#got like 4 pages partly done

[writersblog20]

Nobody else but you

Pedro Pascal x reader

Credit to gif maker!

Summary: Your friendship with Pedro gets tested when you watched the last of us together. It was already hard to contain your crush for Joel but for Pedro felt like an impossible task. But maybe you were on the same page all along.

Warnings: FLUFF, SPOILERS for episode 3 of TLOU! Bit of anxiety if you squint, mention of daddy issues (shocker), very heated kiss but no smut

Words: 4,2K

Nobody else but you

You came home late at night from a very tough day and you couldn’t wait to be cuddled up in Pedro’s arms and sleep. You and Pedro were very good friends although you couldn’t say that you and Pedro had a normal friendship. You cuddled together, sought comfort in one another etc. I mean it never got any further than cuddles and falling asleep together. So it wasn’t new that either you or Pedro would crawl in your or his bed. Today was no different. You stayed over at Pedro’s house for a while because of work and he offered that you would stay with him and you had no problem with that at all. Besides, you both got closer to each other since you stayed there.

You grumbled when you softly opened the door and placed your bags on the table. The lights were already out so you figured that Pedro was already asleep. I mean it was 4 AM…. You were partly a concert photographer so you had a drum and bass show, those were always tough, knowing that there was a very big chance that you would be done around 8 in the morning so you were happy that you got home ‘early’.

That’s also how you met Pedro, you had to photograph him multiple times and after that you both just continued to walk into each other. So when you found yourself at a party where he was, you both talked for the entire evening and the rest is history.

You tip toed to the bathroom and took a warm shower, did your skincare and took a shirt from Pedro, putting it on you and tip toed to Pedro’s room. You slowly opened the door, trying to be as silent as you could and carefully walked over to the bed. He laid on his side towards you. You opened the covers and pulled his arm up so you could cuddle with him.

You heard a low grumble, letting you know that Pedro slowly woke up. You laid with your back to him and pulled his arm over your body.  Before you could get completely comfortable, Pedro already placed his arm tightly around your waist and pulled you against his chest as the little spoon. “You’re home early.” He mumbled into your ear while his nose nuzzled into your freshly cleaned hair. “I know, I’m exhausted.” Pedro mumbled and pulled you closer to his chest in response while tucking your head underneath his chin. You closed your eyes and focused on Pedro’s breathing as it slowly lulled you in a deep sleep, which wasn’t hard when you felt on the safest place on earth.

~time skip~

You woke up by the sunlight that peeked through the curtains. You felt a pounding headache coming up as you sat up on Pedro’s bed. Your head felt heavy and you let yourself fall back on the bed, letting out a loud groan from annoyance that you woke up while you were still extremely tired until you smelled something from the kitchen. Now that you fully started to wake up, you heard soft music coming from downstairs. You smiled to yourself, knowing that Pedro made you breakfast. You felt the butterflies going through your body and all of a sudden you didn’t mind waking up.

Yeah you were in love with the older man, I mean who wouldn’t be right? He was the sweetest, most caring person you’ve ever met. He was a goofball but when you needed comfort he could give that too. Pedro was so precious that you would defend him until the end of your life. Besides, let’s not forget how excruciatingly handsome he is.

You sat at the edge of the bed, goosebumps covering your body from the cold. You looked around and saw Pedro’s sweater laying besides you with a sweatpants underneath of Pedro. He had laid it out for you. You smiled to yourself and grabbed the comfortable clothes. The hoodie still smelled like Pedro and you couldn’t resist to bury your nose in it once you put it on your body. You were excited to see Pedro so you quickly put the sweats on and freshened up before walking downstairs.

You saw Pedro in the kitchen, dancing a bit to a song that was playing in the kitchen as he flopped the pancake over. There was already an entire plate filled with pancakes. You smiled to yourself and from the cuteness. Pedro turned around for the coffee and saw you standing there with a smile which he duplicated as soon as he saw you.

“Hey! Good morning sweetheart.” He told you with a big grin on his face and walked over to you to give you a hug. His face was buried in your neck and you could feel his hot breath on your skin. You tightened your arms around him. He kissed the top of your head before stepping out of the hug to go check on the pancake. “Did you sleep well?” he asked you with a soft tone in his voice. “Yeah, just short. I still feel completely exhausted and my muscles ache.” You chuckled as it was no surprise. The whole entire night running around to get the best picture was sometimes a lot. Especially with drum and bass party’s.

Pedro gave you a soft look while he put the last pancake on the plate. You walked up besides him to get yourself and Pedro another coffee. “What about you? Did you sleep well?” you asked him. “After you got home safe, yes.” You smiled flustered to yourself and your heart fluttered up by the small but still big gesture for you.

You both sat down and ate the pancakes while you told him about your evening. Your work was almost never boring and it brought some great stories with it. After breakfast, Pedro went to the store to get some grocery’s while you opened your laptop and started going through all the pictures of the night and started editing them.

Only when Pedro came home with all the groceries, did you stop for a second and helped him placing everything away. You saw that Pedro got a lot of snacks and your favorite drinks making you smile to yourself. At this point Pedro didn’t have to do much for your heart to fill itself up with love. “Hey, the new episode of The last of us is out tonight…. Want to watch it together? I’m really curious what you think of it.” You looked up at him “Fine, but you guys better don’t break my heart this episode.” You pointed towards him.

You LOVED the Last of us. Especially Pedro’s character Joel. You didn’t want Pedro to notice your ongoing crush on his character but first of all, the daddy issues that you have are certainly not working in your favor with this goddamn show and second, the salt and pepper hair….. god that did things to you that are better left unsaid.

Pedro smiled but didn’t say anything about it. “So we’ll watch it together?” Pedro asked hopeful. You wondered what was going to happen this episode because you knew Pedro didn’t really enjoy watching himself on screen. “Yeah, we’ll watch it together.” You smiled and got back behind your computer. Pedro’s smile went big, knowing that you agreed to watching the heartbreaking episode with him.

~time skip~

You had no idea how long you’ve been behind your computer editing the pics but when you looked outside, it was already dark out. Pedro was making dinner and poured a glass of wine in for the both of you and made his way towards you while he had to wait for dinner. Pedro softly patted your shoulder and without looking away from your computer you stood up so Pedro could sit down on your chair. When he did, he placed his hands carefully on your waist as a hint that you could sit down again.

You sat on his lap while Pedro rested his head on your shoulder looking at your skills with the editing. You tried to concentrate but sitting currently on the lap of the man you’re in love with wasn’t helping your case whatsoever. “God you’re really talented. I mean, I already know that but you surprise me every time.” You smiled at the compliment. You had only 5 pictures left to edit before you could send it. You quickly edited them while Pedro held you close, his arms wrapped around your waist, head still resting on your shoulder and at this point, you only wanted to cuddle up with Pedro.

When the timer in the kitchen went off, you stood up again. Pedro reluctantly let go off you and stood up before he kissed your cheek. “Dinner is almost ready, mi corazon.” He told you and you felt your cheeks heat up at the kiss he planted there. You were done and had send it to your client and closed the laptop, helping Pedro with the table.

You chatted a bit through the delicious dinner and finished your wine. “Thank you so much for cooking tonight. It was absolutely delicious!” you told him as your plate was now empty. Pedro smiled at you “My pleasure sweetheart, I know you’re exhausted and tired.” You nodded. An night like that drained your energy for at least 2 days after the event and Pedro knew that. One time, he went to a concert with friends were you worked and he saw how hard you were working and running around, sitting or laying down in the weirdest positions just to capture that one pic. Pedro was dead beat after that night and he didn’t even needed to work so he could imagine how much energy it took from you.

You helped Pedro with the dishes as you danced to the music in the background and laughing a lot together before you both plopped on the couch for the episode. You rested against Pedro’s side, his arm around your shoulder and you let your head rest on his chest.

