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I know there are fans who want Lady Olivia to become queen but I feel a counsel representing each different community will be a much better form of government. The Toad Towers being abolished and Frog Farmers being compensated for their hard work.

A counsel would still need some sort of leadership, so she'd probably be a queen but now with several representatives under her. One of toads, one of newts and one of frogs, and they would have several under them and so on. Basically, the current government undergoing restructuring.

How governments work is actually really interesting and one of my favourite parts in history. But if there's one thing I know, it's that the bigger the country, the more complicated it becomes. There's an increase in layers of authority and consequently, an exponential increase on authority figures. States break into counties, which break into districts, and then smaller territories and so on, each having its own representative.

The problem with large governments is that it's not that the leaders are ignoring the pleas of the people (in this case, frog farmers) but because they simply cannot know. Lady Olivia took an oath to protect Amphibia but she's blind to farmers' plight because she hasn't nor can she notice. The higher a person is, the less they'll be able to know about the bottom line, and vice versa. You only have a few layers that you can personally access, and anything below that is completely blind. As far as she knew, Wartwood is doing just fine.

Also, Toad Tower hasn't been abolished. Sure, they lost their actual tower but they're still alive. If Lady Olivia wants them removed without starting a conflict, then she must provide a suitable alternative for the displaced toads. Otherwise, the toads would retaliate and unlike the frogs, they actually can and will retaliate, especially with how weakened Newtopia would be once the show ends. We've seen it before when Wartwood destroyed their own Toad Tower.

Government politics is super interesting :)

#i went too deep in this so i apologize #amphibia #lady olivia #queen olivia #scrabble talk #government

Brave for You- Part 2

Author’s Note: FIRST AND FOREMOST, LET IT BE SAID THAT THIS IS NOT CONGRUENT WITH THE WORLD OF LEARNING TO LOVE AGAIN. That is why this is a Riley and Drake story, not Claire and Drake. So this is something that happened completely out of the blue. I was listening to music this afternoon and Brave for You by The XX came on, and I was hit with this story. It came to me like a music video, haunting and strange. I suggest listening to the song before/during or after you read.

Warning: character death, lots of angst. ugh. but... I think it’s not quite as bad as part 1? Please don’t hate me, all.

Pairing: Drake x Riley, Liam x Olivia

Word Count: 3,427

Riley sat on the porch looking out at the lake, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee to fight the stiff chill in the September morning air. It had been years since she’d seen the sun come up over that glassy surface, the colors painting the sky, the light bathing the trees, the reflection throwing brightness all over the woods and the dock and the porch and the cabin. Years since she could stand to be here, without him. But she’d not really been afforded any time away from her duchy or from courtly duties, or from running the Drake and Jackson Walker Foundation since Austin was born, and when the time came to choose a destination for their little getaway, she could think of no place else. She pulled the blue and red plaid blanket tightly around her shoulders and closed her eyes. You warm enough, Brooks? He would ask her, coming out of the back door with another blanket and two mugs of strong Irish coffee before coming to sit behind her. Let me warm you up. He’d wrap her in the blanket before pulling her to his chest, to the beating of his heart, where all his warmth came from. She could feel the way his hands would slide along her arms, the way his lips would find that spot behind her ear. She could feel the way her back would curve against the muscles of his chest as they both took deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, the sun had fully come up, and she was alone again. She took a sip of her coffee before setting it down on the side table.

The door behind her opened with a creak that made her smile- Hell, that door’s still creaking, huh? He’d been meaning to fix it but the few times they’d been there together, they’d fallen into one another and all thoughts of the creaky door vanished. Riley forgot about the door until she heard it open as her four year old son wandered out, rubbing his eyes and shrugging his little shoulders against the cold. His hair was sticking up and his eyes were still full of sleep and he looked just like his father. She smiled at him and opened her arms as he climbed up into her lap. She wrapped the blanket around them both. Oh, Brooks, I wish I was in that blanket with you and our boy. “Good morning, sleepy,” she kissed the top of his head. His hair was the same texture as Drake’s. The same color.

Austin snuggled close to his mother and Riley sighed into his messy hair. “G’morning Mommy.”

“How did you sleep, little buddy?” She raked her fingers through his hair as he found the ring on her necklace, sliding it along the platinum links of the chain it dangled from.

Austin shrugged. “Okay.” He snuggled closer.

Riley gave him a light squeeze before she opened her arms and turned him around in her lap. “Just okay, baby?” She cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong, Aus?”

Austin plucked at the fringe on the blanket that was still around them. “Mommy, was this Daddy’s house? Uncle Liam said it was.”

