#me personally I feel like I’m going like ☺️ but apparently not

[jamandjazz]

Hmmm something’s telling me I’m not right in the head

[ellecdc]

I have been summoned by the Poly!Wolfstar notification!!!!

I’m always a goner for brother’s best friend trope and this time it’s best friends so literally double the fun ☺️ This is just so soft and adorable pls you’re spoiling us, queen!

Part 2 where they tell Jamie and he actually already knew? Cause the joke is always James can be oblivious most of the time, but they don’t know it doesn’t apply to his sister so he already knew, most likely even before she knew herself cause he’s a sweet brother like that.

*sigh* I want a big brother

Love you queen! 💕

hahaha awe you're so right babes. it's really funny because I have this request and then the exact opposite version of this request - so it will be fun to write the other one too! it'll take me a lot longer though, angst always does.

part one here - but can be read as a stand alone

poly!wolfstar x potter!reader - you & the boys tell James

“You’re going to wear a hole in the rug there, dolly.” Sirius drawled in faux nonchalance as the two of you waited in the boys’ dorm room for Remus to return with James.

You were going to do it. Today. You were going to tell your brother you were dating his two best friends.

No big deal, right?

Except it was a big deal and you were absolutely losing your bloody mind.

And then your boyfriend had the audacity to be sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard, casually telling you to relax like he wasn’t also shaking in his boots Doc Marten’s. 

Remus had volunteered to be the one to retrieve James for the lot of you. Mostly because you would have likely broken down in a mental state if it had been you, and Sirius likely would have blurted it out on his way up the stairs.

The door clicked and you could hear the quiet mumbling of your boyfriend and the much louder mumbling of your brother as the two entered the room. Based on the smiles on their faces, particularly James’ who eyes crinkled in delight, they were talking about something funny.

“Oh! Hey bug.” James called to you, seeming surprised you were here but not perturbed. “Hey Pads; Moony said you guys wanted to talk?”

Remus stayed standing near the door and you paused in your nervous pacing whilst Sirius scooted to the end of his bed, elbows on his knees and feet resting on his school trunk.

James didn’t look at all disturbed or uncomfortable. In fact, he looked completely at ease, here in the room with three of his favourite people in the whole world. Remus, the person who he goes to when he needs to feel grounded. Sirius, his best friend and partner in crime. And you, his twin sister and other half.

What were you doing here?

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe you shouldn’t tell him. This could ruin him; this had the potential to ruin three of James’ most precious relationships. How could you have been so selfish? He didn’t need to know, the least the three of you could do is keep this to yourself. Abort, abort, abort.

“So?” James asked, looking around at everyone with a raised eyebrow. “Are you finally going to tell me the three of you are dating?”

You were sure your heart stopped. Remus blew out an exasperated laugh and Sirius choked on air. 

“You knew!?” Sirius screeched.

James smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah?”

“How?” You whispered.

James’ face softened significantly when he took in your face that was drained of all colour. “Well, Pads here is about as subtle as an erumpent. Moony has been mooning over you since like third year. And I’d have to be blind – do not joke about my eyesight – not to notice the way you look at them.” He offered simply.

“So, you’ve known all this time and just let us tiptoe around?” Sirius asked, sounding a little miffed – at his friend for allowing him to make a fool of himself, or at his apparent lack of discrepancy, you weren’t sure.

“I figured you guys would tell me when you were ready.” James said simply again.

“Are you mad?” Remus asked quietly, pointedly looking at you ask he asked. He knew this was your biggest fear, the potential fallout. You weren’t sure what you’d do if James refused to accept your relationship with Remus and Sirius. You couldn’t bear the thought of breaking up their friend group; three people would lose if that was the case, but it would only hurt you if you were the one to step away. 

“No.” James said as he moved his head back and forth slightly. “I guess I was hurt you didn't tell me, but I could also understand why you didn’t. But no, I’m not mad.”

You blew out a breath at that, but it came out incredibly shaky. Unfortunately for you, no one in the room missed it.

“Awe bug. I’m sorry.” James said as he stood and offered his open arms to you. You took him up on his offer and accepted his hug, leaning your head onto his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Jamie.”

“Don’t be, yeah? I’m happy for you, really.” He assured, rubbing roughly on your back. 

“Yeah?” You asked as you pulled back to look at him. You couldn’t see any contradictions on his face, only love.

“’Course. You’re the best, and I want the best for you.” He shook your shoulders a little, smiling like ‘did you seriously think otherwise?’

“Are they good to you?” He whispered, and though you knew your werewolf boyfriend and your canine animagus boyfriend could both likely hear the conversation, they allowed this moment to be yours and James’ alone.

“So good, Jamie. Promise.” You said, feeling tears prick at your eyes. 

“You’ll tell me if they’re not?”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, but James wouldn’t let you pull away as you wont to do. “I wouldn’t involve you in it, James. They were your friends first; I’m not going to come between you.”

James’ brows furrowed a little as he seemed to ponder your words. “Perhaps...but you were my sister first. If anything, they’d be coming between us.”

You opted to smile at your brother and pinch his side like you knew he hated. “Never. That’s impossible.”

At that he finally let you go, returning your smile ten-fold. “That’s what I’ve been trying to say! So? Are we good?” He asked, turning to the rest of the room.

Remus had a proud and slightly emotional smile on his face while Sirius just stared between the two of you, eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed. 

“I’m sorry. What just happened?” He finally spat.

Remus groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Sirius, please. This went about as well as we could have hoped.”

James’ head popped up at that. “Oh! Sorry, did I make that too easy on you all?”

Sirius let out a scoff that sounded like “uhm, duh?”

“I could make it harder on you?” James offered.

“Please do.” Sirius said eagerly, causing you and Remus to groan in sync. 

James offered a quick ‘okay’ and cleared his throat, allowing silence to settle throughout the room as he picked up a stray book off his school trunk. 

Suddenly, he threw the book onto the ground, creating a booming thump. “MY SISTER!? ARE YOU KIDDING? YOU’RE DATING MY SISTER!?”

“JAMES PLEASE, JUST HEAR US OUT!” Sirius shouted back just as passionately. 

James scoffed in derision. “HEAR YOU OUT? HEAR YOU OUT. I THINK I’VE HEARD ENOUGH!”

“YOU CAN’T KEEP US APART!” 

“I CAN AND I WILL. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!? I THOUGHT THIS FRIENDSHIP MEANT SOMETHING TO YOU.”

“IT MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME!” Sirius called back, dropping to his knees on the floor in front of James. 

You shared a look with Remus as the theatrics continued, knowing this could go on for hours.

“Should we leave them to their drama?” Remus asked you.

“Please.” You nearly begged, taking his hand and exiting the dorm, catching one last sentence before the door clicked shut behind you.

“I’M IN LOVE WITH HER, JAMES!”

“I DON’T CA- wait are you really? That's so cute!”

[classiccowboy]

instagram j.b.

summary: follow along with joe and his fiance evie as they go through his football career.

*face claim is Yasmin Quintana*

series masterlist

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, evie, and 829,726 others

joeyb_9: my spidey sense is starting to tingle a bit

view all 57,727 comments…

user: loser go bills

user: daddy burrow

user: how is ev?

> user: no one cares

user: JOE BRRRRR

evie: ok sexy.

> joeyb_9: 😉

> user: are you going to call off the engagement joe

user: bring some ice home this season

lahjay10_: 🤫🤫

user: slay

evie

liked by joeyb_9, bengals, and 928,926 others

evie: is it september yet? i miss football.

view all 54,836 comments…

*comments on this post are limited*

user: noooo not the username change

> evie: am i.. rebranding?

user: slayyy

millyg: i’m sorry, are those leather pants? in a casual setting? spicy..

> evie: 👀

user: why you no breezy anymore?

user: gorgeous, i hope you’re doing well!

> evie: i’m wonderful. 💗

user: i’m obsessed with you and joe! you’re my favorite couple.

> evie: thanks for the love.

user: LFG GO BENGALS

> evie: always!

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, lahjay10_, and 726,928 others

joeyb_9: preparing for invaders

view all 2,855 comments…

user: you are my american dream

user: i’d prepare for you whenever

user: a man? for me?

user: hit me in my dm’s when you drop your gf

> millyg: the disrespect is astounding. he doesn’t know you sis. sorry.

user: kirk cousins except with swag

evie: your tan skin! your sweet smile! so good to me, SO RIGHT!!!

> joeyb_9: i’ll hold you in my arms EVERY september night.

> user: STOP IT RIGHT NOW

user: ev and joe using taylor references, they are IT

user: i think i threw up a little

evie

liked by joeyb_9, millyg, and 860,245 others

evie: goodbye off season, you were a magical gift full of the people i love most. now its #gobengals

view all 278 comments…

*comments on this post are limited*

user: sending all my love

joeyb_9: i am an avacado toast hater.

> evie: at least you have good taste in women. 😉

user: it still blows my mind that ur casually dating joey b

> evie: so lucky to be loved by my jb.

user: jealous

lahjay10_: nah you fr leave me out this?

> evie: we are in a private relationship.

user: turn comments back on

user: how does it feel to live my dream?

> evie: it feels like.. well.. a dream.

user: i’m ready for ev in her WAG era

evie

liked by millyg, joeyb_9, and 916,729 others

evie: pov joey is behind the camera

view all 6,828 comments…

*comments on this post are limited*

user: i’m obsessed with ur love

millyg: you are sunshine in human form

> evie: i’ll cry rn.

user: are you kidding!!! the cutest?

user: a model

joeyb_9: pretty gal i love you

> evie: 💗💗💗

user: i’m sorry people are so mean ev, we love you.

> evie: yall make my heart smile. ☺️

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, evie, and 708,626 others

joeyb_9: ⏲️

view all 4,728 comments…

user: times up evie it’s my turn

user: ur the finest man alive joe

user: SHIESTYYYY

user: can we hang out

user: baby goat

evie: you are HIM baby

> user: dude is trash and you’re a loser for dating him

> user: everytime you call him baby i want to die

> user: you are cringe. disgusting. he deserves so much better

user: time to grind, hope you’re ready!

evie

liked by joeyb_9, millyg, and 1,737,973 others

evie: some of my thoughts: from the moment joe got drafted i always knew there was a chance people would react negatively to me, but i never wanted that fear to hinder who i am. i am a kind person, i am a supportive person, i love football, i love joe, i love sharing my life with people who enjoy me. i don’t want any of those things to change. so to those who choose to be unkind behind screens and anonymity, i encourage you take a moment and reflect. to make your heart the most beautiful thing about you, and simply let everything you do be lead with love.

view all 96,629 comments…

user: you are so beautiful and such a light

user: attention seeking

> joeyb_9: apparently you didn’t read the caption well enough.

> user: not joe in the comments 😳

user: yup this is our QUEEN 🥰🥰

joeyb_9: you deserve all the love and kindness this world has to offer. i’m so proud of you and the person that you are. i love you ev.

> evie: i love you with my whole entire heart jb. 🤍

user: i love this, you are such an inspiration to all of us.

millyg: the most beautiful heart and soul of anyone i know, the true light in the darkness. thanks for being you ev.

user: queen ev 👑👑👑

[uchihaharlot]

Hi!! Just discovered your blog and love your writing — I’d love to see more Sasuke content!! he’s my absolute favorite 🫣🫠 personal headcanon but I feel like he’s the type that would fall for a friend, or friend of a friend, and not even realize it until he’s getting mad she’s not coming onto him like everyone else does, and then he thinks about that and he’s like oh wait…

and then he’d like make it his mission in life to get her to beg for him in evvvvery way 😏 if you are taking requests, I am horny af for him and would love to see your take on Sasuke finally *ahem* winning her over and giving her more than she knows what to do with, taking everything he wants from her…

but also mainly just any nsfw Sasuke content from you would make me sooo happy 🥵💕

Hello my lovely ☺️ welcome to my little slutty corner of the world and I’m glad you’re here. When I saw your request(s) I got so damn giddy. Sasuke was my original Uchiha bae. Called him, Sasbae 😂😂 I still love him, but more like an ex boyfriend now.

