#i have this problem where my sister is probably moving out next year but she can't rly do that without me bc her dog has issues

[wildermouse]

vent iii.

[alotofpockets]

Roommates | Kyra Cooney-Cross x Gorry!Reader & Katrina Gorry x Sister!Reader

Where you start dating your sister's bestfriend after she becomes your roommate.

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.8k

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"You're still going to pick up Kyra from the airport and drive her to her introduction at the Arsenal training grounds, right?" Your sister has asked you this question at least ten times now. Her Matilda's teammates, and one of her closest friends Kyra Cooney-Cross was making the move from Australia to the UK, just like you had done two years ago, and your sister had asked you to look out for her there. 

"Yes Mini, don't worry. I will pick up Kyra and drive her to London Colney. You can go to sleep and stop worrying, I promise I've got her." 

Katrina seemed to finally relax a bit, "Okay, text me when she gets there? I told her to do that too, but she'll probably be too tired from the flight to remember.” Your sister loved Kyra like family, and it was sweet to see how similarly she cared for Kyra as she does for you. 

“I will text you when I see her at the airport, now please go to sleep.” You laughed at the slightly annoyed sigh that escaped her mouth. “Thank you again, and goodnight.” You hung up the phone after wishing Katrina a good night as well.

You finish your workday, and run some errands, before you head home. You made a funny poster to welcome Kyra to London before you head to bed for an early wake up call to head to the airport.

When you saw Kyra walk down the gate hall, she looked exhausted from the long flight, a feeling you knew all too well yourself. She was wearing a pair of sweats and a hoodie, combined with a messy bun. When she laid eyes on your poster her face lit up. Welcome to London, my favourite Tillie!

"Oh we're so showing Mini your sign." She greets you with a hug. “Yeah, let's send her a picture. I promised I'd text her when you landed.” The two of you pose together with the sign, while someone next to you takes your picture. 

“Are you hungry?” You ask while you take half of her bags. “I ate on the plane, but am in desperate need of a coffee.” In the coffee shop you catch up for a bit over coffee, and breakfast for you, before Kyra gets a call. She walks out of the shop to take the call, while you scroll on your phone.

“What’s wrong?” The panicked look on her face as she walked back in immediately grabbing your attention. “That was the landlord of my apartment, he just let me know that he accidentally double signed. In other words, I don’t have a place to stay anymore.” Without a second thought you had a solution for her problem. “I’ve got a spare room that I never use. It’s yours if you want it.”

The following week you helped Kyra get settled and went with her for her introduction meeting at Arsenal. Initially you would just drop her off and pick her up later in the day, but she had insisted you’d join her. Together you got the Arsenal tour, and you sat to the side for all her video and picture moments. All in all, it ended up being a fun day.

The two of you had gotten close quickly over the days that passed, sure you had known each other already, but now living together brought you on a whole new level of friendship.

Tomorrow would be Kyra's first training session at Arsenal, as well as meeting the team for the first time. Besides her Aussie teammates Steph and Caitlin, she didn't know anyone more than a familiar face. You had known she was nervous, but you didn't realise just how much until she knocked on your bedroom door.

“Hey Ky, what's up?” The usual smile the girl was wearing was replaced by a frown. “Were you homesick when you first moved here?” You had been so adamant that she was just nervous, that you hadn't taken the move to another continent into consideration. “Yeah, I did. Come here.” Patting the spot on your bed besides you, you offered her a place to sit. 

You talked for a while before you both fell asleep. The next day you drove Kyra to her first practice with Arsenal. You were just going to drop her off, but when you saw Caitlin get out of her car, you had to go say hi. You knew all of the Tillies from the many times you had met them in the family and friends hall after matches. 

“Y/n, hi, what are you doing here?” She greeted you with a quick hug. You point back to your car where Kyra appeared from behind the trunk. “Ky has been staying with me.” 

On queue Kyra appears beside you, and drops her bags to hug Caitlin tight. While the two of them embrace, another player walks up to greet you. You knew it was Katie, but as far as you remembered you had never properly met. “Hi, I'm Katie, nice to meet you.” She extends her hand. “Y/n, nice to meet you too.”

Katie inspects you, trying to figure out where she knew you from, until it finally clicked. “Oh you're Gorry’s little sister, aren’t you?” Kyra stepped out of her hug with Caitlin to defend you. “She's her own person you know.” It was really sweet, but you really didn't mind. “It's fine Ky, I am.” You rolled your eyes at her defensiveness, but behind that facade you secretly loved how she stuck up for you. 

From then on Caitin and Katie picked up Kyra for practice, since you basically lived on the route to the training centre.

Kyra joined you in your room on more days than not over the next few weeks, and you would be lying to yourself if you didn’t enjoy the moments you spent together. You were quickly falling for her, and every part of you hoped that she felt the same way. 

Then one morning you woke up with Kyra cuddled into your side, and her leg draped over yours. You lift your hand to gently play with her hair, she hums with enjoyment and cuddles further into your side. “Good morning to you too.” You were like a deer in headlights, caught by the fact that she had, unbeknownst to you already been awake. “Don’t stop.”

You release the breath you were holding and continue. You must have laid there for another hour before you got out of bed. “Can I maybe take you out for breakfast?” The way her eyes lit up at your question was enough for you to realise that she did indeed feel the same way. “I would love that.”

The two of you had been together ever since, just keeping it to yourselves to enjoy your time together away from prying eyes. Which is why you were stressed since your sister had called that she was coming to visit with her family, because she was meeting with the West Ham United team. You had offered your home as a place for them to stay while she had her meeting, and while her and Clara would be looking at homes for their family. 

“Relax babe, we never changed my room back to a guest room, so they won’t notice a thing if we act like just friends for a couple days.” Kyra tried reassuring you. You had talked about telling her, but ultimately you decided that you weren’t ready to tell her yet, and Kyra was fine with that. 

Kyra offered Mini and Clara her room, while she took the couch, and your niece Harper was overjoyed to be having a sleepover in your room for a couple of days. It was nice having your family around, and you were excited to have them closer after the move as well. 

Mini and Clara were out house hunting while you and Kyra spent some time with Harper. Harper insisted on some painting, and you could not stop laughing when the girl had started painting Kyra instead of her paper. While Harper was dancing and singing her little heart out to Frozen, you cleaned Kyra’s face. When you were done you placed a quick kiss on her lips. “All done.”

Meanwhile a few blocks over Mini’s mind was on something besides house hunting. “I think they’re together.” She stated to Clare, who was busy inspecting the kitchen of the place they were currently in. “Who?” 

“Y/n and Kyra.” This got Clara’s attention. “What makes you think that?” Mini went on and on about how Kyra’s room looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks, that you looked so comfortable together, the glances she had noticed between the two of you, and just the general vibe when the two of you were in a shared space. “Well, if they are, what would you think of that?” Mini thought for a moment before ultimately deciding that she thought the two of you would be cute together and good for each other. 

Mini had not expected to get answers to her question on if the two of you were together or not, but when she put Harper to bed, her little girl snitched on you right away. “Did you have fun today?” The girl nodded her head enthusiastically before telling her mom all about the things that you had done today and finished her story with, “Oh and Auntie and Kywa was kissing.” Mini smiled to herself. “Oh did they now, sweetheart? I am glad you had a good day. Sweet dreams.” 

The next morning you head out to breakfast all together, before your sister and her family fly back for a couple more months. “This place is great, y/n. Where did you find it?” You’re glad that they are enjoying the food just as much as you do. “I took Kyra here when she was all settled in.” You were soaking in all the time with your little niece as much as you could, so you were helping her colour in her drawing while you were speaking to the adults at the table.

“Oh, did you go here for your first date?” Since you were so focussed on the colouring you didn’t think before speaking. “Yeah- oh.” Your head shot up at your older sister, though you relax when you see the proud smirk on her face. “You knew?”

Mini points to Harper, “We’ve got ourselves a little snitch on our hands, she saw you two kiss yesterday. I did also have a feeling already.” You felt relieved now that your sister knew, because she was the person you were most scared of telling, with Kyra being one of her best friends and all.

You drove Mini, Clara, and Harper to the airport with Kyra, where you said your temporary goodbye’s. Knowing that they would be back in two months to move to London. You couldn’t wait to have your family close again. 

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[byeuijoo]

not our wedding 𐀔 park sungho

genre : fluff ⋆ warnings : swearing, slightly suggestive ⋆ word count : 1055

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ୨ ✩ ୧

the elders often say that marriage is the happiest day in a lifetime. and thinking about it, that was probably the case for your best friend. for months she's been telling you about her beautiful princess-like white dress, her big ceremony, her long list of guests, her bridal bouquet.. for over a year, your days were spent preparing for the happy event with her. guide her in her choices, support her in her decisions, reassure her, assuring her that she was going to make the most beautiful of marriages. then one day she asked you, almost to tears, to be her best man as well as her bridesmaid. obviously, you couldn't refuse.

until today.

it's the big day, everything seems to be ready. except you, because of that damn dress and the zipper in the back that you can barely reach. waddling from one foot to the other, trying as hard as you can to reach the zipper, you end up kicking the seat next to you in rage.

« fuck. » you cursed, just as the door opened, instantly attracting your attention. you were more than relieved to come face to face with the questioning face of your best friend's brother, sungho. « oh thanks god, i'm so glad you're here, » you sighed, motioning with your hand for him to close the door behind him and approach you, « help me with that fucking zipper, please. »

turning your back to him as you heard him lock the door, you lifted your hair out of his way and instantly presented him with your bare back, half-covered by your dress. « i was looking for you, » he declared, now close to you, « my sister kept saying she wanted to see you. »

you nodded, even though you seemed suddenly disconnected from reality. sungho's delicate fingers grasped your zipper, pulling it up gently, so that you could feel his fingertips graze your sensitive, shivering skin. you tried so hard to control your breathing, looking for a spot in the void to calm your pounding heart. « i could have reached her much sooner if i hadn't had this zipper problem, uh.. » you declared, less loudly than expected, because that sungho had to lean over your shoulder to hear your words, his breath tickling your skin.

then, when you felt the zipper catch at the top of your back, you let go of your hair, pivoting to face him. your pupils locked onto his, and out of the corner of your eye, you could see a slight smile tugging at his rosy lips. « can you help me with that tie? » blinking at his words, a scoff left your lips as you nodded your head, raising your arms to reach his tie.

« after all these years, you still don't know how to tie a tie? » you asked him, a slight mocking tone in your voice, without knowing that it was simply an excuse for you to do it for him. « nope, » he replied, sliding one of his hands into the small of your back, « i think i'll need you for the rest of my life to do it. »

you froze in place, not daring to look up at him, simply staring at the tie still being unfinished between your fingers. but that was until you felt your body being guided, moving on its own, walking backwards until you reached the wall behind you. and only then did your eyes meet his, plunging into the depth of his pupils, into the sincerity of his gaze, letting you drown slowly, cutting off your breath.

his face came dangerously close to yours, suddenly deviating to your ear, where he placed a light kiss just below, on that sensitive spot capable of driving you crazy. « the bridesmaid is not supposed to be more beautiful than the bride.. » he whispered in your ear, as your hands came to rest against his chest, feeling the palpitations of his heart beneath your fingers. park sungho was a menace, and you always fall into his trap — like every time you find yourself trapped in a room alone.

your kind of love story has lasted since kindergarten, playing cat and mouse has always been your favorite activity. he was always there when you deigned to be interested in something else than him, constantly reminding you of his existence.

to the point of promising to marry you one day.

« oh shut up.. » you say suddenly, before his face drifts back to yours, the tip of his nose brushing your cheek. then his teeth found your skin, biting gently so as not to hurt you, but hard enough to make your belly vibrate.

« make me. » were the last words he spoke, his eyes fixed on yours, before your deft fingers tug at his tie to pin him against you, your lips melting against his. his hands slipped here and there, exploring parts of your body he wanted to know by heart, finally lifting your thighs to sit on the window sill, leaving him a certain hold on you that you didn't want to break. your fingers intertwined with sungho's dark locks, creating a beautiful mess that would certainly not go unnoticed.

the kiss was feverish, demanding, passionate, urgent, as if all the heat in the room had seized your bodies. his hands seemed to boil over your skin, even when one of them cupped your cheek, holding your face against his to kiss you even harder. only your jerky breathing and the occasional moan filled the silence of the room — or at least until someone knocks on the door in a violent way and pushes you both to separate from each other in fourth gear.

in the next second, the panicked face of the future husband was in front of you, dragging you out of the room to join your best friend elsewhere. casting an apologetic glance and a small smile towards sungho, the latter waved at you before completing the correct placement of his tie, raising an eyebrow with a provocative gaze full of innuendo.

perhaps later in the party, after the long festivities, this room would be closed again, leaving only your two feverish souls trapped inside.

⠀

reblogs & feedbacks are highly appreciated !

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for agreeing to be a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding even though I think she's making a huge mistake?

(Emojis so I recognize it 👰‍♀️💍🤵)

So my (24F) cousin Anna (21F) got engaged at the start of December. This was really surprising to me because the last time I saw her at Thanksgiving she was just starting to get back into dating via tinder after a couple bad breakups, and she wasn't actively seeing anyone yet. When I got home for Christmas break, my mother told me that Anna had gotten engaged to and moved in with her new boyfriend, Evan (~22/23M), an army guy she'd met three weeks before and that no one but her immediate family had even met yet.

Our family has always been pretty close, and this was concerning for a lot of reasons. 1) she literally just had a nasty breakup with her rebound boyfriend after a nasty breakup with her last long-term relationship, making this guy her 4th serious boyfriend this year, 2) she historically has very bad taste in men, every boyfriend she has ever had had treated her horribly and she ties her entire self-worth up into how her boyfriend sees her so she's literally never been single for more than a couple weeks since high school, 3) her older sister (28F) literally just left a 13 year abusive relationship with the guy who started grooming her when she was 15 and he was 28, 4) the groom is about to ship out for a 9 month deployment a month after their March wedding and military men are notorious for cheating or divorcing on long deployments, 5) she wants her dream wedding in March (giving us only 2 months to plan and fundraise), despite her parents already being in tight financial straits bc they started building a house right before unexpectedly needing to take in and help provide for their eldest daughter and her two kids and both my grandparents (who live with them) having sudden drops in their health to the point where my grandfather probably will pass in the next couple months and my grandmother could pass at any time (though tbf, were pretty sure no one has told Anna this since my grandparents don't want to scare her and her mom's in denial).

I also just really don't like the groom bc the one time I met him he made a ton of racist and homophobic jokes despite there being multiple black and queer family members present, but if that were the only thing I could probably bite my tongue since I don't think that's something that bothers her or anyone else in the family. I'm just really worried about her, since it seems like she's been going through something for a while and I know how hard this is on my whole family, especially my grandparents, since we all are really scared about what's going to happen to her if things go wrong and considering the circumstances, that's a good chance this will go wrong.

I want to make it clear, I do really want this to work out for her. She's head over heels in love and he seems to care about her too. I just don't expect it to go well and I've said as much to anyone who asked how I feel about it.

Here's where I could be the asshole: Anna's really having a hard time with the entire family telling her this is a bad and impulsive idea, feeling like everyone who has a problem with it isn't supporting her. She called and asked me to be a bridesmaid, specifically because "you've always looked out for and supported me even when no one else did, so I really want you to be my bridesmaid." I told her I would love to be there and support her however she wanted me to, and I fully intend to be the best bridesmaid I can be because I want this to be a happy memory for her and to take as much stress off her and her parents as possible. But now she thinks I support this marriage when I definitely don't and have been open about that with both our moms as well as her sister (the maid of honor), my SIL (also a bridesmaid), and my brother (a groomsman), all of whom are in the same boat.

