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thedummysdummy · 11 months

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Can I have a cup of latte with some sweet cream and yes hcs of our CEO dealing with a pregnant wifey 🤧🤌🏻 Pregnancy reveal to labor that will be a thank you.

Firstborn

In his Victor way, he immediately sensed her presence and looked up from his work. Seeing the grin on her face, he immediately knew something was up. “What has gotten a dummy so riled up?” he asked, pausing as he glanced farther down and spotted the pregnancy test in her hand. He jumped up from the couch and hurried to her side, his large hand reaching for hers to grab the test. She relinquished it with no struggle and Victor stared at the little window. A laugh started deep in his chest and made its way to the surface, emerging as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

“See? All that worry for nothing! I told you that we just had to be patient! We have to celebrate. What would you like for dinner? I’ll make you anything you want. And I’ll call up the doctor to make an appointment. This time everything will go smoothly.” Victor scooped the girl up into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

She squirmed a little and squeaked indignantly, but Victor only laughed louder and carried her out of the office and into the living room. “I can walk, you know,” she insisted, his joy soaking into her soul and making her laugh as well. “But really all I want for dinner is a nice butternut bisque. I’m a little too nauseous for much more than that…”

Victor immediately set her down at the dining room table and went to the cupboard where he kept the tea and coffee. Soon the scents of ginger and peppermint filled the air and a steaming cup of tea appeared in front of the girl. “Drink this first while I make dinner, then. But give it a few minutes to properly steep before you greedily gulp it down.”

“It’s too hot to gulp anyway,” the girl protested, but Victor merely shook his head and began his preparations. She watched his strong and slender form as he cut, cleaned, and drizzled olive oil over the resulting chunks of squash. The edges of her lips twitched in a pleased manner and her heart felt almost too big for her chest.

In this moment, she was the luckiest girl alive. She picked up the teacup and inhaled the fragrant steam before blowing a soft breath over the surface of the liquid. As long as she had the love of that man, she had the entire world in her palm.

His baby wasn’t a bad addition, either.

The cup of tea was gone long before the squash had finished steaming, but the girl was content to sit at the table and just watch Victor work. He often glanced over at her and his dark eyes glittered every time he caught her staring. She enjoyed watching his skillful hands transform the hard vegetable into a smooth and creamy soup which soon he ladled into a bowl and placed in front of her. It was followed by a thick slice of toasted sourdough and another cup of tea.

Only once she was served did Victor dish up his own meal and join her at the table. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked, dipping his spoon into the silky soup and blowing gently to cool it. The girl nodded and tore off a bit of the bread to dip into her soup. It was delicious, as was to be expected, and she didn’t even need to ask the ‘secret ingredient,’ because she already knew exactly what it was.

Joy.

~~~

Two months passed by as a moment and a lifetime simultaneously. The girl lost count of how many times she’d had to run out of a filming shoot, returning to the concerned looks of her coworkers.

Finally, Kiki pulled her aside. “Boss, we’ve all noticed that you’ve been ill a lot lately. Is everything okay?” She looked into the girl’s face with concerned eyes, seeming to seek the answer in her boss’s expression. The girl fought with herself for a long moment. Was it too early to make an announcement? She knew it would be another month before she was out of the most dangerous portion of the pregnancy, but if her coworkers were already getting worried…she knew she wouldn’t last another month without telling them.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…don’t spread this around, okay? But I’m pregnant.”

A look of wild excitement filled Kiki’s face. “Oh my goodness! Congratulations, boss! How far along are you?! Has anyone planned a baby shower yet? Are you having a boy or a girl? How does Victor feel about it? This is so exciting!”

The girl slapped a hand over Kiki’s mouth, but that did little to quell the other woman’s excitement. “I’m only eight weeks along, but Victor and I are both very happy. We won’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl for quite a while.” She giggled and her other hand went instinctively to her stomach. “It definitely is exciting. But!! You have to swear not to go announcing it to the entire world, okay? I’ll tell the others after the shoot today, then you all can gossip to your hearts’ content with each other.” She shot Kiki a serious look, and Kiki straightened into a salute.

“You’ve got it, Boss! I won’t tell a soul!”

It was a promise which lasted approximately twenty minutes before the news was nearly enough to make Kiki explode. “But you have to act surprised when the boss tells everyone after the shoot, okay?” she whispered after spilling the beans to Willow.

“Oh, obviously,” Willow insisted. “And we’re also obviously going to plan a surprise party.” Kiki agreed wholeheartedly and the pair went back to the shoot. The day seemed to drag by even slower than usual as the secret burned a hole in their mental pockets. They did their best to look innocent every time the girl was nearby, but the moment she turned her back, the pair could barely contain their excitement.

By the time the shoot wrapped up, everyone was completely exhausted except Kiki and Willow. They were still hyped up on the high of their secret and practically vibrated with excitement when their little crew was called together.

The girl looked at each one of her friends and smiled. “I have a bit of an announcement. I was going to wait a little longer, but I have no doubt the cat would get out of the bag sooner rather than later. So here it is: Victor and I are expecting our first child.”

Cheers of congratulations filled and echoed around the mostly-empty set, making it feel as if the girl were surrounded by an army of well-wishers.

