#mary has already lost a baby daughter

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

love this moment bc yaz is thinking ghosts or aliens and then mary is like my fucking son and you can feel the "oh shit. oh thats worse maybe"

#she is.......about marys age? i think? right? #she must be around the same age as mary but it feels like so immature in a way when its like immediately confronted with marys panic #sort of like later in the cellar when graham is all 'im betting alien parasite' guessing at what the cyberium is #whereas the doctor is already on 'oh big fucking sacrifice is gonna have to be made' #damn thats so weird to think about yaz and ryan are marys age #perhaps even like a year older? #vastly differnt lives #mary has already lost a baby daughter #shelley is having an affaire with claire??? man i cant believe doctor who lied to me rhgjkfhjkh #like mary has been a mother twice; lost a child; eloped; abandoned by her father; in debt; percy is having an affair; she is 19 #meanwhile yaz #you know hwat i mean? #wild to think about #wouldve been fun to highlight that a little more

[sissylittlefeather]

How the Web Was Woven: Chapter 13

A/N: Woof. This one took me a minute. Also, it's a short bridge-type chapter, but don't worry. Next chapter will be LONG and JUICY. This is just a necessary part of the story. Please don't give up on us! ICYMI this is the soulmate/time travel AU between Elvis and a fem!reader.

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

Warnings: cussing and angst (a smut-free chapter?! Who am I?! Don't worry. It's coming soon and they will be too 😏)

Word count: ~1.9k

"Why didn't she come for me?"

******

Elvis spends the next few weeks anxiously waiting for you to show up somewhere. It's clear his mind is elsewhere. Everyone around him notices that something is off, but he won't tell anyone what's going on. He just prowls around like a caged animal, nervous and waiting for something that no one understands. He goes back to Memphis before he has to be back in Vegas in August to film his concert documentary. The only thing that gets him out of his room is Lisa Marie. Otherwise, he mopes around or stays inside.

What no one knows is he's grieving. He's pretty sure he's lost you and his son too. The pain almost overwhelms him and he has a hard time living in his real life. He finds solace in music and spends a lot of time at the piano playing a whole catalogue of new songs. His favorite, though, is a song produced by the Beatles' record label, and he eventually asks to record it later that summer. It ends up on his album for the documentary That's the Way It Is and even makes it into a rehearsal scene with him playing it on the piano and singing. For some reason, the song makes him think of you, so he sings it as often as he can.

Even though it begins to look like he's back to himself, the pain of losing you is omnipresent. He resigns himself to the fact that he will likely never see you or his son ever again. As such, he leans into the documentary and even does a photo shoot with Priscilla over Thanksgiving to try to rekindle the affection he feels for her.

But he still feels like part of his soul has gone missing. It's the same old feeling he always has when he's away from you for too long, but this time it settles in his chest and becomes a part of him. 1970 slips into 1971 and he does his best to move on. 1971 slips into 1972 and he throws himself into work and lets his relationship with Priscilla sour. She moves out and he has a hard time even caring, except that she took Lisa Marie and it just twists the dagger of having already lost one child. There are other girls, like there always have been, but they never fill the void that you leave. He has a you-shaped hole in his heart that no amount of sex or romance or even love can fill. 1972 slides by, he films Elvis on Tour, and he plays shows across the United States. He plays Vegas again and then tours again, hoping that by keeping himself busy he'll notice your absence less.

Finally, he prepares for the Aloha from Hawaii concert that will be broadcast across the world. He tries to get back into peak physical shape and does everything he can to throw himself fully into this concert. In the process, he squashes the last hope of you ever showing up again. It's been three years.

You're gone.

******

Covid hits strong in 2020 and your world gets upended. You learn to work from home, host zoom call happy hours with your friends (even though you're pregnant and can't drink), and wear a mask anytime you're in public, which isn't often. In September, you give birth (alone and in a mask) to your daughter and name her Erin Love. She's perfectly healthy and looks so much like her brother you think you've given birth to his twin. And again you weep. Elvis is missing this and you know it'll break him if he ever finds out.

2020 fades into 2021 and you still can't risk going out with a baby. Every time you start to think it might be safe, a new strain or variant shows up and the world cowers in fear again. Vegas opens, but you're terrified, both of traveling and of the possibility of sending Covid back to 1971.

So, you wait. You wait and you wait and you keep waiting until your baby is old enough and the virus seems to slow down. Still, Vegas, with its masses of people, seems too risky. Finally, in December of 2022 you have an idea. You start making plans to head to Hawaii with both kids and your mom in January of 2023. Hawaii is much more secluded and you know exactly where he will be.

When you ask your mom to come with you, she wants to know why. This is going to be a very expensive vacation and she's not sure why you need her. You sit on her couch trying to decide just how much you should tell her. Eventually, you settle on something very close to the truth.

"John is there. We haven't seen each other in three years." You look down at the ring on your finger.

"I was starting to wonder if he still existed."

"I'm not even sure he'll want to see me..." You look at the ceiling to try to stop yourself from crying, but it doesn't work and the tears come sliding down your face.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sure he does. He loves you."

"I hope so." She pulls you into a hug.

"I will go with you. I'll watch the kids so you two can get reacquainted."

"Thank you, mom."

Once she agrees to go with you, you drop an ungodly amount of money to stay in his suite and pack up both kids to fly to the islands. You decide not to tell John Jessie why you're going, just in case it doesn't work out. He's almost 6 now and he asks about his daddy damn near everyday. Somehow, he remembers him despite the fact that it's been almost 3 years since he's seen him. Erin's too little to ask questions. She doesn't even know she has a daddy, which breaks your heart every time you think about it.

******

After a rehearsal, Elvis heads to his suite to rest. He's 100% invested in what he's doing. But out of nowhere, he thinks of you again. He hums the song he's designated as yours and goes to work changing out of his jumpsuit.

He's got the zipper all the way down when he hears a sound that makes his heart stop. There it is, the old familiar buzzing. He hasn't heard it in so long. He turns slowly, sees the portal, and practically runs through it without thinking about the fact that he has no clothes packed and is wearing a jumpsuit.

******

When Elvis comes through the portal, he stops and stares at you. He's so in shock that he doesn't know how to respond. Your mouth pops open in awe of him standing there in the American Eagle jumpsuit fully unzipped. He looks better than you could've imagined. Obviously, you've seen the footage, but it really didn't do him justice. He zips it back up and gives you a hard stare.

"It's been three fucking years, y/n."

"I know-" You don't get any further though because John Jessie comes bounding into the room. He runs to Elvis and jumps on him. He's supposed to be napping with your mom in one of the bedrooms.

"Daddy! I heard you!" Elvis grabs him and holds him tightly.

"Heyyy buddy, I missed you so much!" You can tell he's trying hard not to cry. You look nervously towards the bedroom. If your mom sees him in this jumpsuit, it'll be impossible to explain.

"Bubby, where's your grandma?"

"She's asleep." You breathe easier and John Jessie turns back to his daddy. He launches into a monologue that only a 5-year-old can follow, but Elvis sits with him on the couch and listens attentively. You stand and watch the scene and Elvis glances at you every once in a while.

After about 15 minutes, you hear Erin cry from the room where she is taking her nap. Elvis looks up at you, shocked.

"Who is that?"

"That's my sister. She's little still." John Jessie answers knowingly. Elvis's head swivels to you so fast.

"Sister?" You nod and duck out of the room to grab Erin before her crying wakes your mom up. When you come back, Elvis looks at both of you and his eyes are shiny with tears. "Is she-?"

"She's yours." He stands up and immediately takes her from you.

"What's her name?"

"Erin Love."

"Love? Like my..." He trails off and looks at her lovingly.

"Yes. Like your mother." He holds her to himself and looks up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. He pulls back and looks at her again while she babbles to him.

"Baby, do you know I'm your daddy?" She looks up at him.

"Daddy?"

"Yes!" She smiles widely and he holds her close to him again. He looks at you incredulously.

"We have another baby."

"Yes, we do." He kisses her cheek and sets her down on the floor, turning to you. His eyes burn through you and he whispers angrily.

"Where the fuck have you been?! We have a daughter?!"

"Please, Elvis, I can explain."

"You better. I'm going to spend the evening with my kids, but you better have a damn good story when they go to bed."

You nod. How will you get him to understand Covid?

******

He changes into some clothes you have for him and helps you put the kids to bed. Despite not knowing the routine, he proves to be pretty helpful. You're amazed at how well John Jessie remembers him. Your mom seems to just know she should make herself scarce through the whole evening and stays in the room. Once you get both kids in bed, you sit on the couch facing him, heart pounding and stomach in knots. He looks at you with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Tell me why, y/n."

"There is a new virus." You desperately try to explain everything that's happened over the last three years.

"So you couldn't come to me because of a cold virus?"

"Elvis, you don't understand. This was a global pandemic. Everything was closed and people all around the world were dying. They literally shut down Las Vegas."

"I've been other places." He responds, the anger in his voice obvious.

"I know, but I couldn't risk our kids. Or the possibility of you taking this virus back to your time. I finally feel safe here in Hawaii."

"I don't know, y/n, I'm glad you're okay and I'm especially excited to see the kids. But I thought I'd lost you. I buried you in my mind."

"Did you- did you move on?" For the first time, the reality that your marriage to Elvis might be over hits you in the gut and your eyes widen. Elvis isn't sure how to answer. He has a girlfriend, and technically another wife. But he looks at you sitting in front of him and can't help but feel the connection that's bound you together for over fifteen years. He wants to be angry so badly, but really all he is is sad. Sad that he missed the first two and a half years of his daughter's life. Sad that he went so long without all of you. Sad that you almost feel like a stranger now.

You sit on the couch staring at each other waiting for his answer.

******

Come back soon for Chapter 14!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @rosepresley68 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @that-hotdog @eddiesgirlforever @helen06dreamer @returntopresley @rjmartin11 @noirrose21-blog @tacozebra051 @deltafalax

#elvis presley fanfiction #elvis presley #elvis fanfic #elvis presley fic #elvis presley x reader #elvis #elvis x reader #elvis presley x y/n #elvis fic #elvis fanfiction #elvis x y/n #elvis x you #elvis presley fanfic #elvis presley x you #how the web was woven

[cassandragoth26]

He had already said that he was going to release "Class of 00's" which is like the continuation of "Hidden Origins". What happened to Otto? Out of distress, he marries a girl… A girl who pretends to be a teenager when she is actually an infiltrated alien. Did Geoffrey continue studying in high school? Yes, he lives with Bob Pancakes and his mother, Stella and Mindy live there, but they hardly set foot there since they are at University (In this era there are "The Paragons" and "The Renegades", only before they were sims who wouldn't even imagine they were "Renegades" or "Paragons" asjdjasd or maybe "PowerHouse" or "Knights of the Hedges")

"Nancy Landgraab and Geoffrey Osteer-Weatherwax" Apparently the little witch likes the most arrogant, bitter, egocentric and popular cheerleader at school (Not counting girls like that, there are many). Let's say that Nancy's attitude doesn't help much, oops but she will soon like this boy (Of course, if not like Johnny and Malcolm exist (?)

"Bella Bachelor and Mortimer Goth-Cumplebottom" I don't have much to say about Bella and Mortimer, they've known each other since they were children, and they're in that "falling in love" stage. He can't stand his cousin "Astrid Crumplebottom", daughter of Agnes and Erik Darling, who now has a certain "Robert" as a stepfather. Not only is she capricious and conceited, she is the leader of the "Paragons". And girlfriend of the captain of the American football team, "Ian Murphy" (Ian Robles)

"Milangela Munch Bunch and Derek Golfo" Mila may seem a bit nerdy, but she is actually quite familiar in character… Who will she be? (COFCOFWolfgangCOFCOF), has Derek Golfo, a boy who is part of the Renegades, and apparently the most "calm" so to speak, he keeps bothering Mila, telling her his name, which she doesn't like Milangela, Seriously, she hates being called that.

