#;;my golden lion says are done (ooc)

[mxnofhonour]

It’s two weeks since I met Gwendoline Christie and I’m still not okay.

[thecapricunt1616]

The Bear & His Honey - Chapter 18

♡ Chapter Inspo: The Tortured Poets Department ; TS - 'I scratch your head, you fall asleep like a tattooed golden retriever. But you awaken with dread, pounding nails in your head, but i've read this one where you come undone - I chose this cyclone with you, and who's gonna hold you like me?'

♡ Summary: Winnie meets Donna for the first time, Carmy ends up needing an emergency therapy session.

♡ W/C: 8,071

♡ Posted Date: 04/22/24

♡ A/N: Eep here we are! 18 chapters and the plot is finally starting to thicken up! I'm enjoying where this story is going very much. I hope you all are too! When I heard the golden retriever line I was like - wait....Carmy and Winnie hahahah!!! I'm loving this new album V much - tried not to add too much Taylor-talk in here but it's CANON that Winnies a fan so it would be OOC for her to not be excited heheheh ♡ Warnings for BTC: Swearing, Physical Violence, Alcoholism, Mentions of Police, Family domestic abuse, attempt to enable said behaviors, Sad Carmy

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

➵ 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 / 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵 ♡

➵ 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ♡

𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒫.𝒪.𝒱. 🍯

Her shrill voice bounced off the walls, and quite frankly made my head hurt. I took a deep breath, clearing my throat and preparing for what was to come. I’d been apart of many screaming matches in my life since Id realized I could fight my mother back - so at minimum 15 years worth of defending myself against a raging narcissist.

“You don’t have to talk to her, my purse is just in there- I need it it has our house keys” I said so just we could hear. 

“Where is he! CARMEN ANTHONY. YOU WILL COME SPEAK TO ME I AM YOUR MOTHER!” she shouted. It was clear she was drunk by the way she was speaking and annunciating her words. 

“Baby go- go outside, I’m gonna deal with her” he said softly, his hands were shaking. 

“I’m not leaving you alone, bear. I promise, I’m not gonna add fuel” I said and took his hand, holding it in mine and squeezing gently. “I love you - and that means we do things together even when they’re hard” I whispered and he nodded, swallowing thickly. 

“Donna! Donna sweetheart we should step outside huh? Let’s go, let’s go outside, we'll have a cigarette. The babies are here, you don’t want them to hear this? No?” Jimmy told her, ushering her down the hall towards where we were in the dining room that contained the front door. 

When she saw him it was like everything stopped, I felt like I was trapped in a lions den, or a fucking bear cave more like it. “Who is this?” She said, just above a whisper and she looks at me, then our enclasped hands, then Carmen again. “Who the fuck is this, Carmen?” She questioned 

“Mom. Mom. Listen-“ I interrupt him because I’d never heard his voice sound so small and scared 

“Hi! I’m Winnie?” I said casually. “And- I assume you’re Donna? Right?” I gently rubbed the back of his hand with the pad of my thumb, it felt like I was trying to tame a mountain lion with a smile. 

“And what kind of fucking name is Winnie. What the hell is this- a goddamn cartoon? And why are you in my daughters house?” She asked and I maintained my cool, seeing as the whole family pretty much had silently crowded in the hall to watch this go down. 

“Oh-“ I cleared my throat, trying to maintain my cool and I held our hands up that were laced together “I’m well acquainted with your son.” I drop them back to our sides “he’s lovely. May I just say you did a wonderful job raising him.” I said and he squeezed my hand tightly 

“And I’m here to talk to said son alone. So you can take your cute little carrot top self back wherever you came from and fuck right off missy “ she snapped and I raised my brows, but before I could open my mouth Jimmy stepped in 

“Heyyy! Hey hey! Donna- Donna the girl hasn’t done anything wrong come on-“

“Oh shut up jimmy.” She seethed 

“MOM!” Carmen snapped, “I’m not fuckin’ doing this” he rose his voice so she could tell he was serious “I’m not. That was it- we’re done we’re leaving good fuckin job- I’m fucking leaving. Syd can you bring Winnie’s fuckin purse please?” He called to her and I saw her shoving through everyone gathered in the hallway to get back into the living room.

“Oh so you’re gonna choose this stupid girl over your own mother? What are you too good for your mother now? Is she- is she some hot shot chef? Oh- no let me guess- she’s a nurse since you messed things up with the Doctor, Claire?” She said and my mouth dropped 

“Actually-“ I scoff “I work at a library- your son is the ‘hot shot’ chef. The only one in your family might I add? Donna, you are speaking to everyone horribly right now. Why do you think he wouldn’t want to talk to you when you’re acting like-“ I see her jerk her arm and I am suddenly soaking wet, and my eyes are stinging worse than I’d ever felt in my life. I shrieked, wiping my face furiously and coughing, my lungs burning as the alcoholic drink that had been thrown in my face choked me from when I’d gasped in surprise and inhaled a gulp of it. 

“Oh- Donna!” Jimmy said “no- no now you gotta go dear, what’s wrong with you?” 

“Someone had to shut her up to stop that annoying little speech she was putting me to sleep” she laughed drunkenly 

“Mom what- WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?! ARE YOU? WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING OBSESSION RUINING EVERYTHING?! THIS IS WHY - THIS- THIS IS WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU- I CAN'T STAND YOU! I CANT FUCKING STAND YOU MOM” Carmy roars. 

“Oh my god you crazy bitch” Sadie said angrily. I couldn’t even see what was going on, everything was sticky and wet and it was driving me insane. I was still stuck in a coughing fit as I rubbed my eyes but the stinging was getting worse. The amount of overwhelmed, embarrassment, fear, anger I felt threw me headfirst into a panic attack. 

“What did she throw? Oh my god my contacts Sadie - I- I need to take out my contacts” I said gasping and coughing as I felt a hand on my arm guiding me to the kitchen 

“I know, I know, shhhh” she coaxed, bringing me over to the sink. “I’m gonna get them out but you have to do me a favor and stay still” she ordered, but I could barely fucking understand her with the pain. 

I began sobbing uncontrollably and she turned the sink on “I’m so sorry” I said and we heard crashing coming from the front room 

“What? What did she do?! MOM!!!” I heard Natalie shout “MOM THESE ARE BRAND FUCKING NEW CARPETS!! GET HER OUT!!!” She shrieked.

“YOUR FUCKING CARPETS? SHE JUST BLINDED MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND AND YOU GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE CARPETS, NAT?! THIS IS ON YOU, YOU’RE THE FUCKING REASON SHES HERE.” Carmy was in a rage. I’d never heard him so angry before.

“Everything e-everything I’m sticking-  i’m sticking oh my god Sadie. Everything stings, Sadie. Help me” I cried, “what did I even say why did she do that?” I sobbed, each time I tried to open my eyes I was faced with a searing pain. All of the screaming, the fear of his mother finding me and doing further damage for god knows why, the worry for Carmy and what was happening to him - it was all too much.

“CALL THE FUCKIN’ COPS THIS SHIT IS GETTIN’ TOO FUCKIN OUT OF HAND.” Richie shouted 

“I am alreadyyy on it- yup okay- let me just- I can’t hear them! I’m gonna go out there“ I heard Syd say awkwardly 

“Open” Sadie said and pried my left eye open, quickly scooping out the contact before doing the same with the right causing me to wince. She had to essentially trap me against the counter and wall so I wouldn't out of instinct slap and kick her for trying to dig in my fucking eyes with her fingers.

“Ok rinse” she said once she managed to get both of the contacts out. I dove for the sink, scrubbing my face over with water, rinsing out my eyes quickly and doing my best to hold them open under the running water despite the burning and uncomfortable stinging.

“G-get Carmen please, please” I said through shaky sobs. I hadn’t even been able to listen to what was going on since Sadie had scooped out my contacts, it was as if she and I were the only people in the house due to all the adrenaline from the pain coursing through my body allowing me to focus on the task at hand the fucking blinding pain.

“Yup ok. Okay I’ll find him” she said and I heard a sharp slap come from the other room

“MOM - MOM!! DID YOU REALLY JUST HIT HIM LIKE THAT! Oh, Carmy- Are you ok? Go- go out of here- go” Natalie shrieks at donna and there’s a loud smashing of glass 

“MY PLATES!!! MY PLATES!!!” Natalie shouts and starts to cry, “Jimmy! Jimmy those are my special china we got at our wedding!” She sobs “Mom! Why are you doing this?!” she pleaded

“That bitch is FUCKED up! What in the fuckin ghetto ass shit! Isn’t this the north side?!” Sadie said, causing Richie to laugh 

“Welcome to the fuckin Berzatto house my friend” he told her loudly over the chaos

“Natalie! Natalie - Honey- Uncle Jimmy will replace your plates, Come on honey we need to get her out I need your help grab her other arm!” I heard Jimmy tell her 

“Oh my god baby” I heard from behind me and Carmy rushed over, touching my back and I flinch.

“Don’t- don’t touch me I’m gonna have a panic response I can’t see- I don’t wanna hurt you” I said quickly, trying to even my breathing and stop crying so hard. “Please get my bag” I told him, continuing to rinse my eyes until the pain had subsided enough to open them. 

“Yeah- uh…yeah” he said and I heard him go into the living room. I felt around the counter until I found the paper towel, patting my face down with it to dry.  

When he came in, I took my glasses out of my purse, putting them on my face to see his cheek was unnaturally bright red- it looked so painful. There was a big raised mark with fanned out stripes from a handprint - she slapped him so hard it would bruise. 

Suddenly, my panic for myself melted away and I went in to protector mode, any worry or fear melted and reformed into concern for the sweet, damaged man before me. “Oh..Bear” I whispered, rushing to the freezer and getting a bag of frozen vegetables. “My poor love” 

I went over, gently pressing it to his cheek and he hissed in pain “yeah…” he said softly. “ it looks bad?” He asked

“I think she should go to jail. Either that or she agrees to go to rehab,” I said softly, gently thumbing out the wrinkle in his brow with my thumb. 

“She’s not gonna go to rehab” he muttered, looking up at the ceiling and swallowing hard. I could tell he was biting back tears, as was I, because this environment wasn’t safe to cry. 

“Then she goes to jail. Because this is gonna give you a black eye - and don’t you know how much I love your pretty face?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit and I kissed his good cheek. 

He cracked the slightest smile, “yeah she really got me. She’s never uh…well not since I was a kid but I don’t think she’s ever hit me with all her strength like that. I was scared for a second she broke my fuckin jaw” he said and I gently rub his shoulder 

“Baby really” I said softly. “Half of your face is gonna be bruised. She needs help” I said quietly. 

“But….she’d never forgive me” he said brokenly, averting my gaze. 

“Forgive you?! Oh bear. No, no my love. Carm, you should be thinking if you can ever forgive her. Not the other way around.” I gently rub his chest “lets go sit on the couch ok? We don’t want this rash to set and it’ll be so much worse. Cold compress should help the aching and the red and the swelling” I explained. He nodded a bit and took over holding the bag, going with me to the living room. 

“I want you on my lap” he said softly and I nodded, sitting down and wrapping my arm across his shoulders, holding the bag with my other hand against his cheek. 

“They’re fine- yeah- Winnie- how are your eyes?” Syd asked as she came in the living room talking on the phone 

“Okay Syd, thanks. It’s Carmy I’m worried about- is your ear ok bear?” I asked him 

“Still ringing” he mumbled, resting his other cheek on my chest and shutting his eyes. 

“He says his ear is ringing. I’m gonna have him checked out tomorrow” I told her and she nods

“Do you…wanna press charges?” She asked and I shrug 

“Tell them well know when they get here based on her behavior and if she’s being remorseful,” I said and she nodded, heading back to the front room. 

“Oh my god- oh god. Carmy - Carmy I’m so sorry” Natalie said, rushing in and sitting next to us, “Winnie- Winnie I’m so sorry please forgive me I promise. I told her she has to go to rehab I told her she has to go or she can’t come here anymore-“ I cut her off 

“Natalie…” I said softly. “If she doesn’t agree to be checked into an emergency rehab center- tonight? She is going to jail. Tonight. I will make sure of it. So if you don’t want her to go to jail, I would go talk her into rehab. There is nothing you have to be sorry to us for, lovey. If anything- apologize to Pete? Apologize to your daughters. But not us. Because Carmen has been saying for at least 2 months he no longer wants to interact with her, and the only time he has to is when you push him to do so. I love you, it’s why I’m telling you this. And I appreciate the roll you have in Carmys life and all you do for him- but you are enabling her. And it’s hurting the family. No matter what happens after tonight- this is the last time either of us will see her unless we’re shown definite proof she is sober.” I explained.

 Carmen just sat silently, his other cheek flush against my chest with his eyes closed, likely pretending to not be here. He didn’t have the mental strength to stick up to her like this right now, nor did he have the emotional capacity to do it gently. So I was stepping up to take the load for him. 

  “Okay…” she nodded “okay.” She repeated and went back out to the front yard where Jimmy had wrangled Donna off to wait for the cops.  “I love you” he muttered into my shirt, and he sounded utterly defeated.

Donna had chosen rehab- reluctantly. It wasn’t without a huge fight between her, Carmy, and Natalie, with many tears from each side being shed. 

