#I also remember my mom asking whats wrong and when I told her she CHEERED

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

when this picture was taken the trailer for the naruto shippuden movie that has naruto getting shish kebab-d had just come out and I was experiencing actual physical pain and heartbreak because I truly believed they were gonna end the series with him getting killed so gruesomely like I was CRYING at this egg dyeing party but then I felt a camera on me and I literally pulled it together to serve for a moment. I need everyone to know the context to really appreciate this picture. modeling contract when.

[just-some-random-blogger]

You'll Remember You Belong To Me

Loving and leaving Daemon were the two best things you ever did in your life. He disagrees with the latter, however, and is convinced you'll come back.

Mafia!Daemon Targaryen x Estranged!Reader | 1k+ | cw: fem!reader, modern au, toxic!Daemon, mom!reader, exes trope, manipulation, typos, etc.

A/N: HI everyone. it's been so long since I've written anything ): I JUST CANT WRITE HUHUH but inspiration struck me so im running with it!! this is inspired by You'll Be Back from Hamilton so I suggest you give it a listen! Also it's kinda fucked up so read dis with care!!!!

Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace @sloanexx @delicious-xx @deniixlovezelda @targaryenmoony @risefallrise @slavyanskiyahui @thebullship @sa3losa

"Papa!" a hushed but excited voice calls.

Daemon grins and gets down on one knee. The little boy with burning white hair runs towards his papa's open arms and jumps into them.

Daemon embraces and kisses his son. He then throws him over his shoulder as he stands, making him giggle. The man asks as he head over to the open door, "where's mummy?"

"Cooking with Vivi."

"Oh," Daemon walks inside and takes his shoes off, "do you and Visenya help mummy cook?"

The boy cheers, way too loudly to his father's taste, "YES!"

Daemon immediately hushes the boy and sets him down. The boy is red in the face and giggling. Daemon gives him a lopsided smile and brushes his bangs out of his face, "remember what I told you, lovie? About keepin' a low profile."

The boy nods, "it's our secret mission," he raises a finger to his lips, "a surprise for mummy!"

Daemon chuckles, "very good, Baelon."

Baelon grins from ear to ear.

"Now, before we surprise mummy, tell me where you put the phone I gave you."

"I hid it underneath my toy box! Mummy never looks there."

Daemon pinches his son's cheeks, "good boy."

Baelon giggles under his breath.

"Remember not to let your mother catch you when I call again, okay?"

He nods.

"Right," Daemon stands, "you can go tell mummy daddy's home now."

With that, Baelon runs off and practically busts a lung screaming, "PAPA'S HERE!"

Daemon follows the child, and hears a high pitched squeal from the kitchen. Soon enough, his beloved Visenya is running towards him, "PAAAPPPAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Daemon scoops up the little girl in his arms and covers her face with kisses, "ah, my baby girl."

He twirls the girl around and after a 360, he is met with a deathly glare. Daemon smirks, "hello, baby girl."

"I am not your baby girl," you snap as you march towards him. You mutter under a groan, "and you're not supposed to be here."

Visenya tightens her arms around her father's neck. At a point, her blonde hair looks like it was Daemon's. He blows a raspberry onto her neck, his eyes on you the entire time, "my place is where my family is."

It takes everything in you not to explode, but you don't; you'd never do that in front of your kids.

Daemon knew that well.

That didn't stop you speaking your mind though, "this is from the man that uprooted our life in King's Landing because of a business plan gone wrong."

That makes Daemon tick. He puts down Visenya, much to her displeasure. The girl claws at Daemon's jeans, wanting to be in the arms of her father again but is ultimately ignored. "You knew what you were getting into when you married me."

"That's why I know better than to let the man I once loved conceal, lie, and cheat on me."

Your words really sink into him when you pick up Visenya when she burst into tears. Of course, she wanted nothing to do with you and so desperately clawed out to him, but the image was really sobering.

At least for a moment.

"Give her to me," Daemon says.

You glare at him and mouth threats laced with curse words.

Baelon runs up to him with a toy bus, "papa, can we play?"

Daemon looks down at his son and smiles. He crouches down, "of course, darling," he looks up at you, "we'll play with Vivi."

Visenya immediately wrangles out of your arms and you have no choice but to set her down.

As much as you wanted to grind his guts, you knew your children loved their dad. They so obviously missed him dearly.

Daemon sprawls belly-down on the floor without hesitation. Visenya and Baelon fall into their usual play mode and you take a deep breath before heading back to the kitchen to finish cooking.

By the time you were finished and calling for them and their joke-of-a-father to come to the table for lunch, you find yourself alone by the dining table waiting for seemingly nothing.

You were about to go get your kids, that is until Daemon walked over.

Your face immediately morphs into distaste. It makes Daemon chuckle, "that bad?"

"Where are my babies?"

"Our babies are napping," he says, pulling a chair back. He sits down and tilts his head, "I'm here though."

You make a disgusted face.

Daemon laughs. He missed your face very much.

You cross your arms, "what did you do to them?"

"You're accusing me of doing something to my children?" he chuckles in disbelief as places a hand on his chest.

"They never need to take naps."

Daemon shrugs, "you don't play with them hard enough."

He realizes his mistake when your face contorts.

"I didn't hurt them," he waves his hands, "I just made them chase each other around until they burned out."

"Good then," you point to the door, "leave."

He narrows his eyes in offence, "I promised I'd be here when they woke up."

You throw your head back in laughter, though you found no amusement in his words, "that wouldn't be the first time you lied."

"I've never lied to Baelon or Visenya."

"You think you deserve a consolation for that?" you snap, turning around to lean on the sink. You wash your hands even though you've just washed them, "I told you I would leave. I told you I would leave you if you kept up your bullshit."

Daemon stands and walks towards you.

You don't look back but you knew he was closing in. You didn't need to look; you could feel him. You knew exactly what he would do because you knew him like the back of your hand.

This was why before he could do anything, you turned away and flicked water into his face.

Daemon stills in his spot, taken off-guard.

You decide to finish cleaning up before you eat.

He wipes his face, "and I told you you'll be back."

You scoff as you tidy the counter, "am I the one crawling back?"

"Is that what you want?" Daemon raises a brow as he walks over.

You still in your spot when he drops to his knees.

"I'll crawl and beg," he whispers as if it was something solemn.

You watch him inch closer and before you have the brain to move, you let out a gasp when he grabs your thigh.

It didn't help that his palms were warm and your skin was cool from wearing shorts and damp from washing dishes. It didn't help that you hadn't been touched for so long and that your skin grew goosebumps.

It didn't help that he had it all figured out.

He kissed your thigh once and the next moment, he had you pressed against the counter, nose to nose, forehead to forehead, nearly lips to lips.

Daemon traps you between his arms, hands gripping the counter on both your sides.

You could smell him so clearly now. It did something to your stomach. Your hands wanted to instinctively reach out to him, but you thanked the gods you knew better than that.

"I'll atone for my sins whichever way you want," he murmurs, "just let me see my kids."

You press your hands on his chest, ready to pull him away, "I know better than to believe you."

Daemon waits for you to push him back. When you don't, he doesn't hide his smile. He grins and takes your hands, kissing them.

Your breath is pulled out of your lungs.

He shakes his head, "you don't have to believe me. You just have to watch me."

It wasn't right, but the feeling of his lips on your skin was too familiar to resist. Daemon kisses your hands, up to your wrists, up to your shoulders, then your lips were trapped between his teeth and you were pulling him in.

The only reason you stopped was because Visenya walked in on you, scratching her eye, asking if she could have help getting a plate of food.

You watch as Daemon smiles at her. You watch as your daughter giggles as her papa gives her a plate and kisses her cheek before telling her he's going to go wake her brother up.

You watch as he carries Baleon and sits him down next to him. You watch him dote on them and it nearly makes you forgive and forget all he's done.

Daemon knows better than to think you'd do anything of the sort.

And even though you sit across from him holding a look of spite, he gives smirks back and prepares you a plate.

[hmhas-00]

Ch. 9

Hit Me Hard & Soft

A/N- Hi lovelies! I know it’s Wednesday, but yesterday was New Year’s Eve and I was busy throwing ass so I didn’t post. LMAO I will still be posting another chapter tomorrow (Thursday) as regularly scheduled though! 🤍

BPOV

“Billie, you wanna stop anywhere for food? It’s getting late and you barely ate lunch.” My mom walked over to my bunk, where I had been laying for the past 10 hours. I felt like shit all day. Mostly from the hangover of a lifetime that I was experiencing, but also from the things I said last night.

I shook my head, removing one of my AirPods. “Kinda nauseous.” I mumbled as she climbed in with me. I nuzzled my head into her arms.

“Have you heard back from Remy yet?” She asked, looking at my phone with me as I scrolled through tik tok.

“She called back but I didn’t answer.”

“Why not, honey?”

“Because…” I trailed off, not knowing exactly why. “She didn’t say goodbye.”

“Billie… Finneas told me about your fight last night. Don’t you think you were a little hard on her?” She said softly.

“I’m always putting her first, mom.” I locked my phone, setting it to the side. “She’s so unhappy there and she’s prioritizing it as if it were her dream job. I don’t get why she never listens to me.”

“I know that she’d never ask you to set your job aside… and she’d never ask you to leave what you love for her.” She looked at me with those wise eyes. The type that had seen all of the seasons of life, including mine.

“I know. But she’s not doing what she loves. I want her to do what she loves, here, with me.” I sighed.

“What do you think she loves?” She grabbed one of my cold hands and warmed it up in hers.

“I know she loves… film… directing… she loves to write scripts… and journaling.” I began to smile subconsciously. “She’s so creative, it’s like you opened Pandora’s box when she gets her crazy ideas.”

My mom nodded, letting me finish before commenting. “I think you love her so much, that you want her to achieve all of her dreams, just like you did. But do you remember when you danced? And you wanted to be a dancer?”

I nodded.

“And then you broke your growth plate, and you never danced again?”

“Yeah.”

“Look at you now. You’re a singer, songwriter, and you’ve been all over the world with Finneas… and everyone knows who you are. And everyone loves you. And have so many awards, you can’t even process it.”

“I know, but mom-“

“Honey, you love what you do. And you love that you make such a difference in all your fan’s lives. But you had no idea it would be this different back when you were dancing in that little studio.”

I shrugged.

“You didn’t. You couldn’t have imagined. It’s a whole different reality that you’re living, sweetheart. Sometimes you can’t see different perspectives when you’re in your own point of view. It’s so difficult to see beyond your own horizon… But you know what you did know?”

“What.”

“That Remy would be your biggest supporter no matter what. She cheered you on when you danced and she cheers you on to this day.”

“I know.”

“Honey, you gotta talk to her. She probably feels just as bad as you do. You both said things you didn’t mean.” She kissed my forehead.

“I’m mad at her, mom.” I stood my ground.

“Have you thought about the fact that you might just want to stay mad at her so you don’t have to miss her?”

It made sense when she said it out loud. What didn’t make sense is that I did miss her. I’m angry at her and want her here with me all at the same time. No closure, no hug goodbye, no apologies… the way I left was so unsatisfying. I wanted to hold her and tell her I’m sorry, while she probably apologizes even though she didn’t do anything wrong. It was mostly me. But I was mad at her, regardless. Because she wasn’t here, and it was easier to be angry, than be sad.

“I’m gonna get some sleep.” I put my one AirPod back in, grabbing my phone again. She kissed my forehead again and climbed out of my bunk.

“Let me know if you need anything, baby.”

I nodded, turning to face the wall. I drafted up texts to Remy, hovering over the send button, but deleted each one. As much as it hurt to think, I figured she didn’t want to hear from me.

This morning, I woke up at Finneas’ house, where he and Claudia repeated what I said to Remy.

I’m not going to lie, I cried for about an hour before getting on this tour bus when I realized Remy wasn’t coming to see me. I didn’t blame her, but at the same time, I would’ve gone to hug her goodbye no matter what she said to me.

I mean, I only want what’s best for her. All I ever do is look out for her. If she would only listen to me, she’d be so much happier. It’s soul crushing, every time she rejects my advice, my help… It feels like she’s rejecting me. And oh my, how it crushes my soul when she rejects me.

The truth is I’d do anything for her. I’d buy her a house, pay her parents enough each month for them to stop asking her for money, and bring her with me everywhere I go. I’ve asked her a million times to be my videographer, photographer, or anything at all she wants to be on tour. She refuses to accept money from me. She gets mad at me when I buy her expensive gifts, even on Christmas or her birthday. In a way, I loved that about her. I loved that she didn’t take advantage of me, or anyone else. I loved that she was a giver, but I wanted to give her more than she could ever imagine. The fact that she never lets me, hurts, even though it makes me respect her more.

God, I want to call her, tell her I’m sorry, and fly her out to Quebec so I can meet her there. But, I won’t. Because, she clearly doesn’t need my help, or my advice, or…. me. She said it herself, I’m a shitty friend. If I’m such a shitty friend, why am I the only one with her best interest in mind? I wasn’t trying to control her, or tell her what to do with her life. I was trying to help her reach her goals.

