#sundre

[seedhe-pahad-se]

Desi urge to say "haaye" to compliment a girl. (while keeping one hand on chest)

(yes yes srk from om shanti om visual)

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

November 28, 2024

Dr. Elmeligi: Given that a living wage in Canmore is $38 an hour, much higher than anywhere else in Alberta, the average rental for a one-bedroom unit in Banff is over $700 a month and in Canmore it’s over $2,300 a month, Mr. Speaker – that’s even bigger than what the UCP MLAs just awarded themselves – given that the Homelessness Society of the Bow Valley was over capacity several times during the winter, minimum wage earners drive the economy that generates billions for this province, and they see no support from this province. When will the minister step up?

Mr. Nixon: Mr. Speaker, you know where you’re not seeing any support from for sure? It’s the NDP leader. The NDP leader, again, hiding in the gallery, hiding somewhere else in the province most days. Where he is not is in this Chamber leading his caucus. This is why you continue to see silly questions like this.

[abirddogmoment]

Phone shots from our road trip!

[oni-tengu]

on and off thinking about this group i made a long time ago & how i wanna do more with it. all but one are girls, goes in order left to right: rust, bronze, jade (the boy), cerulean, indigo, and then of course galant is purple.

i reused the beta troll's meteor idea, here's theirs

they can be friends. nixret & galant are besties

trapsa was a later addition, but she's isolated & alone, attempting to make contact with others

:\ in the absence of me pursuing any ideas about this, here is an introduction to old characters

[indeedgoodman]

[watermonkeystuff]

Sundr live.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

October 28, 2024

Mr. Nixon: Well, Mr. Speaker, we are not seeing a significant increase in our largest city when it comes to homelessness.

[kindred-spirit-93]

AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE *nibbling my screen*

[ALTIS CROWN]

Day one of courting @kindred-spirit-93

[dlysthings]

Little crush

AN: Hi! This is the first time I am posting sometning here and i hope you like it. I got the idea from @darylsgarden. Any constructive critisism is apreciated. Also english isn't my first language so i apologize in advance for any gramar and punctuacion mistakes.

Word count: 678

Daryl stood in the buzzing high school hallway ,fidgeting with his locker, watching you. There you were. With your back to him, happily chatting with your friends, laughing at whatever one of your girlfriends has said. With your shining hair, framing your beautiful face, an angel like smile grazing your lips. God, you were perfect.

So beautiful. Nothing like him. Not some white trash reddneck.

 He turned around. He’d been watching you for months. Weeks and weeks of secretly sneaking glances at you in class or in the hallway. But only that. Nothing more.

He didn’t have the courage to go and talk with you, only to be met with rejection and mocking laugh. He couldn’t. And what other reaction could you have. He was just damaged goods. What could you possibly see in him beside that?

Thinking that, he went into class. He entered the classroom and plopped down in his seat. Next think he knows you sit in the seat beside his. You glance at him and shoot him a small smile.Fuck.

He turns the opposite side, his face growing redder by the second. There is no way you just smiled at him, no. You probably were looking at someone else in his direction. That must be it. No other reason, he tries to convince himself. No way she is smilin' at ya, dumbass