Lmao Sasuke inadvertently falling for a friend of a friend that he saw for all of ten minutes once is just too funny for me. And all too real for him. (SO LINKS WONT LET ME ADD THIS TO MY MASTERLIST??)

NSFW; Sasuke getting blown like the wind by a girl he couldn’t even wrap his head around; so she wraps her lips around his head

Like he wouldn’t even know what to do with himself. I think out of all the Uchiha, Sasuke is the easiest to fall the hardest. Maybe Shisui second, but he’s somewhat more precautionary with his heart. Sasuke just gets struck with Cupids arrow and his soul is on fire 🔥 his heart burns and his blood boils with the intensity of a thousand stars. He just goes from chill to one hundred too fast. And gets livid about it, Shisui consistently badgers him too which makes the situation even worse.

Of course this girl knows what’s coming; she’s not stupid. No woman is stupid when it comes to garnering the attention of an Uchiha…if you do manage to catch their eye(s); consider yourself lucky. And she’s going to milk it for every ounce it’s worth. Sasuke is also the baby Uchiha, so even as an adult now, he needs and wants a lot of attention. Many years of being doted on by his older brother has spoiled him a bit. And he won’t admit it, ever. It’s like fighting tooth and nail with the neighbor over whose side a single damn weed is growing on. He wants her affections first and without having to make a move, but he’s not lazy or unmotivated. He’s just rather expectant and catered too.

And dear Sasuke; he’s not a romantic man. lol. He’s the tough love kinda of guy, he actually likes to be the one who gets chased, but this girl doesn’t want to go that route, she wants to be hunted like prey. So when she doesn’t fall for his reverse psychology tactic (he tried to leave her hanging one day—just out of the blue and he was so awkward about it, which she found endearing). He gets even more mad! She knows the game all too well and he loathes her for it.

This goes on for several weeks. That push and pull between to stubborn individuals who want nothing more than to feel one another beneath the other, but also are scared of the consequences of getting hurt. It’s a slippery slope. And eventually Sasuke caves, falls right into her lap, I honestly don’t see him making the first move, but he is going to pester her about how she feels about him.

They will spend an afternoon sparring and mildly arguing about this. It’s so damn funny, arguing over who should make the first move. Who does that? Apparently Sasuke. And you know what, she just does it. Does it knowing full well he wasn’t expecting her to.

Pins him to the ground and kisses his lips soft, but deep. Holding his face tenderly as she brushes the hair from his eyes. His cheeks are glazed with pink; and if she hadn’t known any better…there was a shift in his breathing. Which causes her to slip her tongue over his bottom lip.

Yes, this is exactly what Sasuke envisioned. Just all the permission needed to rub his thumb over her clothed heat and make her gasp in his mouth. Each subsequent sound he swallows whole as his courage, and cock, grow beyond magnifying proportions. He doesn’t think or recall a time in his life where he’s ever been this hard.

Quickly, he’s exposed: her lithe fingers mapping and touching every crevice of his aching cock. He groans, even just mere touching he wants to cum. The moment her mouth hits his sensitive flesh; he’s a mess. Gripping her hair and squeezing his legs around her. It doesn’t take long for the familiar feeling of orgasm to barrel from balls to shaft, and he’s not ready. But he can’t stop it.

He’s probably never busted a load this fast or fat, how many minutes was that? Three? Five? He’s almost embarrassed that he’s cumming this fast in her mouth, but how could he not? The way her lips look plump with her wrapped around him. How easily she sucks him into the back of her throat, undulating her mouth and tongue over his shaft. Yea, he’s in heaven and when she hums. That’s when a torrent of his seed pulses down her gullet. Hot and sticky.

From there his cheeks are red; and he gets standoff-ish. Totally, very much Sasuke. Though he’s not a complete ass wipe, once his hearts out of his throat, the favor is more than ten fold reciprocated and by the gods. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more arousing and ethereal than catching his lazy gaze as he swipes up her slit. Nose, mouth and chin dribbled with her slick, his grip on her waist holding her in place. Sasuke’s been considering this for months, months.

Making her girl brain into mashed potatoes is easy street, 1 2 3. All that cocky and arrogant banter between them was really just covert foreplay, and telling Sasuke how cute it was that he came fast was stupid. Really stupid, since all he has to do is suck on her clit, undoing her with solely his mouth. Nursing off her orgasm until she’s a jittery mess, incapable of sitting up afterwards. Can only stare at the sky, blinking and thinking how to fucking rack her brain around this.

It’s awkward, but just for a brief minute. Hormones aside, he’s lot entirely a touchy feely guy, but doesn’t protest when she wants to sit close to him afterwards under a tree. His dormant emotions take time to develop, to process all this outwardly. Inwardly he’s conveying them perfectly, but how he expresses them is something else.

[aleksanderscult]

Was the Darkling that much of a liar as the fandom makes him to be?

Because it's literally one thing for a character to truly lie every other page and another for the reader to have been tricked by the narrative that he's a compulsive liar.

If we thoroughly search and find his lying moments in the Grisha trilogy then it would be these:

“I don’t want to answer you.”

“Oh.”

Then he sighed and said, “One hundred and twenty. Give or take.”

After a moment, the Darkling said, “My great-great-great-grandfather was the Black Heretic, the Darkling who created the Shadow Fold.”

“How?” I pleaded. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“By helping me destroy the Shadow Fold.”

“What’s Baghra’s power, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think she was a Tidemaker.”

“Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”

“Where are they? ” I screamed.

“They are safe. For now. They will be on my skiff when I enter the Fold again.”

“As hostages,” I said dully.

He nodded.

So in the whole trilogy the Darkling lied six times. Four if you count the scenes before he was revealed as the "evil guy".

His first real conversation with Alina is considered both by the protagonist and the fandom as manipulative and shady. He lied about his identity, age and true goal. Now let's take it from the beginning.

The fact that he lied about his age and identity wasn't something personal against Alina. This is the exact same lie he had been telling the world for four hundred years as a means of survival and staying as head of the Grisha. Also, did we really expect him to say "Yeah, I was the one who created the Fold. Hehe what can you do?☺️". We would be lying too if we were in his place.

Another thing that needs to be understood here is that the Darkling was testing her. He was trying to see what her personality is like, how does she feel about her newfound powers and, most importantly, what has she heard and how does she feel about him. I'm pretty sure that he was kinda sure that Alina would have been influenced by the people's views about him. And he was right. Alina was afraid of him thanks to the rumors and superstitions that surround him. If she also knew who he truly was then she would run from that barn ASAP.

Now let's see the next lie that the Darkling spat out. The one where he told her that he needs her to destroy the Fold. This was another test. Trying to see how she would react if she knew her true purpose as the Sun Summoner that everybody expected.

Apparently she failed that test as well:

Alina panicked when she heard that the realm's future lies on her shoulders, when she understood that she would be the one to destroy the Shadow Fold. Imagine how she would react if the Darkling said "Okay look. I need you so I can use the Fold against some nations, not destroy it". Yup, she would scream and run.

There's no way the Darkling would say the truth to her, especially since he saw how frightened and prejudiced she was about him and how clueless she was about the whole economical and political situation Ravka was at this point.

He was waiting for the Sun Summoner to be born and emerge for centuries. He would never risk losing her now because of her narrow views and some brutal truths. It was a matter of life and death for him in order to protect his country. And this girl was too young, too naive to understand.

So no. He didn't do it because he had something personal against her or to seduce her. He did it for the good of his country so this girl would stay no matter what.

Sadly, it's evident that in the end the Darkling's suspicions proved to be right. She run away. And when he found her he chastised her about her selfishness and her inability to see the bigger picture.

“Did you deserve my trust? Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?”

“You didn’t give me much choice.”

“Of course you had a choice. And you chose to turn your back on your country, on everything that you are.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“Fairness!” he laughed. “Still she talks of fairness. What does fairness have to do with any of this? The people curse my name and pray for you, but you’re the one who was ready to abandon them. I’m the one who will give them power over their enemies. I’m the one who will free them from the tyranny of the King.”

The Darkling was right, she did have a choice. I once heard a line from a show that said "In life we always have a choice. But sometimes it's easier to think that you don't" and it applies to Alina here perfectly. She had a choice but she said to herself that she didn't. And by doing so, she only proved Aleksander right. She can't handle the truth.

Now the next lie is when he lied about his mother's powers. Don't have to dwell here because it's the same thing as before. It's the same lie he tells everyone "I don't know. I'm not sure". The Darkling (publicly) has distanced himself from his mother and keeps that relationship a secret. It's just part of his persona (just like his age, his identity etc.). Again nothing personal against Alina.

The next one is just some clever emotional manipulation. When he made clear to Mal that he would curve Alina's skin he knew that the threat was just enough. He has seen them act all cutie-cutie and being sacrificial for the sake of each other to a disgusting point so he took advantage of that (I say good for him).

And the last one is just my personal favourite if you ask me. That strategy he displayed there was my most favourite that he ever showed. Since he knew again how the threat would be enough for Alina to come to him like fish on a bait. He embraced his villainous persona and pretended that he would hurt those children if she didn't surrender to him. But he knew better. Mindless heroism would just bring her right into his net and again he was proved right until everything fucked up and died.

In his own words:

“I know what you thought, what you’ve always thought of me. It’s so much easier that way, isn’t it? To puff yourself up with your own righteousness.”

Just some delicious shit actually.

So, in conclusion, no. He wasn't a compulsive liar. But when he needed to lie he did and only for (as he saw it) selfless reasons. In fact, he mostly either evaded the truth or spoke truth. So misinformation just spilled that man's reputation lmao.

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Amazing!! Ok so I’m not sure how this would work, but maybe for the Mira x reader she could be xaden’s older sister or something who was best friends with Mira when they were younger (and maybe they had mutual secret feelings)

Ofc then the whole traitor thing ruined that and Mira didn’t want to associate with her anymore (friends to enemies to lovers anyone?) - though the canon time line might have to be altered😅

And then say if mira spoiler was somehow actually aware of the rebel base and that her brother was alive and she was aiding the rebels bc she’s cool

And reader just so happens to be stationed at the house etc, and they haven’t seen each other in years but mira’s immediately like damn she just got even more beautiful (in her head bc why would a sorrengail expose weakness)

Anyway I picture them as a kind of opposites attract trope, where reader is badass but in a more femme fatale way, where she takes people down because they don’t expect a pretty girl with good hair and style to be a threat you know? Or even if she is a talented healer or something like that!

Anyway, feel free to ignore all of this, I’m just so excited that you’re writing for fourth wing!!! I can’t wait to see what you come up with☺️

*wipes dust off this request* I apologize for taking so long... needed more pain from Iron Flame apparently to get to this... I hope this will find the person who requested it. ✨🤍

Interlinked

Mira's head was spinning. Too much. It was all too much. Too many things to bring to life... quite literally. She flew fearing for her sister. Only to find a whole rebellion clan squirming right beneath her nose. Then there was her brother who she had wept for years. Who's death had ripped the last bit of Mira's caring heart out. Burnt it with all the things that had belonged to Brennan. She had morn all of it. Over and over again blaming herself for it.

Mira had hit her older brother when she first saw him. She felt his nose brake right beneath her knuckles but nothing had prepared her for what appeared right behind him. Mira had staggered back. Her face paling of last bits of color. She quickly reached for a necklace she never took off. Two iron rings interlinked together. The part of her she had kept hidden away from everyone's praying eyes. "YN", she barely breathed out. Because there was no way. You too have died. Your name was on the scroll. Right after the fight you both had. Right after the next that hunted Mira even now. "No", Mira shook her head. "I'm alright", Brennon said even with the blood dripping through his palm, his good hand squeezing your arm. "Yn", Mira staggered forward but you backed away quickly. An ache in her heart only grew as you spoke, "I'm still dead to you, lieutenant", your words were like poison. Seeping deep into Mira's skin.