I wish I hadn’t drank so much yesterday. I wish we could’ve just gone to her apartment, spent our last night together in comfy clothes, eating snacks, and watching our show. I wish she had asked me to sleepover, so she could wake me up once or twice from tossing in her sleep, as she usually did around 2am. So I could cover her back up with the sheets she always kicked off, and feel her throw her leg over me, instead of all her satin-cased pillows.

I wish we hadn’t fought. I wish I would’ve kept it to myself. I wish I hadn’t said most of the things I said, in the way I said them. I felt nauseous thinking about how she might be feeling right now.

My thumbs lead me to her contact, hovering over the call button. But I stopped myself each time, feeling rejection and pain once again. Eventually, my eyes gave up the fight between them and my brain, sending me into a restless sleep.

♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡

About 12 days later, we performed in Newark, New Jersey.

“Dude, you were incredible out there! You don’t even need us!” Finneas hugged me backstage, properly greeting me. He came out to surprise me, and the rest of the audience, for a few songs in the setlist. I was ecstatic.

“I missed you so much, brudder! Thank you for coming.” I squeezed him, swaying side to side. I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“Are you kidding? I had to. I miss touring with you, this sucks.” He laughed. “How’ve you been?”

I let go and took a sip of my water. He sat on one of the seats, giving me his full attention.

“I’ve been okay.” I say, knowing whenever I have any free time at all, I spend it sulking and overthinking about what could’ve been. Touring is my favorite thing in the world, yet when my mind isn’t occupied by planning or rehearsals, it goes back to the same night.

“Let me rephrase. Have you been able to talk to Remy at all?” He shifted in his seat, crossing one leg over the other.

“No. I, uhh… I haven’t.” I shook my head, sitting next to him.

“Billie, it’s been like two weeks…”

“I know, I know. It’s just been so busy, and I’ve been struggling to even find the words- I just don’t have the time. I feel like it’s one thing after the other these days. I’m tired all the time, and when I have a couple days between concerts I just fall into this weird headspace.”

“Are you doing okay?”

“No. I’m not. I’m so happy when I perform. And then when it’s over it’s like I come down from this extreme high and it feels so anticlimactic.”

“That’s because you have no one to share it with.”

“That’s not true! I call you, and mom and dad all the time to-“

“Not the same thing. You know what I mean.” He tilted his head.

“Can we not talk about her please? I missed you I want to hang out.”

He nodded, “Yeah. Let’s go get some food.” He stood up and put an arm around me as we walked out.

At the restaurant, we ate and caught up. He showed me videos from his tour, and I did the same. I miss having him on tour, but no one could be more proud of him than I am.

Inevitably, the topic of Remy came back up, as I slid through my camera roll and came across a picture of us.

“Billie… we gotta talk about this.”

I slumped back into the booth, grabbing a French fry and munching on it.

“I don’t think you remember everything about that night, bro.” He propped his elbows up on the table and rested his chin on his hands.

“I know, I was an asshole, and I need to apologize-“

“Well, no. There’s more to it.” He squinted. I furrowed my brows, listening attentively.”

“I didn’t want you to feel like- I thought you remembered but I’m questioning now if you even do…” he rambled. I didn’t really know what he was talking about. The last part of that night was such a blur. It was my first and only black out I’ll ever have.

“What is it?” I shook my leg impatiently. I wonder if this was the reason she hadn’t texted me at all since I left.

Finneas looked at me like he didn’t know what to say. He struggled to find the words, making me more nervous by the second.

“Finneas… What did I do?” I asked him, my heart beating fast.

[pa-pa-patato]

Headcanons (I have not done this in hot minute)

•cuphead always had mug following him as kids

•when Boris was told he wasn’t allowed to bite he took that as being allowed to hit other kids when they annoyed him (was genuinely confused when bendy got mad at him for it)

•Alice’s mom never allowed violence or fights but her dad would cheer on his children anytime he saw the fight (will pretend scold then after if they weren’t in the wrong)

•bendy has face blindness cause I say so

•when he was younger cuphead really wanted to learn how to dance but he never had time and the time he did have was not enough since he’s not a natural

•Boris has a bite mark on his arm from bendy

•Boris also has a scar across his neck which is the reason he wear the bandana (the scar is barely visible and covered by his fire but he’s so used to wearing the bandana that he still put it on)

•Boris and Felix can smell if someone is pregnant

•Boris got used to bendy remaining him to do things like brush his teeth and fur or take showers ext. so when bendy stopped doing it cause stress and what not Boris also stopped cause he forgot

•everyone of the questers had a very realistic nightmare of bendy dying from the ink illness except for bendy

•bendy was supposed be a zanny but never was able because of his living conditions. But he’s still somewhat zanny and will sometimes quote Morden memes

•Alice used to always play dad in house game so she could marry her female friends

•cupbros once found a baby in the middle of nowhere and had no idea what to do so they just brought it hat who freaked out since demon being seen with a baby is super suspicious

•bendy loves to bath in the sun but he’s always to hot to stay long (a nudge to my other hc that he’s supposed shed his skin in the summer)

•bendy is a very slow eater so he has to hurry up when eating with everyone which usually leaves with either stomach ache or being hungry later on

•bendy wants to make dolls that look like all of the quester but worried he’ll be seen as weird and creepy

•bendys hair is magical representation of how in control he is of his magic he used wonder why his hair was always messy no matter how many times he brushed it

•once hat punished cuphead he out of anger just chewed on his desk living marks all over it

•if bendy was raised in hell he would’ve had been a child prodigy

•bendy would pull on Boris’s cheek instead of his ears cause they are sensitive

•he now pulls on anyone’s cheek when they do something stupid out habit

•Oswald and Fanny had really nosy neighbors that saw them kissing one time and tried to spread it around the neighborhood but everyone thought they were just spreading rumors

•once while they were training Boris suddenly remembered all fear and anger he felt while cupbros were chasing them and he just knocked cuphead to the ground shocking everyone including himself

•holly is trying to make a tracker so she doesn’t have to worry about where the questers are

•Boris used to be awful at cooking so much so that he somehow burned down half the kitchen trying to make noodles

•granny insists they all do an ugly sweater contest and to have a photo taken with it all of them on holidays

•cuphead once took a a little bird as a pet and was such a positive influence on him. Unfortunately he came to his bird dead on his bed after he disobeyed hats orders

•baby and snowball pretended to be each other and bendy and holly play along cause it’s so cute

•bendy can’t die from blood loss

•Boris made a small sign that said “I am not free and have a loving home” that he pulls out whenever he’s left alone somewhere

•bendy was always shamed for asking to many questions or was called annoying so he stopped asking. He now just stays close to Holly hoping she’ll ask a question he wants

•bendy also made a lot theories about the machine and his magic that he just keeps in his room not showing then to anyone even tho they could help

•Alice always wanted to be the one that proposes when she thought about getting married

•ebi wants to be friends with bendy but has no idea how to socialize

•Boris can be absolutely brutal if he wants to roast somebody it takes everyone by surprise except bendy that heard worse from him

•bendy got so happy when he realized he could hug Alice as hard as he could without hurting her

•every demon goes to all seven stages of grief when they find out about sexism and homophobia on the surface

•if Alice is flying cuphead will just pull on her leg in the direction he want her to go

•bendy once coughed out an entire knife. He never ate a knife. He doesn’t know where the knife came from. But now he has a cool knife

•mugs used to have freckles

•holly and bendy have the absolute worst taste in crushes

[the-record]

when emma falls in love

synopsis: ellie might be in love with you, and you might just be in love with her too… if only you could admit it

pairing: college!ellie x fem!reader

warnings: too many tlou references, food, not proofread!!!!! also using angel in place of y/n bc it makes me cringe a little!

a/n: lets play a game called “how many references can kate make in her fics?”

‘IM JUST PRETTY GREAT WITH MY FINGERS’

when emma falls in love, she paces the floor closes the blinds and locks the door when emma falls in love, she calls up her mom jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong

ellie couldn’t keep up.

she felt like every time dina came over, there was someone new in your life, and she couldn’t understand how. you were perfectly nice and even prettier.

but here she was, yet again in her dorm, listening to dina rant about the latest endeavor.

“and he was just a total dick! like, how are you going to say you’re busy tonight with family and then go to a party? like are you stupid?” dina sighed. “i love her, but god does she picks some idiotic ones. you remember the beach girl?”

oh she remembered the beach girl.

on an annual beach trip over spring break, some blonde had caught your eye, and you caught hers. you had invited her to join them for dinner, and how could anyone say no to you?

you hit it off with the blonde, abby, and she spent the next couple days with the group, constantly flirting with you. ellie had felt a sort of dread fill her stomach. why her? she was obviously playing in to what you wanted and she knew you were smart enough to see that.

the trip wrapped up and you made plans with abby, excited she only live a town over. but when the time came, you spent 3 hours at the park waiting for her, only to receive a text saying she wouldn’t be able to make it.

you were upset and crashed at dina’s, and ellie had heard about it all the night.

“yes, god, i remember her. what a douche.” she rolled her eyes, standing up to grab her bag for class. “i’ve gotta go, but are we all still going out tonight?” dina nodded with a smile. “cool. don’t do anything stupid. and lock my door before you leave, please.”

“says you. and i’ll think about it!”

shes walking out the door when she hits something, or someone.

“shit.”

“fuck, sorry my bad.”

when she focuses back, she sees you. “hey, what are you doing here?”

“oh, dina told me to come over. are you going?” you leaned in the doorway. “dina, come on, stop invading people’s space. lets go!”

she groaned, “but ellie said we could smoke here!” she got up nonetheless, heading to join you. “thanks anyways els, have fun in class!”

“bye ellie!”

she sighs as she watches you two walk away. why does air fill her head whenever shes around you?

she waits and takes her time ‘cause little miss sunshine always thinks its gonna rain when emma falls in love, i know that boy will never be the same

“so, angel, how’s it going with you and that girl?” jesse felt a kick at his leg and turned to dina. “what? am i not allowed to ask questions?”

“no, no, it’s fine. we didnt work out, but thats okay!” you smiled brightly at the table. “i think im gonna take a break anyways. im kinda sick of it.”

they all shared a knowing look. “hey, no! i promise, this is for real.”

“hun, its not that we don’t believe you.” ellie started. “iits just that… we dont believe you!” you groaned and stole a fry from her plate. “look, we’ve just heard that a lot, and we dont wanna see you get hurt.”

“but im not going to! because im taking a break.” you kicked ellie. “you dont have to believe me, but can you at least pretend to?” they gave in and cheered for you. “thanks, now who wants to share a brownie?”

“okay, so its c minor sharp, f sharp, b, e, repeat?” you and ellie sat on the dorm room floor, her guitars in both of your laps.

“yea exactly, just on the third repeat, its a g sharp minor instead of a b.” you nodded at her and plucked the chord. “exactly. and i pluck for it so just… just watch?”

she played the song slowly, speaking her pattern as she went along. you nodded at her when she finished, figuring you knew it well enough. “okay, play it together?”

“yep!”

she counted down before starting, making you smile.

“talking away, i dont know what im to say. ill say it anyway, todays another day to find you shying away. ill be coming for your love, okay.” you hummed a harmony as ellie sang the words.

“are you sure you don’t usually play? youre a total natural at this.” ellie marveled as you let the last chord hum out.

“i guess im just pretty good with my fingers.” you felt your cheeks blaze as you heard back what you said.

dina chuckled, “damn right!” she stood up, going for the door. “gonna grab a bottle of water. play more for us beautiful ladies!”

ellie taught you the rest of the song, both of you more awkward than usual. you really came along it so fast, ellie was amazed.

“okay, seriously, you have to be messing with me because you are way to good at this.”

“i promise! i only took piano lessons.”

‘cause shes the kind of book that you cant put down like if cleopatra grew up in a small town and all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had the chance to love her and to tell you the truth sometimes i wish i was her

ellie had a thought that she might be, maybe, just could be a little in love with you.

she couldnt be though. right?

sure, she knew all of your favorite foods, and knew the words to your favorite song, knew your favorite books like the back of her hand, could tell anyone how you took your coffee.

but that was friendly. you guys were friendly. friends.

she guessed you guys hung out a lot, but thats because they always hung out as a group. she might’ve gotten excited when you joined, but that doesnt mean anything.

and of course she had noticed you were pretty. gorgeous, even. but so had everyone else. its not like she had purposefully memorized your features. every line and mark.

she could draw jesse from memory perfectly, its not like she liked him.

it was normal.

totally normal.

fuck.

“where’s angel?” ellie asked, looking to dina.

“not coming.” she sighed, digging around her purse for a pack of gum. “said she was busy, but she wouldn’t say why.”

“i think we all know why,” jesse teased. they all gave him a look, but he leveled them with one of his own. “im not insulting her. its just that, this isn’t exactly out of her nature. i mean seriously, who actually took her promise seriously?”

ellie excused herself to the bathroom, dialing you before she even reached the door.

“hello?”

“hey, where are you?” she picked at the already chipping nail polish she had on.

“uhm, im out.” you sighed. “look, im kind of busy. did you need somet-“

she had to cut to the chase. “are you on a date?”

