#you have no idea how much we love helena in this house :)!!

[4lexnilsen]

“happy birthday,  little cat,”   alex muses with a sweet smile,  holding out a stack of freshly made blueberry pancakes,  covered in generous amounts of maple syrup and whipped cream.   a single candle dancing in the light morning breeze as he steps out onto the patio to set the plate in front of his girl,  lips brushing softly against her cheek.   “make a wish,  baby.”   he encourages,  phone already in hand,  ready to record the moment she blows the candle out.   he still can’t believe that october 5th,  the best day of the year, is finally upon them.   alex has been planning this moment for weeks,  carefully thinking through every detail to ensure it’s nothing short of perfect.   he wants it to be special,  something that will make helena feel loved and appreciated,  remind her just how much she means to him,  how she’s changed his life in ways he can’t even begin to describe.   “i have a little surprise for you.”   he carefully sets a purple box with a small box adorning the lid on the beside the plate,  his heart beating so fast as he studies her expression.   his birthday girl.   his sweet angel.   inside she’ll find the very first american edition (one of only 1250 copies) of jane austen’s first novel —   sense and sensibility.   and a travel brochure of traverse city,  michigan.   it’s such a beautiful small town,  and he booked them a lakefront cabin for the weekend,  all she has to do is say yes and pack her bags.   his own are already in the trunk of his car.   “i love you,  @batheir.   happy birthday.”

[seraphicsage]

A Feyd x reader x paul

Where reader is Paul’s concubine and Feyd falls for her. And Feyd wants her as his Na-Baronness/Baronness and says something along the lines of “with Paul you are just one lady of many but with me you are the sole Na-Baroness”

part 1!!! splitting this up so I have some more time to write part 2! hope you like it!!

Paul Atriedes has multiple concubines, gifts from his father. When he was 15 I was ‘chosen’ to be one of his concubines. It wasn’t too bad to be honest, it is a safe position and role in the house. We each have our own rooms, we do not have to worry about food or clothes, and he is overall respectful of us. He does however, enjoy showing us off, especially during diplomatic events where other houses visit the planet or if he travels to theirs. Never all of us at once of course but he makes us get all dressed up when there are visitors even if we are not being paraded around with him, and he drags one of us around to all the events with him. It is tiresome but we really do have it better than we would if we had not been chosen for this role, we would likely just be servants otherwise, so we try not to complain.

This event is an unusual one. The Baron of Geidi Prime is visiting along with his nephews. It is rare for there to be direct communication between the houses, the Duke and the Baron not wanting to be around each other for extended periods of time despite the advantages of being allies. This time, they’re staying for a full week. From what I’ve overheard through staff as well as listening into conversations, if this event goes well then there will be more like these in the future.

On the first evening of their stay, the Duke holds a stupidly fancy social event for the members of the house and the guests. The poor kitchen staff have been slaving away to cook enough food, and the right food, to deal with the Baron’s greedy appetite. The diet of the Harkonnens’ is hard enough to prepare. I’ve offered to help where I can but it has still been a big effort for the staff. And I haven’t had much time myself with preparing for the event. As it is such a big event, Paul has planned to bring more than one of us, which has included me, so I’ve had to ensure I am dressed up enough. 

Honestly it is humiliating, being dressed up like a doll, to be property to a man. I don’t know how Jessica did it before the Duke fell in love with her. Though, she was able to wear her Bene Gesserit uniform and it would be considered rude to expect any different. 

I have always been fascinated by the Harkonnen culture, though my studies had to stop when I became property of Paul. Their traditions and their ways of ruling, their methods of training for battle, it is so vastly different from other houses I have studied or interacted with. I’m hoping that being shown off at this event would at least give me the chance to converse with the Harkonnen soldiers and learn more about their planet. 

Paul plans to enter with my closest friend, Helena, and me and a couple others will enter independently. I feel sorry for Helena, but I know she does not so much being dragged around as much as me. 

I arrive about an hour after the event begins, knowing it would be better than entering right at the start where there are less people. This way, people take less notice. I find myself a drink and move to the edges of the room, watching people interact and getting an idea of the guests. I’m aware of someone’s gaze on me, but it is a feeling I have become used to and choose to take no notice of it. My eyes find Helena and Paul and to my disappointment they spot me too. 

I watch him trail his eyes down me, I can’t help but feel disgusted by it. They begin to walk towards me and I attempt to plaster a grin to my face. Paul’s arm immediately reaches for my hips, pulling me into him as he continues to inspect me. “You look gorgeous,” he whispers, leaning close to my ears, “I can feel everyone’s jealousy.”

Truthfully, I’m not sure he can, half the time I can’t tell if he is trying to convince himself or me. Probably himself. He loosens his grip on Helena in favour of clinging onto me and encourages me to move further into the room with him. He doesn’t really speak to anyone, to my frustration, and his grip on my hip is ridiculously tight, like he’s expecting me to run at any minute. 

After a while we’re approached by a Harkonnen, he addresses Paul first, tilting his head down in a subtle, but polite, bow. Then he faces me and I realise who it is, the youngest nephew of the baron, na-baron Feyd-Rautha. He lifts my hand up to press a kiss to the back of it, “My lady,” he greets me. 

I tilt my head down and bring myself down to a slight curtsy, “My lord na-baron, it is a pleasure.” I have heard many stories of the na-baron, his impressive skills in the fighting arena, his cruelty to his servants, his cannibal concubines. It was intimidating, but strangely fascinating, as with much of Harkonnen culture. The idea that I was actually meeting him, and he seemed to be showing me some sign of respect, is unbelievably exciting. 

I watch the two men converse for a few short minutes before Paul says goodbye, forgetting about my presence and walking away from us to find something else to do. I feel quite awkward left standing with the na-baron, but he seems to be watching me quite intensely. I’m just about to excuse myself from the conversation when he starts speaking to me. “So you are one of his concubines?” He doesn’t seem to say it with any judgement or pity, which is unusual. So much so that I can’t help but let out a small chuckle. 

“Yes, I am.” I struggle to come up with anything more to say in response. He seems to watch my face for a moment when he hums. 

“Would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the balcony?” he indicates towards the doors subtly, “I would like to speak more with you but it is rather crowded in here.” I try to squash my enthusiasm at the chance of having a proper conversation with him, I wouldn’t want him to get the wrong idea. 

“That would be lovely na-baron.” I bow my head slightly and let him lead the way to the balcony, and watch as he shuts the doors behind us. I lean against the railings and feel him stand next to me, looking ahead of us with me. 

After a short moment he starts to ask about life as a part of the Atreides household, watching me as if I was talking about the most important things. Somehow it feels easy to talk to him, as if we’re old friends. I work up the confidence to ask about his culture and life on Geidi Prime and he tells me about the rituals he does before a fight in an arena. It is odd, his stature is so sure and serious, yet at the same time he seems almost comfortable. 

We talk for what feels like hours but is probably only one, before I hear the doors open, breaking the bubble we’ve put ourselves in. Paul stands at the doors watching me for a moment before he requests my company - it’s not actually a request but it would be rude to just drag me away in front of other people. I turn to the na-baron and curtsy, thanking him for his time before taking the arm Paul has out for me to hold and letting him pull me away from the event. 

Over the week that the Harkonnen house is visiting, I find myself in the company of the na-baron again. I don’t know how it kept happening but he seemed to turn up any moment that I was not already preoccupied. He would offer to walk me to wherever it is I was going to next, or escort me on a walk around the gardens, and we would quickly find ourselves in various conversations. 

I found myself growing very fond of the na-baron, whenever I was on my own for more than a moment I would hope that we would bump into each other. And when we did, I would have to stop myself from grinning far too wide at his presence. Despite all of the stories I’ve heard, he never came across as frightening or unkind, in fact he’s listened to me ramble on about extremely mundane things many times and even seemed to enjoy it. 

On the last day of the visit, we take a walk around the garden together again, and I somehow find myself complaining about my situation with Paul. I can’t even remember what caused me to go down this tangent but before I know it I’ve been rambling for far too long. I grow self-conscious and stop myself from going further, “My apologies na-baron, I shouldn’t be complaining, I am luckier than some in my position.” I mutter out, staring at the ground below us as we walk. 

I hear him hum in thought beside me and come to a stop, prompting me to do the same. “I believe I understand, you feel… overlooked, like if you were gone then he wouldn’t care but at the same time trapped because you’re not allowed to leave despite that.” He seems like he’s deep in his thoughts but what he says explains it so well so I let myself nod at him. At my confirmation he hums again before continuing the walk. 

When we arrive back I go to thank him for escorting me but I stop when he looks as though he wishes to say something. “I would like to stay in contact after we leave your planet,” he says, not letting any emotions show on his face again. I let a smile show on my face at his request and nod. 

“I would like that as well na-baron, that would be lovely.” He nods and takes my hand, bowing down and pressing a light kiss to the back of it and I bow my head down in response. 

“Thank you for keeping me company during my visit, I will write to you when I return to Geidi Prime.” He promises before he walks away from me. I watch him go and let  myself feel the slight giddy feeling at the idea of continuing contact with him. 

[helenaaa2]

Your best friend is pregnant!!!

Im Helena your best friend, we’re always together and I share all my secrets with you, you’re like my big brother. I’m 1.49mts, bob haircut, dark-brown eyes, dark hair, weight 50kgs, B cup and wide hips .

41 weeks ago I told you I had an adventure with a man in a bar when I was on vacations with my family, a few weeks later I bought a pregnancy test and I called you to do it together. We both saw the positive result with fear, I asked you to please don’t tell anyone and then we’ll see what to do.

I didnt want to abort, so I started using very oversized clothes. It was in the week 26 when things started to get difficult because my bump was huge, I tried using even your shirts but anything worked, that huge belly button was visible through every single outfit. After a few hours planning something we decided that the best option we had was moving together as roommates with the excuse of “searching for new work opportunities”, have the baby and give it in adoption, then come back. My parents knew you for a long time so they didn’t have any problem with the idea.

We moved to a little house in the suburbs so anyone knew us and we didn’t have to hide it, I felt completely free using sport bras again and my favourite dresses. We were so peaceful until week 35, by this point I was huge, my milky boobs had doubled their original size, we couldn’t remember any other pregnant women we ever seen that was bigger than me. But there was not that much time left, I was so excited to give birth and finally get back to my life, but at the same time scared because now having a completely natural unassisted birth at home doesn’t seem to be a good idea.

We started thinking about everything we needed for the birth and that we didn’t visit any doctor, so on the week 37 we decided we had to see a doctor just to see if everything was ok and to set everything for the adoption. We drove 2 hours to the closest hospital to the gyno appointment, we told him the truth because he seemed to be very empathic and he actually was.

The appointment started with questions and answers

-“How old are you?”

H.-“26”

-“In 20 years as a gyno Ive just seen two tummies that big, do you know how many weeks you have?”

H.-“Yeah, it never stops growing. I have 37 weeks but I’ve read that maybe it’s just a lot of amniotic fluid.”

-Maybe, but that big it’s not just because of fluids. Do you know who’s the father?

H.-“No, I can’t remember and I don’t want to know”

-Ok, let’s have a look. Please take out all your clothes, use this coat and get comfy in those stirrups right there.

It was time for a ultrasound, we I was very nervous. I asked you to stay with me all the time so you did, I loved how you were supporting me all the time and I hold your hand and put it over my exposed big belly.

Doctor arrived a few minutes later and started preparing everything, we were about to know everything about my baby. He used some gel that was really cold and got my nipples so hard, I was so nervous and gripped your hand firmly. He started scanning my belly with the ultrasound, I couldn’t distinguish anything but when he moved the devise a little bit to the center he laughed so bad “WHATT?!!” I shouted to the doctor trying to see the image in the monitor “Lady, you actually have a lot of fluid but what really makes you huge is that you’re expecting twins”

I couldn’t react, I was totally shocked really thinking in anything, I was just analyzing the new and finally looked at you. You weren’t scared or shocked, YOU WERE SO HAPPY and your happiness went through your hand to me. I felt better after that, but the bad news were coming. After that, the appointment continued with the doctor checking my whole body, my tits, my belly, my cervix and I don’t know what else. When he finished I went for my clothes and dressed up, I come back and heard you talking about the birth, I sit down and the doctor explains everything now to me.

-“What I just saw is something really rare, most women like you…you know…petite with twins don’t usually reach even the week 35, but you’re now on the 37 and the babies doesn’t seem to be very excited to come out. To make it simple…your situation is like this, you’re going to have those babies for at least 3 weeks more inside of you, and right now I can calculate each baby weights around 8lbs”

When doctor said 8lbs I just let another “WHAT?!!!” Come out from me

-“Yes, what you heard sweetie, 8lbs and they’re getting heavier. I calculate a final weight of around 10lbs each if you give birth in the week 40. So, what I recommend you is to let those babies grow those 3 weeks more and then come here to have a c-section or induce the labour if your babies are in the correct position.”

H.-“I was thinking about an all natural birth at home doc…that’s what we want right?” I turn to you waiting for your answer.

Y.-“Yeah, for sure…We were very excited about having the babies at home without any medical procedure. I even took a few curses and now I’m a certified midwife” you said proudly.

-“I wouldn’t recommend that, a birth of babies that big is not something easy, but I admire your courage. What we can do is this, you actually have really wide hips that are perfect to give birth so I won’t be worried about baby getting stuck, but I’m actually worried about your vagina. Most of the times the real problem is that the vagina is not that wide or they just don’t let it stretch correctly. So what we’re gonna do is this: I’ll send you some clases I give online so you can know exactly what to do in all the possible cases that could happen during the birth. But this is just for the week 40 as time limit, if you reach the week 41 there’ll be no other option than practice a c-section, understand?”

My mind was receiving a lot of information at the same time, just the words “10lbs, birth, vagina, stretch, 40, c-section” were mixed rounding my head. Little bit worried and confused I looked at you, you didn’t seem to be worried about anything, you looked so excited and sure about what we were about to do. Again your confidence and happiness infected me and gave me the strength to turn to the doctor and say “That’s great, thank you for everything. We’ll contact you if something happens” Get slowly and hardly up the chair to shake the doctors hand.

