#gina baby is kind of part of me now

[swanqueensalad]

fandom is so weird because like... am i grown woman? yes. has it been the better part of a decade since i first watched ouat and fell in love with regina mills? yes. i was a child then. i am an adult now. i have less free time and more worries and yet when i find myself struggling or having a bad time, what do i turn to? thinking about my goddamn blorbo. writing fic wherein i can better understand parts of my own troubles via these fictional people who i have come to know, over the years, as if they are old friends. sharing shitposts with u lot to make u giggle. there is an unending well of comfort and familiarity here that is so strange and silly and special.

[idkwhatever580]

Gina?

Masterlist

Pairings: Regina George x reader

Prompt: reader helps Regina when her life falls apart

Warnings: self hate, swearing,

A/N: I had a request to do this and I did it the other way around so here is a different version. I stuggled with the body part since I kind of was going on and on and it led to something else but I hope you like it!

Y/n’s pov

I just got to my girlfriend’s house. Her mom called me and said she’s been on the treadmill for two hours.

Ms. George called around four and she said that she left school early and wouldn’t get off, so I immediately told her that I was coming over.

I had just gotten out of school too.

So I run into the house and say a quick

“Hey Ms. George!”

And I ran to their workout room.

The door is locked so I knock really hard so she can hear me. She thinks I’m her mom so she yells

“Mom I told you I need to lose three pounds!!!”

“Gina baby! It’s me! Y/n! Can you please let me in?

“No! You need to go! I need to lose more weight!”

I sigh when I realize she’s not getting off that machine until I drag her off. So I quickly find two Bobby pins and pick the lock. Thank god for coach carr.

He might not have taught me a lot of things. Except for that if you have sex you’ll get chlamydia and die. (False) but he once had to pick the lock to get back into the classroom when he accidentally got us all locked out.

So I open the door and find her eating a gross looking bar of sorts.

I turn off the treadmill and say

“Gina. Please. This isn’t healthy.”

She is panting and sweating and she finally kind of snaps out of it.

She is like really fucking tired now so I help her to the bathroom to clean off.

“What kind of bar is that Gina?”

She shrugs while washing her hair and says

“It’s like a Kalteen bar. It’s Swedish or something”

I furrow my eyebrows and say

“Where did you get these from and what do they do?”

“They make you lose weight. And Cady gave them to me.”

She steps out of the shower and I say

“I don’t trust that girl”

She kind of scoffs and says

“You don’t trust anyone”

I look at her as she dries off and I say

“You’re right. I don’t trust very many people. Do you even know what is in this?”

She shrugs and says

“No.”

I squint and grab the package of the bars and I look up the brand. My eyes widen when I read the description.

All of the ingredients are said to be aids in gaining weight. So I turn to Regina and say

“Spit that out. Right. Now.”

She listens and spits it out, but says

“Why?”

I grab her hand and say

“You know how I said you shouldn’t trust Cady Heron?”

She rolls her eyes and says

“Yes come on tell me”

I sigh and pick up the bar and say

“This shit makes you gain weight. She literally tricked you.”

She takes the information in and then starts screaming.

Loud.

I cover my ears and as she is screaming she goes into her closet and grabs this pink book.

She finally stopped screaming. I’ve never seen this book before so I say

“What’s that?”

“A burn book”

She starts writing something in it and puts her picture in it.

“What is it about?”

She huffs and says

“It has all the girls in our class in it. Talks shit about them.”

I look at her with wide eyes and say

“Am i in it?”

She groans and says

“No. You go to north west. . I go to north shore. It only has north shore juniors in it. Also I’d never let them write anything bad about you anyways.”

I frown and nod my head and say

“What are you doing with it?”

She rolls her eyes and says

“I’m taking it to the school. Showing everyone. Blaming the three bitches who wouldn’t let me sit at my fucking table!”

I widen my eyes and say

“Wait. You couldn’t sit at their table?”

She nods her head and says

“Because I was wearing fucking sweatpants and it wasn’t the day.”

I scoff and say

“Wow. That’s stupid”

She nods and starts crying and says

“Sweatpants are all that fits me right now because of those stupid bars. I thought Cady was nice.”

I sign and nod my head. I run to hug her and say

“Let’s think this through baby. Whatever is in this book is going to ruin some people’s lives right now okay? I know she ruined yours. I know. But there’s no need to be the same way. Remember what we talked about?”

She looks at me and says

“What?”

I smile and say

“When someone hurts us. We get back up. Stand taller than them. And come back better than ever.”

She huffs and says

“Why though? Why can’t I ruin her life?”

I sigh and say

“Regina. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Don’t be the girl that hurt you first okay? Cady is a horrible person. She will have to deal with the consequences of that. But you are a good person.”

She sniffles and says

“I’m actually not”

I frown and say

“Huh?”

“I’m not a good person.”

I laugh softly and say

“What are you talking about baby?”

She sits up and takes a deep breath. It almost looks like she is preparing herself for me to leave her or something.

“Y/n. You know I am pretty popular right?”

I nod my head and say

“What does popularity have to do with anything?”

She looks down and says

“I’m not just popular. I’m like the head bitch in charge. I rule that fucking school. Every girl wants to be me. And I am mean. I’m a bully. I’ve never been nice to anyone. Not even Gretchen or Karen.”

I look at her confused and say

“What are you talking about? That doesn’t sound like you at all”

She sighs and shakes her head.

“I know. Because I am different around you. You make me a better person. But in reality. I am no better than Cady. There’s this one girl. I used to be friends with her. Her name is Janis. I ruined her life in sixth grade. I told everyone she was a lesbian because she was sad when I didn’t hang out with her because I had a boyfriend.”

I nod my head trying to take all this information in.

“And I bullied her so bad that she lit our shared stuffed animal on fire. Because I was using it to call her a lesbian without her knowing. So she lit it on fire. And then I caught my backpack on fire. I knew that. I knew she didn’t try to light my backpack on fire. And what did i do? I called her a pyro-lez. Everyone bullied her too. Trying to be like me.”

I look down and say

“Wow. That. That’s a lot”

She nods her head and says

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to find out. I thought we’d make it to college and I could be a completely different person. I thought I could run and be the person I want to be. But when you told me that you were switching schools for senior year I freaked out. Started focusing on everything that was happening this year like my body and my school life so that I could get it all this year. Because I knew the second you found out you’d dump me and then I’d become a loser.”

I nod my head as I listen to her.

“Regina?”

She stops and says

“I’m ready. I’m ready for you to break up with me”

I shake my head and say

“I’m not breaking up with you.”

She furrows her eyebrows as I continue.

“I’m sticking with you. Okay? Clearly you have a lot of things you need to work through. And that’s okay. We all do. But I am not leaving you. I love you okay? I love everything about you. And I’m not going to leave you because I know you can be better”

She nods her head and looks away and says

“Y/n? Why do you love me? I’m not pretty anymore”

I scoff and say

“What? You mean because Cady gave you those fuck ass bars? Because you gained a little weight?”

She nods her head and says

“I’m not pretty like I used to be. My body is ruined.”

I sigh and say.

“Take off your shirt”

Her eyes widen and she says

“What?”

I shake my head and say

“I’m not doing anything. Just take off your shirt okay?”

She does so and I get on my knees in between her legs. I kiss her stomach and I say

“I love your stomach. I love your stomach whether it is skinny and tiny or thicker okay?”

I move down and kiss her thighs

“I love your thighs. Whether or not they have a gap okay?”

She nods her head and I start kissing all over her and I say

“I love every inch of you. Every single inch. You having gained a little weight means nothing to me because you’re so so beautiful.”

Then I stand up and kiss her forehead.

“I love your mind. Because deep down I know you are good. If you really weren’t good I would have left you a long time ago. But you are good. You can be good to everyone.”

She tears up and says

“I want to be good”

I smile and say

“You do?”

She nods and says

“But I don’t know how”

I smile and say

“I’ll help you with that. But you have to look at me first and say you’re pretty”

She hesitates and shakes her head. I raise an eyebrow so she rolls her eyes and sighs. Then she mumbles

“I’m pretty”

I smirk and say

“Now mean it”

Once she realizes she’s not getting out of it, she sighs and for real says

“I love my body. I am pretty”

I smile and say

“Good job baby. Now. Let’s talk about what you’re gonna do now okay?”

She nods her head and I say

“So obviously this Janis girl has been hurt by you.”

She nods her head and I continue

“What are you going to do about that?”

She hesitantly says

“I’m gonna apologize?”

I nod my head and say

“Good job baby. You’re gonna apologize and explain to her why you did it all those years.”

She shakes her head and looks at me with pleading eyes and says

“What if she doesn’t care and still hates me?”

I sigh and say

“That’s a very likely possibility Regina. She might hate you. And that’s okay. Sometimes you have to understand that if you apologized, although it doesn’t make what you did right, it means you were willing to reconcile with them. And if they don’t care then that becomes their problem because you did what you could.”

She nods her head and says

“What else am I gonna do?”

I think and say

“You’re gonna burn that”

I point to the burn book she has and she says

“Why?”

I sigh and say

“Gina. You heard me. That book has the ability to ruin someone’s life. Honestly if I was in it and whatever had been written about me had gotten out I’d probably have hurt myself. We don’t want anyone to do that because of us right?”

She nods her head a lot and says

“I don’t want them to hurt”

I nod and say

“So you’re gonna?”

She finishes

“I’m gonna burn it tonight”

I nod and say

“Good job baby”

Then she says

“Let’s do it now.”

I smile and say

“Okay. Let’s do it now.”

We go to the backyard and I grab some lighter fluid from the barbecue pit and Regina throws the burn book in the fire pit.

I hand her the lighter fluid and she squirts some onto it and then I take it and trade her for the lighter.

She turns to me not knowing how to light it and I give her a bit of fire starter and say

“Wanna record it?”

She nods so I grab my phone and she burns the book.

We sit and watch it turn into ashes and I give her a hug. She turns to me and says

“It kind of feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders”

I smile and say

“Good. It should feel that way.”

We put the rest of the fire out and go back inside.

“Okay y/n, what else do I have to do?”

I smile and say

“Well I’m taking you shopping. You can’t go back better than ever wearing the sweatpants that fit you right now. So we’re going to buy some cute clothes in your current size and you’re gonna own it”

She smiles and says

“Okay.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We come back from the shopping spree with two bags in each hand

“That was amazing baby thank you for taking me and spoiling me”

I smile and say

“Anything for my love”

She smiles and then sets out an outfit for the next day.

I smile proudly and she turns around with a doubtful look.

“What if none of it works? What if everyone thinks I’m kidding when I start being nice? What if I don’t get any friends?”

I sigh and say

“It won’t matter. You’ll have me. I’ll always be here for you and next year I’ll be by your side. We are probably getting the same classes since we’re on the same course plan so we’ll have a lot of time together.”

She smiles and says

“Thanks baby you always know how to reassure me.”

I smile and nod.

“Of course baby. You deserve to know you’re not alone”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My school gets off on Fridays so I stayed home while Regina went to school.

She has been texting me all day asking for reassurance that she can do this. And I have nothing to do so I give it.

She is supposed to be talking to Janis this class period since they both have one class.

I told her to do it privately so nobody feels any pressure.

She calls me and I pick up.

“Regina? Baby are you okay?”

“Yeah! I’m good!”

She sounds happy that’s a good sign.

“How’d it go?”

She giggles at someone who is talking to her and she says

“Janis and I talked it out and she’s so fun. I have been talking and laughing with her all period! Thank you for encouraging me to do this.”

I sigh and say

“Did you tell her about the burn book?”

She says

“Mhm. We talked about it and she said I was having problems with internalized homophobia”

I smile and say

“Yeah. That’s probably it. Than what happened?”

“We just started talking and it was like before! When we used to be best friends you know?”

I say

“Mhm”

And she continues

“Hey! So I have to go okay? I don’t want to get in trouble for having my phone out but I just wanted to say that Janis and I are gonna hang out tonight. Is that okay?”

“Yeah that’s fine. Wait before you go did you mean like you’re gonna hang out with her and then hang out with me?”

She giggles at that person again

Probably Janis

“Oh um. I think we’re gonna catch up like a bunch so probably not. We can hang out tomorrow night though right?”

I sigh and say

“Yeah that’s fine baby. Call me tonight?”

She laughs and says

“I will. I love you baby bye bye”

“I love you too bye”

We hang up and I throw my phone on the bed.

Of course I’m a little hurt. We were supposed to go on a date tonight. Like we do every Friday night. But it’s fine. She is just excited about Janis. And that’s okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sister comes into my room in the afternoon and says

“You’re not going to Regina’s?”

I shake my head

“But it’s your date night?”

I smile and say

“She’s catching up with an old friend.”

She makes an oh face and leaves me be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve been watching movies all evening and it’s almost midnight. I do have to sleep eventually but Regina hasn’t called me yet.

I sigh and accept that she’s not gonna call me tonight so I turn off my tv and go to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up and check my phone to hopefully see some texts from Regina but nothing shows up.

Just a few emails and snap streaks.

I check all of Regina’s socials and I see her story.

She went to the movies with Janis to watch Inside Out 2.

We were supposed to watch that together.

I tear up because we had planned that since we first saw the trailers for it.

And she watched it without even a thought of me.

I get lost in my thoughts.

Maybe this was her thing the whole time. She bullied Janis because she liked her. And I was just someone to take her mind off of her. But she got her. And I am gonna be left. And after all I did for her? Are you kidding me?! I helped her. I love her. I have so much up for her. And she’s just gonna drop me for this girl?!

I didn’t realize until my phone started ringing that I am crying.

It’s Regina. I check the time and see it’s noon.

I wipe my tears and make myself a little more presentable even though she can’t see me and I pick up.

