#there was a whole section with franky that I gave up on & it's still longer than intended

[furashuban]

Nocturnal

Something a little different this time :>

Words: 2.3k

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53384422/chapters/135113332

Summary: In the middle of the night, a little girl runs up to an old woman wide awake in her bedroom to tell her why she can't go to school.

Carole would always find herself awake in the dead of night whilst everyone else throughout the county had fallen fast asleep. She had no purpose being up so late; she would do nothing but lay upright in bed reading a storybook she had checked out from the Reading Center she managed before clocking out. Sometimes she would change her routine slightly, choosing to be in the living room instead and pace around on the carpet with said book in her hands. If Ryanne were here, she would deplore Carole for not only developing such an unhealthy routine for a woman her age, but failing to desire a solution to fix it while she still could.

The door to her room was wide open; all the lights in the hallway were still turned on and gave a white-range hue to the bedroom. Carole could sense a shadow, and she looked up to see a little girl in baby blue pajamas inching towards her doorway; her long and wavy brown hair in disarray and her head hung slightly low as she stared back at the woman in bed.

“Frankie,” she called the girl’s name gently and soft with affection. “Can’t sleep?”

The 10-year-old nodded shyly, to which Carole then put aside her book and opened her arms to show her she was invited in. Frankie rushed to climb in bed and quickly cozied up beside the woman before being wrapped around her arm. “What time is it now, Carole?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that,” Carole consoled, combing her fingers through the young girl’s unkempt hair, “you’ll still have plenty of time to catch some rest before school tomorrow.”

Hearing the words school and tomorrow next to each other gave Frankie a sinking feeling in her chest. “Carole…?” she raised her head up, her tone solemn.

“Yes?”

The girl took a second before saying anything, hesitant about what words to use and if it was either a good time to say them or even a good idea at all. But Carole had always taught her to be unafraid of pouring her heart out to her, or to anyone for that matter, even if they were strange for others to hear—she had a right to be heard anyway, to figure everything out with the help of others in the county along the way with gentleness and understanding.

“I can’t go to school tomorrow,” confessed Frankie, “I don’t feel very good, so I don’t think I can go to any of my classes because of it.”

Carole placed her palm on Frankie’s forehead, then on the side of her neck. “Hm, but you seem to be pretty healthy,” she gave the girl a curious look.

“It’s not that,” Frankie sighed. “There’s a quiz tomorrow that I’m not ready for, then a project that I’m having trouble finishing but it’s due the day AFTER the quiz, then another quiz after that, and I keep reading books I don’t actually want to read and I just don’t want to be in school at all ‘cause I get so jumpy the longer I stay there! I’m trying really hard, I really am, Carole, but…but…”

When Frankie struggled to say another word, remembering all the other arduous schoolwork in store for her this week, Carole leaned a little closer to tuck a section of her hair behind her ear so that her face was a little less cloaked. “It’s just unfair how they’re giving too many things without time to rest, isn’t it.”

“Yeah…” all the weight in Frankie’s heart seemed to have left in an instant, to have someone older than her understand her so well that they could put her difficult feelings into proper words meant the whole world to her.

“Poor ol’ Frances Schwinn,” Carole said sweetly. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to skip one day of school if you really can’t go.”

“You really mean it?” and for the first time tonight, if not in a long time, Frankie’s eyes lit up with hope, though an air of cautiousness lingered in the back of her mind. There was no way Carole could reasonably allow her to skip classes when she had so much to do.

“Don’t worry, the people that run the school and I know each other, I can convince them to let you find other days to do your schoolwork…Well, more like I can get Ryanne to do it with me first,” Carole snickered; Ryanne had the upper hand when it came to being confrontational, given her position as a council member, and never once did this enigmatic woman say no to doing a favor for Carole, much to her reluctance until she knew it was for Frankie’s sake. “But I promise, sunbeam, nothing more needs to be said. Girls like you need some time to let loose, especially when you’ve been giving it your best for who knows how long. The only thing missing, of course, is someone who recognizes that.”

Frankie threw her arms around Carole immediately. “Thanks so much, Carole,” she rejoiced, trying not to sound too exultant against her ear, but Carole could tell she was the happiest girl in the world because Frankie’s joy was her joy, too, and she wrapped her arms back around the girl.

“It’s no trouble, dearie.”

As soon as the Frankie withdrew from her embrace, she could have sworn the air around the room was suddenly frostier than before, like she was atop Mount Everest—not that she had ever been before. “Your room is really cold,” Frankie quivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“That’s because my house is right by the sea,” Carole also couldn’t help but pull the blanket closer, “I could go for a cup of cocoa in times like this.”

At that, Carole could feel an imaginary lightbulb spark atop her head. “Hm, what do you say to that? I can whip us both a cup or two in the kitchen really quick.” Frankie pursed her lips before simply nodding in agreement. “That’s the spirit.”

Before long, the gray-haired woman and the little girl practically leapt out of bed and ambled onto the small hallway yonder. “Can I turn on your record player while you’re making the cocoa?” Frankie requested, knowing the two of them were going to be up a lot longer than she had expected.

The record player in the living room was Frankie’s favorite thing in Carole’s house. It was fairly modern than most other phonographs, simply a wooden box resting atop a pedestal as tall as the girl herself, but thankfully it was close enough to the sofa where she could mount herself by the armrest and gently place a down record without any trouble nor help from Carole. Frankie liked being able to switch it on herself once the older woman had taught her how to use it. But first, she browsed through the crammed shelves that took up a whole corner of Carole’s living room, which were towering so close to the ceiling that Frankie needed a stool to stand on as she flipped through the dedicated cubicle for vinyl covers which was still so high above.

In the kitchen, Carole had her and Frankie’s mugs settled on the countertop right after she stopped the kettle on the stovetop from shrieking and puffing. She could hear Frankie humming a tune around the corner; a tune, the older woman recognized, as being from the record the little girl had picked out and was setting atop the record player. With the flick of switch and the touch of a needle on a rotating record (in that order), the house became filled with the fuzzy, homely melody of a piano and a man’s high-note singing that mimicked the tune Frankie was humming.

“If I knew that someone cared for me, I'd let the world go by.”

“Someone who was truer as true could be, I’d never want to sigh.”

The cocoa mix and hot milk were stirred well in each mug, and Carole carried them over to the living room where she found Frankie cuddled up on the sofa with a Raggedy Ann doll she had left there this morning—which she named “Rosie”. The 10-year-old awaited her hot cocoa whilst trying not to look too eager as she was being offered her mug, appearing stiff in the way she sat up and especially in her expression, which made Carole giggle.

“Thanks for this, Carole,” the girl then took a slight sip of cocoa, still too steamy and scorching for her to handle.

The gray-haired woman took a seat on her rocking chair across the room. “It’s hasn’t been an hour, but I hope you’re feeling a little better now than before, sunbeam.”

Frankie took a moment to concentrate on the gentle music in the room, the velvety taste of her cocoa along with its heat to bear the cold sea-air breaching into the house, Rosie limp on her lap and all the quaint decorations she could eye on around the house such as a mandolin hung on one wall and pots of ivy hung on another—and lastly, Carole Paxson giving her undivided attention to her long unheeded well-being. Nothing here could remotely remind her of quizzes and projects. She grinned softly, let out a small breath, and murmured to Carole, “Yeah, so much better.”

There was a large chest in the center of the living room which was used as the coffee table, draped with a dark red cloth and ornamented with a completed jigsaw puzzle of a Monet painting, a trio of candle stands and a little Bonsai tree on top of it. Carole squinted as she noticed among the decorations a lone book with a sky-blue cover; a copy of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

“I don’t remember leaving this here.” Carole remarked as she reached for the book.

“That’s mine,” Frankie pointed out. “Well, it’s Maddie’s, but she said I could borrow it. I haven’t been able to continue reading because of school, though.”

Carole opened the book to its first page. Sure enough, on the upper right of the foreword read “MJH’s book” written tinnily in pencil along with a neatly drawn star next to it. Maddeline Jean Hewitt, Carole instantly recognized what the initials stood for, sparking a new how-to-make-Frankie-feel-better plan upon seeing.

“You know, you can spend the rest of the day tomorrow at the Hewitts’ if you’d like that, sunbeam,” the older woman spoke in an uplifting tone. “I’m sure Maddie would be just as happy knowing you now have time to play together.” Maddie was a homeschooled girl, and coming to see her meant Frankie did not have to feel alone and awkward about not being in school while every other child was.

“Is…that a good idea?” Frankie asked. “It kind of feels wrong to skip school just so I could play with my friend.”

“Sure, it’s fine,” Carole insisted. “It’s like I said, you deserve to let loose, dearie, and that means making the most out of time you didn’t have before, not just having plain ol’ rest. Plus, time at the Hewitts sounds much comfier than time at school if you ask me.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess maybe I will see Maddie tomorrow,” Frankie shrugged tautly; even when she wasn’t sure about going, she knew seeing Maddie at her family’s big brick house at Sandalwood always lit her up, and it had been so long since both girls saw each other.

When Frankie took another sip of cocoa, she drew her attention to the wall clock just above Carole’s chair, and the young girl gawked in disbelief seeing that the hour hand was at 2. Being up so late, while thrilling, was just unheard of, if not strictly forbidden for children like her. And though Frankie was only partly sleepy in this hour, she realized how Carole never seemed to look tired at all since they first saw each other in the bedroom.

“Carole? What time do you sleep?”

“Hmm…Three …Maybe four o’clock-ish?”

“But why though?”

