#LIKE HOW DID U KNOW IVE SPOKEN TO U TWICE........

[jupitercomet]

I Swear Somewhere This Works: Prologue

summary - You've known your entire life that you were meant to be with Bradley Bradshaw. Born with the rare gift of being a "matchmaker", you've been able to see your soulmate connection since childhood, just like you see the romantic pairings of everyone around you. But while everyone saw that as a gift, you see it as a curse. Because what's the point of knowing Bradley's your soulmate if he's never fallen in love with you? You've tried, altering time and space with your gift to find the one iteration of your life that you and Bradley are fated to be together. And, in every iteration of your life, you have to watch Bradley fall in love with someone else. But everything changes when one of these iterations puts you right in the trajectory of Jake, a matchmaker who's determined to convince you that the universe isn't always right.

warnings - soulmate au, my first time writing a love triangle, language, talks of death/dying, mentions of hospitals, no use of y/n, both Bradley and Jake are 6'7" because I said so

word count - 2.3k

i swear somewhere this works masterlist

I swear somewhere…

The heart monitor beeps continuously, filling the room with a kind of white noise that’s almost relaxing, despite the circumstances. The IV bag drips, drips, drips right past a strip of medical tape and into worn, leathered skin. It’s all so hazy, like early rides to the airport or empty shopping malls where time feels frozen, and you want to fill the silence with something—anything—but all you do is listen to the heart monitor and watch the IV bag drip, drip, drip.

“What do you think happens when we die?”

“Don’t say things like that, Bradley.”

He chuckles, but it’s hoarse and weathered, sounding more like air being pushed out of his tired, weary lungs. “I don’t think not talking about it is going to stop me from dying, Fig.”

Looking at him now, tucked under a tightly woven hospital blanket, he still looks like your Bradley. Curious, kind eyes wrinkled with crows feet etched into his skin from every laugh and smile that took place in his lifetime. There’s still that crook in his nose from when he broke it when he was eight. It never did heal right, but Bradley never seemed to mind. He’d break it twice more over his life and every time you recalled the stories you’d joke that it’s a miracle the cartilage hasn’t just fallen off yet. But, much like who it belonged to, Bradley’s nose was stubborn.

He looks like your Bradley, with his kind eyes and crooked nose. But he’s not your Bradley. 

His hair is almost gone now, wispy and thin like it’s just laying on his scalp. Sun spots cover his skin, his complexion pale and fragile. And normally that would scare you, such an obvious display of his mortality, but it looks good on Bradley. He looks like he lived. 

With large hands that have held the weight of the world, and then children, and then grandchildren. Chapped lips that have spoken more words of love, and compassion, and happiness than you would ever have time to listen to. Once sturdy legs that have now turned frail, the bones eroded with how many places they have taken him to.

And so he’s not quite your Bradley anymore, not in the way he was. Not in the way he could have been.

“I think I’m ready,” Bradley wets his lips, hardly moving his neck from his propped up pillow to look at you. “To die, I mean.”

Your hand squeezes in his—worn, and old, and not yours—his words constricting your heart in a dulled sort of melancholy. You’ve already gone through the five stages of grief weirdly, usually you aren’t this ready for it. But denial turned to anger, turned to bargaining, turned to depression, and here you are at acceptance, holding the hand of the only person who has ever mattered as he looks entirely dead and entirely alive all at the same time.

“Well, I’m not,” you say finally. It comes out shaky, maybe because you don’t entirely mean it. You are ready. You just wish you weren’t.

Bradley meets your eye with an understanding that only comes with age. “Yes, you are.”

You hate how well he knows you. How he can read you with just a look and say the words you need to hear. He knows everything about you. And yet.

“Will you miss me?” You ask instead. It’s an empty question—irrelevant. But still you want to know. Just to be reassured that Bradley even cares about you a fraction of the amount you do for him. That maybe he’ll realize, just once, in this hazy capsule of time, that you matter more to him than anything ever should.

Bradley smiles at you sadly. “Of course I will. When have I ever not needed my Fig?”

Your lips quirk up just slightly and you look down at your interlocked hands. “I cannot believe I’m 77 and you’re still calling me that.” You look up again to meet his eye, pretending to shake your head in exasperation.

“And I cannot believe that you’re 77 and still think you can hide things from me.” The crows feet by Bradley’s eyes crinkle when you fail to register what he’s referencing. “I see you sneaking off to the vending machine to get Fig Newtons when you think I’m asleep.” When your lips part in unprepared surprise, Bradley croaks out a laugh. “I’m 84, not senile.”

Even now, he makes your cheeks heat and you huff in your fluster. “Well, can you blame me? I’ve been eating nothing but hospital food for the past week.”

Your words make you falter, a crack of lightning in the room that illuminates everything you wish to forget. When the world feels so hazy, you can trick yourself into thinking that time is entirely frozen. It’s just you and Bradley and the universe. You can talk about anything—your love of Fig Newtons and how the hospital vending machine has criminally overpriced them—because you have time. All you have is time.

But time is running out, like granules of sand in an hourglass. Seconds with Bradley tick away and you can run after them all you want, but all they do is slip through your fingers. Slip, slip, slip. 

If Bradley is affected by your words, he doesn’t look it, a calm sense of serenity washing through his eyes. For a moment, you can pretend that you would be okay with this, that you can finally let Bradley go. But it’s a little too late for that, you suppose. Because, somewhere, this has to work. Somewhere, you know everything about Bradley and he knows everything about you and he never has to stop being your Bradley.

It’s just as much for Bradley as it is for you. You’re his soulmate. Wouldn’t he be so much happier than this, having lived with his soulmate? You’re meant to be together and that’s all that matters. One of these times, Bradley will see that. You know he will.

“Can I get you some wa—”

“I’m going to die tomorrow,” Bradley decides.

You freeze, your question dying in your throat. There’s nothing else to say, you’ve done this song and dance enough times to know that. You only nod, pursing your lips to hold back the tears pricking at your waterline. You’re out of time.

Bradley turns to you with that familiar, childlike hope he somehow clung to his entire life. “Will you share a Fig Newton with me before I do?”

You swallow, your fingers tensing so much that the muscles twitch and you hide the hand from his view. “Of course.” You lift his hand to press a soft kiss on the back.

Bradley smiles and you feel like you’re going to be sick. He closes his eyes, shifting under the hospital blankets to get comfortable and you let out a silent sigh. You only get minutes of conversation with him now, before he’s too tired to continue. You sit with him anyway and, as he sleeps, you say all the things you never did over the decades of your friendship. He never remembered it anyway.

Bradley’s hand relaxes in your grip, the heart monitor spiking and dipping with his heart, and you try not to think about how he’s dying.

“This is going to sound like I’m crazy.” You look up at the sound of Bradley’s quiet voice, sleep tugging at the ends of it as his eyes remain closed. “But I can feel Alice waiting for me.”

He can’t see it, but you force a smile anyway, swallowing down the bile in your throat. You don’t say anything—you don’t think Bradley expects you to. That hazy feeling settles over the room as his breath evens out and, for several minutes, all you can do is watch him.

Maybe this isn’t fair. 

But if this isn’t fair, then none of it is. Why would the universe give you a soulmate who didn’t love you? Why did you deserve to watch him fall in love over and over again while you waste your life pinning over a man who’s never even looked your way? Didn’t you deserve to be happy? Didn’t Bradley?

You look down at his sleeping features, entirely relaxed like he’s not plagued with a single regret or an ounce of hesitance. Maybe it’s because you’re full of it, taking it all for him because you don’t know how to do anything else. The heart monitor beeps continuously. The IV bag drips, drips, drips. And you close your eyes.

…this works

Sunlight filters in through the windows, waking Jake gently as he stretches out his legs on the sheets of his bed. He’s still in that peaceful period between wake and sleep, enjoying the warmth of his blanket as he regains feeling of his muscles. The first thing he realizes is that he doesn’t hear seven of his bones cracking. The second thing he realizes is that he’s very, very sore. 

Jake sits up with a start, whipping his head towards the floor length mirror propped up by his dresser. He’s met with striking olive eyes and appropriately trimmed blond hair. He knew it.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Jake groans, rubbing at his eyes as he gets up from bed. He’s getting tired of this. He hadn’t said anything the first time it happened, nor the second, nor the third. But rewinding his life back to 31 for the fourth time? It’s getting ridiculous. 

Moving into his bathroom, he puts his toothbrush into his mouth with a little more force than necessary as he wraps his head around having to live out the rest of his life again. Everyone else was lucky, at least they don’t know they’re reliving their lives every few decades. But not Jake, Jake knows. Just like how he knows everything about this shitty soulmate system. And so Jake is stuck living his life over and over until someone gets to be with their soulmate.

For a while, Jake had no idea who that person could be—there’s an infinite number of people he could have come into contact with, that’s just kind of how civilization works. But then it kept happening and the puzzle pieces kept fitting and Jake has a pretty good idea as to what’s going on.

He cannot believe his life is being actively ruined because of Bradley fucking Bradshaw. 

At first, Jake didn’t think anything of the brunet and his infamous best friend/soulmate who had just moved to town. But it wasn’t hard to piece together the one-sided lingering looks and the somewhat charged interactions at the Hard Deck whenever Bradley had a bit too much to drink. You were in love with Bradley, that much was obvious. What hadn’t been as obvious was that you had the power to try to make him fall in love with you too. Which would be all well and dandy, if you hadn’t also dragged Jake into it in the process. He’s almost positive you’re the reason he’s currently reliving his life for the fourth time and Jake refuses to make it five.

Throwing an old shirt over his head, Jake exits his bedroom to snatch a banana from his kitchen counter. He eats it in large mouthfuls, lacing up his running shoes before making sure he has his phone and keys. Moving to throw away the banana peel, Jake also quickly grabs a water bottle and fills it up with cold, tap water in the sink.

Though he’s frustrated, Jake can admit that it’s nice to be in a body so young again. Granted, he’s currently suffering from the pushups Maverick must have put him through yesterday, but he’ll take that over the random aches and creaks he used to feel for seemingly no reason other than age.

With one last check to make sure he has everything, Jake opens the front door of his house, making quick work of the walkway steps as he breaks out into a light jog. His tennis shoes absorb the impact of his strides as he picks up speed, smiling politely at the woman he passes walking her dog. Taking a deep breath of the Miramar air, Jake takes the turn out of his neighborhood, his feet still crunching against the concrete.

He doesn’t entirely have a plan, all he knows is that he can’t keep doing this. And especially for this stupid of a reason. Jake had always been skeptical about the whole “soulmate” thing. Growing up, people always told him how special he was for being granted the ability to see soulmates, Jake just thought it was more trouble than it was worth. Now Jake knows definitively that soulmates are bullshit and he’s not about to let it ruin his life again.

The houses begin picking up in proximity again as Jake makes his way to another neighborhood. Sweat has started forming on his hairline, not quite enough to be droplets yet, and Jake wipes it with the back of his hand. He keeps running until a small, light blue house with purple flowers in the front and a brightly painted mailbox comes into view.

Jake slows to a stop, letting out a pant and taking a gulp of water before he starts walking towards the front door. He doesn’t have a plan, but he can’t keep doing this. Wiping some sweat from the back of his neck, Jake gently knocks on the door. When a minute goes by and there’s nothing, he knocks again, slightly louder.

This time there’s the sound of shuffling inside and Jake lets his shoulders slump as he catches his breath on the porch. The sound of footsteps gets closer and Jake swallows thickly, trying not to fidget. With a rickety creak, the door opens. You fill the doorway suddenly, still in pajamas and a sleepy expression, squinting at the sunlight you’ve let in.

Your eyes meet his and Jake watches your face crinkles with recognition and then confusion. “Hi?”

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#bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw imagines #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw fluf #bradley bradshaw angst #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin imagines #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin angst #rooster imagine #rooster imagines #rooster x reader #rooster fluff #rooster angst #hangman imagine #hangman imagines #hangman x reader #hangman fluff #hangman angst #top gun maverick imagines #x reader #i swear somewhere this works #buggy's got a pen

[hella1975]

accent enthusiast and yorkshire citizen here: tho posh pricks and classists attack regional accents (even though by nature these accents are arguably MORE english and retain more germanic features because of less education and/or more rurality, while they sound french) because they hate poor people, i am going to hypothesise that they are also racist

so. i assume youre northern by the sound of your h dropping. h dropping is a very white northern accent trait, people who grew up in places with a significant white majority. however, t dropping is very recent addition to working class northern english which originated with estuary english and spread across the country by ethnic minorities - mostly by second/third gen a. carribbean, south asian and polish people. this creates a new type of working class english which is unique to every city, every ethnicity and every household across britain. its called MBE (multicultural british english). it is usually spoken in places with diverse population. and although not much research has been done on these accents (apart from the one in london bc of fucking course), they are spoken by many many people.

mbe is usually a mix of a. carribbean, south asian, polish and regional slang amd accent features. but one defining characteristic is the t dropping. which again is a pretty new accent feature outside of london. so my hypothesis: they focus on the t dropping specifically because it's unique to ethnically diverse english.

i will talk accents with anyone for hours upon hours upon hours anon i am shaking u by the head for all ur thoughts rn. im not from up north! im a midlands girlie through and through, rural england right by the welsh border. mine is technically a rhotic accent with hints of welsh?? but my town in particular has much more welsh elements than midlands elements just bc of how close we are to the border?? idk my accent has been known to confuse people far and wide lol. the perks of being from the midlands truly.

everything you've said here is new to me, are there any sources/articles you could send me so i can read more? this seems super interesting!

i do however know a bit about midlands' accents/rural english accents, and from what i know of them, the 'dropping Ts' part of certain dialects has been present for centuries. it's called the glottal T (which is v funny to me bc saying that out loud on its own will reveal to people if you t-glottal or not). it's really hard to find out where this originated from and i cant speak for up north but ik in my area the general consensus is that it's just. always been around (which i know can't be true so again! if anyone has any sources or knows anything im such a nerd about these things so pls dont be shy!). still, i always thought it came from old english and a lot of influence from scots? and from my knowledge from its origins in england i always thought it did START with the rural areas like mine? alas for my own sanity i try not to research t-glottalling too much bc even the 5 mins i did for this to double check my facts had me seeing words like 'insidious' and 'lazy' and 'ugly' being thrown about literally bc of a single letter. like insidious are we being serious rn. someone tell barnaby from kent to take deep breaths.

the polish thing really interested me here though bc ive heard once or twice people say about my dialect/region that there are polish elements, and as someone who knows nothing about polish i couldn't really pinpoint to you what it was or anything but seeing it in your ask i was like !!!!! fr !!!!! it's interesting that this could be why people say that.

going back to h-dropping and t-glottalling, my region is actually RENOWNED for 'dropping letters and syllablles left right and centre' <- direct quote from someone trying to explain it lmao. like we've got very farmer accents to the point my flatmate once - very rudely - went on and ON about me having a west country accent and even when i explained it to her over and over that no just bc i have a RURAL accent doesnt mean it has to be west country, she still wouldn't let it go and tried to make a joke that my accent was 'inbred' bc of it. this is the flatmate i made cry and is now too scared to stay at our flat though so all is well <3 so yeah it's not just the northerners! even if we all have to suffer at the hands of the RP folk

the mbe thing is super interesting though bc while i dont know enough about it to speak on the letter dropping, i do know that my own accent has picked up a couple mbe features since coming to uni (mainly just new slang than actual accent but ive had to catch myself a couple times icl). not only is my uni city one of the most multicultural cities in england, but a lot of the student population are from london, which IS the most multicultural city in england. i know there's the stereotypical roadman accent that a lot of people tease about, but that is of course hugely inspired by the ethnicities you listed, particularly caribbean, and a lot of that comes right out of london. there's definitely something to be said about the fact that the people who most often get called chavs/get slated for being rough are also the ones who speak with that multicultural accent. like i WONDER what that's about

#im being serious if anyone knows more about this im dying to know #bc it's so hard to find resources on the actual HISTORY of english dialects #mainly bc they're so individual like i literally had to delete a chunk of this response bc i realised someone dedicated enough #could actually figure out my TOWN based purely on the slang/dialect features i was talking about #but yes i know we've said it before but you know when i get mad at americans on here that mimic t-glottalling? #it's bc you sound like barnaby from kent. it's bc there's people i deal with DAILY that think i sound ugly stupid lazy and INSIDIOUS #just bc of a single letter #and that's just the Ts! i said here my accent is known for dropping letters wherever we can! do you know how tired i am of this! #ask

[soupofmd]

ofmd friends appreciation time!!

i thrive in long form media bc i like to ramble so im doing this here rather than on twt

ive met some of the nicest people ive ever come across since being in the ofmd fandom and they regularly make a point to tell me im great (silly gay people) so here is that for them all:

- eli: WELL where to begin, you are basically just the most iconic person ive ever met, youre so easy to talk to, youre always there to chat or for emotional support, feels like ive known you forever. You are so caring and attentative to everyone you interact with and im honoured to be in your inner circle so i get to speak to you everyday :)

- fia + av: i gotta group you two because i realised i have the same things to say to you both lol. i dont speak to you guys as much (i appreciate having a life outside the internet that is very good for u guys lmao) but i hear the best things about you both, and every interaction ive had with either of you is always easy, friendly and funny. i hope you both know that even if you dont hang around online as much, that we all love you just as much and appreciate hearing from you :)

- idunn: the loml, my silly little norwegian, (my scrumptious starfish) you have the best sleep schedule ive ever seen (which is bad for me bc u always go to sleep when i come online to speak to u hehe). im so glad we met, im so glad we get each other, and i hope you never stop being a goofy flirt, også, du er veldig pen og jeg liker deg hehehehehehe :))

- des: destynee, desody, desus, you liked me enough to invite me into the group and im so glad you did bc now i get to speak to all my fav people everyday so firstly thank you for that. secondly, YOU are so funny, youre so insane, it makes me so happy every time you bully me bc i can feel the affection through the screen and i hope i send that same vibe back to you because you really do bring everyone together and we all love you so much for it! you’re hilarious, and me stealing your memes is genuinely bc i adore you and want to entertain you like you do for me :)

- moony: honestly idek, everytime we speak i wonder if it was even real or some sort of weird hallucination. im so happy i know you because you will happily entertain anyones silly discourse and make every conversation so much funnier just by being there. i will be coming to visit you in spain so we can kiss x :)

- ella: my fellow brit! (it freaks me out everytime i remember how close we live i wont lie). when idunn asked if you could join the chaos and gave you a sparkling recommendation it was very accurate bc you are so nice and easy going and fit in effortlessly. its so easy to talk to you and im glad we can talk about british things without me doing it alone and getting ridiculed lmao. one day i will convince you to meet me irl so we can make one of the weird norwegian foods idunn has mentioned :)

- may: you make me laugh so much because you are so kind and easy to talk to and then you have the evil mayo side of you that is so insane and scares me a little (jokes please never retire evil mayo). never stop being you please provide me with interesting bird content forever and ever :)

- ratte: you are so entertaining, you always manage to make us all laugh, when youre online ik its going to be a good time, and youre so interesting when you talk about your interests in discord (ik i said interest twice lol) :)

- yuriy: you are one of the coolest people ive ever spoken to, you seem so laid back, youre hilarious, you motivate me to get stuff done in focus vcs lol and i love seeing you around :)

-mel: menace mel, you are so crazy and entertaining, you never cease to make me and everyone else giggle. im glad you are a part of the group and i hope to have you around in my life for a long time :)

i could go on forever about these specific goons i adore them all so much i am forever amazed at their kindness, how easy to get along with everyone is, how we can all joke without anyone ever going too far, its such a safe happy place, we all support each other so much and im so so happy it was such an inclusive progressive sexy show that bought us all together

(and everyone else im mutuals with or speak with idc if weve spoken one time i love you and smile when i see you all on my tl and being giddy in gcs, i hope i can put out the vibes that u guys provide me with bc you all deserve it)

no more sappy soup i will now return to being mysterious and cool (/lie)

#ofmd #our flag means death #minions family #homies #lomls #silly goons #love you all #ofmd family

[mononijikayu]

chapter viii.

chapter viii.

