#basically my sister told me that and then i was like well we'll see if mom tells me how she feels directly

[mj0702]

The other Bronze – Pt. 22.2

You on the other hand quickly weaselled your way out of Camp Nuo basically unseen since you knew the corridors now like the back of your hand tears pricking in your eyes. You speed walked through the carpark not caring how the game ended or that your sister, Keira, Alexia and basically every Barca player was already on their way to the Munich locker room to check up on you. Lucy herself ditched every fan that called out for her to get to you as quick as possible just wanting to know what was going on with you. She was majorly concerned for you since she never expected you to go up against Jana like you did. So when she blazed through the door of the opponents locker room door and she saw neither you nor G she called out

“I hope you don't do what I hope you're never doing!!” Lucy said trying to sound as light as possible knowing you well enough if she would had the hint of accusation or anger in her voice you would shut down

“We're not...” Georgia said opening the door to the separate room hobbling to her cubby

“Where's Bubs?” your sister asked confused looking inside the room before sitting down next to Georgia

“We... had words I guess...” your girlfriend sighed as she hid her face in her hands

“Tell me everything G...” Lucy was surprisingly soft seeing in how much distress her friend was

“I didn't handle it well that she attacked Jana like she did... I basically told her to start using her fucking brain and that we agreed that when I step on the pitch I'm not her girlfriend” Georgia said tears starting to pool in her eyes – again

“Oh G...” your sister sighed knowing

“She ran... and obviously I can't follow at the moment... I mean... she didn't really ran.. she walked out...” your girlfriend swallowed hard “... I couldn't have catched her even if I tried”

“She'll be back.... she needs time to cool off...” Lucy said softly when she saw how G was beating herself up

“I fucking hope so... we're flying back out tomorrow morning... I can't stay here this time...” Georgia said wiping her tears away with the back of her hand “... I don't want to leave this to boil just under the surface”

“Hm...” your sister hummed “... so... first fight eh?”

“Yeah...” your girlfriend nodded sadly “.... it's a fucking shitty feeling”

“Oh don't I know it... Keira and I didn't fight a lot but when we fought them fights could've been declared wars...” Lucy tried to cheer her friend up a little bit

“Oh we know... whole team could hear you the one time at camp...” Georgia smiled a little bit “... wasn't it about something stupid like dessert too?”

“So your reason to fight with my sister is better?” your sister challenged raising an eyebrow

“No...” your girlfriend sighed out

“In a relationship you'll always fight over stupid stuff G... important is that you don't just pretend nothing happened later but talk about it... and if it results in another fight you'll just give both of you the chance to cool off and you try again...” Lucy said softly “... you two are meant for each other G... if you ever tell someone I said that I'll get you assassinated... but you two... you'll get through this”

“I don't know Luce...” Georgia said defeated “... I can't even follow her... I told her I'll never let her run and I just did just that”

“Not because you wanted G.... she knew you wouldn't be able to follow her” your sister said calmly “... we Bronzes... we have the habit of running when we know we can't get chased... If it doesn't work out for you two to talk until you have to leave tomorrow we'll be in Munich in a week anyway...”

“What if she doesn't come home until you leave too?” your girlfriend asked even tho she was a little scared of the answer

“Oh that won't happen... and if I have to send police after her....” Lucy waved off “... Alexia has a lot of connections and her name is so big she basically gets everything from everyone... I bet if she asks the King for a crown she would get that too”

“I need to talk to Jana...” Georgia said quietly “... I want to let her know how sorry I am”

“I'll arrange something... but she knows” your sister smiled before standing back up clapping her friend on the back “... I need to go back outside – ditched all the fans”

“Wait... I wanna come too... at least I can sign some stuff... some of the Bayern fans travelled here to see us play... not many but I think they would like a selfie or something”

“You're always your awkward with selfies” Lucy pointed out as she offered her friend her shoulder to lean on

“I'm better than your capitan...” Georgia said a little offended “... she always looks like she's dying inside”

“Yeah... good point” your sister said after a second “Oh and G... no word to Kei... she'll freak out if she finds out Bubs is gone and I'm coming back out and sign stuff instead of running around Barcelona looking for her.. I'm fond of me head and don't want me ex-girlfriend to chop it off with her hand...”

“She still has your balls in her purse” your girlfriend smirked but then screeched as Lucy suddenly let go of her and stepped to the side unimpressed

“Ehrm....” Georgia heard someone clearing her throat behind her and the fans in front of her suddenly had dark looks on their faces

“Huh?” your girlfriend turned around surprised to find herself face to face with a very shy Jana “Yes? Wait... Sí?”

“I'm...” Jana said in a small voice and G saw how the young girl was fiddling her hands behind her back “I'm very sorry... I really didn't mean to... I really thought I'd still get the ball”

“You... speak english??” Georgia asked surprised “You speak very good english...”

“My girlfriend is dutch” Jana said unimpressed “I NEEDED to learn english”

“Oooooh... riiiiiight... Jilly-joord right...” your girlfriend perked up happily “... and about the other thing... don't worry... all good... I've been known to collect yellows for stupid tackles”

“I'm really really sorry” the young defender said again

“Don't worry... it's not bad.. just bruising..” Georgia waved off as she heard a rude comment from one of the Bayern fans “Ey... sag sowas nicht – sie ist viel jung und unerfahren und es war keine... intension”

“Absicht...” Lea corrected her teammate as she walked passed “... und du... selber besser machen und dann darüber urteilen”

“You... maybe wanna... shirts?” Jana now asked shyly lowering her head

“Sure...” your girlfriend smiled widely “... not to sound ungrateful... but my best friends kiddo is a big fan of Aitana... you think....”

“Of course... wait a second” Janas eyes sparkled happily after she and G swapped Jerseys and she immediately took off towards her teammate “TANA!!!”

“I'm surprised Bitsy isn't out here sulking” Keira said quietly next to Lucy as she signed some more Jerseys

“She's.... sulking inside” Lucy quickly answered – too quick

“Lucia....” the blonde warned her voice low

“I... over there... yes” your sister said a little embarrassed pointing further down the line trying to make a quick exit

“Oh the hell no...” Keira quickly snatched her ex-girlfriends jersey keeping her in place “... spill”

“Nothing to spill...” Lucy said quickly as she saw Alexia “... hey Ale... I need to talk to you for a second”

“Lucy!!!” the blonde englishwoman sneered but your sister already freed herself and jogged over to their capitan

“Sí?” Alexia asked confused

“I need your help but you can't tell Keira...” Lucy said keeping her voice down “... Bubs ran... she and Georgia had a fight and she ran... you know people... can you maybe ask them to keep an eye out.... but not trying to catch her... just if someone sees her so we know she's okay and where”

“You stand here signing Jerseys while my Cariño is running around Barcelona??” Alexia asked shocked

“Ssssshhhh....” your sister shushed her capitan and looked around scared if Keira heard it but to her relief the other english player kept on signing jerseys and taking selfies

“Why aren't you freaking out?” Alexia asked bewildered

“Because it wouldn't help anyone... I'm freaking out on the inside believe me... but it wouldn't help G who already feels extremly guilty and it wouldn't help me because Kei would rip my head off for not freaking out enough..” Lucy said lowly “... not to mention what Ona would do to me if she finds out I lost her precious Bebita”

“I can see why you keep quiet” the blonde spaniard grinned before getting serious again “... you have any idea where she could have gone?”

“Not a clue...” your sister shrugged

“Okay... let me call Olga she has even better connections” Alexia said before she quickly walked down the tunnel

“Great...” you groaned annoyed “... got lost again... okay... think y/n... what can you do now....”

“Hola... ¿Estás bien?” an old lady looked at you curious

“En realidad... no... Tuve una pelea con mi novia.. Corrí... Me perdí... No tengo idea de dónde estoy y le dejé mi teléfono a mi hermana porque soy un idiota” it just broke out of you and you felt your tears prick in your eyes again

“Oh mi pequeña neña” the elderly woman said sympathically “Vamos... te haré un granizado de limón”

“Gracias...” you mumbled sniffling

“De Nada neña” the woman smiled warmly

“Mi amiga siempre me llama nena” you mumbled

“Entonces ella te tiene muy cerca de su corazón....” the woman smiled pointing towards a small patio which had two chairs and an old small table on it

“Oh this is amazing” you groaned happily after you took a sip of the spanish drink

“Qué?” the woman asked confused

“Lo siento... esto es realmente bueno...” you said quickly

“Gracias ... hablas muy bien español para una extranjera” the older woman smiled

“Tengo... familia aquí...” you hesitated when you said family

“¿Por qué dudaste? ¿No son buenos contigo?” the woman asked seriously

“Ellas no son familia por sangre” you said carefully

“No importa si de sangre o de corazón... lo importante es que te sientas seguro y en casa con ellos... que te apoyen en lo que hagas... que estén ahí sin importar lo que necesites” the woman said smiling understanding now what you meant

“Gracias... muchas gracias” you sniffled emotionally and the elder woman smiled at you friendly

“¿Podemos llamar a alguien que conoces?” the woman asked friendly

“No... Olvidé mi teléfono con mi hermana...” you said quietly

“Tienes un nombre?? tengo una agenda” the old grey haired woman asked

“Eli Putellas?” you asked carefully and the face of the woman lit up

“Eli?? Ella vive tres casas más adelante” the elder laughed

“Qué?” you asked surprised

“Sí... ven uno...” the woman smiled and stood up while you followed wordlessly

“Hola Eli” the elderly woman greeted an other woman who just opened the door

“Hola Guadalupe... ¿Qué puedo hacer por ti?” the blonde woman asked and you immediately saw where Alexia got her looks from

“Este pequeña salió corriendo de casa y dijo que ayudarías....” the grey haired woman said and you stood a little bit behind her chewing on your lip nervously when Eli mustered you up and down

“Gracias Guadalupe... Sé a quién llamar para asegurarme de que regrese a casa sana y salva...” Eli smiled and just with Alexia you knew it wasn't a smile from the heart instead a calming one for the woman in front of her

“De Nada Eli... adios pequeña neña” the elder woman smiled and squeezed your cheek while you force a smile on your face

“Gracias.. muchas gracias” you fake smiled and winced a little bit at the strength she squeezed your cheek before she left

“I'm gonna call Alexia that you're here” Eli said shortly and you innerly cringed

“Thank you” you mumbled ashamed

“You know they're scared for your well-being right... Alexia called me hours ago” the eldest Putellas looked at you with slight disappointment in her voice

“I'm sorry...” you said even more ashamed

“We're going to talk in a minute.. I have a phone call to make” Eli said firmly pulling out her mobile waiting for the call to connect “Tu Cariño está conmigo... no me preguntes cómo llegó hasta aquí pero está salva... no Alexia... dame un tiempo a solas con ella...”

You pulled a grimance knowing the oldest Putellas will go all momma bear on your ass – probably worse than Keira would

“Sí... una hora” Eli nodded “T'estimo fins a la meva estrella”

“So.... let's talk” the eldest Putellas looked at you expectantly “Why did you just run away?”

“I had a fight with my gi... friend...” you said and quickly corrected yourself

“You do know my daughter is like a gay icon right? I have no problem that you have a girlfriend” Eli said softly immediately after hearing how you corrected yourself

“I don't know if she's still my girlfriend...” you said and you felt the tears coming back again

“Because you had a fight? Oh pequeña... in every relationships fighting is normal... have you ever witnessed how much Alexia and Olga fight? No? Believe me.. they do.. It's not pretty... both of them are hot blooded if they wanted to be... but they always end up together communicating... and that's what you will do to... Alexia is on her way to bring you home.. none of them is angry with you or mad – they were just scared... but they won't held it against you... you will talk to your girlfriend tonight and you'll get it out of the way” the oldest Putellas said softly

“What if she doesn't want to be my girlfriend anymore?” you mumbled ashamed starting to chew on your lip again

“Over a small fight? Then she might be the biggest idiota on this planet” Eli said softly “And she wouldn't be worth your love mi sol...”

“I should've acted more grown up...” you mumbled

“But you are not... that's what you both need to understand... you are a teenager – a very mature one of what I hear – but still a teenager....” the eldest Putellas smiled “... you both need to grow into this relationship... grow with each other... I mean... Alexia once fought with Jenni over the last piece of Canelones... it was ridiculous... it wasn't a small disagreement – it was a full fight... and as hard as it was for me I let them sort it out themselves...”

“Really?? Over food?” you raised your eyebrow bewildered

“Sí... both of them are very stubborn... and both of them can eat a lot” Eli chuckled “... so you will go with Alexia when she arrives and just talk to that girl... communication is the most important part”

“Muchas gracias” you mumbled a little ashamed for making a big deal out of nothing

“No need pequeña” Eli smiled and the door bell rang

You heard Eli speaking in hushed spanish and you knew she was talking to Ale. You knew they were talking so lowly so you wouldn't understand anything but still you picked up the one or other word. When Alexia finally entered the living room where you were seated she had a look of love and concern on her face

“Cari.... what were you thinking??” the blonde asked softly

“Alexia...” Eli scolded her daughter immediately “... Vaig dir que la deixes en pau”

“Necessito saber què estava pensant per saber on portar-la... la porto a casa... o a la Lucía... o la porto a casa amb mi” Alexia said quickly after she flinched shortly at her mothers scolding tone

“Both of you realize I do understand quiet a bit of catalan right?? I don't want to go to Luce... I rather go to Keira” you grumbled a little offended

“It's my mothers tongue... it's not to offend you you baby...” the blonde rolled her eyes and you knew whatever happens you'd always have her in your corner

“I'm not a baby” you exclaimed and missed the fond smile on Elis lips while Alexia pinched your cheek grinning widely

“I could be your mother” the blonde laughed loudly at your shocked face

“EW!!!!” you screeched disgusted

“When you were born I just started dating Jenni...” Alexia was still laughing

“... yeah well... she would be such a cool mom” now it was on you to snicker

“disculpe????” the blonde exclaimed

“Ugh... my all time favourite word of all words...” you rolled your eyes

“Come on Cariño... let's get you home sí?” Alexia said softly knowing you just tried to buy time

“Do I have to?” you asked insecure

“Sí... it doesn't get better if you wait longer” the blonde pulled you up and into her side keeping you close to her “It'll be okay... I promise Cari”

“If not I tell the court I want to live with my other mom in Mexico” you grumbled making Alexia laugh

“I'll tell Jenni... she'll be so happy” the blonde laughed as she slowly walks the two of you towards the door stopping quickly at her mothers to press a loving kiss to her cheek “Gracias mamí”

“Siempre mi amor... asegúrate de que cuiden al pequeña....” Eli smiled lovingly

“Promesa mamí” Alexia smiled back

“Ale... what if I just fucked up the best thing I ever had??” you asked your voice a little scared

“You didn't Cari...” Alexia chuckled “... you had a fight... that's normal... you just need to talk about it to Georgia okay... she feels very bad too... you both got emotional and while I don't support your reaction and you DEFINATLY will talk and apologize to Jana you and Georgia both reacted a little bit over the top”

“You promise everything will be okay?” you asked in a small voice

“Sí mi Cariño... I promise” Alexia smiled encouraging “... and don't tell your sister I said that... but make-up sex? Better than any sex you could think off”

“Really??” you perked up before faking being disgusted “.... I mean.... Ew... sex.... ew”

“Your sister is not around... you don't have to pretend...” the blonde said flatly when there was a knock on her window “Jesús y María”

“Ehrm... can I speak to Bubs for a second?” Lucy looked past Alexia smiling at you in the passenger seat

“Where did you even come from??” Alexia panted still recovering from her shock

“Came up the road” your sister shrugged her shoulders making you chuckle

“You saw her didn't you...” the spaniard looked at you with a raised eyebrow

“I didn't need to see her... I can feel her whenever she's close” you grinned “... it's just how we always were... saved me ass quiet a few times”

“It's scary” Alexia mumbled

“Oh it's very convenient” you shrugged your shoulders

“Bubs? A word?” your sister interrupted your small talk with her capitan

“Sure...” you said a bit unsure as you exit the car “Moohchas grazias Ale”

“Stop butchering my language” Alexia yelled after you but you heard the smile in her voice

“Yeah...??” you shuffled in front of Lucy

“Relax... nothing bad... come on Bubs... let's take a little walk shall we” Lucy smiled throwing her arm around your shoulders pulling you forward

“Now I'm really scared” you mumbled

“No... but let's talk about what happened back at Nuo.. why did you run Bubs?” your sister said carefully

“I was scared... I was really scared about her... and she has the AUDACITY to fuck about because I was concerned” it broke out of you

“She was scared about you too you know... you have to understand that IF it ever comes out as long as you are underage Bubs...” Lucy started before you interrupted her rolling your eyes

“... she can get in serious troubles yes I know” you said lamely

“No Bubs... let me finish... I know that's what we always told you... but the truth is... Georgia doesn't care... she doesn't care what's at stake for her... she loves you” Lucy said firmly making you look at her “... she LOVES you Bubs”

“Then why did she say it?” you had tears in your eyes

“She was scared... we all do and say things we don't mean when we're hurt or scared or angry” your sister said softly whiping away a tear that rolled over your cheek “... I'm gonna drive you to their hotel okay... you two talk it out and when you're done talking I'll bring you home okay... or to Keira or back to ours”

“Maybe... possibly...” you stammered “... you could pick me up tomorrow morning?”

“Sure... I know it was a lot...” Lucy shrugged her shoulders before she caught on “... wait a second... absolutely NOT... you come home with me tonight”

“Lucy come on....” you whined

“No...” your sister said her face scrunched up

“Ugh...” you groaned but then you had an Idea

You pulled out your phone grinning evilly as you scrolled through your contacts before finding the one you were looking for

“Hola...” you smiled into the phone when the other person picked up your sister eying you sceptically “... can I stay the night at Georgias?”

You smiled even wider as the person on the other end agreed and you held the phone out for your sister to take

“Here... Ona wants to talk to you” you grinned victoriously and Lucy groaned loudly as she accepted the phone and the following telling off her girlfriend had to offer

You never were so nervous in your whole life than right now – okay that was a lie. You were nervous when you met Wendi Renard. But that was because she was so freaking tall you got scared the first time you literally bumped into her. You were running away from Lucy laughing loudly when you hit a wall. Or so you thought – it was Wendi. The tall defender looked down on you where she put you on your ass and you just squeaked and shuffled backwards. But now you were nervous for a different reason. You were shuffling in front of the door of your maybe still girlfriend for the past 10 Minutes now not really knowing what to do. You knew what to do – knock, wait until she opened the door, wing it from there. But something inside you held you back. What should you say? Would she even want to talk to you? Would she even want to see you? What would...

“Are you going to knock anytime soon or do I have time to go over the game to see where we can improve for the second leg?” you suddenly heard Georgias voice

You looked up seeing her leaning against the doorframe her arms crossed looking at you expectantly her foot in a boot out of precaution. You were so deep in your own thoughts that you didn't notice her opening the door and watching you for a few minutes before deciding to speak up

“I didn't know...” you mumbled not meeting her gaze

“... how to knock?” the blonde offered a small smile seeing how much it ate you “I can teach you... it's quiet easy once you get the hang of it”

“But there are so many techniques...” you said carefully still insecure

“Yeah... it's a lot of trail and error until you find your style...” Georgia held up her fist “... I prefer the double knock....” she knocked twice against the open room door “... then there's the triple knock which I personally already find annoying... then there's the more respectfully middle finger double knock...”

