#when louisa keep calling his name

[dammitcameron]

Doc Martin Season 10 Episode 8 Our Last Summer

part 4/4

[imaginesbymonika]

Cruel Summer - a prequel

Pairing: Tenoch Huerta x fem!Reader

Plot: Tenoch and Y/N meet at the set of Narcos and fall in love, what more is there to say...

This is the prequel to my story About You. You don't have to read the story before you read this one.

Y/N lets out a frustrated sigh and observes how her breath turns into a little white cloud that flies upwards and disappears. "Fuck me.", she softly whispers, while more snow falls down and lands on her shoulders. If it wasn't so cold, she might have been able to enjoy the white sight in front of her.

When her agent told her, that she got the role in the upcoming Narcos series, she was so excited. Finally, she thought, finally she would be able to work somewhere where it's warm. That fantasy however was short-lived. The snow started falling a week before she arrived at the set, and instead of T-shirts, she had to buy tons and tons of sweatshirts and jackets. Y/N truly couldn't wait for the outside locations they would visit at the beginning of summer. 

"Fuck me, God!", the actress curses under her breath and begins to jump up and down. Melanie, called her at three in the morning to inform her that Diego Luna somehow managed to get sick and wouldn't be able to try on his costumes until Monday. That's why she got moved up the list. Y/N wants to take out her phone to look at the time because it feels like she is standing outside in the frostiness for the last four hours. However, her hands are so red and cold that she truly cannot do anything with them. "Worthless fucking hands.", she whispers and begins to dance on the spot in order to keep herself a bit warm.

When she hears how someone behind her giggles she quickly turns around and flinches when she spots a man. A cigarette is loosely hanging from his lips and Y/N watches how he brings up his lighter. "Lo siento.", he mumbles, while a smile plays on his features. One that drops together with the lighter when he sees the perplexed expression on Y/N's face.

"Oh, no me entiendes… I said that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you."

Y/N swallows thickly before she shakes her head:""Oh, no, no, no. I'm not offended!" She crosses her arms in front of her chest and eyes as he takes a deep breath. "Okay, good. I was worried about that for a second.", he points past her toward the entrance of the big silver trailer: "Are you also waiting for the costumes?" 

The young woman didn't break his gaze, instead, she just nodded her head and answered perhaps a bit too fast:" Yes!" He chuckles. "I am going to be playing Louisa, the American journalist.", she explains and his eyes light up while a smile once again emerges on his pretty lips. "You're the one playing my TV girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand and when Y/N shakes it, she feels its warmth. "My name's Tenoch Huerta.", he states and winks at her. 

"Y/N Y/L/N." At that moment the door to the trailer opens up and when Tenoch lets go of her he already misses it. "Y/N!", Melanie's voice declares, with way too much liveliness for this time of day:" Come on in darling, god it's freezing." 

Y/N turns back to Tenoch:" See you around, I guess." He nods his head in agreement and watches her as she walks up the few stairs before she steps past Melanie inside. The brunette woman eyes her co-star skeptically:" What are you doing out here, Huerta. I hope you know that your turn is this afternoon." 

"Yeah, I know."

[milf-harrington]

my Steve's Older Sister headcanons

her name is Louisa Jean Harrington, Steve calls her 'Lou' (she calls him 'Eve')

she's 4 years older than him

the original family disappointment

after she graduated, she moved to Indy for a year before moving to New York for college

she attends Julliard for classical music, it's the only thing keeping her in their parents will (she plays the cello)

she left Steve a "guide to life" when she moved out of Hawkins, but he didn't read it until 1983, when life suddenly became a lot harder to navigate

she's the one who taught him how to look after + style his hair

she played basketball too, but not at school because their parents wouldn't let her

her boyfriend in highschool cheated on her so she broke into his house and stole his varsity jacket

she would have been a senior when Eddie was a freshman (i'm pretty sure i worked that out right, the way the american school year is set out confuses me)

speaks italian bc she's closer to that side of their family than steve

she can cook

she heard about the things that happened to steve from friends that she still has living in hawkins, but it was always brought up way after it happened so there like. wasn't any point in her flying back to check on him even though she wanted to

she's always seen right through him, and it caused a lot of tension between them when he started becoming King Steve/their parents golden child

she's always wanted to learn guitar but just hasn't gotten around to it

she's really supportive, and will automatically back steve up even when he's wrong or she doesn't know what's going on

she will also take any opportunity to bully him

[joandfriedrich]

My Trip to Concord: Part Two

Location 2: Orchard House

We went up the path that lead to the church, and there was a table for guests to sign in with their info and whatever message they’d like to leave. I wrote something like “Best birthday ever for the biggest Little Women fan.” Beside it was a small garden and while it didn’t have any flowers, it was nice to imagine what could have been, and it being the cutest garden.

The tour started in the church, and I was able to get these photos.

Apologizes that the cabinet picture isn’t the greatest, but it was a picture of what appears to be Joan of Arc, and my friend wondered if perhaps Abigail had painted that too. While we waited, we watched this documentary piece (we did miss part of the beginning because we ran a little late at the cemetery) where an actress played LMA and gave a small tour of the house. Something worth noting, and it will be particularly sweet to a certain demographic, when the fictional LMA was showing the pictures from the house, she referred Thoreau as a “very, very, very special friend”. It made me smile like an idiot.

When it finished, our guide told us that this was the school of Philosophy, where Bronson was the superintendent. The bench by the tree was the bench Bronson often sat at. Then moving into the house, we started in the kitchen and I snuck this picture in before being told that we were not allowed any pictures. If you want a good idea of how the interior looks, the 1994 film did a phenomenal job with the design, the colors are a bit different, but the structure is pretty much the same.

This was where the well was, and it was protected by plexiglass. It’s interesting, because in October I got to see Edgar Allan Poe’s house in Baltimore, and Orchard house is so much bigger than that, and it really did feel as cozy and inviting as you’d imagine. From the kitchen to the dining room, it had a picture of LMA over the mantel by the stairs, one that was done after her illness and by the same painter who did Abraham Lincoln. The china in the cabinet was the family china, belonging to her mother, which is why it has “May” engraved as it was her maiden name.

The only bedrooms we saw were the parents, which had a small offshoot of Anna’s twin boys’ room, Abigail and, of course, Louisa. The rooms were all very good size, though Abigail's was smaller than the other two, but I get it, she was the youngest, and if remembering correctly, she moved out/was in Europe at an early age, and didn't need the space. What was so cool as seeing her artwork all around her room, protected by plexiglass, and a copy of her painting La Négresse, was featured in her room.

Louisa's room was my favorite, not just because it's Louisa, but because it had the coziest feel, was sunny, and had such a great history there. Our guide shared that Louisa stayed in this room primarily when she was sick during the war, and Abigail would keep her company, and while she lamented she couldn't get Louisa flowers (as they were pricey), she painted flowers in her room, and it's still there, and very beautiful. It's a black background, with calla lilies and some red flower I am not sure of (you can see a part of it if you look at Abigail's wiki page.).

Something to note, at various places around the house, there were small baskets of fake apples, and my mom asked me "what's with the apples", and I said, "well, it is called orchard house." And then a few minutes later, the guide said that there used to be apple trees that grew nearby and Bronson was known to give people apples even if they didn't ask for it. His study was pretty cool, saw a pocket watch holder that worked as well as a clock. On the shelf, the people of the museum filled it with different versions of LMA's works from all over the world, both in style and in language.

Off from there was Abigail's small art studio, which had a dollhouse like case where different scenes from Little Women are played out. And they discovered underneath the wallpaper and whatnot, outlines of Abigail's artwork, profiles of people that had come to visit, and the museum had protected it with plexiglass, and on that highlighted the profiles.

At the end, we were in the store and there were so many awesome things there that I could have wasted my money there, but I settled on a few things.

Starting at the top and going clockwise, a magnet with Louisa on it with the quote "Nothing is impossible to a determined woman". Next is a small book called "The Language of Flowers" which is, as the cover says, flowers and their meanings". Next is "Merry Christmas and Other Christmas Stories" written by LMA. "Orchard House: Home of Little Women" is a Emmy winning documentary, and was the one that played in the church, and next to it is the Katharine Hepburn Little Women (they had the 33, 94, 19 versions, but I was surprised they didn't have the 17 or even the 49 film, though that is apparently a tough find). Above her, is little kids book called "Little Women: A Playtime Primer", and it's going to be a gift for my nephew. Above that is an ornament of Orchard house with an engraving of LMA, and in the center is a tote bag.

I also got a candle that's called Pickled Limes, and holy crap it smells amazing! A sweet limey scent, which reminded me of @thegamineingrey post of how they were like candy back in the day, and I totally get it. Also, bonus inside, an umbrella charm which was what really sealed the deal, if not for the scent.

Here are pics of the outside of Orchard House, many of which were taken by my mom, since I was too busy just admiring the place.

Suffice to say, it is a beautiful house, full of a rich history and, just as the book, still feels relevant and like going home. I am glad we were able to make the trip out to see this amazing house.

[263adder]

Found the best website for Slow Horses fans, look at this glossary for the SH's themselves (baby Coe's is the best, followed by Louisa):

Baker, Sid – A young, attractive agent who is sent to the slow horses for murky reasons. Injured in the line of duty and spirited to parts unknown. (SH)

Cartwright, River – Young, white, fair hair, grey eyes and a mole on his upper lip. Wannabe super spy/espionage royalty/screwup. In the first book his bungled call on a potential terror incident landed him on the slow horses where he’s been trapped ever since. (SH)

Coe, JK – Banker turned member of MI5, he’s a babe in the woods compared to cynicism and wiliness that his colleagues show. Sent to the slow horses by Dame Ingrid to hide one of her messy mistakes. Coe learns the hard way that “Kill the messenger” is not just a turn of phrase when you work for MI5. Full name, Jason Kevin. After a trauma he finds the one thing that works best to take the edge off is … murder? (TL)

Dander, Shirley – Short and built like a barrel. A new slow horse who gets a high from doing her job, also from cocaine. Partners up with fellow slow horse Marcus Longfellow. Former member of Comms department. Sent to Slough House after punching a colleague. (DL)

Guy, Louisa – Louisa was sent to the slow horses after she lost a suspect she was supposed to be tailing and a bunch of illegal guns ended up on the streets of London. She’s surprised when her relationship with Min Harper gives her a purpose and strength she forgot she had. Probably the most competent of the slow horses. (SH)

Harper, Min – Min ended up on the slow horses after leaving a top secret disk on the train. Sees an assignment from the untrustworthy “Spider” Webb as his way back into the big leagues. Two spy screw ups who form an unlikely connection. (SH)

Ho, Roddy “Clint” – Computer genius and social incompetent. Hacking skills – 99%, People skills – 1% Only thing keeping his people skills from rating a 0% is the existence of someone with even less. See “Jackson Lamb” Sent to the slow horses not because he did anything wrong but because no one can stand to be around him. (SH)