The old woman also sipped on her cocoa before speaking; the steam fogging up her thin-rimmed glasses. Truthfully, she was not a hundred-percent sure how to answer the curious child across her, only thinking about her usual routine to remotely give any good reason for staying up so late. “If I’m gonna be honest, Frankie,” she smacked her lips, “I think it’s ‘cause I just really like reading books,” and the two girls snickered, it was hard to argue knowing how long a good book can really take to finish.

“In fact, now that you don’t have your quizzes to worry about anymore,” Carole held up the copy of the Narnia book, “how’s about you finally get around to continuing this one, together with me?”

“Hmm…okay!” Frankie’s heart soared; a book she wanted to read at long last. She reached for the record player to lower the volume a tad, that way she could hear the older woman read whilst the music she loved carried on at the same time.

The moment Carole flipped through the page the bookmark reserved, the man’s voice from the record player, while much fainter now, was already singing the final chorus of the song.

“Let the great big world keep turning, never mind if I’ve got you”

“For I only know that I want you so, and there’s no one else will do.”

“You have simply set me yearning, and forever I’ll be true.”

Frankie took a break from drinking her cocoa when she realized it was still too hot, setting it aside on the coffee-table-chest. She hugged onto Rosie and laid herself down comfortably on her side, and she listened to Carole recite the passages of her book with great sincerity and fervor as though she had really gone to Narnia, and the 4 siblings of the book were really in the room.

“Let the great big world keep on turning ‘round, now I’ve found someone like you.”

#original story #original character #ocs #self-inserts #my works #it takes a village #itav #carole paxson #frances schwinn #this will definitely be something i will expand on only once in a while #and isn't something i have high priority as with C&A #but this fics purpose was being a source of comfort to write for a short time and hoping that feeling is the same for anyone reading <3

[useyourtelescope]

yuletide 2023 recap!

This yuletide exchange was fun, though as usual I am still making my way through the collection (here's hoping this year I actually finish reading all the open tabs in Jan/Feb at least).

For my gift, I received a gorgeous fic for The Borgias - some Cesare/Lucrezia hurt/comfort post-season 3 with lots of my fave tropes, you can read that on ao3 here:

One Touch of Your Hand

I wrote five fics - 2 for Only Murders In the Building (Gen) & 1 each for Nancy Drew (Nancy/Ace), The Borgias (Cesare/Lucrezia) and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans (Frankie/Bobby). I did end up with 3 unfinished treats sitting in my drafts, 1 of which I wrote about 3k for, but it was probably wishful thinking that I might have completed them in time too. The published 5 are the most individual fics I’ve managed for Yuletide, or any exchange for that matter (though it’s about 1k short of the total words I’ve done for an exchange thanks to the long fics I wrote for Yuletide 2019). 

Summaries of the fics themselves and thoughts on writing them below the cut:

A Whole New Direction - OMITB, Charles & Mabel & Oliver, Banter Post S2, ~800 words [ao3 link]

"I know yesterday we said we’d kind of shot ourselves in the foot podcast-wise by limiting ourselves to the building only, never mind whose idea that was—“ “It was your idea,” Mabel and Oliver replied in unison. “But never mind! I thought of a way we could continue the podcast without betraying the original premise.”

I enjoy writing their banter so this was a fun quick one; the main section came easily, it was just trying to decide where I wanted to end it that took the most time.

Co-Location - OMITB, Gen (Charles & Mabel + some Oliver), Canon Divergence in S3, ~1k words [ao3 link]

Charles offers a solution to Mabel's apartment-hunting woes.

This is a bit more sentimental than the general vibe I go for with writing the show (though not as angsty and internal as the Will POV post-Oliver’s heart attack fic I wrote for the last exchange I did), but the idea lent that way and I had to follow. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to end this one either, but when my beta mentioned that perhaps next season in the show Charles might not be able to stay at his apartment after the latest murder and would have to go to Oliver’s, the image of all three of them having to sleepover together made me laugh so I had to work that in.

Got A Lot To Learn - Nancy Drew (TV 2019), Nancy/Ace, Post-Canon Fluff, ~1.7k words [ao3 link | tumblr post]

Nancy and Ace approach a minor relationship milestone soon after breaking the curse.

This was my assignment! My recipient wanted something in canon which gave me an excuse to return to the the idea of Nancy learning ASL for Ace/his dad, which I thought was really sweet when they mentioned it on the show but the timing of that reveal meant it was angsty and I wanted it in a cute scene. Still getting the hang of writing the characters/universe but hopefully I'll be able to play more with them later this year (maybe even with the unfinished ND treat I started, though Nancy/Ace was more background in that one).

Power Over Me - The Borgias (Showtime TV), Cesare/Lucrezia, Explicit, Modern AU - Alpha/Omga, ~15k words [ao3 link | tumblr post]

Cesare has always been protective of his sister. When she unexpectedly has her first heat he worries that he might need to protect her from himself.

This got a bit away from me lol! It's not a trope I expected to write but the recipient's prompt really clicked as Cesare/Lucrezia do have that intensity that lends itself to this type of AU. It was still supposed to be a 5-6k thing initially but then I got the idea of putting Cesare through it on his special shopping trip for Lucrezia lol and started to consider more about the character arcs and showing more of Lucrezia's side of things and it snowballed into a much longer piece. That meant I had to leave aside the other Ces/Lu fic I started writing as a treat for this Yuletide, but even though I think that'll be shorter the storyline is more complicated so this was probably the better one to pick to finish for a deadline and a fun experiment for me.

The Very Thought Of You - Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Frankie/Bobby, Mature, Love Letters & Reunions, ~6k words [ao3 link | tumblr post]

A few months into their marriage, Frankie has to return to Marchbolt without Bobby. Finding the telephone insufficient for maintaining their usual level of intimacy, she starts to write to him.

There was a note in the recipient's letter about how they show each other their affection and they prompted letters for another ship which gave me the idea of Frankie and Bobby writing to one another. I was originally going to mostly focus on their time apart and just see a little bit of them reuniting at the end but once they were together I wanted to spend more time with them in the same place and thought it made sense to follow through on some of those spicier letters with giving them a bit of alone time too so it became 6k rather than 3 lol, but most of it flowed quite easily. It was just the letters and some of the historical aspects I spent time rewriting, especially Bobby's letter since that's the emotional point of the fic.

All in all, I really liked all 5 I managed to complete, but probably going to take a little exchange break for a bit and write whatever is flowing easiest rather than trying to write for a deadline.

#useyourtelescopefic #yuletide 2023 #the borgias #nancy drew #only murders in the building #why didn't they ask evans?

[slurp-imagines]

Usopp - The Thunder Breaks

Angst/Fluff prompt 18: “I can’t breathe.”

An Usopp-centric fic lightly inspired by the song “Neptune” by Sleeping at Last.

Words: 1,947 Warning: mild descriptions of anxiety attacks

As always, he doesn’t know how the hell it gets to this point, but Luffy is leading the five of them into another stupidly dangerous adventure.

Again: stupidly dangerous. Unnecessarily so. They could have left hours ago, and would have been happily on their way to the next island! But one thing led to another, and now there are explosions left and right, bullet spray maybe thirty feet behind, and the threat of sudden death looming over Usopp’s head.

A body flies past him– an enemy’s, thankfully. He screams because he’s terrified, and he clings to Nami when she grabs his arm (because they’ve seemed to silently come to an agreement that you’ve got to cling to something when it seems like everything’s about to go to hell, and what better than a person who shares your fear?), and when Chopper starts sobbing, he does as well.

They always wind each other up like this. It’s a way of coping with the stress of it all, he knows, but he also knows that sometimes long after Nami and Chopper have accepted whatever horrific turn of events just took place, he finds that he’s still trembling.

He always tries to squash it down. Always tries to keep up an air of bravado, but he guesses it’s kind of his running “gag” now that he always fails at it.

It’s Sanji who first notices.

Usopp is staring bug-eyed at nothing while countless thoughts run through his head, tripping and crashing into each other as they go.

What’s gonna happen to me? Am I gonna have to help them? Can I even help? What do I do, what can I do? I can’t even breathe what’s going on what if I get hit? Where’s Zoro, I’ll just stay behind Zoro, where’s–

“Oi, what’re you just standing there for?”

Usopp lets out a yelp and flinches at Sanji’s hand on his shoulder, then immediately curses himself for it. There’s a pause, and he’s sweating and taking heaving breaths, and then,

“Are you scared?”

Usopp doesn’t think he can speak right now. He wants to push his chest out, to grab his slingshot and send his own spray of ammo into the slew of enemies. He tells himself it’s the sternness of Sanji’s gaze that stops him from doing it, but he knows it’s an awful lie.

So Usopp swallows over the lump in his throat, forces himself to hold eye contact, and somehow manages a single slow nod of his head.

There’s a moment where Usopp’s heart all but leaps out of his chest, fully expecting to be kicked directly into the fray and scolded for his cowardice.

But then Sanji nods back. Not pitying, not teasing, not disappointed or irritated. 

Just a nod.

The hand on his shoulder gives a firm squeeze.

“Stick close to me, then.” He smiles, wide and fully at ease. “You’ll be fine.”

“Sh-Shouldn’t I help?”

Sanji side-steps him and delivers a firm kick to the gut of an approaching enemy pirate. He glances over his shoulder and shouts back at him,

“Take a breather! When you’re feeling up to it, I could use the back-up!”

He clearly doesn’t need it, Usopp thinks, watching their cook send another pair of men flying.

He can still feel his heartbeat pounding all the way to his ears, but after one trembling, deep breath, he reaches for his slingshot.

He fights.

Not very impressively, but he fights still.