When we finally got home, we wordlessly stripped out of our clothes, I started the shower for us and he got our towels for us and set out our night time lavender lotion we shared on top of the counter. I put the towels in the warmer Carmy had bought for us, since he said it ‘was too much an effort for me to put them in the dryer while we shower, and the floor out there was so cold, and he dripped all over while going to get them’ so the $200 purchase was well worth it to him.  

We had a silent shower, but it was not any less intimate then any of our other shared showers. We still washed each other, we still gently brushed eachothers wet strands of hair off of the others forehead. I had to swallow a lump in my throat each time my gaze met the raised bumps on his swollen red cheek. 

I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the next few weeks until he healed. I’d much rather her had slapped me. I could hardly imagine what he was going through inside his head right now. I had to actually remove myself and go throw up when I heard him crying, begging her to listen to Sugar and just go with her to rehab- or he would have to tell the cops to take her. 

Apparently, she went through the typical stages of grief an addict goes through when realizing they’ve been backed into a corner and are no longer able to make the choice to keep using for themself. She had started by telling them the classic

‘I know- I know I’ve done some messed up things- I know I’ve hurt you kids! But I’m your mother- you really are gonna send your mother to jail? Hmm? Carmy? My littlest bear. You’d send your mama away? I don’t believe that, Carmen. Oh Carmen Anthony. My sweetest boy. Don’t you  let your sister control the situation- you don’t want this sweetheart you don’t want to do this to your mother’ 

And when Carmen simply told her ‘no- I’m with Sug, mom you need rehab- this can’t keep goin’ ’ she flew off the handle once more, screaming at him, Sugar and the police - telling them that they were crazy- that all of them were lying about her, and that she didn’t even have a problem at all. That her ingrate horrible leech children- the ones that she had left at least, had planned for her to be taken away and locked up because they hate her- for why? She couldn’t give an answer to that in her drunken state. 

For the last part of her Oscar worthy performance - She wailed, she screamed, she cursed Carmen and told him he was a mistake- that together he and Natalie had ruined her life. That she ‘knew she should have stopped at Michael.’ That they drove their father away together, drove her to drink, and then drove their brother to do what he did. That they took everything from her. That her very pregnancy’s and births with them were pure hell- as if she was birthing demons and that she’d been miserable since the day Natalie had been born, and that it hadn’t stopped. And not without telling Carmen he made things all the more worse. 

In her vicious words, as told to me by Syd while Carmen comforted Natalie in the laundry room as she sobbed so hard she could barely breathe - the last thing Donna said after finding out Carmy would be the one paying for her treatment - while she being put in Pete’s car so he could drop her off was; 

“Your father couldn’t handle your social deficits anymore- so he left us. that’s what really happened you drove your father away from your brother and sister. You’re the reason the family is the way it is.” 

After Syd told me, I sobbed so hard I threw up again. 

The look on Carmen’s face when he came to collect me in the living room to leave after tending to Natalie and getting her to bed was nothing short of haunted. 

The drive back, likely goes without saying- was silent. 

Carmy cut off the water after he finished delicately rinsing my hair, opening the curtain and grabbing my towel first, wrapping it around my body. 

“Thanks.” I muttered, squeezing the water from my hair before drying my body off and stepping out. 

He hummed in response. The rest of the evening was that- silent. It was almost a shell shock kind of silent. I felt insane guilt, so much so that silent hot tears rolled down my cheeks as we laid in the dark, trying our best to get some sleep. 

“I- I know we said goodnight already” I sniffle, my voice hoarse and raw from crying. “I’ll shut up after this- I just had to tell you I’m sorry. I’m so so fucking sorry Bear. I’ll listen to you from here on. I’m sorry- It- it was so stupid it was my fault- you know your family better than anyone I was so dumb to push you and to ask to stay. I think back on it and I realize why you got upset when I asked on the porch- but hindsight is always 20/20. I got you hurt. I hurt you and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. You know I never would intentionally hurt you…right? And it feels like- like I did this to you” I said, gently rubbing his arm. 

He sat up, flicking on the lamp on his side. “It’s my mom.” He said, wiping my tears. “Please. Baby. Please. I- I can’t be away from you tonight- but if I start gettin’ worked up again- I’m not gonna be able t’sleep here. Please. Princess,  Honey - I love you. I fucking love you. Is that what you need? I need you to be okay right now baby- at least not cryin’. I’m hangin’ on-“ he took a shaking breath “I’m hangin by a thread. I already texted Jazz” he whispered, rubbing his face over to rid any building tears. 

I swallowed thickly “I love you, Ok. Ok I’m done, I just had to tell you how sorry I am…” I said, quickly shoving all my emotions into a too small box and locking the bulging lid. He needs me right now. 

“Here, you’ll be little tonight. Turn off the light” I said, laying flat and opening my arms for him. 

He shut off the light, nuzzling his face into my neck, pulling me close as he possibly could. With a featherlight touch, I brush his hair off his forehead so it doesn’t tickle my mouth, gently dragging my nails across his scalp. “Thank you” he muttered.

He shivered a bit, his breath hitching slightly before he melted into me, sighing deeply. “I love you, so much, Carmen. Wholeheartedly. As sure as I am the sun will come up tomorrow, that’s how sure I am I love you. With every cell of my being. And I want you to know that it’s okay to be hurting. It’s okay to show you’re hurting, bear. You’re safe” I said quietly, before kissing his forehead tenderly. 

He remained silent, fingers gently moving along the skin of my back. I continued gently scratching his scalp, rubbing his back in long soothing strokes, the only sound in the room being our breathing and my noise machine. It remained that way for about 20 minutes, before he started softly shaking with silent sobs, holding me tighter and sniffling every so often. 

It went on like this for quite a while. My neck was soaking wet, so was my pillow he was nuzzled on- I didn’t care. I could flip it over. The itch of tear droplets gliding down my skin was only temporary. What he needed right now, was to be held. And to be loved. So that is what I’d give him, without any stipulation, or question, or expecting him to offer any answers. 

“You didn’t deserve it. Any of it. Remember that, ok? I know it hurts. You deserved a good mother, Carm. We both did.” I said softly, kissing the side of his head. 

He nodded gently, tightening his grip on me. “My fucking face hurts again. Like a bitch” he whimpered sadly. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat that formed at the sound of his wet tear filled voice “Give me a second Bear, I’ll be right back yeah? You’re getting too hot, It’s worse cause you're getting all warm and its makin’ the blood rush to your face and it’s throbbing. Cold will help it feel better, let me help you sweets” He wordlessly let me up and I quickly padded out to the freezer. 

Persephone meows, twirling around my legs for attention. “Hey you” I sniffled, tears brimming my eyes without an ability to stop them. I crouched down to pet her and blinked the blurry haze away, the offending tears rolling down my cheeks and dripping in 2 thick droplets onto the floor. 

“Carmy is sad right now, ok? Can you come give us your sweet Sephy snuggles and make him feel better? I know you can make him giggle silly girl” I wiped my face with his white shirt, shaking my head and trying to get ahold of myself.  

“Mama can do this, kittens. I can do it” I told myself, standing up again and momentarily resting the ice pack on each of my puffy eyes before blowing my nose with a tissue and heading back. 

“Hi sweet boy” I said softly, carefully getting back in bed and laying with him. 

“Hey” he sniffled.

I opened my arm for him “Here, we can both be cold” I joked. Resting the ice pack where he usually laid on my chest and patting it. “This will make it feel so much better, Bear” I assured him. 

“Thank you” he said, gently resting his cheek and closing his eyes. He was hiccuping and doing one of those post-sob sniffles every so often, as I resumed petting his hair. 

“Everything happens for a reason, Bear. And I’m really grateful I’m able to tell you I love you, tonight. I love you, and I’m here- I’ll always be here” I said softly and kissed his forehead with a gentle peck.  “You too…” He whispered, and that was the last thing either of us said that night.

The next morning naturally due to the stress I woke up extra early. Well- shamefully half because of the stress. Half because Sadie was coming over for coffee and we were gonna do our usual Taylor album release antics.

I grabbed my phone carefully, seeing that Sadie had sent me twenty seven texts since midnight. The last one being 

THAT CRAZY BITCH!! SHES RELEASING A PT 2. 31 FUCKIN SONGS WIN!!

I gasp quietly, ever so gently untucking Carm’s arm around me and getting up carefully. I picked up Seph who was comfy laying on his hip, squeaking in protest. 

I shush her, kissing her nose and carrying her to the kitchen. “Queen put a new album out fluffabutt!!” I whispered, taking out 2 coffee mugs. 

I grabbed my phone, FaceTiming Sadie “oh! Perfect! I’m at Starbucks what are you feeling?” She asked and I opened the cabinet, putting away the 2 glass mugs. 

“Can I have a large like- triple shot added americano? With extra oatmilk - vanilla and cold foam, iced?” I said and she laughed 

“Jesus Christ ok I’ll be ready to do CPR I guess” she joked. 

“Yup, Carm and I had a late night, shall I spare you the details?” I joked and she snorted, pulling up to the drive through. 

“Please- I don’t have to hear it twice.” She paused to put in our order “what does he like?” She asked

“Oh- black with sugar. He’s a weirdo. Thank you- I’ll cashapp you” I told her and she relayed it to the person working the line 

“Don’t worry about it- I’ll be there soon Kay?” She asked and I smiled a bit and nod 

“Sounds good. Love ya drive safe!” I told her 

“Love you!” She replied as I hung up. 

I heard stirring in the bathroom and the toilet flushed, so I headed back over to the bedroom just as Carm lays back down on his side of the bed.

“G’morning lovey” I said softly

“Hey- whats’up why’ya outta bed?” He yawned. My heart ached slightly at the sight of his puffy eyes and red nose from crying so long last night, but mostly the reddening on his cheek.

“Uh- it’s Taylor day- Sadie was coming over but we’re gonna get outta here so you don’t have to listen to us, don’worry” I sit down on my side of the bed. 

“Why?” He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me to him. 

“We don’t wanna bug you…” I shrugged a bit. My past boyfriends would sometimes get annoyed about my passion for music- especially Taylor, and Sadie was just as loud and enthusiastic as I was- and especially due to the previous nights events. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d be feeling snappier then usua & didn’t want to deal with our squealing and excited antics. 

“Why’d you bein’ happy bug me, honey?” He said softly, resting his head on my lap and looking up at me. 

I shrugged, gently playing with his hair. “I dunno… I guess if it’s ok we’ll stay, we’ll make sure t’be quiet cause you need your sleep baby your eyes are exhausted” I said softly, gently running my thumb over the bags under his eyes with my other hand. He sighed contently nuzzling his face in my stomach. 

“Sounds good t’me…Can I ask you somethin’ and you won’t laugh?” He asked, eyes still closed. 

“I’d never laugh at you, baby. Well- except that one time you thought rupaul were 2 different people.” I teased with a giggle and he snorts a laugh 

“Stop it I’m serious. Did that all….really happen? Last night?” He asked and I gently bit my lip. 

“I love you, and your mom is getting help. If that’s what you mean” I said, trying to lead with the good and put the bad as gently as I possibly could. 

He sighed softly “mmhmm.” he muttered, remaining quiet for a little bit. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he didn’t want to speak any more about it. Considering last night was the first time i’d met his mother- he was likely feeling embarrassed knowing him (which he shouldn’t be) but nonetheless- nothing I could say would remove that shame from him. The shame of being the child of an unhealed alcoholic was a wound that no one or nothing could heal unless she got the help she needed.

“Wait don’t we gotta go get the album or whatever baby? From Target yea?” He peeked up at me. My heart swelled at the fact he remembered that I told him about the little process Sadie and I had when Taylor would release an album. We didn’t go as far as to having a huge party and staying up until midnight how we used to, but we’d both take the day off work & get starbucks before going to target and buying the Vinyl & CD & listening it in her car together while we do a mini road trip and get lunch.

When I’d told him about it- he said it was ‘really sweet’ and that it seemed like a great time, I told him it was and jokingly invited him expecting him to pass- but surprisingly he agreed, & told me he likes hanging out with Sadie and I because we were ‘funny’ which just made me fall in love with him all the more that he enjoys my best friends company how I do.

I shook my head a bit “No carmy. We can just relax- we had a hard night. It can just wait you’re more important” I said gently and he sat up a bit, furrowing his brows slightly.

“No- no, I have therapy at 2 we got time you’ve been wantin’ this baby. I wanna see too what it’s about. All the letters and stuff? Mm? It’ll be fun right?” He rubbed my arm gently. I had been telling him all about the letters Taylor had been posting on her social media in preparation for the album. I  never expected him to be actually listening since I was just rambling on and I know he doesn’t listen to music so I thought he was just letting me go on because he cares about me.

“You really…you really care?” I asked, astonished he would even humor me by tolerating my interests- let alone actually asking questions about them and wanting to learn and participate in them the same way I’d ask him about cooking. 

“What? Yes. Yes, honey, I love listenin’ t’you talk about this stuff. Y’fuckin light up when you do. How could I not like it if it makes you happy?” He asked and I felt tears welling up behind my eyes. 