Lamb, Jackson – The famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, Cold War spy. A Cold Warrior whose closest brush with being PC was turning on a computer. Never found a nap not worth taking, belch not worth belching or fart not worth letting loose. The improbable creator and head of Slough House. Worked as a mirror-man in Berlin during the Cold War. (SH)

Longridge, Marcus – Bald with goatee, Black, carrying a few extra pounds. Special operator and potential plant in Slough House by the politically wily Diana Taverner. (DL)

Loy, Struan – A slow horse, single and with few prospects until Diana Taverner dangles a lifeline. (SH)

Moody, Jed – A former “Dog”, Herron’s name for MI5’s internal affairs/clean up squad, now put out to pasture with the Slow Horses. (R)

Standish, Catherine – Formerly the right hand of the head of the service, formerly a drunk, currently sober and the administrative force keeping Lamb’s Slough House running. Personally recruited to the slow horses by Lamb, perhaps as penance. (SH)

Tregorian, Moira – Office administrator bewildered she’s been sent to live with the slow horses. (SS)

White, Kay – A slow horse dropped a lifeline by Diana Taverner. (SH)

Wicinski, Alec “Lec”– MI5 analyst who learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. Sent to the slow horses after learning too much about a German spy. Won’t be working as a model anytime soon. (TD)

[wizardfrog69]

୨⎯ "Happy Halloween!" ⎯୧

This is just random Halloween headcannons, have fun reading! :)

Cw: killer clowns

Feat. Fukuzawa, Yosano, Atsushi, kunikida, Jun'ichirō, kenji, kyoka, Dazai, ranpo, mori, ace, Chuuya, Higuchi, Hirotsu, Elsie, Kajii, Oda, ango, Fitzgerald, Louisa, John, Edgar, Mark, Nathaniel, Fyodor, Nikolai, Sigma, Natsume, Shibusawa. (I cannot bother to write their full names)

Yukichi Fukuzawa:

Have fun trying to convince him to do anything remotely related to Halloween

Found a cat on Halloween once, took them in and called them samhain; pronounced as sa-win (its the original name of Halloween)

Has a bowl of sweets for kids, if there are any

Ranpo knocks on the door, gets let in, eats all the sweets

And stole all the sugar

This is why fukuzawa never keeps anything sweet in his house

Except for his s/o ofc

They get eaten by Ranpo too

When the kids knock on his house they low key get a fright when they see him cuz he looks pissed off 24/7

You have to open the door

Or the cats if you also look pissed off 24/7

Akiko Yosano:

Probably dresses up

Sexy doctor anyone?

Sexy doctor and sexy nurse couples costume

"Fake" blood

Visits haunted houses

Watching horror movies while eating candy stolen from the kids

If there are kids trick or treating then are definitely coming to your house

Idk why they just do

The house isn't decorated or if it is then it isn't decorated a lot

Who knows why the kids love going to that house

Atsushi Nakajima:

Never did Halloween

Gets cat inspired make up and has to wear it all day

Got chased by killer clowns

Has a lot of fun

The house is decorated but just a little bit not too much

Wanted to dress up as a mummy

Went trick or treating

Got candy

Got sick

Went trick or treating next year

Doppo Kunikida:

Do you really think he will do something so unprofessional as Halloween?

Well ofc he will, its for the kids

He just has a bowl of sweets in front of the door with a sign saying 'one per person' they all get stolen by a group of kids

He had to leave somewhere for some reason and caught a kid taking 2?!?!?!?!!!! The kid put one back and ran away.

Dazai put a fake spider on his desk

And in his hair

And his house

His house is filled with fake spiders

He saw a spider on his book of ideals and thought it was fake

Untill it moved

Than thought every fake spider was real

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki:

Made Halloween cookies for everyone

Made bone shaped biscuits

Probably dressed up

Idk what he dressed up as

Maybe he decorated the agency a bit

Kenji Miyazawa:

Had lots of fun

Went trick or treating

Dressed up as a farmer or scar crow

Dressed honako the second aswell

Brought the cow around everywhere he went

Found one of dazai's fake spiders and took it outside so it wouldn't get killed

Theres a fake spider somewhere in the bushes

It's gonna stay there for ever

The fake spider found the book

Kyōka Izumi:

Went trick or treating with kenji and Ranpo

Ate all the sweets she got

Also got sick

Was sick with atsushi

Next year still went but didn't eat all the sweets

Dressed up

Had lots of fun

Osamu Dazai:

Annoys kunikida 24/7

Bought 20kg of fake spiders

Got in trouble

Dressed up like a mummy and covered himself in fake blood

Drank the fake blood

Now I wanna drink fake blood, it probably tastes bad, oh well, I still wanna taste it

Wanted to go trick or treating

Scared all the kids

Also got chased by a killer clown, two in fact

Ranpo Edogawa:

Dressed up as a witch, with heals

You cannot change my mind

His legs hurt after a long day and night of walking from house to house

Gathered like fifty-something bags of candy

Ate them all in one sitting while watching horror movies

Complained about the movies not being realistic or the characters being dumb

Complains about not having enough candy

Ogai Mori:

Went trick or treating with Elise

Dressed up as a vampire (or a furry)

He didn't have to do anything cuz he already looks like a vampire

No one goes trick or treating at his house

Ace:

What if he puts the collar on himself?

Dresses up as card

The 2 of daimonds

Cuz he's a -2/10

Probably wears a suit with a card design or something idk

Chuuya Nakahara:

He didn't dress up 😒

Ig he wants to be boring and unoriginal 🙄

If Elsie wants everyone to dress up than he dresses up in fear of the boss

Dresses up as a magician idk

Does magic tricks

Ichiyō Higuchi:

100% dresses up

Idk what tho

I seriously don't know help

Ryūrō Hirotsu:

Dresses up as an old man or something idk

Elise:

Dresses up as a pretty princess

Or a doll

Or both

Dresses up like that one doll that I regret not buying

The doll was really pretty and would look great on a shelf next to puppet clown

The doll cost like 20€ tho

Hope she's still there

Very pretty doll

Goes trick or treating

Motojiro Kajii:

Dresses up as a lemon

Commits mass arson

Also gets chased by a clown

Sakunosuke Oda:

Obviously does Halloween

Dresses up as a vampire

Chases the kids

Goes trick or treating with the kids

They all have fun

Tells the kids not too eat too much candy

They all do, including him

Watching nightmare before Christmas, Corpse bride, Caroline

Caroline traumatized the kids

Watching Tim Burton movies

Ango Sakaguchi:

He had work :(

Sorry

Francis Scott Fitzgerald:

Idk why I call him Francis Scott Fitzgerald and not f. Scott Fitzgerald or Francis Scott key Fitzgerald

Oh well

Now I wanna read the great gatsby

Or the book about incest

He wears a suit MADE out of 100$ bills

It cost him alot but it was worth it, showing all the peasants how broke they are

There was a Halloween sale at target

He bought three pumpkins

He didn't know what to do with them

I stole those pumpkins and ate them cuz pumpkins >>>

Drinks that autumn drink from star bucks, I think its called like pumpkin spice or something idk

I drink real coffee like real men 💪

Calls autumn fall

Louisa May Alcott:

Didn't dress up

Also got chased by the clown?

Idk everyone is getting chased by a killer clown

John Steinbeck:

Dressed up like some guy named George

Idk why he just did

Doesn't do trick or treating?

Edgar Allan Poe:

Dresses up like a black cat

Has an army of crows waiting for him

For some reason he was sitting in a haunted looking mansion with a bunch of crows and black cats out side?

Such a silly emo guy with social anxiety

Ranpo came by to steal all his candy

Poe was hiding away thinking it was some kids

Ranpo bargded in and realised Poe has no candy for him 😔

Karl:

Chilling with the cats and crows

Karl is better than all of them

Karl slays fr

He has pretty pink bows in his fur

Who knows how they got there

Do yall think karl listens to Eminem?

Mark Twain:

Went trick or treating

Tricked all the kids

Cross dressed

Tricked some people into thinking he was a woman

It didn't last long tho

Still had fun

Nathaniel Hawthrone:

He doesn't need to dress up

God will protect him from the evil spirits

Doesn't participate in Halloween

Fyodor Dostoevsky:

As I've said before he is forced to dress up as a rat by Nikolai

Got chased by a cat

Got followed by the clown

Wasn't scared of the clown

Also worked 😒

Ivan Goncharov:

Was just happy to be there

He dressed up as a grim reaper

Grim reapers people 🥰

Nikolai Gogol:

The killer clown that chased everyone (and followed Fyodor cuz Fyodor wasn't going to run away

Fyodor was no fun 😒🙄

Scares and chases all the kids away

Goes to a haunted house

Or houses should I say

Pranked everyone all night

Probably terrified everyone

Sigma:

Was forced to dress up and got chased by the clown

Didn't want to dress up to look unprofessional

His employees did dress up, only some of them tho

Got Halloween cookies cuz he deserves them 😌

Probably to dress up he has on some make up on

Idk, if he would wear a costume

Sōseki Natsume:

He turned into a cat and goes on a walk

It would be so fun to just be a cat and chill

Like fr

Dresses up as a wizard btw

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa:

Is also forced to dress up

Doesn't tho

Idk he turns into a unicorn man again

Cos plays Shakespeare with his skull

Dresses up as a dead person 😍

Hope you had fun reading my monstrosity as always, please request tho cuz my ideas are limitless in a bad way. Happy Halloween everyone!!!!

NB! credits of the 3 pictures at the top to the artist! I didn't make them!

[rhodeybugg]

And now! An AU lorepost on everyone's favorite humans: James and Louisa, because god only knows when i'll get Heirloom written.

- x -

•James is the youngest of three brothers, the other two, in order, being Elric [oldest] and Oliver [middle]

•Louisa was set to be married into the Elliot family name one way or another, as her family aggreed to an arranged marriage between her and Elric. She hated him, but Elric tolerated her and "kept her in line". James liked her from the start, but believed he had no chance with her, as he was seen as the black sheep of the family [a "weak link" as his father called him], and Louisa was a shy goth girl that no other heir wanted to marry.

•James and Louisa had a rocky start to their relationship, as the two knew each other from their classes [James found her hiding spot in the woods, where she liked to sneak off and read, and she decked him in the face for it], and Louisa fully believed that all three of the brothers were after her just to extend the bloodline.

•Oliver had no interest in Louisa, having his own partner at the time [James' sister-in-law and Tessa's Aunt, Iris], and agreed to keep his knowledge of his brother and Louisa's feelings for each other a secret from their parents.

•Before the marriage was supposed to happen, Louisa and her companion drone, Selune, moved into the Elliot estate to better kindle a relationship with Elric, and and in the process, grew close to Oliver and James, eventually accepting her crush on James.

•A secret confession and dance in the courtyard led to James and Louisa running off and renting a hotel. Everyone assumed that Louisa had gotten panicked over the upcoming wedding and needed time to herself, and that James had simply ran off.

