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karahalloway · 2 months

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(Less Than) Noble Intentions: Chapter 17 - News Flash

Fandom: TRR

Pairing: Drake Walker x F!OC (Harper Gale)

Series Summary: The social season may be over, but Harper Gale’s problems are just beginning. With everyone at court a potential suspect, can she and Drake survive the engagement tour and get to the bottom of the plot against her and clear her name? An AU take of TRR2 featuring my OTP - Harper & Drake.

Masterlist: (Less Than) Noble Intentions

Chapter Summary: Harper and the Beaumonts get on a plane to Italy… but they are not riding solo

Word Count: 4,500

Rating/Warnings: M (using the Lord's name in vain, shocking revelations, possible ulterior motives)

Chapter theme song:

A/N1: And… we’re back! I know this is a bit delayed, thanks to my new Heaven’s Secret distraction, but I am hoping to refocus myself on this continuously neglected series again for the next few weeks/months so we can make some headway towards wrapping it up. Also, I know we all miss him, and he hasn’t had as much page time as we all (Harper included!) probably want, but I promise that after this chapter there will be a lot more Drake again 🥃

A/N2: Astute readers will probably notice that there is nary a train in sight (in this chapter, or any future ones). This is deliberate because (i) I never understood why PB went in that direction in canon (is a travelling boutique really that important?!), and (ii) trains don’t make sense from a security point of view anyway (apparently the UK’s Royalty and Specialist Protection — which provides close protection to the royal family — used to hate it when Elizabeth II travelled by train, because it was always a massive headache to ensure her safety as trains travel on a fixed route and schedule, with no opportunities for diversion or evasion of things go to pot). So… planes it is ✈️

A/N3: Finally, another special shoutout to @thegreentwin for giving me the inspiration to have a crack at creating the tabloid cover page featured in this chapter. If you have not read The Rebel Prince, please do so! It is cute, funny, insightful and the gossip magazine covers that accompany several of the chapters are something else!

Chapter 17 - News Flash

"I thought we're going to Italy..." I remark the next morning as we pull to a stop on the tarmac of a secluded private airfield.

"We are," confirms Bertrand, jamming a fedora onto his head to protect against the ferocity of the morning sun... and hide the brutal sunburn he managed to acquire as a result of spending the entirety of yesterday's Festival outdoors without any SPF protection.

"Then what's with the literal mountain of luggage?" I ask as we step out of our customary limo.

Bertrand fixes me with a red-faced glare over the roof of the vehicle. "Have you learnt nothing from the social season?"

I throw him a deadpan look. "You mean apart from the fact that you insist on packing everything, including the kitchen sink?"

Maxwell's snort drifts up from the backseat.

The elder Beaumont is not impressed with my clapback. "The engagement tour will be one high-profile event after the other, which means that we will have neither the time nor the opportunity to engage in slap-dash shopping sprees. Not only would such proletarian behaviour be rude, but it would be misguided as well, given that we need to ensure that for each event we abide not just by the formal dress code indicated on the invitation, but also that we do not clash with, or indeed overshadow the hosts — or the King and future Queen, for that matter! — in terms of style and colour, all while being thoughtful in ensuring that we incorporate elements from both local and Cordonian designers to visually showcase the strength of the bonds that knit our respective nations together. On top of all that, it is imperative that we—"

"How the heck is anyone expected to pull all that off?" I blurt in disbelief.

"Through careful planning and coordination," Bertrand declares as he comes to join Maxwell and me on the other side of the limo. "Which is why I have taken the liberty of pre-selecting each outfit for each event of the tour, in consultation with the Palace's Master of the Robes."

My mouth drops. "You... Put a wardrobe together? For me?"

"Yes," comes the diffident affirmation. "Given that all eyes — not just those of our fellow Cordonians, but of our host nations' — will be on us constantly, we cannot afford any fashion faux pas."

I stare at my former sponsor mutely, mouth opening and closing like a dumbfounded goldfish.

Maxwell attempts to diffuse my slap-faced reaction with a jovial grin. "Bertrand used to lay my clothes out for me all the time when we were younger. I know he doesn't look it, but he has excellent—"

I shove an accusatory finger out. "He tried to foist me into a Medieval cosplay dress! That is the exact opposite of excellent taste!"

The elder Beaumont bristles. "It was hardly—"

"And how the hell did you afford all of this anyway?" I interject, throwing my arm out towards the carefully stacked Eiffel Tower of suitcases. "Because last time I checked, you were flat broke!"

Bertrand's already ruddy complexion darkens further. "There is no need for you to concern yourself with—"

"How?!"

After the way Maxwell had tried to sell covert photos and Christian and me from New York to the press in a bid to make bank, I am not willing to take any kind of half-baked deflection when it comes to the Beaumonts and money. I've been used one too many times for someone else's gain, so my trust is virtually non-existent at this point.

Bertrand swallows thickly as he averts his eyes. "I... I may have made recourse to an old sewing machine I found in the attic..."

My eyes just about pop out of my head. "You what?!"

I'd expected any one of six million other explanations — he'd sold the vineyard... remortgaged Ramsford... auctioned off every last chair and curtain from the manor... Even offered his soul to the literal Devil...

But using a sewing machine...? To make actual clothes...?

I had obviously caught the sun yesterday as well, and am now suffering from heat stroke...

"Bertrand has always been interested in fashion," explains Maxwell with a perfectly straight face. "He even wanted to enroll at the world-renowned Istituto Marangoni International in Milan to study Fashion Design. But then our father took unexpectedly ill, and—"

"Yes, yes..." interjects Bertrand with an embarrassed wave of his hand. "No need to revisit broken dreams and unfulfilled promises. The point is that I made the best use of what meagre funds and resources we had at our disposal to curate a serviceable selection of outfits for each of us. With a little help from Maxwell, of course."

"I was the mannequin," he declares proudly. "I admit, I got poked a few times in the line of duty, but it was worth it. Bertrand did a stellar job – you're going to love what he made for you."

"I... I don't know what to say..." I admit faintly.

And here I'd been thinking that Bertrand's closet Harry Potter obsession had been a big reveal...

"Yes... Well..." Bertrand clears his throat uncomfortably. "We each have our unique talents. Speaking of... I trust you have been practicing your Italian?"

I frown. "My what?"

"You were supposed to give her lessons!" cries Bertrand, smacking his brother over the back of the head.

Maxwell's retro '60s sunglasses fly off his face. "My Prada’s...!"

"What about French?" Bertrand demands, rounding on me with all the intensity of a furious tomato on the verge of exploding.

"Allard and Schweitzer have been teaching—"

"Some initiative at last!" exclaims Bertrand, throwing his hands up in the air in deliverance. "Good — you'll have some semblance of a basis, then. However, while both languages share a common root — that being Latin — and a border, as a result of roughly fifteen centuries of historical and linguistic divergence, Italian has become markedly different from its Gallic cousin, so we will have our work cut out in making you even semi-proficient by the time we land in Rome. So, I hope you brought pen and paper with you."

My shoulders slump as I watch Bertrand stride off towards the waiting plane. "Great..."

There goes the next hour and a half of my life...

"I knew I had forgotten something..." admits Maxwell, rubbing the back of his head as he retrieves his sunglasses from the tarmac. "But I thought it was just my second favourite pair of boxers."

"It's fine..." I assure wearily him as I begin my own trudge towards the jet. "It wouldn't be a true Beaumont travel experience without a droning Bertrand lecture..."

Though I guess it could be worse. I could be stuck on the royal jet with Christian and Madeleine. Which — after what happened yesterday — would be like staging an aristocratic rendition of Squid Game... 20,000 feet in the air. So, on that basis, I'll willingly subject myself to Bertrand's monologuing any day of the week, if it means I can—

"And there she is..." remarks a familiar, though very much unexpected voice as I step onto the plane. "The woman of the hour."

Jerking my head to the right, my eyes land on Olivia, lounging on one of the cream-coloured leather seats, her killer spike stiletto boots dangling over the armrest as she casually peruses a broadsheet.

"What are you doing here?" I ask in disbelief.

Olivia lowers the paper to meet my eye with a quirked brow. "You mean, on my own aircraft?"

I cast a glance in Bertrand's direction as I make my way down the gangway. "Guess your meagre funds and resources didn't extend to sourcing jet fuel?"

Bertrand coughs evasively as he stores his briefcase in the overhead locker. "Since we are all heading in the same direction anyway, Lady Oliva was kind enough to—"

"Shut it, Beaumont," Olivia snaps. "I am doing this as a personal favour, not an act of charity. As Lord knows that I wouldn't normally tolerate sharing recycled air with this many people in a confined space. So, if you want to stay on this plane, you will save the histrionics for the Italian President."

Bertrand promptly clamps his mouth shut to sink into his seat without another word.

"Wow..." I say, settling in across from Olivia. "He must've been really desperate to come to you for help... No offence."

"None taken," she replies with a breezy shrug as she flips the broadsheet closed and nods to the cabin attendant. "Because the request didn't come from the Beaumonts."

My head snaps up in surprise. "Then who?"

She regards me for a long moment, as if debating whether to tell me. Finally, she lets out a resigned exhale. "Drake."

My jaw hits the floor. "What!"

Olivia scrunches her mouth up ruefully. "He twisted my arm into agreeing to look out for you while he's off playing desert soldier."

I stare at her. "How in the world did he—?"

Maxwell thrusts his head 'round the back of Olivia's seat. "Drake's playing video games! Instead of coming to Italy?”

The Duchess of Lythikos shoves the intruding face away with the palm of her hand. "No, you imbecile! Drake's gone to Dubai." Glancing at me she adds, "I presume they know?"

"They do now," I concede with a sigh.

Thanks to the slew of quick-fire developments at yesterday's Festival, followed by the rabid packing to get ourselves ready for the international leg of the tour, I haven't had a chance to bring the Beaumonts up to speed with everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours.

But they're bound to find out about Drake's last-minute side-trip at some point, so this is as good a time as any to level with them.

Maxwell’s mouth drops with an aghast look. "But I didn't hit him that hard!"

Olivia quirks a brow at me.

"Long story, don't ask," I tell her wearily. Glancing up at Maxwell, I add, "He's gone after Tariq. Bastien found him hiding out on some rich cousin's yacht out in the bay."

"Oh." Maxwell scratches his head abashedly. "That makes more sense..."

"How do you put up with these two?" asks Olivia with a shake of her head as Maxwell sinks back into his seat.

I give her a shrug. "They have a weird way of growing on you..."

"Like some deadly fungus..." she mutters with a roll of her eyes.

"I heard that!" objects Maxwell from behind her.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't eavesdrop, then!" she throws over her shoulder snidely. Turning back to me, she adds, "And speaking of funguses, you can remind your boyfriend when he gets back that you both owe me. Big time."

My gaze darts to hers. "I— We're not—"

"Thank you for confirming it," she interjects with a sly smile. "But also, I'm not an idiot. It's obvious to anyone with a set of eyes that the fool is in love with you... and you with him. It's all quite disgusting, really..."

I feel my cheeks redden. "So, why help us, then?"

She heaves a low breath. "Because you stuck your neck out for me when you didn't have to. Despite everything I did to try and undermine you during the season. And because we have a common enemy."

She tosses the broadsheet that she'd been reading over to me.

Catching the copy of the Cordonia Sun before it has a chance to slide off the table between us, I glance down...