I hugged him tightly, nuzzling my face in his neck and he wrapped me in a bear hug, laying back on the mattress as I curl myself around him. “Y’think I don’t realize when y’tell me things you’re lookin’ forward to babe?” He asked gently and rubs my back soothingly. 

“I love you. So much” I whispered, blinking away hot stinging tears. “Nd you give such good hugs” I giggled, smiling when I feel him chuckle against me. 

“So you’ve told me” he kissed my temple “Now tell me princess, how do we do this? You said it’s a process hm?” He asked and I smiled big, sitting back and looking at him with my arms wrapped around his neck loosely. 

I knew he wasn’t a particular fan of hers, Carmy wasn’t really a fan of anything. He barely listened to music on his own, but because I listened to music near constantly - he’d gotten well adjusted to something always playing, and it was usually her. He would make it a point to say “ I do really like this one honey what’s it about?” When he’d heard ones he liked while cooking dinner or breakfast for us and of course I’d happily oblige. 

“Uh..” my cheeks heat as he kissed down my jaw and neck “so - we usually listen to the first single separately…” my breath hitches as he stops at my collarbones, tugging the collar of his shirt down over my shoulder easily and biting down gently on the fleshy part. He hummed as if to say ‘go on’ 

“That- would um..be the first track so. Yeah and then we listen to the rest together but like slow- we relisten to the songs over and over, it’s weird” I said, losing my train of thought as he kissed the top of my breast, sucking lightly before pulling away and looking up at me.

“Put it on then mm?” he rested his chin in the hill of my breasts looking up at me with those big blue puppy eyes of his. 

“I’m gonna tell you a lot today but I love you and you’re the best” I kissed his forehead gently and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. 

He smiled a bit, blush creeping across his cheeks. “So since im the best…does that mean we can fool around before Sadie gets here?” he sucked on my neck gently and I scratch his hair gently as I one handedly checked her location. 

“She’s 7 minutes away don’t think so especially since she has a key” I connect my phone to my bluetooth speaker. 

“Mmm” he huffs brattily,  leaning into my touch and closing his eyes.

“Ok, it’s been less then 24 hours, you little pervert- this one’s called Fortnight, A Fortnight if you don’t know is a period of 2 weeks. If you can remember the name of one song from this album before we go to bed I’ll do whatever you want any position at all” I smirked and he looked up at me quickly, like a puppy being asked if they’d like to go on a walk. 

“The mating press one?” he asked and I roll my eyes playfully with a smirk.

“Yes you horny fucker. Now shhh” I kissed his lips gently as I hit play on the song so he couldn’t ask any more questions.

He hummed happily and cupped my cheek with his calloused hand, rubbing his thumb over my cheek sweetly. When he pulled away he said, “The beat is cool” which made me smile big and pull him into another sweet kiss, gently rubbing over the back of his neck.

I gently rested my head on his shoulder as I listened and he snorted a laugh at the line ‘Your wife waters flowers, I want to kill her.’ “She’s so honest about her feelings, it’s refreshing” he mutters and I giggle a bit.

“Well yeah- if I lost you and then you went off and dated someone else and got married and we ended up being neighbors? If you didn’t move i’d fantasize about killing that bitch every day” I laced our fingers together.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Marriage would be completely off the table if you left me, so it’d never happen” He said and I blushed pink, squeezing his hand gently. 

“I’d never leave you, Bear. Ever, you know that. Here let me see hows your cheek baby?” I gently turn his face and bit my lip at the fanned out pink and deep red marks as well as a blotch in the middle of his cheek. 

“Yeah I look fuckin…horrible” he cleared his throat, looking away from my gaze. I shook my head quickly

“Baby-” I swallowed thickly, trying to hold back my tears and maintain an even normal voice. He hated when I cried, it always made him so upset, so the last thing I needed was to make him hurt more then he already was right now. “It looks fine.” I lied “I meant are you hurting? Can I get you some tylenol or something? Want me to ice it for you?” I asked and barely even brushed my finger over it and he winced.

“Ah- don’t” he hissed and I frowned. 

“I’m gonna go get an ice pack love” I got up and went to the freezer. The way he wasn’t fighting on me, meant it really was hurting him- but Carmy is Carmy and wasn’t ever going to complain. But it still bothered me how he would just sit there in pain & not say anything about it so I could take care of him.

I came back to bed with the icepack and gently held it to his face and he sighed in relief. “Thank you angel” He said softly. I paused the song before it could start the next one without Sadie here and kissed his forehead. 

“Of course sweets, I’m gonna get dressed mm?” I said and he hummed in agreement, taking the icepack and holding it to himself, laying back on the bed and sighing softly to himself. 

“So do you have a special Taylor outfit too baby?” he asked as I opened my closet. I smiled a bit, looking through it.

“Kinda- I’m gonna wear my Folklore cardigan” I took it out and tossed it on the bed and he looks at it carefully, dragging his finger over the embroidered stars “Cause that’s what Sadie’s wearin’ so were gonna match” I said and speak of the devil, I heard the door open.

“In here! He’s already up, Oh my god!! ‘My husbands cheating I wanna kill him?!’ Bitch this albums gonna be insane” I called out to herand she came to the bedroom, baring a tray of coffees.

“Stop it’s been on repeat since last night for me, It’s so good!! Hey Carm” she greeted him and goes over, setting the tray on the nightstand and handing him the only hot coffee in the tray.

“Oh-Uh, thanks…” He said shyly. He still hadn’t been able to be out of his shell fully unless it was just us, but he was slowly getting there. His eyes slightly widen as I started stripping and putting on a fresh pair of panties and a bra while Sadie and I continued casually talking.

“Oh the first part about being sent away- literally us” I said causing us both to laugh as I hit play on the song again. 

“First thing I thought when I heard it, oh are we twinning?! Cuutee!!” She said excitedly with a smile.

“So…you just look at eachothers tits?” Carm asked bluntly and Sadie and I both laugh.

“No- weirdo- shes just changing i’m not staring at her. You don’t change in front of your dude friends?” she asked and he shook his head.

“You’ve never changed in front of other dudes?” she asked to which he shook his head again lightly as he held the icepack to his cheek.

“He didn’t play any sports bug” I told her as I jumped and wiggled into my jeans before buttoning them. 

“Ahhh- ok. That tracks, when did you graduate?” she asked him.

“High- High School? Er…” he asked, looking at me nervously before looking back at her. If she’d been a stranger I’d willingly save him from the discomfort of being asked about himself - but it’s healthy for him to branch out and talk to people since he refused to do it himself, and Sadie was more then safe for him to try that with.

“Yeah! I went to Gage Park and graduated in 2012 - same year as Win” she nodded 

“Oh- uh..no I um… I went to Foreman and graduated in 2011” he replied and took a sip of his coffee. “How’d you know?” he motioned to the cup and she shrugged with a smile

“If I said i’m a coffee psychic i’m not sure you’d believe me, your lovely pooh bear has your order memorized,” she said and I rolled my eyes, putting on my deodorant with a small smile.

 “It’d be more impressive if he remembered my order since his is literally just sugar” I said and Sadie grabbed my cup from the nightstand, covering the sticker.

“Boyfriend test! What’s her coffee order?” she teased him and I looked over at him raising my eyebrows playfully.

“Here’s your real test of love” I joked, slipping my cardigan on and grabbing my hairbrush, beginning to detangle my rats nest from not tying it up before I went to sleep. 

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Iced americano, with shots in it depending on how tired she is- and then add vanilla, and extra light with the oatmilk shit, and extra of the cold foam stuff on the top - and cinnamon” he said and Sadie raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking over at me.

“Trained ‘em well” she said and I laughed, pausing my hairbrushing to come give him a well deserved kiss.

“Do I love you yet?” he joked and I giggle, pinching his bicep playfully. 

“Remembered the cinnamon huh?” I kiss the tip of his nose and he pats my bum gently. 

“Yes- can we please turn on the next song now? We’ve heard it 50 times now babe” He asked and I laugh a bit. 

“More like less then 10, but ok lover because I don’t want you sick of us just yet” I hit skip to start playing the next song which was the title track as I sat at my vanity and finished brushing my hair. Sadie came up and put my coffee on the vanity for me, going over to my perfumes and smelling various ones as we listened. 

Came the part of the song where the lyrics were ‘I scratch your head, you fall asleep - like a tattooed golden retriever’ and Sadie and I stared at eachother for a moment before looking at Carmen, then back to eachother and cracking up. She had witnessed many times now when we’d have little dinner party’s with he and Syd when they insisted on cooking for us and showing us a new recipe, he’d work himself so hard that sitting on the couch after everything had been cleaned up when I was gently playing with his hair he’d fall asleep in my lap and miss them leaving. 

“Hey- What! What’s funny?” he asked, not even realizing the lyrics we were laughing at, not having been paying attention like we were and he puts his coffee down. “Tell me! Tell me what did I do?” He whined a bit with a slight pout, how he usually did when he realized he’d missed a joke and I laughed at his adorable childlike tiny tantrum.

“Nothin’ - Taylor had a little tattooed golden retriever too I guess” I shrugged and he put the icepack down, confused. 

“Hell’s that mean?” he asked and came over to me, watching as I put on my eyeliner. 

“It means you’re cute and have nice energy, baby” I said before resuming to carefully draw a sharp wing.

“Mm” he grumbled how he did when he didn’t understand me but was just deciding to let it go. “How long will this take? I wanted you t’try that sauce i’m makin’ when we get back” he kissed the top of my head lightly as I paused to shake the pen so more ink would go to the tip.

“Not long, Bear. We’ll be back with plenty of time to try your sauce, yeah? Go shower baby” I said, leaning into the mirror as I start my other eye. 

“Kay…y’look pretty” he said softly and rested his hand on the desk, leaning. I smiled a bit 

“Thank you, you’re hovering, lovey. Did you want a kiss?” I puckered my lips and his cheeks redden in response as he leans down and kisses my lips. 

“Thank you” he muttered 

“Baby you can ask me for loves when Sadies here, shes not gonna judge you” I assured him and she looks up from her phone.

“What?” she replied, clearly not having paid attention. 

“See” I assure him and rub his chest just above his belly gently. “Make sure you dont let your face hit the hot water ok lovey?” I ask and he nodded a bit. It was more than clear that last nights events were causing him to be much clingier and wanting of physical touch which was more then normal after something like that, especially for him. The last time he’d had a big blowout fight with his mom, he’d not even wanted me to go to the bathroom alone - his mind was absolutely a prison in times like this, and me being near made it easier to manage. 

“Mm i’ll be careful” he said and went to the bathroom, shutting the door since Sadie was here and preoccupying Sephy so she wouldn’t feel the need to go and scratch.

“So…How was like- after” Sadie asked when she heard the water start. I cleared my throat, nervously stretching my back and shaking my eyeliner pen some more. 

“Not much. He’s not a talker, made sure he knew I was here. He cried a little, it’s better then nothing. He’s seeing his therapist.” I told her and she nods a bit, looking at me in the mirror. 

“His sister was a mess too, like- her husband had to drop her kids off at his parents house so they wouldnt see the rest of it. She kinda bitched me out when I opened the laundry room by mistake, Syd said she didn’t mean it, though” she picked at her nails nervously.

“She didn’t, Sadie. Natalie really is one of the nicest people. His family is just…” I sighed. “She said it was like this before their brother, but- now its like…no love left. Like he was the main string that tied the family all together and now that he’s gone- it’s impossible to be together. My therapist says that a tragedy like that either breaks a family or brings them closer together- Chris broke mine too, so I don’t blame them. I wasn’t strong enough - er…my family wasn’t strong enough, either.” I explained and she shook her head.

“No way, Win. You’re so strong, and so, so smart. It wasn’t your job- it was your familys job.” She said and I sighed softly, finishing up my eyeliner. I wanted to believe her - but something in me couldn’t help but feel weak at the fact I had no family left that bothered to speak to me other then my Grandma, and I had Carmy and his family right in front of me in dire need of help and I’m not even the one hurting this time- and I still cant save him from them. 

I’m pulled from my thoughts by Carm’s phone ringing - “Hand it please” I requested since Sadie was laying on my side of the bed, she leaned over and grabbed the phone before reaching out to me and handing it over. 

Natalie's name flashed on the screen and I slid it, to answer putting the phone to my ear.  “Carmy? Mom had a seizure last night apparently- uh…they’re saying she has some…some- disease from drinking? Please- how fast can you get here? I really don’t wanna do this by myself…”

➵ 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

[fireemblems24]

Golden Wildfire Ch 14

Almost done guys. I can stick with it.

STORY

Oh no, The Empire is in danger. Anyways . . .

They're all shocked Edelgard is asking for help because she's putting her in debt to them.

Haha, they're considering just leaving her there and letting the Empire die. Lorenz came up with it. Based.

I know Claude will go bail her out, which is really stupid for a guy who claims he wants to end the war.

So . . . how does killing Rhea and sparing Edelgard cause the least amount of bloodshed? I knew that's what was going to happen, but it makes no sense. Claude even admitted he knows that Edelgard doesn't give a shit, she wants to conquer Rhea or no Rhea.

