#i need to go on vera and CARLISLE too

[evilstalks]

everyone that's been patient with my extremely slow and absent ass, i love you guys.

[rosalies-rage]

folklore x Twilight: An Analysis

folklore's lyrics match Twilight uncannily well and here’s proof! 

my tears ricochet - Rosalie

We gather here, we line up, weepin' in a sunlit room And if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me? 'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you 'Til my dying day I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And you're the hero flying around, saving face And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet We gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean Some to throw, some to make a diamond ring You know I didn't want to have to haunt you But what a ghostly scene You wear the same jewels that I gave you As you bury me

And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want, just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones And I still talk to you (When I'm screaming at the sky) And when you can't sleep at night (You hear my stolen lullabies)

Rosalie would sing this to her murderer/fiancé at her funeral as he goes around being the ‘hero’ and ‘saving face’. She’s ‘screaming at the sky’ because he has stolen the one thing she really wanted from her ‘anywhere I want, just not home’. Even though she loved him ‘til [her] dying day’, she can never forgive and has no choice but to haunt him.

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exile - Edward in New Moon

I think I’ve seen this film before And I didn’t like the ending You’re not my homeland anymore So what am I defending now? You were my town, now I’m in exile seein’ you out We always walked a very thin line You didn’t even hear me out (You didn’t even hear me out) You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) All this time I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)

Edward leaves in New Moon because he believes he and his world are too dangerous for Bella, exiling himself indefinitely. They had ‘always walked a very thin line’ as he tried to be with her without harming her, and he literally ‘never learned to read [her] mind’. Now he’s left and can’t do what he wanted to do, i.e protect her (’what am I defending now?’).

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august - Jacob

Salt air, and the rust on your door I never needed anything more Whispers of “Are you sure?” “Never have I ever before”

Back when we were still changin' for the better Wanting was enough For me, it was enough To live for the hope of it all Canceled plans just in case you'd call And say, "Meet me behind the mall" So much for summer love and saying "us" 'Cause you weren't mine to lose You weren't mine to lose, no

Your back beneath the sun Wishin' I could write my name on it Will you call when you're back at school? I remember thinkin' I had you

Bella and Jacob start spending time together in the ‘salt air’ by La Push beach fixing beaten-up motorbikes (’rust’). Jacob knows Bella isn’t interested in him but lives in hope (’to live for the hope of it all’) and by the time the Cullens come back he’s convinced he could win Bella’s loyalties (’I remember thinkin’ I had you’). It doesn’t take place in summer, but it is a brief, intense fling that lifts Bella from her Edward-induced winter, and Bella calls Jacob her personal ‘sun’. In the end, though, Bella tells Jacob that there was never really a choice between him and Edward; it was always going to be Edward (’You weren’t mine to lose’). 

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invisible string - Alice & Jasper

And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?

Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire Chains around my demons Wool to brave the seasons One single thread of gold Tied me to you

Alice woke up as a vampire with no memory of her past - all she had was her psychic abilities, which were an ‘invisible string’ leading her directly to Jasper. On Jasper’s side, he was living a brutal life training newborn armies until Alice found him and ‘wrapped all of [his] past mistakes in barbed wire’, putting ‘chains around his demons’ and leading him to a better life. You could also interpret it as his journey to chaining his inner monster that wants to kill humans when he goes to live with the Cullens.

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epiphany - Carlisle

Something med school did not cover Someone's daughter, someone's mother Holds your hand through plastic now "Doc, I think she's crashing out" And some things you just can't speak about

Only twenty minutes to sleep But you dream of some epiphany Just one single glimpse of relief To make some sense of what you've seen

This song describes the experience of medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Carlisle was a doctor during the last major pandemic (Spanish Flu in 1918), which is where he turned Edward. A religious man, he searches for an ‘epiphany’ from God while he grapples with the decision to consign another person to a life of vampirism and tries to understand whether or not he still has a soul.

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mad woman - Rosalie

Do you see my face in the neighbor's lawn? Does she smile? Or does she mouth, "Fuck you forever"? And there's nothing like a mad woman What a shame she went mad No one likes a mad woman You made her like that And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out And you find something to wrap your noose around

They say “move on” but you know I won’t

I'm taking my time, taking my time 'Cause you took everything from me

Rosalie is filled with anger and bitterness over her murder. She’s cast in a bad light particularly because she’s an angry, ‘mad woman’ but she explains that her murderers ‘made her like that’ when they ‘took everything from [her]’, and in return she ‘[took her] time’ when killing them to make sure they knew she was coming.

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cardigan - Bella on Jacob

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone’s bed  You put me on and said I was your favorite  You drew stars around my scars But now I’m bleedin’

Bella was destroyed after Edward left, feeling that he’d taken most of her with him and was just discarded like an unwanted toy (’I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone’s bed’). Then she started hanging out with Jacob and his friendship (’I was your favorite’) started to heal - or at least disguise - the hole in her chest (’You drew stars around my scars’). But then he left, too, when the werewolf transformation happened, which left her ‘bleeding’. It turned out she wasn’t really healed, she’d just been papering over the gap with Jacob’s love.

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illicit affairs - Edward & Bella as tragic fated lovers

Tell yourself you can always stop What started in beautiful rooms  Ends in meetings in parking lots It’s born from just one single glance but it dies and it dies and it dies A million little times 

Leave no trace behind, like they don’t even exist

When Edward first becomes enamored with Bella and wants to get closer to her, he convinces himself he can always stop - but he can’t. The more time he spends with her, the more doomed he is. When Bella gets hurt because of him, first in Twilight and then in New Moon, he disappears in hopes of keeping her safe and hides all the presents he gave her (’leave no trace behind’). 

And you wanna scream Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby" Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby" Look at this idiotic fool that you made me You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

A dwindling mercurial high A drug that only worked the first few hundred times

And you know damn well For you, I would ruin myself A million little times

This part is Bella’s response. When he left, he took away this entire paranormal world he’d introduced her to (‘You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else’), leaving her to think she’s gone insane because not only has she lost the love of her life, all traces of an entire extra world have disappeared. She wants him to stop patronising her by saying she’ll move on like mortals do (’Don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby, look at this godforsaken mess that you made me’). Desperate to get some sense that he’s still there, she starts doing risky stunts like motorbike racing and jumping off a cliff (’A dwindling mercurial high’). Like she told him in the meadow scene in the first book, she is willing to die for him, and we see in New Moon that he feels the same way (‘you know damn well / For you I would ruin myself, a million little times’). The only way for them to stay apart would’ve been to never meet in the first place.

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seven - Rosalie on her childhood friend Vera

Please picture me in the trees I hit my peak at seven Feet in the swing over the creek I was too scared to jump in But I, I was high in the sky With Pennsylvania under me Are there still beautiful things? Sweet tea in the summer Cross your heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you Your braids like a pattern Love you to the Moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long

Before I learned civility I used to scream ferociously Any time I wanted

Rosalie fondly recalls her human life and her best friend Vera, who had the normal life she never got. This ‘love lasts so long’ even though Vera is dead by now because Rosalie still remembers her, even if her human memories are fuzzy and she can’t necessarily ‘recall [her] face’. Also, Rosalie was always valued only for her beauty, but maybe she ‘hit [her] peak at seven’ because her beauty hadn’t yet started overshadowing her personhood and she was still able to ‘scream ferociously’ at that age instead of being the girl and young woman who had to learn ‘civility’ and be married off to a rich man.

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hoax - Bella in New Moon

My only one My smoking gun My eclipsed sun This has broken me down My twisted knife My sleepless night My winless fight This has frozen my ground Stood on the cliffside screaming, "Give me a reason" Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in Don't want no other shade of blue but you No other sadness in the world would do  My best laid plan Your sleight of hand My barren land I am ash from your fire  You know I left a part of me back in New York You knew the hero died so what's the movie for? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart

Bella’s ‘eclipsed sun’ has disappeared and left her ‘broken’, ‘sleepless’ and believing she has no way to win him back. She literally goes and stands on a ‘cliffside’ before jumping off just to see a hallucination of his face - Edward, a mythical creature, is the ‘only hoax she believes in’. Even though he’s hurt her and broken her heart, she ‘don’t want no other shade of blue but you’. He thinks he’s saving her from harm by leaving, but the scar from James still bothers her, i.e. his leaving cannot protect her as the damage has been done (’You know it still hurts underneath my scars’) and now Edward has just added emotional scars that ‘pulled [her] apart’ and left a gaping hole in her chest.

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peace - Edward & Bella in Breaking Dawn

I never had the courage of my convictions As long as danger is near And it’s just around the corner darlin Coz it lives in me No, I could never give you peace

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Throughout the series, Edward has been afraid to get too close to Bella for fear of hurting her (’danger is near’, ‘it lives in me’). Now he finally has to accept that she’s not going anywhere and value her choice. Even after he’s no longer a threat to her directly, their life is full of challenges like the Volturi. It’s impossible to guarantee her safety, and she doesn’t want him to - she wants to be in his world as an equal. He comes to terms with the fact that it’s okay if he can ‘never give [her] peace’.

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[raven-black102]

We'll Meet Again.

We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn

Requested by @rockis4ever

Third Person POV

Jasper curled up in his dark room that was distorted, a mess, as he re-reads the letter he got.

We'll meet again/ Don't know where/ Don't know when/ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day/ Keep smiling through/ Just like you always do/ 'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

'Dear Jasper Hale

You must be worried about me. And I'm sorry I have to put you through this. But I was informed that my team was kidnapped and I couldn't just set here and do nothing. I promise you this, I know its gonna be hard but I hope you can wait for me. I know you've waited long enough and I don't want you to go through more pain. But you know I believe in reincarnation, so if I die. You won't go to the Volturi and end your life because of me. They never told me when I would come home but I hope when I find my team it's soon. I already miss you. And I promise, we'll meet again.

Sincerely yours

(Y/n) Whitlock Hale.'

Jasper lets out another cry of pain as he held a small plastic bag that holds a wedding ring. The Cullen's have left Jasper alone, not wanting to anger or feel any of his emotion, to give him sometime and space.

