#sorry r!leo you are not here. but i have things to post for him later its fiiiiine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

argylemnwrites · 3 years

Text

Fight or Flight - Chapter 16: Rock

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~3600

Rating: R (language only)

Summary: Almost four weeks since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

The sun had basically set. Bridget was now sound asleep in her car seat. She hadn’t made a noise since Riley had climbed into the back to feed her about two hours ago. He knew Riley herself had to be starving. They had been on the road for about four hours. Yet, Drake was reluctant to stop.

He knew that they had probably gotten away. Barely. It didn’t seem like anyone was following them. Their little jaunt through Tripoli should have lost anyone who might have been able to follow them out of Athens onto A8 and then onto A7. And after they doubled back and began heading northwest on EO111, they started passing through some very rural areas where no one would be able to follow them without being spotted. All signs pointed to them being safe for the moment.

Drake knew all of this, but the thought of stopping the car, of not just keeping going, still seemed so foolish. He knew this was dumb. It was getting dark. They were in the middle of nowhere. The car didn’t have an unlimited supply of gasoline. But he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He didn’t want to turn his family into sitting ducks.

So he just kept driving, moving forward. It was all there was left to do, really. Plus, it gave him something to focus on that wasn’t how bad things had gotten. How much he had failed everyone.

He didn’t have all the details, but the news stations had given him enough to know that Riley and Leo’s little meet up was how they’d been located. He had known that relying on Leo was a mistake. He’d fucking known it in his gut. But he’d agreed to the plan. Let Riley go out and take that risk with a man who had a weakness for gambling and beautiful women, and now it had all backfired. He should have told Olivia ‘no’ when she suggested it. Leo could never handle any real responsibilities. He’d run from them his whole life, and Drake had agreed to trust him with his family’s fragile safety and security. All of it now blown to fucking pieces.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Liam was going to be implicated in the whole mess. Based on the text Riley got from Hana, they were all getting rid of their burners, but the fact that Leo was known to have been in contact with them meant that people would assume that he was serving as a proxy for his brother. Liam would be under investigation for sure. It would give motherfucking Barthelemy more ammunition. It was a huge blow for Liam. And Drake didn’t even have a way to apologize anymore. It felt like pouring salt onto the wounds that were at least partially his fault. They had been so desperate for money and clothing, so they’d gambled. And now everyone he loved was going to pay for it.

“Drake.” Riley’s voice carried over from the backseat. She hadn’t bothered to climb back into the front when she was done feeding Bridget and nestling her back into her car seat, instead just staying beside her, not saying anything. Until now, at least. “We should probably think about finding a hotel, shouldn’t we?”

Drake shook his head. “We’re a bit of a story here now. It’s too risky to show our faces when the news has been talking about us. Probably displaying our pictures, too.”

“Okay, well should we find a place to camp then?”

He let out a sigh at that. Free camping wasn’t exactly legal in Greece. If they got caught, they would have to hope that the police just sent them on their way without asking for any identification to fine them or anything. But Riley had a point. He knew they couldn’t just keep driving indefinitely, and if hotels were out for the time being, chancing a night in the tent somewhere was their only other choice. At least they weren’t on the beach. If Drake had to guess, more tourists would flock to the ocean for a summer holiday, so those areas were probably watched more carefully.

“Sure, Walker. Can you try to find us a park or some place that might have some tree cover?”

And so, not twenty minutes later, Drake took a huge breath as he brought the car to a stop in a secluded area near the base of Kompovouni mountain, tucked off a side road he hoped no one would be using in the middle of the night.

“She still out?” he asked as he turned off the engine, glancing into the backseat via the rear-view mirror.

Riley looked into the car seat and nodded. “The real trick will be getting her out without waking her up.”

“You can grab her, Walker. I’ll get the tent.” Drake saw her nod again before he opened the door and climbed out of the car, heading around to the back and opening the hatch. He dug past the duffel bags and crib, tugging out the tent, the sleeping bags and pads, and the flashlight he’d stashed away all those weeks ago. He could hardly have imagined feeling worse than he did that day, but here he was, now looking back in wonder at how easy things were then compared to now. They weren’t yet wanted criminals. They had a roof over their heads. There had been hope they would be able to go home in days to weeks.

He hauled the gear further off the road, into a grove of trees that would hopefully shield them from sight if anyone decided to drive this way. It was getting darker by the second, so he shifted the equipment under his right arm so he could use the flashlight with his left. It wouldn’t do them any good for him to trip or step on a snake and injure himself. A first aid kit was not something he had thought to purchase back when he first stocked up.

He heard Riley’s footsteps not far behind him, her voice murmuring something to Bridget that was too quiet for him to pick up. When he finally felt they were far enough from the road, he set down their gear, spinning around and watching Riley join him after a few moments.

Bridget was awake, unfortunately. She wasn’t screaming yet, but she was frowning as she looked around, and her lips were all scrunched up, a sure sign she was about ready to wail.

“We gotta try and keep her quiet, Riley.”

“I know,” she hissed out, bouncing Bridget on her hip. “It’s okay, Peanut. Shhh, Mama’s here.”

Bridget started making her little crabby whiny noise, but wasn’t outright screaming, which Drake supposed was the best they could hope for given the circumstances. “Did you pack the stuffed corgi?”

Riley nodded, not taking her eyes off Bridget and keeping her voice quiet and soothing. “I’m pretty sure it’s in one of the duffels. If not, her lovie is in the diaper bag.”

“Alright, I’ll go grab more of our shit, then. Just try and keep her from crying.”

Drake let out a sigh when he was out of earshot of his family, then swallowed roughly and took a few deep breaths as he walked back to the car. He felt like the weight and reality of today was setting in more and more by the second. Now that he wasn’t distracted by driving and navigating and translating radio reports, he felt a massive lump forming in his throat, his eyes burning as a couple of stray tears leaked out. He knew he couldn’t go down this road, though. He couldn’t afford to lose it. Not now. Riley and Bridget needed him to keep his shit together. Today had been enough of a disaster as it was.

But he had failed everyone at this point and it was hard to stay calm. It honestly felt like he could barely breathe, and he was surprised he hadn’t thrown up yet. Maybe he was just too overwhelmed. It felt like his legs were going to collapse underneath him.

By the time he reached the car, he had to brace his arms on its roof, trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t cry. This was bad enough; he couldn’t make it worse. But it all just felt like too much. So, he just focused on taking a couple of breaths, blinking his eyes repeatedly as he worked to clear the tears that kept collecting there.

He knew he needed to get their bags and get back. He was taking way too long. Riley was going to worry and come looking for him if he stayed by the car much longer, and she shouldn’t see him like this. She was counting on him, and he’d let her down enough recently. No need to fall apart in front of her. But the more he tried to get his shit together, the closer he felt to collapsing to the ground. He was a fucking mess, useless and unstable.

By his best guess, he’d been leaning against the car, trying to regain any sense of composure, for about five minutes when he heard the crunch of her feet on the ground, getting closer and closer. He took a few more shaky breaths, trying to pull it together, but way too quickly, her hand was on his back, gently brushing between his shoulder blades.

“Drake?” she said, his name sounding far more like a question than a statement, but he didn’t know what to say. When she repeated his name, he just shook his head.

He felt her move around him, wedging herself between him and the car somehow. He tipped his head back, knowing he wouldn’t be able to take it if he saw the pity in her eyes.

“Drake,” she repeated, this time more confidently and firmly, her hand sliding up around the back of his neck.

He shook his head as he swallowed, trying to find his voice. “I… I just… I just need a minute, Riley.”

She didn't say anything, but she didn't move either, her hand stroking along his neck and playing with the ends of his hair. He needed her to let him get his shit together. He really did. But of course she could clearly sense how close he was to spiraling, so she was refusing to let him be. That was her MO. She could read him better than anyone, after all. What she didn't understand is that her support was going to make him lose it even more. It was bad enough that he failed Liam and his country, but now he had failed his wife and kid on top of that. He was useless. Pathetic. Hopeless.

Eventually, he took one last shuddering breath before glancing down, taking in Riley, holding Bridget tight against her side. She must have fallen back asleep, as she was not reacting to being essentially trapped between them, something that usually triggered squirming and fussing. Instead, her head was tucked against Riley’s shoulder. Riley herself just kept running her fingers along his neck. Even in the relative darkness, he could make out her deep brown eyes, staring at him with far more compassion and tenderness than he deserved.

“I’m so sorry, Riley. This…” Drake trailed off, taking another breath before he continued, “I shouldn’t have put us in this position.”

"Drake, this isn't your fault."

"I should have known that Leo would get caught, run his goddamn mouth like-"

"We don’t know for sure that is what happened. But even if it was, we knew that was a risk when we agreed to have him be the go-between. We both knew we didn't have another choice."

He just shook his head. "I should have never put you in that position. And now we have nothing and-"

"We have each other," she interrupted, "And we have our daughter. That's more than we could say if we'd stayed." Drake swallowed, but Riley kept going. "Us being together isn't nothing. Keeping our family together isn't nothing, Drake."

"I know, Riley."

She opened her mouth, as if she was going to say more, but instead she just let out a sigh as she wound her free arm around him more tightly.

It all was suddenly too much to hold back. He tried to choke back a sob, but he felt the tears he'd been holding back for weeks start to spill over. He knew he should be keeping it together, if not in front of Riley, at least in front of Bridget. But he just couldn't, not after everything.

Riley just held him, not saying or doing anything besides keeping an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He didn't know how long they stood there, but he cried like he never remembered doing in his life. He cried for Liam and all he was facing alone in Cordonia. He cried for all that Bridget had been subjected to already in her life. He cried for Riley and the position their family was in, one that he didn't know how to fix. He cried for agreeing to name Bridget heir, for not letting Riley talk him out of it back during their honeymoon. He cried for all the horrible things that had been said about them as parents, and not just over the past few weeks. But most of all, he cried for everyone he loved and cared about that he had let down so spectacularly.

Eventually, the tears slowed, a wave embarrassment rapidly taking the place of despair. He took a half step back, tugging out of Riley's tight hold, dropping his eyes to the ground beneath his feet.

"Sorry," he muttered as he kicked at some pebbles on the ground.

"For what? You’re allowed to be upset about this, Drake."

He let out a sigh and shook his head, "Yeah, I know. But I shouldn't burden you with it. Or her."

"You aren't burdening me with anything."

"Don't give me that, Riley. You're dealing with enough-"

"What, and you aren't? Drake, we are both overwhelmed and barely hanging on, and that was before the shitshow of today."

Drake didn’t know how to respond to that. All he felt like he could do was shake his head again, but Riley wasn’t done, apparently.

“When I was a fucking mess, ready to take off without a goddamn thought or plan or strategy, you fucking held things together for all of us. And I will never stop being grateful for that. I never would have made it a week without you.”

“That’s not tru-” Drake interrupted, but Riley just kept on going, stepping closer to him again, sliding her hand against his cheek.

“But I don’t need you to hold things together round the clock for the next few months, Drake. First of all, that is a fucking impossible goal given the shit we’re gonna face. But more importantly, we’re partners in this. I don’t need you to shield me from that fact that you’re feeling a whole bunch of shit.”

He took a breath before he could speak. Somehow, he felt the threat of tears again, even after all he had already unleashed. “I promised you I would be your protector, though.”

“Drake…”

“No, Riley. I promised you that at our wedding, and now-”

“-you have always protected me. You do everything in your power to keep me safe. To keep us safe,” she amended, tilting her head towards Bridget. “But don’t you remember that I said that I would be your protector in my vows?”

Of course he remembered. That day, that memory was burned into his brain. But her assessment that he had done everything he could to keep them safe felt false. At so many points along the way he had let her down. Let both of them down. Agreeing to name Bridget heir. Not taking Liam up on the exit strategy from that whole mess. The whole Aurvernal ordeal. With all of that, he’d been an awful protector of his wife and kid.

But even as he felt those thoughts swirling in his head, he just didn’t have the energy to challenge her on this. Not now, not tonight. Not only was he exhausted from the hours of driving after a mad dash through Athens to get back to his family when Olivia had called with the worst news, but he just felt emotionally spent as well. It’s like he could feel anymore at this point, and he certainly wasn’t ready to question someone as stubborn as Riley. All he wanted to do was sleep, but that would be a ways off. The tent still had to be set up, after all.

So he just let out a sigh and placed his hand over hers, still on his cheek, gently pulling it away as he threaded their fingers together. “Come on, Walker. Let’s just grab the rest of our stuff and set up for the night.”

They unloaded the rest of their bags, walking back to the selected campsite slowly. When they got there, Drake got to work, Riley helping as best she could without waking Bridget. He didn’t bother with the crib, knowing that Riley wasn’t going to risk waking Bridget again and chancing a crying fit by letting her out of her arms. He also suspected that Riley wasn’t going to want to be separated from Bridget after everything that went down today.

It was a slower process than he would have liked, but eventually they were done. Things were pitch dark by the time he had the tent up, the only light around coming as Riley held the flashlight for him. He supposed it was reassuring that no one had driven past.

As he moved their gear inside the tent, he wasn’t surprised when Riley started to unroll the sleeping bags as soon as he laid down the sleeping pads. What did surprise him was when she fully unzipped them and started to zip them together as one giant sleeping bag.

“Walker, there will be a gap at the bottom,” he said, crouching over one of the duffel bags and digging around to try and find some of their toiletries.

“Good thing it’s not too cold at night in the middle of August in Greece then.”

Drake twisted to look at her, so she gave him a little shrug as she sat there in the middle of the tent, Bridget still tucked against her as she futzed with the zippers. “I just… we should stick together.”

All he felt he could do was nod. He got what she was trying to tell him, the comfort she probably wanted for both of them. So, he didn’t fight her on it, just let her do her thing while he tracked down their toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as her contact solution and glasses.

He stepped outside and dealt with his needs first, gently taking Bridget from her when she went to do the same. A few minutes later, she was crawling back into the tent and shimmying into the giant sleeping bag she created. She rolled over, reaching her arms out towards him, so he passed her Bridget, watching as she tucked their daughter in against her side, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She glanced up at him after a few moments, her eyebrows raised above the frames of her glasses.

“Aren’t you coming to bed?”

“I think maybe I should keep watch-” Drake started, but Riley shook her head against the pillow.