Your girlfriend showed you all the knocks she knew and with every second you felt more comfortable

“... and then there's the legendary Tooney knock... just knock so long and so persistent until the door gets opened and keep knocking until you nearly break Mearps nose” the blonde finished looking at you smiling

“Mhm...” you tried to smile back but all these negative thoughts about what happened earlier making it hard

Georgia extended her hand to you but mentally you weren't ready to accept her peace offering instead your head told you to run

“Don't...” Georgia said softly “... don't run again... Magda and Pernille rooming right down that corridor – I won't hesitate to call them to stop you”

“I..” you stammered as your breath quickens

“No... get out of your head...” the blonde kept her voice soft and calming “... tho we have to talk about earlier I won't let you run... not now and not ever...”

“Why?” you squeaked out and it was that second Georgia decided to just pull you inside her room knowing how nosey her teammates can be

“Breath...” the blonde said firmly but still soft “... I need you to breath for me Babe”

“You... you... you...” you pressed out not knowing how to word the thoughts that were running through your mind

“I WON'T let you run...” Georgia said again grabbing your shoulders hoping to ground you “... not now.. not ever... I don't care what people say... I don't care if they take away my cleats.... I don't care if they think it's wrong... you and I and all the people who are important to us know it's not... I'm sorry how I reacted back then... I was so scared someone would interpret it the way it is and it would affect your life... not mine.. I don't care about that... but I love you... I care about you and your well-being... I don't want them to come after you”

“Georgia” you just pressed out tears running down your cheeks and to your girlfriend it sounded so much like a call for help

“I'm here... I'm right here” Georgia mumbled her hands moving from your shoulders to cup your face her forehead resting against yours “... if you like it or not... I'm not going anywhere”

“Why?” you cried your hands fisting her shirt you holding on for dear life

“Because I love you... and whatever gets thrown at us we'll battle it together...” your girlfriend said softly pressing a loving kiss to your lips

“I'm sorry.... I'm so so sorry” you cried “... I... I was so scared...”

“I know... I know Baby... I was scared for a moment too... it's okay to get scared... but don't let the fear take over” Georgia whispered “... you scared Jana too”

“I mean... she should have seen it coming... she was staring at you the whole game” you grumbled through your tears making Georgia bursting out laughing

“She was marking me... of course she was watching where I was going” your girlfriend laughed “... someone is jealous”

“Am not” you grumbled “... she has her Dutch... she can leave my....”

“I'm not dutch” Georgia deadpanned and you just grumbled at her for knowing where you were going with your talking

“Are we gonna be okay?” you suddenly asked scared of her answer

“No... we're not going to be okay Baby... we are okay...” your girlfriend said softly “... we will have misunderstandings and fights and everything... but I know that we'll always find each other again”

“How can you be so sure?” you asked insecure

“You make me think of things I never thought about before...” Georgia shrugged her shoulders carefully manovering you towards the bed

“Like?” you let her push you around until your knees hit the bed and you fell on it

“If we should buy a house here or in England....” your girlfriend simply said laying down next to you “... what Dog we're going to get... I want a big one by the way... how you'll look in my Jersey in the kitchen when I come down in the morning for breakfast and you wear JUST my jersey... how Lucy buys the house next to us just out of spite and how she sits on her front porch with her binoculars writing everything down we do... she'll probably has a bb gun at hand to shoot us as soon as we get to close....”

“That's oddly specific” you scrunched your nose up at the thought of your sister being your neighbour

“How beautiful you'll look on our wedding day” Georgia said her voice lowly and you felt how your heart missed a beat “... fair warning... I'm going to ask you one day... so don't be too surprised”

“Don't do it in front of millions” you whispered back because you felt how your thoughts drifted to the pictures your girlfriend just described just from your view

“I would never... I know you don't like the attention... just us... I promise... and maybe our dog..” your girlfriend said her voice barely over a whisper

“I want a Rottweiler or something like this... or a mix... Maverick... I want to call him Maverick” you said and felt how all the stress left your body and you started to relax

“Sounds good... we're gonna get him these badass looking collars so everyone will think he's badass but in reality he's just a big puppy and the most loving and caring soul” Georgia kept her voice soft feeling how you relaxed next to her before she pulled you into her side

“I'm so tired...” you mumbled against her chest

“Sleep...” your girlfriend whispered peppering your face with soft kisses

“Alexia said make up sex is next level” you mumbled and yawned

“Just imagen how good it'll be if we have make up sex after we have to wait another two weeks” Georgia grinned “... I'm thinking of getting Lucy the apartment next to mine so she'll have to listen to you screaming my name”

“Please don't.... she'll shoulder check the door” you mumbled already half asleep “... she'll know the next morning anyway”

“Oh and why's that?” your girlfriend chuckled

“Normally I have a slight limp... except you decided to lower your standard” you yawned and Georgia snorted

“Never...” the blonde huffed “... sleep Baby”

Now that you were alone again with Georgia back in Munich you felt lost. The Barca girls went on with their days of training, recovery, media and what else. You – you tried to keep your head above the water of life. Keira was the first to notice that something wasn't right with you. She tried to talk to you about it but you immediately closed off and changed the topic. Knowing you for most of your life Keira decided to leave it for the moment but she talked to Lucy about it who said she'll keep an eye on you but that she couldn't do anything more than that. The next one who noticed you were off was Alexia. Seeing you mindlessly walking around the pitch sparked her interest so her eyes found you through the training more often but even when you looked straight at her you didn't really see her. Mapí was next. Her tries to make you laugh and giggling all the time because she just loved you where met with a tight lipped smile but nothing more. Pina and Patri tried to get you to play a prank on Alexia for good measure but you just shook your head. Ona of course noticed too – she tried to get you to talk to her a few times offering a shoulder to cry on or an open ear to listen but you never came back to her for the offers. Ingrid watched all of this with concern from a little further away – she understood what part of the problem was but she also understood that there were things you needed to deal with yourself. So when her girlfriend declared she'll kidnap you away from the mean adults (meaning Alexia, Lucy, Keira and Ona) and make you happy again by letting you spend all her salary in the arcade and get you all the ice cream you want she told Mapí to leave you alone so you could sort yourself out.

“I'm really getting concerned” Ona said one night as she and Lucy were laying on their couch “... since Georgia left she's just a shadow.... Tana came up to me today asking why y/n lost so much weight and that she wouldn't need a diet”

“She's falling back into old bad habits.... we need to do something to pull her back up” your sister said chewing her lip already noticing your weight loss

“I think it would be good if we get her back here” the blonde spaniard said carefully

“I would agree but I know her... she'll fight us on it and it'll only makes it worse” Lucy said “... we need to time it right... she needs to come to us first...”

“I'm scared for her well-being Lucy” Ona mumbled against your sisters chest

“I'm too.... but she needs to realize she's not alone... if we push her too hard she'll run...” your sister pressed a sweet kiss on the top of the spaniards head

“Will she come here?” the blonde asked

“She will... in her own time” Lucy said convincing – she just didn't know if she was convincing Ona or herself

It was about a week later in the middle of the night when Lucy got woken up by rapid knocking – no... hammering – on her door

“Fuck sakes... if that's Mapí again I'm going to kill her” Lucy mumbled getting out of bed padding down the corridor

“What??” your sister snapped ripping the door open

“The Jersey lost her smell...” you said your lip trembling as you stood in front of your sisters door shivering from the rain that was pouring down “... I didn't wash it but it still lost her smell Luce”

“Bubs” Lucy whispered shocked

“I can't sleep without her here... I miss her so much” you stammered out tears already pooling in your eyes

Lucy didn't say anything as she pulled you inside lifting you into her arms – which was scaringly easy – and carried you down the hallway towards the bathroom while you cried into her neck fisting her shirt in your hands. Your sister didn't care that she would wake up Ona as she kicked the door to their bedroom open walking straight to the bathroom where she got a hot shower going as she stepped into it with you still in her arms. She put you down carefully but her grip still strong on your waist when her girlfriend came into the bathroom

“Lucy??” Ona asked confused her eyes small with sleep

“It's okay... I've got it” Lucy answered firmly basically telling Ona to leave them alone

“I'll get some tea started” the younger catalan said a little hurt after she took in your shivering form holding onto your sister like a lifeline

“I miss her” you trembled in your sisters hold

“You're going to be okay Bubs...” your sister said softly holding you tightly “.. but we have to get you warm again... we're going to call G later okay... we're going to face time her and then we'll all have breakfast together”

That was five weeks ago and you were doing better. That morning Georgia was ready to jump on a plane already throwing clothes into her travel bag mindlessly before Lucy calmed her down saying that Barca would travel to Munich in two days anyway and she herself would forward all the flight information to Georgia so she could be there to pick you up. Not the team. You. Lucy understood meanwhile what a big part the young englishwoman played in your life and how much you needed her by your side

The moment you felt Georgias arms around you you broke down crying again. Right there in the busy Munich Airport where people where running to get a flight or people run up to their loved ones greeting them back home. Lucy and Alexia did a great job distracting fans from Georgia and you by “happily” giving out autographs and taking selfies (Alexia looking like she was dying inside like always) and Aitana going around asking people what they were working. You teached her to asked what they were working instead of asking IF they were working

Georgia and you talked all night and she made you promise to accept the help she knew the Team offered you – because her team will do the same the next day. Pernille bought a big basked of Kanelbullar defending them from the prying hands of her girlfriend. Magda was the happiest woman on earth when you gave her the first one you took out of the basket eating it ceremonially in front of Pernilles face to prove a point. Klara and Lea took you to the new Fan store on the Campus where they showed you the new picture that was hanging behind the register. It was you shouting and pointing while Georgia and Pernille ran past you and on the little badge under the picture it said “Champions League Barcelona 1st Leg winning thanks to Y/n Bronze and her ability to motivate the underdogs”

You watched the game from the stands since you got banned from the coaching zone through a red card in Barcelona with plain Bayern Jersey signed by all the players. Lucy tried to pull the Jersey over your head the second she saw you in the tunnel telling you you couldn't wear the enemies colours as you laughingly slapped away her hands for Ona sneaking up on you helping her girlfriend out – that was until the Munich girls registered what was happening and immediately started to get involved as well. It was all fun and jokes at this point but you made a promise to Lucy to at least put on a Barca Jersey for a picture of you, Keira, Georgia and herself after the game. You and Jana talked it out before the game and you apologized perfursley for scaring her and nearly hitting her for the young player to smile at you shyly telling you it's okay

The Game ended with a 2 – 0 win for Barcelona. Or a 2 – 0 loss for Munich. You were thrilled and heartbroken at the same time – seeing your family celebrate on the pitch while your closest friends and girlfriend sat non the grass defeated. You could hear the Barca fans chanting and the Munich fans sniffling next and behind of you. You turned in your seat to see a small girl around 5 years of age having big crocodile tears running down her cheeks

“Hey....” you said to the girl smiling “.... it's okay...”

“They losted” the girl sniffled

“Yeah they did...” you huffed slightly “... but they fought and it's okay to lose when you fight – because you don't give up and lose... giving up is never an option”

“But they losted to the stupid spanish womans” the brown haired girl sniffled again

“Who's your favourite player?” you asked deciding to ignore the comment and not point out that Ingrid and Caro are Norwegian, Lucy and Keira are english, Frido is Swedish and Pernille is Danish

“I like Frau Harder” the girl sniffled less now but with slight disgust you saw some snot running out of her nose

“P?? You got good taste... you picked a good player” you smiled and hoped the girl wouldn't want to hug you

“She looks very nice... and she scores a lot of goals” the girl now finally calmed down

“That she does” you hummed swallowing your sarcastic “just not today”-comment in favor of a not crying little girl “... where are your parents?”

“I'm here with my Papa...” the girl said “... he said to wait here... he brings back the cups where my water was in”

“That's very nice of your Papa... so what's your name?” you smiled

“Helena Valentina” the girl smiled proudly

“That's a very pretty name” you smiled back before you had an idea “Say Helena... do you want a picture with Pernille?”

“I would like one very much but she's always so busy... I tried before but she never heard me asking” the girl named Helena said getting a little sad again

“Well... we can't have that can we” you grinned “... we're gonna wait for your Papa and then we're gonna get you this picture okay? Your english is very good by the way”

“My Mama is english... she thought me since I was very little” Helena nodded like she wanted to prove a point

“Really? Where she from?” you asked interested

“Oswaldtwistle” the girl mumbled a bit

“Hey I know where that is...” you beamed “... it's near Blackburn right?”

“Yes... I don't like it there” Helena mumbled again “I like the place where my grandma is now”

“And where's that?” you asked interested

“Surrey” the girl smiled a little more

“Ah... a south londoner...” you hummed “... and you don't like Lucy Bronze or Keira Walsh? Or Georgia Stanway for the matter? She plays for Bayern”

“I do like them... but many people like Georgia...” Helena said seriously “... but not so many people like Frau Harder and she needs support too”

“That's true” you burst out laughing seeing a man coming down the stairs towards you two

“I'm really sorry if she bothered you” the man quickly said wedging himself between you and Helena

“Oh please... she's a very lovely kid...” you smiled friendly “You're Papa I assume?”

“Matthias” the man introduced himself shaking your hand

“I heard Helena likes Pernille Harder but never had a chance to get a picture with her” you hummed

“Yeah... we tried a couple of times but we never were lucky enough to make it to the front while the players were still there” the man sighed knowing how much his daughter would love a picture with her idol

“Well.... let's change that shall we?” you sighed looked down to the pitch and whistled loudly which cause Georgia whip her head around searching the smaller crowd for you

When you two locked eyes your girlfriend raised her eyebrows in question and you tried to sign her that you needed Pernille to come over. Of course Georgia didn't understand you and tipped on Keiras shoulder pointing towards you which caused in you slapping your hand against your forehead. Kei shook her head confused at you and you tried again to make her understand you needed Pernille. Thank god Keira was fluent in you-ish and understood and went over to talk quickly to the blonde Dane and pointed at you. You made a come here gesture when P looked over.

“What?” Matthias asked confused

“Come on... let's get you that picture okay” you just grinned standing up walking down the stone stairs towards the barriers while Pernille (and of course Magda) came strolling over

“If I came over here for you to yell at me I'm leaving again” Pernille said and you saw how much that loss takes a toll on her

“No... you played amazing P... you all did... I got you over here because of little Helena here... she's a big fan but she never was able to get a picture with you” you smiled at the Dane “... even tho she tried many times”

“Oh my God... of course... come here sweetie” Pernilles face immediately lit up when she spotted the little girl behind the legs of her Dad hiding

“I swear P is very nice Helena” you said crouching down to her height “... I would watch out for Magda... the woman will eat all your sweets and then lie to you that she didn't”

“It was ONE time... and I didn't know it was your TWIX” the swede exclaimed

“You didn't even apologize...” you bit back “... you said “yeah well sorry”...”

“Sorry is a word you use for apologizes right??!!” Magda said confused

“Not if you say it like you did... you weren't sorry at all” you grumbled

“Okay stop it... I'll buy you a new TWIX later...” Pernille rolled her eyes at the antics of you two “... but I think I owe a fan a picture right”

“Do you want a picture with P Helena?” you asked the still shyly hiding girl

“Yes please” the girl mumbled into the back of her Dads legs

“Then come here...” you smile encouraging “.. I promise P is very nice...”

You helped the girl over the barrier lifting her into Pernille waiting arms who easily put the girl down in front of her

“Phone” the Dane looked at you expectantly and you just turned around to Matthias who started to quickly fumble for his phone

He gave you his mobile and you quickly chucked it at Magda to take some pictures

“Make yourself useful swede” you huffed still sour because the blonde ate your chocolate

“Make yourself useful” Magda imitated you under her breath making Pernille chuckle and you growling “Okay sweetie... smile”

Helena had the biggest toothiest grin you could imagen and you couldn't help yourself but grin too and make a little fun of Pernille

“You too P... smiiiilllleeee” you laughed while Magda made one picture after the other at one point even laying down on the pitch for getting “a better angle”

You transferred the young girl back to her father after a few minutes – and some signings from Pernille, Magda, Aitana, Keira, G and Lucy.... and a very shy request if Helena could have another picture with Alexia who again tried to smile friendly and you broke down laughing as she once again looked like she was dying inside.

Georgia took you out to the best Burger place you ever set a foot in and you demolished a whole burger and all the sides much to the happiness of your girlfriend. You spend the night with G in her apartment both of you too exhausted to do anything other than lay on the couch – you obviously on top of your Girlfriend – and watch some sort of murder documentary. You were half asleep on top of Georgia with her continually softly scratching the back of your neck playing a little bit with the baby hair there and her soothing rhythmic breathing when you both shot up during a knock on Gs door.

“What the actual fuck??” you panted out from the shock”

“That...” Georgia looked confused towards the door when it knocked again

“It's not Lucy... Ona promised me she'll... occupie her for the night” you said disgust laced in your voice as Georgia stood up approaching the door carefully

“Yeah?” your girlfriend opened the door a crack to get pushed – door included – to the side

“Nena?? Are you in here?” you heard a very VERY familiar voice

“Mapí??” you asked confused sitting up on the couch

“Sí... ay dios I finally found you” the tattooed spaniard exclaimed happily as she fell on the couch right next to you

“¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?” you asked subconsciously switching to spanish

“Te estaba buscando POR TODAS PARTES” Mapí huffed while your girlfriend still stood frozen in place next to the door

“¿por qué?” you asked confused as Georgia realized what just happened and came into the living room with an upset “Hey!”

“Alexia nos separó a Ingrid y a mí y me aburrí solo así que pensé en mirar si estás bien... hay muchas puertas en esta casa... Y los alemanes no son amigables cuando tocas a sus puertas...” the spaniard shrugged her shoulders

“Please don't tell me you knocked on every single door...” you begged her knowing the answer already

“Of course I did... Lucy just said the street and number... not the name.. there's no Bronze here” Mapí looked at you like you were stupid

“Dear Jesus...” you whined “... of course not... her name is Stanway” you pointed at your girlfriend who stood in the middle of the living room looking a little lost

“Oh... yeah... my bad” the blonde spaniard shrugged her shoulders “... don't you want to offer me a drink?”

“I want to offer you a taxi to the hotel but I know that's not going to happen anytime soon...” you exhaled “... would you like a hot or cold beverage Mapí?”

“I would like some... do they have water in Germany?” Maps asked after thinking for a second

“No Mapí... if you want water you have to drink out of the toilet” you deadpanned sarcastically

“Ay dios mio... that's asquerosa” the tattooed spaniard exclaimed her face horrified

“Of course they have water here... you want normal water or with bubbles?” you exclaimed and out of nowhere Georgia bursted out laughing

“You two are best friend material...” your girlfriend heaved out in between laughs

“Sí we are” Mapí grinned proudly

“She's family at this point... can't do anything about it” you huffed holding out your hand so your girlfriend could pull you up “With or without León?”