Two years and four crew mates later, and it still hasn’t gone away. It’s less often and usually less immobilizing, but there are still times where it returns full-force. Sometimes at night, and sometimes for no reason at all.

He really thinks he couldn’t have worse luck. No one else in the crew is like this. He’s sure of it.

He lies awake in bed for an hour. Trying to breathe like Zoro taught him to some time ago.

One, two, three, four.

Four, three, two, one.

One, two, three, four.

Four, three, two, one.

But Zoro isn’t in the room right now. Zoro isn’t counting out loud for him. So he tries listening to the snores of his crewmates to help guide him, but as time goes on it just gets fuzzier and fuzzier.

He doesn’t want to bother Zoro while he’s up training. His heart is pounding out of his chest but he doesn’t want to wake Chopper again for something that’s not life or death (even if he feels like it is). Sanji, too, needs all the rest he can get– it’s still a couple hours before he rises to start with meal prep.

And so Usopp staggers out of bed. His clumsiness probably makes his exit a little too loud, but almost everyone present is a deep sleeper, anyway.

He doesn’t trust himself to sit on the lion head, so sits on the deck right behind it and leans his back against it.

He knows it’s Luffy’s spot, so he thinks maybe it’ll help him feel a little stronger.

It doesn’t help.

It’s almost sunrise once he feels like his body is back under his own control. He’s splayed across the warm wood of the deck, trying to regain his strength and stretch out his limbs that had gone cold and cramped while he sat curled up through the night.

The captain himself leans directly over Usopp, and nearly startles him into a real heart attack this time.

“L-Luffy! What the hell!” he shouts, scrambling back into a seated position.

He’s snickering, but otherwise ignores Usopp’s outburst. “Wanna come sit on the lion head with me? It’s nicer up there.”

“Can both of us even fit?”

“Sure we can!”

Luffy was right, but it’s a tight squeeze seated between Usopp’s legs, an arm fixed around his waist (because his sniper is paranoid like that). It was the other way around at first, but Usopp’s hair kept going up Luffy’s nose so he insisted that they switch. It took another five minutes reassuring Usopp he wouldn’t fall– and if he did, then Luffy would catch them both– before they were able to watch the sunrise together in peace.

"D’ya think Sanji’s gonna wake up soon?” Probably. He usually gets up not too long after first daylight. “I’m so hungry! Aren’t you?”

"Nah. Just tired.” Dammit. He doesn’t mean to complain, but he gets way too loose-mouthed with exhaustion.

“Eh?” Luffy cranes his head around, peering at his friend behind him. “Didn’t you sleep enough?” Usopp cringes and looks away, and Luffy takes that as a no. “Why didn’t you sleep?”

Why not indeed.

Usopp’s first instinct is to lie. It’d be pretty easy with Luffy, too. He saw a huge fish in the water last night, so he stayed up to keep an eye out for it. Simple enough.

But then he sees the look in Luffy’s eyes. Not concerned, not yet; still just innocently curious. It’d probably eat at him if he isn’t honest with his answer, but he’d get over it, right?

The only qualm is that he listens to his body. It is aching all over and begging to continue resting.

He really does not think he has it in him right now to keep up any sort of facade.

So he gulps down the saliva collected in his mouth, and speaks to his captain’s waiting ears.

“It-It’s just–” When the words leave his throat, he almost feels his dinner come up with them. “W-When I think about everything we’re gonna face out there... it gets... hard to breathe. Th-That’s why.”

Luffy turns back to face the sea, letting out a long, thoughtful hum. Usopp can all but hear the gears turning underneath that straw hat while his captain tries to see where he’s coming from. Luffy doesn’t seem to succeed and shakes his head as if to signal this. “How come? It makes me excited.”

Usopp heaves a deep sigh. “Just forget it, Luffy. You wouldn’t understand.” Perhaps a little too harsh, his tone a little too biting, but could anyone blame him? He is one man on a sea of goddamn monsters. “You aren’t scared of anything.”

The shift in his captain’s mood is basically palpable, and he’s filled with regret at his words. Why does he always get so snappy when he’s anxious?

Luffy is quiet for ten seconds– Usopp counts them– before he says,

“Sabaody was scary.”

The three words manage to take him back to that day almost instantly.

He feels it again– the horrified confusion and overwhelming dread that bloomed in the pit of his stomach when Zoro disappeared before his eyes.

“Run! RUN!”

Back then, he could only barely hear his captain’s voice in the distance, could only barely find it in him to move, let alone run. He had never seen Luffy in a panic until that day, all too accustomed to his captain’s unyielding positivity in the face of danger. Which is why nowadays, he can hear it clear as day while he’s dreaming. Over and over.

“Y-Yeah.” He doesn’t know in what order the rest of them were blown away, but he couldn’t imagine being the last one to go. The thought of it is just... “Terrifying.” Usopp places a hand on his chest, hoping desperately that it won’t start up again. It’s been hours with it already. It all feels like too much. 

“I don’t want you to be scared, Usopp.”

“W-Well... me neither,” he sighs. “But here we are.”

It’s hard to catch Luffy during a serious moment, and even harder to keep him on a serious topic for long. But his captain’s quiet voice lets Usopp know that perhaps talking about it with him this time around might be a good idea.

“I’m not strong like you guys,” Usopp blurts out. “That’s why I’m not excited about it.”

"What are you talking about?” He sounds amused, like Usopp’s just said the dumbest thing he’s heard in a while. “You’re strong!”

“Not as strong as you!”

“Yeah, but so what? You always make things work.” He pats Usopp’s hand that is still fixed at his hip. “And you’re my friend, so it doesn’t matter if someone ends up being too much for you. I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you.”

Luffy says it like it’s more than a promise. Firm and resolute, a simple refusal to bend.

I’m going to beat up Big Mom. I’m going to beat up Kaido. I’m going to become the Pirate King. And I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you.

He says it like it’s fact.

Usopp really has no clue how his captain’s brain or heart exist the way they do. It leaves him in awe each time he’s reminded of this.

But like everything else– like a black cat’s claws, like a fishman’s punch– he guesses he has to take it on the chin, and press forward still.

His captain doesn’t want him to be afraid. There are plenty of reasons to be, but that fact alone seems to cancel them all out.

I’m going to beat up Big Mom. I’m going to beat up Kaido. I’m going to become the Pirate King. And I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to you.

There’s still that familiar curl of apprehension in his gut. But he thinks that maybe, by the same incomprehensible force that pushes his captain ever higher, the curl will come loose when it counts.

Luffy pats his hand again, leaning back further into his chest.

The extra warmth is a little stifling underneath the heat of the newly risen sun. Usopp knows part of himself is glad for it.

#usopp #one piece #monkey d. luffy #sanji #one piece imagines #sensitive #you can't convince me that luffy isn't the biggest platonic cuddler in their universe #also... #have I mentioned yet how much I love usopp? #this is twice as long as I intended #there was a whole section with franky that I gave up on & it's still longer than intended #what can I say? usopp's my mans

[kswhateverspace]

The Ruby and Christina Discord Drama

To my followers who have no idea what this is about, feel free to ignore this if you’d like. This is a long post showing everything that went down with the kicking of 3 members in a discord I’m a member and Admin of. I will share a bit, and then the rest will be under a cut. 

Jaye (hernameisjaye/ @reneesgoldsberry​) and I didn’t feel it necessary to address the kicks of the server publicly and just thought things would die down and people would move on. That doesn’t seem to be the case and so while I don’t want to give any attention to Krow (grimreich666), the continued attack of Dandybear has made this post necessary. On December 9th, 2020, 1 member was kicked from the discord. Michele (kerozenangel). She was kicked specifically because of this post she made

It was incredibly rude to all the writers in the discord and also @/everyone about it. The removal at this time was specifically to protect the mental well being of the writers who occupied the discord. In addition, for being continually antagonistic in discussions with other members.

Jaye and I are not big on public warnings in regards to someone’s character and the way one thinks. The only thing we correct is off topic discussion and only if it gets out of hand. Behind the scenes we talk a lot if certain members are acting up, and mentally keep track on how many instances are occurring, if behavior seems to be improving etc. You don’t see it, but when issues arise it is discussed, usually in length, and then we decide how to proceed. We also don’t publicly report when a complaint is sent to one of us about a member, but we have been sent them and they are taken into consideration.

On December 11th 2020, 2 members were kicked from the discord. Krow (grimreich666) and RVCBard (eshusplayground)

There is quite a bit to unpack here, but I am first going to address the tumblr post Krow made. I never planned on replying, just letting it go. But Krow continues to antagonize a member (dandybear) of the discord who had NO involvement in her removal from the Discord and it’s time all sides are put out for those who are not aware, or those who don’t have the full story to judge. I will be addressing the youtube video at the very end of this post.

I’m going to address the tumblr post in question in sections.

“So it has come to my attention that we cannot have a civil conversation in the Ruby and Chirstina Fandom. Nearly a month ago I gave up my own small Ruby and Chirstina Discord to join another manged by Kswhateverspace.”

Civil discussions are had all the time, what occurred began as a civil discussion until Krow made it personal by telling Jaye to learn her own black history. That was the reason for the kick. Personal attack. I will post screenshots of the entire encounter at the end. As for managed by me, I am just an admin, and did not start out that way. I offered to help organize the discord and tried to create events to make things a bit easier to navigate and more fun. I originally invited Krow to this discord after seeing people asking for links on tumblr to it.

No one was asked to give up any server, it was simply an open invitation.

