#i mean she is Baby but i believe she is actually full grown by this point and is at the age where she would usually be made full medicineca

[ectoplasmer]

in the middle of reading the new wind excerpt and god. oh my god. someone sedate me

[imblueeforyuu]

Yandere monster x male reader | part two - a slice of life

part one

Life with a monster is strange at best. Frank; the monster was an interesting character. Yes you know frank was an odd name for a “monster of the dark” but he asked you to name him and you panicked. Ok? He seemed so happy about his new found name you didn’t have the heart to tell him it sucked. Anyways back to your main point. Frank was odd, for one he ate chlorine like it was a slushy, had a weird obsession with socks, and lastly he worshiped the ground you walked on. You could kinda look past the last two, but worshipping? Your wife loved you, of course, but the kisses you two shared could not compare to the amount of affection this monster gave you. Hugs, kisses, petting. Frank had it all.

“Dude stop,” You said. Frank had recently taken on sniffing you, which is fucking weird. He whined slightly before hugging you tightly. 

“But master.” Oh another thing he’s started is calling you master instead of your actual name. You’ve told him to call you by your real name but Frank was effortlessly stubborn.thank god one of the twins started crying. You can finally get out of his arms.

“Oh I should go take care of Abby,” you squirm out of his tight grasp to take care of your precious toddlers.

The twins were practically unaffected by their mom’s disappearance. I mean they barely knew her but still you had hoped they’d realize there was a creepy monster instead of their mom but nope. Honestly now you're starting to wonder if they even are your kids. Well Abby was definitely yours, she had your eyes as your wife said. But Austen? He had black hair but not a normal black, a dark dark dark black. Honestly he reminded you of Frank and that scared you. Was your wife having an affair? An affair with a monster no doubt. 

Abby was crying, she showed more emotion of the two. And Austen was sitting silently, watching, waiting. God now the thought of him being Frank's child was starting to give you chills. But he will always have a place in your heart. I mean you were there when he was born! Obviously. 

Abby needed her diaper change you could tell by the potent smell of shit radiating off of her. You picked her up and she stopped crying for a moment before continuing. Changing her quickly you notice a lack of diapers, which would be fine if you didn’t just buy a box yesterday. 

“Frank!” You call out rolling your eyes. He rushed in like a happy puppy.

“Yes master?” You wince at the nickname but ignore it. 

“What did you do with all the baby diapers?” You place your hands on your hip. Sometimes it’s like babysitting 3 children. He looked at you with the best puppy eyes he could, and god knows it works. 

“Alright,” you sigh with defeat. “I’ll go to the store.”

“No! Master, wait!” Frank calls out “can I come with you!” 

“Looking like this, no way.”

Well now your monster puppy is a full grown man, a really tall man. He had long black hair, pale skin and creepy red eyes, Honestly you're starting to really believe Austin is his child. But the worse part, he still has the monstrous strength , and his over clinginess. God you miss your wife

[stardewrotsession]

Note: I have a few new drafts in the works right now but it’s taking longer than expected to get them out. So for now, here’s my takes on our favorite bachelors. Some controversial, some not.

Personal Headcanons (and Opinions) I have about the Bachelors

Sam:

- So before I threw him under the “golden retriever” skater boy trope and moved on. Yeah he definitely comes off as it at first, HOWEVER.

- I like to think Sam’s hella observant when he wants to be. Sorta like a “selective observer” if you will.

- I mean, his mom seems to wish to run away from the family at times, and his dad’s off at war. Taking care of Vincent and trying his best to be there when his dad wasn’t makes you pick up a bunch of stuff along the way.

- And I think he’s observant enough to notice that Jodi doesn’t really like where’s she’s at in her life.

- He’s a very caring person, I think to the point where he wouldn’t really mind if he gets hurt from it.

- You have to do something really bad for him to hate you or for him to not care, honestly.

- He loves his family, so he’ll take care of Vincent when his dad’s away, or he’ll begrudgingly get a job because his mom told him to.

- That’s not to say he’s grown though. I full on believe his mom baby’s the hell outta him.

- She seems like a very controlling mom with how she acted after Sam dropped the egg on the floor, but she seems like she needs to done her way. Can you tell I don’t like Jodi very much?

- I think once Sam gets married to you and moves out, he takes on a lot more responsibility and learns how to take care of himself more. While still having that “kid at heart” mindset with his hobbies.

Sebastian:

- So, I’m not gonna lie, I was one of the girlies that dismissed Sebastian as the resident emo boy at first.

- But now, I think he’s, shocker, more complicated than that.

- So I think Demetrius definitely has a whole favoritism complex going on between Maru and Sebastian, which is nothing new.

- I think it leads Demetrius to spit out verbal abuse, and heavy on verbal cause I don’t think Demetrius is the type to physically abuse, to Sebastian whenever he doesn’t like what he’s doing.

- But, I actually think Sebastian and Maru find ways to be friendly or decent with each other, despite everything that’s happened.

- And I really don’t think Robin’s being dismissive about the whole situation either, I really do think she’s trying her best to get the two to ease up with each other.

- I mean, there’s books in her room about stepdads and second families, I think she’s making an attempt.

- But for Sebastian sometimes it isn’t good enough, making him feel like he’s trapped and that he wants to leave this town.

- I think when you marry him, and he ends up staying in Pelican Town, that’s not crushing his dream.

- I truly believe he just wanted to get away from his family, from Demetrius’ constant complaining and comparisons and favoritism.

- But he still has friends here, Sam and Abigail. And you.

- I think now that he’s moved out, he feels more at peace, spending time with someone he loves and still being able to hang out with friends.

Harvey:

- So, we know Harvey’s hobbies, his job as a doctor, and that he comes off as really shy.

- But he actually comes off as really closed off when you first meet him.

- It’s almost as if he’s straight away drawing a boundary saying, “Oh this is the new farmer. Okay, strictly doctor, patient relationship.”

- But as you start hanging out with him more, his facade starts to break a little.

- He opens up more, about experiences, hobbies, his past.

- And personally? I think he has a huge past with mental health issues.

- Like he relates to Shane when he talks about mental health and getting him a therapist. That could be just a doctor thing, but I think Harvey’s had his own struggles. Even if they were different.

- Out of everyone in Pelican Town (other than Shane) I think Harvey definitely has a therapist.

- Although he still mentions having patients’ lives in his hand, I’m sure he was completely broken about it the first time it happened.

- Not to mention that he had to overcome the fact that he wasn’t going to get his dream job.

- He had to settle, and I think talking to a therapist helps tremendously with not only acknowledging that, but full on accepting it, both the good and bad.

- Harvey is a caring guy, and even if he still has extreme fears and insecurities, he’s willing to overcome them if he thinks it’ll make him a better person. If it’ll give him a better life.

- So the fact that he overcomes his fear of heights for you means he cares a lot about you, and his life with you.

Alex:

- So, my opinion of Alex changes as his heart events go on.

- So for zero hearts, I full on believe he’s an ass to girls. Like that cliche popular sporty guy that has a big ego.

- If he doesn’t know you and he sees you doing something weird, I bet you he’ll judge super hard.

- I think he’s the type to talk first, think later.

- And not in a sense like Sam where he just kinda… keeps talking. But he’ll say stupid remarks like “Wanna go to the beach? Do you have a bikini?” Or “Did you get new pants?”

- Why are you looking at the farmer’s pants Alex?

- Anyways towards guys I don’t think he’d be that different, only he’d talk about girls to you.

- I wholeheartedly believe George is kinda homophobic, but Evelyn’s like “Love who you love, you don’t live long enough to not.”

- So Alex at first would have George’s beliefs. Cause the guy kinda raised Alex, he’s the only father figure he really knew and liked.

- But as time goes on Alex would realize ��Hey I’m spending a lot more time with the farmer now.”

- Like he looks forward to seeing you everyday.

- And I think you influence him, whether you’re a girl or a guy.

- You open his eyes, making him think along the lines of “Maybe I shouldn’t judge so much. Something just feels right when I’m with them.”

Shane

- So I think we’ve been knowing how shitty he was in the beginning, before having any hearts with him.

- He’s closed off, depressed, doubting his life choices.

- The farmer literally has to push their way into his heart for him to actually notice and be nice to you.

- So I’ll spend more time focusing on after his heart events, since a lot of people are on the same page about his struggles with alcoholism.

- So like a lotta other people, I think Shane has a great friendship arc, but as a marriage candidate all of that development gets kinda nerfed.

- After everything that happens, he becomes VERY dependent on the farmer.

- Probably to the point where it’s unhealthy

- Like if he heard that you’ve passed out in there mines or something he’d start freaking out, not knowing what else to do if you were suddenly gone.

- But, he’s also one of the only bachelors confirmed to be seeing a therapist, so even if the farmer slowly stops talking to him, he will still be in a better spot than he was in his 6 heart event.

- In the end, he’s very thankful for you coming into his life.

- Just, try not to let him depend on you too much, okay?

Elliot

- Same with Alex, my opinion and my headcanons of Elliot change depending on how many hearts I have with him.

- But low key I find him very out there when below 4 hearts.

- He has a different kind of ego than Alex, but it does still come off as “I’m better than you” kind of ego.

- For example, when he says he wishes he could “Throw it all away and become a farmer like you”.

- What’s that supposed to mean Elliot?

- Only I don’t think he realizes it, I think at this time he’s more closed minded and never really thought of people being content and success in different ways.

- He does give Wattpad vibes…

- By the way he treats Gus too in his 2 heart event?? Yeah I’m not sure if that seems to change that much lol.

- However as you get to know him more, he realizes how much time and work you put into your farm, and then, starts thinking about how everyone else lives their life.

