#Brennan said 'these parents fuck.... each other'
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My long-winded love letter to D20
When I was in grade three, I didn’t think much about stories. I was a voracious reader— it was quiet and engrossing, all that could be asked of a kid at home. I walked the shelves of the city library in summer with eyes flitting from spine to spine, too excited about the possibilities now that it was summer reading club time, and my mom had to bring me there. I even wrote an endless stream of unfinished stories for class, the half-nonsensical kid stories that didn’t have endings.
But I never really thought of them as real. Not that the stories I read were real in the literal sense, but when I would later learn that people thought of themselves as going to Hogwarts, it was a concept completely foreign to me. Stories existed in a space apart from my little existence, where everything seemed to happen to other people. I wasn’t sad about it until I was older, when I couldn’t connect that my loneliness had to do with my tendency not to participate. How do you interact with friends when you’d rather watch them play video games than join in? How do you talk to people about the things you enjoy and what you feel when you don’t know that’s a thing you can do?
I have a mom who loves me, but would say “be careful” before she said “be kind,” and my parents almost never joked or played with my brother and I. We weren’t taught to look out for each other, just to get along and focus on school. How do you be around people who make you happy? How do you be kind for kindness’ sake, and not because you’re afraid any stranger will hurt you if you’re not polite?
I think the answers were always there, even if I didn’t see them. I read so much as a kid, Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and Bone, and even before that Geronimo Stilton and Captain Underpants and World of Wishes. They probably did teach me things, even though at the time all I was thinking about was fighting boredom.
But I don’t think all that really important stuff didn’t hit me until the past year or so, when I finally felt myself climbing out of the terrible time I was having after secondary education. Without getting into it, I was collapsing under a lot of stuff I didn’t understand as things I hadn’t processed started catching up. I finally scrounged up the energy to get actual counseling. I started to make friends I felt like I could go to if I was in trouble.
One of my friends introduced me to D20, which I’d only been aware of through a single episode being played in our university dorm common room two years ago. It was the first episode of Fantasy High, and I thought it was good then but I didn’t go seek it out after. High school stories haven’t ever really clicked with me, I think because my own high school experiences were so different. (Don’t kill me, it’s totally a series I’ll get to someday. Someday. First I need to watch Pirates of Leviathan. And Coffin Run.) I found Bloodkeep on Youtube for free though, and after hearing there was a behind-the-scenes on Dropout immediately paid for it after finishing the series.
Then I heard Crown of Candy was like Game of ThronesXCandyland, and I had to see that. And then I saw a clip of Mice and Murder on Youtube with Rehka’s incredible nat 20 (you know the one, the one that fucked all of Brennan’s plans), and went to see that too. And so on and so forth.
For a long time, I enjoyed it pretty much the same way I enjoyed all media. It helped me when I was sad and didn’t have the energy to do anything, it was there to fill up the empty spots of boredom. Sure, I watched The Seven even though I wasn’t big on high school stories and immediately cried in the first episode. Nothing had even really happened yet. The PCs were just such good friends with each other, in a way I realized was what I desperately wanted to be at that age. Sure, when Ravening War came out I watched every upload and wrote fanfic, the most I’d ever managed to write anything since I was 12. Never mind I’d felt unable to create anything except for brief stints and mandatory school projects since high school, never mind that I was actually waking up excited to make something.
I watched Dungeons and Drag Queens and was on edge for the first few episodes off my own fear of being watched while learning new things. By the end I was getting through whole episodes in one sitting because I needed to know what was going to happen. I cried like hell at the finale. The me that gets critical about plot holes shut the fuck up and it only mattered that the characters and the players were doing their best to be kind.
I know it’s a funny haha improvised show. I know obviously it’s a performance on screen, but I think somehow without me noticing it, D20 has given me stories that feel Real. Maybe because all the intrepid heroes and Brennan really are friends having fun even as they’re working. I think I saw them and all these stories and realized at some point that that’s actually possible. It feels obvious, of course it’s possible to laugh and joke with a group of friends and share something you all care deeply about. Of course, that’s a way to be happy with the people you love. Of course choosing kindness is the most radical thing you can do, of course it’s not stupid to care about things and try your hardest.
It all feels like stuff I should’ve fully absorbed as possible way sooner than now, already at 23. But I’m learning to be better to myself, and I’m glad that I got here and I’m still alive to think and write about it. I’m glad even though I don’t entirely know yet why I’m feeling better, I am able to feel like the things I make matter, that the things I do can make a difference even if it’s just to the one or two people that like my fanfic.
Maybe it wasn’t fully because of the silly little actual play show that I turned to for a smile when I was down, that’s probably too much to put on any piece of media. But D20 was definitely there through it with me, and it was there when I woke up at 5am today, unable to go back to sleep, wondering am I a person who believes in things now?
So I want to thank everyone who produces it, everyone on the art team, the intrepid heroes and Brennan, any guest star who was ever on it (incredibly special scream to Aabria and her Wuvvy and Karna, my beloveds. ALSO ERIKA AND DANIELLE.), literally from the deepest sincerest part of my heart. From someone who thought they wouldn’t make it alive at some point in the foggy future, thank you for making something that was there when I was in some of the worst times of my life and there for when I started to climb out.
I’m participating in the D20 zine jam now collabing with the friend who introduced me to D20, and I hope we can help raise money for WWRAP (Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project)! Please go check out all the fan work that's coming out in August!!!
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1, 6, 12, 39
get asked things, dork (affectionate
welp, get your reading glasses out everyone
1: 3 things that shaped me into who i am
-1: luck. from the classic things like being born in a wealthy western country, being white (not inherently lucky but made me privileged/safer), having a relatively nice familly with no financial struggle, etc, to smaller stuff. like, it's a miracle i was never bullied in school. if it wasn't for that one person, maybe i would've died. i had free access to the internet since i was like 9, and somehow never stumbled on stuff that was inapropriate for my age
i consider myself quite lucky, despite all the hardships
-2: being trans. sorry to the people who think it's cringe when we make it our whole personnality, but it is litteraly so important. so central. i cannot fathom what i would be like if i weren't trans. that's just not the same person
-3: having weird ass parents. by that i mean that they're almost not like parents, more like... people i lived with that cared for me? i of course mean that in the sense that i don't have any special emotional attachment to them and all, but also that it doesn't feel like they raised me because they transmitted so little to me. my way of seeing the world, my hobbies, my fears, my political opinions, my general knowledge, my understanding of myself and others, my skills, i got them from, well, not them. the internet school, my friends, but not my parents. truly, i don't really know these people
6: best and worst part of being online
i've been here most of my life, so all the bad is just part of it. yes, that's where all the haters are. sure, all of the horrible things in existence can be found here. but that's also where my friends are. that's where community is. that's my only way of accessing at least 50% of what makes me happy. it has taught me so much about the world and myself, has held so many fulfilling experiences for me
if i had to choose 1 worst, i'd say transmisoginy i guess? i dunno, girl, i'm not even popular enough to get hate mail
12: a piece of advice i'd like to give
like i said in a previous post of mine i'm just 18. i'm like a baby. i feel like the least qualified person on earth to be giving advice. but i'll say one thing: advices are kinda bullshit. in essence they're opinions you think will be helpfull to someone else. but in my experience, they rarely are, especially when talking about life choices, mental health and the such. i watched hundreds of hours of self help videos, listened to people, went to therapy, and i felt like a fucking moron. i knew all the things, i had the advice, but it wasn't working. in the end, what helped me crawl out of the pit is time, love, and a bunch of stuff i'll never know about. find what works for you and ditch what doesn't; it's not because a piece of advice is true that it is helpful. searching for your solution will probably work better than just trying to apply the solutions others found
39: a youtuber i'm obssessed with
hard and specific
brennan lee mulligan? absolutely obssessed. a youtuber? not really
thegreatreview (he's french)? amazing youtuber. so fucking talented. obssessed? not really
dougdoug? obssessed by his entire cinematic universe for a while now. a youtuber? maybe 50%? it's all twitch streams highlights
john and hank green? ok i'll stop there
let's settle for brian david gilbert then, the man so nice they named him thrice. please buy his bed.
most well known for his Unravelled series on Polygon's channel, like the one about the sonic bible or the one about the smash bros osha violations, his personnal stuff is simply perfect, sometimes whimsical, like "i wish that i could wear hats" or "Pumpkin Cowboy", sometimes horrifying, like the one about the american healthcare system or "Teaching Jake about the Camcorder, Jan '97", often a mix of both, like "we like watching birds" or "earn $20K EACH MONTH by being your own boss". his comedic genius is at its best when it is also at its weirdest. he's also the guy who made the sibling dance song, i guess
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okay why do i like this loser? WELL.
he cannot possibly cross a boundary because he can’t even shake your hand without permission. how would he hurt me??? he won’t. he cannot. i am literally so safe with him.
I LIKE THE THINGS HE LIKES.
- i’m NOT a fan of creepy horror but i’m cool with jumpscares and gore. i’ll stomach it for him if he stomachs watching my comedians.
- PLEASE TAKE ME TO RENASCENCE FAIRS???? ARE YOU KIDDING??!!!!! I WANT TO GO!!!!!
- HIS OUTFITTTTT HES SO COOL GENUINELY FUCK OFF HES SO COOL HE HAS A MATCHING CANE !!!
- chances are he plays dnd. chances are PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME JOIN PLEASE PLEASE PLE-
i LOVE his hair. i want to give him space buns. i want to give him boxer braids. i want to gel that shit up. (i also desperately want to give him a deep conditioner cause babe the back is fried…)
he’s cute. (he is) (come on) (that face) (his stupid :] smile) (the creases around his eyes?) (the freckles on his arms?) (he’s a catch)
I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM. WHAT DID HE STUDY? DOES HE LIKE DOGS? DOES HE PLAY POOL? WHAT MUSIC DOES THIS BASTARD LISTEN TO?? DOES HE KNOW WHO BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN IS??? HAS HE EVER GROWN A BEARD????? AAAAAAAAAAA
THE STUTTER T—T why is he single someone scoop him up before i do
i think he would be into animal bones
he looks soft. idc. he does.
oh he looks really young ??? maybe it’s the shaven face but he looks to be in his 20s.
he would be VERY easy to shop for. i love autistic people. yes i do know what you want say hello to more Hawaiians shirts and a short-sword. say hello to another cane. say hello to a plague mask, probably. flamethrower for valentine’s day. be responsible babe. i got you fancy medieval gloves. i got you chainmail. BABE. i’ll actually spoil the shit out of him. please.
cons? we both get mad v easily and we would shout at each other. but that’s probably fine cause i’m not worried he’d start beating my ass like most men. i don’t like his interior design choices but it is his parents house. oh that’s a con as well… 34… parents house… it’s FINE. his mom said it’s not often he lets people hug him, which WOULD be a con, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable hugging emma ?? worst of all he does sock -> shoe -> sock -> shoe /j. he talks weird but i’ll be honest i got used to it really fast. he’s VERY defensive. moreso than i am. we would fight. i don’t think he’s a conservative but he .. could be? but he’s so respectful… and he believes in climate change… i doubt it. idk. his friends are strange but he is too so that’s fitting. oh and the biggest issue is of course, no offense james, that we are both utterly useless /exg. how would anything get done??? who will step up? (me i’ll do it SIGH).
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dream 6/17
in part of my dream i went to a sex shop with some friends and they got made at me for saying loudly that i liked the idea of sexual roleplay with a partner, and they made us leave immediately. i was mentioning it because the shop had this weird little game that looked like a gameboy advance and you and your partner each got one and basically used it for sexting but pretending to be these pre made characters the game had assigned. it was strange but i wanted to play it anyway but my friends did NOT want to hear about it. in another part i remember someone i used to be friends with (who i was still friends with in the dream) started drawing a picture of our friend group (never had one irl but this was like at least 10 people in the dream) and we were all lined up and for some reason, they drew me as a girl? with longer hair? it was strange. i had another dream that i was door dashing and i had to park my car on the side of the interstate to go into a mcdonalds to get someones food. when i got inside it became a chick fil a and i tried to log into my account for door dash to find the name n it made me create an account so i sat in there doing that for a while. then i grabbed the bag off of the little shelf of doordash orders and went back to my car. nothing else rlly happened with the door dash thing. i remember another dream had my sister in it but i cant recall what happened. then i was walking through an airport or something and saw my friend Brennan and tried to say hi to him and he didnt respond, so i said “Okay fuck you too then” and started walking away and then he called after me bitching me out. then i saw my ex Peyton sitting at some seats in the airport and for some reason i walked over to her, and we didn’t act like we hated each other. i sat down in the floor and it was kind of awkward but i shared the blunt i was now holding in the middle of the airport with her. then the next guy she seriously dated after me walked up, i know he doesnt like me so it was even more awkward. but we just rolled up some more and kept smoking all together. another dream i was a little girl with rich parents. we started in my backyard which had a decorative pond as well as a little swimming hole my parents built into the ground for me because i did swimming a lot ,i believe i used it to help my body , i had arthritis in my hips or something. i walked up through the yard which was full of elaborate stone structures and landscaping you could walk on. i hopped around on the rocks and stone for a bit before going inside the back door. my father was in the kitchen, as i walked in he was coming outside with a tray of cookies. there was some sort of party going on. i think in the dream i was a little black girl which is very weird to me. my father was a black man too. i walked through the kitchen to this room with very big windows. i realized the windows had handles to swing open and let in the outside air so iwent to open them. as i tried to open them the glass panels in them started falling and i called out for my father. i told him i broke it and he was sweet and gentle and grabbed them from where i was holding them up so they wouldnt fall. then he leaned them against the door frames and left them there to go back to his party hosting. as i sat by the windows my mother approached, who was an asian woman. she was very upset but not yelling, just very stoic. she started fixing the door/window things and i told her i loved her, and she replied with just one word i cant remember. i was so hurt by it that i ran to my bedroom and sobbed in my bed. as i was sitting in my room this weird guy that i used to know because peyton dated him named Griffin came into my room and started talking to me.
the next dream i was sitting with my ex Niko, and we were talking. We were talking about tinder and grindr, which apparently she had been using. I told them i hoped they didnt move on yet and that they shouldn’t be trying to date anyone yet, i was being selfish but also wanted to make sure she had time to heal both from me and from the other things she needed to work on before dating. i was pretty bummed because i found out she paid for like the premium grindr thing. then they used their ipad to set up a grindr profile for me which i didnt really want but i didn’t want to argue with them. it felt like she was trying to move on so fast and i just wasn’t ready. thats all i can remember from last night, but i know there was a LOT more. crazy how i only slept for 8 hours last night but had the most amount of dream content to log that i’ve had yet.
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The Cubs at Disneyland
Hi, so I've been trying to do this for awhile (ever since I drew Lo in a Mickey Mouse hoodie) but when the queen herself, miss Hazel, said she needs them to go to Disney... well I wrote this. And drew it. Because I'm me.
So anyway, here's the drawing and below is the fic
Tw for a couple mentions of food but I think that's it
Credit for everything @lumosinlove
Leo bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, goofy smile at full force while he waited to board the plane. He had grown up going to Disney World with his family. Living in Louisiana, Florida wasn’t too far away, and Eloise and Wyatt Knut didn’t let being adults stop them from enjoying the magic of Disney. When Leo was born, his parents were beyond excited about the prospect of going as a family, getting mickey ears, collecting pins, and making memories.
The first time he went, Leo was five, his favorite Disney movie was the lion king, and an expression of pure joy was permanent in his pale, blue eyes. Over the four days they were in the parks he got to go on rides, eat themed sweets, and meet his favorite characters.
After that first trip, Eloise started a scrap book. The book, titled ‘Disney World 2006’, was soon filled with pictures of Leo at the entrance gate, Leo with pineapple dole whip halfway to his mouth, and countless of all three of them taken by the photographers.
A favorite picture of Eloise’s was near the back, this one of her son with Simba. When Leo had spotted the cast member dressed as his favorite character, he all but threw himself at the lion costume clad employee. Leo’s mama had taken many pictures of the two lion cubs together and they were beyond adorable.
There are more scrap books from 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017. Throughout the years of pictures Leo never looks less than ecstatic. Even though New Orleans will forever remain his favorite place in the world, Disney is a close second to home, which is why this trip with his boys is such a big deal for him.
The Lions are currently on a short break in the season after their game against the Coyotes and the cubs are going to spend a few days at Disneyland in Anaheim.
Finn reaches forward to grab Leo’s hand who is standing in line in front of him.
“Sunshine, are you excited?” He asks. Leo tilts his head around to look at his boyfriend and nods eagerly.
“We’ll take that as a yes,” logan chuckles sleepily from behind Finn where he is standing with his head resting on the red head’s back. Evidently waking up at 6:00 in the morning to drive to the airport wasn’t ideal for him.
Leo lets out a low, impatient groan, still bouncing, “I need to be there like right now. Can’t we get on the plane already?”.
“We haven’t even been waiting that long. I think they’re about to call our section though, Peanut,” Finn answers him, trying not to let his amusement show too much.
A crinkly noise cuts off Leo’s response, “Now boarding rows 1-10,” a voice says from over the loudspeaker. Leo stands up straighter and turns to his boyfriends, “that’s us!”
“I know Nutter-Butter, go on, let’s get you to Disney!” Finn says as he pats Leo’s butt lightly, moving him forward, onto the jet bridge.
The boys get settled into their seats, Finn by the window, Logan in the middle for maximum cuddles, and Leo on the aisle for the leg room. For the first half of the flight Logan sleeps while Finn and Leo share a movie, but all three boys are wide awake by the time the flight attendants come around with drinks for the second time. The rest of the flight is spent chatting about practices coming up after the break, things they need for the apartment, and what they are going to do first upon arriving.
Once getting off the plane in California, they take the shuttle from John Wayne Airport to the Disneyland hotels. They are staying in the Adventure Land tower, closest to the park. By this point all three boys are buzzing with the infectious happiness of Disney. After unpacking and getting settled into their hotel room, the cubs proceed with their plans of shopping and getting dinner in Downtown Disney. First thing on the agenda is to procure mouse ears. Logan, Finn, and Leo make their way to World of Disney in order to find the widest selection of ears. Leo has a collection of his own ears at home, including his favorite pride Minnie ears, but for this trip he wants to get new ones along with Logan and Finn. Leo and Finn decide on classic Mickey ear hats, while Logan picks out Minnie ears with a lavender bow. They all get sweatshirts too, as is custom.
After a pleasant evening of enjoying the atmosphere and getting dinner at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen (Leo’s offense towards their attempt at Cajun cuisine is only partially a joke), they call it night. They head back to the hotel, brush their teeth, put on pajamas, and cuddle up in bed. After a busy day the three boys quickly fall asleep, full of anticipation for the day ahead.