“excuse me?”

“are you on a date?”

“thats none of your business.”

“oh fuck off, you know it very much is. so. are you?”

“fine, yea i am. now can i get back to it?”

“we are talking later.”

she joined the group back at their table, but couldnt focus back in on the conversation.

“you okay, ellie?” she looked up at dina, nodding with a hum.

“yea, sorry, got lost for a second.”

when emma falls apart, its when shes alone she takes on the pain and bears it on her own ‘cause when emma falls in love, she’s in it for keeps she wont walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave

she didnt even bother to knock, just walked straight through your dorm room door.

“ellie, what the hell?” you were in bed, a book in hand and music playing from a speaker. “what happened to knocking?”

ellie b-lined for your bed, taking a seat at the foot of it. “why were you on a date?”

“dude, seriously, what if i was naked? so not okay!” you placed a bookmark on your page and set the book to the side.

“okay, fine im sorry!” she groaned and found your eyes. “now why were you on a date? what happened to taking a break?”

“what do you want me to say, els?” you exhaled and looked down at your hands. “that i cant keep anything? that i cant keep promises or partners?” ellie felt bad as she saw your eyes were glossy and the frown on your face. “im sorry im such a screwup and that i cant do anything right. anything else?”

ellie ran her fingers through her hair. “im sorry.” she crossed her legs on your bed and looked at you. “really im sorry, this was so uncalled for. youre right, its not my business. im really sorry. i just wan-“

she froze.

surely you couldnt be kissing her right now.

before she could even think to reciprocate, you pulled away, a deer in headlights look on your face.

“im so sorry.” you whispered moving away from her. “god, im so so sorry. you should go. im sorry.” she opened her mouth to try and say anything, but you beat her to it. “ellie, please, just go.”

she saw the tears well and felt compelled to stay. but her body went against her, forcing her feet to walk out the door to her own room.

e: you cant ignore me forever. read

e: please angel, just talk to me. read

e: you kissed me, not the other way around. stop making this my fault. read

e: millers, noon? just coffee, i promise. read

a: im sorry.

ellie tossed her phone at her bed.

“whats up with you?” dina probed. “youve been… peeved this week. whats up?”

“who the hell says peeved?” she tried to joke but was met with dinas serious face. “im fine! seriously!” god that face made her break. “okay fine, just… dont tell anyone.”

dina nodded excitedly and sat down infront of her.

“angel kissed me, and then she freaked out and made me leave, and now she wont even talk to me!” ellie fell back onto her bed.

“SHE KISSED YOU?” dina squealed. “OH MY GOD, HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME SOONER!”

“did you hear nothing else that i said?”

and shes the kind of book that you cant put down like if cleopatra grew up in a small town and all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had the chance to love her and to tell you the truth sometimes i wish i was her

e: please, im begging you, just talk to me. read

a: what do you want me to say ellie?

e: literally anything. read

a: i messed up els, okay?

a: i shouldn’t have kissed you. im sorry.

e: but you should have. and you did. read

a: what?

e: meet me at millers? read

a: ellie…

e: please. read

a: omw.

e: thank you omg. read

a coffee was waiting on the table for you when you arrived. you sat across from ellie, hesitantly taking the drink. “you wanted to talk.” you talk a sip, finding it tasted like your usual order. “so talk.”

“okay look… i’m just as confused and nervous as you are.” she laughed nervously and fiddled with her own cup. “but, im glad you kissed me.”

“what?”

“yea i know.” she took a deep breath before continuing. “i only recently, like very recently, realized my feelings were misplaced. i really dont wanna be friends.”

you groaned, “and you couldnt have just texted me that?”

“fucks sake, just let me finish!” she pleaded, picking back up when you sat back into your chair. “i like you. like, a crazy lot, and it freaks me out. so please, let me at least take you on one date. if not, its fine, we just cant be friends. i wouldnt be able to stand it.”

you chewed at a nail as you took in what she had said.

“say something.”

a beat of silence before.

“okay.”

“okay?” she whispered.

“yea, okay. you can take me on a date.”

well, shes so new york when shes in l.a. she wont lose herself in love the way that i did ‘cause she’ll call you out she’ll put you in your place when emma falls in love, im learning

“hey, hurry up, im waiting downstairs for you.”

ellies voice rang through your room as you placed her on speaker.

“nuh uh, im not done. you asked me out, now deal with the consequences. ill be down when im ready.” you pulled out your outfit, throwing it on as you spoke. “just scroll on insta or something if you’re that bored.”

“fine.”

she hung up and you couldn’t help but laugh. you had been so nervous in the days leading up to this, but suddenly felt much better as she yelled at you like normal.

you finally met her at her car, hopping in the passenger seat and connecting your phone.

“the hell are you doing?” ellie squealed.

you scoffed and rolled your eyes. “passengers princess gets aux. suck it up loser.” you queued up songs as she pulled out and onto the main road. “where are we going anyways?”

“you’ll see.”

“god you are so annoying.”

and yet you smiled at her.

“an arcade? really?” you looked at her with eyebrows raised.

she shrugged and unbuckled, opening her door to get out. you shook your head, shocked still you were on a date with ellie williams. at the arcade.

she pulled you through the maze of a place to some own machine. “mortal kombat? what even is this?”

she smiled so bright, you couldnt help but smile back. “just wait, its so fun.”

emma met a boy with eyes like a man turns out her heart fits in the palm of his hand now he’ll be her shelter when it rains little does he know, his whole world’s about to change

“it was totally fun right? c’mon, you can admit it!” she pushed your shoulder, seeing your smiling face.

“okay yes, fine it was fun, i had fun!” you laughed, staring at her face. “i never really noticed you had this many freckles.”

you traced a finger across her cheeks. down the slope of her nose. across her eyebrow, stopping to poke the scar running through the left one.

“you’re pretty.” you whispered.

she blushed. “i think you’re gorgeous.” she whispered back.

her eyes were so pretty.

“can i kiss you?”

‘cause shes the kind of book that you cant put down like if cleopatra grew up in a small town and all the bad boys would be good boys if they only had the chance to love her and to tell you the truth sometimes i wish i was her

“please.”

yeah, between me and you sometimes i wish i was her

[delilahcalicocat]

Can you do a drabble for Aew Cody Rhodes where reader brings her grandma out to the ring for her (grandma's) birthday and the grandma takes the mic and announces to the audience that reader likes Cody and she thinks he's very handsome 😀 and like reader is embarresed lol

Cody isn't married to Brandi in this one btw

A/N: Yes, I'm crying while writing this. Mainly because of laughter. Also sorry for the delay, I've got a big ol case of writers block regarding a fic and I was busy yesterday.

♡~That's not true!!!~♡

『Rating: Flufff』

{Warnings: Crying, Embarrassment, Kissing, Hugging, Friends-to-Lovers dynamic}

{Pairing: AEW!Cody Rhodes x Fem!Reader}

you'd been working for AEW for a little while now, making friends with everyone on the roster. But for one person... you had a crush. You felt like a teen again, crushing on a boy and you'd get butterflies and run away when you saw him.

Your Mom and Other family supported you and your passion deeply, your grandma even supported you. So for her 79th birthday you wanted to let her in the ring, to sing happy birthday.

So you sang happy birthday, and you made your grandma's day.. you felt so accomplished making her smile..

But suddenly she snatched your microphone, on live tv...

"You know Y/N, I know you're very busy in life. But have you confessed your feelings to that boy you like yet?" The sweet old lady asked

Your face was beet red, you felt so embarrassed at what your grandma started talking about

You sighed and took back the microphone.

"No, Grandma.. It's too complicated to talk about here. I'll tell you about it later." You Said

"What was that boys name again? I think it was Cody something...." your grandma spoke into the Mic.

You went as red as a tomato.. blush and warmth spread across your cheeks..

"That's not true!" You lied

Your grandma instantly proved you wrong.

You were so embarrassed after your segment. Your mom was on the road with your grandma already and you sat in your locker room in embarrassment.

"Why Did my grandma have to say that on live TV?" You questioned the air around you.

You remember the cheers from the crowd, and them saying "Cody! CODY!". You physically couldn't face anyone else on the roster right now.

Suddenly you heard a knock at the door.

"Go away Chuck." You said, thinking the person at the door was your brother.

"It's not Chuck... It's Cody..." Cody said

"What do you what?" You said

"Can.. I... Come in?" Cody asked

"Go ahead. I'm sure my night can't get worse." You sighed.

Cody swiftly opened the door and walked into your locker room, sitting across from you on the other side of the room.

You quickly wiped away any stray tears that may have been on your face..

"What do you want? Why did you come to talk?" You spoke.

"Listen, Y/N... I saw what happened earlier tonight.. between you & your grandma.."

"Yes, And?"

"I should've told you sooner, but I feel the same way towards you... I probably turned red when your grandma revealed that-"

You and Cody went back and forth and Cody confessed... you looked in shock... like a deer in headlights...

Suddenly you both locked eyes with each other... Cody was about to speak but you kissed him. You both broke the kiss after a few moments and you ended up in a bear hug....

That night, you'd felt like you went through multiple stages of grief somehow-...

But you didn't care, you sorta won over your crush...

But Still, the next day you asked Cody if he'd edit the confession clip out of that dynamite replay.

[justjensenanddean]

Jensen Ackles and Danneel Ackles | Brighton UK (Crossroads 6), March 12, 2023

(sicparvis87)

Jensen just yelled „are you not entertained?“ and then said „you don’t even know what that’s from, do you?“ to Danneel. „I failed as a husband.“ Danneel „remembers *Russel Crowe*“ (but not the line). (x)

Danneel complained because Jensen had them change the chairs to higher and less comfortable. Now Jensen is trying to direct us for a hbd video and complained we‘re as hard to direct as Jared. (x)

Danneel doesn’t yell at Jensen when he does something wrong in the house, just wordlessly shows him. Jensen demonstrated that. (I.E. dishes in sink and not the dishwasher) (x)

“i put my pots in the sink and danneel says why don’t you put them in the dishwasher and i say they find their way and she says HOW DO YOU THINK THEY FIND THEIR WAY JENSEN?!”  (x)

Fan congratulates them on The Winchesters! Cheers in the room  (x)

Winchesters set. How to set the tone. Jensen started by giving a talk on day 1 to Drake and Meg. Same talk Kripke gave J2 while filming Wendigo. Show begins and ends with their relationship on and off camera. (x)

Jensen sat down and had a talk with meg and drake similar to what kripke gave him and jared during the filming of wendigo about how the show starts and ends with their relationship on and off camera  (x)

Jensen is telling the story about how Kripke sat him and Jared down at the beginning of the show and told them that they had a responsibility as the leads. “We had the most fun on this set doing what we love to do”.  (x)

Jensen says Drake was really eager for directions as to how to be the best that he could be. Meg is a natural-born leader and just went “oh, I get it”. (x)

JENSEN JUS DID THE HIGHEST PITCH VOICE FOR MEG GIGGLES ‘I GOT IT!’ BABYYYY PLS  (x)

“yes we took the kids in baby no i have not driven baby i haven’t even asked” - danneel  (x)

They took the kids out in Baby but Danneel has never driven it. Danneel talks a little more and corrects her pronouns to „she“ when talking about the car. (x)

Danneel hasn’t driven Baby yet, but not because Jensen won’t allow it, just because she hasn’t thought about driving it! Also said it smells “like a boat”  (x)

danneel said baby doesn’t start the same as she does on the show and jensen GLARES and everyone goes WHAT and she says oh no she sounds the same she’s just slower  (x)

jensen ended up complaining that the show used a different cars sound than the impalas bc people used to come over expecting his baby to sound like ‘BRUMMMMMMMMM’ and instead it was more ‘PTH bfbfbfbf’ and he said it was embarrassing    (x)

They used to use a fake sound for how Baby would start, and Jensen actually begged them to change it to something more similar to how it actually sounds.  (x)

Danneel’s mom was calling Jensen’s phone and he actually considered answering it until Danneel gave him THE “no”  (x)

Danneel hasn’t driven baby yet and says it smells like a boat  Danneel says it doesn’t start like it does on the show.  Jensen has just confirmed that it is in fact a boat engine lol .  (x)

baby 1 is jensens, baby 3 is jareds, baby 2? stunt car. insanely damaged little gal with all these stunt items on it  (x)  jensen refuses to remove any scratch or dint from baby or let anyone grease or oil the hinges of the doors !!!! (x)

They had to remove the radio in Baby while they were on SPN because (quoting Jensen) “Jared and I are CHILDREN”  (x)

jensens talking about the truck he drives in big sky and how it’s a complete pile of shit and that he couldn’t get the door open and had to use a screw driver in some of the takes to open it  (x)

jensen keeps apologising for long answers bc there’s so many people waiting  (x)

Some RadioCo cheers for the third album!!  (x)

the fan said jensen is a musician and danneel nodded encouragingly (x)

Jensen still stands by the statements that he is “not a musician” and he “has three album to prove it”, and he’s “not an actor, and has fifteen seasons to prove”. Danneel just thinks he’s both.  (x)

