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triviareads · 29 days

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Trivia's Monthly Book Round-Up: March 2024

Definitely a better reading month this March! I had a lot of fun with the historicals as well as the contemporary romances I read this month (including some pretty out-there finds like Beg For It by Megan Hart which I ended up adoring. I also got to read some fabulous ARCs like The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian (reviews to come).

Daddy Crush by Adriana Anders

Exactly what it says on the tin, just a really well-executed age-gap romance that's tender and sexy and has a daddy kink; Jerusha grew up in a rural conservative Christian environment and moves out because she never could quite fit in with her family. She develops a crush on her new neighbor Karl and ends up asking him for sex lessons. I love how unapologetic and joyful Jerusha is about exploring her desires after not being able to do so in the past, and Karl provides her with that safe space all while feeling juuuuuuust enough guilt about being an old lech (he really isn't) to provide further entertainment for me.

Also, I appreciate the realness of the way Adriana describes their bodies— the softness, stretch marks, dimples. It's one of those things I wish we saw more often in romance novels that weren't specifically advertised as having fat rep.

Beg for It by Megan Hart

A super hot femdom romance; Corinne and Reese were in a relationship for in their early twenties, but he eventually left her to move to the Big City. Now they're middle-aged and Reese is a successful businessman looking to take over the company Corinne is CFO of. I loved reading about how the D/s dynamic just clicked for them when they first met in a flashback scene. As with all great second chance romances, their mutual resentment upon reuniting is real ("I'm not your boy anymore!"), but they're also grown-ass adults who know how to handle themselves.... for the most part. You get the sense that while both of them technically moved on, they were never able to get what they wanted from later partners; Reese loves to serve Corinne and gets off on punishment just as much as she enjoys making a meticulous (mental) list of infractions and doling the punishment out. Also, I do appreciate a book where pegging isn't treated as a one-time *special* thing (or worse, a bonus scene).

The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

At long last I decided to retry Jennifer Ashley and I ended up adoring this book! After years of no contact, Eleanor approaches her ex-fiancé Hart to inform him someone is threatening to leak his nude photos. Hart is a gruff, growly SCOTTISH duke who's trying to become Prime Minister so.... this is inconvenient. For all of Hart's posturing, he never got over Eleanor and the man is Obsessed with her. There's so much I loved about this story— there's such a valid reason as to why Eleanor broke off her previous engagement with Hart and I feel like they both learned and grew from it in the following years. BUT that doesn't mean the chemistry isn't there— it was always there (as shown in the flashbacks) and it will always be there, and it's bonkers hot. Like, Eleanor hoards Hart's blackmail nudes in her Hart Scrapbook (I know) and when she's found out, she asks for more nudes (which are taken. in a veeeery hot scene that is very female gaze-y). Obviously he asks for hers in return, which he also takes, eventually.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

@mermaidsirennikita had already put this one my radar, so when the hero Sinclair McBride aka The Scots Machine aka BASHER McBride was teased in The Duke's Perfect Wife in that specific way where you know he's a future hero because he made the current hero (Hart) jealous, I had to read about this hot blond widower barrister next. The heroine Bertie is a pickpocket who tries steal Sinclair's pocket watch but he catches her and she ends up stealing a kiss instead. Then she highkey stalks Sinclair because she's FASCINATED by him and accidentally ends up as his children's governess. In classic The Sound of Music style, she gives the kids an unorthodox but well-rounded education, and on the side she's adorably seething when a widow tries to put the moves on Sinclair. She and his son successfully cockblock him and what follows is the most EROTIC finger-sucking scene I've read like, this man fully shoves 3 of her fingers in his mouth and goes for it. It's so great. I'd absolutely recommend.

The Home Wrecker by Sara Cate

I'm gonna be real, I was not impressed by the last few books Sara Cate put out, but I actually ended up really enjoying this one. Kudos to Sara for actually writing cheating into the romance, and I also thought she handled sensitive subjects like Briar and Caleb's fertility struggles (and the decision they make by the end), Dean being a sex worker, and homophobia in conservative Christian families, quite well. And the emphasis she put on family (lost, found, estranged, having children) was actually really moving by the end.

And on a romance level, the cheating stuff worked— It was kinda great to read both Caleb and Briar being galvanized into acting once they've both been with Dean, especially when you see their their intense apathy towards one another earlier on with this super cringy sex scene. I also like how we were given three distinct personalities with distinct viewpoints in the three main characters; it's something I felt was missing with the throuple in Madame. Here is my full review.

Out of Office by A.H. Cunningham

This is suuuch a sensual, tropical romance split between Panama and Miami and it's out on April 23rd. Here's my review.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

A sweet, sexy sapphic romcom for the zillenials that's out on April 16th. Here's my review.

#trivia's book round-up #book recs #romance novels #contemporary romance #adriana anders #jennifer ashley #megan hart #sara cate #a.h. cunningham #mazey eddings

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geektasticjustine · 1 year

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Check out this gorgeous journal my writing circle gave me for my birthday! It arrived a bit late, because of shipping stuff, so it ended up being an enormous surprise, and it is PERFECT for me and my geek and writing sensibilities. I love both Batman and Superman so much, this is the perfect journal for me. Also, don’t mind my Justice League joke. That movie was just bad (the Snyder cut was, at least, better), but the Superbat vibes were dead on.

 Thanks to my glorious Discord Witch’s Coven, the lovely and wonderful Jerusha, S. Kaeth, Lauren, and Hannah. You guys are family and I love you! 💕

#superbat #Superman #Batman #writing journal #writeblr #journal

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sixcostumerefs · 2 years

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If you had to make an all-black or an all-poc Six cast (including alts), what would it be?

I did one here that’s all extremely established stars. But as far as who I would cast irregardless of how well known they are, here’s what I came up with. There’s intentionally no overlap with the dreamcast I did of the incredibly established names.

Cherry Torres as Aragon Julia K Harriman as Boleyn Shoba Narayan as Seymour Nasia Thomas as Cleves Loren Lott as Howard Ari Afsar as Parr

Jerica Exum as A/S/P alt Jerusha Cavazos as A/C/H alt Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama as B/S/H alt Shantel Cribbs as B/C/P alt

Also went for universal swings, because boy does the US need them Kayla Davion as A/S/C alt Isa Camille Briones as B/H/P alt Someday I swear I will make a dreamcast that’s less heavily Hamilton. Today is not that day, clearly.

#six the musical #six dreamcast #cherry torres #julia k harriman #shoba narayan #nasia thomas #loren lott #ari afsar #jerica exum #jerusha cavazos #kendyl sayuri yokoyama #shantel cribbs #kayla davion #isa camille briones #dreamcast #six musical

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thewapolls · 1 year

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The WILD ARMS Hero Tourney

Look I'll be real with y'all: I wanted to be super clever and evenhanded about these match ups, and not just pull names out of a hat. I had a whole schema in my head about how to balance shit and keep obvious fan favorites on opposite sides of the tournament, while also preventing any one game's cast, or even specific recurring archetypes to all be in the same bracket... and then I threw all that out because it got real complicated real quick....

And so I bring you instead this 4 division set up of mostly hand-picked match ups, only loosely curated, sometimes thematic, sometimes absolutely not, because to hell with balance!

More detailed posting schedule under the cut...

Each of 4 Divisions is made up of Two opposed Brackets, each Bracket(except for one) is headed by a Wild Arms primary protagonist. I will run each batch of polls for FIVE DAYS before clocking results (a single day still feels like way too little time, but a full week would take us forever and I'm not up for a months long commitment to curate this right now, sorry...) Despite my fiddling, it really doesn't look like there's any version of this that's "quick" that doesn't involve just an stupid number of concurrent polls running at the start... so I guess this is just gonna take a while...