“Wow baby. You usually pick up after the first ring”

I laugh and cover up the fact that I was just crying and say

“I was in the bathroom sorry”

She hums and says

“How was your night?”

I sigh and say

“It was fine”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. It’s just Janis and I had so much fun and she decided to stay over at my house last night and I felt like I would be a bad friend if I called my girlfriend while she was there.”

“It’s okay Gina. I get it. I just wish you texted me”

“I know I just got caught up and had so much fun and forgot. I’m sorry”

“It’s okay.”

After a pause I decided to bring up the movie and say

“So… you and Janis went to the movies last night?”

She hums and says

“Yeah it was so much fun. You would have loved it.”

I feel another tear coming and I suck it up.

“Yeah. What did you guys watch?”

“We watched.. inside out 2”

She trails off when she realizes what we were supposed to do next week. But before she says anything I say

“So you’re cancelling next week? I mean. It would be kind of wasteful to just watch it again right? Waste of time.”

She sighs and says

“I’m so sorry y/n. I completely forgot. Janis had asked me and I just said yes without thinking. We can still go if you want to?”

I say

“No it’s okay. I’ll watch it when it comes out on Netflix or something. I don’t like the movies anyways.”

Lie. I love the movies.

“Huh. I thought you loved the movies?”

I huff and say

“It’s fine.”

She says

“Janis left a few minutes ago and I called as soon as I could.”

I hum and say

“Oh that’s nice. I’m glad you’re catching up with her”

She then says

“Yeah. Want to hang out today?”

“Uhh I don’t know, I’m kinda busy today. I have a lot of chores to do.”

“Oh. Well I could help you with them! Then we could spend time together and they’ll be finished faster so we can hang out!”

I reluctantly give in. I kind of don’t want to hang out with her since I’m hurt but maybe it’ll be easier to explain to her in person.

“Sure. Come over”

“Okay!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regina gets to my house and immediately hugs me. I melt into her embrace and say

“Thanks for coming.”

“Of course! Anything to hang out with my person!”

I smile awkwardly and just walk back to my chores.

I start folding clothes and Regina tries to talk to me.

“So. What did you do this morning?”

“Slept in”

“Oh. Um did you sleep alright?”

“I slept fine”

“Okay. Did you have a good day yesterday?”

I sigh and say

“Not really”

This is the perfect set up to tell her how I feel. I need to communicate with her better.

“Oh. Why wasn’t it good?”

I fold the last shirt I have and pick up my pile and take it to my room and Regina follows me.

“I don’t know”

I get scared and shut down a bit but Regina knows this play

“Don’t do that. Tell me why it wasn’t good baby”

I put my clothes in my drawer and pick up some shoes and put them in my closet. I end up picking some stuff up and I’m on my knees by my shoes.

I try to say something but nothing comes out. So Regina peeks her head in and says

“Hello?”

I turn from my spot on the ground and tear up slightly.

“Oh baby! Don’t cry! What happened?”

She comes and sits down next to me in my now cramped closet.

“I don’t know. I’m having a hard time saying it”

“I understand that. Take your time baby. I’m here”

I sigh and smile slightly when I realize she has picked up my words from when we were in this situation but reversed.

“I guess- I- ugh this is so hard”

I run my hands through my hair and Regina just listens. She gives me a reassuring look and I feel better about telling her.

“I am hurt I guess. By you. See I love that you are rekindling a friendship that you lost a long time ago but it’s not like you to dip on me okay!”

She furrows her eyebrows and says

“Dip? We didn’t have any plans last night did we?”

I sigh and say

“It was Friday last night. We always make plans. Remember? It was your week to plan it. But that’s not even the only thing. You dipped on me, which I said it was fine because I knew you were excited about being friends with her again, then you didn’t call me like you said you would. And to top it all off I woke up this morning to see you watched a movie with her that we had plans to watch together! I’m just really hurt that you didn’t remember all of that.”

She looks down feeling bad that she did all of that.

“I’m so sorry y/n”

I look at her and say

“It’s fine. I’m just being over dramatic.”

I wipe my tears and go to get up but she grabs me and says

“No. It’s not fine. You should be my priority. But you were not last night. I got so caught up in me and Janis that I completely forgot about you. And that’s not okay. I should have remembered that you and I were going to watch the movie. I should have remembered to call you. But I didn’t.”

I sigh and say

“I’m sorry I just am jealous I guess. I feel like you never act like this and I got scared that you’d leave me for her because you didn’t want me to begin with. I thought maybe you had wanted Janis but didn’t know if you could have her but you knew you could have me”

She laughs and shakes her head

“No baby. I love you so much. I had a lapse of judgment last night. And I apologize. I don’t like Janis like that. Thank goodness. But I won’t leave you. Ever. And by the way. I really appreciate you telling me this. It can take a lot and you’re helping our relationship be better by communicating with me.”

I smile and say

“Thank you baby I’m sorry I got so worked up. I just let my thoughts get to me.”

She nods and says

“I can relate to that”

I smile and say

“So. What do we do now?”

I look around and she does too. We’re still on the floor of my cramped closet and she says

“I guess we cuddle and watch a movie together?”

I smile and say

“I like that idea.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: this totally went the opposite of what I planned but it’s fine 😚 it’s cute either way. I hope y’all liked it!!

Taglist

@ilovesnat @ihartnat @marvelnatasha12346 @moistblobfish @justarandomreaderxoxo

[archangeldyke-all]

wait—can we do plug!Sevika going to reader’s nail salon appointment. (maybe even getting her own matching nails done 👁️)

yesss!!

nail inspo!

men and minors dni

now that she's your girlfriend, sevika insists on paying for your nails.

she insists on paying for most things, actually. you've had to remind her from time to time that she's just as much your girlfriend as you are hers, and that while you might not be rolling in quite as much cash as she is, you do work enough to treat her sometimes. she's gotten better at letting you buy things for her and the two of you.

but she hasn't budged on the nails.

"what're you gonna get?" sevika asks as she pulls open the door to the salon for you.

"i was thinking black and white stars." you say, shrugging. sevika smirks.

"how long? sharp?" she asks, like she always does. you just giggle and elbow her.

"obviously." you chuckle. you get all checked in, then go to sit in the waiting room. you're surprised when sevika sits beside you.

usually, she'll wait with you to get checked in, hand you a wad of cash, kiss your cheek, then leave to make a few home deliveries while you get your nails done.

"you're staying?" you ask. she nods.

"can i?" she asks. you chuckle.

"obviously, baby, i just wish you woulda told me. i woulda packed you a book or your switch in my purse." you pout at her, worried she'll get bored. she smiles sweetly, leaning forward to kiss your cheek again.

"i'll be okay. i got my phone, i got you to look at, i'll be good."

"sap."

it's a slow day, so your nail tech lets sevika sit at the little table beside you. the three of you chat for a bit-- sevika acts like she's shy, but she loves gossiping, and your nail tech is always in some kind of drama.

as your tech gina files down your old set and builds up your new one, sevika mentions that she's a plug, and with gina's boss' permission, a few of the pre-rolls sevika's always carrying on her get passed around the entire salon, all the techs and clients getting progressively gigglier as they smoke.

"so what kinda design do you want today, honey?" gina asks. you tell her your vision and she nods along smiling. "and for you, baby?" she asks sevika.

seivka's eyebrows shoot up. "oh!" she says. you giggle. "uh... i have to keep my nails short for work... among other things." she mumbles that last part, so only you can hear it. you kick her under the table, biting back your laugh.

"i can do a simple clear manicure! lemme treat you since you treated all of us." gina begs, pouting. this is why you're always coming back to her.

"actually..." sevika thinks, a sparkle in her eye. "could you make mine match hers? but, like, simpler?" she requests.

you grin, butterflies bursting in your stomach. if your nails weren't under the lamp right now, you'd pull sevika forward for a sloppy kiss.

gina grins and nods, then reaches forward to take sevika's hands in hers, inspecting her nails.

two hours later, you and sevika leave the salon hand in hand, your matching maniucres glistening in the evening sun.

sevika's inspecting her free hand, grinning down at it as you navigate the two of you through the parking lot. "i feel so pampered right now." she giggles. "my nails are so shiny!"

"you look great baby." you laugh. she looks over at you, still smiling, and you pull her in for a kiss.

when you pull away, sevika's got a dark look in her eye. your stomach flops over, and you know she's going to say something dirty before she even speaks.

"you gonna let me take you home so i can see how pretty my nails look on your cunt?" she asks.

you just groan, flicking her forehead and hiding your flustered expression behind your hand as you wait for her to open the passenger door for you.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @vikasub @glass-apothecary @m0numents @macaroni676

[chaifootsteps]

Chai, i’m really interested in seeing your or the anon’s rate Stolas outfit (before there’s probably a new one he’s going to wear in court during “honorable judge gina”), so here’s a condensed list of thoughts i had

- i remember a lot of people complaining about his hat in 2019-2020 saying it looked dumb. personally i always enjoyed that part of stolas design, the top hat has always been a trademark of the victorian upper class and the tiara and costume party mask makes it so extra, its wonderfully cartoonish and inherently villanous-looking, even if i know theres no thought put into it other than “now make him look like the onceler!”

-the ermine coat he puts on during “what kind of monster does that make me?” were iconography of royalty for a long time because they were associated with moral purity (i’d love to see what hell weasels look like!). on that note, i wish we could see royalty from countries that arent inspired by european ones, but that would mean doing research on how Hell is depicted in other cultures

- the vest and pants were fine, sometimes they switched from being a onesie, until it became a fully fledged baby pijama in Look My Way. no other comments, i just love this

- Aristocrat anon

Yeah, I've always liked this hat, and it's probably the last remnant of his outfit that makes sense and is good. I hope the baby onesie becomes more and more pronounced until he's just going up to speak to Judge Gina looking like what he is inside, which is this.

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 14.

[Posted 2023.08.12]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.0k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist) 

Despite the documentary trailer coming out, the general public didn’t believe you and Ricky were together. According to everyone, the whole show was an act. A very entertaining act but an act nonetheless. Not that you or Ricky minded. With the increase in auditions and booking small roles, you wanted your personal life to stay personal for just a little longer. You told Gina that much as you helped her finish packing.

Her mom was back into so your roommate turned sister was officially leaving your house. Gina dragged her entire closet into your room so you two could pack up and watch a movie on the projector screen in your room.

“I can’t believe your moving. Seriously,” you said as you shoved her jackets into a box.

“You act like I’m leaving the state, I’m literally across the street.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe that old couple finally chose to live in a nursing home.”

You and Gina paused before you bursted out in laughter. It was really nice to have her stay near by. While you were friends with the rest of the drama club, Gina and Ricky were still your only close friends at East High.

“You know what I can’t believe,” Gina started. “That two of my best friends are leaving me next year.”

“Senior year. I still haven’t processed it yet,” you admitted.

A knock on the door caught your attention. Your dad was standing in the doorway with a plate of fruit. “My lovely senior and junior…”

You and Gina rolled your eyes.

“Gina, your mother wants me to remind you that she’d like you home by ten thirty and that you two can talk tomorrow at school.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you, here you guys go. Let’s try to finish packing before the night is over.”

“If you really want us to finish. Dad, you could he—”

The sound of your window opening made you all turn. You laughed as Ricky practically fell into your room. He jumped up with a quickness.

“Hi, Mr. L/N. Y/N, Gina.”

“Hello, Richard. You do know we have a front door, right?” you father pointed to downstairs.

“Yeah but since you guys said I’m allowed over any time, it’s not as much fun unless I’m going through the window.”

Your dad looked up at the ceiling. “I have clearly overstayed my welcome talking to a bunch of teenagers. Okay, Gina, home by ten thirty. Richard no sleeping in Y/N’s room but you are welcome to take any other room upstairs. Bed time is eleven, no negotiations. School’s tomorrow… I can’t believe my baby is a senior.”

“Dad, Dad, there’s plenty of time before I graduate. We don’t need to start crying now.”

“Oh, whatever.”

You chuckled as your dad left the room before focusing on Ricky again. He had no problem showing affection towards you with Gina in the room because she was the only person that knew you and Ricky were a real couple. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about being sworn to secrecy no matter the reason but she was still just happy to be let in.

Your boyfriend sat on the bed, actually helping you pack up Gina’s closet. “I wanted to give you something but I couldn’t really wait until tomorrow. Well, both of you, kind of.”

“What is it?”

“So, I’ve had this melody stuck in my head all day and it reminded me of Y/N.”

“Sap,” Gina muttered.

“I think it’s sweet.” You leaned over to give him a peck.

“Anyway, I know you don’t really write songs but you have an ear for music Y/N and Gina does write lyrics so I thought maybe we could work on this together?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Ricky stood up to leave. “I actually do have to get home. One of Dad’s only rules is bed by ten on the first day of school.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “Yep, it’s been a tradition since I started… and it is nine thirty so I do need to go.”

You gave him another kiss. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow… Oh! Did Lucille send you the filming schedule?”

“Yeah, I’m just glad the filming is here. Senior year away from East High would’ve been such a bummer.”

“I know right. Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~~

You leaned against Ashylnn’s locker, chuckling as you watched Kourtney and Carlos take pictures with fans. It was weird to say you guys had fans.

“So what do you think, Y/N?”

“Hmm?” You focused back on Gina and Ashlynn.

“About Ash and Maddie giving each other relationship advice.”

You and Gina shared a look before you stood up straight. “I think that’s for Ashlynn to figure out but we need to figure out how to get to the drama club before we’re late for Ms. Jenn’s big announcement.”

Ashlynn’s eyebrows furrowed. “For me to figure out what?”

“Nothing,” you said with a laugh before grabbing her and Gina’s hands and leading them to the drama club.