That had been a couple of weeks ago. Ever since you had done a marvelous job at avoiding Mira. She only caught a glimpse of you in some of the meetings. Saw you mounting your dragon. Or up in the sky. You were lethal. So graceful one would not expect such power to be rooted in you. But... but that was what had always drawn Mira to you. While you two were little she thought that her job was to protect you. How wrong had she been? It was you who Mira should have listened to. You who she shouldn't have rushed to judge.

Mira's body collided with another person right as she turned the corner. She reached to steady the frame in front of her but the moment her fingers brushed over the skin... Mira blinked as you came into her full vision. Wind-swept hair, rosy cheeks, still in your flying leathers. "Watch where you're going, Sorrengail", you huffed, turned to outstep her but Mira quickly caught your hand, "Y/n, you can't run from me forever", there was a light plea in her tone. One that you knew didn't come easy.

"I have nothing to say to you", you yanked your hand out of her grip. "I do", Mira breathed, "There hasn't been a day that I haven't been thinking of you", she breathed and you couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, "Oh, please...". You turned to face her, "You said it yourself back then in the courtyard. I don't belong in your world". Guilt rippled through Mira. She had been so naive back then. Eager to play by the books. Knowing only black-and-white truths. Rebellion mark had been a deal breaker then but now...

"Don't bother with it, Sorrengail", you hissed, "Don't call me that, you never called me that", Mira stepped closer to you, her eye's blazing. "That was before you gave up on us", you were inches away from her, nearly reaching for the dagger. "Do it", Mira urged you, "Stab me, slit my throat, jab it into my heart, because it will never come close to the pain I felt when I made the biggest mistake in my life". You took a sharp breath in, you didn't want to show your emotions, but you knew that she had caught that glimpse of emotions that shined in your eyes.

Mira reached for the necklace beneath her flying leathers, "I never took it off", she shook her head, "I never let go of you". You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to not break. To not let the years of anger chip away so easily. But this was Mira. Your Mira. The girl you had fallen in love with slowly even if you two were painfully aware that you might never have a chance to truly be together. Your chest heaved as you two stood there staring at each other. Your hand moved towards your neck, tugging away the same two interlinked loops. A soft cry slipped through Mira's lips as his eyes landed on the familiar metal. One that she had made for you.

But the moment of hope lasted only for a heartbeat as you backed away from her, shaking your head, "This changes nothing", you said quietly. "We can try. Let me prove it to you", Mira pleaded, trying to reach for you. "Prove yourself to my people first", you said bitterly, before turning away and rushing up the stairs.

[heyhellohihowareyou]

Why Valentine’s Day Time! was so freaking wholesome

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! In February 😃

Koro being extra as hell

Mimura honey….

Karma: “What could be sweeter than sailing by on an ocean of humilated faces for three whole years, right?”

Nagisa: “That’s a winning personality you got.” 😅

“There’s tons of decent schools out there, if all you care about is your transcript. But, do any of them boast an arch-nemesis worthy of me? I’m inclined to say no.” - Karma referring to Shuu

Is it weird I found that sorta of wholesome?

Oh yay, Sakura’s back!

And more of Koro being extra as hell

Okajima: “And don’t worry, I’m not gonna eat any of that cheapo crap you give out!”

Megu: “Excuse me!?” Look, Maehara got his fair share of an ass-kicking last episode. I think it’s Okajima’s turn.

Rio and Karma sharing a brain cell is always a delight

Kayano’s little screech

Karma+Rio: “We got a shiny new plaything!” Oh boy…

Sugino being very cool 🙂

HAYACHI! HAYACHI!

Chocolate bullets huh? Hm!

Both smooth as fuck 😆

Hazama’s cursed “Valentine”

Okuda: “Here’s your Valentine’s Day cyanide!” Get you a girl who can whip up a batch of poisoned chocolates 😉

Also, I love how Karmanami’s was considered a bonus case 😂

No comes my favorite part…

Isogai: “WOAH! All these for me!?” I freaking love you

Look at him

LOOK AT HIM

Megu: “I thought you might like to share them with your brother and sister.” I freaking love you

The fact that Megu went out of her way to bike four hours and back for those chocolates

The fact that Isogai was worried about her not being able to study during that time

The fact that they’re going to go to the same school together

THIS FACE!

WAAAAAH THIS SCENE WAS PERFECT

Of course Koro’s being a snoop

And of course Okajima’s unlucky as hell

Now it’s time for some good old NagiKae

To be honest I completely don’t know what to say. This scene was adorable as hell but kind of bittersweet and mwah💕

Rio: “Well damn, now I feel guilty thinking about trying to steal from her.”

Karma: “Come again?” Karma that was loud as fuck I know you heard that.

Well, at least Koro gets to have something for Valentine’s Day. Can’t say the same about Okajima though 😗

Oh this episodes still going

Oh yay! KaraIri time!

And it takes a dark turn of course

And Gakuhou’s here now apparently

And he also somehow managed to hold a wholesome conversation with Koro

Now back to KaraIri!

Still with the dark shit huh. This was supposed to be a Valentines Day episode I thought 🥲

Again, don’t know to say but this scene was just Mwah 💕

Also; Karasuma: “There’s no church anywhere near my house, sorry.” With context, that was smooth as fuck!

So in short, this episode was wholesome as FUCK and MWAH💕

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone ☺️💜

[adinfernumadinfinitum]

Writer interview game

Thanks for tagging me @punderdome! I feel appreciated 🥰

A few no pressure tags @scaredyspooks @wandawillow @infernalrusalka ☺️

When did you start writing?

Pretty early as I started to draw and make up little stories to my drawings at, like, the age of 5, 6? #manga

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Yes! I love to read non-fiction, as bizarre as it sounds (well, that‘s also my job), but I just love to dig into fields I was not interested or would never venture in only to find myself invested in the subject after reading about it.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

There are so many writers I enjoy reading and they are all different and unique in their writing and storytelling that it made me realize I don‘t want to compare myself or be compared to anyone. I strive to be myself and want my writing to reflect that (though I have a long way to go…)

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

My office at work. It‘s dull and has literally no color or life, but it is the space I can write the best (also I have an ergonomic chair and a height-adjustable table, so no aching back hehe)

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Muse? What’s a muse? I thrive on the danger called procrastination. When I procrastinate, I’m full of ideas and motivation to write or draw - just not to do the things I actually need to do.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

They don‘t surprise me anymore and I should dip my toes in other themes. I‘m a sucker for tragedy and making everyone suffer, so I started a story where I (hopefully will) write something happy and/or satisfying.

What is your reason for writing?

Honestly, I don‘t know. Too many thoughts for my head, they need to move so I write them down.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I‘m a simple person, just like @punderdome I have a praise kink apparently lol

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Hm, I‘d say it would be nice if I come across as friendly and approachable… I guess? (Man, that‘s a tough question)

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I’m gonna go with subtle foreshadowing and plottwists.

How do you feel about your own writing?

🤷🏼‍♀️🤔🫠 #if this conveys it #da ist noch Luft nach oben

[roostersup]

Garreth's very Happy Halloween

Garreth Weasley x f!MC Word count: 6290

This is a one shot at the end of book one of Isekai Legacy. I was writing my actual entry for #garrethweasleyfest24 when I got inspired for the filler episode for my actual fanfic.

I am posting it still because I think its so adorable, and even my readers who were sad the MC chose Garreth over Ominis still really liked it.

I still need to finish my actual entry for Garreth Weasley Fest... but it will get done!

Chapter Summary: Jane (the MC) is ready to confess her feeling for Garreth, but she doesn't know how she should do it. With the help of some friends she plans a Halloween party so can declare it to the room. Unfortunately those same friends make her declaration more difficult than expected. Oh and they have matchy Greek themed costumes for Halloween ☺️

When she made it back into the common room neither of her fellow Gryffindors from earlier were there. She looked around again, but the only familiar face she saw was Leander’s which looked very perplexed. She made her way over the table that he was working at, their charms textbook and essay out in front of him. 

“How’s it going?” She said, taking the seat next to him. He jumped a little at her words.

“Ah there you are!! Did you know Garreth has been looking for you all afternoon??” He crossed his arms and looked at her like he was very disappointed. She held back a laugh.

“Yes, he found me already.”

“Oh, well that’s good-” he looked around. “Where is he?”

“He went down to the kitchens to get some food for me and Natty- we both skipped dinner.”

“Ah well, alright then.” He looked a little bit lost as to what to do. It seemed he was ready to give her a lecture or something, but now apparently it wasn’t needed. She smiled towards him.

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?”

“Is it about charms? Because if so I don’t think I am going to be able to help.” 

Jane chuckled. “Ah but you’re so great at summoners court- is charms class that much of a struggle?”

“Yes.” he replied grimmly. “It seems that accio is the only spell I can get a handle on.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry- I don’t want to talk about charms. I actually want to talk about Garreth.”

“Ohhh” he said, turning more towards her and looking interested. “Are you finally going to admit your feelings for him and ask him to start courting?” He looked rather pleased with his little joke, but Jane just smiled softly.

“Actually yeah.”

“WAIT WHAT???” He yelled out so loud that the entire Gryffindor population still in the common room turned towards them. Jane covered her face with her hand, trying to avoid the incredulous looks from the other students. 

“Sorry-” Leander called out towards the other kids, then he rounded back down to her, whispering this time. “What???”

“I’m going to tell Garreth that I like him and ask if he wants to be with me.” She replied, her voice steady. “And I wanted to know your thoughts on how I should do it.”

“How you should do it?” He looked bewildered. “I’m still trying to comprehend the fact that this is no longer unrequited love.”

“Well comprehend faster- I don’t know when he will be back. “Jane said, glancing towards the portrait hole. “I want to know, is Garreth the kind of person who would want a loud declaration in front of lots of people, or would he rather have a private moment?”

“How should I know??? Neither of us have ever gotten this far with a girl, let alone have her be the one to share her feelings first!” Technically Garreth had already shared his feelings, and Jane had too- but she was just going to let him think what he wanted.

“You’ve known him for five years, he must have mentioned something along the lines of this.”

Leaner closed his eyes tight, looking like he was really trying to concentrate. She let him go at it for a while, but she was starting to feel antsy that Garreth was going to walk in at any second. She was about to tell him to just forget about it when he lit up like a lightbulb.

“Wait, I remember!” He said, his voice attracting attention again. “There was one time in our second year, after Gryffindor had won their quidditch match, that everyone gathered in the common room to celebrate. We were too young to really join in, but we watched everyone from up on the balcony-” he pointed up towards the little landing. 

“Everyone was drinking butterbeer and acting all merry. I think someone may have slipped in some firewhiskey because all of the older kids started to get kind of wild. Then the captain at the time, I forget his name now, was so drunk he actually stood up on the table and-”

“Leander,” Jane cut in “Focus.”

“Ah right sorry. Anyway during the party there was a girl who also stood up on a table, but she just yelled out into the crowd that she was in love with some bloke who was there. Everyone cheered and the boy was carried up towards her. Then they stood in front of everyone and kissed while everyone cheered again.”

“And Garreth… said he liked that?”

“Ah well I thought that it was a bit too public for such affections, but I remember looking over at Garreth and he practically had stars in his eyes. He said something like the bloke being the luckiest guy ever, and that he would be thrilled if someone ever did that to him.”

Jane sat and thought about his answer. Honestly it surprised her a little bit that Garreth would be one for public displays of affection, but at the same time she hadn’t really been sure. That was why she asked in the first place- as much as she did like him, there was still a lot she didn’t know about him. 