•Louisa was revealed to be pregnant a few weeks later. James panicked the morning after their night at the hotel and ran, cutting contact with Louisa, refusing to look at her when they met in the manor again.

•Louisa, in a fit of stress, ran again, this time, taking Selune, stealing her father's money, and renting an apartment in the heart of the nearby city. James was unaware of her pregnancy, but still went to find her to apologize and make amends. After a bit of arguing, a few slammed doors, and a plate being thrown at James, they reconciled and he vowed to be by her side and take care of their child, whatever it cost.

•Elric eventually found out that his bride-to-be was pregnant. He begrudgingly allowed her to continue carrying the child, unaware that it was James, believing that he and Louisa had gotten drunk and spent a night together.

•It eventually came to light among the brothers that Louisa was carrying James' child. Elric attempted to murder James.

The fight moved to the courtyard where Elric was overtaken and impaled after trying to drown James in the fountain. During the scuffle, James was struck im his left eye by a knife strike from Elric, losing his vision on that side.

•Elric, before his death, while trying to kill his brother, revealed that Oliver and James were both the product of an affair between the boys' father and a long-time mistress. Elric was the only "pure" one, in the family's eyes.

•James and Oliver were able to stage the incident to look like an accident, with Louisa's help and alibi. To this day, nobody is aware that it was them that killed their brother.

•As Louisa's due date grew closer, James began to worry that the child she was carrying wasn't his- that Elric HAD gotten to her first, before they confessed their feelings for each other.

James was the only Elliot son with dark auburn hair.

The child that Louisa gave birth to was a girl with a curly patch of red hair, and green eyes.

They named her Tessa.

[lulubelle814]

Regards, Loki - Chapter 37

Master List

Once her mask was off, her eyes remained on the floor for a moment, staring at her feet until she heard something surprising from him.

“Ms. Ward?”  Her eyes darted up, his face looking familiar.

She knew that face from somewhere, but she couldn’t quite place it.  “How do you know my name?”  Thinking for a moment, she realized he seemed familiar.  “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“I’m James Conrad.  You work for my company.  Well, you did work for my company.”  He sighed, not wanting to bring up bad memories.  So he thought best to keep it brief.  “I, uh, I was the one who found you when Mr. Price……”

It clicked.  He was the one who rescued her from her fiendish boss.  “It was you.  You saved me.”

He nodded slowly.  “I regret that day.”

Louisa was confused.  “Why?  Why would you regret saving me?”

“I don’t regret saving you.  Not one bit.  I regret not having found him sooner so that you would not have been in that horrid situation.”

She gave him a soft smile.  “You didn't know.  Besides, you saved me before it got even worse.  I don’t know how to even begin to thank you for what you did, Mr. Conrad.”

“Please, call me James.”

She returned his smile.  “And you may call me Louisa.  My friend calls me Lou sometimes.”

He smiled.  “Would that friend be Frigga?”  

She laughed.  “Yes, although her real name is Cora.”

Without thinking, he cupped her face with his hand.  It felt natural, like he’d done it a thousand times before.  Louisa found herself leaning into his soft touch.  He silently asked her for permission for what he wanted to do, which she granted.  Leaning in, he gave her a soft kiss.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, she returned his kiss.  In that moment, time stopped, everything around them disappearing.  It was the kiss to end all kisses, trumping the kiss between Westley and Buttercup.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he wrapped his arms around her waist.  It was at this time they both felt complete for the first time in their lives.  Neither wanted for air, but their lungs began burning for the necessity of oxygen.  Parting for air, they continued to hold each other.

“I must apologize, unreservedly, for that.”  He felt a bit guilty, having kissed a woman he only just met in person.

“Don’t,” she said, smiling at him as she cupped his cheek.  It was his turn to lean into her touch.  “Don’t apologize.  You have nothing to be sorry for.”

If he could, he would sweep her off her feet, taking her to some far off corner of the world, any and every place she wanted to see.  He wanted to give her everything.  After all, she’d already stolen his heart.

Suddenly, they could hear the people and music around them again.  Taking a step back, he offered his hand.  Once she accepted it, he led them back to the dance floor as her favorite song from the movie began to play.

He held her close, as if she might float away any moment, not that she minded.  Leaning his face in, he sang in a whisper into her ear.  

I'll paint you mornings of gold

I'll spin you Valentine evenings though we're strangers 'til now

His singing voice could spin gold, making rumpelstiltskin obsolete.  It was this moment she felt………..no……….she knew his arms were the only place she wanted to be for the rest of her life, and it was obvious to anyone looking that he felt the same.

They danced the night away until the gala was over, except they weren’t ready to leave.

Clearing his throat, James asked, “may I escort you home?”  He wasn’t ready to say goodnight, not yet.

“I’d like that.”  They walked out, him handing his ticket to the valet to collect his car.  Louisa began shivering as it was very cold outside.  Removing his jacket, James placed it over her shoulders, then rubbing her arms to help warm her up.  His jacket smelled of his cologne, a scent she wanted to remember forever.

As soon as the car pulled around, he opened the passenger door for her, helping with her dress.  Once safely inside, he gently closed her door before running around to the driver’s side.  Thankfully, the valet had the forethought to turn on the heat, helping them to brush off the frigid temperatures.

Pulling up to her building, he parked his car, getting out and walking to her side to assist her in safely exiting the vehicle.  Louisa still wore his jacket as he walked with her up the stairs and to her apartment door.  When they reached it, she hesitated, unwilling for the night to end.  Instead of bidding good night, she invited him in for a cup of tea to which he happily obliged.

From the moment he entered her apartment, all he could smell was her perfume, a mix of baked goods, and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on but still enjoyed.  Looking around, he saw the peacock blue couch she’d mentioned a few weeks ago.  

As she went to the kitchen to put on the kettle, he followed.  “You’re welcome to change if you’d like.  I can’t imagine that dress would be comfortable to sit in.”  She hesitated but agreed when he insisted.

Going into her room, the garment bag she’d dropped off with Cora was hanging on the closet door.  Slipping out of her dress, she carefully placed it on the hanger and closed the garment bag before grabbing a pair of cute but comfy wide leg sweatpants and an old shirt as well as some wool socks as her feet were cold.

In the meantime, James slipped off his shoes and loosened his bowtie, leaving it to hang around his neck as he rolled up his sleeves.  He could hear Louisa moving about in her room humming to herself, and it made him smile.

When she came back into the living room, he could see she did indeed make herself comfortable.  She’d pulled the pins out of her hair, letting it flow just past her shoulders.  All he wanted to do at that moment was comb his fingers through that hair.  Instead, he kept his hands to himself.  

She made it to the kitchen as the kettle started whistling.  Taking it off the stove, she popped her head in the living room.  “Any preferences?”

Shaking his head, it didn’t matter what kind of tea she made.  He knew he’d like it.  Sure enough, she came out a couple of minutes later with two cups of hibiscus and berry tea.  “I hope this is okay.  It’s one of my favorites.”

Accepting the cup, it already smelled wonderful to him, causing him to smile.  Sipping it, he hummed in contentment.  “This is delicious.  I’ve never tried this before.”

“I found it at a tea shop I found a few weeks ago.  I’m afraid to say I’m a bit addicted.”  Soft laughter filled the air.  If he could only hear one sound for the rest of his life, it would be her laugh.

“I can taste why.  Maybe you could show me that shop sometime?”

She smiled and nodded as she sat down on the couch.  He followed suit and sat down at one end while she was cozied up in the middle, her feet tucked under her.  They drank their tea in companionable silence before she popped up and ran back to the kitchen.  She returned back to the couch with a container full of goodies, placing it on the coffee table before removing the lid.

Peering over, there were some biscuits and a couple of brownies.  He looked to her for confirmation before taking one of the biscuits.  From the moment it entered his mouth, he felt pure and utter bliss.  He could die right now, a perfectly happy man with a cup of tea, a delicious biscuit, and a beautiful woman he’d fallen in love with over all those emails and texts.

They spent the next hour or so relaxing and chatting not realizing they were slowly getting closer and closer to each other.  At some point when he was responding, he turned to look at her, and she’d fallen asleep.  He gently pulled the blanket from the back of the couch (it was the same one he’d given her in the get well basket) and placed it on top of her.  As he did so, she began to lean against him, using him as a sort of pillow, not that he minded one bit.  He placed his arm on the top of the couch behind her and shortly fell asleep himself.

Taglist: @huntress-artemiss @jaidenhawke

[imagineanime2022]

Your Choice

Doppo Kunikida X Fem!Reader F Scot Fitzgerald!Father X Daughter!Reader

Word Count: 1048

Requested: Anon

Request: Could you do a Bungo Stray Dogs Kunikida x reader, they are the second daughter of F Scot Fitzgerald. After their sister and Mother passed on their father became more suffocating. They left when they turned 18 and joined the detective agency as their lawyer/ advisor on legal matters. When Fitzgerald threatens the agency the reader goes to confront their father but Kunikida goes with them. Reader reveals to him that if they want any part of their grandchild’s life they’ll back off. Kunikida finds out at the moment too. How do they react?

Warning: Pregnancy, Estranged family

You remember telling your story to Fukazawa, the true story of your family, your mother and sister’s death and your dad’s overbearing tendencies. You had explained that the only way to get away from him was to move countries and start a new life, you told Kunikida a less detailed story he knew the important parts about you but you never told him your father’s name but you told him where you came from and even about the loss of your mother and sister before you got together.

When your father first came to the office, you weren’t there (you were sure the boss had done that on purpose) but you honestly wished that you had been, maybe you could have stopped all of this from happening but you knew your father, and you had a trump card that was going to win you the war against your father. So when he decided to attack Naomi and Kirako you told the boss that you had a plan, one that involved winning with no fighting at all. He ordered Kunikida to go with you.

You pulled out your phone, scrolling through your contacts and clicking on the one that was labelled dad, you hoped that he kept the same number and honestly you doubted that he would change it in fear that he’d never hear from you again. “Hello?” He asked and honestly you hoped for a second that he had changed. “Dad calls off the attack on the agency clerks and then we can talk, I have some news that I’m sure you’d want to hear.” You wagered and Kunikida looked down at you. “I there a place you would like to meet?” He asked. “There’s a little cafe on the south side of the city, I’ll send you the address.” You said. “I’ll see you soon, treasure.” He said before hanging up the phone. You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. “He’s your father?” Kunikida asked after he was sure that you had hung up the phone. “I don’t think my family problems outweigh the safety of the rest of you.” You explained. “Are you sure?” He asked as he lifted his hand to your cheek to make you look at him, he had always been able to read you so you didn’t bother lying. “I don’t know… But I have to try, we can’t just let him keep trying to kill everyone.” You shrugged. “I’ll come with you.” You didn’t know if that was better or worse, you had yet to tell him about the bargaining chip that you were about to use. You had found out that morning that you were pregnant and it was of course Kunikida’s child. You’d seen him with children you trusted that he’d be an amazing father and the rest of the team would be the best family. You had planned to reach out to your father, to tell him about his grandchild you just expected to be doing that after telling the father about the baby.