You guys weren’t sure why Ms. Jenn called everyone in for a “surprise.” It was pretty obvious that the next play was going to be High School Musical 3. Without stupid Zacky Roy around to throw the Drama Club off their game, you guys were going right back to doing Disney TV shows for musicals. You just hoped that next semester you guys did Teen Beach Movie before you graduated.

You felt Ricky squeeze your hand once before you guys broke apart and left the drama room with everyone else to go to the Pep Rally. Staying lowkey was going to be so hard. You let Ashlynn and Gina walk in between the two of you on your way to the field.

“Can you believe auditions are this Friday? I need to pick a song,” Ashlynn said as she started searching through a list written down on her phone.

“What part are you going for Ash?”

“I’m thinking Kelsey or Sharpay. You?”

You shrugged. “Whatever doesn’t interfere with filming and my calculus homework. You know I’ve been demoted at Saltwater.”

“What?!”

You chuckled at your friends’ expressions. “Not like that. Bennet agreed that Principal dancer is too much to handle with school and filming so I’m only principal for the fall ballet since we’ve been rehearsing it before filming next month and then I’m just a first soloist for the rest of the time. It’s better this way anyway. This is the exact arrangement I’m going to having at Berklee. I’m thankful to get but my academic advisor sends me an email like every other day with updates. My inbox is dying.”

You guys sat down in your seats, finally moving to be next to Ricky.

“That still means we get to come watch you perform at Saltwater, right?”

“Yeah, you are looking at Coraline Jones in our fall production.”

Before your friends could celebrate you, the pep rally started much to your relief. You were still getting used to being the center of attention without losing the ability to breathe. Part of the reason you weren’t so prepared to be the lead in a feature film. A small film but still… The first Twilight movie was an indie film.

At least you didn’t have time to overanalyze that because the dude who played Coach Bolton was at the pep rally? You and Ricky rolled your eyes and sighed at the same time with the announcement of High School Musical 4 being filmed at your school. Just why?

Of course all the students were cheering no matter what, hoping that filming would mess with classes a little. You had a little fangirl moment when they announced one of the new stars of High School Musical 4. Mack and Dani.

Kourtney played Dani’s TikToks over and over again when you guys were at camp. Hopefully she could act because her TikToks seemed so nice. And Mack? Well you couldn’t help but squeal a little when they announced him.

Your friends looked at you causing you to laugh. “You don’t understand, I had one of the biggest crushes on him when I was little.”

“Me too!” Gina said with excitement. “Mark and Spark was my comfort show.”

“You know, he was supposed to be the first male lead in the movie I’m filming and my heart stopped until he cancelled of course.”

“Well now we know why,” Ashlynn said before focusing back on the stage.

You leaned your head on Ricky’s shoulder, having felt him tense up behind you. He relaxed when you grabbed his hand for a brief moment.

“You know I don’t mean anything by it. It was just a stupid celebrity crush,” you whispered.

“Celebrity crushes are still crushes.”

“Well then it was a stupid little crush. Is that better?”

“Yeah,” Ricky said with a squeeze of your hand.

You made a note to stay at Ricky's for a late dinner later after ballet rehearsal just to make sure he wasn’t still jealous. This relationship really was new territory for the both of you. But that would have to wait because now it was time for a second surprise in the drama room. You were getting real sick of surprises. And super sick of the security guard trying to block access to the drama room because of “filming”.

“Ahh!”

You all turned at Kourtney’s scream.

“Corbin Bleu?”

“Oh great,” Ricky muttered.

“Okay, okay. I deserve that a bit. But I am here to make amends. I know that documentary wasn’t what any of us expected.”

“Seb isn’t talking to me.” Carlos pointed out.

Ashlynn nodded along with him. “Yeah and Big Red is in Cairo for six months.”

“I hear you but we’ve found a way to make it up to you.”

“Uh, who’s we?” you asked with a raised hand.

You heard footsteps before you saw the people attached to the noise. You couldn’t believe it. Standing right in front of you was the original cast of High School Musical. Honestly, Corbin might have actually gotten you guys the best apology gift ever.

Featured extras in High School Musical 4? That was sick! So was everyone character development. You had to admit that you didn’t see Troy and Gabriella being in couples’ therapy… because you thought they would’ve broken up freshman year of college since they were such an on and off again relationship. The entire class was giggling uncontrollably at the prospects of being together on set.

Kourtney raised her hand. “Well, if the movie is going for authenticity casting a drama class to play Ms. Darbus’ drama class then Mack and Dani should consult us. The real life kids of East High.”

“This is why she’s the smart one,” someone said as you all high-fived.

Apparently, the OG cast thought she was brilliant as well because it didn’t take them any convincing. She was immediately assigned to Dani. You playfully shook her shoulders to let her know you were proud of her.

“Do we have any volunteers for Mack?” Lucas asked.

“Right like someone who grew up loving his tv show. Or two someones?”

You tried to back out of being Mack’s guide but it was too late. You were stuck co-guiding with Gina. All you wanted to do was focus on movie rehearsals, ballet rehearsals, your relationship, school, and drama club. That was a lot of things. Guiding Mack was not on your list of things.

You acted like that wasn’t the case when you went to go see the superstar, putting on your best smile. Your eyes went wide at an almost naked man getting his calf measured.

“Oh my,” you and Gina said at the same time.

Mack looked over. “Can I help you?”

You let Gina take over as you tried to look everywhere but at Mack, feeling embarrassed and more awkward than usual.

“We are so sorry. We are real students here, only one credit on IMDb so far but anyway, we were assigned to give you a hand.”

“Yeah, I’d love to know who assigned you to interrupt my costume fitting.”

“No. That was our bad.”

“Yeah,” you offered up. “If we had known you weren’t dressed we would’ve come way sooner before school ended… Soo-sooner because you’d have clothes on. Not whatever you l-look like you, like you’re thinking of. Oh my goodness.”

“Would you mind turning around?”

You and Gina looked at each other before doing just that. “That was probably the first thing we should have done.”

“Okay. So, I do have to ask,” Gina started. “Do you still keep in touch with the dog from the show?”

“There were seven of them and they all retired to a farm upstate.”

“Oh that’s so swee—”

“Uh, G,” you cut her off. “That means they aren’t, um, currently pr—”

“It means they’re dead.” Mack had put on a shirt so you guys could turn around. “The farm is heaven.”

“Well that ruined everything,” your friend muttered. “Okay, we’re going to leave now and we can all pretend we never met.”

“Oh, I’m way ahead of you.”

“Good luck on the movie, Mack. Hope you break a leg, literally.”

“Good luck with your lives, superfans.”

You felt your face get hot as you marched up to him. “Her name is Gina Porter and can I just say, I’m so glad High School Musical 4 took you in. Acting alongside you in Sweet Pea Americano would have literally killed me… G-Gina, why did I just say that?”

“I’m proud of you.” She swung her arm over your shoulder so you guys could leave. “Even with anxiety, you always stick up for your friends.”

“I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Come on, let’s go see if Ricky got a smoothie for us at the food truck.”

While you were mortified at your actions, Gina proudly recanted the entire story to Ricky who echoed her sentiments. You guys went you separate ways. There was no carpool with Gina today. Carlos called her over for an emergency meeting of the Finer Things Club at Kourtney’s house, leaving Ricky to drop you off at Saltwater. You guys stopped at a salad bar first so you could get some real food into your system.

“Oh, Gina finished the lyrics to the song.”

“Already?”

“You know her. Once she gets started on a mission, she can’t stop until it’s complete. Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course, do you have the lyrics on you?”

You handed Ricky your phone to look at the screenshots of Gina’s song journal. Your harmonies were rough and sometimes the melody fell off but the two of you had fun singing all the way back to the car.

“Are you sure you don’t mind picking me up?” you asked him as you leaned into the driver’s side window after getting your bags from the back of the car once you guys reached your destination. “Because we don’t get out till eleven and Mrs. Porter said it was fine for her to pick me up since Saltwater is between Kourtney’s house and ours.”

“It’s fine, baby, I like picking you up.”

“Okay. Oh, don’t forget. Gina’s driving tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t believe she got a car.”

“I can’t believe she got a license.”

You said bye one last time and headed inside for you ballet rehearsals. While you were dancing, Ricky was doing homework, and Gina was laughing as she got into Kourtney’s room. Ashlynn and Carlos were already there and Kourtney… well, she was meditating at the edge of her bed. While, Ashlynn had nearly forty missed texts from Maddox. Gina so had to tell you about that when you and Ricky came over for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Her smile faded at the announcement that Kourtney wasn’t sure about doing the school musical or not. She wasn’t sure if Dani was the best thing for Kourtney. She especially wasn’t sure when her friend suddenly became supper eager and chipper to answer her phone call. Kourtney put Dani on speaker after the others swore to be quiet.

“Hi, so I was studying you. Not in a creepy way but I’m really trying to get into character as a real East High drama student.”

Gina made a face when Dani suddenly stopped the speak pretty harshly to the driver taking her to the airport.

“Anyway, you’ve got that X factor, Kourt, and I want to help you grow your footprint. But I’ve been looking through your post and to be honest I’ve noticed something.”

“It’s the honesty for me,” Kourtney said with a nervous lilt to her voice.

“If I’m going to show you exactly what it’s like to grow an audience and you’re going to do the same for me as an East High student, I want you to tell me everything you know about Ricky Bowen.”

Gina bit her tongue as her other three friends stared at each other with suspicious looks on their faces. She got strange vibes for some reason but didn’t want to act on what could be nothing. Besides, she promised you two that she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. And how could she tell Kourtney not to mention Ricky to Dani if she didn’t ended up revealing something?

~~

You looked down at your phone to see a text from Ricky.

I’m still on my way, baby. Don’t worry, I’m stopped at a red light. I’ll be there in like 10 minutes. I wish your rehearsal didn’t end so late so we could’ve stayed up cuddling.

You smiled at the text before sending a little heart emoji, nothing that would require Ricky to look down at his phone after the light turned green. You ruffled around your bag to get your water bottle, reaching for your phone again when you felt the familiar vibration of a text. Another one from Ricky.

This red light is long. Do you want to get McDonalds after this?

You shook your head, deciding it was better to just answer him in person. A groan left you mouth when you felt the vibration again. That light wasn’t going to be red forever, if he was texting while driving then you were going to scold him because that could seriously inju—

Why was Mack now following your Instagram?

(part 15)

THIS FIC TAGLIST:

@mishtay​ @ifilwtmfc ​​ @moonysgal

PERMANENT TAGLIST:

@venomsvl @peaches-n-sunscreen @summerellaz @supernaturallover2002 @sambucky8 @9daykrisr @thebitchinleo @23victoria @scarlets-widow @pagetpagetpagetpaget @lovexnatasha @awesomebooklover17 @1234-angelika @imatrisk @blackreaderatrisk @princess-jules47 @alexloveskili @a-marie-a @siriuslysirius1107 @bubybubsters

[the-words-we-sung]

The songs of Young Royals - S1E4

Here we go again ♪ Episode 4 my beloved, it is your turn!! Part one and two of this little project can be found here and there ♥

Holes, Zhala and Deep Throat Choir

I free my eyes at the start of time Maybe this is an obsession of a witchy kind And I lose myself inside Erik died, Wilhelm lost the only person he was truly close to, the only person who was there for him. He is losing himself: what do you do when you lose the person that matters the most to you? It's when you realize how incredibly lucky it was that he started at Hillerska when he did, so he could meet Simon. Because otherwise, what would have happened to him? Would he have lost himself forever? It's interesting that the "maybe this is an obsession" lyrics happens at the exact moment when we see Simon sending messages to Wilhelm while he watches the funeral on TV. "obsession" is a strong word but he is already very smitten and sending many messages to Wilhelm to check on him, to tell him he's there. Wilhelm does not answer though, because he is losing himself...

Remember

So you say, all you wanna be is remembered Let me make you go down in history, baby Let me write you into history, darling Let me sing you into eternity This song is beautiful. Indeed it's a good choice of song to commemorate Erik, Simon sounds great and the lyrics work very well in this context.

But there's a double meaning here: yes it is meant as a commemoration of Erik, saying he will not be forgotten, but it's also a message from Simon to Wilhelm. He is the Crown Prince now, and he is in love with another boy: it will make him go down in history. As Kristina said, he's the first one in the history of the royal family to not be straight (or at least the first one being opened about it), which will be a huge thing and an event that is gonna shake the country. But I can't help feeling moved by this song, by the image that Simon will be there with Wilhelm, next to him to endure it all. And let's not forget that Simon is gonna write a song about him during season 2, a song that he wants to sing in front of the entire world. So yeah, "let me sing you into eternity", Simon, you smitten boy...

Revolution, Elias

Let's start a revolution How beautiful it is Running with a crown on your head A resolution written on your hands And the lies they will hurt you No more This song... Do I even need to talk about it? Probably the best song they could choose for this show!! And I'm sure everything has been said about it already but let's give it a go anyway ^^ The whole scene is kinda perfect: the choice of song, the cinematography, what Wilhelm says... And yeah, it's Wilhelm grieving, and realizing that a lot of people around him are not "real", not his friends, not really there for him, for the true Wilhelm and not just the Prince. They don't know him. I think he probably doesn't know himself very well yet either. But it also makes him realize that he does like Simon. That's the only true thing, the only real thing he has left now that Erik is dead. And it's a revolution. Because he finally lets his guard down (granted he's drunk and high, but still!) and admits his feelings out loud, something he hasn't really be able to do 'til now. And he's going against everything he was taught, everything he believed. And that's a revolution. I don't know if he's "running" with the crown on his head, but he's certainly walking and stumbling onto that football field. And I'm not sure the resolution to declare his love to Simon was there already, but he still chose this place, where they had their first "date" to come to. So I do think that, even subconsciously , he was choosing Simon, choosing to come to him. And gosh, i don't know what awaits us in season 3 but yeah, in one way or another, Wilhelm and Simon together are a revolution.