“With... I'm all for protection” the blonde spaniard said seriously

“Estupida” you mumbled as you padded into the kitchen

“Okay.. you listen to me Stansway...” Mapí turned towards Georgia as soon as you left the room “... mi neña is precious okay... you are not allowed to hurt her again... I will personally come for your throat... I might look all nice and stuff but mi familia is holy to me... I will end you if you ever pull some shit like that again”

“I get it okay... I fucked up...” your girlfriend rolled her eyes “... I don't WANT to hurt her but you know yourself that that's part of relationships... don't tell me Engen and you never fight”

“We do... but never did one of us scraped on death door like she did the last few weeks” the blonde spaniard said and Georgia realized how much you meant to the Barcelona girls

“I try not to fuck up anymore...” Georgia looked Mapí dead in the eye “... I promise I TRY... but I can't promise that I won't”

“Bueno... I didn't come here so I potentially have to kill you... it would make mi neña sad...” Mapí nodded curtly when she spotted you entering the room again

“What makes me sad?” you asked as you pushed a glass of water into Mapís hand

“Lucy ate half your chocolate” the spaniard blurted out quickly

“WHAT?? That bitch!!” you exclaimed upset

“I'll get you new chocolate Babe okay...” your girlfriend played along with Mapís lie “... they have really good chocolate here...”

“It was Cadburys....” you grumbled “... the good shit”

“I'll text Leah to get some and send it over okay” Georgia tried again to get you to calm down

“I get you some tomorrow at the airport mi neña...” the blonde spaniard said “... and I'll break Lucys hands if she tries taking them from you...”

“You can't break her hands Maps...” you rolled your eyes but smiled a little bit

“Oh but I can...” the tattooed spaniard nodded quickly “... It's easy”

“You can't hurt her... you guys still need her” you pointed out

“Is she playing football with her hands?” Mapí asked confused

“Hm...” you said a little dumb folded “... fair point”

Of course Mapí decided to stay the night at your girlfriends place and you woke up to a million texts and calls all asking if you knew where the quirky spaniard was. You complemented if you should lie and just say you haven't seen her since the game but a very tearful call from Ingrid herself made you tell her that the stupid spaniard was snoring on your girlfriends couch. Let's just say Ingrid wasn't very happy with her girlfriend when she came to pick both of you up. Georgia came to the airport with you trying to get as much time with you before you had to leave. Lucy looked very tired as you approached her and Ona while the small spaniard grinned happily and it made you shudder

“Hey Bubs” your sister yawned and you immediately spotted a small but still very much present hicky on her collarbone and it made you pull your face up in disgust

“Don't touch me...” you heaved

“Excuse me...” Lucy looked at you shocked

“I don't know if you washed your hands...” you took a step back just to get hugged from behind from Ona who grinned from ear to ear

“Oh she did... this morning in the shower... three times” Ona mumbled into your ear having you in a death grip

“EEEEEEKKK...” you screeched and tried to get away from the spaniard with the result that you dragged her away with you – much to the amusement of all the other players

“Let goooo...” you whined when you spotted your resuce “... Keiraaaaaa”

“Hm??” the englishwoman looked at you unimpressed

“Help....” you whined trying to wriggle Ona off you

“Ehrm....” Keira pretended to think about helping you “... no”

“Whyyyyy...??” you whined loudly

“Well... I don't know if she washed her hands...” the englishwoman smirked sending you into a whole new frenzy trying to shake Ona off you

“Oh ew ew ew ew ew ew ew” you squeaked as you started to run in small circles dragging a laughing Ona along with you

“Calm down Bebita...” the small spaniard laughed holding onto you tightly “... I promised you I washed my hands...”

“Ggggggg!!!!” you yelled taking off towards your girlfriend

“What should I do??” your girlfriend looked at you shocked

“Get it off meeee” you whined stopping right in front of her turning around so you and Onas back were facing Georgia

“Maybe just ask nicely if she could let go?” Georgia looked at you shocked not knowing how to cope with the situation

“Let go... let go... let go...” you started to wriggle more strongly much to Onas amusement who just tightened her grip on you

“Cariño!!” Alexia called over “Stop playing around.... we're boarding soon”

“Make her let goooo...” you whined and Alexia just rolled her eyes

“Ona...” the blonde capitan huffed out and Ona immediately let go of you “... gracias”

“You are a very mean spaniard” you grumbled making Ona laugh again

“You still love me” the small player chuckled

“No I don't...” you grumbled as you pushed yourself past her in the arms of your girlfriend

“Yes you do” Georgia chuckled “... we see each other soon okay?”

“Can't you...” you mumbled against your girlfriends shoulder

“You know I can't Babe...” your girlfriend mumbled against your hair so no one would hear her words

“How soon is soon?” you asked your voice lowly

“Soon... couple of weeks” Georgia pressed a suble kiss to your hairline

“You promise?” you asked getting insecure

“I promise... I swear on my life” your girlfriend smiled softly

“I saw your life... swear on something else” you deadpanned pushing a little bit away so you can look at her

“I have a good...” Georgia started but with three pair of raised eyebrows directed at her made her shut up quickly “... what??”

“Yes G... you have a perfect life...” Keira said sarcastically “... let's start with your german lessons... when was the last time you went?”

“I go every time I have time...” your girlfriend defended herself

“You were on injury break...” Lucy pointed out

“And I couldn't walk... how should've gotten there??” Georgia grumbled

“Taxi... Uber... Teammates...” Keira deadpanned

“Fuck you Walsh...” your girlfriend huffed making you laugh

“Come on Bubs.... we need to go... Ale is THIS close to get a coronary” your sister laid her arms around your shoulders and pulled you away a little bit

“One minute... please Luce” you begged her quietly

“Okay... one minute” Lucy smiled softly as you immediately turned around again throwing yourself into the arms of your girlfriend

“What you want to do tonight Bubs??” Lucy asked you as you exit the airport in Barcelona

“Dunno...” you said sadly already missing your girlfriend

“Alexia asked if we want to come around later... she'll make dinner and apparently she has a surprise guest for you” Ona said as she flanked your other side

“Hm....” you hummed and your sister noticed how down you were

“Let's just go over there for an hour and then we can leave again okay Bubs... Kei will be there too” your sister said softly and you nodded slowly

“An hour?” you asked

“Just an hour... if you want to stay longer then that's okay too.... let's just play it by ear okay?” Lucy kept her voice soft and you nodded again

“Okay... so how does this game work?” Mapí asked confused again after dinner when all of you relocated to Lucys and Onas living room since Alexia put her foot down not wanting Mapí and you ever again together in her living room... and with all of you you meant half the team plus the “surprise guest” in form of Jenni Hermoso herself

“Gosh.. you're dense sometimes.. someone tells two truths and one lie... as a group – or more groups – you have to find out the lie” you rolled your eyes as you explained again “It's literally called “Two truths and a lie”... it's not rocket science León”

“Ay... don't last name me... I didn't do anything trouble... not fair” Mapí immediately exclaimed

“You being stoopid” you said huffy

“If you don't stop immediately you both go to bed early” Keira interrupted your interaction knowing both of you were too stubborn to back down now “and no you won't share a room”

“Wow.. Walsh in mom mode... didn't think I live to see the day” Lucy teased her ex who immediately kicked her ankle

“Thanks to you I got thrown into motherhood pretty early in my life – and let me tell you I decided real motherhood can wait a few more years...” the blonde said firmly

“I second that” Alexia mumbled next to her “... these two made me rethink my whole life plan... I already told Olga no kids for the next 10 years”

“Oy!!” you exclaimed as Mapí backed you up with a “Ay!!”

“We're gonna play now or you want to send the kids to bed.... mom” your sister smirked at Keira who just threw her a death glare

“Okay.... since I know Mapí is stoopid and doesn't understand the concept of TWO TRUTHS AND ONE LIE.... you go as a group or pairs?” you said railing Maps up on purpose

“Bitsy” Keira warned you knowing what you were doing

“Sorry mom” you said ashamed and the blonde just huffed

“I would say pairing up as three?” Lucy said looking around “Ona, Kei and me.. Ale, Pina and Frido... Maps, Ingrid and Caro... Patri, Panos and Cata?”

“And what's with me?” Jenni asked confused looking around

“You're the ref” your sister said “You have to decide who wins if there's a draw”

“What does the winner get?” Pina asks now interested

“Bragging rights?” you said shrugging your shoulders

“That's lame” Mapí mumbled

“I can tell you how WE use to play it but there responsible adults around” you smirked

“Oh do tell Bitsy” now Keira seems interested “Who's “we” and how do you play”

“Ehrm...” you stuttered knowing you just fucked up “We... like... Toons, Less, G, Niamh... you know... the gang.... Mills and Rach” you mumbled quickly

“Hm...” the blonde made a “go on” sound and raised her eyebrow at you

“and the winner gets... gets... gets” you tried to find a way out of the situation “... gets... coffee.... yes.. YES.. coffee!! For a week”

Now Keira just lifted both eyebrows her jaw set as she looked at you expectantly and finally you broke

“Winner decides what loser has to do... and mostly it's not nice stuff” you mumbled under your breath

“Like?” Keira didn't give up

“Get coffee at Starbucks at 8AM” you said ashamed and just as Keira wanted to say something you mumbled a “naked”

“Excuse me???” now your sister looked at you like you lost your goddamn mind

“It wasn't me” you quickly clarified

“Then who...” Lucy asked before she remembered the newspaper article “... YOU made Millie Bright walk into Starbucks naked???”

“Yeah...” you snorted “... was payback for her making me call Viv topless – poor woman ran into a cupboard”

Jenni spit her drink out she just took a sip from and started coughing while Mapí burst out laughing, Alexia looking horrified, Keira just shook her head and Lucy gasped for air

“Okay... winner get's to decide what loser has to do... if there's more than one loser team it gets decided by coin toss who has to do it... okay... here we go” you quickly got on with the game before more questions arise – you kept the worst to yourself and told them a rather harmless thing

“Okay...” you thought for a second “... I taught Ella Toone to waltz, I taught myself to play the violin and I let my girlfriend tattoo me.... find the lie”

“Easy” your sister snorted but you KNEW she would be wrong

“Can we ask questions?” Pina asked a little confused

“Sure” you shrugged your shoulders

“Okay... what is the tattoo” Pina asks immediately catching on that she can rule things out by asking the right questions

“It's something personal – it's not about me but about someone who is very important to me” you answer with a straight face

“Hm...” Pina mused

“When did you start to play the violin?” now Ingrid asked

“About three years ago” you kept a straight face through your answers not wanting to give something away

“Who taught you?” the norwegian asked

“Started with YouTube videos and then got a teacher after about six month because I found out I liked it and want to continue playing” you said

Ingrid nodded and turned to Caro and Mapí so they could consult about the lie

“How long did it take you to teach Tooney to waltz” Keira smirked already figured out the lie herself but she kept it to herself for fun of the game

“Forever” you rolled your eyes “But hey – there's only so much to do in Manc...”

“More specific?” Keira pressed you smirking

“Ugh... something between 6 and 18 month” you rolled your eyes knowing Keira figured you out

“That's oddly unspecific” Alexia looked confused

“Look... if you spend too much time with Ella Toone and Less Russo you don't even remember your own name because these two kill every living brain cell you own... so that is more than specific” you cleared up

“What violin do you play?” Ingrid interrupted pondering looking you straight in the eyes

“A Karl Höfner Allegro 4/4” you answered confident and Ingrid eyes widen a little bit

“Where is your tattoo” Alexia asked and she seemed pretty sure about her assumption

“On my ribcage” you smirked

“I saw you without a shirt” Mapí yelled out before Caro elbowed her in the side and shushed her

“We all saw her without a shirt genius... she was in a sports bra and shorts at the beach” Patri rolled her eyes

“Any more questions?” you asked into the round looking around

All the players shook their head and you smiled

“Okay.. you get a minute to decide on an answer... put it down on paper and give your answer to the ref and I'll tell her what the lie is and then she can sort the rest out”

After a minute every team gave a folded paper to Jenni who looked at you expectantly as you leaned over and whispered the lie into her ear. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at you shocked

“Seriously?? THAT'S the lie... ay dios mio... I'm already looking forward when this comes out...” she smirked evilly

“Get going then” you grinned back seeing different reactions on the different peoples faces

“Okay... Team Goalfielder?? What is Goalfielder?” Jenni asked confused

“These two” Panos pointed to Cata and Patri “I had nothing to do with that”

“What does that even suppose to mean?” Jenni asked even more confused

“Goalkeeper and Midfielder... Midkeeper sounded stupid” Patri said in a “duh” voice

You snorted loudly while Mapí repeated the two words lowly and nodded at Goalfielder understanding and the rest of the team just groaned

“Okay... team... goalfielder... sorry I can't say that” the dark haired spaniard said “Panos... your team is wrong... that's not the lie”

“Damn it... told you!!” Panos grumbled at her two teammates

“Okay... who came up with Norwegian-connection??” Jenni asked upset feeling like an idiot as Ingrid and Caro pointed to Mapí who just grinned proudly

“This is gets worse and worse” Jenni mumbled before opening the folded paper “Nope... also wrong... not the lie”

“I swear Alexia if you put down a stupid team name too I go on a strike” Jenni threatened her best friend looking at the folded paper “Sweniards? SWENIARDS???!!!!”

“I have PINA on my team” Alexia said back seriously “You think I wanted that??”

That did it for you – you couldn't hold yourself together anymore and just bursted out laughing and if it wasn't for Jenni herself who held you back you would have fallen of a couch once again.

“I swear you all do that to piss me off” Jenni mumbled “Nope... also wrong”

“Keira please... save my dignity when I turn around that paper there's no team name on it” Jenni basically begged Keira who smirked

“Sorry Hermoso... but everyone has one” the blonde said

“Really... “The exes”?? Not really fitting is it now??” the dark haired raised her eyebrow annoyed

“Why?” Lucy asked confused “Kei is my Ex, I'm her ex...”

“So this team is you and Keira and Ona just sits there looking pretty?” you asked confused now

“Thank you for calling me pretty” Ona smiled at you

“Ay Batlle.. I'M pretty spaniard...” Alexia shoved her teammates ankle playfully

“No Bitsy... Ona is an Ex too” Keira smirked down right evil

“Huh?” Mapí, Pina and you didn't catch on while Caro just looked at Lucy, Keira and Ona with wide shocked eyes

“Ona is technically my ex Bitsy” Keira rolled her eyes

“Excuse me... wha???” you still couldn't grab it

“Before you break her... you're right... point for... the exes” Jenni rolled her eyes

“Oh I know...” Keira just waved off grinning

“OH DEAR JESUS FUCKING DISTGUSTING CHRIST!!!” you yelled out horrified scrambling backwards until you sat on Jennis lap

“NOW she has it” Keira laughed and even Lucy and Ona started laughing at your reaction

“Is this whole sport one big swap meet????????” you screeched as Jenni held you in her lap securely so you wouldn't fall over the arm of the couch

“I could say...” Lucy started as she got interrupted from Mapís screech

“WHY???!!!”

“Why what?” Ingrid asked her girlfriend

“Why did... THEY” Mapí asked shocked pointing from Keira to Ona and back

“Call it stress relieve” Keira shrugged her shoulders “No strings – just stress relieve”

“You” Mapí pointed at Ona “You look so nice and innocent and sweet and loving”

“Yeah no... she's not” Lucy snorted pulling Ona onto her lap

“Okay... but what's the lie now?” Pina asked still not catching on and everyone was thankful for her obliviousness

“It's IMPOSSIBLE to teach Ella Toone anything...” you waved off

“So all of you were wrong except the... unconventional threesome over there” you pointed at your sister, her ex and current girlfriend but you wouldn't look at them

“Damnit.. I was so sure you have no tatts” Mapí snipped her fingers

“Why would you think that... have you seen me girlfriend??” you asked confused

“Because they would kill you” Mapí pointed at Keira and Lucy who infact did look a little pissed

“About that” your sister started “Please tell me you're joking and you in fact changed the game to two lies and one truth”

“Oh no...” you shook your head like it was nothing

“Show me... right now” Lucy growled “I can't believe you have a tattoo... and I will rip G a new one for putting one on you”

“It's just her name” you rolled your eyes railing your sister up

“EXCUSE ME????” your sister exploded “NAME????!!!!!”

“And a little heart next to it” you said sweetly

“Bitsy” Keira said calmly as she laid her hand on Lucys arm “Tell me it's not a name with a heart”

“Dear god.. what do you think of me?? I'm no idiot” you rolled your eyes

“Then show us” Lucy demanded and you pulled your shirt over your head and lifting your bra a little bit so roman number were revealed

“What's that?” your sister asked confused “but good place... nicely hidden.. and really nicely done” she complemented Georgias work

“It's a date” you said as you pulled your bra down again so your tattoo was hidden again

“A date?” Alexia asked confused

“Yes... 26/06/13... June 26th 2013” you smiled slightly

“What's so special about this random day that you have it forever on your body?” Patri asked confused as she couldn't place anything special to that day

“It's...” you started but got interrupted by your sister

“It's the day of my first cap as a member of the Senior squad... against Japan” Lucy said lowly and you saw how emotional she got

“Don't start crying you sap” you threatened her smiling while Lucy just opened her arms and you quickly crawled over to her

“Don't infect me with whatever disease you have... don't want to end up as one of your exes too” you mumbled against your sister neck as she hugged you tightly and laughed at your comment

“That's cute... but now I want to know about the violin” Panos interrupted your sweet moment

“Uh yeah... forgot about that” Patri perked up

“You forget mostly everything” Alexia said nonchalantly

“What about Giovanni??” you asked as you pulled away from Lucy just a little bit

“You play?” Ingrid asked interested

“Still a beginner but yes...” you confirmed “Helped me sort my thoughts after me third ACL”

“It's amazing how Manchester you sound when you come of a call with Ella” Keira snorted over your deep Manchester accent.

“Want to play something together?” Ingrid smiled encouraging

“You play too?” you asked surprised

“Piano...” the norwegian nodded her head

“I never played with someone...” you started to bite your lip

“Pleeeaaaase y/n” Mapí begged “I bet it sounds amazing”

“We can do something easy” Ingrid nudged you a little bit

“Let me get Giovanni” you sighed knowing you wouldn't get out of playing anyway

You got to your room and got your violin from the back of the closet carefully putting the case on your bed opening it carefully. You opened the lid and took your violin out of the case going back to the living room

“I got me instrument... but where is yours?” you looked at Ingrid

“At home of course – it's not like I could carry around a Piano” the norwegian grinned

“Off to our house then” Mapí yelled already jumping up with Pina and Patri following suit

“So I put Giovanni back in his case?” you asked confused

“Or you play a single piece here and at a later date we could play together” Ingrid smiled encouraging

“Okay... but no one judges or says a word...” you said suddenly feeling a little bit insecure about your playing

“No one will judge Cariño” Alexia promised

“Can we....” you started at Keira for help

“What do you need Bitsy” the blonde said lowly

“Too bright” you mumbled and Keira understood immediately

“You got candles Luce?” Keira asked your sister

“Enough to set the north pole on fire” Lucy rolled her eyes pointing towards a cabinet

“I like candles okay?” Ona huffed

“They're lovely candles” Lucy said quickly and you snorted at their antics

Suddenly the light went out and there were just a few candles in the corner lighting the room just a tad. You took a deep breath lifting your violin trapping it between your neck and jaw. You closed you eyes lifted the bow and started playing. It was one of the easiest pieces you know but when you opened your eyes half way threw you could see tears streaming down Keiras face. Despite crying the blonde was smiling slightly. Lucy had Ona in her lap, your sisters head on her girlfriends shoulder her eyes closed as she listened to your play. Thank god nearly all of them were tone deaf so no one except for Ingrid noticed your little slip up right at the beginning. The norwegian had her head laid down on Mapís shoulder smiling slightly knowing how much courage it took for you to stand here in front of all of them and open up a little bit about yourself. Alexia just looked at you in awe while Jenni shook her head in disbelieve.

