#I’ve been doing a travel diary maybe I will post it if I get it finished

[girafferoyalty]

Had to do the Barbie & Ken meme from twitter with them, bc why not

[writing-zelda-brainrots]

The Apothecary’s Travel Guide Chapter 1

Quickly, before we begin, I want to set some things straight about this little fic series.

This fic will use Fem!Reader in both pronouns and body descriptions. I usually stick to gender neutral stuff, but this fic just works better with a female main character in mind (or at least I think so).

While I won’t be going into actual nsfw stuff (maybe in the future, I haven’t decided), this fic will still contain sexual themes and scenarios. This fic is meant for older teens and up. I don’t write with a young audience in mind, both for this fic and in general.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Apothecary Diaries (wtf are you doing here, go watch it), the series takes place in a fictional version of Imperial China. You don’t absolutely need to watch it to read this fic, but you will have a better understanding of things if you have (also, it’s just a really good show, very well written with one of the best female protags I’ve ever seen).

Also, this fic starts before Sunset, so the whole “Twilight is Wolfie” and “Hyrule can heal” things are not known yet.

–

It felt a little strange to be back in the busy streets of the pleasure district after spending months in the rear palace. But it was the good kind of strange. The smell of grilled meat skewers that you missed so much, the paper lanterns hanging overhead, people haggling for better prices in the street side shops, playing games on the side of the road, or drinking tea in teahouses. And of course, beautiful women calling men over to offer ‘special services’ in the many brothels.

It’s a sight you’re all too familiar with. Having grown up here, raised by the women of the famous Verdigris House, these things did not phase you. One would think that working in the palace would be quite the change of pace, but if there’s one thing that you’ve learned over the past however many months, it is that the palace and brothels aren’t all that different. A beautiful caged garden full of flowers for the emperor to enjoy looking upon.

In truth, if you had the choice, you would not want to have anything to do with the imperial palace, but given your situation, what could you do? You certainly didn’t ask to be kidnapped and sold off to the palace back then and you didn’t ask to be promoted to lady in waiting to one of the four highest ranking concubines. You were doing just fine as an apothecary back in the pleasure district, thank you very much.

You had originally attempted to stay low, worked as a simple, low ranking servant until your contract expired and then head home. You hid any signs of value that could get you promoted; you hid your ability to read and write, as well as hid your ‘true beauty’ so you wouldn’t become a concubine (even if a servant could only ever become a low ranking concubine). Any extra money you would have earned  from those promotions would just be swiped by your kidnappers, anyway. At least you still got paid for your regular work.

Had things originally gone according to your plan, you would have worked hard and been released within three years. However, now that goal post has been moved quite a bit.

But you shouldn't be thinking about work right now; it was your day off, after all. You were back home (after managing to haggle your way into them letting you leave the palace) and that’s all that matters right now.

I should get some radishes and chicken for soup tonight. You thought as you walked down the street of the makeshift market. You hoped that your father had been eating well. He was never all that good at feeding himself. If he was starving for a few days, the old lady from the Verdigris House would force something down his throat.

Speaking of the Verdigris House, you should probably head there later. Both to say hello to your ‘big sisters,’ but also so you could take a bath there. They’d likely want some medicine, too, now that you thought about it. The last time you delivered medicine there was the day you got kidnapped.

Heh. Even on my day off I’m running errands.

With your little morning shopping excursion done, you stuffed the ingredients into the basket you carried on your back and started heading to that familiar little shack you affectionately called home. Dad should be in the fields tending to the plants right now. Honestly, he was getting too old for that trek, especially with his busted knee, but you couldn’t deny that he loved that little garden he’s cultivated over the years. Not like you were any different when it comes to your passion for medicinal herbs. As your master, he taught you everything you know about medicine; what herbs work in which situations, what to use and what to avoid, how to make medicine, what plants, mushrooms and animals were poisonous and which weren’t, etc. He was a very learned man, having studied both eastern and western medicine. With a few more years of teaching, you might be as good as him, or you hoped so, at least.

Finally you reached the calm little neighbourhood you grew up in. It was on the very outskirts of the city, not even protected by the tall stone brick walls. Looking at the small sizes of the houses, barely larger than your average shack, told people that this was where the poor lived. It wasn’t much, but it was home. Truth be told, your father was an excellent medical expert, even having worked in the palace before from what you’ve heard, but for all his skill and knowledge, he had terrible luck, which is why he ended up living here instead of somewhere more fitting for his stature.

But when you got to your little childhood home, you were met with a worrying sight. A woman you didn’t recognise, worry and uncertainty written on her face, knocking on the front door of your home. That’s strange, did she need medicine? You didn’t recognise her servant uniform, but she seemed to be from one of the inns in the area.

You called out, catching her attention immediately. “Are you looking for the apothecary? He’s currently out, but I can leave him a message.”

“Please help, it’s a medical emergency! Someone’s been poisoned!”

Your face immediately turned serious as you dropped your belongings before running inside the shack to retrieve an emergency med kit. “Lead me to them.”

--

People had gathered around the doorway of the inn, clearly all in a panic, but not sure on what to do.

“I brought the apothecary. Please step out of the way.” The two of you moved past the seemingly small army of staff and patrons.

What you saw seemed to match what the woman had told you before. A man lying on the bed, restless, breathing erratically, hands clenching at the fabric of his clothes right over his heart. Immediately you entered your ‘work mode,’ practically diving next to the man. First, a physical check up.

You pried open the man’s eyes, looking into them; you checked his pulse and stuck a finger into his mouth. Judging from the spittle running down his chin and trace amounts of sick on the bed sheets and his blue scarf, it’s safe to say that he had vomited. Still, you pressed down on his solar plexus to induce more of it. It would help expel whatever caused this reaction, but it would also dehydrate him. There was a hrrk, and spit came pouring out of his mouth, which you wiped away with the bedsheets you had gripped.

Suddenly, a new man with brown hair and eyes came running through the door with what seemed to be a waterskin in his hands.

He was just about to offer the water to the man you were tending to, but you shouted at him: “Don’t let him drink that! Charcoal- we need charcoal!” The startled man dropped the item onto the floor, but recovered just as quickly, running off once again to retrieve the required item.

You repeated this process several times on the victim; making him vomit, wiping the bile away ad nauseum until nothing but stomach acid came out. The man was able to breathe much easier now, no longer hyperventilating. Thankfully, at your request, the charcoal had arrived just in time, which you quickly ground up with your mortar and pestle.

“This’ll be rough on his throat, but it’ll flush the toxins out of his body.” You spoke as you poured the fine powder into his mouth. Some of the men, who you assumed to be the patient’s associates, had gathered around the two of you, clearly worried.

“Wa… Water. Please…” Those were the first words you heard him speak, weak, but nonetheless a sign that he was recovering.

“Not yet. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to endure this a little bit longer.”

Though unhappy, he accepted and resigned himself to his scratchy and dry throat for the time being. Finally you were able to remove yourself from the bedside, letting the other men move the patient while the inn’s servant ladies removed the soiled linens.

First damn thing in the morning and I already have to deal with an emergency. I only just got back. You grumbled in your mind as you looked at your filthy hand. Ugh. I really need a bath. You sighed both from relief and exhaustion.

“You doin’ okay, Captain?” One of the taller men with brown hair asked while holding him up so he could stand.

The patient - now identified as ‘Captain’ - took a breath. “Much better.” He then turned his attention towards you. “Thank you. I was certain that I was a goner.”

“I am simply doing my job. There is no need to thank me.” Utilising some water in a pitcher that one of the servants offered, you wiped your hands with a damp cloth.

You then took out a wooden slip, wrote just a couple characters on it and handed it over to the servant woman who you first encountered. “Deliver this to doctor Luomen and bring him here. He should be by the south wall.”

With that, the servant gave you and everyone else in the room a small bow before leaving.

The man with a blue hat turned his attention to the patient, who had once again been laid down onto the cleaned up bed. “Now I know that stuff took you out; you didn’t even try to flirt with your “guardian angel”.”

“So that’s your impression of me?” The sarcasm in his voice was evident. “Glad to know that it took me almost kicking the bucket to change your opinion.”

--

Within about half an hour, the servant had returned, your father in tow. It took longer than you had hoped, but given your father’s age and condition, it wasn’t all that surprising.

He took a good look at the patient and asked some questions.

“I suppose you did an adequate job here.” He gave you his trademark gentle smile after he was done with his examination.

“‘Adequate’?” You ask, annoyed.

A man who you assumed to be the owner of the inn came into the room. “Thank you, doctor Luomen. You are the best medical expert one could ask for.”

“Don’t thank me. My daughter did all the hard work.”

“Tell me, how much do we owe you? Name your price.”

“There’s really no need-”

You nudge your father’s side with your elbow. “Can you pay rent this month?”

“Ah… Well, in that case, I’ll take the usual fee.”

This was one of his habits; undercharging for his work, or even failing to charge at all, much to your distress. You understood the desire not to take money from people who were already struggling to get by, but this was not the case.

A tall blond man in heavy armour came up to you, holding out a small-ish sack. “Please, allow us to reimburse you as well. We owe you a lot.” Seeing no reason not to, you accepted the item.

With that, your father and the inn’s owner head into another room to discuss payment, leaving you to gather up your tools.

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed a few of the men fidgeting nervously or giving each other glances. They obviously wanted to say something. You didn’t know why they were hesitating. Sure, you might have sharp, mean-looking eyes and you didn’t smile all the time, but there’s no reason for these numerous grown men to act like this around you.

“Can I help you?” You broke the ice. No point in delaying this.

The one who you assumed to be the leader cleared his throat. “Actually, we’d like you to answer some questions we have. We’re travellers from afar, you see, and we don’t know much about this place or nation.”

They came all this way here and they don’t know the first thing about where they are? “You’re in the country of Li, specifically in the capital city of both the nation and the Central Province. I’m not going to judge how you choose to spend your time, but if you wanted to go sightseeing, I wouldn’t exactly recommend coming to the pleasure district first.” You raised an eyebrow. Just who were these people?

You saw that a few of the mens’ faces had turned bright red when they realised where they were. “Ha! Told you that this is where we ended up.”

“Are you implying that you frequent these kinds of places, Captain?” It sure seemed like these two had a penchant for arguing. Even during the time while you were waiting for your father to arrive, you noticed that they kept butting heads.

“Enough, you two.” The oldest shot them a quick glare. “Either way, it’s good we left Wind with Four back at the city outskirts. Both because of the inappropriate nature of this place- no offence…”

You shrugged. “None taken.”

“... But so that they wouldn’t have to see you get in trouble like this.”

“You are the apothecary here, right? If so, then you should be familiar with people who have gotten injuries.” You nodded. “Have you heard anything about encounters with any strong monsters, particularly those with black blood?”

Alright, now you were really confused. Monsters? Black blood? Was this some kind of way of informing you of a new disease spreading among the troops of enemy nations? But if so, why not tell this to an army physician instead of a random apothecary?

“Can’t say that I have.” You spoke up after having given it some thought. “Though I have to admit that I have been working in the inner court for the past few months, so I’m not caught up on the goings on outside the palace walls. But if you are telling the truth, I’m certain I would have heard rumours.” Thinking back, Xiaolan - a girl you had grown a friendship with when you were a simple servant at the palace - sure loved her gossip, and if there was one thing she loved more, it was sharing that gossip with you over tasty snacks and food.

“Thank you anyways.”

While this conversation didn’t seem like it yielded much, it did get your gears turning. It was time to do some espionage- or rather, some investigating. Something you’ve gotten pretty good at lately, if you said so yourself.

“Please wait here while I get you some medicine.” With a quick bow you left the room. In truth you had already prepared the medicine while waiting for your father to arrive, but this was still a convenient excuse.

As quietly as you could you hid yourself behind the sliding door and pressed your ear against it. Sure enough, once the men in the room believed you to be gone, they started talking. Words like “monsters,” “eras,” “shadow” and others got thrown around as if it was common knowledge, yet it only served to confuse - and intrigue - you further. One thing was certain; these were not your regular, run-of-the-mill travellers.

Your earlier talk also gave you an opportunity to scrutinise their appearances. Given their unfamiliar clothes and armour, plus features like light coloured hair and eyes, and their utter lack of knowledge of where they even were, you assumed them to be from a distant land, the west, most likely. But that was before you noticed one curious detail that they all shared; pointed ears.

This one thing had you calling things into question. Sure, the world was a large place, but in all your years of studying medicine and the human body, you’ve never heard of any group of peoples with such a distinctive feature.

But now came the question of what to do. What were you going to do about this suspicious group? Should you report them in case they were here to cause trouble? To be honest, you didn’t want to get involved. No point in sticking your neck out for these strangers and possibly risk getting accused of treason. You’ve done your job, you healed them, and you’re about to give them their medicine and leave. There’s no need to let them occupy your mind anymore. You’d steer clear of them from now on. Yeah, that sounded good.

Finally, you pretended to have returned from your ‘excursion’ and knocked on the door. Given the sudden silence from the room, it was safe to assure that whatever they were talking about was not for others to hear.

Walking up to the Captain still in bed, you handed over a small paper bag. “Please take this for the next few days. It’ll ease your stomach and help with getting rid of any lingering toxins. I would recommend drinking it as tea.”