So to clarify, that makes the schedule thus:

WEEK 1 - Division 1 PRELIMINARIES Round 1: (5/15)

Rudy -v -Jet, Maya -v- Clarissa, Marivel -v- Mirabelle, Carol -v- Soleil

Ashley -v- Lombardia, Zed -v- Kresnik, Mariel -v- Guy, Jessica -v- Gallows

WEEK 2 - Division 2 PRELIMINARIES Round 1: (5/20)

Virginia-v-Labyrinthia, Jane-v-Rebecca, Clive-v-Greg, Arnaud-v-Chuck

Jack-v-Sigurd, Magdalen-v-Todd, Anastasia-v-Alicia, Kanon-v-Raquel

WEEK 3 - Division 3 PRELIMINARIES Round 1: (5/25)

Jude -v- Levin, Tim -v- Alfred, Hanpan -v- Shady, Luceid -v- Tony(?)

Dean -v- Asgard, Ruka -v- Emma, Brad -v- Ragnar, Loretta -v- Mercedes

WEEK 4 - Division 4 PRELIMINARIES Round 1: (5/28)

Sheyenne -v- Maxi, Felius -v- Euclid, Cecilia -v- Alexia , Avril -v- Irving,

Britney -v- Kiel, Lilka -v- Isaac & Jerusha, Yulie -v- Feel, Axel-v- Ingram

WEEK 5 - Division 1 & 2 PRELIM. Round 2 (5/31)

Rudy -v- Maya, Marivel -v- Carol, Ashley -v- Zed, Mariel -v- Gallows

Virginia -v- Jane, Clive -v- Arnaud, Jack -v- Todd, Anastasia -v- Kanon

WEEK 6 - Division 3 & 4 PRELIM. Round 2 (6/9)

Levin -v- Tim, Hanpan -v- Luceid, Asgard -v- Emma, Brad -v- Mercedes

Sheyenne Rainstorm -v- Euclid, Cecilia -v- Avril, Britney -v- Lilka, Yulie -v- Ingram

WEEK 8 - ALL DIVISION SEMI-FINALS (6/12)

Rudy -v- Marivel, Ashley -v- Gallows, Virginia -v- Clive, Jack -v- Kanon

Tim -v- Luceid, Asgard -v- Brad, Sheyenne -v- Ceclilia, Lilka -v- Yulie

WEEK 9 - ALL DIVISION FINALS (6/15)

Rudy -v- Gallows, Virginia -v- Jack, Luceid -v- Brad, Cecilia -v- Lilka

WEEK 10 - GRAND SEMI-FINALS (6/18)

Gallows -v- Luceid, Virginia -v- Cecilia

WEEK 11 - GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP (6/21)

Gallows -v- Virginia

Luceid -v- Cecilia (3rd place runoff)

#Wild Arms #wild arms 2 #wild arms 3 #wild arms 4 #wild arms 5 #wild arms xf #wild arms twilight venom #wild arms flower thieves #gunners heaven #rapid reload #armed fantasia #the post i need to keep coming back to

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gonzogender · 2 months

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Also idk how everyone isn’t frantic to be best friends with glen and jerusha they’re fascinating

#christianity aside I could fix them given enough time but I’d rather just take notes #mine

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ironmanfridgemagnet · 2 years

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Sitting On The Shelf - Marcus White x Reader

Part 30 - Glenn's Kids

SOTS Masterlist

"Okay, so, everyone wash their hands, not just for kakas, but also for wee-wees. And if you need help wiping, well, just come see me, okay?" Glenn took a deep breath before reassessing his previous words. "Obviously, that part is just for the children."

The break room was twice as full as usual today, a swarm of Glenn's foster kids, taking up every other seat or nervously stood beside some strange adult they'd never met before. Thankfully, you'd managed to claim a chair by arriving so early, sandwiched between Marcus who sat beside you and Jonah who's chair pressed against yours, at the table next to you.

One of Glenn's foster kids, a sweet little girl called Bobbie Sue, had tugged at your pant leg as soon as you sat down, inviting herself into your lap with slight struggle as she clawed her way up you. It was simple instinct to help her in her efforts, lifting her by her underarms so she could sit comfortably in your lap. You'd tucked yourself tight against the table so she could play with her toy, and had one arm secured around her waist while the other cradled a much needed cup of coffee.

"I was gonna say, "wee-wees too?" Who washes their hand after a wee-wee?" Marcus asked, an amused smirk crossing his face as he slouched down in his chair, arms crossed loosely across his chest. If it weren't for the fact you were completely enamoured by the tiny hands of the toddler, you'd have been quick to whip some kind of remark about how gross that was.

"Don't say it." Jonah chided, his hands cupped around his cloud 9 mug that rested against the table top. Despite the fact he hadn't turned to face you, you knew his comment was directed at you.

"Say what? I wasn't going to say anything?" You took another sip of your coffee between hushed words, not trying to disturb Bobbie Sue as she stacked cubes into their slots.

"I want a baby." Jonah whined, his tease eliciting a series of gasps from around the room, the loudest from Marcus.

"You want a baby?"

"What? No." Hoisting Bobbie Sue further up your lap, you sheepishly addressed the burning gazes of the break room; making a mental note to smack Jonah in his shoulder later. "Well, yeah, maybe at some point. It's just something I said when Harmonica was born. She's a cute kid. So's Bobbie Sue."

Bouncing your knee elicited a giggle from the girl, Bobbie Sue quickly returning to her blocks after the movement stopped, unknowing the the eyes staring at her.

"She's not wrong." Cheyenne defended, a sweet smile curled on her lips. "Harmonica is the cutest kid at her playgroup."

"Glenn, I don't want to tell you how to parent, but one of your kids is drawing on the back of Mateo's head." Amy's comment quickly took the attention off of you, every turning to see what had been scrawled on the back of Mateo's head, as he frantically felt against it, a look of immense worry crossing his features.

"What?"

"Leo, you put that down, mister." Glenn's reprimand had no affect on the child, his hand pulling away from Mateo's head while mischievous laughter slipped past his lips.

"This is why you can't bring your kids to work." Dina seethed, her unspoken point already proven by Glenn's lack of control and his foster kids mis-behaviour.

A frown was quick to settle on Glenn's face, though not an unusual feat, at Dina's words. "It's just for a few hours. I'm surprising Jerusha with a photo of all the kids we've ever fostered. Obviously, we'll, we'll Photoshop in the prison ones."

"What, what is it? What did he draw?" Mateo was frantically running his hands across the back of his head, feeling for something he wouldn't find to the touch.

"Mmm, uhh, I don't think I can say it in front of the kids." Cheyenne hesitantly chose her words, thinking of the best way to describe what the kid had drawn while sparing their innocence. Based on the image you could see, it was far too late for Cheyenne's hesitancy. "But you have one, but I don't. But we both like them. And sometimes they're curved..."

A shiver ran down your spine with each detail she continued to add, her attempt at a 'nicer' definition somehow so, so much worse. Amy had seemed to share such thought, a grimace crossing her face. "Cheyenne, this is more disturbing than the word."

Marcus was still hung up on the words that had previously slipped from Jonah's lips; the image of you with a baby in your arms unmoving in his mind. It didn't help that you hand one arm still wrapped around Bobbie Sue, holding the small child against you to protect her from falling. He liked to think he was good with kids, and it was clear to see you were by the soft smile that hadn't left Bobbie Sue's face since you pulled her into your lap. Even the idle run of your finger up her arm seemed to have the toddler completely encapsulated.

"Don't ask another guy." Marcus whispered, prodding you sharply in your side to gain your attention, you head snapping around so your eyes met his. "Don't ask another guy, I'll give you one."