You were met with the characters Bill and Frank and you became attached to them in no time. “They better live a happy life and nothing bad is going to happen to them….” You remarked and gave Pedro a side eye, knowing  that there probably something bad going to happen. Pedro just kissed the top of your head and you concentrated back on the tv. When the scene came up where Joel and Tess met Bill and Frank, you couldn’t help but smile. Pedro could you feel smile against his chest and looked at you and the way you smiled softly at the screen made his heart flutter and he couldn’t hide the smile that was creeping up on his face.

Your smile fell when Joel warned Bill about the gates, knowing this was going to get into play soon and of course you were right. You finally came at the scene where people tried to get through the gates and where Bill got shot. Your eyes filled itself with tears and you sniffled, making Pedro look worried at you. Pedro placed both of his arms around you and nuzzled his face into your hair. “It’s not fair.” You murmured through tears when you thought this was the end for Bill.

But when the scene came up where Frank was in the wheelchair and Bill stepped out, you stopped crying and your mouth open in surprise. “Did they just bamboozle me?” you were in shock and Pedro chuckled. You felt tears slip again when the painting scene was coming up and obviously the end….

You started to cry your eyes out and Pedro sat up completely. He chuckled softly but pulled you in a hug. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry sweetheart, I’m sorry.” He told you apologetic while kissing the side of your head multiple times. “They deserved the world. I’m happy that they had a good life together for an apocalyptic world and stuff and that they died happy together but it’s not fair.” You cried out. Pedro smiled sadly at how much you were invested in the character and how sensitive you could be. Some people didn’t liked that but Pedro made sure that you felt safe enough to open up to him and show your sensitive side. That meant that you trusted him and in all fairness, he absolutely loved and adored your sensitive side.

Pedro comforted you through it but you stopped crying when Joel and Ellie appeared again. Every time Joel came on screen he could feel you smile against his chest, making him look at you with a smile. He started figuring out that you REALLY like Joel. You smiled at the car scene where Joel put the seatbelt on Ellie and you couldn’t hide your grin because you were so caught up in the episode. Pedro raised his eyebrow and smiled from amusement. You sniffled when the episode ended and you stood up, wiping the tears away as you made your way to the kitchen “My god what an episode.” You said quietly, still not over Bill and Frank.

Pedro followed you, feeling a bit worried. You made some tea and you felt Pedro behind you, his hands rubbing up and down on your arms and his head resting on your shoulder again. “I’m sorry.” He told you, making you turn around. “You owe me!” you pointed playfully with your finger, poking his chest. “Yes, yes I do. I do owe you. I’ll make you all the pancakes in the world.” He told you, referring to Joel, making you cry again. “That’s not fair Pascal.” You told him, making him chuckle and pulled you in a hug. “I’m sorry baby” he chuckled but adored it.

"Do you like Joel?” you looked shocked at the sudden question as Pedro looked at you with amusement. You quickly turned around to make the tea. "Uhh why you as?"

“I could feel and see you smile every time he was on screen.” Pedro teased you a bit.

Yeah you had a crush on Joel but that was because Pedro was playing Joel. And of course the caring dad nature of Joel but still. You shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Maybe I do have a crush on Joel.” You tried to act calm and collected. “A crush even?” Pedro teased you even further with a huge smirk on his face. You felt the heat creeping up and smiled shyly but tried to keep your cool. But obviously Pedro got really excited to hear that you had a crush on his character and asked further like an excited child. “So, what is it that you like about Joel?” Pedro asked you with a big smile and big eyes, his attention fully on you while he couldn’t stand still from excitement.

You chuckled at Pedro but felt your cheeks heat up now that you realized that you had to answer his question. You shrugged “I don’t know, I guess his way of acting maybe? Ya know the caring side and stuff.” You tried to shrug Pedro off. “Awww come on, tell me! I want to know!” Pedro held strong with still a bright smile, knowing that you tried to ditch the question.

You couldn’t look at him while you were debating if you should tell him or not. You kept quite for a moment so Pedro peeked his head besides yours from curiosity. “My god, P” you chuckled at his antics. “Please? It means so much to me hearing that from you!” you smiled softly. You knew Pedro really held your opinion high. “Like what everyone says on the internet P.” you told him, hoping that it would click inside of his head but the moment you looked at him you saw him digging in his memory.

“Well most say that they really like that I’m playing Joel and well you know, the dad of the internet.” He said the last sentence with a proud grin, making you chuckle and shake your head at his innocence and confused state. You walked up to Pedro and placed your hand on his cheek. “You’re too precious, Pedro. ” you told him with a soft smile while Pedro looked at you surprised, his brown eyes big as they met yours. You rubbed your thumb softly on his cheek before walking back to the couch. You could almost swear that Pedro was blushing and it made your stomach flutter by the thought of you letting Pedro Pascal blush without trying.

Pedro was surprised and stood still in the kitchen. His cheek was warm where you had placed your hand. He softly looked down at the floor as he touched his cheek where your hand was. Pedro always had a feeling that you had a crush on him and he knew what the internet said but he wanted to hear the words from your mouth. He wanted to hear you say that you had a crush on him and not on his character. He had a crush on you and he wanted more than your friendship. It started to weigh on his shoulder. Pedro walked back into the livingroom where you were chilling on the couch.

“Can I ask you something princesa?” Pedro asked when he sat down next to you. You hummed a little in response that he could. “Do you have a crush on me?” Pedro simply and directly asked you, taking you by surprise. You almost chocked on your drink and your heart started beating so extremely fast that you thought that it was trying to run out of your body.

You didn’t dare to look at Pedro right now while you started to get extremely nervous. “Ehhh, why you ask?” you chuckled uncomfortable. Pedro took your hand in his and started playing with your fingers. “Do you?” he asked again. You had no idea what to say and got so caught up in your head that you forgot that you stayed silent for a long time. “Because I do.” He told you in a whisper but loud enough to get you out of your thoughts , snapping your head towards Pedro. He was already looking at you and once your eyes met his, your features softened just like his. “What?” you whispered, not believing that you heard that correct.

“I have a pretty big crush on you.” Pedro told you but looked down to his hand that was playing nervously with yours. You placed your other hand on his cheek, making him look a little surprise at you. “Are you serious right now?” you knew he was but still. He nodded and you felt a warm feeling take over your body and you went with your hand through his messy hair. Pedro closed his eyes at the comforting feeling. “I do. I do too have a pretty big crush on you. although I don’t think I can call it a crush anymore….” You confessed. Pedro’s eyes shot open and a smile appeared on his face.

“You do?” he asked a little excited, making you chuckle. “Yeah I do.” You both started to giggle while Pedro placed his forehead against yours. His messy hair tickling your forehead. You went with your hand softly over his cheek, feeling his stubbles underneath your hand. Pedro placed his hand on your cheek as well “Can I kiss you?” he asked you, making you smile like a highschooler again and nodded. “shut up and kiss me.” Pedro’s smile got brighter and softly placed his lips on yours. You both enjoyed the close contact before Pedro started to kiss you deeper and sensual. He tried to show all his love through that kiss and got did it flutter your heart.

You moved yourself and sat on his lap. Pedro’s hand went from the back of your neck to your hips giving it a light squeeze. You placed your hand back on his cheek and the other disappeared in his hair. You could feel his tongue against yours and your stomach released all the butterflies that were stuck in the cage. You subconsciously grinded yourself on him and Pedro moaned in the kiss, spreading heat to completely somewhere else as the kiss turned more heated. His fingers dug into your hips, helping you grind down on him. Pedro turned around with you still in his lap and laid you down on the couch. You both got out of the kiss, out of breath and stared at each other while Pedro hang above you, his hand still resting on your side. He looked down at your body and back to you with a smirk, making you feel flustered. His hand moved from your side to your cheek, his thumb softly rubbing your skin. You felt all giddy with the adorable look that he had on his face right now and started giggling shyly again, making him chuckle as well and placed his lips back on yours.