Rating: M

Warning: Explicit scenes of blood and violence;

Summary: DAEMON TARGARYEN manages the life of a house of three;

[for hundreds of years, valyrians had been dragon riders and dreamers. each can be born in a family. but, it was surely an anomaly to have both dragon rider and dreamer in one body. prince aegon blackmace suffered throughout his days dragon dreams that left him scarce with sleep. such dreams were ones that often came truest when people try and avoid it. but it was a queer thing for one to have wolf dreams. rumors perhaps may be true, that a wolf fell for a dragon.]

- maester aeron targaryen; adust

A D U S T   m a s t e r l i s t

< you and i burn together or we shall die trying >

chapter i  / chapter ii / chapter iii / chapter iv / chapter v

chapter vi / chapter vii / chapter viii / chapter ix / chapter x  

chapter xi / chapter xii / chapter xiii / chapter xiv / chapter xv

chapter xvi / chapter xvii / chapter xviii

Mellara had not known how she had survived confinement twice before. The princess had found herself ever so lonely, in need of a fleeting escape from the scanty world of her fine satin sheets and the long velvet canopy that trapped her day after day. The restlessness had started to gather itself against her like a cloud of temptation raining over her heavily in a storm. Her time was too near, she knew. The babe has lowered itself in her belly, eagerly awaiting life to begin. For that, she supposed there was relief that it would soon be over. But Mellara was too aware in herself that the pain would first come before that. 

More days than now, the princess of Blackhall had found herself too weary to be awake and too jaded for excitement. The babe had all but taken the strength from her body, but with the kicks of its small feet hammering away at all hours it could. There had been no sleep that came, not even when Daemon was by her side, thrashing about to comfort her body into slumber. Daemon had told her just as much that he did not mind her restlessness, but she knew he himself had not found rest either. 

There were times when she would find herself too quiet in Elmo’s company, preventing each and every yawn as he detailed his day of work to her and the court gossip.At each turn, guilt festered within her, at the thought that she was half-heartedly listening as her efforts to stay awake failed. There were times of the day where she would be with Aemon, relishing in his adventures with his fathers and found herself in the most spontaneous of slumbers while sitting down upon the mahogany stool in the solar. Aemon had not accepted any apologies from his mother, he had spoken deeply of understanding. But that too had found her with guilt, with those she had loved forced to alter their lives to cater to her own needs. 

These days, her restlessness and her guilt had given her bouts of energy and determination to recoompense to her family. Erratically, she would call upon Daemon to abandon his training with his friends in the city guards to walking with her. Spontaneously, there would be then those days where she would beg Elmo to take a walk with her around their garden. In small windows of the day, she would desire to have her son accompany her to read in the solitude of the study. Each opportunity had been rare, but it had brought her some relief to know that she could be agile.

However there came sometime within these past weeks where she felt a sharp pain in her legs. The princess had reassured her hands that she was well. Yet in those lies, the truth grew more pronounced. That night when the pains had gathered stronger, Elmo had already bid her good night when he left to rest and Daemon spending hours with Aemon in the silence of cyvasse and candlelight. Mellara could not help but curse in silence, her frustration bubbling to the surface. Minding herself lest her outbursts worry her husbands, the princess clenched her teeth and stifled her cries.The small of her thigh thundered with aches, and her legs throbbed with vicious pangs, making every movement a challenge. They had been busy enough, she thought. There was no need for them to worry of her further. This pain will subside too.

When her elder husband had joined her to bed, Daemon had been the one to notice her tears in the quiet of her pained groans. The prince had been upset that she had kept the matter from him, but his helplessness in trying to obliviate the pain frustrated him. He had woken Elmo himself, had gathered the healers to rouse in order to find her some relief. In the dim of dusk, their chambers had all but become an apothecary, with the scent of exotic mystery dwelling against the molten candle and the burning firewood. 

Daemon Targaryen muttered in quiet tones with the head healer, the sound of their ancient tongue drifting against the shadows of candlelight. Daemon had written to friends across the Narrow Sea, from his past ventures of youth in Pentos. Mellara could recall his delight at the friendship with the Pentoshi prince, older than he but charmed by the dashing allure of the ravenous rogue just as much. With such connection, it was then that way Daemon had managed to procure the aid of the healers guilds of Pentos. 

The healers had tirelessly worked against the burning flame, slowly gathering  burning oil and redolent scents from crushed herbs. For a moment, she gathers the scent of mint and lemon in a harmony. On the small of the hearth, a boiling pot filled with dilluted dreamwine simmered to the dance of dark flame. Daemon turned to her husband as walked towards his junior, whispering to him. In turn, Elmo called for a servant to bring the shallow basin and for it to be filled with crushed flowers and heated water. 

When the shallow basin was brought, Daemon walked toward her and had helped her remove her outer nightwear. Her cousin ordered the healers to turn around and as they did so, lifted her into his arms and aided her into the burning waters of the basin. Mellara pursed her lips into a line as she looked up to her husband, thanking him quietly. Elmo Tully could only sigh wearily, crossing his arms together as he joined the two, standing beside Daemon. 

“Is the water too hot?” Elmo broke the silence, leaning over to meet his wife’s eyes. Mellara shook her head as he poured his finger to feel the water. He leers at the heat and then frowns. “By the gods, that’s scolding hot!”

“Our flesh is heat, trout.” Daemon snickers back at the younger, his own fingers danced against the heat of the water. “This is not even warm, I must say.”

“The servant girl told me that they boiled this thoroughly, rogue.”

Daemon raised a brow. “They did not do it well. We ought to return to Dragonstone and teach you what scolding hot looks like, trout.”

“But the babes?”

The rogue prince snickers. “They are of the blood of Old Valyria. Heat will not bother these little dragon trouts.”

“’Tis sufficient enough, husband. Do not worry.” Mellara finally says, looking up to them. “My legs do not hurt as it has.”

“Zaldrītsos, you ought to tell me when you feel this way.” Daemon whispers, kneeling beside her, his features contorted in worry. “To know you were hurting, it pains me.”

“If I had known having a child was trouble, we should not have entertained the matter at all.” Elmo shook his head, his eyes borne with remorse. He kneels on the other side, placing a kiss upon her cheek. “Dearest wife, I am at fault at this.”

Mellara shook her head. “House Tully needs an heir.”

“Not at the risk of you, my love.” Her younger husband argues, pursing his lips. “There are still others, you know. I have an uncle, other distant cousins. Trouts are bountiful fish, Mellara.”

“There is nothing more important than you.” Daemon cooes, before she could argue. “The child is not yet ours, my love. But you are. You ought to know this.”

Mellara Targaryen felt tears against her lilac gaze. Hazy memories flashing before her eyes, Aemma’s tear-filled eyes and the bloody sheets. All the feelings of grief and fear drifted like a ghost that would not leave her to peace. She could not admit it but this journey to the childbed had been the one that had frightened her most. Not because of the pain she would go through, but the fear that there are many beside her whom she dreaded to disappoint and even worse, to leave behind at the thought of her gods ripping her from such joyous a life, the life she had just truly begun.

Where she was cared for as they had done in these many generations of mothers and babes plucked from the chance to enjoy the zest of life beyond tragedy. She could feel the tears deepen at the thought of her young son, her precious Aemon becoming motherless at her loss. Her two husbands beside her, to be so distraught with grief at the thought of her dwelling like a phantom in the dance with death at childbed. They would blame themselves to no end, she knew. They would not stop to think about washing their hands of the tragedy they accept to be their own fault.

“You would choose me?”

Elmo smiles tenderly. “In a heartbeat.”

The princess of Blackhall lifted her hands and soon enough, each palm gathered itself to the warmth of both husbands. Her fingers laced with theirs, a silent tremor of blood pounding just as it would within the beating heart. Mellara allows her lips to widen in a small smile as she lifts their intertwined hands and she slowly embraces the back of each hand with a tender kiss. Daemon returns her tender smile, beaming like the stars in the night sky, with the love that belongs only to her. Elmo’s blue eyes swam with tender abandon, filled with the warmest emotions that drifted in waves. 

Mellara Targaryen had known it all too well.

She was the luckiest of all women in the world.

For she was endlessly and truly loved by all.

The stench of fresh blood pooled across the linen bedding as echoes resounded in ripples. The drip of sweat ingrained into her skin like a martyr’s tears coursing through with painful resounding. Each scream was devastatingly loud, almost like a battle cry that ripped her body apart in complete agony. She could feel each ripple of pain as though like the cut of a thousand blades in each drifting contraction. Mellara Targaryen had fought many battles, she was certain of that. But the childbed had always been the one where she had felt herself frightened to lose.

The midwife had said it best to her the first time, when she had first birthed Alyssa, that her body had been too fragile for the incursions of motherhood. That was not to say that she was weak or unhealthy. But with how she had such a hard time with birthing her first child, the wound within her womb had not truly healed from the trudge of childbed. Aemon’s birth had proven that, she was abed for near two moons after. 

But for the princess of Blackhall knew that the realm needed this. Her blood must be reborn anew in a babe that would live beyond her, beyond them. It must be done. To unite blood and flesh determines the realm’s future. One must toil in the cutting of flesh, the eternal pain and most of all, the never ending pour of miserable blood. But it was not something that had been expected, that it would be this early. And certainly for not this long. 

It had been three days. Much longer than Alyssa’s birth and just in the same pace as Aemon’s own birth. With no matter how she screamed and pulled, with no matter how vulgar the curse or no matter how deeply she held onto the bed’s frame, the babe would not come out. The midwives had been trying to calm her, but she could not stop crying out in pain, not even with the dreamwine. She palmed her belly as sweat and tears melted together, the princess could only grip harder with her free hand against the wooden frame. Another contraction hit with a furious vengence, her lips letting out a groan of pain soon after.  

Mellara had not been angry at her child, she could never feel any malice. The babe had always been innocent, she had wanted them as they had wanted her. The gods knew that to be truth. But the process had always been the one that had angered her the most, it was her body that she cursed most of all. Her body had been strident in giving her the worst of times, when she had just wanted to give her child the breath of morning air. She had wanted nothing for this babe but to live in wonder. To be born safety.

‘If I had been stronger, this would all be over.’ Mellara lamented with anguish, looking at her belly. ‘You must be strong, please. For me.’

Everything these past few days has been good. With the pain of her legs lessening, she was able to enjoy a small distance in a slower pace towards the solar and even in the halls. That had lessen the restless anguish within her. The sun rose with a joyous beam like a sunflower in bloom. Her rogue husband and her dutiful man greeted her good morning as she got out of her confinement to join them in breaking their fast. One a kiss upon her temple and the other upon the lips, gathering them into a warmth that only she knew. 

There was much that intrigued her within the walls as of late, being forced into confinement as per tradition. Elmo Tully had taken his leave from his duties, giving them to ser Criston with the king’s blessing. He tells her that the king’s young sons had been sad to see his departure for these few weeks, but it seemed that they had understand. Ser Criston was a competent knight enough, she knew. Rhaenyra had reassured her that the knight was competent enough to teach the royal children. 

In these days away from his dutties, her younger husband had been fervent in deciding to keep her company, indulging her pleasure to hear him play a tune in the lute once or twice and had been delighted to tell her of the planned additions he had delighted upon adding in the gardens in Riverrun, in honor of the birth of their child. At times, he often would tell her about the things he had heard at court. Most recently, he had told her that her cousin Rhaenys and her husband lord Corlys were thinking of wedding off their daughter. Mellara could only conclude that it was why Rhaenys was at court with young Laena recently, from what she indicated from her letter. 

Her Daemon had needed to return to Bloodstone recently, for the news of the Triarchy encouraging pirates across the straits. Her elder husband had lamented being away, but he knew his duty well enough. When he had given up the crown of the Stepstones, the keep of Bloodstone remained in their hands. As such, he had a duty to defend it from those who dare take it. Viserys had told him as much, if he had wanted to keep it, it would be his responsibility. Daemon had not argued, but gruntled the entire time at the need to be far away. Still he had come quickly enough, Caraxes proving agile with his swift flying back to the capital.

Upon his return, her husband languished attention on her and their son. The mornings were often spent in small blade exercises between father and son. Mellara would settle on her velvet chair by her solar to see them both. Leaning forward the balcony’s ornate silver rails, Mellara watched her young boy move to the side in a swift dodge, as her husband forced through Dark Sister. Eagerly, the father followed through with leaning forward as his son raised his mace with a grunt and tried to attack his father. Daemon snickered as he dodged, purple eyes glistening with excitement.

Mellara could see that Daemon was looking forward to doing this. To test him soon, to see him worthy of being a warrior’s son. Like his father’s own teaching, he was not to back down on his young son. That would not make him a soldier. Yet she knew it was something more. It was a father eagerly participating in the building of remaining youth in his first born son. A son he had missed for many years and a son he owed much time to.

Later on, the crowding knights cheered as prince Aemon had scratched his father’s doublet for the first time and pride had beamed throughout. He cheered and danced. Daemon had been proudest, beaming at his son as he ruffled his palm against his silver locks. It was that morning that Daemon promised thier son the beginning of his use of live steel, which delighted the boy to no end as he started to list off swords he wishes to use from the armory.

They broke their fast together, as they usually did when they all were awake together. Mellara had settled for the freshly baked cheese rolls, buttering their top as she ate them. Daemon poured her warm lemon tea, one of her favorites recently and drank his own spiced wine and cut through an apple with his knife. Aemon quietly hummed, munching through the lemon cakes that the kitchen wench fetched for him. Mellara had warned her son about eating too much, but Daemon had waved her off as he told her to let him indulge in victory. Before long, Elmo Tully would join them after waking from his own chambers. Elmo had stayed up late into the night, devouring the knowledgable texts and scrolls on Old Valyria. Daemon had recommended it to her younger husband, from his own private collection from Bloodstone.

Her two husbands started to talk for a few minutes, speaking of their plans for the day. Elmo yawned, drinking some dilluted ale as he nodded at Daemon’s talk. These days, they seemed to be more in the rhythm of understanding one another. Their love for their wife had brought them closer, but their efforts to work together had brought them brotherhood. For that she was thankful, for they were more comfortable with one another and peacefully existing by her side. That is what she needs, after what she had gone through. In a few moments, Aemon excuses himself to wash and kissed his mother goodbye when he did depart.

Rubbing her belly as she leaned backwards on the chair, her maester came with a forlorn gaze moments later. It was easy to read men, Mellara thinks. More so when the words were compiled with mournful news. There was no man who could hide it. Elmo was worse with it, she knew. But this maester was worse. The look of dread on their faces were like shadows that caged their features whole. As though the moon was casted upon the beaming sun in a long threaded eclipse in dusk. Frozen in place as she heard the news with her eager insistence to hear it, Mellara could feel her heart dwell into a harsh pace. 

Soon enough, Mellara had found herself being carried to child bed. To hear what she had heard had been astoundingly shocking, but to know that it was something that was already written in past, dried words in dried ink, she knew she could never prevent its truth from settling in like rot. To hear that Rhea Royce had died in such a way she had never expected her to was beyond shocking. But Mellara knew just as much that even the most expert of hunters were not safe from danger. Lord Tyrell’s own father had been one of the best hunters her father had ever seen and yet one mistake as he climbed to chase his falcon, that had doomed him to his death quicker than he had raced.

Rhea had been someone Mellara had only met in a few moments fleeting. When she had travelled to the Vale to visit with her father, they were such fond occassions to be had. She was a tall woman, but stern and strident in herself. She spoke bluntly and she spoke roughly. In her hunting leathers, she looked more man than she did a lady. She was an expert of the bow and the sword. Each time she sat upon her horse, she looked more like a mighty conqueror. Rhea had always looked beautiful on a horse, beaming with joy at the thought of being under the cloudy sun and jumping along to the action in the forests and mountains. There had been no grudge, but a blossoming friendship. Rhea Royce had always been kind to Mellara, far more than some ladies she had met in the Vale. 

In such hunts her father had partook, she had been and quite a few times, it was many years ago in Runestone. Rhea had been a reserved woman, eager with attention towards those she had been close to. But even with that distance, it was still Rhea that ahd approached her first. Mellara could remember the way she had smiled at her then. Quickly, they understood each other well and as such, they managed to have a small quiet friendship. Mellara often flew to visit her as a young girl, and Rhea had at times traveled to enjoy some time with her. When they were away, Rhea would write to he and she would do the same. Rhea often was the one that gifted her hawks and fur pelts from her extensive hunts. Mellara would send her small glass gifts, related to bronze armors and archers. At times good fine leather for her hunting use and at times for her saddles.