You set up the meeting and waited at the cafe, Kunikida sat next to you the whole time “there’s something that I need to tell you before he gets here.” You said turning to him. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll stay with you no matter what, we can talk about anything else later.” He promised. “This is kind of important.” You said hand falling to your stomach not that he seemed to notice anything but before either of you could address anything a shadow cast over you. “It’s been a while.” Your father said as he looked down at you, Kunikida stood shielding you from him. “So you're the protector Louisa wrote about. I’m not going to hurt her.” “I’d never believe that.” Kunikida glared at him but you took his hand pulling him to sit. “It’s okay he won’t.” You reassured him as your father took his seat in front of you. “So what do you want to talk about?” He asked. The way that he looked at you made you think that you were wrong about how well this plan was going to work, he was looking at you like a treasure he needed to reacquire, the love that used to show on his face hidden from you. You laced your fingers with Kunikida before speaking hoping that both of them reacted the way that you wanted. “I’m pregnant and if you want anything to do with your grandchild you’ll leave their family alone.” You warned, his eyes widened and the silence that took over the table made you want to leave, you looked at your father and saw the look of shock on his face. “Grandchild?” He asked. “Yes.” You nodded. “I planned on calling you after I told Kunikida but you messed up that plan.” Kunikida tightened his grip on your hand causing you to look over at him, he was looking at you, you couldn’t tell what he was thinking but you couldn’t dwell on it for the moment. “You presented a good deal.” He said as he stood from the table “I’ll be in contact, no need to worry about your friends for now.” He stood from the table a small smirk on his face, before standing and walking away with one sentence “I’ll be in touch.” “Pregnant?” Kunikida asked. “I wanted to tell you before telling anyone else but I couldn’t think of any other way to get him to back off.” You explained “I know you might not want a kid so you-” Kunikida got you to stop talking by pressing a kiss to your lips. “I want everything with you.” He said. “Everything?” You asked. “Everything.” He promised, kissing his temple. “We are going to have to revisit your eating and that offer to sleep on the floor yesterday.” “Well I didn’t know that I was pregnant yesterday.” You answered. “And if you take anything apart from alcohol away from me I’ll kill you myself.” “We’ll talk.” He said softly as he led you back to the safety of the underground hideout, you knew that things were going to change but you were more than excited for the baby, your relationship with Kunikida and the possibility of mending your relationship with your father.

*Part 2*

Request Here!!

[folklorebitch13]

In the end, I'ts Just us. 1.

Series masterlist

summary: Your family escapes to the outer banks after traumatizing events, a broken girl meets a broken boy. Chaos ensures.

pairing: Jj maybank x Kook!female!reader

word count: 3.8K

chapter warnings: angst, trauma, ptsd, headaches, smoking weed, slight eatiting disorder, nightmares, eventual smut, lonely Jj, Jj being an asshole.

a/n: a/n: Hi everyone, how are you guys. Recently somehow I got back into obx, I started watching the show and honestly, it kinda blows but the concept is awesome and comforting, and Jj is veryyy hot. So I wrote a fanfic, it wouldn't be one of my stories if it wasn't angsty so be prepared, also there's lots of Topper in this chapter and we only meet Jj later on but it's strictly Jj x reader.

This is gonna be a series (propably short), second part will be out friday the 15th. Hope you guys like it, if not too bad because i do ;)

This is some heavy shit if you ever need to talk, I'm here :)

Chapter one: Harry’s song.

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship” – Louisa May Alcott, little women.

One of the most famous book quotes to exist, it means every storm is a lesson in sailing your ship. Every obstacle and challenge is an opportunity to learn, grow, and develop new skills. But what if the obstacle is too big and the challenge impossible?

You had probably read little women about fifteen times, you knew the book by heart and you still carried your old worn-out copy in your bag. Though you wouldn’t read the book soon, you wouldn’t read any book soon, as much as you loved it, reading wasn’t something you did anymore. Reading made your head hurt, concentrating on anything made your head hurt.

You weren’t always like this, living with always at least one earbud in. The wires were tangled and the white was slightly turning a weird shade of beige but the thing could temporarily keep the pain away. A year ago you wouldn’t have thought your 17-year-old self would suffer from a chronic disease. 

It was all so stupid it drove you mad. You were a young girl in a big city, with absent parents and spending too much time alone. What does a rich girl do when she's alone in her New York City apartment once again while her parents are on a “work trip”, probably both cheating on each other. You threw a party, now you don't remember any of it but here's how it went according to your friends and your parents.

You drank too much, way too much, your boyfriend Harry, brought you to your room and 20 minutes later they found you on the sidewalk in a small pool of blood, your foot at an angle it shouldn't be. You call that foot your zombie foot now because it still looks weird and probably forever will. Anyways.

You loved Harry, his blonde curls and brown eyes, he was smart and charming. He read Russian literature then lend you his books, would laugh if you didn't understand something before explaining it. He had planned out your lives, when you'd get married, how many kids you'd have, and what their names would be.

You didn't believe he pushed you off that balcony that night, there is no other logical explanation of what happened but there is no way your Harry would've done this to you. 

A lot changed after that night, your parent's suddenly started acting like they cared, as if they remembered they were supposed to be parents, and stayed by your side, almost all the time. Harry got sentenced but where he was, or how long he'd have to serve was kept silenced from you, you were being kept in the dark by everyone, parents, friends. 

A month ago your parents grew tired, you didn't know if it was of their reputation, if they were embarrassed about their marriage that was so obliviously crumbling or if they were tired of you. Their child, who spent days crumbled up in bed crying in agony because of a headache and heartbreak. Their child who spent nights curled up on the cold tiles of the bathroom after throwing up, listening to Harry's favorite song like it was the last thing tying her to him.

So they broke the news to you, you were moving to the Outer Banks; paradise on earth, where they met each other, got married, and had you before moving to the big city. 

You begged and cried to them to let you stay until you got on the plane, where you spent most of the time curled up in a blanket, music at the highest volume, tears silently leaving your eyes as you tried to ignore the pounding in your head and the turning of your stomach.

There was this vibe here in the outer banks, that made you feel like you had no other choice but to be happy, the sun was bright, you could hear the birds and the weather was nice, but this only frustrated you.

You had only been in the huge villa for a few hours when your parents came into your room, your room was already put in order for you, it had furniture and all, no personality. You had organized your books though, the library was not big enough to fit your collection so you left the rest besides your bed and got in bed.

 It was no surprise to your parents that they found you in your bed, staring at your ceiling and listening to Harry's favorite song, yet again. "Y/n there's company coming for dinner, get dressed," your mother said, "I don't want to" you answered. Your mother sighed, "well you have to, put some makeup on".

If you had the energy you would've yelled at her, you know children aren't supposed to yell at their parents, but you would show them respect if they started acting like parents. Instead, you closed your eyes and told yourself you were all right before getting up and putting on makeup.

🌊

When the bell rang, and your mother opened the door, and you were standing next to your father ready to welcome the guests, just for a second you remembered what it felt like to be your parent's daughter. Wearing a nice dress and a pretty smile, polite and quiet yet not boring. You remembered you hated that person.

"Hello, hello oh my god it's been so long" a woman in a neat dress comes in, her dark hair tied back into a bun, "Cynthia I'm so happy to see you" your mother hugs 'Cynthia'. When Cynthia lets go of your mother her eyes fall on you. 

"Oh dear, you must be Y/n, I can't believe this you are so pretty, last time I saw you you were just a little baby," she says giving you a big hug, suffocating you. "Meet my son, Topper" your gaze meets a boy around our age, tall, blonde, basically a Ken doll. Quite handsome, but not your type.

You remember your manners and stick out your hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Y/n" you say, your voice soft, slightly raspy as if you haven't talked in ages. "I'm Topper," he says offering you a small smile. "I baked a pie, shall we bring this to the dinner table?" your mother offers, you feel like you're in a 50's household.

Sitting at the dinner table, poking in your pie with your fork but never actually taking a bite, you share a few glances with Topper. His mother and your mother used to be best friends. 

"Aren't you going to eat any of your mother's pie, dear? You should, put some meat on those bones huh, wouldn't want my daughter-in-law looking unhealthy" Cynthia laughs, her laugh demonically echoing in your ears. You should put some meat on your bones? Daughter-in-law? 

"Excuse me?" you ask your eyebrows knitting together and anger starting to burn in your stomach, "I didn't mean to offend you-" Cynthia gets cut off by her son. "Could you show me where the toilet is?" Topper asks, "please". Your mother gave you a look, so you obediently got up and walked away, the blonde on your heels.

"I don't actually need to go to the toilet, I just wanted to apologize for my mother's behavior," Topper said, "It's fine" you sighed. "No, it's not, I'm sorry, what she said was inappropriate," Topper says, you shrug your shoulders before he continues.

 "No, because you see, the thing is, I kinda have a reputation here of being a rich asshole. And It's hard to change such a reputation but since you're new, I just kinda hoped you'd make your own opinion, and I'd have a chance to prove I'm not all that bad and I don't want my mom fucking that shit up for me you know?".

"Don't worry I'm not letting your mother cloud my judgment" you say offering a small smile. "okay... that's Uhm, that's cool... so you wanna like, hang out? I can show you around Figure Eight" He says, scratching the back of his neck in anticipation of what you're gonna answer.

"what's figure eight?" you ask, "I'll explain if you come with me," he says, a smirk appearing on his face. "You know what, sure, I'll come" you answer. After Topper gives your parent's a rushed explanation about how he's going to show you around and you're gonna be home before dinner, blah blah blah, you're on your way.

As you're walking down the street of the Outer Banks Topper gives you the basic explanations, figure eight, the cut, the kooks, the pogues. After giving a snide remark about how stupid their divisions are the walk is silent for a while. 

Topper is the one who breaks thus silence, "You limp a little," he refers to your foot which was broken during your fall off the balcony, a wonder you can walk on it despite its condition when they found you.

"Yes I do" is your smart answer, "can I ask why?", "you can but I probably won't answer," you say with a smirk on your face. "Let me ask you this then, can you swim?".

🌊

"Topper I'm not wearing a bikini" you laugh as he starts taking off his clothes, "well you better start wearing them, because you're in the Outer Banks now baby, we live in swimwear". When Topper said he was gonna show you around you didn't think you'd end up on his boat, because yes, this 17-year-old guy owned a boat. 

"Besides what's the difference between underwear and a bikini," he says already stripped down to his swim shorts, "I don't know" you chuckle, "there just is!". He steps to the edge of the boat, "I've seen girls in underwear before, don't flatter yourself Y/n" he grins before doing a backflip into the water. Show off.