“I thought that the community would be a good place to vibe with other members of the Ruby and Chirstina community. At first it was welcoming until I started writing my own Fan Fic for the Ruby and Chirstina ship. It had been users by the name of Dandybear and Agent Sheryl and a few others started to bury the work I posted and they would shade me, barely would I get comments on my work because they would fill the submission page with there personal conversations.Now I’ve written two novels professionally and I am working on a third and out of my 15 years of writing I can safely assess when somebody is trying to blackball or bury someone’s work because there work isn’t meeting up to snuff. And as for me I always supported their work because Christina and Ruby content benefits everyone, now I didn’t get into AO3 for the comments I did it because I love Chrisby.”

This is completely not true. There is a channel I created dedicated to posting work only, exactly to prevent the burying of work. Krow would actually break the rule from time to time of that channel, which is that it’s for links to works only, not discussion of said works. There is a separate channel to discuss. Despite the breaking of the rule, I never actually removed her creator role and instead just let it slide. Also, “Shading” never occurred.

“Yet it was only a week ago that me and a few others we noticed the mean girls clique right away as it consisted of Danybear, Frankie, Kswhateverspace and Agent Sheryl, who had came from my server to join.”

I want to address this on a personal level. I have literally spoken to Krow on a voice call, for 2 hours, with Frankie also in attendance, as well as Agent Sheryl. We had been doing the drop a random pin on the map game and it was a pretty fun time. Prior to this instance, I didn’t have the most favorable view of Krow as she tended to not have a filter when posting and I wasn’t always comfortable by what that was, however, I take my role as admin seriously, and in particular being a white woman in a predominantly black server, I never wished to step on anyone’s toes or out of line. Any worries or concerns I ever had or have, I always defer and clear with Jaye. After this game, I became more comfortable in general with her presence in the discord, but she continued to post fairly unfiltered views that would generally derail a discussion etc. and overall behavior within the discord did not make for a very comfortable place a lot of the time. I say this as myself, and from fellow members at the time of instances. I was at war with myself on this a lot of the time because I was the one who invited Krow, but no one can predict how people will be or mesh.

At this part of the post I will address Krow’s accusation that Dandybear “shaded her”. The screencap Krow uses at the end of her post.

In case it isn’t clear, You is a tv show and not literally @ Krow in case that’s what was thought.

“The egregious abuse of power there Admin and Owner Hernameisjaye is sickening; as her rampage all started on Thursday when Jaye went on a rant saying that Christina was racist. And to me and another black female members acknowledged her opinion but we disagreed with it as we had watched the show several times and understood the premise of the timeline within the Jim Crow Era. Not wanting to fight we had calmly stated our disagreement to her baseless claim and yet she still would not let up even after we have both took the high road as mature adults to leave the conversation.”

I will let screenshots of the entire discussion speak for themselves. I will preface the screenshots with the rules of the discord, which were last edited on December first.

I’ll speak on rule 6 here.

“In the event that we decide to kick/ban a specific user, that individual will receive a message from the admin team notifying them of the final decision.”

At then end of the day, Jaye and I decided to not inform those who were kicked the reason. It wouldn’t have changed the result and in all honesty, we were tired. If an issue wants to be taken up with that, it’s valid. However, no result would’ve been undone.

In most channels on the server, there are pinned messages about what a channel is for as well. This channel was always intended to be a difficult discussion channel, and those that enter are agreeing to engage in difficult discussions as it relates to the show. Krow broke rule 2 by making it personal. You can see the whole chain below. As for RVC, she made it clear she was no longer comfortable in the server and didn’t trust the admins, and decided to turn a situation that didn’t directly involve her to be about her.

After this, RVCBard was kicked. Throughout the life of the discord RVC was consistently combative and antagonistic towards members who’s views or opinions she didn’t agree with. Or if someone disagreed with her. It was an issue that would flare up often, but looked past because we wanted the server to be inclusive even at the detriment to the overall health of the server. We received multiple complaints from different members about RVC with the average complaint being that she made the user uncomfortable due to her approach to different discussions in varying channels. All of the above was taken into consideration that night, and was essentially the final straw.

And despite not being comfortable with approaching mods, she sent me the following after all this went down.

For clarification, I was not present at the time and woke up to multiple messages and had to catch up on my own. 

In the past, RVCBard had contacted me with an issue she saw in the server.

I talked it over with Jaye, and it was decided thirsting channels would be created to help address the problem. I show this as an example of good faith that when issues are brought to our attention, we look into it and do something about it if we’re able.

“It wasn’t long ago nearly 48 hours after I lost a family member that was dear to me that this mess ensued, I didnt carry my personal issues into conversation as I enjoy Christina and Ruby as a get away. Yet it is damn near sickening how an Admin can kick someone without warning because your losing an arguement. This isn’t an after-school special and it’s sad that this show that delivers it’s take on Black History and pain cannot be understood even by the simplest of minds, as they are too busy oversexualizing and insulting the Ruby and Chirstina Ship to understand that we see Christina and her flaws as well. I own 2 Discords myself and NEVER would I go out my way to make somebody feel uncomfortable like the way they did me.”

I was offline and asleep for the majority of this night. And this was the reaction to the news of her family member.

While the loss of her family member is tragic, and I sympathize with the loss, it is not a free pass. The kick happened because of hostility and personal attack. With a history of problematic behavior.

I wish to highlight this part from that paragraph

“as they are too busy oversexualizing and insulting the Ruby and Chirstina Ship”

I honestly have no idea who this is supposed to even be at. The entire discord is dedicated to Ruby and Christina. Oversexualizing? Really? Acknowledging Christina’s racism, in whatever form it presented itself in, is in fact seeing Christina and her flaws.

It is at this point I’d like to share the message Krow sent me after her removal and my response.

Now onto the video that was posted Jan 1st, 2021 that has resparked the drama. Which, the video is actually the worst offense done so far. I will address particularly awful points with timestamps that you can reference for yourself. Credit to @femeivor​ for helping with grabbing timestamps as I’ve stayed up incredibly late writing this all up.

To highlight the targeting that is going on in this video, I would first like to present the controversy surrounding LITTD chapter 5. Dandybear upon receiving valid criticism of her story replied with the following, which Krow decided to piggyback on.

With that shown, let's get onto the video titled “Dear AO3 Fanfic Writers”

1:41 - "there was this whole thing where they couldn't have a mature conversation as adults and decided to kick me and several other group members out for not feeling that way"

- If you’ve made it this far, you know how exaggerated this is.

2:10 - Says a couple of writers from the server are "abyssmal and you know it comes from their fucking area"

- Spoiler alert, at the end of this video she says her discord is a place to not be judged.

6:54 - huge rant about people having Christina be William in their fics even though that's canon compliant

- For this I shall simply copy and paste her own fic’s summary:

- When Ruby get's the chance of a lifetime to change her life working under Tic's strange yet introvert distant cousin Christina, she gets more than she bargained for. As Christina a well known lawyer struggles to free herself from her fathers abusive shadow after the death of her brother William and her elder brother Caleb; she seeks to gain control over the lodge her father has denied her as his only heir. Yet first Christina must clear her father and lodge members names a task that seems all to impossible under the watchful eye of her fathers righthand-man; yet such a task is proving itself to be difficult as she is taken by her new P.A. As Ruby finds out how to read the strange yet alluring Christina, a waiting William comes to make her dreams come true yet are all dreams true; yet she is sucked into into a world of wizards and dangerous turns. Can love come at such a time, or will the half-truths threaten to rip the two apart?

- I will also add here my OWN comment on said story

https://archiveofourown.org/comments/357964615

8:00 - straight up calling out Davenports, just not by name.

8:30 - says it's "disgusting" to have Christina spend a lot of time as William which is, again, canon compliant

11:00 - calls some fanfics "crap" and "torture porn for the soul"

11:14 - "I'm not trying to stifle creativity!"

- *stares into the camera like I’m in the Office *

11:33 - calls out a fic for including attempted rape when she has previously praised a fic that included CSA

11:50 - "you don't really understand these characters, you don't really understand her at all"

- Christina is not given some EPIC backstory in the show and literally no one knows that much about her. Only what we can perceive and deduce. Aka, tons of headcanons from everyone.

13:00 - now telling people what they should be writing instead

13:34 - mockingly calling out Dandybear again, this time with more than one fic

14:10 - once again telling people what they should be writing

14:30 - mocking people for writing smut then says “I don’t caaare - I mean I like that - I love smut….is that it?”

14:55 - "and I notice that some of you guys start out so great in your fics and then it goes down hill!"

- Is this encouragement or stifling creativity?

15:13 - calling out another fic

- I’m tired, are you tired?

15:33 - "Who the fuck writes this shit? Oh my fucking god! Are you guys just dumb? Are you guys stupid?"

16:00 - "Some of you wanna tag and say 'this is a Ruby and Christina Discord server [mocking noises] and if you don't agree with us we're gonna kick you out for no fucking reason!' You know? Shut the fuck up!"

- And if you’re THIS far, you very well know the reason and it definitely wasn’t NONE

16:16 - "you obviously don't know what Ruby and Christina mean to real fucking die hard fans"

- I personally love a classic gatekeep.

17:06 - "But for some of y'all to write these disturbing, disgusting fanfictions"

17:54 - calling writers racist for including racist characters in their fanfics for a show that included a lot of racism.

18:41 - says people are wasting her time because they're writing fics that she doesn't want to read.

18:49 - "This isn't for all fanfic writers. This is only for a couple of 'em. You know who the fuck some of y'all are. And shame on you for even doing this and writing this and trying to fucking push this kind of fanfic and this garbage off."

- If you’re gonna keep beating a dead horse and bringing up drama that you created again and again, start saying people’s names instead of hiding behind blanket statements.