Even when she had become Daemon’s lover and then his wife, Rhea could care less about how closely Daemon lingered in her friend’s life. What mattered, Rhea told her, is that we are friends. That they would continue as such for as long as they could. Rhea had told her the same, in her last letter. Tears welled from her eyes as she started to moan in pain. Liquid had started to pour down her legs as she hunched over against the velvet chair. Elmo and Daemon hovered over her, but it was she who had declared to them that the babe was coming and they were coming down harshly.

These past three days were a torture at childbed. One that both her husbands had been to hear as they found themselves waiting late at night. It was one thing to hear a knight cry through the pain of injury. But it was another to hear a woman’s labor through days and nights. In those three days, the rogue prince could not sleep, for the first time in his life being confronted with fear. Hands turning paler than snow as his fingers crushed into a fist, Daemon Targaryen wondered how much pain she had been through alone when she had birthed their son Aemon. How long did it last? How much blood spilled through? Was there anyone to soothe her fear? 

In that moment, the memories of his departed mother haunted him. His father’s distraught face, hot grieving tears fell as he embraced the cold corpse of a woman he had loved. Daemon was but a boy then, one would think he could not remember it. But he had. He had remembered every little bit of it. To the last when his brother had been ripping him away out into the hallway. As she labored, a dash of midwives had not let him through, not even with his violent taunts. Just like back then, he could do nothing. Daemon felt for the first time felt useless, utterly useless. He could not even comfort his distraught son as he huddled over the steps towards the chambers with a somber look on his face.

“You.” Elmo Tully turned to him, an equally frustrated gaze on his face. “Come with me.”

“Mellara is in labor–”

“Get your sword.”

Daemon Targaryen turned, walking towards his son and leaned down to talk to him. Watching the boy nod slowly, the rogue prince walked ahead of his son. In a moment’s thought he was followed by the confused heir of Riverrun. Elmo took a look at his wife’s young son and sighed, placing a hand upon his shoulder to comfort him. The young boy nodded, standing and following his step-father and soon enough meeting altogether in the courtyard. Daemon unsheathed Dark Sister, causing the Tully heir to have his eyes widen slightly as he watched the prince throw the sheathe away. 

“I am in a bad mood.” Daemon declared as he took a stance. “I might as well take it out on you.”

Elmo watched as his step-son came through with a sword in hand. “Am I to be forced into being your punching bag, my prince?”

“There must be a way for me to kill that bronze bitch in my head.” The prince said bluntly. “This is all her fault.”

The redheaded lord pursed his lips as he hesitantly unsheathed the sword from his step-son. Gazing at it for a moment, he could not help but admire the shine of the sword. Giving the sheathe back to his step-son, he thanked him and asked him to move towards the corner for his safety. Elmo Tully too took a fighting stance opposite the Valyrian prince. He took a sharp breath. 

“You speak too much, do you know that?”

“So do you.”

 "Push, princess," the midwife said as she squirmed there at the woman, her lilac eyes filled with distress and agony and her entire body and face pooling with sweat as screams echoed from her. When she was ordered, the ladies in waiting were helping her upright into the delve of pillows. "Push!"

Mellara's eyes welled up with tears as she gripped the servant's hand, another wiping sweat beads from her cheeks, and pushed as hard as she could. But there was no sign of a head. The midwife endeavored to feel the life of the child on the princess's belly. Her eyes widened as she recognized what it was. The child, indeed, the children, were in a difficult situation. That could be why she was having difficulties. The elder woman moved her hands in an attempt to turn the babes, but it was futile. The baby remained stubbornly in place. And the princess continued to scream and pull the sheets as she pushed and pushed. But there was no sign of any children.

"I'm going to die!" Mellara shouts glumly as she rose to her feet and motioned the women away. The midwife looked her in the eyes and jerked her head as she fought to stay calm. "My babes will die."

"Princess, you will not die, nor will your babes," one of the servants vowed, wiping her tears. She spoke as if she had heard a prophecy and knew exactly what was going to happen. "You're going to live a long time, happily."

"You can do it, princess." The head midwife assured her, her voice softened as she tried to calm her. "One strong push after another.”

The princess gazed at her apprehensively, full of exhaustion and pain. Mellara wept as she nodded at them finally. Tired, she readied herself as she began to count and told her to push and push and push. Gritting her teeth, she did as she was bid and yielded to the pain. 

Until the cry was heard many minutes later.

A moment of relief and then soon another pain.

Mellara’s tears welled through, granting her blind.

Another push through the rushing blood through her legs.

And then another cry soon enough was heard.

Mellara could feel her body fall into the sheets already damped with her sweat. Two eager cries filled the room, the midwives grasping and clapping as they moved in droves. The congratulatory jubilant heard as she gasped for air, she could not feel half her body. The cool water splashing through basins as midwives washed her children off and wrapped them in warm cloth. 

The same ones she had sewn through the year, two sleeves of cloth in the sigil of house Tully. As they went to her, they bowed and smiled at her. The babies rested beside her. Red hair wiggling across their tiny heads. Mellara gleamed with pride as she gazed at them. Turning to the head midwife, she smiled. 

“Two sons, my princess.” The elderly midwife says in awe. “And we did not know.”

“They are perfect.” Mellara whispered, moving her fingers to touch her sons. “Thank you for sailing us through the storm.”

The excitement of the household was felt throughout the day. Once she had gotten through being cleaned and changed into proper clothes, Mellara had enjoyed a solemn time with her youngest boys. As she drank heated milk, she gathered herself to welcome visitors. Though she had been entirely torn through by the labor, Mellara Targaryen had decided to entertain those who had wished to see her sons. 

Many of them had been eager to see the first Tully heirs in a generation since her husband, but most of all – they were curious to see the first offspring of a Targaryen and a Tully. It had not offended her, this curiosity. Mellara too had been all too curious about what her young babies would look like. Would they take after her? Or her husband? 

The moment she saw the ruffles of red hair, she knew that they were Tullys. It was all too obvious to see how much they were like her husband. That was what he thought when he rushed through the halls, full of dirt and sweat. It was certain that he was doing something to calm his nerves. His eyes were glued to the image of an angel that laid upon the childbed, dressed in Tully colors. So were the two sons they had sired together. Dashing towards the basin, he washed his hands thoroughly and dried them. Gathering his feet with all his remaining strength, he sat himself towards the edge of the bed, by her legs and turned to the small bundles of joy resting beside her.

She smiled gently at him. “You’ve come.”

“I should have come sooner.” He whispers to her in reply. “I shouldn’t have let you suffer alone here, I…”

“The midwives would have just stood in your way.” Mellara shook her head, urging him to come closer. “You heard them deny Daemon, have you not?”

“Yes, but I still should have tried–”

She shook her head once more. “You did your part by staying out of it. I am safe and so are our sons.”

He snickered disbelievingly. “Yes…safe. Our sons.”

“Yes, our sons.” Mellara chuckled as she gathered the elder in her arms, urging her husband to gather the younger in his arms. He did so uncomplainingly, but ever so gentle. “That one is our younger boy.”

“That is the oldest, then?”

She nodded. “Your son and heir.”

He took a sharp breath. “I never thought in a million years that I would ever become a father.”

“Well now you are.” She whispers to him, gazing at her red haired boy. “You always will be, now.”

“Yes, that you are correct about.” He smiles, placing a small kiss upon their youngest’s head. He moved closer, gently holding their son to his chest. The redheaded lord gleaned at his wife. “Thank you. For all that you have done.”

Mellara shook her head. “No, thank you. For giving me this life.”

It was already late when she and Elmo parted. They delighted in the company of every movement that their boys made. It was a precious moment, to just sit there wondering what their boys would grow up to be. Mellara thought out loud mayhaps they might inherit the Targaryen might. It might be wishful thinking, for Blacknight had yet to gather a dragon egg years after her son Aemon’s Aelyx. 

There was no certainty, her husband had said and he was right. She could not be sure, but it is still something to dream about. Her cousin Rhaenys, after all, has a Velaryon son with a dragon. Mayhaps one day, they may ride dragons too. Or be knights of legend where their names would be sung through history for their courage and bravery like their lord father. Despite that, the two had laughed it off and prayed – prayed for their sons to live a good life whatever they seek to choose. The best thing they can do is raise them prepared.

Their boys, now named Kermit and Oscar, were fast asleep in their cots by the edge of her bed after a long day of pageantry. Soon enough, her Tully husband had gathered himself away to work in his chambers and bid her good night. In the quiet of the lonesome night, Mellara too fell to exhaustion and slept soundly, the elevated pillows giving her weary body some much needed comfort. The tranquil night carried her through most of it, eagerly giving her relief. For the first time in three days and nights, there was now rest.

It was the touch of a warm hand gathering her body towards life once again. Blurry eyes slowly opened with care and softened at the sight of Daemon Targaryen sleeping beside her in a stool, his hand not letting go of hers tenderly. Giving a soft smile, Mellara allowed her hand to caress his hand. Her lips fell into a flat line as she softly took in a breath. There was much that she knew he was feeling. 

Viserys Targaryen had once again seen him as an enemy, now that they had once argued, both king and brother. That much had made sure he was not welcome at court once more. His feelings are incoherent over Rhea’s passing. Over the memories of his mother. Over the thought that he could have lost her today. Mayhaps even the years that had lost him the chance to have seen the growth of their son. He grieves, Mellara knows. It was all too much, all too much to bear and to understand. Even for a rogue prince who has made others believe his mask is unbreakable.

“You took your time.” Daemon mumbled under his breath, raising his head slowly. Mellara felt her lips gather upwards, intrigued. “I hated it.”

“It was only three days.”

“Three days that lessened our time together.” He says as he sat up straight, his hand still intertwined with hers. “Really, that bronze bitch.”

“It wasn’t her fault.” Mellara shook her head. “She fell in an accident.”

Daemon snorted. “And they called her queen of the hunt.”

Mellara gazed at him disappointingly. “Daemon, she was my friend. And your wife—”

“No, you are my wife.” Daemon corrected her, his eyes gazing at hers with heavy emotion. “My wife of choice. My only one. And I nearly lost you”

“But you didn’t.” The princess sighed, taking his hands onto her lips and placing a kiss at his palm. “I’m still here, my dearest Daemon.”

“With each scream, I….” He took a moment, lowering his head. “I remembered my mother.”

“But I am not your mother.” Mellara says, stunned. “Our son will grow up with me, his mother.”

“I thought that I would have to, to raise him. Alone and the thought of it all, my little dragon. It overwhelmed me. I…”

“Daemon, I would not—”

He looked at her quizzically. “With Aemon, how did you?....Were you alone?”

She shook her head. “My mother was with me. I was perfectly safe.”

“I should have been there.” Daemon whispers to her, his squeezing of her hand tightened. “When you needed me the most, I was not there. Knowing you were in so much pain.”

Mellara let out a small sigh. “You cannot be with me all the time.”

“I wish to be with you, always.”

“And I always will be.” Mellara reassures him, taking her free hand and placing it on top of his. “We made our vows. We are forever, husband.”

“I know.” Daemon felt the world on his shoulders with each breath. “I know.”

His wife gives him a sly smile. “And do not blame yourself so much, for your time away. You did your duty, to your family and to the realm. We would still be in such strains had you not done what you did.”

“But it kept me away from you and our son.” He whispers somberly as he  ponders. “I had wished I never had done it.”

“You have made both of us proud. Our son considers you his hero.”

He snickers softly. “I am far from a hero, my little dragon.”

Mellara laughs, quietly. “That is true. But that does define you to me or our son.”

In the quiet of the night, the sound of nightingales spoke through from far away. Mellara relished in the sound. Relished in each moment she had loved him. The sight of his body warming her own, even with just a gentle gaze and a touch of his hand. Mellara Targaryen had always longed for this. This serenity together with her beloved Daemon. 

Years upon years, his restless nature had always demanded him elsewhere. Wanting more and more. She had always indulged him in everything. Yet when it was her need, even if it was to give up on his dreams of conquest and glory – Daemon had done so. To be with her here means there was much still he had yet to settle. Even then, he still chose to be here. To sit here and tell her all his love, without the mask that he uses to deceive. This was his heart, it was her. And it keeps beating over and over at the sight of her, loving him.

“Don’t break your promise.” Daemon says, his eyes shining with his affection. “My little dragon, stay with me. Always.”

“There is nothing to worry about, my love.” The princess nodded her head, a wide smile. “I will stay with you, forever.” 

It was not a requirement for them to go, especially when she had just been to childbed two moons before. Daemon Targaryen wantonly watched as his wife eagerly put on her ruby earrings as a servant fixed her hair. He had been watching her for hours, eagerly putting herself through the ceremony of absolution by a septon and making quick decisions on clothes she thought to wear for the feast. The beautiful damask gown with black lace cut through red silk. A cloak of black fur was made from beautiful northern cloth, eager patterns of white flowers trailed behind her in stunning silver thread. 

Mellara Targaryen was not going to pass up the opportunity to be present at her niece’s wedding. It was a momentous occasion, where her family will unite again in one front. Her mother’s house from across the sea and her father from above the skies. It was a powerful match. One that none could deny would lead to a prosperous future. Mellara had found it a shame that she could not persuade Viserys to delay the wedding, to let the two know more about one another. But he had rebuffed her, telling her that the pair had grown together. But it did not make Mellara confident. 

“What are you thinking of?” Daemon asks her, spreading his legs open.  “It is not you to be dulled by boring thoughts.”

“Boring as they may seem, it does intrigue me.” She defended, looking at him through the vanity. “Rhaenyra’s marriage.”

Daemon laughed. “A laughable one.”

“You say that as if you aren’t a pillow biter.” Mellara rolled her eyes, causing Daemon to laugh further. “It’s a wise decision.”

“Do you say that as a Targaryen or a Velaryon?”

“Why is there a need to choose when I am both?” She says, raising a brow. “Is there a difference?”

“Well, I know what Corlys is like.”

“So do I.”

Daemon’s eyes glistened mischievously. “Not as good as I do.”

“It doesn’t matter what he wants.” 

“It matters when his son is marrying our niece.”

“He is not an outsider to us, Daemon.”

Damon raises his hands in a gesture. “Well, he is to me.”

Mellara sighed, gathering herself and turning to the servant, telling them to leave. When they left, Mellara stood and walked towards her husband and slowly laid on top of his knees. Daemon leaned forward, his hand turning to her back and rested onto it to support it. The devotion in his gaze made her heart melt. It was like the starry night, full of wonder and light. Daemon laid a kiss upon her neck. Mellara laughed, tickled by his act.

“Are you not happy that she will have a supportive husband?” She questioned him softly, her hand over his clean shaven hair. “It is what she deserves.”

“I do not trust the interests of outsiders.”

“Rhaenys is hardly an outsider, husband.” She reminded him.

“That may be true, but everyone who is not you and our son. Or Rhaenyra, or my brother…” He allowed his free hand to caress her thigh. “They do not matter.”

Mellara laughed. “Do you truly believe that it is us against the world, my love?”

“Yes.” Daemon answered honestly. “That is why whatever happens, you must stay close to me. I will protect you.”

“Hmm.” Mellara says as she leans forward to his ear and whispers. “Then shall I do the same, my prince?”

Daemon chuckled slowly. “I do not think they will mind our lateness.”

Mellara giggled. “You best hurry then.”                         

“Where are we going?" She asked him, her back leaning against his chest as the horse throttled at a moderate pace. “Your grace?”

"A wondrous place." He answered softly. He looked down on her smaller figure. His eyes filled with worry. "Are you perhaps tired?”

"No, no....I was just....curious."

The way he smiled in relief was like a silver moon light, she thought. She could not completely explain. Her long dark hair tousled against the wind as a massive wave of light glistened through. Looking upwards, her brown eyes felt warmed by the silver moonlight as she watched him remove the heaviness of his layers of woolen cloak lined with rich ermine. His eyes were curious as he gazed back at her, with those gorgeous eyes that only could be his own.

The way his eyes became gentle as he gazed upon her. There was no truth to how he felt, she did not know. But she knew that he needed company. For someone, someone who truly understood him. For the man that he was, not the power he was made to bear. It was lonely, even for him who had everything. It was nothing when no one saw you for who you truly are.

There had never been another man like him. Even further north. There had been many men brought before her for her to marry a long time ago. There were many options, many people who had struck deals with her father for as long as she could remember. None of them had piqued her interest. Nor did she want to be a settled woman, with a brood of children and a dower that would enrich her after her husband died. Even when she was a young woman, the thought of childbirth did not make her happy.

And yet, readily, she stands before this man. His dreams, his hopes. His song. This man whom she could never have had ruptured her thoughts and her being. She was uncertain if she loved him. If she truly could yearn for him in that way. But she cared for him. Enough that she would rip apart herself, what she had known and chose him. She could not see herself anywhere else. Not even back in Winterfell. Not even in the comfort of family. 

“Calling me your grace is stifling.” He admits to her, throwing his cloak onto the ground. Taking a breath, he looked at her warmly. “I thought you had agreed to call me by my name.”

She looked puzzled. “Your grace, that is inappropriate.”

He shook his head, leaning towards her. Leaning his head down to gaze at her, his lips turned into a bowed line. His strong hands embraced her cold warmth. The glistening of indigo and doe eyes made her heart beat. He sighed, his fingers scaling the very essence of her features. As though he was memorizing each and every inch of her soft flesh. The man let a small smile pass his lips. He removed his touch from her, leaving her in a silent forlorn.

 “I have missed you.”

She could not put such words to say.

A moment passes.

Then another.

As he continued to gaze at her, he felt the warmth kiss of winter as her lips slowly twitched into a smile. Her dark crown of hair blissfully adored by the wind once more, dancing through the melody. 

“You are such a puzzle.” The woman whispered to him. “I do not…”

The woman turned away from him and gazed towards the opposite direction and suddenly, she knew he felt seen. The dark purple eyes gazing back at her own brown, eyes full of confusion and shock. The tall man looked at her confused, but he watched her as she walked farther from him and more and more towards someone he could not see. Taking a step back, fearfully so, she continued to advance. Soon enough, there was no escape. She forcibly took hold of her hand. He tried to flee but he was stunned. 

“Aemon Blackmace.” She whispered as she pulled him near. “Do you know who I am?”

#hotd #house of the dragon #house targaryen #house velaryon #daemon targaryen #daemon targaryen x oc #rhaenyra targaryen #laenor velaryon #corlys velaryon #princess rhaenys

[honeypears]

.