So will you please say hello/ To the folks that I know/ Tell them I won't be long/ They'll be happy to know/ That as you saw me go/ I was singing this song

(Y/n) pants heavily as they held on to their dear friend Andrew while running out of a building (Y/n)'s team was being held captive. "I got you Andrew." (Y/n) said softly while running on the outskirts of the woods. "(Y/n)?" William asked holding up another team member name Phil.

"You guys need to leave. Theirs a chopper a few miles that away." (Y/n) mumbled softly causing them to nod. "What about you?" William asked looking at (Y/n). "I need to get Jace. We'll meet you their." (Y/n) told them before going back to the building.

Alice gasped loudly getting everyones attention as she then let out a small cry. "Alice. What's wrong?" Carlisle asked causing Edward to punch a wall reading Alice's thought. "Its (Y/n). Their gone." Alice cried causing Jasper to collapse on his knees.

We'll meet again/ Don't know where/ Don't know when/ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

"What did you see?" Carlisle asked both Alice and Edward as Esme went to comfort Jasper. "I didn't. She was fine then when she decided too..." Alice said as Bella hugs her in comfort.

Few months later

"Dr. Cullen! We have a Marine!" A nurse yelled getting Carlisle attention. The nurse and Carlisle ran towards the ER only to see (Y/n). "Oh my god." Carlisle mumbled as the smell of blood filled the room. Without hesitation Carlisle started to remove pieces of metal out of their skin. "They lost a lot of blood." One of the nurses said getting some bags of blood with (Y/n)'s blood type.

Then they took (Y/n) to a room while Carlisle quickly washed his hands and went to call Jasper. "Carlisle?" Jasper voice cracked and covered in confusion and heart break. "Jasper. (Y/n) is in the hospital." Carlisle said as he heard Jasper intake a breath. "I'm on my way." Jasper said then hung up.

True to his word Jasper was at the hospital setting next to (Y/n) and holding their hand. "Please wake up darlin'. Please. I need you." Jasper mumbled softly as he place (Y/n) slightly cold hand on his lips.

We'll meet again/ Don't know where/ Don't know when/ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day/ Keep smiling through/ Just like you always do/ 'Til the blue skies/ Drive the dark clouds far away/ So will you please say hello/ To the folks that I know/ Tell them it won't be long/ They'll be happy to know/ That as you saw me go/ I was singin' this song

"Jasper?" (Y/n) whines causing Jasper to smile slightly as he eyes filled with venom blurring his vision slightly. "I thought I lost you." Jasper said softly as (Y/n) gently pulls Jasper on their bed. "I'm okay now." (Y/n) said softly then started to humm. "We'll meet again/ Don't know where/ Don't know when/ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day." (Y/n) sang softly running their fingers through Jaspers hair as he closed his eyes.

[cozy-possum]

If we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now. -Rosalie Hale Everyone dies the same, everyone mourns differently

Carlisle knows he’s not able to scream. The risk of the creature, of his own kind finding and killing him is enough to keep him silent as he realizes he’s dying. He does not hope for heaven, he know whatever it is he’s becoming will not be welcome. He closes his eyes coaxing himself to give in, to accept the darkness. When he wakes and feels the burning clawing its way in his throat he whines and hisses curling in on himself and finally giving in to his human instincts. He knows he is not anymore, but he cries like a human child. Sobbing and begging, he shakes and claws at himself feeling the cool of the stone and his skin merging into one. He screams when he thinks, when he can feel his memories clawing to the front of his brain. He stares wide eyed at the image that his brain pulls as he begs for heaven, as he begs for death and an end to the fear. He stares breath crushed from his lungs as he see’s himself a tiny child, resting on his mothers cooling chest, while his father screams about demons taking his wife. 

He returns to London, to the crumbling church, to the ancient graves and cemetery he owns. He clears the weeds and flowers, replacing every flower bouquet on the graves, he knows he’ll have to replace all the headstones again; the century he had left them alone had not done them good. He brushes his hands against each grave mumbling a prayer and their names, wishing them well. He drops to his knees before the two graves at the back, his thoughts turning to his change, to his first memory. To the first and last time he thought of his mother besides these anniversaries.

Edward curls away from the thoughts, from the chorus of wails and internal sobbing. He lets Carlisle move from his side, standing at the front of the church delivering the speech he knows his mother would have wanted. Esme sits with him, tucked in the back row. Edward wrapped in layers and bulk to hide himself from his extended family, there is no one left he cares for. Esme pulls him closer. She turns on the couch, patting his arm. He doesn’t look at her; he can feel her arm rubbing against his in a comforting gesture. He thinks of his mother, before the flu, before the death; in her place, comforting him. “Memories?” Edward shakes his head; he knows he should have tears welling up. “Just wondering.” He sighs and presses his head against Esme’s shoulder seeking comfort. “About?” “The Masen family. Carlisle said her funeral was lovely, everyone brought flowers and they remembered the good times. Barely anyone was sad. That must have been nice.” Esme strokes Edward’s hair. “I’m sure your mother is very happy where she is.” “Of course she is.” Edward nods trying his best to restrain the chorus of ‘you’re right next to me’ he wants to share with Esme from leaking out. He can see Esme’s mouth turn up slightly and feels her fingers tighten on his arm and he knows he’s failed. He can feel her thoughts, warmth and happiness twine around them and he settles next to her thinking maybe slipping up isn’t so bad.

Esme like to pretend, she knows it’s not healthy but she’ll make dinner’s and lunches, giving them to people she sees on the streets or to families who wander too close to their hidden house. She’ll sneak off to the hospital, making sure Carlisle is busy on shift as she breezes into the nursery in a borrowed nurse uniform. No one knows her as Dr. Cullen’s wife; here she is simply Nurse Platt. The woman with an incredible knack for knowing when babies are having trouble breathing. She hates she has to restrain herself, unable to fully help every child that cries and wails. She can’t let everyone know she’s lying. She makes a point of staying longer than she should, testing the limits, her chances of Carlisle seeing her. She knows he will not act as Charles did, but she can’t help but wonder. “Ms. Platt. Did you forget about our lunch date?” She bristles when Carlisle calls her and she turns smiling brightly. “No doctor, of course not!” Carlisle leads her out, carefully holding onto her arm as he leads her down a back alley pathway. Esme does not comment on where they’re going when he speeds up, letting their increased speed take them towns and cities over. Esme nods watching as Carlisle pulls flowers and a stuffed bear from his bag. Esme grips them in her hands as she takes shaky steps forward. Carlisle follows right behind. “I heard they were going to re-carve his name, it was getting weathered, I wasn’t aware you had called them and-“ Carlisle stops frowning, he’s not sure why he breathes in, but the intake causes a faint smile on Esme’s face. “They never gave him a birth certificate, not an official one. I thought this would be alright; if it’s-“ Esme turns suddenly worried before Carlisle pulls her into a hug. She smiles into his shoulder. She leans over and Carlisle steps back, intent on giving her a few moments alone. She nudges him, after he was lost in thought. Carlisle nods stepping towards the tiny gravestone. “Happy Birthday Joseph.” Carlisle smiles brushing his hand against the stone, he pretends nothing is different as he walks back to Esme and away from the newly carved lettering of Joseph Platt-Cullen’s grave.

Rose refuses to look in mirrors for years; it takes two decades to coax her to take the sheets from the mirror in her room. She shatters it later that week screaming and pounding her stone fists into the glass and farther into the wall. She’s almost hysterical when she goes to Esme trying to stifle her sobs and trembling as she shows her the ruined wall. Esme brings her to the couch and sits with her, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead as they wait for Emmett to return from his visit. “Rosalie it’s alright.” His response is automatic as he pulls her carefully into him. Esme watches how his hand circles her lower back, his other brushes the top of her head, before carefully combing down her hair to cradle her head as he pushes her to his shoulder. “Did you break another mirror?” She nods whining as he strokes his hand through her hair. He shifts slightly, pulling her against his lap and huffing a breath into her hair. She freezes, content to stay wrapped in Emmett’s arms as she pretends not to hear Esme and Carlisle talking about her. “It must be impossible to live with, such a struggle to have all that beauty mock her.” Esme looks worriedly to Rose as she turns back to Carlisle who nods and gestures to the back door. “This conversation might be better-“ Carlisle pauses and watches as Rosalie is pulled from Emmett’s lap by Edward just as carefully. “We’re going for a hunt.” He nods to Emmett as he and Rose rush off. Emmett turns gesturing for them to follow. They end up standing huddled over Rose’s vanity, Emmett pulling out a worn picture. It’s obvious it’s been taken after Rose’s engagement. A family photo for her new home; to remember her old life as she starts her new one. Carlisle frowns, he knows when this was taken, before her trip to Vera’s, before the alley. He doesn’t need to talk more about the hatred of mirrors or the fear of seeing herself. “This is from the day she was turned.” “It’s nice to pretend I wasn’t horribly killed isn’t it. That’s what happened though. I was murdered. And now.” Rose appears in the doorway scowling, but it softens when she see’s Emmett. He wraps her in his arms. “And now I’m frozen a permanent reminder of what I’ve lost. Of what’s been destroyed and taken from me.” Rosalie swallows hissing slightly. Esme watches as Emmett’s arms shift; loosening and carefully moving around Rose’s body, hovering just shy of touching her. They leave them sitting on the bed talking in hushed tones. Neither Esme nor Carlisle mention how much she looks like her mother, or her brothers. They don’t bring up the family resemblance she’ll only see in mirrors forever.

