#it's only 8 but i'm so tired 😂

[shadowskulls-blog]

Yk given how tall carmilla carmine is why do I imagine a 4’10 reader being either bratty or just annoying carmilla *they just have gremlin energy* or her being protective of them and don’t want them to get hurt and the only way she can handle r is by putting on a high place and can’t get down *the top of the fridge/kitchen cabinet is offically r’s spot*

😂😂😂 and the funniest thing is I am that height and I can see her just having a “I’m done” expression and just put someone there and walk away winning the argument

Sup, I'm back and now have motivation again, and I was scrolling through my inbox and found this, and I wanted to answer it, but instead of doing a story, I'm gonna give headcanons instead. I've never written headcannons, but I read them a lot, so yeah.

Carmilla Carmine x Short Reader (headcannons)

(Sfw) and (Nsfw) headcannons

One thing is for sure the reader has gremlin energy. Being this small and rather full of energy person. Carmilla loves it. It brings her spirits up every time you come by and make jokes

I don't know her cannon height, but I'd imagine it's in the 8 foot scale. Because tall women are very sexy. So she'd definitely pick you up from time to time. Not a whole lot, but sometimes.

Half the times when she does is to either put you on the fridge or a high place to calm you down or when you're being annoying.

Annoying in the sense where you couldn't stop making sex jokes, so she put you up there so she didn't get too distracted from her work or you two were arguing.

I can only imagine the reader going, "wha- Cammy! What you doing?! Carmilla! You can't leave me up here! Carmilla, please! Come back!" While trying not to fall off the fridge so you didn't break something.

And the entire time Carmilla just has the most "I'm done" expression while placing you up there and walking out of the room

And I can only imagine that 40% of time, Carmilla forgets she put you up there and Clara or Odette walk in to grab a drink and you're just up there, having the most scared or tired look on your face and going

"Please, get your mom so she can get me down, and so we can go to bed"

Being very small. Carmilla would be very protective. Making sure you were close by her at all times and also making sure you were with her. While also making sure to be gentle with you. But she also gives you angelic guns to protect yourself.

Lord knows you're deadly with a gun

While you two are in bed, she will always have you wrapped in her arms, her giant hands making it feel like you're wrapped in a cacoon, or it either looks like a koala hugging a tree. You don't even need a blanket because you'll always be wrapped around Carmilla

(Nsfw)

While having sex Carmilla will try her best to be gentle, but it fails most of the time. Sometimes, she'll go too hard or accidentally scratch you a bit.

Carmilla is most definitely a top, but you have to be the top most of the time. Because if you don't, I can only imagine the after shock. But, Carmilla is also a power bottom.

Either way, you're getting railed every time.

The reader is definitely a scratcher. So Carmilla's back or anywhere the reader was grabbing is probably scratched a bit.

(I like physical touch a lot, and that's the only thing you're getting about me)

So the reader is a hugger a bunch, hugging Carmilla's legs, body, neck. You just like wrapping your arms around her, honestly like me

The aftercare is her being very gentle while holding you close. Most of the time, you both will fall asleep right after, holding each other or take a bath together.

So yeah, I don't know how to do headcannons since I've never written for them. Overall I just say what I want to and don't give two fucks. I'm just here to supply thristy bastards like myself.

So, I hope that was a good first try. Also, again, I am so very sorry for not posting. Life just likes to fucks me over but, it does for everyone so this is the last time I'll bitch about my life

[bobosbillionsknives]

(not shipping content)

It's one of my biggest headcanons ever that Vash does NOOOT like his birthday dude I just can't believe it...Knives however. Biggest birthday enjoyer ever. He is the special birthday boy. 🤗🤗🤗

Knives usually leaves Vash alone but Vash KNOWS Knives is going to make an effort to show up on their birthday and it stresses him out so bad. Especially if the July incident was on their birthday...that would leave horrible memories for him. 😭 Not to mention how painful remembering his first birthday with Rem would be. Plus Knives would act so bitchy about it like wooow dont even want to see your own brother on your birthday wow. I get it I'm just the worst ever ..🥀 Vash would be so over it.

I feel so strongly that Vash is the introvert while Knives is the extrovert. Knives self isolates out of fear and disgust of humans but he secretly thrives while talking to others. Especially if they have strong opinions he can argue against (definitely a debate bro). If Knives had a normal childhood he would've loved big crowds, he has absolutely no social awareness or shame . Or filter. He'd talk to anyone who'd listen. Knives drives himself absolutely insane with his own isolation. All he really wants is social connection, something he's convinced himself is impossible with humans. That's why he's so fixated on getting Vash to stay, he feels Vash is the only person he can actually talk to. Vash on the other hand, would do anything for 5 minutes alone. He is constantly pushing away Milly, Meryl, and even Wolfwood. He cannot let anyone know him beyond his silly guy persona. He especially doesn't like being celebrated (doesn't think he deserves it. 😂😂😂) He is constantly trying to skip out on the parties towns people throw for him, leaving without saying goodbye. (He does like getting drunk tho...makes talking easier) He'd never EVER share his birthday with anyone. Especially not Wolfwood or the girls. Knives however, would tell EVERYONE !!! (like how the entire Gung Ho Gun knew Knives had a brother, but Meryl had no idea Vash did. I think Knives loves talking about himself and his tragic past, painting himself as the forever victim to absolutely anyone who'd listen. To Vashes absolute horror 😭.) Vash is constantly drained from forcing himself to perform socially. He loves people and talking to them but he just needs like. 8 hours of alone time to properly function. That's why he gets so bitchy with everyone sometimes lol. She just needs a naaaaap omg 🤦‍♂️. But he feels guilty for being snippy and tired so he'll force himself to be social anyway. Which makes it worse. Love hiiim !!!! 😍 Either way they're both hurting themselves when they behave like this.

Knives is definitely the yapper while Vash just listens. I feel like Vash would appreciate not having that pressure to constantly respond. Even if Knives can be overbearing, I do think they enjoy each other's company. When they aren't... trying to murder each other. Nobody knows him like Knives does, it would almost be relieving not having to pretend to be happy all the time. He can perfectly morally justify being as mean to Knives as he wants to be !! And he wouldn't admit it, but he does enjoy listening to Knives complain about nothing. He thinks it's funny. Knives is just happy to be with someone he's deemed worthy of his time. He views Vash as his equal, someone he actually trusts to confide in. They are the opposite and also the same in every way life is so beautiful I love these guys.

It would also just be such a cute subversion of audience expectation if Knives, the self proclaimed people hater, was a people person. I think that's sooo interesting and makes so much sense with the context of his desperation for the approval of humans when he was a child. I think kid Knives would've tried to argue that celebrating something everyone goes through is pointless, but would love all the attention anyway. Even be a bit resentful that it was Vashes birthday too if he didn't seem to appreciate the attention as much. As he got older hed mellow out and warm up to the idea of having a birthday and sharing it. Mostly as an excuse to talk to Vash and make everything about himself again. Lol. Plus I think he likes organizing parties. His dream is to have that sweet 16 fantasy the humans in the old world used to have. He actually wants to be normal is the thing. They both do.

[accio-victuuri]

(8) cql shoot “fake” moments 📼

i am picking certain contributions in this round up made by 泡沫爱恋的晴空. there are different candies in the linked source but this post i’m making are stuff that supposedly happened during filming. if like me, and stories like this are your weakness, then you will enjoy it. maybe you’ve read some of these before or not — even saw some play out in unofficial bts.

1.) My favorite and i wanted an excuse to add an edited clip of GG singing. 🎵🎶 this may not be the actual scenario described in the fake story but fans are speculating it is.

DD's assistant would also bring DD green tea at first, but later she only brought boiled water because he wouldn't drink it. There was a quarrel between the two, gg held the green tea and drank it by himself, while dd stood by and watched Bichen. GG ignored him. dd said, "I'm thirsty.” The assistant thought that dd would be embarrassed to ask gg for green tea, so she took a cup and gave it to him. dd said it’s not green tea, gg didn’t even look at him, and dd said angrily that I don’t want to drink any more.

It's going to be swollen, and it's very embarrassing with dd's assistant next to me (xql quarrel can't help much) , gg just said that they brought it out to you and you didn’t drink it. DD was so angry that he didn’t say anything.

GG gave him the green tea and asked dd's assistant for a drink from dd's water cup. He was very helpless and said that green tea has a grudge against you. He keeps an eye on Green Tea Balabala every day. dd drank half a cup of green tea in one breath. When gg took it, he was shocked. Web, you are poisonous, you won’t give me some. dd said you drink water, zg you won't be swollen. Then the two of them reconciled inexplicably. After gg was called by the director after the show, dd asked the assistant for water. Even if I drink it, I won’t be afraid of swelling. I don’t know and I don’t dare to ask.

I tried my best to rephrase some of the words for it to make more sense but i hope you all get the gist of it. So it’s all about a quarrel they had and reconciling because of green tea. Do friends even do this kind of shit? lol. No. I’m serious. The way they fight and make up — you would think they are high school sweethearts or something. The video shared points to the time they were fighting and ignoring each other. Look at WYB completely ignoring GG while singing — and how GG was glancing at him, looking at his expression. I always thought this scene was sweet cause GG was singing that beautiful love song, now i’m seeing it in a different way. Still sweet of course, but with some edge to it. 🤍🔪

2.) The two are talking about the pokemon character grumpig, this was used by the OP as a starting point to the story but the main point is as follows: There is really too much "trash talk" between them, it's terrifying, and no one else can get in, they just understand it, and if they talk about it, they probably don't need to cut out the highlights.

LOL. There are bts content that will never see the light of day between these two because it’s either too sweet or too savage 😂😂😂😂

3.) When I was on the set before, Xiao laoshi would occasionally pout. I don’t know, maybe it was a subconscious action when he was relaxed. Then Lao Wang would say that Xiao laoshi is so cute and pout, and he would say it every time as a fake. If Xiao laoshi is tired, he will be ignored. If he is not tired, he will say something back to him.

One time I saw Teacher Xiao pouting and he took advantage of it! I drew an ugly picture, look at the picture:

Like this, do you understand? Anyway, after pouting, you put your fingers under his lips and then move them up.

4.) One day there was a scratch on the back of his hand. He said team member asked if it was scratched by someone. He said it was not, pointing to a shallow mark — and said this was scratched by him before.

If there are really scratches on the back of my hand when it is broadcast, I am confused and I don’t know anything.

*** i think this pertains to scratches in WYB’s arms lol. we think it’s jianguo but it could be from someone else 😂😂😂

5.) This next one are bits shared by an OP who allegedly met the boys for the first time a year ago, and we were extremely busy. Allegedly this OP is someone who worked with them during CQL promotions. They said that they didn’t know anything about internal entertainment: I just felt that one person who came was not worldly, and the other person was electric. Now I sincerely wish to be with you, and always listen to my heart.

• One is reserved and mature, the other is childish.

• The venue is large, the air outlet temperature of the stage is low, and all has thick coats and it’s bitingly cold. He silently took off his coat and forced the other party to put it on. He breathed silently into his hand, held the microphone to warm it, and exchanged words. To use your description, it means there are stars in my eyes.

• There are a few lines that we hum along while waiting for the venue. It was vaguely him who taught him. I just remember that he sang a line, and my fingertips were moved by the feeling of midsummer.

• His hands were turning the pair of rings intentionally or unintentionally, taking them off, putting them on, and taking them off again. I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye. As they passed by, they kissed each other.

• After the curtain call, accompanied by the deafening song and shouting, a faint sound drifted through my ears several times “Life comes and goes again... I'll be by your side”

AHHHHHH THAT’S ALL IM GONNA SAY. No wonder a lot of people who worked during CQL or interacted with them became cpfs. 👀

6.) Because two people sleep together during ttysj, the younger one is more accustomed to it, and is not so scared anymore. Later, the younger one went out to film a drama alone and slept by himself at night. He was a little scared and not used to it, so he asked Brother Zhan to call him and sing "Bao" "Baby", "My precious baby, let me give you some sweets so that you can sleep well tonight." Then the younger one will not be afraid to sleep well.

this is the song, allegedly, i mean. come on. i wanna fight yibo 😤😤😤 to have xiao zhan sing you to sleep whenever you want to!!!!!

7.) Not necessarily an incident that happened while filming CQL, but during that era in 2018. Most likely from their Bazaar shoot, there is a video of this too, ZZ playing with a dog.

One time when the two of them got together, there was a staff member backstage who brought a puppy to xx and when he was holding the puppy, the puppy licked xx. The person standing next to him looked at the puppy with cold hatred. The staff member was right. Ask xxx, do you want me to lick you too??? No more follow-up, I have other things to do and I'm going out....Don't believe it's fake...

YIBO 😂😂😂😂 I added it here cause it’s so funny! He is even jealous of a puppy!!!! my favorite is how ZZ notices it too, that means he is attuned to WYB’s emotions.

8.) Guizhou has beautiful natural scenery, but the mountain roads are rugged and there are many insects.There are many people. If you want to see the waterfalls during the wet season, you have to hike. After walking for nearly forty minutes with one foot deep and one foot shallow, I happened to hear the sound of water and called out xxx, do you have a wish? When you see the waterfall and you want your wish to come true, close your eyes. It’s fake, don’t believe it.

OP here was talking about what the two of them couldn’t agree on during this interview p1. to those familiar with it, you know what i’m talking about. One was saying there is a waterfall in Guizhou, then the other said there is but they didn’t go. We know that when stuff like this happens, one of them is covering something up. In this case it’s GG.