Didn't you know this(?) Mary Hastings studies "Culinary Arts" at Britechester, while Jacques studies at Foxbury, from time to time they have their meetings at the bar, or go to each other's campus (Although Jacques is staying at the estate that belonged to his parents, sometimes he stops by his college campus just to be able to see Mary, since Fred (Mary's father) is no longer aware of her, although sometimes Eliza (Eliza Pancakes) is a little nosy and sometimes tells Fred the things that Mary sometimes does at university asjdasjd (That's how younger sisters are, right?) (And yes, Mary at University was quite scandalous asjdajs)

"Hikari Dawson and Ryujin Behr" These two at first glance seem like oil and water, but that's not the case, they have known each other since they were very young, since Hikari lost her parents when she was a baby, Ryujin's mother decided to be this girl's tutor, without knowing who would later be the mother of his granddaughters "Yuki and Candy Behr".

"Faye Harris and Cletus Spencer" Cletus is the leader of the "Renegades", so let's say that his attitude towards others is a little "different". But what he doesn't know is that Faye would stick to him like a piece of gum, bothering him several times and even throwing herself at him (Evidently Faye likes Cletus, but apparently he's not interested), she gives him gifts on Valentine's Day, who he accepts them, and then throws them away for being "cheesy." But little by little he will become attracted to this girl, to the point that she will renounce her leadership in the club…

"Estefania Loren and Brooklyn Walsh" Estefanía is one of those nerdy girls who likes video games (she even carries a gameboy in her backpack), chess, mathematics and studying A LOT. She is bothered daily about a small condition she has in her right ear (single-sided deafness). Those who bother her are those on the soccer team (Brook also belongs to the team, only if she bothers other teammates, she doesn't join). He met Estefanía one day when he was waiting for his father to come pick him up with Brook's younger brother (Brent Hecking), she was reading a book carefully, and without thinking any more, he sat down next to that blonde girl with colored glasses. black!. Which scared Estefanía a little, who reacted (According to Brook) in an "adorable" way. She (she ran out all blushing)

"Helena Rodríguez and Fabrizzio Rocca" Helena is engaged to "Roger Ember" who is the father of her son "Morgyn" (Morgyn Ember). The marriage will not last long, because Helena does not want to give up her career, she goes to live in Britechester with her son and from there she meets who years later will be the father of "Paolo Rocca".

"Dominic Fyres and Moira Newville" Oh yes… Moira is part of the "Renegades" hahaha, apparently Dominic is attracted to Moira, but Moira feels the opposite JSDAJSD (That will change over time uwu)

#nancy landgraab #geoffrey landgraab #bella goth #bella bachelor #mortimer goth #mary villareal #jacques villareal #hikari dawson #ryujin behr #faye harris #cletus harris #brooklyn walsh #estefanía loren #fabrizzio rocca #roger ember #morgyn ember #helena rodríguez #sims 4 #sims 4 townies #class of 00's #britechester generation 2000

[gogandmagog]

so what are your favorite books/authors besides lm montgomery...I maybe just maybe am tailoring my goodreads tbr for next year 👀

“I love a book that makes me cry.”

– Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

And apparently me too??? I’m just over here adding this grossly popular quote right at the top of this list after having wrote it up, because when I look back over these all-star books that rushed to be highlighted, I realise that… every last one of these moved me to tears.

But I’ve read them all half-a-dozen of times, at least! 🥺 So, here we go, here we go!

Beloved by Toni Morrison. This one knocked me out, good and proper. It’s such a masterpiece. It starts in the 1870’s of Ohio and follows a former slave and her daughter. It’s got a strong Haunted House vibe (there is a ghost), and it opens up with both something quite Maud-would-appreciate-this-ish and quite chilling; "124 WAS SPITEFUL. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims." Mind, some people haaate this book, and feel quite strongly about it — but I like prosey books (this is the top complaint as far as I can tell), and this one is certainly that. Some very harrowing descriptions of the abuse of slaves, to be sure, but I personally have never been one to turn away from that ugliness, because remembering and understanding its weight feels important.

Stoner by John Williams. This is a little bit like ‘life sucks, and then you die’ — hyper precise about mundanities and is frankly a huge red flag to see sitting on a dudes bookshelf but… I loved it so much. 😅 It’s quiet, but poignant, and in its simplest rendering is about a very bored English Professor falling greatly in love with someone who is not his wife. Keep in mind, I’m hardly a girl who thinks infidelity is either cute or excusable… but this book firmly lodged itself in my heart, anyway.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I’m a HUGE BIG HUGE BIG HUGE Baldwin fan. And this is the book that started it, for me. Like, this novel will fully pull you apart, and give you a wallowing. I’d say it's even a great atmospheric read for winter, and I also even want to go ahead and say this book is considered a classic, but I could be making that up; maybe it’s just a classic to me. The plot surrounds the struggles of a bisexual man in late 1950’s Paris; he’s just proposed to his girlfriend, but he goes on and has a relationship with a male bartender. There’s race, misogyny, and class issues here too, but this book isn’t so heavy that it becomes cumbersome to read. It’s actually quite beautiful. 

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Another prosey book. Maybe the most prosey book I’ve ever read… you don’t really get a break from it. But it’s so lush, and visceral, and the word play is sometimes so genius that you don’t mind getting fully lost in it (at least, I didn't!). This book could be labeled “tragedy” because it’s sometimes rather bleak – it's about fraternal Indian twins, Kerala history, and the lasting impact of childhood traumas, as well as the exploitation of the weak, really. But, there’s high points too!

Elsewhere if you haven’t read Peter Pan as an adult, I urge and beg of you to. J.M. Barrie (that’s James Matthew Barrie, and I will never stop conspiring that this is intentional of Montgomery and James Matthew Blythe) is right up there with Lucy Maud in the realm of exquisite and sweet storytelling that transcends age.

Of course Shirley Jackson, but you’re already a reader there! Fanny Howe has been an obsession of mine lately, too — I think I’ve posted her twice here and here — despite her being a poet, which is something of a fault that I’m being very charitable about overlooking (only half-joking, I really usually don’t care for poetry [except you Mary Oliver], not even LMM’s or by extension Anne or Walter’s either). Eve Babitz and Joan Didion are close personal friends (okay, it’s one-sided).

Anyone else that I read over and over are so classic that it’s almost white noise/nonsense to list them. I think the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is my all-time never-to-be-defeated, and Lolita (despite its very uncomfortable content) by Vladimir Nabokov is a close second (I once saw Lolita cited as being ‘a love letter to the English language’ and I frankly agreed with my whole chest), and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (his essays are things of brilliance too) takes bronze. I also obviously throw myself at the feet of the likes of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll and Fyodor Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf and Kafka and Sylvia Plath and Charles Dickens and James Joyce, and all of Those Guys too. Genuinely. I also wholly stan Washington Irving. He’s most famous for Sleepy Hallow, which I’ll link right here because if you tap on it and read even a single line, I think you’ll be like, ‘oh right, he is sensational.’ And this quality continues throughout his catalogue!

Signing off with a true and sincere hope that you’ll consider sharing your TBR list with everyone, and maybe some recommendations of your own, too!!! Your opinion means worlds!!!

#this is very late and wordy #apologies 🥹

[magicofsimplestories]

0. Introductions

The land of Pleasantview. It’s hard to find a person, who doesn’t dream of building a career in one of its shiny skyscrapers, moving into a cozy house of its calm suburbans and taking a stroll in between the peaceful greenery of its vast parks. But is there something more to it? Is there something that is hidden behind this polished image of ultimate happiness and breathtaking success? Is there something that never leaves the borders of the neighborhood stories? 

Not So Pleasant

They’ve always seemed to be an exemplary family: famous football player Daniel with his successful business lady Mary-Sue and their twin-princesses Angela, the bright mind, and Lilith, the creative soul.

So when Daniel moved out unexpectedly the neighborhood of Willow Creek couldn’t let the case without digging. Soon enough the rumours of Daniel cheating on Mary started to spread, and the exemplary image was left shattered in pieces.

What other secrets keep the Pleasants? And will Mary ever be able to trust a man again?

Broken Souls

Brandi never regretted leaving the luxury of her parents behind in order to move in with her high school sweetheart Skip Broke. She had no other choice. Her parents planned a shiny academic future for her, so they would never allow their 18-year-old daughter to keep her and Skip’s baby. 

The Brokes traveled enough around Pleasantview, with Skip doing his best to provide for his wife and his little son Dustin. After a long time of moving around, Skip has found a permanent job at the Landgraab facility and the family has finally been able to settle down in a tiny trailer house in one of the modest corners of Willow Creek. That’s where they had their second son, cutie Beau. And that’s where Brandi has lost her Skip to a “tragic and mysterious facility accident”. 

Will Brandi be able to raise her sons alone? And what troubles will Dustin get into while trying to deal with his heavy loss?

A Fresh Start

After months of unsuccessful attempts to conceive their second child, Leo and Lina have come to a conclusion that a calm suburban area might be the solution to their difficulty. So they changed the stuffy San Myshuno Business Quarter to the Copperdale fresh air, leaving Leo whining from time to time about spending a whole hour daily to get to his office and back. 

To Lina’s mind, apart from the fresh air there were more bonuses that Copperdale has offered her family. The local high school has always been famous for gifting its students a lucky ticket to the best universities of the countries, and Lina couldn’t dream of a better opportunity for her eldest daughter from the previous marriage Nina. 

On top of that, Copperdale was significantly further from San Sequoia, making Nina spend much less time with her rock-star father Niel Dwyer. 

But will the distance help Lina get rid of Niel’s troublesome and careless influence on Nina? And will Copperdale finally become Lina's and Leo’s family happiness corner? 

[Next]

---

Vikie’s notes: With my recent nostalgia about The Sims 2 lore, I’ve been dreaming of creating TS2 world in The Sims 4. Apparently it has already been done by violetpixels in the TS2 to TS4 Uberhood save file.

Currently I’m focused on the two iconic TS2 families - the Pleasants and the Brokes, along with my Gross-Dwyer family whom I decided to give a fresh start after I had lost any interest in going on with “My Willow Creek Teens” story. However, later on I might add a couple of other preexisting TS2 households to the “Neighbourhood Stories” (with proper introductions, of course).

#sims 4 #sims 4 story #sims 4 gameplay #simblr #ts4 simblr #sims 2 to sims 4 #ts2 to ts4 #mary sue pleasant #daniel pleasant #lilith pleasant #angela pleasant #dustin broke #beau broke #brandi broke #neighborhood stories

[sizzleissues]

First contact (Origins)

(Twenty years after the miraculous were retired, a new bad guy is back in town. Some one has to stop him)

(2876 words)

The car ride was a little tenser than Emma would have liked on her birthday. A girl only turned sixteen once, she deserved her familys’ full attention and for her mom not to be whisper-shouting at her dad about accepting a call.

“It’s been sixteen years since we talked properly and twenty one years since I’ve seen her! She can’t just show up again.”

“They're all back in Paris. They want to make up for lost time.” Her dad tried to soothe. Her mom, Marinette, the scariest spoon of sugar in Paris, shook her head furiously.

“She didn’t even try to talk to me after the accident.”

“Mari, please. Just give her a shot.”

Marinette’s hand flexed over the accept call button on the car's dashboard for a moment before she pressed yes, making her voice light and cheery as the caller gasped on the other end.

“Hey! You answered. I mean of course you answered, how are you?” She was speaking french, fluently and with a fast joy but there was new hesitancy from years of dormancy. Emma couldn’t believe she was hearing the voice that had only ever existed on a voicemail she was not to tell mom about. 

“Hi, Alya. I’m doing well. You’ve landed, how is it?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. Nothing’s changed. We’re just waiting for a taxi.”

“We have space. We could swing by on our way to the roller rink.” Her dad said, earning a glare from her mom. Adrien ignored it and continued. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Really?” Alya asked.