Relationship with music. Reference to Jensen‘s former answer of „I am not a musician“. How about now? He stands by his comment. Not a musician. He has three albums to prove it. Much like he‘s not an actor. He has 15 seasons to prove it. (x)

Jensen would rather be pretty good at everything than really good at just one thing.  (x)

jensens talking about how as a teen he never was super amazing at one thing but he was good at everything in the sense of he was never a star athlete but he could play all the sports and it’s something he’s grateful to be able to dip into different talents and arts  (x)

“give everything a try.” advice they give to their kids    (x)

They’re trying to teach their kids that they can try anything they want, as long as they possibly can.  (x)

Danneel wants Jensen to do another play!  (x)

“she was like, jensen you’re gonna do it you’re gonna get it and i was like how do you know? and she said because i know you”  (x)

Danneel talked Jensen off the ledge when he was rehearsing for his play years ago. “I was gonna walk, and she just said ‘Jensen, you’re gonna get it’ and Jensen asked ‘how do you know that?’, Danneel said ‘because I know YOU’.” (x)

(chaotic_dean)

jensens talking about his song writing process and how he builds it up through cords and vowels and then words from that and then tell a story through that. so music, melody then lyrics to that  (x)

Danneel is so supportive of Jensen - it is really shining through  (x)

Jensen about Adam staying in the cage for 10 years: HEY I DIDNT WRITE IT!  (x)  Jensen praising Jake Abel as an actor, but also as a very genuinely good person. (x)

“As Dean, I would’ve taken Adam under my wing and done my best to connect with him, despite about our father.” (x)

jensen said that dean would've taken adam under his wing and looked after him and that he would've loved to have had adam brought back sooner so they could've flushed out that dynamic more (x)

They have to be very careful about going through the proper channel to get spin-offs developed.  (x)

They’re actually talking about giving contacts to people wanting to pitch things. It’s a lot to go through from a legal standpoint but it’s doable. (x)

jensen said they have to be careful legally on how to take fan submissions for shows and how even getting the winchesters took a lot for them. they said the gersh agency is who they’re rep by and that that’s the best way to start” (x)

Jensen and Danneel have to be super careful when listening to pitches legally. Even when they started pitching The Winchesters, they were told to go through the proper channels. They have a special person to do pitches now.(x)  Danneel says Supernatural is one of the best fandoms“ and Jensen corrects her that it‘s “THE best fandom”. (x)

jensen says he would do his audition as if it was the last performance of his life. he said if u sit waiting on the callback it’s the worst thing you can do (x)  “it’s like if you’re a painter, the more you do, the better you get. build that confidence, build a thick skin, but not too thick that it blocks the world. just the negativity, bring in positivism always!” (x)

What would they tell their younger selves when they started acting? Jensen got the advice that acting is a game in numbers. The more you do it, the better you get. The more you try, the more chances. Every audition was his final performance. Don’t wait for callbacks (x)  Same goes for writers and artists. The more you try, the better you get. Build a thick skin, embrace positivity. (x)

“Get a thick skin from negativity, embrace positivity ” (x)

jensen said there’s always a story he wishes he tells at conventions and forgets till after the con now he’s on the spot he can’t remember  (x)

Funny story in their back pocket but nobody asked it yet? Jensen has those, but currently forgot them all. He had one yesterday but Danneel forgot it too. „We have three kids.“ (x)

french mistake when we got pitched that episode i remember saying as long as i don’t have to play anyone other than dean winchester you can put me anywhere or call me anything you want, i’m still playing dean because i know where he is and he’s in me  (x)

“jared played a lot of variations of sam but i was just dean for most of the series until michael dean or demon dean because i was like NOPE don’t take dean away from me and i’m still like this” (x)

HBO SPN question! Danneel: “Dean would have been able to swear a lot more!” Jensen thinks it would have been actually pretty similar to the Boys. “Watch the Boys, and then put that into SPN, and you’ll have HBO SPN” (x)  At the heart of it, it would’ve been the same show.”(x)

Jensen recalling his scene in Lazarus rising - “it was HOT in that box!” It was like being in a sauna underground. And he had to do it twice. (x)

Lazarus Rising. It was summer and it was about 50°C in that box under the earth and Jensen was in it, could barely hear the crew. But thankfully he could hear Kim‘s significant voice through the dirt and neoprene. (x)  The hole was cut in the neoprene but dirt on top of it. Jensen didn’t have to do a lot of acting because he was so happy to get out of that hole. Then Kim said „let‘s go again“ and Jensen yelled „fuck you, Kim“. (x)  Danneel says that story just gave her so much anxiety and she could never do that. In the scene before, Jensen was in a coffin and they put crumbled oreos instead of dirt. Jensen turned his head and had Oreos in his ears for a week. (x) 

“there’s not a lot of directors i’d do that for but i’d pay every dollar to do that for him again”  (x)

When talking about Samuel Winchester, Robbie wanted „someone like Tom Welling“ and at some point Robbie asked if Jensen couldn’t just call him. So he did and Tom agreed before Jensen was even done with his pitch. (x) 

They actually started refering to Tom as a ‘placeholder’, same build, same age, etc. and then Robbie asked Jensen if Jensen and Tom were keeping in touch, and Jensen was like “yeah! … *realizing* OH”. He then actually called him to ask if he was interested.  (x)

He‘s happy that he and Danneel are now in a place where they can call and ask close friends they trust to come in for jobs. Jensen hopes he‘s also one of those people that others trust and call to be on something. (x)

jensen said it before and stands by wishing we got longer time in purgatory says how benny is one of his favourite characters and there’s a reason in atomic monsters he brought benny back and it wasn’t written in the script he just wanted to give a homage to that storyline (x)

When Danneel was first up as Anael, Jensen flew home to be Mr Mom while she worked in Vancouver. A storyline Jensen wanted more of is Purgatory. Benny is one of his fave characters. He called Ty for Atomic Monsters, wasn’t scripted. (x)  Second to that is Michael. Danneel: „Because you liked the outfit.“ He did.(x)

How much input do they have into the Winchesters and who’s idea was it to bring Dean back? They both chose Robbie has the writer because they love his writing. Similar story to getting Tom Welling on the show, “I would love to get Robbie! … Oh, I should call Robbie!” (x)

Whose idea was it to bring Dean back? When pitching The Winchesters, he wanted Robbie because he‘s one of his fave writers on SPN. The others all already have successful shows on TV. (x)  And then the Ackles told Robbie to „go nuts“. Robbie is a big Dean fan and „wanted to write Dean again“. He wrote the voice over, send it to Jensen. Jensen read it out loud and unconsciously changed words.Robbie took notes. Called it „going through the Dean machine.“ (x)  Jensen fake complains again about having to do the 6 page exposition in The Winchesters finale. But it was cathartic to him and fun for him & Robbie. (x)

Robbie was the one who write the Dean voice over and then Jensen would record and add stuff and then go “oh shit did I fucked that up?” And Robbie went “no, you just made it ‘more Dean’!”  (x)

Jensen referring to himself and Robbie as the “Deanarrator” (x)

jensen basically said that by episode one and two they both jus sat back and watched and got to see the show unfold thanks to robbie (though jensen loved to be needed to be like HERES WHAT DEAN WOULD DO when asked) (x)

“oh they’re gonna rewrite canon it’s gonna be a DISASTER! then i come in and i’m like lol it’s an alternate universe… SUCK IT!” (x)  “which i have to say that opens up a LOT of opportunities guys… a lot! in senses of multiverses… a lot of shows do it, why not us” (x)

Jensen has been trying to get Danneel to come to cons for a while but she always said „no, that’s your thing“ and he replied „it could be your thing too“. (x)

“thank you for being here see y’all real soon! and THANKYOU for making danneels experience amazing she wasn’t sure she thought it was my thing i said it could be her thing too. y’all are AMAZING!” (x)

‘Thank you for making Danneel’s experience amazing - I keep telling her this could be our thing!’ (x)

Jensen just thanked us all for making Danneel’s first experience on stage at a convention fantastic and memorable one and that they will definitely be coming back to the UK (x)

(sbegum77)

[saneijeijei]

Boy and Dragon

William looked out of the carriage window with displeasure, watching as the city streets were replaced by fields and trees. He didn't want to go to another hunting competition, even though it was the opening of the season. All his friends stayed in the capital with their mothers and he was forced to travel with his family to a remote part of the empire.

"Why couldn't I stay at home?" William whined. "Count Grey promised Jacob to go to their summer residence so that they could ride horses together in the valley of eternal flowers. Rick's father promised to buy a continuation of the famous recordings of the knight of the white swords! What about me? I can't even participate in the hunt, because I'm still too young! What should I do there?" "Will, we've talked about this many times," Marianne sighed. "Your father is the emperor's assistant. He must follow him. And we, as members of the Porter family, follow our head. Anyway, when was the last time you attended an event?" "Well, uh… A year ago? All the recent holidays have been for adults only.." "That's exactly why the whole family attends the opening of the hunt." "Hey, father will let you hunt rabbits this year," William's older brother said, nudging him in the side with his elbow. "You can't spend your whole life reading boring books among the same bookworms. You also necessary to see something alive in your life". "Daniel!" "I'm sorry, Mother. I just wanted to cheer him up." "What, are you afraid that you won't catch a deer this time?" Vililam snorted. "What did you say?!" Daniel yelled. "Both of you! If you don't stop immediately, both of you will stay with me at tea parties all the time and won't even stick your nose out into the grounds!"

William Porter was the youngest child of Marianne and Cedric Porter. His mother was the only child of Count Terosi. And his father was the only boy in the family of Count Porter. They met at the birthday celebration of the Crown Prince - the current emperor. As the Countess once told, everything happened because his father was in such a hurry that he accidentally bumped into her and almost knocked her down. Because of the awkward situation, a dialogue began between them and soon they danced together at the ball.

And year later, they got married, despite all those terrible events that shook the tranquility of the capital.

His father married much earlier than his master, which, of course, was bad form and the cause of unflattering rumors about him. But the emperor only jokingly reminded him of this in the presence of Porter's family. William remembered that attentive look of tired red eyes that carefully examined him and his brothers and sisters. The emperor himself never married, rejecting any offers of his vassals to find a bride.

"Why doesn't the Emperor want to get married?" Will one day asked and his father. "Everyone gets married. Is there anything wrong with that?" "Willie, His Majesty has his own reasons for refusing all of them. Once upon a time, he was in love with Duke Eckhart's daughter." "The one that Leila pretended to be in order to take over the empire?" "Yeah. But the duke had another daughter. Not own." "Oh?" boy listened to his father with interest, as if he had learned someone's very terrible and dark secret. "Emperor was madly in love with her and the lady also loved him. But Leila brainwashed His Majesty… And she was gone. When he broke free of the spell and defeated Layla, he searched for the lady day and night, hoping that she was hiding somewhere and waiting for him to come for her. But days, months, years passed. But the lady didn't come back." "Is that why we attended the duke's daughter's wake?" "To my great regret, I am afraid that she is no longer among the living."

"It's probably sad. Hope that the person you love is alive, but realize that he will no longer be around?" William sighed. "If something happened to Mom, you have us. And the emperor has no one. He's very lonely." "Yes." Cedric ruffled his son's hair. "But let's not think about the bad, okay? Your mom will always be there. I'm doing my best to keep you all safe and sound."

The boy nodded, and then thought about it.

"But His Majesty's character is heavy. I wouldn't be able to make friends with him either."

Porter Sr. laughed.

"Why is that?" "He has stupid jokes." "Be lenient with him, okay?" "Like you? You always put up with his unfunny jokes, which he thinks are funny and laughs at them himself." "Hey, I laugh when you tell me jokes that I heard when I was your age? Show a sense of tact to His Majesty."

Since then, Porter's family has become a frequent guest of many state events. A year later, his father got him into an elite academy sponsored by the emperor. The entire elite of the aristocracy studied there.

Mom hoped that William would become a clerical worker or a minister. But Willie dreamed of becoming a knight and serving in the palace, although his parents and older brothers did not share his dream, saying that this was an extremely dangerous and harsh job. But he hoped that he would succeed and…

"We're almost there!" the sister shouted, seeing the residence in the distance.

The Porter family arrived in a small town a week before the hunt. As well as many other close houses to the crown, including the Duchy of Eckhart, the Marquis of Verdandi and many others. Thanks to the efforts of the imperial servants and aristocratic houses, the hunting grounds were to be ready by next Monday.

Brothers, having barely received permission, dragged William with them to train. They put leather armor on him so as not to accidentally harm him and gave out a small simple wooden bow. Daniel and Oliver, taking swords, began to fight among themselves, practicing blows. William, under the careful supervision of a teacher, trained to hold a bow and direct an arrow, which was very difficult and quite unusual.

The training lasted until lunch, until they were interrupted by a sister who called everyone for lunch.

