#mary has already lost a baby daughter

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

love this moment bc yaz is thinking ghosts or aliens and then mary is like my fucking son and you can feel the "oh shit. oh thats worse maybe"

[millervrse]

A SECOND CHANCE ! joel miller x reader

summary: Joel was sent by Marlene to come find you and bring you to Saint Mary’s. You are the only human aside from Ellie Williams who has been bitten and not turned: You are the only way that a cure can be created where no blood is shed. But to do that, you’ll have to warm up to the hardass that is Joel goddamn Miller.

pairing: joel miller x afab!reader

warnings, notes: EVENTUAL 18+ smut, so minors dni, occurs after the plot of the first tlou, but before joel gets ellie out of saint mary’s, some canon facts are changed for the sake of this story, ENEMIES TO LOVERS! reader has a heavily established backstory that is to be explored throughout the series, game references (tess, the fireflies, sarah, the general plot of the game, etc). implied age gap. reader’s just as tough as joel, if not worse! warnings will change and be updated as the series progresses.

word count: 2.8k+

LYN SPEAKING! alright, hey! i’m lyn, and i’ve had this idea in the back of my mind for close to a year now (yes, a year) and baby FINALLY finished the first installment of this series i plan to work on based on it. i sincerely hope this is well received! if you want to know when i update this series, please let me know, and i will kindly tag you. also, if you have any ideas as to where this story can go, my inbox is wide open! alright now, buckle up and enjoy!

PART I: IMMUNE

“If there’s no way for you to do this where Ellie lives,” Joel said, a dark gruffness to his voice as the words leave his lips. “Then it ain’t happenin’. I swear it.”

Joel Miller and Ellie Williams had been through hell and back to deliver her to the Fireflies. People had died along the way, close to the pair or not, and sacrifices had been made for the greater good. But now, as they stood at the end of the line, Joel realized that there was no greater good, and that they hadn’t been to hell.

Because this was it.

Joel stood defensively before Marlene, the woman who was the reason this was happening in the first place. The Fireflies wanted to make a cure for the virus that had taken their world by surprise twenty years ago. One that would cure the infected of their curse, to bring them back to the human beings that they once were. But to do that, Joel would have to make the biggest sacrifice of them all.

Losing Ellie.

He couldn’t bear to lose a second daughter, not when he had already given his all to have her. To keep her. Not when he had already lost Sarah in his arms all those years ago. No, no, no. Sarah had been unfairly shot, unfairly killed, and Joel was powerless to help her.

That wouldn’t be the case with Ellie.

He stood in front of an unconscious Ellie now, laid out over a bed in the hospital he had delivered her to. He had managed his way in here by narrowly avoiding Firefly personnel. But just as he was about to flee, Marlene and several soldiers behind her had him cornered every which way.

“Joel—“ Marlene did her best. But Joel didn’t want to hear it.

“No,” he barked, gun trained on the brunette. It didn’t matter if this ended in flames. It didn’t matter if he died. If he was doing it for Ellie, then he’d do it again and again, in this life and the next. “If there is no scenario where this little girl survives, it is not, happening.”

There’s a pause, a look of delay in Marlene’s eyes as she looks at Joel. She debated. Should she tell him? Should she reveal a secret she had been holding back since he had taken this assignment nearly a year ago?

This was no time to hang back.

“There’s one.”

That, was the moment in time when Joel Miller learned about you.

A girl, who had also been bitten, and not turned. A girl, whose history Marlene refused to delve too deeply into. A girl, who could be the cure to the cure, where nobody died. 

Where Ellie lived.

“Where do I find her?”

———————————————————————

That’s how he had gotten here.

A noise sounds from behind you as you're readying to go and hunt for food in your house in Vermont, alongside a brief patrol to make sure that no infected were lurking by. You’re quick to tense when the sound fills your ears, grabbing the crossbow that was on the counter near you, the one that you’d thankfully just loaded, and whipping around.

A man who looked much older than you stood in the doorframe. He was tall with tousled hair, a green, wrinkled shirt mirroring his gruff demeanor. Your gaze darkened at the sight. You hadn’t seen a human being in a millennia. Let alone one that you hated to admit, was handsome.

You didn’t let that deter you, however, raising your crossbow higher and aiming it at him.

"You've got five seconds to tell me what you're doing here,” your voice firmly rang out as you drew the bow. Thank God you’d always been a natural at aiming. “Or I'll put one between your eyes.”

The man put his hands up, though his face remained neutral as he stood in place, as if to show he wasn’t afraid of you. “Easy does it,” he rasped, his voice as gruff as he looked. “I’m not here to hurt’cha.”

“Then, leave,” you returned. “This doesn’t have to end in blood. And if you get any fucking closer, I promise you, it will.”

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” the man said in jest, causing you to draw your arrow back more, a warning for him to watch his tone. A sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders tensed at the gesture, closing his eyes and opening them to meet yours. “Look. I was sent here to find you. Alright? I just need to talk.”

This wasn’t going to be easy for Joel, was it?

Your aim never wavered as you responded. Your first thought was what the fuck was he talking about, but the curse doesn’t make the cut as you answer. “Sent by who?”

A pause.

“Marlene.”

You tense.

“She said you’d know her.”

Oh, you fucking know her, alright. Who the fuck was this man and how the fuck did he know about you and Marlene? It’s impossible, you think. That was years ago. This man was lying.

Right?

“Marlene?” you scoffed, your voice shaking. “That’s bullshit. I haven’t spoken to Marlene in years, and she sure as hell wouldn’t be sending anyone to find me,” you return, the furrow already present in your eyebrows deepening, eyes drowning in suspicion. “Who are you, really?”

The man doesn’t move, instead keeping his arms raised like he’s some sort of peace offering. “The name’s Joel, Joel Miller, and I swear on my life that what I’m tellin’ you is true,” he said. When he took note of the apprehension in your expression, he lowered his voice, letting it relax into one that was meant to make you feel calm. “I’m not here to hurt you. Alright? Just let me explain.”

It didn’t help.

You wanted to shoot this man already, with every fiber of your being. Your trust issues were rattling like fireworks in your brain, telling you that he was a liar, that he was trying to get you vulnerable, catch you off guard. But against your better judgment, you nodded, hanging fire for him to go on.

"There's a, uh, little girl. Her name's Ellie. About a year ago, Marlene asked me and a friend o’mine to smuggle her out of Boston, where we were, in exchange for some guns. We agreed. But Marlene didn’t tell us why,” Joel began, sighing before going on. “Come to find out, little girl was infected, but the bite was three weeks old.”

A pause.

“She was immune.”

You tense again, like you had been over and over again since Joel had walked into your house. That word, that fucking word. That word that made your blood run cold. Made your head spin. Made horrid memories rush to the front of your brain. 

Immune.

You raised your eyebrows at Joel in disbelief of the three words that had just fled his lips. “That’s impossible,” you said. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not,” he returned a little too quickly. “I was thinkin’ the same way you are. Ready to kill her right there and then when I found out. Thought Marlene set us up, knew it was only a matter of time before she’d turn and catch us by surprise. But the little girl, Ellie, wasn’t lyin.”

You grimace. A fucking little girl. You didn’t even want to ask how old she was. 

Because if this was going where you thought it was, then your heart was going to ache a whole lot more.

“Our journey had its ups and downs. We had to reroute over and over again. Fireflies can be pretty damn hard to find these days. But we ended up finding out that most of the ones who were remaining, were in Utah, holed up in some medical center. Ready to make a cure.”

Joel was about to go on, keep explaining. But he didn’t have to.

You cut him off.

“I’ve heard this one before,” you laughed, but it wasn’t one of amusement, let alone humorous at all. It was one of disbelief, because how in the fuck had the universe spared you that day, just to bring it back to your feet? A scoff escapes your lips, and you sigh, pushing your tongue into your cheek before answering. “Saint Mary’s, isn’t it?”

Joel furrowed his eyebrows. “How’d-” he said in confusion, wondering if he had accidentally let it slip a few minutes ago in his hasty battle to keep an arrow out of his brain. “How’d you know?”

It’s your turn to be confused. If Marlene had really sent this man all this way to come find you, you figured she wouldn’t have spared him the details on the true nature of your connection, or lack thereof, to Marlene. “Are you kidding me? I’ve lived this,” you say, a bit of  malice behind your words as you raise your bow. “And if you think I’m going to go through that again, you better think fucking twice,” you warned.

Joel scoffed, undeterred by your threatened show of violence. He had seen scarier in his over twenty years in the apocalypse, and he was sure that if you wanted to shoot him, which you were more than capable of doing, you would have done it by now. "Little lady, I am not asking you too, alright? There's more to it."

Your expression doesn’t get any more welcoming, much to Joel’s annoyance. “Then you better get to talking, because I’m dying for an excuse to shoot you. Pun intended.”

Killing a bloater is easier than suppressing an eye roll at your words.

"Look, that girl and her bite, Marlene thinks that the head surgeon over at the Fireflies could fix up a cure. A cure for mankind. But she can’t undergo the surgery alone, not unless, unless—”

You finish for him.

“Not unless she dies.”

Joel nods, his feelings too grim to ask how you know that. He was sure that there’d be lots to uncover about you, that is, if you agreed to come back to Utah alongside him. “Right. And Marlene said, that if I found you, there’s a chance you could undergo the surgery with Ellie. And she’d survive.”

You take his words in, mulling them over in your head. The survivor in you was screaming to not let your feelings take hold. That no matter how desperate this man was for you to come with him, you would have to decline. But your conscious, the moral part of you that somehow persevered no matter how cruel this world had been to you, was bellowing. It wasn’t fair, what was happening to that little girl. It wasn’t fair that she would have to die to fix a world that was arguable beyond fixing.

But then again, what had happened to you was unfair too. And so was this unexpected arrival.

“You’re asking me to leave the comfort of my own home, travel across the damn country, go off with a man I don’t fucking know, all for a goddamn chance?” you asked. There was no violence behind your words this time. Just disbelief, incredulousness. “Who the fuck do you think I am?”

Joel never lowered his hands as he spoke. “Look, I know you’re uncertain, and I would be too. But this girl, Ellie, she—” he paused, doing his best to maintain his composure. “I just can’t lose her, okay? I can’t.”

Now your face relaxes, if only a little bit. You can see the raw and vulnerable look in Joel’s eyes, the gloss to his brown eyes that shines in the dim light of your house. 

“You’ve grown attached to this girl, haven’t you?”

Joel Miller was a tough man. Feelings weren’t in the cards for him. Not since Tess, not since Sarah. And for the love of God, if he could turn them off and never feel again, it’s likely that he would. So for now, he doesn’t tell you how much Ellie really means to him, returning to the cold approach he took on the world before he met her. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I have, not that that matters,” he dismisses. “Point is, lady, if I have to drag you out of here kickin' and screamin', I will. But I ain't leavin' without’cha."

You scoffed. "You don't even know my name."

Well, for some reason, you figured he didn’t. But just then, he said it, proving you wrong in seconds.

 “Ain’t it?”

Don’tfeeldon’tfeeldon’tfeel.

You and this man were more alike than you knew.

Rolling your eyes, you speak up once again, pushing your feelings down into the gutter where they belong. “Let me tell you this, Miller. I gave up the hope a long time ago that there was anyone else out there like me, and so did Marlene. Why in the hell should I believe you?" you ask.