Something you should know about Leo is that when it comes to Disney, he is hard core. Their first morning there is an early entry in Disneyland park.
“Rise and shine, party people!” Leo calls as he entera the main part of the hotel room from the bathroom. Logan and Finn are just now waking up, but they aren’t remotely tired. The pure excitement radiating off their boyfriend is contagious as well as the promise of a day of fun.
“Butter baby, how long have you been up?” Finn’s question is alarmed yet distinctly amused.
“Since 5:30,” Leo responds off-handedly. Logan and Finn share a look, then turn it on Leo. Undeterred, Leo spins slowly in a circle in order to show off his carefully constructed outfit. He is wearing his favorite light wash Levi’s, paired with the crewneck he bought yesterday (light gray with vintage looking Mickey & friends). Underneath his sweatshirt he is wearing his Pizza Planet t-shirt, ready for when it gets hot later. Leo’s outfit is accessorized with his new Mickey ear hat, white air Jordan 1’s, and his Tinker Bell lanyard filled with pins from over the years.
“These things take time! Now y’all go get dressed, we have to be in line by 6:45,” Leo says. With that both Finn and Logan get out of bed and into their clothes in record time. On their way out of the room, they pick up their ears and backpacks from the desk by the TV.
After a brief stop at the Starbucks in Downtown Disney, the boys make it into the que of people lining up at the entrance gate. Once 7:00 hits, the lines start to move into the park. As Logan, Finn, and Leo enter, they gaze around in awe. At the end of Mainstreet sits Sleeping Beauty’s castle, tall and glorious. They walk hand in hand down the lane of colorful, old fashioned buildings, chatting excitedly about what to do first.
“Alright babes, what’s up on the agenda?” Finn asks.
“I don’t even know the options, what do you say Le?” Logan continues.
They end up heading over to Tomorrow Land first. They go on Star Tours and Space Mountain while the lines are short, then bounce around Fantasy land as they make their way across the park. Around 8:30 all three boys start to get hungry so they grab a bag or two of beignets from New Orleans Square. After breakfast, they hit their favorites in Adventure land (Finn fucking loves Indiana Jones), Frontier Land (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a fan favorite), and New Orleans Square (Logan might not stop singing ‘Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for Me’ for weeks).
Around noon the cubs exit Disneyland Park and walk across to California Adventure. After lunch at Wine Country Trattoria the boys bop around Cars Land, Hollywood Land, Pacific Warf and Grizzly Peak. The lines are a lot longer now that it’s afternoon, so they take it in stride and spend their waiting time talking, cuddling, and playing games. They end up going on almost every ride as well as hitting the extra good ones twice like Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy (still a fan-fucking-tastic ride but Leo misses the Twilight Zone theme).
By the time they finish up in California Adventure for the day, it’s almost time for Fantasmic, and Leo has yet to tell his boys that he got them reserved seats. The cubs meander back to Disneyland but when they start to near Frontier Land Finn picks up the pace.
“Sweetheart, what’s the hurry?” Leo asks with a knowing smile.
“I wanna get good seats for Fantasmic, I haven’t seen it since I was little!” Finn replies.
“Orgasmic? I like the sound of that,” Logan slides in with a smirk.
“Baby, no!” His boyfriends exclaim at the same time. Logan giggles which gets Leo and Finn laughing as well.
“And Finn, I got us seat reservations for the show so no need to rush,” Leo tells him. Finn’s response is to jump on Leo with a fierce hug and a drawn out “Yay,”.
The cubs enjoy the water show immensely, all snuggled up and bundled in sweatshirts once again to fend off the cool evening air. They point out little details to each other with intertwined hands and gasp aloud at the pretty fireworks. Once Fantasmic is over they do a few more rides, then head back to the hotel, sleepy after a full day. The boys fall asleep quickly again, ready to do it all again the next day.
#my art#writing#lumosinlove#o'knutzy#leo knut#finn o'hara#logan tremblay#disneyland#coast to coast#sweater weather#harry potter fanart#lumosinlove fanart#fanart
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Favourite PCs from dimension 20?
OKAY LEMME DIG DEEP
For simplicity I'll go with one per season just so I don't end up writing whole essays on everyone in the entire show
Fantasy High -
Figueroth Faeth - god I love Fig so much, the way she goes from angsty bad girl teen who's acting out and trying too hard bc she feels scorned by her circumstances and the fact that her life was upended by The Sudden Realisation Of Her Infernal Heritage to legitimately caring and introspective friend who works to better how she presents herself to those around her is one of my favourite parts of Fantasy High + Figayda owns my entire soul (bonus shoutout to Figaydadaine bc I thought about it the other week and Adaine having to come to grips with realising that what she feels when Fig and Ayda kiss or something is, in fact, not only jealousy but jealousy TWICE is very good and compelling and I just think that Adaine Abernant is an ace lesbian)
Escape from the Bloodkeep -
Leiland - YES I'm a lesbian YES I'm a Matt Mercer simp we exist, the way he plays Leiland in Bloodkeep is so well done and I love the concept of someone so devoted that it blinds them to their true worth and they end up defining themself by how useful they are to the subject of their devotion, so much so that it's detrimental to their own mental health. Until they are eventually faced with a situation where they no longer have anyone to please and have to reconcile with the fact that they have worth beyond what they mean to others and also BECAUSE they mean things to others. Also I think that he and Markus should kiss, Matt and Ify should come back to do a oneshot w Brennan that is just that I'll fund it myself
The Unsleeping City -
Sofia Lee/Bicicleta - GOD THE VERY PEAK OF CHOSEN ONE NARRATIVES. She's so fucking DRIVEN and love her so much. The scene where she chooses herself is so fucking good and i've mentioned before that I love that it happened in the same episode as Ricky's big chosen one moment bc just like I love the Pete/Kingston dichotomy I'll NEVER be over the Ricky/Sofia dichotomy of "Man chosen by those who came before him" vs "Woman chosen by no others but herself" + Monk/Warlock is a Very Good combo and Emily Axford deserves the world also. YES IM A SIMP FOR EMILY CHARACTERS IM ENTITLED TO BE. Anyway Sofia's the only one of the main cast who doesn't have any real cosmic obligation to do good in the context of those 17 episodes but she does it anyway and I love her for it
Tiny Heist -
Either Agnes or Bean - first off I love Jess Ross and Griffin McElroy in general, they're both incredibly funny and so great. Agnes' reveal of the fact that she's dying is so heartbreaking and the fact that the Heist is her last hurrah is so cool and sexy of her, we love a morally dubious facewoman. Bean is a delight, the fact that Griffin said "hell yeah" one time and then it became the Watermelon Dojo's motto?? Incredible. He also leads to some of the most resourceful and fun moments in the show just bc of having such WACK Monk abilities in a heist setting which is SO GOOD. I might be misremembering things bc I truthfully have only watched TH once but y'know
A Crown of Candy -
AMETHAR. FUCKING AMETHAR.
He's so fucking good and Lou plays him so perfectly and just,,, the way he talks about his experiences playing Amethar in AP is so interesting to listen to bc you can ABSOLUTELY feel the imperfect dad mindset shining through his performance. The way he's the king who never wanted to be king, the way he's a father who's trying to do what's right by not only his daughters and his family, but his kingdom as well, even if he sometimes doesn't know what that is. I'll never forget the heartbreak I felt as Brennan was playing out the excommunication scene and you can see and hear Lou's pained "No"s as he goes on and.......I love Lou Wilson and I love Amethar so fucking much,,,,, truly if push had come to shove and he'd actually died sacrificing himself to stop his daughters from killing each other, I don't think I'd have ever recovered. There's something about parents who sincerely try their best but never really succeed to the fullest that get to me real hard
I haven't seen Pirates of Leviathan yet bc I was waiting for it to all come out before watching it but I anticipate I'll probably love Jack, Bob or Myrtle (leaning toward Myrtle bc aah hot monster lady.......)
#asks#anon#dimension 20#d20#fantasy high#the unsleeping city#a crown of candy#escape from the bloodkeep#tiny heist
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Okay... Now, they are just showing off...
Robb and Margaery chatting before the kids came to the living room. Margaery cooked french toast for brunch. Hehehe, look at Robb Stark and his redheaded kids. Mini Robbs. OMG this is adorable 😍🥰🥰🥰
So the sun was setting and I wanted to get nice shots of the neighbourhood and of Robb’s and Jon’s houses with the nice lighting. Then I went back to the house to check at what the Starks are doing and I wanted to roll my eyes.
I mean the twins have already turned in for the day I think it was like 7 or 8 in the evening. Toddler sims are kinda like Toddlers in real life you really gotta watch them so I was relieved that they are already asleep.
Brenda was making some arts and crafts and I had to send Lorena off to the doctor because she was having a fever. Okay back to what made me roll my eyes 🙄 like real hard.
Okay, I did not do this, like I said there’s some level of autonomy in the game like the Sims would just do their own thing.
Like What the Fuq??? Robb went looking for Margaery on his own accord and sat next to her and they just chatted. Like seriously 😐 ...they just talked and talked and laughed and joked and flirted. 😒 OMG. They are those annoyingly perfect couple who just actually enjoy each other’s company.
Imagine finding that one person where you can just talk and talk and talk and enjoy long conversations with. That perfect someone who is your bestfriend, your confidante, your life partner, your spouse, your soulmate. They can freaking talk for hours. Until one has to go to the toilet or get food then they’ll just continue talking.
I’m like annoyed then I’m kinda jealous. I wanna find someone like that too and these two fictional characters that never even met in canon are like the freaking, missing actual halves of each other!
Find someone that looks at you and smiles at you and can just talk to you and enjoy your company for hours like Robb does Margaery and vice versa. It should be meme now or the gold standard for relationships/marriage.
Another example. So Margaery got up earlier the next morning. She comforted Brennan I think who was crying because that’s what toddlers do they cry over the smallest things and she even did the laundry. Then Margaery went and get her breakfast but I was wondering why she just sat at the table and waited and not even started eating yet. She was just staring at the food for a while.
OMG 😱. Turns out she was waiting for this guy, over here to come down so that they could have breakfast together. 🙄 And talk and smile and laugh.
Oh FUCK. They are THAT couple. You know that annoyingly PERFECT couple that always gets along fine, never fights, no freaking tension whatsoever and makes other couples look dismal by comparison. Like seriously... It’s Keeping up with the Starks now....
Also they are the BEST parents ever as well. They are Perfect. Their relationship, their marriage and their family. Uuurgh...they are so perfect they make everyone else’s relationships here look like chopped liver.
Robbaery fans, you guys won! You guys are champions. Your ship is the best. Seriously. Gold Medal 🥇 stuff
Look at Robb looking so proud and adoringly at his daughter Brenda who was practising on the violin. I mean the music was horrible and usually most Sims will have that irritable moodlet because of bad music being played. Ohhh but not Robb Stark. No Sir. He’s just so darned proud of his daughter trying her best to play the violin even when she’s not any good yet.
Anyways I still love them. 🥰😘😍 Like A LOT.
Also something about James Arthur’s songs and lyrics that suits Robb & Margaery so well 🥰
I'm so in love with you
And I hope you know
Darling, your love is more than worth its weight in gold
We've come so far, my dear
Look how we've grown
And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old....
Say you won’t let go...
#sims 4#modern au#robb x margaery#robb stark#margaery tyrell#stahp! you’re just showing off now#we get it...#you’re perfect#perfect couple#perfect family#perfect ship
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Catch Me If You Can (38/40)
298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.
But then he came back and won the World Series.
It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.
Asking her out live on-air will do that.
Rating: Mature
a/n: Thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke for being my beta, @imagnifika for the cover art, and all of you for being awesome, whether you read this story or not ❤️
AO3: Beginning | Current
Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35| 36 | 37 | 38
-/-
The thing about being a starting pitcher is that Killian rarely plays. It’s every five days usually, and Killian is too competitive to simply be able to sit and watch while everyone else gets to be out there on the field. If it wasn’t absolute murder on his shoulder, he’d be in Al’s office every damn day asking why he can’t be out there.
Understandably, having to watch his teammates play without being able to help has been killing him more in this past week than it did while he was out on injury, and that was actual hell.
Rob did a fantastic job that first night clinching the first game for them by making it nearly impossible for the Dodgers to get on base, and Killian, while he didn’t play his best, pitched a good enough game and had help from Eric’s three-run homerun for them to win the second. It’s simply that everything after that has been a bit of a nightmare.
They lost two incredibly close games in a row in California to tie things up, won the next one, and now they could clinch the entire Series at home in New York.
Tonight.
With Rob pitching and Killian sitting on the bench.
And as much as Killian would love to get to be an active part of it all like he was during the winning game last year, he would give absolutely everything for them to win tonight so that he doesn’t have to get up on the mound tomorrow. The pressure and desire and want is so damn intense that it makes Killian’s heart ache, but he knows that this isn’t really about him. No part of him could be selfish enough to want to lose today so that he could have the possibility of the glory tomorrow.
That would be ridiculous, and he doesn’t know what the hell he’d do if he wakes up tomorrow morning with a stiff shoulder and he’s got to get out there and play.
Sighing, Killian stretches out his legs to the seat in front of him as a whisper of wind whirls through the stadium to bring in the late October chill. He fiddles with the sleeves of his sweatshirt, pulling them down to cover his wrists where chill bumps are rising, and he wishes that he had a hat on to protect himself from weather, his ears likely red from the cold. It’s only seven in the morning, most of the stadium completely empty except for the maintenance crew and a few people in the offices, but Killian knew that this would be his only time to take it all in with no one around him.
An empty stadium is nearly as magical as a packed one.
He’s spent his entire life building up to things like this. Sure, there were times when he had other goals. He wanted to be a teacher, wanted to get his degree and help others, but that was always the fallback goal. It was never the main one.
Baseball has been his life.
Lately, though, Killian’s been thinking about life outside of the game more than ever. It’s insane because he feels like he’s one of those obnoxious people who only lives and breathes baseball all the time, especially with what’s going on right now, but his mind has managed to find a way to wander elsewhere.
There are saved searches on his phone about going back to Vanderbilt to finish his degree and a sent message in his email to an advisor asking if it would be possible for him to finish in New York instead of having to take classes in person. He hasn’t told anyone that he’s thinking about it, not yet. Telling someone makes it real, and Killian’s not entirely sure that he wants it to be real quite yet. He’s a grown ass man, but change is still terrifying when he’s grown comfortable in his life.
Baseball isn’t forever, though, and while he may still work in the sport later on, he’s not going to be someone who goes throughout his entire life living out the glory days through memory.
Tonight, might be another big moment that defines his life, but the past six months have been pretty life changing as well. Hell, the past year has been.
Things are changing in ways that he wants and ways that he doesn’t, and that’s simply how it is.
“So, we woke up at the ass crack of dawn so that you could sit out here all by yourself?”
Killian twists his head to the side to see Emma standing a few seats over dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, scarf wrapped around her neck and Yankees cap on her head. He was so wrapped up in his own mind that he didn’t even hear her move toward him.
“Hey, love,” he smiles, reaching up and holding out his hand so that the cool tip of her fingers touch his as he intertwines their fingers while she settles down into the seat next to him and props her feet up on the seat in front of her. “I told you that you didn’t have to come with me.”
Sitting here reminds him of another time in San Francisco when he put his heart on his sleeve and willingly handed it over to Emma to crush before they decided that they would give the two of them a go and simply see how things worked out. If she had said no that day, he could have listened. But damn is he glad that she said yes.
Or, well, technically, he was the one saying yes.
Either way, everything in his life shifted.
“I know, but you get all moody and introspective, and I didn’t want you psyching yourself out.”
“I would not do that.”
“You’re a liar.”
“Just a little bit.” His hand flexes against hers, shifting his fingers the slightest bit so that he can get a more comfortable grip on Emma’s hands. “What have you been doing while I’ve been sitting here being introspective and psyching myself out?”
“I was taking some pictures. It’s kind of cool to see the calm before the storm, you know? And then David called me with some work stuff and to give me shit about us making out being all over Instagram, so I sat on a bench and talked to him for awhile.”
“He called you this early? Is he crazy?”
“I think David forgets that not everyone wakes up this early, and he has no qualms about waking me up. Usually I’m much meaner to him.”
“I’m surprised you’re not being mean to me.”
“The coffee we had at home really works wonders.”
Killian almost opens his mouth to say something about Emma referring to his apartment as home. But only almost. They’re both aware of the living situation, have joked about it to each other and others before, and they don’t need some kind of official discussion about things. It’ll all happen naturally, and when the time comes, they’ll talk about it. For now, things are perfect just as they are.
Life has been crazy with his injury and then Walsh and Brennan and the aftermath of them being absolute assholes. It’s gotten crazier with the World Series and how much press he’s now getting, both for the games and for his relationship with Emma, much of which is now weirdly being caught on camera. All Killian really wants is a bit of normal here.
The sun continues to rise in the sky, darkness shifting into an orange glow that will eventually turn into bright sunshine that makes it difficult to see without a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose. The grass on the field is wet with condensation, water coating the blades, and if it wasn’t freezing out there, he thinks he’d go out and sit along the edge of the back wall instead of in a stadium seat.
Bringing Emma’s hand to his lips, he presses a kiss to each of her knuckles before pulling their joined hands back down to rest on his thigh.
“I think,” he starts, not entirely sure where he’s going, “that I could stay out here forever. I don’t know…maybe I feel things too deeply compared to everyone else, but this place has always felt like home. I can’t imagine what things would be like if I’d been drafted somewhere else or if I’d never been called up at all.”
She hums next to him, and Killian looks down to see Emma’s thumb rubbing across his knuckles like she always seems to do. “What’s that thing you’re always saying? There’s no such thing as ‘what ifs.’ Not in life and not in sport. What happened, happened.”
“Doesn’t keep me from wondering.”
“It doesn’t keep anyone from wondering, twenty-nine.” Her hand squeezes his again, and Killian’s mind dares to ask once more what his life would be like had he not met Emma. It’s a question he doesn’t want an answer to. “What if my parents had kept me? What if Ruth had never decided to foster a shitty teenager with an attitude issue? What if I had never met Neal or Walsh or Ruby or anyone who has impacted my life they the way they have? What if I never met you?”
“You’d be missing out on the best sex of your life.”
Emma knocks her foot into his as he snickers at his own awful joke. “You’re full of yourself.”
He shrugs. “It happens. And I know. I’m just – my stomach has been in knots over all of this for an entire month. I’m not sure my body is going to make it ten more hours. Or hell, possibly even thirty-six. I’ve had to hype myself up for all of this, and I’m a little…fuck, Swan, I’m exhausted and excited, and I’m scared I’m going to have some kind of adrenaline crash.”