Emmett is overlooked. Not physically, not many can get over his ironic bear like stature or his boyish smile and curled hair. He’s overlooked mentally, which gives him the perfect opportunity to lie, everyone believes him, content to keep the façade of his idiocy. He’s formed a routine so tight that he only needs ten minutes to execute his excuses and set it into motion. He slides Carlisle ID and medical coat from his study, passing by the laundry room and covering himself in the faint scent of detergent. He fakes everyone out, hanging the coat on the line to dry, before carefully sliding it on and vanishing into the night. He makes it to the hospital in less than two minutes, pulling various medicine and notes from the cabinets. “Dr. Cullen? Oh, Emmett sweetie, do you need something?” The nurse beams as he smiles at her. “My daddy sent me with a list but I lost it. I need the new flu medicine they have, he said it was called, uhh, what was it.” Emmett over exaggerates the scrunch in his nose and the pout on his face. The nurse laughs handing him a few boxes. “Here you go! You make sure you get all your shots now.” She laughs as Emmett grimaces again. She leaves and he tucks more morphine into the bag he’s brought. He stops by the tailor and the local grocer, picking up the clothes he left in and buying far too much food for a normal person to carry, but they brush off his ignorance at the amount of food blaming his hunger for buying so much. He drops half of it to the food bank and rushes farther into the woods crossing two towns over where he repeats the process over again. “Emmett. Nurse Jackson told me you stopped by last night, after dinner.” Carlisle’s smile is tight lipped. Emmett nods. “Picked up some morphine.” Carlisle frowns. “Emmett.” He scolds and watches as Emmett shrugs refusing to meet his eyes. “You know it doesn’t work on us.” Carlisle pats his shoulder and Emmett nods. He knows Carlisle will leave him alone for tonight, he only needs two hours to make it there and back. He takes his time, backtracking and doubling over unnecessarily as he makes his way to his human house. He leaves the medicine and clothes, as well as the food. “Emmett?” He can hear a woman’s voice choke out. He doesn’t turn fully, catching a glimpse a painfully familiar face. “Mom I-“ “It’s Julie, Emmett. It’s-“ He pulls her into a hug burying his face into her shoulder as he picks her up. “You look just like mom. I thought, I’m sorry it’s all I can do.” He sets his younger sister down almost bubbling with excitement as he notices her stomach is rounder. “I’m going to be an uncle?” He can’t help he excitement, the ease at which he falls back into his human life. Julie nods, but pauses shaking her head. Emmett watches her scowl towards the door and makes a shooing motion. The door swings open and she glares as a young boy comes out and clings to her skirt. “I should be off then. See you ‘round.” He knows this will be his last trip up. He sighs shakily and takes a few slow steps towards the forest. “Emmett get inside will you!” Julie scolds and Emmett reflexively ducks his head in shame, turning halfway around before facing back to the forest. “Coming Momma!” the boy shouts. Emmett only takes half an hour to get home.

[panlight]

Do you think Rose would have saved Emmett AND a sibling? If he had a younger brother with him and they were both mauled, for example. The sibling would have needed to be at least his teens, so there’s no fear of a Volturi condemnation for creating an immortal child. Would Rose put in the effort to save both? If Carlisle did turn them both, how do you think the Cullen dynamics would change? Would the family be less morose or more with taking TWO hard workers from the McCarty family?

Given that her rationale for saving Emmett was that his curls and dimples reminded her of her friend Vera’s child, I can’t imagine she’d let another, even younger person die, too. I guess it depends on how injured the sibling was–was Emmett protecting them and took the brunt of the attack? Or were both near death? I could imagine a scenario where a significantly less-injured or unharmed sibling was dropped off at the nearest house and then Rosalie continued on back to Carlisle with Emmett. The sibling would find their way back home and tell everyone how the Angel of Death decided not to take them after all, but took Emmett, but the angel was so beautiful Emmett probably didn’t mind. If she did bring them both to Carlisle and both were near death, I can’t imagine he’d choose to only save one; he’d turn them both. Having two newborns to juggle would be hard, but maybe it would have been extra motivation for Emmett? Not only would he want to impress Rose and please his new family, he’d want to set a good example for his little sibling. 

The McCartys, of course, would be doubly devastated, both emotionally but also losing two people who helped support their family. But that’s not the Cullens’ fault necessarily–the McCartys were going to lose them anyway because of the bear whether or not they became vampires. They’d definitely leave them a cartoon bag with a $ on full of money, though, like in the guide (or really you’d think they’d come up with a more sophisticated way to get money to the McCartys than that … Carlisle posing as a lawyer and saying a distant relative in Ireland or Scotland died and Mr. or Mrs. McCarty is the heir of their fortune or something. Or Esme posing as a rich damsel in distress and allowing one of the surviving McCartys to help her in some way and then rewarding them with a bunch of money. A random bag of money is going to raise questions, right?).The Cullen dynamics would be a bit different, especially if the sibling were physically younger than Edward, say 15 or 16. Benjamin and Maggie are both 15 so that seems to be an acceptable age. Emmett Jr would then be the baby of the family as both the newest (along with Emmett) and physically the youngest (younger than Edward).  Edward might find himself as the oldest (first) but also the middle child instead of the fussed-over baby, which might do him some good. I could see him becoming protective of this new young member, and sympathetic to their experience of being frozen so young. There’ a chance that Emmett and his sibling would become clingy to one another in this strange new world they find themselves, but if the sibling is even a fraction as open and extroverted as Emmett, I think they’d adapt to this new family well. Carlisle might be fascinated seeing how they might adapt differently, despite being siblings with the same upbringing and moral code, presumably. He, Esme, Rosalie and Edward all came from different backgrounds, but Emmett’s and his sibling would be roughly the same.And the sibling would constantly tease their big brother about whether something was going to happen with the Angel or not. Rosalie would probably be more outwardly affectionate to the younger one at first, reminded of her own little brothers. Esme would mother both of them, of course.  “Ma would’ve loved her.” “Yeah! If we can’t be with Ma anymore, she’d be glad we ended up with someone like Esme to take care of us.” 

[flowerslut]

Hide and Seek

I did not ask permission to write this... so... I am hoping that writing this is okay. I asked for prompts. I received a prompt. I loved the prompt. I needed a scene for the prompt. I am... trying not to write angst so much. Humor is good! Humor is fun. Ruff Bois AU is fun. Ruff Bois honestly doesn’t even read as an AU; it’s likely canon at this point if we’re being real. Here’s a Ruff Bois story. Thank you @gayvampiretown for giving us the headcanons that we both need and deserve. A thousand apologies if I don’t do them justice.

Prompt: Emmett/Rose - “This is fun.” “Seriously, we’re trying to hide a body.”

(sent by @herokingrobbstark)

Rosalie has always lived with a keen understanding of the way relationships are supposed to work. There is give and take. There is patience. Communication. Love. Understanding. Sometimes there’s a compromise but oftentimes there’s collaboration.

As a human, with a heart that ardently craved affection, Rosalie saw very little of those things in the glimpses she observed between the couples in her life. Between her parents, rarely. Vera and her husband, often. But she remained stubborn as always, figuring that if anyone could have a pure, happy love, surely she could find it easily.

She found it ironic—and still does, honestly—that it wasn’t until her heart stopped beating when she found herself bearing witness to a true loving relationship.

First, in the serenity she witnessed between Carlisle and Esme. Their calm understanding of one another frustrated, then quickly baffled, and eventually soothed her.

Then, not long after, she found it reflected in herself and Emmett. A cool relief soothing the burn that had been eating away at her over the couple of years she’d been despising her own existence.

Over the decades she’s learned—well, they’ve learned together��what it takes to make things work. She’s learned that sometimes improper communication can start an argument, but a total lack of it will ensure one. She’s learned what it means to quiet her own heart and listen, and that truly opening up starts with acknowledging that there are things that need to be expressed and heard.

She especially acknowledges that although patience sometimes has a limit, it’s still vital in trying times.

And as she holds a camera in her hands, trying to hold her tongue, she doesn’t think it’s an overstatement at all to call this one of those ‘trying times’.

“Rose, baby. You have to at least aim the camera at us or we’re not going to be in the frame.”

Rosalie counts to three, inhales, and running her tongue across razor-sharp teeth, she exhales slowly. Then, she lifts the camera up a few inches.

“Would it kill you to look through the viewfinder?”

Someone smacks the second voice—the sound of stone hitting hardened flesh—and Rosalie closes her eyes.

Another slow inhale. Careful movements as she opens her eyes, opens the screen, flips it toward herself, and glances down. The camera doesn’t budge as she does this, her hand always steady, and when it focuses fully on the three people in front of her, she feels nothing but a resigned sort of reluctance, pushing down the contempt she feels for the shape-shifter carrying her adopted sister-in-law.

She makes eye contact with Bella, who smiles sympathetically, and slowly releases the breath.

When Emmett and Jacob had become friends, she’d... tolerated it. Sure, the dog was a constant bother (and a fucking asshole on top of it), and yeah, if Emmett wanted to be within five feet of her after they hung out she made him change and shower (sometimes twice), but hanging out with him made Emmett happy.

And she’d learned over the decades that sometimes she had to tolerate things for her husband’s happiness.

Her one rule when they started recording these mindless, inane videos: keep her out of it and she wouldn’t say anything negative about it, leaving them to their antics.

But then Emmett asked her to do his makeup on camera, and she couldn’t just say no to something that was admittedly so funny. Especially when he pouted as he asked. Damn his expressive, handsome face.

And then soon after he’d asked her to do Jacob’s makeup. And she couldn’t pass up the once-in-an-afterlife opportunity to make him look like a cheap, drunk clown.

Thankfully, Jasper takes up the reigns in following the pair around to document their nonsense, so the boys typically keep their shenanigans to themselves. Of course she does not understand how the blond got roped into helping them out with their ridiculous videos, but Rosalie feels nothing but disdain for Jasper currently.

Because no matter how much he claims to be annoyed by their antics, Jasper is a filthy, enabling traitor. One who owes her big time when he and Alice get back from their trip to New York.

“You know, Alice will kill you when she sees what you’re wearing for this bit.”

Bella looks up at Rosalie from where she is in Jacob’s arms and half-shrugs. The pant-suit fits her perfectly, tailored flawlessly thanks to Alice, but Bella has always hated being ‘styled’. “The sooner she stops spending money on me, the better.”

She had a point there. Alice had gotten better throughout the years with leaving Bella to her own devices, but could still be pretty insistent. 

“Bella dressed up for the adoring masses,” Jacob grins, turning to wink at the camera.

Rosalie doesn’t bother holding back her exaggerated gag.

“I really didn’t.”