You put your legs around his body and Pedro carefully put his body on yours, holding himself up by his elbow. The kiss was more sensual and passionate right now. Pedro got out of the kiss after a while and pressed a kiss to your nose and to your forehead. His arms got underneath your body and he sat up, you clinging to his body.

You were chest to chest again. “Can you hold me please?” you asked him softly. “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do sweetheart.” He told you, placing a kiss on your cheek and placed his arms tightly around you, pulling you as close to his chest as he could. You wrapped your arms around Pedro and hid your face in his neck, giving him goosebumps over his entire body. He softly rubbed your back and let you hug him for as long as you needed to.

You softly placed kisses on Pedro’s neck, giving him more goosebumps and his breath was shaky. You got out of the hug and looked at each other before giving another passionate kiss.  “So I guess I’m sleeping next to you again tonight?” you asked, making Pedro chuckle. “When don’t we sleep together?” he asked you jokingly, making you laugh and Pedro just looked mesmerized at you, proud that he could make you laugh. “So… I want to take you out on a real date.” Pedro told you. You couldn’t hide the smile from your face and nodded. “Yeah, I would really like that.” Pedro smiled even brighter.

You yawned slightly, making Pedro giggle. “Yeah let’s go to bed mama, you still need rest.” he told you and kissed your forehead. You got off of Pedro’s lap and helped him up, reaching out your hand for him to take. You wanted to turn away towards the stairs but Pedro still held your hand and pulled you carefully back to his chest. You started to feel very shy and giddy. Pedro placed a finger underneath your chin and kissed you again.

Once he broke from the kiss, you started to giggle again. “Sorry I already know that I’ll never get enough from you.” Pedro smiled and wiggled his eyebrows, making you giggle again at his flirting and softly swapped his chest, walking away from him. Pedro chuckled and while he put out every light, he still had a permanent smile on his face.

You got freshened up, got rid of the comfy clothes and put on Pedro’s shirt again before laying down in bed, waiting for Pedro to join you and of course the man didn’t take very long before he entered into the bedroom. He smiled as soon as he saw you. “Hiya mama.” He said with a smirk, making you giggle. He crawled on top of the covers, towards you. You felt your entire face heat up and your smile so bright. Everything this man did now towards you made you shy as hell. You weren’t used to this anymore for a very long time. Hell nobody had even treated you like the way Pedro did.

Pedro sat on top of you, his legs on either side of your body as he held his own up by his hands. He came closer to your face, kissing you passionately again. Your hands found his hair and Pedro got out of the kiss. “I really like it when you play with my hair.” He told you, his minty breath against your face as you smiled out. “I really like your hair.” You told him, softly combing it with your fingers. Pedro smiled at you “You know, I can be Joel if you want me to.” Pedro playfully said but you shook your head. “I don’t want Joel, P. I want you and no one else.” Pedro’s eyes softened and looked like he could cry from happiness while he attacked your face with kisses, making you giggle. He was on the edge of telling you that he loved you with his entire heart but he didn’t want to scare you off. He wanted to give you all the time in the world and letting you set the pace.

He gave you one last goodnight kiss for the day and got underneath the covers next to you. You both laid face to face and stared for a while in each other’s eyes. You scooped yourself closer to him. You rested your head against his chest while his arms were around you. Pedro placed multiple kisses on your head before saying: “Goodnight, mi amor.” You smiled against his chest and he could feel it like before so he pressed a kiss on your head again in response. “Goodnight, handsome.” You told him with all the courage you had. You heard and felt him chuckling. You shrugged “You are.” You told him simply but the man besides you was blushing like crazy.

“Me? Have you seen yourself? You are drop dead gorgeous" He told you, making you both smile. You looked up at him and he was already looking at you with a cute smile. You softly kissed him and got back to your warm and comforting place: Pedro’s arms. You both closed your eyes, happy that finally  the secret was out. The air was lighter around you and a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders. You were so happy and content with exactly where you were and that was right here besides Pedro.

#Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro pascal fluff #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal is daddy #pedro pascal x ofc #pedro pascal one shot #pedro pascal oneshot #pedro pascal imagines #pedro pascal fic

[vanessaroades-author]

Let’s look at what happened from June 13th to July 13th. (ARCs, Preorders, Sales, Marketing!)

Note: I’m not talking about costs here and likely won’t ever. However, my author buddy JAL Solski has an awesome write-up on the costs, tax considerations, all sorts of numbers, of publishing their sapphic fantasy duology! I’m also very fond of Ros’s write-up on expectations and goals related to post-publication.

Before you start–some disclaimers on my experience

First, expect very little! These numbers will not impress you and honestly there’s a part of me that’s pretty embarrassed, like I'm advertising that I'm a big dummy who can't write. But all in the name of honesty & transparency!

Something I hear a lot from other new authors is, “Am I doing pretty good? Am I doing really badly? I don’t know.” Well, here’s another batch of numbers to consider!

Deep Roots is currently only available as an eBook & through Kindle Unlimited.

I’m not writing anything trendy. By a long shot. I can throw “queer fantasy” on it but that’s kinda the most I got. (When’s the last time you saw a runaway indie hit that didn’t have a ton of romance?)

I’m not popular on social media (260 IG followers with on average <10% engagement and <200 TikTok followers).

I have so many friends in my corner. Someone should stop you at the gate to the Indie Publishing Amusement Park of Hell and tell you, “Listen, if you want any hope of staying sane, make author friends.” Besides helping you navigate tech questions or giving second opinions on your cover, and, you know, understanding and empathizing with you, your friends will be the ones who comment on your posts, repost them, tell their friends, add you in their newsletter, read, and review. That can mean sales…but that also means having people lift you up and celebrate with you.

Advance Reader Copies

I began posting about ARC sign-ups April 4th, sent the first round of eBooks ~May 5th, and closed applications on June 2nd.

I didn’t use a service like Booksprout or Booksirens, just plain old BookFunnel and email (therefore my reach was entirely reliant on my social media efforts). I was most talkative about it on Instagram. I only posted like once or twice on Tumblr and TikTok, but they went really well for my standards.

Sign-Ups: 51

Reviews/Ratings:

By publication day I had 4 ratings/reviews on Goodreads, 1 on Amazon, and 1 on StoryGraph.

After 31 days I had 6 reviews and 10 ratings on Goodreads. 1 extra rating on StoryGraph; Amazon stayed the same.

Note: I was really lax with my ARC team about when reviews should be sent in. I was clear that I didn’t care if they were pre-publication (partly because well…I read ARCs a lot and I know I can’t always get to things on time, and partly because I didn’t decide a publication day until fairly late in the timeline).

However, from what I’ve seen for other authors, a pretty low return on ARC readers isn’t entirely uncommon? Kind of a kick in the confidence regardless.

Preorders

Total of 7. I don’t remember when I opened preorders, but I believe it was around the same time as the ARC application.

Marketing (sort of) from June 13th to July 13th

I ran a small (kinda last-minute) campaign for extra merch & an extra story for anyone who preordered or purchased during release week. I said that I would re-run this campaign for paperbacks.

These are my Tired Girl numbers:

Instagram: 5 posts specifically about DR. 2 non-DR related.

TikTok: 7 videos specifically about DR, most getting ~300 views, though one broke 1k. (Notably, I didn’t post about the release week extras on TikTok at all.). 2 non-DR related.

Tumblr: One post I would send spinning around the block every once in a while. Definitely lowest priority.

Release Week Sales

eBook: 3

KU: 15 pages read

Release Month Sales

eBook: 4

KU: 594 pages read

Future Plans

*Releases one giant sigh* I’M FREEEEEE

Once the book is written and done, cover made and words edited, there’s only one thing left in your control: marketing. Everything else is up to chance (honestly, marketing is up to chance a lot of the time, too).

But I pretty quickly decided to take it easy on social media. A wave of burn-out that had been chasing me since last summer finally caught up, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that when I saw like no return on investment for my posts or chatter, I was like, “Okay, I’m going to rest, instead of pushing this boulder up this hill, then. I deserve it.”