"Give me what, sweets?" The endearing name would usually make him flush, but right now he was more concerned with making sure you didn't slip into through his fingers. Though it was probably too soon to discuss, he wanted you to know where he stood; in his own, Marcus way.

There was complete sincerity in his tone, his eyes searching in your own for something you couldn't quite comprehend. "A baby."

"Uh, I'm just gonna ask. What's going on with little homey over here?" Garrett pointed at the brunette child who stood behind Glenn, his hand tightly gripping onto one of Glenn's belt loops and a sadness to his eyes.

"Uh, this is attachment therapy for Timur's displacement/rage issues. Uh, it's going really great so far, yeah." Glenn didn't seem so sure in what he was saying, but the tightening grip on his belt loop seemed to spur on his words of encouragement.

Rustling could be heard beside you, on of Glenn's kid having pulled Jonah's food from his hands, and picking out the bits he liked from the wrapper. "Glenn, this one is eating my breakfast."

"T'Oliver, no! You had two breakfast pizzas on the way here." Glenn's whining only seemed to encourage to boy to eat Jonah's food faster, so that there would be nothing left if he were forcibly stopped. "Stop. Stop it. Stop eating his food! Stop! Stop it! Stop! Stop eating."

Jonah looked on in a mix of awe and terror, his forehead tight as he looked on at the scene before him. "I don't think he can hear you."

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"Hey, Mateo, what's what's going on, bud?" You'd managed to escape the fullness of the break room and swap it out for the fullness of the store floor, loosing Bobbie Sue to Cheyenne in the process.

However, as you wondered the floor with Amy and Dina, waiting to find something interesting enough to dedicate your day to, you bumped into a mopey Mateo, who was shovelling mouthfuls of marshmallows into his mouth.

"You know, just making the most out of a post-Jeff world." As he added another handful of marshmallows to his, you reached out and took one from his bag, chewing down on the sugary goodness while Dina pulled a face.

"Aww. You can't eat the merchandise."

"I'm gonna pay for it." Mateo groaned, never being able to have a moment of peace while Dina was roaming the store; always an eagle eye watching whatever you do.

"I'll make sure you do." The tight lipped smile on her face said enough, her sincerity lost by her rule-abiding personality.

"Okay, you know what could help get your mind off the breakup? Is if you threw yourself into the work." Amy emphasised each syllable of her words, as though that would give Mateo the motivation to start working.

It was weird, you had to admit, to see him so unwilling to work; as long as you'd m down him, he'd been a diligent employee and someone who'd take on the extra shift just for the sake of saying he did it. It was entirely unlike him and entirely scary.

"That's easy for you to say. Everything around here reminds me of him. Oh, my God! Did everyone become bald overnight or something?" You had to agree that there were more bald people in the store today then usual, but that didn't mean Mateo had to see Jeff in every cloud 9 product.

"Hey. I know this is tough for you, but just know that Jeff wasn't attractive at all. I don't know what was going on from the waist down, but this... was a mess." Dina's idea of a reality check, though a good reality check, was probably the last thing Mateo needed or wanted to hear right now. "You're welcome."

As Amy and Dina walked away from the moping Mateo, he turned to you shyly. "You thought Jeff was hot, right?"

At your silence and blatant hesitance to answer, he called out to the nearest bystander, who fortunately, or rather unfortunately for the recently heartbroken Mateo, happened to be your wonderful boyfriend. "Marcus! If you played for my team..."

Marcus nodded along as he took a mow standing Mateo's seat, one arm wrapping around your lower back while his head pressed against your stomach, his head at its height. Your hand rested against the back of his neck, running your fingers through the tufts of hair there. His hand squeezed against your hip as he stared up at Mateo. "Yeah?"

"...like, you would totally be into Jeff, right?"

"No, he wouldn't even be in the top five, to be honest." At least Marcus was honest, it might have been what Mateo needed to help bring him back to the thought that there is always other fish in the sea. However, it had clearly not been what he wanted to hear.

As Mateo tried to argue his case as to what he saw in Jeff, Marcus spoke over him, his attention now taken by the three of Glenn's foster kids that had began to approach you.

"Oh, check this out. Kids love me." Breaking from his hold on you with a kiss pressed to your hip, he approached the groups of children, leaning down to match their height as he addressed them. "Hey there, kiddos. Do you guys like Batman? 'Cause I think I saw him over in Housewares. You know, Batman. From from the movies."

At their hesitancy to understand - or at least go along with Marcus's thing - he shouted a very loud, very deep, Batman impression: though the children remained unmoved by it. "Really? All right, never mind, these kids are duds. Move. Excuse me."

You apologised to Mateo as you excused yourself immediately after, still in search of something, or someone interesting to hold out your shift with, having quickly decided soft-lines had too many people on. They could live without you, but some long-lasting conversation with Garrett or playtime with Bobbie Sue couldn't.

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You'd managed to find a perfect medium, Bobbie Sue playing with an array of toys behind you while you made small talk with Garrett and Cheyenne; a combo you didn't often get to have but always enjoyed when you did.

"Okay, so like I was saying, in "Step Up 5," they're all in, but then in "Step Up 6," they're all out." Cheyenne continued her explanation of the 'Step Up' movies, you and Garrett genuinely invested by this point at the utter madness of it.

"I just don't get why'd they'd all be out after everything they did in Step Up 5." Youth muttered, entirely puzzled by whatever the plot was supposed to be of this movie series, that had clearly gone on far longer then they'd expected it to.

"Damn. You'd think at least one of them would be in." Garrett shook his head, neither of you quite grasping what exactly had gone on between the two movies to create such division.

"No. Hey, Bobbie Sue." As Cheyenne turned around, aloud gaps left her lips, Bobbie Sue missing for where she'd sat only seconds ago. "Bobbie Sue? Bobbie Sue? Bobbie Sue!"

"Bobbie Sue." Garrett joined in though his attempt was futile, his volume barely above normal and his tone entirely monotonous. Of it weren't for the serious fact that a young, young child was missing, you had found it hilarious.

Smacking a hand against his leg, you stood from where you'd sat on the floor, joining Cheyenne in her frantic search for the child. "Bobbie Sue!"

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"I don't see her anywhere." Cheyenne's eyes were scanning across the screens at a rapid pace, no matter where she looked however, there was no Bobbie Sue in sight.

Clicking into the next screen, you made it full-size, eyes frantically searching through every little square pixel in search of your missing Bobbie Sue. "She's got to be somewhere."

Suddenly the door to the security office slammed open, an unimpressed Dina standing behind the three of you, eyeing you up suspiciously. "What are you doing in here?"

"Scavenger hunt."

"Planning Amy's birthday."

"Making out."

"Yeah, I'm not buying it." Dona shook her head, a chuckle coming from her chest as she looked down at the three of you in bemusement. "Either fess up or get out, because I was about to take off my pants and eat my lunch."

"How is...why?" Garrett stumbled through an attempt at gathering a thought on what Dina had just admitted, though his words seemed to fail him. Understandably so.

Cheyenne took in a deep breath, blurting out her admission before Dina could kick you out and while she still possessed the courage to fess up. "I lost one of Glenn's foster kids. We're looking on the security cameras, but we can't find her."

"There's a missing child?" Dina gawked at the three of you, her look of disproval oddly melting into a wide, almost crazed, smile. "It's finally happening. Al, we've got a code periwinkle, we need to lock down access both in and out of every entrance and exit..."

"...This Marcus...Out today." Marcus voiced buzzed through the walkie-talkie instead, despite Dina having called out to Al on the other line. It was apparent, however, that Marcus wasn't sure of exactly how to use the device that had ended up in his possession.