Austin had been asking more and more questions about his father lately. Riley always knew that there would come a time that he would become curious, would come to her for answers about the man he’d never met but whose eyes and smile and hair and heart he’d inherited. She tried to prepare herself for that, but it was proving to be one of those things that you just can’t be prepared for until it punched you in the gut. You can do this, Brooks. Be brave for him, my warrior. The hardest part wasn’t even talking about him anymore; that was easy, especially with Austin. The hardest part was knowing what a truly amazing father he would have been. It was knowing that she’d have to try to live up to not only the kind of mother that she wanted to be, but up to the kind of father that he would have been. She continued to rake her fingers through his hair, smoothing it down from its nest-like state. “Uncle Liam said that, huh?”

Austin nodded. “Uh huh. And Aunt Liv. They said,” he scrunched up his face like he always did when he was repeating something he’d heard, “lucky you, your daddy loved that cabin, it’s so much fun there.”

Riley’s throat clenched as he unscrunched his face. “Well, Uncle Liam and Aunt Liv were right. This is your Daddy’s house, where he lived when he was a little boy with Gram and Aunt Savvy and his daddy, your Grandpa Jackson.”

“Oh, wow,” Austin looked at the cabin as though he was seeing it for the first time. “Did Uncle Liam used to come here to?”

Riley smiled to herself, her lips twitching to one side as she recalled all the stories Drake had told her about the times that Liam and Leo were allowed to come have sleepovers at the Walker home, all the trouble they’d all get into together. Don’t be too specific about that trouble, Brooks, or you’ll have a harder time keeping up with him than my mom had keeping up with me. He’s half you, remember. She shook her head at that, smile still on her face. “Yes, baby. Your Uncle Liam and your Daddy were best friends. Best, best friends.” She touched her nose to his. The risen sun was starting to warm the air, but Riley kept the blanket around them. It made her feel more like he was there, holding his family.

“Like Phillip is my best friend?” his face lit up as he mentioned the young prince.

“Exactly. Uncle Liam was a prince like Phillip is.”

“And Mommy?” He looked up at her, gap between his two front teeth pulling at her heartstrings like it always did.

“Yes, baby?”

“Uncle Liam is a King, and you’re a Dushess-“

“Duchess,” she corrected, emphasizing the “ch” sound.

“Duch-ess,” he repeated and she nodded. “And you said I’m going to be a Duke when I grow up.”

“That’s right, baby. You’re going to be the best Duke Valtoria has ever had.”

“But Mommy? If you’re a Duch-ess, and I’m gonna be a Duke…was my Daddy a Duke?” He looked back at the cabin. “This cabin is fun like Uncle Liam said. But Dukes don’t live in houses; they live in big castles like Valtoria.”

Riley took her son’s face between her hands. “No, baby, your Daddy wasn’t a Duke. Your Daddy was a hero.” She could feel tears stinging her eyes. Aw, hell, Brooks, don’t cry now, brave girl.

As if he could hear Drake’s words inside his mother’s memory, Austin threw his short little arms around her waist. “Don’t be sad, Mommy. We have to be brave, like Daddy.”

“Oh, baby,” Riley hugged her little boy tightly. “I’m not sad. I just love your Daddy so much, and I know he loves you so much. I just wish he was here with us sometimes.” Me too, little buddy. “You know what, Aus? I have an idea.”

Austin pulled back and looked up at her, his brown eyes open wide now, all the sleepiness gone. “What’s your idea, Mommy?”

“Let’s go inside and have breakfast. I’ll make pancakes like Daddy used to make. And then we can look at all the pictures in the cabin together, and I’ll tell you all the stories I know about Daddy and Uncle Liam. How does that sound?” Austin nodded and Riley kissed the top of his head again. “Okay,” she rose from the bench, picking Austin up and slinging him over her shoulder, the way Drake would playfully pick her up sometimes, sending her legs swinging and kicking as she laughed. C’mon, Brooks, you’re comin’ with me, he’d say before his strong arms would scoop her up. “Let’s go, my little sack of potatoes.” She left her mug forgotten on the table outside.

The two of them had breakfast and Austin helped Riley carry the plates over to the sink to clean up. He’s such a perfect little gentlemen, our boy. Great job, Brooks, he’s all you. She patted him on the head and he looked up and smiled. “Can we look at pictures now?” Riley took the plates from him and set them in the sink, taking his hand and leading him out to the living room. Austin pulled the topmost photo album off the bookshelf and settled himself next to Riley on the couch. It was the most recent one. He opened it and she was smacked with a photo of herself and Drake on his birthday nearly 5 years ago now. It was a candid shot and Riley was laughing at something Max was doing beyond the frame of the photo, but Drake was looking right at her, his eyes full of what couldn’t be mistake for anything but devotion. It was and always would be one of her favorite photos. Her breath caught in her throat as the loose picture slid onto Austin’s lap. “Oh, here, Mommy,” she said, handing it to her. “Mommy, you look pretty in this one. I like your hair. Oh and your lips are really red.” She looked at the way her hair was styled in the photo, though she didn’t really need to. Once he’d told her how much he liked her woven braids, she stopped thinking about how to do her hair, settling on some sort of braid every day. She shook her hair and it tickled the tops of her shoulders. She hadn’t worn a braid since the day she announced the Foundation.