So, am I the asshole for agreeing to be my cousin's bridesmaid while thinking she's making a big mistake?

What are these acronyms?

[sunlightmurdock]

My Future in You | 2.0 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader au

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Masterlist

Synopsis: Bradley’s twenty-two years old and not where he’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be out of the academy by now. Instead, he’s retaking his senior year of college and praying to god that he gets into flight school. Mav’s gone, his mom’s gone. He’s mad at the world. Then, a hook up at a Halloween party changes his future even more than he could have imagined.

Warnings: accidental pregnancy, references to abortion in a few chapters, angst, will be fluff eventually, will be smut so 18+, enemies to lovers kinda thing, time jump of a month and a half / two months

…

“Your sister is fucking insane.” Bradley grunts.

“Shut up and just lift your end,” Jake demands, straying under the weight of lifting his end of the couch. A soft sigh and the two of them lift again, hoisting more than their combined body weight’s worth of sectional sofa. “And she wasn’t crazy until you got her pregnant.”

“I can hear you!” You call back from the small kitchen. Sitting cross-legged on the black and white diamond shaped tile, surrounded by boxes and new plates and bubble wrap. Your system for unpacking is fool-proof and they’ll just get in the way if they try to help. That’s why you’ve had them rearrange the layout of the living room three times already.

There isn’t too much left in your life that you have control over these days. Graduating two years early, at the top of your class, and the only people there to be proud of you were your big brother and the guy who got you pregnant. Delaying your grad job, which you worked your ass off to get, until after you’ve given birth. Finding out you had been approved to switch to their Florida office in an email from your father’s secretary.

Moving to a place you’ve never been before, with a guy you didn’t even like up until recently. Carrying a child that’ll probably never have a name because you and Bradley barely agree on anything. Knowing that Jake, your only constant through this entire ordeal, is shipping off to basic training in a day and a half.

Everything’s hurtling forwards, you can practically hear the time rushing by like wind in your ears. Dragged along with it, no choice but to keep up, there’s a voice in your head that keeps telling you it’s okay to be scared. You just aren’t sure if it’s okay to be this scared.

He’s moving around more and more these days, growing stronger and bigger. His kicks are no longer butterflies in your tummy, but now pinpointed and real, which is terrifying in itself. More recently, you’ve been wondering if he can feel how afraid you are. You don’t want him to worry.

By hell or high water, you’re going to give this little boy all the love that you’ve got. Afraid or not, he needs you and you’ll keep going for him. Being good for him is just about all you can manage. That, and unpacking the way that you need to.

Setting the plates in a cabinet, stacking bowls, glasses in an overhead cupboard. Ignoring Jake and Bradley’s bickering to the best of your ability.

Florida’s even hotter than you were expecting. It’s the last day of May and the air conditioning isn’t getting fixed until tomorrow. Home is no longer an upstairs apartment or a cramped room on the first floor of a fraternity. It’s now an almost two bedroom downstairs unit on a quiet, residential street in west Pensacola.

Living room with fireplace, fully equipped kitchen with new stove and refrigerator. Dark brown, LVP floors and new paint throughout. You have your own Lanai and storage outside unit. Also includes washer and dryer. This northeast location is tucked away in a private dead end street but has easy access to the new University shopping area. It’s nice for a first place. The bedroom is a decent size, and the spare room will work as a nursery, even if its intended purpose was an office.

Your relationship with Bradley has turned into a type of Schrödinger problem. Neither together nor apart. Sharing a room, preparing to share a life, with little more in common than the future you roped him into. He seems excited now. He’s jealous that you can feel the baby and that he can’t. He’s looking forward to meeting his son.

But, as you turn your head and look through the archway, towards him wiping sweat from his brow in the living room, guilt surges through you. Wearing gym shorts and a backwards cap, those stupid roman numerals tattooed on his bicep as he sighs softly and leans his head back, he looks so young.

You’re younger, but this decision was yours. You wonder if he would choose this if he got to do it all over again. Certainly not. All those years of carefree fun, getting to be himself finally, figuring out who he is. Now, those years belong to your son. Swallowing softly, you turn your attention back to the only thing that you can control.

Arranging spices in the rack hung over the stove.

The afternoon hurtles by just as quickly as all of the other days have recently. The routine is the same. Jake takes the couch, glad that Bradley sprung for the corner sectional that’s just about as good as sleeping on the mattress. After a day of not really talking, Bradley slips into bed beside you.

It’s never awkward, but it probably should be. Sharing all of this. A lease, a child, a future, with someone that isn’t even really yours.

“Man, I am fucking exhausted.” Bradley mumbles as his head hits the pillow, exhaling slowly into the comfort of this new space. Your first night in your new home with him. So, you connect with him in just about the only way you ever have.

Even with this protruding, exceedingly rounded stomach, somehow he still wants to fuck you at every opportunity he gets. Looking in the mirror these days is getting harder. It’s not that you have an issue with the way you look now, you think the bump is actually kind of cute. It’s just that you don’t look anything like you used to, and you’re starting to wonder if you’ll ever be that girl again.

Running your fingers through his curls, you lean over and kiss his temple softly. He hums at the feeling, reaching out and resting his hand on your hip. He turns his head and waits for you to kiss him without opening his eyes. You press your lips softly to his, his fingers curling softly to press into the fabric of your shorts. You ask gently, lips grazing his, “Too tired?”

His lips tilt up into a soft smile as he runs his fingers along the waistband of your bottoms, brown eyes flickering up to meet yours, “Never been too tired for sex.”

Turning the two of you over, he settles between your legs, working his talented mouth along all the exposed skin that he can reach.

Curling his fingers into your roots, he moans softly into the curve of your jaw, pressing delicate kisses along your throat. Part of these past few weeks has been learning your cues, your sweet spots and your sensitivities. He’s getting good at it. It’s right as you hum and lift your hips eagerly against his that there’s a sharp jolt, a soft, dull pain as the impact hits your mid-section.

Bradley sits back quickly on his knees.

You groan in complaint, rubbing over the sore spot at the top of your developing bump. It’s only once you lean your head back to sigh in complaint that you clock the look on his face. Eyes blown wide, lips parted, staring at you like you just grew a second head.

Over the past few weeks, the little guy has been getting more and more active. Wriggling around a lot, you’ve been feeling him almost constantly the past few days. It has been ridiculously frustrating, suffering in silence, Bradley constantly frowning and telling you that he can’t feel anything. The realization comes quickly.

“Was that him?” Bradley breathes out softly, brows scrunching together.

You push yourself up on your elbows, lips quirking softly. The pregnancy websites said that Bradley should have been able to feel the kicks about a week ago, you were getting worried. Bradley reaches out again and tenderly rests his hands against the bottom of your rounded stomach.

The two of you wait patiently for it to happen again, Bradley’s lips falling into a disappointed frown as your baby stops kicking. He sighs, moving to lie down beside you and smoothing his hand over the top of your stomach as he kisses your cheek.

“I’m jealous that you get to feel him all the time, moving around in there,” He mumbles, shaking his head softly. “It’s like you’ve met him already and I have to wait three more months.”

You scoff, settling down onto the sheets that you had picked out, staring at the white ceiling, “I don’t think you’d be as jealous if he was kicking your bladder like he kicks mine.”

“Probably no—“ As Bradley speaks, your lips part, jolted by another soft kick. He raises his eyebrows as you grab one of his hands and place it over your stomach. Nothing again. He furrows his brows slightly, glancing up at you expectantly.

“Say something.” You prod him.

“Um… like what? — I don’t know what to say to a —“ His sentence stops abruptly, jaw hanging open as he feels a small but unmistakable kick against his palm. “Holy shit, that’s what you’ve been feel— He did it again!”

You giggle, resting your hand on top of Bradley’s as he beams at you, “I think he likes your voice.”

His eyes widen slightly, making him look even younger than he is. It’s hard to tell whether it’s excitement or fear on his face to begin with. He leans down and presses lips to your stomach.

“I am so,” he stops, kissing your skin tenderly again, hands cradling your growing bump. “So excited to meet you, little man.”

Your heart feels like it just about splits into two and you aren’t even sure why. It’s supposed to be a happy moment. You should be happy about this. Bradley feels a slight hiccup and glances up. Your eyes are filled with tears, stinging and threatening to spill out onto your cheeks.

“Hey,” Bradley says softly as he shifts up the bed and wraps his arms around you. “Hey… it’s okay. What’s wrong?”

You swallow, trying to hold in a sob that consumes your chest and strangles your vocal chords. Sniffling, you rest your head against his shoulder. “Do you wish that we weren’t having him?”

His brows scrunch together as he tries to piece together what about that interaction could have possibly given you that impression.

“Of course not! — Where’s this coming from?” He frowns, resting his cheek against the top of your head as he smooths his fingers along your back. You’re in your third trimester now, and the pregnancy websites said that your hormones might be kind of out of whack. But you got through graduation without a hitch.

It’s as the thought crosses his mind that you break in his arms. Hunching forwards, sobbing into your hands, covering your mouth so that Jake won’t hear you crying from the living room.

“Hey… did — did I say something wrong?” Bradley asks gently, face creasing in concern. He kisses your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I—“

You sniffle and shake your head. “Don’t say sorry. Please.”

“…Okay,” He smooths his palm tenderly along your spine once again, now totally lost. “Babe, I think you’re gonna have to spell it out for me here. What should I do?”

It’s not fair on him, any of this. You pull yourself together long enough to wipe your tear-stained cheeks and string together a sentence. “Just… if we could go back and do it all again, would you… do it like this?”

“I’d probably have suggested a plan B or something.”

You look up, eyes filled with tears, throat burning.

“I’m sorry, bad time for a joke,” He shakes his head quickly and kisses your forehead. “Look, we both know that this wasn’t planned. But it happened, it’s happening — and no, I don’t regret being here with you.”

You allow yourself to sink into his arms as he kisses the top of your head and squeezes you softly.

“Is everything okay with you?” His fingers graze along the nape of your neck and over your shoulder softly. “You’ve not really said a lot to me since graduation.”

He smooths his hand over your stomach, feeling another soft kick against his palm. It’s almost midnight now, he hopes that this kid isn’t going to be this much of a night owl once it’s born.

“Everything’s just moving really fast.” You say quietly as you settle back down onto your side. Bradley copies, laying on his side so that he’s facing you, his stomach pressed to yours. He nods slowly. “Jake’s leaving, and you’re starting work, and my parents still won’t talk to me. The baby doesn’t even have a name. I’m just scared.”

He leans forwards and kisses your mouth softly. “We’ll figure it out.”

A dry laugh escapes your lips, it’s a helpless thing, really. You wipe the tears from your cheeks and shake your head slowly, “How are you so chilled out about this?”

“I’m not,” He promises, voice quiet, something in the way that he looks at you so earnestly makes you soften. “I’m scared too. But we’ll figure it out.”

A silence lingers between the two of you. No more tears, no more lump in your throat, your heart rate slowing enough that you think you might actually manage to sleep tonight. Bradley leans forwards and kisses your cheek, then flicks off the bedside lamp.

You turn onto your other side and he presses himself into your back, wrapping an arm around you and resting it against your stomach. He’s been sleeping like this for the past week straight. It always settles his racing mind. Having both of you in his arms.

He’s warm. Lips press gently to your neck and he hums softly into the curve of your neck.

You exhale softly, shuffling back against his bare chest. This feels awfully grown up. Seven months pregnant, laying skin to skin, in your new shared home.

The next morning, it’s time to drive Jake to the airport. Basic training is three months long. The next time he sees you, you’ll be a mother.

“I love you,” He says softly, wrapping his arms around you. Your stomach bumps into his as you hug him. He’s still getting used to that. “I’m gonna be back before you know it.”

“I know, I know,” You breathe out, squeezing him tighter and then patting his back as you let go. “Just be safe. Don’t do anything stupid.”

…

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Jake chuckles, giving a quick shrug as he picks his bag up from the floor and slings it over his shoulder. His attention turns to Bradley. “Take care of my sister, Bradshaw.”

“Always.” Bradley answers. You turn your head and scrunch your brows slightly as you look up at him. He drapes an arm around your shoulder and offers Jake a sincere smile.

As Jake turns and heads towards his gate, the two of you are left together. Him still leaning into your side. Always. You stare at him. Flushed skin, wearing a faded grateful dead t-shirt and blue jeans, smiling at you.

Just you and him. Alone, in a new state. Him swearing always and you staying up at night and wondering if there’s even a tomorrow between the two of you.

Ten weeks left until your due date.

…

[xspeter]

could u write something for carl grimes where the reader and him reunite? set in like season 4 after carl and rick think judith had been killed. and like the reader was with judith and ran her away from danger but carl and rick didnt know until they saw them both again?

INNOCENT

carl grimes x fem!reader

you never imagined you’d be in an apocalypse at 14 years old, let alone taking care of the sister of your friend alone.

➪ thank you sm for the request!

-

“it’s okay, it’s okay, please judith- just stop crying!” you begged, doing your best to scavenge for something, anything, that was suitable for a baby to eat.

being in an apocalypse was already hard, but having to take care of a baby as well as your self in an already cruel world? it might as well have been suicide.

you could hear the walkers getting closer, five maybe ten of them? when you could hear their footsteps practically in front of you you decided to just give up on your scavenging and run.

you seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, running. you had always known the governor was dangerous, rick worried about him practically every second of the day, but you never really understood just how dangerous he really was.

that’s probably why when he finally did attack, you were anything but prepared. carl had warned you that things weren’t going to end up all sunshine and rainbows, that people were probably going to die.

you wish he was still there to knock some sense into you.

you have no idea what happened to him, really you had no idea what had happened to anyone. for all you knew everyone was dead.

you decided not to think about as you stumbled into a neighborhood. a nice neighborhood. “maybe things are looking up for us jude..” you murmured, holding the baby closer to your chest.

-

you scavenged a house, going through drawers and cabinets. it looked like mostly everything had been taken, so you decided to check the upstairs. right when you were beginning to ascend the stairs, you heard a growling coming from one of the rooms.

you took a deep breath and set judith down in the bed in front of you, pulling out your knife and rounding the corner towards the room. the door was closed, and as you looked closer at it you noticed the words written on it.

“walker got my shoe, but it couldn’t get me.”

you let out a breath as you realized whoever had said written that was probably close, and people close could mean your group.

you smiled as you ran to get judith, she seemed to notice your mood and began clapping her hands as you perched her on your hip.

running out of the house, you began to look inside each and every window. “cmon.. please be here.” you muttered as you looked in the last houses window.

there were open cans and a couch seemingly pushed against the door, and on top of the couch was… a hat.

a sheriffs hat.

“carl…” you gasped, beginning to pound on the door. you heard the sound of a couch being moved, and you did your best to make yourself atleast a little presentable.

when the door opened, you gave a sad smile to the broken man standing before you. rick seemed to be bruised all over, his hair torn in patches. “hi, rick.” you smiled as he dropped to his knees, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

you gently handed her over to him as he began to burst into tears, when you looked behind him to the boy staring at you in shock. carl. your smile seemed to get impossibly wider as he stood next to his father, tears in his own eyes.

he looked up at you, a smile on his lips. “thank you, thank you, thank you,” he repeated like a mantra as he hugged you tighter than you’ve ever been hugged before.

“it was really no problem, really!” you reassured, fighting your own tears. carl smiled as he pulled you tighter against his him.

you were finally home.

