#otp: finally we're found

[jerzwriter]

I was inspired by this OTP Question from @kyra75 : How would they react to someone flirting with them? Flirting with their significant other. Kyra asked for all four of my pairings, and I decided I'd write a little fic for each one. Tobias x Casey's can be found here. If inspiration hits, I'll write one for Trystan x Carolina (CoP) and Eli x Zoe (WTD), too. Thanks so much for the inspiration, Kyra!

Book: Open Heart (Book 3 Timeline) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Kaycee MacClennan (F!MC) Rating: Teen Words: 2,005 Summary: Ethan and Kaycee are on their way to the first conference they're attending together since making their relationship public. But it seems that everyone didn't receive the memo. Fortunately, they don't get jealous.

A/N: Participating in @choicesprompts Flufftober #7 - Acceptance.

The sun was just starting to peek through the Boston sky when Ethan and Kaycee emerged from the lobby of their apartment building, causing the befuddled doorman to do a double-take as Ethan nodded his way. Seeing him up at this ungodly hour (for a morning jog... of all things) was commonplace, but a Kaycee spotting this early in the day was almost unheard of. Still, she was all but glowing as she hopped into their waiting cab.  

Once nestled in the back seat, she leaned over and planted a kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek. “Finally! We're attending a conference where we don’t have to pretend we're not together anymore!"

Ethan smiled, but there was a hint of judgment in it. “Why is that so important? It’s not as if we intend to put on a soft porn performance in the reception area?”

“Which is really a pity,” Kaycee laughed. “I’m sure some of the old fuddy-duddies in attendance could use a pointer or two. It would be a public service, really."

This time, he smiled genuinely, pulling her under his arm with a chuckle. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

“Oh, I have some ideas,” she teased. “But seriously! Aren't you excited? We can hold hands, acknowledge each other, and we don’t have to pretend we’re unbothered when others flirt with us.”

“Well, that was never an issue," Ethan insisted. "I don’t get jealous. Jealousy is for people with trust issues, and I trust you.”

Kaycee raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a smile. “And you should trust me, but, babe, you do get jealous sometimes."

“No," he insisted. " I don’t."

“All right,” she smiled with amusement. She didn’t push further, but in her mind, it was game on.

Santa Monica was beautiful at this time of year, and their resort was already bustling when they arrived, filled with tourists and conventioneers alike. Doctors from all over America were milling about, networking over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. It was an atmosphere that Kaycee thrived in, but Ethan did his very best to avoid. But one thing was certain: the atmosphere was ripe for flirtation, and Kaycee was already thinking of the long game.

She was the first to experience it, only moments after they arrived. As they headed toward the registration table, a tall, handsome surgeon from New York spotted Kaycee and all but jogged over to greet her. His hazel eyes were alight as he neared her. “Dr. MacClennan, correct?” he grinned with a bit too much confident charm. “We met at the cardiothoracic symposium in Chicago last year, and I’ve been looking forward to running into you again ever since.”

Kaycee politely returned his smile but stepped closer to Ethan, trying to give the suave surgeon an easy way out.

“That’s so kind of you to say,” she replied. “And you are?”

“Dr. Barrington from NYU-Langone,” he smiled, so taken in with Kaycee he never even saw Ethan standing by her side. “I was wondering if you’re free tonight. My hospital is hosting a private dinner, and most of the convention’s keynote speakers will be there. I’d love for you to join me if you can.”

Kaycee opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out, Ethan spoke calm, but direct. “We have plans,” was all he said, but Kaycee swore his tone brought the temperature in the crowded room down ten degrees.

Suddenly aware of Ethan, the surgeon blinked. “Oh. Well, I see.” He turned to Kaycee, undeterred; there may have even been a wink. “Well, next time?”

Ethan cursed under his breath as Dr. Barrington walked away, and Kaycee stifled a laugh. “But you don’t get jealous, right, hon?”

“I’m not jealous,” he shot back. “I was just doing my part to save you from an extremely boring dinner when you have much better plans with me.”

“Oh, that's what that was,” she grinned, straightening the collar of Ethan’s linen shirt. “And what do those plans involve?”

He dropped his lips to her ear, whispering in a way that made Kaycee forget all about this little game. “It involves you, me, a bottle of champagne, our bed, and very little clothing.”

“You’re right,” she giggled, looping her arm in his. “Your plans sound much more appealing.”

Throughout the conference, there were many more flirtatious encounters, each more entertaining than the last. At one of the panel sessions, a beautiful conference organizer set her sights on Ethan. A statuesque woman with long, dark hair and dazzling blue eyes moved to Ethan’s side. The compliments she bestowed on him were flowing faster than the wine, and she leaned in just a little too close.

“Dr. Ramsey,” she beamed. “I’m Dr. Monica Rivera. I’ve been dying to meet you in person.”

“Have you,” he replied. “Then I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

“Doubtful,” she simpered, eyeing him from head to toe. “I’ve always found your research to be so inspiring,” she said, brushing her hand against his arm. “I’d love to discuss some thoughts I have with you. Perhaps over a drink later?”  

Ethan, who was entirely focused on his presentation, didn’t have the time for this. “I don’t drink,” he stated flatly.

Dr. Rivera’s face faltered, but she recovered quickly. “Well, then, over coffee?”

Ethan glanced at her, annoyance etched on his face. “I don’t drink coffee either.”

Kaycee, who had been observing the exchange from a few feet away, bit back a laugh as the woman walked away, clearly confused and discouraged. Ethan, focused as ever, was already looking over his notes when Kaycee appeared at his side.

“You don’t drink alcohol or coffee?” She laughed. “Are you about to tell me you aren't really a doctor? You don't like opera? Because that’s all that’s left of your identity, sir!”

He turned to her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Were you jealous, my dear?”

“What?" She laughed. "Not at all. Entertained? Yes. Amused? Without question. But jealous, nah. She’s got nothing on me.”

Ethan leaned over, the scent of Kaycee’s perfume intoxicating as he surreptitiously placed a kiss on her cheek. “Now, that’s the truth.”

As dusk began to fall, they met up at a cocktail hour by the pool. They had spent the majority of the day attending separate workshops, and Kaycee was looking forward to catching up with Ethan. But before they could enjoy a drink together, another attendee, this time a young doctor from Johns Hopkins, slid up next to her.

“You must be Kaycee MacClennan,” he said, flashing a bright smile. “You’re even more beautiful than I heard.”

Kaycee raised an eyebrow. “It's Doctor Kaycee MacClennan,” she retorted. “And, really? That’s what you heard? We’re at a medical conference with our peers, and that’s what you’ve heard about me?”

“Well, among other things,” he replied smoothly, his eyes lingering on her. “I also hear you’ve been doing some groundbreaking work at Edenbrook. Perhaps you could fill me in over dinner. What do you say?”

Kaycee crossed her arms, amazed the man couldn’t see how annoyed she was. “Well,” she began when she felt a strong arm encircle her waist.

“We’re not available for dinner,” Ethan declared, his steel blue eyes daring the charlatan to say another word.

The young doctor blinked, clearly thrown. “Oh, uh, I didn’t realize—”

“Well, now you do,” Ethan said dismissively as the doctor scurried away.

Kaycee couldn’t help but chuckle as they walked away. “Thanks for the save, babe. But I had it under control.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Ethan replied.

“But you had to step in,” she grinned. “Because you might have been a little jealous?”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “He was wasting your time, and I wanted to be with you."

“Right,” she teased, nudging him playfully. “Jealousy had nothing to do with it.”

The day continued the same way, with Ethan maintaining a stoic front as others flirted relentlessly with Kaycee, and she quietly relished watching him jump in every single time. She couldn’t wait to tease him about it later, but that would have to wait until after the final reception – where everything was about to change.

Dr. Allison Porter was the star of the conference, the main keynote speaker, and a world-renowned cardiologist with a smile that could light up a room. She was holding court tonight, and everyone wanted her attention, but she was only interested in one doctor from Boston. When she spotted him alone at the bar, she knew it was time to make her move.

“Dr. Ramsey, I presume,” she grinned, extending a well-manicured hand as she approached.

“Dr. Porter,” he nodded politely while shaking her hand. “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise, I’m sure. And please, call me Allison." Her eyes twinkled as she assessed Ethan, though he didn't seem to notice. “I’ve been watching you from afar for some time now. The work you’ve done at Edenbrook is truly awe-inspiring.”

“Well,” Ethan laughed softly. “I’m very proud of the work we've achieved, but awe-inspiring may be a bit of hyperbole.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself, Dr. Ramsey. You should hear how others speak of you at the conference.”

“Really?” he smirked, raising his glass of Scotch to his lips. “I’m usually better off not knowing what my colleagues are saying about me when I’m not in earshot.”

Allison tossed her head back, laughing much too enthusiastically, and that caught Kaycee’s attention from across the room. Amused, she grabbed a flute of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray and shifted positions so she could get a better view of the show taking place. She wondered how long it would take for Ethan to become flustered or have that familiar scowl take over his face. But as she continued to watch, it never occurred. Instead, he seemed taken in by the conversation, which was fine... until Dr. Porter placed her hand on Ethan’s arm.

“Excuse me,” Kaycee said with a plastered smile as she turned on her heel and made her way across the crowded room. Allison’s voice was lithe, almost sultry, as Kaycee approached from behind.

“Ethan, I think you and I should definitely...collaborate... sometime. I have no doubt that we could...accomplish great things together.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Kaycee announced as she took her place at Ethan's side. “I’ve been looking for you! I should have known to check the bar first!”

“Yes,” he replied. “I’m surprised that wasn’t your first thought. Kaycee, this is Dr. Allison Porter, Dr. Porter, my teammate and partner, Dr. Kaycee MacClennan.”

“Oh,” Dr. Porter said, attempting to hide her surprise. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve read your work as well, Dr. MacClennan...  didn’t realize that you two were...”

“Yes, we are,” Kaycee beamed confidently. “Very happily so.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed slightly before she took her leave, and Kaycee turned to Ethan with a sarcastic smirk. “Collaboration, huh?” She said, taking a sip of Ethan’s drink. “Collaboration, my ass. She wanted... something else.”

Ethan cleared his throat, obviously amused. “Are we... what’s the word... jealous, Dr. MacClennan?”

“What? Me?” Kaycee replied. “Absolutely not! I don’t get jealous. I trust you!”

“OK,” Ethan smiled softly. “Whatever you say.” He moved in closer. “Why don’t we get some fresh air? I'd like to get away from all these people lusting after us.”

"Hmm. We do have that effect on people, don't we?" She smiled. "But you can be honest. You just want to get me alone. Don't you?"

"Always," he growled in her ear.

They left and walked along the beach hand-in-hand, their footsteps mingling with the sound of waves crashing against the shore. As they recounted the day’s events, Kaycee nudged Ethan with her shoulder.

“Admit it,” she said, smiling. “You got jealous. More than once."

He glanced at her, his face still stoic but his eyes warm. “Jealousy is beneath me. But you, you may have turned a slight shade of green when you saw Dr. Porter speaking to me. But don't worry, I think it’s kind of cute.”

"What! I was not jealous!" Kaycee insisted, contemplating kicking sand at him if it wouldn't have made her look like a child. "I was not jealous at all!"

Ethan gave her a long look, and finally, a ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of Kaycee's mouth. “All right. Maybe... a little," she grinned. "But admit it, you got a little jealous today, too."

"Fine," he surrendered. "I did."

Kaycee grinned, slipping her hand into his. “Thought so.”

Kaycee shook her head as they continued to walk. "What is it about these things? The minute the lectures are over, it's like someone pumps an aphrodisiac into the air."

Ethan laughed but agreed with her assessment. "I never understood it," he said. "These are professional events. People should act... professionally. I would never lower myself to behaving that way."

Kaycee's eyes flicked to his, the moonlight showing the shadows of her smile. "Seriously? Do you remember Miami? I was there, you know."

"That's different," he insisted. "That was... you."

"Mmm-hmm. But you had been with me in Boston plenty of times, but it took Miami for you to finally come to - then quickly take loss of - your senses."

Ethan stopped in his tracks, his hands finding Kaycee's waist and pulling her near. He kissed her so passionately, so intensely, that she forgot what she was saying - which may have been the very point. He pulled away with a playful grin.

"Enough of this. What do you say we head back to our room and remind ourselves why no one else here stood a chance?"

"Sounds good to me," she said, jumping into his arms. "And Ethan?"

"Yes?"

"I really wasn't jealous."

"All right, Kaycee," he winked. "Whatever you say."

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.

[hwsrazzledazzle]

Hey there, everyone! As we're deep into the anthology's creation period, we've decided it's time to have the mod team introduce themselves!

Without further ado, here's the mod team of this run's anthology!

"Hey there! I’m fizzyCherryCola and I was born to be nerd trash. You can short form my name to “fizzy” if that’s easier. I started writing fanfics in January 2021, and I’ve found that I love writing. I enjoy building stories and sharing them with people, specifically, historical Hetalia stories. My OTP is FrUK, and they occupy my headspace every gosh-darn day. Poke me if you wanna chat about history, anime in general, or if you just wanna say hi! My Tumblr blog is https://fizzycherrycola.tumblr.com/ and my AO3 is https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzyCherryCola "

"Hi, I'm Saku. I've been in the hetalia fandom since about 2010. I roleplay and write fanfic and am currently working on improving my art so I can do fanart too. I'm trans and non-binary, using he/him, or they/them pronouns and am a first gen autistic Latino residing in the USA with family from Peru and Chile. I have a general knowledge of Peruvian and Chilean history and culture as well as some ocs I need to work on, but in hetalia I usually focus on the history, current events and culture of aph South Italy, aph Prussia/east Germany, aph Iceland, aph Belarus, aph Slovakia, and aph Bulgaria. I also like history in general, video games, cats, anime, folklore, fashion, and mythology. I have a personal at Gilbertgeilschmidt.tumblr.com, and a hetalia headcanon sideblog at fioredistella.tumblr.com finally a AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saku777 "

"Hi! I am zen (she/her), a writer, a 10+ year hetalia veteran, and a Taiwanese tea connoisseur. I enjoy exploring the idea of “personifications” through a mix of history, IRL foreign relations, culture, identity, and aspects of magical realism. I tend to focus on Taiwan, as it is my home and longstanding interest, but I have also looked into surrounding nations and their relations in East Asia, as well as a wider range of topics like fashion history, Renaissance Italy, and Germany etc, stemming from close friendships and personal experiences. What is “Taiwan”? is a question I have consistently sought to answer and reflect upon throughout my time in the fandom as well as, increasingly in recent years, outside of it—a long and continuous process of learning and relearning—and I look forward to exploring that once more in this narrative-focused issue of Razzle Dazzle with you all!"

"Hey y'all! I'm Toma, a Filipino artist and writer who's been lurking around the fandom for over a decade. I use he/they pronouns, and am currently taking an MFA grad program. My interest in Hetalia ties with my fascination with narratives in history, both in regards to national narratives and the stories of people that go against that. Usually my focus tends to switch between US history and Philippine history, although I have a broader interest in Southeast Asia and occaisionally Central Europe. Aside from the use of narrative in history, I'm also interested in folklore and food history! You can find my art blog over at https://agentomato.tumblr.com/ and my personal at https://kerouacs.tumblr.com/ . I look forward to seeing what y'all will come up with!"