The one who you had identified as ‘Legend’ from when you were listening in groaned. “Ugh. This whole thing’s been a wash. You guys ready to head back to camp?”

A unanimous ‘yes’ was heard.

--

Ironically enough, you could not get those men out of your head. Was your intuition trying to tell you that there was something wrong with them? Or were you simply curious? They were certainly the most interesting people you’ve met in some time.

They had already left the inn and you had headed in a different direction. You did finally manage to get that warm bath you were looking forward to. And getting to speak to your ‘big sisters’ at the Verdigris House was nice. But still your mind was occupied with something else. Damn it, this was supposed to be your day off, but you haven’t been able to relax completely!

You kicked a small rock in front of you in frustration. Hopefully having dinner with your dad would help alleviate your problem.

Suddenly you felt an all too familiar feeling of being pulled backwards.

Well, this wouldn’t be your first kidnapping.

--

And Wars will have to suffer through that dry, ashy throat for the remainder of this fic- lol jk.

A.N Fun fact: did you know that other than Twilight (who has lived among humans for a long time), technically, Legend is the one who has interacted with humans the most? The people of Koholint Island had short, round ears, as did the people of Holodrum (Oracle of Seasons), Labrynna (Oracle of Ages) and Hytopia (Tri Force Heroes).

[queerofcups]

an August rec list

August Rec List

Why yes it is nearly the end of September and I’m just now posting my August Rec List. I’ve been busy!

Hockey RPF

come stitch me up

E | 10k | addandsubtract

Sometimes he wakes up sucking on his fingers, rutting his hips into the bed. He’ll be right on the edge of coming, the wet head of his dick trapped between his hips and the sheets, but he can’t, he can’t, not without – not without something pushed up inside, something stretching him open.

Hey man, I barely know who these players are. Is this kind of a horror story? Yes! Is it also very hot smut! Yuuuup. This is what I mean when I’m begging people not to try to explain away the dub in dubcon. Someone should be calling a doctor, an exorcist, a therapist etc. But instead, because this is fanfic, they whip their dicks out! It's great!

Interview with The Vampire

monstrous servant

Armand/Louis

E | 5k | inthebelltower

The old itch never goes away. It never feels less good to scratch.

inhuman taste

Armand/Louis

E | 1k | inthebelltower

Louis can’t help it; he wants to eat him up.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Louis as a dom as I’m writing my own WIP and this fic and the next were really instrumental in shaping my own ideas of how Louis is with Armand. I really think this and the next fic act as a great picture of the two sides of their relationship.

not a ruse, not heat

Armand/Louis

M | 872 | inthebelltower

Louis drinks from Armand’s neck. Somewhere in the compound a clock is ticking.

Let me tell you diary (islands)

Claudia/Madeline, Louis/Lestat 

T | 4k | anonymous

Basically, Claudeleine don't return to Paris, don't fall for the trap, and just travel to wherever the X leads them... until…

In Sickness and In Health

Louis/Lestat

M | 3k | anonymous

“Sure, okay,” Louis huffs softly, “one coffee, why not.”

They’re engaged again by November. Claudia calls Louis the moment she finds out and scolds him for fifteen minutes straight. Hear me out, Louis barely gets the words out before she hangs up on him. Five times he tries to call her back.

Of mercy, with choice 

Louis/Lestat

E | 6k | shavir_light

“I always thought that your victims were truly fortunate, to be gifted with such an exhilarating death,” Lestat says, tangled in the messy sheets. “What bliss it must have been, to be killed by one so beautiful.”

Louis and Lestat play at a fantasy. It gets a bit out of hand.

The Things We DId and Didn’t Do

M | 3k | @marbleflan (they are on tumblr, but I can't tag them)

“You are thinking of him, maybe.”

Louis looks up. It’s like Lestat is speaking in another language and Louis is reading the subtitles on a delay, or something. He can make out the words but not the meaning, for a moment.

“What?” Then it clicks.

“Armand. You are touching me. In bed,” Lestat says, casual. Maybe too casual. “But you are thinking of him.”

Louis doesn’t say anything. There’s not really anything he can say. It’s true, in a way. Not that he’s literally thinking about Armand. Not consciously. But he’s assuming Armand: Armand’s desires, Armand’s preferences, Armand’s reactions. He’s holding Lestat, he’s thinking of Lestat, he’s hard for Lestat. But he’s treating him like Armand.

Wow I sure am reccing a lot of fic about Louis and BDSM, huh? Wonder what thats about. Anyway, I think this and the fics by shavir_light work as lovely little complements to each other. More thinking about how domming wasn’t just a thing for Armand, but was something that Louis participated in, enjoys and carries with him. I also enjoy thinking about how Louis and Lestat might fall back together once Louis is back in New Orleans, but they might not settle together quite as easily. Eighty years is a long time to be apart and of course people are going to pick up quirks and require adjustments. 

the body, not in stasis

Daniel/Louis

E | 1k | shavir_light

“The need to cares for your body is, in part, what tethers you to it. It’s a reminder, Daniel—that you are flesh and blood. That you are a human being,” Louis insists, in his usual verbose fashion, and Daniel can’t help but laugh as he turns to leave.

“Well, you’re welcome to come watch, if it’s so magical to you,” he says.

I think this is such a short, sweet meditation on bodies. It does the exact kind of thing I love fanfic to do, take a single point an original work makes — vampires’ bodily functions fundamentally change when they’re turned — and just has a think and does a little smut about it. I love it.

Want and Swallow and Keep

Louis/Lestat

E | 10k | shavir_light

Love, sex, possession. To Lestat, they’re all the same thing.

So this could be perfect; Louis could decide what they do, control Lestat’s actions. He could make Lestat work for it, earn Louis’ trust again by way of obedience. Louis could restrain him from doing something—something bad.

So interesting to be in such disagreement about what a fic is and how we’re supposed to take it. I think this fic is a great example of the ways Lestat and Louis treat each other poorly, and get off on it! shavir_light makes it clear that they see one party clearly in the wrong and one not. I just think it's so fun that we’re able to have such different perspectives on the same work. 

Harry Potter

New Gods

Harry/Sirius 

E | 4k | @thecouchsofa

It rocks Sirius to his core every time he thinks about it, because they aren’t the same – Harry and James.

Sure, Harry pushes his glasses up with the knuckle of his pointer finger. James used to do the same thing when he had dirt or sugar or random potion essence on his hands. Other people do that too. Sirius has never seen it, but they do.

I like a fic where people are having relationships that are complicated, or they “shouldn’t” be having them for whatever reason. I like the ambiguity of this fic and how Sirius is trying to insist, to us and to himself, that the ambiguity doesn’t matter when it certainly does.

Wield Me

Harry/Draco, Pre-Harry/Draco/Teddy

E | 10k | @tackytigerfic

Draco Malfoy, blacksmith, is renowned through the magical world for his skill and exquisite creations. He could quite easily spend the rest of his days making pretty trinkets for the fae court, and being handsomely rewarded for the privilege. But why take the easy route when instead he could get involved in a dangerous mission with Unspeakable Harry Potter (who also happens to be Draco's... well, he's something, isn't he?)

A little story about learning to strike while the iron is hot.

Home Truths

E | 67k | @fantalfart, @skeptiquewrites

In the off-season Harry decided to fix up Grimmauld Place and found that Draco Malfoy was the only person who could help him. A demanding career and unrelenting press scrutiny were enough to deal with before Harry added a house with a mind of its own, family history, and a tense, flirty, complicated relationship with his childhood nemesis to the mix.

On professional Quidditch, magical houses, hard choices, Life Debts, and inconvenient truths.

Honestly, this fic, to me, is more of a lovely character study than a romance. There’s a good bit of fic that Draco barely appears in but we get to learn more about Harry’s job (y’all know i’m a sucker for any fic where Harry’s not an auror) and the whole world feels very lived in. 

Wonderful Anything

E | 24k |  harDEEhar / @dryrsheet

They were birds of a feather, he and Draco: the pathetic bastards in love and apart.

I can hardly believe this fic is only 24k. I read the next fic immediately after this one because they both manage to offer worlds that feel so full, just from what we learn while watching people fall in love. I also love an unconventional relationship timeline, stories where people build their own lives and families they way they want and second/third/fourth tries until something finally clicks. There are just so many lovely details in this story, it really was one of the standouts of the month. 

Grounds for Divorce

E | 122k | @tepre

Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter.

A story about histories, a story about families. A story about a lemon tree somewhere in Upper Egypt.

Oh God, I stayed up way too late reading this fic. Sometimes, I’ll just random think about this fic. I’ve reread it so many times. The writing is just gorgeous. The emotional character work is…is shocking in how wonderful and layered it is. It feels both so real and heightened at the same time. The whole story is cooking on high but once Harry and Draco get to the conference in Egypt? Baby, it's on flambé. I don’t know if this story is considered a classic in the Harry Potter fandom but it's quadruple platinum in my household. 

[fallingforel]

SECRET SANTA: SAM FENDER

just a small christmas imagine for sam: from @abiiors christmas prompt list. I will be posting the 12 from Now until 25th so you get a little christmas pressie from me- El xx

words: 1,965

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Sam, Dean ,Both Tom’s , Heidi, Joe, Johnny, Drew and I were all in Lowlights after Sam’s Last performance in Newcastle before christmas. And we were organising our annual Secret Santa, we had done it every year, adding in everyone else when they had joined our friendship group.

“Okay heids, go and get a glass sam you get some paper, I’ve got a pen, we’ll draw them from a glass in true Geordie fashion” I said after we all agreed and we set a budget and when we were exchanging.

We were set to go into London in 2 weeks for the OD management christmas party and we were all travelling down together so we agreed that we’d do them in a hotel room, before we went out.

“Why the fuck do you Y/N L/N, of all the people have a pen” Sam said with a chuckle. “because in case I need to write things down, Samuel Fender” I replied back.

I had got Sam. He was easy to buy for, I could get him a jokey present but that would just seem like I didn’t care about him I decided I would go all out because sam deserved that especially after everything he had done for me through the pandemic and throughout the many years of us being friends since year 7. Also because I had fancied him, for many years. But no one knew apart from my diary and my mum. As soon as I pulled out his name I knew of the perfect gift that would make his cheeks split.

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1 week before Secret Santa- Sam

“who did you get for secret santa?” “heids I’m not telling you, you’ll only want to swap” “I promise I won’t.” “no Because I know you, I have finally got the person I want after waiting years.” “thanks for telling me you’ve got Y/N.” “HOW HEIDS? HOW?” “oh please, you two are so smitten with each other, have been for years. She’s got you too by the way.” “and how the fuck do you know that?”

“I saw it on her face, the same look she gives you when you buy her a drink, the same look she gives you when you lend her your jacket when she forgets hers, the same look she gives you when you insist that she should take the tenner she spent on your food at the shop. the same look she gives you when you both spot her ex out in public and you send them a nasty look. It’s LOVE sam. She’s in love with you, Your in love with her. it’s easy to see. Just grow a pair of balls and get her that 1975 vinyl she’s been nonstop going on about, you know she won’t buy it for herself.”

“THANK YOU HEIDI, you have just given me the perfect gift idea. See you in a week?” I said before placing a kiss on her head.

“see you in a week sam.”

now to plan the perfect gift.

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3 Days before Secret Santa

“and your sure it’s in perfect condition, mum”

“certain, your dad never took it out of the packet, it’s brand new, it’s not been anywhere damp, he kept it in the house. he was saving it for the perfect day, no clue when that would’ve been though. It’s only collecting dust here darling. Take it, use it” “I won’t be using it, Sam will though. I knew when I picked his name out this would be the perfect gift.” I said with a smile to my mum “Oh darling, he’ll love it, who knows maybe you’ll gain the courage to tell him this christmas period.” “maybe. depends.” “I think you should just gain the courage and do it. you’re both not getting any younger” she says with a chuckle walking off.

