, although very rarely in the 90s anime, the story makes a big drama over him and Usagi's relationship. Honestly the ONLY reason is works in the anime is because we're always seeing it from Usagi's perspective. So we care because she cares.

But whenever we have to spend time with Mamoru it's just so incredibly dull and uninteresting because the guy has no personality. And what little personality he DOES have isn't particularly enjoyable. In the manga he's a bit of a sarcastic bitch which is at least SOMETHING I like about him. But in the anime and in PGSM... he's just a anal retentive jerk most of the time, brooding and aloof to make him ~*mysterious*~ and desirable to the preteen audience because he is uncomplicated and therefore nonthreatening. But in the anime especially, as soon as he and Usagi officially get together he is all but a blank slate. Just passively nice in a way that forgoes any individuality. He's literally the opposite of Bella Swan. A sort of reverse Y/N where instead of being a self insert for the audience, he's an insert for the audience to project whatever they think would make for a cool boyfriend because he has no describable traits. Hell we barely even know what he's supposed to be studying!

This is why a rather big group of fans, especially back in the day, preferred Usagi with Seiya in the anime. Because at least Seiya had SOMETHING resembling a personality. I don't like Seiya but they at least are a CHARACTER.

And then because Mamoru has 0 personality it brings up a lot of questions the source material isn't built to address which is "why are these two together?". Because without actually having a personality, they don't seem to have anything in common at all. And that brings up a lot of uncomfortable questions regarding fate, and destiny, and whether the only reason they are together is pressures from a past life and pressures of a Utopian future they are obligated to fulfill.

None of this is something the story is equipped or interested in discussing, however. Because it's a story for preteen girls (except for the final Stars arc, especially in the manga, where Naoko decided to go off her shit and make the entire thing about philosophy regarding the self, static death versus dynamic life, the acceptance of chaos because it is the only way good can exist even if it means the possibility of evil, self love, the universe as organism etc etc).

Mamoru isn't like Kaidan at all tho because Kaidan is an actual character. I can tell you things about Kaidan, both good and bad, about his personality, how he sees things and how he thinks about things. Mamoru is literally just the male version of a sexy lamp.

I clown on Kaidan and make fun of him because I really appreciate his role in Shepard's story and his importance to the games as a whole. He enriches the world and plot, especially as a foible to Shepard. I think Kaidan's clashing with Shepard makes her personal story BETTER. kaidan ADDS to the narrative specifically because of who he is, how he thinks and how he responds to things, and how he and Shepard have to work out their shit to reach equal grounds and overcome their past issues and mistakes with each other. Kaidan also humanises Shepard in a way that I adore. Because Kaidan and Shepard's messy relationship shows that Shepard is just a human being. Which is immensely important to Mass Effect as a whole.

Shepard isn't space Jesus. She's a human being. Which is why she makes me so emotional.

Mamoru is just there so Usagi can give the preteen girls watching their wish fulfillment of a cool older boyfriend.

And that's just incredibly dull. Especially when the canon within the story itself, in all its incarnations, has other really great relationships which are complex and nuanced and actually interesting.

[im-out-of-it]

season 1, episode 13 discussion post “morning star” part 1 because who are we kidding, this will most likely have many parts

1. so I just want to start off by sharing some side note. I was rewatching the Malec episode (BECAUSE ITS THAT GOOD) and I noticed again that Tessa, ragnor, and Catarina are linked up being more powerful than Magnus. I can understand ragnor and maybe Catarina but Tessa?

2. I’m sorry but how is Tessa more powerful than Magnus? I get she can shape shift but in the show, so can shadowhunters so what power exactly is she holding? I’m not that much of a fan of Tessa (maybe if the writing was better) but in what universe is she more powerful than Magnus? she has a prince of hell as a father but isn’t asmodeus more powerful than belial????? Magnus has been around longer so I would assume that he’s had more time to prefect his magic and find out what other skills they have

3. I just can’t get behind the idea that Tessa is supposedly more powerful than Magnus like it’s not making any sense

4. also if ragnor is more powerful than Magnus- why is he easily defeated? he got hit by a Shax demon and from what we know (I cheated and checked the codex book I have) they can wound living people and lay eggs in them and shit. I’m sorry, I know I’m being extra critical but come on now. I’m still a bit bitter that ragnor was killed off

5. I think this is the issues that arise when doing adaptions of books. you need to figure out how much of that world you’re going to keep because some things will not add up if you don’t. the show stated in the beginning that they wouldn’t be doing the show exactly as the books. (and we all screamed YASSSSSS) if Tessa = powerful than why do shadowhunters have the ability she does? if ragnor is more powerful than Magnus, then how was he so easily killed? LET RAGNOR LIVE OK??????

6. IM SORRY BUT IT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE. RAGNOR DID NOT NEED TO DIE. like they didn’t need to keep him in every episode but he could’ve popped up the way catarina did

7. and I do love the show for Malec content as well as Izzy, Simon, Maia, Raphael content but what I can’t stand is lazy storytelling or plot armor. (huge example- TVD) maybe it’s not that lazy because season one with the cgi is not as it’s greatest but they should’ve hired me as a writer. I HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS WITH THIS SERIES AND I WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT BETTER THAN CC I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL

8. well, let’s get to get to it 👏🏼

9. “one thing I know for sure jace is that you are not a bad person”- clary. yeah so I’m not going to put any faith in clary because let’s understand clary is the one who is saying that. one terrible person uplifting another one. how fun! who is clary to decide who is morally right and wrong???? girl check thyself

10. “calling off the wedding would’ve been one thing but kissing that warlock in front of the entire institute?” ok Maryse your prejudice is showing once again smh

11. Alec: because he’s a man?

12. Maryse: no I don’t give a fuck if you’re gay alec. I care that he’s a warlock. it’s like one step forward and one step back with Maryse. and if you’ve never seen the show, Maryse does get better and she’s a whole lot better than Robert in the books so it’s sort of an improvement. you just have to let show Maryse be bad for a sec

13. “that he’s a guy is the least of my concerns”- ok so cold hearted Maryse isn’t homophobic just racist apparently FUCKING HELL 💀

14. “even for a warlock, he’s a lothario”- Robert 👀 (YALL KNOW THE SCENE)

15. “so I suggest you deal with it.”- Alec has spoken and he’s leaving no dust and no crumbs and no smoke (I don’t think I did that slang right but A+ for effort)

16. and this is why I will always love show Alec. he really doesn’t care if he hurts your feelings. he’s not going to stand to the side and allow people to hurt himself or the people he loves (I’m talking Magnus and Izzy). I never got the feeling that book Alec was anything like show Alec. his whole purpose is to protect jace and he hardly stands up for himself. Matt said nah show Alec is going to be nothing like that. my boy will tell off all these fuckers!!!!!! I mean, he probably didn’t say that lmao but I can dream and hypothesize or whatever

17. so I couldn’t find the gif of Alec telling Maryse off but I uploaded the whole thing and don’t mind my mess

18. and I know I go on and on about show Alec being better and you’re probably like bitch could you shut up for once but literally HE IS BETTER. I cannot think if Alec actually stood his own in the books. he once told jace off but that’s in the sixth bloody book. like did it really need to take Alec six books to DEFEND HIMSELF AND MAGNUS??????? and eldest curses is an improvement but in no way shape or form will the books ever be better

19. Alec has had on multiple occasions went off and stood his ground in the first season. the gifs below is one of the times:

(and also the video after and telling clary about rules and how they exist for a reason (episode 4) and then once again how she couldn’t understand when follows Lydia’s orders a few episodes later, and also telling Magnus off in episode 12 😭)

that’s about five examples already in season one. season one is only 13 episodes and our boy Alexander has already stood his ground, defended himself, and basically said NO IM NOT TAKING OR HAVING ANY OF THIS.