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/royaltealovingkookiness/187489175766/i-think-the-anon-who-sent-the-zuko-lost-azula-in?source=share

Your thoughts?

(I'm only mentioning the ones I don't agree with)

"Oogling him when he's half-naked"

As a brazilian, this one was HILARIOUS to me. He just has his shirt off because it's summer and bending is a physical exercise and he's going to sweat. This isn't him dramatically taking his shirt off at The Beach and a ton of fangirls appearing to drool all over him. This isn't sexual.

She's literally watching him and AANG practice firebending. That's all. Why are we making it about attraction, and why are we assuming she could only possibly be looking at Zuko when Aang is there too? By that logic, Ozai and Aang were checking each other out during their fight in the finale, and so were Zhao and Zuko during their Agni Kai - after all, they're LOOKING at EACH OTHER when NEITHER OF THEM has a SHIRT on.

"Note Katara's body language"

Literally what about it? I legitimately don't understand this one. Touching her hair is somehow weird or flirty? It's just hair!

Is it because she's sitting next to Zuko? What, she's not allowed to be too close to a guy without it being suggestive/flirty in some way? Again, as a brazilian, I am VERY confused. Somebody help me out here.

"I don't think anyone could argue sibling vibes in a scene in which they are visibly disgusted at the thought of being mistaken for a couple"

What? Like, sure, I can see SOME siblings just laughing it off and correcting the person who made a mistake, but being grossed out is a 100% valid reaction.

As a girl that grew up being told "You saying you don't like this boy can ONLY mean that you secretly like him" and had to hear an unhinged woman call my 11-year-old self "her future daughter in law" just because I was friends with her son, I am BEGGING people to quit it with that bullshit. Being weirded out is not "admiting" there are feelings there. Stop it. Sometimes people are shy, sometimes they just genuinely don't like each other that way. Stop projecting.

(Also the only correct ways to do the mistaken for a couple thing is with the characters either just rolling with it "to avoid explaining" or to one of them to exaggerate on the awkwad denial and accidentally offend/upset the other, like it happened with Kataang in Cave Of Two Lovers)

"I don't remember any scene of Zuko or Katara fighting side by side with their sibling like they did with each other"

Also if we're talking side-by-side fighting stance that screams romantic symbolism, let's be fucking serious here. The dragons literally make a heart.

"You can only want to see embarrassing/cute baby pictures of your friend if you want to date them, and siblings totally don't use old childhood photos to annoying each other"

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Co-parenting"

Fuck off, they're children. Traumatized children. ALL of them. They've all done stupid shit, and they've all been exasperated by their friends' doing dumb shit. Found family doesn't mean we NEED one or more characters to play the "parent" role.

Katara actively resents the idea of being seen more as parent than as a friend, and Zuko JUST discovered the revolutionary concept of "Wait, a father burning his child's face is NOT normal????" Co-parenting my ass.

"Bed/bison sharing. Very unsibling like"

Katara literally shares the bed/Appa with Sokka during the entire Blue Spirit episode. And like this person pointed out themselves, the Gaang shares "a bed" and sleep next to each other all the time. Be thrilled that your OTP is having a moment that you could re-imagine as romantic, but let's not pretend any kind of intimacy MUST be sexual/romantic in nature.

"The scene of Katara comforting Zuko has parallels with his first scene with Mai at the start of the season"

This one was totally okay until the bullshit of "Mai's kiss and hug didn't help Zuko feel better at all and after this he shuts her out." During all of Nightmares And Daydreams we see him cuddling with her, Mai trying to cheer him up, and him even confessing his inner-turmoil about having to essentially put on an act to please Ozai.

She grew a lot as a character and Zuko didn't take her joke in that first episode to heart. He is doing the exact opposite of shutting her out, he actively turns to her for comfort.

"The physical distance between them shrunk"

Yes, and? Seriously, what about it? Is there a line missing here? Am I not seeing something? WHAT IS GOING ON?

"The lightning to the heart feels like a romantic scene"

I was gonna let it slide, like I was doing with all the others "This could work for a romantic relationship, but it's not inherently romantic", but that last line I just can't stand by. DRAMA IS NOT THE SAME AS ROMANCE.

"The simmilar scene for a canon ship doesn't have the same focus on the hands as this one does"

Hand-close ups are exclusive to married people, it is known *rolls eyes*

"It looks like they're about to kiss"

Bruh, what? Looking up at someone who is looking down at you is like leaning in for a kiss?

"Many of these scenes (not the ship-baiting ones obviously) could have been written, framed, animated in a purely platonic way, giving it more of a playful sibling vibe, but the creators deliberately chose overtly romantic or at least ambiguous tones"

[wexhappyxfew]

It is my first time writing anything to anyone, and I’m a bit nervous. I’ve been reading super bullets non-stop. It is just too good. I saw your prompt list and I thought that I needed to know more about the characters. Could you please write about Judy and Rosie?

P.S. Sorry if it’s a long list, I got too excited! Love you 😍

1st prompt list Touch

2.running fingers through hair

16. massaging them

34. washing the other’s body( me trying to be naughty 😆)

22. falling asleep on the other’s shoulder

2nd prompt list OTP

20. “Why do you insist on misunderstanding me?”

24. “Don’t say that to me. That’s not fair.”

30. “Leave me alone.” 

“Is that really what you want?” 

21. “Then take me with you.”

3rd prompt list Subtle Love

21.sharing their food with the other

7.giving the other their space, knowing they need it

8.enjoying the sound of the other's voice

9. distracting the other when they see they're distressed and close to freaking out

HEY ANON!!! thanks so much for sending this in! and apologizes for the time it took to get to it! finals week was stressful and now that i finally have time, i was excited to get to this! thank you for the variety of prompts you sent!!! it gave me a ton of options (which truly thank you, your excitement made my day to see!) i went with 8. enjoying the sound of the other's voice, which i found to work best!! i truly hope you enjoy! <3 (and as a first time, you did lovely! thank you more than anything for stopping by <3)

through the war

(a/n): a look into the early days of judy x rosie for those who want to get more flak house rosie and judy hehe!!! this is an idea i've had for some time and i think it finally fit here!!! :D i really loved this prompt and the way the writing went, more subtle at times, but really showing rosie and judy's connection in a way i loved! thank you and enjoy!

Sun-kissed and water-soaked skin were the highlight of the late morning as Carrie hung over the front side of the boat, absolutely losing her mind on Pappy in the other wooden excuse for a canoe, who was leaned back, splashing water over towards her as they cruised by one another.

"Fighters 12:00, Pauli!" Carrie yelled from the front of the boat, looking back over her shoulder towards both Paulina, in the back of the boat and Judy in the middle, "Get 'em good!" Laughter ensued as the three of them passed the boat from Rosie's Riveters, Pappy Lewis in the back splashing with all his might at them, and Paulina splashing back.

"Get 'em, girls!" cheers from the bank called, a few of the other women from Silver Bullets enjoying the friendly competition between the two B-17 groups that had gotten reprieve at the flak house. Carrie maneuvered the boat around a bit and looked back at the two women. Judy caught her gaze with a grin and watched as Carrie shifted her weight, leaning the boat a hard right as it spun.

"We're gonna hit 'em where it hurts, got that?" Carrie said, and Paulina mocked a salute as Judy let out a delighted cheer, a 'whoop-whoop' following, "Pappy Lewis we're coming for your head!"

"Not as long as I'm here!" Bailey yelled back at them, the boat nearing, splashing ensuing - only to end in the hard rock of Rosie's Riveters against Silver Bullets, enough for the boat to flop sideways and the three girls to go crashing into the water. Judy's body struggled a bit beneath the harsh suffocation of the cool river water, but she pushed herself to the surface, coming into an atmosphere of laughter, light and cheers. A smile crossed her face as she squinted her eyes open and found Carrie and Paulina in her field of view, Rosie's Riveters in the back, making way towards them.

"We'll get them next time," Carrie said with a laugh, running a wet hand down her face as she blew air from her cheeks and grinned, cheeks glowing red from laughter, "you have my permission to go as deranged as you please, Judy."

"On it." Judy said with a chuckle as the boat came over towards them and Bailey, Milburn and Lewis were offering their hands forward to pull them up.

"Got you there, Bergie," Bailey said as he and Milburn pulled up Carrie first, before reaching down for Judy.

"If I didn't have Pappy in my ear earlier making bets, then maybe we woulda won, asshole." Carrie said as Judy grabbed hold of Bailey and Milburn's hands and they pulled her up and out of the water and into the boat, laughing. Paulina was pulled up and let out a chuckle as she collapsed on the seat beside Bailey.

"I call rematch!" Paulina yelled as the boat burst into laughter.

Judy slowly glanced over her shoulder and up the embankment a bit, past where Annie was lounged up, aviators on, snoozing with Frank, the orange cat, by her side, and Marianne laughing with Margie and Kennedy by her side, and focused instead on Rosie Rosenthal. Her heart warmed the slightest bit at the gentle look of him - the loose blue button-up, the book in his hands, how relaxed he looked, sitting there up with the dazzling haze of the morning-blue sky and the glowing green of the trees and the grass around him. Suddenly, she wanted to be sitting right there next to him.

"Hey, you guys go on for another round, I'll sit this one out," Judy said, wringing some water from her hair with a graceful smile to the group, "might head in for lunch soon."

"You sure, Rybinski?" Pappy asked, "We could switch up the teams, I'll make you team lead?" Judy smiled and shook her head.

"It's all good, you guys have fun," she said, reaching the edge of the boat and flipping herself into the water and dunking herself under, the coolness of the water soaking her warmed skin. Coming up above the water, she looked up at the group and grinned.

"Carrie and Pauli? Make 'em pay, alright?" Judy said as she began swimming away, hearing the 'rah-rah' cheers from Carrie and Paulina, splashes following. Judy swam to the shoreline and then pulled herself from the water before heading over to the group on the grass.

"Looking great out there, Jude," Margie said with a smile, "I'd hate to be on the opposite side of that." Judy let out a laugh as Kennedy passed her a towel to which she wrapped quickly around herself and smiled, wiping water from her eyes.

"Well, I think Carrie and Pauli are gonna get 'em back pretty well off, so," she said looking at the group there, "you're all in for a treat."

"Where you going?" Marianne asked Judy as she wrapped the towel closer and stepped towards the hill. Judy's cheeks flushed and she bit back her lip.

"Saying hi to Lieutenant Rosenthal." Judy said quickly, "He finally looks relaxed, ya know?"

"He was asking where you were earlier, Judy," Annie said from her place on the towel, a smile on her face, where her hand was lazily petting Frank, "he'll be happy to see you."

"Have fun, Judy!" a few calls came as Judy smiled to them and headed up towards Rosie. Her heart began to pound a little bit more, the cool, late morning breeze making goosebumps run up over her skin, to the point where she realized she was in nothing but skin-slick shorts and a tank top, with a towel overtop going up to Lieutenant Rosenthal. Her cheeks heated as she looked up, watching him reading and looking near-picturesque against the backdrop of beauty that was the world around them.

"Hey."

Judy tossed herself from her reverie and found Rosie looking up from his book, squinting a bit in the sunlight, a small smile on his face. Her cheeks heated further as she stood there, hair tangled and wet, her cheeks red, the towel covering what she could and her eyes on his.

"Hi." she said quickly - slightly breathlessly at that, "Was wondering what you were up to." Rosie smiled that grin that got her heart pounding and then closed his book and watched her with those soft, baby-blue eyes.

"Figured I'd do a bit of light reading while I had the time," Rosie said, and she didn't miss the look he seemed to give her - admittedly trying to avoid looking at her more-than-bare-legs, his own cheeks dusting a glorious pink as he met her gaze again, "you? Or I could well….guess instead." And he nodded to her with that towel wrapped around as closely to her body as she could get it. She let out a laugh and instinctively went to cover her mouth and looked at him from behind the towel. They watched each other and Judy was sure he could see every inch of her the way he watched her, enough to make her warm all over.

"Your boys sure know how to have some fun," she said quietly, unable to control her smile towards him as she showed him her grin again, "and it reminds me of home. The creek, the water, the sun." You, she wanted to say, but that silent thought got bogged down by everything else around her. Rosie watched her, his smile growing on his lips like the setting sun.

"That they do," he said, his own voice sounding slightly constrained - breathless a bit like her, "would you like to sit?" With me?, seemed to be the silent question on his lips, but he didn't even need to ask. She would've given any time of day.

"Yeah, thank you." she said, with another smile towards him, before stepping forward, the grass itching her feet, as she turned and settled beside him on the towel he had rolled out. Judy pulled the towel tighter as she did crisscross-applesauce, and then glanced over at Rosie on her left side and smiled at his already persistent and present gaze on her.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked him softly, the pleasant noise of life and joy in the background of their quiet bubble there, side by side, her eyes finding his again as she leaned closer to his warm form.

"Of Mice and Men." Rosie said, holding up the book and showing her the cover, "Definitely a heavier read than some other things I've read, but it's good. You might like it. Listen, when I finish up, I'll lend it to you." Judy looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks, Rosie," she said softly, the instant his name left her lips, the corners of his lips perked upwards in a glorious display of his smile and his crinkly eyes when he grinned, "how are you liking it here?" Rosie watched her for a moment, and then looked down, before glancing towards the water where another round was ensuing of this game they had been playing - back and forth, splashing, laughter, freedom.

"Sometimes I just wish I was getting into that cockpit again," Rosie said, looking back over at her, "I don't know, just…it was simple, straightforward. It was mission, after mission, day after day. I was in a flow. A rhythm." Judy watched as he ran a hand over his face and dropped his rather broad shoulders a bit.

"But then I look at the men." Rosie said with a nod, and then glanced at her, "They need this." Judy watched him, his face a golden-honey hue, his eyes so deep and dark and distant all at once, and she nodded.

"They do," she said quietly, "we all do. You do, too."

Rosie was an enigma to her in a way other people had never been; so quiet at times, selfless, someone who wanted to get the job done, but didn't give himself time to rest. And in an opportunity like this, where that was the only option, he was mulling on thoughts of flying again. Despite not knowing him long, he was someone she found herself looking to a lot more often these days. And the selfless need to worry over him was something to follow.

He watched her for a moment, as if trying to believe her that yes, he and his boys needed rest just like the rest of them and yes, this all wasn't normal, but maybe for a second they could act like it and yes, for once they can focus on one another instead of a war in the sky. Rosie watched her for a moment and then smiled at her, and her cheeks bloomed red in a way she knew she couldn't stop.

"Plus," she said quietly, offering him another grin, "this is a good look for you." Rosie broke out in a bit of laughter at her mix between a joke and a compliment, but he took it all the same and nodded.

"You too." he said, but then they both seemed to freeze at his words, the casual phrase you normally said back after a compliment - the realization of what she was wearing seemed to strike both of them at the same time as a jumble of words left both their mouths, ending in nervous laughter and eye-catching gazes.

"What I meant to say was," he said, leaning an elbow on his upbent knee and a hand to his cheek as he looked at her again, "this. Being here. It looks normal for you. It looks good on you." Well if that didn't make her blush like a tomato she wasn't sure what would. But she nodded, and smiled a bit up at him.

