#bloomingromance

[myromantictravel]

Chapters of a Blooming Romance

Pen down a new chapter of your love story at Adaaran Maldives. The ideal romantic getaway for two lonely wanderers exploring the flame of love, surrounded by tropical bliss.

[aka-indulgence]

His Bark: Part 4

Herculanum could feel the intense fear rolling off of the girl in front of him. His grin widened. This was always his favorite part; the intimidation. He could always get a sense of what sort of person a human was, just by invading their personal space.

The girl began to shake visibly in front of him. She wouldn’t look him in the eye, though she kept giving him cautious looks. She wasn’t a complete coward, he could tell. But she was definitely afraid of him.

Good.

Herc looked her up and down. He had to admit, she was a cute little thing. He reached out his hand to touch her hair. He wanted to see how far she would let him go, before she fought back~

He felt her freeze at his contact. Her breath became more frantic and anxiety ridden.

Yes, she was very cute~

He began to slide his hand down her face, under her chin, down her neck, her shoulder, her-

“HERCULANUM!!”

In a instant the bigger skeleton was slammed against the back wall. His soul was visible and blue in front of his chest.

“HOW DARE YOU TREAT OUR GUEST WITH SUCH DISRESPECT!!”

Papyrus’ eye flared in anger.

“H-hey cuz! I was only talkin to her-“

Though Herc was bigger in size, he knew his magic was no match in strength compared to Papyrus.

“DO NOT LIE TO ME COUSIN! I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE “DOING”. LET IT BE CLEAR THAT THIS HUMAN IS UNDER MY WATCH AND THEREFORE MY PROTECTION! YOU WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO “TALK” WITH HER OR OTHERWISE AGAIN! UNDERSTOOD?”

The big skeleton was sweating bullets. He nodded grudgingly. Papyrus released his soul, dropping him to the floor. The bigger monster slowly got up and looked at the younger one with animosity. Papyrus’ eye began to glow again.

“LEAVE. NOW.”

Without another word, Herculanum exited the room.

Papyrus immediately turned his attention to the girl. She was sitting next to the bed hunched over into a ball again. As he listened more closely, he could hear her softly sobbing.

“Human? Are You-“

“I wanna go home!”

Papyrus was struck silent by her anguished cry. She lifted her head to reveal her tear streaked face.

“Please, I promise I won’t tell anyone about what I saw-I just wanna go home!”

She began to sob loudly, covering her face which had turned red from exertion. Her frame was still shaking.

Papyrus had an overwhelming urge to pick her up and comfort her; hold her close and tell her it would be ok and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again. Dry those tears and shush her until she finally melted into him.

The youngest skeleton felt another shiver go down his spine. He shook himself. Where did those feelings come from?

Wherever they came from, he knew those types of advances would only frighten the little human more. He needed a way he could make her relax.

He watched her silently, as her crying ebbed and flowed over and over.

....flowed?

“HUMAN, I UNDERSTAND YOUR DISTRESS AT YOUR SITUATION. UNFORTUNATELY I CANNOT LET YOU LEAVE UNTIL MY BROTHERS HAVE CONCLUDED WHAT YOU TOLD THEM ABOUT YOURSELF WAS THE TRUTH. UNTIL THEN I HAVE BEEN TASKED TO WATCH OVER YOU.”

The girl looked up at him, her tears subsiding momentarily.

“AS SUCH, I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO MAKE YOU COMFORTABLE-WITHIN REASON MIND YOU! THAT BEING SAID, I BELIEVE A HOT BATH WOULD HELP YOU TO CALM YOUR NERVES AND RELAX- EVEN IN THE SLIGHTEST.”

The girl gave him a worried and suspicious look. Papyrus sighed at the tedious nature of this conversation.

“THE DOOR LOCKS FROM THE INSIDE. THERE IS NO WAY FOR ME OR ANY OTHERS TO GET IN ONCE ITS LOCKED.”

The younger skeleton left out the part of them possibly using magic; no need to add to her distrust.