It wasn’t much after Leander’s story had finished that Garreth walked in, followed directly by Natty. Jane motioned for the boy to keep quiet about the whole thing, turning to smile towards her two friends.

That night Jane went to bed a little earlier than she normally would have. She said it was because the events of the day had tired her out, but really she just wanted to have time to scheme. Once she was in her room she started to make a plan for how she was going to create an event that was going to be lively enough for people to be standing on tables.

Without quidditch there wasn’t much that the school had to celebrate. Jane didn’t feel like she knew enough people to just throw a party at random, although maybe if she got others involved it could work. But thankfully there was a perfect excuse coming up in just over a week- Halloween.

If not for all the jack o'lanterns in the original Hogwarts Legacy game, Jane wouldn’t have been sure that Halloween was even celebrated at this point. But surely it was a thing here. Over the next day she casually asked her friends about the holiday and was surprised to hear that it was pretty similar to what she already knew.

People would dress up in costumes, kids would trick or treat, there was bobbing for apples- you know all the classic Halloween stuff. Hogwarts put out for a big feast each year on the holiday, and the choir sang, but that was all that was done regularly here. When Jane mentioned having a party though, both Natty and Poppy seemed really excited about it.

So now with the help of her two girl friends, the party preparations were in full swing. Jane even went to talk to Professor Weasley about it, not wanting to get anyone in trouble for coming to the Gryffindor common room on a random Saturday night. She got the green light from the professor, whose rules consisted of: no alcohol, no extra students in dormitories, no one younger than fifteen after 9 o'clock, and the whole party ended at midnight.

As word spread, Jane was nervous that they weren’t going to be able to fit everyone in the Gryffindor common room. Poppy reassured her though that it would be fine. Apparently because of the age stipulation they weren’t likely to get many younger students, and a lot of the seventh years chose to be out at Hogsmeade for the Holiday anyway.

Finally it was the night before the party, and it seemed they had everything in order. They had drinks from the Three Broomsticks, Deek said he would deliver them food, there were decorations already hanging all over the common room, and now she sat with Poppy and Natty in her dorm room as they finished their costumes.

“What are you going as again?” Natty said, leaning over to look at the large white sheet Jane was attempting to sew together.

“Andromeda from Greek mythology-” she said, not dropping her eyes from her work. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but she didn’t want to make any stupid mistake.

“Aren’t Leander and Garreth going as Hercules and Perseus?” Poppy said, rolling towards the edge of the bed to look down at her.

“Mhmmm.” Jane replied, snapping the last of her thread with her teeth. “But don’t tell Garreth, my costume is a surprise. There, how does it look?” 

She held the makeshift dress up for her friends to see. They both oohed and awed at it.

“It looks great!” Poppy said, jumping down from the bed. “But I feel like it's missing something….”

“I know!” Natty said, stepping forward. Then she pulled out her wand and waved it around the dress. 

Jane watched in awe as beautiful gold detailing showed up around the edges of the dress. When she held it up again it looked like it could actually be from Greek times!

“How did you do that???” She said turning towards the girl. Natty just shrugged confidently and returned to her own costume. Damn, this girl and her nonverbal spells.

She moved over to the mirror, holding her dress up against her as she stared at it.

“You don’t think it will be too… revealing do you?” She was feeling a bit worried about that aspect of the costume ever since she had heard what Garreth was dressing as. It was kinda hard to pull off Greek God and still fit 1800s dress standards. 

“It's just a costume so it should be fine,” Poppy said without looking up from her work. Jane smirked, ah so this fell under the category of party clothes. Like how men would faint at the sight of a woman's ankle on a normal day, but during a ball she could have her entire bust out and no one would blink an eye. Totally made sense.

The next evening the three girls got dressed together, Jane inspecting her handiwork again in the mirror. It was kind of revealing… but in like a slutty Halloween kinda way. Normally she wouldn’t have an issue with it, but it still felt like a bit much for the 1800s… 

“You look beautiful!!” Poopy cooed, coming over to her.

“And you’re sure it's not a bit too much? Because I know for a fact that if I walked into a muggle village in this I would be burned at the stake.”

“No- it's perfect!”

Jane nodded and then turned to look at her friend- and her jaw dropped to the ground. There before her was Poppy in a full length yellow gown. It was medieval style with tons of intricate patterns to it. Her hair was also a lot longer and braided into two braids down her front- honestly it gave Professor Garlick vibes.

“Damn Poppy, you look amazing!”

The girl giggled “Thank you, but you should see Natty.”

Jane turned 45 degrees to face her Gryffindor friend, and her jaw hit the ground again. Natty was in a similarly styled red dress, but her hair was pinned up tight. She also had a sword. Jane looked at the pair of them, and thought that for sure they had been lying to her about her costume looking alright.

“You both look like queens! There’s no way Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor looked this good, and I mean, obviously Gryffindor didn’t.”

Yup, you heard that right. The two girls had decided to wear matching costumes as two of the founders of Hogwarts. It was honestly the coolest cosplay ever, they would have totally killed at comic-con. 

“Thank you! I am still disappointed though that we couldn’t find anyone to be the other two founders. I asked Samantha Dale, but she already had a costume, and when I asked Ominis he wasn’t sure he was even going to come.”

“Ominis isn’t coming?” Poppy said, turning towards Jane.

“Last I heard he wasn’t-” Jane said shrugging. “He said the only reason he might have gone was because we were throwing it, but that he usually avoided gatherings such as these.”

Honestly it made her a little bit sad, but it was hard to feel too upset with two beautiful ladies next to her. 

Once Jane had finished ogling over her friends, Natty made her sit at a vanity so she could do her hair. She used some more cool magic to make Jane’s soft curls into tighter ones, and then did a messy half updo, pinning the top up with a golden laurel leaves hair piece that she had prepared. When her friend was done Jane felt like she was meant to be going to some ancient Olympic games or something.

The three of them headed downstairs, hearing the party already in full swing. Naturally there wasn’t any music, sadly even the gramophone was still an up and coming idea at this point. But there was a whole lot of chatter and laughter to be heard. 

They walked over to the railing that overlooked the common room. Jane smiled as she saw everyone in costumes. She wasn’t sure what people would dress like- most muggles would have done like a witch or wizard but those were just normal people here. There was a lot of creativity in the crowd though. 

Just from where she could see there was a ballerina, mummy, ghost (someone had transformed their hair to look white), a nurse (who looked just like the one at the school), a myriad of different animal costumes, a pirate, an american cowboy (which was wild to see), a few people in masks and cloaks, and of course- two Grecians. 

She smiled as she spotted the two red heads. Jane and the other girls had put them in charge of getting the celebration going while they got ready. They were happily handing out drinks to everyone who walked in, and having what looked like a great time.

Both boys were in white tunics, looking like they were made from sheets just as Jane’s had been. Leander was holding a, hopefully, fake sword and waved it carelessly around. He also had a greek looking helmet on as well.

Garreth had just a gold band that went around his head, forcing his usually wild locks into a more slicked back place. He had a gold looking rope or tie or something around his waist. He was also holding some sort of… ball? No wait, it wasn’t a ball it was-

“Is that supposed to be Medusa’s head??” Poppy said, her eyes wide.

“I think it is-” Natty said a little warrily. 

“Damn. That’s kinda metal.”

The other girls turned to her and she quickly rephrased her words. It was pretty awesome though, definitely an easy way for people to tell who he was dressed as. Jane stared at him some more, watching as he laughed with the people who had just walked in. She felt her heart start to pick up as she stared at his mostly visible back- which not shockingly was covered in freckles. It made her reminisce about the one other time she had seen him shirtless.

“You could just go down and talk with him,” Natty said, grinning towards her. Jane felt her face flush as she realized that both her friends had been watching her.

“Uh yeah um, I know I just, well I am kind of enjoying the view from here.” They both giggled, and even though she was feeling embarrassed, Jane turned to look back over at him.

“Well we are going to head down,” Jane heard one of them say as they stepped away, but she didn’t really register it. Honestly she found herself in a sort of Garreth trance and it felt like the whole room got a lot quieter. She could see his beautiful hazel eyes glowing from here.

She was a little surprised to see Natty and Poppy pop up next to the two boys just a few moments later. She turned to her sides, realizing that they had gone. When she looked back down she saw that Poppy was pointing up to where she was. The two boys turned towards her, Leander tilting his helmet so he could see her better. He waved his sword at her, knocking the person next to him on the head. Jane laughed, but it caught in her throat when she locked eyes with the other boy.

Garreth stared up at her, his face stilled as if he had been caught by Medusa herself. He continued to stare, and Jane started to feel a blush creep up her face again. Then all of a sudden whatever spell had him frozen was broken, and he immediately dropped his fake head, and ran towards the stairs. Jane turned shocked as she heard his feet pounding their way up, taking them at least two or three at a time by how fast he made it up there. She watched him as he walked up towards her, his hair a little bit disheveled now.

When he got a full view of her he froze again, well all but his eyes. No other part of him moved as his eyes moved across her body looking up and down, and up and down again. Now she was really feeling self conscious with his unwavering gaze locked so hard onto her.

“You look beautiful-” he finally said, his voice barely making it to her it was so quiet. “Are you-”

“Andromeda.” She finished for him, smiling in an attempt to regain some composure.

“Really??” he said, finally unfreezing and taking a step towards her. “Did you know that I’m-”

“Perseus.” She finished again, this time her smile feeling much more genuine. “Leander told me what you two were dressing up as so I thought it would be fun to join along. Hopefully that was okay-”

“Oh more than okay!” He said, a smile growing across his face. “I’m just surprised, I mean, you look more like Aphrodite to me, but I guess there isn’t a way to make too much of a distinction.”

Jane felt her face heat even more. Damn this sweet boy.

“Well I guess I just better hang around you all night so that people wont get confused.”

Now it was his turn to look flushed.

They walked back down to the party together, both of them not very sneakily stealing glances at each other. Jane was barely able to enjoy the night though because of how nervous she felt standing next to Garreth. True to her word, she was right by his side the whole night- but that had more to do with him than her honestly. Anytime that she moved to get another drink or talk to someone, he was right there.

What was even more painful was the fact that they were this close, but not actually together. Like he stood right by her, but his hands never touched her. There was no hand holding or putting his arm around her. At one point she moved her hand down to where his was, but as soon as they briefly brushed against each other he swiftly brought it up to his chest, crossing his arms. Was this Garreth trying really hard to respect her choice of them having space, or had he already dropped the idea of wanting to be with her? It was kind of mixed signals honestly.

As the night got later the people got crazier. Someone had to have spiked their drinks because people were really releasing their inhibitions. Jane had stopped drinking very early on, and she was glad that she did. She definitely wanted to have her wits about her for her confession tonight, but it also made watching the madness before her more enjoyable. 

The people who came in the animal costumes were exchanging different body part pieces and turning themselves into a kind of horrifying amalgamation of beasts class. There were couples, and also throuples, making themselves right at home on the chairs and sofas around the room. The masked partiers were chill though, they were just sitting ominously in the corner of the room giving death eater vibes.

Leander had seemingly given up his Greek ways and was going back to his Irish roots by doing some sort of jig to a group of tired looking quidditch players. The worst of them all had to be Poppy though, whose voice was so loud Jane could hear it from the other side of the room.

She was laughing like a mad man at something that Natty had said, the other girl looking rather amused at the reaction. Jane put her hand to her forehead, feeling all of a sudden the lateness of the hour. Maybe she should stop her friend before anything happened that she would regret.

“Poppy seems to be enjoying herself,” Garreth leaned down to whisper to her. Jane looked up at him, getting lost all over again in his hazel eyes.

“Sure seems like it-’ she said smiling. “I was just thinking I needed to go put her to bed before she wakes up the whole castle.”

“Ah let her have her fun,” He smiled back “She always seems a little too pent up, I bet it's nice for her to have a release.”