The fake rumor explains that they did go, WYB asking XZ to close his eyes for a wish was a scheme for him to kiss XZ ( p2 ). He is right tho, if XZ’s wish was WYB, then if he closes his eyes and WYB kisses him— his wish will come true.

I CAN’T. 🥹🥹🥹🥹

WANG YIBO IS SO SMOOTH. 😤😤😤

-END.

[grizouille]

Summary of the panel with Jeff and Taz

(@pure-jeff-ward if you're interested)

1-"what the devil fruit taste like?" According to Jeff, a devil fruit tastes like watermelon and chocolate

2 - "what's changed in your life since One Piece? " (as far as I understood) Taz told Jeff changed his life. And Jeff is impressed by Taz's dedication concerning his training, joking about the fact that he was kinda jealous that Taz was muscled compared to him but mostly he admires Taz. He's happy to be him friends with him. Afterwards Taz hugged him. (So cute!)

3-Their favorite scene of One Piece(series) is the last battle scene with Sanji and Zoro. Jeff joked about Buggy not fighting, saying "it's really hard to train to disassemble your body and all, I can't do that now because I'm tired" and Taz was in fits!

4- favorite music :Jeff loves hip hop and apparently rap and Taz likes all kind of music except techno. He likes when there is a beginning and an end to a song, songs that are constructed. (for example, he was playing Blink-182 on his phone while signing autographs and AC/DC during the photo ops)

5- favorite anime: Jeff likes Ghibli movies ("my neighbor totoro" and "spirited away") and Cowboy Bebop if I got it well, Taz likes Trygun currently.

6- favorite memory of the set: Taz loved explosions in the water. He was afraid because he was resting in his tent, so got out like "what's happening?" but then found it funny and amazing. Jeff talked about winning against Iñaki on FIFA (He said "destroying his ego" or something in the same vein. )

7-favorite character from One Piece who's not in the show yet: Jeff has chosen Trafalgar Law right away because he really likes his power. Taz wants to meet Sanji's dad and brothers, wondering what height they'd be. (On that point Jeff teased him for minutes after saying "they could be this size.... Or this size.. So funny!)

8- "if your character ordered food what would it be?" Buggy would order something and send it back, even if it's what he ordered, screaming and breaking everything around just for the fun of it. Sanji would order/make tart, he does this for very special people only.

9-Taz loves doing salads on set but the guys aren't keen on it. So he makes dishes in which he uses butter and salt for everybody to like it. Jeff added"that made me fall in love with him" 😂😂😂

10- "If you were in Avatar the last Airbender, which element would you like to bend?" : Taz said fire and Jeff said he'd like to bend all of them, like Hang

11-the last question was for Taz. "how do you deal with injuries?" Jeff said he ignores them lol but Taz said it was not wrong because "if it hurts nevermind." Yet, he uses ice bags if it hurts too much. He added that one day he was so hurt he called his dad and was shouting on the phone like he was dying lol.

[scarlet-fantasies]

Living/Moving in with Zeke Hcs

::Description::

You move in with Zeke. what it's like/dealing with him/chaos.

::𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:: nsfw???

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡

𝐼𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛

𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛 --> 𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑡-𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑠 // 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑙, 𝑟𝑒𝑢𝑠𝑒, 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠. 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒. // 2021-𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔑 He asked you to move in, honestly he was waiting for you to just say yes.

🔑 He was so excited when you finally considered it. Literally tackled you to the floor in pure joy.

🔑 “Now I can have a roomie!”

🔑 “Zeke, I’m your girlfriend.”

🔑 “Girlfriend and roomie.” He’d say teasingly.

🔑 Now you can expect pancakes from him as he likes making breakfast since he believes it’s the most important meal of the day.

🔑 And you can best believe he puts blueberries in it.

🔑 You two have a debate about waffles or pancakes and it just never ends.

🔑 “Waffles are better because they have a crisp edge, plus you can divide them evenly.” You’d point out.

🔑 “Pancakes are soft and crispy on ed ages and they don’t need to respect math bc why would anyone share anything so good?!”

🔑 “Zeke, you’re being really dramatic.”

🔑 Likes to cook actually so you could find him in apron when you get home sometimes. And he's incredibly focused when he is cooking, dare you interrupt.

🔑 He’s even a bit of a barista and prefers he does it because he doesn’t trust you.

🔑 During breakfast, he sits across from you and he sparks up the weirdest convos.

🔑 Like whether you're his best friend or girlfriend it doesn’t matter to him 😂. I’ll provide and example or two:

🔑 “Is there a reason why your underwear is always mismatching?”

🔑 “Zeke, what kind of a question is that?”

🔑 “It’s just a question, I’ve never known a girl who did that until living with you.”

🔑 “How do you even know that?!—wait, you went through my drawer! You perv!” You’d get up about to hit him on his shoulder. (Not that it was painful)

🔑 “I didn’t I was just doing your laundry.”

🔑 “Why?”

🔑 “Because you were sick and I asked and you said I could. Remember?”

🔑 “That was a month ago why are you bringing it up?!”

🔑 “Because I’m curious! Why do you have mismatched underwear?”

🔑 “I don’t know, I just do.”

🔑 “Hmm I wonder what that says about a person, it sounds like you're still a kid at heart Y/n. I mean to own a pink bra but flower underwear that’s blue it’s obvious.”

🔑 “Shut up! Stop talking about my underwear! I’m moving out.”

🔑 You always say you’re moving out and he gets so dramatic about it.

🔑 “But why do you want to leave? I take care of you?!😭🥹 and what am I going to do without my girl”

🔑 “Hm, maybe that’ll teach you to not look at my underwear drawer.”

🔑 “I’ll only look at it a few times a year, I promise.”

🔑 “A few times a year, Zeke this is not negotiable.”

🔑 Overall you don’t ever actually leave.

🔑 He always gives you puppy dog eyes when you try to leave and it kinda works. Although you always stay because you care, but sometimes you like to mess with him.

🔑 In the morning he sometimes wakes up early for a morning jog/run and so he leaves you sticky notes on the fridge that let you know where he is and that he loves you. He even puts other notes like where food is or anything important.

🔑 Sometimes he has you tag along to jog with him, so yes he hauls you out of bed even when you’re half asleep.

🔑 “Hey, keep up.” He’d say looking find you a little far away because you’re walking slow.

🔑 “I can’t I'm so tired. Why do we have to jog so early?”

🔑 “It’s 8:30, it’s not that early..”

🔑 “To me it is, it was my day off couldn’t I just sleep?”

🔑 “Yeah, but this is good for us.” He’d say jogging slower so that you could catch up.

🔑 “Good for us? I can’t even walk anymore. How can you still jog?”

🔑 “Stamina baby, something you lack in more ways than one.” He’d smirk.

🔑 “Shut up!”

🔑 At some point, he’d probably just give you a piggyback ride because you told him you were giving up.

🔑 I feel like he always sets up baths for you and he has so many bath bombs for you to chose from.

🔑 And probably has so many bath and body work lotions for you. Even for himself

🔑 And he puts candles and stuff there too.

🔑 Afterwords when you’re done showering he likes to massage your back and he’s pretty good at it.

🔑 Although you’re trying to not make any noise at the same time.

🔑 He likes to play board or card games with you.

🔑 And he gets so nerdy about games, especially the wizard ones lol.

🔑 He makes an arrangement for there to be a movie night every week. It mostly consists of mystery, horror and sci-fi, and a bit of philosophy.

🔑 Zeke likes making art so if you share the same interests you two sometimes make art on the weekends and enjoy doing that together.

🔑 When you come back from the store you challenge each other of who can carry more groceries. Or even when you come back from somewhere he races you to the house.

🔑 And you know damn well he’ll push you just to win.

🔑 He plays I Spy with you in the car.

🔑 “I spy with my little eyes something blue.” He’d say.

🔑 “The sky” you’d sarcastically answer.

🔑 “You are no fun.” He'd scoff, acting offended.

🔑 "Okay, my turn. I spy something green." You'd answer, bored out of your mind.

🔑 "Hmm, my eyes?" He'd ask.

🔑 "No, its the grass." You'd reply looking out the window.

🔑 "You're not supposed to tell me the answer"

🔑 "Sorry, you picked something easy so I thought I would pick something easy to." You'd shrug.

🔑 "Find I'll make it harder, I spy something red." He'd say with a mischvious grin.

🔑 "Why are you smiling like that?" You'd break out into a laugh, knowing he's up to something.

🔑 "Guess what it is."

🔑 "No, I don't--it better not be my bra." You'd say surprised

🔑 He'd look at you with a smirk before keeping his eyes on the road.

🔑 "Zeke!"

🔑 When you two are driving he will call shotgun and make you drive. He changes the song that you have on just to annoy you.

🔑 “Hey!” You’d look at him while he’s just laughing.

🔑 This causes you to change it back, kinda like in those movies when two people fight about a song.

🔑 Smokes outside the place bc you’d throw a fit at him for doing it elsewhere.

🔑 Likes to work on puzzles and crosswords for fun.

🔑 He even likes those brain teaser games.

🔑 In his spare time, you can find him doing that or he’s reading a book about useless knowledge.

🔑 I see that Zeke is able to paint really well so some of his works are up in your shared place.

🔑 Apart from this he is pretty fair and splits all work with you 50/50

🔑 Like he will do the laundry, he low key makes jokes saying that he enjoys it.

🔑 “I love doing your laundry.”

🔑 “No, you don’t.”

🔑 He’ll do anything he doesn’t mind.

🔑 Will drink with you to celebrate on occasion.

🔑 One thing he looks forward to when comes home from work is sitting down with you and watching a movie or having you listen to him go on about his theories while lying on your bed.

🔑 He likes doing skincare routines with you and talking about drama from work.

🔑 He'd even do things like read fortunes on cards. Or just read random facts and share them with you.

🔑 Or ask random questions.

🔑 He does this even when you both are going to bed.

🔑 You'll be resting trying to go to bed and he'll ask, "Can cows swim?" like that one meme, lol.

🔑 "Zeke, no of course not." You'd say, turning over on your side.

🔑 You'd end up looking it up with him 5 mins later tho.

🔑 likes to also do stretches before going to bed and will invite you to do it.

🔑 of course that can always lead in one of two ways. But for sure at one point his hands are going to be all over.

🔑 "You concentrate on your breathing." He'd point out.

🔑 "I would, if your hands would know their place." You'd laugh.

🔑 He tries to smoke after you two have had sex and you always catch him.

🔑 “Nah uh mister, outside.”

🔑 “I was trying to be the hot guy in those movies.” He’d defend making you roll your eyes and laugh.

🔑 “Uh huh, says that guy who tries to mimic poses of Renaissance paintings.”

🔑 “I’m flawless.”

🔑 You’d laugh, “Go outside, and come back when you're done.” You’d smile bringing him in for a kiss.

@sp00ksic0la @bubs-world

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[wardenparker]

The Viper's Bride - ch 15

Oberyn Martell x female reader x Ellaria Sand x OC Co-written with @absurdthirst

The second Prince of Dorne has lived under the illusion that he would not be forced to wed for his entire life. He has enough lovers and illegitimate children to make him a legend across Westeros, and the love of his soulmate Ellaria Sand to content him. But a contract between his brother and a lord from the north will catapult him into a match that may prove to be as complicated as it is intriguing. Especially when he learns that you already have a soulmate of your own.

Rating: Mature, but as always this blog is 18+ Word Count: 11.4k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series: terrible parents, age gap 10+ years, arranged marriage, classicism, cursing, food and alcohol, internalized homophobia. Reader is described as having hair long enough to braid. This is a MMFFF polycule, folx. Get on board or don't click to keep reading. Pregnancy!* Talk of previous grievances, incest reference (Lannisters gonna Lannister), blink and you'll miss it mention of homelessness. As always, there is sexy talk. It is Oberyn, after all. Summary: The day before Oberyn is to represent Tyrion in the Trial by Combat, your extended and elaborate family comes together to celebrate in anticipation of the fight. Notes: First up, I'm working extra shifts and even though it's my dream job I'm tired y'all 😂 so sorry for any errors I missed. But also! We're almost at the end here, folx! We'll have one more chapter after this and then the epilogue. Thank you all so much for sticking around to watch this polycule grow!

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4 ~ Ch 5 ~ Ch 6 ~ Ch 7 ~ Ch 8 ~ Ch 9 ~ Ch 10 ~ Ch 11 ~ Ch 12 ~ Ch 13 ~ Ch 14

It is three days before the Mountain arrives in King’s Landing. The Trial by Combat had been announced throughout the capital on the day it was agreed and the days since had been dedicated to the building of a great arena for the event. Every noble in the keep thought of it as no more than sport — every noble except the members of your party and Tyrion Lannister himself, who all had far more at stake. For the group of you, the days of anticipation have been agony.

“They are simply playing a game.” Oberyn hisses, standing in nothing but his breeches as he sharpens the spear he wishes to take into the ring. He’s already discarded several, broken in training, though he is now resting until the time where he faces Gregor. “Wishing to gain the upper hand by delaying, thinking I will become impatient.” He scoffs. “As if I have not waited years for this.”

“They have no idea of your true determination, lover.” Ellaria has seen so many shades and versions of this need for revenge that no part of it could surprise her anymore. She knows it could have been the singular focus that drive him mad, and that it is oddly fortunate that he escaped that fate.

“They do not know me or the Dornish need for justice.” He muses grimly. “They will discover it, publicly.”

“And then we will be rid of this place.” You have Margaery’s hand in yours as the two of you sit on the nearby chaise together, and you squeeze it gently in your fingers. It has only been a few days but the news of her marriage to the new Dornish lord had caused an outpouring of sentiment against her family and her specifically. Thankfully, Olenna Tyrell seemed more amused by it than anything and promised her granddaughter that they would all forget when the next scandal broke.