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2 days before Secret Santa- Sam

“and your certain you’ve got a copy mate?” “certain, we get a copy of all the variations in perfect condition so we can announce them” “good this needs to be perfect.” “why? so you can impress your lady friend?” the older boy teases over the phone. “howay man. it’s just….nah yerd be right about that mate. she is my lady friend. And yer sure you’re gonna make it over tomorrow?” “yes mate, wouldn’t miss it for the world, she’s a class girl. you’ve chosen yourself a gooden there sam mate” “reet… best be off, you’ve got a train to catch a thing to find and I have a card to write” “yes, you’re getting us from the train station tonight at 10 right?” “reet. youse are geena have to find yer hiding spots tonight like” “don’t worry we will”

⋆｡°✩

2 DAYS BEFORE SECRET SANTA

Sammy🕺- guys I know we agreed on 2 days time for secret santa, but would you mind doing it tommorow, it’s just cos mines too big to bring with me to London on the train without being noticed. deaaanooo🎸- sam mate, could you not have said this earlier I haven’t even bought mine yet drew🥁-yeah i agree with dean mate, I haven’t bought mine either. heids 💕- fine with me i’ve already bought mine. Dean and Drew, love you both, but you’ve had 2 weeks now get it together, but if you’ve got me just get me a gift card, you know those ones you can get anywhere. Y/n🪩- I agree with heids, you have had two weeks to get a gift for yours, everyone has. but if you have got me, i’d love some penis pasta would go great with my girls nights xx y/n🪩- that was a joke, please just get me a gift card x Joe🎹- what the hell why is Y/n talking about penis pasta? y/n🪩- sam wants to do secret santa tommorrow instead of two days time. please tell me you haven’t been idiots like dean and drew and have already got a gift for your secret santa. the penis pasta was a joke xx. Joe🎹- yeah i’ve got mine, tomorrows fine with me. look lads if you’ve got me get one of those crosswords puzzles, be great to do on the bus or studio during quiet time. Tom U🎸- Just read through the messages, aha I’ll make sure to get you some penis pasta for your birthday y/n. but yeah tomorrow’s great, mines tiny so… Tom C 🎓- yeah tomorrow’s okay, nobody better have gotten me penis pasta, cos that shit will be going straight back. Johnny 🎷- tomorrows good, I love that penis pasta has become the topic of conversation now ahahahah🤣🤣 y/n🪩- you know what I’m just going to assume that Dean and Drew have gone out to the shops now, so their going to come tomorrow, if not two people are going to be left without presents tomorrow…I apologise on behalf of the two idiots xx. Y/n🪩- sam what time are we all to arrive at yours tomorrow? Sam🕺- is 9pm good? we could all go out on the toon after? we haven’t got to get that train until 6 in the afternoon anyway? y/n🪩- Sounds good! i’ll go knocking on everyone’s doors on the way to yours anyway, funny how everyone lives on the way to yours from mine🤣🤣 sam🕺- yeah, the organisers of everything live on opposite sides of the town and then the people they drag along live on the way, funny how life works out huh? 🤣🤣 y/n🪩- absolutely hilarious, see ya at 9 tomorrow xx

2 DAYS BEFORE SECRET SANTA- HEIDI

“You were expecting sam right?” I ask, i’ve seen them all over y/ns instagram, so I know just what they look like and who I was expecting at the north sheilds train station.

“yeah kinda, who are you?” “look, it’s on a need to know basis, it’s just sam had to drag me along to come get you, because he can’t be seen in the papers, because of y/n Yadda yadda. He’s in the car waiting.”

“won’t they take pictures of us though?” the tallest one asks. “no. I’m not famous enough and you boys are wearing caps and sunglasses so I think you’ll be just fine.” I say hurrying them through the barriers.

“now hurry along before Drew and Dean catch us.” “Who?” the long haired one asks while walking down the stairs. “you’ll know tomorrow when you meet the rest of them.” “wait I thought it was just the one person. sam said he only had one person to give the gift to.” the married one says. “yeah well it’s a secret santa and we’re not really meant to know… so it’d be a bit weird if sam gave Y/n her present tomorrow and the rest of us had to wait 2 days…Just get in Sam will explain the whole thing.” I reply opening Sam’s car door for them. “I don’t think we’re all going to fit.” the curly haired one says.

“duh, I was only here for the ride, I need to go find out what drew and dean have bought. I need to make sure it’s not penis pasta. see ya all tomorrow.” I reply shutting them all in sam’s car and walking off into town to find drew and dean.

⋆｡°✩

THE NEW SECRET SANTA DAY-8 pm.

I was getting ready to leave for sam’s. his present all wrapped up. I was just curling my hair before i had to leave and go and get the rest of the gang. and my phone rang out so i popped my curlers down.

SAMMY🕺

his name appeared on my screen so i answered it

“hey sammy, You okay?”

“yeah i’m good y/n. erm can you look out your window?”

“yeah of course, 2 seconds”

my heels clicked across my lino floor for a few seconds until I reached my bedroom window which I looked out of and found Sam standing outside.

wait... is that?

no... it can't be.

they don't even know each other. I examined them further, it was them. How they knew each other I had no idea. I rushed downstairs and out the door and flew into sam's arms. "do you like your secret Santa, darling?" He says before I break the hug to "like it? I love it. Thank you." I say placing a kiss on Sam's cheek before Matty clears his throat next to sam and then saying "shall we get on with it mate, times ticking?" "yeah we should. Yer got the music?" "course otherwise this would be a fail." Matty guffaws at sam "alreet." and all of a sudden the backing track of Mine plays. and matty starts singing "there comes a time in a young mans life" while sam runs round his car and joins george on the end and then by the time matty reaches the second verse the rest of the 1975 boys and sam hold big a2 posterboard cards up that read "will you be my girlfriend?" I nod and run around to where sam was stood and he pulls me in for a kiss dipping me down, while the rest of the boys whoop and cheer. When he brings me back up I say "I'm guessing you got me for secret santa then?" he nods "good cause I got you too"

⋆｡°✩

"ahh tonnight was well fun" I say reminiscing on that night

"I love that i finally got yer, I remember yer face when Matty gave yer the rare australian vinyl signed" sam says "please my face? what about yours when I gave yer that rare springsteen vinyl? yer were streaming tears like." "yeah, well I'm just gonna get yer penis pasta next year" "yer wouldn't dare" I say gasping while narrowing my eyes at him "Oh I would."

[booklove22]

The Black Door Theory - aka I think I’ve connected some S4 mystery dots

I’m currently leaning toward the idea that having your memory erased/rewritten at the Black Door eventually requires a human sacrifice. And that’s what the 8 corpses represent, those that were sacrificed so that the town “sinners” could wipe their memories clean of some horrible truths. But it isn’t as simple as a 1 to 1 trade, where a 1 memory wipe requires 1 human sacrifice. I think its more complex than that. 

We know of two “sins” so far, both of which occurred in the 1990′s:

1) 4x02 Logan Rhodes/Magpie Lake/Judge Abbott coverup (occurred in 1996)

2) 4x04  - Councilwoman Brie watching Jim Stanley, the Director of the original Killer Hook movie die and not helping him back when she was working on set (occurred in the 1990′s).

That’s two town sins occurring in the 1990′s - but only one corpse seems to be from that period - India Burnett (the most recently deceased corpse - died in 1998). The second most recent death occurred in the 1970′s.

So that is definitely not a 1:1 trade. Two 1990′s sins (that we know of), but only one 1990′s body doesn’t add up. 

So what I’m thinking is that maybe the Black Door has a limit - a maximum number of times it can be used before it stops working. And, as long as the door’s limit isn’t hit, the memories will live contained inside the black door. But once the door hits its limit, the only way to get it to work again is to transfer the  memories it is holding to a human sacrifice host (manifesting as black sludge). 

And that’s how our 8 corpses died - they became the new vessels for the sins of the town. 

So how will this all play out? Anyone’s guess...but.....

nancyaces theorized on Twitter that maybe India is actually Tristan’s biological mother which is just a *chef’s kiss* kind of theory. If India died in 1998, that would make Tristan somewhere in the vicinity of 22 or 23 years old depending on when he was born. So it makes sense.

I’ve also been wondering about the Glasses and Tristan. Like, we know the Glasses are horrible people who won’t hesitate to kill. But all the best villains have redeeming qualities. And I wonder if the one good and pure thing about them is that they genuinely love and care for Tristan.

From the trailer, it looks like Tristan is close to death (someone resembling Tristan in Nancy’s arms with an arrow visible in his chest - “you are not going to die tonight!”).

I wonder if Tristan does indeed die, and if the Glasses are either responsible for his death OR not responsible but simply desperate to erase their memory of the pain of losing their son. But when they try to do so, the Black Door is at its limit.

So they decide to make Nancy the next vessel so that the Black Door can be reset. Just noticing the blood in Nancy’s palm here...and the knife next to the Glasses. 

Anyway, I’ve been marinating on this for days. Its amazing what your brain can start to process when Nancy and Ace aren’t allowed to interact for a whole episode. 

Things I’m still marinating on:

1) Even with the 4x06 episode title The Web of Yesterdays, the weird Tristan jumping through a worm-hole looking scene in the trailer, AND India’s yacht having the heavy-handed name “Lost Time”... I’m hesitant to believe proper time travel is going to be introduced. I’m thinking more that it might be reminiscent of the Tom Riddle diary and pensieve scenes in Harry Potter - where some supernatural artifact allows the Drew Crew to go back and visit things that happened in the past. But, like in Harry Potter, they can’t interfere or change anything. They can only watch the past history happen around them like its happening in a movie. No one from the past can see or interact with them or vice versa. I think they’ll learn more about some possible sins in this episode that have occurred at different times in the past.

2) I’m purposely not addressing the how/what/why of the curse here. Too much for one post.

[aith-art]

Yeehawgust 2023 - Day 6

EXT - Late Night - Route 188 Trading Post 

FADE IN

Two young people sit opposite each other by the campfire. Both look exhausted as they exchange rations. The older of the two, who looks slightly out of place, is holding out a small holotape to the younger one in the trench coat with the Pip-boy on their arm. 

IZZY (Insistent)  Jules, I promise you they will do your head a world of good. JULES  I don’t care. There is no point in making them and having the goddamn tapes just taking up space in my bag for no reason.  IZZY The reason is your mental health. Jules, you haven’t said a word about what's bothering you to me. And, hey, I get it. I’m not open with others either. But you can’t just let it sit. 

JULES I just, I don’t see why my mental health has anything to do with it. Anything to do with you.  IZZY We’ve travelled together for what? 2- 3 days. Ever since that military checkpoint and that poster, you’ve been so self-destructive. 

Izzy stands, leaving the tape for Jules, and walks over to their makeshift bed. 

IZZY I’m gonna get some sleep, at least give the tapes a try.   JULES  (Under their breath)  At least give the tapes a try. 

Jules looks at the tape then picks it up, speaking now to the holotape

JULES  How are you supposed to help my health? Well, might as well give it a try. 

Jules puts the holotape into their Pipboy and presses the record button. The holotape begins recording with a CLICK. 

JULES  This is Jules, recording a diary entry for the betterment of my ‘mental health’. Huh. As much as I’ve given Izzy grief for this, Logically this is the best way to… vent my frustrations at everything. I don’t even know where I am, scratch that I do. I’m in the Mojave. But it’s not my Mojave. No one recognises me here, and those that do look as if they’re staring at a ghost. That poster is the only answer I’ve got. ‘Murdered’. Whoever this Leroy is, he’s the closest thing I’ve got to a lead. The deja-vu of this whole thing isn’t lost on me. A revenge quest for someone who shot me. At least he’s not in a tweed suit. (Laughs) God what am I doing? This is supposed to be a diary, a recollection of the day’s events. Not that days in the Mojave desert come with much entertainment to talk about. It’s just sand, sand and road. Sand road and the occasional passerby. Maybe a gecko if we’re lucky.  Izzy’s forced me to take it steady, made me realise just how much empty space there really is out here. There’s the occasional site to see. We passed Helios One in the morning. It wasn’t lit, we’d left Novac so early the sun was only just coming up when we made it to Helios. That was my bad. I hate all this waiting. But I understand where Izzy’s coming from. Not that I understand at all where he actually comes from. Said it was a desert planet called Pandora. Fairly certain Pandora is the name of the lady in the Greek myth about how humanity always has hope. Maybe there's something in that. But from what Izzy says about it, it's like the whole planet is desert. Just sand. Wide open spaces of sand, with sandstorms that could rival the divide. Minus the radiation.   I don’t even know saying anymore. Must be the exhaustion catching up to me. Shame I can’t be powered by only revenge and batteries. Like a robot. Like ED-E. I miss ED-E.  Well. I think that does it for a diary entry. Bye. 

Holotape clicks off, Jules removes it from their pip-boy and places it into their bag. They then look over briefly at Izzy before turning their gaze to the fire. Taking the first watch of the night.

[cherishedproperty]

Are you planning on posting part 2 of your denial diary? I really enjoyed part one.

I’m afraid part 2 isn’t nearly as thrilling. A couple weeks after I posted part 1, my sex drive plummeted. Maybe the denial had something to do with it, but I was also under a massive amount of work stress. Then there was a bunch of travel, a couple illnesses, a job change, and a depressive episode through it all.

I haven’t followed the edging, plug, etc rules consistently since the end of February. I stopped in part because they were making me feel worse. Like my body was broken and like I was failing at my submission. For a while, Monsieur tried encouraging me to orgasm, but then I felt pressure and kept getting in my head about it. So now when we have sex, we just kinda see what happens. And if I get close to orgasm, I ask permission. But even that has been rare. So I guess I’m in denial by default? But it’s no fun to deny someone who doesn’t want what they’re being denied.

I’m still struggling to feel sexual at all. I hate it. A lot. I don’t know the right way to get out of it, but right now I’m trying not to pressure myself. I’m trying to run more and drink less. I’m trying to spend time in the sunshine and warmth, to have new experiences, to have time to myself. Now that I’m in a new job, I’m trying to set healthier work-life boundaries. I am focused on doing the things that help me get back to being me. My hope is that if I work on the other stuff, it will create space for feeling sexual—or really, just for feeling in general.

I don’t think I can force my sex drive to come back. But I am pretty sure it will. I am a sexual person by default, and while I’ve had dry spells before, my sex drive has always rebounded. But right now, it sucks. And I know it’s difficult for Monsieur. I see how he looks at me, with desire just under the surface. But I also see the concern in his eyes during our kneeling ritual. I see him searching my face for how I’m really doing. I see him opting for cuddles rather than sex. Even though he can—even though he knows I would do it for him. But most of the time, he doesn’t want me to just do it for him. He wants me to be as hungry for his body as he is for mine. And I want that, too.