- I think even as a writer, the dude doesn’t really understand people think differently until you show him.

- Which is why I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s had writer’s block for a while.

- Yeah give him a pencil and paper and he’ll go at it, he’ll write some beautiful poetry and short stories.

- But throw in a consistent protagonist that isn’t like him, and I think he’d struggle big time before he met you.

- After you two become friends, or even after you start dating, he’ll definitely have a different perspective on his art and on other people.

- It’s like you change his perspective on life. And it may not happen overnight, but I truly believe it does happen, and you make him a better person because of it.

[childlikegoblinqueen]

SCOM WRITERS NOTES! For Criminal…

Darius and Willow (and Hunter)

First? Some mental health stuff.

I’m back and my brain is working overtime not to panic and obsess about things that are currently out of my control.

Not easy. I’m sick to my stomach most days and raising my kids who are now WAY more aware than they were when they were literal babies in 2016 and have a lot of thoughts about *things* takes up a lot of headspace.

I’m going to continue to (try) distracting myself with fan fiction and writing notes… but I may be slower because of everything.

So see below for a few notes about Criminal and how Darius’ (and Steve’s) actions after Willow’s actions frame things.

Darius’ track record of truth versus omissions of full truth is BAD in SCOM. I know that a LOT of folks thought I was deliberately anti Darius etc and that is something that they are entitled to believe, but certainly I was working more with the idea that people are messy AF, especially people coming from an underground resistance to a fascist government, and Darius had other hang ups considering his own relationship with Hunter’s predecessor.

Darius made bad decisions that he meant well by at the time and sometimes even overcompensated to fix which ended up costing more to begin with. This is a REALLY HUMAN PROBLEM. He chose to dive back into government (and mend and reform it) which means it was IMPOSSIBLE for him to share certain things with others on the outside.

In SCOM Hunter, coming from the place he had been all his life needed distance from anything involving government. The two things just couldn’t fit together and as Darius had admitted (and Bria twisted) he’d felt sick when he saw Hunter realizing just how badly he’d failed at not mentoring him, but being in his life.

That said? Everything he had done (for better or for worse) was to protect Hunter and keep him out of government affairs so he could remain a private citizen.

And a big one, that displayed a TON of bias was how he handled the situation between Willow and Kikimora.

He has a lot of compassion for Willow and recognizes very well how someone can be pushed SO FAR PSYCHOLOGICALLY when it comes to the thought of a loved one being hurt and abused.

Further? Kikimora (unlike Hunter and Willow) was a grown ass adult when this occurred (more on that later in the story).

Torture is NOT Willow’s go to by any means. She felt outside her own body when she acted as she had. A feeling both Darius (and Steve) are likely to understand. And they believe she deserves a chance at healing.

So taking her memory and getting her into therapy was part of protecting Willow and Hunter at the time. Not only did he see her as a child who couldn’t process her emotions over not being able to protect someone she loved, but he saw her actual horror at her actions.

This shouldn’t be definitive of her future anymore than Hunter should be defined by his time as a child under Belos.

[biniminisblog]

barcelona: a love untold | heartbreak series (hjs)

pairing: han jisung x reader

synopsis: "huwag mo kong mahalin dahil mahal kita. mahalin mo ako dahil mahal mo ako, because that is what I deserve." or “stop saying you love me just because i love you. say you love me because you love me, because that is what i deserve.”

genre: angst, best friends to strangers

word count: 2.0k

series masterist

a/n: hi i’m alive and doing good!! still feeling a bit under the weather but nothing too serious so i got to finish this!! hope you guys liked it 😖😖 i actually was gonna write a happy ending but forgot this is literally called heartbreak series lmao. perhaps in an alternate ending instead who knows 👀 anw pls reblog/comment your thoughts i would rlly appreciate it, thank you ❤️❤️

“congratulations to all of you!” the cheers got louder, echoing around the school gym, and simultaneously, you all threw your graduation caps in the air, celebrating the end of a story and the beginning of a new one.

you can’t believe it. you’ve finally graduated high school. all those sleepless nights of studying and countless exams have finally paid off. you’re now one step closer from going to your dream university. one where you can start fresh.

“you’ve grown so much now,” your mother sniffles, barely being able to contain her tears. “but i know you’ll always be my baby daughter.” she finishes, eyes filled with such warmth and you give her a tight hug, your father joining in as you cry happy tears at this emotional moment.

“of course mom, now stop crying or you’ll ruin both our makeups,” you joke, carefully wiping the droplets on your mother’s cheek using your thumb. your mother does the same to you and your father gives you a head pat, laughing slightly at the both of you.

“i’m proud of you yn, you’ve become a wonderful woman.” your father smiles warmly, giving you a light squeeze, and while pulling away he adds, “but just because you’ll be in college soon doesn’t mean i’m letting you go wild and date boys.”

“dad!” you whine, feeling embarrassed, and you playfully slap your father on the shoulder, which only elicits a chuckle and a ruffle of your hair. “what? i’m just protecting my only daughter. besides, australia is a huge and unknown place, who knows who you’ll meet there.”

“well lucky for you, i’m not interested in dating anyone.” which technically isn’t a lie but not the truth either. you don’t want to date just anyone since you already had your eyes set on someone else.

unknowingly, that someone else happens to be heading towards your direction right at this moment, with both your parents looking behind you. when you see their faces instantly morphing to one of fondness, you can immediately tell who they are looking at.

“yn!” you hear his voice before you see him, and when you turn around you are greeted with your best friend, the person you have been in love with ever since you learned what love is.

he flashes you an infectious smile that you couldn’t help but reciprocate, his pearly white teeth on full display as he gently pulls you into a tight hug. his parents are trailing behind him as they walk towards your parents.

“i can’t believe we graduated!” jisung exclaims, jumping up and down with you still trapped in his embrace, which causes you to move along with him.

“jisung-ah, please stop, i can't breathe—!” you manage to let out before he pulls away, eyes apologetic and a pout adorning his lips.

“sorry, i just missed you so much i couldn’t help it.” you can’t control the blush that starts to show onto your face and you scoff, looking away quickly in hopes he didn’t notice.

“you literally just saw me this morning, you big baby.” you tease, giving his forehead a little flick to which he responds with a dramatic ‘ouch!’.

jisung then proceeds to greet your parents, hugging them and then congratulating him on his achievements. you do the same with his parents and when you are done exchanging words, you both excuse yourselves.

you both arrive at the school rooftop, and once you close the door, you both heave a sigh of exhaustion.

“i still can’t believe high school is over.” jisung speaks first, his eyes fixated on the sunset as he rests his arms on the railings.

“yeah…” you mumble as you approach him before standing next to him and looking at the sunset as well. “now the real shit begins.”

this gets jisung to laugh, yet he still has this solemn look on his face. “you know, we only have one thing left on our bucket list before college.”

“travel to barcelona together, right?” he hums in affirmation, playing with the hems of his toga as he awaits your response.

“well we did agree to find a date first, so we can’t really do that.” you shrug nonchalantly, although you were anything but. the truth is, you didn’t want to date anyone else but him so you never actively sought out other people.

however, you can’t say the same for him. you’ve actually been tiptoeing around him a bit for the past few weeks ever since he and lia broke up, so it’s still a relatively fresh wound.

you remember waking up in the middle of the night to jisung knocking on your bedroom window, and when you let him in he broke down. it was your first time seeing him look so dejected, you weren’t sure what to do. he had sobbed quietly in your arms the whole night, and the only thing you could do was comfort him.

you don’t know the exact reason why they broke up, just that jisung told you that it had been his entirely fault. you want to believe him, though a part of you wishes to resent lia and blame her for everything, but you know you couldn’t do that. instead you just have to live with the fact that jisung will never see you that way and now that you’ve graduated and are moving to another country, you think you’re finally ready to accept that.

“who says we can’t be each other’s date?”

you think god is playing with you.

you whip your head to face jisung, only to find the serious look plastered on his features. you furrow your eyebrows in confusion and he notices, getting ready to explain. “i mean, we’ve been friends for years now, right? it seems like the only logical solution since we know each other better than anyone else, so why don’t we start dating?”

you continue to stare at him, unsure of what to do anymore. you never would’ve thought this would happen, but you have an inkling as to why he’s doing this.

“jisung… i know you’re still hurting but this isn’t the way to cope—” he cuts you off by grabbing both your hands in his, catching you by surprise.

“i’m being serious, yn. i want to try this, i want to see how this goes—and if it doesn’t work out then we can go back to being just friends, i promise! just give me a chance.” he pleads, puppy dog eyes on full display since he knows you can’t resist it. you almost give in, but you know this is only going to end in heartbreak, yours specifically. because you know you could never go back to just friends once you start dating.

you also know it wouldn’t last long especially since you’re moving away soon.

“jisung, i’m moving to australia.” you finally drop the bomb as you pull your hands from his and dart your eyes to look at the sunset instead.

you hear him mutter a ‘what?’ under his breath and when you glance at his reaction you see a mixture of what seems to be hurt and betrayal.

“why? when are you moving? why are you telling me this now?” jisung bombards you with questions, running a frustrated hand through his once perfectly styled hair as he waits for your answers.

“i wanted something new and exciting, like a new beginning.” you try to explain, keeping your voice calm as you begin to see jisung’s eyebrows furrow even more. “i’m moving next week and i only told you now because i knew you’d react like this.”

“like what yn? like i was betrayed by my own best friend? of course i’d react like this! how would you feel if i told you i’d be leaving the country in less than a week without any warning? and what about barcelona?” he asks you and you have nothing to say, knowing that you would react the same way. you were just being selfish and immature.

jisung takes your silence as confirmation and angrily paces back and forth. “i just don’t get it, why would you want to move away from here? away from me? have i just misunderstood everything?”

his last question confused you, making you wonder what he was talking about. “what do you mean misunderstood? am i missing something?”

this seems to fluster jisung as he now begins to stumble over his words.