We were in the car coming back home and we couldn’t stop talking about what we needed to do, what we needed to prepare, what we needed to buy and bet when the babies were coming. Was a very long road trip so we had enough time to talk and plan every single detail.

-

It’s the first time I write a story, please tell me what do you think. It’s too large but I think it’s not boring

If you like it ask for the part 2 ❤️

[targwh0re]

New Ideas for HOTD Alicent Fashion pt.2

So technically the last one I did for Alicent was apart of a Rhaenyra one, but for continuity sake this is my second outfit redesign for a younger Queen Alicent Hightower.

The dress in question we’re changing is one that will be changed in both scenes it’s worn. One will be a new dress entirely but the other will be just mentally recreating it to look more like the concept art.

The scenes are the dismissal of her father as Hand & The confrontation between she and Rhaenyra about the rumor that had her father dismissed:

I actually love this❤️❤️❤️ it’s just missing a little something, so when comparing these two pics:

If you notice these look exactly the same, except the black is darker, perhaps a velvet, the gold embroidery is more in the form of a design and brighter. The necklace is also more regal looking, bigger than the ones we saw her wear in her girlhood as a noble Lady. Those are the things they should’ve kept for the design of the dress in this scene, she’d look more like an actual Targaryen royal of the time. No offense but the dress that made the cut is kinda bland in tone.

The hair as well, she went for a jeweled hairnet to back to her girlhood hairstyles, precisely why I wish they would’ve kept the braided jeweled crown. It makes her seem more mature (despite her not being but jewelry can be a mask just as much as makeup sometimes) and more royal. She could even still keep it in this half held up hairdo just with the jeweled braided crown/twist added into it:

And the last thing about it the to want to say, the cape would’ve been awesome to see and it would’ve fit the scene. It was raining and she had a man carrying an umbrella for her, I think she’d have that cool ass cape too. Again makes her look more regal, more queen like, more mature.

The next time she wears it that I’d like to change, when she confronted Rhaenyra. A tense scene.

However at this point in time is when she is the most conflicted between her marriage to her husband and her “duty” to her house. I feel she’d reflect that in a representation of both houses. More so red, almost as if adding green was an afterthought, bc I rather think it would be a last minute decision for Alicent to add a green sash or piece of fabric to her usually Targaryen adoption in appearance. A way to feel close to her father by wearing the colors of the house she was born from (just like I headcanon she wore blue as a child to feel close to her mother; Helena Cuy, look it up where I go on a whole rant).

That in mind, imagine something similar to this:

The green being held in place at her neck, Targaryen dragon scales but in gold (perhaps a subtle nod toward Sunfyre/Aegon), it comes to wrap around her waist like a belt, tied at one side the remainder of the green fabric falls free on her left side of her hips down side by side the red dress. Also from the neckline, a half cape of green coming to cover her right side, thin gold chains reaching out from the neckline to hide beneath the half cape.

The red dress underneath would suit the summer climate/warmer climate of the time in the Red Keep, it’s just the right shade of Targaryen red, not to mention the red dress isn’t what really makes the dress but really what is meant to catch ur eye is that she’s wearing green for the first time in a long time. It meant to be hinting at her internal battles. Ofc her cleavage wouldn’t be exposed as depicted so it’s have a higher neckline, perhaps some simple gold and/or black embroidery to enhance it a bit.

Her hair would be something else to consider, thinking back to how we want it to be more mature and queen like. So perhaps a head peace or a jeweled net?

A mixture of these two would suffice:

The first picture is my favorite one and the main inspo for how I’d have done her hair, the pearls, the way her hair is twisted at the top with her bun being kept nice and beautiful in a net. The only thing I’d add from the second photo is the gold lace around the edges of the net, as well as the braid surrounding that as a whole. I’d also take the bands and add them loosely to the bottom part of her hair left down.

As for jewelry, they could’ve taken inspo from actual royal jewels. Something like this for Alicent:

Like I said the look starting originally as her traditional Targaryen Queen attire, with her Hightower symbolism added as an afterthought. Some small pearls could be added between diamond to go more with the pearls in her hair (although I think I might see some pearls in there but I might be dumb).

As for the earrings they could be something like this:

Again incorporating pearls into them or straight up replacing the diamonds entirely.

It’s just Queenly. It’s appeasing to the eyes. And it’s what I expect people to design royal fashion as to look like in period/historical dramas when you’ve proven yourself not concerned with accuracy or if it is a style fantasy gown.

[thebramblewood]

I was going to put this in a comment but I had MANY THOUGHTS so I thought I'd send an ask instead.

I'm in the process of reading through your pre-HZID Zhaoverse stuff and Helena's high school video project made me unexpectedly emotional. I love what you did with it and seeing it adds to the current stuff in the story for sure. It's such a great window into Helena's mind — and her heart, that really comes through here too.

It would be really interesting to see Helena pick up her photography hobby again. It can be difficult to do your hobby when you're in a bad place mentally, but maybe photography could her process her feelings and situation. Photography could also help her have a firmer, better understanding of her own identity. She's very much her own distinct person, unwilling to just go along with whatever Lilith or Caleb feels like doing, and taking part in a hobby she likes could help her affirm herself even more.

A potential difficultly (but also a good source of personal conflict) could be that in the Zhaoverse, at least with some types of cameras, vampires don't show up in pictures? Thus, Helena and the most important people in her life at this present moment (excluding Drusilla of course) don't show up in pictures. Maybe the type of camera the spellcasters were using when Caleb was hanging out with them involved mirrors, and this was why it didn't work.

I don't actually remember if it's been established if vampires show up in pictures taken on more recent cameras. There are all those pictures of the Vatores in your Wolfsbane Manor but they might be paintings, I don't know. It would be interesting whether vampires show up in photos or not! If they don't show up, Helena would have FEELINGS about that to deal with. If they do, she's still dealing with how she, her environment, and her life have changed.

Your early Helena posts also have me thinking about if we'll ever run into anyone from Helena's high school years! Helena evidently did not end up in life where she and her peers probably expected she would. I'm not asking if we'll run into any of those sims because I wouldn't like to cause you problems with spoilers or letting your storytelling process do it's thing, but it was sure something I was thinking about as I read through those old posts!

Thanks again for all the work you put into Helena Zhao is Dead.

You always have such good ideas! So much to address! First of all, don't forget we have already seen a few of Helena's high school friends in the story. Yuki went to Foxbury and encouraged Helena to get out of her comfort zone (I don't think she considered how far Helena would take that advice). Darling showed up briefly when the Copperdale Creep, I mean, Helena was in the midst of wreaking havoc on her hometown. And Ash and Molly were in the prologue!

The deeper we get into vampire angst territory, admittedly, it gets harder and harder to figure out where to fit the lighter or smaller moments in. I always found it tricky in the first place to portray Helena's photography hobby, but you're right that we haven't seen her with a camera in awhile - since her Oasis Springs trip with Ulrike, I think! It's definitely a hobby that, A., she hasn't had much time for or headspace to consider but also that, B., as you said, is a little bit complicated now by the vampire lore around cameras... which I've been somewhat skirting around because I'm unsure about it, honestly.

If I hadn't already made Caleb invisible in the photo with the spellcasters, I might have entirely done away with that piece of lore because it's more inconvenient than not, lol. But I think I can still get away with saying they were using a film camera rather than a digital camera because they're spellcasters who like being pretentious and fancy. So, theoretically, I guess that means Helena could take pictures of vampires, including herself! (Though the portraits in their house are meant to be paintings, so technically the only photos we've seen of the Vatores are from back when they were human.)

I like your point about Helena rediscovering her old hobbies as a way to stay in touch with herself and maintain her own personality. I'm currently trying to think of the best way to introduce a whole side of Forgotten Hollow we haven't seen yet, and I'm tossing around a couple different ideas in my head that haven't fully come together, but maybe photography could play into it in some way. Should Helena attempt to make a documentary of this strange little town no humans are supposed to know exists? I'm not sure how some of the inhabitants we're about to meet would feel about that! 😝

[zepskies]

And So It Goes - Part 19

Pairing: Billy Butcher x OFC (Latina!OC)

Summary: As Madelyn Stillwell’s personal assistant, Helena Flores finds herself caught between protecting her job, and more importantly her life—or helping Billy Butcher bring down the supe who killed her best friend, Becca.

Word Count: 4,200

Tags/Warnings: Angst, tension, and a plan made…

ASIG Series Masterlist

19: Collateral

The morning after Butcher, Ben, and Hughie returned to the house came yet another bomb of information Helena wasn’t prepared for.

Homelander had been created in a lab…using Ben’s DNA.

Holy fucking shit, Helena thought, as she sat down heavily on her couch. That seemed to be the anthem of her year.

Ben explained how Vogelbaum had framed it to him back in 1980—as a simple genetics experiment (the details for which, Ben may or may not have tuned out at the time). After the weight of that fell between them all, he left the room with a large bottle of bourbon Helena had hidden under the sink.

“We’re all packed up for the road,” Butcher said. He looked over at Helena and Hughie, who sat together on her couch. Frowning, she noticed how Hughie discreetly blotted at some dark-colored substance coming from his ear. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t earwax.

What the fuck? she wondered.

“Where’s Soldier Boy?” Butcher asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

“You mean, ever since he told us he was supposed to kill his own son?” Hughie retorted. “He locked himself in the bathroom, with a bottle of Old Granddad.”

“My alcohol, you mean,” Helena quipped.

“Homelander ain’t really his son, and he knows it,” Butcher pointed out. He seemed tired, to Helena’s eyes. She could hear it in his voice. She also thought he wasn’t giving this news the full weight it deserved. It had clearly shaken Ben, no matter how much Butcher didn’t want to hear of any kind of hang-ups to their mission. 

Before she could say anything about it, Ben finally came out from down the hall. He glanced at them all before he ventured into the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the fridge.

At least it’s not my beer, Helena thought.

“All right, let’s be off then, ey?” Butcher said, hauling on his black trench coat. “We’ll swing by the office and grab some more V. Then Hughie’ll bring us to where the cunts are. And we’ll pop off Noir, then Homelander.”

Helena shot him an incredulous look.

“More V,” she said, gesturing at Hughie. “Really. Because the black sludge coming out of his ear isn’t enough of a warning sign?”

Hughie grimaced, but Butcher gave her a tight, resigned look.

“You know the score, love. We’ve got two more on the list. That means heading to the Tower,” he said. “I’d appreciate it if you stayed here.”

She crossed her arms and gave him a narrowed look. After last night, she thought he would’ve understood her by now. She didn’t want him to go through with all of this, for his own sake, but if he wouldn’t listen to her, then she would at least try to make sure he and Hughie lived through this.

Because if she let him and Hughie go without her now, knowing she could’ve done something to help…then she’d never forgive herself.

“Well, there’s no sneaky way you’re going to get V24. The R&D lab is below ground at Vought Tower, Level 0. Even when I worked there I didn’t have clearance,” Helena said. Though as an idea grew in her mind, she bit her lip, and finally sighed.

“But there’s a way we can go about this without just bulldozing through the front door…I can get you in there from the control room.”

“Not necessary,” Butcher said. His brows drew together as he looked down at her, drawing closer. She met his gaze with a stubbornness he should’ve expected.

“It is if you want to maintain any kind of element of surprise against Black Noir, let alone Homelander,” she said. Butcher’s lips pressed together, but she made it clear, even in her silence, that he wasn’t leaving without her this time.

Butcher crossed his arms and met her stance, just as bullheaded as ever.

“You’re not coming,” he said.

An hour later, Helena was breezing through radio stations, sitting shotgun in Butcher’s car, while Hughie was forced to sit in the back with Ben. They were cruising at full speed down the highway towards New York City.

“Fucking land on something already,” Ben sniped from the backseat. If he heard one more station change from girly pop to heavy metal, he was going to lose his shit.

Helena rolled her eyes and settled on something they could all agree on: John Lennon, “Give Peace a Chance.” She had to stifle a sardonic smile at the irony.

After a while, Ben started to snooze in the back, while Hughie stared out the window. Helena turned to Butcher and asked something she’d been wondering for days now.

“How’d you even get ahold of V24 to begin with?” she asked.

Butcher expelled a sigh, but he was honest, after swiping a hand over his mouth and beard. “Through Maeve. She gave me the tip on Payback, on a weapon that supposedly killed Soldier Boy, the whole thing. She wants that golden cunt dead as much as we do.”

Helena nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense.”

She’d been seeing a lot about Maeve on the news; that supposedly she was in rehab, according to Vought. But Starlight fans were teaming up with Maeve fans on social media, demanding proof that she was actually where Vought said she was.

If what Butcher said was true, then maybe Vought had found out about what Maeve was up to. Maybe they’d decided to take her off the playing field.

Helena shook her head in contemplation. This was it. Homelander, Vought—the entire thing needed to crumble. As much as she hated the plan, she could admit that with Ben on board, there was a shot that it wouldn’t all end in even more blood and misery.

Helena woke after a doze to Butcher climbing back into the driver’s seat. They were stopped at a gas station, for which she assumed he’d filled up the tank. Something wasn’t right though, she thought, as the car started moving.

Ben groaned as he woke up from his long nap, and he noticed the same thing she had.

“Oh, there he is,” Butcher said.

“Where’s the cum guzzler?” Ben asked. Helena rolled her eyes; she could only assume he meant Hughie. It was a valid question though. She turned to Butcher with a frown.

“You were spot on about him. There I was, filling up the motor. I turn around, the little git had done a runner,” Butcher said.

Helena’s face turned incredulous, but the knowing shift in Butcher’s gaze implored her to play along. She hesitated, but then she tried to school her features into something more neutral.

“We needed him to get to Noir,” Ben said in annoyance.

“Ah, don’t you worry about that, guv. I got it all worked out,” said Butcher.

Now Helena knew there was something off here. She’d learned to tell when he was lying, but this time his gaze remained on the road. He glanced into the review mirror to watch Ben contemplating.

After a moment, the supe seemed to accept his words.

“Wake me when we get to New York,” he said, and laid across the entire backseat of the car.

Helena shot Butcher a sharper look. It said she’d want answers later; she knew there was no way Hughie would cut and run, not when they were so close.

Butcher nodded in acceptance. He knew he could fool Soldier Boy, but not Helena. He just had to figure out what he was going to do with Helena when they got to his apartment in the city, because he had no intention of bringing her to Vought Tower.