"Okay, Marcus, you're gonna need to hold down the button when you talk, buddy."

"Over."

Pressing Dina finger down with your own, you spoke into the device, hoping your voice, or explain action, would be of better help to Marcus then Dina's. Surprisingly, you were met with little fight from Dina, her excitement of a missing child overwhelming her usual autocratic rule. "No, Marcus, you need to hold down the button when you talk, not when you're listening."

"Excuse me ma'am, do you know how to work one of these?"

"Forget it. Okay. Here's how this is gonna go. We are gonna go out onto the floor, fan out and search every inch of this store." Dina's take on the situation was the exact leadership and motivation you needed to carry on. "We will find this child."

Cheyenne shared the same sentiment, smiling up at Dina as a relived sigh left her, a hand pressed against her quickly beating heart. "Thanks, Dina."

"Unless she's already dead." The starkness of the follow up statement, had you chocking on the air you were breathing, Dina's calmness only adding to your shock. "Statistically speaking, there's a 30% chance we're already too late."

"Now is not the time, Dee."

What followed was nothing short of all-out chaos.

Dina searching with vigour and near violence as she kicked down door and rummaged through bins in search of Bobbie Sue. Cheyenne emoted aisle and end caps alike, nocking down toilet paper towers and displays in hopes of find the toddlers hiding place. You were much similar, calling Bobbie Sue's name out as you walked the store floor, checking behind clothing racks and under countertops. Garrett, however, took a more lax, more Garrett response, calling out the girls name over the intercom, the promise of candy an attempt to bribe her to the customer service counter.

Unfortunately your efforts had been to no avail, Garrett only attracting an older man - also by the name of Bobby Suh - to him with the promise of candy and no Bobbie Sue yet in sight.

"See? It's says right here, Bobby Suh. It's me." The man had resulted to pulling out his I.D to get his promised candy from Garrett.

"I was talking about a different Bobbie Sue." You'd joined Garrett at the customer service desk a little before Bobby Suh had shown up, defeated in your search to find the little girl.

"No sign of her." Dina suddenly appeared before the two of y9ou, her quite demeanour allowing her to sneak upon you for the second time so far today. She folded her arms across her chesty and leant forwards against the countertop, ignoring an offended Bobby Suh next to her. "I checked the freezer, the trash compactor, the bio-waste bin in Pharmacy."

"Oh, my God! What are we gonna do?" Cheyenne shrieked, her head falling into her hands as she realised that Bobbie Sue was still missing; Dina's statistic that she was already dead beginning to worm it's way deeper into Cheyenne's mind. Reaching out towards the younger woman, you wrapped your arm around her wrist, pulling it from her face and squeezing gently.

"It'll be okay, Chey." Pulling her into a side hug, you tried to reassure the girl, knowing that nothing would truly satiate the gnawing feeling in her stomach until you actually found Bobbie Sue.

"Don't worry, we're gonna find her. I also checked the ovens in café. She's either not in there or she's been in there too long."

"Dina!"

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Dina had come up with a plan - arguably not a very good plan - but a plan, which was more then what the other three of you had put together combined. She had propped a grey storage box on top of a plunger, the contraption balancing on a love heart patterned and pink blanket. In the middle of the 'Bobbie Sue trap' was a paper plate with with black liquorice - which is where your faith in the plan faltered. You didn't know many adults who liked black liquorice, so you highly doubted that Bobbie Sue would go for the sweet treat.

"Does anyone even like black liquorice?" Cheyenne quizzed Dina as the four of you stared down at the contraption in confusion. What had crossed Dina's mind to come up with this design was beyond you - but knowing her daily experience with birds, you imagined it was something she had dealt with before.

"Yeah, other than that, this is a fool proof plan."

"Couldn't have said it better doll face. The liquorice is where this goes downhill." It seems all of you had shared the same thought and wavelength, Dina's plan pretty genius aside from the liquorice - with any luck Bobbie Sue would walk into it on accident, never mind the liquorice.

"Thanks. Now, who does the best toddler calls?" Dina walked to the end of the aisle, picking up the blue phone that linked into the stores intercom and beginning to speak into it in a high pitched voice. "Attention baby shoppers. There is free candy in toy department. Come on little babies. Come get the candy. Too-da, be-yeah-da baby. Gaa, gaa, gaa..."

"Stop, stop, man it's not working." Garrett let out a deep sigh, shaking his head at Dina's attempt of leading Bobbie Sue towards you.

"What? You, you try it."

With a grunt, Garrett accepted the phone and begin to speak into it, his voice buzzing through it with little to no change to his usual tone or pitch. "Hey, baby. Come get this candy."

With a laugh you pushed away from him, declaring that you should re-walk the store floor in search of the young girl while your left your trap set up, knowing it was sods law that she wouldn't show up as long as you were there to watch. Dina had surprisingly agreed with your thought and commended you for the idea, the four of you heading off to restart your search from near warehouse and make your way all the way back over to checkouts - hopefully finding Bobbie Sue on your way.

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At least an more hour had passed since you'd left your contraption and recontinued the search for Bobbie Sue, yet, you'd still not found the brunette foster kid. You'd swept the floor once, and then swept the floor again, and now you were just looking around for the sake of it: every aisle had been checked and checked again and you were beginning to really believe Dina when she said that Bobbie Sue was already a goner before you'd even started your search.

"I think we already looked down this aisle." Garrett muttered, fed up in your search to find the impossible to find girl.

"I think we've already looked down every aisle, Gare." You sassed, as fed up as he was, however, you wouldn't stop until you found the girl and returned her to Glenn; the day was quickly enclosing on the four of you and she'd have to be returned to her father before you knew. Time was slipping from your hands and you knew you only had moments to find the girl.

"She could be literally anywhere." Dina stated, picking up a flask from the shelf next to her and peering inside of it - as though Bobbie Sue would ever be able to fit inside of it.

"I can't believe I lost Glenn's child." Cheyenne's worry had finally began to get to her heart, the missing Bobbie Sue making her more stressed and more worried with every moment that passed that she remained gone. "Everyone told me I was too young to have a kid and this proves it."

"That's not true, Chey! You're a great mom to Harmonica." You tried to reassure the girl, wrapping your arm around her and pulling her into your side. Rubbing your hand up and down her arm, you attempted to sooth the worry from her.

Unfortunately, luck and good timing were not on your side as Glenn's voice buzzed through the intercom and resounded around the store. "Will all Sturgis children please make their way to Music? It's family photo time."

"What am I gonna do?" Cheyenne shrieked, her head snapping up and looking frantically between the three of you. "Do do I give him Harmonica?"

With a nod of her head, Dina seemed to approve of the idea, encouraging Cheyenne's solution to the missing child problem. "She is younger. That's kind of a better deal actually."

At last, luck seemed to be on your side, as a grey storage box shuffled around the corner of the aisle, hopefully the same grey box you had set up as part of your contraption. However, it wouldn't surprise you to find another, random child under the box. Cheyenne ran over to the box, a wide smile forming on her face as she pulled it up to find the missing girl you had spent all day looking for. "Oh, my God! Bobbie Sue!" Cheyenne pulled the brunette into her lap, squeezing her tightly against her in a big hug, a bright thankful smile on her face. "Oh! I knew, I knew we'd find you! Yes, oh!"

"Well, technically, I found her. It was my trap." Dina's comment went ignored as you joined Cheyenne on the floor of the aisle, though you could imagine the frown that etched itself onto her face as her genius was outshone by the joy of finding the missing child. Wrapping your arms around the girl, you stole her from Cheyenne's lap for a moment and checked over her to make sure she was okay; that no bumps or scrapes had occurred while she was gone.