I really fail to see how on earth this is ending in 2 chapters. Unless Edelgard is so grateful to Claude she just gives up her ambitions? And Dimitri is equally OOC also suddenly gives a shit about what Claude thinks??

I've actually LOVED how they're written Edelgard and Dimitri in Hopes so far, and if GW ruins that with its shit writing I'm gonna be pissed.

Edelgard better not turn into some soft sissy who is all "oh, you saved me, Claude, now I'm going to play nice and make big eyes at you! Now that Rhea's dead and you did something nice, I'm going to give up the most core part of my character." Double gross if it's implied that she's flustered by his good looks.

And Dimitri better not not be pissed off that Claude invaded him for no reason and be like "You were so right, I wanted Rhea gone this whole time, thank you for saving me from her, please ignore Sylvain stewing in the corner, he'll just get over that you murdered his dad, just like I suddenly don't care how you murdered my citizens!"

If that happens, I'm calling this Claude's bizarre fanfic where he thinks his masterminded Edelgard and Dimitri so hard that now they're both hard for him no matter how OOC that makes them or how stupid Claude's been this whole time.

CAMP/SIDE MAPS

Haha, Shamir doesn't want to help the Empire. She wants revenge against them for the war with Dagda lol.

I don't think Holst has had an interesting thing to say in this entire game.

Oh yeah, I forgot. In GW and SB we're saving Bernie's father and helping him maintain religious power. Only in AG is he the enemy we're replacing. I swear, did nobody look at this and wonder if they made the Blue Lions unambiguously the only good guys?

Haha, right after I wrote this, some NPC was like wtf are we doing putting an Imperial noble in charge of the Monastery and religion?

Meanwhile, Lorenz is like, if we just let Edelgard die, the war ends right. But they must go save her because they're former classmates! For, like, a month! And Claude's like, Dimitri is too. And then crickets. I swear to God GW is borderline self-aware of how reaching and desperate the writing is to have Claude want to join the "I want to suck Edelgard's toes" gang for no logical reason.

Ouch, someone just compared Claude to Hubert. Like, I love Hubert, but he is NOT someone I want to be compared to.

I forget how boring GW is to play. Lorenz takes no damage from anything, so I just mash buttons. He isn't particularly strong either, so he's not nearly as fun to play as Dimitri and Hubert are with their ridiculous strength and magic stats, respectively.

So if I ever replay GW (lol, sure /s), I would def not pick Lorenz again. Lysithea seems like a way more fun character more suited for my play style but she's too far behind with class unlocks and etc . . .

Haha, Shez is like "if I ended up on another side, they would've been suspicious of my powers and thought I was an enemy" - side-eyeing Edelgard and SB.

Lamo, where did Claude get the idea that the church doesn't like people from other places or that aren't religious? Last time I checked, they didn't care?

Lamo, Shez is saying she might just leave Claude when the war ends. Same, Shez, same.

I had to fight Gustave :( And after that Sylvain :(

Guys, I'm feeding Claude recipes he dislikes. I've run out of supports to grind this round so . . .

I did the same to Holst too, because fuck you too, Holst

I'm giving my merc whistle to Lorenz. He basically did everything this route. And ohhhhh, he's right in front of Claude and Hilda too, haha. That means they're going to watch me give Lorenz a present and none for them.

And now to dump every stat boost on Lorenz too. I literally use no one else unless I absolutely have too. Hubert and Dimitri will get the same treatment. Probably also the 2 getting my merc whistle too. Which is hilarious since Hubert is pretty openly hostile to Shez.

SHEZ & CLAUDE A

It's funny. In SB, no one trusts Shez. In GW, Shez doesn't trust Claude. In AG, Shez . . . yep.

Wait, whut? Shez is like "we need to end the church to end the war." And Claude is like "right, because they they can try something again." My brother in Sothis, what the fuck? Did he just forget that Edelgard started the war? Rhea didn't do shit.

Also, didn't Claude say earlier he knows the church is just an excuse for Edelgard to make a land grab? Did he magically forget that?

SHEZ & BALTHUS B

Don't remember if I saw this yet.

Balthus wants to make a bet on battle. Shez doesn't want to.

Balthus likes to live on the edge and adding a bet makes battle more fun. Shez disagrees.

SHEZ & HAPI B

Still don't remember if I saw this or not. But it's another support about Shez's mysterious origins that go absolutely no where.

And I have a strong suspicion that we won't actually learn anything about who Shez really is unless her mom is like Arundel or something.

I think I may have seen this before. But Shez has more than one support like this so . . .

CLAUDE & MARIANNE A

Weird. They only have 1 support and its A.

Marianne gets a letter that implies that he wants Marianne to rule House Edmund and she's intimidated by it.

Claude shares that he worries too.

Claude says Marianne needs more resolve.

Sorry, that was boring as fuck.

CLAUDE & LYSITHEA A

Lysithea has a message from her father, who's taken maybe the worst beating in this game.

Her father doesn't want to complain, but to thank him for ending TWSITD chaos.

Poor House Ordelia really does get the shit end of the stick.

Claude is worry that Lysithea works too hard.

Lysithea doesn't really listen.

CLAUDE & LEONIE B

Their only support.

The crops of the territories that are at war are suffering because armies are trampling fields.

Common people are mad at Claude because of the battle making them starve.

Glad this game is acknowledging, even a little, how it's poor people who get screwed over the most when nobles bicker.

Leonie admits she could care less about this war. Which just make her not being in AG (so far) weirder. Since she's probably one of the one who cares the least.

This is more interesting than I thought it was going to be, because it's about how the commoners suffer in war, and how Claude needs a common born perspective. So that makes Edelgard the only one who never asks common born people what they want - and the one thinking she has the right to decide everything for them.

CLAUDE & CONSTANCE C

Claude is interested in Constance's experiments

Constance invented a spell that can change hair color and style, which Claude wants to use to escape but not to be her first test subject

She gives him a hard and sharp style, like literally - he complains, she's not happy

I don't know if she turned it back or not, if she didn't I'm tempted to not view their B so Claude is stuck with silly, awful hair for his final chapters because then his looks will match his clown behavior

HILDA & IGNATZ B

Hilda doesn't recognize Ignatz without his glasses on. So . . . she's an idiot?

Ignatz is basically blind without glasses, yet forgot where he put them. So . . . he's an idiot too?

Hilda thinks he's hot without his glasses. I . . . question her taste.

IGNATZ & HAPI C

Hapi finds his sketch book and there's a picture of her with cats in there, and she's disturbed that someone drew her without telling her

She figured out that it's him

She's mad he lied, but liked the picture

And . . . the Chicago Carolina game is more entertaining than that was (who may be the 2 worst teams in the NFL, for those who don't know)

SHEZ & IGNATZ A

Aw, that's sweet of Ignatz. He's like, we talk too much about me, talk about you!

And Shez teases him about a crush, lamo.

Shez only has 2 dream options: I don't know or easy going mercenary life

Ignatz asks Shez to be a bodyguard ones he's done being a knight and going after his dreams

Shez says she'll charge a lot lamo

Claude & Constance B

Oh, right, the hair magic stuff.

Constance doesn't appreciate his lack of enthusiasm

She turned his hair frizzy and uneven, lamo - like a bird's nest, and honestly, deserved Claude, you've sucked this route

He has a beard too

LORENZ & IGNATZ A

Their only support, weird.

Lorenz didn't make much of Ignatz when they meant, but now is impressed.

The improvement it because Ignatz is painting in his free time, helping his mental health

Lorenz feels bad because he realizes Ignatz wants to be an artist, not a knight, like he assumed

Ingatz is still grateful towards Lorenz for giving him a purpose after the school closed and he felt directionless

RAPHAEL & MARIANNE B

Bummed they only have 1 support. I like their chain in Houses.

Marianne can't get a horse to the stable bc it's sick (the horse told her, Raphael doesn't seem to care that a horse talked to Marianne)

Raphael offers to get the horse to the stable by putting it in a cart

He lifted it, Marianne is impressed, but now her horse can get the medicine and rest needed

Dumb horse ate bad fruit, honestly, accurate, they're all secretly pigs in horse-shaped bodies

Raphael . . . also eats rotten food. So, I guess Dimitri has competition for who has the most iron stomach

See, this was cute too. Marianne just feels naturally open with him

RAPHAEL & LEONIE A

They're out of arrows and surrounded by wolves

I think Raphael beat them back with her bow

He credits her for making such a strong bow (it didn't break)

So now Leonie will keep making bows until there's one Raphael can't break, and Raphael will keep working on muscles so he can keep breaking them

MARIANNE & YURI B

Oh, God, Yuri's always so mean to people in the beginning of support chains. I wonder how on earth this is going to go . . .

Yuri takes her off guard and asks questions, which just makes her more guarded and feel judged.

Marianne assumes he hates animals and herself. Because she saw Yuri glaring at her once. Girl, you have issues, but I love you.

Understandably, Yuri's a bit confused.

Marianne keeps assuming things are her fault and apologizing, and Yuri keeps getting more and more annoyed until she runs off.

A lot of this support felt pretty random, but let's see where A goes.

MAIN BATTLE

This battle is titled . . . salvation. You know, that may be the most clever bit of writing in GW so far (as in the ONLY clever writing)

Haha, Edelgard is surrounded by the Kingdom and Rhea.

Even Holst is like, are you sure about this Claude?

I really don't understand the logic of rescuing Edelgard if Claud doesn't want war. Like, Claude acknowledged that Edelgard only used Rhea as an excuse for expansionism. He knows she's just going to find another excuse for war, so all he's doing is making her enemies weaker.

Ok, that's enough. I forget that applying any sort of logic to this plot line is pointless.

Cut scene is cool though. Lamo, is this like the 5th time Edelgard needed someone to rescue her in this game? She looked really pathetic in cut scenes in this game. Like, I don't even like her, and I'm annoyed because one of the things I did like was her being a bit of a badass, not always needing saving from Shez, Byleth, from assassins all the time, etc . . .

Guys, there's a save Monica side quest. Should I just . . . not? You know what? I'm going to have fun with this. I want to see what happens.

Fuck, Ingrid appeared :(

And now they want me to save Bernie's dad. This chapter is really "rescue the most fucking annoying characters" and "kill the best ones."

Thank FUCK, she retreated this time. I wouldn't been livid if they made me kill her twice for no reason.

OMG, again, lamo, Edelgard is useless this chapter. She keeps getting caught. That's the 3rd time in 1 chapter she's needed to get her ass saved by Claude and co.

Now I have to fight Dedue :( He's better not fucking die. This route isn't worth it. Edelgard called him Dimitri's most loyal retainer though.

Oh, thank God, he retreated.

Now I'm going to have to fight Dimitri, I'm sure :( I'm really fucking glad Lorenz can't take damage. I'd be shitting myself otherwise. He better retreat too.

Why can't we let Edelgard die, Claude? Wouldn't that fix all the problems?

Oh, Rhea! Fighting Rhea will actually be a little cool, since you never get to see her or use her.

Dimitri retreated at least.

WTF Claude? "I'm just determined to see what the world would look like without you." Idk, maybe Almyra??? The writers really gave Claude nothing with that line lamo.

Took Rhea out. She retreated too.

Now Byleth is here and I think she's dying for good this time. Feel a bit bad about not recruiting her. Claude doesn't deserve Byleth's support on this route, but she doesn't deserve to die either.

Cut scene time. I wonder what's considered more cannon, recruiting Byleth or not?

Also, isn't it thematic that you kill Sothis on routes where you oppose Rhea and side with Edelgard?

Arval's way too happy about this, lamo. Shez is bummed. Honestly, I think I ship Shez with Byleth the most.

Edelgard was so lame this chapter.

Claude tries rubbing it in Edelgard's face that she owes him, and she threatens not to honor the debt. Like, Claude, my boy, if this person is willing to turn on you because you teased her . . . that isn't an ally you want, but whatever.

Claude is like, can we not destroy Faergus. Edelgard's like, no.

"We never spared a thought for Dimitri's motivation." Uh, how about "stop killing my people you bloodthirsty idiots." Also, not surprised. These two really are idiots. They can't fathom why Dimitri's . . . defending himself.

Claude sounds so pathetic in this chapter. He's like, sooooo desperate to be like, remember I did you a favor, Edelgard, remember! Like she gives a single shit, lamo.

x

[nullum-nocte]

Don’t mess with Aether’s wand

Just a fun little thing written for my own enjoyment and got way out of hand! The three characters mentioned aren’t mine- they'll all oc’s by @moonkxssed @toeachfuture @serenesunlight I hope you guys enjoy and I hope I managed not to make your characters too ooc 

It was like any other day for Gladion, having to race through the Slytherins passages to escape his housemates and into the great hall. He’d stick to the wall and slink towards the Gryffindor table where Mitsuki and Selene were already sitting side by side. By now the house of lions learned never to keep Mitsuki away from her friends or they’d pay the ultimate price. Gladion still got a few dirty or untrustworthy looks but nothing he couldn’t ignore. 

Glancing at the Slytherin table he had to wonder whatever happened to the supposed house unity that Professor Snape was so adamant about? At least his head of house never punished him for visiting his friends. It was odd, one would assume he’d pull out all the stops in attempts to get him to sit with his house due to his great dislike of Gryffindor... Though that train of thought was better to be mulled over on another day.