She turned to face him, softly wiping stray tears from her face.

“TOWELS ARE IN THE CABINET TO THE LEFT OF THE DOOR. SOAP AND BODY WASH ARE KEPT ORGANIZED IN THE SHOWER CADDY-PLEASE BE SURE TO RETURN EVERYTHING TO ITS PROPER PLACE! AS FOR YOUR CLOTHES; AFTER YOU HAVE CHANGED OUT OF THEM, LEAVE THEM OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR SO I CAN WASH THEM FOR YOU. NO DOUBT THEY ARE DIRTY FROM YOUR LONG DAY.”

The girls eyebrows knit together.

“B-but if you take my clothes, what will I wear when I get out of the shower?”

Papyrus paused. He had not thought of that. She probably wouldn’t want to linger in a towel after what had just happened. He turned to his drawers, sifting through them. Most of his everyday clothes were dress shirts and slacks, which he did not want to risk wrinkling. He kept searching, until he pulled out a sweater.

It was very rare he ever dressed down, but sometimes when he stayed at home, it was easier to just pull on a sweater. He brought it over to the girl.

Hesitantly she stood and took it from him. She held it up to her frame. As he expected, his monster sized clothes were extremely long compared to her tiny human body.

The thought of her wearing his clothes made his soul begin to thump. He cleared his throat to bring his mind back to its proper place. No more foolishness.

“I WILL BE BACK TO CHECK FOR YOUR CLOTHES IN 30 MINUTES. IF YOU DO NOT NEED ANYTHING ELSE, I WILL LEAVE YOU.”

The girl shook her head, clutching the sweater.

Papyrus nodded, exiting the room. As he walked down the hall, thoughts of the cute human being dressed in only his sweater sent chills down his spine. His soul started thumping again. He knew he needed to occupy himself with other things or those thoughts would make him do something he’d regret.

....

As she sat in the water watching the steam rise, she felt a weight begin to lift. Despite the fact that he had killed someone, Papyrus was turning out to be...kinder than expected. Of course he was still very straightforward and to the point. No nonsense and always organized. This was evidenced to her by the extremely well organized shower caddy hanging from the shower head. Everything was labeled and put in order of importance. Apparently he shared this room and bathroom with one of his brothers. Or maybe...that terrifying skeleton he had called his cousin.

She shuddered, trying to shake the memory of his touches. If Papyrus hadn’t stepped in...

She turned her thoughts back to the tall skeleton. Had he really meant what he’d said? That he would protect her?

She felt something in her heart flutter. She sank deeper into the water until her nose touched it. No one had ever wanted to protect her before....

Maybe staying here wouldn’t be so bad, all she had to do was wait for his brothers to check her story and-

Then what?

Would they really let her go? Would she just walk away from this and forget this ever happened? Life would be normal again...

Could it be that simple?

She sighed. No doubt it was more complicated than that. And what if they were just really good at lying? Was all this stuff with Papyrus just a sham until they figured out how to get rid of her?

She felt her heart sink again at that thought. Wouldn’t be the first time someone had gone back on their word with her; or used her...or hurt her.

She sighed and reached for the plug. In that moment, she kinda wished Papyrus would come back soon, so she wouldn’t have to relive those memories.

.....

As he suspected, the human’s clothes were filthy and in need of washing. She had left them in a pile outside the door, devoid of undergarments-which he was thankful for.

He couldn’t help but wonder what she would look like in his clothes. Of course, it would be a while before her clothes dried so he had no excuse to go see her again.

Papyrus shook himself. He didn’t need a reason to see her. It was HIS room and she was a prisoner after all, he had every right to check on her. A pang went through his soul at those thoughts. A prisoner...is that what she felt like?

He pushed that thought away. It did not matter what she felt like. His job was to keep an eye on her, nothing else.

He headed up the stairs, almost skipping steps on the way up. He paused at the door. What if she wasn’t dressed yet? He felt his soul leap. He shook his head and knocked on the door.