The whole day you were somewhere around him. The table beside his at lunch, the desk next to him at class. Always smiling at him. At some point he decided you knew about his crush at you and were mocking him. But how could you know? He’s never told anyone. He didn’t even have someone to tell it to. So this couldn’t be it. So why were you smiling at him?

~~~~~~~~~~

Later the same day Daryl was at the supermarket in town. He needed to grab a few things to make himself something to eat. He was just about to go and check out when he saw you.

You were wearing a red sundres, that was making you look even better. You were triyng to reach an item from a higher schelf and failing miserably. You were on your tip toes, with a streched out arm, fingertips barelly missing the item you were trying to grab.

That was his chance. He can go and help you,starting a conversation. But could he. He wasnt like his older brother,Merle,full of confidence. But if he didn't do it, there probably wasn't going to be another oportunity to leave a good first imresion. Fuck it he thought.

He went to you and grabed the item you were strugling to get. Handing it to you, he looked for the first time at your face from that close. You were even more beautiful from closer. Eyes with vibrant colour and such perfectly shaped features. Your eyebrows were lightly raised in slight surprise.

But then you smiled at him. Such a sweet smile, directed directly to him and only for him. You were gorgeous. that was the only thought in his head until he heard your sweet voice.

"Thank you,Daryl" you said in that sweet voice of yours. You were looking expectanly at him. Respond ya dumbass! Cant ya see she's waiting for you?

"N-No problem. Yur welcome" he said and baschfuly ducked his head, scraching his neck. He stood there not knowing what to say, luckily you said something.

'Well, again, thank you. I will see you tomorow at school." you said and with that you squezed his hand, that was still outstreched to you. After that you went your way, turning around once but Dryl didn't saw you.

Daryl was satring at his hand that you had just squezed. He couldn't believe it. You, the girl of his dreams had just touched him. He could still lightly feel your hand on his. I'm never wasching my hand again.

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Wild Horse Foal by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: Foal wild horse - Taken near Sundre, Alberta Canada -Equus caballus

[astralprisms]

xa’rok is vry interesting :3c from what i understand they sacrificed Orpheus in end game and sided with empy. whats their opinion of him/the whole war of comet vs Vlaakith conflict?

Thank you, and thank you for asking!

They did sacrifice Orpheus (ate him, actually) and side with the Emperor. There was no reason not to, and Orpheus himself meant little in the grand scheme of their life. As they hadn't actually spoken to Orpheus themself, they don't have any personal opinions about his character, but had they been given the chance I think they would have regretted it immediately; in that respect he's just like every other gith, and the personal insults would not have done him any favors. They understand the importance of symbols and figureheads, though, and Orpheus was less a man than a symbol to rally by. The gith would move on, and with Lae'zel as their comet they would actually have a chance of changing for the better.

For all that Orpheus was gith's son and a powerful figure, he had been so long stripped of his autonomy and so long imprisoned that Xa'rok can't conceive of a world in which a reactionary rebellion figurehead of that caliber would be anything but a powder keg. He had milennia to languish in his inherited (and justified in his eyes, as someone who the enslavement touched personally) hatred. Freed he would have brought all of that prejudice back with him, even if he was planning to attempt to unite their sundred peoples. But also gith culture and the world had moved on significantly in his absence. His ideas for the future of their people remain fixed on what he remembered their people being, not what all of them had become.

He was, in a word, obsolete.

He worked best as a symbol, and his sacrifice was far more effective a rallying cry to bring about change than his leadership would have been, in Xa'rok's opinion.

And in the end that showed itself to be true: despite being at odds with Voss for killing his prince, Voss moved on to continue the work in Orpheus' name and Lae'zel was given a new purpose -- not in whole spirit service of someone else, but for herself. She was the Comet, now, and she was new blood borne in the old ways of thinking. She had traveled with Xa'rok, learned their perspective, came to respect them, even as they turned into what she had loathed most. She learned diplomacy from them and brought that to her people and between the two of them, now, they may actually have a chance.