“Did you run into trouble again Gladion,” Selene whispered leaning forward so as to keep the conversation between the three of them. He only scoffed at the oh so familiar worry the Hufflepuff girl gave him. He was fine thank you very much, he could deal with little brats that thought he was a good target. 

“Shouldn’t you all be worrying over Elio instead, he hasn’t shown up for breakfast yet,” he sent the empty seat next to Selene a pointed stare. 

Elio was the one the group collectively worried over but tried not to baby. Tried being the word here, sometimes they all were unable to help it. Gladion was usually more times than not the more level head out of the three and would smack some sense into the other two and tell them to give Elio his space. He’s sure if he was coddled he’d lose his mind and they shouldn’t treat Elio differently due to how weak his body was. Yes, they should be aware of it and know when not to push him but babying him would do nothing but hurt his feelings. 

Elio was strong in his own right and only deserved respect.  

“I think he’s sleeping in,” Selene murmured a thoughtful look crossing her features.

“Did you see him in your common room?” Gladion asked as he picked up a fork scooping up the scrambled eggs and began to eat.

Selene shook her head worried lit to her voice, “no he wasn’t napping on the sofa or reading next to the fireplace like usual....”

Mitsuki frowned but didn’t seem too worried, after all, how many times has one or the other slept in for a bit. Still, she made it a point to say, “You should go wake him up Selene he’s going to miss breakfast at this rate!” 

Selene nodded stuffing a piece of buttered toast in her mouth before running off. It’d be easy for her to get into the boy's dorms, unlike the girls they aren’t charmed to kick a girl out. Which was strange, did the Professors think a girl wouldn’t dare enter the boy's dorms? It was almost laughable! 

By the time she came back Gladion had eaten his fill and now was just leisurely drinking pumpkin juice from a goblet. The panicked look in her eyes snuffed out whatever peace he momentarily felt and brought him towards alertness.

“He’s not in his dorm! I went in and his bed was a mess- the whole place was a mess as if there was this huge fight!” The next part she leaned in close to furiously whisper, “And all his creatures where running about mucking up the whole dorm room in distress- especially Tubbs.”

Mitsuki and Gladion both winched at the mentions of Tubbs the Chupacabra. How no one has caught the beast nor seen it due to it’s overprotective ways he’s unsure. It wouldn't be surprising if Tubbs had managed to leave a few nasty parting bites to whoever dragged Elio out of his dorm. 

Slowly Gladion stood from his seat, his breakfast dishes disappearing as soon as he made a move to leave. His eyes roamed over the tables looking for any signs that they were the cause of his friend's disappearance. Of course there was a snicker and of course, it had to come from the Gryffindor table- the very table he was sitting at. He stared with cool calculating eyes at the perpetrator and with that one look he knew. It was easy to read the guilt in the boy's eyes- not because the other felt sorry- no, it was pure malice that rolled off the boys form. 

He had his fair share of knowing when harm was meant for him and this boys very being was drenched in it.

It must have been a joint effort between the Slytherins and Gryffindor’s. He wasn't 100% positive and the very thought of those two forces working together would almost make one think it was a hox. But- but... if they had the same goal, the same enemy who wouldn’t work together to conquer it?

Turning from the student body he strode towards the large oak doors Selene and Mitsuki hot on his heels. Once out in the front hall, he told the two it was best to split up to cover more ground. He had faith in his friend's skills and knew they would be fine if they met with trouble.

A flash of anger washed over him at the scene, Elio panting harshly wand raised with a furious snake hissing at the three much larger students who were trying to back him into a corner. His anger soon faded as he saw the state the three were in. One supported extremely nasty boils another appeared to favor one leg over the other, streaks of blood on their leg where Tubbs most likely bit them and they appeared to have a slightly green complexion. The third seemed to have his hands glued to his sides and burn marks on his clothes obviously done by the Firedrake Pumpkin.  

There might be some things Gladion would lie about to himself but one of the things he didn’t was how vindictive he could be. Seeing how they were in far worst shape then Elio himself was in made a federal smile curl upon his lips.

Gladion clapped, making the three whirls around, poison green eyes gleaming in amusement. “Good job Elio I taught you how to throw curses well!”

Elio frowned, “B-But... you d-didn’t teach me a-any of this! I-I learned t-this on my own!” 

The smile on his lips only widened as the three sent wide-eyed looks towards the unsuspecting Hufflepuff boy. This was always Gladion’s favorite part of dealing with things like these. Showing these fools just how amazing the boy in front of them really was, if it didn’t seem to sink in whilst they fought. 

“That you did Elio, and your more amazing for it.” As he spoke Gladion took a step forward glancing at the three obviously disinterested in them. Still, he rolled his wand within his hand making them stiffen.

 “Now why don’t you stop playing with your.... acquaintances,” he spat the word acquaintances out heavily dripped in venom. “and let us be off. You know how Mitsuki gets and she’s dying to talk about the new quidditch game coming up.”

By now Gladion had made it past the three goons and had wrapped a protective arm around Elio moving him away. The snake that had been wrapped around Elio’s arm swiftly moved towards Gladion. Not to bite him but to slither onto his shoulder and be closer to the threat. Even with the protective snake on his shoulder, Gladion never once let his guard down waiting for them to throw hex’s his way as he maneuvered Elio to the side trying to walk around them.

What Gladion wasn’t expecting was for these idiots to think of tackling him like a muggle. Granted it caught him off guard and he’d have to work on his reflexs later but still. 

Gladion was brought down with a single swoop much to his chagrin, ( he was more upset by the fact that Elio was brought down along with him ) the harsh pounce making him drop his wand. The snake had lept off of him and sunk it’s fangs into the boy that tackled them making them cry out in pain. Gladion watched his wand roll away from him, his hand raised as if he could wandlessly call it back to him. He steadied himself mind whirling as he thought of a way to get them out of this before they could do who knows Merlin what to his wand. 

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he watched the girl- the one who was favoring one leg over the other bend down. Her fingers were inches away from his wand and an ugly triumphant smirk upon her face- the very sight making his very soul recoil at the scene.

What none of them were expecting was for a bolt of lightning to come down upon the girls head striking her down with a god-like furry. Struck dumb by the occurrence, Gladion was able to forcefully push the boy who had tackled him off then grab his wand. He paid no attention to the wriggling body on the floor that looked to be having a seizure. He wasn’t sure if he could without grimacing in disgust- whatever happened he saw it as a way out for the both of them. 

Elio looked beyond startled- in a state between shock and maybe horror, his reaction to the scene made the snake perk up moving towards Elio to wrap around his wrist once more and send out- comforting hisses? Gladion wasn’t sure. 

With one look into the boy's deep Golden eyes, he cursed himself knowing the other wanted to help her. How he could after being practically dragged from his bed and into the corridor to most likely be beat black and blue Gladion would never know.

With an irritated snarl, Gladion flicked his wand to the side pointing it at the wriggling girl, “Wingardium Leviosa!” He rolled his eyes as the two boys jumped as far away from their companion as possible. The show of cowardice almost made him snap but he let it go.

The girl began to float in the air still wiggling as it were. Satisfied Gladion stalked off down the dark corridors leaving the two goons behind. 

The rest of his day after that was relatively normal and he wasn’t connected to the girl due to some fast thinking. It had all worked out wonderfully in the end though they didn’t get back to the great hall in time to finish breakfast. 

It was only a few weeks after he took notice that the gossip mills were running full force. What the subject of it was Gladion didn’t know, and not knowing irritated him. How he still hadn’t found out was a mystery to him... They were usually glad to let their loose lips run without caring who would hear.

“Selene, what’s with all the rabble?” He gestured towards the Ravenclaw table the three girl and singular boy pouring over books while taking sneaking glances at him. A similar sight was met at the Gryffindor table minus the books, the lions were just gathered around each other and whispering furiously. The table that the four sat at today, being the Hufflepuff table was oddly quiet. It wasn't fully silent but a hush had fallen over the students. His house table was the only one that was purely silent, only knowing glances passing between the other Slytherins.

He only got a deep sigh in return for his question, “I'm not sure. I keep asking around my house but it’s as if everyone took an unbreakable oath! I know it has something to do with you but I have no clue what it could be about.” 

Neither did he, though he had a sneaking suspicion. He was positive no one else was around when he dropped that girl off at the infirmary but he couldn’t be sure. People were curious by nature, maybe someone saw it and was spreading rumors that he beat up a girl. Oh, dear Merlin if his mother found out she’d have his head! 

This whole debacle was giving him a headache-  even the headmaster was staring at him- in what was it? Suspicion?? Amusement?? Those twinkling eyes won’t fool him! Staring daggers at the headmaster was a foolish endeavor but something he still did, beyond frustrated with not knowing what gossip he was part of. The headmaster only seemed to grow more amused eyes twinkling even more- if that was even possible. The action startled Gladion along with.... something else- a feeling he couldn’t name in the back of his head. Quickly looking away from Dumbledore his eyes landed onto Professor Snape’s who was staring as well- which that in itself wasn't odd, he would always stare when he sat next to Mitsuki. No, he started at him a bit longer than normal with pride?? In his cold eyes?? This was all too much! 

Standing up abruptly he gathered his things making his escape into the hall, leaving his three friends behind. Where he was going he had no clue- all he knew is he had to get out of that castle before he ripped his hair out. It was undignified to run away- which he didn’t, he was fast walking there was a great difference. He only ran once no one was in sight all the way to the greenhouse. It was still early in the morning, no one would be there yet class wouldn’t start until nine.

At least that’s what he had hoped. 

He busted down the door panting harshly from running only to startle a Gryffindor boy- he recognized the person almost imminently- how could he ever forget the only other pureblood who loathed galas as much as he did? 

Neville Longbottom, a shy boy but Gladion knew abuse when he saw it. It was like a mirror to himself of what he could’ve been, what Neville could’ve been. He didn’t scorn the young boy for his anxieties and fears for they were one and the same.

Gladion was just better at hiding his. 

Taking a deep breath he squashed down any and all negative emotions into himself. He had been learning occlumency, partly due to his mother influence and partly to help keep his emotions in check. It helped to be able to stuff every feeling he ever felt into a box and be able to ignore it. 

“H-Heir Aether,” Neville mumbled inching closer looking more unsure of himself with every step.

It was apparent that he was trying to stick to his upbringing beliving gladion would have nothing less than appropriate manners. A soft un-audible sigh left his lips at the others actions. Not the boy's fault though, the first year he was a mess trying to be perfect and uphold the Aether name afraid if he didn’t his mother would descend onto him like a banshee.

“No need for formalities Neville, we may have never previously spoken but I am aware of who you are.” He kept his face neutral and his tone friendly as he took in the other boys slumped posture and fidgeting hands. He couldn’t help but notice how short the others nails were, most likely bitten off in nerves.   

Neville flushed, surprise flashing in his eyes, his lips parting as he asked, “you remember me?” He even managed to stop shaking as if Gladions words have rocked his world. 

“I do, I always saw you as a kindred spirit I never liked showing up to those Gala’s either.”

The corner of his lip twitched into a smile extending his hand, “let's meet properly it only seems fair. Gladion Aether, just Gladion on school grounds.” and with friends, he silently added on.

“ O-oh, yeah. I’m uh, I’m Neville. Longbottom.” Neville shook his hand lightly, his palm sweaty. Gladion didn’t even flinch as the moist hand wrapped around his own.  

“It’s nice to finally be able to speak with you on my own terms, Neville.” That it was, no mother breathing down his back and hissing at him to stay away from the blood traitor. He always wished to be able to speak with Neville knowing somewhere deep in his gut the both of them had many things in common.

Gladion’s words only seemed to struck the boy dumb causing him to freeze up and to practically drop Gladion’s hand as if it just burned him. He took no offense, with how he acted and the blatant rumors he heard about Augusta Longbottom painted an unhappy childhood for the boy in front of him riddled with self-worth issues and never being good enough to be remembered by anyone.  

“R-Really, why me? I-I don’t get it- you could talk with anyone you wanted so  why did you even think about talk to me back then?” Neville's face was nearly the same color as the red on his tie, his hair a ruffled mess due to the humidity and looked like he’d properly faint at any moment.

With what Gladion was about to say then the boy just might faint- but oh well he’d cross that bridge when he got there. “Because, we’re both similar, it would’ve been lovely to talk to someone who had the same mindset as me.”

He watched the other boy's brow furrow in confusion before his brown eyes sparkled in realization. “O-Oh! You mean about muggle-borns?”

Gladion blinked in an almost owlish manner. That wasn't what he was thinking of but he supposed that was something they had in common as well. “Yes, that too, but I was mostly referring to the parties and being forced to parade around like trained monkeys for the adult's amusement.”

That managed to startle a laugh out of Neville making the Gryffindor relax. “T-that’s new, I’ve never heard a-anyone else call it that!”

A real smile managed to make it’s way onto Gladion’s face watching the other unstiffen before his eyes and show a part of who he truly was.

“Unpleasant memories aside of being treated as entertainment, what brings you here so early?”

Neville appeared to want to sling the question right back at him but reframed from doing so. Good, Gladion didn’t feel like opening the can of worms which was his current school life. 