“Yeah, really?” Marinette said.

“Yup. Look I see you know.” Emma saw his smile in the rear view mirror, that mischievous glint to his eyes as he definitely planned their route to pass by. When it came to her mom’s old friends, he was always scheming to get them to talk. Outside, a little apart from the other families waiting at the taxi bay, Alya, Nino and their kid stood waiting. 

It was a little annoying that her birthday had been hijacked by the dramatic return of the Lahiffe family. At least she might learn why it was so dramatic. All she knew was they left at nineteen, going back to Alya’s family and things were great for five years until her mom suffered an accident and lost parts of her memory. Then she refused to explain why this meant they could no longer talk. Or even what the accident was. 

The car pulled in and her dad got out to greet them. He motioned to Emma to move into the back of the family car and make room for the Lahiffes. Marinette took a minute to sort out the scowl on her face, smoothing down her shirt as the families’ luggage was loaded into the back. The door beside Emma opened and the Lahiffes’s very pretty daughter stared at her. Her appearance was expectedly messy from an eight hour flight, hair escaping her top knot and her baby curls no longer so neatly gelled down. She wore chunky black glasses and a mathlete team sweater that was a size or two too big. Her fingers slipped out the long sleeves to give her a little wave and smile that had her heart stuttering. 

“Hi.” She choked out. “I’m Emma.”

“Florence, or Flo. And I can speak French.” Her accent was adorable, French sounding as natural as English on her tongue. Emma smiled instead of answering, not trusting her voice wouldn’t break again. Her flustered blunder had been mistakenly read as hesitant English, which she spoke fluently with her cousins in England nearly every second day. 

“I’ll just move into the back.” Emma unstrapped herself and twisted around to pull the seat down. The three seats at the back were a little trickier to access and she tried to move as effortlessly as possible, already conscious of Flo’s eyes on her back. She slid in and Flo climbed in after, pulling the seat in front of them back up so her parents could get in next. 

The door shut and the immediate silence was awkward. For the four people in front, it was the first time being in the same country, let alone the same room, in twenty years. 

Emma tapped on her thighs, waiting for someone to break the quiet. When no one did she took it upon herself. 

“So this is mighty awkward.”

“Emma!” Her mom chided.

“You are not allowed to be awkward on my birthday.” Emma continued. 

“It's your birthday?” Alya asked, turning around to face her. “I’m so sorry, are we interrupting?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t mind.”

“How old are you?” Flo asked. Emma paused for a moment to congratulate herself on successfully starting a conversation between the adults about boring adult stuff.

“Just turned 16. So older than you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I-.” Right, knowing that seems stalkerish. Which she wasn’t! “I follow your instagram. You celebrated your fifteenth like six months ago. Which I only remember because you went to a Kitty Section show and I always wanted to go-. I’m going to shut up now.”

Flo giggled, her cheeks shaped like apples, dimpled at either side of a wide smile. Emma wanted to burn the image of her smile in her brain. 

“No, it's fine. I also follow your insta, you’re like an award winning roller derby player?”

Emma blushed, burying her face in her hands. “Oh, god. Please don’t tell me you saw the pictures.”

“What's wrong with them?”

“My face is smashed in for one.”

“But you’re so proud of yourself in them. And the reels of you skating!- They’re mesmerizing.” Emma could believe she was watching them right then by how her eyes glowed.

“Oh god stop. You’re being too nice. You’re the impressive one. A genius and an athlete. Haven’t you literally run like five marathons?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a genius. If it isn’t math I’m completely lost.” She laughed, her turn to go shy and hide her face. “I haven’t run in a while either. Moving has made it difficult, ya know.”

Emma didn’t really know. She’d lived in Paris her entire life and was slightly jealous of those who lived elsewhere. Paris was haunted nowadays even if the adults all seemed determined to show just how much the city had progressed. The summer she’d spent in London had been so strange because that shadow of the miraculous was absent. She wondered if Flo felt it, she knew Alya and Nino did now they were back. Her dad dealt with it by engaging in nostalgia. Weirdly, her mom was the only adult she knew who didn’t bear the weight of the miraculous.

“I’m sure you’ll get back into it.”

-

They dropped off the Lahiffes and made it to the roller rink just ten minutes after her party was supposed to start. A new record, all things considered. 

She couldn’t say she had a lot of friends to come to her party, cursing herself for not asking Flo to join when she had the chance. The Couffaine cousins, Clover and Léon, were friends since childhood and she’d been pretty much unsuccessful at making friends in school apart from Jules who came as a package deal on her first day. They’d walked up to her on their first day, said ‘hi’ and then refused to leave her side since.

She’d chosen a rink with an 80s theme, the lights refusing to be anything other than neon and the decor a navy that let the brightly coloured skates and disco rink be like a beacon at the centre. Jules had suggested going all out in retro wear, and they were immediately visible in their neon green leotard and black leggings, fuzzy pink sweatbands around their wrists and ankles. They’d fluffed up their short hair to impossible heights, making them look like a maniac dance instructor who’d escaped the 80s with a vengeance. 

They ran up to her, arms flailing at their sides until they met in the middle and hugged her with a consistently surprising level of strength.

“Dude, new record.” Jules said, breaking the hug to fist bump her. “Clo, owes me a euro.”

“I told you to stop betting on me.”

“You make it easy. You are too predictable.” They took her hand and led her away from her parents. “Loving the outfit. Clover refused to wear something cool as usual.”

Emma smirked, seeing the cousins hanging by the rink. Clover wore her usual black hoodie and shorts combo and Léon shone in a teal flared jumpsuit. Emma wore a loose fitting white t-shirt and a matching pink sports bra and leggings. Her hair was done up in an asymmetric pony tail and frizzed to a ridiculous volume.

“So you are all insane then.” Clover said as they joined them. 

“You’re just boring Clo.” Jules teased. Clover rolled her eyes, walking away from them. “Where are you going?”

“To get roller skates? Your clinginess is frankly ridiculous.” Clover kept walking as Jules caught up to her. 

“So.” Léon started, the quietest of the friend group. “Bets that they’re together by summer’s end.”

Emma slapped him away, watching as her two friends walked side by side, arms just brushing. “Stop it with the betting. And they won’t get together until the last day of collegé because they both are too stubborn,” she added.

“That’ll be hellish for us, won’t it?”

“Yup.”

Clover returned without Jules, shrugging when they asked where they were. “They got a phone call.”

Léon accepted that but Emma sensed something a little more in it. Clover looked a little nervous about it but it could also be the fact they were going skating. They got their skates on (Emma’s were her own while the others rented) and got out onto the rink just in time for disco hour. The music pumped through speakers at all ends of the room and the rink was flooded with people trying their best to dance while skating. She caught a glimpse of her parents struggling hand in hand to skate down the full length. Others organised a conga line which quickly collapsed when a stray kid rammed into it.

She kept beside Clover, waiting for Jules to come back before she left her alone. Léon was already out in the centre, thrusting and twirling for all to see.

“I’m worried about Jules. They aren’t back yet.”

“They said not to wait on them. Go skate, I’ll be fine.”

Emma let go of her and Clover wobbled in a definitely not fine way but forced a smile, shooing her away. It was difficult getting into it at first, her thoughts still on Jules but soon she was weaving through the crowd toward Léon. They linked up and danced along, showing off the moves they’d been practising all summer.

She’d nearly forgotten completely about Jules when the music came to a deafening stop and the crowd collectively turned their heads in the same direction, whispering confusion spreading quickly. Emma looked to Léon who shrugged and helped her push through the crowd toward where they looked. Someone clapped at the end of a dark corridor at the back of the rink where the bathrooms were. From the corner of her eye she saw her dad freeze up, more terrified than anyone around him.

From the darkness, an eight foot tall figure emerged. Their head was a disco ball, glittering sinisterly as it stepped into the neon light. They spoke with no mouth, pointing a disco ball topped sceptre at the crowd.

“Why have you stopped dancing?! This is a party, is it not?”

“Akuma!” Someone screamed in the crowd and the person turned their eyeless face toward the voice.

“Who was that?”

People scattered, knocking into Emma and Léon as they tried to get as far away from the akuma and the person who was scared enough to scream. At the other side, her dad dragged her mom away, whispering something desperately into her ear. The person who’d screamed, wailed now, blubbering about a family, a woman around forty who probably lived through the days of Hawkmoth.  

“Don’t cry! I only want everyone to have fun.” The akuma said, stepping over the barrier and approaching until it loomed over the woman. 

Emma had seen the news coverage of akuma attacks, she’s heard all about the old heroes and read comics retelling their adventures. But never, never, had she imagined the paralysing fear in her bones as they watched this woman scream and beg and the akuma reach down with a spindly limb to touch her forehead. As a kid she always thought she’d do something if akumas ever returned. Seeing it for real, she felt ready to melt to the floor, her knees turning to mush under her. 

Léon fared no better, pale as paper with tears streaming down his face. The whole lot of them were cowards.

From nowhere, a roller skate hit the akuma squarely on the forehead. It bounced off and fell down with a thump. The akuma lifted its hand from the woman to stare in the direction it came from.

Another hit its shoulder.

“Everyone! Evacuate!” A thunderous voice cried from behind a crowd. Just like that, people were moving, shoving and pushing to get away. The akuma had all but forgotten about the woman and instead searched for the person assaulting it with roller skates.

Léon tugged at her hand but Emma stayed rooted, almost as curious as the akuma to who was the brave soul standing up to it. 

Another shoe hit its hip and it screeched.

Emma saw him before the akuma did. Her dad, Adrien Dupain-Cheng, one last roller skate clutched in his outstretched hand and the fiercest expression she’d ever seen on his face. He launched it at the akuma and then bolted away.

Emma skated after him. The akuma wielded its sceptre and sent a blast of light in his direction. She changed course, getting the akuma’s attention on her.

“You suck!” She shouted. The akuma screamed, turning its sceptre toward her. Years of roller skating made her nimble, dodging each blast and drawing it away from her dad.

She reached the barrier, hopping over it and sinking down. Her dad happened to run by, more skates in his arms. He paled at the sight of her.

“You need to evacuate.” He took her hand and dragged her away from the rink, down the same corridor the akuma had emerged from.

“It was about to hit you with its beam. I had to save you.”

“I don’t matter. You need to be safe.” They stopped at the women’s bathrooms and he pushed her inside. Emma tried to protest but the look on his face shocked her to silence. He looked furious for the first time in her life.

“How are you going to stop it?”

He paused for a nearly imperceptible moment. “I- That doesn’t matter. I’ll keep it at bay until the authorities arrive.”

“They don’t know what to do-.” She was cut off as he closed the door on her. She banged her hand against it, screaming at him to come back. The door wouldn’t budge, barricaded by something.

She whipped around, kicking a stall door with a frustrated cry. Had he not seen her out there? They could have done it together, like how they used to pretend when she was younger. 

Something black caught in the corner of her eye, a little box placed by the sink. She picked it up, noting the red sigil on the front and the worn nature of the box. With nothing better to do now, she opened it, jumping back and slipping on her skates when a ball of dark energy escaped it.

She hit the ground, thudding against the stall door. The ball of darkness looked down at her with green eyes.

“WHAT ARE YOU!”

“Rude.” It said, “I’m a kwami. I thought you were like a big fan of mine.”

Emma’s mouth jaw dropped open. “A kwami? As in the thing that grants miraculous holders their powers!”

“Uh, yeah. And that ring that’s now lying on the ground, is my miraculous. Or yours now.”

“Mine? Wait, for real?”

The kwami stared at her for a moment. He looked a little disappointed. Emma ignored him, picking up the black box again from where it had fallen. She winced as she moved, the pain from falling finally hitting her. A black ring with a green paw print sat in the red cushion. 

“This.” She began. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Something she’d only imagined in her wildest dreams “This is the cat miraculous. Why me?”