And Vlaakith? Vlaakith has far less faithful than she thinks. Xa'rok believes her downfall is written, and it will come. What will spring up in her absence is anyone's guess, though, but maybe now their people will see clearer and with the right audience, be willing to grow beyond the cycle they've been stuck in since they broke free.

[textrovert-01]

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

IT WAS NICE KNOWING Y’ALL

[hobiebrownismygod]

Oh my gor….reqs r open!!! Can i request pakistani reader x pavitr who just starts speaking urdu/hindi when shes angry? I feel like it would b pretty funny :3!

- from the raccoon anon 🦝

Ok, so I’m not Pakistani but I did ask some of my Pakistani friends how to write this reader, so I hope it’s accurate to your experiences, and if not pls let me know 💜

Pavitr Prabhakar x FemPakistani!Reader

Oneshot/Short Story

TW: Fluff, Urdu/Hindi with translations, Google translate was used a little :/, lots of dialogue, reader low-key has anger issues

_________________________________________________________

"Are you mad at me?"

"No." You tried your best to make your tone as cold as possible, but that was proving to be impossibly difficult when looking into the puppy dog eyes of the boy in front of you.

"Liar" Pavitr cocked his head to the side slightly, giving you a lopsided grin, his arms folded over his chest. He looked like he was on the verge of laughter, but he always looked like that, being the little ray of sunshine he was. You'd never see him with a frown on his face, which made your RBF even more noticeable when the two of you were together. "Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad!" You replied, putting your hand up to his face and looking to the side. You bit the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from laughing at his expression. He looked like a sad puppy. It was hard not to turn off your cold demeanor when you saw him like that, but then of course you had your reasons to be mad at him.

"Aww, don't be like that meri jaan" he teased, stepping out of the way of your hand and grinning that shit-eating grin. Nothing could ever falter his can-do attitude, not even your blatant refusal to tell him what was wrong.

"Arre, don't call me that!" You said, looking back at him with a scowl, putting your hands on your hips. You looked down for a second, hesitant to tell him your reasons. You didn't want to get mad at him, but that was proving difficult. "Fine! I am mad." You said angrily.

"Okay...why are you mad?"

"Why do you think I'm mad??"

He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets and smiling that golden-boy smile at you again. Infuriating. You scoffed, feeling your muscles tightening and your face heating up as you tried to keep yourself from blowing up at him.

"mein aap ko sambhaal nahi sakta (I can't handle you)"

"Just tell me why you're mad!" he said, his voice slightly whiny as he looked at you, his hands on his hips. "What'd I do?"

You groaned, smacking your forehead and glaring at him from behind your palm. "How can you not know?"

He smiled again, watching you, his eyes crinkling slightly. He's not even sorry. You thought to yourself, getting more and more annoyed by the second. "Just tell me what I did" He said, his tone a little softer this time.

You stumbled over your words for a moment, unable to get them out properly. A groan escaped your lips before you threw your hands up and started spewing the first sentences that came to your mind.

"aap hamesha masroof rehtay hain! (You're always busy!)"

"uh-huh"

"tum ab kabhi mere sath waqt nahi guzartay! (You never spend time with me anymore!)"

"yeah bu-"

"aap hamesha spiderman honay mein masroof rehtay hain! (You're always busy being Spider-man!)"

"I have t-"

"ham ek taveel arase se ek saath baahar nahin gae hain! (We havent' gone out together in a long time!)"

"but-"

"mat kaho lekin! (Don't say but!)" You cut him off, pointing your finger up at him, your voice slightly raised. He put his hands up in front of him defensively, his eyebrows raising slightly at the action. But he still had that stupid grin on his face, somehow enjoying watching you get angry.

"jb aap gausse men hote hain to aap sundr dikhte hain (You look pretty when you're angry)" He said, waggling his eyebrows at you. You scoffed, folding your arms over your chest again, but you couldn't help but smile slightly at this confession.