#idk how ppl who like dont rly know me still know me so well is my personality and all just VERY apparent #like ppl i dont rly know gifting me mugs that say things like 'im jealous of me too' and 'sassy with a touch of sarcasm' KSJDJDKSKDKD #THEYRE SO CUTE THO I LOVE THEM #theyre always like 'as soon as i saw it i KNEW' #LIKE HOW DID U KNOW IVE SPOKEN TO U TWICE........ #p

[apathyfairy]

do you ever think how every man you’ve ever known has ruined you in some way or another. like you really can’t know a man and get out unscathed huh

#like. im just baffled. my best friend texted me tonight like we havent spoken since december and. it's like this everytime #he texts me and hes like OMG whY arent we TALKING and im like idk bc u never answered my texts #and then im like hi how are u whats up i miss u and he's like same same same blah blah blah #and then...idk if this is selfish ? but then we talk about him #and he never asks me about myself and im like ? ok i guess maybe im just selfish to want someone to ask me how i am? like i genuinely dont #know #anyway its been like that since we were 11 it's. nothing new but im tired of it! and i always feel like an idiot after i talk to him anyway #and he only ever texts me when hes high and doesnt want to be alone and im like. ok i get it. #then i was thinking about my dad. big miss steak and i was like..... i gotta preface this here first im gonna be honest i do not care that #i dont talk to my dad anymore #sometimes i feel guilty about it but it's not like im missing him in my life ever #like im genuinely good without him #but i do think about the fact that yeah i probably have some unresolved trauma from him abandoning me #literally my parents got divorced i did the whole every other weekend thing that we all do and he was like im not leaving ! #then all of a sudden he literally picked up and moved across the whole country #then i saw him twice after that and never again and that was 12 years ago #THEN i start thinking about every guy ive ever known crush/romantic wise and im like ok. #middle school this kid said he liked me i was like i like u too. he ghosted me #that was before we had the term ghosting so i was just confused but i get it #every guy who would talk behind my back about me in school and every guy who just wanted company and didnt mean anything #and im like. is it always going to be like this? like i genuinely want to know are all men like this ? like i know the answer is YES but at #the same time i'm like....its so depressing #the only man who has never let me down in my whole life is my grandpa truly

[writteninkat]

xiii - hypocrite

w/c - 3,299

"god, it's brutal out here"

index

You squint your eyes open, blinking a few times to allow your eyes to adjust to the blinding lights. You look around you, feeling a sense of deja vu as you take in the white walls and white ceilings. Your father stands just a few feet away from you talking with someone who seems like the doctor.

“Unless she gets proper training on how to use her quirk, she’ll be fainting every time she uses at least fifty percent-“ The doctor’s eyes shift to you, noticing that you’ve awakened. H clears his throat, furrowing his brows at your father, lowering his voice into a more ushered tone. “Her quirk is too powerful for her body. I don’t know what that child had gone through, but all I can guess is that it must have been very painful for her quirk to enhance this much. You hav two options here, Mr. Kawamata; you either get her to stop using her quirk like that for the rest of her life or you get someone to teach her how to control it.”

The doctor leaves with a heavy ambience in the room and you watch as your father’s shoulders physically drop. “Are you finally regretting all the bullshit you did to me back when I was a child?” You ask, pushing yourself to sit up. Your father quickly turns around, smile stretching across your face to see you’ve awakened.

He steps towards you and you quickly hold up a hand to stop him in his tracks, not wanting a hug from him nor do you want him to be closer than three feet from you. “How long was I out?” You ask.

“About three hours. The doc says you will be discharged tomorrow-“

“If I can be discharged tomorrow then I can be discharged right now. There’s only a few hours difference.” You begin to pull at you IV tube only for your father’s much bigger hands to stop you. “Didn’t I tell you to-“

“You can deny me and reject me as much as you want, Y/n. But I am still your father and I’m worrying about your health.” He speaks in an assertive, dominating voice which pulls out the childhood fear you have in you. He’s always spoken to you like this back then, especially back then. You have no idea where this sudden change of heart came from but you don’t want anything to do with it, or him.

“I’ll contact a close friend of mine to be in charge of your quirk training. This way you will be able to control your quirk better and-“

“No way.”

Your father raises a questioning brow at you.

“I came to Japan because I knew you were here. Not because I wanted to be close to you but because I want to prove to you that I can become a respected and powerful hero without your help.” You grit your teeth, “when I was still a child, I expressed to you multiple times how much I wanted to be a hero and you turned that down every single time.”

You stand up, ripping the IV tube out of your skin, feeling the warmth of your blood slowly drop down your knuckles and fingers. “Well now you don’t get to meddle with my goals and dreams anymore, considering how much you’ve stomped on them my whole childhood.”

You quickly grab your phone, dialing a number you’ve memorized before you went home. It rings once, twice- “Hello this is The Endeavor Agency, how may I help you?”

You raise your brow, not expecting them to pick up since it was an hour past midnight. “Hello, it’s Y/n L/n. I’m calling to accept the recruitment offer you guys sent?”

“Of course miss L/n! We’ll send an email over to you in a bit regarding the schedules and information about the week long interning with Pro-Hero Endeavor. Thank you for choosing us!“

“Oh, and I’m sorry for calling this late. Something came ups and I didn’t have enough time to call.”

“it’s quite alright miss. then.“

You end the call, waving your hand up to get the attention of a taxi cab. You quickly get in, blinking your drowsiness away. You turn on your cellphone, feeling a wave of guilt hit you at the numerous missed calls you have on discord- presumably from Shinsou.

You: hey, sorry I didn’t play with you. Stress did me dirty and I passed out lol

You: I promise we’ll play soon, not now though, we’ll both be busy with interning

Shiin_s0u: u alright?

You: why aren’t you asleep?

You: yeah I am, just rlly tired

shiin_s0u: kinda fucked up my sleep schedule this week lmao

shiin_s0u: it’s ok we’ll have free schedules after the interning I think

You: fingers crossed

shiin_s0u: I’ll leave you to sleep

shiin_s0u: night lol

You: night

You look up from your phone, virtually paying the driver before getting off the car. By the time you reach your apartment, you barely have enough energy to walk towards your room, so you drop yourself onto the couch instead, allowing the heavy feeling of languor encase you in its arms.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own? You. Know, no matter how much we both loath that man he’s rich enough to have multiple cars that offer a comfortable ride to-“

“Mom. Please.” Your mother grows quiet as you sigh, “I’ve ridden a train on my own before.”

“I just wanna make sure you’ll be safe.“

“Yes, I know, thanks but I’ll be able to handle myself. Now I gotta go, I should have started walking to the train station half an hour ago.”

You bid farewell to your mother before ending the call, as you make your way down the building, your eye catches as black car with the windows tinted all over.

“Excuse me, miss Y/n L/n, we’re here to pick you up. We are-“ The man in the black suit starts, only for you to cut him off by bringing your hand up. “If you’re here on Mr. Kawamata’s orders, I would like you send him a message from me. Tell him to suck a dick.” You nod before you start walking away, taking out your headphones from your pocket proving to be a real struggle as you hold onto your stroller with your other hand.

“No, Miss L/n, we’re here because Pro-Hero Endeavor sent us.” You stop walking, turning at the balls of your feet and pushing the luggage towards him. “Well why didn’t you say so!” You chirp, stepping in the car.

You plugged in your earphones, allowing music to consume you as you leaned your head back on the seat, closing your eyes as you allow yourself to be lost in the cage of music. you stir awake not that long after, rubbing your eyes when you notice the car had stopped moving. You step out of the vehicle, whistling lowly as you took in the luxurious sky scraper in front of you with the front entrance decorated with a stylized flaming E for Endeavor.

You step in, allowing the man in the suit to carry your luggage for you as well as lead you to where you can only assume is the direction to the hero’s office. You’re greeted by a secretary right outside huge wooden double doors before she speaks into a telephone saying you’ve arrived. A stoic and deep voice tells her to let you in, it’s similar to how your father sounds, which causes a shiver to run up your spine.

You walk in the office, unable to quickly process just how large it is before your gaze lay on a certain two-toned boy. “Shoto?” You call out, making the boy turn around to face you. “Y/n? What are you doing at my father’s agency?” He ask, your jaw almost touch the floor with how big your mouth opened. “Your father own this?” You ask motioning around to the gigantic office.

You make your way towards him, feeling your stomach drop at the same large man that stood beside your father back at the sports festival. He opens his mouth to speak only for you to raise your hands in surrender.

“Nope, nope. I already know where this is going-“

“L/n your father has instructed me to teach you to control your quirk.” He starts only for you to clench your jaw. “I despise that man with all my heart. why the hell are you taking orders from him?”

“That man is the president of the hero association. He’s also a dear friend to me who I owe something to. To pay him back, he says I’ll have to take you under my wing. It’ll be beneficial to you; you’ll be able to fight better and control your power more.”

You huff and cross your arms at the idea, not wanting to argue with someone who made correct points. The help won’t be from your father anyways, it’s Endeavor who’s teaching you. Right?

“Well then, the two of you get ready. I’ll show you what a hero is.”

You quickly put on your hero suit, putting on your mask before meeting with the two guys outside the agency. the sun had already set and the winds are getting colder by the minute.

You and Shoto walk side by side, looking around the city as Endeavor continues to babble about being a hero and such.

Your heads snap towards the direction of the loud explosion near by, not having to think twice before all three of you start running towards the direction. You stop at your tracks at the sight of the same experiment you encountered back in UA, the walking biohazard named Nomu.

You look around you, noticing you’ve lost Endeavor and Shoto. You grit your teeth at the sight of the disgusting thing in front of you. You deploy your claymore as citizens begin screaming and running for their lives.

“Hey, kid! Get out of there! It’s not safe!” An officer yells at you as he helps an old granny back up to her feet. You look to your side, the blue neon lines on your mask glowing in the dark. “You continue helping granny away from here.” You put more power onto your claymore, allowing blue flames to start appearing on the thick blade. “I’ll handle this.”

You jump towards the monster, swinging your blade at it. It holds its hands up, blocking your attack as it moves its leg up to kick you in the stomach. You grunt, using your sword to push yourself off of it and back onto the ground.

It keeps its eyes you, charging the second it sees you staying still. You use your speed quirk, running around and towards its back, slashing your blade successfully at it. You smile, finally being able to drop an attack on it. Your smile a second later at the sight of the wound healing immediately, watching in disgust as the muscles patch themselves together.

It turns around, causing you to get on fighting stance. As it charges at you and as you ready yourself, large flames begin to surround its body, causing it to screech in pain. It falls to the ground moments later, showing you an irritated Shoto.

“Midoriya just texted me, they need help!” He yells, running towards an alley to which you follow immediately right after. Shoto looks down at his phone screen as you follow right behind him, coming to a halt at the loud of things crashing and Izuku yelling.

At the sight of a man in wrapped in shredded bandages with two katanas in hand, along with Tenya, a hero and Izuku unable to move close to him, Shoto uses his fire to force the villain back and away from the guys.

You run over towards them, pointing your claymore at the villain who tilts his head to the side. You hear Shoto scolding Izuku for not explaining the urgency of the situation because he could have gotten here sooner if he didn’t need to decode the green-haired boy’s message since he only sent his location.

Shoto sends his ice at the killer once more who continues to evade the boy’s attacks, standing on store signs instead as he looks down at you all, presumably trying to read the situation.

“Don’t let him ingest your blood! It will paralyze you!” Izuku yells, your head whipping back at the villain’s direction who looks like he’s about to lick on something on his blade. You those your claymore at him, causing him to let go of his katana and fall back.

You use your quirk to quickly run over to him, kicking him back onto the ground even before he can touch it, adding more pressure to his fall.

“Stop it, you guys! I inherited Ingenium’s name, I should be the one to stop the hero killer-“

“Quit yer yapping, Tenya!” You growl, deploying a scythe. “You say that but do you think your brother would have wanted you to do this?! We may not be close at all, hell, I only know your name but if your brother is as great of a hero as you say he is, he would want you to be a hero without such dark intentions in your heart!” You yell, your heart clenching as you feel your stomach twist at how hypocritical you sound right now.

Shoto creates a wall of ice, but Stain slashes through it. You jump towards the villain, swinging your scythe at him as he uses two daggers to repel your weapon. The two of you exchange blows before he suddenly lets go of his daggers, grabbing onto the handle of your scythe as he pulls you towards him, lifting you up by the weapon as he throws you upwards, causing you to lose your balance as you are thrown behind him.

Stain runs over to Shoto, stabbing him with throwing knives before moving over him. Before he can stab the boy from above, Izuku unexpectedly grabs him and tackles him away.

“Midoriya! I’ll support you-“

“Not so fast you two-toned bastard.” You growl, walking past him with the your trusty claymore in your hands. “You’re injured. Izuku and I will be able to fight him. Just stay up and watch over Iida and that hero.” You say, pointing your thumb back to where the two were as you point your blade towards the villain.

Stain runs over to Izuku, catching the boy off guard as you use your speed to run in between them, shielding Izuku from the villain with your sword. “I got your back!” You yell, pushing the villain away from you with your sword as Izuku runs over to his back, about to throw one of his ridiculously strong punches. Right before he can throw a blow at the villain, Stain jumps away, evading the attack as it hits you instead.

You quickly use your sword to block the gust of wind and power punched towards you as Izuku yells an apology. You click your tongue, “Couldn’t you stop being a klutz for just one minute?!” You yells, running over to Stain, swinging your sword towards him. He evades the attack once more, watching as your slice creates a large and deep slash on the cemented ground as well as the buildings behind him.

“What strong power locked inside a small body. I don’t think any of that belongs to you.” The villain smiles to which you frown at. “It was given and forcefully put inside me without my consent. But now it’s part of me, and I’m now naming it mine.” Your voice sounds powerful as you transfer more of your power onto your claymore, blue flames once again appearing on the blade.

“Come on, little villain.” You smile sinisterly, neon blue lines begin appearing all over your body, catching Izuku off guard. I shouldn’t be doing this, I might pass out again. But as my mother always said, there’s no gain without a little pain. You thought to yourself, once again leaving an after image of yourself in front of the villain as you strike him a scorching blow from behind.

“How the hell did you get behind me-“ Your claymore disappears from your grasp as fingerless gloves wrap themselves around your fists. You grab him by the face, slamming him onto the ground as your grip tightens around his head. “You’re supposed to be the infamous hero killer! Don’t tell me you’ll let a sixteen year-old child break you like this!” You yell, stepping onto his arms as you pull his head up only to smash it back down to the ground.

Smash his head open

No, no, make it so that he won’t be able to walk even after he heals up!

He’s killed many people, hasn’t he? So doesn’t he deserve death a thousand times over?

“That’s right! He does deserve death a thousand times over!” You yell, your hand never stopping as you continue bashing his head onto the ground. “Y/n, stop! We have to bring him over to the heroes alive for interrogation!” Iida yells as you feel arms wrap around from under your shoulders, pulling you away from the bloody villain. “Stop, stop! Y/n! Stain’s unconscious now!” Izuku snaps you out of your daze as the blue lines begin to disappear from your face. You look around, feeling your heart about to jump right out of your chest as you look at your palm, feeling a shudder pass down your spine at the sight of blood all over it.

You let the boys tie the villain up with some rope they found in the dumpster. All of you begin to walk towards the Main Street, Iida walking right beside you. “What was that back there?” He asks, his eyes staying up front.

“I have no idea what you mean.” You shrug your shoulders, not wanting to talk about this anymore. “Okay, let me rephrase my question. /Who/ was that back there?” You stop at your tracks, keeping your eyes on the ground as you clench your fists together. “Her name is Y/n L/n but she’s also none of your business.” You say before you continue walking straight.

When you finally step out of the alley way, the hero that had been injured with Iida offers to carry Izuku on his back, claiming its the least he can do after being saved by you all. A short yellow man comes kicking Izuku on his face, as he gives Izuku an angry lecture.

You hear a group of heroes begin running your way, “Endeavor told us there was request for help here but… children?”

“Those injuries look bad, I’ll call an ambulance right away.”

“Hey, look!” One motions at Stain as another gasps, “Is that… the hero killer?”

As the adults begin contacting for help, Iida walks over to the three of you, bowing. “You guys, got hurt because of me. I’m truly sorry. I was just so angry I couldn’t… see anything else.” Your heart ached for Iida as you watched his tears drop to the ground, staining them wet. You sigh, walking over to him, propping him to stand up straight. You pull him into a hug, allowing him to sob harder on your shoulder.

You whisper calming hushes onto his ear as you stroked his head- something your mother would do to you whenever you felt negative about yourself. “It’s okay, Tenya. From now on, just remember to be good always. Always have kindness in your heart no matter what.”

Hypocrite. You’re the personification of the word hypocrite.

I know. You sigh to yourself, I know.

#bakugou fanfiction #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x you #mha bakugou #bakugou bios #bakugou imagine #bakugou fluff #mha fanfiction #mha fluff #bnha fanfiction #bnha fluff #my hero academia fanfiction #my hero academia fluff #my hero fanfic #my hero fluff #boku no hero fanfic #boku no hero fluff

[brushes-of-sage]

Alchemy. It was the only thing that was uniting the princes of Arendelle. While a door had separated the two brothers for the past five years, Hugo found a way to still stay connected to his brother. It all started three years ago, when Hugo realized he was running out of things to do. Oh sure, there were plenty of things in the castle, but that number reduces *significantly* when you realize there’s no one to do these things with you. So, Hugo decided to take up alchemy again. (1/?)

Alright lemme try to see if the keep reading works:

He had stopped working with alchemy when Varian had disappeared behind that cursed door, since alchemy was just another painful reminder of the brother he felt he lost. It was one of the brothers' favorite things to do, along with… along with... well, Hugo couldn’t really remember. The more he tried thinking about things he did with his brother that wasn’t alchemy, he got nothing, just laughter and a small headache. But, the number of things to occupy his time were getting thin.