“Either way, ask for more Bella, and ye shall receive!” Emmett is almost waist-deep in a hole that he’s been digging up with his bare hands for the better part of five minutes now. He could move faster, but he claims to enjoy moving at more of a human-pace for their videos.

Makes it easy for the humans watching to keep up. And for the camera to keep up, too.

Since they’ve found their spot in the woods—an uninhabited Rocky Mountain valley along the New Mexico/Colorado border—Emmett has gotten straight to work, looking to dig a deep enough hole to stick Bella in, while still standing, but small enough that it wouldn’t look too obvious.

“Can’t help that she’s a fan favorite.” Jacob’s words are clearly supposed to be a dig at her, meant to rile her up. But she’s so beyond caring what the people who watch their dumb videos think that all she can do is roll her eyes.

“This is never going to work, you know.”

“Hey!” Emmett shoots her a mock-frown. “No negativity on set. Also, yes it will. Edward will lose his shit trying to find her.”

“No offense, Bella,” Rosalie glares at a pile of dirt that Emmett tosses a bit too close to her, “because we all know I’m in favor of irritating Edward, but how do you know he’ll even care enough to come looking for you?”

The couple had recently had one of their first real fights since their marriage over a decade ago—or at least the worst one the rest of the family had all witnessed. Which meant a lot of attitude from the bronze-haired vampire, a lot of stubbornness from their newest vampire, and a lot of annoyance all around.

Edward had accompanied Renesmee on a trip back to Washington for a bit, but according to Alice, before she and Jasper left on their own trip, he’d be back early and would leave the hybrid girl behind to visit for a few days before letting her fly back to Illinois on her own.

And with the knowledge that Edward wasn’t around to fish any ideas out of their head, Emmett and Jacob went straight to work. Bella, who was still very much sore from their heated argument, had agreed wholeheartedly to the plan.

Jasper had literally tossed the camera into her hands (she should’ve just let the damn thing drop to the floor) and wished her luck, using his unique influence to ensure she’d be a bit more agreeable to the idea of potentially ‘helping out’, before Alice had whisked him out the door and off on their vacation.

‘Support your husband’s hobby’, he’d said. ‘It makes him happy,’ he’d said. ‘It’s just one video, you just point and shoot,’ he said.

The second his influence wore off she started swearing. They were going to be on Rosalie’s shit list for a while now. Jasper and Alice. Traitors. The both of them. Leaving her to deal with this shit.

Bella shrugs again as she watches Emmett chuck handful after handful of dirt out of the pit and off to the side. Then, she pulls a plastic bag out of her blazer pocket. “Oh,” she grins, turning to make eye contact with the blonde, “he’ll come looking alright.”

In the tightly bound plastic are the keys to all of Edward’s cars. Spare ones included.

Rosalie feels the smile creep onto her face. “Have I ever told you how much I cherish you as a sister?”

Bella’s grin widens as Jacob laughs.

“And you’re not worried that this will make things worse?” Despite his joy in heavily inconveniencing Edward Cullen, there’s a bit of apprehension hidden behind Jacob’s brown eyes.

“He didn’t even say goodbye to me before he left,” Rosalie can hear how thoroughly pissed Bella still is, even despite her even facial expression and the three weeks that have passed since the initial argument. “If he wants to play petty, we can play petty.”

Emmett’s laugh echoes through the area and before they realize it he is shoulder-deep in the hole.

“You guys do know this isn’t going to work though, right?” Despite the pleasure she will undoubtedly get from watching this punishment-like prank fail, she feels the need to make sure that they know this.

They have to know this, right?

“What are you talking about?” Emmett pokes his head up out of the hole, a mildly hurt look on his face. “You don’t think we can pull this off?”

“I know you can’t. He’s going to trace our scents to this exact spot.”

“No,” Jacob stubbornly shakes his head, “he’s going to trace my scent. Mine masks yours.”

Rosalie blinks at him twice. “Yes. Exactly. He’s going to trace your scent and find Bella.”

“But he won’t know where Bella is because he can’t follow her scent. And since he can’t read her mind it’s not like he can just listen in to zero in on her location.” More dirt gets tossed dangerously close to her and she finds herself glaring at the back of her husband’s head as he works.

Rosalie steps back. “But he’s going to know Jacob had something to do with it. It doesn’t matter who ‘hides’ her. He’s going to still follow the trail and find her.”

“We’ll take a long route home. Back track a bunch. Muddle up the trail.” Jacob’s answers are spoken with the confidence of someone who has undying faith in their own idiocy. It’s confidence he has no business possessing, and it’s incomparably annoying.

“Bella, you have two brain cells to rub together. You know he’s going to be able to track you down.”

“Alice said a storm is blowing through tomorrow night,” the girl supplied. “I’m hoping it washes away everyone’s scent.”

Rosalie grimaces. “You know if you hate that outfit that much you don’t have to wear it while you get buried underground, during a rainstorm, for several days.” She pictures how ungodly Bella is going to look after she’s unearthed and has to suppress a shudder. Her eyes then wander to Emmett’s dirty mop of hair and her frown deepens.

He’s not going to be touching her again until he’s scrubbed clean, head to toe.

“And let it collect dust? That would be rude.”

Jacob laughs again, and when Bella tries to get down from his hold, he nearly shouts. “Not yet! The only place your toes are touching is the bottom of that hole.

“I thought you said your scent masked ours?” Rosalie deadpanned.

“We still can’t be too careful.”

“This is your dumbest idea to date.”

“Just keep the camera on my good side, alright?” Jacob grins again and Rosalie simply turns the camera, cutting him entirely out of the frame. “Hey!”

“So, let’s say the trail gets muddled up. Edward can’t track her down. What do you think he’ll do next?”

Bella shrugs, as if uncaring how long it may take for her to be found, and Emmett turns toward her, pointing a finger at the camera. “Nothing! He has to find her! We already left the list of instructions on the front door. He has to find Bella within two weeks or he loses the challenge. And if he does Bella leaves her spot, hides the keys in a new spot, and comes home. Edward loses and has to eat a food of Bella’s choosing.”

“Yogurt,” Bella nods with a grimace, already aware of which food disgusts her husband the most.

“And when has Edward ever, since you started this shit, played by the rules for your little games?”

Emmett and Jacob share a concerned look, as if they hadn’t considered Edward would not be willing to play along, and Rosalie nearly bursts with a mixture of frustration and laughter.

She zooms in on their looks of apprehension. “You’re right,” she laughs, “This is fun.”

“Seriously,” Emmett throws his hands in the air dramatically, dirt flying toward the sky, decidedly not enjoying his wife’s teasing. “We’re trying to hide a body.”

“You know he can just get new keys.”

“Just ignore her,” Jacob nods to Emmett, gesturing for him to continue. “It’s a good idea. It will be gold.”

“And what gold are you expecting to get out of this?”

“His reactions are going to be fire,” Emmett has a grin in his voice as he hops out of the hole.

“And I take if you two will be recording his journey to find his buried wife?”

“You bet.” Jacob lowers Bella slowly into the hole, Emmett holding his hand over his brow, saluting as she’s lowered onto her feet.

“Right. So when Edward fishes the information out of one of your minds, then he’ll know where she is and come and get her?”

“No, because Bella will just—”

“Shield your minds?” The two men are silent.

Rosalie laughs as the two men shoot each other looks, as if realizing maybe this plan won’t work the way they’re hoping.

“In my defense,” Bella pipes up from her hole, “I told Jake this yesterday and he definitely brushed that detail aside. Either way,” she reaches up and smacks at Emmett’s foot, “fill her up. Whether this prank is internet-worthy or not means little to me at this point. I need to piss off my husband.”

Rosalie laughs louder and keeps the camera trained on her own husband’s look of defeat.

Collaboration to make a relationship work better? Sure, she can do that.

Quality time is a love language, after all.

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: June 4-8, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 9:

Man, that was mildly depressing to say the least, especially on the MC and Ellen bickering. At least there's Jaime and the pets to keep me company. Honestly, those three kept me from feeling down in this chapter. I didn't pick the premium option to be with Jaime, but I consider picking him as my LI, so it's likely I'll pick it, and all other scenes with him, in the future.

To be honest, I'm not "celebrating" Ellen getting fired despite how much of a jerk she is. In fact, what she said about the MC in a viper den comes off as ominous. As now-former head reporter, her words sound like a warning on Charlie, who has been acting fishy since his debut. Considering Ellen's level of experience on the field, it's hardly a surprise. Not to mention that Anna having something to say in the end of a chapter seems to take my suspicions into account.

Note to self: get Alec fired and replaced by someone else with a better judgment on the importance levels of news. That would be the ultimate cathartic moment. I heard that he suspends Ellen for a month if the MC says Ellen has been scaring guests like Anna, whereas he fires Ellen if the MC says she caught Ellen snooping around his office. I get that his privacy needs to be respected, but he should also be mindful of guests, and his job includes making sure they're respected. I certainly dislike Ellen for her behavior, but at least she has made the occasional point (e.g. her frustration at her story on environmental disaster sidelined in favor of MC's story on the local library losing a book), and she also has at least one moment that feel human (e.g. overworked but choosing to hide it out of fear of people seeing it as a weakness). They don't paint her in positive light, but at least she still makes sense as a character. Alec, on the other hand, has none of that and therefore deserves none of my respect.

Nightbound Chapter 8:

I'm glad the plot continues to move onward from the previous chapter. I love Vera's dress, and my MC in a period outfit looks fine. A pity I didn't buy it.

Well, hello Josephine Vance. Man, I miss the It Lives series and hope it returns in October as usual. As for Katherine, I have to comfort her and help her move on from her loss. I admire PB giving her some fleshing out on her insecurities, but still miffed that this information is paywalled. Nevertheless, it was a no brainer for me to pick it.

Man, the fight against the ghosts was tough, and it was fun to use the premium dagger and punch a ghost. Not to mention my respect for Cal and Vera has just increased when they chose to protect the MC from danger. Bonus points for Vera, who finally resolves to user her power for good.