“I am looking forward to seeing Dorne.” She admits as she glances over to where Raeden is sprawled with Ellaria on another chaise. “I have heard about it and wish to marvel at its bright beauty myself. Especially the Water Gardens.”

“You could have your honeymoon there,” Ellaria suggests, leaning over to kiss Raeden and glad to talk about something other than tomorrow’s fight. “Locked up in your rooms fucking to your heart’s content until you are full of your lord’s babe, and then you can rest in the Gardens for all your pregnancy.”

“Perhaps I can also sample the prince’s cock once I am carrying Raeden’s heir.” She wears a small smirk as she greedily watches the lean lines of the older man. She’s sucked his cock, several times, but like Raeden with you, he would not risk her husband’s true heir being called into question.

“I would very much like to watch that,” you hum, turning your head to nip at her neck and pulling the younger woman into your lap. The two of you have become much closer in just a few days, much to the delight of your husbands.

“I will be very eager to sample your cunt.” Oberyn chuckles, looking up from his spear. “Although tonight.” He grunts, his eyes dark and lusty when he looks at Raeden. “I want to have your husband tonight.”

The statement hangs in the air between all of you, and Raeden is the first to nod. “You will. You will have me.”

It has been a long time coming, Margaery knows this, even with as short a time as she has been tangled in this group. Not once has she felt slighted because she does not bear any marks on her skin from the four of you. “It will be a night to celebrate.” She decides. “In anticipation of your victory.”

“You will witness true victory tomorrow.” Ellaria agrees, fire in her eyes as she gazes up at Oberyn. “They all will.”

He’s sure of himself, almost to the point of brashness, but he has also commanded his own company with the Second Sons. Survived the fighting pits and his reputation was well earned. Still, he is grateful for the support of his soulmates and his lovers. “Yes they will.”

“We should feast tonight.” The idea had formed in your mind yesterday and lingered, something that you have learned to pay attention to. The idea that it could – however unlikely he seems to think the possibility – be your last night with your husband makes you want to sob like you have just heard the news that he would be champion all over again.

Oberyn turns towards you, watching you for a moment before he nods. “Get dressed, Princess.” He decides. “You and I will go to the market and order our feast.”

There is no reason to point out that Cal or Leyth could easily see the Dornishman in the market. Everyone here knows that. But he wants to spend time with you, and you want more than anything to hold his arm while you walk and pretend it is simply a normal day. “I will only take a few minutes,” you promise him, pulling yourself up off the chaise and away from a reluctant-to-let-go Margaery.

“Take your time.” He smirks. “Wear something beautiful.” He wants you to be seen, wants to be seen with you. Firmly believing appearances can affect the memory of the day.

“I have just the thing.” Enough weeks had passed in the Capitol that you had been able to order gowns from a dressmaker with knowledge of Dornish fashion, and you had intended to save it for your arrival in your new home, but this seems far more important. You disappear into the next room to extract it from your trunk with a smile. Oberyn will be quite surprised.

Oberyn sets the spear down and walks over to the table that has a bowl of clean water with soap and cloths next to it. As much sex as everyone has been indulging in, it had seemed prudent to keep the water on hand. He starts to bathe his chest, sweaty from the day and wishing to freshen up while he waits.

The group of you have all packed. Determined to leave King’s Landing in just two days’ time, most things have been put away for the journey. What is left to amuse yourselves with is sex, books from the keep’s library — and usually more sex. The difference is only when Oberyn and Raeden are in the practice ring, but when they return they are usually ravenous for company.

It takes little more than ten minutes for you to emerge from the chamber in the gown that you had carefully selected the colors and fabrics of weeks earlier — gold trim making the colors of fire seem to dance with every step you take. The sheer outer layer sparkles and shines, and the layer underneath flows while still showing off your figure. It preserves that feeling of modesty that you are accustomed to with significantly less fabric and a form unmistakably Dornish flare. Even your slippers are more like the ones Ellaria wears each day, leather platforms tying halfway up your calves with amber lacing. “Are you ready, my prince?”

“Star.” Oberyn’s eyes widen and he groans as he takes in your appearance. “I will have to wear my sword so no one could try to steal you from me.” He hums, cock twitching in his breeches. “The seamstress who made this for you deserves every coin you paid her and then a hefty sum.”

"There are others," you promise him, glad to see the light in his eyes even over something as simple as a dress. "I gave her double her fee when I saw how fine the work was. Do you...do you truly like it? I know you have said many times that you wished I wore more Dornish style gowns."

“If I could show you now how much I like it, we would not feast tonight.” He growls, fingers tracing over your bare shoulder and sighing softly at your softness.

"You will show me later." Later, when he has all of you at his beck and call for whatever it is he might desire. But for now you take his hand and kiss his palm tenderly. "Let us go and walk. We will show the capitol that Dorne is not afraid."

“That’s my girl.” He curls his arm up and wraps your hand around it, looking at Margaery, Raeden and Ellaria. “We will be back. And I will want all of us in bed. So make sure you do not tire yourselves out.” He chuckles.

"I swear it," Ellaria chuckles, with one hand over her heart. "I will teach our newlyweds about edging if they need attention."

Margaery tilts her head curiously and smirks at Ellaria. “What is that?” She asks innocently.

The chuckle turns to a throaty, pleased laugh, and Ellaria sits up to kiss Oberyn before bringing Margaery into her arms. "Go and enjoy yourself, lover," she tells him with a lascivious grin. "We will be well occupied here."

“Come, Star.” Oberyn smiles as he guides you out of the chambers and immediately runs into one of Cersei’s servants. “Splendid.” He hums, leaning into the girl. “More water is needed.” He tells her. “There will be an orgy in these rooms tonight.”

She looks positively affronted by the notion but nods nervously, scurrying away as fast as her feet will carry her. "I suppose it does not matter that Cal could easily have fetched our water?" You ask, raising one eyebrow at him as you continue down the hallway. "You would far rather that it get back to Cersei's ears."

“Absolutely.” He chuckles and starts the slow, unconcerned stroll with you towards the front doors of the Keep. “She will either stay far away or have to come interrupt. Either way, I will now that she is wondering who is in the chambers moaning.”

"Whomever we want to be." A few months into your arrangement - and your marriage - it is safe to say that you are far more comfortable with yourself and with sex than ever before. "And that bothers her, too."

“I would like Cal and Leyth with us tonight, my love.” He ventures, patting your hand. “Do you have any objections? Only if they wish to join.” He won’t force them to, of course. He wouldn’t do that, but he wants to touch them again and tonight seems to be a fine night to do so.

"No objections at all." He could ask you for the moon and you would only tell him that you need to find a ladder tall enough. "They have missed being invited to your bed."

“As long as you are comfortable with it.” There has been plenty to keep him occupied and satisfied throughout the last weeks, especially discovering the relationship with you, so he had not ventured to invite anyone else.

“My love,” you squeeze his arm gently under your hand as you walk together. “There is very little you could ask for tonight that I would hesitate to grant you. I hope you understand that.”

Exiting the keep, Oberyn is quiet for a little while, thinking of what he wishes to say. It is only when the crowds begin to gather, farther away from the castle does he begin. “My love,” he sighs softly. “I have sent word to my brother.” He tells you. “Informing him of our valid marriage and my expectant heir.”

“That is good.” Once, he had thought to breeze into Sunspear and amuse himself with informing Doran of what was technically your elopement. The fact that he has done otherwise is sobering, but somehow comforting in its realism. “I am sure he will be very glad of the news when it arrives, considering how upset you were when you left Dorne.”

“Word would have already reached him.” He tells you quietly. “I sent a raven the day I took on being Tyrion’s champion.” He admits, looking past the merchants stalls as they come into view towards the harbor. “I also made sure that Raeden’s house is secure. My brother would do right by him.”

“Thank you, my love. I know it means the world to him.” It sounds as though Oberyn has been getting his affairs in order, and the implications of that make your shoulders tighten and your limbs feel heavy as you walk together. Tomorrow he will fight to the death to honor and revenge this sister, and the terrifying truth is that he could be the one to lose. As cocky - and as talented a fighter - as he is, Oberyn is not a stupid man. “Should the need come, I will make sure your Sand Snakes are as well cared for as you could ever wish. Ellaria and I will not let them want for anything.”

“I will be there to see them.” Oberyn promises. “However.” He slides his arm down to take your hand in his and bring it up to his lips. “Every Dornish lord here, all their men, will see you safely from the city.” He promises. After he had accepted the role, he had gone to see them, without Raeden so he could speak frankly to them. He wanted to make sure the other lords would wholly accept your lover as Lord Sunstone. They were happy to have a new lord amongst the ranks, especially one who chose Dorne. “You need not fear any abuse.”

“I do not.” And that, thankfully, you can count on the truth. The lords of Dorne had been surprised by your sudden appearance in Oberyn’s life but accepted you fully. “And I know that you will do everything in your power to come home with us. I do not doubt that even for a moment.” You do not doubt it, but you have learned a healthy fear of the unknown.

“I will.” He agrees, squeezing your hand and smirking at you. “Let is plan this feast. I wish to make sure that we have a night to remember.”

“It would be impossible to forget a night with you.” As sentimental a thing as it is to say, you truly do mean it. Oberyn has changed so much about your life and all of it has been for the better — how could you forget even a moment of that?

“I wanted to tell you this privately.” He admits quietly. “I know that you are scared and I will win, but I thought it would making you feel better. In case the worst happens.”

“I am scared.” There is no use denying that and you would not be cruel enough to disrespect him like that. “But only because I know that life is unpredictable. And I am grateful that you are open with me. That you understand it is not that I do not believe in you. Because that is the furthest from the truth.”

“All men must have some fear.” Oberyn admits quietly. “Do not have fear is to not wish to live. And then you have already died.” He watches the people that move past the two of you and hums. “The true test of a man is conquering that fear and not letting it turn him into a coward. Using the fear for his own purposes.”

“I will have to remember that.” In the meantime, because the fear you have is for him, you lace your fingers together tightly as you walk. “May I ask you something, love?”

“Anything.” He insists. “You know that, my love. I will hide nothing from you.”

“You may object to the request and I would understand that.” He nods when your eyes meet his and you return the gesture, biting your lip slightly. “I—it is only that…I cannot stop thinking of the baby.” So much so that your hand has been unconsciously resting on the side of your still unchanged belly as you walk. “If anything were to happen to you tomorrow…I wondered if we might be able to choose a name? You should know your ninth daughter’s name, if the worst happens.”

“I think we should also pick out a son’s name.” Oberyn grunts, even though he is smiling. “For the boy the babe might be.”

“I think if I were to bear you a son, no one would believe he was yours,” you half-joke, glad that Oberyn is humoring your anxieties and making the topic sweet instead of calling out your nerves.

“They will when he looks just like me and fights at the first insult to his mother.” He predicts with a proud grin.

“Perhaps that would be enough.” You smile at the thought, though it is a thin thing. Somehow in your heart you know that carrying another of his daughters is more likely than anything. Still, it is best to be prepared. “But you would not have him named for you.”

“I believe the boy needs to forge his own reputation, not live in the shadow of mine.” Names have meaning in this time, and he would not saddle his son with his. Giving him freedom to be whomever he chose to be. “That is why I would not name a son after me.”

“Then you would not want to name him after any family? Our only after you?” The logic does make sense to you, and you nod as you walk. The marketplace is open and though people may stare you have learned to pay them no mind.

“Only after myself.” He pauses and turns towards you. “But I forbid you naming the child after your bitch of a mother.” He warns, not wishing the revisiting the past every time you looks upon a girl with that name.

“I would rather name her after my father’s soulmate that I never even met then name her after the woman who abused me,” you agree, shaking your head sadly.

“Apologies, my love.” Oberyn leans in to kiss your lips softly. “Forget I mentioned it.”

“Mentioned what?” Willing yourself to simply forget the mention of her and move on, you offer Oberyn a bright smile and steal another kiss. “I believe we were choosing names for a son?”

“Do you have any ideas?” He asks curiously. Wondering if you had imagined the names of your children before now.

"I used to tease Antony that I would name my son for him any time he did me a small favor." The sweet, nostalgic memory of an older brother doting on his younger sister brings a bittersweet smile to your face. As much as you might have told your brothers that they drove you crazy, you miss them desperately. "Anytime he did something as little as bringing me a pencil to write with, I would dramatically declare that I would honor him with naming my son Antony. It was...just a silly thing. But I suppose I never thought of anything beyond that."

“Would you wish to use that name or a piece of it?” He asks, smiling softly at the image of a young girl promising her older brother to name her son after him.

"Antony is a good name." Strong but not harsh, you had always thought it a very nice name aside from all the of the teasing. "And...Antonia is lovely, as well?"

“Naming our daughter after your brother?” He barks out a laugh even as he seriously thinks about it. “I like it.” He admits. “Antonia Martell.” He shrugs. “Rolls off the tongue better than my thought towards a name.”

"What was yours?" He has named eight daughters already, you cannot discount any ideas he might have with so much practice behind him.

“Marella.” He shrugs slightly, unconcerned. He will name the babe whatever makes you happy and be proud of it.

"Oh, that's lovely." Rolling it over in your mind though, you frown a moment later. "Although Marella Martell would be quite the tongue twister."

“Technically, she would be Princess Marella of Dorne, when people address her.” He teases. “But Antonia is much nicer.”

"I wish she was here already." It feels like a ridiculous thing to lament, but you wish it so that he could hold her. Because the fear that Oberyn might never meet his next child is creeping up your neck as if it were high tide on the rocks.