CAN WE BE PROUD OF HIM??????? I THINK WE CAN

20. I think that was either episode 5 or 6 (I’m sorry my brain is unbrainable) but that’s a good example of alec being like the fuck?????? show Alec doesn’t stand around waiting for excuses. he’s going to tell you what’s on his mind and I love him for that

21. and I know I’m posting stuff that isn’t really about this episode but I also want to share this video that is in episode 11 when Alec goes off on jace because apparently jace always knows what’s best and Alec is not having it. it’s just really important for Alec to have a voice and not be pushed around like he was in the books. I think for a head of the institute to not only be heard, have a voice, plus be a gay man is everything we needed and more. Alec deserves to be heard and to be happy. he’s not a babysitter, he has feelings and emotions. there are rules in place for a reason. but it’s also the hypocrisy of jace. telling Alec off for whatever reason and Alec is all like ??????? bro my sister could have been deruned and you ran off with the cup PLUS almost handed it to Valentine like is this dude for real?????

(I’ll upload the video in the next part)

22. and it’s also why I can’t get behind jace. he doesn’t get better, doesn’t change, or adapt. I seriously don’t get why everyone is so adamant of saving his worthless ass. he never seems to be grateful about it either. Jace is supposed to be the best shadowhunter of his time and so is clary yet they always need saving?

23. so back to Alec going off on Maryse! leaving no smoke, telling it how it is. I love how Alec is saying: I really don’t care if you’re disappointed in me but I plan to get to know Magnus and if that’s a problem then get over it 💀 i fucking love him

24 24 24!!!!!!! moving to part 2 shortly while it’s in the editing stage

[not-poignant]

Ooh, cool! Thank you so much for the long reply! A lot of this was genuinely completely new to me -- I'd never known there were ongoing discussions that early, but of course it makes complete sense there were, both on LJ and predating it. I think it also goes to show how well we could self-segregate on LJ, I think moreso than we can now.

I think, in retrospect, that a lot of my experiences with 2000s fandom can be summed up with, 'I was a teenager' and thus wanted to be 'cool'. There was a lot of 'not like other girls'-ism going on in those sporking and Mary Sue comms, and I always just assumed we were all teenagers -- it certainly felt that way. The few people I've kept in touch with from those days have largely grown out of it, though it doesn't surprise to hear there were (and probably still are) grown adults who shit on others' fanfics.

(As an addendum, I could add that slashfic and that sort of 'canon non-compliance' was completely okay in the fandom spaces I ran in back then, but people would get very upset about extremely arbitrary things-- 'transfer students' in HP, changing characters' ages, making up a minor oc side character for plot purposes because all ocs were apparently bad (and especially if female), etc. It was strange which hairs people decided to split.)

Anyway! Thank you VERY much for such a long and in-depth reply! It's cool to see how these things have changed and developed, and I'm glad to see my experience wasn't emblematic of fandom as a whole.

Thanks for such a thought-provoking question! It really got me thinking about how Livejournal was really excellent at creating different sort of pockets of experiences, and in a while is really reflective as proto-social media of like, the big echo chambers we have happening now all across social media! That's really interesting to think about.

For me, it's funny, most of the fandom folks I knew were all older than me, many were in their 40s and 50s while I was in my 20s. Very few teens comparatively were attracted to certain fandoms like The X-Files and NCIS some of the other spaces I was in, so while there were definitely teens, it was like... a different feeling. Like, even these days I find it fascinating how there are 'younger' fandoms (in terms of how many younger folk are in it) and 'older' fandoms.

And yeah you're so right about people getting upset about arbitrary things! And also that um, 'not like other girls' which now itself is kind of mocked by fandom, so things really did come full circle on that front where now it's not cool to be one of the people who says that x.x

Honestly it's hard to be a teenager on the internet! All the things that play out like... all the dynamics, a lot just play out online instead, and they still exist. A person still wants to be cool and accepted and liked (and that's not age specific, like, most of us want a degree of at least some of these lol), and cliques can form very quickly. I remember how bad it felt back then even in my 20s when I got unfriended by a mutual who I thought was a really good friend, that stuff was devastating!

"making up a minor oc side character for plot purposes because all ocs were apparently bad"

Ahaha this is one of the reasons I still sometimes have like apologetic tones in some of my comments about the amount of OCs I add, because yeah that was really disapproved of! I remember that and I still have like... shades of that at times. I'm mostly over it now, but oof I remember the first time I did it and I was like 'is this okay *chews on fingernails* I bet people will hate this because of it.' (And then that turned into Fae Tales so).

The Mary Sue stuff was really aggressively unpacked, like in very popular kind of fandom-friendly journalism spaces at the time, I mean that's how we ended up with the journalism site 'The Mary Sue' in the first place. People really took a stand on that one. In a way, we were all kind of looking at our own attitudes, like, *why* is it bad to do this, or *what* does it mean that a girl feels like they can't be like other girls - is that internalised misogyny (and sometimes it was), and I miss that kind of meta discussion because I do feel it happens a little less now.

There was a time when I didn't like Mary Sues, no one did, though I think that was before I found my first meta community where it was like 'oh people are talking about EVERYTHING I thought was like universally accepted in fandom.' Though we never got that far on how racist fandom could be, which is still an issue, but one that does get talked about (it would just be nice if AO3 talked about it too).

I sadly think a lot of people in their 40s and 50s can act a lot like teenagers in fandom spaces sometimes, some of the antis in like teenage spaces today are like 40s kind of 'guiding them along' this path of moral puritanical righteousness and almost role-modelling how to bully others. And some of the folks running public Sporking blogs were like... older folks who fostered connections to younger folk.

LJ was wild tbh :D

Anyway, it's so interesting to think of all the different pockets we ended up in. I'm sure there's like countless more that we both have no experience of, where someone else would be like 'oh I was in LJ fandom what's a Mary Sue?' and that would be entirely legitimate too. Sometimes it's easy (I fall into this trap) to think of historical fandom as being one thing instead of like a thousand things. So yeah, this was cool! Thank you :D

[kannra21]

Gege is so good when it comes to introducing female characters imo. Yuki, maki, nobara, mai, mei mei, utahime. and ofc, shoko! all baddies who are simply 10s. I love jjk women sm 💗The only problem is that he gives them a moment and then sidelines them without giving us much depth into their character.. shoko and utahime especially have huge potential and I really hope he gives us more insight before he decides to end the manga.

The sexualization too is not so bad (even though it exists). it is WAY better than these other mangakas who treat their female characters like doormats and objects to ogle at and something the fanboys can be creepy about. another plus point is how they are actual GROWN women and not these lolis/shotas or whatever pedophilic stuff mangakas draw for their hyper horny misogynistic incel audience.

Yes, Japan is indeed very creepy when it comes to these things (i have been there and trust me it is the worst). Those men need to be put behind bars and they're extremely weird in areas where women's rights are concerned. i understand why Japanese women dont wanna procreate with them anymore and the declining birth rates. i support it tbh. most of them have 0 respect towards us and only see us as baby making machines. if they want to get women, maybe they should start getting their shit together.

Yes it's probably Gege's marketing strategy to make his work more woman-friendly, something other mangaka failed to achieve (which explains why their works are not as successful bc women will refuse to read smtng they're not comfortable with).

Most women read shojo, bc woman leads are respected and loved. So Gege took this into account + he introduced handsome men who are also strong (Gojo prime example). When you combine all these ideas into one, add meaningful plot composition, deep lessons on life, tragedy, comedy, a lil bit or romance, you get what we call "woman's heaven" lol. As a woman, I prefer shōnen over shojo bc shōnen is not solely based on romance. Instead, you have world building with lil bit of romance here and there to make it sweet. And mby bc shojo men seem feminine to me while shōnen seem more masculine that's also why lol. But yea, I think Gege did a pretty good job. Jjk has a lot to offer to its diverse audience (even to LGBT community with Hakari and Kirara).