"I practically grew up outside. When I was a kid, I mean. All of us, we were always outside. In the creek, with the animals on the farm, climbing trees, hiking," Judy said, "in a way, it reminds me of home being here. Being away from the war for a bit." She nodded. "Can't sleep well, but I guess for the time being that's okay, because I'm not in a ball turret and getting shot at." Rosie's face had grown serious and he watched her like the most delicate thing in the world was in front of him. He always looked so serious back at base that to see that same look cross his features nearly shot her back to that ball turret on the last mission.

"I haven't been sleeping too well either, if I'm being honest," he said quietly to her, then laughed a bit, "it sounds childish, but, I don't know. My mind's just running circles." Judy stared at him. She felt like for once, someone was experiencing what she felt nearly all the time. Constant running. Never-ending.

"Do you ever think it's like you're in some dream and that you'll wake up from it all one day?" she asked him, watching as he slowly nodded and turned to her.

"Sometimes." he said, "But then I go back and think, and I wonder how different things would be if all this wasn't going on. If, uh….well." Rosie looked to her and smiled slightly.

"To say the least, I wouldn't have met some of the people I've met here and I don't know if I'd be okay with that in whatever other world that would be." he said with a laugh and she smiled at him, "And if we're going to get back to any sort of semblance of life again, outside of this, like this, then we have to keep fighting back in this world, to keep it."

Judy looked up at him, and couldn't help but let her eyes traverse his face; eyes catching on how beautiful his long lashes were and how lively yet soft his eyes appeared underneath them, his solid cheekbones and jaw line, the slope of his neck dipping beneath his shirt, his hands and….Judy had to blink herself out of her wandering thoughts and instead ran a hand through her slowly drying hair that was sure to be a tangled mess and looked to him.

"One day we'll get the world back to that," Judy said, "and hey, maybe we can….I don't know, I can sit in the cockpit for once and experience what it's like? I can….be eye level with the birds instead of sticking out of the belly of the plane. Enjoy the sunset without knowing we're dropping bombs."

"I'll take you up on that." Rosie said, coming into her peripheral and leaning into her side a bit, his hand finding it's way to her shoulder half covered by a towel and half not, "Flying. You and me. When this whole thing is over and there's nothing left for us in England. I'll fly you home. You can be my co-pilot." Judy watched him, her heart pounding in her ears as her eyes searched his.

"You're too kind, Rosie, you don't have to…."

"No, no, I'll take you up on it. My promise to…I don't know, get us through the war." Us, Judy thought quietly.

Us through the war.

Judy stared at him fully this time, her entire mind consumed by him sitting there beside her, saying these things and making her feel all kinds of ways. Listening to his voice and expecting to act like it was nothing that he was talking as sweetly as he was to her. It was almost too much; these feelings, these emotions, someone felt nearly aligned with in life, yet the bulge of war was smack-dab in the center of it all. Judy brought the towel up to rub down her face and then sighed again.

"You okay?" Rosie asked her, placing his…very equally comforting and warm hand on her back, above the towel, "You went a little quiet." Judy looked at him, her heart pounding - even a simple acknowledgment of her quietness and she was spinning. Her mind scattered.

"Yes," she said quickly, a smile darting out, "all good, all good, just….." Mind, think, please, "thinking about lunch. Yes. Heard they were having a roast. Reminds me of home." With that, Judy stood to her feet and turned to Rosie, shivering slightly still, face and lips most definitely red, her hair a mess, her legs…..there.

Exposed.

And Rosie.

There.

Staring up at her.

"I don't want to bother your reading anymore, so," Judy said, "I'll see you around, Rosie." She turned and looked over her shoulder, and with a burst of boldness.

"Come and look for me if you ever want to talk!" Judy's face was beat red the entire rest of the way down the hill.

And Rosie was left - stunned. And smiling.

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Forevermore.

A/N: this is the next chapter in the journey of my OTP. Follow along for the fun.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 9,875 words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or DM me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @kingliamappreciationweek

Chapter 10.) Dèja Vu.

Shanelle couldn't believe what she had just heard. Again. 

"I'm sorry but what did you just say?" Shanelle asked her doctor.

"The urine test you requested came back. You're pregnant ma'am." Dr Andersen replied. 

She stared at him. 

"Again?!"

"Yes, my Queen. You're pregnant again."

"But! But! I just gave birth! To twins!"

"Yes, you did. Over a year ago. And now you're pregnant again."

Shanelle felt like she couldn't breathe. 

"Your Majesty?" he asked. 

"And you're 100% sure doctor?" she asked. 

"Yes ma'am. Your test was positive," he replied. 

"Should I take another test?" she asked, "Maybe this one was a false positive." 

"We can take another one ma'am but it more than likely won't change the result."

Shanelle let out a defeated sigh. 

"I can not believe this is happening again." 

Dr. Andersen looked at her sympathetically. 

"I know that you might not want to hear this but this is a happy time. For you and The Royal Family. You and His Majesty are great parents. I've seen it with my own eyes. And I am happy for you."

Shanelle smiled softly at him. 

"Thank you, Dr. Andersen. I appreciate it."

"Of course My Queen. I will contact your Obstetrician."

"Thank you again."

Dr. Andersen nodded before taking his leave. The reality was finally hitting her. 

"Oh my God! I can't do this again! I can't be pregnant! Not now! I have way too damn much going on to be pregnant!" she thought to herself. 

To make matters worse, she found out she was pregnant two days before her father's birthday. She was so in denial, that she snuck out of the palace and headed to a local pharmacy and bought as many drugstore pregnancy tests as her arms could carry. When she got back to her office she took every last one. And they were all positive. She is indeed pregnant. 

"Damn it all to hell! Of all the times to be pregnant, Mother Nature chooses to do this to me now?!" 

Shanelle let out a frustrated sigh. 

"I can't believe we're doing this again," she said out loud but not alone, "doing what again?"

She was startled by her husband's voice.

"Don't do that!" she said as she caught her breath, "You scared me half to death." 

"I'm sorry."

He took in the look on her face. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

"No. Yes? Maybe? I don't know?" she replied. 

"What's wrong?"

"Umm..." She struggled to come up with words. 

"Okay, now you're starting to scare me. What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

Shanelle took a shaky breath as she sat down at her desk.

"Close the door and have a seat."

He closed the door and then took a seat across from her. 

"Okay, I'm sitting down. What is going on? What's wrong?"

Shanelle sighed. 

"You're about to be a father again," she said quietly. 

"What?"

"You're about to be a father again," she spoke up. 

"What?!"

"Do NOT make me say it to you a third time!" she snapped at him. 

Marquise blinked in realization. 

"Wait! You're pregnant?" he asked. 

"Yes, I'm pregnant. Ya, happy now?" she asked in a frustrated tone. 

Shanelle closed her eyes to keep tears of frustration from falling. 

"Shanelle, look at me," he said to her. 

Shanelle exhaled and then looked at him. 

"You're absolutely sure you're pregnant?" he asked. 

"Yes. I had Dr. Andersen do a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Then I went out and bought my own. They're all positive." she replied as her voice hitched. 

Marquise reached across her desk and gently took her shaking hands in his. 

"If this is true, why do you look so upset?" 

"Because I don't have time to be pregnant! We have two one-year-olds and a six-year-old to raise already. On top of the fact that two cocky idiots are gunning for our thrones. I can't be pregnant now. It will derail my entire year not to mention that it would derail my life! I can't afford that!" she replied as tears started rolling down her face. 

Marquise stood up and brought her to her feet. 

"First of all, I need you to breathe."

"I am breathing."

"No, you're stressed out and upset. I need you to breathe!"

"Is that an order?"

"Yes. Now breathe."

Shanelle closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Good. Now I want you to hear me. I know you're upset because of the timing of this but my love this is not something to be upset about."

"You don't understand Marquise!"

"I do understand. I understand that you don't want to be inconvenienced. I understand that you don't want to stop. I understand that you'd rather not have to think about being pregnant. I understand that you feel we have enough to deal with. Between raising our children, running and governing our kingdom, and especially having to deal with this god-forsaken challenge. I know what you're feeling. I know you feel like being pregnant will get in the way of all we're doing. But this is not a bad thing. We will do what we always do, we will breathe, straighten our shoulders, hold our heads high, and rule together."

Shanelle felt him rub his thumbs in circles on her knuckles. 

"This is great news, my love. Our family is growing again. Our parents will be thrilled. Our nieces and nephews will be over the moon. And God knows Khari will be insufferable."

Shanelle chuckled. 

"And our boys, they will be big brothers. Can you imagine how adorably hilarious they will be?"

Shanelle nodded. 

"Yeah, I can."

He tilted her chin up so she was looking at him.

"I know this isn't what we expected. Especially you. But this is the hand we've been dealt. And like all things we do in love and life, we will handle this head-on. Because you know I would never allow you to walk this journey alone."

"But I don't know that I'm ready. I don't know if I can devote time to this."

"The woman I married. The woman I share a life with. The woman who gave me my three beautiful children. The woman who has had my heart since the first time I laid eyes on her. The woman I will always say I love you to. The woman who leads one of the greatest nations in the world. The woman I will lay my life down for. The Queen of Cordonia...is always ready."

Shanelle exhaled slowly. 

"Okay okay. You win." Shanelle said before taking a shaky breath, "While I wish the timing of this was much better, you're right. I can do this. We will do this."

Marquise nodded. 

"Never forget. You are a fantastic mother. The way you love, nurture, protect, teach, and defend our children always leaves me in awe. You are gentle, silly, firm, and caring. Our children are blessed not because of me but because of you."

Shanelle smiled softly at him. 

"I wanna wait to tell people though. I want to take one last test. Just to be extra sure before we start telling everyone."

Marquise nodded. 

"When do you want to tell everyone?"

"Next week. Since my parents will be here to celebrate their birthdays."

"Alright. For now, only we will know. So go ahead and order one more test."

"Okay." 

"And don't worry, my love. You'll see that this is a good thing. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now. You'll see, it will be alright."

"I know it will be. I'm just..."

"Still in shock and disbelief?"

"Yeah."

He pulled her into a loving embrace. 

"Listen to me, I know it's a shock. But once it settles, you'll see the joy in all of this." 

"I know I will."

"So let's breathe then get ready for the madness this is about to cause."

Shanelle exhaled slowly. 

"Thank you for talking me off a ledge."

He chuckled softly. 

"It's what you married me for."

Shanelle smiled at him. 

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

She kissed him. 

"Thank you."

"Keep that up and you'll be pregnant twice."

"And...he ruins the moment."

"You love meeee."

Shanelle shook her head with a small smile before she took one last look at the pregnancy test on her desk before putting it away In a drawer and then leaving her office with him. 

The couple was able to keep Shanelle's pregnancy to themselves until her parents arrived that weekend. And that Sunday was the big reveal. After Khari and her brothers sang Happy Birthday the best they could to their Grammy it was time for cake and presents. While Marquise got the cake with the children, Shanelle gave her parents the news. In the cutest way possible. 

"Got an early present for you and Daddy before the kids get cake everywhere," Shanelle said as she handed her mother a small gift bag.  

"What's this butterfly?" her mother asked.

"Open it and find out." 

Shantel gave her daughter a look. 

"It's not bad. I promise."

"I don't know, this may be revenge for that gag gift we gave when you were 9." her father piped up. 

Shanelle rolled her eyes. 

"Your father has a point." 

"Oh my goodness! Just open it!"

Shantel set the gift bag down and began taking the tissue paper out of it.

"Is there a present in here or is this just a bag of paper?" her father asks. 

Shanelle merely shrugged. 

"Honey, you may be right. Your daughter may have finally got her revenge." Shantel said to her husband.

"Good Lord! You two are impossible."

Her parents laughed as Shantel continued taking out more and more tissue paper. When she finally got to the bottom of the bag, she pulled out a small box. 

"What's this?" Shantel asks.

"You have to open it to find out," Shanelle replied. 

Shantel looked at her and then at her husband before opening the box. She nearly dropped the box after opening it. 

"Oh my God!" she gasped out loud. 

"What? What is it?" Damien asked. 

Shantel held up a positive pregnancy test for her husband to see. 

"What?!" Damien asks. 

They both looked at her stunned. 

"Happy Birthday?" Shanelle said to her parents. 

"Are you serious?" her mother asked. 

"Yeah. It's real." Shanelle replied. 

"You're really pregnant?" Damien asked Shanelle. 

"Yes, Daddy. You and momma get to be Grammy and Pop Pop all over again," she replied. 

Their shock slowly turned to joy. 

"Oh my God! Congratulations baby!" her mother said to her as she hugged her. 

"Thank you, momma."

"Another one? When did you find out?" Damien asks. 

"Yes, Daddy, another one. I found out I was pregnant two days before your birthday." she replied, "I hope you and Momma aren't mad that I didn't tell you right away."

"Of course not my darling," he said as he hugged her. "We couldn't be happier for you."

Shantel dried her eyes. 

"Does Margo know you're pregnant?" Shantel asks. 

"No, I don't think Marquise has told her yet," Shanelle replied. 

"Hasn't told me what?" Margo asked as she walked up grabbing everyone's attention, "I apologize to everyone. I didn't mean to startle you all."

"It's quite alright Margo." Shantel said to her, "This is what your son hasn't told you yet."

Shantel handed her the small gift box. When Margo looked into the box her eyebrows shot up. 

"Oh my goodness!" 

"Oh God no!" Shantel said with a laugh, "Not me Margo." 

"Then who?" Margo asks. That's when Shantel nodded to Shanelle and it dawned on her. 

"Wait! You mean?" she asks before looking at Shanelle. 

"Surprise?" Shanelle replied sheepishly. 

Margo's jaw dropped. 

"Welcome to the Grammy for a third-time club sweetie," Shantel said to her. 

"My goodness! Congratulations my dear!" Margo said as she hugged Shanelle. "I am so happy for you and my son!" 

"Thank you, Margo. I just hope I didn't steal His Majesty's thunder. He wanted to tell you himself."

Margo shook her head with a tearful smile. 

"My heart is so full. I am thrilled for you and him. And especially my grandbabies. They'll be thrilled."

"I'm not too sure the boys will understand."

"This is true. But they can learn." Margo said with a happy sigh, "I wish George was here. He would be over the moon with happiness."

Shanelle smiled at Margo. 

"I miss him. I remember how happy he was when we found out I was pregnant with Khari." 

Shantel hugged Margo. 

"Oh, sweetie. He's here. I can hear his laugh now."

Margo smiled. 

"I can too."

That's when Marquise popped his head in. 

"I was sent here to ask if we are ready for cupcakes."

Margo gave him a look. 

"What? What's that look for?" he asked Margo. 

"When were you going to tell me?!" she replied. 

"Tell you wha—" he asked before seeing his wife mouth the words "She knows", "Ohhhhh! That."

"Yes. That," she said with her hands on her hips. 

"I promise I had every intention of telling you."

Margo shook her head with a smile. 

"If only it wasn't considered treason to pop you." she playfully warned before hugging him, "Congratulations my love. I am so happy for you."

"Thank you, mama."

"Daddy! Are they ready yet?!" Khari asked from the other room. 

"Yes, my love! They're ready. Bring the cupcakes in." he replied. 

"Otay (okay)! We toming (coming)!" Kylo replied. 

The kids brought in a cart full of cupcakes with lit candles in them. 