“Oh, um,” he twiddled his fingers glancing away from him as he mumbled, I’ve always liked working with plants. My uncle Algie has a greenhouse he let’s me tend to so....”

Gladion hummed in acknowledgment, “I’ve heard you're proficient with plants and that you make straight O’s in Herbology. It’s a subject I find lacking in due to my mother never wanting my hands to get dirty saying it was beneath my station.”

‘And just as one thought the flush was gone from the boys face it appears again with a vengeance,’ a voice in the back of his head chuckles.

“I-I’ve had a lot of practice I’m sure if you practice that you’ll soon get O’s too!” Neville was quick to put his achievements down as nothing special, slightly irritating Gladion. 

He waved the boys words off, “you’re not giving yourself enough credit, not just anyone can go and memorize everything about plants and know what is what at a glance. 

Neville stayed silent seemingly not knowing what to say or even if he could say it to Gladions face. And so they were at a stalemate stuck in awkward silence until one of them can think of something.

Coughing to clear his throat Gladion was the one to take the leap, “I’ve wanted to get a tutor for Herbology but I don't want word getting back to my mother. Do you know anyone who's good at keeping secrets?

More silence.....

Then a soft, “I could.....”

He raised an eyebrow at what he would assume was Neville’s bold attempt as tribute.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind that- it’d be a bonus for you being able to do something you love it’d feel less like teaching and more like having fun.”

Neville smiled and nodded, nerves seeming to fully vanish for now which was a great relief for Gladion. “ Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed being able to be in the greenhouse when I first got my letter this was the only class I had been looking forward too.”

“Would you mind if we start our tutoring early?”

Neville shuffled closer not quite in his personal bubble but not as far away has he had been before. “S-Sure, even though we’ll have class in a few minutes I don’t mind.” 

As if his words were the magic spell he started buzzing around the greenhouse like a hummingbird bring out the tools they’d need. “I-If you don’t mind we could... I mean I could-” Neville’s voice soon turned to soft mutterings as he finished grabbing everything needed and plopped them onto a work table. 

Before the boy could work himself up even more Gladion placated him, “You want to partner up?” He had to mentally check his schedule out first before he said yes since he was unsure if he had Herbology and was grateful to know he in fact did.

Neville scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepishly at Gladion, “y-yeah. I-If you want- I don't want to take you away from your friends or anything!”

Gladion snorted as if his current partner was a friend it was more like forced to work together due to Slytherin bias.

“I don’t have any friends in this class, it’d be a nice change of pace to have someone adamant about the subject we’re being taught then to hear my seatmates bitter grumbling.”

Neville's shoulders dropped in relief tenseness leaving him once more, he even appeared to be excited. Not that Gladion wasn't excited, no he was happy with the change anything would be better than his current partner and he’s sure he wouldn’t be missed.

Though- Not feeling as overwhelmed by his emotions anymore he slowly let down his occlumency shields letting emotion slowly trickle back into him. His face twisted into worry, “ I’m from Slytherin- surely you must know that and I.... I don’t want to cause you any problems with your housemates.”

To Gladion’s surprise, Neville's chin tilted up, an almost challenging look flashing in his eyes. The bright embers of determination flared within him almost throwing Gladion through a loop. Well, it looks like he found where that Gryffindor courage lay.

“That shouldn’t matter- and it doesn't matter to me. You’re already friends with one of my housemates and she likes you enough- and I think you’re really nice. You’re actually talking to me, and that’s more than I can say for most of the other people in my house.”

Now it was Gladions turn to be struck dumb by the boy's words- he only just talked with him today and already he was willing to throw whatever possible friendship he could have into the fire for him? Him a supposed slimy snake destined for the dark arts and to have raging bloodlust against all muggle kind? And surely those rumors going around couldn't be helping him either in that department.

Right then and there a soft possessive voice in the back of his head cooed that Neville was going to be his friend. Just one of the many he managed to find and keep during his stay here. 

Nothing was going to stop him from making that happen.

Well besides himself.

“You shouldn’t be throwing away the possible friends you could make all out because of me,” he murmured glancing away from the boy as his heart ached at the thought of Neville facing bullying like he had too- like his friends had too. He didn’t want to bring that down upon the other boys head all because of him.

Why couldn’t he just let himself be happy?

The words seemed to roll off Neville’s back not affecting him in the least- the burning behind his eyes seemed to be even brighter now face set firmly. “If anyone has a problem with me hanging out with you because you're in Slytherin, I don’t think I’d want to be friends with them anyways!”

He was too trusting, seriously how can he be this kind- is it because he was the only one relatively friendly and admirable towards him? That’s a dangerous trait to have- he’s going to have to teach him that people would use him for their own gain if he acted that way.

“Well if you have free time my friends are having a study session you can always join us. Some of them are younger years like my sister but the age gap isn’t that obvious.” 

Neville’s nodded sending Gladion a shy smile which he returned as well pleased to have the other agree to come. 

After that, both of them managed to start the tutoring session which was un-surprisingly cut short when Professor Sprout can in followed by other students. And like he promised Gladion stayed rooted to the spot next to Neville even if his old partner sneered at him for the obvious snub. If Gladion wasn’t on the bottom rung of the Slytherin hierarchy then he surely was now.

The class went on as suspected until mid-lesson....

Gladion’s hair stood on end at the feeling of something- to close to him and it surely wasn’t Neville. It all seemed to have happened in slow motion- he turned his head making eye contact with his old seatmate who’s hand was in his pocket- the pocket where he kept his wand at.

With a deft inducing crack, lightning struck the boy making everyone in the greenhouse scream including Neville. The boy just like that girl a week ago was left convulsing on the floor. Gladion was dazed having been close to the strike and slightly blinded by it. A hand wrapped around his own- his first instincts had been to throw the person off but the part of his brain that was still conscious said it was Neville as the boy was the only one close enough to grab his hand. 

There was a loud ringing in his ears that refused to go away- most likely due to the close proximity of the strike. The next thing he knew Neville was leading him out of the greenhouse, throwing him worried glances every step. By now the commotion had gathered a large crowd causing whispers to erupt. 

“It’s that Aether kid again! He must have done something”

“I wonder who made him angry this time?”

“You guys can’t be serious Aether can’t know wandless magic- he’s too weak for that!”

Although Gladion was unable to hear any of the whispers- or if he did he was unable to process them Neville did and it only upset him. He may not have known Gladion for all that long but in the time that he did, he felt the other boy wasn’t as bad as everyone made him out to be.  

The whole fiasco ended with Gladion being grilled then released once no one was able to prove he did it. Neville helped descalate the situation by vouching for him and saying Gladion didn’t speak an incantation. 

After that, it seemed to have turned into a sport on who would be able to get Aethers wand. There was a large betting pool going on, several people having been included within it. This only made random lightning strikes another part of daily life for Gladion. At first, he was slightly worried for the people who got hurt but as time passed he grew callused to the happenstance.

Which brings him to just another morning- normal by his standards. He was sitting peacefully next to Mitsuki while Elio took the seat by his left leaving a pouting Selene forced to sit next to him. Surprisingly enough Neville had joined their little group which slightly changed their dynamics.

He wasn’t fully paying attention to what Mitsuki was talking about- quidditch most likely and with how Neville was responding only made the chances higher. Gladion didn't care too much for the sport not being one interested into such things. A piece of the Pumpkin pastry was halfway towards his mouth when an ear-shattering bang rocked the great hall, this one shaking the whole foundation. Now that was slightly new, he supposed this time the person was having truly dark thoughts towards him.

“Just another morning at Hogwarts,” he muttered to himself shaking his head as he spared glances at his friends. A few had been with him during the times where his wand was almost stolen though none seemed to have gotten use to the lightning like he did. With a weary sigh, he closed the screaming out, stuffing his face with the pastry. He was over all this it by now. Maybe he’d feel sorry for them if they weren’t constantly trying to steal his wand.

Hey, he never claimed to be a good person.

Dumbledore appeared exasperated, Gladion didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t be surprised if  Madam Pomfrey threatened to hex his balls off if he didn’t stop students from being sent to the infirmary. The other professors were all in states of horror and shock the only one not being Snape which didn’t surprise him either. 

“AETHER!”

He sighed again at the shrill yell, yes looks like it’s time to face the music. 

“Yes, yes coming.” He grumbled under his breath at the loud shriek from one of the stand in Professors. He took one last bite of his breakfast then slowly stood up, the body of whoever thought it was a smart idea to steal his wand this week surrounded by people and being lifted up by levitation charm and floated away.

Eyes followed him as he strode up towards the professor's table his eyes never leaving the Professor who called upon him. If his gaze wavered he knew he’d get sick to his stomach from the crowd and he wasn’t going to show any signs of weakness in front of enemies.

He was preparing himself to be chewed out until something unexpected happened. Dumbledore raised his hand to shush the professor who looked ready to rip his head off and asked one simple question.

“What wood is your wand made from my boy?”

Gladion grimaced- he’s not the headmaster's boy, he’s no one's boy! 

“Laurel.” He was short and to the point, not knowing what wood his wand was made up of having to do with the random lightning strikes. He’s just assumed he had a deep bond with it and it reflected itself by not letting it be able to be stolen.

Surprisingly Dumbledore began to laugh shaking his head in a manner that suggested he suspected this. The action only threw Gladion off-kilter, a frown marred his face showing just how amused he was with the Headmaster.

“Mr. Aether, a Laurel wand is known for once accepting a hardworking wand holder and creating a deep relationship with them for setting off lightning strikes if another witch or wizard attempts to steal it.”

Gladion was floored, for one thing, he never thought of himself as a hard worker- it was just what was expected of him. The work he did on a daily bases was normal and if that impressed his wand to this extent well... Bringing out his wand he stared down at it as if it could unlock the secrets of the world.

All he could let out from this sudden realization was a soft, “oh.” Gladion didn’t even send the old wizard a bitter frown from the pat to his head.  

With another soft chuckle, the old man went towards the podium and started to address the whole school. He was blunt and to the point with his speech telling the student body not to steal others wands as they’d be in for a nasty shock. And if anyone was brought to the infirmary under electrical shock they’d have 50 points taken from their house.

Thankfully that was the end of the huge race towards stealing his wand leaving him once again at peace.

Or what little peace a Slytherin could have.

[adeadlysong]

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Violet Harmony Route

OOC: Yes, I’m making my OWN route for Tahirah in the Three Houses verse because I can. XD

The title of the route is “Violet Harmony.” It’s named as such because 1. I needed a color and 2. the Harmony part of the name has an emphasis on peace here.

Essentially what happens is that Tahirah wants to end everyone else warring against each other. If Tahirah is in Byleth’s class, she will approach them with the whole “hey, want to end a three-way war with me?” close to right before the timeskip occurs. And if Byleth says yes, that results in Tahirah and whoever Byleth has recruited and/or is in the same class with all forming one band and initially going back to Melodia. 

This gives the opportunity for Byleth and anyone else in Tahirah’s class to get to know the residents of Melodia such as its regional rulers, and also learn more about Tahirah’s homeland and background. This also makes more people from Melodia available as party members in battle as well as additional paralogues that would dive deeper into Melodia’s lore, background, etc.

Tahirah’s master plan for the war is to make everyone stop fighting. The step-by-step plan would be to approach all three main sides (and the church) about meeting peacefully to talk out problems and come to a solution befitting of everyone, thus creating a truce and ending the war for good. Though it’s a risky plan, considering that everyone is already warring and tensions are high, Tahirah is determined to make it work. 

Depending on which house that Byleth joined, they will approach that original house first. So, for example, if Tahirah and Byleth were part of the Golden Deer pre-timeskip, they’d approach Claude first, then move on to the Dimitri, Edelgard, and the Church of Seiros. If they were part of the Blue Lions, they’d approach Dimitri’s side first and then the others, and if they were originally part of Black Eagles, that side first and then the others. 

Of course, since this is a war we’re talking about and navigating, the main way they end up convincing everyone to come together and talk things out is by likely defeating them in battle (or maybe you even get them to stand down before any bloodshed begins, depending on the RP thread/verse!). However, no one is permadeathed since that would defeat the purpose of everyone coming together for a peace treaty talk if everyone is dead.

Eventually, after all the sides have gathered together, here you have all the lore drops. Rhea can reveal Byleth’s origins, everyone can talk about what needs to be talked about and changed, as well as past harms done that need to be resolved, and eventually they all realize that TWSITD is a major factor in what’s caused their strife in various ways. As long as TWSITD is around, even if they tried fixing all the current problems, they might just go and try to A. stop them from resolving said current problems or B. cause future problems down the road. This leads to a final confrontation of getting rid of TWSITD, stopping Thales’ evil plot and re-killing Nemesis as well. 

After the final battle, Fodlan is in peace. Reforms are made as necessary and, since Tahirah was part of the reason they’re all at peace now, Fodlan and Melodia have a great harmonic peace and allyship with each other. 

[askjamessirius]

I got a question! If you had a Harry Potter themed wedding, what is the thing that you must have? (aka two months away from my wedding and trying to make sure I covered all of my bases)

(OOC: Okay so that’s kinda a lot of pressure... so quick disclaimer, I have very little knowledge about weddings/wedding planning. I’ve only attended like 3 weddings that I can remember in my life. This ideas might be stupid or impossible just remember that before you judge me.

