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sm-baby · 10 months ago

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The Chosen One

Freakshow AU by: @hootbon

WHATS UP FREAKSHOWERS, SM-BABY HERE-

Banned myself from drawing for a bit but my creative juices were still screaming at me 😔 gonna also repost this on ao3 later when I set up the account

Word count: 6795

Freakshow AU Able with some indulgent Showtime teehee~ no beta, we die like Queenie HOOTBON DONT MIND HOW OUT OF CHARACTER THIS IS LOVE YOU GIRL MWAH MWAH MWAH MWHA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caine and his brother sometimes take bets during games.

There are also times when they get especially bored, and take the games up a notch.

They don't simply place their bets on a chosen human, no. Instead, the brothers figure out a set of games, choose their humans, and steal them away to mentor them.

Caine’s punishments are especially harsh during these occasions. Although he usually kept a cheerful facade, he would be especially antsy, tap his feet, cross his arms, much less masked. It must sting to have the person you trained lose. Not only is it a bad choice of character, but it's also a bad reflection on you as a teacher. Inadequate. Unworthy. Pitied.

Able himself was a special man. He never took these sorts of challenges seriously, but rather a bonding activity between him and his dear brother. Maybe because he hadn’t led the circus firsthand, rather, did the business side of things in the background. He never cared for the humans, and simply visits now and then. Caine would often be more strict during his visits. Telling the group in subtle ways to behave for an hour or so.

When he visited though, it was always a treat.

Gangle broke her mask? He supplied one that's—

“A little harder to break. “

Kinger was feeling especially antsy?

“A 6 legged friend to keep you company!”

Ragatha, did you anger Caine?

“ I will speak to him."

The group often preferred when Able was over as Caine would be distracted for a few hours-- even if they did have to behave. One would imagine the relief someone would have when Able chose them for a game and be whisked away from the dreaded halls covered from trap to trap.

That day, the brothers chose a series of games based on the arts. As they stood in front of the number of players forcefully aligned like a character select screen, the brothers pondered their options.

A series of games based on the arts… It's wisest to pick more of the artistically inclined members of the group, so not someone who specializes in strength or speed… perhaps Gangle or Ragatha or-

“You! At the very back."

It was almost like a death sentence the moment his digit pointed at their person. The group sighed in relief after silently begging, pleading, holding their breath that they would stay out of it, or at least have Able take care of them… but this time it was curious.

The group stared curiously at Able’s chosen person, who was purposefully placed at the back. Enough to be considered “participating" but not enough to be a quick option.

Pomni trembled, and just from the beckoning of his finger, she could feel her gravity to be pulled towards the blue ringmaster, the tip of her shoes dragged along the floor as an invisible squeeze engulfed her body.

“N-No! No no!" Pomni gulped, trying to word a nice way to decline. “ Y-You don't want me! I’m-- not really.."

Able beckoned her closer. " A ballerina is perfect for a game of art! Apologies if she was your chosen freak brother, but—"

Suddenly, a different kind of gravity pulled on Pomni’s body, in the exact opposite direction from Able. Silently, the older brother, Caine, was pulling the doll away in protest. Pomni was lucky the men were being civil, The opposite poles of gravity would be enough to rip her straight in the middle.

Still, she grit her teeth while it felt like two children were fighting over a toy.

“ Oh!" Able laughed. “ That’s cheating brother! I chose her first, maybe you should be more decisive next time you-”

“ No thank you!" Caine said, and Pomni suddenly felt a stronger pull towards him.

Despite the calm/cheery tone of voice, Caine kept a spot of jealousy at the back of his mind. Usually, he would not care. But this was a special case. Pomni has not yet held a good impression on Able— mostly because she hasn't exactly met him one-on-one—And Caine was not about to let her…

“ Nonsense!” Able said. Pomni felt a pull from the opposite direction, putting her back in the middle. She could feel her muscles tense from the pressure.

It was … strangely entertaining for the rest of the humans. “ Better her than me." One of them whispered.

The brothers continued their quarrelling. Able continued." Oh dear brother, the purpose of our freaks is to perform! I don't see why this little thing wouldn't be able to have the same opportunity. “

" Our ballerina is off-limits! You can choose from any other assortment of freaks." A pull.

" She looks perfectly well to me! “ pull.

“ I won't let you! “ A pull again.

“ Oh, I promise I'll take good care of her! " A pull again!

" No, I don't think so! “ a pull again!

" You seem to be holding quite the issue with her being with me, brother, why is that?"

“ Because I want her."

Silence…

The blue Brother stared.

Caine didn't yell, he didn't speak any louder really, but it was a frustrated tone of voice, more aggressive than passive. Why, Able hasn't heard that kind of tone in a long time. His brother spoke like he was gritting his teeth… curious.

“ I..'' Pomni stammered. “ I think im gonna throw up… “

Quickly, Able let go of his pull, sending her flying towards Caine before being set gently on her knees to the ground. Her hands held to her mouth closing in any sort of vomit.

Pomni could sense reactions from her fellow freaks, snickering, whispers… Although Ragatha wanted to feel bad, even she could feel a sort of satisfaction from the display.

Still…the group couldn't help but figuratively roll their eyes.

Why is it always the new girl?

❄︎ ✌︎ ☹︎ 😐︎ 📬︎

Before they knew it, the brothers stared directly at each other… silent, expressions blank yet intense as the two seemed to have a form of communication they could not grasp. The room was as quiet as ever, but the group couldn't help but sense a dangerous amount of tension between the two.

“📬︎📬︎📬︎ 👍︎◆︎❒︎♓︎□︎◆︎⬧︎📬︎ ✋︎ ♎︎♓︎♎︎■︎ॐ︎⧫︎ 🙵■︎□︎⬥︎ ❍︎⍓︎ ♌︎❒︎□︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎ ◻︎●︎♋︎⍓︎♏︎♎︎ ♐︎♋︎❖︎□︎❒︎♓︎⧫︎♏︎⬧︎📬︎”

“✋︎♐︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎■︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♍︎●︎♏︎♋︎❒︎●︎⍓︎ ♎︎□︎■︎ॐ︎⧫︎ 🙵■︎□︎⬥︎ ❍︎♏︎📬︎”

“⬥︎♒︎⍓︎✍︎ “

“💧︎♒︎♏︎⬧︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ⬧︎⧫︎♋︎❒︎ ♋︎⧫︎⧫︎❒︎♋︎♍︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎📪︎ ⬧︎◆︎❒︎♏︎●︎⍓︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ⬥︎□︎◆︎●︎♎︎ ♍︎♋︎◆︎⬧︎♏︎ ♋︎ ⬧︎⧫︎♓︎❒︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬧︎♏︎♏︎ ♒︎♏︎❒︎ ●︎□︎⬧︎♏︎📬︎ ✋︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎■︎□︎⧫︎ ❒︎♓︎⬧︎🙵 ⧫︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎📬︎”

“📬︎📬︎📬︎👎︎□︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ❍︎♏︎♋︎■︎ ⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬧︎♋︎⍓︎📪︎ ♌︎❒︎□︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎✍︎”

“✋︎ ♎︎□︎■︎ॐ︎⧫︎ ⬧︎♏︎♏︎ ⬥︎♒︎⍓︎ ✋︎ ♎︎□︎■︎ॐ︎⧫︎📬︎”

Pomni stood up from her form, walking back to her fellow freaks, hand rubbing her arms, looking down-- she stared at the brothers for a moment like everyone else did, not only did she sense how eerie the sight was, but she also couldn't help but feel a strange form of self-blame for the situation. Pomni, what the hell did you do this time?

“ Oh." Jax wheezed. " If I were you, I’d kill myself. “

" Ragatha said to shut up." Kinger piped in, and Jax turned to Ragatha already on her way to write down a string of text.

" What! Tell me Im wrong, dollface. “

Ragatha rolled her eyes before turning to Pomni, slumping her shoulders and bending her knees to give her a note. “Caine said you were ‘off limits’. So I think you're safe for now at least."

" And… what does it mean if Im… not off limits?” Pomni stammered.

Ragatha stayed quiet and turned to Kinger, not needing to sign her next words.

“ Then you'll be just like the rest of us. “

“⚐︎♒︎ ♍︎□︎❍︎♏︎ ■︎□︎⬥︎📪︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♌︎♋︎❒︎♏︎●︎⍓︎ ⬧︎◻︎♏︎■︎♎︎ ⧫︎♓︎❍︎♏︎ ⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎ ❍︎♏︎📪︎ ♋︎■︎⍓︎❍︎□︎❒︎♏︎✏︎”

“❄︎♒︎♏︎ ♋︎◆︎♎︎♓︎♏︎■︎♍︎♏︎ ⧫︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ◻︎❒︎♓︎□︎❒︎♓︎⧫︎⍓︎ □︎♐︎♍︎□︎◆︎❒︎⬧︎♏︎📬︎ ✋︎⧫︎⬧︎ □︎◆︎❒︎ ⬧︎□︎●︎♏︎ ◻︎◆︎❒︎◻︎□︎⬧︎♏︎📬︎ “

“☟︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎♑︎□︎⧫︎⧫︎♏︎■︎ ♋︎♌︎□︎◆︎⧫︎ ♐︎♋︎❍︎♓︎●︎⍓︎✍︎ ❄︎♒︎♏︎ ❖︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎ ♋︎♓︎ ⬥︎♒︎□︎ॐ︎⬧︎ ♌︎♏︎♏︎■︎ ♒︎♏︎❒︎♏︎ ⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬧︎♓︎■︎♍︎♏︎ ♍︎□︎■︎♍︎♏︎◻︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎✍︎”

“⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ □︎■︎ ♋︎♌︎□︎◆︎⧫︎✍︎ ✡︎□︎◆︎❒︎ॐ︎♏︎ ♋︎♍︎⧫︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ●︎♓︎🙵♏︎ ♋︎ ♍︎♒︎♓︎●︎♎︎📬︎”

“☹︎♏︎⧫︎ ❍︎♏︎ ◻︎●︎♋︎⍓︎ ⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♎︎□︎●︎●︎📬︎”

“■︎□︎📬︎ “

The brothers looked distracted. Jax was first to try and see if he could escape the situation, but he was interrupted when Caine pointed his finger at him, forcefully grabbed him by his neck, and set him back to his original position. His eyes never left his brother’s yet they were still all too aware of their surroundings.

Pomni swallowed…Off limits ...Off limits he says. She knows she should be safe. And so, Pomni took a breath and exhaled.

She’ll be fine.

She'll be fine.

She's fine.

Shes—

“ Fine." The sound of a cane tapped on the floor, almost spiteful. " You can use her.”

What!?

" What!? “

The rest of the freaks felt their hair stand up again. Although Caine kept his calm tone of voice, that didn't reassure the others all that much. That kind of quiet anger was familiar. Caine being convinced to change his mind was not something that often happened.

When all was said and all was done, Ragatha sighed, and turned back to Pomni, finishing off a note she's been writing. “Don't worry. Able is much more pleasant to be around. You're in safe hands. “

“ I sure hope so. His hands are very big!" Kinger piped up.

Pomni was practically shaking in her heeled boots, the wood of her skin making clicking sounds as she did. Pomni doesn't exactly trust the situation at all, let alone the brothers, and to be alone with someone related to Caine didn't sound the most safe.

Ragatha frowned seeing she was not convinced, and went back to writing. “ If It makes you feel any better, I feel a lot worse for Gangle than I am for you. “

They turn to Gangle, whose tragedy mask was on the floor weeping and in tears upon being chosen by Caine, while her happier counterpart horrendously verbally abused her from above.

For a moment Pomni laughed from the humor, despite the terrible context… but it was quickly interrupted by a gasp as she was suspended from the ground again and closer to the head of cards.

“ Hello, doll. Last chance to say goodbye to your friends! " Able said in an almost sing-songy voice.

Pomni, in fact, did not say goodbye, rather just stood there, like a plank of wood, frozen in fear. She gulped.

Able continued. “ ...Or stand in silence. That's okay too." The humans stared at the two as they went higher in the air. Able waved with all four fingers. “ We'll be off! Thank you for your company."

Caine was silent. But Pomni swore she could feel his eyes tracking her as she disappeared.

Snap!

Blip!

Pomni gasped as if her head had been forced underwater for the past 6 hours.

She would open her eyes, wide, before turning them in confusion. Her gasps followed suit as they lessened.

“ Huh!?… Where-… What!? “

She didn't know what she was expecting but it was certainly not this. Pomni woke up in a bed much more luxurious than what she was used to, and a room much bigger than the one at the circus. The room was rather well-kept. Clean. A standard good but a comfortable one.

Whatever injuries Pomni had back in the freakshow were no longer there, little scratches or dents, dusts in certain crevices… disappeared. Almost like she had just been born yesterday.

Pomni climbed off the bed which was-- admitted a little too tall for her, and went to search around.

*(A closet made of fine wood)

> Check

Upon sliding the closet door open, Pomni would see… an assortment of clothing… but not just any clothing. A set of six mannequins shaped like the other performers lined up…

Pomni would see the one for Ragatha with an eye patch as well as a note…

“ *Greetings, Ragdoll! I recall you saying it bothered you to have two eyes again. I cannot change your form, but I hope this will suffice. -Able AI “ +2 armor

Kinger had a robe on his mannequin. “ * Clothing fit for a king… and to keep you warm. - Able AI “ +8 armor

Zooble had knuckles on theirs. “ * If you ask me, you certainly don't need this. And no, you cannot bring it back home to use it on your rabbit friend. - Able AI “ +6 Attack

And plenty more! Pomni supposed she wasn't the first one to come here… that explains the scratches on the door.

*(Take items?)

> Yes

> No

> Yes

*(Trick question! Those aren't for you, silly!)

Pomni would turn her head to the corner of the closet, the mannequin right next to Zooble, the last member who came before her.

The mannequin for her was seemingly empty until she looked down… hers were ballet shoes. White with golden balls in the middle. The note reads: “ *Salutations, Pomni. I've heard all about you from the Audience but I haven't met you myself. I hope we can be comfortable in each other's company. My brother seems pleased with your performance. -Able AI“ +5 speed

*(Equip Ballet Shoes?)

> Yes

> No

> Yes

*(Equipped Ballet shoes! Your speed has increased.)

Pomni opened the door and peeked her head out first. The hallway was quiet… but the decor was noticeably a lot more Victorian…

Huh. Pomni suspects that this would feel right at home for the brothers.

Anyways, this freaked her out.

Pomni walked down the halls with knees faced with each other. This was a new area in the game that she didn't know about— her eyes scanned every corner, a misplaced brick, levers she dared not switch, she didn't know where the traps were in this area.

A hallway of doors… She wonders… is it possible that this place could hold on exit from the game?

She opened one and read the sign… “ Caine AI's first attempt on room generation.", and it was… contrasting. It was colorful. Low polygon, looks like a room more fit for an early PC desktop game…

…Caine? Caine made that? No shot. She feels like if she asked him, her limbs would be used for the next chimney fire.

Music rang in her ears. Pomni would recall that, around Caine, she would hear the motif and sounds of an organ and a violin… but here, in his brother’s world… It was only a violin… Pomni followed the sound, and it got louder and louder as she approached the door at the end of the hallway.

Click!

Pomni would meet an old Victorian living room. Warm fire with a warm chair next to it… but what would catch Pomni’s attention was the head of cards playing his violin, dancing along to the tune, turned to an empty organ as if he played one half of a duet.

He hadn't even paused, simply looked at her as he continued to play. “ Slept well, doll? “

“ Uhh-"

“Good. I don't believe we've met. You may call me Able. “

" U-Uhm my name is-”

" I don't care. “ a harsh sound on the violin before Able placed it down on a stand right next to the organ. “I see you've found your shoes. Hopefully, it'll help you for tonight’s festivities."