We need to understand that shōnen is created with men on mind, it's aimed at male audience. So logically speaking, women won't play a super large role. Despite that, Maki had a lot of shiny moments for a shōnen girl, which made me happy. I also hope that Utahime and Shoko will play some important role as well, especially towards the end bc the end of the manga is nearing.

And yes I hate lolis as well haha. Grown women for the win.

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI 5.08 “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” review

Okay, we all called it but still, I did very much enjoy dressed up Miggy being all adorable on their date. Until of course, it all went horribly terrifyingly wrong. Man, those were some freaky hallucinations.

Anyways…

I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts on this episode and I can’t decide if I’m hugely disappointed or extremely thrilled.

So three plots this week, but I think they made that work even though they were very separated from each other and Childs really had no one to talk to. He was/is really growing on me which means it would make sense for them to kill him. Likeable people die… it’s the TV way.

The Miggy/ case-case

As some clever people had guessed the proposal was not real (I mean we knew it wasn’t going to be real but the fan girl in me so wanted it to be!) but just how quickly it was going to go from ‘awww adorable Miggy date’ to ‘Higgy’s worst nightmare’ had me a little shook. But that wasn’t even really the nightmare… oh boy, that was some freaky hallucinations there at the end, well done.

Problem with putting the proposal and Higgy in trouble first thing… well, I’m just waiting for that moment to happen. So everything leading up to it is a little…well for me, I don’t really super focus on it. Or I didn’t today. So yeah, the Miggy + case was a little bit of a blur to me. I did enjoy our babies having their first fight, brought on by Magnum’s terrible password etiquette and looming death. Very fitting for our duo.

(Also, Higgy, 64 symbol passwords? What are you trying to protect? The lumminati deepest darkest secrets?)

Higgy doing her American accent always amuses me, but I did like southern belle from season 4 better, that was hilarious! A patient figuring it out and Higgy actually telling her because even if the patient told…who’d have believed her?

Magnum just knowing Higgy was in trouble there at the end did annoy me a little. Like come on, surely there must have been a better way? Also him rushing up the stairs - like boy? where are you going? Higgy’s find my phone was offline! Making for good last second rescue drama, sure, but still, not sure it made 100% sense.

It did get us both this

and this

so can’t complain.

Also can we talk about how it’s Higgy having the proposal dream? I half expected, even as I knew it was her dream, for it to be drugged Magnum having the dream. Our girl sure has come a long way :-)

Even if the more horrible bits of that scene, with the two Higgy’s and the padded room/corridor - was my favourite.

Also heartbreaking with the whole “whose blood is that”. In fact that whole drugged Higgy sequence was freaky as shit. I will be having nightmares of American accented Perdie going ‘whose blood is that?’, (and Higgy will be having those nightmares too in the fan fic my muse really wants to write -let’s hope muse-me sticks around when I’m starting at the blank pages of my google docs later…)

Did enjoy bad ass bitch Higgy being all “do you think you’re the first person to drug and interrogate me, you’re an amateur”. Like, part of me really would love to know just all Higgy’s crazy spy adventures.

Anyways, did love most of it and it does fit with nervous Higgy which we have been getting lately, so bonus points for continuity but… still IDK, maybe the clickbait proposal thing but something throws me a little?

I’d have had them hiking at pillbox and being all normal cute and not proposal cute, that would have made for more of a gut punch when Magnum was suddenly coughing up blood. Maybe? Because we wouldn’t have gone ‘oh dream/hallucination’ right away.

Also why did Higgy get banged on the head there at the start and then her wound just disappeared? Did they decide to add that in once filming was done to give her a moment with the creepy nurse or something? At least they could have given her a bandaid? IDK, just random intrusive thoughts made me super annoyed by this.

Childs getting himself killed(?)

So not confirmed dead, but since we seem to be getting a very dramatic mid-season finale next week (which already started this week to be honest!) I’m a little worried about Childs’ survival odds.

Especially since he was almost nice and did claim our faves as his friends. Plus got a cute talk/moments with his GF. That feels like nails in his coffin. But I had just begun to like him so let’s hope.

Gordy and baby-Gordy

The father-son ‘adventure’ to the mainland was maybe my favourite bit. Mostly because of this moment.

This moment really got to me. Because like this is the feeling. The feeling when something happens, and even though bad guy is thrown out/sent to jail, the host lady is all nice and apologetic and stuff, the bad unfair thing still happened. And it will keep on happening. And how do you fucking deal or talk about that.

I feel like this is one of the most relatable things for anyone who has ever been a minority one way or another, as a woman, different ethnicity, religion or social class.

Very much liked that Gordy did find some words to talk about it and found a way to sort of help reclaim the situation at the end. But still. Something weirdly emotional and relatable and important about that just eating in silent scene (for me at least.)

Other than Higgy’s freaky hallucinations and the Miggy feels at the end, Gordon and Dennis’ scenes were the best.

Next week

My goodness, not one second of downtime for anyone on this show, ever. Even before the episode we already have.

TC beeing shot.

Childs has been maybe blown up.

In the promo we see Higgy doing some seriously impressive flipping over fighting moves (someone make a gif of Higgy kicking ass from the promo, pretty please!) and Rick being chased through the rainforest?

Figuring Shammy saves the day with TC and takes him to Robin’s Nest where we know will be under siege? So TC, Shammy and Magnum & Higgins there and then Rick being hunted on his own?

I’m excited but I’m also not, because frankly I like being the one that causes my faves pain because then I know I can also give them some comfort and happiness later. This just seems like lots of hurt and very little comfort!!!

(At least it seems to not be another slightly disappointing SUV plot line?)

Well, next week can’t come soon enough while at the same time as soon as it does there won’t be any more Magnum until September. Which is a terrible terrible fate and the only good thing about this would be if this made made my muse wake up and I got to finish some of my fics!

[callmearcturus]

Out of curiosity, what would the premise of your dream Persona game be?

Well, let's see. What were the strong points of each game?

Persona 3 Portable: Girl Route. Team members have important relationships with each other instead of just orbiting the MC. Extremely strong theme. Structured in such a way that the player doesn't control what day they have a mandatory dungeon/plot event, making for better pacing. Best final boss. Best music. Greatest of the Best Friend guys. My favorite UX by far.

Persona 4 Golden: Best cast. Most interesting mystery. Was extremely queer, especially for the time. Most naturalistic writing. Best villain (not final boss). Easily the most polished script. Combat had the best balance of things to do and friction without being overcomplicated or simplistic.

Persona 5 Royal: Most interesting, sprawling location. Social link bonuses that matter. Jawdroppingly good bonus campaign. Best exploration. Only MC that fully feels like his own person. And I'll admit it, it has the best social links for NPCs.

So, the best Persona game would have:

A protagonist with as much personality as Joker but not gender locked. For the love of god just make a gender neutral protag.

Set it in another city that's based on a real place since it feels like real life designs better locations than Atlus does off the dome.

Honestly at this point I would love to see Persona do a game that doesn't take place in high school. I wanna see some young adults getting up to shit. If you absolutely need the school structure, then have it set in university/college. But the need for structure for the calendar can come from anything.

When everyone is cishet, the cast suffers. P5R proved it. (Okay, it's also because P5R literally has more teammates so no one gets properly developed but the cishetness does not help.) Lets get some queerness back in the cast, it does absolute wonders.

Morgana should be in it again. I don't know why or how, but I do know that carrying a cat around everywhere made Persona 5 was part of why I finished that fucking game.

I personally like the structure of having a central mystery with uncertain mechanics to solve, I think that's really engaging and helps with the episodic nature of Persona. However, once the mystery is solved, DO NOT ADD IN ANOTHER MASTERMIND CHARACTER WHO IS "REALLY" BEHIND IT ALL. JUST FUCKING STOP! GOD I HATE IT. Stop having a really cool set up and then deciding in the last 5 hours that a Mean God Did It All, I'm so DONE with that shit. Fuck Izanami and Fuck Yarblegarble.