“She will come when she is ready.” Even if he teases you about giving him a male heir, he feels like you are carrying a girl. “Squawking and screaming as she shakes her fist at the world.”

You squeeze his hand again as you swallow your fears, and turn into the marketplace with him. “She will be so adored.”

“By so many.” He agrees, sighing softly. “I cannot wait to show you Dorne.”

“I hope you will show me everything.” In the weeks and months since your marriage, you have become more and more eager to see your new home. “Every time Ellaria speaks of the Water Gardens, I ache to see them.”

“We will swim in the gardens naked.” He tells you with a grin. “After the children are asleep.”

“I see you already have plans for conceiving your tenth child,” you tease, knowing he means sooner than that.

“Perhaps.” He chuckles and reaches over to rub your stomach. “I do not think we will stop at one child.”

“I certainly will not stop sharing your bed.” You could be more vulgar, but you are in public.

“It would be a dour day when you decided to stop sleeping in my bed.” He grunts. He does not think that would ever happen, despite originally thinking you would never share his bed.

“Dour would be correct,” you hum with equal dislike for the idea. “The only way it would happen would be very sad circumstances.” Very sad as in one of your deaths, and you are reminded again what tomorrow morning will bring.

“Do not think on it.” He can tell you are worrying about tomorrow again. He cannot give you more guarantees than he already has, and he will not insult you by demanding you not worry.

"I will try." Strolling together a little further, the stall where the Dornishman you have come to know as Salin sells his prepared foods is swarming with people. Since word had gotten out that Prince Oberyn enjoyed his recipes, he had been receiving more and more business.

“Salin.” Oberyn greets the man warmly, like he would any of his countrymen. “How does your day fare?”

"Very well, my prince and princess." Salin has come to recognize the sight of all of Oberyn's household, and always welcomes all of you with open arms. Today, he reaches for a fried pastry full of chopped roasted nuts, honey, and sweet dates and offers it to you. "I have heard a rumour, your Graces," he admits, smiling broadly when you accept the pastry with glee. "That you are to be congratulated?"

The prince huffs, even as he grins proudly. “Which one of them told you?” He asks, sure that Ellaria would have mentioned it since you were craving dates lately.

"I was not sworn to secrecy, so I do not fear telling you that it was your lovely paramour." He smiles even more broadly and puts one hand over his heart. "I would like to offer, if it pleases you, to send the recipe for my date cake with you when you return to Sunspear. Your cook will have no trouble recreating it, and I was told the princess enjoyed it very much."

“I would be very grateful for it.” Oberyn nods and tilts his head towards the man. “If you ever wish to come back to Dorne, I will give you a place in the palace to cook for our house.”

"You are..." Salin swallows thickly, looking between the two of you. "Your Grace is most generous." His voice wavers and his other hand comes up to his heart. "I left my mother and siblings there when I came to King's Landing and...until your patronage...did not have the money for passage to go home again."

Oberyn frowns, hating King’s Landing as much as the next Dornishman and looks towards you. “We are leaving King’s Landing. After the tournament.” He informs the merchant who has provided so many meals for his lovers and his wife. “The ship will be crowded, but I am sure we can find room for you if you wish to sail home?” He asks.

"I do." He murmurs, expression still aghast. "I wish to return home more than anything." The man looks as though he could cry, and something inside of you cracks a little, making your reach out to gently squeeze his arm in reassurance. "We had come to ask you to prepare us one last feast, but this is far better. We are happy to have you return with us."

“I-- I will prepare you the feast that would put all feasts to shame.” He agrees quickly. If he is leaving, he will need to deplete his stores. “And if your offer is genuine, I would be honored to prepare meals on the ship for your family.”

You do not even need to look over at Oberyn to know that the offer was real, but still your eyes find your husband's profile and you nod to Salin with a smile. "We will be the ones who are honoured, Salin. And thank you for this," you hold up the pastry, which you have already tried a bite of and will have demolished the sweet treat in less than another minute. "Truly, your talent is unparalleled. You either had a remarkable teacher or your talents are a gift from the gods."

“My mother.” He informs you proudly. “She runs a small tavern in Sunspear.” He beams and nods towards your pastry. “Although that is something special. It is a treat that she had made for her soulmate.” He frowns slightly but recovers to smile at the both of you.

"He had very good taste." The shadow that falls over his face does not escape you, but you do not feel your have the right to press. Instead you simply add, "And must have been a very lucky man."

“Perhaps.” That is all he will say about the man he has never met, although he looks back at the pair of you expectantly. “Do you wish me to just send whatever I make or is there something special you wish to have?” He’s not unaware that Oberyn will be in the tournament tomorrow, that he could possibly die. So tonight is a celebration feast in preparation for his victory.

"The prince favours your spicy lamb, but everything else is up to you. Whatever you feel your finest or favourite dishes are to prepare. And there are seven of us, so be generous." Everything he makes is delicious, so you have no doubt that it will all be wonderful.

Bobbling his head eagerly, Salin immediately starts to think about what he can send to the Keep. “I will have it prepared. Is there a time you will need it?”

"No sooner than usual," you assure him, knowing that your intention to eat and spend the rest of the night indulging in pleasure is shared by everyone in your small household.

“I will deliver it myself.” He promises, shaking his head when Oberyn pulls out his coin purse. “No, please. It would be my pleasure.”

"We would be remiss in offering you a place in our household and then not paying you for that talent of yours we so appreciate." The shake of your head matches his and you reach out to touch his arm again. "Please. Allow us to show you the respect you deserve."

“You are kind and gracious.” His lip trembles slightly. “My mother will be very grateful to have her oldest son back.”

Nearer now to being a mother than you ever have been before in your life, you already cannot imagine what separating from your oldest child would be like, other than being positively devastating. '"Whatever brought you to King's Landing, I hope that it was worth the trip, and that returning home will bring you just as much joy."

“My trip was in vain but I learned a valuable lesson.” He promises. “The return trip home will be much sweeter, although your patronage has made my little stand a success.”

"Perhaps the gods have given you something just as valuable that you have not yet realized." Wishing not to leave the man feeling poorly about anything at all - if you can help it - you find yourself wishing it was as easy as offering to spend time with him. To listen to his story. To find out what had happened and see if there is some way you can help. But again, you remind yourself not to force the situation. You are already giving him a way to return to his family, and that seems to be a help in its own right.

Salin nods and smiles at the Princess of Dorne and her husband. “The gods gave surely shined down in my humble soul.” He acknowledges before handing you another pastry. “For your walk, your highness.”

“You are very generous, my friend. Thank you.” With a nod of your head, you and Oberyn continue walking, leaving Salin to his work. There is much to be done before tonight, apparently, because he disappears into the back of his stall immediately. “He seems to be very glad to go home again.”

“Is there anywhere else you wish to go?” Oberyn asks you indulgently. The dress you are wearing is fine and causing many heads to turn, making him grip your hand proudly as you continue towards the water.

“I would visit every seller here just to prolong our walk,” you admit, nibbling at the treat that Salin handed you as you walk hand in hand with Oberyn. “Perhaps we could visit our smith friend once more before we leave?” An amused smile forms on your lips when his eyes slip past your face to your chest. “Or would you like to also offer passage to my dressmaker, since you seem so fond of her work?”

He snorts, and sends you an amused smirk. “If I could cart all the talented workers away from King’s Landing as a strike against the Lannisters. I would.” He jokes. “But perhaps we should see what other baubles we can purchase for amusement.”

“I know one that would amuse both you and Raeden.” You hum, making yourself walk by the bookseller’s stall without stopping. If you do, you might simply stay there the whole day. “I wonder if the goldsmith might have another necklace of thin chains for Margaery to match with myself and Ellaria.”

Oberyn grunts, his cock twitching and he hums in agreement. “It would be a very pleasant view, three gorgeous women, completely naked except for the chains around their necks.”

“It would be lovely to see.” You and Margaery seem to be the only ones who were surprised by how close you have become and how quickly, and your may or may not be looking forward to the sight yourself.

“Perhaps there is another bauble we can find for the three of you to wear tomorrow.” Oberyn muses. “I wish to see all three of you in very revealing dress. You will be on the sidelines.”

"We will wear anything you choose, love." It is very literally the least that the three of you can do, and you know that although you will all - Raeden included - be worried, you will be a united front of pride for Dorne.

“Good.” While there will be some who do not care what the lovers of Oberyn wear, just the three- four- of you being there will be an insult to the people who matter most in the private portion of this skirmish. Until he brings all their sins to the light for the Seven Kingdoms to see.

"It will be no small statement to have Margaery beside us. For the four of us to appear united in appearance as well?" It is an incredibly simple yet effective means of making your delegation seem all the more powerful, and you know that every small tactic counts. "It will disarm some of those in the capital who foolishly think Dorne to be less civilized."

“Exactly.” He is always pleased with you when you know why he is doing something. The cleverness of your minds makes him think that you would have been named your father’s heir of you had been born a man.

"Would you have us matching?" You ask him, thinking that that would take some effort to achieve by the morning. "Or wearing an emblem somehow?"

“Perhaps we will find something. If not, then there are…dresses in my trunk you could wear.” He admits with a small chuckle.

"There are more dresses in your trunks?" By this time you would have assumed that Ellaria had wore every stitch of clothing brought from Dorne to the northern capital, but apparently that assumption would be incorrect.

“If you wish to call them dresses.” He smirks. “There is more skin showing than fabric.”

"If only my belly were already swollen," you smirk up at him as you slow in your walk and come to a stop at the jeweler's stall. "That would be quite a sight to be shown off."

“One I will love to see when it happens. Especially since the dress will show off your belly.” Oberyn’s eyes narrow as he takes in the jewels on display.

"Your Graces." The man bows deeply to see you approach, the sight of the two of you together being most welcome to him. He knows it will end in a large purchase, if nothing else, and others had taken notice of the Dornish prince's patronage of his business. It had brought him enormous good fortune in the months since your first visit. "What is it you search for today?"

“Another necklace.” Oberyn informs him with a smirk. “Just like the one for my wife and my paramour. I wish to clasp it around our other lover’s neck.”

"I confess, I wondered if you might desire another." Disappearing from view for just a few seconds, the merchant comes back again with a small wooden box. He lifts the lid, showing off another glinting necklace of delicate chains. "Your reputation, after all, precedes you."

“Do you have a smaller version of this?” Oberyn asks as he traces the necklace with his fingers. “More…masculine?”

"Smaller as in…fewer strands?" The man's head tilts to one side, making sure he understands correctly.

“Fewer strands, more…” he turns to you with a frown. “I want one for Raeden.” He tells you.

"I assumed as much, when you wanted one more masculine." The expression on his face is half frustration and half plaintive, and you cup his cheek in your hand lovingly. "Do you want it to be worn under his robes tomorrow, or do you want it to be worn in bed, my love?"

“Both.” He grunts, looking at you with dark, lust filled eyes. “But I want him to wear it tomorrow. Showing on his bare chest to match your. United and under House Martell’s protection.”

"The prince desires another necklace with fewer, thicker chains," you inform the jeweler, squeezing Oberyn's hands in yours and pressing a kiss to his lips. "And it should be made to accommodate a broader chest."

The jeweler has questions but he keeps them to himself. Although the design might be on display after the custom jewelry is sold and discreetly mentioned that the Prince of Dorne bought for a male lover. It might be of interest to the right discreet party.

“It will be needed by tonight.” Neither you nor Oberyn would be willing to wait until morning and risk not having it be ready, but you are certain that Oberyn will want Raeden to wear the chains tonight, as well.

“Of course.” He knows now that the prince will not blink at the cost so he does not even warn him about the extra price for expedited work. The prince is a man who wants what he wants when he wants it with no regard to cost.

“What other new baubles have you? Any of your clever wife’s designs?” The puzzle ring that you gave to Oberyn is a favorite, and your eyes start to search through the trays of fine pieces right away.

“There is a wide selection.” He agrees eagerly, rushing over to show them to you. “Your interest and admiration has made her designs improve and her love of it increase.”

“I am very glad to hear it.” Oberyn has begun searching a different part of the stall, and you follows the merchant’s lead to look at the designs that his wife has made. “What is the piece she is most proud of? I wish to see it.”

“There is a bracelet design that my wife is very pleased with.” The latest designed may have been with a slight Dornish flair due to the Prince’s patronage. The bracelets have several bangles wove in between each other and can be pulled apart, but when they are in a solid mass, they give the illusion of being one solid piece, the bursting sun of Dorne etched into the gold.

“Oh, she is clever!” You hum happily when the merchant presents you with the multi-strand bracelet. “And your craftsmanship is exquisite, ser. It seems that no matter you you make, you and your wife are quite the formidable team.”

Delighted that you like it, he moves to grab the other ones. "I took the liberty of making several." He informs you. "Because I know that your group likes to have matching sets."

“We certainly do.” The stone in the middle of each Dornish sun is the only difference between the bracelets - one deep green, one pink-red, one orange, one yellow, one milky white, one rich blue, and one clear purple. They are stunning together and you beckon Oberyn closer to look. “There are seven, my love.” Your face shines with delight.

"Why seven?" Oberyn asks curiously. He could see if there were eight, for his daughters or two because of his last order of necklaces.

“You, Raeden, and Cal.” You have three bracelets beside your right hand, and then beside your left you point out the other four. “Ellaria, me, Margaery, and Leyth.”

"No, my love." He grunts. "I was asking the jeweler why he crafted seven bracelets."

The jeweler in question blushes, clearing his throat at the prince’s pointed attention. He was not going to call attention to the number after you seemed so delighted with the fact that there were seven. “In truth, your Grace?” He would shove his hands in his pockets in embarrassment if he had any. “There are three or four more being finished just this day. I thought to have a wide collection of colors for your Graces to choose from, that is all.”