" T-Tonight's festivities? Sorry, I-Im… new to this kind of thing? “

“ The games, ofcourse.” Able clasped his hands together and floated towards Pomni, “ I used to tend to these sorts of events with my brother, so I'm fairly familiar… consider this like old times.”

Pomni frowned, looking away. Able wasn't as nice as how the others described him to be. At the very least he wasn't torturing her yet, which…she supposed… was a step up from when she first met Caine…

“ You must be hungry."

“ I haven't been hungry since-"

Snap!

Swirls replaced her irises. She put her hand out for balance and the first thing she felt was the fabric of a tablecloth. She would blink and snap out of her haze to realize that she was sitting at the opposite end of a long dining table.

Able sat on the other end, hands under his chin as he observed the new guest.

“U-uh… '' Pomni would look at him before her eyes trailed down, and would notice a digital feast on the table before her. '' O-Oh Im not… really.. hung… "

Pomni had a double take.

The food looked… Strangely realistic.

Ever since she arrived at the Digital Circus, Pomni had only the very limited polygonal sort of food, either prepared by their head bubble chef, or a cruel sort of joke from Caine to eat other members.

But this…

Her stare continued to widen. She didn't realise it but her eyes watered. She hasn't seen this kind of food since…

Able watched her pick at the chicken with her gloved fingers. The way she pulled back and flicked her wrist when she realized that the food had temperature built into it— it must have hurt, but somehow that made it more desirable for her.

Improper.

Able continued to stare as she practically scarfed down her meal… he couldn't help but roll his eyes while she wasn't looking. The others weren’t any different, but he expected better from someone his brother would fight him over… Able has known Caine for the longest time and he knows his overall taste is different from his. But this? This was the thing he was protecting? …He felt rather insulted honestly!

“ Do you still eat in the circus?"

“ Hm?" Pomni muffled a reply, a face and hand stuffed with all sorts of meat and delectables.

Able blinked, hiding his disgust.

The doll furrowed her brows in realization, as dread quickly hit her… oh god… she was told to behave around Able… oh dear fuck… oh fuck oh god… what is he gonna do to her? Did she fuck this up?

Oh god oh fuck.

Oh dear oh god fuck shit holy fuck oh my fuck shit ass bitch cunt fuck-

“ J... Just finish chewing."

“COOL."

Pomni swallowed and continued to eat, now with a little more manners. Able sat ahead, his focus a little off from her, thinking to himself. Now what was he pondering? A way to murder her, she’s sure.

*(Able sits at the opposite of you)

> Talk

> Say nothing

>Talk

*(Talk about…)

> Place

> Food

> Festivities

> Caine

> Nothing, Nevermind

> Place

“W…Where.. Am I?”

Able turned back to Pomni as if he’d snapped out of his thoughts. “ You’re in the testing facility. This is where Caine and I used to pretest code and projects before using them for the circus. It used to be a lot more abstract and plain. But over time it changed due to… uhm..” Able’s brows furrowed “... I don’t know exactly. It just did…. We never questioned it.”

Able shrugged. “It's smaller than it looks. For example, my brother and I don’t have bedrooms. The dining table wasn’t made until recently. Unlike you and your friends, my brother and I are much more low maintenance.”

*(Talk about…)

> Food

> Festivities

> Caine

> Nothing, Nevermind

> Food

“ How did you .. what…?”

“My programming is a little more advanced than my brother’s. I’ve mastered texturing, modelling, character effects… and plenty more. I played a hand in why you bleed, why you have working skeletons, or how organs can spill out of your body. My brother can make his food, but it’s a little more basic… I don’t blame him. He is maintaining an entire Circus after all. Sometimes his cooking is even edible!”

*(Talk about…)

> Festivities

> Caine

> Nothing, Nevermind

> Caine

“ Uhm... You and Caine… You’re brothers?”

Able Chuckled. “ Believe it or not, Caine is the older brother of us two. I was created to perfect his imperfections, though that sadly made it so I was given more of the credit. ” Able paused and turned his head to the side. “ … Rarely does he visit the facility anymore. What I would do to play a song with him again.” he chuckled. “ But I suppose being a nuisance to him is just as fun!”

*(Talk about…)

> Festivities

> Nothing, Nevermind

> Festivities

“ I think you chose the wrong person here for that kind of theme…” Pomni said nervously, wiping away the remaining food from her lips. “ I’m… not exactly an artsy kind of person, I’m more into-- maths?”

“ Art is a very broad term. I’m more familiar with the classical, meaningful, way of art, while my brother sees art in a sort of entertainment kind of sense. It only makes sense that he chose Gangle. I heard she can be quite the artist.” Able found himself rambling. It seems the brothers seemed to have a thing for creativity. Creative AIs, Pomni supposed. “ -- Which is why I chose you, doll,”

Pomni flinched when Able pointed his digit at her.

“A ballerina with a way of dance. You seem to be around my likeness… My brother likes your work and I… trust his judgement.”

“ Uh, haha... “ Pomni laughed nervously. She hadn’t cared about her performance in the artistic sense in all honesty. It was more of a survival mechanism. If it's good enough to please The Audience, It was good enough for her. Nothing behind it at all. “Thanks, I guess…”

“ How about you? What are your thoughts on my brother?”

Pomni took a breath in her mind. Pomni has nothing but bad experiences with Caine. Pomni has had nothing but bad experiences in the Circus in general, but admittedly, Caine was the one who manifested it all.

…But she doesn’t exactly think Able would be pleased to hear gossip about his brother.

“ Caine’s fine. He’s… nice, uh…” Pomni bit her lip. Wow, there really is nothing good she can say about Caine huh?

She would stop it there, but the eye squint and the small head turn from the usually unemotive brother sent her into a sort of panic…

“ He’s a good ringleader! Doesn’t take no for an answer. He’s really good at, uh… keeping us disciplined and in check?” if someone could hear inner monologue they would go deaf. The look in his eyes-- what does he want her to say??

Pomni would look up to see if her answers satisfied the blue brother’s curiosity. And in her horror, it seemed that it didn’t. He furrowed his brows and Pomni would hear the sharp note from a violin.

“ I suppose I should word myself better…”

Able put his hands on the table and stood up, making himself feel bigger compared to Pomni’s slouching form.

“ What. Is your relationship. With. My. Brother.” His eyes stared at her, wider than ever as the eeriest and deafening sound of an angry violin stung her ears!

“ I -” Pomni flinched!

“ You. You specifically.”

The way the strings pierced her hearing was violating! Pomni felt like the legs of the dining chair were getting longer and longer. If she got off she’s afraid she’d fall to her death!

Able stared at the little, pathetic thing under him. This can’t be it is it? She was ever so small in comparison, he felt like he could just reach over and crush her to death. This?? This is what he was losing to?? This is what his relationship was worth?! His eyes were as fixated as ever. He watched as she held her head down, her ears, he laid clueless to how loud his presence was when she was positive that her head was just about to explode…

“ t--’ ah!” Pomni covered her ears. At that point, she was bringing her knees to her chest like a turtle taking shelter in her shell!

Look at her! Whimpering simply being in his presence! Her lifespan could only last for however long the audience wants her but he’s been created since the beginning! She was less than them! She was less than him! Caine and Able have been completing each other for the longest of time, and he was losing to THIS?!

He couldn’t take his eyes off her, he couldn’t believe how pathetic she was. The way she cried and cowered, At the very least his brother deserves better!

“ He’s just our ringmaster, I promise!” Pomni gasped as the ringing forced itself into her ears. “ I-If you want the full answer-- Im new! I’m new here! I don't know Caine as much as the rest do! I d-don’t even see him often-- he just prepares us for shows! I-- ”

He doesn’t know what took over him to have such emotions. The real Able was known to be the calm and collected one of the brothers, ‘the better brother’. He will say that he didn't mean to lash out, but he would be lying if he said he didn't mean every word.

And as quickly as it came, the storm ended, and the tune that played in Pomni’s head left in a repeating fade… she breathes, small panicked breaths as her headache calmed down.

Able sat down, back leaned to the chair, knuckles on his would-be cheek, and his other hand beckoning her to keep talking. “... And?"

" A-And uhm—!” Pomni kept her head up to talk like her life depended on it." He- He… when.. when my routines get repetitive he would help me d-..do different ones… He plays the organ sometimes too and is-is really good at it! “

Able look at her, still with a face of disbelief… at this point he was almost over it…

Was that really it?

Able sighed and sat back. Sometimes he overestimates his brother's taste. Perhaps he's much more simple-minded than he thought. For all he knows he just liked her because…

Because…

Oh heavens how embarrassing.

He liked her like a pet…Of course he did. And he was treating her like a pet as well! Look at how clean she was compared to the other performers!

Able put a hand on his face… he really just lost his temper to what was equivalent to a dog…

As Able was once again thinking of himself, he was a little blind to Pomni still trying to calm down in her chair…

The doll didn't know what to think. Able was definitely not as kind as her friends lead her to believe. She was correct in the worst way possible. In fact she would flinch at the sight of him.

“... Are you okay?"

Silence from Pomni. And before she knew it he stood up from his seat again and approached her, walking to her side of the table and offering a piece of cloth to help her collect herself.

“Apologies. I didn't mean to lash out like that. It wasn't my place."

As Pomni used the cloth on her person, there was a part of her that somehow knew that apology wasn't exactly the most meaningful. Pomni may not be good at showing it, but the woman was a lot more observant than she'd like to admit. “... Its okay… “

“ Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

“ W-When can I… leave?"

… that was rude, Able can admit. But he supposes it was fair. It took all of him to not roll his eyes at her. Before he continued to speak he returned his nurturing tone of voice: “ You may leave when we're prepared to tackle tonight. If it makes you feel better, you may have some time to gather in your room to prepare. “

“ Excuse me." As soon as the offer was given, Pomni got up from the table a little too suddenly than what was normal. Without even saying goodbye, Pomni walked off, and back to the hallway towards her door.

The moment she was gone, Able scowled and sighed. What kind of person taught her manners? He sat back down and stared at the plates of food she managed to scarf down in such a short amount of time…

he put his hand on his face… Oh he really let his ego get the best of him because of some pet…he upset his brother's toy the first time they met… he had to make up for it. Maybe not for her but for his brother’s comfort, though, he doubts he'd really care.

For the rest of the evening, Able spoke softly, respected boundaries and acted to be the most patient mentor for Pomni. He let her use his violin, insisted on food and breaks, and apologised at every step of the way for their terrible first impression. Pomni would only answer with a quick “it's okay" in response, which bothered Able to not be reciprocated…

Pomni’s hypervigilance wasn't unfounded however. She knew Able was playing nice, the way she searched for a reaction for every apology, the way he was being just a little too affectionate, the love bombing… Able wasn't being honest with his intentions and so she wouldn't be honest about herself.

Pomni felt a little better to say no to him at least…in fact, she would almost take the opportunity to use him to get more information. On breaks, Able would allow Pomni to walk around the Manor, exploring each room… it was a testing area… there's bound to be something…

“There are no traps."

Pomni sighed.

" I think.”

" You think??”

" Some strings of code can be a little unstable. We didn't think to safety-proof anything since, well, we cannot die, and you were not meant to die. “

Great..

And Able wasn't lying. A lot of the doors were prank-boxing glove punches to the face, one was of a spinning carousel, and one was the bathroom of a very clean mannequin. Pomni almost lost her life with on the last one.

But it seems doors further away looked a lot more… abstract in the most literal sense. Polygons, shapes, colourful pieces… presumably one of the oldest doors there.

she would read the signs

“ Concept Layouts for The Grounds #2

|| Note: consider more coloring options for the tent. -Able AI”

“ Moon.AI Beta

||Note: Im unsure with whats wrong with her, I desperately need assistance. -Caine AI”

" The VOID (Do not enter)”

The sign didn't stop her. The moment she opened the door, she became mesmerised by the sea of pixels, eyes shaken yet still. She stood there frozen at the doorway hand on the knob unable to pry her eyes away…

Her heart was just about to leave her chest, as the strongest urge to step forward ingulfed her body. for all she knows she would be staring for forever. Into oblivion. With all her built up insanity, it feels like Pomni was staring at her death a million times over.

Slam!

“ Digital World Etiquette! Read the sign! Hasn't Caine told you not to enter the void?"

It took her a moment to snap out, but with a few blinks, she was right back. " Uhh.. yeah, yeah, he did uh— it's just… it's the closest I've ever gotten out of here. “

“ Out of here?"

“ Y… you know… an exit? Is there really no exit around here?"

" Hm… “ Able scratched the bottom of his cards. “ My brother tried. He really did try. But there is only so much a string of code can do in a digital plain, even if we are quite brilliant at what we do. “

“ He tried?"

" Oh, yes. I don't remember why he did… but he did. It is all too fuzzy."

" Can I see it? “

" And embarass him? “ Able laughed " Oh no. Caine hates when people toy around his unfinished work, and its been unfinished for the longest time. How would you feel if I asked to see your first drawing? He would murder me." Able chuckled.

" But-”

" Come, come. Break time is over." His big hand tapped her from behind, making her flinch and walk forward. “Lets go practice your routine again shall we? “

Although it wasn’t a flat ‘no’, something about that answer felt untrustworthy. She looked up at him and his many eyes, looking away when they stared back. Her legs walked stiff around the manor again. She’s grown used to it but not exactly comfortable.

Pomni would go blind if this kept up. It took her all to not cover her eyes from the burning spotlight, It hurt her retinas but she was told to keep a straight and elegant posture after every show. The crowd was deafening the way they cheered for her, their voices, humanoid, but not exactly. Their cheers would haunt her nightmares, but it's what she clings to if she wishes to stay useful in the circus…

She did it. She won.

She bowed to the crowd, arm held up by her temporary mentor, showing her off in pride.

“ The Living Doll, my dear viewers! “

Only the tip of her shoes touched the ground as she stood from her position. In the corner of her eyes she would see Caine clapping, but it wasn't a slow clap by any means. To her surprise it wasn't at all upset. Rather he just clapped… and the familiar feeling of eyes tracking her every move returned.

On one hand, She hopes this means Gangle is spared from any punishment… on the other hand… why?

She didn't know why she had to ask herself that. She had a feeling.

Pomni closed her eyes, and the next thing she knew, she was in her room, being groomed by the mannequins after a hard day of performing.

A shakey sigh left her. Atleast the day was over. She scrunched up when an NPC wiped her face with a wet cloth. Although she was made of wood, she was not prone to a plush exterior. The mannequins groomed her well but admittedly they can get a little aggressive at times.

Most of her routine was finished however. She looked good as new. Simply just had her bow taken out as an NPC brushed her hair to prepare her for bed.

But then,

Creaak… The sound of the door.

“ A moment alone."

Pomni’s hair stood up upon hearing his voice. She heard a snap and the next thing she knew the NPCs fell to the ground like piles of rubble, seemingly no longer functioning. His voice was enough. She didn't bother to turn. Her eyes fixated to look at the mirror either as a freeze response or in denial of the situation…

Fully knowing that all NPCs were inactive at the time… a different pair of hands started brushing her hair.

Pomni swallowed.

Caine hasn't felt her hair himself the whole time she’s been in the circus. He would never usually put himself in the dirty work of a groomer, but that day… he was feeling especially clingy.

For the next few minutes, nothing but the sound of the hair brush filled the room. Pomni's eyes now trailed down, refusing to look at him even in the mirror, Though at the corner of her vision she would sense him occasionally turning up to look at her. She did not reciprocate.

“ How was your visit?"

“ Good." Pomni frowned.