"Alright boys! You ready?"

"Ready!" they replied. 

"Okay. One...two...three!"

"Happy!" Zyon said. 

"Birthday!" Kylo followed. 

"To Pop Pop and Grammy!" Khari cheered. 

Everyone clapped. 

"Okay, now Grammy. You and Pop Pop gotta make a wish and then blow out the candles."

Everyone watched as they blew out the candles. 

"And now the best part!" Khari said. 

"Cupcakes!" the twins said together. 

As everyone was enjoying a cupcake, Khari noticed the small gift box. 

"What's that Grammy?" Khari asked. 

Shantel chuckled softly.

"That is a very special gift from your mother and father to me and Pop Pop," Shantel replied. 

"What kind of gift?" Khari asked. 

Shantel looked at Khari's parents. 

"I'll let them tell you." 

Khari looked at her parents. 

"Looks like the jig's up," Shanelle whispered to her husband.

"Yup," Marquise replied before clearing his throat, "Come here, my love. There's something your mother and I have to tell you and your brothers."

Khari brought her brothers with her. 

"What is it, Daddy?" Khari asked. 

"Yeah? What?" Zyon asked. 

"Well, it's about our family," he replied. 

"Huh?" Kylo asked. 

"I don't understand Daddy," Khari said to him, "what's wrong with our family." 

"Nothing's wrong baby. This is a good thing." Shanelle replied. 

"Oh okay. So what is it?" Khari asked. 

"Our family is going to be getting bigger," Shanelle replied. 

"Huh?" Zyon asked. 

"What dat (that) mean Mommy?" Kylo asks. 

"Hmmm..."

Khari thought for a minute then gasped. 

"Wait! Is mommy pregnant again?!" she asked. 

"Yes, my love. Your mother is pregnant." Marquise replied. 

"Oh my goodness! I'm gonna be a big sister!" Khari said. 

"You already are a big sister sweetie. But your brothers will be big brothers now." Shanelle said to her daughter. 

"Big brudder (brother)?" Kylo asks. 

"Me and Kyyo (Kylo)?" Zyon asked. 

"Yes, my boy. You and Kylo will be big brothers." Marquise replied. 

"What's that?" Kylo asks. 

Shanelle shook her head with a smile. 

"I don't think they understand."

"That's okay mommy. I'll teach them everything I know!"

Later that evening after telling the rest of Marquise's family, Shanelle was out on her balcony before she was joined by her husband. 

"How are you feeling my love?" he asked her. 

"I'm relieved. Part of our family knows. I still have to break the news to a certain group of women."

Marquise snorted. 

"They will eat you alive."

"I don't mind them. It's the rest of the world that I'm worried about."

He kissed her forehead softly. 

"We will reveal to the world when you're ready and not a moment before."

"Are you sure that we can?"

"Of course. This isn't the first time we've hidden a pregnancy."

"But what about my appointments?"

"You and I both know that there are a million and one ways in and out of this palace. And in terms of your Obstetrician's office, there's a service elevator that we can take to avoid detection." 

Shanelle shook her head impressed. 

"You really do think of everything."

"Any way that I can alleviate any of your stress and keep you at ease, I will employ." 

"I don't know what I'd do without you but I'm not willing to find out."

Marquise chuckled. 

"I do it because I adore you. That's why." 

"Well, you've certainly set the bar high for your daughters' future suitors."

Marquise scoffed. 

"It's cute you assume she'll have any."

Just then, there was a knock at their bedroom door. 

"Now who could that be at this hour?" she asks. 

"I'll go find out," he replied. 

He walked to the door and when he opened it there was an attendant on the other side. 

"Apologies for the late intrusion sire but this just came for you and Her Majesty." the attendant said as she handed him an envelope.

"Thank you. That will be all."

"Of course, my King." the attendant replied with a curtsey before leaving. 

Marquise curiously turned the envelope over in his hand. 

"What is it?" Shanelle asks. 

"Let's find out, shall we?" he replied. 

Marquise broke the seal on the envelope and then pulled an invitation out. He read the invitation with an eyebrow raised and finished with a scoff. 

"What does it say?" she asked. 

"Your presence is hereby formally requested to be in attendance at the official Welcome Ball of Lord and Lady Aldon Douglas Joseph of House Gallagher. Saturday, May 19th at 5:00 PM at the Palace of Dalevandon." He read aloud. 

"No, they didn't." Shanelle hissed. 

"They did. And they're having this ball at King Elgin's old palace."

Shanelle scoffed. 

"So this is bait?"

"Mmmhmm. They want a public spectacle and have sent us this in hopes that we'll reject their invitation." 

"Well, they're right. We are not going."

"Oh yes, we are."

"What? Have you lost your mind?"

"You have to remember, this is about optics. If we don't go, the people will wonder why we're letting them intimidate us. Also, I am not about to be intimidated by a couple of amateurs."

"Ugh, I don't want to go."

"We don't really have a choice, my love. By sending us this they're forcing our hands. And if we don't go, they can say that they tried to extend an olive branch and we refused it." 

Shanelle groaned. 

"I hate courtly politics", Shanelle muttered with a frustrated sigh, "Fine. We'll go but we're not staying all night. I want to tuck our kids into bed at night."

"Deal. I'll have word sent that we'll be in attendance."

"In the meantime, I'm getting in the shower."

"Hey! Wait for me!" 

Shanelle rolled her eyes playfully.

The couple spent the next week flying under the radar until her first appointment with Dr. Ramirez that following Wednesday morning. After coming through the service entrance, they were taken to a private room where they waited for her doctor. 

"How are you feeling my love?" Marquise asked her. 

"Everything all at once. I still can't believe I'm pregnant. But here we are about to have another baby." Shanelle replied. 

"I'm sure. But this is an exciting time for us and our family. I know you're nervous but I am always with you."

"I know. It's just all the changes that are gonna happen. With us. With the kids. With the kingdom.  I don't want to not be present and available for them."

"You have my word, my love. I will make sure that no matter what happens, you will always be seen, heard, and felt. Understood?"

Shanelle nodded just as there was a small knock at the door. 

"Well, this is it," he said to her. 

"Time to get this show on the road." 

Dr. Ramirez and her nurse entered the room. 

"Hello, and good morning Your Majesties. It's good to see you both again."

"You as well Dr. Ramirez," Marquise replied. 

The doctor smiled at Shanelle. 

"And a very good morning to you my Queen. Let me say congratulations to you and His Majesty on your soon-to-be newest bundle of joy." 

Shanelle smiled softly at Dr. Ramirez.

"Thank you, doctor."

"So how are you doing? How are you feeling?" Dr. Ramirez asked. 

"So far I'm okay. No early signs of pregnancy or morning sickness yet." 

"That's good to hear. As always we'll check in periodically to be sure."

Shanelle nodded.

"Okay."

"In the meantime, we have an ultrasound to get started. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I think so. Even though I hate this part."

Dr. Ramirez chuckled.

"I understand why my Queen. But I assure you that this won't take too long." 

"Alright."

"Now I need you to lie back so my assistant Mara can apply the gel."

Shanelle laid back while holding her husband's hand while Dr. Ramirez turned on the ultrasound machine and her assistant applied the gel. 

"Eek! Cold! Still cold!" Shanelle squirmed while Marquise stifled his laugh. 

"I'm sure it is but the chill will dissipate soon." Dr. Ramirez replied as the screen came to life.

"Now, let's find that heartbeat."

Dr. Ramirez gently pressed the wand to Shanelle's stomach, moved it around, and then stopped when the heartbeat was heard. 

"Say hello to your little one Your Majesties," she said gently to the couple. 

The couple was in awe. 

"Oh my God. They're real. Our baby is real." Shanelle with tears in her eyes. 

"They're real. This is real. This is actually happening." Marquise spoke up. 

They watched as Dr. Ramirez moved the wand around a little more. 

"And this time, it's only one baby."

Shanelle let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God! I would've died if you said it was twins again." 

Dr. Ramirez chuckled. 

"No no. Just one."

Marquise nodded slowly. 

"At least now we know. Thank you, Doctor." 

Dr. Ramirez smiled at Marquise. 

"Of course Your Majesty. Again I am happy for you both."

"We appreciate that," Shanelle said to her. 

"We'll get you cleaned up then we'll give you two a moment alone. But so far we're off to a great start."

After cleaning the gel off Shanelle's stomach, the couple sat together in shock and love. 

"Life loves playing jokes on us, doesn't it?" Shanelle asked her husband. 

"Indeed. How are you feeling?" he replied. 

"I think reality is finally setting in. I think I'm slowly coming to terms with all of this," she replied. 

Marquise nodded. 

"It's a lot. Like a whole lot. But I know you. I know your strength. I know your perseverance. I know your tenacity. And God knows I know your love. I promise this will go smoothly. Unlike everything else in our lives."

Shanelle snorted. 

"Well, when you put it that way, bring it on." 

"There ya go! That's the spirit."

He rubbed circles on the knuckles of her right hand. 

"You never cease to amaze me."

"You always say that."

"Because it's true. Every single day that I get to spend in your light is a blessing I will never take for granted. That's how much you mean to me. That's how much I adore you."

Shanelle smiled softly at him. 

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

She leaned over and kissed him sweetly. 

"I love you."

"I love you too, my love."

He smiled against her lips. 

"I'll call the car."

Shanelle nodded before he stepped outside. When he did he was greeted by Dr. Ramirez. 

"Your Majesty. I'm glad I caught you. I wanted to know if we should do the monthly check-ins that  we did the last time Her Majesty was pregnant."

"Yes ma'am. I would. Again it's not that I want to hide anything from her but if something should arise."

Dr. Ramirez nodded. 

"You will always be my first call."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Marquise stepped away from her to call their car. Later that day, it was time for Shanelle to tell the girls. 

"Now that I have you all gathered here today I have something to tell you lot."

"What is it, Princess?" Nina asked. 

"Now before I tell you girls what I have to say I just wanna preface what I'm gonna say with this, it's all Nina's fault! Y'all can blame her for what I'm about to say." Shanelle replied 

"Me?! What did I do?" Nina asked. 

"You were breathing on me! This is all your fault!" Shanelle replies, "You infected me with your cooties! I blame you!" 

"Oh my God! I haven't seen you since January!"

"That's how long your cooties have been on me. And now..."

The girls were stuck. They didn't know what Shanelle was talking about. 

"What are you rambling about Nelle?" Nina asked. 

Shanelle shook her head with a hand covering her smile that's when it dawned on Nina. 

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE PREGNANT!" Nina guessed. 

"What?!" the rest of the girls asked. 

"Told y'all it was Nina's fault. She was spreading her pregnancy germs around and I caught them."

The girls cheered. 

"Congratulations baby!" Robin said to her. 

"Thank you, babe."

"I can't believe you're pregnant again!" Bron quipped. 

"I know right?" Shanelle said to her. 

"How are the kids?" Dee asked. 

"Well, the boys don't quite understand what's going on just yet. But Khari? She is...excitedly insufferable." Shanelle replied. 

The girls laughed. 

"Stop that! My Princess is allowed to be happy." Nina said to her. 

"We're so happy for you," Chutney said to her. 

"Thank you, my love," Shanelle replied. 

"How are you feeling?" Aly asks. 

"I am...everything, everywhere, all at once. Honestly when I found out I didn't believe it at first. Hell, I didn't want to believe it. But when it was confirmed that I am indeed with child...I couldn't deny it anymore." Shanelle replied. 

"When did you find out?" Nina asks. 

"Two days before my dad's birthday," Shanelle replied. 

"And you're just now telling us?" Robin asked. 

"Again I was deep in denial. At first, I thought the first test I took might've been a false positive. But when I took at least 8 more tests, they all said the same thing. And well here we are." Shanelle replied. 

"So are you having twins again?" Bron asked. 

Nina cackled. 

"No! Thank God! Besides, my uterus would've staged a mutiny if it was revealed I was having twins again. Thankfully for me, there is only one bun in this oven." Shanelle replied, "this time around the only one having twins is your sister-in-law."

Bronwyn laughed. 

"Well, congratulations anyway. You're a great mom."

"Thank you, baby. Thank you all really. It means a lot to me that you all are happy for me."

"Of course we're happy. Our family is getting bigger." Robin said to her. 

"Some might say that we're the mob." Aly quipped.

The girls all laughed. 

"Nah. The mob is way too disorganized. Besides, they never get away with it. Unlike us." Shanelle said. 

"True!" the girls agreed. 

After speaking with the girls Shanelle found herself out on her bedroom balcony and was joined by her husband who was just ending a phone call. 

"Yeah yeah. Asshole. Thanks again. I'll talk to you soon. Love you too." he said as he hung up the phone. 

"Who was that?" she asked him. 

"Leo. I told him you're pregnant," he replied. 

"Oh good. How is he?" she asks. 

"He's good. He's excited for us. How are the girls doing? How'd they take the news?" 

"They're good. They're excited."

"You didn't blame Nina for you being pregnant did you?" 

"It's her fault. And you know it."

Marquise shook his head with a smile before wrapping his arms around her waist. 

"And now it'll soon be time to tell the world." 

"We will tell the world when you're ready. Not a moment before."

Shanelle sighed contently. 

"So we're really doing this again?" she asked. 

"Mmmhmm. We are doing this again. We will be welcoming a new little one into our family." he replied. 

Shanelle smiled softly. 

"I swear I'm not in denial. It's just..."

"You're still in shock?" he asks. 

"Yeah. I keep thinking I'm dreaming. But nope! I'm wide awake."

He kissed the back of her left shoulder. 

"I'm excited for us. I know I could never go through the changes that you'll go through but I will always be with you and at your side."

"You'd be sickening if I didn't have such a giant praise kink."

"That's why I do it," he said before kissing the back of her left ear. 

"I guess I'm still struggling with the timing of this pregnancy. Well, that and the fact that we're being forced to attend this Welcoming Ball in a few weeks."

That gave Marquise an idea. 

"That gives me an idea."

"What?" she asked. 

"Since we are discussing timing, why don't we announce your pregnancy on Mother's Day? Which is also a week before their so-called ball," he replied. 

"That would certainly steal their thunder. And would force them to share their spotlight that night with us." 

"Precisely."

Shanelle nodded. 

"Okay. We'll announce it then."

"I love it when a plan comes together."

Over the next few weeks, The Royal Couple was able to keep Her Majesty's pregnancy quiet until their announcement on Mother's Day. It took the kingdom by storm and as Marquise predicted, stole the momentum from Lord and Lady Gallagher. Many were happy and excited about the soon-to-be newest royal baby. 

On the day of the Welcome Ball, the couple got ready. Choosing to go with a 20s glam. Shanelle picked a strapless navy blue crushed velour dress that fit and flattered her beginning baby bump with long white gloves. Marquise whistled low when he saw her. 

"Now what is a fine-looking filly such as yourself doing in a place like this?" he asked, showing off his Boston accent. 

Shanelle snickered. 

"You've been working on your Boston accent again." 

"You like it?"

"I certainly do," she replied in a southern belle voice, "well sir, if you must know I happen to enjoy the very finest things in life."

The couple laughed before saying goodbye to their children and making the journey to Dalevandon in what was once West Cordonia. The ride was quiet and pleasant, taking them through the Gianko Valley. As they arrived in the former capital of West Cordonia, Marquise took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Shanelle whispered to her husband. 