One plus of having paperbacks come out way after the eBooks? I get release day Part 2! (With fun new props for pics and videos!) I have a good list of video ideas & drafts, but I would always look at them and think, “Wouldn’t this be better to do when the paperbacks are around?” And soon, they will be!

As for blog posts, I want to continue being transparent with things like this. I will (hopefully) catch up on the numbers again near the end of August, as by then I’ll be making the decision to keep Deep Roots in KU for another three months or not.

Until then, lower your expectations! It’ll keep you sane out here. Thanks for reading and hanging out.

#vanessa.txt #writeblr community #writeblr #indie publishing #indie books #self publishing #self publication #book sales #this is allowed to be reblogged

[aphrodisiac-siren]

Innocence- Aemond X OC

Summary: War is an ugly thing; Something that is common knowledge to all and yet something people resort to anyway when conflicts arise. It was not something Eirlys Velaryon wanted though, nor what Aemond Targaryen wanted as well. It was a war they were dragged into, and suffering they had to endure for crimes they were innocent of.

Warnings: Mild Smut (masturbation) 18+ Minors DNI

Masterlist

Part 4

Aemond was left to himself after he was done training with the sword. Since Eirlys didn't wish to speak to him, partly for which he was to be blamed, he didn't know what to do with the spare time and decided to retire to his quarters for the remainder of the afternoon.

He read a few of his books, skimming through most of the pages without so much as even paying attention to any of the words.

There was something bothering him, and he couldn't quiet put his finger on it, like some mild ache in his chest, something that made him anxious and at the same time made his blood rush.

He momentarily thought of Eirlys pressed close against him, her sweet gentle eyes gazing up at him and she went on her toes to lean up and kiss-

Stop he slammed shut the book, disappointed in himself for thinking of her in that way.

He sighed as he furiously reached up to pry his eye patch off before running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm going mad" he grunted, softly shaking his head.

His mind decided to torment him some more, displaying a mental image of Eirlys straddling him with her head tilted backward with the pleasure of rubbing her core against his bulge.

Quick to give into his sinful thoughts, Aemond reached into his trousers to relieve himself.

He could already feel himself getting harder as he made a few slow strokes.

He quickly undid the chord of his pants, granting him easier access to his aching member, slowly getting wet with pre cum.

The prince moaned a soft hum as he envisioned Eirlys slowly taking him into her mouth while she got down on her knees for him, bending over to grant him a perfect view of her breasts that were put to display by the low neckline of her loose dress.

He tightened his fingers around him as droplets of precum pooled at the tip, indicating that his body was starting to respond to that need.

Droplets of white rolled down his member, spilling on to his fingers and knuckles as he pumped himself slower, desperately trying to envision how it might feel to slide inside Eirlys for the first time.

The thought of the princess riding him had begun to overwhelm him as he raised his hips from the seat of his chair to gently press his cock more into his hand, muttering profanities to himself.

There was no denying that his newfound desire and lust for Eirlys was starting to become dangerous since he had quiet obviously proven to himself that he very little hold over himself. He yearned in that moment to be buried deep inside her, pounding into her as she called out his name, breathless and senses dulled with the pleasure his cock would provide her with.

The prince quickened his strokes, shutting his eye and throwing his head back as he basked in the euphoric sensation. Lewd wet sounds echoed through the room, his vigorous strokes bringing him closer and closer to the edge.

"Eirlys" he whimpered, biting down on his bottom lip to prevent himself from moaning too loudly.

Aemond's hips buckled back into his chair, as he adjusted to the new pace he'd set while his hand did the work of showing his cock absolute bliss.

Aemond contemplated going to Eirlys' chambers, unsure if he would be able to keep this sinful desire at bay any longer, suddenly not caring much about defiling her.

He continued with a steady pace, further bringing him closer to the edge, still debating if he should visit her.

"Eirlys" he moaned again.

Aemond felt the familiar session of bliss wash over him as his hips stilled violently while he felt the warm liquid that shot up against his fingers and his stomach.

He rolled his head to the side, tried to calm his ragged breathing which watered down to shallow pants and he dropped his hand to the side.

Quickly sliding his trousers into place after he'd cleaned himself, he rose form his chair and hastily made his way to Eirlys' chambers.

He took long strides along the hallway and up the stairs, his impatience driving him insane.

He knocked on her door twice, tapping his foot in anticipation as he heard her shuffling across her room.

"Aemond" she curtly greeted as she swung open the door, looking as if she'd expected him to be here anyway "I hope you've left your sullenness back at the training field"

Eirlys' voice was firm, each word laced with authority and confidence yet her warm gaze betrayed the firmness of her tone.

She looked up at him hopefully, secretly wishing that he didn't come to find her just so he could prolong their argument about the night before.

Eirlys and Aemond rarely fought and even when they did, it took barely a few hours for them to make amends. And even as children, they'd made a promise to never sleep whilst being cross at each other, a promise that they'd both broken last night.

Eirlys was hoping they could put that whole mess behind them and carry on like how they normally would.

Yet unbeknownst to her, Aemond was a man changed after last night and he most certainly did not show up to simply assure her he'd forgotten about their conflict.

"Well" Aemond cleared his throat, suddenly not feeling as confident as he did only a few moments before the door swung open "I wish to apologise, it was contradictory of me to scold you"

A gentle smile made its way to Eirlys' lips as she reached forward to take his hand in hers.

"Come" she cheerfully pulled him into her chambers, bring rather quick in forgiving him "I was doing some more sewing while you trained"

"Is it something I'll have to decipher again?" Aemond smirked as he gently squeezed her hand, walking behind her "or will you surprise me this time with some genuinely decent work"

"You are the absolute worst" The princess muttered as she reached for the small handkerchief that was pale blue in colour "I made this for you, but one nasty word and I'll throw you into the fire"

Aemond looked at her amusingly before he gently took the little gift from her hand to examine it, as if he were some sort of expert at needlework.

In the corner of the handkerchief were three tiny little snowflakes, amidst which stood the letter 'A', all embroidered in a darker blue thread.

"I picked snowflakes because-"

"Eirlys means snowdrop" he smiled as he interrupted her little explanation "I know"

He continued to stare at it, finding it adorable that she'd thought of making something for him that held a reference to them.

"Do you like it?" She sweetly asked.

Aemond simply responded by leaning down and kissing her cheek, his unholy lust withering away for the time being.

~

"That's not what it means" Aemond laughed.

"I will slit your throat if I am to hear you laugh one more time" Eirlys warned.

The prince ceased his teasing.

The pair had decided to spend their morning together learning high valerian.

And while Aemond was pretty much fluent in the language, being able to hold full conversations; Eirlys was still trying her best at learning how to speak in valerian, following the customs of her house.

"Nyke kessa gūrogon ao naejot iā voktys" (I shall take you to a priest) Aemond read from one of his books "try this one"

"I wish to talk to a priest?" Eirlys tried to translate.

"Close" the prince sighed "you mistranslated it as 'talk' instead of 'take' princess"

"Iksā iā nāpāstre" the princess read before she paused for a moment to think "you are brave?"

"Brave is nēdenka" Aemond explained as he turned a few pages "nāpāstre means traitor"

"iksā isse gēlȳn" The princess tried again "you are beautiful"

"It's 'you are in debt'. Try another" Aemond corrected yet again.

"Skoro syt sia ao rȳ se līve lentor?" (Why were you at the whorehouse)

"I'm sorry-" Aemond glanced back into the book, skimming his eye over the words in-scripted "where is this one written..."

"It's not, it's a question I'm asking" Eirlys looked away from the book and toward the prince.

She had asked him a few times before, but he had always changed the subject, never quiet giving her an answer. Eirlys did think that he too went there out of curiosity, until he'd told her that wasn't his first time he'd visited.

"Now she speaks fluently" the young prince chuckled, still not providing her with an answer.

"You cannot keep avoiding this" Eirlys held his hand when she saw him turn the pages yet again to find another passage for her to read "I want to know"

"I was there for the same reason you were"

"But that wasn't your first time at the establishment" she recalled.