“HUMAN, IM COMING IN.”

He opened the door slowly. She was laying on her stomach on the bed, reading one of his books off the shelf. At his presence, she swung her feet over the side and sat up.

Papyrus stared, still holding onto the door handle. Even though it was large, his sweater fell right below her knees. Her arms were engulfed in fabric, which she kept pushing back every few seconds. The collar hung a little loose on her neck showing some of her chest. She looked like she was positively swimming in his shirt.

And he loved it~

His hand twitched with the urge to reach out and smooth her damp and wild hair.

“Papyrus?”

He pulled himself out of his trance and looked her in the eyes. It was then he realized he had been staring for an awkwardly long time. He felt his face turning red.

“I- CAME TO CHECK IF YOU NEEDED ANYTHING BEFORE I WENT TO BED.”

She stared at him for a moment, seemingly weighing out something in her mind.

“...Am I sleeping in here?”

Papyrus was confused by the question. Why was she asking him when it was obvious?

“YES. I DOUBT YOU WOULD WANT TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH AFTER THAT INCIDENT WITH MY COUSIN.”

She nodded in agreement. He was still confused by the nature of her question.

“Where are you going to sleep?”

He watched her silently. Why was she asking so many questions all of a sudden?

“MOST LIKELY ON THE COUCH. DO NOT WORRY, I WILL BE FINE.”

She nodded again, she his time looking a bit...forlorn. Papyrus sighed and turned to leave.

“GOOD NIGHT HUMAN.”

“W-wait!”

He paused and turned back to look at her. She was fidgeting and wouldn’t look at him.

“You-....You could stay in here.”

The tall skeleton’s eye ridge went up.

“I-I mean there’s another bed here so...you don’t have to sleep on the couch.”

Papyrus was silent. He watched as she fidgeted with the edge of the sweater. He saw red creeping into her cheeks. She was asking him to stay? He felt his soul leap, but his outward appearance didn’t falter.

“WHY?”

The girl looked up at him. The sweater in her hand was scrunched up in her nervous hands, showing just a bit more of her legs. Papyrus could feel something building up in him he had not felt before.

A need...a hunger~

“I-“ the girl looked down at the bunched up sweater again. She tried to talk again but couldn’t.

She was so cute~

“I don’t want to be alone again.”

Her voice finally came out in a embarrassed and terrified whisper. So that was it. She was afraid; afraid something might happen again. Afraid someone might try to come in again.

“HUMAN, WILL ME BEING HERE MAKE YOU FEEL SAFER?”

She sighed. He could see the weight of the entire day come down on her in that sigh. She was exhausted and though calmer, she was still terrified.

She nodded.

He felt his soul skip a beat. The cute human wanted him to stay with her? He wondered what she would look like; asleep in his bed-so small compared to everything on it.

Outwardly, the tall skeleton crossed his arms.

“I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE WISE FOR ME TO MAKE SURE NO ONE ELSE TRYS ANYTHING DURING THE NIGHT. VERY WELL I ACCEPT YOUR OFFER. I WILL TAKE THE TOP BUNK, SINCE YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY ALREADY SETTLED ON THE BOTTOM.”

Truthfully, he wanted a birds eye view of her while she slept.

The girl nodded and laid back down; bedding herself down underneath the blankets.

He turned on the lamp on the bedside table, then turn out the lights.

She watched as he made his way over to his drawers and began to loosen his tie. Once it was off he carefully folded it and placed it back in its spot in the drawer. Then he stalked back over to the bunk bed and stared down at the human. She looked back up at him, this time not averting her gaze.

“GOOD NIGHT.”

“Good night.” She whispered back.

With a grunt of approval, Papyrus climbed the ladder to the top bunk and settled down.

“...Papyrus?”

Her voice was small but strong.

“YES?”

“Thanks.”

“...YOU’RE WELCOME.”

.........