...and my heart sinks as I take in the unflattering picture of myself seemingly facing off against Madeleine under the sensationalist headline.

I shove the paper angrily away. "Hey. I didn't start it..."

"And yet you somehow always manage to find yourself in the middle of it, don't you?" she counters with an arched brow as the jet revs its engines for take-off. "The half-nude pictures... The Beaumonts' financial troubles... The speculations about the real reason Christian gave you a duchy... I mean, even the Duchess of Sussex would have a hard time competing with you when it comes to front-page scandals."

"And you think Madeleine is behind it all?" I ask tightly, indicating the tabloid.

"She would certainly have a lot to gain from waging a targeted media campaign against you," Olivia affirms. "She isn't married to Christian yet, and after what happened with Leo, she no doubt feels threatened by your continued presence at court. So, discrediting your integrity in the eyes of the Council would help her ensure that Christian can never formally pick you over her to become Queen."

"Because she doesn't know I turned him down..." I grumble dejectedly as the plane pulls into the air.

"And certainly would not believe you if you told her, either," she adds. "But she is not the only one with something to lose."

I sit up straighter. "You mean there are other suspects?"

"Yes," she nods. "Namely Godfrey and the Queen Mother."

Bertrand erupts from his seat at the mention of the two names. "That is an outrageous accusation! The Queen Mother would never—!"

"Madeleine is her niece," counters Olivia flatly. "Given that she has no children of her own, she practically treats that golden-haired harpy as if she is her heir. And since she was the one who brokered the original marriage contract between Leo and Madeleine, she clearly doesn't want all that work going to waste."

I frown. "But if everything was in place already, why have a social season at all? Why not just sub out Leo's name for Christian's in the contract?"

"To give Christian the illusion of choice."

My jaw drops. "You're not serious..."

"It would have been in poor taste to simply swap one prince out for another," Olivia advises. "Leo hadn't died... merely abdicated. But that decision nevertheless rocked the kingdom to its core."

"It's true," supplies Maxwell, leaning around with a mouth full of jelly worms. "The headlines were vicious."

"So..." I muse with a frown. "The Palace needed a distraction?"

"Yes," Oliva affirms seriously. "To draw attention away from Constantine's failing health."

"Wait," I cut in. "Constantine is dying?"

Olivia nods. "Prostate cancer. By all estimates, he has less than a year to live."

"Oh, my God..." I gasp, hand flying to my mouth. "No wonder Christian didn't want to talk about it..."

"The Palace is under strict instructions to keep the whole thing tightly under wraps..." she explains. "At least until after the coronation and wedding are both out of the way. They don't want the news to overshadow the first few critical months of Christian's rule."

"So, how did you find out?" I query.

She cuts her eyes over at me. "Like I said at the Masquerade Ball... Christian and I share a special connection. There are no secrets between us. Also – look at who you're talking to. I have files on each of the suitors from the social season. You seriously think I wouldn't know about something as vital to the functioning of the kingdom as the state of the King Father's health?"

"I guess not..." I concede, still trying to process this bombshell. "But how does giving Christian an illusion of a choice during the social season help cover up Constantine's cancer?"

"In the wake of Leo's abdication, support for the Rys family fell to an all-time low. The press started to question Constantine's policies, and the direction that the kingdom has been heading over the past few decades, implying that the country's current trajectory was unsustainable... and uncorrectable."

"I remember reading something about that on the flight from New York..." I recall. "There were suggestions that Leo abdicated because he didn't believe in the future of the monarchy."

"Which wasn't the case at all," she cautions. "But the Palace was worried that such intense media scrutiny would unearth evidence of Constantine's ill health... which would in turn intensify the calls from the republican factions of the country to abolish the system of hereditary rule completely. So, in a desperate bid to reunite the people behind a common cause, and shore up support for the monarchy, the Palace decided run the season again."

"But why?" I ask, still not seeing the connection.

"To charm the country with the fairytale of a royal romance," denotes Olivia sourly. "Because people apparently go ga-ga for that shite..."

Bertrand narrowly avoids choking in his seat across the aisle. "That is a crude and absolutely salacious interpretation of—!"

I whirl across the aisle. "Wait. You knew about this?"

Bertrand folds his arms across his chest. "I am a serving member of the Council. Of course I knew about the Palace's decision to run the social season again. But to suggest that it was all done simply for the sake of—"

"God, you're thick..." interjects Olivia.

Bertrand blanches. "I beg your pardon?!"

"You've been at court long enough to know that the truth is never the whole truth — there is always some hidden purpose or ulterior motive."

"But to suggest that—"

"The Palace needed a believable story — one that could capture the public's imagination — while still serving the needs of the kingdom," Olivia states. "A story of duty and love."

"Between Christian and Madeleine?" I ask sceptically. "But they don't even like each other."

"So?" scoffs Olivia. "The aim was to sell the lie to the populace. Everything else is inconsequential. And can be made to fit the narrative."

"But if you knew all this," I counter, "why did you join the competition?"

"I joined exactly because I knew the season was a sham," she replies heatedly. "To give Christian a genuine choice... not just the one that everyone else was determined to steer him towards."

"Because you love him..."

Olivia nods tightly. "Yes. And I knew it was a long shot. But even if he wouldn't end up being able to choose me — Regina would've made sure to stack the Council votes in her favour — at least I could be there to support him... as a friend."

I feel my heart go out to her, knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to be in a situation where you desperately want to be with someone, but can't because of circumstances that are outside of your control.

"But then, of course..." adds Olivia, once again with her customary breeziness, "you show up from out of nowhere with your hideous accent and relatable backstory—"

"Hey!"

"—and the whole country — Christian included — loses their collective minds. With the result that Regina's plan to make her niece Queen begins to unravel at the seams."

"Which is why she decided to set me up..." I surmise heavily as the jet levels off.

It's been fairly obvious from the start that I'm not Regina's favourite person... But the knowledge that she'd go to such lengths to publicly blacklist me? That's just inexcusable.

"You have no proof of that!" objects Bertrand, butting in again.

"Not directly, no," Olivia admits. "But all the evidence we have to date fits. The money Tariq received for his involvement came from a numbered account located in Switzerland. The blackmail letters distributed at the Coronation Ball were printed on Palace stationery. And as far as motives go, the Queen Mother would have more reason than most to influence the outcome of the social season."

"I cannot believe I am hearing this...!" decries Bertrand with a shake of his head. "The implications alone would be—"

"Ruinous to the Rys family," confirms Olivia. "I am aware. Which is why we must tread carefully in order to avoid tarring Christian with any of this. The monarchy would not survive the ensuing scandal."

"What about this other guy?" I ask. "Godfrey? How does he fit into this?"

Olivia throws her hands up. "Lord, you're more clueless than him!"

"Excuse me for not knowing every single Cordonian nobleman by name," I snark back. "I've only been a duchess for a day..."

"I'll send you my files," Olivia huffs wearily. "All two hundred of them."

My eyes widen. "There's two hundred—?"

"There's more, but those are the important ones," she replies with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And if you want to be an effective duchess, I suggest you study up because you need to have the entire contents of those dossiers memorised and ready to deploy in any given conversation."

"Sweet Jesus..." I gasp faintly, making recourse to Drake's favourite invective, as it certainly fit the magnitude of the task Olivia has just dumped on me.

"You didn't grow up in this world, so you have a lot of catching up to do," Olivia shrugs unabashedly.

"Yeah, I'm very much aware of that..." I concede dryly, rubbing my temples. "So, who is this Godfrey?"

"The Third Earl of Huntford, and Duke jure uxoris of Krona."

My brows furrow in recollection. "Krona... Does that mean he's—?"

"He's Madeleine's dad," supplies Maxwell, popping his head into the aisle again, this time in the company of a CapriSun juice pouch.

My eyes widen. "The man at the garden party! But what does he have against me? I've never even met him!"

"The fact that you are still here..." offers Olivia blandly. "Competing against his daughter for the attentions of the King."

"It's not exactly a competition," I scoff. "I'm not trying to steal him away from her."

"Except that isn't how the press is portraying it," counters Olivia pointedly, tapping the front page of the Sun.

I open my mouth again, but quickly shut it, realising that Olivia is right. As regardless of my personal reasons for being back at court — as the Royal Consort, no less! — the view from the outside presents very differently. And given that Madeleine herself clearly feels threatened by my continued presence at Christian's side, it's no small jump to imagine that her father — who, based on what I saw at the garden party a few days ago, is just as power-hungry and image-conscious as his daughter — would also feel the same.

"Crap..." I huff, falling back into my seat dejectedly.

"Not the most elegant of phrasing," muses Olivia. "But certainly succinct."

"What am I going to do?" I ask morosely, starting up at the cabin's air vents.

"Help me gather as much proof as we can during the course of the tour," Olivia instructs. "So we can narrow down our suspect list... or indict all three of them. In either case, we will be more effective if we work together."

"That plan is akin to sedition!" cries Bertrand, clearly aghast by the very suggestion. "Bordering on treason! All of us are in enough hot water already without—"

"Which is why it is imperative that no word of anything that we have just discussed leaves this aircraft," declares Olivia with a steely look. "Or I will personally hunt you down and turn your face inside out."

I gulp at the gruesomeness of that particular image. "What... What about the staff? Can you trust them?"

"They are all Lythikosians," Olivia states. "Who have sworn blood-oaths to House Nevrakis. They would never dare betray me."

"Good to know..." I admit, watching the cabin attendant re-appeared with a selection of drinks, and wondering if underneath her uniform she is as armed to the teeth as Olivia supposedly is.

"I presume the same goes for your beefcakes?" asks Olivia, nodding her chin towards the back where Allard and Schweitzer have taken up residence for the duration of the flight.

"Yes," I confirm. "I trust them with my life."

She dips her head in approval. "Good. So, as first order of business, I suggest—"

"Can we tell Hana?" interjects Maxwell, bobbing up from behind Olivia again. "She's helping us, too!"

Olivia heaves a breath. "Yes, fine. But—"

I hold up a hand. "And Drake will probably want t—"

"Yes, fine!" she snaps irately. "Anyone else? Your maternal grandmother, perhaps?"

I bite my bottom lip as I peek up at her. "Do we tell Christian?"

Olivia holds my gaze for a long moment. "No. Not until we have concrete proof. One way or another. He has enough crises to manage right now without lumbering him with a major constitutional one as well."

I nod in understanding. The mere suggestion that his godmother and future father-in-law have been conspiring to put Madeleine on the throne (potentially with his fiancée's own buy-in!) would be soul-destroying. Which is why we need to find that smoking gun — ideally several — before we present our accusations.

"Not sure if it will be of any help at all," I say, "but Ana de Luca managed dig up some information on the freelance photographer Tariq was working with on the day of the Jamboree."

"Did you bribe her with another exclusive?" chaffs Olivia dryly.

"We'll need someone to help us set the record straight," I affirm. My shoulders slump suddenly. "But I gave the flash-drive to Drake."

"Which he gave to me," smirks Olivia, pulling the device from the pocket of her jacket.

I gape at the piece of plastic in her hand. "Drake really trusts you, huh?"

"More than most," she shrugs coyly, flipping the drive over to me.

I catch it with both hands. "We should review whatever is on here. Who knows? Maybe the photographer is part of the press corps covering the tour."