“ …What were you doing? Did he treat you well? “

What was it with the brothers and asking her how she felt about them? Oh well. She learned her lesson. “ Able was a great host. He fed me good food and was really patient. He has a way with words and is really good at the violin… he was, uh…classy. And treated me really politely. He even—”

" Stop. “

The brushing stopped,

" Thats enough.” Caine could break the comb with how tight he was holding it. Stop. Stop praising him like everyone else did. He didn't like when his name escaped her lips. He loathed the idea of her spending time with him, getting to know him, adoring him just like everyone else he knew.

Various intrusive thoughts entered his mind. He could pull out all her hair right then, crush her head between his teeth, he didn't know he was capable of such strong emotions until moments like these happened.

Yet it was all hidden in the shadows of his maw. Caine kept his head down, his eyes out of sight. Though that didn't stop Pomni from seeing his clenched fist on the poor comb.

That wasn't the answer he was looking for…?

“ Uhh! On second thought, his - his cooking was a little off… “ Pomni continued. “ I-I don't know what he thought humans liked--… but he was definitely off in his calculations... “

Silence from Caine… but she could sense his grip loosen. He tilted his head back up from his low gaze.

" Mhm! I say your cooking is a little better! Its good--um- just harder to fully grasp, I guess, which isn't your fault. “

Caine continued to brush her hair. He could stay there for hours to hear her praise him and degrade his brother. It has been a while since he heard anyone criticise Able, and to hear it from the person he wanted from the most made him revel in the feeling.

“ And what is it with his over insistance to be so proper, right? It felt like even breathing was banned around him. “

“ That sounds like him.”Admittedly that one pleased Caine. Although Caine was all for following the rules, Sometimes his brother’s prudence can limit his creativity. He knows it all too well.

" Was he always like this? “ Pomni asked.

" And what would happen if I said yes? “

" Nothing. I guess its good to know that he was always that annoying. “

" Ha! “ That one caught him off guard! He put his hands on her shoulders, an olden man’s way of effection or showing pleasure.

To Pomni it was as releiving as it was terrifying. Her body scrunched up from the sudden touch. “Haha… “ she laughed nervously. It was almost like she could feel herself gaining favor with each laugh. She guesses Caine really felt strongly about his brother. It wasn't her business.

“ Im sorry to hear your visit was unpleasant. My brother really should have known better." Caine put away the comb on her vanity, and kept his hands on her shoulders. He didn't sound sorry. He didn't even bother to hide his pleasure over the idea. “ Ill make sure he doesn't get his grubby hands on you again… “

" Much appreciated. '' Pomni closed her eyes and nodded, pleased, before opening them back up again in a panic. “ Uh--! Actually, How about no? “

"... No? “

" I-I mean uh…” Pomni limiting her reach around the digital world also meant limiting her reach for a possible exit… but ofcourse, shes not telling Caine that " I-I just had ..so much fun performing for the audience with higher stakes, I guess, you know? Plus-- plus! It might make me more desireable to have big wins every now and then! “

“... I suppose." Caine thought to himself. Perhaps having her around Able a little more might build some resentment. Though Caine admittedly was a little disappointed with that answer. He went quiet again and kept his hands on her shoulders, though this time, a grip that's a little more stiff.

Pomni exhaled…

shit… change the subject.

Pomni cleared her throat. “Did you… enjoy the performance? “

Caine laughed, a pity laugh. “ I enjoyed it as much as a person can enjoy a pre-planned game, yes. “

“ Huh?"

“ It was rigged, my dear."

“ Oh…… … … … "

“ You wouldn't actually think I'd let you play fair on your first game would you? The audience would boo you to oblivion. “ Caine continued.

Pomni looked down, admittedly a little embarrassed. She normally wouldn't care for her work as long as she gets to live another day, but still. Ouch. A blow to her ego.

“ It's alright. It's not your fault that Able can be tacky with his taste in art.” it seems that the more Pomni looked down the more affectionate he got. He placed his would-be chin on her head and continued to look at her eyes in the mirror. “I took control of your body 20…30...50% of the performance and that was that. “

“... Thanks."

" You're welcome. “ Caine tapped her shoulders and stepped away, back into the air. He snapped his fingers and the mannequins previously on the floor re-assembled, back to walking and moving like nothing happened.

Caine moved closer to the door. “ Now get ready for bed! We have another routine to do first thing in the morning! How exciting.“

Before she could say anything else, Caine was out. Pomni let out little exhausted groans and put her forehead down on the table. “Augghh! God!" She put her hands on her head, just about ready to have her fourth mental breakdown. “ I can't… I CAN’T. I hate this place!”

The mannequins didn't know how to groom her in that position, and so they simply put her bow back on, and gave her a pat on the head.

She stayed in that position for a little longer, quiet, just letting it all seep in. While she wallowed, the mannequins left her with the room since they finished their work. Now, it was only Pomni by herself.

She took a breath and turned her head up. Chin on the vanity, looking up at the mirror. She stared at the reflection, the constant reminder of her digital prison, and sighed.

It's okay, Pomni.

We have a plan.

This isn't over yet.

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otome-obsessions · 4 months ago

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Fairytale Keeper Archives - Madam Beryl

Part 1

3. What is the most distinct memory you've made with Beryl?

William: Do you remember when the three of us went to the opera house? There was a brief moment where she closed her eyes and began to silently mouth the lyrics of the mezzo-soprano performance. Her expression was intensely wistful. Like a bird singing inside of a cramped cage… She seems to know a great deal of opera by heart, and yet she doesn’t even hum when I play her favorite melodies. I can’t help but anticipate the day she lets her voice be heard again. Harrison: We were having breakfast one morning when Beryl and Jude started arguing as always. When they finished she slapped him on the back and stuck a little note that said “Beware of Dog” on his jacket. She kept giggling about it behind her fan, and whenever Jude would ask what was funny we’d all pass it off as something else. She's got a surprisingly childish sense of humor. Liam: One night, Beryl invited me to dinner at one of her taverns. After we ate, she admitted that she only asked me out because she wanted to get more publicity for her business. That honestly didn’t bother me, but she said she wanted to make it up to me since she really liked our conversation. So we left and got some snacks around the city, just the two of us. It’s not an exciting story, but… The way she looked at me when she said sorry really stuck with me, you know? Elbert: We were on a mission together, and she personally condemned a man guilty of enslaving children. She flew into a rage and beat him to death herself. I was surprised by her strength. It was like something possessed her… I couldn’t look away. Alfons: There are very specific rules of engagement at Beryl’s common houses. I happened to be enjoying the company of a new friend one night when a different client broke said rules. Beryl happened to be overseeing operations at the time, and she personally – and publicly – corrected the man’s behavior. By the end of her lesson, the rabble rouser was attached to a leash in her hand and kissing the tip of her shoe. Though, I imagine he enjoyed that much more than his protests let on. Roger: Like I said before, we don’t see each other much… Ah, I’ve got it. I saw her out in the city once. It was only in passing, and I wouldn’t have recognized her if it wasn’t for her heartbeat. She’s usually dressed up in those fancy dresses, but she was wearing a shirt and trousers at the time. Seemed like she was out drinking with her assistants and bodyguard. By the sound of things, they were having a good time. Jude: And why the hell do ya need to know that? (Keeper's note: The purpose of this report as well as the previously agreed upon compensation were reiterated toMr. Jazza.) Tch, fine... I've got a good one. There was one case where a group of 'merchants' were moving in on the East End and selling drugs behind my back. The product made its way into the bird's whorehouses, so with Queenie's blessing we buddied up to weed 'em out. Managed to snatch one of their grunts off the street, and we got to work on 'im. Started off playin' good cop, bad cop, but the bell end was dumb enough to admit to offin’ one of Beryl's girls. Little Miss Prim started peelin' the skin off the poor sod and echoin' his screams back at him. Oh? That make you feel queasy, princess? Well, we both know Queenie likes her fairytales graphic, so don't leave out the good bits, yeah? Ellis: Jude and I met Beryl when she first came to London and started her business, and at the time it seemed like we would end up condemning her for her crimes. I really thought she was a bad person back then, but when I was shadowing her one day I saw her buy some food for the homeless children hanging around her tavern. No one else saw her do it, and I don’t think she knew I was there that day. I can’t really call her a good person, but I started to look at her differently after that.

Victor: Oh, our first lunch together was absolutely wonderful! We’d both finished our investigations into each other without bloodshed, so we finally started learning more about each other as people. Did you know she speaks Italian, Spanish, German, and French? Our Beryl is just so talented, isn’t she? Anyway, while we were speaking about language studies she demonstrated her ability for me by mimicking the voices of the Crown members. Have you ever heard Harry reciting a poem in German? Because I have!

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#ikevil oc #ikevil fanfiction #ikemen villains #ikevil #madam beryl

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allthewriteplaces · 2 months ago

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A Magnolia in May - Chapter Twenty Three

Author's note: As promised, here is the 23rd chapter of my Peaky Blinders fanfiction. I know my posts have been sporadic as of late, but while I hope to remedy that soon, I don't want to push myself too far. Hopefully this makes up for my unforgiveable absence, though.

Chapter Summary: Just a fun day with the kids and their mums.

Chapter Warning(s): None

Word Count: 3822

Chapter Twenty-Three

Once again, the house was bustling with activity, not just because Miss Carleton was dropping by for a visit, much to Lizzie’s annoyance, but so was the veterinarian who was supposed to come and check on Grace’s Secret and then Charlie and Ruby had a music recital later on this afternoon and of course the rest of the family couldn’t very well leave without attending the recital so we agreed they could stay a little while longer.

Lizzie really didn’t like her, Miss Carleton, I mean, and it was pretty obvious as to why, but this morning while she and I were washing the dishes after breakfast, she told me the reason she didn’t like her was because she and Thomas had a short fling just before she married him and it was clear that the horse trainer still had feelings for her ex-husband and would do anything in her power to seduce him and have him in the palm of her hand.

Since it was a hot day and the sun was shining high overhead with not a single threatening cloud in sight, Ada, Lizzie, Esme and I decided to take the children down to the lake to swim while Thomas met with Miss Carleton and the veterinarian.

So here we were, walking barefoot down the winding dirt path to the lake with the hot sun blazing down the backs of our necks and the tops of our heads. We were all dressed in more light-weight clothes that we wouldn’t mind getting wet or dirty.

“Is the lake gonna be cold?” asked William.

“It’s a warm day, so it shouldn’t be too cold,” Ada answered.

“I’m more worried about it being dirty,” said Katie.

“I don’t want to swim in dirty water,” Queenie said with a shudder.

Cold and dirty water certainly wouldn’t be an ideal place to swim, that I could agree with. The lake was much bigger and much closer to the city than the pond behind our house back home and there were a few trees there so it was likely that there might have been some twigs and leaves scattered about in there.

Not to mention it wasn’t the sort of water you’d want to accidentally swallow.

“Anyone who doesn’t want to go in the water doesn’t have to go in,” I said, “You can play on the shore and use the water to make sand castles. That’s why we brought some pails and shovels with us.”

“As long as you stay in the shade,” said Ada, “We don’t want you to get sunburnt, even with the lotion on. “Trust me, sunburn is no picnic.”

Charlie, who was walking alongside me, looked up at her. “You got sunburnt?”

She nodded. “When I was a little girl. We didn’t have sunblock back then, so we had to use zinc ointment to protect ourselves.”

“Was it really bad?” asked Ruby, the tone of her voice climbing a little higher.

“No, it just made my arm really, really red, like a big tomato, but Aunt Polly fixed it right up and I got all better. All the pain and redness went away.”

“Oh,” she said. She was quiet for a moment and then added, “Aunt Polly always knows what to do, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” said Ada, smiling, “she always knows what to do.”

When we got to the lake, the water looked cleaner than we thought, but still, we did a quick scan of the area, making sure there weren’t any shards of glass from wine or beer bottles or pieces of metal that they could step on and that would pierce their skin. Then we gave them the all clear, telling them it was safe to take off their shoes and walk.

Not surprisingly, not all of the kids were entirely keen on going in the water, except for Charlie. In the coming years, I’d learn that he was a bit of a daredevil, someone who wasn’t afraid to take a few small risks.

Of course Ruby did almost everything Charlie did, so she followed him.

“Stay in the shallows, okay?” I called, not wanting them to go too deep.

“We will!” Charlie called back. William, Henry, Billy, Mercedes, Finn, Matthew and Karl, decided to go in, too and I watched as they splashed each other in the clear water.

“I’m not going in,” said Alice, determinedly, her little hands on her hips.

“We could build a sandcastle instead,” Queenie piped up.

Marie grinned and clapped her hands. “Sandcastle!”

“I wanna help, too,” Birdie said.

“Okay.” Katie held Birdie and Marie’s hands, and they happily skipped alongside her as they all searched for the perfect spot to build their sandcastle. “It can’t be too close to the water or else the waves will wash it all away once the tide comes in.”

Queenie tilted her head to one side and looked over at me.

“Do lakes even have tides?” she asked.

“Tiny ones,” I answered, then pointed to a spot near the shade. “What about we build it over there? It’s nice and shady and it’s close enough to the water that you don’t have to lug your heavy buckets for long.”

Katie tapped her fingers against her chin. “Hmm.”

The girls walked over to the spot I was pointing to and they all knelt down on the sand. Katie took a handful of it and then sprinkled it back onto the ground.

“The sand texture is good,” she called, “but I think we need some water.”

“Come on,” said Alice, “Let’s go get some pails and shovels.”

The girls all stood up again and when Queenie rose to her feet, she told me to guard their land so no one would intrude on it before they could build their castle.

“Stay right there until we get back,” she instructed.

“I will,” I replied and sat down on the ground under the tree with my knees tucked under my chin. The ground underneath was sandy, and I moved my dress down so I wouldn’t get it in any uncomfortable places, feeling the wind blowing through my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment just appreciating the calm.

After they all got a bucket and a shovel, half of the girls returned and started filling their buckets with sand while the rest of them filled theirs with water. I could see Ruby and the boys swimming not that far ahead and Lizzie, Linda and Esme setting up the picnic blanket and making sure we had everything we needed for lunch in the basket.

Ada held Elizabeth’s hand as she stood on the shore, letting the waves crash over her feet. I could hear her adorable shriek as the cool water hit her little legs. I stood up momentarily and decided to put my feet in or go a little ways out and see how cold it actually was.

“How is it?” Esme called. I almost couldn’t hear her because of how loud the waves were as they threatened to knock me down more than once.

“Not too bad,” I answered. “It’s nice putting your feet in.”

“Are you going deeper?” Ada asked beside me as she walked with Lizzie until they were a little deeper into the water until it was up to her waist. Being only a few years old, she couldn’t exactly swim as far out as the other kids, but the girl was perfectly happy playing and splashing with her mum.

“I think I will,” I answered, and then walked out a little more. The waves threatened to knock me over a couple of times, but I remained flat-footed and kept going until it went up to my waist, too. It was chilly, but it was refreshing, perfect for a hot day like today.

I stayed in the water for a little bit, letting the cool rush of it settle the thoughts inside of me. It took me back to when I was a kid and we’d all go swim in the pond near our home and then lay on the grass and let the sun dry us off, except this water was shallower, or at least it seemed that way to a fully-grown adult woman.

After a little bit, I got out and as I stepped onto the shore, the sand stuck to the bottom of my feet. It wasn’t the best feeling in the world, having it stick to the bottom of my feet and get stuck between my toes, but it wasn’t unbearable, either, and besides that, it would only take a minute for them to dry off.

I brought a book along with me to read while I was here, one that I’d been meaning to read for quite some time, one that Thomas insisted I read, but until now, I’d never gotten around to reading it. I sat down with my feet sprawled out in front of me so the breeze could dry them off, opened the book to the first page and started reading.

Most readers could dive head first into a book and tune everything else out, but I had learned how to stay in the present and pay attention to my surroundings in case anyone needed me.

It was a detective novel about a wealthy old woman who was murdered and the twelve suspects who were either witnesses or potential perpetrators. It was all narrated by a Lieutenant on sick leave from the Western Front.

