#or if she'd try to lie or keep things from him to keep him safe or not

[lunaetis]

@maquiscursed asked :

an abrupt kiss that you melt into after a moment of hesitation . (for xiao and lumine, listen he probably hasn't kisses anyone in centuries or millenia or ever, he's doing his best okay)

↪     𝑲𝑰𝑺𝑺  ﹠ ᵀᴱᴸᴸ . || accepting

─「荧」─  the OUTLANDER was the type to protect others at an expense of herself. it was something innate to her, something that had earned her the titles of hero many a time whether intentionally or unintentionally. that was probably also why she felt herself connecting to a certain yaksha even when they didn't exchange much words with one another initially. the way he pulled himself away from others was his own way of protecting them from the KARMIC DEBT plaguing his very soul. and, perhaps, that was also why he could see through what she was doing ever since she returned from SUMERU.

                the latest meeting with the boughkeeper unveiled a piece of the past unique to her twin brother. the words she heard, the SIGHT she witnessed, the gaze of the sinner and the voice ringing at the back of her mind invaded her dream at night. ABYSS PRINCE, chlothar alberich had called her. no, he ... wasn't calling her. he was calling her twin brother, but the words pierced at her still even now. it felt like she was dragged down to the abyss when she looked at the cracked mirror to see aether's face instead of her own.

                i'm not him. i'm lumine. i'm me. i'm me. i'm me ... i'm —

                " i'm okay ... i ... i'm okay ... " words that were uttered when NIGHT TERROR forcefully snapped her to reality, and she found her golden hues being filled with tears. lumine could feel her whole body shaking. no ... power of the abyss. she didn't want any of it to taint him. not him. not when she finally was able to CLEANSE that darkness of karmic debt from his soul. he should remain free, untainted. he should stay away ... she's okay, she's ...

                that was when she felt her lips being sealed by his own. it was abrupted, unplanned, a touch that felt both foreign and familiar all at the same time. the CELESTIAL could even feel hesitation in his movement, she could feel him pausing as if unsure, like it wasn't what he's used to at all, like ... he had never done this before. but ... his lips were warm. it was ... so, so warm.

                " ying. "

                xiao ...

                the sound of her TRUE NAME was like a spell, it was like a wake up call that pulled her mind from the deepest, darkest abyss she was being dragged down by the ankle. it was an oath, a summon, a reminder. at that split second the sound of her true name being uttered upon his lips, any shadow of doubts she felt from the crawling nightmare was gone. it disappeared like it had never existed before, and it made crystal droplets fall from her quivering, melting liquid gold. they wouldn't stop.

                i'm not okay. the voice echoed in their now linked minds. there was no keeping any secret from her name holder, not when he invoked his right by uttering it. there was nothing keeping their thoughts separate, and the vigilant yaksha would start to feel and see the things she had witnessed. the journey down the memory lane of the abyss twin she almost mixed with her own past. and he would see, and hear the words she kept locked inside.

                the truth.

                i'm not okay. i'm not okay. i —

                " i'm scared ... " of losing you, of losing myself.

                and ying felt his warmth coming around her, the tears that cascaded down her eyes wetting his cheeks now that the gap between them was gone once more. their lips met, the salty taste mixed with the tender kiss as this time, they both melted right into that lip-lock while both minds melted into one as well. his thoughts, her thoughts, they were becoming one. through the touch of his lips, the feel of his breath spilling against her own, the taste of his mouth and tongue, their hearts resonating with one another. he was reminding her who she was.

                she heard it, his voice, through their connected minds.

                you're not alone anymore, ying.

[romaniacs]

▌ㅤNATASHA ROMANOFF — IN LOVE WITH A SECRETARY

( read more ) synopsis — natasha wants to keep you safe and be the person she needed when she first got into the company. she didn't really intend to catch feelings for you. warnings — headcanons, slightly suggestive, tooth rotting fluff.

coming from a real secretary

secretary natasha romanoff is your coworker

and she’s so good at her job

doesn't let anything pass

you, as a probationary employee, mess up so often

but she takes a liking to you quickly, reading you so easily

and she truly wants to help you through this period

she can tell you like her the most out of everyone

she notices that, and she can't lie, that kinda motivates her

natasha puts her hair in a bun to avoid distracting you

she wants to be professional

but undoes some of her shirt buttons

she's a bit contradicting to herself

but she tells herself it's only because it's always hot as fuck

she usually goes for a drink on her break

breaking her secretary look with a leather jacket

and taking you with her

she offers you a cigarette outside

and pats your head when you refuse it

you just can’t escape feeling things for her, she's so attractive

even when she's smoking

when she helps you out and leans down to hear you better

her hair brushes against your cheek

and you can't learn shit

she will talk and explain endlessly until you do

then you will look into her eyes

just so your mind will go blank when she asks a question

her eyes are pretty, and her voice so melodic

on week one, she says "there, hun. just save it in that folder"

... are you listening? do you want me to repeat that?"

"mhm, sorry" you say.

week two... "did you understand that?"

"i think so."

"good, i'll let you try doing it then"

"i'll try not to disappoint you"

"you'll do good, i taught you well" she smiles.

"but you can always count on me, sweetie"

on week three... "what are you thinking about?"

her

your face flushes all of a sudden

you were picturing her touching you

squeezing your waist, grabbing your arm

pulling you in for a kiss

imagining her breathing against your skin

you know she tastes like cherry gum

you always take shyly the gum she offers

as you do anything

people take advantage of that

natasha sees herself in you often

she'd struggled with her boss for a while

because the man took a liking to her

but she put him in his place eventually

"i'm not into men" she'd mumble when she got asked out

people were stupid about that

so her old coworkers tried to mess with her

now, if yours call you by a wrong name, make your job harder

or insist on taking you out, natasha is around

she protects you from them

"her name's y/n. use your brain a little" she tells them

"it's funny until i report you, hand her papers over"

"she's taken by me today, you can get going"

when she says that, she makes sure it's true

she takes you out for a good, expensive meal

buys you huge cakes filled with strawberries for dessert

goes "oh, try this!" and you take a bite of a fruit off her hand

you don't know if she's just extremely friendly

or attempting something with you

the way you are with her

"need help with anything?" you always offer

she always agrees

she is always making sure you're near her

and she's there for you too

when she is sobbing over anything

after holding in so many feelings

and you are pissed off at a friend

both drinking the night away at a bar

natasha goes "i hate being alone.

i hate wanting to do things, say things

and never doing so. things end quickly. life ends quickly.

i think we don't enjoy it enough."

"is that what's making you sad?" you ask

"that makes me angry" natasha downs a cup

"i'll just go for it. i'm done with this"

she kisses you

it's such a tender, calm yet deep kiss

you don't let her pull away though

it feels so soft

at the second kiss you share, her mind is far gone

whishing for more

natasha takes you over to a corner

her white unbuttoned shirt is thin

badge noisy as she pulls you closer

her mouth goes down your neck,

your hand goes down her waist

nothing has ever felt so deliriously good

you love the way she pulls your head to the side by your hair

just so she can leave kisses on your skin

it's hot, so is the bar, even more so now

she has an amazing time with you

gets to the office with you the next day

and people don't even wonder why she gave you a ride

... but you slept over at her place

still, natasha doesn't seem to treat you too differently

which is a good sign

it means she really was flirting before all that

"are you going downstairs, sweetie?"

"yeah. need to hand on supplies to steve.

they’re in the warehouse, right?" you ask her

she thinks. "sure, yeah" she thinks and thinks

natasha decides to go downstairs with you. to help

she knows you don't have second intentions

your feelings are always really pure, but hers aren't much

you hold her by her pinky on the way, to stop her

"is that something we're gonna do... occasionally? casually?

or maybe never again?"

"kissing?"

you nod. "are you serious?" she sounds surprised

why would it be just an occasion? i like you"

natasha approaches you, holding your chin with her fingers

"you're too precious for that, don't you know that?"

she places a sweet kiss on your lips

"so no?"

"have as many as you want.

i like your kisses" she says softly

her sweet voice reaches your chest

it gets so full of so much joy

natasha takes you as seriously as you'd expect her to

and lets you kiss her all you want

the next week, you have matching necklaces

then, bracelets

then, rings

natasha lends you her clothes

"it's cold, baby, take mine" she puts her jacket over you

always, always takes you home

so you get close to forgetting your own way home

you're always at her place now

"you guys have been weird" wanda says, your coworker

"have you been making out? you look radiant"

"oh my god. it's just the weather, wanda"

"weird" wanda squints

of course you've been making out whenever you can

natasha teaches you way more than what had been planned

her hair in a bun is styled by you since you ruin it as you kiss

plenty of times

pulling on it

and leaving her breathless

she tries to sound formal with you at work though

"you look so cute today" she whispers in your ear, however

"do you have a girlfriend? yes? she’s so lucky, oh my god"

she teases you so much

in cute ways only

but has to act serious periodically

"you gotta finish that by tomorrow, okay?"

"i need you to come up to my office"

"can you sign this?"

her slow, formal tone gets you sick in the stomach

in a good way

you crave her closeness so damn bad it hurts

then she kisses you and cools it all down

your coworkers take a year to figure out about you two

once they do, they mess with you only

"ah, i'm gonna go to the warehouse for the fourth time today!

with my apprentice! who i shall offer financial assistance to!

because i'm a loser for my girlfriend!"

they are so ironic and stupid

"fifth," natasha corrects as she overhears them one day

they freeze

a girl who was previously laughing looks about to cry

"our record is ten, don't look so shocked"

they're speechless

and natasha's proud of herself. and you

you always kiss her lips

she always wants to hold your hand, be touching you

she really just wants to spend all her time with you

you love a bit differently, but it's enough

she's always willing to teach you more

about your job, love and herself too

[lee-laurent]

Playing Pretend - Jamie Drysdale

Summary: In which Jamie and his girlfriend end things after pretending everything was okay. Or in which Jamie's girlfriend moves in with Trevor while attempting to keep her pregnancy hidden from everyone.

content: pregnancy, mentions of abortion, long distance, keeping secrets from partner (if that's a warning idk), angst, fluff, mentions of sex, implications of cheating/being unfaithful, jamie's trade :(

notes: this one is a bit more angsty than my other fics. i wanted to experiment with trying something new. possible happy ending tho. guess you'll have to read to find out ;) sorry if it seems rushed, i didn't know how to format it :/

"Of course, you have options. You can read more about those here. This is a judgement free zone," the nurse continued to drone on about scheduling another appointment, but Violet had tuned her out. In fact, the only thing that Violet could hear was her heart pounding in her chest.

"Thank you," she mumbled, grabbing the paperwork and shoving it into her purse. All she wanted was Jamie and he was on the other side of the country.

Once she was safely in her car in the parking lot, she let the tears fall. A baby? How was she supposed to take care of a baby when her boyfriend lived five hours away by plane. They barely spoke more than twice a week at this point. Their relationship was falling apart and a baby wasn't going to save it.

"How was the doctor?" Trevor asked as she walked through the door, kicking off her shoes.

"Fine. Just food poisoning, like you thought."

"I told you! Never eat grocery store sushi, Vi. Should've listened to me."