"I have my laptop with me," Maxwell offers. "I was going to use it to mix some tunes, but—"

"You'll only get one chance to unravel a high-stakes aristo racket!" I quip, dangling the drive between my fingers.

"God, your incessant American optimism is stomach-turning..." Olivia groans. "And you've clearly spent too much time with Walker."

"Hey," I hit back. "This is the best lead we've gotten yet. We shouldn't discount it. This photographer could be key to linking Regina and/or Godfrey to the plot to influence the outcome of the social season."

"Assuming you can find them..." counters Olivia. "And get them to talk."

I meet her eye with a level look. "Good thing that's your area of expertise, isn't it, Duchess?"

The corner of her mouth lifts craftily.

"But what about Harper's Italian!" disparages Bertrand. "We'll be landing in less than an hour, and she still doesn't know the proper way to greet the President in his native tongue without insulting him!"

I swallow a groan. "Do I really need t—?"

"Being able to carry a conversation with the Head of State in Italian will go a long way in demonstrating to both the public and the press that you are serious about your new role as Duchess of Valtoria," he advises frankly. "And will score you some much-needed diplomatic points with our hosts as well."

"Guess we have our work cut out for us, then," I accede with a sigh. "Any chance for some coffee?"

"Turkish, Irish, or Sicilian?" asks Olivia.

"Which is closest to a latte?"

"Probably the Sicilian," she advises. "If you make it into a granita di caffe."

"I'm feeling Italian already!" I gibe in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit.

Bertrand groans loudly from his seat. "Oh, Dio..."

The story continues in Chapter 18 - Diplomatica

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#harper gale #drake walker #the royal romance #less than noble intentions #maxwell beaumont #bertrand beaumont #olivia nevrakis #trr au fanfic #Spotify

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lilyrizzy · 9 months

Note

maybe not the usual but.. daniel/michael

(sorry, i love the drama of a long term relationship break up)

man don't care - JME & Giggs (for the Spotify shuffle prompts)

sorry i'm so maxiel otp i had to make this a friendship break up, i hope thats cool!

Daniel can feel Michael's eyes on him. Insistent even though there's like, at least twenty cameras pointed in their direction. Or, Daniel's direction. Everyone wants a piece of him now he's back.

"Yeah, I'm happy to be driving," he says, for what must be the thirtieth time in just as many minutes. Ignores the prickle the creeps up his spine. "The break was good for me, but now- I'm ready."

He's more than ready. He's going to be fucking triumphant. Just needs Maxy to keep Checo eating his rubber for a few more races, and then he's going to get everything that was promised to him when he was twenty-five. A championship winning car. A real fight.

It feels closer, within just the stretch of his fingertips in a way it never did back then.

"Danny Ric is back, baby," he grins, and lets the clatter of camera clicks wash over him.

Afterwards, in the coridoor Michael corners him. Daniel glances over top of his shoulder, desperate for some sort of escape or excuse, but there's too many prying eyes to brush him off completely. Unless he wants some bullshit, speculative article being written about it.

"Hey," he says with a tight nod when Michael just puts a hand on his shoulder and doesn't say anything. Ignores all the early mornings spent panting into his yoga matt it reminds him of, Michael correcting his form.

He doesn't have time for small talk, or whatever this is. Who'd have thought, that even without being his trainer, Michael would still be able to wind up that tight coil of tension inside him.

"Are you really happy?" Michael asks eventually, when most of the room has cleared out.

And that's some fucking nerve coming from him.

"I don't know, Mikey," he says after a beat of disbelief. He brushes his hand away roughly and steps back. "Maybe if you picked up the phone once in the winter break, you'd know, huh?"

Michael's eyes dip to the floor, like he's ashamed. Good, Daniel thinks, viciously. Where the fuck where you when I needed you?

"Mate, come on," Michael tries anyway, though his voice is hardly louder than a mumble. "You know we were a little toxic by the end of last season."

Toxic. Like Daniel is another client looking for 'mental health coaching,' and not someone who used to ride his bike to the beach with Michael when they were 13. Daniel scoffs.

"Oh you mean when I started being shit and lost my job?" He asks with a hollow laugh. "When my whole life was falling apart? Yeah mate, sorry if I was a little less than gracious to you around that time."

You're being unfair, some traitourous niggle at the back of his brain tells him. Knows that 'less than gracious' doesn't even cover it, but- But fuck Michael. None of it stopped himself getting a cushy new job lined up, coming out on top while Daniel found himself fired at thirty-three.

Michael looks at him again, daring to look only halfway apologetic.

"I wasn't your punching bag," He says firmly, like he's already found his second wind. Like he can read Daniel's mind, and after years spent in each other's pockets, he probably can. Can smell cracks in Daniel's resolve from a mile away, like some blood sniffing shark.

I know you, Daniel finds himself wanting to yell, though it wouldn't even make any sense.

Not today. Daniel isn't that guy anymore.

"No, you were my friend," he says, giving the wall next to him two hard slaps with the palm of his hand. "But fuck me I guess, for needing you. Won't make that mistake again."

#the hold grime had on 18 yr old me is unmatched #i'd have risked it all to be JMEs gf lol #anyway i hope someone likes this #even though it is not our usual scheduled programming:)#fic

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enbyleighlines · 17 days

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Ugh I am so uncomfortable right now

I have a sinus infection and I haven’t been sleeping well the past couple of nights, so I’m tired, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to fall asleep

But I’m also too tired to do anything else, so I’m just stuck in this state of absolute boredom

So I just binged a bunch of anime today

Finished Dungeon Meshi and loved it. Absolute banger of a show. And so many attractive character designs. Laios? Kabru?? Daya??? The other female dwarf???? That evil elf twink????? The female orc??????

All it needs is a super femme, super bitchy queen bee type character, and it will have satisfied ALL of my types

Also Falin and Marcille are so yuri coded, love that friends to lovers schoolgirl energy

I also watched the first episode of that omegaverse anime. It was p good. I was confused why they decided to make alpha/omega relationships the taboo one, since typically that is the most common one. Because they wanted the characters to face adversity without directly including homophobia, I suppose?

Then why not make them an alpha/alpha or omega/omega pair?? That’s something I haven’t seen before, and it would better align with the whole metaphorical homophobia thing!

I mean, I know why they didn’t, but idk. It would have been more interesting in my opinion.

Additionally, I had a hard time focusing on the anime due to the way they portrayed the child, Hikari. They said he was 1 going on 2, so as someone who works with that age group, I couldn’t help but notice every time Hikari wasn’t acting his age.

I won’t bore anyone with details, but basically, his gross motor movement is pretty behind for a boy who is almost 2. Meanwhile, his cognitive and emotional development is quite advanced for that age group. His ability to speak in nearly full sentences is not entirely out of the realm of possibility (I’ve taught 1 year olds with advanced vocabularies before) but his ability to still access his vocabulary during moments of emotional distress is less convincing.

I wish it was that easy to communicate with toddlers in the midst of an emotional meltdown. It would make teaching so much easier.

However, I did think it was a cute touch that after being compared to a star, Hikari spent the rest of the day pointing out every star he saw and calling it his own name. And I appreciate that they didn’t bother showing us the 20 more times he did the same exact thing the following two weeks.

Toddlers will 100% become obsessed with a tiny detail they overhear, and talk about it almost exclusively for weeks afterwards.

So be careful about what you say around toddlers. You never know what they will internalize and repeat like a broken record for the next 14 days straight.

Anyway, that’s basically my day in a nutshell.

I’m tired of watching anime, so if anyone wants to ramble about something to me to keep me entertained while I ride out this sinus infection, please do so.

You could tell me about one of your ocs, or the last anime you watched, or gush to me about your otp, whatever suits your fancy.

Also, please do contact me if you have thoughts on which cuties from Dungeon Meshi should kiss. So far the only ones I’m shipping are Marcille and Falin, so I am open to learning more about the popular ships of the fandom.

#dungeon meshi #tadaima okaeri

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ruthless-rainbow · 11 months

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A Call from the Ocean (Introduction)

Ohmygoodness, you guys, I finally finished my concept art for my big Thiam project and this is the introduction to my latest AU. (This is just the beginning, so I hope you are ready for a bit of a ride. 😅) I am so happy for you all to finally meet my little mer!Theo. 🥺 & Welcome to; A Call from the Ocean Summary; Liam Dunbar likes to think he's just your average, everyday, twenty-two year old guy. A College student majoring in history. Captain and star of the swim team. And seemingly just a happy go lucky person. But if only life were that simple. And for Liam, living with his disorder is anything but. Not everyone will and can understand what it's like living with IED. Forced to explain his outbursts of what others see as irrational anger and feeling like a freak. Liam finds solace and peace in one place. The ocean. He's felt the pull of the sea for as long as he can remember and it's like a second home to him. But could there be something else that calls Liam to the waters edge? Something more that lurks beneath the waves? And somewhere deep under the surface of that very ocean is where Theo calls home. An outcast of his kind, a survivor despite the odds being against him and leader of his small pod of three. Theo wonders if there could ever be more to his cold, painful existence. He wonders if he'll ever know a real life, a life lived and not just survived. He wonders if he'll ever experience a touch that's more than claws piercing his flesh and littering his skin with scars. Theo would give anything to know that there is something out there better than this. ..... A few things about this AU, I love mermaids/merpeople and have always been fascinated by them. So, I really couldn't resist making an AU for my all time favorite OTP. And when I imagined Theo as a mer, I fell in love with him and I just couldn't get him out of my head. I jumped all in and let it consume me for months. 😅 Waiting until MERMAY to finally post him. 💜 I had a lot of fun with his design and I didn't want 'frilly Disney mermaid' vibes. I wanted Theo to be beautiful, of course. But I also wanted him to be just a little bit terrifying. 😅 like, yes, he could rip your throat out and drown you before you can even scream, but he would look so pretty while he does it that you may just thank him for the experience. 😅🤣 Also, yes, I did one of his concept arts twice because I wanted to show the fact that parts of Theo are bioluminecent. I mean, c'mon, Bioluminecense is one of the most beautiful and magical things about the ocean, so it only felt right to make him that way. So I did a 'night' version but I still wanted you to be able to see the colors of his fans in both kinds of lighting. Last but never least, I have a few people that I really need to give a shoutout to for this AU. I was truly nervous about it, so I decided to reach out to a few of the wonderful friends I have made on here to get their thoughts and opinions. I honestly couldn't have made this peice if it wasn't for you all because your feedback and support has been vital for this. And we are talking months of y'all having to deal with my nonesense. 😅😅😅 @sterekshipper-writer, @thiamsxbitch, @sydney-winchester, @wolfboy88, @sapphire-rising-sun, @stitchkiss All of you are so f*cking amazing and I heart you all so much. 💜 I really, really hope you all will like my little mer!Theo and I really hope I will be seeing you again when I post the first chapter to the story in the next few weeks. 💜 Ya’ll . 😘 ✌️💜🌈

#thiam #thiam fanart #theo raeken #theo raeken fanart #thiam fanfic #ruthless' art #mer!theo #mermay 2023 #Mermaids #merpeople #merpeople au #soulmate au #true mate au

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msmargaretmurry · 10 months

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otp ask meme!! for matthew/leon, any variation of them you wanna think about, whichever of these sparks joy: 9, 16, 20, 30, 38, 44, 48

they all spark joy is the problem!! but it's late so i practiced some restraint. these are mostly from the HAW perspective because, like tnno, those are the versions that live in my head 😂

9 - What are their thoughts on having children?

in HAW specifically, matthew wants a family so badly. he has to spend some time untangling that from his complicated feelings about what he's ~supposed~ to do (marry a pretty girl who will have his kids, etc etc) but even after all that, man, he wants to be a dad. leon's a little more ambivalent going into it, in a "yeah maybe kids someday!" kind of way, but after they've been together for a few years he not only wants matthew to be able to be a dad because matthew wants it so bad, but he really wants to have a family with matthew. they were already planning on getting themselves onto the same team somewhere for the last stretch of their careers, and so incorporating the having kids into that plan is pretty easy.