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've been here. I have...mixed feelings about this palace."

"I'm sure. You spent a lot of time here. After all, your ex grew up here. It's perfectly okay to feel conflicted about being here."

Marquise nodded as they pulled into the motor court. 

"Well, we're here," she said to him. 

Marquise peered out of their limo window. 

"Indeed. And so is the press."

"Hmmm...with us announcing my pregnancy last Sunday, how do you think Lord and Lady Gallagher will react?" she asked. 

"Forcibly polite," he replied as he fixed his watch, "now shall we go dazzle the masses?"

"Lead the way, Your Majesty." 

Marquise was the first to step out of the limo, shielding his wife from the various camera flashes. Once she exited, he took her hand in his and smiled at the cameras. 

"Good evening everyone!" Marquise said to the members of the press. Many clamored to the King. 

"Your Majesties! Your Majesties! Over here!" many were heard shouting at the couple for their attention. 

"Your Majesties! Giacomo Torres here! First off let me say congratulations to you and Her Majesty on your new bundle of joy." He said to Marquise. 

"Thank you kindly," Marquise replied. 

"With Lord and Lady Gallagher challenging for the throne, many want to know why you're here tonight?" he asked the couple.

"We were invited by Lord and Lady Gallagher and it would be incredibly rude to refuse such an invite," Shanelle replied. 

"Agreed. Speaking of you Your Majesty, how are you feeling?" he asked. 

"I'm doing good, thank you for asking. No early signs of morning sickness so far."

"And how are the heirs? Are they excited?"

"Our boys are still very young so they don't really understand what is going on. But their sister is ecstatic at having another sibling." Marquise replied. 

"Thank you both for your time. Do enjoy the ball." Giacomo said to them. 

Both smiled and waved at the members of the press before making their way into the palace. 

"Well that was fun," Shanelle said to her husband. 

"It always is a fun time to show you off, my love. Now let's go steal the show from the idiots." 

The couple was led to the doors of the grand ballroom for their entrance. 

"Introducing His Majesty King Marquise Rys and Her Majesty Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys!" the herald announced as the doors opened. Their entrance grabbed everyone's attention. 

When they got to the center of the grand ballroom, they were greeted in the receiving line by Lord and Lady Gallagher as well as their parents. Prince Dante Laurent and Duchess Josephine Grimes-Laurent and Duke Allastair Joseph and Duchess Daphne Ballenger-Joseph. 

"Your Majesties. It is good to see you both. Our son wasn't sure you'd be joining us this evening." Duke Joseph said in greeting to them both. 

"Thank you, Your Grace. Your son's challenge aside, I would never miss a good party." Marquise replied. 

"Thank you for joining us, Your Majesties." Lord Gallagher said stiffly. 

His mother cleared her throat. 

"Yes, it is good that you're both here," she said to Marquise. 

Marquise nodded politely then looked over to Lady Makenna's parents. Who bowed and curtsied in his direction. 

"Your Highness. It's good to see you and the former Headmaster again. It's been quite some time since we've seen each other," he said to them.

Prince Dante nodded politely. 

"Indeed it has. You were His Highness the last time my wife and I saw you." he said to Marquise before turning his attention to Shanelle, "Hello Your Majesty. It is good to meet you. And let me congratulate you and His Majesty on your pregnancy."

Shanelle smiled politely. 

"Hello, Your Highness. It's lovely to meet you and Her Grace. Thank you very much for your kind words," she replied. 

Lady Makenna rolled her eyes. 

"You and Mama don't have to be so formal Papa. They won't be royals for very much longer." 

Prince Dante gave his daughter a withering look. 

"Makenna! You will show respect! You are not Queen yet! So until you are, you will represent our family with dignity! Now fix your face!" Prince Dante snapped at his daughter. This caused Shanelle to laugh quietly. 

"Do excuse our daughter's lack of manners Your Majesties. She forgets herself sometimes." Duchess Josephine said to them. 

"It's quite alright. Tell me, Your Grace, how is Elgin?" Marquise asked. 

"He is well. Well as well as he can be." Prince Dante replies. 

"His dialysis treatments are going well, yes?" Marquise asked. 

"Yes, Sire. They are going well. My brother is still stubborn but he's still alive." Prince Dante replies. 

"Papa! That is none of his business!" Makenna fussed. 

Prince Dante gave her daughter another withering look. 

"Thank you, Your Highness. I'm glad His Majesty is doing well. I think it's time that Her Majesty and I should take our seats. Be well, everyone." Marquise announced before walking Shanelle to their seats. 

As they walked away, light bickering could be heard from Lord and Lady Gallagher to their parents. 

"Well, that was awkward," Shanelle said to Marquise. 

"Indeed but it was also informative," he replies. 

"What do you mean?" Shanelle asked as they took their seats. 

"Because Prince Dante lied to me. That's what I mean. He's not supposed to be within miles of the old palace," he replies. 

"Why not?" Shanelle asked. 

"Because Prince Dante is the reason why King Elgin owed a debt to my father in the first place. He had a gambling addiction when he was much younger and stupidly he risked his entire family's fortune on a race during the Royal Regatta one year and suffered a devastating loss to my father. And he seized on the opportunity." Marquise replied. 

"Yikes!"

"And when King Elgin found out about his younger brother's blunder, he had no choice but to pay my father. Because of this Elgin banned his brother from ever stepping foot back in this palace. That's why Makenna was mad at him. Because she knew he would be lying to me. Truth is I doubt he's seen his brother in years. The last time he was here I was maybe 12 at the time. He hasn't been back since to my knowledge."

"So do you think King Elgin knows his brother is here?"

"Hard to say but with the state he's in, I don't think there's much he can do about it." 

"Curiouser and curiouser. Do you think she's playing on her uncle's sympathies?" 

Marquise shrugged.

"She wouldn't be the first noble to do so. And I doubt she'll be the last. That's probably why Dante sent Makenna to court. She was meant to be a peace offering. But I don't know if it worked."

The room quieted down as Lord Gallagher gave his opening remarks. 

"Good Evening everyone! On behalf of my wife Lady Makenna Laurent, I want to welcome you all to our first of many balls here at my wife's family palace. I know some of you are loyal to Their Majesties. And I understand why. I don't blame you for your loyalty to them. I will be honest I didn't think Their Majesties would have had the decency to join us this evening. I am glad to see I was wrong. It is good to have you both here with us tonight. And my wife and I do wish you a warm and sincere congratulations on your new baby-to-be."

Marquise raised an eyebrow and then nodded at him. 

"Now I understand that many of you don't know us. Therefore you're not sure you can trust us. My wife and I understand that. We also understand that we must earn the trust of the noble houses and the people. That is our goal for tonight. And let me just say, we are not challenging for the throne because we want to overthrow the monarchy. While it is hard for me to admit, I will give the current monarchs their credit. They have indeed done things for Cordonia. Many nobles and commoners alike have prospered under their leadership. Her Majesty's overhaul of the healthcare system of our kingdom alone is a feat that should be marveled at and celebrated. Because of that overhaul, many of our people were able to afford the life-saving healthcare they needed. My wife's uncle included. I thank them for that. But I am not blind to their misfortunes either. It was because of them we all were threatened by the Via Imperii."

Shanelle rolled her eyes quietly. 

"And the unfair taxes many of us have had to pay. While yes, I can admit that money goes toward the healthcare system, education system, and emergency services and yes, none of it goes directly to either of them, we are well off now. We don't need to keep paying higher taxes. We don't need to keep doing trade, especially risky trades with hostile nations. And we certainly don't need to involve ourselves in petty squabbles between other nations. As many of you know, Kasnia is at war with Sulovaria and your King wants to involve us in that. That is military resources we don't need to expend. Not to mention he and the Queen spend more time gallivanting across the globe than they do at home."

His Majesty set his jaw. 

"That is the irresponsibility my wife and I are trying to avoid. Unnecessary and costly wars and useless vanity points. We need leaders who have common sense solutions for everyday problems. They don't have common sense solutions. They don't have Cordonia's best interest at heart. But my wife and I do. That is why we are throwing this ball. It is our hope that tonight we will be able to change your minds about us and them. With that, let dinner be served!" 

Servants busied themselves serving the first course of dinner. While they ate, Their Majesties discussed Lord Gallagher's opening statement. 

"Well, what did you think?" Shanelle asked her husband. 

"Not as bad as I expected. I knew they would take shots at us, but they played well to the crowd by keeping them at a minimum." Marquise replied. 

"This is gonna be a long night isn't it?" 

"Unfortunately but we're here and you are still pregnant. Which is something they didn't account for. We can still use that to our advantage."

"I love it when you get all political strategist."

"It's literally my job."

The main course, which was venison medallions in a wild boar ragu with chanterelle mushrooms and roasted Brussels sprouts, turned Shanelle's stomach. 

"Are you alright?" Marquise asked. 

"I don't think I can eat any of this. The smell of the mushrooms is making me queasy." Shanelle replied. 

"Hmmm...let's see if one of my favorite of King Elgin's staff is working tonight."

Marquise was able to flag down one of the staff. 

"Your Majesty! It is so good to see you again! I haven't seen you in ages!" the staff member said to him. 

"Thank you, Tarlov. It's good to see you as well. Listen I don't mean to be a bother, but could I get something else for Her Majesty to eat? With her being pregnant, her senses are sensitive, and the mushrooms of the entree are making her feel sick. Perhaps you could indulge me just this once and have something lighter prepared for her." 

"Oh dear! Of course sire. Right away!"

"Thank you again, Tarlov. Give Winnie my regards."

Tarlov nodded before taking Shanelle's plate away to the kitchen. 

"Ugh! Thank you. Another second and I would've ruined the china." Shanelle said with a groan. 

He rubbed the knuckles of her right hand. 

"You're welcome. I'm surprised Tarlov is still here after all these years."

"You two greeted each other like you knew each other."

"Tarlov has worked in the palace for years. He's one of the last bit of loyal staff that Elgin has left." 

With a new entree delivered Shanelle was able to eat. After dessert was served it was time for dancing. Lord Gallagher took to the middle of the dance floor. 

"After what I said earlier this evening, this may seem surprising but if Her Majesty would be so kind as to join me for the first dance?" he asked the gathered crowd, "I promise you, Your Majesty, I mean no harm."

With all eyes on her, Shanelle took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked onto the dance floor. 

"Thank you. And I mean what I said, no tricks. Just a dance." Lord Gallagher said to Shanelle as he offered his hand. 

"One dance. That's all you get," she said to him as the music started to play. As they began to dance Lord Gallagher regarded Shanelle with an appraising eye. 

"I saw you had your entree switched. Was the food not to your liking?" he asked. 

"No. The mushrooms made me queasy and rather than have me ruin King Elgin's fine china, His Majesty asked if a different entree could be prepared." Shanelle replies. 

"Well you'll have to forgive me. When we planned this menu we had no idea you'd be pregnant by the time we threw our ball. Also, you could've asked me. I would've happily had another dish prepared for you." 

"No thank you. I'd rather not eat rat poisoning."

Lord Gallagher rolled his eyes. 

"Despite what you may think—", he began to say before she cut him off, "save it. I'm just here to dance. Not have a conversation."

"I am trying to be polite," he said through clenched teeth. 

That's when Shanelle accidentally stepped on his right foot on purpose. 

"Why you!" he hissed. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my Lord. How very clumsy of me!" 

As they danced, Lady Makenna took the time to sidle up to Marquise. 

"That was quite a speech your husband gave Kenna. It was almost convincing albeit a tad bit boring."

Lady Makenna let out an exasperated sigh and then cleared her throat. 

"As much as I don't want to do this, Your Majesty would do me the honor of dancing with me?" she asked.

"No," he replied. 

"No?" she asked. 

"You heard me the first time. But for the sake of appearances and because I want to get my wife as far away from your husband as possible," Marquise said as he adjusted his cuff before offering his hand, "shall we?" 

Lady Makenna huffed before taking his hand and going out on the dance floor. They danced until it was time to switch partners. Shanelle couldn't get away from Lord Gallagher fast enough 

"My knight in shining armor!" Shanelle said to her husband. 

"That bad?" he asked. 

"Let's just say there are only so many times I can accidentally step on his toes on purpose." 

Marquise chuckled. 

After an hour of dancing and mingling with others, it was time for Lord and Lady Gallagher's closing remarks. 

"Here we go," Marquise said to Shanelle. 

"Can we just get this over with?" Shanelle replied. 

"Once again, my wife and I would like to thank all of you for joining us tonight. It is our sincerest hope that we were at least able to change some of your minds. Now—" Just as Lord Gallagher was giving his speech there was a loud pop. 

"What was that?" Shanelle to Marquise. 

Her question was followed by another larger explosion that rocked the room and knocked the giant chandelier off its chain sending it crashing to the ground. Marquise pulled Shanelle out of the way of the falling chandelier just in time.

"Guards! Guards!" Marquise called out to his guards. 

"Fire! Fire! Everyone out!" a staff member ran in yelling. 

"Your Majesties! This way!" one of his guards called out. 

"Guards! Get everyone out of here now!" Marquise ordered as he and Shanelle ran out of the ballroom. Without looking back the royals ran outside. When they got outside they watched as smoke billowed out followed by shooting flames. 

"Oh my God!" Shanelle gasped. 

A guard came running up. 

"Your Majesties! Are you alright?" the guard asked. 

"Yes. Her Majesty and I are fine. Gather as many guards as you can and get as many people out as fast as you can. And get emergency services out here to get those flames back!" Marquise ordered. 

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Shanelle whispered in shock. 

Marquise took his jacket off and wrapped it around his wife. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

"I'm fine. I just..." she replied clearly shaken up. 

"I know. But you're okay. We're okay." he said as he held her close to keep her calm, "we're safe. I promise we're safe."

"Back! Back! Everyone back!" a guard instructed the gathered crowd. 

Everyone got as far back as possible. Many watched in horror as the old palace burned. Once emergency services arrived Marquise decided it was time to leave. 

"Come on. Let's get you home," he said to Shanelle. 

He led her to a waiting car. As he got in, a dark figure watched from the trees. As they drove away, the flames from the burning palace lit up the sky. When they returned to the palace, they were greeted by Margo and her parents. 

"Oh my God! Are you two okay?" Shantel asked, "We saw the news."  

They both nodded.

"What happened?" Damien asked. 

Shanelle nodded numbly as Marquise spoke. 

"There was an explosion while we were inside. And when we got outside there was heavy smoke and flames."

"Oh my goodness! The staff!" Margo said. 

"Do you think there will be any casualties?" Damien asked Marquise. 

"It's too early to tell. But when I hear something I'll be sure to let you know." 

Damien nodded before turning to Shanelle who was shaking. 

"You're shaking my darling. Maybe you should get to bed."

Shanelle nodded. 

"We'll take her." Shantel said to her husband, "Come on sweetie. Let's get you down the hall."

Margo helped Shanelle up. 

"Come, Your Majesty, gently now. That's it. Nice and slow." 

Marquise and Damien watched as they walked down the hall. When they were out of earshot Damien spoke. 

"Are you alright son?" Damien asked. 

"I'm alright. It's just been quite the night." Marquise replied. 

"I'm sure. I won't keep you long, go check on her and have a restful night."