I have a lot so I’m gonna put them under the cut.

1) Okay so you know wedding favors? Like the things that everyone finds on their plate at the reception? (I think this is a thing) Golden snitches. If you want edible favor that chocolate balls wrapped in gold foil. Okay but instead of saying ‘I open at the close’ they say ‘name a + name b insert date here’ or ‘Mr/Mrs and Mr/Mrs insert last name and date’

2) The rice that everyone throws on the couple at the end or whatever? I don’t know if colored rice is a thing, but colored rice! It could be gold like snitches or house colors or some other harry potter themed color.

3) Slushie/ice cream/snow cone machine but with flavors that are houses. So like a blackberry lemonade would be hufflepuff, a strawberry banana would be gryffindor. Does that make sense? And the colors would reflect too if they could. 

4) Cupcakes but with quidditch goal posts on top for decoration.

5) Dancing to Hedwig’s theme, cause. yeah.

6) Idk if it’s common for weddings to have photo booths, I think the ones I’ve gone to have had something similar to one. Well photo booth props like Luna’s glasses or her lion hat. Plus like cardboard wands with cardboard cutout of light on the end (like a spell is being cast). Lightning scar cutouts and Harry’s glasses on sticks. Or broomsticks, pointy hats, speech bubbles with spell, etc.

7) Table napkins but they have a design on them, like paper towels? This could be anything, personally I like the idea of the quibbler, but it could be the prophet or the book covers or the marauders map, etc.

8) The key butterflies. I’m not quite sure how you’d use these, maybe like string them up and hang them around the reception hall or something. I just think they would be pretty.

I’m sure you’ve done this, but search harry potter wedding on pinterest and you get a bunch of great ideas. 

Personally though, I would avoid the “All this time?” “Always.” quote cause, you know.... Snape was a creep and instead use the “You’ll stay with me?” “Until the very end” quote.

Again, I don’t know how many of these are realistic or doable, but I hope you have a great day!)

[mminimoon]

The Day the Sun Met the Moon

Summary- A Fairy Tail fanfic...The Kingdoms of the Sun and Moon meet once a few hundred years to bring forth an Eclipse and the rulers of both kingdoms haven’t seen each other in a long while. With threats still in the air and wars hurling about, what’ll the young King and Queen do to protect their beloved kingdoms?

Rating- T

A/N- This is actually the first time I post fanfiction, so I’m sorry if the characters are too OOC and if there are any mistakes. I’ll try to keep updates consistent.

C.2 

||Chapter I||

The Queen of the Moon was a mysterious woman. A goddess whose voice was only heard on rare occasions. They say she stopped speaking when her mother died, and when the previous King joined her in despair. They say she used to be a lively person, full of life and warmth, a shining person. The brightest moon anyone had seen in eons.

The King of the Sun remembered she was beautiful. He remembered when she used to come to his kingdom and climbed trees just get closer to the sky and feel the sun on her face. He remembered how poetic she was, using big words and smooth tones. How she told him stories of demons and princesses, wizards, and dragons.

He remembered how she said his name, softly with so much love.

But when the people she loved the most left her, she was gone. Strangely he remembers just about every detail of her, soft warm brown eyes, long flowing golden hair that he used to help braid. He remembered how she pouted whenever he began an idiotic plan. He remembers how she crossed her arms over her chest and protested but followed him anyway.

He remembered the first time both of them were tasked with raising the moon and the sun. How she raised her arms and the moon’s magic, glowing silver, would slither around her arms and she’d slowly lower the moon. He remembered the worried look she had when he struggled to carry the sun, how as soon as he was done she’d run towards him telling him he’s straining himself, that even gods have limitations.

Seeing her again hit him with so many memories. And he could see in her eyes that she too was hurt by seeing him. They both hid it under bows, coming back up with their heads high. It was the Eclipse Festival, one party they both had to attend.The day where the sun meets the moon.

As the festival picked pace, mortals prayed, and more of the gods began to show, the two rulers of the world hid back. They had accidentally bumped into one another in the heavenly gardens of the Grand Temple, their animal companions with them.

She looked about to say something but closed her mouth and tried to move once more. Before she got away, the young king grabbed her wrist.

“Luce, please… Stay with me tonight,” he asked, his green eyes soft.

She released a sigh and sat on one of the benches, holding her dog, Plue, in her arms. He sat next to her, his own pet, a blue-winged cat that he liked to call Happy, perched on his shoulder. He chuckled.

“You still have that damn snowman. You know Luce, it always kind of creeped me out, with its beady eyes,” he began.

She glared at him, he always liked to press on her buttons when it came to the matter of her pet.

“And it’s a weird snowman at that, always walking on fours, following a crazy queen like you around,” he continued, Happy nodding at his master’s words.

“I mean, is it even a snowman, is it some kind of-”

“You know it’s a dog, Natsu!” She snapped, surprising herself.

King Natsu laughed, slapping his knee, “in the hells that might be! Look at it! It’s freaking shaking? What kind of dog does that?”

“Like you should talk,” she scoffed.

“What? You mean Happy? Because everyone agrees that he looks like a damn regular cat!”

“I’m talking about you saying that he turns into a lion,” she said.

“We’re gods and you don’t believe a flying cat can turn into a lion?” He asked, raising a brow.

She looked away, “I’m just saying it’s never been heard of and seems unrealistic.”

“He’s blue.”

“So are the skies.”

They then burst into laughter remembering the old times they used to have similar fights. She clasps her hands together.

“I haven’t laughed like that since…” she began to say.

“Since the attack at Moon Palace,” he finished off.

She nodded, rubbing her sides from the cold wind.

He took off his dark red scaled cape, putting it over her shoulders, leaving his chest bare.

“Dragon scales, they're surprisingly comfortable and warm,” he told her.

“Are you not cold?” she asked.

He gave her a toothy grin, “I’m an eternal flame.”

She covered her mouth as she laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. He let out a content sigh.

“How are your cousins?” She asked softly.

“They’re all as dramatic as ever, always doubting me,” he released, looking at the floor.

“And your brother?”

“He’s- he’s better. He married the Empress of the Fae, they’re expecting a child,” he announced.

She giggled, “I don’t see you as the child type.”

“Are you kidding? I’ll be the best damn uncle that kid has ever seen!”

She laughed and he took it in. He never forgot her laughter, but hearing it again was different. He missed it. Natsu loved the rich sound she made. He loved that he was the one that causes it to happen. He smiled at her.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Nothing, just… I love hearing you laugh, Luce,” he replied slowly.

Her cheeks went pink and she looked away.

“Do-don’t say things like that,” she managed.

“But I mean it,” he defended, taking her chin and tilting her head to meet his eyes again.

She wasn’t able to think of anything to say and then the sky darkened and they looked up to see the sun become covered by the moon.

“But we aren’t-”

She looked at him and realized, “the day you meet me again.”

He smiled softly, cupping her face, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. She leaned in, both of them tilting their heads and closing their eyes coming together for a soft and long awaited kiss. It was millennia of hopes and dreams, and wants and needs. It was the loneliness that left them lifeless and cold, the heartache that came with every passing day. Lucy felt tears pouring down, as she tasted the lips of the man she loved so dearly.

They parted away, she with a small smile and he with a big grin.

“Promise me this isn’t the last time I see you? Don’t make me wait for another Eclipse,” he asked.

She bit her lower lip nervously but nodded, taking his hand.

“I’ll leave you a letter when I lower the moon, I promise,” she told him.

He kissed her cheek, “I’ll leave you one when I lower the sun.”

She put her head on his shoulder once again. They enjoyed the silence until they heard a someone calling for Lucy, she stood taking off his cape, Plue falling next to her. She leaned over to kiss Natsu’s cheek letting go of his hand as she walked away to join her court. She looked over her shoulder to the amused King of the Sun who put on his cloak and walked the other way.

She gracefully walked back to the Grand Temple. Her cousin and advisor, Lady Gonzales, walking up to her in a worry.

“My Queen, we’ve been looking around for you! It’s about time we left,” Gonzales told her.

Lucy chuckled, “do not worry, little cousin. I’m fine, and yes; we definitely should be going.”

Gonzales would ask more questions, but she decided to do that when they went back home. The cousins met with the Queen of the Moon’s personal guards, Solano and Yukino. Their worried glances were only replied with a shrug from Gonzales.

With grace the Moon Court left the festivities, entering their silver carriages and returning to the Moon Palace.

[girlygameofthrones]

Learning to Read

Pairing: Tywin x (daughter) Reader, Tyrion x (sister) reader

Fandom: Game of Thrones

Warnings: None…but it’s my first and it’s a little long… Eh, Tywin may be a little OOC.  

Summary: You are the youngest Lannister daughter and are struggling with your reading, so you get help from your brother, Tyrion.  Reader is six years old.  Mostly fluff.

Word Count: 3,582

s����`%

Tywin

Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, and previous Hand of the King sat in his study, pouring over documents and filling in signatures.  He hadn’t gotten any sleep the past few days, mainly because the fools of the Eyrie didn’t know how to strike a proper bargain.  Lord Tywin had never liked the Lady Arryn but while her husband, the true Lord of the Eyrie was away, he was forced to make political agreements and meet her terms.

There was a knock on the door, and he looked up, frowning.  Everyone knew not to disturb him when he worked on his documents.  It was either something important or a rather stupid servant.  He called for them to open the door.

The servant that stood before him was young and broad-chested.  He’d probably make a good soldier in a few years, but Tywin never took the time to learn his servants’ names.  This boy was no different.  He swallowed, and Tywin raised an eyebrow.

“My lord,” the servant began.  Then he stopped talking.

“Yes?” Tywin said, looking straight at him.  “You came into my study during a critical time, clearly you have something to tell me.”

Tywin could see the boy swallow away the lump in his throat.  His fingers drummed the desk, and he glanced at the tower of documents at the table.  

“My lord, it’s about your daughter,” the boy said, and Tywin’s attention was automatically caught. The boy couldn’t tell this though, for Tywin kept his same stoic expression.  “The Septas have been looking for her, but she seems to have disappeared.  They say she’s not doing well in her lessons and that she’s struggling with her reading.”

Tywin’s face hardened, remembering a similar experience with his eldest son, Jaime.  

“Very well, you are dismissed,” Lord Tywin said to the boy.

He nodded and fled the room. Tywin looked over at the documents. Y/N, his daughter, would have to wait until he finished the bulk of these.  He had a pretty good idea where she was hiding.  The girl had never been too good at keeping secrets.

As Tywin worked, he mused on his daughter.  He thought that his late wife was finished giving birth when she gave birth to Tyrion, but Y/N had come more than a decade later, a pleasant surprise for all of them. Tywin hadn’t expected to be a father again, and he worried for his wife, that her body couldn’t handle it, but she had given birth to a healthy daughter.  His wife had named her Y/N, though Tywin had wanted to name her after an ancestor.  Lady Joanna had insisted on Y/N though, so they went with that.

Tywin finished up his paperwork and left his office, ignoring the bowing servants and “milord”s as he walked through the stronghold.  He left the castle and went through the gardens.  Since he had told Y/N that her mother had loved the gardens, they had become her favorite place.  Sure enough, he saw her seated on a bench below one of the larger trees.

He cleared his throat loudly, and she turned to look at him with those striking emerald eyes –Joanna’s eyes.  His daughter was only six and as gentle as a hummingbird.  Her long golden hair splashed down her back.  Of all his children, she looked the most like her mother.

It was as if the child realized the danger she was in with her father’s arrival.  She jumped to her feet, smoothed her dress and curtsied before him.

“Good afternoon, father,” she said with all the bearing of a lady at court.  She knew her courtesies well.

“Why aren’t you in your lesson, Y/N?” he asked, cutting to the point.  It was true he was probably softer with her than his other children, but that was only because she hadn’t caused him nearly as much grief.  When a child misbehaved though, it was a father’s duty to correct that child.

“I don’t like the septa,” Y/N said.  “She’s boring.”

“I don’t care if you like the septa.  You’re learning to read.  Children outside these walls don’t get that opportunity.  Someday you will thank me for everything I’ve done for you,” he said. “Let go of your pride and do your lesson.  The house that puts the family’s name before its own selfish whims –“

“Will be the house that history remembers,” she finished for him.  She glared up at him.  “I just don’t like reading.  I’m not good at it, and I can’t do it.  No matter how hard I try, I don’t understand the letters.”

“You are not working hard enough,” he said.

“I spent two hours looking at the same page, and when the septa asked me to read aloud, I couldn’t do it,” she argued.  The girl definitely had spunk.  A Lannister needed that to get along in the world, but she needed to learn there were better times than others for it.  “All I do is stare at the page.  I know the letters.  I see the septa write them, and I can go through the alphabet.  The septa says my penmanship is wonderful, but when I have to read a word, the letters move around on the page and I can’t make any sense of them!”  

Tywin nodded, and she was quiet.  He had dealt with this before.

“Your brother Jaime was the same way,” he said.  “The maesters told me that he also mixed up the letters on the page.  Yes…I wondered if this would happen again.”