Live and die, Gina Dirawi

Leave my body in a mess All my seeds are ruined This is my homage Back to God Thought if we Were free For a night We'd make it right But they're not free, not even for a night. They should have been. This night should have been theirs, and only theirs. It was their first night together, it was private and beautiful. It was love and lust after so much longing. And they don't know yet, how August is betraying them, betraying this moment. They are not doing anything wrong. They're actually "making it right" because they're finally acknowledging their mutual feelings, being true to each other. It's not in the scene but later on in the song there are the lyrics "life in peace, no need for the lies" and it just works so well for them. Because they might have been honest about their feelings in this scene, but they are still in the midst of so many lies. And it's gonna take so much time for them to finally free themselves from this spiderweb of lies and complications. This scene makes me so happy and so sad at the same time. It should have been just happiness, and love. It should have been freedom...

The songs of Young Royals - part 1 The songs of Young Royals - part 2

[callsigndragon]

Tasting the Ashes | Ch. 12: Not a hero ✍️📲

Word count: 1.1k

Warnings: Roos and Ash being cuties, mentions of Ash's accident, mentions of death, allusions of not wanting to be alive (just 1), Gina is now a warning of her own...

Important: This story is a sequel of Seeing Red, and there’s a lot of things you’ll miss if you don’t read that series first. Check Seeing Red! Masterlist on pinned.

I don’t tag people, follow @meigalibrary  for notifications!

First, let me apologize for not being there for you for thirty years.

That was the first sentence Maverick said to you when you went to his house. Bradley went with you, because Jake had to go to work and Red was taking care of Liam, he offered to drive you to Mav’s. 

He also needed to talk to him, either way. He’s the father. 

It was a bit awkward at first, sitting in front of a guy who used to hook up with your mother. But he wasn’t a bad guy like you imagined. He is a very good man who continually apologized for not being part of your life. You know that if he had known about your existence, he would have been there. 

And you think that maybe, with his help, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe you wouldn’t even be pregnant. Or maybe you’d have met Rooster before, fallen in love, and been married already. He’s a nice guy, and he’s hot, that can’t be denied. 

Bradley Bradshaw is a lot different than Steve.  

And you wish you'd met him sooner. Because as much as you liked him enough to have a one-night stand with Bradley, Steve was still in your mind, haunting you in every dream—or should you say nightmare? Things are still fresh in your memory, even if it’s been a year. Seems like no matter how far you run from the problem, it still haunts you. It will always haunt you. 

“Ash?” 

“Oh, sorry, were you saying something?” You look at him from the sofa you’ve been sitting on all morning. It’s been a few days since you moved with Bradley, and he’s been an absolute sweetheart. Cooked for you, helped you whenever you needed it, and he had been kind enough to lend you some of his clothes because you were definitely too big to keep using your own. Literally, the perfect guy. 

And he looks at you with this hope in his eyes, like you being pregnant will somehow make you fall in love with him. But you can fall in love with someone when the memory of the last man you loved is still in your mind… and his sister hates your existence. 

“I was saying that Jake has invited all of us to his house. You feel like going?” He says while handing you a glass of water. 

“I mean, it’s my brother now. I have to.” You watch him as he sits down, moving your legs so they’re resting on his lap. “Do you want to go?” 

“I’m always ready to hang out with my friends.” He caresses your leg, looking at your belly. “How are you feeling about being the new member of a big family?” 

You chuckle, leaving the glass on the table. “It’s a bit overwhelming, you know? It’s always been me and my mom, but now I have a father, step-siblings, a step-mom, a sister-in-law that used to be my front seater and whose son is now my nephew, and she has another baby on the way!” 

Bradley nods, tilting his head so that it’s resting on the back of the sofa. “Yeah, and a lot of crazy uncles and aunts for your babies.” 

You kick his arm with your leg. “Our babies.” 

He looks at you with the softest smile in the world, and something inside you feels warm. “Our babies. So… I wanted to talk about us.” 

And here it is. “Okay, tell me what’s bothering you.” 

“I know you know I am interested in you. I like you, a whole lot.” He claims and there is no doubt in his mind. “But I know you don’t feel the same.” 

“Bradley… How many times have we seen each other before I crashed Liam’s birthday party?" 

“Four, I think.” 

“We barely know each other. You don’t even know my last name.”

“It’s Simmons.” 

“No, it’s- Wait, how do you know?” You frown. 

“Saw your dog tags yesterday.” He waves it off, bringing you closer and almost sitting you on his lap. His hand moves to hold yours, the other one rests on your belly. “What I’m trying to say is that you don’t have to worry about my feelings. You and the babies are the most important thing for me right now.”

“Thank you, Bradley. I know I could fall for you, you know. But things are already too complicated to try and see if we can work this out.” You explain feeling so absolutely horrible about this. “Just imagine that we try to be together, and we end up fighting or something, the only ones that will end up suffering here are the babies.” 

He sighs, pushing your hair behind your ear. “I know. That’s why I said I don’t care about my feelings. It’s not about us anymore.” 

“You’re really different than I thought you would be.” You giggle, watching his face morph into a shocked expression. He lets out an airy laugh, rolling his eyes. “Hey! Everyone thinks you’re an idiot, and I’m here praising you. You should be thanking me.” 

“Oh, yeah, I need to thank you because you’re realizing how awesome I am?” He grins, raising an eyebrow. 

You hit his shoulder before your phone lights up, a new message waiting for you to read it. 

And this is why you really don’t want to have a relationship with Rooster. Because maybe, one day you’ll have to run away and leave him behind with the twins. 

Gina won’t stop until you’ve paid for her brother’s death. Even if it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t do anything about it. 

You never wanted the accident to happen. You never wanted everyone to change your call sign, to be reminded of that atrocious incident every time someone called you. 

It got to the point where you wished you hadn't walked out of that plane without a scratch. Maybe if something had happened to you—maybe if you couldn’t walk anymore—everyone would have left you alone. You’re not a hero, you never wanted to be one. You’re just a survivor. And you have enough trauma as it is; you don’t need new call signs, pats on the back whenever you walk into a room, or curious eyes following you around trying to understand how a small, insignificant thing like you got out of such a horrible crash. Yeah, Gina said that.  

Because Gina would never forget how you, her brother’s girlfriend, managed to survive when he couldn’t. 

And she’s been sending these messages for almost a year now. You left the base soon after Red was offered a new position. You couldn’t bear the thought of Gina being your boss. Life was already insufferable enough as it was. You didn’t need her to make it worse. 

But she, living up to her call sign, is determined to Nuke your life. 

One way or another. 

[twopoppies]

Hii Gina,

I just wanted to say that with these kind of things regarding baby gate I just laugh. I find it so stupid that some of these new ‘larries’ believe in Larry but also that Louis is a dad. If you ever read a master post or anything about baby gate when it happend you just know how fake it is. That anybody still believes in it is just so stupid to me.

And I’m just happy that the people I follow here are not as stupid as people on other social media platforms.

Also thank u for being yourself I have loved your blog for a long time now. :)

I bang my head against the wall, too. But, given that Louis seems to want (need?) us to ignore facts for now, it’s just not worth winding myself up over it.

I’m glad you’ve found a place in the fandom where you feel good. And thank you for letting me be a part of your time here. 💖

[ncisfranchise-source]

The CBS fall 2024 season takes one of its most popular franchises back in time with NCIS: Origins. The NCIS prequel is set in 1991 and centers on a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Austin Stowell) earlier in his career as a special agent at the fledging (NIS) Naval Investigation Service’s Camp Pendleton, which eventually becomes the iconic NCIS division we know today.

Gibbs joins a ragtag team led by Mike Franks, with Kyle Schmid stepping into the role originated in the flagship series by Muse Watson. The weight of taking on this legend is not lost on Schmid. It’s arguably the biggest gig to date for the Canadian who got his start on Disney Channel in the early ’00s and whose recent resume includes starring on the History military series Six and recurring on Syfy’s Being Human and ABC’s Big Sky.

Despite being fatally stabbed in Season 8 of NCIS, Mike Franks would appear from time to time to guide mentee Gibbs (Mark Harmon) as an almost guardian angel. Here, Schmid, who is expecting his first child with his wife Caity Lotz, gives us an early tease of what’s to expect from the flashback spinoff.

What does it mean for you to be part of the legacy of this NCIS franchise? What kind of resource has Mark Harmon been for this new cast? 

Kyle Schmid: I think it’s a great opportunity to be part of something grandfathered into the industry as a standard for procedural television. It has been running for what’s going to be seasons. Mark Harmon did it and put his stamp on it and kind of led the way for everybody. It has been a really neat experience because he has lent his expertise and advice and help to all of us through emails and calls. Just time spent piquing his brain has been really important.

At a stage of your life where you’ve gotten married, having a kid and you get to shoot at Paramount in Los Angeles. I feel like I’ve won the lottery. I can’t wait to continue to work with the cast that was put together. I’m a legitimate fan of everybody they put together for this show. Incredible wife, job, house, and a baby on the way. My life has just become very complete, so I’m very lucky.

Have you had much communication with Muse? 

He and I have become friends. We talk every couple of weeks and catch up on life. Having his blessing to play a younger version of a character he developed has been very cool.

How would you describe where we’ll be introduced to Mike at this point in his life and career? 

He had been part of NCIS for a while. In 2001, when you meet him he is a little older, a little more jaded. He has seen a lot that I think he wished he could have had more control over. So, we’re seeing him at a point in his life where he has paved his own way and earned the respect of the agency. Now he has the opportunity to build a team that he sees as being some of the most promising agents in NCIS. We get to meet those people and see those people grow. He is still at a point where he gets to mentor Gibbs. I think we’ll get to see why Gibbs was who the world fell in love with in the original NCIS and how he came to be that way. And Mike Franks is a big part of that.

With the show taking us back to the 1990s, what kind of vibe do you see us getting? I’m looking forward to feeling that nostalgia. 

The music is what excites me. I was born in the early 1980s, so I like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Those are still on my daily playlist. I failed to mature with music and am stuck in the 1990s. We have incredible music. I think it’s fun to play with the dynamics of the male-female relationship in the workplace. We get to live in a world where things are a little backward compared to today. I think it’s going to be really interesting how David [J. North] and Gina [Lucita Monreal], who are our showrunners and are phenomenal, decide to tackle that.

We get to see how Mike Franks gets to play a 40-year-old in an industry in 1991 that we in present-day America have forgotten, and have tried to change. I think that will be really interesting for the show. I did a show with Tom Fontana a few years ago. He is one of the best writers I’ve ever worked with. He said to me that there are no black-and-white characters. There are only gray characters. The people who are the bad guys don’t know they’re bad guys. They are just doing the best they know. I think 1991 in Los Angeles is a very poignant point in history with a lot that happened. We’re going to be able to explore all of that with phenomenal directing. I think with a younger and edgier cast, it will make for an edgier show in the process. This is super exciting because we have phenomenal actors who really get to dig into this stuff that I’m hoping will blow teh doors wide open.

You’re going into filming this show at a time when you’re becoming a dad. Just moved into a new house with Caity still working as well. How are you all preparing for all that? 

It’s a good question. Luckily, I have the best wife in the world. Caity’s mom is going to come to town. My dad’s coming to town. I love working. Working is something that gives me energy. I get to go to work, which I love, and then come home to a family I love. I’m absolutely burning the candle at both ends with this.

[warningsine]

You receive an invitation, emblazoned with a question: “A bouncing little ‘he’ or a pretty little ‘she’?” The question is your teaser for the “gender reveal party” to which you are being invited by an expectant mother who, at more than 20 weeks into her pregnancy, knows what you don’t: the sex of her child. After you arrive, explains cognitive neuroscientist Gina Rippon in her riveting new book, The Gendered Brain, the big reveal will be hidden within some novelty item, such as a white iced cake, and will be colour-coded. Cut the cake and you’ll see either blue or pink filling. If it is blue, it is a…

Yes, you’ve guessed it. Whatever its sex, this baby’s future is predetermined by the entrenched belief that males and females do all kinds of things differently, better or worse, because they have different brains.

“Hang on a minute!” chuckles Rippon, who has been interested in the human brain since childhood, “the science has moved on. We’re in the 21st century now!” Her measured delivery is at odds with the image created by her detractors, who decry her as a “neuronazi” and a “grumpy old harridan” with an “equality fetish”. For my part, I was braced for an encounter with an egghead, who would talk at me and over me. Rippon is patient, though there is an urgency in her voice as she explains how vital it is, how life-changing, that we finally unpack – and discard – the sexist stereotypes and binary coding that limit and harm us.

For Rippon, a twin, the effects of stereotyping kicked in early. Her “under-achieving” brother was sent to a boys’ academic Catholic boarding school, aged 11. “It’s difficult to say this. I was clearly academically bright. I was top in the country for the 11+.” This gave her a scholarship to a grammar school. Her parents sent her to a girls’ non-academic Catholic convent instead. The school did not teach science. Pupils were brought up to be nuns or a diplomatic wife or mother. “Psychology,” she points out, “was the nearest I could get to studying the brain. I didn’t have the A levels to do medicine. I had wanted to be a doctor.”

A PhD in physiological psychology and a focus on brain processes and schizophrenia followed. Today, the Essex-born scientist is a professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University, Birmingham. Her brother is an artist. When she is not in the lab using state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques to study developmental disorders such as autism, she is out in the world, debunking the “pernicious” sex differences myth: the idea that you can “sex” a brain or that there is such a thing as a male brain and a female brain. It is a scientific argument that has gathered momentum, unchallenged, since the 18th century “when people were happy to spout off about what men and women’s brains were like – before you could even look at them. They came up with these nice ideas and metaphors that fitted the status quo and society, and gave rise to different education for men and women.”