-

i hope this was okay! this was my first request like ever so i was a little stressed lol

©️ 𝐱𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫

[ponypickle]

elijah's character growth throughout the series interested me so much because in tvd season 2, he is portrayed as this unbeatable original that will always uphold his word, he does exactly that until he hears his family may be alive after which he is betrayed again. this season 2 elijah is by far my favourite, he is loyal, he is treated as a threat too big to expand upon.

in tvd season 3, we see elijah evolve into an exasterbated older brother ready for anything to impede with his luck, always annoyed by what his younger brothers and sisters are doing until he leaves the show, he is less of a mystery, he is showing how much he loves his sibling's while also how much they annoy him. but then when finn dies, his older brother, he doesn't do anything, he doesn't have a reaction, he doesn't come back to town. it shows him as a brother that places certain siblings over other, that is biased and as we see in the always and forever vow, it is reiterated that only rebekah, klaus and elijah are bound together forever.

this is then further emphasised in season 4 of tvd where kol gets murdered to complete a hunters mark and the next time elijah sees the sister of the person who killed him, he apologises TO elena for what his family has done to her, kol is dead elijah, your little brother, the one you held in your arms as a baby, the one you watched learn to walk, the one that learned magic when he was younger, the one you probably taught to use a sword, yes you can argue that it has been years since he was that brother, that he had committed mass murders of innocent people along the way. but so has elijah, they are not held to a human standard in the show and between themselves because they are vampires that have lived a lifetime worth 10 people's lifetimes. I don't believe season 2 elijah would have done nothing, he would have retaliated.

then we go into the originals season 1 where elijah has taken his always and forever concept and has decided to thrust it upon a 20 year old girl who is carrying his brothers baby, he has decided to make the baby and this girl their family and because this girl is the person carrying the baby then she needs to be protected because she is an extention of always and forever. so he finds himself fancying her, falling in love with her because she represents something, something that might indicate his family can become better people because season 1 of the originals elijah is the responsibility taker, he is always trying to overcome his sibling's, trying to take the blame for them, trying to mediate between them and because of the hope that the baby portrays he laches onto it and the mother of the child and doesn't let go

in season 2 of the originals, we see a difference of elijah with the red door being seen as a coping mechanism to block out all the back things he has done, all the ways he is like his family because he can't be that, because he need to fix his family, he can't be the problem as well. this elijah is very firmly in denial he has to see himself as better than the rest of the family so he separates himself from the mother of the child because he could turn her bad as well when she's trying to move on with her life, he turns to someone else

in season 3, we finally see elijah as he truly is unhinged, broken from the belief he had in his brother, separated from his sister and unbelieving and belittling of the adopted child his brother had brought to the family years earlier. because to elijah adopted family is not real family, he showcases this clearly stating marcel was never a mikaelson, elijah's true face behind the mask of his always and forever has come into view, a bitter old man who is so consumed with his beliefs he doesn't accept fact, because how could marcel ever be family when he didn't have their blood, this random girl who I met a year ago who is related to me by blood and is my sister, sure that's family, this brother who does nothing but betray me over and over again for the past 1000 years, that's family, this random woman who my brother knocked up and now has a kid who has my blood, that's family. but a boy who grew up in this family from the age of 10, who you saw learn to read, who you helped play the piano, that not family

in season 4, we see elijah broken, his beliefs gone, he is ruthless, the red door is finally gone, his entire bloodline dies and the evil that is killing his family uses it to resurrect themselves. he nearly let his family die last season, so he needs to show them he is worth it, he can defeat the enemies. But in the end the only way to defeat the enemy is to stay separate from his sibling's for all eternity and he can't do it if he remember them so he decided for the good of the child to forgot those that mean so much to him, those that meant a 1000 years to him, those that he killed for and swore always and forever to, he need to abandon them, forever, so he needs to forget and that he does

in season 5, he is free from all that guilt, all that responsibility, all the memories, so he is free to experience life, what he could've been, what he is now, he gets to fall in love over the 7 years when he doesn't need to consider anyone else, he is so happy in the flashback episode, always smiling, always full of hope, having experiences that he never did before because he was too busy looking after his sibling's. he finally makes decisions that aren't influenced by always and forever but by who elijah truly is. but is that correct? without always and forever, elijah is just an incomplete person, a person that doesn't have all the information but he makes his own choice without a mindset he's been inserted into for a 1000 years, you could suggest that this is the most honest version of himself because he doesn't have guilt holding him back, but he also doesn't have the people he loves in his memories if not in person. so in the end when they all come rushing back he is so guilty over what he had done and how he hadn't thought of them in those 7 years that he decides to die with the person that meant the most to him, the brother he had decided to bind himself to for 1000 year and their sisters are coming soon after, rebekah in a 100 years after taking the cure, freya in shorter time probably 50 years, with only kol surviving forevermore

he is such a deeply complex character. however, some views he holds will never be understandable to me, but that is the complexity of a character. i don't like the character of elijah past tvd but he is still one of the best written characters of tvd as a whole

[oceaneyesinla]

Reciprocal

I enjoyed writing this so much, and I desperately want a Giyuu of my own.

Warnings: Both Giyuu and Reader are implied to have mental health problems, and this does deal with bad mental health days. Take care of yourselves, everyone <3

Divider by @cafekitsune

It felt like you hadn’t seen your boyfriend in forever - the last week or two, you had communicated almost exclusively by text or call. The school year was drawing to a close, and tensions were running high with both students and teachers. Giyuu could be firm, and occasionally a little uptight about the school rules, but you knew he cared. You saw evidence of it every day - from watching him work into the night to plan lessons that would suit every student and their abilities, to accompanying him to stock up the little stash of sanitary products he kept on hand for anyone who might need them.

The end of the school year was a completely reasonable explanation for why you hadn’t seen Giyuu, but something about the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes when you video called him made you think something bigger was going on.

You had tried to check in with him as much as you could, but you couldn’t force the information out of him if he wasn’t willing to share. Giyuu always did play his cards close to his chest, never confessing how he felt, even if it was eating him alive.

So you did the next best thing - you reached out to the people he loved the most. Tsutako answered your call with a fond greeting, and filled you in on her business trip - the one you knew she was supposed to have returned from a week ago. It had been extended due to a new opportunity for the shop, she explained - and a few pieces began to fall into place.

Your next call was to Urokodaki-san, the man who had tutored you and Giyuu as children, and still took care of you to this day. Both of you made an effort to keep in touch with the old man, but he informed you that other than at work, he had barely heard from Giyuu recently. You finished the call with a promise to visit soon, once Giyuu was less occupied.

The final call was to Kanae - Giyuu’s favourite colleague, and your best friend. You could hear the worry in her voice as she told you about Giyuu’s recent retreat into himself - eating alone at lunch, avoiding his coworkers during breaks. She was apologetic as she admitted that he and Sanemi had been butting heads; petty arguments and snippy comments. You hung up the call, finally feeling like you understood where his head was at.

Your poor Giyuu. Missing his sister, whom he met up with at least once a week and texted every day. The stress of year end probably wasn’t helping, and he always ended up arguing with Sanemi when he got like this, because Giyuu never communicated well and Sanemi didn’t understand why he sometimes spiralled into self-hatred. It explained why he was isolating himself - he was overwhelmed, and didn’t feel like he deserved to seek the comfort he was likely desperate for.

You couldn’t make everything better with a snap of your fingers, as much as you wished you could. What you could do, though, was remind him that you would always be there for him to rely on, even when he felt like he didn’t deserve it.

You made the short journey to his apartment as soon as you left work, picking up the essential supplies at the konbini down the street. His front door key had adorned your keyring since he moved in, alongside the little fox mask charm he bought you back when you were still just kids with crushes. Even before you stopped pretending you weren’t head over heels for each other, you were attached at the hip.

Letting yourself in, you had a plan. First - organise all the ingredients you had bought. It was a possibility that you had gone a little overboard, and probably bought things Giyuu already had in his cupboards, but you didn’t care. You were determined to give him the most relaxing night possible, and that meant you needed to prepare his favourite meal. The ice cream was tucked away safely in the freezer for later

You quickly fell into the familiar motions of making salmon daikon. It was something you cooked on a semi-regular basis, because you were weak and the little smile it put on Giyuu’s face when he ate it was worth more than any masterpiece on Earth. His eyes would sparkle like sapphires and more than once, you caught him swinging his legs like a little child as he tucked in. You had your own fond memories of the recipe; standing next to Tsutako on a step stool so you could reach the counter, all the focus your little mind could manage on the process of making your best friend’s favourite food.

Once the cooking was done and the kitchen returned to its usual state, you moved onto your next task - setting up the couch. You had plenty of experience with looking after Giyuu when he fell into a bad spot, and you knew just what would help - so you pulled out every blanket he owned, including a couple you were sure he must have stolen from your collection when he helped you move out from Urokodaki-san’s place. Those two were both draped over his bed, and it warmed your heart as much as it broke it. Never mind. You had already decided - your boyfriend would have more than fabric to hold through the night; for the next few days at the very least.

The blankets were all tossed on the couch, and you pushed the little side table closer so you would be able to reach your drinks and snacks without having to move too much. You intended to wrap your boyfriend in blankets and cuddle him until he felt better, and you wanted as little as possible to get in the way of that.

You were just standing back to admire your handiwork when you heard a little click and the gentle swish of the front door opening. Your lips pulled up into an excited grin as you bounced down the hall, coming to a halt at the edge of the entryway and watching as your boyfriend slipped his shoes off, freezing in place as he went to tuck them away only to find a smaller pair already in situ.

“Welcome home, baby.” Ocean eyes shot up to meet yours, and widened in surprise as he bolted upright. He just stared at you, and your bright grin began to fade away the longer he stood there, unmoving and silent.

Was this a bad idea? Should you have asked him before barging into his home? Maybe he just wanted to relax alone, or maybe he didn’t feel up to putting up with you. Your hands clasped together and your fingers started playing with a little patch of dry skin as you mumbled out explanations and apologies, “I’m sorry, I should have warned you I was coming. I just wanted to do something for you, and I was missing you anyway, and I spoke to -”

Your rambling was interrupted as Giyuu suddenly jumped into action, crossing the distance and slamming into you, arms wrapping around you as he clutched you against him. His face was buried into the skin of your neck so his words were muffled, but you still made out his little, “Don’t apologise.”

Your smile came back, softer and sweeter as you stroked a gentle hand through his hair, wrapping your other arm around him just as tight as he was holding you. If you felt a couple of little drops of wetness leak onto your skin, you didn’t mention it.

You could feel him relaxing into your hold, and you turned your head to press a kiss against his temple. He released a big breath, pulling away just enough that he could see your face; still keeping you locked in his hold. The intensity in his gaze was unexpected, and before you could say anything, he blurted out, “Move in with me.”

You blinked up at him, wide smile growing on your face as you processed his words. At your nod, his lips curled up into that little smile you adored so much; the one he always wore when he was truly happy. He pulled you back in close, cradling you against his chest and rocking you a little.

A little sniff above you made you laugh, especially once you looked up and saw the little hopeful gleam in his eye, “Is that salmon daikon?”

“Of course. You deserve some comfort, baby.” He deserved the world, and he deserved to never feel like he wasn’t worth the love you freely gave him, but baby steps. You would remind him of that tomorrow, when he woke up to your loving kisses and gentle touches.

“I love you.” He leaned down to press a kiss against your lips, tears welling on his lash line, and you felt every ounce of the love he just proclaimed to you. You murmured the words in return and there was that smile again, lighting up his face and chasing away some of that lingering, bone deep sadness you knew was sitting beneath the surface.

He still looked tired, and you knew it would take more than one good night to get him through this rough patch, but as you watched him chomp on his daikon, eyes bright and legs swinging, you knew he would be okay. He was strong, and you would always be there, right by his side.

*********************

To say that work was hell would be an understatement, and an insult to Satan and his probably quite lovely home. It had to be better than your current workplace - constantly understaffed, and constantly watched over by the worst manager you had ever had the ‘pleasure’ of working under. She was always quick to catch even the most minor mistake, and had even made some of your colleagues cry. Just her presence in the office was enough to set everyone on edge, like looking up at a black cloud sky and waiting for the thunderstorm to hit, never knowing what the fallout would be.

Her attitude lately had somehow been even worse than usual, and you were her new target. Tears still threatened to spill over as you left the building, waiting to join the others drying on your cheeks. In front of everyone, she had berated you for a minor mistake in your paperwork - nothing, in comparison to what could go wrong in your job, but still unforgivable in her eyes. When rationality prevailed, you knew this - you knew what she was like, you knew how insignificant this mistake was. However, the anxiety that swirled around in your brain, haunting your every action, meant that this tiny incident had your mind working overtime. What else had you potentially missed? Could this be just the beginning, and it would turn out that you had made some other slip up, something far worse? Something that could hurt someone?

When you finally stood in front of the door to the apartment you shared with your boyfriend, you couldn’t remember how you got there. The journey was nothing but a blur. You pulled out your keys and let yourself in, wishing Giyuu was home. You knew he wouldn’t be - he called you earlier, the only bright spot in an otherwise awful day. The little smile you could hear in his voice encouraged one of your own, and he excitedly told you he was going out with his sister straight after he finished at the school.

You were almost glad he wouldn’t have to see you like this, but you selfishly wanted his comfort. You wanted strong arms wrapped around you, holding you tight against his firm chest so you could press your face into the crook of his neck and breathe in the scent of him - a mix of the sea salt soap he preferred to use and the laundry detergent you now shared; the smell of home.

Just thinking of him was making you emotional all over again, and you shook your head to try and clear it before slipping off your shoes and making your way to the kitchen. You needed to eat something, but even turning the oven on felt like too much effort. Your anxiety had faded a little, but it always left you in a weird state of disconnect - mind exhausted but your body unable to rest. 

You never made it to the kitchen, because the little table you kept in the entryway caught your eye. There was the bowl you kept your keys in, a couple of loose hair ties, the cactus Kanae gave you for your birthday (that you and Giyuu doted on like it was your firstborn). All completely normal, and not what caught your attention. There was something new, placed in the middle of the table, with a note tucked underneath the base.

It was a beautiful glass butterfly; the body was a deep blue that reminded you of the depths of Giyuu’s eyes and the open ocean on your last trip to Okinawa. On the wings, the colour blossomed outwards, fading from that deep blue to a lighter shade. It was like looking at the ocean from above, and watching the colour change as your eye wandered from the mysterious reaches of the open water to the sparkling shallows of the shoreline.

Your hands were trembling ever so slightly as you carefully extricated the handwritten note from underneath the glasswork. As you read it, those tears you worked so hard to hold in began to slip down your cheeks, but this time, they were caused by love so strong it felt like your heart was overflowing.

Saw this at the market and thought of you

Forever yours, Giyuu

He signed off every note he left you exactly like that, no matter whether it was a heartfelt confession or the weekly shopping list. The effortless sentimentality he gave to those he loved was the reason you became fast friends as children, and it was the reason you fell a little more in love with him every single day.

The gifted trinket was just another facet of his love - your shelves were littered with little offerings; gacha toys, wooden carvings, even shells collected from the sands of the beach you visited every year. Every so often, he would arrive home and place a little wrapped item in your hands, pressing a kiss to your head as his eyes greedily took in your joy. Or, like today, you would come home to a piece of paper bearing handwriting you would know anywhere, and a new bauble placed on top.

This was a regular occurrence, but something about the familiar action today was tearing you apart. You clutched the note against your chest as sobs began to escape you. You wanted Giyuu home. You wanted him home and here and wrapped around you and -

The click of the door lock made you jump, and you looked up to find your Giyuu right there in front of you, as if summoned by your desperate wish for his presence. Ocean eyes were wide as he took in what was probably a fairly troubling sight to come home to - his girlfriend, sobbing in the hallway, cheeks flush with emotion and eyes red ringed.

“Love, what’s wrong? What happened?” He practically teleported to your side, cradling your cheek with his hand and brushing away a few tears with a featherlight touch.

