#he gives pregnant women respectful distance just in case

[the-official-account]

I've finally had success getting some full-bodied & front facial angles of spar! And also drew Jakub. These all came from jokes and/or requests in the Many of Hearts discord

[Drawings of characters from the Three of Heart podcast. The first is A black and white sketch of Spar, a Hispanic man sitting casually. He wears professional slacks and no shirt, and has a sword strapped to his back. The second is a drawing of Vellum, a tall, Asian man holding a cane, and Spar. Here, Spar is wounded, with a bloody nose and bruised eye and cheek. His skirt is loosely unbuttoned to show a bandage on his stomach. He's smiling, and muttering affectionately to vellum, who help support his weight and is carrying the harness of Spar's sword. Vellum says, "Spar, please stop trying to flirt with me I think you have a concussion."

The third and Last image is Jakub, a pale skin, blonde catboy in his boxers. He's posed halfway through being startled as he looks down at a large, crudely drawn dildo (In the style of a graffitid penis). All his hair stands on end. End ID.]

@threeheartscast @ilaalexei @citrusandsalt

[nevvaraven]

10 books to know me 📚

 Thanks @otrtbs for the tag !

Ten books to know me or know what I like to read about, Nat did quotes with hers so I’m going to do quotes as well! 

Atonement by Ian McEwan - I still remember the way I flung this book across my room when I got to that part, if you’ve read it you know, still not over it and I get emotional every time I think about Robbie :( 

“As the distance opened up between them, they understood how far they had run ahead of themselves in their letters. This moment had been imagined and desired for too long, and could not measure up. He had been out of the world, and lacked the confidence to step back and reach for the larger thought. I love you, and you saved my life.”

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - The blueprint, will never not be in this list. I was raised on this stuff.

“Your defect is a propensity to hate everybody.” “And yours,” he replied with a smile, “is wilfully to misunderstand them.”

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton - I am aware this is a children’s book but it’s the one my mum read to me every night before bed and the copy currently sitting on my shelf is the one she had when she was a child as well so it’s the most precious thing I own and they are still some of my favourite stories :)

“The faraway tree is always there. We never, never know what land is going to be at the top.”

The Fault in our Stars by John Green - I don’t want any slander okay, I don’t care to hear it ok in this house we respect our roots, this book made me cry and a part of my horrendous pre teen years was scrolling through tumblr and seeing all of those god awful picsart posts of the quotes and I loved every minute of it, it was a right of passage

“What a slut time is. She screws everybody.”

The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth - I bought this book because it’s opening passage actually had me giggling out loud like a loser in a bookstore and the origins of random words will never not be cool, the opening passage is just so long I cant put it all in here but I highly recommend it to everyone. 

“Occasionally people make the mistake of asking me where a word comes from. They never make this mistake twice. I am naturally a stern and silent fellow; even forbidding. But there's something about etymology and where words come from that overcomes my inbuilt taciturnity.”

The Fallen Star series by Jessica Sorensen - I bullied my high school librarian to buy these for the school library because I couldn’t afford them at 14 and after 2 months of badgering he caved and got them and I immediately took them and read them all in the span of two days. It’s about a girl whose mum got hit by a falling star when she was pregnant with her and it ended up giving her purple eyes and magic powers? I don’t care how silly it is at 21 I still love it.

“Of course, my nightmares were just the tip of the iceberg in the madness that had overtaken my life. When I was awake, I had much bigger problems to deal with than monsters attacking me. Real problems. Ones I couldn’t blink away.”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Raise your hand if you’re surprised to see this. Anyone? Anyone at all? Yeah me neither. 

“Just because my dreams are different to yours does not mean that they’re unimportant.”

Divergent by Veronica Roth - I know it’s goofy but I really don’t care, this was my life! I was so convinced I was a dauntless girl lmao I have enough self awareness to know now I am either a Candor or Abnegation girl. 

“Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Was it the insightful examination of the constant battle of good and evil that inherently exists with all humans and the struggle we face daily on deciding which to act upon that drew me into this book or was the idea that I could blame all my bad decisions on ‘night time me’? We’ll never know.

“If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers”

The Devil Tree by Jerzy Kosiński - I’m currently reading this and so far its very rich boy problems and existential crisis but it’s beautifully written so I both am apathetic towards the man I’m reading through but also desperate to know each of his thoughts. Weird. 

“My past is the only firmament worth knowing, and I am it’s sole star. It is as haunting and mysterious as the sky overhead, and as impossible to discard.”

No pressure tagging - @waririses @signofthereads @im-still-tryin-to-find-it @euphorial-docx @siriuslyfuxkoff @condoneii and anyone else who wants to do it! xxx

[fuckyeahilike]

I'm going to tell this (true) story again, for those who've just started following my blog.

There was this British MRA called Fathers4Justice, that leaned on the completely false, made-up statistic that says that Justice favours women in court cases involving divorce and child custody; and Fathers4Justice was about giving a fair chance to those poor men who totally just wanted to spend more time with their kids. 

In reality women typically get custody because only they love their children and want them, and men do not. When men fight for custody it’s to punish the women, and the courts typically favour THEM.

But I didn’t know that at the time, so I was very touched by this MRA, because all my life I've seen the same pattern: couple gets a divorce, the woman gets custody of the children, man slowly walks off into the distance to hardly ever be seen again, sometimes doesn't even pay for child support. So, like a sucker, I believed that yeah, maybe some guys really wanted to be good dads only the evil, wicked women just wouldn't let them. Even though every mother I knew personally never stood in their way of being with their kids, the men just didn't want to. But maybe there were exceptions, and these guys were an association of those exceptions? Shrug, maybe. And the courts favour women, even though men were the ones who came up with the laws and by and large are still the ones enforcing them? Ok, gee, that sounds terrible, and also doesn't make any sense at all that those in power would rule against their own demography, but I was gaslighted into thinking “whatever”.

Years later one of the founders of Fathers4Justice ended up quitting from the organization, and I love the reasons he gave: one, he was now married a second time with a new batch of children and he was spending so much with F4J stuff that he was neglecting his second family, and he could see it all going in the same direction, of his second wife divorcing him like the first one did, and he losing contact with his second batch of children all over again. He was trying to avoid that.

But secondly, crucially, he had lost all respect for the men whose parental rights he was trying to protect. Why? Because they were everything their exes accused them of: narcissistic, abusive child-men who would only show up for protests where they got to wear batsuits and shout at women and children outside courts and make them cry. What was in it for them was to commit acts of hooliganism and just generally fuck shit up.

The same guys wouldn't show up for the boring meetings, or contribute with any of the voluntary work that is what actually makes charities function. They wouldn’t show up even to boring marches where all you were asked to do was hold up a sign for a few hours... because that wasn’t making women cry.

And I was especially grateful that he made sure to say that, easily, by far and away, the very best volunteers in this MRA were the women. Those were the ones who did all the meaningful, gladly and with no complaints. I can only assume that because just like me, they too were very touched at the thought of, for once, men actually giving a shit about their own kids.

He recalled this one particular woman who showed up for a protest one day, heavily pregnant with a huge belly and swollen ankles, carrying a sign for miles and fighting for men's right to spend more time with their kids. The men whose rights she was defending? They were somewhere else more interesting to them. They were certainly not spending any time with their kids... and not because of any woman standing in their way, that's for sure.

"How a child custody battle becomes an extension of coercive control.

Post-separation control is a form of abuse used by abusive men to exercise control over the woman after the marriage or relationship has ended. It is embedded in a power and control cycle.

Control tactics can include dragging women through expensive litigation, harassment during visitation, gas lighting, legal silencing, isolation, and using children to harass. child contact provides coercive control-perpetrating fathers with opportunities to continue their abuse of children and ex-partners."

Pdf: When Coercive Control Continues to Harm Children: Post-Separation Fathering, Stalking and Domestic Violence

Pdf: The System Had Choked Me Too

If this sounds familiar, it's because a version of this happened to Amber Heard.

This is a tactic that is almost exclusively used by men to punish and entrap women.

[itsthestutterforme]

Broken Toy (Supernatural)

Characters: Dean x reader, Jo x Reader, Ellen x reader// SMUT 18+ ONLY

Summary: Y/N is a trauma riddled woman that does not have time for relationships. Sam and Dean rolled into town and couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

--

Y/N was relaxing at Ellen's bar while you were on your break. Ellen took you under her wing when she found out what happened to you family through a family friend. Ellen watched you grow up and to see you in pain, puts her in pain. Jo and Asher saw you as their big sister that they looked up to. They just wanted to help as much as they could.

Sam and Dean walk into the bar and you were the first thing that caught Dean's eye. He sat down next to you and said, "Hey there, beautiful." You took a sip of your lemonade before looking Dean in the eyes. Dean examines every inch of your face. "Believe me, you do not want to get involved with this," you say.

"Shouldn't that be up to me?" "Men like you view women as toys. I'm a broken toy, and no wants to play with a broken toy," you down the rest of her lemonade before leaving. "Ouch, did she just turn down the Dean Winchester?" Sam teases.

Dean watches as she walks in to the back room. Ellen walks out of the backroom and says something to Y/N. Y/N nods and Ellen puts one of her hands on Y/N's cheek. Dean watches the whole thing and doesn't say a word. "Hey boys, I didn't see you come in." Ellen greets as she hugs them.

"Hey, uh, what's her deal?" Dean says, motioning to you putting on her apron. "Boys, I know she's a looker, but she is off limits. She's lost so much so soon. And she's not ready for anything right now."

You walk passed them to take an order from someone who just sat down. The boys were helping with a case near the area and Ellen offered the boys a place to stay. In her house, there was a spare room with a couch that both of them could stay in. The both spent the night over Ellen's house.

Sam was sound asleep but Dean couldn't even shut his eyes longer than ten seconds. He got up and went downstairs for something to drink. You went downstairs for the same reason. You didn't hear or know her was there until you ran into him. You grabbed his shoulders and pushed him into the fridge before pressing your pocket knife to his throat.

"Y/N, it's me, Dean," he says, struggling to breathe against her grip. You pull away from him and tuck the knife back into your sock. "Sorry about that," you apologize. Dean couldn't help himself but to stare at your body through the oversized t-shirt and boxers. When you look at him, his eyes dart straight to your eyes.

"Couldn't sleep?" Dean asks. "I never can," you says as she reaches into the fridge to grab some orange juice. You take out two glasses and pour some juice in each. "Thank you," he mumbled. You stand in front of the window and sipped on your orange juice. "You know, Ellen and Jo are pretty protective over you."

"I'm the same way with them. They're all I have left." "Yeah, Sammy's all I have too." There was another silence and Dean watches as you look up at the moon absentmindedly. "You're not much of conversationalist, are you?" "I'm not one for small talk,"

"I can understand that." You look to him, unsure about his previous statment. You didn't buy it. "I find that hard to believe," "You know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," "I used to, but now, I wouldn't rather watch from a distance," "Hopefully not too far," Dean says. "The balls on you, dude," "Honey, you have no idea,"

**

Dean and Sam roll into Ellen's bar where Dean knows he'll face the wrath of Ellen and Jo. They made it known that you weren't in the right state of mind for a relationship or even a fling.

You had lost your close family to some deranged sicko at a gas station who decided to stab them to death. You was pregnant from a one night stand and when after five hours of labor, the baby was still born.

So yes, you were not in the right state of mind for anything. Dean respected that but still wanted to get to know you. Then he slowly started to fall for you. He knew you needed time and effort, and he put it in. He hung around for weeks and he gained your trust.

Things were going well until Dean found out about Sam drinking demon blood and was being manipulated by Ruby. And he had to leave. He didn't know how to say it because he already felt like shit about leaving you. He left in the middle of the night without a word and that shattered your world.

You cried in Ellen's arms for weeks, which fueled Ellen's anger. She warned them about your mental state and Dean went on a did this. Ellen knew that Dean would come back, and when he did, she would be ready for him.

"You have some nerve coming back here," Ellen says, crossing her arms. "I know," Dean dismissed, breaking her eye contact for a moment. "I heard what happened and I'm sorry Sam, but I'm still pissed at Dean for what he did to Y/N." "Right, thanks. And, uh, I'm sorry," Sam states.

"That's what Dean should be saying," "No matter how many times I say sorry, you're still not going to forgive me," "No, but it's a start," "You are such an asshole," Jo says once she sets eyes on him when she left the back room. "I outa smack you," she adds.

"I'm sorry, okay. I had to take care of Sammy," "Then you should have said that instead leaving her questioning what she did wrong." Jo snaps. "She was a wreck after you left, man," she adds. And speaking of the Devil, you walk in with your boyfriend.

"Who's that?" Sam asks. "That's her boyfriend, Ryan," "Hm, seems like someone moved on pretty quickly," Dean states before taking a sip of his beer. Jo brings her hand and smacks the back of his head. "What the hell!" Dean snaps. "You know what that was for," Jo spits.

You freeze in your tracks when you see Dean. Your grip on Ryan's hand tightens. "Are you okay?" Ryan asks. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go," "What? You've been wanting Ellen's pie since last week," "I know, but I lost my appetite." You lie.

"Uh uh, we're not leaving." Ryan drags you to a table for two and wait until Jo comes over to take their order. You avoid eye contact from Dean and try your best to focus on Ryan. Y/N smiles at something Ryan says and for a split second, you let your guard down. You threw your head back and the vein on your forehead was pulsating from how hard you were laughing.

You collapsed into the crook of Ryan's arm and he rested his face ontop of your head as he laughs as well. Dean looks away and angrily clenches his jaw. "Dude, I know you don't want hear this but she's happy. Let her be happy," Sam tells him. "She was happier with me," Dean mumbles before taking a swig of his beer.

"And you messed that up by leaving her," Jo says as she cleans the back of the bar. "How many times do I have to tell you that I had to help Sam?" "Until you believe it, but clearly, I'm not," Jo snarks before leaving to give you and Ryan your food.

The night progresses and Ryan dragged you on the floor to slow dance. Dean's heart races when he sees Ryan's hands sliding a little lower than your waist. A little lower than Dean felt comfortable with. After a few slow dances, Ryan decides to go to the bathroom. Dean saw that as a perfect opportunity to talk to you.

You had your face towards the performing stage with your hands stuffed into your back pockets. "May I have this dance?" Dean asks as he holds out his hand. You turns around to face him and scoffed at him. "No, Dean," you tried to walk away from him. He grabbed your wrist and spun you until she hit his chest.

Man, it really felt good for you to be in his arms again. He thought to himself. "Dean, let me go," you say, trying to pull away from him. " Please, baby, just one dance," "Don't call me baby," you snap. "Alright, Y/N, I'm sorry. I just- please dance with me once." "If I do, will you leave me alone?"

"I will leave you alone and never ask you for anything," "Fine." You rolls her eyes and hesitantly wraps yours arms around him. One hand holds the back of your head and another trails down your back. Halfway through the dance, you think backs to the night Dean left.

You watched him pull out of the driveway after tossing his duffel bag in the passenger side. Your heart shattered to pieces and you fell apart in Ellen's arms. That night was seared into your brain. It was the first time you were emotionally hurt by someone else in a very long time.

Even after losing your child and her entire family, you'd never felt so much pain. You think that's because you felt completely absorbed by him. He engulfed you like the ocean over sand. You didn't even bother wiping away the tears that fell on your cheeks. You wanted Dean to know how much he hurt you.

You pull away from his chest and looked up at him to see Dean staring at her. "I hate you," you whimpers. "No you don't, baby," he whispers against your lips. Dean holds the side of your face and lifts your head up with his thumb. Ellen and Jo watches with both disappointment and shock.

Before you did something you'll regret, you pull away from him. You rushed towards the bathroom to get Ryan and nearly knocked him over. Ryan's hands fall to your hips and concern laced his eyes. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" You wiped away your tears and said, "I just want to go home," "Okay, we're going. Just let me get my stuff,"

Dean ran a head over his face before returning to Sam's side. "Wait, did he do this to you?" "No, Ryan, don't-" It was no use, Ryan went off on an angry tangent. "Hey!" Ryan starts. In a few strides, Ryan was in Dean's face. "Damn it," you mumbled to herself. You sprint between them and caught the punch that Ryan threw.

His eyebrows shot up with surprise as you holds his fist in your hand. You never mentioned that you could fight. Mainly because you thought of Dean whenever you did. "How did you-" "Believe me, baby. That's not a fight you would've won," you tell him before dropping his hand. You motions over to the table and said, "Go get your things,"

"She's your guardian angel, dude. 'Cause I would hav-" "Enough, Dean!" You turned around and shoved Dean into the table. "You have no right to come back here after what you did to me. None! You have no right to pretend like nothing happened, Dean!" You snaps and the entire bar went silent.

"Why are you even here?" you add. "What do you think?" "I want you to say it," "I want you. I've always wanted you," "Then why did you leave? And don't lie and say that it was because of Sam. That's just a cover up." Dean opens his mouth but no words come out of it. "Y/N," Ryan tries to touch your arm but you pulls away.

"You and I both know why you left. You left because you were scared of what you were feeling. So you ran at the first chance you got. You're a coward, Dean," you spit at him before walking out of the bar. Ryan calls after you when he follows you out. "I told you we should leave. And you and your stupid make ego got in the way."

"I know and I'm sorry, okay. I didn't know that was Dean," "Just take me home," you says as you climbs into the passenger side. You pull your knees to your chest and ignored the incessant chime of the seatbelt alarm. Looking out the window, you mentally check out and watched as the grass blurred together into masses of pine green.

**

Ryan leans in to kiss your cheek goodbye before leaving for work, but you pulls away from him. You decided to break up with him the night prior. He tried to convince you to take a break and not end things so abruptly. But you knew what you wanted, and you didn't want him.

You knew that Dean was parked down the street. He was trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. You bites your lip nervously as your thumb hovers over Dean's contact. You pressed the call button and brings it to your ear. He answers on the first ring.

"Hello?" "I know you're out there, Dean. You can come in." "Alright," he answers. You hang up and wait until the door creaks open and closed. "Y/N?" "Kitchen," you call out. You had your back to him and presses your warm hands on the cold surface. "I broke up with him a few days ago," you whisper.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. For everything," "You want anything? A burger? Pie? Booze? Pizza?" You turn around to see Dean a few inches from your face. He cups your cheeks and you sigh at his touch. His eyes softly scan your face in admiration. He loved everything about this woman, and scared the hell out of him.

He didn't even know if was possible to love someone so much that it physically hurt his heart. He hated feeling so vulnerable, but he realized that vulnerability and love are two sides of the same coin. You opened her eyes and leant up to attach your lips to his.

He hums lowly and trails his hands deeper into your hair. Your body fit perfectly against his and you tug him closer by his belt loops. "I fucking love it when you do that," he says against your lips. You chuckle and walk him into the counter. Without pulling away from his lips, you pull off his jean jacket and unbuttons his pants.

He picks you up and lays you on the counter top. He kicks off his pants and climbs on the counter top with you. "We're really about to do this on a counter top?" You ask. "Well it has always been a dream of mine," You roll your eyes playfully and pulls off her shirt to show that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"You're such a bad girl," he says, taking your breasts into his hands. He teases the sensitive nub with the tip of his tongue and your back arches off of the counter. You're already starting to feel a knot build up in your stomach. You've always been sensitive on her boobs and Dean enjoyed that about you. You whine when he pulls away from you.

You lifts your hips off of the counter to help him take off your shorts. He inhales your scent with a soft moan. "I'll savor that in that pretty little pussy of yours, in a little bit," he grabs a hold of your breasts again and you groansl softly, making Dean hard in his boxers. He takes his knee and rubs it against your clit, sending shocks of pleasure throughout your body.

"Oh God," you say, your eyes flutter closed. "Look at me," he commands and you comply. His hazel green orbs was slowly turning brown right before your eyes. He moves his knee a little faster and pinches your nipples. A hiss left your lips as your grip tightens when your orgasm ripped through you.

He takes off your underwear and throws them on the floor. "Come here," he says, wrap his arms around you and laying his back against the counter. "Now be a good girl and sit on my face," he whispers in your ear as he squeezes your bare ass. You shuffle yourself higher on his body. You gasp at the peach fuzz scraping your inner thighs.

He pulls your legs further apart until you are completely sitting on his face. Worrying about whether he could breathe, you try to sit up but he wraps his arms around your hips so you couldn't move. His tongue laps your folds and your body curls inward. A series of moans erupt from your chest when he flicks his tongue around your clit.

He does the twisting trick with his tongue that hits two of your g-spots at the same time. Your legs flexed and your grip on the counter was so tight that it hurt your palm. "Damn it, Dean. Please," you whimper. He sucks some of your juices as he drags his tongue along the top wall.