It’s Emma’s turn to bring their hands together so that she can brush her lips over his knuckles. His heart stutters at the movement.
God, he loves her. It’s actually insane how much. Truly, it shouldn’t be possible.
“For one, getting up and coming to the stadium before the sun even fully rises is not something that’s going to help with your exhaustion.”
He twists his head to look at her, and she’s got mischief in her eyes and a smirk stretched across her lips that he has to kiss away. She still tastes like coffee.
“Also,” she whispers against his lips, kissing him again, “you’re not going to crash. Not yet. I know you’re really big on not riding on what happened last year, but you’ve got to do that. You’ve been through this before, and you made it. Those butterflies in your stomach are being felt by everyone who’s involved with this team, and hanging out by yourself the entire time isn’t going to help things. Why don’t we go get breakfast together? Or maybe go back to bed?”
“How about a game of catch?”
“What?” Emma laughs as she pulls back from him with furrowed brows? “I am not playing catch with you. Are we five?”
Killian shakes his head and chuckles as he stands from the seat and begins to stretch his shoulders out, letting go of Emma’s hand and rolling his shoulders back as he laughs at himself.
“We’re twenty-eight. I know you remember your birthday last week. And come on, Swan. I play a game of really expensive catch for a living. It’s part of my job to work on my arm today, just in case, and I need a practice partner.”
“That’s what Will and Eric or August are for.”
“Yeah,” he smiles, reaching forward to tug her up only for her weight to go dead so that he can’t move her, “but they’re not here. You are.”
Emma closes her gaping mouth, and her lips move in different directions while her nose scrunches up so that little crinkles appear around her eyes under the shade of her hat. “Okay, but if there’s one misogynistic quip about me throwing like a girl, I’m breaking up with you on the spot.”
“There’s nothing wrong with throwing like a girl, Swan. It’s pretty badass. But there’s something wrong with throwing like shit.”
“I’m not going to throw like shit.” Killian starts walking over the chairs, easily maneuvering through the stands with Emma following behind him. “But I ask you to remember that while I pride myself in my fitness, it’s in things like Pilates and running or boxing. It’s not in baseball. You, meanwhile, do this for a living.”
“These sound like a hell of a lot of excuses.”
“That’s because they are.”
“There’s no excuses in baseball.”
“I thought it was crying.”
“Fuck no,” Killian scoffs. “There’s a lot of crying in baseball, and anyone who tells you something different is a liar.”
“I can’t believe you just called Tom Hanks, America’s sweetheart, a liar.”
They have to go back through the tunnels to get a bucket of balls and some gloves as well as a few towels to wipe the grass in the bullpen down since it’s wet and neither of them are wearing the right shoes for this, but they do eventually get to the point where he can lightly toss the ball back and forth between the two of them. He’s not going to pitch at full speed, not until he has Will later, but it’s soothing to simply be out here getting a little movement in. He’s been back for two weeks, practicing for four, but it’s still all brand new again to him and shaded under a light that wasn’t there before.
Emma isn’t bad at all. She’s actually rather good, a natural some might say, and he jokes with her that if sports broadcasting doesn’t work out for her, she might take up a career in this. Naturally that gets him an eye roll or two, but she keeps on throwing until the sun is high in the sky and the day has truly begun.
Killian’s ready for it.
Everything seems to pass quickly then. The entirety of the Dodgers team walks out onto the field for their scheduled practice while he and Emma are still messing around in the bullpen, somewhere between still doing a bit of practice and Killian backing Emma up against the wall to make out with her. No one sees them, though, the loud blaring of music startling the two of them away from each other, and Killian presses Emma a little further into the wall while he buries his face in her neck so that he can muffle the sound of his laughter.
He’s not entirely sure that works, especially when Emma is doing the same, but they eventually manage to grab their things and slip inside so that an entire professional team isn’t aware of the fact that he was using the early morning stadium to kiss his girlfriend.
That would certainly have been something.
There is an actual practice that Killian has to attend today, an hour of which needs to be spent with him running on the treadmill and then getting massaged by Archie to work out any knots and kinks in his shoulder and to make sure that it’s not inflamed. Killian is always terrified that he’s going to be told that his shoulder is inflamed again and that he won’t be able to play on a day where he thinks he’s going to be able to. That would completely screw up the lineup, and…No, now isn’t the time to think about that.
Killian tells Emma that he’ll see her later, that he’ll probably come bother her wherever the network has her sitting even though he’s splitting the time in the game between the dugout, the clubhouse, and the suite where his family is going to be sitting. She has to go home and get ready for the day, and even if she didn’t, he very much doubts that she’d like to stick around and watch him run.
And then they’re both off.
Let the game begin.
-/-
“Are you guys going to win today?”
Now, that’s the question of the day, isn’t it?
Killian looks down at Roland who is dressed in head to toe Yankees gear, all his dad’s of course, and there’s a nervous smile on the kid’s face. Roland is almost never nervous. He has that childlike faith in everything even with all of the tragedy in his life of having lost his mom, and he nearly always believes that things are going to work out. There’s no good or bad, just the belief that things will work out the way you want them to simply by the power of wanting them to.
If only it were that simple.
“I don’t know, lad,” Killian answers honestly as he reaches down to pick Roland up, easily putting him on his shoulders as Killian walks him down the hallways to the suite he’s staying in for the game. Roland was in the clubhouse for all of the pre-game celebrations, and the kid heard and saw things that he probably didn’t need to hear for several more years.
A decade, really. Maybe two.
Yeah, definitely two decades. There was some creative swearing.
“Why not?”
“Well, because we can’t predict the future, and the other team is really good too.”
“But I want to win.”
“Me too,” he sighs as he pushes open the doors to lead to the suites. “And everyone is going to try their best. But you know what?”
“What?”
“I think if you cheer extra hard, it might help your dad out, okay? He might lose because the other team is good, but you’ve got to cheer him on no matter what.”
Roland’s ankles hit against Killian’s collarbone, and Killian pretends that the bony lad doesn’t hurt like hell when he hits him. “I can cheer really loud. Like, Grandma says that it makes her ears hurt.”
“If you’re not making Grandma’s ears hurt, you’re not cheering loud enough.”
That sentence pretty much sums up why he’s the best uncle in the world, Killian thinks. It’s basically the equivalent of giving kids a pint of ice cream right before they go back to their parents.
Killian pushes open the suite doors and ducks down underneath them so that he doesn’t knock Roland out. Everyone is situated on the couches and around the tables in front of the TV, and no one pays him any mind as he puts Roland down so that he can run to where Addy, Lucy, and Leo are. He imagines that between the four of them, they’re going to make everyone’s ears hurt from their screaming.
Maybe Killian will go spend time sitting in the dugout instead of in here, but it’s a long game. He’s got time to move around as long as he does make time to study Robin’s throwing patterns against each batter.
“Hey,” he murmurs to Elsa in the kitchen area while she pops a chip into her mouth. “I don’t know that it’s good that you’re playing hooky from work and letting the girls do the same with school.”
“Shut up,” she says in between crunchy bites of food, her hand covering her mouth. “You think that joke is funny every time, but it’s not.”
“It is.” Killian dips his head down and presses a kiss to Elsa’s cheek. “But I fully approve of the skipping work thing, especially when your husband’s lazy ass took the entire week off.”
“He’s supporting his baby brother.”
“Younger, Els. Younger. I don’t need you encouraging that.”
Her bottom lip sticks out. “But it’s so fun to see your ears get all red with embarrassment.”
“Every single thing I’ve ever said about me being glad to have an older sister in you and Anna? Yeah, I’m taking all of those back.”
“You can’t.” She swipes another chip through the dip. “They’ve been said, and I keep them all in my heart right next to where Addy told me that even if she got to choose her mom, she’d still choose me.”
“Classy.”
“I know,” Elsa laughs. “Where’s your better half?”
“She’s working.” Killian pinches his brows together. “So we’re not even going to pretend that I could possibly be the better half?”
“Nope. Just like Liam isn’t the better half either. And don’t make some quip about being equals. Just let me have this. I’m already stress eating chips.” He laughs while reaching forward to drag the bowl away from Elsa so that she can’t eat anymore, but she doesn’t let him, grabbing onto it and pulling it back. “I didn’t say to stop me. World Series week is like the holidays. The calories don’t count until my jeans feel a little snug next week.”
“Ahh,” Killian sighs in understanding. “That’s likely a good thing for how many baked goods I’ve sent your way.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in the dugout?” Ariel questions as she steps up to them with her glass of water in her hand. “It’s kind of a big game.”
“It’s also kind of the top of the first inning, and I’m not playing.”
“Excuses.”
“A legitimate one. How’re you holding up, A?”
She waves him away and reaches for the pitcher of water. “I’m fine. Eric is the nervous wreck. I have enough confidence in you guys that I won’t worry until, you know, we’re losing.”
“Only worrying when we’re losing? What kind of method is that? You have to worry all the damn time.”
“That’s how you have a heart attack, and I have not suffered eating healthily and exercising so much to have a heart attack this young.”
“This is where Liam would tell you that it can happen to anyone in any age.”
“Where is Liam?” Killian questions as he looks around the suite for his brother only to have him nowhere to be seen.
“He and David are sitting in David’s regular seats because David was complaining about Mary Margaret and Leo not wanting to use them. I imagine he’ll be up here soon when he realizes how expensive food is to buy.”
“They’re such old men.”
“Says the man who was wearing a sweater while drinking a cup of tea and reading in his apartment last night instead of coming out to dinner with all of us.”
Killian sputters a bit as he narrows his eyes at Ariel. “First of all, there is nothing wrong with doing any of that. Second of all, how could you possibly know that?”
Ariel shrugs, mischief in all of her features. “Emma sent it in the group text.”
Of course she did. A man can’t even relax in his own home without being called out for it.
“Who is in this group text exactly?”
“Oh, just me, Elsa, Anna, and Belle. Don’t worry. Not everyone gets to see the embarrassing pictures of you drooling in your sleep.”
He’s going to kill Emma.
Or get his revenge. Somewhere in between those two.
There’s a loud groan from everyone watching the game, and that’s when Killian is reminded that there’s a game going on. He didn’t know that he could possibly forget, but apparently being teased about how he spends his nights will let him do that. When he sees what’s happening out on the field, though, Killian wishes that he’d been able to completely and totally forget about the game.
There are three men on base for the Dodgers, only one out, and one of their best hitters is up to bat.
Fuck.
This is not a good start.
This is a long game, but bad starts can change the momentum of absolutely everything. It gets in everyone’s head. The losing team is convinced that they’re going to lose, that they can’t come back from this, and the team that’s ahead gets all the belief in the world with their abilities.
Momentum shifts are everything, and it’s not time for the momentum to shift. Not yet.
And yet it does.
Robin throws what Killian knows is a good fastball and Rob’s specialty, but Stewart hits a sharp line drive down past third base that Arthur doesn’t get to. By the time that he does, the Dodgers already have two runs, Stewart is on second, and Ferguson is sliding into home before the ball can get there.
0-3 for the Dodgers eleven minutes in.
Shit.
Now it’s time for Ariel and everyone else to get nervous.
And it never gets better. Not really. There are times and chances and shots that have Killian grabbing onto his hair in frustration, but nothing comes of it. Nothing at all. Every single time there’s a real chance, something happens: the Dodgers have an unbelievable get, someone fumbles when the Yankees should have an easy chance at a double play, or every single person somehow forgets how to hit.
Until they don’t.
Because now it’s the bottom of the ninth, and after an absolutely incredible eighth inning, it’s now 7-9.
They’re only down by two runs.
(Two runs.)
Killian is pacing back and forth in the dugout now exhausting every bit of emotional energy he has left in him. He left the suite the moment that first inning was over, texting Emma and Liam that there’d been a change of plans and he wouldn’t be meeting up with them after all. There was no way that he was going to be anywhere other than with his team when things were going to hell.
Being two runs behind is both nothing and everything.
There have been plenty of times when they’ve come back from a deficit like this. There have been plenty more when they’ve blown a two-run lead. And yet, like fifty-five thousand people in this stadium know, this isn’t any other game. This is The Game, and they’re closing in on the golden hour of chances.
It’s win now or come back tomorrow for one last chance of glory or crushing defeat.
Best of seven means nothing when there’s the possibility of there only being one game left.
“You’re going to exhaust yourself if you don’t sit down,” Robin tells him from his seat behind him on the bench.
Will has just stepped up to home plate, his bat in hand and feet in position, and Killian can’t breathe. His lungs have stopped taking in air.
“How could you possibly be sitting down for this? Is your blood not on fire?”
“I just pitched five innings, mate. My adrenaline high is gonedown. I’m exhausted.”
The ball is launched through the air toward Will, and Killian immediately knows that he shouldn’t take a swing at it.
He does.
Strike one.
“Shit,” Killian murmurs, kicking his foot at a water cup on the ground. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“You’re going to give yourself a heart attack.”
“Funny, Fisher, I told your wife the same thing. Aren’t you supposed to be warming up?”
Killian doesn’t even have to look to know that Eric is rolling his eyes. “I’m grabbing my stuff to do just that.” There’s a warm hand on Killian’s back, and he turns to look at it just as a “ball” is called. “Take some deep breaths, man. We’ve got this.”
“Aye,” Killian sighs, “we’ve got this.”
Strike two.
“Shit.”
Ball two.
Ball three.
Foul ball.
Killian’s phone buzzes in his back pocket, and he opens it up to see Emma’s name.
Emma: They’re having to censor you on television right now.
Emma: Just thought you might want to know that. Literally every time they show the dugout, you’re cursing. Ruby is getting a kick out of it.
Killian moves to text her back, to say something witty in response, but then the wood of Will’s bat is making contact with the ball and it’s flying gone, gone, gone…
Until it’s caught in the outfield.
Out one.
“Fuck.”
They’ve still got a shot. They have to. And as much as Killian hates cheering for Arthur King and hates that he only got a monetary fine for what he said to Emma and about her, he’s exactly who Killian has to cheer for now as Arthur hits a line drive that enables him to get on first base.
That’s progress.
It’s even more progress when Eric hits a triple sending Arthur into home.
8-9.
Holy fuck.
They might do this. They just might.
Killian still can’t breathe, but this is obviously his natural state now. This is how he’s going to have to live out the rest of his life.
Emma: Okay, now I understand all of the cursing. I’m freaking out.
Killian: Me too. We make quite the pair.
Emma: The best pair. It’s all going to be okay, twenty-nine.
He smiles down at his phone, his lungs taking in a bit of air at that.
Killian: It will be. I love you.
Killian: A frankly ridiculous amount.
“Out,” the umpire yells, and Killian immediately rests his head against the dugout railing, his nails digging into the hem of his sweatshirt as sweat drips down his back even with the late October chill whipping through the stadium as the night fully comes into effect, the sun long since gone.
Out two.
“For fuck’s sake,” Al yells, throwing his hat to the ground and slapping his hand against the railing. “Why would you swing at that, Whale? You could have fucking walked, and then we’d have two men on base with one out. That changes everything.”
It’s not Whale’s fault. It’s not. He messed up, sure, but it’s a team effort. Killian doesn’t always believe that when he’s the one pitching. It’s hard to get that out of your head when you’re being yelled at by managers and fans and people online sending death threats, but it’s true. It’s not one person out there even when it feels like it.
Killian’s going to have to remind himself of that tomorrow.
No.
He can’t go there. They’re not going to play tomorrow. Booth is up to bat, and he’ll get Eric home. Then it’ll be tied up, and they’ll have their shot to close this out right here and right now.
Hope bubbles up in Killian’s chest, his throat closing up with excitement and anticipation, and that lack of breathing thing comes back again as his knuckles go white from the strength of his grip on the railing. When he looks to the right, he sees that Robin’s knuckles are just the same.
They might do this.
Roland and Addy have to be screaming their heads off up in the suite. Killian almost wants to text Elsa or Liam to see what’s happening, but his eyes are glued to the field as August swings his bat at the very first ball.
It’s a fucking foul.
Strike one.
“Come on Booth,” Will shouts out, clapping his hands together. “You’ve got it, man. Be smart about it.”
“I’m not entirely sure that’s helping, Scarlet.”
“It is, Professor Jones. I’m a great motivational speaker.”
Killian’s lips stretch into a smile, a bit of calm returning, until the ball flies from the mound again, whipping through the air and curving into the strike zone at the last minute.
August doesn’t swing.
Strike two.
The stadium absolutely erupts then, hands clapping together and feet hitting against the floor while thousands of people scream, a mix of cheers and boos for August. If anyone can handle this kind of pressure, can handle the weight of world on his shoulders and the pressure, it’s August.
Pressure is a privilege.
He’s likely not feeling too privileged right now.
And as suddenly as the noise started, it calms down. While there are still people talking and cheering and making all kinds of noise, Killian can’t focus on any of it. All he can focus on is what’s right in front of him.
One. Two. Three.
Foul.
One. Two. Three.
Foul.
Killian’s stomach flips, his entire hand going white, and Will is grabbing onto Killian’s forearm so tightly that he could break the bone there.
One.
Two.
Three.
There’s a thwack of ball against Booth’s back, and it absolutely flies into the air. It’s flying, and Killian nearly jumps out of the dugout to get a better view of where it’s going. It’s got to be a home run. It’s got to be. That’s where it’s headed, and Killian’s arms break out in gooseflesh beneath the thick material of his sweatshirt.
They’re about to win the fucking World Series for the second time in a row.
Holy shit.
But then the ball dips.
It dips, right at the line of the back fence, and the ball is caught.
The. Ball. Is. Caught.
The ball is caught, Booth is out, and the game is over.
And just like the ball, Killian’s mood dips, every high hope crashing down around him and weighing down on his shoulders while his stomach flips before everything heavily settles in its place. This isn’t how today was supposed to end. They were supposed to come back from their bad start. They were supposed to win.
They didn’t, though. They lost, and even though Killian tries to be encouraging to everyone around him as they all finish up their post-game on-field routines, in his head he knows that they’ve only got one more shot at this.
They’ve got one more shot, and a lot of it is resting in the palm of his hands. Killian has been a screw up for this team so many times before, and he doesn’t know if he can do that again.
He can’t let everyone down again.
The mood is subdued in the clubhouse as everyone strips out of their clothes, just a constant murmuring of curses and complaints. Even Al is quiet when he’d usually be fired up yelling at everyone, a combination of disbarring comments and encouragements, and that may be the most shocking part of it all.
Reporters begin to fill the room as well as agents and wives and the occasional child, and Killian sits in his locker with his head between his legs taking several deep breaths to calm himself down. His heart is beating far too quickly. It’s thumping in between his ears, and that’s not how it’s supposed to be.
It’s simply not.
“Hey.”
The voice is soft and very much Emma’s, and Killian looks up to see her softly smiling down at him, Jeff no longer trailing behind her with his camera.