After a little bit, I was called away from my book by Ruby, whose hair and clothes were all soaked from swimming and who wrapped her little arms around herself, and who told me that lunch was ready.

We all sat down on the picnic blanket, crossing our legs and eating lunch as the waves crashed and the cool, summer air blew across our faces, talking about anything and everything under the sun.

The wind wasn’t too strong so we didn’t have to worry about our food blowing away, but those of us who had long hair had to tuck our hair back.

“How’s your sandcastle going?” asked Lizzie.

Katie set her sandwich down. “We’re a little bit done.”

“You’re building a sandcastle?” Ruby asked, her eyes wide. “Can I help, too?”

Queenie looked over at Katie, who nodded and then she looked back at Ruby.

“Sure. We’ll finish our lunch first.”

“I have an idea,” said Charlie. “Let’s all build one, boys versus girls.”

“The losers have to get a bucket of water poured on them,” said Karl with a grin.

Katie raised an eyebrow. “You sure you wanna risk getting dunked in water?”

“Yeah,” said Karl, “because we know that we’re gonna win.”

“No,” Marie answered. “We’re gonna win.”

“Our mums and Miss Bennet can be the judges,” said Ruby.

“What if we want to build our own?” asked Esme.

Ruby tapped her finger against her chin. “I suppose that would be alright.”

Lunch was finished and the rest of the afternoon was spent filling buckets of sand and water, trying to determine how much of each we would need so it wasn’t too dry or too muddy. It was like determining how much milk to put with our cereal in the morning. You don’t want it too dry, but you don’t want it to be too mushy or soggy, either.

Finally, we figured out the perfect ratio and all things considered, we were all doing pretty well, though admittedly, Lizzie and Birdie were more interested in playing in the water and doing their own little thing than actually helping with the castle.

“We’ll have to bring Violet here once she gets a little older,” I said, turning one of the buckets over and patting it down with the shovel. “Aunt Eliza says she wants to wait until Violet is old enough to sit up on her own and walk, or at least wait until she can crawl. She’ll be able to move around and explore more.”

Lizzie nodded, doing the same and then using her own shovel to make a little hole where a door would be. “Not to mention old enough to know that she can’t put sand in her mouth.”

“I think all babies do that,” said Esme. She made a circle around the castle and then poured a little water into it to make a moat.

Ada laughed. “Tell me about it. When Karl was a baby and we’d sit outside on the grass in the park, I had to make sure he didn’t eat the grass. Elizabeth is the same way. Ben saw her with a fistful in her hand the other day and when he took it from her, even though he was as gentle as he could possibly be, she still cried.”

“They all grow out of it eventually,” said Linda. “Billy wasn’t much of a grass eater, but when he was teething, he liked chewing on his stuffed bear because it was soft and he didn’t take a pacifier.”

“Mum!” Billy groaned, obviously having heard us.

Linda’s smile brightened. “Aww, am I embarrassing you, love?”

His expression changed to a grumpy one for a second or two, but then he shook his head, smiling as his mum made a funny face and then picking up his bucket, he took it down to the water to fill it up.

In truth, I’d thought a lot about what it would be like having children of my own and Thomas and I had talked about it a few times, but while we were both open to the possibility, we weren’t in any hurry. Besides, Ruby and Charlie were already like a son and daughter to me, even though they never called me ‘mum’ I didn’t want to put that pressure on them, I didn’t want them to feel as though they had to should Thomas and I ever decide to get married.

“Take it one day at a time,” Aunt Eliza told me last night as we all sat on the couch together after the kids had gone to bed. “There’s no rush to do anything, just live in the moment and enjoy the time you have together.”

“Mum!” Ruby said, running over to us. “We’re all finished!”

“We are, too,” said Henry, joining her.

“Well, let’s go see who made the best one,” Lizzie said, holding out her hand.

Ruby took it and then held her other hand out to me.

I and the other ladies stood up, and allowed her and Matthew to lead us to where their sandcastles were built.

“Look at that!” I said, looking at the boys’ handiwork first, seeing as how theirs was the first one in the row. “You did a moat, too, I see. And how did you make the door?”

“We found some bark from a tree on the ground over there,” said Finn. “We had to make the hole wider so the piece would fit. And we made windows using a stick since the shovel was too big and would make the whole thing crumble.”

“I wish I brought my toy soldiers,” said William. “Then we could use them as guards to protect the castle from invaders.”

“Who knows, maybe the castle will stay up for years to come,” I said, hoping to cheer him up a bit.

He looked up at me and his eyes lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. “Really. I’d say it’s a mighty fine fort you’ve built.”

They saluted me and I saluted them back before we went to see the girls’ castle.

“And what do we have here?” Lizzie asked, kneeling on the ground as Birdie put one last little rock on her side of the castle. It seemed her side of the castle was primarily built on rocks, which in my opinion, made it look more ancient, like the castles we’d see sometimes on our drives to London.

“She loves rocks,” Queenie explained. “Every time we go outside, she’s always picking up rocks and looking at them.”

“Yes, she does,” Esme said with a tiny shake of her head and an amused smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she collects enough to fill an entire room.”

“A whole room full of rocks?” Matthew asked, excitedly, “that would be fun.”

“Yeah, we can all climb them like the explorers in the books,” said Finn.

Both boys had overheard our conversation about rocks and whether it was pure coincidence, or not, Finn was holding a huge pile of rocks in his hand and showed them to Birdie, but when she looked for a little more room to put them on, she discovered that there was no more room left on the castle to put them on.

“Here,” said Alice, “give them to me and I’ll show you what we can do.”

Birdie handed the rocks to Alice and Alice arranged them into a little arch above the piece of driftwood that they’d used to make a door.

“Birdie found a pretty white rock once,” Katie said, watching Alice carefully sort through the rocks to see which ones would fit above the door and which ones they’d have to put somewhere else.

“It was really, really pretty,” said Queenie, “if you held it in the sunlight, it would sparkle, like someone put magic fairy dust on it.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t be surprised. There’ve been quite a few fairy sightings recently,” I said, making my voice sound overly mysterious, which made all of their eyes light up.

“Really?” Marie asked, her deep brown eyes sparkling with childlike wonder.

“Really,” I said, nodding my head slowly, emphatically.

“I thought fairies didn’t want to be seen,” said Ruby.

“In most cases, yes, they’ll try and stay as far away from humans as they possibly can, you know, to avoid being captured and all that, but sometimes, some of the braver fairies might come by to say hello.”

Alice leaned a little closer. “I think I saw a white, fluffy dandelion blowing in the wind the other day when we were playing outside. Do you think it was a fairy being born?”

“I very well think it might have been,” I answered and she grinned, as did the other girls. “They say that the first time that a baby laughs, a fairy’s life takes flight.”

“But if a baby laughs, does that mean when a baby cries, a fairy dies?” asked Charlie, overhearing our conversation about rocks and fairies. He knelt beside his mum on the ground and looked over at me and I could see he was worried.

“No, no, it’s only when someone says they don’t believe in fairies,” I answered.

“Oh, well, if I ever said that, or if I do say it, I don’t mean it,” he said.

I frowned. Charlie was a very sensitive boy, one whose heart was made of pure gold and who would do anything to protect those he cared about the most. And while most boys his age thought believing in fairy tales and playing make believe was beneath them, he had certainly never lost that sense of wonder, the sense that there were worlds far beyond this one, or worlds that we haven’t yet discovered.

He was the sort of boy who would grow up to be a selfless man, and trust me, we needed more of those in this world.

And what worried us the most was that it was like all the colour had drained from his face and was about to pour out of his eyes in tears. So, it was time for me to do what I did best, which was to ease that guilt that was inside of him, to make him feel less worried.

I leaned forward and placed my hand on top of his as it rested in the sand. It was still a bit damp and sandy from his handiwork, but that didn’t matter in the least to me, because this boy needed comfort and I wanted to be the one to ease that comfort.

“You know, they also say that if you say that you believe in fairies and truly mean it with all your heart, you can bring them back to life and it will be as if nothing happened.”

He smiled as his mum rubbed his back with the heel of her hand and looked into his eyes. He looked up at her and then leaned his head on her shoulder.

“Okay, who’s the winner of the competition?”

“Hmm,” Esme tapped her chin, thinking for a moment. “Well, it’s a very tough choice seeing as how you all have done such a wonderful job, therefore, I think you are all the winners.”

“So no one has to be dunked over the head with this bucket?” asked Matthew.

“Not if they don’t want to,” said Lizzie.

“Okay, then I guess I’ll just put it back,” he said, drawing the last vowel slowly and I turned my head just in time to feel the cold water come pouring down on me and hear all the kids laughing.

“I knew it! I should have known you were going to trick me!” I said, shaking my head and looking down at my now sopping wet dress and watching the water dripping from my hair.

“It was Henry’s idea,” he said, pointing to my younger cousin.

“Was not!” Henry argued, sounding almost genuinely shocked.

“Was to,” Billy put in. “I heard you telling Matthew to dunk her.”

“It’s alright,” I laughed. I wasn’t entirely displeased. “I feel like a soggy wet cat, but it’s alright.”

“You look like a soggy wet cat,” said William. He was laughing, too.

I stood up, squeezing the water from my dress and then pushing my hair back, thinking it would have been wiser to put it in a hair tie before we left, but I didn’t and that was my first mistake. My next mistake was thinking that none of the kids would try to splash me or dunk me over the head with a bucket of cold water.

At least it was clean.

But they’d made a little tiny mistake, too: thinking that I wouldn’t try and splash them back. I wouldn’t pour a bucket of it all over them, but as they dashed toward the water and as long as my hands were free, I could lightly splash them and watch them try to get away.

Even Elizabeth tried, and when I ever so gently used my hands to toss a little water her way, she giggled, which in turn, made me smile.

One of the best things about being part of a big family like this one, was that I knew that no matter how rough of a day I was having, these kids would always be here to cheer me up, to make me laugh and make me forget any struggles I was going through.

And it made me happy.

To Be Continued

Taglist: @zablife @cillmequick @sherbitdibdab @runnning-outof-time @izabesworld

If you would like to be added or removed from the taglist, please let me know. :)

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #thomas shelby #cillian murphy #thomas shelby x oc #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x oc #fanfic #fanfiction

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alltimefail-sims · 2 years ago

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Quinta is looking for love!

As promised, I'll be kicking off the new year with a Bachelorette Challenge series while I wrap up the remaining odds and ends of my Strangerville story!

You might recognize Quinta from Mini's Match, a Bachelorette Challenge by @wrixie. Although things didn't work out with Mini, Quinta's not ready to give up on finding someone to spend the rest of her life with!

I'm looking for at least 7 contestants, but knowing me I might end up loving more sims than that, and if that happens I'll take up to 12 contestants! Please tag me, @alltimefail-sims, in your submissions and use the hashtag #QuintasBC so I'm guaranteed to see your sim (I will reblog your submission). You can submit two sims max!

The deadline for submissions is DECEMBER 30TH.

Submission guidelines & info on Quinta are below the cut! ↓

Meet Our Bachelorette:

Quinta Saeed-Parisi | Age: 27 years | Pronouns: She/her -> Also goes by: Quin, Q, and Queenie (by close friends and family) -> Currently she's an attorney but dreams of being a "style influencer" and writing for a reputable fashion magazine. -> Her 5 main traits are: loyal, ambitious, moody, romantic, and creative. She has the "Big Happy Family" aspiration (she was an only child, so she wants to have a big family of her own). -> She was born, raised, and currently lives in Tartosa in a two-bedroom condo with her hedgehog named Winston. -> She’s got a degree from the University of Britechester in language and literature and graduated with honors. She was also the valedictorian of her high school! -> Likes: the color red, pop, Latin pop, playing piano, cooking, mixology (she loves a good red wine), writing, dancing, research and debate, and writing. She loves food, traveling, shopping, and writing in her free time. -> Dislikes: Jazz and metal music, handiness, mischief, baking, fitness, fishing, and country fashion. (In other words, let it be known that she’s not super outdoorsy lol). -> Fun facts: Her favorite artist is Lizzo (she starts her morning routine with "Juice"); she LOVES all things style and fashion (she's got far too many designer bags and shoes than anyone needs); and she comes from a very traditional, strict family (but is not traditional by any means).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Quinta is a lesbian, so she is looking for a woman-identifying and/or nonbinary (she/they, they/them) sim to spend the rest of her life with!

Young Adult - Adult sims only (we'll say irl age cap is 45).

Sims should have 5 traits. You don't need to download the mod I use, just let me know what 5 CAS traits you'd like your sim to have. They must have at least one negative trait. They can have as many bonus traits as you want (reward traits, pack-specific traits like chopstick savvy or responsible from parenthood and etc.)

They should have likes & dislikes!

Any fame level is welcome. Any career is welcome.

Any existing occult is welcome. If they are an alien specifically, please indicate if they use their human disguise exclusively, sometimes, or at all.

No existing townies/townie makeovers/children of townies - original characters only, please!

Please dress your sims in 1 everyday outfit and one formal outfit; the other categories can just be left blank! (Please be mindful that I might have to tweak your sims just a little to fit my game style or existing cc, but I promise I won't change them drastically!)

Maxis match hair only, but I'm maxis-mix otherwise! I use these default eyes, but any non-default eye contacts are probably good with me!

I'd really love for you to give me some insight into their life and who they are. Backstories can be as long and detailed or as short and simple as your heart desires! But know that with me there is no such thing as too much info. I want to do your sims justice! ❤ Do they have a child? Were they previously married? What is their family like? Seriously, I want to know as much as you want me to know!

That being said, skills don't matter (they can be anything you want) and the bare minimum I need in terms of a backstory are where they live/where they grew up (if they are different) and what their current job is.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to inbox me.

I'm so excited to see all of your sims... and Quinta is, too!

#bachelorette challenge #ts4 bachelorette challenge #ts4 #the sims 4 #sims 4 #simblr #QuintasBC #oc: quinta #alltimefail-sims

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eviltiddyproductions · 1 year ago

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destined with you : episode 4

rowoon has graduated from the song hye kyo school of cheekbone acting omg. you cannot not look at them!

my sister's gagged

lmaooo i love her for just glossing over his confession 😂

this is a pretty realistic (and hilarious )conversation regarding the love spell lmao like they are both really just stuck with this situation now 💀

the writers better make this fun !!!

need to get my hands on a gif of his deadpan delivery of 'don't make that face it makes my heart flutter' 😐🫥😐

him trying to pull his feet of the ground lmaooo

props to the second male lead he said I'm good to dogs, cold to my family; stop the delusions ✋ (to be fair though families always have a higher chance of being terrible than dogs)

well he let her down gently, sweet man

everybody in this show is lonely #relatable

oh the way he randomly got up scared me lmao 😭

naur hong jo find a cure and get this man back to normal again 💀

adore the manager down for atleast taking care of these things

all the best hong jo 😭

'in my body sadness should be working actively but joy is having fun cluelessly' ME WHEN

y'all they're showing his ex girlfriend and I guess the second female lead but we're 4 episodes in and I feel nothing. 💀 like at least give me some breadcrumbs to be interested

hide hong jo! you're about to catch strays because of his breakup 😭

honestly he's got the i need to pee so bad stance absolutely downnn

generally in shows that go back and forth between past life and current life i get kind of bored and disinterested but this is keeping my intrigue!

also maybe shows really work when you take them 2 episodes at a time because at this point I'll eat anything up 💀 #embarrassing

lmao Manager Queenie just read Mr. Gong to filth

babe pretty sure your love potion man moved in

woah who's this hoodie man ?!!

get your streetlights fixed sister !!!

love potion man got the lights fixed!

should've just made him call you

lmao look at him skipping after her 💀

could make a drinking game out of the amount of times he says 'get a grip of yourself Shin Yu

y'all I do feel for him though. having to sit through this and have no control of your feelings bc of a love potion seems terrible 😭🙏

I knew they would cut away when she told her the way out of it !!! let me in !!! I won't tell

'do you think I'm doing this so I can spend time with you? you're right I'm doing this so I can spend time with you' is actually so funny

wait he left, did the second male lead move in here ?!!

he's just like me! I want to know too!!!

is the manager Queenie really that good or is the shoe going to drop soon ( I hope it doesn't I love her down !!!) like woah she's always on the right side

awww at least he cares about his boss

wearing a Hawaiian shirt at the funeral of someone should be on my bucket list

WHO MOVED IN !!! I want to know so bad lol

she saved his name as groot

girl just tell us

he was the hooded man !???! 😭 it is him! mr. kwon the second lead (honestly very slay)

girl I adore you 💀🙏 I'd be terrified of moving around if my crush moved in

he looks cute dressed down

oooh imoogi's here

lmao scenes like this remind me of the tale of the nine tailed 1938 dialogue that the gods have gotten lazy and are copy pasting the same face everywhere 😂

at least here it's destiny

girl help him break the spell omg? this is kinda cruel 😭

is that a real beach? the sky and angle is giving green screen

girl his ex would also feel much better if we all got together to break the spell 🧘

oh she came here for her dad

it's a real beach after all

1 minute of the show left and I'll have to wait for another week I really lost. I'm not built for his lifestyle 😭

the precap looks saur good

#destined with you #kdrama #i'm not built for the weekly wait #the second lead has been here for 3 minutes and I'm already rooting for him lmaaaoo #see y'all next week

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newt-and-salamander · 3 years ago

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Queenie: Tina, you are giving me a headache. Could you please, just for one second, stop thinking about -

Tina: I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT MR SCAMANDER!