19:07 - "And that's the whole problem why I decided to do Krows Korner. Because I'm so sick of these fandoms and even some of these professional writers running their ass around here, delivering garbage and people being a bunch of sheeple to say that this shit is the greatest shit ever. Honey, it's either you have dyslexia or a reading complex because I'm not really fucking seeing what you thought was so great about this fic." 

20:20 - "Join my Discord server if you wanna know the full, TRUE story about what happened at the other Discord server and how these people supposedly claim that they love Ruby and Christina but they support a racist fanfic writer who clearly does not understand about black relations, but lies and decides to be a dick every-damn-where"

- The clearest target at Dandybear herself is in this rant here. Which you can recall above from the screenshots I posted, that when confronted with valid criticism, aims to do better because we all have room for growth. Including racists characters can always be tough because they are uncomfortable characters as they are meant to be, but run the possibility of being too much. However they are not a direct reflection of an author’s view.

20:52 - "If you wanna join a fandom on Discord that doesn't judge you for liking what you like as Ruby and Christina, and even if we disagree, you know, still not have fear of being kicked out because you disagree, come join my shit. It's not even worth the headache, sweetie."

- Interesting take after making a whole video attacking writers/people you hate from your previous discord after you were removed for breaking rules aka personal attack. “doesn't judge you for liking what you like”

21:30 - "I don't care any fucking more. The drama is done, it's settled"

- Considering you have brought this drama up again, after your removal on the 11th of December 2020, I think you might still care.

21:33 - "I figure I would clear a record, basically, to what happened. And, you know, signify the issue that these motherfuckers is crazy. They're crazy as hell."

Everyone at the server had moved on and enjoyed the holidays, but this video has reopened a closed case due to the clear targeting of a writer who happens to be popular. Almost this whole video is an entire disguised attack towards her.

I sincerely hope this clears the air on everything that happened and continues to happen. You have the full story and can judge for yourself whether or not the kicks were justified. If you feel they weren’t, that’s fine and you can now join a new discord server of more like minded people. This continued targeting of Dandybear is unacceptable, and those of you in contact with Krow should not be allowing this to continue. Dandy is a real person like all of us, and if you have a valid criticism of her fic, you can do it in a rational manner. Or stop reading. Like every person ever has done in every fandom ever. Dandybear had no involvement whatsoever with the kicks of the server, they are simply a member and a writer in the fandom and this has gone too far.

If you feel like this server isn't the place for you anymore, I encourage you to find a new place to express yourself in the best way you'd like. We all came here to love Ruby and Christina and have a place to do so in an organized fashion. If you don't like the rules, or consider this place unsafe, I hope you find a community that aligns more with your interests and world view.

#ruby x christina

[cilldaracailin]

Under Pressure

This story is also posted on AO3 here: http://www.archiveofourown.org/works/23570293/chapters/56548318

5

“The measure of a man is what he does with power.”

“Now that we have that spectacle over and done with, let’s get one thing straight.” Frankie started to pace up and down in front of the main entrance to the store. “Hi, my name is Frankie and I am the one in charge of this delightful robbery. If you all do as I say, follow my instructions and don’t get smart with me, we shall all have a wonderful time together. Now first things first, all cell phones, up here now. You can place them in front of my new friend Pretty here.” Frankie stopped in front of where Robyn was sitting, holding the cloth to her forehead and giving her a cheeky grin. “If you don’t want to be in the same situation as Pretty, then I suggest you move and give me your phones, NOW!” He yelled, his voice echoing around the near empty store. “We can start with yours Pretty.” Said Frankie as he put his two guns on the counter beside her.

Robyn looked at Frankie. “Sure, no problem.” She put down the cloth and reaching into her shoulder bag which still hung on her right shoulder, pulled out her phone and placed it right beside his guns. “All yours.” She said picking the cloth back up and pressing it to her head again.

“We will take this one next,” he said as he lifted Maggie’s phone from the counter where Robyn has left it and put it beside hers. “And I shall also be taking your stores phone please. Dave you can get that for me and sure you might as well get the one that is kept in the store room too. Mattie go with him again.”

Once more Dave found himself walking back towards the store room with the man named Mattie in search for the phone from the store room.

Frankie turned towards the aisles in the store. “Right let’s go. All cell phones please. Let’s start with the lady in the first aisle at the make-up section.”

Robyn didn’t pay attention as she heard the clip clop of heels as the customer came up towards the cashier and laid her phone on the counter. She was too busy trying to ignore the looks she knew she was still getting from Maggie for her idiotic behaviour. Robyn knew she had really chanced her arm in doing what she did but she also knew that Dave had been the victim of a previous store robbery and she had seen him freeze and couldn’t but help herself in helping him.

“Right next. You two.”

Taron and Richard found themselves being pointed at and together they made their way up towards the cashier counter. Richard dropped his phone first and then turned, walking past Taron who was following him to head back to where he was standing. Taron gently lay his phone down, his eyes the whole time on the two women behind the cashier. At the same time that Taron put his phone down, Robyn also put down the cloth, the cloth landing on his hand.

“Ahh shit sorry.” She quickly said, pulling the cloth away and looking up at Taron, who was still staring at her. She was taken back by surprise when she saw who was in front of her and felt the kick she got from Maggie.

“No, it’s ok. Don’t worry.” He replied as he moved the phone while she moved the cloth and their fingers gently brushed off each other. “How’s your head?” he asked.

“Ok ok move on, move on!” said Frankie, pushing Taron out of the way. “We don’t have time for small talk.” Taron glanced back to Robyn and then walked back to where Richard was standing, the two boys looking at each other as they took their place in the confectionary aisle. At the same time Maggie and Robyn both exchanged a glance as they recognised the man they both had been speaking about no longer then ten minutes previous. Robyn gave Maggie a kick back in return, both girls staring at each other before Robyn took a glimpse to where Richard and Taron were standing, Taron noticing her glance and giving her a small wave back.

One by one, the other three customers in the store, as well as Jane, had placed their phones on the counter. Dave had also returned with the phone from the back store room which he added to the pile as well as he own.

“Now does anyone have a work phone? Or another cell phone they are hiding because I would rather they were handed up now before I have to start strip searching.”

One of the other customers who were at the fridges slowly walked up towards the counter and placed another phone in the pile with the others.

“Very good. Anyone else?”

Frankie waited a good minute before he started to pace up and down again.

“Now for the reason why I am here? Well, let me explain.”

#Taron Egerton #Taron Egerton Fanfiction #Richard Madden #Fluff #Angst #Minor Violence #Love and Friendship

[whydoyouwantmyname]

Imagine your Parents (Joker and Harley) reacting to your return

Related post 1

Related Post 2

- The night you ran away you went straight to Ed's hideout, which only you, Oswald and his goons knew about. 

 -you burst into Ed's hideout office, his apron covered in the juicy condense of a watermelon as he tested his new weapons on the examination table. 

"[Y/N], what are you.... what happened to your face?" 

 "Daddy...." was all you could say before breaking into a sob and running into the sticky mess on Edward, who stroked your hair lightly as you gripped him tight. 

 - once you were done crying you sat in the office chair, and watched as Ed continued his work quietly, until, 

 "Do you love me Ed?" 

 -He just dropped the gun and faced you, your makeup ran down your face, one side more swollen then the other, and he never thought you looked more beautiful. 

 - "of course." 

"Run away with me." You demanded 

"What do you..." 

"Let's run away together, move somewhere new, where no one knows our names or my parents. Start a new life together, because Ed, I love you enough to give up the Gotham crime life." 

 -Ed and you left that morning, both with a single bag and got on the first train out of Gotham under aliases. 

 -It was years before you came back to Gotham, alone.... 

 -The first place you went was to the condo you grew up in, the door was unlocked when you got up there, when you opened it you saw the inside was no longer the same. 

 -The once tidy apartment was wrecked, the cushions torn apart, glass smashed, empty bottles on the floor, weapons throw about, and in the middle of it all a body laid on the ground, on knee bent up, and bottle in hand.

 -You quietly walked into the space, shutting the door, however you still heard the clicking of the safety 

-"who is it?" The voice was harsh, yet it was still familiar to you, his face still the same white, his lips still red, his hair still slicked back, but his eyes.... they were cold, empty.... 

"Daddy." You whispered, the mere sound of your voice causing the gun in his hand to tremble, and a shaky whisper to reply, "[Y/N]." 

- Joker dropped the gun, and covered his mouth as he stared at you, you were dressed in a black tube top, leather jacket and black skinny jeans, you hair curled and dyed blood red, to match the eye makeup and lipstick you wore. His eyes prickling with tears as he took in the sight of his adult daughter. 

-"Daddy." You whispered again, before slowly walking to his side, and sat beside him, his eyes following you the whole way, and then you crushed him into a hug. 

 -You had never seen your father cry before.... but as soon as you hugged him you felt him shake in your arms as he wept, his salty tears hitting your shoulder and rolling down the material. 

 -you stayed like that for a while, until he pulled back and took your face in his hands, running his thumb over your cheeks. 

"I have had this dream a million times." He whispered as you smiled, "well thankfully for you, this is all too real." 

"Princess." He replied 

"Daddy, where is Mommy?" You asked as he looked at you with a hard face, "Belle Reve." 

 -Your eyes grew big at the reply, and a thick silence formed in the air, before Joker unsteadily got up, and left you there. 

-When he awoke, the whole apartment was clean, everything reorganized, weapons back in their places, and the bottles thrown away. You sat on the couch, in front of the television, with tea in your hands. 

"You still here?" He asked as he walked towards the coffee machine. 

"Yeah, I am. I am moving back to Gotham." 