He glanced at her, but she was suspicious now. She crossed her arms and shook her head at him before she faced the road ahead.

It was a long car ride.

A few hours later, they arrived at the apartment Supe Affairs had been funding for Butcher’s team. There, they took some time to regroup. While Ben raided the fridge, Butcher pulled out a locked box from a large safe in the back room. Helena peered into it incredulously.

“Why do you guys have a giant-ass safe?” she asked. “You could fit a whole body in there. More than one, actually.”

She stepped back when Butcher closed it back up. He tossed her a knowing look.

“Having a lead-lined box comes in handy,” he said. He set down the smaller one he carried on the dining table and unlocked it. Inside were a few more green vials of V24. Helena’s brows raised.

“Huh. You really didn’t need my help,” she remarked. Butcher remained quiet, earning her gaze. “Why’d you let me come here with you then?”

“‘Cause I knew you’d raise hell for me, whatever I did,” he said. It was half-exasperated, but she detected the slightly softer edge behind his eyes. He knew why she was here, why she was insistent on helping him. She wanted him to come out of this in one piece, but not just for herself.

With that heavy thought, she watched him walk away from her to check on Ben in the kitchen. She was left with an open box with a handful of vials left.

The thought of V24 disgusted her…but she knew, if she was going back to Vought Tower, if she was taking any chance of coming face-to-face with Homelander again, she needed to protect herself.

She grabbed a vial and hid it in her jacket pocket.

While Helena took her time refreshing herself in the bathroom, she soon caught the muffled sounds of Butcher and Ben talking.

She carefully opened the door a crack, and she listened. She heard Ben talk about The Soldier Boy Story losing out Best Picture to American in Paris. It had been Vought’s best PR story for Soldier Boy’s background—a poor kid from the streets of South Philly, who discovered he had incredible powers to match his heart of gold.

To no one’s surprise, that story was utter bullshit.

Ben had grown up the son of one of the wealthiest steel moguls in Philadelphia, his father. Ben later got kicked out of boarding school…

“Because I was a fuck up,” Helena was surprised to hear him say. She ventured out of the bathroom and lingered in the hall, so she could spy the back of him while he continued with Butcher. Both of them were drinking. Whiskey, if she had to guess.

“But he made sure I knew it,” Ben said, speaking of his father.

“Use the belt, did he?” Butcher asked.

“Never laid a hand on me. He couldn’t be bothered,” Ben replied. “Said I was a disappointment. Not good enough to carry his name.”

Once again, Helena fought the sap within her that wanted to sympathize. She continued to fight against it, even when he admitted that his father hadn’t even been satisfied when Ben underwent Vought’s experiments and became Soldier Boy.

“He said I took a shortcut,” said Ben. “That a real man wouldn’t have cheated.”

Helena took in a subtle breath. She heard the heaviness in his voice. The resentment, and yet, a thread of resignation. She understood then where it all came from—the bravado. The machismo. The asshole behavior. It all stemmed from that wound inside him that craved validation from his father.

Helena could relate. Her own father was, and had always been impossible to please. She knew what it was like to be a disappointment.

In the living room, Ben swirled the liquor in his drink as he shoved down memories of a life he’d thought he left behind a long time ago.

“What about you, got any kids?” Ben asked.

“It’s complicated,” Butcher admitted.

But even when Ben admitted that he’d wanted kids, that he thought he could do it better than his father, Butcher saw through those threads. He reminded that Homelander wasn’t Ben’s son. Not really. He was raised in a lab to take Ben’s place. And more than that…

“Look mate,” Butcher said. “We had a deal.”

Ben drained the rest of his glass and stood. Suddenly this room felt stiff and oppressive.

“I’m gonna get some air,” he said.

Helena watched him head for the apartment’s balcony. She stepped into the living room and shared a look with Butcher.

“On one hand, you probably abandoned Hughie at some random gas station,” she said. “On the other hand, you’re doing your hardest to keep Ben on your side.”

Butcher shook his head instead of answering her, but she stepped into his path and laid a hand on his chest.

“I think you left Hughie because you wanted to save him from all this, like you probably want to leave me here,” she said. “You’re not the same man who started this whole kamikaze mission. The difference now is, you actually have a line you won’t cross.”

Butcher looked down on her, not knowing what she wanted him to say. Just now though, she didn’t need him to say anything.

She grasped the front of his shirt and pulled herself up to him, meeting his lips with hers. It was slow, but with the underlying passion that had always existed between them, right from the start. His hands migrated down the curve of her waist and held her close, his fingers pressing into her lower back.

When she broke from him and met his heavy eyes, hers were filled with quiet determination. Butcher couldn’t understand it. Part of him even hated it, knowing he was still dragging her down with him here.

“Why are you being so fucking stubborn?” Butcher asked.

Her head tilted as she gave a wry smile. “What do you mean?”

His grip on her waist tightened a little.

“Why’re you staying with me?” he pressed. “Hel, you know where this ends.”

“Billy, I don’t have a death wish,” she told him. She squeezed his arms back. “But I don’t just want you alive for me. Ryan needs you too.”

Butcher shook his head, but she stopped him from withdrawing.

“He don’t need me,” he said. “Fact is, both of you are better off without.”

“Yes, he does. He loves you, Billy. He’ll forgive you if you give it a chance. And like it or not, he’s your responsibility. Because you made a promise,” Helena said firmly, pressing a finger into his chest. Tears welled up in her eyes as she met his furrowed stare. “Be a fucking man. Take care of the people you care about. The people who love you.”

Her voice shook, but her conviction was fierce and steady. Butcher could only look down on her in silence, even though her words rattled him down to his boots.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Both of their heads turned, though their eyes briefly met before Butcher gestured for her to step back while he ventured towards the door. He looked in the peephole first.

His eyes widened. Bloody hell?

He opened the door to find Queen Maeve, looking a bit ragged in an “I <3 New York” t-shirt and some pajama pants that were too big for her. 

“Fuck me,” Butcher said in shock. “I thought you was dead.”

M.M. then quickly stepped into view, making Helena gasp when he pointed his gun directly under Butcher’s chin.

“You didn’t think I knew where the blind spots were, motherfucker?” he said.

 “M.M.!” Helena exclaimed, half in greeting, half in warning. Her face practically begged him not to pull that trigger. The other man’s lips pursed.

“Hey, Hel,” he said, more casually than he looked. Behind him and Maeve were Hughie and Annie, Kimiko and Frenchie. The whole gang was here.

“Back up,” M.M. ordered at Butcher. He obliged him by stepping back into the room, closer to Helena, but still in front of her.

“Where’s Soldier Boy?” Annie asked. Her tone boded no further bullshit.

“You on that Temp. V shit, Butcher? Huh?” M.M. demanded. “What happens if I pull this trigger?”

“M.M., stop!” Helena tried. She stepped forward, but Butcher stopped her with a hand held against her. Hughie likewise grabbed M.M.’s shoulder and imploringly diffused him, at least for the moment.

“If Soldier Boy goes through with this, thousands will die,” Hughie said. “Help us stop him.”

“This ain’t a bloody kinder care we’re on about, son. It’s Vought-fucking-Tower,” Butcher pointed out.

“Becca worked in the Tower,” said Frenchie. Helena shot him a look for that one, as did Butcher. Helena had worked for Vought as well.

“You shut your fucking cake hole, Frenchie,” Butcher shot back.

“No,” Frenchie said. He seemed to gain some confidence in standing his ground. He dropped his backpack to the floor and planted his feet as he glared back at Butcher. “No! My cakehole will remain open! You will never command me again. I am done with your cruelty—”

Helena’s brows raised. Once again, Hughie played the part of peacekeeper as he talked Frenchie down from his (seemingly well-earned) tirade. 

“We, we heard you, okay?” Hughie said. He turned to Butcher and leveled him with an honest truth. “You could’ve let me die from the V, but you saved me… In the shittiest way possible, but still. I don’t think you want to do this. I think you want me to pull you back. Like Lenny used to.”

Helena’s eyes widened. He knows about Lenny?

She looked to Butcher for his reaction…and she missed the way Maeve moved. She grabbed something out of Kimiko’s hand and tossed it out the window, despite Annie’s protests. Then she ripped M.M.’s gun apart.

“Butcher’s right. Homelander needs to die!” Maeve said. “That’s it. Whatever it takes.”

Annie shook her head in disbelief. “I really thought that deep down you were a hero.”

“Well, you were wrong,” Maeve replied. “There’s no such thing.”

“This isn’t going to happen,” Annie refuted. Her eyes glowed, displaying her power as the lights flickered.

Helena’s mouth fell open, even as Butcher subtly stepped in front of her. Was this apartment about to become a battlefield?

“Annie, I don’t want to hurt you,” Maeve said, with caution in her eyes.

“But I will,” said Ben. He finally drew back into the living room. Helena didn’t know how long it had been since he’d stepped back inside, but she could assume he’d been waiting for the right moment. That was apparently right fucking now.

He drew all eyes in the room, including M.M.’s darkened gaze.

“All right, you lot. Into the safe,” said Butcher. Helena shot him an incredulous look.

“Billy,” she tried. He wasn’t able to be so stoic looking down at her, but he was resolute in his decision.

“You too, love,” he said. His hand guided her by the small of her back. When she tried to push back, he grasped her arm with a strong, but not painful hold and shepherded her along with the rest of them into the safe. Except for Ben and Maeve, of course.

Helena met Ben’s gaze, but his unyielding mask was firmly in place. She reached out to Butcher before he closed the door. She knew what he was doing; this was his version of saving her—of keeping her out of this. But she glared at him.

“Billy, don’t do this,” she all but pleaded.

He stared back at her in silent apology. “Goodbye, Helena.”

Then he shut the door, casting them all in darkness.

She was grateful no one could see the way she wiped a tear or two from her cheeks. Butcher had shut off the power, so Annie couldn’t use her abilities to draw from the electricity. What she could do was bulldoze her way through the safe, ramming it over and over with her shoulder until the door burst open, allowing them to escape.

Annie shook off the exertion and took in deep breaths.

“Okay, they got a really big head start, but I know a way in,” she said.

“So do I,” said Helena. The women looked to one another with a tenuous truce.

“Then what?” said M.M., after he turned the power back on. “The way I see it, we’re fucked with no grease. No plan and no knockout gas.”

“Knockout gas? Is that what Maeve threw out the window?” Helena asked.

“Yeah, it’s Novichok,” Hughie explained. “A nerve agent. Literally the only thing the Russians found that can take down Soldier Boy.”

Her eyes widened. “What, it can kill him?”

“No, just put him to sleep, indefinitely,” he replied. She considered that with a frown. She couldn’t believe she was even thinking this, considering all the bullshit he’d pulled on her, but she didn’t know if putting Ben to sleep was something she wanted to see happen to him…

“Well, maybe we can reason with him, assuming he takes down Homelander,” she suggested. “Ben’s a raging asshole, but he’s not totally…”

Her words died on her tongue when she realized how M.M. was looking at her, as if he didn’t know her.

“Ben? Motherfuckin’ Ben?” he said incredulously. “So what were you doing all this time, playing fucking house with America’s oldest killer?”

“M.M., that’s not how it went down,” Hughie tried to jump in on Helena’s behalf, but she crossed her arms and stood firm.

“I was trying to help Butcher and Hughie stay alive,” she said, gesturing pointedly at the younger man. Hughie gave a sheepish look.

“Look, I’m not saying he’s a good man,” she continued, meeting M.M.’s angry gait. “But there’s humanity in Ben. I’ve seen it.”

The man had an ego a mile high and twice and wide, with anger issues and that only barely masked how repressed he was, emotionally. He’d threatened her, and even bruised her…but he hadn’t killed her.

He hadn’t wanted to. He’d walked away before he could actually break her.

It wasn’t a strong vote of confidence for his character, but it was better than Homelander, nonetheless.

“You really think you can change that rat bastard,” M.M. said, breaking her out of her thoughts as he shook his head. “Just like you think you change Butcher!”

“I’m not trying to change anyone!” she raised her voice to meet his. “But I do believe that people can choose to change. To be better.”

Because if there was no hope for that, then there was no hope for herself either.

“Call me an idiot,” she said, and she threw her hands up. “Call me a bitch and a lunatic, I don’t care! I don’t expect you to understand, but I’m going to do what I think is right.”

“Yeah, what’s right for you,” M.M. shot back.

“Maybe,” she snapped. “Maybe it is selfish, and I’m sorry. After Homelander’s dead, I’ll help you with Soldier Boy, whatever I can do. But do you really think Ben is the biggest threat right now? To everyone and anyone?”

M.M. seethed in silence, but he didn’t seem to have an answer for her. Annie, Hughie, Kimiko, and Frenchie—they all stood by Helena and M.M., in both silent contemplation and wariness. 

“Okay, then what’s less selfish?” Helena asked, with gesturing hands at him. “Taking out Soldier Boy for your revenge, or ending the biggest fucking psychopath in the world? Otherwise known as Homelander. Who, if you forgot, was responsible for my best friend’s death.”

That fell between them all, heavier than a stone in a shallow pool. Part of Helena felt guilty for spinning M.M.’s cause as selfish, but she’d made her point. M.M., Butcher, Ben, and even she had a score to settle. It was just a matter of who was willing to sacrifice the most for it.

She wasn’t willing to sacrifice her life for revenge, but she would for the ones she loved.

M.M.’s anger soon lessened, by degrees.

“Okay,” said Hughie. He cut through some of the tension, as he himself let out a breath. “How do we get more Novichok?”

“…We don’t,” M.M. said. “That was the only one.”

After a moment of deliberation, Frenchie chimed in. There was a lab in New York that might just have what he needed. It just happened to be Vought’s R&D lab on Level 0.

It was a crazy plan.

“We’re going to break into Vought Tower, while you go to the lab, crawling with armed guards, and you’re gonna cook up the world’s most dangerous neurotoxin?” M.M. said. Sarcasm and disbelief dripped with every word. “With what, a little moxie and a little Mr. Wizard know-how? While we hold off Homelander and Soldier Boy?”

“Uh…oui?” said Frenchie.

Helena looked over at him with a sharp frown. “Are you fucking high?”

He gave her a smile. “Also oui.”