Rippon has analysed the data on sex differences in the brain. She admits that she, like many others, initially sought out these differences. But she couldn’t find any beyond the negligible, and other research was also starting to question the very existence of such differences. For example, once any differences in brain size were accounted for, “well-known” sex differences in key structures disappeared. Which is when the penny dropped: perhaps it was time to abandon the age-old search for the differences between brains from men and brains from women. Are there any significant differences based on sex alone? The answer, she says, is no. To suggest otherwise is “neurofoolishness”.

“The idea of the male brain and the female brain suggests that each is a characteristically homogenous thing and that whoever has got a male brain, say, will have the same kind of aptitudes, preferences and personalities as everyone else with that ‘type’ of brain. We now know that is not the case. We are at the point where we need to say, ‘Forget the male and female brain; it’s a distraction, it’s inaccurate.’ It’s possibly harmful, too, because it’s used as a hook to say, well, there’s no point girls doing science because they haven’t got a science brain, or boys shouldn’t be emotional or should want to lead.”

The next question was, what then is driving the differences in behaviour between girls and boys, men and women? Our “gendered world”, she says, shapes everything, from educational policy and social hierarchies to relationships, self-identity, wellbeing and mental health. If that sounds like a familiar 20th-century social conditioning argument, it is – except that it is now coupled with knowledge of the brain’s plasticity, which we have only been aware of in the past 30 years.

“It is now a scientific given,” says Rippon, “that the brain is moulded from birth onwards and continues to be moulded through to the ‘cognitive cliff’ in old age when our grey cells start disappearing. So out goes the old ‘biology is destiny’ argument: effectively, that you get the brain you are born with – yes, it gets a bit bigger and better connected but you’ve got your developmental endpoint, determined by a biological blueprint unfolding along the way. With brain plasticity, the brain is much more a function of experiences. If you learn a skill your brain will change, and it will carry on changing.” This is shown to be the case in studies of black cab drivers learning the Knowledge, for example. “The brain is waxing and waning much more than we ever realised. So if you haven’t had particular experiences – if as a girl you weren’t given Lego, you don’t have the same spatial training that other people in the world have.

If, on the other hand, you were given those spatial tasks again and again, you would get better at them. “The neural paths change; they become automatic pathways. The task really does become easier.”

Neural plasticity throws the nature/nurture polarity out of the lab window. “Nature is entangled with nature,” says Rippon. Added to this, “being part of a social cooperative group is one of the prime drives of our brain.” The brain is also predictive and forward-thinking in a way we had never previously realised. Like a satnav, it follows rules, is hungry for them. “The brain is a rule scavenger,” explains Rippon, “and it picks up its rules from the outside world. The rules will change how the brain works and how someone behaves.” The upshot of gendered rules? “The ‘gender gap’ becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Rippon regularly talks in schools. She wants girls to have leading scientists as role models, and she wants all children to know that their identity, abilities, achievements and behaviour are not prescribed by their biological sex. “Gender bombardment” makes us think otherwise. Male babies dressed in blue romper suits, female ones in pink is a binary coding that belies a status quo that resists the scientific evidence. “Pinkification”, as Rippon calls it, has to go. Parents don’t always like what they hear.

“They say, ‘I have a son and a daughter, and they are different.’ And I say, ‘I have two daughters, and they are very different.’ When you talk about male and female identity, people are very wedded to the idea that men and women are different. People like me are not sex-difference deniers,” continues Rippon. “Of course there are sex differences. Anatomically, men and women are different. The brain is a biological organ. Sex is a biological factor. But it is not the sole factor; it intersects with so many variables.”

I ask her for a comparable watershed moment in the history of scientific understanding, in order to gauge the significance of her own. “The idea of the Earth circling around the sun,” she bats back.

Letting go of age-old certainties is frightening, concedes Rippon, who is both optimistic about the future, and fearful for it. “I am concerned about what the 21st century is doing, the way it’s making gender more relevant. We need to look at what we are plunging our children’s brains into.”

Ours may be the age of the self-image, yet we aren’t ready to let the individual self emerge, unfettered by cultural expectations of one’s biological sex. That disconnect, says Rippon, is writ large, for example, in men. “It suggests there is something wrong in their self-image.” The social brain wants to fit in. The satnav recalibrates, according to expectations. “If they are being driven down a route that leads to self-harm or even suicide or violence, what is taking them there?”

On the plus side, our plastic brains are good learners. All we need to do is change the life lessons.

How gender stereotypes led brain science

Research so far has failed to challenge deep prejudice, says Gina Rippon

Several things went wrong in the early days of sex differences and brain imaging research. With respect to sex differences, there was a frustrating backward focus on historical beliefs in stereotypes (termed “neurosexism” by psychologist Cordelia Fine). Studies were designed based on the go-to list of the “robust” differences between females and males, generated over the centuries, or the data were interpreted in terms of stereotypical female/male characteristics which may not have even been measured in the scanner. If a difference was found, it was much more likely to be published than a finding of no difference, and it would also breathlessly be hailed as an “at last the truth” moment by an enthusiastic media. Finally the evidence that women are hard-wired to be rubbish at map reading and that men can’t multi-task! So the advent of brain imaging at the end of the 20th century did not do much to advance our understanding of alleged links between sex and the brain. Here in the 21st century, are we doing any better?

One major breakthrough in recent years has been the realisation that, even in adulthood, our brains are continually being changed, not just by the education we receive, but also by the jobs we do, the hobbies we have, the sports we play. The brain of a working London taxi driver will be different from that of a trainee and from that of a retired taxi driver; we can track differences among people who play videogames or are learning origami or to play the violin. Supposing these brain-changing experiences are different for different people, or groups of people? If, for example, being male means that you have much greater experience of constructing things or manipulating complex 3D representations (such as playing with Lego), it is very likely that this will be shown in your brain. Brains reflect the lives they have lived, not just the sex of their owners.

Seeing the life-long impressions made on our plastic brains by the experiences and attitudes they encounter makes us realise that we need to take a really close look at what is going on outside our heads as well as inside. We can no longer cast the sex differences debate as nature versus nurture – we need to acknowledge that the relationship between a brain and its world is not a one-way street, but a constant two-way flow of traffic.

Once we acknowledge that our brains are plastic and mouldable, then the power of gender stereotypes becomes evident. If we could follow the brain journey of a baby girl or a baby boy, we could see that right from the moment of birth, or even before, these brains may be set on different roads. Toys, clothes, books, parents, families, teachers, schools, universities, employers, social and cultural norms – and, of course, gender stereotypes – all can signpost different directions for different brains.

Resolving arguments about differences in the brain really matters. Understanding where such differences come from is important for everyone who has a brain and everyone who has a sex or a gender of some kind. Beliefs about sex differences (even if ill-founded) inform stereotypes, which commonly provide just two labels – girl or boy, female or male – which, in turn, historically carry with them huge amounts of “contents assured” information and save us having to judge each individual on their own merits or idiosyncrasies.

With input from exciting breakthroughs in neuroscience, the neat, binary distinctiveness of these labels is being challenged – we are coming to realise that nature is inextricably entangled with nurture. What used to be thought fixed and inevitable is being shown to be plastic and flexible; the powerful biology-changing effects of our physical and our social worlds are being revealed.

The 21st century is not just challenging the old answers – it is challenging the question itself.

[tokiro07]

Ch. 133 thoughts

[The Journey Begins...Again]

So Fuuko DOES have her Union Emblem still, it’s just on her backpack instead. I wonder if it’s technically a part of the Round Table? After all, only those who wear the Emblem are allowed to participate in quests, so that would make sense

The Round Table also remains under Stonehenge between Loops, so I’m guessing that it’s not so much that the Union needs to find it, but the location is a constant for the sake of maintaining a base

How Fuuko befriended Move I don’t know, but it’s cool that she has a method of fast-travel considering that she clearly doesn’t have Juiz’s resources. I’m hoping we’ll get an explanation, but I’m not too worried about it. It’s probably as simple as Move just being nearby and inherently interested in working with the Union for the sake of entertainment (as he said in the Galaxy battle)

The date that Akira became Unknown being different between the current Loop and To You, From Me seems to imply that my suggestion that the timing of Information’s defeat wasn’t consistent, but it also makes me wonder: did...did Fuuko beat Information on her own? She seems to be the only one in the Union currently

Or was it that because it was established in a previous Loop, it’s now preordained?

Fuuko says “G-Liner’s memories,” so it doesn’t seem like it has the vision of the current Loop, but I’m unclear on that. What is clear is that Fuuko explicitly confirms that the third Sacred Spirit Treasure is The Heart, which was one of the two that I suggested previously (sad it’s not the gun, but honestly The Heart felt more natural anyway)

Speaking of things I said previously, I can’t believe I forgot to mention Ichiko last week when I was listing off the Negators that Fuuko could have already met! I mean clearly I was wrong anyway, she hasn’t found ANYONE yet, but I expected that anyway

Looking at the road map, it’s clear that the cast is more or less in chronological order, with Feng, Gina and Nico being the closest to where Fuuko currently is and Phil being much further out and still a baby, suggesting that he got Unfeel almost immediately and before Kururu got Unchaste

Very interesting that Fuuko is including Ruin in her list. Is the plan to recruit him or just to remove him from the equation as a threat? Probably the former considering that everything else in this series has been about making friends out of enemies

Also, it’s been bothering me all day since I read the chapter, but I finally realized who the Negator in the far back just before Juiz is: it’s Lucy! She was so small it was really hard to tell, but that’s definitely her! Can’t wait for Fuuko and Andy to adopt their child with every disease. Weird that no one has added her to the list of Negators on the Wiki yet, but whatever, I’m not going to do it either, so no sense in me complaining about it

I do hope that Fuuko will recruit Unbalance, Unbelievable and Undefinition, plus any others that Tozuka just wants to invent, but I don’t think we really NEED more characters, I’d just like them

I also kind of like that Fuuko doesn’t have access to Remember, since she’ll have to actually, y’know...CONVINCE people to join her cause, but she’ll definitely need to use Remember at some point so that the cast can be considered extensions of their previous selves rather than new versions of them

I’m hoping that Akira finds a way to continue contributing, whether he becomes Unknown again or not, but either way, I’m really excited for this arc. Seeing more of Gina after well over 100 chapters is extremely welcome!

[blondrichclosetwitch]

The People are Talking, The People are Talking

“It’s interesting in the timeline; on march 24, psychic jakk told me he was in trouble, so i went over to his apartment, which was when he finally texted me back for the first time in months, saying things that were not in alignment with all the things psychic jakk had told me, which i talked about in the “p.j. 3/24 after i texted jakk” .

Well, two days later i was told that my niece stella had caused blond to have a miscarriage, who was a) supposedly pregnant since january and b) supposedly in jail for attacking jakk. I’m sure that’s the only reason i would have taken the chance in going to their apartment, thinking she wasn’t there.

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

This whole thing about “causing a miscarriage”...that had been something i had been told about by gina (aka the painting) for a long time. From what i remember, from the moment psychic jakk told me she was pregnant, they were also talking to me about how she must miscarry, because the plan was to sacrifice the baby Easter weekend.

I remember the moment that the miscarriage supposedly happened, the night before this tape. . My body got deeply sick, as if it was happening to me, the pendulum was flying with a force like i had never ever felt before, and i had to keep my feet cemented to the floor, as if holding the pendulum and not letting it fly out of my hands was of some vital importance, despite the physical experience i was having. It was a surreal experience, to put it lightly.

Afterwards my “niece” came to me. She told me she was drunk, and that “they” made her do it, and that that was what the spinning was...her pulling the baby out.

That fucked me up. I didn’t know that it was going to be her who would do this thing that i was being told needed to happen.

***

There’s some things to put out there about this tape.

I took “mothering” my niece very seriously. I did whatever i was told needed to be done for her. Stella and i were super close when she was on earth, yes, but being that i was the only relative of hers that could interact with spirits, i took my duties with her very seriously.

This definitely tapped into the part of me that never got to be a mother; there was a lot of transference at play. But also, that got played on a lot. It makes me uncomfortable to hear how gullible and all-in i was, but by that point, i had been isolated for months, which seems to have been part of the plan.

After this initial conversation, fake stella would tell me over and over that she was spending most of her time getting drunk with jakk.

That she was messed up from what she was forced to do. There was always a lot of things that she was bringing up about jakk. At one point it was told to me that she was trying to convince him to kill himself so he’d be on the other side with her and she’d have someone to play with.

You’ll see a reference to me saying that stella was christ in the beginning of time; what can i say? I was told that in early january (yes, it’s on a tape).

Someone was super creative with their story lines.

As i was getting ready to finish this up, the following songs played:

supernatural superserious (see title of post, r.e.m.),

control (“i’m crying “they’re coming for me”, and i tried to hold these secrets inside me, my mind is like a deadly disease”--halsey),

the neverending story (pulp),

live in chicago 1999 (“i’m just so so so sick of the city streets of switchblade dicks out to break your mother’s heart”, joan of arc),

Pj harvey’s we float:

You shop-lifted as a child

Will we die out of shock?

Die without a trial

Die on Good Friday

This is kind of about you

This is kind of about me

Cat Stevens, wild world: Now that I’ve lost everything to you

The Weeknd, die for you: I'm finding ways to manipulate the feelin' you're goin' through

Little girl, spiritualized: hey little girl, we’re on our own

4:44 Keep: My inner dialogue's a drone

This last one got to me. At some point psychic jakk told me that he had some chip in him so he could always be tracked, which of course flipped me out. He actually told me what it was called, and i googled it, and it was something that is used in the military, sure enough. He also told me he had to wear a nanny-cam at all times, and that he had a tattoo over his heart that said “Property of Blond”, which completely freaked me out because I thought we were always on the brink of being together. Ultimately all these things ever did was make a mess of my nervous system and got me to a weight i was in high school. Will we die out of shock?”