Well she couldn’t argue with that- not that she wanted to anyway. He was way too handsome to argue with. Having him so close to her the whole evening had been difficult on her brain, but it sure made her heart happy. He was also so sweet and attentive, it made her think that if she was Andromeda she would have been able to count on him to save her from the sea of monsters.

Maybe now would be a good time to do the thing that she had set this entire party up for in the first place. She had been searching for a good time this entire night, but really what was she waiting for? People were going to get more wasted as the night wore on- if she was going to do it, why not now? Yes, it was now or never. All she had to do was find a strong table or something…

“Actually-” Garreth said, bringing her back to their conversation. “Maybe you should go get Poppy.”

“What? Why?”

Garreth reached out, pointing over to the other side of the room. She followed his finger to find it was pointed at Poppy who was now standing up on a table, her huge skirt scooped up in her hands.

“Can I please have your attention!” The Hufflepuff called out, her words slurring a little bit. Everyone who was still awake turned towards her.

“Ah fuck-” Jane swore, leaving her hero’s side and moving through the sea of people to get over to the girl.

“There is something that I want to say- something that I have wanted to say for awhile-”

Jane watched in horror as Poppy held her hand out towards Natty, who was sitting just below the table looking utterly bewildered.

“Today I was to declare that I, Poppy Sweeting, am-”

“Silencio!” Jane called out, not being able to reach her friend in time. The spell hit, making it so that no sound came out as Poppy continued her speech. Jane gave a silent prayer of thanks to the Gods of this world that all the practicing on the silencing charm with Ominis had paid off. 

She finally made it over to the table, where Poppy was still going at it, totally unaware that her voice was not there. Jane looked down at Natty, who still looked confused but thankfully also a little drunk.

“What is she doing?” Gryffindor asked.

“Uh I think she wanted to perform a song, but I heard her practice. I think this was the best call. Will you help me get her down?”

“Let me-” Garreth said, coming up from behind her. She turned quickly, surprised that he had followed her here as well. 

The two of them managed to get Poppy off her impromptu stage, and subsequently into Garreth’s arms before she straight up passed out. Damn, could that not have happened like 10 minutes earlier? Poppy had almost just confessed her feelings for Natty to the entire room while being totally wasted. Jane prayed that her friend was not going to remember how close she was to outing herself by the time she woke up tomorrow.

“I’m going to put her to bed in my room- will you help me carry her to the stairs?”

They moved through the crowd, everyone watching as Perseus carried Helga Hufflepuff through the room. When they made it to the girls stairs Garreth moved Poppy onto Jane’s back and she carried her the rest of the way to her room.

She flopped her still sleeping friend onto her bed, and did what she could to make her comfortable. It took a hot minute, but finally Poppy was undressed enough to sleep, a bucket at the side of the bed in case her drinks decided they wanted to make an appearance. 

Jane stretched her back out, feeling totally exhausted and also ready for bed. She was contemplating just moving in right next to the other girl, when she realized- she hadn’t been able to confess to Garreth. All this work only for her friend to stand in front of everyone and give a silent speech about her love for Natty. Damn. That really sucked.

She wasn’t upset with Poppy, but there was no way she was going to be able to follow her act. Honestly she lost her chance, and with the tiredness she felt, it made her want to cry. She wanted to just hide away and milk her sorrows, but she knew that Garreth was probably still waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

She trudged back out of her room, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror before the door and wishing she had chosen a more heavy duty costume. She tried to fix her hair, but there was no salvaging it at this point. Instead she pulled out the golden hair piece, letting all her curly locks drop down. She moved her dress around so that no bits were poking out, and headed out.

Surprisingly Garreth wasn’t waiting for her at the bottom. She looked around the landing but didn’t see him anywhere. She decided to head towards the little room with the railing where she had spotted him earlier that evening. Maybe she could just call to him from up here to say that she was going to bed.

When she walked in she jumped a little, surprised that she wasn’t alone. There leaning on the railing was Garreth, his own hair escaping from its confines and looking more like it usually did. He looked rugged and stoic standing there, almost like he had just come out of a battle- which, honestly he kind of had, Poppy was not a calm sleeper.

Jane moved in quietly, making soundless steps until she got right up to him. Then in one motion she moved right to his side, slid her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. He flinched at her touch, turning his head and starting to scoot away, until he realized who it was.

“Ah Jane, you scared me-” 

She turned her head to look up at him, smiling. He smiled back at her, his cheeks starting to turn pink.

“Did you get her to go down okay?”

Jane chuckled, it sounded like he was talking about a baby. Then she stopped, the idea of Garreth as a daddy about sending her into cardiac arrest.

“Uh yeah, it all went well. I was half tempted to just join her afterwards though I felt so tired, even more so when I got a glimpse of myself in a mirror.”

“What? Why? You look so-” it seemed his words got stuck on his way out because he stopped his sentence abruptly. She looked back up at him, watching as his whole face turned a dark shade of red. 

“You uh, I mean you still look very nice.” He finished, his voice cracking as he said it. He went into a little coughing fit then, and he turned away from her. Still leaning on his shoulder Jane could feel his heart beat growing steadily faster.

He was so fucking cute she almost couldn’t stand it. It made the fact that this night hadn’t gone to plan feel even worse.

“I’m sorry Garreth,” She said, feeling defeated.

“Sorry? Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything-”

“And that’s what I’m sorry for-” She pulled her arm away from his and leaned on the railing. She looked out at the rest of the partiers, their numbers slowly diminishing. 

“What do you mean?” He turned to look at her, his face full of confusion. 

“I mean, I set this whole party up for you as an elaborate plot to confess my feelings to you-” She gestured out to the party, feeling almost on the verge of tears.

“You- what?”

She sighed. “I had asked Leander that night after we found Highwing if there was a way he thought I should tell you that I was ready to start dating or um I mean courting you. He told me about a story in your second year where you watch a girl stand up and confess her feelings to a boy infront of everyone. So I planned this party so I could confess in front of everyone and try to make it special for you.”

He stared at her, his eyes the widest she had ever seen them.

“You wanted to confess to me?”

“Yes.” She said, unable to look away from him.

“You wanted to confess to me tonight, at this party?”

“Yes.”

“Wait wait-” he put his hand up, turning his head and looking slightly down. He looked like he was doing some sort of mathematical calculation in his head.

“So, are you saying that you’ve been ready to confess to me for over a week, but instead planned a thoughtful confession for me all because of something my idiot friend said to you?”

“Oh um, yes?” His questions were throwing her off now.

“So are you saying-” he took a step towards her “-that this entire party I could have been holding your hand, holding you close, whispering in your ear, and stealing you away any time that I wanted?”

She opened her mouth to respond but closed it as he closed the gap between them.

“You are telling me that I could have been kissing the most beautiful person in this room this entire night? That I didn’t have to hold myself back from pulling you into a corner to have you all to myself every time you laughed your beautiful laugh or smiled your radiant smile?”

She hadn’t realized that she had been stepping backwards until her back was up against a wall. She flicked her head from the wall and back to the boy, who was now leaning in towards her. She could feel his breath on her skin he was so close, and also thankfully it did not smell like alcohol. It still made her feel a little dizzy though, but more just from being weak at the knees.

“Jane-” she shivered as he whispered her name. “Are you saying that it's okay to kiss you now?”

She stared up into his eyes, her heart matching the pace his was at just moments ago. She realized that in this moment she was so weak to him that even if it wasn’t okay for him to kiss her, there was no way she was going to be able to say no. But thank heavens it was abso-fucking-lutley okay for him to kiss her.

She nodded her head, barely daring to even move, let alone speak. As soon as she gave her consent Garreth moved his hands up to her face, holding her jaw while his thumbs rubbed her cheeks. She watched as his eyes moved over her face, his eyes looking almost like he was going to cry. Then she felt him pull her head forward, bringing his even closer to meet hers.

“You know,” he said quietly, his face barely a few centimeters from hers. “Leander had it all wrong anyway. That night when we were kids, when I saw that girl confessing all I thought was that I would love for someone to feel that same way about me. It didn’t really matter if it was yelled out from a table or whispered in private. But in the end, I think I might have ended up a million times better off anyway-”

When he kissed her it was like she was transported to that night a few weeks ago. Suddenly the noise from the party disappeared from below them, and it was just him and her alone in the common room. She reached out to hold onto his shirt, but only found material in one of her hands. Since he was wearing his costume over just one shoulder one hand could grip the white fabric while the other lay flat against his chest.

When she touched his bare skin a magical surge coursed through her, making the hairs all over her skin stand on end. And in the midst of their kiss it was like she could feel everything that he was feeling about her. All this adoration and affection that he held for her, all the weight he had been holding as he tried to give her the space she had asked for, and all the hope and joy that was taking hold of him now. 

Suddenly she was hit with her own emotions as if they too were coming into her like magic. The gratitude she felt to be so wholly adored by such a wonderful person. To know that this boy was never going to do anything to hurt her, and that he was going to always be there for her. How was she deserving of all of this??? How did she end up so lucky??

Jane pushed him off of her, parting their kiss. Garreth looked down at her with a mix of confusion, concern and longing. She smiled up at him though, trying very hard not to just go right back into another kiss. She stepped away from him, returning to the railing and looking out onto what was left of the party. 

“Hey everyone!” She yelled out, calling the attention of everyone who still could move. “I like Garreth Weasley!”

There was a cheer that rang out, everyone holding up their glasses towards her. Nice- these guys totally passed the vibe check. There was someone a little bit more enthusiastic than the other though. Leander jumped up from where he had been sitting and started yelling like he was at the world cup. Jane chuckled, looking down at the totally ecstatic and drunk kid. Then she felt Garreth move in next to her.

“And I like Jane Moore!” He yelled, leaning over the railing as well.

“We know mate-” Someone called out, and the crowd laughed. Jane turned to see Garreth’s face turn pink again. Ah, fucking cutie.

“Kiss her!” Someone else yelled out, and Jane could have sworn that it was Natty but the girl just smiled at her innocently. 

Suddenly Jane was pulled away from the edge, Garreth arms moving around her. He had one hand around her waist the other behind her head- and then he dipped her down. She was so surprised by it she almost fought against it, before getting lost in his lips again and her body immediately relaxed.

There were more cheers, but they were barely audible to Jane now. Her whole body was only able to focus on the beautiful being that was holding her close. He brought her back up, parting their kiss to smile widely at her. She didn’t give him much of a chance to part though because she pounced right back on him, smashing her lips back onto him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He stumbled back, moving them away from the view of the crowd below- who had started cheering like mad again. She pushed herself against him, making him take a turn up against the wall. He was thrown off for a moment, but quickly recovered as he wrapped his arms around her again. 

They both flinched as the clocks around the room chimed midnight, finally calling an end to the party. They pulled apart, smiling brilliantly at each other. 

“This was the best Halloween I’ve ever had-” he said, bringing his hand up to run through her hair.

“Oh, I think you might end up liking November 1st a little bit more-” She smiled mischievously up at him. His face went pink once more, but a very different look flashed across his eyes.

With one quick motion he scooped her up, Jane yelling out in surprise. 

“What are you doing??” She cried out, half laughing.

“Oh you are coming with me-” And with the speed and strength of a real Greek legend he raced towards the boys dorms, Jane held tight in his arms laughing so hard she was crying.

A03 -- Wattpad -- Fanfic

If you want to see an Ominis POV of this same party- check out the next chapter in one of the link above!

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

If it'll make you feel any better, you remind me of someone famous, in the way that the idea of you being in the small community as me gives me confidence. In the way that you are so cool, and I admire everything you do, I stare at your art trying to notice ever detail. I don't know if it'll help but you are actually the coolest person on this app to me. I think about you all the time, and I wonder how you feel, how you are, what you're like. I admire all you do and your skills, the way you think about things so thoroughly. I don't know if you'll see this or if it'll make you feel any better, but I hope whatever is best for you happens.