She sighed and covered her eyes with her hand.

“We’re so screwed,” she muttered. “But we’re also wasting time.”

“It’s good enough for me,” Hughie said, with a smile. Annie met her boyfriend with a smile of her own.

“Me too,” she said.

Kimiko agreed to this ingenious plan more readily than M.M., and even Helena. Even so, they had no other options. They were heading to Vought Tower.

AN: Phew! On to the finale! (And then the Epilogue after that.) I finally finished writing the last chapters of this series, so the next chapter will be out soon: on 2/20.

Next Time:

By the time Helena turned back to the scene before them, Ryan’s eyes were glowing red.

He shot a laser beam right at Soldier Boy, knocking him through the far wall and onto his ass. When he got up, shaking rubble from his shoulders, he clearly wasn’t happy about it.

Fortunately, Helena reached Ryan just as Ben took a few intimidating steps forward.

“Ben, stop!” she shouted. And it actually halted the supe’s steps.

Keep Reading: Part 20

The Boys Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Ko-Fi Me ☕

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[f0point5]

I think it's such an ick when people assume that distance means a strained relationship. It's perfectly healthy to be able to live your life when your partner is not there.

I get that they're already apart a lot, but we don't know their relationship. I actually really loved the idea when I heard that Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton both had their own rooms and beds and sometimes they didn't wanna sleep together and wanted a quiet night alone. That sounded sooo healthy to me. Most people think that just because you're in a relationship with someone you have to want to always be with them at home, and in front of the public.

Just because there aren't pictures of them also doesn't mean that they weren't together at all anyways. People need to get a grip. It's a relationship not a symbiosis.

Iirc Helena BC and Tim Burton actually had neighbouring houses with an interconnecting door (they used to live near my school and people always saw her when we’d take our lunch breaks lol).

I think with Max and Kelly, people have got used to seeing them together so much because she was at so many races last year and the second half of 2022. But for me that even more indicative of the fact that she is probably around more when Max needs to focus “less” at work.

But honestly wags can never win. If they go to every race they’re following their bf for clout. If they don’t follow him enough then “why are you even with him? Are they breaking up?” It’s bizarre. Especially when you think that they’re people with their own friends, families, and lives.

Again, it’s normal to go through periods when you need a bit of space. It’s also normal to go through times when your every move is not accounted for and randoms don’t know how much time you’re spending together/talking to each other while apart.

All evidence points to them having a solid relationship so it’s funny that people want to make the fact that they are spending time with their respective people such a massive thing

[dcmeme]

Batfam Covid series part 1

I figured out how to turn off autocorrect so it types ‘Selina’ and not ‘Selena’ woohoo! Progress! Multiple parts, all longer than usual.

Damian: Why is it everyone has to be within the same household?

Dick: Because it’s quarantine. Meaning you isolate with people you’ve been in contact with already that could have the disease.

Jason: I mean, I’ve gotta agree, this seems a bit blown out of proportion. The symptoms aren’t reading.

Tim: I think it’s more of the spread that’s of concern and those with preexisting health conditions being affected more than anything else-

Bruce: *throws tiny robots on the ground that latches to everyone’s ankles* There.

Jason: HEY! You said I wouldn’t be under house arrest again if I didn’t blow shit up (on purpose) or cause a full body cast for at least 3 weeks!

Bruce: This isn’t house arrest, this is insurance that none of you try to leave and put others at risk of infection.

Damian: That is absurd!

Dick: I gotta say, this feels a little extreme, Bruce.

Tim: Yeah, no. *takes it off*

Jason: How the f*ck?!

Tim: I’m gonna go stay at my boyfriend’s.

Bruce: The last thing you are doing is leaving this house, Tim. Like you said- it’s a major concern for those of preexisting health conditions.

Selina: I helped Alfred switch your and Damian’s old bedrooms so you are a bit more isolated-

Damian: Excuse me?! I don’t want to sleep near Helena’s room. She continues to make sounds.

Bruce: You don’t have a choice. In fact, none of you do. Not until everyone is tested- including anyone you’ve been around the last 12 days.

Dick: So no Kori?

Bruce: Has she been tested?

Dick: I mean she’s been on another planet with Mari for, like, 6 months soooo

Bruce: they’re fine to stay.

Damian: Can John come over?

Bruce: I don’t even let him over when there isn’t a pandemic.

Jason: Can’t I just be under house arrest at a safe house? I don’t care to self isolate- just let me grab a few books and I’m good for dayyys.

Bruce: Absolutely not.

Tim: Ok than let Bernard come over?

Bruce: No.

Tim: But what if he tests.

Bruce: I don’t like that boy being in my house.

Tim: Oh come on. He only broke,like, two or three things in the cave.

Jason: Didn’t that somehow include the giant penny?

Damian: and the window to the Batmobile.

Dick: *sighs* The chair to the batcomputer has squeaked ever since he left that night.

Bruce: My cape.

Alfred: He was rather harsh on the grappling hooks as well, Master Drake-

Tim: I said I loved a man, not a smart one-

Bruce: No Bernard.

Tim: oh come on! Dick gets to bring Kori!

Dick: and my kid.

Tim: Oh come on you barely see her but three times a year.

Dick: I’ve known her seven months and she’s been gone six for some Tamaranian ritual or something humans can’t be at!

Selina: Will all of you stop shouting. If my baby wakes up, I will find a way to make all of you pay.

Bruce: The only person with a second option on where they’re staying is Damian-

Jason: Bull shit!-

Bruce: Talia has asked he go back to the league’s temple since COVID hasn’t likely breeched them yet.

Damian: Can I bring my children?

Bruce: Only the dog.

Damian: than no.

Bruce: you’ll have to take that up with your mother.

Damian: I’ll make this much clear- I would sacrifice each of you individually for the sake of my children-

Tim: you mean your pets?

Damian: they are family in this house, Drake. I can’t say the same for you.

Tim: You really don’t expect me to live next to this brat for literal months, right? He’ll kill me by the end of the week! I’m much safer at my place.

Bruce: As of right now this is all of our place. Stop bickering and get used to the idea of being under the same roof for a while.

Cassandra: It could be fun! We can even have a family dinner after we’re all tested.

Damian: oh joy. Sharing food with the nuisance Drake and the pig that is Todd. Fantastic.

Jason: Don’t you have a mommy to call?

Damian: Don’t you have a casket to sleep in!

Jason: Oh f*ck you!

Bruce: now boys-

Tim: Is this seriously how you expect me to live?!

Cassandra: we can make breakfast for dinner and by then maybe the weather will be nice enough to open windows and set up candles-

Jason: you think you have it bad?! I’m surrounded by the same people who-

Damian: I better not have to sit at that dinner by Drake, Cain, or so help me god-

Bruce: enough!

Tim: For my own safety please god do not do that cass-

Jason: I don’t see why you’re complaining when I’m the one who has to-

Bruce: *louder* enough

Tim: I have a right to feel however I want!

Damian: If that is the case, I feel you should all be disowned-

Dick: why are we all arguing again?!

Damian/Tim/Jason/Bruce: SHUT UP, DICK/GRAYSON

Dick:… what did I do? 🥺

Helena: *screaming from upstairs*

Selina:…

Bruce:…

Everyone:…

Bruce:…we’ll take this outside.

Selina: That would be great, thank you.

[havendance]

Hi! I love your writing and it's always a treat to see what WIPs your working on. As someone who struggles to write longer, more complex fics, I'd love to know more about your writing process if you're open to talking about it.

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy them!

For me, writing longer fics was definitely something that I had to work up. When I was starting out writing I still got ideas for longer fics, I just struggled to execute them. I've got a few that I know I'm just not going to finish. A few things that really helped me to write longer works are:

1) Getting a regular writing habit. I know this is really common advice, but I needed to build up my writing stamina. I still wouldn't say I'm a super quick writer. Long fics take me time to write, but I know I'm able to commit to writing something longer and am more confident in my ability to successfully keep to a project.

And then like I said at the begining, this was something I had to work up to. I'd been writing fic for years by the time I finally finished my first multi-chapter fic idea. And then, it was only 4 chapters (and they weren't monster sized chapters like Batman for Dummies), but that gave me to confidence to start larger stories.

2) I know that I need to have a plan for a story if I want it to succeed. I need to know how it'll end. I've got a fic that's going to stay unfinished with 4 out 5 chapters because I just didn't know how to end it and I've since moved on from the fandom. I don't need to have everything figured out, but for me, knowing the conclusion is important. For example, in Batman for Dummies, I knew from the beginning (okay well, once I'd finished reading No Man's Land and started doing serious planning beyond, 'uh, idk they team up, this will totally be a one shot') that I wanted to end with Tim and Helena on New Years Eve and Tim saying 'you could keep being the Bat, if you want to' and Helena saying. And a lot of stuff changed by the time I got there! But having that destination in mind helped me.

In general, for really short fics, I don't really do much planning at all, I just go because I can hold the whole shape of it in my head. For one-shots I'll plan it out scene by scene and then write. For multi-chapter fics, I try to have the major beats and shape of the plot laid out. And then, as I write each chapter, I'll break things down further. Often when I'm writing, things emerge and change and then I'll go back to my overall outline and update it. Personally, I can't break down a whole long fic in-depth before I start writing. I've got to do it in increments. So my first outlines are typically really detailed for the first bits and then vaguer as they go on.

Most of the longer fics I've finished so far have had a limited number of chapters which means that I've gone in with a strong opinion on where those chapter breaks needed to go. With Batman for Dummies, I knew I wanted 4 chapters that roughly corresponded to the four seasons and also it fit nicely with the fact that I'd read No Man's Land in four volumes. The other longer fic I've completed for Batman recently, The King is Dead, Long Live the King, was also one where I had a very clear idea on how many chapters it needed. It was conceived in three parts, and while I briefly entertained the idea of breaking it into two chapters, I knew it wouldn't work that way.

So far, I have yet to succeed in writing a fic that needs more than a handful of chapters. (I tried nanowrimo a couple times and I started cowriting an epic for the Owl House with my bro.) In those cases, a lot of the time, I broke down plot beats in a more episodic manner and then broke those up into chapters. Almost like mini-arcs. Most of the time, I've just run out of steam before I can make it all the way through (for the fic I was co-writing with my bro, we both got writers block at the same time and never came back), but some day I believe I'll succeed! (Some day I will return to Knightfall once I get the big beats and arcs for that fic laid out.)

I think the final piece of advice I would have is don't be afraid to jump around between projects. Whenever I got to the end of a chapter of Batman for Dummies, I was always like 'man, I need to do something else' because they were long and it took a lot out of me. Jumping between projects gives me time to get out of the funk that I can get into when I spend a lot of time and energy on one idea and then I can come back and get all re-enthused when I come back around to it.

And of course, this might not work for you, but hopefully there's something in here that can help you as you try and write longer things! I wish you luck! I'm still working away at that journey myself :)

[dark-flamin-new-light]

Why I thought I lost my friends

"This story involves betrayal, hardships, turning on one another, and almost losing hope, and acting before thinking."

"It began after multiple worlds has started combining with ours, after the love infection I've made a lot of friends, but during this story, even if you think you're alone, even if you didn't get along with others, even if you're trying to do something right while someone else says it's a bad idea and you go against them, somebody is watching your back"

Tarius: I need to go save my friend, he would've done the same for me.

Taria: No! It's too dangerous!

Tarius: I don't care.

Tatsumaki: Only the strong survive, your friend might not have a chance.

Tarius: ! How dare you! He was there for me through my ups and downs! I'm not going to leave him! You're either with me or against me!

"They are in their fighting stances"

Tarius: I knew it. I can't trust you no more. I'm leaving.

"Supreme Kai of Time tried to stop me but I walked by her"

Tarius: Let me pass.

Tatsumaki: I knew he was a softie.

Tarius: Shut up little girl!

Tatsumaki: I'm not a little girl!

Tarius: You quickly reacting to that just proves my point.

Pyra: Think about what you're doing!

Mythra: You're not yourself!

Pandoria: You need to calm down!

Tarius: You all are taking TARIA'S SIDE!? I'M DONE!

Emily Dyer: Wait!

"Some people were upset I left but I'm not going to leave my friend in danger"

Tarius: Some friends they are. I thought I could trust them, I thought we were on good terms.

"3 days later I be arrived at the castle but before I was able to go in"

Crystal: Enough's ENOUGH Tarius, you're getting in, you need to think this through!

Tarius: Outta my way!

"Supreme Kai of Time came up behind me and hit me with a sneak attack leaving me unconscious."

SKoT: This is for your own good Tarius.

"A week later they locked me up disabled my powers somehow, with only one way out, my friend's scream of pain engulfed the land with his loud sound."

Tarius: JOE! Let me out NOW!

Toko: You i-idiot you need to think it through, you could be running into a trap!

Byakuya: You should learn to trust your friends around you.

Tarius: You don't understand… you'll NEVER understand… he's my best friend, he's done a lot for me… I can't… I won't just leave him… and nobody is going to stand in my way!

"My pupils turn purple showing my Dark Angel Form is taking control of me and I bust out of the house first running away"

Emma Woods: Tarius!

Crystal: What happened?

Emma Woods: Tarius broke out… his anger got the best of him, now he's Dark Angel… and he ran off…

Sonia: It's hard to sense his dark power.

TJFira: We'll find him…

"In another area in the distance I'm standing off a cliff looking at the castle where my friend is being held, until I started being electrocuted."

Pandoria: Stop right there mister!

Tarius: Get off of me!

Pandoria: You need to know what you are getting yourself into!

Tarius: He's important to me!

Pandoria: So are we!

"Again….. I was captured but they also took away my Dark Angel Form"

Komaru: Please calm down Tarius.

Sucrose: I'm sure your friend will be ok.

SKoT: You can't just barge in.

Helena Adams: They're bound to be traps.

Futaba: What would your father think of you running in head first?

"I lost my sanity hearing this"

Tarius: Leave… My… Father… OUT OF THIS!!!

Taria: !!!

"I have only one thing to lose now… I broke free from my glass prison, damaging my right arm and leg in the process, causing me to bleed, everyone was in shock I did that. They all thought I was insane."

Tarius: I don't even know you all anymore! Stay out of my way! You're not going to stop me from saving my friend!

Taria: !