"Come on meri jaan...I'm sorry." You bit the inside of your cheek once again, looking up at him with a glare. You blinked, then sighed and chuckled, a soft exhale leaving your lips. His expression lit up as he watched you, giant smile returning. "...Does this mean you forgive me?" He asked excitedly, leaning in toward you slightly.

"Arre, back up." You said with an eye roll, leaning backwards, standing on the heels of your feet. "But I forgive you." You muttered, unable to suppress your slight smile. He gave you a wink and flashed that same golden smile.

"I knew you would"

A/N:

Meri Jaan - My life/My light

Arre - Hey!

Google translate was used, so if some of the translations are incorrect or incomplete, pls let me know and I'll change them! I hope this was to your liking, anon 💜 This was so fun to write!

Btw, I wrote reader's lines in Urdu and Pav's lines in Hindi, and since the languages are pretty similar I assumed they'd be able to understand each other. I also thought it would be more accurate for a Pakistani reader to speak Urdu while Pavitr canonically knows Hindi. So if you see any grammatical differences between their lines, thats why <3

Tags:

@s6onder

[jackhkeynes]

Markish

Markish is an English language of the German family of languages which evolved on the island of Albion. It is closely related to other English languages like Kentish and Wessern, and is the primary language of the polity of Markland.

Contemporary Markish descends form the Early Markish spoken in Markland, which itself descends from Anglian varieties of Old English.

This article principally describes the acrolect of Markish spoken in and around the capital city of Tommarth.

Examples

A jalicked knave bought a new quistre. /ə ˈdʒa.lɪ.kəd knɛːv bɔft ə nəu ˈkwɪ.stə/ A guy in a tuxedo bought a new phone. Aquifex is the temendest corporal. /ˈa.kwɪˌfɛks ɪz ðe ˈtiː.mən.dəs ˈkoː.pʊ.ɾəl/ Hydrogen is the most abundant element. Do thy breches of and put thysel abed! /duː ðəi ˈbɾiː.tʃəz ɔf ən pʊt ðəiˈsɛl əˈbɛd/ Take off your clothes and get on the bed! By way o'dreend al therin ough, he asked "As swich?" /bəi wəi əˈdɾiː.ən‿dal ðəˈɾɪn uːf | hiː ˈa.skəd | az swɪtʃ/ While doing everything wrong, he asked "Like that?" Psolick tersures may breken wines brewing of. /ˈsɔ.lɪk ˈtɛː.zjəz məi ˈbɾiːkə wəinz ˈbɾəwɪŋg ɔf/ Sulphites can stop wine fermentation.

Phonology

Consonants

The consonant phonemes found in Markish are:

/m n/ /p t tʃ k/ /b d dʒ g/ /f θ s ʃ h/ /v ð z/ /w l ɾ j/

and they are subject to the following orthographic conventions:

b d f h k l m n p t v w z represent their IPA symbols.

j r y represent /dʒ ɾ j/ respectively.

c usually represents /s/ before i e y and /k/ elsewhere.

awice /əˈwəis/ "indeed" < OE ġewiss "certain" coholl /kʊˈhɔl/ "sulfide" < Ar كُحْل "kohl"

g usually represents /g/ but may represent /dʒ/ before i e y.

eagre /ˈeː.gə/ "acid" < L ācer nargill /ˈnaː.dʒɪl/ "coconut" < Ar نَرْجِيل "coconut palm" girl /geːl/ "young person"

q appears almost always in the diagraph qu to represent /kw/.

quoit /kwəit/ "tyre, torus"

s represents /z/ between vowels and word-finally (unless doubled), and /s/ otherwise.

Brasil /bɾəˈzɪl/ "Newfoundland" < Ir Breasail betimes /bɪˈtəimz/ "earlier" surblavick /soːˈblɛː.vɪk/ "ultraviolet" < L blavus "blue"

x represents /gz/ between vowels, and /ks/ otherwise.

oxy /ˈɔg.ziː/ "stubborn" œculux /ˈɛ.kjəˌlʊks/ "EM radiation" < Gr οἶκος "house", L lux "light"

There are several digraphs of letters with -h: ch gh ph sh th wh.

ph sh wh represent /f ʃ f/.

ch usually represents /tʃ/, but sometimes also /k/.

chalk /tʃalk/ "chalk" yacht /jakt/ "cult" < Du jaght "hunting party"

gh usually represents either /ʃ/ (following i) or /f/ (following u).

wight /wɪʃt/ "person" < OE wiht "thing, creature" ough /uːf/ "bad" < OE wōh "wrong, crooked" NB I'ght /ˈəift/ "I must", contracted from I ought

th usually represents either of /θ ð/, and sometimes /t/.

thrift /θɾɪft/ "energy" < ON þrift "prosperity" yeathre /ˈjeːðə/ "together" < OE geador

There are several situations in which written consonants may be silent.

In certain endings: participle -end /ən/, infinitive -en /ə/, superlative -est /əs/.

discurrend /dɪˈskʊ.ɾən/ "different" < L discurrēns "roaming" chammen /ˈtʃa.mə/ "to chew" (poss. onomatopoetic) tharvest /ˈθaː.vəs/ "least sociable" < OE þeorf "unleavened"

Coda r lengthens the preceding vowel and word-final -re is pronounced /ə/.

interpel /ɪnˈtɛː.pəl/ "interact with" < L interpellō "I disturb" sundre /ˈsʊn.də/ "many" < OE sundor "separately"

Post-tonic -st- immediately before a closed syllable is pronounced /s/.