“Nepotism.” The kwami answered plainly. Then he froze. “I mean, destiny. I always get those words confused.”

“So that’s really an akuma out there?”

“Yup. And you’d better go deal with it before Tikki’s holder gets the head start. All you gotta say is Plagg, claws out.”

Emma slid the ring on, gasping as it changed to be a silver spiral around her finger. She felt it in her soul, a space being filled she didn’t know was empty. The power of destruction cool on her skin.

“Plagg, claws out.”

-

I might write the part 2, you guys gotta like it though first. This is a part of my futures AU, which I’ll go tag properly now so you can find the other stuff related to it. Any fic I’ll post for this will be mostly out of order, just random key events or explorations of character’s as I see them now. Emma, Adrien centric but the love square is still there.

#miraculous #futures au #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #ml fanfic #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #emma agreste #new holders

[desertdollranch]

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Last week, Canyon Creek Guest Ranch opened its October pumpkin patch! There’s no better way to celebrate the joys of autumn than to be outside, appreciating the harvest and all that the land gives to us.

Admission to the ranch is free, so that everyone who wants to can enjoy it. You only pay for what you pick, eat, or take home as a souvenir. 

Grannie has been putting up signs along the roadsides directing visitors to the ranch. Will your doll stop by?

Grannie, her daughter Kendra, and Kendra’s five daughters Jillian, Sierra, Leanne, Willa, and Evelyn have been planning this for two years, since the last time they hosted a pumpkin patch. That occasion wasn’t nearly as big and full of activities as it is this year!

Although the children loved helping the pumpkins grow and counting down the days until the patch opened, there is so much to do here besides visiting the fields.....

.... But that’s definitely a good place to start!

Leanne drives the old-fashioned wooden horse-drawn wagon (a family heirloom) that takes visitors to the pumpkin patch. 

It’s not too far away to walk, but if you’re carrying a lot of pumpkins, it’s much easier to hop in the wagon with them and catch a ride back to have them weighed and priced.

If you do want to walk, like Katie and Ashlyn did, you can borrow one of the little red wagons parked at the edge of the field. 

Katie imagines what it would be like if she had to roll her pumpkin out of the patch--it would take hours! She has her heart set on this big one. 

Tally also fell in love with a big pumpkin. 

Cara hasn’t decided yet which one is her favorite. 

She loves the strange appearance of this big one, but that would take a long time to carve.

Maybe she’ll try a smaller one?

This one is perfect!

Ellen and her little sisters Kendall and Frida picked so many, that the wagon is almost too heavy to pull! Ellen hasn’t noticed yet that Frida got in the wagon and is making it a little heavier.

The pumpkin patch is only the first stop on the hayride. It will also transport you to the apple orchards to pick apples off the trees. 

Mari, Emerson, and Geraldine are stopping for apples first before getting their pumpkins.

Iris is already at the orchard, filling her bucket with Granny Smith apples.

She tries one right off the tree. 

It tastes like sunshine, rain, and woodsmoke. 

She can’t bear to take home only a few...... she needs a bigger bucket!

Fernanda has her crate full of beautiful Gala and Golden Delicious apples.

When you’re done picking pumpkins or apples, you can hop back onto the wagon and let it take you back to the ranch, where you’re sure to find something else fun to do! 

You can stop by the snack bar, where Layla is offering lots of homemade goodies: kettle corn, caramel apples, fresh cider, and apple cider donuts.

Kendall got a caramel apple.

There are also lots of yummy things to take home with you. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, green chile tamales, or fresh produce grown right there on the ranch. 

Jane takes her donut into the corn maze, so that if she gets lost at least she won’t be hungry. 

Kendra is overseeing the roasting station. 

She’s roasting red chiles, corn on the cob, and piñon nuts in a traditional adobe oven called a horno (pronounced OR-no).

Nearby, Mosi is checking out the petting zoo, with its many friendly baby animals. All of them are adoptable from several local animal rescues! 

You can get your picture taken at this photo stand-in as a souvenir!

Or get a souvenir photo posing with some pumpkins.

What grand finale could possibly make this day at the pumpkin patch even better? 

Naturally...

A performance by the Dusty Mountain Dollies! They’re only the best all-girl bluegrass band in town, AND they’re always happy to perform for special events!  

#pumpkin patch #grannie #the dusty mountain dollies

[blogger360ncislarules]

Before Young Sheldon‘s Georgie and Mandy tie the knot, they’ll have to find a place to live.

Now that Meemaw’s house has been decimated by a tornado, Georgie, his future bride and their newborn daughter CeeCee are living in Sheldon’s bedroom — and they’re already feeling a bit cramped. Alas, they’ve got no place else to go — that is, except for Jim and Audrey’s house. 

Midway through Thursday’s final season premiere, Georgie relays an offer from his future in-laws for he, Mandy and the baby to come live with them — an offer that Mandy squashes like a bug. “She’s pretty adamant that she would never do it,” executive producer Steve Holland tells TVLine. “Although, six or seven people in one house, with one bathroom, can start to wear thin after a while.

Below, the EP weighs in on other premiere developments, including Missy’s dramatic transformation and Meemaw’s worst nightmare come true. 

TVLINE | Missy makes good on her promise to George Sr. to do better, and keeps the house in order in Mary’s absence. How long will this transformation last? I mean, she’s still a 13-year-old girl. We talked about this a lot going into the [final] season because she had some trouble last season. Where we landed was that after the tornado and that big moment with Dad, it felt like she had turned a little bit of a corner. Especially with Meemaw’s house being destroyed and Mary being away, this was her chance to step up. It was also fun for us to write Missy in a different shade, and to let Raegan [Revord] play a side of Missy that she hadn’t gotten to do before. But in the second episode, she starts to realize that being Mom isn’t quite as fun as it seemed at first.

TVLINE | Connie will have to foot the bill if she wants to rebuild her house. Where does she even begin? How does someone come back from this? It was a way for us to mix things up and say, “She could just rebuild and be back in that house, but what’s the fun in that? If we can smush everyone into one house, or smoosh everyone into a couple of locations and mix things up, that’ll be fun for us.” It also gave us [new] things for Meemaw. You’ll see this season that this is not her only setback. As she becomes more reckless in her attempts to get back what she lost, she invites more trouble into her life.

TVLINE | Mary doesn’t have any idea what to do with herself. Sheldon’s preoccupied, and she isn’t needed back home. Will this continue to weigh on her? It’s an interesting thread for her. Because you’re right, at first she wants to come back home — Mary likes to be involved and be the one who’s there [in times of crisis] — and being separated from that is hard for her, and it’s coupled with the fact that Sheldon is older now, and he’s at this university where he doesn’t really need her. She’s sort of having to figure out where her place is, and that threads throughout the season, even when she comes back, because Missy has stepped up. It’s not that she’s unhappy that the house isn’t falling apart, but she steps back into this world where she’s not as needed as she thought she would be. Obviously, she’s still needed — she’s the mom of the house — but in her mind, she’s feeling a little displaced.

#young sheldon

[darkestspring]

[ maris tried unaliving herself but failed, so she lives but is still mourning! I shifted Argella’s age a little lower ‘cause she’s bby- and I refuse to let her grow up. the blacks are still alive but lost, and westeros hates their guts, and the greens are all alive and won. ]

𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐄𝐍 (9) had woken from the storms as her purple eyes opened and noticed she isn’t home, or on the battlefield where she was stabbed by her grandfather, but somewhere rather unfamiliar. And she feels… empty.

Gaelithox. She already feels the adoration and elation coming from the she-dragon. But most importantly… relief. So Argella allowed the purring dragon nuzzle her the big snout against her weak body. It work! It worked! They brought you back as promised!

“What worked?” Her voice felt dry and it came out as a whisper. It hurts. Everything feels unnatural everywhere.

Her purple dragon didn’t say anything but gave her a adoring expression.

“I wanna go home… take me home.” Argella mumbles and exerted her body to climb onto Gaelithox who shifted her whole body lower to help. She didn’t even need to be commanded to fly as the princess feels the raindrops falling onto her head with the sound of thunder clapping above herself.

This will take a week to get home… she allows her body to begin resting and vision became black.

Maris has been depressed and kept under close watch for the past two moons since her suicide attempt. Yet she wanted nothing more to see her baby again. Just to see that precious face before saying goodbye at least.

But Baelon didn’t believed when word got sent out when Gaelithox was spotted flying over to Westeros.

And not just the she-dragon herself. But with his little girl’s body!

So he, Maris, and everybody who has heard quickly ran out to the open at the red keep to see The Purple Queen landing just in time.

Most of them panicked once they saw her supposedly corpse slipping off the saddle. Criston reacted first and immediately caught her just in time as her limp form onto his arms. Wet and smelt of dragon.

Everyone thought Gaelithox had decided to bring her corpse back for closure and a proper funeral. But they were shock to see the princess’ breathing but heavily unconscious.

It seems the gods of Old Valyria had decided to bring their little jewel back… but at what cost?

[ feel free to add in baelon and maris’ reaction down below- but the next ask will involve our bby waking up tomorrow after I wake up :’) so goodnight babes ]

- 💜 Anon.

Oh god, they'd both be so relieved, baelon refuses to let go of her as he just sobs intonher tiny body.

Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive. His brain keeps repeating, his baby is alive. She's okay.

Maris would be right next to her husband, watching over her daughter with hee tears Neverending.

Baelon, would turn to gaelithox and pet her going "good girl." Before ordering that they give gaelithox all the sheep she wants.

Baelon would be so struck with relief.

#argella targaryen #thank you for unbreaking my heart <333 #baelon ii targaryen

[countrymusiclover]

9 - Tonya’s Interogation

Part 10

Other Hoyt’s Off Limits

@dragonixfrye @stoneyggirl2

During the drive I just stared out the window since it was late at night when we got the call from the camp. Watching the trees we pass on the road I glanced out the corner of my eye at Beau. “Good for nothing ex…”

He was gripping the steering wheel clearly frustrated which was a side I haven’t seen before from him. “Beau.” I called out softly towards him.

“I can’t believe he just let her go off by herself in the woods!” He apparently didn’t hear me because he grumbled some more scoffing under his breath.

Reaching over the counsel I gently shook his shoulder breaking him from his trance of frustration. “Beau! She’s gonna be fine.”

He gulped, finally sending me a glance. “Yeah….you’re probably right.”

“I am positive I am. Okay you said that he said she was back at the camp and just rattled.” I attempted to reassure him believing that I was right more than I might be wrong.

The drive fell silent for a little while. Mostly because I had no clue what to say to him. I didn’t have a child like my sister Jenny. So I wasn't sure what to say next thankfully he did break the silence around us. "You're right Mallory. She'll be fine. So what are you going to say if you're sister asks about us?"

"I'll um…think of something. We're here." He pulled the truck to a stop once we drove under the camp sign both getting out seeing the rest of the team already here.

Footsteps of Sunny Barnes came towards us while I clipped my gun to the belt on my jeans. 'Emily was the one that found Mary's body off a trail.

"Did anybody search the area where the body was found?" Beau questions her.

She shook her head. "Well, after Buck brought Mary's body back, he and Avery went back up to take a look around."

"Daddy?!" Someone called out where I saw a girl with dark slightly curly hair running towards us and throwing her arms around him meaning it could only be his daughter Emily.

He wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on top of her head. I could see relief come over him by just holding her close. "Hey. Come here.I got you. I got you. You okay? Hmm? What happened?"

"I followed Luke into the woods and I got lost. And then I saw her. She was bleeding. I don't know. She had Paige's bag. I just thought that she was hurt, but then I saw her eyes." She sobbed through his jacket.

He whispered into her hair eyeing me as I gave him a weak smile. "Okay. Baby. I got you."

"Dad who is she?." Emily pulled her head up from his chest focusing her watery eyes on me. "Is she the woman you were telling me you were dating?"

"What was that?" My sister's voice could be heard a few steps away from us.