You tried to force out an explanation, but the way you were tripping over your words and choking on your sobs made it sound incomprehensible even to you. Giyuu was unfazed, though; just bringing up his other hand so your face was cradled in his gentle hold and your eyes had to meet his.

“Breathe with me, okay?” His voice was low and steady, and his hands were warm against your skin as you followed his directions. Deep breath in, hold, deep breath out - a pattern you were intimately familiar with, and one Giyuu had talked you through more times than you could remember. His fingertips were making soothing tracks along your hairline and slowly but surely, you began to feel calmer, your tears coming to a halt and the nauseating feeling of anxiety fading away.

Giyuu’s lips brushed over your forehead as he murmured out praises, “Good girl. Can you tell me why you’re so upset? What can I do?”

Always so eager to support you, and always oblivious to how much he did for you just by existing in your orbit. You leaned forward, resting your head against his chest and laying your hand against his ribcage, stroking over the fabric of his t-shirt and smiling to yourself at his shiver, “I love you so much.”

You could practically feel his confusion, his hand faltering in its slow sweeps up and down your back, and you pulled back to meet his gaze, smiling at the slight furrow of his brow, “You bought me a butterfly. I had an awful day, and you bought me a butterfly.”

You could see he still didn’t quite see the connection, “I saw it on the way home from the school earlier. You love butterflies; of course I bought it.”

You could feel tears building up again - all of your emotions still on high alert, “When did you even have time? I thought you were meeting up with Tsutako after work?”

“I did.” His hands had come to rest on your hips, thumbs rubbing gentle circles into the plush there, “The school closed early today. I came home to change, and drop off your butterfly before I met up with her. I wanted you to have a surprise to come home to.”

Your sweet Giyuu. Truly, you weren't sure what you had done to deserve him, but you thanked whatever stars aligned to bring the two of you together every day.

“Want to talk about your day?” You immediately shook your head at his question. You couldn't bring yourself to think back on it; not now. It still felt too fresh, and your mind still felt too overwhelmed. At your vehement reaction, he just nodded, leaning in to press his lips to yours in a soft kiss, “Okay. Go and shower; I'll cook dinner.”

Easy directions, one step at a time. On nights like these, you needed that gentle guidance, and your boyfriend was all too happy to oblige. As you followed his instructions, pulling out one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts, you could hear him clattering pots and pans. You took a deep breath, letting the sounds of your life together calm you down. 

After your shower, you padded out to the kitchen, towelling off your hair as you leaned against the doorframe to watch Giyuu work. He must have felt your gaze on his back, or heard your soft footsteps against the wood, because he looked over his shoulder, satisfied smile blooming on his face as his eyes trailed over the shirt you wore.

“Feel a little better, love?” His voice was warm and infinitely loving, and you moved forward to wrap your arms around his middle, nuzzling against his back. You did feel a little better, and between the warmth radiating from him and the smell of food all around you, you were beginning to feel sleepy and relaxed.

You yawned against him and he let out a little chuckle, patting at your hands, “Come on. Eat, then we can go cuddle in bed. There’s a new episode of that anime we’ve been watching tonight.”

That perked you up - somehow, you forgot about that. You pulled away from Giyuu, tiredness pushed to one side as you began to babble about everything you were looking forward to in the episode. When you looked back up at Giyuu, you found him watching you with a lovesick smile and warm eyes. Heat pooled in your cheeks under his loving gaze but you held his eye, meeting him with a smile of your own. The day had been horrible, but at least you would end it in Giyuu’s arms. Tomorrow, you would tell him all about your shitty manager and he would listen intently, and he would validate every irrational worried thought in your mind, and it would be okay. It always would be, as long as you had him in your corner when the world felt too scary and too overwhelming to manage alone.

[sanjisblackasswife]

I’m currently in my first watch through of one piece and got to /that part/ in marineford with Ace 😢💔 I’m heartbroken! Could I request some Ace fluff please? Maybe Ace finding out his crush actually likes him back? He talks about not deserving love/to even be born but that man deserves the world! I love him so much 😫

A/N: I remember almost a year ago my best friend told me she was finally starting her One Piece journey and after I think the first month or so I asked her who was her favorite so far and she said Ace and I immediately laughed….good times. ANYWAYS THO—Enjoy!

Ace Finding Out You Like Him Back(FLUFF)

Black Fem Reader in Mind

WC: 1.2k

CW: Very Fluff, Confessing, Kissing, Not proofread yet

He has had a crush on you since the day y’all met , but he didn’t realize how much he liked you until Marco pointed it out

“I DO NOT?!”

“Then why do you blush so much when you talk about her?”

He wanted to be in denial about it so much solely because he knew you couldn’t like him back. He never had much luck with ladies in his life.

Sure they flirted with him, and he had his small fair share of one night stands, but he never felt satisfied. He was curious at one point what it would be like to be with a partner that would love him for him, but alas he just pushed those feelings aside until he met you

You were so funny, and charming, and sweet to those around you. You even were like a mother/big sister to those you barely met when you both were out adventuring together.

You two became as thick as thieves, where ever you were he was and vice versa.

Ace developed feelings for you a few months after getting to know you, but it wasn’t until it got outted by his big brother that now he’s very awkward around you.

Ace became difficult to act normal around you and as much as he hated it he wanted to prevent you from finding out his feelings towards you

It’s been 2 weeks he has been trying to keep distance and you immediately noticed. You both now eat at different times. Ace is gone when you’re awake and there on w the ship while you sleep. It sucked because you assumed you probably made him mad somehow

Marco (and everybody on the MD) notices your slump mood and asks what’s wrong. You of course only confide to your big brother and Marco slaps the hell out of Ace for it because wtf is his problem ignoring you for almost a whole month for no reason

“GO TALK TO HER, MAN? She is miserable without you!”

Hearing the bad news about how his actions effected you made his heart sink. He would never EVER try to purposely hurt you, he didn’t really know how to properly express himself and just tell you the truth so here is now, in front of your room door pacing back and fourth fiddling his fingers.

“I like you, Y/n’— no that’s too direct—‘We should go out sometime’—-too desperate….—‘You’re so beautiful let’s date.’…..maybe—-“

His thoughts were thrown out when you opened the door, you must have been napping because you looked drowsy, you were wearing some shorts and one of his old shirts hanging off your shoulder.

“Oh…hey Ace…” you yawned wiping your eyes, you always looked so cute and cuddly to him when you first wake up.

He missed you so much and didn’t even realize it until he seen you again.

“Come in…it’s cold…” You moved back to let him enter, he took off his hat and inched his way inside as you closed the door, biting his lip contemplating what he should say next,

“What um—-“

“I’m sorry!” Was all Ace could muster up as he bowed in front of you, “ I’m so sorry I’ve been avoiding you! I didn’t realize how badly I was treating you until Marco told me. I’m…Y/N I’m so sorry…”

You were startled at the sudden apology from him, it’s not like you were mad at him, but you’d be lying to say it didn’t hurt you a little you both weren’t hanging out as much anymore. You seen his troubled face still bowing and you walk over to him to grab and hug around his neck, you missed his smell and warmth so much.

“Y/n—“

“I missed you, dummy…”

Ace’s eyes grew wide, hearing those sincere words come from you made him blush, and his heart pound. “Now,” He thought, “Tell her now…”

“You’re okay though right? You didn’t avoid me because I made you mad?”

“No!” He immediately shook his head looking down at you, fisting your his shirt tightly. “No you could never make me mad Y/N! You—you um…fuck…”

Ace was defeated he pulled away scratching his head to sit on the edge of your bed, you were confused. What’s up with him? You sat beside him, he looked as deflated as he was when you first met him,

You and Marco seen him sitting on the MB crouched down with his face in his knees after being thrown by WB all day once again.

“Y/N…I been avoiding you because…I…”

Ace grown frustrated with himself, you pretty eyes not leaving his when you speak, the amount of worry in your face, you were so beautiful in his eyes, it crushed his pride knowing he couldn’t speak to you so carefree anymore, because he knew if you rejected him. There would be no way he could rekindle your friendship with him.

“Ace..” you pulled his cheeks to look back at you, your thumb rubbed over his small freckles on his face, leaning into your touch like a cat you smile warmly at him. “Talk to me….what’s been going on?”

He sighs, grabbing your wrist to lower them he mutters, “Hypothetically speaking… Have you ever liked someone Y/N?”

“Oh…um…yeah I have.”

“Do you like someone now?….hypothetically…”

“Well hypothetically …Yeah. I do.”

Ace heart sank. Of course you do. You noticed his face frowning and you giggle to Ace’s dismay he’s a bit annoyed by it.

“What’s funny?”

“You, dummy.”

“How?”

“Because…hypothetically speaking ….what if I told you I liked…a guy…and he was very sweet…strong…funny…Lowkey a hot head….can’t express his feelings for crap…oh…and he’s my best friend.”

“You like your best friend?! Who is that?!”

Your lit up eyes lowered to dumbfounded, you tilt your head and scoff playfully.

“Ace be so forreal right now…”

“I AM WH—OH!”

“OH!” You mocked and laugh. “You dummy. Or are we not best friends?!”

“NO NO WE ARE WE ARE —I—I um…I didn’t know you felt that way….why?”

“What you mean why? You’re Ace! I adore you! You get me! You’re …you’re like…I don’t know…I just…really like you… probably even more than that…”

Ace couldn’t even begin to believe what he was hearing, maybe you were playing a prank because he hurt your feelings, “No seriously, Y/n..”

“I am serious! Ace I know…I know…about…not feeling worthy of love…but…if anybody else besides your brothers don’t show you it…I will…because I do love you….Ace…”

You could see his eyes gloss with tears, cheeks red as his necklace, as much as you could tease him instead you pull him by his neck to peck his lips lightly,

“I do love you, Ace.” You repeat on his lips to make sure he knows. The last thing you would ever do it play with his emotions like that.

Ace let out an airy chuckle before kissing you again, this time more firmly, holding you close as if your were ganna disappear in thin air.

“I…I love you, too….I’m sorry I—“

“Mmmhm NO more apologies just kiss me your lips are very soft and warm.”

Ace laughed at your kisses, pulling you on top of him not wanting to let go. His heart felt so warm feeling you, this was probably the first time in a long time he had a genuine smile across his face.

“Thank you for loving me, y/n..”

“Thank you allowing me to love you.”

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: another little focus on dad drei! no worries, we’re moving on to some smut and the early years of the relationship with the next few fics lol. hahah i literally did not think this would be done today but work was quiet so i got to write and post and be the superstitious bitch that i am. so here we go, posting right before i watch the isles/caps game (on tv this time). i love love love the headcanon prompts and i will 100% be getting to all of them at some point, so be on the lookout 🥰

word count: 2.3k

tw: nothing really, a little innuendo

summary: andrei took care of all four kids while you were out and you come home to delightful chaos

“Hey, Nykki, I’m at the door, I have to go,” you wedge your phone in between your shoulder and cheek and juggle your bags. “I hope D’s awake because my boobs are ready to explode.”

Your friend laughs on the other end of the line, “oh my god, better get inside then. I’ll talk to you later about coordinating the kids for game day this week.”

“Perfect! I know I said I wasn’t going to, but I’ll probably bring D along, like it’s just easier to strap him to my chest and go,” you shrug as you push the front door open. “Fourth kid problems, just have to come along everywhere. Thank god he sleeps anywhere.”

Nykki wishes her own youngest would sleep anywhere and says good-bye, promising to text later about the plans. You slide your phone into the back pocket of your jeans and step inside the house, immediately hit with the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid. The movie is blaring, echoing around the house. You set your bags on the floor and kick off your sneakers and pad into the den, the source of the movie’s noise.

The movie’s playing on the big screen TV, Ariel singing about wanting to be where the people are, and your husband and kids are sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. You giggle, muffling the noise behind your hand, when you get a good look at Andrei and the kids. The girls are in full princess regalia - Evie as Sleeping Beauty, Alina as Belle, and Kira as Rapunzel - the costume dresses swishing around as they move. Andrei has two pairs of fairy wings strapped to his back, the elastic armholes stretched to their limits. Dimitri is in his arms, draped face down over one of Andrei’s forearms, his little cheek squished to the side against the crook of Andrei’s elbow. You can see that the three-month-old is awake, watching his crazy big sisters dance around.

“Looks like I missed quite the party,” you tease, drawing four pairs of eyes to you. Andrei grins and you can’t stop the laughter that escapes when you see the smears of kid make-up all over his face. There are butterfly clips in his hair, holding back the overgrown strands in a haphazard style.

“Mommy!” Three little voices combine into one as they rush you, hugging at your legs.

“Hi, my little loves,” you lift Kira onto your hip and kiss the two older girls on top of their heads. “Did you have fun with Daddy?”

“Daddy’s pretty,” Kira chips, smiling widely. Andrei laughs, adjusting Dimitri in his arms.

You smile a crinkle-eyed smile at Kira and agree, “Daddy’s really pretty.”

Evie pipes up, “he came to the salon today and got the works!” You smother a laugh because where did she even hear that?

“He needs to look pretty because he’s got a date tonight,” Alina chimes in and you lift an eyebrow at your husband and kids.

“Oh, a big date, huh?” You tease. “She must be someone special, for you to go to the salon for the works.”

Andrei nods, the glittery eyeshadow smeared across the top half of his face catching the light, “the most special. She’s the love of my life.”

Your stomach flutters with butterflies, still affected by this man after all these years. Just when you think you can’t love him more, you come home to this sight, Andrei with your babies surrounding him and being the best dad in the world. Tears well up in your eyes and you wonder if the postpartum hormones are still wreaking havoc. You wipe at your eyes with the side of your index finger and grin. “Well,” you pause, still emotional, “I think she’s just going to love what your stylists have done.”

“Mommy,” Evie whispers, looking at you like she feels bad that you’re so dumb, “Daddy’s date is you!”

“Oh!” You fake gasp, making Kira giggle. “Really? You guys got Daddy all fancied up for me?”

Alina cracks up, dancing around the couch cushions that have somehow ended up on the floor. “Daddy says that he’s takin’ you to dinner tonight and me an’ Evie said we needed to make him pretty ‘cause you get pretty before dinner. I did his yipstick!”

You love the way she mispronounces words and have basically forbidden anyone from correcting her. “I love his yipstick,” you tell her seriously. The hot pink smudged all around his lips is probably going to stain his face and beard, but he puckers his lips at you, making kissing noises.

“Tell Mommy that she should kiss me,” Andrei says. “I’ll share the yipstick with her.”

Alina’s mispronunciation in his accent makes you laugh and the girls tug at your hands, chanting “kiss Daddy! Kiss Daddy!” Unable to resist your kids and the prospect of an Andrei kiss, you lean down, holding Kira with one arm and cupping Andrei’s cheek with the other hand so you can kiss him chastely. One of his hands reaches out to curl around your thigh, squeezing gently. He laughs when you pull back, “hot pink is your color.”

“Mommy’s pretty now!” Kira giggles, patting your cheek. You press a smacking kiss to her cheek, blowing a little raspberry and she shrieks with laughter. There’s a hot pink smudge on her cheek now too.

Andrei looks between you and Kira and his eyes twinkle with mischief. “I think that Ev and Alya need some yipstick too,” he says and reaches out with his free hand to pull Evie in close. He kisses her cheeks and forehead, making her laugh, and getting kiss marks on her skin.

You do the same to Alina, who struggles and fights like she’s fighting for her life. Her laughter is the only sign that she’s enjoying the kiss attack. “No, Mommy! No more kisses!” She wiggles away from you, grinning her little gap-toothed smile. You love that little smile.