"Let's get this sweet creature back to Glenn, huh." Tickling the toddlers side, she let out a high pitched squeal and climbed back into Cheyenne's arms, the two of you standing to head towards music and Glenn's family photo shoot that could finally be complete.

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"Here's Bobbie Sue." Cheyenne ran around the corner while the girl in her arms, tugging down her purple 'happy birthday Jerusha' shirt as she placed her down in front of Glenn. The family photo was quickly coming together, everyone in their matching, purple birthday shirts and elf ears attached to their head. Floral and faunal flower crowns and natured-capes were the main outfits, a lord of the rings-ish theme apparent in their wear. Glenn was frantically putting everyone in order and posing them how he saw fit.

"Hey, you." Slinking away from the group you had arrived at the scene with, you made your way to Marcus's side, wrapping your arms loosely around his waist, and pressing your chin against his chest so that you could look up at him. Marcus's eyes only flickered away from the camera for a moment, fiddling with its buttons and switches to get the framing perfectly right for Jerusha's surprise photo.

"Tough day?" He asked, sparing a second to press a kiss to your forehead, and though his eyes remained on the camera, one of his arms were sacrificed to wrap around you.

"You couldn't even imagine." Letting out a sigh, you looked up at him with a sweet smile, hoping to try and convince him to agree to your next words. As long as it was you asking, Marcus would do anything. "Fancy coming to my place after work. I'm planning on making some pasta or something."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." The sweet nothings that always managed to slip from Marcus's lips never ceased to amaze you; every word dripping with adoration no matter how small.

"Okay, guys, on three." You helped Marcus count in for the photo, smiling over at Glenn who was ushering last moment smile on all of his foster kids faces. They all had bright, dazzling smiles on their faces as he pressed the button, a sigh of relief coming from Glenn after the picture had been snapped, however, Marcus's words quickly diminished that. "I didn't press the button. Hold on."

"I get off at 4, you want to wait around till then? I can drive us back, maybe pick up some cupcakes from that bakery down on birch."

Standing on your tip toes, you pressed a kiss to the corner of mouth, agreeing to hand around for an extra hour after you shift was over for the promise of cupcakes from your favourite bakery - it was an offer your couldn't deny, especially when it had been your and Garrett's favourite place to buy gifts for each other from since you could remember.

Turning back to the photo, you saw Jonah had joined in. Sharing a very confused look with an equally confused Garrett, you were unsure of what had gone down today to earn him a spot in the treasured picture. But by the frown etched on Glenn's face, and the fact the colour faded from Jonah's - you knew it was nothing to worry about. Although, the frown you could see on Amy's was.

"Three!" Marcus shouted, the group of foster kids both present and past shouting out Jerusha's name with wide smiles and raised arms. "Ah, no."

"No? Mm-mm."

"That's on me." Marcus set up the camera to take another shot, a concentrated look on his face and his tongue peeking out between his lips. There was commotion all around, bickering between siblings and between Glenn and his kids, Garrett and Cheyenne making small talk while they watched on and the general hum that usually filled the store: And yet, all you could think about was how excited you were to go back to your apartment and eat pasta with Marcus. Hmm, how strange.

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Hello guys!! One step closer until we reach the end of season 2 and I can't wait.

I'm working my way through some requests atm, so expect some of them soonish!

As always have a lovely week!! <3333

#sitting on the shelf marcus white x reader #superstore x reader #superstore imagine #cloud 9 #marcus white #marcus white x reader #marcus white imagine #marcus superstore #superstore marcus imagine

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themerrypanda · 9 months

Text

For this year’s Grapefruit Sky gift exchange, I wrote a fic for @purpleandgreen13 about their OC Jerusha Howard and Harvey. You can read their main fic Harvey and Jerusha on AO3!

Title: At Last

Word Count: 3,780

Summary: Dr. Harvey Brennan and farmer Jerusha Howard have been married a little more than a year. Extreme weather foils Jerusha’s grand plans for celebrating her husband’s birthday. Still, they manage to have a pleasant day with each other.

The morning sun brightened the room through a slit in the curtains. Harvey slowly stirred at Jerusha’s waking, and smiled when she rolled over to hold him in her arms.

She yawned, then kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, handsome.”

“It is happy when you’re with me, Jerusha.”

Softly she giggled. “I’ll start breakfast.”

He embraced her more snugly. “No…” he mumbled as he held her closer. Then his stomach grumbled in protest. Traitor.

Jerusha laughed at the sound. “I promise, I’ll be right back, honey.”

She gave him one more squeeze, then she rolled out of their bed and left the room. Harvey listened to her footsteps pause, then walk again.

“Oh.” She sounded surprised, but also a little disappointed.

“Oh?”

“Harvey, do you recall how yesterday’s forecast predicted snow for today?”

“Mm hmm?”

“Take a look.”

Slowly, he rose from the bed, muscles protesting, and he grabbed his glasses from the nightstand. He placed them on his face, then stretched his back before rising up to look out the north-facing window next to the bed. Harvey drew the curtain. He didn’t see anything remarkable at first. It was white, which nearly blinded him. Was he missing something? He blinked several times.

Oh.

There was nothing remarkable to see because snow covered the entire window.

He heard Jerusha flip a switch, turning on a radio in the next room.

“…That’s right, people of Stardew Valley: We have two feet now, and the snow just keeps piling up! Even my neighbour is saying this is looking more like the blizzard of ‘78 by the minute. My suggestion: Stay home, and stay inside! You can get turned around in a storm like this even if you’re only ten feet from your door. Unless you can see your destination, stay inside, and stay warm. That means in the car too! If you are trapped in your car outside, stay put. Emergency vehicles and snow ploughs will be on their way to find you as soon as possible.”

“St… Stay?” Harvey’s jaw dropped. “But… I have appointments today! Three flu shots and an annual checkup.” He looked at the digital clock on his nightstand, only for it to have cleared its time entry. There must have been a brief power outage while he slept. Next he rummaged in a drawer for his analog watch. It read 8:04 AM. “And I’m running late!”

His cell phone vibrated where he had left it the night before, on an end table in the living room area. Jerusha reached it first and picked it up.

“Hello?” A pause. “Oh, hello Maru! Yes, Harvey’s here.”

She handed him the phone before picking up her own cell to make a series of messages.

“Hello?” Harvey said.

“Happy birthday, Doctor Harvey!” Maru sounded rather chipper. “I guess we’re both taking the day off work, right?”

“I suppose so.” Harvey chuckled nervously. “It seems we have no choice but to close today.”

“Hey, if it’s the day’s appointments you’re worried about, there’s no need. I connected my cell to the clinic’s line. The voicemail message is already set to reach me for scheduling and basic questions and you only for emergencies. I’ll call today’s patients to reschedule their appointments. You just enjoy your day off. A birthday off, for once. Yoba knows you deserve it.”

“I…” Jerusha came to his side and squeezed his free hand with hers. Harvey reminded himself to take a deep breath and relax. “Thank you, Maru.” He willed his heartbeat to slow and steady.

“Of course, Doc. I’m impressed you’re taking this so well.”

Jerusha smiled up at him, which he returned. “As am I, Maru.”

“That’s good. I’ll see you later, Doc, hopefully tomorrow if the storm lets up. Again, happy birthday!”

“Thank you, Maru. You have a good day as well.”

“Thanks. Bye!”

She hung up. Harvey placed his phone back down on the end table. He allowed a wave of relief to come over him, but was then met with another wave of concern, one that struck him like a freight train.

“Jerusha!”

“What?”

“What about the chickens and pigs?”

At that moment, Bear, the German shepherd, began to whimper at the front door.

“And Bear.” Jerusha agreed. “He can’t take his potty breaks until we can clear enough snow from the door.”