Crystal: !

Sonia: !

TJFira: !

Aoi: !

Ren: !

Anne: !

Pyra: !

"After I said that, they got angry so I got to a different place looking out at the castle."

Tarius: I can do this with or without them. But without my powers, it won't be easy. Curse them for taking away my powers. They don't understand how much my friend means to me.

Mythra: That's as far as you go Tarius!

Ruby Rose: Don't take another step!

"Once again as I was about to jump down I got attacked again… my blood trail led them to me, but since I was already bleeding I lost more, since they attacked my wounded areas, I lost consciousness. I fell off the cliff, right before I fell into the water I saw, Aoi, Pyra and Tatsumaki. Aoi got a hold of me before I fell into the water. As I was brought back up to the surface."

Tarius: If you all are against me, why did you save me? You should have left me to die.

"Aoi slaps me"

Aoi: Your anger got the best of you. We were trying to help you.

Tarius: I don't believe you.

Genocide Jill: Of course you don't, I can guess how many times you would've tried and died! *Laughs*

"I walk another way"

Tarius: If he can't live… I shouldn't either…

"Aoi stops me and hugs me"

Aoi: You won't get far either way with your injuries. Please just listen to what we have to say.

Tarius: Alright. Don't make me regret it.

Aoi: First? Let's patch that up for you. Mikan?

Mikan: Bandage wrap.

"Mikan did patch up my injuries and I slowly did accept they were helping me. I was too arrogant to see."

Aoi: We can go in together, we need you to distract the traps while Chihiro disables them.

Tarius: Not the best idea.

Aoi: ???

Tarius: Because one of you took away my powers so I'm unable to do that.

"Minerva gives me my powers back"

Minerva: There you go my little Saiyan.

Weiss: You were saying?

Tarius: Ok I'm ready.

"Of course Aoi's plan went smoothly and we saved my friend. Like I said before, there's always somebody looking out for you, even if you make them angry."

Aoi: *Kisses Tarius*

Chihiro: *Hugs Tarius*

"Because they may have been trying to help you from the beginning."

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

hi helena!! 2, 14, and 25 for the end of year ask game?

Hi Blue!! Thanks for the ask!

2. Album of the year?

My number one has to be Unreal Unearth by Hozier. It was by far my most anticipated release for this year, and it did NOT disappoint. His lyricism has always been beautiful and this album was no exception, and the use of Dante's circles of Hell as a way of giving the album a narrative structure was so creative and really enhanced the listening experience. When it first dropped I literally didn't listen to anything else for a solid week - I only hope it can sustain me through the inevitable lack of new Hozier music we're about to suffer from for the next few years

14. Favourite book you've read this year?

I've actually answered this one here BUT in case the 4 books I've already broken the rules gushing about aren't enough I'm gonna give a shout-out to The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell. O'Farrell's prose is soooo wonderful, and I already knew I'd love this book after I read Hamnet, which was brilliant, but The Marriage Portrait might be my new favourite book by her! She writes historical fiction so well, and I loved the use of multiple timelines to tell Lucrezia's story. It was such a wonderful book, and I really hope she continues to write more like this.

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

I've created a few new characters this year, and I love them all so much! Diana Fayed was my new SAS Rogue Heroes OC, and I've also been writing a House of The Dragon fic for most of 2023 that has featured a few new OCs, but I think I'll talk about my newest Band of Brothers OC; Faye Warren.

Faye is a really interesting character to me because I really enjoy the way that writing about her allows me to delve deeper into ideas about gender during the 1940s. My previous OCs have definitely all dealt with this to some extent, but Faye's probably the character that confronts this in the most head-on way. Her ambition and nature often lead to her conflicting with ideas of how women are 'supposed' to behave, and this causes a sense of internal conflict that I think a lot of women experience - the idea that, as women, we want to break free of the restrictions the patriarchy places on us, but it brings with it a lingering fear that, in doing this, we make ourselves unlovable and isolated within our society. Delving into that with Faye is a lot of fun and I can't wait to do more with her.

[kandadiff]

Dark Side of the Sun 1

~

Since 1980 MTV had played music videos for up and coming artists and while they veered off of that and into reality shows. Slowly but surely, they were going back to music. Thats were the newly built girl group of funhouse sat.

The interviewer of INTO THE MUSIC Helena Cheryl sat rather stiffly on the chair as the rest of us sat on the two couches in front of her. The studio was hot, though it did not seem to bother the studio audience at all. Each person had already picked their favorite in the group, the people scattered with various shirts, scarves and signs with our names or faces. They cheered when their favorite spoke making us giggle or laugh under the hot studio laughs.

We had seemed to gather a certain likability which would make our manager, Thomas, happy. Since the fight at the Sweet trauma concert after party that was greatly exaggerated by the press we were quickly labeled the bad girls club of girl groups. Which had a appeal to certain people but not enough to be successful yet and we had a lot riding on this interview. So far so good.

We were nearing the end of the interview when Helena directed a question from Draven to me. "Well Kay, I have to ask." She said "I know that it was a rocky start to bring these ladies together, but how are you and Damien? Is he upset that you will not be in Sweet Trauma anymore? And how do you respond to the fans reaction that you will be leaving the group?"

I had known this was coming. Since Kassie had outed me to Damien - things went from strained to worse. Normally Damien and I split time between my apartment and his house but since that night we only saw each other in public - for public. Both of our managers saying for now it would be better to stay happy in the public's eye. Xavier was against it citing 'if she wants to leave the group then she leaves him.' Robin did stick up for me saying 'its good to be supportive right now.' Ultimately Damien decided to publicly embrace me but privately we barely spoke to each other. The fans were brutal as well - I got messages I was ruining the group, I was going to fade into nonexistence, that I was just trying to get attention because I haven't done much acting yesterday or that I was a slut who deserved to die. Even as we prepared for our first album it was met with a lot of slack directed at all of you as well.

"Damien has been nothing but supportive- the whole group in fact has been nothing but incredibly supportive and kind." I lied - half lied, Robin and Austin were supportive. "As for the fans, This is just a new chapter in my life and I still love the band but I just want to explore different genres. I hope they can support me in this as well. They supported when I stepped away from the group to act so I hope they can support me in this as well."

"I SUPPORT YOU GIRL!" Someone shouted from the group making the group erupt in giggles. I smiled at the crowd though with the bright lights I was unable to find the person.

"I hope so too." She feigned a frown. She didn't mean it - maybe she was one of those faceless profiles that tweeted I should jump off a bridge too. Her crisp gray eyes turned to you "I have a question from our audience about you." You smiled at her. "Is this a reaction because you and Edward can no longer be a duet? Given the situation." She looked up from her card to you clearly enjoying stirring the pot.

You and Edward were public in your relationship - or at least you were. After the release of Always on Time, a scandal rocked your relationship. You were visiting your father in Hawaii while Edward stayed home. He claimed it was William's idea to go to the bar - there he got very drunk and was photographed with his tongue down some influencers throat and his hand glued to her ass. The photos were blurry but you knew it was him and so did his brothers very fanatic fans - who were quick to prove it after it was speculated to be Harry cheating on Kitty. But no it was you that was left humiliated in Hawaii while your father chimed in his unwanted opinion.

'Be professional. be professional.' My voice chimed in your head as you sighed thinking of an answer. You knew this woman was enjoying it, the clips that would come from this answer and make this little show get more popular just from your relationship status. Fucking Edward. "This is because like, Kay I want to explore different options. Ed does a certain thing and I want to be more then that so... Why not do that with a group?" You gave her a fake smile that matched her own.

~

"She was a right cunt, huh?" Draven said as we were lead out the studio and back to the house we all now shared up in the Hollywood hills. "She was enjoying making us uncomfortable. and bringing up Ed like that?" She shook her head and she lit up a cigarette offering everyone one before throwing it back on the coffee table "Fucking bitch." Various makeup artists and dressers filed into the house setting up here and there.

We had exactly 4 hours to get ready for the MTV music awards. unfortunately for us, since Kassie outed me we were forced to do everything in sort of a rush. We moved in together, started writing and recording songs and filmed two music videos in 3 months. We were set to preform our first song together as a group towards the end of the awards as well as being nominated with our previous groups or duos.

At first I didn't even want to go but Thomas explained having a big duet like this would be nothing short of amazing and it wouldn't hurt to make more connections. As solo artist we had a few songs that put us on the map but it wouldn't hurt to have more connections, according to him.

~

~

“You look handsome.” I said walking out of the room fully dressed any ready for the night. Damien’s ice blue eyes looked over me coldly before his hands settled on the vodka Katya kept on the bar. He finished the shot he poured himself then poured another. All the while ignoring me.

“Listen I know your still upset but it’s been months Damien. I thought you’d be happy for me! You know I wanted to do other things!” I said as he threw back another shot then poured himself another. I attempted to grab the bottle but he gripped it harder and not wanting to get the liquid on either of us I gave up. “Can you not drink so much? I’d rather you not make a fool out of yourself or anyone else there. You’re nominated for a lot - no need for people to see you stumble like an idiot on stage.” He took another shot and poured yet another.

“I’ll need this to get threw the night with you.” He chuckled to himself. “Makes you more tolerable and I’m forced to be in this lie with you so” he gave me a hard smile “cheers, Hurricane!” He downed another and I grit my teeth.

“Let’s go!” Thomas called from the front door. “Now! Come on!”

Damien stood up swaying a bit. He jerked back when I tried to steady him. “I’m fine.” He said moving past me to the limo waiting outside. I spied Robin from the door and he shook his head. Robin had offered to take me to the awards show to avoid this exact thing. Damien was becoming more and more clear in his distain for this arrangement and I did not need that coming out now. I gave him a small smile and moved to get my purse.

His eyes settled on you, you quickly packing your purse. Since we were so busy and this Edward situation hit you by surprise you didn’t really have time to look for a suitable replacement for the awards show. Xavier asked to be your date and you agreed. After all, he was hot - was a rock star and you’d be lying if you didn’t say he was your favorite in Damien’s group. Besides Robin but he didn’t ask you and you weren’t going approach him first.

“Ready?” Xavier asked as you approached him. “God, you really are gorgeous.” You blushed and started to the limo. Xavier quickly followed his hand possessively on your arm. Pulling you back before you can get into the limo. “Just know, I heard that asshole is going to be there. If he tries any of that dumb shit just say the word and I’ll handle him.” You looked at him puzzled. What did he mean? Was he going to beat him? You heard rumors about Xavier from me and Damien but never saw him get violent for yourself. Though after a show one day you saw his knuckles were bloodied when he lit your cigarette and when you asked about it all he said was ‘don’t worry about it.’

~

The ride to the awards show was uneventful but as soon as we got there Damien and I went to move out of the limo first.

“Are you to drunk to walk it?” I asked bitterly. He rolled his eyes.

“No, darling,” his tone dropped in sarcasm. “I am ready to play the lying game. Not as good as you though.”

“Damien.” Robin’s deep voice rang through the limo as a warning. Tatiana giggled.

“It’s fine.” I said trying to calm myself down. I plastered on a smile as we moved out the car. Flashes of light, once disorienting was routine now. Damien took my hand in his and with smiles we walked down the carpet.

You were third to leave the limo and of course the first person you see was Edward as though it was planned. He stood smiling with his brother, talking to some man with a big microphone thrown into there faces.

“Maybe you should just go inside?” Robin whispered as he helped Draven out of the car. He had agreed to take Draven, though the Australian was completely uninterested in him romantically and he seemed the same about her. “Don’t give theses people any of the drama they want.”

But as he said that Ed’s green eyes locked with yours. His long hair combed back and his tattoos visible as he shifted his body towards you. He wanted the drama because he wanted you to speak to him. After you refused just telling him your done and then blocking him. You hated the small smirk that overcame his lips and then the cameras pointed at you.

“Adi! Adi! Over here! ARE YOU TWO SEPERATED? How do you feel that he cheated ? Ed where is your date?!” Was the things you heard shouted at you.

[prettyboybuckley]

Fuck it Friday

tagged by @swiftiediaz 💕 Sooooo since I finished the sequel to my high on you fic, I figured I'd give you all a little something to tide you over until I manage to edit the thing and it's ready for posting. The "fuck it" part is how long of a snippet you're getting lol 🥰

He lets himself into the house with his key and immediately hears the raised voices coming from the kitchen, only slightly muffled by the closed door. For a moment, Buck stands frozen in place, picking up bits and pieces of the conversation.

Ramon's voice raises above it all, but Eddie's is close behind in volume, Helena only coming in here and there. He closes the front door quietly, tiptoeing up the stairs and cringing when he forgets about the creaky step two-thirds of the way up.

Sophia's door is closed as well and he knocks before entering anyway. She isn't wearing her headphones like he expected but from the look on her face, he can see that she isn't enjoying what is going on downstairs. 

"Hey," he says, toeing off his sneakers and dropping down next to her on the bed, forcing Sophia to scoot over and make space for him. "Everything okay?"

"They've been going at it for ages now," she replies with a sigh, resting her head against the wall before tilting it to look at him. "I was there at first, but I left when it kind of... escalated."

As often as he is here, over the past few years Buck has witnessed the occasional altercation between one of the siblings and their parents or between the siblings themselves. This is definitely one of the more intense kind.

"What's it about?"

She shrugs. 

"Something about putting in more effort to build a future or something. They aren't happy he still hasn't found a job, which is bullshit because he's been trying and we all know that he's perfectly capable. Those recruiters are just bullshit," she says. 

"That doesn't sounds like something they'd get into such a screaming match over."

Sophia chuckles humorlessly, shaking her head, and she rubs a hand down her face. 

"No, no it's not. Mom said something about a wife and kids or something, and Eddie kind of dropped a bomb."

Buck's heartbeat immediately starts rising, and he hopes that he isn't too obvious when he asks: "What kind of bomb?"

"Apparently he's been dating some guy," Sophia replies. "I don't know, he was pretty vague about it, but as much as I think it was to rile them up, I'm pretty sure it's true."

"Didn't think your parents would make such a big deal out of something like that."

Sure, the Diazes are Catholics, and especially Ramon is a little old-fashioned, but they never behaved any differently after finding out about Buck's bisexuality. Helena had even asked if his parents knew and said that if it ever became a problem, he would always be welcome. 