So, he decided to give alchemy a try. This turned out to be a great decision. Not only did it serve as a distraction, but it served as something to keep his mind going. This distraction worked well for a few weeks until he hit a roadblock. He was trying to perfect an alchemical ice bomb that he had started when he was younger, but could never finish. But nothing seemed to be working. After staring at his disaster of a note pile for the better part of an hour, a little voice in his head said,

“You could go to Varian for help”

“No,” he snapped back, “If Varian wanted to help me or be there for me, he would leave his room. Clearly he doesn’t want to talk to me, or anyone for that matter.” Hugo didn’t want to admit it, but he was starting to get a bit mad at Varian. They were the best of brothers for years, and then just one day, Varian just shuts himself in his room, without a single word as to why. He laid his head on his desk and sighed. “Ah, who am I kidding? I’m going crazy just sitting here, I need to talk to someone, even if its nothing more than alchemy notes.”He gets up, grabs his notes, and starts to make his way to a door he passed by and stared at a million times before. On the way though, his mind is going through a back and forth battle: He wont wanna talk to you! Yes, he does, we havent spoken in forever! I wonder why? Besides its just some alchemy help, I’m not asking anything too extreme! All he has to do is fix a couple equations! What if he tears it up and ignores it, just like he has you these past few years? After this comment, Hugo ended up backtracking back to his room. He’d go tomorrow. Right?

Wrong. It took him three weeks before he found himself staring at the door that plagued his existence for two years now. He raised his hand to knock, and before he could back out, knocked twice and slid the notes through the crack under the door. He started anxiously pacing, his mind going back to the constant battle in his mind that had been raging for the past 3 weeks. After a couple minutes of pacing, Hugo was just about to leave when he heard 2 knocks, and paper slide back under the crack. Instantly, the flurry of anxious thoughts started up again, worrying it would come back blank or with a note saying Varian wouldn't help him. His hands shook as he opened the notes to reveal.. the completed solution. He read the solution 2 3 4 times before a huge smile spread across his face and he laughed a huge genuine laugh he hadn’t used in two years. These notes meant 2 big things: One, he finally had a solution to an alchemy problem he’d had since he was nine. And two, the more important one in Hugo’s opinion, is that his brother doesn’t hate him. That scary thought had crossed his mind multiple times and he had always quickly shot it down, but there was always that one tiny voice who would always say, “But, does he though?” Now, that voice was as good as dead. Varian didn’t hate him. He wasn’t giving him the *total* silent treatment. Maybe he could work up from here, have conversations through the door, send notes, maybe even ask why he was doing any of this in the first place.Just as he’s about to leave for his lab to finish the ice bombs with the now completed formula, Hugo heard two knocks on the door and stopped. He wasn’t expecting anything else. He looked at the bottom of the door and saw a small stack of papers slide under and he picked them up. It was a stack of alchemy notes titled “Melting Bomb” The notes were full of blank spaces and question marks and there was a note attached that said:

Hugo-Please assist me in completing this formula for a melting alchemy bomb. I have been on and off of this project for the past few years, and some assistance would be much appreciated. Thank you.-Varian

As excited as Hugo was that his brother was reaching out to him, and actively looking for his help, he couldn’t help but feel a bit…disappointed at the formality of the note. As if Hugo were some stranger that Varian had just met and had to put up formalities and not his own brother. Nevertheless, he shouts a quick “Be right back!” and dashes off to his room to grab a quill and inkwell. While he runs, he reads over the notes and finds the answer fairly quickly. It wasn’t all that hard, it just was in desperate need of a fresh set of eyes. He scribbled down the answers as quick as possible, not wanting to keep Varian waiting. He runs back to Varians room, knocks 2 times and slips the notes under the door. After a couple of minutes, he hears a soft gasp, the quick scratching of a quill, and a new note being shoved under the door. Hugo picked up the note and stared at the messy handwriting and smiled. This was the big brother he remembered. Thanks for the help! Now go work on your project! This went on for the next few months with notes. Sometimes it wasn't just alchemy they talked about. It started simple, like “How’s your day going” and things like that.

Then it slowly evolved to things like “Get some rest Haristripe” and “You haven’t eaten yet today have you, Hugo?” (Both weren’t exactly the best at self care, especially when they were caught up in their work). The day Hugo finally heard Varian talk was one of the best days of his life. Obviously, he had heard his brother talk before, but it had been years since they had spoken, and as the time passed, Hugo’s memories of Varian’s voice faded. Plus, with the time passing, he knew his voice would have changed. So, when Varian finally said a soft “Thank you”, Hugo’s face lit up with a huge smile. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, Hugo treasured every word he said, committing them to memory. For a while, things were going great. Until one fateful day, when Hugo pushed his luck just a *bit* more than he probably should have. The day started out normal enough, Hugo worked on some experiments he didn’t finish last night, ate some lunch, and then after lunch he grabbed his notes that needed Varian’s help, and started making his way to his room. However, on the way, he realized that as happy as he was to be able to talk to Varian, it didn’t feel *right*. A relationship based solely on notes slipped under a door and minimal verbal talking felt like a false one. What Hugo wanted to know more than anything, was *why*. Why had Varian shut him and the rest of the world out? If it was so necessary, why hadn’t he at least attempted some form of contact? This one word question had plagued Hugo’s mind ever since the door had closed, and he had never really had the confidence to ask it: until now.

So, he went back to his room and wrote out a letter. It was simple, a little more formal than usual, but to the point. It read: Varian- We’ve been talking with each other for a while now, and I feel we are at a point where I can ask this question: Why? Why have you locked yourself in your room and away from the rest of the world? Was it something I did? You can answer as vaguely or specifically as you like, I just would really like some answers. Thanks, Hugo

His hands shook as he folded the letter and slid it under the door. He knew to give Varian a little extra time, this wasn’t just a simple math problem. So Hugo waited. And waited. And waited, until it was dinner time and his stomach forced him to get some food. The whole time, his mind was at war with itself once again: See? You just had to push your luck, didn’t you? He’s giving you the cold shoulder ‘cause you couldn’t leave well enough well enough. No! He’s not giving me the cold shoulder, he’s just taking his time to formulate a response. It’s probably a really long story. Keep telling yourself that. I will! ‘Cause it’s true! If the positive side of Hugo was right, Varian sure was taking his sweet old time, because it was 3 weeks before anything happened. Three weeks of absolute silence from the older prince. The only reason things changed was because Hugo took the brave first step of sliding alchemy notes through the door. Five minutes later, it came back with notes and edits. There were no additional quips, remarks, or any explanations like he had requested three weeks earlier, but this was better than silence. They soon fell back into the routine they had before: notes, minimal verbal communication, and various quips. It felt good to get back to that routine, but a small part of Hugo still ached for answers that he feared would never come. But he never acted on this, fearing that Varian would once again give him the cold shoulder, and this time would ignore him for good.(20/20)

((And there it is! The final part! I hope u enjoyed reading it, this is the first time ive really written something i didnt hate *and* am sharing this with someone. Thank you for taking the time to read this, this means more than u know. Thank you also for letting me take over ur inbox😅Next up im doing this story but w/ varians pov, which ive already started. Thx again! -💙

Ahhhhhh, first off, sorry for getting to this later than I usually do!! These past few weeks have been hectic and I’ve been needing to take a step back and focus more on school and classes and stuff, but I finally got to reading this and OMIGOSH I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!

(Hope you don’t mind if I just added in some italics and kinda changed the formatting to make it easier to read - didn’t take anything off or anything, but the way tumblr formats asks is a bit weird lol, hope that doesn’t offend you! - also number 7 somehow went missing? 😅)

But OMIGOSH YO - just my heart akfjajdjaj 🥺 The two of them building their relationship slowly through passing letters underneath the door? Oh my heart, and the way you can just feel them getting closer and happier because of it?

But then Hugo asking Varian the why - why did he shut him out, why was he behind the door, why can’t they see each other - and then Varian just suddenly going back to that stiff and formal demeanor after that akfjakfjja I cry ahhhhhhh-

“But he never acted on this, fearing that Varian would once again give him the cold shoulder, and this time would ignore him for good.” - JUST RIP MY HEART OUT BLUE NONNIE AHDKGKAKJD

I absolutely loved seeing Hugo’s hesitance then excitement and eagerness to get closer to his brother whom he barely even knows besides a few memories (and ha, I see the headache there 👀) and only to see that he went too far and the fragile bond they’d forged again had melted and akfjakfjaj the FEELS-

Thank you for sharing and for letting me read your writing! I’m excited to see what you’ve got next for Varian’s POV!!! 😱

#sage answers #💙 #frozen au #7k frozen au #not my fanfic #varian and the seven kingdoms #Varian #hugo #alchemy bros #honestly though I love your writing and this made me feel things akfjakfjja #edited to add the final 7th piece

[thiefcat-niao]

Ending the Session (Chapter 1)

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!   Characters/Ships: Gemshipping (Thief King Bakura/Ryou Bakura); Ryou Bakura, Thief King Bakura, Atem, Yugi Mutuo, Zorc Necrophades  Rating: T Length: Chapter 1 / 3; 2300 words

Summary:

Into Ryou's lonely apartment comes a spirit, an ancient power that speaks and manifests through the Ouija board kept beneath the bed. It calls itself Tou, and claims to be human. Ryou believes.

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Chapter One: Tou 

Ryou Bakura arrived home; his small apartment greeted him with silence, and with the faint scent of his supper simmering in the slow-cooker. He flicked on the light and put down his grocery bags, then set to putting his groceries away. At some point, he reached up to tug the tie out of his hair, letting the white locks tumble down around his shoulders. He didn't bother to work the tangles out with his fingers.

The only sounds were the squeak of the refrigerator door, the rustling of plastic bags, and Ryou's occasional, thoughtful mutters as he tried to find space for milk and whipping cream among plates of thawing puff pastry.

Once the groceries were put away, Ryou checked the personal-sized roast in his slow-cooker, steam bathing his face as he opened the lid. He added in chopped vegetables for the last half-hour of cooking, then went to shower. When he emerged, dressed in a plush house-robe and with damp hair clinging to his neck, he collected his supper and took it to his secondhand dining table.

The meat was tender and delicious, and Ryou hummed softly into the silence as he ate. Still, he thought, perhaps he could add a bit more onion in, next time he fixed the recipe. He answered a couple of texts from friends, phone sitting beside his plate—a question about a shared college class from Jounochi Katsuya; a invite to coffee from Yugi Mutuo; an amusing internet post that Honda Hiroto had forwarded him. He smiled, thinking of his friends.

Ryou finished his dinner; started the dishwasher; sliced himself a generous piece of the creme cake he had made the night before; retreated to his bedroom.

In the hush of his apartment, Ryou sat on his bedroom floor; turned off his lamp. He set his cake down and pulled out a box from beneath his bed. From within the box, he pulled out two pillar candles and lit their already-blackened wicks, then set them up in front of himself. He pulled a woody amulet out from beneath his shirt and let it hang prominently against his chest, then set a notebook and pen beside his cake, within easy reach on his right. Last, he unfolded a worn-out board bearing the alphabet, a set of numeric symbols, a "yes" in the upper left corner, a "no" in the upper right corner, and "goodbye" spelled out at the bottom.

With one hand, he cut himself off a forkful of cake; with the other, he moved the planchette onto the board's "G."

"Hello," he said, into the silence of his apartment. He kept his left hand light on the planchette. "Is anyone here?"

Nothing disturbed the hush; Ryou took a bite of his cake. Any apprehension he had once had about using the Ouija board had faded with time. It was as normal to him, now, as fixing his dinner or taking a shower. He'd lost count of the candle-stubs that had gathered in the bottom of the Ouija board's worn box. Though he knew—and believed, to a greater or lesser extent—that using a Ouija board alone was a bad practice, in general, it was the only way he had ever played with one.

"Hello?" he called again. Some nights, there was no answer. Some nights, the apartment remained silent.

That night was not such a night.

"h-e-l-l-o-t-h-e-r-e"

Ryou felt a smile break onto his face, honestly delighted when the planchette moved slowly across the board. He could feel the presence—long practice had given him some physical sense of it, whenever a spirit answered the board's call. This particular spirit had a somewhat more powerful presence, though the planchette seemed almost cautious, and Ryou shivered.

"Hello!" he said, making an effort to sound friendly. "I'm Ryou—Ryou Bakura! What's your name?"

"im called... tou..." the pointer spelled out.

Ryou felt a thrill travel through him, from his pounding heart and into the fingertips of his left hand. He scribbled down t-o-u in his notebook, with his right hand. "Tou? Nice to meet you!"

"nice... to meet you... ryou..." was the reply, and Ryou's smile grew.

"What are you, Tou? If you don't mind me asking."

The planchette hesitated; Ryou could feel that the spirit hadn't left, but it didn't answer immediately. When it did, it spelled out, "h-u-m-a-n"

While aware that spirits weren't always the most truthful of beings, Ryou was inclined to believe this one. There was something oddly fervent about the answer, and Ryou heard the word as if it had been spoken aloud: human.

"That's nice. So am I."

"h-a-h-a... i would assume so..."

"Have you spoken to the living like this, before?"

"yes... once or twice..."

"Oh? Do you like it?"

"i appreciate the company..."

There was a wryness about the reply, and Ryou laughed aloud. "That's why I do it, too. I like the company. Thank you for answering!"

The planchette was still, for a moment, and then spelled out, "youre odd... different from others ive talked to..."

"Really? How so?"

"n-e-d-j-e-m"

Ryou blinked. He was confident in his ability to read the board, but the word seemed like nonsense. He jotted it down, to be sure, and still couldn't identify it visually: nedjem.

"you live alone..." the spirit spelled out, and it occurred to Ryou suddenly that there was no question mark on the board. He didn't know whether to interpret it as observation or question, but decided to answer it anyway.

"Yes. I moved out of my family's home when I started college."

"no roommate..."

"No."

"friends..."

"Yes!" Ryou was surprised, but genuinely pleased. He'd never had a spirit engage him about his own life, in such a way. There wasn't much to tell, but he was glad to share what there was. "I have some very good friends."

"thats good..."

"Do you have any friends? Wherever you are?" Ryou asked.

"haha... no... no friends for me..."

Ryou felt a stab of sadness. "I'll be your friend, if you'd like."

The planchette moved suddenly, erratically, almost slipping from beneath his hand. Ryou squeaked in surprise, but watched closely; assured himself that the movement was apparently random, not calculated figure-eights or a numerical pattern. The candles flickered.

"youre crazy..." the spirit spelled out, when it had calmed. "what do you think youre doing... making an offer like that..."

"I think I'm making a friend," Ryou said, a bit indignant. "Just because you're a spirit doesn't mean we couldn't be friends."

"and i suppose youve made friends with spirits before..."

"Well, no," Ryou admitted. "I've made contact with spirits before, lots of times, but..."

"but what..."

"But they don't usually come back."

There was a pause. Then, the spirit said, "i cant imagine why..."

Ryou felt heat rise to his face, and tried to convince himself that he wasn't being charmed by a wandering spirit that had appeared at his Ouija board. "I'm not a very interesting person..."

"youre kind though..."

"I-I'm not anything special."

"i beg to differ..."

"You've known me for five minutes!" Ryou objected.

"thats true..." the spirit calling itself Tou replied. "but id like to know you for much longer..."

Ryou pulled up short; realized what he'd just read. "Oh... I mean, of course! Does that mean we'll be friends?"

"sure... if youd like to call us that..."

And again Ryou smiled. "Of course! Glad to be your friend, Tou!"

"glad to be your friend... ryou... well talk again..."

"Do you want me to end the session, then?"

"for now..."

Though slightly saddened, Ryou nodded. "Alright. Is it strenuous, to make contact like this?"

"a bit... im a tired old spirit ryou..."

"How old are you, Tou? If you don't mind me asking."

"three thousand long years"

... ... ...

Ryou lay awake, deep into the night, thinking about the three-thousand year old spirit that called itself Tou. He stared up at his blank ceiling, wondering why the apartment didn't feel as empty as it usually did.

The spirit might not come back... he reflected, no matter what it said...

He hoped Tou would come back. Perhaps, he thought, Tou hadn't even left, after the session had ended.

When morning came, Ryou resisted the urge to pull out the Ouija board; went about his morning routine, instead, in the silence of the apartment. He left for his morning classes, and then worked an uneventful shift at his local bookstore. But when he returned home, he could scarcely be bothered to fix himself a sandwich out of leftovers for supper.

He could feel the spirit's presence, and felt certain that Tou would be there when he pulled out the Ouija board.

He wasn't disappointed.

"hello again ryou..."

"Good evening, Tou! Thank you for answering!"

"its not as if i have much else to do..."

"So, have you been a spirit for three thousand years?"

"ha... well i wasnt alive for three thousand years..."

Ryou huffed. "I guess I meant, well... have you been a wandering spirit for that long?"

"i never made it to the afterlife... if thats what you mean..."

Ryou's eyes widened. "So there is one, in proper? An afterlife?" He hoped such a question didn't apply as inquiring about his own death—a thing to be absolutely avoided when using a Ouija board.

"there is..." was Tou's reply. "anubis guards its gates well... even i have no chance at sneaking in..."

Ryou couldn't tell if the spirit was being tongue-in-cheek; it didn't seem like a serious response, although the board didn't allow for clues like tone or facial expression. "It's not painful, though, is it? Being wherever you are?"

"are you asking if im in hell..."

"No!" Ryou replied. "I mean... I suppose, but that's not why I'm asking. I'm concerned!"

"concerned... about a spirit you just met yesterday..." The planchette moved slowly, and Ryou wondered if it was due to bemusement or derision. But he was certain he could feel Tou's pretense, in the apartment, and it didn't feel spiteful.

"I am. It would bother me, if you were in pain." When the spirit didn't respond, Ryou forged on ahead. "You don't seem like a spirit reaching out from hell, though, or whatever version of the concept of hell actually exists. I imagine a spirit like that would be more... volatile. Even if they weren't abjectly hostile, or bad, existing under those conditions would wear at someone."

"wandering around for three thousand years can wear on someone too..."

"I'm sure it does."

The planchette moved back and forth, just slightly; pensively. Ryou waited patiently for the spirit to speak again, content to feel the gentle rock of the pointer beneath his hands. When the next message finally came through, it was, "i would give anything to be alive again..."

"I'm sure. I'm sorry."

"for what... not you... dont apologize..."

Ryou paused; chose his next words carefully. "I'm sorry you had to die. And I'm sorry this is how we have to meet."

The spirit, too, took a moment to reply. "youre still young... too young to think of death as reality..."

"How old were you when you died, if you don't mind me asking?"

"2-0"

Ryou felt a stab of sadness. "That's how old I am..."

"well... ive still got three thousand years on you..."

Ryou smiled. "That's true, I suppose."

"it wasnt so terribly young... by the standards of when i lived..." The spirit seemed to be musing aloud, and Ryou appreciated being privy to its thoughts. "most only lived to forty... maybe fifty with luck..."

"Where did you live, Tou?"

"somewhere far from here..."