Joel parts his lips to speak, but words don’t come out. You were right. He had given you no reason to believe him, to trust him, and especially not, like you’d said, to leave the comfort of your own home and join him on his quest to save mankind, to save Ellie, if she was actually fucking real.

There’s a brief pause before he answers. "I don't know how else I can convince you. I can't, to be honest. But Ellie, she needs you. I can't let her die."

You paused for a second, allowing his words to sink in. God, you were apprehensive, but he, he was adamant. And the look in his eyes was tearing your survivalist ideologies to the ground.

"Saint Mary’s ain't close,” you say.

Joel’s eyes light up. It’s not a yes, but it’s hope. "I know,” he says. “I've got a car."

"A car?" you asked in shock. What more did this man have up his sleeve? You hadn't seen a working car in years. They weren’t easy to come by, and even if they were, gas was a major aspect of why nobody had cars anymore. Marlene and the Fireflies used to always have them, but because it’d been so long since you’d last seen her or a Firefly in general, you couldn't actually remember the last time you'd driven one.

"Yeah, it's a means of gettin’ around, kind of like-" Joel began. Annoyedly, you cut him off.

Did you really look that young?

"I know what a car is,” you said in annoyance. “Haven't seen one in years. You really have one?"

Joel decided to ignore your offended response, though it was hard to suppress a smirk at just how offended you’d gotten. "Yeah, I do. I told you, I'm not lyin'. Not about the car, not about Marlene, and not about Ellie. I promise.”

Promise.

You had it engraved in your brain that the word promise was a synonym for lie. It was just a kinder, less harsh way of putting it. But regardless, they were bullshit. Promises weren’t real. This wasn’t real. Joel wasn’t real.

You want to pinch your arm to make sure. Then you realize you’ve never had dreams this vivid.

You hated your face for the way it relaxed. You hated the fact that you could hear the genuineness in his tone, the converse of lies in his gruff demeanor. You hated the way your crossbow unconsciously lowered.

And you were going to hate Joel Miller for sure.

“You try anything, Miller—” you bark.

Joel’s eyes light up once again, and he can’t help the small smile that takes the corners of his lips. "You’ll put one between my eyes, I know. And I won’t, I promise.” 

“So are you comin’ or what?”

"Not so fast," you said quickly, shaking your head. "Give me some time to pack, mull it over a little more. You owe me that."

Joel wanted to protest, just a little bit. But he refrained, nodded, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, ma’am.”

Your eyes remained watchful, fixed on Joel as you walked backwards to the top floor.

There, in your bedroom, you think over what just happened. Were you really going to do this? Were you really going to risk the life you had created, all for a chance? Who the fuck were you right now, and what had you done with the tough woman you had always been?

You were about to let your morals cloud your judgment, traveling far and wide to save a little girl you didn’t know, alongside a man you were sure you were going to hate. You were about to throw away all you’d become, all you’d ever wanted to be since what went down with the Fireflies all those years ago. With Marlene.

God fucking damnit.

What the fuck had you gotten yourself into?

if you made it to the end of this, i really hope you liked it! please consider leaving a reblog, as they help my work immensely <3 kisses!

[run-lamb-run]

🌘 RUN, LAMB, RUN 🌒

MASTERPOST • PROFILE CW FOR: Themes of genocide, Heavy topics, Themes of death, Murder, Familial loss, Child death

"What is Run, Lamb, Run?"

Run, Lamb, Run, or RLR, is a Cult of the Lamb based DND campaign being played by a private group of friends. This blog is to document art, shenanigans and lore.

"What is it about?"

RLR is a crossover AU between multiple friends' COTL AU's. It follows the story of a group of targeted sheep/goats on the run through the Lands of the Old Faith during the Lamb Genocide. The group of 10 is stuck on the continent once belonging to the long lost god of Death, and they must reach the gateway to freedom and escape- before it's too late.

⭐️ Who's playing? ⭐️

Glad you asked!

@canadianno - Copper, running the account, player - #Copper speaks

@sock-kaleidoscope - Sock, the DM - #Sock speaks

@bvnny-skvllz - Bunny, player - #Bunny speaks

@ditzyclown - Moron, player - #Moron speaks

@amimuu - Ami, player - #Ami speaks

[@ hidden] - Alz, player - #Alz speaks

Character Cast

Lambert - Young adult, early 20s. Has been on the run since childhood. Traveling with their daughter, Anoana. Sheep. (They/them)

Anoana - Toddler, ~3 years old. Born on the run and adopted by Lambert early on. Sheep. (She/her)

Mary - Middle aged, mid 40s. Experienced in combat, on the run with her child Azazel. Sheep. (She/her)

Azazel - Young child, ~5 years old. On the run with their mother, Mary, after losing their father. Sheep. (They/them)

Silk - Unknown age. A soldier from Silk Cradle horrified by the genocide, taking care of a lamb saved from execution. Spider. (He/him)

Little one - Young child, ~8 years old. A young lamb saved from execution by Silk, sees them as a parent. Sheep. (They/he)

Rafael - Middle aged, mid 30s. Lost his family to a village raid, been on the run since. Sheep. (He/him?)

Callum - Young adult, mid 20s. Lost family and fiancee in the genocide. Been on the run since. Goat. (He/him)

Yael - Mid teens, ~15. Traveling through the lands of the Old Faith with their half sibling, Gale. Sheep. (They/them)

Gale - Mid teens, ~16. Traveling through the lands of the Old Faith with their half sibling, Yael. Goat. (He/they)

☁️ Quick QNA! ☁️

▫️▫️▫️

"Can I join?"

No, sorry! Even if the campaign was public, we already have enough players!

"Can I send asks?"

Yes!! This is encouraged! Please send us asks, we love to answer em! Keep em SFW, though. Most of us are minors.

"Do you accept fanart?"

Absolutely, go wild. We love to see it! You have a higher likelihood of us seeing it if you tag our main accounts, listed above!

"Are we allowed to use your stat blocks?"

If we had stat blocks, I'd say yes, but we don't. We're winging it, baby!!

"How do you guys play?"

We use DND beyond, Discord voice calls, a lot of planning, and sheer fucking will!

[Divider creator credits] • Please mind the profile CWs at the beginning of the message before proceeding further.

[sissylittlefeather]

How the Web Was Woven: Chapter 13

A/N: Woof. This one took me a minute. Also, it's a short bridge-type chapter, but don't worry. Next chapter will be LONG and JUICY. This is just a necessary part of the story. Please don't give up on us! ICYMI this is the soulmate/time travel AU between Elvis and a fem!reader.

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

Warnings: cussing and angst (a smut-free chapter?! Who am I?! Don't worry. It's coming soon and they will be too 😏)

Word count: ~1.9k

"Why didn't she come for me?"

******

Elvis spends the next few weeks anxiously waiting for you to show up somewhere. It's clear his mind is elsewhere. Everyone around him notices that something is off, but he won't tell anyone what's going on. He just prowls around like a caged animal, nervous and waiting for something that no one understands. He goes back to Memphis before he has to be back in Vegas in August to film his concert documentary. The only thing that gets him out of his room is Lisa Marie. Otherwise, he mopes around or stays inside.

What no one knows is he's grieving. He's pretty sure he's lost you and his son too. The pain almost overwhelms him and he has a hard time living in his real life. He finds solace in music and spends a lot of time at the piano playing a whole catalogue of new songs. His favorite, though, is a song produced by the Beatles' record label, and he eventually asks to record it later that summer. It ends up on his album for the documentary That's the Way It Is and even makes it into a rehearsal scene with him playing it on the piano and singing. For some reason, the song makes him think of you, so he sings it as often as he can.

Even though it begins to look like he's back to himself, the pain of losing you is omnipresent. He resigns himself to the fact that he will likely never see you or his son ever again. As such, he leans into the documentary and even does a photo shoot with Priscilla over Thanksgiving to try to rekindle the affection he feels for her.

But he still feels like part of his soul has gone missing. It's the same old feeling he always has when he's away from you for too long, but this time it settles in his chest and becomes a part of him. 1970 slips into 1971 and he does his best to move on. 1971 slips into 1972 and he throws himself into work and lets his relationship with Priscilla sour. She moves out and he has a hard time even caring, except that she took Lisa Marie and it just twists the dagger of having already lost one child. There are other girls, like there always have been, but they never fill the void that you leave. He has a you-shaped hole in his heart that no amount of sex or romance or even love can fill. 1972 slides by, he films Elvis on Tour, and he plays shows across the United States. He plays Vegas again and then tours again, hoping that by keeping himself busy he'll notice your absence less.

Finally, he prepares for the Aloha from Hawaii concert that will be broadcast across the world. He tries to get back into peak physical shape and does everything he can to throw himself fully into this concert. In the process, he squashes the last hope of you ever showing up again. It's been three years.

You're gone.

******

Covid hits strong in 2020 and your world gets upended. You learn to work from home, host zoom call happy hours with your friends (even though you're pregnant and can't drink), and wear a mask anytime you're in public, which isn't often. In September, you give birth (alone and in a mask) to your daughter and name her Erin Love. She's perfectly healthy and looks so much like her brother you think you've given birth to his twin. And again you weep. Elvis is missing this and you know it'll break him if he ever finds out.

2020 fades into 2021 and you still can't risk going out with a baby. Every time you start to think it might be safe, a new strain or variant shows up and the world cowers in fear again. Vegas opens, but you're terrified, both of traveling and of the possibility of sending Covid back to 1971.

So, you wait. You wait and you wait and you keep waiting until your baby is old enough and the virus seems to slow down. Still, Vegas, with its masses of people, seems too risky. Finally, in December of 2022 you have an idea. You start making plans to head to Hawaii with both kids and your mom in January of 2023. Hawaii is much more secluded and you know exactly where he will be.

When you ask your mom to come with you, she wants to know why. This is going to be a very expensive vacation and she's not sure why you need her. You sit on her couch trying to decide just how much you should tell her. Eventually, you settle on something very close to the truth.

"John is there. We haven't seen each other in three years." You look down at the ring on your finger.

"I was starting to wonder if he still existed."

"I'm not even sure he'll want to see me..." You look at the ceiling to try to stop yourself from crying, but it doesn't work and the tears come sliding down your face.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sure he does. He loves you."

"I hope so." She pulls you into a hug.

"I will go with you. I'll watch the kids so you two can get reacquainted."

"Thank you, mom."

Once she agrees to go with you, you drop an ungodly amount of money to stay in his suite and pack up both kids to fly to the islands. You decide not to tell John Jessie why you're going, just in case it doesn't work out. He's almost 6 now and he asks about his daddy damn near everyday. Somehow, he remembers him despite the fact that it's been almost 3 years since he's seen him. Erin's too little to ask questions. She doesn't even know she has a daddy, which breaks your heart every time you think about it.

******

After a rehearsal, Elvis heads to his suite to rest. He's 100% invested in what he's doing. But out of nowhere, he thinks of you again. He hums the song he's designated as yours and goes to work changing out of his jumpsuit.

He's got the zipper all the way down when he hears a sound that makes his heart stop. There it is, the old familiar buzzing. He hasn't heard it in so long. He turns slowly, sees the portal, and practically runs through it without thinking about the fact that he has no clothes packed and is wearing a jumpsuit.