A yell left your mouth and your head flew back as he sucked the soul from your body. Your second orgasm took your breath away and your body slumped forward. Your hands rest a few inches away from his head. His grip loosened on your hips but he continues to lick and suck at your pussy.

Your muscles trembled at the mercy of his tongue. He dips his tongue in fast, shallow strokes and your hips move against him, begging for him to hit another g-spot. When he does, your eyes snap shut. He hits the spot over and over again until you fall apart.

You fall backwards on his legs and he sits up. He pulls your into lap and you moan when you feel the pressure of his hardened dick against your moist bundle. He pulls off his boxers and he hisses as his dick embraced it's freedom. You waste no time lowering yourself on to him.

He moans into your mouth as your walls clench around him. You softly bounce on him and he wraps his massive arms around your waist when he thrusts up into you. "I missed you, baby," he grunts. "I missed you too," you say breathlessly. You stop your movements and look him dead in the eyes. "But if you leave me like that again, I'll kill you," you add.

He slams his lips to yours and completely devoured your mouth with his tongue. He tried to pull away but you follow his lips and kiss him again. His hands covered your both of hips and you started to bounce on his a little faster than before, making sure your clench yourself around his tip.

A whiny moan left his mouth and you plant a comforting kiss against his lips. He grew impatient and carefully brings himself to his knees. He sets your back on the counter, which was still warm from his body. He plants one hand next to your head and the other rubs your clit as he thrusts into hard and deep.

Airy cries and grunts fill the room. Tears build up in your eyes as your body folds with overwhelming bliss. "Fuck, Dean!" "There you go, sweetheart." His thrusts slow down, but the continue to go deep inside of you. He bites down on the sensitive skin of your neck. His thrusts became sloppy and he releases himself but continued to buck his hips against you until you finally came.

Your eyes close and your hands cover your face because your body was absolutely exhausted. Dean's plump lips bless your check and neck when you hear the door creak open. "Y/N, you alright, sweetheart?" Ellen calls. Your eyes snap open and Dean jumps off of the counter to grab his clothes.

"D-don't come in, Ellen. We're-" "Oh my God, my eyes! I cannot unsee that," Ellen exclaims. She claps a hand over her eyes and you jump off the counter. "On the counter top too!? Jesus, you eat food on there. You guys are trifling," she scolds. "You really know how to ruin a moment, Ellen," Dean says.

"And you really know how to ruin someone's eyes , Dean," she snaps. You scramble to put on your clothes and Dean sends you a wink, making embarrassment flood your cheeks.

[nitannichionne]

LUNA IV Chapter 6: Marketplace Meeting (A Henry Cavill / Syverson Fan Fic)

CHAPTER SIX: THE MARKETPLACE MEETING

Within the hour, you are with Sy at the market. After a brief meeting with some of his men, he takes and holds your hand as you look at the different stands selling all kinds of goods and services. You nod stiffly as he introduces you to some of the merchants that he is friends with. Some look at you as if you are a criminal, and you hate the feeling, but he gave warning looks that made them avert their eyes if they were anything but respectful. You don’t’ want to be grateful for that but you are.

"Hey!"

Sy’s serious demeanor melts into an easy smile as he strides to a blonde woman with light eyes. Her hair is a short mop of curls, but neat. You feel your stomach twist as he picks her up and hugs her, spinning her around. You keep her eyes downcast, surprised at having to tamping down jealousy.

"Come here," he smiles, extending his hand. He lifts an eyebrow as you approach, hands folded and eyes downcast. "This is my sister, Helena. Helena, this is—"

"I know who you are!" she gasps. "You didn't tell me it was her!"

Your eyes rise and roll, making the brother and sister laugh.

"Hi!" Helena hugs you.

Your eyes widen at the open display of affection. Your eyes raise to Sy, who smiles humorously as you hesitantly put your arms around the woman. "Hi."

"You have to excuse Helena," Sy says sarcastically. "She's been a bit unbearable since she found out she was pregnant."

"With your very first niece, Captain Syverson, so shut up!"

You feel yourself relaxing, even laughing a little. Their affectionate banter makes you feel a part of something.

"I have some business to attend to," He nods. “Helena knows the place like back of her hand.” He leaves you alone.

"Come on!"

You find yourself being grabbed by the arm and brought up to speed on current gossip in mere minutes regarding people in the square, as well as who has the best goods and services. You can’t help but smile with her a little. Her mood is contagious.

"So...murder, huh?"

Your head snaps up. "Uh...yeah."

"I got your file."

You stiffen. What?

Helena puts up her hands in a defenseless gesture. "Okay, let me be honest. I am a counselor."

You step backward, feeling betrayed. "I am not a head case." You look around, feeling trapped. Where can you go?

"No, you are not." Helena shakes her head. "And believe me when I tell you, Sy doesn't think you are, either. He has never introduced me to someone unless..." She pauses to pick her words carefully. "There is something more."

You mind begins to race. What the hell does that mean? "Alright." You decide to wait for more information.

But instead, Helena walks you through the market one more time. She gives more information about the shopkeepers, and basically gives you inside information on how to negotiate prices. "So, you got it?" Helena's eyes spark at you.

"Yes, yes, got it."

Helena becomes a little more serious, but the warmth is still in her features. "How's it going?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Must be going well," Helena chuckled. "He does not call me to meet just anyone."

Seeds of hope sprouted in you, surprising you. The way he held you the shower stirred your insides, like he knew... "He hasn't had a prisoner in sometime, I heard—"

"Uh-huh," Helena nods. "New supplies come to merchants two days a week. How about we meet for lunch sometime?"

"Alright." It was then your attention averts completely, noticing an artisan’s stand. "What is that?"

"Jewelry and supplies to make it," Helena answers. "You wanna go?"

"Is it allowed?"

"Why not?" Helena smiles as she leads you over to look.

Your eyes light at all the stones and cords. Your memory clicks at most of it, causing tears to come to her eyes remembering your father.

Helena touches your shoulder, showing concern.

You clear your throat. "My father and I used to bead together."

"Your father?!"

You giggle at that. "Yes...my father." You looked. "That big box there? We had one like that full of our beads and cords. And when he came back from assignment—"

"You beaded and talked?"

You nod, feeling the grief engulf you again. You miss him so much and times like this it hurts in your chest. You take a deep breath. "He had this necklace that my mother made for him—a wedding gift, I think—and he taught me to make one for my husband someday." You frown at some of the necklaces. "They are like these, but they are—they are wrong..."

"Mass produced is more like it."

"They are wrong." Your father was way too careful about how he showed her to do this.

"I believe you."

You turn at that. "They are not real...not like the ones my father taught me to make."

"Oh," the shopkeeper interrupts. "These are not real. The real ones from the Orion are too expensive."

"Orion?" Helena's eyes grow wide as saucers. "Is your mother from Luna II, Zen? Is your mother from the warrior women planet?"

You blink. "I don't know. All I was told is that my mother and father loved each other, and they were rejected by each other's families. They fought to stay together. She died. He took me to Luna III when I was very young." You swallow hard to tamp down your emotions. "All I know."

"One question, Zen," Helena says slowly. "The first full moon of spring, what is it called?"

"The Diri D'jed?" Zen shrugged, keeping her head down as she tried to control her emotions. "That's what my father called it—"

"No, Zen," Helena shook her head. "On Luna III and IV it is called the season of giving and making prosperity. Zen, Diri D’jed is Orion culture. You are Orioni."

Zen blinks. "The Orioni—"

"Orion City is the capital of Luna II." Helena smiles gently, grabbing Zen by the shoulders. "No wonder you can't be claimed. Not only is it against your nature, it's against your upbringing. You're a warrior woman."

You stand there not sure what to think when Sy returns.

“She show you around?” he asks you.

You nod, still lost in your thoughts.

“I think she is Orioni, Sy.”

“Orioni?” his eyes widen. “Well, that would explain a lot.” He looks at you and takes your hand. “Thanks for everything, sis.” He gives his sister a one arm hug. “See you soon.”

Sy takes you to the kennels to visit Lysander Carter, the animal keeper for law enforcement. "What’s goin’ on? Everything okay?"

Lysander Carter was not as big as Sy but looked just as combat ready. His blue eyes were softer, too. He looks at you and back at Sy, unsure if he should speak.

"Go on."

Lysander's gaze travels to his trainee, Gabrielle. She looked like she was being taken care of, having gained some weight already. She pet the mother dog, cooing to her, scratching her ears while petting its pups who were already finished eating. "Gabrielle, why don't you go inside? Take the pups with you."

Gabrielle tenses, her eyes widening  as she moved nervously.

Lysander calls over his shoulder, "Would you brush the horses, please? I haven't had the chance."

She immediately brightens and gathers the three pups, carrying them inside as the mother dog followed her.

"What is it?" Sy asks.

Lysander nods, raking his hair. "She's been abused, Andreas. Severely."

"Lady?"

"Not the dog! Gabrielle!" he gives an exasperated sigh. "She's got scars all over her—cuts, burns, whips...I bet she was hospitalized before she was shipped here."

Andreas took a breath. "She may have gotten into—"

"No," Lysander shakes his head emphatically. "No. I did a little asking around. She got those before jail, and some of the women in this batch are protective of her. They watch me, Andreas—” he looks at you. “even the real criminals watch me."

"Did you introduce her to Helena?" Sy asks.

"Of course, and she’s great with her," Lysander nods, his chin lifting. "She is also in full agreement with me."

"Arrange for her to have lunch with Helena twice a week," Sy advises, impressed that he was taking a stand. He turns to you. “Would you mind going with her once a week?”

You are caught off guard. “Why?”

“You are brave and strong,” Sy says. “I think she can learn from you.”

“I suppose so,” you say, going into an at ease position. The idea of being with and helping someone like Gabrielle sounded good.

"She's really good with the horses," Lysander says softly, watching her in the distance. "Better than me."

Sy’s brows raise. "Better than you?"

Lysander nods.

"Has her conditioning started?"

Lysander's eyes dropped. "A little."

"Lysander!"

"This isn't easy, okay?" Lysander defends. "She's not a fighter, she's not manipulating. She's just there, and scared, damn near on the verge of tears half the time. And she tries so hard, Sy, because she is afraid."

"Then have you rewarded her?"

Lysander sighed.

“Start with that,” Sy suggests. “She’s not a virgin, is she?”

"I get the feeling she is," Lysander nods sadly. "In the way that counts, that is."

"Then teach her why it counts, Lysander," Sy puts a hand on his shoulder. "There's a reason you were matched. You are gentle by nature, so is she. Be patient, be gentle, dig deeper, and pay attention, okay?"

Lysander nods. "Thank you."

"And, would you have Gabrielle pick a pup for me?"

"Sure."

"Thank you."

Sy takes your hand, turning to leave. He takes you back to the artisan stand.

“What?” you ask.

“Buy whatever you want.”

“What?”

“Go on,” he nods. “if this makes you happy—” he frowns over the stones. “and get the authentic ones.”

You try not to cry as you get enough materials to make a few pieces. It is all put in a bag and you hold it, staring at it. “Thank you.” You whisper.

He kisses your cheek and takes you home. You feel scared for the first time in forever. This man frightens you. He frightens you because he has what it takes to touch your heart.

@fckdeusername @maan24  @rn7rocks @kaatelyyynn

[cherrykadeu]

The unknown Heart Family

There’s not much to be said about Nari’s mother side of the family. Or rather, her mother prefers not to speak about them at all, it’s as if her childhood and teenage years had never existed. Yumi, simply left without ever saying a proper goodbye, soon after she discovered that she was pregnant with her first child, a pregnancy that had not been expected by anyone, news that instead of being received with happiness were received with concerns and hard to answer questions. All she had ever wanted was the support of her family during that time, she knew she had been careless and for that she had apologized, however she soon learned that all her family wished for her them was a rich husband who could provide not only for her and her child but to all of her family and maybe allow them to finally be free from the misery they had long been subjected to, eager for the prospect of finally being able to live a life full of the luxuries they thought they deserved without ever having to work hard for it. 

Of course, that was not the case and she feel in love with a Club who despite being surprised and a little bit scared about the prospect of starting a new family so soon and without any prior discussion, still made sure to support her and love her through it all, a man who actually made sure to tell her how he still wanted her and their child too. He did not make her beg to keep the child, just like her family had, fake concerns thrown her way about how they couldn’t afford to have another person in their family, how they didn’t have enough money or conditions. It was all true, Yumi knew that, but still all she felt was anger and betrayal, so the decision to leave her family behind and the promise of forgetting about all of them was too easy for her. She now only had her future family on her mind, the one she would care and protect like her family had failed to do with her.

Even after Nari defected from The Clubs, there was not a single reference she could go to and ask for help, if she was being honest she never even though about trying to reach out. They had never once made the effort to try and find her brother, the one that they at least knew existed, let alone wonder about the existence of another child. Perhaps they had all died from starvation and poor living conditions, or they had simply decided to erase her mother’s existence from all of their minds, deciding to only move forward.

Mother. Meeseong Yumi. Kumiho. 6 of Clubs (defected from The Hearts). Works as a seller for The Forge.

If anyone were to see the two of them right now, no one would guess that they are mother and daughter. The woman was always harsher with Nari that was for sure, always worried about her daughter who continuously presented more Heart traits instead of Clubs just like she had hoped, but she still loved her very much despite of it all and no one could question that.

They bickered, a lot, Tae Joon, being the only one able to calm them both down, Geon choosing just to step aside and let his father handle it in order not to have his head ripped off. Maybe, Tae Joon, liked his women a little bit crazy, everyone thought so, even his parents, especially when he had first decided to introduce Yumi to them, it was a long and hard process. His mother hated her and Yumi hated that woman back, probably even more if they were being honest. 

Mi Sook held back her words though, once her son told her that she was about to become a grandmother, she was actually happy about the news and she had hoped that maybe pregnancy would help tame Yumi and turn her into a more caring and nurturing spirit.

But, was she wrong. Yumi grew obsessed with little things, everything had to be exactly how she wanted it to be, her cravings were the worst and she actually felt like she was going insane, even Tae Joon did not know how to help her anymore, everything he said or did just seemed wrong, so as a last resort he wrote a letter to his mother asking her to come over. The words exchanged between the two woman that day are something all of them laugh about now, the question “What is she doing here?” followed by the iconic “I’m here to help you, you brat, now shut up” never fails to bring tears of joy to their eyes, especially since after that they became a real family who looked after each other.

That sums up perfectly, Meeseong Yumi’s personality, powerful and unapologetic, she went through so much, being neglected by her own family, before slowly starting her own in a completely unexpected way, just to have it all taken away from her again. Someone had murdered her husband, the only man she had ever loved, her parents in law despite still speaking to her seemed cold and distant as if they suspected she was hiding something from them, her daughter had turned her back on her when she needed her the most, the only one who had stayed was her sweet son, Geon, and she never liked to bother him, she wanted him to have his own life, the one she knew he deserved and would not fail to achieve.

The moment Nari decided to run away, was the moment when her relationship with her mother was ruined. Her mother had decided to forgot about her, or at least that’s what she thinks, or maybe there’s a little more to the story than Nari knows.

Father. Meeseong Tae Joon. Kumiho. Deceased.

The person she misses the most. She still cries about his death. It has been years and Nari still can’t get over it, it was too unexpected and too soon, it made her hate most Clubs and how that faction worked.

It was a rainy day, she had stayed at her grandparents home, her brother was too busy staying in his significant other’s house at the time and Nari was now grown enough to realize that her parents also deserved some time alone. Her father had thanked her and told her that he would pick her up first thing in the morning before going off to work. So, she waited. Her legs were cold, her uniform doing nothing to help her against the elements as she stood there wondering why it was taking him so long. 

It was her grandfather who came to get her, pulling her back inside, she heard some crying from the other room and before anyone could tell her anything, a small plea left her lips. “please don’t tell me” and with that she ran home, her legs aching due to the long distance but she never stop, the screams she could her from outside of her home should’ve been enough to make her think twice before opening the door, but it didn’t, her eyes quickly took in the scene her mother was desperately holding the severely damaged body of her father, her brother behind her, holding her shoulders. Nari could feel herself choke, a loud gasp leaving her lips, but before she could take a step forward, her brother stood up, leaving his spot from behind their mother in order to finally cover Nari’s eyes with his hand, pushing her back against the front door. But it was too late she had already seen it.

She screamed and punched Geon, she wanted to see her father and he still wouldn’t budge, even with tears staining his cheeks, even if he was falling apart slowly too, he wouldn’t let her get close to that scene. Their father had been their mentor, he knew exactly how to treat both of them, he knew exactly what they needed to be told in order to succeed. Geon had known this could happen, this wasn’t the first time a fight went wrong and someone ended up dead, even though something about all of this felt wrong he couldn’t allow himself to think too much about it, he knew his father wanted him to take care of the rest of the family and that’s exactly what he was trying to do. Nari, broke down, completely, everything about this was unfair, how could anyone think that killing another person in order to rise in the ranks was a fair system? This was the man who had held her, who brushed away her tears, never failed to make her laugh, who scolded her when she was misbehaving but someone who still loved her very much and now he was gone. 

And Nari needed to be gone too, she couldn’t let this happen to her, she couldn’t stay around and watch it happen to someone else just because they could not get themselves to see that all Nari had ever been afraid of, had now just turned into a reality.

Grandparents. Father’s side of the family. Meeseong Mi Sook & Meeseong Do Hun. Kumihos. 3 of Clubs and 5 of Clubs, respectively. Unemployed. Living off family money.

Nari remembers her grandparents with great care and a heavy heart. She spent most of her time with them, both her and her brother had bedrooms at their house which lead them to often seek comfort there. She remembers skipping training, whenever her muscles were way too sore to endure another day, she remembers skipping classes just because it was too boring and every time she did that, she always ended at the same place. Her grandparent’s home.

They knew, of course, they scolded her for a minute or two before giving up and allowing her to do whatever she pleased with the promise that she would work harder next time. They just could not help it, Nari just had the softest eyes, her calm and sweet demeanor was not something that was very common amongst clubs which made them only love her more, her energy filling up the house. To be fair, they sometimes wished Nari and Geon would come over more often, even if that meant failing to fulfill some responsibilities they might have.

She sometimes wishes she could have it all back. To once more, be tucked away in her small bed, eyes closed pretending to be asleep as he heard her grandparents talk with her father from outside of the bedroom. The tired tone of her father’s voice as he scolded his own parents because they were spoiling Nari too much and how he and Yumi wanted her home so they could talk about the responsibilities she had, how she wasn’t a child anymore and couldn’t keep sneaking into her grandparent’s home to avoid them and how they couldn’t keep letting her get away with it.

It all ended the same way every time, Mi Sook twisted her son’s words, telling him how they wanted to keep Nari away from them and how he was too busy with his own work to even bother coming over, Do Hun being more understanding, stopped his wife from throwing a fit before making empty promises of how this would never happen again and finally her father gave up, muttering a small familiar question “is she sleeping?” Nari would then hear the door slide open, soft yellow lights filling the door, Tae Joon leaning down in order to kiss the top of Nari’s head before making sure the blankets were covering her properly, exiting the bedroom and saying goodbye to his parents, telling them he would be here to pick her up in the morning, just like he always did.

It breaks Nari’s heart to think that she left them behind too, they do exchange letters from time to time and she knows that if she ever went to visit them again they would welcome her with open arms, which only makes it worse. She can’t bear to look them in the eyes after her father’s death, ashamed that she abandoned them soon after. Sometimes the ink on the letters she receives are a little smudged, sometimes some words are hard to read and Nari knows it’s because of the sadness they feel, the tears that can’t stop from falling as they write to her.

Nari often stops herself from being the first to reach out, it will only cause sadness for both parts.

Brother. Meeseong Geon. Kumiho. Jack of Clubs. Works as a guard for The Armory. Resistance Member.

It would forever be a difficult relationship to understand. A brother and a sister who apparently had nothing in common, only the few who had been blessed enough to see the two of them sharing same space at the same time were able to experience the striking similarities between the pair, the same charming smiles, the same soft voices who were quick to held anyone captive, even if they were only reciting passages from a boring book, even if they were just talking about the days of the week or how the weather seemed to get colder each day, it was amusing, sometimes even scary. 

However, it was even more difficult for them to understand one another, there were some days when they just couldn’t do it. Days when they made no effort to understand the other reasons for their actions, so they simply settled for the small comfort that at least they had each other’s company. 

Four years ahead of her, the first child, the golden fox, the one that was good at everything and left their parents beaming with pride since the day he had learned to control his shift, started walking on his human form or even uttered his first words. Everything Nari had done, he had done first and better and while no one ever held it against her or acted in a certain way that would spark those feelings inside of her, she could still sense it.