"It wasn't" he admitted "but I was only a boy when I was first taken to that pla-"

"So why did you find the need to go again?" She asked.

"I went simply to educate myself on what duties I am to perform as a husband" Aemond tried to sway his answer, doing his best to sound as vague and provide as little information as possible "once I had seen what it is I shall be expected to do-"

"So did you fuck a whore?" Eirlys asked, losing her patience as Aemond was using elaborate words to fill the gaps of his story he was leaving out.

"N-no" Aemond wanted to slap himself for stuttering "I was simply-"

"So you are still a virgin?" The princess interrupted, noticing how tense he grew next to her.

"Well I mean, it depends on-"

"It's either a yes or a no, Aemond" Eirlys sighed, hoping that he would say the former.

Yet Aemond responded with quiet the opposite of what she was expecting:

"No"

Eirlys' gaze quickly shifted from his fingers, nervously fidgeting with the spine of the book, to his face.

There was a sharp sensation she felt in her chest; something she hadn't experienced before. And in that moment she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was precisely.

Hatred?

Betrayal?

Jealousy?

"So you've bedded women" Eirlys cleared her throat and tried her best to conceal her disappointment. It wasn't uncommon for men to indulge in having sex with other women before marriage, in some cases even while being married.

Yet, Eirlys always thought Aemond would let her deflower him just the same way he would be the one to deflower her.

"Only once I swear" Aemond knew this wasn't going to help his case. He did not mention his first time at the whore house, since he'd never entered the woman at the time. He never counted it as his time bedding a woman but instead it was more of a traumatic night that he wished to forget "the reason being that I am man, and as a man it is my duty to be able to please my wife in bed"

"You say that and yet the woman you've pleased in bed was a whore, not your wife" Eirlys snapped, Aemond not understanding why this made her so upset "did it not occur to you that you could've learned together with your wi-"

"I am expected to be able to satisfy my wife in bed" Aemond argued "not have her first time be ruined by someone who has no knowledge of the act"

"Did your wife bestow you with these expectations?" Eirlys raised a brow.

"For fucks sake Eirlys! I did it so I may be able to please you!" Aemond stood up, frustrated and annoyed "so that you first time with a man would be pleasant and not a disappointment"

"Why did you never have this conversation with me if this was bothering you so much" Eirlys stood up from her chair as well as she took a step toward him "you decided to take council from a whore over your betrothed?"

"What was I supposed to even say? That I've been thinking of how I am to fuck you on your wedding night?" The prince turned to look at her "that is an improper conversation for a man to have with his betrothed"

"But you didn't find it improper to go and fuck-"

"Gods save me, why are you being so difficult about this?" The prince stepped closer, the frustration in his voice growing clearer "I simply did it to be well versed with what to do as your first!"

"And what about mewanting to be your first!"

Aemond once again looked down at her, his frustration slowly melting away when he saw her tender gaze looking up at him, seeming as if she were betrayed. There wasn't much space left in between them, something they both hadn't quiet noticed during the heat of their argument.

"What" he asked softly for the sole purpose of wanting to hear those words again.

"I wanted to be your first" she repeated, her gaze never leaving his, even as he stepped closer.

The princess could feel her heart pounding against her chest and she prayed it didn't show on her face how nervous she felt after admitting that.

"Eirlys" he gingerly slid an arm around her waist.

"Aemond" she breathed as her hands rested on his chest.

"I, I'm sorry" he cleared his throat as he momentarily tore his gaze away from her "I didn't know it meant this much to you. And I am aware that I've stolen from you your wish at being my first but honestly, I only did it so that I may be able to satisfy you in bed. I know I can't give you back that chance of being my first but when the time comes I do hope, you might still let me be your first"

Eirlys stayed silent, unsure of what to say. She was upset of course and she was crushed, perhaps even slightly jealous knowing that someone else had taken Aemond before her. And though she wasn't yet fully educated on the subject, she knew enough that made it clear it was an intimate act that takes place between man and woman.

Aemond took note of her silence but did not wish to let go, and by the was Eirlys did not move away from him, she too did not mind the close contact.

The prince gently caressed her cheek with his free hand, admiring her features and trying to avoid looking into her saddened gaze.

Seeing as how she didn't flinch away from his touch, Aemond unconsciously bent lower to capture her lips with his own, this time slowly and gently moulding his lips with hers as opposed to them just pecking as children.

This time he knew what to do and how to do it to show Eirlys what he wanted:

Her.

It was her his heart had begun to ache for and he made no effort in hiding it.

He felt her gently fist at his shirt as she went on her toes to better reach his lips. He held her firmly at her waist to grant her support while he cupped her cheek to kiss her one more time before pulling back.

He looked at her once again after their eyes fluttered open.

"That was better than the last time" Eirlys mentioned.

"I know" Aemond agreed as he broke into a gentle smile.

~

To say Eirlys was nervous to meet Aemond at breakfast would be the understatement of the century.

She couldn't believe how she'd lost control over herself and let him kiss her. It annoyed her, the fact that it made her heart race when he captured her lips with hers like she was the only one in the world who mattered.

Yet she wasn't fully okay with the fact that Aemond hadn't told her about him being at the whorehouse before, or that he'd bedded someone during his most recent visit. It made her question what other things he could have been hiding from her.

She wanted to hate him, but things like that don't just happen when the person you wish to resent is your closest friend, who also happens to be your betrothed since childhood.

As usual, Aemond was present in the dining hall, standing at the head of the table with his one hand behind his back and the other lazily resting on the backrest of his chair. Aemond always stood at the far end of the table and only took his seat after Eirlys arrived and he'd pulled her chair for the princess to be seated before him.

This time however, she walked over to the chair in between Helaena and Daeron; leaving a very confused looking Aemond still standing, with her usual chair that he'd pulled out for her.

He didn't know why she was upset this morning, especially since they'd kissed only yesterday.

He awkwardly pushed the chair back in and sat at his usual spot after Eirlys had sat down.

Alicent, along with the others too noticed the sudden reluctance in the young princess to be seated next to her betrothed.

"Is everything alright, dear child?" The queen asked, sensing the tension in the room.

"Of course, why do you ask" she sweetly replied, trying to sound as oblivious as possible.

"I think you've forgotten where you usually sit" Daeron mumbled, stuffing his mouth with toast as if he was afraid someone would steal it off his plate "Aemond seems upset"

"Shut up Daeron" Aemond quickly responded without looking up from his plate.

"Oh he's really upset" Aegon joined in, enjoying the opportunity presented to make fun of his little brother "look Eirlys, you're making him cry"

"Aegon, enough" Aemond warned.

"All she did was sit somewhere else at the table" Aegon continued anyway "why does that bother you so much that she's finally grown tired of y-"

"This is all your fault!" Aemond suddenly stood up while slamming at the table, causing everyone to silence at his outburst.

He didn't wait for his older brother to respond, knowing well enough that he would say something stupid and infuriate him further. He took long strides toward the door and walked out, not caring that he'd made quiet a scene in front of his family.

"Am I missing something?" Viserys asked clueless and confused as to why Aemond was so upset.

Aemond made his way straight to his chambers, constantly muttering insults in his head aimed at Aegon. He regretted listening to Aegon that night. If he hadn't given into his brother's stupid advice, Eirlys wouldn't be so distant and he sensed that this sudden rift in between them wouldn't mend so easily.

He reached into his pocket and held the handkerchief with the embroidery that Eirlys had decorated it with.

"Aegon, you cunt" he mumbled before he walked into his quarters and slammed shut the door.

Eirlys avoided any further eye contact at the table, now feeling responsible for the scene caused at breakfast. If she'd just sat at his side instead of making a big show about her being cross at him maybe they others wouldn't sense the tension brewing between them.

She excused herself a few moments before the others had finished their food, the silence in the room making it unbearable.