“uhm—i mean, it’s just that i—uh kind of overheard you talking about your feelings for me—?” you interrupt him with a loud gasp, feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment rush through you.

you were so stupid, how could you let yourself be exposed so easily? as dramatic as it sounds, you feel like your life is officially ruined.

“…how long have you known?” you ask hesitantly, yet you were afraid of what the answer may be.

jisung seems to contemplate on what to say but eventually gives in. “i knew the day after the break up. i went to your place that morning and i heard you talking on the phone. you said you planned on confessing but ended up not doing it because lia and i just broke up and you didn’t want to overwhelm me.”

you were about to open your mouth to say something but jisung is quick to cut you off. “—but! please, hear me out. i like you too, yn. hell— i may even love you! and before you worry about lia, i promise you we’re not like that anymore. it’s just that you’re the one person who’s always been there for me and i was too blind to see it.”

your head was spinning, you’re not sure how to respond. yes, you want to go through the easy route and just accept his confession. you know how badly you want to just ignore all those times he unknowingly broke your heart by choosing everyone else but you. yet you’re aware that it isn’t the right choice.

because you’ve already accepted the fact that jisung will never be in love with you.

“i know you don’t mean that, so please let’s just forget this happened before one of us gets hurt.” you bite your lip to suppress yourself from saying more and jisung frowns, a mix of emotions showing on his features.

“then what do you want me to do so that you’d believe me?” he takes a step closer before gently tucking the stray hair behind your ear. he then cups your jaw, caressing it ever so slightly as you try to regulate your increasing heart rate.

“i’ll only believe you if you stop saying you love me just because i love you. say you love me because you love me, because that is what i deserve.” you whisper, and jisung wouldn’t have heard it if it weren’t for the fact that your faces were now only inches apart from each other.

“i love you.” his lips muttering those words were the last thing you see before you feel it press down your own. he kisses you like you’re the last bit of oxygen left in this world. he kisses you like he wants to kiss you. he kisses you like he loves you. and you kiss him back.

until you hear a ring. at first you both ignore it, continuing to wallow in each other’s presence. however the annoying sound wouldn’t stop, so you both begrudgingly pulled away.

you regret this soon after once you find out it was jisung’s phone, and the caller was none other than his ex girlfriend herself. what hurts more is the fact that he still had her number saved with a heart, clearly still not over her.

you start to feel the burning sensation in your eyes and you attempt to blink repeatedly to prevent the tears from falling but it only gets worse.

“wait, yn— i can explain!” jisung speaks before quickly mutes his phone and shoves it back in his pocket.

“explain what, jisung? that you’re still in love with your ex and i’m just a rebound to you!?” you exclaim, emotions clouding your judgement, making irrational yet you didn’t care.

“i—“ jisung sutters over his words, not even bothering to form coherent sentences and that’s when you understood everything.

god you were so delusional. why would you think jisung would fall for someone like you anyway? especially if he’s still hung up over his ex. you really are the biggest idiot.

“fuck you han jisung. fuck you and all your empty i love yous and promises.” and that was the last thing you say before you decided he was no longer in your life.

taglist

@moon0fthenight @havenwithleeknow @dearly-somber @gnabnahc-s-gf @tfshouldidohere @lovesunshinefelix @aeririya

[seresinhangmanjake]

Signed Away: Part 14

Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Fem!Reader Series

Summary: You find out about the contractual marriage your parents arranged with Jake’s when you were a baby. You’re plently angered by it, but Jake doesn’t seem too bothered. He might even be happy.

Notes/Warnings: Smut 18+, cursing, fluff, angst, contract marriage, loss of rights, feelings of being trapped, poor parent/child relationships, typos for sure.

As always, comments can make my bad days worth getting through, so i’ll never not appreciate them. Reblogs and likes make me smile uncontrollably, but no pressure :)

Masterlist

Words: 2353

-----

Jake stood with his hands braced against the countertop, his tense shoulders raised high to his neck, and his head tilted down as if the weight of the last couple weeks was taking its toll. He'd grown exhausted. His protectiveness had kicked into overdrive, and he hadn't taken a moment to breathe, as if too afraid it could distract him from the threat of your mother. You'd tried to convince him to relax, but you couldn't quite succeed when you yourself were struggling to do the same.   

"Why do you want to talk to her about it?" He asked. His tone was dark, deep, and yet the wobble of anxiety still wove clearly throughout his words. 

You sighed. "Jake…"

"I don't like the idea of you dealing with her," he said, his eyes flicking up to meet yours. "Who cares if you're broke? I sure as hell don't. Do you care if you're broke?"

He was rambling, the words coming out as fast as his lips could move to make them. The more the two of you had thought about it, the more the revelation made sense, but something in you still wanted proof. You wanted to hear it from your mother's mouth and have her fully admit to trying to ruin you. But Jake didn't want you going near her. He didn't see the point. To him, it was exposing yourself to the beast that had been stalking you from afar, just waiting for the perfect time to pounce. It defied logic.

"No."

"See?" His knitted brows eased. "So that part doesn't matter. If she hired Jason to come between us so that we don't have children all because your family is broke, then she already failed, right? I mean, you're not planning to break my heart by sleeping with your ex, are you?"

"No."

The hand he had raised in your direction smacked back down on the counter. "Exactly! Thank you; I appreciate that. So, what's the point in stirring stuff up with her?" He rounded the counter, approaching you with a restrained speed and resting his hands on your upper arms. "Sweetheart, we are getting married in 8 days. She doesn't matter anymore. We're going to be fine---assuming you actually want to marry me now?"

You chuckled and nodded and his grin spread wide, splitting his face in two. Rough palms cupped your cheeks, thumbs stroking along your cheekbones. He leaned down to give you a soft kiss then rested his forehead against yours.

"Let's just be happy," he whispered, but the plea within his tone was hard to ignore. "We do what we want when we want, and fuck everything else."

With a snort, you said, "There's a piece of paper that says we can't do that."

"There's a piece of paper that says we have to be responsible for an inheritance, but other than that and the marriage, no one gets to make our choices for us." He gave you another quick peck. "Not your parents; not mine."

"Do you honestly believe she's done—that she'll just leave us alone?"

"What else could she do to us that would fix her situation?" 

You didn't want to tell him again that your mother was quicker than he understood, even though he'd faced her head on once before. If you thought you knew what she was thinking, you were dead wrong, and she'd be a full step ahead, waiting to shock you with something you couldn't see coming from ten miles away. And you weren't sure how to fight what you couldn’t see. It left you feeling like a small child swinging her sword around in an attempt to spear an invisible figure—defeated before you even had a chance.

—---

You pulled your car into the parking lot of the diner, turned off the ignition, and stared through the glass window of the worn building where Phoenix sat sipping her coffee. As she smiled at the waitress, you took a few deep breaths, strengthening yourself for a conversation you weren't sure you wanted to have. The pilot was your friend, but you were about to ask for advice, and you could count on one hand the number of times you'd done so before—less, the number of times anyone’s offered advice benefitted you. But you trusted Phoenix. 

"She's your mother. Not his," she said, taking another sip of coffee. The elderly waitress placed a plate of eggs in front of you and you thanked her, giving a slight nod along with the upturn of your lips. "I mean, of course he doesn't want you going to deal with her. Neither do I. I've never met her, and I despise the woman. But no one can stop you from going to talk to her about this if that's what you feel you need."

It sounded so simple coming from her mouth. Simple in a way you couldn't accept. The way Jake looked at you when you mentioned the idea of approaching your mother—the absolute desperation in his eyes for you to forget the idea altogether—was too heavy to answer with such a simplistic response. It felt like disregarding his feelings; ignoring his fears. "He's panicking over it."

"Well, would you want him to walk into a lion's den?" Phoenix quirked a brow. "Can I ask you why you want to talk to her at all?"

"Something just feels…off," you said, shaking your head. "If we're right, and my family doesn't have money outside of the company, then I can't imagine my mother letting it all go just because Jake told her to leave us alone. It's not in her nature."

She paused, watching you carefully, searching for the right words. Knowing her, you could likely guess her final thought on the matter. Whatever she was about to tell you was what she would do if faced with the same situation. But you weren't Phoenix, and you worried your solutions to problems were not the same as hers. "Look, if this is keeping you awake at night, then you should get the information you want, whether Jake agrees or not," she said. "I mean, he won't like it, obviously. His top priorities are marrying you and keeping you safe, and anything that would threaten those things he wants as far from you as possible, but if you'd feel better knowing, then do what you need to do."

The thought of it hit the pit of your stomach the wrong way—how a lie does after you've told one to someone you love. They taste wrong in your mouth and settle uncomfortably in your gut. Phoenix wasn’t suggesting dishonestly, but that’s exactly the choice you would be facing—and neither had a comfortable outcome. Confronting your mother knowing how Jake felt seemed wrong, but doing it behind his back would cross a line. And you couldn't have that. You refused to make that mistake. The two of you were done with secrets.

"I'll think about it," you said.

—---

His thrusts were slow, gentle, with his weight above you and lips kissing and sucking on your neck. A groan rumbled from his chest when your nails began to scrape their way up his sides, leaving thin red lines in their wake. His favorite temporary tattoos, he’d once told you, and from that moment on, you’d made sure to mark him up exactly how you liked. 

"I can't wait until you're my wife," he breathed into your skin. Your whole body was hot, flushed from the thickness of the air, but his breath was hotter—burning, branding you with his confession. 