Niece 3/26/17 drunk after miscarriage

You weren’t wrong. You had to do something..that ..you did something..to allow….you basically did something for the cause. You did something so that ..things could be moved forward, quicker.

And when we first talked about it happening, however long ago that was, it was never, never brought up that it would be you who did it.

It was never brought to my attention. That was never an idea. And if it had been presented to me that it would be *you* who would do the act, i would have said..i would have said absolutely not. And i think that you know that.

You knew that didn’t you? Did you know that?

Yeah.

And...when random had first talked to me about it...he had first said to me that i had done wrong and i don’t even remember who had presented to me to go do this spell, i don’t even remember who it was….i just remember being presented, “go do this”.........and going to the roof and doing it. And then going to God and being like….look, will this be cleared from my record pretty much but then having Random come to me and be like, hey this is not cool and asking god and being like ...god being like “ well it’s cancelled out by what you sacrificed with the baby and this wasn’t….she never was supposed to have this baby...and it will be taken care of.”

But you have always maintained a purity...and i know that something happened to you in the last 24 hours...28 hours, 30 hours, whatever you want to say... and...you lost ….you can also say that you lost part of your purity when you had your ______________________________ or what have you, but this is different in that something happened for you.

And you have to rest, and you have to let me be...your mom. And that means you have to eat, and you have to know when you’re tired, and you have to stop, and know that you’re 10 years old.

And you have to read your books.

And you can do your magic and you can do all of that stuff...but you have to not exhaust yourself.

Because if i see..that you are weakened...then it means you have to take a break. Like if i have to take a nap, that means you have to take a nap.

(pause)

Because the other way we’re gonna get anywhere...the only way that we’re gonna be the chariot is by..having boundaries, and by..doing excellent self-care. Jakk has been doing shitty self-care.

Shitty self-care. And you see where he was at.

I’ve been doing better self-care than jakk. Much better. As you can see. So that means you either ride on my shoulders, or let me carry you, you take naps, you eat food,....you take breaks. You listen to me. You listen to god. You don’t like stop...you don’t constantly look for trees. ( we spent hours upon hours doing this thing with trees...moreon that later.)

(pause)

You don’t like, give everything away. You feel the roots, feel the breath, hear the still small voice of the spirit, and everything will be as it should be. And know that i am not going anywhere, ever….because i am yours. And you are mine. Forever. You have my heart, you always had my heart from the moment i held you in my arms. From the moment i sang to you. You had my heart.

And you can’t be shy about saying what you need. You have to tell me. You have to ….i want you to tell me. And it’s ok if you make a mistake. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. You know? I should have told them no jalapenos.

(this is a reference to when “we” were at calexico. What did we look like? Typically me at a barstool with her framed picture, the pendulum in my left hand, the stick and crystal, and a bunch of bags at my feet. For a while i carried 3 or 4 pictures with cheap plastic frames from the dollar store in my backpack. I think at one point i was carrying three bags on the regular.

You see in here references to telling stella to eat; well, this one time at calexico i ordered some baja fish tacos, and one black bean taco for us to share, thinking she would like them, since she had been vegetarian, and when i was almost done eating, she told me that she didn’t eat her part, that they were too spicy for her, which made me feel like a failure. Thus the line about jalapenos. )

We could probably make a business just of like people sending us a picture of their loved one who is sick, and bringing them to trees. We could probably start a business that way. We could probably make money that way. People see us doing it. They see us doing it. That’s how we could start our business. You could lead me to the trees that heal. We could take the pictures of the people who are sick..is that how it works? They could send me a picture of someone’s who sick, i take the picture to a tree,....this is how we can get started. And i can sing while the tree heals them.

We can just go ahead and get started. We could get a business license like….i could talk to naussica about it..next week. She would probably put up the money for a business license. And i bet aaron would put a website together for us. A simple one, until i can figure out the website that the tarot reader has in mind. And we could get business cards. And i could just start passing them out. We could get that going in the next three weeks. Maybe i don’t get the license yet, but i could get the website and the cards, and if people ask, that’s what i do.

That’s what we do.

Because we do it together.

Does that sound good? You like that idea?

Does he know that i did not have sex with him today?

………………

...Tonight i care about the baby. The baby who was….sacrifice...i just want this to be over, and i want to go to sleep. And prepare for tomorrow, because tomorrow is the universe. I’m pretty sure. So, let’s go to bed.

(sounds of her in the bathroom, then we hear the toilet flush)

Did you just hug me?

Did you?

I felt that..i felt that…( starts breathing hard and laughing softly) awwwwww. I felt that.

(continues to be choked up)

It’s almost six months. (crying slightly, but mostly overwhelmed with emotion at feeling her)

It’s funny, i used to think that this place was….i don’t know. Wasn’t what i wanted but...now it’s perfect. You need to make a list of stuff to keep here for you...for…..like, food. “

(End of tape)

[zablife]

Boston Meets Birmingham (Part 2)

Jack Nelson x Shelby sister reader

Summary: Jack Nelson has proposed to the youngest Shelby sister without Tommy’s permission. The time has come for your wedding weekend and everyone is on edge.

Author’s Note: This is the final part to this story. Thank you again to everyone who contributed their ideas! Special thanks to @retromafia for her suggestions and the addition of Jack’s line in the last paragraph. 

Diverges from S6 canon-Michael is still part of the Shelby Company Limited so that he and Gina can make an appearance. Follows the storyline of my fic Shelby Magic. Although you don’t have to read that story to follow this plot. 

Warnings: language, drinking, ethnic slurs

Part 1

Arrow House overflowed with guests, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom. Everyone was celebrating in various rooms of your brother’s mansion with alcohol flowing freely. You begged off to freshen up and Jack went to greet his family. Meanwhile, Tommy played the gracious host. 

“Beautiful wedding, mate,” Alfie announced lumbering toward Tommy, cane in hand. 

“It was. Thank you for coming, Alfie,” Tommy replied. When Alfie saw you walking toward him, he raised his arms in an exaggerated greeting, “Y/n! Y/n, shalom!” You giggled at his familiar eccentric salutation. Smiling warmly at him you remarked, “Alfie, you came!” Despite all the bad blood over the years, Alfie held a soft spot for you. He knew it hadn’t been easy for you growing up in the chaotic world of theirs. He was amazed you had become such a kind, caring woman despite the violence around you.

“Wouldn’t have missed it, darlin’,” he confessed, “Came all the way up to the gentile wilderness for ya, I did, but I do have to be going now.” You nodded offering, “Have a drink first?” 

“Nah, don’t touch it, remember, dove?” Alfie declined, glancing at the glass of gin in Tommy’s hands and back at you. He winked at Tommy as he walked away, “Told you the Americans like ‘em sweet, didn’t I?” It took Tommy a moment to realize Alfie was referring to you instead of his gin. As your brother scowled into his glass, Alfie called over his shoulder, “Mazel tov, y/n!” 

“Stop sulking, Tom. I’m a married woman now,” you reminded him. Tommy looked at you incredulously, “Did I say anything?” 

“No, but you don’t have to with that look on your face. Stop drinking gin, you know it makes you melancholy,” you reminded him.

“I’m trying to honor your wishes not to drink whiskey today,” Tommy explained. 

“Well, you could switch to champagne. It’s a party after all. Cheer up!” You said taking the glass from him. Tommy grumbled to himself and followed you into the dining room.

————————————————————————

Arthur tapped his glass with a spoon in an attempt to gain the attention of your guests. After a few tries, everyone had gone silent and Arthur began, “According to tradition it should be our father here giving a toast in honor of y/n, but as you all know, our Dad has passed on. I’m not one for speeches, but I couldn’t deny our baby sister.” He fumbled with a paper before continuing, “I do have some words written down here…on this piece of paper.”

As he unfolded his notes, you watched Arthur’s hands begin to shake, causing the paper in his hands to flutter. You gave him an encouraging smile and he went on, “A few words from the heart. This woman here, my sister…y/n…helped me survive through some of the worst times of my life. Raising her made me a better man and I hope Jack here will take the same good care of her. Let’s raise a toast, eh?” Everyone raised a glass as you and Jack shared a kiss. Tommy shifted uncomfortably at the sight. As the kiss lingered, he cleared his throat loudly, before standing up to add, “Thank you all for coming. To love, to peace, to marriage!” Jack toasted you cheering, “Here, here!”

Your brothers took their seats as the meal was served and you looked around at the beautifully decorated room. Lizzie had chosen all your favorite flowers and they lined the center of the long banquet table in generous bunches interspersed with tapered candles. Everything was so elegant, you couldn’t believe it was all for you. Looking over at her you said, “Lizzie I can’t thank you enough for this.” She beamed, replying, “I don’t know much about these things, but Frances was more than helpful.” 

“Please thank her for me,” you said. Turning to your husband you remarked, “Jack, did you notice these are the flowers you brought me on our first date?” Jack nodded and took your hand to kiss your knuckles softly, gazing into your eyes. Lizzie eyed you both with a smirk, “You two haven’t satisfied your hunger yet? I would have thought your activities this afternoon in the vestry would have done it.” You blushed and turned into Jack’s shoulder to hide your embarrassment. 

Tommy’s ears had perked up at the innuendo and asked, “What activities?” Lizzie raised an eyebrow to indicate it was what he thought. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know,” Tommy said reaching for the champagne bottle.

——————————————————————

After dinner the guests were invited to the ballroom for dancing. The first dance was announced soon after and Jack took your hand gently in his leading you to the center of the room. As the band began a slow tune, you brought your hand to his shoulder and he cupped your waist. Jack didn’t move, looking at you with wide eyes, “Baby, you know I’m no good at this kinda thing.” You chuckled softly and advised, “Don’t step on my feet and you’ll be alright.” You watched Jack’s eyes scan the room as he confessed, “It’s a little hard to concentrate when your brothers and all these lords and ladies are watchin’ us, doll.”  

You placed a finger to his chin and turned his attention back to you. “Just keep your eyes on me, love,” you said reassuringly. You lowered your hand to his chest and he covered it with his large hand, clasping your fingers tightly. “What did I do to deserve you, huh?” Jack asked adoringly and you both moved in sync to the music effortlessly after that. 

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

As you and Jack danced, Tommy continued to circulate, monitoring the activities of his guests. As he passed a corner of the ballroom he heard Uncle Charlie’s voice rise above the crowd. He was gesturing wildly and Tommy became worried. Moving closer to the tight circle of Jack’s relatives who had gathered, Tommy caught the end of a tall tale. “Y/n is the best horsewoman I’ve ever seen. It’s because she was born on horseback,” Charlie asserted. One gullible older woman in the circle gasped, “Really? Is that how gypsies do it?” she asked with honest curiosity. Her husband looked at her with disappointment, “Don’t be a damn fool, Mary!” Charlie continued unbothered by the response. “Yes, ma’am, it’s the only way to be sure the children take to the saddle properly.” 

It was then that Tommy decided to intervene. “Uncle Charlie, may I have a word?” Tommy asked giving his guests a polite smile. “Course, Tom,” Charlie said turning around. Tipping his head to the crowd, Charlie excused himself, “Evenin’ everyone.” When they had reached the front hall, Tommy pulled Uncle Charlie to him whispering harshly, “The fuck was that in there, eh?”

"Thought they’d like to know something about the woman marrying into their family. I wanted to make her look good in front of them, Tom," Charlie protested.

“Well, stop spinnin’ yarns about her!” Tommy said rubbing his tired eyes. Charlie looked at Tommy and knew he was exhausted from the day. He knew better than to challenge Tommy when he was irritable so he just nodded slowly, “Yeah, alright, Tom,” he said walking out the front door with a bottle of wine under his arm. 

As Charlie disappeared into the night, Tommy spotted Finn and Isaiah in the drive with a group of girls from Boston. He watched as Finn dug into his pocket for something producing a small object that made the girls giggle. Descending the front steps, Tommy approached the group, overhearing one giddy girl proclaim, “Your haircuts are so dashing! No one at home looks like you!” Tommy couldn’t control himself, rolling his eyes at her comment.  

As he got to the edge of the group, Tommy realized Finn was giving the girls cocaine and yelled out, “Oi! Finn! Isaiah!" The girls giggled some more and ran away arm in arm. Finn sighed heavily saying, “We were just having a little fun Tommy.” 

“Well this is your sister’s fucking wedding day, so no more cocaine. Understood?” Tommy said slapping Finn's cheek for emphasis. 

“Sorry, Tom,” Isaiah said raising his hands in defeat and bowing out of the conversation.

“Finn, what are you doing, eh? Thought you came here with Mary,” Tommy said, suddenly taking an interest in his younger brother’s love life. Finn seemed shocked at Tommy’s concern, but managed to say, “She wants to get married.”

“I see,” Tommy said pursing his lips and shoving his hands into his pockets. “So what are going to do about it?” he said rocking back on his heels waiting for Finn to answer.

“She likes the life, so I reckon I’ll marry her eventually,” Finn explained. Tommy chuckled, “Well don’t take too long deciding, alright? I’m getting too old for these…” Tommy gestured toward the house, “these fucking circus weddings, alright?” He asked pulling Finn to him for a quick clap on the back. “Yeah, alright, Tom,” Finn agreed before heading back toward the house. 

——————————————————————-

Back in the ballroom, Gina sauntered past the cake table sipping a glass of champagne and looking thoroughly unamused. Michael was off talking business with some of the Boston family and she was annoyed by his inattentiveness. She rolled her eyes as she watched her husband, turning her gaze to the crowded room for another man to admire. As she stood surveying the crowd, she heard the shrill cry of a small child.