While we're at it, if one more Persona game turns out to be a parable on how them kids are on their phones too much, I'm done.

Regarding music, either: A: Create multiple main battle themes so if they Fucking Suck again like in P4 it doesn't make your players want to scream by hour 30. B: Just use "Wiping All Out" again for the main battle theme. We're never going to surpass it, why not accept that.

LET THE PLAYER START A ROMANCE SEPARATE FROM SLINK RANKS. If I hit level 10 on someone and decide later I wanna date them, I should be able to do that. That way I can actually meet everyone, THEN decide who I wanna kiss.

Just gimme back Igor using shiny key of solomon shit to combine personae, fuck P5's edgelord bullshit. Also Margaret bc she was funny and also really hot and flirty.

Bring Maruki back just for funsies.

there we go, the perfect persona game

[littlemonstert-blog]

Temari's Overrated

overrated.

I don't dislike Temari's character, I do find her overrated in comparison to other characters and here's why.

Let's look into character wise

Temari's not a bad character either but she literally has like 10 pages worth of screen time in Part 1. 5 pages worth in Part 2 (Shippuden) . Only reason she gets hyped so much is because Naruto fandom has convinced itself to believe a “badass girl who's kinda mean” equals best female character ever.

Her entire character in has been:

Gaara's older sister, She's great at wind style and Temari maybe has a crush on Shikamaru.

My other point, the ShikaTema ship. When you're on any Naruto social media (Twitter, reddit, tiktok etc). You've definitely seen people say it's “the best ship” or “the only ship that makes sense” and “the one ship that everyone likes”. I don't have any problems with it.

But, where were are the romantic moments of Shikatema that made them the best couple in the entire series? The only time they ever even got romantically close to one another was when Shikamaru was looking for a wedding gift for Naruto and Hinata after The Last movie.

Please do not use any filler screencaps because if it didn't happen in the manga its not canon.

And Shikamaru made it clear and that he wasn’t romantically into Temari before this event due to how oblivious he was to Temari.

People shit on Naruto for being oblivious/dense to Hinata’s feelings despite the fact that there is a canon explanation as to why he couldn’t understand Hinata’s feelings. But nobody says anything about Shikamaru being dense to Temari as well despite having a good upbringing and understanding how his parents speak with each other romantically.

Certain (some not all) people claim that Shikamaru and Temari already had chemistry since OG Naruto and only panel they use to support it this:

the only conversation between Shikamaru and Temari that can be seen as chemistry in a sense without it being half-way or taken out of context like most people do with this couple.

People like to compare them to other ships that had WAY more moments and screentime. Just because they have no drama.

most ships, these two characters have little to no interactions. What makes it worse, you can't even give them the benefit of the doubt for having offscreen interactions as when they live three days away from each other. Meanwhile, something like Naruto and Hinata or Sai and Ino likely had interacted offscreen 

Let's be honest here, the author said it himself Naruto is a battle shōnen manga romance was never a main focus. It will always be secondary part or not there at all like other shōnen.

 her power-scaling

This isn't to say Temari is weak I say she is at least Jonin level

As far as war arc, Temari literally doesn't due much at all compared to others. Manga whatever the anime adds is NOT CANON

She did one thing in war arc :

With the help of two other shinobi, she managed to damage base edo third raikage. Assuming he was actually blitzed and didn't just decide to tank it (since they stated they haven't inflicted any significant damage, implying he likely didn't even care to dodge)

This is anime-only aka filler that's not canon to manga

(Even if you did consider this a feat, Madara just dusted himself off like nothing happen and set up for fire style.)

Comparing other Konoha memebers

Can you tell me something important that Temari ever did to develop the plot? People insult female characters like sakura, karin and Ino but they contributed far more than temari. Heck, even tenten with her little screentime helped more than Temari.

Sakura: Contributed alot during the war, became one of the best medical ninja

Hinata: Assisted Ino in redirecting the ten-tails attack by linking her byakugan to Ino’s mind transfer. Saved the whole shinobi alliance including Naruto, Killer B, Might Guy and Kakashi. Helped Naruto when he was about to give-in after witnessing neji’s death.

Ino: Linked everybody multiple times during the war together. She was the only person capable of doing that from her clan. Besides her father.

Karin: Helped Tsunade retore her reserves. Also destroyed multiple shinzu arms that zetsu tried to use to kill team taka and the shinobi. She was one of the most important memebers that sasuke had in team taka.

Tenten: A memeber of the team 10(chapter258) who was sent to rescue Temari’s brother while temari did absolutely nothing. Temari only arrived after gaara had died. Tenten was also one of those who destroyed more than one of kakuzu’s heart.

I shouldn't have say much about Mei & Tsunade.

Could list more but, I want to keep this short.

Temari as a character, has no purpose after the chunin exams arc, where her best feats was defeating Tenten (basically fodder) and defeating an already weakened Tayuya.

Which begs the question.how is Temari a well written character if she's barely around. Only Gaara was the most relevant sibling. The sand village in general wasn't that important. Most notable characters were Gaara, Chiyo and Sasori that were relevant from the Sand. Maybe If I push it, their father the previous Kage and the bijuu Shukaku.

( Edit: Looking back & a comment I can't reply back for a odd reason. Kankuro did have a bit of a bigger role than his sister)

Temari seems like one of the most overrated characters in the show upon her non relevant appearances for the plot compared to other female characters.

again I don't dislike this character, I just think in certain aspects she's overrated.

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising Ep 7 The Price of Power

- (apparently there’s no “the” in the title???? why?????)

- cold open shows Shaw the scientist, who comes off as the typical misguided evil scientist type. possibly trying out his invention on himself, given his reaction when Beck tries to save him?? He’s an interesting one-scene character, if a little one-note.

- speaking of Beck: kiddo seems pretty upset that he couldn’t save Shaw. Beck’s humanity towards even his enemies has been pretty well established at this point, but I like that he does fail sometimes to save and or spare people (see also the Black Guard from ep1)

- meanwhile in the B plot: Bartik and Hopper are harassing Zed again, with Mara not taking their guff. Also Zed’s crush is showing again, poor guy. Pulling from later in the episode, I am still fucking BOGGLED that Bartik here and Bartik in Legacy are the same fucking guy!!! How do you go from collaborating with the fascist regime to……. leading an uprising faction against it???? Like HOLY SHIT. Forget Beck; I wanna know what the arc of Bartik’s story is!!!!!!!

- back at Tron’s place: infodump about what the disc add on does, Beck works at a place with a thing that can destroy it, etc. that said: “when are you ever not serious?” OOH BURN NICELY DONE BECK. Also it’s fucking true; Tron is The Grid’s Biggest Grump. Still love him tho…..

- and then, because Beck has a Saving People Thing, he falls right in the middle of Paige’s trap and has to use the weapon to get out and this is why I don’t like this episode!!! I do not like amped up, cocky Beck one fucking bit. I had an epiphany later in the episode, this ep is basically the Spider-Man 3 plot condensed into 22 mins and Beck is basically Symbiote Peter here and I Do Not Like It. I get it, I do, but I really don’t enjoy it at all.

- back at the B plot, it’s nice to see Beck actually like. Interacting with his friends for once. Less nice that it’s under these circumstances (with the shitty personality nonsense), but yeah.