They quickly donned their coats, boots, and gloves. Jerusha retrieved two snow shovels from the tool rack next to the door. Thank goodness she thought it better to store them inside the farmhouse rather than in the greenhouse nearby.

When Jerusha signalled she was ready, Harvey slowly pulled open the front door. Thankfully, snow was not piled up nearly as high on the south-facing porch than the north-facing windows. But it was still knee-deep, despite the farmhouse serving as a cover against much of the snow.

“It’s a good thing snow was blowing in from the north.” Harvey exhaled. “We would have been trapped.”

“Unless we use a window upstairs.” Jerusha grinned slightly.

“You… have you had to do that before?”

“No,” Jerusha shook her head, “but I heard a story from Linus from when he lived in the tundra past the Frozen Sea.”

“Will he be alright?” Harvey couldn’t imagine that his tent would provide the man with much cover from the cold weather.

“I hope so.” Jerusha said. “He said he would be at the spa when I saw him last night. I think he had a feeling the snow would be pretty heavy last night.”

Jerusha began to shovel snow off the porch. The shovel filled itself quickly, taking a few shovels full to clear up a square foot of patio.

Harvey followed after her, clearing snow from the other side of the patio. His arms grew more sore as he shovelled. Shovelling and shovelling until–

“Ah!” A yelp, followed by a whump.

“Jerusha!”

He whirled around, turning behind himself, and found his wife half-buried in snow, one arm still gripping her shovel while the other extended upward.

“Help?”

Harvey noted snow prints on the patio indicating she likely tripped and fell. Careful not to slip on ice, he walked over and pulled her up.

“Thanks.” Jerusha panted. “I forgot we had steps down from the porch.”

She embraced him, and Harvey hugged her back.

“I’m just thankful it wasn’t anything worse.” He breathed into her ear, warming her face just a bit.

“The snow certainly cushioned my fall better than the porch would have.” Jerusha chuckled softly, which only resulted in Harvey hugging her for longer. “I’m alright, honey. Thank you for being here.”

“Of course. Let’s take a break and get you inside.”

Jerusha nodded in agreement. She pulled the door open, and out rushed a barking Bear. He quickly descended the steps into the Jerusha-shaped imprint on the ground– still snow-covered ground, but ground nonetheless– circled the imprint’s perimeter a couple times, and did his business.

“Well, at least one thing is taken care of.” Jerusha sighed. She waited for Bear to dash back inside before closing the front door.

Carefully, she and Harvey removed snow-covered winter gear so as to reduce how much melted snow soaked their clothes and dripped onto the floor. Finally, boots were removed, and Jerusha managed to keep from stepping her wool-socked feet into any small unseen puddle. Harvey was less fortunate.

“Well, I had plans for us to go out and celebrate your birthday, but I predict shovelling snow off the barn and coop roofs is going to take all day.” She frowned and looked at him apologetically.

Harvey hugged her reassuringly. “It’s not like you could control the weather. I don’t care what we do today, as long as I get to spend the day with you. I won’t let you rescue your animals alone. Now, let’s have breakfast. Perhaps something heartier than toast and a cup of coffee? You’ll need your strength.”

Jerusha smiled up at him. “That sounds lovely.” She went into the kitchen and burrowed in the refrigerator and cupboards for ingredients. “How about blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns?”

“That sounds wonderful. I’ll go scramble some eggs.”

“Harvey, it’s your birthday.”

“And we’re going to be working all day. I can’t offload all the work onto you. Please, allow me.”

Jerusha smiled. “Very well.”

Methodically they worked together, lending each other ingredients as needed. A pause to allow food to simmer was occasionally used to hug the other around the waist from behind them. Harvey smiled as he listened to Jerusha hum as she worked. He hadn’t quite gotten the hang of timing cooking various items at once like she had, but he could admire her talent and observe, hopefully gleaning some tricks.

Finally, they settled down for their complete breakfast. Jerusha raised her cup of earl grey tea, chinking it against Harvey’s mug of Gus’s special blend of black coffee before drinking. “Cheers.”

In a comfortable silence they ate, cleaning their plates. Jerusha insisted on washing the dishes herself, but Harvey found ways to assist her in the meanwhile. He filled up water bottles and stashed field snacks and various treats in her coat pockets. His own pockets held another water bottle, more snacks, a battery-powered torch, and his cell phone zipped up in two layers of clear sandwich bags. He glanced out the window once more. The snow looked as though it might be beginning to let up. He could barely see the shadows of the barn, coop, and greenhouse. He would make sure to leave the house lights on while they ventured out, but he also packed a spool of thick, sturdy red fleece thread just in case, ready to compensate Emily for the loss if it was used and damaged today.

Jerusha embraced him, then slowly began to gear up once more, this time adding snow goggles, hats, and scarves. “You don’t have to help, you know. It’s your birthday after all.”

“I’d rather not risk losing you to the storm today.”

This elicited a laugh from Jerusha. “I thought you would say that. Come along, Ariadne.”

Then their arduous day of shovelling snow began.

The storm did finally let up after a couple hours in it. Still, Harvey and Jerusha returned to the farmhouse thoroughly worn out.

The sun barely hung in the sky by the time their task was finally complete. After sluggishly prying off coats soaked with sweat and melted snow, Jerusha and Harvey warmed themselves under a shower, dried off, then put on clean, warm clothes before collapsing onto the farmhouse sofa. Slowly, they shifted as they regained energy to snuggle more closely. Bear rested underfoot, where he liked to be best it seemed.

“I’m starving.” Jerusha yawned. “I know I should start on dinner soon, but… just five minutes.”

Five minutes stretched into ten. Harvey contemplated getting up to start a pasta dinner himself, but the effort required too much prying Jerusha from on top of him. It wouldn’t work, not without waking her as well. And he was just out of reach of a medical journal sitting on the end table. So he dozed too.

Another fifteen minutes for himself did the trick. Restfully, he stirred, waking to Jerusha’s soft snoring. He smiled and brushed bangs from her forehead with his fingers. She sighed contentedly at the touch. A few minutes later, she finally woke, smiling lazily at Harvey until she gasped in surprise.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Not very long.” Harvey reassured her.

“Sorry about that! I didn’t mean to pin you underneath me. You couldn’t even reach your journal.”

“Jerusha, I promise, I’m not upset about that. Honestly, nothing else could happen today, and I would still consider this one of my best birthdays ever.” The best, he would have said, if it wasn’t for the spectacular birthday she prepared for him last year.

Jerusha smiled and hugged him. “Oh, Harvey.”

“I mean it! I know you would chalk it up to me having such low expectations for my birthday, but I do enjoy a night of peace and quiet with you.”

She shook her head playfully. “You get those every other night, love. But I suppose I shall respect your wishes today. It’s not like I have any other choice.”

Jerusha winked. There had to be some other birthday plan cooking in her brain; Harvey knew how she worked.

Still, she allowed herself for now to focus on dinner. She pulled out a cutting board and knife and began chopping up a variety of colourful vegetables.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Just lay down and rest, Harvey. You worked more than you had to today.”

“I’d have worked either here or at the clinic, Jerusha. And you’ve worked just as hard, if not more so. Please, isn’t there anything I can do?”

“Hmm… could you pick out a wine for dinner?”

“What are we having?”

“Veggie curry.”

Harvey’s stomach rumbled at the splendid idea. Jerusha could whip up a perfect curry. Harvey feared the repercussions if he confessed to Gus he enjoyed hers more than his. Muscles aching in places he didn’t know they could ache, he willed himself to join Jerusha in the kitchen. This time, she didn’t protest when he volunteered to make naan to go with the curry. Carefully, he followed the instructions in the Queen of Sauce recipe book.