******

When Elvis comes through the portal, he stops and stares at you. He's so in shock that he doesn't know how to respond. Your mouth pops open in awe of him standing there in the American Eagle jumpsuit fully unzipped. He looks better than you could've imagined. Obviously, you've seen the footage, but it really didn't do him justice. He zips it back up and gives you a hard stare.

"It's been three fucking years, y/n."

"I know-" You don't get any further though because John Jessie comes bounding into the room. He runs to Elvis and jumps on him. He's supposed to be napping with your mom in one of the bedrooms.

"Daddy! I heard you!" Elvis grabs him and holds him tightly.

"Heyyy buddy, I missed you so much!" You can tell he's trying hard not to cry. You look nervously towards the bedroom. If your mom sees him in this jumpsuit, it'll be impossible to explain.

"Bubby, where's your grandma?"

"She's asleep." You breathe easier and John Jessie turns back to his daddy. He launches into a monologue that only a 5-year-old can follow, but Elvis sits with him on the couch and listens attentively. You stand and watch the scene and Elvis glances at you every once in a while.

After about 15 minutes, you hear Erin cry from the room where she is taking her nap. Elvis looks up at you, shocked.

"Who is that?"

"That's my sister. She's little still." John Jessie answers knowingly. Elvis's head swivels to you so fast.

"Sister?" You nod and duck out of the room to grab Erin before her crying wakes your mom up. When you come back, Elvis looks at both of you and his eyes are shiny with tears. "Is she-?"

"She's yours." He stands up and immediately takes her from you.

"What's her name?"

"Erin Love."

"Love? Like my..." He trails off and looks at her lovingly.

"Yes. Like your mother." He holds her to himself and looks up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. He pulls back and looks at her again while she babbles to him.

"Baby, do you know I'm your daddy?" She looks up at him.

"Daddy?"

"Yes!" She smiles widely and he holds her close to him again. He looks at you incredulously.

"We have another baby."

"Yes, we do." He kisses her cheek and sets her down on the floor, turning to you. His eyes burn through you and he whispers angrily.

"Where the fuck have you been?! We have a daughter?!"

"Please, Elvis, I can explain."

"You better. I'm going to spend the evening with my kids, but you better have a damn good story when they go to bed."

You nod. How will you get him to understand Covid?

******

He changes into some clothes you have for him and helps you put the kids to bed. Despite not knowing the routine, he proves to be pretty helpful. You're amazed at how well John Jessie remembers him. Your mom seems to just know she should make herself scarce through the whole evening and stays in the room. Once you get both kids in bed, you sit on the couch facing him, heart pounding and stomach in knots. He looks at you with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Tell me why, y/n."

"There is a new virus." You desperately try to explain everything that's happened over the last three years.

"So you couldn't come to me because of a cold virus?"

"Elvis, you don't understand. This was a global pandemic. Everything was closed and people all around the world were dying. They literally shut down Las Vegas."

"I've been other places." He responds, the anger in his voice obvious.

"I know, but I couldn't risk our kids. Or the possibility of you taking this virus back to your time. I finally feel safe here in Hawaii."

"I don't know, y/n, I'm glad you're okay and I'm especially excited to see the kids. But I thought I'd lost you. I buried you in my mind."

"Did you- did you move on?" For the first time, the reality that your marriage to Elvis might be over hits you in the gut and your eyes widen. Elvis isn't sure how to answer. He has a girlfriend, and technically another wife. But he looks at you sitting in front of him and can't help but feel the connection that's bound you together for over fifteen years. He wants to be angry so badly, but really all he is is sad. Sad that he missed the first two and a half years of his daughter's life. Sad that he went so long without all of you. Sad that you almost feel like a stranger now.

You sit on the couch staring at each other waiting for his answer.

******

Come back soon for Chapter 14!

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[korrssami]

"Sadness is a condition of motherhood."

From the moment Eve shed her first tears over Abel’s death, mothers throughout history have carried a profound sorrow alongside the joy of nurturing life. No mother has escaped this sorrow since Eve's first tears—not Mary, who wept at the foot of the cross; not Queen Victoria, who mourned her beloved Albert for decades; and not even the mythological mothers like Queen Hecuba, who grieved over the fall of Troy, Gaia, the Earth herself mourning her children's conflicts, or Rhea, lamenting the loss of her offspring to Cronus.

This intertwining of joy and grief defines the essence of motherhood. Each mother, in her own way, experiences the bittersweet reality of raising children: the inevitable distance that grows as children mature, the anxiety for their safety, and the heartbreak when they suffer. Motherhood is a tapestry woven with both love and loss, and among all these sorrows, Mary stands as the lady of profound mourning, embodying the ultimate sacrifice and pain as she watched her son endure unimaginable suffering.

Now, as war looms on the horizon, Alicent's grief deepens. She has already lost her grandson, and her daughter mourns her baby boy. With conflict inevitable, countless more mothers will weep over their sons, and sadness will once again be their constant companion. Alicent's sons are spiralling out of control, driven by reckless ambition and disregard for the suffering they may cause. They now seek to drag her golden boy from Oldtown into the fray—a child, not even of age to join the fight, with a dragon he's scarcely old enough to command.

And on the other side of this war is Rhaenyra, another grieving mother, her former friend (and lover), now turned rival. Sadness is her constant companion as well, and peace is no longer an option for either of them. Both are mothers engulfed in a conflict that promises only more loss and sorrow, their shared history overshadowed by the looming shadows of war. Each mother's heart breaks for her children, knowing the path ahead is paved with grief and bloodshed.

[nightxcreature]

See ya later. 👋

Summary: Reader and Team Freewill make their way to the apocalypse world and come face to face with someone they lost.

This is not based off of the post I made the other day, but it could technically be a tie in if I do a series.

pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader; Platonic!Cas x Reader, Platonic!Sam x Reader, Daughter!reader

Warnings: 18+, Language (reader likes to swear because so do I), slight dirty talk at one point if you squint, dead people, angst, angry dad for like two seconds, Cas feeling guilty for knowing something before everyone else, readers a big ole bitch about Jack

word count: 2492 (I busted my assssssssss, bro.)

Requests are open. 💕

The echoes from Kelly’s screams reverberated off the mountains surrounding the little cabin on the lake, sending those cries of pain and fear right back to us as if mother nature herself knew that Kelly Kline was bringing the worst of the worst right to her front door. Sitting helplessly listening to her pained wails feels like we’ve got a front row seat to the end of the world. Mary had gone to keep her company when we first arrived, but nothing she’s done has given Kelly a distraction from the child trying to rip its way out of her womb. Castiel continues to try and convince us that this baby will bring peace, but something that’s half of the biggest bad in history has no way of knowing a damn thing about peace.

                Another scream fills the house, and we all flinch. I can’t stay in here any longer, lifting my head from hands I turn to Sam, “Did you guys check the wards on the house? If we can’t move Kelly and Lucifer is headed this way, then we need to make sure that they’re strong enough stop him.”

                “Uh, no. No, not yet.” He whispers quietly, “You wanna check them?”

                I nod slightly and stand, glancing in Deans direction and pointing toward the door, “Wanna come with me?”

                He doesn’t answer, just stands, grabs my hand, and pulls me toward the door. As he reaches for the doorknob, Cas tries to interject, but just a second too late.

                “Cas,” Dean starts gruffly, pointing toward what looks like a big golden tear in the middle of the air, “What the hell is that?”

                Cas sighs and follows us out the door, Sam close behind him, “It’s a tear in space and time.”

                “Uh, and that means?” Dean questions, moving down the stairs to get a closer look. I stay close behind keeping a firm grip on his hand to yank him away in case something comes barreling out at us…or he gets the stupid idea to jump in.

                Cas steps in front of us to face the rift before stoically responding, “It’s a doorway to another world.”

                “Another world?” Sam questions, coming to stand on Dean’s other side to study the rift himself.

                Dean scoffs and looks at Cas in confusion, “What like Narnia?”

                Cas slowly turns to speak, “No. No, in there it’s Earth but…but different. It’s a…a alternate reality.”

                “Like that time we got zapped to another world and you were Polish.” Dean says with a chuckle and quick look toward Sam.

                “And you were on a soap opera, ‘Eric’.” I pipe in earning a grin from Sam.

                “Right,” He says quickly, “Cas, how did this get here?”

                Cas, who seemed utterly confused at our banter, stares back into the rift before he speaks, “The child being born, his power it seems to be puncturing the fabric of our universe.”

                “As if things weren’t already hectic enough with the kid and his psycho daddy, let’s just add in a portal to the multiverse, to keep things interesting.” I mutter, earning a disapproving look from Sam, “What? Am I wrong? Who knows what could come out of that thing! Thanos?”

                “The Brain Gremlin?” Dean adds.

                “The Brundlefly!”

                Dean nods in agreement, “Good pick.”

                “What exactly is on the other side, Cas?” Sam asks cautiously.

                “You don’t want to know.” Cas replies solemnly, continuing to stare into the abyss.

                We each glance at each other in silent communication, agreeing that there’s no way we can let this thing stay here without knowing what could come out of it. With our world already experiencing potentially the biggest bad that it’s ever known, we don’t need to add another to the mix. Sam and Dean nod to each other before Dean speaks up, “Probably. But we need to.”

                And without another word, Cas touches the portal and we’re whisked into the unknown.

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

                Immediately we land in the middle of what looks like a war zone. Bodies impaled on spikes taller than trees surround us, those not being used as shishkabobs are thrown haphazardly throughout the maze of destruction. Bright orange fire balls raining down from above and lightning flashes of bright crimson are the only color to be found in this place.

                “Whoa.” Sam breathes.

                “Cas, what is this?” Dean asks as we survey the area around us.

                “As I said, it’s Earth. But this Earth is locked in eternal war between Heaven and Hell. There are armies of angels fighting hordes of demons, and the few humans that remain are caught in between.” Cas begins to walk ahead, being careful to avoid the dead around us.

                “Humans? You mean there are people that are still kickin’ here?” I question as we follow behind him, making sure to step exactly where he did…just in case.

                Sam stops, “How do you know that?” He asks Cas, confusion littering his features.

                “A friend told me.”

A guilty look crosses Cas’ face as he glances in my direction, but just as quickly it’s gone. I make a mental note to question him about that later and look to Dean as he starts to speak.

“Oh, good. Now you’re making friends? That’s…” Irritation begins to creep up his face and he shakes his head, “Alright, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is this?”

Sam scoffs as he moves to look around even further, “I don’t know. I gotta say a, uh, hole in reality leading to a bombed out apocalypse world? I’m gonna say eleven.”

“Sounds right.”

Cas smiles softly, “You don’t have to worry. The child, he opened this door, I know he’ll close it.”

I laugh dryly, giving Cas a pointed look, “Yeah, Lucifer’s son, right? You sure about that?”

“I have faith.”

“Really? In your unborn baby-god?” Dean sarcastically quips.

“Yes.” Cas’ stern reply isn’t as effective in ending the conversation as it usually is, it just pisses me off.

“Well, then, you’re a dumbass.” I snap, “Lucifer has literally taken everything from us. He’s possessed Sam, tried to kill Dean, tortured me for days after he got out of the cage, and killed you and my dad before taking Sam to Hell! If you think for one second that this demon baby is gonna save the world, you’ve lost your damn mind. Everything that comes from that sorry, good for nothing idijit is pain, death, and destruction. I’m sorry, Cas, but you’re wrong about this.”

