#amazed. obsessed. in awe.

[friendofoyster]

[cruelsummer-ficfest]

It’s not unexpected, but her statement still hits him like a punch in the gut. He doesn’t know how to make up for leaving either, or how long it will take, or even if she cares enough to let him try. He only knows he wants to. And if she wants that too, he’ll do whatever it takes to make things right again.

Submission #2 for the red/lover era of @cruelsummer-ficfest

Afterglow

-

I lived like an island

punished you with silence

-

Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves

Chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there's no us

-

It’s the silence, more than anything else, that tells Ron how thoroughly he fucked things up with Hermione.

Merlin, is there anything he wouldn’t give right now to hear her call him an arse for leaving? Or for one of those snide little comments she used to make when he was with Lavender last year, not directly to him but most certainly meant for his ears?

Hell, he’d take the birds right about now.

He deserves it—this and any other brand of punishment her heart desires along the road to forgiveness—and he knows this, and he’ll gladly suffer through it as long as there is light at the end of the tunnel. But as it stands between them currently, he’s staring into an inky black hole of a relationship without so much as a flicker of hope.

Ron doesn’t have a shift on watch tonight, but he’s not sleeping either, poring over strategy with Harry while Hermione sits outside. Harry ought to be sleeping, too, while he can, and he’s the only one Hermione admonishes when she comes inside and finds the two of them, glancing right past Ron as if he isn’t even there on the way to her bunk.

He’s tried his best over the past three weeks to maintain a normal rapport with her on his end, even though he’s gotten nothing in return. So when he casually states that he’s going out to sit with Harry and continue what they were working on, he’s sure he imagines the soft “don’t go” from Hermione’s direction.

But if he isn’t imagining it…

-

I'm the one who burned us down

But it's not what I meant

-

“What?”

Hermione rolls over with a huff and spits the words at him. “Don’t. Go.”

He takes a hesitant step towards her. “I—”

But before he can put together any sort of coherent response, Hermione continues, “It’s a simple enough request, Ron, or I thought it was when I said it the first time, before you left, and I don’t suppose you learned anything at all on your little sabbatical if you still don’t understand it.”

She flops back onto her other side, facing the tent wall and leaving far more room on the outside edge of the bed than was there just a moment ago. Plenty of room for a second person. Way too much to be accidental.

Surely she doesn’t…she couldn’t mean…

This is either going to be the best or worst decision he ever made.

Ron toes his shoes off beneath her bunk and carefully lifts the covers to slip underneath. He knows damn well she’s not sleeping yet, but she doesn’t make any acknowledgment of him climbing into bed with her. If this wasn’t the right answer, he’s fairly certain she would choose hexing him into oblivion over the silent treatment, so he assumes he’s on the right track. Now that he’s here, though, he’s not sure what to do next.

It takes him only a moment to notice that her shoulders are shaking with silent sobs, and the realization dissolves his lingering hesitation. He places his hand gently against her side, and when she doesn’t protest his touch, wraps his arm all the way around to pull her close.

Her hand finds his resting against her stomach, and she laces their fingers together. When she composes herself enough to speak, her words rip Ron’s heart in two. “You hurt me.”

He knows she’s sick of hearing I’m sorry, even though he is, and he’s not sure she’s ready for I love you, even though he does. So he snuggles closer, holds her tighter, and just says, “I know.”

-

I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you

I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you

-

He can’t say how much time passes—it might have been five minutes or an hour, he only knows it’s not long enough—before she untangles their hands and rolls to her back, staring up at the bunk above them with eyes that are now dry but bloodshot. The movement lands his hand on her hip and she doesn’t push him away so he leaves it.

Hermione gives a tiny shake of her head and bites her lip before she whispers, “I don’t know how we come back from this, Ron.”

It’s not unexpected, but her statement still hits him like a punch in the gut. He doesn’t know how to make up for leaving either, or how long it will take, or even if she cares enough to let him try. He only knows he wants to. And if she wants that too, he’ll do whatever it takes to make things right again.

“Do you want to, though?” Ron’s heart is nearly beating out of his chest as he watches her tug her bottom lip between her teeth again. “Do you want to get back to where we were?”

Never mind that where they were is a mysterious place that they had never really defined, and could just as easily have been best friends and nothing more as anything else. Just being friends with Hermione is never really going to be enough, but he’ll take that over nothing in a heartbeat.

“No,” she sighs. Her answer takes all the breath out of him, but before he has a chance to spiral, Hermione rotates again, turning to face him and bringing her body nearly flush with his. “Merlin’s pants, Ron, is that really all you want? To go back to the way things were?”