"My mom and I took a walk around the city. And do you know what I heard in the boutique?" "My God, what could our chatty gossip girl have found out besides rumors?" asked the older brother. "Hmm! How rude! By the way, this is not just some kind of rumor, but a real urban legend!" the girl was indignant. "So what's the legend? A ghost? A tragic love story?" William interrupted the exchange. "I heard that a real dragon lives in the mountains. The last living dragon. And sometimes, he cries from loneliness that his howl can be heard from here!" inspired by an interested listener, young Porter enthusiastically told what she heard. "Can you imagine? A real dragon!" "Another urban fairytale to attract tourists, and you fell for it. Dragons haven't existed for a hundred years. Stop talking nonsense." Daniel snorted. "It's true! Ask mom, she'll tell you the same thing as me!"

William thought about it. A real dragon? He read a lot of books telling about the old days, when the whole earth was inhabited by mythical creatures. Including dragons. One of them was the founder of the house Regulus - the golden dragon. But the history of the extinction of this species has sunk into oblivion. Historians have each adhered to their own theory of why dragons did not survive to the present day. And the chance to see a real dragon gave rise to a burning curiosity in Willie.

"Dani, if catch a real dragon at a hunting competition, will it cost like a brown bear or more?" "What? What nonsense is this? Do you think there really is a dragon living in the mountains? Will, it's just city gossip. There are no dragons there, forget it. Besides, father told you that you can try to hunt rabbits. You're not allowed to leave the small beast zone, remember?"

William looked away in frustration. "What if I catch a whole dragon? Still?"

Daniel rolled his eyes.

All week, William has been training hard. He wanted to prove to everyone that he could catch something bigger than a rabbit and maybe it would be a dragon. And so. The long-awaited opening of hunting competitions. All the guests, ambassadors and diplomats gathered together to listen to the speech. The Emperor, as always, says parting words and wishes everyone a successful hunt. William grabs his bow and arrows and goes to the lands of small animals, overtaking his brothers. The teacher swears and asks not to hurry, because without him, he can't go there, but William jumps on the spot, asking to get ready as soon as possible.

Teacher just grumbles and slowly gathers. Seeing the younger brother's excitement, Daniel and Oliver offer that they will look after him while the teacher is getting ready. To which the man agrees and William, along with his brothers, goes into the forest.

But because of the banter and unsuccessful hits, William takes offense and deliberately shoots an arrow far, far into the forest. The brothers say to go and pick her up, which the boy took advantage of.

After finding the arrow, he did not return, but decided to go deeper into the forest to look for a bigger target. For example, a fox. After walking a few tens of meters, and hearing the screams of the brothers, William went deeper and, not noticing the root, stumbled.

Suddenly, a strange sound followed, low and very loud.

"Richard, I hope you didn't hit the Baron!" "Not he's on our right." “What? Then what was that sound?" "Maybe it's a white tiger that was brought by the ambassador from that small kingdom in the south?"

William fell silent in the bushes until he heard footsteps receding.

Trying to get up, his foot caught on something. “what? Scales?" Willie picked up strange pieces of golden scales from the floor and it was clearly smeared with something. "Where did the scales come from?"

After looking around, William decided to go a little further forward, when suddenly a noise was heard behind him. He barely had time to turn around when something heavy pushed him back to the ground and covered him with hot breath.

It was a dragon.

The idea came to my mind after re-reading several Kuro fanfics(@kuroneko1815). I decided to reread all the finished fanfiction and it just so happened that it was Kuro's fanfiction that went in order. And when I wanted to go to bed, the idea came to me: "What if?". Well, here you see the result of this "if".

[kahlanmars]

BAD FEELING part. 17

HELLO.

This chapter is a little filler but I think it's cute how Haymitch and Daisy try so much to stay away from each other... failing every time. Also, I ship Hayffie and I wanted to give a happy ending to Effie here too.

MASTERLIST

17. Candles for the wedding

After a brief moment in which you wanted to go away and never turn back, or you wanted to knock Marjorie’s door and then let her see your rage, or simply to go to Haymitch and talk more to him, knowing he wasn’t going to kick you out of his bed, you make a decision. You are Daisy Pinecone from District 12, and you are not going down for a man. You won’t let a man ruin your good mood. Even if this man is the most wholesome you’ve ever met. Even if the only thing you want is to be in his arms. Even if none of this is right.

Because none of this is right. You know, hell you know Marjorie is not in the wrong. She spent all her life hiding from President Snow because of Haymitch, and now she wants to live with him like he promised her. But that promise was made at sixteen, they were children, that doesn’t count.

And yet, the timing is wrong. He waited for her, for her ghost, for twenty five years, and just when he tries to move on - with you, nonetheless - she reappears. It’s like fate, destiny or whatever is laughing on their face. 

You can’t avoid thinking bad things, like that she is not as beautiful as she was when she was twenty, but then again he is not either and this is a vile thought. You are better than that. Holly taught you better than that.

You go up, clean your face, even use a little of that eyeliner you and Effie stole, go to your class and you manage to keep your smile on and your chin up all the time. You have a great teacher for that. 

Then, you go to the class where you are Miss Pinecone and not just Daisy.

«When there's danger, you should always go to your parents. But if there’s a danger and you are at school, you could go under the tables for protection.» You say, trying to be cheerful. Today is the day they are going to rescue Portia, Annie, Cinna and the others, and of course Peeta. So Coin told you to give the kids a lecture about dangers. That doesn’t scare you at all.

«But, Miss Pinecone, what if I don’t find my mom?» A little boy, Alex, asks you. He is from the seam, and he is seven or eight, not more. He has tons of brothers, like four or five. He is adorable, very skilled in maths. 

«I think you could come to me.» You don’t think this through, but what can you say? If he doesn’t find his family you want him to come to you, a trusted person, instead of a stranger.

«Thank you, Miss Pinecone.»

You manage to keep the charade until dinner. It’s easier with the kids, the little ones always try to make you see that and tell you this, and the hours flow. The older ones are eager to learn.

But now that you are alone, you can’t help but be sad in the cafeteria, surrounded by your friends except for Effie, who waits for Portia, and Finnick, who waits for Annie. That gives your group freedom to talk.

«I can’t believe him. He left you!» Lora is shocked, her wide eyes bright open. «For an old woman!»

«Well she is not old, she’s 41.» You protest, but then you remember Lora is nineteen. Compared to her you are an older woman.

«You are not going to pout all the time, right?» Perla is more direct. You love her, but she reminds you of a younger Johanna Mason, a victor from years ago who is now part of the rebellion. Perla is kinder, but she doesn’t hold back answers. 

«I’m not pouting.» You protest.

«Yes you are. There are parties, you know? The guards invited us sometimes, we should go.» Yes, you are. You can’t help it. He is not even there at the moment, probably in a room with Katniss waiting for Peeta. Or he is with her. 

You can’t live thinking he is with her every moment. 

«There are more important things, right? I’m worried about Portia. I really care for her. And for Peeta. And Cinna.» You desperately don’t want to talk about it. They seem to understand that, because they take the bait to change the subject.

«Do you think Finnick and Annie will get married when she is rescued?» Lora asks. You have to admit Finnick Odair has been a crush in your teenage years, for all of you. Thinking of him as a married man, even now that he is real, is weird. But he and Annie are so cute, he always talks about her like she is the moon and he couldn’t live without her, he almost didn’t want to live anymore when he found out she had been captured. They had to give him a rope to make knots out of it, to calm him down, but a very, very small rope. 

«That’s what he promised.»

You are about to answer Perla when a voice comes from the other room.

«They are coming!»

You change looks, because you don’t know if you are allowed in the first room, but you want to hug Portia so you run. If you are not allowed, someone will stop you, but that doesn’t happen.

They don’t have a quarantine, you had it because your group was the first after a long time in District 13, but now they think you are safe. So everybody is free to hug everybody, and they are all crying. 

You come into the infirmary room and you see Finnick who’s holding Annie like she could disappear in a moment, and Effie in Portia’s arms. 

«Portia!» You run into her and you let her hug you tight. «You are here!»

She just nods. She is not her best self, but she was probably tortured (now that you think about it, you shouldn’t have run into her, maybe you scared her) but she is here now, she can get better. You’ve never seen her without her Capitol fuss. She doesn’t have her blonde wig, and her hair is shaved. She is thinner than before, and she has bags under her eyes. It’s clear something bad happened in the city. 

Katniss is there, she is holding Cinna, but she is not happy. Cinna is in the same situation as Portia and Annie, and Haymitch, close to her, seems pissed off.

«What happened?» You dare to ask, conscious he wouldn’t scream at you. 

«Joanna Mason, Mags and Peeta are still in the Capitol.» 

Fuck. 

The mission was for everybody, but mostly for Peeta. He is the other side of the Mockingjay, the unfortunate lover, the lover boy. People like him more than Katniss. He is useful for the revolution.

But most importantly, Katniss loves him. Maybe she doesn’t know it, maybe she also loves Gale, but the look in her eyes at this moment proves that. 

«Will they come back for them?» You whisper to your mentor, but you don’t want Katniss to hear that. He shrugs and he looks at you, he is furious.

«If I have a say in the matter, yes.» 

He goes out of the room, and you follow him in the corridor and stop him with a hand on his wrist. You have to be careful. He could have reacted in a very bad way, you don’t stop him like that, you know better. But he must have sensed you, because he doesn’t push you against the wall or strangle you like you are an enemy.

«I’m sorry.» You whisper again. 

Peeta is like a son to him. Everyone knows he and Katniss are really similar, they have the same mind, same origins, same attitude. But they care for Peeta. Peeta is cunning, smart, intelligent, but also kind, generous, and has a good heart. With the family he has - he had, you have to remember - Haymitch has become a father figure in the last year. He didn’t want to get attached, you are sure of it, but once again he failed in that.

He sighs. He is calculating, you see his brain fuming. You bet he is telling himself he can’t be vulnerable with you, not anymore. 

«Just a minute.» You help him, and you put your arms around his chest. He relaxes a little against your touch. 

«He is seventeen.» He reminds you. «Seventeen, and he is being tortured. They are torturing him. It is my fault.» His voice is strong and still, but you sense he is desperate.

«How is it your fault?» You lift your eyes up to watch him better. «It’s the war, Haymitch. You are doing your best to keep them alive.»

«’M doing a hell of a good job.» He is shaking now, of course he wants a drink to cope with his guilt. They are criminals, this is not a way to cure ad addiction, but maybe there’s a good side of that. Maybe he is rid of his addiction. 

«You are. Look at all this, it’s mostly thanks to you. And Cinna, and Plutarch, but the Mockingjay is here because of you. Katniss is safe because of you. And Peeta will be too.» You stroke his hair. «I am so, so sorry. But I didn’t give up on you. You are still their mentor. You saved them.»

You feel stupid, you can only say that you are sorry. A week ago you would have kissed away his doubts, but now it’s not yours to kiss. Now Marjorie can handle that, you don’t have any right. 

«Don’t be sorry.» He murmurs and instead of letting you go he tightens the grip. «Are you okay? Portia is back.»

«Yes.» You flash a smile to him, he loves Portia too. «I’m good, I was worried for her. Felt guilty too.»

«Look at us, covered in guilt.» He tries to laugh, to lighten the moment. «I must admit it looks better on you.»

You blush. You only want to kiss him, but he is not yours to kiss anymore. He is not yours anymore. «Everything looks better on me.»

«I really can’t argue with that.» His eyes are on your lips. 

At this point you are supposed to kiss, this is what you do, but you can’t right now, not after Marjorie. «You should go back. Katniss needs you.» 

«Yes. Katniss needs me.» He gives you a kiss on the cheek, his lips lingering a little too long on your face to be an incident. «Thank you, Sweetheart. I really needed that.»

«That’s what friends are for.»   

You stay in the corridor, alone, until he disappears. 

Turns out Finnick really asked Annie to marry him as soon as she was saved, and now you have a wedding to prepare. They are absolutely lovebirds, Finnick walks on air and he has a grin that never leaves him. Annie is haunted by the tortures and her past, but she is cooed by Effie and Portia, and she seems content most of the time, when she doesn’t cry for Mags. You never met Mags, but on television she looks like a grandmother, sweet and tender, and you know she raised Finnick and Annie. They decided not to wait for her, but they will have a traditional ceremony with her when she will be rescued.

You don’t know what the ceremony in District Four is about, but it must be their version of the Toasting. In your District the toasting is the real marriage ritual, when the bride and the groom make a fire together and toast a piece of bread. You really hope for them it’s not a toasting ceremony because you have heard his bread is made of seaweed and very, very salty.

The wedding preparation is actually very cute. You and Effie, with the help of Perla and Laura and other people from District 13, decorate the main room with flowers and ribbons, as well as nets and corals you manage to find in the library. It’s still grey, but a little less grey and it’s absolutely a win. 

«I’ll dress Annie, can you stay here?» Effie asks you, and you nod. You actually like to decorate. It takes your mind off of things. But what you really want is to put candles in the higher shelves of the main room, so when she walks through the room she will be followed by lights. 

You put the candles up with the help of a staircase. Then you just have to light them up. When you are about to reach the top, though, your feet slip and you go down. 

You survived the Hunger Games and a revolution just to hit your head and die trying to decorate a cafeteria.

«Dear heavens!» You think you’ll get hurt, badly, but you realise you didn’t touch the ground, someone saved you. 