So I guess that’s denial diary part 2. Not so sexy, but it’s where I’m at right now.

[ts1989fanatic]

In Dear Diary, the National Post satirically re-imagines a week in the life of a newsmaker. This week, Tyler Dawson takes a journey inside the thoughts of singer Taylor Swift.

Monday

This is pretty exciting! The new tour is going well. Fans are enthusiastic. I get to go to sleep every night atop a mattress padded out with dollar bills.

Swifties are the best fans around, and I can’t wait to tell everyone where I’ll be performing next on the Eras Tour. It’s a good life, travelling around, performing before adoring crowds.

I know I sing in Anti-Hero that I’m the problem, but, really, all I do is make people happy.

Tuesday

I just announced where I’m headed. Twenty-six new cities.

Everyone’s going to love it, I’m sure. It occurs to me now that there would’ve been some nice poetry if it had been 22 cities, instead of 26. Although at age 33, sometimes I feel weird singing that particular song.

Now, to sit back and bask in the enthusiasm of my fans and everyone who wants to see me. It’ll be nice to see the world again and visit Germany and Ireland and Scotland.

Huh, weird, I just saw on Twitter the Australians seem to be getting cranky. Ah well, I’ll check on that in the morning.

Wednesday

Oh no. The people of Perth are angry because I’m not stopping by to play a show. I do have other dates in Australia, though. What’s their problem?

You’d think at this point I wouldn’t care if people were mad at me. But I’ve written innumerable songs about how people have jilted me in the past. I wrote a 10-minute version of a song that had my fans demanding Jake Gyllenhaal return my red scarf.

I may be famous, but that doesn’t mean I’ve got an iron shell around me. It still hurts.

But I guess I don’t really want to have bad blood with Australia. It may be full of horrifying poisonous animals, but the people are nice enough.

Thursday

I just got off the phone with my manager.

It turns out the Canadians are upset, too. So upset that some upstart member of Parliament has officially complained to the House of Commons that I’ve snubbed Canada.

Ungrateful ingrates! I’ve been all over the U.S. Don’t they know that’s a short plane ride away from pretty much any Canadian city?

It’s not like I’ve even spent much time there before, beyond Toronto and Vancouver and Edmonton.

What’s wrong with these people? Everyone always says Canadians are so chill. As if a national hissy fit is going to convince me to come visit.

Friday

As I was falling asleep last night, I came up with a great idea for a song — one about just how much Canada sucks and how much they’re ruining my life.

That’ll be my revenge!

Ugh. I just did a Google search to make sure I wouldn’t be infringing on copyright or something. Turns out South Park did this ages ago. Maybe I’ll just sing Blame Canada at one of my shows.

ts1989fanatic: I know this is satire but that sh*t is not funny at all, not everyone can afford to travel to the USA to go too a concert.

[kaizsche]

hi, everyone!! this is my ao3 wrapped! (i for real almost forgot to post this... sorry i haven't been writing/posting lately, i've been busy with events here and i'm working as a cleaner/typesetter for a scanlation team! we are quite understaffed and have multiple projects to work on so...🥺🥺)

How many words have you written this year?

92,601k!!!  (excluding my wips) wtf i wrote A LOT??

How many works did you publish this year?

31 aiuhdiagdadad

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

easy. skuld’s net - that one shot came to me so suddenly and i wrote it for 3 days straight w/o no breaks whatsoever!!!

What work of yours has the most hits?

my star wars one shot fic - the july writing challenge i believe is at 6,544 hits

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

my first ever tvd fic, the one inspired by arctic monkey’s 505. 

Favorite title you used

in the art of flaw, the bridgerton au fic (shoutout to my friend who helped me make it cause im not exactly great at titles lmao

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

young the giant!!! their songs are just *chef's kiss*

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

this is such an obvious question if you frequently visit my blog. Elejah and klena!!!!!1

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

elejah is a ship i’d die for but i think i love writing finnlena the most cause they’re sooo in tune with one another. at least i think they would’ve been if esther did not manipulate him. (i just love finn okay. cause he's so underappreciated?)

What work was the quickest to write?

skuld’s net (a klena fic) i wrote that thing for 3 effin days straight, looped lany’s 13 over and over and over again. (i wasnt aware of his allegations that time so…)

What work took you the longest to write?

in terms of published fics, i think it’s take my breath. it was created on oct 19 then i picked it up a maybe 2-3 weeks ago? then posted it on dec 4 so yeah

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

i lost count. there is just too many of them.

What’s your longest work of the year?

the one shot fic writing challenge.

What’s your shortest work of the year?

It’s a lil fic which idea i got from a prompt generator in tumblr - i was quite new back then so i thought that maybe participating in it won’t hurt me. It’s called 709 which is inspired by one of my wips wherein elena returned to the past after death and tried to change her life.

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

Oh boy, OH BOY this is a long list. I’ll be taking them all with me but the most noteworthy wips would have to be my princess diaries au and the miracle baby au fic for elejah + the elena & katherine time travel fic

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Probably unedited as hell and kol is a little shit

Your favorite character to write this year?

I think finn. his character in canon is just so unexplored (i haven’t watched the originals so…) and it’s so, so fun to explore his character and adding more to his background.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

I feel... elijah? Cause i am most certainly not as eloquent as he is with words, so i usually find it hard to write his dialogues and stuff in my fics. (but honestly, i have a hard time with all mikaelsons lmfao)

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

I want to explore more of wyler!! (wednesday x tyler) since i’ve just recently joined the fandom and have four wips in my drafts already.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I think i have an almost unhealthy obsession with re-reading my work. But it definitely has to be heaven help the fool who falls in love like… i love re-exploring my old ideas (and also wondering where that ‘writer me’ in that era went (cause i literally had to write every single day and not miss a single one whilst delivering good pieces was beyond me.)

How many kudos in total did you get this year?

I’ve got 1,812!

Which work has the most comments?

with 100 comment threads, it’s not at all surprising that its my may writing challenge tvd fic

Did you do any collaborative works this year?

I don’t think i did?

Did you write any gifts this year?

i did for the wyler secret santa event and one for @qvnthesia

Did you receive any gifts this year?

@qvnthesia and i are exchanging fics later this month, so yep! I’m quite excited for that!

What’s your most common category?

easy. f/m

What do you listen to while writing?

I made spotify playlists for each of my pairings, actually. so when i write for a specific ship like klena - i usually turn the volume up for some good ol 505.

Favorite work you wrote this year?

the love of a doppelganger. there’s just something about this fic that i can’t put into words. (it’s my finnlena one) i think it’s about the prospect of giving finn’s character a second chance whilst shedding light as to why his decisions, and his siblings had came to the point of, well, daggering him.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Oh my gosh, as a person whohas short term memory this question is quite hard to answer. Lol. but this line just IDK IT MAKES ME FEEL A CERTAIN WAY, OKAY?!

“You will learn to love me just as you have loved Anakin Skywalker.” He breathes, a promise dressed in the trappings of a threat.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

What honestly surprised me the most is what the tvd fandom did to me, tbh. i’ve been writing fics since 2017, but i’ve never been much hyperfixated like i was with tvd – i think that it also helped me that the fandom has an active community, AND tight-knitted as well we even have a discord server and follow each other on tumblr. So, yeah. I basically not only owe it to the wonderful TVD character (sans the salvatores, thank you.) but also to the people that inspired me, supported me and cheered me on with my fics! (i’m looking at you, @sunless-garden, @qvnthesia,  @wazman, @katherineholmes, @amandamonroe, @finnismyoriginalsin, @sevensistersofsussex, and everyone else!!

[fictionthorn]

I posted 65 times in 2022

That's 65 more posts than 2021!

18 posts created (28%)

47 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@swampstew

@showandtelltime

@childofblackmaria

@queer-coded-camaro-driver

@electric-skillet

I tagged 44 of my posts in 2022

Only 32% of my posts had no tags

#one piece - 10 posts

#stranger things - 8 posts

#eddie munson - 6 posts

#lord of the rings - 6 posts

#love - 6 posts

#black butler - 6 posts

#marvel - 6 posts

#ask games - 4 posts

#criminal minds - 4 posts

#the diary of cassie and eddie - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 29 characters

#the diary of cassie and eddie

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I’ve been playing through Pokemon Scarlet almost all day. So, far I’m really enjoying it. What’s everyone else's thoughts on the new games? 

4 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#4

Looking for blogs to follow!

If you post about any of the following:

One Piece

Supernatural

Stranger Things

TFIL/Sam & Colby

Criminal Minds

House MD

Black Butler

The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings

The MCU

Like/reblog so I can follow you!

4 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#3

Just watched the first two episodes of Criminal Minds: Evolution. I think this season is going to be so intense, but I’m so excited for it!

8 notes - Posted November 24, 2022

#2

Loving You For You

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warning(s): None

Word Count: 321

~

I woke up to the sound of footsteps coming toward the bed. I rolled over just as Bucky sat back down.

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Just getting some water," Bucky said. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Is that the only reason you're up?" I asked.

He was quiet as he took a sip of his water.

"It's okay to tell me if it's the nightmares again," I said.

"I don't want you to worry," Bucky said.

I sat up and moved so I was sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.

"Look, I know it's not something you like to talk about but maybe it would do you some good," I said. "You keep telling me not to worry every time you have a nightmare but your not talking is what makes me worry."

Again he was quiet.

"Fine. Whatever," I said. "I'm going back to sleep."

I went to lay back down but Bucky grabbed my hand.

"I'm sorry," Bucky said. "It's not that I don't want to talk with you. It's just..."

He trailed off.

"Just what?" I asked.

"It's just I'm worried if I tell you about some of the things I've done you won't look at me the same way," Bucky said. "And I couldn't even be upset about it because I wouldn't blame you. I haven't always been a good person, (Y/N)."

"Listen to me," I said as I took both his hands in mine. "Nothing in your past will ever stop me caring about you and loving you for who you are."

"You say that now but-" Bucky said.

"But nothing. You are not that person now. All I care about is who and how you are now," I said. "And I couldn't ask for a better man."

"You know, I'll never know what I did to get lucky enough to find someone like you," Bucky said.

57 notes - Posted June 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Every Reality

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Stephen Strange x Reader

Warning(s): None

Word Count: 164

~

"I've never been so happy to be home," I said as I sat down on the couch.

"You said the same thing after Thanos," Stephen said as he joined me.

"But this was on a different level," I said. "That was a fairly basic stop the bad guy with a little bit of time travel situation. This was full on multiverse breaking."

"I know," Stephen said. "It's a whole new territory."

I moved so I was laying down with my head in Stephen's lap.

"What do you know about the multiverse?" I asked.

"Currently not that much," Stephen admitted.

"Do you think there are other us out there?" I asked.

"I'm sure it's a possibility," Stephen said.

"I wonder if our other selves are a couple too," I said. "Or if they even know each other."

"Honestly, I bet in every reality, I still find you," Stephen said with a smile.

"That's a nice thought," I said as I sat up to kiss him.

211 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[theberrybrigade]

Campaign Diaries: And Miles To Go Before We Sleep

The Boisterious Blunders of the Berry Brigade;D&D5e Campaign Diaries.

In the end the devil Calligus lies defeated, in a heap of flesh and tatters, and charcoal-smoking bones.

There are the hostages to deal with.

Mercurio speaks in first. His fingers clench and uncleanch around the hilt of his bloodied greatsword. The traces of bestial rage are just receding from his features.

“We… How about we let them go? No killing. Just… let it go.”

“We should kill them,” Zonk says.

“We shouldn’t kill people!”

“We just did. You just did.”

“I—We don’t have to. How about we don’t kill people if we don’t have to?”

“They fought us to death. They knew they were fighting us to death. They could have died when we fought. It is no different if we kill them now or then.”

“It is different,” Octavia cuts in, “There’s an utility to letting enemies alive. Maybe you want to send a message, spread the news, have it known that there’s the possibility of mercy. A man pressed against the wall with no hope of escape, will do everything in their desperation.”

“It’s going to be though, dragging them back with us. ”

“Is our comfort worth as much as a life?” Octavia says.

“I’ve travelled the plains on my own for years. Mercy only gets your enemies who stab you in the back.  I can’t afford that.”

“You have us now- I mean, to watch your back,” Mercurio says.

Judas Goldwell watches impassively from the side lines, his roguish smile lopsided to accommodate a freshly lit cigarette. Soon he pulls out a second one. Then he lights up a third.

After some time arguing morals, captives and motives, they take the hostages with them, intent on leaving them at the mercenaries’ judgement. The Brigade agrees to lie to the mercenary captain that the devil Calligus had managed to open a portal and throw the Phial of Eternity within it before being stricken down. Perhaps a diversion meant to lead the mercenaries on a chase through Grenara, the sight of northern snow or eastern desert sands, would be called for? They hope they might manage to still snap the promised reward without endangering the life of their friend Mossbeard and the Archive.

So, they set off back to the camp. The thousand sounds of the forest, birds chirping and grasses rustling and crickets filling the night with their love ballads, have returned to the woods with the banishment of the mists. Yet, it is still oddly calm. The Brigade finds its way back with some difficulty, so masterfully they’ve woven their way through the woods on their way to Calligus’s fortress.