(the weekend after i posted HAW, i went on a long daytrip with a friend and we spent the whole car ride planning their futures and potenial sequels to the story, there is SO much of this mushy crap in my head)

16 - Can they stay up all night just talking?

they fuck up their sleep schedules multiple times doing this on the phone, actually. in the summer, matthew sometimes forgets about the time difference until leon says something about the sunrise. they don't do it in person so much because… the like sleeping next to each other. gross. (tbh this can apply to the land between our bodies versions of them, too)

30 - Your OTP gets to pick out each other’s outfits; what is each wearing?

for leon, matthew would pick out a suit for leon in a pattern that leon would never pick out for himself, but that matthew thinks looks really good and stylish. perhaps even a little flashy. it is not actually flashy and is only kind of stylish because his tailor has decent taste, but matthew picked out a blue to compliment leon's eyes and he thinks he looks so good. leon does look good, but more because he's a good-looking guy than due to any heavy lifting by the suit, but he lets matthew be proud because he thinks it's cute. turns out the suit looks best on the bedroom floor anyway.

for matthew, leon would pick out a bright orange oilers jersey that says DRAISAITL 29 on the back.

38 - Who is more sexually experimental? Who’s more vanilla?

okay honestly i think one of the main reasons they work so well for me as a pairing in general is to me they're on the same level here! one of them pushes the boundaries and the other just goes with it. does this sometimes backfire and make everything worse? absolutely, but that's what makes it fun (for me, not necessarily for them).

48 - Who’s the better driver?

LEON. leon 1000000%. we all know matthew is a terrible driver. that's why his teammates drive him everywhere. i can't believe they even trust him with that golf cart.

#writing meme #matthew and leon #ratnovel #hockey for ts

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clutchpowers · 9 months

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Sooooo... i wanted to stick this little rambly thing at the bottom of the redraw but it would have made it look UGLY so im doing this separately... just wanna talk about the whole thing and What Not.

TLDR: its been a slash positive ride thats been worth it to try "something new" every year and my favorite piece out of all of them is the 9th. also for the curious heres the comparison of the 5th anni piece to the recent one (2018 -> 2023)

anyway. personal post time.

oh where to begin *rocks on my rocking chair* i guess it would be with the 5th anniversary piece...at the time it had been a long while since i did lineless art and i thought it would be cool to try it again for that one so i did by redrawing an old piece from 2014... that was the first "finished piece" i made of Them. i think i even made it into a wallpaper for myself lmao. anyway after i posted it i was like "aw man i should draw something every year until the 10th" but i thought yeah right. im going to forget next year like the idiot i am. but i Some How managed to do one every year... th worms got me... i honestly didnt think id make it all the way to the 10th but i did!! AND WITHOUT MISSING A DAY EXCEPT FOR THE 7TH WHERE I WAS A WEEK LATE???? UNREAL especially when fun fact! every year i had no idea what i wanted to do! all i knew for sure is that i wanted each piece to be out of my comfot zone to push me to do something a little different. unfortunately the subjects tm where always the same so it feels a little. samey. but these are my celebratory posts I GET TO ONLY POST ABOUT THE OTP SUPER BLORBOS OF ALL TIME

the 6th anniversary was a redraw of that one scene. you know the one. the helicopter one. fucking hate that scene btw it actually causes me psychic damage i cant watch with the audio or ill scream. but it is my favorite scene of mine despite all the horrors it causes <3 and i wanted to redraw it as if it was a cartoon... like i had taken screencaps from the lcu cartoon in my head. i still remember the backgrounds being such a pain in the ass. honestly id like to go back and redo this one one day too or do something similar to the concept because its a fun one that i always saw done growing up and i wanted to try it myself.

for the 7th anniversary you can see the turn.. no more humans... return to lego... i was getting a little more confident in drawing them in the lego form so i did another redraw this time with the ending!! honestly i still like this one and how it looks even with how late it was but i wanted to test my confidence and do a real True and Finished piece with COLORED LINES and EVERYTHING!!!!! im glad i ended up taking the turn because for the LONGEST TIME i wanted to try and draw them as lego so bad because all i did was draw them as humans and its funny because now its the exact opposite. glad this piece was kinda the solidification in my head that yeah okay im a bit better at drawing the stylized lego toy now i can keep drawing them like this without feeling like im going to want to delete this in 2 weeks.

the 8th anniversary one is so weird. somewhere toward the beginning of the year it got into my head that i wanted to do a comic of them but time/school would have gotten in the way so i ended up opting for a page. another redraw of the ending scene which honestly out of all of them this is my least favorite one and its solely because its all so off. i def could have formated it better so the background shot doesnt take up the entire fucking page but then again im not a comic guy and this was my first time so the layout was bound to look HORRID but this is something id like to come back to ive had the idea of making like a genuine short comic about them since FOREVER and now that im a bit more experienced (lying) i would like to make one day!!!! just gotta stop getting caught up in my scripts!! and going in circles!! Because im obviously not a writer and i keep getting first-hand embarrassment from these!! but ill get over it one day lol.

OH THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY PIECE MY BELOVED. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PIECES ACTUALLY i love this stupid thing so much you have no idea.i know its re-using lineless but i just loved the idea of what it would look like lineless AND IT CAME OUT SO PERFECT I LOVE IT SO MUCH obv it needs a few touch-ups so the main issues dont stand out to me but god. i love this piece so much. idk what came out of me to make this but its so good ill never get over it. and the little lego them as a cake topper ITS JUST SO CUTE I DONT HAVE MUCH TO SAY OTHER THAN I LOVE THIS SO MUCH SORRY

finally. the 10th anniversary piece. oh my god. okay. i need everyone to understand this. i had woken up with this fucking Unbearable pounding headache that was trying to kill me. my body the entire day wanted me to stop and lie down, but last night i was already done with a good chunk of it and all i had to do that day was finish some lines and the coloring?? i literally don't remember all i remember is my body actively trying to shut down and force me to stop and sleep which i took a nap? didnt help. so i said fuck it im finishing this. i was. an entire goddamn corpse arched over my laptop. i was so delirious the entire time its a fucking miracle it even came out as good as it did but honestly. i still hate how it fucking looks. like you can TELL when i gave up (the shading) and it sticks out like a sore fucking thumb to me and it pisses me off because i knew i could have done so much better if i wasnt being stricken down by gods hand and his every attempt to get me to rest. idk like im generally proud ot it, with this one i wanted to go out with a bang tm so i tried to draw every important and relevant character instead of ALL of them like I was originally planning LMAO but ah well. maybe one day when im faster at drawing. this one i defiantly wanna go back and touch up but i everytime i open the file i can see 40 more things wrong with it and it drives me nuts. so ill just have to wait for when im ready. i guess.

can i just say though. the improvement is crazy. it always catches me off guard because tbh i uh. dont like my own art. im getting better at not fucking hating it because i can pinpoint everything wrong with it but whenever i see the side by sides it always surprises me. i always dont think im improving but then i see it and its like wow i really am getting better! i still suck at 3000 things but im getting better! and its overall just a nice thing to see after having drawn them for as long as i have... the power of the worms is strong and has ruined my brain...... speaking of i know ive said a few times that i fucking hate certain pieces, not just LCU related ones but almost anything i post, but if you love them and are able to look at them with a twinkle in your eye then thank you. genuinely. i honestly love looking over the tags of people exploding and saying nice things. it warms my cold little heart and im glad there are people out there that genuinely love some of the things what i do! even if its just fanart and its just their blorbo. thank you for sticking around even tho all i do is draw my otp super blorbos :'^) this game means the world to me and im glad like more than 2 people wanna spread it around.

to wrap back around to the anniversary stuff and speaking of big love to the people out there THE FREAKING EPIC ZINE i was just a small thing but it came out amazing even for how small it was thank you to the contributors and thank you to everyone whos downloaded it!! its still getting the occasional and i love getting the notif in my email about it. i love that there are still people out there who wanna see it and all the hard work everyone put into it to celebrate the games 10th just thank you again i really does mean alot to me ALSO IF YOU HAVENT CHECKED IT OUT PLEASE DO IT IS 100% WORK YOUR TIME AND ITS DIGITAL WITH PRINT AT HOME STICKERS AND YOU CAN KEEP IT AND LOOK AT IT FOREVER

uh to end this off....would I like to do this again..... I mean I kinda am? by that i mean ill do the big numbers (15, 20, 25, 30, 40, etc) till the day i freaking die!!!! but yeah no countdown stuff ever again!!!!! sorry :^( it was super fun to do though!!!! and im glad i did it that piece is the conclusion to the whole thing but that doesnt mean ill stop drawing them. duh. theyre my characters now! but heres to many more anniversaries and to hopefully another game! or to just see them again in any other lego media! or even better... a mischaracterized cameo in ninjago!

#long ass post lmao congrats if you actually read it all and made it to the bottom :'^)#i typed this all out yesterday thats how i got it out so quick lol

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jardaddy-a · 1 year

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JARDINAE FOLLOWING LOVE LETTERS FOR NEW YEAR ! This post is dedicated to my beloved mutuals , consider this as a belated Christmas present , New Years Greeting &&. a thank you . This will be under a read more because of chibi-esque art &&. long messages for people , miss Reine Surrealis talks a lot , ok ? ok ! To my newer mutuals , hopefully we can interact more next year , thank you so much for supporting this original existencial mess !

Thank you all for supporting and writing with my OC Universe / World . I wish everyone a Happy New Year and a better 2023 !

@serpentsexile / @bellusnymphine - Angel Dior Demiurge my belovedest ! Bestie , I can't believe that we've been friends for 4 ? 5 ? years ! Tumblr is where the three of us met those many years ago and we've seen each other's lore and characters . It feels like yesterday when Envy was brunette, to blonde to sable-haired , to the white haired destruction daddy we know and love today WWWW , you also watched Jardin / Natura / Existencia develop over the years and we hit each other with our angst . You're my literature buddy , YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE . WE'RE TIRED OF ROMANCE WE WANT DARK FANTASY AND MURDER /JJJ , we always plot unhinged threads and exploration and i really love studying in-depth characterization with you . You also influenced me in many ways in writing and in spiritual world-wise . i'm super blessed to have met you and welcomed you into my life . I deem you and Rose as my platonic soulmates / siblings . We better make that cottagecore dream happen / SRS . Anyways , I know life is terrible but just know that I'm always here for you and when you need me , I'LL NEVER JUDAS YOU BBGIRL, WE RIDE AND DIE AND GET HATED BY GROWN MEN / CHRONICALLY ONLINE TWITTER KIDS FOR BREATHING . Anyways , Invidia / Envy is best destruction God and Hydrangea is best bimbo princess , my reprisal OTP . I'm still flabberghasted over how long its been , i still remember our first interaction being two of our lead characters : Invidia and Marigold , how far these two have gone . I am excited for your creations and what you will make in the future . I want my signed limited edition copy of Reprisal once its out , ok ? Anyways , I love you bestie , Happy New Year .