The smile that stretches across his lips is forced and half-assed, and he knows that Emma can tell. She steps in between his knees so that his head rests against her stomach while her hands brush through his sweaty hair. They don’t say anything else, simply stay there together while Killian breathes in the scent of Emma’s perfume on her sweater and shivers run down his spine at her touch.
He is undeniably a fan of every part of her, but being able to simply be, to exist, with her is one of his favorites. There’s nothing quite so soothing as knowing the person you love will always be by your side no matter what happens.
They lost. They did. It’s what happened, and there’s no changing it.
Tomorrow is the last chance.
It all comes down to the last one.
-/-
-/-
Tag list: @onepunintendid @authorarsinoe @stunningswan @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury @superchocovian @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings @carpedzem @tornadoamy
#catch me if you can#cs fic#cs ff#cs fanfic#captain swan ff#captain swan fic#captain swan fanfic#captain swan
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Character/Location Descriptions for Fantasy High 2.10!
***
As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out!
Warning: emprisonment, multiple injuries, canon typical violence, multiple blood mentions, gross descriptions, poison mention, broken bone mention, vomit mention, torture mentions, trauma, abandonment,
***
Brennan
"Free dad slap."
"You 'Ally'ed out of the box of doom!"
***
New Character/s
Fire Elemental #3
Genderless
Was summoned and bound by the elves of old to protect the elemental pylon that powers the permanent magical effects of Ka'lethriel Tower, which transformed them into a monstrous fire thing along with 2 other fire elementals bound there
Was embrased by Fabian in a deep dip as he cradled their head and his sheet wrapped around them both and roiled above them
The power of Fabian's dance partially stunned them and took them out of active combat
The thing binding them to protect the pylon went when the fire pit helix was put out, causing them to change back to a creature with an elvan face of wreathing flame
They cry fire
They kissed Fabian softly on the lips (for 8 points of damage) and whispered in his ear (softly like flame) "Thank you. For my freedom. For my life." before disappearing
Established Characters
Arthur Aguefort
Slows localized time at Ka'lethriel Tower, opening a rift from his desk at the academy to talk to Adaine
Crawled through the rift after Adaine confirmed that her captors chose the way of pain
The way of pain involved Aguefort using new and experimental magic resulting him growing 450 feet tall (massive thudding steps), reaching up to grab the Sun (causing his veins to light up with golden fire and his mouth to fill with a fire that releases and races across the sky), calling thousands of terracotta Agueforts to burst out of the ground and sprint north, moving the Sun itself (leaving a burning scar across the sky), and shooting lasers the width of highways that have enough power to cap a mountain in one hit with lasers that shot out of his eye (which took on a golden bright glow)
He appeared to Kristen later (via a spell that appeared as a scroll glowing with illusionary magic with his name on it that allowed him video chat with her from back in Elmville) badly injured, wrapped up in bandages, bleeding a lot, and in pain.
The new magic tore up his guts so bad that by the time he got about 50 miles north of the tower, he "shit about an ocean of blood" and almost passed out (we can't get that big, 450 feet tall is too big)
Was also hit with a lot of powerful elven counter magic before he teleported back to Solace
His terracotta army fell apart when he left
Admitted that he had been going ham for a while since after Kristen snuck him into heaven, that being dead for a couple months really messed him up, and that attempting to destroy the government of Fallinel was "just too much"
Got in a lot of trouble with the government of Solace, will probably have to go to court, and he has to move the Sun back ("gotta figure out how to do that")
Dragged the Sun "a little bit north of where it should be" (causing the far south of the Earth to be colder and far north to be hotter), but said the Sun was "going in the right direction" and "still going around the Earth", resulting in clarifying that Spyre normally goes around the Sun, but he's not sure of what he did when he dragged it across the sky and that there was more of a poetic understanding of how things really work, but he still "really fucked up"
Kear/Keer
Was horrified by Augefort's actions
"I'm getting very confused and upset with everything that these children do."
Was poisoned and vomiting when Kristen banished her with a kiss on her face, came back when Kristen broke her ankle, and was banished again by Ayda who loudly pronounces "mwah!" while kissing her face like Kristen
Oak Warriors
8 foot tall
Look like green men (not automaton) made of magic with elven faces
Vulnerable to fire
Controled by Kear
Anguin
Was blinded by Kristen
Went invisible and ran
Was knocked unconscious by Fig and left in the vault (with some of his teeth knocked out) when Ka'lethriel Tower collapsed
Aelwyn
Kept awake for 5 months
Was rescued from the tower and fell unconscious/comatose immediately
Was carried out by Ayda
Even outside the orb, her body shook with the strain and effort
As she and Adaine tranced, a tiny piece of her abjurative magic (an innate cantrip, abjurer's ward) came back and she started building a shield around Adaine in her "sleep"
Was taken to a hot spring with elven healers by Adaine
Was unsure if they actually escaped or just died before trying to cast a feeble shield around Adaine again
Her mind was damaged and the torture had a profound and corrosive effect on her well being and memory
The inside of her mind looked like a city razed to the ground with crumbled walls, battlements, towers, and arcane defenses. Only a weird, vulnerable labyrinth of images remained
Has a deep self loathing (especially for not saying anything on Adaine's behalf against their parents) and a powerful fear of her parents. Her cowardice fed into her self loathing which fed into her cowardice in an endless loop.
Had an intense magical charm in the center of the labyrinth of her abjurations and a little faint enchantment with "Despite all of the torment and tribulation, let this be proof. I always knew there was only one person clever enough to find this." written on the outside. The charm was a custom modify memory spell (which The Court Of Stars had been searching for) and contained a saved unbroken version of her from before she was capture which overrode her current broken state once it was dispelled
Adaine
Found a sword in the vault while looking for a weapon to fight with
Later gave the sword Fan-dran-goorh to Fabian (was made by his grandpapa Tel'amine)
Held Aelwyn as they sleep
Detects magic on Aelwyn and find a faint whisper of enchant magic before using detect thoughts on her
Found and dispelled the magical charm within Aelwyn which returns her sister's mind to a version before she was captured by The Court of Stars
Gilear
Fluid in his feet, especially his right (due to rolling his ankle months ago) which now has a band of purple around it (possibly a bone issue) and causes him an ambiant throbbing pain and heat from all the extra blood (GO TO A DOCTOR!!!)
Tel'amine
Tried very hard to say "Gorgug" one last time, but just said "Chedge" and then cried and became really embarrassed when Gorgug responded "It sounds like literally no sound was correct in that."
Dances with Fabian at one point in the night to the sound of Fig's bass.
He and the other adults of Kylo Me'newra give teens grapes because they believe it will make them less horny (doesn't actually work)
Riz
Shot a fire elemental over Gorgug's thumbs up
"Stay positive."
Said "It's beautiful" about Fabian dancing with the fire elemental and shed a tear before saying "It's beautiful Gorgug" and lowering his gun, aiming at the last pitcher
Poked his head in when Adaine was about to go to sleep to ask if her sister was still trying to kill them (since she was just kind of there now), listens to her answer (doesn't think so, especially with her trauma), and then slowly (and awkwardly) backs out of the room as the sisters doze off together (after Ayda dropped her off)
Gorgug
Soot on his face and singed hair after being set on fire
Had his thumb knicked slightly when Riz shot over it
Fabian
Slashed the first fire elemental on his first two turns before hiding behind Gorgug
Had an elven sheet on hand which has the ability to put out fires, so he used to put out his friends
Danced and jumped with his sheet during the battle and did a bit of contact juggling with the fire
(On being kissed) "I take it. I take every point of that damage and I take it slowly. I can feel it. In my whole body."
Was left with red hot lips after kissing the fire elemental and (with a gulp) felt a glowing moat of fire travel down his throat and rest hot and warm in his chest
Had the sheet tied around him like a cape while traveling back to meet with the others
At Kylo Me'newra, danced (badly due to rolling a 1 and a 2) all night outside with his sheet (like nobody is watching) as the ground lit up behind him with a dull glow with each step. It helped him get in touch with his feelings and his body
Enjoys the taste of the flower his grandpapa gives him
Gorgug, Riz, and Fabian
Ran to and from their pylon with their arms back like anime characters
"I believe in you/us."
"Spring break!!!"
All three were burned from their fight
After getting back to Kylo Me'newra, Fabian danced all night while Riz and Gorgug watched (cradled in the boughs of treents that hummed a song as the trees rocked them)
Riz: You know? This place isn't so bad.
Gorgug: How did this part start happening?
Riz: I thought I was just gonna sit in a tree and it started singing to me.
Gorgug: Hey. Really not horrible.
Riz: Yeah.
Tel'amine: Yes. Really not horrible at all. *catches a blossom and shoves it into Gorgug's mouth* Eat it.
Gorgug: *chews*
Tel'amine: Yes.
Riz: Is it good or is it just a flower?
Gorgug: *shakes head*
Riz: It was beautiful.
Tel'amine: *glides off into the night*
Gorgug: *coughs and sticks his tongue out*
Riz: Did that dude just feed you a flower?
Gorgug: Yeah. *hacking sound*
Riz: That was insane.
Gorgug: It's a complex flavor, I don't like it.
Riz: That was insane.
Kristen
Unmade a oak warrior due to the annoyance of her spirit guardians
*appears behind Kear and puts her hand on her back* "You're on the wrong side, but you could join us if you want. Just something to think about." *casts banishment to give Kear time to think and kisses her on the side of the head before she goes*
Tried to ribbon dance fly down 10 stories in the middle of the tower and ended up just slamming into the floor at the bottom instead, breaking her ankle
Her spirit guardians attacked Anguin while he was invisible and trying to sneak into the vault, ending his invisibility
Used sending to get in contact with Jawbone (Jawbone. Hey. Having some trouble with Tracker. She's pretty upset at me. I keep saying the wrong thing. I kept something from her. Oops? -> Tough break kiddo. Happy to help if I can. Should I find a way to contact you other than this spell? -> Fuck yes. -> Hell yeah.)
Had a long distance talk with Jawbone (using Aguefort's video chat spell) where she got advice on not treating her partner as a means to an end and about transparency.
Fig
Gave Wicklaw's sword back to Leviathan
Disguised herself as a Arthur Aguefort (but with a bass guitar) and accidentally really upsets Ayda
Played a really sick guitar riff that would make all the gems dance (to persuade them somehow and find out more about gems) and ends up causing a large gem built into the base of the tower to crack and the tower to collapse (but not before grabbing a book on gems lore)
Tried to set Adaine's dad on fire with a pack of cloves as they left
Had a sleepover with Ayda (text link below)
Ayda
Brennan stated outside stream that an incarnation of Ayda has been living on Leviathan for a very long time, building the Compass Points. When she dies and is reborn, it is a true rebirth and her new incarnation has none of the memories of her previous forms, only knowing her previous selves from the written instructions they leave behind. Her current incarnation is the same age as Tracker (17).
Can fly with two other medium sized people (and later the two plus an underweight Aelwyn)
Immune to fire
Her dad is very triggering for her
Had a sleepover with Fig
(to Fig) "Have you said something so kind on purpose?"
When Fig attacked her as her dad (due to spell fail), she got very upset and said "Dad. Dad. I'm sorry. I'm done. I'm sorry. Dad. Dad." as Fig tried to calm her
When she counter spelled Angwin and Fig told her thank you, she answered "Whatever. I would help you, Fi-du-du-Dad. You're not my dad. You're Fig! Right? It's an illusion. Yes. You're Fig. I know. Why would I have carried my dad here? He never carried muh... me."
Told Fig that she might need to work through some of her stuff in battle as she "elected to have a disguise that was very upsetting."
After dispelling a spell on Fig that was gonna make her run away "Dad don't leave! I mean Fig! Fig don't leave."
Was very happy to see Adaine.
Said "My friend Kristen did this" before giving Kear a loudly pronounced "Mwah" kiss to the side of her head and banishing her again
Fig: How dare you do that the Arthur Augefort!
Ayda: PLEASE STOP THAT!
Fig: I know, but see, it's intimidating for them-
Ayda: It can't possibly be helping us more than it's hurting us!
***
Location Descriptions
Ka'lethriel Tower (new details)
The tower itself is 10 stories tall and sits near a wall (with a gate) that surrounds the tower and the garden
Each floor has one room (save the top which has at least two)
The first floor holds a vault (which is normally protected by permanent magical effects) with a big locked door
There's a large gem built into the side of the tower within the vault
The vault is filled with a lot of things, including Adaine and Aelwyn's property (spellbooks, arcane focuses, and The Jacket of Useful Things), Fan-dran-goorh (Fandrangor): Sword of The North Star (long, whip thin elven sword that shines a gleaming green golden light, can talk with the voices of elvan ancestors, and once belonged to elven kings long past), a massive religious tome, a quarenteened series of top secret elven scrolls that is the research of Adaine mom, a series of notes by mom looking for the location of a temple in Sylvar (Kristen knows due to a book at the Compass Points Library), and a book on gem lore
Fire Pit Pylon
Large elvan smithy (only in looks as it's an arcane power station and not an actual forge) and worst of the two pylons
Stone, mossy covered building with a floor covered in traps and an entire infrastructure filled with a high elven adoration for magic
In the center of the building, there is a hexagonal 6 pointed room with a fire pit in the center that's so hot that it's hard to look at. The fire is golden green helix at the start (changes to purple gold with the first pitcher of water spilled into it, ruby red with the second, and out with the third. It also flickers with other energy at ruby red from the other pylon being attacked).
Surrounding the fire pit in altering positions around the 6 sided room are 3 braziers and 3 statures (each statue directly across from a brazier)
The elven statues have ornimental stone weapons on them and are holding huge alabaster pitchers of clear water which bend towards the fire pit and require a cantrip (or enough damage to break them) to dump their water
The large firy silver elven braziers are piled high with burning coal (responsible for the smoke) and are traps that conjure a monsterous fire elemental when the water from its corresponding stature spills into the fire pit or when a floor trap is triggered
***
<- PREVIOUS
#dimension 20#fantasy high#fantasy high live#fantasy high spoilers#d20 descriptions#d20 locations#d20 character descriptions#ayda aguefort#arthur aguefort#kear#anguin abernant#aelwyn abernant#adaine abernant#gilear faeth#tel'amine lomenelda#riz gukgak#fabian seacaster#gorgug thistlespring#kristen applebees#fig faeth
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40-45 character development !!
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: X-GAMES MODE.
40. How does your character treat people in service jobs?
i don’t wanna sound cliche and say that christine was taught to teach the janitor and the ceo the same but ..... she was. when her parents met and even when they got together, they were on very different economic levels ( though that always seemed to bother her father more than her mother ) but they’ve also always been very generous people and that extends to chris and honestly very long story short, christine is a big supporter of service job workers.
41. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?
i feel almost like a broken record on this point, but christine comes from a well known family. she grew up ... rich. she grew up knowing that her family’s money and status could get her any and everywhere she wanted to go so she said fuck it and made a promise to herself to not lean on that crutch and to make a name for herself amidst the one her parents did.
42. Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?
although the booth kids do have biological family on both sides, they aren’t exactly close with them and most of christine’s familial connections come from the found family trope, so, yes. her godparents for sure as they were a place the kids spent many days and nights when work took booth and brennan away from them. in addition, christine is usually the youngest member of whatever team she is working with and tends to latch onto the other members as parental figures.
43. Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?
ANSWERED HERE.
44. How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?
depends on the context. in a platonic/familial sense it’s easy. as mentioned above, christine’s family consists mostly of people who have no biological or blood ties to her and it’s easy for her to tell the people she’s close with and who she has a good bond with that she loves them. on the other hand, in the romantic sense it’s like pulling teeth with her. she grew up in a two parent household but also grew up seeing the toll her parents jobs took on each other and when she went in the same direction, she decided she didn’t want to put another person through that.
45. What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?
christine was raised by a catholic and an atheist, meaning she spent all the ages between birth and her parents deeming her old enough to decide on religion for herself going to mass and learning about heaven, hell, and everything in between. this left christine in a sort of ... agnostic standpoint. she believes in someone or something out there, she’s just not sure what/who it is. the catholic part of her is absolutely terrified though of what may happen in the afterlife.
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What makes you beautiful
Author’s note: So yeah, this is my first fanfiction here on tumblr. I hope you enjoy it :)
Summary: Lea is an intern at the Jeffersonian. She meets Finn Abernathy and makes friends with him really fast. But what happens, when she realizes, how wrong she is treated by her boyfriend?
Warnings: Abusive boyfriend, so don’t read it, when you are sensitive to this subject. Language, i think? And bad grammar, English isn’t my first language, so please tell me any errors in it!
3211 words, I am sorry
As a kid, whose parents often fought before they got a divorce, you learn to be scared of seeing other people argue or having an argument yourself.
Now I am a teenager working as an intern, or squintern as Booth likes to call us, at the Jeffersonian. I visit my mother every two weeks for a weekend in Maryland.
So being someone, who despises fighting, your worst ‘enemy’ are relationships. Like, when your partner does things, leaving their socks and underwear all over the house for example, you tell them to stop that in a gentle way to avoid any confrontation.
Maybe you are lucky and your significant other stops leaving their crap everywhere. I wasn't that lucky. My boyfriend screamed at me, saying I only want to change him and that I was invading his private space. From now on every time I ask him to do something nicely, he lashes out on my.
Sometimes, when he is angry or pissed already, Leo slaps or kicks me. I know, it sounds stupid to not break up with him, but I love him and he loves me. We are a good team. I do the chores as soon I get home from school or the Jeffersonian and he teaches me to be the best version of myself.
After a rather exhausting day at school, I am called by Dr Brennan to assist her on a case. It’s an investigation from the FBI. The victim was found in a burnt down warehouse. Now they need us to confirm or to deny, if it is a murder or not in order to do further searches.
After sliding my badge down the security check I go on the platform. I’m greeted by Angela immediately. “Hey Sweetie. Nice to see you. I hope you are still in school”, says she and gives me a hug. Laughing I respond: “No, I didn’t drop out since the last time we saw each other, that was like three days ago?”
Then I put on some latex gloves and bid a “Hello Dr Brennan” to my mentor.
But there is also someone I don’t know yet. “Hello Miss Smith. I’m glad you could make it. This is Mr Finn Abernathy, another intern. I need both of your opinions on this case. The corpse is burnt down to the bone and any evidence is most certainly destroyed. I am not sure if we can find anything at all.”
Then Dr B turns to the guy with the baseball cap, which has the Jeffersonian logo on it, and introduces me: “This is Lea Smith. Although she is still in school and only 17 years old, she has a magnificent knowledge on anthropology.” With a kind smile Finn sticks his hand out for me and speaks: “Good day, Miss Smith. It’s really a pleasure to meet you.”