Dimitri babbles in Andrei’s arms and you feel bad because you had almost forgotten about him while you were teasing Andrei - that seems to be a negative of being the fourth kid. But now that he’s made his presence known, your overly-full boobs ache a little and you remember exactly what you needed to do when you came inside, before you were distracted by Andrei’s makeover. You settle Kira on the couch and she immediately slides off to run after her big sisters where they’re performing a little show in front of the TV, giving you and Andrei a minute to breathe.

“Give me my baby,” you say. Andrei hands him over and gets to his feet, shaking out the arm that Dimitri had been resting on. He struggles to get his arms out of the fairy wings, getting tangled in the two pairs for a second before finally freeing himself. He folds them carefully and sets the costume pieces on the couch. You cuddle the baby close and shift him to one arm so you can pull down the neck of your shoulder and pop one boob out of the top of your bra. Once Dimitri is comfortably latched, you head for the kitchen, needing just a little privacy because the girls are way too honest with what they see around the house. You’re not really looking for a commentary on your pancake boobs right now.

“Feeling a little more steady?” Andrei asks quietly, kissing the top of your head when you sit down on one of the counter stools. He moves around the kitchen easily, making you a turkey and cheese sandwich as you talk.

“Mhm,” you hum, watching him move. After an overwhelming few days with Andrei on the road, he’d noticed that you were short-tempered this morning and ushered you out the door, reassuring you that he would handle the kids for a few hours while you did whatever you wanted. “I needed to get out of the house without eight little hands attached to me.” You chuckle a little, but the sensation of being touched out is definitely a real thing.

“Good,” he says, licking the mustard off the butter knife when he’s done with it. You hate that habit of his - one day he’s going to slice his tongue off and then where will you both be? “You look calmer.”

You shrug a bit. “Looks like you had everything handled,” you say and it’s not even a tease, because the house has definitely looked worse when it’s just you and the kids.

Andrei sets the sandwich in front of you and you take a huge bite, starving. “I ran them around outside for a bit,” he says. “The play set got a lot of use and Alina tried to swing herself to the moon. Dimka was getting cranky out in the cold though, so we came inside, had some lunch. The girls wanted to watch a movie and Evie wanted me to paint her nails. Which turned into this,” he grins, gesturing vaguely at his face and hair with one hand.

“I really like that,” you reply, waving your free hand in front of his face in the same vague gesture. “And what’s that I heard about taking Mommy on a date, Mister Svechnikov?”

His eyes twinkle dangerously and he leans forward, palms flat on the counter, veins in his forearms bulging. The glittery makeup and hair clips really should ruin the image, but only add to his appeal. “Daddy,” his voice deepens and grows raspy, “wants to take care of Mommy and show her how much he appreciates everything she does for the family.”

Your thighs clench together instinctively, a rush of warmth filling your body. Your cheeks heat up and you chew on your lower lip. “I like the sound of that,” you whisper, casting a glance over your shoulder at the girls. They’re totally absorbed in the movie, little mouths hanging open and eyes wide and focused.

Andrei smirks at you, cradling your jaw in one hand and titling your chin up so he can lean down and kiss you. His tongue swipes over your bottom lip and your mouth falls open for him. His thumb and index finger tighten around your chin gently and you squirm in your seat, letting out a soft gasp. Dimitri stabs at your chest with those sharp baby fingernails and you yelp, pulling back. “Ow,” you grumble, squinting down at the baby. It’s not like he was getting squished in between the two of you.

“Spoilsport,” Andrei jokes, brushing the tip of his finger over the slope of the baby’s nose. Dimitri wrinkles his nose and his mouth falls off your breast with a little pop. “Whoops,” Andrei winces and you quickly shuffle around, switching him to the other boob before he can start to cry.

“Crisis averted,” you sigh at the relief of the baby eating. Your breasts already feel less achy. “So, where are we going on this date?”

Andrei helps you get your other breast back in your bra, taking an extra few seconds to fondle you, your sensitive nipples reacting to the touch of his fingers. “I thought the new Greek place downtown,” he says.

“That sounds like a fantastic plan,” you grin, already thinking of how delicious the food is going to be. A thought occurs to you. “Who’s watching the kids?”

“Marty and Nykki,” Andrei replies, a smug smile frown on your face when he sees the implication dawn on your face.

“You had this planned? Nykki didn’t say anything when I was talking to her earlier!” You laugh at the surprise. “They’re going to watch our four and their two?”

Andrei nods. “I asked them two days ago and they’re happy to chip in. Half the kids should be asleep by the time they get here anyway,” he leans in to kiss you sweetly. “I told you, solnyshka, I want to show you how much I appreciate the sacrifice you make during the season. A little planning ahead is nothing.”

“Drei,” your voice catches on emotion, “you’re the best husband. Honestly, what did I do to deserve you?”

“You’re just you,” he replies simply. “My best friend, love of my life, mother to the best kids in the world.”

“Stop it,” you cry, waving a hand at him. “I just stopped feeling like I’m going to cry at everything. Don’t be so sweet to me.”

He laughs and grabs your hand out of the air, squeezing your hand gently before kissing the tips of your fingers. “Would it help if I said I wanted to get you pregnant again soon?” His smile is cheeky and you know he’s not entirely joking.

You scoff, wiping at the last of your tears. “Yes, that does help, you lunatic neanderthal,” you deadpan.

“I’m not kidding,” he says. “I think the boys are outnumbered here, Dimka needs a brother.” He traces the tip of his index finger over the lines on your palm.

It is something you’ve wondered about, but not really discussed, whether Andrei would want to give your son a little brother. It’s not an entirely terrible thought. The Svechnikov Brothers, 2.0. Splitting time watching hockey in two different cities in another eighteen years. Following in Dad and Uncle Geno’s footsteps.

You shake your head. Nope, that has to be the baby hormones talking.

“Let’s see just how good dinner is and then we’ll talk,” you say faintly. Dimitri grumbles in your arms, done eating and ready to be burped. Andrei takes him while you fix yourself up and he knows exactly what he’s doing - displaying extreme paternal expertise and looking downright edible with the tiny baby in his arms. Damn him.

“Mommy! Alina said a bad word!”

“I did not! All I said was stupid head! That’s not a bad word! Evie’s a bad word!”

You look at Andrei with a raised eyebrow. “You want to add a fifth kid to this?”

“Why not?” He grins back, showing off his stupid dimple. “We make cute kids.”

“Alina,” you call back, shaking your head at Andrei and trying to tamp down a smile, “stupid head is not a nice word and it’s especially not nice to call your sisters stupid.”

[justsomeno1s]

ISAT x LobCorp AU: Bonnie the Abno, and the Nuggets!

No, I'm not mentioning the Abno Ideas in the comments of the first one- Still ahead of where my irl friend and I am in game, so will leave it until then. Apologies!

As with before, Ideas under Read More due to general length:

Bonnie

S-04-112, Cast Aside Iron, Non-Breaching "Tool"

The Cast Aside Iron is a cast iron frying pan that is 'possessed' by Bonnie. They are fully sentient and conscious of whats going on around them, but are incapable of moving on their own (Which they HATE! They're an active kid, and not even being able to sate basic needs would drive anyone insane)

When the pan is held by someone, Bonnie is immediately capable of speaking to the wielder. The longer the pan is held, the more they can do- As time goes on, Bonnie gains first influence, then control, over the wielder's body. Essentially, Bonnie possesses whoever uses their frying pan for too long.

This process of possession leaves the wielder's mind distant and floaty, almost in a dreamlike state. As such, employees with low Temperance and Prudence would be far more easily possessed. The body also slowly stops perciving pain, allowing Bonnie to push it well beyond its physical limits.

What makes the possession bad? Well, when Bonnie's been possessing a body for too long, they get a little desperate to keep it. In their attempt to not be left in a room for who-knows-how-long, they force the body to try and eat the frying pan. Needless to say, this kills the body brutally.

(They figure that a metal frying won't be, like, dissolved by stomach acids, and that would keep the pan in contact with the body forever! Only problem is that they dont really account for the impossibility of eating a metal pan the size of your head without breaking either pan or head)

Despite retaining all memories from prior repositories, Bonnie doesn't really want to destroy the facility, or cause any trouble. They just want a body and their family back! Especially Petronille. But no one remembers...

Hoo boy, this kid remembers a lot at the back of their mind. With some prompting, they'd be able to remember just about everything about LobCorp. (Odile takes advantage of this constantly- Bonnie is happy to just have someone who sticks around.)

Bonnie wasn't cursed or transformed or anything. They were born as a tiny metal spoon, and slowly grew into a pan over the years- Yeahh, they're just like that. Petronille is their actual blood sister. On that note, Bonnie's Pan does actually have blood in a wafer thin layer hidden in the metal.

In a story based setting, Bonnie doesn't try to take over their Family. Odile, Mirabelle, Isabeau, Petronille, and Siffrin (when he was an employee) were all safe from the "eating the pan" thing [Siffrin as an Abno would do the same thing, including not attacking anyone with Bonnie's Pan]

EMPLOYEE TIME!!

Mirabelle

A Nugget working under Hod in the Training Department. As other trainees come and go, Mirabelle ends up sticking around, always trying to learn and perfect more. About half the time, Mira ends up becoming the Training Team Captain, both through seniority and skill. Always happy to help out new Nuggets- She's often sent to wait outside containment units, just incase someone panics.

Mira speciallizes in Justice and Temperance, though she typically ends up pretty well rounded.

Almost always uses White damage weapons, with her most prefered being The Sword Sharpened With Tears and Moonlight.

Her favorite Abnormality to work on is probably Knight of Despair, and her least favorites are definitly Silent Orchestra and Alriune. (She doesn't want to get a bad grade in Abnormalities /ref But fr, she hates the idea of her mistakes causing other people trouble/suffering.)

Isabeau

Isabeau is a Nugget that does a bit of everything. Never a captain, but not for lack of ability. He's always bouncing from one deparment to the next. No particular opinions on the Sephirot.

Isa is best with Fortitude, with Prudence and Justice tied for second best. His Attack Speed is notably higher than his movement, too.

Isa likes close range stuff- If he could, he'd use Gold Rush, absolutely. Probably wouldn't mind going to Support with Whote damage, either, but he's not touching Wristcutter. (It makes him feel sick, somehow)

Likes working on Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary [Imo, her Instinct work can include sparring], Dislikes working on Funeral of Dead Butterflies (Sympathizes, but also wants self and family to live), Spider Bud (he cant help them) and Bloodbath (he can't help them-)

Odile

A highly skilled Nugget sent wherever she's needed. She's often based in Lower Central, much to her dismay. Her poor old legs hate all her walking.

Specializes in Pruedence and Temperance, low Justice. (cause slow)

I want to give her In the Name of Love and Hate, b/c the mental image is hilarious and the damage type changes is surprisingly accurate. But, tbh, she'd prolly have long range, low movement weaponry. Like, y'know how Sound of a Star/Feather of Honor doesn't swing the weapon, but just holds their hand out and attacks like that? Something like that- Maybe a gun, also for humor factor.

Likes the Plague Doctor (I feel she'd like like the religous/theological discussions she'd have with them) and maybe Burrowing Heaven (Its a challenge to write and observe at the same time, and I feel she might enjoy the difficulty?) Used to like The Snow Queen, but after being frozen once, she became much more cautious. Dislikes working on The Queen of Hatred (Just vibes), Child of the Galaxy and Laetitia (Not a fan of the possessive/"I am your main focus" types)

Will equip Cast Aside Iron quite often, as Bonnie is very careful not to hurt her and has a lot of information about things.

Petronille

Petronille is a mid ranking Nugget, prolly a part of Safety.

Low Temperance, high Fortitude and Justice.

Uses Slow, Close-Range weapons. Think hammers/clubs.

Unsure of Likes or Dislikes- Hates the ordeals, tho. Like, beyond normal. If she even sees a clown, Change help her. Also hates the Sweepers.

Actually Boniface's sister, Same parents and all. They're just an Abnormality and she's not. Originally ran away from home with Bonnie because she was afraid their parents would sell/hurt Bonnie, and kept running because of the Backstreets being Like That(tm). Eventually found and caught by LobCorp. She tried her best to protect Bonnie, even still, but when LobCorp went back to day 1, she forgot everything, even as Bonnie remembered.

[lgwifey]

DELUSIONS

Robert Keating x fem!Hewson!reader

Elijah Hewson x sister!reader

Summary : No matter what he movies say, falling for your brother's mate never turns out well.

MASTERLIST

PART TWO

2015

Electric guitars and drum kits echoed through the house from the garage.

The noise was driving her close to insanity and the blackout headphones where no match for Eli's amps.

Soon the fourteen year old found herself storming down the stairs of the currently empty house, temper raging as the black earphones swing from the jack of her iphone.

She slid across the laminated wood floor, grabbing onto the kitchen island to stop her from falling.

Without a warning, the chipped painted door was swung open and smacked against the wall.

"Will you shut the fuck up !"

The four band members turned to face the comosion only to ignore it when they found the source to be Elijah's little sister.

"Fuck off y/n, we're tryna practice."

"Well practice somewhere else, i'm tryna do my homework."

The group of teenage lads gave small laughs at her statement, the vocalist ending up walking over to her and basically dragging her out of the cold room. On the other side of the door she could hear the locks and voices muttering her name, causing her face to flush pink and her ears to start burning.

God, that was embarrassing

2022

"Yeah, well we're all so proud of the lads and how well they've all done."

Y/n stood beside her dad as an interviewer on the other side of the red carpet's wall listed off questions. She wobbled her ankles as a time passer, the platformed adidas almost tippling her over before she landed flat again. The calf length navy blue dress was gorgeous but uncomfortable and she had to make sure she was careful since the material was so delicate and the split up her leg was unusually frayable.

Eventually she was allowed to move on to the meter infront before she was stopped again by some other journalist. After a few more questions about the awards her brother was up for that night, y/n tapped her dad on the shoulder and muttered that she was going over to the outdoors bar where she'd spotted Anais.

"Throw me off a bridge will you."

The blonde spun around with a confused face, before realising the voice belonged to y/n. 

"What's happened now ?"

She handed the younger girl a glass with some blend Issac had ordered.

"Nothing, that's the whole problem."

"Dragon fruit still being oblivious ?"

"Of course he is."

"What about Pineapple, how's that working out ? He seemed really nice." 

"Leaving me on read."

Anais gave her a sympathetic smile before the pair noticed Issacs completely puzzled expression.

"I'm not even going to ask."

After the group was giving the suggestion by a member of bar staff to leave, probably so they could serve someone else, Anais spent the short stroll slagging off y/n past situationships. That's what Eli walked into when he appeared beside the model and his sister.

"-I mean look at you! You're a queen and he's just some scummy little rat who probably doesn't know how to work a shower."

"When is your annual wash due y/n ?"

Upon sight of her older brother, y/n just rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Oh you should become a comedian Elijah."

"I know."

She gave a half arsed sarcastic smile before quickly saying byes to Issac and Anais, and sweetly flipping her brother off. Her dad had passed her and was already sat at their designated table, y/n could only pray that she wasn't stuck with her brother and his friends for the entire awards show.

When she noticed the table having Inhaler's label sat there, she decided that her smpty snapchat was suddenly very intetesting, especially when after a couple of minutes Bobby Keating sat down in the seat beside her.

Her jaw tensed and the blonde Anais Gallagher bimoji was swiped onto chat.

DRAGONFRUIT SAT NEXT TO ME !!!!! BABES ! HELP ! 

When y/n noticed the blonde a few tables away was busy caught up in conversation with some of her other friemds, she contemplated writing on a name card and flying it across to her in a little makeshift paper airoplane.

Before she could magic up a pen, a hand was waved infront of her face.

"Y/n ?"