"Ha. I guess you know best, Trev. I'm gonna go lie down. I'm still nauseous."

"Make sure you text Jamie! He was worried about you."

"I'm sure he was," she mumbled, making her way to her bedroom. She looked at the picture on her bedside table. It was of her and Jamie at his first game with the Ducks. She'd been so proud to see him move from the Gulls to the NHL. He had his arm wrapped around her waist and was looking down at her like she'd hung the moon and stars in the sky, while she smiled happily into the camera. Violet sighed, putting the photo face down. She couldn't bare to look at Jamie's face right now, photo or not.

Her phone buzzed.

Jamie <3: Trev texted. Said it's food poisoning like he thought. Feel better. I love you

Vi: Thanks, Jam. Love you too

Lying to Jamie made her stomach churn. In fact, everything was making her stomach churn at the moment. Trevor had made sausages with his breakfast that morning, leading to her projectile vomiting in the kitchen. Which is when Trevor finally convinced her to go to a walk-in clinic. A walk-in clinic that sent her to Planned Parenthood. And now at the thought of Jamie not knowing about his child mixed with the baby in her womb hating the smell of everything, she was leaned over the toilet once more.

"Vi? Do you want some ginger ale?" Trevor asked from the doorway.

"No. I'm okay, Trev. Just, I- I'd like to be alone right now."

"Oh, right. Call me if you need anything," he sighed, gently shutting the door behind him.

Violet sniffled, reaching for her phone on the counter next to her.

Jamie was worried sick about Violet, but he was also focused on the game of NHL 24 he was playing with Cam.

"Wait. Time out. Violet's texting."

"Oh, shit. What'd she say?"

"That... that we need to talk?" Jamie furrowed his eyebrows.

"Shit. We can finish this later. Call her."

"Thanks, Cam. I- I'll be back," Jamie stood up from the couch, albeit a bit wobbly from nerves, speeding off to his room.

"Hey," Violet's voice cracked as it broke through the speaker of his phone.

"Hey, um, what did you wanna talk about?"

"Long distance isn't working, Jamie. I- I think we should end things."

"What? Vi? Where is this coming from? Did- did you meet someone in Anaheim?"

"What? God, no. Jamie- I wouldn't cheat. You know that. I just- this is too much stress for me right now."

"Our relationship is too much stress for you? I- I told you that you could move here. We could get our own place. I-"

"Jamie, I have a life here. I have a job. My friends."

"I had all of that too. But, I- I'm making it work here. You could make it work here, Violet! Please don't do this. You- you're the love of my life."

"Jamie, don't make this harder than it needs to be. I can't do this anymore."

"Please, Violet. Please."

"We- if you need anything call Trevor. Goodbye, Jamie."

Jamie didn't return to his game with Cam; he spent the rest of the night crying himself to sleep on his bed.

"You broke up with Jamie?!" Trevor shouted the next morning, waking up an exhausted Violet.

"Trevor? It's 6 in the morning."

"Yeah? Well Jamie just called me in tears, saying that you dumped him OVER THE PHONE?!"

"We're long distance. How else was I supposed to do it?"

"You weren't supposed to do it at all, Violet! You guys are made for each other! What's with this sudden change of heart?"

"We were barely talking anymore. I need a present boyfriend."

"Vi-"

"Drop it, Trevor! It's frankly none of your business!"

"None of my bus-"

Violet gagged, leaning over and puking on the hardwood floor. She looked up at Trevor, wiping her mouth.

"Get me a paper towel, please."

"Right. Um, right... This conversation isn't over."

He returned with a roll of paper towels. Watching as she pulled herself out of bed, to clean up the mess next to her bed.

"Why'd you break up with him?"

"I just told you. It wasn't working."

"But, you didn't even try to make it work. He said you didn't communicate it wasn't going well until yesterday."

"Wow. Does Jamie tell you every intimate part of our relationship?" she snapped.

"No."

"It was rhetorical, Trevor."

"Oh. He loves you."

"I know."

"Do you not love him?"

"What? Of course I love him. He's the fa- the first man I loved. I'll always love him."

"Then why break up with him?! He- he said you could go live with him in Philly."

"I don't want to leave Anaheim. I want to r- never mind. But, my job is here."

"Get a new one."

"God! You're so immature! It's not that fucking easy, Trevor! I'm not going to start my entire life over for Jamie! So fucking drop it!"

"I-"

"Drop it!"

Trevor dropped it. At least with Violet he did. He spent every day trying to convince Jamie to call her. To fix things. To figure what he could do. Jamie wasn't easily convinced though. After the mental anguish that the phone call with his now ex-girlfriend had caused him, he wasn't sure he wanted to go through it again.

Violet's morning sickness hadn't ended. In fact, it was getting worse. Morning sickness? More like all day and all night sickness. She was in agony. And Trevor as oblivious as he was, was getting suspicious.

"Maybe you should go to the doctor again? I don't think food poisoning is supposed to last this long."

"It's probably just stress."

"Why're you stressed?"

"Work."

"But- okay? I still think you should go back."

"Trevor."

"Yes?"

"I'm fine."

"You're pretending."

"What?"

"You're pretending everything is okay. You're just afraid to admit that things are worse without Jamie. Not better. You're more stressed. Hence the vomiting."

"Trevor, I- I have work to do."

Two hours later Violet was in the kitchen doing dishes when her phone started ringing.

"Trev! Can you get that?"

"Sure."

"Hi! This is Alice from Anaheim OB/GYN, I was just calling to confirm your appointment on Friday with Dr. Rhodes," the voice came through the phone.

"Trev! Who is it?"

"Sure, just let me get the phone to Violet. Oh, perfect! Thank you!"

"Hi?" Violet asked, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hi! Is this Violet?"

"Yes, this is she."

"Perfect! Just a few questions to go over before confirming your appointment."

"Oh, of course."

"Any abnormal bleeding?"

"No."

"Dizziness?"

"Nope."

"How's the nausea you mentioned last time you were in?"

"About the same."

"Okay, I'll let the nurse know. We can get you some tablets for that. See you Friday at 11:30."

"Perfect, thank you."

Violet sighed, hanging up the phone.

"You're pregnant?" Trevor whispered.

"What? No."

"She said she was calling from the OB/GYN's office. Isn't that a doctor for pregnant people?"

"Not always. They also give birth control and stuff."

"But why would you need birth control if you're not seeing Jamie anymore?"

"For my periods."

"You're lying."

"I'm not lying, Trevor. Why would I lie?"

"You're lying. You always itch your wrist when you lie. You're pregnant. Does Jamie know?"

"Maybe it isn't Jamie's?"

"Yeah? Who else have you slept with? Nobody. You and Jamie had sex the night before we left for Nashville."

"Who told you that?"

"Jamie."

"Ew. I-"

"So it is Jamie's?"

"I'm not pregnant."

"Violet... is this why you dumped him? Are you getting... you know?"

"Not pregnant, Trevor."

"Fine, I'll drop it for now. But, if you were pregnant, I, um, I'd be here to help. I promise."

"Good to know if I am to hypothetically get pregnant," she mumbled, itching her wrist. Trevor let out a heavy sigh.

"You- you can tell me anything, Violet. I'm not going to tell Jamie if you don't want me to."

"You said you were gonna drop it. Plus there's nothing to tell him. Everything is normal."

"Right, um, I'm going out. Call if you need anything for your... food poisoning."

"Will do."

When she finally heard the front door shut, she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. The tension in the kitchen had been palpable. She knew deep down that Trevor didn't believe her, but until she was showing she'd be able to hide it... maybe.

A month had passed and Violet was shocked to find that it looked like she was bloated. Violet had always been on the thinner side, but not to the point that she thought she'd be showing this early into her pregnancy. The doctors had confirmed that she was just over a month when she found out, meaning she was nearing three months. Baggy clothes became her new best friends. Unfortunately, most of the baggy clothing she owned were items she'd stolen from Jamie. This led to lots of looks from Trevor as she moved around their apartment.

Trevor now knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Violet was pregnant. He'd gone into her bathroom to find some extra toilet paper and come across an array of prenatal vitamins. He didn't bring it up though. The apartment constantly had an air of awkwardness shrouding it. Violet and Trevor were tip-toeing around each other. And he knew that eventually he would have to be the bigger person and bring it up, which was uncommon for the Ducks player.

"I was talking to Jamie today," Trevor mentioned as he twirled some spaghetti onto his fork.

"Hm. How's Jamie?"

"Better. He, uh, he still asks about you."

"Good for him."

"I'm sure if you told him... about your situation, he'd be willing to help."

"What situation?" Violet smiled, taking a sip of her water.

"Can we stop pretending, Violet?"

She shook her head, pushing away from the small kitchen table.

"God! Grow up, Violet! You're going to be a mom! Start acting like a fucking adult!" Trevor shouted as she retreated to her room, that Trevor had not-so-lovingly nicknamed "the cave." Her door slammed in response, shaking the pictures hanging in the corridor.

"Hey, girl!" her best friend, Aly, smiled through the FaceTime call. "How're those vitamins? One of the moms I work with says they're the best ones!"

"Good, I think. I've got a little bump now."

"Damn! Baby Drysdale is growingggg!" she dragged out.

"Don't call them that. He- I still haven't told him."

"Girl! You told me you were going to like a week ago! What changed?"

"He- I saw him on Instagram and he looked so happy. I don't want to ruin that."

"So... you're just gonna wallow in self-pity until your baby is born? What about when he sees you with a baby? Isn't he gonna be suspicious?"

"He already accused me of cheating. So..."

"Violet! No! We are not claiming you cheated and got pregnant from another man."

"Jamie's not ready to be a dad."

"Who told you that? Jamie?"

"No."

"Exactly. You don't know that!"

"I'll think about it, Aly. Right now, the doctor said I need to avoid too much stress. It makes my nausea worse."

"Uh huh. Lemme tell you about this date I went on!"

"Do you think Violet would be okay if I came to visit?" Jamie asked Trevor.

"Um... I mean you're coming to see me. It has nothing to do with her."

"I guess, you're right. I'll get a hotel though. I don't want to intrude on her space."

"Her space is also my space, Jamie."

"Yeah, but she's my... ex. It'd feel weird. Is she, um, seeing anyone new?"

"Violet?" Trevor choked on his water, "No. No. She's been busy with... work."

"Makes sense."

"What about you? Any new women in your life?"

"No. I just compare them all to Vi."

"When you come, maybe you can get some closure. Talk to her."

"If she lets me."

"If she lets you," Trevor smiled, continuing to help his best friend plan his trip.

Six months pregnant. Violet couldn't believe it. Her baby was the size of corn, according to Aly. It was hard to hide her ever growing bump, but Trevor's hoodies and some of Jamie's old clothes did the trick. She had no idea that Jamie was coming to visit. It was all part of Trevor's plan to get her to talk to him... and admit her pregnancy.

Trevor was buzzing as he walked Jamie up the stairs to their apartment.

"Violet did some redecorating, but it looks similar to when you left! She's still asleep, I think. She sleeps in on weekends."

"Not surprising," Jamie bit back his smile.

"Welcome back, bud!" Trevor swung open the door, leading his ex-teammate into his home. Jamie looked around, it was similar to when he left. A few pictures had been taken down and replaced with new ones, but it looked pretty much the same.