@lexpape / @laxmaisonxdieu - ROSE MY BBGIRL MY BASIL , pleASE COME ONLINE MORE / J . You're always busy and you always get fucked over by Alistair literally . I love spending random times with you when you stay online and rambling about random shit and we literally kinassigned ourselves as Sunny and Basil , You gon help me hide dead bodies fr <3 BYEEEE . Either that or the three of us just laugh at cringy shit together , it's our favorite pasttime <3 . It's endearing how bullyable you and your characters are <3 /JJJJ . But you're so funny and for what , but I admire how sweet and hardworking you are . Invite me to your wedding , bestie . Whose ? We'll find out ! LMAO . You inspire me a lot and I miss your presence and your furries , bc of you i'll force myself to tolerate furries :(((( , come back to us girliepoppp BYEEEE . Let you know that I'm always here for you and I miss your ocs and characters , when are you gonna update your lore , Angel and I are always waiting for food . One day when we finally crash at the same place , cook for us , ok ? I always wanted to try your cooking . I was supposed to draw Alistair too but fuck him , this isn't about him . I love you bestie , Happy New Year !

@sangdelune / @theircurse - STELLA !!!! ILY STELLA !!! I still remember several months ago I came across your promo and said ' oh worm , someone who write children very well ! ' and hit that follow button so hard . BUT STELLAAAA we've known each other for some months and we only really started to dm a lot when we finally exchanged discords , but our convos have been so fun and ofc bc canon is so terrible to Misha and Yumeno , I have decided that Jardin / Natura canonically adopts both of them <;3 I care for you a lot and Alice and you two have been the sweetest and funniest companions ever . I hope to write with you more next year bc we did promise these two will interact with everyone in Jardin LMAO . But I super love your interpretations of these two kids , they feel like your characters now and I'm excited for your upcoming oc multi . ONE OF US ONE OF US !!! Anyways ILY and Happy New Year !

@embxllmer / @kunsttgalleriie - ALICE ALICE ALICE ILYSMMM !!!! We've been friends for months now , My fellow IDV Player and Joscarl Enjoyer . We both share the love for Joseph and Aesop and getting annoyed with toxic players <3 . Thank you so much for listening to my long ass Existencia Lore and I love your Historia Gallery lore so much and your characters , I cradle them in my hands . Tysm for keeping me company even on times you're super busy with work and school . We talk about Joscarl / Naibemma IDV in general , we ramble , rant , and share lore . I feel super connected with you and I feel super blessed I managed to meet and Stella this year , you two have been like gifts on my tumblr return . Thank you so much for being my friend and I want to spend more years of friendship with the two of you !!! Wait for me guys , i'll be kicking in Germany one day bc of the health care !!!

@imarahuyo - SOPHIEEE , you're one of my biggest insps and fellow peenoise . I admire you so much when I see you on dash , and i cackle during our discord chats . your writing is so artistically poetic and i love your interpretations of canons esp miss sen , i love miss sen sm , i hope the gacha gods finally have mercy on you and you get her in your next 20 pulls ! your writing & metas are so beautifully articulate so i can't wait to see you more on my dash . ( your commission is still halfway done so take this offering for now while you wait <3 ) . i hope to write with you more next year !

@crxstallium - SERIN ! ! ! Another big inspiration of mine , I love miss Crystal so much you have no idea . I love the silly moments we have on discord , and Crys really kicked in the gates of Jardin and bothered this supernatural found family and became Mimosa's sugar baby/JJJJJ . One of the best female ocs ever , I love your writing style your prose is so well-thought out and constructed that it takes me an hour to reply to your threads because of the :sparkles: QUALITY :sparkles: I hope to interact with you more & your other ocs and canons next year <;3

@vibraea - CLEFGA ! Gemiya is another favorite female oc of mine , I love how you made her so flexible in any verse and scenario and she's always a delight to see in my dash and I love that she's just welcomed by Jardin and meshes well with a lot of my characters . I love all of our threads and I'm excited to write more with you in the future .

@terraeferae - KENNIE MY LOVES !!! Like Angel and Rose we've been mutuals for a long time now BYEEEE . I am loving the new and improved Wildlands ( pls post more metas on your blog i'm especially waiting for those ) , I drew Maiko beloved ( I owe her i recall when I got sick I'm so sorry it took so long <3 I'll draw better fanart one day . ) Hope to write with you more soon !!!

@fxtelism - We've been mutuals for a long while , you're a comfort to see on dash ! ( i dont think you remember me from my very old blogs , and i hope you don't ! LMAO we erase that cursed memory . ) I appreciate Alice's friendship with Venus sm , I hope to write with you more soon and have more of our ocs interact !

@aesthetiquement - Hi bes , you think you've seen the last of me ? Hello my labs and fellow peenoise too HAHAHA Thanks for being my textmate minsan bes . I love Meisha sm and our rambles and shitposts on dms , hope to interact with you more next year ! Bless Miss Meisha for tolerating the slowburn Knight DnD addict and my theiving British Dressmaker .

ADDITIONAL MESSAGE : @dcmure , @khaloymes , @phantasmaw , @londonfallen , @wonderloste , @spiritwhispers , @nulltune , @purewhiteprophet / @acandlelitdeath , @aceparagon , @sheyearns , @sapphiresands , @gainsflora , @earthssprout + everyone of my mutuals !!!

If you're reading this , I just want to let you know that you're one of my biggest writing inspirations and your presence on dash makes me incredibly happy ! I hope when the days get hard and you doubt yourself . Please be reminded that there are people who support you and your work and that your presence will always make a single person happy ! Keep doing what you enjoy doing ! I hope I have the pleasure to see you more next year and we get more interactions . I wish you all a happy new year and I hope 2023 is kinder to all of us !!!

#˗ˏˋ┊ 👑 &&. * 𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙎 .#( * JARDINAE FOLLOWER LOVE LETTERS )#( its still like 730 pm here but better post it early bc spending time with the besties + family <3 )#( happy new years everyone !!! )

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mrs-monaghan · 10 months

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What do you think about bts comeback?

At first they said it will be on 2025, then bangpd said we're not sure yet, and joon was giving vague answers in vlive!

Do you think the members may have some disagreement on their contract renewing terms? Tae for example seems like he doesn't want to only do music but other things like acting as well, so maybe he wants more free time, or maybe jkk want some freedom!

And that ot7 dinner could be a meeting to discuss things, i find it weird that they didn't take a photo all together but take it after dinner with vmin missing!

Maybe the members didn't come to an agreement yet!

I also find the reason why V couldn't be on this photo sus.

Jimin said he had to work which makes sense since FACE was riding him hard. But V said he had to hang out with friends which was ❓❓❓ He didn't meet up with the WS until the next day so I dont understand why he didn't stay for a picture??

Anyway, there u go anon 😁😁😁

#ask shaz #bts ask #bts

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pan-flute-skeleton · 2 months

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19. Jules and Tony for Soft OTP Prompts!

19- Write about your ship going on a casual date.

Oooh okay this will be interesting @milobat time for them to get casual. I decided to go with Jules's POV for this

I took him up on his offer to ride. Ma was worried about me spending so much time in the city, but I think she eased up when I explained the situation. He might meet her one day, but that's a far future thought. For now, I wanted to keep things as fun and casual as they can be. Even if we've gotten way past casual before.

I leaned against my Goldwing outside his shop. I could see Tony, but I don't think he could see me. Too focused on his task. I loved the way his brow furrowed and his lips pouted when he was concentrating. But eventually he finished and he looked over. Tony waved and flashed that irresistible smile of his. He went back in the shop and after about fifteen minutes, Tony returned in his normal attire. My feet left the ground as he scooped me up into a bear hug.

"Hey, baby. You ready?"

"I was born ready."

We kissed before putting on our helmets and we took to the streets. The way he could maneuver that massive Harley Road King was mesmerizing. Tight spaces between cars that he should have never been able to fit through, Tony slipped through with ease. We rode side by side, single file and spread apart up and down the avenues. At the red lights, he reached for my hand. Those few seconds sent my heart soaring. We were so wrapped up in each other that we neglected to see the buildings turn into trees. Tony motioned to pull into this weird "I Love New York" rest stop and we dismounted to assess the situation.

"Where the hell are we?" Tony asked.

"I think we're in Westchester," I replied, "that's the next county after the Bronx, I think."

"Weird, I thought all the trees were only in Central Park."

"If that's what you think, I'm gonna blow your mind if I take you through my state."

Tony laughed, "Hah! I got something else you could blow instead."

The cheeky bastard pulled me close, but I playfully pushed him off. "Maybe not in front of the tourists, big guy."

He shook his head. He'll probably have that energy later. We got back on our bikes and exited the opposite side of the stop. We rode with the sun setting before us.

#metalocalypse #mtl oc #original character #answered #Jules Seefore #tony thompson #rabies band #ask games #writing challenge

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yell0wsalt · 2 months

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10,14,30 ☺️

Loved the questions, many thanks! 💕

10. How do you decide what to write?

Sometimes I’ll get ideas engaging with those who comment on my fics. Suggestions help me think about characters in ways I may not have known and gives me feedback on where I can improve next time.

Also scrolling through platforms such as Tumblr or Twitter. Maybe there is a dynamic being expressed in a photo or art. It will make me think “ooh I think I want this for my OTP. This could work for them. Maybe I’ll give it a shot,” and I’ll hold onto it as a reference.

Music also helps me decide on what I want to write. I have several songs associated with my different OTPs and if there’s a song I’m more attracted to in the moment, it inspires me to work on the WIP I have for them.

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

Several, actually! I partially answered that for the soulmate trope in this question. But a lot of what you write actually haha. You take such care with your characters in writing explicit and kinky content. Not always writing smut for the sake of smut (Though that can be fun!). You go into the characterization incredibly well for mature characters and are exploratory with the kinks you write with taste. It’s nothing short of incredible.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

WOAHHHH OKAY! So literally any of the explicit content I’ve written recently. In particular Ride like My Honeydew. It made me laugh too many times writing it because the fic came from hearing about the Coconut Challenge on TikTok and Twitter. Particularly Cardi B’s reaction video to it. I was like “omg she’s so silly.” Then finding out what it was, I was like “Wouldn’t it be funny if Iroh and Asami did something similar?”

…Yeah.

Hilarious.

Right…

*Opens up another Untitled Document*

It was one of my writing goals for this year to push myself more with explicit content and I think Ride Like My Honeydew, I Wanna Swim in Your Skies, and Say It are some of my favorites in how I’ve taken mature content thus far. Helping me get past that hump of embarrassment for being more exploratory in my writing. It's a start.

fic writer asks

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nerd-artist · 9 months

Text

tag game (Horizon)

Thanks @singingkestrel for tagging me! This was fun!