 "Why? Where is Edward?" He sounded harsh as Edward's name left his lips. 

"Gone." 

 "What do ya mean..." 

"I mean he chose a bad bank robbery over me. He is in prison, and I told him I wasn't going to stick around and wait for him. They identified him as The Riddler, gave him life. There was no record of me, so I fled, telling the people of the town I was betrayed and so overtaken with grief that I was moving back with my parents.”

- He was quiet for a while, sitting beside you watching the tv with his coffee before he broke the silence.

“I’m sorry Princess.”  

-You whipped your head around, looking at the man beside you in shock, he never apologized before, not even to your mother after a fight. He couldn’t meet your eyes, as he continued to stared at the steam wafting out of the top of the mug, and then opened his mouth,

“I should have laid a hand on you that night. I never forgave myself for it. The sound still haunts me to this day. I spent half the month ripping through this blasted city looking for ya, and considered searching the whole country.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Your mother went away. She got real bad after I drove you away, sloppy. She was never the same after that night. I tried to tell her I would get her out, but she told me not to bother.”

“Well I think it is time we get Mommy.” You whispered, “So tell me everything you know about Belle Reve.”

-It took you and Joker 1 months to come up with a fool proof plan, and then you both went to Belle Reve, and blew the place to Hell.

-One of the guards was a Allie of your father, so he supplied you all with guard uniforms before the attack, you and Joker both customized your uniforms. His read Joker, and your read Princess. 

-The same guard lead you right to Harley’s cage, and once he unlocked the door to the room, you drew your gun and put a bullet in the side of his head, before one of the goons pushed open the door, and you all swarmed the room. 

-The goons looked towards you and your father, before cutting the cage open, her eyes watching the sparks fly as you and your father wait, and once it is opened it is you who steps forward, Harley’s eyes wide as she watches you slowly take your mask off.

- She said nothing when she saw your face, just ran forward and hugged you, tears in her eyes as you embraced.

- “Lets go home Mommy.” You whispered as you and your parents ran from Belle Reve.

-When you take her home and she sees all if her toys, she squeals in excitement, and takes your hand, to help her change and do her hair/makeup.

-While you fix her pigtails she sighs deeply, “I am so glad you are back princess. I’ve missed this.”

“Mommy, how did you even end up in Belle?” You asked as you looked at her saddened face.

-That is when she tells you what happened during your absence. She shared everything about the drinking problem, the crime sprees, the carelessness, Joker’s withdrawn personality, and how she was careless when stealing the diamond of Gotham.

-By the end you were seated in front of her, your hands on her knees as she ran her own hand through your hair. As you sat in silence she whispered softly, “But now Mommy is all better, because she has her little princess back.”

- The next few months were pleasant, neither Joker nor Harley broke any laws, you were just a normal family, who had dinners together, watched movies, talked about your boring days. And then your father made a suggestion.

-”How about my beautiful girls go get dressed up for tonight, we are going to the club.”

“Really?” Harley smiled, this was the normal date night for them both, while to Joker it was business. 

- Harley took your hand and raced to her closet, trying to find the most beautiful thing for you to wear, which happened to be a skin tight dress one may see on a hooker.

- A hush came over the club when you three entered, everyone shocked to see you all.

-Your father immediately went to the VIP section, while your mother happily jogged to the stage, leaving you alone to wander to the bar.

-  “Give me the usual Franky.” You instructed taking a seat and being met by a face that was not Franky.

“He retired, name’s Ike, and I don’t know your...”

“ Death in the Afternoon.” You replied

“Don’t ya think....”

“Don’t ya think you should be making my drink now, since my daddy is your boss, and my mommy’s the entertainment.”

-While you sat there you and Ike talked for hours, and while you talked you convinced him to drink with you, and the more you drank the more flirting occurred.... and then you ended up in his bed.

-You left without Harley or Joker, and when they found out you weren’t in the bar they were horrified you left them again, Joker was furious. When he saw you left with the new bartender he drove the lambo there in a hurry, and broke into the apartment he lived in. The sounds of your moans filled the space as he crept towards the bedroom, and then he broke open the door, and before Ike could protest Joker put a bullet in his head.

- You freaked, “Really Daddy! I didn’t even get off this time around.”

“How much have you..”

“Three times.”

“What were you planning after?”

“Exactly what you did.” You snapped, pushing his body  off of you, before standing up and collecting your clothes as your father turned away.

-After Ike you never risked sleeping with anyone else when you were supposed to be having family time.

-Harley was appalled when she heard Joker killed your one night stand two months later, when she asked why you weren’t trying to date again. This discovery lead to a fight between the two and Joker ended up leaving to go to the club to calm down. While he was gone you and Harley watched a romance movie on the television, which you got sick during.

-When Joker came back, he thought everyone would be asleep, Yet he was greeted by the sounds of throwing up, and just assumed it was a hungover Harley. 

-After he returned from the fight he makes you all breakfast, complete with Bacon, when you walk into the kitchen you go back into the bathroom and throw up again. 

-Harley walks in after you, and when Joker addresses the throwing up sounds to her she just says, “I think she might just have a bug.”

- A week later, you didn’t think it was the bug.

“Mom. can I talk to you?” you asked as you watched her bring the tea cup to her lips

“Yeah baby?” You just cringed at he word.

“So I think I am pregnant.” You abruptly stated, a smile on her face.

“Well Princess, then we must prepare.”

“Prepare?” 

-For the next hour she told you how the nursery would look, possibly names, picked out several outfits and even a nickname.

“Mommy, I don’t even know if I am.”

“Well lets go get a test before Puddin comes back, wouldn’t want him seeing before you know.” She smiled as she lead you out the door.

-She had you take it in a gas station bathroom. as excited as she was, she feared Joker would tell you the same thing he told her when she got pregnant with you.

-She started getting nervous when you didn’t come out for a while, and then...

“So what did it say Princess?” She asked as you looked at the box, holding the peed on test.

“Positive.” You whispered, as Harley squealed in excitement, before wrapping you in a hug

-When you got home Joker was waiting for you both.

“Where were you girls?” He asked coldly, as Harley took your hand in support.

“Tell him princess.” she whispered, completely disregarding his already sour mood.

“Tell me what?” 

“Daddy.... you are going to be called Pop Pop really soon.” You whispered, as he stared at you in shock.

“Excuse me?”

“I am pregnant. It is Ike’s.”

“Who?”

“The bastard you killed while he was still inside me.” You retorted as he smiled at the memory.

- You waited for the negative reaction, which you thought would never come. Yet when you thought he was actually was happy, you heard...

“Get rid of it.”

“Excuse me?” Harley snapped, as your eyes watered.

“Get an Abortion, today.” He ordered

“She will do no such thing.”

“And why not?”

“Because you said the same thing to me, and if I got an abortion then we would have never had the beautiful, intelligent woman before us today. So she will keep the child and we will be grandparents and you will stop controling our daughter. She may have left us once but she will not leave us again.”

“And how DO YOU KNOW THAT?” He snapped, tears forming in his own eyes, that was the day that you learned your father’s biggest fear..... losing you.

- This lead to a huge argument. Everything breakable within arm reach was destroyed, and you were in the middle of the mess, and then you mustered up the courage to scream over them, “ I AM KEEPING IT!”

-the fighting stopped as soon as the words left your mouth, both looking at you in wonder, “And you both will be amazing grandparents, and will spoil him or her for all of your lives, and it will be magical.

-Joker stormed out of the house, the slam of the door the only reply to your claim, as you stood in the litter of broken things. 

-you cried when he left, Harley stood in shock, and neither of you heard from him.....

#joker imagine #Joker imagines #joker oneshot #Joker one shot #Joker one shots #joker fanfic #joker fanfiction #harley quinn imagine #Harley Quinn Imagines #Harley Quinn One Shot #Harley Quinn one shots #harley quinn fanfic #harley quinn fanfiction

[hannahhhhify]

Chapter: 169 (get out)

Joe’s POV:

Mom and Dad let us stay up sooo late, we played flashlight tag with mom and dad in our backyard until Nick got scared. He doesn’t like being in the dark. But we had sooo much fun with them. Mom and dad have been fighting really bad, but tonight they were laughing and playing with us, and it made me really happy. Nick and Frankie are already in bed. but Zac, Kevin, Rachel and I have been watching movies.

Denise: “Alright Kiddos. it’s well past bedtime” we all started whining. “hush boys!” she said sternly. “I want all of you to go brush your teeth and get into some pajamas. Rachel, I can walk you home honey” Rachel nodded.

Rachel: “thanks for hanging out with me today, Kevin” Kevin smiled

Kevin: “I had fun, I’m glad you could” Mom left with Rachel and we all went upstairs and started getting ready for bed.

Joe: “Do you think Mom and Dad will let us sleep downstairs again? I want to watch movies until I fall asleep” I said putting my tooth brush down.

Kevin: “Probably not, it’s past midnight, I think they want us to just go to bed”

Paul: “Yup” Dad said chuckling, we all looked over at him, he is leaning up against the door frame watching us. I pouted.

Joe: “but we will be good” I said hopeful.

Paul: “Aren’t you tired Joey? it’s really late... I bet you will fall asleep in a few minutes in your bed”

Joe: “I’m not sleepy at all”

Paul: “yes you are” he said laughing. “And Nick was kind of scared because his nightlight got broken, so I promised him, that you boys would be right next door if he needed you”

Joe: “Can I just sleep in their room with him?” He held his arms open and I walked over and hugged him.

Paul: “yes you can, and you are a good big brother, I’m proud of you” I smiled

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

Matt’s POV:

Cop: “Come take a seat while you wait” I nodded and he lead me over to the curb and we both sat down.