Buck knew that Eddie wasn't out to his family, of course, but it always felt like that was rather because he didn't see the point than that he was actively hiding. 

"I don't think it's about him being gay - or bi, I guess?" Sophia muses. "I mean, you know how much mom wants grandkids, but... I don't know, I think it was more the heat of the moment that made it a problem, and the idea that he's been hiding it all this time?"

Honesty is important in the Diaz household, Buck knows that much. Always has been. The "why didn't you tell us sooner" question would have been asked regardless of the situation, and this was not the optimal scenario.

"How do you feel about it?" he asks, tone careful because he isn't sure what to expect. 

Another shrug from Sophia. "I mean, he's my big brother. Drives me crazy sometimes, but I love him. Doesn't matter much if he dates a guy or a girl, I just want him to be happy."

Downstairs a door slams, followed by the front door, and they both flinch. The rumbling sound of Eddie's car starting in the driveway makes it all the way up to Sophia's room and Buck holds his breath as they listen to it drive away. 

The doors slam another time, and Buck has a feeling that it's Ramon leaving this time. 

tagging @holdmygum @rogerzsteven @monsterrae1 @buddierights @elvensorceress @princessfbi @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @brassm @alyxmastershipper

[mandalhoerian]

leon kennedy + love languages analysis

It’s in Leon’s job description to help and serve, he’s always out there chasing bioweapons and their makers to save others or doing the bidding of his higher-ups — it’s all in the name of the right thing and out of his strong sense of justice. It doesn’t matter if he’s in an overbearing mission breathing down his neck in utmost priority, he will stop and try his best to help out a random citizen as you can see in RE6. He does also state in RE2 remake that helping people in need was why he chose his occupation, be it in his emo era too, Leon just can’t look away from innocent bystanders. Accepting to look for Claire’s brother when he just met her that night, and also the inability to leave Ada alone in the maze of the sewer he has no idea how to solve the puzzle to, and agreeing to whatever Helena wanted to show him when he was so suspicious of her because she was distraught and clearly in need of something are just some examples of this. 

He helps however he can, whenever he can; he also expresses great concern for the wellbeing of others before his own as it’s his main drive in life. Leon’s a man of duty and selfless in nature, the only time he’s done anything for himself was when he wanted to chase the trail of bioweapons in Eastern Slav Republic instead of pulling back like he was ordered to, and even that was work.   

Therefore we can say acts of service is his primary love language, so much so you would want him to take a break from it. 

Leon really doesn’t look after himself. 

His go-to self-destruction method is to indulge in alcohol to deal with his problems and drink away his feelings instead of seeking help. Maybe he doesn’t believe in getting help in his field of work (nobody has gone through what he has, and seen what he’s seen, and maybe he doesn’t want to bother people with any of it), but he does shut himself off and ignores his problems — doesn’t ask for help, at all. 

In Damnation, he pushes Hunnigan away when she tries to explain the situation to him and nonchalantly dissolves the conversation when she’s afraid he’s going to take off. In Vendetta, he’d rather fight Chris and put on a sarcastic demeanor than to express vulnerability when he clearly needs someone to be his confidant. He doesn’t want to share his burden, but will relentlessly pressure you to share yours.  

With his significant other, he would want to take on the weight of whatever’s on you regardless — from mundane things around the house like cleaning, fixing things, preparing breakfast so you can sleep a little bit more and being a great giver in bed to grander gestures like taking a bullet for you and becoming mean to you in order to keep you away from harm’s way (like he did with Claire at the end of Infinite Darkness, he lost his friendship with her but it kept her safe). Leon will go above and beyond to make life better and easier for you, but he is obsessed with your safety first and foremost. 

However, you will have problems with getting him to open up like I mentioned previously, he deals with his problems on his own and he won’t want to trouble you with whatever he’s going through at the moment — with the plus of his job being mostly confidential, it’s a struggle to help him when the most of his suffering comes from the loss and trauma that comes with it. 

It makes him emotional that you help in other areas though, when you clean up his place at times he is away for a long time, when you make a homemade meal cooked just for him, or when you offer to give him shoulder massages seeing as he’s extremely tired. He isn’t used to being taken care of, and part of him feels guilty, but he’s so appreciative and happy someone cares for him this much. 

Leon moves around quite often and is rarely at his place of residence, so he doesn’t spend a lot of time at home. Therefore, even when his place screams how fat his salary is from the outside, his house is not a home, it doesn’t have a lot in it and is basically empty like a ghost is living in it. And again, with being an agent comes the practicality of not having a lot on you so you can be more flexible, but it’s almost as if it reflects how little he thinks of his life and has nothing to leave behind if he dies on duty.  

He even has two default outfits, first is anything he can throw on himself (preferably jeans) with a leather jacket and the second is the agent outfit, which is just a suit (button-up shirts grew on him over the years.) He isn’t someone who treats himself aside from alcohol and he doesn’t care much for luxuries — the only materialistic things that could excite him were a bike and a bazooka, and both were found by him randomly and were tools to help him in action. 

What he chooses to own, though, are high in quality. His RE4 outfit has Schott’s Classic B-3 Sheepskin Leather Bomber Jacket is $1495 USD. He also drove to Racoon City in a Jeep that he had to abandon. Being rich makes you this carefree, huh? 

He has a lot more than he can spend, therefore I believe he would happily spend it on his significant other. Leon would be the type of guy who buys something out of nowhere because it reminded him of you, or that he saw you looking at it, maybe it was a chocolate bar, or maybe some random scented candle you thought looked sick. He loves seeing you surprised and delighted, and thinking of your space having the traces of him makes him happy — makes him feel the bond is more concrete and tangible. He’s a giver, so it’s only natural he gives presents too. 

Now, receiving gifts from you is another level of joy for him. Leon wouldn’t have thought he cared much about things like that but the thought. The idea of you thinking this much of him and putting your heart into it, there’s something intimate in it that has him feeling so important. Owning things you gave him has a special place in his heart, and he will take great care of them. Maybe he still has the wrapper of some ribbon from a package in his drawer, who’s to say? It’s the carnal desire to hold onto the proof of your existence, perhaps. 

Leon has absolutely no time at all for himself, and in his days off, they keep pulling him back for some unexpected emergency. His schedule is unpredictable. In RE4, he does say “Story of my life,” when Hunnigan reminds him that he’s on duty right now after he flirts with her. Then later, he reminds her that it was them who pulled him out of furlough for this when she tells him to fall back on his Eastern Slav Republic mission. Leon rarely gets any break from bioweapon fighting and over the years, the exhaustion has taken a toll on him, the only constant is chaos in his life, he scarcely can spare any mundane moments to his acquaintances as he barely has any time for himself. 

Quality time though, as he lacks so much of it, is something he yearns for deep down. I mean, hello, the way he wanted that dinner with Claire in Infinite Darkness? He really really wanted her company, and to catch up with her. He asked Shenmei as well. It's a crime that nobody accepted his requests, someone go get dinner with him right now.

It’s because he can’t spend time with people that he wants it so badly in the first place. That’s where he is also self-destructive and it’s a double-edged sword. He seeks company of flirtations because he’s lonely, yet he won’t pursue anything serious. He’s scared of committing to someone since it won’t work due to complications and the distance, it’ll get messy. 

He even deprives himself of friendships and is unwilling to let anyone get too close. Leon is an isolationist, yet he needs people in his life to process his trauma and grief and bully him about his drinking habits but keeps denying himself the company. 

And then there’s the fear of losing that person. He doesn’t spend any time getting close to people, he treasures the companions he has, but everybody is at an arm’s length. He already reacts so negatively to the deaths of allies he barely got to know briefly — Ada messed him up real good, too. How do you think he feels imagining what he could have had with her? He wants stability and settling, but Ada is anything but that. He chases every interaction to be longer, seeks her company just for their meeting to be stretched even by minutes. Leon gets attached so easily, and he deprives himself of time with them out of being scared by it. One part of him must be comfortable in his love for her because it’ll never become a reality, because she’ll never take him up to it, he’d rather take the suffering than the happiness. 

But quality time also is so important to him because it’s in these times of ordinary domesticity that he can find normalness outside the crazy undead shit he has to deal with. It helps him recharge and he craves having this to come back to. 

He would feel so guilty about not being able to be with his significant other, he could even forget important days and miss important moments of your life and he wouldn’t even know most of the time because he’s just so occupied and in survival mode for a while after he comes back. You would have to be understanding of his situation and forgiving, too, it’s not up to him whatever he gets called in for, and because you wouldn’t know what it was, it’s a great deal of practicing patience, and that’s why it’s hard being in a relationship with Leon. Hell, it’s the base reason why couples break up; the guy is inattentive and negligent and the girl breaks it off in the end. In this scenario, zombies are involved. 

You can only get the peaceful moments inbetween with him. And it has to be enough, and believe that he hates going away as much as you do and more.    

Leon hates being praised. He dislikes being heralded as some legend for getting out of Racoon City alive and his experiences ultimately leading him to rescuing the president’s daughter only to be elevated in praise more. 

He was just at the wrong place at the right time. He got lucky, ended up trailing behind Ada who was competent at what she did and reached the root of the problem just because he happened to run into her — it wasn’t him, it was just stars aligning. Pure coincidence. 

Leon sometimes thinks he didn’t deserve making it out, but he did anyway, and now this life of his belongs to a purpose, the purpose. 

He’s just doing his job. One shouldn’t be applauded for doing their job. 

Compliments make him uncomfortable and it’s the easiest way to make him clamp up on a conversation, he’ll vehemently deny whatever it is and change the subject. It looks like Leon’s being humble (he is), but there’s a deeper reason with an underlying imposter syndrome going on in the back of his mind. He just doesn’t feel worthy some days. 

Affirmations on the other hand also don’t come easy, he’s in one of the most coldly professional fields and it’s strictly business, and he is emotionally constipated and deeply traumatized, therefore there’s a lot he doesn’t say and he doesn’t know how to say, and he is bad at telling you what he wants. He’s good at sass and banter, but ask him to tell you about his nightmares and he’ll just hug you and go back to sleep. 

Leon isn’t used to expressing affection through words either, and prefers to show it instead. You’ll know he loves you even if he doesn’t say it outright. But with his significant other, though, he’ll do his best to learn to be more affectionate with words to you to show his appreciation — just prepare for shy and awkward Leon. The soft side of him comes out this way, he’ll hesitantly ask you to stay and he’ll look so young doing it that it’ll melt your heart.   

Leon is one touch-starved poor bastard. 

Here’s the reason why: he’s a pretty lonely guy but he’d rather indulge in the warmth of a person than letting them in. Solitude is a personal preference of his, and it leads him to seeking out temporary companionship to feed this part of his. Meaningless one-night stands are a go-to of his, as they mean no deeper connection but all the skin to skin contact and the soothing heat beside him. If he’s lucky, his partner would pet his head during the deed, or caress his face, now those are the treat. 

If he could just let go and the perfect opportunity arose, he would just lie in the arms of his significant other for hours being hugged by them, enveloped in the coziness, head empty and fuzzy. Those would be the perfect naps he needed, because wow does this guy not sleep well.    

It would be a first for him to get affectionate touches coming with a friendship as well, it’s been a lifetime since he let himself be that way with someone, it’s not easy to get him to be chummy and lighthearted with you in that aspect. He’s a well-mannered guy too, so he’s the type to keep a respectable distance even when he’s being playful. Half-hugs, back pats and handshakes are the best you’re going to get as his friend, and they don’t happen often.   

The clinginess blooms well into the relationship after Leon gets comfortable with exploring that childish, neglected part of his. He would adore hugs, hand-holding, reaching out to grab you casually while sitting next to you in the confines of your private space, you would feel his love through him seeking you out for comfort voluntarily and lowering his serious exterior to be relaxed around you. His utmost weakness is you playing with his hair and tracing his face with your fingers, because he goes out like a light almost immediately.  

Leon also won't be rough with you physically while bonking so don't expect playfighting and do not hit him while joking around, he gets thrown around and hurt so much as it is (the amount of being strangled by tyrants and plagas? no, he's not into choking), and he tends to be extremely tender and sweet. Though you might discover a pretty interesting side of him if you decide to be assertive and take care of him in bed, you might just get addicted to how shy he could get.

[header template credits]

[littlegodzilla]

So it's season 2 of twd, and reader and norman have picked out a house in Georgia and are moving in together.

(both now have 3 season contracts for twd) the audience really responded to both their characters. reader's character is like daryl: good at hunting and tracking. (maybe it's similar to the first movie they did together. the writers have the characters as best friends).

then norman's ex (please make it an imaginary person, not his actual ex helena) is cast in a recurring role. meant to be daryl's love interest.

MEANWHILE reader and norman find out that she is pregnant! they're both so happy. But what about the show?

The show will have to make reader's character pregnant, too. But is daryl the father? someone else? How does this affect their relationship on and offscreen?

(maybe his ex is killed off sooner than expected and daryl gets with reader's character? or shane is the father? or there is another actor (hot actor of your choice) who is cast on the show as reader's love interest?)

Okay, maybe that's a lot. We'll talk. I hope this all makes sense. <3

Hiii!!

As you wish, we have more about Norman and Plus Size! Reader! Thank you very much for the support and thanks @minervadashwood for your incredible ideas, I love them so much.

Okay, enjoy this new part you all!!

Hope you like!!

******************

My Big Girl.

Norman Reedus x Plus Size!Reader.

Part 3.

Requested by: @minervadashwood

Warnings: Little jealousy. fluff. smut (Norman is a horny boy, sorry.) Norman stills blonde.

Words: 3400

Taglist: @phoenixblack89 @browneyes528 @lilythemadqueen @darylsgarden @thefemininemystiquee @green-eyedladywrites @hail-yourselves @ruinedbythehobbit @xxtinasxxblog @ravenwings73 @spenciepoo338 @b-tchymoon @minervadashwood @darylssluttt @let-love-bleeds-red @ravendixon @livingdeadblondequeen

*****************

You open the front door, your heart pounding in your chest. A huge smile forms on your mouth as the inside welcomes you.

Welcomes you.

Norman wraps his arms around your body as he rests his chin on your shoulder. A smile forms on your mouth, reaching up to stroke his hair as he kisses your cheek.