"Goodnight Damien. You do the same." Marquise said to him before turning to walk down the hall to his bedroom. When he got inside Shanelle was sitting on their bed with her mother and Margo. 

"Thank you ladies. I'll take it from here."

Both mothers nodded before leaving. Marquise sat down next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. 

"Are you alright?" he asked. 

Shanelle took a deep breath. 

"I'll be alright. I'm just in shock. That's all."

"I'm sure. Thankfully we got out of there safely. And hopefully, I'll know more in the morning."

Shanelle nodded. 

"In the meantime, I've had enough excitement for one day. I'm going to bed."

"Good. Let's get some rest." 

The next day, Shanelle stayed with their children, while Marquise was in his office on the phone with the authorities. He had just got off a call when Shanelle came to check on him with food. 

"Hey, you," she said to him. 

"Hey, beautiful," he replied. 

"You look like you haven't eaten yet." she said to him, "So what have you heard so far?"

Marquise sighed deeply. 

"Unfortunately the old palace has burned down," he replied. 

"What?!"

"It's a total loss. Nothing could be saved."

"Oh my God."

Marquise shook his head before taking a bite of his food. 

"It's such a shame. I really did enjoy that old palace."

Shanelle raised a questioning eyebrow at him. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. 

"Whatever you decide it to mean," he replied. 

Shanelle crossed her arms and gave her husband a challenging look. 

"Marquise."

"Hmm?"

"Did you order that explosion?"

Marquise shrugged. 

"Are you insane?! You could've killed someone! And what about King Elgin?" 

"King Elgin wasn't even there last night."

"What do you mean?" Shanelle asked. 

"While we were all in the ballroom, he was being safely evacuated. By the time the blast happened, he was on his way to his summer home on Lake Gianko," Marquise replies. 

Shanelle shook her head. 

"And what about Naya and her daughter Bernadette?"

"They are already at her father's summer house. I had them moved last week then I had His former Majesty moved. So it wouldn't look too suspicious." 

"Well, that explains why he wasn't at the Welcome Ball."

Shanelle sighed. 

"This is about to be a PR nightmare," she said with a groan. 

"Agreed. But it's a PR nightmare we don't have to deal with."

"Tell me something."

"Anything."

"How did you do it?" she asked him, "And don't you dare lie to me."

Marquise looked at her coolly before snapping his fingers. Soon an opening in his bookcase opened and one of his guards stepped in. He was dressed in black and silver. He was one of Marquise's Crown Shields. The guard knelt down on one knee with a fist over his heart. 

"My Queen." the guard said to her with his head still bowed, "My Liege."

"My love. You remember the Crowd Shields don't you?" Marquise asked. 

"Mmmhmm. You only employ them in emergency situations or at least that's what you're supposed to do." Shanelle replied. 

"True indeed. But since you wanted to know, now you know. This is Captain Desmond Emilo Felix. He's the current Head of the Crown Shield." Marquise explained. 

Shanelle nodded then looked at Captain Felix.

"It's good to finally meet you, Captain," Shanelle said to the Captain. 

Captain Felix rose to his feet and executed a perfect bow. 

"You as well, my Queen. I'm glad we could finally meet."

"Captain Felix is how I was able to pull off the explosion. You see, Captain Felix is a former member of the US Military." 

Shanelle nodded before looking at Captain Felix. 

"You're American?" she asked. 

"Yes ma'am. I'm as red-blooded as you are. I'm originally from Kansas City. My parents still live there. I served for 6 years in the US Navy as a SEAL before transferring to the Cordonian Army where I rose through the ranks. And was selected by Captain Nevrakis to lead in her stead when she retired." Captain Felix replied. 

"And now you're my husband's official unofficial right hand?" she asked. 

"Yes ma'am. I am at his beck and call and yours if and when need be," he replied. 

"He is the one who started the blast while we were in the grand ballroom," Marquise explained. 

"How?" Shanelle asked. 

Captain Felix cleared his throat. 

"It's quite simple. The Crown Shield has schematics of every noble house and palace. Including this one and the former palace of South Cordonia. It was just a matter of overloading the circuitry and turning on the gas. And making it look like a mere accidental gas leak." Captain Felix replies. 

"The goal was to scare and distract people. And I'd say we succeeded."

Shanelle sighed deeply then nodded. 

"Well, I guess I'll take your word for it." she said before turning to walk out of Marquise's office, "oh! And one more thing, touch my palace and I'll kill you both."

"Understood," Marquise said to her. 

The next day, after getting their daughter off to school and leaving their sons with her mother, Their Majesties returned to the old palace in Dalevandon to inspect the damage. When they arrived at the old palace, the devastation was clear. Where the former palace of West Cordonia once stood, there was now nothing but ashes. 

"I know your plan was to scare and distract people. But I think your plan worked a little too well." Shanelle whispered to her husband as they took in the damage.  

"Perhaps. But as long as the goal was attained, I'm satisfied," he replied. 

They were led to a podium where members of the press were waiting. Marquise held up a hand to quiet the murmuring crowd.

"Good morning everyone. Today is a sad day for us all. The Great Palace Of West Cordonia has been lost to a terrible accident. This is a heavy and personal loss for many. Myself included. But I want the people to rest assured that no one else will suffer. Thankfully there were no human causalities. Everyone from the guests to the staff to His former Majesty were all safely evacuated. The damage is being assessed and for those on staff who are now out of work, you will be compensated for your loss of work, your health insurance will continue, and resources to find other work via the Monarchy will be provided to you at no cost."

The reporters all clamored at once. 

"Your Majesty! Donnie Brine of the CBC here. It has been reported that the explosion was due to a gas leak. Can you confirm that?" Donnie asked Marquise. 

"Yes, I can. Preliminary reports suggest that the blast was due to a gas leak. While the investigation into the blast is still ongoing, the early reports confirm that a gas leak is the cause of the blast." Marquise replied. 

"Or maybe it wasn't an accident at all!"

The crowd turned to see Lady Makenna marching up to the podium with her parents. When she got to the podium she got in His Majesty's face. 

"You did this! You set the fire that burned down my family's home!" she accused. 

"Be careful with how you speak to me, my lady," he warned her. 

"I am not afraid of either of you! This is what my husband and I are talking about! You're so afraid of losing your throne, that you will destroy any and everything to keep it!" she yelled at him. 

Shanelle looked at her. 

"And just what are you and your husband doing to assist in this tragedy?" Shanelle asked Lady Makenna, "Other than accusing His Majesty of causing the fire that is."

Lady Makenna glared at Shanelle. 

"Because for the last 48 hours, the only people who have remotely done anything to assist in any way outside of the locals, are His Majesty and myself. What have you contributed hmm? While assisting those in need should never be a competition, I will not stand here and listen to you accuse your King of any wrongdoing."

As the press whispered fiercely, Marquise held up a hand to silence them. 

"She's right, my lady. Because challenge or not I am STILL your King! And you both are still subject to my rule! But since you're here now, why don't you tell us all what plans you and Lord Gallagher have for the people in the wake of this tragedy hmm." Marquise said to her as he gestured to the podium, "Go ahead, my lady. This is your chance to one-up us." 

Lady Makenna backed down. 

"Oh, so you don't have a plan? That's not surprising. Perhaps your father can come up with one. Oh! Wait! That's right I forgot. He isn't supposed to be anywhere near the palace. After all, the reason why your uncle owed a debt to my father was because of him and his gambling and that foolhardy bet where he risked your entire family's fortune." Marquise said to her, "See, I knew he was lying to me this past Saturday night when he told me King Elgin was doing well. When the truth is, he nor your mother or your siblings have seen King Elgin in years. So why would you host a ball in a palace your father was banished from? It is quite a curious thing." 

That sent the press into a frenzy. With many trying to get Lady Makenna's attention. With the media distracted, Their Majesties stepped off the podium. They finished their tour of the remains before departing for home. When they got to the palace, they headed to the throne room where they were greeted by Captain Felix and a few members of the Crown Shield. 

"Your Majesties. There's something you need to see."

The couple looked at each other.

"What do you mean Captain?" Marquise asked as a side door opened. 

"He means me..." a voice spoke up. 

The couple froze and when they turned around. Shanelle gasped and Marquise was beside himself. 

"Hello, Your Majesties. It is good to see you both again."

It was Lord Tariq Sauvageon. Alive and well. 

But how when he's been dead for years?

[altosys]

intro :3 [v 2.5]

Hey! We're the Alto System, a mixed-origin system of >150! Pronouns depend on fronter however collective he/him is fine, we're vv introject-heavy (mainly fictives & factives), and some of us are multilingual!

Our BYF & Welcomes can be found here: [click here]

Fandoms & Ships

Fandoms we're in (anything highlighted is a spinterest/hyperfixation, anything bolded is a HUGE hyperfixation):

-Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney -The Pink Corruption (literally love this series fr fr) -The Final Battle of Geometry Dash -Portal -The Amazing Digital Circus -MLP Equestria Girls -Inanimate Insanity -Kirby franchise (Kirby Returns to Dream Land, Kirby's Epic Yarn, & more) -iCEY -Deltarune & Undertale -Chants of Sennaar -Subnautica -ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender) -Snapcube Fandubs -The Heroic Six -Epithet Erased -The Amazing Digital Circus -Helluva Boss (not the toxic part) -Murder Drones -Hazbin Hotel (not the toxic part)

OTPs (disclaimer: we do lots of rarepairs n' crossover ships) (Links lead to fanfics we've written!): -Blixurity (blixer x the obscurity) -Kurellow (the darkness x pentellow) -Circublix (circubit x blixer)

Frequent Fronters: Circu/Circubit - he/him, zey/zem - 🎧] (Host!) Electra - he/him - ⚡] (Co-Host!) Brittany/Britt - she/her - [🌺] (Co-Host!) Ash/Ashley - she/her - [🔪🌸]

Terms for referring to us: 2nd person pronouns: You, y'all, you& Members: Headmates Collective group: Plural, system

Carrds!!: [System Carrd] [Link to headmates' Carrds]

Tags guide: #altosys & #altosystem - general posts relating to our system #alto thunderstorms - "social experiment of turning my system into a fandom" #kurellow - the kurellow fic i'm working on #quadrasys - general posts relating to electra's system #alto's tips - tips/advice from us!

Credit!!: All dividers on this post were made by @cafekitsune! (their stuff is vv cool, also they put a lot of work into making these pretty lil' blorbos and it clearly paid off bc these are so pretty istg /vvpos)

[oh-nostalgiaa]

Writing Prompt Masterlist, Part Seven

Masterlist of Writing Prompt Masterlists

The Prompts

30 Angsty Dialogue Prompts

A Comprensive List of Scenarios Prompts

Aftercare Sentence Starter Prompts

AI-less Whumptober 2023 Prompts

Angry Confession Prompts

Angsty Friends to Lovers Prompts

Apologies and Forgiveness Sentence Starter Prompts

Asking for Consent Prompts

Betrayal Prompts

Blind Date Prompts

Caring Prompts

Cheesy Pick-Up Lines Prompts

Comforting Words Prompts

Concerned Sentence Starter Prompts

Cozy and Content Cuddling in Bed Prompts

Desperate Dialogue Prompts

Dialogue Responses to Can We Talk? Prompts

Different Ways to Say I Love You Prompts

Dirty Little Compliments Prompts

Dirty Pick-Up Lines Prompts

Dom / Sub Sentence Starter Prompts

Don't Make Me Destroy You Prompts

Drabble List #9

Dramatic & Protective Relationship Prompts

Dramatic Starter Prompts

Dreams and Nightmares Sentence Starter Prompts

Drunken Love Confession Prompts

Empathetic Sentence Starter Prompts

Exes to Lovers Prompts

Exhaustion Sentence Starter Prompts

Fake Dating AU Prompts

Fake Dating Sentence Starter Prompts

Fantasy Prompts

Five Sentence Prompts

Found Family Sentence Starter Prompts

General Smut Prompts

Hard-to-Find Hurt / Comfort Action Prompts

Horrors Prompts

Hostile Sentence Starter Prompts

Hurt / Comfort Dialogue Prompts

Hurt / Comfort Starter Prompts

I Accidentally Told You I Loved You And Now We're Finally Talking About It Prompts

I Don't Know Prompts

I Thought Prompts

Insecurity Starter Prompts

Just Close Your Eyes Prompts

Kink Prompts

Kinktober 2023 Prompts

Kinky Scenarios Prompts

Kiss Prompts

Kiss Meme Prompts

Looking at Someone and Thinking Prompts

Magical Sentence Starter Prompts

Make 'Em Swoon Prompts

Married Life Prompts

Neighbors to Lovers Prompts

No Time Will Be Better Prompts

Non-Verbal Angst Prompts

Oops! All Angst! Prompts

Opportunities to Feel Unwanted Prompts

OTP Prompts: Protectiveness

Physical Intimacy Prompts

Please Don't Leave My Side Prompts

Popstar x Rockstar Prompts

Praise Kink Phrases Prompts

Praise Kink Sentence Starter Prompts

Prompts for First Meetings and Awkward Chats

Prompts for Intimate Pillow Talk

Prompts for Nonverbal Communication

Prompts for Patching Up Wounds

Protection Prompts

Question Starter Prompts

Quotes from Stories I Never Finished Prompts

Random Action-Themed Prompts

Random Fluffy Sentence Starter Prompts

Reasons to Cup a Face Prompts

Responses to I'm Sorry Prompts

Responses to Why Are You Avoiding Me? Prompts

Ride or Die Prompts

September Prompts

Settings with Potential Prompts

Sexting Starter Prompts

Sexual Tension Prompts

Small Things That Just Matter in Romance Prompts

Some Sleepy Scenario Prompts

Sparring Prompts

Summer Fling Prompts

Sweet, Caring Prompts

Time Slipping Prompts

Touch Starved Prompts

Toxic Relationship Prompts

Walk Down Memory Lane Prompts

Ways to Ask About It Prompts

Whumptober 2023 Prompts

Why Would Childhood Friends Fall in Love Prompts

Winter and Christmas Prompts

Writer's Month Prompt List 2023

You're the Only Person I Can Turn To Prompts

You Can't Prompts

[the-catmans-offical-2]

hi hello. Greeb (for ask meme)

Hi hello!!

How I feel about this character

-> Greed is my bbg, we're married. My gredy guy. Seriously though, I like his character (I can say I honestly prefer him in 03 BUT Greed in fmab isn't all that bad neither).

-> I honestly love his role in 03, being used for Ed to understand how to kill homunculi and why it is nessicary for him to do so. I'm sad that he died, sure, but I think it was a nessicary cause and that Ed will never forget how he killed him; He won't be forgotten, and that's the best part.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

-> Myself/j

-> Uhhhhgh.. I like the ship of him and Bido, and of him and Dolecetto! I don't have much to say on the ship, though, bc that's my ship feelings with FMAB (Though I really like Greed and Dolo in 03 with how loyal Dolo was to him before getting killed. Good dog, best dog in fma I'll say).

My non-romantic OTP for this character

-> Greedlinged! The soul brothers!!! Greed, Ling, and Ed are just stupid silly guys. Honestly I throw them at a wall and see how they stick. I genuinely think that ut was very cool that Greed, in fmab in his final death, was at peace with his death and that he found something he was looking for; Family, friends. Well, new ones because his old friends/family all fucking up and died.