Matt: “why am I shaking like this?”

Cop: “that was a pretty traumatic experience for you, young man”

Matt: “b-but I wasn’t really that scared… I mean, I was, but I wasn’t”

Cop: “I’ve been a cop for longer then you’ve been alive... I’ve been in some pretty bad situations, including similar situations. For myself I know that it’s important to be brave when I need to be… but afterwards, after when I’m safe, and I don’t need to be brave anymore, that’s when the fear comes in… fear of what could have happened, fear of what did happen. it happens to all of us... it doesn’t make you weak or anything, it just makes you human… plus your probably experiencing an adrenaline rush” I nodded. I saw Danny and Ken pull up, and they parked into a parking lot and then they walked over. As soon as Danny got to me he pulled me up and into a tight hug.

Dan: “Baby Brother” he whispered. I could hear the worry in his voice.

Matt: “I’m fine Danny, I’m okay”

Dan: “you’re shaking so bad” he said pulling me as close to him as he could get me.

Matt: “Adrenaline” I mumbled. The cops started talking to Danny, and I peeked over Danny’s shoulder and saw Ken get into the truck and leave. As the police explained the events of what happened, I felt myself melting into Danny’s safe arms. and I held onto him tighter. He thanked the police officers, and then I felt him drag me across the street to his car. He opened the passenger side door and helped me inside, and he reached over me to buckle me. I laughed and pushed his hands away. “I can do It, Danny” he nodded and he closed my door and I buckled my seatbelt as he got into the driver’s seat, and he pulled back onto the street “I’m sorry I left this morning” I said softly... he didn’t say anything though… “Danny?” I asked... he just ignored me. I pouted and looked out the window. I guess this is going to be an awkward car ride. He is so mad that he won’t even talk to me… “Can I turn the radio on? Since you don’t feel like talking?” I asked looking back at him. He shot me a glare and I sighed and crossed my arms. I hate getting the silent treatment! I closed my eyes and leaned back in my seat… I still can’t believe that guy tried to rob me. after awhile Dan stopped the car, and I opened my eyes expecting to see the house, but I groaned when I saw the hospital instead. Dan got out and he walked over and opened my door. “Danny!” I whined “I’m fine! This isn’t-” he unbuckled my seat belt and practically yanked me out of the car. SMACK! SMACK! “Ouch!”

Dan: “you’re going” was all he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him.

Matt: “this isn’t fair Danny… you can’t make me go” I whined

Dan: “Watch me” he said shooting me another icey glare.

Matt: “your hurting my arm” I said pouting. he looked at me for a second before loosening his grip.

Dan: “Sorry”

Matt: “I don’t want to go Danny….” I said pouting. “They won’t see me if I don’t sign that paper saying they can treat me” I said stubbornly. he stopped walking and turned to me.

Dan: “Matthew… Please just get checked out…” he pleaded.

Matt: “I’m fine though!”

Dan: “I hope you are fine, but I’m so worried about you, and it would help me a lot, if you would just get checked out for me… please?” I could see the worry all over his face and I pouted… 

Matt: “I’ll get checked, if you don’t give me the silent treatment anymore, you know how much I hate that…” He sighed…

Dan: “I was thinking”

Matt: “thinking about how mad you are at me” I said pouting... He smiled and nodded.

Dan: “you do know how to stress me out boo” he said using my childhood nickname.

Matt: “Ugh… you know I hate when you call me that” he chuckled and put his arm around me and lead me inside, and we signed in, and then we went and sat down in the waiting room. they told us it would probably be a long wait.

Dan: “how’s your face feeling?”

Matt: “I didn’t even look at it… is it bad?” I said trying to feel it.

Dan: “I’m just glad he didn’t shoot you”

Matt: “I guess if I’m going to be in the army I need some experience with near death. and guns” I said laughing. He glared at me.

Dan: “that’s not funny Matthew” he said crossing his arms and looking away from me. I frowned.

Matt: “I’m sorry Danny… I know it’s not funny.. I’m just trying to lighten the mood, I guess”

Dan: “I’m really pissed about you leaving this morning, and I’m pissed about you ignoring me all day, and about you putting your life in danger…. And I’m still pissed about you signing up for the army! So I don’t want your jokes right now... none of this is funny to me at all, Matthew” he said standing up and walking away…

Matt: “where are you going?”

Dan: “to get something to clean the blood off your face... your freaking the little kid out” he said walking out. I didn’t even notice the little kid staring at me… awkward. I smiled and waved at him and he just stared back… I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair and I tried to focus my attention on the tv, and not that creepy little kid. Danny came back with some stuff and he started trying to clean my face carefully. I winced and tried to pull away from him. “I’m sorry, stay still” he whispered. his one hand went behind my head, to keep me from pulling away, and he worked on cleaning me up with his other hand.

Dan: “that’s a little bit better… you are probably going to need stitches above your eye”

Matt: “it’s above my eye?”

Dan: “You can’t feel it?”

Matt: “When it happened I didn’t really feel either times he hit me, but the whole left side of my face hurts now.”

Dan: “He hit you twice?” I nodded and he kind of swapped over a spot that made me jump and yelp. He jumped too.

Matt: “OUCH! Danny!” I said with wide eyes.

Dan: “I’m sorry! that must have been the spot where it hit you” he said taking the stuff over and throwing it away. He came back and kissed my forehead on the other side. “I love you, I’m sorry that hurt you” he said taking his seat beside me.

Matt: “it’s okay, I love you too” We had to wait for a long time, finally the creepy kid left though. The longer we stay here, the more nervous I am getting. I started bouncing my real fast. And after a little bit Danny placed his hand on my leg to try to offer some comfort.

Dan: “it’ll be okay” he said softly.

Matt: “this waiting is making me nervous”

Dan: “I-“

Nurse: “Matthew?” Dan smiled at me and stood up. I followed him and the nurse into the other section of the hospital. They checked my temperature and my blood pressure and stuff. And Dan told them what happened with my face, and he told them he thinks I’m dehydrated, and what happened this morning. And then they let me go back into a room. and I jumped up onto the bed. and Danny sat in the chair next to my bed.

Matt: “I’m not dehydrated”

Dan: “maybe not… but I think you are. have you drank much water today?” I looked down and shook my head. “how much water?”

Matt: “j-just what you gave me this morning” I said nervously.

Dan: “MATTHEW!” he yelled, smacking my thigh... I pouted and rubbed where he hit. After a little bit a nurse came in.

Nurse: “Hello, my names Nancy”

Matt: “Hi”

Nurse: “unfortunately I’m going to have to be the mean lady that has to give you an IV” I groaned and she laughed. “Are you afraid of needles?”

Matt: “I used to be really scared of them, but I can man up” I said smirking at her. I watched her get everything ready and then she started feeling around for a vain. But as soon as I saw the needle I tensed up…

Dan: “Matthew… don’t look at it... look at me” he said putting his hands on my face, making me look away.

Nurse: “Are you feeling okay? you just went really pale”

Matt: “Yes, I’m okay”

Nurse: “try to relax honey, the more you tense the more it’ll hurt, take some deep breaths” I nodded and closed my eyes and tried to relax. Dan chuckled and my eyes snapped open.

Matt: “don’t laugh at me!”

Dan: “what happened to manning up?”

Matt: “did I say I was going to man up?... I meant throw up!” the nurse laughed.

Nurse: “okay, you’re going to feel a little pinch now”

Matt: “WAIT! I’m still tensing!”

Dan: “it’s done!”

Matt: “what?” I said pulling out of his grip. “I barely even felt it”

Nurse: “all that nervousness for nothing” I glanced at my arm and I winced. I hate IV’s

Dan: “stop looking at it” I sighed and closed my eyes again.

Matt: “is it done?”

Nurse: “it’s in, I’m just drawing some tubes of blood right now, and then I’m going to set you up with something that will help hydrate you” it took her a few more minutes to get everything done, and then she told me to sit tight, and the doctor would be in shortly.

Dan: “See, this is what happens when you don’t drink enough water, you have to come get a IV… maybe next time you’ll drink instead” I rolled my eyes.

Matt: “shut up Danny” We had to wait for a long time and then they came in and I did get a couple stitches above my eyebrow.

Doctor: “okay, so you are dehydrated, so we are going to have you stay here until this IV drop is done. So sit tight” He said patting my shoulder and leaving the room. I sighed.

Matt: “I just want to go home” I said pouting.

Dan: “well…  since we have to wait for a while, why don’t you tell me about what happened with the robbery?" he said running his fingers through my hair.

Matt: "I don't want to talk about it"

Dan: "why?"

Matt: "because you'll just get all protective and mad... and I would rather not have that discussion right now... or ever"

Dan: "what’s wrong with me being protective? I’m your big brother, get used to it”

Matt: “it’s annoying Danny, I’m an adult… I know you don’t see me as an adult” I said pouting. he chuckled.

Dan: “you may be an adult, but you are still my baby brother” he rolled his eyes. “Come on Matthew, tell me what happened, please?”

Matt: “no”

Dan: “fine, I’ll just ask for the police report” he said crossing his arms. my eyes went wide.

Matt: “you c-can do that?”

Dan: “you’ll find out tomorrow... although I would rather hear it from you”

Matt: “okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to not freak out, okay?”

Dan: “I can’t predict my reaction” is all he said... I rolled my eyes and I begin to tell him everything that happened. he was pissed when I told him about the argument with the wallet, but he was EXTREMELY pissed when I told him the guy said he was going to shoot me, and I told him to go ahead. “MATTHEW LAUTNER! WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GIVE HIM THE DAMN WALLET!?”