Judas stops in his tracks. His face is suddenly blank, schooled into something unreadable and differential. His eyes burn like twin red-hot firecoals. His shoulders twitch and his spine creaks as if posed to break.

“I need to go, partners.”

“Go? Go where?” Octavia whips around, narrows her eyes at him.

“I have done my mission, killed the renegade devil. I need to go take care of the post mortem paperwork, now, have a little randevous with my patron.”

“Go how?”

“Magic,” he smirks, “I trust you to be fairly familiar with magic, yes, m’am?”

He is gone then, in a swirl of smoke and shadows.

They approach the clearing of the camp, only to find it abandoned, only campfire-scorched earth and trodden grass to remind of its existence. Near the black charcoal pit of the dead fire, a letter has been pinned to the ground with a dagger. Octavia is suddenly wary of the dagger – it proves harmless, however, as Lee picks it up.

The letter is sealed with a blob of plain blue wax. Within it lies a message from the captain:

I hope this message finds you alive, and devil-slayers.

I was unconvinced about your intention to deliver the Phial to us, and the stakes are high. Your wizard friends are safe with us for now. Find them in Peace Town and bring me the artefact. We will pay well for a peaceful exchange.

- Captain V.

P.S. We know of the value of your master’s heirloom necklace. Note how we could have taken it from him but didn’t. We are not outlaws. We serve the Realm, even in this.

Well, that was that is that for the Brigade’s plans.

“So,” Merc looks over Lee’s shoulder, troubled. “The Phial is keeping Mossbeard alive -“

“And the Archivist.”

“-and the Archivist. So we can’t give them the Phial, or a friend dies. We can’t not go, or a friend dies. So, we must go there.”

“They have taken hostages, there’s no use mincing words about that,” Octavia says with suspicion, “Blackmailing us. Can we trust them then that Zokel and Arinil will be waiting for us up north in the first place?”

“They are their one guarantee,” Merc says.

“We know them, yes. But we are employed by Master Kobar, our first duty is to him,” says Zonk.

“We need to find Kobar anyway, it’s not like there’s anywhere else for us to go. And he might know something,” Octavia pinches the bridge of her nose. “They can’t be that far away, yes? We can get on shortening the distance or sit around.”

The mercenaries have not bothered to cover their tracks well; about five or six horses and a cart have left their tracks weaving through the dense undergrowth, northbound.

At last, the tracks spill onto the road. There, they split: a pair of horses veer south, from where the Brigade originally made their way out of Archive. The others continue north. Both are fresh, no more than two hours old, clean pressed into the wheel-packed earth. Zonk recognises the wide tracks of Kobar’s wagon cart, older still, which has left them for the north.

They can’t let go of Zokel and Arinil, or Kobar.

All their paths lead north.

They leave the hostages for Archive and the forest for the hilly plains. Even with Darkvision, the night is dense and thick, the outlines of the world hard to parce apart. Octavia keeps the end of her cane glowing alight as a torch and Zonk stalks forward, keen to be hidden in the shadows of the night.

Sleep weighs down heavy on them, bone-deep, yet they push on for several desperate hours. At last, they come to Kobar’s wagon on the side of the road, large and still. Sangu’s keeping out watch, her eyes fire-bright and luminescent. The wagon coach and Kobar are nowhere to be seen, presumably inside sleeping.

Jubilant, Lee runs to Sangu to hug her and ruffle her up. He falls asleep cuddled close to her in the soft fur. Octavia throws up a blanket on the two of them. Zonk makes his way carefully, folding up the whole of his stature into the wagon where he falls asleep, snoring sonorously amidst the storage. The rest of them sleep on the grass in the cool clear late summer night.

Kobar has been long awake, roasting meat on the fire, by the time the first of them make their way to wakefulness.

“Morning, you, glad to have you back! I’m sorry for leaving you, I couldn’t just stay by the road.”

“No problem,” Merc helps himself to a sausage, “Did… Did the mercenaries pass you by?”

“Yes, some armed men did approach me. They didn’t take out their weapons, or threaten to take my stuff, or anything like that. But they did seem quite hostile, why?”

“They took-”

Bleary-eyed and late to wake, Zonk at last makes his way out of the wagon and gleefully descends upon the sausages. Kobar putters away.

“Can I offer you something to drink, tea?”

Merc’s brow is furrowed with guilt, his mouth pulled back in a grimace, “I might need something stronger.”

The elderly gnome smiles, “Well, I could certainly help you out with that.” He walks off the procure a bottle of pale, translucent alcohol from the depths of his wares.

“Did you see our friends the wizards with the armed people?” Asks Mercurio, throwing back a cup of the pale liquid.

“Not from what I could see. They could have been hidden in the cart.”

“They took them. They say to parley for them in Peace Town.”

“Well… Lucky you, I suppose. That was my destination anyhow.”

“And they knew about your necklace.” Mercurio takes out one of the sending stones from his pocket, “Here. So you can call us.”

He gulps down another shot, shivers, and belches with great gravitas.

They set out as dawn still breaks lazily over the west.

It’s all wilderness now, a place avoided and feared, so Kobar hurries the cart oxen’ pace. Zonk stands stuff and alert, crossbow at hand at the seat of the wagon, next to Kobar. These are dangerous wild plains, vast and mercurial, oh-so-reminiscent of the places where Zonk’s old tribe would roam and ambush passing merchants. Zonk wonders, should he be on the watch for bugbears such as erstwhile tribesmen?

In the distance, colossal beasts – boars, and lumbering mammoth-like giants, and other animals – wonder the plains. They shouldn’t be here, their kind belonging further north. None of them ever get any close to the road.

Mercurio investigates the winnings of their last fight in the back of the cart.

Lee sings.

Octavia lies back at stares at the skies with its lazy wispy and ragged clouds.

It’s late afternoon when they slow down in front of a half-ruined old tavern, its roof caved in. There are people to be seen, huddling around it.

“I stop by here, on my routes, but that’s the first time I ever see other people here,” says Kobar. “But a roof over your head is a roof over your head.”

“Not much of a roof,” quips Lee.

A soldierly high elf in full armour stands guard at the tavern door, expression impassive and dour. Across the road, a varied group – mostly humans, goblins and halflings – have set up their camp. They’re laughing and talking around a campfire, cooking food and sharing tales – a pleasant enough sort, by any account.

"Sit down, sit down, sit down, please, friends!” a blithely sitting cross-legged at the campfire invites them over. “Would you like food, drink?”

“We don’t want to bother you-" Merc mumbles.

“Nonsense, help yourselves, we’ve got plenty,” the man leans forward, “we made some to offer the people in the tavern, but they blankly refused.”

“Where are they from?”

The man shrugs.

“And where are you from, friend?” Lee asks, lowering himself down on the grass.

“Oh, from Karyn, going south to Great Molus! Not a lot of good roads out here, so we’re looping back… Good thing someone built this old place, though by the earth I haven’t an idea who’d built a tavern in this barren, place, what with the animals… No surprise it’s been abandoned for longer that anyone I know can remember living-”

The tavern’s door crashes open and a high elf guard blares, the face behind his bronze great helm twisted up in a snarl, “Quiet! Her Grace requires rest! Without proper silence she will be unable to do her work!”

As night falls, Zonk sneaks out back and scales the crumbling brick of the tavern. There’s a narrow chink in the mess of rotting beams and shingles. Someone has pulled a thick fabric screen as a makeshift roof of sorts and there’s only the glimmer and shifting shadows of candlelight from within to be perceived. He carefully tears a rip in the fabric with a dagger and peers within.

The place has been diligently cleaned, the disrepair swept fastidiously out of sight. Three high elves stand around. A desk has been set up and in the dim candlelight a high elf woman sits at it, dressed in exquisite if dusty traveling clothes, head bowed over reading. She scratches away with a quill, writing.

Zonk slips back to camp. He reports his findings, half sign language and half whispers.

Around the fireplace, the travelers have once again grown chatty.

“About the animals. Surely, someone must hunt them?” Zonk leans forward, sitting back down.

“Ah, yes! There aree hunting lodges, some time north, I think. The hunters train their whole life for this, to kill off the beasts.”

“I should get there, what a glorious hunt it would be!” Zonk gazes out dreamily, rubbing his hands with glee.

“Well, we can’t right now, we are sort of in a hurry,” Mercurio squeezes out in a tight whisper.

“-You lot ever been to the King’s Mountain? We’ll be passing by- Wild, unspoiled nature, sublime. The dwarves only care for their mountains, so they leave the woods beyond to grow to their hearts’ content. Now, that’s a sight to see! Go by it, if you ever have the chance...!”

Lee stands up, quietly. He lets his mind unfurl, the tendrils of telepathic speech reaching and grabbing at the minds of his compatriots. He rises slowly from the campfire, unnoticed

In the daytime, the guard out front had seemed oblivious. He barely noticed their own arrival, pressed to the shadows in the doorway and blinking away at the sun.  As night falls, he seems more alert, keen-eyed.

Lee strolls towards him, an easy-going expression plastered on his face.

“Heya! You referred to your lady as Your Grace, right?”

The Guard nods, minutely.

“I was just wondering,” he leans on the doorframe, “how come royalty stays in a ruin such as this?”

The guard makes to answer something, than a voice barks,

“Stop fraternizing with the commoners!”

The guard recoils. Then another, female voice, comes from within, “Let him in.”

There’s a moment of hesitation and the doors opens to Lee. He steps in.

The woman writing away at the table is dressed unassumedly if finely. Her long hair, however, is intricately braided and adorned with jewels, the only jewellery on her person. She doesn’t look up as Lee steps in, writing at her narrow desk.

“I’d like to ask our friend here a few questions. He has travelled long, I am guessing.”

“Sort of.”

“From where?”

“Eh, south.”

“Accuracy is a treasured quality in a person.”

“Archive.”

The scratching of the quill stops for a second. The next question comes at him tight and intent.

“Did you see perhaps a similar tavern on your way north?”

“No.”

She leans back in her chair, Lee all but dismissed. The quill contuse scratching away at the parchment. He gets the feeling that she has awaited something on such a tavern.

Lee stops at the door, before being rushed away.

“It was nice talking to you.”

For the first time the woman looks up from her work. She smiles, minutely, and gives him a limp wave goodbye.

Lee exits. The night takes him back in her cool breast.

Night falls. They lick their wounds. They rest. They plan.

Octavia sits silent beneath a tree, her feet bare and dug deep into the dry crumbling earth. When she rises her pockets are heavy with hundred and more berries.

[mango-ramune]

23/1/23 - Nostalgic Updates

Mood: mellow     Listening to: Rhianna - Rude Boy (Insan3lik3 remix)

Hello! I’ve talked about making journal entry posts on my blog, but it never quite took off, did it...so I’m going to try again! And hopefully I write more often this time...

I guess a good place to start is to explain again how these will work! Basically, I write about day-to-day moments of my life in the style of diary entries. Sometimes I’ll write with the whimsy of a kid, other times I’ll write like I usually do. I made include pictures as well! What I’m thinking of is making drawings like a kid. In elementary, we would write weekly journal entries about our weekends and draw a picture of what we did to accompany them. I remembered having fun doing them, and I think writing and drawing in kind of the same way would be great exercises to do now and then!

Now then, let’s write about something...

The first thing I did when I got online today is go right to Pinterest and add some ideas to my apartment and item boards. Been thinking a lot about my ideas of what I want to have in my future home lately and how I’d set everything up. This will mostly focus on my bedroom, but other things too!

I have a 2x4 shelf that currently holds some toys, music, and random things I own in the other blocks. I want to dedicate that shelf to all toys, figures, music, and the like. I definitely expect it have more of all of them in the future. I’m going to try to limit what I buy so that it fits in all of the spaces and I don’t need extra shelves or places to put them.

I definitely want to grow my antique collection a lot more. My grandpa has been more than happy to let us take his antiques with us, since he’s not as interested in them much anymore. He even is considering giving his curio cabinet to us, which would be huge for me if my family decides to let me have it! The main reason we haven’t taken much is because we have yet to go over who is getting what with the rest of my relatives. Plus, we need a safer way to transfer multiple antiques with us. I may have broken a couple of things when travelling back home...but lucky, they were tiny damages that were easily fixed with a subtle super glue.

A general thing, but I want to focus on growing my sticker collection far more! I have a list of things I put stickers on. Take a look:

Filing cabinet- I’ve been growing the sticker collection on here since 2016!

Sketchbooks- both my home one and the one I bring with me for school

Computer

Photo album- This one I haven’t started but just got the idea for!

I do have my sticker books as well, but I want to keep most of my stickers out in the open where I can see and admire them! I need to get more stickers from places like the Dollar Tree now and then, and order more furry stickers in the future. That’s enough room/collection planning, because I’m in the mood to add more to my boards now...I’m definitely going to write more about my plans in the future though!

I’ve been thinking of watching Bluey. As much as I adore children’s television, I generally can’t get myself interested in shows that I didn’t watch as a kid, or didn’t come out during that time (or earlier). I try, but it just doesn’t stick. However, Bluey is reaching out to me differently. I have a lot of friends and mutuals who watch it, including some who use it to regress. I guess it’s rubbing off on me! And who knows, maybe it could turn into a comfort show. Besides, who could say no to cute dog characters with a bunch of different designs?