Her legs were still too short, and she could never seem to keep up when he challenged her for a run, their dad always needed to pick her up every time she scraped her knees, trembling lips and with tears sliding down her cheeks as she looked at the blood, while her brother simply brushed it off and ask politely for their mother to tend to his wounds, tears never spilling over his cheeks, even if anyone could see them forming on his dark eyes, it was only a small threat since the small boy never allowed them to slide down, forever fighting and always winning, kissing their mother on the cheek afterwards and thanking her.

She grew frustrated, always being second best, with him always pushing her to do better while at the same time discouraging her by beating her over and over again, too little to understand what good intentions meant and far too sentimental to see past her own self-pity.

It was not until a certain afternoon, at their grandparents house, as she sat still on their grandmother's lap, legs swinging lightly while the older woman brushed and braided her long hair, their grandfather sitting beside them, glasses on the bridge of his nose as he read her a story about a smart fox - one that she had heard too many times, but always smiled and listened because her grandfather had told her the first time around that this particular fox remind him of her - that she heard a jar break, her brother staying a few feet away, broken pieces around his feet, with a guilty look on his face. Their grandfather was quick to get up, closing the book, he wasn't mad, just worried about if his grandson had cut himself by accident, but still her brother broke into tears, a small gasp leaving little Nari's lips as she stared at her brother as if he was some strange creature, the boy clutching to their grandfather's jacket, a thing only she was used to do. She had never seen her brother cry like this, not this desperately, if she was being honest she had probably never seen him cry at all. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I just wanted you to read me a story too” his eyebrows were furrowed as if he didn’t fully understand his own actions and words, his lips trembling, cheek against their grandfather’s chest, the words a bit hard to understand between his sobs. All their grandparents did was smile softly, the boy was carried back to the couch where everyone else was sitting and positioned on their grandfather’s lap who was already rubbing his back in order to comfort the small boy and get him to stop crying. They could clean the mess afterwards, but now they both understood that their two little treasures were more alike than they had initially thought, and somehow Nari and Geon had finally understood that too.

This is why, now every time Geon smiles, all they see is Nari smiling back at them, every time he walks into a room heads are quick to acknowledge him, head held high, shoulders back and long strides just how he had seen his sister do countless times, she was forever in his head telling him to take his hair away from his face and to stop frowning because it would cause him wrinkles and he had such a good skin. And every time Nari got angry all they could see was Geon, protective, just how Nari had learned from when he had come to defend her countless times, every time someone got hurt and Nari just happened to know exactly what to do to help heal minor wounds was just because she had seen her brother taking care of her and her helping him back whenever he needed and every time she is focused on something she has the same look on her face as her brother. Each one of them has stolen something from the other, they wouldn’t be complete otherwise, but maybe this is how they endure being apart for so long, an unspoken feeling that just knows that the other is alright, because even if they are not there in person, the better parts of them had latched onto the other’s bones.

[annes-andromeda]

Ragnarök: Asgard’s Twilight

Chapter 10: Foster Through The Looking Glass

N/: Sorry that I haven’t updated in a while. Laziness got to me and school’s been giving me so much work. Anyways, here’s another chapter of Jane Foster in Vanaheim featuring Lady Sif😊

The camp was buzzing with ruckus, rock giants moving wagons of gold to the blacksmiths. They were clanging at the metals, sparks coming from their tools as they worked. There was a board where a sketch had been made for the design of Gjallarhorn. It would be large, with a small hole to blow on, and the bell would be large and extended.

In Heimdall’s tent, the Warriors Three were conducting a plan on how to retrieve the people of Asgard without any casualties “She hasn’t set the castles defenses yet” Fandral noted “With the secret passageways, we may have some leverage against Hela”

“We can’t be sure” Volstagg added “It’s as the Lady Jane said, we do not know the full extent of Hela’s abilities. For all we know, she could be holding the civilians hostage and keeping watch on us as we speak”

Heimdall shook his head “I knew Hela since she was a young girl. She is a proficient sorcerer matching the likes of Loki and an efficient combatant rivaling Thor. But she has no seeing abilities like I do”

“Hela always wanted the attention on her” He continued “And as far as we’re concerned, her attentiveness is on the throne, so that is something we could use to our advantage”

Everyone around him nodded in thought “We could send in scouts to inspect the area and ensure that we’ll be able to go in and out with no issues”

Volstagg pointed at the map of Asgard “This passage here. Near the mountain creek. The scouts could enter from here and go into the city unnoticed where they’d retrieve civilians and bring them to the camp to safety”

“I’ll make sure it’s safe to go in beforehand” Heimdall said “For now, we’ll focus on building the horn and getting the scouts ready. As for Lady Jane, I want the rock trolls to keep watch on her at every moment. I do not doubt my sister, but we cannot take any chances”

Jane looked around the long abandoned structure, her eyes lit with wonder and awe. She wished she had a camera on her to take pictures so she could show Darcy when she returned home. Whenever she’d return home.

Her eyes fixed upon two strange winged creatures who appeared to be fighting for a piece of meat. They batted their wings and flew down from the ceiling, one of them munching at the meat while the other tried to get closer. Jane kept her distance, not wanting to disturb the animals on their meal.

“They’re called Dawn Ripplers” Jane heard Sif from behind her. The woman had a bag in her hand, and she pulled out some more meat for the creatures to eat. It’s smell attracted them as they turned to her in curiosity.

Jane smiled awkwardly “I was just observing from afar”

“Don’t worry” Sif said “They are tame beasts when not provoked. Or in this case, hungry” She chuckled as she threw some meat at the Ripplers and scurried to them, using their small beaks to tear them into little pieces.

“Why are you really here, Foster?” Sif asked without hesitation

A sigh escaped Jane’s lips when the situation at hand hit her once more “I know you’re not exactly fond of me, but I swear I’m not here to cause trouble”

Sif shook her head “I never held any distain for you, Foster”

“But-” Jane began “But when I came to Asgard-“

“That was merely suspicion” Sif interrupted “There had never been a mortal on Asgard. After everything that had happened with Malekith and the Aether, everyone was edge. Including me”

With her mouth forming a small “oh” and her head nodding, Jane twiddled her fingers behind her back and said “Well...that’s good to know, at least”

There was a pregnant silence for seconds until the Ripplers made little chirps, almost begging for more food. Sif smiled and clicked her tongue, reaching into the bag and taking out a rabbit, beckoning for them. She handed it to them, the Ripplers creeping towards her and taking the meat.

Chuckling, Sif stayed on her knees watching the animals eat “I always wanted a Rippler when I was young” she said “My brother wouldn’t let me have them. Said they belonged in the wild and not in some cage”

Jane simply said “mhmm” in agreement “I guess you still wanna know why I’m here, right?”

“That would be nice”

“Well it’s...It’s not easy to explain”

“When has anything ever been”

Jane paused “Yeah ok that’s true, but this is different” Sif turned to her in interest “Back home, shortly after Malekith, I’ve been having these dreams. Not like the ones where you can’t move or speak, but sorta like the strange one you can’t understand. Almost like I’m...lucid, in a way”

Sif listened to her, petting one of the Dawn Ripplers meanwhile “Lucid dreaming is often rare here. Only those with strong minds have control of their dreams”

“Yeah well, it’s not fun back home” Jane stated jokingly “I’d always be in this endless corridor. It looked like Asgard, but I knew it wasn’t.”

She turned to make sure Sif was paying attention. When she got confirmation, Jane proceeded “Then-and please don’t laugh-, I saw this bear”

Sif furrowed her eyesbrows, all the while Jane pointed at her “Let me finish” Jane said “It was a polar bear. Sure, it was transparent, but I’m pretty sure it was a polar bear. Anyways, I’d get close to it, and every time I’m this close to touching it, I wake up”

“Hmm...” Sif said “From your description, this could be the workings of a Fylgja”

Jane blinked a few times and shook her head “A wh-A what?”

“A Fylgja” Sif repeated “They take the form of ones spirit embodied in a certain animal, often depending on whether that person’s nature is tame or not”

The dark haired woman got up from her knees and let the Dawn Ripplers fly away “From what my brother taught me,” she began “The Fylgja lead a person to their destiny or fate. Perhaps the beast in your dreams could be trying to tell you something”

“Question is: what is it?” Jane asked.

Another silence fell before them, but it was interrupted when two rock trolls strode towards the women, their steps echoing within the halls. They looked down at Jane and Sif, imposing yet clearly no threat.

One of them kneeled before the ladies in respect “Lady Foster” he said “Lady Sif. Good Heimdall has ordered us to keep watch over you should anything befall you”

“Could you tell ‘Good Heimdall’ that that will not be necessary” Sif said with her hands on her hips “I am perfectly capable of protecting Foster myself. Therefore, you are excused”

“I’m sorry, my lady” The other rock troll said “But we’ve been given orders and we must abide by them”

Sif shook her head “Gentlemen really, this will not be necessary. Besides, I do remember your finest warrior being cast down by Thor with a single swing last time he was here. What was his name? Korg, was it?”

The left rock troll put his finger up “Do not disrespect the memory of our fallen brethren!” He exclaimed in defense as Sif was taken aback “It was Lord Thor who began that fight and refused to make it fair!”

“Vanaheim was overrun with bandits and raiders!” Sif argued “What did you expect us to do? Sit and watch as you burned down villages and filled your bags with stolen goods?”

At this point, Jane had shut herself out of the conversation. She wanted to roll her eyes at the absolute pettiness of the three aliens-cause let’s be honest, that’s what they were-, but she knew it wasn’t respectful. She looked around the building awkwardly, and that’s when she heard it.

The voice.

She had heard it when she passed out after Hela pushed her off the Bifrost. It had called to her, even knew her name. The Fylgja, she thought. That must be it.

Making sure Sif was distracted, Jane went off on her own to find the source of the voice. She walked through the empty, vine covered corridors, touching the walls with her hands and listening thoroughly. The further and further down she went, the more intelligible the voice became.

Eventually, it led her to a large doorway. The doors were locked when she twisted at the knob. However, in less than a second, the voice seemed to have opened the doors for her. Jane turned both ways of the hall to see if there was anyone. Nope, all clear.

Walking in, the skylight illuminated the room, making the clear water of the fountain in the middle sparkle. It looked like glistening diamonds, and fish with white, flowing fins shined with platinum scales. Aside from the skylight, there were no visible windows and no sign of other wildlife.

Looking down, Jane could see a plaque atop the water. On it were runes unbeknownst to her, and a symbol of a tree. She couldn’t make out what it meant, but the voice called to her once more.

Speak the words, it said.

Jane could only furrow her brows “How?” She asked the empty space

The heart is a powerful tool in the face of adversity.

It sounded foolish. Practically useless. Jane really wished she had brought her phone to use as a translator right now. She had no idea what in hell the voice was talking about.

And then it hit her.

Taking her book from the small pocket of her skirt, Jane skimmed through the pages to find the one where she had studied the Norse runes. There were many that were assigned “N/A”, as much of the Norse culture had been lost. And well, Thor had been busy doing other things so he wasn’t much help either.

Her finger stopped at one of the runes, her mouth agape. Jane placed the book beneath the plaque, noticing one of the runes was the same one.

The rune that represented the heart.

Speak the words, the voice repeated.

Jane withdrew the book back into her pocket, and looked at the plaque once more. She felt like she was suddenly illiterate. But it seemed as if logic and astrophysics wasn’t going to help her with this dilemma.

So instead, she took a deep breath, and just went for it.

“ The start of a journey begins with the shore, but yet there truly is no end.

For like the heart that stays in place, the ocean does not descend”

A growl was then heard as the plaque went beneath the fountain. The rumbling grew louder, the fish swimming away from the growing passage that grew underneath the water. Jane watched as the floor opened beneath her. She stepped back, but she felt her skirt beginning to wet. The water was spilling towards her.

It turned out the passage was far bigger than she expected, and before she had a moment a react, Jane was sucked into the floor, eliciting a gasp and a small squeal out of her mouth. She braced for impact and landed on her back. Jane groaned in pain, grabbing the back of her head that had hit the stone floor. Had the fall been from a couple more feet, it could’ve killed her.

Back above, Sif was running through the corridors trying to find Jane. She was grabbing at the hilt of her sword. Just in case, should it be any of Hela’s goons trying to play a trick on her.

Jane looked around the stone walls, empty and wet from the fallen water above. She got up and tended to her dress, wiping off the rubble and dust, even moving her hair out of her face. Jane’s gaze averted to the walls once more. The fish from the fountain had swam down into the hole with her, reverting back to their regal and peaceful movements.

They grouped together and tread carefully around what appeared to be a long club of rock. Jane was confused at first, but decided that perhaps reason wouldn’t be the most helpful arsenal right now. Walking towards the wall, Jane reached for the club carefully, but then jumped when she heard a voice above yell at her.

“Lady Jane!” Sif exclaimed “Stay there, I’ll get you out!”

Jane put her hand up “No stop, wait!” She said “Just hold on!”

Sif was confused but then tensed as she saw Jane looking at the club “Jane...” She called out. But nothing “Foster, don’t! Jane, don’t touch anything!”

Jane, however, was making no attempt to pay attention. She resumed her previous action of reaching for the club, and held her breath as her hands scraped the wet and cold stone. Jane pulled at the stick, but frowned as it stayed stuck in place.

She pulled harder, even positioning her foot on the wall for leverage. Jane ignored the exclaims from Sif to stop, tugging harder and harder until the wall began to crack. The fish swam away, and all at once, the club detached from its place, sending Jane flying back as the stick landed next to her.

Sif watched the whole ordeal like a mother watching her child disobey her “Foster!” She exclaimed “Are you alright?!”

Jane got up to her feet and looked up, club in hand “Yeah...Yeah I’m fine”

“Stay there, I’ll help you up”

“Not like I’m going anywhere...” Jane muttered. She looked at the large, bulbous stick in her hand. Examining it, she could see there were now small glowing veins coming from the top. Seems like her previous action had managed to crack the stone a bit.

Above her, Sif extended her sword to pull Jane out of the hole. The passage closed up, and the fish swam in the fountain yet again. As if nothing had happened. Confused, Sif looked to Jane for an answer “Forgive me, Foster” She said “My incompetence resulted in your endangerment, and for that, I am most ashamed”

Jane smiled gently and put her hand on the goddess’s shoulder “Hey, don’t worry about it. Either way, those trolls probably wouldn’t have let me leave, so if anything, you were big help”

Sif motioned to the club in the mortals lap “I’m assuming your endeavor wasn’t for naught?”

“Yeah well,” Jane began “I have a feeling this is only the first of my endeavors”

“You heard a voice calling to you, correct?”

“Yup”

“Was it the Fylgja?”

“Nope” Jane looked up to see Sif extending her hand for her to get up, and she took it graciously “I’m pretty sure it was something else. But whatever it was, at least it helped me find this”

Sif smiled mischievously “Oh how lovely. A battering ram gifted by fish. I’m sure the berserkers would enjoy a new recruit, don’t you?”

Jane could only roll her eyes “How is it you never got along with Loki? Honestly, it’s like I’m talking to a clone”

The warrior goddess chuckled heartily “Oh how blasphemous! If anything, I’m more Thor than Loki. But then again, I’m generally more me than me”

“Yeah ok, let’s get off our golden throne now, huh?” Jane saved playfully. The two walked side by side out of the room, closing the doors behind them.

Without their notice, the doors then disappeared, leaving behind an empty wall. Inside the room, the fountain stopped running water, and the fish, almost on command, scurried together and disappeared into thin air. The room was left vacant, as if it was never occupied at all.

[nightwingshero]

multiple of fives for dahlia?

Thank you hun!!! It’s under the cut!

Where did they grow up? What was it like? Were they happy there?

Dahlia grew up in Birmingham for part of her life and then in London up until she was of age. Her younger part of her childhood was poor, but she was happy. Dahlia was raised by her father Charlie Strong, and with help from Polly Grey alongside the Shelby children, growing super close to Tommy and Arthur, even Ada and John, but she didn’t stay too long after her mother died. Once she was taken by the Parish, she was put with an older woman, a rich widow who only took Dahlia in as a charity case and determined to mold her into her own image. Dahlia was a mix of the daughter she never had and a companion to keep her company, and the woman loved the idea of her taking in a poor child and giving her “culture”. Dahlia hated it, in all honesty, she missed her family and would rebel when she could (part of how she got into dancing burlesque and cabaret). But that all aside, Dahlia can’t say anything against the education she received, which she later uses to Tommy’s advantage for the family business. She wasn’t happy until she came of age, and snuck out, returning to Birmingham right before Tommy, Arthur, and John went off to war. 

What did they dream of doing when they grew up? How and why did it change, if it did?

I don’t think Dahlia had particular dreams when growing up. She would run around in meadows when she was young, and would day dream with Tommy about their family having something more and being something bigger. But she mostly dreamed of freedom and doing what she wanted, being fancy and having more than what they had. After she’s taken, her main dream is to just return home to her family. Dahlia is a free spirit at heart, she hates being trapped and the society she was thrown into was exactly that: a gilded cage. I suppose her dream is just freedom and to have to power to have it. 

What kind of people do they usually interact with? Who are their friends, the people they look up to/trust, and who are their “associates”?

Dahlia has a tight circle, she doesn’t trust easily, and that circle is mostly her family and Lizzie Stark. She does have a best friend named Charlotte “Cheri” (Arthur calls her Queenie, it annoys the hell out of her), a fellow dancer in London. She later also grows close to Ruth Solomons, Alfie’s sister-in-law. She does look up to Aunt Polly, seeing her as a mother figure and someone she learns from the most. She’s very social and charismatic, she does great in social gatherings and settings, but she keeps people at a distance with her boundaries firmly in place. With her being a member of the Peaky Blinders, her associates mostly come from their group, using the men to do whatever it is she needs them to, and a lot of times, she will take Isaiah (and even Finn) under her wing to keep them from getting into too much trouble. Once Alfie “dies”, the bakery is left to her, and so she works with Ollie and Aflie’s brother to continue to run it. 

What do they always carry with them and why?

She always has a hat pin, just like Polly, so she can stab and threaten people if she is put in a situation. But soon, she just starts carrying a pistol to be extra safe after Sabini’s attempt on her life. Dahlia also carries a lighter because sometimes a woman needs a smoke or you never know, offering someone a light can open doors for opportunity. Dahlia is prepared for the worst, and is very well-aware of the dangers their line of work brings. Besides, Tommy doesn’t want her running around unprotected, and Dahlia has no issue with carrying firearms despite Ada’s disapproval. 

Did they get married or have a family? Why? If otherwise, why not?

Yes, she marries Alfie and they have a daughter: Rosalie. Honestly, their wedding is a small thing, and its after Luca Changretta uses Dahlia as leverage to strike the deal with Alfie to betray Tommy. Alfie is pretty well aware that Tommy will come after him for it, so he proposes rather impulsively (in Aflie’s manner, of course, can’t be too sappy now), and it’s in the guise of offering Dahlia and her family protection (since they’ll be united and such), and of course because he does love her. The real reasoning behind it is that Dahlia will inherit his “bakery” and home with them being married, leaving her well-off and taken care of. Alfie promises a honeymoon (after the war is over with the Italian mob) in Margate together. After his apparent death, only then does Dahlia find out that she’s pregnant with Rosalie. She continues to help run the bakery with Alfie’s brother and sister-in-law (and Ollie, can’t forget him), taking the first few months to grieve, of course. It takes her months to speak to Tommy, only coming back around for the wedding between him and Lizzie, but eventually she does move in with them and helps with the kids. Alfie does reunite with Dahlia and meets Rosie, and Tommy leaves them with Alfie in Margate to keep them safe while he goes after Oswald Mosley. Rosie is raised Jewish, to respect Alfie’s religion and culture, Dahlia’s way of having Rosie as close to her father as she can get while she believes he’s dead.

How do they want to be remembered after they die?

Dahlia has never really thought of that, if I’m being honest. The only future she considers is the big picture in Tommy’s visions for their family and business, she’s rather ambitious. She doesn’t want to be a legend or anything, she just wants her family to be happy and comfortable, and to be able to have the power to own her own freedom so-to-speak (it was hard for women back then, you know?). Dahlia lives in the moment for many years, up until she becomes a mother and starts to focus on her own family. In which, she wants to be remembered as a loving mother, a good friend, and someone who cherished her family selflessly. 

[sarah-wants-to-write]

Searching My Dreams for a Lifetime; Chapter Two (Criminal Minds)

                “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”                 -Abraham Lincoln

◊

        “She did WHAT?” Rossi asked, surprise written all over his face.

        “Wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it myself,” Derek replied, folding his arms over his chest “just popped it right back in place like it was nothing.”

         “Well it makes sense,” Reid declared, turning to see Shira talking to one of the detectives “people with EDS have problems keeping their joints in place all the time. Makes sense she’d know how to put them back where they need to be without medical help.”