"Trev? Why are you shouting?" Violet questioned sleepily, rubbing a hand on her stomach. The baby had recently discovered how to kick and it was their new favourite hobby.

"Look who I brought home with me!" Trevor beamed.

"Jamie?" the girl suddenly looked much more awake, dropping her hands to her side.

"You... you're pregnant," was all Jamie could manage, staring directly at her stomach.

"Surprise?"

The group sat in the living room. Well, Trevor and Violet were sitting. Jamie was pacing around the room, running his hands through his hair.

"You're gonna go bald, Jimmy. Stop."

"She- you're pregnant?!"

"Yes. We established that, Jamie," Violet rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Is it... is it mine?"

"Um..."

"Yes, the baby is yours, Jamie! Are you dumb?" Trevor furrowed his brow.

"You didn't tell me?! Neither of you?!"

"She... It wasn't my place."

"Yeah? What about you, Violet? What's your excuse?!"

"I- I didn't want to ruin your career."

"Ruin my career? No! You were just being selfish. Don't pretend this had anything to do with protecting me!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Jamie, can you sit down? You're stressing me out," she sighed, rubbing over where the baby was kicking repeatedly, sensing its mother's turmoil.

"Violet! We... we're having a baby."

"I'm having a baby."

God, she was just as stubborn as before.

"Z, can we have a minute?"

"Oh, sure," Trevor left and Jamie didn't speak until he heard the door close.

"Violet, this is serious. Why would you keep this from me? Is this why you ended things?" he asked, kneeling in front of her.

"Sort of. I panicked. I just, I don't want you to feel forced to stay because of us," she motioned to her belly.

"I... I still love you. A lot. God, I never stopped loving you."

"Jamie..."

"You... you can come live in Philly! We can fix us. And raise our baby. Be a happy family."

"I want to stay here."

"You... you can't keep my baby from me, Violet. Please," his eyes started to water, "Not any longer than you already have."

"He-"

"He? It's a boy?"

"Shit. Yeah."

"I'm going to have a son?" he smiled, the tears finally falling. Violet could feel her hormones acting up, her eyes also welling with tears.

"Henry."

"Hm?"

"I- I've been planning on naming him Henry."

"Henry. It's perfect, Vi. Can I?" he gestured to the swell of her stomach. She nodded, letting out a sob as his hands met the cotton of her shirt.

"Hi, Henry. It's your dad. I'm sorry I haven't been here. I- I don't blame Mommy. She did what she thought was best."

Violet continued to sob. Why was he being so sweet to her? She'd kept his son from him!

"Violet, can you just think about it? Please. Us and Henry in Philly."

"I can think about it, Jams," she cried, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Are you sure you built that right?" Violet asked for the fourth time, "I don't want him falling on the ground in the middle of the night."

"I followed the instructions, Vi. It's secure. He'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I just-"

Jamie cut her off with a kiss to her lips.

"I'm positive, love. Now stop worrying. Poor Henry is going to pop out early if you keep that up."

"I'd appreciate it if he did. He's been sitting on my bladder all day."

Jamie kneeled down in front of her, placing a hand where he saw the imprint of a foot kick.

"Can you move off Mommy's bladder? It makes her pissy. And Daddy doesn't want to deal with it right now."

"He's not listening. I need to pee," she waddled out of the nursery and into the ensuite. Jamie laughed, following her into their bedroom.

"You look good pregnant," Jamie commented as she emerged from the bathroom.

"Shut up. We're not having sex until this monster is out of me."

"He's not a monster!"

"He's giant! I can't breathe."

"Here," Jamie walked behind her, lifting up her stomach. She let out a long sigh of relief, the pressure being alleviated from her back.

"Thanks, Jams. I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled. Although they weren't the most stable couple on the planet, Jamie was just glad to have his girl back. And now he had his little boy too. He felt complete. And so did Violet. Complete and happy with their soon-to-be family of three.

[skelliko]

I was wondering if u could do these headcannons? Baji and kazutora with a gf that has a more mellow personality, is soft-spoken (like reallllyyyyyy soft-spoken it's like she's almost whispering but when she needs to get stuff done she gets stuff DONE🗣️) and is almost never smiling, sort of like a resting face 24/7

Idk I think it's funny if u see a raging delinquent and next to him is his gf who looks and acts like she'd never hurt a fly

๑-context: soft spoken s/o

๑-featuring: kazutora, baji

°- Kazutora Hanemiya

• to other people he may seem hard to handle, a little too rough with sharp corners, and overall a handful. however that's far from the truth with you, you bring out the best of him due to your calm demeanor making him to be completely tame, kept in line and be the opposite of what others see in him. however not everyone knows of that side of him so comparing the two of you is an ongoing thing.

• he never knew he needed someone like you until now, and neither did anyone expect kazutora to get a girlfriend as cute and sweet as you are. it's like putting a tiger and a mouse next to each other. most were expecting a break up soon enough but that 'soon' hasn't happened nor do you both seem to show any signs which made people to surface up some false information

• you're always someone that he can go to for advice due to your sweet heart and overtime your positivity has grown onto him that he has tried to think the same way you do, but no matter how hard he tries there's always something else whispering in his ear that isn't you, leading to him needing your shoulder to lean on and give him those certain steps. sure he was quite hesitant on asking for help at the start but overtime he's overcame that and instead is now gotten into a habit of asking for help all the time.

• if it's not already obvious, you're a safe space for him. physically he gets tired easily when you two are relaxed together but that's not cause of him being bored but rather it's cause you give that warm comfort of security for him which makes him all eepy.

• when you're together he tends to keep his gang life separate with you, he tries to be more mannered and patient around you and doesn't do anything reckless even in public (even tho everyone manages to still get his temper up) the most he tends to do that gets you somewhat involved is when he's talking about his day that happens to includes his delinquency or if he gets an injury and you help patch him up, but other than that your out of the dangerous picture.

• he's noticed you not smile all that much and sure it sometimes makes him secretly question if you're getting bored of him which results him in being a little distant almost as if to protect himself from getting hurt by you, but that all quickly stops in the end when he remembers that even when you both first met you didn't seem to be full of smiles which then makes him to come back to you in an instant and lie about why be was absent, he didn't want to say the truth.

• but he tends to smile for you in your place. if you're sharing some good news then he'll smile on your behalf, when you're complimented by someone he also smiles and he even does a little look over at you, however after that look over at you he then looks at the person and his smile seems to be a little more intimidating than before, but we overlook that, it's the thought that counts.

• your voice is soooooothinnnng, soothing for him and whenever you're both cuddling he starts the most random, long winded conversation or asks you to talk about your recent fixation that way he gets to feel all at ease and his stressed out heart can finally have a feel of relaxation.

• when others found out about you and kazutora, they were a little intimidated to walk past you in case Kazu would take offence to that, and we know that bro can be ruthless over the smallest of things. they'll either ignore you and try their best to avoid you or try and be really nice to you but those don't last long.

°- Keisuke Baji

• with Baji I reckon it's a little different since with his close friends they know what Baji's like therefore they know he can be respectful and possibly be a good boyfriend for someone but it's mostly his other set of behaviours and decisions mixing with yours that get a little questions to surface up, such as how is it still compatible where We've got two complete different personalities?

• when people first saw you and him together they were all shocked, baffled even about how someone like you would want to go for someone like him, I mean are we talking about the Same Baji Keisuke here? the guy that punches random people just cause he's mad and set a car on fire once cause he was hungry? while you're over there next to him with the most sweetest demeanour that seems like you would feel bad about putting a stuffed animal back onto the shelf after you held it in your arms for a few seconds. but hey! opposites can attract.

• you tend to speak softly no matter who with, but Baji only ever has gentle eyes for you. it's obvious to compare how he looks at others with sharp and almost glaring eyes, but with you his eyes gain a certain light that makes them seem less intense. not to mention that Baji had no interest in dating in the first place but when you came around that clearly changed and thats tells everyone a lot about what kind of affect you have on him. you're pretty much like an angle that came down with light.

• he tends to sometimes tease you just to try and see if he can get you to smile, he's noticed how little you do and it's not exactly a bother to him but he still aims to see that smile of yours anyway. even if it means to raise your cheeks with his fingers if that's the only way you'd come close to smiling. though there were a few times when he saw you crack a small smile and Baji's heart stammered in excitement and shock from finally being able to see it.

• when you want stuff done, you certainly get it done. doesn't matter what it is, you don't even ask Baji for any help either and he ends up finding out in his own way. such as reorganizing your room, scooting your table on the other side or switching up your posters and lifting up some heavy stuff to move around, when Baji came over and saw the switch up along with hearing that you didn't get any help he was amazed. more than amazed actually, shows that you have a heck of a lot of determination and not one to be taken lightly.

• if you say something that he may have not heard he takes 2 or 3 seconds to process your words in his mind, that way he doesn't need to ask to repeat yourself but when he does ask you to repeat yourself he asks almost gently aware that you probably get asked to raise your voice a little on a daily basis

• when he does a delinquent act that he probably shouldn't have in front of you he tends to do a little toothy smirk knowing that you'd probably scold him for it afterwards, he can't help but find it amusing when you tell him off, but he also finds it adorable you speaking back to him.

• oh he's protective of you, not in an obsessive sort of way but just as an overall 'touch her and you die' sort of way, he's made sure that his gang members don't come near you so that there's no sort of potential danger for you. and if he finds out that someone has, then he makes sure that there was a good enough reason for that, and if not then a certain action would need to be taken place cause clearly they didn't understand the first time. but with Baji's close friends he's chill with them talking to you, just not too close.

• he's gentle with you as you are gentle with him but when it comes to departing hugs he always does a little tight squeeze at the end

 ♡---

[lovelywritinglady]

Strangers (Part.1)

Reiner Braun x fem!Reader

Season 3 Spoilers and Season 4 light spoilers You and Reiner use to be a couple until you found out he was the Armored Titan…

Time line is going to be ever so slightly altered for the next part.

Third Person Pov

"How could you Reiner?" You cried out to him trying to keep yourself balanced on the tree branch below him.

"What do mean, if you're talking about why I took you, it's simple. I love you and I just couldn't leave you to die along side these devils." Reiner spat in disgust as his eyes lingered on your shaky from below.

"Devils, how could you ever think we are devils?" You questioned him

"I'll tell you more when we get back to my home town. It will all make sense when we are there." He answered you looking hopeful

"You assholes are gonna pay, you hear me!" Eren screamed from behind you waving his severed hand like he was going to punch Reiner.

"Shut it you two, it's not like we can do anything right now anyway. See those titans down there?" Ymir questioned as you looked down to see dozens of titans looking up twords you. "Even if we could, we'd have no chance of escaping. Plus Y/n isn't one of us so she'd die easily especially sense you ain't got your ODM gear." She soke sounding rather disinterested.

"Ymir is right, we'll leave at nightfall when the titans are sleeping." Reiner spoke scanning the three of you. Ymir started talking to them, but you blocked out her words trying to focus on calming down and not losing you head. You picked up on a few words an phrase in particular caught your attention.

"We'll get Christa and then we'll go, I can't leave her here!" Ymir pleated which caused your anger to spike.