[kitkat5192]

So, I meant to post this after watching last week’s episodes, but I kinda forgot, so here we are, with my thoughts and theories from last week’s and this week’s episodes!

WARNING! This will have spoilers for the two new Owl House and Amphibia episodes, so just skip this post if you don’t want to see them!

The Owl House Season 2 Episode 11:

*I love the format of starting some of the episodes with Luz’s diary entries, but having to watch Luz come up with reasons to convince her mom that the Boiling Isles is a great place, but everything going wrong, was tough to watch

*I thought seeing King without his skull was the worst thing I’d see. I was wrong. So wrong. Hooty as a skeleton will haunt my nightmares forever

*Every single Lumity moment in this episode killed me! Not just the adorable moments at the beginning, with the blushing and CHEEK KISS, but also the moments where Luz opened up to Amity about her struggles

*Seeing Luz get so excited about Eda and Raine warmed my heart so much!

*Can we talk about how Amity didn’t go through Luz’s phone and respected her privacy? Representation of healthy relationships for the win!

*I lost my mind when we got the Amity and Willow interaction! I have been waiting for a one on one moment between them for so long, and we got it and it was so good! Also, Willow getting her new hairy style from Amity because it was probably something that they used to do as kids I’m just sfgsdhjdghhgg

*I love Terra’s design! She is such a cool and interesting character, and I’m excited to see more of her

*Then there was the scenes with Eda and Raine, which took my heart and stomped all over it. It was so awful to watch, especially when you know they’re both hurting. Honestly, though, I’m still not sure if Raine is under a spell, and they’ve actually forgotten, or if they were forced to push Eda away and fake it.

*Seeing more of Kikimora’s character was so cool, and I’m so intrigued to see what her development will be like, whether she’ll get redemption or not

*What’s up with this Unity Day plan?! We already knew that Unity Day had something to do with getting rid of wild magic, but how could Belos get rid of all wild magic in one go? And how will it involve the Coven leaders? Does the portal have anything to do with it? There are still so many questions!

The Owl House Season 2 Episode 12:

*Luz and Lilith being able to show their nerdy sides with each other was everything I never knew that I needed

*It was so cool hearing more about Eda’s family’s background, and how they were known for making palisman!

*Call me a nerd, but I love time travel stuff! However, the hidden time pools leading to different time periods was one of the most interesting concepts I’ve ever seen! Plus, that moment when Lilith tripped over a rock, but it was actually herself looking through one of the time pools?! I loved it

*Okay, so at this point, there is no doubt in my mind that Belos is Phillip. I mean, his hatred towards witches, especially wild witches, the glyphs on his arm that reminded me a bit of Belos’s condition, and absorbing the palisman at the end of the episode. I’ve had this theory for a while, but this pretty much confirms it for me

*One thing I’m still unsure about, but very intrigued by, is this other human with Phillip. I feel like it’s Hunter, or Hunter is somehow connected to it. But, then there’s also the theory that Hunter is a grim walker. I’m torn between the two. Unless, possible crazy theory, but hear me out: Hunter was the other human, but something happened to him, and Belos created the grim walker to be sort of like a replacement for him, which is maybe why he’s a witch, but can’t use magic? Idk, just throwing something out there

*So, Lilith thought the village in the past was going to be dangerous because of wild magic, but it was actually a very pleasant and beautiful place, unlike present day Bonesborough…How are we all feeling about that?

* I’m also very interested in how Lilith and Luz interacting with Philip will change things?! Like, if Philip is Belos, will they be the reason why he started hating wild witches, or what pushed him closer to where he is now?! Will we see any changes in the present? Idk man, but there could be some really cool things there

*Eda’s reunion with her dad? Seeing how the guilt has been weighing on Eda all these years, especially with how it impacted her dad’s work with carving palisman? Eda and her dad carving Owlbert together?! I’m totally fine 😭

Amphibia Season 3 Episode 11

*What’s better than one character worrying about her parent/s and how she’ll have to eventually choose between two worlds and say goodbye to one? Two characters! Watching Anne have to deal with that pain throughout the entire episode was awful, but at least she got to say goodbye to them before she left

*That ending. Why. I knew it was coming, but it still hurt. And now we’ll have to see everyone go through the aftermath of the destruction of Amphibia, and the guilt of having left it behind

*I adore Anne’s parents so much! That’s it. I just love them

*Seeing all the characters from this season come together was so cool, and I loved seeing all the interactions between them

*Every time Anne uses her powers, UGHH, it’s so cool, but that last time was especially interesting, because know we know that she can, in a way, generate energy, like a human battery, and I wonder if that’s another clue as to where the power came from, and what exactly it is. From Anne’s comment earlier in the season, about how she got a bad feeling from using it, I’m not sure if this power is gonna be a positive thing. Also, I can’t wait to see the other powers!

Amphibia Season 3 Episode 12

*I loved seeing Anne and the Planters’ reaction to what’s happened in Amphibia since they left. Was I devastated? Yes. Was I also very intrigued? Also yes

*I am so excited about the new vibe of the show and the direction it’s going in with the resistance and the war against King Andrias, especially with the different missions they went on

*The resistance was so cool, and it was really interesting to see how they live as a society underground, and see the world that they’ve built

*I thought it was so funny to see the Planters have to readjust to Amphibia after being in Anne’s world for so long, and all those moments made me laugh

*It was amazing to see Sasha’s growth, and how she was trying to be a better friend to Anne and start to fix their relationship

*I’m really growing to love Sasha as a character, and seeing not only her growth, but also see her personality show through. The flag waving was adorable!

*Sprig and Ivy are adorable as a couple

*Okay, but those collars were crazy, and it was such an interesting detail to show how King Andrias has changed Amphibia. I’m curious (and slightly afraid) to see how else the world has changed

Sorry for the long post! Let me know what you guys thought about the episodes! I’d love to hear everyone else’s reactions and theories

[beatricethecat2]

"Another day or two?" Helena gruffs.

"Yeah, um, sorry," Myka replies.

"That storm postponing your flight was one thing, but this? You are aware our rental is expiring eminently."

"Maybe we can extend?"

"I already inquired."

"And?"

Helena grimaces, nose wrinkling.

"I-I'll find us a new one."

"No, I shall, since I've clearly been left to my own devices."

"I'm coming soon, I promise!" Myka yelps. "I'll stay wherever you want. Extend the car rental, too."

"If I must swap it at the airport, I shall be cross."

"More cross than now? How is that even possible?" Myka jabs.

"I believe you know the answer," Helena says, deadpan. "What exactly is keeping you there?"

"I'm figuring something out but it's more complicated than I thought."

"And this 'something,' how long am I to remain in the dark?"

"Not long, but..." Myka's shoulders sag. "I might as well tell you."

"If it's such a burden—"

"No! I wanted to iron out the details first." Myka heaves a heavy sigh. "Ok, here it goes...I'm figuring out how to work remotely. Mostly."

Helena perks up. "This is something you truly wish to do?"

"I..." Myka pushes a hand through her hair, stopping halfway, looking off to the side. "I've been thinking about what you said, that the Warehouse needs to evolve, that it's stuck in the nineteenth century."

"Such a travesty; agents sequestered in a boarding house with modern communication and travel as they are."

"It's not so bad, having your friends there when you need them." Myka's hand drops to her side. "I do love my family here, but if I'm honest, it hasn't felt the same since Leena died." 

"May I say again how truly sorry I am for your loss. She was an extraordinary woman."

"She really was." Myka blinks back a tear and looks down. "But it's more than that. What you said about only traveling for work, of never really visiting a place, that stuck with me, too. How you want to take advantage of all this new world has to offer, things I take for granted, because you've been given a second chance." 

"I can be quite persuasive when I wish to," Helena says, lips turning up at the ends.

"And I love you for it." Myka's smile matches Helena's.

"But those are my wishes. What are your own?" Helena asks.

"I think it's worth fighting for change, even if making up rules as we go scares me."

"You are fond of protocol."

"And you're not. So we complement each other. Or cancel each other out," Myka says, lips lifting into a crooked grin.

Helena huffs a short laugh. "And Pete? How is he faring?"

"He's super bummed, but I think he understands." Myka shifts in her seat, sitting up straighter. "You might hear from him. He said he wants to have a chat."

"What about?"

"A 'big brother' kind of thing."

"I'm surprised he's waited this long."

"Me too."

The air quiets, each waiting for the other to continue.

"There is one other thing. An, um, 'condition," Myka says.

"Just the one?"

"Hey..."

"I'd expect nothing less. Go on."

"I can't go on missions alone."

"Nor would I allow you to."

"Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"While you're working, someone will join you."

"Yeah, you."

"But I'm no longer an—"

"They want to reinstate you."

"Myka..."

"I know, I know," Myka says, waving her hands in surrender. "It'd be on your terms. I'll make sure of that. And I'll keep you in check."

"That's a tall order."

"Believe me, I know."

Helena grasps at her locket and works a thumb over its smooth metal case.

"We'd have our autonomy, mostly. Be working part-time. We're already doing it unofficially anyway. And I think we work well together." Myka flashes a smug smile.

"And the distance from the Warehouse? How will you manage?"

"Abigail agreed to be our eyes in the archive. And we already have access to the database."

Helena stares at Myka for a long moment, fingers clutching her locket. "Can this truly be?"

"I think so. I'm hashing out details with Jane, but we need a few more days," Myka says, smiling. "Find us a place to stay for a couple of weeks. We can figure out what happens next from there."

"With pleasure," Helena says.

"So...can I tell them you're Agent Wells again?"

"I've further terms to discuss."

"Send them over. I'll make sure you get what you want."

Smiles grow wider as they hold each other's gazes.

"So...what'd you get up to yesterday?" Myka asks.

"I traveled by cable car up Hyde Street. The views were breathtaking."

"You did that without me?"

"I was tired of waiting."

"Do not go to Twin Peaks or Coit Tower. We're doing those together."

"I shant. Perhaps I'll peruse City Light Books again and linger in Jackson Square."

"That's where those buildings from the 1800's survived the earthquake."

"Indeed."

"Are you feeling a sense of closure, being there?"

"I believe we could have had quite a pleasant life here in my day. But closure, that may only truly begin upon your arrival."

"I can't wait," Myka says, grinning wildly.

-END SCENE-

------------------

Bering and Wells: New Horizons ("Warehouse 13" Season 5 replacement) Season 1: Episode 8 Title: San Francisco: The 415 Blues Summary: A freak storm delays Myka's flight to San Francisco. Helena learns Myka's taken on more while home than just dropping off an artifact. New paths are revealed while working through a difficult retrieval, as well as an ask that may take them to foreign shores.

Previously: Episodes 1-7 (look in my archive as adding links broke my post last time)

------------------

After assessing the scene of a retrieval, Myka and Helena duck into a coffee shop.

"That facade's massive! How would we know which one?" Myka asks.

"'It'll be obvious,' Artie said. Far from it," Helena snips.

"Maybe spray it with neutralizer and see what sparks?"

"It's a landmarked structure, too high-key."

"True," Myka says, frowning. "Artie said it was a chain reaction. One brick radiating into the others. Remove the source and the rest will calm down."

"Once one pinpoints the source."

"At least we know it's in arms reach," Myka says, sipping of her coffee. 

"Do we?"

"Someone almost burned their hand on it."

"Nothing felt even remotely hot to the touch today." Helena screws the cap onto her water bottle. "The brick responsible could be beaming down from the loftiest of places. We'd need scaffolding to check properly."

"And that hill is..." Myka motions with her hand at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Is it truly a risk if it's merely hot to the touch?" Helena says, leaning back in her chair.

"Artie's not sure. He thinks wildfire smoke is 'activating' the bricks, making them think they're in the fires after the 1906 earthquake. So it depends on which way the wind's blowing. Prolonged smoke contact equals hotter bricks, and hotter bricks mean the building might catch fire."

"Because these melted 'clicker bricks' were used in rebuilding after the earthquake?"

"Uh-huh. And Artie thinks they caused a previous fire."

"The one where those girls died trapped in the basement."

"So sad," Myka says, shaking her head. 

"I'd read it was arson, meant to discourage the Mission House staff from rescuing those poor immigrant girls from servitude."

"It probably was. But it might not have spread as fast without the clinkers."

"I see." Helena's hand tightens around her water bottle. "We cannot allow it burn again."

"We won't," Myka says, touching Helena's hand to reassure her. "Maybe we can monitor it with heat sensors. I bet Claudia has a gadget."

"I'm certain she shall," Helena says, looking as if she's combing through a catalog in her mind. "We must set up surveillance in the buildings across the street."

"Maybe we can pose as historians studying Julia Morgan, the architect," Myka says, perking up.

"What a blessing it shall be we're here for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Ooh! Maybe this can be our thing, traveling places and staying awhile, snagging difficult artifacts."

"I adore your ingenuity." Helena leans across the table, planting a kiss on Myka's lips.

"Mmm...thanks," Myka hums as Helena pulls back. She lifts her phone off the table, fingers working the keyboard, texting Claudia. "Maybe this is a good time to, um...tell you, there's a...a, um...something else the Warehouse's asked us to do."