"I will take them all." Oberyn decides, looking back at you to find you smiling down at the bracelet with a dreamy expression on your face. "What do you think, my love? For any others we might bring into our fold?" He hums. "Or perhaps..." He slides his hand around your waist and your stomach. "Perhaps as gifts for our children."

“They seem fitting for your girls, don’t you think?” If there are so many, that is. The idea of more cannot be banished from your mind. You must remember that Oberyn has a plan. “Hopefully they all have different favourite colors.”

The mention of ‘his girls’ makes Oberyn’s head snap back to the jeweler. “These bracelets.” He tells him. “I want eight more. Except instead of bursting suns, I want snakes. Coiled snakes with the different colored jewel in the eye.”

“It…is too much to do in one night.” The jeweler tells him with obvious regret and just a touch of fear. “Perhaps it could be done in two if everyone worked through the night…but I know that you are not one to wait, your Grace.”

"We will be leaving for Dorne in two days." He tells the jeweler. "Have them done by the time the ship leaves the harbor and I will give you a bonus to make it worth the effort."

“Yes, your Grace.” The man bows rather frantically, scooping up the few things that he had already talked to the two of you about, and dashing into the back of his stall. When his apprentice appears just a few moments later, you smile with the knowledge that he is going straight to work. It is not even the man’s own son he has sent to man his stall. He will be working well into the night.

"I will give my sand snakes the bracelets he is crafting now." He tells you with a proud smirk. "They will love them." He had been searching for gifts for his girls, always bringing them something when he has to travel and the bracelets would be perfect.

“They will make a beautiful gift, my love.” For his eight - soon, nine - children, a token from the trip when their father wed will hopefully be something to celebrate and not frown upon. “They will look well with the necklaces that Ellaria is bringing to each of your daughters.”

“She loves all of them.” He hums happily, smiling softly. “You will love them too, I hope.”

“I have no doubt.” One of your hands rests gently on his arm and you smile. “I cannot wait to meet them.”

“They will be waiting for us when we arrive in Sunspear.” He informs you with complete surety. “Expect many questions.”

“I expect they will have many.” Just imagining it makes you giggle, thinking of the youngest ones especially. The older girls you will be able to be more straightforward with. “Luckily we are bringing them a new grandfather as well, who will dote on them endlessly no matter who their mother is.” Being able to acquaint your father with the situations that resulted in all of Oberyn’s daughters’ births, he has been excited to meet them ever since. Once he saw how loving your husband can be and how happy you are, nothing else mattered.

“He had been surprisingly welcoming.” He had anticipated a bit of distance from his wife’s father, but he has been to dinner several times. “He will enjoy Dorne.” He frowns slightly. “I have written my brother about Marlee as well. To see if we can find her.”

“You are entirely too good, my love.” Losing her — and discovering why he had lost her — has been a reopened wound for your father, who has clung to all news and stories of Dorne in response. As though he might hear her name in one of them unwittingly.

“There is no stone I would leave unturned if my soulmate was lost to me.” He tells you, his hand sliding along your arm to tangle his fingers with yours.

“I believe I can confidently say that neither Ellaria nor I will ever leave your side.” Still, your fingers tangling tightly in his as though trying to convince him. “There is nothing in the Seven Hells that could ever tempt me away, my love.”

“That is good.” He squeezes your hand and smirks. “I will be very satisfied with being surrounded by my soulmates and our lovers for a long time.”

“Our trip home will be an interesting one, with so many of us in such close company,” you smirk up at your husband as you walk. “I imagine we will spend much time in our quarters.”

Oberyn chuckles. “I do not think Cersei imagined her gift to her daughter would ferry so many of her people away on it.”

“I suppose I can only be grateful that my family had a long-standing connection to Dorne and not to Casterly Rock.” You shudder slightly at the idea and cringe. “Imagine my mother’s victory if she had sold me to the Lannisters instead.”

“I would not wish such a fate on you.” He growls, protective of you despite the fact you are safe in his arms. “A husband with one hand who fucks his sister.”

“I would not wish such a fate on anyone.” It would have been her triumph, to manage something like that. You know how lucky and how grateful you are to have been promised to Oberyn. “I am grateful to be madly in love with my husband instead.”

“What is not to love?” He asks arrogantly with a small wink. He looks around the market again and then turns you back towards the books. “Should you not pick another dozen books for the trip to Dorne?”

“You have been so generous with growing my library that my trunks may weigh more than Margaery’s dowry.” Still, you are not about to protest. Not for a moment. “I may spend the entire journey home with my nose in a book.”

“The captain I have hired for the trip home is strong. He will have crew to move them.” He’s unconcerned with that, more interested in your happiness than anything.

“My husband indulges me.” And the adoration on your face is very clear as he leads you back toward the bookseller. “He is soft and tender hearted and sweet.”

“If you think me soft, do not be frightened tomorrow.” He jokes. He knows that you mean he is soft when it comes to you and Ellaria and how he indulges you.

“Ellaria has told me about Mereen,” you admit, leaning close to his side as you come to stop in front of the bookseller’s stall. “How you fight. What to expect.”

“I have survived many battles.” He nods. “I expect to survive many more.” He let’s go of your hand and pats your ass affectionately. “Go find the books you wish to read to me while you are sitting on my cock later on.”

******

There is a thickness, a palpable tension in the air, when you and Oberyn return from the marketplace. The jeweler had already sent by his delivery of the things Oberyn purchased which were already made, and the note from him listed the price for the items being created, which Oberyn barely glanced at. The delivery of your books, the scarves you found for Ellaria and Margaery, and the baby blanket made by the dressmaker who had crafted your Dornish-style gowns — all of it is waiting for you when you finally return. But the truest shock is that your father has apparently been spending time with Raeden, Ellaria, and Margaery this afternoon.

He hugs you when you drift into the room on Oberyn’s arm and shakes Oberyn’s hands warmly. “I thought I would pay my respects tonight instead of distracting you with well wishes in the morning.” He tells your husband honestly.

While he had not thought much of your father when he first met the man, he had been sorely impressed with his insight since your mother’s departure. They had several frank and interesting conversations and Oberyn had refrained from engaging in his normal pleasures that he might with another lord, taking him to a whorehouse. “Many thanks.” He offers with a smile. “Join us, we are having a Dornish feast delivered by the best cook outside of her boarders.” He boasts. “In fact, I have offered him a place in the palace kitchens and he will sail with us when we depart.”

“We are bringing Salin home with us?” Ellaria sounds delighted with the idea and her fingers trace up your arm. “I think the princess had a hand in this. For the love of date cakes,” she teases.

“It was Oberyn,” you admit, laughing at how right Ellaria is about your craving. “But I am certainly not upset about it.”

“I would be delighted to stay.” Your father perks up at the mention of Dornish food. “It has been some time since I have had a good Dornish meal. The cooks would alter the recipes at home to their tastes.” He huffs, aware that his mother had written them done very specifically.

“Salin is extraordinarily talented.” Even Margaery is looking forward to the meal, having been fully converted to the cuisine of her new home with the first meal she tried. “He prepared the feast we are the night Raeden and I were wed and I have never tasted anything more magnificent.”

“Then I am eager to sample this cooking. My Marlee was a magnificent cook and I would often tease her that she would make a fortune selling her food.” Your father hums, knowing no one would fault him for speaking of his soulmate.

“I would like to hear more of her, if you are willing.” Speaking of Marlee seems to soothe your father and you must admit to being curious about the woman who could have been your mother.

“She was always smiling, always humming a little tune under her breath while she worked.” He tells you. “Making these delicious little tarts. I could eat a hundred of them.”

"How did you meet?" There is tea from the keep's kitchens while you await Salin's arrival with your dinner, and you offer a seat in front of the fire to your father.

“In Dorne.” He looks over at you fondly, smiling with the bittersweet smile of a man who is remembering a better time. “We had traveled back for my grandfather’s funeral. Mother was beside herself and my father could not leave. So I volunteered to escort her.” He had been brash and young, but already a good soldier. Handy with a sword. “I was bored by the grieving in the house, so I had snuck down to the kitchens.” He sighs. “She was baking. Flour on her cheek and singing a song as she mixed bread dough.”

“She worked for Grandmother’s family?” That is a surprise, and certainly makes you wish you had been bold enough to tell him about Raeden sooner. He would have been far more sympathetic than you knew.

“Yes.” He nods, his eyes sliding over to where Raeden is sitting with Margaery. “Although I think your path was leading you here.” He tells you, knowing what is whirling in that clever mind of yours. “She was beautiful. Raven black hair and yet…she had green eyes. The color of a watery jade.”

“So you fell in love over a secret meeting and a loaf of bread?” There is nothing sad or even melancholy in the life you have now, so you try to keep the conversation happy.

“The scar on my neck.” He pulls down the edge of his undershirt and his robe to expose the old, silvery scar. “It was new and fresh. Her dress showed it.” He shares a knowing grin with Oberyn. “She was mine from the first moment.”

“That sounds terribly romantic,” Margaery sighs, still softly envious of anyone who knows their soulmate or who has ever known them. “To have such definitive proof. To never wonder. It sounds remarkable.”

Her husband tightens his hold around her, offering her comfort. Everyone in this room knows that Margaery’s soulmate died without her ever knowing who it was. “If matching marks are ever discovered.” He murmurs softly. “They will be welcomed into our home.” It is the least he could offer considering the two sets of marks he bears, and the relationships he has with both women.

“If I ever have a set of marks appear?” Margaery nuzzles against him, glancing over at you before looking back to his eyes. “I hope that they will be yours or Star’s.”

“I would wear three sets of scars proudly.” He murmurs, bumping his nose against her cheek and then kissing her lips.

“As would I.” If the gods ever saw fit to give you three soulmates, you could not be happier to have one of them be Margaery.

“You are too generous.” Despite her inexperience, she has come to love to dynamic between the three of you especially, although she also enjoys time with Ellaria and Oberyn. Even if Oberyn had not yet fucked her.

“The gods have twice blessed you, pumpkin.” Your father chuckles. He still not quite understand the dynamic at play, but has decided that as long as you are happy, he does not need to. “To heap more upon you would be showing favoritism.”

“I would not expect anything less from gods concerning Star.” Ellaria chuckles quietly. She winks at you. “Perhaps the gods will send another wonderful person into Margaery’s life to add to our blessings.”

Glancing over at your husband, you bite back a grin and you wink at his as he so often does to you. "We will need a bed the size of you entire chamber if we continue to add members to our group."

You father clears his throat, reminding himself that he does not need to ask questions about things he does not wish to know. You are happy, and that is a rarity in life. “Dinner will be delightful, I’m sure.”

"It will." Leyth appears in the doorway, blessedly distracting from your embarrassment and ushering in Salin with his baskets upon baskets of delicious food.

“Salin, you outdo yourself every time.” Ellaria rises graceful and moves to greet the man with a charming smile and a hug. “Oberyn tells us you will be sailing back to Dorne with us?”

"The prince has most graciously offered to allow me to return home with your party." His hand is over his heart as he sets down the baskets from his other arm and Ellaria begins to unload them all over the large dining table. "I am most grateful to be able to see my family again."

“You must join us tonight.” Oberyn decides, motioning to the table. “We will be spending time together in much less spacious confines, let us drink and celebrate with delicious food tonight.”

"I could not impose--" Salin begins, but you immediately shake your head to stop him.

"Please," you insist, motioning for everyone to gather around the table. "We will not stand on ceremony tonight, but feast and celebrate as friends and family. We insist."

Looking around the table, Salin sees nothing but encouraging smiles and the murmurs of agreement, and he nods. "Your Graces are very kind. It would be my honour to join you."

There is something familiar about the young man. It tugs at your father’s thoughts but he tries to dismiss it as simply being nostalgic for his soulmate and everything to do with a culture he had much preferred to the rigid standards of the North.

Sitting down together at the table is indeed like an odd group of friends and family, but it is welcoming for that. Cal and Leyth join you instead of eating separately. Ellaria's mood is bright and boisterous. She speaks with Oberyn and Salin of home with such nostalgia that your father practically sighs with longing, and the rest of you who have never been to Dorne are hanging on every word.

Raeden leans back, watching the group with a smile as he strokes Margaery’s arm. Looking at the group that he has come to care for very much and squirms slightly in anticipation for things to come. It was not as if he had meant to wait to be with Oberyn. The moment had just never really come to be quite yet, but he want it so badly he cannot wait for the night to continue.

“I hope you will all forgive the indulgence,” Salin is saying as he begins to unpack the beautiful containers of sweet treats he prepared for dessert. “I have catered to her Grace’s cravings for our final course. Date cakes, figs with soft cheese, honey soaked fried dough, and crispy pastry with honey and nut filling. All of the princess’s favourites that I have been fortunate to discover so far.”

“Salin.” Your eyes grow as wide as saucers at the spread, practically giggling with glee. “You are far too kind and far too indulgent.”

The pastry with honey and nut filling makes your father tilt his head curiously as he finishes up his own meal. Easily enjoying the best Dornish meal he has had since he has been to the country. Watching as you pile a clean plate high with the delicacies with an indulgent chuckle.

“Try them, Papa.” You insist, moving the plate of crispy, sticky pastry toward your father. “I promise you will not be disappointed. Salin is a magician.”

Once offered, your father eagerly reaches for the pastry, likening it to one he has had many years ago and takes a bite quickly. "Mmmmmhhhhh." The moan is immediate and louder than he would have normally given over any good food. "I-- this tastes exactly like the tarts my soulmate would make."