1. ride or die ship (your otp):

Ereloy. When I first played HZD and Erend made his first appearance I didn't like him a bit because I prejudge him as the alpha male stereotype, but then the writers began to unwrap his layers, revealing the cinnamon bun inside him and I ended the game by being in love with that big Oseram and his mohawk. I shipped them then, when they had the two minutes conversation, but my obsession started with The Daunt reunion in HFW when he couldn’t avoid being upset because she left without saying goodbye, and then Aloy closing his wounds by defeating Asera in First Forge by his side, and Singularity with all those flirty lines and the side hug. I’ve always thought they were going to be end game (and I still hope we can choose that in H3). They care for each other so much, I can see them living happily together and I need to witness it.

2. most annoying ship: Ship and let ship. We’re all here to enjoy so if your ship makes you happy, there’s nothing wrong with that (unless they are sisters, that's it, that’s the annoying one for me).

3. second favourite ship: the second ship involving Aloy that makes more sense to me is Hawk and Thrush, and also involving the Sunhawk there is Kotalanah that has a special place in my heart (what can I say, they have chemistry).

4. favourite platonic relationship: I love the friendship between Erend and Varl there was so much complicity between them, makes me so sad that we only could enjoy it for a short time and now I hope we can see Erend having a similar relationship with Kotallo. Also Aloy and Zo, I need to see that friendship evolve even more in the next game, Aloy is going to need her wise advice.

5. underrated ship: This one is underrated mostly because it only exists in my head: GAIA/Gildun. Just imagine them having daily long-distance calls and then Gildun going to the base to meet her. The calculations GAIA is making at that moment let her know she is experiencing love and we can see her smile for the first time…

6. overrated ship: I don't know, I don't think there is one.

7. one thing i would change in canon: A lot of us agree, Varl’s death was unnecessary, Aloy had already lost Rost, she didn't need to lose a friend too to know how important people can be for her. Also, the way they wrote some characters in HFW and some plots in BS. But what I think is the big mistake is to have wasted the opportunity to make Aloy and Beta bond in Burning Shores, she could have been helping Aloy a lot more from the distance, giving us some cute sisterly moments. I hope they fix this in the next game.

8. something canon did right: A lot of things! That’s why I love these games! HZD is almost perfect, that game made me go through a roller coaster of feelings and I’ll never forget that.

Aloy’s personality evolution. You can clearly see the difference between HZD Aloy and herself at the end of HFW but it’s not forced, she learned through the way to get there.

The lack of prejudices. Obviously there are conflicts between tribes, mostly because of the different religions, but the Horizon world is showing us how humanity would be without racism and without homophobia, Guerrilla is doing a great job there.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: I am very proud to be part of the Focus On The Heart team, a visual novel fan game. It is a huge project that I believe a lot of Horizon fans are going to enjoy when it’s done.

Also I’m proud of my Horizon’s characters as Greek Gods series of fanarts. I got distracted by other illustrations I needed to draw, but I plan to keep on doing them at some point.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Gildun! He is a light in the darkness, but I want to talk about Zo because she is also perfect and she is very underrated. She is fierce but she is also lovely. She joined Aloy although that meant to deny all her beliefs. She confronted the Utaru chorus in the past and she doesn't hesitate to do the same when it’s needed. We meet a very interesting character and I hope that the fact she is pregnant doesn't mean she is not going to have an important role in the next game because that would send a very wrong message.

11. the character I relate to the most and why: I never thought about this until now, but I guess I can relate to Beta, all the traumas of her past aside and I’m way more social than she is but... I work remotely and my hobbies are almost the same as my job so I’m always indoors in front of a screen, like she is (using her focus constantly). She is also afraid of a lot of things, which is essentially my everyday mood. I can relate to Erend sometimes because I tend to make fun of myself to hide my insecurities.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: AMADIS, but also, The Quen as a tribe (not talking about individual characters here), they have the best outfits and they are sailors, and that is great… it is their society which is very disgusting, nothing good could come if it’s inspired by a start-up structure. I also don't like Carja. Anything imperialist makes me wanna puke.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: I’ve learned what to be in a fandom means, this is the first time in my (long) life that I join one, I’ve been screaming about other games and series before but mostly to myself and to friends that didn't fully understand me, to be able to talk freely about blorbos (a word I didn't knew existed until last year) with the lovely people I’ve met it’s truly a relieve. Also I think (and I hope🙏) being in this fandom and this obsession is helping me improve my English.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, it’s not unrequited they’re just dumbasses (and some others I don't want everyone to know 😉).

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: I come with knives by IAMX, I can see Aloy singing it to herself to stop her from having meaningful relationships.

tagging: You don't need to answer if you don't want to (sorry if you have already been tagged) and everyone is welcome to do it although you haven't been tagged @sorbetowl @meg-noel-art @chloefraazers @kittleskittle @hartlesshart @emtazer @xxxhellfireravenxxx @bookmancer-legendarium @boobaloof (edit because I wanted to tag @artekai too and I forgot 🥲)

#tag game #horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn #horizon fandom

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myveryownfanfiction · 10 months

Text

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

Requested by: @onedirectionlovers2014

Request from @littlewhispersofsolitude imagine Your OTP #575

Person A: I'm going to kill you.

Person B, teasing them: Haha, you gotta catch me first!!!

Person B: *faceplants into a tree*

tags: @illiana-mystery, @eclecticwildflowers

warnings: swearing, blood, Dan gets hurt

Staring at my car, I ran a hand down my face.

“fielding!” I screamed. Dan poked his head out of the courthouse doors, a small smile on his face.

“yes?” He asked, cheeriness in his voice. I motioned vaguely to my car.

“What the fuck did you do?” I asked as he walked out of the courthouse. “Look at what you did to my car.” Dan smirked at me as he wrapped an arm around me.

“looks pretty damn good to me.” He teased. I ducked out from under his arm and peeled off a flyer with dans face on it from the hood.

“Daniel fielding. This isn’t good. You ruined my car.” I turned back towards him. Tossing the flyer to the side, I started to walk towards him. Dan wisely took a step back each time I got closer to him. “I’m going to kill you.” I growled. Dans eyebrows rose but the smile never left his face.

“Haha,” he laughed. “You gotta catch me first.” Dan turned and ran. I followed after him, leaving the parking lot and heading towards the park. Dan looked over his shoulder a few times, nearly running into street lamps as he did. When we entered the park, he turned to look at me again.

“Dan!” I yelled as he ran face first into a tree.

“ow.” He groaned as he fell on his ass. I skidded to a halt and knelt down next to him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I cupped his chin and made him look at me. “It hurts.” He pouted.

“I’m sure.” I mumbled as I looked at his nose. “It’s gonna hurt worse in a second.” I reached up and gently probed his nose. Dan whimpered in pain and I grimaced. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“hurts.” He mumbled back when I stopped. I nodded and reached into my pocket. Pulling out some tissues, I pressed them against his nose. “Really hurts (Y/N).” I nodded again as I helped him stand up again. I kept my hand pressed against his nose, forcing his head to remain tilted back.

“I know. But luckily it’s just a nose bleed. You didn’t break it.” I took his hand and led him over to a park bench. Sitting down with him next to me, I pulled some more tissues out of my pocket and tore them up.

“that was stupid.” Dan said. I laughed slightly as he looked at me.

“what? Running into a tree or plastering my car with campaign flyers?” I asked, a smile on my face. Dan looked over my face carefully.

“both?” He said, making it sound more like a question. Laughing, I shook my head at him.

“for the sake of your ego, yeah both.” I smiled as I took the tissues away from his nose and tossed them in a nearby trash can. “No. Keep it back.” I warned as I turned back to him with the wadded up tissue. “Just gonna plug it up…and done.” I said as I cupped his cheek, tilting his head back down.

“thanks.” Dan mumbled. I rubbed my thumb over his cheek.

“no problem. Just give me a ride and pay for the removal of the campaign flyers and we’re even.” Dan groaned but nodded.

“alright. Deal.” He smiled at me. “Love you.” I laughed and kissed his cheek.

“love you too you dork.”

#john larroquette imagine #john larroquette x reader #john larroquette fanfiction #john larroquette fanfic #john larroquette #dan fielding #dan fielding imagine #dan fielding x reader #dan fielding fanfic #dan fielding fanfiction

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khoicesbyk · 5 months

Text

The Royal Romance.

Forevermore.

A/N: this is the next chapter in the journey of my OTP. Follow along for the fun.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations

Chapter 2.) The Family Rys. Part 2.

A few days later they ran into another problem. Their son was sick.

Kylo had been very clingy to his parents as of late, and after they came back from a date night, he was very fussy and irritable.

“Shhhh baby. It's okay.” Shanelle said, bouncing him on her hip, trying to soothe him.

“Any luck?” Marquise asked.

“No. He's still fussy,” she replies.

Marquise noticed that he was pulling on his ear.

“He's pulling on his ear.”

“I noticed.”

After trying everything the parents could think of, Marquise took Kylo’s temperature, and when he read it his face was grim.

“What's his temperature?” Shanelle asked.

“38.3° Celsius,” he replied.

“Conversion?”

“101°.”

“Oh my God! We have to call Nadia.”

“I’ll call her.”

Marquise called and spoke to the twins’ pediatrician, who advised him to take the young Prince to the ER.

“She said that we should take him to the ER, and she’ll meet us there.”

“Okay, I'll get him ready.”

“And I'll let Mom know that we’re going to the ER.”

Shanelle nodded. Marquise noticed the worried look on her face.

“It's gonna be okay.”

“I know. I just…” Shanelle trailed off.

Marquise pulled her and Kylo close.

“I know. So let's get ready.”

With that, Shanelle got Kylo changed while Marquise called a car and alerted his mother.

“Oh, my poor little turtle dove. What do you two need me to do?” Margo asks.

“Just be here with Zyon and Khari. I'll call you if it becomes anything more serious.” Marquise replied.

“Alright. I'll call Shantel and let her know.”

“Thank you, Margo,” Shanelle said to her.

“Of course my dear. All that matters right now is my grandson’s health. Now you two go. Call me if you need anything.”

Marquise nodded gratefully at his mother before he and Shanelle left for the hospital. On the way to the ER, Kylo became hysterical and didn't want to be in his car seat. So Marquise took him out and cradled him tight to his chest.

“Shhhh! It's alright my love. It'll be alright.” he said trying to soothe his crying son. “I know you don't feel good. We’ll be there soon. I promise.”

After a 20-minute car ride, they finally got to the hospital and were ushered to a private room, where his pediatrician Dr. Nadia Sorvano-Rys, Marquise’s aunt, and the head of the ER were waiting.

“Thank you for meeting us here Nadia.”

Their pediatrician nodded.

“I wish it were under better circumstances, nephew. Now let me introduce you both to Lord Dr. Grant Hadley head of the ER Department.” Nadia said as she introduced him to the royals, “Dr. Hadley, meet my great-nephew and his parents.”

Dr. Hadley bowed.

“Your Majesties. It's an honor to meet you and the Prince. And much like Dr. Sorvano said I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“It's a pleasure doctor,” Marquise replied.

Dr. Hadley nodded.

“Now that we've been introduced, let's see what's wrong with the little one,” Nadia said before smiling at a crying Kylo, “Oh you poor thing. I know you don't feel well. Well, that's why we’re here to make you feel better.”

Nadia looked at her parents.

“May I?” she asked.

Both parents nodded before Shanelle handed her son to Nadia who was not very happy about it.

“Shhh! It's okay dear.” Nadia said to the Prince in a soft tone to soothe him, “There there. It will be alright. We're here to make you feel all better.”