"I knew they wouldn't release you that easily," Helena says, narrowing her eyes.

"This one's about you."

"Aren't they all, somehow?"

"Kinda?"

"Well, out with it then," Helena says, sitting back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The artifacts you hid, the Warehouse wants them."

"They believe there are more?"

"Oh, come on."

"They've shelved the Trident and Corsican Vest."

"And the Imperceptor."

"That was not an artifact."

"Fine. Artifacts and inventions," Myka snaps. "And they want us to follow up on cold cases you left behind."

Helena shifts in her chair and looks towards the bridge in the distance. "This is punishment for my unwillingness to interact with the Warehouse. You told them of my issues surrounding Christina."

"No. I said separating your body from your mind then sending it out as a lure for Sykes really pissed you off."

"This is not untrue."

"Pisses me off, too," Myka mumbles.

"They may threaten such a thing again should I not bow to their demands."

"We."

"Pardon?"

"Should we not bow. I'm part of this, too."

"Yes, as my 'handler.'"

"Maybe. But our definition of 'handling' can be kind of fun." Myka skims a finger down Helena's forearm, prying her fisted hand apart and threading their fingers together.

Helena lets out a heavy sigh. "I may not recall everything. I'll need my diaries."

"Do you know where they are?"

"At the Warehouse, of course."

"I meant the real ones."

Helena raises a brow.

"You know they know you hid them before you were bronzed."

Helena grimaces. "I once knew where they were. There's no guarantee they're still there."

"You've already looked."

"I may have, briefly."

"And?"

Helena shakes her head in the negative.

"Then let's start with what you remember."

"Or, start with the items I've hidden since?"

"Helena!"

"Punish me later, darling. We've a smoldering building to extinguish." Helena squeezes Myka's hand and brushes a thumb under her jacket cuff. "Did Claudia get back to you?"

"No," says, checking her phone. "Maybe we should get back to the apartment and do some research?"

"'Research' is our best course of action."

Both women smile in agreement, then rise and hastily take their leave.

-END SEASON ONE-

NOTES: NOTES: And this wraps up Season 1! As you can see, it's set up to transition to a second season, one fairly independent from the Warehouse. Who knows if that will ever materialize (but I do have a few ideas). Links broke my post last time, but look up Cameron House (formerly the Mission House) in San Francisco and Donaldina Cameron for more on that organization and the deadly fire. Clinker bricks are regarded as junk bricks - warped from being fired at too high a temperature, or in this case, mangled by building fires after the 1906 earthquake. Many older buildings in Chinatown contain them as the neighborhood scrambled to rebuild after the earthquake, because white real estate developers were poised to swoop in steal their land. In the Cameron House design, clinkers were also used decoratively in an Arts and Crafts style (there are other buildings in SF like this, like 45 Upper Terrace, also designed by a female architect, Ida McCain). I dedicate this episode to @blackfoxreddog !!

[asleepinawell]

Book Recs

I was gonna do one of these at the end of the year, but I’ve somehow managed to read 26 books this year already (12 novellas, 14 novels), almost all featuring queer authors and/or characters so this is already a long list.

Note: There’s a few on here I was kind of meh about, but in most of those cases it was a ‘book might be good but it’s not for me so i’ll mention it to put it on people’s radar anyway’ type of thing. Insert the usual necessary tumblr disclaimer about all of this being only my opinion and your opinions are valid too etc etc.

In order of when I read them:

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir - Fantasy novella from the author of gideon the ninth that’s a twist on the classic princess trapped in a tower waiting for a prince story. Quite fun. (novella)

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht - Dark fantasy about revenge and magic. m/m couple but like I said it’s pretty dark and twisted all around so definitely not a happy queer romantic story. My opinion was interesting premise that could have been executed better and probably should have been a full novel to embellish on the world building potential. (novella)

A Memory Called Empire & A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine - Probably tied with murderbot as the best things I read this year. Scifi, f/f couple, wonderfully done exploration of what it means to fall in love with a culture that is destroying your own. More of the many queer anti-imperialist books that have come out recently and certainly some of the best. The second one is a direct continuation of the first. (2 novels)

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson - This is the third in the Baru Cormorant series (The Masquerade) and was my favorite so far. The second and third book were originally one book that got split I believe and the second book didn’t stand alone as well (though was still great), but the third book really made up for that. Dark fantasy world starring a queer woc whose country and culture is destroyed by the imperial forces of that world colonizing and assimilating them. She vows revenge and decides to work her way up within her enemy’s ranks to enact it from within and bring an empire to ruins. Really really fascinating study of so many different aspects of our own world and the systems which enable and allow bigotry and how bigoted and violent narratives are used to control minorities. This is definitely a darker series and I was particularly impressed with some of the commentary on the racism prevalent in non-intersectional feminism as depicted through a fantasy world. Can’t wait for the last one to come out! (3 novels, 1 forthcoming)

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells - There’s six of them--5 novella and a novel--and the first is All Systems Red. Told from the point of view of a self-aware droid/android that is rented out by a corporation to provide protection in a dystopian capitalist hellhole future that isn’t that unlike our current capitalist dystopia but is in space. Muderbot hacked the chip that controlled it and instead of going rogue just wants to be left alone to watch its favorite tv shows. Murderbot is painfully relatable and the books are both funny and poignant. Highly recommended. (5 novellas and a novel).

Winter’s Orbit - Everina Maxwell - This was a m/m romance novel with a scifi backdrop of royal intrigue. Generally I’m more into scifi with a queer relationship in the background than vice versa, so it wasn’t my favorite, BUT I think it was still well written and someone looking for more of the romance angle would enjoy it. Has all your favorite romance tropes in it, especially the yearning. (novel)

The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett - Three book series. I’m very conflicted about this one. Set in a fantasy world where an enslaved nation overthrew the country enslaving them and now rules over them. It’s a story of what happens after the triumphant victory and within that it’s also a murder mystery tied into the dying magic of the conquered nation. It also has a six foot something naked oily viking man fist fight a cthulhu in a frozen river. The second book was by far my favorite, mostly due to the main character being brilliant. My conflict comes from the fact I don’t feel like the story treated its women and queer characters well. Like it had really great characters but it didn’t do great by them overall. That and the third book didn’t live up to the first two. But still definitely worth a read, can’t stress enough how cool some of the world building was. (3 novels)

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant - This might be the only one on here I disliked. It’s got a doomed boat voyage and creepy underwater terror and monsters and a super diverse cast of characters, but I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. While having a diverse cast is great, there were a lot of moments where it felt like characters were pausing to explain things about themselves that felt like a tumblr post rather than a normal conversation you might have while actively being hunted by monsters. I also bounced off all the characters. But a lot of people seem to have liked it so if you’re into horror and want a book with a f/f main couple then maybe you’ll enjoy it. (novel)

Dead Djinn Universe - P. Djèlí Clark - Around the early 1900′s, a man in Egypt discovers a way to access another world and bring Djinn and mysterious clockwork beings called Angels through. As a result, Egypt tells the British to get fucked and Cairo becomes one of the most powerful cities in the world. So Egypt, magic, djinn, a steampunk-ish vibe, oh and the main character is a butch queer woman who enjoys wearing dapper suits and looking fabulous while she investigates supernatural events. Her girlfriend is also mysterious and badass. And she has a cat. There’s three novella (one of which technically might be considered a short story) and then the first novel. You should absolutely read the novellas first (A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, The Haunting of Tram Car 015). Super fun and imaginative series. (3 novellas and a novel, more forthcoming)

River of Teeth & Taste of Marrow - Sarah Gailey - From the book description

“In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan.”

Queer hippo riders!!!! Very much a western but with hippos. Main couple included a non-binary character. Loved the first one. The second one I was more meh about due to one of the characters I was supposed to like having obnoxious man pain that a woman had to take the brunt of the whole time. Also there were less hippos. But queer hippo riders! Definitely read the first one, and they’re both novellas so no reason not to read the second as well. (2 novellas)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers - I may be the only person who hasn’t read the long way to a small angry planet at this point, but I did grab her new novella and I loved it. It made me want to go sit out in the woods and feel peaceful. The world it’s set in feels like a peaceful post-apocalypse...or diverted apocalypse maybe. Humans built robots and robots gained sentience, but instead of rebelling they just up and left and went into the wilderness with a promise that the humans wouldn’t follow them.The remaining human society reshaped itself into something new and peaceful. It’s the story of a monk who leaves their habitual monking duties to go be a tea monk and then later wanders into the wilderness and becomes the first human in ages to meet a robot. Very sad there’s no fan art yet. (novella, more forthcoming)

The March North - Graydon Saunders - This was such a weird book that I’m not sure how to explain it. The prose style is hard to get used to and I suspect a lot of people will bounce off it in the first chapter. There’s no third person pronouns used at all and important events get mentioned once in passing and if you blink you’ll miss them. Set on a world where magic is extremely common to the point that rivers sometimes run with blood or fire and the local weeds are something out of a horror movie and most of the world is run by powerful sorcerer dictators, one country banded together (with the help of a few powerful sorcerers who were tired of all the bullshit) to form a free country where powerful sorcerers wouldn’t rule and the small magics of every day folks could be combined to work together. The story revolves around a Captain of the military force on the border who one day has three very powerful sorcerers sent to them by the main government with the hint that just maybe there’s about to be a big invasion (there is) with the implication of take these guys and go deal with this. The world building is extremely complex and very cool...when you can actually understand what the fuck is going on. There is also a murder sheep named Eustace who breathes fire and eats just about everything and is a Very Good Boy and belongs to the most terrifying sorcerer in the world who appears as a little old grandma with knitting. It had one of the most epic badass and wonderfully grotesque battles I’ve ever read. But yeah, it is not what I would call easy reading. Opinions may vary wildly. I did also read the second one (A Succession of Bad Days) in the series which was easier to follow and had a lot more details about the world, but overall I was more meh about it despite some cool aspects. The chapters and chapters of the extreme details of building a house that made up half the novel just weren’t my thing. (novels).

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson - In this world parallels universes exist and we’ve discovered how to travel between them, but the catch is you can only go to worlds where the ‘you’ there is already dead. This turns into an uncomfortable look at who would be the people most likely to have died on many worlds and how things like class and race would fit into that and what we would actually use this ability for (if you guessed stealing resources and the stock market you’d be correct). The main character is a queer woc who travels between worlds with the assistance of her handler (another queer woc) who she has the hots for. She accidentally stumbles on a whole lot of mess and conspiracy and gets swept up in that. Really enjoyed it. (novel)

Witchmark - C.L. Polk - Fantasy world reminiscent of Victorian England (I think?) where a young man with magical gifts runs away from his powerful family to avoid being exploited by them. He joins the army and fights in a war and comes home to try and live a quiet life as a doctor, but a murder pulls him into a larger mystery that upturns his life. Also he’s extremely gay and there’s a prevalent m/m romance. This one was a fun-but-not-mind-blowing one for me. (novel, 2 more in the series I haven’t read)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon - This was one of those that everyone loved but I couldn’t get into for some reason. I tried twice and only got about halfway through the second time. It’s got dragons and queer ladies and fantasy world and all the things I like, but I wasn’t that invested in the main story (which included the f/f couple) and was more interested in the smaller story about a woman trying to become a dragon rider. There are few things that beat out a lady and her dragon friend story for me and that was the storyline that felt neglected and took a different turn right when we got to the part I’d been waiting for. But, I know a lot of people whose reading opinions I respect who loved it, and if you like epic fantasy with dragons and queens and treachery and pirates and queer characters then I’d say you should definitely give it a try. (novel)

Bonus: I didn’t read these series this year, but if you haven’t read them yet, you should.

Imperial Radch (Ancillary Justice) - Ann Leckie - Spaceship AI stuck in a human body out for revenge for their former captain, but that summary does not come close to doing it justice. Another one examining imperialism and also gender and race.(3 novels)

Kushiel's Legacy Series - Jacqueline Carey - This is two series, six books total, and starts with Kushiel's Dart. Alternate universe Renaissance-y Europe in a fantastical world where sex isn't shameful and sex workers are respected and prized. Lots of political intrigue and mystery. A lot of BDSM and kinky stuff too (the main character is a sexual masochist, oh and also bi!). I first read this series when I was fifteen or sixteen and it definitely made a big impression on me. Same author also wrote the Santa Olivia series which I’d also recommend. (6 novels)

The Locked Tomb (Gideon the Ninth) - Tamsyn Muir - I mean, if you follow me, you know. If you don’t follow me you still probably know. I’d have felt remiss to have left them off though. Lesbian Necormancers in Space. Memes! Skeletons! Biceps! Go read them. (2 novels, 2 forthcoming, 1 short story)

Books On My To Read List:

Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water - Zen Cho

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

This Is How You Lose the TIme War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee

Also, if anyone has any recs for scifi/fantasy books starring queer men (not necessarily having to do with a queer relationship) and written by queer men I’d love them. There’s a lot written by women, and some of them are great, but I’d love to read a story about queer men from their own perspective.

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Diary found in K---D--- : Part 2

So, here's the next little part of this :D

Imagine by @lathalea is indented!

Enjoy <3

Taglist: @shrimpsthings, @mulasawala (so you see where I'm going with this lol)

(Yes, there will be MORE artwork coming, stay posted...)