-

Tell me that you're still mine

Tell me that we'll be just fine

Even when I lose my mind

-

Tell me that it's not my fault

Tell me that I'm all you want

Even when I break your heart

-

The mood changes in an instant, and Ron can’t help but chuckle at the incredulous look on Hermione’s face. “No,” he admits. “That’s not all I want.”

“Okay. What do you want?”

“I think you know.”

“Do I?”

She quirks an eyebrow at him, making a good show at their old teasing repartee, but her trembling bottom lip gives away her real feelings. He sees the doubt in her eyes, built up over years of his denial; recognizes it because she’s done the same to him. But if he doesn’t tell her the truth now, there might not be another opportunity.

“Yeah.” His voice comes out a husky whisper, and drops further when Hermione shifts right up against him and brushes her fingertips against his stubbly cheek. “Yeah, I think you do.”

Their lips meet for one glorious second before Hermione’s hand is on his chest with a gentle push and she’s shaking her head again. “I can’t,” she says, and he feels both their hearts breaking with the words. “Not yet.”

It’s not what he wants to hear, of course, but at least not yet is the flicker of hope he needs to keep going. He can work with not yet.

“It’s okay. I get it. I’ll just—” He doesn’t get more than an inch away from her before she’s tugging at his jumper, rooting him to the spot.

“I know it’s not fair to ask, but…stay with me?”

She’s looking up at him with those big brown eyes, and honestly, he doesn’t know how he ever walked away from her, horcrux or no.

“Of course. Anything you want.”

We’ll get through this, Ron tells himself as they settle in for the night, Hermione curled up against his side like she was made to fit there. It’ll be okay.

When he wakes up in the morning to the orange glow of sunrise creeping through the canvas walls and Hermione still in his arms, he actually believes it.

-

This ultraviolet morning light below

Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh

-

It's all me, just don't go

Meet me in the afterglow

-

[unriding]

hi evie !! how have you been ? :33 i hope you dont mind me borrowing you and moze for something ehehe <3

[emeraldotter]

where am i

[bonefall]

My birthday was a couple days ago, and I got to see my bio dad for the first time in a while. He surprised me with the fact that I have a little half-sister, whom I've never met and who was adopted about two years back. So, I wondered if any situations in BB mimic this or have a theme of "secret siblings" or "secret family"? Sorry if this is a weird ask; this blog is honestly just such a cool little place and I love the way you approach the subject matter and take the flawed misogynistic foundation of the WC books and make them so much better (JUSTICE FOR BUMBLE!!!). I've also learned a lot about healthy and unhealthy relationships here and am really glad for your deep dives on Squilf and Bramble. Thanks, Bones!

Not weird at all! I really like exploring all the little nooks and crannies of complicated familial dynamics. I think one of the untapped strengths of WC (that the writers seem to be unaware of) is how their MASSIVE cast allows them to present all sorts of unique dynamics. So I like to pick up on it, since they don't.

For secret siblings...

I'm pretty heavily leaning towards Ambermoon being adopted by Wildfur, as a surrogacy. Something feels correct about it. Especially since Icecloud is getting retooled into a post-Battle of the True Eclipse birth, and a major supporting character in AVoS-era stories as a friend of Alderheart.

Thinking about it, I should zoom in and expand this. Maybe have Icecloud, somehow, acquire forbidden knowledge that would invalidate the Queen’s Rights and he (transman) struggles with if he's going to use it to expose his parents as an excuse to help Ambermoon.

(Especially since Ambermoon and Icecloud are basically nothing alike. Amber is independent, bold, and vain. Ice is jessie pinkman big-hearted, disorganized, and deceptively meek if you look past his "chill" demeanor)

But that's wip-- there's also Breezepelt and the Three, who are going to have an actual friendship. In particular I can't unsee Breeze and Lion having a deep one. I know I commit the Cardinal Sin of borderline himbo-ifying Lionblaze in BB, but I can't help it.

Hollyleaf ended up nabbing a bunch of his most violent roles to make her villainous descent smoother narratively, so BB!Lionblaze's story ends up being more focused on Ashfur's abuse, comic relief with cats in other Clans (something that the very serious Jay and Holly have a hard time providing), and the emotional fallout of the big reveal and Bramblestar's turn on them. Breezepelt slots neatly into that.

They were friends. Lionblaze's whole life came down around the reveal, everyone looking at him and his siblings differently, like they're suddenly something terrible. Why can't we find a silver lining, Breezepelt? Why can't we call ourselves brothers if the whole world is going to do it anyway? So much is changing, but THIS doesn't have to, we will take their weapon and turn it to armor, my ally, my friend, my brother.