I felt my cheeks turn red as I quickly stepped up introducing myself to the girl since we hadn't met until now. "Hi Emily, I'm Mallory. You're dad has told me some about you."

"Cool. So are you two?" She pointed her index finger between Beau and I.

He cleared his throat putting a hand on her back leading the three of us away from my sister's ears to start the questioning. "We'll explain later, Em. Right now we have some questions to ask you. Where was Buck when you found Mary?"

"I actually don't know." She replied sitting down outside one of the tents. "He must have heard me scream. Before I knew it, he was just there."

"Do you think Luke could have killed her?" I asked the teenager.

"No." She immediately spoke.

Her father asked another question. "Is that a feeling you have, or is there something else?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just a feeling, I guess."

"Okay. That's enough questions. I know you're just doing your job. Come on, Em. Let's get you some water." His ex wife Carla led her daughter away. A man with dark brown hair that had some gray falling down to be shoulder length approached us.

“Avery.” Beau called towards him when he tried to leave with Emily.

“Mm-hmm.” The man made a noise stopping.

Beau went into full dad mode at this point frustrated with the man in front of me. “You need to tell me what the hell's going on here and why you let my daughter wander off into those woods alone.”

“We had no idea. Alright? She didn't tell Carla, either.” Avery responded before my sister’s footsteps came over to us.

She sighed heavily annoyed. “Tonya and Donno are here.”

“What?” Beau and I both asked together.

She turned her head back in their direction for me to see Tonya wave at me. “Yeah. They obviously had something to do with this.”

“Jen, come on we can’t blame them for everything…even though we know they don’t mind killing people for gain.” Crossing my arms over my chest I knew she had a point from our past.

Beau holds up a hand to us two girls hearing her not say another word. “Did they confess? If they didn't confess, we got to treat them like everybody else...Possible suspects.”

By the time the sun had risen over the camp we had been told that there was a $15 million that Avery found someone here was looking for. Meaning Luke and Paige weren’t here for vacation. Leaning my elbows on the table my sister was tying away on a computer watching Beau walk up. “So there’s an opportunity for someone to get $15 million. I mean that much money would make anyone go crazy. Luke and Paige were obviously trying to steal it.”

“Could explain why Tonya and Donno are here.” Beau adds on. “Maybe they're working a job.”

She smirked, liking that he leaning towards the pair now. “I'm glad you said it. I was beginning to think Donno was bribing you with his sandwich craft.”

“Okay, you know what? Let's not go there. 'Cause bad guys can have good points. Donno's just happens to be sandwich skills.” Beau waved his hands around loving those sandwiches.

Poporneck walked up to us smiling at the mention. “Oh! Donno's making sandwiches?”

“I wish. But no.” Beau slumped his shoulders in defeat.

Pointing my index finger between the boys I grinned feeling hungry now. “They are good sandwiches. Oh, if he wasn’t a suspect I would totally ask him to make us some for lunch.”

“Okay, okay. Can we focus on the case please.” My sister needed us to focus. “What do you got?”

Her former partner cleared his throat replying. “Uh, yeah, so there's a missing bow and quiver from the equipment shed. Arrows match the murder weapon.

“Alright so now we just need to question these two. Let’s go.” I clasped my hands together

“Mallory. You’re with me and Tonya.” The sheriff called my attention.

My sister lifted her head up confused at why he would ask that. “Why do you need her help exactly?”

“I am hoping Tonya will lighten up if there’s another woman with her.” Beau was quick on his feet while I bit my lip seeing Poperneck walking with Jack on a leash over to me.

“I was thinking we could use Jack to sniff out anything suspicious. If that’s okay with you, Mallory.” He suggested since I was the one who owned him now, not the sheriff department.

Bending down on a knee I run my hands through his fur seeing him wagging his tail. “Sure it’s fine. Now you be good for Pops.” The pair walked off before Beau and I went and found Tonya having the three of us get set up in a tent for questioning.

Beau holds the tent flap open for me hearing Tonya chuckling at seeing me again after all this time. “Well, well, look at the three of us back together in the same room. It’s a shame Donna is being questioned by someone else or we’d have the whole gang.”

“Never mind that now. We have some questions to ask you. Starting with why didn’t you go on the night hike with the others?” I said bluntly standing while Beau took the seat across from her.

“Well, I wanted to go on the hike, but Donno didn't. He's got a lot of rules.” She started off her story.

Beau tapped the pen on the table. “It's kind of odd, isn't it? You being up here with your cook? I mean, the man's interesting.”

“He's not who you think he is.” She responded back

“No, I don't imagine he is. The man contains multitudes.” He nodded.

She gave smile towards the sheriff. “Strong agree. But hiking isn't one of them.”

“What about the marriage?” I butted in knowing that during a questioning with Sunny she claimed that they were married according to how they registered. “I understand you're up here pretending to be married. Seems kind of odd for two people who enjoy murder so they can gain something like money.”

“You get freebies if you say it's your anniversary. You know, bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries.” She smiled tilting her head down.

Beau raised a brow moving his hand over the table not believing her story like me. “So it's just a total coincidence that you and Donno were on this trip at this time.”

“I mean, if we committed a crime, it's that we lied about being in love.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Beau laughed, clicking the pen open and closed on the table. “Good one.”

“I'm serious.” She sent us a smile letting her eyes drift up to mine. “So are we not going to talk about the chemistry between the two of you. Like are you two just a fling or will you get in trouble because you work together hmm.”

Raising a hand I try to keep my cool, thankful that my sister was intertwining Donno on the other side of the camp so she couldn’t hear her. “That’s none of your concern. We are here to find out about Paige and Luke.”

“Ohh so the little Hoyt sister hasn’t ever thought of getting with the sheriff in town.” She teased me by intertwining her hands together. “My former boss seemed to like him. So I’m not buying that you haven’t thought about it.”

Beau cleared his throat glancing over his shoulder at me before he spoke. “I'm not buying it. I think you're here looking for a lot more than free champagne.”

Holding the end of my shirt I could feel my nerves building up inside me. If Tonya could see right through me then could my sister do the same. “Speaking of marriages, I met your ex, Carla. She's a boss. Really impressive. I don't know why you left her.” Tonya leaned back in her chair.

“It's actually the other way around.” Beau gave her a half chuckle. “But we're not gonna get into that. As for my relationship with Mallory, it's strictly professional.”

Tonya and I locked eyes so I stood tall towards her. “No romantic relationship at all.”

“If you say so…the person you really should be looking at is Avery.” She points out.

Leaning my palms on the table, my hair falling over my shoulders hoping we are getting somewhere. “Oh, yeah? Why's that?”

“Well, his archery skills, for one. Avery's quite the marksman.” Glancing towards Beau I wasn’t sure if her words made sense.

“Avery? Really?” Even he couldn’t see it.

She nodded, seeming very certain about what she was a saying. “Deadly. He surprised everybody.

“Well, just 'cause he can shoot an arrow don't mean he killed ll Luke.” Beau responded back, lifting his green eyes up to me.

Tilting my head to the side I crossed my arms over my chest shaking my head towards her. “That might be true if we believed what you were saying. Plus we both know that Donno is capable of killing and you have a darker side too for one.”

“Well, I'm guessing that he's the one that told you about the $ million.” Tonya leaned her elbows on the wooden table.

“How'd you know that?” Beau questioned her.

She raised her hands in the air, basically putting the pieces together of what she thought. “Avery was talking to Luke, like, a lot. I'm just putting it out there. You can ask your daughter if you don't believe me. But something was going on with those two.”

“Alright I think I have enough information for now.” Beau rose from the chair turning and we started to leave the tent until she called out to us.

“So I was right, wasn't I? About you two.” Halting in my tracks, Beau glanced down at me. “I mean the looks you two give each other are so obvious. So there’s something definitely going on between you two.”

Beau turned to face her, dropping his hand that had fallen to my back now at his side instead. “Like we said before, we're just professional.”

“That’s not what her eyes say about you, sheriff.” Tonya teased resting her chin on top of her intertwined hands. “She’s got a thing for cowboys.” Turning on my heels I rushed out of the tent and he followed after me before I closed the passenger door in his face needing a minute alone.

Question my readers : should I include more flashbacks of Mallory and John Wayne. If so send me any ideas and let me know in the comments or dm me please ❤️

Comments really appreciated

#other hoyt's off limits #beau arlen x you #beau arlen #beau arlen x reader #beau arlen x y/n #beau arlen big sky #jenny hoyt #jenny hoyt x sister reader #jensen ackles #big sky hulu #big sky season 3 #big sky #john wayne kleinsasser #cormac barnes #sunny barnes #wattpad fanfiction #ask box is open for feedback #comments really appreciated #big sky 3x08 #oc : mallory cessna #candice king

[ailendolin]

Grace - Chapter 6/10

Title: Grace [AO3]

Characters: Thomas, Alison, Mike, Baby Cooper, the Ghosts, the Plague Ghosts

Summary: “Mike and I are going to have a baby.”

Baby Cooper’s arrival at Button Houses changes many things, and all for the better - at least at first. Or as Mary once said: babies can see ghosts sometimes but usually only up until they can walk.

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

————

Grace

Chapter 6: The Change

The next morning, Alison trudges bleary-eyed after Mike into the kitchen. Her head is pounding from lack of sleep and the small breakdown she had in the hallway the night before, so when Mike hands her glass of cool water and gently pushes a painkiller in her direction she gives him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

It’s Saturday and they have a ton of things to do around the house, like finally putting up the Christmas decorations, but all Alison wants to do is crawl back into bed, pull the blanket over her head and pretend her life doesn’t feel so horribly wrong right now. On any other day, she would probably welcome the lack of ghosts in the kitchen that causes the silence around her. Today, she misses the chaotic morning chatter she so often tries to ignore with every fibre of her being.

Mike lightly touches her arm. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Alison chokes out but before she can say more, Pat and Julian phase through the wall.

Her face lights up immediately and Mike follows her gaze to where to him is nothing but empty air. “They here?”

Alison nods, still smiling. “Yes. Well, two of them are. The rest is–”

“–still with Thomas,” Pat finishes with a glance at his shoes.

“Yeah,” Alison sighs.

She tells Mike as much and doesn’t think about what she’s saying until Grace’s eyes grow wide with hope at the mention of Thomas’s name.

“Oh no,” Alison whispers, feeling awful. “Thomas – Thomas is not here, sweetheart. Pat and Julian are.”

She expects Grace’s eyes to well up with tears as they always seem to do these days when she is reminded of who she’s missing but to her surprise her daughter eagerly looks around the room. “Where?”

Alison thought her heart couldn’t break any more than it already had but in that moment she feels it shatter completely. She’d been so worried about Thomas that she somehow forgot – or perhaps pushed away – the fact that he isn’t the only one Grace has lost nor the only one who has lost her. This grief is felt by all of them, and nowhere is it more obvious than right here, right now as she looks at Pat and Julian and sees their eyes cloud with pain when Grace’s gaze passes through them without any recognition whatsoever. Pat’s shoulders drop and Julian’s fingers twitch as if he’s itching to reach out to Grace and make contact in the only way he can now.

Wait a minute, Alison thinks.

“Touch her.” Julian stares at her as if she’s lost her mind but Alison doesn’t let that deter her. “Boop her on the nose. Show her you’re here.”

“Alison,” Julian begins with a painful grimace. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Perhaps not, Allison concedes. Perhaps it’s an awful idea that will make this terrible situation even worse. But they have to try, don’t they? For Grace, and for the off-chance that it’ll help them all regain a semblance of normalcy.

“Please, Julian,” she begs.

“Go on, mate,” Pat encourages him quietly. “Make her laugh like you did before.”

Julian still looks torn and Alison’s beginning to think he’s not going to do it. But then Grace holds out her little arms to the empty air in front of her and calls his name, and Julian’s resolve crumbles. He slowly steps up to the high seat and reaches out with one shaking finger. Alison holds her breath as he touches Grace’s nose. There’s a brief moment of confusion before her daughter’s face lights up in the most beautiful way and she breaks out into a huge, happy grin. For the first time in days, her laughter fills the house as she claps her hands excitedly and babbles Julian’s name.