Cas’ frown deepened as he stared at me, guilt appearing on his face once more, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

Confusion colors my features and I choke out a quiet, “What?”

“Your dad. I’m sorry that he died.”

 “That was years ago, and you both came back the same day. There’s nothing to apologize for.” The guilty look remains on Cas’ face as I speak, so I add, “Seriously, if you’re gonna apologize for anything it should be for is believing in the Devil Spawn.”

“No, not that time.” He says sternly, “I’m sorry about Dick. I’m sorry that you never got the chance to say goodbye. I know you wish that you had.”

“This has nothing to do with-“ I start to respond, but am suddenly cut off by Sam yelling to get our attention. Yanking my pistol out of its holster and snapping my head in the direction of Sam’s stare, I notice a strange figure slowly walking toward us. Its head covered in a checkered hood, scarves around its neck….and a bulky tan jacket that I would recognize anywhere….

“Hey! Hey! Hands in the air!” Dean yells, raising his gun and preparing to take a shot.

Cas throws up an arm and pushes Dean’s hand down, “No, don’t.”

He looks at me again, the guilt from earlier crossing his face once more and then he nods. I can feel tears pricking my eyes as I take a small step forward meeting the figure as they finally reach us. He doesn’t move to remove the hood, but I know him all the same.

“Don’t shoot me, Old Man.” I whisper as I raise a hand to touch the jacket on his frame, “You had one of these where I’m from, too. The scarves are a new addition though, don’t think I ever saw you in that.”

He chuckles, and I feel the tears start to fall as I hear the voice of my childhood for the first time in five years, “Yeah, they’re itchy as all hell, too.” He says as he removes the scarf covering his face, “I hate the damn things.”

“Bobby?” I hear Sam’s reaction behind me, and I can only imagine the shock on Dean’s face, but I can’t make myself look away for even a second, afraid that if I do, he’ll disappear. His face is dirty, and his hair looks longer under his hat, but he doesn’t look much different than he did in our world. The bags under his eyes are the same, though I’m sure for a much darker reason here than they were back home. He’s talking to Sam, and I can vaguely understand that he has no clue who they are. My eyes widen and I look back toward the boys panicked. What if he doesn’t know me? What if I don’t exist here? Or worse, what if I do and he doesn’t know that I’m not his kid?

“Bobby, it’s us. Sam and Dean Winchester.” Dean explains, pointing between the two of them.

“You say that like it’s supposed to mean something, but…naw.” Bobby replies curtly, and turns back to me, “You alright, ‘Pea?” he asks softly.

I snap my gaze up to his face again, “You know me?”

He gives me a small smile and puts his hand on my shoulder, “I’d know you in any world, Chickpea.”

The tears freely flow down my cheeks as I reach up to touch the hand he placed on my shoulder, “You died in my world. And I didn’t even get to say good-bye.”

He sighs and looks down, “You died here, a couple years ago actually. I thought I would’ve eaten a bullet by now, but I got too many people relying on me. And you’d kick my ass in the afterlife if I did.”

I can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me at that and I shake my head, “Morbid old man.”

Dean clears his throat awkwardly and takes a step to stand beside me, “Listen, I know you two need this reunion, and I want you to have it. But maybe we could address a few of the other pressing matters first, you know?” He says, pointing toward the bodies next to us.

“What do you want to know?” Bobby asks.

We spend the next several minutes discussing the ins and outs of his world and ours, and compared to his, we live the high life. This is a world in which Sam and Dean Winchester never existed, therefore the Battle of the Brothers did occur, Michael whooped Lucifers fiery ass, and humanity was fucked because of it.

“Damn,” I mutter to Dean, “I was hoping there was another you running around here somewhere.”

He leans down and grins, “I thought you were thankful there was only one of me?”

I shrug and turn my head to whisper in his ear, “Maybe I would’ve liked to experience two.”

We both grin at each other, but before he can respond we’re interrupted by someone loudly clearing their throat.

“Is what I have to say not important to the two of you?” Bobby barks, causing Dean to stand up straight and step away from me, “That’s right boy, you stay at least three feet away from her while you’re in my world or I’ll have you by the balls.”

I stare at Dean blankly, blinking a few times, “You’re thirty-seven, what are you doing?”

He shuffles his feet and looks down, “Sorry, must be PTSD or something…Haven’t heard him yell at me like that in a while.”

Sam pats his back and chuckles, “It was good seeing you, Bobby. Hopefully this won’t be the last time.”

“We’ll see.” He responds gruffly, grabbing my arm as we turned to go, “I know you’re not my kid, but you look like my kid and you sound like my kid, so I love you. Please be safe out there.”

“I love you, too. And I’m pretty sure I need to worry about you being here more than you need to worry about me over there.” I say as I point back to the rift, “Thank you for not shooting me earlier. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.”

“If it was anybody else, I would have. You’re lucky that you’re you,” He says with a smile, “I hope I get to see you again soon, Kid.”

“Me too.” I fight back the tears forming in my eyes, I know what’s coming and even though I’ve spent every day regretting missing my dad’s final moments, I still don’t think I’m ready for good-bye, “What if we don’t say bye? Just see you later.”

He smiles and nods, “Can I hug you?”

“Absolutely.”

He wraps his arms around me, and I can’t stop myself from sobbing into his chest. We stay like for a few minutes until I feel the boys eyes on my back. I sit up and grin at him, “See you later, Old Man.”

His eyes glisten as he rests a hand on my cheek, “See you later, Chickpea. I love ya.”

“You too.” I reply as I turn and step through the portal.

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

Dean has his arm wrapped around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head, “You okay?” he asks, leaning away just enough to see my face.

“That’s a loaded question.” I say with a smile, “But I think I will be.”

 He pulls me close and rests his chin on my head as he sighs, “Good, cause we’ve got a lot of work to do. Mad Max World over there is gonna need to be taken care of.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got problems of our own to take care of first. He’ll be fine.” I state as I lean into him. Looking back toward the rift, I make eye contact with Cas who smiles awkwardly. I grin back and mouth, “Thank you.” To which he gives a little nod before turning to go inside to check on Kelly; Sam, Dean, and I tagging close behind.

“Oh, come on!” Dean exclaims as we come face to face with the King of Hell.

“Hello, Boys.” Crowley gives a little wave with his bandaged hand and smirks.

“Wait,” Sam starts, “How the hell did you-“

“I improvised. And lucky I did, it turns out I’m the answer to all your problems.” He says with a nod to the rift.

                Looks like ‘later’ is coming a lot sooner than planned.

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

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! And, I also hope it makes sense that Cas was feeling guilty about seeing Bobby first, I'm not sure how that comes across. I did this on microsoft word and just pasted it here so i hope it shows up ok. As always, I'm brushing the dust off my fanfic writing skills so please show mercy. lol

Tags: @lmhf1

[thedarkone121]

If Anne-Marie by accident or by some random incident, drank the HJ7 formula then what would her “Hyde” be like? Also how would Henry and Edward react?

Woo boy, Anon, you have unleashed an idea that has been sprouting in my mind ever since I read @leonenjoyer69’s story about Elias. Also, hi Leon, hope you don’t mind the mention 🤣

If Anne-Marie drank the potion, it would definitely be on accident. Not sure how she would drink it in the first place, considering Jekyll drilled it in her head to not touch/drink chemicals by herself. Still need to figure that part out.

But for Anne-Marie’s Hyde, I actually thought about what she would be like. For clarity sake, I’m going to call the regular Anne-Marie, Anne-Marie, and the Hyde Anne-Marie, Anne. I have not thought of a name for her yet.

Not going to lie, it was a bit difficult trying to think what Anne could be like since Anne-Marie definitely isn’t the repressed mess like her father is. I mean, she’s still a kid! Sure, she can put on a facade of the perfect daughter of the gentleman, but that’s only for a few hours when she and Jekyll are at a social gathering. Everywhere else, Anne-Marie is free to be her blunt, sarcastic, curious, music-and-horror loving self. Sure, she has some things about herself she wants to ignore but I don’t think she’s reached the level of Jekyll at this stage of her life.

But then I thought about those things she wants to ignore, and I realized all of that can be Anne.

Here’s some context: Anne-Marie was born between an agreement with a wealthy Englishman who needed an heir for his family and an immigrant woman named Isabella who wanted to make it by on a new land. She was originally supposed to give the baby to him and be set with money but he blew her off when he realized the baby was girl — and because he’s also a huge slime ball.

So Isabella was left with a baby that she didn’t want. A fact she made known to Anne-Marie throughout the girl’s earlier childhood. She didn’t even give Anne-Marie a proper name, often calling her “Nothing” because that’s all she amounted to her. And Anne-Marie was quick to learn that she would never have her mother’s love.

Their relationship was awful. It got to a point that Isabella abandoned her to an orphanage when the girl was five. Sure, Anne-Marie had friends but one by one, she lost them to greedy Orphanage heads that gave them away to a horrible working place.

Anne-Marie still has her scars from that time. Ones that she tries to ignore because why should she? She has everything now; a wonderful father, a home, food, and being able to pursue her love of music and other interests. What does she have to worry about?

…Losing everything. Anne-Marie might put on a strong facade but she’s still a kid. A kid who is afraid to lose everything she has.

And that’s what Anne is. Anne is all of Anne-Marie’s childish fears brought worth. Not only is she physically younger than Anne-Marie, but she acts more childish as well. Anne is a bit of a crybaby, crying from either the transformations, the pain from her scars, or the fear of being unloved and unwanted again. While Anne-Marie understands that her father is busy and can’t spend every moment with her, Anne is desperate for her father’s time and hugs.

If you thought Anne-Marie was a koala bear before then you haven’t seen Anne.

Now is the time to mention that another way that HJ7 would affect her is that there’s no communicate between the alter egos. Whether it’s due to her young age, her own trauma, or the fact Anne-Marie is a little more honest with herself, Anne-Marie and Anne can’t appear when the other is in control. It’s like the other disappears as soon as the one in body takes control. This is because I like to think the HJ7 is like a truth serum to Anne-Marie, so she’s essentially the same person but is more open to her vulnerability.

That said, learning about that scared the absolute hell out of Jekyll and Hyde. The two had already felt guilty enough since they did caused the Chemical Accident, but not only that and she accidentally ingested the potion, but they may as well accidentally erased her from existence! Basically, the two thought they killed her. The two spent good while arguing before they realized that they can still get their daughter back.

Hyde absolutely does not know what to do with Anne. He’s used to riling Anne-Marie up and getting her mad until she’s all out of energy. He doesn’t know what to do when Anne starts crying! A lot of Hyde’s interactions with Anne boils down to nervous-first-time Dad energy before he begrudgingly accepts his fate as a tree for her kola climbing skills.

Jekyll is actually more equipped to deal with Anne because a lot of her behavior reminded him of Anne-Marie during her first weeks after the adoption. Granted, Anne was more a cryer but the constant need for cuddles is still the same. Jekyll is actually hit with the good ole parent nostalgia, since Anne is so small and he ends up crying over the fact his little girl had gotten so big. Hyde tells him to get it together.

That said, those two are even more protective because of it. Especially when they realized just how much Anne-Marie’s mother had left her with emotional scares.

Hyde: If I ever meet this woman, I’m stabbing her with an umbrella.