- And then Beck, who is not a great decision maker in the best of times, decides to go and make EVEN WORSE DECISIONS. WHY DID YOU THINK THROWING DOWN WITH TESLER WAS A GOOD IDEA, HON?????????? UGHHHHHHHH

- nice to see Beck snap out of it when Able gets hurt, at least. Kiddo does still have his principles, if nothing else. Also Able recognizing Beck as Tron is interesting as fuck and I hope it is explored more. And then later Zed’s comment about the Renegade: “he’s a menace!!” Which made me think of J. Jonah Jameson and make that Spider-man connection up there and I kinda want a meme or something of that Idk

- back at Tron’s place: THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGGGGGGGG

- Tron alluding to Beck’s mental as well as physical strength interests me, given the details I have seen about Cyrus (no spoilers here plz, I only watched up to Cyrus’ intro episode 10 years ago, soooo….). And for all that he is a Certified Grump, Tron does seem to care about Beck’s well-being in a prickly, distant parent kind of way, so it’s nice for him to express that belief that Beck will do the right thing.

- meanwhile the ongoing pissing contest between Pavel and Paige continues!! Those two guys, I swear. And then Pavel gets hold of the weapon and is even more insufferable than usual with it, because of course he is. The fight between him and Beck has great music at least, I’ll give it that. Also love that Beck gets it and destroys it instead of keeping it for himself; good strength of character stuff.

- meanwhile: EYYYY ZED DID A GOOD WITH MARA BUT SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS BUT BECK DID ZED A SOLID (AND OPE BECK DON’T BLOW YOUR FRICKIN COVER MY DUDE)

- and then the coda: the weapon is self-repairing!!! EEK FUCK DAMN. That ain’t fucking good, given that Pavel has it. (And given that Beck has the other half…….) also my theory when I first watched this episode 10 years ago is that that weapon was incorporated into Tron when Clu turns him into Rinzler?? Just because of the harsh gravelly effect it has on the program’s voice, and the enhanced strength and agility it gives. No idea if it’s what actually happens, but. It is a theory.

May or may not watch the next episode tonight; it’s 9:30 and I’m tired and wide awake at the same time so Who Knows!!!!

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 13K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

TW: mentions of Abuse, Child Abuse, and Childhood Trauma! Reader Discretion is STRONGLY ADVISED!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations

Boys Of Summer PT. 2.

Meanwhile, it was a party in the Maldives. When Marquise touched down at the private resort airstrip he was immediately chauffeured to the resort to his private ocean-view villa. Far as his eyes could see it was nothing but sunlight and crystal-clear blue waters. After changing, Marquise walked out to his deck and took it all in. When he looked at the outdoor bar he noticed a bottle of rum, whiskey, tequila, and scotch all of them were top-shelf liquors with a card next to them. It was a note from his wife.

Let loose. Have fun. I love you.

He smiled before pouring himself a glass of rum. Just as he downed that drink there was a knock at the door. It was the boys. They all filed into Marquise’s villa.

“Now hold on! Why is your villa bigger than the rest of us?” Logan asked.

Marquise shrugged. 

“Perk of fucking the owner every night. You get the owner’s villa. Take a look around.” he replied. 

The boys explored until they found themselves with Marquise around the bar. After pouring them each a drink Marquise raised his glass in a toast.

“Here’s to the girls. This was their idea.”

The men toasted. 

“Where did you find this place?” Sam asked His Majesty.

“I didn't. It was given to my father way back when and it was used by the nobles back home until they just stopped coming. And it sat vacant for years. And when Shanelle found out about it she decided to turn it into all of this.” Marquise replied. 

“I knew I liked Butta. Girl be on her shit.” Eddie quipped.

Marquise snorted before finishing his drink. 

“I don’t know about you guys but I'm going swimming.” Marquise announced.  

“You going down to the beach?” Logan asked.

“Nope. Right here. Off the side.” Marquise replied before walking to the edge of the deck and diving off.

When he resurfaced he was feeling it.

“What are you dopes waiting on? Get in here!” Marquise called out to the boys. 

Marquise watched as the guys jumped off. The boys spent the next two hours horsing around, laughing, and cracking jokes. This is what Shanelle wanted. She wanted her husband and the guys to relax and have fun. To be like kids that were locked in a candy store. That night after an amazing dinner literally for a King, Marquise decided to FaceTime his wife. 

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey yourself handsome. How is it?” she asked.

“You are a fucking genius! This place is beyond my wildest dreams,” he replied.

“Yay! I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying yourself. How are the boys liking it?” she asked.

“They love it. We're having an amazing time.”

“Good. Very good.”

“I miss you and my little ones though.”

“We miss you too. But it's been good to have the girls and the kiddos here.”

“What did you all do today?” he asked.

“We took the horses out and let the kids ride in the field behind the stables,” she replied.

“Did the boys finally learn that the horses don't giddy up?” he asked.

She snorted. 

“No, at least not yet. They did learn how to feed the horse though,” she replied.

“Good. As long as you two aren't by yourselves in the palace.”

“Even if the others weren't here with us, Khari and I would've still spent the weekend here.” 

“I know.”

Shanelle noticed the tan her husband has gotten.

“You've been out in the sun.”

“How can you tell?” he asked.

“Your tan. You've gotten darker. The sun looks good on you.” 

“Thank you, my love. I plan on being in the sun as much as possible.”

“Sunscreen. Don't forget!”

“I won't. Since I know it's late there, I'll let you go so you can get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you too baby. Sweet dreams.”

After blowing him a kiss, he ended the call and they both went to bed. The next day Shanelle woke up to giggles and the pitter-patter of little feet. 

“Good morning mommy!” Khari said as she climbed into her bed followed by Logi, Branden, and Brayden. “Morning TiTi!” 

“Morning babies! What are the four of you doing awake?” Shanelle asked.

“Auntie Bronwyn woke us up and we played for a little bit,” Khari replies. 

Shanelle watched as Brayden laid his head on her belly to listen for the babies. 

“Baby?” he asked.

“That's right angel. The babies are in my tummy.”

Branden put his hand on her tummy. 

“There?” he asked.

“Yes, baby. There. Although they might not be awake yet.”

“They're sleeping?” Logi asked.

“Yup. And you know how we wake them up?” Shanelle replied.

“How mommy?” Khari asked.

“Breakfast! Let's go get us some food!” Shanelle replied. 

Seeing the kids cheer made Shanelle’s heart leap. She walked with them to the dining room where the girls and the last two babies were. 

“Morning my beauties! Let's eat!” 

They had a smorgasbord of food to choose from complete with an egg station. After getting the kids squared away with their food, the girls got something to eat. When Shanelle sat down she had a plate full of food.

“Damn. What did you get?” Robin asked.

“A ham, swiss, and spinach omelet, French toast, three types of bacon, berries and cream parfait, Belgian waffles, breakfast potatoes, chocolate chip pancakes, and orange and cranberry scones. Why?” Shanelle replied. 

“You're gonna eat ALL of that Princess?” Nina asked.

Shanelle patted her belly.

“Table for three,” she replied. 

The girls laughed. 

“Mmmm! What kind of bread do they use to make the French toast?” Dee asked.

“Brioche,” Shanelle replied.

“Oh yeah, that's right! We have to remember that you’re a Queen now. So you’re into all the bougie bread.” Robin teases.

“And all the bougie butter. And all the bougie big ass breakfast buffets.” Shanelle quipped. 

Brayden tapped Shanelle on her leg.

“TiTi more?” he asked, holding up his plate. 

“Of course angel. Come on,” she replied.

“Are you sure?” Bronwyn asked.

“Yeah. You finish eating your food babe.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle led Brayden to the buffet and got him what he wanted before taking him back to his seat. Before he sat down he told her thank you.

“Thank you TiTi,” he said before giving her a big hug and kiss. “Love you.”

Shanelle literally floated back to her seat.

“I am Brayden’s favorite Auntie. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk! Have a good rest of your Saturday! God Bless!” 

The girls laughed. 

“Bronwyn, you better watch him. That's gonna be your heartbreaker.” 

Bronwyn snorted. 

“Just like his dad.”

“Worse!” Shanelle and Nina said in unison.