        “What was weirder was how much Hotch knew of her condition,” Emily added, voice quiet “rare enough that it doesn’t seem like something he’d need to know off-hand.”

        “Maybe researching genetic conditions when Hayley was pregnant,” Rossi mused “and it stuck.”

        “Well, no matter how you look at it, Hotch definitely gained her respect with showing he knew about it,” Derek said “starting to look more like you might be right, Rossi.”

~

        Shira was tucked into her own corner of the conference room, where the team was set up to work. Sketching out the crime scene, with the sigils, and the distances, Shira couldn’t figure out what was going on. To the untrained eye, it seemed like a complex ritual layered with meaning. Yet to Shira, who had done her masters dissertation on ancient blood rituals with a focus on the Norse, she was just confused.

        They didn’t mean anything. Not in context. Though the arrangement was definitely familiar.

        Ehwaz, Othala, Ansuz, Gebo.

        “Loyalty, home, communication, gift,” she muttered “nothing to do with…wait…”

        She knew those positions anywhere. How hadn’t she seen it right away?

        Getting up, she made her way to the white board, quickly mapping out the scene with the runes and positions.

        “Make a connection there, doctor?” Rossi asked, watching her “what’s the meaning behind the symbols?”

        “I still can’t figure out the one that’s directly ahead,” Shira replied “but the others I recognize. Looking at them by themselves, their meaning is totally unrelated, but together? It’s one of the interpretations of the runed Helm of Awe.”

        “A Norse symbol that serves like a compass,” Reid added, looking at the board “not much is known about it.”

        “In mythology, it’s also been known as a symbol of protection, for those who cause chaos,” Shira continued “in the Poetic Edda, the dragon Fafnir gave the Helm credit for his seemingly being invincible. 'The Helm of Awe I wore before the sons of men in defense of my treasure; amongst all, I alone was strong, I thought to myself, for I found no power a match for my own'.”

        “So, he’s basing the staging off something that gives power to those who cause chaos,” Hotch mused “he’s declaring himself invincible to our efforts. Getting off on the torture and the lack of progress from the officials.”

        “He likes watching the police squirm,” Shira muttered “hopefully you’ll find a pattern with the victims before the next abduction.”

        “That’s something we needed to speak with you about,” Rossi declared, earning cautious attention from her “all the victims; they’re women in their early thirties, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.”

        “You fit the victimology to the letter,” Hotch added “and with your involvement in the case, that makes you more of a prime target. Needless to say, if you’re leaving the station, it won’t be without one of us or a detective.”

        “You’re telling me this like I didn’t make the connection already,” Shira told them, smiling to reassure, though the glint in her eyes was a bit cheeky “a woman sees six of her near-doppelgangers dead, she connects the dots.”

        “This could also mean that you might be the intended target,” Hotch continued, watching her “if it comes to that, we’ll have to interview you, and ask you to step away from the case.”

        “Then I best do as much as I can, shouldn’t I?” she countered “give you all the help I can. After all, he isn’t gonna wait. Though if my presence hasn’t been made public or obvious, then that might buy some time, or it might make him angry. Either way, he might slip up.”

        Watching the two talk, Rossi was both impressed and amused. Shira didn’t seem at all fazed that she might be a target. More that it seemed like fuel for her work. With her knowledge of profiling, as well, she almost sounded just like Hotch when she was talking. A quiet authority that had people listening whenever she spoke.

        “I’ll bet you’re a favorite among students,” Rossi declared, earning a pleasantly surprised smile from Shira “direct and personable. How quick do your classes fill up?”

        “Don’t even make it to the end of the first day of enrollment,” she replied, straightening up in pride “most students love having a younger teacher, and I like to think that I’m quite good at what I do.”

        Rossi smiled at that, catching a quick glance at Hotch as Shira spoke. The slight smile on the younger agent’s face was a surprise, gone just as quick as it was seen, but Rossi was certain he saw it.

        Already Rossi knew one thing for sure, about those two; Hotch was doomed, in the best way.

~

        It was late, and the team was taking a break for dinner before calling it a night. Still at the police station, in case a call came in, Chinese food and small talk were the order of the night, as a reprieve from the work throughout the day.

        Most of the talk was directed at Shira, the team wanting to get to know their consultant better.

        “One of the youngest professors at the University, huh?” Morgan huffed, smirking a bit “starting to give pretty-boy here a run for his money.”

        “Ah, I couldn’t measure up to the famous Doctor Reid,” Shira laughed “not many people who could! I was lucky to be granted one PHD.”

        “Those committees are vicious,” Reid agreed, laughing “makes staring down an unsub look like nothing, sometimes. Takes guts to stand in front of people and have them question everything about your work. Give yourself credit, Doctor Amell.”

        Shira laughed at that, dipping her head a bit in thanks at the compliment.

        “And how about your personal life?” Emily asked “any pets?”

        “One, a dog, though I definitely want more,” Shira replied “his name’s Michael. He’s a retired MWD.”

        “Adopted a military working dog?” Rossi mused “good on you. They’re loyal and incredibly smart. Malinois?”

        “German Shepard,” she answered “poor thing’s still skittish sometimes, but it makes sense. Most loyal man in my life, being the only one.”

        “No soul mate yet?” Morgan wondered, noticing Hotch starting to watch her more closely “someone as smart and pretty as you should have found him by now.”

        “Been busy,” Shira replied “master’s thesis, doctoral dissertation, books, teaching, and guest lectures. I noticeably value and show my intelligence. Most men are intimidated by that, and even if they aren’t…”

        She trailed off for a moment, sitting up and rolling her shoulder a bit, before it audibly popped. Her smile was sad as she looked to Morgan.

        “Even if they aren’t,” she continued “who would want to be saddled with all this?”

        She gestured to herself, her joints, and shrugged. Looking down as she continued eating, she missed the surprise on most everyone’s face, including Hotch.

        How much had she been through?

~

        It was early morning, and the team was preparing to leave the hotel and go back to the station.  Wanting to get in some quiet time to eat and think, Hotch made his way down to the dining room for some breakfast. Not many people were there, and he knew it wouldn’t be that way for long. Going to the coffee pots and water kettles, Hotch poured himself a mug, as someone came up beside him. Glancing over, he saw the person was in a sling, and was forced to do a double-take when he realized who it was.

        “Doctor Amell?” Hotch felt his eyebrows go into his hairline, seeing her turn to him with a confused look “your arm?”

        “It’s my shoulder, actually,” she replied, smiling sheepishly “won’t stay in easily, and it hurts. Afraid I won’t be doing any hiking today.”

        “Hopefully it won’t come to that,” he mused “I imagine it must hurt quite a bit.”

        “Nothing more than I’m used to,” she promised, reaching with her left hand for a mug “though it sucks that it’s my right, being right-handed and all.”

        Hotch watched as she grabbed the mug, reaching for a hot kettle as she picked out a tea bag. When she had the package open, and bag in the mug, he went and filled her mug for her.

        “Oh, thank you,” Shira declared, smiling, as he finished “my arm definitely couldn’t support that for long.”

        “Least I can do,” he replied “we should eat while we can, before the rest of the team wakes up.”

        The way he said ‘rest of the team’ was something she definitely noticed, yet she didn't get her hopes up. Clearly, he was referring to his relationship with the team, and not her.

        “Are you always up before the rest of them?” She asked “burden of leadership, I imagine, getting ahead of everyone so you can stay on top of your game.”

        “Doesn't help that I don't sleep much,” Hotch replied, taking her mug as they went to a table “hard to sleep in new places.”

        “Yet you're used to it, from how you're handling this,” she mused, smiling “not all professional experience, I think. Kids?”

        “Pity you weren't able to join the Bureau,” he declared, amused “just one. My son, Jack.”

        “You fight for justice and come home to your son,” Shira grinned, sitting and taking her mug with a grateful nod “a family man. Regular Captain America.”

        “Just a man raising his son on his own, trying to make the world safer for him,” Hotch countered, sitting across from her “hardly have time for much superhero work.”

        “Says the one who's basically a superhero,” she teased, smile widening as she saw him smile “your son has a wonderful role model to look up to, with you.”

        “Thank you,” he replied, dipping his head slightly “it’s been tough, especially after his mother passed, but we have a good support network.”

        “I’m sorry to hear she’s gone,” Shira declared, eyebrows knitting together as her heart went out to him “was she your…”

        “No,” Hotch shook his head “but we both didn’t think our marks were the be all, end all. Love is love and can last a lifetime no matter what, or so we thought.”

        “Nothing wrong with that,” she reassured him “I’m sure she’d be happy, when you do find the one.”

        The silence wasn’t as tense as Shira expected, and she was surprised when Hotch straightened up and looked her in the eye.

        “Doctor Amell,” he started “I wanted to apologize for my behavior back at Quantico, and on the plane. You’re here to help us, and I was disrespectful.”

        “Believe it or not, I figured it might have been out of character for you,” she replied, smiling to try and comfort him “though I had chalked it up to how bad this case is. Besides, you came around eventually. In my mind, there’s nothing to forgive, but I know it helps to hear it, so I’ll say it; I forgive you, Agent Hotchner.”

        Shira watched as his eyes softened, and a small smile came back to his face. A soft, vulnerable, almost happy glance that showed more than she was sure any of the team saw on a normal basis.

        “And please,” she continued, smiling as a twinkle came to her eye “you can call me Shira. If you want to, that is.”

        “And you can call me Hotch,” he replied, giving the smallest chuckle “the rest of the team does.”

        “The way you keep saying that,” Shira mused, slightly hesitant “it’s a bit strange…”

        “Because you feel like you’re not part of the team,” Hotch mused “that I’m just referring to their connection to me, but it’s entirely the opposite. It’s temporary and new, but you’re doing just as much work to solve this as we are. We brought you in. You’re just as much a part of the team.”

        The way her heart fluttered made Shira blush, and she smiled for him.

        “That’s sweet of you to say,” she replied “thank you, Hotch. We should probably eat something, before we head into the station. Don’t know about you, but a muffin of any kind sounds great.”

        Hotch smiled, turning to look at the tray that he could see she’d been eyeing. Going over and grabbing two, he brought them back to their table. Shira smiled wider when she saw the flavor that he brought for her.

        “Blueberry?” she asked, immediately taking the top off so she could enjoy it last.

        “Fruit tends to go better with black tea, in my opinion,” he answered, watching her closely “balances it out.”

        “Only someone who enjoys tea could come to that conclusion,” Shira laughed between bites, grinning “blueberry’s one of my favorites.”

~

       When he came down for breakfast, Rossi was distracted by thinking on the case. Yet when he heard familiar voices engaged in conversation, he was jolted to clarity. Looking around, he saw Hotch and Shira tucked into a corner, deep in conversation. The smile on Hotch’s face brought one to Rossi’s, seeing the way that the two were relaxed around each other.

       “Is that Hotch…smiling? And eating?”

       Rossi turned to see Morgan and Reid behind him, both looking equally shocked.

       “This whole case just got more interesting,” Rossi chuckled “but we’ve got work to focus on.”

       As the rest of the team came down, and everyone was able to eat something, they were getting ready to head in before Hotch got a call. Watching as he took it, expression falling, they knew it was bad news.

       “Unsub’s taken another woman,” he told them “let’s get going. We have work to do.”

◊

                “A heart worth loving is one you understand, even in silence.”                 – Shannon L. Alder

∞

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 5

Summary: Kate Rosseau is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 5: Kate crashes a Shelby family occasion. 

Happy new year! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in this fic!

            Johnny Dogs met them half a mile from the Lee’s campsite. He carried a pole with a white scarf tied to the top. “I got you ten minutes with her.” He clarified.

            Kate stepped out and gave Tommy a concerned look. “Are you walking me into a war zone, Mr. Shelby?”

            “They respect the white flag.” He responded, neither confirming nor denying.

            She sighed and shut the car door. “Well, at least I’m never bored when I’m with you, Tommy Shelby.”

            He pulled out a cigarette, shrugged and began walking.

           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            Once the camp came into view, Kate said a prayer under her breath. Rumors told her that the Lees were not to be messed with. But it seemed that’s exactly what Tommy was doing.

            People eyed them as they wove their way through vardos and fires. Kate couldn’t help but notice some of the men holding guns or clubs. Their menacing stares followed them but they didn’t advance. Maybe Tommy was right about the white flag. It kept them at bay.

            Eventually, they stopped at an intricately painted vardo. Johnny knocked on the door with the end of the pole while another man opened the door for them.

            “Stay out here,” Tommy spoke quietly to Kate.

            She raised an eyebrow. “You brought me all the way out here to stand around while you conduct business behind closed doors?” She hissed in disbelief. “Could’ve been doing a million other things right now.”

            Instead of explaining his reasoning, Tommy stepped up into the wagon and shut the door behind him.

            “Unbelievable,” Kate muttered under her breath and took a seat on the steps.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            After negotiating with Zilpha regarding Billy Kimber and a betrothal, Tommy reached into his pocket for a cigarette.

            “What about the girl?” Zilpha asked in their native tongue.

            “Which girl?” Tommy asked as he struck a match.

            The matriarch nodded toward the door. “The American.”

            “She’s one of the clever minds I’ve collected.” He replied. “She’s my in with the American market. Should our alliance go well, I’ll share the wealth.”

            Zilpha just laughed a bit sarcastically. “You’re biting off more than you can chew, chavi. What happens when this all catches up to you? How long do you think you can run from the devil before he catches you?”

            “I’ll worry about that when he catches me.” Tommy stood and stepped back outside.

            Kate lifted her head when the door opened. “Oh, thank God, these men will not stop staring at me.” She glanced over at some of the Lee men who had kept a steely eye on her and Johnny. They hardly flinched, staying almost as still as soldiers, their hands never leaving their rifles. “I was afraid they were going to start using me as target practice.”

            Tommy offered a hand to help her stand up from the steps. “All’s well now.” He assured her and began walking back toward the car with Johnny.

            “Well, I was never meant to be involved in this. I told you the information I would give you and you’ve been yanking me ‘round trying to do other little odd jobs.”

            Tommy looked a tad amused. “Don’t think I would want to see you try to break in a horse.” He replied.

            Baffled, Kate stopped in her tracks. “What on Earth is that supposed to mean?” She threw her hands up.

            Johnny and Tommy just shared a chuckle.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

            Kate let Tommy drive on the way back. They were quiet for a bit until she grew restless and curious. “So, you were raised somewhere like there? In a camp like that?” She asked.  

            “On and off.” He replied curtly. His childhood wasn’t the burning subject on his mind. He was trying to conjure up the perfect plan to kill Billy Kimber. It was not a time for reminiscing on his shitty childhood.

            “You lived in Small Heath sometimes too?”

            “Yes.”

            Kate studied his face, the way his blue eyes stared straight ahead at the road. A hardened expression giving her indications that he wasn’t keen on talking about it. And yet, she continued on. “What was it like?”

            “We were poor. I was born on a fucking boat. I learned to ride and shoot a gun before I even attended school.” He listed off with a tone of finality. “What matters is right now. Can’t keep looking back.”

            “Sometimes if we forget where we came from, we lose the path ahead of us.”

            “That another philosophy from your Bohemians?” Tommy looked for a way to steer the conversation away from himself.

            “No, it’s something I’ve learned over the years.” She glanced out the window watching the outskirts of Birmingham pass by. The empty fields and stone walls lining the road. “Our past will always be a part of us whether we like it or not. It’s something we can’t escape.”

            “What can’t you escape?”

            Kate smiled and glanced over at him. “So many things, Nature Boy. Just like you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

            After saving her from certain assault, Kate got closer to Grace. It was nice having someone to talk to who wasn’t overly suspicious all the time. Grace was at the right enough distance from the Shelby family to make acquaintance with Kate. Not in too deep but not too far away either.

            Tommy was still busy with his own work that he neglected the leads Kate had given him. So, she found herself bored more often than not. To pass the time, she went to the Garrison to chat with Grace and help her around the pub.

            While they weren’t sharing their deepest secrets with one another, they did get along. Kate found the soft-spoken barmaid pleasant to spend time with. The blonde was certainly unlike the women she spent time with at the Moulin Rouge. She smiled more and sang often. Clear signs that the light in her eyes hadn’t been snuffed out.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            One evening, Kate was nursing a gin at the bar. Grace was sweeping up as they talked idly. For some reason or another, Kate suddenly noticed the sun had begun to set. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen the Garrison empty past noon.

            “Where is everyone?” She asked.

            “Tommy said there’s a family occasion,” Grace replied, walking back over to the bar.

            “Family occasion?”

            “He told me not to ask questions.” She shrugged and rearrange a few bottles on the shelves. “It’s in my contract.”

            “That’s why I never sign anything. Don’t need some fucker holding my own signature over my head for leverage.” Kate grumbled. “What a lousy asshole for not inviting us. At least you, you know him better than I do. I see the way he looks at you.”

            Grace’s cheeks flushed pink and she hid an embarrassed smile. “But I’m not family.”

            “Fuck that.” Kate finished her gin and stood up. “Let’s go crash this occasion of theirs.”

            The other woman chuckled but shook her head. “I have to mind the bar.” She reminded her. “And I don’t think Tommy would appreciate if we did that.”

            “Well, I’m bored and fuck what Tommy says. Sure you don’t want to come?” Kate went to retrieve her coat.

            Grace’s brow wrinkled with concern. She could only imagine the anger on Tommy’s face if Kate showed up unannounced. “Why don’t you just stay with me here? You can keep me company.”

            “I’ll be back later once Tommy kicks me out,” Kate smirked and left before Grace could stop her.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It wasn’t hard finding the wedding reception. Mostly because there were fireworks being lit up. Kate found her way to the Lees camp again where the party was in full swing. She had enough alcohol in her system not to really care what people thought. If Tommy wanted to trust her then he would need to give her chances. Keeping her at bay at all times would prove nothing.

            Besides, Kate had decided that it was her new course of action. Tommy wasn’t the only one planning to profit off of their relationship.

            The wedding guests were all substantially drunk. Music was being played and people were dancing up a storm. Lanterns and torches lit up the affair and allowed enough light for Kate to find her way through the crowd.

            Unfortunately, Tommy found her first. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward a makeshift table. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

            “Grace said there was a family occasion and I wanted to offer my well wishes.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Who got married?”

            “For fuck’s sake.” Tommy ran a hand over his face. Luckily for Kate, he wasn’t really in the mood to make a fuss about her intrusion. He sat down at the table and pointed to where people were dancing. “John did.”

            Surprised, Kate glanced over her shoulder to see the younger Shelby brother with a pretty brunette by his side. “I didn’t know he was engaged.”

            “Yeah, neither did he,” Tommy muttered and took a long drag of his cigarette.

            Polly walked over with a worried expression. “You should tell Ada to slow down.” She looked at Kate in acknowledgment but apparently there were more pressing matters at hand.

            Tommy just snorted a bitter laugh, looking out to where his heavily pregnant sister was spinning about like a madwoman. “Think she’ll listen to me?”   

            “Your sister?” Kate had yet to meet Ada due to circumstances with Freddie Thorne. But she had heard the name swirling around. Mostly agitated whispers and grumbles of betrayal.

            “She’s been drinking, oh Christ, Tommy please.” Polly urged him. Looking worn out, Tommy stood up and went to approach his sister.

            Zilpha Lee smiled a bit curiously at Kate. “You’re the American girl Tommy brought along the other day.”

            “Oh, yes.” Kate nodded.

            The older woman stubbed out her cigarette and nodded. “He’s got plans for you, chavi.” Her tone was playful there was a hint of warning laced underneath.

            Kate didn’t have the chance to reply. The dancing was suddenly interrupted by Ada Shelby shouting drunkenly at Tommy. “And he tries to kill his own brother-in-law!”

            The rest of the Shelby family went to step in and even Kate walked over just in case things broke out in a fight. But the mood changed just as suddenly as the argument had broken out. Ada let out a pained groan and began breathing heavily.

            Polly exclaimed in shock. “Holy shit, water.”

            Tommy immediately stepped into action, placing his coat over his sister’s shoulders and starting to move her away from the party. But he paused for a second. “Kate, come along.”

            Startled and not about to argue with the family in a crisis, she ran after them.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Kate wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into as she was hurried into a car with John, Arthur, and Esme. But she felt she wasn’t in any position to step away. She’d crashed the wedding and now she was really paying for it.

            Once they arrived at the flat, Kate got out of the car looking at Tommy in disbelief. “What am I doing here?”

            “Me sister’s giving birth, she’ll need all the help she can get.” He replied, not looking too concerned over the situation now that the women were apparently in charge.

            Her eyes widened at him. “You think just because I’m a woman I’ve got experience with children? Oh yeah, sure I’ve delivered plenty of babies, hundreds even!” She smacked him with her purse. “I worked at a fucking brothel, pregnancies were cut short. I don’t know the first thing ‘bout childbirth.”