-> Greed and Martel. Shut up. Shut up. His bi, t-swag ass and her cool lesbian-ness. They were best fucking buddies your honor.

My unpopular opinion about this character

-> Greed, when he is apart of Greedling, is overrated. There I said it. I like his character when he isn't apart of someone else, I love Ling he's a great stand alone character he doesn't need fucking Greed to be cool, more. Like in 03!!!!!!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

-> I wish Greed got to meet 03 Wrath. That's all I have to say on the matter.

-> I wish that we got to see more of *how* Ed was affected by killing Greed and how he basically led to the deaths of all those chimeras in the Devils Nest, sure this isn't exactly Greed but I still wanna see.

-> I wish we had more time with Greed and his crew, I'm still fucking sobbing over Martel and dolo. No I'm not ok.

[salt-pepper-jolex]

Powdered Donuts, Princess Crowns, and Bubbles

In which Jo announces something to Alex (unintentionally with the help of Luna); Inspired by the powdered donut scene in the closet.

A/N: This is my first published fanfic, so pleeease be nice. That being said, enjoy, and comments, prompt suggestions, and reviews are always welcome in the comments or in the 'ask me anything' box.

Side note: I'm partially ignoring canon with this fic, bc Jolex is my OTP and Grey's writers damaged me with Alex's exit.

"Here. I'm sorry for how I've been with you lately." Jo said apologetically to Alex, her voice fragile as she handed him an envelope with a box attached.

She'd been mad at Alex for reasons he didn't understand, and to be perfectly honest, she didn't understand them either...until she found out about this.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's okay. What's this?" His voice was soft, and curious, and his eyes were gentle.

"Open it." Her face flickered with a ghost of a smile, but her eyes were nervous.

Alex's face lit up as he opened the box to find powdered donuts, but that expression quickly turned into a confused one, then finally one of worry. "Babe, did I miss an anniversary or something?"

"No, Alex, I promise you didn't miss anything. Just open the envelope," she said, sipping Alex's coffee and biting a donut.

Before Alex makes a move to steal a bite from Jo, Luna waltzes in, wearing a princess crown and blowing bubbles. "Moonshine, why're you wearing a crown?"

"Because, Daddy. Mommy's your princess. And that means I'm both of your princesses." Luna responds, very matter-of-factly, putting the bubble wand back into the container.

"Yes, you are, Luna-bug," Jo says, scooping her up, making Luna giggle.

"Mommy, that tickles!" Luna squeals before stopping to point at the envelope. "What's that, mama?"

"I don't know, Luna, why don't we let Daddy tell us?" She winked to Luna before smiling at Alex.

He opens the envelope, his face puzzled before morphing into one of pure joy. The envelope read, "Congrats!" signed by Mer, Bailey, Webber, April, Maggie, Amelia, Jackson, Owen, Arizona, Callie, Cristina, Aaron, Amber, and Helen.

"Jo, what is this?" Alex asks, in awe of what it might turn out to be.

"Well, how would you feel if I told you we're having another baby?"

"Jo, you better not be joking. Are you pregnant?"

She smiles, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears as she nods.

"Alex Karev, we're having a baby," she holds up a positive pregnancy test, the two pink lines obvious and almost too dark.

"Baby!" Luna cheers, blowing bubbles from Jo's arms as Alex leans in to sweetly kiss Jo on her lips before grabbing the donut in Jo's hand and bit into it.

"Baby, I love you, but I think I love donuts more," Alex said playfully as Jo softly swatted his hand away.

"Hey! What about me?" Luna said, both Jo and Alex laughing at her reaction.

"We love you too, princess. Now come on, we have donuts to finish!" Jo says, excitement filling Luna's eyes.

"Donuts!" Luna's remark had shown them just how ready Jo and Alex were to give their little girl a baby sister of brother.

"Do you think we're ready for it?" Alex asked as he saw his daughter's face light with happiness at the donuts.

"Mhmm, they'll love you just as much as you love them and Luna." Jo nodded, planting a kiss on Alex's lips, letting herself linger.

"And powdered donuts," he teases, kissing her back.

"Speaking of which, your daughter got into. You're putting her to bed tonight." Jo giggled, a sound that filled the room and Alex's heart.

"Always, baby. Always." He said, his voice filled with a conviction that resonated in both of them.

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

P.S; In this AU, Jo is both a General Surgery Attending & OB resident. Alex is Chief/Head? of Peds and a General Surgery Attending.

Thanks so much for reading! Hope I did canon-divergent Jolex fans justice! Lemme know what you think in the comments, and feel free to give prompts for them too!

xo, Nikki

[tobiasdrake]

The very last bauble. The very last hangout. As we move towards the conclusion to it all, we've heard from Vivia about what he wants us to bear in mind. Now it's time to hear what guidance Yakou has to offer us.

Oh, okay, we're gonna give him a pep talk. Disappointing to the very end, aren't you?

Really. We're really going to spend the last hangout yet again shilling the OTP that remains mired in the exact same place it was in way back in the Chapter 2 rooftop epilogue?

The answer, Yakou, is that it's not. Things are not going. There's been lots of blushing and lots of awkward pauses but nobody has said or done a single thing yet because writers despise romance despite how hard they try to inject it into their stories.

Ooh, Yuma doesn't know but that is a painful question.

*spit take* NOT SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT, FUCKING HELL.

God fucking dammit man. Even if you're making it up, "I was so great at cheating, you wouldn't even BELIEVE" is a terrible thing to make up. It doesn't need to be true to reflect poorly on your values.

I'm going straight back to the homunculus testing site so I can push you dipshit ass off a cliff.

This is the worst final hango--

Why was that Fubuki's final conversation topic!? Ew ew ew ew DX

This is the second-worst final hangout!

...wait.

Hold up.

Is he talking about actual kittens?

Or that, I suppose. Still, the way he chose to play this up has caused my opinion of him to nonetheless sink lower. It's not about whether he did or did not "three- or four-time". It's about the fact that he considers the image he tried to sell to be an admirable presentation of masculinity in the first place.

"LOL It's so cute how they'd get jealous whenever they'd find out about my other girlfriends!" This kind of casual misogyny is exactly the kind of behavior that makes me loathe "guy talk". Men will take one look at you, see a kindred bro, and then proceed to say the grossest shit to you with absolutely no filter whatsoever.

Too late, damage already done. There is no salvaging your reputation from here.

Now we're getting to the meat of it. I expected Yakou to give a counterargument to Vivia, but they seem to be on the same page.

Vivia asks, "Is it always right to reveal a cruel truth?"

Yakou says, "You need to put Kurumi's wellbeing first."

These both feel like things that are going to be important for Yuma to carry with him in the final confrontation with Makoto. Which is why the two baubles were put here.

It's not, and I hate that you think that. This exact mindset, that men only exist for women and nothing else, is a major contributing factor to toxic masculinity.

This conversation must be, like, right before Chapter 5. Yakou's getting ready to carry out Huesca's murder. That's why he's trying to connect with Yuma like this.

Yakou Furiou. I didn't think very highly of him when I met him. But then I got to know him and see new sides to his personality. And through that journey, I was able to learn that I was overestimating him and adjust my opinion even lower.

I don't like Yakou on a personal level. I don't hold his drinking or his grief against him. He's a damaged man who's been through some trauma. But he's also a frequent obstacle who has gross opinions and mostly gets in the way.

Nonetheless, I still stand behind him 100% in the murder of Dr. Huesca. Like I said before, I'm not fond of Yakou the Detective but I adore Yakou the Murderer. That we were all able to pull together and carry off the Crime of the Century to avenge Yakou's wife and assassinate the most well-guarded man in Kanai Ward?

Yeah. I'm proud of that. We did it. Huesca isn't Yakou's victim. He's our victim. We made this happen for Yakou and I have no regrets about it. I'd kill Huesca again if Yuma would let me. Shove him over that railing and let him be a malfunctioning immortal in a pit at the bottom of the secret lab.

Yakou isn't someone I would want to hang out with for an evening. But I'm glad he found his closure, even if this was the only way he could.

[autumnslance]

Year of the OTP 2023 - Thancred & Aeryn Masterpost

Originally started by a Batman fandom group, Year of the OTP is a challenge to end up with 12 new fics from a series of prompts for one's favorite ship. They've been gracious enough to open it to anyone and everyone, however, so a few of us decided to add our Final Fantasy XIV wolships into the mix.

So here are 12 fics/screenshot sets for my OC Aeryn Striker with that canon rogue, Thancred Waters. Also migrating the stories onto my Ao3, mostly in "Unexpected" and "Despite the Gods We've Outlived", though a few stand alone in my "Aeryn Striker" series.

January - Dual Perspectives (ARR, Pre-relationship) February - Linkpearl (Stormblood, early relationship, long distance) March - Ladyhawke Fairy Tale AU (image set, plot summary) April - Desert Divergence (AU/Canon Divergence, Love Confess) May - Illness (ARR pre-relationship, sick fic/comfort) June - Confession (Shadowbringers Love Confess, poorly timed) July - Stars (Yearning at the start of Shadowbringers) August - Snowstorm (Heavensward pre-relationship comfort) September - I Wrote This For You (A letter of yearning, Endwalker) October - On A Dark & Stormy Night (Dark Fairy Tale AU images) November - Missing Scars (Post-Shadowbringers readjustment) December - Home (post-Endwalker holidays & belonging)

Some of these did get written later, going back and filling in months I'd missed. Life happens! Also original story writing eating up my brain, but I cannot complain about more writing productivity!

This also let me get in at least one long-sitting WIP completed finally ("Snowstorm"; we're not going to talk about how long that's been in drafts...), while others still didn't mesh ("Meeting the Family" is being a rambling monster) but led to entirely new things getting written. And it got me to play with a few AUs, which I normally don't do, aside from the Halloween silliness, which found its way into this set as well.

Thanks again to YOTP for hosting and opening up this little challenge, and here's to a new year of creativity around all our blorbo pairings!

[pyro-madder]

So for the ask game, what about Gehrman and Laurence? :D

*already frothing at the mouth* sure thing ! :) gonna try to group them both at once

favorite thing about them :

- G : probably his fight. It looks like a movie ! The beautiful scenery, the mentor and student clashing their weapons in the same fighting style, and of course the MUSIC ! (if i lack sleep and focus too much on the way the voices go down on "misereTE" i WILL cry)

- L : also his fight ! Despite the difficulty it's one of my favorites. Beautiful music as well. I also adore the calm of his english dub, it's one of the few I really prefer over the french one !

least favorite thing about them :

- G : how little we get to actually speak to him. I understand it's on purpose (we're just another hunter, why would he try to bond with us if it's gonna end the same as with the dozens that came before us ?) but it still frustrates me ! X)

- L : hard to say. sometimes i fear i don't see him as terrible as he may have been, but "may" is the key word here - he's nuanced, how much good and bad there was is up to each's interpretation and I consider this question to be canon-only

favorite line :

- G : "The night, and the dream, were long..."

- L : "EEEAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH !!!" (+ "Fear the Old Blood" because his voice combined with Willem's sounds beautiful + "Indeed, Gehrman - it won't be long" because ouch.)

brOTP : I accidentally created a Gehrman/Damian friendship by upgrading the latter as school staff rather than senior student. Think about it : Byrgenwerth's groundskeeper and archivist, each finding themselves babysitting looking after their half of the squad (Laurence + Maria // Micolash + Rom, with Caryll somewhere in the middle), and then meeting again in the Dream ! (dissolving emoji) Gehrman parrying Damian's questions about the Doll ! (emoji dissolves harder) and now they're both sad old men who forgot each other yippie

There's also Oto whom Gehrman knew prior to the Workshop's creation and offered a position in ! And then Izzy :) your friendly neighbourhood craftsmen. And Ludwig probably !

For Laurence, it's Micolash. Two sides of a coin through and through ! Whether they're working together, making out or strangling each other, there's no filter between them, from their meeting to their separation. World's worst dormmates ! <3

OTP : eachother + Maria for Gehrman and Ludwig for Laurence.

gehrence + ludrence* are a hard tie, following a similar dynamic due to the common denominator, but with their distinct flavor since they happen at two distinct points of the timeline. gehrmaria's a bit behind for now but as I've said earlier I'm hoping to bring it to the same level 😁 They're all so beautifully tragic, with a lot of tenderness but also a streak of unhealthy dependance, doomed through and through. basically i wasn't kidding when calling them the World's Worst Polycule(tm)

*i know the fandom has other shipnames but i don't want to use them for several petty reasons, sorry if anyone out there needs to add my names to their blacklist.

nOTP : for both, none that I know of.

random headcanon : let's talk families ! Wolves have been hunted to extinction in Yharnam's region by the time the story begins in Byrgenwerth, and the person who shot the last one is a relative of Gehrman (his dad probably). On Laurence's side, only his mother is "known" (air quotes because he's extremely discreet about her, like everything in his past). Even in their homeland, she stood out, nicknamed La zorra/The vixen, and that reputation extended to Laurence who looks a lot like her. Her death (unsure circumstances yet) was the final thing that drove him to leave his homeland after getting his licence.

unpopular opinion : for Gehrman it's obvious, for Laurence i have no idea. X) i'm a hermit so if discourse doesn't appear directly on my dash i'll have no clue about how is it over there...

song i associate with them :

Gehrman : Old and Wise by Alan Parsons' Project

Laurence : Found God in a Tomato by Psychedelic Prn Crumpets

favorite picture of them : too much choice ! their boss cutscene, lots of beautiful fanart (@/redzombie's portrait of laurence, @/pupspuppet's gehrmans, @/subzeroparade's gehrences, Raquel Cornejo's illustrated lore...) i'm also fond of the pattern in my own art where laurence does his thing and gehrman looks either confused or tired sdfghjklm

[itsanidiom]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

LET'S GOOOOO~ tagged by @negrowhat

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

Glorestor or Glorfindel / Erestor of Middle Earth Fanon Fame. Not that I don't CARE about it anymore, mind you. There's just not enough new content (for obvious reasons god it's old and there's like one conversation of original source material). I don't think about them as much anymore. Like I used to be reading fanfic EVERY NIGHT and we're talking like novel length fanfics (as you can imagine people in the LOTR fandom write lol). Anyway here's some super old fan art... (>u<)

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

Oh god...something Dynasty Warriors related for sure...

Probably like Sun Ce / Zhao Yu or Gan Ning / Lu Xun. (GO WU! lol) I feel like there were other couples I'm totally forgetting right now...but yeah god I love Dynasty Warriors...

Also...daaamn Gan Ning looks good there I should go buy the latest game. (>w<)

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Like the first one I wrote or read?? I went into my oldest of old "old writing" folders and found this list of docs that I haven't been touched in over ten years. SO I'm gonna saaaay it was a Dynasty Warriors fanfic...one of these pairings. (^ ^;)

Also kind of hilarious to see that I literally still organize my fanfic files in the same way for over half my fucking life ago...nice...