"Ymir what the hell!" You shouted walking towards her as her limbs grew back.

"What, I have nothing here except Christa and Reiner and Bertholdt have a future. This place will be dead soon any way, don't you want to live!" She screamed at you walking closer

"Calm down you two! Y/n hear me out." Reiner pleaded jumping down from the tree branch he was standing on. "Y/n please, everyone here will die and the last thing I want is for you to die with them. My hometown is special and there are so many things that I want to show you. Sights that you'll never be able to see, I can show them to you. Please let me take care of you in a place I know you'll be safe. I love you." Reiner declaired with pleating soft eyes that would normally make your heart melt.

"I'd rather die here with them than live a lie with you." You spat as frustrated tears began to form in your eyes. Depsite the fact that you loved him too and the very idea of departing with him shatters your soul.

"Go to hell!" Eren screamed jumping at Reiner hitting him across the face multiple times until finally Reiener hit him so hard that it knocked him out cold. Reiner began panting looking at you silelently telling you to follow him.

"Reiner look, it's the scouts!" Bertholdt yelled in in desperation gaining Reiner's full attention.

"Shit, looks like commander Erwin is a lot smarter than I thought." Reiner yelled jumping down twords you. "Get on my back sweet heart we need to go." He asked you holding out his hand. Part of you would like nothing more than to hold his hand and feel his body against yours. Except now he had betrayed you and your friends and there was no way in hell that you were going to let him take you, Eren, or Christa. So you took a page out of Eren's book and punched Reiner too. You were a lot better than Eren at hand-to-hand combat and this was the only thing you could think of. His nose began to bleed heavily and despite his best efforts, he was not as fast as you. You hit him anywhere you could thinking that if the fight lasted long enough the Scouts could get to you faster. However, your actions came to a painful halt as Bertholdt punched you in the back of the head knocking you out cold, just like Eren.

Reiner grabbed your unconcious body and securly held you to him with as much gentelness as he could. He hated seeing you so hurt and broken and vowed that no matter what he'd do whatever he could to make up for all of the mental strain he put on you, after all, he did love you. After some time flying through the forest, he turned into his titan form after handing you over to Bertholdt. He jumped down as Bertholdt and Ymir, who also assumed titan form, landed on his back after she went serching for Christa. Ymir then took her from her mouth causing Christa to cough.

Reiner ran as fast as he could trying to outrun the scouts, but they were too late. Commander Eriwn, along with a massive horde of titans, scouts, and MP's were coming twords them. All Reiner could do was brace for impact as he protected you, Eren, and Berthold underneath his armored hands and pray that Ymir was holding onto him tight as he smashed his way through the titans. And as scout by scout and titan by titan came at him trying to get you and Eren. Despite their best efforts, the scouts took you, Eren, and Christa back and Reiner had lost you and the coordinate. All he could do now is protect Berthold from the titans trying to eat them as he watched you being taken away from him on the back of Erwin Smith's horse.

Operation To Retake Wall Maria…

“You’re not going cadet.” Captain Levi commanded as you were getting ready to join your friends to retake wall Maria.

“Forgive me sir, but why the hell not?” You questioned him with clear anger.

“Calm down, Commander Erwin thinks you’ll be a liability. We already know that Reiner and Bertholdt wanted to take you back home with them. So it’s safe to say that they’ll try again. We simply can’t have that.” Levi reasoned

“Wouldn’t I be useful then, Sir?” You yelled still angry and confused at the situation.

“No, no offense to your skill but Erwin said so. That’s final cadet I don’t want to hear anything else about it.” He spat walking away from you because he didn’t want to continue arguing with you.

You were so furious at the commander but you knew deep down that he was right. That you would confront Reiner despite saying otherwise because what he did to you was unforgivable and you needed to know why. You desperately needed to know why Reiner was a Titan and what the hell he meant by “home town.” You needed answers and you only prayed that the scouts would be victorious so that you could receive some.

A few days later…

The scouts came back as they reetook Wall Maria. However, the casualties made it seem like thee was no win whatsoever despite the people of the walls rejoicing. Especially the people of Wall Maria as they would now be able to go home, including you.

The commander had died which made Hanji the new commander of the Scout Regiment. You were shocked to say the least, but you were glad that your friends survived. You asked Captain Levi about Reiner and Bertholdt and he told you what happened to them. Hearing that Armin nearly died and it was between him or the commander as to who would be come a Titan brought tears to your eyes. It was such a cruel choice and one that should have never have happened. Both should and deserved to live in your mind. Yet you remembered that this world is cruel and unfair. However, now with this victory the Scouts would now be able to venture further outside the walls than they ever have. You were excited to see the ocean and potentially see the world beyond. Little did you know about the dangers and hatred lurking not too far from your island home…

Three years later…

Three years without him. Three years of resenting him and hating him. Long nights filled with cries and nightmares from that day. Reiner was your rock and someone you always thought you could rely on. A lot of people throughout those three years thought that you were somehow a Marley spy, but that was soon forgotten as Hange made a public announcement about it. You needed answers for everything but more than anything you just wanted to see him, talk to him, and hold him. Because above all else, you still loved him.

You were now a high ranking official in the Scout Regiment. Your intelligence and experience helped you land the position. Especially with the recent developments with other countries. You had helped Hange and other become more diplomatic. While maintaining the idea that your island is still dangerous.

Now here you were on a boat, disguised as a tourist with a few friends and other me members of the regiment. You were tasked on getting intel on Marley. And so here you were feeling the wind blow your hair as the salty sea air filled your lungs. You felt peaceful despite the aching feeling in your heart. As Marley was Reiner’s homeland and there was a small chance that you would see him and that terrified you. You tried preparing yourself for it even taking to the commander on what to do if you should see him. But no amount of preparation could ever prepare you for the experience that lies ahead…

Thanks so much for reading💜 I apologize if the first part isn’t the best. I have better plans for the second one. Including flashbacks and more angst.

Please feel free to like, comment, request, and reblog.

Click here to see what I’ll write for and HERE to see my master list.

•I do NOT own any characters except y/n•

-L.W.L

[total-drama-brainrot]

Total Drama Psycho Noah AU, what if Sierra (who knew everything about everybody) tried to warn Heather + Alejandro NOT to mess with Noah, cause he's a total psychopath (but they don't believe her) ... Sierra doesn't have to worry about Cody getting hurt, cause he's a sweet boy, and Noah only hurts people that attack him first... What if after Heather + Alejandro later learns the truth, Sierra simply tells the duo: "I told you so..." 😒

You're so right about Sierra being one of the few who's In The Know about p!Noah (without his express input), thanks to her superfan status.

Sierra throws a bit of a wrench into this whole AU, really. Because there'd need to be justification for her either not saying anything about Noah's true colours, or having the others not believe her claims about Noah despite it being abundantly clear that her knowledge on them is pretty infallible.

But.

Playing in to the whole 'obsessive superfan' thing, Sierra wouldn't want to jeopardise the ruse Noah's so carefully crafted if he were, say, one of her favourite characters.

Because Noah (every version of Noah) is a fairly private person, all things considered. She doesn't have a lot of information to go off of- not in comparison to the fountain of knowledge she has about the rest of the cast, at least- but she does know that he must be keeping his true colours a secret for a reason. Would you want to ruin someone's carefully laid web of deception when it's been one of the most entertaining aspects of the show thus far?

Or.

You could take it down another route, and have Sierra outright dislike Noah because he's A Danger to her beloved cast, but have this dislike become evident before she can warn the others; Sierra's pretty crazy herself, so the cast would dismiss her warnings are her trying to rally them against the person she so clearly hates instead of a genuine effort to keep them safe. After all, wouldn't it be in character for someone as evidently unstable as Sierra to lie and spread 'baseless rumours' about the person she clearly despises?

(That second option's fun, because it adds an aspect of dramatic irony for the audience both in-universe and IRL; they/we know that Sierra's right, so her struggle to be listened to would be almost Cassandra-esque.)

Either way, she'd make a point of staying as far away as possible from Noah. Because Sierra (like the rest of the in-universe audience) are working under the impression that Noah's a ticking time-bomb, a constant threat of incredible violence against the cast, since that's exactly what Noah painted himself as during his confessionals. (Speaking of confessionals, I do have a justification as to why the contestants eliminated before Noah are also unaware of his unhingedness, that I'll cover in it's own post.) That's not entirely true, of course; Noah's a psychopath with a grimdark sense of humour, sure, but he's not about to start randomly attacking people in bouts of spontaneous hysteria- but the audience, and therefore Sierra, don't have the comfort of that little tidbit of information.

It all circles back to Noah being a private person. He holds his cards close to his chest; in this case, the audience knows what he's capable of, but they don't know that a lot of his Baby Craves Violence act is just that- an act. A joke he's pulling on the viewing world, that he admittedly gets a little too into to. The perils of being dedicated to the bit. Not that he doesn't have the occasional urge to commit felonies and acts of brutality against others, but he's got enough self-control to redirect that energy into causing less destructive chaos (most of the time).

-

So when his true colours are eventually revealed? Sierra is so vindicated, she almost forgets the danger (she thinks) she's in. Almost.

(In the context of the second option;) She's spent the majority of the season thus far warning the others against Noah, only to have her good intentions brushed aside time and time again (which, ouch! Imagine trying to help the people you idolise enough to literally stalk throw your concern for their safety back in your face) by their incredulity. Being proven to have been in the right the entire time would be a power trip and a half, because it'd validate her skills as the unofficial-official expert on all things Total Drama and she'd get to shove the consistent rebuffs back in the others' faces.

It's a shame she'd be so dead-set on disliking Noah on principle, because the two of them could be great friends. If Sierra had a stronger craving for chaos and disorder, she could form a Terror Trio with Noah and Izzy.

[reachexceedinggrasp]

I think she wanted the idea of Danny more than Danny himself, and that the guilt she felt for using him that way was huge motivator in her behaviour towards him, especially in Dark Water/Death in Heaven. She throws herself into this grand gesture of devotion because she knows she was never devoted to him- she was always going to choose the Doctor when inevitably the double life she was trying to live broke down. It's the same reason she tells him she's never going to say the words 'I love you' to anyone else ever again, because she used the cover of saying it to him to say it to the Doctor. Because the first time she said it (in The Caretaker) it wasn't prompted by her feelings for him, she wasn't even talking to Danny, she was still talking to the Doctor.

She's a control freak and that comes from being afraid of hurt, of vulnerability. She wants to keep her armour on. And part of that armour was her relationship with Danny- normal, safe, within her control. She can't control the Doctor and she often can't control herself when she's around him, and that frightens her. And the Doctor rejecting her several times in quick succession reinforces that she's right to be afraid to surrender herself to this uncontrollable passionate thing, because she'll get her heart broken. There's no way for her to protect herself except to lie.

She's fully, gloriously human, and what the Doctor gives her is the outsider perspective on that, the thousand-year view, but she's never less human. She just has more room to express herself, someone to catch her when she walks over the edge. And their romantic connection is, to me, about their complementary natures and offering each other the most realised, complete version of themselves. They're partners and equals who challenge and fulfil each other. They're wildly attracted to each other and passionately adore each other. The thing which came between them was fear, fear of vulnerability and fear of loss. In the Doctor's case, fear of what he might become if he surrendered to his emotions. In Clara's case, fear of the damage he might inflict on her without noticing.