~~~

“But the casual white shirts go on the blue hangers, and the formal ones go on the black ones!”

The girl began pulling all of the clothes that Victor had hung up off their hangers and tossed them on the bed, her arms moving in far more exaggerated circles than was entirely necessary. Victor watched with exasperation, his arms crossed over his chest and his brows furrowed. “Why does it matter? Besides, they are my shirts. Shouldn’t it be my opinion that counts when it comes to putting them away?”

He may as well have declared the instigation of World War 3. The girl looked at Victor incredulously and threw the hanger she was holding to the ground. “Fine! If you’re so opinionated about it, I’ll just let you put them away yourself! And the closet can be a mess.”

“I already put them away myself once, and you pulled them all back out. That seems like you caused the problem, not me.” Victor’s exasperated tone only earned him a look that could kill a nation before his wife stomped out of the room and disappeared into the darkness of the rest of the house.

Victor took a moment to breathe. Why was everything a fight lately?! Good grief, it was the color of hanger for crying out loud. He’d thought putting away the laundry would make her happy, not cause yet another argument. He glanced over the pile of shirts on the bed and wondered where exactly he’d gone wrong.

A cloud settled over his heart as he picked up the shirts and ensured they were on the ‘proper’ hangers before putting them back in the closet. Every now and then he glanced at the bedroom door, half expecting to find her standing there watching. However, she never appeared. It didn’t take too long to fix the shirts and make the bed for good measure; only after that did he dare go seeking his wife.

Perhaps ‘seeking’ was the incorrect word. Victor was pretty sure he knew exactly where he’d find her. He easily crossed the dark house and opened the nursery door, standing in the doorway. Moonlight filtered across the carpeted floor and landed on the chair on the opposite side of the room, highlighting the small amount of dust which drifted back and forth as sand in the ocean.

Sure enough, the girl was curled up in the rocking chair, clutching a shiba plush. Even in the moonlight he could see the glisten of tears on her cheeks and he sighed. “Dummy,” he whispered, crossing the room in three long strides. She looked away, hiding her face behind the golden fur of the shiba. But Victor pushed it gently away and lifted her chin. He wiped away one of the tears with his thumb and kissed her forehead. “I love you, my little dummy.”

While the words were simple, they seemed to be the magic words which unlocked the door. A torrent of tears ran down the girl’s cheeks and she flung herself into Victor’s arms. “I didn’t mean to yell at you,” she sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder. “I don’t know why I’m like this! It’s like I can’t even control myself and I hate it!”