Her eyes drifted over to where the brunette mulleted man was sat, slightly slouched, with a smile playing on his lips.

"Aw, there you are, you where staring off again. "

It took everything in her not to go big bug eyed and faint at his words. He gave a small smile at her smile before turning to join Josh and Ryan's conversation. As the bass player did so, y/n's phone lit up, the girl's homescreen being slightly covered by the "anais is typing..." snapchat notification.

I just saw that entire interaction and i'm thinking a celestial wedding theme is it. Right so i saw it on pinterest the other day [...]

As much as y/n loved her hypewoman, Anais really just encouraged the girl's delusions of Robert Keating actually liking her in the slightest.

[sol-arise0]

I WILL WRITE TO ALL CUSTOMERS MYSELF WITHIN A WEEK.

(With a detailed text of what happened to me and what we will do next...)

Thank you in advance, if you can read this to the end, there will be a lot of letters about my feelings that I have always held back. But I no longer have the strength to remain silent.

Now there will be a long post about why for more than a year I behaved badly on social networks, practically not posting art. Some of my subscribers have probably seen posts that I had to have two operations (one was on my stomach in 2022, the second on my eye in 2023, and unfortunately both times fell in February, on the eve of my birthday) Now, looking at the past, I understand that this there were the clearest hints that I was mentally ill back then. Because the doctors in both cases said that the reason could be stress, which caused an exacerbation. But it just so happens that I live in a family where we BASICALLY DON'T TALK ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS, essentially downplaying that, wow, it turns out it can be bad mentally, not just physically?

In addition, I am the daughter of my father, whom my whole family sincerely despises for leaving my mother with debts so HUGE that she has been paying them off for 20+ years. I think you understand why my mother feels negative emotions towards me, putting pressure on me, trying to change me. Unfortunately, I now realize that she didn't do any better. For this reason, in the late spring of 2023, I moved into my sister's apartment, during her absence, to keep an eye on it. And feeling that no one is pushing you, how you talk, walk, sleep, eat, that you don't have a boyfriend, you look terrible and other things - it was easier for me. So it turned out that when my sister returned from vacation, I asked her to stay for another while. And well, in short, it was both a good and a terrible time.

In a nutshell, I was working through my problems, and the second dragged myself to the bottom. Of course, because I expected🥹👍 that I would take up painting seriously, working for money🤌, no one would touch me, (I was always a "housewife" in the family house, because we could not hire special people, so to help my mother, I did all the work around the house, garden, and even I helped with the documentation, although I am very inattentive.)

Living with my sister, I realized that all my expectations would crack against mine... Apathy? I don't know what to call this period, but I was just basically a vegetable. I didn't want anything. I got into debt because of this, I couldn't get a job, and drawing made my hands tremble because I had commission that I couldn't finish. And so it turned out to be an endless circle of lack of money and despair - I couldn't finish art cmm, so I couldn't take new ones out of shame, I couldn't get a job, because I didn't even have the strength to go out for a walk. So it turned out that every day I ate kefir with a little bread, because I saved my expenses up to 2.5-3 dollars a day.

Seriously, if my sister hadn't fed me from time to time, I would have gone back AGAIN to the hospital. I understood that everything was going wrong, that it was abnormal, why it turned out that I was so weak, incapable, and more.

And so, we come to the end of the story. I returned to my parents' house because we had earthquakes from winter to mid-spring, and living on the 12th floor you only think about a quick death.:"") I'm going through this mini home hell again, because it's even more fun! My stepfather and mother converted to Islam. Completely. And you probably know that painting, music, open clothes and other things are considered forbidden/sin there. Well, if I used to be neutral about religion, now I'm really AFRAID of it. That one day I will still get caught on gayshit, which drawings I am working on, and I will be beaten like poor girls in Islamic countries. What adds a spark to the situation is that they know what I'm roughly called on social networks (also my older sister, with whom I have smtm conflicts, again fuckin religion!!, SHE IS SUBSCRIBED TO MY INSTA, AND I CAN'T DELETE HER BECAUSE SHE'S A FOOL HAS SEVERAL ACCOUNTS THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT) so I think in the near future either to move accounts (insta).

In short, I'm just tired of hating everything and everyone, crying and getting angry, constantly holding back emotions so as not to conflict with my family. Because I know what the hell we've all been through together, that's why I've put up with everything before. And it did me harm, because my creative nature is ready to die from my fears, pain, mood swings and constant pressure. Against this background, I asked a friend to give me a discount so that I could make an appointment with a psychologist at least once (I'm still terribly ashamed, but I hope in the future I'll pay for everything) And she was told that there is a damn suspicion of ADHD!!!! But to prove it, i need to go to a therapist, and this is tantamount to being branded crazy... after all, there are no mental problems unless you have schizophrenia.👍

That's why I'm writing this post. I am sad that I wake up every day thinking that it would be nice to die, and other apathetic thoughts. Now I have to decide to close it all. All debts to customers, all debts to myself, because I know that I am an unloved daughter who knows how to love everyone except herself. Because now, I know that damn it, yes I, yes I'm not talented like my siblings and peers, but I'm good in my own way. It's a shame that it took me more than 10 years of my life and a year of starvation and despair as an insolvent person to understand that I need to mentally support myself, and not shoot myself in the foot with all these nagging and discontent.

That's why I share my plan with the world, because I know that I need support, help, and that it's not a shame to talk about myself and my problems.

- First, i will close my $2,000 debt.

- The second is to set aside at least $1,000 for a deposit for future housing.

- The third and most important thing is to release a project called "ResinRays". This is a large-scale world that was born a long time ago, but was resurrected thanks to a friend who supported me.

Overall, thanks to all my friends, if they didn't tolerate my tantrums, then maybe... I wouldn't write this now. That's why I love them!! 🥹🙏😭💖💖💖

If you have read up to this point, then thank you very much for that!!! It's damn important for me to know that there are those who are willing to at least support me like that! I will be glad to establish contacts and draw again, because let the AI assholes go who think they will kill the creative potential of artists!

[thelightsandtheroses]

Call It What You Want: Chapter 2 - let me put my lips to something

Pairing: Frankie Morales x female reader (she’s Tom Davis’ half-sister, however there are no physical descriptions)

Summary: Tom Davis’ younger half-sister never expected to move back to Florida, but eight months after her brother’s untimely death and in the wake of her, in hindsight, ill-advised marriage ending, here she is. Frankie Morales is trying to get it together after his relapse on returning to Florida led to the breakdown of his relationship. His priorities now are finding his own place so he doesn’t need to sleep on Pope’s couch, maintaining sobriety, spending more time with his daughter and getting his pilot’s licence back. So when the two of them end up sharing an apartment, it seems like the ideal solution. However, things are never that simple, are they?

Chapter Warnings: Minors DNI (18+ only), language, discussions of drug abuse and addiction, allusions to a previously abusive relationship (not detailed or specified), discussions of death, PTSD.

Notes – thanks for your patience with this one. The chapter title is from Eat Your Young by Hozier.

Word Count: 4.8 k

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Frankie

Frankie curls his hands around the paper cup, his feet tapping the floor.  He’s been thinking about flying again.

It’s been more than nine months since he flew last and he’s not even sure if he should count Colombia. If the helicopter crashes and everything turns to shit, are those miles you want to log?

If he’d just been firmer, if he’d realised Tom was lost in dollar bills and they were all heading the same way. He was the one who’d been to flight school, he knew the weight was a problem.

He could have stopped it.

He could have been slower to the trigger; he could have done it all differently.

No.

No, this was spiralling. This isn’t healthy. Frankie straightens in his chair, takes a deep breath.

If he was more like Will, he’d probably know exactly what number NA meeting this was now. Whatever number it is, it’s too many.

The meeting finally draws to a close. Finally!

Frankie is not sharing today. He has, in the past, but it’s been carefully selected. Frankie offers a creative reimagining of his relapse that removes all criminal liability from the events of the past year, to protect the people he has left. Besides, how would he even start to explain what had happened to anyone who wasn’t there?

It’s frustrating sometimes. He hears people share about terrible childhoods and difficult upbringings and all these things that somehow don’t legitimatise addiction but explain it.

Frankie Morales grew up with loving, if a little stifling, parents and no deep dark childhood trauma. He supposes the army is where it all started to change.

What a fucking cliche.

Maybe you can never really come back from who they make you. He thinks of Will’s paid speeches, of the way he just owns the fact they’ve been trained to manipulate, assess, take your emotions out of the equation. They don’t die though; they just get locked away and weigh heavier and heavier.

Frankie understands how the meetings help him overall, why they’re important but sometimes they don’t work. Sometimes all they do is make him feel like he shouldn’t be there, or they pull his weaknesses out in front of him like teeth with pliers. It’s bloody, painful, unnecessary. Every one of his ghosts will sit in the room with him on those days, silently judging.

Frankie takes a deep breath, shuts his eyes, and tries to pay attention to the rest of the meeting.

Frankie pushes Gaby on the swing further, waving at Santiago as he approaches.

The meeting this morning was rough, but Frankie’s already feeling better. He has his daughter with him gleefully smiling and laughing in the playground. He has one of his best friends back, things are starting to look up. He’s making it through this.

Santiago walks over, slaps his hand on Frankie’s back. “Oh, I see how it is,” he jokes, casting his eye around the playground which is filled with the usual crowd of mothers and possibly nannies. Like Frankie can tell the difference.  “Hey princesa,” he adds, smiling at Gabby who beams up at him.

“She chose the park,“ Frankie says. 

Santi smirks before asking, ”How’s the apartment working out?”

“It’s good. Glad to have my own bed again, fuck I’m too old to crash on sofas.”

“Tell me about it. Are you getting on okay with Tom’s sister?”

“She has a name.”

“Hey, I like her! Look, Frankie, Molly says she asked questions about what went down with Tom, before she moved out of there so just - be aware of that, okay?”

Rain and storms and too much fucking weight on the helicopter flash through Frankie’s mind. He shouldn’t have listened to Tom; he should have been assertive. That’s always been his problem though, that’s what his dad says, he goes along with the crowd. At school, in the army, with Santi and Tom?

Frankie digs his hands into his pockets. “She hasn’t mentioned shi - anything about it to me, barely mentions Tom actually. I get the sense they weren’t close.”

“Sounds about right. You ever hear Tom talk about her?” Santi scoffs. “Families.”

Frankie looks at his daughter. He thinks of Melissa, how they prioritise Gaby. It hurts, the life he could have had with them and the ideas that died with his relationship. They’re still close to friends though, they look after Gaby. Frankie let both of them down but neither of them have given up on him.

He thinks about what Santi’s just said.  Tom barely ever mentioned his sister, barely ever seemed to even talk to you. It’s weird.

He pushes Gabby on the swing, listens to her happy squeals.

“Can we grab a coffee?” Santi asks, “I’m fu - freaking exhausted.”

“Sure,” Frankie says. He seems to remember the bookstore and coffee shop you work in is a short walk from the park and without thinking about why, he suggests that particular coffee shop rather than the Starbucks down the road. It’s better to support small businesses anyway, right?

It’s different watching you to work to seeing how you are at home. You’re wearing a loose black t-shirt, with a band logo Frankie vaguely recognises but can’t quite place.

When you see the three of them, you smile widely. Frankie’s introduced Gabby to you once when Melissa dropped her off at the apartment. Frankie thinks that she wanted to just verify the apartment was as she hoped, and that she could see Frankie was making the right moves.

He’s trying.

The day after that visit she had texted Frankie to say he could have Gabby overnight there next week if he wanted. He’d spent the rest of his shift beaming and wouldn’t tell anyone why.

You smile at Frankie and Santiago when they walk up to the counter.

Frankie lifts Gabby out of her stroller, balances her on his hip so she can see the counter. Her tiny hands clutch around Frankie’s shoulder and she reaches for Frankie’s cheek.

“Hey guys, and good morning, Gabby,” you say as Gabby giggles and then buries herself in Frankie’s shoulder.

“How’s the bookstore and coffee world?” Santi asks, that wry smile Frankie recognises all too well on his face. His voice is honeyed, his whole face has lit up in a way that Frankie’s watched so many girls fall into blushing giggles over. Frankie’s never quite been able to do that; it’s not that he’s necessarily had issues attracting women, and God that feels arrogant to think, it’s more that of his group of friends, well it’s hard to compete with them sometimes.

“Same as ever,” you say breezily, “Where’d you end up then, the park or the zoo?”

“Gabby chose the park.”

“Atta girl. So, what can I get you?”

“An Americano and then another Americano with one extra shot of coffee, right Frankie, and a-” Santi looks over at Gabby and then Frankie expectantly.

“She’s not even two, Santi, she’s not drinking coffee.”

“Hey, I’ve seen how much coffee you drink, I’m surprised that’s not genetically built into her.“

Frankie laughs, but his hairs stand up on his neck. He’s thought about it a lot already - what if his daughter inherits his addictive personality, how can he do that to her.

“Babycino?” you ask suddenly, breaking him out of his reverie, “I’m guessing she’s too young for hot chocolate?“

“Yeah, yeah, that would be great, thanks.”

“No problem, give me two minutes.”

You turn away and start making the drinks as Santi reaches for Gabby’s hand, smiling at her widely.

“You settling in okay?” Santi asks you as Frankie tries to distract Gabby from the cakes in the display.

“Yeah, things have been good,” you say cheerfully, handing the first coffee to Frankie. “I’m taking it you’re the extra shot, Frankie?”

Frankie nods.

“How much do I owe you?” Frankie asks, placing his cup down so he can reach for his wallet cautiously as Gaby squeezes around his neck. He doesn’t want to disturb her too much, doesn’t want to show how awkward this position is for him.

“It’s fine.”

“No, no, I can -” He can’t take advantage of his roommate like this.

“Eh, roommate and friend discount,” you say casually, handing Santiago his takeaway cup of coffee and Frankie a small cup of steamed milk for Gabby; this must be the babycino, Frankie thinks.

“What about her?” Santiago asks, pointing at Gabby who grins widely from Frankie’s arms.

“Oh, like I could charge her anything,” you reply, smiling back at Gabby and then meeting Frankie’s eyes. “You’ve got a special kid there, Frankie.”

“Don’t I know it,” he replies, kissing Gabby’s forehead. “Say thank you for your - I can’t call this a babycino, seriously. Drink, can you say thank you for your drink, honey?”

His daughter giggles and says her version of thank you. Frankie watches how it makes you smile, how he’s noticed when you it’s genuine, you scrunch your nose.

“We’ve got some new books in that she might enjoy,” you say, “If you want to get any of them, let me know and I can use my staff discount.”

“You’re not offering me a book discount?” Santiago asks.

“I just gave you a free coffee! You can afford to pay full price so I can keep my job. Gabby is too young to have an income.”

“That’s not fair,“ Santiago says.

“Life isn’t,” you say lightly, winking at Frankie and then moving on the next customer.

There’s something about you. It draws him in, makes him want to ask more, know more about you. You seem so light around him, Benny and the others and Frankie knows there’s more to you than that. He can see it.

That’s the thing - you can always see it in others, those matching scars and insecurities. It’s a honing beacon, it’s as visible in a stranger’s eyes sometimes as if you are wearing the same football team shirts. We’re the same, it says.

You’re not though. He knows who he is. Frankie is failure and disappointment and regret, all handily tied together in faded t-shirts and too long hair.

Frankie is why your brother is dead.

Frankie is why the mission failed. Santi needed a pilot, one who would stand up and see if the helicopter was too heavy and not back down, who wouldn’t shoot first.

He can be your friend though, surely?

Santi doesn’t say anything to Frankie until the three of them have left the shop, Gabby clutching a brand new book in her stroller while Frankie pushes her with one hand and drinks coffee with the other.