She decided to take a walk through the gardens, just to clear her mind and be away from the prince, before her history lessons.

She took small steps, taking her time to look around and bask in the sunlight.

The princess momentarily glanced at her jewellery she was wearing, her rings to be exact. She suddenly didn't like the placement of her rings; the two on her left hand were on her middle and index finger while the ones on her right were on her middle and ring finger.

She wanted to shift the one on her right from her middle to the index finger.

The ring wasn't as easy to remove. It was a size smaller than the rest of her rings but she wore it because she liked the iridescent gem it bore.

Eirlys struggled a bit as she tried to pry it off her finger before it finally slid off but because she was pulling on to it, it flew out of her grasp and fell somewhere in the muck that the gardener had just watered that morning.

"Fuck" she huffed in annoyance as she walked closer but didn't actually try to search for it because it might ruin her dress. She squinted as she glanced through the mud, hoping to spot the ring.

"Looking for something, princess?" Criston asked as he walked toward her, noticing the princess from afar focusing her gaze at the wet mud.

"I seem to have lost my ring" she told him as she pointed toward the patch of muck "it's fallen somewhere in that"

"I'll look for it, the septa is looking for you" the knight assured "allow me to walk to back inside"

Eirlys walked back inside, now wishing she hadn't fidgeted with her jewellery to begin with. She was distracted the entire time during her lessons, hoping that Ser Criston had found her favourite ring which was a gift given to her by Aemond on her five and tenth name day.

The septa took notice of the princess who wasn't fully attentive and eventually gave up on trying to teach her for the day. She excused the princess with the task of reading the few chapters she was trying to going over with her presently.

Eirlys was quick to take her leave, not too keen on prolonging their her lesson. When she'd reached the hallway that lead to her chambers, Ser Criston called out to her as he jogged up to the princess before she could enter her quarters.

"Your ring, princess" he smiled before he handed it to her in the palm of her hand.

"You found it" she broke into a smile as she looked at the now-clean ring "thank you, I truly appreciate it"

"I mean I- well" the knight cleared his throat "I'm just simply returning it to you"

He took his leave before the princess opened the doors to her chambers and walked in to retire for the afternoon.

Aemond watched from the far end of the hallway, not wanting to approach her when she'd made it blatantly obvious she didn't wish to speak to him.

He huffed a sigh before he too made his way to his own chambers to change out of his clothes that were now caked with mud.

Queen Alicent, like the rest of the family present at the table, had taken note of the rather obvious and rare sight of Aemond and Eirlys being in some sort of conflict with each other.

The pair had been inseparable since childhood and any argument that arose, withered away within a day at most.

With the possibility of their marriage being at stake, Alicent had decided to visit Eirlys to obtain an explanation regarding their surprising distance.

"Has my son done something to offend you, my dear" she asked as she sat on a chair opposite Eirlys' by the fireplace "I can assure you what you tell me right not will not leave this room"

Yes.

"No" Eirlys shook her head with a smile before she spoke "its nothing"

"I've watched you both grow together in this castle" Alicent gazed at the younger girl "I've seen him stand and wait for you each morning at the table and you sitting each day at his right. A simple uniform ritual yet one that hasn't been broken for years"

"I just wish to sit someplace else for a change" the girl shrugged "is that something that you find odd, your grace"

"It was your reluctance to so much as glance at him that I found odd" Alicent answered "which is why I wish to know if Aemond has done something, either unknowingly or with clear conscience, that has given you reason to be so cross with him"

Yes, he visited a whorehouse and never told me anything about it.

"It was a foolish argument" Eirlys tried to dissolve the matter "one I may have perhaps taken too much to heart. I suppose I should learn to control my anger, it's been getting out of hand as of late"

"It is alright to feel anger. Though I do hope you both will discuss the matter and make amends" the queen took Eirlys' hand in hers "I am aware my son has a bit of an issue with controlling his temper and though I've never seen him lose control of it with you, I do apologise on his behalf if he did manage to unleash his rage on you"

"That is not the case, I assure you" the princess gave her hand a reassuring squeeze "I shall resolve this with my prince, do not fret your grace"

The princess did not wish to display their current issue to the rest of the family but it had become far too obvious, now with this being the second day she'd refused to sit next to Aemond at the table. To avoid making the situation into even more of a mess, Eirlys decided to pretend that everything was sorted and the pair were once again just as attached with each other.

She decided to go and watch him train, something she hadn't done in a long time.

Aemond found it strange when he saw her present at the training yard. Two days ago they'd kissed as if one of them were about to leave for war and then the next day Eirlys didn't wish to be within a few feet of him. Now she'd shown up to watch him train with his brother.

What exactly was going on in that mind of hers, was now starting to turn into a puzzle for him. He knew he'd done something that made her change the way she looked at him and he knew that to some extent even he'd changed the way he looked at her; Both their perceptions differed however.

Ignoring the sudden flutter he felt in his chest right before his heartbeat began to pace, he managed to give her a gentle smile.

"Princess" he greeted as she approached the boys in the training yard "are you feeling well this morning?"

"My prince" she addressed him formally, noting his subtle comment at her change in behaviour from breakfast "I am feeling quiet fine, thank you"

"Earlier you-"

"I do not wish to make a spectacle out of our current situation" Eirlys lowered her voice so that only Aemond might hear her "I am still upset but that doesn't mean the entirety of King's landing needs to know about it"

"So your solution is to pretend that everything is alright rather than to talk it out and actually mend things" the prince sighed "Eirlys we have never let anything bring a rift in between us"

"This is not the place to talk about it" she glanced around, taking note of some of the guards and people of the court who were also present "just go about your training and let me observe in peace"

"Will you be watching us today" Daeron  suddenly asked from a distance as he examined some of the blades, trying to pick which one to use for his duel.

"I will be, yes"

"Who are you here to favour?" He asked with a smirk, momentarily glancing at her.

"Favour?"

"We are to duel today" the boy explained "which one of us do you wish to see victorious? I do hope you'll say my name, dear Eirlys"

"Flirt with someone your own age" Aemond picked up his shield as he turned to look at his brother.

"She is only a year older" he shrugged, picking up a sword.

"And she is betrothed" Aemond casually reminded "you should learn to hold your tongue Dareon, one day you might just lose it"

"The same way you lost your eye?" the boy snickered and Eirlys bit her lip, knowing that this was a sensitive topic for Aemond.

"The only thing keeping me from blinding and muting you right now is the blood you share with me" Aemond spoke coldly, still not bothering to look at him "should you have been any other worthless bastard, I wouldn't have kept my sword sheathed"

"Well then I am thankful to be your brother" Daeron smirked out of spite as he walked toward the centre of the yard "shall we begin? I wish to show the lady how good of a swordsman I am turning out to be"

"When I stand victorious" Aemond turned to look at Eirlys "I shall have it credited to your name"

"You are too confident" the girl managed a smile, finding it amusing that he was starting to talk as if he were about to fight in a tourney "what if you are to lose? Will you blame me for your loss as well then?"

"That's the best part my princess" Aemond grinned as he took a step closer to pick up his sword that was on the table beside which Eirlys stood "your prince never loses"

~

As Aemond had claimed, he did infact win every round of his duel with his brother during their training.

He was a skilled fighter, calculating every move of his opponent before he could make a move of his own that would work in his favour. He was swift and quick on his feet, giving no time nor advantage for Dareon over him.

Eirlys was impressed, but she did her best to conceal it, not wishing to grant him the satisfaction of seeing her feel a sense of pride with her betrothed.

"Is the princess happy with how her prince has performed?" Aemond casually asked as he went to place his shield back with the others, not really making eye contact.

"Which prince are you referring to" Dareon commented, which Aemond decided to ignore.

"Her prince" Aemond repeated, emphasising on his words again "it's upsetting that you're just as bad at hearing as you are at close combat"

The younger boy rolled his eyes and wasted no further time in the training yard, feeling slightly embarrassed about losing to his brother multiple times in front of the princess. He sheathed his blade and left it with the others before he took his leave, giving the princess a curt nod and his brother a sneer.