            “I’m sure you give great moral support though.” Tommy placed his hands on her shoulders and steered her toward the door where Esme and Polly had gone through. “Breaking in a horse, Kate.”

            “I still don’t know what that means!”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~

            The room was chaotic with Ada’s screams and Polly and Esme trying to get the baby out safely. Kate was in a state of shock and could only hold Ada’s hand as she wailed in pain. The Shelby sister’s grip was like an iron and Kate was afraid she was going to break a few fingers in the process.

            “We need to move her to all fours,” Esme said and Polly agreed. The two women helped Ada forward and Kate was pushed back a bit. Unfortunately, that gave Kate a good view of the birth in progress. The sight was too much for Kate. Her eyes rolled back and she fainting, dropping to the floor like a dead weight.

Permanent tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla​ @giftofdreams​

Masterlist

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRH Book 1 Chapter 14

• Funny how the TRH team so desperately needed to spend close to half the book on mindless nonsense with Drake's family...and just a single chapter on the MC's entire first trimester. Via a 6 minute long time jump. Truly funny.

• So now that we're back in Cordonia, the pregnancy is underway, and we're finally getting into the meat of past intrigue, most of the fandom has this for a reaction:

It's a legitimate reaction, the story is moving forward...but the denim-clad, whiskey-guzzling problem that is the root of this whole mess - and the reason why the Walker Ranch portion took so long the way no other place in the series ever has...that problem still exists. It exists in a large, insidious way, and even while we're rejoicing the return to intrigue we might not always notice how even that is rife with issues. But more on that later.

• If you want avoid seeing these posts on your dash, these are the tags to blacklist: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs, and #long post.

• Screenshots:

Hana: @aestheticsayeed (photoshoot) and the Abhirio YouTube channel.

Maxwell: @itsbrindleybinch and the rash rec YouTube channel

Drake: @thefirstcourtesan

Liam: @callmetippytumbles (photoshoot), the SavageLordBarlow YouTube channel, and me.

• Title: The Announcement

Alternative Title: Let's Cram One of The Most Important Part Of The Book Into A 6 Minute Montage!

Alternative to Alternative Title: What We Really Wanted to Title This Book - The Royal Yeehaw.

• I'm hoping that with each chapter where you're shown a scan or something that's considered a milestone in pregnancy, I can come out with a corresponding tiny story of my own! Let's see if that works out.

• So...I had my first actual ultrasound at 7 weeks (first time we heard a heartbeat) but the real fun one was the 12 week scan! By then you can see hands and legs (the ultrasound pic the writers chose for this chapter was...eh), and the kids can definitely feel them (not see - yet)...and they're going to use those limbs like nobody's business starting from then 😂

My 12 week scan took around 45 minutes to happen coz Baby V was jumping and kicking all over the place (not that I could actually feel any of it yet lol), and the poor doc wasn't getting clear enough images of her as a result 😅 When we finally saw her she was in all her energy-fueled glory, kicking up a storm (she's a cat-loving kindergartner now and she still kicks exactly like that 😅😅)

My mum had come down to visit and for some good ol' TLC, so she accompanied me inside the room. To date she insists she saw V wave at her 😁

• Back to the story - Madeleine has booked a press conference without our approval (still sucks at her job, I see) and we're left hoping to make lemonade out of those lemons she's thrown our way.

• We can choose to either be excited about announcing it, or worrying about putting the news out too early in case something happens in the first trimester. With the last option, the answers vary depending on who you married and therefore what your title is. If you are Queen, Liam reminds you that a public and accelerated timetable is a part of the price of royal life (still not a good enough excuse for Madeleine to fix this press-con without our approval). If you are Duchess, either Maxwell (or Hana in Maxwell's playthrough) tell us it's too early to start worrying. Bottomline is the MC is persuaded to view this as a good opportunity to celebrate.

• We are give three options for venue, suggested by Liam, Drake and Hana respectively - Hana suggests the royal ballroom since it's where the most important announcements are done, Drake suggests the less-stuffy palace grounds and Liam (of course, since that garden was his mother's pet project!) suggests the gardens. You then get to choose how you want to make an entrance:

(The screenshots are from the following:

1st row - @itsbrindleybinch Maxwell playthrough

2nd row - Mine

3rd row - The SavageLordBarlow YouTube channel, Liam playthrough. Their Liam is called "Dennis")

• Madeleine balks at the idea of a royal event turning into a rock concert, as if one of the most iconic images of Buckingham Palace in the 21st century wasn't Brian May of Queen rocking it out on his homemade guitar on the rooftop.

• Arrangements done, now it's time for THE DRESS. We have a wine-red chiffon ensemble with pearls on the neckline and a jeweled belt. It's called "Apple of My Eye", because presumably no one does apple analogies to symbolize fertility quite like Cordonia does.

• In addition to being Duchess, if you are Queen, you have the additional option of choosing a tiara. We were last able to do this during the ball in the TRR Book 3 finale, before we were honoured with the Champion of the Realm title. This is something you can only access if you are Queen.

• We reach the venue we have chosen, with the entrance we have chosen, and we can either choose to announce formally, or yell it from the top of our lungs. Nobody cares coz they're too happy there's an apple pie baking in that oven 😅

• Among the press we see the usual people: Ana, Donnie, Samir aaaaaand Brad from PM/Smoothie Star Thad from Platinum. He expects pregnant women to have baby bumps from the moment of conception.

• What's he going to be called this time? Chad? 😂

• For a dude who is mostly a spy-journo, he's doing a terribly poor job of hiding it. He doesn't do his research on pregnancy timelines, immediately jumps up to ask a question when the topic turns to that of the alliances with Auvernal and Monterisso, and gets caught pretty easily. He's probably also the dude who was upto something on our honeymoon, taking pictures of us and gathering information on our whereabouts. Whichever country got him on board for this, really needs to rethink their hiring process.

• Donnie has the one brain cell existing among the press and uses it to ask us why we're announcing so early. You can either choose to claim that you wanted the Cordonian people to know asap, or be honest if you didn't want this to happen (to which Madeleine gives you an "apologetic shrug"). The third option has the MC claiming she wants to shed a light on, and be honest about, the entire experience of pregnancy, even if it does result in a miscarriage - which Samir notes as being a noble endeavor.

• With regards to the alliances, we don't give a clear answer yet, but we do hint at what we're looking for when we finally take that call (strength, understanding, advantage for Cordonia). The LI also gets to briefly highlight their sentiments at this point, and show different reactions - Liam has tears in his eyes, Drake can't stop grinning, Hana squeezes her wife's hand and Maxwell screams WE'RE HAVING A BABYYY.

• Additionally, if you're married to an LI other than Liam, the press asks him what will happen if he decides to have children somewhere down the line. He maintains that the MC's child will have the first right to the throne, even over his future children - effectively writing his own bloodline out of that throne if he isn't married yet. Which...well, we knew this was coming. We knew they weren't going to change this. It's disappointing, but not surprising, that they chose this route.

• Once the press meet is over, we get felicitations from different guests, mostly from the Council:

- Duke Landon of Portavira: Compliments the couple by calling them 'glowing' and wishes them well. Penelope plans to design something for the child, and Kiara promises to talk her out of placing too many dog motifs.

- Duke Godfrey of Karlington/Krona: Gives the couple a formal paying-of-respects, and hopes for more dignified attire for the heir (shut up Godfrey Not Gao, I had to waltz in a MINI-DRESS at your goddamn home 🤬).

- Queen Mother Regina: This varies between the Liam playthrough and other playthroughs, obviously, because in the Liam one she is his stepmother and obviously there is that closeness. In all the others, she is warm and friendly, congratulates the happy couple, insists they call her Regina rather than "Your Majesty" (there is a brief moment where married!Maxwell is confused about whether to call her "Your Majesty" or "Your Grace") and assures them that she will always be ready to provide for the "kingdom's heir". Liam's interactions require a more personal touch, so he hugs Regina before the MC can opt to, and she calls their child her grandchild as well. Liam and Regina moments are rare to come by, so I'm happy whenever I get to see them. I also haven't seen her since the book has begun, so I'm chuffed that she's there (pls don't make her knowingly part of the plot pls pls).

- Lord Barthelemy of Ramsford: Has to make everything about him wherever he goes! His felicitations to us lasts all of ten seconds while his attention towards Donnie and Samir takes up all of his time. He manages to score an interview with both of them. The most interesting part isn't that, though. It's the comment he makes about Regina as she leaves: "she always was a generous one..." - now what's THAT supposed to mean?

• Hakim is neither on the Council, nor is he shown here. I'd like to believe Kiara's family have distanced themselves from the group because the MC doesn't deserve the honour of their presence, but we know it's more likely coz the writers would much rather write Kiara and her family out of the story. Which is a pity because they're the most amazing family Cordonia has.

• Madeleine now comes forward, suggesting to us to follow the tradition of getting a royal announcement of their pregnancy done. This is done in a fashion similar to our Engagement Photoshoot, but with our own choice of clothes and less variations overall.

- Our attire is pretty much anything we'd like to pick out from the closet, as long as it's been already paid for. The LIs on the other hand have three different options for their outfits:

Liam gets his outfit from the TRR3 finale, his Costume Gala outfit and his official outfit. Oddly his outfits have titles like the MC's does.

Hana gets her Costume Gala flower dress, her plain black dress and her usual pink one.

Maxwell gets his Costume Gala squid outfit, his black suit and his usual Gucci shirt.

Drake gets his Costume Gala blue brocade, his official grey suit and his usual denim.

- What I can't understand is why her muted black dress is always touted as the formal garb for Hana, when they could easily allow her to wear that gorgeous black traditional outfit of hers. That could have been an option for this shoot. But no, they decided to arbitrarily code that one and block access to it if you didn't pay, even though Lorelai had apologized to Hana and therefore her outfit should have been coming back to her!

- I've said it before and I'll say it again: the decision to pay wall that entire outfit, considering it was taken away from her in an act of abuse and intimidation - and it should have been by all accounts returned to her when Lorelai apologized whether we paid for that scene or not - is sickening. Shame on you PB.

- Once we are ready with our outfits, we meet Ana in the throne room, and she's busy preparing an announcement sign to place in front of the couple. We take a couple minutes to admire the sign, then proceed to posing for Ana. If you took the engagement photoshoot in Book 2 or 3, it's referenced at the beginning. Each couple's scene here is unique:

(Screenshots: Hana's from the Abhirio YouTube channel, Maxwell's from the rash rec YouTube channel, Drake's from @thefirstcourtesan and Liam's from mine).

Liam

Ana begins by suggesting the couple take their places in their thrones, looking at each other. Though the photo is great - glamourous and dignified - Liam and the MC aren't quite feeling the shot. The MC isn't fond of the idea of sitting so far away from Liam, and Liam agrees, telling Ana that he finds the pose too stiff - and that above being King and Queen of the country they are also a couple deeply in love, and their child is not simply an heir but a sign of their love for each other. So the ensuing picture is warm and filled with joy.

Once Ana leaves, Liam tells the MC about how his own parents did exactly such a photoshoot when they were expecting him, and how much more he understands them - now that he is going to be a father.

Hana

There is a warmth and a sweetness to the first shot itself - a simple one that has them simply looking into each other's eyes - that Ana tells them she knows their child will be brought up in a loving home.

For the second shot, Hana asks the MC whether she'd rather have a shot alone, and offers to move out. Possibly because the MC - married to Hana or not - constantly makes everything revolve around her and constantly pushes Hana and her issues to the background like they're not important. I'm sure Hana got that impression from you somewhere, MC.

The MC, however, is surprised by this and insists she be part of the picture. She can choose to either say that this baby belongs to both of them or that without her it wouldn't be a good picture. The MC who is married to her insists she understand her value in their relationship (yeah it took you three and a half books to realize that LMAO), and that Hana belongs with her. She should never think of herself as belonging to the sidelines again, ever (maybe you should work harder on convincing her, MC, because everything you've done until now was mostly all about you and very little about Hana).

The dialogue after Ana leaves is sweet and romantic, with the MC telling Hana her hair smells of roses and Hana and the MC clinking imaginary champagne glasses, before Hana stops her in mock-surprise and promises a real (non-alcoholic) drink back in Valtoria.

Maxwell

Ana finishes the sign and gets ready for the shoot. Maxwell holds a formal pose on his knees that places more attention on the MC, adopting a severe, sombre expression. This surprises Ana, but the MC clearly knows what's up and wants him to relax. To help him, the MC distracts him (pretend you're Bertrand/imagine me naked) and that mental exercise energizes him enough so he can do this shoot in a more relaxed manner.

Once Ana packs up, Maxwell and the MC stay behind to talk, chatting about the excitement level in the kingdom and (optionally) how that excitement can't match their own (Maxwell speaks of constantly having adrenaline at this point). They jokingly speculate on the unsolicited advice they will get, and Maxwell cracks a joke about how as Bertrand's brother he was brought up on a diet of unsolicited advice. Relaxed and happy, the couple return home.

Drake

The couple see the sign Ana made, and like it because it's dignified but not too much. To which Ana responds that she didn't want to presume too much about their tastes. The shoot begins with the MC trying to think of all the pregnancy announcements she has ever seen (including one where a man yells into a breast pump like it's a telephone) and worries and becomes nervous over how to do this - and Drake calms her down by telling her a simple pose would do the trick, and most of all, to "focus on us". This calms the MC down, and she nails the simple pose alongside Drake.

The ensuing conversation between the two expands on what Drake said, where they refer to themselves as a good balance between dignified and "regular". There's a clear indication of how far they have come from that first photoshoot in this scene.

Aaaaaand...CLICK!

(Screenshots: @callmetippytumbles for Liam, @aestheticsayeed for Hana, the rash rec YouTube channel for Maxwell and @thefirstcourtesan for Drake)

• This scene is good in two routes, and not so great in two.

• The MC and her spouse go back to Valtoria, where the MC takes rest and the LI takes care of her. She can give in to her cravings (huge turkey leg, cheetah cakes, omelettes or fancy unpronounceable food), but a few weeks later she experiences a lot of nausea, to the point where she might (optionally) tell the LI that it's the worst thing they've ever done (completely normal, I assure you. A pregnant woman's hormones are unpredictable af). Both corgis (if you've bought them) help her and do their fair share of doting on her, and the LI in their own way tries to help.

• Based on who you haven't married, you get various scenes of your friends helping out:

- Liam: offers all kinds of help but the suggestion that stands out is a chicken soup recipe that belonged to his mother.

- Hana: makes a playlist of all kinds of music tracks to get mother and baby through the first trimester, including the TRH Lullaby tune which is now canonically Hana's composition. She's chosen artists from all over the world, and recorded a few of her own tracks in cases where she isn't satisfied. She also has a second trimester playlist coming up!

- Maxwell: aka the man who wrote a story about the MC but put HIS face in the cover, offers to let the MC vicariously live through him by giving her a voucher (the Maxwell Vicarious Vivacity Simulator 3000) that ensures that whenever she craves to do or have something not allowed for her, Maxwell does it on her behalf. The LI jokes about how that's a lot of power to give a person.

- Drake: Asks after the MC's welfare, and is given a choice of two things to do - either he can bring her ice-cream, or tell her the story of how the boys created their barbershop quartet so many years ago. He's perhaps the only LI who is given options for pampering the MC as a friend.

- Madeleine: The only person outside of our LIs (and later Olivia) who has an extra scene prior to the MC's ultrasound scan, is Madeleine. She gives the MC a Cordonian Ruby, explaining that it helps with nausea and that Liam's mother would swear by it. She looks concerned...and her words to the MC about making sure she takes care of herself, almost sound a bit of a warning.

Given what we find out later on in the chapter, both this sequence and the sequence where Bartie Sr comments on Regina have been placed there for a reason. Madeleine definitely knows something and there's a possibility she will have a flashback scene of her own.

If you bought the red pandas in Book 3, they will be clamouring around Madeleine for the apples as well.

• I have to laugh at how completely written out of the larger story Kiara and her family are. Even Penelope who is a non-entity and who only had something of value to give to the story when she was being a lying backstabbing snake, somehow manages to have a father in the Council and a promise of a future storyline. After all that the TRR team put Kiara through, I wouldn't even say Kiara deserves a better story. No, what I'd say is she (and Hana, definitely Hana) deserve better writers.

• I mean, you can call it a coincidence anymore, the fact that the women that the story gives the most material and most attention to, are the white women.

• This thread of sequences comes full-circle with a scene where the MC and LI sit by the lake, and where they're both shown finally coming to terms with the MC's nausea and using the tart apples as a way to make things better for the MC. There's a sweet scene in there where the LI kisses both mother and baby.

• We're finally ready to meet Dr Ramirez, and to get an ultrasound done. Olivia and her new...chauffeur, Roy, will be serving as security detail for this occasion. Wonder when we'll find out what Roy is helping her with.

• She gives you a dagger...which we might maybe end up threatening to use the next chapter? I'm guessing Olivia already has an inkling of something going down at the doctor's, since she indicates that we will know when we'll need to use it.

• Depending on whether or not you revealed the pregnancy to her last chapter, her dialogue changes. She makes a mention of it if you have. She's genuinely happy about the pregnancy, and wanted to wish the MC in person.

• Both Liam and Olivia wait outside while the MC and LI have their time with Dr Ramirez, if you're married to one of the other LIs.

• Dr Ramirez mentions that "the first few months have been treating you well"...which indicates that the MC is at least 12 weeks along (10 according to the calculations of certain countries, that count from conception onwards. Dr Ramirez also confirms this during the scan), since that's when you do the nuchal translucency scan. It usually takes place at the end of your first trimester. Which means we've effectively covered the MC's entire first three months in the span of 1/4th of a chapter, actually (considering the entire montage is approx just over 6 minutes).

• Dr Ramirez then lets slip a little factoid about Liam's mother, which baffles the couple because Liam himself never had any knowledge of this. She speaks of Eleanor's fondness for apple tea during her pregnancy and how much trouble she had with her nausea.

• Cordonian Rubies and apple tea have both been mentioned on the TRH loading page.

• If Liam isn't your LI, you call him and Olivia back to the room and ask him about this new development, and he confirms that Dr Ramirez was never mentioned in the official records, as well as the fact that she had a relatively easy pregnancy with Liam (if your LI is Liam, though, Olivia returns to the room on her own, stating that the doctor mentioned something about tea to one of the interns). But the conversation takes Olivia back to a very vague memory, and of course she needs us to go back and make sense of it. Which leads us to our first Olivia flashback!

- I have a feeling Olivia's childhood gown might be the groundwork for maybe a Theodosia outfit in TRM? Just a small guess. IDK.

- Olivia gives us a timeline for this particular incident - it was a few months after they left the Walker Ranch. As we recall, Eleanor was showing some early signs of not feeling too well, and had arguments with Constantine at the time. So if Eleanor was already pregnant by that time, she was clearly close to finishing/past her first trimester by this point.

- The setting of the scene is a mock-battle between Olivia (who plays a knight) and Drake (who plays a dragon, and they use TCaTF Dom's dragon sprite to establish how Olivia imagines him in this game). Some Dom-Drake parallels going on there.

- No matter what you choose, Olivia wins. She can either destroy the ice blast or deflect it with a fan, defeat + kill the dragon or feed him meat so he will forever be beholden to her. Either way, the options work out for her.

- At this point, possibly because nothing has really happened to Drake yet, Olivia and Drake share a pretty decent rapport. They're not thick as thieves or anything (and Olivia confirms that they were "barely" friends and turned to each other as playmates only when Liam wasn't around, if you choose to ask), but they tolerated each other enough to have fun playing while Liam is away.

- During this time, conveniently, Liam is having "lessons". Nice job writing Liam out of his own story yet again, PB (I'll explain this later). The scene is clearly centered on Olivia, with some focus on Drake via the mystery of Jackson's talk with Eleanor.

- Liam is with his mother, worried about how sick she is and wanting her company since he gets so little of it these days. And it is likely not too long before he loses her forever. My heart breaks in advance for the little guy.

-

Loads to unpack here!

* The first time I read this scene, it gave me serious Adriana-Leon vibes. It still does. Adriana has that scene where she wants to be open about her affair with Leon, and Leon declines. There's a familiarity between the two - notice how they address each other on a first name basis even though she is a queen and this was likely a time when titles and station were even more important. There is a familiarity in the way he insists on her time while Constantine is away, and despite the fact that Liam hasn't been able to spend much time with her.

* True, that familiarity is something that could also exist between close friends, the "sneaking around" could be Jackson trying to keep his BFF's secret from the king of the country. But you can't deny the Adriana-Leon parallels there.