Laurence rushed to his mother shouting, “Mummy! Mummy!” He reached his chubby hands upward seeking comfort in her arms, but Gina deftly grabbed his hands before he could touch her. She sighed before giving him a tight smile asking, “Laurence, darling, where’s nanny?” 

“Want you, Mummy,” he said trying to pull free and pushing Gina into the cake table. Michael finally noticed his wife struggling with their child and came to her aid. Looking down at his son, Micheal ruffled Laurence’s curly hair. “Thank, God! Michael, go find Clara,” Gina commanded. “Gina, what harm would it do to let him stay?” Michael protested gently. 

As his parents fought, Laurence carefully pressed himself on his tip toes reaching for the wedding cake. Swiping his fingers through the icing, he began licking them clean and reaching for more.  “Laurence, my boy, you can’t do that!” Micheal said attempting to scold his child, but secretly wanting to laugh at the mischievous behavior. Gina gasped as Laurence quickly turned and wiped a hand on her dress. Grabbing her son forcefully by the wrist, she passed him to Michael seething, “This is fucking Italian silk, Michael!” 

Michael gave an exasperated sigh at his wife’s attitude. Letting Laurence’s hand slip from his grasp to point at her, Michael instructed forcefully, “Go to the kitchen and have the maids help you clean it. Then swallow your pride and congratulate your uncle, alright?” His voice lowered an octave as he voiced his displeasure and Gina only pouted back at him, “My dress is ruined now, but of course you don’t care. It’s not as though you’ve looked at me once tonight.” 

Without supervision, Laurence immediately rushed back to the table, trying to climb it with all his might. Before Micheal could stop him, the whole table came crashing down. Michael and Gina looked in horror as the wedding cake toppled in slow motion, splattering the polished floor with icing and chunks of cake. Gina just shook her head and stalked off to find a maid while Michael bent down to pick up Laurence. “That was very naughty,” Michael told him sternly. Laurence hung his head and mumbled, “Sorry, Daddy.” As the servants rushed to clean the mess, Michael went in search of the nanny. 

————————————————————————

Frances approached you slowly, touching your elbow gently and whispering in your ear about the ruined wedding cake. You turned to see a terrified expression on her face and had to laugh. “Oh, Frances, don’t worry. I’m not much for dessert, you know that!” you reassured her. She smiled at you and said, “we could serve fruit and cheese, ma’am. Would that be alright?” 

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Frances. This has been the most beautiful reception. Lizzie told me you were indispensable.” Frances beamed at the compliment, replying, “It was my pleasure, ma’am.” Then she scurried off to the kitchen to make arrangements.

As you watched her, Polly walked over to you asking, “Are you going to toss that lovely bouquet, dear?” You had forgotten all about tradition until Polly mentioned it. “Yes, of course,” you said leaving to retrieve your flowers. Polly gathered the unmarried women in a crowd at the foot of Tommy’s grand staircase. You took your position on the landing and glanced over your shoulder at the sea of women below who extended their arms toward you hoping to catch the bouquet. You closed your eyes and tossed your beautiful bundle of flowers over your left shoulder with a squeal. Turning to see where it landed, you looked down to see Finn’s girlfriend Mary holding it triumphantly. You smiled to yourself thinking of your younger brother getting married one day soon. You descended the staircase to congratulate her. 

———————————————————————————-

Making your rounds through the crowd, you were intercepted by Jack’s brother and sister and their spouses. They wanted to get to know you and you obliged, happy to entertain Jack’s relatives. You hadn’t been to Boston yet and today was the first time any of them were meeting you. You wanted so badly to make a good impression. You offered to take them for a breath of fresh air in Tommy’s extensive gardens. 

They were very curious about you, asking rapid fire questions about your upbringing and your family. You answered their questions politely even though some of the Boston relatives were more interested in the gypsy lore that surrounded your family. You tried to divert their attention, pointing out the location of the pond and the stables on Tommy’s estate. As you detailed how many horses your brother owned, you heard a commotion come from the back door. 

“Y/N!! Come 'ere,” Arthur called out across the garden walking through Tommy and Lizzie’s meticulously pruned shrubs and over their flowerbeds to reach you more quickly. You excused yourself from your guests and stalked toward him holding the hem of your gown. “Arthur Shelby!” You cried at the sight of your inebriated big brother. “You were supposed to keep an eye on Tommy and Jack and look at you!” You said feeling exasperated that he couldn’t do one job correctly. “Have you given them whiskey?” You said jabbing a finger into his chest.

“No, listen…y/n, listen to me, sweetheart.” Arthur said slurring and swaying a little as he tried to remember why he had come outside. Eyes swimming in their sockets, he focused on you once more and said, “They’re getting along just fine. Come have a look, love. It’s good,” he promised you with an assuring nod. You found this hard to believe. “Oh, Arthur,” you sighed reaching up to smooth his hair back. “Well, let’s have a look then,” you agreed, hoisting your brother’s arm around your shoulder and hauling him back to the house to see this for yourself. 

—————————————————————————

“Alright, where are they?” You asked Arthur who was quickly losing his faculties. He pointed in the direction of Tommy’s office and you lowered him to the cool stone steps that lined the front of Arrow House. “I’ll ask Finn to take you home in a moment, Arthur. I need to find my husband first.” Arthur managed a nod of understanding before collapsing back against the house. 

As you approached the office, you heard your brother’s voice rising in anger from behind the door. “Fuck off, Jack, you arrogant mick!” 

“Oh, yeah? Well fuck you too Tommy, you’re nothin’ but a goddamn dirty, pikey!” His comments were followed by a sudden crash and you took that as your cue to push your way into the room. You weren’t happy about breaking up a fight while wearing your wedding dress, but you knew it had to be done. 

You barged in to find a crystal decanter lying in pieces on the floor, amber liquid rushing to the corners of Tommy’s Persian rug. Looking from Tommy to Jack, you tried to comprehend what they were fighting about now, finally deciding to ask. “What the bloody hell is going on in here?” you asked tapping your foot as though you were a teacher reprimanding a couple of errant schoolboys. “Y/n, don’t come any closer, you’ll cut yourself, love. Don’t worry, it was an accident. Bottle slipped,” Tommy explained.

Jack broke first, uproarious laughter rumbling from deep within his chest. He clapped a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and Tommy began smirking, then laughing in earnest. You squinted and cocked your head at them wondering what was happening. “Would you care to tell me what’s so funny?” you asked growing impatient. 

“I’m sorry, doll, your brother and I were just…” he looked over at Tommy who shrugged  and made a funny face. “Taking the piss?” Tommy offered. 

“What the fuck? Is that how you say we’ve been roasting each other for an hour? Sounds like we been in here peeing all over each other!” Jack chuckled. Then they both broke into uncontrollable laughter once more, doubling over from the force of their merriment. You rolled your eyes realizing they were drunk. “Didn’t I say no whiskey?” you asked annoyed.

Jack straightened suddenly, attempting to explain himself. “Y/n, doll, angel, love of my life,” he was overdoing it trying to keep you from shouting at him again. “Arthur suggested we have a drink to bury the hatchet and we got a little carried away when Tommy challenged me to a drinking contest. You gotta admit, I got an impressive tolerance to hooch.” He pointed at you as though you would corroborate his boast.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed heavily. “Jack, what about our wedding night?” you asked seriously. Tommy furrowed his brow and shook his head, “No, no, no! I might have accepted this marriage, but I don’t need to hear about that part of it, alright? Get the fuck out of my office, both of you.”

“Gladly, I have to put my very inebriated husband to bed now. Thanks for that, Tommy,” you said hauling Jack upstairs to the room Frances had prepared for you. 

As you helped him remove his suit he looked up at you with a lovesick expression, “I’m sorry, doll, I swear I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. We’ll make love so loud, your brother’s ears will smoke!” He said jokingly. “I think that can wait until the honeymoon now,” you said fully intending to withhold your affection as punishment. 

You pulled the pins from your hair and slipped out of your dress, left only in your silk undergarments. You noticed Jack watching you in the mirror and heard him murmur 

"You look so beautiful, Mrs. Nelson. 'M so proud to call you that, you know?” You couldn’t help but melt at his comment. “Oh, Jack. How can I stay mad at you when you’re so charming?” you said giving into the smile that crept over you face. You placed a kiss on his lips and slid into bed next to him. Jack took you in his arms, spooning you and you gave into your fatigue, ready to dream about the future Polly had foretold. 

—————————————————————————

Tag list: @retromafia, @violaobanion, @julyzaa, @shelbydelrey, @tommydoesntpayforsuits, @alanadetigy, @wandawiccan60, @peaky-cillian, @kittycatcait219, @theshelbyclan, @kpopgirlbtssvt, @celticmelody, @lovemissyhoneybee, @theshelbyslimited

[yoonlattesworld]

Fussy babies

Yoongi masterlist

Main masterlist

Hellooo @teluki ! Here you go! I hope you like it! And i loved both of you ideas so i kind of combined them together hehe. Enjoy ~

Summary: Just a day to day life of Min yoongi taking care of his wife and two fussy babies.

This is kind of a part two of His pretty girls but it can be readed alone!

Genre: fluffy fluff with our protective husband yoongi ☺️

Author's pov

"Unnie! give that to me and go and sit" you smiled softly as Jungkook's girlfriend Aera rushed towards you and took the tray from your hands "but i have been doing nothing other than sitting around. I can do this much" you said with a pout causing Aera to giggle as you both walked towards the dining table "you are supposed to rest all the time now unnie. The doctor has told you not to put too much pressure on your spine" she said placing the tray on the table as you huffed knowing she was right. But you were just bored okay! You know that being 8 and a half months pregnant is really hard and yoongi doesn't let you do any work also because the doctor had said that there might be some complications in the second pregnancy . But today is yoongi's birthday and all the members along with their partners have gathered in your house to celebrate his 28th birthday and ever since they arrived, everyone is telling you to sit and rest everytime you try to do something. You know that they are all doing this for you own health but you couldn't stop the pout forming on your lips while caressing your large belly. Suddenly, you felt large hands wrapping around your hips as he pulled you close to him. Your pout increasing hearing him chuckling "what's wrong babygirl " "nothing " you mumbled watching all the girls placing all the food on the table except for Taehyung's fiancee Gina who was playing with Ae cha and jin's daughter Yuri. He hummed caressing your bump softly and murmured "tell me love" you let out a dramatic sigh causing yoongi to smile "nobody is letting me do anything " yoongi knows how you feel. You have always been an independent woman. Always doing your own work plus you loved when everyone visited your house. And you always cooked for everyone but this time,yoongi and jin have done all the cooking leaving you to sit on the couch with Ae cha and since then you have been pouty.

So knowing your stubborn nature he nuzzled his nose against your cheek earning a giggle from you which you tried to stifle and said "alright baby you can help but don't lift anything heavy and sit down if your legs hurt okay?" You nodded immediately and smiled brightly waddling towards the kitchen. Yoongi smiled when he heard "you can't stop me now i have permission from yoongi!" Aera laughed and nodded leaving you in the kitchen to go towards her boyfriend who was busy doing arm wrestling with jimin while hoseok joined Gina making funny faces towards the little girls. After you placed the wine bottle on the table, you waddled towards the kitchen again while yoongi and Namjoon engaged in a silent conversation but ofcourse your over protective husband looked at you from time to time. As you lifted the plate of kimbap, your eyebrows furrowed as you a slight pain in your lower belly and you breathed shakily as the pain increased. slightly but then it was gone as soon as it came.

Taking a few deep breaths you waited for a few seconds but then relaxed not feeling any pain. It might be cramps. You thought to yourself and started walking towards the table but then suddenly you gasped feeling it again and this time it was much more intense. Grabbing the wall to support yourself you tried to take deep breaths but tears filled your eyes when the pain didn't reduce and a second later, your eyes widened when you felt something trickling down your legs. No no no not now! A piercing pain ripped through your stomach causing you to drop the plate on the floor as you tried to support yourself and a scream escaped your lips "y-yoongi!" Everyone's attention was diverted towards the sound the moment the crashing was heard. Yoongi was on his feet in a second, cursing under his breath he ran towards the kitchen and his eyes widened seeing you standing in a pool of blood. Rushing towards you he held you before your body could hit the floor and looked at you worriedly. He has experienced this situation before when Ae cha was born but nothing can prepare him to see you in this much pain"fuck baby okay calm down we are going to the hospital yeah? Shh" he mumbled and picked your crying form effortlessly and rushed towards the door stopping for a second to look at Ae cha "hyung don't worry we will take care of her!" Jungkook said and yoongi nodded already walking out of the door while you sobbed clutching his shirt "i will go with them" said jin and his wife Ina nodded whispering "call us" jin nodded and rushed out of the door opening the door of the back seat and shutting it once yoongi and you sat inside. Starting the car he started driving towards the nearest hospital "fuck hyung drive faster" yoongi said holding you close to him whispering you to take deep breaths.

While Taehyung couldn't help the grin breaking on his face and he held his fiancee "wow we are finally going to see the second baby min " everyone smiled despite being worried about you while jungkook cradled a crying Ae cha in his arms "w-what happened to mommy?" She asked looking scared while jungkook shushed her "nothing sweetheart. Your little sibling is going to come in this world today " She blinked twice before her eyes widened in excitement "she is going to come today?!" Chuckling he said "yes today but how do you know it's a girl?" "I just do" she said proudly causing everyone to laugh fondly before she said something that doubled Everyone's excitement "then dadda and baby min are going to have the same birthday!" "Wah i didn't thought of that" jimin said ruffling her hair.