Now that we're going to meet The Fate, I'm just anxious how ths figure will react and when we'll encounter Lord Elric again. Looking at the mirror in the premium scene with Katherine shows his reflection looking back at the MC, so it might be possible his monster tear will be acquired at some point.

Passport to Romance Chapter 13:

I think it's for the best for Elliot to be kicked out of his family's company's board of directors. All he does is mooch off of his brother's money as he travels around the globe. It's time he grows up.

The competition between Sumire and Bronwyn (premium scene but I can't resist it) is fun to watch. I have no love for Bronwyn and Carlisle, even if Bronwyn gave meaningful critique Sumire can use to improve her art. It was satisfying to watch Sumire win and call Bronwyn out for looking down on others and touting her own art as superior. Bonus points for the rooftop garden scene with Sumire, where her victory was mentioned, even though she and the MC got cockblocked.

To be honest, I paid less attention to the showdown between Marisa and Carlisle than to the drawing contest. Sure it was great to see Marisa winning against Carlisle, but that was because of Elliot distracting him, which lessened the satisfaction. I swear, Carlisle's worse than Bronwyn, who may be a jerk but still gave valid criticism in the previous chapter. Carlisle, on the other hand, is just a jerk who acts sore for the sake of it. As for Yvette, she made another point on the MC's friends moping too much on their emotional crises. At least Marisa has gotten over it, and I kinda helped with Sumire. Nevertheless, all four of them need to sort out their own messes while MC has to devote their focus on the vlog.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 20:

I had to recruit Sabina to my cause, but as an added bonus, it also features her talking about what she wants to do after Caesar has been dealt with. I may not be romancing her, but I have faith she'll get her plans sorted out, especially if she chooses to take over Locusta's apothecary.

Honestly, what was PB doing to Xanthe? Not digging into her character is already a huge disservice to her and the potentially meaningful commentary she can provide as a "regular citizen" trying to get on with her life. Shipping her to Sicily as a way to write her out reeks of human trafficking, which is a very. Moreover, I'm pissed that PB used hee to tear her down and make the MC look good in the process. I don't like Xanthe, but PB's use of the female rival trope just to tear her down reeks of misogyny. This doesn't give women a free pass. Instead, it means PB should write them with the care and nuance they deserve as part of their characterization.

Anyway, off to the gaining allies part. I managed to convince Cleopatra and Senator Lucius, but failed to convince Senator Cornelius because I don't have a high enough reputation. No matter. At least I have the support of gladiators thanks to Victus and Cingerix, so the finale better be epic.

Platinum Chapter 3:

I feel like there's not much to say in this chapter aside from this story starting to remind me of America's Most Eligible. Made up story about one's past, tough competition, and the pressures of being on the big screen. Jaylen should train under a more sensible singer instead of Ryder, and I feel like that won't be the last time we'll see Shane. What if we see him on occasion?

As for how this story is so far, I'd say it's okay. I've been losing interest in the romance aspect as of late, so I'm just focusing on how the MC's story unfolds. It better not make her rise to fame too easy, however.

Open Heart Chapter 17:

The hearing was surprisingly smooth. Only two doctors opposed the MC because of Deflan's meddling, I'm not sure of some other doctors, and I'm glad Naveen arrived to have my MC reinstated. The patients I treated or their relatives (I picked Shonda, who thought the panel's lame, Remy, who thanked me for giving him a reason to surf to the fullest, Sharon, who said I was a bit distracted but still credited me, and Annie, who was nice about my MC e-mailing her often) and the doctors I persuaded helped, though I cringed at Dr. Calais saying that the MC's skill at golf is enough to prove their good character. My only regret is that I didn't pick the option to punch Declan. At least Ethan managed to persuade Mrs. Martinez's son to drop the lawsuit by showing him a picture of his mother in Paris.

Man, I'm glad Aurora stood up to her aunt by saying that she had enough of being assigned cases and told her that the MC has proven to be a capable doctor. It appears that this scene affected Harper's decision to vote in my favor, and I'm thankful for that. Even better, she's planning to move to the MC's apartment now that Landry has moved out and transferred to Mass Kenmore.

Speaking of Landry, I decided to talk to him before it's too late. I'm still angry that he got away with disrupting patient care when he sabotaged the MC, and him bringing Naveen into the courtroom doesn't erase what he did. At least I don't have to deal with him and his unrepentant ass anymore, though at least I said good luck to him.

One thing I noticed is that since Ride or Die, there's no announcement for a sequel at the end of the finale. Instead, it's announced by PB itself outside the story. I guess this is gonna be a new thing from now on. Whatever that is, I'll get used to it.

Man, this story surprised me. I thought it's gonna be average because of my doubt in the quality of the stories as of late. It turned out to be better than I thought because of the colorful cast of characters and emotional moments when treating patients. It was sad to hear of the deaths of Dolores and Mrs. Martinez, heartwarming to watch Remy decide to make every moment to use his limbs count, and scary to treat the patients during the triage. There are also moments to feel awesome, such as helping Sienna break up with Wayne and getting reinstated at Edenbrook. I really look forward to Book 2.

Red Carpet Diaries Chapter 1:

I nearly considered writing into detail on how much I still have no love for this series, but because I don't want to rain on other people's parades, and my own anger has receded somehow, I'm not doing it.

Not surprised that there's no option to say I have no love interest. I may already have one, but I don't think this story should end in a wedding. On the bright side, I get to be with Victoria.

A pity I couldn't bring my beloved ocelot with me on vacation, though at least everyone else is doing well, though what's with Hunt having a beard? It makes me cringe.

Who on earth thinks it's a good idea to feature a boat accident during a vacation? That's just bizarre. And no way am I ignoring Victoria when she's trying to put on a life vest. Especially when she proposed to me at the end of the chapter.

Bloodbound Chapter 4:

Dang, this is one awesome chapter! MC is a cunning badass by tricking Mr. Klempf into freeing her, then the fight scene where she uses a giant mace on him, followed by another fight scene with the love interests and Cal. Man, everything is so intense that I have to applaud the inner circle and Cal for their badassery.

I'm starting to feel worried for Adrian after he killed Langdon in cold blood. I wonder whether this is the result of the serum injected to his body that causes him to become more like the First Vampire, who I'm convinced is Rheya. I also wonder whether she turned more people into vampires besides Xenocrates and Gaius.

Sad that I couldn't afford to find and free the other fantastic creatures. I would've freed them for a backup army like the Baron's prisoners back in Book 1. And that dream MC had with Adrian is starting to make me wonder if Adrian will really turn to the dark side.

[jessicanjpa]

How do you think those two years when it was just Carlisle, Esme, Edward, and Rosalie went? I've seen the text post that is that its full of angst, but do you have any headcanons on that time period before Emmett?

I definitely agree that 1933-1935 was a tough, awkward period for all of them.  Rosalie was dealing with the double trauma of what happened to her that last night and this new non-life that she doesn’t want.  She was beginning to love her new family and had chosen to be a part of that family, but a good portion of the time she took her frustration out on them.  It was partially because they were the only available scapegoats, but she also had a pretty significant problem with each of them.  

She’ll be eternally annoyed with Edward (and hurt) for those first dismissive words she heard him speak, during her transformation, and for not responding to her beauty the way she expected him to.  She was upset (to put it mildly) with Carlisle for playing God with her life and condemning her to this non-life.  And while she ached to accept Esme’s mother-love, she also struggled with the fact that Esme was the quintessential Cheerful Housewife, who thought her husband was the best thing since sliced bread and answered every other question with “I don’t know, darling, let’s ask Carlisle!”  It wasn’t exactly what Rosalie needed at the time; it was a reminder of the Vera Ideal.  And while she was accustomed to a patriarchal family/social system, that was absolutely not what she needed at the time, considering what she had just been through.

The others were struggling as well.  Carlisle was wracked with guilt because of how unhappy she was. And we’ll never know how much of his decision to change her was because of his hope that she and Edward would get together, so I think there was some guilt over that too. Esme worked so hard to keep everyone happy and getting along, and it just wasn’t happening.  Edward honestly tried (sometimes) to help Rosalie get settled, but he and Rosalie had that classic oil-and-water thing going, mainly because they were so similar.  And it was really hard for him to relive Rosalie’s memories along with her, especially considering his recent return from his rebellious years. Also, in my headcanon, Edward had considered killing Royce (both before and after Rosalie was assaulted), so his guilt over that (guilt for wanting to, but also for not doing it) set off a whole other round of angst, which didn’t help matters.

But it wasn’t all bad. Rosalie did bond with Esme, especially once Esme told her the whole story about Charles and the baby.  Despite her anger at Carlisle, Rosalie did understand his good intentions and gave him credit for that, sometimes.  Her kindest gesture toward him in those first two years was asking him to teach her how to drive.  She and Edward did have some good times, bonding especially over the advent of swing music (they were avid listeners of Let’s Dance when it was on the radio, and danced together pretty often).  In my headcanon it was Edward who inadvertently got her into automechanics, though she surpassed his skill in like, two days. Rosalie knew, despite her limitations, that she was much freer as a vampire, in a way, than she ever would have been as a woman coming of age in 1933.

But then something would happen. A baby’s smile, or something in the newspaper about a gala, or a sweet moment between Carlisle and Esme- and it would all go downhill.  She would turn and accuse Carlisle all over again.  Edward would snap at her because of her thoughts.  She would push Esme away again.  Another mirror would get broken.  She would spend two days out in the Appalachian mountains and they would wonder if this was the time she wasn’t going to come back.

And there was always that huge elephant in the room- She! And! Edward! Are! Both! Single!  It was hardly ever talked about, but not a day went by that it wasn’t weird. Esme hoped for it (though hopefully she didn’t push for it).  Carlisle felt guilty about it.  Edward was indignant about it.  Rosalie was confused and angry because she thought, after all she had been through, that she still shouldn’t long for love this way, and yet she did.  It would be a lie to say that Rosalie and Edward never considered trying, especially when they danced.  But they never felt anything other than brother/sister love for each other, and it just made both of them unhappier, Rosalie especially.