They are so afraid of losing each other that that fear prevents them truly being together or fully understanding one another's feelings. They're so afraid that it takes the worst case scenario of where their denial can take them in order for them to finally realise they should be honest. And even then, it's Clara who forces the issue because she already knows the end of her story, the Doctor was willing to carry on the status quo. If she'd been able to accept sooner that he felt the same way, it wouldn't have got this far. He takes his lead from her in their relationship, lets her decide how honest they are about what they are to each other, and he would have confessed earlier if she had let him.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 57 (Reaping Rewards?)

The morning after Heather and Conrad's trip to the lighthouse, he returned from an early morning run with Gord and checked the mail. (That mailbox came with the house in the gallery and I feel great leaving it.) Along with the usual collection of bills and flyers for the fish market down at the docks, a strange newsletter, advertising a so-called "Recipe for Life," had been delivered.

Heather put down the trifold from the Ambrosia Society. She'd never heard of it. "It's a little strange we were just talking about ghosts and unfinished business, and the next day a newsletter arrives talking about ambrosia," she mused.

They weren't sure whether to be intrigued or disturbed - perhaps a little of both - but they couldn't deny their curiosity. Conrad looked them up on his phone. "They look legit, and I can check them out on the police computers on Monday - but you're almost a master gardener and you're already a master cook. Sorta seems like a challenge you could meet without even trying."

"I could learn to make ambrosia treats along with the Recipe for Life, as the newsletter calls it. I've stuck to wellness treats so far, but lots of pet owners ask about ambrosia. Maybe ambrosia treats could help you track down that dog you heard at the lighthouse. And knowing how to make ambrosia could definitely come in handy if the Landgraab curse strikes again."

"What does it say we have to do?"

"We need to get this thing called a Grimophone, then plant a lily and a snapdragon. I should ask my mother for help but I think whoever sent the newsletter eventually wants us to graft and grow a death flower in exchange for the recipe. She harvests them sometimes and taught me how when I was younger; she can sell them for a lot of money, but we don't have a lot of indoor space and the plants are seasonal. We'd probably have to use the hall outside Ash's room."

"Not that I think it's a great idea to give a toddler a bunch of thorny plants, and you know what I think about the curse, but if you load up Ash with a bundle of death flowers, no curse would ever be able to touch him. He'd need at least nine lives," said Conrad.

"Maybe when he's older." She frowned. "I'd rather not scare him or lie to him about what they're for. But doing this could help keep him safe. That's all I want."

Despite their busy lifestyles, they were more attracted to the challenge set forth in the newsletter with each passing thought.

"I don't mind cooking more, learning the recipe myself. I meant it when I said I'd do anything to keep you and Ash safe, but we're a team, and you're not going to do this alone," he said. "It's dangerous messing around with death."

Visiting her family in Henford, Heather picked up some flower seeds from her expert botanist mother and asked her sister-in-law, a walking Simpedia on all kinds of topics, about the Grimophone.

"My mother has one," said Cass. "Anything paranormal, you name it. She bought it."

"What does it do?"

"It plays any music you want, but the real trick is it'll help you summon the Grim Reaper. If you go see my mother, she'd be happy to show it to you."

After work one rainy evening, Heather and Conrad stopped by to visit Bella Goth at her mansion in Cavalier Cove. Through her years spent obsessing over the supernatural, she'd collected various items that now took up space in her attic.

Heather was nervous. "And summoning the Grim Reaper will help us learn to make ambrosia? It won't do anything else...like unleash death and destruction?"

"From Grimmie? Hardly! He's just a courier. Jokes he wears bicycle shorts under all those black robes."

"You know the Grim Reaper?"

"He was the last person to see my brother alive, so I had to find a way to talk to him. But he was so kind. We struck up a nice friendship."

"According to the newsletter, we'll probably have to make friends with him, too."

"I bet Grimmie asked the society to set the challenge just so he could make a bunch of new friends! He knows plenty of people know how to make ambrosia, but he wishes people were less afraid of him. Culling sims all day can be a lonely existence, you know."

Bella led them upstairs and pulled out her old Grimophone, blowing off the dust to reveal a music player made of matte black steel. "If you want, I could pull out the seance table and you could ask the spirits about ambrosia. That should help you learn the recipe in no time."

Conrad stepped forward. "Is it safe?"

"I haven't used it in years so it might be a little shaky, but the spirits who stick around to answer simple questions are harmless. Mostly departed mentors who miss teaching."

She sat with Heather and Conrad at the small round table draped in purple and gold cloth. She blew away more dust, and Heather's allergies made her sneeze.

"Watcher bless you," said Bella. "It's especially important to say such a thing if you sneeze around a seance table. We don't need any spirits stealing your soul!"

"This is a bad idea. Heather, maybe we should think more about this."

"Conrad, it's okay. I still have my soul," Heather assured him. "We're here for Ash, so we might as well ask about the ambrosia."

Bella showed them how to convene with the spirits with their palms open on the table. She chanted a rhyme that sounded faintly Omiscan, and suddenly a blue flame flickered to life before their eyes.

Floating above the table, the flame bent it's shape into a hoop, like a tunnel for spirits and sims to commune on one plane. Heather seemed possessed, swaying with the pulsing circle above their heads as jumbled Simlish spewed from her lips.

"What's happening to her?" Conrad was frightened, but Bella smiled warmly.

"She's fine. They're just having a conversation."

"Make it stop!"

"They'll only be a few minutes. If I pull her out before they're finished, she might not be able to get in touch with them again. They think it's rude if you just leave."

"Is she even conscious?"

"In a way."

"Could she get...stuck?"

"Oh, that's rare!" She laughed while Conrad's heartrate quickened.

"Mrs. Goth, if anything happens to her in there-"

"What's going on?"

Bella's son, Alexander, walked nonchalantly into the room. The flaming blue portal to another dimension didn't phase him.

"Heather's travelling with some of my old gear, sweetheart."

"Is this that newsletter thing?"

"This was my idea," she admitted. "But Heather's fine."

"Do you think you'll be done before Lydia gets back from spin class? This might freak her out a bit."

Finally, disappearing as rapidly as it first appeared, the blue light released Heather from her trance. "Wow!" she breathed, lowering her hands and reacquainting herself with her surroundings. "That was nuts! How long was I out?"

"A few minutes, just like I expected." Bella shot Conrad a satisfied grin while his shoulders dropped in relief.

"I just went to school and learned about ambrosia for three days. I feel like I could make ambrosia treats in my sleep! They said we can only learn the Recipe for Life by following the instructions as they're given, and the next thing we need to do is summon the Grim Reaper on the Grimophone."

"Did you want mine?"

"You don't need it?"

"Grim and I are such good friends, I can just call him on my phone. Go ahead, have fun, but it drops a fair bit of soot in the air from the horn. Just a warning!"

When they returned home, Conrad held her close, still unnerved by what he witnessed. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Conrad, I'm fine," she insisted. "It wasn't a big deal. It was school. Nothing dangerous."

"If we use Mrs. Goth's table again, you're not travelling or whatever she called it. I will. I can't let anything happen to you."

She didn't mind his protective stance despite her independence. He always made her feel safe, and she wanted him to see where she'd been so he'd know the place was nothing to fear. But they were both exhausted by the events in Bella's attic, and they decided to wait to use the borrowed Grimophone.

For now, they'd plant their seeds and wait to see if the Ambrosia Society sent another newsletter. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: As a master vet Heather knew how to make ambrosia treats. She's had a couple in reserve for a long time, but I'm pretending they're not there yet. She hasn't sold or used one because I've been plotting this paranormal storyline and wasn't sure when to bring it in, but Reapers Rewards presented a great opportunity, especially with death on their minds so recently with Ash's accident, and Heather constantly trying to improve her clinic's rating. Yesterday's post was always meant as a soft launch, but it wasn't going to get this supernatural for a while!

The storyline is actually for Conrad more than Heather, but these two are an excellent team so I don't mind that I accidentally sent Heather through the flame portal and not Conrad. He was legit upset, raising his voice to Bella while it was happening, so that stuff wrote itself and proved he's as incredible as we all think he is. Plus Heather's the one with the skills that will hopefully make this challenge a breeze, let me collect quasi-free stuff and write while Conrad gets some skills up, so they're definitely going to do this one together.

[ri-writing]

Ri rants about Northanger Abbey

Now that I have finished Northanger Abbey, I'm reading/watching/listening to academic thoughts on it. I do not have a degree in literature, but it feels like a whole lot of people are missing that Henry and Eleanor's dad is emotionally abusive. ??? I'm not the only one noticing this, right? It seems to be The Thing To Do to criticize Catherine for thinking he's a bad dude and I'm here going, "but he IS a bad dude."

His kids are afraid of him. They pull into themselves when they're around him. Eleanor doesn't have any friends when we meet her. At one point, she's scared about being a few minutes late to dinner. In her own house. Meanwhile, Henry's got a massive ironic-humor-defense-mechanism.

Catherine picks up on this. She's aware that Something Is Wrong. Her only knowledge of the sorts of people whose children are afraid of them comes from books and she doesn't have the vocabulary to express what she's picking up on. She's trying to figure it out. When Henry finds her in his mother's room, she isn't immediately forthcoming about her concerns. He pries it out of her. She tries to change the topic numerous times; he keeps coming back to it.

It's not like Catherine ran into dinner and did a whole Grand Detective Reveal accusing General Tilney of being a murderer. She's noticed his children - her friends - are afraid of this man and she's trying to figure out why. It seems unlikely she'd have said anything but-for Henry not letting it go when he found her.

Catherine isn't stupid. She's not letting her imagination run away with her. She's got a bad feeling in her gut that she doesn't understand but her gut feeling is correct. General Tilney is not a safe person. We see this for ourselves when he turns on her and puts her in a dangerous situation. She's seventeen, and has never traveled by herself but he sends her out of the house to fend for herself. He refuses to send anyone with her, so there's no one to protect her if someone wants to rob her or harm her. She doesn't know how the public transit works. She didn't even have money to get home; Eleanor has to sneak some to her. He throws her out and he doesn't care what happens to her. (That she figures out how to get home safely evidences that she's brave and clever).

So basically: (1) Catherine's gut is suggesting this guy is a bad guy; (2) the guy is a bad guy; and (3) the guy even puts her in a situation where she could be harmed. And if something had happened to her because she was forced into this situation - if she fell in front of a coach and got run over or if something more nefarious happened - that's at least partially General Tilney's fault and would mean he was...negligent or even worse.

Have none of these great academic minds ever considered that it's Henry who changes? When Henry finally gets Catherine's fears out of her after finding her in the hall outside his mother's room, he defends his father. This is a really common thing with people who are emotionally abused (I defended my abuser for years even when I knew deep down something was off). Because the abuse is not physical, it's harder to identify. You start to think that maybe you misunderstood or are exaggerating things in your mind, that you're being overly emotional or that you're reading into things that aren't there. An abuser even knows how to play into those thoughts until you find that it is easier to explain away and lie to yourself (he cares "in his way"). Henry knows deep down that his father does not treat him or Eleanor right, but he's lived his entire life in this abusive situation. I wonder how much of Henry's speech to Catherine about being reasonable is actually him voicing the things he says to himself.