You looked around the living room while playing the little piece you knew by heart and realized that Lucy kept her promise once again – she brought you home

The End

So guys... that's it for now... there will be an epilogue at some point and I'll keep writing shorties but I don't have the time to belt out full chapters anymore – the story deserves more than I can give so I'm gonna end it here

(If you wondered what piece BB is playing... this piece)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for making my sister lie about her gender for BOTH our financial gain?

Tw for mentions of transphobia, abuse, and suicide

I (26F she/her) and my sister (21X she/they) are both transgender. We're extremely low contact with our father, and moved out together at the first opportunity. Our parents are conservatives and emotionally abused us basically the entirety of our childhood, and after my mother died and after covid it only got worse (think alt-right, flat earther, qanon)

Basically, as much as I would love to go completely no-contact with our father I'm sticking it out in the lowest contact relationship I can manage. My father is severely transphobic, but we live on a "don't ask don't tell" kind of rule where even though we are both obviously queer and transgender (on HRT nonetheless) he just keeps pretending that nothing has changed.

Recently out of nowhere my sister has gotten extremely hellbent on the idea of telling him off in one last "fuck you" before cutting him off. I have been very vocally against this, even if I also would love to because:

1) if we blow this entire relationship up we'll be taken off the will and removed from life insurance, which equals over a fat MILLION as well as a full paid off property. You can imagine as two broke 20 y/os in this economy this is a literal dream. This is our one shot at getting a house and being financially stable.

2) she does not have to interact with him. I'm the one who has to do all the talking over text when he reaches out every few months. She does not see the texts where he misgenders/deadnames her. She herself hasn't had to interact with him beyond a short birthday wish for the past 5 years, so I don't think she has the right to blow this for the both of us just to get the final word

3) not to be crass but he might do it soon, and there's nobody left in his life who's going to talk him down off that ledge. Chances of success are pretty high. Family history of depression, no friends, he's dead to us already, he also made me suicidal from abuse so I have no empathy for him etc etc. Payout is less, but still 5% is life changing for us. Point is I'm not asking my sister to lie until she's 60 here.

Now I think the reason my sister is so focused on getting the final word *might* be related to that last point, wanting to get it in before he kicks the bucket. But I don't think it's a worthy tradeoff for everything else. I've told her that if she does something stupid and blows this for us, she'll have to find another roommate (I would not be kicking her out, I would move out, she just doesn't like the idea of living with anyone else but me).

So, AITA for making my sister lie about her gender to our father, just for a little while longer?

[bteezxyewriter12]

Annoyed Series

Yoongi

Pairing- Yoongi x Named Reader

Word count- 989 Words

Includes- Everything is consensual, argument, established relationship, public sex, outdoor sex, missionary, dirty talk, mocking, name calling, squirting, multiple orgasms, fluff

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxminnie @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@borntowalkaway @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @seokwoosmole @meowmeowminnie @realisticnotes @effielumiere @svnbangtansworld @pinkies-things @insomniacatiny @amyz78 @marvelfamily3000

Gif Credit- taee.tumblr.com

Masterlists- check out for more fics

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📝Yoongi Masterlist

Running after her, I grab her wrist, pulling her to a stop

"Are you fucking kidding me?", I yell, "You piss me off and you're running away?"

"I told you it wasn't my fault! They surprised me!", she snaps

This was supposed to be a little camping trip, just me and her

With my heavy work schedule I rarely have time off

I was looking forward to just being with her

And who shows up?

Her sister and her boyfriend

A "nice surprise"

"If you hadn't blabbed about where we were going, no one could of surprised us", I growl

"I was excited! God forbid I tell my sister that I'm going somewhere with my husband!"

"Please Joanne! I know you blabbed every detail. How else would they know the exact campsite?", I scoff

"Fuck you!", she snaps

"Fuck me? Fuck me?", I shout in shock

"Yeah fuck you!"

Oh ok, fuck me, yeah we'll see about that

Stepping right up to her, I grab her chin, titling her head up so she's looking at me

"Get on the fucking grass"

She raises her eyebrow, surprise in them, "What?"

"Lay on the fucking grass"

"Yoongi-"

"Now!", I bark

She glares at me as she sits then lays back

Moving to my knees, I hover over her, grabbing at her shorts and pulling them down

"Fuck me huh?", I growl, tearing her panties off, her pretty cunt on display

And already soaked

I know she gets turned on when I'm pissed off and I think she riles me up on purpose

Well she's going to get it now

Undoing my belt, I get my own shorts open and pull them and my boxers down just enough for my hard dick to be freed

"We'll see who's getting fucked", I snap

Grabbing her legs, I shove them to her chest, then push my cock in in one stroke

She gasps as her cunt clenches my cock so fucking hard, my dick already soaked

I move immediately, pumping my cock in and out of her pretty tight pussy, bliss shooting in my body instantly

Squeezing her legs, I pound her cunt wide open, splitting that tiny hole

"Fuck me", I snap, "I'm not the one getting fucked right now"

"Yoongi", she moans, in pleasure, her cunt creaming my dick so much, it's everywhere and leaving a pretty ring of cream around my base

God that's so hot

"Yoongi", I mock, glaring at her, "Not so tough right now with my cock shoved up that tiny cunt huh?"

She whimpers, her body arching as I smash her spot over and over, feeling her clench on every inch of my length, trying to keep me inside

Sucking me back in with every thrust

"You talk like you're the big shit but as soon as my cock is inside you you're a moaning whimpering mess with a pussy that can't stop drooling on my dick"

Her moans along with the squelching sound of her cunt taking my cock sounds in the meadow we found ourselves in

Her pussy looks so pretty around my cock, those lips so swollen, petaling open with each thrust, each tug she gives me bringing me closer

"I shouldn't let you cum"

"No naekkeo", she cries, tears running down her pretty face, her body shaking in pleasure

"Should just cum in this tight cunt and leave you"

"No, no"

"No? But you basically told me to fuck myself. Not nice"

"I'm sorry naekkeo. I shouldn't...you were yelling and I was mad.. I'm sorry", she sobs

I laugh meanly, "Look at you, apologizing so you can cum. Acting like a starved little cum slut when I fuck you and make you cum every day"

"Pppp...please baby. Feels so good"

I scoff at her, "Fine, you can cum"

I press my fingers into her pulsing clit, rubbing hard as I crash into her cunt repeatedly

"Yoongi!", she screams, her pussy squirting and choking the life from my cock

I fuck her through it, snapping my hips into hers, going harder on her

"Cum again", I demand, "I know you can do it"

She whimpers, tears running down her face

"Aww look at the baby, crying on my cock. Feels that good?"

She nods, hiccupping

"Cum right now or I'm pulling out"

With that I destroy her spot, sending her right into an intense orgasm

"Yoongi!", she screams, her body arching as much as she can

Ecstasy slams into me and I moan her name, burying in her pussy to the hilt, coming so deep in her milking cunt

"Jjj...Joanne fuck", I choke out, my body shivering in pleasure

We ride it out together and I only pull out when we're both finished

She sits up, her arms moving around my neck, pressing a kiss to my lips

"I'm sorry naekkeo", she says, "I didn't mean for them to come on our trip. I wanted it to just be me and you too"

"I know jagi", I tell her, "I just took my anger out on you and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry"

She shakes her head, "It's ok naekkeo. But how about we spend like a day or two with them then we can say you got a call to come back to work and we can leave and go somewhere else alone?"

I raise my eyebrow, smiling, "Yeah? You'd do that?"

She nods, "Anything for my Yoongi. And contrary to what you think, I want you all to myself too"

"I know you do jagi", I tell her, "Ok, I like your plan"

"Good", she smiles, then pulls me to her in another loving kiss

"Jo? Yoongi? Where are you?", her sister calls

She groans in my mouth, pulling away, "We better get ourselves together before they find us like this"

I nod, both of us getting our clothes back on

"C'mon jagi", I tell her, putting my arm around her

She leans her head against me as we start walking back to the campsite

[the-fiction-witch]

You... You can't just Kidnap a Girl FAGIN! P1

Media The Artful Dodger

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader (Lady)

Rating Cute

Requested:

Hey, I absolutely love your writing and I have an idea so basically y/n is the governor's daughter and belle's sister and she knows of jack and he's kinda admired her for a while and fagin knows it, but jack is in debt still so fagin kidnaps her or something to get jack the money and yeah that's it and maybe some ~smut~ . anyways I absolutely adore this fic so far and you don't have to do it but I just thought it was a cool idea 

I finished up with the rounds cleaning off my hands as I headed through the ward, my bottom lip between my teeth as Fagin followed me around while I was trying to work. He was panicking and frankly so was I, we had three days to get the rest of Darius' money... and currently we had about four pounds of the twenty-six required. 

"I told you no." I snapped down his stupid idea, 

"I don't know why you keep ignoring me dodge I have the best ideas..."

"You have terrible ideas, Fagin," I warn, 

"Why don't we... sell fake prescriptions?"

"No. I am not letting you get me in trouble."

"Why not... sell the damn mangy hospital cat." He said, "Five bob for the meat two for the skin, and we'll be on our way."

"Hosptial-" I began as I looked around spotting the little black cat on the floor nibbling at some removed fingers, the usual black fur, blue eyes and purple collar, "That is not a mangy street cat." I told him as I carefully went over and picked the cat up she very happily nuzzled into my arms for a cuddle starting to purr, "This is Lady Nightingale, Lady Y/n Fox's cat. This cat outranks the both of us." I warned him as I took the cat to the front office to keep it out of trouble, 

"she won't miss it-"

"Fagin." I stopped him, "I cannot. Cannot. be more clear about this. You touch that cat. it is both of our arses. That is the governor's daughter's cat and if so much as a hair on its perfectly brushed head is hurt I will ship you back to London myself," I told him,

"...When did you ever gain such an affection for cats?"

"I don't have an affection for cats. However, this one is a prized possession of someone very powerful and influential so it is in the best interests of our remaining alive if we do not hurt the cat." I told him as I gave the cat a pet and a check over as she tended to get into mischief on her way here, 

"Powerful and influential... with... money?" he encouraged, 

"Fagin..."

"If we happen to let the governor know his sweet girl's cat has gone... missing then surely a reward could be in order." 

"Fagin. We are on no condition kidnapping the governor's daughter's cat and holding it for ransom,"

"But think of the green dodge?"

"No. It is not happening. Not at all. No way. Absolutely not. I want you to swear to me."

"...Fine... I Swear I will not Kidnap the cat and hold it for ransom."

"Or hurt the cat."

"...Or hurt the cat."

"Alright then," I nodded just as I saw the door open, to a familiar sight.

Lady Y/n Fox wandered in, wearing her sweet little black leather boots, stockings, her beautiful lilac purple dress with a lobster tail bustle below it, and her sweet hair pinned up with her little dragonfly hairpin. She rushed in with a look of fear across her face as she often did but she relaxed a little when she saw me and Lady Nightingale, 

"Afternoon Y/n," I smiled, doing my best not to blush as I continued to pet her cat, 

"Good Afternoon Jack," she smiled, "I'm so sorry..." she said as she came to pet Lady Nightingale,

"It's alright I know she likes to come and keep us company,"

"Umm she likes to come to find you," she laughs, "Every time I open the window nowadays she bolts out to come to find you," 

"Yeah I guess so, but still I'm happy she'd be here with me so you know where she is." 

"I suppose so, and I get to come down and see you," 

"Yeah, I do get to see you, both of you." I smiled, "Well it was lovely to see you, Lady Nightingale, of course you are welcome to surgery as always as our best hospital patron, but now it is time to end the honour of your visit and head home with Lady Y/n," I laughed, 

"Yes and It was delightful for a visit with you two doctor Dawkins,  I know Lady Nightingale enjoyed it. and I'm sure she'll be back." She laughed as she picked the cat up in her arms, "Thank you for taking care of her Jack,"

"It's no problem really,"

"Thank you, I'm sure I'll see you around Doctor Dawkins," she smiled,

"I look forward to it Milady," I smiled giving her hand a kiss before she headed out with cat in hand, 

"Interesting... how you're on first name terms with the goveners daughter." Fagin smirked, "A lady no less..."

"Fagin. Do not. Hurt. Cat."

"I swear on Milife Dodge I won't hurt that cat."

"Alright then..." I nodded, "I need to get back to work," I sighed heading back to the ward, 

[mpregandproud]

Isaac II (Part 9)

After giving birth I was exhausted and fell asleep. A few hours later Isaac appeared in the room accompanied by our children and Lucas and Adam's children. Everyone gasped at the sight of little Andrew, Adam, Jon and Michael. Especially sensitive were Patrick and his boyfriend Isaac, a month away from being due with their pregnancies this welcome has really touched them deeply. They both looked at each other a lot, with the children in their arms, and were teary-eyed with emotion.

After a video call with the rest of the siblings who were at the university, not so with Sandra who showed no signs of life, Isaac and I stayed with dads-to-be Patrick and Isaac Jr.

“How are you guys feeling?”, I asked them.

“We are very tense and nervous. In 5 weeks we are going to go from two to seven. I don't know if we're ready”, Isaac said.

“I'm a nervous wreck. I think seeing my newborn brothers made me aware of what's to come”, Patrick added.

“One is never prepared for childbirth, I tell you from experience, and I've been through six already”, I told them.

“You guys are brave. You could have decided not to go through with this and you're facing it with positivity and a lot of strength, that's what's important”, said my husband Isaac.

“Does it hurt a lot, Dad?” asked Patrick worriedly.

“Very much. I can't tell you in words how much it hurts to give birth. But the experience of being a father is like nothing else”, I myself was crying with emotion as I said these words. “It is something you will remember for a lifetime, and it will be with you forever. I don't know if you will be together forever, but those children inside you will unite you forever. It will change your lives forever. You are about to live a unique experience”, I told them.

The next few days were absolute chaos. Between taking care of the newborn babies, the postpartum pains and the craziness that was going on at home with all the crazy kids with Patrick and Isaac in the final stretch of their pregnancy made those days crazy. We still hadn't heard from Sandra, who we hadn't been able to contact for a few weeks.

“I'm worried about Sandra, will they be okay”, I asked Isaac one night while breastfeeding Jon.

“We have had no news of accidents or disasters from South Africa, nothing to indicate that anything serious has happened to them, hopefully in a few days we will be able to talk to them”, Isaac said. He was basically right, as we had no indication that anything had happened to them.

It took three more days before we heard from Sandra. Cal sent us a message with a picture. “We are fine, don't worry. We have been very busy with little Samba. Meet our son, yes, I said it right, it's a boy. Although we were told it was going to be a girl it is seen that in the family we have a propensity to have boys”.

With the peace of mind of knowing that Sandra, Cal and little Samba were well, I was able to rest completely. A rest that I urgently needed. Almost two weeks after giving birth I had hardly slept, so with the peace of mind of the news I could finally sleep soundly.

But it's not quite quiet in this house. After seven hours of sleep, not enough for what I needed, I was awakened by screams I heard across the hall. I ran out of the room and saw Patrick scared out of his mind and wetting his pants. “Son, tell me you didn't pee your pants”, I said, ‘Dad, I think I'm in labor!’ he stammered.

I put him in the car and we sped off to the hospital. I alerted Isaac to leave the kids with my sister Esther and to come to the hospital. I tried to call Lucas, Adam and his son Isaac, but found no response. A pained Patrick was trying to engage him in conversation as well, but the attempts were fruitless. “Dad, I don't want to give birth if Isaac is not with me, how can he miss the birth of his children?” he would say to me in desperation. “Don't worry, honey, we'll get him. He'll be with you in the delivery room”, I tried to calm him down.

We arrived at the hospital and rushed into the emergency room. There stood Adam and Lucas with the phone in their hands. “Patrick! Thank goodness, Isaac has gone into labor, you have to go in with him, he didn't let us in so you could join him, hurry up”, Adam told him, clearly not noticing that the young man was in full labor as well. “Nurse, his boyfriend is already here, but I think you'll have to take him in on a stretcher, he's in labor too!” said Lucas, who has always been more observant.

Patrick was taken to the delivery room and I stayed with Lucas and Adam. The three of us, and Isaac who arrived 20 minutes later, were taken to a room with two large beds in the wing of the hospital dedicated to new mothers. “Have you ever gotten to give birth in a hospital, Dan?” asked Lucas. “Yes, when I gave birth to Tom and Hugo's triplets, the only time I've ever had a slow enough labor to get to the hospital in time”.

The wait was taking forever. We had been in the room for six hours already and the boys hadn't arrived. “It's normal for first timers”, Dr. Caroline told us at one point as she reached over to reassure us. “They usually go into labor very quickly, but then they have a hard time finishing it. Besides, your children are pregnant with three and two boys, boys of considerable size, are still going to be a long time coming”, I don't know if her visit reassured us or made us even more impatient, but I didn't know what to do.

“I remember when you went into labor with Daniel and Isaac we were out of town and had to race like we were in a race car to get to your house”, Lucas began to tell us. “I don't think we ever told you that day we got caught by 5 traffic radars and got 3 speeding tickets, but it was worth it. I think it's the most beautiful experience of our lives, and we owe it to both of you”, added Adam.

“Have you two thought about having more children after the quadruplets?” asked Adam two hours after sharing anecdotes of his children's pregnancy and delivery. “I'd love to say no, we're not having any more children, but that's what I said after we had the sextuplets and you see us”, I said resignedly. “I do want to have more children,” Isaac stated. “Really, you don't have enough with 16 kids and six grandkids?” hesitated Lucas. “Yes, that's an awful lot of kids, I'm not going to lie, but I think there's nothing I love more than seeing Dan pregnant with my kids. I know it's selfish and this will have to be up to him to decide as the one who would be gestating these children, but yes I would love to be a father again. I grew up in a very small family and saw my classmates who had many siblings and cousins, I wanted that too, but I could never have it. When I found out I was gay I thought my dream would never come true. But as an adult I've gotten a huge family that I love madly thanks to this amazing man who has made my dream come true, so why not keep going while we can”, Isaac acknowledged.