You've finally bought a house in Georgia, nothing too over the top, something comfortable and cozy for the time you spend there filming the new season of TWD. Because yes, you're still on the show. Apparently people have been fascinated by Daryl and Merle's story, getting Norman to sign on for several more seasons. Your character is also being liked, from the first episode they changed some scenes and plots for the first as well as the second season. Apparently they wanted to make a love trio between Rick, Lori and Shane, but they saw the chemistry you and Norman had and decided that your character would be Shane's girlfriend. You didn't mind, you had a good relationship with John and he was fun to work with, Norman found it a little harder to be present in the scenes you shared. Especially if you had to kiss each other.

"Is that necessary?" He'd say, crossing his arms. "I mean, he's already touching her hand, there's no need to kiss." I growled protesting like a child.

"Save that jealousy for your scenes Norman, they'll do us good to make it more real." Scoffed Greg making you all laugh.

Of course things changed with the end of last season, once Shane was out of the game it left a lot of open doors to play with, both in the main plot and in the love theme between your character and Daryl. It wasn't a forced situation, after all, in the original comic Shane Walsh didn't live long either.

Norman's kisses down your neck bring you back to reality, you smile and purr, letting yourself do it. His hands tug at your shirt, hiding under it, squeezing your breasts and you hear him growl in your ear.

"God, they're even bigger than before..." He gasps pushing his hard crotch against your ass.

That's another piece of good news you've recently learned - you're going to be parents! You hadn't really planned it this way, you hadn't really talked about it seriously either, but it was clear to you that someday, if Norman was ready too, you'd like to have a child. Watching him interact with Chandler and Madison made your heart flutter. He was good and kind to them, joking around and helping them get their nerves out of the way in front of the cameras. You knew that being a real father would involve more than just games and jokes, but something told you Norman could surprise you so much more.

"I'm pregnant." You told him one day. When you weren't in Georgia, you had also bought an apartment in New York, near the China Town area. Norman was drinking a beer and got the bottle halfway to his mouth.

"What?" was the only thing he was able to say and it scared you.

"I-I'm pregnant..." You whispered with some fear, now unsure how he was going to react.

"A-and..." He stammered and walked towards you, taking the beer from your hand. "Y-you can't drink, i-it could be bad for our son and..." His voice trembled turning into little whispers.

Maybe it wasn't reaction you expected, at least at first, but as he was aware of the news, the bigger your smile became, as you saw his eyes begin to sparkle and even a smile formed on his mouth.

"Our son..."

"Yes..."

After that you needed to talk to the TWD production after all, it was going to be a long time filming, your belly was going to get bigger and bigger and even though you all end up losing some weight due to the intense temperatures when you were filming, everyone would notice some changes. But it didn't seem to be something they were worried about, they gave you congratulations and it was all in their hands.

"Norman... the door..." You gasp, closing your eyes.

"Right..." He grunts pushing it with his foot, slamming it shut with his heel. A chuckle escapes you and you turn to look at him.

"Our stuff is out..."

"Screw them, I'll get them in later." He assures you, kissing you intensely, making you laugh against his mouth.

He gropingly guides you to your room. He only pulls apart a little to remove your shirt and his eyes look at you with latent desire. You feel your cheeks light up a little, Norman has always been an easy man to read and you can perfectly see the love and lust that is shaking him at that very moment. His hands caress your shoulders slowly moving down to your belly, always round and soft, now it is more bulging and hard, Norman's hands touch it adoringly. You never thought you'd meet someone who loved something you didn't yet have with you so much. He kisses you again with intensity, his hands leave your belly to unclasp your bra, you sigh with relief, your whole body is changing and growing more than normal, wearing a bra is sometimes becoming a nightmare. A moan escapes your mouth as Norman catches one of your nipples in his mouth, licking and sucking, while with his other hand he massages your other tit, pinching your nipple between his fingers. All that attention gives you goose bumps and your panties keep getting soaked.

You push him gently to break the contact, look at each other and kiss him to start undressing him. Norman helps you with quick and somewhat clumsy movements, you kiss his mouth again, bite his chin and move down his neck as your fingers play with his chest hair. Norman bends his head sighing, his fingers caress the red marks on your skin, due to the bra, and kisses the strap line imprinted on your shoulder. He tenses slightly as you pull his pants to the floor and try to kneel in front of him.

"Wait, wait."

"What's wrong?" You look at him confused.

"M-maybe you shouldn't do that... I mean, maybe it's not the most comfortable position..."

"Norman...we both know we've been in 'more uncomfortable positions'" You start to say, watching him redden. "I'm pregnant, it doesn't invalidate, I think I can still suck you off..."

"Yes, but... God, why do you have such a dirty mouth?" he grunts with some desperation, his cock still pulsing inside his pants. "Come." He asks you, preventing you from kneeling on the floor.

He guides you to the bed, where he carefully sits you down and positions himself between your legs, his crotch still hidden by his briefs, in front of your eyes.

"See, this way you're comfortable and I don't feel guilty because I want you to suck me off." He says sincerely and a giggle escapes you at the sight of his red ears.

You settle on the edge of the mattress, kissing his abdomen, following the line of hair that traces your way from his belly button to his underwear. Norman sighs as he feels your lips on top of the fabric, moistening his length.

"Don't play with me, honey..." He warns you with a growl.

You smile and slowly pull down his briefs, his cock rises before you, you hold it rubbing it slowly without taking your eyes off him, before opening your mouth and licking his glans. Norman gasps as he feels you catch him fully in your mouth, you hollow your cheeks sucking harder as your head pumps at a slow pace.

"Oh fuck, I love your dirty mouth, baby." He bites the tip of his tongue, slowly moving his hips against you.

You hum against his length, the vibration of your voice runs all over his cock, seeping pleasure all the way down to his balls, Norman throws his head back letting himself be carried away by the pleasure.

Norman holds your hair and slowly pulls his cock out of your mouth, its tip brushing against your wet, reddening lips.

"So precious and perfect." He smiles and you let out a giggle.

He holds you down and lays you on the bed. He finishes undressing you to stand between your legs. You moan and arch as his fingers enter you, touching those perfect spots he always manages to find as his tongue and lips give due attention to your clit. Your eyes roll every time his fingers twist inside you and his tongue doesn't stop stinging your sensitive muscle.

"No-Norman!" you moan his name as you feel your orgasm jolt you rolling your eyes.

Norman doesn't pull away until your legs stop jerking, unconsciously locked against his head, though he doesn't mind, he loves feeling trapped between your thighs, tasting you, soaking in your scent. Slowly he sits up, licking his lips. He settles between your legs, his lips kiss your thighs, your bulging belly, he plays with your breasts until a new moan escapes your mouth, he keeps moving up and kisses you slowly, moving his hips, the tip of his cock rubbing against your folds. You wrap your legs around his waist, his belly pressing against yours and tensing over your body.

"Hey... "He stops again and you look at him worriedly. "D-do you think we should...?"

"What are you talking about?" Now you're even confused.

"It's just... What if I hit it?" he mumbles and you open your eyes wide. "What if I hit it unintentionally?"

You can't help it, a violent guffaw escapes your mouth, having to cover yourself with both hands. Norman looks uncomfortable, he sits back on his heels looking at you, frowning.

"Honey, this isn't the first time we've had sex, being pregnant."

"I know! But it was smaller, now it's bigger and maybe..."

"Norman, listen to me..." You ask him. You hold his shoulders making him lie on top of you again. "I love your cock, I really do, and yes it's bigger than average, but trust me, you're not going to hit the baby and cause a concussion." You are unable to say that without laughing. Norman fidgets nervously, still a little hesitant. "Besides, the doctor said sex was good for pregnancy." He looks at you cocking his head..

"When did he say that?"

"Honey, are you going to finish what you started or do I have to do it myself?" you sigh with some impatience. Out of the corner of your eye you see his cock straining against his stomach again.

"I love it when you take control..." He grunts and you take it as an invitation, you lean on his shoulders, but. "No." He stops you by holding your wrists, puts your arms above your head and clasps both your hands with one of his. A new cramp of pleasure runs through you. "Not this time, I have to get some of my pride back." He says, a chuckle escapes you that dies in your throat as he slowly enters you.

"Norman..." You gasp his name closing your eyes, biting your lip.

"Fuck, always so tight and wet for me." He snorts and thrusts harder staying wedged inside you.

A moan escapes from both of your mouths. His hand squeezes tighter on your wrists, you wrap your legs around his waist and he begins to move slowly, your hips accompanying him finding that rhythm that drives you both crazy.

The room immediately fills with moans and gasps, the heat of your bodies intoxicating the atmosphere, the increasingly intense pleasure swirling inside your bodies.

"My God Norman, it feels so good!" you cry out arching your back. He releases your wrists and holds your legs apart, spreading them a little wider, thrusting harder, faster, watching his cock lose itself inside you, again and again. "I'm... I'm going to..." You assure him and your hands cup your breasts, playing with your nipples.

"That's it, honey, play with you, let me see you play with your tits." He asks you in a husky voice.

"N-Norman!" you whimper in frustration because suddenly his thrusts are slower.

"What if I didn't let you cum?" He speaks viciously, never taking his eyes off you.

"I'll kill you." You assure him and he chuckles, pausing momentarily, pulling his cock out. "Norman, I swear to God..."

Your threat comes to nothing as he thrusts hard inside you again, your back arches, a guttural moan comes from you, your eyes roll as your orgasm hits you hard, Norman continues to fuck you, feeling your body shudder, your spasms clenching his cock getting himself to cum, he grunts and huffs through his teeth giving a few last thrusts before stopping completely. He lies carefully on top of you, hands bearing his full weight, his face resting in the hollow of your neck. Your arms go around his shoulders, stroking his hair, you hear him purr and smile.

***********

It's been a couple of weeks since you arrived in Georgia, now the whole cast is there, ready to shoot again. You show up on the set to see all your co-stars, Andy and Melissa are the first to come up to you and give you a hug.

"Congratulations" They say at the same time and you laugh.

"You couldn't hold back." You joke and Norman looks at you apologetically.

"You know I can't hide anything from them." He defends himself, but you shake your head, you know how much Andrew and Melissa mean to him, so you have nothing to say.

"Alright guys, I'm glad you're all okay and we have some surprises." Greg wiggles his eyebrows and everyone congratulates you as you break the news. "As you may have seen we've modified the script a bit to introduce pregnancy into the story, plus we have some new people with us that I'd like you to meet." He keeps talking and one by one he introduces the people who will be joining us this season.

Momentarily you notice Norman tense up next to you. Greg finally introduces a tall woman with beautiful hair and striking eyes, she smiles politely and a little self-consciously, but soon spots Norman and her smile grows wider. Clearly they've known each other before.

"Norman!" She greets him and walks toward him to hug him. Norman blocks, but responds to her gesture nervously.

"H-hello, Liz." He whispers pulling away from her.

You know how to read his body perfectly after so long together. You know he's tense, nervous, whoever this woman is, he wasn't expecting her there. Instinctively you take his hand, squeezing it to encourage him, Norman looks at you thanking you for your hand. He smiles and you notice him relax a little.

"How do you two know each other?" You want to know, he tenses his gesture, and shakes his head.

"It's... We were together a while ago..." He looks at you and you nod, there's nothing special about it, you never thought you'd be Norman's first girlfriend, it was stupid to think that. But there's clearly something else.

"And who are you?" Liz asks you and you open your mouth to answer.

"She's my wife." Norman grabs you around the waist and your heart races. "And we're having a baby."

"Ah... congratulations, I guess." She looks at you in surprise, walking away down the set, leaving you alone.

"I'm sorry..." Norman apologizes. "It was a complicated relationship..."

"It's okay, Norman, you don't have to apologize." You smile kissing him. "We've all had a past and you don't have to explain yourself to me..." .... N-nor lie..."

"Of course I want to tell you, and... Did you say lie? I didn't lie to you."

"To Liz... you said I'm your wife..."

"So what, you don't want to be?" He looks at you worriedly and you laugh with a shrug.

"Way to propose." You scoff and he reddens a little.

"I admit I had it planned differently..."

"You had it planned?"

"A little, maybe..." He rubs the back of his neck, nervous.

You laugh again and kiss him, wrapping your arms around his neck. The conversation ends there, none of you press the issue, you focus on the job now that you're all there. The producers tell you how the new season is going to work, your pregnancy is the little that remains as a memory of Shane, the odyssey of the whole group looking for where they can take shelter until they find the prison. Liz's new character.

"Will she be Daryl's girlfriend?" Doubtful questions.

From the last chapters of the first season there was a slight interest from the hunter for your character, nothing exaggerated, but that became more and more evident as Shane was losing his mind, but now it seemed that they wanted to nip that in the bud and involve a third person. It didn't make sense to you.

"Relax, I'm not going to steal him from you." Liz jokes even though her voice doesn't sound kind.

"Liz..."

"Actually she'll be attracted to our good-hearted redneck, we'll be counting on a confused Daryl which I'm sure Norman will play to perfection."

"Sure thing, boss." He nods, fiddling with his script in his hands.

"Unfortunately Liz's character, she won't last long with us..." He looks at the woman apologetically and she laughs.

"We all know how this show works, it's okay, it'll be fun."

"And we'll get back to our little moments between Daryl and our pregnant girl."

Everyone seems to be okay with this, you now understand the situation a little better, but for some reason you're still not comfortable with it. You know you can't get jealous, it's stupid, it's more than obvious that Norman isn't comfortable around Liz, but... she was his girlfriend once upon a time, maybe there's still something between them that maybe....

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" you jump in your own skin when you hear Liz next to you.

"R-right... Is something wrong?"

"I know why Norman chose you..." She starts to speak and you suddenly feel your defenses rise, ready for whatever she has to say. "You're good for him, just look at him. You can tell he cares about you."

You look over at Norman, he's standing back, talking to the rest of your cast mates, but he's got his eye on you, worried about what Liz are talking to you about. You smile.

"Norman has his good and bad things, but he's loyal and he's never going to do anything to really hurt you." You smile Liz giving you a gentle tap on the shoulder. "He's very lucky to have you."

"No...I'm lucky to have him...thank you Liz." You smile gratefully and the woman walks away.