"So you coming or not?" he yells when he comes back up, his hair flat on his head as he rubs his hands down his face to get the water out of his eyes. "Fuck it" you mutter, you turn your back to Topper and quickly discard yourself of your clothes, leaving you in your black underwear. 

It was not your nicest underwear but it had a layer of lace over the cups so at least it looked good. Luckily you wore matching basic black panties, not that impressing Topper was something you held close to your heart. you swiftly turned back around and jumped in the water. 

"Holy shit it's cold" you hiss when you get back up, "you'll get used to it" Topper chuckles, "Sooo... there's a party tomorrow, on the beach, you coming with me?" he asks swimming closer. 

"Why are you so insistent on us being friends?" you ask, "because like I said, I'd like a chance to prove not only to you but to myself that I'm not a huge dick anymore and you look like you could use a friend, smile more" he chuckles.

"Sure, I'll co-" before you can answer you are interrupted by the sound of a boat and a bunch of teenagers laughing. You turn and see a boat coming, some blonde at the front doing some weird shit with his beer, the others cheering and laughing. You swim to Topper so you face him, "who are they?" you ask, "they're trouble, not people you want to be associated with" Topper answers, glaring towards the boat and pulling you closer to him. 

"What do you mean? are they a bunch of scary pogues" you laugh in a mocking tone, "my ex-girlfriend, Sarah she used to be called kook princess, then she cheated on me with a pogue, he used to be in their friend group" Topper explains. "So where are Sarah and the pogue today, are they on that boat?" you ask your smirk less confident as you see the seriousness on Topper's face. 

"They are not on that boat no, you see the pogue was kinda crazy because his father went missing at sea, he shot an officer and he ran away, Sarah went with him, they both died at sea during a storm," he says glaring at the boat as it passes by. "I'm sorry Topper, that must've been very hard for you," you say while looking at the boat pass by, finding three people already looking back.

🌊

It was the last Saturday before school started again and JJ was doing alright, unlike most of the time recently. JJ took it hard not having John B, and even Sarah, around anymore. At least he still had Kie and Pope, except that he didn't completely have them because since they started going out he was always third-wheeling. 

He knew they felt bad for him, often inviting him, until he started declining because he would always end up at the front of the boat with his feet in the water and a warm beer in his hands while Kiara and Pope were making out at the back.

And when he started declining they eventually stopped inviting him. But today was different, Jj craved having his friends back, so they were on the boat, in the bright sun, with two rules, have fun and don't kiss. And while his two friends were laughing at his attempt to do his stupid beer trick, for a second he felt like how he used to feel, happy.

"Oh shit" Kiara sighs and Jj lowers his beer, "That's Topper's boat isn't it?" she asks, Jj looks and sees what she's talking about, a bit further he can see Topper's boat and two figures in the water, Topper and some girl. 

"Who is that with him?" Pope asks, "maybe a tourist," Jj says to which Kiara playfully rolls her eyes, "Jj school starts the day after tomorrow, all the tourists are long gone by now". Jj shrugs his shoulder and watches Topper glare at the boat while talking to the girl, he wonders if they're dating and when she turns to look at the boat he wonders how Topper was able to pull a girl that pretty.

🌊

You pulled up at Topper's house around nine, your parents didn't seem to care you were going to a party the night before school started, they were just glad you were doing teenager stuff again. "Nice dress," Topper comments, when he gets out of his house, "thanks" you answer. You're wearing a simple summer dress, but it's nice, you like it. Harry would've liked it.

"Don't tell me you came on your bike" Topper groans, "what's wrong with my bike?" you ask, looking at your vintage orange bike. "First of all it's orange" Topper chuckles, "It's vintage, it's not an ugly orange, it's nice" you defend your bike. 

"Well I'll put it in the trunk of my car but we're not going to this party on bikes," he says. "I'm starting to get why you have the reputation of an asshole" you joke to which he slaps you at the back of your head, laughing you get into the passenger seat of his car, waiting for him to put your bike in the trunk. 

When he gets into the driver's seat you chuckle "an asshole and abusive", "I should wash your mouth out with soap" he shakes his head and you give him a wink before he starts driving.

The drive is peacefully silent, "so why exactly is there a party the night before school starts?" you ask. "It's kind of a kook's tradition. A way of saying fuck you to the new school year and I mean come on what's a better way to start the school year than with alcohol, music, and hot chicks" he laughs, "kook's tradition? so is it only kooks?" you question, "Uhm yeah basically" he answers.

"Can we just leave my bike in the trunk of your Jeep? won't it get like stolen" you ask the blonde, "don't worry no kook is gonna steal your little vintage bike" he laughs. The party is nice, people are dancing everywhere, in the water around the bonfire. 

You slightly cringe at how different these people are than what you're used to, girls calling each other silly and goofy for taking a shot, guys cheering and howling like they're at a football match when two girls make out.

Then you meet Topper's friends, Kelce and some guy named Rafe. Kelce is the definition of a douchebag and even Topper looks uncomfortable, you understand his reputation now, if all his friends are like this. Rafe is worse than Kelce though, because he's quiet and stares like a creep. Probably because he's high out of his mind.

"Let's go sit down somewhere, yeah," Topper says, his hand on the small of your back, "Kelce why don't you go get us some drinks", "I'm on it," Kelce says before walking off. Topper, Rafe, and you end up sitting somewhere a little more closed off from the actual party, Rafe rolls a joint and while you pass around the joint, you find yourself having quite a good time.

When the first joint burned out, another's being rolled, You laugh at some of Rafe's jokes and he chuckles at your sarcastic comments. Rafe doesn't talk much, you're not sure what his deal is but at least you think he's enjoying himself. 

"Hi, Toppi so this is where you've been hiding?" A girl comes up to Topper and takes place in his lap, she's pretty, with long legs, a tan body, and long blonde hair. "who's this" she asks when she sees you, there's a hint of venom in her voice and you subconsciously scoot closer to Rafe. 

"That's Y/n she's new he-" the girl doesn't let him finish and presses her lips to his, red nails raking through his hair. You look away and luckily Rafe passes you the joint. 

As you inhale Rafe turns to you and whispers in your ear, "That's Kayleigh, she's been obsessed with him since they were children and now that Sarah is out of the picture she's all over him, all of the time", "yikes" you mutter, the smoke leaving your lungs.

Kayleigh's lips leave Rafe's with a plop, "did you guys say anything?" she pants, "perhaps we should go somewhere more quiet Toppi, less... crowded". Sadly you don't miss her hand stroking over his crotch, "I don't know..." Topper says giving you a look, he clearly wants to go but doesn't want to leave you alone because that doesn't really prove he's much of a gentleman. 

"You should go it's fine, I mean it," you say giving him an almost pleading look, "I'll be back in a moment," he says, following the giggling Kayleigh. "I hope you know he won't be back in at least an hour," Rafe says, you just sigh in response. 

"So... you're new here who have you met?" Rafe asks, awkwardly trying to make conversation. "Uhm, just Topper and now You and Kelce... Kayleigh I guess, saw a few pogues on a boat yesterday" you answer. "You should stay away from them pogues," Rafe says, "why? because of the whole story with topper's ex, Sarah was it?" you ask. 

"Topper's ex is also my sister" he sighs, "oh Rafe, I'm sorry I didn't know, I'm sorry for what happened to her" you apologize, "it's fine, she was a bitch anyways," he says with a huff. "Oh" you can't find anything else to say.

After a long awkward silence, you break it, "hey my head's starting to hurt so I'm just gonna uh, head home" you awkwardly tell Rafe, "All right, see you around" he says before staring at some random shell in the sand. Okay.

You scan the area to see if you can find Topper but you have no luck and end up walking to his truck alone. You get your bike, that's luckily still there, out of the trunk and put your earplugs in, David Bowie blasting full volume as you bike away from the party.

It's quite peaceful to drive home at night, you find yourself thinking maybe you should wake up very early in the mornings and go for bike rides while it's still dark. But honestly, who are you kidding, you're not mentally well enough to do that typa shit, and biking can still be somewhat exhausting for your zombie foot.

You're not even that far from the party when you stumble upon something, at first you drove by it, then you realized what you just saw and dropped your bike before running back. "Holy shit" you whisper, "please don't be dead". A blonde guy is laying in the bushes, despite his beat-up face you recognize him as the pogue doing something weird with his beer.

You take out your phone and turn the flashlight on, right as you shine it in the guy's face you feel tiny drops of rain hitting your skin, "shit" you mutter and look up, angry-looking clouds fill up the sky and you can hear thunder. 

The guy in the bushes groans and you bring your attention back to him, "hey you need to try to get up, I think there's a storm coming" you say, the guy slightly opens one eye, the other shut from it being swollen and dark shades of purple and blue. 

When he sees you he groans and closes his eye again, "fuck off kook" he mutters, "don't start with that kook/pogue shit, there's a storm coming up and you are not dying on my account," you angrily say grabbing his hands and yanking him out of the bushes.

"Holy fuck" he says when he's on his feet, "my head spins" he mutters and holds onto your shoulders for balance, "It's okay, can you stand?" you ask. He lets go of your shoulders and opens his eye, "yeah I think so" his voice is groggy. 

"C'mon we need to get you on the back of my bike" you mutter helping him walk towards where your bike is abandoned on the ground. "Don't you have daddy's car something" he groans, "well if I did I wouldn't have told you to get on the back of my bike, now would i" you answer. 

You let go of him to sit on your bike and he struggles a bit to get on the back but eventually, his head rests against your shoulder, his whole weight slumped against your back. You groan and start biking, your legs burning already. 

After a few minutes the guy speaks up, "you're going really fucking slow," he's right, "well you are very fucking heavy and I'm not an athlete so pardon me" you groan.

[prettylittlelyres]

Ladies Don't Write Music - 13th November 2023 - update

I've just had a look at the average writing speed NaNoWriMo has calculated for me in November (not the same as my typing speed!), relative to the amount of words I've written so far, and I'm shocked to see what that means for the amount of time I've spent working on the book in November.

I've actually timed every session so far this month, which is something I've never thought to do before. I just love how easy NaNoWriMo makes it to time your sessions. It's just over an hour per day (21,685 words at 26 per minute). I've spent just under 14 hours hours writing in November, and we aren't quite halfway through yet.

I can't tell you how pleased I am with that rate. It's also very reassuring to know that if I put my mind to it, I can do a lot with just 30 minutes of writing per day (that would get me 780 words, but with time for stretching and thinking, I'd be happy with 500).

I got 1,1717 words down before I went to sleep on Sunday night, finished Chapter 11, and started Chapter 12. I really hurried to get the words on the page, because my eyes were closing, but I'm so pleased to find it's mostly coherent. I'm not fussed about proofreading when I'm writing the first and second drafts; it just needs to be legible and sensible (but it's also allowed to be silly), so I know what I've written.