When General Tilney puts Catherine in danger, Henry's finally able to admit the truth to himself. Once that happens, he's able to free himself.

That's the book I read. I'm still not sure I read the same book the academics read.

[bit-b]

AVOID USER "THATTECHNIQUE"

There's a VERY problematic artist that's been infamous in the Hat in Time sphere for a while. It is the user "ThatTechnique". They've been called out in the past for their suggestive/explicit drawings of the young characters in 'A Hat in Time'. They have long since been banned from the Hat Discord, and generally shunned by the community.

Recently, a document released detailing her attempts to groom a 14-year-old aHiT fan. The screenshot evidence shows clear attempts to manipulate this teen into being in a relationship with them. I encourage people to go read the document. I do warn that it's stomach-churning. And people sensitive to grooming and discussions of NSFW should proceed with caution. Though, any explicit material has been censored and cropped. Investigations were done by 'Impactor' and his team. The doc was signal boosted by 'Aster'. 'The Thatti Document'

Despite this evidence, Thatti is trying to play it off like the document is no big deal. Saying that the document didn't reveal anything that people couldn't already figure out. (complete lie, since the grooming evidence is brand-freakin'-new™) Also, she didn't reply on the tweet that had the Google doc. She instead replied to Impactor's comment saying "On stand by for questions as always". My guess is that she did this so that she wouldn't inadvertently make the callout show up in people's feeds. A user would need to add a couple extra clicks to reach it. Not a lot of extra distance, but distance nonetheless. This is clearly an attempt to de-legitimize the claims made by the document, and to manipulate her current followers into thinking that reading it is a waste of their time.

Even though she claims it's a "waste of y'all's energy", 2 hours later, she made a poll on her account letting people know that she's considering closing her main account and making an 18+ one in it's place. She also plans to focus on using her Tumblr account for her SFW art.

This tells us WAY more about how she actually feels about this. If this was about not liking Twitter, she'd just up and leave the platform. NOT create an 18+ account to replace the SFW one. And a few of her followers have even chimed in saying how odd it is for her to wipe out her whole account instead of leaving it up as an archive.

She knows she's been caught. And she's running.

I write this post to warn people on Tumblr about her actions. She's been here a while, but it seems like she's planning on making it her new art home. If that is the case, and if this isn't an isolated incident, she might attempt to groom people here.

I urge you, DO NOT engage with ThatTechnique. Don't comment or reply to her posts. Do not @ her. Do not DM her anything. A manipulator is VERY risky to interact with, and you could put yourself in danger by doing so.

Instead, spread the word about Thatti. Warn others about her past and current actions. To be extra cautious, block her on whatever socials you have in common with her.

If you are/were a victim of Thatti, Impactor is keeping their ear out and wants to hear from you. Please get in contact with him via DMs or mentions on Twitter. He plans to update the document with whatever new information he can find.

I wanna thank Impactor for organizing this document, and thank everyone who gathered and contributed information. More specifically, I wanna thank Apple for reaching out and giving all these details about their abuse. That was a brave thing, and I applaud you for it. I genuinely hope that things smooth out, and that these callouts give you a level of closure. Please stay safe, everyone. There are some great people in this community. But every community will always have some creeps on the underbelly.

[11queensupreme11]

Me, the beginning of the chapter: OMG! Bel and Percy dancing! So sweet, now everyone has to know they are great together 🥺❤️

Me, end of the chapter: my girl has 0 rest and the fates are the worst sharing news, 0 stars to their service, please stoooop

(also, very curious about all of Bel's situation, Percy is strong but not so strong... Yet)

Of course, I know they're going to end together and just want to push her to make that decision but she's loyal (fatally loyal)

She needs something that makes her stay, forcing her to decide them. We know the yanderes are more than happy to do it but also something like saving the world/humans can make her stay

Sincerely, waiting for how you're going to do this queen, both ways look good but wouldn't be the first time you surprise me so I'm letting this on your hands

(no pressure tho, write whatever you want whenever you want. First are you then the rest ❤️)

Hera, the other way...

For one second, just a minute where I was truly sad for here, a gigantic work for a solitary woman

Then she made me remember the reason why she's alone and I was over it lol

Good luck traveling, when you find her she's going to have a lot of packages that are going to kill her for that.

You are scared of Gea? They're going to be nothing compared to them, fully massacred and your territory colonized or erased no other options for the sin of stealing Percy

My girl is too loyal, she'd keep trying to go back home but now she has 5 gods ready to make her. She can hate them for a few centuries, one day she'd get over it and they'd be ready to love her.

Is one of the things I love about your fic, you really make them so good that we let our guard down just to attack us (and Percy) with the facts they're gods and gods aren moral or anti moral, they just don't have a moral like the human and you can force them to have it (if a animal eats their babies because of instinct it means they're bad? Or is their world different from ours?)

Percy has seen it, with Hades/Persephone and with Poseidon and his behavior. But I don't feel like she has fully understood what it means.

All of them are ready to ignore her and her decision because they CAN'T lose her. Loki would kill her only if she could come back. Beelzebub probably would lie to her about bifrost if that means she stays by his side. I don't have to say anything about Poseidon, Hades and Apollo, they're greeks, house of tragedies.

She's suicidal? Beelzebub too bestie, you both can go together to therapy.

No saying they (Beelzebub and maybe Like) aren't going to try to help her but like. One sign of her soul being hurt? No looking back we're going to see what we do about consequences later

(Loki LIKES when she's upset and his actions are chaotic enough to just make her divine and fight her for centuries)

How can Percy keep so firm against them? I'd be weak cause they are so good with her (incest no mention) and they appreciate her how they original universe never did. There she's safe, loved and cared for, where in PJO she's the one doing the hard work and fighting for gods that would kill her having the chance and just use her while they can.

Of course, she has Sally and her friends but... Wouldn't they want that she be happy and safe? We know Sally was prepared to lose everything to secure that, so I think she'd like her to live in a world where she doesn't worry about monsters or money.

Her friends also weren't in active danger, of course there is the prophecy but that doesn't mean they're the ones dealing with it

She deserves to be happy and living without worries.

But I'm a lot more egoist than her so who knows?

The only thing sure is Mnemosyne is in danger for that book and Antonius is dead, no opportunity for him even if Percy asks cause when she turns her head puff, he's gone

(little remember that Nico is amazing and also very good to traumatize :D and that fact is canon! :D so if you put in ROR he's going to fit just fine as Percy! And imagine just how cute he'd look at the side of Thor 🥺)

(Really, maybe it is the lack of sleep but they look cute in my mind now)

i just love writing about percy's dilemma of "should i stay or should i go?" cuz the best answer is honestly to go back BUT her desire for her father's love and a life where she doesn't have to fight constantly is what makes her hesitate

on one hand, in the ror verse:

there are no wars for her to fight, and if there was one, she'd be ordered to stay back because the gods here are actually ALLOWED to directly fight

her godly family can spend time with her because zeus isn't a tyrant that makes interaction illegal

she has friends and family here that she cares about too

they don't want to fucking kill her 💀

etc

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND IN THE PJO VERSE

everyone she loves is there, her friends, her family, and ofc pjo!poseidon

no yanderes

she's not being sexually abused and raped 💀

she can still have a normal life and future aside from the demigod stuff

she's not stuck living in a misogynistic society where she's her father's property nor will she become her husband's property should she ever marry

etc

i cannot wait to stress her out even more hehehe >:3

[thee-bat-boys]

Always interested in an imagine with Sir Leon ;)

*if the gif is yours please let me know and I'll credit you/take it down*

warnings; eludes to some kind of torture but not explicit

a/n; i hope you like it! Let me know what you think, I love writing for Leon!

sir leon x reader.

❃❃❃❃❃

Imagines flashed in y/n's mind; Morgana with an unkempt appearance and eyes full of hate. Of Merlin, arms attached to chains and strung above him. Gwaine with sweat dripping from his face as he struggled against rope. Leon, eyes focused on her but instead of love they were filled with concern and a look of betrayal plastered on his face. Y/N fought for a moment, eyes shooting open to see the canopy that sat above her bed.

Feeling frantic as she fought to sit up, her eyes scanned the room until they landed on a familiar man. "Gaius, what happened?" She was met with silence, the older man tending to her before attempting to help her get comfortable. "Gaius." Her tone was firm, a sigh coming from the physician.

"What do you remember?"

"Nothing." It wasn't a lie, y/n would never believe that her dream might have once been a reality. Such a thought was quickly shattered as Gaius described the events that had transpired the past few days. There was silence, y/n not daring to look Gaius in the eyes. She hadn't realised he'd left until the door clicked and a flash of red met her.

Y/n took one look at Leon, his face bruised with a cut lip, and burst into tears. She'd caused this, even if she had been enchanted it had still been her. As Leon moved to comfort her, y/n shook her head and held her hands out to stop Leon in his tracks.

"Y/n...please."

Through her tears she looked at Leon. "No, you shouldn't be here." Leon looked confused, just as he had in her dream, wondering why his wife of merely a week didn't want him to comfort her. "I did that," she gestured to his face "I'm not a safe person."

It quickly dawned on Leon what y/n was talking about and he moved forward despite her protests.

Leon took a seat beside her on the bed, taking y/n's outstretched hands in his own. "That wasn't you." His voice was soft as he spoke, as if he was trying not to spook her. He brought her hands up to his mouth and kissed each one gently.

"The woman i love is in this bed. You, my darling wife, are safe in this bed and you are a safe person. I promise."

Y/n seemed to visibly calm down, allowing Leon to move closer to her. As he did so he kept his eyes on her and made sure their hands remained entwined. He was trying as hard as he could to remind y/n that she was safe, that he felt safe around her - it seemed to be working.

"I'm just happy to have you back." Leon tried to stop his voice breaking as he spoke, failing. "The bright light in your eyes that I fell in love with was gone, there was no laughter to be heard down the halls of Camelot and I thought you were lost to me. I thought i had lost the one good thing I have."

Y/n, hearing the pain in his voice, leaned over and kissed Leon as passionately as she haf on the wedding night. Leon winced, cut lip hurting, but he didn't dare pull away from his wife until she was ready.

"I don't know where I went or what happened but I'm back, I promise." She repeated his earlier words, keeping a hold of his hands.

"I'm back."

[sirdolraan]

Last Call

(( DWC August 2024 Day 7, Enigma/Victory, CW: None; @daily-writing-challenge ))

Lorellai flounced down on the bed of the room she was sharing with the other ladies, feeling still tired from all the work but relieved by the shower she'd just had. She idly watched as magical brushes and washboards tended to her and everyone's gear over in the corner, quite a bit different from the devices her dad had made back home. Handy though, it meant she could just lie there, ache a bit, and think about things. She'd really enjoyed her chat with Dagran, and wouldn't mind talking to him again, but the idea of crossing Moira sent a chill down her spine worse than when she'd come face to face with the villains out in the dragon isles.