Idk what it is in the tumblr air today but everyone is being really nice to me and I don’t know what to say and I feel so rude,

But thank you!

I never know what to say when people call me cool bc my knee jerk reaction is to go ‘oh I’m such a loser haha’ because I’ve spent so long trying to keep people’s expectations of me low, but in this fandom apparently everyone is just gonna be nice to me no matter how lame I act so..: maybe I am cool ☺️

I have been feeling better since earlier, but this makes me really smile. Thank you anon, and everyone else too, everyone’s been really nice to me.

Weird to think I’ve been on tumblr for 3 years now haha.

[blossom-adventures]

This request was sent to me by @amarabliss

I loved this concept and I ran with it! This is my longest prompt for @badthingshappenbingo so far

This story is canon in my FFXV fic - Guard and Glaive

This story is set just after Prince Noctis is born so the Kingsglaive hasn’t been officially established, so Drautos is a member of the Royal Guard, one of King Regis’ personal guards

Hope you like it ☺️💙

Taken Off Duty

Titus’ eyes flickered open, it took him a moment to realise he was slumped forward in a chair, the more he woke up, the more his situation was becoming apparent; his hands were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied to the front legs of the chair. He was still wearing his Royal Guard Uniform which reminded him what he was doing before this, he was walking to work from his apartment, he was supposed to be on guard duty in the throne room today. How much time has passed? Would they even notice I wasn’t there?

Titus looked around, now that he was aware of his situation, he began working out where he was. He was in a dimly lit room with dark and grimy walls, a single door to his left, which was made of metal. In the far distance he could hear the sound of machinery and construction work, which made him think he was in one of the old industrial factories by the river, on the eastern wall of Insomnia. So, I’m at least 2 hours late for duty, maybe more, given the traffic, his thoughts were disturbed when the metal door screeched open, the grating noise of metal scraping on the concrete floor made Titus wince and he only just heard the 2 men enter the room, once the door was shut and the room fell into silence once again Titus looked over his left shoulder at the 2 men; they were both older than him, and they were both glaring at him.

“You just going to stand there or what?” Titus huffed, one man moved, walking around to face Titus, the man was massive, tall and built completely of muscle, Titus looked over his right shoulder to the other man. “Well, this guy’s the braun, so you’re the brains I take it?” What he could see of the man, Titus could see he was at least half the size of the man in front of him.

“You’re a member of the King’s personal guard” the thinner man said

“Did the uniform give it away?” Titus quipped, his quick remark earned him a backhand across the face. Titus ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, tasting blood coming from a small cut there, the thinner man walked around to join his friend.

“The King, how many are in his personal guard?”

“One less at the moment” Titus huffed, earning another backhand

“Keep your smart comments to yourself!” The thin man snapped “how many men guard the King?”

“I don’t know” Titus said “I’m not there everyday, I’m just a Sergeant, I don’t get told who else guards the King, that’s the Lord Shield’s job” Titus tried to pull his hands loose but the rope that bound his wrists was tight.

“You mean to tell me that you, a close friend of the King, Lord Shield and the Marshal, don’t know any of the guard numbers or rotations?”

“None, sorry to disappoint you” Titus attempted a shrug but not much happened because of how tight his wrists were bound, the thinner man looked livid, Titus just gave him a smile, which angered him further

“Kill him” Titus’ eyes widened as the thinner man stepped back, the muscular man smirked and stepped up, slipping a knuckle duster onto his hand as he approached.

Titus’ head was spinning, he didn’t know how much time had passed, but what he did know, was that he was still tied to the chair, he could feel blood dripping from his mouth, and hands of his shoulders. He could also hear voices, but he couldn’t make out the words. A hand moved from his shoulder to his cheek, guiding him to look up, into familiar icy blue eyes, full of concern as they looked Titus over.

“Cor…” Titus mumbled, Cor’s eyes brightened for a moment as he met Titus’ eyes

“We don’t want to cause you anymore pain, Titus,” Cor explained slowly “so we’re waiting for a medic to cut the rope off your wrists, you’ll be free soon, I promise” Titus leant forward, letting out a long breath that made him hiss in pain, Cor shifted slightly so Titus could lean his head on Cor’s shoulder

“How did you find me?”

“The tracker in your coat pocket, the idiots didn’t bother searching you” Titus attempted to laugh but it came out as more of a wheeze which caused him to cough, he felt Cor put his hand on his back “hey, take it easy” Titus pushed himself back so he was sitting upright, wincing at the movement.

“You’re not going to tell anyone you rescued me from a pair of incompetent idiots are you?”

“Oh, I’m going to tell everyone” Cor smirked for a moment before his smile softened, “you know I won’t, the other guards can see how beat up you are, I don’t need to tell them anything else” Cor looked at Titus for a moment in silence before talking again. “You always manage to get yourself into trouble, don’t you?” He added, his tone was affectionate. Titus smiled

“I don’t do it on purpose”

“I’d be worried if you did…” Cor laughed, but then his smile faded and he looked serious. “When Clarus told me you hadn’t turned up, I was… I was worried”

“Sorry”

The medic turned up shortly after and carefully cut the rope away from Titus’ wrists, once free Cor helped him stand up

“He really shouldn’t be standing up Marshal” the medic said, Cor put Titus’ arm over his shoulder

“The only way you’ll get Sergeant Drautos on a gurney is if he’s unconscious, he’s a stubborn fool like that” Cor explained

“Thanks” Titus huffed, he saw a smile return to Cor’s lips as he let himself be led out of the warehouse by Cor.

[choices-and-voices]