"You're too hard on the boy" Eirlys told Aemond as she sat on the table where his sheath lay "perhaps you ought to be a bit more-"

"Are you going to say the same thing to his enemy on the battlefield?" The older prince swiftly answered "the last time I was unable to defend myself, I lost an eye"

Eirlys stayed silent, unsure of what she could say. She knew Aemond didn't deserve to lose an eye that night but she knew her brothers hadn't done it with a pre planned intent.

Aemond sighed as he took of his eye patch so that he might fix his hair, now frayed and untamed after his training.

"You've been wearing your eyepatch a lot lately" she remarked after a few minutes of silence.

"Tis' not a sight many find comforting to see" Aemond shrugged "I thought the sapphire might help but there's not much a pretty gem can do when the entirety of your appearance has been scarred, literally"

"I disagree" Eirlys softly muttered, causing Aemond to glance her way "I think you look charming"

"Do you really?" He took a few steps closer to her, pointing at his face "even with this scar"

"The scar doesn't take anything away" she gently traced the maroon line that ran down his cheek from his eye "you're still the same to me"

"Am I still the same man you wish to marry?" He asked as a grin began to form on his lips while he looked down at her with admiration, hoping that she couldn't hear his heart thumping against his chest as her fingers caressed his cheek.

"We were betrothed as children" she spoke, resting her arm on his chest now "not as if we have a choice on the matter"

"Do you not wish to marry me then, if you had the chance to wed of your own accord?" Aemond's smile faltered at her response or more of a reluctance to give him a response.

"Would you choose me?" She asked as she looked up to glance at him.

She couldn't quiet see any reason why he should pick her. She was his closest companion of course, but beyond on that she lacked everything that a man desired in a woman. She was so naïve and innocent, inexperienced in ways to satisfy her partner in bed. And being a woman of her standing, she did not have the privilege of being able to partake in the act for the sake of gaining a sense of familiarity without her reputation being put at risk.

"Of course I would choose you" Aemond answered without even a second of hesitation "I will always choose you, a hundred times over anyone in this life or in any other. I'm surprised you even asked me that"

"Why" she simply asked, now needing a reason behind his answer.

"Because when I'm around you I feel, y-you make me feel like... you make me" Aemond struggled to find words to describe a feeling he had no clue about "there's this fire that burns every time I'm near you and I do not yet know the words to describe it, but all I know is that you make me feel safe, and there is no else I'd rather spend my life with"

There was another moment of silence as Eirlys took her time pondering over his words. Aemond, a prince who was shaping up to be one of the best fighters in Westeros and who owned the largest dragon had just told her that shemade him feel safe.

"D-do you- have you ever felt the same?" Aemond asked nervously as he looked at her pleadingly, hoping for an answer that would put his aching heart to rest. He knew he'd done something that had offended her, yet he selfishly hoped she still had something in her heart for him.

"Everything I know about 'love' is all that I have seen happen in books. The anxiety, the torment, the nervousness" Eirlys took her time explaining herself "I've know you almost my whole life, and I don't think I've ever felt that. All I feel when I'm with you is a wave of calmness, warmth. I suppose that is a good thing, something much more preferable over an anxious mind. But it just confuses things, there is still a kind of uncertainty about what might confirm if I am in love or not"

"Love isn't easy to understand, nor is it pretty" Aemond felt like some ghost had possessed him since he'd never been one to talk freely about love, not even sure if he was capable of being able to experience it "you are pretty though"

"I'm still upset at you" Eirlys reminded as the corners of her lips slowly curled into a smile at his attempt to flirt.

"By all means" Aemond adjusted his eye patch once again, taking a single step back "I shall still do everything to win you over, if not as my wife then atleast as my friend"

"What if it never happens?" Eirlys teased "what if you never win me over"

"Then it does not matter how many battles I might win in the years to come" he said nonchalantly, sheathing his sword "those victories will never overwrite the loss of my princess. And I shall carry that regret until I breathe my last"

#aemond targaryen #ewan mitchell #ewan nation #hotd #house of the dragon #tom bennett #world on fire #aemond #aemond smut #aemond x you #aemond headcanons #aemond x fem!reader #aemond x y/n #daemon targaryen #daemon smut #aegon targaryen #aegon smut

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

When I was binding my plant book I spent about an hour digging around online to figure out which stitch I would use and researching the different binding methods to figure out what would work best.

I also wanted a good written tutorial for how to do the stitch i ultimately chose (the coptic stitch) because I do not like video tutorials. Unfortunately none of the written tutorials had exactly what I needed. Specifically none of them told you what to do if you ran out of thread before finishing the binding. Their advice was "make sure to cut enough thread from the beginning" which was not going to work for me. While there is a way to measure out how much thread you need, I would likely still need to know how to add more thread. My plant book is quite a bit thicker than the books being made in the tutorials. And I dont know if you've ever tried to hand sew something by hand and thought "ehhh ill just cut off a bunch and hope its enough to do this in one go," but it NEVER works out that way.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THAT VOICE. THAT IS THE DEVIL SPEAKING.

All that will happen is you end up with a giant tangled mess of thread that you can never untangle. And im pretty good at untangling threads but its a pain in the ass and just not something I would like to waste my time on. Not to mention the wasted thread. So I ended up having to watch part of a video tutorial to figure out what I was supposed to do when the thread inevitably ran out. And I told myself that the next time I did this, I would make my own written tutorial with pictures showing what to do and also showing how I reinforce the spine because I go a bit further than any of the tutorials I found.

(Tutorial under the cut)

Most people seem to choose the coptic stitch because they like how it looks and they keep the stitching exposed. While I agree that it looks good, I dont personally like the exposed stitching. I like people to look at my books and be surprised when I tell them I bound them myself. And making a book that looks professionally done accomplishes that. Also I prefer it over the exposed stitching, ALSO I don't use proper bookbinding thread cuz I do this on a budget with stuff I can get at walmart or already have lying around the house and covering the stitching helps reinforce it. I ultimately decided on the coptic stitch partly because it allows the book to lie flat when open, but also because every article I read on different stitches to use said that it was the most complicated one and I looked at that and was like "pffffttt cant be that hard." And honestly I think I was right. Its pretty straightforward.

So what youre gonna need is some paper. Personally, I like to take those sketchbooks that are bound with tape or glue and pull all the pages out. This way you also get a front and back cover.

Again, every tutorial was telling me to fold the pages with a bone fold, which is nice if you have one, I guess, but I do not, so I used the clip on the side of my mechanical pencil to fold the pages in half. If youre using regular sketch paper then you wanna make some signatures which is a group of 4 to 5 sheets of paper, folded in half, and placed inside each other. But for something thicker like watercolor paper, I just sew each individual sheet on separately.

Next, you're gonna wanna take the hard piece of cardboard at the back of the taped together sketchbook and cut that shit in half. I use an exacto knife but ive also used scissors for this in the past. I do not recommend using scissors. Its possible to do but not worth the hand cramps. And then BOOM you have the covers of your sketchbook.

Another thing most people tell you to use is an awl to punch the holes in the paper. Again, I do not have an awl. Nor do I have the money to buy one. At first, I just punched the holes in with a thumbtack but thumbtacks are tiny and after awhile your fingers start to hurt and you may start to lose your grip on it and its just generally a bad time. But, ya bois got a lot of sewing needles (I kept losing them for awhile there and would give up and buy new ones only to then find the pack I lost. So I have like 3 packs of sewing needles.

Thats not counting the ones my mom has also bought because she's done the same thing) and out of frustration from using the thumbtack I decided to try sticking a sewing needle into one of my mechanical pencils and seeing if it would fit and not just immediately push back in when I tried to use it. And what do you fuckin know?

It worked extremely well and I wish id thought of it sooner. I cut the time spent poking holes into the signatures in half and it doesnt hurt my fingers at all.