As he kneaded the dough, he pondered what he could add to their evening that would both make him happy and assure Jerusha his birthday was not wasted today. He thought of previous birthdays, his and Jerusha’s, and of their anniversary just last season. Something to make today seem less like an ordinary night in. He set the dough aside, covering it with a towel to let it rise.

“Are you alright?” She asked. “You can take a break, you know.”

“I know. I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

“I…” He said the first lie that came to mind. “I haven’t heard from anyone about any medical emergencies today.” While true, it distracted her from his wondering how to complete their evening.

“Is that worrying you?”

“Only a little. I know I can’t be held accountable if someone isn’t able to make contact, but I still worry about the town in general. I know I can’t do anything about it yet either, so I’m trying not to worry too much. Let it be tomorrow’s concerns, you know?”

Jerusha paused her work to embrace her husband. “You’re a wonderful person, Harvey. It’s amazing to see how much you’ve changed. You’re more confident, less fearful. And yet, still the caring man I fell in love with.”

Harvey could feel his face blushing red as he smiled. He turned to kiss her tenderly. “I thank you for that, you know.”

“And still humble, too.” Jerusha winked. She returned to the tomatoes she chopped, bright red against the wooden cutting board.

There the perfect idea came to him. He grinned to himself while he pulled out the necessary pots and pans. Then he kissed Jerusha’s temple, careful not to disrupt her process.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Harvey entered their bedroom, almost climbing over Bear who loved dwelling near the kitchen when cooking was taking place. He found his record player and placed his selected vinyl album in place, selecting the correct speed and even putting the needle at just the right place on the vinyl for a certain track. He then checked inside the closet, hoping he wouldn’t accidentally find Jerusha’s intended present for him, and that he would instead find what he came for.

He succeeded.

In the back of the closet, buried behind and under many other articles of clothing, Harvey spotted it. He pulled it out and placed it on the bed, out of Jerusha’s line of sight into the bedroom. He then found shoes that matched, and placed them on the floor beside the bed. Next he searched his own section of the closet for formal tweed slacks, a matching suit jacket, and a white button-up shirt. He knotted a vibrant red tie and hung it in front of his chest. He took some time to comb his hair, even if it would inevitably curl against his will soon anyway.

Finally, he returned to the kitchen. Jerusha was nearly finished with the main course, and she gave Harvey space to cook the naan in a pan.

“Oh my, don’t you look dashing?” She purred.

Harvey beamed. “If you don’t mind, I picked out an outfit for you to wear as well. I placed it on the bed. Once you’ve finished the curry, you can put it on. If you like, I mean.”

Jerusha raised a sceptical but friendly eyebrow. “Alright. I’ll indulge you. It is your birthday, after all.”

Minutes later, Harvey was finishing up cooking the last naan, and Jerusha removed the rice and her finished curry from the stove, placing them on trivets at the dinner table. She then dared enter the bedroom.

Harvey held his breath, suddenly worried if he overstepped. What if she didn’t like–

Cackling. Jerusha was cackling.

“Harvey! I can’t– you– Hahaha!”

He could hear her climb on top of their bed, using a pillow to stifle her loud guffaws. Slowly, he smiled as well.

“I’ll still wear it, of course. But…” She laughed again. “Harvey, do you enjoy tormenting me?”

“Tormenting you?” He feigned offence at the claim. “I would never.”

Harvey finished setting the table, placing down the naan and a bottle of his favourite wine from Jerusha’s first creations. Vintage, he thought, and he chuckled to himself.

Five minutes later, Jerusha returned from the bedroom wearing her hair down, a little makeup, and the vibrant red dress she wore to her first Flower Dance in Pelican Town. Though smiling pleasantly, her eyebrows were scrunched slightly, as if to ask why. Why this dress?

“You look beautiful in that dress. I thought you might like to make a better memory with it.” Harvey answered the unspoken question.

“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Jerusha gave him a mirthful smile. “Now, let’s eat!”

The meal was scrumptious. How to convince her to prepare this rather than return to Chez Adèline for his future birthdays, Harvey wondered. But for now, they enjoyed the soul-warming, filling meal.

Having eaten his fill, Harvey stood up. He was going to turn on the record player, but–

“Wait!” Jerusha protested. “I still haven’t given you your birthday present.”

She got up, burrowed in a less-frequently used kitchen hutch, and pulled out a box wrapped in pine-coloured paper and a violet ribbon. Beside it lay a homemade card.

On the front Jerusha hastily drew a bowl with some orange inside it. ‘I absolutely mean to curry favour with you.’ And inside the card was a more steadily drawn picture of a spine and the text: ‘Thanks for always having my back. Happy Birthday Harvey!’

“Sorry.” Jerusha smiled. “It’s kinda hard to top ‘We be-lung together!’ on the anniversary card.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” Harvey said with a twinkle in his eye. “Your puns leave me in stitches anyway.”

Jerusha grinned, then turned their attention back to the gift. “Open it up!”

Carefully he untied the ribbon and tore the tape that held the paper together. He peeled the wrapping paper, then opened the box.

“It’s a Sopwith Camel!” Harvey beamed, and inspected the box at each angle. It was a brand new build-it-yourself model kit of the plane they saw at the Zuzu City Wheels and Wings Spectacular last year. “I’m impressed you remembered!”

“You mentioned it was the most famous aeroplane of the First World War. That was my biggest clue. I’m glad my research paid off!”

Harvey set the box down on the table and embraced Jerusha again, giving her another slow kiss. “Thank you, love.” They kissed once more.

“Oh yeah! I have dessert too!” She pulled away to dig for something buried deep in the freezer, then pulled out three tiny boxes.

“If you’re daring to try something sweet, I made tiramisus last night. A coffee one for you, and an earl grey one for me. And if not, I also made this!”

She opened one box. Inside lay a round cake consisting entirely of sliced pickles.

Harvey laughed at the sight. “You’re amazing, Jerusha.”

They each enjoyed a few bites of the desserts. Harvey even managed to sample a few bites of his tiramisu, and, to his pleasure, it wasn’t too terribly sweet.

He boxed back up his two unfinished desserts, and Jerusha, with a pout, followed suit.

“Now, before I do anything else tonight, do you have any other surprises for me, my dear?” Harvey asked.

“Nothing that can be done tonight.”

“Too tired?”

“No…” Jerusha slyly smiled. “I may have convinced everyone to move all of your birthday surprise plans to tomorrow.”

“What?”

She giggled, almost maniacally. “You didn’t think I was going to cancel all my plans, did you?”

Harvey shook his head, smiling. “I wouldn’t have expected otherwise, Jerusha. Anything else besides that?”

She shook her head.

“Good. Follow me.”

She followed him into the bedroom, all the way to the record player. A familiar tune began to play from the Etta James album, and Jerusha grinned. He extended a hand, and she accepted it, and slowly they began to sway.

“When we first heard this song, Jerusha,” Harvey said, “At the jazz orchestra concert last year, I thought of how wonderfully the lyrics conveyed my feelings about you. And still I feel this way, and plan to stay this way as long as I live.”

He quietly hummed along, barely on pitch. Jerusha seemed to be enjoying it anyway. She rested her head against his chest, and Harvey found himself falling in love with his wife yet again, as he does every hour of every day. There they swayed until the song finished At Last.

Jerusha wiped a tear from her eye. “You have me here forgetting it’s your birthday, not mine. Silly.”

“You can do your best to remedy that tomorrow.” Harvey winked.

Jerusha smiled as she slowly loosened his tie. “Or tonight.”

“Or both.”

Jerusha delicately placed a kiss where his cheekbone and jawbone meet. “Thank you for taking care of me today.”