While yoongi anxiously waited outside the hospital room, his heart clenching every time your scream was heard. He legs bouncing as jin forcefully made him sit. He took a shaky breath remembering your teary and fearful eyes when you whispered "yoongi I'm scared " before you were taken away from his arms. Jin placed a hand on his shoulder saying "don't worry both of them will be fine" yoongi nodded taking deep breaths and after a few moments, your screams stopped making yoongi more anxious but then,a crywas heard. He was on his feet the second a doctor came out of your room "congratulations sir it's a girl" he couldn't be happier. Seeing you holding your second daughter tears filled his eyes and he immediately held you close to him whispering comforting words as you leaned your weak body against him. He held his daughter's tiny body gingerly, overflowed with love and adoration when her tiny nose twitched in her sleep."you gave me the best present " he whispered pecking your forehead softly as you slept.All the members and the girls were really happy and baby Ae cha was saying something about being right but you didn't really understood it.

It's been a month since you gave birth to your second daughter A yeong. And safe to say both you and yoongi are more than exhausted especially you. Your body needed more time to recover resulting in getting bad cramps every time you moved. But yoongi was there with you all the time. Making things a little easier. You were sitting on the couch at around 11 pm while breastfeeding A yeong with Ae cha sleeping on your lap. He worked from home since your pregnancy but tonight after eating dinner he was called by the company urgently and he apologized millions of time to which you replied that you will be fine with a reassuring smile and he promised to come home soon. Hearing the front door open you smiled as your husband came into view looking at you with a tired smile "hey babygirl " "hi" you whispered as he leaned down to kiss your lips,being careful of the two babies in your lap. After he pulled back you asked "is everything okay?" He kissed both of his daughters head and nodded "don't worry love. Everything's fine. Now let's get these two to bed yeah?" You nodded and yoongi gently picked up Ae cha who mumbling something incoherent before snuggling in his shoulder. He carried her upstairs and tucked her in her bed properly before coming down to see you struggling to keep your eyes open. Chuckling fondly he kissed your forehead and took the sleeping baby from your arms who whined being away from her mother's warmth but then settled quickly when yoongi patted her back. After he was done with A yeong he picked you up too despite your protests and carried you towards your shared bedroom. Making sure to be gentle he laid you on the bed and covered you with the duvet. Changing his clothes he laid besides you and you immediately snuggled in his chest while he caressed your waist softly "did you take your medicines? " you mumbled a small yes and drifted off to dreamland. Kissing your head he fell asleep too.

Around 2 am, you both were woken up by the sound of baby monitor. Rubbing your eyes you supported yourself on your elbows and squinted at it to see A yeong crying and immediately went to get up. But yoongi stopped you with a grunt and made you lay down again "I'll go. Sleep" he mumbled and sat up but you grabbed his sleeve "but you are tired " "I'm fine baby. Now go to sleep" despite mumbling small protests, your eyes fell shut and your hand slipped from yoongi's sleeve. Covering you properly,he stood up and walked towards his daughter's room. Opening the door he smiled seeing Ae cha sitting up with a pout "why does she cry so much?" Chuckling raspily he picked A yeong up and replied "because she is just a baby. You did the same thing too sweetheart " Ae cha mumbled something about not crying all the time and slumped on her bed again while yoongi walked towards the kitchen to warm your milk which you have kept for times like this. After she burped,he walked around the living room patting her bum and in no time,she fell asleep causing yoongi to sigh in relief and he tucked her to her bed again. After making sure both of his girls are sleeping soundly he slipped besides you again and wrapped his arms around your waist with your back pressed against his chest.

The next morning you woke up sighing softly feeling the warmth of your bed but soon you frowned when you were met with an empty space besides you where your husband was supposed to be. You stretched slightly immediately regretting it when a pain shoot through your body. Getting up, you brushed your teeth and made your way downstairs and you felt a giddy feeling inside you seeing your husband sitting on the chair of the dining table with A yeong cradled to his bare chest and Ae cha sitting on her high chair as yoongi fed her. Walking towards them Ae cha was the first one to notice you "good morning mommy!" "Good morning baby" you smiled and kissed her head then smiling at yoongi when he pulled you towards him. You pressed a small kiss on his lips feeling him relaxing in your touch as you carassed his cheek. Pulling back you whispered "good morning yoon" his strong arm was wrapped your waist as he carassed your hips and raspily murmured " morning babygirl . Did you sleep well?" You nodded humming and took A yeong in your arms kissing her head too with black hair already growing healthily. "Mommy can we have a movie day today?" Ae cha asked after swallowing her food while yoongi wiped her mouth "can we?" You looked at yoongi with a pout who nodded immediately "of course we can " both you and Ae cha smiled brightly and you hugged your youngest close while discussing which movie to watch not noticing yoongi looking at you three with a fond smile as you stayed in your own little world.

God he was so lucky to have you three in his life.

[27emailsicantsend]

Season 3 Episode 4 Thoughts

BI ASHLYN BI ASHLYN BI ASHLYN… (possibly lesbian?? We’ll see)

All of you who called Maddox being gay… you were so, so right

Oh honey, Carlos, your straight dar is so, so very broken. Not only were you wrong about Maddox, but like the stuff about her dating her brother 😭😭 that was painful to listen to

I am by no means, a p*rtwell, but I will give credit where credits is due: I actually really liked the LIAOD duet. Their voices sounded nice together and I enjoyed the beginning with the stripped down piano part. I don’t know that we’ve heard Gina do more of a single instrumental song yet, so hearing her raw voice was beautiful!

My poor baby Kourtney. That hurts my heart seeing her so anxious. Her mom actually gave some pretty sound advice. Removing the “shoulds”… feeling how you should feel? We’ve got removing cognitive distortions and validating emotions. Made my heart happy 🥲

Jet was so angsty and for what 😭😂

Gina was so so cute this episode. She was literally glowing?? Like you could just tell how happy she was and the scene when she helped Kourtney made my heart soft 🥲 I just love seeing her in her happy era compared to last season. It’s a fresh, much needed thing

Along those lines… Ricky is in his happy era?? Well… for the most part. He did walk out a couple times when he was jealous 😬 but like the last few episodes and stuff he just seemed so content with himself and life for the first time in forever? (Pun intended… maybe that’s his and Gina’s song because they have both been THROUGH IT lol). He got his Corbin hug 🥹 and he just seemed like he was just trying his best to make the most of his situation at camp… I think EJ started to get in his head a lot

But also the 80’s villain line from Corbin? 🤣😭😭 comedy GOLD. Who wouldn’t laugh at that?? Lmaooo

Ok again, not a p*rtwell, but I want to make something clear about this next point: I’m not saying this because I’m a rina. I genuinely ship EJ and Val. Or at least am starting too. Val called him out that he’s been having deep, girlfriend talks with her. It’s so easy for him to open up with her. When he is with Gina everything is stiff? Tense? Lack of chemistry? But with Val it seems so easy between them. Like they’ve known each other forever. And she’s in college which is just a bonus on top

It’s interesting we’re addressing Kourt’s anxiety so much but EJ’s feels really brushed over? Like he has no one giving him those pep talks. Instead his dad is putting undue pressure on him. Why is his dad so keen on pushing him? It makes me sad. I think it would be cool to see Kourt use the advice from her mom and give EJ similar advice. They both could use it

I’m not a huge fan of the song “fabulous”. It’s my least favorite from the movies but it was fun watching Carlos and Kourt sing it. Very Ryan and Sharpay of them which they’ve been giving a lot this season 😂

AND NOW: RINA

PINING RICKY PINING RICKY PINING RICKY

I am not sure I even counted this correctly but there were at LEAST 6 or 7 stolen glances, for sure 1 per scene between Ricky and Gina

I can’t even tell you how many times I rewound this episode to see every stolen glance. Someone make a gifset pleaseeeee

I also didn’t expect EJ to say out of pocket things right out the gate like that. Like I knew there would be some contention between the two (predicted it last episode thought rambles) but wowww he was VERY quick to jump on Ricky

And I don’t say that as EJ slander. I think he is under a LOT of stress and doesn’t know how to cope. With his relationship kind of falling under it makes sense he might be lashing. He’s not being nice, but it’s also understandable.

But also, I don’t ~love~ that he was mad at Ricky and Gina being gone because he had every opportunity to go and blew up at them last episode. He did take some accountability for this thought which was good

Also Ricky jumping at the chance to sing LIAOD and the show intentionally said, “NO THIS SONG IS FOR EJ AND GINA TO SING”. It’s literally leaving us no hints at this point that they are not the couple of this show. Like it is very intentional they’re showing EJ as hans in this situation and that he had to be the one to sing it with Gina. But also very cute mr bowen that you wanted to sing about love with her 🥹

Speaking of… isn’t there a rickyxgina duet coming this season possibly? Just saying. We might want to compare the two 😉

I have said it 1000x and I will say it 1000 more: STAGING IS EVERYTHING. They take and retake these scenes so they have to make sure ever prop, placement… everything is exactly where it should be. Notice who seems to be in the middle in multiple ways in the staging? Mr Bowen himself. The movie night was the biggest one screaming it. Like he could have sat anywhere and he sat right in the middle 😭😭😭

Also all of Ricky’s compliments to Gina and him defending her to Jet 😭😭 he is such a protective almost boyfriend I love it sm

AND OMG JET CALLING HIM OUT???? Yeah jet was me and every other rina in that scene 😂 but also, I feel like the “you don’t know the whole story” was set up for more 👀 so then what is the whole story Ricky? Anything to do with another flashback?? With chocolates? Hmmmmmmm???? 🧐🤨📸

(This also fits my Ricky is Hans and Jet is Sven for their “off stage” symbolic characters because Sven called out Kristoff in the movie with sus looks and stuff. He really understood Kristoff in a way no one else- but Anna- did. They’re just this cute friend duo that I love)

Also can I just point out Gina’s laugh in the wishlist part? That was the most GENUINE laugh I heard from any season from her. She just sounded so happy 🥲

RINA HELD HANDS…. AGAIN??? Their parallels do be unmatched to any other couple in the show

I have no idea what kind of drama EJ is going to stir up but I’m SURE it has to do with this triangle for the show. He said it took courage to make something big happen? It just feels like a very Hans thing to say. Oh P*W you are so bones I’m sorry 😭 because Gina said she can’t deal with liars and she was VERY clear. Soooo EJ’s washed

But ALSO SHE CANT DEAL WITH LIARS AND RICKY WALKS OUT??? What is he lying about?? Feelings???? Chocolates????? I mean it makes sense if he did because of Nini a little but I still feel like he would have no reason to lie unless there was more feelings behind why he delivered those to Gina. If he was doing it as a friendly gesture he might have even asked Nini to help? So yeahhhh boy you gonna get caught. But this lie feels… different somehow? Like maybe Gina might get upset but they weren’t dating and things were weird so it kind of makes sense why Ricky didn’t say anything. But he did make her feel stupid so she has every right to be mad? Idk the chocolates conversation could go a LOT of ways if (when) it happens

So yeah… I know that one tik toker who saw the episodes prior said that this episode would have rinas on a “rollercoaster” but I actually don’t feel shaken at ALL. In fact, rina endgame just feels even more solidified. Have I told you guys I love this season yet? Because I LOVE this season

[marvelling-at-marvel-blog]

This was a great episode of Lonestar.

Always happy to watch a Paul storyline, I have just never loved a job enough to put my life on the line for it so I can't understand how someone would rather die than not do that job. I don't think outside of people, I love anything enough to die for it. So Pauls decision seems crazy and kind of selfish to me. That doesn't mean he deserved to wake up the way he did though. I kind of like how after he asked Marjan to leave he still said thanks. Kind of like he knew he was being unfair to her in the moment. I dont think as someone who has no power of attorney or anything over Paul, Marjan would not have had any say in him getting the pacemaker?

- Owen's dry ass chicken sounds honeslty revoulting. 100% would not want to eat

- I love this bird. He is obviously a great judge of characther. He loves Mateo but dislikes Owen. Also him saying 'bitch and moan, bitch and moan' was the best most on point thing ever

- Part of me hopes Gwyn did leave him the bird to torment him, yhe idea of her being like this is how I will one up him forever just makes me giggle. Also I enjoy her lawyer. She's a boss.

- I love how much Judd is enjoying himself this episode. Raising his hand like a kid only to make fun of Owen. The joy on his face when he found out that Owen started the fight with the bird and when he heard the bird kissed Mateo. His just there living his best life.

- Said it before, will say it again. Gina Torres is so beauitful. She has an infectious smile and hair of my dreams

- Mateo is right, Axe throwing is fun as hell. Reccomend it. Also the fact that Owen doesnt ALREADY own a vegetable sprializer is more surprising than the fact he ordered one

- I would like it to be known that you should never strap your baby into a car the way that woman did. I actually dont think you even could if you wanted to that is obviously just sitting in the prop car

- I love Paul but the way he makes pasta is a freaking crime. What did that poor spaghetti do to you?

- The fact that Marjan could kick that door in is pretty hot

- They did not just kill the bird. Why was that neccesary!?!?! Noo Ginsberg! (Also kudos Gwyn, great name) He could have just gone to Mateo and they would live happily together for 30 years

- Finally. Where was Nancy? I can get why Carlos and Grace where not in the ep. It makes no sense that Nancy was not there with no explanation. I get that Tommy and T.K. where having a moment this ep but it just makes no sense that they where running a man down.

I can also understand that not every actor needs to be in every episode. But it always the same ones. I would love to see a episode that spends the whole time with Grace and Carlos and thier jobs/lives The only time the rest pop up is when they have screentime shared with those two. It could be a cop storyline that involves 911 phone calls and some personal stuff in the side. I think when people talk about how upset they are that Carlos or Grace is not in a episode it's because it happens reguarly with them and almost never with the others. I mean its OK to leave them out to focus on firefighter storylines but it jas to go both ways. Which is si t right now.