He suddenly pulled out of you, and you didn't have time to react to the confusion of it before you were flipped onto your side so Jake could settle behind you. His arm wrapped around your front, hand sliding up your torso to your breast and lightly squeezing the flesh as his cock spread you open again. The slap of skin against skin filled the room, echoing in your foggy brain and making you purr delightfully in his embrace. You loved that sound. You loved that brief moment of him shoving himself deep inside you just to pull out and repeat the movement, rewarding you with the noises of your combined pleasure. 

"I'm never gonna get tired of this," he growled, and you clenched around him involuntarily. His pace stuttered as his breath caught in his throat. "Fuck, baby." He dotted kisses over your shoulder and neck. His nose nudged your cheek. "I want you to cum."

"Ja–"

"Please, sweetheart. Just one more. I know you can handle it."

You were so weak for him. Whenever he begged, you lost absolute control of every bit of your body. It was so easy to surrender yourself—to let go—just from his needy coaxing. 

The drag of his cock along your walls, the tip hitting just the right spot in time with his deep grunts, pulled from your lips a chorus of moans and whimpers and curses. You reached one hand behind your head, weaving your fingers into his hair, and the other gripped the disheveled sheet underneath you in a sad attempt to find something to stabilize your body as he pounded into you. 

“Fuck, Jake.”

His fingers moved to your clit and rubbed in little circles that sent sharp jolts of pleasure throughout your body. His movements were intoxicating. Fingertips playing with you. Hips slamming against your ass. You no longer knew up from down, left from right. He made you beautifully dizzy, practically seeing stars as the tightness in your body finally released all at once. Your walls fluttered around him, squeezing, milking and greedy for what he had to give. You allowed the feeling to consume you and fade before opening your eyes. His own were slammed shut, his lips parted for shallow exhales.

“Jake…” you whispered. His eyelids unsealed and he looked down at you. Green irises were nearly swallowed whole by blown pupils. He was gone—so far gone—and you wanted him to come back to you. “Kiss me,” you said, tipping your head back further so your mouths could meet. He kissed you sweetly. There was a neediness there, but no desire to rush tasting one another. It was soft, delicate, in direct contrast to the pace of his thrusts. He kissed you until he couldn’t breathe and had to break the connection. “Now come for me.”

Blond eyebrows knitted. HIs jawline sharpened from his clenched teeth. Your name and a curse blended into a new word as his whole body stalled, fingernails digging into your flesh while ropes of his cum filled you. His hips jutted twice more, then he began to pull out, making your abused hole sting the slightest in protest. When he rose to get a towel to clean you up you latched onto his hand and pulled him back down. 

“Not now,” you said, turning over to face him.

Snickering, he kissed your hairline and whispered, “Ok, beautiful.”

You laid wrapped together—for how long, you didn’t know—but the sunlit glow that painted your room had begun to fade by the time either of you cared to break the blissful silence. 

"Stay."

"Sweetheart, you have no idea how badly I want to," he replied quickly, as if the same thought had been dancing around his mind. "But I made a pact with Coyote, Bob, and Rooster."

"When you were seventeen."

"It's a very serious pact, sweetheart,” he chuckled, brushing stray strands of hair from your face. “We have to spend our last night as single men together. We shook on it."

You hummed in consideration. "Well, it's good to know you're loyal,” you said, and were instantly rewarded with his bright grin. 

"You, more than anyone, will always be sure of that."

—---

“I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart," Jake whispered against your lips after brushing Rooster and Coyote's tugging hands off his arms so he could give you another kiss goodbye. 

Every time his lips met yours, the world around you fell apart. It melted away while you and Jake stood safe and sound in your own little bubble. You liked your bubble. You could've stayed there for ages had Rooster not interrupted you with his chuckles before pulling Jake from your arms. 

"You've got the rest of your lives, lovebirds," the brunet said. They each wished you a good night and then they left, the door slamming behind them. 

With him gone, you itched for Phoenix to arrive sooner. You needed the distraction to tame your nerves. As much as you would have liked to find the night calming, there was too much on your mind. The fact that you never confronted your mother was a dark ugly cloud above your head, but you couldn't help caving for Jake. In your own worry, you hadn't thought much about what he was going through since learning of the children clause of the contract—how stressful it could be having your potential child already unwanted by one of their grandmothers, a woman with no boundaries; a woman who would hurt her own child without hesitation. Though he never spoke it aloud, you felt like a fool for not factoring that into his panic, and when it all hit you, it confirmed that you couldn't go behind his back. You made that sacrifice for him, and you would just have to sit and pray the threat that was your mother wouldn't come after you again. 

The knocking snapped you from your thoughts, and you yanked your jagged fingernail out from between your teeth. Your knee ceased its bouncing and you quickly stood, rushing down the hall. Phoenix had perfect timing. Another few minutes and your anxiety might have begun to wrap its spindly fingers around your neck. But when you opened the door, the hair on your arms immediately stood on end. Your heartbeat raced, thudding violently in your ears, and you swallowed hard to unsuccessfully ease the sudden dryness of your throat. 

"What do you want?" you choked out.

"Can't a mother come see her daughter the night before her wedding?"

A/N: Instant foreshadowing, huh? Anyway, I tried. Hope you liked it :)

-----

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[wofdesignhub]

I’m gonna draw a dragon again soon so quick rant

You know one thing I REALLY hate in wings of fire? There’s a tiny, little inconsistency throughout the books. And that’s the sizes of scavengers to the dragons. Because I’m just gonna say it here: the “canonical” size comparison such as the picture below makes NO SENSE considering how everything else is just conveniently a decent size for a dragon. And trust me, we WILL get to it being “canonical”

A mango can fit a dragons palm when it should clearly be tiny as the actual love I have for this book series. What about cows? How come they’re described to be massive enough to feed a whole dragon? They should be like a candy bar to those things! And don’t get me started on how completely unrealistic it is for a sloth to be big enough to wrap itself around a rainwing’s neck. Like that must be some pretty massive sloths around that should ABSOLUTELY be massive compared to a scavenger.

Also the funny part about that pic I showed you? Yeah well scrap that cuz that’s also pretty inaccurate. We were to believe in the VERY EARLY books that scavengers are like hamsters to dragons. Literally the size of their right toe. Also also the fact that Smolder is like 50 years old AND also also also the fact that dragons keep growing as they age, then that just tells us that these scavenger are way, WAY bigger to these dragons. Especially if Flower here is the size of his FOREARM!

“Oh, but the islands are more suited for dragons! Of course everything will be big!” You cry out! Yet it is implied that scavengers were the dominant race BEFORE The Scorching, and even if that was a whole lotta years ago, then that must’ve been the FASTEST evolution process in the south coast yet.

And it STILL gets worse! Scavengers, even after being concluded to be the size of hamsters to dragons, Tui is constantly and very much maliciously switching the sizes of these scavengers to fit the plot because she has never figured out what she ever wants. Winter keeps Bandit in what’s implied to be some.. hamster cage? Okay, so he must be pretty damn tiny, which makes some amount of sense considering he’s probably a… teenager… I mean, okay, sure, whatever, I’ll let it slide- wait! But so is Winter! Winter is bigger than Qibli, sure, but neither of them are any bigger than other fully grown dragons! Winter is a teenage dragonet! So how small is Bandit?? How small is he compared to a- and let me emphasize- a FULL GROWN DRAGON!!!?? What!!!

And by the way, have you SEEN the actual cover of Dragonslayer??? Look at that and TELL me how completely unrealistic it is if we are to believe scavengers are the size of a dragon’s forearm

Also also also ALSO in book 14 Daffodil is shown tossing and catching Bumblebee who had just hatched and this is just unnatural and biologically confusing to think about. HOW is Daffodil bigger than a newborn dragonet? And this makes even LESS SENSE when you realize that it’s been implied that a newborn dragonet is the same size as a regular sized scavenger ACCORDING to the fact that it’s really easy to pick up a baby dragonet by the hand COMPARED to the size of Flower to Smolder’s hand in the picture??? HOW? Tell me how, Tui!! How is this possible!! And don’t you dare tell me that “oh! Pantalan dragons are smaller than Pyrian!” Because that is just ludicrous to me. I will LAUGH at you if you tell me otherwise because that is just a cheap way to excuse any of this. There has NEVER been any quote of Luna or any other Silkwing, Hivewing, or Leafwing being significantly shorter than a Pyrian dragon. 

I should really cut to the chase but I’ve… never liked Tui’s writing. I don’t like that she avoids criticism of her writing. She has great ideas and is so creative in the world of WOF but for most works she’s either rushing it or coming up with something on the spot. And neither are good if they’re not thought out well enough! All of the endings to the arcs are bad and poorly thought out. The logic in how specific stuff works is just terrible. Arc 3 is just a NOTHING arc full of NOTHING characters (except maybe Snowfall and some of the Leafwings they’re… fine). I’m sorry but as much as I “pretend” to like WOF, and I REALLY mean it when I say “pretend”, but this book makes me get an aneurysm the more I really look deep into it. I am beyond terrified of looking into the guidebook because I KNOW there will be inaccuracies, confusion, and Tui slamming down whatever ideas she has without a second thought. I already know she put the weird and unnecessary mudwing mating rituals!!

Anyways, drawing that stupid blue and yellow rainwing later, I don’t want to go and look for her name now, goodnight everyone, don’t talk to me

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not watching my toddler sister for my mom?

I (16F) am a high school student who does school fully online (and has been basically forever), which means I'm home basically 24/7. I still do school don't get me wrong, I'm still busy, but I don't have anywhere I absolutely *have to be* at any given time.