On Saturday I had two short train rides between my nearest town and the next one, a lovely bike ride, and a midday meetup with my friends after a physiotherapy appointment. I also got my bike repaired and bought a new helmet, because my previous one was too old to be safe. Did you know it's good practice to replace your cycling helmet every five years? I didn't until recently (I found out from the bike technician at the auto repair shop). I wrote 300 words on the train, and another 200 before bed, but was quite worn out after all that, so that's all I wrote that day.

Today is Monday, and I've written 1787 words. Tomorrow, I want to write to the end of Chapter 12 if I can. In the meantime, I'm rather sleepy, so here's a celebratory excerpt!

I had always found it difficult to commit a new piece to memory; the urge to add a section or change a note never really went away. If I didn’t keep an eye on myself, I could easily play the same piece a dozen different ways. Creating something new was just as fun as showing off something that already existed, and that was what made it so hard to write a piece of music and consider it finished.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Johann swaying softly in time with the music, as if he were dancing in his own head, rather than mine, for a change.

As I came to the end of the sarabande, I made the last note into a trill, and emphasised the rallentando, to finish the piece as smoothly as I could.

Johann and Louisa clapped.

“Brava!” Johann said, “What do you call that?”

“Well, it’s a sarabande, obviously,” I said, my voice trembling, “It doesn’t have a name yet. I only wrote it very recently. and I wrote it for someone.”

[staceymcgillicuddy]

okay wait also before i go to bed: babysitters club au please. bonus points for including at least one ridiculous outfit description here. triple bonus if the outfit includes a jaunty beret with like a sequined tiger appearing to leap from chrissy's forehead at some point. (sorry for plagiarizing u, ann m. martin. probably.)

YES EXCELLENT. OKAY. My brain immediately went to mapping the characters onto their BSC counterparts and then this happened.

Nancy Wheeler as Kristin Amanda Thomas. I will not be taking comments at this time.

Chrissy as Mary-Anne Spier. HEAR ME OUT, because I know Chrissy is aesthetically the Stacey BUT Mary-Anne is quiet and reserved until you piss her off and then she turns into Little Miss I Love Myself and gets sassy haircuts and is the only member of the BSC with a boyfriend AND if she's Mary Anne I can kill off Laura.

For Claudia Lynn Kishi, I'm going back and forth on El or Will, because El has a very unique sense of fashion, and would probably do well with some of Claudia's canonical outfits, while Will is a talented artist who probably needs his own phone line since he keeps breaking his mother's when he calls her from the Upside Down.

Argyle as Dawn Read Schafer because he has long hair and is from California and some people find him annoying but I like him.

Steve as Anastasia "Stacey" Elizabeth "Boontsie" McGill because if he was from New York City he'd probably talk a lot about being from New York City. Also he probably has the nickname Boontsie.

Barb as Mallory Pike because Mallory is a horse girl and Barb gives me big horse girl energy. (Also lol that Mallory doesn't have a middle name? I guess her parents forgot? I don't really care for Mallory.)

Max as Jessi Davis Ramsey because nobody on Stranger Things is canonically a dancer BUT Jessi was cool and precocious and hung out with older kids while being suave, just like Max.

Erica as Shannon Louisa Kilbourne because she gets. shit. done. and you can't spell America without Erica. Seriously, though, Shannon was a high-achieving mfer with no patience for fools.

Eddie as Logan Bruno SIMPLY for Mary Anne proximity but also because I think making Logan a metalhead would be the most interesting thing that anyone ever did for Logan's character.

Robin as Abby Stevenson because she showed up late in the series, stole my heart, and is definitely a lesbian. Abby also doesn't have a middle name, so that's fun.

This leaves me with Lucas, Mike, Jonathan, and Dustin if I'm doing main cast. SORRY, KIDS. Let's see how many "other" characters I remember from Stoneybrook.

Lucas as Sam Thomas because Sam seemed cool and was kind of a jock but still had time to flirt inappropriately with Stacey, but in this universe we'll say it's APPROPRIATE flirting with Max-as-Jessi and Lucas-as-Sam is 11 not 15.

Mike as Trevor Sandbourne because IIRC Trevor dated Claudia for a while which works if you are a Byler OR a Mileven shipper, which probably says a lot about why both those ships are fun!

Jonathan as Bart Taylor because of the Nancy proximity, only instead of coaching a kid's softball team, he takes pictures for the yearbook and Nancy, in addition to running the BSC, a softball team, solving 70 mysteries, and going on many trips around the world in various Super Specials, is also the editor of the yearbook.

Dustin as Janine Kishi simply because Janine was a geek who liked computers and shit, and Dustin enjoys such things. I'm sorry, Dustin! The BSC did not have as many nerd tropes as I needed!

Bonus:

Angela as Cokie Mason because fuck her

Jason as Alan Gray because Alan is the closest thing the series has to a real dick

Billy as Robert Brewster (if you're into Harringrove and subscribe to my Steve-as-Stacey theory) because they dated.

Anyway, this took FAR longer than it should have and I am like 30% proud of it. Please be gentle.

[aaronburrdaily]

July 26, 1809

Couche 1. Slept till 9. At 12 to Breda’s to see the picture. He has placed it among all the Goth and Vandal beauties and they are really beautiful, but all in the shade by your presence. This and Davis¹ has given you great renommé² here. Au chateau to see Baron Engerstrom. He was engaged but gave me rendezvous at 7 this evening. To Hedboom’s; out. Returning, seeing Brooks and fille³ at their window, went in for 1/2 hour. Called on la Comtesse ———; out. Breda engaged me this morning to dine en fam.,⁴ to which agreed cheerfully. Went at 1/2 p. 2. Y: The family, i.e., two sons, one in the naval service, the other painter, both fine young men, the latter un fort esprit⁵; daughter of 15 plays remarkably well and has a most charming voice. Off at 5. Dined and went for an hour to Mr. Brooks’s. Y: The Baron; invited to walk; ne sauroit.⁶ To Engerström’s at 7. He never keeps me waiting a minute. Sat half an hour. Mentioned my design of visiting Germany, &c, and he begged that, when my route should be settled, I would inform him, that he might give me letters. To Helvig’s at 8, where sat an hour tête-a-tete⁷ in his library. Amused by his military science, and interested by his warmth and frankness. He is a German by birth. Gave me samples of powder which, he says, has more than double the usual force, i.e., that a pistol of fifteen-inch barrel will do effect at 200 yards, and a musket at 600! Samples of florite, a composition. Showed me a sort of paper machè⁸ for cannon cartridges, much cheaper and better than linen or cloth. A telescope for measuring distance. The distance required is found by mere inspection of a graduated scale attached to the telescope. An instrument for measuring distances by time, in form of a watch; gives with perfect accuracy the sixtieth part of a second. Every artillery officer is obliged to have one. The cost, $15. Moulds, by which every part of the musket or pistol must be made, so that every part may fit every piece. (Note: The ladies are at Drottningholm; Louisa not arrived.) Home at 1/2 p. 9. Found on my table the Latin edition of the Swedish laws, which for weeks I had been seeking in vain. It came from the Baron d’Albedÿhll (whom I have never seen), accompanied by a very honête⁹ note in French. Sat down most greedily to devour Svenska¹⁰ law. Read till 1, and now bon soir. There is a bal to-night at the park, but I went not, for two reasons (which you may divine), though much urged.

1  On June 25 1809 will be found another reference to Davis and his “Travels.” Possibly Matthew L. Davis is meant. He was one of Burr’s most intimate friends, wrote the Memoirs, edited the Journal (see Introduction), and wrote constantly for the newspapers. For a time he contributed from Washington to the New York Courier and Enquirer under the pen name of “A Spy in Washington.” He also wrote for the London Times, signing his letters “The Genevese Traveler.” It may be that it was to Davis’s letters to the London Times that Burr refers. 2  For renommée. Renown. 3  Daughter. 4  For en famille. 5  A strong mind. 6  For ne saurais. I can't. 7  For tête-à-tête. Literally head to head, i.e., in close conversation. 8  For papier-mâché. 9  For honnête. Civil, polite. 10  Svensk is Swedish for Swedish. Svenska lagen. The Swedish law.

[brunitofindshappinessfanfic]

Haven & Hell

Lilith had grown up with the Madrigal triplets. She was born a month and a few days after they were. When Bruno disappeared, she decided to leave. Now she's returned.

"What's all the commotion down there?" Pepa looked over the railing, holding her coffee.

There was some uproar going on in the small town.

"There aren't any festivals being held right now, but there seems to be quite a stir," Julieta tossed a towel over her shoulder, holding her own coffee in the other hand.

"DOLO-"

Pepa was cut short when her eldest child popped up with a squeak.

"What's going on down there?" Pepa asked.

"They're saying lots of things, but I keep hearing the name "Lilith" being whispered," Dolores said quietly.

"Lilith? They don't mean-" Julieta looked in shock.

"Silly Lilly?" Pepa finished her sister's sentence.

The childhood nickname they'd given their friend so many years ago.

They heard Casita's front doors open.

"Mamá!" Mirabel sang out.

"Up here," Julieta looked over the opposite railing.

Mirabel came bounding up the stairs.

"Mamá did you know someone named Lilith?"

"A long time ago. She was a good friend, but she left after Bruno-" even though Bruno had returned after the catastrophic loss of Casita and had been around in their lives since, it was still sometimes hard for them to talk about.

"Well, she's back. In the village, right now!" Mirabel looked at her mom and tía.

The two looked at each other, not sure what to make of it.

"Let's go get Bruno and go see her!" Pepa's excitement finally flooded out.

Pepa and Mirabel went to find Bruno while Dolores and Julieta took the now empty coffee cups to the kitchen.

•••

"BRUNO!" Pepa banged on his door, nearly thundering with anticipation of seeing their old friend again.

"TÍO BRUNO!" Mirabel sang out while hesitantly opening the door.

"Que?" Came a quiet and annoyed Bruno from behind them, scaring them out of their wits.

"The town says Silly Lilly is back," Pepa rushed her speech, "Julieta and I are going down to see, and you're coming, too."

She grabbed her little brother by the wrist, causing him to nearly lose the coffee in his hand. Mirabel was caught flat footed and had to scramble to keep up with her elders.

"Silly Lilly? What do you mean she's back?" Bruno asked as his sister continued to haul them down the stairs.

Julieta, Dolores, and Isabela were waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"When you... left," Julieta started, "She was upset and decided to leave the Encanto. It seems she's just returned."

"Ah, oh."

"Come on, let's go, let's go," Pepa was rushing them all out the door.

"I actually kind of remember Lilly," Isa said to Dolores and Mirabel, "I think she watched us a few times."

"That's right," Julieta confirmed.

"I remember she had dark curly hair and blue eyes," Dolores spoke up, "she always spoke softly."

"And she was so pale she had to wear long sleeves even in summer or she's burn!" Isa commented.

"I don't remember that," Mirabel tried joining in.