“Oh,” Mike whispers, enraptured by the sight. He looks up at the air next to Grace. “Do it again.”

Julian complies, causing Grace to shriek in delight. His face melts and he has to clear his throat before he says softly, “There’s that beautiful smile, little one.”

Something eases in Alison’s chest, then, because not everything is lost, not completely. Grace may no longer be able to see the ghosts but she can still feel Julian’s touch, can still smell the smoke Mary leaves in her wake and see the lights flicker when Robin messes with them. It’s not the same, and not nearly enough, but it’s something and Alison is beyond grateful for that.

“Well done, mate,” Pat says quietly, a note of wistfulness colouring his words as he smiles at Grace.

Julian freezes, and when he glances over his shoulder at Pat he looks stricken.

“It’s not fair though, is it?” he asks, staring down at his hands. “That I can still interact with her while you can’t. While Thomas can’t. It’s not fair.”

He pulls away from Grace, blinking harshly. Pat offers him a sad smile. “Nothing in life has ever been fair, Julian, or in death, for that matter. I obviously can’t speak for the others but I for one am glad Grace has still got you.”

Alison nods softly. “Yeah, me too. I mean, look at her! This is the first time she’s smiled since she stopped seeing you all.” She briefly looks over at her daughter who is trying to boop Mike’s nose with her own fingers now before she meet Julian’s eyes once more. “Thank you for that, Julian. Thank you so much.”

Julian is quiet for a very long moment. He watches Grace giggle when her fingers finally meet their target and then laugh when Mike pretends to steal her nose. His lips are twitching with the beginning of a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I … I think I’ll go sit with Thomas for a while,” he says softly and leaves the room without another word.

Alison’s face falls. She turns to Pat, suddenly worried. “Was I wrong to ask him to do that?”

Pat shakes his head. “No. Thomas just isn’t the only one who needs time.”

“Yeah,” Alison sighs. “How is he, by the way?”

Pat shrugs, a helpless, defeated gesture. “Quiet. Hasn’t said a word at all since – well, you know. Robin’s with him right now, keeping him company.” He takes off his glasses and wipes a tired hand over his eyes. Then, without warning, his face crumbles. “I find myself wishing he would launch into one of his terrible poems, you know? Or just start screaming or raging or – or crying. Anything but this blasted silence! I hate seeing him like this, Alison.”

He hangs his head and Alison makes an aborted movement towards him before she remembers she can’t touch him.

“We need to be patient and give him time,” she says, remembering what Robin told her. “Is there anything I can do for you and the others in the meantime?”

Pat sniffs and puts his glasses back on his nose. “Maybe put on some Friends? I don’t think we have the stomach for Food Club today.”

Alison smiles at him. “I’ll be up after breakfast.”

“Thank you, Alison.”

He leaves through the nearest wall and Alison turns back to her family to find Grace’s breakfast bowl almost half empty. Mike is doing the plane move with the spoon and she keeps giggling between bites like she hasn’t done in days but not even her laughter can fill the unnatural silence that has settled over the rest of the house once more.

————

Grace is noticeably happier for the rest of the day. It’s almost as if her interaction with Julian that morning has opened her eyes and made her realise that the ghosts haven’t actually gone away and left her. At least that’s what Mike’s saying when they eat lunch.

“She’s not even one, Mike,” Alison feels the need to point out.

Mike shrugs. “So? She will be in two days.”

Alison takes a deep, calming breath before she mutters, “So not the point I was making.”

The point in question is that Grace is still a toddler. She may be able to connect the nose booping that morning to Julian but there’s no way she can understand the concept of ghosts – or so Alison thinks. It only takes Grace a few hours to proof her wrong.

They’re in the living room, sitting on the floor and playing with a set of brightly coloured blocks when the Captain walks in with a serious look on his face.

“Alison,” he addresses her formally, standing to attention. “If you would please be so kind as to change the disc for us.”

Alison looks up at him and gives him a smile. “Sure Cap, one sec.”

She means to help Grace finish her little tower first but Grace isn’t looking at the blocks anymore. Instead, she’s staring at the empty air, just a little to the left of where the Captain is standing and cocks her head to the side, the gears in her young head quite obviously turning.

“What’s she doing?” Mike whispers.

Alison shakes her head. “I have no idea.”

The Captain clears his throat and shifts on the spot when suddenly, Grace covers her eyes with her hands, waits a second and then removes her hands with a giggly, “Boo!”

“Good lord,” the Captain chokes out just as Mike breathes, “Is she playing peek-a-boo? With … the Captain?”

Completely stunned, Alison nods. “Yeah, I … I think so.”

Grace does it again, only this time she points a finger at the spot where she thinks the Captain is standing and says his name. She is telling them, in her own toddler way, that she knows the Captain is there even if she can’t see him. To her, he’s simply hiding.

Alison has to admit she has seriously misjudged her daughter. She shares a meaningful look with Mike before she smiles at Grace and says, “That’s right, Grace! The Captain is invisible!”

She makes it sound like the most incredible thing in the world and it works because a moment later Grace’s face lights up and she starts nodding in-between her giggles.

“Isn’t that cool?” Mike asks with a huge grin on his face. Grace claps her hands and he and Alison join in at once, trying to make this moment as positive as possible for her.

The Captain, however, stands frozen to the spot. His fingers are so tightly wrapped around his swagger stick that his knuckles are beginning to turn white. “What … what is going on?”

Alison looks up at him, still smiling. “She’s happy you’re here, Cap.”

“But – she can’t see me,” he says.

“No,” Alison agrees and looks down at Grace who’s once again pointing a finger in the vague direction of the Captain. “But I can and Grace knows that. She just saw me talking to you and for her that means you must be here, even if she can’t see you. And that’s enough.”

The Captain hums in understanding. He crouches down in front of Grace, winces as his knees crack and says, “We will never abandon you, Grace Cooper. You have my word on that.”

Alison’s heart warms and she gently taps Grace’s shoulder to get her attention. “Cap wants you to know that he’ll always be here for you. Isn’t that great?”

Grace’s face breaks out into a smile and she starts babbling happily, her unintelligible attempts at speech intersected with the Captain’s title. There’s a look of pure adoration on the Captain’s face as he stares at her, mingled with what Alison can only describe as peacefulness. She has no illusions that this little moment will fix everything but it’s clear it has fixed something, for both Grace and the Captain, just like this morning has made a difference for Julian. It’s a first glimpse into what their new normalcy could be like, and even though Alison knows it will never make up for what they’ve all lost, it still gives her hope for the future.

————

It’s that thought Alison clings to later when it’s time for Storytime again and Grace refuses to let herself be consoled. She struggles first in Alison’s arms and then in Mike’s when they try to get her to settle down, using all the force her tiny body can muster to push them away. Alison tries to tell her Thomas is still there by doing peek-a-boo, but hearing Thomas’s name only makes Grace cry harder.

In the end, Alison and Mike admit defeat and simply hold her as she cries.

“I thought this would go better tonight,” Alison murmurs once Grace has finally hiccupped herself to sleep. “She was doing so well earlier.”

Mike nudges her with his shoulder, careful not to wake up their sleeping daughter in the process.

“She was,” he says, “but Thomas is different. We’ve always known that.”

“Yeah,” Alison sighs. “I just wish–“

“Hey,” Mike says softly. “It will get better. She just needs a little more time.”

Alison nods even though she’s tired of hearing that. She leans her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes. “I know.”

“Is he still in his room?” Mike asks after a moment.

“As far as I know,” Alison says. “You should have seen them yesterday, Mike. They were all there, watching over him while he slept. I think they took turns today as well so he wouldn’t be alone.”

She feels his lips against her hair. “Do you want to go check up on him?”

Alison hesitates. She wants to, so badly, but at the same time she doesn’t want to intrude. If Thomas is not ready to see her yet …

“Robin said I should wait until Thomas comes to me.”

Mike ponders that. “You want to see him, though?”

“Yes,” Alison whispers, almost shamefully. “I do.”

“Then go,” Mike encourages her. “It’s late. He’s probably asleep and won’t even know you’re there. No harm done.”

Alison considers it. On the one hand, she really doesn’t want to invade Thomas’s privacy but on the other she knows she won’t get any rest until she’s at least seen him and reassured herself he hasn’t disappeared again. And Mike’s right: he probably won’t even notice her.

“I’ll be right back,” she murmurs and carefully extracts herself from Mike’s arm. Grace, bless her, sniffs in her sleep but doesn’t wake up.

As quietly as she can, Alison makes her way to Thomas’s room. The house is silent around her – it usually is this time of night but it still feels different, almost as if its very foundations are holding their breath. When she reaches Thomas’s room, she’s not surprised to find him not alone. Julian is leaning against the headboard, sitting in the same place Fanny had the night before. His eyes are closed and his chest rises and falls in an even rhythm. Thomas is lying next to him with his fingers entangled in Julian’s shirt tails, every now and then twitching in his sleep. When one of the floorboards quietly creaks under Alison’s feet, Robin pokes up his head from behind him.

“Sorry,” Alison whispers guiltily.

Thomas, thank god, remains asleep – perhaps because one of Robin’s hands is once again gently covering his ear. Robin squints at him in the darkness and only relaxes once he’s sure Thomas’s sleep remains untroubled. He looks up at Alison. “Can’t sleep?”

Alison bites her lip and shrugs. “Just needed to see him.”

Robin nods. “Is okay. I get it.”

He glances back down at Thomas and so does Alison. Lying there between Robin and Julian, he looks awfully small, and Alison has to resist the urge to walk into the room and pull the blanket over his thin frame even though she knows how useless that would be. His face is smoothed out in sleep, making him look younger than he truly is but not even his ghostly powers can hide the spots of colour high on his cheeks or the redness around his eyes.

He’s cried himself to sleep, Alison thinks. Just like Grace.

And just like her, he’s not alone.

It’s that thought that allows Alison to take a deep, steadying breath and offer Robin a small smile. “Thank you.”

She sees his eyes soften in the dark. “He in good hands.”

“Yeah,” Alison whispers. “The very best.”

Robin lowers his head and shifts around a little to get comfortable. Alison takes that as her cue to go and make her way back to Mike and Grace. Not long after she leaves, Thomas starts to frown in his sleep. When soft sounds of distress begin to fill the nightly quiet, Julian places one of his hands on his head and gently pets the dark curls until Thomas settles down again.

“Good,” Robin mumbles without opening his eyes.

Julian scoffs fondly. “Just don’t tell the others.”

He keeps up the gentle touches well into the night, and a few doors away, Alison finally manages to get some rest. 