@turtleskele

Thanks aka-indulgence for your help with this chapter and answering my midnight questions lol! Also for the suggestion to post on my AO3. I think I’ll do that soon, of course I’ll give you the credit for my inspiration :). My AO3 is Tismyname.

-----------

AKA-Indulgence talking here, awww, she has someone to keep her company ;U; Baby needs some comfort...

I’ll be waiting to see you post! Thanks for sharing this :>

[pollyssecretlibrary]

My Tumblr Crushes:

romancingthebookworm

diehard-fangirl

notsomolly

mariaslozak

thebooklrandtheduke

wait-a-minute-lassie

all-the-kissing-books

bloomingromance

cramzydays

On wednesdays I spread the love... and recommend tumblrblogs. These are beyond amazing, trust me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

You can recommend blogs to me too, if you feel like it 😊😊😊

Also, if you want me to stop doing this (I can be a pain in the a**, I know). Just let me know 😊

[tisabsolutelyfujoshi]

sketch

lineart and color scheme

some more coloring

[spiritual-sacred]

Fanart of Discord OC's

A comic in working progress in the makings of becoming a fun story! 🤗

[kidolshq]

© Blooming Romance — don’t crop logo or edit.

[prettyladiesprettybabies]

That time I was a crazy bag lady at the pink lady get together, and I won an extra bag, lol. #pinkladygettogether #plgt #pinkladyproblems #baglady #bagoftheday #florals #jujube #jujube_intl #enfantstyle #montrealmom #tokidoki #tula #seapunk #dss #donutellasweetshop #rosyposy #bloomingromance #blindbox #jjbbeclassy #jjbstmamas #kawaii #mommyootd #momootd #imisssummeralready

[ardentaislinn]

Tag game

Tagged by @swallowedsong to answer some book questions literally a million years ago, so let’s do it! I’m mostly going to be talking ebooks, because then Goodreads can help me. All my physical books are in storage.

Which book has been on your shelves the longest? Apparently it’s The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simmons

What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next? Current read is Stealing Mr Right by Tamara Morgan in ebook, and in audio it’s The Dollmaker by Mary Burton

Which book does everyone like and you hated? Oh, so much. The one that gives me twitches is Magic Slays and Magic Rises by Illona Andrews. People rave about that series, but I thought it utterly stripped the heroine of her agency in Slays and then stomped on her in Rises and it was gross. I don’t get why people still like it after that.

Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t? Oh, a lot. I’ll never get through my TBR pile as it is! But maybe something like Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha? I’m not into menage stuff and it seems like that’s a lot of that series. But loads of people love it so idk.

Which books are you saving for “retirement?” Probably some of the big classics. I have David Copperfield in audio and it’s 36 hours long. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Last page: read it first or wait till the end? I skip to the end if it’s a non-romance. But since I usually read romance, I trust the process and know it’ll be a happy ending. (So don’t mess with that by having an unhappy ending, or I’ll destroy you!)

Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside? I don’t read them and I don’t tend to write them. I ran out of people I wanted to dedicate books to! Hahaha.

Which book character would you switch places with? Nah, I’m pretty happy where I am. Though I’d love to be in Meljean Brooks’ Iron Seas books for a day. It’s a cool world.

Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)? I read Daughter of the Forest when I travelled to London to visit my dad when I was 12, and I always think of that time when I think about the book.

Name a book you acquired in some interesting way. Oh no, physical books. My poor memory. Um, I have a lot of non-fiction (and fiction, honestly) that I got from the secondhand bookstore I used to work at. I loved that job. Unfortunately, my former boss passed away a few months ago, and so I miss him a lot. Those books mean even more to me, now.

Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person? I’ve given books to friends if I think they’d like the book more than I did. I don’t often give away books, though. Particularly not now when I can’t even really access them!

Which book has been with you to the most places? Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahearn has been to Qatar and back, as well as France, Italy, and Spain as an emergency backup in case my ereader died. (I still haven’t read it)

Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later? I probably hate the required readings more now than I did then, mostly because I’m sick of boring white dudes, tbh.