Those problems didn’t necessarily go away once Emmett hit the scene  (and I HC a huge blowout between Rosalie and Edward years later, when she finally learned about why Carlisle had changed her).  But Emmett has been such a godsend to this family because of the joy he brought Rosalie, and how that did solve some of the angst and awkwardness between everyone.  And of course he’s just a joy in and of himself. The Cullens needed him so badly.

(See more of my ‘33-’35 headcanons in these fics: Tale of Years 1933, Tale of Years 1935, and also The Girl In the Mirror (newborn Rosalie one-shot).  And for a happier one, The Girl in My Arms (Rosalie and Emmett’s first date in public.)

[cursedvaina]

I    :    SOFT    AS    A    FLOWER   ;   TAMED.                         born  rosalie  hale,  18,  and  most  likely  the  prettiest  girl  around  town.  this  is  what  usually  describes  rose.  she’s  happy  with  the  life  she’s  handed.   she’s   engaged  to  royce   king,  and  utterly  in  love  with  the  idea  of  getting  to  plan  a  wedding.  even  born  during  the  great  depression  ( 1915-1933 )  /  economic  struggle  ( modern ),  the  hales  are  wealthy,  only  the  finest  clothes  are  on  her  shoulders,  always  expecting  perfection.  ( mostly  set  in  new  york,  around  1915  and  1933  and  modern  with  human!rosalie, delves into two different arc.  the  story  we  know  of  her  as  a  human ).

II    :    CRY    BECAUSE    HE’S    NOT    GONE.                             no  longer  rosalie  hale,  rosalie  king  is  forced  to  move  far  from  family  and  into  somewhere  royce  can  make  more  money.  the  drinking  has  become  far  more  frequent,  and  nights  are  usually  spent  in  tears,  wishing  your  mom  had  never  sold  you  as  she  did.  (  set  in  new  york  or  other  city  in  the  continental  usa.  the  rape  never  happened,  rose  stayed  at  vera’s  that  night  since  it  was  so  late,  and  she  married  royce,  and  as  expected,  he’s  the  worst  husband.  ).

III    :    GONE    LIKE    THE    WIND.                           it’s  a  miracle  that  she  survived  that  crispy  night  of  april.  layed  out  on  the  street,  violated,    used.  found  by  a  morning  jogger  that  called  someone  who  helped  her.  she  pointed  at  royce,  and  his  friends,  but  all  it  got  her  was  attention  that  no  girl  would  want.  she’s  called  everything  in  the  book,  because  why  would  royce  king  feel  the  need  to  rape  his  own  fiance?  he  gets  nothing,  and  she’s  marked,  her  mother  can  barely  look  at  her  in  the  face,  so  what  does  she  do?  she  leaves  rochester,  new  york,  leave  the  asphyxiating  town  to  look  for  other  opportunities  somewhere.  (  set  around  the  world,  i’ll  use  this  verse  for  crossover  canons  were  i  feel  like  human  rosalie  might  fit  better.  as  said,  she  does  survive  the  event  of  her  changing,  without  carlisle  having  to  save  her,  she’s  pretty  banged  up  and  is  months  of  recuperation,  and  is  for  sure  a  little  bad  mentally  ).  

IV    :    REBORN    AS    STEEL.                         saved  is  not  the  word  she’d  used  for  herself.  in  fact,  rose  thinks  herself  as  a  little  damned.  after  all  the  shit  she  did,  to  have  her  life  stuck  like  this?  forever  18?  it’s  a  little  too  much.  and  the  fact  that  it  was  royce’s  fault,  just  pisses  you  off  in  immeasurable  rage.  and  the  fact  that  they’re  all  still  standing  makes  you  a  little  too  uncomfortable.  they  might  do  this  to  another  girl  in  another  time,  another  place.  so,  she  takes  her  revenge,  packs  a  bag  away  from  the  cullen’s  and  make  sure  they  suffer.  she  spills  their  blood  across  the  room,  there’s  not  even  the  desire  to  drink  it,  they’re  far  too  disgusting  to  have  inside  of  her.  she’s  not  sure  about  this  life,  she’s  not  sure  if  she  wants  to  stay.  ( this  is  mostly  set  right  after  rosalie  is  turned,  her  feelings  are  quite  a  mess,  her  mental  state  isn’t  the  best  and  she  has  some  suicidal  tendencies ).

V    :    WHAT    IS    A    HUMAN?                         rosalie  has  settled  into  the  life  that  carlisle  has  built.  her  record  with  human  blood  is  pretty  good,  only  slipping  that  one  time  she  burned  herself  on  vervain,  a  mistake  she  will  always  own  up  to  her  own  recklessness.  she  believes  to  have  redefined  what  is  human.  sure,  she  can’t  have  children,  a  family  or  grow  old  with  the  man  that  she  loves,  but,  at  least  she  got  the  chance  to  meet   him,  to  see  the  world  change,  make  the  world  change.  going  to  university,  making  the  change  happen.  (  as  we  know,  the  cullen’s  rack  up  this  very  long  wall  off  graduation  caps,  this  is  kinda  like her  default  verse  to  when  crazy  bella  shit  isn’t  happening,  and  used  after  the  fight  with  the  volturi ).

VI    :    SHE    DID    WHAT    NOW?                         this  verse  is  the  default  when  dealing  with  the  “canon”  timeline  ( while i’ll  make  a  more  in dept  post  on  how  canon  divergent  i  am ),  this  is  basically  just  the  default  verse  whenever  the  twilight  events  in  involved  and  bella  has  somehow  changed  their  lives  once  more.

MORE    TO    BE    ADDED!!!

[crackalley]

Things That Would be Acceptable in a Downton Film

Kill Robert. Yes, I know he's the head of the family and, implicitly, the show itself and yes, I know he's Julian Fellowes’ mouthpiece for how hard it is to be a rich old white man in today's permissive society where women are allowed to drive, vote and have black men in the house, but he needs to go. Violently.

Edith and Mary finally fuck it out. Fellowes decides to tell the tale of the Papin sisters, but conveniently forgets any hint of class struggle, and after they both become alienated from their boring husbands they eventually fall into incest that inevitably ends with them massacring everyone else and being found naked. 

The sad mopey ghost that possessed Thomas gets exorcised and the Bastard Prince of Downstairs returns. He then attempts revenge on anyone that ever felt sorry for him or was nice in a really patronising manner, quite possibly by stealing all their pets.

More tour guide!Cora. More anything Cora to be frank but for the love of god someone get this woman a friend, a plot and a love interest that doesn’t try to shag a maid while she’s on her deathbed. #stillsalty 

The glorious return of Sarah O’Brien. She can just tell Cora she had to go to India to pick up some muslin on the cheap so she could make Cora a range of fetching summer dresses and lbr Cora would probably buy it and take her back. 

A proper murder mystery without one episode wonder characters being victim, suspect, inevitable red herring!Bates and eventually it being someone shady and lower class you’ve met once two series ago. I want a sexy Scotland Yard inspector investigating the murder of someone (that someone being fucking Robert) whilst everyone else tries to hide their shadiest secrets. I want secret whispered conversations that are conveniently by an open window, a series of impossibly locked doors, a will - fake or otherwise is fine - and a mildly sinister garden party.

Rosamund goes on holiday. That’s it. Mary/Edith/Cora can go too to maintain the pretence of ensemble but just get Samantha Bond to wear a big furry hat, follow her around Switzerland as she charms waiters, concierges and hoteliers alike, film it, and I’ll watch it. 

(The Legend of) Vera Bates. Richard Carlisle. Ethel Parks. Not!Patrick. Rosamund’s Shady Maid. Sarah O’Brien (yes, again). GIVE ME BACK MY SERIES TWO PANTO VILLAIN CAST YOU BASTARD. 

Limp-Correcting Man. 

And really, just make Daisy the main character. She deserves it.

Things that would not be acceptable: Literally anything Fellowes is planning. 

[cozy-possum]

Rosalie finds Emmett and Edward has issues

When Rosalie comes across the figure her first thought isn’t of the blood, or the way he’s trying not to cry out. It’s the painful familiarity of his eyes and hair, how his hand wavers reaching for her. She fights the voice in her head saying Vera’s going to kill her if she lets him die. He’s not Henry. She doesn’t say it out loud but she knows she’s trying to convince herself as she lifts him starting the long run home.

He’s halfway conscious mumbling about god and angels and going to heaven. Rosalie laughs as she steps closer to the opposite of his hopes. He smiles through the pain he’s in and Rosalie smiles back shaking from the thought of ripping his throat out. She doesn’t bother opening the door shoving herself through the glass and wood, practically throwing him on the couch. Her voice hitches into a high whine as Carlisle rushes over. She’s thankful he’s home. “I couldn’t leave him there; he was just, I couldn’t Carlisle, I couldn’t..” She strokes a hand through his curls and Edward scoffs before moving back from the doorway.

It takes four days for Emmett to wake his injuries healing slowly. Carlisle pulls her arm gently. “He’ll be awake soon, you can introduce him to our world. He’ll be in a bit of shock, considering he refused to call you anything besides and angel when I was working on him.” Carlisle chuckles. Edward appears glaring. Rosalie quirks an eyebrow.

“You only saved him ‘cause he was pretty, what a waste huh? Couldn’t have tried to find someone who needed it? Or did you just want someone to be pretty with?” His laugh is harsh and he doesn’t wilt from the glare Esme gives him. “I saved him because he reminded me of someone I-“ “You saved him so he could play the part of a ghost?” Edward snarls his anger pulsing under his skin and he moves himself closer straightening himself up to his full height. “You saved him cause of his looks, you really are just shallow and vain Rosalie. I don’t know what Carlisle saw in you to save. Shame you made the same mistake.” He gestures towards the door hissing and Esme steps in between them. Edward knows Rosalie’s face would be flushed with anger, her eyes filled with tears as her body bristles to defend herself. The ache in her voice gives him pause.

“I saved him because he’s too young to die. Just like I was and just like you were. I wanted him to survive because I want someone who knows what it feels like to be given a second chance and want to use it.” She retreats Edward hovering a hand towards her, Esme lowers it pulling him towards the living room as Rosalie retreats into the room as she hears Emmett wake.