Jekyll: HYDE! We’re going to have a very LONG discussion with her on why Annie doesn’t want to see her, that’s it! No murder!

Hyde: Alright, fine! …Can I at least get to call her foul names?

Jekyll: …

That’s all I got! I hope this answers your questions! Also, if anyone has any ideas on what I could call the he Hyde Anne-Marie, please let me know!

[gogandmagog]

so what are your favorite books/authors besides lm montgomery...I maybe just maybe am tailoring my goodreads tbr for next year 👀

“I love a book that makes me cry.”

– Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

And apparently me too??? I’m just over here adding this grossly popular quote right at the top of this list after having wrote it up, because when I look back over these all-star books that rushed to be highlighted, I realise that… every last one of these moved me to tears.

But I’ve read them all half-a-dozen of times, at least! 🥺 So, here we go, here we go!

Beloved by Toni Morrison. This one knocked me out, good and proper. It’s such a masterpiece. It starts in the 1870’s of Ohio and follows a former slave and her daughter. It’s got a strong Haunted House vibe (there is a ghost), and it opens up with both something quite Maud-would-appreciate-this-ish and quite chilling; "124 WAS SPITEFUL. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims." Mind, some people haaate this book, and feel quite strongly about it — but I like prosey books (this is the top complaint as far as I can tell), and this one is certainly that. Some very harrowing descriptions of the abuse of slaves, to be sure, but I personally have never been one to turn away from that ugliness, because remembering and understanding its weight feels important.

Stoner by John Williams. This is a little bit like ‘life sucks, and then you die’ — hyper precise about mundanities and is frankly a huge red flag to see sitting on a dudes bookshelf but… I loved it so much. 😅 It’s quiet, but poignant, and in its simplest rendering is about a very bored English Professor falling greatly in love with someone who is not his wife. Keep in mind, I’m hardly a girl who thinks infidelity is either cute or excusable… but this book firmly lodged itself in my heart, anyway.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I’m a HUGE BIG HUGE BIG HUGE Baldwin fan. And this is the book that started it, for me. Like, this novel will fully pull you apart, and give you a wallowing. I’d say it's even a great atmospheric read for winter, and I also even want to go ahead and say this book is considered a classic, but I could be making that up; maybe it’s just a classic to me. The plot surrounds the struggles of a bisexual man in late 1950’s Paris; he’s just proposed to his girlfriend, but he goes on and has a relationship with a male bartender. There’s race, misogyny, and class issues here too, but this book isn’t so heavy that it becomes cumbersome to read. It’s actually quite beautiful. 

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Another prosey book. Maybe the most prosey book I’ve ever read… you don’t really get a break from it. But it’s so lush, and visceral, and the word play is sometimes so genius that you don’t mind getting fully lost in it (at least, I didn't!). This book could be labeled “tragedy” because it’s sometimes rather bleak – it's about fraternal Indian twins, Kerala history, and the lasting impact of childhood traumas, as well as the exploitation of the weak, really. But, there’s high points too!

Elsewhere if you haven’t read Peter Pan as an adult, I urge and beg of you to. J.M. Barrie (that’s James Matthew Barrie, and I will never stop conspiring that this is intentional of Montgomery and James Matthew Blythe) is right up there with Lucy Maud in the realm of exquisite and sweet storytelling that transcends age.

Of course Shirley Jackson, but you’re already a reader there! Fanny Howe has been an obsession of mine lately, too — I think I’ve posted her twice here and here — despite her being a poet, which is something of a fault that I’m being very charitable about overlooking (only half-joking, I really usually don’t care for poetry [except you Mary Oliver], not even LMM’s or by extension Anne or Walter’s either). Eve Babitz and Joan Didion are close personal friends (okay, it’s one-sided).

Anyone else that I read over and over are so classic that it’s almost white noise/nonsense to list them. I think the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is my all-time never-to-be-defeated, and Lolita (despite its very uncomfortable content) by Vladimir Nabokov is a close second (I once saw Lolita cited as being ‘a love letter to the English language’ and I frankly agreed with my whole chest), and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (his essays are things of brilliance too) takes bronze. I also obviously throw myself at the feet of the likes of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll and Fyodor Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf and Kafka and Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens and James Joyce, and all of Those Guys too. Genuinely. I also wholly stan Washington Irving. He’s most famous for Sleepy Hallow, which I’ll link right here because if you tap on it and read even a single line, I think you’ll be like, ‘oh right, he is sensational.’ And this quality continues throughout his catalogue!

Signing off with a true and sincere hope that you’ll consider sharing your TBR list with everyone, and maybe some recommendations of your own, too!!! Your opinion means worlds!!!

[kitkatt0430]

Ah, it's the episode inspired by, amongst other things, Mary Kay.

I had a friend in elementary school who, unfortunately, I lost touch with when she was home schooled for junior high and high school. When I saw her again while I was in college, she was working selling Mary Kay. I knew even then that Mary Kay was basically a pyramid scheme type mlm but I had no idea what to say to her about it. She was really excited and, of course, tried to sell me a few cosmetics. Which I declined.

I don't really know what happened to her from there. I hope she did okay for herself and found a job less likely to be predatory towards her, but... I'll never really know. And it's disturbing seeing the way the pregnant woman at the start of the episode is being manipulated into staying in a job that's already causing her to bleed out financially. I hope nothing like that every happened to the girl I used to know.

Now, personal feelings and experiences aside, I really like how Sophie gets pulled into this one. It's her past come back to haunt her again, this time by another old friend who went to prison when she didn't. He's asking her for help with his daughter, implied to be the pregnant woman from the start of the episode.

Poor Breanna, stuck in the accountant office. It really is a horrifying cubicle + uniforms experience. And then even the security access for this place is a pyramid scheme. *ugh*

Brom-com, a bromance comedy *giggles* I remember that being really amusing. And Harry making vrrrrm vrrrrm noises while sitting in Eliot's car.

Sophie pointing out how the Magic Baby culture uses a classic cult technique of love bombing. *nods* yeah, it really is basically a cult, isn't it?

The Bromance Begins. Harry has a ferret on his lip. I mean a fake mustache.

It's a ferret, I swear it's a ferret.

Parker is having so much fun being the behind the scenes person on the Bromance. "Flirt with him." Harry is a bit confuzzled but goes with it and it's so funny.

Sophie playing the room to get the five goals of success nets her two and then she figures out the other three from self help books. But the mark has seen through her so she's gotta figure out something to pivot to now.

(I love the guy that Breanna made a comment about the security structure being pyramid shaped to because now he's back and is like 'you know, it's weird, but our finances are pyramid shaped too...')

[magicofsimplestories]

0. Introductions

The land of Pleasantview. It’s hard to find a person, who doesn’t dream of building a career in one of its shiny skyscrapers, moving into a cozy house of its calm suburbans and taking a stroll in between the peaceful greenery of its vast parks. But is there something more to it? Is there something that is hidden behind this polished image of ultimate happiness and breathtaking success? Is there something that never leaves the borders of the neighborhood stories? 

Not So Pleasant

They’ve always seemed to be an exemplary family: famous football player Daniel with his successful business lady Mary-Sue and their twin-princesses Angela, the bright mind, and Lilith, the creative soul.

So when Daniel moved out unexpectedly the neighborhood of Willow Creek couldn’t let the case without digging. Soon enough the rumours of Daniel cheating on Mary started to spread, and the exemplary image was left shattered in pieces.

What other secrets keep the Pleasants? And will Mary ever be able to trust a man again?

Broken Souls

Brandi never regretted leaving the luxury of her parents behind in order to move in with her high school sweetheart Skip Broke. She had no other choice. Her parents planned a shiny academic future for her, so they would never allow their 18-year-old daughter to keep her and Skip’s baby. 

The Brokes traveled enough around Pleasantview, with Skip doing his best to provide for his wife and his little son Dustin. After a long time of moving around, Skip has found a permanent job at the Landgraab facility and the family has finally been able to settle down in a tiny trailer house in one of the modest corners of Willow Creek. That’s where they had their second son, cutie Beau. And that’s where Brandi has lost her Skip to a “tragic and mysterious facility accident”. 

Will Brandi be able to raise her sons alone? And what troubles will Dustin get into while trying to deal with his heavy loss?

A Fresh Start

After months of unsuccessful attempts to conceive their second child, Leo and Lina have come to a conclusion that a calm suburban area might be the solution to their difficulty. So they changed the stuffy San Myshuno Business Quarter to the Copperdale fresh air, leaving Leo whining from time to time about spending a whole hour daily to get to his office and back. 

To Lina’s mind, apart from the fresh air there were more bonuses that Copperdale has offered her family. The local high school has always been famous for gifting its students a lucky ticket to the best universities of the countries, and Lina couldn’t dream of a better opportunity for her eldest daughter from the previous marriage Nina. 

On top of that, Copperdale was significantly further from San Sequoia, making Nina spend much less time with her rock-star father Niel Dwyer. 

But will the distance help Lina get rid of Niel’s troublesome and careless influence on Nina? And will Copperdale finally become Lina's and Leo’s family happiness corner? 

[Next]

---

Vikie’s notes: With my recent nostalgia about The Sims 2 lore, I’ve been dreaming of creating TS2 world in The Sims 4. Apparently it has already been done by violetpixels in the TS2 to TS4 Uberhood save file.

Currently I’m focused on the two iconic TS2 families - the Pleasants and the Brokes, along with my Gross-Dwyer family whom I decided to give a fresh start after I had lost any interest in going on with “My Willow Creek Teens” story. However, later on I might add a couple of other preexisting TS2 households to the “Neighbourhood Stories” (with proper introductions, of course).

[manyfandomocs]

New HP OC Introductions

Okay so these three are revived ocs from a long long time ago (like some of my original Harry Potter ocs), huge thanks to @randomestfandoms-ocs for hearing me talk about them for the past couple days and for helping (they are all Slytherins when I first made HP ocs I only made Slytherin’s and I did not wanna change that for these guys)

Jacqueline Yaxley (Inde Navarrette FC), Catherine Ainsworth ship. Pureblood, Slytherin. Daughter of Corban Yaxley, she has been raised by deeply devoted Death Eater parents that do not settle for less than perfection. She has been raised with all the “right” people, and any time she steps out of line it is swiftly dealt with, which unfortunately for her is often. She knows her place is supposed to be with other purebloods, not mingling with muggleborns and blood traitors. But when Harry Potter starts Hogwarts and things get more and more serious, Jacqueline needs to decide what side she’s truly taking

Daniel Potter (Jack Wolfe FC), George Weasley ship. Half-blood, Slytherin. Daniel was born just after James and Lily graduated Hogwarts, he was three years old when he lost his parents and his baby brother forever. Daniel wasn’t part of the prophecy, so Dumbledore didn’t send him to his aunt and uncle and frankly, didn’t worry too much about it. He’d go with Sirius like James and Lily intended. Except Sirius didn’t get to take him, instead Sirius tracked down Peter and, by all accounts, killed him. So Mary Macdonald, already dealing with the grief of losing her friends, decided to take Daniel in. And she raised him, telling him everything about his family and when Daniel went to Hogwarts, he made friends, he didn’t care for being just “The Brother of The Boy Who Lived” but he was happy enough. When it was time for Harry to finally start, no one was more excited than Daniel, he finally could meet the brother he’s been waiting a lifetime to see.