Victor ran his fingers tenderly through her hair and held her close. “It’s just the pregnancy. You’ll feel better soon. Only six weeks left, hm? I’m not going anywhere, no matter how moody you get. So stop beating yourself up and come to bed.” He slid one arm under the girl’s legs and scooped her up. “You need your rest if our little one is going to be healthy.”

~~~

It was dark when the girl waddled into the office. She groaned a little and shifted on her feet, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt. Unfortunately, there was no such thing at this point in the pregnancy. Her hand went for the lightswitch and she wondered idly how she was the first one there for the meeting. Anna had seemed quite insistent that it was incredibly important, and even Victor had seemed keen to get her here on time.

The lights caused her to go momentarily blind and she squinted as they adjusted. A jubilant shout of ‘SURPRISE!’ caused her to jump, but once she was able to open her eyes again, she was met with a room full of pink and blue balloons and streamers. Everyone she loved sat in chairs around the room with bright grins. Cupcakes decorated with pastel frosting and baby bottle sprinkles made up a large centerpiece, surrounded by various other snacks, while another table was absolutely loaded with brightly wrapped gifts.

A hand softly on her back propelled the surprised mother-to-be into the room; it was connected to a smirking Victor. “Come on, get in there. Your friends didn’t organize this just for you to stand in the doorway with your mouth hanging open.”

She broke out of her stupor and joined her loved ones for an evening of ridiculous games, eating, and opening of gifts. The sheer amount of love she felt from everyone in the room was a warm blanket which encircled her heart with tender softness. Each hug, each gift, and each kind word helped erase just a little bit more of the pain and discomfort of being eight and a half months pregnant.

And when Victor noticed that she was beginning to tire, he took her hand in his big, warm palm and addressed the room. “Thank you, everyone, for the party and the gifts. We very much appreciate it, but my wife is going to fall asleep in her chair if I don’t get her home soon.” She gave his hand a squeeze and with those they loved trailing behind them with arms full of gifts to load into the car, the happy pair returned home with far more than just a new mountain of belongings.

~~~

Of course it would be the middle of the night. The girl got up for what felt like the fifteenth time that night to use the bathroom, only to feel warmth running down her leg. “Too slow…” she muttered as she waddled into the other room.

However, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t a middle-of-the-night bladder leak. An intense pain gripped the girl’s stomach and she curled up on herself, letting out a strangled squeak of pain and surprise. It wasn’t incredibly loud, but loud enough to cause Victor to rocket up from the bed. His sleep had been poor for the last week already, just in case this exact thing happened.

“Is it time?!” he exclaimed, looking quite silly with his dark hair tousled upwards and his boxers slightly twisted. All it took was a single nod for him to spring into action, tossing on the clothes he’d specifically kept on the chair next to the bed for easy access and grabbing the hospital bag they’d lovingly packed together.

Minutes later the girl was dressed as well and Victor helped her into the car. His hands trembled as he buckled her belt, though out of fear or excitement was up for debate. Probably both. He hustled around the front of the car and into his seat, turned the key, and soon the pair were speeding down the road toward the hospital.

Each time a new contraction hit, the girl fumbled for Victor’s hand. “I’m right here. Just breathe,” he soothed, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “We’ll be there soon. I’m right here.” As Victor was wont to do in situations involving his wife, he drove with a reckless abandon in regards to the speed limit. They soon walked into labor and delivery, where the girl was whisked away while Victor paced the waiting room.

Luckily for everyone in the hospital, Victor was only made to wait until his wife was dressed and put in her delivery bed before he was allowed to go back with her. “It will probably still be a little while, Mr. Li. The contractions are still ten minutes or so apart, and she’s only at an eight. We’ll check in often, but why don’t you try to get a little rest while you can? When the contractions are two minutes apart or less, we’ll get the doctor in here.”

Victor nodded, though he knew there would be absolutely no rest for him tonight. Not until those sweet cries filled his ears, and that sweet bundle filled his arms. He sat at his wife’s bedside and held her hand as she did her best to remain calm through round after round of contractions. “I’m positive we’re having a boy,” she murmured. “I regretted deciding to wait to find out for sure, but now that it’s time…I think it’s even more exciting this way.”

“I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl, as long as we get a healthy baby.” Victor placed his hand on his wife’s belly and was rewarded with a solid kick. “They’ve definitely got your attitude…”

The hours passed by painfully slowly. Painfully being the key word. By morning, the girl was convinced this labor thing was never going to end. That was, until she was hit with contractions five minutes apart. Then two minutes apart. Victor pressed the call button repeatedly and the nurses soon arrived, the room filling with motion and excitement. The epidural went in and warm, blissful numbness took the place of the hot pain which had been filling her existence.

The doctor arrived and, after a brief examination, smiled. “Alright, love. It’s time to push, okay? Three breaths and push for me on three. One, two, push. One, two, push.”