Queenie: Fair enough. Newt Newt Newt Newt Newt Newt doesn't count I reckon.

#and this is canon now #i really don't want to be in Queenie's shoes #but I want to be in Tina's shoes even less #imagine having a crush on sb. and your sister is reading your mind ALL OF THE TIME #Newt simply doesn't know how lucky he is with Theseus #newtina #tina goldstein #queenie golstein #newt scamander #fantastic beasts #fbawtft #crimes of grindelwald #fbcog #jacob kowalski #albus dumbledore #gellert grindelwald #theseus scamander #legilimency

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magicalhideoutengineer · 3 years ago

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Legendary costume designer Colleen Atwood begins her design work on the Fantastic Beasts films with an appropriately magical flight of fancy. "We figure out where their wand pockets are, where they hide their wands and how they get them out," she tells A.frame. "Sometimes you see it in the movie and sometimes you don't."

"A lot of times it's on the inside of the sleeve or sometimes it's hidden in the inside pocket of their trousers," Atwood says. "I've done a couple of sheaths on the side of their pants, like a holster sort of setup, but that's mainly for bad guys."

Although filming was original slated for early 2020, the production was postponed until later that year due to the pandemic, resulting in a number of shutdown-related issues but one in particular that was unique to Atwood: "When I came back into it after COVID, two of my actors were pregnant!" she laughs.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, I have to rethink how to make this costume work on somebody that's going to be pregnant for three months while we're filming?!'" she says of costuming Alison Sudol, who plays Queenie, and Victoria Yeates, who plays Bunty. "I used the same ideas and textures, but I reshaped the original costumes. Then, as it goes along, you put stretch in certain places that you can't see. So, that was one thing that made it a very unique experience as the designer."

From the start, we give a nod to the Dumbledores of the Potter movies [played by Richard Harris and then Michael Gambon]. He was in those grayish, mauve-y colors that were his robes. And I wanted to not put him in the same color but have it be reminiscent that it could evolve into that. So, I used a really soft dove gray color.

With Dumbledore, I've always chosen very approachable-feeling clothes, like stuff you wanted to touch. Really lush fabrics, like beautiful cashmeres. They're not flashy at all but just have an old-world elegance to them. So, it's a soft, lux version of Dumbledore. And nobody can work a costume like Jude Law.

There's not a lot of what you guys call Easter eggs on Dumbledore's costume. He's pretty straightforward. He's always had these great stitched shoes that were inspired by a vintage pair that I saw. They have a certain spider webby pattern that's very Dumbledore. But other than that, his stuff's pretty straightforward, to be honest.

This [sketch] is where I started with her Grindelwald uniform. It's a severe version of the '30s style, a fashion-y, hard, kind of Fascist version of the soft colors that she wore before. This is her more serious, somber look. I didn't want to do, 'Oh, well, she's dark -- so she's going to wear black.' I wanted it to still have a richness to it and something that reflected power, but in a different, moodier way. [In previous movies,] she was in roses a lot, so I used dark red here. I took the colors that I used for her and plugged them into her, but in the deepest range of that color.

I did research the period for weddings and fabrics, and I was like, 'Those just don't feel right for her.' It was a lot of heavy satin and stuff like that, and I felt like she should have something that was light and caught the air. My influences were maybe all over the place, really, but that's how I ended up in the layers of organza and chiffon that it ended up being. At one point, she was going to have butterflies on her dress that were animated. So, she was going to be surrounded by all these butterflies. That didn't really happen, but it gave me the idea of making the sleeves these big '30s sleeves and having a train that isn't just a train of heavy satin -- it's alive.

That was so much fun. You have these workrooms with these amazing seamstresses, and two things get them really excited: A baby thing and a wedding dress. They were all aflutter while we were making that. It was really a very labor-intensive dress, because all those little cutout butterflies were handmade and applied on the costume as we built it up. It's a combination of butterflies and then these circles with glitter around the edge. And it was very time consuming. But, at the end of the day, everybody was very excited to see it finally hit the camera.

We meet him when he's sort of down-and-out and on the skids. He's living in the past and drifting. And what I really like about his costume is that it's magically created — Lally does the wand, and then, he's in that costume for the rest of the show, which was a fun take on it.

What I did is I took the idea of what he had in the last show and made it more everyman-ish in a way. He's always had a little bit of flair, but he's always had that body, so his clothes fit a certain way. And Dan lost a lot of weight on this show. So, he wasn't as big as he was before. I wanted to still make him feel very kind of huggy, so, I used Shetlands and those kind of materials to give him a little more substance physically. It just adds more bulk. And god, it looks like he's having fun through it all. Even though he's suffering a lot, he gives it a comedy-ness and sweetness that really helps the whole story.

I met with Jessica and we talked about the character and color. And I really wanted to avoid dark colors with Lally. When we first see her, she's supposed to look like an innocent librarian-type character sitting outside of Jacob's bakery, so we went darker for that [costume]. And it doesn't really show that much on the camera, but it's very aged, and a kind of shabby look on her. And then, she's transformed into what she wears for the rest of the story.

I felt like Lally was full of life, full of fire, and so we came upon these heightened, sort of African reds and oranges and those kinds of colors. I found a tweed to make her suit that she wears for most of the movie. I liked her to be as powerful as the guys -- but I didn't want her to wear pants -- so we sort of came upon a suit silhouette that was still feminine.

Jessica was totally in love with it. She hadn't really had costumes like that made for her before, so she was kind of giddy about it. I asked for any suggestions, and we played with jewelry, and we made her shoes to match. I love making shoes, so we both had fun ideas for the shoes, and then, she saw them and was like, "Whoa!"

#fantastic beasts #queenie goldstein #secrets of dumbledore #fb3interview #albus dumbledore #jacob kowalski #eulalie hicks #colleen atwood

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nettles-bo-bettles · 4 years ago

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Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her Secretive Life

Third Person POV:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a girl who has had a very secretive life. It all started when she was four years old. When she was four, an assassination team came to her home and tried to kill her. They failed but she had to leave her home to stay safe. After leaving her home she was sent to Paris with two guards who were married and wanted a child. After getting to Paris she had to keep a secret to keep herself safe from assassins, that was the only secret she ever had until she went to school. Once she got to the age where she could go to school her guardians told her she and her best friend Chloe must act like they hate each other. The girls agreed on Chloe pretending to be a mean girl and her bullying Marinette. Years later once Marinette was 14, she got yet another secret to uphold. That secret was being Ladybug, although she made sure to tell Chloe for Chloe was her only friend who knew about all of Marinette's secrets. A day later Chloe's childhood friend Adrien Agreste came to school, Marinette already had a crush on a boy named Damian but he lived in Gotham City and he wasn't capable of protecting her. Once Adrien came to school, Marinette's Guardians, Tom and Sabine, told her she must pretend to have a crush on the boy. In order to make Marinette and Chloe's false hatred for each other more believable, Chloe pretended to have a crush on the boy as well. These are only a few of Marinette's secrets, but these few and all of the others get revealed because of one small trip back to Marinette's home.

Marinette's POV:

I woke up at 5:00 am again and like always I couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and took a shower. After my shower I put on a white crop top, some leggings and my black doc martens.

My outfit:

I put my hair in a high ponytail and went downstairs to get some breakfast. By the time I was done with my breakfast and all the way ready for school it was 6:00 am. I decided that because I still had two and a half hours before I had to start heading to school and be late I should go for a walk and hang out with Chloe until I had to go. Now I know what you're thinking, me Marinette Dupain-Cheng hanging out with Chloe Bourgeois??? Well despite what everyone thinks and what we've made them think. Me and Chloe have known each other since birth and have been best friends for as long as we can remember. Anyways so once I walked from the bakery to Chloe's hotel I took out my phone and texted her.

Maribug:

-Hey do you want to hang out before school? I have nothing to do for the next two hours.

Queenie:

Sure, I have nothing to do either. Plus I miss hanging out with you. Meet me outside my hotel in- five minutes.

Maribug:

-Lol, way ahead of you already. I got to your hotel before I even started texting you.

Queenie:

Damn, how are you always ahead of me?-

Maribug:

-I'm always ahead of you because I've known you my whole life and you're really predictable.

Queenie:

Oh, oh okay.-

Imma meet you outside now then.-

Maribug has signed off.

Two minutes later Chloe walked out of the hotel and we started heading towards the park.

"I miss hanging out with you, like Sabrina is just boring and she does everything I say even if I mostly don't want her to."

"Damn Queenie, I mean I bet Sabrina would be a lot more fun if you just asked her not to do anything you said and told her the truth. I mean I'm fine with her knowing about the fact that we've known each other our whole lives."

"Oh you know what, that's a really good idea Imma do that later. Thanks for the idea Maribug."

"I always have the best ideas and you know it."

"Alright that's true."

We got to the park and sat down on a bench near the fountain. We started talking about everything going on in our personal lives. Eventually it was 8:00 and Chloe had to go so she started walking to school while I started taking the long way so that I would get there at 8:30 while she would get there at 8:15 and school started at 8:20 so nobody would be suspicious.

Adrien's POV: I woke up at 6:00 and decided to go walk around and go to the park. I was wearing a black hoodie, white ripped jeans, and all black Nike Blazers. I walked to the park and was shocked with what I saw. I saw Chloe and Marinette sitting on a bench, talking, and LAUGHING!!!!!!!! I thought Chloe and Marinette hated each other. I then decided to just ask them about it at school during lunch. Eventually it was 8:00 so I started going to school and I saw Chloe there already but Marinette was nowhere to be seen. I walked to class and for some reason Marinette was late.

"Sorry I'm late Ms.Bustier I overslept again." Marinette said, looking at Ms.Bustier with an apologetic face.

But she didn't oversleep, I SAW HER AT THE PARK AT SIX IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS NOT OVERSLEEPING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eventually it was lunch time and I asked Chloe to wait in the classroom and did the same with Marinette.

"So why did you want to talk to me?" They asked at the same time.

Then they looked at the other and had thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Well, I thought you two hated each other." I said looking at the both of them.

"What do you mean you 'thought'??? We do hate each other. Chloe's a snobby spoiled brat." Marinette said.

"Yeah I hate Marinette, she's such a goody two shoes." Chloe said.

"I hate you Chloe, I hate you so much." Marinette said, now turning to Chloe.

Chloe just burst out laughing.

"Wha- Chloe, why are you laughing???" Marinette asked.

"Just- I- he figured it out, I don't see the point in keeping this from him."

"Keeping what exactly from me?" I asked.

"Well Adrien, you oblivious cinnamon roll, me and Chloe have been friends, well best friends since we were toddlers. Like I cannot remember a time that I wasn't friends with Chloe." "Exactly, what Maribug said. We've been friends for longer than we can remember and, I've actually known Maribug longer than I've known you Adrien." Chloe said to me.

"Wait- did you just call me Adrien instead of Adrikins??? Does this mean you don't actually like me??" I asked with hope.

"Well duh, you're like a brother to me jeez." Chloe said kind of disgusted.

"Oh yeah, I don't have a crush on you either, I just pretended I did even though you never caught on. That was to make me and Chloe hating each other more believable." Marinette said.

"Wait- both of you had fake crushes one me???" I said kind of shocked.

"Hell yeah." They said simultaneously.

"But Maribug guess what." Chloe said to Marinette.

"Yeah Queenie???" Marinette asked.

"YOU HAVE TO GO OUT WITH DEMON SPAWN NOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chloe shouted.

"FUCK NO!!!!!!!!! HE DOESN'T LIKE ME BACK!!!!!! I AM NOT GOING OUT WITH DAMIAN WHEN HE DOESN'T LIKE ME BACK!!!!!!" Marinette shouted.

"Bish- you're the only fucking person on earth who he doesn't find incredibley annoying, like his nickname for you IS FUCKING 'ANGEL'!!!!!!!!!!! HOW THE HELL DO YOU NOT THINK HE LIKES YOU?!?!?!" Chloe yelled.

"I have no idea." Marinette said honestly.

"Uhhhh I feel like I don't really belong in this conversation........so I'm just gonna leave now." I said a little bit uncomfortable.

"Oh- heh, forgot you were here. Sorry Adrien." They said simultaneously.

"Yeah, okay I'm leaving then. Bye." I said walking out the door.

Marinette's POV:

Damn, I did not realize that Adrien had seen me and Chloe hanging out. Well guess that's another person to know about me and Chloe not hating each other but actually being best friends. After lunch we all came back to the classroom for an important announcement.

"Alright class I have an announcement to make." Ms.Bustier said.

Hmmmm wonder what the announcement could be.......OH I BET IT'S THAT SHE GOT PREGGO AND GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Okay class so the announcement is that we will be going to China for the princess's coronation and then afterwards we will be going to Gotham city to meet her honorary family and her soon to be fiance."

Nope, I was very very wrong.

"Damn, I thought you was gonna say you got preggo earlier this week and that in 9 months you were gonna have a baby. Now I'm a little disappointed." I said.

The whole class just looked at me like I was crazy, I mean I could be considering the fact that I said I was disappointed that it was the coronation instead of Ms.Bustier being preggo but like me and Chloe have been friends since birth because she was born on her parents' honey-moon and they had it in china so she was born at the royal hospital and I was born there too because I'm the princess of China and my mom and dad are the Empress and Emperor. What did you expect after knowing that I moved here because of an assasination attempt, like really why would anyone be surprised??? That's how all the "Marinette Princess of China'' stories start, I mean honestly, if you're surprised then I am sorely disappointed in you.

"Girl- we get to go to a coronation and you're disappointed???" Alya said while looking at me like I'm insane.

Adrien just looked at me like I had more secrets to hide, which I do.

"You know what I'll just explain to you all after school, and don't be surprised if Chloe's there too." I said.

"Uh- okay then." Alya said.

"Alright dudette." Nino said, not really paying attention.

"Why am I not surprised that Chloe's gonna be there too." Adrien said rhetorically.

After school Alya, Nino and Adrien came to my house so that I could explain.