“We’re both exhausted, Drake. We both need sleep so fucking badly. And let’s face it, if they find us here, it’s all over anyway.”

He couldn’t argue with a damn thing she said, so when she reached over and flipped open her crafted sleeping bag, he just slid in next to her, letting out a sigh of relief as she scooted over, settling in against him, with Bridget tucked between them.

Drake reached around to zip them in as Riley grabbed for the flashlight and flipped it off, dousing the tent in nearly complete darkness. He could just make out her eyes, staring at him as she threw an arm across his back. Things were quiet and still, the only sounds he could hear was their breathing. Bridget's little sleeping noises that almost sounded like snoring. Riley’s gentle and steady breaths. His own ragged sighs.

“We’re gonna get through this, Drake.” Riley’s statement was barely a whisper, but it felt so jarring. So loud.

“I hope so, Riley. But right-”

“No, I know we are going to get through this.”

He didn’t know how she could be so sure, have such conviction after everything had gone straight to hell. But she sounded confident, more like herself than she had in weeks. And maybe that was enough of a return to normal, or maybe his frazzled mind just wanted to cling to the thread of hope she was offering. Hell, maybe he was just too tired to care that she couldn’t actually know that as a fact. All he knew is that her words provided instant comfort, his eyes heavy as he reached over and slid a hand over her hip to her lower back, tugging her a bit closer in the process. If she said anything else after that, he had no idea, as for the first time since they’d left Cordonia, sleep came quickly and painlessly.

Perma: @walkerswhiskeygirl @octobereighth @kimmiedoo5 @mom2000aggie

TRR/TRH: @twinkleallnight @iaminlovewithtrr @mskaneko @axwalker @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @debramcg1106 @masterofbluff

Drake/MC: @no-one-u-know @iplaydrake

FoF: @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby

#drake walker #drake x mc #trh au fanfic #trh au #trh fanfic #choices fanfiction

38 notes · View notes

mind-reader1 · 6 years

Text

Queen of Hearts (Ch.15)

Drake x MC (Emma Barnes)

TRR AU: What would happen if Emma loved Drake but had to marry Liam?

Catch up here

Warnings: NSFW

Note: I almost didn’t post this after @ooo-barff-ooo ‘s amazing chapter of Girl Crush, but I knew I wouldn’t have time tomorrow. Enjoy! Let me know if you’d like to be added to or removed from the tag list!

Word Count: 2872

Summary: The court has arrived at Kiara’s duchy, but things for the art festival don’t go as planned. Kiara throws herself at Drake causing some tension between Drake and Emma before their R-rated movie date. Doubts start to creep into Drake’s head just before they find Liam waiting for them.

Chapter 15: A Thousand Years - Christina Perri

The day we met, Frozen I held my breath Right from the start I knew that I'd found a home for my heart Beats fast Colors and promises How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall But watching you stand alone? All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer I have died everyday waiting for you

Darling don't be afraid I have loved you For a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still Beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything take away What's standing in front of me Every breath Every hour has come to this

Emma was up early the next morning, she wandered down to find Hakim and Francesco in a panic. The gallery had flooded in the night, it was supposed to open this morning. Emma texted her friends 911 and they all came down to the sitting room.

“What happened?” Liam was the first to arrive. Francesco explained again, he was sure that it was sabotage. It was the same attackers from the homecoming ball, they were sure of it. Hakin and Francesco began planning to cancel the festival, they wouldn't be able to clear out the water in time, that would devastate all the work they had just done in Applewood to rally the people.

“No. What if we didn't have to cancel. No art was damaged, spin it as an art installation! It can be to raise awareness about the flooding in Portavira. Show that we're united and support the other duchies.”

“It would strengthen morale among the people!” Liam chimed in. Hakim stopped and considered their words.

“How would we pull it off?”

“I'll put it all over social media! An exclusive exhibit available today and here only!” Emma nodded at Maxwell, he began firing away on his phone.

“I'll direct clean up. I'm probably the only person here who knows how to use a bucket and mop.” Drake said.

“We get the worst of the water out and it won't look too messy.”

“If we pass out color coordinated rain boots at the door, we can add to the experience!” Hana had taken color theory lessons and so she was the perfect person for the job.

“This is a great plan but why are you doing this for us?” Emma smiled.

“It's the right thing to do. You're a citizen of Cordonia, we do everything we can do our citizens.”

“Let's get started then!” Hakim hired a cleanup crew, and everyone got to work. A few hours later, Madeleine had Emma meet her at a local boutique. Madeleine was on Emma's case about recruiting Hakim and Joelle even though she was sure they would come since she had just saved their gallery. Madeleine just rolled her eyes and held up an off the shoulder dress with different shades of purple, pink, blue and white that all complemented each other. The dress looked like an abstract canvas. She wore a small, rhinestone necklace to complement the dress, Drake's ring tucked safely away. By the time Emma arrived at the gallery, guests had already begun arriving and Hana had given them a pair of rainboots that matched their outfits better than expected. She joined her friends in the center of the gallery and Drake ran his eyes up and down her body hungrily.

“I… uh...wow.” Drake mumbled unable to form a coherent sentence.

“So, you like the dress?” He nodded.

“It's lovely Emma. Are you ready to address the crowd?” Liam and Emma addressed the crowd and told them that the water installation was an anonymous artist. They wandered through the exhibit themselves, stopping to discuss various paintings. They stopped at an abstract piece and everyone struggled to make sense of it, Drake and Emma, having had no training on the subject. As the others wandered through the gallery, Emma stopped next to Drake and followed his gaze to an “EXIT” sign with glowing green letters.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out the idea of modern art. Take this for example, it's just a sign that says exit, but what does it mean? Is it saying we all exit life eventually? Is it meant to be a warning?”

“Are you saying you want to get as far away from possible as me?” Emma teased, and Drake playfully rolled his eyes.

“As deep and profound as that was Drake, I think this is just an exit sign.” He frowned, and then sighed as a patron walked out the door just beneath it.

“Whatever.”

“Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what?” Maxwell appeared behind them silently making them both jump.

“Uuuh how great that painting is!” Emma pointed randomly at a painting. Maxwell smiled and delved into a story known as the Great Ketchup Incident of ‘96. Bertrand approached seemingly out of nowhere, the first time they had seen him in days, handling Beaumont house affairs. He was there only briefly, mentioned that Maxwell was helping with the affairs and then he was gone. Emma and Maxwell were concerned, on top of all his stress, he was trying to mend his relationship with Savannah and Bartie. Emma approached Joelle next, admiring the piece she had completed yesterday when they first met. They had a discussion about what her art meant and how it translated to what she and Hakim wanted for Cordonia. After they all regrouped, they left the art exhibit for the food, needless to say, Drake and Maxwell were quite excited.

All kinds of various smells wafted through the air, spicy, sweet, even sour, it was glorious. Instead of trying everything like Maxwell suggested, they wandered around to try everyone's favorites. Hana got everyone some ash-e reshteh, a Persian dish. It was a savory soup with beans and parsley, the flavors blending together well. Even Drake was impressed. Liam led everyone over to a colorful booth that smelled of various spices, getting everyone some chicken tagine. As everyone ate, Liam and Drake shared the story of how thanks to Leo, it became one of Liam's favorite dishes, sibling rivalry at its finest which escalated into a full blown prank war. Drake was eager to pick the next dish, feijoda. It was similar to chili, a mixture of beans and meat garnished with an orange slice. It was rich and salty with the pork and beef, very clearly a Drake dish. Instead of picking a food, Maxwell ran off, following the sounds of a live band. He wanted everyone to dance. Emma longed to dance with Drake, but with too many prying eyes she danced with Liam and watched as Kiara approached Drake and asked him to dance. Emma tensed up and watched as she wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed in time to the music, slowly getting closer to him. When the music stopped, Drake unhooked Kiara from him and walked over to his friends. Emma could feel her blood boiling, but she forced herself to smile and walk over to Olivia and Penelope on the edge of the crowd, Kiara rejoining them. They left to go get some cotton candy and the rest of the group began to leave until Drake pulled Emma back.

“I'm sorry.” He whispered. Emma nodded, she knew he couldn't have turned Kiara down without looking incredibly rude.

“Come here, there's one more thing I want to show you.” He led Emma to a freezer stand with an Italian flag. Gelato, it was Emma's favorite dessert, she had studied abroad in Florence for a semester in college and she became very familiar with the ice cream like treat. Drake ordered a chocolate gelato while Emma settled for a fruity raspberry. It was the perfect mixture of creamy and sweet, melting on their tongues.

“How is it?” Emma giggled as she got a brain freeze.

“The only thing that would make this better would be if I could kiss you right now.” Drake grinned mischievously and looked at Emma.

“I wish we weren't in public right now, the things I want to do to you.” He leaned in to whisper. Emma felt herself blushing as he stepped back. She seductively took a bite of ice cream, exaggerating how good it tasted, moaning.

“Keep it going until tonight Mr. Walker.” She winked just before they left the festival to catch up with their friends. On their way out, they ran into Hakim and Joelle. They were so impressed by Emma's willingness to step up that in return they agreed to attend her wedding. As they return to the estate, she couldn't stop thinking about how in love Hakim and Joelle still were after so many years together.

“What are you thinking about?” Emma looked at Drake unsure of how long he had been staring at her.

“Nothing.”

“Barnes I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, you've got that look on your face, the one you get when you're lost in your own head.”

“I was thinking about Hakim and Joelle. Look how in love they still are with each other. Do you think you'll still love me that much, years from now?” Drake chuckled and carefully checked their surroundings before pulling Emma close to him.

“Barnes, I love you more and more every day. I think we're going to love each other even more than they do when we're their age.” Emma pulled Drake in for a tender kiss as he pulled her body flush against his dipping her down. When they stood up and he released her, she was light headed, her heart swelled.

“The real question is will you still love me that much.” She cupped his cheek and smiled.

“You're the only one for me Drake Walker.” Once back at the estate, Emma left to go find Liam to discuss what food from the festival they would serve at the wedding and Drake mentioned something about looking up movie times. She found Drake in the sitting room, lounging on a couch, he looked exhausted.

“Drake?” He didn't seem to hear her.

“Knock knock, anyone home?” She waved her hand in front of Drake's face and he blinked his eyes back into focus.

“Oh, hey Barnes. Sorry.”

“Everything okay?” he sighed.

“All this courtly stuff is suffocating. I thought it would be nice to get out, see a movie tonight, like normal people. Try to stay sane.”

“I feel like there's a ‘but’ coming.” Drake dragged his hand over his face and Emma knew it wasn't good.

“But Kiara cornered me, again.” Emma rolled her eyes, she was ready to kick Kiara out of court, tell her to stay home.

“What happened Drake?” Emma's tone was flat, and Drake flinched at the thought of having to tell her.

“I mentioned I was going to the movies and she invited herself.” Emma groaned before suddenly jumping off the couch.

“You did WHAT?!” Emma was furious, she wanted some alone time with Drake and Kiara kept getting in the way.

“She invited herself Barnes. It's not like I could say, actually I'm taking my best friend's fiancé out on a date.”

“Call a cab, I'll meet you outside in five minutes. We're leaving right now before she can crash.” Emma didn't give him a chance to answer, she dashed off to her room to change into a little black dress, casual enough for the movies.Even if he did have time to answer, he wasn’t going to protest, he thought Emma might kill him. Once they arrived, they settled on a spy thriller full of romance, it was that or a horror movie which wasn't exactly romantic when you couldn't cuddle in public. Drake bought the tickets and a large bucket of buttery popcorn.

“This is nice Barnes.” He scooped up some popcorn, ready to eat it but Emma snatched it out if his hands with her mouth playfully. Drake pretended to pout as he watched her eat his popcorn, but the corner of his lips twitched up into a grin.

“That's how you want to play it Barnes?” She giggled and scooped up some popcorn of her own, throwing it at Drake who tried to catch it, before she finished it. They laughed walking into the theatre together, unaware they had been spotted. Emma dragged him to the very back corner of the theatre and Drake frowned.

“What are we doing back here Barnes?”

“Getting the full movie experience. You'll see.” More people shuffled into the theatre, spread out across the seats. Finally, the lights dimmed, and the movie began playing. Drake was into the movie, but Emma had other things in mind. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Drake kissing her on the way back from the festival, her imagination running wild. She placed her hand on Drake's thigh and slowly moved her hand up until she reached Drake's crotch. He gasped as she grabbed him, looking over at her surprised, she met him with a heated kiss. Drake fell into it and tangled his hands in her hair as Emma continued to rub over his jeans, feeling him grow hard. He moaned against her lips as she quietly undid his jeans and freed his hard length.

“Barnes what are you doing?” He hissed as her lips surrounded him. She began sucking, running her tongue up and down his shaft, teasing the tip with her tongue. Drake moaned a little too loudly and someone glanced back, Drake pretended to be watching the movie while Emma remained hidden behind the seats in front of her.

“You have to be quiet Drake.” She whispered before going back down on him, bobbing her head until he came, gripping the arm rests as he tried to stay quiet. Emma smiled, licking her lips as Drake tried to compose himself, tucking his dick back into his pants.

“What was that for?” Emma smiled mischievously and leaned in to whisper in his ear again.

“The full movie experience. What do you think the back row is for?” Drake shook his head grinning.

“We're not done Drake.” He turned to look at her surprised.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to feel your fingers inside of me Drake.”

“Barnes.” Drake wanted nothing more than to please Emma but he had never done something like that in a room full of people before.

“Drake, if you want to sneak into my room tonight and make it out of this duchy alive, you'll do as I ask.” Her tone was threatening and his stare even.

"I took you on a real date, we almost got caught a couple seconds ago. Do we really need to do this Barnes?" He didn't need lots of light to see the look on her face. He wasn't going to make it out of the theatre alive if he protested, besides everyday he looked forward to sneaking into her room. He wasn't ready to give that up, and he had to admit that almost getting caught was kind of hot, the thrill of it. Emma surprised him again when she leaned back against the wall and put her legs up, grabbing Drake's hand and rubbing it between her legs. He stifled a gasp when he realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. Drake started slow, rubbing circles on her clit and then dragging his fingers between her lips to see if she was wet. Drake teased her entrance as she pushed her hips towards him, but he pulled away and began rubbing her clit again. He was going to have some fun with it, payback for almost getting them busted. Again, he teased her entrance which was dripping wet at this point.