“Are they traditional?” The question is for anyone at the table who would know - Salin, of course, but Oberyn or Ellaria, too.

“Not especially, your Grace.” Salon’s expression is apologetic. “They are a family recipe. My mother would make them for special dinners. Birthdays, usually.”

"This-- this is exactly like Marlee would make." Your father groans again after another bite. "She added a touch of anise. Not too much or it would overpower the nuts, she always said." He shoves the rest of the tart into his mouth and reaches for another.

Confused, Salin tilts his head and watches as your father seems entranced by the sweets. “You knew my mother?” He asks, not entirely sure how that could be.

The air is sucked out of the room and the tart in his hand falls to the table as your father's head whips around to gape at the man who had served the food. "Your mother?" He chokes out. "Your mother is Marlee Sand?"

“I—yes?” Confused even further as to why this fact has caused such a reaction in the older nobleman, Salin nods. “Marlee Brude, after marrying my sisters’ father. But she was born Marlee Sand.”

"She-- she's dead." The blood rushes to his ears and his head is swimming as he rolls his eyes over to you desperately. "She told me she was dead." He whispers, begging you to confirm that your mother told him that his soulmate was killed.

“I am sure it is a coincidence.” Although, which your father clutching your hand so tightly, your confidence wanes. “Sand is the most common name in Dorne. And surely Marlee is—”

“Is an unusual name.” Ellaria cuts in, glancing between the two of you and Salin. “Not unheard of, but not common.”

“And my mother is very much alive,” Salin adds, still not quite understanding what is happened. “I had a letter from her not a fortnight ago.”

"I don't understand.." He shakes his head, clinging to you and looking at Salin with a more critical eye before he gasps. "Boy." He barks, although Salin is a man grown and not a boy. "Do you have your mother's eyes or your fathers?" He demands.

Salin huffs, being well past thirty years of age and no longer a boy. “My father’s, according to my mother. Much good though that may do me.”

“Pumpkin.” He reaches for your jaw and cradles it gently as he looks from your eyes, his eyes, and then towards the man who shares those eyes. “How-- is it possible?” He whispers quietly.

"You cannot be my father, sir, no matter how much coincidence maybe at play tonight." It is all a little too much for Salin, and he pushes away from the table with a frown. "My father was some far-flung Northern lord who chose money over his soulmate. He married a shrew of a woman and never gave my mother a second thought."

That makes him frown, shaking his head and letting go of your chin to stand, swaying slightly at the revelation that this is his son sitting in front of him. “I can swear on my honor I have thought of your mother every day I have been apart from her.” He tells Salin. “I was led to believe that she had returned to Dorne when my betrothal was announced, as I was trying to convince my father to let me marry Marlee.”

"It cannot be." The color drains from Salin's face even as he stands to face your father. His father? There is something familiar reflected in the older man's face that makes him hesitate, but as he glances away to try to take a shaky breath, his eyes fall on your father's neck. Or - specifically - on the decades old scar that mars his skin. It is that scar that makes him gasp and his eyes dart up to the older man's again. "Tell me how you got that scar." He demands.

“A small skirmish on the northern boarder of our lands when I was young.” It was the first time he had killed a man, and he had barely escaped with his life. He had told Marlee about it one night after sex, her giggling as he had re-enacted it completely nude. He sees that Salin might believe him. “Have you see it before?”

"Do you know what truly happened to the Marlee Sand that you knew?" There is anger there, or at least frustration and surprise, and Salin bristles slightly when your father's story matches what his mother told him of the scar she wears from her soulmate. "Why she returned to Dorne?"

“My bitch of a wife had confessed just weeks ago that she had paid a solider to have her killed.” Your father’s anger rides across his face, a dark storm cloud of emotions that has him curling his fists. He had missed Marlee for years and then mourned her over the past weeks, now to find out she was still living? It is almost too much to bear.

"That soldier had a change of heart." Salin murmurs, feeling the impossibility of the situation slam through him with determination. "He told her to run, and she did." His shoulders hunch, disbelief clouding his features as he shakes his head. "I am Salin Sand because she was driven from your lands. It was many years before she even acknowledged a man's attention. My sisters are young, yet. Young like Lady Sunstone."

The chair in front of him is the only thing that keeps his kneels from buckling as your father learns his soulmate is really alive. Still bearing no marks from her on his body, he had never considered she was alive. “Son.” He chokes out, nearly sobbing at the fact that this man is his grown son. “Tell me she is well. That she is happy?”

Before Salin can even think, he finds himself embracing your father - his father - with tears pooling in his eyes. "I think she will be again," he admits, shaking a little as he processes everything that has happened today. He has gone from simply being able to return home to returning home with his father. "She has been a widow these last few years, but I know she has never forgotten you. In fact--" He pulls away just enough to look at the scar again, fully digesting its existence and the existence of the man who wears it. "She had sent me to learn of you. That...that is why I left Dorne."

“She-- you did?” He’s astonished because he had never seen you before tonight. “I-- did you ever come to the Vale?” He asks, immediately suspicious of his bitch of a wife. Even if she hadn’t rubbed the knowledge of his bastard son in his face, she might have sent him away and never let him know.

“I was robbed on my first night in King’s Landing.” Salin sighs. “I opened my stall in the marketplace as a way to earn the money to return home, but clearly I have been unsuccessful.” Living hand to mouth is difficult for anyone, but it had been particularly embarrassing to have to live in his stall the first few weeks. Things had improved, but not enough. Not until Prince Oberyn.

“I-- I didn’t know of you.” He tells him, hating that they had pulled apart to continue talking. Even as the rest of the table looks on with great curiosity, he only had eyes for his eldest child. “Or I would have- I would have brought her home.” He knows that marriage wouldn’t have been allowed but Marlee and Salin would have been safe, protected and loved.

“It seems I was meant always to have sisters.” The younger man laughs, finally looking over to where you are still sitting - dumbfounded - at the table before his eyes cut back to his father. “Mother will be glad to know you have not forgotten her.”

“I will-- would you allow me to see her?” His eyes are hopeful but there may be too much resentment there to let it be possible. The idea of seeing his soulmate again has him wishing he was already in Dorne.

“It will be up to her.” Even as a young boy who wished to defend her, Salin understood that his mother was strong enough to choose her life for herself. “I have already sent a raven home to tell her that I will be returning with the prince and princess. She will be waiting at the docks for my arrival. I only ask that you allow me to tell her you are there first. To not ambush her.”

It is nearly a miracle that he does not make himself lightheaded, he is nodding so quickly. “Of course.” He agrees before he looks around the table at the rest of the group. “Would you--” he clears his throat. “Would you like to come to my chambers?” He asks, knowing you are eager to celebrate with your husband and he wants to talk to Salin more. “I have wine, or stronger spirits. We can talk?” He is hopeful, biting his lip as he looks at the son that he has missed out on his entire life with. Wishing to know everything about him.

“You are not going anywhere until I am allowed to embrace my oldest brother.” The idea of all of it has overwhelmed you, but the smile on your face is soft and dreamlike. How utterly right that your father should be able to have again what had been stolen from him. That he will have the chance to know his eldest child.

Salin seems almost shocked that you would be wanting a hug, but he’s opening his arms immediately and moving towards the woman who he now knows is his sister. “Gladly. Without you and the prince, this would not be.”

“We will all have time to get to know each other much better on the voyage home.” The warmth of the embrace is genuine — two shocked individuals taking what is in front of them and fully accepting it head on. “And I hope you will find it a comfortable thing to call us by our given names now that we are family.”

“It-- it will take time, Princess.” Salin admits with a small smile as he pulls back. “Perhaps his feelings will change once we change his last name to mine.” Your fathers interjects. “If he is willing to be claimed.”

“We will have that conversation.” There are many mixed feelings that Salin has had about his father over his lifetime. Now, with an entire family being offered to him, the thing he wants first is simply to know this man. “But tonight, let us simply begin to know each other. More will come in time.”

“Come.” The older man nods and motions towards the door. “If we talk too late into the night, there is another bed you can sleep in if you have no wish to walk the roads of King’s Landing.”

It is almost surreal to watch your father and brother step away together. The tension that had filled the room seems to dissipate all at once, and you fall down again in your seat beside Raeden with a sigh. “That was…unexpected.”

“Completely astounding.” Oberyn muses thoughtfully, still reclined in his chair and shaking his head. “Fate is playing in your life, Star. The Gods have truly taken an interest.”

______

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[pianistbynight]

days 1-7 of a slow but meaningful summer

this is really the only part of traumerei that i can play sort of fluently...sort of, because you can still hear some hesitation as i try to remember the right notes 😅

thursday | 08/08/24

Started Leviathan Wakes

Tested out of U1 in Japanese and started U2 (loving its similarities to French cuz more familiarity = faster learning curve hopefully?🤞🏻)

Practiced piano...some old scales to warm up + the Clementi sonatina (coming back to it after a 2-3 day break was a good idea! somehow my steadiness has improved! also coming to appreciate metronome practice. sight-reading for the day = a few new bars on the 2nd page) + playing around with Kinderszenen (at this point I just wanted to hear different sounds and it wasn't very productive practice)

Read more of the HSP book

Most likely will have to revise my goals bc I don't think I can make decent progress in all the songs I wanted to in 4 weeks...like, to bring 1 L7 song to performance level after years of not performing anything + without a teacher will probably take longer than it used to. Not sure exactly what that looks like yet other than that it's definitely not gonna be all of Kinderszenen... 😂

friday | 08/09/24

practice wasn't very good today...i kept making silly mistakes i didn't used to make. i'm tired. that's why. i also forgot to do my japanese lesson. i didn't feel like reading either. i don't remember what else i did that day.

saturday | 08/10/24

drained of all energy. didn't practice. didn't do japanese. just chilled with @zzzzzestforlife for the most part and started reading what you are looking for is in the library on her recommendation. i love how philosophical japanese fiction is fjsjdkdks ☺️☺️☺️ (and more generally, i'm surprised that for a culture so new to me, a lot of their ways are just...second nature to my personality...it was very relieving. but i also feel that if i were to live in such a place full time, i would be staying too much in my comfort zone...i also don't know that i would want to ever live in Japan since there are also some important aspects about my current home that i'd miss terribly. all this to say, i'd like to visit Japan again at some point in my lifetime.)

sunday | 08/11/24

went to bed feeling very drained, frustrated, and homesick. so as you can imagine, i didn't get very good sleep. my bare minimum goals for today are:

japanese lesson

read zesty's book recs (there's the library book, the secret adversary [which she rec'd back to me after i rec'd it to her a couple months ago lol], and leviathan wakes) ✅

monday | 08/12/24

finally read the last of the clementi sonatina! got it to a "meh" level to polish in the next few days. super excited! played a few other pieces after that but i think i should focus on level 7 pieces for now before jumping into something barely readable but still playable. i should've brought some level 8 sheet music with me too...but i guess i can read from my laptop (god save my eyes if i do that lol 😵)

might put Kinderszenen back on the (mental music) shelf for now.

i also read more of what you are looking for is in the library and i just love how much there is to ponder about what was said. insightful fiction is my favorite fiction 💗

tuesday | 08/13/24

finished What You Are Looking For Is In The Library! it's such a good book. it's a short story collection but each story is in the same universe and while each story is independent (convienient for readers like me who like to take their time with books but sometimes take so much time that they forget what the story was lol), they're connected in ways that...you know that feeling when you bump into an old acquaintance in a completely foreign place you don't expect to meet anyone you know? that feeling is what i felt as i read chapter after chapter. it makes the vast world feel less lonely.

in the evening i tried to memorize and get the clementi sonatina up to speed. i guess i must be succeeding because my dad said it'd make mice dance lol. also played a bit of traumerei...trying to read more of it but progress is slower since i need to pay closer attention to which notes to hold and when to let go of them.

wednesday | 08/14/24

started reading sweet bean paste today (another japanese book... they're quickly becoming my favorite type of book.) i like it so far. there's potential for a lot of warmth and emotion in talking about food, which is just 🥰

also started "Databases: Modeling and Theory" on edx... 🙈 i'm auditing so i only have 2 weeks (until Aug. 28) to access the material (because the minimum amount of time needed to complete the course is 2 weeks gahhh). so i need to be halfway by Aug. 19. in theory i can do this if i put in 2h of work each day. it's too hot to play piano during the day, so i can do databases then and play piano at night. yes, i can do this. (i need to get my brain used to a faster, "left-brained" pace anyway in prep for school in september. 🙁)

continuing to polish the clementi sonatina and started reading this kuhlau sonatina which is pretty fun difficult. it's really just the left hand that makes it suck. haven't figured out how to move so that the staccatos are sharp despite the finger pedaling. i can do it slow, but not fast while staying quiet, so i must be doing something wrong. sometimes you just gotta sit on it, i guess.