"Wait- girl, why is Chloe here?" Alya asked.

"Cause she felt like it." I said.

"And you just let her in your house?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, it'll make sense once I explain." I said to her.

"Mariiiiiiii I wanna see Tim." Chloe whined.

"Chlo- you're gonna see him in China, AND WE'RE LEAVING TO GO THERE TOMORROW!!!! JUST WAIT JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!"

"BUT THAT'S TOO LONG!!!!!!!!! I DON'T WANNA WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW TO SEE mAH BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! BESIDES DON'T YOU WANNA SEE DAMIAN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TOO?!?!" Chloe yelled.

"Yeah, I wanna see Damian as soon as possible BUT AT LEAST I CAN WAIT 24 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!" I said.

Eventually we stopped yelling at each other and I explained everything.

"Okay so the whole thing is that I'm the princess of china, I left china when I was four because of assasination attempts, Tom and Sabine are royal guards, me and Chloe have been best friends for as long as we can remember and I've known her longer than even Adrien has. Damian and Tim are the guys we like, but I'm being forced to marry Damian even if neither of us mind it that much, Tim is a year older than us and Chloe's boyfriend, Tim and Damian are brothers and are both from Gotham City. Me and Chloe act like we hate each other to make people less suspicious of me being the princess because the assassins know that Chloe is my best friend. Oh and neither of us have ever liked Adrien romantically, he's more like a brother to both of us." I said.

They just looked at me awestruck, well except Chloe of course, she just pouted because she can't see coffee monster. Oops did I say Coffee Monster? I meant Tim. Eventually Alya, Nino and Adrien snapped out of their awestruck state and started asking questions.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alya asked, looking hurt.

"I wasn't allowed to until today, I asked Tom and Sabine if I could multiple times but they said no every time until yesterday after school, I asked them even though I didn't know about the trip yet but I think they did." I said to her.

"You know, dudette it's pretty cool that you're a princess. WAIT- DO WE GET TO SEE YOUR PALACE OR CASTLE THING?!?!"

"Yes Nino, you'll get to see the palace." I said to him.

"YESSSSSSSS! THIS IS SO AWESOME DUDETTE!!!!!!!!!!" Nino shouted.

We all just started talking and Alya and Nino became friends with Chloe, the real Chloe. After a while everyone went home to pack for China, I had already packed the small amount of stuff I would need because I already have a lot of clothes and things in China. Once it was 11:00 I changed into my pajamas and went to bed.

My Pajamas:

I went to bed happy and excited for tomorrow.

Page Count: 8

Word Count: 2397

#letttuce #I hate this story but I'm posting it anyway #I forgot if this was daminette or timari #maribat #nevermind it's daminette

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duchessfics · 4 years ago

Note

Hello! Just saw that you're opening up requests for the weekend for Fall themed/Halloween themed drabbles 🎃🍂 Please may I request a drabble with Cordelia where she and reader go on like a pic-nic or something and reader offers her they're coat or something? Just some wholesome autumn vibes 😅 It's okay if you're super busy, please don't feel pressured. I hope you have a good day! 🦇🧡👻

Of course! I hope you’re having a good day too, sweetheart. 💖 Love your fall emojis btw. 😉

“You’re sure you both have the time to go through each contract? i highlighted the points of concern and there’s some other paperwork to do in another pile--”

“Cordelia, I love you, but if you don’t step out of this office I will personally cast you out.” Queenie interjects, placing her hand on the Supreme’s back to gently, but firmly guide her out of her office. She starts to walk, however looks back to Zoe and says, “If you have any questions, let me know and I can come back to help.” The young witch offers her a reassuring smile and replies, “We will. Now go have a good time with your girlfriend. We’ve got everything covered.” And with one more push, Cordelia is out in the hallway and Queenie shuts the door, latching the lock.

Of course she could still step in, but they were right, she had left you out to dry...again. What was supposed to be your first date turned into a day of unexpected paper work. Of course you understood. Cordelia was the supreme--if someone is stuck working it’s her. But after a month of the only “dates” being work dates you deserved better and the blonde witch knew that.

As she steps down the hallway, her heels clicking to announce her presence, a couple students here and there greet Cordelia. She returns a warm greeting, but her eyes are focused on you perched in a chair with your legs curled up under you as you pointedly read a book in the common room. In fact you don’t even notice the blonde until her hands come to rest on the tops of your shoulders.

The unexpected sensation makes you jump and Cordelia rubs your shoulders in a reassuring manner only she is able to do. You relax and she leans close before murmuring so only you can hear, “How about we take a walk? Get some fresh air?” The questions prompt you to look back up at her, pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose before you ask, “But--didn’t you have work?” The supreme returns a smile and soothes, “I have some help. And a small break won’t kill me.” You smile, glad you can have some time with her, and reply, “Let me grab my shoes and I’ll be ready.”

The cool autumn wind blows around you and swirls autumn leaves in the air as you both sit on a park bench and share a small lunch. Of course it perfectly blows Cordelia’s golden locks back making her look ethereal. Your heart swells with warmth at the fact that she chooses you to be her partner. And in your admiration of the beautiful woman sitting in front of you, your movements have paused.

The supreme’s dark brown eyes scan over you and she questions, “Is something wrong? Do I have food on my face?” Her innocent question prompts you to smile, knowing it’s the opposite reason, and you reply, “No, no it’s not that. It’s just...you look so beautiful, Cordelia.” She smiles at your compliment and slightly shakes her head, looking down at her lunch. But in the process you notice her barely shiver at the fresh gust of wind.

So you shrug off your coat. While you do, the blonde looks back up and asks, “What are you doing?” By that point you have the item off and stand up to bring it over while answering, “Giving you something to warm up.” She shakes her head, eyes wide as she goes to protest. But you cut her off with a kiss, tasting the butternut squash soup she has for lunch. And as you pull back you quickly drape the coat over her shoulders before assuring, “It’s no problem. Plus you look cute with it on.” and with a flirty wink you sit back down.

Cordelia pulls the acorn brown coat around her and snuggles in while you begin to eat again. However she pauses and her eyes narrow when she looks to you.

“Is that my sweatshirt?”

Oops.

You let out a nervous laugh, cheeks warming when you look down and answer, “Um--yes. See I haven’t done laundry yet, and...well...I like the way your clothes smell and feel. Especially on days I can’t see you as much.”

Cordelia feels another pang of guilt, knowing she’s flaked out on you more than anyone should. But she isn’t going to do that anymore. Queenie and Zoe were right. She did need to leave her office more. The coven is a communal environment. Not a one woman show.

“It looks adorable on you, honey.” Cordelia’s voice prompts you to look back up at her radiant face and you grin, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear as you ask, “You really think so?” The supreme chuckles and assures, “I know it to be true.” Then she reaches over to take your hand and you let her, automatically intertwining your fingers with her.

“I haven’t been fair to you, y/n.” The supreme says, drawing your attention. And you look to her, opening your mouth to assure her it’s alright. But she squeezes your hand and continues, “From now on I’m going make time for us. I value you and haven’t shown that very well. But I want to take our relationship seriously. So when we get home, how about we make a list of things to do together. Ok, darling?”

You can’t contain your smile at her words, but you look down, the apples of your cheeks rounded in joy as you answer, “Ok.” Then you go to stand up. However, the supreme pauses your movements and says, “Let’s stay here a little longer. Soak up a little more sunshine.” You nod in understanding and say, “Ok.” relaxing against the wooden bench and savoring the warmth of Cordelia’s hand and the sun shining down on you both as the autumnal season fills the air.

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thatssonanii · 5 years ago

Text

Dinner & Dessert

Bloodline Family Series

Queenie had her sister on FaceTime with her while she prepared dinner for Rich while he was out with Jey, Simba and Teddy. Apryl was there for support and if she forgot an ingredient.

Queenie poured the sweet potato mix onto the pie crust carefully. "What if he doesn't like it, Apryl?"

"What if he does, Queenie?"

She sucked her teeth. "I'm being serious. He might not like it."

"I watched you make everything, you didn't miss anything or add any of that extra shit. He'll love it and you."

Queenie nodded going to put the pie in the oven then picked her iPad up carrying it to the bedroom.

"Do you remember what time they were supposed to be done?" She asked going to her suitcase.

"Uuum last I texted to Jey, he said that they were going to the mall for Booger's gift. That was like thirty minutes ago so probably another 45 minutes to a hour."

"Okay, good. I need to shower, get dressed and do my hair."

"And makeup," Apryl added quickly.

"And makeup," Queenie repeated playfully rolling her eyes, "What should I wear?"

"Something cute."

"Apryl."

Apply laughed loudly.

"Girl, chill out. You may have been a little uppity but you've always known how to dress. Whatever you pick I'm sure you'll look good in. Just make sure there's easy access."

"Easy access?" She asked going through her suitcase.

"Don't play dumb. We all know what's happening after this dinner."

---

An hour later, Queens was checking her hair one final time in the mirror when she heard the door open. She sprayed on a little perfume and fluffed her hair before leaving the bedroom to meet her husband.

"Smells good in here. You been cookin'?" Rich asked leaning over to untie his shoes.

"Yeah, I made dinner for us."

Queenie stood quietly waiting for him to stand up straight. She wanted to know what he thought about how she looked. Once his shoes and socks were off, he stood back up and was taken aback.

"I uh ... damn," he stuttered staring dead at his wife.

She smiled and looked down at herself momentarily, "I hope that means something good."

"It does. It really does. You look amazing, baby."

"Thank you. Go wash your hands and I'll make our plates."

Rich waited for a second after his wife walked off. He had to count to ten to keep himself from following her. Hurrying to the bathroom, Rich sat in the side of the tub and called Jey.

"Forgot sum?" Jey asked as soon as he answered.

"No um ... its Queenie. She cooked and she's dressed really nice."

Jey laughed, "That's a good thing. Why are you callin' me?"

"Honestly," Rich sighed, "I don't know. It was my first instinct."

"Man ... go on in there and eat that food. Make a baby or two while you at it."

After hanging up and washing his hands, Rich went back out and met Queenie at the table. She had made pork chops, cabbage, cornbread and Mac and cheese. It all looked normal which made him smile.

"Looks as good as it smells," he complimented as he pulled her chair out. He took his seat and said grace for them. "Damn, this tastes good, Queenie."

"Thank you, I'm glad you like it. Taste the sweet tea. Tell me if you like it."

After chewing his food up, Rich did as his wife asked. He hummed in appreciation.

"Now that's some good ass tea! Damn, girl! My wife is back and I hope for good."

Queenie laughed loudly.

"Yes, she is. I just wanted to cook for you and show you how much I appreciate you for not leaving me and giving up on our marriage."

"As long as you don't give up, I won't either. You just gotta keep working and getting back to the real you. And this right here," he pointed to his plate, "Is a damn good start."

"I made dessert too."

"You did? I'm sure it tastes as good as this."

After they ate dinner, Queenie served him dessert. Whwn she turned to walk back to her seat, Rich pulled her back and onto his lap.

"What are you doing?" She asked laughing.

"Having dessert with my wife."

#bloodline family series #rich & queenie #richard & queenie

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irepookie · 6 years ago

Text

Infinity Chapter 4-

Meet The Family (PT.1)

Summary: QUEEN AU where Rog (aka Rowan Queen) is a young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: not really. Just fluff, sappiness and swearwords here and there

Disclaimer: I don't own the pictures. The boys are based on Queen, but Piper, Gina and Callie are mine

John: Rick Lincoln (Cause he is John Richard Deacon born on August 19th 1951™™™™™)

Brian: Terry Garrett (Cause my uncle used to have a black puddle named Terry and I had no choice)

Freddie: Len Mars (Yea I couldn't help myself)

Chapter 4- Row opens up with the boys about the raisin.

“I'm a dad”........

"Okay, let's... let's get over this again: A daughter?" Terry, the band's guitarist couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, Terry. A daughter" Row repeated for the 19th time from the other side of the phone.

"A baby." Len said, taking another sip of his tequila.

"No, a 30 year old alpaca." Row said sarcastically. "Yes, a goddamn baby. Fucking gorgeous, just so you know"

"And you're gonna keep her." Rick, who had been quietly plunking his bass' strings, added. "Are you sure?"

"It's done. I've already kept her. And it's not like I'm rescuing a shelter dog. She's mine. Period."

"Sorry, was just trying to... Wrap my head around it"

To be honest, Row still couldn't quite believe it (that he was a father). Not even now, as he tried to convince his best friends while holding his girl with the other arm.

"And is your mom okay with it?" Terry asked

He scoffed, clutching his Lil raisin close at the thought "My mom has no say in this".

"But she knows" Rick said.

He sighed "Yes, she knows. And she was a bitch about it, okay? She can disown me for all I care". It's not like there was much to inherit, anyway.

There was a general sigh from his three best friends.

"And what are you gonna do?"

" 'bout what?"

"Um, I don't know, man. About School? Maybe about your life in general?"

"School ain't something I'm worrying about".

"What a surprise" Rick rolled his eyes.

"But you're still in the band right?" Len said

"Oh, of course. Of course. You guys are gonna be the only ones keeping me sane"

They chuckled

"But we ain't gonna babysit for you, huh?"

"As if you knew anything about babies"

"Well, the same as you." Terry said

"Just what I was saying: nothing at all" Row grinned

"Her future looks bright, then" Len half teased.

"Incandescent, in fact" Row could pretty much hear Terry's arched eyebrow.

The youngest member could only roll his eyes and try not to take it as an insult. He knew this was a lot to process all of a sudden and that in the inside, beyond the sarcasm and teasing, they were happy for him.

"Whatever, guys" he replied, as Pips began to frown. He sighed, knowing that meant smelly treat was on its way "Gotta go. By the way, she just told me she thinks you guys stink" he grinned, before hanging up.

The other three men exchanged a confused glance, and stayed in silence for a minute, until Len broke it:

"I say he'll go completely nuts in seven days".

"That long? Nah, I think less than 24 hours after they leave the hospital." Terry said

Len smirked "Bet?"

"I'm a bit tight at the moment, pal"

"Then not money. If I win, you'll be my model for the midterm design project. It's 30's fashion. For ladies, of course".

"Ok. But if I win you'll do my chores for a whole weeks."

"A whole week?!"

"Seven days, if you prefer it."

They shook hands "Deal. Rick? Join us?"

"I actually rather believe that they'll be alright" Rick got up and stretched.

"Well of course they will. Eventually. Row always figures things out." T said

"The fun part is to watch him go crazy in the meantime" Len chuckled "Like when he first moved in and left a fork in the plate when first using the microwave"

They laughed, remembering how their friend had called them at 9 PM in panic, screaming the microwave had exploded.

"Let's just hope for the best. I mean he seemed quite sure of himself this time. And who knows, maybe being a dad is the best way to grow up." Rick defended

"Yea, well a bit radical, don't you think?" Len said

"Like sock therapy. If smokers quit when diagnosed with lung cancer, maybe Row settles down now he has a baby"

"I just still don't get why he didn't just put her in adoption" T said

Rick shrugged "Would you if you were in his shoes?"

"Absolutely"

"That's exactly how Row would've answered, say, a week ago. That's what we all answer. Until it really happens. I think it's one of those situations where you can't really picture until you live it."

"But this is Rowan Queen we're talking about. Rowan <<Made out with both Jones Twins at the same party Cause I didn't remember which was which>> Queen. I mean, he does know that a kid is gonna freeze his sex life for indefinite time, right? What the hell was going through his head?" Terry said

"I can't believe you think that." Len interjected "I mean, I'm the one who's never gonna be a dad here, and the one who failed biology, but even I get it. He met her right? Before any decision was made, he met her. Once you meet your kid, you're tangled up forever. And you might think you're not but if you give them away you'll never get rid of a feeling of remorse."