"You might have been too young," Julieta said over her shoulder, holding out her hand for her youngest daughter to take, "I wonder if Louisa remembers her."

"Bruno, you're awfully quiet. Aren't you excited?" Pepa asked.

"Of course I am. It's just been so long..." he was having a difficult time keeping up with the women, somewhere between walking and running.

They chatted amongst themselves till they were in the throngs of the crowd.

"Oh! I see her!" Pepa shouted, pointing out a small, short woman with tight dark curls cascading down her back with a hat on. She donned unusually dull blue top and riding pants while balancing a wide brimmed hat on her head. She was guiding a pimento horse through.

"SILLY LILLY!" Pepa called out. The small woman's head whipped around, smiled and waved.

The triplets made it through the crowd and rushed the woman up in a mass hug.

"Oh mon Dieu, how I've missed you three," she hugged back.

When they let her down, did they see how she'd changed physically.

She was a mere shadow of the person she was. She'd lost weight, that was the first noticeable thing. Her face had changed. Her beautiful blue eyes had sunken in, dark circles under her eyes. There were odd scars on the left side of her face and neck here and there. Her hat had hidden most of the grays that had developed.

What Bruno noticed was that the light in her eyes had gone. She could try and mask it all she liked, but the triplets knew something was wrong.

"Mon... mes- mi amigos," she stood back to look at her old friends.

"Pepa! As radiant as ever! How is Félix? And Julieta! Mon ami, how's Augustín? Still alive? Dios mio, he was such a clumsy thing."

"Still is," Julieta responded. Despite how terrible their friend looked, she could still make others smile.

"AND YOU!" She turned on her heel abruptly, turning on Bruno, "what the hell happened to you? Last time I saw you -"

"Shshshs! Nobody knows!" Bruno blurted out.

That wasn't strange enough.

Lilith stood at even height with Bruno, but she was wearing riding boots that had heels on them.

She tapped her hand that had been holding the reigns as if a nervous fidget.

A small sad smile passed over her complexion.

"Me alegro de que estés a salvo," she hugged him again, accidentally jerking the reigns of the horse.

"Y tu," Bruno responded rather quietly.

She pulled back and noticed the youths.

"Mein Gott! Los niñas!" She held her arms open for Isabela and Dolores.

"Ah! You all were all so klein, just this high," she gestured.

"Ah, don't tell me, laisse moi travailler mon cerveau, Julieta had Isabela, Louisa aaand..."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "It was lyrical, lyrical Mel- no! Mirabel!"

Mirabel looked stunned. She couldn't remember the woman standing in front of her.

"It's okay, you had just turned five or six when I left," she smiled at Mirabel.

She turned on her heel again.

"And Dolores," she held out her arms, and Dolores practically ran into her embrace.

"Amiga, do you have a place to stay?" Julieta broke up the hug.

"I just packed up and left, je ne pense pas..."

"You're going to stay with us. Don't try to argue," Pepa had her hands on her hips.

Lilith held her hands up.

"Je me rends," she shook her head.

Bruno took the reigns from Lilith as Julieta and Pepa spoke, and the grandkids followed behind.

•••

The triplets' old childhood friend greeted Louisa, Camillo, Félix and Augustín in a similar fashion. She nearly cried seeing Abuela Alma and got so excited meeting Antonio for the first time.

"Ie so much excitement. Please accept mes excuses, it has... it has been a day," Lilith took her hat off and exposed the severe amount of grays that had developed over the years.

"Of course," Alma ushered Lilith to her own bedroom to rest.

"She looked terrible," Pepa turned to Julieta.

"I know, I wonder what happened," Julieta looked the way Alma and Lilith had gone.

"Was it just me, or did it seem like she was hiding something?" Bruno piped up.

"Like?" Pepa arched an eyebrow.

"Like, she was pretending to be okay," Bruno avoided the look on Pepa's face.

"I felt that, too," Julieta gave Pepa a look.

"I'm sure she'll tell you in her own time," Augustín came up to comfort Julieta.

"Yeah. Remember how she would pass our notes to each other, mi amore?" Félix had snuck into Pepa's side.

[adarafaelbarba]

I’ve seen @teamsladsandgents do it mainly with Rafael and Sonny. But do you have any dad hcs with any of the guys? 👀

Boy do I! 😅

I’m thinking of revamping widower!Mike (hopefully soon) and giving his daughter Grace two brothers, Parker Dodds (who’s the oldest) and Michael “Micha” Dodds jr. (youngest, and named after Mike 🥰). Parker was 5 when his mom passed away, Gracie was 3 and Micha was 1. And ever since then Mike’s taken care of them mostly on his own (of course with sitters and family helping when he works). Mike’s content with not moving on, wanting to have his wife be his first and last love. But with some encouraging pushes he manages to find someone who loves him, quirks and all, and absolutely adores his kids. Only a selected few outside of family knows about them. Parker is the spitting image of Mike, Grace is their mom’s clone, while Micha is a perfectly balanced mix of the two 🥰

In my mind Joe is a single dad (baby mama walked out on him and the kids) of two kids, Josephine and Gabriel. Josie is the eldest. And Joe does his best to take care of the two and keep them safe while doing his job. His mom and sister-in-law help a lot with the two, but like with Mike, not a lot of people know about the kids. Both babies are a mix of both parents, which made Joe’s heart ache at first, missing their mom. But he’s gotten over it now.

Sonny (who I’ve written a family verse for) has a lot of kids! In my Sonnyverse he has the following: Dominick Gabriel, Matteo Lucas, Giovanni Elijah, Angelina Maria, Beatrice Esther, Christian Isaac, Adelina Magdalena and Virginia Louisa. All of them having two names (An Italian and a Biblical). If we’re not talking this universe, I could see him wanting still a few kids, not that many (but to be fair, Christian and Adelina were unexpected twins, and Virginia was not planned 😅). I want to stick with some of the names for them. Definitely Dominick for one of his sons, and they would definitely call him Nicky! 🥰 the whole squad get frequent updates with baby pictures and he gushes about them 😅 just as much. 

Rafael would have one, a son, named Emilio. Rafael was so scared when he found out he was going to be a dad. Scared that he would be just like his father, but the second he holds Emilio in his hands he swears to do right by him. Rafael is set on teaching his son how to be a good person and treat others well. At first Rafael would be hesitant to tell anyone outside of his mami (and abuelita if she’s still there). But then Emilio would sometimes need to stay with Rafael in the office if something came up. And he would, at one point, especially around nap time, be found on the couch with Emilio falling asleep in his lap as Rafael reads for him.

Nolan has one too, a daughter named Eloise. She’s the absolute apple of his eyes, and he’s with her as much as he can. If he’s just gonna be in his office all day he offers to have her there with him, of course having the nanny on standby in case something comes up. Everyone at the DA’s office knows about her, and Samantha will sometimes stop by just to say hi to “my future colleague”. Not many people know this, but Samantha is Eloise’s godmother 😌

Peter has two sons, Andre (after Andre Dawson of Chicago Cubs) and Frank (after Frank Chance of the Chicago Cubs). His partner wasn’t all too happy about the name Frank, so no one calls him that, all going by the nickname Frankie. He teaches them everything there is to know about baseball, starting when they’re born, heck even before that. And will of course coach their team when they start playing. Peter will occasionally call in “sick” on days the boys are playing, and is their number one supporter. 

Nick in my opinion would be done after two. Having Zara and Gil part time (unless it’s after his cameo on the show and he’s married to Cynthia) is enough for him 🥰 he’s a loving dad though and makes every moment with the kids special 😌

[janetbrown711]

Princess Dot

Dot is born, and Angelina makes her intentions clear once again. A few years pass then, and Wakko and Dot find themselves in serious trouble.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Ao3 Link

Lena and William had already had two boys, so it was safe to say that when they announced their third pregnancy, everyone assumed it would be another prince.

And so, it was easy to imagine the surprise on William and Lena’s faces when the doctor handed them their beautiful baby girl.

“A girl, William…” Lena looked at her new baby softly.

However after a moment, she stopped and puzzled– “Did we ever think of a name for a girl?”

William had to think about it too. “Let me see… there was Giselle, Lucy, Dorothy… Cecilia, I think? Or we could stick with flowers? Like Daisy, Violet, Lily, Yasmine, etc?” William said. Lena looked at her daughter and thought hard.

“Dorothy is nice… but what if we shortened it to something… simpler. Like- like Dot,” Lena suggested.

“Dot has a very nice ring to it,” William nodded. “I like it.”

“Princess Dot… I love it already,” She scrunched her nose and smiled at the sleeping baby.

She could tell it was perfect for her already.

For a moment, the couple stayed like that, being utterly entranced and wrapped up in their new daughter’s cuteness. However, a quick knock at the door snapped them out of it, and before they knew it, Wakko had burst into the room and ran onto the bed.

“Is that my baby brother?” Wakko asked, staying on the foot of the bed out of cautious curiosity.

“Remember Wakko, you have to be quiet with babies,” Yakko reminded his brother, climbing onto the bed.

“Actually, you boys now have a sister,” William said.

“A girl?” Angelina had followed the boys, but remained at the foot of the bed.

“Yes… a girl,” Lena looked at her mother.

“How splendid-! Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca The Third,” The queen seemed genuinely pleased about that.

“Actually, we already named her-”

“The girl’s name is Angelina the Third, and she will be a proper young lady. You do not have a say in the matter,” Angelina reminded them of their lack of power for the millionth time in their lives.

“But surely naming her is just too far, is it not?” Lena asked.

“Do I need to remind you that I am the Queen? Because you seem to be rather forgetful,” Angelina seethed.

“Of course not, your majesty,” William sighed. “Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third is a beautiful name.”

The queen looked at William and nodded.

“It would do you well to listen to that husband of yours, Angelina. It might do you some good,” She looked at her daughter, entering a mini stare off, before exiting.

“That’s a really long name,” Wakko said once she left.

“We can still call her Dot, but it’ll be a nickname instead,” Lena eventually determined.

“So… her real name would be Angelina Contessa Louisa yadda yadda the Third, but we’d call her Dot? Wouldn’t grandma find that suspicious?” Yakko asked with a concerned frown.

“I suppose we could call her Angelina around your grandmother… but she hardly spends any time with her anyway, I’d hardly see why it matters. All she cares about is what she’s called legally, anyways” Lena said, sharing a look with William. Yakko and Wakko nodded.

“I like Dot. Dot is a good name,” Wakko smiled, clearly wanting to come closer, but still keeping his distance on the edge.

“You can get closer Wakko, it’s okay,” Lena smiled and gestured for the boys to come closer. William scooted out of the way, and the boys crawled onto either side of their mother, both getting a good look at their sister.

“Dot,” Yakko nodded. “I think it fits her.”

“I think so too,” William said, ruffling his hair. Yakko laughed.

“Can we call her Dottie?” Wakko asked. Lena shrugged.

“That’ll be up to her,” Lena shrugged. “Some people just don’t like certain nicknames.”