*************

You enter home after a long and hard day at work, neither of you say anything, during the way, Norman has felt you very pensive and that worries him, he has seen Liz talking to you and he doesn't know what she has been able to tell you. Your relationship didn't end badly, but there were some strains that weren't properly ironed out, Norman knows you know he's no saint, but he also doesn't want your head filled with misconceptions and he can't explain himself.

"Are you okay?" he jumps into his skin when he hears you. Your hands caress your belly and you have a tired grimace on your face. You nod and shrug.

"Yeah, I think, I don't know... Are you okay?"

"Tired and surprised, trying to take it all in, I guess." You smile again.

"Hey, if Liz has told you anything that might have upset you..."

"No, she just... wanted to talk to me." You explain. "I think she was worried about you, I guess."

"Worried about me?" a snort escapes him and he walks over to you, wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you very slowly, enjoying you. "I've never been better, and it's because I have you..."

"Norman..." You feel your eyes fill with tears, pregnancy is making you more emotional than usual.

"I'm serious, I've been happy, of course, I have a good life, but..." He smiles and touches your cheeks with his thumbs. "When I think about my future, you are in all my ideas and plans... you and our baby." He assures you and his hands move down to your bulging belly.

"You in mine too..." You whisper trying to hold back tears.

"I love you." He assures you and you feel something cold slip on your finger, you look down discovering a beautiful ring with simple details, Norman shows you that he wears on his middle finger, the same model, bigger. "It's a promise, okay? When we finish this season, when we have our baby with us..."

"Yes, Norman... yes, I do." You smile and hug him, kissing him again.

You both melt in an intense embrace, a kiss that lengthens, soft, charged with all the emotions and feelings that invade you.

All the love you both feel.

**********

I hope you liked it!!

See you in the next stories!!

[octaviasdread]

any girls! dark academia movie recs? i really struggle to find anything not about a group of boys (as much as I love them)

SO MANY!!! This is probably a far more detailed answer than you were expecting but this is a popular question and I want to keep a list for myself and others.

Feel free to add to it/give opinions. I've tried to give a tw for anything I can remember

Girls! Dark Academia Movies/TV Shows

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

1950s Women’s college

Art professor! Julia Roberts

She’s legit the female Mr Keating of the art & college world

Feminism vs. Tradition

Maggie Gyllenhall x Ginnifer Goodwin; their characters were more than friends. Fight me.

Does not end how you expect

Strike!/All I Wanna Do/The Hairy Bird (1998)

MY FAVOURITE!!!

Free on YouTube under one of its various names

Comedy

1960s all girls boarding school

Young Kirsten Dunst

Group of girls plot to sabotage a merger with a boys school less prestigious than their own

Secret attic clubhouse meetings of the D.A.R aka Daughters of the American Ravioli (eaten cold, ew)

girls get political & advocate for their rights using ANY elaborate and chaotic scheme

TW: eating disorder, vomiting & creepy male teacher but the girls plot against him too

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

based on a short book I read for uni by Muriel Spark

1930s girls school in Edinburgh

Scottish teacher! Maggie Smith, controversial with a focus on romantic ideals

Spoiler alert, the liberal teacher is actually a fascist

Her group of fave students has cult- vibes and it’s fascinating

Picnic at Hanging Rock

1970s movie or 2018 mini series

Never watched either but I plan to

Wild Child (2008)

00s romcom every UK teen girl loves

Emma Roberts as the spoiled rich American teenager sent to a strict English boarding school

Plots to get herself expelled but oh no she’s making friends with the girls who help her

And the headmistress has a hot son, and he’s nice??? Double oh no

ICONIC SCENES

Everything! Goes! Wrong!

omg she burns the school down

Feel good, comfort, nostalgia

St Trinians (2007)

English girls boarding school

The kids are all criminals, no joke

So are the teachers

CHAOTIC

gay awakening for british girls

Art heist pulled off by school girls

Government tries to shut them down but oh no, the education minister & the headmistress are ex-lovers

Colin Firth x Rupert Everett in drag

Superior cast: Jodie Whittaker, Gemma Arterton, Juno Temple, Stephen Fry, Colin Firth, etc...

embodies the phrase 'problematic fave'

St Trinians 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold (2009)

Mystery, pirate ancestors, hidden treasure

omg Shakespeare was a woman

girls disguised as boys to infiltrate and rob the posh boys school

Villain! David Tennant in that ICONIC boat scene

Teen girls vs. ancient misogynist brotherhood

like the first film but MORE chaotic and BETTER!???

The Falling (2014)

1960s all girls school

best friends! but its unrequited love

Agoraphobic + distant mother aka mommy issues

Sudden death and the school suppresses/ignores the students grief, sparking mass hysteria & a fainting epidemic in the girls

Cast: Maisie Williams (GoT) & Florence Pugh (Little Women) & Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders)

TW: teen pregnancy, death, vomiting, underage s*x, sibling inc*st, past s*xual assault

READ THE PLOT SUMMARY FIRST

The Book Thief (2013)

Based on an amazing book by Markus Zusak

set in 1940s Nazi Germany

Daughter of a communist whose family were taken by the Nazis/died is fostered by an older couple who teach her to read & she paints a dictionary on the basement walls

Coming of age story about a compulsive book thief. No joke, this kid steals books from banned book burnings and breaks into the mayor's library through the window

Family hides the Jewish son of an old friend in their basement and he helps her to start writing about her experiences in the war

TW: death, bombings, WW2 anti-semitism

Mary Shelley (2017)

Overall good & roughly biographical

Pretty costumes and aesthetic

Modern feminist take on Mary Shelly in her own time period

So many INACCURACIES for the drama so don’t take it as truth

Percy Shelley slander and not all of it is justified

Cast: Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, and Maisie Williams

The Secret Garden (1993)

Based on a fave childhood book

1901 colonial India & Yorkshire, England

Orphaned, spoilt & neglected girl sent to live with her reclusive Uncle in the English countryside

Gothic elements, mysteries, secret doors/passages/locked gardens

local boy with a flock of animals, magic, kids chanting around a fire and all around immaculate vibes

Happy ending!!!

Hidden Figures (2016)

African-American women as mathematicians for NASA

1960s space project

Women balancing a career and family obligations

Deals with racial & gender discrimination

Loosely based on the lives of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan who worked for NASA as engineers & mathematicians

Anne of Green Gables (1985) & sequel (1987)

Adaptation L.M. Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ books

Canada (late 1890s/early 1900s)

Highly imaginative & bookworm orphan is adopted by a reclusive elderly brother and sister duo

Small town & school years comedic drama

Unrequited Enemies -> Friends -> lovers

Inspiring new woman teacher

Girls re-enact Tennyson’s poem and nearly drown for the aesthetic™

Dramatic poetry reading with INTENSE 👀eye contact👀

Writer! Anne & English teacher! Anne dealing with unruly girls school antics

Collette (2018)

biographical drama on french writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette

Victorian & Edwardian era France

More talented than her husband so she ghostwrites for him

Fight for creative ownership of her wildly successful novels

Affairs with a woman called Georgie and also with Missy, born female but masculine presenting

Cast: Keira Knightly, Dominic West, Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark)

Enola Holmes (2020)

Netflix book adaptation

Younger sister of Sherlock Holmes

Victorian era! feminism/suffragettes

Mother-daughter focus

Mystery, adventure, secret codes, teens running away & escaping from (and eventually fighting) assassins

Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Fiona Shaw, Millie Bobby Brown

Ginger & Rosa (2012)

1960s England

best friends since literal birth navigating troubled teen years

poet & anti-nuclear activist! Ginger

off the rails but also catholic! Rosa

Shout out to Mark & Mark the gay godfathers we all want

family troubles 

TW: older man has an affair with a 17 yr old

Testament of Youth (2014)

based on WW1 memoir by Vera Brittain

young woman (writer & poetry lover) escapes traditional family & goes to study at Oxford University

abandons to become a war nurse

romance, tragedy and war trauma

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington (GoT), Taron Edgerton (Rocketman), Colin Morgan (Merlin)

Little Women (2019)

Writer! Jo & Artist! Amy

Mother/daughter focus and sister dynamics

the March sisters’ theatre club is *chefs kiss*

champagne problems edits of Jo x Laurie are a mood

Ambivalent ending perfectly captures Louisa May Alcott’s dilemma with the book the movie is based on

set in 1860s America

ALL STAR CAST and a Greta Gerwig masterpeice

Lady Bird (2017)

coming of age in early 2002/2003 Sacramento, California

all girls catholic school

writer! Christine aka Lady Bird wants to get outta town and start her life again at college 'in a city with culture'

Mother/daughter dynamics - so realistic!

I live for that Jesus car stunt & the nun's reaction

school theatre program

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein

Another Greta Gerwig gem

Beguiled (2017)

Virginia, civil war era

Girls school with only five students and two teachers left

Find an injured Union army soldier & bring him inside

Women & teenagers want his attention (v. problematic) before uniting against him

(tbh you'll either love it, hate it, or watch once & forget it)

Sofia Coppola film so its very feminine gaze

TW: violence, death, underage

Legally Blonde (2001)

No questions will be taken

Elle Woods was the blue print

TV series:

House of Anubis (2011-2013)

I know it’s a kids/young teen show but I still unironically love it

ANCIENT EGYPT!!!!

Modern day with Victorian era links to treasure hunters & Egyptian research expeditions (stealing from tombs)

Chosen one plot lines, curses, kidnapping, mysteries, secret tunnels under the school, elixir of life

Teens have investigate & protect themselves cus oh no the TEACHERS are involved in some shady stuff

new American kid at British boarding school is the actual premise not just a fanfic au

Nostalgic, light-hearted, funny, and kinda cheesy but I will accept no criticism

The Alienist (2018 -now)

Mid 1890s, New York

Woman’s private detective agency (Season 2)

Serial killer mystery

Woman secretary turns detective and teams up with a criminal psychiatrist and a newspaper editor to solve crime

TW: violence, child pr*stit*tion

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Luke Evans, Daniel Bruhl

The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

Woman chess prodigy

1950s & 1960s

TW: drug & alcohol abuse

Gentleman Jack (2019 - now)

Based on the diaries of Anne Lister

Victorian Yorkshire, England

Upper-class lesbians

Confident, suit wearing! Anne Lister x shy! Ann Walker

Business woman! Anne running the family mines

Cast: Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster) & Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders)

TW: violence

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

bubbly/ambitious single mom + intelligent daughter

bookworm! Rory Gilmore gets into a prestigious private school and then an Ivy League college

Small town drama is comedic gold

Fast dialogue packed with pop culture and literary references

Comforting & nostalgic

TEAM JESS

Anne with an E (2017-2019)

Loose adaptation of L.M. Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ books

they completely change the plot lines but it’s still very good content!

Orphan girl with trauma and a love of books/poetry is adopted by an elderly brother & sister duo, bringing light and fresh ideas to a rural community

Feminism, girls writing club, lgbtq safe spaces, girls eduction, black/indigenous representation

Miss Stacy as THAT inspiring teacher

Aunt Josephine’s lavish gay parties have my heart

TW: creepy male teacher tries to marry a student, racial discrimination, indigenous assimilation school

Victoria (2016-2019)

Adaption of Queen Victoria’s life

Victoria navigating her political, royal, and personal life

Albert’s involvement with The Great Exhibition, 1851 (on cultural + industrial innovations)

Alfred Paget x Edward Drummond is exquisite

Gorgeous costumes and aesthetics

TW: bury your gays trope

Derry Girls (2018-now)

1990s Northern Ireland during the troubles

Comedy, episodes 20-25 mins long

English boy sent to an all girls Catholic school with his cousin

✨Dead Poets Society parody episode ✨with a free-spirited female teacher

Sister Michael, the sarcastic nun who hates her job & reads the exorcist for giggles

Wee anxious lesbian! Clare Devlin (plus her friends wearing rainbow pins)

Badass with bad ideas! Michelle Mallon

Main Character! Erin Quinn

Lovable weirdo who would fight a polar bear! Orla McCool

Wee English fella & honorary Derry girl! James Maguire

Dickinson (2019-now)

Loose adaption of the poet Emily Dickinson’s life

Set in 19th century Massachusetts, US

Historical drama with modern dialogue & music that works SEAMLESSLY

gives a great understanding of Emily Dickinson’s poems

💕Vintage gays! Emily x Sue💕

Theatre club, writing, poetry, dressing as men to sneak into lectures, love letters, teen drama, feminism, and an underground abolitionist journal as a brief side plot in season 2

Wiz Khalifa plays death in a horse drawn carriage

TW: opium use

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Based on great childhood books

Bookworm! brother, Inventor! sister, and baby sister with sharp teeth

Mystery, secret organisations, orphaned siblings figuring things out & fending for themselves against the villain after their fortune

Adults either cartoon evil, comedically incompetent, or SPIES

Boarding school, library owner, scientific researcher, and theatre episodes

Ambiguous time period which is really fun to try and pin point

Killing Eve (2018-now)

Classic detective who has homoerotic tension with the assassin she is tracking down

British Detective! Eve Polastri figures out the notorious assassin MI5 are investigating is a woman, is fired & then put on a secret MI6 case with a small team

Assassin! Villanelle, a psychopath with a tragic past and a mastery of both accents & fashion

Woman MI6 boss! Carolyn Martens, head of Russian section

Travel Europe following Villanelle’s killings and escaping the assassins sent by Villanelle’s organisation

‘You’re supposed to be my enemy and moral opposite but omg you’re the only one smart enough to get me and why am I obsessed with you????'

🚨 GO IN FOR A KISS AND THEN STAB YOUR ENEMY 🚨

Cable Girls/Las chicas del cable (2017-2020)

Spanish drama set in 1920s Madrid

Four young women at a telecommunications company form a group of friends and help navigate the difficult situations they are all in

Secret identities, dangerous pasts, murder, crime, lgbtq couple & throuple, trans man character, feminism/suffragists

girls commit crimes for humanitarian reasons and cover! it! up!

UNDERRATED SHOW!!!!

Gorgeous costumes and set

Haven’t finished it yet and I’m catching up

TW: abuse, violence, death

Outlander (2014 - now)

haven’t watched yet but plan to

Woman time travels to Scotland, 1743

Rebel highlanders, pirates, British colonies, American revolutionary war

Time jumps between 18th & 20th century