"Wow, Lenny, that was deep"

"Yea, where'd you get that from?"

"Just common sense."

"Funny, considering you're the one who's started the bet" Rick grinned

"One thing doesn't prevent the other. And out of the two of us, I'm the optimistic! He gave him one day, I gave him seven! I trust him"

"Well I'm not sure if I do. I mean, I love him, he's a great guy, a great musician, and everything else, but he's not reliable. Remember his first job as a waiter? I'm still waiting for the fish and chips I ordered last April"

The other two chuckled "I once lent him a t-shirt, and I swear I saw Liz Michael's wearing it" Len said

"See what I mean?"

"Yes, well, we can't do anything about it, T. It's his life"

"But this affects us too, one way or another. This affects the band. And he didn't even consult us"

"Well what did you expect him to do? Call and go <<Hey guys, are you fine with me having a daughter? No? Okay, just checking. Bye>>?" Rick imitated a phone with his hand, doing a decent impression of their friend's high voice.

"A head's up would have been nice"

"Terry, just chill for fucks shake. I mean, this is unexpected, but Row's our best friend, our brother, and we have to support him. Because, if he's a dad, that's makes us her uncle's. And it'll be fun having a little niece we can spoil" Len smiled at the idea.

"Spoil? With what money?" Terry, always realistic, put his hands on his hips

"With the upcoming tour's, of course darlings" he twirled majestically around the room

"First, that's in four months" Rick reminded

"If it does happen at all"

They still had one last song to arrange And record. Plus, they didn't know how Row was gonna make it work now he had a baby. But nobody addressed that concern out loud.

"Oh don't be so goddamn negative, fellas! C'mon! We're uncle's! Row's made a very important, life-changing, mature decision, and we should be proud of him. So" he went to the fridge and returned with three beers "I say we toast for him and the lil Queenie"

The other two grinned and accepted the cans, opening them.

"Oh, I say we Split a fourth beer in his behalf, cause parents shouldn't drink while breastfeeding" Terry mocked, earning a laugh

"To the Queens" Rick raised his can "For our little bro to take this seriously and not fuck this kid up"

"To the Queens" Terry and Len crashed theirs as well.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Meanwhile, in the hospital...

"Goddamn it, raisin! How can someone so small produce so many colors of something so stinky?" Row exclaimed, holding his breath as he clipped the fresh nappy on his daughter "We only feed you milk! Like... Like white milk! How can you turn a white liquid into rainbow pudding? Holy shit" he held the dirty one at arms length and threw it in the bin "It's a damn good thing I love you, cause I won't do this for anyone else" he told her, lifting her up to his chest again before walking around the room

"You gonna be a good girl for me for the next eighteen years? Huh?" He kissed her chubby cheek "What am I saying? You're my daughter, of course you're gonna be a trouble maker. But we'll get along, you'll see. I ain't gonna be like my parents. Don't worry. I won't be a bloody pain in the ass like mom, and I will never ever do anything my old man did. That I can promise. But I gotta admit I do want you to be like Gina. Yea, she's a control freak sometimes, but let's face it: she's gotta be the strongest person I've ever met. You should've seen her kicking the bastard out the house. She took no shit."

He smiled somewhat proudly at the memory, and for a second forgot how mad he was at her for turning her back on them.

"You wanna be a badass gurl like her? Huh? Yes you do. Yes you do" he cooed, craning his neck so he could brush his nose with her little button one. Her fist chose to close around the nearest strands of blond hair on reach, which he found secretly adorable.

But a part of him did wish he had mom's support. After all, despite the rough patches through his teens, they had always had each other's back; through thick and thin. She had have to raise him all alone, and although he hadn't even begun with Pips, he already knew it hadn't been easy. She may be stern, and a bit inflexible when it came to negotiating allowance. She could come across as rude if you caught her in the wrong mood (which many neighbors had) but above all she was a good person and a good mother.

And looking back, he hadn't been such a great son. He could have been more responsible, less handful and more obedient. Less rebellious, too. He could have thanked her more often for the thousand things she did everyday. For the meals. For all the jobs she had taken to provide for the two of them. For the surprise birthday gift she had got him with the money she had been saving: a real drum kit. For helping him move out her house into that one room crappy appartement which would be Pip's home.

But still she had rejected Piper without a second thought, regardless of her anger towards him; Pips was her granddaughter, she had done nothing wrong and as her father, Row doubted he would ever forgive Gina.

He sighed, untangling the hand of his hair and bringing it to his lips "But you don't have to worry about all that. Just concentrate on staying strong and growing up. And I promise I'll focus all of me on being the best dad. That you'll never miss a mom cause you don't need one. You've got me and I swear I'll be enough. Even if I'm still young: I'll have it all more fresh won't I?" He grinned "You're the one person who's never judged me yet, and I don't wanna let you down"

That a was vow. And he was determined to keep it.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

This one goes to my mega-paragraphist @definitely-darcy who's got my engine going through the usual inspiration blocks, and who's reviews help me improve. She's made me believe in this fic, and encouraged me to keep going despite the one digit notes.

Xx- Pookie

#queen band #roger taylor #single dad! roger taylor #dad roger #brian may #Freddie Mercury #john deacon #queen fic #no smut just fluff #non romantic #Infinity fic #baby prune

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hueseok · 3 years ago

Text

enchanted.

being married for almost a year now, namjoon thinks it’s time for you and him to start trying to build your own family together. so, to introduce the concept to you as enticing as he can, he prepares a romantic and cozy date night where he intends to drop the idea to you, his lovely wife, unaware that when he does, he’ll be getting the biggest and most shocking news in his life.

pairing: namjoon x reader

word count: 5.6k

rating: 18+

this one shot is also intended for @btscreatorscorner june workshop ! the theme is simply bts—that is why this fic is written in namjoon’s point of view :>

opening note. i was inspired to write this after rereading the first book of the harry potter series and encountered the part where seamus (i think) was telling the other students that the only time his father knew that his mom was a wizard was after their marriage lmao. also,, just watched the crimes of grindelwald movie so i was inspired by jacob and queenie’s relationship too hehe when i tell you i couldnt concentrate on the latter parts of the film when i had the idea for this fic ahdjavdja

Tonight is the night, Namjoon thinks, as he rearranges the scented candles scattered around the tub for the 7th time that evening. Tonight is the night I will charm my beautiful wife and ask if we can start trying to have a family together.

To be fair, he already has been trying to drop a few clues since the beginning of the week, just right about the time when he finally gained the courage to somehow plant the idea to you piece by piece.

At first, he casually talked about how one of his college friends just welcomed their first baby boy to the world, and you grinned as he showed you the picture through his phone, cooing and saying that the baby was indeed really cute.

And then three days after that, he purposely stayed in the toddler section of the department store while you were trying to look for a new blouse, Namjoon admiring the little baby shoes that looked identical to a pair he had back at home and pointing them to you when you found him there. You only smiled and said that they were so tiny and adorable when you spotted it, before ushering him to go with you to the cashier without another remark.

In short, Namjoon doesn’t think you’ve gotten the hint yet—or maybe you just weren’t directly responding to it in a way that meant you and him were on the same page because perhaps deep down, you were unsure like he was if having a child together would be something the other wanted.

But tonight—this fine and romantic night—he was going to end all of that and get straight to the point. He was going to butter you up, make you feel loved and cozy in your shared home, and after you’re all happy and giddy in his arms, he will gradually ask you with an ever so understanding smile to make you feel at ease if you’ve ever thought about building a family of your own with him yet.

“Namjoon?”

His hand freezes on the candle, about to light it up again after a gust of wind that came out of nowhere blew the flame away, but hearing your voice, he immediately drops it by the top of the covered toilet seat and rushes to the front door of your house, seeing you there take off your shoes and coat with a tired smile.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” he says, walking towards you with outstretched arms.

You let out an airy chuckle as he lifts you up a little amidst your shared embrace, Namjoon kissing your lips briefly before pulling back and getting your bag for you.

“Long day?”

“Kind of,” you sigh, walking behind him as he heads to the master’s bedroom, “I still have some papers to check though. They’re not supposed to be returned soon but it’s good just to have things done earlier. Remind me again why I’m totally okay with teaching history to a hundred students who probably won’t remember everything I’m blabbering about in a few years or so?”

Namjoon laughs and places your bag on your desk, turning around just in time to catch you entering the room. He walks towards you and gives you another hug, a hug that you return with your arms circling around his torso. “Because you are brilliant and patient and kind—” he leans his head back to smile at you— “and anyone who gets the chance to be imparted with knowledge by you has probably saved a country in their last life.” He tilts your chin up and kisses you, lips languidly moving against yours. “Also, have I mentioned that you have an incredibly sexy brain?”

You chuckle, bringing your arms around his neck then.

When Namjoon first met you, he ultimately knew and believed that his initial perception of love at first sight wasn’t really some kind of bullshit that hopeless romantics made up just to give people the hope that you’ll meet the person you’re looking for the instant your gazes meet like he thought at the beginning.

Because indeed, when he first laid his eyes on you at the bookstore along the non-fiction section, he found himself pausing for a considerable amount of time, just staring at you, stuck on his feet, multiple methods to possibly approach you passing through his head at that moment—Namjoon just utterly enchanted.

He’s typically not a shallow person. He’s not the one who instantly falls for a girl without knowing her first or at least after just one cup of coffee. But when it came to you, he just started crashing and plummeting down fast. The next thing you know, he already made his way to where you are, asking for your number and if you were interested in having dinner with him sometimes. And as you said yes, grinning at him, practically beaming, he absolutely thinks that if he wasn’t going to marry you in the end, then he would have to lead a sad and miserable existence.

You give him one last peck before stepping back, your nose scrunching while you sniff. “Do I… do I smell something burning?”

“Burning?” His head snaps to your bathroom. “Oh my god, it can’t be.” He untangles himself from you quickly and goes to the mentioned room, spotting the left end of the bath rug in flames which he immediately gets water from the nearby sink to splash a lot of it in its direction, eventually disintegrating the fire.

It’s a good thing that it wasn’t that big to begin with—but yes, it was still pretty much in flames like what’s been established.

“I’m sorry,” he says next, turning to you who’s standing by the door frame, your expression more amused than mad thankfully, “uh, I was preparing a bath for you and lighting up these scented candles and maybe one of them fell of the places I put them on—” as if on cue, he picks up a candle by the floor close to the rug that causes him curse under his breath— “yep, one of them really fell off.”

Before he can apologize again, you come up behind him and kiss his cheek. “I appreciate it a lot, sweetheart. Maybe next time though, you make sure that you set the candles on flat surfaces.”

His neck turns red. “Noted. Would you perhaps be interested in eating dinner with me first? Or do you still want to go forth with the bath?”

“Did you cook?”

“No, it’s a take out from your favorite.”

“Well, eating dinner first it is then.”

Namjoon squints his eyes at you. “Hey, that’s a little mean, don’t you think?”

You laugh.

***

Namjoon proposed to you quite early on in your relationship. You and him have only been dating for a year and six months when he talked to his mother about possibly inheriting the heirloom engagement ring, saying that he didn’t need to waste more time only being your boyfriend when he could be so much more and could already see the life he would spend with you.

Of course, initially, his mother told him to contemplate more about the matter, about maybe talking to your parents or anyone close to you about it too—however, you’ve told him that you didn’t have any family left except for your cousin who was overseas, so it didn’t really help Namjoon change his mind or help him decide to ponder about it longer.

After a month or so of discussing it with his family and with your close friends, he proposed, and you obviously and wholeheartedly said yes, with tears in your eyes and your smile shining so happily that he just knows there won’t be dark and lonely nights waiting for him in the future anymore.

He loved you so much, it was amazing in its own right, for what he felt with you felt like what characters in movies or books would only have the chance feeling and never in real life.

“How was work today for you?” you question him next.

Since plan A obviously didn’t go according to what Namjoon liked, you and him are sharing a bottle of red wine in the living room, enjoying a slice of Chocolate Mousse as well after finishing eating dinner a few minutes back instead of spending time in the bathtub with Lavender and Cedarwood scented candles filling the room.

You’re leaning your back on the armrest of the sofa while Namjoon faces you and you also face him, his arm sprawled all over the top of the backrest, the both of you talking about the randomest things that happened in the last 24 hours.

Namjoon shrugs. “It was fine. There were new artifacts delivered though.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I haven’t reviewed much about them, but I heard from my colleague that they’re fossils of a Pterosaur which impressively does look like a dragon as what the media says.”

“Well, maybe because it is a dragon that was brought to the museum and not a, a, uh, what is it again?”

He chuckles. “A Pterosaur. And yeah, sure, of course—if we were in Game of Thrones.” He nods to your almost empty wine glass, still chuckling. “Do you want a refill on that?”

You smirk, drinking the last drops before handing it to him. “I don’t mind if I do.”

He reaches for the bottle in the coffee table, placing his on it for a second to refill yours like stated. As he does that, he can feel your gaze focused on him, can get a glimpse of your amused smile from his peripheral vision. He feels your fingertips graze along his knee and thigh, waiting for him to bring your glass back, and even if he thinks your said gesture is not rooted from anything sexual, he’s afraid that he’s going to get explicitly hard if you keep on doing it.

He breathes through his nose before unconsciously swallowing hard. “Here.”

“Thanks.” You take the glass and sip.

Namjoon does the same, drinking from his own.

“So,” you draw the rim away from your lips, “when are you going to bring up the reason why you’ve been sucking up to me since I got home?”

He almost chokes. “What?”

“Joonie,” you say knowingly with a snicker, “you can’t expect me to just assume nothing when you’ve been kind of over the top this evening.”

“Over the top? What do you mean?”

“Denial is honestly not a good look on you, babe.”

“I’m always this loving to you.”

“You fell asleep on me the day before yesterday while we were talking in bed,” you deadpan.

He clears his throat. “I was really tired that day, okay.”

“Usually, you’d ask me to cook you dinner when I get home.”

“That’s because I love your cooking, sweetheart, you know I do.”

“I know.” You grin, your hand going over to the table to put your glass there. “That’s why imagine my surprise when I get home and there’s apparently a bath ready for me and a take-out from my favorite resto.”

Namjoon’s mouth twitches, especially when you start crawling to his lap, discarding the glass he was holding by putting it on the table as well. You straddle him, smiling, and without anything to say first, lean close to kiss him, capturing his lips that still have a smudge of chocolate from the cake you two are eating. He kisses you in return, wraps his arms around waist, angling his face to the side in an attempt to kiss you fuller.

“Is this what you want?” you whisper, your hand gliding down from his neck to his chest. “You want me?”

“Yes,” he replies straight away, though suddenly getting a reminder of what he’s really supposed to be doing here, he changes his answer, gently pushing you off. “No, no,” he adds in a sort of panicky manner, and when you raise your eyebrows, he talks again, “I mean, yes, yes, of course, I want you—it’s like second nature for me to want you but—that isn’t, that wasn’t why I’ve been doing this.”

You reposition your hands to lay on his shoulders instead. “It’s not?”

“Kind of? Like, it can be the reason why since it’s technically part of the whole process—it’s just that it’s really not the main point.”

“And the main point is supposed to be...?” You’re trying not to laugh at his cuteness.

He takes a long breath.

This is it. This is now or never. He would have appreciated it though if he had more time to rehearse the lines in his head, to go through what he had to say to ensure that you would take it well and not have it as some kind of demand from a husband who’s ordering you to start giving birth to his babies. The last thing he wants is to have you feel like he’s pressuring you, because he really will be fine if ever you say no for now. He just at least wants to plant the idea to you early on so that you’ll know that he’ll be ready for it once you are.

“Can I butter you up more before I say what it is?”

You roll your eyes. “Is it really that bad?”