“You’re in trouble, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Frankie asks, suddenly panicked.

“You like her.”

“I live with her, Pope, it helps to like her.”

“Nah, you know what I mean.” Santi stops and touches Frankie’s arm. “Be careful, hermano, please.”

You

Work has been quieter than usual. You spend your days, idly rearranging book displays and experimenting with the coffee grind and tamping, try and perfect your latte art. Making a good cup of coffee is an art; you must get the grind right, then tamp it with just enough pressure. Steaming milk’s the same; it needs to be the right quality, the right amount of air let in, the right swirling vacuum as the process goes on.

You like the routine now. You like talking to customers and reminding yourself of why you loved books in the first place. Academia taught you a lot, skills you use every day and you’re proud of but overanalysing texts sometimes can make you forget why you loved books in the first place. And yes, perhaps you wish more people were actually buying books in the store, but you’re spending your day surrounded by things you love and that’s a luxury.

And oh, you used to love reading. It was the escape from your parents arguing, from a childhood where you felt like an only lonely child because Tom was older and resented you and didn’t want a sister. At least that’s what you’d assumed over the years.

This new life you’re building in Florida; a new job, new and old friends? It feels right, comfortable even.

So, you don’t even notice when Ella starts trying to set you up with the coffee guy.

And when he asks you out one day, you’re so surprised that he would ask you out, that you find yourself saying yes without even thinking about it.

On paper, he’s everything you would look for surely. He’s passionate about coffee, he’s mentioned books he’s reading idly in conversation, he has a good smile and amazing biceps. So, why not say yes? This is part of building your new life, right?

That’s how you find yourself now, walking back into your apartment after what can only be described as an utter disaster, or at least a complete disappointment.

If this is what dating makes you feel like after a divorce, you don’t want any of it.  Your anxiety has run rampant over the last few hours, along with a deepening and worrying sense that the problem is you.

You’re the one who hadn’t felt the connection after all. You’re the one who held back, who just couldn’t bring up the right feelings like a defective clock.

“Hey,” Frankie says, looking up from the sofa as you walk in. You hadn’t anticipated this - you remembered Benny saying that him and Frankie were hanging out tonight which is why you thought you could get away with just sneaking in and had even scheduled this date for tonight. Crap. This makes it even more humiliating.

“How was Benny?” you ask mildly, shrugging your jacket off and hanging it up.

“Yeah, it was uh-” Frankie pauses, “it was good. He’s training for Friday’s fight, are you coming to that?”

“Yeah, think so.” You walk over closer to the sofa.

Frankie’s staring at you. “Oh god, do I - I look stupid, don’t I?” You self-consciously pull the edge of your dress down, wishing that you’d worn something else instead.

“Not at all,” he says, voice low.

“Thanks,” you say as you walk into the kitchen, “drink?”

“Please. So, how’d it go?” Frankie asks. “I take it you didn’t get dressed up like that just to go hang out with your friends.”

“Hey, I could have.”

Frankie holds his hands up. “No judgement here, sweetheart.”

“It was a date,” you confess finally, “I don’t know. It’s weird. I haven’t had to do small talk for years, I don’t know if I like it.”

“I get that.”

It’s easy with your friends; Danny has known you for a long time, Ella is Ella, Benny and Will just get you and there’s no pressure with either of them, you haven’t known Santiago as well but he’s always consistent. As for Frankie, living with him has been surprisingly easy. He’s calm and even and kind - you like living with him now. It feels more natural than living with your ex-husband ever did.

It strikes you that now you count all four of your brother’s former team as your friends - they were your brother’s first, but now, now you wonder if they might be a little bit yours too.

“So other than the small talk, how’d it go?”

“I don’t know,” you confess, “Hey, how long were you and Melissa together again? I kind of remember her vaguely from Tom’s birthdays and barbecues when I was here.” You hope Frankie will take your oh so subtle subject change without argument.

“Five and a half years. What about you?”

“Me and Melissa?” you joke, causing him to roll his eyes dramatically.

“Ha-ha, you know what I mean. I seem to remember he was always around - it was a long time, right?”

“Ten years, married for nine of them.”

“What?” Frankie looks at you almost in surprise. “That’s longer than I thought.”

You shrug and take a sip of your drink. “My date sucked,” you say after a moment.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.  I think there might be something wrong with me?”

“What did that asshole say? What was his name again? Want me to go beat him up?” Frankie asks, a crooked smile on his lips that really shouldn’t be so attractive.

“He didn’t do anything, Frankie, it’s me. I - I should have felt something, right, I mean he was literally gorgeous, right? I should have wanted him.”

When Frankie doesn’t reply, you glare at him and jab his shoulder until he shrugs.

“What are you saying?”

“That I should have wanted to rip his clothes off, but I didn’t though.” This is humiliating. “I mean, shouldn’t there have been butterflies, or even just good old-fashioned lust, or something? Right, there should have been something there? I just felt like we were going through the motions. There was no - I didn’t feel any chemistry.”

Frankie doesn’t reply for a moment and you take the time to really look at him instead. Sometimes when you look at Frankie, you wonder how he’s still single because he’s a good-looking man. In the time you’ve lived the apartment, he’s never been on a date. He hangs out with Santiago, Benny and Will and he does go out to other places, but you’ve never seen him go on a date or bring anyone back. Thankfully. You’re not entirely sure how you would feel about that.

“Look, maybe he just wasn’t your type,” Frankie says after a moment. “You’re being hard on yourself.”

“He was into coffee and he had perfect arms. We liked the same bands. How the hell was he not my type? What is my type but that?”

“Everyone likes Fleetwood Mac.”

“No, they don’t.”

“It was the wrong guy, that’s all. You’ve been single for a while and is this your first date since the break-up, right?”

You nod. “I couldn’t really date at Molly’s and I thought I should wait a while anyway.”

“Exactly so maybe you’ve just got to, I don’t know, see what works, let things flow a bit? When you know, you know. Did you even like him before the date?“

You think about it for a moment and shrug. Ella had encouraged you and if you were honest, you’d just wanted to prove that you were over Nate, over the trauma of that marriage, that this was the new you. Maybe Frankie’s on to something. You should have fancied the guy, but you hadn’t.

Reassurance flushes through your body. You’re not broken, you’re not.

“I don’t think I did fancy him. I thought I should, but no.”

“Yeah, so it would be a shit date. Next time, date a guy you really like, or something. Oh man, look I am really bad at this sort of talk.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Can we pretend I am?” he asks, nudging your arm as you both laugh. “Can we pretend so we never have to discuss this again because I am so out of many comfort zones right now.”

“It’s practice for when Gabby dates.”

“No, because that’s not happening. I’m going to do the whole cliched, polishing my gun on a porch thing, and she’s not gonna date until she’s at least thirty. Plus, if you think I could be intimidating, you should see Mel. Like, no-one has a chance in hell.”

“Uh-huh, sure, Frankie.”

“Dammit.”

You laugh and Frankie shakes his head. ”Hey, I’ve got an episode of our show saved if you want to watch it?”

“Absolutely.”

He presses buttons on the TV remote, sets up the streaming platform and you lean back against the sofa, exhale and finally feel relaxed.

Frankie has an arm over the side of the sofa you’re sitting and before he presses play, he looks over at you.

“I’m glad we did this,” he says, “that we got this apartment. I like living here.”

You feel it then, the slight tightness in your stomach, the unsettled butterflies flitting around.

Oh.

Oh.

This is going to be a disaster.

After your realisation about Frankie, everything feels different. It’s like the world has just shifted slightly off axis but only you know. Frankie is thankfully oblivious and so the next morning, things continue in the steady routine you’ve both formed.

You drop the milk back from your spoon into your cereal bowl as you notice Frankie join you in the kitchen.

“Coffee?” he asks.

“My hero,” you reply, pushing your empty mug towards him for a refill.

He laughs. It’s almost self-deprecating; the way he looks away when you compliment him.

You notice the way his T-shirt rises as he grabs a mug from the top cabinet, you notice the line of hair on his stomach right down to the grey sweatpants he’s wearing.

You can’t do this. You quickly try and remind yourself of all of his annoying habits; he never remembers to leave the toilet seat down, he smokes which is a horrible habit.

He hands you a cup of coffee, made just how you like it. He is not helping you at all.

“Are you working today?”

“Yep, hopefully people will actually come in and want to buy some books today. I had like three people yesterday who asked for recommendations, so I spent time with them, I curated a list.”

“Curated?”

“I curated, Frankie, I curated a perfect list. You know what they did?”

Frankie winces. “I have a nasty feeling.”

“They said they’d order online, Frankie, online!”

“Heathens, monsters, the lot of them.”

“I thought academia was evil when I was in grad school, but this is just sick.”

“So, what happens with that?” Frankie asks, “Weren’t you partway through when you left?”

“I was,” you sigh, looking away from Frankie and taking a large gulp of your coffee. “It’s difficult. I burned a few bridges by leaving like I did, without notice and in the middle of the semester. I mean I was TAing and - I can reapply here, try and find a suitable supervisor, but I don’t know. If I’m honest, I have no idea what to do right now, I like where I’m working at the moment. I’m not even sure who I was doing the PHD for by the time I left. I love literature, but I don’t know if I was still in love with it when I left - am I even making sense, Frankie?”

Frankie nods. “Perfect sense.” For a moment he looks haunted. You get the sense that there are a thousand things in his mind at that mind, swirling behind those deep brown eyes. He looks haunted sometimes, there’s more to him then you know. It doesn’t surprise you because you remember seeing the same thing in Tom over the years.

 He checks his phone and curses. “Sorry, hon, I gotta go to work, see you later?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

You watch him make his way to the bathroom. Oh, you’re screwed.

Apart from the quiet hum of traffic in the distance, all you can hear is the evening birdsong and the start of crickets chirping. You’re sitting on the small balcony of your apartment, a half-drunk glass of wine on the table next to your book.

In New York, there was always so much noise, so much activity. When you moved there it felt overwhelming at first, then comforting somehow.

You prefer this though.

The sliding door opens and you turn to see Frankie behind you, a bottle of beer in his hand.

“Hey, you mind?” He indicates to the empty metal chair opposite you and you shake your head.

He sighs loudly as he exhales, stretches his legs out.

“Long day?”

“The longest,” he says, “Work was flat out and oh- I need this weekend.”

“Hey, some of us have to still work tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, an apologetic smile on his face as he scrunches up his shoulders. He’s wearing a beaten old t-shirt with a faded logo you can’t quite make out and grey sweats. Frankie removes his hat for a moment, revealing unruly curls that he sweeps back before replacing his hat.

“What’s the story with the hat?” you ask, your curiosity finally getting the best of you.

“Why’s there gotta be a story?”

“There’s always a story, like -” you pull at the familiar necklace around your neck. “This was a graduation present from my Mom and I wear it every day.”

“Cute. I don’t know. I guess I got used to wearing a hat after I joined the army. You have the buzz cut and it gets cold, and then I don’t know - I guess it just feels like me now.”

“I get that.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s cute. I mean, your hair is cute without it -”

“You think my hair’s cute?” Frankie looks up at you, his expression almost childlike with wonder but all you can think is how you’ve definitely ruined everything now.

You stand up and immediately grab your wine glass before moving back inside to the safety of the kitchen.

You down the wine and rest both your hands against the edge of the counter, try and take deep breaths.

In for four, hold for four, out for four.

“Hey, hey,” Frankie says from behind you. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t. You didn’t do anything, I should say sorry.”

“Why the hell would you say sorry?”

“I don’t make things awkward.”

“’S not awkward,” Frankie says in a low voice, gently turning you around to face him. “We’re good, right?”

You nod tentatively.

“So you think my hair’s cute, huh?” he teases.

You shake your head and look down, mumbling his name as you place your hand on his shoulder. You notice Frankie’s hand is still on your waist.

“Don’t tease me,” you say.

“I’m not teasing,” Frankie murmurs, “I’m surprised.”

“Why? You’re a good-looking guy.”

“Oh yeah?” He doesn’t quite sound like he believes it.

“You are.”

He leans in closer to you, his other hand framing your waist now. “You’re beautiful, you know? And smart. I’ve gotta wonder what the hell would you want with me?”

“Frankie,” you say gently, running your hands down in his arms in an effort to reassure him. Is this happening? Is this actually happening?

You can feel the butterflies, feel that warmth of desire and want in your body. You haven’t felt this in years, hadn’t remembered how intoxicating it was to long for someone. Frankie was right, when you know, you know.

Without thinking, you close your eyes and lean in.

“Mmm, this - this is a bad idea, right?” he asks, lips dangerously close to your neck.

“The worst,” you mumble.

He smells like sandalwood shower gel, there’s a hint of tobacco on his clothes and the sharp smell of mint trying to cut through as he moves, his lips just inches from your own.

“We shouldn’t do this.”

“Nope.”

“It’ll make things complicated.” His fingers lightly trace your collarbone to your shoulder and he leans in closer. You swear you can almost feel the heat radiating from his body.

“I’m used to complicated,” you say gently before you meet his lips.

It’s bold, for you, you never initiate, never make the first move normally. It’s only he’s there and you need him.

It’s been months since you were last kissed.

He gently pushes you against the counter, lifts you so you’re sitting on it while never breaking the kiss, deepening it as you open your mouths.

He tastes like hope and promises and new beginnings.

You wrap your legs around his hips, wanting him closer.

“You’re so goddamn pretty,” he says, trailing kisses down your neck to your throat.

“You’re - oh, fuck,” you groan.

“Yeah?” his voice is teasing, lighter than you’ve heard it since you’ve moved in.

“What do we do now?”

Frankie smiles at you, his smile lighter than you’ve ever seen it. “Well, what do you wanna do?”

“I can think of some things.”

“Oh yeah?” He kisses you again, skims his hands down your arm and moves even closer against you. He’s so warm, so solid against you. “Well, we better get started, huh?”

[writingamongther0ses]

Bite Me, Chapter 12: Father

Summary: Melody meets a priest.

-_-

Three weeks before this shit went down…

“Oh, my dear! Are you alright?”

Melody nearly jumped at the question, turning around in time to see the horse-drawn buggy come to a stop next to where the car had been stopped. The driver was an older man dressed in long dark robes and a rosary, his eyes full of concern. She couldn’t blame him- she probably looked like a mess, with a dent in the front of her car. “Hi!” She waved, trying not to sound too concerned. “Sorry, I just swerved to miss a deer. I’m fine, but my car won’t start now, and I’m not sure why.”

“Oh, well, that’s a problem!” The priest hopped down. “Do you mind if I take a look? My village hasn’t gotten to cars yet, but I have picked up a few things.”

“Uh, sure.” Melody moved aside so the man could lean over. “I meant to get it checked out by a mechanic, but I just moved here, and I haven’t gotten the chance.” She wasn’t sure why that had come out. Still, the priest laughed as he straightened, the sound warm against the chill in the air.

“Welcome then, miss,” He held out his hand. “I am Father.”

Just Father?

“Uh, I’m Melody.” She shook his hand. His hand was warm.

“Now, do you or your husband happen to have a spare toolbox?”

Oh. He must’ve seen her ring. Melody couldn’t bring herself to pull it off yet. She found herself raising a hand to it to fiddle with. “Um, no, sorry. It’s just my sister and I, and neither of us thought about it. My husband…”

The priest’s eyes went wide and then crumpled with sympathy. “Oh, my dear, I am so sorry.”

Melody blinked, suddenly caught off guard by tears pricking at her eyes. “It…it’s fine.” She reached up and wiped her face. She had never been able to give Clayton a funeral, so maybe she was caught off guard by what she should’ve been hearing. “It was three years ago, I should be over it by now.”