My siblings and dad are also out most of the day at (physical) school or work, so on a lot of weekdays it's just me, my mom, and my toddler sister home alone. This is the situation I'll be talking about here.

Now, my Mom's a busy person. She does a lot of chores (I help with what I can so this isn't about that), managing finances, and light work (self-paced online courses) on top of watching my sister.

She doesn't ask for my help babysitting her unless she is literally out of the building, which I'm happy to do. However, she's also the kind of person that Will Not Ask For Help (I really have to take it upon myself to offer to watch her), so even though she seems to handle it alright, not asking for help isn't a good measure of if she needs it. Before, I've asked her if she needed more help and she gave me the "no I've got it :)." I have no reason to believe she's in full crisis, but also.... yeah, I can't fully take that to heart.

Paid nannies, babysitting, child care, preschool, etc. are out of the question also.

My cases for NTA are: the mentality that I'm still in school, so I should be treated essentially like I am out of the building. I've been operating like that for a while now. Also, there's the fact that my mom knew the work a toddler would be when she decided to have a baby, and the fact that she is a grown ass mother and I'm a teenager.

However, recently this has all seemed less and less logical and I've been feeling more guilty about it. I could reasonably do some homework while babysitting. I could give my mom a break by playing with my sister, even if it sacrificed some homework time. I'm not a little tiny child anymore, not only would I be fine, I think actually I have some obligation considering how lucky I am for my school situation to be as good as it is.

So the question is: AITA for not offering to watch her more in the past?

Also to note is the fact that no big event or argument or tension has caused this, it's just a random though I've had.

What are these acronyms?

[360iris]

i’m only on ACOFAS, but the way rhys literally tells feyre that he holds animosity towards nesta only for not helping her hunt for those five years— “because elain is elain”

i.e he means “elaine is a pretty airhead, so i get it. she’s too pretty to lift a finger and hunt, but nesta is a sour bitch who thinks she’s too good to chip a nail— and so as an immortal with 540+ years on her, i’m telling you that i swear to never forgive her”

is so out of pocket, and watching the feyre devolve into a selfish bitch who stands up for her sister less and less the more insane he acts towards her, makes feyre far worse than nesta ever was actually is vomit inducing but i digress..

never mind the fact he eventually threatens to kill her in front of her mate and we all know the crazy mfer meant it lmao like what is this

nesta, who while she was still a fragile little human and the only one in the family that tamlin’s glamour didn’t work on, literally ran all the way to the wall to try and get her sister back. consequences and faewild be damned.

nesta who screamed bloody murder for cassian, consequently saving his stupid life, while rhys and feyre stood by and watched like idiots right before the cauldron went off.

nesta who threw her untrained body over cassian’s to shield him from hybern wanting to just kill him, instead of running like she could have.

nesta who later on stays behind and takes on full grown, blood thirsty illyrian men during the blood rite all so she could give gwyn and emerie a chance to make it to the living stone and claim the highest title for themselves, even though she wanted it just as much.

nesta who saves feyre later on in ACOSF because of course she fucking would and Rhys thanking her like her doing what she could for her sister was so hard to believe???

anyway nesta archeron, my dear fellow smut loving baby girl, they could never make me hate you girly pop

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Bachelor/Clavell/Wan

cold days and full bellies

A few days later. Nick and his wife kept their word. All the stock was divided up among the surrounding households. They had to do a lot of math, as some households were larger than others. “I still can't believe it, you were right from the start with your assumptions”.

“Yes, and I could bite my own ass for not having looked into this room much earlier. They could have divided things up even better, I tried to get what I could"/ ‘It's okay, there's good stuff in there, you can make something out of it’/ ”Well, canned food. But at least there were pickled cucumbers, just right for you, right?”

Pauline had to smile a little. She thought it was kind of sweet that he was thinking of her. “Do you mean because I'm pregnant? I haven't had any particular cravings in all this time and I don't really like pickles"/ ‘hm, stupid…’/ ”It wasn't wrong to bring them. I think the children will like them. They were most happy about the cookies"/ ‘Children love sweets, that's obvious’.

Pauline changed the subject for a moment. Because there was still this important matter. “Have you… actually been to see Morgana?"/ ”phew, no, I haven't had time for that yet. Is it that important with the check?"/ ”She just wants to test everyone in turn. General check, please…"/ ‘hm, fine with me, I'll go over tomorrow’. She knew that Xander was one of those men who didn't like going to the doctor. But it was important.

A little later. While Pauline was preparing dinner, the children came home. “Oh man, it smells so good, I'm really hungry"/ ”I'll be ready in a minute. You didn't eat very much for breakfast this morning either"/ ‘yes, I didn't have much of an appetite.’ For Michael, things couldn't go fast enough again that morning. He really wanted to spend time with Peter.

“and what did you do?"/ ‘I went to the gym… with Peter’/ ”hnhn. You really spend every spare minute together, huh?"/ He became a little embarrassed. “If it's possible…then yes. “/ “It's normal when you're in love… I'm happy for you both anyway”/ “Yeah, only Xander still thinks it's weird”/ “hn, right, but he's getting used to it. So, we can eat, will you put the plates on the table?"/ ‘mhm’…

They sat down at the table together. “What's that? The portion is quite small…"/ ”a rich rice dish. Believe me, the portion may be small, but I'm sure it will fill you up"/ ‘hm, okay’… even if Michael was sceptical that the portion might not be enough for him, he later realized that Pauline was right. Sometimes it's the ingredients that make the meal.

Later, after dinner. After they had washed the dishes together, Bella wanted to feel Pauline's tummy again. It had grown quite a bit in the meantime. “Hello baby, did you like the food that much?"/ ”hnhn, I'm sure you did. Have I told you what it's going to be?"/ ‘No, not yet’.

“I'm going to have a girl. But don't tell anyone, okay? I want it to be a secret for a while longer"/ ‘A secret?’/ ‘Mhm’. Bella looked at Pauline's stomach and grinned a little. “O.K., I won't tell anyone, not even Darlene. And do you have a name for her yet?"/ ”hmm, not yet, I think I'll decide when she gets here. Now get ready for bed”.

After the children had gone to bed, the adults also retired, together… “And you… Do you really want us to sleep in the same bed again?"/ ‘Before this sofa ruins my back, yes… besides, it's cold’. She smiled a little sheepishly.

“That's right. When do you think the first snow will come?"/ ‘If it were up to me, it wouldn't have to come at all.’/ ”hnhn. Which side do you want to lie on?"/ ‘I don't care, as long as I don't freeze to death’. She smiled a little and then they went to bed together without any ulterior motives. They just wanted to feel each other's warmth. Even though their house had also been fitted with a stove, the warmth had not yet reached all the rooms.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of this Part

@greenplumbboblover 😊

[wafflerageface]

For the 3rd past life ask game, number 7 and 13?

I got sick and got behind on these I'm so sorry

7) The Slayer form is part of their dread inheritance so how did they earn it? Before or after becoming Chosen?

Okay so I know how the game mechanics work to keep things from being overpowered, which I get, but I took a completely different take on the Slayer form (cause I'm special like that o.o)

So being the mythology nerd and having grown up on PJO, I had some disappointment with how normal Durge is in game play considering they're meant to be a demigod. Even if you go off the idea of Durge is made from a scrap of Bhaal and other Spawn are just born from some mortal he impregnates, imo there still should have been something more that set them apart from normal people other than just simply being slowly going insane murder hobos. I personally headcanoned the idea that all Spawn have the potential to achieve Slayer form through training and an appropriate amount of blood tithes to Bhaal. An idea where Sarevok could instruct how to eventually achieve a level where they could assume the Slayer form, but ultimately only if Bhaal really decided they were worthy. That way we kept some of that "inheritance" vibe to it but it still added that something special I felt the character was lacking. Kind of like reaching a bloody nirvana.

For Fallon, knowing that Durge is canonically Bhaal's specialist little baby and can do no wrong (unless it's loving Banite Chosen), she earned her Slayer form much easier because she has always been a people pleaser in order to survive the temple. She has always put what Sarevok or Sceleritas says over her own thoughts and opinions. As much as I really dislike Fel (he gives me the creeps) I do recognized that he loved Durge in his own twisted way, so I fully believe he helped Fallon find the best people to sacrifice to her father in order to speed run hitting bloody nirvana and achieve her Slayer form.

However for Aria it's a different story. She isn't made for direct and close combat and she's never been "daddy's princess". She hates sacrificing her kills to anyone, especially Bhaal. It's not that she has any problems with killing, she actually enjoys her kills, but only when they are hers. She hates being forced to do anything in Bhaal's name, so her blood tithes, while performed, weren't exactly the most reverent as they should have been. She can only sort of shift into a Slayer form. Like she can get half way there with the more monstrous attributes and appearances (like the horns, claws, the tail, she gets larger, she grows spines) but it isn't complete because she isn't complete. She is an almost perfect Spawn so her Slayer form reflects that. Now admittedly part of this was born from seeing really good fanart of half-shifted Durges on here, but also I thought it added such a cool mechanic story wise that the Spawn could be almost perfect.

13) Cazador's dungeon is located really close to the temple. Were there ever any run-ins with each other or disputes?

I'll be honest that I did not notice this detail while playing so I absolutely have to take a closer look when I get back to act 3. As it is, thinking about it, I feel like the answer is both a yes and no to the run-ins, definitely no disputes.