The answer surprised Ryou. The spirit hadn't shied from answering any questions so far—although again, Ryou had to remind himself, the truthfulness of such answers couldn't be taken for granted—so the dodge was unexpected. Ryou decided quickly not to press the matter.

"Do you know why you're wandering? Why you can't find peace? I could try to help, if you wanted..."

"have you done that with other spirits... played medium..."

Ryou shook his head. "No... but I figured I'd offer. If you don't want that, that's fine, too."

Tou was silent for a long moment; Ryou could feel a light pressure on his hands, above the planchette. "no... no i dont want that... i know whats keeping me here and its not a thing you can help me deal with..."

"I can be a sympathetic ear, at least. Do you want to talk about it? The thing that's keeping you here?"

"no"

The answer was abrupt and decisive, and Ryou nodded. "Alright. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"h-a-h-a-h-a-h-a..." The laughter made Ryou blink, surprised. "upset me... no... no... its nothing you did..."

"But you are upset?"

"a little... i told you ryou... im a tired tired old spirit... and talking about things like this... im damn tired..."

"If you want to talk about something else—"

"i cant take much more of this ryou..."

Ryou paused; waited to see if the spirit would elaborate, and then asked, "Much more of what?"

"of being dead... i want to live again... id give anything..."

Ryou's skin prickled with alarm. It was a dangerous thing for a spirit to say. And yet he still felt no malice or aggression from the spirit—only bitterness and exhaustion.

"I'm so sorry, Tou."

"dont... apologize..."

"I'm so sorry..."

The planchette moved aimlessly for a moment, like a restless pacing. Then Tou said, "dont apologize... you are... helping..."

"Thank you, Tou. I appreciate your company, too!"

The planchette was still, although again Ryou could feel the presence lingering in his room. Then, "end the session... for now... im sorry i just... have to rest... a while..."

"Of course." Ryou smiled; tried to infuse his voice with all the affection that might be conveyed by a parting embrace. "Rest well, Tou. I'll talk to you again."

"talk to you... soon..."

"Goodbye."

"goodbye"

#gemshipping #yu-gi-oh #ygo #thief king bakura #ryou bakura #tkb #fanfic #fanfiction #this got out of hand whoops

[mrfreezebug]

Idk I’ve mentioned a few shitty exes in passing before. But I never go into detail. And idk man due to recent events I’m just gonna vent a little bit about a piece of emmett dating history. CW: Bad bad bad relationship things  tl;dr tl;dr tl;dr  s orry if you’re on mobile 

So like YEARS AGO I got technically broken up with 3 times over a three month period which resulted in me being stoned out of my mind for three weeks straight and shit faced when i wasn’t up all up there. I just felt horrible. And through all that... I managed to meet someone who seemed super chill, fun, and nice and junk. And while we were casually seeing each other I got to meet new people and swing with them a lil. It was super therapeutic and they seemed so open minded and like they knew themselves so well... and I was still so lonely that I thought even though I didn’t have feelings yet I admired the FUCK out of them in the moment and thought i could grow to really like them?? We talked about it a lot and they sounded super understanding. Even though they constantly asked if I was ready they kept telling me they wanted "easy” as much as I did... But once I let go of my apprehensions of getting with them officially...  It turned out to be a big mistake. SO shit happened and once we became official the person who I was seeing before who ghosted suddenly messaged me bein all “sorry babe” and I was all: “I gotta tell u something” And so I told them I was seeing someone else on accounta how they just ditched me for a month with no response. And they asked me who And I told them And they told me to get the fuck out that they were a trash person. They also guilted me for moving on. “I leave for a week and you’re already on to someone else??” like R U K I D D I N G M E and I thought they were just being a salty jealous piece of bitch so I told them to chill. But they wanted closure and I’m nice so I said ok to meeting up in person. But the person I was seeing currently said they feared for my safety and that I’d cheat on them with that person. (Needless 2say they did not like eachother) And I was just??? “I wouldn’t cheat and what sorta safety concerns r there” And they were all “they’ll rape you or something and I don’t want to date someone who puts themself in the position to be raped” That was a pretty big red flag lmfao.

I should have just told both them to fuck off then but Ive never learned to really just leave anyone like that before. Im way better at it now but before I didn’t want to break ties with the only person who seemed to want to be around me and make me happy at that moment... so I just ignored that gross comment and I just told the other person we couldn’t meet.

But sure enough that weird kinda controlling situation turned into 8months of a hellish relationship where they were just SCREAMING at me for EVERYTHING. Like they literally screamed all the time. There were more times I was being yelled at than not??? Other people often told them to even calm the fuck down in public. It was wild. The screaming bullshit got to the point where THEIR friends came to me to see if I was okay. They’d literally sit me down and ask me if they physically harmed me. Which, they didn’t but there were threats surrounding every time I forgot something or messed something up. Nothing like serious but, honestly? Who for real who says “it makes me want to smack you when you can’t remember basic things.” Thinking back to this rn is so shocking to me. Idk man.

A few times they would get way too into my face and I’d have to physically shove them away because it was too intense. Just yelling. Right in my face. I can’t even remember why they were yelling. They were just always over reacting over something small I did. It all blurred together at some point. I just know I was always either zoned the fuck out or crying.  They also would often brag about being able to make people cry also. Like “I can make anyone cry. I know what to say to I get to people the most.” And it’s fucking gross, as well as a common thing I’d run into with other friends n shit. Idk why controlling people always end up with my wimpy ass. BuT ANYWAY I also couldn’t use my computer, go to conventions, or see friends without dealing with their controlling ass. So that was also a bag of shit. My life was fucking MISERABLE Talking to them only got me so far. Like five minutes of potential mutual clarity in any situation before they’d go on a rant about their problems and it’d basically end with me saying sorry with no progress. And I was still so soft spoken then when I tried twice to break up w/them it failed. It makes me want to go back and SHAKE MYSELF like why did I put myself through that for THAT MANY MONTHS???  Another kicker: similar to my experiences with other partners I was coerced into sexual situations probably every other week tops?? By threatening to break up with me, or tell me that I suck as a partner, telling me I make them feel ugly, etc… shits fucking weird like here I was crying like 9/10 times they guilted me for not wanting sex, my face is fucking UGLY and they still wanted it?? SHIT MAN. I cried during sex a lot. It fucks with me to this day. My initial instinct is to be too afraid to say no to sex.

But they actually ended up breaking up with me bc I went to go hang out with a friend and not tell them. It was probably more of a threat to try to control me but I saw that opening and booked it so far away, man I went to Denny’s that night for the first time without worrying about upsetting them for not answering their texts right away. I actually felt BAD that I didn’t care tho?? It was dumb but this thing is still a bit of a problem for me. Even if logically they deserve to feel bad, I feel horrible for hurting anyones feelings. They seemed WAY torn up about the break up. I made some empty promises like an idiot. Telling them I’d see how I felt if they worked on their anger issues and shit. It was so fucked up when I was alone with them I felt so bad for them. I felt like I really hurt them or that I owed them something for the times they were nice to me and paid for my shit and whatnot. I also have trouble staying mad. I always just forgive and wanna move on. So we’d actually meet up with peeps at gay events n what not, I was friends with their friends at this point and I didn’t want to rock the boat with anyone even when they tried getting me back at the most random times. But I’m hella distant from people in general. It gets me into trouble with people I genuinely used to like let alone with people who stress me out lmao So they’d send me paragraphs of friendship break ups and delete me from everything then message me and try to readd me again and then get upset again that I don’t “check in on them” how “I don’t care about anyone but myself” and just all around stress me the fuck out. I just have a hard time checking in on people bc of various reasons. I’m working on my self confidence for it. And I don’t want to make people stay if that bothers them. So I just kinda let them come and go but the constant confrontation is STRESSFUL. It makes it harder to check in on anyone who pulls that shit tbh.

And NOW they’re trying to do it again after a few years and like I feel BAD again and like I should be over everything tbh it was YEARS AGO BUT I REALLY DONT WANT TO CARE ANYMORE.  IM KINDA PATHETIC T H E   E N D

#i mIGHT delete this #but it's rly nice to just shit this out without actually bothering anyone #emmett chit chats

[beryul-blog]

so  i’ve  reached  a  milestone .   ive  loved  luke  ever  since  i   first  watched  the  movies  when  i   was  seven  years  old  and??????honestly  my  love  for  him  hasn’t  changed?????  having  said  that ,   my   love   and   understanding   for   his   character   would   not   have   been   where   it   is   now   without   you   guys.    im  just   so   grateful   and   balled   over   at   the   talent ,   creativity ,   and   passion   of   everyone   i   follow   and   idk   expressing   emotions   is   not   my   strong   suit   so   uhhhhhhhh   yeahhhhhhhh   ilu<333   im   way   too   adh.d  for  this   i  stg ZOOM ZOO M TO  THE SPECIAL  MENT I O N S

THE BLUE MILK  (  the  duplicates  ---  some  id  consider  friends  )

ooOooOh boy .    you   guys  i  cant   even   bE  GIN  to  explain  my   love  for   y’all .     i   have   the   biggest   duplicate   angziety  in   the   world .    its   in   my   nature   i   cant   help   it   and   honestly??????/all   your   interpretations   terrify   me   bu t in a good way i promise   bc   theyre   all   so   unique   and   well   thought   out   and   amazing  and   what   makes   it   even   wor S E   is   that   all   of   you   (  even  the  ones  that  i  dont  speak  to  all  that  often  )   are   the   sweetest,   most   talented ,   sensitive ,   passionate   individuals   ive   met   online????? EV E R.   also   all   these   comments   are  genuine  not   sarcastic aslkjaksdnasl   (forgive  me  im  british  i  thin k  everything  sounds  sarcastic)

@horizonwept  :   charlie????mY. G OD.   your   understanding   and   enthusiasm   of   our   Son   is   unparalleled   and?????? ik   we   dont  speak  that   much  recently  b u  T  I  WANT  TO  MORE????? everytime   you  post   something   i   press  mah   lil   face   up   to   the   screen   and   weepe t h .   you’re   also   kind   and   funny   and   people   just????? love  u?????AND  I lov e  u  too?????  al SO   you   convinced   me   of   lukes   characterisation   in    tlj   and   tfa   and   honestly????im   so  s O   glad   u   did<3   everythign  u   post   is  just   so   thought  out   and   intelligent  and   i   just.   wish.   i   could  do   wht   u   do???   keep   being  amazing   sweaty  :’) @lstjedi  :   KAY!!!!!!!   the   founder   of   the   lu k e   slywalker  group   chat   *g a sps*   mah   love.   now   i   know   youve   been   feeling   a   lil   insecure   recently   about   ur   age   and  ur   mental   health  has   been   acting   up   (belief  me  i  know<3 )   b u T  HUN NN Y   listen   up:   you   ar e  the   symbol   of   dont-judge-by-age   policy   bc   honestly???? u   have   the   skill,   dedication,   and   maturity  of   people   who   are   twice   ur   age.   ur   passion????? unbelievable.   ur   kindness?????  one  of   a   kind.   ur  maturity?????? uhhhh more   than   me.     ur   writing???? delicious.    if   youre   feeling   insecure   about   your  age,   dont.      you   are  amazing   and   talented   and   dont   u   d  A  RE    forget   it<3   edit:   also   i   love  how   you   come   onto   the   chat   being   the  first  person  to   talk   and  ur   like  ‘hi  guys!!!’  and   idk  i   just   find   u  really   sweet   and  friendlyasjdna,nda @skyhcpped  :    ro!!!!!!!   henlo   there  my   frond.    first   of   all   wh  ERE   DO  U   FIND  ALL   THESE   MEMES??????  im loving it keep going.    we   havent   spoken   much   b U T   the  groupchat   has   brought   us   Together   and   thats   the   best   thing   ever   bc   i   think   ur   just?????? so   talented   and   ur   understanding   and   love   for   luke  (eveninmemes)  is   unparalleled.   i   love   talking   about   our   mutual  Hate  for  re/ylo   and   a L SO   i   hope   ur   not   still   freezing   on   hoth?????if  you  are cold,   wrap   up   warm,   grab   urself   a   hot  chocolate   if   u   like   that   sort   of   thing,  run  a   bath,   uhhhhhhhhh  create   a   pillow   fort,   find   a   tauntaun   and   sit   inside  it.   that   was   my   survival   lecture  thanks  for  coming  to  my  ted  talk  :)))))   also  the  fact  u  are.  literally.  daredevil???? taking  a s  hot  of  vinegar  and terrified   a   boy??? my  hero, mah idol.    i   did   a   reverse  thing  where  i  dared  (2)  boys  to  take  a  teaspoon   of   vanilla   essence   and   they  did  it   (s o empowering  ;)

@lightswept  :   riceeeeee.   honestly  how  can   anyone   ever   hate   you????    we   havent   been   talking   for   v   long   but   omgskdnf   you   are   so   sweet   and   lovely   and   u   deserve   The  World?????   haters   need   to   back  tf   up   bc   u   are   so   Pu re.    and   ur   also   really   attentive?????  your   writing   is   just   so   fluent  and  honestly??a  full   course  meal.   remember   that  i   love   and  appreciate   you   and  thats   NEVER  going  to   change<333   if  u  ever   need   to   talk,   i  am  always   here   even   tho  im   shit   at   advice   i  will   send  u   metaphorical  cake  and  hugs xoxo

@hopegave  :   mY  ITALIAN  BEAN.   look  at  us  europeans  yesiknowbrexit,   awake   when   all   the   ‘muricans   are   sleep i n g  asljdaksl   ur   honestly   adorable??????like   i   cant even  begin?????on  the  group   chat   youre   so   enthusiastic  and   capiTAL  LETTERS   and   asjaklsdlka  so   Pu re???  and  both  of   us   gushing  about   snow  ??????? iconic,  truly.  you,   being   the   first  person  to   call   ne w   york   hoth????? also  iconic.  ITALY  IS  ONE  OF   MY   FAV   PLACES   ON  EARTH  I   GO  THERE   A   LOT  IN   THE  SUMMERASFJHSD b U T  thats  off  topic.  what  i   need  to   say   is   that   ilu   and   ur   enthusias m   and  friendliness   and   yeah??????   stay  awesome

 @dualsuns   :   LIAM   IDK  WHY  IM   TELLING   U   THIS   BUT  WHENEVER   I   THINK   OF   U   I   THINK   OF   WINE???????  m aybe  its  bc   ur   prose  is   so   damn   sophistica t e d?????  its  so   fluent   and   makes  s o  much  sense???? ur  so   good   at   narrating   lukes   thoughts   its   so   obvious   you   have  this  amazing   understanding   of   his   character  its  !!!!!!!!  and   i   seriously  admire  that/?   like  your   voice   is  uhhh h   on  point .    i  can   tell   you   take   this   seriously   and   care  so   much   about   luke    (boi   me  too)  and  it   shows????  in   all   ur   hcs   and   ooc   posts   its   all   backe d   up   with    quotes,   love   and   analysis  like   damnnnnnnnn.   i   know  ive   only   really   interacted   w   you   a   couple  of   times   in    passing   but   id   love  to   more?????   ur   amazing   everythings   amazing  wow<3

 @didntturn   :    hmm mMMMM Mm   kylie.   have   we   ever  spoken?????  i   dont   think   so.   i   just   admire  u   from   afar   :’)   g U RL   first   of  all   ur   hilarious????  idk   i   think  we’ve  got   a   similar  sense   of   humour aklsdnanm  its   very   british.   also  ur   hcs   t a KE  MY  BREATH   AWAY.   so  muc h  detail   and   love?????   u   clearly   have   a   deep   understanding   of   luke  only  us   mere   mortals   can   d  REA M   of<3   hope  we   can   start   talking   bc   i   uhhhh  adore   ur   characterisation   and   id   love   to   discuss?????  idk   im   gushinggggggg

THESE  ARE  ONLY   SOME  DUPLICATES  I  COULD  GUSH  ABOUT  EVERY  SINGLE  ONE  OF  U  UNTIL  THE  DAY  I  DI  E

THE DROIDS  (  mah  main cretins  )  

@guiltslut  :   yh  idk  who  u   ar e   :/    j K  BINCH  IK  UR   WENDO!!!!!   mah  main  cretin  :’)   youve   been   by   my  side   for   8   months   (or   was  it   seven???? i cant rememberasdkajsdk)  which   is   an,, ,, ,  achievement.   your   writing  is   tasty  af   and   ur   enthusiasm  unparalleled.   i  will   always  love  and   appreciate   you<3

@smuglr  :   i   have   to   put   u  on  here   bc   we’ve  known   each   other   for   over   a  year   and   thats   kinda   mcCrazy??? im  sorry  i  havent   kept   in  touch  as   much  as  i  probably   should   have,  but  im   more  sorry   for  making  u   think  i   was   on   bath salts   when  i   was  quoting  bad  lip   reading  :/   honestly   ever  since  the  beginning   ive   admired   ur   prose   so   much???? its   so   good   and  attentive   and  poetic  and  fluent  i  just???? could   gush   about   it   all   weak   tbhhhhhh  your   graphics   and   aethetics   are   also ?????? amazing?????? im  so   happy   that  i  know  u   and  even  after  all  this  time   i  still  love   and  appreciate  u<33  Stay groovy  mah  frond

@primdoe   :    sO   ik   i   havent  known   u   for   very   long   at  all   n  this   is   probably   like?????? a  lil   Extra??????   but   im   already  in  love.   i  could  gush   about   ur   oc   for  Yonks   and   just   how   passionate  and   attentive   you   are  to  her????? shes   so   detailed   and   cared  about   by   many   and   you   inspire   me  to  put  more  detail  into  my  own  ocs askdjasmnd???? ur  graphics  and  ps  skills  are  just????? they  water  my  crops  honestly???? and the fact that you gave me one of your psds is the sweetest ilu??  

SPACE SHIPS  (  the  i-admire-from-afar-but-also-interracted-with-in-the-ims-and-loVING IT-so-far-even-tho-im-shit-at-replying????  category  )  

@aequitia ,    @astrmech ,  @awokeforce ,  @baelnc ,   @deadlymarch ,   @elanere  ,   @hopehrt ,  @rystolo  ,   @scintist  ,   @sunworn .

SUNSETS   (  the  i  admire  and  havent  interacted  with  yet  *__* )

@dynste ,  @entropiet ,  @ersoic ,  @flypulse ,   @forcebled ,  @galasymph ,  @greysistance ,  @jaigsight ,   @midlapse ,  @tiefighting ,  @resistijo ,  @roseared ,  @starkniight ,  @theforcetm ,   @rotichor  ,   @scorpyre .