Meanwhile, in the Maldives, the boys were racing jet skis all up and down the beach. After a big breakfast of their own, the guys made it down to the marina where they were each given a jet ski.

“Wait! We get to keep these?” Eddie asked the attendant. 

“Yes sir. You each get a jet ski to keep. Each jet ski has your name on them.” the attendant replied.

“I love my big sister,” Logan said out loud.

Marquise snorted.

“I would hope so. She just gifted you a jet ski. So who's racing?” 

The boys hopped on and took off. Racing across the water enjoying themselves. This was what the girls wanted for their men. To be able to relax, have fun, and be themselves. They each work so hard and they needed time to just be guys. The boys split up after spending 3 hours on the water. Marquise and Dino took the time to visit the spa. The Deep Tissue Massage Marquise got was life-changing.

“Remind me to thank the Queen for this,” Dino said to Marquise as they walked back to his villa. 

“Noted,” Marquise replies.

When they got there the boys were there raiding the bar and smoking cigars.

“Why am I not surprised to see you boys here?” Marquise asked as he went behind the bar to pour him and Dino a drink.

“You got the best liquor and cigars. That's why.” Eddie replies. “Man these are smooth! Where you get this shit at?”

“Cuba,” Marquise replied. 

“¿Auténticos Cubanos?” Sam asked.

“Sí. Los he importado de una fábrica en las afueras de La Habana.”

Sam nodded appreciatively.

“Nice.”

“What the hell did y'all just say?” Eddie asked.

The men laughed. 

Meanwhile, the girls were setting up for painting the boys’ nursery. Well sort of. They had the kids change into bathing suits and swim trunks and had buckets of paint-filled balloons ready to go. 

“Alright, kiddos! When I say go, you throw.” Shanelle announces.

“Throw?” Branden asked before throwing his balloon at the wall.

“No, not yet baby. You have to wait until I say go.” 

“Go? Go!” Brayden said before throwing his balloon.

That's when Shanelle made a decision. 

“You know what? Have at it!” she said before getting out of dodge. 

She and the girls watched as the kids got to have fun throwing balloons and getting messy. It was a fun time had by all. And when all the balloons were splattered against the wall, the kids got to write their names. or at least they tried to.

The men were sitting around a poker table smoking cigars, drinking, and laughing. 

“I fold! You have been on a tear.” James said to Marquise.

Marquise snickered.

“Damn, just when I was having fun.”

“I'm not about to lose AJ’s college fund to you.”

“Now you know I would never allow my niece’s college fund to be depleted. Whatever you lost would've been replaced. You know me.”

James took a sip of his rum.

“This is true but still I'm good.”

“Very well,” Marquise said before turning to the rest of the guys, “who's up?”

That's when Eddie down his drink.

“Deal me in Lo.”

“You sure man? He's been unstoppable.” Logan said to Eddie.

“Ain't nobody scared of his ass,” Eddie replies.

A slow smirk bloomed on Marquise’s face. 

“Finally! A challenge! I was starting to get bored.”

“I’m about to rob yo ass,” Eddie said to Marquise.

“And I’m about to send you back to my sister in tears.”

Eddie scoffed. 

“Best 2 out of 3?” Marquise asked.

“Hell yeah!” Eddie replies.

“Deal the cards, Logan.” 

With liquor, cigars, food, and poker in hand, the boys spent the rest of the night enjoying one friendly competition after another.

And for the girls, it was movie night! Complete with chicken tenders, French fries, Chicken Caesar Salad wraps, applesauce for the babies, create your own hot fudge brownie sundaes, and 101 Dalmatians. The kids didn't even make it through the first 30 minutes before all of them were out like a light. 

After putting the kids to bed, the girls were gathered in Shanelle's room with wine in hand. They were discussing the latest chapter of The Forgotten Heir. Well, the girls were discussing it. Shanelle kept her mouth shut. Which was unusual for her. 

“Alright, Nelle you've been quiet. Way too quiet. What's wrong?” Robin asked.

“Nothing. I'm just sitting here listening.” Shanelle replies.

“That's just it, you don't listen. So what is it?” Nina asked. 

Shanelle took a big sip of her sparkling cider.

“Is it the book? Are you bothered by it?” Bronwyn asked.

“Bothered? Hardly. Annoyed that people are making a big deal out of nothing? Yes.” Shanelle replies.

“Now now Your Majesty. Be nice.” Dee said to Shanelle.

“I am being nice. I haven't called bullshit have I?” Shanelle asked.

“No. But you want to.” Nina replied.

Shanelle shrugged. 

“I feel for Myah,” Bronwyn said.

“That's because you’re little miss give everybody a chance,” Robin said to her. 

“I’m glad you feel for her because I don't.” Shanelle said.

“Why?” Bronwyn asked.

“Because your sister-in-law kept coming for my husband and she feels entitled to something that isn't hers to begin with that's why. I'm not about to feel bad for her or anyone that cares for her.” Shanelle replies.

“Okay. I get why you feel that way but you have to understand that she's hurt.” Dee said.

“Okay and?” Shanelle asked.

“Don't be like that Nelle,” Bronwyn replied.

“Don't be what? Fed up? The crown is more than just some fancy title. It is a job. One that is nonstop and never-ending.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle sighed.

“Look, if she's angry, fine. I get it because Connie at the end of the day, was a cold-hearted, calloused, selfish, self-centered bastard. He didn't care about anyone but himself. But her anger at Connie should have nothing to do with my husband. She's not his responsibility. He owes her nothing. Connie did. And if Connie chose not to do right by her, then that's on him. The old man’s sins are not Marquise’s to pay. If she's gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at the two people who acted like they didn't know how a condom works.” 

“Ouch,” Dee said.

“Though her delivery needs major work, Nelle has a point. While it is heartbreaking that Connie chose his responsibility over Myah, you just can't expect Marquise to just hand over anything. Especially when he's got Khari and the twins to think about.” Robin said. 

“Finally someone gets it,” Shanelle said.

“I don’t know. If he didn't want her to have a title he wouldn't have granted her one.” Bronwyn quipped.

“He didn't want her to have it. Believe me.” a voice called out. It was Margo. “I apologize for butting in.”

“How do you know?” Nina asked Margo. 

Margo sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Because I have worked for The Royal Family for almost 40 years. A good 38 of those years have been spent serving The Family. I know all there is to know about Constantine.” Margo replied. “Constantine was a lot of things. A loving, caring, concerned father? Never. If he couldn't even do right by his sons, I can assure you, he would never do right by this girl.” 

“Then why grant her a title?” Nina asked.

“Let me ask this, why do you think he never married her mother?” Margo asked.

“Because there was a chance his enemies could come after her and her mother,” Bronwyn replied. 

Margo shook her head no.

“Only if she were the heir to the throne. Which she wasn't. Because the Monarchy would never recognize her.” 

“Why not?” Robin asked.

“Because he didn't marry her mother. Cordonian Law is crystal clear: the declaration he signed would only be valid if he married her mother. And Connie knew that. He was the King after all. But since he didn't, granting her a title is not an obligation for my son.” Margo replied. 

“So he signed it to do what?” Nina asked.

“Pacify if nothing else. You have to understand his thought process. If it wasn't selfish or self-serving Constantine did not care. That is who he was. A selfish, self-centered, cold-hearted, cruel, calloused bastard.” Margo replied. 

Shanelle poured Margo a glass of wine.

“Thank you, dear. Listen, what you girls read in that book is not who Connie was a father. Because if he was that concerned of a father, he wouldn't have left the raising of his two children to me and the rest of the staff. Not that I’m not grateful. Marquise was a wonderful child. Hard-headed and stubborn as an ox at times but no less loving and protective. Raising him and Leo was and is one of the joys of my life, but it should have been Constantine's responsibility. Not mine.”