And who could have been. Of course it’s him. How the fuck it’s him it’s a mystery. 

«Are you following me or something?» You sough, still shaken by the fall. You risked it. 

«Thanks, Haymitch, you catched me.» He mocks you with a grin that is not supposed to be here, since he saved you from death or at least a big injury. Again. 

«…Thanks. But were you following me?» You know you should go back to your own feet, but you are a weak girl and it’s comforting to be in his arms, bridal style. And you pretend to yourself you didn’t see Marjorie eyeing you from the other side of the room.

«A little. I was looking for you, I wanted to borrow you a book, and then I saw you lighting candles in the most dangerous position ever invented and… I know your level of balance. It’s none.» You scoff at the comment, but then you hear again the main word of the sentence: books. 

«A book? Yes!» You are too excited, it’s not proper. Not anymore. «I mean, that's thoughtful… thought?» A thoughtful thought. And you are a teacher. No wonder you didn’t have a licence before the war. 

«Yeah I mean, it’s mine and you didn’t steal it so maybe you won’t like it.»

«It happened once or twice…» You pout. Just because he loved to kiss away your pout and if you have to go down bad then he must too. But when his eyes linger too much you are the one who snaps him out of his misery. «So? The book?»

«The book, yes. It’s about a girl who goes to work for a guy as a maid and the guy has secrets in the attic. It’s ancient.» He quickly explains. 

«Is he a bit of a dick?» You challenge him.

«Kinda, yeah.»

«Some things never change…» You smile, proud of your little joke. «What’s the name of the book?»

«Jane Eyre.» 

«I studied that at school. I think I’ll like it, thanks.» Could you give him a little kiss on the cheek? Probably not. Especially when you are still in his arms, it’s not quite friends' behaviour. But you still do it because Inez - Marjorie - has not been right to you. «How come we are underground and you still smell like the woods?» You half murmur to yourself, but he smirks.

«It’s a talent. I'll give it to you at the wedding?»

«I can't, they allow us to have actual dresses at the wedding!» You can't conceal your excitement. You really want to take off the grey jumpsuit. You don’t have a dress, but you eyed some curtains that nobody will miss. 

«Tomorrow then.» He offers.

«Tomorrow it is. Haymitch, can you… let me go?» You are sure you are starting to make a scene, wrapped in a hug in the middle of the cafeteria after the big scandal and the “break up”. 

«Yeah, of course.» He lets you go and you practically disappear in front of him not to deal with the consequences of your thoughts. He does the same. It would be comical if you didn’t have your heart broken.

You go to your room to sew the dress for the wedding, and you open the door without any thinking, just to be welcomed with a gasp.

Effie Trinket and Portia… you don’t know Portia’s surname, all you know is that they are wrapped in a hug and they are kissing. Effie is kissing Portia. Portia is kissing Effie. None of it makes sense.

Effie is the one who was upset finding out about you and Dianna. She was shocked, like she never occurred a girl could love another girl. You know in the Capitol they didn’t discuss these sort of things, like in the District. 

On the other hand, if someone deserves love is Effie Trinket. She hates District Thirteen, everybody here is stupid and hates her, so she needs allies. Friends. Lovers. Everything she wants. She’s one of the kindest people alive. You really love her.  

«I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!» You yell and you close the door behind you, just to re-open it slower. You don’t know what to do, you can’t go in and you can’t go out. «Do you want me to leave?» You ask. 

«Stay, darling girl.» Effie speaks after a while. Her voice is filled with awkwardness, and you want to tell her that everything is fine but you don’t know how to do it without worsening the situation. «Well…»

You enter. They are on Effie’s bed, and they look like teenagers caught in the moment. They are so cute.

«You two are in love?» You ask, trying to contain your excitement. You know you are being improper and you are probably embarrassing them, but you are so happy for them, so happy for Effie. Oh dear heaven, what if it was just an experiment? What if Effie is in love and Portia is not? You didn’t think before talking.

«No, I mean… it was kinda the first time, so…» They share a look. Maybe they are not in love yet, but they have chemistry.

«So I blocked it? I’m so sorry! I’ll go!» 

«No! I think we could go to…» Portia dismisses it. She talks slower than before the revolution, and she always seems a little puzzled, but she is better now and you think she’s improving.

«To my room! I think we can go to my room.» She finishes it.

«No, I’ll go!» You protest, but Effie pinches your shoulder.

«No, please. Let us go.»

«…Ok.» You surrender. 

You go back to your sewing, wondering what the hell just happened.

TAG LIST: @crimsonincursive

if you want to be added in the taglist just ask!

[zmzebra-writes]

WIP from a larger story I was writing analyzing how each member of Alkaloid interpret “love”.

I wrote Aira’s first thinking his lack of hard lore would make creating family ocs easier. Also i love him. His recent events, however, have made what I’ve written so wrong that I’d have to scrap most of the finished chapter anyways so here’s what I wrote like a year ago:

Follow Aira talk about love stories in his family and his own struggles to find love before high school. Gen with no ships (unless you want to count aira’s parents (mom x dad) and his grandparents (grandma x grandpa) as ships).

♡❤♡❤♡❤♡

Despite talking about it all the time, Aira didn’t really understand love. Sure there were things he knew he loved; his friends and idols, but the idea of all powerful love felt daunting. 

Aira was young when his grandparents passed, but he remembered visiting their house and watching how his grandmother quietly moved around the house taking care of her husband. His grandfather was a large man with a boisterous voice who loved telling stories. 

One of his favorites to tell was how he and his wife had met. It was love at first sight according to him. They had met eyes across the dance floor and right then and there he knew it was meant to be. He immediately rushed across the room to ask her to dance and with a shy smile, she agreed. They had danced all night, the brightest stars in the discotheque. They were from two different worlds: him a French exchange student and her an aspiring Japanese singer, and yet they were joined together through the universal language of dance and love. He decided right then and there as he listened to her laugh as they twirled that he would give up everything in the world just to hear that sound again.

Often at this point of the story, Aira’s grandfather would pull his wife away from whatever she was doing into his arms and begin singing as they swayed and she laughed. “You are still as beautiful as the day I first met you, mon amour.”

Aira always loved when his grandfather told love stories about him and his wife because that’s when his grandmother looked the happiest. Whenever Aira looked at his grandmother, she always had a sad look on her face. She looked so different from the photographs framed on the mantle. There was one photograph of her on stage in a sparkling dress looking vibrant and smiling as she sang to an audience.

Once Aira asked his grandmother about the photograph. She smiled as she explained that the photo was of her singing at her first concert. She had been so excited and nervous leading up to it, but her husband and friends gave her the confidence to get up on that stage and sing to the crowd. She was just one of many acts that night, but it felt to her that the crowd cheered for her the most as they called for an encore.

“What happened next? You became a famous singer, right?” Aira looked up at her with stars in his eyes.

His grandmother’s face fell a little.

“Mm, life isn’t as simple as that, Aira-chan,” she said, “I did a few more concerts and did many more gigs at various bars, but I couldn’t really get my foot in the door. Then I had your mother and got married, and there wasn’t really any time to be a singer anymore.”

“So you just gave up?”

“Life is full of sacrifices and unexpected things, Aira-chan. Some choices will stop you from following your original dreams and replace them with different ones. And sometimes you can’t fight destiny, even if it’s not the destiny you wanted. I left home to become a singer instead of a housewife with some man my father wanted me to marry, and yet I still found myself becoming one.”

Aira turned over his grandmother’s words in his head. “... Do you hate Grandpa because he kept you from following your dreams?”

His grandmother smiled as she knelt down and pulled Aira into her arms. “No, I still love him. Love is a complicated thing. I am sad and regret not following my original dream of becoming a singer, but I found new dreams. I now dream to have a happy life for my family and I. I love my husband, even when he gets on my nerves. He helped bring me out of my shell and gave me the strength to go on stage in the first place. I love my daughter and how she has found success and happiness where I couldn’t.”

She pressed a kiss to Aira’s head. “But most of all, I love you my little Aira-chan. My sweet darling grandchild, I want you to follow your dreams, but never discard your feelings to the side in search of reaching them. You may find along the way that the people supporting you will share your dreams and help you reach new ones you had never thought of before.”

To Aira, his grandparents experienced true love, but it was different than how it looked in the fairy tales. Aira could tell that they loved each other deeply, but it was a complicated love. A love where both sides had to give up something important to them for the other. His grandmother gave up her dreams and his grandfather gave up his home to stay with her. They were happy, but it wasn’t without sacrifices.

Aira watched his parents spend time together. They weren’t the type to talk about their love stories, but the few times they did, Aira listened with great interest. 

His parents met in college. They were in the same chemistry class (“Calculus class!” his mother would correct, “You are changing the details to make a joke!”) and sat next to each other, exchanging notes when the professor was being especially obtuse. After class they would get coffee and study together. They were in different majors, but both still enjoyed helping the other study for exams and check one another’s essays.

His mother was the most beautiful person on campus (“You liar, you were the ones with the looks between us,” she corrected again, “All the girls on campus kept trying to ask you out, despite your rejections.”) and so his father was constantly working hard to fight off her suitors in droves before he could work up the nerve to confess.

“It was so sweet, his confession,” his mother reminisced, “He invited me to get crepes after finals and confessed with a little love letter and everything like we were school children. It was cute.”

His father always blushed at that. “Well it’s not easy to say everything in my confession with a drop dead gorgeous woman in front of me. It’s a miracle I learned anything in that class with your smoking hot mother sitting next to me.”

“Based on your test scores, I don’t think you did.”

“And who’s fault is that for distracting me?” He saddled up close to his wife and pulled her close to kiss her silly. 

“Your own!” she cried between pearls of laughter, “Stop that!”

Aira would usually stick his tongue out and say “ew!”, but his father would just laugh it off. 

“One day you’ll find someone who you will love and who will love you just as much in return and you’ll understand this feeling, Aira,” his father said, “Someone who will make you feel butterflies with only a look, but also calms you down at the same time just by being in the same room. Love is full of extremes and feelings pulling you in opposite directions, but that’s the fun of it. Love is an experience.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Dad! Now stop being so close to Mom! You’re too close! That’s not allowed!”

“Too close? I think I can get closer before the modesty police come barreling through our door. What do you think, dear?” He leaned in closer to plant another kiss on her lips.

“Nooo!!!” screamed Aira as he covered his eyes.

Parents kissing was incredibly gross to their children, but even Aira couldn’t doubt the fact his parents loved each other. His parents weren’t the type to hold back from showing physical displays of affection whether to each other or to their son. Even when Aira started to drift away from his parents as he got older, his father would still ruffle his hair and his mother would give him a kiss from time to time. To Aira, it felt like those displays of physical affection were the most distinctive cultural aspect in his home from his even more affectionate French grandfather. And despite his protests, they were comforting in a way. Aira could feel the lack of their presence as he seeked out his parents less and less.

Aira sometimes wondered if his father was right that he would one day find someone who would love because in school it felt like he was only born to be hated. Elementary school was brutal and full of bullies, but middle school somehow hurt more. Suddenly, his appearance was no longer a source of disgust from fellow children poking fun at whatever doesn’t fit the norm. Instead, it was seen as a hidden beauty. He felt like the ugly duckling who had just realized he was actually a beautiful swan.

The other students stopped bullying him directly for his looks and girls started to look at him with new eyes. He received his first love letter and, excited about the idea of someone loving him, Aira said yes right away. Popular and with a new girlfriend to boot, Aira felt like life was finally going perfectly.

But that didn’t change the fact he was still an ugly duckling in his heart. Soon after spending time with his classmates, Aira found himself being detested again, but this time for his inner soul. 

His mother had warned and comforted Aira about people making fun of his looks. How they were just picking on what they don’t understand and how he shouldn’t take their words to heart since appearances weren’t what really mattered anyways. Anyone who really cared would judge a person based on their personality instead of their looks.

So what was Aira to do when it was his personality getting targeted? He thought he had finally made some friends for the first time, but they all threw him away as soon as they saw the Real Him. Aira always hated how people made assumptions about him. How they assumed he knew French or was less Japanese than the rest of them. If they knew the Real Him, they wouldn’t say things like that. But now people have found out about the Real Him, and they still hate him. 

Rumors that the French student was a weird idol freak spread quickly amongst the student body. Aira worried that the bullying would start up again, but it stayed quiet. His growing popularity was killed in its infancy, but people still didn’t directly target him anymore. Sure, he got passing remarks or painful comments dropped by others whether on purpose or not, but no one was seeking him out to torment him anymore. He became something less than hated– ignored. Something he would have begged to be a second years ago, but still stung nonetheless. His true self was so pathetic, he didn’t even deserve the attention that came from being hated.

“I must not be worthy of love then,” thought Aira to himself.

He found his only solace in his online friend, but even with them, Aira wondered if they would still like him if they knew him in real life. Aira thought hard about how it would ever be possible for someone to love a freak like him. 