Well the boy got quite a nice accent. “Why thank you. I really look forward to work with you, Mr Abernathy. Also please call me Lea. I’m barely 17 years old and it's making me feel like I'm at least 30.” Before he has the chance to answer our mentor interferes. After all we got a case to solve!
After many hours of running tests and examining bones, Dr Brennan sent me home. Thankful I say goodbye to everyone just wanting to get finally home.
“How do you get home?” asks Finn concerned. “I take the next bus. We are in Washington DC. Here comes the bus to my neighborhood every 20 minutes in the night”, I answer. Shaking his head he begins to peel himself out of the blue jacket. “There is no way I let you go all by yourself. We are in Washington DC. A young good looking lady like you are as safe as my money in 2009. I drive you home.”
After a while sitting in uncomfortable silence Finn speaks up: “So you are still going to school? Isn’t it a bit too stressful? I mean, Dr B has some tough standards. But at the same time your grates aren’t allowed to drop, are they?”
Looking down to my fidgeting fingers in my lap I answer: “Well a part-time job as a waitress would be much easier. But I need a place, where I have to use my knowledge and mind. It’s like a big puzzle you have to solve. Everywhere are pieces, you just have to find them. Also school is quite easy for me. My biggest problem actually is time. Now it’s 2 a.m. and I have to finish an essay for English in seven hours. So sleep is a sweet thing I have to treasure like a pirate a golden coin, Mr Abernathy.” “That was well said”, he smiles, ”And please call me Finn. It feels off for me to be called Mr by someone, who just told me to stop calling them Miss.”
Now, that the ice is broken, we talk about everything and nothing actually. 20 minutes later we are at my apartment complex. While getting my seat belt off, I turn to my new coworker: “Well thank you for driving me out here. You really didn’t have to do this.” He just waves it off: “I insist. It was really a pleasure talking to you. So go and finish that essay. It’s going to be as amazing as you. And please go to bed as soon as possible. We all need a good
sleep, even you. Sleep tight!” After an awkward hug like thing I step out of the car and open the door to go to my apartment. Before I close the door I wave Finn goodbye.
With a huge smile plastered on my face I open the door to my sweet home. It’s a cozy little apartment I share with my boyfriend. After my parent’s divorce I moved in here with my dad, while my mom went to her new girlfriend in Maryland. When I was 16 my dad wanted us to move back to Germany. He and mom originally are from there. But I wasn’t too pleased with his decision. I had a job as an intern for THE Dr Brennan, a nice school, a few friends and my boyfriend here in the US. In the end he moved out and my boyfriend in. So I kinda life on my own, the big dream of every teenage girl.
Trying to avoid any loud noises I tiptoe in the kitchen. After closing the door silently, I turn on the light. Then I see Leo, my beloved boyfriend, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He looks beyond pissed.
“Where were you for fucks sake?!” he asks. Every syllable is pure anger and hatred. That will not end good for me.
“i-i-i was at the lab. Th-they n-needed me for a c-case.” My whole body is shaking in fear. While getting up Leo nearly screams: “And what were you thinking, when you didn’t say something about that to me? I was worried sick!”
Suddenly he pushes me. I fall on the floor, my head banging against the table leg. Leo grabs my hair, throwing my head up violently. I try not to cry.
“I-I am s-sor-sorry”, I sob. But the man just snorts: “I don’t believe that. You know, I don’t want to punish you. But if you wanna be the best version of yourself you have to learn from your mistakes.” With that he slaps my the face and let go of my hair. Forcefully I meet the cold white tiles of the kitchen floor. Then my boyfriend goes away. I hear his footsteps in the hallway and a door opening and closing. He is in the bedroom now.
A tear slips from my eyes finding its way my cheek down. My head is pounding. A few minutes later I get up carefully. Everything spins for a few seconds, but I regain my composure and get my backpack from the hallway. With a massive headache and a hurting heart I finish this essay.
It’s needless to say, that I didn’t get much sleep last night. When my homework was finally done, I had to think about the things I did wrong. Leo’s punishment has to be a lesson for me, therefore I have to analyze my behavior and do it better next time.
While sitting alone in the cafeteria during lunchtime eating an apple, my phone rings: “Smith” “Hello Miss Smith. It’s Dr Brennan. We have a new lead on the victim’s identity. Please come to the Jeffersonian as soon as possible.” Oh well, seems like my next free afternoon isn’t going to be today.
After the conversation with my kind of boss ended, I call Leo. “Hey Sweetheart”, he greets me.
I love this boy so much. “Hey Baby”, I answer breathlessly, “I just wanted to let you know, that I have to go to work right after school again today.” Anxiously I wait for his opinion. “Okay, Sweetheart. But make sure you are home by 10.” Happily I thank him.
A few awfully long periods later I finally am able to leave the hell called school. Not much later I arrive at the Jeffersonian.
“There you are”, Dr Brennan says when I get on the platform. “I’m sorry, but I had a quiz in sixth period.” Then we continue our destiny.
Yes, working with dead bodies is a destiny in my opinion. You have to be born to be able to do this. You must be prepared for anything mentally.
“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late. My granny needed help with her computer, stating she deleted the internet. It’s a lot more difficult to calm down an 80 year old woman than a bag full of puppies”, explains Finn himself.
Dr B nods: “It’s okay, Mr Abernathy. Family is more important than anything else. Please watch it that this doesn’t get to be a routine. You aren’t getting paid for nothing.” Finn takes this advice with gratitude.
“Hey Lea. How went the essay?” he asks me while putting latex gloves on. With a genuine smile I answer: “Thank you for asking. My teacher was very pleased with the presentation of the main problems from George Orwell’s 1984.” My coworker responds with a: “I’m happy to hear that.”
Suddenly I feel like I’ve been struck with a lighting. “I have an idea!” And then I’m on my way off of the platform to Hodgins’ lab.
“Hey Little One! Long time no see, he?” he greets me. I say: “Hello Bug Man! Can you do me a favor?”
Half an hour later Brennan and Booth are out to get the suspect. While waiting for news I sit in the lounge doing my homework. You gotta take every chance you get to do them.
“Oh, what’s that?” Startled by a voice I turn around. “Oh, it’s just you, Finn. Sorry, I’m a very jumpy person”, I explain myself after being reassured, that this voice is from someone, who isn’t going to hurt me. Then I look at what I wrote.
“Oh, that’s just for biology. It’s not that difficult, just something with osmosis and so.” “That’s not what I meant. It makes no sense to me. It isn’t English, is it?” he asks interested.
Then I know Finn is talking about: “Ah, it’s some good old German. I was born in Boston though. My parents moved to the US like 25 years ago. So I still learned their mother tongue. It’s quite important to them that I don’t forget their origin. And now I’m writing this paper in German at first for my mother. Her vocabulary isn’t good enough in specific areas, her knowledge on the other hand is very impressive. So I let her read it and then translate the whole thing in English, her notes indeed.”
The young man has a look of astonishment on his face. “Wow. That’s so cool. Maybe you can teach me some German and something about the culture over there. I can pay you back in showing how to speak with the coolest southern accent the world has ever witnessed!” “Well, hack my legs off and call my shorty. We have a deal!”
Weeks go by and Finn and I become great friends. We tell each other almost everything. He even visits me in school or waits for me so we can do something afterwards. Leo never does something like this with me.
We know each other like the back of our hands. There is one thing I don’t tell Finn though: What happens in my apartment.
Slowly but surely I realize that everything, that is going on in there, is wrong. When my now best friend told me about his past, especially his stepfather, I began to think.
Finn shows me on so many ways, that imperfection is that, what makes you beautiful. He makes me believe I’m already enough. And when I make a mistake, it’s fine. That’s what makes all of us human.
When I finally conclude this construct of beauty, I lay awake next to Leo. I already feel the bruises forming on my body. In this night I don’t get a wink of sleep.
Now that I know the “truth”, I am embarrassed. How dumb am I? Thinking that this guy loves me and keeps hurting me to make me perfect is nuts. It is paradox.
But am I too deep in this mess to get out? Isn’t it too late now? Is this how I am going to live until I am gray and old? Do I want that?
The next few days I distance myself from everyone. I try to spend as little time as possible at the Jeffersonian by saying that I have too much school work or I am sick. Right now I am too ashamed to look anybody in the eyes there. I’m considered as a genius, but I am too stupid to figure out something so simple sooner?
It’s like the third week in a row, that I bailed out on Dr Brennan with the excuse, that I’m sick. This time it isn’t even a lie. My dear boyfriend thought I don’t give him enough attention. So he locked me out on the balcony in the middle of winter. Now I have a fever of like 39° C (102,2° F for you Americans), a massive headache and the worst cold I ever experienced in my short life in general.
Now the 20 years old man is at work, where he has to watch over the same machines on a monitor. So it’s nothing exhausting he is doing for a living. That is why I’m confused when the doorbell rings. I abandon my project for history and open the door. Before I get the chance to register who it is, I have to sneeze. “Oh well, that is a nice greeting. God shall bless you and your poor soul”, says Finn with a look of pity on his face.
“Haha, thank you, Dork. Come in or else I freeze my guts off out here.” I lead him into my apartment. Then I realize something. “May you excuse me, now the nice warmth is gone and I need a hoodie. This way goes to the kitchen. Make yourself comfortable.” And then I bolt for the bedroom.
Now see, I didn’t expect any visits from anyone. So I can go around my habitat without worrying about my bruises. When I’m out I make sure to cover them somehow.
Dressed in a Jeffersonian sweatshirt I go back into the kitchen. When my coworker sees me, he smiles: “Oh there you are. Hold on, is that mine?” With a blush on my face I scratch my neck and respond: “Maybe? I can’t help it, but it’s really comfy.” I finish with a shrug.
Laughing Finn assures me, that I am allowed to keep it. He wanted to ask Cam for a new one anyway. “But my visit actually has another reason than just checking up on you”, the young man tells me while I prepare a cup of tea for the both of us. “And the real reason may be what?” I want to know curiously. Sighing Finn explains: “You distant yourself from us. I thought it was only me, who had this feeling. But yesterday I talked about it with the whole team. Booth misses the ‘only other normal person in the lab’. Cam and Hodgins think, that something bad happened and are so close to emerge into that door to get you out of an emergency. Sweets tells us all the time, that you shut yourself out and that this means nothing good. Angela is ready to kick someone’s ass, if they hurt you. Even Dr B is in need of your comments and ideas while working. We all are worried about you. Please let us finally know what the hell is happening. Why aren’t you answering any of our phone calls? Why aren’t you showing up at the Jeffersonian? You are needed there. Without your person the whole lab is kind of unbalanced like a drunk man on his way home from a pub.” His eyes looks pleadingly into mine.
I couldn’t answer any calls, because Leo has my phone. In his pure rage of not getting enough attention, he took my phone and isn’t willing to give it back to me any time soon.
And that is when realization hits me completely.
Leo doesn’t just hurt me, he controls me. Every move I make I'm watched by him. It’s like living with a personal Big Brother.
I don’t wanna be controlled anymore. I’m sick of not being able to do what I want. I want to be in charge of myself again.
Finally I do the right thing.
I lock eyes with Finn. Without saying anything I roll up the arms of the hoodie, revealing a spectrum of colors.
While waiting for his reaction, tears start to form in my eyes and stream down my cheeks.
Gasping he looks at my injuries. From the dark bruises to the fresh wounds and the healed scars. Lightly he traces along them with his fingers, trying to not hurt me any more. I don’t move. I just show him my greatest act of trust. I trust him with my darkest secret.
Now Finn is crying too. Between sobs he hugs me and whispers into my ear: “I’m so so so sorry, Lea. I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that crazy shit immediately. Nobody deserves to be treated like this, especially you. I promise.”
And he keeps it. After this Finn takes me to the Jeffersonian, where I get an all check up. With the evidence, that is collected, Caroline builds a case against Leo.
It doesn’t matter what’s going to happen. It doesn’t matter how long Leo goes to jail, if he goes there at all. The only important thing to me now is the support I get from my colleagues – my family – who help me every step I take.
#finn abernathy#bones#bones team#fanfic#oneshot#temperance brennan#seeley booth#angela montenegro#jack hodgins#camille saroyan#jeffersonian
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top five d20 moments?
Fuck dude you’re not even gonna give me a season? You’re gonna make me choose from ALL of them?
5. “I’m gonna eat YOU, bitch!” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Riz was absolutely not the MVP of Prompocalypse but in my heart...he was the MVP of Prompocalypse
4. “What can I say? She’s got two arms and two legs and is a person” This whole part of the liveshow with Brennan doing that Fucking Voice and grinning the entire time is fucking legendary
3. Sokhbarr...”This might be a waste of a turn” and then summoning the lavamog I was watching with two other people and we all physically JUMPED off my friend’s bed and had to rewind because we were yelling so loudly
2. Fabian stabbing his dad, and then jumping out of the explosion, and then landing on the Hangman, and then crushing the crystal message...poetic cinema truly unreal Lou and Brennan play SO well off of each other
1. Pete’s dad trying to deadname him, being taken over by bubbles, floating away into the unknown, and then Pete just picking his stuff up and going inside. It’s legendary. It’s fucking iconic. I don’t even think Pete is my favorite character of this season but holy SHIT
Honorable mentions include: Sexy rat, Jawbone’s talk with Adaine, Lilith fully not realizing she was eating her mates, “let’s make some FUCKING BACON!”, Riz’s gun surgery, “I don’t read short stories”, and Gorgug’s parents explaining ******* in excruciating detail
#asks#anonymous#ask memes#dimension 20#I'm definitely forgetting some important shit but. there's so MANY
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AINSLEY TATE
18 / dance student at juilliard
be the best, or die trying / daughter of a diplomat who spent her childhood up until she was ten jumping around from place to place / her one constant was always ballet, the one passion she’s never given up / at ten, she was sent off to boarding school in california and saw her grandfather more often than her mother, who was sent off to japan / her instagram’s filled with photos of all her travels, mostly due to her mother’s posts / smiles so brightly that you can’t read the bitterness in her gaze / once “accidentally” caused her competitor to injure herself right before a competition at the age of sixteen, but that’s secret’s nothing compared to her mother’s / turns out, when her mother divorced her father (a man who she’s never met), he got her twin, who’s her brand new roommate at juilliard / if you think she’s not going to fuck shit up with this information, you don’t know her very well
connections » hadley windsor [twin sister] / the it girl group
needs » more juilliard dance student frenemies / the nancy kerrigan to her tonya harding
CECILIA FOWLER
20 / student at columbia / the rook of the order of the veil
[ content warning for arson, manslaughter, blackmail, and murder ]
a reclusive bibliophile with too many secrets hidden beneath her pleasant smiles / spent a lifetime seeking the appearance of perfection; like mother, like daughter / witnessed the destruction of her parents’ marriage year by year until it collapsed at the age of sixteen / watched that summer as her mother and her aunts fought over her grandfather’s wealth, tearing each other down at every chance / in retaliation, cricket and her cousins burned the main house in their grandfather’s private island down - without realizing their grandfather was still inside of it / kept the secret until being admitted into the order of the veil / fought for the position of the rook in order to strike her truth from the records, but waited too long / did she kill richard brennan, believing that he was blackmailing her over her secret? she’ll never tell
connections » the order of the veil / all other suspects in the societies subplot / lily slater, leo kitson, and mathilda giroux [cousins]
needs » her last cousin / more members of the order of the veil
HAYES EVANS
21 / student at pace university
[ content warning for implied alcoholism ]
a poor little rich boy with no future he can imagine past graduation / becoming an english major (aka going to college with no idea what he wanted to do and flipping a coin after reading the brochure) was the worst financial decision of his life / actually, no; ordering a stretch limo for himself after getting black out drunk likely won that prize / has never wanted anything bad enough to go after it, so he goes after nothing and gorges on everything / tends to black out from drinking a little too often for comfort and always wakes up with his pocket full of shit that does not belong to him / rather than deal with any of that, he’s trying to (as always) clean up grady’s mess for him and convince the two girls he got pregnant to have abortions / will he succeed? not likely
connections » grady evans [twin brother] / the pregnancy pact plot
needs » some fun ex-relationship that still haunts him / the rest of the pregnancy pact / current hookups / drinking friends and/or regular friends
JUDAH FOX
23 / student at nyu
[ content warning for stalking ]
hello, you / grew up in a shameless-inspired family with no one to give a shit about him, so he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else / alright, except for like three people; give him a break / lives more in his head than in reality, but that’s slowly changing (for the better for him, for the worse for everyone else) / doesn’t “believe in social media” because he’s discovered how easy it is to learn so much about someone from it (thanks, catfish, for the tutorials) / has taken an “unhealthy” interest in certain persons that’s bound to go badly / part of an anonymous forum where he’s pretending to be someone else, but will judge others for doing the same / talented photographer, but that just means he’s always got a camera handy / catch him hiding behind some trees, please
connections » jonah fox [twin brother] / willa fox [younger sister]
needs » people to chat to in the anonymous group [request probably coming soon...] / people he’s sort of stalked in the past mb / fellow photographer “pals” (loose term)
LUCAS CROSS
29 / account executive at an ad agency
[ content warning for alcoholism ]
a man destined to repeat history / the product of an accidental pregnancy with too-young parents and an alcoholic father / so what does he do? knock up his high school sweetheart in their senior year, of course / defers pace for a year to get a job and support his new wife and new born daughter / leaves them after six months once he can feel himself turning into his father / graduates pace, financially supports his kid, but keeps his space to keep his sanity / gets a job at an agency thanks to his college best friend, then steals said best friend’s girlfriend / married her, had another daughter, and now sees his ex-wife at their preschool when they both drop their toddlers off / thinks everything’s okay because he apologized, but too bad life doesn’t work that way
connections » ara cross [wife]
needs » some siblings / his ex-wife!!! think madeline mackenzie vs. nathan carlson from big little lies / his former best friend / more parents in the preschool plot [coming soon]
NADIA DANG
19 / nyu student & drug dealer
a bitch in sheep’s clothing / seeks power and feeds off of it, falling into second in command with ease until she recognizes the truth: she’s only getting scraps of the real deal / she’ll burn it all down before she moves on, seeking a new flame / grew up poor and contributes to her own tuition, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from her credit card statements / a chronic spendthrift, unable to help herself from temptation when surrounded by the wealth of her sorority sisters / becomes a green angel in order to pay off her credit card debt and feel financially secure / it was only supposed to be for a couple times, but the money’s too tempting / who is she to resist?
connections » georgia west [green angels ringleader] / maisie stone and spencer van lith [best friends] / nu epsilon alpha sisters!!! / other green angels
needs » more green angels / more nu epsilon alpha sisters / PLEASE give her some clients to deal drugs to
SAMSON GLASS
22 / student at columbia / member of the circle of teeth
the most manipulative asshole you’ll ever meet / a virgin who takes pride in his “purity” and will shame girls who try to fuck him while doing everything but having sex / the boy with a bright future that’s too far away for his liking / a circle of teeth legacy, courtesy of his father whose pride depended on all his children being admitted / unlike a certain sister, samson succeeded in getting into columbia and the circle of teeth, and it was everything his father promised / for almost four years, sam’s been a king and he’ll be damned if he goes off to become a pawn while more unworthy fuckers are crowned in his place / his only option? burn it all to the fucking ground
connections » luna glass and stella glass [sisters] / the love hexagon / the circle of teeth
needs » girls he’s “dated” or “fooled around with” / other members of the circle of teeth / some pals
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Ok last one. What's the tea on Prompocalypse?