Hii can you please explain the real ending of Arthur in the legend? I've heard from it but never really knew the full story :)

~~~ Updated 01/05/2023 after some further reading on my part, because apparently I’m obsessed with Arthurian legend now 😅 ~~~

Hi Anon! No problem, here’s a summary. Disclaimer that I originally made this post using just the Encyclopaedia Britannica, but I now can’t find the articles I originally referenced & I kept coming across contradictions to them in other articles, so I’ve decided to cross-check everything against CliffNotes & sections of original text. If anyone reads this and finds things that still need correcting, please lmk ☺️.

The legend of King Arthur is set in 5th-6th century Britain, although the details of the time & the geography are more fiction than fact. As with all folklore, it developed over hundreds of years through a mostly oral storytelling tradition, so there’s no one version of it. However, most of our modern adaptations are based on a book called Le Morte d’Arthur (The Death of Arthur), written in the 1400s by an English knight named Sir Thomas Malory. Malory basically compiled as many pre-existing stories about Arthur as he could, and also tweaked them to suit his time period. He was the first person to add a lot of the themes of chivalry and brotherhood that are now considered central to the legend. (As a side-note, Malory also went to great lengths to link the legend to his homeland, which can make his descriptions of geography even more confusing. He frequently mentions England and reports that Arthur became King of England by pulling the sword from the stone, when actually, ‘England’ didn’t exist yet in Arthur’s time. Instead, the island of England/Scotland/Wales was divided into many independent kingdoms, like Camelot and Carmelide, and the only way to collectively refer to them was as ‘Britain’. In this post, I’m going to be mirroring Malory’s language, but it��s worth noting that when he says England, it’s more accurate to say Britain, and when he says that Arthur was the King of England, it’s more accurate to say that Arthur was a King of Camelot who began to unify Britain through his influence & may have been destined to eventually rule it all. In fact, Camelot is usually identified as being in modern-day Wales rather than modern-day England. I know that all of this is tangential, but it confused me a lot during my reading & I wanted to help clarify it for other people, so 😊).

Le Morte d’Arthur sets up Arthur & Guinevere’s relationship very differently to Choices. For a start, they get betrothed earlier in the story, before the Knights of the Round Table are established – in fact, the physical Round Table & the first hundred of its knights are an engagement gift from Guinevere’s father. Secondly, they do know each other a little before they get betrothed – they meet a few months prior, while Arthur is helping defend Carmelide from attack – and although Arthur getting married is a political decision driven by his advisors, his choice of Guinevere as his wife is inarguably a personal decision driven by love. According to Malory, Arthur loved Guinevere from first sight & refused to let Merlin suggest any other brides when the time came, instead sending him to Guinevere’s father to ask him for her hand. We never really learn if Guinevere returns Arthur’s feelings, but honestly, the point is kinda moot – and that’s because, in perhaps the most important difference from Choices, Malory’s Arthur walks into the relationship knowing that Guinevere will betray him. When Merlin suggests choosing another bride, he explicitly warns Arthur that Guinevere will fall in love & cheat with a future Knight of the Round Table named Lancelot, and Arthur puts that aside, marries her anyway, and befriends Lancelot anyway.

I could go on such a long rant here about how complicated Merlin’s characterisation is in Le Morte d’Arthur – even more so than in Choices – and about what the symbolism might be of him making that prophecy & of Arthur ignoring it. But there’s tons more background reading that I’d have to do about that, and it’s also not the point of this post. Suffice to say, I think we’re given enough clues that Arthur ignores the prophecy not because he doesn’t believe it, but because he loves Guinevere and later Lancelot so much that he’d ignore anything just to have them by his side. When the two of them do start their affair, it’s stated that Arthur suspects what’s happening but ‘[won’t] hear of it’ from other people, particularly because of how much he loves & trusts Lancelot. It is left up to the reader whether that means that a) Arthur is deliberately overlooking the affair to protect his wife & friend or b) Arthur is burying his head in the sand about the affair happening – most critical sources go with Option A, but I personally think that both are presented as equally plausible. A similar trend continues throughout the book, with Arthur making several ambiguous decisions that Malory never directly explains, instead leaving us to judge him for ourselves. It’s quite a cool literary technique for a character who lives under public scrutiny, and who has had his story told in so many different ways over the years.

Before I move on, it’s also worth noting that Malory’s Arthur is… not quite as saintly as in Choices, so it’s not inconceivable that he’d struggle to handle the affair gracefully. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still incomparably noble & brave, but he’s also a young man under a lot of pressure who’s prone to dichotomous thinking, bursts of impulsivity, and difficulty telling people ‘no’. He himself has a few affairs between meeting Guinevere and marrying her, including one with a woman whom he doesn’t know is his half-sister with whom he conceives a son, Mordred. Like in Choices, Merlin then prophesies that Mordred will be Arthur’s downfall – more specifically, he prophesies that a boy with Mordred’s birthday will be Arthur’s downfall – but unlike in Choices, Arthur actually endorses Merlin’s horrific plan to prevent that. All baby boys with Mordred’s birthday are exiled to sea in a ship, until Fate, in one of its inevitable twists, sinks the ship and has Mordred wash up on shore. He eventually ends up in Camelot as a Knight of the Round Table, where he plays a big role in everything falling apart.

(And before we move on to that, just one more aside: the half-sister with whom Arthur conceives Mordred is not Morgana, although modern adaptations of the story often conflate the two characters. Her name is Morgause, and she also has four other sons – Arthur’s half-nephews – who are Gawain, Gareth, Agravaine, and Gaheris. I mention them not just because of the nod to Choices, but because they’re also very important in what happens next).

The trouble starts when Lancelot & Guinevere get extremely obvious about their affair, to the point where it becomes common knowledge among the Knights of the Round Table. Most of them ignore it, but there are two – Mordred & Agravaine – who insist on formally bringing it to Arthur’s attention, thus obligating him to deal with it. Arthur initially refuses to do anything unless somebody catches Lancelot & Guinevere ‘in the act’, but Mordred & Agravaine then suggest a plan to achieve that – they ask Arthur to spend a night away from the palace in the hope that Guinevere will invite Lancelot to her chambers, where Mordred & Agravaine will lie in wait for him. And this is the point at which Arthur makes his second ambiguous decision. The facts: Arthur agrees to the plan, and even tells Mordred & Agravaine to take more knights on their stakeout as backup, because Lancelot is more than capable of killing them in a rage. The question: Why would Arthur say that? Is he genuinely still unsure about whether an affair is happening, and eager for his wife & friend to be investigated and captured at any cost? Or is he trying to dissuade Mordred & Agravaine with threats about Lancelot’s wrath, while also making sure that there are witnesses to whatever happens so that nothing gets too out of hand? There are a couple of subtleties in Malory’s writing that might imply Option B – for a start, the conversation about the plan goes back & forth for a while, with Arthur giving three separate warnings about Lancelot before Mordred & Agravaine literally tell him to shut up and let them deal with it. So it’s not hard to read some reluctance in Arthur’s voice, and to consider that maybe he’s grasping at straws trying to stop this disaster he’s been backed into. Secondly, Mordred & Agravaine are explicitly said to be very unsubtle about their plan, to the point where Lancelot’s supporters at the Round Table suspect it and try to warn him. So it’s possible that Arthur is counting on Lancelot & Guinevere recognising and avoiding the trap, meaning that the stakeout will come to nothing and the ‘rumours’ of an affair may actually be put to rest. That said, it’s not like Arthur tries to warn Lancelot or Guinevere himself – sure, he can’t be seen to do that in public, but you’d think that he’d be able to catch Guinevere in private at least. Instead, he goes out hunting, Guinevere summons Lancelot to her chambers, and Lancelot goes, ignoring his supporters’ advice. The two of them are together when Mordred & Agravaine’s 14-knight party starts banging on the door, and everything immediately goes to hell. Lancelot & Guinevere know that they’ll be put to death for treason and agree that Lancelot should escape while he can, so he can return and save Guinevere later. Lancelot does make a show of wanting to resolve things peacefully – he says he’ll voluntarily stand trial in the morning if the knights let him walk away – but by now, everyone is raring for blood. Lancelot ends up killing all the knights except Mordred, who runs off wounded, then escapes Camelot with his supporters in tow. He does offer to take Guinevere with him now that her captors are dead, but interestingly, she turns him down – she actually says that he’s done a lot of harm by killing Arthur’s knights, and she doesn’t want him stealing her as well unless Arthur goes through with her death sentence. This is probably the first sign of doubt that we see from Guinevere, and it’s a cool, subtle hint of what’s to come.

Of course, Arthur does go through with Guinevere’s death sentence, and for once Malory actually explains his reasoning. Arthur has founded his entire reign on principles of honour and equality – on the idea that no one, not even a royal, is above morality or the law. Guinevere has committed treason – has even contributed to the deaths of 13 knights – and the punishment for treason is death, so Guinevere must die. What Malory does leave somewhat ambiguous is Arthur’s actual wishes for Guinevere & Lancelot. The facts: when Arthur first hears what’s happened from Mordred, he mainly expresses grief, both because Lancelot has torn the Round Table apart & because he now has no choice except to put Guinevere to death. He doesn’t express any anger until later, when Gawain tries to convince him to spare Guinevere in case her interactions with Lancelot have been misconstrued. At that point, Arthur says that Lancelot will have a ‘shameful death’ if he ever gets captured, and orders his knights to stand guard at Guinevere’s execution in case Lancelot attempts a rescue – even Gawain, who begs to be excused, and Gareth & Gaheris, who agree to be present but refuse to carry weapons. Now, it is possible that Arthur is doing all of this because he genuinely wants Guinevere & Lancelot dead. But there’s also another popular interpretation that actually, it’s all just for show – Arthur knows that Lancelot is going to rescue Guinevere, and by setting up a public execution with sympathetic guards, he’s maximising their chances of a successful escape while also ensuring he can’t be accused of letting them go. Essentially, he’s giving them a clean break away from Camelot, while also still trying to maintain the laws of the kingdom & his integrity as a king.

Of course, even if that is Arthur’s intention, this story is a tragedy & things can’t go according to plan. This time, the complicating factor is that Lancelot goes on a violent rampage while rescuing Guinevere, killing another 24 knights including the unarmed Gareth & Gaheris. When Arthur hears about this, he’s openly devastated, and I think it’s impossible to argue that he doesn’t have at least some anger for Lancelot from that point on. He does make an attempt to prevent further violence, asking his knights to shield Gawain from his brothers’ deaths so that he doesn’t swear a vow of vengeance, but when Gawain goes ahead with the vow Arthur is quick to offer support. He musters an army from across England and lays siege to Joyous Gard, where Lancelot has hunkered down with Guinevere, his original supporters, and an accumulated army of his own. What follows is an all-out civil war, and Arthur’s emotions are quickly torn from anger & righteousness to heartbreak & regret. There’s one particular scene burnt into my brain where he and Lancelot are duelling one-on-one, Lancelot refuses to kill him despite the fact that it would end the war, and Arthur just breaks down in tears, because he doesn’t want to be fighting anymore. Eventually, the Pope gets involved to bring about peace, and decrees that Lancelot & Guinevere be pardoned, that Guinevere be returned to Arthur, and that Lancelot be exiled to France. This leads to a tragic scene where Lancelot delivers Guinevere to Arthur before leaving England forever, and every single character cries except for one: Gawain. He refuses to retract his vow against Lancelot & insists on pursuing him to France with Arthur and his army, leaving England in the care of Mordred. Mordred, of course, has been out for trouble since the beginning, and this is the point at which he truly goes off the rails. He forges a letter saying that Arthur has died, gets himself officially coronated, tries to claim Guinevere as his wife (she refuses, fleeing to London & barricading herself in its Tower), and drums up discontent about Arthur’s past reign until public opinion is on his side. It helps that he also inherits most of Lancelot’s supporters, although a few of them do follow Lancelot to France.

When news of Mordred’s treason reaches Arthur & Gawain in France, they return to England to fight him. However, Gawain is already badly injured from repeatedly duelling Lancelot, who always refused to land the killing blow. On his deathbed, Gawain writes to Lancelot, granting him forgiveness and begging him to come to Arthur’s aid. And Lancelot does come, as fast as he can, but – he’s destined to arrive too late. On his final night alive, Arthur dreams of Gawain, who tells him that Lancelot will arrive in a month & that Arthur will die if he goes into battle before then. The next morning, Arthur meets Mordred on the battlefield to negotiate a month of ceasefire, but then a snake slithers out onto the field and a knight unthinkingly draws his sword to kill it, breaking the peace. Arthur rides into that battle knowing that he won’t come out alive, and watches in despair as all but one of his knights are also slain. Eventually, he sustains his mortal wound while killing Mordred. His only remaining knight, Sir Bedivere, tries to carry him to safety, but instead Arthur asks him to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake & to place Arthur in a boat being rowed by her attendants (including Morgana), who take him to their mystical isle of Avalon. In many versions of the legend, Arthur is said to still lie on Avalon under Morgana’s vigil, being healed from his wounds by a magical slumber from which he will eventually wake up immortal – a ‘once and future’ king. In Le Morte d’Arthur, that rumour does circulate, but Malory is ultimately clear about the fact that Arthur dies on Avalon, and is returned to a forest outside Camelot for a quiet burial. His throne is taken over by a distant half-nephew, his Order of the Round Table dies with its knights, and his dream of unity & honour across England dissolves. Guinevere, filled with grief & guilt, retreats from the world to join a convent, where Lancelot eventually finds her after his return. The two of them still love each other, but Guinevere refuses to renew their relationship, and Lancelot ends up joining a monastery himself as a way of honouring her & showing his remorse. When Guinevere gets sick a few years later, she prophesies that Lancelot will come to perform her funeral & to bury her beside Arthur, and sure enough Lancelot sees her death in a dream & rushes to her side. Six weeks later, he also dies of a broken heart, and is buried at Joyous Gard.

Whenever I revisit Le Morte d’Arthur, I’m always surprised by how subtle & complex a text it is, especially considering how long ago it was written. There are no clear heroes or villains; nobody is blameless in bringing about the tragedy, and yet nobody acts in a way we can’t sympathise with; nobody gets a happy ending at the expense of somebody else. But there is a general idea, reinforced over time by simpler adaptations, that Arthur is the member of the love triangle who suffers most. He loses not just his wife & his friend, but also his kingdom, his dream, and his life. Yes, he makes some questionable decisions along the way, but they’re all made for the sake of other people – he’s torn apart trying to simultaneously protect his loved ones, his country, and his ideals, whereas Lancelot & Guinevere precipitated everything by being publicly affectionate without any regard for the consequences. They also both get at least a chance at a future, while Arthur does not, and I think there’s a public sentiment that it’d be nice to see him end up happy for once. I’m personally really glad that Choices gives us that option, and it seems like some other readers feel the same way. Speaking of which, it’s also nice to see other readers interested in the original legend. Thank you so much for the ask 💕

[overlordchris]

The “Big 5” I can’t seem to shake.

1. When she said she had already fallen out of love with me 6 months prior to the reveal/breakup. Leaving everything we had and built together for nearly a decade just die. When the going got tough, it was never a fight for us, just a retreat from me.