#ik ive missed a to n #b U T if ur my mutual then #hmu :* #this too k me all da y #but i need everyone to know that yall water my harvest<3 #✫ * . THIS IS THE DOLLAR STORE . HOW GOOD CAN IT BE ? / * OUT .

[survivor-kuwait]

Episode 7 - "Okay there we go. I'm caught up. Now give me my winner's edit back." - Trace

Not only did nehe go but he did NOT play his idol AND i got him to tell me where he found it. Its a long shot but if the host rehide it in the same coordinates im set. Now I just gotta make sure I dont get crucified for it.

Fuck! That just happened and it was great. Me working with Matt and Adrian was smart because they actually felt the same way I felt about Nehe. Like i really liked him but trusting him after he already backstabbed me!? Nahh. It is time to play this game.

The past two days have been the greatest days in survivor history for me and no matter what happens and even if I’m out next no one can take away my masterful Nehe blindside, my earning the trust of the people I voted against last tribal and finding an idol with my best girl Kait. Let’s keep this energy please.

I feel very fucking stupid. Have work and I am not able to talk to my tribe, I self-vote, and now I am considered inactive, rightfully so. I need to get that inactive label off my ass ASAP

Madison really is trying it. She is trying to get isolated because it's obvious there will be an advantage there. She is saying it would be nice for someone on our tribe to have it, but I don't trust her. I doubt she would let anyone know what the actual advantage is if there is one. But at the same time, people will assume she has something and that will make the target on her back so much greater. Also, it's a round of safety so no shit she wants it. I don't think I can outright say "oh no no no, i don't want you going" even though that is how I feel. I would rather send Matt because I trust him more than I trust Madison.

What's a guy gotta do to get voted into isolation? Positive or negative idc, if I'm forced into retrograde that helps my resume. Vote me Ma'an. How do these people not realize our vote doesn't matter aside from it being public, Ma'an is obviously going to vote together they have no reason not to especially with it being PUBLIC our vote is straight up how it will be perceived by people not deciding who goes to isolation.  For a bunch of smart guys they're being stupid.

It’s the next day after tribal last night. I need to talk to Stephen. We have played before and Ive been hosted by him so we have some history. We techically havent been working together but we have had some communication and we havent gone after each other. I need to talk and see if he’s willing to work with me in this game. This Moon twist is so weird and i dont know whats going to happen. We are going to all cote together and its between Cloe and Thomas. They feel that sending someone to exile gives hosts the perfect numbers to do a swap. Which would be bad but not too horrible. Just if there is I want to be in a tribe with Aidan, Madison, Matt S, Stephen, and perhaps Ian/Timmy.

- - -

It is coming close to 7 o’cock and im getting nervous to find out what happens. This moon twist could really mess things up or cause lots of trouble if person isolated gets an advantage or something.

So what people might be thinking right now is "wow Timmy is an idiot and went against his entire tribe" but with the way this game is set up WHO CARES. I haven't spoken to Madison or Chloe much so I know neither of them are going to tell me what happened in the Oasis. Madison had been pushing all day for her to go but also saying "it doesn't matter much I'll do whatever" but whenever someone tried to bring up another plan she would immediately shut it down and suggest herself. That was super sketchy to me so no way in hell was I going to be sending her there. I got to make the final decision and I am so happy about that because I got to do what I wanted, which was not send Madison. There is no real reason to stick to any tribal lines for this season since you don't go to tribal as a tribe. Yea it helps with keeping more people safe with immunity, but I've been doing a good job at that on my own. I'm very methodical with this game and everything I do has a reason that is thought out for it and this one was because Madison is sketchy and I wanted her to feel not safe because she was already basically gloating about going. She didn't need it, Chloe needed it more because she was already in danger so why not give her a break and she deserves some possible advantage. Madison didn't need it by any means, I needed it more than she did because I have been safe for so many rounds that if I go to tribal I am a threat so a little solace of a possible advantage would have been nice but I wasn't going to shove my name into the ring. I know this entire thing could be my downfall, but at the same time you have to take chances so that's what I did and I don't regret it for one second.

Basically what I was expecting happened and we had a tribe swap. Cloe is safe in isolation. Warzone is still a thing so no normal tribals yet. I want to win this immunity because i dont want to be at tribal while at disneyland. Or maybe if i am ill show u guys while im there.

me at matt and owen rn: 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bh2G2YfIgAACSlm.jpg

Well. Hot diggity Dog huh? I’m kind of glad we swapped right before Ma’an literally imploded over who to isolate. I guess Chloe is there now which I feel bad about but I feel like I can work with her and whatever she’s got since we’ve voted together twice. I’m glad I have Madison here as an ally as well as Adrian, even tho he was giving me one word and emoji answers (suspicious!!! Emojis are never good). I hope he’s not afraid of me considering he literally spent last warzone going “I can’t believe how easily you got everyone to think Thomas was the vote you’re so good at this” like yes I am but don’t notice that! I have my idol which is nice and relieving and Kaits the only only person who knows about it, which might mean Kait may be a loose end for me. I love her to DEATH and really trust her but she kinda weirded me out during the isolation vote by being catty. If that’s how she is with that vote, does she go even harder during tribal? The thing with Kait and Owen is like they’re my best friends from high school or something. But going off to warzone with Maynor twice and Madison twice was like going to college and meeting new friends who you share insane experiences with and then go back to your high school friends and there’s a disconnect. I just hope me trying to be a friend to all doesn’t smush me in the middle. I’m not ready to be smushy.

It too me 41 minutes to do this challenge. I think i did okay but i could be totally off. I really hope i was able to get atleast enough of it correct for me to win safety. I dont really want to go to tribal but I have a decent allies that i might be safe. Matt told Kait to talk to me and we are getting along. Id be down to work with her in this game. I have to wait and see what happens with these tribal results later. I dont wanna be worrying about the vote while im in disneyland.

I only know of like, 5 of these people. Ians here thats good, Corey is here that isnt, maynor i think is good. Love the guy but he plays the game. Heres to another messy warzone! This challenge sucked.

Fuck that challenge and fuck Arianna Grande. It's f17, I am not going to throw that much of my time away on a f17 challenge, that's just asinine. If anyone thinks those challenges are fun then there is something wrong with you. I'd rather burn my idol than subject myself to the torture that challenge was. Sort your own damn screenshots.

Whale, whale, whale. New tribes and shit. I have a save vote thing that I may keep if I decide to not vote at my next tribal council. Unfortunately, if I am in the warzone tonight, (and I believe I will be due to my slow performance) I don't believe I will get this power; with only 8 of us there and Chloe joining the tribe that loses a person, I don't see myself refraining from voting. I am intrigued by the other tribe voting Madison and i assume she volunteered. I don't know what is up w Timmy and he is now the single person I have yet to speak to. Regardless, I have taken the opportunity to bond w Kait and a bit with Thomas. I need to shield my own ass in case I'm in WZ. Kait seems scared of it, understandably, and a sympathetic new boi to her is not threatening and she may see me as an asset if we end up there together. I'm thankful for Ian on my tribe as he's the only person I feel comfortable with talking game with and long-term and short-term strategy. Wish I had Matt, Devon, Adrian or Owen on my team though. Sucks that Maynor is here. BUT regardless! I am doing my best.

#survivorstarzone #episodes

[stevenstudies]

92 questions

i was tagged by @annikki-studies @skkerg-study @colbystudies @carolina-study @ronanstudies @gnarllys @lilliestudies @bellaandherbujo

thank you all so much for the love there!! <3

rules: answer these 92 questions and then tag 20 people!

last:

1. drink: water

2. phone call: the dmv

3. text message: “tru” about not passing my latin AP test and it having been rigged

4. song you listened to: Green Nail Polish by Told Slant

5. time you cried: two days ago

have you:

6. dated someone twice: well i have gotten back together with someone after a two month break so yeas??

7. kissed someone and regretted it: y e s

8. been cheated on: twice : /

9. lost someone special: i mean yeah my grampa died three years ago that sucked

10. been depressed: well like i have depression so you tell me

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: ahhahaha

list three favorite colors:

12. dusty rose

13. sage

14. light yellow

in the last year have you

15. made new friends: yeah like two

16. fallen out of love: no lol

17. laughed until you cried: ye

18. found out someone was talking about you: just now as im writing this i am being informed that my friends have spoken about me yes

19. met someone who changed you: my dog

20. found out who your friends are: yeah the same as i thought they were

21. kissed someone on your facebook list: nah my gf aint on fb suckers

general:

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: all of them?????

23. do you know any pets: yeah i mean im with one rn and like i also have one he is angery

24. do you want to change your name: yes,, to steven

25. what did you do for your last birthday: puppy party

26. what time did you wake up: 10:30

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: on a call with my distressed friend about significant other troubles

28. name something you cant wait for: top surgery

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: three days ago (thank god)

30. what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: no tiddies

31. what are you listening to right now: no air by jordin sparks

32. have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes he was my teacher in like 6th grade

33. something that is getting on your nerves: no air by jordin sparks

34. most visited websites: tumblr lmao

more random info:

35. mole/s: i feel like this is a bit personal???

36. mark/s: yeah my best friends uncles name is mark ive heard mediocre things about him

37. childhood dream: i once had a dream when i was like 7 that i was in high school and someone shoved me into a locker and there was an entire universe in there and there was this giant chicken that could fly and so i got on him and he took me to this huge palace and the king was a giant and i had to sing stayin alive by the beegees for him in order to get back home

38. hair color: brown

39. long or short hair: short

40. do you have a crush on someone: my gf and also tom holland

41. what do you like about yourself: i like the way my fingernails grow into really nice shapes like i never have to file them or anything

42. piercings: earholes

43. blood type: N for nunyabeeswax

44. nickname: stevie

45. relationship status: taken as all hell

46. zodiac: aquarius

47. pronouns: he/him

48. favorite tv show: gilmore girls, star trek, over the garden wall, steven universe

49. tattoos: i want them

50. right or left hand: right

51. surgery: hopefully

52. dyed hair: once, dark blue, when it was long

53. sport: never heard of her

54. subtitles or dubbed version: dubbed sorry lmao

55. vacation: im going to catalina island this summer ??

56. toenail color: bright yellow with one black horizontal stripe (like bees)

more general:

57. eating: i just had a turkey burger

58. drinking: water

59. im about to: watch gilmore girls

60. ive been putting off: college apps

61. waiting for: top surgery

62. want: b r u s h p e n s

63. get married: yes definitely

64. career: composer, conductor, film scorer

65. hugs or kisses: hugs always

66. lips or eyes: eyes

67. shorter or taller: my gf is shorter

68. older or younger: my gf is younger

69. can you wiggle your ears without touching them: yes!!

70. nice arms or nice stomach: nice arms all the way honestly

71. sensitive or loud: sensitive where it counts, loud when its fun

72. hookup or relationship: relationship

73. troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

74. kissed a stranger: no

75. drank hard liquor: hahahaha

76. lost glasses: nope

77. turned someone down: yes like twice or maybe three times

78. sex on the first date: no way

79. broken someones heart: yes i have, it never feels good

80. had your heart broken: yes many times, and that never feels good either

81. been arrested: nope never

82. cried when someone died: yes of course

83. fallen for a friend: yes i McHave

do you believe in:

84. yourself: yes at like a medium level

85. miracles: more than myself

86. love at first sight: more than most things

87. santa claus: yeah till i was 4 

88. kiss on the first date: depends on the situation! : )

89. faeries: i do, i do!

other:

90. current best friend name: will/emma

91. eye color: blue/grey

92. favorite movie: interstellar (best score/plot combo ive come across in a while)

@studying-you @pam-studies @rivkahstudies @jenniferstudiess @arizonastudies @haphazardstudy @studying-chan @beanstudyin

and anyone else who wants to!! i officially welcome all of my followers to do this! and if you do, tag me!! id love to see and learn more about everyone!!

#stevensbujo #ask #faq #faq tag

[prettysei-remade]

He’s Taken

Written for @leojiweek 2017: Day 1 

Prompt: Others’ Interpretation of Leoji/Social Media 

read on ao3

Laura xoxo: ugh

Laura xoxo: dani im so sry but my sister saw that picture u put on insta of u and ur brother at the water park and now she's begging me 2 get his number from u

Laura xoxo: she went on his insta and found out he's a wrld famous figure sk8r and she wont shut up abt him

Laura xoxo: pls ill buy u ice cream 4 a week if u can make her stop gushing abt how hot he is

Daniela sighs.

This is not the first time this has happened.

So many people - her friends, her friends’ sisters, girls from drama club, even a couple guys at her school - have tried to get to Leo through her. They're incredibly persistent, and Dani supposes she can see why they would be, from an objective standpoint.

Even she can't bring herself to say that Leo is bad-looking. It's horrible when all her friends come over while Leo is around, because they get all stupid and tongue-tied. She loves them, but they become incredibly annoying in those moments.

She knows Leo has his reasons for choosing to stay at home after graduating high school, but honestly, him moving out would make her life so much easier.

Of course, it doesn't help that he's also a competitive figure skater on the international level, and that he's won a bunch of medals. He's pretty successful, and relatively famous, so naturally everyone wants to be with him.

It would be marginally less irritating if everyone would stop hounding her for information on him.

She sets her phone back down on the kitchen table, prepared to ignore the text until she's finished her geometry homework, when a loud laugh from outside nearly makes her drop her pencil. She rolls her eyes.

Leo's home, and he's probably talking to his skating friend from China.

It's not that she doesn't like Guang Hong. From what she's seen and heard of him, he seems to be very sweet, pretty quiet, and definitely…

Well. It's obvious that he has a crush on Leo.

Anyway, she's spoken to him a little before, during some of his and Leo's many (many) Skype calls, and she likes him. He's only two years older than her, and he's always nice to her.

She knows Leo has a crush on him, too. They're seriously so obvious. But neither one of them thinks they have a chance.

Dani would be amused if it weren't so pathetic. Boys are so stupid, especially when it comes to feelings.

She hears the door swing open, and Leo continues to laugh and talk to the person on the other end of the phone as he walks through the house.

“We'll see each other soon, you know,” he says, a smile in his voice. He mouths a quick “hola” to Dani as he passes the kitchen. “We were both assigned to Skate Canada this year.” A pause as Guang Hong replies. Then, “I know, I feel like I haven't seen you in…”

His voice trails off down the hall, and Dani rolls her eyes. She picks up her phone to tell Laura what she's told everybody else.

It's not quite true, but it might as well be.

You: he’s taken, sry

…

Dani storms up the stairs, shouting all the way up.

“Leo! Mamá already called you for dinner twice, she's gonna be...”

Stopping by his slightly opened bedroom door, she looks through the crack to see Guang Hong's face on Leo's computer screen.

She rolls her eyes and barges in.

“Hi, Guang Hong,” she sighs. “Sorry to steal your boyfriend, but it's time for dinner and Leo really has to come downstairs right now.” She directs those last words at Leo with a pointed glare.

He sputters in response.

“Guang Hong isn't - we're not dating! I'm not his boyfriend!”

Guang Hong just laughs a little on his side.

She has to give him kudos for his reaction, at least. It's still obvious he likes Leo, but he seems to be way more chill about it than Leo is.

She directs her next question at him.

“Hey, isn't it really late in China? Or, like,  early?”

He laughs again.

“I'm actually in France right now, for a competition,” he explains.

“A competition he's going to dominate,” Leo adds.

Guang Hong blushes.

Dani throws up in her mouth a little.

“Sure, whatever,” she says, turning to leave. “Mamá's getting really mad downstairs, so say goodbye to your boyfriend.”

“He's not my boyfriend!”

…

The cheers of the crowd nearly drown out what the TV announcer is saying when Leo is awarded his gold medal.

A few moments later, they roar up again when the silver medalist is presented, and then a final, third time when Guang Hong goes to get his bronze.

They look good, standing side-by-side on the podium.

Dani watches them hold up their medals for pictures with matching grins on their faces. Leo says something to Guang Hong, which makes him laugh, and then Guang Hong responds, which makes Leo blush.

To anyone else, this is nothing unusual.

Well, actually, it's nothing unusual to Dani, either. She has to live with half of this. But she's pretty sure she's the only one who's noticed the massive crushes they have on each other.

She's thought about schemes to get them together, before. Like, texting Guang Hong from Leo's phone, or something. It would probably be amusing, and they'd at least stop acting like idiots all the time.

But they should figure it out for themselves. It's bound to happen, sooner or later. Eventually, one of them is going to confess, or make a move. They're building up to something, all on their own, and she doesn't want to interfere unless she absolutely has to.

They're actually pretty cute already, she supposes. Leo is skating around the rink with Guang Hong, an arm draped over his shoulder, and they're both laughing and smiling. They keep saying things into each other's ear, and it's like everybody else - the photographers, the cheering crowd, even the other medalist - doesn't even exist.

She hopes they figure it out soon.

…

Unknown Number: Hi, this is Guang Hong! I hope you don't mind, but Leo gave me your number after we talked on Skype last night. Good luck for your play tonight!

Dani is surprised Guang Hong remembers what she had said about the play, and her drama club.

Sure, Guang Hong had invited her to join the conversation, and they'd actually all talked for a really long time, until Dani realized how late it was getting. She'd thought he would mostly just focus on Leo, though, and was only including her because he was nice to everyone like that.

Apparently not.

She quickly saves his number as a contact (“Leo’s Boyfriend,” because she’s hilarious) and tries to think of how to respond.

Despite her many interactions and connections at school, and a rather large amount of social experience, she isn't exactly sure on the protocol for when your brother's almost-boyfriend texts you, completely separate from said brother.

Whatever. Guang Hong's cool, he'll be nice no matter what she says. She does try to tidy up her grammar, though. At least a little bit.

You: it's cool, i like talking to you. and thanks

Leo's Boyfriend: You're welcome! :)

He still uses smiley faces. Unironically.

That's honestly adorable.

Dani has to hand it to Leo. He's found himself a keeper.

…

Leo's Boyfriend: one time, when we were in japan, phichit made us all try sushi

You: omg no

Leo's Boyfriend: lets just say im never again forcing him to eat anything he says he doesn't want 2 eat

You: omg

You: ok ok my turn

You: so one time we went on this road trip to minnesota

You: it was winter so we decided to go skating at an outdoor rink for fun

You: of course, hes famous and everything so this one lady recognized him and asked him for a picture

You: so they take the picture, everythings great

You: but then he goes to skate away

Leo's Boyfriend: oh no

You: he somehow slips

You: and falls flat on his back

Leo's Boyfriend: did he get hurt??