hirstend /ˈheː.sən/ "extra" < OE hyrstan "to ornament" pistol /ˈpɪ.səl/ "message" < L epistola

Likewise, post-tonic -v- is lost in some common words.

morovre /mʊˈɾoː(ə)/ "as well" evre /ɛː(ə)/ "always"

Vowels

The vowels of (this variety of) Markish are:

/a ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ ə/ /aː ɛː eː iː ɔː oː ʉː/ /əi əu/

and they are subject to the following orthographic conventions:

In stressed syllables, "short" a e i~y o u represent /a ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ/.

sam /sam/ "set, collection" < OE samnian "gather" whelp /fɛlp/ "baby animal" quick /kwɪk/ "awake" thon /ðɔn/ "one, someone", contracted from the one bulk /bʊlk/ "cargo"

In unstressed syllables, a e i~y o u instead represent /ə ə~ɪ ɪ ʊ ʊ/—except word-finally, where /ɪ ʊ/ become /iː ə/.

defectend /dɪˈfɛk.tən/ "positively charged" behemoth /bɪˈhiː.mʊθ/ "hippopotamus" costumery /kʊˈstjəu.mə.ɾiː/ "fashion plate"

"Long" a e i~y o u represent /ɛː iː əi uː jəu/.

besake /bɪˈzɛːk/ "because" mete /miːt/ "standard, gauge" < OE metan "measure" ty /təi/ "to join" poke /puːk/ "container" < OFr poque "bag" huge /hjəudʒ/ "huge"

There are plenty of digraphs representing vowels.

Coda -r: ar er ir or ur represent /aː ɛː eː oː oː/.

davarn /dəˈvaːn/ "grand hotel, resort" < W tafarn "inn"

-a: ea oa represent /eː oː/.

roaden /ˈɾoː.də/ "to travel"

-e: ee ie ue represent /iː əi jəu/.

conspue /kʊnˈspjəu/ "to deride" < L cōnspuō "I spit upon"

-i/y: ai ei oi and ay ey oy represent /əi əi~iː əi/.

fain /fəin/ "willing(ly)"

-o: oo represents /uː/.

soon /suːn/ "as soon as"

-u/w: au eu ou and aw ew ow represent /əu əu əu~uː/.

blew /bləu/ "blue" coshow /ˈkɔ.ʃuː/ "rubber" < Quechua kawchu

[avengerscompound]

The Interview - Chapter 8

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating:  E

Warnings:  Mentions of general bigotry.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count:   2133

Summary:  Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America.  Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 8

There was a fluttering in Melody’s stomach like hundreds of moths were beating their wings against her insides, searching for a light source.  It wasn’t an entirely bad feeling, but it did make her jittery, and there was a slight queasiness to it.  She was on her way to her first date with Steve Rogers and she was buzzing with anticipation.

This was the start of something that had the potential to be so good.  She knew Steve.  She knew the chemistry they shared.  She knew how much she liked him.  She also knew that dating Captain America wouldn’t exactly be easy.  On top of all of the usual relationship hurdles people faced - compatibility, friends, family, future plans, alignment of morality and desires - she also had to deal with both the pitfalls of dating a celebrity and someone in the armed forces.

Steve Rogers had fans.  As good as he was, his fans weren’t always.  The man kept off most social media except for a very polished set of accounts used specifically for Captain America.  His Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages duplicated posts and they were all exclusively comments on current politics, or announcements regarding public safety, the outcome of missions if relevant to the public, and upcoming appearances he was making.  There was never anything personal.  He didn’t engage in debate or even casual conversation, and even in cases where one of the team tried to get him to engage with some kind of joke, it was left ignored.  Even still, the comments were full of lewd sexual comments and people proposing marriage.  Anytime Steve was photographed even standing near another woman, her entire online history would be picked apart to prove she was evil and somehow not worthy of the attention of Steve.

It had already started for Melody.  She had been seen out with Steve while she was still interviewing him, and the press had gotten the wrong idea and called her his mysterious lady friend.  No one was able to figure out who she was, but she’d seen some comments saying that she looked like a slut, as well as a handful of racist rants from some Fox ‘journalists’.  The tide had turned since the article had come out.  While there was the occasional negative comment, the majority of the responses seemed to be along the lines of ‘one of us’.  She could already tell that wouldn’t last if she started to get spotted out with him again.

Add to that the fact he was constantly pulled out of the country for long periods and was constantly putting his life in danger, she knew dating would be a challenge.  There were a lot of hurdles they were going to have to face, and as silly as she knew it was, she wanted to make sure this date went well because in her mind it would set the mood for the rest of the relationship.