Evanora Malfoy (Maddie Hasson FC), Potentially James Potter and Lily Evans ship. Pureblood and Slytherin. The younger sister of Lucius Malfoy, Evanora’s whole life had been decided from the moment she was born. She would marry Rabastan Lestrange, continue the pureblood family line and be the perfect wife. She didn’t have a choice in the matter and why would she want to? Her parents knew best. But then she gets paired with Lily Evans for potions, and though she knows she should request a change since Lily is a muggleborn, she is also the smartest in their class, and good grades are very important. So she stays, which may end up changing her life.

There is potentially a Salazar Slytherin descendant I’m working on and I’m sure I’ll think of more at some point but these are the three revived (and heavily reworked) ocs

(And gonna tag @daughter-of-melpomene because Harry Potter)

[sizzleissues]

First contact (Origins)

(Twenty years after the miraculous were retired, a new bad guy is back in town. Some one has to stop him)

(2876 words)

The car ride was a little tenser than Emma would have liked on her birthday. A girl only turned sixteen once, she deserved her familys’ full attention and for her mom not to be whisper-shouting at her dad about accepting a call.

“It’s been sixteen years since we talked properly and twenty one years since I’ve seen her! She can’t just show up again.”

“They're all back in Paris. They want to make up for lost time.” Her dad tried to soothe. Her mom, Marinette, the scariest spoon of sugar in Paris, shook her head furiously.

“She didn’t even try to talk to me after the accident.”

“Mari, please. Just give her a shot.”

Marinette’s hand flexed over the accept call button on the car's dashboard for a moment before she pressed yes, making her voice light and cheery as the caller gasped on the other end.

“Hey! You answered. I mean of course you answered, how are you?” She was speaking french, fluently and with a fast joy but there was new hesitancy from years of dormancy. Emma couldn’t believe she was hearing the voice that had only ever existed on a voicemail she was not to tell mom about. 

“Hi, Alya. I’m doing well. You’ve landed, how is it?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. Nothing’s changed. We’re just waiting for a taxi.”

“We have space. We could swing by on our way to the roller rink.” Her dad said, earning a glare from her mom. Adrien ignored it and continued. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Really?” Alya asked.

“Yeah, really?” Marinette said.

“Yup. Look I see you know.” Emma saw his smile in the rear view mirror, that mischievous glint to his eyes as he definitely planned their route to pass by. When it came to her mom’s old friends, he was always scheming to get them to talk. Outside, a little apart from the other families waiting at the taxi bay, Alya, Nino and their kid stood waiting. 

It was a little annoying that her birthday had been hijacked by the dramatic return of the Lahiffe family. At least she might learn why it was so dramatic. All she knew was they left at nineteen, going back to Alya’s family and things were great for five years until her mom suffered an accident and lost parts of her memory. Then she refused to explain why this meant they could no longer talk. Or even what the accident was. 

The car pulled in and her dad got out to greet them. He motioned to Emma to move into the back of the family car and make room for the Lahiffes. Marinette took a minute to sort out the scowl on her face, smoothing down her shirt as the families’ luggage was loaded into the back. The door beside Emma opened and the Lahiffes’s very pretty daughter stared at her. Her appearance was expectedly messy from an eight hour flight, hair escaping her top knot and her baby curls no longer so neatly gelled down. She wore chunky black glasses and a mathlete team sweater that was a size or two too big. Her fingers slipped out the long sleeves to give her a little wave and smile that had her heart stuttering. 

“Hi.” She choked out. “I’m Emma.”

“Florence, or Flo. And I can speak French.” Her accent was adorable, French sounding as natural as English on her tongue. Emma smiled instead of answering, not trusting her voice wouldn’t break again. Her flustered blunder had been mistakenly read as hesitant English, which she spoke fluently with her cousins in England nearly every second day. 

“I’ll just move into the back.” Emma unstrapped herself and twisted around to pull the seat down. The three seats at the back were a little trickier to access and she tried to move as effortlessly as possible, already conscious of Flo’s eyes on her back. She slid in and Flo climbed in after, pulling the seat in front of them back up so her parents could get in next. 

The door shut and the immediate silence was awkward. For the four people in front, it was the first time being in the same country, let alone the same room, in twenty years. 

Emma tapped on her thighs, waiting for someone to break the quiet. When no one did she took it upon herself. 

“So this is mighty awkward.”

“Emma!” Her mom chided.

“You are not allowed to be awkward on my birthday.” Emma continued. 

“It's your birthday?” Alya asked, turning around to face her. “I’m so sorry, are we interrupting?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t mind.”

“How old are you?” Flo asked. Emma paused for a moment to congratulate herself on successfully starting a conversation between the adults about boring adult stuff.

“Just turned 16. So older than you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I-.” Right, knowing that seems stalkerish. Which she wasn’t! “I follow your instagram. You celebrated your fifteenth like six months ago. Which I only remember because you went to a Kitty Section show and I always wanted to go-. I’m going to shut up now.”

Flo giggled, her cheeks shaped like apples, dimpled at either side of a wide smile. Emma wanted to burn the image of her smile in her brain. 

“No, it's fine. I also follow your insta, you’re like an award winning roller derby player?”

Emma blushed, burying her face in her hands. “Oh, god. Please don’t tell me you saw the pictures.”

“What's wrong with them?”

“My face is smashed in for one.”

“But you’re so proud of yourself in them. And the reels of you skating!- They’re mesmerizing.” Emma could believe she was watching them right then by how her eyes glowed.

“Oh god stop. You’re being too nice. You’re the impressive one. A genius and an athlete. Haven’t you literally run like five marathons?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a genius. If it isn’t math I’m completely lost.” She laughed, her turn to go shy and hide her face. “I haven’t run in a while either. Moving has made it difficult, ya know.”

Emma didn’t really know. She’d lived in Paris her entire life and was slightly jealous of those who lived elsewhere. Paris was haunted nowadays even if the adults all seemed determined to show just how much the city had progressed. The summer she’d spent in London had been so strange because that shadow of the miraculous was absent. She wondered if Flo felt it, she knew Alya and Nino did now they were back. Her dad dealt with it by engaging in nostalgia. Weirdly, her mom was the only adult she knew who didn’t bear the weight of the miraculous.

“I’m sure you’ll get back into it.”

-

They dropped off the Lahiffes and made it to the roller rink just ten minutes after her party was supposed to start. A new record, all things considered. 

She couldn’t say she had a lot of friends to come to her party, cursing herself for not asking Flo to join when she had the chance. The Couffaine cousins, Clover and Léon, were friends since childhood and she’d been pretty much unsuccessful at making friends in school apart from Jules who came as a package deal on her first day. They’d walked up to her on their first day, said ‘hi’ and then refused to leave her side since.

She’d chosen a rink with an 80s theme, the lights refusing to be anything other than neon and the decor a navy that let the brightly coloured skates and disco rink be like a beacon at the centre. Jules had suggested going all out in retro wear, and they were immediately visible in their neon green leotard and black leggings, fuzzy pink sweatbands around their wrists and ankles. They’d fluffed up their short hair to impossible heights, making them look like a maniac dance instructor who’d escaped the 80s with a vengeance. 

They ran up to her, arms flailing at their sides until they met in the middle and hugged her with a consistently surprising level of strength.

“Dude, new record.” Jules said, breaking the hug to fist bump her. “Clo, owes me a euro.”

“I told you to stop betting on me.”

“You make it easy. You are too predictable.” They took her hand and led her away from her parents. “Loving the outfit. Clover refused to wear something cool as usual.”

Emma smirked, seeing the cousins hanging by the rink. Clover wore her usual black hoodie and shorts combo and Léon shone in a teal flared jumpsuit. Emma wore a loose fitting white t-shirt and a matching pink sports bra and leggings. Her hair was done up in an asymmetric pony tail and frizzed to a ridiculous volume.

“So you are all insane then.” Clover said as they joined them. 

“You’re just boring Clo.” Jules teased. Clover rolled her eyes, walking away from them. “Where are you going?”

“To get roller skates? Your clinginess is frankly ridiculous.” Clover kept walking as Jules caught up to her. 

“So.” Léon started, the quietest of the friend group. “Bets that they’re together by summer’s end.”

Emma slapped him away, watching as her two friends walked side by side, arms just brushing. “Stop it with the betting. And they won’t get together until the last day of collegé because they both are too stubborn,” she added.

“That’ll be hellish for us, won’t it?”

“Yup.”

Clover returned without Jules, shrugging when they asked where they were. “They got a phone call.”

Léon accepted that but Emma sensed something a little more in it. Clover looked a little nervous about it but it could also be the fact they were going skating. They got their skates on (Emma’s were her own while the others rented) and got out onto the rink just in time for disco hour. The music pumped through speakers at all ends of the room and the rink was flooded with people trying their best to dance while skating. She caught a glimpse of her parents struggling hand in hand to skate down the full length. Others organised a conga line which quickly collapsed when a stray kid rammed into it.

She kept beside Clover, waiting for Jules to come back before she left her alone. Léon was already out in the centre, thrusting and twirling for all to see.

“I’m worried about Jules. They aren’t back yet.”

“They said not to wait on them. Go skate, I’ll be fine.”

Emma let go of her and Clover wobbled in a definitely not fine way but forced a smile, shooing her away. It was difficult getting into it at first, her thoughts still on Jules but soon she was weaving through the crowd toward Léon. They linked up and danced along, showing off the moves they’d been practising all summer.

She’d nearly forgotten completely about Jules when the music came to a deafening stop and the crowd collectively turned their heads in the same direction, whispering confusion spreading quickly. Emma looked to Léon who shrugged and helped her push through the crowd toward where they looked. Someone clapped at the end of a dark corridor at the back of the rink where the bathrooms were. From the corner of her eye she saw her dad freeze up, more terrified than anyone around him.

From the darkness, an eight foot tall figure emerged. Their head was a disco ball, glittering sinisterly as it stepped into the neon light. They spoke with no mouth, pointing a disco ball topped sceptre at the crowd.

“Why have you stopped dancing?! This is a party, is it not?”

“Akuma!” Someone screamed in the crowd and the person turned their eyeless face toward the voice.

“Who was that?”

People scattered, knocking into Emma and Léon as they tried to get as far away from the akuma and the person who was scared enough to scream. At the other side, her dad dragged her mom away, whispering something desperately into her ear. The person who’d screamed, wailed now, blubbering about a family, a woman around forty who probably lived through the days of Hawkmoth.  

“Don’t cry! I only want everyone to have fun.” The akuma said, stepping over the barrier and approaching until it loomed over the woman. 

Emma had seen the news coverage of akuma attacks, she’s heard all about the old heroes and read comics retelling their adventures. But never, never, had she imagined the paralysing fear in her bones as they watched this woman scream and beg and the akuma reach down with a spindly limb to touch her forehead. As a kid she always thought she’d do something if akumas ever returned. Seeing it for real, she felt ready to melt to the floor, her knees turning to mush under her. 

Léon fared no better, pale as paper with tears streaming down his face. The whole lot of them were cowards.

From nowhere, a roller skate hit the akuma squarely on the forehead. It bounced off and fell down with a thump. The akuma lifted its hand from the woman to stare in the direction it came from.

Another hit its shoulder.