So...that was something, huh?
This is gonna be quick and dirty (relatively speaking, it’s still too long already as I come back and make this edit) because I have work tomorrow and there are def stuff I want to talk about more and I will (esp if I get asks) but I have work in the morning so let’s just get some words onto the screen aight.
The episode titles have had a pretty consistent naming scheme up until this point so the one word, non alliterative title had me at a 7 on the foreboding scale before we even started.
Everyone was in prom wear! And lol, Siobhan is the only one in a dress. That's almost exactly what I pictured Adaine wearing to prom. That exact shade of blue-green. And Emily looks like a waiter.
I wonder what Bren's plan was for if they'd thwarted the crowning entirely. Got baller initiative, some nat 20's on crown keepaway and smashing, and killed Penelope/Dayne before the bad guys could finish them. Would he just try to crown someone else or would the curb stompage have stood? Not that Goldenhoard would have been a pushover I imagine but jeez. He couldn't have been as strong as his true form.
Sidenote: One of my favorite little character things is Zac and Siobhan helping each other do math.
Fig dimension dooring Gorgug to the stage and then skateboarding away. Amazing.
"I'm going for her crown vs. his crown."/"In this climate?"
OK, shoutout to Zac fo asking for those bombs because they are OP as hell.
I love how they just charged in and started trying to kill people, no questions asked, no explaining themselves to the other students, just bombs out immediately.
My man Riz just couldn't catch a break. I understand the out of story reason the police haven't shown up is that Murph was rolling garbage, but what's taking them so long in story? Where? Is? Sklonda?
"I'm going to jump on the back of the Hangman."/”Presumptuous."
But also, by the end of the fight he's just like, "Do anything any party member tells you to!"
Lou losing it over Riz claiming best friend status. But damn, they kinda are the closest to each other in the party. Wild.
"You know what baby girl? Why don't you ready an action until I get there," said Siobahn to Ally, hilariously for a number of reasons.
They keep saying Teen Wolf and I have no idea what part of the movie they're referring to. This is the second ep in a row.
Lou trying to recruit a super sad Ragh.
They started off this fight really strong. Doing double digit damage and rolling over 20s. I was like, "Damn, they've leveled up. They're doing great!" Of course, we were still in the first third of the ep so I didn't know where we were going. But Lou was right. "Wild first turn."
"And then I shoot him."
I'm half convinced Riz jinxed everyone by saying, "Remember the corn fight?"
Kristen cast ONE spell and then said, "I don't have a lot of spells left." THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY AND SAVE ADAINE'S WORTHLESS FAMILY. YOU ARE THE HEALER. YOU NEED ALL YOUR SPELLS.
The students running to get food on the way out. Mood.
They messed Dayne *up*. This was the high point of the battle, objective-wise.
Sidenote, why would Dayne have needed to be at the Seacaster Manor raid? It feels dumb to ris him when he was such an important part of things. Was it literally just because he didn't like Fabian? And he disliked him enough to try and kill his parents? Yeesh.
Kirsten @ Ragh flipping out over Dayne: I see what's going on here.
Ragh really made this fight harder than it had to be. If Gorgug hadn't been grappled before Penelope got the crown they might have had a fighting chance.
So Penelope just straight up let what's her face (Sam I think) get palimpsested? Major yikes. Like I know it's a good thing they killed her but I kinda wish they hadn't so we could learn exactly what the insane thought process was there. She comes off as crazier than Biz because Biz was trapping girls he didn't respect, not his actual friends, you know? Like, did Goldenhoard say he was gonna make her an actual queen or something? Because all this isn't worth just being prom queen.
"Sometimes you make a villain and they die in the first two rounds," said Brennan, as if he didn't know what he was about to unleash on the party. Geez, I don't know how long they would have survived if Penelope and Dayne had been in play for a large chunk of the fight.
Murph's idea to blind him was a good one.
I almost was like, "Thank God Gorthalax got kidnapped," because that was the only good explanation for him seemingly ditching Fig.
Ally: Was that his best friend? (Emily: What./Siobahn: NO.)
"I'm like an advertisement for chicken."/"What chicken adverts are you watching?"/"It's like if you went to prom and there was a dangling chicken leg."/"What prom did you go to?"
Fabian full on clocking Penelope in the face like he's playing Punch Out.
"I killed my father today. Yes."
"This is against the rules but I don't care." In hindsight, this feels like foreshadowing.
"Well, that's the risk you take when you go to Aguefort Adventuring Academy."
"Get on the fucking right team!"
Lou (a la Gimli): And *my* D6.
Brennan pulling out that GIANT final form Goldenhoard figure.
For some reason, it didn't occur to me that he'd be just a legit dragon in his true form. I was picturing like the lich from Adventure Time or something.
Also, I was kinda expecting him to "Drop the act," and majorly change in personality but he was basically the same. Just a dick.
Gorgug rolls a 4. Brennan pauses for a second. The entire party: No.
Zac goes all in every time no matter how dumb it is. I love him.
"Father, stop this."/"What?"
"Not clever enough for the library and not brave enough for the world." Oww, I felt that one. Did Brennan have that waiting to use or did he come up with it on the spot because that was brutal.
Goldenhoard goes through the whole party, trying to hit their weakest point and he gets what might have been a great hit on Fig (You're so unloveable your father would rather go to hell than stay with you.) but she just says, "You have got to stop flirting with me," and completely diffuses the moment. As unflappable as Brennan is, he had to take a sec to jump back into the insult parade after that.
"I'm going to eat you."/"OH MY GOD."/"I'm not making it sexual!"
"*The* ball, bitch."
OK, I was wondering what the deal was with Riz's dad. Because giving him that gun implies a chance to kill his dad's killer but I didn't think it could be Goldenhoard directly because of the binding. That's another point towards Riz being the one to finish him off.
Wild that they weren't able to get any of the kids (save Ragh eventually) to help them with the fight. You go to adventuring school! Cowards! You would never make it at Sunnydale and that school was mostly normals!
The one dude still just getting food while Goldenhoard has turned into a full on dragon.
When an 18 wasn't a high enough roll for Fig to make her fear check, that's when I realized my earlier apprehension wasn't misplaced. I mean, maybe it should have been when he turned into a dragon but it is what it is.
But Fig skating away and then going, "Just kidding bitch," because she got it on the very next turn was hilarious.
Kristen still not being 100% on whether Ragh is gay or not.
Who was gonna kick Ragh off the team for being gay? Maybe Daybreak would have but Gorthalax def wouldn't have. Maybe he means he would have been bullied off?
Siobahn to Kristen/Ally: Stop outing students.
I can't believe Gorgug had to kiss Ragh in the middle of this fight to get his head in the game.
Also, I didn't get into it before because I knew this scene was coming but poor Ragh. Like, I could have told him things were gonna go this way and he's a big dummy for thinking otherwise, but poor dude. And then he finally gets it together and he gets wrecked.
"EMILY, I SOMETIMES CAN'T TELL WHEN YOU'RE REALLY FUCKING WITH ME OR NOT."
Siobhan doing the D&D equivalent of reminding the teacher they had homework.
The amount of dice that Brennan rolled for Goldenhoard was truly horrifying. That's permadeath damage.
AND HE GOT THE HEALER DOWN FIRST. This was the next moment I started sensing a TPK.
"HOMOPHOBE!"/"You hit both of the gay ones!"
Kristen taking damage from Goldenhoard's libertarian speech.
I find it such a Fig move to be like, "Can I use charm person to snap Adaine out of it," instead of the spell actually made for that purpose.
Rolling low perception and getting no information is the worst because then it's like...OK I know something's out there but what dammit?
When Brennan said Fig would have to do opposed athletics against Adaine, that was the first time I was like, "Oh thank God she's so weak."
Murph forgetting to uncanny dodge until midway through the ep was uncharacteristic. Really shows how wild the fight was.
"This kid likes to get his ass beat to a soundtrack."
Fabian refusing to just use the stairs like a normal person.
Penelope going, "What's your deal?" like she's not helping an evil dragon who wants to rule the world.
JAWBONE
JAWBONE JAWBONE JAWBONE
My man Jawbone shot way up on the list of cool adults today.
For real, the scene with Jawbone and Adaine was my second favorite moment of the episode and it would have been my favorite if not for a bit of divine intervention later.
I already made a post about this but Jawbone notices Adaine flipping the hell out and he asks her if she has panic attacks and if her parents gave her any meds for it. She responds in, like, the smallest, most broken and defeated voice with a tiny head shake, "My parents just left and I don't know where they are." Gah, my heart. She was half crying. I was half awake and being kicked in the face with the full force of human emotion. It was a lot. I felt like I was a kid watching that one scene from Fresh Prince again but British-er. She gets that her parents suck and she hates them but she's 14. Everyone wants their parents to love them. It's like in our DNA.
And then Jawbone launches into the wildest motivational speech ever (including all of Kristen's, which is saying a lot) which starts with him sucking off a border patrol agent. (You understand me?/No!)
Ally, MVP of Terrible Speeches: *That* was the point?
Siobhan trying not to crack up and break character throughout that whole scene was great.
I love that Brennan was clearly trying to not encourage people to mess with their med dosage irl because he was very specific about that but also he was like, "A dragon is about to end the world so please shotgun this bottle of magic Xanax and hop on that bike."
I love that Adaine has all the magic stuff in her inventory and then also Xanax.
Aww, Jawbone offered to let her live with him because her house burned down. (I guess that info was on the news?)
And then Adaine rolls a 20 with the help from her meds (and buffs) right away! It's great when the dice cooperate.
"I came here to FUCK SHIT UP. And help children."
"Jawbone rules. I'm so glad we helped him get his life together."
Jawbone is such a sketch person but such a good counselor.
Siobhan calling Goldenhoard and absolute fucking unit sayed be at 5 in the morning when I watched this.
"I AM A CHILD. YOU ARE ATTACKING A BUNCH OF CHILDREN YOU COWARD."
"Then why is your dick out?" Adaine joining in Fig w/ the taunting Goldenhoard via accusations of flirting.
"Why are you guys partially singed?"/"Because he's been attacking us Dad! Also Dad, he kind of used to come on to me all the time."
"Play the drums more and we'll have a full band on stage!"/"...Instead."
"You ruined prom!"/"I RUINED PROM?"
At this point I was thinking, "Geez, there's not a lot of episode left and Penelope isn't even dead yet. How could they possibly defeat Goldenhoard AND have time for tying up loose ends?" TPK vibes increase.
Adaine getting a nat 20 on Arcana, "Yeah it is what it is. You're screwed."
Hell yeah for Adaine giving Goldenhoard her low divination roll to ensure her lightning bolt hit. Not that it ended up mattering that much but still. Sick.
"Well you could have told me before this very moment!"/"I was dead!"
I just checked on the stats of an an adult red dragon in 5E and it's got 256 HP. 256! And look at the other stats! They're wild.
"This is the number of dice?"/"Yeah."/"God."
Fig goes down. Their secondary healer. So, not good. Very not good.
Brennan letting Emily burn Goldenhoard's tie as she passes out because Emily refuses to do nothing.
And Riz goes down too! The one with the med kit! At this point I was like, there is no way this can end well.
"How far away is the hospital?" I love it when they try just normal solutions in this magic game like calling their parents and going to the hospital.
It is an hour and 47 minutes into the episode before Adaine remembers she's wearing a magic coat that can make her anything (within reason). Which, to be fair, it took me a little bit too but, in my defense, I'm not staring at her character sheet.
Real talk, I didn't think she was gonna get anything from the jacket from that ask. Something to beat Kalvaxis is such a big ask.
When Brennan started going into the jacket stuff I was like, this is a really weird deus ex machina if that's what this is. But also, the kids have been hilariously chill with just having Adaine walk around in a jacket filled with people.
There was a lot to unpack there and I'll got to it in another post but I can't do another 4k epic this week y'all. I have work in the morning.
Adaine yelling for Basrar to get them their ice cream before they freaking die.
Aww Gorthalax tried to heal Fig instead of attacking.
"Daddy that was a waste of a turn."
Gorgug who has a million hit points went down and all the healers are down. There are less than ten minutes left in the episode. TPK for sure, I'm thinking.
Adaine flipping people off with a vengeance today.
Also the fact that she totally forgot that she could ask for a healing potion which is totally a thing that she almost def would have been able to get is hilarious. I mean it wouldn't have been as funny if the episode ended differently but, as it stands, hilarious.
"Does the Hangman know medicine?"
"What about this student? Is he studying to be a cleric?"
Adaine is down. That's everyone down but Fabian. Three and a half minutes left. And that's when I realize. There's not enough time for a good ending, but there's not enough time for a bad ending either. But there's no S2. This is an anthology series. What's going on here my sleepy 6am brain is saying.
Fig giving her dad bardic inspiration while passed out because Emily is Emily.
Everyone (exceptt Riz) was making their saves. I'm thinking, "Is next season different characters, same setting. Maybe a bunch of years in the future? Legacy characters?" I'm trying to put together the fact that this is the finale with 2 minutes left with the fact that they're playing different characters next season. The pieces aren't fitting.
And that's because I couldn't have predicted what was about to happen.
Ally, clearly joking says, "Can I roll for a nat 20 and just be alive?"
Brennan, barely thinking, says, "Sure, go for it," as casually as if he was okaying a perception check.
Murph and Lou are cracking up at the absurdity of the ask.
Ally says, "This is to the corn god," half solem, half smiling.
Siobhan holds her hand over the dice like she's blessing them.
"I know I left for a while," Ally starts as the dice are cast and...
"NAT 20 MOTHERFUCKER!"
Everyone goes WILD.
Ally punches air.
Brennan looks like someone slapped him.
Emily: You have to rip up your comparative world religions book.
BONUS EPISODE UNLOCKED
And what did we learn today? A 5 percent chance is small, but not insignificant.
OK, there’s one thing I want to address before I tap out for the night (and it’s not spell checking. I’ll do that in the morning).
I saw some people discussing the possibility that they faked the ending. Like, they just edited it like that to give them another chance because they were all about to die. Beyond the fact that I just trust them to not have done that, the other big reason I don’t think that’s likely is because there was a much more seamless way of stacking the deck in their favor. Brennan could have had Adaine pull literally anything out of her jacket. And I truly mean anything because this is a finale. Even if he gave her something game breaking, it wouldn’t have set a precedent because it’s the last ep. And that’s beyond all the NPCs that could plausibly have come in because they know something is up and teleportation is a thing in this world. Nah, I think that was just good, old fashioned, luck of the roll and thank Helio because they needed it.
OK, that’s it for now! Join me at some point between now and next ep to unpack this because it’s a lot and apparently we have another episode to get through. Hoot growl baby!
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All I Need~ Part 10
Pairings: Josh Dun x Pregnant!Reader
Overview: You move to Columbus, Ohio to live with your brother after your ex-boyfriend becomes abusive after telling him of a surprise pregnancy. You become involved in the church and unknowingly befriend the Dun family. After finally meeting Josh, there’s a connection between the two of you that lands you in some complicated situations.
Warnings: Cursing
Y/N = Your Name
Y/B/N = Your Brother’s Name
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
“6 centemeters.” The doctor announced, peeking back up from between your legs, “Your labor is progressing so we can’t send you home. However, we need to try and delay the actual birth for as long as we can. Premature birth isn’t uncommon with twins and most make it at 32 weeks but we don’t want to take any chances. The longer we can keep them in, the better.” He explained, writing something down on your chart.
“How do we delay the labor?” You asked, unsure of how effective his solution would be because these contractions did not seem like they would relax for anything.
“Medication.” He answered simply, “I’ll have Kelli come administer them. Hopefully it will give us another day at least.” He left the room with a smile that countered everything you were feeling.
Josh sat next to you on the bed, thumb running over your leg comfortingly, “How’re you feeling?” He asked sympathetically.
“Never better.” You teased dismally before groaning, “I want the boys to be as healthy as possible but I am so sick of being in pain.” You tried laughing but another contraction hit and your hand shot out to grip Josh’s.
He stood up and leaned his forehead against yours, holding your hand, “You’re doing such a good job. Our boys are so lucky to have such a strong mom.”
Once it passed, you released him, “Do your parents know we’re here? Just so they’re not worried about you?”
He scoffed, “Please, they’re probably more worried about you than me. But yeah, they know where we are. They called your parents too.”
You smiled, “I love your parents so much. Did they say anything?”
Josh stroked a loose hair from your forehead, “Yeah, they’re looking for the first flight out. They wanted it to be a surprise but… oops.” He chuckled. You reach up and grabbed his arm, hugging it. After a moment of silence you spoke, “I’m scared.” You squeaked.
“I know.” He replied quietly before standing up, “But! You know what helps with that? Candy. There’s a vending machine down the hall. I’ll get you anything you want.”
You laughed at his goofiness, “I will love you forever if you come back with caramel M&M’s.”
He pointed at you as he walked to the door of your room, “You better love me forever anyways!” While he was gone, the nurse, Kelli, gave you the meds to slow your labor. Another contraction hit and she stayed, watching the spikes on the monitor you were hooked up to until you rode out the pain. Finally, Josh returned, “Your M&M’s m’lady.” He tossed the small blue bag to you before sitting down with his own bag of Skittles.
“Thank you, my good sir.” You opened the bag, popping one in your mouth. “You should try getting some sleep. The boys won’t be here anytime soon.”
Josh shook his head, “I’m good. I’ll sleep when you sleep. Which you also should try to do. You know… while you can.” He added with a smile.
*18 hours later*
You weren’t entirely sure when everyone arrived but they did. Laura Lee and your mom were talking while your dad and Y/B/N stood near the door talking to Bill. Even Tyler and Jenna managed to sneak in without anybody noticing, which you were very grateful for. You and Josh agreed that this was not the way you wanted everything announced to the world.
Even though you loved having people there for you, you really wanted space. The contractions were getting more frequent again after having slowed for a few hours and you were tired of people seeing you in the state that you were.