You: just his pride

You: he got so embarrassed. it was hilarious

Leo's Boyfriend: omg!! XD

You: u know, i think sharing our blackmail material is the best idea weve ever had

Leo's Boyfriend: agreed

…

You: omg i know

You: its always the worst when he tries 2 rap, though

Leo's Boyfriend: don't get me started

Leo's Boyfriend: one time he tried to rap along to ceiling can't hold us by macklemore?

Leo's Boyfriend: like it was cute, but also probably one of the most awful things ive ever heard

Leo's Boyfriend: !!! pls dont tell him i said that!!

You: the cute part or the awful part

Leo's Boyfriend: …

Leo's Boyfriend: both

You: u know he wldn’t care right

You: actually he'd probably spontaneously combust if he knew

Leo's Boyfriend: u want me to tell him i think he's awful at rapping??

You: no

You: nvm

You: has he told u abt his death metal phase yet?

Leo's Boyfriend: !!!

…

“Hey, Dani?”

She looks up from her phone, about to tell Leo off for interrupting her in the middle of an important conversation about whether or not Charlie actually likes Liza, but then she sees his face.

He looks nervous. And… maybe a little upset, though he's hiding it pretty well.

“What?” she asks, turning off the screen and dropping her phone on the armrest.

“Um… can I talk to you?”

“Of course.”

He sits down next to her on the couch and takes a moment to collect himself.

“It's…”

He pauses. Swallows.

“It's about Guang Hong.”

Dani’s ears perk up at that, but she decides not to say anything. She'd rather Leo tell her what's up on his own terms.

“I…” he takes a breath. “You guys are… pretty close, right?”

Dani raises an eyebrow.

“I mean… I guess,” she answers. “I guess we text a lot.”

“Yeah. Well, you - you like him, right?”

“... yeah?”

Leo exhales.

“Okay,” he says decidedly.

Dani is confused.

Did she miss something?

“Okay… what?” she asks.

“Just… okay. You have my blessing.”

What on earth is he talking about?

“I have your blessing? Your blessing for what?”

Leo holds up his hands.

“I know, I know, you don't care what I think,” he says quickly. “I know you don't need it. But… I just thought… I know you like each other, but he's my friend, too, so I thought I'd just… tell you, I approve. Okay?”

A cold, hard pit starts to form inside of Dani’s stomach as she begins to realize what's going on.

“Leo,” she says, carefully, “what… exactly are you giving your blessing for me to do?”

Leo frowns. He runs a hand through his hair.

“To… to date Guang Hong.”

Oh.

Oh my god.

Dani lets her eyes fall shut and her head drop back against the couch.

“Leo,” she groans.

“It's okay! It's fine, I don't mind, really!”

“Leo…”

“I know, this is awkward, but I'm your brother, so - ”

“Leo, you're so stupid.”

He stops at that.

“I…” he swallows. “What?”

“Leo,” Dani says patiently. “I don't like Guang Hong like that. Guang Hong doesn't like me like that. We're friends. Just like you.”

Leo sits back.

“Huh,” he says. “Well, nevermind, then.”

Dani looks at him, sitting there all confused, getting lost in his own thoughts.

He looks a little relieved, but he doesn't know what to think, now. Dani wonders how much he had psyched himself up, prepared himself for hearing that Dani wants to date the guy he's in love with.

Probably a lot.

He has no idea Guang Hong likes him back, and Dani is just now realizing how seriously it's affecting Leo.

They can't go on this way. Dani needs to do something, if only to keep her brother from hurting like this.

“Actually, we're not like you at all,” she says, sitting up straighter. “Guang Hong and I are friends. Guang Hong and you are… I don't even know what you are.”

“What do you mean? We're friends!”

“No, you're not, Leo,” Dani insists. “I mean, you are, but don't you see you're so much more than that? God, you guys are hopeless.”

“What do you mean, more?”

“I mean, you two are in love with each other and you don't even know it! It's driving all three of us insane, and I'm the only one who even notices! I mean you're hopeless, Leo!”

She pauses at the stunned look on Leo's face, panting slightly.

Leo stares at her.

Dani stares back.

Then Leo whispers, “You think he knows?”

Dani swallows.

“Not about you,” she whispers back.

“But he likes me back.”

“Yeah.”

Leo looks at the floor.

“Wow.”

Dani grins, in spite of it all.

“Yeah. Wow.”

He looks up at her, squinting.

“Do you think I should tell him?”

“If you don't, I'll tell him myself.”

He looks back at the floor.

“Wow,” he whispers.

He looks amazed, as if the idea of Guang Hong actually liking him back had never even entered his brain.

He smiles softly to himself.

Dani rolls her eyes.

…

Unknown Number: hey, this is tara from drama club last year! ashlyn gave me your number, hope that's ok lol! i was just wondering, that's your brother and his friend in that pic on instagram, right?

You: let me guess. u want my brothers number

Unknown Number: actually, i was wondering abt his friend? he's rlly cute lol

Dani is a little surprised Tara doesn't want Leo's number, but she knows the post she's talking about, and honestly, she kind of gets it.

Guang Hong has been coming over every few days to visit, since he’s training in California in the off-season. In this particular instance, he and Leo were sitting side-by-side on the couch, Leo's arm resting casually over the top of Guang Hong's shoulders, and the lighting coming in from the bay window was absolutely gorgeous. They made a perfect picture, and Dani couldn’t resist putting in on Instagram.  

Well.

She smirks as she types her response to Tara, entirely truthful this time.

You: he’s taken, sry

#leojiweek2017 #leojiweek #ruby writes #ruby originals #leoji #fic

[melt-your-headache-call-it-home]

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself, and at the end, chose 25 people to tag

i was tagged by @goldun-days thank you bby<3

LAST:

1.) drink: Tropicana smooth orange juice

2.) phone call: Arran

3.) text messages: Arran as well lmao

4.) song you listened to: State of Dreaming by Marina And The Diamonds

5.) time you cried: last week 

HAVE YOU EVER

6.) dated someone twice: Yeah when i was like 14/15 mainly cause Tom was nice and i got guilted by my friends into it. It was chill tho only for 3 months the first time and a week the second lol It’s chill we bros now lmao

7.) been cheated on: Most probably, i mean all the signs were there but they werent gonna admit it so they blanked it instead (i used to date proper cunts)

8.) kissed someone and regretted it: Ermm yeah mainly cause it’d be truth or dare and they’d be sloppy lmao

9.) lost someone special: Noooope and i dont ever want to thanks

10.) been depressed: ooooo bby idk...yeah 24/7

11.) gotten drunk and thrown up: Yeah and its like either weirdly relieving or im screeching like pterodactyl and crying 

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12.) Blue

13.) Pastel black 

14.) Blue

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

15.) made new friends: yeah i have!!!

16.) fallen out of love: nah boi still love my guy arran, my dude

17.) laughed until you cried: Erm ive laughed so hard my eyes water and i cant breath but not like full cry

18.) found out someone was talking about you: ooooooo bish u better believe it and i may have made one passive aggressive tweet and then fazed them out of my life lmao

19.) met someone who changed you: Erm yeah i guess so

20.) found out who your true friends are: Yeah pretty much but i hope to make more in September as well

21.) kissed someone on your Facebook list: My dude ive kissed quite a few people on my fb list, mostly truth or dare tho

22.) how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Almost all of them except like a few 

23.) do you have any pets: I have a pure white cat named Gandalf

24.) do you want to change your name: nah ive made my peace with it

25.) what did you do for your last birthday: i was twenty and with Arran we went round london, had a fancy tea, went back and opened my presents then had dinner, it was pretty chill.

26.) what time did you wake up: 12:05pm

27.) what were you doing at midnight last night: Watching youtube stuff with Arran

28.) name something you cannot wait for: To move to uni and start my degree and feel like i have a purpose. Oh and the day i have emotional stability and am not riddled with mental illnesses lmao

29.) when was the last time you saw your mother: Monday afternoon

30.) what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: That i didnt have such a messed up childhood. Like if i could id rewrite the bad parts.

31.) what are you listening to right now:   There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey. You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet by P!@tTD

32.) have you ever talked to a person named tom: Yepp I dated one, was friends with one and probably have spoken to countless strangers called Tom unknowingly 

33.) something that gets on your nerves: Me

34.) most visited website: This or Instagram

35.) elementary: my dear watson 

36.) high school: Musical????????????

37.) college: Leila was stressed and sad but she’s going back for round two in September

38.) hair color: It’s blue but with black roots and shaved parts cause i got a fancy haircut and now i have an undercut lmao 

39.) long or short hair: I was supposed to grow it out then 38′s answer happened so it’s v short and masculine

40.) do you have a crush on someone: probably Brendon Urie I love him so much but it’s been so long lmao

41.) what do you like about yourself: My hair is blue that’s about it

42.) piercings: Ears and snakebites

43.) blood type: idk red???

44.) relationship status: in a relationship 

45.) nicknames: my mum is the only one who really calls me these; leilabug, lala, Troll,Gromit and Clever Little Bean Sprout. Sometimes my aunt or nan will use a couple of them but not often. 

46.) zodiac sign: Sagittarius

47.) pronouns: she/her  they/them

48.) fav tv show: heck idk i watch a lot of crap

49.) tattoos: a geometric unicorn stick and poke but i have some planned for my 21st

50.) right or left handed: Right!

FIRST:

51.) surgery: none boi

52.) piercing: Ears

53.) best friend: omfg either craig in nursery or Lacey in Infant school. 

54.) sport: Basket Ball

55.) vacation: my mum, my aunt, my aunts kid, my uncle, my sister and a family friend and me all drove in two big cars to the isle of wight and it was lit. I was like 10 and i wanna do it again next year for the banter

56.) pair of trainers: They were the best okayyyyy they fucking lit up every time you made a step and ive wanted them ever since. i finally got another pair for my 20th, after 18yrs long years of waiting lmao

57.) eating: first eating?????

58.) drinking: first drinking??? ??????????????

59.) about to see: im so confused

60.) listening to: Panic! At The Disco - Always

61.) waiting for: Arran to come home cause im hungry lmao

62.) want:Emotional stability and food

63.) get married: yeah 

64.) career: I’d love to be a working artist but i doubt it’ll happen 

WHICH IS BETTER

65.) hugs or kisses: Kisses cause i hate being touched at times

66.) lips or eyes: Eyes

67.) shorter or taller: I like taller partners but apart from that idm

68.) younger or older: Slightly older. 

69.) romantic or spontaneous: spontaneously romantic

70.) nice arms or nice stomach: ughhhhhhhh i love both 

71.) sensitive or loud: Sensitive 

72.) hook up or relationship: Relationship

73.) troublemaker or hesitant: Bit of both 

74.) kissed a stranger: Yeah when i was younger and not shackled to my partner who i love and care for

75.) drank hard liquor: Yeah i guess

76.) lost glasses/contact lenses: contact lenses that i paid good money for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

77.) turned someone down: yeah it always makes me feel uncomfortable

78.) sex on first date: kind of???????????????????????

79.) broken someone’s heart: yah i guess

80.) had your own heart broken: yeah boi but i lost weight so it was good lmao

81.) been arrested: no

82.) cried when someone died: only in movies so far

83.) fallen for a friend: erm yeah that’s kind of how all my relationships happen

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

84.) yourself?:heck, im trying to

85.) miracles?: not like religiously but miraculous things do happen i guess

86.) love at first sight?: nope, it’s just lust, love comes with time and personality

87.) santa claus?: not anymore my dreams were shattered 

88.) kiss on the first date?: i have yes

89.) angels?: no

OTHER…

90.) current best friends name(s): Zoe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Arran is kinda like my best friend but he’s my boyfriend whereas Zoe is like the OG lmao

91.) eye color: Brown :/

92.) favorite movie: The Little Mermaid, Anastasia, Interview With A Vampire. I have loads but ive gone blank :c 

It says to tag 25 people but no

I tag: @the-leviathans-mansion  @biancamakesmejumpoutofwindows

@red-eyedsoul @strawberriedd @hateintheseveiins @lightninginmyeyes 

id tag more people but my laptop is lagging v much. You don’t have to do this if u dont want but if u wanna go for it!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!

#heck this was long

[nomtxas]

answer them all I'm bored

gotcha fam

1:Do you have a crush at the moment? – besides me being in love w k*rl a*zner, grubbie, and burky i dont think i have a crush on anyone (well i guess not what u would call a “crush” i think)

2: Have you ever been deeply in love? – no

3: Longest relationship you’ve ever been in? – almost a month like i think my ex broke up w me a day before our one month (it was back in july so i dont really remember)

4: Have you ever changed for someone? – uhm yeah (god i was such an idiot)

5: How is your relationship with your ex? – non existent like i dont think she likes me very much considering we havent spoken at all since we broke up

6: Have you ever been cheated on? – not that im aware of no

7: Have you ever cheated? – no i would never

8: Would you date someone who’s well known for cheating? – no bc once a cheater always a cheater

9: What’s the most important part of a relationship? – communication like i think people should be honest and open about what they want and what they expect out of the relationship like pls dont tell me ur ok w distance when ur really not, u feel?

10: Do you like to be in serious relationships or just flings? – serious relationships pls i like the thought of being committed to someone

11: When you are dating someone do you believe in going on “breaks”? – i dont have experience w that so i dont know how i feel abt breaks

12: How many people have you ever hooked up with? – none i dont do sex

13: What’s one thing you regret saying/doing in a previous relationship? – getting back together w her after we broke up the first time

14: What age do you think is appropriate for kids to start having sex? – when they’re emotionally mature the consequences of sex and what it involves so maybe 20 and up

15: Do you believe in the phrase “age is just a number”? – sometimes 

16: Do you believe in “love at first sight”? – yep

17: Do you believe it’s possible to fall in love on the internet? – yep ive done it twice (but twice it didnt work out both times so)

18: What do you consider a deal breaker? – dishonesty and not being loyal

19: How do you know it’s time to end a relationship? – i dont know actually which is why i guess i was the one getting dumped

20: Are you currently in a relationship? – no but i want to be

21: Do you think people who have dated can stay friends? – yes absolutely didnt work out that way for me but just bc it didnt for me doesnt mean it wont for others

22: Do you think people should date their friends? – i have mixed feelings on this bc i believe u should be friends w someone to get to know them first before entering a relationship w them so u guys will know what u want and how u are but on the other hand i feel that they shouldnt bc u dont want to ruin a good friendship w messy feelings i guess it’s up to that particular individual 

23: How many relationships have you had? – one

24: Do you think love can last forever? – absolutely look at my grandparents theyve been married for almost 45 years and been together for longer than that so

25: Do you believe love can conquer all things? – eh i dont know

26: Would you break up with someone your parents didn’t approve of? – probably bc even though it gets hard sometimes my moms opinion matters a lot to me

27: If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice about dating what would it be? – DONT GET BACK TOGETHER W HER YA DINGUS IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK OUT AND YOURE JUST GOING TO MAKE URSELF CRY AGAIN

28: Do you think long distance relationships can work? – i think so if the parties involved put in the same amount of effort and it’s not all just one sided 👀👀👀   

29: What do you notice first about another person? – their eyebrows? is that weird

30: Are you straight, bi, gay or pansexual? – polyromantic but i call myself gay all the time bc im attracted to femme presenting people such as myself

31: Would it bother you if your partner suffered from any mental illness? – no absolutely not i feel like i would be supportive and try to hold their hand while they take care of themselves

32: Have you ever been in an abusive relationship? – nope

33: Do you want to get married one day? – yes!

34: What do you think about getting your partner’s name tattooed? – bad karma but if people want to than thats their business

35: Could you be in a relationship without sex? – yep i dont do sex bc im ace (grey ace but still)

36: Are you still a virgin? – yep

37: What’s more important: Looks or personality? – both i think

38: Do you enjoy love films? – yes im a sucker for romantic movies

39: Have you ever given anyone/received roses? – no :(((

40: Have you ever had a valentine? – no 

41: What’s your imagination of a “perfect date”? – a baseball/hockey game and dinner after

42: Have you ever read “Romeo & Juliet”? – high school english was a dark time

43: What’s more important: Your partner or your friends? – both 

44: Would you consider yourself “romantic”? – yep but too bad i dont have anyone to be romantic w :(((((

45: Could you imagine to date one of your current friends? – 👀👀👀   

46: Have you ever been “friendzoned”? – yep but it’s ok

47: Which “famous couple” is your favorite? – the holtbys ok theyre the power couple of the n hl

48: What’s your favorite love song? – life is better with you by michael franti & spearhead it’s so cute 

49: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? – i dont think so i did get this one anon that said i dont care abt people when they do have a crush on me so idk

50: If you’re single, why do you think you are? – bc im ugly and boring

51: Would you rather date someone who’s rich but a douchebag or someone who’s poor but a nice guy? – hows the poor guy gonna take me to sports games? nah im kid but i feel like the second one bc i dont want to date someone whos mean bc i will cry

52: Are you good at giving other people advices regarding dating/ relationships? – nope not at all

53: Are you jealous of couples when you’re single? – yep definitely bc i want to have that too

54: How important is it to make a relationship official (p.e. on Facebook)? – not really

55: Would you consider yourself “clingy”, “overly attached” or “jealous”? – clingy and jealous (im trying to work on it tho)

56: Have you ever “destroyed” a relationship? – possibly

57: Do you think it’s silly to consider suicide because of a broken heart? – no

58: Are you the “dominant” or the “submissive” part in a relationship? – ….sub

59: Have you ever forgotten important dates like your partner’s birthday or your anniversary? – never but then again ive only been in one relationship my whole life

60: What’s your opinion on open relationships? – i personally dont think i could do it but if u do then more power to u

61: Who’s more important: Your partner or your family? – both

62: How do you define “cheating”? – when u start looking at other people the way u see ur partner and not being honest w them abt it communication is key

63: Is watching porn while being in a relationship inappropriate? – nah

64: Do you think Valentine’s Day is overrated? – a little yeah but thats bc ive never been an active participant in it lmao

65: Would you consider yourself a “cuddler”? – def only in the winter tho bc texas summers are hell like literally

#this took me forever #it was fun tho #neueresque #replies