“Okay,” Wakko accepted. He paused a moment, before speaking again.

“Why does she look like that?”

“Wakko, you can’t just say that,” Yakko gave his younger brother a look.

“What? She’s so tiny, it’s weird,” Wakko frowned. Lena chuckled.

“Yakko, Wakko, it’s alright,” She said, before looking at Wakko. “It’s just because she’s a baby, and you’ve never seen one before. Babies are very small, but she’ll grow with time, you’ll see.”

“Will she ever be bigger than me?” he asked.

“She could be, though you’ll always be older,” William said.

“That’s right Wakko, you’re a big brother too,” Lena nudged him slightly.

“That means it’ll be part of your job to protect and watch over her, like how Yakko watches over you,” William pointed out. Wakko looked at his big brother.

“Really?” he asked. Yakko nodded.

“Welcome to the big brother club,” He grinned.

“Yay! That’ll be fun,” Wakko gave a big toothy grin, and Lena and William laughed fondly.

And so their perfect little family gained another member. Wakko quickly adapted to his role of big brother, always watching Dot from afar with curiosity, and slowly coming closer as he gained an understanding of her, especially with the help of Yakko and his father.

Wakko and Dot grew especially close when Yakko was forced to go to lessons, leaving Wakko with nothing to do, so he naturally wandered into his sister’s room and they’d play together for hours and hours– or until one of them passed out for a nap.

Four years went by of this, and Wakko and Dot had become quite the wild pair, always running around both inside the castle and out, with William and Lena sometimes barely able to keep up.

Such was the situation one autumn day. Dot and Wakko were playing out in the gardens, while their parents rested at their favorite bench by the center fountain.

“I’m gonna catch you!” Dot cheered as she chased after her brother.

“Nuh-uh! I’m the fastest creature there’s ever been,” Wakko shouted back as he ran through the flower beds, not even realizing mud was getting everywhere. Dot didn’t even hesitate to follow, getting mud all over her bright pink dress.

“Wakko! Dot! Stay out of the flower beds! You’ll crush the tulips,” Their mother called from afar. The children took their mother’s warning, getting out and continuing their chase.

Slowly but surely they ran further and further away from their parents, eventually running back into the castle, still in their mad chase. Wakko dashed upstairs, and Dot followed, but Wakko tripped on one step, slowing him down just enough for Dot to tag him and scurry back down and run the other way down the hall, tracking mud as she ran. Wakko wasn’t hurt from his trip, and chased after, as was the rule of tag.

“Na na nana na! You can’t catch me!” Dot teased her brother, turning her head to look back, becoming confused briefly when she saw him screech to a halt right before-

Poof.

Dot ran straight into her grandmother.

“Princess Angelina- what is the matter with you?! Why- you’re filthy!” The queen scolded.

“I’m not dirty,” Dot frowned.

“You’re absolutely covered in mud- you have a trail of muddy footprints coming up and down and-… you,” Angelina’s eyes fell upon Wakko.

“I should’ve known you were behind this from the start- you’re always corrupting that sister of yours,” she stormed towards the frightened seven-year-old.

“It’s not his fault!” Dot argued, but her grandmother ignored her.

“We were just playing…” Wakko mumbled.

“Games are for fools who will never amount to anything,” Angelina grabbed Wakko’s arm and began to drag him off.

“Wait– Don’t take Wakko!” Dot pleaded, running to catch up with the furious queen.

“I’ve had enough of your antics. First with that brother of yours always talking back, and then your relentless need to give your sister ideas of filth and characteristics most unladylike- I’m going to put you somewhere where your siblings will be free of your influence,” she gripped his arm tighter and Wakko yelped in pain.

“Let him go! Let him go!” Dot screamed, catching up to her and pulling on her grandmother’s dress as they began to go up some stairs.

“Stay out of this, Angelina. Go and clean yourself up before you attract flies,” The queen glared.

“My name is Dot!!” She shouted at her. giving her dress a massive tug that almost caused Angelina to fall.

“You impudent brat!” Angelina kicked Dot off of her dress, and Dot tumbled down the stairs.

“Dot!!!” Wakko cried out, but Angelina returned to dragging him up the stairs, despite how much he was kicking and screaming at this point.

Eventually, they reached the top of a very, very tall tower, and Wakko was thrown into a dark and dusty room at the top.

“You are going to stay here and think about what you’ve done,” Angelina spat.

“Let me go! You hurt Dot! You’ll pay for that!” Wakko shook and pounded on the wooden door violently, but she had already locked it, and he had only the strength of a seven-year-old.

Wakko paced and paced and paced around the room, desperately trying to think of something he could do. He tried biting on the door handle to see if he could break it, but the solid iron was just too strong. He tried slamming into it, but it only hurt him more. He pondered climbing out the window, but he knew it was far too tall.

He was trapped.

And Dot was hurt.

Wakko sank to the floor, realizing he had already failed at his duty as a big brother at the ripe age of seven.

He could only wonder what was going on in the world below the tower…

.o0o.

Lena and William were laughing in the gardens before Lena realized something felt… off.

“William… It's quiet. Too quiet” Angelina shot up, mid-conversation and took a look around the garden. “Where are Wakko and Dot?”

“They probably just ran back into the castle and forgot to tell us again,” William sighed with a smile. “C’mon dearest,” he stood and offered his hand and assisted her up.

“I don’t like this… something feels off…” Lena looked around.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Lena, just relax,” William smiled sympathetically. “Like I said, they’re probably just inside.”

“Yes… you’re probably right,” Lena tried to force a laugh to relax her nerves, but something deep within her still just didn’t feel right.

Eventually, the couple made it back to the castle, and noticed there was a path of muddy footprints that led in the same direction.

“I told them to stay out of the flower beds,” Lena shook her head with a chuckle. They apologized to the cleaners as they went in further.

“Wakko? Dot?” William called.

No response.

They followed the footprints with increasing anxiety until they reached what appeared to be the end. They looked around for any more clues for where they were when Lena suddenly saw a ball of pink a few staircases away– Dot!

Immediately Lena ran over to her, running even faster when she noticed Dot was crying too.

“Dot? Honey, are you okay? Are you hurt? Where’s Wakko?” Lena asked, trying to get a look for any injuries or broken bones. Dot sat up, revealing a severe bruise on her arm and bump on her head, but thankfully that appeared to be the last of it.

“Oh– I’m so sorry honey,” Lena sat and opened her arms for Dot, who all but leapt into them.

“G-gra-grand-m-ma t-to-took h-hi-him a-and now h-h-he-he’s g-gone, a-and sh-she kicked me a-and I f-fell down stai-stairs and now m-my head hurts a-and- a-and-” Dot hiccuped so much, it was impossible to understand.

“Grandma? What did she do?” William asked, catching up with them, his concern growing tenfold.

“Sh-she took him! A-and kicked me d-down the stairs,” Dot sobbed. Lena and William gasped.

“The tower,” they said at the same time.

“H-huh?” Dot sniffled.

“Don’t worry honey, we’ll get Wakko back. Everything is going to be okay,” she kissed her forehead and Dot nuzzled her head into her mom’s chest.

“William, go break him out,” she ordered, and William only paused to give Dot a quick kiss on the head too before running off.

“Meanwhile I am going to have to have a good talk with your grandmother,” Lena said to herself.

“W-wait, don’t go!” Dot begged.

“I don’t wanna go, Dottie, but we’re going to find Yakko, okay? Mommy just really, really needs to talk to grandma about this,” Lena said. Dot sniffled and thought a second before nodding.

“Yakko is good,” she agreed. Lena kissed her forehead before standing and picking up Dot to then carry her until she found Yakko in the family’s study.

“Mom?” Yakko looked up from his book, noticing Dot and gasping. “What happened?”

“Dot took a little tumble down the stairs thanks to ‘You-Know-Who’,” She sighed, which made Yakko growl.

“I’m going to have a conversation with your grandmother. Watch over her for me,” Lena said quickly before he scared Dot. Yakko relaxed and nodded.

“C’mere Dot,” he stood from his desk and opened his arms, and after Lena set her down, Dot ran to him and gave a strong hug.

“Promise me you’ll be smart and stay in here?” Lena asked.

“Promise,” Yakko swore.

“Good,” She bent down and gave Dot another kiss on the top of her head and Yakko’s head too for extra good measure.

“I’ll be right back you two,” She smiled before heading out.

Once the door was closed, her long buried rage returned.

She knew her mother was cruel and wicked, but to be so utterly heartless and inhumane as to lock Wakko, an actual child, inside that terrible, horrible, awful room just felt like a whole new level of low. Lena had to draw the line right then and there. Her mother simply could not get away with this. It didn’t matter that she was the queen- this was beyond sadistic.

She eventually reached the throne room, and burst in.

“Mother, what the hell is my son doing in that awful tower room?! He’s only seven years old! You had no right to punish him like this!” She shouted at her.

“Angelina! I am in the middle of a-”

“No! You had no right to do that to my son. I mean- seriously! How on earth could you lock up your own grandchild like that?!” Lena asked, and she heard whispers of people behind her.

Her mother was in the middle of a meeting with ambassadors of other kingdoms.

“Angelina that is enough!” The queen shouted, standing up from her throne.

“Outside. Now.” she ordered, and Lena went out one of the doors, her mother following.

Once the doors shut, The queen quickly removed her glove and slapped Angelina.

“You have no right addressing your queen like that, especially in a meeting such as that,” She fumed.

“You have no right treating my son like an animal!” Lena argued, and her mother hit her again.

“If he doesn’t want to be treated like an animal then he should stop acting like one.” She grit her teeth.

“He’s your grandson– maybe that trait has to come from somewhere–”

“And you think it’s not that bastard husband of yours?” Angelina actually laughed.

“William has more love and passion in his pinky finger than you have ever possessed your entire life!” Lena shouted. “You only know hurt and pain and how to cause it a-and I just– god– I know you hate me and you hate William, but Wakko is a child– you can’t just– you can’t just–”

“You do not tell me what I can or cannot do. Honestly, Angelina, you are so blinded by your arrogance you always forget that in every situation, I am the one in control,” She stepped forward, leering over her.

“W-well, either way, your little tower tactic won’t work anyways. William is strong enough he’s breaking down the door to free our son right now,” Lena smirked proudly.

She half expected her mother to strike her again, but instead Angelina looked at her coldly before slowly putting back on her gloves.

“You know what, Angelina? For years and years and years I have been merciful on you and your pitiful existence. I let you have your bastard peasant husband, and your filthy children, but now? Your insolence has gone much too far. I really did hope it wouldn’t come to this, but you’ve forced my hand,” she stated coldly.

“Wh-what are you going to do?” Lena’s anger evaporated into fear.

Her mother turned to face her.

“I will do what I must to remove this blemish on my perfect family tree,” She glared, before walking back and out into the throne room again, leaving Lena perfectly horror struck.

Dear God… what had she done?