We all know Cazadick is a major asshole and a whiny bitch, but he was effective and careful. I mean you would have to be in order to survive as a vampire lord living in the heart of Baldur's Gate while planning to perform a profane ritual of ascension. Like the Gate is home to not just the Flaming Fist but also a lot of religious sects that would love to take credit for crushing turts like Cazadick. So I firmly believe that the moment he settled in and found out there was a Bhaalist temple full not only of, well, Bhaalist, but also Bhaalspawn he decided fuck that and one of the rules given to his Spawn was you are to never go near that place. Kinda like with forbidding them to ever go near where Jaheira's house is.

As for run-ins, I don't think there were ever any face-to-face run-ins with each other, but I do think that they caught glimpses of each other as they came and went. Fallon might have been hiding in the rafters somewhere in the undercity tunnels to think and vibe and watched Astarion and Petras walk under her while arguing over how they fumbled grabbing a victim that night at Elf Song. Astarion probably heard footsteps on his way out one night and ducked in a corner to hide only to peek out and see three Bhaalspawn sisters playing a dangerous game of knife tag. Both groups of spawn very likely came across the aftermath of the other and walked the same beaten paths they did without ever really acknowledging the presence of the other because there was no need to. I think at the same time it may have been a comfort knowing there was someone else walking the same paths you did, living just as awful a life, but you were suffering together and there was some comfort found in knowing there really would be others out there that could relate to you.

[sunnyie-eve]

1 | All grown up

Series: Odds Together

Paring: Ryan Dunn x OFC Margera!

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Mention of an abusive relationship

| MASTERLIST |

~

Today I was returning home to West Chester after living in Ireland for a few years and LA for a few months. I practically had to begged my parents to let me leave because they wanted me to stay close. I was the only child they had faith in actually doing something smart with my life because I wasn't 100% like my brothers. My older brother was in a band and twin brother did stupid videos for a living along with skating. I mean when I was young I did videos with Bam but over time I wanted to focus on other things too.

When my plane landed I didn't see anyone waiting for me so I had to called my mom. "So am I supposed to get a ride home from the airport by myself or did you forget?" I ask her as I take a seat in a corner.

"I completely forgot! I'll have Bam come pick you up. I'm so sorry. Can't wait to see you." She ends the call so I just sit alone in a airport.

I don't know how much time passed till I heard someone calling out my name, "Annabelle Quinn Margera!" I get up from my spot. As I get closer to who was calling my name I realized it was Ryan Matthew Dunn.

"Do you really have to yell my full name out? It's very embarrassing." I say as people were looking at us walking, sitting, or standing by.

He turns around to face me and his jaw drops as he blinks at me, "Bam was busy so he sent me." He gives me a smile.

"Out of everyone... he sends the worst driver. And busy doing what? Screwing things up?" I ask not surprised as we start to walk towards the exit.

"I'm not the worst. And haven't changed have you? Well, I mean since the last time you changed." He chuckles.

"You mean me being mature and not a child? And yes you are... the accident." I come to a stop.

"You can be mature and still have fun. Have you seen Ape? Also okay... lets not talk about that. Ape still hates me for that." He stops as well to face me.

"Yes, I've seen her because she's my mother, Dunn." I say starting to walk again till we get to the car.

The drive back to the house was quite till Ryan decided to start asking questions, "Why did you leave? And so suddenly to?"

"Other than schooling... just to get away."

"Get away? Away from what exactly?" He looks over at me for a second.

"Life here. Living in Bam's shadow, losing your best friend to his ego, your parents expecting you to do something great with your life, you ex making up rumors, fall-, I could go on." I stop myself from saying the last part.

"No one believed those rumors, Anna."

"Yes, people did. Bam did at first and so did my parents because they adored him. I had to tell them my side of the story and make them believe I was telling the truth." I start to get upset thinking back to that day.

"I never believed a word that dick said about you. I was always on your side, and the other stuff I can kinda understand."

"No, you don't. You're apart of Bam's shadow making it bigger. He's still your best friend because you have an ego too." I look out the car window.

"Why come back if you left to get away?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." My voice cracks so I try to cough it off.

"Bels, what happened?"

"Please don't. I really don't wanna talk about it. Let's just pretend it's because I miss home." I look over at him and he nods his head.

When we got to the house Ryan helped me take my bags in. As soon as my mother saw me she let out a scream. "My baby girl! Look at you!" She runs over pulling me into a hug. "You're all grown up. Such a beautiful young lady. Don't you agree Ryan?" She smiles at him while I cringe.

Ryan looks at me getting embarrassed, "Yeah, she grew up." He says making me laugh at him.

"Where's the demon child?" I ask.

"Didn't he pick you up?" She asks me so I shake my head and point at Ryan.

"Bam!" She yells making him walk into the room.

"That's not my sister! Who the fuck are you?" He walks over to mess with me. "What the hell happened to you? You grew up. Now all the guys are gonna talk about how hot you got." He says making me shake my head.

"Please don't say that. You basically said I got hot."

"I'm not blind, you got better looking. Now I gotta watch the guys because I know how they are. Now let me show you to your new room." He grabs my hand dragging me up the stairs. "It was a wreaked room because I fucked it up so I fixed it for you." He opens the door showing me my new room.

"What's the catch? Everything is too nice." I cross my arms looking at him.

"The catch? Nothing. I fixed the room for you so you would have a room. I had my whole crew help out. Don't you like it?" He says with a big smile.

"Thanks. Now let me settle in." I shove him out shutting the door. I look around the room checking it out to know if it's really safe. When I figured out it was I get comfortable and unpack things. Laying on my bed my stomach started to growl so I go downstairs to get a snack and see the whole crew.

"Who's the beautiful lady?" Raab asks eyeing me.

"Hello Christian, Brandon, Edward." I smile at them going to the fringe.

"Annabelle?!" They all yell my name.

"I thought you said she was coming soon and not as in today." Raab looks at Bam.

"Why did you think we finished up her room today?"

"I-I... Whatever." He shuts up making me laugh.

"Anna, what's your plans for the day?" Bam asks me.

"I wanna stay in my room but I need to ask mom for her car so I can go shopping to fill my closet." I grab an apple closing the fridge.

"Let's all go shopping then. Operation get Anna clothes. Let's go." He grabs his keys and the guys run out of the house. "It'll be fun." Bam drags me with him.

The drive to the nearest mall Bam played all the metal music he liked. I didn't have a problem with it because my taste of music was basically a huge mix of everything. Bam also asked along the way what size do I wear so I told them. As soon a Bam parked my shopping trip turned into a competition. Everyone was to buy whatever, preferably what I'd wear, and when we get home I was to try everything on. I'd then have to choose who picked out the best options that I liked.

"The rules are no asking for help. If you see her you avoid her. We start now and don't stop till Anna is done shopping for herself. Go!" Bam says and they all take off.

I walk into a store and automatically see Rake looking through racks. "Would you wear this?" He shows me a top that was ugly to me.

"God no, and you aren't supposed to ask me." I walk away going to look at jeans.

I end up shopping for some clothes but also shop for other things just to make the room more homey for me.

"I tried my best to actually pick something you would wear compared to Raab. Dude saw anything he considered sexy and took it." Ryan walks up to me with his bags.

"I had that fear and I gotta try on all this shit on." I groan taking a seat with him.

"Annabelle Margera? Funny seeing you back." I look up to see a few girls I hated back in school.

"I don't understand why it's funny." Ryan speaks for me.

"Because you just disappeared and here you are years later." She laughs then starts to smirk. "Baby look who it is." I turn around to see who she was talking to behind me and see my ex.

"Anna..." He eyes me. "What brings you back home?"

"I missed my parents and brother." I start to feel uncomfortable.

"Why did you leave in the first place?" He asks making the girls giggle. "Was it because you were embarrassed about what happened? Oh and did you actually come back because you tried playing a victim wherever you were?" He lets out a deep chuckle.

"Fuck off, you dick." Ryan spits at him.

"Look fat boy still has a thing for his best friend's sister. You two would be cute pathetic losers together." They walk off laughing.

"I fucking hate them. Six years and they still act like they're in high school." Ryan says not noticing I was quietly cry. "Bels?" He leans forward to look at me trying to see my face. "Don't let him get to you." He pulls me into his side.

"I came back home because of a guy I was dating. I thought I could trust him... but slowly he got physical. Controlled me and forced me to do things. I was scared to do anything because he threatened me anytime I didn't do or say what he wanted." I break down to Ryan finally causing him to hold me in his arms as he rubbed my back.

"Ready to go because I've spent more money on clothes and other stuff than fixing your room." Bam walks up to us. "What happened?" He gets serious.

"Austin and some girls from high school." Ryan lies to him which I appreciated.

"Let's go home." Bam says helping me up and we leave to go home. Bam told the guys we would do the next part tomorrow since I wasn't in the mood anymore.

Back in my room I leave the clothes in the bags because the guys wrote their names on it so I know who bought what. "Knock, knock." I look over to see Ryan in the door way.

"You can come in."

"Why did you tell me? You said you didn't wanna talk about it earlier." He shuts my door.

"I trust you still. You were the person I told everything to before moving away. I mean, I was gonna tell you the truth much later but you were standing up for me... and I was crying."

"It's good to know after six years I'm still your person." He smiles coming to take a seat next to me on my bed.

"You've been my person since I was 13 because that first year I hated you for taking Bam away from me." I say making him laugh.

"Can you imagine if we never got along because I can't." He lays back on my bed.

"It would've been hell because you were always around and still fucking around." I lay back too. "So we're lucky we got along. Plus your my favorite out of the crew."