Time felt like it stood still as Victor watched his sweet wife’s face flush, and her hand crushed his with each straining push. The doctor kept checking repeatedly, his voice encouraging. “You’re doing great, mama. I see a head! Keep pushing for me. Not too much longer now.”

And he was right. Two pushes later, the shrill sound of a baby’s first cry pierced the air. The nurses rushed forward with a towel and a clamp for the cord, while the doctor checked over the new life for signs of health. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Li, it seems you have an absolutely perfect little boy.”

Victor wasn’t even embarrassed about the tears that ran down his cheeks as the doctor wrapped the still-mucky little boy in a towel and handed him to his father. He was a chunky little man…and the most beautiful thing Victor had ever seen.

#everyone wants pregnant mc apparently #I do admit I love Daddy Vic very much #ask #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #love and producer li zeyan #mlqc #evol x love #love and producer victor #love and producer #mr love queen's choice #mlqc fanfic #mlqc victor fanfic #asks open

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dawnsbreaking · 1 year

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One of my favorite things about MLQC is the frequent use of symbolic imagery and motifs to set scenes and center characters. I think it’s incredibly clever, considering the importance of MC’s dreams, that the dreamlike symbolism is present throughout the story. At times, in MC’s confusion of piecing events together, reading the story almost feels like a sort of dream or vision interpretation. I love how consistent these symbols are for the characters and the way conflicting or contrasting imagery is used to add depth throughout the story. Also, since the story is told through MC’s perspective, the use of imagery shows us that her perception of the world is colored by her care for the main cast. When she’s with Gavin, MC notices fluttering leaves, when she’s with Victor, time slows, when she’s with Kiro, the sun is brighter, and when she’s with Lucien, she’s more attentive to light and shadow.

Under the cut, I have written more (1400ish words more) about symbolism in MLQC and how it adds depth to Lucien's characterization in particular.

Aside from adding to the mood of the story, the symbolism can also be used to narrative effect, showing us how MC is interpreting a character’s actions or motivations.

For example, we can look at how MC sorts through her feelings about Kiro/Helios in Chapter 29. Sun imagery pervaded previous chapters that centered Kiro while moon imagery is associated with Helios. In CH29, MC uses the harmony between the sun and moon as a metaphor when she accepts that Kiro and Helios are one and the same. This adds depth to what MC is feeling about Helios and also serves to contextualize the relationship between the two identities. (Note: I just love the idea that Helios has the same “sunshine” as Kiro but that he reflects it in a subtle way rather than being overwhelmingly positive like Kiro. This dynamic is only ever implied by the imagery and symbolism but it’s so perfect.)

In particular, though, I want to talk about some of the symbolism associated with Lucien and what we can learn from the way these symbols interact with one another.

Light and Shadow

One motif that is very present when the story is focused on Lucien is the balance between light and shadow. (Note: It’s very on the nose at times but executed well, I think, so I’ll give them a pass.) This motif is introduced far before Lucien’s betrayal is ever revealed, as early as his first meeting with MC. (Note: I literally wasn’t sure when the motif was first introduced but I went back to Lucien’s first scene and SURE ENOUGH, there it is. I love how consistent the writing is in this regard. The motifs are handled so well and so intentionally.)

During Lucien’s first scene in the game, light shining in from the window obscures his face. Far ahead of the betrayal, light and shadow are symbolically playing at obscuring his identity from MC. The light/shadow motif is used at first to symbolize Lucien being duplicitous, without much hinting toward his internal struggle. Later, when it’s clear that Lucien is struggling with a choice between metaphorical “dark” desire to continue his mission and “light” of protecting MC, light is used to hint at that internal conflict. An example of this is below, from Lucien's first standoff with Victor in Chapter 11.

Notably, though, sometimes, the “light” represents MC directly while the “shadow” represents Lucien. After Lucien’s internal conflict and desire to protect MC is first touched on in Chapter 16, the two are symbolically juxtaposed by scene-settings back-to-back in the last two units of CH16. 16-24 opens with a description of Lucien’s dark, gloomy room and 16-25 opens with a description of the lamp on MC’s desk casting a bright light. (Note: MC’s Evol is also represented by light often, so I think this imagery for her works even beyond its juxtaposition with Lucien.)

The same thing happens again when MC comes back from the Eternal Winter world, Lucien’s office is described as dark and shadowy when he is alone and then it’s cast in an “ephemeral glow” as soon as MC steps into the room.