#thomas thorne #alison cooper #bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts fanfic #my fic #bbc ghosts babyfic #julian fawcett #the captain #robin #pat butcher

[darlacore]

[ maia reficco, cis woman, she / her ] - was that DARLA DUEÑAS i saw by the lighthouse today? i heard that the TWENTY FOUR year old who has been in nightrest for FIVE YEARS and works as a cashier at poppies has a reputation of being ENERGETIC, but also INSECURE. they reside in LOW POINT & people in town usually associate them with BREAKING FREE OF THE CAGE YOU'VE LIVED IN, MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME, TRYING TO LIVE LIFE IN THE BARBIE DREAMHOUSE. let’s hope the killer doesn’t go after them next.

tw for neglect ( stage parent vibes ) , death , drugs / overdose ( light mentions / implied ) .

to understand darla , you must get the bigger picture. born to maria dueñas  and maria alone , as she likes to put it.

maria herself was a short-lived actress. the movie she was in was big for the time and people were certain she was going to be someone big - it didn’t happen. roles were hard to come by that weren’t the cutesy sidekick or best friend, and maria’s agent wanted more for her than that. most of her younger years were spent attempting to break out , to get into the mainstream , but she was just that girl that was casted aside.

by the time she was 20 , maria’s career had fizzled out - not even background roles or non speaking parts were being offered , and she was all but dropped from her agent.

darla has never met her father, as it felt very … forbidden to speak about him or ask questions. anytime she dared, it was shut down. she knows very little about him from the small discoveries over the years.

falling pregnant at 26 , alone and scared , maria did the one thing that she knew : pushed darla into acting. if she couldn’t have a blossoming career , the reason for her failures would carry on her dreams whether they liked it or not.

her father was never informed of her existence , though i’m sure by now he has something of an idea. 

since she was small, her mother wanted to have more for her daughter. by the time she was 6 months old, darla already had been in commercials + television roles. because she was such an easy baby, it wasn’t hard to work with her.

in my mind she got her start a - la mary kate + ashley , as the youngest sibling of a sitcom. was mostly there to look cute, but as she got older, it became something she had actual part in. in ended when she was only 6, but by then, maria was used to the checks continuing to come in - so the search was on for the next best thing. the search never stopped , actually. it became her life goal to make darla a fucking star. 

mom was definitely stage mom. never knew when to ask her daughter what she wanted, and darla never learned to speak up for herself. this is a trait that’s stuck with her ever since , the meek girl never speaking up when she’s uncomfortable , too afraid to loose everything she has and to be at the end of her mother’s wrath once more. everything was about maria , never about darla. her own feelings were set aside and taken over by what she thought her mom wanted. mother knows best.

her career grew over time. she never had major success , such as a lead role , but she definitely has had notable roles in different movies and television shows. never achieved mary kate & ashley duo-star, although that’s what her mother wanted.

think of her as a girl no one really knows , but she’s everywhere : very much mckenna grace or young bailee madison. if they needed a young girl to cry her eyes out , darla was there first thing. 

NEGLECT TW    /    by the time darla was 10, her mom was going out and using darla’s money to party - to experience the ‘teenage’ years in hollywood she never got but always wanted. darla would have to be at a set early in the morning and her mother would just barely be coming out of clubs and bars, leaving young darla to fend for herself. oftentimes , she’d find a ‘sit in’ babysitter so she didn’t have to spend hours on set with her daughter , instead fully exploring the dark side of what hollywood had to offer.

she had a long running show from ages 10 to 18 --- some hbo show that she doesn't know if she can bare to think about anymore. her coworkers on that show became her pseudo family and essentially watched her grow up -- think shameless and it's young cast. they taught her how to drive, embarrassing first kiss stories, the whole nine yards.

after the show ended, she fired her own mother as her manager and tried to cut ties with her as best she could. it was for the best, though the outcomes of it all were not what she was expecting.

DEATH TW , OVERDOSE TW   /    old habits die hard and with her mother using her money , still keeping hold of her bank account and dumping as much from into her own , maria accidentally overdosed inside of their shared apartment from the drugs she’d bought while her daughter was on set. darla's new manager had found her, and relayed the news to darla.

that was it. 19 and packed all her things up --- looking for a place to get out of dodge.

all roads led to nightrest, after investigation into finding her father ... or any other kind of family. little did darla know her own mother was from the area, though not nightrest itself. she arrived 4 years ago and has stayed ever since. living off her residual checks from her childhood works and trying to solve her family mystery.

.......

can be snarky as hell, a little bit of an airhead, but she means well. witty, sarcastic, all the nine yards.

decided to be more social than she had been in a while and got a job at poppies about two years ago. she's not the best and frankly lacks quite a lot of social awareness that should've been taught to her growing up, but she tries!!

honestly just trying to have a fun time now. parties more than she should, is a bit immature but usually means well

the murders freak her out yet she doesn't leave despite having the abilities to. she thinks it'll be like she's abandoning those she's become close to in the town.

she yet to process her mother's grief relatively healthy. she's all about ignoring it instead, and will skirt any question about family / siblings / etc because she .. essentially has none, at least biologically.

love love love pink. is so excited for the barbie movie she's going to explode. calls her house the dream house because it's decorated like a girls dormroom.

trained in dance from ages 3 to 13, and sometimes competed competitively. her mom was unfortunately booted from a competition and thus they were not allowed back, meaning darla would no longer be training because her mom got mad.

drives a cute little subaru. do not ask her anything else because she nor i have any idea

loves pop culture. loves the 2000s.

yes she WILL buy ur love! cash, food, clothes! pls love her.

is an angel all around

wanted connections ....

older sibling / parental figure ( 25+ ) ; these people have darla’s best interest at heart. they could know about her mother and not agree with her pressure , instead taking the girl under their wing one way or another.

bad influence ( 25+ ) ; these people want to see darla burn , essentially. not in a way that means like. bad, but they want to rile her up - see what she does , get her into trouble even unintentionally.

ex ( 23 - 26 ) ;    they broke up for whatever reason, but can still be on good / bad terms , most likely more than a year ago.

ex friends ; these people are no longer friends with darla for whatever reason. could be on good or bad terms. 

flirtationships ( 23 - 26 )   ;     she sucks at flirting n being subtle but it could be so cute.

friends ; they’re friends. that’s it.

family friend ; their parents knew darla’s mom. could be friendly or not really care about each other.

people from los angeles ; they may know her ? or of her?

people who can help her process everything w her mother

people who can help her find her father....?

#nightrest:intro #hi:3 #neglect tw #death tw #drugs tw #overdose tw

[scotianostra]

October 14th 1285 saw the second marriage of King Alexander III to Yolanda de Dreux.

We hear a lot about Alexander in my posts due to the events after his death, I will try and concentrate more on his Queen, although she was Scotland’s Queen Consort for only  4 months and 14 days.

In that short time, Yolanda carried the hope of a nation – and its king – to secure the Scottish succession.

Yolande was born into a minor branch of the French royal family, probably sometime in the mid-1260s. Her father was Robert IV, Count of Dreux, who died in 1282 and her mother was Beatrice de Montfort, who died  in 1311. She had 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Little is known of Yolande’s childhood but we can imagine that as a junior member of the Capetian dynasty, she grew up amidst some privilege and splendour.

Queen Margaret died in 1275 and within 8 years all 3 of her children were dead; 8-year-old David died at Stirling Castle at the end of June 1281, Margaret died in childbirth on 9th April 1283 and Alexander died at Lindores Abbey in January 1284, sometime around his 20th birthday. Alexander’s heir was now his infant granddaughter by Margaret and Erik, little Margaret, the Maid of Norway, born shortly before her mother’s death.

Whilst Yolande was growing into adulthood Scotland was experiencing a “golden age”, a period of relative peace and prosperity. Her king, Alexander III was married to Margaret, daughter of Henry III of England and the couple had 3 children survive childhood. Their daughter, Margaret, born at Windsor on 28th February, 1261,  was married to Erik II, king of Norway, in August 1281. Their eldest son, Alexander, was born on 21st January 1264, at Jedburgh. On 15th November 1282 Alexander married Margaret, the daughter of Guy de Dampierre, Count of Flanders. A younger son, David was born on 20th March 1273. With his entire dynasty resting on the life of his toddler granddaughter, Alexander started the search for a new wife. In February 1285 he sent a Scottish embassy to France for this sole purpose. Their successful search saw Yolande arrive in Scotland that same summer, accompanied by her brother John. Alexander and Yolande were married at Jedburgh Abbey, Roxburghshire, on 14th October 1285, the feast of St Calixtus, in front of a large congregation made up of Scottish and French nobles. Yolande was probably no more than 22 years of age, while Alexander was in his 44th year.

The marriage was the shortest of any English or Scottish king, lasting less than 5 months. Tragedy struck in March of 1286 when Alexander took a tumble down that cliff near Kinghorn.

There followed months of uncertainty in Scotland. She had lost one of her most successful kings and the succession was in turmoil. Little Margaret, the Maid of Norway, had been recognised by the council as Alexander’s heir, but his queen was pregnant; and if she gave birth to a boy he would be king from his first breath. A regency council was established to rule until the queen gave birth. In the event, Yolande either suffered a miscarriage, or the child was stillborn. Some sources, the Lanercost Chronicle in particular, have questioned whether Yolande was pregnant at all, suggesting that she was intending to pass off another woman’s baby as her own. The plan thwarted, the chronicle recorded that ‘women’s cunning always turns toward a wretched outcome‘.¹ However, there are major discrepancies in the chronicle’s apparently malicious account and tradition has the baby buried at Cambuskenneth.

In May 1294 Yolande had married for a second time; Arthur of Brittany was a similar age to Yolande and was the son and heir of Jean II, duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond. Yolande was the second wife of Arthur, who already had 3 sons, Jean, Guy and Peter, by his first wife, Marie, Vicomtesse de Limoges.Yolande and Arthur had 6 children together.

Her second husband died in 1345 and after being widowed for a second time Yolande did not remarry.

During her time in Brittany Yolande continued to administer her Scottish estates; in October 1323 safe-conduct to Scotland was granted to a French knight  ‘for the dower of the Duchess of Brittany while she was Queen of Scotland‘. 

It seems uncertain when Yolande died. Sources vary between 1324 and 1330, although she was still alive on 1st February 1324 when she made provision for the support of her daughter, Marie, who had become a nun.

#Scotland #scottish #royalty #monarch #french #France #history

[renee-writer]

Out of Time Chapter Ninety-three

AO3

He senses the presence before he lays eyes on it. Lifting his rifle, he wishes they had radios. There was a discussion but, the fear of the bad guys overhearing made the idea to troubling. Now, with someone or something creeping about, he is terrified and not able to reach out. The hand holding the gun shakes and he orders himself to focus. Claire, Juliaellen, Jenny, well everyone, is counting on his protection.

 

“I have you in my sights. Halt and place your hands where I can see them!” If the intruder is human, this may work. An animal… His heart pounds and a nervous sweat covers him. Everything is sharper. The bare branches of the trees, the sound of bird song, the taste of fear in his mouth.

 

Jenny and Danny are hunting. Are they close by? Has this thing or person already got them? His thoughts are as fast as his heart and labored breathing.

 

A minute passes. Two. Then…

 

He steps out, hands out, a rifle like his own, leaning against his thigh. His beard is scruffy, his face weary. It is his eyebrows that Jamie recognizes. He would know them anywhere.

 

His legs almost give way in sweet relief. “Murtagh! Crimmey, we thought you dead!”

 

“Jamie lad, I almost was. That mist didn’t  harm me but there are some bad people out there who tried hard. I had to take a few out.”

 

“Me too.” He gestures for him to join him. He can’t  leave the guard station. His Godfather climbs up carefully. Jamie sees his exhaustion. “How long have you been running?” He offers him a drank from his canteen.

 

“Water! For a week now. They were trailing me for awhile but I lost them in the Highlands. One was taken out by, I swear to you lad, a bloody tiger. We didn’t  use to have tigers in the Highlands.”

 

“They were sent her as a weapon. Christ Alive, is it ever good to see you! How did you find me?” Now that his adrenalin was leaving, he is able to think more clearly. How did the old man find them? Was he a spy? Oh, surely not! Please God, no!

 

Murtagh watches his face. He tries to hide it but he sees the doubt and fear come over him. He doesn’t blame the lad.

 

“I knew you would be here somewhere. I went to Lallybroch first. Saw the destruction of the priest hole, knew that you had been there and weren’t then. I dug through the rubble to make sure you or Jenny or Ian weren’t ,” Jamie ‘s face contracts in grief at the mention of his best mate and brother -in-law. Murtagh misses nothing  “Who?”

 

“Ian. Jenny and the bairns are here.”

 

He lowers his head and crosses himself, saying a prayer. “Your parents?” Jamie shakes his head. They both sigh. “I kept looking. You didn’t  leave an easy trail. I noticed the natural fence last night. Camped in a tree and started cautiously towards it. Heard a few whispered voices,” he arches his eyes.