Matt: “don’t yell at me Danny… please?”

Dan: “you should have just given him the wallet”

Matt: “you know why…” I said looking down. I explained to him why already.

Dan: “I know it’s important to you Matthew, but it’s not as important as your life!”

Matt: “it’s the last thing he gave me! I… I couldn’t let it go…”

Dan: “Matthew, I’m so sorry our dad died, but... he would have wanted you to give up the wallet too, your life meant so much more to him, then that damn wallet”

Matt: “his life meant more to me then the wallet too! but… unfortunately, all I have is the wallet!” I said giving him a pleading look, I just want him to understand. Dan’s eyes welled up with tears and they spilled over.

Dan: “Matthew… I can’t lose you too… I’ve lost mom, and dad, and you are the only one I have left” he said grabbing my hand. “the thought of losing you over a stupid wallet…” he said starting to sob. He buried his face into his hands.

Matt: “Danny! Don’t cry!” I said sitting up. “you aren’t going to lose me” I said grabbing his wrist and pulling it away from his face.

Dan: “Did you even c-consider how awful this has been for me? or do you not even care?”

Matt: “Danny-“ He got up and stormed out of the room, leaving me hooked up to this dumb IV.. alone.

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

Deb’s POV:

Bethany has been screaming for hours! And I’ve tried everything I possibly could do to try to sooth her. but she’s not having it. and Dan’s not here, and I’m a wreck! I’ve been crying myself... I feel horrible that I can’t calm her down. Sometimes I wish she could talk to me and tell me what’s wrong. I pulled out my phone and I called the LAST person I thought I would call right now…

 (Phone Conversation)

Denise: “Hello?” she said sleepily.

Deb: “She hates me” I cried

Denise: “Deb? I can’t hear you.. what time is it?”

Deb: “Bethany! She won’t stop crying! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong... But Dan’s not here”

Denise: “did you feed her?”

Deb: “YES! She’s just screaming! I think she’s hurt.. I don’t know how to help her!” I said starting to cry even harder.

Denise: “do you want me to come over?”

Deb: “Please…”

Denise: “okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes”

Deb: “please hurry” I said hanging up.

(End Of Phone Call)

 I dropped my phone onto the floor and I looked down at Bethany screaming in my arms. I am just so tired, and I don’t know what to do...

Deb: “I’m sorry I don’t know how to make it better Bethany, please stop crying baby” I feel like I’m failing so bad at being a mom. I feel like a horrible bad mom. I tried a few more things, and then Denise came. I’m still so mad at her, but.. right now I’m so upset and tired and I need help.

Denise: “aw honey, it’s okay” she said when she saw the tears in my eyes.

Deb: “somethings wrong… she won’t stop crying, I’ve tried everything! I breast feed, what if she’s not getting enough? Do you think she’s sick?” I said panicked. Denise took her from me “It’s been so long since I had a baby… but I don’t remember Taylor and Demi crying like this… I’m failing so bad Denise. I’m so overwhelmed”

Denise: “it’s okay Deb, you aren’t a bad mom, this happens to everyone, all babies are different”

Deb: “she’s been crying for hours!”

Denise: “just sit down honey, take some deep breaths” I nodded and I sat down in the rocking chair. Denise also tried everything, and we tried to bottle feed her, and breast feed her, she didn’t want it. after she tried everything Denise swaddled her into her blanket

Deb: “She doesn’t like to be wrapped in a blanket like that”

Denise: “it’s worth a try” she said rocking her and shushing her. And her screaming did stop a few times, but it started back up again. “maybe we should go for a drive?... why don’t you stay here and rest a little, and I’ll drive her around the block a few times” I nodded

Deb: “what if it doesn’t work? What if something is wrong with her?”

Denise: “try not to worry, I know it’s hard, but... it’s going to be okay” I nodded and she took her from the room. and I heard them leave. It was nice to finally hear silence. but I can’t rest because all I can think about is my baby being in pain or something… I just hugged onto a pillow and cried the whole time she was gone. After about a half an hour she came back, carrying a finally sleeping baby in her car seat. I let out a breath of relief. Denise carefully sat the car seat down, and she started unbuckling her.

Deb: “Denise... I’m so desperate for sleep, maybe we should leave her in there?”

Denise: “I think she’ll sleep better swaddled in her bed” she whispered. I bit my lip and watched as she carefully took her out and I laid her blanket down in her bed. and Denise laid her down and started swaddling her in her blanket. And then she smiled at me.

Deb: “thank you so much!” I said pulling her into a hug.

Denise: “I would help so much more… if you’d let me” she said softly. I pulled away…

Deb: “I just can’t believe you kissed him…” she nodded.

Denise: “I’m so sorry Deb, I feel horrible… but let’s not talk about it right now, alright? you should go lay down, and get some sleep, I will stay in here with her for a little bit”

Deb: “really?” she nodded and shooed me out of the room.  

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

Dan’s POV:

I walked around the hospital for like 20 minutes, until I made myself feel bad, and then I went back to his room. he is laying on his side, holding his pillow.

Dan: “are you okay?” I asked making him jump. he nodded.

Matt: “I’m so cold” he mumbled.

Dan: “probably from the liquid in the IV. I’ll go see if I can ask for a blanket”

Matt: “Danny... stay with me” He said softly.

Dan: “I’ll just be a minute” I said leaving him again. I quickly told the people at the desk that he needed a blanket and they said they would bring him one in a minute. I thanked them and then I went back to Matthews room and I leaned down and kissed his head.

Matt: “I’m sorry Danny, for… for scaring you, and for everything”

Dan: “I wish you wouldn’t be so reckless”

Matt: “it keeps you on your toes though, don’t it?” he said smiling at me. I sighed

Dan: “I’m so mad at you Matthew…” I said shaking my head. He pouted.

Matt: “I’m sorry” he mumbled as the nurse came in with a blanket. She covered him up and asked us if we needed anything. And she checked his IV and stuff and then she left. “It’s so warm, it feels like they put it in the dryer first.” He said closing his eyes and snuggling into his pillow. I smiled down at him, he still seems so young to me… It’s really hard for me to step back and let him make choices for himself that really are going to change his life forever… like the army! The thought of my baby brother joining the army worries me so much… Especially seeing him like this right now, he isn’t ready… Maybe I’m just the one who isn’t ready...

Matt: “What are you thinking about Danny?” He said pulling me out of my thoughts.

Dan: “you...” I said sighing and sitting back down.

Matt: “I wish you wouldn’t worry so much, I’m going to be okay, lots of people go into the army, and they come home… I know it bothers you, I understand why… but this isn’t just a stupid childish reckless decision… I know it probably seems like I didn’t think it through at all, but I thought about it a lot… I want to serve our country. I want to do this”

Dan: “How do you expect me not to worry about you? You are in the hospital right now because you are working out too much, without drinking anything! I can’t make sure you are drinking enough, when I can barely even talk to you! AND how the hell do you expect me not to worry, when you tell some guy to shoot you in the head over a fucking wallet” I said a lot louder then I meant too. “don’t tell me not to worry… especially after tonight” I said sitting back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Are you suicidal Matthew? Is that’s why you are doing this shit?”

Matt: “NO! of course not!”

Dan: “Are you sure about that?” He nodded.

Matt: “I’m not suicidal Danny, I’m just… stubborn… I guess” I laughed out loud.

Dan: “you’ve got that right!” It took us a couple more hours of waiting. Matthew ended up falling asleep, and I tried to stay awake, but I ended up falling asleep in the chair as well. So when the doctors came in and told us we could go, we both jumped awake. They took his IV out, and then we walked out to the car and I drove home.

Matt: “Can I just sleep in the car?” he said as we pulled into the driveway... he is exhausted.

Dan: “No”

Matt: “I’m so tired though” he mumbled. I nodded.

Dan: “Me too” I said opening the door. He groaned and got out and we both walked inside.

Matt: “I call the couch” he said laying down on it.

Dan: “We are going to talk about all of this tomorrow”

Matt: “sounds like a great freaking time” he mumbled. I smacked his bottom and he pouted.

Dan: “Goodnight Matthew” I said grabbing a blanket, and throwing it over him, and kissing his forehead. And then I locked the front door. I could hear the baby crying, so I followed the sound to the babies nursery. I walked over and put my arm around Deb and I looked down at Bethany.

Deb: “WHAT IS GOING ON?” she yelled. Making me Jump. that’s when I realized that Denise is holding my baby, not Deb… I gasped and stepped back away from her…

Dan: “Denise?! What are you doing here?” I said shocked

Deb: “Don’t act surprised” she said walking over and grabbing the baby from Denise and glaring at us “Your arm was around her, wasn’t it?”

Denise: “he was just trying to help with Bethany!”

Dan: “I thought she was you Deb! I didn’t even look at her! I was trying to-“

Deb: “whatever” she said walking out of the room with Bethany. I just stood there shocked and confused… I really thought it was Deb.

Dan: “Why didn’t you say something??”

Denise: “I thought you knew it was me!”

Dan: “If I knew it was you I wouldn’t have had my arm around you!”

Denise: “I didn’t think it was a big deal! It was just a half hug? We have always hugged?”

Dan: “It is a big deal! you kissed me!.... Get out!”

Denise: “We need to move past that Dan! We are family!”

Dan: “I thought we were… get out of my house”

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Thank you for the feedback on the last chapter. I am like falling asleep as I’m trying to post this, so I can’t reply to them right now! lol feed back means so much to me though! -hannah (also sorry for any typos! I’m so tired! :P)

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#Chapter 169