“And how did Jaime learn to read?” Y/N asked.  

A determined look flashed across Tywin’s face.

“I sat him down with the maester four hours each day,” he said.  “Which is exactly what I’ll do with you.”

“Father!” Y/N cried.

“Silence!” He cut her off. “Remember your courtesies, young lady. You will thank me for this.  A Lannister needs to know how to read! Jaime was angry with me too, but now he can read!”

“But four hours!” The girl looked close to tears, and for a rare moment, Tywin did feel something tear at his heart, but he was determined.

“A lady doesn’t say ‘but’,” he said.  It was something that Joanna used to say to Cersei when she argued with her.  “Go back to your lesson now.  I shall speak with your septa about the changes in your scholarly pursuits.”

Y/N’s pink lips quivered for a moment, and then she curtsied before her father and ran off.  Tywin watched her go, slightly amused, but slightly angry at her behavior.  Cersei had been much more rebellious, so he at least should have been grateful that he didn’t have to deal with that.  He didn’t particularly like upsetting his daughter, though.  She was the last thing of Joanna he had, and he was determined to give her the best life he could.

Being a father as well as a lord could be difficult at times.

Reader

At the end of your lesson, you were fuming at the septa.  Your head pounded and your eyes were sore from constantly staring at the page. You offered a short and stiff curtsy and then left as soon as the lesson ended.  You never wanted to see your septa ever again.  In fact, you would run away from the Rock and make your father miss you so much that he would find you.  That would really show him.

You loved your father like none other, but he could be stiff at times.  He was the proud lord lion of Casterly Rock, you reminded yourself.  He was held to different standards than the small folk.  Jaime supposedly had the same problem with words that you had, but Jaime got to run around and play with a sword, and then he got to be a knight.  Why did it matter if you could or couldn’t read?  Your father would wed you to a handsome lord when you were older, and you’d raise the babies while your lord husband signed important papers.

In your room, you tried to forget all about your lesson by combing through one of your dolls’ hair. The door opened and your father entered; the brush you used on the doll stopped halfway through its silk hair.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

“The septa told me that you needed to study outside of your lessons,” he said firmly.  “Where are your books?”

“I just got out of my lesson!  I need a break!” You cried.

“Your mind is sharpest right after a lesson,” he said.  “Do you want to learn to read or not?”

“I don’t want to learn!” You snapped.

You had crossed a line, and you knew it.  Your father’s eyes narrowed dangerously.  

“You will read those books, Y/N, and I won’t ask you again,” he said in a low voice.

You shrunk back, fighting back the tears that threatened to escape your eyes.  You hated disappointing your father; he was your hero, but he just didn’t understand how hard it was for you to read!  You watched as he left the room.  You didn’t move for a moment, and when he was gone, you threw your doll against the wall.

You picked up the book and tried to read it, determined to show your father, but the more you looked at it, the worse your headache got and you found you just couldn’t do it.

You woke up with your face on the book.  You panicked slightly, aware that that was not proper for a lady.  By the sky outside your window, you knew it wasn’t time for supper yet.  You sighed with relief.  Then you picked up the book.  You didn’t want to visit the septa, but maybe if you just studied for many hours at once, she could get it all done and over with.  Hugging the book, you stomped past your broken doll and out the room.

Every step taken was tortuous.  You really, really did not want to see the septa.  What did that old lady know anyways?  Why couldn’t your father give you a fun teacher?  Maesters were always more fun than septas.

“Sister,” a deep voice suddenly rang in your ears.  “Does father know that you are wandering the Rock by yourself?”

Your heart stopped.  You turned and saw your older brother, Tyrion, standing there.  Even though he grinned at you, you felt a shiver pass up your spine.  She had always been more than a little frightened of him.

Tyrion wasn’t like Jaime or Cersei.  He was only slightly taller than you, but whereas you were six, he was a man.  His hair was as blonde as yours and his eyes as green, but his forehead was too big, and his arms and legs were too short. He wasn’t handsome in the least, and Cersei had told you that Tyrion had killed your mother.  Jaime had insisted it wasn’t true, but Cersei said that Tyrion had forced mother to care for him when he had a contagious illness, and she had died for it.  You hadn’t even been a year old, and because of that you didn’t have a mother.

“He’s a monster, Y/N, and monsters don’t show remorse,” Cersei had said to you.

You stared at your brother, fingers clutching the book.  You wanted to run, but you knew you needed to be brave.  He wasn’t really a monster.  He was frightening, but he was still your big brother.  Jaime got along with Tyrion after all.

“I’m going to the septa,” you said shortly.  “I’m learning to read.”

“Are you mixing up the letters on the page?” Tyrion asked in a dry tone.

“Um…” How did he know that was your problem?  “Yes…”

“Just like Jaime, or so I hear,” he said.  “Don’t go to the septa.  She’ll bore you to tears with her lessons.  It looks like she already has.”

“I have to learn to read so father will be happy,” you snapped, embarrassed.  

“Yes, we must keep father happy,” Tyrion said.

“I need to go,” you said.

When you turned away, Tyrion suddenly touched your arm.  You froze, remembering what Cersei had told you.  Tyrion looked kind of funny, but could he really be a monster?  What if you died because he touched you?  Maybe that’s why your mother had died!

“B-brother,” you stammered, voice squeaking.

“I’ll teach you to read,” he said.  “I’ve read a lot, and I’ve even stumbled on some of the histories of Casterly Rock that recorded other children with the same problems you were having.”

“Father wants me to study with the septa,” you replied weakly.

“Father wants you to learn how to read,” he said.  “Do you want to please father?”

You nodded meekly, and he smiled.

“Then follow me,” he said.

Your heart sank, and you imagined for a moment a maiden following a dragon into its lair.  Tyrion was no dragon; he was too small, but you couldn’t help but be scared regardless.  You frowned. Lannisters didn’t get scared.  You would learn how to read no matter what.

On the way to Tyrion’s chambers, he actually talked to you.

“Father rarely lets you see me,” he said.  “I remember when you were born.  I’ve never seen father smile like that before.  I suppose after me, you were everything he could have asked for.  You were a beautiful babe, and it looks to me like you’ve grown to be a beautiful girl.  You have mother’s features.”

How could he talk so easily of mother?  Didn’t he feel guilty?

“Thank you,” you whispered. “Father keeps me in lessons most the time.”

“And apart from the reading, how are those going?  Do you understand the laws of the land and the science?  I hated learning about the agriculture personally,” he said.

Before you could think, you said:  “I do too. I hate that part.”  You suddenly shut your mouth.  Had you just agreed with your brother?

“Ah, here we go,” Tyrion said.  “My room. We shouldn’t be in here too long, but I’ll teach you more than the septas will.”

“With magic?” You asked.

Tyrion snorted.

“What do you think I am? An imp with magical powers!  Is that what Cersei told you?” he asked. Cersei had never said that, but you couldn’t help but imagine it.  “No, if I knew magic, I’d make myself as tall as Jaime.  No, we’re going to learn the old fashioned way.”

“I won’t learn to read by supper?” You asked faintly.

“I’m afraid not,” he said. “You’ll have to come back each day, but I promise you I will make it much more painless than the septa’s ramblings.  You’ll be reading in no time.”

And then he pulled out a seat for you at his desk and took the book from you.  He laid it on the table, and a devilish smirk appeared on his face.

“Let’s begin,” he said, and you sat down, feeling your hands and feet shake.

XXXXX

You had been visiting Tyrion in secret for a week.  You were never told to stay away from your brother, but father also made a point of keeping you as far away from him as possible.  With Tyrion as your teacher, you were able to see improvements you never thought possible.  Even the septa praised you when you actually read two sentences aloud and only had to pause a few times.  Tyrion didn’t use magic, but he may as well have.

What really confused you though was that you were actually starting to like your brother.  What would Cersei say?  Perhaps Jaime would be happy for you.  Tyrion was kind to you and very patient when you made mistakes.  He was constantly egging you on, but in a way that showed he really cared.

“You know this word,” he said as you hovered over the same word for over a minute.  “You can do it…”

“D…R…G… No, that’s not right.”  The letters were moving again.  “D…R…A….Dragon!”

Tyrion applauded you, and you blushed.  You then read the sentence aloud:

“Aegon I Targaryen rode on the dragon Balerion in the War of Conquest!” Your voice went up a notch at the end, and again Tyrion applauded you.

“Wonderful!” He said. “Wonderful!  Can you read the next sentence?”

“Aegon’s sister-wife…V…Vis…Visenya mounted Vhagar as her steed.”  You glanced up at Tyrion, praying you’d gotten the sentence right, and by his smile, you knew you had.  “I did it!  I’m learning to read, Tyrion!  You’re the best!”

You kept improving, and you actually sought out books to try and read.  Most of them you couldn’t, but you could understand a lot more than you could before.  Four days later, you were in yet another lesson with Tyrion.  He no longer frightened you, and Cersei’s words seem to fade.

You had finally reached the part in your heavy book that spoke of House Lannister.

“Lord Tytos Lannister was the eldest of four.  He was named heir in 236 AC of Casterly Rock…” your eyes skimmed the page.  Then you gasped.  “Jason Lannister!”

“Hmm?” Tyrion asked.

“Jason Lannister was Tytos’s younger brother.  Tytos was our grandfather!  Jason was our other grandfather!  He was mother’s father!” You cried.  “Mother and father were cousins?”

“I thought you knew that,” Tyrion said.  “Besides, cousins are one thing, but the Targaryens married their brothers and sisters for centuries.”

“It’s like how Cersei wants to marry Jaime,” you said.

“Y-Y/N …” Tyrion winced. “I don’t know how you know that, but you mustn’t say a word to father.”

You stared at the page and your finger found Lady Joanna’s name.

“What was mother like?” You whispered.

Tyrion froze and didn’t answer immediately.  Then he swallowed, and he smiled in a way that made him as handsome as Jaime.  

“She was beautiful,” Tyrion said.  “She was my best friend, my champion.  She was always encouraging me to be better, and when I cried, she held me.”  He looked out the window, and you watched him intently.  “When I learned that dragons had gone extinct, I was a mess.  I cried myself to sleep…but when I woke up, mother was holding me in her arms and telling me everything would be alright.  She had a beautiful voice too…”

“Cersei said mother died while taking care of you,” you whispered.

Tyrion looked down at his hands.

“That’s true,” he breathed. “I was probably old enough to not need my mommy, but I begged the maesters to let me see her, and she came right away and cared for me.  She stayed by my side all night…and then…it was all so sudden…she was gone.”

Tyrion was a man, but his lip trembled like a child’s.  He didn’t blink, like he was determined not to let the tears come.  He was always so carefree, sarcastic, and witty.  You had never seen this side of him before.

You reached under the table and held his stubby hand.

“Thank you for telling me about mother,” you whispered.  

XXXXX

You found yourself outside your father’s study.  He would be finished with his paperwork in any moment.  You waited there, going over again and again Tyrion’s cheers in your mind. The door opened, and Tywin stared down at you.  You drew yourself up as tall as could be, but he still towered over you.

“Do you need something, Y/N?” he asked.

You nodded, but didn’t answer.  Without a word, you strode right inside his study.  You heard you father sigh behind you and follow.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked you.  “Have you finished your studies today?”  You reached up and took the first bit of parchment off the stack.  “Careful, Y/N, those are important documents.  They can’t be lost –“

“Lord Randyll Tarly…Lord of House Tarly…To whom it may concern…We are in the process of building a bridge to help ensure our grains come quicker to the capital.”  You looked up from the sentence and hid your smile. Then you continued, and you read the entire letter out loud to your father.

When you finished, Tywin actually laughed, and you felt your cheeks go red.  You loved it when you pleased her father.  You had seen his smile more times than you could count, but you rarely heard a laugh.

“You see, Y/N?  You are a Lannister!  You always had it in you!” He said.  “You’ve got quite the attitude, but I’m proud of you.  Keep up the good work.”  He touched your face but didn’t embrace you.  He was still a lord after all.  “Come now, supper is waiting for us.”

You beamed at him, and they headed to the dining hall together.

After supper, you returned to Tyrion.  You still had much farther to go, and the letters still got jumbled, but you were determined to work hard.  You recounted the story to Tyrion, and he laughed first and then congratulated you.  Then he hugged you.

Once again you found yourself pouring over the book.  You finished reading the paragraph aloud and looked up at Tyrion.  He was absent-mindedly playing with an ink bottle.

“Um…I have a question,” you said.

“Ask away,” Tyrion urged you.

“Well, it’s just about something that Cersei said.  She said that you spent most your time in brothels and that you had…what were the words she used?  …An appetite for whores,” you began.  “Tyrion, what’s a brothel?  And what’s a whore?”

The ink bottle suddenly slipped from his fat fingers and shattered all over the floor.

[mxnofhonour]

It’s been two months since my trip to the GOT Studio Tour and I’m still thinking about the King’s Landing map room.

[mxnofhonour]

FACECLAIM UPDATE

I’ll now be using T0by Regb0 as my main faceclaim for Jaime.

NCW is still there as a secondary but since meeting him and having several interactions with him over the past year, it feels a little bit weird idk.

[mxnofhonour]

Tag dump.