“Drake.” She begged. He loved hearing her say his name. Finally, he slipped one finger inside her, she whispered, it wasn't enough, so he slipped another and began pumping, hitting her g-spot perfectly. He felt her hips buck forward and he knew she was close, so he pulled out and waited for a few seconds before teasing her clit, bringing her right to the edge again. She was breathing hard, trying not to be heard by anyone else. She met Drake's eyes with a pleading gaze. He slipped his fingers inside her and pumped until he felt her cum on him, her muscles spasming around his fingers. She watched, satisfied and worn out as he grabbed some popcorn and ate it before sucking her cum off his fingers. Emma pulled her skirt down and was scooting over to kiss Drake when the lights came on. She jumped back and looked around as everyone began leaving. The people in front of them, turned around to see who had been sitting behind them, to see if they could figure out why it sounded like Drake was moaning but they didn't look disheveled, so the people left.

“So how was your real movie experience?” Emma asked as they walked out, dumping the popcorn bucket on the way.

“I'd definitely do that again. What got into you though?”

“Kiara’s been all over you since we got here. I needed to know that you were still mine and I was still yours.” Drake felt a pang of guilt, he wanted nothing more than to push Kiara away, and kiss Emma in front of everyone like no one was watching, but he knew that could never happen. Dark thoughts about how this was going to work long term began to slip into his mind, of course he wanted it to work, he loved Emma, he would never love anyone again that much, but there would always be another Kiara.

“I told you earlier Em, you've got nothing to worry about.” They held hands in the taxi back to the estate, running into Liam on their way to her room. He didn't look pleased.

Tag List: @notoriouscs @brightpinkpeppercorn @ooo-barff-ooo @leelee10898 @princesstopgun @choicesyouplayandmore @sleepwalkingelite @roonarific @indigo39 @skyila @speedyoperarascalparty @andy-loves-corgis @furiousherringoperatortoad @blackwidow2721 @drakewalkerfics @findingdrake @sue9659 @smritysriv @tmarie82 @larryssunflower @likethetailofacomet @zaffrenotes

29 notes · View notes

lonestorm · 5 years

Text

Adventures of Sindad - 5

Summary: Sinbad is lucky to be alive after his whole “Taking over the world” phase. But with the fact that he had completely fallen off the deep end, the generals decide it’s time that Sinbad is reined in from is obsession. There are, perhaps, seven people that will be up for the job. Seven tiny people.

Basically a Sinbad post-Magi redemption story of him trying to raise seven children.

Also on AO3 and ff.net

Sinbad’s head was still spinning with numbers by the time he made it back to his office. He was calculating a million different possibilities of what could go wrong with the latest deals made, but each seemed manageable, and most profitable. Businessmen always did manage to prosper in chaos; as he’d spent most of his life trying to rid the world of turmoil, Sinbad wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about benefiting from it. He wouldn’t have minded if it was for the sake of protecting Sindria and his dream of peace, but now… now no one was fighting, the world was free of Solomon or David’s (or his own) control… what else was there for him to do?

The thought stopped him in his tracks, just before his door. The fear gripped him so tightly that he couldn't reach for the handle.

Anything he sacrificed had been for the destiny he saw.

And now his sight was gone.

SInbad let out a shaky exhale and ran a hand through his hair. When he’d admitted it before, he’d still found something to change, something to improve--the fabric of the world. Now there was no voice in his head, no magician, no magi to tell him what more could be done in place of his own vision.

For the first time, the rest of his life was a blank page.

For the first time, he didn’t feel…

Well, he felt silly thinking of the word “special,” but that did seem to be the closest fit.

Special. He wasn’t…

But he shook his head. No. No time to think about that now. He had kids to pick up from school in a short while.

When he entered, there was giggle and a small voice humming. Kaito and Samia were sitting on the floor with Pipirika, drawing on scrap paper with colored pens. Pipirika was laughing, complimenting Samia on her squiggly… flower, was it? And Kaito was enthusiastically coloring his picture of a ship blue while humming a quick little tune with the strokes of his hand. They instantly looked to him as the door opened, and Kaito jumped up.

The boy barreled over to him, gripped the bottom of his robes and held up his paper. “I made you a ship!”

A bit of his anxiety fell away as he took the picture. “You did this all by yourself? Wow! It’s a lovely ship, Kaito. Thank you.” He ruffled the boy’s hair, and said, “I need to finish up for about half an hour, and then we’ll head home and pick up your siblings.”

Kaito nodded as Pipirika gave a short wave and departed from the room. Samia moved wordlessly to sit by his feet and continued her drawing. Sinbad had only just rounded his desk when his phone rang.

The caller ID was labeled Rurumu Academy. He frowned, and put the phone to his ear. “President Sinbad of the Sindria Trading Company. What can I do for you?”

The voice was strained. “U-uh, S-Sir, there’s been an issue with your children today, and it’s policy to call the parent and ask them to attend a meeting as soon as possible.”

Sinbad stood up straight. “Issue? Are they okay? Which ones?”

“Um, all of them, Sir. And they’re essentially fine; I’m afraid they started a fight in the hallway.”

He gaped at the phone, and then put it back to his ear. “Wh-what? You’ve gotta be joking.”

“I-I’m afraid not, Sir. They’re in the office now, awaiting your and the other parents’ arrival for the disciplinary meeting. Will you be able to attend?”

“I, uh…” Sinbad sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Yes, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Thank you for your time, Sir.”

“No trouble. Thank you for letting me know.” He hung up, and dropped into his seat with a groan. So much for getting the rest of the airship forms read. First day with his new hours and he’s already leaving half an hour early.

Steeling himself, he dialed his phone and gripped his desk. Ja’far picked up right away, with a snappy, “What.”

“I have to leave early,” Sinbad said shortly, turning his chair to face the window. “The school office called me in for a meeting. The kids got in trouble.”

“Already?”

“Already. I’ll take the forms home and work on them tonight.”

“Fine.”

Sinbad hesitated. “...Yamuraiha is in town today, right?”

“Yes.”

Before he could think about it too much, Sinbad said firmly, “I’d like to have you and her over for dinner.”

Surprise was evident in Ja’far’s voice. “...oh. Why? Is there some new magic device we need to discuss?”

“No. Just… because.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll call her. What time?”

“I’ll play it safe and say seven. We’re having...something.”

A weighty pause. “...Yeah. Alright.”

“Yeah. See you. And… I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

He could almost hear Ja’far’s eyes bugging out over the phone. “Really?! I-I mean, uh, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” sighed Sinbad, leaning far back in his chair.

Ja’far was quiet for a moment, and then replied, “No, I’m sorry. I know you’re doing your best now to fix things, and I haven’t made it any easier for you. I should have talked to you about the changes, first.”

“That’s not your job. And I know I didn’t do the same for you when I was making those… decisions.”

“I’m not helping by repeating your actions against you,” Ja’far admitted. “I guess I’m still just… pissed off.”

“I know.” Sinbad turned back around, closing his eyes. “See you later.”

Sinbad dropped his face into his hands and let out a strangled groan. How was he, the builder of the peaceful world, supposed to keep his good reputation with the headmistress of the school he founded when his own children started brawls on their first day of class?

Gathering his will, he pushed himself out of the chair and grabbed his jacket. “Samia, Kaito, we’re going to leave a bit early today, alright? I have to meet with some adults at the school to talk about your siblings today.”

The kids agreed quite readily, but Sinbad was now more concerned about how to get them out of the building unseen. He found Pipirika’s number on his phone. “Hey, I know you’re busy, but I need you to escort the children to my car. I’ll follow shortly.”

“Uh… okay, sir.”

“...I’m not in the mood for dealing with the press today.”

“Ah. Understood. But um, you didn’t drive in today, sir.”

“Oh. Right. An extra company car, then.”

“Right away, sir.”

Sinbad followed soon after his confused children; he was glad they weren’t old enough so that they wouldn’t think he was embarrassed about them. Zara, on the other hand…

He groaned, pushing to his feet. Pipirika led the kids out soon after, and he waited five minutes to walk down and get in the car in front of them. “Ready for an adventure?”

The young lady at the school’s front desk squeaked and dropped all of her papers when she saw him. “O-oh! M-Mister Sinbad! U-uh, r-right this way… I-I can watch the y-younger ones while you’re in the m-meeting. I-I have toys back here for when p-parents need to do that.”

“Thank you very much, Miss,” Sinbad told her, trying not to smirk. He was aware of the effect he had on women, but with everything going on, he hadn’t exactly gotten an ego boost from it in a while. After a day like this, he could use a little blushing and longing gazes in his direction to cheer him up.

The headmistress’ office was at the end of the reception area. Grimacing, Sinbad slowly pushed open the door. The kids looked up at him all at once, squeezed in the room on variously shaped chairs, as if they had to gather some from other places just to fit the students all in. A few other children were scattered among them, but Sinbad was focused only on the bruise forming on Seti’s eye, the cut above Zara’s brow, and the blood trickling from Leo’s knuckles.

Sinbad stormed in and knelt beside them. “Are you okay? What happened?” He brushed Zara’s hair away from the sticky blood, examined Leo’s knuckles. Checked over Rei and Kendria; they seemed unscathed. He took Seti’s chin in his hand gently and turned his face. “Who did this to you? And where is a cold pack for his face?”

“On its way,” he headmistress said shortly. She was an lady in her fifties, graying hair back in a tight bun. “If you could have a seat, Mister Sinbad, we’ll start the meeting and discuss the situation.”

With a last glance over the children and a reassuring smile in their direction, he sat and folded his hands. Three other parents were here, sternly sitting by their jittery kids or gaping at Sinbad. “Now, I was called about some kind of scuffle?”

“All of your children,” the headmistress began, “were involved in a physical fight in the atrium today.”

“He started it!” Zara seethed, pointing at a mousey-faced, brown haired boy to her right.

“Hush, Zara,” Sinbad told her in the most soothing tone he could muster for the situation. He leaned back in his seat. “We each need to wait our turn to speak.”

She gritted her teeth, and seemed to be about to retort, but Leo kicked her in the shin. Bless that kid.

The headmistress continued, “From what I’ve gathered, there was an argument that evolved into a fight. Eventually, the ben Sinbad children ganged up on these other boys-”

“There were ten of ‘em against us five!” Seti protested this time. “You only caught three of ‘em!”

“Seti.” Sinbad gestured for him to be quiet with a finger. “Wait your turn. I’m sure the headmistress will take what you say into account fairly.” He offered the lady a smile. “So what was this argument allegedly about?”

“I-It’s quite insignificant,” the headmistress said, trying and failing to keep an entirely stern demeanor. The eternal magic of a smile. “We have a zero tolerance policy on fighting.”

“Well, I’m sure the children were aware of that,” Sinbad began, folding his hands. “And they still chose to fight. Surely zero tolerance doesn't quite solve underlying problems that are the source of the rule breaking?”

The headmistress shifted and cleared her throat, flustered. “Th-that may be, but indulging childish arguments--we can hardly cater to a child’s petty issues-”

“On the contrary, headmistress,” Sinbad said, smiling more widely while his tone took a sharper edge, “I care very much about addressing the children's’ issues, and hardly find them petty.”

In his peripheral vision, he could see the kids begin to smile. But what really made his chest swell was the flicker of approval in Zara’s widened eyes.

At this point, the headmistress finally seemed to remember that Sinbad was the main funding for her school.

“O-of course, sir. Em, would one of you children raise your hand to calmly explain the argument? Each side will have the chance to speak.”

Every student’s hand shot up, except Kendria, who was anxiously kicking her feet while staring at the ground. The headmistress chose Leo to speak, probably having picked up that he was the levelheaded one of the group.

Leo spoke as calmly as she’d asked, “That boy was making fun of Kendria’s trouble with the language and hat and staff and Torran markings.” He pointed at the boy that Zara had indicated. “His friends joined in--nine of them--and he grabbed her staff away. Zara told him to give it back and leave her alone, and when he wouldn’t, Seti hit him. When they started hitting Seti, Zara and I joined in to help him and Rei was trying to get everyone to stop. Kendria got her staff back and did a spell to separate all of us. Six of his friends ran away before the teachers came. And that’s what happened.”

Sinbad’s jaw clenched; he’d told Kendria this morning that everything would be fine. The fact that this bully had made him a liar caused his hands close tightly around his armrests.

The headmistress raised her eyebrows at the accused brown-haired boy. “Is this true, Jeremiah?”

“No,” he muttered, not looking at her. “I wasn’t doin’ nothin’--these kids are all freaks and started fighting us.”

From the looks he was getting, Sinbad could tell that no one was convinced.

“Jeremiah!” the boy’s mother said harshly. “You don’t call other children names! Apologize.”

At his mother’s command, the boy murmured an apology. Sinbad turned to the headmistress. “I’m sure my children are tough enough to handle juvenile insults without devolving into violence, but I’d prefer them to have a more stress-free learning environment. And furthermore, taking the staff of a magician is rather dangerous for anyone involved; this boy is lucky it didn’t take off someone’s limb on accident.” His eyes swept over the children. “Perhaps they were concerned about that situation, wanted to get the staff back as quickly as possible, and didn’t think to get a teacher instead.”

Spreading his hands open in compromise, he said, “I understand that it’s school policy to give appropriate punishment. Might I suggest this as a first strike, and you trust me to discipline them accordingly on my own? I will ensure that they will learn proper restraint in the future. If this happens again, you have my full permission to use your own disciplinary procedures. My children have just experienced a massive change in their life in one week and have yet to understand the culture of their new environment. I’d be most appreciative of your leniency until I’ve had further chance to explain this to them.”

The headmistress seemed quite lost for words for a minute. “I… yes, the school would be open to that. Please see that your children understand how to handle these issues in the future, and next time, you will all have school-delivered consequences. The ben Sinbad children may leave, unless any parents have further objections or questions about the situation?”

The parents were quiet, until one blurted, “Chairman Sinbad has children?!”

Me too, man. Me too, he thought. Sinbad stood, gestured vaguely to the kids, and gave a helpless shrug. “Evidently. Come along, Sindria Squad.”

The kids trailed after Sinbad like a line of ducklings, Kaito and Samia catching up to their siblings eagerly. He began to lead them towards the back parking lot, walking very stiffly. Sensing the tension, the children kept quiet until they reached the car, where Sinbad helped them inside and then got into the driver’s seat. He breathed out, gripped the steering wheel.