* There is a possibility that someone else could be the father. One possibility that comes to mind for me is Bastien, mostly because his fondness for Eleanor and disdain for Regina don't exactly add up if he wasn't King Guard until Jackson died, and clearly didn't seem to have much of a relationship with the royal family otherwise that we know of. But it could work with his storyline: he gets Eleanor pregnant, she dies shortly after, Jackson takes the fall for keeping her secret and his family doesn't get the compensation they deserve, Bastien helps the children and maintains a close relationship with Drake partly because he feels responsible for Jackson's death, and he atones by following every order of Constantine's, including one that harms the foreign commoner woman that Liam was about to choose.

* Buuuut. The fact that Bastien has pretty much disappeared and is hardly even mentioned, makes this even less of a possibility, because buildup is important.

* In Jackson's case I guess the thing that doesn't entirely add up is how close Jackson and Bianca are spoken of as being. We never actually see them as a couple, but Drake gives us plenty of stories about them and their love for each other - to the point where Drake tells his dad he wants to find a girl to love as much as his father loves his mother...and Jackson unironically agrees. It's a small detail, but I think it's something that may indicate Jackson is a red herring as well.

* In conclusion, I don't know 😂

* "It's likely just hyperemesis gravidarum" 🤦🏽‍♀🤦🏽‍♀. Just? Juuuuust? That's...a serious condition. It's not just extreme vomitting or morning sickness (though that is awful too) - oftentimes it means you can't even hold fluid down, it means dehydration, it means a loss of electrolytes and even nutrient deficiency...to the point where you might even need to be hospitalized (Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, had this condition with all three of her pregnancies and was hospitalized in 2012 when she was pregnant with Prince George). I'm guessing Jackson doesn't know what the fuck those words even mean if that's his reaction!

* What should Eleanor and Jackson be prepared for?

* What are these two fearing besides Constantine discovering about this child?

* Do they know Godfrey and Bartie Sr have something or the other planned? I mean if Madeleine knew about the pregnancy there is clearly a chance she heard it from one of them. Were those two guys their main concern, and why they went alone to talk? Eleanor doesn't seem to have much trust in the Great Houses the way Constantine does, and seeing Bertrand's flashback scenes she'd be right to worry.

* How long after this did Eleanor die? Because yes there is a possibility that her second child may exist, but that depends on when the plot to poison her succeeded. And if she was far along enough to carry the child to term, or even give birth prematurely, how is it that not even the children in the palace had a clue? (the adults I can see as covering this up but it's possible to have SOME hint from the kids!). So I'm having a tough time with the idea that she managed to give birth before dying, or even that she managed to survive - unless someone was out there acting like Monte Cristo and giving her something that appeared to have the same symptoms as poison but was actually some lifesaving elixir idek. This team is capable of anything. They've retconned a zillion things so far so I wouldn't put it past them to completely retcon this as well.

- The kids have a chance of being caught by Jackson, if Olivia doesn't manage to find a good hiding place and hides behind Drake instead. But if you do succeed in hiding, we get to see Eleanor promise to spend more time with him, which Liam accepts with the grace he is usually known for.

-

@thefirstcourtesan has spoken before about the Nevrakis family's views on openly showing your pain in public, citing Diavolos' dialogues, but it also reminds me of that scene where we can defend Olivia against Lucretia, stating to her that having allies and friends to fall back on is not weakness, but common sense. The fact that little Olivia views crying as the worst thing that she could be doing, and the shock the adult Olivia shows at the MC's matter-of-fact statement on the value of support - as if such a thing had never even occurred to her - says plenty about the impact of those initial five years being the Nevrakis heir.

* What amazes me just as much, is how quickly Liam understands what is going on in Olivia's head, and how quickly he makes the situation safe for her before Drake can say anything. He's young, but perceptive enough to know not only that Olivia doesn't want to be seen crying, but also what she'd be most comfortable using as a cover for her tears. Those wounds are still fresh for Olivia at this point, making it even harder for her to stand back and rationalize - which is why it's a relief when Liam offers her an out.

* I honestly fail to understand people who claim he never cared for Olivia. It was clear from the get-go how much he valued her, he's vouched for her when very few would, he's shown concern for her multiple times - and I find it so weird that he's perceived as not concerned for her only because he doesn't return her feelings, whereas Drake can suspect a traumatized woman and never feel any remorse after she tells them the truth, and somehow that's okay (oh...I forgot. This is the Almighty St Drake we're talking about. Of course he can get away with anything).

• Is it just me or are the only scenes where the children are given extra focus and care...are the ones belonging to Drake and Olivia? The first scene, though advertised as Liam's, was really more of a group childhood scene - it was less about Liam himself and more about introducing the childhood gang. Maxwell's scene basically wrote him out so Bertrand could take centerstage! In contrast, Olivia's gives us important facts about Liam's family but focuses heavily on her grief and loss after her parents' death, and Drake's is not only intensely personal to him but also is the only childhood scene so far with variations if he is married to the MC. I shudder to think of what they will give to Hana in the name of a childhood scene, if she ever manages to get one that is.

• I honestly hope Jackson isn't the father of this child - even though there are enough hints to suggest it as a possibility (or to establish that he is a red herring). If that does transpire...then the story that should be about Liam, his mother, his family, will revolve even more around Drake. It will be about his angst. His feelings of betrayal and sadness at what his father did. His heartbreak at his hero having feet of clay.

How do I know this? Well, look at the sheer volume of things Drake has told us about Jackson over the course of these four books. Especially in playthroughs where he is getting married, you get stories upon stories upon stories about the man, one after the other. I had to wait till TRH to get even half that much information about Liam's own mother!!!

Enough. I've already seen this man eat up space that should have gone to Liam for his story, and make it all about himself (the assassination attempt, for example). At least let this one thing be just Liam's to grieve, not Drake's to take over and to make it all about him and his feelings. I've already seen him do this for every LI - the truth of Hana's return had to come from him, we spent most of Shanghai cajoling him into fixing his relationship with Maxwell instead of learning more about Hana, the entire Beaumont story was swallowed whole just to accommodate more story for his sister.

Of course, if Bastien is a possibility, the same problem would still arise because the writers were somehow desparate to make him close to Drake, than to Liam who would have been one of his wards to do security for.

• Olivia, Liam, the MC (+ LI in other playthroughs) discuss what the discussion between Eleanor and Jackson could mean. If the MC doesn't figure out that Eleanor was pregnant, Liam does - having read up on Hyperemesis Gravidarum (at least in my playthrough).

• Olivia's choice of words about Constantine is interesting - "Constantine never caught whoever killed Queen Eleanor"...which, well, most of us have an idea that Constantine might have done some covering up with regards to Eleanor's pregnancy and death - but does Olivia suspect this too? The wording makes me feel like she has some idea.

• Anyway, it's time for our scan! Dr Ramirez speaks of this as the 10 week mark (over here in India it's referred to as the 12 week mark - so we wouldn't say 1 week when we find out, we'd say 4). I was initially surprised the MC didn't opt for the 7-8 week scan, but I've been told in some places it's common to start with the nuchal translucency scan (which is this one).

• It's a lovely scene overall in terms of how the LIs react to the experience - each option (both to the initial image of the child on the screen, and to the photograph later) comes with varied dialogue depending on the LI. They're all happy, emotional, and in some cases (like Maxwell's) it's sinking in that there's an actual baby coming out from all of this.

• Around this time, the foetus also has hands and legs and you can see them kicking around like nobody's business coz "o wow, what's this" is probably what they're experiencing at this point 😅

• The dude from the press conference tries really hard to pretend he is an intern and not a dude we met in a press conference - but his acting skills are about as good as his knowledge of pregnancy in general.

• I have a feeling that if we don't catch him next chapter, Liam and Olivia will, and we may get some answers at least on the score of all the paparazzi related suspicious stuff that's been happening - therefore leading us to a hint about one of the places we are "allying" with?

• I also have a feeling that both places - Auvernal and Monterisso - will be established as suspicious eventually, for varying reasons. Right now we're getting signs via Olivia that the Auvernese are planning something big, but I doubt Monterisso is going to be left behind in all this. Perhaps the journalist might offer some hints/leave behind some clues as to where he was from...and it might warrant a visit to that place just to investigate? I'd see Monterisso as more likely, if that is the case. Because I do believe the team will have us visit this place just once at least. I may be wrong, but let's see.

• General Thoughts:

- Sigh. We knew this would happen, wouldn't we. The team would spend nine whole chapters on largely irrelevant shit that could have been cut out and pared down to maybe 4 chapters max (but 2 chapters would have been perfect. After all, Hana's Shanghai segment was only two chapters, and we spent one of them trying to make Drake behave less like an angry toddler. It's only fair that Drake gets as little space, yknow), but now we're at the point where we're rushing through the first trimester alone.

- The announcement shoot scene was nice...but again extremely uneven across playthroughs. Both Liam and Drake's scenes were written largely as callbacks to their engagement shoots. In Liam's engagement shoot there was a pressure to represent both decorum and warmth - but in this shoot they explain to Ana that they clearly lean more to the side of warmth, and want to show that side of themselves. In Drake's engagement shoot, Drake is the one who is nervous and trying to fit in, with the MC helping him loosen up and be his natural self, while in the baby shoot he fulfils that role for her by stating to her that they could be having fancy trimmings but simple in their way of delivering the news. Do Maxwell and Hana get this kind of effort in their scenes? No. Not at all.

- Maxwell's engagement photoshoot scene was about the couple getting used to their relationship, and remembering what made their love blossom (pun fully intended). By the logic of the other two scenes, this one should have explored in some way how they've grown as a couple, but it doesn't. They didn't even bother to put half the effort into this scene that they did in the other two.

- Hana's engagement shoot initially explored her fears of turning into her parents, that she is not taking the MC's opinion into account. The MC gets to reassure her then. Unfortunately, they dropped that arc completely after that scene. So I can get an idea of why this particular scene is different, but I hate that they chose to drop such a compelling story for Hana and I would have honestly loved to see a parallel to that.

- The fact that the MC could tell Hana that she should never be in the sidelines is kinda sweet, granted, but actions speak louder than words, and most of the MC's actions re: Hana so far have been the exact opposite of what she's saying there.

- The team should have at least nailed this one scene for everyone, if not anything else - since this had the biggest variations. Yet they couldn't be bothered to do a good job of all of them?? Only two???

- Come to think of it, if the plot actually culminates in the presence of this extra child, there is one scene in Book 3 that could hint at it. The film that Liam takes the MC to watch at Castelserraillian, revolves around a couple named Lionel and Ramona (geddit?? Liam and Riley!) and their romance amidst a plot from a half-brother to usurp the throne (the name given in the movie is Percival, which coincidentally is Maxwell's middle name).

- The intrigue is nice, it does its job of raising more questions while offering a few answers, but I find it ironic that even in a plot that's about Liam's family, Liam himself seems unimportant and his feelings unexplored. You'd think that with an experience like that, where we've just heard about his mother not being able to spend a lot of time with him (perhaps months before her death)...you'd think that would elicit more of a reaction than "okay cool let's investigate". I know for a fact that if it were Drake there would be a whole extra set dialogues unlocked in the romantic route. I know that, because that's exactly what happened at Walker Ranch. Again, no other character who had a childhood flashback scene so far, got any opportunities to weigh in on how they felt after the narration was done.

- Other people's feelings and experiences taking precedence over Liam's own, in scenes/events that should be about him, is nothing new. In Book 2, we get to know about an assassination attempt on Liam...but that story revolves around Drake's pain and Drake's sacrifice. We never get to know how Liam felt about this, ever. In Book 3, when we should have been learning more about his mother, she's mentioned only a handful times instead. Again in Book 3, Liam sees his own father die, but his feelings are largely brushed aside to make space for more Drake hypocrisy (like his behaviour towards Kiara in Lythikos) and Drake observations (like the chat about Liam's hurt feelings in his playthrough, which only Drake is allowed to talk about).

- And this is the root of the current problem really. That they need to involve and include Drake and his family in everything that they can possibly involve him in (I mean, the only childhood scene he is out of, is the Beaumont Brothers one, and even then the brother that gets all the focus is the one that is marrying Drake's sister). That they probably might write the story in such a way that it's skewed in Drake's favour, will explore Drake's issues the most, before they even bother to explore anyone else's. Even now that we're out of the Walker Ranch storyline, the writing still shows a possibility that Drake's feelings (whether Jackson is the father of Eleanor's second child or not) may be explored more - just by virtue of there being way more material about Jackson than there ever was on Eleanor. Both Liam and Drake look up to Eleanor and Jackson respectively, but just by what I've read so far I already have an idea whose truth may hit harder.

- I still can't get over the fact that the writers have coded Hana's traditional black outfit in the way that they have...so that now, even if you did buy it, it's nowhere to be seen. The plain black dress is pretty but I can't stand to even look at it now.

- Perhaps the reason why Lorelai is being depicted negatively in this series, is not really her treatment of Hana (that should have been reason enough IMO) - since this very team has proved already that they don't exactly care that Hana was abused in that home and had her forgive the likes of Lorelai and Xinghai instead. There's a possibility that they're pushing for a more negative portrayal because she has some involvement or other in all this, and that is how they may create a Hana flashback scene as well. Though I'm not convinced they will place even half the effort on such a scene as they have on Olivia's scene this week.

- If that is the way the story is going, perhaps the larger theme of family then will involve the LIs seeing the family members they so respected, with actual feet of clay that will be hard for them to handle emotionally. Besides intrigue, it will also be a lesson to those very LIs to not repeat the mistakes their families made.

- I find the scene post press conference interesting, since there are tiny hints there that I feel we shouldn't be ignoring. The convenient placement of Godfrey, Regina and Bartie Sr, Bartie Sr's side-comment on Regina who is after all from the Krona duchy and who is related to Godfrey by marriage, Madeleine's offering of apples and her cryptic message to the MC to take care of herself...all of that adds up to something.

- Too bad only white people are allowed to take centerstage in this story.

• Anyway, that's for now from me. Until Saturday, guys!

[cateringisalie]

FFVII Halloween Week (Day 6) (Aerti)

Written for today and possibly (clearly) inspired by Terry Pratchett...

Aeris Gainsborough was a witch. In the classic sense; broomstick, black hat and magic. Not that magic was a particularly note-worthy skill or anything. The availability of materia allowed any in the population with the knack (and a sufficiently deep bank account) to conjure up fire, ice, lightning and, in rarer cases, dragons and lancers and Chocobos.

Aeris’s magic was different – though it shared a common source. Materia was crystallised Mako, drawn up from the depths of the Planet and rendered into spheres, the knowledge of the Ancients, of the Cetra, solidified. Aeris got her skills more directly. There were more spells in the Planet, in the Lifestream if one had the skill or patience to hear them. To spend year after year training, meditating, reaching out with one’s being. Mom had taught her before the tragedy took her; her protégé Elmyra took Aeris in in the aftermath, continued her training and became her surrogate mother.   Reality diverged sharply from popular depictions of witches; while magic might be easy for Materia users, drawing on the voice of the Planet required effort, more training and work. Short-cuts – some resembling mathematical formulae were transcribed into tomes to speed up the process on repeat uses. The call and response to invoke a spell became second nature and Aeris excelled at her studies – though it would be so much easier to obtain materia. Easier but less effective. No Materia yet identified or catalogued could allow the flight her mother’s own spell provided, the enchantment cast upon a broomstick (why avoid the obvious? Even in the era of airships and powered flight, a person was unable to move as freely and quickly as she could upon her broom).   Elmyra already had a reputation in the slums of Midgar and Aeris helped perpetuate; many were wary of the two women who could invoke spells no one else could and with apparently few restrictions. There was a whole cocktail of reasons for the distrust, the occasional insulting word. But these never came to prominence and always swiftly subdued. Elmyra and Aeris were essential for the community of Sector Five.   Mom’s knowledge expanded well beyond magic from the Planet. Detailed medical texts, drug experiments, anaesthetic, all penned by her hand. All of use to the ails of the people of Sector Five. Aeris accompanied Elmyra from an early age, tiny black hat perched on her head; the pair went to each house, visiting the pregnant, the ill, the elderly. Keeping an eye on them, providing for them. Much of their work involved no magic at all; simple chores left undone, shopping brought home, free health checks as opposed to the uncomfortable prices in the less than reputable doctors down here or the naked profiteering of the Upper Plates.   Despite the other spells; levitation, deeper insight, visualisations of a patient’s internal injuries, there were no spells to wave away maladies. Pregnancies had to be brought to term or else alleviated at the mother’s request. Missing limbs could not be restored, and age was a remorseless drag on everyone. It was never merely one visit to someone in the Sector. Time after time, Elmyra letting Aeris assist in more and more instances.   Deaths were something held back for a while – one of the few situations Elmyra took the longest to let Aeris participate in. A shock the first time; waiting on a knife-edge as hours ticked away with a patient on their deathbed, waiting to be there. The need for their presence only became clear after the first time. The moment of death, the sudden knowing that the person lying in the bed had returned to the Planet and breathed their last. For most, the last moments as they faded away were the last imploring’s of love, devotion or sorrow for someone left behind. Distressing but nothing Aeris could not cope with. Later she would encounter the situation Elmyra wished to avoid; the vicious, angry discomfort of a return, the fading voice lashing out at those around them.   Being a witch had been Aeris’s life for so long that she thought little of how other people her age might be. She was a witch in training – soon to be a witch herself. Not that she intended to move anywhere else. Mom’s house in the slums had become home and moving away felt wrong. So much of her dealings were with grown-ups; women giving birth, the old and infirm – until the unremarked point when attending to a pregnancy made clear that the patient was younger than Aeris.   Children, teenagers, young adults in Sector Five did not especially like Aeris or Elmyra. They respected (and to an extent feared - based on older rumours of those who crossed or brought peril upon Mom) them both. Neither had many friends. Other witches certainly, though few enough were Aeris’s age and none close at hand or with a similar mindset. Aeris was okay on her own, but eventually Elmyra intervened.   “You need...” She cast about, removing her hat and cloak. “Someone else.”   Aeris blinked at her. “A romantic partner.”   “Well. Yes, if you would like to pursue that.” Not something Aeris had thought much about. That kind of thing seemed to extend mostly to how one wound up pregnant or how one ended up weeping beside the bed a partner lay dying in. “Though even just someone your age. Someone for you to talk to or...”   “The people my age keep their distance.” Aeris placed her hat on the stand. “I could try a different sector?”   “Maybe.” Elmyra approached holding the paper. “Though I was thinking maybe a penpal?”   “A penpal?” Letters? But any conversation would be delayed.   “It’s not ideal.” Elmyra sighed. “But maybe if you can start talking to them so they get to know... you, before you worry about mentioning the Witch bit.”   “You always said it was nothing to be ashamed of!”   “I know, I know.” Another sigh. “But I don’t want you to miss out-“   “Would taking off the hat help?” Aeris clutched the brim.   “It might.” She smiled. “That might be better. And wear something more colourful if you try.”   Absolutely the idea, but now the notion was in place, who were these people who wanted penpals? Still odd seeming given the availability of phones. But- A skim read. Men looking for romance. Men looking for someone to talk to about... sports. Less than compelling. On and on and- One stood out for no particular reason. This was familiar enough; the Planet suggested at times, highlighted something mundane or made them aware of significances.   T. Lockhart. Resident of Nibelheim. Likes Martial Arts, piano, cooking and writing.   Another name in amongst so many others, but- Aeris fetched the writing paper and penned a first letter. Careful introduction. She was Aeris Gainsborough, resident of Sector Five in Midgar. Interests included- A quick cast around the room to figure out the best way to no precisely lie, but not outright admit her situation. Gardening. Caring for the elderly. Research. Or perhaps reading? Her first letter became a mass of re-worded and crossed out changes. What did T write? She wrote the letter all out again and sent it off the next day, rapidly forgetting all about it.   A month later the reply arrived. This lead to an awkward moment of trying to remember what had been said in the first letter. How much had Aeris implied and how much was carefully couched to avoid controversy? T was Tifa – and glad to have an answer from her. The caring for the Elderly threw her – Aeris penned a better explanation even before she was through the letter. Her writing was all oriented around a TV programme; Aeris made a note to tune in and see what it was all about.   That was how Aeris wound up watching Seeds of the Garden – a dubbed soap opera from Wutai about a group of teenagers in a military with magically augmented powers. Fun enough. She asked Tifa for some of her writing out of curiosity.   The letters accelerated to the point Aeris would receive a reply every two weeks; about the fastest expected between so distant settlements. Tifa’s writing encouraged Aeris to try her own – sending it back for critique and review by Tifa. Tifa’s she carefully kept along with the letters, but she would return to that time and again for enjoyment. Letters became augmented with phone-calls; Aeris volunteering Elmyra’s number first. Thrilling to hear Tifa’s voice – however distant and crackly it was thanks to distance.   Tifa was easy and fun to talk to. But always on edge. Always something that did not sit right with her. Two years from the initial contact and Tifa let slip what it was:   “I think I hate my Dad.”   “Oh.” Aeris shifted the phone from one ear to the other, twisting the cord between her fingers. How even to respond to that?   “I mean. I love him and I don’t want anything to happen to him. It’s just me and him at home. No one my age is here and people are leaving the town. He refuses to even consider leaving. No one comes here anymore. No one needs me to guide them across Mount Nibel and...”   “Tifa...”   A loud sigh from her end of the phone. “I wish someone could help me get away. Just swoop down and carry me off. I can’t afford a transport ticket out of here-“   “I will.” Aeris bit her lip. “I mean. I would. If I could.”   Tifa chuckled. “I know. Thank you. That at least gives me something happy to think about.”   Was it idle conversation? Or did Tifa really wish for something like that? She was down, depressed and unhappy in her situation. And Aeris could – absolutely could – get to her. Flying to Nibelheim would be all kinds of exhausting. The drain of magic to keep the broom air-borne, not to mention the weather and finding somewhere to say. Navigation. So many reasons not to. But a big reason to. Tifa herself.   A few more conversations had Aeris convinced. She would apologise to Elmyra and strike out. Sail her broomstick across the sea and to Nibelheim. Swoop down to the town and find Tifa. Let her know everything obviously and- And what happened next was up for debate. If Tifa wasn’t serious it could be an arduous, unfulfilling trip. And that might damage their friendship.   But if Tifa was being honest, perhaps Aeris could offer a way out. Sit Tifa behind her on the broom and return to Midgar with her. Still unsure up until the day; her deadline, to set off and (theoretically) arrive in Nibelheim for Tifa’s favourite holiday. The time when the world at large seemed to celebrate the old magic and witchcraft. And the decision was made. Aeris would go to say in person “Happy Halloween”.