After hours of lying down, you were finally standing, trying to lightly stretch the discomfort away. Josh had his arm around your waist as you talked to your moms, both chattering excitedly about the boys’ futures. Just then, another contraction hit and Josh instantly held you tighter when he felt your muscles tense up, supporting you as much as you needed. But suddenly, you felt something else. A gush of wetness spread down your legs and your eyes widened, “Oh no.” You said in shock.
Everyone quieted and looked at you, your face turning red, “Do we get the doctor?” Your brother asked.
“Yes! Get the doctor.” Laura Lee instructed.
“Shit…” You hissed, the contraction not relenquishing.
Josh led you over to the hospital bed, “Here, sit down baby.”
A few nurses came in, followed by the doctor, all assessing the situation. “All right, who do you want in the room for the delivery?” The doctor asked.
You took that as an answer as to when you were delivering and looked at the group of people. All the girls looked excitedly while the guys looked happily terrified, “Any volunteers?” You asked just to see who was interested. Both Laura Lee and your mom raised their hands and stepped towards you. It was no question that Josh was staying. Jenna looked as if she wanted to say yes but wasn’t sure, “Jenna?” You asked, breathing hard.
A smile appeared on her face, “Sure.” She agreed enthusiastically.
“Sorry boys.” You smiled uncomfortably.
A nurse showed the rest of the visitors to the waiting room while the others prepared everything for the delivery. Josh stood next to you, pressing a damp cloth to your forehead as another contraction hit. You whimpered, holding your mom’s hand. Soon, your legs were propped up in stirrups and you were extremely self-conscious of the fact that everyone was staring at your vagina.
“Okay, I’m gonna need you to push when you feel ready.” The doctor instructed, adjusting the light between your legs. You braced yourself and once you felt the pain give way just slightly, you pushed as hard as you could, pain ripping through your lower abdomen.
“Again.” He said.
You gripped Josh’s hand so tight you were sure he was in pain too but he never said anything. “Oh my God.” You moaned in pain. You’d never been in this kind of pain before. With every instruction to push, you cursed and cried more.
“I-I see a head. You’re so close. Just a few more pushes for baby number one.”
You pushed hard, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” You yelled.
“You’re doing so well, Y/N.” Josh whispered in your ear.
“I’m so proud of you sweetie.” Your mom said before her eyes went wide, interrupted by a soft cry.
*4 hours later*
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. You were supposed to be holding your sons close to your chest, feeling their soft skin against your own and their heartbeats thumping gently against their small bodies. You and Josh were supposed to be cuddling next to each other, a child in each of your arms, just relishing in your perfect little family.
Instead, you stroked their tiny hands through the hole in their incubators. As much as you loved your family, you were glad they’d left you and Josh for the night. You were exhausted and just wanted to hold your sons. You smiled as you looked at their small frames, still too new to really distinguish any real features that made them not look like tiny aliens, but you adored them just the same. Your perfect Brennan and Oliver.
#all I need#josh dun#josh dun x reader#josh dun imagines#josh dun smut#josh dun fluff#twenty one pilots
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Red Rose - Chapter 16
Prologue Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 CH. 16
Summary: Riley manages the fallback from the hedgemaze fiasco, but she’s soon reminded that there’s no dull moment in Cordonia, as Tariq barges into her room and her and Drake have a moment.
Rating: M - Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with non-explicit suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, or coarse language.
Theodora sat at her dresser, brushing her thick, platinum blonde mane. Puberty has done her very well, with her skin as fair and spotless as it was at her birth, the hourglass figure and the harmonious breast also being God-given gifts. Her eyes were cold and cutting as a knife.
That night, they shone in determination.
“Promises are made, promises are broken.” She told to her own reflection. “Well, father, two can play at that game.”
She took off the brush from her hair and placed the richly-engraved brush back into the dresser drawer. She then rose from the chair and walked over to her closet. She took some clothes from the racks and threw them at a bag open at the door. She then proceeded to change her blue dress into a pair of pants, a shirt and a green parka.
All dressed, she threw the bag over her shoulders and sneaked off to her parents’ room. At that time of day, it was predictably empty. Behind a painting, lay a safe, and the code was 1918.
Inside the safe, there was cash, jewels, and most importantly, a hostage for her escape operation.
She refused to end up like her parents and siblings. She refused living that odious life. There it was a passport for another life, another herself.
Theodora threw everything inside the bag and sneaked her way into the house’s backdoor.
Half an hour later, safely on a train going away from the life she knew, she took a deep breath. Relief washed her lithe body.
Escape seemed at hand’s reach.
Applewood, Neokastron, Cordonia, Fall 2015
“Oh, God.” Riley bemoaned. “I’m so screwed.”
“This does hamper our initial plans, yes.” Charlotte noted. “We would stay in Cordonia until Theophany, and, when Liam did not pick you, we would have a good reason to leave. Riley would be killed off in some tragic accident a few months later, and that would be that.
“What we didn’t count on is the fact that you want to stay.”
“No matter, we are sticking with our original plan.” Riley said, determined. “Regardless of what I may be feeling about Liam or about anyone else, there is no way I can stay in Cordonia come February. Even if the impossible happens and Liam does choose me.”
“But there is a way.” Charlotte said, thoughtful. “Think about it: your story held uncontested up until now, even with the security services looking thoroughly into it. I doubt anyone except perhaps the MI-5 or the CIA could blow it now, much less some lowly yellow press, sketch of a reporter. And that’s only in the first few months, once the rage of your marriage passes, they stop snooping on the dirty secrets of your past and start snooping on the dirty secrets of your present.
“You have files of the marriage of Amara Grey and Brennan Flowers, the latter of whom died without any relatives to say you weren’t related to them, and the former is so deep in this as yourself, she won’t blab or else she’ll be packing to a federal prison.
“You planted school records in not one, not two, but in three different institutions, you swapped the yearbooks from the library in Cedar Cove, and all your supposed colleagues seem to remember a shy, quiet student at the corner they don’t quite remember the name of.
“You fed a fake Facebook for years, for Christ’s sakes!” Charlotte exasperated. “Honestly, if I didn’t know you, if I didn’t know you were lying, I would fucking think you were really Riley Flowers.”
Riley weighed what has been said by Charlotte, and she had to give her a point, by now there is no conceivable way for her to be discovered, not by the Cordonian court, and not if she didn’t screw up. However, one thing weighed heavily on her mind: “What about Karen and Ludwig?”
“Riley, my promise holds regardless of you deciding to be a queen or not. A week in February, and you’ll be free.” Charlotte said, in all seriousness. “We could tell everybody you were off to New York tying up some loose ends, we could even have Amara backing up these claims.”
Riley grumbled. “It still don’t change what happened today. Liam and I still had this huge fight, and we both said things we shouldn’t have, even if we did meant them.”
“Hey, sweetie, do you still have your journals?” Charlotte asked.
“My journals?” Riley said, confused.
“When you were younger, every time you got upset, you used to write your feelings away. Don’t you do that anymore?”
Then it dawned on her. Her notebooks. She used to write on them every day, as in to chase away the feelings of loneliness and fear from getting caught by the Rosenbergs. She remembered to take them to Cordonia, but she hadn’t touched a single one of them ever since she left New York.
Riley rummaged her trunk and pulled out six leather-bound notebooks. “Here they are. All the way back from the time I moved to New York.”
“Now, why don’t you give them to Liam as an apology gift?” Charlotte proposed.
“What?” Riley shouted. “Are you insane?!”
“Why not? I know you are paranoid enough not to put any names on those, and yet they are personal enough for him to see you’re making an effort to reach out. Besides, they’re the most genuine piece of yourself we can afford to give him right now.”
“That… That…” Riley stuttered while the wheels of her brain turned. “That might be actually a good idea.”
“I’m full of those today.” Charlotte said, smugly. “Now, come, we have to re-do your make-up and accessorize with this dress. Lord, for as much Bertrand is a stick-in-the-mud, he really has no sense of style!”
Riley giggled. “He really don’t. All that ‘country lord’ look of his isn’t working on his favor.”
New York City, Summer 1979
Melissa payed her cabby and got out of the car. Her meager belongings, mostly clothing, were packed into a small, black bag.
She had just arrived from the airport, she was at her parents’ home, in Georgia, and it certainly did not end her way. Not that she really blames them, she had thrown them a bomb.
She had met Kristijan during her internship at the United Nations. She was working under the Spanish ambassador, while Kristijan was a guard to Lord Talmai Bartholomaios, the Cordonian envoy.
They had met when he helped her when she got lost on her way to a meeting at the UN. He had been posted there for over three years and could probably walk through those halls in his sleep. He had a rare afternoon off, as Lord Bartholomaios was otherwise engaged, so, after her meeting, they went out for a coffee and became friends.
After some outings through the city, they started dating. It was a whirlwind romance, one she threw herself into head first.
However, Labor Day was just around the corner, and Lord Bartholomaios was due to return to Cordonia, and Kristijan is supposed to go with. He had told her his ‘commander’, the head of the security services he wasn’t allowed to disclose, was impressed with his work, and offered him a superior position, one that required him to move back to his homeland, permanently.
Facing the possibility of never seeing each other again, Kristijan proposed to Melissa last Friday night. She said she had to talk it over with her family first and promised him an answer the following Monday.
Today.
She used the card key Kristijan had given her and waltzed into the hotel. She went up to his floor and knocked on his door.
He answers her with a grin and a: “Melissa, you’re back!”
“Let’s do it, Kristijan!” She said, overwhelmed. “Let’s go to Cordonia! Let’s get married!”
She didn’t give him time to respond, as she kissed him passionately.
It might be against every ounce of reason in her body, but Melissa Walker was in love.
Applewood, Neokastron, Cordonia, Fall 2015
An hour later, Riley snuck off to Liam’s chambers. No-one saw her, as the servants were busy with preparations for the party downstairs, while the noblepeople were in their rooms dressing up.
She knocked three times, slow and steadily, waiting for a response. After a moment, a tortured ‘Enter!’ was heard from the other side of the heavy, engraved doors.
Prompted, she pushed the heavy doors weakly, as if she was afraid of it disturbing someone’s sleep. The room behind it looked the part, as its thick curtains were drawn, letting none of the sunset light into the room. The bed was also disheveled, as if none of the servants remembered to make it that morning.
Sat on a chair, with his back turned to the door, sat Liam. He had a glass on his hand and a tumbler on the coffee table in front of him, the brown color of the liquid suggested it was bourbon.
“If you came here to tell me I should be getting ready for dinner, pass along the message to my father I will be out shortly.” His tired voice rasped through the room.
“I did not come here to tell you that.” Riley said, in a meek tone. “Though, I can try to reach the King.”
“Riley!” The blond exclaimed, turning to see her. “What are you doing here?”
The woman sighed. “I came here to talk. To apologize, actually. I said some things I shouldn’t have, and I overreacted a little about… that.”
He gaped. “No, no, you were right, I shouldn’t have read that file. I just got scared and did something stupid, and when you caught me, I got scared again and just made everything worse. I should be the one to apologize.”
“Let’s agree we were both on the wrong, then.” She offered. “Regardless, I haven’t been doing a very good job of soothing your worries. You felt the need to read that file because I don’t talk about the past often, and while you’ve never asked, I also haven’t been going out of my way to tell you about it either.
“I don’t do that because it is painful for me to remember. Not the thing about my mother or my aunt and uncle, but for me it feels like every step of the way so far have been difficult somehow, and I just keep hoping for the next to be easier, to be painless. For me to be able to do that, I have to try and forget a little bit of the past and try to move forward, without looking back.
“When I moved to New York, I got into a little of a rough path and I found that writing my feelings helped sorting them out. So, I want you to keep these.” She handed him the six notebooks.
Liam inspected the objects. “What are these?”
“Those are my journals. Six years-worth of them, from the time I moved to New York to the day before I’ve met you. I haven’t written on them ever since I arrived, though, because every day seems more hectic then the one before, so…” She trailed off.
He placed them neatly on the coffee table, away from the tumbler and the glass of booze. “Are you sure you want me to read them?” He looked deep into her charcoal eyes.
“No, I’m not.” She said, honestly. “But I’m sure I want to give you, us, a sincere attempt, and if that’s what it takes, then so be it.”
Liam quickly crossed the distance between them and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Riley.” He whispers into her hair. “Thank you for being so kind and patient with me, even when I don’t deserve it.”
He kissed her deeply, making her knees go weak.
Palace of the Brigades, Avlona, Cordonia, Summer 1984
Melissa had her finest dress on, and her little child was also dress impeccably. She lived at the Brigades for five years, now, but she wasn’t quite used to the idea of royalty, and the prospect of actually meeting one made her giggly.
She walked over to some French doors, where Bastien, one of her husband’s apprentices, waited stoically for her.
“Good afternoon, Bastien.” She greeted, amicably. More than once the young man has had a meal with them at their apartment on the service lodge of the palace, and both Kristijan and Melissa had a soft spot for the boy.
“Good afternoon, ma’am.” He smiled at her. “Your Majesty waits for you.”
“Lead the way!”
He nodded and opened the door for her. It leads into a small drawing room, in which the Queen have had served some tea and biscuits.
The young royal rose to her feet, with some difficulty, taking upon account she was heavily pregnant, and greeted her. “Madam Walker, I am very glad you took upon my invitation this afternoon.”
Melissa’s face probably betrayed the frantic thoughts running through her head. “Y-Your Majesty!” She bowed hastily. “It is I who is glad about your invitation!”
She laughed softly. “Please, call me Carmela. We are alone, and I was hoping we could have a more relaxed conversation.”
“Of course, ma’am. I mean, Carmela.” It was rather strange calling a girl younger than herself ‘ma’am’, after all.
“Great!” She smiled. “Is this little Drake I hear so much about?” The blue-blooded approached the carriage, where the boy slept soundly. “How old is he again?”
“Six months.” The woman answered, with a soft smile. “He was born in late Fall last year.”
“How adorable.” She gushed. “Pardon me, I have the baby fever. I must run poor Bastien haggard with all my questions about all the mothers at the palace.”
Melissa giggled. “I remember how I was with Drake. I spent the day looking through baby clothes catalogs and pregnancy books. When are you due?”
“The doctors say All-Hallows, but I think this one’s going to be an early bird.” She patted her own protuberant stomach fondly. “I’m thinking of naming him Liam if it’s a boy.”
The other did a small double-take at the revelation. “It is different in Cordonia.”
“It is unusual in Italy as well.” She dismissed, with a faint smile. “But I’m a fan of Liam Clancy. Constantine’s going to take some convincing, though.”
“I thought the King wanted something more traditional.”
Carmela shrugged. “Some Greek mouthful, yes.” She poured two cups of tea and handed one to Melissa. “Speaking of things unusual, I never expected to see a surname like Kristijan’s in Cordonia. Walker,” She tested on her tongue, with her foreign accent. “It’s English, right?”
“It’s actually my name.” Melissa pointed out. “Kristijan said his surname carried a stigma in Cordonia, and he wanted to change it when we married.”
“Oh, my! There’s so much I know not.” Carmela commented. “Was it Slavic? I’ve noticed our Serbian subjects are very hostile to our rule. It would make sense for Kristijan to change it when he joined our employment.”
The other woman shook her head. “No, it was Greek. Bunas, after the river.”
“No, it doesn’t ring any bells.” She commented.
“How about the social season, ma’am?” She tried to change the subject. “You’ll probably be bed-ridden by then.”
“Don’t tell me.” She grimaced. “It would be my first one as Queen. Fortunately, Constantine is able to attend alone the events elsewhere. What worries me are the ceremonies held here at the Brigades. Which reminds me, Melissa?”
“Yes?” The woman responded.
“You were a diplomat once, right? Before marrying?”
She laughed uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t say that. I worked at an embassy, and I have a degree in International Relations.”
“But you do understand about ceremonials?”
“I suppose? Somewhat, at least.” Melissa said.
Carmela smiled broadly. “Great! You see, I was looking for a secretary, to help me with the preparations for the season. I would do it myself, but with the pregnancy and everything…” She trailed off.
The woman made a double-take. “Are you sure you want me?”
“Of course. You know the ropes, and I know I can trust you. It is more I can say about any other woman in this house.” The monarch answered. “And you will be paid handsomely for the job.”
Melissa weighs her options. As the wife of Kristijan, she was not allowed to take employment outside the palace and caring for Drake full time get really boring fast. Besides, with the money, they could save for retirement, which came early for royal bodyguards.
“Okay. I’m in.” The eldest smiled.
Applewood, Neokastron, Cordonia, Fall 2015
Riley arrived at dinner rigorously on time, perfectly composed and her head held high. Liam wasn’t with her, staying behind as in not to arise suspicion, but aside from him, all of the guests at the chateau were already in attendance.
Servants bustle about, keeping the tables freshly stocked with foods and drinks. Over a couple of tables, a few girls conversed in rushed tones.
“The King and the Queen seemed quite taken with you today, Lady Madeleine.” Some random suitor commented with said blonde.
She smirked. “They respect my opinions. And I believe we have a lot in common. I hope I’ll have the support and respect of all the ladies of the court if I’m chosen.”
The tone of her ‘if’ portrayed no doubt.
Penelope sat next to the pair and whispered back: “To tell you the truth, I think Lady Riley may be the one to be chosen, and I think she would be a wonderful queen.”
As much as Penelope’s heart was in the right place, that certainly wasn’t the moment to make that kind of statement. Much less to Madeleine, who frowned quite pronouncedly: “I suppose you are entitled to have your own opinion.” She said.
Charlotte waved at her, as if they were just meeting. Riley started walking over to her, also keeping up the appearances, when she crossed paths with Tariq.
“Good evening, Tariq.” She greeted, politely.
“Lady Riley.” He nodded, acknowledging. “It is always a pleasure seeing you.”
“A rare one, it seems. How have you been?” She engaged in conversation. Bertrand would be proud.
He laughed. “Indeed. I’ve been as splendid as you look, my dear.”
“You seem flirty tonight.” She pointed out.
“It comes from the deepest recesses of my being.” He winked. “This event can hardly bear a star as bright as yours.”
Riley thought it to be strange behavior from the young nobleman but preferred not to probe. She has enemies enough, no need going out and making more. “Thank you, Tariq. You flatter me.”
“It feels me with joy to hear you say that.” He beamed. “You know, I have to tell you, after talking to most of the other ladies here, I find myself having nurtured such an… appreciation for you. You are like a breath of New York fresh air.”
Knowing those same girls he speaks of, Riley can only agree to the sentiment, even if the phrasing is hardly ideal. “I don’t think anyone says that.”
“The other suitors are absolutely boring.” He admonished. “One talks only about her dogs, another merely sulks to the corners. And don’t get me started on Olivia.”
“Some of the other girls have their charms.” Riley weighed.