He was watching one of his favorite idol’s livestreams when it hit him: If he became an idol, Aira could prove himself worthy of others’ love. He could bring a smile to people’s faces and be loved by tons of fans. He could succeed where his grandmother failed and become a singer like she dreamed of. And since no one would ever fall in love at first sight with him, he wouldn’t even need to worry about his dreams needing to change.

[rayslittlekitten]

Heart Eyes

“Dad Will” Masterlist

A/N: Quickly whipped this up while having writer's block for all my other WIPs. Funny that this was inspired by this BTS pic I saw of Guy Ritchie sitting on Charlie Hunnam's lap and Charlie was just looking at Guy like 😍. Not beta'd.

Rating: T

Word Count: 651

Pairing: Dad!Will "Ironhead" Miller & Teenage Daughter OC (Lucy)

Plot: Will learns how he's left an imprint on Lucy while comforting her.

Contains: banter, fluff, hurt/comfort

"So how was your day?" Will asks Lucy as he drives them home from picking her up from school.

"Ugh!" Lucy growls and tosses her phone into the cup holder in the console.

Will glances over at his daughter as he's driving.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I told Jax not to talk to me anymore but he keeps sliiiiiding into my DMs because I blocked his number," she huffs, crossing her arms.

While he is internally jumping for joy that his daughter is distancing herself from the boy he doesn't like, this isn't about his feelings. This is about Lucy's and he's genuinely curious as to why she doesn't want to talk to him anymore.

"Why do you not want to talk to him anymore?" His attention shifts between her and the road.

"Why does it matter?" she narrows her eyes at him. "You don't want me to talk to him anyways, right?"

"True, but I'm also curious what changed."

"You mean you're nosy." She rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me for taking interest in my daughter's life," he playfully jabs.

"That's exactly it! Jax doesn't really care about me or what's going on in my life. He just wants to make out and put his hands all over--"

"You've made out with Jax?" He turns to her with wide eyes.

"No! I said that's all he cares about! Are you even listening, dad? That's also what he doesn’t do. He doesn't listen," she goes on.

"Okay, sorry I assumed." He relaxes himself and chooses to believe his daughter isn't lying about having any sort of intimacy with Jax. The thought of them just holding hands makes his blood pressure rise. "Go on."

"He says he wants to hang out, which means find a place to be alone and mess around," she explains. 

Will restrains himself and bites his tongue. 

"I mean, I shoulda known he wasn't the one when I saw the way he looked at me."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't look at me the way you look at mom," she answers.

"I don’t understand,” he says.

"You are like, the real life heart eyes emoji whenever you look at mom."

"I am?" he asks, confused.

"And you don't care who's looking. Jax always picks on me or ignores me whenever his friends are around and only shows interest when we’re alone."

"Wait, how often are you and Jax alone?"

"I mean, I'm not expecting to marry my first boyfriend, but there's gotta be something there. Not just physical attraction," she says, ignoring Will's question.

"Since when did Jax become your boyfriend?" he looks over at Lucy with furrowed brows. "I thought he's just this boy you have a crush on."

"Dad, stay on topic!" Lucy huffs. "The point is, Jax is not boyfriend material, okay?"

"Okay," he agrees. He reminds himself again that this is about her, not him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Now I'm glad I kicked him in the balls," she states.

A chuckle slips from Will. 

"You know what would cheer you up? How about some chocolate chip cookies from Astrid's?" he suggests. "Your mom's also been craving their lemon poppyseed cake."

"See, you're so considerate and thoughtful. Jax can't even be bothered to remember my favorite band," she looks over at her father.

Will smiles to himself, taking pride that he's set an example of how she should be treated. He's always worried about her getting involved with the wrong person and probably will continue to all throughout her life, but after learning all this, he feels a bit more reassured.

”You will find the right person one day. I promise,” he reassures her as he pulls up to a red light. “And they would be so lucky to have you.” 

He reaches over to pinch her chin and she smiles at him.

“Thanks, dad.”

He shoots back an affectionate wink.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hey Cas ,

So i need some advice about a recent situation and last time I sent to you an ask you gave me wonderful advice.

So my older sister and my parents have never had the best relationship with each other but it seems like they have only gotten worse over time and when I was younger I didn't really see it but as I get older I see how bad it really is,anyway my older sister recently graduated high school and we were going to have a graduation party for her on a Sunday evening. She has never been the most like bubbly person but on the day of her party she was extra mopey and while we were getting the party ready she just kinda wandered around the house and it didn't really bother me but apparently it really bothered my parents and I could tell that it was getting on their nerves.So me and my two younger sisters (6 & 10) are upstairs just chilling in our room when we hear our parents yelling at my older sister and I didn't hear all of it but the gist of it was that she needed to cheer up and show that she appreciates the work we are all putting in to help with the party but they like yelled cuss words at her and she started crying at some point and they told her to get out of their kitchen and get some composure and I'm.not sure when but during therm screaming they told her not to be herself and I think that is terrible and me and my little sisters just kind of listened to it and my 10 yr old sister had to comfort the 6 yr old one while she was crying because I was to shocked. I've heard my parents say some pretty ugly things before but this was worse.

Then three days later on the ride back from the doctors office my dad asked me if I was ever upset about the fact that I'm adopted and I said no because it never really bothers me and he told me that it was okay if I am but it doesn't seem like that's true because of the way they are with my sisters issues with being adopted ( I think it might be abandonment issues) and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

So I also found out that apparently my mom told her friend about it and that makes me upset because it's not her friends business.

Then not only do they do that a few days ago my mom had me help her go through my older sisters room to see how much money my relatives sent her for college and when I tried to sort of hint at the fact that I thought that what she did was wrong by saying that I would be really angry and feel very violated she lectured me about how my older sister doesn't pay the bills and she would never have found out otherwise and she's only doing it because she is interested in my sisters life.

Ok sorry that was longer than I thought it would be but my question is am a bad sister for helping my mom and then not telling her what happened just because I don't want anymore conflict in the house and I think it really scares my younger sisters and I don't want them to have to deal with this but I also don't want to betray my older sister. I'm just feeling very torn because I can't protect everyone.

Thank you so much for your time sorry this is so long

❤, caught in the middle anon

Hi hon!

You are NOT a bad sister. Your mom is being kind of shitty for putting you in this position- SHE is the adult, and she should know better. Like...she shouldn't be encouraging you to go through your sister's things.

Remember, it's not your job to protect everyone. yes, you can be a good sibling and look out for your sisters, but you're not a parent! It's okay to do what is best for you- and if that's keeping the peace then that's fine! You aren't the one causing the problem here, you know? So please don't feel guilty for coping with it the best you can <3

[gamerbearmira]

Monster Girl Mirabel Au! Centaur day

Poor Mirabel, she didn't understand what she has done wrong to make her Abuela so upset. All she wanted is to show her that she has a gift like others but in the end it make Abuela shock and told her parent to lock her in the house. They had a huge fight because of her. The little girl don't want this to happened, all she can do is curled up in her nursery room and listening the argument her parent and Abuela.

The sound of argument had quite down, someone enter her room and it was her Mami. Mirabel want to hug her but due to her new body, she doesn't know how to walk. Gladly her mother understood and lower down to hug her daughter. "Mami, what did I do wrong?" Hearing sad question from her confused daughter make her heart ache. "No, mariposa. You didn't do anything wrong." Julieta tried her best to cheer her daughter up. "But Abuela don't like my gift and everyone afraid of me. Am I bad daughter?"

Julieta so sad seeing her daughter going to cry. "You're not bad daughter. Sometimes unexpected thing happen in life. All we can do is learn to accept thing like... I remember the day when we got our first gift and we tried to understand what happen and what should we do. Well... Sometimes things not as good as we thought but we still learning to accept." Even though Julieta tried her best to explain her daughter, this was the only thing she could say.

"What if I done something wrong or worse... Everyone see me like what Abuela see me." Julieta know what her daughter mean, she remember the expression of her family when they first time saw Mirabel form. She never forget the face of shock, fear, confusion and most of all, the way Abuela tell her and her husband that they had to lock Mirabel in the house in fear and disgusted. She doesn't want her daughter felt as what they see her as just like her brother Bruno.

"Mirabel, it doesn't matter what they see you. What matter is who you are not what you are. You're strong, kind and most of all despite everything you're still my mariposa I know" Julieta told as she hug her which make Mirabel much better. "So if I learned my gift will I make my family proud?" The word Mirabel ask make Julieta feel concern her daughter condition but keep smiling. "Yes, you will. How about we figure this together, it seems you can help carried something heavy and run faster than anyone could run. You want to try your gift." Mirabel nod agree ready to learn her gift with her mami.

NAURRRRR MIRABEL NOOOO :(((

But also YAYYYYYY. MONSTER GIRL MIRABEL CONTENT‼️‼️CENTAUR DAY‼️

Kudos to Julieta for being a. Great mom. Because what was Alma thinking. And Agustín of course, duh. BUT ANYWAY. Last thing Mirabel needs is to be locked in a room with no support. Like she can’t even walk, what hypothetical harm can she get into.

I LOVE THEM🚴‍♀️💨💨💨

[fandomsandshipping1]

Christmas/Holiday Story #2: Burnt out burn out.

Peggy had been on and off decorating her place, and the castle, ever since December started. As it got closer to Christmas, she started doing more, and more, and more. The clan got used to suddenly ducking out of her way as she came running past, box of decorations in hand, off to decorate another part of the castle.

Tonight they had set up yet another tree, this time in the library. They had been in there for a few hours without sprinting out to get more decorations. And that made Goliath think something was wrong.

"Peggy?" He asked, opening the door to the library. Sitting there by a plugged in, but turned off, Christmas tree, staring at a string of lights in their hands was Peggy, tears streaming down their cheeks.

"Gah! Why you just turn on?!" She shouted at the lights. "You're plugged in, you're all new, why! Won't! You! Turn! On!?" She groaned in frustration. Goliath walked over to his partner and set a hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps you should take a break?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No. Because if I go take a break, I will forget that I'm supposed to be dealing with this tree and the sTUPID LIGHTS!" They glared at the lights in their hands. Goliath sighed, then took the lights from Peggy and picked her up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to hold onto you until you agree to take a break." He told her. "You're stressing yourself out." Peggy pouted in her partner's arms.

"Fine..." She grumbled. "Cheater..." Goliath then carried Peggy over to an armchair and sat down with her. She sighed, leaning against him. "How do you manage to put up with me?"

"Because I love you." He told her, gently stroking her hair. She leaned against him more.

"... I'm sorry." Peggy muttered.

"For what?"

"For all the chaos and mayhem I've been causing."

"What chaos?" Goliath asked, causing Peggy to look up at him.

"You know, all the rushing and racing about like a chicken with 'er head cut off." They muttered.

"That's not chaos, Peggy. I have seen chaos before, I was around when the trio were pre teenagers." He told them. "Besides, it's nice to see you so excited and passionate about something." He added. Peggy sighed.

"Yeah... I guess so." She shrugged. "I'll admit, I'm not really doing this for myself." She stated, resettling a little.

"You're not?" Goliath asked.

"No, I'm doing this for my mom." Peggy admitted. "She always went all out for Christmas. I remember one year my father told her; "Marie, please don't go all out this year." And my mother replied; "Of course, Stephan, I'll just put some lights on the roof." And that turned into "Well, I'll just put a wreath on the door", which turned into "I should put some lights over the windows", and then the fence, and then a light up deer showed up in the yard, which turned into two deer, which turned into eight deer and a sleigh, and elves with gifts, and penguins on ice skates, and a Christmas tree that played music." She remarked, then lightly chuckled. "And my poor father, he looked at my mother and said; "Marie." He said; "Marie. You went all out again." And my mother only replied; "I know.", in the most cheerful little voice." She shook her head. "Despite all my father's complaining about the decorations, he always helped put them up and take them down. I think he loved it just as much as she did." She sighed. "If they lived around here, I'd be helping them decorate their house too."

"And you do this in their honor?"

"Well yeah, kind of. It's also kind of to keep the tradition alive." Peggy stated. Goliath thought for a second.

"Perhaps, if you're taking the role of your mother, then I can take the role of your father."

"Are you asking me to tone it down?" Peggy stuck their tongue out at Goliath, who chuckled.

"No. I'm offering to help." He replied. Peggy thought about it.

"Alright, you can help by figuring out why the darn lights won't come on." She replied.

(Tagging under the cut.)

@one-winged-dreams

@askthelovenest

[writtenbygen]

Why not

I’ve spent a lot of time and energy on all the reasons “why” he was perfect for me and why we should be together. So for in the future, when I inevitably idealize him again and feel like I should’ve given him more of a chance and maybe we’d be together, here are the reasons why we’re not.

I’ve been sure of him for almost a year. At which point he was fairly in and out. He knew he was a major confidant of mine, yet would often leave texts unanswered and cancel plans without rescheduling. I get it, he doesn’t feel well. But then when I stopped reaching out, going the entire summer without seeing each other and barely speaking at all. Never once checks in on me when I had confided all the problems I was having in the spring. 