“You like it like that?” She asked, still holding the photo. Austin nodded with a big smile. “Your Daddy liked it like that, too. Maybe I’ll start doing that again, what do you think, baby?” Atta girl, Brooks. Show him who you are, you’re my brave warrior. Austin smiled and enthusiastically told her that she should. They flipped through the pages, Riley answering all of his questions: “Who’s dog is that?” “Is that Uncle Max on Daddy’s shoulders?” “Mommy, did you and Daddy go to fancy balls and parties like when Uncle Liam has parties?” When they’d gotten to the last page, her heart thumped hard against her ribs. She’d forgotten this one was in there.

“Mommy?” Austin’s face was scrunched again as he looked at the oddly shaped black and white blob in the center of a triangular picture. “What kind of picture is this?” It was labeled Miracle.

Riley felt the room shrink and the air rush from her lungs as the memories came back to her. She touched the clear plastic sleeve of the album page, her fingers hovering over the ultrasound that changed her world. “That’s you, baby.” She remembered the day that she’d gone to Olivia, and Liv had made her see a doctor.

“Liv, how? How could I be…” Her voice was still hollow. It was almost 2 months after Drake’s passing. At first she thought the nausea and headaches were all just part of her mourning, part of processing his loss on a physical level. She’d missed her period last month, but that was easily brushed off as her body being under the extreme stress of losing Drake. But now she’d missed a second one, and her other symptoms weren’t getting better, they were only getting worse.

“How could you be?” Olivia gave Riley a look with one eyebrow arched high and her lips pursed to one side.

“Liv, we only…” she shook her head, her eyebrows coming together as tears stung in the corners of her eyes. “We only slept together one time…” her voice got quiet as it trailed off.

“Ri, one time is all it takes,” Olivia put her hand on Riley’s shoulder and looked softly into her eyes. “Come on, now, I got you this,” she held up a little box of pregnancy tests, giving it a shake. “One way to find out.”

Riley took the box into the bathroom, her heart hammering and fingers shaking as she opened it. Pregnant. Could she really be pregnant? While she waited the agonizing minutes, she thought back to night of the ball, to their bodies entwined, her gown and his suit tossed on the ground, her hands on his back, his teeth grazing her throat. She remembered the way their breathing had synched and their hips worked together, like puzzle pieces finding their match. I love you so much, Riley Brooks, he’d said in her ear, his voice low and raspy with desire and truth. She heard it echo in her head and off the tiled walls of the bathroom as she waited to check the stick in her hand. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she looked down and saw two distinct lines. She was pregnant. Olivia knocked on the door. “You good, Ri?”

Riley didn’t know how to answer. Instead she opened the door and the look on her face told Olivia everything that she needed to know. Olivia’s hand went to her own stomach, where she’d recently learned that a little prince or princess was growing, the news coming just a few days after she and Liam were wed in a quiet ceremony two weeks following Drake’s funeral. “Liv, I…” she felt herself start to hyperventilate. Hey, now, it’s going to be okay. Just be brave, Brooks.

Olivia’s thin arms came around her in an uncharacteristic but very welcomed hug. Riley felt her lips brush a quick peck against her cheek before the woman who had become her best friend pulled back and held Riley’s shoulders. “Okay. We need to get you to a doctor. You need to tell Liam, and you’ll need to tell Bianca and Savannah.” She paused and gestured for Riley to take a deep breath, having noticed the pale color her face had taken and the wide, shocked way that her eyes were stuck open. Riley followed her example, the two of them taking deep breaths through their noses and blowing the air out. “Riley, have you been drinking at all since…?”

Riley squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head no. She’d had one glass of Whiskey with Liam and Bastien the night that they’d laid Drake to rest, but it burned terribly, like never before, and the taste only brought back memories of his tongue sliding against hers. She didn’t bother with wine or gin or anything else, realizing that she didn’t want to be drunk. She didn’t want to drown him out, or forget how much it hurt that he was gone. She needed to feel every second of it, because these were the last seconds of him that she’d feel. “No,” she said, still shaking her head. “No, Liv I haven’t…I…” it seemed to hit her then as tears fell from her eyes. “Oh, Liv, I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant and he’s gone and…” she sobbed and Olivia took her in her arms again.