"At least she's on our side, I guess." Lorellai said to no one in particular, as there was a knock at the door. She groaned, not wanting to move, but also not wanting word to get back to her mum that she'd been impolite. Begrudgingly, she slid off the bed and headed to the door, opening it up. "Can I help y-" she said, stopping short as she processed what she saw.

"Ah, miss Truthhammer, my mother and I were wondering if you'd care to join us for lunch?" Dagran said, his mother not far behind him, looking, well, as grumpy as she'd ever been when Lorellai saw her.

"I will say only this." Moira started, taking her seat at the head of the table as her attendants brought in their meal. "I apologize for my rudeness to you. My feud with your father is nae your responsibility, and I will not have it said that I am encouraging our people's tendencies towards long lasting grudges. By all reports you have shown yourself to be an upstanding citizen, which I choose to attribute to your mother's influence."

"Uh... I mean," Lorellai stammered, trying desperately to remember the etiquette lessons her parents had tried to get her to pay more than a moment's interest in while she was growing up. "Thank you for your kind words, yer Majesty, uh, let there be nae quarrel between us," she ventured, at least sixty percent sure that was the appropriate phrasing.

"I'm glad we could clear that up," Dagran said, taking up a fork and spearing some salad. "There's enough conflict in the world without opening old wounds, I think. Please, relax miss Truthhammer, this is a friendly lunch after all! Please, tell us how things have been going out in the field!"

Elsewhen, a portal illuminated Spiru as she went over her list. She'd already made emotionally satisfactorily farewells with the SI:7 team and the Shado-pan she'd befriended, without alerting them to the strange temporal nature of her situation, and now all that was left was to gather the belongings she'd been informed were safe to keep and prepare them for her journey. "Hi there Spiru!" Chromie said, hopping on a chair beside her. "All ready for the big day?"

"I believe I am, Chromie," Spiru replied, closing and buckling the bag, before gathering up her hair to restore her usual ponytail. "All my farewells have been said, and my keepsakes are ready for travel. Has all been settled on your end?"

"It sure has! Nozdormu was a little hesitant at first, but when Eternus and I showed him everything we saw, he agreed that this was a situation where the rules could be bent enough to tip the scales in Azeroth's favor. Now, you said you have everything, do you remember your introduction?"

Spiru gave Chromie a flat look. "You've had me rehearsing it for three days. I am ready."

"Great!" Chromie said, checking an ornate hourglass, "Because it's time! Good luck in the Prime-Time-Line!" Chromie yelled, shoving Spiru suddenly through a bronze portal that opened behind her. As it closed, Chromie dusted her hands. "Another job done by the amazing Chromie!... no, that's not gonna catch on. Back to the drawing board..."

Spiru spiralled through the sands of time, before emerging in a stone room next to a table with several surprised dwarves. Spying Lorellai Truthhammer (three centimeters taller than Chromie had mentioned, hope that's not a problem), she launched into her prepared words. "My name is Spiru Handycog. I have been sent by Chromie to join your fight to protect Azeroth and follow the Radiant Song. In five minutes this entire city will be under attack, you need to get your gear ready."

"What is going on-" Moira's demanding question was interrupted by a loud klaxon.

"Attention, Citizens of Dalaran!" Khadgar's voice rang out throughout the streets. "Prepare for Civic Teleportation. Return to your homes or emergency shelters immediately. I repeat, citizens of Dalaran, prepare for Civic Teleportation!"

As the message and klaxon continued, Lorellai quickly wiped her face with a napkin. "Timely, we'll discuss later. Excuse me your majesty, I must gather my gear."

"We shall return to Magni's side. Come Dagran." Moira declared, rising from her chair.

"Fight well, Champion Lorellai!" Dagran declared, before following his mother out the far door as Lorellai took the nearer exit to return to the dorm, new acquaintance and perhaps friend in tow.

Things were about to get exciting.

[wheels-of-despair]

Live A Little | A Worth It AU | Ralph Penbury x You | Masterlist

In This Edition: You and Ralph spend one last day on the Carpathia! Words: 2k

"Hey, kids?"

You slowly blink yourself awake and lift your head to see your aunt sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I've heard we're supposed to arrive in New York tonight. You should get up and move around a bit before then, remind those muscles what their job is."

You sigh and lie back down, on your back, to stare at the ceiling.

"If we get in tonight, it'll be late. We'll get a hotel room 'til morning, then try to find your mother and father. The wireless operators sent out a list of survivors for the papers, so I expect the place will be crawling with relatives and reporters. Ralph?"

"Yes, ma'am?" he answers.

"You're welcome to come with us."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"But you should find your sister and make sure she's alright, too. She's around here somewhere."

"Yes, ma'am."

"They're serving breakfast in the dining hall now. Take a right at the end of this hallway and keep walking, you can't miss it." She gets up and makes her way to the door. "I'll meet you back here before dinner?"

You nod in agreement, and she leaves. A moment of silence passes, and then you feel Ralph reach for your hand. You lace your fingers together and let out a collective sigh. He turns to face you with a twinkle in his eye.

"May I escort you to breakfast, Mrs. Penbury?"

You face splits into a grin, and you lean over to give your husband a kiss.

Half an hour later, you sit as close as the chairs in the dining hall allow, and eat your first meal as a married couple quietly.

You know your parents will eventually adjust. Aunt Molly will probably ask what took you so long when she finds out. Ralph's father is gone, and he expects his mother won't care. Neither of you gives a damn about Victoria's opinion on the matter.

"I suppose we ought to go find Victoria after breakfast," Ralph sighs, as if he can read your thoughts.

"What will you say to her?"

You haven't forgotten the way she treated him that night at the lifeboats. Or the games she'd played with him all his life. You haven't spent much time discussing her, but you suspect you've only scratched the surface of the awful things she's done to him.

"I don't know," he admits. "Do we tell her that we're married?"

"If you like," you smile. "Do you think she'll fling herself overboard in protest?"

He grins wickedly, drains the last of his tea, and you embark on your journey to find Victoria.

Ralph holds your hand as you walk the ship you'd been on for four days, seeing it for the first time. It feels different than exploring Titanic. There was an air of fun to it, then. This feels wrong somehow. Knowing that you and your loved ones had made it off of the other ship safely, while so many others were mourning for those they'd lost. You, who has just married the love of your life, and have a future together to look forward to. How many dreams had been sucked down into the depths with that ship?

Ralph seems to sense it too. He holds your hand tightly, and wastes no time scanning each room for his sister. He doesn't stop moving until you arrive in an open area with children playing.

"Is that Katie?" he asks, squinting.

"Who's Katie?"

"Victoria's maid."

He stares at a young woman on the other side of the room, showing a group of children how to make figures with their fingers and a loop of string. She laughs with them, but when she looks up to see Ralph, the color drains from her face.

She gives the string to one of the children and rises, walking toward Ralph like a prisoner to an execution.

"I'll be right back, love," he says quickly, going to meet her halfway. You watch their interaction with curiosity, and a bit of fear. How could anyone be afraid of Ralph? Is there a side to him that you haven't seen yet? Your doubts are short-lived, because Katie's fearful eyes crinkle in a smile after a few words from him. They talk for a moment more, laugh together, and part with what are clearly well-wishes.

"Katie's been hired as a nanny," Ralph says excitedly upon his return. "Victoria told her not to bother coming back until she'd reclaimed everything from the purser's office. It was closed, so Katie took that as a dismissal and boarded a lifeboat. She entertained the children through the night, and a nice American family has asked her to stay on with them. She already loves the children. I'm so happy for her!"

"So am I," you smile. Katie returns to the children, and a little boy runs to her and extends his arms. She picks him up in a hug and swings him around. One of the children on the floor tugs at her skirt, and she kneels to show them the string trick again. They watch in awe. "That looks way more fun than taking orders from Victoria," you wink.

"She's managed to avoid Victoria thus far, and has asked me not to tell her that she's here," Ralph explains. He takes one last look at Katie, a proud smile on his face, and leads you to the door.

"Would she care?" you ask.

"Only because she'd expect to be waited on," he says with a roll of his eyes as you proceed to the next room. "I feel terrible for not making sure that Katie was safe that night."

"Darling, I believe you were a tiny bit preoccupied that night. I seem to recall something about a frightened woman who wouldn't let go of your hand?"

He smiles and kisses your temple, and the search for Victoria continues.

You finally spot her in a lounge, surrounded by the girlfriends you'd spent the first part of your week trying to avoid.

"Victoria," Ralph says stiffly, when you approach from behind.

"Oh, there you are, Ralph," she says with a glance back at him. "Some old lady told me that you were here."

You bristle, at both her reaction to finding out that her brother was alive and her assessment of your aunt.

"I've been bored out of my skull," she whines. "There's nothing to do on this bloody boat." She hangs her head off the back of her chair, and her eyes land on you. She smirks. "No need to ask what you've been up to."

Ralph tenses. You glare.

"What will you do when we arrive in New York?" he asks.

"Find a bottle of decent champagne," she grins, still upside-down. "And get Uncle Albert to buy me a new wardrobe."

Ralph watches her for a moment, calculating. She rolls her eyes when she gets sick of the staring contest and sits up.

"Alright," he finally says. He squeezes your hand and turns, and you follow.

"Where are you going, baby brother?" she pouts.

"To enjoy the company of my wife," he calls over his shoulder, not slowing his pace. You grin, imagining the look of shock on her snobby face when she works out what he's said.

Deciding you'd had enough exercise for the day, you return to your room. You sit on the bed and ponder the what comes next. What will the weather be like when you arrive? Will there be a media frenzy? Will Ralph's uncle be there waiting? What about your parents? How will you find them? How long until you can go home?

Pain flashes across Ralph's face at the mention of home.

"What is it, Ralph?" you ask, scooting closer.

"I'll have to cross the Atlantic again to get home," he whimpers. "What if I never stop being afraid? What if I can never go home again?" Ralph lets out a sob, and covers his face with his hands.

"Then we'll make our own home." You pull him to you, and he buries his face in your neck. "It's a big continent, Ralph. We'll go exploring and find a perfect place, just for us. Anywhere you want. Because home is wherever we're together."

You rub soothing circles on his back until he sits up with a final sniffle. You reach out to dry his cheeks.

"I love you, Ralph."

"I love you, too," he mutters.

"We're going to be alright."

He nods. You hold out your hand, and he takes it with a shaky smile. You lace your fingers together and squeeze. Everything is going to be alright, as long as you have each other.

You decide to skip lunch, but join Molly for dinner. She's made lots of new friends these last few days, and invites you to sit at a table full of other survivors. Mostly women. You can feel their eyes on your Ralph. It unsettles you both. You eat quickly, speak only when spoken to, and retreat back to your room as soon as possible. You sit on the bed, because there are no chairs.

Aunt Molly comes in right behind you, before you can discuss the awkward dinner, and perches on the edge of her own bed.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "Most of their men didn't make it. The officers wouldn't let them in the boats."

Ralph turns red.

"There were no more women in line," you argue. "The officer told him to get in. There were a several men on our boat. In others, too!"

"I know, don't go jumping down my throat," she says, putting her hands up. "I'm just telling you why you're getting odd looks."

Ralph's face is on fire.