When she arrived at the cafe where she’d agreed to meet Steve, she spotted him immediately.  He was sitting out the front with his back to her, but his broad shoulders and huge arms made him stand out like a sore thumb.  He was dressed in pale blue, and the fabric of his shirt strained at his shoulders.

She tapped his shoulder as she reached him, and he startled a little and turned to look at her.  The look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced by a large smile.  He had a pair of aviators on, and she could see her smile reflected in them.

He stood and leaned over the barrier to kiss her cheek.  “Look at you,” he said.  “You look beautiful.”

“This old thing?” she said, spinning for him.  She had opted for a simple sundress with cornflowers printed on it.  It was something from her closet, so she wasn’t lying when she said that it was old.  “You like it?”

“I like you,” he said.  “And you’re wearing it.” 

She laughed. “That was the sappiest thing anyone has ever said to me,” she said.  “And I kind of love it.”

Steve chuckled and looked down at his shoes, shaking his head as a slight blush crept up the back of his neck.  It was adorable.  He was adorable.  This huge, Adonis of a man, who had thousands and thousands of people all around the world, thirsting after him, and he blushed when the woman he was interested in called him a sap.

“Come,” he said, meeting her eyes again, and pulling out a chair for her.  “Sit.”

She made her way around the barrier and took a seat in the wicker chair opposite him.

“You picked a nice place,” Steve said.  “The menu is interesting.”

She laughed.  “Interesting; I can’t eat any of this pretentious shit, or interesting; I am curious to taste some of it.”

“The second one,” he said, laughing with her.  “I mean even if there are a few things that do seem a little on the pretentious side, it has omelets and even a burger, so I wouldn’t go hungry.”

“Well, good,” she said, reaching over the table and putting her hand on his.  He looked up at her and turned his hand, closing his fingers over hers.  “I have a special condition for today's brunch.”

Steve looked at her and one of his blond eyebrows quirked up above his aviators.  “Oh?  What’s that?”

“If you need to order a protein smoothie twelve strips of bacon and ten of those pork and apricot sausages to get the energy you need to get through until this afternoon, that’s fine, but you have to also order the thing you want to eat, even if it’s mostly sugar,” she said.

He chuckled and nodded.  “Alright.  I can agree to that.”

“And you don’t have to order a cocktail, but you also have to at least try a sip of mine,” she said.

He laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said.  “I think I can get my own cocktail.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand.  “Good.  I know that you can be funny about food.  But I do want you to have a nice time.”

“I want that too,” he said.  “And we can take a walk after.  We’re close to Central Park here.”

“Oh yeah,” she agreed.  “We’re less than two blocks from the park where we live.  I go there pretty much every day.  It’s my favorite part of the whole city.” 

“It is a nice reprieve from all the concrete,” he agreed.  “It can almost feel like you’re not in the city at all.”  He took another look over the menu and set it down.  “I think I know what I want.”

She looked at him over the top of her menu.  “Well, don’t leave me in suspense.” 

Steve laughed.  “I’m going to get the lemon and ricotta pancakes, a side of sausage and bacon, and a Bloody Mary,” he said.  “Oh - I think I’ll get a latte too.”

“Good choices,” she said.  “I think I’m going for the wild mushroom scramble.  And the five-flower mimosa.  I might get a basket of their popovers for the table, just because I kind of want to get a basket of popovers for the table.”

Steve laughed again.  “I like the sound of that.  I can’t say I’ve ever had a popover before.”

She grinned at him. “Me either.  It can be a first for both of us.”

The waitress came out and took their orders and Melody finally turned her full attention to Steve.  For a moment she worried she might not be able to shake off the journalist in her.  Their entire relationship up until now had been her trying to get to know him as a subject.  Now she wanted to get to know him as a romantic partner.

“Alright,” Steve said.  “We’ve spent a lot of time getting to know all about me.  I think it’s my turn to learn about you.”

She smiled softly and tilted her head.  “I’m going to be interviewed?”