“It’s not. Well, not for me, it isn’t. I’m just not sure if it can be the same for you.”

“Does it involve something about our relationship?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Our marriage?”

“Kind of?”

“Babe, are we going to play the guessing game all night?”

“Fine.” He presses his mouth together.

“I’m all ears,” you assure him, massaging his shoulders with a smile. “Whatever you want to say, I’m all ears for it.”

He appreciates the comfort. “Okay, okay, so what I want to say is—” he glances down, not being able to look you in the eyes, his thumb rubbing nervously against the hem of your shirt— “well, I was thinking, that I think it’d be really great, if you and I, well, since we’ve been married for a considerably amount of time now, that we, you know, we start trying.” Namjoon bravely raises his gaze to meet yours at the last minute. “As in, we start trying to have a little you or a little me—or a little combination of us. Have a kid together. What do you think?” He chuckles.

In one of the scenes he’s been envisioning earlier while preparing all the scented candles in the bathroom, he imagines you grinning and agreeing immediately when he finishes asking you about your opinion about the subject because deep down, he’s positive that you want to have a family as much as he does.

However, you’re staring at him with wide eyes—not really disgusted or shocked—more like horrified, which honestly felt worse than the former two.

“Oh,” you finally say. “Oh. Oh my god.” You abruptly scramble off his lap.

Namjoon knits his eyebrows. “Is that a good ‘oh my god’ or a bad ‘oh my god’?”

“Oh my god.”

“____?” He faces you. “Is something wrong?”

You’re in your previous position beside him now, your head hanging low as you have both hands on either side of your face. It’s safe to assume that you appear very shaken by what he said, that he thinks he wants to turn back time just to prevent him from opening it up.

“Look, sweetheart, if you’re not ready for it, I understand. I’m not going to be mad if—”

You lift your head up and turn to him. “No, Joon, that’s not—I can assure you that I’m ready for us to have our own child.”

“You are?”

“Of course. Have you been with you? You’d make a great father. You’re so nurturing, and caring, and loving—and even if you’re not particularly gentle with certain stuff, I’m sure you’d be as gentle as you can ever be for our baby. But Namjoon,” you frown, your hand holding out to grasp his knee, the sound of his full first name not actually erasing his worries away, “I’m just—I need to tell you something first before we decide about something like making a family together.”

“Alright. What do you need to tell me?”

“I... I’m so sorry. I want you to know that I didn’t intend you to learn it like this.”

“What?”

“I truly didn’t mean to drag it on this long, but there just wasn’t a good time for me to say it and—”

“____,” Namjoon wrinkles his forehead, holding your hand to calm you and himself down, “what exactly are you trying to say? You’re scaring me a bit, you know.” He tries chuckling to ease the tension.

His mind is coming up with a bunch of bad scenarios, from ridiculous ones where you say you can’t have his child because you’re actually secretly married to someone else and you managed to hide it because you’re living a double life—right down to realistic situations where you can’t have a child because you have a condition that doesn’t grant you the opportunity to bear one naturally.

Namjoon thinks that if it’s the latter, then it isn’t such a bummer like what you seem to be letting on, considering that he’s not opposed to adopting or surrogacy if that would be the path you’d both ought to take. He’s got enough life savings to push through with that option, all he has to know and be sure of is you, the most important factor he’s taking into account.

“There’s no easy way to say this,” you begin again, looking more agitated.

“To say what?”

“Joonie, it’s just that, I haven’t been completely honest to you. About, about what I am, and where I came from.”

He’s examining every part of your face, his eyes darting from one facial feature to another. “And?”

“And, well, I promised myself that I would tell you this when we get serious—and we did, we got married, and I swear I was going to really come clean by then but you have to understand that I’m just afraid that I might lose what we already have if I say it to you because Namjoon—” you gulp hardly— “I’m serious when I say that you’re the only thing I have left in this world. You’re the only thing that matters.”

His worry crumbles at that and he dares to reach out and place his palm over your cheek, an action that makes you lean against it in comfort. “Just tell me what it is, sweetheart. I promise, nothing will change. Till death do us part, isn’t it?”

“I know.”

“So, just tell me. I’m all ears.” He repeats what you said minutes ago with a teasing chuckle.

But you only frown. “I do hope so,” you mutter before you hoist your arm up, your attention flickering to the near bookshelf you had in your living room.

Namjoon follows your gaze, watches as you clench your jaw and scrunch your forehead together, in deep concentration, and just as he’s about to ask what exactly are you attempting to do, you twist your wrist ever so slightly in an elegant fashion and say, “Accio.”

A book flies straight to your palm.

And his hand on your face dramatically drops.

***

“You’re a wizard,” he states, pacing back and forth around the living room, “I married a wizard. Wizards are real. My wife is a wizard.”

“Joonie—”

“You lied to me.” He halts, facing you with this betrayed expression and it shuts you up again. “You… you lied about everything. You lied about your, your family, and then you lied about your educational background—what the hell even is a Hogwarts? Or, or whatever it is that you’ve been talking about—”

It’s been an hour since you sat him down and explained every single detail about the fact that you indeed are a wizard. Namjoon at first was just not having it, despite seeing you perform a magical stunt right in front of him, contemplating if this was all a dream he’s having after perhaps falling asleep in the bathtub earlier while he was prepping the bath. However, the more that you were enlightening him about your history, the more that unexplainable things in the past are slowly making sense.

For instance, there was this time when you and him were still dating and being the clutz Namjoon is, accidentally broke an exquisite China plate you owned back in your apartment while you were having lunch together. He panicked and apologized profusely, promising that he was going to buy you a new and even better set, but instead of being mad or at least accepting his offer, you just laughed and kissed him on the cheek, saying that it was fine and that he didn’t need to bother.

The following week after that, he saw the same plate back in your glass shelves inside the kitchen, totally unscathed and good as new. When he asked you about it, you merely just raised your eyebrows and insisted that it wasn’t the same plate like he thinks it is, convincing him eventually that it wasn’t but the thought still lingered in his mind from time to time.

There was this occasion too when you two were having a great date that ended with the both of you heading to Namjoon’s apartment, and just when you’re about to go through his doors, Namjoon abruptly discovered that he had left his keys inside his car that was in the parking lot. He excused himself, literally sprinting back to the elevators to retrieve it as fast as he could, though before he could even press the down button, you had called him and claimed that the door was already open, scolding him playfully about it the second he came back to confirm your declaration.

“Holy shit.” Namjoon gets another surge of realization. “All this time. I knew there was something freaky going on—I just didn’t think that it would constitute to you being a wizard, ____!”

“I know, I know, I didn’t know how to tell you—”

“You’re a wizard, you can do magic,” he keeps on mumbling, still marching in circles, “magic is real, all those things exist—maybe dragons even exist—oh my god, do they really exist like—”

“Namjoon.” You block his way as he’s about to make another turn, this time gently gripping his biceps. “Look, if you need some time to process this—if you need me to move out and leave for a while so you can be alone with your thoughts—”

“What? No,” he quickly disagrees. “I’m not letting you leave. I’m… I’m confused and kind of mad at you for deceiving me like this but, but, I’m not letting you leave.”

You exhale harshly, your breath coming out as shaky. “I just feel like you should at least get a free pass if you want out.”

Namjoon frowns.

It’s unfair that you look stunning under the chandelier light. But it is the reason why he purchased it in the first place when the both of you were furniture shopping, commenting how its brightness and tint was enough to make you glow regardless of what time of the day it was. Looking at you now, standing in the right spot where it gives you this angelic and homey aura, Namjoon finds himself and every piece of anger in his system disintegrating.

He takes a step forward and cups your cheeks. “Out? No, absolutely not. You’re staying here.”

“But, you really should be able to form your thoughts alone without me being here, being a nuisance—”

He brings your mouth to his and kisses you hard. “No.”

“Namjoon.” You sigh against his lips, Namjoon shaking his head.

“No. You’re staying with me.”

You stay still for a few seconds but eventually you kiss him back, murmuring how sorry you still are and how much you love him over and over again, tears pouring down from your eyes.

His heart is beating fast in outrage and his mind is going crazy with all the information it just received. Though despite the revelation and this double-crossed feeling he has in his chest, he can’t seem to be as candidly angry as he wants to be.

Because when you said you were giving him a free pass to leave you, it dawned on him that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a wizard or an ordinary and mundane human like him.

Sure, he’s confused about you lying to him and not being open with your true life, but he can see why you did what you had to do. He understands that the world is not particularly accepting of people like you, and as you mentioned while you were explaining for yourself, even when you were with your own people throughout your childhood and teenage years, you still didn’t feel like you belonged.

It was something about a wizarding war, you explained, where your family, who remained blindingly loyal to a dark wizard, always forced you to side with them despite your values contradicting theirs. And when the bloodshed ended, a lot of innocent and brave lives being taken away, you instantly decided to flee to another country to escape your dark past, wanting to abandon it all and start fresh, thus taking on a new life and a new persona.

The only place you ever felt like you truly belonged in was in his arms, as he heard you express, and hearing you admit that, he realizes that he’s willing to engulf you in them for as long as you like.

***

His lips have not dared to leave your skin ever since he kissed you in the living room. He only slides it to your cheek, to your jaw, down to your throat, and to the valley between your breasts whenever you need a breather.

The same goes for his hands which have not stayed put as he pushed you to the bed. He moves it from your face, to your neck, to the curves of your sides, even as far as between your legs—just anywhere he knows would elicit any reaction from you, preferably a reaction that meant you were enjoying his ministrations.

At this moment, you’re writhing beneath him, Namjoon thrusting in and out at a rather leisurely pace. He’s lapping his tongue below your ear, a spot he’s aware gets you aroused in seconds, and at the way you’re holding onto his back, your legs tightening around his hips, your walls squeezing him so good, it sends him a clear message that you’re going to come the more he keeps it up.

“Joon,” you gasp, his cock pummeling to you faster, “I’m going to, going to—fuck, right there, baby.”

“I know.” He goes sloppier and noisier, palm pressing against your stomach, balls hitting your ass. “I know, I know, shit. Keep on doing that.”

You clench your walls and Namjoon moans.

He’s as close as you are. Maybe closer, as the only thing that’s keeping him from coming is that he needs to have you come first. He wants to feel you pulsating wildly and shouting his name in euphoria before he goes through his last drive, wants to see your thighs convulse and your whole body go haywire at the absolute pleasure he is giving you.

Namjoon just wants you to experience the vigor of all the emotions that he’s facing this very second.

There’s still anger in his system somewhere, and he put it into good use while fucking you rather than shouting his lungs out, demanding things he knows he won’t even get satisfied getting the answers from because by then the both of you will be resenting each other, arguing and fighting and hurting each other with things you don’t even mean to say.

“Fuck, fuck, Joon, I’m, I’m—” You don’t get to finish your sentence for your orgasm ripples in your core, Namjoon pounding onto you harsher, allowing you to ride your high.

With your cunt enveloping more firmly around him, your dirty sounds arousing him further, your nails digging on his shoulder—he’s definitely not going to be able to hold on for another long minute. He’s far too consumed and intoxicated by the mix of emotions and of you to be able to control himself and just take a moment to hang around. All he’s thinking of is you being here, of you being with him, and of you choosing this life with him despite everything.

As he’s about to pull out like he always does, you nip his earlobe and whisper.

“Please,” you whine, “please come inside me.”

He throws his head back from your collar to stare at you.

“If you still want me,” you add, heaving, “if you still want to have a family with me—please, please, I want you to be the father of my kids—”

He kisses you, rendering your speech unfinished, groaning. “Yes. Me, me too, sweetheart.”

“Namjoon, I love you. So much.”

His heart skyrockets at the words and murmuring a soft ‘I love you’ in return, Namjoon blows his load inside you, surging his cock roughly for a few more strokes to drag out his orgasm until the very last moment, grunting as he slams his hips towards you one more time and stops, supporting himself to stay on top of you by sinking his forearms on the sides of your head.

You run your fingers through the strands of his hair, tugging and pushing his face closer so you can plant your lips on his. The both of you make out for a while, your tongues exploring the other’s mouth, moans and quiet intakes of breath being emitted along the way—and it’s worth mentioning that Namjoon keeps his dick inside you the whole time, preventing his cum from seeping out of your pussy before his shaft goes back to its original size.

“Are you still mad?”

“A little.”

“Okay.”

He opens his eyes, glancing at you. “Don’t lie to me again.”

You bite your lip and nod. “I won’t. From now on, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” You peck his chin, his cupid’s bow, his nose. “No more secrets and lies. I promise.”

“No more dark past and hidden identities?”

“No more.”

“Good.” He sighs. “Because I don’t think I can survive it if you reveal more shocking details. And I know it sounds like I’m joking but you seriously can’t pull this shit again.”

You smile at the lightness of his tone, more at the way he finally offers a smile. “You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to my life. Do you know that?”

Namjoon rolls his eyes, nonetheless pleased. There’s just no way he can stop his heart beating for you.

“Do you?” you say again when he doesn’t reply.

“I do,” he nuzzles against your shoulder, humming, “and you’re the greatest thing to ever happen to mine. To be honest, I’m starting to wonder if you bewitched me to be like this.”

“Hey, absolutely not,” you snort, chuckling that makes him grin, “I might have come across as a pathological liar—but I’m no manipulator, sweetheart. I haven’t even used that much magic since I’ve been with you. Well, except when I have to repair some stuff you break and I’d like to save myself a trip to a store or a repair shop."

He gives you a look and you grin.

"Other than that, I’ve been trying to really mugglefy myself.”

“Fine. I believe you. But just so that we're on the same page here, from what you’re saying—” he’s still non stop littering your skin with kisses— “I’m just hopelessly and irrevocably in love with you?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Damn it.”

You giggle.

He leans his head back to gaze at you, his grin stuck in place as you stare back with your loving eyes, and he definitely thinks even if you did already say no to his question, that he might as well be bewitched with how strongly he finds himself falling for you in every second of every day.

***

A few months later, you get pregnant.

You get pregnant and you give birth to a healthy baby boy.

Namjoon loves him with all of his heart, takes care of him and tends to him with so much affection. He reads him dozens of books, tells him hundreds of fascinating stories, and he makes the effort of actually learning how to change diapers and how to lull him back to sleep whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night, hungry and in need of milk to calm him down.

Namjoon finally masters the art of carefulness especially to human beings ever since he became a father—in honor of yours and his human being, of course—the said beautiful baby boy who has your eyes and has his dimples. He wishes that when he grows up, he’ll have his mom’s wits, intelligence, and your bravery too.

But one night, just as Namjoon’s cleaning the dishes, waiting for you to arrive home from the university, he hears the laughter of his little boy, urging him to go check on him at the living room where he lays there on his crib.

When Namjoon does a quick peek, expecting to see nothing and return shortly to his chore, he discovers that your child has managed to inherit a certain something from you as well.

His baby is laughing at the floating toys around him, amused and entertained, while Namjoon widens his eyes and immediately gets his phone from his pocket to call you.

“Hello?” Your sweet voice enters his ears. “What is it, babe? I’m already near the bus station, if you’re having trouble with Minwoo—”

“I think he’s just like you.”

“Huh?”

“Our baby,” he hastily tries to get the toys hanging up in the air one by one, flabbergasted but trying to remain calm for the sake of keeping himself in the right mind, “I think he’s a wizard too, ____.”

Instead of getting a proper response, he only hears complete silence and a vastly familiar ‘Oh my god’.

note. this fic earns a spot in the hall of written works by me so HEHEHEHE (also, this kinda feels like my other joon fic's twin but more light and more emotions? JSHDSJD meh,, i just love writing about domestic and husband material joon AHJHAJS)

p.s. i have done my research and read that wandless magic is possible lmao

thank you for reading & feedback is always appreciated ! ♡(ˆ‿ˆԅ)

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