[fracturedmotivationwriting]

the boys plan to avenge their fully capable, strong women

Atticus knew he needed help taking Lev down. So he naturally turned to the two most ruthless people he knew. 

"Don't make me knife you, Blackbourne," Excalibur growled from Torin's bed. Usually, a threat like that coming from Cal would make Atticus nervous. But today, Atticus was too full of rage to feel scared by any threats thrown his direction. 

"Oh, no, no, no, no. There’s somebody else we need to knife," Atticus chuckled dryly. "Again." 

"We?" Torin questioned, eyebrow raised. 

It must be a shock for the two assassins that the jokester spy was asking them to help him assault someone. Atticus thought the two men never took him seriously, just viewed him as Ravyn's annoying, talkative best friend. Torin maybe held a bit of respect for him, but that was more because Torin held a soft spot for Alice as she had helped him in quite a few missions. 

"Yes, we." 

"And why should I care? I'm too hungover to get involved in anything, Blackbourne," Cal drawled, his voice making it evident that he wanted nothing to do with Atticus' usual shenanigans. 

Oh, how wrong Cal was. Atticus would have found this amusing if he weren't a man on a very violent mission. 

"Somebody hurt Ravyn. Still too hungover?" he deadpanned, meeting Cal's glare with the same intensity. He didn't have time for Excalibur Cole to be belittling him. 

"What happened?" Torin interrupted the staring contest, his voice just as calm as ever. At least he was taking Atticus seriously. 

Atticus sighed, leaning against the wall and regaining his composure. Sure, he was absolutely furious and wanted to murder Lev on sight. But he knew he needed to play this smart. It was why he was seeking help from the Coalition's two best assassins. At this moment, Atticus wasn't thinking of them as Ravyn's two closest friends. They were allies with a skillset that Atticus needed to take advantage of for his mission. So he needed to stay calm, reign in his anger, and focus on the task at hand. Finding a way to take Lev down. 

"You're roommate, Lev," Atticus started, his voice almost betraying his fury at the man's name. "Tried to rape my sister. She only got away because she stabbed him repeatedly." 

Torin's anger had been growing the minute Atticus walked through the door, but now his blood was practically boiling. Alice was one of the few people in the Coalition that Torin considered pure and good. Most everyone else had red on the ledger, even if it was only a fleck. Alice wasn't like that. And Torin felt the same protectiveness over her that he did his own sisters. She had helped him hack into security systems many times for missions. After helping him get inside, she always left the rest of the mission up to Torin, distancing herself as much as possible. Torin understood that. Not many people had the stomach for his line of work. But still, Alice had always found him the following day to hug him and offer him her ear should he ever need to process what had happened. She was simply too pure for this business. And Lev had tried to take advantage of that. 

"Did Lev do anything else?" Cal asked slowly, clearly wondering where exactly Ravyn fit into this beyond her obsession with the boy. 

“He grabbed Ravyn so tight that there’s some serious bruises around her waist. He also threatened her, and not in the empty way, either," Atticus clarified calmly, waiting for the assassins before him to understand why he was coming to them. 

"So when are we taking Lev out?" Torin spoke up first. 

"Exactly what I was about to ask," Atticus smirked. He knew it wouldn't take long to convince the boys to help him. Now they just need a plan. 

"Well, as much as I would love to do it right away, we can't," Cal sighed. Atticus raised an eyebrow. The sooner would be better, in his opinion. 

"Lev is still valuable to the Coalition. While he may not be the best assassin, he's still pretty high on the list. Him disappearing would raise too many questions," Torin said, already getting lost in his  thoughts as he ran through possibilities. 

"The Coalition would never believe an assassin from the outside could get to him," Cal continued, shaking his head. 

"Slowly poisioning him could make it look like he contracted some deadly disease, but the Coalition would likely run an autopsy and the toxicology report could show it," Torin added, frowning. 

"He's too narcisstic to make a suicide believable," Cal grumbled. 

Atticus watched as the two assassins went back and forth exchanging ideas among themselves and shooting them each down. He understood why Ravyn was so obsessed with them as her "OTP." They barely even had to speak to each other to go through ideas and reasons why they'd fail. They were just so naturally on the same page, that they were firing back and forth so rapidly that Atticus felt like he was getting whiplash. 

"Wait!" Atticus interjected loudly, catching the two assassins by surprise. "None of those ideas are salvageable, but they also aren't acceptable to begin with." 

Torin and Cal shared a glance before both looking at Atticus in confusion. 

"Not acceptable?" Torin raised an eyebrow. 

"Your ideas so far have been merely finding a way to kill him," Atticus began slowly, sitting down at Torin's desk. His voice measured and calm as he looked between the two sets of eyes staring back at him. 

"I want him dead, but I want him to suffer first. I want him to be in excrutiating physical and mental pain. I want him to be so terrified that he can't sleep at night. I want him to jump at the slightest noise. I want him be so out of his mind in pain and fright that he wishes for death. I want him to be begging us for mercy. And then I want to give him a silver of hope, a chance to survive, before ripping it away. I want him to die, but I want him to feel the same pain that he caused my girls. I want him to suffer." 

Both Torin and Cal stared at the boy before them. The boy that was sitting at Torin's desk, his face void of emotion, his voice as steady as ever, his demeanor the definition of calm despite the horrors that had happened to his sister and his best friend. Here he was discussing how he wanted to make Lev's life a living hell, how he wanted to torture the man before killing him, and he was as cool as a cucumber. This was the same boy that used to run around campus pulling pranks with Ravyn. The boy that quoted Shakespeare and other literature at the most inappropriate times. The boy that when he was serious, it was almost always for a case. The boy that drank too much and took too many pills and was always the life of the party (until Ravyn decided it was enough and took him home). The boy that, as far as Torin and Cal had seen, never displayed this level of rage, and certrainly hadn't done so as unperturbed as he was now. 

It was almost frightening. 

"We need to play the long game," Atticus continued after a pregnant pause, averting his eyes from the assassins before him. Their gazes were starting to make Atticus a little uncomfortable. They were looking at him like he'd grown a second head. He was in his own head now, thinking of a loose plan. Hopefully, Cal and Torin could help him fill in the details. 

"We need to find a way to extract both physical and mental torment on him without raising suspicions. Then we'll need to find a way to explain Lev's absence for a period of time. In that window, we'll kill him. By the Coalition or anyone else realizes he's dead, it'll be too late. We'll do it in such a way that any evidence won't lead to us, but that'll be merely a precaution. By the time they find a body or begin an investigation, most evidence should have deterioted." 

"Blackbourne, remind me why you aren't an assassin?" Cal asked, eyebrow raised and sounding almost impressed. Atticus' behavior was surprising, to the say the least. Cal may actually like this version of Atticus. The circumstances that called for this Atticus were terrible, of course, but this Atticus seemed serious and a lot like Cal and Torin. Maybe a little crazier, but still like the two assassins. 

"Blackbournes aren't allowed to be assassins," Atticus shrugged, some humor and liveliness returning to his eyes. "After one of my great uncles or second cousins once removed or whoever it was went on a little 'unapproved' killing spree, the Coalition stopped inviting us to the assassin program. It was a shame because before them we had tons of successful assassins. Many Blackbournes have been the pride and joy of the Coalition, and many of us are their worst nightmares. Two ends of the spectrum, or two sides of a very dangerous coin. Anyway, the Coalition came to their senses and realized that they couldn't risk and of the bad seeds of the family learning the skills necessary to commit mass murders and get away with it." 

"That's not a good enough reason," Cal shook his head. All the big Coalition families had bad seeds. Sure, the Blackbournes had some of the more dangerous ones in Coalition history, but that couldn't be the only reason Atticus wasn't allowed in the program. 

"He couldn't pass his psych evaluation," Torin interjected dryly. Atticus smiled impishly. 

"Now that, I believe." 

[mimirexx]

Gratitude

Hange AU week day 2: post apocalypse

Living in the middle of the apocalypse is already bad as it is. So how much worse could it get? As if losing literally everyone close to herself wasn’t already enough, Hanji, unfortunately, hurt her left eye in the process and on top of that noticed a few months later that she got pregnant by her former boyfriend, Moblit. A nice guy, a good person, always kind and respectful. Definitely what lead him to death, though.

Now, she was unable to see anything on her left eye and was somewhere in her last months of pregnancy. She lost track of the time and wasn’t sure how far she was but judging from her big, swollen belly, she knew it soon would be time to give birth. Ever since she knew she was pregnant, she already was looking around for things for the baby like clothes, pacifiers, bottles, fabric diapers which were usable several times, since these were more efficient, and whatever else she found on her way. She was alone and hadn’t met any people for literal months, so she had to take care of herself and the unborn baby on her own.

To her dismay, it was winter. Snow covered the ground, roofs, lakes and literally everything else that was visible. It was so cold, especially at night, which made hiding and staying warm during the day and night difficult. She had to move from house to house, ate whatever she found, which wasn’t enough in any way. For someone being this close to giving birth, Hanji was incredibly thin. It luckily wasn’t to the point where it was life-threatening for her unborn child, she believed, but it wasn’t healthy either.

The only thing Hanji was actually worrying about was the process of giving birth itself. Many women died by giving birth, many babies died after giving birth because of things not working optimally; it was natural and also happened before the world practically went down. And since she was alone, she had nobody else who’d take care of her baby in case it ended with her death. She was genuinely worried about that.

The brunette was a tough woman. She was strong and independent and smart. Up until now, there was not a single moment where she didn’t figure out a way to get through or deal with the undead beneath the living- or rather the living beneath the undead, actually. The long sword she was carrying with her definitely was a big help while fighting these creatures and keeping them at distance. Though, Hanji found another way to avoid getting attacked by these things.

Before she got pregnant, the brunette used to study the living dead, used every minute of her time to get to know them. The more they knew about them, the easier it’d be to find a way to get rid of every single one of them. This far, she hasn’t made much of a progress in finding a way to heal them. But, Hanji learned that once she cut out their jaws and arms and took their ability to do what they’re supposed to- infecting- they’d lose interest in it and would not attack any human being near them. That was pretty much how she got through it this winter: with two dead people chained and prepared for her own safety. Lovingly named Sawney and Bean; the only company she had left.

One unfortunate day, a whole herd crossed her way. She was doing well for a while with Sawney and Bean by her side but with how big the herd was, Hanji was pushed around and ended up slipping on the frozen ground and hitting the floor. A small groan came for her and that already was enough for the first deads to turn around and approach her. They noticed that she wasn’t one of them and now she was in a lot of trouble.

“Fuck.” She cursed and forced herself to stand up again, which was hard considering her big belly in the way and the icy ground under her feet. “Ugh..” She groaned again and quickly pushed back one of the zombies that came a bit too close to her, then reached back to draw her sword. “I’m sorry, guys. But I have to.”

The first one fell to the ground rather quickly, just like the second one. But the brunette got exhausted easier and panted as she took slow steps back. At this point, the whole herd noticed her and now she had to deal with a dozen of dead zombies. A tree hit her back and took her only way of escaping.

Hanji was panting hard and stabbed another one through his head, though, had struggles to pull her sword out again. So, the zombie sank to the ground and took the sword with him, leaving Hanji with only her bare hands to fight. “Shit. Shitshitshit!” She hissed, folding her arms over her stomach protectively. If there was one place she didn’t want them to touch, it definitely was her stomach.

The living dead growled and groaned loudly, approaching the pregnant woman, getting closer and closer and closer. Just when one of them was close enough to grab Hanji’s arm and bite her, a shoot could be heard. The brunette flinched and shut her eyes momentarily before peeking through the herd in hopes to see who it was.

Two more zombies in front of her fell, revealing three people behind them: a girl and two boys. “Hey!! We’re here!” The blond boy called out, probably to draw attention- which worked great since the zombies began turning around and approaching the three instead. Hanji used that to reach down and forcefully pull her sword out of the zombies head. Holding it tightly, she began stabbing the zombies from behind while the others took care of them from the front.

It took them a few minutes but eventually, every zombie fell to the ground and there finally was a little silence. The only thing that could be heard was everyone’s heavy breathing, their breath coming out in white puffs in front of their faces. Hanji eyed the three closely, her sword still up in suspicion that the strangers might not be as nice as they might seem.

The girl had a very stoic and stern expression, she appeared very calm but still had that something that gave her this anger in her eyes. Not to mention that she took care of most of the zombies, so Hanji figured she might be the biggest threat of them. That girl remembered her a lot of an old friend.

The blond boy next to her looked rather weak; small. He had a cute face and big, blue eyes. From how he looked like, it almost was as if all the innocence that was left in the world lived in his frail being. She believed the weak didn’t survive very long and was curious about how that boy still was standing and fighting. His gun was lowered slightly- the gun which killed the first zombie.

On the other hand, the brunet boy looked like he’d lose it any moment. His emerald eyes gleamed with rage while his hands kept his knife up, pointed at Hanji. He was probably the most unpredictable one of these three. The three couldn’t be older than her in any way- they looked like teenagers, judging from their faces and built.

“Did they bite or scratch you anywhere?” The ravenette growled as her eyes traveled up and down Hanji’s body. Shaking her head in response, Hanji slowly rose her hands in surrender. “No. I’m not infected.” She explained shortly, rolled up her sleeves and turned around slowly to prove her point, watching as the ravenette gave a short, firm nod.

“What are you doing here all by yourself? Where are your people?” The short, blond boy asked next which made Hanji sigh, her eyes locked with his as she spoke, slow and clear so they’d understand, “I lost them in an attack months ago. I’ve been alone ever since.”

The brunet spoke up next, “And you got yourself pregnant in a time like this?” Hanji furrowed her brows at that and clenched her teeth, one hand reaching down to touch her stomach by instinct. “It wasn’t planned. And it was too late when I found out.” If she could, she would’ve aborted the child since children simply didn’t belong in a world like this and Hanji didn’t exactly have time to take care of one either. When she found out, it already was too late and Hanji decided she would rather give life than take one. There were too many people dying already.

“I see.” The brunet said shortly, lowering his knife, “Leave and we won’t have to kill you-”

“-What?!” The blond one interrupted before Hanji even had a chance to react. “We can’t just leave her alone like that, Eren! She’s pregnant!”

“So what?” The girl demanded, “There’s only so many lives that I can care about. My enemies made deciding that easy six years ago.”

“Mikasa is right.” The boy, who turned out to be named Eren, spoke and put his knife into its pocket. “She should be lucky we’re letting her go. She’s been fine this far,” His gaze fell at her zombies, Sawney and Bean, who stood somewhere near a tree and just looked around aimlessly. “And I’m sure she’ll be fine now too. We can’t afford any more trouble, you know that.” He added firmly.

The blond stepped closer to Eren and began shaking his head, “We can’t leave her back, we have to help her! Humans are already in danger as it is, we need to help each other to survive in a world like this. I know we can’t trust anyone but the least we can do is try to help so less people have to die!”

Something about that boy was special- he had that way to talk so determined and steadfast, almost stubborn, to convince his friends of what he was saying. Hanji liked that about him, even though it also was very stupid to take someone with them only because she was pregnant. It was a big risk. A big risk Hanji was glad they were considering to take.

As the three kept arguing on and on, Hanji leaned against a nearby tree, feeling very exhausted from the attack just a few minutes ago. Since she got pregnant, she noticed how much weaker she got and how she couldn’t hold herself up on her feet for that long. That was what she hated the most. Luckily, she had Sawney and Bean by her side and her pregnancy would soon be over, she could manage.

“Fine.” Eren spat and poked the blond’s chest a few times. “But you’re taking responsibility for her if she fucks up.” Giving Hanji a glare, the brunet turned away and began walking off as the shorter blond hurried over to Hanji and wrapped her arm around his shoulders to help her walking.

“C’mon, we’re going back home. You should rest.” He said comfortingly with a kind smile on his lips and lead Hanji over to walk behind Eren, Mikasa being the last in the row.

“Wait.” Hanji stopped and looked over at Sawney and Bean who still stood at the tree. “They’re coming with me.” The ravenette didn’t look very pleased to hear this and walked over to stand behind the two zombies. “No-!” Hanji shouted but it was too late and she had to watch Mikasa stabbing both of them through their head, making them sink to the ground.

“How dare you?! Why did you kill them?! They were my friends!”

“Friends?” The ravenette sighed annoyedly, “These are monsters. They’re killing people.”

Hanji was shaking with rage and just about screamed, “Sawney and Bean didn’t kill anyone! They were good! They were my friends and you just killed them for no reason!” Hanji was so mad at Mikasa. Sawney and Bean were calm, they never leashed out or tried to attack her, never did anything wrong. These two were the only friends she had left and now she had to watch them dying just like everyone else she ever knew.

It was quiet for some while as Hanji tried her best to keep her tears inside and not lose it completely. If she kept screaming now, they’d get into a shit ton of trouble. Even in a situation like that, she knew better than to get them all in danger- even if it was hard. She wanted to kill Mikasa in exchange for her killing her friends but Armin kept holding onto her arm tightly, not letting Hanji go anywhere. “C’mon, calm down. We have children at home, I’m sure they’d be scared of them. And Mikasa only killed them to save them from their grief. Am I right, Mikasa?”

Mikasa stared at the two like they were both insane. Eventually, she gave in and gave a short nod which made the blond boy smile a little. “See? She didn’t mean any harm. They’re in a better place now, where they belong. This world is cruel, they’ll get their peace now.” He explained and lightly rubbed Hanji’s back, “And we should go now before it gets dark. Think about your child.”

Hanji was staring down at the ground for a while, stared at the two corpses which used to keep her company when things were hard, her friends. Her two only friends she would never see again, just like she would never see any of her old friends anymore. Everyone was dead and Hanji just felt so lonely suddenly.

With a weak nod, the brunette forced herself to look away from the two and let the boy lead her away from the scene. For the rest of the way, it was dead silent. Nobody said a word. The boy next to her kept rubbing her back and Hanji found just a little comfort in this gesture. How long it had been since she last had people around her... she almost forgot how it felt like to hold or touch someone.

After walking for about half an hour or a little more, the four arrived at a big gate. There were a few people standing on top of the walls for surveillance and there could be heard many noises from the inside. One of these noises Hanji recognized immediately was the laughter of children. It filled her with a comfortable feeling, made her forget about the bad for a moment.

She hadn’t seen any children in ages, hadn’t heard any laugh, hadn’t seen any smile. Just imagining children running around and having fun, to see them being childish and so carefree and unaware of how ugly the world has become, made her chest swell comfortably, joyfully. Not only has she missed these things, but now her child also could have others in her age to spend time with once they got older. Her baby could grow up as a child and it made Hanji so unbelievably happy.

The gate opened and Hanji and the others walked inside. She looked around slightly and spotted a few kids running around. It made her smile with a small sparkle in her eyes, her hand coming up to rest on top of her stomach. These were sounds she longed for, sounds she could gladly get used to.