“If you feel that way, why have you stayed all these years?” Dee asked.

“Because they needed someone to protect them from the madman he had become. The year and a half after Eleanor was killed was the worst of them all. To be fair every day that man breathed was terrible but those first 18-19 months were completely unbearable. And I was ready to resign. But my Prince begged me to stay. Besides, I couldn't leave two innocent children to face his wrath alone. I wasn't about to kidnap them either. That would've meant death for me and my family. So I promised Marquise that I would stay until he turned 18. And I have been here ever since.”

“You keep saying that Connie was a bad father but what exactly did he do?” Robin asked. 

Margo went quiet before clearing her throat and taking a sip of her wine.

“I'm not even sure I should tell this story because I swore to Marquise that I would take it to my grave.” Margo replies.

“What?” Bronwyn asked.

Margo looked at Shanelle.

“Marquise had just gotten his acceptance letter to Harvard, which was just about 5 months after his 16th birthday. Around that time, Connie would go into his study and drink himself into a stupor and then get belligerent as all hell. Well, one night my husband George and I were making our rounds as we did as the senior staff when we heard Connie’s raised voice coming from the King’s study. We knew it couldn't be good.” Margo replied.

“What was going on?” Robin asked.

“When we got there Connie was in Marquise’s face yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. George and I were able to separate them. He took Constantine and I took Marquise with Connie still berating him, calling him everything but a child of God. George tried to get Connie to calm down and leave Marquise alone but that only angered him more. I had just gotten him to the doors when Constantine broke free of my husband and it happened.” Margo replied.

“When what happened?” Nina asked.

Margo closed her eyes while shaking her head.

“I watched Constantine ball up his fist and strike his own son.” Margo replied.

The girls went deathly silent. When Margo opened her eyes, she saw the look of shock and utter horror written on Shanelle's face. 

“Oh My God! Oh My God!” Shanelle whispered.

“The hit knocked Marquise back into the door and it stunned him. And that's not even the worst part, the worst part is Connie got ready to hit him again. But that second time my husband was able to catch his fist and pin him to his desk. That's when George told me to get Marquise out of that office. Imagine all 5’2 of me trying to drag a then 6’3 16-year-old out of his father’s office. When I finally got him back to his wing of the palace, he sat down on his bed with his head in his hands. And when he looked up at me, I saw all the rage, the shock, the heartbreak, and the pain in his eyes. When I sat down next to him, he laid his head in my lap and just cried. He kept asking ‘what did I do wrong?’ ‘Why does he hate me so much?’”

Margo paused to collect herself.

“I was able to get him to take a shower and get something to eat. But not before he told me…that wasn't the first time that Connie had hit him.”

The girls were in shock.

“I have a question.” Bronwyn finally spoke.

“Yes?” Margo asked.

“Why didn't you let Marquise go so he could bury that sonuvabitch?” Bronwyn asked.

“I couldn't,” Margo replies.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What do you mean you couldn't?” Robin asked.

“She's right.” Shanelle finally spoke. Her voice was shaky. “She couldn't. Neither could George.”

“What?! Why not?!” Nina asked.

“Because had Marquise hit his father, Connie would've wasted no time having him arrested and thrown in a dungeon,” Shanelle replies.

“But Connie started it!” Dee piped up.

“That wouldn't matter. Because at that time Connie was the Monarch. And the Parliament and Monarchy’s job is simple. Protect the Monarch at all times. Especially from family. It was a rule established by the Monarchy back in the 1600s when then Queen Kendra’s brother plotted to kill her and take the throne for himself.” Shanelle said. 

Margo nodded while taking Shanelle’s trembling hands in her own. 

“Connie would've spun the story to make himself the victim of an assault by his unruly and ungrateful son who wanted to usurp him and take the throne from him. And with many in the Parliament being stuck so far up Constantine’s ass at the time, they wouldn't have hesitated.” Margo said. 

Shanelle closed her eyes to stop tears of anger from rolling. 

“My husband never would've stood a fighting chance. The Parliament would've convicted Marquise without question. And Connie would've sentenced him to death.”

Margo nodded sadly.

“And I would've had to watch my sweet, cocky, thickheaded, loving, caring, protective boy. My beautiful son…I would've had to watch him walk to the gallows. And that would've killed me.” 

“The gallows? Like Pirates Of The Caribbean?!” Bron asked.

“Yes. Cordonia still believes in criminals being hung by the neck until dead. Marquise hasn't implemented it but it is a punishment in the books.” Shanelle replied.

Shanelle took a deep breath. 

“I hate that man. I hate him so much. If I could I would've killed him myself if his cancer hadn't beaten me to it. Maxwell told me years ago that Connie used to take whatever he was feeling when he was drunk out on Marquise but I never thought it would be that bad.” Shanelle seethed.

Margo rubbed Shanelle's knuckles.

“I'm sorry if I upset you. That was never my intention. And please don't think Marquise was intentionally hiding this from you.”

Shanelle nodded. 

“I know he wasn't. I’m not mad. Well not at him or you. I am furious with Connie. Absolutely disgusted. But that's exactly who that good-for-nothing bastard was. As Margo said, he was cold-hearted, callous, and cruel.”

Margo looked at Shanelle softly.

“This is why I fight so hard for him. That night was the first and last time he ever allowed Connie to break him and his spirit. As soon as he was able to, Marquise left for Harvard. And was determined to stay in Boston. He even invited me and my family to live there with him.” 

“Why didn't you move to Boston with him?” Dee asked.

“Because Leo abdicated that's why. There was no need to leave. The new King was coming home.” Margo replied.

Shanelle squeezed Margo’s hands gently.

“Thank you, Margo,” Shanelle said to her lead attendant.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Again I didn't mean to upset you and I can only hope my son won't be too angry with me for telling you.” 

Shanelle gave her a small smile.

“If he does get mad, you have a 4-year-old trump card in your pocket.”

Margo chuckled.

“Indeed I do. Now if you will excuse me, I will go check on the children.”

“Thank you, Margo.”

Margo smiled.

“Of course my Queen.”

Once Margo left Shanelle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in before looking at her girls.

“Do you believe me now?” 

Robin threw her arms around Shanelle. Bronwyn just shook her head. Nina and Dee just sat there trying to process everything.

“He used to…” Bronwyn trailed off.

“Hit his son? Yes. He did.” Shanelle said. 

“That's…he…” Dee said. 

“Yeah. So while Myah’s version of Connie is cute as all get out, it's historically inaccurate. You wanna know who Constantine Leonidas Rys really was? Ask the son he abused. Ask the staff he always terrorized. Ask the people he exiled. Hell, ask the families of the people he had killed. They will tell you all you need to know. He wasn't loving, or caring, or compassionate, or concerned. He deserved his cancer. He deserved the pain it caused him. He deserves to sit in hell and rot.”

Shanelle shook her head as she angrily swiped away a stray tear. 

“Just know. Marquise is loved and protected by us all the same way he loves and protects us. And he will never ever have to deal with that sperm donor ever again.” Robin declared. 

“I need you girls to do me a favor. Do not speak of this to anyone. Please.”

The girls all agreed and Shanelle nodded gratefully. 

The next night was the final night in the Maldives for the guys. After spending all day doing their own things, they met for one final drink and salute to their amazing weekend together. 

“Well, boys! This is it. Our final night in paradise. We have been spoiled by our beautiful wives. We've had a great time together and we will be doing this again.” Marquise said in toast, “Here's to the incomparable FabBabes!” 

The boys saluted before downing the last of their shots. The next morning just before the guys checked out, Shanelle had one more surprise. She gifted each of the guys iced-out chains, rings, watches, and earrings. 

“It's official! Butta loves her some of me!” Eddie said as he flicked his wrist. The diamonds in his watch caught the sun. 

“You will break your wrist doing that,” Marquise said to him.