What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book? Not an item, but there were adorable cat paw prints in a book we sold at the bookstore.

Used or brand new? Used. Who can afford $25 per book? But mostly I buy ebooks (on sale) which helps.

Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses? Never read him, but he’s probably good. I like genre fiction and won’t denigrate someone because they are popular. He got that way for a reason.

Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book? PRACTICAL MAGIC. I love that movie as being about sisterhood and feminism and had an adorable love interest. The book is gross and chock full of internalised misogyny. The love interest literally thinks “I wish I could rape her” about the heroine. Like WTF??? And the little girls get threatened with rape more than once, and then keep it to themselves out of shame??? I get angry every time I think about it.

Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid? Eh, I’m not a purist. Different mediums. Some films are more successful than others, but I don’t think that means they shouldn’t have been made.

Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question? Yeah, some have. Delicious by Sherry Thomas comes to mind

Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who is my book twin, but I’ll trust most people in romancelandia to give me honest answers and reviews, which is great.

I tag: @romancingthebookworm ,  @unbreakablejemmasimmons ,  @whisperofgrace  , @bloomingromance , @librarianlirael , @believingfairytales , @lucyreadsromance , @respectingromance , @ramblingromance but only if you want to do it!

[mfred]

Hi!! I'm relatively new to tumblr and have been trying to incorporate more books into my multi-fandom blog. But I seem to have fallen into three categories: YA Fantasy, Historical Romance, or just those who like to take pretty pictures of their books, which are pretty but I'm looking for MORE...I want to read reviews, funny memes, and just talk about the book world. I read primarily romance, mostly contemporary, dark romance, erotica, Rom Com, etc. Do you have some fav blogs? Thank you!

Um oh margh gawd. I don’t even know where to begin, recommending romance blogs. The tumblr romance community has blossomed the past few months! I’ve been on tumblr over 5 years cough cough close to ten cough and I finally feel like I’ve found a little piece of home.

I will say, most of tumblr romancelandia is into historical romance. So if you start talking contemporary, dark romance, paranormal etc., I am here for that. Let’s start our own club!

Anyway, here are some of the romance bloggers I follow– if I forgot someone its because I’m drinking vodka right now. My deepest apologies. 

Also, you– hey you– if you are a romance tumblr you should reblob and tag yourself!!!

@romancingthebookworm

@thecrankyagnes

@romancetherapy

@romancepodden – fun memes

@respectingromance

@bloomingromance

@wocinromance

@all-the-kissing-books

@ameliafeministpeabody

@mariaslozak

@clearlyromance

@pollyssecretlibrary

@romancypants

@diehard-fangirl

@maradanewrites

@angelacolsin

@rivetedbyromance

[romancetherapy]

Reading @bloomingromance review about Day of the Duchess and Secrets of a Summer Night had me thinking. I've also been reading through Sarah MacLean's books as well as trying to pick up the Desperate Duchesses series (I'm trying, but the chess is a little intimidating). Some series with rave reviews are 10 or 12 books long, and even if it's written by a really good writer, I don't know if I have that kind of commitment in me. I'm noticing in my older age as I have less time to read that I'm not as obsessed as I used to be in completing a series, much less an authour's entire catalogue.

[pollyssecretlibrary]

My Tumblr Crushes:

romancingthebookworm

romancypants

jmrichards

seashells-and-bookshelves

notsomolly

thebooklrandtheduke

msfehrwight

bloomingromance

diehard-fangirl

If anyone asks me for tumblrs to follow...

[spiritual-sacred]

Fanart of Discord OC's

Fire Emblem and Halo

Though it's not the finest of work or completely similar to the character's, I have fun testing myself and returning to my roots of drawing.

[kidolshq]

© Blooming Romance — don’t crop logo or edit.

[spiritual-sacred]

Fanart of Discord OC's

Fire Emblem and Halo

[kidolshq]

© Blooming Romance — don’t crop logo or edit.

[kidolshq]

© Blooming Romance — don’t crop logo or edit.