“You know better than to get into fights,” Sinbad finally said, staring at the children in the mirror. “My children cannot be kicking around other kids at school.”

“Oh why, because we’ll ruin your image?” Zara spat, crossing her arms and flipping back her bangs. “Lighten up, old man--we didn’t even get punished.”

“The only reason you didn’t get punished is because I did some sweet talkin’ to get you out of it,” Sinbad said through gritted teeth. “It’s not about my image. It’s about responsibility. You’re underage, so I’m still responsible for you. I trusted you all to behave well. And any of you who thought fighting would fix this rather than getting a teacher or walking away from silly verbal insults has disappointed me.”

Leo and Seti looked down into their laps, but Zara barely flinched. She bit back, “Responsible for us?! You’ve only had us for a day! Why should we care if you’re disappointed? How should we know what high class expectations you have for us in your fancy rich people world? As if you’d know anything about what it’s been like for us, what it’s like to suffer and not have whatever we want whenever we want--sometimes you have to fight for that! And you-” “That’s enough,” Sinbad said quietly, but firmly. “Perhaps I don’t know much about any of you, but that comment proves that you also know nothing about me. So let’s just make it clear: I expect maturity from you, respect and civility, whether or not someone is being respectful to you. You use physical violence only when someone is being violent with you or your friends. Taking her staff didn’t count; that’s when you get a teacher. I’m disappointed that you fought-”

“You just-!”

“However, I am proud that you defended your sister,” Sinbad finished. “Kendria, good job separating them, and good job to Rei for trying to help. Leo, Seti, and Zara, I’m glad you’re okay, and I’ll get you some ice when we get home. Kaito and Samia, thank you for being so patient and good at work today. Now we’re going home, where you’ll do your homework, show me when you’ve finished, and then you may play in the main room or the backyard in view of the kitchen windows. Are we all clear?”

There were murmurs of approval all around, mixed with a few “Yes sir!’s” here and there.

The kids kept themselves occupied on the way back, talking quietly (for the most part) amongst themselves. And Sinbad… he was barely keeping his shit together, so many things on his mind that he thought it might burst.

It was less of a problem trying to keep your cool in a business situation, where his superiority was mostly unquestioned. But these kids had barely any reason to grant him see him as an authority figure. He had to gain their respect. Or maybe… just Zara’s. He could easily gain the respect of kings and queens with his power in the past (With the exception of being thrown in a chasm of snakes), but Zara wasn’t likely to give a crap about whether or not he could blow a hole in a mountain. She cared about if he was… well, he didn’t even know.

Well, at least he knew the right questions: What did they need from him and how could he give it to them?

That was a bit more like a trading company situation. He’d observed what a trading partner needed and found out how to give it to them for what he needed in return… though Sinbad supposed he couldn’t exactly expect to get anything in return from children. All the same, just being generally observant should solve his problems. He was good at figuring out what people needed.

He nodded to himself reassuringly, and focused on what he needed to do next. Paperwork. Check homework. Make sure kids don’t die. Order food. Make sure kids don’t die. Try to make sure dinner isn’t awkward. Make sure kids don’t die. Put kids to bed. Try to actually sleep. Without alcohol.

...yikes.

#Finally out XD #sorry for the wait!#hope you enjoy #MAGI STILL WITH US #sinbad #aos #my fanfiction #my writing #magi fanfiction #magi #adventures of sinbad

6 notes · View notes

stopforamoment · 6 years

Text

The Secret Garden (10 of 12)

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three)

Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks

Word Count: 2,033

Rating: M for Mature Langauge

Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this.

Inspiration: Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, Chapter 11

He stepped over to the nearest tree—an old, old one with gray lichen all over its bark, but upholding a curtain of tangled sprays and branches. He took a thick knife out of his pocket and opened one of its blades.

"There's lots o' dead wood as ought to be cut out," he said. "An' there's a lot o' old wood, but it made some new last year. This here's a new bit," and he touched a shoot which looked brownish green instead of hard, dry gray.

Mary touched it herself in an eager, reverent way."That one?" she said. "Is that one quite alive—quite?"

Dickon curved his wide smiling mouth.

"It's as wick as you or me," he said; and Mary remembered that Martha had told her that "wick" meant "alive" or "lively."

Summary: Bastien shows Rinda the palace maze and tree, but it isn’t as romantic as he’d thought . . .

When they got back to the palace Bastien turned to Henry. “There’s one more thing. And this one is actually a royal command from the King, so I have to do it. Well, and I want to do it,” Bastien quickly added, seeing the concern in Rinda’s eyes. He led them over to the maze.

“Henry, when King Liam, his brother Leo, and Drake were kids they’d always play in the maze. There’s also a large tree with a swing in the middle. Would you like to check it out?”

Henry grinned and started to run ahead, but he quickly stopped when there was a fork in the path. “Should I wait for you?”

Bastien laughed. “No, go ahead and figure it out. I’ve had to find King Liam in here plenty of times. I’ll find you too.” He looked at Rinda and snickered. “Mara and I still have to come in here to find Liam and Riley when they sneak off.”

Rinda threw back her head and laughed. “Good for them! So is this maze really confusing or pretty simple?”

Bastien shrugged. “It’s not as bad as The Shining.”

Rinda chuckled. “We’re not going to make it out of here alive, are we? Seriously. If you suddenly get called away for an emergency, you absolutely have to send someone to find me and Henry if we don’t make it out by morning. I’ll be really ticked off if you don’t. Promise?”

Bastien solemnly nodded. “Promise.”

“It’s pretty cool that kids would play in here. This must have been great for hide and seek.”

“Actually, tag was more their thing as kids. But I know the terrain and have a significant advantage over you and Henry. I’ll get you a map to study so we can play next time.” Bastien smiled when he made her laugh again.

“So Rinda, tell me about that book. The Secret Garden. It was the Queen’s favorite, and yours too, right?”

Rinda snickered. “What, my 2:00 AM summary while I was in PJs in front of the King of Cordonia didn’t explain it well enough?” She shook her head. “That was really embarrassing, by the way. I’m sorry if I completely made an ass of myself.”

“No, you didn’t. Trust me, you were fine. Even in PJs. By the way, were those . . . smiling bananas on your PJs?”

Rinda nodded her head. “Yup. Banana pajamas. And some of the bananas had sunglasses. It sounds like you couldn’t erase the vision that was burned into your retinas.” She shook her head, laughing at herself. “Anyway, the book. It’s partly about magic and healing. See, Mary Lennox is sickly and selfish at the start of the book. She’s seriously an absolute bitch who can’t even dress herself without a servant’s help. Her cousin Colin is an invalid and an even bigger spoiled pain in the ass. But the garden, well, it’s magic. Even how Mary finds the key and the hidden doorway to the garden are magical. Then there’s a neighbor boy named Dickon, and he has a magic touch with wild animals and nurturing things. They play in the garden and help take care of it, and it’s also magical how the garden comes to life in spring, and Mary and Colin get healthier and less selfish as they spend more time in nature.” Rinda stopped and faced Bastien. “It’s also about happiness though. The kind of happiness we have when we stop being selfish and start caring about other people and other things.”

They got to the center of the maze and Rinda gasped. “It’s even more beautiful than I imagined it would be. I love climbing roses in a garden, rambling around everything.” She reverently touched the swing.

Bastien blushed, unsure of what to do. “Um, Rinda. Do you want to sit in it? I can . . . ”

She turned to Bastien and shook her head. “In the story, the uncle was a recluse because he went insane with grief. He and his wife created that garden, and they trained the roses to cover the tree. The tree didn’t have a swing but Lilias, his wife, liked to sit on a branch in the tree. There was an accident when the tree branch broke, and she died from the injuries. That’s why the uncle locked up the garden and threw away the key.”

Rinda wasn’t sure how to explain the next part. It was important that Bastien understand what might have motivated Liam’s mother to include this beautiful tree with such a dark history. “It isn’t morbid that Liam’s mother created this garden with the tree. I just don’t think it’s meant to be . . . romantic. It’s supposed to be a magical place where children play and where people can forget that they are outsiders who don’t really fit in. And the maze . . . maybe that was her way of creating the adventure of finding the secret garden and sneaking into it. Because that’s part of the magic too.”

Bastien had a tender look in his eyes. God, Rinda reminded him so much of her. Rinda quickly slipped off her sandals and walked closer to Bastien. “Hey, this place is magic, remember? It’s a place to heal and to play . . . TAG!” She was laughing when she touched Bastien’s shoulder and ran off, quickly getting lost in the maze as she yelled to Henry that Bastien was “it.”

. . . . .

Rinda was in bed when she heard the soft knocking. “Rinda? Are you still awake?” It was Bastien. She crawled out of bed and opened the door.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yes, but we could use your help in the library. Do you mind joining us?” Bastien saw her turn toward Henry’s room. “If we’re gone awhile I can have a guard check on him, if you’d like.”

Rinda shook her head. “He’ll be fine. Now that he’s slept here one night it’s not as big of a deal if he wakes up and I’m not here.” She suddenly looked down, realizing how under-dressed she was. “Here, just give me a minute to change into something else. Not that anything will beat the smiling bananas pajamas.” She left the door halfway open while she grabbed some clothes and slipped into the bathroom. She came out a couple minutes later, and Bastien was still waiting in the hall, his back discreetly turned away. “Okay, what’s up?”

Bastien led Rinda to the library, and she was shocked to find Mara and other Royal Guards working on a laptop and examining the book shelves. Mara gave Rinda a quick smile. “Hi Rinda, thank you for coming to help us. I’m sure Bastien already told you, but everything that happens here is confidential. You were never here.” Rinda nodded.

Bastien continued. “We’ve been checking the Queen’s other books for notes, like the one you found last night. We’ve found others that have been very helpful.” He paused. “And I know King Liam appreciates that you found his mother’s note for him.” Rinda gave a sad smile, thinking about a boy losing his mother at such a young age.

Bastien cleared his throat. “What’s a four-word password that you think the Queen would have used? We’ve already asked Liam, but he doesn’t have many concrete memories of her.” He paused. “The other guards who knew her can’t think of anything either.”

Mara quickly added, “We’ve tried ‘Liam,’ ‘Mary,’ ‘tree,’ and ‘rose.’ We also checked the words in the notes she left—in English and French—and we can’t think of anything else. We thought you might remember something else from that book, or maybe from the other books on that shelf? It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try.”

Rinda nodded. “Try wick w i c k. Moor m o o r. Rinda was talking to herself. “Might I have a bit of earth? Terre. No, that’s five.” She looked up again. “I can think of other important English words, but I might need help translating them to French. And into Greek for sure. And can you please tell me the list of other books again?”

Mara was already nodding her head to Bastien before turning to Rinda. “No need. You’ve already figured it out.”

Rinda was surprised. “Really? That’s all? That was easy enough!” She quickly turned around to let herself out.

“Rinda?” It was Bastien.

“I know. I was never here.”

“No, thank you. I’m sorry I can’t explain, but please know that you’ve done more this weekend than you’ll realize.”

She gave Bastien a shy smile. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” She quickly looked around the room. “Good night everyone.”

. . . . .

Bastien messaged Rinda and Drake few hours later. I need to help with additional security this morning. I’ll be an hour or two late for fishing, so just go without me.

Rinda groggily reached for her phone and messaged back. I don’t mind waiting for you. Drake can decide if we need to leave at the ass crack of dawn for good fishing or if he wants me to do football drills until you get there. But if you can’t join us that’s okay too. Please just focus on what you need to do and we’ll see you when you’re done.

Rinda paused and then sent a second message. And do you ever sleep?

Drake was awake too. Heh. I’m still up and drinking, so I’m okay with a later start. Let’s make it 9:00 and I’ll drill Rinda until you get there.

*Snort.* Drake, you’re such a cute little puppy. I don’t think Bastien wants your sloppy seconds. And what are you drinking, and where?

Whiskey. Downstairs. What sloppy seconds?

Bastien grinned. It’s better not to ask. Okay, I’ll try to rescue Rinda by 9:30 and she’d better not be too tired to go fishing.

What the hell are you two even talking about? And I’m not a cute little puppy.

Rinda laughed. Okay, you’re a sweet little marshmallow. Better?

No. Now let me drink in peace.

Bastien was about to exit the conversation but thought better of it. He just silenced the conversation so he could read the rest of it later.

. . . . .

Drake, so whiskey. Is it okay if I join you if I promise to stop talking? No judgement if I leave my kid alone in a huge palace while I go tie on one?

Heh. Why not.

What kind of whiskey. If it’s really cheap stuff I need a handful of Tums and some serious greasy-spoon breakfast when we’re done. It sucks to get old.

Oh, no. This is the palace whiskey. I know where the good stuff is kept.

Send me the coordinates. I’m on my way!

. . . . .

Bastien was laughing as he caught up with the conversation a few hours later. It sounded like Drake and Rinda were getting along and would work well together, if he chose Drake for the position.

Working well with Rinda. In so many ways she was easy to work with, and he appreciated how understanding she was of his career and its demands. But in other ways it was challenging to figure her out. She was so easy going and confident . . . until she wasn’t. She would suddenly get shy and ask questions about the oddest things like double dipping. And she said her best friends were double dippers. Did I even answer her question or did I give her my silent stare and make her uncomfortable? She couldn’t even order her own food that night. She had been too busy taking everything in, and she knew they were hungry and ready to order. Henry said Rinda and Jameson would laugh at how bad she was at ordering, so Jameson would have to help her and order for her. Henry was the one who suggested she sit down while they order the food. And Rinda didn’t even ask to try his food, even though she mentioned earlier that she’d like to. What did I even say to her when we were joking about Joey sharing food?

Fuck. For a person whose job it is to read people, he was an absolute idiot when it came to Rinda.

#bastien lykel #choices trr #ofc rinda parks #a mother's love series

15 notes · View notes

heygoatman · 6 years

Text

a-z tag!