“Everyone! Evacuate!” A thunderous voice cried from behind a crowd. Just like that, people were moving, shoving and pushing to get away. The akuma had all but forgotten about the woman and instead searched for the person assaulting it with roller skates.

Léon tugged at her hand but Emma stayed rooted, almost as curious as the akuma to who was the brave soul standing up to it. 

Another shoe hit its hip and it screeched.

Emma saw him before the akuma did. Her dad, Adrien Dupain-Cheng, one last roller skate clutched in his outstretched hand and the fiercest expression she’d ever seen on his face. He launched it at the akuma and then bolted away.

Emma skated after him. The akuma wielded its sceptre and sent a blast of light in his direction. She changed course, getting the akuma’s attention on her.

“You suck!” She shouted. The akuma screamed, turning its sceptre toward her. Years of roller skating made her nimble, dodging each blast and drawing it away from her dad.

She reached the barrier, hopping over it and sinking down. Her dad happened to run by, more skates in his arms. He paled at the sight of her.

“You need to evacuate.” He took her hand and dragged her away from the rink, down the same corridor the akuma had emerged from.

“It was about to hit you with its beam. I had to save you.”

“I don’t matter. You need to be safe.” They stopped at the women’s bathrooms and he pushed her inside. Emma tried to protest but the look on his face shocked her to silence. He looked furious for the first time in her life.

“How are you going to stop it?”

He paused for a nearly imperceptible moment. “I- That doesn’t matter. I’ll keep it at bay until the authorities arrive.”

“They don’t know what to do-.” She was cut off as he closed the door on her. She banged her hand against it, screaming at him to come back. The door wouldn’t budge, barricaded by something.

She whipped around, kicking a stall door with a frustrated cry. Had he not seen her out there? They could have done it together, like how they used to pretend when she was younger. 

Something black caught in the corner of her eye, a little box placed by the sink. She picked it up, noting the red sigil on the front and the worn nature of the box. With nothing better to do now, she opened it, jumping back and slipping on her skates when a ball of dark energy escaped it.

She hit the ground, thudding against the stall door. The ball of darkness looked down at her with green eyes.

“WHAT ARE YOU!”

“Rude.” It said, “I’m a kwami. I thought you were like a big fan of mine.”

Emma’s mouth jaw dropped open. “A kwami? As in the thing that grants miraculous holders their powers!”

“Uh, yeah. And that ring that’s now lying on the ground, is my miraculous. Or yours now.”

“Mine? Wait, for real?”

The kwami stared at her for a moment. He looked a little disappointed. Emma ignored him, picking up the black box again from where it had fallen. She winced as she moved, the pain from falling finally hitting her. A black ring with a green paw print sat in the red cushion. 

“This.” She began. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Something she’d only imagined in her wildest dreams “This is the cat miraculous. Why me?”

“Nepotism.” The kwami answered plainly. Then he froze. “I mean, destiny. I always get those words confused.”

“So that’s really an akuma out there?”

“Yup. And you’d better go deal with it before Tikki’s holder gets the head start. All you gotta say is Plagg, claws out.”

Emma slid the ring on, gasping as it changed to be a silver spiral around her finger. She felt it in her soul, a space being filled she didn’t know was empty. The power of destruction cool on her skin.

“Plagg, claws out.”

-

I might write the part 2, you guys gotta like it though first. This is a part of my futures AU, which I’ll go tag properly now so you can find the other stuff related to it. Any fic I’ll post for this will be mostly out of order, just random key events or explorations of character’s as I see them now. Emma, Adrien centric but the love square is still there.

[desertdollranch]

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Last week, Canyon Creek Guest Ranch opened its October pumpkin patch! There’s no better way to celebrate the joys of autumn than to be outside, appreciating the harvest and all that the land gives to us.

Admission to the ranch is free, so that everyone who wants to can enjoy it. You only pay for what you pick, eat, or take home as a souvenir. 

Grannie has been putting up signs along the roadsides directing visitors to the ranch. Will your doll stop by?

Grannie, her daughter Kendra, and Kendra’s five daughters Jillian, Sierra, Leanne, Willa, and Evelyn have been planning this for two years, since the last time they hosted a pumpkin patch. That occasion wasn’t nearly as big and full of activities as it is this year!

Although the children loved helping the pumpkins grow and counting down the days until the patch opened, there is so much to do here besides visiting the fields.....

.... But that’s definitely a good place to start!

Leanne drives the old-fashioned wooden horse-drawn wagon (a family heirloom) that takes visitors to the pumpkin patch. 

It’s not too far away to walk, but if you’re carrying a lot of pumpkins, it’s much easier to hop in the wagon with them and catch a ride back to have them weighed and priced.

If you do want to walk, like Katie and Ashlyn did, you can borrow one of the little red wagons parked at the edge of the field. 

Katie imagines what it would be like if she had to roll her pumpkin out of the patch--it would take hours! She has her heart set on this big one. 

Tally also fell in love with a big pumpkin. 

Cara hasn’t decided yet which one is her favorite. 

She loves the strange appearance of this big one, but that would take a long time to carve.

Maybe she’ll try a smaller one?

This one is perfect!

Ellen and her little sisters Kendall and Frida picked so many, that the wagon is almost too heavy to pull! Ellen hasn’t noticed yet that Frida got in the wagon and is making it a little heavier.

The pumpkin patch is only the first stop on the hayride. It will also transport you to the apple orchards to pick apples off the trees. 

Mari, Emerson, and Geraldine are stopping for apples first before getting their pumpkins.

Iris is already at the orchard, filling her bucket with Granny Smith apples.

She tries one right off the tree. 

It tastes like sunshine, rain, and woodsmoke. 

She can’t bear to take home only a few...... she needs a bigger bucket!

Fernanda has her crate full of beautiful Gala and Golden Delicious apples.

When you’re done picking pumpkins or apples, you can hop back onto the wagon and let it take you back to the ranch, where you’re sure to find something else fun to do! 

You can stop by the snack bar, where Layla is offering lots of homemade goodies: kettle corn, caramel apples, fresh cider, and apple cider donuts.

Kendall got a caramel apple.

There are also lots of yummy things to take home with you. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, green chile tamales, or fresh produce grown right there on the ranch. 

Jane takes her donut into the corn maze, so that if she gets lost at least she won’t be hungry. 

Kendra is overseeing the roasting station. 

She’s roasting red chiles, corn on the cob, and piñon nuts in a traditional adobe oven called a horno (pronounced OR-no).

Nearby, Mosi is checking out the petting zoo, with its many friendly baby animals. All of them are adoptable from several local animal rescues! 

You can get your picture taken at this photo stand-in as a souvenir!

Or get a souvenir photo posing with some pumpkins.

What grand finale could possibly make this day at the pumpkin patch even better? 

Naturally...

A performance by the Dusty Mountain Dollies! They’re only the best all-girl bluegrass band in town, AND they’re always happy to perform for special events!  

[blogger360ncislarules]

Before Young Sheldon‘s Georgie and Mandy tie the knot, they’ll have to find a place to live.

Now that Meemaw’s house has been decimated by a tornado, Georgie, his future bride and their newborn daughter CeeCee are living in Sheldon’s bedroom — and they’re already feeling a bit cramped. Alas, they’ve got no place else to go — that is, except for Jim and Audrey’s house. 

Midway through Thursday’s final season premiere, Georgie relays an offer from his future in-laws for he, Mandy and the baby to come live with them — an offer that Mandy squashes like a bug. “She’s pretty adamant that she would never do it,” executive producer Steve Holland tells TVLine. “Although, six or seven people in one house, with one bathroom, can start to wear thin after a while.

Below, the EP weighs in on other premiere developments, including Missy’s dramatic transformation and Meemaw’s worst nightmare come true. 

TVLINE | Missy makes good on her promise to George Sr. to do better, and keeps the house in order in Mary’s absence. How long will this transformation last? I mean, she’s still a 13-year-old girl. We talked about this a lot going into the [final] season because she had some trouble last season. Where we landed was that after the tornado and that big moment with Dad, it felt like she had turned a little bit of a corner. Especially with Meemaw’s house being destroyed and Mary being away, this was her chance to step up. It was also fun for us to write Missy in a different shade, and to let Raegan [Revord] play a side of Missy that she hadn’t gotten to do before. But in the second episode, she starts to realize that being Mom isn’t quite as fun as it seemed at first.

TVLINE | Connie will have to foot the bill if she wants to rebuild her house. Where does she even begin? How does someone come back from this? It was a way for us to mix things up and say, “She could just rebuild and be back in that house, but what’s the fun in that? If we can smush everyone into one house, or smoosh everyone into a couple of locations and mix things up, that’ll be fun for us.” It also gave us [new] things for Meemaw. You’ll see this season that this is not her only setback. As she becomes more reckless in her attempts to get back what she lost, she invites more trouble into her life.

TVLINE | Mary doesn’t have any idea what to do with herself. Sheldon’s preoccupied, and she isn’t needed back home. Will this continue to weigh on her? It’s an interesting thread for her. Because you’re right, at first she wants to come back home — Mary likes to be involved and be the one who’s there [in times of crisis] — and being separated from that is hard for her, and it’s coupled with the fact that Sheldon is older now, and he’s at this university where he doesn’t really need her. She’s sort of having to figure out where her place is, and that threads throughout the season, even when she comes back, because Missy has stepped up. It’s not that she’s unhappy that the house isn’t falling apart, but she steps back into this world where she’s not as needed as she thought she would be. Obviously, she’s still needed — she’s the mom of the house — but in her mind, she’s feeling a little displaced.

[darkestspring]

[ maris tried unaliving herself but failed, so she lives but is still mourning! I shifted Argella’s age a little lower ‘cause she’s bby- and I refuse to let her grow up. the blacks are still alive but lost, and westeros hates their guts, and the greens are all alive and won. ]

𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐄𝐍 (9) had woken from the storms as her purple eyes opened and noticed she isn’t home, or on the battlefield where she was stabbed by her grandfather, but somewhere rather unfamiliar. And she feels… empty.

Gaelithox. She already feels the adoration and elation coming from the she-dragon. But most importantly… relief. So Argella allowed the purring dragon nuzzle her the big snout against her weak body. It work! It worked! They brought you back as promised!

“What worked?” Her voice felt dry and it came out as a whisper. It hurts. Everything feels unnatural everywhere.

Her purple dragon didn’t say anything but gave her a adoring expression.

“I wanna go home… take me home.” Argella mumbles and exerted her body to climb onto Gaelithox who shifted her whole body lower to help. She didn’t even need to be commanded to fly as the princess feels the raindrops falling onto her head with the sound of thunder clapping above herself.

This will take a week to get home… she allows her body to begin resting and vision became black.

Maris has been depressed and kept under close watch for the past two moons since her suicide attempt. Yet she wanted nothing more to see her baby again. Just to see that precious face before saying goodbye at least.

But Baelon didn’t believed when word got sent out when Gaelithox was spotted flying over to Westeros.

And not just the she-dragon herself. But with his little girl’s body!

So he, Maris, and everybody who has heard quickly ran out to the open at the red keep to see The Purple Queen landing just in time.

Most of them panicked once they saw her supposedly corpse slipping off the saddle. Criston reacted first and immediately caught her just in time as her limp form onto his arms. Wet and smelt of dragon.

Everyone thought Gaelithox had decided to bring her corpse back for closure and a proper funeral. But they were shock to see the princess’ breathing but heavily unconscious.