Fandom: Hobbit

Characters: Ori x OC

Rating & Warning: Fluff and silliness

His name was Ori and he was a scribe in Erebor. It turned out he visited the forest often to sketch the animals and plants. You spent the rest of the day together. In the evening, you exchanged campfire stories, sharing a meal. At one point, he shyly asked about where you came from. Blushing, he admitted, almost whispering, he never saw a person with such beautiful hair before.

You told him that you came from another world, from a region called East Asia, where many people looked similarly to you. He was very curious about your homeland, your culture and your world. You spent hours telling him everything about it and he listened to you in awe.

“Ori.” He replied, his lips quirking a tiny bit as if he was not used to speaking his own name. “I’m a scribe. In Erebor. The Mountain.” He pointed to a tree beyond the clearing.

Thankfully, I was familiar with the Lonely Mountain and did not think that he didn’t know the difference between a living organism and a pile of minerals.

“I have never seen you, neither here nor in that Mountain.” I replied, for I went into the halls sometimes to translate for travellers, but for the most part, I let the king be his grumpy, glorious self.

“I come here often, to sketch, but I seem to have lost my way.” He admitted with a tiny frown. Ah, a real dwarf. They only knew up and down seemingly and if there was no way into a hill, they’d stubbornly trek up until they tumbled off the other side again.

As if to prove to me that he was not lying – dear reader, he had a face that was utterly devoid of malice or dissimulation – he showed me rather good sketches of the fauna and flora of the dense forest surrounding us. “That is really good, Ori, the scribe, from under the Mountain.” I commented which made him blush with a fierce and, apparently, unexpected pleasure.

In an expression of indescribable cuteness, he literally wiped his face with his sleeve as if he could clean away the rosy hue like a stubborn ink stain from under his skin.

“What are you here for?” He then asked, pushing out his chest heroically. As a reminder, he was the one who had lost his way, but apparently, he wanted to defend either the forest from me or the other way around.

“I am here to think…in silence.” I replied; he retreated a few steps. “Oh? I’ll leave you to it then, I guess. It was great to make your acquaintance…”

I gave him my name, after all, he had given me his, and he chewed on it for a few moments before his face split into a smile that was like the sunlight breaking through the cloudy afternoon sky: tentative, warm, and strikingly beautiful.

“Stay. I like your face.” I heard myself saying. Maybe, it was my teasing, mischievous streak acting up, but I had liked his embarrassment so much that I couldn’t help wanting to coax more of these blushes out of him.

“My…face?” In that weird dance he had been engaged in for the last few minutes, Ori stepped closer again, shuffling his feet in the heavy boots dwarrows insisted on wearing.

No, your ass, I thought, but bit my tongue; Ori the dwarf looked like someone who would die on the spot if I said anything even remotely inappropriate…as I was wont to do when nervous.

My sarcastic thought spurred my own interest though and I examined him a little closer: he was indeed swaddled like a babe, beads of sweat pearling down his temples on account of the steep climb and the stubborn blush powdering his nose and cheeks with pink blotches.

“Sit down, you’ll get a heat stroke.” I invited him and pointed to a patch of moss beside me while rummaging in my pack for the flask of ale I had brought.

“Thank you ever so much.” He plopped down in a cascade of earthen-coloured wool and awkward limbs. He did smell warm, I noticed, a blend of cinnamon and comfort.

Also, he had one of those faces that only became better when seen up-close, I admit freely; there were golden stars dancing in the depth of his dark eyes and he had the most adorable freckles as if some outlandish fairy had sprinkled gold dust over that heart-wrenchingly handsome face.

“Are you thirsty, Mistress?” He asked, nodding at the flask in my hand.

Handing it to him rather abruptly, I realised that I had spent the last moments intently staring at his face as if I had never seen a male dwarf before in my life.

“I have work to do.” I snapped, feeling immediately guilty for taking my own embarrassment out on him, but he merely nodded and pulled his sketching supplies into his lap.

Strangely enough, Ori did not disturb me. If anything, the silence felt fuller, richer, deeper with him by my side. As I translated a letter, as a spinster I had to support my family and my insufferable sisters as best as I could, I felt like the chirping of the birds and the vibrancy of the colours around me were even more enjoyable now that I shared them with someone else.

…

The sun crept along its never-changing arc slowly and yet, much too fast.

As I looked up, I wished I was a better painter myself, for this dwarrow was made for sunsets.

The way the last golden hurrah of a perfect day exploded in a halo of warmth around his figure, the way all the greys and the blues seemed to bleed out of the world to leave nothing but warm tones behind, and the way his smile was the perfect expression of this mellow, unhurried mood…it struck me deeper and more violently than a thunderstorm in all its booming rage would have.

“Will you join me for dinner, Ori?” I asked gently, “I shall escort you back down.”

“It would be my honour.” He nodded, tearing out a page of his notebook and handing it over.

“It was an invitation; I do not demand payment.” I said seriously, for the sketch of the doe was so good, it might have been worth actual money. “Oh…” His nose crinkled at little at that.

“I wanted you to…have something beautiful. I have seen you work very hard.”

Of course, he was a scribe as well, he would consider the scribbling work, I thought and gave him a thankful smile. “You’re beauty enough for one day.” I shrugged.

He gasped, bringing his notebook up to his face as if to shield himself from my words.

“You’re having me on, aren’t you? Dori has warned me that girls do that sometimes.” He sounded utterly dejected. “I am not having you on. Has nobody ever told you that you’re handsome?” It was my turn to be wide-eyed with shock.

“And who is Dori?” I followed-up when he didn’t really reply to my question even though I thought I had seen his braids move like strings of pearls in a draft. The minutest of shakes of the head, a quiet admission of inadequacy that sunk ugly, ragged claws into my soft heart.

“He’s my brother. I have two of them. Dori…and Nori. They’re…” – “Older than you.” I completed. “Protective.” He supplied.

He was still holding his drawing out to me, and, after a moment, I took it gingerly and put it between the pages of my own writing supplies. I would hang it in my room and look at it daily.

Nowadays, there were but very few gifts for me; all the money went to my two younger sisters who were still nubile and would, if Mahal willed it so, be able to make a good match.

Busying my hands with making a fire, I asked him to tell me about his brothers.

“Oh, Nori is…agile. He’s…funny and brave and resourceful.” Ori started, his voice warm with affection and admiration. He sounded like a proper rogue to me, and as it turned out, he was, but he also deserved every single ounce of the deep-felt care Ori held for him.

“Dori is…fussy. He’s polite, he’s very caring, and he’s exceedingly proper.” Ori went on as I waved a hand for him not to stop. I enjoyed hearing about the life of other families than my own.

“So, is he the one who raised you to be this…warmly clad and gentle?” I asked, turning to place the foodstuffs I had brought up and stored in the cool lake water on spits to roast over the fire.

“Warm? Oh yes…I was a sickly pebble and he’s been worried ever since. I hope I have behaved in a way that would not make him disappointed in me.” Again, he worried his lip.

“Let’s see, you’ve startled a bird and an unsuspecting dwarrowdam.” I listed with a wicked gleam in my eyes; his face fell, and he looked properly guilty.

“Then, you’ve kept me company, and the best company I’ve ever had, it has been, on my grandmother’s grave, I swear.” I went on and that treacherous blush was back with a vengeance.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” He then said in a low voice. “Great beauty is always startling.”

“I am hardly Thorin Oakenshield.” He laughed. Readers, you cannot imagine that sound just by reading my words. If flowers blossoming had melody, if the sun setting on the eternal sea had a song, if autumn leaves dancing on a gale had a tune, they would have sounded like nails on scree, like cats having their tails trampled, and like kettles going unheeded compared to Ori’s laughter.

“There’s beauty in the doe as much as in the wolf.” I replied gently.

“May I…can I ask where you’re from? I don’t seek to be rude, but I’ve never seen anyone quite like you; your hair looks like those fabrics the Elves weave. It…seems so soft, so liquid, so smooth.” He blushed a darker shade yet.

This might well have been the first time that someone had asked me about my origins without making it sound like an accusation; there was honest fascination in his demeanour.

“My family and I have come from the Far East. I have travelled a lot, Ori, I have seen landscapes entirely made up of rock and sand, I have walked forests so stiflingly hot and moist it felt like being underwater, and now, I am here in the land of tall trees and taller mountains.”

I said, surprised by my own frankness.

“That sounds amazing.” He took the food I offered readily enough, and I told him about the people I’ve left behind to be stranded at the other end of the world.

“This is good, is that a recipe of your homeland?” He asked, looking down on the piece of meat I had seasoned with herbs I had grown myself in our small backyard.

“It actually is. I’m glad you like it. I had not planned to have company, otherwise I’d have brought something more palatable to the local tongue.” I apologised quickly.

“No, I like it. You should definitely trade some recipes with Dori…and Bombur…oh, and if any of your delicious herbs are medicinal, Óin.” He laughed again when he saw my dumbfounded expression.

“I make a good honeycake, if I can interest you in that? Maybe…” He fell back into silence.

…

A look at the sky told me that it was too late to go down in the inky darkness.

“We’ll have to stay here for the night.” I mumbled, slightly uncomfortable at the idea of spending the night with a dwarrow who had not lost a single word about a wife.

“Are you married, Mistress? Will that endanger your wedlock?” He asked shyly.

“No, I am not and I have no name to lose…It’s a long story.” I didn’t feel like blurting out my disgrace, lest it give him strange ideas after all, especially as he would easily have been able to overpower me if he so chose.

“Neither am I. I don’t know about my name…Doesn’t look like I’m going to be married either. There’s not enough dwarrowdams as it is, and I think the royal line has a prerogative there.” There was no resentment in his tone; he seemed to accept this as a fact.

How could someone that sweet not be married, I wondered. He was courteous, he was cute, and he would have made the fortune and happiness of someone.

“Well, in that case, I think we can risk our reputation rather than our necks.” I grinned, rolling out a blanket I kept tied to my pack for emergencies and stretched out next to the fire on the moss.

“Erm, yes…Good night…” He mumbled, fidgeting around with his different layers of clothing. Apparently, he was deciding which one he needed least on his body to use it as a bedroll or blanket.

I eyed the proceedings with interest and a good deal of amusement.

“I can offer you my cloak to lie upon…the ground will grow very cold and wet soon.” He said in a low voice, not sure if I had already fallen asleep or not.

“Alright, I can offer you a spot under the blanket then?” I extended my own graciousness.

“With you?” No, with the red bird, I thought, rolling my eyes internally.

“Yes, Ori the scribe, with me. I will not eat you, as you have witnessed, I have had dinner.” Not that he did not look good enough to devour, standing there with his cloak in his hands and his face all crunched up in embarrassment.

“Hmmm…I guess.” He muttered doubtfully, spreading out the cloak and sitting down on it carefully. Impatiently, I scooted over and spread my lousy blanket over the both of us with a flourish.

“Sleep!” I commanded as I turned around only to find him staring wide-eyed at the spot where the back of my head had been only a second ago. Now that he was presented with my face, only inches away from his, his eyes grew even rounder and bigger in wordless distress.

“Friend…Have you never lain with a woman? And I literally mean, lying next to one?” I laughed for there had been friends and cousins aplenty in my own life and the feeling of having another body so close to mine was not a new experience for me.

“Well, I fell down on the battlefield once, next to a foe…I’m pretty sure that was a Lady-Orc. She was dead. There was a…” He gestured, indicating a spear or a lance sticking out of his chest and brushing against my own with the back of his hand. Dear reader, he flinched back as if I was a tiny Durin’s bane wreathed in flames.

“A Lady-Orc, indeed…” I mused; no doubt, he could hear the smile I hid in my voice for his face crunched up in embarrassment.

“I am sorry.” He sighed, rolling his eyes, and thinking – there was not a shadow of a doubt about that much – of his brothers who would have mocked him mercilessly for his stammering.

“There’s no need to be sorry” I tried to reassure him, but I admit now that there were things that I did not tell him right away then. We had only just met, and he was blessedly unaware of my shameful past.

How could I have made him understand – without hurting his feelings – how much I enjoyed that air of purity about him that I had squandered myself on an undeserving fiend? As a daughter amongst others, I had been used to dwarrows coming to court or to seduce, their eyes ablaze with greed and their hands wandering.

He would not have comprehended how much the absence of that voracious hunger that had plagued my youth and had ended up destroying my promising future meant to me.

“Sleep.” I repeated, unable to put into words how miraculous and precious the things he seemed to be most ashamed of were to me.

“Good night, Mistress.” He breathed with a soft smile that was nowhere near the wolfish baring of fangs I was used to and so, it was easy to return it.

You who may or may not have stumbled upon this ludicrous account of the most important story in an otherwise unimportant life, you shall hear another confession I did not make at the time.

I was fiercely aware that – had I but leant forward a little – I might have pressed my lips upon his; I was young still at that time and, despite what had happened, parts of me, that should have withered and died in the aftermath of my botched engagement, were much alive.

He smelled like our dinner and warmth, and the gentle reticence of the curve of his smile was more inviting than any flashing grin I had ever seen before.

Yes, in that very moment, on this very first evening, I had already been conscious of the shrewd attraction this self-effacing dwarrow held for me…and it scared me half to death.

…

Part 3