“Rosalie I,” Edward tries to speak “You have a lot to work through.” She looks up from a book and smiles softly. “You may be able to read minds but none of us can. You actually have to talk about it.” “I, the flu I had. I was going to die, Carlisle said he did it cause my mother asked. He told me later I reminded him of himself. He couldn’t let me die not having experienced more of the world.” Rosalie rolls her eyes, her smile stretching slightly. “Sounds like him.” Emmett nervously taps the door in an imitation of knocking. “Should we go on a hunt then?” 

Emmett isn’t used to their bickering, the way they posture and hiss at each other has him unnerved. He never liked when his family fought and this is no exception. When Edward lunges forward, gripping Rosalie’s arm, he falls back on his human memories, flashes and faint recalls of danger have his senses riled up. He crushes Edward’s arm effortlessly and throws him through two of the cabin’s rock walls and into the fireplace. “Don’t fight.” He retreats behind Esme as Edwards stands, Rosalie kisses Emmett on the cheek and he stares after her as she helps Edward up. “Just a sibling squabble, nothing serious.” She repeats to Carlisle when he comes home to see half the cabin crushed.

“Neither of you are that strong.” He turns to Emmett who tries to dwarf himself behind Rosalie and Esme. “Seems you’re gifted, even more reason for you to stay with us.” Emmett nervously smiles and Carlisle claps him on the back. Emmett turns to the guest room where he’s been staying.

“Oh, your room is upstairs.” “My room?” Emmett turns to the rest of them. Rosalie smirks. “Unless you’d rather share.” Emmett stares at her starting to nod but then shaking his head. He turns back to Carlisle and Esme beaming. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

Edward stands in his doorway and Emmett looks at him as he tosses a bag onto the floor. “What’s that?” Edward smirks. Kicking the bag slightly, it opens and Emmett see’s fabric, he moves pulling out dresses and new shirts, pressed pants and bags of preserved food and cash. “I don’t need this?” He looks up towards his closet newly stocked with clothes. “Not for you.” Edward gesture’s for him to follow, Emmett repacks the bag, throwing it over his shoulder as Edward picks an identical bag up and they start down towards the town.

“Carlisle said we’re moving soon, giving you a fresh start. I thought this would help the move.” Emmett still looks confused following Edward down a familiar street. “They’ll be asleep now, we can just leave it on the porch.” He sets his bag down Emmett noting it has similar items to the one he carries. “You alright?” Emmett looks up at the house, the worn door and the porch, Edwards about the step on it when Emmett tugs him back. “That step squeaks, you’ll wake everyone up and I’ll never hear the ends of it from my ma.” He laughs a little; Edward doesn’t comment how it turns to a quiet sob as they make their way from the McCarty house back to the Cullen’s.

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: May 28-June 1, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 8:

Emus! I'm so glad they finally appear! And the entire scene with them is simply funny and worth it. Pete's an uttee nutcase, though an entertaining one as well. The premium scene with Emi is so adorable that I want to see the emus again in future chapters.

Glad I get to show Alec who's boss. This guy should just stop treating his employees like crap. If only I could have him replaced by someone better (not Ellen, though), that would be better.

I'm glad I finally get to hang out with Anna outside of work. Most of her appearances have her and the MC doing their jobs, so a casual chat about the emu incident feels refreshing. And Charlie's office getting trashed means something fishy is going on, probably someone opposed to him like Ellen, though I could be wrong. Since the summary for Chapter 10 sounds like Anna has some secrets to share, it seems that something is up with Charlie. He's really fishy.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 19:

Another exciting chapter that kept me hooked like the previous one. I was worried what Cingerix might do to the MC, so I picked the premium option to talk him out of serving Caesar. I think doing so results in the MC and Victus having a positive opinion on Cingerix, who helped his sister escape as a result.

It was fun to watch MC train under her dad and Euthymios in preparation for the gladiator match, and Cingerix developing feelings for Euthymios. If only I can get my hands on Flavius for killing Locusta and poisoning the MC, my life would've been complete. At least there was Delphinia to pray for her daughter's safety, though the MC should really be more defiant towards Flavius.

Anyway, with my anger gone from me, it was satisfying to watch my MC deliver a speech gearing public opinion against Caesar. Even more so with Sabina chanting with the crows.

Man, I can't wait for the final chapters. Especially now that the MC has told the news about Cingerix's change of heart to Delphinia.

Passport to Romance Chapter 12:

I'm just sick of Elliot and William bickering that I want to shove them inside a room to sort out their own messes. On to the regatta.

As expected, the folks there are so snotty that I can just roll my eyes. I get that Sumire has to develop as an artist, and taking criticism is an important part of it (hence me telling her that it's a learning experience), but the impression Bronwyn gave did nothing to endear me to her. Same goes to Carlisle, whom I dislike more for talking like money's the only thing that matters. Either way, who cares about these two? I didn't spend diamonds to steal Carlisle's champagne, though. :P

So Elliot just got his entire friends in trouble by placing a huge bet on a losing boat? Well, thanks a lot, loser! I swear, Elliot keeps blowing his chances to make meaningful contributions to the group that it pisses me off to no end. The only times he did that were to provide the group a place to stay in Lucerne and a private plane to fly them to Monaco. However, their stay in Lucerne doesn't make sense when they could directly go to Germany from France, and Elliot just waited until they missed the second flight to reveal that his family owns the airline of the missed flights. I seriously question his usefulness. As for Marisa, she better not lose all that money from betting Carlisle.

Nightbound Chapter 7:

Why are there options to be mean to Vera for no reason while ignoring the fact that she saved MC from a zombie? I get that her power is deadly, but she used it for good, and had no intention to harm others. Let's hope others will warm up to her.

Heh, no surprise Lady Smoke is Vera's mom. I stumbled upon a theory @a-whore-of-rome came up with, though much of the information involves Vera's first premium scene, followed by the mention of Lady Smoke as a mobster. And wow! Vera and her mom are complete opposites. I think Lady Smoke kinda has a point that they shouldn't live in fear because of their powers. After all, their power to kill others with their bare hands isn't necessarily a curse, but can come in handy depending on the user and their intents. I think Lady Smoke lets this power get in her head that she largely uses it for her benefit. A pity I didn't get her monster tear, but I certainly have plans to get it.

A premium scene to talk to Priya Lacroix. Pass, at least for now. I make no secret why I hate Priya, even though spending time with a love interest sounds like something I'd do once I know who my LI will be. For the time being, none of the love interests capture my attention.

Platinum Chapters 1-2:

First impressions-wise, the story seems OK. I don't like the clichéd bits (small town girl gets picked up by a star), but there's still hope for something else. Super glad that my MC gets to wear glasses as a regular accessory, rather than as part of another outfit. After all, I also wear glasses. And not to mention that the fanbase meter and that certain actions can cause the MC to lose fans looks like a good mechanism that prevents an immediate rise to fame cliché.

Interesting that both Avery and Raleigh can be either male or female, depending on player choices. For Avery, I picked the female one because she's so pretty. The male one's eyes look dopey, but that's just personal impression. Raleigh's harder because both choices look good, though I ended up picking the female one. It's probably not final, though.

Heh, I know Ryder from AME would make a cameo appearance in this story, and it seems that he's in his element. Also, Shane is a good friend to have so far. It's a blessing.

What is it with PB and its affinity with the rival girl cliché? I get that Jaylen isn't a saint, but this cliché discourages players to view characters with proper nuance and understand their roles in the story. After all, an important part of evaluating characters is to not let biases on certain "types" hinder one's thinking.

Anyway, let's see how this story developes.

Open Heart Chapter 16:

Honestly, I really don't like the fact that the MC acts friendly towards Landry even though the way he sabotaged the MC involved disrupting patient care. Because of this, I continued picking options that don't give him credit. Not once did he feel remorse over sabotaging the MC and putting patients at risk. It's like the situation with Sebastian in The Sophomore all over again. Forced to forgive someone who not only expressed no remorse for their wrongdoing but also forgetting that what he did are illegal, dangerous, and degrading. It doesn't help that his sabotage of the boiler is enough to erase sympathy for him.

That aside, I finally get to work with Ethan on Naveen, and it seems that Ethan is more open on his respect for MC. That seems reassuring, especially since I giggled at him saying that his middle name's Jonah after the MC saying Ethan "Freaking" Ramsey.

Seeing Aurora wish the MC luck was nice and calming. I'm proud of her taking the initiative of being nice towards the person who consoled her. It doesn't erase her flaws, such as her overconfidence when she downplayed a case as "not interesting", but I'm ready to see her slowly warming up to others and learn that all patients are interesting in their own way.

Man, I can't believe the next chapter is the finale. I won't be surprised the MC will win and keep their medical license, followed by a little celebration that involves premium options to spend time with a love interest.

Bloodbound Chapter 3:

Too bad that it costs diamonds to actually have fun in Vegas in order to blow off some steam in preparation for meeting with Landgon. Well, I'm not super tempted to buy them because my LI is neither Adrian nor Lily, though I like them both.

Anyway, on to meeting Langdon. I knew this guy's shady, but to see him keeping various supernatural beings alive sickens me. Even more so when he planned to keep MC and co. as part of his collection.

So the cameo comes from Cal. Well, not surprising, and I'm just scared at what might happen to him.

And Lily saying "to defeat the Huns" is what I need to cheer me up and lighten my mood. Despite being a vampire, she always stays true to herself and helps in any way she can. I have great confidence she'll be a great assistant to Jax.

Regarding the second flashback, I feel bad at Adrian killing the Confederate soldiers, though I wonder if that scene has changes depending on his appearance. And Gaius just reminds me how ruthless and creepy he is despite having another side to him in the previous chapter. He's shaping up to be a villain I like.

[panlight]

If Carlisle/Esme could eventually safely adopt (the Volturi allow it, the child is magically unappetizing, etc.) what kind of child would they adopt? How would they raise them? What about Emmett/Rose? Would Alice/Jazz ever adopt, or go the foster route? Or maybe BBBS. I could see Alice getting excited for a sporadic child-rearing experience. All of the fun of spoiling the kid, with not as much parenting.