"I can't wait to get off this ship," you mutter, blinking away tears. You will not feel guilty for getting to keep your love, even if others weren't so fortunate.

"Should be there in a few hours," she says softly. "I'm going back to the lounge to wait for news. I'll come get you as soon as we get there."

She gets up and heads toward the door.

"Aunt Molly?" you call.

She turns back, hand on the doorknob.

"We got married last night."

She smiles. "That's exactly the kind of good news I needed to hear. Congratulations."

You both mutter a "thank you", and her eyes light up.

"Oh, your mother's head is going to explode," she says excitedly. "Your payment for the trip will be making sure I'm there when you tell her. I have to see this. This is going to be more fun than hand-delivering the invitation to my own wedding!"

You laugh, and Molly winks. "I'll see you kids in a few hours."

When the door closes, you look to Ralph and grin.

"You know, Mr. Penbury…" you say mischievously. "My aunt has stated her intention to be away for several hours. I do believe that gives us time to officially consummate our marriage."

"It does, doesn't it?" he grins, eyes darkening.

"Unless you have a better way to spend our last few hours here?"

"Absolutely not," he says, mouth crashing against yours.

You were officially consummated and back to presentable when your aunt returned to the cabin to fetch you that night.

You wait in the lounge with the other first class survivors for what feels like an eternity. When you finally start moving, things become a blur. You hold tightly to Ralph's hand and follow him blindly through the pouring rain and the slippery walkways. You keep your head down, only vaguely aware of a large crowd on the dock and a lot of flashing cameras.

"Ralph!" Victoria's unmistakable voice cuts through the chaos. "Uncle Albert is here!"

Ralph shouts for Aunt Molly ahead of him, and the three of you make your way over to Victoria and Uncle Albert. Quick introductions are made, and Ralph's uncle leads you to a motorcar. You end up sitting on Ralph's lap. Aunt Molly and Victoria sit side by side, and Ralph's uncle sits up front with his driver.

The cameras continue flashing. You're grateful when the car begins to move. You look down at Ralph and reach out to wipe the raindrops off of his face. You're all soaked and shivering. The ride passes slowly and in silence, even with Victoria present. Apparently all her girlfriends were on their own. Had she even said goodbye to them?

You watch the buildings of New York pass by through the window, thankful to be back on solid ground with the people you love.

(And Victoria.)

[wardencallings]

I was inspired by Harding's unsent letter to her mother to write one I think she'd pen after getting together with Rook and just before the fight with Ghilan'nain. Enjoy!

Ma,

It’s almost time. We have only weeks until Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan perform their ritual and try to end the world. I won’t lie to you, I’m scared. Rook says we’re ready, and we have so many allies now, but Ma, it still seems impossible. Although, I would’ve said the same about a dwarf having magic, and look at me now. Moving rocks with my mind and lyrium in my blood!

Your letter has kept my spirits up. I read it all the time, and I’m always wondering if I’m making you proud out here. I’m really trying, Ma. I’ve been helping the dwarves of Kal-Sharok learn more about the Stone. Neve and I have been tending to the people in Dock Town in Mintrathous, and I’m even helping Davrin train Assan so that the griffon can become a great Warden someday. 

I’ve been keeping Taash company since their mom died. It’s made me think about you a lot. I hope you’re safe in Ferelden. Rook let me read the letters from the Inquisitor about the south and Maker, Ma, I can’t believe things have gotten so bad since I left. Do you know if the farm is okay? What about our neighbors? Have you heard from any of my friends? I’m just grateful that the Inquisitor got you to safety. I owe her so much. Hopefully saving the world will be enough to repay her.

I keep thinking about my time in the Inquisition. I think it was easier being one of the little people who existed in the background of the Inquisitor’s inner circle. I liked it there. I felt like I was a part of something, but I wasn’t in charge of anything but scouting and sometimes Leliana's ravens. Now, I have all these responsibilities, and I’m always close to the action. Almost too close. Speaking of close…

There’s something I have to tell you before whatever comes next. I’m seeing someone. I definitely wasn’t expecting it, and I don’t think he was either, but Rook and I are together. It just happened. For months I thought he was just being nice. It wouldn’t be the first time I misread someone’s kindness as something more. How embarrassing would it have been to assume there were feelings involved and be wrong? Things would’ve been so awkward! Then I started having nightmares and he offered to stay by my side and then I kissed him and almost killed him and he still wanted to be with me! 

I don’t know what will happen when we take on the gods, and honestly, I don’t really want to guess. All I know is Rook promised me that he’ll be by my side no matter what. He takes care of me, Ma. It’s almost like he knows what I need before I need it. Just the other day he showed up with a pot of my favorite stew, just the way you make it. He’d remembered me telling him about it weeks ago and asked Lucanis for help putting it together. And I caught him a couple of days ago waiting for me in my room, whispering to my plants about how much he likes me. I’d told him that talking to them makes them grow stronger, and telling them happy things keeps them healthy, so he chose to talk about me! 

I promise when this is over I’ll introduce you to him. Just maybe avoid showing him the baby portraits of me? And please don’t tell him that story about me falling off my horse? Or actually, don’t tell him any of your stories. He thinks I’m cool, Ma. Let’s not ruin that yet.

Love,

Lace

[holly-louisexox]

Ribcage X Andy Biersack- Part 18

Masterlist

"There's one thing you should know about me Delia Vincent, I don't date. Got no heart to break and emptiness is safe, keep it that way."

He was adamant in his choices…

…But then things changed.

"Okay, earpiece test in 3, 2, 1." Delia states before sending the earpiece noise through to the guys who all give her a thumbs up in response; Andy does so without looking in her direction. "Okay great, if you could go ahead and start with Wake Up so I can get the mix correct then we'll move onto Faithless to test the backing of the bell."

Just as the band started playing, that's when Shevy walks into the sound tech studio and takes a seat next to Delia, a look of concern on the girl's face.

"How are you feeling today D?" Shevy asks "And please don't lie, I saw the tears you were fighting last night."

"Does it matter how I feel Shevy? Andy made his feelings very clear last night and even then I knew deep down it would never work between us anyway." Delia sighs. "Forgetting how cruel and unkind he can be, Andy will go back to Los Angeles and I'll return to Ohio, we'll be miles apart anyway."

"You know Andy is originally from Ohio, right? He's always going back to visit there." Shevy states.

"Shevy, I honestly don't care anymore, I'm done with him. I'm not going to keep torturing myself. I'm an idiot for even sleeping with the guy, whatever I'm feeling towards him I need to forget about it."

"You like him don't you?" Shevy smiles lightly.

"I do, I really do, and I know I shouldn't. Every single cell in my brain is screaming at me to let him go, but every fibre of my body almost begs for him to touch me again, not even for just sex. He makes out to be this guy who doesn't care for people and who doesn't believe in love, but sex with him he's so gentle and almost loving and that's what truly confuses me." Delia sighs turning back to look at the soundboard.

"Okay, I'm not going to ask more about the situation because you're starting to look upset and the last thing I want to do is make you cry. All I'm going to say though is just see what happens, maybe give him a chance to come to his senses. This tour he seems to be more willing and open with his emotions, something I haven't seen in a while, I like to think it's because of you." Shevy explains "If you need me I'll be backstage okay hun?"

"Okay, see you soon Shevy."

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

"So what's the plan after Seattle then boys?" CC asks "Are we getting drinks to celebrate the tour like always?"

"Is that such a good idea CC?" Lonny asks "With what's been going on in Seattle I'm not sure that's such a great idea."

"Nonsense, it'll be fine. We'll have security with us, plus if we stick together everything will be fine." CC tries to reassure the youngest member of the band.

Soundcheck finished about 10 minutes ago so everyone was just relaxing backstage before VIP started in 2 hours. Despite the conversations that had been happening in the room, the tension was still there; Andy's outburst yesterday made the group feel very awkward in the presence of both Andy and Delia, Shevy and Lonny feeling nothing but sorrow for their new friend whilst Jake, Jinxx and CC had guesses of what went down.

"I agree with Lonny, I'm not sure I'm fond of that idea CC." Shevy agrees with Lonny.

"Could we maybe talk about something other than Seattle please?" Delia speaks up whilst staring into space. All she could feel was Andy's eyes on her and she was trying desperately to ignore his gaze, if she looked at him she knew she'd crack.

"We better move from the conversation in case Delia faints again, I can't guarantee I'll be able to catch her this time." Andy mumbles loud enough for everyone to hear; Delia felt her heart shatter more. Why was he being like this? Was this all part of his game? To make Delia feel like she could love him only for him to rip the platform from underneath her and leave her hanging for her life?

"I'll be back, I just remembered I need to make a call quickly." Delia stutters slightly before rushing out of the room, Andy's eyes of course following her whilst the rest of the band look at Andy in confusion. They were pleasantly surprised with hope to think that he was changing back to his old self, sadly it seemed that they were all wrong.

-----------

"Delia honey, I thought you had a show today?" The voice of Delia's mum comes through the phone in shock and happiness.

"Yeah, we do." Delia smiles sadly as she speaks through the phone. "Mum, I think I've made a mistake." It's then Delia feels the tears start to roll down her cheeks; Delia has always been close to her mum, she would always talk gossip and men with her. Her favourite memory is how her mum would always make her a hot drink they would both share biscuits whilst sharing the news that had occurred, her mum was always the best at giving advice.

"Oh Petal, what's happened? I'm sure you've done nothing wrong." Her mum coos over the phone; this would be when her mum would wrap her up into a hug if they were together in person.

"I slept with the lead singer and... I think I've grown to like him." Delia admits letting out a broken sigh.

"Oh petal, I wouldn't call that a mistake." Delia's mum was always an optimist in situations like this "Trust me when I say that most people who sleep together end up catching feelings for one another, chances are he probably feels the same."

"But he doesn't mum." Delia whimpers as she feels more tears fall down her cheeks "I feel like an idiot, I knew he didn't do commitment yet I put myself in that position."

"How many times has it been Delia?" Her mum was never one where things were too much information, Delia had always been able to share things from the first time she had her period to when she lost her virginity and panicked about contraception and safe sex.

"Twice." Delia admits.

"Okay, well I would advise on not sleeping with him again and let him make the next move. But most men who are non-committable don't often sleep with the same person more than once." Delia's mum always was a voice of reason, always trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"It hurts mum, he's said some really hurtful things and it's hard to hide that I'm not affected when really I am." Delia cries before telling her mum about yesterday's outburst.

"Do you want the truth Delia?" her mum asks her, her silence confirming to her mum that she in fact did want the truth. "I think he's damaged Petal and people do weird things when they are damaged. From what you've told me it seems that he holds an interest in you, but he's likely battling with his head." 

"What do I do mum?" Delia asks.

"Don't overthink it. Let him come to you. If he truly does hold interest, which I believe he does, he needs time to win the battle in his head. Sometimes our mind can be our own biggest enemy." Delia's mum states.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Delia nods even though she knew that her mum could not see such a gesture. "I erm, I should head back. The VIP starts soon then we have the show."

"Yes, of course, good luck dear. I'll see you next week when you're home." 

"I'll see you next week mum." 

Time is what we want most but what we use worst. Life teaches us to make good use of time while time teaches us of the value of life.