Tariq scoffed. “If they do, I have yet to find them. They have good breeding, wealth and manners, but they’re absolutely dull. How disappointing.”
There it was. Tariq the Plutocrat. Riley was starting to worry he had banged his head at some table corner.
He, however, wasn’t done: “Whereas with you, Lady Riley, you grow more interesting every time we speak. I must, however, take my leave. May you have a fantastic evening.”
Tariq bows and left, while Maxwell approaches.
“There’s our little social star!” He greets, with an unusual dose of excitement. “Is that Tariq you were talking to?”
“Yeah, and it was weird.” She commented, while looking at the place the young middle-eastern left empty.
“Strange?” Maxwell inquired, confused. “How so?”
“He was so amicable! And before today, we barely talked.”
The man tutted. “I’ll keep an eye on him. Now, come, Bertrand and I got a table this way.”
Palace of the Brigades, Avlona, Cordonia, Spring 1993
Melissa was sitting on the kitchen table. The dinner was served, and the children already ate. Drake and Savannah were at the conjoined living room, having their TV time.
Kristijan was late for dinner, again. Melissa knew his patrol schedule was messy, but he had said he would be home that evening. She tapped her fingers against the table, anger and hungry, as she had been kind enough to wait for him.
She sighed angrily and walked over to the living room. “Kids,” She told them while turning off the TV. “It’s bed time.”
“But, mommy!” Little Savannah complains. “Daddy isn’t here yet!”
The woman sighed once more. Her husband gave her nothing but trouble. “I know, darling. But it’s late, it’s way past the time for little girls to be in bed.”
She pouted. “I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Grown-Up.” She smiled at her daughter’s antics. “Tell you what, go to bed now and I’ll have daddy giving you a good-night kiss when he gets here, ‘kay?”
“’Kay…” Savannah caved and walked over to the bedroom she shared with his older brother.
“Drake?” The woman called.
“Yeah?” He grumbled. Sometimes, she swore that boy was born sour.
“Watch your sister, okay? I’ll go over to the kitchens, but I’ll be right back.”
He looked at her warily but nodded his head. She kissed his hair and went out the front door.
Closing and locking her apartment’s door for security, she started walking down the hall. However, instead of going down to the kitchens like she said she would, Melissa walked over to the bachelors’ wing and knocked on an apartment’s door.
A man came out. “Mrs. Walker?” He asks, confused. “What are you doing here?”
“Bastien, you’re on the night shift tonight, aren’t you?” She inquired, feverishly.
“Yeah, I was going out right now.” He said. “Why? Do you need anything?”
“Actually, I do.” She smirked, with a hint of crazy in her eyes. “I need you to take me to the Queen’s chambers. It’s where you’re supposed to switch guard, isn’t it?”
He looked at the woman he so deeply respected and cared for. Bastien was sure that if she was asking such a thing, she had a legitimate reason for it, no matter how unorthodox. “Follow me.” He said and led the way.
On a hurried place, they made their way through the labyrinthine, ghastly hallways of the Brigades at nighttime. When they arrived at the heavy, mahogany doors of the quarters, Melissa eyed Bastien for him to make himself scarce.
The look he gave in response said that he would not hinder her, but he sure wasn’t leaving.
It was his own peril. Taken by murderous rage, she opened the door and walked right into the room. Unfortunately for Melissa, she saw exactly what she was looking for.
She picked up a shirt laid on the ground and placed on her nose. She knew that aftershave anywhere. She let it fall to her feet as she walks over to the bed. The couple laying there was fast asleep.
Melissa sat on a chair by the dresser and turned on the lamp. She took a good look at the face of the man resting on there. Tan skin, shaved neatly, but with a defined, rugged, hairy chest.
She picked up a heel on the floor and admired it. A dark blue, satin Zanotti, with silver fastenings. A beautiful shoe for a beautiful woman. Melissa twirled it by the heel, and then threw at the man.
He woke up, of course, startled. His eyes focused on her: “Melissa! What are you doing here?”
Her eyes glinted with the light of the lamp. “Why, Kristijan, you’re late for dinner. I came looking for you.”
The woman woke up, dizzy, and looked over at Melissa. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Regina, did I wake you up?” She asks, sickly sweet. “Now you can join us.”
“I would ever.” She admonished. “Have some respect!”
Melissa clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh, Regina, I find it terribly funny how you Cordonians think everybody owe you respect. When will you learn respect is earned?”
She leaned over the bed, over Kristijan, and whispered to her: “Don’t try evoking any Laws of Exception on me. I’m not a Cordonian citizen. You can’t throw me on jail.”
The Queen fumed but did not say a thing. Kristijan, however, pulled her away and stood up. He was as naked as the day he was born, his intimacy hanging limp by his leg.
He tugged on her arm, and whispered menacingly: “Let’s go, Melissa.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” She wriggled her arm away, and then lowered her sight to his genitalia. “But I think you should change first. I know you clearly don’t really care who see your bits, but some people may.”
She stood up and started to leave. Kristijan came after her, thankfully using some underwear, shouting: “Melissa! Melissa, wait!”
“What?!” She turned and barked.
“Just hear me out, okay?!” He said, frozen in place by her glare.
“What are going to say, huh?! It wasn’t what it looked like?!” She shouted, the sound bounced from the walls and empty rooms.
He sighed. “It is what it looked like. Or not, I don’t know. I did sleep with the Queen, I have been sleeping with her for some time, too. But what did you want me to do? She’s the Queen, for Christ’s sake!”
“I wanted you to keep it in your pants. I expected you to keep your vows. I expected you to, at least, tell me what was going on.” She said, cold.
He scoffed. “And then what? You think I’d still have a job here? A place to live?”
“We would find a way, Kristijan!” She shouted, frustrated. “I’m not an invalid!”
He sighed one more time. “What now?”
“I’m going back to the US.” She said, seriously. “I’m taking the kids. There’s nothing for us here anymore.”
With that, Melissa left, and Kristijan did not try to stop her.
Applewood, Neokastron, Cordonia, Fall 2015
Riley followed Maxwell to the table and sat down between him and Charlotte, who accompanied them on that meal.
Soon enough, the sound of glass clinking fell through the al-fresco dining area. Everyone then turns to the source of the noise, which was the figure of Prince Liam, standing up next to Constantine and Regina.
“If I may have everyone’s attention, I’d like to say a few words before we serve the main course.” The blond announced. “First, I would like to thank everyone for joining us out here at the country estate. I had the honor and privilege of having you in my court, and I could not ask for better company.
“As I step into my father’s place in the next few weeks, I can only hope I am half the man he was for Cordonia.”
“Long live Prince Liam!” Maxwell pulls the chant, followed by claps and cheers by all attendees.
“Thank you all.” Liam bowed. “When we next meet like this, it will be on the next event of the season, the traditional New Year’s party hosted by the illustrious House Beaumont.”
The crowd applauds, and Maxwell hollered: “Woo-hoo!” He then turns to Riley. “I can’t wait to show you the manor.”
“Maxwell, aren’t we a little strapped for cash right now?” She asks, concerned. “Can we afford hosting a party this big right now?”
He grimaced. “I don’t think we have a choice. Like Liam said, it’s tradition. We can’t back out now.”
“Yes. If we back out, we might as well announce to the whole world we are officially ruined!” Bertrand barked.
“Bertrand has a point.” Charlotte pointed out. “The manor house is big and opulent enough, we’ll be fine as long as we keep them busy. If the food is a little lacking, I bet no-one will notice.”
As the applause dies out, Liam continues: “The Beaumonts will surely give us another legendary night to remember. Until then, I thank you once again and wish you a good night.”
Palace of the Brigades, Avlona, Cordonia, Spring 1993
The Walker family, the personnel of the palace division of the Security Services and the Royal Family was congregated at the chapel within the Brigade Hill, honoring a sacrifice of one of their own.
As per request, there would be no speeches, no talking, no medals. There would only be a prayer conducted by the chaplain, which was over. The people were walking on a line, saying their condolences to the widow, standing by the casket.
After a big group of maids, security guards and other relatives payed their respects, there came the turn of the Royal Family. The youngest boy, Liam, was spared from the ceremony, thankfully.
Melissa couldn’t spare Drake of many uncomfortable comparisons he was subject to as the ‘common’ friend of one of the Princes, but the absence of a parent was a circumstance she really hadn’t considered to face up to a few weeks before.
Then, when Kristijan’s sins had come to light, Melissa was ready for filing divorce. She had bought the plane tickets, prepared the kids’ passports, wired her savings, called some relatives. And now she was a widow.
The first one to offer his sentiments was Prince Leo. The teenaged aristocrat couldn’t be bothered to play the part appropriately, appearing bored throughout the ceremony. Though, it was fair to say he would have rather for Kristijan to have failed on his mission.
Following him, there was Constantine. He hugged her softly, and said, on a low tone: “Your husband died a hero. The Royal Family has an eternal debt to you, ma’am.”
Then, it was the face she dreaded the most. Regina. Her dead husband’s lover. The woman he died to protect. There was something salacious, belonging to a cheap paperback novel, having such an encounter.
She was wearing a black, embroidered silk dress, her head covered with a shawl and a Spanish mother-of-pearl clasp. As she often does, Regina was asserting her power with subtlety.
The royal approached her and whispered softly to her ear. “I want to see you out of this country by nightfall. Take your snotty twerps with you.”
“Say, Regina, doesn’t your husband find most strange for you to be all alone with Kristijan on the gardens? At the middle of the night?” She asks, with a smirk.
“Are you really threatening me?” She barked.
“Not at all, Your Majesty. I am merely showing you I am not without my own bite.” She said, neutral. “But rest assured, by this time tomorrow, I’ll be far away from your sight.”
The Queen huffs and backs off her.
Applewood, Neokastron, Cordonia, Fall 2015
Riley walked down the hallway leading to her chambers. She was alone, as Bertrand and Maxwell were busy arranging their suitcases, and Charlotte said she would retire early.
Speaking of the Beaumonts, they said they would be spending their Christmas on a ski lodge in Switzerland. Given the price of the room and the fact the holiday was upon them, Bertrand made it clear she wasn’t invited. Charlotte said she could spend the week in Italy with her, but Riley knew how it was at her place, and she had her fill of aristocratic parties.
She reached her door and opened it. “Charlotte!” She called. “I’m here.”
The room was empty. Shrugging, Riley tried to lock the door, but the lock seemed stuck. As it was very late, the two women would have to make do with a chair against the handle.
Deciding to place it only after Charlotte’s return, Riley started taking off her clothing and her bodice. Butt-naked, she put on a silk robe and started walking over to the dresser to remove her make-up.
It was when she heard the door open and shut. “Is it you?” She called, distracted.
“It is I, love, and good Lord! Disrobing in my room! What a forward gesture. I like it.”
It wasn’t Charlotte’s voice. Riley turned to the intruder and shouted: “Tariq! What the Hell are you doing here?!”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not upset. I’m just surprised. I suspected, but I’ve never thought it would happen so soon.” He said, approaching her.
She tried to cover herself better, while taking a step back. “Tariq, I think there’s something wrong here…”
He takes her hand and places over his heart. “No, I must say this! Your feelings are most ardently returned! You’ve enchanted me just as you enchant everybody you come across, and now I know you feel the same way about me.”
She raises an eyebrow at him. “About that…”
Before she can say anything else, he lowers his head and take her mouth into a kiss.
Riley starts trying to push him away, when the door is pushed open and a figure launch itself into Tariq.
“Get away from her!” The deep voice commands, pining the middle-eastern man away from her by the shoulder.
“Unhand me!” Tariq spats back. “How dare you enter my room without my permission!”
“He’s one to say!” Riley sneered to herself, as Tariq punches the figure squarely on the face. Just then she is able to take a good look to the man, who reveals himself to be Drake.
The commoner reels back for a split second and then tackles the nobleman to the ground. They grapple intensely for a second until they pull apart.
“Who the Hell do you think you are busting into my room?!” Tariq shouts, angry.
“This is Riley’s room!” Drake spats back. “And I heard her screaming, I think she wanted the interruption.”
“Oh, God!” She ran her hand through her hair. “Tariq, someone pulled a prank on you. I’m not, in any way, interested in you, I’m sorry.”
He looked at her with puppy eyes. “So, this isn’t going to be the bold, romantic beginning to our love story?”
“No.” She doubled the ‘o’, shaking her head.
He sighed and tried to gather whatever little dignity he had. “I see. Let me deeply apologize here. I’m so sorry for this transgression. I was incredibly wrong. Now, before I can humiliate myself any further, let me take my leave. Good night, Lady Riley. Whomever has your heart, he is indeed a lucky man.”
As the man leaves, Drake slams the door shut behind him.
Riley threw herself on the bed, covering her face with her hands. “Before I bemoan my luck, thanks, Drake. If you hadn’t intervened, I would have kicked him in the nuts and it everything would be worse.”
“Aw, shucks, Flowers, don’t go soft on me now.” He sideline-smirked at her. “I’ll always be here for you. Because of Liam, of course.”
She sat up straight and looked at him. “What Liam got to do with anything?”
“Liam would never forgive me if something… bad… happened to you.” He sighed and withered under her inquisitive look. “And I wouldn’t forgive myself, either.”
She smirked, defiantly, at him, while he averts his eyes, embarrassed.
He clears his throat. “Anyways, you can see why it looked bad. I heard a scream and I saw you half-naked, with Tariq all over you…” He trailed off. “Are you okay, though.”
“I’m fine.” She said, earnestly.
“Well, I should get out of here before we really cause a scandal.” He said, and turned to leave when he winced in pain, clutching at his side.
“You’re hurt.” She pointed out.
He dismissed it with a: “Nothing some whiskey won’t heal.”
“Come on, big boy, I’ve got some ice.” She said, motioning for him to sit on the bed.
He smirked. “You trying to get me to take my shirt off, Flowers?”
“I am succeeding.” She smirked at him. “Chop-chop, I don’t have all night.”
“You have a real bossy side to you.” He murmurs while obeying her order.
“Take it to someone who cares.” She rolled her eyes, picked up a handkerchief and some ice, and started evaluating the bruise.
“So, doc, do you see anything alarming?” He asks, ironic.
“Other than the fact you bruise like a peach, it seems you’ll be okay.” She said, snarky.
He scoffed. “Tariq hits harder than you’d think.”
Riley laughed, ironically, while standing up. “I can’t believe you lost a fight to Tariq!”
“I didn’t say I lost! I never said that!” He defended, desperately. “I definitively won, I’m just saying he got in some good hits and I didn’t expect that from a palace brat.”
“Whatever floats your boat.” She smirked.
From Drake’s point of view, the moonlight coming from her window framed her profile. Her petite, princess-like nose and superior smirk were features he was sure he was supposed to despise, but it seemed right on her, like if it was supposed to be so.
Drake runs his fingers through his hair. “You can be so…” He started, but then lost his nerve. “Never mind. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be treating my wounds?”
“Before I ice your wounds, wouldn’t you like something to drink?” She offered. “Lest of all you bitch when I put it on your rib.”
“Hit me.”
She walked over to the bar and poured two glasses of whiskey on the rocks. Handing him one of them, she says: “I wouldn’t make you drink alone.”
“Heh. Thanks.” He smirks.
Drake downs his glass as Riley presses the ice against his body. “Hey! It hurts!” He complains.
“Grow a pair!” She bit back but pressed more gently the ice.
Drake turns and catches her eye. After a long second, he lowers his gaze. “Thanks.” He breathed out and paused. “I know I don’t act very grateful for anything most of the time, but I do… care about you.”
“Mighty way to show it.” She complains. “Most of the time you act like you hate me.”
“I do not.” He defended.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Drake.”
“Okay, I do, don’t I?” He sighed. “It’s not personal. It’s just… easier that way.”
“Easier? For whom?” She questions while keeping up with the ministrations.
“You’re here for Prince Liam. All of the suitors are. And, well, so is the entire court. All the nobles, all the servants, even. Everything and everyone in this place exists to orbit around Liam. You could almost hate him for it, if he weren’t so damn likeable. It’s dangerous for people like you and me to forget about that.” He grumbled the last part.
“Where are you getting at, Drake?”
“Hell, Flowers. Don’t make me say it.” He whispers and gulps down his drink. “If we’d met somewhere else, anywhere else. At a club in New York, or in the airport, or at a party… If you hadn’t been our waitress that night, and I hadn’t been sitting next to Liam… Do you think it would be different?”
“Drake, Drake, Drake.” A woman’s voice came from the door. The two of them broke apart, and faced the source of the sound, which was Charlotte’s frame. “Don’t you ever tire of being a whiny, charity case? Because I do, constantly.” She sneered.
“Fuck you, Rosenberg.” He barked at her.
“Drakey-poo is mad? How sad!” She ironized. “Let me answer this one for Little Miss Flowers over here. It wouldn’t be any different. You know why? Because you’ll always be the same, you’ll always look over your shoulder, worried that Liam will take your happiness away from you, that they will move on to greener pastures. And so, you make their lives a living Hell, so when they finally leave, you can act like if you had known all along.”
He lunged at her, and it seemed like he was going to hit her, but he lowered his hand and said on a dangerous tone: “You are just some left-over, bitter, society wife. Look yourself in the mirror before preaching about my life.”
With that, he left the bedroom.
Charlotte then shuts the door. Riley runs over to her. “God gracious, Charlotte! Where were you?”
“Constantine called me over to his study. He was trying to negotiate part of their debt.” She said, dismissive. “What is more interesting is why Walker was here in the first place.”
Riley then explained everything to Charlotte about what had happened that night. The blonde walks over to the door to check it. “Riley, I locked the door on my way out.”
“But it was open when I arrived!” She said, nervously.
“Check the trunk!” The blonde commanded.
It was still locked, with no signs of forced entry. “It seems our secret is safe, at least.”
Charlotte was fretful, still. “Regardless, there’s blood in the water. Come, we’re leaving now.”
The two girls packed everything on the room quickly, and on the silence of the night, they fled Applewood.
Atlanta, Georgia, Summer 2010
A middle-aged man climbed slowly the stairs. He was struggling with the steps, having been hindered with a crutch. Unfortunately for him, the building had no elevators and his destination was on the fifth floor.
It was a very important meeting, which is why he had come from so far away, and the delicacy of the matter had him prescinding of his assistant.
When he finally reached the floor, he stopped for a moment, to catch his breath and to dispel his flustering. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, as Georgia was much warmer than he had expected. Then, he continued his walk and knocked on an apartment door.
A woman answers. “Hello. How may I help you?”
He cleared his throat and asks: “Are you Melissa Walker?”
Her face paled. “Who are you?”
“I am Ludwig von Rosenberg.“ He said, solemn. “I wish to speak about your husband.”
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