I won't lie if I say I haven't had a good time during my pregnancies, but with our age and all the babies we have around the house, I don't know if I'd want to try to get pregnant. “I don't know if I'd want to try to get pregnant again, although I'd be open to having more children if that's what luck wanted”, I admitted out loud. “And thanks to you for making me live this experience all these times, Isaac, you have discovered a side of my life that I never imagined and that I love deeply”, I gave my husband a little kiss.

Two and a half hours later Isaac and Patrick arrived in the room, both with exhausted faces and without their huge pregnant bellies, although both had flabby bellies that undoubtedly showed the process they had gone through. Patrick was accompanied by two boys, Anton and Ian. Isaac came with Benji, Liam and Zach. The babies were the perfect mix of the two of them.

“Guys, congratulations to both of you on becoming parents. We know life won't be easy for the two of you from now on, so the four of us have been talking and we've bought you a little house near our homes so you'll have your own space to grow your children together”, Adam began. “But there are strings attached”, Isaac added. “You are both hired in our store so that you can earn money and provide for your children, you are responsible for them from now on”, Lucas said. “And, one more condition, we introduce you to your friend the condom -I said taking a condom out of my pocket- use them, you are too young to have more children at this point. Do us a favor and don't give us any more grandchildren until a few years have passed, promise?” I finished.

“Oh please, of course we swear”, Isaac said. “The last thing I would want right now is to go through childbirth again. I love you so much Isaac, honey, but I don't want to go through this pain again, at least for now”, Patrick said holding his boyfriend's hand and laughing.

Go to Part 10

[shelbgrey]

Being Seeley Booth's Best friend Headcanons:

Paring: Seeley Booth x Platonic!Reader, reader x Lance Sweets

Summary: headcanons on what it's like to have Seeley Booth as your Person(greys fans know what I mean)

1.8) “not all soul mates are lovers”

MasterList

To the unknown or to strangers that see you on the street, might think your a couple. Sure your touchy with each other but your both strictly best friends and it's all Platonic.

Your Hodgins little cousin if your wondering, but your the first one at the jeffersonian Booth really clicked with.

You guys kinda became an unlike duo and people knew he was basically your body guard.

Like I said before you guys are close, so that means your arms might be linked sometime, you'll eat or drink after each other... You guys are just really comfortable with each other.

At time you do think you guys might be too close, like your afraid it might screw up your actual relationships.

“you think our friendship bothers Bones and Lance?” you asked.

“it doesn't bother Bones... She told me she'd figured if we we're attracted to each other we'd already be together”

You guys have been friends longer than you guys been in your romantic relationships, so Lance nor Temperance has an actual problem.

Lance might get jealous at times, like he might think Seeley is more attractive or he'll think you guys would make a better couple. You'll make sure to get those thoughts out of his head and you make sure Lance knows he's the only guy for you.

Lance knows your friendship is strictly Platonic, hell Seeley even helped you guys admit your feelings for one another.

The thought of you guys being more than friends grosses you guys out. You guys maybe comfortable with each other and might have shared a bed, but the thought of having sex disterbs the both of you.

“ew... She's literally like a sister to me!”

If you have a problem and you can't tell Lance you go to Seeley, you know he'll never judge you.

The feeling is mutual, he'll go to you if he has to vent about the army, work, or if he needs advice on how to deal with Temperance.

You are now the soul keeper of his dog tags, you wear them for good luck.

You guys say many things to show your affection, some loving and some inappropriate(you know its all love tho). You say things like, “love ya”, “suck it”, “hey, loser”, “shut it bitch”

Of course you usually call him 'bitch'. He knows it's a joke but he can't bring himself to call you that back.

His brother having the hots for you, but he actually really creeps you out. Before you started dating Lance his brother would hit on you when he visited DC, you told Seely about it and he got his brother to back off.

Nicknames are all over the the place, but your favorite one for him is 'bub'. He calls your 'shorty' or 'kid'.

Since your a 'squint' you say words he doesn't understand and sometimes he tries to talk like you a fails. “I need a.. What do you call it, I swabie thing”

“a what?” you asked as he digged through your drawers in the Lab.

He sighs. “come on, I have to figure out what you say everyday and you can't figure out 'swabie thing'?”

Some people do question your relationship and even try to get you guys to turn on each other or even try to tamper with your romantic relationship(*cough* Daisy *cough*)

“he's my person,”

He's very protective of you... Sometimes it gets annoying but you know he means we'll.

“if you ever touch her again, I WILL kill you!”

You guys do have fights, it's rare but if it happens it gets really heated. The fights are mostly about your guys stupidity at work.

“you could have died! You realize that?” he shouted.

“your not the boss of me! Your not my father!”

“well, if I was you wouldn't be this stupid!” he'll regret it immediately. If there was one thing he never want you to think is that your stupid.

He knows your knowledge is an insecurity. You feel like your not as smart as the others, so Seeley is always there to hype you up and remind you of the big brain you have.

Most of the time you guys will immediately make up. He'll pull you into a massive hug and tell you he's sorry over and over.

Speaking of hugs, he gives the best bear hugs. His hug make you feel extremely safe.

Being each other's best man/woman at your guys weddings.

You are the designated babysitter for both Parker and Christine. They both call you 'Aunty y/n'

Him and Temperance babyset your Kids when ever they can.

You guys love blasting music and just jam out in the car or at your apartments.

He's your shoulder to cry on, I think he's the only one aside from Lance that really seen you absolutely lose it.

His grandfather basically adopting you and you call him pops like Seeley dose. Sometime Hank will leave the nursing home just to check in on you and Lance.

You go to alot of crime scenes together, you have the same job as your cousin Hodgins, but if Temperance can't go with him to investigate you'll Tag along.

There's nothing he wouldn't do for you. You, Bones, and christine are his world.

He's got your back and he'll die if it ment protecting you.

Angela once said this about you two: “not all soulmates are lovers”

She's not wrong, your the sister he never had or asked for.

You'll never have a friend like him and you don't plan on getting ride of him anytime soon.

[thelovelylolly]

I saw your requests are open, could i request a Billy Hargrove friends to lovers fake dating oneshot?

Reader has an outgoing personality and is super caring and protective of her loved ones.(If you know what the enneagram types are shes a 7 and in the mbti types shes an ENFP. If you dont know what those are, its all good dont worry about it!)

She grew up in a loving household but her family is having a get together and she told a family member she had a bf that way people would stop asking her about dating and now shes in a heap of trouble till she realizes no one in her family has met billy..?

Fake It

Summary : After lying and telling your family you had a boyfriend, they want you to bring him to a family gathering. Realizing you needed a fake boyfriend, you ask your friend for help. Warnings : ooc billy, not proof read bc im sleepy Notes : ooooh i like this idea, thank you for requesting it! i hope you enjoy it <3

You knew you shouldn't have told your gossipy aunt that you had a boyfriend. She was visiting and she kept getting on your nerves. While doing schoolwork, she sat next to you and started asking about your love life. You wanted her off your back so you said you had a boyfriend and she seemed pleased by your answer.

Then your mom asked you to bring this mystery boyfriend to your family get together.

Of course your aunt would tell your mom, she couldn't shut her mouth and when it came to her sister, it was physically impossible. Then she spread it to the rest of the family and now, only a week out from the gathering, you needed a boyfriend and fast.

You ran through any of your guy friends that could work, but most of them had met your family and they knew you'd never date any of them. Steve was the closest to a possible date, but he wasn't the best liar.

You were laying on your bed as you thought through all your options. Maybe you could say that you had broken up with this made-up guy, but your family would dig for details. Maybe you could say he went to another school in another county, but that would clearly be a lie.

Then it hit you. You knew a guy who hadn't met your family, you had barely mentioned him at all to them, and he could play the part well. You rolled over and grabbed the phone, dialing his number quickly. It ringed a few times before you heard him pick up.

"Hello?"

"Billy, I need your help."

"If this is about Mrs. Scott's research project, then-"

"No, it's nothing for school. I...I can explain this later but I need you to be my fake boyfriend."

Billy went quiet for a few moments and you thought he hung up.

"Billy, you there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. It's just...fake boyfriend?" He replied before laughing. "I mean, in what situation do you need a fake boyfriend? You could easily get any guy to actually date you, why ask me?"

"Listen, my aunt told my entire family I have a boyfriend and they all want me to bring him to this family gathering I'm having. It'll just be a one time thing. You'll drive us there, we'll act like a nice couple, then go home and hopefully my family will stop bothering me."

"Okay...what's in it for me?"

You sighed, rolling onto you back to look at the ceiling. "Name it."

Billy thought for a moment, then said, "I want one real date."

"A...real date?"

"Mhm," he hummed.

You twisted the phone cord around your finger as blush warmed your cheeks. "Fine, we'll go on a real date."

"Alright, babe, see you at school."

You giggled. "Bye, Billy."

You heard a click from his end before you put your phone up, taking a deep breath. You couldn't believe Billy Hargrove agreed to be your fake boyfriend for your family gathering in exchange for a date.

--

The following week consisted of you and Billy hanging out at school more and calling each other at night. You two basically planned your entire relationship out, making sure your family couldn't poke holes in it. You two met at school in english class, he would walk you to your locker and next class everyday, you caught feelings but he confessed first, your first date was at a diner near the school, you go to all of his sports games and wear his jacket.

The day of your family get together, you got ready and waited for Billy to pick you up. Your parents had already gone over and most of your family has probable done the same. You heard Billy's Camaro pull into your driveway and you went out to meet him.

You slid into the passenger's seat and as you buckled your seatbelt, Billy leaned over and kissed your cheek. You instantly blushed, you hand reaching up to touch where his lips just were.

"W-what was that for?" You asked, a smile pulling at your lips.

"I'm getting into character," he answered, taking your hand in his and intertwining your fingers as he pulled out of the driveway.

You two pulled to the side of the road, across the street from your grandma's house. You both got out of the car and when you reached Billy's side, his hand found yours again. You smiled at him then led him to the front door.

You rang the doorbell and you heard a loud conversation approach the door, no doubt your grandma and your gossipy aunt. The door swung open and the conversation stopped, being replaced with excited cheers from your grandma and aunt.

"Oh, it's so good to see you, sweetheart!" Your grandma exclaimed, pulling you into a hug and squeezing you tightly.

"It's good to see you, too, grandma," you said as you pulled away from her tight grip. You saw your aunt and grandma's attention go from you to Billy.

"And who is this?" Your grandma asked, looking him up and down.

"This is my boyfriend, Billy," you quickly answered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Billy said, shaking your grandma's hand carefully.

You smiled and slipped by as your grandma started to talk his ear off and compliment him. You gave your aunt a quick hug. You noticed how she was looking at you then Billy.

"This is the boyfriend you told me about?" Your aunt asked.

"Yes, why would I lie about that?"

She sighed and mumbled something about getting more wine. You looked over at you grandma and Billy, the two laughing at something Billy had said. Seeing him dressed up nicer than usual and getting along so well with your loved ones caused butterflies to flutter in your stomach.

Billy looked up from your grandma and made eye contact with you. You saw a soft smile slowly form on his face, which made you blush. Your grandma grabbed his hand then yours, snapping you two out of your little moment.

"You two must be starving! Come on, we were waiting on you two eat."

--

The actual dinner was easy. Everyone was mainly focused on eating, asking a few questions about you and Billy here and there. Sometime during dinner, Billy placed his hand on your knee. You kept your head down as you ate because you knew you were blushing.

But, of course, your aunt noticed. She swirled her glass of wine before taking a sip and placing it down. "So, Billy, what do you plan to do with my sweet, sweet niece after high school?"

"Oh, um," Billy muttered, looking at you and trying to think of an answer. You moved his hand from your knee and held it under the table, smiling at him. "Well, maybe move back to my hometown in California. I want to help her through college or her career, whatever she wants to do. Maybe even marry her one day."

Your mother and grandma 'aw'ed at the two of you as you smiled at each other. You aunt, however, still wasn't convinced. "You should know what she wants to do after high school, she never stops talking about her plans for the future."

You quickly tried to take control over the conversation. "Sometimes people change their minds once they actually graduate high school, you know? I mean, I know what I want but I don't know what I'm going to do until it actually happens."

"Hmm," you aunt hummed, grabbing her wine glass and leaning back in her chair. Her eyes darted between you and Billy, a skeptical look in her eyes. "You two are faking it."

"Honey, they're a young couple. Leave them alone-"

"No, mom, they're clearly faking it," you aunt said, cutting off your grandma. "He doesn't know what she wants after high school, he hasn't even thought about their future. I mean, it's clearly there-"

"I'm sorry not everyone has their entire lives planned out step by step!" You exclaimed. "I mean, you didn't even have your life planned out this far!"

"You two are faking it," you aunt paused and leaned in closer, "and you both are terrible liars."

You quickly got up from your seat and left the table, storming out of the room. Billy watched you leave before quickly following you. You walked outside, leaving the door open behind you since you knew Billy was following you.

"I can't believe her! It's probably just the wine, she can never get enough of it-"

"Hey-"

"I mean, how dare she judge us? Her marriage failed and it didn't even last 5 years-"

"Babe-"

"Maybe we should just go in there and admit it. Then we can leave and go our separate ways and-"

You finally stopped talking when Billy yelled your name. You looked at him, noticing how close you two were.

"What?" You asked.

Billy hesitated for a second then cupped your cheeks and kissed you. You melted almost instantly, your hands reaching up to get lost in his curly hair. His hands fell from your cheeks to your waist, pulling you as close as possible. You were on your tippy toes and you tilted your head to the side to deepen the kiss.

"Hey sweetie, I'm sorry-" You aunt walked out but froze when she saw you and Billy kissing. She quickly turned and walked away.

You two pulled away when she was gone, looking over at the door and laughing.

"Do you think she thinks we're faking now?" He joked.

"I doubt it, but there's one more thing we can do to really prove it."

"And what's that?"

"I owe you a date, remember?"

Billy smiled, cupping your cheek again before giving you a quick kiss. "Maybe we can that first date at the diner real."

[podcastenthusiast]

First part of a Astarion/Karlach thing I'm writing. Basically a little rewrite of some Act 3 scenes. Could become something bigger, who knows.

--

"Well, at least you've met my family now," Astarion says. "Pity. You and Violet would get on quite well. Haha."

His tone is light and dismissive, especially for a midnight familial attempted kidnapping. But there's a desperate edge to it, too, like he's worried she might finally see sense and run for the hills.

Karlach's never been accused of being sensible. If Astarion burning his brother in a sunbeam while his sister screamed didn't scare her off, this little evening interruption sure won't.

Karlach does hope she will have a chance to meet his siblings properly, once they're all free.

"I wouldn't've let them take you anywhere," she vows, chest heaving, still very much caught up in protective Mama K mode.

"I know. Deep breaths, darling."

Astarion still looks wary, as if he's expecting the other shoe to drop. She can't cool down, she realizes, not yet, because she's still angry.

Angry at him.

"You lied to them. About the ritual. Like it was easy."

He scoffs. "It was easy. They aren't exactly the brightest candles in the chandelier, you know."

"You're really gonna sacrifice your own brothers and sisters? Betray their trust in you like--like they're nothing." Like Gortash did, she thinks but doesn't say. There are some words you can't take back. She loves this pasty bastard too much to actually believe he'd go through with it, anyway.

"What does it matter? They're just my...colleagues in suffering. Expendable. Pathetic." Oh, Astarion's giving her the old monster routine, one of his thinner disguises. She can see the aelf-loathing clesrly beneath without even really trying. "And let's not forget they are vampire spawn. Hardly innocent."

"Fuck, Astarion, none of us are! You only give a shit about yourself, huh?"

"Why not? No one ever looked out for me. No one ever said a kind thing to me. You're the only one," he insists, getting a bit heated himself now. "Other people don't have a heart like you."

"Damn right, soldier," she replies quietly, tapping a fist against her engine as it ticks and whirs her numbered days away. The rage fades. "Sort of the problem, isn't it."

"I-- shit, Karlach, I didn't mean--"

There he is.

"Hey. It's all right."

It isn't, not really. Nothing is all right anymore. But they will be.

Karlach just can't be the only good thing he sees in this world. It's not fair to either of them. Gods only know how much more time she even has left, besides; Astarion shouldnt be alone, not after everything he's been through. She needs him to be okay without her, selfish as it is.

"Scares me when you talk like that," she admits. "Like other people are just things to you."

"I'm sorry, Karlach," he says, miserably. "I don't know if I can be anything else, here."

Karlach's mother always told her to never go to bed angry. After ten years in the Hells, it felt pointless and silly, but tonight with his siblings' blood staining the floor, she thinks she might understand the wisdom in that advice.

"C'mere, Fangs."

She opens her arms. Always gives him a choice; touch is complicated for both of them in a lot of ways. And, yeah, there's her cuddly Astarion after all. Must be exhausting pretending to something he's not all the time. Thought so since she met him that day by the river. All those masks and yet none seems to fit quite right. She knows the feeling, more or less.

"You're loved, you hear me?" she tells him. "So fucking loved."

His skin is a pleasant balm; hers is still smoldering a little. They don't let go.

"You make things so difficult," he complains softly against her collarbone, affectionate despite the actual words.

"Knew this wasn't gonna be easy. But I swear, tomorrow we'll kick Cazador's ass," she murmurs, holding him tighter. "I've got you."

"Ugh. Get a room, you two," Shadowheart grumbles from her bed.

They have a room, though. This room. The others will simply have to deal with that.

It's gonna be okay.

[kissorkill16]

Hello Neighbor: Kept Secrets

By JJ

Summary: With Nicky missing, and no one around to help, it's up to Trinity and the rescue squad to investigate the neighbor and save their friend.

Chapter 1

Me and Enzo held hands as we walked out of the school.

Enzo was my boyfriend. He was such an adorable dork, and I loved him for it.

We walked to the sidewalk of Raven Brooks Elementary and waited for Maritza, Enzo's little sister.

When we saw her walk out, Enzo let go of my hand and held hers.

Maritza rolls her eyes.

Despite being almost 11 years old, Maritza loved it when Enzo was so protective of her. Not that I blame him, when you've got a younger sibling, you have to go out of your way to protect them.

As we walked home together, I started randomly thinking of Nicky.

After we went to his house yesterday, basically no one wanted to see him after that. I felt kind of bad. I turned the corner and started walking down the street of Friendly Court while Enzo rambled about his homework. He stopped rambling when he saw me turn the corner.

"Trinity, where are you going? Home is this way.", said Enzo, pointing down the street of Newtown.

I nodded, "I know, I just wanted to make a quick stop.", I said, already walking away from the two. They caught up to me, and just like that, we were all walking down the street of Friendly Court.

Enzo seemed to pick up quickly where we were going.

"Are we going to Nicky's house?", he asked, "Trin, you know what he did."

"I do know what he did, but I just thought that maybe it'd be nice to see him after that whole mess.", I said. I turned to Maritza, and she was staring down at the sidewalk as she walked.

"Well I don't want to talk to him, I don't even want to talk about him.", she said, her voice bitter. She turned around to go back to Newtown, "I'm going home, I'll wait for you, Enzo."

"What makes you think I want to talk to Nicky either?"

Then they both started to turn back, but I caught up to them and grasped both of their hands.

"Guys, in case you both forgot, we're the ones who made him so angry to begin with. We went there to apologize, and we never even got a chance before...well..."