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

I feel like it would have been something Inuyasha related. That or something Final Fantasy X. I do not remember, but it was probably some version of these scene.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Not that I can remember...do not need this in my life...lol but maybe I've reblogged some RPF like discourse? Like the "should or shouldn't you ship" type discussions. I'm on the side of "do whatever you want but don't send it to the famous people" [ex. like ATEEZ fanfic/fanart] or "if they are literally doing it as part of their promo go ahead, it's for fun/they literally requested it as part of their promo" [ex. BillyBabe]. (^ ^;)

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

It honestly always depends on the quality of the fanart or the fanfic because even a notp can turn into a OH!tp if it's good enough. [Exhibit a: my Phaya/Tharn/Chalothorn fanfic]

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Weirdly the one new Chalothon/Singh fic from The Sign. But I really need AO3 to fix the spelling of his name in the tag...

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

PhayaTharn are the current obsession~

Look at them...adorable...

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Still wish John Wick / Santino fucked...also like James Bond / Q and The Protagonist / Neil and Arthur / Eames...bromance is SUCH a waste but considering the genres of these movies it is never gonna happen...I have to wait for the Thai BL versions lol (^ ^;)

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

OH I haven't been traumatized by watched it yet, but Dead Friends Forever has made me get onboard with Macau/Chay of KinnPorsche fame because OMG LOOK AT THESE CUTIES!!!!

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

GOD I remember there was a LOT of Sesshomaru x Inuyasha yaoi when I was a kid LMFAO like...straight up cancelled...I dunno if it was normal back then but no yaoi was normal back then so like it sadly all got lumped together or something...then again looking at some of the comics that are coming out these days...

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

All the McFassy ships from back in the day like OMG REMEMBER JUNGKOV?? STELIOS AND LETO??? ARCHIE AND ROBBIE? SO MANY CROSSOVERS!!

LOL Sorry that just brought me back LOL

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

Ahhhh I don't know...I usually either write a lot or read a lot...I literally have a fic rec list for Glorestor lol and then when I look in my AO3 bookmarks the top ship is Hannigram sooooo let's say Hannigram even though I haven't read one for a while.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

toll and smol...i like me a toll and a smoll...lol or big and small...i dunno something something contrast something something just crush him and/or be uncharacteristically gentle or somehow incapacitate the larger man with your wiles...that is all...

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Miscommunication < seconding @negrowhat's response. Cannot stand it. Such a boring trope. Very annoying for me (the audience).

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

what is your second most favorite otp from any series?

AAAAAAHHHHH, DON'T DO THIS TO ME! There are some many pairings I love in so many books, movies, series, soap-operas, etc.

*sighs* Okay, gun to my head, there's three, in no particular order that I absolutely ADORE, have made me cry, and that I legitimately don't understand how anyone could watch these shows and not ship them (spoilers for Friends, How I Met Your Mother and The Borgias, respectively)

Monica and Chandler

Because I was just 4-years-old when Friends final season was aired, I already knew these two were going to be endgame when I watched the show - and it didn't take long for me to see the appeal, even when they were still supposed to be just friends.

They're just so affectionate with each other right from the start, cuddling on the couch, helping each other out - and Chandler just casually says stuff like "If neither of us is married when we're fourty, I'm totally willing to marry and have a kid with you just so you get the family you want" and actively tries PROVE to her he is boyfriend material and they make a game out of it??????? Genius. Perfect. Amazing.

And then it happens, they hook up and right away they're couple goals. Can't keep their hands off each other, are super clingy, all of their friends find them ridiculously adorable, Chandler matures A LOT and Monica is very patient with him because she knows he's used to hiding any emotional turmoil behind a sarcastic joke, and they can joke about and tease each other without either of them being too mean or too sensitive.

Also their conflicts never last more than one or two episodes and they never break up after first getting together, and it was a breath of fresh air coming from the same show that gave us Ross and Rachel.

Barney and Robin

They have INSANE chemistry, Robin was the only woman Barney was truly willing to change for, and Barney was the one guy Robin was with that ever truly liked her for who she was.

They. Deserved. So. Much. Better.

Seriously, I can't get over how unfair their ending was. There's a reason I tell Zutarians to give this show a watch before they complain about how their ship, that was never even canon, was "robbed of it's happy ending."

We see Barney and Robin being teased as potentially having at least a fling someday as early as season 1, they finally hook up in season 3, season 4 is all about him struggling with being in love with her, seasons 5-7 are all about them dating then breaking up while still being very much in love yet never properly reconciliating because life gets in the way, season 8 is them getting engaged and being adorably happy together, the 9th and final season is THE WEEKEND OF THEIR WEDDING and them working through every last issue they still have to make sure they will a long, happy life together as a married couple...

Then the finale goes and says "Actually, they divorced off-screen because their hotel room had no wi-fi. Sorry." WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT? It's really no wonder the network cancelled the planned spin-off right after the finale aired.

Cesare and Lucrezia

Ah yes, a Nichya list of great ships includes a pair of siblings, specifically Older Brother X Young Sister, who would have thought? This time a kind of, sort of historical one! (Seriously, The Borgias is the kind of over-dramatic, historically inaccurate period piece I love wasting my time with, and the aesthetic is incredible).

Even as someone who is very into that kind of dynamic and that knew the show was gonna go there, I was still SHOCKED at how unsubtle is right from the start - especially once I found out the writer didn't want to play up the sexual tension originally.

Somehow, the first time we see these two on screen, Lucrezia is spying on her brother as he has sex and once he notices he playfully chases her around the garden, berating her for spying on him AGAIN, and then when they're on the ground together he just casually admits to loving her more than he loves God????????????????????????????? NORMAL SIBLING BEHAVIOR, EVERYBODY! NOTHING WEIRD GOING ON HERE!

I adore how protective (and possessive) Cesare is of her, ready to commit murder at the very thought of a man mistreating her - yet he is still willing to step aside when he thinks she found a good man, because nothing matters to him more than Lucrezia's happiness, not even his own. It just so happens that he always has to step in again because nobody loves her quite to insane degree he does, and thus she only feels truly safe, happy and loved with him, hence her saying "Only a Borgia can truly love a Borgia."

And they, legitimately, are insepareble. They're always close to each other, holding hands, hugging, cuddling, KISSING - all long before they're ready to admit, even to themselves that they're in love.

They are so clueless about what level of physical affection is normal between relatives that they made out in front of her husband and were surprised he found out about their incestuous affair.

And more importantly, thanks to the show being cancelled after season 3 instead of getting the planned fourth season, they never broke up! The show literally ends with them in each other's arms, accepting their love. I couldn't have asked for literally anything else.

[sareinadale]

please tell us more about this helsa series you are writing 👀💕

nonnieeee!! but it wouldn't be a surprise now, don't you think so?

okay honestly, i wasn't planning on working on a long helsa series, though i did have a similar plan with the 'marriage of convenience' trope as the core of the series.

what started out was really just a series of twitter banters with my friend that expanded into fully fleshed plots, with some spanning over a month or three depending on how far the plot develops.

truthfully, i've been yearning to find a writing partner who could match my writing style and be excited to write SO MUCH about a ship. while helsa initially wasn't my OTP ( yes, i started out as jelsa ), somewhere in 2022, i turned into an ardent helsa shipper thanks to my other friend.

ANYWAY, back to the series ( me and my big mouth can't hold it back anymore ):

the entire premise of the story takes place after the events of Frozen 1, but not until Frozen 2. her magic is still there, just not at the forefront as it did in the first movie. and oh, yeah, it's in the mid-1800s! there's also inspiration drawn from ( majorly ) the frozen musical, a frozen heart and a little bit of dangerous secrets.

others may have written something similar like mine, but this is really an extensive series of ‘what-ifs’ that mainly focuses on the aftermath of her coronation, her struggles of trying to be a good queen for arendelle and all the times she shouldn’t hang out with hans, who showed up on arendelle after serving his prison sentence for two years ( roughly ) – which led to her falling for his pretense like anna.

of course, there's a few original characters that we made for this series! besides that, i personally have a pinterest board dedicated to hans and elsa, alongside a spotify playlist that follows their entire journey :D

there’s also an element of hans’s morally grey side, which, as santino fontana said, hans isn't what he seems to be ( meaning he has personal motivations like any other people ) and my lovely friend who writes as hans has the most detailed lore on him and everything, and i honestly couldn't be luckier and so SO grateful to know them and write together ❤️

obviously, when we started plotting, we realized that their story's going to be LONG, and we've decided to break it down into three major acts. the second act is arguably going to be the longest and where we are currently.

so, the theme of the story is the title of the series itself: 'in hindsight'.

in hindsight is basically a sequel to a prequel titled 'shattering ice'. in this one, the story explicitly deals with her first visit to the isles and meeting the star-studded cast of the westergaards whom, again, my friend here has built – completely tragic, awful, and all things negative that shows who they are as a family.

also the prequel will serve as the starting point of their relationship because we don't want to jump on that chemistry building with haste.

right now, we're mostly focusing on in hindsight and pretty much pausing shattering ice. also, because the former became a full blown series, i had to upgrade my g-drive storage hahaha so all of their past plots and current ones are safely stored in there.

all in all, this series is arguably the most special endeavor i've ever done. it's got a TON of emotional realism in there, soft moments in the form of jane austen-esque longing touches kinda way, gut-wrenching angst and a bittersweet ending ( i'm not ready for the last part, but we've planned on how the series will end ).

even in spite of our busy schedules, we found time to keep writing out the replies, info-dumping personal headcanons of our characters and hyping each other whenever the ship had their fluff / angst moment. i seriously could not thank my friend enough, and i really appreciate her for all the helsa brainrots ❤️

and finally, the reason i've not put it up on AO3 is because i didn't want that invisible pressure of needing to update it. i mean, yes, it's still ongoing, but imagine if i just upload the complete series and voila? basically giving a delight to potential readers that the series is done hahaha.

i don't foresee we'll finish it by end of this year, even though we started out since june last year. but who knows, it could end well until the following year?

okay nonnie, there you go 🤓

[damagedintellect]

Kenny McCormick x reader

💌 As Long As I can Remember: Chapter 8  💌  

Summary:  You moved to south park in the 4th grade. You weren't expecting what came next. After seven years of friendship you were about to make a move but what happens when Cartman's OTP gets in the way of what you desire most.

Notes:  Overall Kenny x reader but also some Craig x reader, I wrote this over a decade ago but I'm feeling nostolgic, this was written for a friend a long time ago

💌 Word count: 1,131 💌  <= Previous | Chapter 9 =>

The next morning you all found out that the stick had been taken by Clyde who apparently in the span of just a few hours now has an army. After Sir Douch Bag was able to get some new factions, everyone partnered up and rushed his stupid tower of darkness. Everyone was surprised at how well made the tower was. After you entered the lowest floor Cartman cleared his throat "Guys I don't think we're in Clyde's backyard anymore." Everyone groaned until Kyle spoke "I think this is were we split up, Stan and I will take the left side, Cartman and Butters take right, and Prince (Y/N) and Princess Kenny take middle." 

Stan nods and follows Kyle before he mentions "Oh! Watch out for Craig I haven't seen him yet so he is probably guarding Clyde and the last time we crossed paths he was level 26, the freaken thief is OP" you looked to Kenny. His eyes widened, both of you had just hit level 20 that morning. If you did face Craig it's going to be one hell of a tough fight.

It was quiet far too quiet for comfort the air was dense and thick around the two of you especially given the events that happened yesterday. Well you're pretty sure it happened yesterday, who knows you have to keep an eye out for Craig. You felt a shiver down your spine and you stopped walking gripping you're dagger before turning to Kenny "Did you hear some-" apparently Craig had been trailing behind you for a while holding Kenny with a knife to his throat "Shit!" you slowly lower your dagger and just stare at Craig.

"Drop the dagger if you want to live." monotone as usual, the air was tense until Kenny smirked "No! Prince (Y/N) don't listen to him. I'll just have to do, IT." You took a step back with the fear of what he was about to do. You could not allow him to do....IT. 

"No, Princess Kenny there must be another way!" At this point Craig was not buying it, the poor sucker just didn't know how awful it really was.

"I don't have time for your silly games Prince (Y/N)" You turned around and held your hand straight out to your side as if you were going to dramatically drop your dagger. Kenny then took the opportunity to do, it.

"OH MY GOD!!! MY EYESSSS!!! MCCORMIK!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Craig sounded really pissed off so you closed your eyes and started to run aimlessly until Kenny took your arm and led you somewhere. 

You only opened your eyes when Kenny stopped running "Did you really have to strip Kenny? I feel like Craig might be permanently blind." Kenny fixed his dress and laughed "Don't you mean permanently gay for me, hehe. Honestly I just needed to buy some time okay, I'm just glad Craig really isn't gay because he might have fallen for me." You just roll your eyes while you and Kenny peered around the corner the hallway was empty. Once the two of you turned back around your eyes were met with cold blue once again and Craig leaned in slightly before whispering "Combat"

*COMBAT MODE ACTIVATED*

Once you are challenged to combat the rules and format follow the stick of truth game, so this part is like the normal fight with Craig up until the final few hits in which Craig tries to persuade you to betray Princess Kenny and join Clyde instead.

"Give me one good reason why I'd want to do that!" you retorted back only to be caught way off gaurd when soft warm lips were gracefully placed on yours. This however is when tragedy struck your daggers were missing from your utility belt, one clearly visible in Craig's hand and one in Kenny's as he tackled Craig out of the window. You ran to the window and saw the most horrific sight. A large pool of blood with Kenny breaking Craig's fall. You instantly grabbed the rope that was around your feet by the window and carefully climbed down.

"KENNY!" you screamed, tears falling from your cheek as you tried to sit him up. He grabbed your hands "(Y/N), promise me that you guys will still beat Clyde." He then pulled the dagger from his chest and but it in your hands. "Kenny! You idiot how can you say something like that at a time like this!" You yelled but it was no use Kenny was already dead. You wiped your eyes and turned to Craig, you were wondering where the other dagger went. Craig's hand was impaled with your other dagger. The last thing you remember is taking out the dagger before your vision fades. You wake up in cold sweat. The first thing you do is text Kenny

You: Hey

Kenny: Yes, I'm up Is there a reason you started texting me at 3 in the morning I didn't want to press, but I have been waiting for an explanation

You: It's not that important

Kenny: Clearly and you just happen to be up at this hour (Y/N) we're best friends you can literally tell me anything

You: Not this time I just have to I'll tell you when I'm ready just go to sleep

Kenny sighed "We've known each other for seven years, why don't you trust me. If only you knew about my feelings, but I doubt you'd feel the same way." Kenny looked at the last message again. Cartman was right it seems like (Y/N) really doesn't care at all. He closed his message with (Y/N) and message Cartman

Kenny: You were right about (Y/N) 

Cartman: Of course I was right I know a thing about romance and quite frankly you're too poor for (Y/N) anyways.

Kenny: I know but I really thought I had a chance

Cartman: Well you don't  Now do you still have have that love letter you got on Friday?

Kenny: Yeah

Cartman: I think it's time for you to move on I hate seeing you like this dude 

Maybe Cartman was right. Kenny looked down at the love, it read 

"I've liked you for a really long time and I really wanted to know if you'd be my boyfriend. You can call or texted me at ANY time, I'll be waiting

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        xxx-xxx-xxxx Love Tammy Warner'

"Hello?"

"The answer is yes..."

Cartman smirked at his OTP book "Soon my precious" He traced a heart over a clearly photoshopped picture of Kenny and Tammy Warner and kissed it. He turned to the second to last page where it had a picture of (Y/N) and various pairings of her crossed out with little red pen marks. "Tch Bitch"