“It’s so beautiful here.” She commented absentmindedly and turned around to face the others again. Mikasa was staring at her cautiously and took the sword Hanji was holding while Eren lightly pushed her forward.

“Keep walking. We’re not the ones making the final decision whether you can stay or not. You need to talk to Captain first.” Hanji didn’t like how Eren was pushing her but decided to let it slide this one time and walked where Eren pointed her to go. The less she resisted, the easier it’d be. Just for now, until she knew whether she could stay or not, then she would make sure to show Eren how to push people around. “Who do I need to talk to? Who’s that ‘Captain’?” She asked curiously.

“He’s in charge of this place for a while now and he’s managing everything great. Everyone respects and trusts him, so he takes care of things like these.” The blond explained on their way, “When someone new comes, when food isn’t enough, when we’re in danger, when we have to fight or have to leave the walls for whatever reason, he’s in charge of all that and even more. Like a king- but don’t call him that, he doesn’t like that title.”

“He’s really tough and cold, so don’t hold your expectations too high. Being pregnant won’t get you bonus points, not with him.” Eren added in a firm tone and Hanji had to hold back a groan. He was annoying when he spoke like that- wannabe tough and dangerous.

Hanji nonetheless listened closely to everything they said and gave a small nod in response, “I see...” It wasn’t like she hadn’t dealt with difficult people before, Hanji knew how to act to achieve what she wanted if it came down to it. She just hoped it wouldn’t take too long since she really was tired and just wanted to get some rest finally.

A couple of minutes later, they stopped at the building which stood in the center of the small village these people were living in. It had two floors and actually looked pretty nice from the outside. It was just a simple house but that simplicity was what made it so beautiful, so unique. All the other houses she saw were ruins, broken, destroyed.

Eren walked over and knocked on the door. After a few second, a voice could be heard telling them to come in, so the brunet opened the door. While he held it open for everyone to walk in, Hanji sighed deeply and slowly entered the house, looking around. She spotted an open room and decided to go there since it seemed to be the right way, judging by how the others followed her.

“Sir. We found this woman outside in the woods today. Armin insisted on getting her here. She didn’t appear like a threat to us, she was alone and only had a sword with her, so we decided to get her here and see what you think of it.” The ravenette explained as the three stood at one side of the room, Hanji in the middle of it, in front of the desk this man was sitting at.

“She’s pregnant and was alone, so I didn’t see any issues with getting her here, Sir. We can always need more people, don’t we?” Armin said, glancing over at Hanji who gave him a small smile in appreciation of his care.

Eren folded his arms over his chest, sounding rather annoyed but also suspicious, “Also, she was walking around with two zo-”

“Now shut up for a moment, will ya?” The man spoke, turning around in his seat to look at the three teenagers. “Let me take a look at—” The raven’s gaze fell onto Hanji and both were just staring at each other with wide eyes.

Hanji finally saw that man’s face which made her heart beat so much faster. It couldn’t be true... She knew him! This was Levi! He was one of the people she used to be with before they got attacked months ago! Her big brown eyes filled with tears and she quickly rushed over to throw her arms around the raven and hug him. “Hanji..?!” He sounded in utter surprise, seemingly overwhelmed by the whole situation.

“Levi! It’s you! Oh my God, I thought you were dead! I thought I’d never see you again! I missed you so, so much!!” She babbled and sobbed the last part while she held the shorter male tightly. A few tears escaped her eyes, definitely tears of joy.

After some long moments, she pulled back enough to cup the male’s face tenderl and looked over his face. There several small scars on his body. She knew some of them but some also were new. It worried Hanji a little but seeing that he was standing and even leading such a big place just proved his strength all over again. “Are you alright? Is anyone else here too?”

The raven nodded at the first question, then shook his head at the second. “No, just you and me. I only got away because I fell down that cliff. I haven’t seen any of the others again... until now.” His gaze flicked down at her stomach for a few moments before moving up to her face again.

“Moblit.” Hanji stated simply which Levi nodded at. She reached out for his hand and placed it against her stomach, only then noticing that there were burn marks over the back of his hand and his fingers. It surprised her at first but it didn’t take long for her to place her own hand on top of his and smile at him.

Levi let his hand rest on the pregnant belly and gave her a small rub with his thumb. “I’m glad you’re alright, Shitty Glasses.” He said and slowly took his hand back, looking over at the three friends who were staring at the two dumbfounded.

“If you would’ve told me Levi was in charge of this place, I would’ve taken a bath before coming here!” Hanji joked and laughed, nudging Levi playfully who just rolled his eyes in return.

“Alright, listen, brats.” He spoke, “Hanji will live in the house next to this one, I’ll need her close. Jaeger, go and get food for her.” Eren looked hesitant at that but he reluctantly nodded and left with a “yes, Sir”.

The ravenette saw Eren leaving and quickly followed him outside. Hanji watched the girl and just shrugged at it, not really minding much why she’d follow him or not. Now that these two weren’t in the same room as them anymore, everything was less tense. Surprisingly enough.

Levi looked at Armin next, “Arlert. Hanji is smart. I want you to work together on your research and construction work.” The blond nodded at his new task and smiled softly, “Of course. I could always need some help.”

At this, Hanji nodded, then turned back to Levi and pulled him into another hug which the raven returned decently. “I really missed you a lot, Levi...” She murmured.

Hanji understood Levi wanted people to respect him and see him in a certain way- strong and cold, so she didn’t mind that he didn’t say anything in return. He always was like that. Never wanted anyone to know he actually was caring and had a big heart, though, only for the people who meant something to him. She knew and felt that he missed her too. The fact alone that he was hugging her was enough for her to be convinced of it.

——————————

“Madeleine! Madeleine, come here right this instant!” Levi shouted, his voice could be heard in the whole place. Even after so many years, he hasn’t changed one bit. He was still the grumpy, scary man he always was. Even physically, he was still the same; short, frowning, pissed. The only thing that changed were one big and several smaller scars over his face and his two missing fingers which all happened in the incident years ago.

The girl stopped upon hearing her name and turned over to look at Levi. She swallowed and slowly walked over, already knowing she was in trouble for the hundredth time. “Yes, uncle? Is there something you need?” She asked innocently, her lips curling up into a somewhat nervous smile.

“Stop this ‘uncle’-bullshit. The key to the basement of my house.” He demanded, holding his hand out while glaring at the teen, “I know you have it. Give it to me or I’ll have to kick your ass. Again.”

The girl looked utterly offended and shook her head heavily as she spoke, “Wh-what? I don’t have your key- I didn’t even know your house had a basement-!”

“Every house here has a basement, brat.” He interrupted quickly, frowning. “Give me the key and I won’t have to tell your mother about this.”

The brunette sighed and looked at the side for a while. A short silence surrounded them until Madeleine gave in and shoved the key into Levi’s hand. “Take it. That’s not fair, though.”

“The world isn’t a fair place.” He commented and put the key into his pocket. Just when he was about to turn around and walk, Hanji stood behind him with her arms folded over her chest. “What’s going on here?” She questioned, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.

“Your brat stole my keys.” Levi explained simply which made Madeleine gasp with wide eyes.

“Maddie!” Hanji scolded, walking over to pinch her daughter’s ear. The girl huffed and quickly whipped her head over to Levi, “You said you wouldn’t tell her! You lied!”

“Levi!” Hanji scolded again and used her other hand to pinch Levi’s ear as well. The raven looked up unamusedly and swatted Hanji’s hand away. “It’s the third time this week. I don’t know what’s wrong with your brat, and I really don’t care either. Teach her discipline or I’ll have to do it.” With a short wave, Levi began walking back to his house and shut the door.

Once Hanji was sure Levi was out of sight, she turned over to Madeleine and stared down at her. Her frown was deep, boring mercilessly into the little girl. “How many times do I have to tell you...” Madeleine watched as her mother slowly raised her hand and swallowed lightly.

“...That you can’t let him catch you! You have to put the key back and get out faster the next time!” Hanji laughed as Maddie let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and reached up to give her mother a high five.

“You scared me, mom!” The brunette giggled, “For a moment, I really thought you were mad!” She stepped closer to pull her mother into a hug which Hanji gladly returned. She stroked Madeleine’s hair tenderly and pressed a kiss on her head. “I couldn’t be mad at you, even if I wanted to.” Hanji murmured softly.

Madeleine was her only daughter and already thirteen years old. Time flew by really fast. Hanji remembered holding her baby, feeding her, bathing her, changing her diaper. Now she was already so big, she loved watching her daughter grow with each day. From the looks, Madeleine doubtlessly came after her father: neat hair, brown eyes, and a rather lengthy face but it suited the girl perfectly. She was cute and definitely had charm if she wanted to.

Even if she rather acted like a boy most of the time. Though, Hanji never minded it since she was the same- she let Madeleine be whoever she wanted to be and act the way she felt comfortable with. Of course, there were things she had to learn like how to act when she’d ever get in danger or how she always had to be attentive of her surroundings. To always be on guard even in such a young age. The world was a very dangerous place and safety was a very rare thing nowadays. To survive, people had to act sometimes, and Hanji was making sure the girl knew it all.

Madeleine broke the hug at some point and looked up at her mother with a grin. “I’ve got what you asked for, by the way.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out something small that was wrapped up in foil. When she opened it and Hanji saw what it was, she raised her brows, “Wow. You really found some. I knew Shorty was hiding things in there!”

The girl chuckled and handed the chocolate to her mother. “Anyway, I gotta go back to the others. See ya later, mom!” Kissing her cheek quickly, Maddie hurried off to go and find her friends while Hanji shook her head lightly and took a bite of the chocolate.

She hummed quietly to herself while walking around but soon stopped when someone put their hands over her eyes. It didn’t take long for her to know who it was, so she quickly turned around and wrapped her arms around the taller male. “Morning, babe.” She greeted, leaving a kiss on his jaw.

“Morning.” He murmured, reaching up to ruffle her hair. The male smelled something coming from Hanji’s mouth and leaned closer to smell it better. “Is that... chocolate?” He asked hopefully.

The brunette nodded eagerly and held up the small piece that was left in her hand. “Uh huh! We can share, if you want.” She placed the chocolate between her lips and tiptoed so she could reach him better. The brunet leaned closer as he placed his hands on Hanji’s waist and took the other end of the chocolate. Once they met in the middle, he gave her a long, passionate kiss on her lips.

Things weren’t always like that between them, Hanji and Eren really went through a lot until they reached where they were today. They’ve all been thought a hard time, especially because of what happened about nine years ago. Eren messed up things greatly but they’ve managed to suit it all out and, by now, everyone forgave him for what he did- some took longer than others, but it was alright now. They’ve lost people thanks to his actions, important people, yet they couldn’t change it anymore and Hanji could see how much he regretted it and how hard he was working on making up for it. She didn’t put any blame on him.

“What’s Maddie up to?” Eren asked, his arm hanging over her shoulders as he walked by her side.

“Playing with the gang, the usual.” She hummed, leaning her head against his shoulder. “What about Ethan? Did you already get him to the play group?”

“Yeah,” Eren nodded, “I think he likes it there. Mikasa is taking over the group today with Horseface. She’s doing it great and, if you ask me, she’s having fun there too. It’s a nice change from fighting.”

Hanji nodded in agreement before stretching her arms over her head, her bones cracking, and exhaling softly. “I gotta have to take care of a few things. See you at lunch?”

“Of course. See you later, old lady.” The brunet teased, pecking her lips with a laugh. “Watch who you’re calling old! I could strangle you in your sleep any time.” She winked playfully and let out a laugh as well while turning right and walking while Eren continued his way straight on.

Hanji walked for a while until she reached the very end of the town where the fallen ones were buried. She headed over to the right, the second one in the third row; that was where she always stopped. The brunette slowly sank to the ground and very lightly touched the earth on the grave.

“...Hey. It’s me again.” Her voice was barely a whisper, her hand trembling slightly. “I just came to say thank you... Maddie’s birthday is tomorrow and without you back then... she wouldn’t be the cheerful, little girl she is today.”

It was hard to keep herself under control but since she was alone, she let her tears drip down her face silently. They soaked the earth underneath her. “Thank you for helping me, and thank you for getting me here. I owe you so much b-but I can’t repay you anymore... I’d give anything just to get one more chance to see you... A-anything...”

Her lower lip trembled. Nine years, and she still couldn’t control herself. Every time she visited this specific grave, she bursted out in tears. He was the last one who deserved such a terrible death at such a young age. Hanji couldn’t save him back then and she hated herself for it. She came very often to that grave to thank him and apologize for not being able to save him.

“I-I’m sorry... I know I promised you I wouldn’t cry anymore.” She let out a sad laugh and rubbed her tears away. “Heh... You know, Maddie would’ve loved you. I’m sure of it. Everyone loves you...” She stated as a fact.

Hanji took a few deep breaths, trying to get a grip of herself again. “Everyone’s doing well. But I kinda need someone to help me with the machines. I’m trying to get humanity back, working on a way to heal the sick people... But nobody understands how it works or how to make it no matter how many times I explain it to them. To be honest, I don’t even understand it myself. I.. don’t know what to do.. I wish you could be here...”

The brunette stared down at the ground for some longer before her eyes filled with tears all over again and she pressed her forehead onto the ground. “I-I miss you so much! I‘m so s-sorry I couldn’t save you back then! It all happened so quickly a-and it was over before I got the chance to do anything.” The guilt was plaguing her for years and was still doing so. She never accepted his death and would never do so either. Next to others, she acted calm and collected, but once she was alone with him, her emotions took over.

Sniffling, Hanji continued, “B-but don’t worry, I’ll take him down for you. He will pay with his life for what he did to you.” She lifted her head again and stared at the name engraved in the wood cross. She placed her hand onto her own head and continued, her voice now strong and determined as she said, “I swear it on my own life. I’ll avenge you, Armin.”

[zainaugstine]

                    ZAIN had been surprised that his father was in town and called him to come over for dinner with the boys. While he was a loving father, there was some coldness between the pair. He saw the way he interacted with his sons, and it was just different between them. Like his father, he spoiled his children though both of them seemed to lack the burning desire to consume everything that was in their path. Neither men spoke about it, but there was this unspoken knowledge that they both blamed ZAIN for his mother’s death. That was why his father spent most of his time out of the country, filming his films and producing them where he wanted. He owned the production company, all of the stocks and the master rights to every single film he produced and directed. The distance was intentional and ZAIN had always knew it. That’s why he was always at his uncle’s, they both understood he had committed his first murder while drawing his first breath of air. 

                    Standing next to his father, ZAIN watched the boys with him. JAHAN was chasing ZION as fast as his little chubby legs would take him. Even as he fell, he would get back up and continue chasing him. ZION liked to say he wasn’t any fun but he seemed to be enjoying himself, which made the younger AUGUSTINE chuckle as he watched them. Though there was distance between them, he did love his father and he knew he loved him and he shared certain details with him. Though he knew his father knew everything, their love language was having private investigators trailing each other. It’s how ZAIN learned about GINA, QASIM’S young white girl that was sleeping with him in hopes of getting his money. ZAIN sent him the file he had gathered on her, not surprised when his father sent him one concerning details about some business he had going on with THE PINES, along with a few pictures of various women he had in his bedroom at the time. His father had more sense than him and kept his curtains drew at all times. “You know me and SAFIYA are trying for another one?” He would be surprised if he didn’t. He saw the smile that seemed to be reserved for his grandchildren, full of love and devoid of any pain, light up his face.

                   “I’m aware. It’ll be nice to have another little one running around here. Though, I do have to say, planning a child but not being with the mother...is this some millennial thing I don’t understand? Your mother drove me wild, but I did love her and being married to her.” It was rare for QASIM to mention his mother. It always made ZAIN feel a sting of guilt and this time was no different. He knew that ZAKIYAH was the only love of his father’s life. “I assumed you two have been doing this dance long enough that planning a child would come after some kind of commitment. Are you still sleeping with other women?” 

                  “No, Dad, it’s not a millennial thing, people your age had whole families and didn’t get married except in the common law.”

                  “But are we commoners?”

                  “We’re AUGUSTINES.”

                  “Then my point remains.”

                   ZAIN rolled his eyes, earning an eyebrow lift as his father waited for him to answer his other inquiries. “There is some commitment, things are good right now. No, I’m not sleeping with anyone else. That’s something.”

                  “A ring is more, it’s not half a foot in while the other is still out” QASIM said, causing ZAIN to fold his arms over his chest. Before he said something smart, his father sighed. His hand came up to rest on his son’s shoulder. “Son, I’m tired. I’m not young anymore.” His father was about to be 65, and had always had the weight of the family on his shoulders since he was 18. His younger brothers were not as mature as he was and he had taken over when his father died when he was young. His grandmother died two weeks later of a broken heart. LOVE was insanely important and stressed, but nothing more than absolute LOYALTY. Despite any underlying resentments and tensions, ZAIN did look to his father for advice and valued his opinion over anyone else’s in the family. “It’s time you became the AUGUSTINE the family needs. You had almost ten extra years to get the playboy ways out of your system.” ZAIN was still quiet, he was better at processing when he was silent. Right now, he was wondering what scheme QASIM was up to. 

                To do that, it was best to give him the rope he needed to hang himself. “I’m retiring, going to spend the rest of my days spoiling my grandchildren, sleeping with women that are one third of my age and enjoying my last days on earth without being the responsible one. I’ve earned that.” They were still watching the boys and ZAIN still was refusing to speak, though his face said more than he could. He was surprised by the news of retirement, especially considering QASIM had just signed a major teen movie franchise and was slated to direct all 4 movies. He didn’t think this retirement was more than a stunt of sorts, but for what? “I’m leaving everything to you. The production company, the family industry, all the movie rights and master copies...everything that the AUGUSTINES own is yours ZAIN.” There was a catch, had to be. 

                Suddenly he was resentful that he was here with his children. His father squeezed his shoulder and they moved towards his outdoor bar. They took the same drink, cognac on the rocks and ZAIN fixed two of them, handing one to his father. “So it’s all mine, just like that? I hate when we beat around the bush. What do you need or want, Dad?”

                “That attitude won’t win you the friends you need son. You have to work on that. Do you think I get the luxury of walking around with a chip on my shoulder the way you do? We both know you’re able to turn on the charm for pussy, I need you to learn how to translate it to building connections. The ones that come with this power are unstable, you won’t be able to pay them off with a few hundred thousand like you do everyone else. Money is powerful, but POWER is POWER and the table you’ll sit at as the HEAD of the AUGUSTINES? All they will want is your POWER. You might be able to kill them, but there’s nothing to stop the next person from coming for your throat. Eventually, you won’t be able to kill all your enemies.” His words reminded him about the talk he had with ZION about being tough. There was a lesson here in his words. He felt his dark eyes boring into his freckled complexion and the younger man nodded, letting him know he was hearing him. 

               “The second thing I need son, is you married. The image you paint is everything. Angels get away with murder because they look angelic. You look like Satan in the media. That won’t help your seat at the table, but a family man, a lawyer doing good for the people of ANGELUS, loving his adoring wife and raising a family while giving considerably to charities? That is an image people can rally behind, can root for and will fight to the death to defend, no matter who you have killed.” QASIM let the words hang between them, just as JAHAN caught his brother who had fallen in the grass and was laughing wildly as he was tackled. 

               “My choice is, naturally, SAFIYA, especially because of the unnecessary explaining of how you got a 16 year old pregnant to anyone else. I’ll accept RUBI but I do have 10 candidates in mind, various princesses who will accept both children, though a few want the baby mommas to disappear completely. You have a week to decide for yourself, otherwise I’ll organize a ball and invite them all to see who performs the best in front of the family.” ZAIN threw back his drink, pouring another one as the words washed over him. He was about to walk over to his sons, begin to rough house with them both as he finished his second double shot. As he began to move from his father’s embrace, QASIM squeezed his shoulder. 

               “I have one last...significantly important need from you. This envelope contains a problem you need to get rid of. Both of us know you’ve already spilled blood, so this should be no trouble, son and certainly have no resistance to hurting those of AUREUM. This might be more sport than it is  honoring an old man’s request for you.” QASIM was a glorious bastard but ZAIN had respect for him and it. His father like to throw jabs about him spilling blood but how many times had it been for QASIM. He opened the file, a smirk on his face at the file. 

               “SOLIS would be gleeful to find out about this. Like uncle, like nephew in this case. Though, I’m surprised you allowed her two whole pregnancies and children before deciding to get rid of your problem. Looks like I’m not the only one charming pussy, Dad. I’ll get rid of your problem, you send the paperwork over to me to sign over the AUGUSTINE empire. Now, the burgers need to be flipped and I have two sons who I have to go flip over.” ZAIN handed him the file, he didn’t care about the details, he had the name and like other siblings who popped up over the years, he would be getting rid of them. After all, there was only room for him in his father’s life.

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