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

tagged by @wimpydemons, thank you!!!

tagging @swearingcactus, @bluerosevelvet, @ghostlainstuff, @ohvegeta, idk who has / hasn’t been tagged (and i don’t rly know many people here haha)

also @crookedspider HAHA idk if you would wanna do this

sorry if you’ve alr done this or don’t want to! or let me know if you would / wouldn’t mind getting tagged in stuff like this next time~

(i really should be studying but i’m clearly not being productive so i might as well do this now lol)

A - Age: 21, 22 this year

B - Birthplace: singapore

C - Current time: 10.22pm when i started, its 10.43pm now

D - Drink you last had: milk

E - Easiest person to talk to: erm i’ve always been catastrophically bad at talking to people about things that matter, which i’m trying to work on. cliche but i guess my boyfriend? i only talk to him about random shit i’m bothered about lol

F - Favorite song: oof this is difficult! i love a lot of songs from different genres and languages lol. currently its Say Amen by P!ATD and The Chance of Love by TVXQ. i also love fall out boy!!!

G - Grossest memory: my sister had bad eczema when she was younger and my mum tried a wide variety of methods to help her, including a full body scrub made from mashed cucumbers. she chased me around the whole house trying to rub it on me and the smell was so fucking bad man. i have had grosser memories but this one has stuck with me and given me an eternal hatred of cucumbers.

H - Horror yes or horror no: i am always up for it but i always regret it halfway through. after it ends i’ll be like “that wasn’t so bad” until i’m in the shower or alone in bed at night ready to shit myself at any sign of movement. this is a common mistake that my boyfriend, sister and i make together.

I - In love?: yes!

J - Jealous of people?: yes but i try to not let it affect me negatively

L - Love at first sight or should i walk by again?: lmao people i’ve been attracted to at first sight, barring celebrities, have usually turned out to have less than attractive personalities so welp. walk by again i guess??

M - Middle name: nope. my name is actually spelt with a space (xing zhi) but the whole thing is my first name!

N - Number of siblings: 1 younger annoying sister whom i love

O - One wish: to be brave.

P - Person you called last: my boyfriend

Q - Question you are always asked: how to pronounce my name lmao

R - Reason to smile: i will be smiling like crazy when finals are over

S - Song you sang last: oh god, its an old hokkien song

T - Time you woke up: 9am, idek how, usually i wake up much later on weekends lol

U - Underwear colour: dark red

V - Vacation destination: alaska or new zealand

W - Worst habit: procrastination

X - X-rays: i think my stomach once when i was much younger?

Y - Your favourite food: sushi, pasta, japanese food, thai food, my mum’s cooking (HAHA)

Z - Zodiac sign: leo (also rat for chinese zodiac!)

#xz talks #mine #ask memes

4 notes · View notes

chanzicoup · 7 years

Text

A/N: I know I said the NSFW A-Z were "canceled" but this was the only VIXX request I had so I figured why not. But any other NSFW A-Z I receive from this point on will be deleted without second thought. I've included in my Rules And Regulations post that I will no longer do these until further notice. Just a reminder because some people are getting upset with me because I deleted their requests. Just so you know, I strictly follow my own rules and rarely bend them for other people so if your request was deleted it was because it didn't follow my rules. (I got this template from chantenyongs and I could not find the original creator to give proper credit to.)

A = Aftercare

After going down on you a little too rough by mistake, he'll guiltily massage your shoulders and linger his hands over your body in worship of it's beauty. He may give you a few kisses here and there but most importantly he wants you to get rest because he knows you are drained.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Leo just loves your hips, mainly because he'd grip them while thrusting into you or while he eats you out. You on the other hand have an infatuation with his shoulders/back. Even when things aren't "passionate" you surprise hum with back hugs and "back cuddles" on a regular basis. The massive height difference between the two of you is only a benefit in this case.

C = Cum

We all know Leo would be the best dad in the future and that he'd be ready for children ASAP, but he would respect that you weren't ready for kids or if you two hadn't discussed it yet. He would use a condom, first of all, but to be extra careful he'd still pull out. I can't see him being into the whole "marking you with cum" thing but if you told him directly that you wanted to have ex with out a condom and have him cum inside of you he'd begin to ask if you were on the pill and what you two would do if you got pregnant.

D = Dirty Secret (a dirty secret of theirs)

If he has any dirty secrets (that you don't know of yet) it would probably be something to do with a kink. Maybe he has a secret bondage kink? Perhaps a blindfold? Surely if it's either of the two it would be you being tied up or blindfolded, he's a dom! most of the time.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Since Leo is a committed guy I don't see him having sex too much, the reason being that if he has dated before it would have been a serious relationship if he's had sex with that person. Like sex it a big deal for him and it's like starting a new chapter with that person who he must trust with the world if they were to be getting that personal. Surely he knows what he's doing, he's a grown ass man for crying out loud. But experience wise, he's more then a virgin but not a man with a body count of five or more.

F = Favorite position

Only once in a while will things get kinky so most of the time you two are in the missionary position, whoever is on top will definitely change from time to time. If it's your turn tonight Leo's going to cheer you on and help you out if you get tired.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Maybe if he and you were drunk you two would laugh like hyenas but normally things get as far as smiling into each others eyes, maybe a chuckle when the other moans a little too loud and gets embarrassed.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they)

Leo seems like one of the cleanest members of VIXX aside from Hongbin so he'd be well groomed. Besides, he doesn't like being all hairy, it'll make him feel unhygienic and if anything it'll get him out of the mood for sex. ha, He turned himself off.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

OMG HE'S THE ROMANCE MASTER I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT ROSE PETALS AND CANDELS, HE'S WAY BETTER THAN THAT. I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM RENTING AN ENTIRE HOTEL ROOM IN LIKE FRANCE OR SOMETHING WITH SMOOTH JAZZ PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND AND YOUR FAVORITE DINNER. WHEN "YOUR SONG" COMES ON HE'LL ASK TO SLOW DANCE WITH YOU AND HE'LL SNEAK KISSES IN THERE AND BAM! Y'ALL ARE MAKING LOVE ON THE COUCH, THE BED, THE FLOOR, EVERYWHERE!

J = Jack Off (Masturbation)

Eh, i guess he would've done it while he was single a.k.a before he met you. But as soon as he gets into a relationship all of his focus is on his partner. He's attracted to them so he wouldn't really feel the need to jack off.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Body worship kink (giving). 100%.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

His reservedness keeps him from wanting to have sex in public or being too loud as to when the neighbors or other people can hear you so sex at the dorms or in bathrooms are out unless it was your place. Meaning he'd come over to your house more often than you went to his. If the vixx members wanted to hang out they'd have to go to your house. Going deeper, at your house, he'd prefer to have sex in your bedroom. He still has this paranoia that someone will walk in on you two if you guys are going at it in the living room.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Leo hates to admit it but when he's stressed or had a bad day he'd want you to make it all better. Sex would be a given after dating for a while but he'd vocally ask for it when he's stressed out or just needs a break. It would catch you off guard at first but after some more time you pick up little tricks to help him get back on track.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

I just can't see Leo being the kink of dom! that spanks/hair pulls/etc. He's weary of his actions 24/7 and would never want to cause you any pain. Even if you asked him to he'll refuse to do it, afraid of accidentally going overboard or not knowing your boundaries well enough even though he has them down.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He'd totally prefer giving you oral as opposed to receiving but he wouldn't stop you if you really wanted to do it. What is he gonna do say no to getting head?

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Usually Leo's more on the slow and sensual side, which you love because he can get you to three orgasms while going turtle speed. But sometimes he'll spice things up a little and go rougher towards the end, without giving you a warning. He'd feel sorry for doing that but you and him both know you wouldn't have it any other way.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Quickie's with Leo would only be in the morning before he has to go to work. None before a concert in the dressing rooms, none in the bathroom during a group dinner. After the morning quickie he'd send you pictures of things he's doing or places he's at with cuter captions because you my friend have made his entire day, week, month, and year.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Hell no.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

He'd be able to last three to four rounds, but since you two have sex semi often he'd be happy with going just one round. He knows more is coming in the future. But the thing is, you two go through these time periods when you have sex like every night and then boom, no sex for months. If this is one of those times when you two are going through your "sex droughts" then the night you relight the flames it's an all night event, sweetie. Cancel your plans for tomorrow and call off work, you aren't going anywhere.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

He wouldn't have any at all since he's pretty vanilla. If you had them he'd try to figure out what the heck they were but eventually he'd be giving up and just tossing them to the side. He doesn't need toys to make you whimper his name.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Leo would tease you through out the day playfully, giving you a hint as to what he want to do. But they'll be subtle until you two are alone. All day it was winks from across the table and a tighter grip on your leg in the car. No one else even noticed but you sure did. When you two were left alone by people leaving the room in a group, Leo would stare at you dead in the eyes and say "We're going home." ;););)

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He'd prefer to keep it quiet obviously, but sooner or later he has no control and the both of you are trying to muffle your moans in each other's shoulders and kisses. It's just a mess.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Lowkey Leo wants to have sex in a hot tub. Sadly those bitches are expensive as hell to install and the ones he knows of are in public areas so now way is that going to happen.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

His entire body is "longer(?)" than most males, his dick is no different. He's huge, lucky you.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Like I said, before, it goes up and down all the time. There really is no constant with him.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He'd fall asleep after you did, being reassured you were taken care of before he was.

~Blake

#kpopficscommunity #kpop #vixx #vixx imagine #kpop imagine #kpop scenario #kpop rezction #vixx scenario #vixx reaction #vixx leo #jung taekwoon

165 notes · View notes

thefirsthogokage · 7 years

Text

VIXX LR’s Whisper Blew Up My Brain

Ok, so I was initially just going to copy and paste all the comments I made on YouTube and put a declaimer saying that’s exactly what I did…But…then…stuff. My brain is so tired of thinking. So, so tired. So, this is stuff that I’ve noticed, a small amount of interpretation in places. This doesn’t even have everything that I’ve seen that also probably should be added to this list. I’m probably going to be posting links to other theories I find. Maybe a YouTube playlist. Idk, I apologize for all the confusing parenthesis, I’m still fried, too much so to even full-heartedly (or whatever) go back over what I wrote. However, I wanted a new friend of mine to be able to see this, so… (Good luck)

Important things that I know others noticed that have to be listed:

-The Blue book in the beginning with the L on it with the image of the room Leo is in.

-On the suitcase: The release date of Beautiful Liar, and the word ‘Fragile’

-The sound of the keys dropped when Leo dropped the bag is the same as the keys in BL

-The switch of the record colors; the switch of the colors lighting them up; Ravi wearing blue, and Leo wearing red, in the “outside/real world” while they wear the opposite colors on the “inside/inner mind,” and that one time Ravi was wearing white

-In Whisper, Ravi and Leo start out having the separate (black background) close ups, like in BL, then they are overlaid

Things that I didn’t see other people notice when I initially wrote this:

-Night and dark settings in Beautiful Liar vs. day and light in Whisper. When Ravi’s in the bedroom in BL, he’s surrounded by lights inside, while Leo is surrounded by a sun-light room in Whisper. → The inner minds.-The suitcase looked like Ravi’s outfit from Beautiful Liar, while the bag looked like Ravi’s piano from Beautiful Liar. → Connecting the Key sounds: When Leo drops the bag that look’s like Ravi’s piano from BL, and in BL, the sound comes when Ravi grabs Leo’s hand. Dropping vs. letting go.

-When Leo picked up the books, it was Beautiful Liar (W&C by Ravi), with My Light (written by Leo & Ravi, composed by Leo) farther away (mostly represents Leo, so it’s Leo being kept away from the surface), and then finally picked up Whisper (again by Ravi). -Bookmark: R in Red and the L and the string are in Blue. (Someone has pointed out the red threads in the Depend on Me video) And, of course, the book has the track titles as chapter titles. → Multiple people have brought up Inkheart, a trilogy (and the connection with that which others have mentioned). A book, named after the song, with the track list as chapter titles, along with two other books with titles of songs from Beautiful Liar. This could be an indication that this video is part two of three in a trilogy. (It might not have started out that way, but it might be the plan now as long as “fans” don’t mess it up.) → → If this is a trilogy, it could be going forward (i.e. Broken, Healing, Mended), but it could also be going backward (Adulthood, Youth, Childhood).

-Ravi leaving the car with all of the writing behind (around 2:00): Narcissism, Burin’ It Up, and No Limit Limit → Leaving his old self, behind. EDIT: The out side of the car is white, and then Ravi's shirt is white for a short while.

-Around 2:10 when Ravi is trying to play the fake piano (when he only sat on one in BL), but the fake piano he’s trying to play looks more like the one Leo was playing in BL -The choreography for Leo and Ravi in BL had more contrast, while in Whisper it’s mostly a mirror image. -Around 3:5? When they fall back, it’s in the same positions as when Leo pulled Ravi back in BL -When they are seated next to each other in BL (0:52) they are on the same bed, instead of the separate beds in Whisper. Also, and not sure if this means anything, but the way Leo has his arms at that part is the same in both videos (minus the leg-hugging) while Ravi isn’t the mirror of that like he was in BL. He’s holding his arms here (and again no leg-hugging).

-The “Inner-Mind” Lighting: BL: Ravi is surrounded by blue lights on a torn-up bed that is surrounded by red lights. Whisper: The Red “thread-light” intertwined with the blue thread (that went through the piano) leading Ravi to the headphones and Leo. -Around Whisper 4:00, also, the mirror behind Leo is cracked/damaged, while the mirror behind Ravi isn’t. In BL, the mirror that Leo looks into is clear, while Ravi’s on the ripped up, - down to the springs, - bed. -This video also kind of seems like coming to terms with one’s self, whether you want to or not; Leo tries to walk away at the end, but he’s tied to Ravi (and that intersects near the bag which, again, looks like Ravi’s piano in BL). They are one in same…Maybe, if Leo’s the person inside this time (because he can’t go anywhere while attached to Ravi), Ravi doesn’t need the persona anymore, and realized they’ve been the same the whole time? Idk, have to think a bit more on that one. -Also, what does Leo’s shirt say at the end? Mania? Hmm… -Another little thing I noticed: blue lace on the wedding invitation in BL (which also had writing on it that I couldn’t entirely make out other than “twenty second…thousand and fifteen), blue string in Whisper. -Oh! And Ravi walking and fading away from Leo in BL, but at the end of Whisper, Leo’s attached to Ravi and can’t go anywhere.

-Ravi’s red eye-makeup is the same in both videos.

-The logo initially was white, but there was a gif somewhere that showed it as white, but with an overlay going back and forth between Red and Blue. Now the logo is Purple.