As Nadia held Kylo, she looked over to his father and smiled.

“I remember when you were this little,” she said to him.

“I would hope so,” he replied.

“Now my little Prince, let's see what's wrong hmm?” Nadia asked Kylo who had finally calmed down.

After running a few tests it was determined that the Prince had a double ear infection. His parents were just grateful to have a diagnosis. While waiting for his medicine, the young Prince became restless, so his father decided to take him on a walk. While walking down the hall, he stopped by a nurses’ station to see where the hospital's solarium and playroom were.

That's when he was informed that they were closed because of hospital budget cuts. While a nurse was able to open both for him and his son, he was not happy and would be meeting with the hospital board to discuss the issue.

When the couple finally left the hospital they were informed that Kylo would require ear drops every 4-6 hours and children’s Tylenol every 8 hours for 10 days and he would see Nadia again in 7 days.

Once back at the residence, both parents were exhausted but thankful their son would make a full recovery.

The next few days Marquise found himself buried in the children's hospital budget for the fiscal year. He found most of the heads of every department and members of the Board Of Trustees received bonuses but the yearly 15% increase in worker pay had not been paid in nearly a year and a half.

This led him to convene the hospital board to address the matter. After meeting with the board and being dissatisfied with their answer, Marquise fired the then Head of Trustees and imposed a reduction in pay for board members, as well as the reallocation of hospital funds to the proper channels to balance out the fiscal budget.

When October rolled around, it was all about celebrating birthdays for the family. Starting with the Princess.

Rather than have a big birthday celebration like her Daddy had originally planned, Khari opted for something low-key and quiet, she wanted to go apple and pumpkin picking at her father’s duchy.

They took the two-hour drive from the palace to Duchy Anyango. When they arrived at the duchy mansion they were greeted by the head of the staff there. Margo’s sister-in-law Anna Rousseau.

“Bonjour vos majestés! C'est bon de te voir!” Anna said in French.

“Bonjour Anna. C'est cool d'être ici.” Marquise replied.

Anna also greeted him with a warm hug.

“It's so good to have you all here. How are you, nephew?”

“I'm doing well, Anna. How are you?”

“I am well nephew. Come let me show you all to your rooms. Then I can have all the time to play with my great niece and nephews. Jean-Pierre will be here soon.”

Once inside and settled, the family was joined by Jean-Pierre, the rest of Marquise’s extended family as well as the families of the house staff members. After a big family meal, Khari wanted to explore the mansion before they went to her father’s apartment for the night. Marquise took her and her brothers on a tour of the home. Regaling them in the wild stories of when he and their uncle would stay here with his mother. Showing them the hidden passages where he and Leo would hide when it was time to leave.

They stopped when they got to Eleanor’s bedroom. Shanelle knew how hard it was for him to be there but she knew he wanted their kids to see it.

“What room is this one Daddy?” Khari asked.

“This is my mother’s room,” he replies.

Khari looked up at the huge doors.

“Can we see inside?” she asks.

“Of course you can,” he replied.

Marquise took a gold key out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand before using it to unlock the doors. The doors opened to show an elegantly kept bedroom with a huge 4-poster canopy bed in the center of the room. As the children and Shanelle walked in, Marquise stood in the doorway just looking inside. As much as it hurt to look around, he knew his children deserved to see their grandmother's bedroom. Khari noticed the look on his face.

“Daddy?” she asked as she took his hand.

That snapped him out of the trance he was in.

“Huh? Yes my love?” he replied.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

Marquise sighed.

“I will be my love.”

“Will you show us around Daddy?” she asked.

“At once Your Highness,” Marquise replied with a bow that made Khari giggle.

Marquise went around the room explaining everything and why nothing had really changed in the room. When he got to Eleanor’s closet, he paused for a second before opening the doors, to reveal many of her old dresses and her wedding gown.

“It's so pretty,” Khari said as she looked at it.

“Thank you, my love. It's being saved for you.”

Khari turned around to look at her father.

“For me?” she asks.

“Yes. It's my hope that when…if you ever get married, you'll wear it in her honor,” he replied.

Khari smiled and nodded.

“I will Daddy. For you.”

Marquise smiled just as Shanelle brought the boys over.

“Boys look!” Khari said to her brothers, “That's gonna be my wedding dress when I get grown up.”

Shanelle raised an eyebrow at her husband.

“I thought you were gonna wait until she turned 16 to show her your mother’s wedding dress.”

Marquise shrugged.

“Couldn't wait.”

“Mommy look! Daddy said that's gonna be my wedding dress.”

Shanelle shook her head with a smirk.

“Congratulations Your Majesty. You have officially put that thought into her head. And now she's gonna run with it.”

Marquise snickered.

“Mission. Accomplished.”

That night as everyone got ready for bed Khari asked her dad if they could stay in her grandmother’s room for the night, and of course, the King couldn't say no. He and Shanelle watched their children drift off to sleep in his mother’s before getting ready for bed themselves.

“You okay?” Shanelle asks him.

Marquise took a deep breath.

“I will be. I knew one day I would have to bring them here and show them. I'm just processing my emotions right now.” he replied.

“I know how hard it is for you to be here without missing her. But I'm proud of you.”

Marquise smiled softly.

“I wish she were here. If she had lived, this is where she would've retired to after we took the throne. She would've greeted us along with Anna. And she would've insisted on the children staying here with her. She would be reading them their favorite bedtime stories before putting them to bed.”

“I know.”

“She would have adored our children. She would've had them with her every weekend. We literally would have picked Khari up from school and then come here so she could be with them.”

Shanelle smiled.

“I imagine they would be in town at the library with her. Running around and playing in the aisles while she read and kept watch on them from her little quiet corner. Then they'd go see Jean-Pierre at the butcher shop and then come back here, where she'd cook for them. It would be all our daughter would talk about.”

Marquise nodded.

“I see so much of her, her love, and her spirit in our children. And I never want to let it go.”

“I know.”

“Come on. It's time for us to get some sleep. We have a very big day tomorrow.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“I can't believe our girl will be 6 tomorrow.”

“I know. She's a big girl now. Or at least that's what she always tells us.”

Shanelle just smiled.

The next day was a very big day. It was Khari’s birthday. The couple could not believe their miracle baby was 6 years old.

After a big birthday breakfast, it was off to Ferme Familiale Geaneaux to visit the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. The couple enjoyed watching their kids run around the orchard with their cousins. Playing amongst the pumpkins, apple trees, and bushes all over the farm. It was especially hilarious to watch the children pick out their pumpkins. Namely, Khari who was struggling to lift a pumpkin that was almost as big as her.

Her parents watched snickering the whole time.

“Go help her,” Shanelle said to her husband.

“Nope. She has to learn how to do things by herself. So I'm gonna let her figure this out on her own.”

“You are so mean.”

Marquise scoffed.

“Says the mother standing next to me laughing at our daughter.”

They watched as their daughter tried every which way to lift the pumpkin until she finally gave up.

“Daddy! I need help,” Khari said as she called out to her father.

“I'll be right there my love,” Marquise replied.

Shanelle shook her head as Marquise went over and retrieved the pumpkin that his daughter wanted. He then helped his boys pick out theirs. It was also hilarious and adorable to watch them try to carry their pumpkins. Once the pumpkins were picked it was time for apples. That meant Marquise would have to face down his arch-nemesis, the apple tree he fell out of, and broke his arm as a kid.

“I hate this tree,” Marquise muttered.

Margo and Shanelle groaned.

“Oh my God!”

“Son, will you please let that go? It's been years.” Margo said to him.

“No, I will not let it go! This tree has always given me trouble!” Marquise replied.

“It's a tree!” the two said to him.

“I don’t care! It's still trouble!”

“You act like something bad will happen again.”

“It might!”

“It will not! Now go! The kids are waiting.”

Marquise grumbled before taking his kids to the tree. Sure enough, as His Majesty climbed down the ladder, he missed a rung and came crashing to the ground. Leaving everyone around him dying of laughter. None more than his wife and mother.

“I HATE THIS DAMN TREE!” he proclaimed.

After spending all day at the farm and orchard, it was time for Khari’s birthday dinner. Which had all of her favorite foods. Including her daddy’s spaghetti carbonara.

“Daddy, can I help you make it?” she asked.

“Of course my love. Since it's your birthday, I'll let you stir the egg yolks and cheese together. How about that?” he asks.

“Deal!”

While Marquise got everything else started, Khari whisked the egg yolks and grated cheese together with all her might until her arms got tired.

“How's that daddy?” she asked.

“Perfect! And now…” he replies.

“We mix it all together!

“Exactly!”

Cooking with his daughter always reminds Marquise of the times he would cook with his mother. Once dinner was done and served, it was time for him to give Khari her birthday present. A custom-made diamond charm bracelet.

“This is for me?!” she asks.

“Yes, my love. It's for you,” he replies.

“Thank you, Daddy! Thank you so much!”

“You're more than welcome. Do you know what the charms on your bracelet mean?” he asks.

Khari shook her head no.

“They represent your grandparents. Can you guess which ones represent who?” he asked.

“I can try.”

“Go ahead.”

Khari studied each of the charms.

“The stacks of books and the apple charms on the right are for Grammy and Pop Pop. Because Grammy is a teacher and Pop Pop is from Cordonia.”

“That's right. What about the two charms on the left?” he asked.

She smiled when she looked at them.

“The Dove is for Grammy Margo. Because that's her favorite bird. And the turtle…is for Grandpa George. Because he loved turtles. And would always read to me his favorite book about them.”

“And what about the two in the center?”

Khari looked at them thoughtfully.

“The crown is for my Grandmother. And the shield is for my Grandfather.”

Marquise nodded before fastening the bracelet on her right wrist.

“Happy Birthday my beautiful love. I will always be grateful and thankful for you,” he whispered to her.

She looked up at him before throwing her arms around him and giving him the biggest hug she could manage.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, my sweet one. I will always love you. You will always be my little girl.”

To say Khari’s birthday weekend was a success was an understatement. And now it was time for the King to celebrate his own birthday.

And what better way for Marquise to celebrate his birthday than in Las Vegas?

When he arrived in Vegas, he had one thing on his mind, having as much fun in the city of sin as humanly possible. And who better to do that with than Logan?

When they arrived at the hotel they were taken to what is called the King Suite. Which is one half of the entire top floor of the hotel. Complete with a fully stocked kitchen and private chef, a laundry room, access to the rooftop pool and bar, a fitness center, a 24-hour private concierge, a fully decked out spa, and every individual bedroom is equipped with its own fully stocked mini bar.

Shanelle spared no expense when designing her hotel. And the guys took advantage of it. They had dinner fit for a King at Asador. The new steakhouse at the hotel. When they got back to the floor both were fuller than a couple of ticks.

“Man, I am stuffed. I ate like a pig.”

Marquise snickered as he poured them both a drink.

“Pumbaa you are a pig.”

The two laughed as they shared a drink.

“Dude you watch too many Disney movies.”

“Tell my daughter that.”

“Nope. I know she runs the show.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Logan downed his drink before reaching the bottle.

“Man big sis does it again. This shit is smooth.”

“I mean have you seen the hotel?” Marquise asked.

“True. I can’t wait for tomorrow. What are we doing for your birthday?” Logan replies.

“One name: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.”