 

“Jenny and a man named Danny, another survivor, hunting.”

 

He nods in relief. “Good. Then you hailed me.”

 

He knows there is more to the story but it is enough for now. “Did you encounter any other survivors, other than the bad guys?”

 

“No, but there are some out there. I could sense them. Scared, you ken. I didn’t wish to call them out. You, Jenny, the children, this Danny?”

 

“Aye and a lass named Mary, her infant son Alex and,” He shivers with expectation at telling his second da about Claire and the baby.

 

“And?”

 

“My wife, Claire and our daughter, Juliaellen.”

 

He is pleased to have shocked him. “What now?”

 

“It is quite a long story. We meet the day of the mist. We will tell you together. She and the baby are inside with Mary and the other children. We don’t leave them unguarded. When Jenny and Danny return, he can take my place and we can all catch up. Oh, Claire built the fence. She is a soldier.”

 

“Seems you have had a bigger adventure than myself since all this started. Do you know who are enemies are?”

 

As they wait for the hunters to return, he tells him what he knows, about Steven Bonnet.

#my writing #outlander fanfic #out of time #Chapter Ninety -three #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom #modern au

[magdaclaire]

the other end of the line

parts one, two, and three. and once again. heavy discussion of character death.

"Don't go."

She had hardly picked up the phone before the sound of Missouri's voice cracks her right in half, Missouri Moseley closer to begging than Ellen's ever heard her and she doesn't even know what for yet. They're at a hotel right now. She has no idea where Missouri got this number, but she's willing to bet she plucked it straight from the universe itself.

"Baby, I don't-" she starts, confused, but finds herself interrupted.

"Those Winchester boys, Ellen. I know those boys are convincing, but you can't go with them, Ellen Joleen. You and Joanna Beth stay at home and I'll come visit next week, okay?" It's the repetition that gets her more than anything else, hearing her name crack across the speaker more than once making her feel off kilter. Something's wrong. She'd had the dread-cold feeling she usually gets before Missouri calls for days now, so she had assumed by this point that it was just good old fashioned anxiety. Now, she's thinking it might be something bigger.

"Miz, what's this about?" she asks, sitting down on the floor by the landline, curling up with the telephone cradled in her lap. The line of her shoulders is so tense it's rigid against the the frame of the bed she's leaning against,

"Can't you just listen to me, El? Just this once?"

"Not a damn chance, you know I need more than that,"

"I saw something again. I can't- I can't do this, Ellen." Ellen frowns, fingers tapping against the hard casing of the telephone. She took apart one of these when she was in her twenties, curious of what a phone would look like if you cracked it right open. Wires, mostly. If you were wondering. Metal. Shiny bits. She's not so good with machines. Jo gets that all from her Daddy. Ellen taps her fingers on the casing of the telephone.

"Can't do what, Miz? We're just talking. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours. Tell me what you saw," she wants to give Missouri a little nudge, would if they were sitting beside each other, and it's like the ache to touch her never has anywhere to go. It just lives inside of her like the original Alien movie, dangerous and waiting to claw its way out. That's how she felt when she was a kid, really. Now, she's getting to old to be shaking everybody up with what she wants or likes, and she's settled into who she is, really. Except that feeling.

"You and Jo can't go, Ellen. It's not safe," Missouri says, and Ellen snaps back into the conversation like she's been slapped. It's all she can take not to make her next words to Missouri sharp, so she consciously softens her tone.

"It's the end of the world, Missouri Rose," she says, smiling despite herself, "pretty sure nothing's safe out here anymore."

"Ellen," Missouri says her name again and this time it's out as a sob and Ellen wants nothing more than to comfort her, to hold her hands and wrap an arm around her, than to hold her like she's always wanted to. She wraps her fingers around the phone chord and tries to kill the yearning in her to find something to say to her oldest friend, anything for comfort. She's never been much good for it when it comes to comforting Missouri about things Ellen just isn't willing to change.

Bill always told her that her stubbornness would bite her in the ass. He was talking about their daughter, but he'd be glad to know he's right about this too.

"Baby, how am I supposed to leave those boys alone? Let them run into Hell's half acre without any backup? Mary's boys?"

"Goddamn it! We already lost Mary. We already lost Bill. Why do I have to-" Missouri cuts herself off with a heaved sob, pulled away from the receiver where Ellen can hear it, but only barely. Ellen puts away her own emotions on the matter and focuses on Missouri. It's what she's always been best at, focusing on other people.

"I know, Miz. I'm sorry. How bad is it this time?" she asks, that coaxing voice coming back to her right naturally,

"Oh, Elly, it's bad," Missouri says, thick like she can't swallow around the weight of the future on her tongue, and Ellen would kiss her to take that weight out of her mouth. She'd kiss her for just about any reason. She always thought she and Missouri would always have more time, that they would never run out. The sand is looking thin in its stream through the hourglass.

"What can I do?" she asks, action oriented. Lingering on what never happened has never fixed things for anyone. She can only handle now what will. Missouri gives her an unhinged sort of laugh, laughter like she doesn't mean to be laughing at all. Laughter like mourning.

"Short of staying away from those boys all together? I don't know, Ellen. I don't know, and I'm scared." She doesn't know that Missouri has ever told her that straight out, bled her fear over the line so openly that the word was willing to be defined. Ellen's heart wrenches.

"Oh, baby. You gonna have somebody with you when we get off the phone? I don't want you to be alone," she admits, her voice so gentle she feels like it almost does that task of wrapping Missouri in a blanket like she wants to, but Missouri makes a disapproving noise on the other side of the line.

"Ellen Joleen, I know you are not trying to console me through your own death right now,"

"Well, if there's any way I can be prepared, it might as well be this," she says, the joke falling flat as she thinks about every way that she can't be. She and Jo left the Roadhouse months ago. None of the hunters they left keys with are guaranteed to have survived this long.

"She won't be safe either, El," Missouri says, and Ellen knows she's talking about Jo. Her baby. Ellen lets a hot breath out through her teeth.

"I can ask her to stay away, hell, I can even tell her that she might die. But you know how she is. It's like danger itself leads her around by her nose, just like her Daddy, my girl," she says, missing Jo before either of them are even gone, and her baby is only gone to get some takeout. Jo's so much like Bill it hurts to look at her sometimes. Even if she never loved Bill like anybody told her she was supposed to, she still loved him right, she thinks. She loved him as well as either of them ever could have managed. He was her best friend.

"I don't know how you even could make it out. I'm sorry, Ellen,"

"It's okay, Miz. You called and told me. That's all you had to do,"

"I want to do more. I want to help. I feel so- so goddamn helpless! In this house with my visions and you dying bloody on the other side of the country, Ellen, I can't do this without you. How am I supposed to do this?"

"You do not get to stop after I go, you understand me, Missouri Rose? I go and you keep on. Just like I did when Bill passed, just like we did when Mary went. I know this is the most it's ever been. But we always knew this would happen, didn't we? Talked about it when Bill died, didn't we?" she asks, rhetorical and borderline unkind, knowing damn well that Missouri is losing something different by losing her than she did when she lost Bill. Ellen had lost her co-parent, her best friend, the only man she had ever invited into her bed. Missouri will be losing her confidante, the person she calls when the fog in her mind grows too thick, the person at the other end of the line. Ellen doesn't know what she would do if she lost Missouri either.

"This is so much worse than never having known you," Missouri says, a sob breaking through the last of her words. Ellen holds back a sob of her own. Whether she dies today, tomorrow, next week, this is goodbye, isn't it?

"Is it really, baby?" she asks, her barest hint of flirtation always just so easy with Missouri, even when she's holding back tears of her own, forehead against the bed frame. Missouri gives that strangled laugh again.

"No! It isn't. And that's what's so godawful about it, isn't it? Because losing you is about to be the worst thing that's ever happened to me, I think. Ellen, I don't know how to say goodbye to you," Missouri says. Ellen hates that cracked sound to her voice, that quality she takes on when she's so hurt and unsure.

"Then don't say goodbye. How about, I'll see you one day? Eventually, because you better not be following me too soon or we'll have something to talk about before we get to more pleasant conversation."

"El, as much death as I've seen, I don't know that I've ever seen an afterlife," Missouri says, unsure, so damn unsure.

"Believe anyway," she requests, quiet and strange, but sure of herself. Sure enough for both of them.

"What?" Missouri asks. Ellen gets it. It's not like she's ever been much of a woman of faith. For once, just for once, she just wants to believe in something. For herself. For Jo. For Missouri.

"For me," she says, "for whenever you come after me. Believe in an after. Okay? We all know Dean Winchester went to hell. What's there to say there isn't a Heaven for you and me too?" she asks, her eyes closed as she imagines it. She thinks Heaven is a bedroom with Mary and Missouri in it, when she's so young she doesn't know what she's feeling yet but she doesn't think it's wrong either, she thinks Heaven could just be Missouri Moseley. Missouri snorts.

"For you and me, Ellen Joleen? If I didn't know any better, I might think you were sweet on me," Missouri says, almost back to her typical routine of flirting with Ellen until she moves away from anything that might make Missouri actually feel something. Ellen digs her heels in instead of taking the out.

"I wasted enough time in this life pretending I wasn't. I don't wanna pretend in the next one too." Of course now is when she finally feels brave. Halfway beneath her tombstone and you'll find her with a rifle in hand, ready load up against God.

"Ellen-" Missouri starts, but there's a card slid into the door scanner, and an entrance made before Ellen can hear anything else.

"Mom?" Joanna Beth asks, opening the hotel room door with a bag of burgers. Ellen waves from her place between the beds.

"Jo's back, Miz. Come find me, okay? I'll see you one day," she says, her emotions curled back inside of herself now that her and Bill's daughter is in the room. There's nothing here she needs to see. Missouri sniffles on the other end of the line.

"I'll see you one day."

#part 4 of 5 #ellenmissouri #ellen harvelle #missouri moseley #spn #mine #character death #jo harvelle #features briefly #lots of discussion of death in this series / fic #im pretty sure when it goes on ao3 it's all gonna be one fic

[marie-dufresne]

👫

💖 Marie is constantly baking for Izzy. She has no daughters of her own (so many sons…..) and even though her boys enjoy sweets, there’s something about baking for other girls that satisfies something in her soul. Knowing how lonely the labs can be is also a driving force.

💖 Izzy is the only person who makes Marie feel old and out of touch. Everywhere else she’s the center of it all, but when Izzy tries to assert dominance or displays threat, Marie is thrown off guard and reminded that she doesn’t know everything and a little bit of compassion isn’t always the answer. Despite how she presents herself, Izzy makes her feel very insecure.

💖 To piggy back on that, when she does find out about the physical relationship between Hojo and Izzy, she’s just…sad. Yes, she was aware that her marriage was held together by nothing more than the paperwork that bound it in the first place and yes it gives her the freedom to fully commit to a life with Vincent free of scandal but the sting of being pushed aside for a younger, more attractive specimen just…doesn’t really ever go away.

💖 Marie is quicker to forgive Hojo than Izzy. She can accept that they had love and it waned. She can be an adult and have a working relationship with the man, especially given the fact that by the end of it, professionalism is all that is present anyway, but Izzy entered into a friendship (if you want to call it that) with her already having been involved with the professor.

Was this Marie’s fault? Partially, yes. She refused to give up on the idea of taking care of Izzy as much as she tried to keep her at arms length, but her knowing that an affair was happening right under her nose the whole time while she was building a friendship with the mistress is something that would take her much longer to get over than “my husband got with someone younger.”

💖 Once the waves of hurt subside, Marie would very likely convince Hojo to allow her to train her in the ways of society so Izzy could fully take her place. Marie is tired at this point. She has lost all taste for the science department and the greed and warmongering of ShinRa. She wants out, and to retire on the beach with her remnant sons while her oldest Jenova baby tries to blow up the planet.

Pastries would still be overnighted to Izzy on a regular basis.