[daisybianca]

INSTAGRAM AU

Daniel Ricciardo

liked by danielricciardo, landonorris and 445.092 others

yourusername our favorite uncle <3 their bond is so strong that they sometimes get confused and accidentally call him daddy🤣

view all 2.982 comments

dannyricfp I've never seen an uncle being that hot to be honest bruh.

user72927 it's the curly hair for me.

dannyric3fanpage it's basically EVERYTHING for me. I swear to God this man is going to be the death of me.

danielricciardo I'm hot, I know.

landonorris why do people create fan pages of you? yikes man, that sucks.

danielricciardo as I said before, I'm hot.

danielricciardo so you're mad now that some 8 year old calls me daddy🤨

yourusername no I don't mind actually.

danielricciardo 🧢

user82929 I'd sell my parents to a bazaar if only they adopted me💀

user88190 AHAHA. FOR REAL. I believe that they would make SUCH good parents. My babies are authentic parents material.

landonorris @ yourusername @ danielricciardo I want to become an uncle.

danielricciardo so, you want us to have sex.

landonorris yes. please, film the process so we can be blessed with an original tutorial from a real goat 🐐🙏

yourusername oh shut up both of you😂

danielricciardo why, babe? basically EVERYONE has sex (Lando, I won't criticize. your comment because this will evolve into an online fist fight.)

yourusername no, not everyone. we don't.😔

danielricciardo 🤡keep telling yourself that shit, (y/n)🤡

liked by charlesleclerc, yourusername and 972.082 others

danielricciardo attended the tattoo artist this morning with a lady I bumped into just moments before the scheduled appointment.

view all 5.726 comments

yourusername so I go by 'a lady I bumped into just moments before the schedule appointment' now??? I love my brand-new nickname🥰

danielricciardo I love you, a lady I bumped into just moments before the schedule appointment.

landonorris not funny.

user72828 STOP INTERRUPTING THEIR MOMENT. go buy some ice-cream, damn.

user62829 it's their best era and I'm SO here for it.

user12927 YES. YES. YES.

user72829 to have a Danny Ric in your life🥰

maxverstappen1 yes, extremely tiring, I know.

danielricciardo oh, you're still alive.

maxverstappen1 unfortunately, you happened to be very unlucky, buddy.

liked by danielricciardo, lewishamilton and 879.028 others

yourusername damn, I don't have much to say about his human being. he's extraordinary and uniquely beautiful in his own way.🥺 happy birthday, my boy. keep making this cruel world and our lives a better and a safest place. I love you so much (even though you're sleeping and snoring like a baby pig, right next to me at the moment)❤️

lewishamilton wishing this big guy a very happy and blessing birthday🙏

user82929 awww, babyyy.

user9292 HAPPY BDAY DANNY RIC. WE ADORE YOU.

user02729 ADORE isn't enough to describe how much I love this man.

maxverstappen1 happy birthday, sleeping beauty. as (y/n) said, keep making the world a louder, bolder, tiring, better place💗

danielricciardo not sleeping anymore. thanks but I know you love me deep down.💕🙏

danielricciardo thank you, baby❤️���� (not thankful for screaming and singing the bday song next to my ear to wake me up, though.)

user62881 AHAHHAHA. They're the DEFINITION of a powerful couple. Iconic.

yourusername my voice is angelic to say, at least. you SHOULD be thankful for that, as well.

landonorris yayyy. one year closer to becoming a dilf. congrats on your accomplishment, Daniel👏

danielricciardo ran out of birthday wishes and decided to search it up on pinterest, huh?

user62677 AHAHHA. leave our baby Lando alone pls😔

landonorris I'm not a big fan of pinterest, so no, I chose Google instead. But at least I try to be creative, you know.

[shslbunnylover]

★★★𝙑𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣 𝙒 (12 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮 8: 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙡𝙪★★★

Character: Wanda Maximoff

Taglist: @inlovewithgreta @lilfartbox1 (Message me to be a part of the taglist until I get a page set up!!)

Trigger warnings (DL, DI): Sickness,

Genre: Fluff or Hurt/Comfort

A/n: Look at me, somewhat back on track! 😂

Word count: 1.0k

...

...

You knew you had picked up some sickness at the ice-skating rink a couple of days ago from one of the kids there, which only made you more frustrated by being mad at the parents who let their sick children go out in public and make everyone else ill.

But with all the work you had to do, handling holiday shopping, card making, your job, and a partridge in a pear tree, you knew that your perseverance wasn't going to let you take a rest.

Lucky for you, you had the hottest nurse in town to take care of you, and you also knew that she would be the one to push you back into your bed.

"Dekta? Are you alright? You've been coughing a lot," Wanda asked, walking up to you and immediately placing her hands on your face and neck, feeling your heated forehead.

"I-I'm fine baby, don't w- Achoo! Don't worry-" You sniffled, breaking out into another sneezing fit, gripping the edges of your blanket that kept you warm from how cold you were.

"Well, I'm going to worry. You're burning up, sneezing uncontrollably, and all bundled up as if you're in Antarctica!" Your girlfriend replied as she went to grab her thermometer from the closet next to the bathroom.

"I told you I was fine Wands," You groaned, putting your head in your hands as the redhead fussed over you.

"You certainly don't look like someone fine, Y/n-" She rolled her eyes, turning you around to face her as she stuck the stick in your mouth.

"B- Mmph!" You said in a muffled voice, looking down at the thermometer before looking back up at your girlfriend with a glare. "I don't like you..."

"Shush Dekta-" Wanda quieted you, pressing a finger to your lips once she had taken the instrument out of your mouth. "101," She sighed, looking at you with concerned eyes. "You need to get back to bed,"

"I can't, you know that!" You replied, "I have so much to do. A little fever isn't going to stop me!"

"Then I will," Your girlfriend said sternly, picking you up in a swift motion before walking you to your shared bedroom. "Stay here, and I'll be right back. Don't move-" She instructed you before leaving the room as quickly as she entered it.

You sighed, plopping down onto your pillow as your body decompressed, your arms pulling a blanket over you for any inch of relief for your cold body.

"Stupid flu," You mumbled, grabbing a tissue box for your nose, too tired to get up and throw the used ones away. "Why don't you just make your kids stay home?"

You lay there in misery, cuddling up against your blanket like a child clinging to their mom through sniffles and coughs.

"I'm back sweetheart," Wanda smiled softly as you noticed her figure appear through your half-open eyes, hearing her lowering her voice to make sure your head didn't hurt from her volume.

"Hmm..." You hummed, taking one of your girlfriend's hands in your own. "Missed you,"

Wanda chuckled, kissing your forehead to check the temperature once again before handing you some medicine.

"Take these, okay Dekta?" The redhead cooed, handing you the pills and some water, watching as you took it and made a face.

"Ew- I thought pills weren't supposed to be icky..." You groaned.

"I'm sorry baby," The green-eyed girl in front of you smiled sympathetically. "I know they taste bad, but you did good by taking them,"

"Wands, you don't need to take care of me, I ca-"

"But I want to, I like making sure you're alright," She chuckled, reassuring you by gently placing her hand on your chest to keep you down on the bed.

"Alright bu- Achoo!" You sneezed once again, rubbing your reddened nose as you grabbed a tissue to blow your nose.

"Come here baby," Wanda smiled, kissing the top of your head before pulling you into her lap, allowing you to rest your head on her shoulder.

"No, I'll get you sick!" You protested, weakly pulling yourself away.

"I got my vaccine, and I already had it earlier this year, I'll be okay. Please don't worry, I'm alright,"

"You sure?" You whimpered.

"Yes, Dekta. I have a strong immune system, and I'll shower extra deeply," She pressed a kiss to the tip of your reddened nose.

You laughed, wrapping your arms around her waist as a replacement for a blanket.

"I feel like a baby," You giggled before sneezing yet again.

"You're just sick. We're all big babies when we're sick," The older woman chuckled.

"I'm just really sorry I got sick..." You said, looking up at your girlfriend with an apologetic expression present on your features that only made the redhead laugh.

"Dekta, it's not your fault," She assured you, patting your head with a smile. "Now, why don't you go to bed and try and get yourself feeling better, okay?"

You nodded; your eyes fluttering shut as you lay in the arms of your love, your thoughts and fears fading like they always did whenever you were with Wanda.

...

If you enjoyed reading this, don't forget to like, reblog and comment! Thank you and you are loved <3

-Akira

[pyro-madder]

Maria & Gehrman for the bingo! :D

(Also I just saw your banner it's so cool and fun XD! And I just saw the freaking timeline post ghjklm going insane it's so cool! I mean I have one too somewhere & I made silly family trees hcs but yours look so nice edited like this! and it really create something cohesive! very well done! 👏)

yeah Powerup who made the banner is insane like that :'} and THANK YOU that's two days on canva babyyyyy (what am i doing with my life)

if you're ok with it i'd love to see your own timeline/family trees though !! hand it over /no pressure 🫶

now for the trouble duo, oh boy

Mary

maria maria maria... mixed feelings. don't get me wrong - i have no criticism on her character, she and her role in the story are extremely interesting and nuanced, and of course she's cool and pretty, but i have this automatic turn-off with most characters who are widely popular like she is. and then i came in the fandom and saw the poor girl surrounded by discourse and it made me So Tired without even getting into it 😂 i can't fully check off "everyone else is wrong about them" because i have few thoughts of my own about her and mostly just stick with the homies' takes, i'm in no position to really judge others'

AND GUESS WHAT said homies' takes are making me want to try to get over that initial turn-off !! i'm still thinking about your post about her love for lumenflowers ! it's !! so !!! cute !!!! and it prompted me to see beyond her boss fight's ice-cool persona - it's only a glimpse of her !! there is more !!! so, it's hopefully underway.

Gehrmy

ALMOOOOST DFGHJKLM i've mentionned him becoming a comfort which i blame on my muses (hunter and laurence) ! so yeah, again, Thoughts are underway

... i don't need to expand much on the rest, i fear you know it better than i do 8''') i'd have liked him just fine as the amazing, tragic, not-quite-mentor final boss he is, but seeing all the vitriol automatically made me like him more, especially since a lot of it is of extremely poor faith X) let him rest...

[millerflintstone]

I'm so tired, y'all. It's been a week. It's good in that there is valuable knowledge shared but bad in that the communication from the requester was poor. But I guess also good because it gives me a frame of reference for how to communicate with the external requesters. There are 8 training videos for a set of I think 3 different special reports. It was draining.

Every Friday there's a status meeting between me, my boss, and the guy I'm replacing. Our boss had a question for me about my PTO for December. As part of the interview screening, I had indicated 3 weeks off including that first week in January of next year to see if they'd balk because health plans usually don't allow or are picky about that. This is not a health plan, so it was ok. There's just red tape about floating holidays. My boss wanted to know if I'd be requesting it soon.

Well, guess who started answering for me? 😬😂

I did not let him get far. I said, "Hang on, (mentor name)" as he was two words in.

I explained that the crappy recruiter figured I could use 3 floating holidays, not realizing I could only use 2 because it's mandatory for my department to have to take off on Veteran's day. And I also explained why I hadn't requested it yet; with Gigabyte being erratic with her health, I was kind of waiting to see if things were going to take a turn.

So, my boss explained what to do re: the floating holidays and then I let her know I'd put the time in at the end of November at the latest. Then I told the mentor he could bring up whatever point it was.

Well, it was exactly what I mentioned. There was some other stuff about 2024 holidays not being accessible until 2024.

I think he's gotten so used to talking for people here and that's whatever. I don't need that, my guy and I sure as shit am not the type of person you can bulldoze. I can tell he doesn't do it out of being a dick and that he just wants to help. It's still exhausting but it is not long-term.

[lemotmo]

🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖

Ok I’m not gonna lie. This dose of tea took me a minute to compile together because my gosh did the video Ryan share poke the hornets nest 😂😂 and the results brought out ALL the insiders with the dish on what happened behind the scenes with the bt fandom. Main take away was they are two schools of thoughts. 1) Pretend it never happened and act like everything is sunshine and daisies. 2) Acknowledgement of the video and absolutely blame Ryan and only Ryan for all the world’s problems. You’ll also probably notice how as time goes on from the original Ryan share, their response and actions to it get more and more unhinged 💀 though 1 seems to have seen the light as you will see, and then another one (one of the leaders of the Bt fandom) and I agree with the spy in terms of the thought of it being horrifying, has apparently decided she now wants to love Eddie again and write fics about him. Which as the post says, she had been one of most foul toxic horrible takes on Ryan and Eddie since Tommy arrived, including being the one who made that horrible video about Eddie having a 💀 attempt mirror Ryan’s , so no thanks. Keep her far away from both.

And at the very end, I am including a post I saw that had me absolutely wheezing so I hope you enjoy that.

And with that! May I present to you, your tea (also I love how creative these people are getting with the secret names 😂)

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758468759788929024/lady-whistledown-im-sorry-i-had-the-audacity

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758470951061078016/lady-whistledown-ok-since-im-painfully-not-up

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758471424214220800/perry-the-platypus

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758473403573436416/httpsxcombuckkissestommystatus18223891447037

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758473500594995200/httpsxcomabnosomealyssastatus182240298059718

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758473589161967616/theyre-lashing-out-to-the-point-of-making-hate

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758473827902799872/hi-love-carmen-sandiego-here-i-just-want-to-add

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758475697703485440/lady-whistledown-watch-your-inbox-and-sanity

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758476116840398848/httpsxcomramallsznstatus1822376926960316499

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758476357390008320/its-carmen-sandiego-again-sorry-they-just-dont

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758476617173581824/theyre-turning-this-into-a-crazy-ryans-inciting

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758478720198688768/hello-gurl-gg-here-not-only-for-gossip-but-for-my

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758480196440588288/omg-one-of-them-saw-the-light

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758479499360927744/okay-i-have-something-to-add-here-i-feel-like-a

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758481810156109824/no-new-spy-info-from-me-but-i-do-think-that

And now for your early morning laugh

https://www.tumblr.com/lover-of-mine/758476959373213696/im-gonna-pee-myself

That’s all for now! may your kettle be boiling with tea anew tomorrow 🫖

Hi 🫖 Nonny!

Thank you for my morning 🫖. I do appreciate you taking the time and effort to do this.

A lot has happened since I went to bed last night. 👀

I can't wrap my head around some of the things I've read and seen.

All of this over a fictional character on a TV-show. 🤷‍♀️ I guess the cast got tired of the sh*tty takes too. Good for them.