Logan’s face lit up.

“Long live the King!”

The next day was indeed the day of the King. After a huge breakfast, he and Logan were chauffeured to the speedway. When they got there they were greeted by the raceway owner and wee given the keys to two custom built Ferraris.

“Am I dreaming?!” Logan asked.

“Nope.” Marquise replied.

“Good! Let’s go!”

The guys spent hours zooming around the track trying to out race each other. When they got back to the hotel they had massages waiting on them. After the massages and taking a dip in the rooftop pool the two were lounging in the living room of the suite.

“This day can’t get any better.” Logan said.

“Oh it’s about to because we have tables to conquer.” Marquise replied.

A slow grin crossed Logan’s face.

“About damn time!”

Marquise cackled.

“Let’s go.”

As Marquise got ready to leave he got a call from his wife.

“Hey beautiful!”

“Hey you! Happy Birthday Handsome!”

Marquise chuckled.

“Thank you gorgeous.”

“How is it?” She asks.

“It’s amazing. We’ve had a blast.” He replies.

“Wonderful. Thank you for being my guinea pig. And tell Logan I said thanks.”

Marquise snickered.

“Will do.”

That’s when Logan popped his head in.

“You ready man? Let’s go!”

“Is that Logan?” Shanelle asks.

“Hey big sis!” Logan replied.

“You enjoying yourself baby bro?” She asks.

“Yes! I love it here!” He replies.

Shanelle smiled.

“Good. Well I won’t keep you two. Have fun! And do not break anything!”

“Yes ma’am.” Marquise replies.

“Logan! That goes for you too! No breaking anything. That includes the law! Got it?” Shanelle asks.

“Yup. Scouts honor!” Logan replied.

Shanelle scoffed.

“Scouts honor? Fool you never even made it to a merit badge.”

Marquise cackled while Logan made a face.

“Have fun you two!” She said before hanging up.

Logan and Marquise looked at each other.

“Are we gonna listen to her?” Logan asks.

“Mostly.” Marquise replies with mischief in his eyes.

“And how will we do that sire?” Logan asks.

“Elementary my dear Logan. We won’t be breaking anything. Only bankrupting every casino we come across.” Marquise replied.

“Lead the way!”

The guys headed for the casino downstairs. They cleaned up nicely. Then moved on to the next hotel. Annihilating everyone that played against them. They took a break from playing to catch Usher in concert.

“There are a lot of women here!” Logan said as he looked around.

“And a lot of them are married.” Marquise quipped.

That’s when Usher hit the stage. They enjoyed the performance and were able to get backstage and meet Usher. While Marquise was cool with him, Logan couldn’t stop mean mugging him.

“Will you stop?” Marquise said to him.

“No! This man tried to steal my wife!” Logan replies.

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“Get over it Logan!”

“No!”

“Logan! I paid a lot of money for these tickets! Do NOT get us thrown out of here!”

“Fine! But I still don’t like him!”

“Fair enough.”

They spent the rest of the weekend wreaking havoc on various casinos and having a good time. That Sunday morning the guys were enjoying a big breakfast in their custom made robes.

“Remind me to thank big sis.” Logan said.

“You’re about to walk out of here in that robe aren’t you?” Marquise asks.

“Absolutely! You see this?” Logan said pointing to the top of the robe, “The right says Logan, and the left says little brother. So you damn skippy I am!”

“Fair enough,” Marquise said with a chuckle.

“Did you get one?” Logan asks.

“Of course. Mine said Daddy and Husband on the left. And King and Birthday Boy on the right.” Marquise replied.

“Nice!”

“Thank you for hanging out this weekend.”

“Always brother. It’s always fun when we get together.”

“Indeed it is. We’ll do it again.”

“Definitely. The Princes’ birthday is coming up.”

The two clinked their glasses of Prosecco together. This was a very good birthday weekend for the King. Next up was Shanelle’s birthday. Much like her daughter she wanted something low key, so they went to her resort in Belize for her birthday.

When Shanelle woke up on the morning of her birthday she was greeted by her husband’s smile.

“Happy Birthday Gorgeous,” he whispered before kissing her softly.

“Thank you handsome,” she replied

“Shall we head out on the patio for breakfast?” he asked.

“In a few, I wanna lay here in your arms for a little while longer,” she replied.

He pulled her closer.

“As my Queen commands.”

When they finally left the bed, breakfast was waiting for them. They spent that entire weekend, exploring the local town and cuisine, touring one of the private islands off the coast, snorkeling, and running along the beach. Having a quiet vacation celebrating her birthday, made Shanelle extremely happy.

She wanted to save her excitement for the twins’ first birthday. Which was a week after her own. After hosting the annual Palace Halloween Party, it was time to celebrate the twins.

The twins were turning one and the couple was thankful that all the party planning was left up to the staff at Lowyn Winery. The couple let their daughter pick the theme and she chose one of the boys’ favorite games, Super Mario Bros. Marquise flew into Los Angeles that Thursday before for the Time Magazine Top 100 Party. He used that night to meet and network with a lot of celebrities.

Shanelle and the children flew in the night before and spent time with Bronwyn and her family. It is always a great time when the cousins get together the same was true about the parents.

“I owe you and Lo so much for this,” Shanelle said to Bronwyn.

“You know I love this. It's for the boys.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“I can not believe that my babies will be one.”

“I understand completely. I remember feeling that way when Bran and Bray turned one. It doesn't feel real.”

“Nope. I look at them and still see these two tiny humans. And now they're walking or I should say running all over the place and trying to talk.”

“I get it.”

“Girl, our kids are growing up.”

“How do we stop it?” Bron asked.

“When I figure that out I'll let you know,” Shanelle replied.

The next day was the big day for the family. It was the Super Rys Bros Birthday Bash at the winery. The staff went all out to give the twins a birthday party to remember.

Games, gift bags, goodies, and everyone in costume -much to His Majesty’s chagrin-. It was a fun time. The twins enjoyed running after their sister, cousins, and friends. And they loved their cake.

Whether it was Kylo’s excitement or curiosity, no one is really quite sure, but whatever it was, it caused him to dive face-first into the birthday cake, much to his mother's horror and his father's absolute delight.

“Kylo! Baby no! You’re not supposed to kamikaze into the cake.” Shanelle fussed.

Marquise looked at Logan. Logan looked at him. And both died laughing.

When Kylo re-emerged he had a big smile on his face and hands full of cake as well as being covered. Shanelle just shook her head, shrugged, and laughed.

“Have at it y'all. The cake is clearly up for grabs.”

Seeing her boys have a great time at their birthday party made the day perfect. And their birthday weekend wasn't even over yet.

The family hopped on a flight to Boston to go watch The Patriots vs The Commanders game live. And to host the kids of the group homes that Marquise has been sponsoring for years. They met up with Tommy Mason, the director of the group homes, and his family.

“Ohhh! It's my favorite royal jackass! He's finally come home!” Tommy teased.

Marquise snickered.

“Fuck you, Mason.”

The two embraced.

“It's good to see you, man. Thank you for hosting the kids.” Tommy said to him.

“Tommy, we've been doing this for years. It's always a pleasure.”

They spent the day at Gillette Stadium with all the kids. Meeting the players, the cheer squads, getting signed jerseys, footballs, and bears. As well as donating $3 million to the Patriots’ charitable foundation. And watched from Marquise’s 4 private boxes. It was his little ones’ first-ever live football game. And he wanted his babies to have an amazing experience.

On the flight home to Cordonia, Shanelle watched over the children as they slept, and she couldn't help but get a little emotional and Marquise noticed.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he sat next to her.

She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“I will be. It's just hitting me that our boys will be one tomorrow. They're really here.” she replied quietly.

He wrapped an arm around her.

“It's okay my love. I know why you feel the way you do.”

“You do?” she asked.

“Yes. Because you still miss him,” he replied.

“I can't help it. Sometimes I get scared that he hates me for loving them.”

“Look at me, I swear to you with God as my witness, even now, he doesn't hate you. He doesn't hate me. He doesn't hate us.” Marquise said, speaking about the son they lost, “He knew your heart was incomplete. He knew that you have yearned to be with him for all these years. That is why he became our guardian angel. He is why we have our three miracle babies. Because he loves us. And he knows that we will always love him. Alright?”

Shanelle nodded.

“I know that sometimes it's hard not to think about him whenever you look at them. To wonder what our lives would've been like had he lived. I understand that guilt. I live with it every day. Just like you. But I know in my heart that our babies are here for a reason. I know that he watches over all of us. And he loves us from afar.”

Shanelle smiled softly at him.

“Thank you, baby. I needed to hear that. Like you said, sometimes it's just hard. I'll be fine.”

He kissed her forehead softly.

“I know. I will always be here if and whenever you need me.”

“I know.”

He tilted her chin up so she could look him in the eye.

“I love you. Never forget that.”

“I love you too handsome.”

The next day was the twins’ actual birthday. And since the family had gotten back to Cordonia late, they decided to let Khari stay home for the day so she could celebrate her two baby brothers.

The parents were getting the twins dressed when Zyon spoke his first word.

“Touchdown!” the little Prince spoke as he played with football.

Both of his parents froze.

“Whaaat?”Shanelle asks.

“I think…he just spoke,” Marquise replies.

They looked at their son and waited for him to speak again. And sure enough, he spoke.

“Touchdown!” he said again before tossing his football haphazardly across his crib.

The parents looked at each other.

“Oh! My! God!”

“My son’s first word is touchdown?!” Marquise asks.

“Apparently,” Shanelle replies.

The two started laughing, which made both twins giggle.

“I swear. These two have never been more of a blessing to us.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Happy Birthday my babies,” Shanelle said as they held the boys close.

Marquise smiled softly.

“We are so grateful that we have you both. And you’re both healthy, happy, and loved by so many.”

While having breakfast, an attendant came by with some news.

“Pardon my interruption, Your Majesties. But I have some news for you,” the attendant said.

They looked at each other.

“Go ahead,” Marquise said to the attendant.

“It's news about Her Majesty’s uncle King Edward. He's had a stroke and is currently in the hospital.”

The couple just looked at each other. Both were surprised but given who it was, they weren't all that shocked.

“Are you sure?” Shanelle asked.

“Yes ma'am. The news came in just a few minutes ago, from Queen Genevieve.” the attendant replied.

“Is he stable?” she asks.

“Yes ma'am. He's in a medically induced coma at the moment.” the attendant replie

Marquise studied the look on his wife’s face.

“Thank you. That will be all.”

The attendant bowed before excusing himself. Khari was curious.

“What happened to your uncle Mommy?” she asks.

“He's gotten really sick,” Shanelle replies.

“Oh. Will you go see him?” she asks.

As much as Her Majesty wanted to say no, she knew she couldn't.

“Yes, I will. But I have to tell Pop Pop about what happened to him first,” she replies.

“If you want I'll tell him.”

“Thank you but no. He won't take the news from you well.”

“Pop Pop’s gonna be so sad.” Khari quipped.

“But that's why he has you and your brothers. To cheer him up.”

Khari nodded.

Shanelle sighed.

“You stay here with them,” she said to her husband, “I have a phone call to make. Assuming Genevieve didn't beat me to it.”

Marquise nodded.

“Good luck.”

“Yeah. I'm gonna need it.”

Shanelle excused herself to call her father and prepare him for what could be the worst about his brother.

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