It seems the gods of Old Valyria had decided to bring their little jewel back… but at what cost?

[ feel free to add in baelon and maris’ reaction down below- but the next ask will involve our bby waking up tomorrow after I wake up :’) so goodnight babes ]

- 💜 Anon.

Oh god, they'd both be so relieved, baelon refuses to let go of her as he just sobs intonher tiny body.

Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive. His brain keeps repeating, his baby is alive. She's okay.

Maris would be right next to her husband, watching over her daughter with hee tears Neverending.

Baelon, would turn to gaelithox and pet her going "good girl." Before ordering that they give gaelithox all the sheep she wants.

Baelon would be so struck with relief.

[countrymusiclover]

9 - Tonya’s Interogation

Part 10

Other Hoyt’s Off Limits

@dragonixfrye @stoneyggirl2

During the drive I just stared out the window since it was late at night when we got the call from the camp. Watching the trees we pass on the road I glanced out the corner of my eye at Beau. “Good for nothing ex…”

He was gripping the steering wheel clearly frustrated which was a side I haven’t seen before from him. “Beau.” I called out softly towards him.

“I can’t believe he just let her go off by herself in the woods!” He apparently didn’t hear me because he grumbled some more scoffing under his breath.

Reaching over the counsel I gently shook his shoulder breaking him from his trance of frustration. “Beau! She’s gonna be fine.”

He gulped, finally sending me a glance. “Yeah….you’re probably right.”

“I am positive I am. Okay you said that he said she was back at the camp and just rattled.” I attempted to reassure him believing that I was right more than I might be wrong.

The drive fell silent for a little while. Mostly because I had no clue what to say to him. I didn’t have a child like my sister Jenny. So I wasn't sure what to say next thankfully he did break the silence around us. "You're right Mallory. She'll be fine. So what are you going to say if you're sister asks about us?"

"I'll um…think of something. We're here." He pulled the truck to a stop once we drove under the camp sign both getting out seeing the rest of the team already here.

Footsteps of Sunny Barnes came towards us while I clipped my gun to the belt on my jeans. 'Emily was the one that found Mary's body off a trail.

"Did anybody search the area where the body was found?" Beau questions her.

She shook her head. "Well, after Buck brought Mary's body back, he and Avery went back up to take a look around."

"Daddy?!" Someone called out where I saw a girl with dark slightly curly hair running towards us and throwing her arms around him meaning it could only be his daughter Emily.

He wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on top of her head. I could see relief come over him by just holding her close. "Hey. Come here.I got you. I got you. You okay? Hmm? What happened?"

"I followed Luke into the woods and I got lost. And then I saw her. She was bleeding. I don't know. She had Paige's bag. I just thought that she was hurt, but then I saw her eyes." She sobbed through his jacket.

He whispered into her hair eyeing me as I gave him a weak smile. "Okay. Baby. I got you."

"Dad who is she?." Emily pulled her head up from his chest focusing her watery eyes on me. "Is she the woman you were telling me you were dating?"

"What was that?" My sister's voice could be heard a few steps away from us.

I felt my cheeks turn red as I quickly stepped up introducing myself to the girl since we hadn't met until now. "Hi Emily, I'm Mallory. You're dad has told me some about you."

"Cool. So are you two?" She pointed her index finger between Beau and I.

He cleared his throat putting a hand on her back leading the three of us away from my sister's ears to start the questioning. "We'll explain later, Em. Right now we have some questions to ask you. Where was Buck when you found Mary?"

"I actually don't know." She replied sitting down outside one of the tents. "He must have heard me scream. Before I knew it, he was just there."

"Do you think Luke could have killed her?" I asked the teenager.

"No." She immediately spoke.

Her father asked another question. "Is that a feeling you have, or is there something else?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a feeling, I guess."

"Okay. That's enough questions. I know you're just doing your job. Come on, Em. Let's get you some water." His ex wife Carla led her daughter away. A man with dark brown hair that had some gray falling down to be shoulder length approached us.

“Avery.” Beau called towards him when he tried to leave with Emily.

“Mm-hmm.” The man made a noise stopping.

Beau went into full dad mode at this point frustrated with the man in front of me. “You need to tell me what the hell's going on here and why you let my daughter wander off into those woods alone.”

“We had no idea. Alright? She didn't tell Carla, either.” Avery responded before my sister’s footsteps came over to us.

She sighed heavily annoyed. “Tonya and Donno are here.”

“What?” Beau and I both asked together.

She turned her head back in their direction for me to see Tonya wave at me. “Yeah. They obviously had something to do with this.”

“Jen, come on we can’t blame them for everything…even though we know they don’t mind killing people for gain.” Crossing my arms over my chest I knew she had a point from our past.

Beau holds up a hand to us two girls hearing her not say another word. “Did they confess? If they didn't confess, we got to treat them like everybody else...Possible suspects.”

By the time the sun had risen over the camp we had been told that there was a $15 million that Avery found someone here was looking for. Meaning Luke and Paige weren’t here for vacation. Leaning my elbows on the table my sister was tying away on a computer watching Beau walk up. “So there’s an opportunity for someone to get $15 million. I mean that much money would make anyone go crazy. Luke and Paige were obviously trying to steal it.”

“Could explain why Tonya and Donno are here.” Beau adds on. “Maybe they're working a job.”

She smirked, liking that he leaning towards the pair now. “I'm glad you said it. I was beginning to think Donno was bribing you with his sandwich craft.”

“Okay, you know what? Let's not go there. 'Cause bad guys can have good points. Donno's just happens to be sandwich skills.” Beau waved his hands around loving those sandwiches.

Poporneck walked up to us smiling at the mention. “Oh! Donno's making sandwiches?”

“I wish. But no.” Beau slumped his shoulders in defeat.

Pointing my index finger between the boys I grinned feeling hungry now. “They are good sandwiches. Oh, if he wasn’t a suspect I would totally ask him to make us some for lunch.”

“Okay, okay. Can we focus on the case please.” My sister needed us to focus. “What do you got?”

Her former partner cleared his throat replying. “Uh, yeah, so there's a missing bow and quiver from the equipment shed. Arrows match the murder weapon.

“Alright so now we just need to question these two. Let’s go.” I clasped my hands together

“Mallory. You’re with me and Tonya.” The sheriff called my attention.

My sister lifted her head up confused at why he would ask that. “Why do you need her help exactly?”

“I am hoping Tonya will lighten up if there’s another woman with her.” Beau was quick on his feet while I bit my lip seeing Poperneck walking with Jack on a leash over to me.

“I was thinking we could use Jack to sniff out anything suspicious. If that’s okay with you, Mallory.” He suggested since I was the one who owned him now, not the sheriff department.

Bending down on a knee I run my hands through his fur seeing him wagging his tail. “Sure it’s fine. Now you be good for Pops.” The pair walked off before Beau and I went and found Tonya having the three of us get set up in a tent for questioning.

Beau holds the tent flap open for me hearing Tonya chuckling at seeing me again after all this time. “Well, well, look at the three of us back together in the same room. It’s a shame Donna is being questioned by someone else or we’d have the whole gang.”

“Never mind that now. We have some questions to ask you. Starting with why didn’t you go on the night hike with the others?” I said bluntly standing while Beau took the seat across from her.

“Well, I wanted to go on the hike, but Donno didn't. He's got a lot of rules.” She started off her story.

Beau tapped the pen on the table. “It's kind of odd, isn't it? You being up here with your cook? I mean, the man's interesting.”

“He's not who you think he is.” She responded back

“No, I don't imagine he is. The man contains multitudes.” He nodded.

She gave smile towards the sheriff. “Strong agree. But hiking isn't one of them.”

“What about the marriage?” I butted in knowing that during a questioning with Sunny she claimed that they were married according to how they registered. “I understand you're up here pretending to be married. Seems kind of odd for two people who enjoy murder so they can gain something like money.”

“You get freebies if you say it's your anniversary. You know, bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries.” She smiled tilting her head down.

Beau raised a brow moving his hand over the table not believing her story like me. “So it's just a total coincidence that you and Donno were on this trip at this time.”

“I mean, if we committed a crime, it's that we lied about being in love.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Beau laughed, clicking the pen open and closed on the table. “Good one.”

“I'm serious.” She sent us a smile letting her eyes drift up to mine. “So are we not going to talk about the chemistry between the two of you. Like are you two just a fling or will you get in trouble because you work together hmm.”

Raising a hand I try to keep my cool, thankful that my sister was intertwining Donno on the other side of the camp so she couldn’t hear her. “That’s none of your concern. We are here to find out about Paige and Luke.”

“Ohh so the little Hoyt sister hasn’t ever thought of getting with the sheriff in town.” She teased me by intertwining her hands together. “My former boss seemed to like him. So I’m not buying that you haven’t thought about it.”

Beau cleared his throat glancing over his shoulder at me before he spoke. “I'm not buying it. I think you're here looking for a lot more than free champagne.”

Holding the end of my shirt I could feel my nerves building up inside me. If Tonya could see right through me then could my sister do the same. “Speaking of marriages, I met your ex, Carla. She's a boss. Really impressive. I don't know why you left her.” Tonya leaned back in her chair.

“It's actually the other way around.” Beau gave her a half chuckle. “But we're not gonna get into that. As for my relationship with Mallory, it's strictly professional.”

Tonya and I locked eyes so I stood tall towards her. “No romantic relationship at all.”

“If you say so…the person you really should be looking at is Avery.” She points out.

Leaning my palms on the table, my hair falling over my shoulders hoping we are getting somewhere. “Oh, yeah? Why's that?”

“Well, his archery skills, for one. Avery's quite the marksman.” Glancing towards Beau I wasn’t sure if her words made sense.

“Avery? Really?” Even he couldn’t see it.

She nodded, seeming very certain about what she was a saying. “Deadly. He surprised everybody.

“Well, just 'cause he can shoot an arrow don't mean he killed ll Luke.” Beau responded back, lifting his green eyes up to me.

Tilting my head to the side I crossed my arms over my chest shaking my head towards her. “That might be true if we believed what you were saying. Plus we both know that Donno is capable of killing and you have a darker side too for one.”

“Well, I'm guessing that he's the one that told you about the $ million.” Tonya leaned her elbows on the wooden table.

“How'd you know that?” Beau questioned her.

She raised her hands in the air, basically putting the pieces together of what she thought. “Avery was talking to Luke, like, a lot. I'm just putting it out there. You can ask your daughter if you don't believe me. But something was going on with those two.”

“Alright I think I have enough information for now.” Beau rose from the chair turning and we started to leave the tent until she called out to us.

“So I was right, wasn't I? About you two.” Halting in my tracks, Beau glanced down at me. “I mean the looks you two give each other are so obvious. So there’s something definitely going on between you two.”

Beau turned to face her, dropping his hand that had fallen to my back now at his side instead. “Like we said before, we're just professional.”

“That’s not what her eyes say about you, sheriff.” Tonya teased resting her chin on top of her intertwined hands. “She’s got a thing for cowboys.” Turning on my heels I rushed out of the tent and he followed after me before I closed the passenger door in his face needing a minute alone.

Question my readers : should I include more flashbacks of Mallory and John Wayne. If so send me any ideas and let me know in the comments or dm me please ❤️

Comments really appreciated