Then he miraculously reappears in the fall. Doing a little better. He wants to see me. Then he wants to see me more regularly. He says “yes” to plans and we’re regularly part of each other’s lives. It gets to the point where I can expect to hear from him pretty often. Where he knows what’s going on in my life and I know what’s going on in his. I know he has doctor appointments on Tuesdays and therapy on Thursdays. He texts me to check in at 3pm on the dot when he knows that’s the time my stressful dentist appointment would be over. It starts to feel like a little more than friends. 

Then he drops off again.

Then I have a horrible tragedy—the death of one of the most important people in my life. I call him. Because everything feels so wrong. And I know when I’m with him, I feel like everything is a little more right. He’s there for me. He tells me to come over right away. That first night, I fell apart, and as horrible as it felt to be falling apart, it felt so right that it was his arms that I fell into. I felt safe and loved and at home. I said to him that I wished I could stop existing temporarily and he said “please don’t. I kinda like you.” He put his arm around me and he held me to his chest and I listened to his heartbeat. I told him I never wanted to move and he said I didn’t have to. We sat like that on more than one occasion, 3 separate days.

It was more than a friendship.

Over the coming weeks, he and that old couch in his basement and the little orange flicker of the fake candle underneath the lamp, became my safe place. That grounded me. Daily texts, checking in on me, reminding me he was there. He’s there for me in exactly every way I need him to be. He reaches out, responds, sees me whenever I need him. Comforts me, holds me, lets me cry, distracts me, includes me with his family and friends. He is perfect. He is the supportive partner I’ve always dreamed of. It feels like things are happening. 

Whenever I was feeling lost and alone and overwhelmed by my life, I remembered him. I could text him and he’d always respond. I could invite myself over and be there soon back in his comfort. And even when I couldn’t right away, I could think about it. Just the thought that he was there supporting me, cheering me on, and the thought that I’d see him soon, that he’d be there for me, was enough to get me through the worst days of my life.

He invited me to spend Christmas Day with his family. He invited me to New Year’s Eve with his friends. It felt like things were really “happening.” It definitely felt like more than friends. His mom said she thinks of me as part of the family. The New Year’s “party” was just his close guy friends from high school, and me. It felt like I was his plus-one. This was more than a friendship.

Then he dropped off again.

Daily texting turns into maybe a text or 2 every day or 2. It gets less and less frequent. Less and less interesting. When I ask how he is, I get vague answers. He claims he’s more absent because of his own issues. Maybe that’s true. He says he doesn’t want to talk and isn’t up to talking lately. Yet, he is also extremely hurt and offended that his stupid ex girlfriend won’t make time to talk to him. He wants to talk to HER. But not me. Not me, who he knows is counting on him. Not me, who he knows loves him and is there for him.

I don’t know if he’s spooked because he felt like things were happening with us. I don’t know if he doesn’t feel the same way or is just overwhelmed or is just hung up on his ex. I don’t know if it all really IS just because he’s sick and depressed. And honestly? It doesn’t even matter. I’m sick of not being a priority. I’m sick of him always coming first to me, and me only coming first to him when it’s convenient for him. He’s unreliable and inconsistent. He’s there only when he wants to be. He doesn’t communicate. He shuts me out. He pines for someone who couldn’t care less about him, and shuts me out when I clearly care so much for him.

This is a big case of: if he wanted to, he would. I don’t need to tell him how I feel about him. I can’t, even, because I haven’t seen him. I can’t see him, because he doesn’t want to see me. For almost a month now. But he knows how I feel. I’ve made it very, very obvious, and he’s LITERALLY a rocket scientist. He’s not stupid. He’s always been more observant and less oblivious than he acts. I’ve gotten my answer. No response is a response. I am done putting my life on hold for him. I deserve better than the scraps he throws at me.

In the wake of this, I feel absolutely wrecked by him. In the horribleness of the last couple months, he has been the straw that broke me. I feel absolutely shattered, heartbroken, and abandoned by him. Even though nothing ever “happened,” he can’t possibly have been so thick to not see at the very least that he was extremely important to me and was a huge reason why I wasn’t falling apart (in addition to it just being plain obvious, I actually told him this). He was there for me at my lowest and then gradually phased me out. What, as if I wouldn’t notice? The worst part is, I wasn’t even surprised. He got progressively more and more distant, like he always does. I thought this time would be different. Maybe it was. But he’s still him, and I half-expected that from the start. He’s not going to change. And this is what I’m going to get from him. I’m never going to come first to him. He’s never going to be open and communicate with me. He’s never going to be real with me. It’s always going to be one-sided. I’m just going to pathetically pine for him like he pines for his ex.

I cannot be broken by him one more time. I deserve better than to keep giving him chances thinking that it may turn out differently. I’m not going to give him the opportunity to crush me again.

I can now officially say, I saw this “relationship” through. I gave it a chance. It won’t work out. I see that it won’t work out. These are the reasons why. The reasons why I deserve better than him. There are so many things I love about him, but he makes it impossible and painful to love him. He would be perfect as a hypothetical. But he’s not hypothetical. He’s real, and he’s flawed, and he’s broken me time and time again. Whether or not it’s deliberate or malicious, he has. He’s not horrible, he’s not the worst person ever, but he’s also not as great as I’ve made him out to be in my head. When I put it this way, when I see who he really is and what he’s really done and take off the rose-colored glasses, I can finally see that. I’ve given him way too much power over me and my life. I need to break the cycle. I need to stop giving him chances to hurt me. Things are bad enough right now. The last thing I need is to feel crushed and gutted by my “friend.”

But love isn’t rational. Love doesn’t make any sense at all. Love is why, in spite of all the reasons why not, I still want him. I still love him.

[dreamingsushi]

Dance of the Phœnix - Episode 19

I don’t remember going as far in the series, so I wonder if Youtube has history of me looking at the Chinese subs to confirm my translations. I really don’t know, but oh well. So last episode, Zhao Ge got hurt because of Mu Yao’s scheme to bully her. Even though she’s punished, Feng Wu feels it’s not enough to make sure that Zhao Ge won’t be persecuted again and decides to go against Zuo Qingluan for the sword dance selection thingy. Even though she was planning on avoiding growing any feelins for Jun Linyuan, she ends up being helped by him to prepare for the selection.

Zuo Qingluan is really pissed at Mu Yao for hurting their sect’s reputation and Zhao Ge. Mu Yao is still jealous of Qingluan’s preference for Zhao Ge when she, on the other hand, keeps Qingluan at a distance. I was hoping for more backstory between Qingluan and Zaho Ge, but they didn’t feed us much more than what was given last episode.

Xuan Yi takes care of Zhao Ge. He’s also really pissed and promises her that Feng Wu will take revenge for her. Feng Wu is training really hard with Jun Linyuan towards that goal. Zhao Ge gets up because she wants to watch the competition and cheer for Feng Wu. She feels bad towards Zuo Qingluan because she’s herself not very skilled, her mom put all of her hopes for the sect on her talented senior sister instead. She must always win everything. She wants FEng Wu to win because has more meaning to her. Zuo Qingluan hears all of it. Xuan Yi encourages Zhao Ge to get better so she can improve her skills. Qingluan feels Feng Wu gets everything that should be hers. I actually fel bad for Qingluan. She doesn’t really have anyone by her side because she’s so skilled and has such a responsibility to perform well. It doesn’t give her any excuses to justify her poor choices, don’t get me wrong, but to some extent, she’s the pure product of what her master made her become.

Moment of truth. They aren’t allowed to hurt each other in this competition. Things aren’t looking so great for Feng Wu in my opinion, even though she improved by learning the technique Jun Linyuan taught her. But then Zuo Qingluan gets kind of poisoned on the hand she wears the phœnix blookd bangle and so she recognizes this as a technique from Jun Linyuan’s sect. Hence she goes harder against Feng Wu, releasing more power. I have no recollection of her making an iced phœnix. Anyways, that CGI isn’t really well done. The ice starts to propagate over Feng Wu, freezing her legs. It looks very fake. Qingluan says that back then, she should have killed her, basically but kind of in a nicer way.  She sends the iced phœnix over Feng Wu, but the coloured bird sends a fire phœnix from the ring to save her. Lots of suspense... Feng Wu off Zuo Qingluan’s ribbon from her arm and thus wins this challenge. But then, she notices the bracelet and it kind of calls to her, so she grabs Qingluan’s arm asking what it is. Feng Wu accuses her of having stolen her phœnix blood. Maybe that’s what the bird told her, I got distracted at that moment by my own handsome mister. Yu Mingye takes Feng Wu’s side, but then the empress arrives so she has to release Qingluan. Feng Wu asks the empress to reclaim her phœnix blood for her, but then the empress says she’s the one who gave that bracelet to Qingluan. So Feng Wu can’t argue any longer and in doing so accuse the empress. The boys are doubting Feng Wu, Zhao Ge also doesn’t believe Qingluan could have done something so bad. Only Yu Mingye fully believes her. So far.

Jun Linyuan actually believes Feng Wu, however he can’t really act freely in front of his stepmom. So he asks Feng Xun and Xuan Yi to investigate the matter for him. They promise to expose the truth.

Qingluan reports to the empress and asks for punishment since she failed to win. The empress brushes it off, she would rather like to see the bangle. Qingluan is reluctant to show it, but she ends up handing it over. The empress says that it is useless for someone to have it if it’s not compatible with them. However as long as Feng Wu doesn’t have it, it’s good enough, because as long as she doesn’t have it, she will never be accepted by the court as the consort princess. So she tells Qingluan to hold on the bangle and protect it. She is dismissed and as she leaves, her master is waiting outside for her. She takes the medicine the empress sent for Qingluan and scolds her for losing the competition, bringing dishonour on their sect. She’s not allowed anymore mistakes.

So it indeed was the bird that told Feng Wu about the phœnix blood. She feels disheartened because the empress protects Qingluan and she’s far too weak to be an opponent for the other girl. As she mops around, Jun Linyuan pays her a visit. At first, I thought she was inside the ring talking to the colourful bird, but he seems she wasn’t. Oooooh! It’s the place he took her to practice. The romantic dream like place. She’s mad because he doesn’t believe her. He says he does, but couldn’t say it in front of his stepmother before they gain some sort of proof. They can’t act rashly. He promises to be by her side forever and they look at the moon together. Cute. Almost.

The birthday celebration of the empress is finally there. Zhao Ge is now feeling much better and Xuan Yi gets closer to her before Feng Wu and Jun Linyuan’s performance. However, when the empress makes her entrance, she’s accompanied by Zuo Qingluan, which makes everyone wondering what is happening. Are we going to pronounce her as the Crown Prince’s fiancée? We’ll see. In any case, the emperor seems quite pleased. So far, I feel this character is really useless. He’s the big dude on top of everyone else, but he has no presence, doesn’t say anything very clever, doesn’t make any decisions. I don’t know. He would be almost even more useful sick in his bed, unconscious. Ah and of couse, Mu Yao’s beaming with joy because  Qingluan is favoured by the empress. As mean and narrow minded as she is, she makes me sad. Her idol, Zuo Qingluan, actually doesn’t care about her, but she still roots for her. I don’t think Qingluan is very nice to her disciple sisters. She’s rather only acting for appearances. It’s saddening to see how they all devote themselves for her, when she gives nothing true back in return.

Feng Wu and Jun Linyuan make their big entrance for the sword dance. Lots of close ups of their faces. I didn’t really need that, it doesn’t show any feelings or anything of the sort. They go into a demonstration of martial sword wielding of sorts. I think the stunt double for Feng Wu is actually male. I can’t quite confirm since they are wearing masks, but even so, it’s very obvious that they swapped the actors. I mean, it’s pretty rare to have actors do their own stunts, but you still have to make an effort so it doesn’t show too much. You can’t just slack because there’s a mask on their face... The performance is going well until something starts happening with the phœnix blood bangle. It pulls away Feng Wu’s mask as she’s standing on Jun Linyuan’s sword and she loses her balance. It doesn’t really make any sense to me. However, Jun Linyuan saves her from the fall, drops his mask and they keep going as if it was all planned. They wish a happy birthday (but more ceremonial) to the empress and go get changed. Then Madam Yan and her sister tell the emperor how she helped for Madam Yan’s delivery and that she’s the next head of the Feng family. The emperor asks if it isn’t the girl that was engaged to Jun Linyuan and the empress confirms it so. Then she motions Zuo Qingluan to come over to offer her present, some sort of very rare and expensive silk. They use that moment to plant the idea that she’s suitable for Jun Linyuan in the emperor’s mind. They’re likely about to bestow them to each other, but Jun Linyuan comes back right then with Feng Wu and he declares he has intentions of marrying her. That angers the emperor. As he walks towards them, he picks up the little book Feng Wu gave Jun Linyuan, with the drawings of him growing up. He seems to like it. He says that as long as she recovers her phœnix blood, he will allow her to marry his son. Jun Linyuan is overjoyed. Both the empress and Zuo Qingluan are really unhappy about this.

And that concludes this episode. I’m really confused about the story. One minute she’s in love with Jun Linyuan, the next she’s not, and then she is again. It’s lacking a bit of consistency for me. Hopefully it will get better? I think that what happens is that there is much more going on than they let on in the dramas and they perhaps edited out a lot from the novel? I don’t really know.