“And thank you for spoiling me. Every day.”

Harvey and Jerusha enjoyed the peace and quiet the night brought. They never knew what mayhem life would throw at them each day (and believe them, life gave them plenty of mayhem), but the two knew– twelve hours away from discovering they two were three– they could always count on each other to make it through.

#stardew valley #stardew valley harvey #stardew harvey #sdv harvey #harvey sdv #harvey stardew valley #purpleandgreen13

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elphabaoftheopera · 1 year

Note

rereading lfay chapter one! was missing the fic so hard and couldn't help going back to it after getting more hyped about seeing wicked later this year :')

have any other little facts about lfay? maybe some specific unfound parallels to point out? did you intend to make elphaba left handed in the promo photo for the fic?

ps. congrats on the greg awards :))) 🎉🎉

Oh my gosh hi!!!! It's so good to hear from you! Thank you for letting me know that you're rereading, this message made my heart so happy. I'm so excited you get to see Wicked again this year! I just bought my tickets to see the tour again in a few months.

I'm actually so excited you asked about behind the scenes facts, I have a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that I haven't shared.And thank you about the awards, I was super flattered to be nominated/voted for in all of those categories!

Cover Art

As for the cover art, I've always had the head canon that Elphaba is left handed or ambidextrous. However, the real reason I made her left handed was because the cover art is actually a photo of my real hand painted green. I'm right handed, so it was easier to paint my left hand and take the picture with my right. I got black press on nails and everything. The "Love Fae and Yero" letter was paper I stained with tea and I hand wrote the title. I like to craft so I figured that was easier/more fun than photoshopping. It took many tries to find a good angle for the pic and I have a whole folder of the pics that didn't work as well.

Please let me know your thoughts if you continue to reread, and ask any questions you like. Thank you for giving me the permission to info dump about my story!!!!

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Love, Fae & Yero"

References to source materials

The original characters were homages to famous pen pal stories (in name only, not in personality).

Amalia- Named for Amalia Balash from Parfumerie (1937 Play) and She Loves Me (1963 Musical) Vicar Mathias Popkin- Named for “Mathias Popkin”, the fictional name given to Klara’s anonymous suitor in The Shop Around the Corner (1940 Film) He is also intended to be the same “Owl in Munchkin Rock, a vicar with a thriving flock, forbidden to preach” from “Something Bad”. Lieutenant Jozsef Fox- Named for Joe Fox from You’ve Got Mail (1998 Film) Jerusha Pendleton- Named for Jerusha Abbott and Jervis Pendleton Daddy Long Legs (2009 Musical) Miss Garland- Named for Judy Garland who starred in In The Good Old Summertime (1949 Film) and of course The Wizard of Oz (1939 Film)

There were also some lines inspired by these stories. Elphaba says "I wanted it to be you so badly" in Chapter 17: See How Bright which is a line from "You've Got Mail", Glinda and Elphaba visit a Parfumerie, the last line of Chapter 14 is a nod to "She Loves Me", and Glinda says she got the dress for Elphaba at "The Shop Around the Corner". All of the references to them meeting at "eight o'clock" is a nod to the song "Tonight at Eight" from She Loves Me. Elphaba also says "Will he like me when we meet" in Chapter 11, a line and song from She Loves Me. There's likely more I can't think of right now.

In (almost) all of the versions of the pen pal story the girl waits for the guy at a cafe with a rose in a book so he knows it's her, so that scene in Chapter 11 is a nod to that as well. Except in those versions the guy *does* find out it's her but doesn't tell her he's the pen pal right away. I did consider keeping this story more true to that model (meaning Fiyero would realize Elphaba is the pen pal but wouldn't reveal it) but I'd already gotten the idea to have Glinda reveal it at the Ozdust and I didn't want to change that.

The sorcery is inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

The magic I decided to incorporate into the story, primarily teleportation and crystal balls, were inspired by The Wicked Witch of the West’s magic in the movie. When The Wicked Witch of the West first enters she has a red cloud of smoke but when she exits there is fire. Then of course, there is her crystal ball she uses to spy on people.

The Epilogue: The Badlands

My decision to have Elphaba and Fiyero go to the Badlands was largely inspired by earlier drafts of the musical.

In the San Francisco Tryout Elphaba has a conversation with Nessa during WWOTE about the Badlands. They call it “the bleakest most Ozforsaken place you can imagine” and how no one ever returns from there, and Elphaba says she could because she could fly. She said Animals fled to the Badlands and were so frightened they forgot how to speak.

I was also inspired by this passage in Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz by Carol de Giere about an ending in which Elphaba and Fiyero run into Doctor Dillamond in The Badlands and Elphaba helps him speak.

“It was to take place on a scruffy farm in an isolated area of Oz called the Badlands.” (p. 309)

“He [Stephen Schwartz] liked the down-to-earth feel of having her use natural healing abilities rather than magic. Dr. Dillamond then bleated with difficulty: “El-pha-baaaa.”

“On some emotional and philosophical level, it was why I wanted to tell the story,” Schwartz later revealed about the last scene where Elphaba tries to heal the Animals who have fled to the Badlands. “It’s the fact that it’s completely anonymous and she’ll never get any credit or public affection for it, but she does it anyway.” (p. 310)

I felt the line about staying anonymous was particularly fitting, so I wanted to loosely incorporate his original vision into the epilogue.

Additionally, some other plot points/dialogue were taken from the San Francisco Try Out, particularly in Nessa and Elphaba's talk in Chapter 28: Sister Sunrise. Elphaba says "So it's you they're talking about, I thought it was another lie about me" and Nessa says "not everything's about you". Fiyero also originally had a line in the Lion Cub scene where he says "you cared about the cub so much it changed everything, what's it like to care about something that much?" which I used as well in Chapter 10: Fair Weather Friends.

It was really cool to see the different versions/drafts that didn't make the cut and use them for this mishmash of different canons.

The story was originally going to be *much* shorter.

I didn’t originally plan to set Elphaba off down The Wizard path. It was just going to be a Shiz-era story and I considered ending it after “An OzDust Do-Over”. I also considered ending it after “She’s Off To See The Wizard” on an ambiguous note, and then maybe continue in a sequel. Then ideas like the sonnet, cave, and trapdoor started coming to me and I realized I had to continue it through. As a writer, I usually tend to make a story darker/more dramatic than I originally set out to do lol.

Lost chapter

There is a “lost” chapter of LFAY that was originally between Chapter 19 “An Honest Go” and Chapter 20 “Out Loud” in which Elphaba helps Fiyero through his test anxiety. It was ultimately cut because it wasn’t serving the grander plot, but the current plan is to use a lot of the dialogue I wrote in a different story I have in mind. It still exists in my draft folder.

Parallels

As for parallels I'm sure there is many that I wrote and forgot about, I may have to reread myself. But one that I particularly like is a parallel between Chapter 17: See How Bright and Chapter 34: Dorothy and the Darkness. It repeats the line : "Fiyero had come…and he’d brought the light back with him."

Elphaba also says "Follow me, Yero?" to which Fiyero responds "Anywhere" three times. Once in the museum in Chapter 19: An Honest Go, once as they're heading into the seedy market in Chapter 27: Mockbeggar Market and once before they're about to leave Oz in Chapter 34: Dorothy and the Darkness.

I'm positive there are more I'm not thinking of, I really went off on the parallels. 😅 Let me know if you ever catch any more!

Bonus: I got bored once and created them on Sims...

Thank you again for reaching out, please do so again if you have other thoughts/questions!

#melop-sia #long post #love fae and yero #lfay #lfay spoilers #fanfiction #info dumping #wicked fanfiction #fiyeraba fanfiction

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