If the Volturi/thirst were not an issue, I think they might. There would still be the issue of having to move often and the kid having to keep distance from other human kids, but there are other non-vampiric lifestyles that require that kind of thing too.I sort of imagine they’d go into it thinking they wanted a baby or little kid but then they’d find themselves actually adopting older kids who had been in the system for a long time. They might go the baby/little kid route too eventually, but I think they would be moved by the plight of these other kids and want to give them a good home. “We have the experience…” “And we have all the time in the world to adopt a baby and these poor children don’t have much time until they age out of the system, unadopted and unloved!” 

I’d imagine that they’d want to focus on these human kids and so the vampire kids might get their own house(s) for a bit–it’s normal to move out when you’re married and living adult lives. I don’t think the vampire kids would do the high school thing in this scenario, either college or just pose as C/Es’ grown up adopted kids. Carlisle would still have his work but would enjoy time with these kids and maybe even have an easier time than he would have if they were younger. He’d get a kick out of helping with real homework. Esme is all over everything, she’s got the perfect balance of nurturing + authority. She’s all sweet and lovely but she can Lay Down the Law better than Carlisle, who is a softie. 

I feel like eventually–again, assuming the Volturi are OK with this–they’d think honesty is the best policy and explain the vampire stuff. I don’t think they’d offer immortality–it probably wouldn’t occur to them. If the adopted kids started asking about as they got older, I think Esme might be more willing to consider it than Carlisle. Esme knows what it’s like to bury a child and while it would be different to watch one grow up and live a life and die, it still wouldn’t be easy. The request would have to come from the adoptee, though, I don’t think they’d put it on the table and certainly wouldn’t assume/pressure them into it. Emmett/Rose I think would go the baby or toddler route. She was so attached to the idea of a baby like her friend Vera’s that I think she needs to scratch that specific itch more than Esme who ‘makes do’ with other types of mothering. Emmett’s the fun dad and Rosalie’s a good mix of fun and discipline. Rosalie might want to try to keep the vampire stuff a secret because Rosalie is worried the child will be upset (and it would be bad for secrecy for the child to tell its friends or teachers) but eventually they’ll sit them down and explain, Rosalie being very measured and negative and Emmett having to temper his enthusiasm. “It’s not a life we would have chosen for ourselves.” “I mean it’s freakin’ sweet to jump off the Grand Canyon and make a crater when you land but, um, right, not the life we would have chosen, of course.”I like the idea of Big Brother/Big Sisters for Alice and Jasper. I see them as the childless aunt/uncle. Doesn’t mean they don’t LIKE kids, they just don’t need them personally. But I think Alice would love to spoil and do good in a kid’s life and then just kind of let them out in the world without having ultimate responsibility. She’d do the same for C/Es and R/Em’s adopted kids. 

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: June 11-15, 2019 + Thoughts on TRH and Sunkissed

Wishful Thinking Chapter 10:

Not a surprise Charlie is shady all along. I guess the rest of the story will revolve around digging up more dirt on him. My gut tells me that Ellen is cackling internally if she learns about this.

Me spending diamonds to help a character with a reused model? No thanks. Tony should get advice from other co-workers instead of the MC. I have more important matters to focus on, like who defamed the MC and what Charlie is up to.

Nightbound Chapter 9:

For the confessionals, the one that moved me the most is Vera's. I like that she acknowledges her mom's reappropriation of the Reimonenq Cruse for her benefit and the fear she commands while still disapproving of the abuse she inflicted on Vera. Whatever that is, I hope Vera well use her power for the greater good and step out of her mom's shadow.

I kinda like the Fate. She may seem like an ominous figure, but I like her concern for others while maintaining an aura of dignity. Her tear flashback was really emotional when telling the futures of her clients. For the young woman, I told her that her lover loves her back, even if this path leads to an untimely death. For the soldier, I chose to tell him that he'll die gloriously in battle. For the king, I told him he'll be kind, but his kingdom will be poor. Every time I picked my decision for the first two, I wanted to cry because of their untimely deaths. In the first's case, I was satisfied with telling the truth and having the knowledge that the woman will die surrounded by love.

Since one of the upcoming chapters involves meeting with the fae, I think Lord Elric's monster tear will be acquired soon. But first, let's see how the encounter with zombies go.

Passport to Romance Chapter 14:

Honestly, the MC of this story is so annoyingly ungrateful. Yvette has been covering their travel budget and ensuring their accountability in doing their job, and they paid back by quitting without acknowledging Yvette's hard work. And the premium option to get back on Carlisle isn't convincing. Sure I have no love for him and Bronwyn, but they're also underdeveloped and forgettable.

To aggravate matters, one of the bloggers ships the MC with Elliot. Ugh! I have made no secret of how much I dislike him for his immaturity and irreverent behavior. Let me be with Sumire in peace, you idiot! And I'd rather go to Ibiza alone than go to London with Elliot.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 21:

Wow! That was one way to end the story. The buildup to the MC and her family preparing for Caesar's assassination was fun to watch. Victus rallying gladiators to revolt, Delphinia gathering worshippers to give the MC strength and weaken Caesar, and the MC having premium options to hook up with the love interests. I didn't pick any of them, though. The real cake is watch the MC kill Caesar and getting to pick whether to side with Cassius or Antony. It was more or less a moot point because the Republic will soon be replaced with an empire, but because I'm pursuing neither, I might have dodged a bullet.

I'm glad this story gives me the option to stay single. Even though my MC's with Syphax and they chose to rebuild her tribe, I'm glad having a love interest isn't necessary to advance the plot. What's ultimately heartwarming is seeing the MC's family reunited properly once Caesar has been dealt with.

Overall, this story is pretty enjoyable. The middle chapters were a bit of a drag on the MC's story, but they pick up once again when Sabina gave Aquila a verbal smackdown. I also enjoy Delphinia's story and think it's the best of the three because of her charisma, care for others, and firmness. The story still has weak points, however, the most notable being Xanthe, who is undoubtedly an underused character who could've been an interesting character that provides commentary while still someone people could love to hate. Anyway, this story is one of several genderlocked stories I enjoy.

Platinum Chapter 4:

This story is starting to remind me of America's Most Eligible. The fake backstories and PR moves, the urge for competition and the need to reach the top. That looks like a recipe for fun, though.

I don't feel the urge to spend diamonds on instruments, songs, or moments with the LIs. To be honest, I'm generally uninterested in the romance aspect this time. Anyway, I would be excited if I get to customize the MC's stage name.

Red Carpet Diaries Chapter 2:

As expected, I got engaged to Victoria. Nice. And not to mention that I chose to be exclusive with her. Pity that buying an engagement ring with her costs diamonds, but no matter. This better mean that I won't spend too much time with Hunt, who doesn't deserve to be a love interest. Him becoming one involves disregarding the sexual harassment plot in Book 2, which is downright unacceptable.

On another bright note, the ocelot's back! Seriously, I'm annoyed that he can't go on vacation with me. What if he also stars in The Secret of Ninradell? He better do.

Ugh, seeing Markus von Groot today pisses me off. Why is this egotistical, entitled bully allowed to keep directing movies under different aliases? On the bright side, he didn't get to direct the movie of the book, but then again, he was never qualified to direct movies in the first place.

Another collection. Hooray. It looks like it functions more like the memory box in The Senior. Might as well avoid that.

Apparently, a summary for an upcoming chapter says that the MC will find a suitable director for the movie. Well, my money's on Thomas Hunt because he knows the content well.

The Elementalists Chapter 10:

Man, it feels like forever since I last played The Elementalists. Nevertheless, here it goes.

I like that the MC and Atlas chose to have each other's backs after the incident with Kane and Alma. Proof that siblings should stick together. I had to grab the gun because it might come in handy later on, though by that point I couldn't afford to listen to Raife's voice. *sigh*

Speaking of siblings, I seriously wonder what's with Beckett being emotionally needy that he has to have the MC accompany him. I have a love-hate relationship with him because of that and his intelligence. At least things went well with Katrina.

Free spell from Professor Englund? Yes, please! I need to arm myself with shurikens if the gun fails on me.

Finally Shreya has a good plan. Talking to Greygarden is definitely a good idea for more answers on Alma and Kane. And it better be good at the Gala.

Bloodbound Chapter 5:

What kind of scene was that with Lester? At first, I thought he was gonna kill the girl with Clarissa Waverly's model, but after it was revealed to be some sort of foreplay, I'm just horrified. Even if it was presented as consent, I'm still grossed out at the idea of an old creep like him feeding from a young girl. At least throwing a mannequin at him was satisfying.

Also, Jax in a disco outfit and hairstyle made me cringe. On a more important note, is anyone bothered by the lack of consistency with him? He mentioned that his parents met during a student protest during the 1960s, so shouldn't this vision be in the 1990s instead? Either way, I need to save diamonds for this fragment.

No way am I picking the premium option to hook up with Priya. It's just schmuk bait that leads to certain doom. Not to mention that she's never someone I have any respect for because of the way she treats her employees and muses. I seriously dodged a bullet.

I can't wait to see how the confrontation with Gaius goes. I think Lester has made a valid point that the Blood of the First should be destroyed because of the power it contains and that Adrian's feeling the effects through the serum he injected. After all, he mentioned that his serum contains some similarities with the blood.

Thoughts on The Royal Heir and Sunkissed:

It's no secret The Royal Romance has become a cash cow like The Freshman series, though I prefer TRR because of the politicking, Liam's subtle cunning, a cast of characters I enjoy (especially Maxwell, Olivia, and the corgi), and the opportunity to have my own piece of land. Anyway, one book of TRH should be enough.

I'm never excited for Sunkissed when it was first announced. The title and its first two ads on Instagram is enough for me to conclude that it's some forgettable summer romance, so I don't care that it's genderlocked. Even the recent trailer isn't too exciting for the most part. What captured my interest are the bottled message and the girl with long brown hair and creepy looking eyes. This book could be an intriguing mystery like Veil of Secrets or an utter failure for a light hearted story like Home for the Holidays. Either way, best keep a cautious eye on this story.