-Both videos: Outside vs Inside settings. BL: Leo mostly outside; Ravi and Leo have the embrace outside, and Ravi pulling back Ravi indoors. Whisper: Ravi mostly outside; Leo grabs Ravi’s wrist on the inside, but they flicker between outside and inside. Two different kinds of physical contact when inside and when outside vs. same wrist grab both inside and outside.

Sorry I keep jumping around…

Saw this on tumblr: At about 1:20, along with the two "whispered” highlighted on the righthand page, “real” is highlighted on the left hand page. ReaL vs. LiaR

A Direct Comment of Mine from YouTube:

My friend and I were talking about how different from all of VIXX/VIXX LR’s past music this song is. But, maybe that was the point. (Now, please forgive me, I can’t quite think of how we phrased things last night, I was half asleep.) My friend and I both agree that this is, - as a concept, - a continuation of Beautiful Liar (so, so many reasons why). However, we also thought that the musical style could be part of the concept as well. There is immense visual symbolism throughout this video, so why can’t the STYLE of the music be symbolic as well? If you see BL as a struggle between wanting to let the girl go so that she can be happy while being angry that she’s leaving, Whisper could be about the beginning of healing that pained mentality. Like, trying to be happier and move on. A bop is happy, a bop is popular, a bop is a shift in style; someone in the process of becoming happy, a shift from the way they used to think. The mental/emotional state depicted in BL is dark, while the mental/emotional state in Whisper is lighter and more positive (yet not completely united, which is a different conversation). I believe there are so many layers of this song to deconstruct, and the difference in musical style is just one of them. Hell, I might be overthinking every little detail of this video, but, then again, this is VIXX, so who knows. Maybe all of the puzzle pieces people have noticed so far aren’t even all of the pieces there are to be found.

A theory from the comments on YouTube posted by user mmlyuan (https://www.youtube.com/user/swimfreakats), reposed here with permission:

THEORY TIME…. MY TAKE ON THE CONCEPT/MV~

(this is the first theory that I’ve ever written and would love to hear fellow ST★RLIGHTs opinions!!!! VIXX LR FIGHTING)

Did a little digging on the book that Leo reads in the MV. It’s “Inkheart” by Cornelia Funke. Per the internet: “The theme of Inkheart is that friendship can be found even among very different people. The main characters are from two very different worlds (reality vs fiction). Yet, they are able to find/establish a strong and reliable friendship with each other. Although their friendship is tested by lies and deceiving actions, they ultimately work together to overcome these obstacles.” Via “Inkheart”, the main character can call fictional characters from the book into ReaL life.

From this, we can deduct that Ravi represents ‘reality’ and he calls upon Leo who represents ’fictional". In the beginning on the MV, blue-RAVI has a BLUE BOOK (showing Leo’s room) belongs in front of him. This solidifies the notion that Leo is fictional/from the book (because he is later seen in this exact room).

We see red-Ravi is wearing a headband that says “RealPeople” and at one point the ledge he stands on is covered with the word “ReaL”. Note: his surroundings is in an alleyway, with the sky/clouds, grass, buildings, car… with much more vivid lighting. On the other hand, blue-Leo is in the exact room as pictures on the book cover that blue-Ravi had at the beginning and is surrounded by books. You are limited to only seeing the room, with a stream of light coming in from “somewhere”. The lighting is much more hazy, giving it a much more dream-like feel (to contract[sic] Ravi).

We also see Ravi following the red thread, searching for something. It ultimately leads him to the blue&red Gemini (May 24), while Leo holding the book flips to a page showing the same Gemini. The Gemini basically acts as the “summoning point”, because Ravi brings Leo into reality (we only see Ravi & Leo in the ally or on the streets with trees, we do not see them in Leo’s blue room.)

FINALLY, we close out the scene, with R&L attached through the blue&red strings, meaning that despite how different they are (from different worlds), they are still ‘bound together by that common thread’, they are “tied together”. Friendship, brotherhood, music…

START OF EDIT thanks to inspiration and contributions from lovely fellow ST★RLIGHTs

The idea of different worlds (reality/fictional) is metaphorical for polar opposites: Left&Right, Passion&Calm. Ravi’s been saying in interviews that he represents “right” and “passion/red” and Leo has been saying that he represents the “left” and “calm/cool/blue”. But also note that magnets (+/-) tend to also be associated with the colors red and blue. We also have a saying that “opposites attract”. In that case, it kind of plays into the idea that they represent two “polar” opposites, but they attract and work well together. They’ve mentioned many times in interviews that Leo’s “color/style” is very different from Ravi’s. Same goes for their vocal range. But, thats what makes LR such a unique and amazing unit, because despite how “opposite” they may seem, they play to each other advantages making up the VIXX unit “LR”. They’ve also mentioned that their dance break in the MV is symbolic of 'two becoming one’ (2VIXX becoming 1LR). This MV essentially defines who they are as LR and I think its so amazing ‪♥‬!

Also, adding onto the “inception” idea (thanks to @Zemfira Safina for the idea/point) where Ravi starts and ends in Blue whereas Leo starts and ends in Red…

If we say that the “start and end” is the TRUE reality/REAL, I see it as BlueRavi and RedLeo stands for how they may ACTUALLY be off-camera and off-stage (REALITY). Leo is known to show lots more aegyo to the members and is a warm/caring father figure for 4VIXX, which contrasts to Ravi who is known to be a workaholic and is known to be really immersed whenever he’s working on (or reading… recently) that he doesn’t even hear the members call out to him. WHEREAS, the aura and vibe that we sometimes get while they’re in front of camera or on stage is RedRavi and BlueLeo: passionate Ravi and calm/collected Leo. I guess the idea that they “switch” colors at one point shows that they both technically have both the blue AND red within them, so while they appear different, they still relate and thus connect.

END OF EDIT (phew… my brain is worn out, trying to connect as much as I can… again, thank you to fellow ST★RLIGHTs for the additional inspiration!) HOW MIGHT THIS RELATE TO BEAUTIFUL LIAR? While in #BeautifulLiar Leo represents reality and Ravi is the voice inside (LiaR), this time their roles are switched (ReaL). note the R&L switches

Thanks again to mmlyuan!!

What else have I missed? Like, did anyone see any interesting connections between the track titles of Beautiful Liar and Whisper…?

2 notes · View notes

topicprinter · 6 years

Link

Hey guys,Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit for this. This is the closest thing I could find on the Internet to an easy-access forum of people who know angel investing. The r/SharkTank subreddit has never seems to have new discussions and r/investing is really just stock market. This subreddit appears to be geared towards startup owners rather than investors, so bear with me.I'm brand new to the world of angel investing. Don't get me wrong, I've done a good bit of research and I know the risks (I'm fully aware that these aren't the S&P 500 caliber stocks I've been investing in for years). But I somehow found myself on MicroVentures looking at a company called Apex Farms Corp and I'm liking what I see. I'm seriously considering putting in a $1,000 investment, but before I do, I just wanted to get a second opinion from a community that's probably more knowledgeable about angel investing than I am.This here is the company: https://app.microventures.com/crowdfunding/apex-farmsAnd before anyone asks, no I'm not running to the Internet to make my investment decisions for me (there's always someone who will say something like that). I've researched the company, read through their Form C, checked out the CEO and his past companies, and rolled the idea around in my head a lot for the past couple weeks. I'm just hoping to bounce the idea off you guys as sort of a second opinion. Just in case what I see as a potential opportunity is actually a blindingly stupid giveaway of my money. Again, I'm fully aware of the risks that come with angel investing, such as lack of liquidity.Things I like:--I love the space that they are in. When I invest in the stock market, I try to stick with companies that sell products/services that are necessary and ubiquitous. Stuff that, if there were a second Great Depression tomorrow, everyone from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor would be getting home equity loans and payday loans to continue buying. Food and farming will always be human necessities. And I've always believed vertical farming to be the future of agriculture, long before I saw Apex's presentation on the subject.--They make and sell a tangible product that has about a 35-40% profit margin. And for what they eventually want to do (license their Apex system rather than simply sell it), that's their low margin option. They also have other planned sources of income, such as recurring maintenance fees and income from selling their own produce.--They lease out a farm of their own (with the intent to purchase) where they've used their own system to develop various produce (such as basil) that potential clients and other taste testers have rated higher than current available produce. Apparently, one produce vendor preferred the quality of Apex's produce to that of their current supplier.--They've protected their product with a patents and various patents pending. No one can just make the same product, sell it for a small discount, and put them out of business.--CEO Alex Leo has experience in the VC field, and my research shows his involvement with another company, Leo Tech Holdings, that is involved in agricultural technology just like Apex Farms is.--It's on MicroVentures, a well-respected platform in the equity crowdfunding space. This isn't some random idiot whose wacky presentation made him perfect for an episode of Shark Tank; there is some level of due diligence done on the company before being allowed to enter their platform. And so far they've raised over $113,000.Things I don't like:--They have no operations yet. They have proof-of-concept, so we know their product exists, functions as intended, produces the results they claim, and is protected with patents. But they're yet to take in revenue and they don't expect to until later this year. They've gotten positive feedback from within the industry as well as sales contracts that are being finalized, but that's not the same as a long track record of growing revenue. I know this is part of what you get when you invest in a small startup, but it is technically a negative.--The lack of a company history. Apex Farms is all of about six months old. Again, I know it's part of what you get when you invest in startups, but it also makes due diligence harder, hence why I'm here.--There's a slight discrepancy with their financials. It says that they are a $1,000,000 company pre-Offering, but their financials show $1,000 in cash and $360 or whatever in short term debt. Normally, financial statements will say something like "These amounts are measured in thousands", meaning that the real numbers here would be $1,000,000 and $360,000. But their Form C does not indicate that. Considering that they've leased land and built proof of concept models whose produce they've had potential clients sample, I can't imagine they've done this all on a budget of less than $500, but I was wondering if I was misinterpreting something. Stuff like this is why I'm posting here.--I can't find a whole lot of info on CEO Alex Leo or Leo Tech Holdings Inc. I guess no news is good news and he's probably just another of the countless young entrepreneurs out there today, but I just wanted to be sure that he isn't Martin Shkreli without the smirk.That's it. I was just wondering what everyone thought of this company. This would be my first--and likely only--angel investment. And even though it's not exactly necessary rent money being risked, I wanted to bounce the idea off you guys to make sure I'm not doing something stupid. While I probably should put this toward something else, my gut just tells me that this is a great opportunity. I don't want to hold back because "Oh no, it's angel investing! You'll lose all your money!".Sorry for the long post. I do that.Sincerely,ARB--Angry Retail Bankerangryretailbanker.com

#/r/startups #reddit

0 notes

argylemnwrites · 4 years

Text

Fight or Flight - Chapter 7: Resignation

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~4200

Rating: R (language only)

Summary: Thirty hours since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: What day of the week is it even? Oh well, here’s a chapter, hahaha. This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

“My fellow Cordonians, it is with a heavy heart that I speak to you today.”

His words echoed in his mind, over and over again, his speech something that was likely to stay burned into his mind for the rest of his life. After all, he couldn’t predict anything quite as memorable as having to announce his loss of title to his citizens and the world at large happening to him at any point in the future.

“I never anticipated having to bring this news to you, but even though I am no longer King of Cordonia, I have no intention of yielding the power of the crown to anyone who I feel is a threat to the safety and prosperity of this country.”

Stefan was following the media coverage of his speech that he gave this evening that provided an overview of the day’s events, including his removal from the throne, Bridget’s ascension to queen-regent until the Conclave, and his intention to name a regent for her tomorrow. Liam knew he personally should be watching to see how people were responding, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. His emotions were frayed, raw, and strung out. It felt like everything was spiraling out of control. He hadn’t felt like this in a very long time. Not since Father died, in all honesty.

The weeks surrounding his father’s death were sort of covered in a surreal blur whenever he reflected back on them. Not only had his relationship with Father been more complicated and fraught than it had ever been before at the time of his passing, making his loss a thorny storm of emotions, but he’d barely even had time to mourn in any capacity. His country had been in the midst of an active terrorist threat, plus he’d been processing true heartbreak for the first time in his life. He had somehow gotten through those days, those emotions, those struggles though. He knew he would get through everything happening now as well, but at the moment, that seemed like an impossible task.

“I know that this is an unprecedented combination of events, comparable to nothing that has occurred in hundreds of years of Cordonian history. But I have seen the strength and resilience of our citizens first-hand, and I am confident that we will emerge from this Social Season stronger than ever.”

As far as next steps went, naming Rashad as Bridget’s regent was really his only option. Thankfully, in spite of the man’s ambivalence when it came to his noble title, he’d agreed to fill the role and was coming to the hearing in the morning to allow for a rapid transfer of power. He was one of the only truly neutral parties available who was appropriately titled and qualified. Liam had brought Hana with him to broach the topic with Rashad, but her gentle powers of persuasion proved unnecessary. The only point at which the conversation was anything but pleasant and agreeable was when Rashad wanted to schedule a meeting with Riley and Drake to discuss how best to handle legal and physical custody of Bridget in ways that would be in accordance with the results of the no-confidence vote, but Liam had been easily able to convince him to table that topic until he was sworn in as regent.

“No matter my title or role, know that I will always serve the citizens of Cordonia in whatever way they require.”

He half-heartedly pulled more documents from his desk drawers, trying to focus on the task at hand. He needed to determine which pieces of information were private, and should come with him to Lythikos, versus those that he needed to leave behind as essential information to allow Cordonia’s next leader to govern. In all honesty, he probably should be creating a sort of quick-guide, a makeshift introductory pamphlet with the most important pieces of information required to lead the country to ease the transition of power. However, another part of him felt like that would be a mistake. Maybe he should allow things to be rough initially, giving the people a chance to miss his leadership. It’s not like Rashad was completely incompetent, so it shouldn’t cause a dangerous power vacuum if he just left Rashad without any formal instructions. And, after all, didn’t a no-confidence vote indicate he shouldn’t be attempting to wield any power at the moment? If this was the wish of the majority of the major houses, maybe he should just let their little scheme play out and backfire on them in spectacular fashion. But was it fair to subject the common citizens to engage in such a game of political chicken?