(and when Breezepelt is lashing out at the three because of the Dark Forest's influence, Lionblaze is there, taking the blows and trying not to give in to the impulse to send him flying with a single paw)

There's also Harespring and Kestrelflight of WindClan and Owlclaw of ShadowClan. All of them are from a single litter between Whitewater and Mudclaw. She was going to raise the three of them alone as ShadowClan cats, but when the sire was smote, Whitewater felt they were cursed.

She was able to give the oldest two to their bio-uncle, Torear, but the weather was so bad that day and the runt was so sickly and small that it surely would have killed him. I don't think Owlclaw ever finds out why his mother always treated him with suspicion, but it did mess him up horribly.

Over in BB!DOTC, Thunder Storm is getting more half-siblings earlier. Clear Sky and Falling Feather had two daughters-- Pale Sky and Tiger Sky.

I want to explore the way that the various stages of Clear Sky's life acted on his kids. How any little curiosity Thunder Storm had about the life he might have had if he wasn't abandoned is crushed by seeing kittens who weren't. How Clear's favoritism of his oldest child set the trio against each other from the start. How this idea of "love" is toxic yet intoxicating.

It feels good to be the golden child. The power it gives you over his sycophants is satisfying. To know you, and you alone, have what someone else craves. Problem is, that's conditional, and it's cruel.

What Thunder Storm learns from his time with his biodad is that Clear Sky is not his father at all. He's taught him exactly what he DOESN'T want to be. There may be similarities-- in temperament, in physical prowess (though BB!Thunder is three-legged, he's still ripped), in taste and senses. But Thunder Storm's father is Shaded Flower.

(BB!Gray Wing died in the first book, rescuing Shaded Flower from being trampled by a horse. Xey're a patron of wisdom, Shaded Moss is taking the role of fatherhood to Thunder)

His sister is Rainswept Flower. His mom is Bright Storm. If there was a bond he could have had with Tiger Sky and Pale Sky, it dies simply and cruelly on the knife they used to cut each other out.

Pale might have wanted to mend it, she was the gentler one. But she dies in the First Battle along with her mother. Tiger Sky is too stubborn to accept any help, should Thunderstar offer it, and Thunderstar isn't in the business of begging for others to like him.

Naturally I'm lowkey obsessed with them lmao. I need to make a BB!DOTC overviewww

[asteracaea]

[uncanny-tranny]

I'm making good headway on the blanket I'm currently making, and look at this yellow!!

Right now, this is big enough to be a lap blanket, and it's so warm. You have got to crochet a blanket and let it drape over you, it's so cozy

[winepresswrath]

sick and twisted that Armand, the forever teenager, wanted Benji to grow up and leave him behind, nourished by all the money and opportunities Armand could give him. And then Marius was like "I know what will make Armand happy" and killed Benji, trapping him at what? 12 or so? And then. Armand leaves Benji behind.

[radiance-p]

Guys I'm so normal about 31 Minutos (I can't stop squealing at anything related to it)

[blujayonthewing]

hovering around my beloved husband anxiously trying to find the balance between 'I don't want to pressure you at all, let alone to do something that you might not want to do that also frankly might even be a waste of your time' and 'but everyone else who's ever mentioned this thing at all looooves it sooOOOooo much and I KNOW you'll have similar opinions to mine and if you also go here I'll finally have someone else to talk to about My Problems With It'

[reaperkaneki]

yaaaaaay jrpg has multiple characters that are explicitly gay!!!! :)))

noooooo half of them are super mega evil :((( oh well

[tarn-ati0n]

(Click for better quality)

Taking a lil break from my Spooktober drawings with a quick Pomni because I finally gave into temptation and watched the tadc Pilot.

[hwashotcheeto]

So I'm a big Resident Evil fan, and I've been replaying RE 8 lately, but in VR.

And while I was playing, I obv started simping for Lady D, tall vampire mommy (and you don't realize how tall she truly is until she's right in front of you. Seriously, I don't even come up to her waist, she's so tall).

And if yk me, yk I have a Mommy kink (but I think a lot of simps call her Mommy anyway), and so yk, I was calling her that and I said "We're going to see Mother. Not Seonghwa, unfortunately."

But just with that, I've created an image in my head, and now all of you are going to see it too.

Do with that what you will.

Good night. 💜

[j00stkl31n]

Having more fucked up realizations about my last relationship yay!!

[digitaldiseas3]

hm 😀

[triona-tribblescore]

STOPPP OH MY GOD- IM- IM ON THE FLOOR

LOOK AT THE COLOURS!!! THE VIBES!!! THE POSES OMG THEY ARE SO HHAPPY IM SOBBING HBDBAJDB

Hi!!! I decided I wanted to try @triona-tribblescore's DTIYS, I really like the AU too, so it was a blast!! :D

ALSO TRIONA YOUR USAGI IS AMAZING HE'S SO SILLY AND I WANT TO EAT YOUR ART /POS