I didn't need to say anymore, we already knew what I was going to say. How we found so much incriminating evidence under his bed. Aaron and Mya's missing posters, a llama farm sign, and broken VHS tapes. While I was still sort of angry at him, I didn't want to give him the silent treatment.

"Let's just go to his house and see if he'll accept our apology."

We turned back around, but I could feel Enzo and Maritza's faces still blank.

I knew neither of them wanted to talk to Nicky, especially Maritza. But I just wanted to see him.

As we made it to Nicky's house, we were shocked to see a police car and a huge crowd of people. Covering the front lawn, and pretty much half the sidewalk.

What the hell was going on?

I asked a blonde lady standing next to the police car, "Excuse me, ma'am. What's going on?"

"Someone's kid ran away or something. I'm not really sure, I just got here like 5 minutes ago."

My eyes widened.

Immediately, I ran inside the house, praying that this missing kid wasn't who I thought they were. In the living room, I saw Officer Nielsen and Officer Keith standing across from Mr. and Mrs. Roth, a notepad in Officer Keith's hand. Mr. and Mrs. Roth looked panicked, like the end of the world was happening.

"As I've told you two, the search is underway.", said Officer Keith.

"This is a fucking waste of time!", Mrs. Roth nearly shouted.

"Why aren't we out there looking for him?! He's our damn son!", said Mr. Roth.

"Mr. Roth, please. We'll be happy to answer all of your questions in due time. But right now, we just need information on where anyone has last seen Nicky."

That was the stupidest thing I've ever heard all day. Why were they asking where they've last seen Nicky if Officer Keith was literally here yesterday, investigating under his bed?

Wait...

Last seen Nicky...?

I dropped down to my knees, feeling my heart sink in my chest.

Nicky was missing.

[angelbroad]

You're Like Me, Let's Be Friends

This superhero business was going pretty well, all things considered. It was a good thing Nadine had basically all the time in the world to work on this, which also made her realise she didn't really have anything going on in her life. But now that she was an official hero (was there even such a thing?) also meant she would have more run-ins with the other heroes of Gotham.

The first had been Batman. Nadine thought him very intimidating at first, and he still was, just with a bit of humor to him. Even if they didn't talk often, or worked together often, Nadine could tell he was somehow watching her. The man was like a shadow, and it only made Loxz-Ha dislike the Bat even more.

"I'm sure it's cause he cares.", Nadine told them, "Besides, I'm still new to this hero thing. I think he wants me to do it right."

Or he sees us as a threat that must be observed and terminated

"Loxz, I think you worry too much."

I worry just enough, Nadine Estrada

Nadine sighed, "Would it kill you to stop calling me by my full name?"

The two still had some stuff to work through, especially Loxz-Ha's distrust of basically everyone they'd meet.

Next was Nightiwing. He was slightly less intimidating than the Bat, much more easy-going. Nadine was in the process of stopping a few crooks when he showed up, the two managing to turn them in in one piece.

"Batman told me about you.", Nightwing said.

Nadine looked away with an awkward smile, "H-He did?"

"He said you were new and practically clueless."

"Oh...uh..."

He is insulting our intelligence

"No he's not."

Nightwing raised an eyebrow. Nadine coughed.

"Sorry about that."

"You talk to yourself often?", he asked.

"More than you think.", Nadine said with an awkward laugh,

"W-Well...nicemeetingyoubye!"

As she flew away, she chastised herself internally. That was so embarassing!

"Loxz-Haaa.", she groaned. The scarab chuckled, apparently her suffering was amusing.

"So, how did it go?", Anthony asked as he was washing the dishes, Nadine lying on the kitchen table face first.

"I fumbled Nightwing so bad..."

Pearl patted her back, "Hey, I would too."

"Would you though?"

"Well, duh. You know dark mysterious men are my weakness."

"Can you two stop thirsting over the vigilante in my kitchen table?", Anthony asked.

"Dude! She's doing that, I'm just embarassed I acted like a child in front of him!", Nadine shot up, slumping back down as she finished, "First Batman, now Nightwing..."

"Hey, c'mon dude. You've been a super for like what? A couple of days?", Pearl reasoned, "Obviously your personality won't change that quickly. You're still the same ol' Nad."

"Thankfully.", Anthony added to his sister's statement as he sat down, sliding a burrito towards Nadine's head, "Now eat, won't you?"

"But I'm not hungry...", Nadine mumbled, but saw how Anthony had bothered to make her food, so she reluctantly took the burrito to eat it.

"Any luck with blue?", Anthony asked Nadine as he sat down next to her.

Nadine shook her head, "Apperantelly he's called 'Blue Beetle', but I've never seen him around."

"Hey, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"Anth, I'm trying to make friends here, not enemies."

"My guy,", Pearl said, "you're a superhero. No duh you're gonna have enemies."

Nadine let out an awkward laugh, "T-True. I just hope I don't get a Mongul as my villain."

"Yeesh. Went right for the Superman-level threat, didn't ya?"

"Sorry..."

Nadine was bound to be nervous about all this. Now that she was putting herself out there, with a secret identity to boot, she was a target. And because Loxz-Ha still doesn't tell her everything, she didn't know how big the target on her back was.

---------

"Flying through the streets, hope nothing bad ever happens to me-"

You are murmuring again

"Just trying to find some comfort.", Nadine reasoned.

The spike in your anxiety indicates otherwise

"Well, what should I do?"

Take deep and slow breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth

Nadine did as instructed, aiming to meet Nadine's requirements to the best of her ability.

Good. You are doing so well, Nadine

"I...am?", that felt nice, in a weird way.

Nadine landed on a building, continuing her exercises.

Nadine

"Y-Yeah?"

You have a performance tonight

"Oh shit! Thanks for reminding me!", Nadine said as she blitzed through the streets and to the back of the venue where Stephanie was waiting. The armor came off almost as soon as Nadine's feet touched the ground. "We're not late, are we?", Nadine asked as she tried to catch her breath, not even noticing she said 'we' instead of 'I'.

Stephanie let out a sigh, giving her a reassuring smile and guiding her inside with a hand on her shoulder.

"Just in time.", she said, "Adhhab alan 'iilaa altubuli, ya sadiqi."

The stage lights were as bright as always, bathing Nadine in a green light as she picked up the drum sticks. As the drummer, she always sat in the back, and she preferred it that way. Loxz-Ha had asked about it at some point, and Nadine made it clear that she wanted to stay as a support to the band's structure. She cared little for spotlight, to which she was sure she heard the scarab create its own version of a hum.

It started with a spin of the drumstick, then light tapping on the peddal, and then Nadine met her queue of beating the drums like her life depended on it. The music blasting from the speakers would surely make her go deaf one day, but she didn't care-not now. Nadine closed her eyes, smiling ear to ear as she focused on the beats of the music alone. Guitar, bass, song, and drums, working together in chaotic harmony to create a form of art Nadine had always looked at as an escape. Loxz-Ha didn't buzz in her mind right now, and even if it did, she couldn't hear it.

She did hear the scarab at some point, telling her to open her eyes again, and to focus on stopping as the song was coming to an end. They had received applause, a great sound to hear as an up and coming band. 'Lords of the Flies' were not the only band performing in the event, but they were the smallest. Even Nadine knew they stood very little chance against Cassidy.

The group decided to stick around for the meet and greet portion of the event, and they got a handful of people coming to them too, though it was mostly for Steph and Anthony. Pearl lagged back and scrolled on her phone, while Nadine sat nearby and dozed off. Maybe Loxz-Ha would talk to her again.

"Um, excuse me?"

Nadine turned her head, jumping in surprise. "S-Sorry, sorry! You just, scared me.", she tried to play off.

Be more aware of your surroundings

Noted, Nadine mentally said.

"Drums, right?", Jaime knew that was a stupid question to ask. Obviously she was the drums, he'd seen it himself. "I...really liked them. Looked like you were having the time of your life up there."

"I did.", Nadine chuckled.

"Could you...?", Jaime asked, handing her a small booklet and pen.

"Sure!"

Nadine wasn't getting a lot of attention, being a drummer will do that to you, but she had a couple of people that found her support good enough to ask for an autograph.

Meanwhile, Jaime was fighting hard to not talk back to Khaji-Da.

Jaime Reyes., they said, There are more important matters at hand than going to see your favourite 'indie band'. We must find the individual we are looking for

"Here you go.", Nadine cheerfully said, handing him back his notepad first before remembering the pen was his too.

"I-I'm Jaime, by the way.", he blurted out and extended his hand. He could hear Khaji-Da sigh inside his head.

"Ah, um, I'm Nadine, but I guess you know that?", Nadine replied, trying not to let her awkwardness show as she shook his hand. Pearl wiggling her eyebrows behind her was not helping.

Another thing about her new condition of having an alien strapped to her back, it was really itchy. Nadine withdrew her hand to try and reach her back. Jaime raised an eyebrow at that while Pearl got up from behind her.

"You good?", she asked.

"Y-Yeah, it's the uh...you-know-what."

"Ooooh. Hang on, I gotchu.", Pearl said as she moved to scratch the spot. She then looked at Jaime, who was looking quite confused. "She recently got some back braces. Gets real itchy."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be.", Nadine waved off, "Just a-"

Did Loxz-Ha just purr?? Whatever sound Loxz-Ha had internally made had Nadine's back straightening like a metal rod, catching Pearl by surprise.

Jaime darted his eyes around before turning them back to the two girls, "You were gonna say...?"

"...Bug. Bug was what I was gonna say."

Huh, that was weird. This situation was oddly familiar to Jaime. Braces were a tricky thing, especially if they made a bump on your...back...wait-

Jaime shook his head, finally catching on to the bug comment.

Well...fine, I will give you credit for this one

Nadine felt an arm go around her shoulder as Anthony returned.

"Hey, all good?", he asked Nadine, but his eyes were on Jaime.

Nadine looked away as she took his hand off, "It's fine, Anth. Just meeting new folks.", she said. Nadine wasn't really too big on physical affection of this degree. "This is Jaime. Jaime, this is Anthony."

Anthony crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow at him, but Jaime stood his ground and extended a hand.

"Big fan, great to meet you."

Anthony reluctantly took his arm, "Same here.", he then looked at Nadine, "We should probably go, the event is over and you guys need rest."

"R-Right, rest.", Nadine said, going to help the girls with gathering up the instruments, "Nice meeting you, Jaime!", she waved as she walked off.

-----------

Jaime lagged back at the building, flying to the roof to wait for when Nadine would leave. Khaji-Da had suggested it, but that made him feel like a stalker.

We are not stalkers, Jaime

"Well, it sure feels like it.", Jaime admitted, "What am I even supposed to say?"

Just tell her what you are

"But what if she isn't the Green Scarab? We'd be revealing our identity to a random person in Gotham."

Would you rather we wait until the actual scarab shows itself?

"Probablemente. You don't think this is problematic at all?"

Hardly

"Por supuesto que no.", Jaime said, facepalming. A metal clang brought him back as the back door was opened. Quickly ducking behind the roof wall, he could hear the group talking. He mostly kept his attention on Nadine's voice, following it as she walked off.

Nadine was smart enough to bring a jacket this time, she'd hate to ask Anthony for his own again.

"So...", Anthony started, "that guy-"

Pearl punched his arm, earning an 'ow' from her older brother. "Geez dude. If you're gonna be jealous do it subtly."

"I am not-"

That earned a rare laugh from Stephanie, with Nadine trying to contain her own.

"Anth, you worry too much!", Nadine said, "He just wanted an autograph. Besides, you don't see me going off like that when you get autograph requests."

"W-Well I um...you just...nevermind."

"Pfft! Not subtle. At. All!", Pearl quipped.

Nadine raised an eyebrow, "I don't get it?"

Stephanie pulled her close as they walked, "Don't worry about it."

As they continued walking, Nadine felt a little off. It was like someone was following them.

Good, it seems that you have taken my advice to keep attention to your surroundings

"I try."

"What's it saying, Nad?", Stephanie asked.

Nadine shook her head, "Nothing."

It wasn't until Nadine was alone, the others having gone their seperate ways, that the feeling got stronger. She stopped walking, and inhaled deeply. Should she confront the supposed stalker? How would she even do that?

Nadine

"Hm?", she whispered.

Just follow my instructions

Nadine nodded.

Turn around

Nadine did just that.

You have to look serious

Nadine tried her best to put on a serious, and slightly angry, look as she looked into the darkness.

Now say that they will be evaporated if they come out and threaten you

"We talked about this!...Oh crap.", Nadine could hear Loxz-Ha groan, more than ready to materialise their armor before the stalker popped up.

The figure was on a roof, and Nadine couldn't tell much since all she could see was the silhouette. They lifted their arms up, seemingly to show they meant no harm. Nadine gave a determined look at the sky and pointed at the figure.

"L-Listen here...mister! I don't know who you are or why you're following me, but I'm warning you, I'm gonna hurt you real bad if you try to lay your hands on me!"

"I-I mean no harm!", the figure said, the voice sounding weirdly familiar. The figure dropped down, Nadine instinctively going to a fighting stance. The street lights revealed the figure as the blue figure Nadine had seen on that video Pearl had shown the crew. There he was, right in front her.

Well, that was rather lucky

Nadine shooke her head and pointed at him, "You're the blue guy!"

Jaime chuckled and tipped his head, "Blue Beetle, at your service!"

Nadine chuckled, "Phew, glad I ran into you. You never know in Gotham."

True. Jaime himself hadn't been in Gotham much, but sometimes the team would require him to come over.

"I...think we have a lot to talk about.", Jaime said.

Nadine nodded, letting the armor encase her again as the two took off into the sky.

[milksuu]

ur aphelios fic w solari priestess reader was soooo good, i can't stop going back to reread it bc i'm eager for pt 2 if you do end up writing one 😭😭 but there's so much potential for this man bc hello ?? enemies to lovers(?uh) ?? i really like the idea that they're on opposite sides bc as a lover of solari n lunari lore, it feels much more taboo. especially considering how scornful the solari people are of the lunari people which is clear in how the reader treats him 😕 a bit unjustified but it's nice that we aren't exactly a blank sheet of paper in this bc ofc we'd still have to abide by our morals and views 🩵🩵 i also wonder what alune thinks of this if she ever found out, would she even in the first place LMAO "i fear your brother nonconned me 😓😨🧟‍♂️" HDHDHDHS whenever there's an aphelios fic alune always pops into my mind afterwards since she's so dear to me, would the reader ever interact w her through aphelios? bisexuals really winning w this champ 😔

LKJSDVGBFLJHSDFVLSH!! omfg thank you for thinking so much about it. im cryiinnngggg!!! and yeah, im totally writing a part two. I'm at 1.8k words right now. sorry I bounce around a lot so i take a while to write lol.

BUT UGH YES. i definitely wanted to do an enemies/lovers kind of feel. (although i think in phels perspective reader's more 'lover' by his terms because well he's pretty unhinged in his perspective. what can we expect from a guy born and raised as a religious assassin who only ever interacts to his sister?? yeah his 'social' skills aren't going to be the best lmfao)

and like you stated anon, them being lunari/solari just adds the extra layers of drama, depth, and juicy plot potential. all in all, quite a banger.

as far as alune goess, I'd say she 100% knew. only because, alune is a Seer that shows aphelios' path, and directs him on missions. basically the moon told alune "yeah this is going to happen" then alune was like "heyyy soo....you're going to have to do this bro" and then ofc phel was somewhat conflicted the whole time but hey FAITH is never questioning and doing what you're told cause it's supposedly 'right'. and he definitely wants the believe it was all for a 'good' reason. Like him and reader are destined lovers since otherwise, why would the moon have him do that instead of just kill her? kinda like getting a gift for always being obedient to his faith (the copium is strong with this one). but yeah, phel made sure the toxin wore off so that his poor sister didn't have to endure that. (but assassinating people is totally fine obvs!)

alune and reader would have some sort of relationship a bit later. reader is technically a priestess, even though a solari one, she'd still be able to have some way to connect to the spirit realm. or reader can feel the ethereal vibrations emanating from him, but not fully understand/hone in alune's presence. but i think slowly over time, readers growing connection with aphelios will have her gradually connected with alune at some point.

and I want to say the moon goddess has a plan as to why that had to be done to reader. not sure how far i'll actually get to reveal it or develop it, since honestly, i had no intention of continuing let alone build any lore (THIS WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE SMUT DAMNIT HAHA) but we'll see.

whew, kinda went on a tangent, but i hope i've given you some good context anon! again, thank you for rereading my fixations and wanting more. as you can see, you've set off my dopamine receptors with this post lmfao. <3

stay tuned for part 2. ;3

[thelastspeecher]

elishevart replied to your post: “Mentally playing with the idea that the teens with...”

And they are weird colour eyes, that way they can’t hide as much. Maybe with lenses but still

​The eyes turn otherworldly

vulpixen replied to your post: “Mentally playing with the idea that the teens with...”

Ooo like a rainbow iris and black scelera.

Yesssssss I'm glad we're all on the same page here! These kids get some eyes that are very much not natural. These eye colors show up when their powers initially do and are a permanent situation. They can conceal their other forms and inhuman usage of powers, but the eye color sticks around, marking them as "contaminated".

Here's what I'm thinking for the Main Characters and their eyes.

Stan - his brown irises darken to fully black, making it impossible to see his pupils. But since he starts wearing his glasses at the school, it can be hand waved as him just having really dark brown eyes. (Speaking from experience here; after I switched to contacts so many people were like "Oh wow you have blue eyes!") In the right lighting, Stan's irises shine rainbow and his sclera (for those who don't know, that refers to the "white" of the eye) get a bit of a rainbow-y sheen to them as well. When Stan is in oil form, his eyes remain the same for the most part, but his irises shine rainbow a lot more.

Side note: Stan having fully black irises IS abnormal. While it is possible to have irises such a dark brown that they are indistinguishable from the pupil, actual black irises are impossible.

Ford - his brown irises turn to a dark red, once again passable as a normal eye color behind his glasses. But his eyes change color further when he goes into his glass form and explodes things. When he explodes things (which, btw, he explodes things he's looking at, so when he's first dealing with his power he has to do a lot of quickly looking away from people), his eyes turn gold. Since he goes into glass form when he explodes stuff at first, that's the only change that is noticed. Once he gets better control, however, and can go into glass form without blowing stuff up, his irises turn clear in that form, becoming effectively invisible. His pupils remain however; remember, folks, the pupil is actually just a hole through which light enters and thus will not change color.

Fiddleford - I'm bringing back bright green-eyed Fidds from the Accidental Abduction AU! His power is based around plants and fertilizer, so fuck it, we'll say he's basically got chlorophyll in his irises instead of melanin. His blue irises turn a like, spring grass green. Some people have green eyes, but not like this. This is a green that can only come from chlorophyll, not from light scattering in the stroma of the iris. When he uses his powers, the green leaks into his sclera. How much leaks into his sclera depends upon how much effort it takes for that particular usage of his power.