A wave of loneliness and isolation washed over him as he weighed his options. This dilemma was just one of many he was facing at the moment that he wished he could discuss with Drake. Over the years, Drake had, more often than not, served as his sounding board, devil’s advocate, and unofficial advisor. The countless instances they’d sat in this office at the end of the day, sipping whiskey while Liam solidified his stances and bounced ideas off of Drake had helped him prepare to face political opponents, foreign negotiators, and skeptical members of the press time and time over. Now, he had to make decisions on his own, without his most trusted friend and ally.

For perhaps the tenth time that evening, he pulled the slip of paper Hana had given him out of his pocket and stared at Drake and Riley’s phone numbers. He could call Drake to talk, he supposed. But he was struggling to work up the courage to do so. He couldn’t just pretend nothing had changed and ask Drake to listen as he worked through his thought process. Drake had different priorities now. That much was wildly apparent.

There was also the small matter of the fact that Liam knew he would need to hide some of his thoughts and feelings from Drake at the moment. He’d done it before, back during Drake and Riley’s engagement, but part of doing so involved keeping his distance from Drake at that time. Drake just knew him better than anyone and could more easily read through his diplomatic mask. It was really only in the past six months or so that it seemed things had fully returned to normal, Drake’s marriage to Riley no longer a point of awkwardness between them. Now, for Drake to flee in the middle of a coup, it felt like the foundation of their friendship was being torn apart yet again.

A few sharp taps on the door interrupted his thoughts. A second later, the door swung open, revealing Olivia with a bottle of wine in her hand.

“I thought you might want some company,” she said as she strode across the room, grabbing two wine glasses off the bar cart before flouncing into the seat across from him. “I won’t even make you switch seats with me, even though the monarch’s desk should technically be mine tonight.”

Liam forced a smile as she sat down and moved to uncork the wine, noticing the vintage of the bottle for the first time.

“Olivia, that bottle is worth over ten thousand Euros.”

She grinned at him as she poured them both a glass. “Exactly. This fine wine was procured by a member of the Rys family, and therefore if anyone deserves to drink it, it’s you.” With that she handed Liam a glass and picked up her own. Liam could only shake his head lightly before tapping his glass against hers gently.

“To the end of Rys rule in Cordonia,” he said with a little shrug before taking a sip. He saw Olivia raise her eyebrows over her own glass.

“Liam…” she started as she set down her glass on the desk.

“It’s nothing, just a bad joke,” Liam lied, waving his hand through the air. “Would you mind terribly if I asked you which documents you think are the most important ones to leave for Rashad?” he asked as he placed a stack of paperwork on the desk between them, trying to divert the conversation.

His question was met with silence, so Liam glanced up from the documents. Olivia was staring at him intently, and she took another sip of her wine before she responded.

“I can certainly help with that, but Liam… are you… shit, I don’t know what to say. This fucking sucks, doesn’t it?”

He let out a little snort at that. “Indeed, it does.”

“I can’t believe those assholes are trying to pull this bullshit. Like fucking Barthelemy would make a better king than you. You’ve given up everything for this country.”

“It feels that way sometimes. I was happy to do so for so long, too. I always knew that leading Cordonia was an honor, and after my brother’s abdication, I never resented needing to prove to my people that I would be a worthy king. But now…” he trailed off, unable to vocalize the rest of that thought. After everything he’d done to be a good king, a better king than his paranoid, ruthless father ever was, and this was how the universe chose to repay him.

The tense silence hung in the office for a few moments before Olivia spoke again. “Speaking of your brother, I hope you don’t mind, but I gave Leo a call and told him what was happening. I figured this isn’t the sort of thing he should hear about on the news. I think he’s flying back. He seemed pretty upset over the whole thing.”

Liam just hummed at that. He loved his brother, but he wasn’t sure if the man who willingly chose to shed his title of Crown Prince would be able to sympathize with his personal pain of having his title stripped from him. Maybe he could help provide some nice distractions, though. Leo was always good for that.

“Thank you,” Liam finally said with a nod, “I planned to call him tomorrow.”

“No problem. I just figured you and Drake might have… a lot to discuss.”

Liam gave a weak smile and shook his head. “I actually haven’t spoken to him yet.”

Olivia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly at his comment. “Well, that needs to be addressed.”

He frowned, taking another sip of the admittedly very excellent wine before he responded. “Quite frankly, Liv, I don’t know that I want to discuss my reasons for not calling him with you. At least not tonight.”

“Tough shit. You have no reason not to call him anymore. And seeing as he’s been your… confidante,” she said, clearly taking a moment to decide how to describe their relationship, “for decades, it strikes me as pretty concerning that you didn’t rush to call him at the first chance you got.”

Liam sighed heavily. He didn’t really want to get into this all, but she was clearly not going to let him brush this off. “I don’t know what to say to him. He left, and I just…” Liam trailed off, unable to fully vocalize the pain he felt in regards to Drake’s actions.

Olivia pursed her lips for just a moment, her bright red nails tapping rapidly against the stem of her wine glass. “I can’t figure out if you are attempting to punish him or protect him here.”

Her response caught him off guard. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you clearly are all sorts of angry and frustrated with him at the moment. I just can’t tell if you think that’s justified, and this is some sort of passive aggressive punishment, or if you realize you aren’t being fair, and you don’t want to make him feel any guiltier.”

“Are you saying that my irritation with him isn’t justified?”

“Irritation would be fine. But I don’t believe for one second that you would avoid talking to Drake if you were merely irritated with him.”

Liam was expecting some sort of sly comment about how surely talking to Drake was always irritating, but it didn’t come. Instead, Olivia continued on, serious and solemn.

“You must be insanely upset with him if you haven’t given him a call, and I’m going to be honest, that scares me. I’m backing you at the Conclave, Liam, and I intend to throw the Nevrakis name behind a winner. So that means you need to be emotionally ready for this fight over the next couple of months. I can’t have you caught up in some petty bullshit with Drake fucking Walker.”

Her statement was a surprising one. “I would have thought you would have been the one person who might understand my rather complicated point of view on this subject.”

She shook her head. “Drake and I may not see eye to eye on… a lot of things, actually, but I still think you are being absurd here.”

“This critique strikes me as slightly hypocritical, as I am having a hard time picturing you not being at least fairly angry with the mess they have created here. A mess that could have been avoided if they’d stuck to your plan, I might add.”

“Of course I’m angry with them! They put almost zero thought into this, and I’ve been scrambling for more than a day straight to try and prevent this all from spiraling into total disaster. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand why they did it. This was all in service of keeping their family together, Liam. You have to know that.”

He did understand that intellectually, but somehow her assessment just didn’t sit right with him. “Yes, Olivia. I can comprehend that their motivations are the safety and security of their daughter, but what I cannot bring myself to do is approve of their decision to commit treason and abandon the citizens of Valtoria they took an oath to serve.”

Olivia took a long sip of her wine before she replied, “Do you want me to pretend that I believe your last statement there, or do you want someone besides Drake to call you on your bullshit? I can do either, you just need to tell me what you want.”

“Of course I want you to be honest with me, Olivia,” he said, completely baffled by her assertion.

She just raised her eyebrows and stared at him, giving him one last chance to ask her to lie, apparently. All he could do was raise his eyebrows right back and take a drink from his own glass, almost daring her to do her worst.

“You aren’t pissed that they are shitty nobles who just abandoned their posts without a second thought. You are pissed that Drake isn’t here to serve as your emotional support.”

Liam opened his mouth to retort, but Olivia shook her head and just kept going.

“It’s understandable, really. He’s been the one you could always turn to, and now it feels like you can’t rely on him at a time when you really fucking need that kind of support. But you need to at least recognize that personal pain as the source of your anger here and not hide behind indignation over the way Drake and Riley fulfill their roles as duke and duchess.

“Those two have always been shitty members of the nobility, and you have never had an issue with it up until this point. In fact, you seemed to tacitly approve of their antics as you granted them power that other dukes and duchesses could only dream of.”

Liam frowned, the blood pounding in his ears as he tried not to let Olivia’s words anger him. “What do you mean?” he breathed out, focusing on not letting this situation escalate. A defensive Olivia was the last thing he was mentally and emotionally equipped to handle tonight.

“Liam, you essentially handed them the reins when it came to the Auvernal negotiations.”

“Those negotiations all centered around their child. It felt wrong to not grant them a certain amount of control given the circumstances.”

She tilted her head back and forth for just a moment. “Sure, I get that. And I’m really not trying to make you defend your decisions here regarding that whole mess. But you have to admit that Drake and Riley have kind of always just done whatever the hell they wanted, and until today, you never had anything to say about it.”

Her assessment echoed through the room as Liam leaned back in his chair, taking another sip of wine. He didn’t want to think he was being solely motivated by his emotions here. He’d worked for years and years, since he was a young boy, to ensure that he kept any feelings in check, guarded and secured for private moments. But Olivia did have a point - Drake and Riley bucking tradition and proper conduct for members of the nobility had never really bothered him before.

“Liam, I’m not trying to kick you while you’re already hurting. It’s probably natural to feel hurt by Drake’s decision here. I just think you will be able to move past this a little easier if you are honest about why his actions bother you.”

Liam glanced across the desk, meeting Olivia’s gaze. “I sometimes just…” but he couldn’t complete his thought. To vocalize that he just wanted the most important person in his life to care about him on a personal level above all others would be immature and selfish. Drake had a wife and child to think about. Of course they warranted more of his consideration than Liam did. But it was just one more thing he lost in the past day or so, that one person around whom he didn’t need to censor himself, the only individual who gave him honesty without question of motive.

Olivia reached across the desk and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Like I said, being upset is pretty natural here. If it makes you feel any better, I wanted to reach through my phone and stab them both in the gut when Drake told me they had no intention of returning, even if it meant treason charges.”

Liam let out a little chuckle. “How are you so… calm about this now?” Using that word to describe Olivia in any situation felt out of character, but there was literally no other way to describe her at the moment. She looked at ease, sipping thousands of Euros of wine like it was nothing.

“I’m not sure if ‘calm’ is the right word; it’s more like I’m… resigned, I guess. They are both stubborn as hell, and they made this choice because they thought it was best for their kid. Even I can’t fight that.”

“I just wish they would have gone to Lythikos. Then we could be fighting this from all angles together.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? That was your whole plan, and it still seems better thought out than their fugitive act.”

“From our perspective, sure. But we are worried about Cordonia as a whole. They are just worried about keeping their daughter. And given that Rashad already brought up wanting to meet with them to discuss custody, it seems like they were at least a little bit justified in their concerns.”

Liam frowned. Hana must have filled in Olivia of the details of their conversation with Rashad. Liam had gotten the impression that Rashad wanted to find a way to keep Drake and Riley as active participants in Bridget’s life based on the way he requested that meeting, not tear them apart from their child. “Do you really think Rashad has any interest in keeping them from their daughter?”

“No, not exactly. But I also think that coming to live at the palace as Bridget’s nannies or guardians or whatever Rashad plans to throw out there as a way to obey the letter of the law when it comes to the no-confidence vote is a far cry from being recognized as her parents fully. At the end of the day, I just think they aren’t willing to compromise on any aspect when it comes to being a family.” Olivia pursed her lips and glanced into her lap before she continued, “It kind of makes me wish my own parents would have felt that way.”

Her confession was so vulnerable, so honest, it nearly took his breath away. When they were younger, Olivia had sometimes talked about her fears, her pain, her neglect, and Liam had always been willing to lend an ear and supportive shoulder for her to lean on. But as the years marched on, those conversations had dwindled and eventually ceased. Olivia became more defensive, not allowing herself to be perceived as weak by anyone. And in some regards, she thrived. But clearly, that pain from her childhood was still a part of her.

Liam could identify with her in some respects. Father had always devoted more time and energy to Leo. After all, not only had he been the Crown Prince, but he acted out more, drawing more attention nearly every step of the way. But that had largely left Liam to spend time with Mother, who always tried to balance his formal lessons with genuine warmth and affection. And even though she’d been killed and taken from him when he was still quite young, he at least had her guidance and devotion for a while. That was more than Olivia could say about her parents.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Mother might have made the same choice as Drake and Riley, had she been placed in that position. He didn’t recognize it as a child, but looking back on her words now, he saw her concerns, her worries, and her desire to keep him safe. Did she regret her station? Regret raising her son in such an environment? Or did the fact that he’d never known her as an adult mean that he just saw her actions through the rose-tinted glasses of a child?

“Bridget is lucky in that respect,” Liam eventually said, reaching across the desk and refilling both of their wine glasses. “I suppose that’s why royal lineage tends to be emphasized and protected for generation after generation. It’s the only way to battle that instinctual urge to protect one’s children and instead force them to carry massive responsibilities.”

Olivia shook her head. “Or generations of people who strike up primarily political marriages just eliminates all love and empathy from the gene pool.”

“What would you have done, if you were in their position?” Liam asked before taking another sip of wine. The more he thought about it, he wasn’t sure what he would have done if it was his own child. All the options that worked their way into his mind seemed terrible.

Olivia paused to take a drink as well, her free hand tapping a rapid pattern against the surface of the desk. “I don’t know. I’d like to think I would be able to plot things out rationally, but I might have violently lashed out. I don’t think I would have run, but that’s just never been my style. But I don’t know exactly how it would unfold.”

“It’s hard to imagine, acting on that gut emotional response, isn’t it? All our lives, we’ve been taught to negotiate, to employ diplomatic tactics, to foster alliances to protect our titles.”

“You might have been taught that,” interjected Olivia, “but I was taught to fight to protect the family name to the death,”

“Touché,” said Liam, a real smile forming for the first time that day, “but I think my point remains. I don’t think I could let my child be taken by another, but at the same time, it’s as if I cannot imagine myself being guided by my emotions, even if it would make sense to do so.”

“You would protect your kid, Liam. You would figure it out if you were put in that spot.”

“I hope so. I think you would as well, and with minimal bloodshed, I believe.”

She laughed at that, dropping her head back, causing a few strands of red hair to fall loose around her face. “Well, let’s just be grateful we don’t have to find out the truth of that assessment, but it’s getting late, and we still have a lot to do before we need to vacate the palace in the morning. Do you want some privacy to talk to Drake? I can sort through those-” she said, gesturing to the stack of papers left between them on the desk “-while you give him a call.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. I still don’t know what I’m going to say to him, but…”

“You’ll figure it out,” she said with a shrug, gathering the papers in one arm. “Just meet me in my quarters when you guys are done.”