“You see this watch? Nigga it's worth it!”

Marquise shook his head with a smirk. This whole weekend was more than he could've asked for. But now it was time to get back home. Back to his life. Back to his job as King. But he would definitely be linking up with the guys again. When he got back to the palace he was greeted by his daughter. 

“Daddy!” Khari called out as she ran into his outstretched waiting arms. “I missed you so much, Daddy!” 

“I missed you too, my love,” he said as he hugged his daughter. 

“And what about me?” Shanelle asked Marquise with an eyebrow raised.

“I always miss you, my Queen,” he replies with a sweet kiss to his wife. 

“Good answer Your Majesty.” 

Marquise spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with his two favorite girls and after putting his little one to bed, it was time for some one on one with the woman of his dreams. They were snuggled together. 

“I missed being in these big strong arms of yours,” Shanelle said to him.

“I missed having you in my arms,” he replies, “did you and Khari have fun this weekend?”

“Yes, we did. I can't wait for you to see the boys’ nursery. Those kids made a mess. Even the baby babies got in on the fun.”

Marquise groaned.

“Are you sure I don't need to hire professionals?” he asked.

“Yes. I wanted the kids to have fun, get creative, and be messy as all get out,” she replies. 

Marquise chuckles.

“Fair enough. So what did you and the girls do while I was gone?” he asked.

“The standard overindulgence, gossip, and giggles,” she replied.

“How much overindulgence, gossip, and giggles happened?” he asked.

“The girls talked about your little sister's new book,” she replied.

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“Blood makes you related. It doesn't make you a family.”

“This is true but she's still related to you.”

“No, she's related to him. She's his child out of wedlock. Not mine. We have nothing in common. I have one blood sibling. That's it.”

Shanelle shrugged. 

“Okay. I'll back off. But that's not all we talked about.”

“What else is there?” he asked.

Shanelle sat up in bed and cleared her throat before speaking.

“Margo came in mid-conversation and she…” Shanelle trailed off.

“And she what?” he asked as he sat up as well.

Shanelle turned her head while biting her bottom lip. Marquise gently grabbed her chin and turned her face so that she was looking at him.

“Tell me.”

“Promise me you won't be angry?” she asked in a soft voice.

“I promise now what is it? You’re starting to scare me,” he replies.

“Margo told us that Connie…he…” Shanelle struggled to say the words. Not that she needed to. Marquise already knew what she was going to say.

Marquise closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“She told you about?” he asked.

“The time he punched you in front of her and George? Yes,” she replied.

Marquise nodded slowly.

“Please don't be mad at her. She didn't tell us to betray your confidence or your trust. The girls wanted to know why Connie was so bad and that's when she told us.”

“I'm not mad at mom. Because truth be told, I should've told you years ago. I was just…”

“Still traumatized?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he replied.

Marquise let out a breath.

“She said you told her that wasn't the first time he hit you.”

“That's right. He had hit me before. That time was just the first time he’d done it in front of an audience.” 

Shanelle’s heart began to break. She'd never seen her husband like this. So vulnerable.

“If you don't mind telling me, when was the first time?” she asked.

Marquise set his jaw then inhaled and exhaled slowly before he spoke.

“I was 14. I had just won my latest chess match and I wanted to show him the trophy I'd gotten. I knocked on his door but I didn't hear anything. And I should've just left but instead, I opened the door. He was sitting at the desk drunk with a bottle in his hand. He looked at me with this rage in his eyes. He asked me why I was there and I told him. That's when he took a swig from his bottle and went off on me. I did everything I could think of to reassure and calm him down but I was a kid. And it didn't work anyway.” 

Marquise stopped and Shanelle wrapped her arms around him.

“He grabbed me by my collar and kept screaming for me to stop haunting him. That I should've died the day she did so he wouldn't be cursed to know she was never coming back. That's when he let me go and he backhanded me.”

Shanelle shuddered.

“George must've heard me fall because he came running in and when he saw me on the floor he asked what had happened. And in classic Constantine Rys form…” Marquise trailed off.

That's when he contorted his face into a scowl that mirrored Connie’s sneer.

“Calm down George! Everything is fine. This clumsy idiot tripped over his own feet. Isn't that right boy?”

Their bedroom was quiet for a few seconds before he continued. 

“George helped me up and walked me out of his office. And when we were far enough away, he asked me what really happened and I told him everything. That's when he brought me to mom and told her. And I begged them both not to say anything. Because at that time I was terrified he would retaliate. Either against me or worse them. So they agreed to keep quiet. She got me cleaned up and something to eat and then put me to bed.”

Shanelle’s heart broke for her husband and her blood boiled.

“I'm so sorry baby.”

Marquise shook his head.

“Don't be. Because I got my revenge in the end. I got his throne and his kingdom. I got to watch the devil incarnate die a slow, painful, and well-deserved death. And if that's who Myah wants to call her father, she can fucking have him.”

“Marquise you are a victim. He abused you.”

“I refuse to be one. I refuse to let him believe he could ever break me twice.”

Shanelle kissed his cheek just before he kissed the palm of her right hand.

“I need you to swear to me that you won't say anything about this. I'm not saying that I don't trust the girls but it's bad enough that they know. So you have to swear not to say anything to anyone else. Not even to Khari.”

“Marquise—” she started to say something before he cut her off, “swear to it Shanelle!”

Shanelle closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. 

“I swear to you that I won't say anything to anyone else.”

Marquise let out a breath.

“Thank you, my love. Now let's get some sleep. It's been a long day.”

Shanelle nodded before they laid back down with him holding her close with his left resting on her stomach. 

The next week it was business as usual for His Majesty. There was a kingdom to be run. He spent the week in and out of meetings with advisors and foreign dignitaries. And he got the news he’d been waiting on. Monterisso finally agreed to be acquired by Cordonia. Which was a major win for him. He could leverage Monterisso’s spy tech with his kingdom’s special ops corp. 

He couldn't wait to tell Shanelle the great news over lunch.

“Well done Your Majesty! This is quite an accomplishment for you and our kingdom.” Shanelle said to him.

“Thank you, my Queen. It took me negotiating tooth and nail but we are now a truly fortified kingdom.” 

“I'm proud of you. You didn't let the last few Monterissan holdouts deter you.”

“Thank you, beautiful.”

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“I have a trip to Monterisso in the coming weeks to tour the kingdom and take stock of everything,” he replies.

“You mean you plan to play with all the drone tech?” she asked.

“Stop raining on my parade!” he replies.

Shanelle snickered. Just then there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!” Marquise called out.

An attendant came in with a Manila envelope in their hands.

“Pardon the interruption Your Majesties, but I was told to deliver this to you, my King.” the attendant said.

Marquise nodded. 

“Set it down. Thank you.”

The attendant nodded before setting the envelope down and leaving the room.

“What's that?” Shanelle asked.

“I don’t know. Let's find out shall we?” Marquise replied before grabbing one of his letter openers.

He broke the seal and then pulled the documents out. After a quick scan, his features darkened. 

“What? What is it?” Shanelle asked. 

“This is the autopsy report I had done on Tariq’s body,” he replies.

Shanelle’s eyebrows shot up.

“What does it say?” she asked.

“Exactly what I feared. Tariq didn't die of acute organ failure. He was poisoned.” he replies.

“WHAT?!” Shanelle exclaimed.

“Naya killed her husband.” 

Shanelle’s jaw dropped. 

“So what happens now?” she asked.

Instead of responding, Marquise dialed a number on his office phone.

“My King?” a voice answers.

“Issue an arrest warrant for one Princess Naya Laurent of Duchy Arnaud,” Marquise replied.

“The charge?” the voice asked.

“Murder,” Marquise replied.

“At once Your Majesty.” 

The call ended. This was it. Marquise was about to issue his first-ever death warrant as King. Whether he wanted to or not was a different story.