2. That she was willing to risk never finding what she wants in a partner than stay with me. Which, ouch, ya know? Basically “I’d rather die alone than stay with you.” But really its the finality that I'm not what you want, and never will/can be.

3. Of course wanting someone like her coworker, 12 years younger than her, something she admitted she wasn’t even sure about/proud of, but apparently enough so that she knew she didn’t want me anymore. And they're not even fem, as she once almost broke up with me over a regret of never exploring her attraction to women and that part of her sexuality. That would at least make me feel a little bit better, if I literally couldn't provide what you wanted. But Nope. The most cis kind of fuckboy was who I was replaced with.

4. Her sudden change from what had been literally up until the point her normal and friendly demeanor towards me, always open to a kiss, to a hug, to holding hands, to instantly becoming super distant, uncaring, and what I feel like was a relief the next time I talked to her (2 days later I believe). To make such an instant and complete change just contributes to the 6 months of loss love also being 6 months of lies. The person I trusted most in this world, ever, lied to me for months before I finally got the truth out of her. How long would she have just kept playing along? How long had she already been playing along? Was there more going on that wasn’t shared? When you lie/betray someone, it shows that you are capable of such things, that you were always capable, and will still be capable moving forward.

5. Her telling me she’s happy now. Happy because I’m not in her life anymore. Happy enough to send me 💖 & ☺️ with her first texts to me 4 months after she had broken things off, almost rubbing it in my face that she was so happy?

How was I that bad of a partner? Like, what did I do? I always cheered for you, complimented you, saw you as sexy and attractive. I was always honest, I never physically abused you, not can I say I did so mentally either, at least to my knowledge. I didn't curse at you, yell at you, or try to manipulate you. Yes, I did became codependent, but that was in response to how I was treated over the years. If anything, I should be the happy one here, because aside from physical abuse, you never provided me with those things I always gave to you.

It's just, why? The why if it all. The big 5 are all tied to that question, why? Why couldn’t you just talk to me? Why did you feel like you needed to hide things from me? Why did you make me the one directly responsible for us splitting apart? I regret ever trying to have that talk with you. I just wanted to strength our bond, not have it revealed it had already been broken. I know I'd also regret not having that conversation though because it would of just meant more hurt for you, living a lie. But what about me? Either way I would have lost. Why can't I just be happy?

Whenever I am doing anything, from driving, to even talking to people, the big 5 just push their way into my head. More time is probably needed, but at present, it feels like these thoughts will never leave me alone. I think about you every day. It's not that I want to, but everything reminds me of you and everyone pales in comparison to you. I know you’re finally happy with me not there, but I still wonder, am I someone you even think about anymore? Its so strange how something can mean so much to one person, and just be a total non concern to another.

The one thing I’ve learned from this experience is that I’ve had a great lack of support in my life during moments I’ve needed it most. And it’s not that I was too proud or too stubborn to seek help, because in those cases, help was always what I was actively asking for. I’m starting to see that you were never one of my supporters. The refusals to do anything for me or us if it didn’t directly benefit you. The struggles I dealt with, physical and mental, were either ignored or became points of annoyance. The sense of “feeling” like you should do or say something rather than just doing it out of care and compassion.

It can be summed up with two scenarios and, self worth being water in a barrel.

If someone got called a piece of shit every day, they’re going to eventually start to feel like one, especially if that’s the only external feedback they receive. It’s a direct attempt at attacking someone, making them feel bad about themselves, their self esteem, etc. When the world sees you as worthless, it's hard not to feel like it's true. But, something similar occurs when positive things are not applied to that person, to help make them feel valued and wanted. In the first scenario, the water is being actively drained out of the barrel by someone. In the other scenario, the water is evaporating out and never being refilled. It’s never going to refill on its own, and any time someone does drain some of that water, it just speeds up the decreasing amount. It'll keep loosing water day by day until eventually there’s nothing left except for an empty barrel.

My intuition is both a blessing and a curse. I have great insights into how those around me are feeling. In moments something fell “wrong” with how you feeling/behaving, everything was telling me I was correct. Yet you would deny it. Your actions always spoke louder than words though. I knew there were so many times you were not happy, but when I would try to help you’d close up. When I tried to know the deeper you, you’d close up. When we had a disagreement and I wanted to get to the bottom of it, you’d close up.

All of this, the always feeling something isn’t right even when told the opposite, the disregard for my pain, the refusal to stand by me when things were tough, the lack of support for my stupid aspirations, how can you blame me for not being the socially anxious chronic over thinker that I am today? You represented a 3rd of my entire life. Basically my entire adult life. Yes, you would give moments of love, make me feel understood and that I belonged, but then you’d get a crush on someone else, shattering my sense of self worth and instilling the fear of losing you. When I tried to fix that, you’d typically go on a trip where we wouldn’t see each other for days, or weeks, just leaving a big gap of time before we could even try and talk things out. I mean, how could I not grow even more paranoid when this exact scenario happened twice!? When you’d return, I’d apologize to and make promises of being better, even though I didn’t fully know what better meant to you. So I would became more passive, walking on eggshells, trying to not push you away. But things still felt “wrong”, so the insecurities grew.

“Do you hate me?”

When I'd feel like something was not right I’d ask that question, because of all people, your answer was the answer i wanted to know more than anyone's in the world. Yours was the only one I cared to know.

The point I’m trying to get is I am now understanding why I’m such an insecure mess. And it’s not a result of just you, but for many years now, you were who I needed to believe in me the most. To trust me. To want me. Every time you denied those things, I never healed from them. I became more and more insecure as the years went on because I never felt like I belonged. It didn’t help when I would be very literal in seeking comfort from you, you never knew “how to”. To be perfectly honest, I don’t even fully know what I needed in those moments, except that I needed you to want me. I wanted effort. I already sought you out, I didn't want to have to tell you to do something too. I didn't want to be an obligation, but someone you valued and cared to help because it would benefit me and not just you. A desire to help, even if it wasn't something I wasn't interested in doing, but not needing to be instructed on how to "help"

I don’t think of you as a monster. I still love you. Even after the things I've written down, if given the choice, I’d still remain committed to spending the rest of my life with you and I hate that about myself. My sense of self worth over the years has been eroded. But you are only a stream amongst others, not the entire river. The happiest times of my life were with you, memories I will cherish forever. But like with erosion, those small (and sometimes big) moments played a part in wearing me down. Once the erosion has begun, it only grows deeper and deeper over time. Over the years, I can see that the longer we were together, the more self conscious I became, the greater loss of my self esteem occurred, the more passive I became, and the less trusting of myself I grew.

I take responsibility in that my reactions to these moments often only made things worse. I reacted childishly, or would sometimes “test” you. No matter the reason why, it was and still is a terrible way to react and you did not deserve it. While I don't personally feel like it has the full effect, telling someone how to help me vs them jumping to action on their own, I am trying to be more aware that not everyone thinks the same as me. I am sorry I wasn't able to communicate my feelings in a way that ever resonated with you.

In the end, the cycle was never broken. We never got to a point where you felt comfortable to be completely honest and open, and I never was able to communicate in a way that would help bring that out of you. Not until the very very end that is. Too little, too late. But while the river of you has dried up, the scar in the earth remains behind. You now flow freely towards a new horizon, while I’m just stuck here, exposed and filled with pools of stagnant water. I’m trying to continue on, but it’s been 7+ months now and I’ve only just had a few rocks thrown back in; this moment of seeing how I’ve repeatedly asked for help only for my pleas to be ignored, or the wrong people responding. I can better see why I am the way that I am present day. That's really it so far.

It’s… something right?

[the-bi-space-ace]

15 Questions

Thanks @random-user753 for the tag!

1. Are you named after anyone?

A random lady my mom met in the dental office she was working in 🩶

2. When was the last time you cried?

This morning ☹️ had a bad dream about Tech and I made myself feel sick over it. I am dramatic.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, not my thing.

4. What sports do you/have you played?

I played soccer as a kid but I was much more interested in ballet and other forms of dance as I grew up. Competitive sports aren’t really my thing.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

I sure do try! I’m apparently not very good at it according to my partner but I am always attempting to give it a go. I also don’t always understand it so I make my partner tell me if something is sarcastic or not lol.

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Usually their outfit or their smile! If someone has a really beautiful smile or very kind eyes I make a note of it.

7. What's your eye color?

Brown

8. Do you prefer scary or happy endings for movies?

Happy! I’m a happy movie kind of person. Although I do love scary movies.

9. Any talents?

I have been playing instruments from a very young age so I’m very good at reading music and I pick up instruments very easily. The piano is my first love but the guitar is a fun one too. I am also a good singer and I love to do it. Oh! Oh! And I can tie a cherry stem in my mouth.

10. Where were you born?

The United States. East coast!

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing is a big hobby of mine and always has been. I love to draw! I’m not very good but it’s calming and relaxes me. I love video games like RDR2 and Pathologic 2. I also paint funko pops to look like characters that have no merch 😅 I’ve done Fives, Wolffe, Cody, and my OC Trick. I’ve also done Arthur Morgan and Artemy & Daniil from Pathologic.

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes! Two little babies named Din and Daniil and they are the sweetest best kitty cats in the whole universe. Best girls.

13. How tall are you?

Like 5’7 I think!

14. Favorite school subject?

Anything literature focused. So any English or Reading course. I took playwriting for a semester and loved it.

15. Dream occupation?

I don’t have one! I know that’s a boring answer. Really when I think about life and my future I’m more concerned with having peace and quiet and happiness than anything else. Work doesn’t really become a part of that equation. As long as it doesn’t interfere with my life then I’m all good. I like what I’m doing now though! I write grant applications for a nonprofit. All day. Every day. I really enjoy it and my coworkers are excellent and my hours are very flexible and I’m happy with this life. If I could keep writing (grants or otherwise) for the rest of my life I would and I would be content.

NPT: @floundrickthewayfarer @gentle-hero-blog @saturn-sends-hugs @renton6echo @alabyte @ithillia & anyone else who is interested ☺️☺️

[kool-aidgirl]

Dream4

I was in resident Evil.

O fuck so I was playing as Claire I’m re2 but the game was different. It was like brighter in the way where like it was like a lab instead so anyways I was playing as Claire

BUT then my POV changed and I was now Claire and then I turned into myself well not myself but like the person I imagine I am in my daydreams like a persona I think

Anyways so I was just walking around and I make it upstairs and wa surprise the lab was a hidden place under this house, so anyways I make it outside and the house is on top of a hill a really big hill so I have to go right so im walking down and for some reason I’m like I should post about this on instagrams but I didn’t

so I make it to the gate and I go out and guess what I see not a zombie not Mr X not nemusis or whatever the fuck his name is it’s a FUCKING DINOSAUR AND IT WAS A FICKING ZOMBIE TOOOOOO..

and I’m like ok and I run back to the house. And like how I play resident Evil I just sit there looking at the outside but not doing anything.

So stuff does happen but I can’t remember it

So now I find another exit from the lab to a bit closer to the gate but still on the hill. So I go and guess what I’m like still in the mindset of this is a video game it’s not real. And remember atp I’ve died and came back like the actual game but only as Claire so I myself have not died. So I’m looking at this dinosaur and I’m like trying to figure out what kind of dinosaur it is and it sees me and starts running towards me and I’m like I’ll be fine but I’m not so I’m trying to get to the house at the top of the hill trying to not die but I keep stopping to see it and then I make it to not the house but the side of the house and there is a metal ladder with a small like barrier but not really and I thought I was safe but no I wasn’t and I got bit in the arm and I could actually FEEL The pain like and it hurt so fucking BADDDD.

So now I ‘respawn’ like at a gate not the gate earlier but one at the bottom and for some reason I make a TikTok with the “yes, and?’ song idk and then I get to my home but my home wasn’t my home it was like a cottage and I realize the building I was in was a church and apparently I was working there and that was why I was there and the respawn was the last part I saved Anyways science I’m still in online school irl I guess I still am in this dream because I log into my class and blah blah teacher talking and my cat in that dream was there and idk I’m in class and my camera is on and then I move the camera over to my cat who is not like my cat here the dream cat is orange, anyways then people start talking because of the cat and then someone is like oh you should work at the church that’s behind your house and I’m like right….☺️ and yea dream ends there

[tyonfs]

🤧 : also so much to catch up I read that you graduated !! congrats !! That must be so nice !!

I unfortunately, had to take a 5th year BUT I am manifesting the graduation in 2024 for me ☺️

also I couldn’t help but read over all the stuff I sent you over the years (since 2021 woww can’t believe Hit Sauce came out 2 years ago) and how excited I always was to talk to you. unfortunately I feel like I lost that ✨ energy ✨ because my life trauma caught up with me and I started having bad depression starting towards the end of 2022 — it be like that apparently. Now I kinda have to fight feeling so down all the time BUT we are working through it oof

I also am thankful because you always sent me Renjun pics in the past and were very comforting. You always made sure I felt validated and for someone I have never met in person, you were such a comforting space online. You are such a kind person who deserves all the success you have coming your way <3 like I still need to catch up on all your content but one day we’ll get there :p

don’t mind this being the second ask of mine in a row haha

also also I had a dream about Renjun last night and he was like my husband lowkey? Idk but we for sure were dating — I even tried showering in front of him so he would join me 👀 scandalous omg !!

but lmaoo guess what? it didn’t work — he gave me his ring and left to go do something. yeah, it was weird lol 😂

thank you !!! graduation still doesn’t feel real HAHAH i got my diploma recently and it still doesn’t feel real when i hold it

omg i’m a little jealous of your fifth year :’) honestly take your classes at whatever pace is comfortable for you !! the four years are not set in stone, it’s perfect valid to take as much time as you need 🙏

AHHH GOSH I JUST CANT BELIEVE THAT WE’VE ALL BEEN HERE FOR THAT LONG and gosh thank you for coming back and checking in all these years 🥰🫶 it’s like getting to hear from an old friend from time to time <3 omg you don’t have to worry about the shift in energy or anything, i totally understand that it’s hard to get back into that mentality after life throws so much at you :( i’m really glad you’re working through it tho and i hope things get better !! 🤍

oh my goddd you’re too sweet 🥺🫶 i will gladly send you renjun pics any time any day !! and i’m so touched by your words omg 😭😭 i hope only good things come your way from now on as well !

HAHAHA OMG A SPICY RENJUN DREAM ???: actually i recently had a dream about renjun too (my first time in YEARS dreaming about a kpop idol 😳) but i have no idea what his purpose was he was just there 😩 LMSOFJSJF NOT DREAM RENJUN GIVING U HIS RING now u can profit off his 7dream ring >:)