Mirrors

A large part of Lucien’s character arc is his failure to properly make sense of his own identity, this struggle is represented by mirrors/reflections. Often, mirrors are shattered or distorted, implying an added difficulty of perception.

Because of the expectations that have been put on him from a young age, Lucien is very disconnected from his own identity. Even with Black Swan set completely aside, because of his savant-like personality and inability to relate to others, Lucien doesn’t view himself as a human being. Beyond that, there is also a struggle between the two identities of “Lucien” and “Ares” implied.

I think that the answer to this struggle is MC understanding Lucien and having clarity about who he is as a person. Light reflected in mirrors represents this concept symbolically in the Mirror Painting date. (Note: I believe this date is only currently available in the CN server, I read this translation) In this date, Lucien and MC paint each other and then use mirrors to reflect light onto the painting when it’s displayed. After being painted and, therefore, symbolically seen by MC, Lucien is finally allowed to turn away from the mirrors and stop worrying about who he is. The mirrors that represent his struggle with identity are able to add depth to a beautiful image when paired with the lights that represent MC’s understanding.

Shattered and Distorted Glass

This goes hand-in-hand with the mirror motif but is worth mentioning on its own because the symbolism is slightly different. While distorted mirrors imply difficulty for Lucien to perceive himself, distorted glass implies a difficulty for others to perceive Lucien. Shattered glass also represents a fractured relationship between the identities of “Lucien” and “Ares” in a few scenes.

On the wall of the abandoned Ultima Bioresearch Lab, MC finds a quotation written on the wall from the Bible. “For now we see through a glass, darkly. The truth is projected into the hearts of men through a glass lens. It’s distorted, blurry, and one-dimensional.” (Note: I’m assuming that this verse was translated from the Chinese dialogue and not transcribed from an English Bible translation, because this is, at the very least, not a popular translation of the verse that I’m familiar with. Ironically, it’s more popular to translate “glass” here as “mirror” so there goes this whole section LMAO.)

Because of the way it’s presented, I think that this image of distorted glass represents not how MC actually perceives Lucien but, rather, how Lucien believes he perceives her. Obviously, this is also foreshadowing the betrayal so, in a way, he’s correct in asserting that she is not seeing all of him. But, on the whole, this distorted glass imagery is delivered in a way that implies the distortion more as an insecurity on Lucien’s part rather than the reality of MC’s vision.

Rainbows

Keeping with Lucien’s themes of paradox and duplicity, one of his main motifs is the appearance of rainbows, despite the fact that he is colorblind. This is, again, representative of MC’s “light” being transformative to Lucien because the rainbows appear when they are together. I think that, rather than being a symbol for Lucien alone, rainbows represent Lucien’s relationship with MC. It’s a sort of combination of MC’s light imagery and Lucien’s refraction/distortion imagery. In the right circumstances, they can create something beautiful together.

It’s also implied throughout the story that Lucien is able to see colors when he’s around MC, so he is truly only able to appreciate the beauty of rainbows when he is with her. (Note: It’s unclear how this works but I think that it’s a side-effect of his Evol mimicking hers. There’s a footage mission where it seems like Lucien has to ask MC to look at something before he can tell the color of it so I think that he is somehow able to see the world through her perspective, possibly by using her Evol to have real-time visions. Does this make sense? Who knows, but I refuse to accept it just as soulmate magic!!!!)

If you haven’t, I highly recommend reading Lucien’s “Rainbow Luck” R&S. (Note: A recording is available here!) In this story, told from the perspective of Lucien’s pen, Iridescent, MC and Lucien see a rainbow together and it’s implied that this is Lucien’s first time being able to see a rainbow because MC is there. (Note: Iridescent as a name itself is an instance of Lucien’s rainbow motif.)

(Note: Lucien's Moments also features a rainbow paperweight at Bond Level 40.)

TLDR: Imagery and symbolism are used in MLQC to imply things about the characters and their relationships with MC. In particular, with Lucien, recurring imagery is used to represent his internal conflict and his desire for love and understanding from MC. The symbolism of light and its reflection/refraction is used to great effect throughout Lucien’s story, implying a complex web of internal struggles.

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