Liam gave her a little smile as she left his office, pulling out the paper from Hana and staring at it for a few seconds before pulling out his new, prepaid cell phone and calling the number on the top of the page. It was time to talk to Drake.

Permatag: @walkerswhiskeygirl @riley--walker @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5 @mfackenthal @thequeenofcronuts

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC: @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99

Fight or Flight: @masterofbluff @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby @shz256 @iaminlovewithtrr

#drake walker #drake x mc #trr au #trh au #trr fanfic #trh fanfic #trr au fanfic #trh au fanfic #king liam #olivia nevrakis #choices fanfiction

62 notes · View notes

lonestorm · 6 years

Text

The Adventures of Sindad - 3

Basically a Sinbad post-Magi redemption story of him trying to raise seven children.

Chapters: Prologue | Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3

Also on AO3 and ff.net

“Wakey, wakey! You’ve got dad stuff to do!”

“Ughhhhhh…”

“You’ve got kids to get ready and get to school in an hour and a half!”

“Mmph.”

“It’s a new day! Sun is shining! C’mon, Uncle Sinbad--where’s that energy? Get up! Wait, you’re not naked under there, are you?”

Finally, Sinbad turned over on his stomach just enough to open one eye. Aladdin was poking him with his staff curiously, and broke into a grin once he got Sinbad’s acknowledgment.

“What,” Sinbad grumbled into his pillow, “are you doin’ here?”

“Mister Ja’far sent me to wake you up and help you! For old times’ sake. He says he already let people know that you were going to be starting work later than usual today. Wow, you look terrible!”

“‘Fanks.” Sinbad stuffed his face into his pillow and let out a groan. “For frick’s sake, Aladdin. I got three hours of sleep because those kids kept waking up. I don’t energy.”

“That’s too bad. I wonder if that’s how their mothers felt, raising them alone all this time.”

Sinbad growled, “Their mothers didn’t have seven of them, Aladdin!”

“True.” He didn’t sound very sympathetic. Aladdin whacked Sinbad lightly on the head with his staff. “But you do! So get up! I’ll even make breakfast!”

Narrowing his eyes at the teenager, Sinbad shakily pushed himself up on an elbow. Aladdin had never been a very hostile sort, but Sinbad was quickly noticing how surprisingly passive aggressive he could be. Maybe it was a (former) Magi thing--Yunan sure was passive aggressive enough, though Judar tended to be more… aggressive aggressive. And the one in Reim still wouldn’t join the International Alliance.

“Fine, fine.” Grasping the edge of his bed, he heaved himself over and managed to gain purchase on his carpet. “Lemme take a shower…”

Ten minutes later, Sinbad was blindly brushing out his hair and pulling on his robes before stumbling out to the kitchen. There, as promised, Aladdin was humming while waving his staff toward the frying pan to stir around the scrambled eggs. With the flick of a finger, the pancakes flipped on the heating panel. “Done with your beautifying? Go wake up your kids! Ja’far says their school uniforms are in their wardrobes.”

Sinbad frowned. “Oh yeah, did Ja’far say if he had plans for Samia and Kaito? They’re too young for school.”

Aladdin raised an eyebrow at him as glasses of orange juice floated out of the cooler. “No. Honestly, Uncle Sinbad, they’re your kids, not Mister Ja’far’s responsibility.”

“I’m not… they can’t… ugh, forget it,” he gave up, too tired for the argument. Sinbad made his way down the hall instead, frowning at the three doors. Maybe Zara seemed to hate his guts, but judging from last night, she also was willing to help out with the kids. Ja’far had said that the kids had been gathered waiting for him for a few days, so she’d known them slightly longer. Bracing himself, he walked to her door first and pushed it open.

Kendria was curled up in a small ball under her covers, clutching her spiraled, wooden staff to her chest. On the other bed, Zara slept on her back, quilt almost covering her face and hair spread across her sheets in a mess. On an impulse, he reached out and smoothed some out of her eyes. “Wake up, kiddo. Gotta get ready for school, okay?”

“Mmguhfukoff,” she replied, blindly slapping his hand away and turning her back to him.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Aladdin is making pancakes.”

“Ya coulda led wit�� tha’.”

He took that advice to wake up Kendria.

She seemed to be slightly more of a morning person. When he gently shook her shoulder and mentioned pancakes, she turned and stretched with a smile. “Good morning, Dad.”

The word still sent a jolt of nausea through him, but he tried for a grin anyway. “Good morning. Ready for your first day?”

Smile fading slightly, her fingers curled around her staff more tightly. “I-I still have some t-troubles with language…”

“You’ll do great,” he assured her. “Your brothers and sisters will be there to support you. Now get on up!”

Rei was already out of bed and bright eyed, bag packed and uniform clutched to her chest. He’d picked out the uniforms for the school himself when he had it built, making sure they kept up with the latest fashions and were something that anyone could pull off. At least his fashion sense was still something he could be proud of. “Good morning, Father!” she said right away.

“Good morning, Rei. You sure are sunshiney this morning,” he replied, placing a hand on her head.

“It’s my first day of school!” she cheered. “I get to go to the only school for commoners in the world! I’m going to make so many friends!”

Her attitude almost made him more awake. “Yes you are! Want some breakfast?”

“Oh yes! But a bath first,” she said, blinking up at him.

“Um, you and your sisters might have to take turns,” Sinbad said, not having thought of the problem that most of them wouldn't know how to use the new magical bathing device: the shower.

“Samia will need help taking a bath,” came Zara’s voice from the doorway, and he turned to see her with a hand on her hip and messy hair falling down to her mouth, where she blew it away with a puff of air.

Sinbad cleared his throat. “Right. Yes, I know. Um…”

An exaggerated roll of the eyes. “I’ll help her,” Zara quipped, striding forward into the room. “You can help Kaito.”

“That was the plan,” he lied smoothly, beating her to Samia’s bed, where the little girl lay on her side and hugged a stuffed puppy. Squeezing Samia’s shoulder lightly, Sinbad murmured, “Good morning, Samia. Want some pancakes?”

He didn’t get an answer; she just slowly opened her eyes and held up her arms. As she wished, he picked her up and walked to the dresser to find her clothes. Just as his hand was on the drawer, he heard Samia yawn, felt her head fall on his shoulder. He froze.

It’s as if it were finally hitting him full force: This is my child. This is my life now.

Holy shit.

Zara’s drawling voice jarred him back to reality. “Sinbad? Forget how to open a drawer?”

“How does all that sass fit into an twelve year old body?” he muttered, picking up the first little, yellow dress he saw.

“I heard that.”

“You’re welcome for my awesome hearing genetics,” he said, passing her little sister to her. “I’ll go wake up the boys.”

It took only a few steps towards the boy’s room for him to hear shouting, an absolutely predatory snarl, and a BAM! Sinbad rushed to the room and pushed the door open. “Is everyone okay?”

Seti looked up at the door from where he was holding Leo’s foot and trying to drag him from bed. “Of course, Dad. Why?”

Leo let out a demonic growl and kicked Seti off of his foot before burying his head under two pillows. Seti went for his other-

“Seti, don’t grab Leo like that,” Sinbad said quickly, stopping Seti’s reaching hand. “Or anyone, for that matter. What are you doing?”

His pout looked like a drenched puppy. “I heard you waking them up. Just tryin to help…”

Pinching his nose, Sinbad managed, “I appreciate the thought, Seti. But you don’t have to wake your siblings up, and you definitely shouldn’t by using physical force, okay?”

“Okay, Dad.”

He didn’t expect it to be that easy. “Oh. Well. Good! Why don’t you get yourself ready for school, okay?”

“Okay! But beware of grumpybones, here. His bite is worse than his bark, if ya ask me-”

Seti was silenced by a glare from Leo that sent him bolting from the room.

With a sigh, Sinbad gathered his patience and carefully removed a pillow from over Leo’s head. “Good morning, kiddo. Sorry about that. Want some pancakes?”

“Morning, Father!” was the only response he got before Leo ran out of the room after his brother at the whiff of food.

One more, he thought encouragingly, making his way to Kaito’s bed. It seems all the commotion hadn’t even made Kaito stir. He was in a dead sleep, with his face so deep in his pillow that Sinbad was worried about his breathing.

“Kaito? Wake up, buddy. Want some food?”

Nope.

Sinbad shook his shoulder gently. “Good morning, Kaito. Time to get up.”

Three minutes later, Kaito finally entered the world of the living.

“Morning, Kaito,” Sinbad repeated to the little boy sitting up and rubbing his amber eyes.

Kaito crinkled up his tiny nose. “Gmorinapa…” A yawn. “I dreamed tha’ I was a sparkly fish.”

A laugh found its way from Sinbad’s chest. “R-really?”

“Yes. Then I got eated.”

Sin sobered up. “O-oh. I’m sorry. Were you scared?”

Kaito gave him a weird look. “I eat fish.”

“But in the dream, you were the fish,” Sinbad reminded him, utterly confused.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Sinbad gave up--too early in the morning to try to make sense of a tired four year old. “Let’s get you a bath and some food, okay?”

“Okay.” His feet didn’t quite reach the floor, so Sinbad helped him down from bed and to his wardrobe.

“You should pick your clothes before your bath,” he told him, pulling open the drawers of clothes that had been filled by Ja’far.

Kaito frowned in confusion at the piles. “There are more than one clothes.”

“Well… yeah.”

“Which one is mine?”

Sinbad laughed. “All of them, Kaito.”

“All of the clothes?” Kaito looked, distressed, down at his body. “B-but there is only one me!”

Another laugh. “Fair enough. But just pick one and you can wear the others different days, okay?”

“Okay, Papa.” He pulled out a tunic and began to walk away, before Sinbad quickly grabbed some new underwear and pants that he put in Kaito’s hands.

Kaito took them and paused on the way out of the room, eyes lighting up as they fell upon a little, wooden boat that sat on top of his dresser. “My ship!” He reached up his tiny hand.

Sinbad took the vessel and handed it to Kaito. “That’s a very nice ship.”

“Mama got it for me.” He beamed. “I’m the captain.”

“I bet you’re a great captain,” Sinbad told him gently prodding him towards the door. Kaito insisted on showing Sinbad what a great captain he was by playing with the ship throughout his entire bath.

Some of the kids were already done eating by the time Sinbad made it to the kitchen, and showers were in a surprisingly well-organized rotation. Aladdin was making little shimmering lights fall from his staff that Rei and Samia giggled at and tried to catch. With a flick of the staff, a plate of pancakes, bacon, and eggs flew into Sinbad’s hands. Though he was a bit annoyed with Aladdin (and probably always would be, considering their rocky relationship)… he had to smile. “Thank you.”

Aladdin shot a grin back. Kendria ran up with her own staff, and Aladdin tried to teach her how to make the little stars.

Seti bounded into the kitchen from the hall, hair still dripping onto his haphazard uniform. “I’m all ready! Let’s go!”

Grimacing, Sinbad swallowed his mouthful and told him, “Uh-uh. Your hair's all wet--”

A blast of warm air shot from Aladdin’s staff, stunning Seti and making his hair stand up all over. The girls laughed at their brother, and Sinbad shook his head. “Do you have a comb, Seti?”

And that’s how the CEO of the most successful company in the world found himself sitting at the table and brushing a child’s hair. Sinbad was already stressed from pulling out the snarls without hurting the boy, and then trying to make him stand still so that he could tuck in his shirt, straighten his blazer. “Okay, there we go. Now go pack your books in your bag, okay?”

“Okay, Dad!” And he was gone.

Sinbad watched him run, hoping he wouldn’t fall, and was about to stand when he noticed that Samia had crawled up into Seti’s place. She was looking at him expectantly.

With a sigh, he pulled the brush through her lilac-colored hair as well. It felt as if Zara had already brushed it, but Samia didn’t seem to get the concept, so he brushed it and made two pigtails to keep it from her face.

“Me next! Me next!” Rei insisted, lifting Samia off of the stool to take her place. Her hair was already brushed, but she expected him to… do something with it. As if he knew how to do anything but ponytails.

And then Samia started crying, making Sinbad wince and scramble to pick her up. “Hey, it’s okay! It’s okay! No need to cry… what’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer, but just clung to him and stopped, so he shrugged and let Samia hang on his robes like a little monkey while he tried to make the buns he saw in Rei’s hair yesterday. It took a good ten minutes to figure out, but she sat still through it all.

Finally, they had all eaten and cleaned up. They were wreaking chaos: Setti and Leo were fighting with wooden swords on the couch, Kaito was trying in vain to reach for another pancake (though he had inhaled two), Rei was chasing a squealing Samia around, sparks were shooting from Kendria’s staff, and Zara was… well she was reading a book, but she certainly wasn’t any help.

At a loss, Sinbad just tried to do something that would organize his thoughts. “Okay, line up! Oldest to youngest!”

To his surprise, they responded obediently (even Zara), stopping what they were doing and getting in a tidy row. Kaito shoved a rolled up pancake into his mouth.

Sinbad looked to each one of them, checking to make sure they each had their books, utensils, and paper. Samia had, at some point, gotten a little, stuffed dog that she was holding, and Kaito was proudly showing her the ship that he still held. Hopefully, those would keep the two occupied today.

“Aright!” Sinbad clapped his hands together and looked at the clock. “We should get going if we want to get you to school in time. Let’s load up!”

“I can take you today,” Aladdin offered, becoming Sinbad’s favorite person for an instant.

“Okay, form a circle! Boys, put your swords on the table; you won’t need those. Aladdin, do you know where the school is?”

“Found it this morning, yep!”

“Aladdin is going to make a transportation circle,” Sinbad explained to the kids, who were neatly arranging themselves into a circle. “Just like yesterday. We’ll go to the school and then Samia and Kaito will…” He paused, apprehensive. “...come to work with me. Sound good?”

The two youngest cheered, and Sinbad hoped desperately that he wouldn’t regret that. “Okay. Aladdin?”

He and Sinbad stepped up behind the children, and with a few muttered incantations, the floor beneath them glowed. A flash of light, a tug on the gut, and they were somewhere new.

#aos #magi #magi labyrinth of magic #sinbad #sinbad no bouken #aladdin #ja'far #magi fanfiction #my fanfiction #my writing

9 notes · View notes