[emmy-dekarios-bg3]

Heart of the Weave - A Baldurs Gate fanfiction

CHAPTER 15

Nobody tells you how quickly time flies by when you’re a parent. Jenevelle is already three months old, and she’s been nothing short of a miracle in our lives. She’s still so small yet so full of life; full of smiles and laughter throughout the days, and hardly cries. Gale and I finally have her transitioned to her room in her crib now, which was so hard – not for her, but for me. Having her in the bassinet by our bed gave me a sense of comfort, knowing I could easily check up on her and make sure she’s breathing. On another note, I’m grateful for our friends, but especially since she’s been born. Karlach will come and babysit once or twice a month while Gale and I go out and have a night to ourselves, which has been so nice. At first, it was an adjustment leaving her for the first time, but I’m glad we are able to get a break every once in a while.

The morning sun rises, and I notice Gale isn’t in bed with me. He does like to wake up rather early and enjoy the dawn, drinking his warm coffee and watching the sun rise. That’s when he has his best ideas for research. I get out of bed and notice Gale on the balcony, where he’s holding Jenevelle and they’re both enjoying the outside world.

“Ah, there’s my love,” Gale says, smiling as I sit down next to him. He leans in for a kiss as the morning sunlight pours over our skin. “Good morning. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, of course not. I was just ready to get up and start my day. I’m glad you are both having a quiet morning.” He gently bounces Jenevelle in his arm and takes a sip of his morning coffee with the other.

“Indeed. I’m just happy you got to sleep in some. I got so much done this morning. I had some sort of…morning epiphany that caused me to wake up and get a jumpstart on the day. I did some of my studies, made breakfast for us, which is sitting on the kitchen table by the way, and I got Jenevelle up, dressed, and fed…” As he continues to speak, I can’t help but admire him. “...and I just wanted to make your morning a little easier since I don’t teach today.” His brown eyes shimmer, transitioning into a tint of golden honey as the sun shines upon his face at a perfect angle.

“I appreciate you and how considerate you are. I truly love you more than words can define,” I tell him as I stretch my body, releasing all tensions held within me. He smiles, trying to fight that cute chuckle he always does.

“Thank you. That means the world to me. I love you too.” As we sit here enjoying the peace, the gentle breeze of Waterdeep air brushes the messy hair out of my face. As I look down at the town square below us, I see there’s a festival going on with various vendors and some bards playing some tunes for a large crowd. I actually notice Shadowheart, believe it or not, and it’s as if she’s looking for something in particular. She’s probably doing some shopping. I’m thinking about going down and buying Jenevelle a crochet owlbear or maybe a quilted blanket.

“Are you thinking about the festival?” Gale asks, studying my face.

“Erm, no…”

“You want to go, don’t you?” I laugh lightly, but then hide it with a fake cough. Is it silly for a grown woman to want to go to a fun festival?

“Can we?” He smiles and hands the baby over to me as he stands up from his seat.

“Of course. Let me go get dressed and we can head out. I’m going to avoid a robe this time, just in case some of my students are there. As much as I enjoy discussing the physics of magic and teaching others how to perform it correctly, I’d rather spend my time with my family enjoying the beauty of Waterdeep and its festivities.”

While Gale goes inside to get ready, I continue to observe the happy crowds from above; people casually dancing to the music, live entertainment of a comedic orc doing stand up, and of course delicious food. Mmmm. I can smell funnel cakes from up here.

We head down to the fun market area for the festival and notice various shops and vendors on every corner throughout the square. So many children are running around playing, eating, and having fun. I almost can’t wait until Jenevelle is walking and can enjoy fun events like this, playing with other children. For now, I have her wrapped in the baby carrier attached to my body, curled up and comfortable as we stroll the calming streets of Waterdeep.

“What a perfect day for such a festival. I clearly don’t get out enough, I feel like I haven’t seen any signs anywhere,” I say, observing the exciting area around us. I do notice a few clowns around us, which immediately brings flashbacks of Dribbles the Clown back at Baldur’s Gate, except we killed him and he was actually a shapeshifter. Long story short, he and several other shapeshifters were sent by Orin to murder me. Now that I look back on it, I feel honored to be such a threat to her.

“Oh, I have a slight inkling this was all planned last minute,” Gale says, chuckling. “Nonetheless, it’s fun to get out and enjoy this time together.”

We grab food and sit down at the music event, where three high elf bards are performing some new music I haven’t heard of before, but they’re pretty good! As we’re watching the concert, I hear my name nearby by a familiar voice – Shadowheart, perhaps? I turn around and notice her approaching us, and she sits down next to me. She has a bag full of items she bought from the various shops and vendors.

“Shadowheart?”

“I know I live like, two blocks down from you, but I saw you two walking and wanted to…give the baby a gift. But then I lost you when I spotted you both at the festival. I didn’t want to interrupt any future plans you might have later, so I figured I’d come by now.” She hands me an adorable pink owlbear plush from her bag, which is almost as big as Jenevelle herself. “The pink owlbear was the last one left. Since I don’t have children yet, I figured I’d spoil your little one while I still can.” I smile, taking the owlbear plush from her.

“Wow, this…is so kind. Thank you.”

“You want children, Shadowheart?” Gale asks. “Man, I wish I knew that earlier. We’d have asked you to babysit if you ever wanted to get the feel of parenthood.”

“I… I do. Now that our adventures are in the past, I’m in a comfortable position where I know I could be a mother. I would adopt, however.”

“A very kind and selfless choice.” I don’t know why but it surprises me that she wants to be a mother. I never got that vibe from her, but I do recall her saying right before fighting the elder brain that she ‘wants to have children once this is all over.’

“Definitely come by when you can. If you’re free tomorrow, maybe you can come by and we can have some tea or coffee while Gale is teaching?” She smiles with pure delight, as if she’s excited to hang out with me for the first time in a few weeks. I don’t know why we don’t get together more often.

“I’d like that. I’ll see you tomorrow then. I better go grab Astarion before he commits some heinous acts in the middle of the square.”

Gale and I shop around, getting new handmade clothes for Jenevelle and various fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients so I can bake a yummy dessert. Baking is one of my specialties, after all. After soaking in the sun partaking in a lovely little family venture, we head home due to Jenevelle getting fussy. However, we get home to put her down for a nap and she is screaming inconsolably. What we thought was her being tired is actually fear; something is causing her to feel sudden fear.

After about thirty minutes of her lying on my bare chest, she calms down and falls asleep. This was unusual behavior for her, especially since she hardly cries, but I’m glad she’s doing alright now.

“My head is throbbing from the screaming. I can’t imagine how she was feeling. I do hope she’s okay,” Gale says, carefully eyeing our sleeping baby as she sleeps in her crib.

“Me too. Maybe she’s just exhausted? Teething? Growing pains?” We watch her sleep peacefully in her crib for a moment, then head down to the living area to relax for about an hour or two. We plop down on the violet velvet sofa next to each other, curled up in a cuddling position. I’m worried about Jenevelle, but I’m sure I’m just being paranoid.

“You might be right about her possibly having pains of some sort, but part of me believes something else is going on. Maybe she saw something that frightened her. Poor baby,” Gale says, followed with a sigh. “I hate feeling daunting like this, but that must be part of being a parent, hm?” He kisses the side of my head for a couple seconds straight, one of the various affections I adore. “I love you. I think we’re doing pretty well as new parents.” I look up at him with my dark brown eyes, staring directly into his as we snuggle closely.

“I love you too. So much. And I couldn’t agree more.”

My love for him gets stronger by the minute every day. It seems like just yesterday I was pulling him out of a portal within a rock and we had an awkward introduction. Look where that unusual encounter got us!

I suddenly remember that Karlach is supposed to come over tonight to watch Jenevelle while Gale and I attend our monthly date night.

“Oh damn, I forgot we were going out tonight. My mom brain sure shows its true colors now,” I mention.

“Do you want to cancel?”

“No, no, it’s okay. Jenevelle will adore seeing aunty Karlach.” I really try not to cancel our date nights since we don’t have them too often; however, Gale’s mom is coming down in two weeks so we may get another one then. She’s been dying to hold and babysit our little girl.

“Good. I look forward to our evening together.”

I smile as I watch the glowing sun set from our living room window, thinking how blessed I truly am. Life is finally perfect again.

[wrenwinchester]

Thinking about the year between season 7 and 8, and the line “I fixed up the impala and just drove.” (Then he hit a dog but I’m not talking about that.)

The impala has been through a crap ton, and she was sitting in a storage locker for most of the year, then they send her through a sign and she definitely has damage on her undercarriage from how she landed. It’s not going to be an easy fix, and getting parts is probably going to be difficult actually scratch that, Bobby’s house may have burned down, but the salvage yard is still there and was left to the boys 100% so maybe not so difficult. But Sam would still have to get the car to Bobby’s old place, maybe he even stayed with Jody for a little bit, while working on the car.

Sam isn’t the most experienced with taking care of Baby. That’s Dean’s job, sure he showed Sam how to do touch ups and tune ups, but most of it, Sam wouldn’t know how to do, but there was no way he was going to let anyone else work on his brother’s baby. That’s not a choice, so he spent a couple months, maybe more, pulling pieces out, putting them back in, trying to match parts from other vehicles and finding ones that worked because it was all he had left of Dean, and it needed to be perfect.

Finally, after like 5-6 months, it’s done, she runs and drives, and she sounds as close as Sam remembered to what she was after Dean would modify, or fix something. (It really wasn’t all that close, but she runs and drives,) then, he spends another month driving around, he drives to Vegas for their annual Vegas week, checking every towns first motel in the yellow pages, just in case, along the way. He doesn’t stay in Vegas long, just long enough to play a round of Dean’s favorite game.

Finally, he ends up in Texas, and somehow, thinking about everyone he’s lost, he hits a dog. Up until this point, he’s been checking motels to see if anyone had checked in under the name Jim Rockford. This time, he checked in under the name. Dean could find him.