“I think it’s only fair,” Steve agreed.  “So tell me, what made you want to be a journalist?”

“I’ve always loved writing,” she said.  “Even when I was a little kid.  I’d write these little plays and Bobbi and I would act them out.  I think my parents might even have my old school books with the little plays written in them.  Anyway - what I’d love is to write a novel.  I majored in creative writing at Oregon State and minored in journalism.  But I got this internship thanks to my writing.  And if I can be paid to write, that’s a win for me.  Who knows, there’s still plenty of time to write the novel too.”

“Of course there is,” he said.  “It's good to have that creative outlet too.”

“Like you with your art,” Melody offered.

“Like me with my art,” Steve agreed.

They were interrupted by the waitress bringing out their drinks and popovers.  They each took one from the basket and spread some of the marmalade on them.  “Oh my god,” Steve said as he took a bite.  “This is like a Yorkshire pudding.  I had them in England.  But with meat.”

She laughed and shook her head.  “How funny,” she said.  “Like the scone/biscuit thing in reverse, I guess.” 

 He took a bite and looked off wistfully for a moment.  “I guess so,” he said.  He swallowed and shook his head.  “So you and Bobbi have been close for a long time?”

“Oh yeah,” she agreed.  “We grew up together.  Our moms were best friends.  Our parents used to joke about us getting married.  We’ve always been thick as thieves.”

“I grew up with Bucky,” he said.  “We have been close all our lives too.  No one used to say anything about us getting married back then though.”  His brows furrowed a little.  “They say it on the internet a lot now though.”

She nearly choked on her mimosa.  “Well, it’s the opposite for me and Bobbi.  They don’t say that about us now.”

“What changed?” Steve asked.  “Did they just get used to the idea that you would be your own people?”

“Not exactly,” she said.  She wanted to tell Steve the truth, and she knew that one day in the future assuming they went the distance, he’d know the full story.  But it wasn’t her place to out Bobbi to anyone, and she wasn’t going to start doing it now just because she wanted to open up to a guy.  “This is more Bobbi’s story to tell, so I hope you don’t mind that I don’t tell it.  But let’s just say - the idea of us getting married became less of a fairytale to them.”

“Are you close with your parents?” Steve asked.

“I used to be,” she answered.  “I had a pretty good childhood, aside from constantly being told I was going to marry my cousin.  My parents were pretty supportive and told me I could be anything I wanted.  That didn’t seem to include being a bisexual woman.  They always acted so supportive of the LGBT community too.  But I guess as long as no one in their family was in it.”

Steve frowned and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.  “I’m sorry you had to go through with that.  Hopefully, they’ll come around.  Sometimes it just takes people time.”

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh.  “I hope so too.”

“Can I tell you something only maybe two other people know?” Steve said.

“Of course,” she said.  “Anything.”

He leaned over the table, bringing his face closer to hers.  “I’m bisexual too.”

Melody started laughing.  Not at him, but the delivery was so cute, she couldn’t help but laugh.  “Really?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.  Really.”

She held up her pinky to him.  “Who would have thought we’d share so many things in common?  The long-time childhood friend.  The artistic hobby.  And now this?”

He laughed with her, hooking his finger around hers.  “Maybe I was wrong about not finding someone with shared life experiences.”

Melody was about to ask him what he meant by that when Steve suddenly spoke again.  “Wait,” he said.  “If they were telling you to marry Bobbi…”

She shook her head.  “We’ll get to all of that,” she said. “Promise.”

He sat back and picked up his glass. “No rush.  We can take our time.”

“My friends really liked Bobbi, by the way,” Steve said.  “Especially Bucky.  A lot.”

She grinned and sat up.  The thought of playing matchmaker was exciting. “Hey - you know what we should do?” she said.  “We should take them to see her at the Vampire dinner theater.”

Steve picked up his glass and raised it in salute.  “That, Mel, is a fantastic idea.”

// NEXT

[nijixpup]

REALLL

i don’t think people make matthew gay enough or even feminine enough anymore. like cmon he uses flowery salon-quality hair products and gets manicures and wears lipgloss on first dates! he puts so much into his appearance EXCEPT for his clothes bc he’s clueless!