The priest shook his head. “I…my wife and I divorced several years ago, when we lost our child,” Melody felt a gasp rise up, and she reached out. Ivy was there, gripping her hand, invisible to the priest. “We had a disagreement about our faith regarding the situation. She’s not dead, but I still mourn the woman she was.” He took in a deep breath. “Love lingers, doesn’t it.”

Melody nodded. “It does.”

“Now, I do have some tools.”

“Do you need any help?”

“Oh, you are a dear! Yes, that would be helpful!”

Of course, Ivy whispered to her “The horse is dead,” barely a minute afterward.

-_-

Now…

The area surrounding the church was thankfully empty of werewolves.

In fact, it was empty of anyone. Melody had a sneaky suspicion of what happened to the villagers, but there should’ve been survivors, hopefully. She took in a deep breath, tried to ignore the pain in her feet, and looked around. Alexi was getting heavy on her back and her neck itched now that she was aware of the bitemark there.

Hopefully, she could just squat in one of these houses until the pain went away, maybe grab some supplies from what was left, and then go after Cecily-

"Oh, hello my dear!"

Melody spun around at the familiar voice, blinking. There was no way that could be him. Definitely not out here.

But, no. Standing outside of a small cottage, smoke merrily coming from the chimney was Father, waving. He was dressed in the same black robes and cross that Melody had met him in, excluding his hat. That revealed snow-white hair that was braided back, making his beard. His smile was wide like he wasn't standing in the middle of a destroyed village. His carriage and horse were even there. Melody couldn't help but walk over then. "What are you doing here?" she said when she was close enough.

"Oh, well, I live here, my dear. Would you like to come inside?" He moved aside before she could ask more questions, beckoning her to walk in. Her first instinct was to draw her shotgun, but she was tired, and he had been kind to her during their brief encounter. Kindness was something that she needed at the moment.

The inside of the cottage was surprisingly cozy, with a roaring fire in the fireplace with a pot hanging over it. Something smelled delicious, and a copper kettle began to whistle as she reached the table. "Sit down, sit down," he bade, grabbing the kettle. "Would you like some tea?"

"...yes please?"

He poured her a cup of tea and set it next to her. In between Melody picking it up and taking a sip, he had arranged slices of thick-cut bread with butter waiting, cooked bacon that gleamed with fat, cut fruit and veggies, and a full cheese platter. To top it all off, he took the pot out of the fire and poured out some kind of stew in a bowl. Even as her stomach grumbled at the delicious smells, Melody rose to her feet. "Sir, you don't have to do all this-"

"Oh, please, I want to!" He set the bowl down and set a hand on her shoulder. With a surprisingly firm push, she sat back down in her chair and in front of the steaming bowl. "When I heard you were in the village, I figured that you must be starved!" He sat down next to her. "Please, eat your fill."

Well, since he was offering, Melody figured she should.

The stew was delicious, made with tender meat that melted in her mouth. The bread tasted great on its own, but slathered in butter and dipped in the stew, it was delicious. Melody ate, remembering how meager her last meal had been- a small salad she had picked up at the store, wanting to waste time before she had to head home and the awkward silence that formed after her and Summer's fight.

"Now, what happened to your neck?" Of course, this could be just as awkward. "That looks rather nasty, my dear," Father said, concern back in his grey eyes. "I have some healing salve that should help."

"Not unless you can reverse becoming a werewolf," Melody mumbled, suddenly angry at Volkov again. She was always angry at him, she realized, but now it was a special type of anger.

Father's eyes widened, just a tad. "Excuse me?"

"Well, uh...Volkov kinda grabbed me and was threatening me and I kinda panicked and..." Melody's teeth ached. "I bit him. Then he got pissed, chased me down, and bit me back. And just now, he was telling me that there was a chance I could become a werewolf because he bit me-" The spoon dropped out of her fingers to allow her to fig her fingers in her hair, almost to the point of pain. "And I can't waste time, I need to get Cecily before I turn-"

"You bit Lord Volkov?"

"I was panicking!"

"I...well, I'm surprised he let you," Father said, voice a tad strained. Still, he wasn’t making any movements to scream and kick her out. "He is quite dangerous. But, maybe..." He didn't say whatever he was thinking, instead taking a deep breath. "You may be one of the lucky ones," Father said, giving a comforting pat on her hand. "In a rare case, there is no effect at all. The pack was developed quite recently, so they are still learning."

"...how recent is 'quite recently'?"

"Oh, about a century ago."

"Ah." Melody couldn't argue with that. Back when she actually worked at a lab, she and the other scientists understood that they didn't know how much they didn't know. But, she was still mad. "I still don't get why he was weird about it."

"That may be due to the link between bonded."

The link? Wait... "Is that why, whenever I hurt him, I hurt?"

"Yes." Father nodded. "The bond is a strange thing, allowing those connected to feel each other's pain. I can understand why he was so flustered. Receiving a Gift, from what I've heard, is a nasty process." His hand rose up to rub his cross, eyes distant. "I cannot imagine having to relieve that pain twice."

Melody took in a deep breath. "...would I be a bad person for saying that I don't really care?"

"Based on your story, no." He rose to his feet. “Now, let me get that salve, and I can explain how best to save your niece.”

"Wait, you can-"

"Tilt your head back." Melody did on the spot, realizing Father had plucked up a small white pot and cloth. "Now," he said as he sat down and pulled out a small wooden knife. "First, let me explain the four lords of our village. They were born from the four founding lords, who created a kingdom together and promised to rule justly and wisely. Over time," He shrugged as he shoved the knife into the pot. "They didn't. Now, it is the four lords and Mother."

"What is Mother?" There was something strange about her, and Ivy's fury didn't help.

"I do not know. She was once a simple pastor, but she grew in power. Now, the four lords obey her. The eldest is Herminia Orion. She's the most reasonable one," The knife slathered the salve against her flesh. "Her family was born in Italy as dollmakers. Herminia continues the trade in her home, deep in the woods. The second eldest is Richard Givre, the finest lord, despite his..." He paused, as if searching for the right word. "Appearance. He lives in the castle. Rowe is the most devoted to Mother and lives in what remains of the monastery."

"And Volkov?"

"Well," Father sighed. "If you're his enemy, he's the most dangerous one. If he has a vested interest in you surviving," The bitemark ached. "He'll make sure you survive."

"And all of them have a part of Cecily." Melody pulled out the necklace she had stolen from Volkov. "I already have his piece."

"Yes," Father said, wrapping the bandage around her neck. "You do. That should make this easier."

The next few minutes were full of Father rushing back and forth, pulling weapons out of nowhere and packing food into a satchel. Melody finished her food as she waited for the salve to “set”. Finally, she was up.

"Please, feel free to come by whenever you need something," Father said, passing her the satchel. "I love this village, and I would hope to see it restored."

Melody doubted it, but she nodded anyway. "Thank you, Father."

And, with that, she headed back out. The castle was clear to see and, with the path he pointed out, she was on her way. It was surprisingly easy going, with no werewolves or Volkovs to bother her. Finally, she reached the gate to find it already down and over the moat.

The doors swung open before her.

Melody took in a deep breath. "For Cecily," she reminded herself. Taking in a deep breath, she marched in. The doors swung shut behind her and click went the lock.

Guess there was no running out that way…

Melody's concerns disappeared for a brief moment as she looked around. The room was the epitome of old money luxury, with fine wood floors and areas tastefully gilded. Han and Ching dynasty vases were decorated here and there, and they were full of fresh flowers. If this wasn't the house of a mad lord, Melody would've been delighted.

She stepped forward to a set of doors. One door had a painting of a pretty young man in lavender, while the other had a painting of a handsome young woman in lavender. "I feel someone on the other side, Mommy," Ivy warned. Melody nodded, took a breath, and pushed open the door.

The next room was an even bigger entry room, decorated in marble with gold veins. Two sets of stairs curved around the hall and there was a door in the center, heading deeper in.

However, she was too busy staring at the teenagers.

There were two of them, blonde with violet eyes and deathly pale. They matched the image of the paintings on the door swinging shut behind her. "Lady Melody Johnson," the boy said, bowing. "What a pleasure to meet you."

The girl wasted no time with bows, instead choosing to skip up and grab Melody's hand, giving it an almost painful squeeze. "When Father said that we were going to get a new aunt, we knew we had to receive you! We already have an aunt, but..." She looked around and leaned forward, revealing her eyes were bloodshot. "Aunt Herminia tends to be dreadfully dull."

The boy walked forward. "Don't be rude, Catherine. But," He grabbed her hand. "Come along, auntie. Father is waiting."

Before Melody could protest, they dragged her to the door, deeper into the house.

[ginsoakedgirl80]

I'm feeling like doing a public service today, so if you want to watch the mess that is Fighting for Love for Wang RuiChang or because of two women get married for plot reasons, I got the what to skip for you since I was stupid enough to watch the whole thing

For starting out: This drama is about Mai (Zhang TianAi), who is a poor orphan who wants to avenge her parents, living in Shengdu, the capital of Nanxia. She watched them get killed by henchmen and her adoptive brother Chen Qi 9 years ago. To move freely in the world, she disguised herself as a man since then. My Drama List is not representing her life well since she is in fact not roaming the martial arts world when we meet her but doing petty crime to fund her life and revenge quest. For plot reasons she saves the life of male lead Shang YiZhi (Zhang HaoWei), a silly son of a Marquis. He invites her to stay at his house where he sees her back when she takes a bath and finds out that she is actually a woman because heavens beware of a man falling in love with another man. He doesn't tell anyone that she's female though so it's funny to see people react to him being overly protective of Mai. (Seriously the amount of times his attendant steps out when those two hang out. Mu Bai is an ally)

His father, a general, dies from a bad medicine prescription upon returning from the border. His mother is the sister of the emperor and fears for his life so she uses her sisterly influence to send YiZhi to the border to take over his father's army. We also find out that his mother is actually his aunt because he is the son of the late crown prince. This is why the emperor wants to kill him, though he doesn't know his real identity. See the emperor is a paranoid cuckoo bananas dude and likes to have cleavage and dance and get people killed and look at the sun through his fingers.

Also for all the things this drama probably cut to get to the 36 episodes they really HAD TO keep in every time the 700 sliding doors between his living and office quarters are opened and closed to emphasize how removed from the world he is. The things those sliding doors operators have seen!

Meanwhile Mai travels to a border city to meet a man who knows where Chen Qi is. To get into the border city, she steals a passport from Chang YuQing (Wang RuiChang) who is from the enemy country Beimo and happens to be on a spy mission.

So if you only watch for Wang RuiChang, enter at episode 3 at 35:00.

But be warned, his character is minor and if there was ever any more backstory to him shot to explain his motivations, his sworn brotherhood with Cui Yan and the trouble of the Chang family at the court of Beimo or why Chen Qi hates the Chang family, it was all cut (or I already forgot about it). I told you this drama is a mess.

This is also a good time for the people who want to watch for the two women getting married (spoiler alert: it's one sided love and a marriage to proof that Mai is a man) because YuQing and his army sack the city and this is when Mai rescues teenager Xiu'er (Jiang YunXi) as a promise to a prison guard. Xiu'er got a crush on her and has no clue that Mai is a woman until they get engaged. For Mai she is someone who needs to be protected and she wants to marry her off to her bestie before.

Also pictured next to Mai feminist icon Tang ShaoYi a true dage who got no problem with Mai being in the army once he finds out and just wants to be bros with her.

Mai finds out that Chen Qi is actually the marshal of the Beimo army that is attacking Nanxia's border so she decides to enlist to fight him on the battlefield. Her father actually taught her battle tactics and she read the art of war so obviously she rises through the ranks despite going absent without leave and other things that would get you executed if the general of the army wasn't in love with you.

Plot (which I won't spoil) that includes Wang RuiChang sometimes more and often less happens until ep 22, when Yizhi gets summoned back to the capital and Mai joins him with his other trusted guys and Xiu'er (she is an afterthought mainly). This is also when the screenwriters or the editors lost any interest in Beimo apart from some captive prince stuff, so if you are only watching for Wang RuiChang you can skip ahead after his (great) scene in ep 22.

In Shengdu too much time is spent on Yizhi and his court stuff, like I want this to be about Mai doing cool army stuff not some badly written and edited succession to the throne plot. She does use her plotting skills for him to survive because dude is a silly jerk who is not worthy of her and yet she loves him. sigh.

queer intermission

Due to something that happened before ep 22 the rumor that Mai is a woman spreads in her army causing unrest which leads to Xiu'er proposing marriage to her.

(THEY NEVER SHOW THE ACTUAL DIVORCE???)

This is shampoo commercial territory. Just that for censorship reasons Xiu'er emphasizes that Mai is too important for the army and therefore the whole country to get executed just for being a woman and also she still owes her for saving her life back in the day.

Tang dage gets it with her reasoning.

They're having the cross-cupped wine on camera but not the bowing to heaven, parents and each other to not piss off the censors.

Once they are in the bridal chamber/tent someone spies on them and sees Mai without her binder so he gets killed. End of wedding. Why is Xiu'er in the army camp in the first place? During the border defense arc she heard that Mai got wounded and went to tend to her and never left.

Xiu'er is plot relevant again in ep 32 and is in the final episode but apart from that she is little more than Mai's attendant.

Mai continues to wear male attire most of the time, after she stopped being undercover, apart from the time she actually had to be in the harem and hated it.

end of intermission

ok back to the Wang RuiChang scenes

What is relevant for getting what is going on once you jump back in:

Yizhi's mother didn't go through hiding Yizhi from the emperor for Yizhi to not become emperor so she throws him into the struggle for the throne against his will. He does not want to do that and just be with Mai. (the good old putting the greater good above ones personal desires it never gets old. Of course his mother wins by guilt tripping him into becoming emperor by getting herself killed.) People get kidnapped, people get killed. Mai becomes the master of the emperor's grandson.

Yizhi's mother had made an agreement with the prime-minister that he would help Yizhi to the throne and in turn Yizhi would marry his daughter further increasing the prime-minister's influence in court. (like me you will think dude you are already having the highest office under the emperor what is your deal, well he wants his family to be the rulers of Nanxia eventually. dude likes to draw tigers in his spare time so you know his deal)

So who do we need to show up? Yuqing! So Mai can be implicated as a Beimo spy by the prime-minister. Luckily Yizhi had killed Yuqing's sworn brother earlier on so Yuqing had a reason to sneak into Shengdu to make an attempt on Yizhi's life at the beginning of episode 30 (it was only 8 episodes without him but it felt like eons).

We do get a little of him being cheeky in ep 31

He leaves in ep 31 and shows up again in ep 35 (starting ~min 15) and 36.

ep 31-35 So after Yizhi married the prime-minister's daughter and she becomes empress, Mai was devastated and went on a bender. The prime-minister turns the court against Mai so she loses her general job. She asks Yizhi for the mansion of her father and lives there, wallowing in lovesickness, grief and childhood trauma until Yizhi sends the edict to make her his honored imperial consort. She reluctantly lives in the harem but hates being locked up (she is a general gdi), dealing with the jealous empress and also refuses Yizhi so they strike a deal that allows her to live outside. More palace stuff happens with the prime-minister.

When the Beimo army invades again, she is the most capable to do it, so she gets her army back and sets off to fight against Beimo in episode 35.

I think there must have been more filmed and then cut for length because some things are alluded too that would have required some scenes beforehand. Ultimately this drama feels rather lifeless and is just going through the motions apart from some characters adding some sparkle.

The ending does make sense, gotta love that she didn't let herself get locked up in the harem for that loser.

I need to stop watching ascending to the throne dramas that are not well written, why do I keep doing this to myself? Oh right, because I thought that this would be about a female general and ignored that he is the son of the legitimate crown prince. Of course he had to become emperor xP