Angie - she's a special case because of course she is. Making her otherworldly eyes obvious right away would throw off the whole shtick where she doesn't realize she's got a power. That's the author's explanation. The in-universe explanation is that her situation is different for two reasons. 1) she inherited her power, and 2) she has a mild form of heterochromia. Angie's eyes are blue, but she has a small ring of gray around her pupils that is only visible up close. Because her power is inherited, her otherworldly eye situation takes longer to kick in. When her power manifests, one of her eyes becomes fully blue and the other fully gray. But it's not noticed.

Not to go all "light eyes look different in different lighting" on you, but it's true! I have blue eyes but have been told they look gray and a few months ago my own sister told me she thought my eyes were green. The different shades of light eyes depends upon how light scatters in the stroma of the iris, so of course light eyes vary depending upon lighting! Lighting, what color you're wearing, whether you've been crying recently; all of these are things that I have noticed make my eyes look different colors.

So that's why Angie's initial eye color change isn't noticed. One eye remains effectively the same, and the other one changes to a color that passes as the same as the blue one due to lighting and the color just generally being close. However, the gray eye slowly turns silver. Like, metallic silver. By the time Angie gets to the school, her iris looks like it's made of metal. And then it begins to reflect as though it's metal, too. Basically, Angie eventually winds up with one blue eye and one eye with an iris that acts as a mirror, changing color depending upon what it is reflecting. But the best part is: which eye is which color is inconsistent. It switches randomly. Which is another reason it wasn't caught right away. It's more difficult to notice a small difference that isn't consistently different in the same way. Like Fiddleford, Angie's odd iris color can leak into her sclera if she's using her power in a way that takes a lot of effort.

[wrenreid]

Just Acting

all chapters in masterlist

Chapter Eighteen

The finishing touches of your makeup are applied, and it's almost time for the interview. Nerves gnaw at your stomach, but you attempt to ignore them. Jeff's words of encouragement run through your mind to ease the worries.

This interview is a great opportunity to allow the fans of the show an insight into who you are and why they should be excited to further meet your character.

"She's ready for you," you're told by the interviewer's assistant.

You nod your head and follow her to the room. Cameras and lights are set up facing two cushioned chairs. In between the chairs, which are partly facing each other, is a table with two water bottles. The interviewer, Catherine, takes a seat and gestures for you to do the same. You sit down in the cushioned maroon seat adjacent from her. The two of you shake hands and introduce yourselves, even though you know who each other are.

"Thank you for coming in today."

"Thank you for having me," you say with a friendly smile.

"Okay so let's just get straight into it. First we'll do some basic questions to get to know you, and then we'll get a little bit deeper into the interview."

You nod your head, "Sounds good."

You cross your left leg over the right, smoothing down your pants and turn to Catherine with a smile.

"So where are you from?" She asks.

"I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was born there and lived there until college."

"Okay cool. Was it a big change moving from the east to west coast?"

"It was, yes. I went to NYU for college so it wasn't that big of a change from my hometown to university, but going from New York to LA was a huge change in scenery and just lifestyle in general. I had to get used to sunny hot weather even in early winter." You chuckle a bit.

"I visited New York and it snowed in April, so I understand the weather change thing," Catherine chuckles too. "So this role in Criminal Minds is your biggest one yet, correct?"

"Yep. I was in a short film while doing university, and then I did a show in Brooklyn for a bit. So this is my first big project and my first big thing in Hollywood.”

"Wow it must be so exciting. What was running through your mind the day you found out you got the part? Like what were you doing that day?"

"Ooh," you think for a moment. "I was back home in Philly with my family, and I think we were just about to go out to eat. When the call ended, I just screamed and like started sobbing, and I'm pretty sure my little sister thought I was dying," you laugh. "I was just filled with a bundle of emotions. It was so surreal... still is."

"So your character Delilah was only supposed to be on for a few episodes, right?” Catherine asks.

You nod your head.

"Were you like super shocked when you were brought back?"

"Yes, I was. I almost started bawling again. It was so crazy."

"I'm sure it was even crazier when you got to come back for the next season, huh?"

"Definitely. I'm still pinching myself every day,” you smile softly.

“Tell us a little about your character.”

“Delilah, as you know from last season, has had some struggles. She’s persevering the best she can. She’s very strong willed but can be vulnerable at times, and I think the fans will enjoy seeing a survivor’s story and how meeting the BAU changed her life. I also think it’s interesting to have a character not a part of the team.”

She nods, listening intently. “Sounds very interesting.” Catherine chuckles. "So a little birdy told me that Delilah is a possible love interest for Dr Reid, can you confirm this?"

"You'll just have to watch and see," you shrug with a smile.

She gives you a little smirk. “So there's been a few photos on the internet of you and the cast, have you gotten close to them?"

"Yeah they've welcomed me as one them. They're all amazing,” you tell her gratefully.

"Is there a certain cast mate that's been extra special to you?"

You know what she's getting at. "Well Aisha actually has been like a big sister to me on set, and we've gotten pretty close."

"You know I couldn't not ask this, there's a rumor going around saying you and Matthew Gray Gubler might have a bit of a romantic relationship. Is this true?"

"Nope,” you shake your head. “Sorry to disappoint, but Matthew and I are just friends. There's nothing there at all.”

"You've heard it here guys, Y/n and Matthew are not a thing."

You smile awkwardly.

"So there's no one in your life in that way?"

"I don't really have time for relationships. I'm just focused on my career and getting more successful,” you explain.

"I mean as you should."

You chuckle nervously.

"Well thank you for joining us today,” she says with a smile.

"Of course. This was a new experience for me,” you say honestly.

"You did great,” she tells you.

"Thank you."

Catherine informs you that this interview will be posted on YouTube sometime next week.

That was something. You feel like you were super awkward, but hopefully it wasn't that noticeable. You're glad she wasn't super pushy with personal questions like many interviewers are.

You need to go home and pack the rest of your things for the plane trip home. Your flight leaves in four hours.

Once you get home, you only have three hours until your flight is supposed to leave. Stupid traffic. You pack your carry on quickly and eat a snack. You change into joggers and an FBI hoodie AJ got you. You triple check to make sure everything is ready, and then you head out of your apartment. Jess has agreed to look after your place a few times while you're gone.

You check in at the airport and you're on the plane just thirty minutes after the plane was scheduled to leave. They're not running behind for once.

You text your mom to tell her you're on the plane. After it sends you see you have a text from Matthew. "Have fun in Philly." You smile, not sure why he’s being nice.

"Have fun is Vegas," you text back.

"Oh I will,” he sends with a winky face.

You know he's kidding, he's not the gambling or strip club type. You chuckle, turn your phone on airplane mode, plug in your head phones, and lean back. You have the isle seat, and you're next to a teenage girl and her mother.

After a bit, the plane takes off and the city shrinks under you.

—————

"Y/n!”

"Hey, kid," you say as your little sister wraps her arms around you. "I've missed you!"

"Me too," Lola says with a smile. She's grown up in the short time you've been gone. Lola's going to be 18 soon, and it's so surreal for you.

You were 16 when she was born and 17 when your parents adopted her. Her birth mother is your aunt who wasn't fit to take care of her, and your mom and dad decided to take her in as one of their own.

Lola's bio mom died from an overdose when you when Lola was just a toddler, it was devastating for your mother. It's crazy to think you haven't really known your sister her entire life, since she was 7 months old when you met. Though, you immediately fell in love with that little baby. Her big brown eyes, her brown skin, her laugh. She was perfect.

She still is perfect. Your baby sister, who's no longer a baby, is gorgeous and brilliant. Lucky for your father, she'll most likely be the one in the family who goes into a profession like doctor, lawyer, or something of that sort.

Lola helps you get your things into her car then pulls out of the airport parking lot. On the way home, she bombards you with questions.

"So you're not together?" Her eyebrow raises.

"Nope."

"That's disappointing," she sighs, taking a left turn after the light turns green.

"Thanks?"

Lola laughs. "You gotta admit he's hot."

"Ew,” you side eye her.

"Ew?"

"He's way too old for you to say he's hot,” you tell her.

"Oh come on, I'm almost 18," she winks.

You roll your eyes with a slight chuckle.

Your house gets bigger in view as the car drives down the street. Lola pulls into your drive way, and as you both get to the door you whisper, "I've slept with him"

"You what?” Her eyes grow huge and her words are loud.

"Shh," you say, opening the door to greet your parents. "Not a word."

"Y/n!" Your mom hugs you tightly, followed by your dad ruffling your hair and wrapping his arms around you. "It's so good to have you home."

"I'm glad to be back. LA's a little too busy and sunny sometimes."

"Well, you could've stayed here," your dad mumbles.

"Not now, Kenny," your mom elbows him in the side.

You give her an slight smile, well more like you pressed your lips together awkwardly.

"If Lola has turned my room into some arcade, I'll be an only child again," you say, heading upstairs to your childhood bedroom.

"I tried, Mom said no." Lola tells you, following you upstairs with your carry-on.

You put your bag on the bed. The posters still hang on your wall; picture frames and books scattered along the bookshelf. The baby pink walls now seem so faded, but the queen sized bed feels so much bigger than your full back in Los Angeles. The dark blue duvet hangs almost to the floor from the mattress.

"If you don't date him, I will. And I will be asking follow up questions,” Lola says and heads back downstairs.

You roll your eyes and look around your old room. Pictures of high school graduation with you and your old friends. Seems like you haven't seen them in ages, but it's only been about 10 since you’ve seen most of them.

You unpack your bag, putting away your clothes in your old dresser, which still has a few things you never got rid of inside of it. You set your laptop on your desk and put away everything else you brought back home.

It's getting dark already and your parents want to celebrate your homecoming by going out to eat. You change out of your airplane clothes and tie your hair back into two dutch braids.

____

"So you can't tell me anything about this season?"

"I'm sworn to secrecy," you say with a shoulder shrug and a smug grin.

"Ugh no fair. I'm the sister to a new tv star and I don't get any perks,” Lola groans.

"Not a star, but thank you for the flattery."

She rolls her eyes. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah, but we have to be quiet, Mom and Dad will get cranky."

"They don't care how late I stay up anymore."

"What? I got grounded for staying up until 4am one night reading! I was 17.”

She chuckles. "I'm the youngest, they've given up their rules. Well, most of them."

"Talk about not fair."

"Wanna watch 68 Kill?” Lola smirks.

"Oh my god, no!”

"Why? Jealous to see Matthew with someone else?"

"Shut up.”

“Hmm,” she noises.

"You're already getting on my nerves and I've been here 9 hours."

"It's my job."

You and Lola finally pick a movie to watch. Both of you end up falling asleep halfway through it.

You're not sure how the rest of your time home will go, but hopefully your dad will realize your job isn't a waste of time, or at least not comment on it. And hopefully it'll be fun. On the 26, you and your family are driving to Camden to visit some non-immediate family members.

You wake up sometime around 6am, Lola asleep with her head on your shoulder. The sky outside is still dark. You find your phone on the floor and check the time. You see you have a message from "Gubler". You haven’t changed his name in your phone and don’t plan to until he notices.

"You should come hit up a casino, maybe we could hang out?"

"In your dreams, buddy," you text back with a slight smile and plop your head back down on the pillow.

nineteen

tags: @pauline5525mgg @theintimatewriter @lilibet261 @greysviolets @jazzymariexoxoc @one-sweet-gubler @thatsonezesty13 @necromaniackat @awhoreforspencerreid @sebs-oxygen @scarredelirium @bts-sugaplum @awesomeness1679 @preciousbabypeter @yazzyu @cynbx @r3idsp3ncer @1010lizz @tiredbut-here @skulzombiw @lena-1895 @eevee0722 @danis-stuff-is-here @kylakins88 @daydreamingqueen1 @regulus-black-223048 @virginmusicloverr36 @inlovewithcharmers @kylakins88 @f-me-reid @matthew-gray-gubler-lover <3

[storieschats]

Fourth Wing Book 1 Update 1

Where I am: Page 131 of 516 (Note: Portuguese version so a bit useless for most of you guys)

Basically in the history, she and ... Xander I think have just fought after she won all her previous fights by poisoning her opponents. Next chapter they are going to do the Gauntlet whatever that is.

What I think so far: It’s ok! I think I am linking it, at least we're not going to have the case where one person gives fives stars and another one xd. The history is fast-paced and I don't find it boring, so the reading flows well.

Positive Points:

The romance for the moment is pleasing me, I'm one of those enemies to lovers, bad boys kinda girl so I like Xander and I find the relationship in general funny and what I am most interested in the story.

Violet is not a bad character apart from a few cringe moments I don’t really mind being in her head and so I don’t think the history suffers in being told in her perspective.

I like Shanon(??) her best friend in the school. She is great!

Magical schools, magical schools! Although I don't think it's one of the best conceived ever, the feeling of following a school year, having magical classes and magical challenges to overcome is an arrow to my heart and I'm not going to pretend it isn't!!!

Oh my god the characters are twenty?! Finally a romance book with normal soldier ages xd.

Negative points:

The writing irritated me a bit at first, I find it a bit melodramatic and if I have to read the word “fragile” one more time, which I suspect I will because each chapter so far has used it about twice, I'm going to write in your book as you suggested but ONLY to cross out the word fragile. Oh and the writing is also a bit meta sometimes like the author knows she's writing a romance and throws in lines like “I don't like annoying boys oh but he's so cute”. Eye roll ok there are things that have to be shown and not told.

The magic system, the kingdom, the traitors and all that don't seem very well conceived. Maybe I'm wrong and it'll be better developed later on, but for now the fantasy is rather flimsy, it feels more like modern people in a war college than people in a magical fantasy world. I hope something is done with the story of the traitors' children who are forced to go to that school, which is basically the only interesting thing I've read about the history of this kingdom. For now this romantasy has more to give to rom than tasy.

The ages xd i love the fact that they're 20 because it's more realistic but if most books sometimes make the mistake of making 15 year olds sound like they're 25 this one does the opposite and these 20 year olds sound like they're 14.

Stars if I had to give them now: 3 stars

What I think will happen:  Mira (her sister) will die cause drama, Dain will have to do something horrible or we'll find out he's actually a monster or something, because romantic triangles can never have 2 to root for. Which is a shame because I like him for the time being, but I'm sure that'll change soon. She's going to bond with the super unique and important black dragon they learn about in class because duh this isn't the first story of my life xd.

Confession: Upss I when I got to chapter like 3 or something I went to see if I could find the index to see how many chapters there were and since there was nothing at the beginning I went to see the end because sometimes they put it there and honestly without intending to I read the last sentence of the book and I know that Brannon, her brother, is alive and there is a rebellion xd sorry I only read the sentence like “welcome to the rebellion violet said Brannon”.

Last thing: Also he called her Violence instead of Violet, her name. Cringe not sexy not gonna lie.

[sebaztianlovesgeek]

I am annoyed with parents of gen alpha kids

So, shocker, gen alpha kids are basically being raised by the internet, this is just me gonna be ranting about it.

(keep in mind not all parents of gen alpha children do this or have bad intentions so please don't get upset with me)

So I began realising the state of gen alpha back in late 2022, when my then 7 and 8 year old sisters (who are not gen alpha but are very late gen z kids) were joking about sex, I was a bit concerned so I asked them how they knew what it was and who/what told them, I wasn't being intimidating or angry at them because I understand kids accidentally find out about sex all the time, wether that be from another kid telling them or them accidentally seeing a video about it, or simply hearing a joke about sex and not understanding it but repeating it because it sounds funny.

My sisters did nothing but laugh at me for asking. A few months later they were talking about sex again, so I asked them "What is sex?" Trying to see what they knew about it, my then 7 year old sister who we'll call G (we'll call the other F) said "Its when 2 people get naked, rub up against each other in bed and make funny noises" I'm grateful they didn't know the actual definition but its still concerning how they know what the word means.

My 2 sisters, mainly G as she's younger have been getting more out of control these past few years since covid. They have been OBSESSED with youtube shorts to the point where they barely watch actual full length youtube videos unless its a compilation of TikTok POVs, I've overheard some of the things said on the TikTok POV videos and surprise surprise, it talks about subjects that are not for kids like sex, drugs and the people in these POV videos often swear.

My sisters ALSO watch a lot of elsagate crap, you're probably wondering "but elsagate died down back in the late 2010's?" Well in recent years its resurfaced, instead of popular kids cartoon and movie characters like spiderman, mickey mouse, joker, peppa pig and of course, Elsa, they now use popular video game/internet characters like Huggy Wuggy, Skibidi Toilets, Freddy Fazbear and characters from the Amazing Digital Circus.

I was also a victim of elsagate as I was on youtube when the first wave hit, you will not believe the amount of "Elsa and Spiderman inject Joker with a needle and eat bugs" type videos I watched when I was young, and now that I know them videos probably did harm to me during my childhood I don't want it to happen to my siblings, majority of the authority figures in my life don't really care, most of them are millennials or even older, they don't really understand how the internet works and don't pay attention to the seemingly kid friendly elsagate videos my siblings watch on youtube long enough to see all of the innapropriate stuff happening in them, all they know is "G and F are watching a funny cartoon with that blue poppy playtime character"

Most of these new wave elsagate videos are fastly paced and overstimulating, I have heard this can have bad psychological effects on young kids, this is what causes them to have low attention spans and behaviour issues, I mean G literally got bored watching renaissance Disney movies like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Lion King, I would understand a kid getting bored watching Hunchback as it touches on more mature subjects which may be hard for them to understand, but she also got bored during the LION KING, which is also a mature film but is more kid friendly with brighter colours, upbeat songs and funny characters like Timon and Pumba, SHE COULDN'T EVEN GET THROUGH THAT.

I have seen countless videos on TikTok of preschool teachers going mad because younger kids are not focusing or behaving and keep talking about sex. Apparently one time a 5 year old said that his teacher had a "nice gyatt" which is basically slang for "nice butt".

I've also heard stories of ballet teachers getting requests from 6-8 year olds requesting to twerk to inappropriate music like WAP, CPR, Squidwards Nose, basically any Cupcakke song (which no hate to Cupcakke or anyone involved with these songs, I actually think grilling n**gas by Cupcakke is a fun listen as well as Squidwards Nose but it obviously shouldn't be listened to or danced to by little kids)

Now, I have seen many people online making fun of gen alpha kids/late gen z kids for having brainrot from watching stuff like this, but its not exactly their fault. When I was young it wasn't my fault I was watching all of those Elsa and Spiderman get pregnant and get an injection videos, nor is it the gen alpha kids fault they watch Skibidi Toilet and Pomni from Digital Circus has an "awesome gyatt" videos.

I think its more to blame on the parents who give an ipad to a 4 year old and pretend its a robotic babysitter, because its not, on the internet in general, not just youtube, its easy to come across some harmful content and people. For example I was watching My Little Pony vore videos (because yes I used to be a huge brony when I was young) not knowing what it was or how I was basically watching a fetish take place because all I knew my favourite character Rainbow Dash was about to be eaten by Rarity or Pinkie Pie (and speaking of Pinkie Pie I will not get started on Smile or Cupcakes HD)

Throughout this rant I have forgotten to mention I have a 2 year old baby brother (my family is complicated so thats why I have a lot of siblings younger than me) who thank god doesn't have an ipad yet but he watches Cocomelon, I have seen countless articles by parents talking about their toddlers getting addicted to Cocomelon like a drug and crying and screaming when they can't watch it.