Hopefully we'll get some more great bts the following days. I'm ready to speculate about season 8 some more. 😄

Have great Sunday Nonny!

[theageofsims]

This is gonna be a shit post, but that's what I do around here.

So there's been 3 deaths. Yes -- 3.

How can this happen? Ya girl don't even know. So much is happening off my watch and to say that I'm not literally out there trying to pick my faves and runner-ups in this legacy would be a damn lie.

For starters -- Delaney. Somebody fucking tell me HOW Delaney even died though. I didn't even think vampires could actually die outside of burning up from the sun (if they aren't immune to it) -- and she was immune to it.

I knew they could die because her aunt passed away randomly about two months ago and I was going to work that into the storyline, but I had to get everyone into a new save (and been struggling making sure everyone is related where relations need to be especially since family trees have been broken).

But I didn't care about her Aunt -- I literally spent an entire like 8 hour game session awhile back when Delaney was still a teenager, to make sure she became a master vampire. Her father Timothy isn't even a master vampire (yet???) and at the rate he's going, he's closer to a damn demon rather than a vampire at this point.

I can't.

I wasn't around like at all for Delaney's childhood and most of her teenage years because I was off with the others.

It's whatever. That's just how I roll. I don't pause the aging of the Sims. They out there living their lives. Shit is gonna happen, but I had plans for Delaney.

I spent like 3 hours one night chatting with a friend about bullshit in-between us coming up with NINE boy and NINE girl names for Delaney and Coleman's unborn children.

They were supposed to have 9 children.

I don't know what happened in the original save, but Delaney was pregnant with 3 girls -- only one baby showed up after a massive glitch during her giving birth. That's why in the storyline it mentions she lost two children. What happened to them? I don't even know. I never ever had that happen.

Then she was supposed to have another set (of triplets). All nine children were supposed to be 3 sets of triplets. Well I made a mistake in MCCC, so she got pregnant with just one child... Another girl, which is Helga.

She was supposed to have 3 sons next. I had their names all picked out and ready to go... And then I find out she passed away. 😒

The game says she died of electrocution, but how? From lightening? They had no appliances or tvs in the house. Whatever the case, I just said she got stabbed in the heart by a vampire slayer because how else are vampire stories and their deaths typically told?

Fuck this game I'm through. 🤣😂🤣

I am so tired of planning shit that never ends up happening, but I also will NOT control these Sims more than I am within this legacy so they can just keep right on fucking with me! 🤣😂🤣

I knew something was going to happen to Delaney. I didn't know what or when, I mean -- she's the youngest sim to have passed away in my legacy, aside from her two daughters that never were meant to be.

I say this because she was constantly eating human food because she couldn't ever satisfy her hunger. She had that one trait -- or one of those food traits. The same as Lani (her mother) and it's like she was constantly in a state of hunger.

And then I made her a guilty drinker because she was supposed to be this like horseback rider at some point in her life so I was like oh she can just plant plama and harvest them -- and be fine.

Well -- ya girl wasn't fine. I don't know how many days she had left because she became an adult, but I'll know when I check in with Dakota (her twin sister).

Sunny, her late Aunt passed away like her first day as an Adult and I was devastated especially since Taro passed like a week before.

But anyway...

Clearly I made Coleman's death happen. I did use the random generator to find out if Timothy should be the one to end him. The random generator said yes and then I said well wait -- should Timothy end him or turn him? And the answer came back to end him so I said ya know what? Ya boy Coleman has GOT TO GO...

And that's what happened.

Now... Listen. What happened to Gavin was NOT supposed to happen to Gavin. I tried so hard to get him to safety.

I don't know what's going on with the fires in the game, but the incense is out there killing Sims. Just facts at this point. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I know I have a mod that fires do not start from fireplaces -- for years now, but I never had such an issue with incense.

I know I've had it happen, but the Sims are able to extinguish themselves or call the fire department. Sulani and Gavin couldn't do either -- and wait, Sulani's ass caught on fire, too! 👀👀👀👀

I was like OMG... I know this is NOT happening to me right now.

Well -- it happened.

But at least Sulani was finally able to extinguish herself.

And wait -- I wrote it that she tried to save him as in she dragged his ass out the house but in game he was OUTSIDE and he still got killed by the flames!

She was inside engulfed in flames and was able to extinguish herself at the last minute, but him? Not a chance. 😒☹️

[notfreetoday]

Hi! I read your post about amae recently and I wondered something in regards to Segasaki and Yoh (MPW).

(Spoiler ep 8!)

Segasaki asks Yoh to wait at the door and greet him when he gets home from work. Though Yoh is confused he recognizes that it's something that would make Segasaki happy. He then takes the initiative to say the greetings in the kitchen, giving his anwer to the request. Is this Yoh recognizing Segasaki's amae?

Hello! Thank you for reading my post 😁 And yes it is! Specifically, asking Yoh to come to the door regardless of what he is doing, is the amae part (plus, the way Segasaki says it). Standard greetings like okaeri and tadaima (see Ep 3's post for more) are what make coming home feel like, well coming home. They're a very common part of everyday life - but Segasaki doesn't say "I'm back". Yoh has said "welcome back" before - but only after Segasaki comes to look for him.

Ep 8 is when Yoh finally recognizes Segasaki's amae - In fact, Yoh specifically uses the word "amae" when he does realize it, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't in the subtitles (I haven't fully watched the subtitled version of EP 8 yet).

Since it'll take me awhile to get to Ep 8, I'll just do this part first, because it looks like the subtitles make it a little harder to tell that he's amae-ing.

S: その代わり S: 俺が帰ったら通話中だろうが何だろうが S: 玄関まで来い S: んで*　おかえりっていえ Y: そんなこと** してほしかったの？ S: 悪いかよ？*** Y: 別に悪くない S: Instead of that, S: When I come back, whether you're in the middle of a call or doing whatever else S: Come to the front door S: and then*, say "welcome back" Y: Is that something... you've wanted me to do?** S: (You mean) I can't (want that)?*** Y: No... there's nothing wrong (with that)...

*Segasaki uses a shortened, informal version of "and then" here, and together with his muttering, and his unwillingness to look at Yoh, he sounds like he really doesn't want to have to admit this (though, he still sticks to his rough speech 🤣).

**Yoh's phrasing here makes it sound like he's genuinely surprised that Segasaki wants this, because, like I said earlier, it really is something very simple that most people would take for granted.

***悪いかよ - Literally "Is it wrong?", with an ending particle that indicates this line is a challenge, except for the fact that he says it so tentatively.

Y: 本当よく分かんないやつ* Y: そんなことでうれしいの？ Y: おかえり Y: お仕事　お疲れ様** Y: 玄関じゃないけど Y: Really... such a difficult to understand guy* Y: Would something like that... really make him happy? Y: Welcome back Y: You've worked hard at the office** Y: Well, it's not at the door though

*Yoh uses the informal word やつ (yatsu) to refer to Segasaki here, which he's never used before. Depending on the context, it can be considered rude, though is often used casually amongst male friends. In this context here, it's used to express affection mixed with mild exasperation.

**お疲れ様 (otsukaresama) - standard greeting; full version "otsukaresama desu/deshita". Literally means "you're tired/you've worked hard" and is an acknowledgement of the effort someone has put in for the day, more than it is some sort of praise or commendation. For eg, Yoh says this to his lousy editor in Ep 5 😅

That said, the way Yoh says it here is very sweet, adding the honorific prefix "O" to the word "shigoto (work/job)", and then tacking on the polite version of this phrase, "otsukaresama". Remember when I talked about the different definitions of sunao in the amae post as well? I mostly talked about Yoh not being able to be honest/straightforward with his own feelings, but the other definition of sunao describes an attitude/behaviour towards other people. That definition is usually translated along the lines of "cooperative/obedient/deferential" (note that these words sometimes carry a negative connotation in English, which is not so in this particular usage of the word in Japanese here). This is Yoh being the very picture of sunao here. It's adorable and sweet and it's no wonder Segasaki jumps right on him 😂

---

Thank you for your question! I'm really happy to know that amae is starting to be a little more understood, since it is quite a common phenomenon in many JBLs :))

[hughungrybear]

****Late to the party because I managed to fail my driver's licence test, so I'm going to cheer myself up and binge-watch the series on my list 😔****

Me watching Only Friends Ep. 8:

1. Based on the preview, this episode's title (Save Me) seems very apt to what is about to happen.

2. Cheum looked like she swallowed a lemon, but I guess her concerns are nothing compared to what is Sand's feeling as Mew and Ray grind drunk on the dance floor 😔. After all, the shittiest feeling is knowing exactly what is causing your heartache, but are powerless to do anything about it - except walking away that is.

3. Ray admitting he is so "damn happy" when he is with Sand, but still thinking that Mew is the one he loves is so frustrating. I want to reach out and shake this baby boy hard to see some sense. 😤😤😤

4. Wait, why are Yo and Plug fighting??? I thought they were already lovers? <after five seconds> Oh. Oh. Yo, if you are not ready for a relationship, then you should have never started at all. I'm with Plug on this one. 😔 Sidenote: P'Jenny's silent tears in this scene is heartbreaking. 😭😭😭

5. It looks like Mew will be losing everything he worked hard for if he doesn't stop his downward spiral. Although, I'm not sure if Top is the one who can save him. Truthfully, I just want these boys to be able to save themselves.

6. Okay, so at least it looks like Top's intentions are good. Unless he is lying to Cheum (about not caring if Mew comes back to him or not, as long as they save him), I guess there's a glimmer of hope for this character.

7. Gosh, Papang is simply everywhere. Does not matter whether it's BL, comedy, thriller, or your garden-variety lakorn. Papang must be the most tired actor in GMMTV for 2023 😂

8. It sure looks like Nick was summoned, not only for his tech skills, but also to become his senior's next boyfie 😅

9. "If licking your a** can get me this job, I will do it". ~ Nick

Oh. My. Gawd. I do think Papang's character will literally take you up on that offer, Nick. 🫣🫣🫣

10. Oh, at last, Title is here. I have been wondering about his role for this series.

11. Ngl. I just want to slap both Mew and Ray. It is pretty obvious how they are forcing themselves to look like they are having fun with each other's company. My head hurts just by looking at these kids.

12. Oh, Nick. Listen to Sand. STOP MOVING IN CIRCLES!!! BOSTON AIN'T WORTH IT. 😑😑😑

13. Ray, make up your damn mind. Either you love Mew or you want Sand. Pick an effing lane. Good for Sand for shutting that sh*t down.

14. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Atom (Title) and Cheum are siblings??? And Atom is interested in Boston? And if Boston take Atom up on his offer? What then??? Wtf will happen?

15. Sand still worrying about Ray despite everything is just depressingly sad.

Still not convinced that leopards (Top) can truly changed their spots. Looks like Sand will not be able to stay away from Ray. And Boston literally screwing Cheum's lil bro will definitely not go well. Gods, now I'm even more depressed after watching this episode lol. 😅

[neonscandal]

Hello, when I read your post, that you don't mind if someone gave manga recs, I feel relieved. Because, some people (that I know) kinda mind if someone gave manga/manhwa recs. These are my top 7 favorite BL and bonus 2 GL (thanks if you want to read & sorry if maybe you already know and don't like them) :

1.) Therapy Game (my first BL and my all time favorite, never got tired of re-reading, HEA).

2.) Dear Gene (it's more LGBTQ themed and just so good, HEA).

3.) A Home Far Away ("If I were a woman, loving you would not be a sin", angst not happy ending, but worth it).

4.) Welcome Back Aureole (coming of age kinda story, realistic BL, from the mangaka of Skip and Loafer, HEA).

5.) Sankaku Mado (I read this before JJK, and I understand more about curses after reading this, for me it's not like the usual BL, but you just want to keep reading it, kinda spooky).

6.) Fake (90'S BL that is just so fun and interesting, love how their relationship develop, and also quite funny)

7.) Love for Sale (what a ride, when you think it's just the usual trope, then you'll be surprised, love all the characters and also how they handle their relationship).

8.) Her Tale of Shim Chong (one of the best GL ever, please read this, felt so realistic even if there a fantasy element).

9.) Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon (so sweet and cute but also really felt like every day life).

Sorry if my reviews are sloppy, @neonscandal and I hope you'll enjoy some of the above.

I want to thank you, because of you now I became AshEiji, BakuDeku and SatoSugu shipper. Really love your metas and all your posts, thanks for sharing your hard work...🌷😆

For as long as I live, I may never finish my TBR or TBW but I'll certainly try. ✨ I only had five of these on my To Be Read list so thank you for sharing (one of them was ofc a GL)! Don't apologize for anything, especially for such succinct synopses.

I regularly think about if there's a way to include a "Currently Reading" and/or "Currently Watching" on my blog without just... posting that regularly. Admittedly, it feels like exposing a bit too much of myself but, at the same time, I really enjoy being able to connect with other people about the stuff that I read when I'm deep in my thoughts and feels. IDK if you care but, if you do, I'll be sure to reblog this post with my thoughts on your recs as I read them.

As I said, sometimes I feel like I'm exposing myself a bit. When I was younger, I used to think you learn a lot about someone from what they read and listen to. I still think that. I tended to be really furtive while being really eager to learn more about others, especially in this way. Now, here I am, constantly telling strangers about my favorite ships, characters and stories and, all the while, wondering what it is you guys take away from that. It's just funny to think about. Maybe it's growth. And now you're giving me the chance to learn about you. I appreciate the opportunity.

You thanking me for your ships is hilarious. I'm sure it was only a matter of time before you found and loved them, too. Sharing my hard work? Baby, I'm sharing my mental illness. Welcome to the misery, I'm glad you like it here 😂💖