Sam did what he could. He even took on a few cases before Vegas, but it felt wrong without his brother by his side. (Of course it did, it always did.)

The dog didn’t do much damage to Baby, and the little it did, Sam had fixed within a week. (He’s grown to know Baby quite well, and understands what every noise she makes means. (Sometimes she whines as he starts her, and he just sighs and says, “I miss him too.”))now we’re at month 8, he’s been staying at this motel for a few weeks, working on maintaining the building so it’s safe, and that’s when he runs into Amelia once more after the dog barges in to her room. And they end up talking about loss and loneliness. And Sam feels seen for the first time since Dean died, (he’s still not sure he believes Dean is dead, but also he exploded right in front of him. It’s the easiest way to rationalize everything and stop him from starting another apocalypse to bring his brother back. Because believe me he considered it.) and he feels accepted and she doesn’t push about his past.

They buy a house 9 months after Dean’s death. Sam just wants to call his brother and tell him, but he wouldn’t get the message.

He meets her Dad month 10, and life is moving on. He has a job, and maybe he could have the normal life he always wanted. The one Dean wanted too. Maybe he could go back to college, and he starts looking into things.

Month 11 is when Amelia’s husband is back from the dead, he wasn’t ever actually dead, but it doesn’t matter to Sam. He’s been in her position before. A loved one coming back from the assumed grave is a big deal, not as big as a loved in coming back from an actual grave that you put them in yourself, but it’s enough.

Everything comes crashing back to reality. He starts looking for Dean again, but more so just looking for signs of him from his home with Amelia. Amelia who now has to decide between her husband, and the broken man she grew to love.

Then, a full year has gone by since Dean’s death. Three hundred sixty-six days (it was a leap year) without his older brother. Not really knowing what happened, not really sure he wants to find out, so he doesn’t ask questions, he doesn’t push, he doesn’t even ask about Kevin and tries not to think about him, even though he has nightmares about Kevin being stuck with Crowley, he can’t handle even the idea of anymore pain.

But then, he gets a call from Dean.

There’s not a doubt in his mind that it’s his brother, though maybe he should, and he leaves in the middle of the night. Yes he loved Amelia, but Dean is his brother, and nothing is more important than his brother. He leaves without a second thought, if his brother was alive, life wasn’t so topsy-turvy.

Dean wasn’t supposed to be the one that died first. He gave his life for Sam. Sam should have died in that abandoned town all those years ago, but Dean traded places. (Sam should probably consider the fact that Dean was supposed to die instead of their dad all those years ago, but he doesn’t. Dean wasn’t dead then, he was just mostly dead.)

Sam would be the one that died for real first. He had to be.

His relief upon seeing his brother’s face for the first time in a year could have collapsed him on the spot, he was truly alive, then guilt came crashing over him.

[taraljc]

I genuinely don't get folks who think David Xanatos does not love his wife. The whole spilled milk line in Eye Of The Beholder is immediately followed by David turning away from Owen and looking absolutely stricken. That's there for the audience. How can anyone not recognise that he is fronting, and hiding his real feels the whole time? The man is the very definition of an unreliable narrator. but if you pay attention to his actions in that episode, it's very clear that Owen knew the entire time did Xanatos was full of shit and freaking out, not to mention completely and totally horrified that it was all his fault.

Now, we will never know if what happened to Fox would have happened if she was not Anastasia's daughter. there's a lot up for grabs when it comes to Fox's heritage and Anastasia's manipulations. The woman has been gaslighting her ex-husband for a thousand years. she is a master manipulator, and just because she maneuvers Oberon in ways that benefit the gargoyles does not necessarily mean she is trustworthy or innocent and blameless.

But I do genuinely believe that she loved Halcyon and she loves Fox, and my head canon has always been that she bound Fox's magic when she was a baby, binding her in human form precisely because she knew Fox would be a woman grown when the time of the gathering approached. And that the reason Fox was able to blast Oberon through the castle wall--thus completely blowing apart the argument that Alex had to be taken to Avalon to be trained was 100% Anastasia, not Fox's actual latent ability being reawakened.

However I do think that it's very likely that Anastasia did tell Fox some part of that truth when she whispered to her after the fact.

One thing that I do wonder is it's stated outright that Oberon was the one who divorced Titania, and yet she was the one who offered herself as the prize and would remarry him if he won the contest between Oberon and the Gargoyles on Avalon.

Which definitely has always made it sound to me like she is taking him back, and not the other way around.

[an-aura-about-you]

are we ready for another chapter of Handbook for Mortals?

no but we're gonna do it anyway.

getting to Chapter 17:

when we last left our hero, Scheherazade was at death's door and laid out on her childhood bed, but nobody seems overly fussed about that because instead of actually trying to help her we're all gonna listen to Dela tell the story of how she and Charles honked at each other from across the circus and agreed to make an insufferable clown baby.

Chapter 17: The Lovers

-Zade tells us in the narration that her mother's storytelling is worthy of Spielberg. can we get any more blatant about who she'd want directing the movie?

-the year we get for when Zade's parents properly meet is 1977, FINALLY giving us something that resembles a timeline. idk if we're actually gonna find out when they bone, but if they do indeed do the horizontal mambo at some point before 1977 ends, then the latest possible time that Scheherazade could reasonably be born would be the autumn of 1978.

if Zade is 25ish, given the weeks upon weeks she's spent in Vegas going by with no mention of a birthday, the most reasonable year for this book to be set is 2004 with the assumption that Zade's birthday is coming up soon at this point.

I'm not even sure what to make of that.

-another tally point for casual use of the g-slur.

-Dela is described as a "gorgeous young girl" in the story she's telling us. like ok, glad to know where Zade gets the bragging.

-also Dela is just 18, so we're invoking Barely Legal here.

-the narration refers to Charles as a boy, but they just said he's 20. that's a full grown man. a young one, but still.

-ok so this is weird. one paragraph already referred to him as Charles, but the paragraph after it has a bit that says, "while the boy who was known as Charles." why is that here? why aren't we just calling him Charles at this point?

-Dela is thinking about how she doesn't like Charles and Charles is trying to figure out how to charm her since all the girls normally fawn over him. so far, their relationship appears to be framed as some kind of conquest.

-I'm frustrated that Sarem used the same metaphor I've used in one of my fics, though she doesn't go the same way with it as I did. Dela describes her ability to see the future like being in a house and looking through a window and how she would go insane if she tried to see everything. I'm actually not sure what she's getting at with the window. does she mean that it's a narrow scope? because it's also possible to see what's going on by going outside. the whole reason this came up is because Charles teased that she should know why he's come to see her since she can tell the future, but she's trying to explain to him that she's not looking at every single bit of the future.

-Charles thinks Dela's a con-artist and is not impressed with her cold reading skills so far.

-until she manages to tell him what he's been having nightmares about, something he hasn't told anyone about, so he's now on board believing she might be the real deal.

-Dela about her tarot cards: "They don't bite, I promise. I may, but they don't."

suddenly I'm glad Sarem skipped over all the flirting between Zade and the boys.

-wait now Charles is 21? there hasn't been a time jump, we're still in the same scene we've been in!

-they are also dragging this joke out as if it's peak flirting. maybe a year HAS passed. reading that paragraph has certainly aged me.

-why is Zade thinking about her mother having a sultry voice?

oh yeah, I didn't mention this before, but back in the big magic illusion, Zade takes the time to mention in the narration that the young man in the trick looked the way Charles did as a teenager. and if you remember, the young man kissed her at one point.

Zade has weird incestuous feelings about her parents confirmed.

-apparently all Charles needs to do to impress Dela is show off his Sick Shuffling Skillz.

-Zade. why did we need to read about your dad looking down your mom's shirt?

why did you WANT to look over that memory in enough detail to include it?

all I can think of is the memory reel in Sasha's mind in Psychonauts when we see him using his psychic powers to see his father's memories of his mother, who died in his infancy. he accidentally stumbles upon a moment like this and obviously recoils upon seeing it.

-Dela, like Zade, wears clothes that hug her "in all the right places."

-for some reason, Dela is flattered that Charles was staring at her boobs. I guess we know what Sarem's formula for Twoo Luv is and that's being desired.

-ok so here's the dealio: Charles has been having nightmares about getting shot, and the reason why is he fucked his assistant Betty and didn't think anything about it but she thought they were gonna be together- HEY WAIT! THIS IS JUST WHAT CLARA DID TO MAC! only this time we're supposed to sympathize with Charles instead of Betty even though she's in the role Mac was in because obviously Betty is crazy and she's gonna try to shoot Charles.

-ok, Sarem actually gets points for Charles having this incredibly relatable reaction to finding out Betty's been watching him sleep: a good sarcastic, "That's not creepy at all."

-oh and the thing that's tipped Betty over the edge/the reason why she's gonna shoot him soon is Charles slept with another girl recently and she's jealous af. Charles doesn't even remember who else he slept with at first.

-why is Charles rating his sexual partners in front of Dela?

-Dela says Betty's gonna switch out the shells in the gun for a trick Charles does, but that's not how prop guns work. they are not built for real bullets. Betty would have to swap out the gun itself for this to work.

-Dela apparently sees something when she and Charles hold hands at the end of her little plan for how he'll survive getting shot, but she won't tell him what. I think it's her knowing they're gonna bang and have Zade.

and the chapter ends with Charles kissing Dela's hand on his way out, which made her shiver like a bunch. yeah, she knows they're gonna bang, calling it here.

this bit of the story isn't done, by the way. the flashback is, but Dela and Charles are gonna tell us how things worked out. man, I wonder if Charles is gonna die.

for that matter, I wonder if Zade, who has still been narrating these chapters, is gonna die.