I hope one day one of our authority figures like my Mum or grandparents can talk to my siblings about why this stuff is not for them, why watching "Skibidi toilet sniff Huggy Wuggy's gyatt while moaning" is just wrong, whenever I try to talk to them about it they just laugh at me, because I'm their "dumb older brother"

I don't want to seem like those old boomers everyone makes fun of who say "YOU DARN KIDS WITH YOUR BRAINFRYING INTERWEB!!!!!!!!" But I do want to be an older sibling who cares, the internet causes major mental and psychological issues if one uses it at a young age and becomes addicted especially if they consume harmful content like elsagate, I of all people know that, I experienced elsagate, I was bullied and told to KMS on amino multiple times because my fanarts were cringe, I watched scary jumpscare videos that gave me nightmares, I of course, saw all of them violent and sexual my little pony fan animations, I till this day still have mental health issues, and while these experiences online are not the only cause as I have been through a lot on the internet and real life, I simply worry for my younger family members and just the younger generation overall.

If you're a parent or older sibling of a young child, please make sure they are staying safe online, make sure to check on them and only let them watch content appropriate for their age, of course I'm not saying sugar coat everything, its okay to introduce your child to mature subjects every once in a while, but unlike these gross elsagate videos do it in a mature and understanding way, maybe when introducing the concept of death show them movies like Coco, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish or Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, or when discussing things like growing up show them Inside Out or Toy Story 3

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Flesh and Fire Review Round-Up

I really like having reviews all together for series. That might just me me, but this went over decently well with the Bridgerton books, and frankly I thought the full Flesh and Fire series was VERY fun, so why not give you my whole journey with this quartet in one place? This is also Sera and Ash's journey, and they're objectively more interesting than I am, so think of this as their TLDR!

SPOILER WARNING. These reviews are spoilery AF. Proceed at your own risk, and don't come crying to me if you get spoiled after I've told you I'm spoiling things.

CONTENT WARNING. These books include some pretty heavy subject matter, and to talk about the books, I have to talk about the heavy topics too. So content warning for violence, sexual assault, mentions of suicide, violence, death, abortion, and physical, mental, and psychological abuse. This series does have a happy ending, but please take care of you. No book is worth your peace or mental health, so skip this if you need to. We'll be here if and when you're ready, and if you don't ever want to engage with these books/this post, we will happily see you in a space that you want to be and feel safe in.

A Shadow in the Ember

My middle sister and I have been sharing books since elementary school. Our tastes diverge a bit, and we definitely have favorite genres that the other pehaps does not roll with (literally, my PhD is in English lit and hers will be in bioinformatics, we are the Humanities-STEM divide writ large), but overall we can almost always find common ground in books. This sister is the reason I read The Hunger Games, so when she handed me this book, I dived on in...and now I have THOUGHTS. Let's talk A Shadow in the Ember.

Some light spoilers below the break. Nothing major, but take care if you haven't read the book yet!

When handing me this book, my sister basically said that she wasn't terribly invested in the leads, but the worldbuilding and subplot held her attention, and I have to agree with that assessment. Sera and Ash (or Nyktos, or Primal of Death...seriously, how did an editor not take one look at that and insist on the author picking ONE name???) are fairly generic YA protagonists. Sera has just enough character to not be Katniss or Bella Swan or [insert popular YA heroine here], but she's designed to be a canvas upon which a reader can project themself. Sometimes that's fine, and I want a blank slate I can find-and-replace myself onto. Other times...other times I would like an actual character to read about. Ash is very much the same; I imagine that a teenage reader could project themself onto him without too much trouble. The protagonists are definitely not the reason to read this book.

That said, some of the secondary characters--particularly Ezra and Nektas (seriously, where was the editor on this book? Nyktos and Nektas is just begging readers to get confused)--are intriguing and compelling and very fun to read about.

The worldbuilding and the (somehow this is a) subplot about the primals and who switched powersets with whom was incredibly interesting, and I was very much there for it. The concern about what the heck to do about the literal land dying and a prophecy/bargain with a primal that may or may not be real was intriguing. That said, it was worldbuilding and subplot rather than main plot, so it's not as fleshed out as I would have liked.

Overall, I agree with my sister on this one: I was weirdly invested in the background and worldbuilding, but the protagonists could have been any generic SFF protagonists, and while that didn't make the book less enjoyable to read, I definitely wanted the protagonists to be more than blank slates to project on.

A Light in the Flame

Ok, so two things are simultaneously true: First, if the sex in a book grinds the plot of a book to a screeching halt for like five consecutive chapters, that's just bad writing. Pacing is a THING, and the middle of this book didn't have it. Second, I am too invested in Sera and Ash's story to stop at this point, especially with the flippin' cliffhanger of this book. So let's talk A Light in the Flame.

Abandon all expectations of this being a spoiler-free review, ye who enter here. There will be spoilers.

Also some discussions of consent and assault.

Ok. Seraphena and Ash are AWFUL at communication, and I feel like if we improved that just a skoosh and cut some of the unnecessary sex scenes to tighten up the pacing, this book would have been excellent. Unfortunately, it's kind of caught somewhere between erotica and romantasy and doesn't balance those influences well in the pacing. Plus, we had all of book 1 to establish that Ash and Sera aren't good communicators, so when we got to the "oopsie poopsie, walked in on Ash and the mean girls primal appearing to be boning" misunderstanding, I was just like...have we seriously not moved past this?

And while we're here: I will acknowledge that men being assaulted by women happens, and it doesn't get the weight and representation in fiction it probably should. I also appreciate that this book handles it like the trauma and totally nonconsensual thing it is...but just because it's a guy doesn't mean I like reading about it. Because the book explicitly pulls feeding and sex apart as things that can but by no means have to go together, it pulls the metaphor away from sexual assault a bit. It's a weird one though because how much of Ash and Sera's relationship is sex, and how much the worldbuilding doesn't support reading this as not a sexual assault. It's a bit tangled and strange, but I can't even necissarily say it was badly handled, because unlike the majority of fictional instances where this happens to male characters, it's not written off as a joke. I just think the worldbuilding and intent are a little contradictory here. Like...yeah, sure, Ash and mean girls primal didn't ever actually have sex, but I literally struggle to the point of being totally unable to read this mini character arc as anything other than a sexual assault allegory. And I do not understand the mental gymnastics Sera does to try to pull apart forced feeding from sexual assault, because she did try that, but I was not following.

Moving beyond the pacing issues and issues with conflicting intent and worldbuilding, Ash and Sera's relationship was compelling. I appreciate the shift we see in Sera as she learns to value her own life--and the stab-twist as she is then condemned to die anyway, probably at Ash's hand was amazing (I am low-key an angst hound)--and in Ash as he begins to untangle all the conflicting control and wildly out of control aspects of his life. The character growth and dynamics there were always fun and believable and I was super invested in Ash and Sera's relationship with each other and their relationships with other characters.

Sera's relationships with the castlefolk--and Nektas and Reaver in particular--are darling and really lovely to read about. I also liked that we finally got to see her relationships with other primals, and her relationship with Kolis--such as it is.

Real quick before we wrap up, I just want to reiterate/clarify the point I rather haphazardly made in the intro. I don't have anything against sex scenes in books in principle. Go ham, authors, and readers can enjoy if they so choose. No judgement on their existence or the enjoyment of said scenes by readers or writers. What I object to is when sex in books that aren't explicitly meant to be erotica actually impedes the plot. And I think this book, especially the middle sections, had sex scenes impede the forward motion of the plot. We could have either cut back on the number of sex scenes or tied the plot into the sex scenes more closely so the plot kept moving even as Sera and Ash were smushing bits. So the mixed genres here was a bit of a detriment rather than a strength for this specific reason.

Just in general, the character work and worldbuilding in this book were excellent. The nice little parallel at the end where both Ash and Kolis want the embers out of Sera, but Ash refuses to kill Sera and Kolis refuses to kill Sotoria and if neither one sucks it up and kills her, her impending Ascension almost certainly will was also *chef's kiss*. I cannot wait to see how Sera wriggles out of THAT one, and the angst quotient is through the roof and I am HERE for it.

A Fire in the Flesh

One of these days, I swear I'm actually not going to do a thing I say I'm not doing. But today is not that day. This review isn't going to be as in-depth as usual, mostly because I just honestly don't have that much to say about it, and what I do have to say is...less complimentary than I shoot for on this blog. So all that said, I guess we're talking A Fire in the Flesh.

CONTENT WARNING: Some brief discussion of sexual assault. Always take care of you first; this book is not worth triggering or retraumatizing yourself over and we will happily see you next time if you need or want to bow out from here.

My biggest critique of this book is that it is generously half a book stretched to 600-odd pages. Like, you could have easily condensed the timeline, nixed about a third of the overall angst, and made this a really strong half of another book. The endless dragging out of Kolis releasing Ash and the agonizingly slow negotiations between Sera and Kolis could have paced faster without losing the stakes or the weight. Honestly, losing some of the dragginess might have ADDED to the weight, because honestly this book hit a point for me where you can only sit in a cage agonizing over whats-ifs and wherefores for so long before I am screeching at the book to *move the fuck on already*. There was too much of this book. Take some back, please.

Now before I jump into the conversation this book clumsily tried to have about sex and consent, I want to make one thing crystal clear:

Consent is important. Talking about consent is important. People knowing that they can choose to revoke consent literally at any time is important. Knowing what isn't consent is also important. This is an important topic and it deserves page time.

That said, maybe the king of "my dick wasn't actually inside you so it doesn't count" and gaslighting's court is not like...the best place to have that conversation. Especially with the mean girl primal (yes, she has a name, I don't care) actively going "I got off so its not rape" and making Sera question her own feelings about Kolis's assault on her. Gaslight is probably not the vibe you want in a romance book.

And yeah, the book tries to have nuanced conversations about this, but I didn't find them particularly well handled. The pacing and bloat of the book might have had something to do with that, because honestly I got tired of the repetitive nature of all of this. Again, brevity and speed might have strengthened an otherwise weak attempt at dealing with the absolutely fucky relationship North America has with sexual assault and its propensity to minimize, victim blame, and gaslight. And again, THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT. This book just wasn't well structured and paced enough to pull off the conversation it wanted to have, and then it also threw in the scene where Sera breaks a glass dildo in half and murders a guy with it. That is FARCICAL. Pick a tone and stick with it when you're trying to have a weighty conversation.

I will say that the ascension bits at the end and Ash full-on going "if you die, I'm dragging the world to hell after you" was entertaining, in a twisted kind of way. I did also think that it was an extension of the last two books' "Ash and Sera can't communicate if their lives depend on it" problem, but I'm starting to think this series is treating that like a feature rather than a bug, so... *shrug*.

That's more or less my take on this book. It was too long, it was too slow, and it could easily have been the first ten chapters of a stronger book. I wish I could say it was at least a dumb fun read, but the pacing just absolutely killed the reading experience for me.

Born of Blood and Ash

The book gods SMILED on me with this one, y'all. The book officially came out August 13, 2024, but it showed up a few days early to arrive on my doorstep the morning of my birthday. It was a TREAT <3

I was a little on the fence at the end of A Fire in the Flesh, because it was a lot of STUFF and I felt like the necessary aftermath was...just straight up not present. Well I should have more faith in authors, because this book handled the aftermath BRILLIANTLY, Ash and Sera finally figure out communication, and they get to kick unreal amounts of ass as they also figure out working through trauma. I absolutely adored this book! Small caveat: I have not read the Blood and Ash series. I have no idea what happens in those books, so it could not and did not color my read of the Flesh and Fire series, so if you HAVE read the Blood and Ash books, your experience may differ from mine and your mileage may vary.

This is your SPOILER WARNING and you CONTENT WARNING. I'm gonna spoil the crap out of this book. Please also be aware that this is going to require discussions of trauma, sexual assault, recovery from sexual assault, abortion, and a whole lot of murder. Take care of you and give this one a pass if you need to. We'll be here if and when you're ready.

So just to cover all my bases, and to start with a trend I REALLY hope we keep seeing in books, I'm going to share JLA's content warning from the front of Born of Blood and Ash here:

I love that authors are giving readers more autonomy to make informed choices about the books they engage with, and honestly given the hard conversations in this book? Well done JLA for including it. Because she's not exaggerating here; Sera was assaulted in multiple ways by Kolis in the last book, and this book is where that trauma comes home to roost.

Sera's reaction to her trauma resonated for me, because she spends a HUGE chunk of this book literally telling everyone "it was nothing," "I'm fine," "he didn't rape me [because there wasn't penetration]" (and just to be clear: He did. She gets there, but it takes time to process), and "other people experienced way worse than I did." We're not even ENTERTAINING the idea that she might have had a point, because the book absolutely does not and she DOESN'T have a point. Her experience was awful and it was real and her reactions and trauma are valid. That doesn't mean she sees it that way right away though, and I also appreciated that we got a reveal that Sera had been hiding the memory of what truly happened from even herself in this book. It can take time to acknowledge even to yourself what happened, and I honestly appreciated the time and space Sera got in this book to work through acknowledging the trauma in her own time.

So often the world wants you to just get better immediately, and that's not how brains work. That Sera was given the time, space, and support she was throughout the book was honestly lovely to see--especially since we had people like Kyn, Veses, and Kolis actively trying to twist and weaponize a narrative to try to shame, isolate, and embarrass her. But Ash was having none of that, and nor were Attes, Rhaine, or Aios. They also were very clear that they didn't need to know anything that Sera didn't want to share, and that is another really important piece for handling trauma. Nobody was judging, nobody needed Sera to be "the perfect victim" to support her. They simply validated her and offered whatever support she wanted or needed. That support and understanding was truly lovely to see, and there were moments I was full-on over here crying because of the support and grace extended to Sera as she found her own strength and her own ability to process and move forward.

And despite the fact that Sera does begin to process and move forward, there is no "have one good cry and one good conversation and suddenly everything is 100% better" nonsense. At the end of the book, Sera is in a SIGNIFICANTLY better space, and she is living with her trauma and experiences, but they're not gone. They've simply shifted, to be a part of her that she acknowledges and handles and has good and bad days with. I personally find that way more comforting and hopeful that magical disappearing trauma in books.

I could go on for a LONG time about how much I appreciated how this book handled Sera's management of her trauma, but at some point it's going to devolve into "OMG THIS WAS DONE SO SO WELL" over and over. The last little piece I'm going to say about it for the moment is that while some people might find the beginning of the book repetitive as Sera has very similar conversations about her trauma with people over and over, I would counter that with the fact that honestly? That felt deeply realistic to me. You have to bleed off the poison of just mentioning the cause of the trauma, and sometimes you need to visit and revisit that, and that is ok. Sera was allowed and given space to do that, and the world would be better if that was the case IRL too.

Now, just because we have to deal with the trauma Kolis dealt out in the previous book doesn't mean he's sitting on the beach with a book. No, Kolis is over here still trying to be the Primal of Blood and Ash and to get Sotoria back and basically wreak havoc and vengeance on everything and everyone. So not only are Sera and Ash working through the aftermath of the previous book, but Sera has to figure out her new set of Primal skills, face down Kolis and the Arae, and she has to deal with her own perceived monstrosity. That last one gets really bad when Kolis murders her entire human family, and in rage and grief Sera kills a LOT of people. Then brings some of them back to life, while forgetting that that will kill OTHER other people. Sera is super not ok after this, and spirals into "Oh my gods, I'm just as bad as Kolis" and we spend a really nice amount of time with Ash and Attes and Aios talking to Sera and helping her work through what monstrosity is and when a little monstrosity might be a virtue rather than a vice.

Again, this conversation isn't simple, it doesn't simply absolve Sera of her actions, and it doesn't even go "Oh no, sweetie, it's ok! You're not a monster!" because that would be a lie. Monstrosity exists, it is part of the reality of who Sera is and what she's become. But there is a really lovely acceptance of that, and a negotiation of how you live with monstrosity and where the hard lines are. I really appreciate the acknowledgement of that reality and the negotiation of it. There was something almost Eliot Spencer from Leverage about it, because it was coming to an equilibrium about who and what you are and how to leverage that for the most good you can do.

(Ok, I swore I wasn't going to take any cheap shots at Rhysand in this conversation, but I cannot help myself, because if ANYONE needs a come to Jesus about their own monstrosity and when it stops being ok, it's the lead bat boy!!! I said to someone when I was reading this book that JLA is the anti-SJM in some really key ways, and I stand by that...especially when it comes to the pregnancy thing.)

We're just going to take that parenthetical segue, because it's there and I am so excited to talk about the OTHER really good (if brief) conversation this book has: the pregnant person's choice when it comes to deciding whether to keep or abort a pregnancy. I did a whole little post about this while I was still reading because it was done SO WELL, and I'm just going to let Aios speak for herself about this one, because here is what she says to Sera:

Aios nodded. "Okay." She cleared her throat, her eyes glistening. "There doesn't need to be a choice [about whether to go into battle pregnant] at all." My breath snagged, and I recoiled. "I'm the Primal of Life, Aios." "You are Seraphena first." The eather intensified behind her pupils. "A woman who has fought for her autonomy. This is your body." My fingers dug into my knees. "You're a goddess of fertility, so hearing you speak of terminating a pregnancy to the Primal of Life is...kind of odd." "What I am allows me to fully understand the complex nature of these things." She reached between us, tucking a stray curl behind my ear. "Sometimes, the time is simply not right. It happens. And if anyone faults you for that, that is on them. Not you. They do not live your life. It is their problem. Not yours."

THIS IS HOW YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT ABORTION. You speak directly to the pregnant person and give them all the information about their body. You remember that it is THEIR body. You don't judge. You offer space and compassion. This was such a kind, compassionate, and realistic conversation and I was almost in tears again about how well this was done.

(And again, to take a wee bit of a cheap shot at ACOTAR...JLA had the dang conversation here. SJM was just like, "C-sections aren't a thing, so I guess Feyre's going to just die. Abortion? That doesn't exist. Time for Rhys's man pain to take precedence over Feyre's choices about her own damn body!)

Sera decides to keep her babies, but the fact is? She had a choice. She would have been supported and loved whatever choice she made. There is a power to that kind of love, support, and acceptance that--once again--we could use more of IRL.

Those are kind of the big three conversations and themes that the book focuses on, but it's not all heavy and conversation-driven. The sex scenes are fewer in this book that previous ones, but they're well done and they don't bog down the dang plot, which I appreciate. Additionally, we get some purely DELIGHTFUL Ash and Sera being BAMF and going full primal. There are also some delightfully sweet scenes with Reaver and Jadis, plus some peak comedy with Sera trying to stop everyone and their mother from bowing to her.

And the best thing? Ash and Sera have cracked the communication code and they actually have FREAKING NAILED IT. That is character growth, and that is setup and payoff. I adored it.

Overall, while the middle two books of the series were a little hit and miss for me, the quartet as a whole was fantastic. I'm so happy my sister pestered me until I let her put the first book in my hand, and we've had such fun reading them. I cannot recommend these enough, and I absolutely adore Ash and Sera's dynamics.