“Listen, Riley, he’s not gone.” She spoke calmly into Riley’s ear as she rubbed a soothing pattern on her back. “He’s not gone, you have him with you always, you know that.” She pulled back and tucked a piece of Riley’s hair behind her ear. “And now, now you have a little miracle to remind you of that. To remind you that he’s still here with you. You just have to be brave, Ri, like he’d want you to be. And you know Liam and I are here for you. You have Bianca and Sav and Hana and Max.” She let out a little laugh. “Riley, this kid is going be so spoiled with love. I know, because I know how much you love Drake…how much he loved you.” She’s right, Brooks. I hate it when she’s right, but she is.

She fell asleep that night with his pillow clutched tightly between her arms, her face buried in it. She’d had a long couple of hours after taking that test in Olivia’s bathroom. First, the two of them had found Liam in his study and told him what they’d just learned. Liam had sought out Olivia’s hand, twining his fingers with hers before laying their hands on her stomach, a breath falling from his mouth and a mist forming in his eyes. “We always said our kids would raise hell together,” he chuckled as the mist in his eyes formed a tear. He looked right into Riley’s eyes. “And we’re all in for it, because this ones half you, Riley Brooks.” He’s right, Brooks. “Whatever you need, we’re here for you. Both of you.” She’d hugged him and they’d cried and smiled and it helped to feel how happy it made Liam. She knew how happy it would have made Drake.

She’d called Savannah and the two of them cried more than they spoke. Riley ached for Savannah, knowing that she felt terrible over the lost time with her brother before their brief reunion. She couldn’t bring herself to call Bianca, though. That was a conversation she’d need to have in person.

“Mrs. Walker,” she’d somehow found voice enough to speak after the woman’s tearful hug. “I’ve told you, Riley, just Bianca, darlin. Now come inside and let’s hear what’s on your mind.”

She followed Bianca inside and was immediately hit with a photo of a young Drake and Savannah each on one of their father’s knees. She’d seen it before, in his wallet. She remembered the first time he’d shown it to her, after he’d told her about Savannah. I was a cute kid, huh, Brooks? He’d said then, joking with her even as his heart was hurting from missing his sister. Yeah, what happened? She’d joked back, leaning in and kissing him softly.

She swallowed her emotions and followed Bianca into the sitting room. She tapped her thigh nervously and she could feel the way his chest would rumble as he’d laugh at her and tell her to relax. She flattened her palm against her thigh and looked up at Bianca. “I came to ask you something very important,” she blinked and exhaled through her nose. “And also to tell you something very important.” Bianca’s eyes flicked momentarily to the ring on Riley’s necklace before meeting her gaze and nodding. “Bianca, I want to ask your permission to...” her voice broke and she ran her hands over her face quickly to compose herself. “I came to ask your permission to... to formally change my name to Riley Brooks-Walker. I...” she looked down at her hands, at her fingers, where she didn’t wear his ring because he’d never put it on her. “I want to honor him that way, if it’s okay with you of course. I...” she looked up and saw tears swimming in Bianca’s eyes. “I love him. I always will, there won’t be anyone else for me.” She sounded sad, but she wasn’t, not about there never being another, anyway. “And, Bianca,” the woman blinked and sniffled quietly. “I want Drake’s child to share their father’s name.” She rested her hands on her stomach and waited for the realization to set in. When it did, Bianca let out a little gasp, her hand going to her heart before throwing her arms around Riley. “Oh, you sweet girl. I can see just why he fell so hard for you, darlin. Your heart belonged to him didn’t it? It still does. I see that. And you’re telling me that... that my boy got to be a father...” she choked back her tears and pulled back to look Riley in the eyes. “Riley, I consider you family now. You were my son’s family. You’re my grandchild’s family... you helped bring Savvy home... Riley, you take that name proudly. I’m proud to share it with you.” I knew she’d love you, Brooks. Impossible not to. When the breeze picked up her hair as she left Bianca’s that’s day, it felt like his fingers, playing with the ends of a curl.

She dreamed of him that night, but for the first time since he’d been gone, it was a happy dream. We made a little miracle, you and me, Riley Brooks-Walker. Be brave, my girl, I’ll be with you every step of the way. I love you. Both of you.

Tagging: @zaffrenotes @sleepwalkingelite@ooo-barff-ooo @brightpinkpeppercorn rn@mind-reader1 @agent-bossypants ts @andy-loves-corgis @jovialyouthmusic @akrenich h @gardeningourmet @indiacater @carabeth @thequeenofcronuts @drakewalkerrosenberg @aworldoffandoms @missameliep @katedrakeohd @noey718-blog

sorry, some of the tags are not working properly. i think there will be one last part, so let me know if you want to hop on or off this train!

#drake x mc #drake walker #riley brooks #drake x riley #riley brooks-walker #austin walker #trr #liam x olivia #king liam #queen olivia #the royal romance #brave for you #choices fanfiction