Youre also going to need thread, of course. I use embroidery thread cuz thats what I already had. Normally you should go for a thicker thread. Preferably a waxed thread. And most people would recommend using a curved sewing needle. This is the one thing im considering getting for myself at some point. You CAN do it with a straight needle but a curved one would definitely make some aspects of this significantly easier.

Now to start off, you wanna take your string and put it in the needle and fold it in half and tie the ends together and then

You wanna thread the needle through the first signature and then

Pull it up through the bottom of the first hole in the cover and loop it around twice and pull it tight

Then push the needle back into the first hole in the paper

And put it through the next hole in the signature

Then repeat that process til you get to the end of the holes. When you get to the last one start like you did with all the others but after wrapping the thread around the cardboard twice you get the next signature

And push it in through the first hole and back out the second (tbc)

[freeuselandonorris]

for the ask game: 1, 19, 20!

heyyyy thank you for asking! 🫶

what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?

ooooh bloody hell. let's see. 1. being an only child in a single parent household. it's made me very happy with my own company (sometimes to a fault) and very close with my mum. also probably contributed to why my inner fantasy life is so active lmao 2. having a period of very poor mental health through my teenage years/early 20s. i basically lost the years between 13-23. it's made me very careful about looking after myself now i'm older and it forced me to have to understand myself more. it's also made me more keenly aware of not wasting more time. 3. art school. i went to a fairly prestigious art school in london and it really opened my eyes to class (i'm northern and working class) - it was the first time i'd really come across PROPERLY priveleged people (a close friend was the daughter of a tory mp and i was later a bridesmaid at her wedding at westminster palace lmao, weirdest day of my life) and realised just how much the world was skewed to their success. also made me realise i like making art but i hate the art world and most art people. still wanna write an art school AU one day.

19. favourite thing about the day?

when i'm having a good head period and can manage it, my morning routine is the best. i get up and make my lil coffee (V60 4 lyf) and then sit down and write for an hour - i like writing first thing before my brain is knackered from Life - and listen to lauren laverne's 6music show, then i read for however long i have left before work. sometimes i'll burn incense or a nice candle. for a while i was doing morning pages too although i find them a drain long-term. it's just my time, yknow? i try not to look at my phone or anything.

i'm going to be moving to a partly office-based job again and not being able to do my morning routine on those days is the thing i'm most upset about.

20. favourite things about the night?

i'm the kind of person who has a brain that is constantly chewing on to-do lists and anxiety spiralling about All The Things I Must Do and i like feeling like i am mostly done with the day's tasks by evening (even though i find it hard to stop percolating them or adding more sometimes). recently i've got into the habit of listening to shaun keaveny's daily grind podcast on my headphones while i cook my dinner which is a rly nice way to mark the end of the workday, although i guess that's evening more than night.

i like that the night can be either end of the spectrum - it can be the time for extreme cosiness, feeling safe and protected and sleepy, or it can be the time for excess and sleaze. when all the hidden things come out to play!

from questions i think it would be fun to be asked!

#ask meme

[the-ghost-of-a-spirit]

Reading Sp

Book 1 part 5

Last part (of book 1)

Gordon was eating chocolate in the caves, of course he was

How come skul is calling Val Stephanie?

of course he had to go and attack Serpine.

HE WAS ON FIRE, BUT HES FINE?

Skug annoyed the elders (again, because he’s skug)

“We’re dealing facing an unimaginable crisis and I’m dealing with 4 year olds”

allies from the cold? Exiles? Hang on, what’s happening, like, I feel like I’m forgetting something but, exiled people? If one of them comes back they will be overrun? Who are they. It isn’t vengeous, and mevolents dead, and everyone else is not important/dead/probably also imprisoned

“Skulduggery had not met anyone who cannot be killed” this is a lie, as I don’t think he can kill gog Magog, also probably others that I’ve forgotten.

“Don’t worry, we all are going to die horribly anyway”

Did the book just prove my theory that skug being the child of the ancients and malice’s enemy wrong? Yes, it did, but I’m keeping my thought anyway

bliss thinks skug is dangerous, skug thinks bliss is scary

“Skulduggery Pleasant has always had one weakness - he forms attachments to people who are very easily killed”

he sent someone to cloud skulduggery’s judgment, but who?

Tanith can but her hand over a lock and unlock it, buts she’s also a wall-walker, thus she might be magically ambidextrous

Tanith has an older brother. She said she has no younger sister, but come on, Val is practically her younger sister.

“sKuLdUgErY, sHe’S nOt bEiNg pRoFeSSioNaL” like skulduggery is more professional.

Val and Tanith are laughing their head of and ghastly and skug are just like 😔 Tanith did another piece of magic

also, they’re fighting the white cleaver now. Ghastly will be statue-d soon.

IT HAPPENED ON THE NEXT PAGE GHASTLYS A STATUE I KNOW HE COMES BACK BUT STILL. HES A STATUE AND THATS SAD

THE NEXT CHAPTER IS CALLED “THE LAST STAND OF…” LIKE TLSODM EXCEPT THE FIRST WORDS ARE EACHAN MERITORIUS SO ITS LIKE “THE LAST STAND OF EACHAN MERATORIUS” (also I don’t know how to spell his name and I’m not bothered)

and tomes a traitor too 🙃

“Never give up, never surrender” this phrase is sticking out for some reason, and it’s irritating.

“of course I’m right, I’m me” and there is that ego of his.

WAIT THE ELDERS ARE DEAD HUH I KNOW THIS HAPPENED, BUT WHAT.

Tanith is being mean to skug. That is bad, she brought up his wife and child. Skug being quiet. There are things happening, skug is saying big things, I am also hungry, but I want to finish the book first (this is all on pg319, so I can find it later)

Serpine is after the book of names.

Skulduggery always calls Serpine “Neferian” which is interesting…

Skug said Serpine and big ears

“You can’t kill what’s already dead” okay, but think about this in the context of Skulduggery.

WAIT SERPINE DID THE WHITE CLEAVER THING TO HIMSELF?

Skug got the book of name’s destroyed.

Skulduggery arrests Serpine partly for littering. And murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but also littering.

And I’m done, I have reread all of book 1, now I’m going to have lunch.

#reading sp #Reading sp 1

[rigelmejo]

Chinese Reading List 11/3/2022

Updated this, will probably make a new version each time I’ve read a decent chunk. 

Mandarin Companion Sherlock

Mandarin Companion Journey to the Center of the Earth

Pleco Graded Reader Butterfly Lovers

Sinolingua 1000 character book, 1500 character book (only partly read 1500 character book then dropped)

天涯客 (26 chapters - in progress)

小王子

猫城记 (read 2/3 then dropped, good novel but too hard for me to extensively read after 小王子 )

镇魂 (20 chapters, 100 print pages, 8 audiobook chapters - in progress, often reread)

撒野 (4 chapters - in progress)

寒舍 (90 chapters - in progress, often reread)

笑猫日记 1，2

云村笔记 (4 chapters - in progress)

他们的故事 （耽美小说）(15 chapters - in progress, often reread, very simple language and writing style and was easy to read as a beginner)

他们的故事 （ 百合 漫画）(cute, easy to read, highly recommend)

19天 （耽美漫画）(funny, easy to read, highly recommend)

破云 （耽美漫画）(easier to read than the novel version, but a more difficult manhua to read, 1st volume - in progress)

盗墓笔记重启 （幽默漫画）(funny, super easy to read, highly recommend, it is the slice of life comedy strips manhua NOT the serious plot dmbj manhuas, super cute and enjoyable if you liked the chongqi characters)

秃秃大王 (finished, 3 days, highly recommend for beginners)

当你走进图书馆而书里夹了一枚书签 (finished, short, very motivating to finish)

用我一生 （瓶邪同人）(chapter 1 - in progress)

笑猫日记云朵上的学校 (short read)

大林和小林 (finished, 3 day read, highly recommend for beginners)

第十二封情书 (finished, took about 4 days, noticed I got better at speed reading as it went, and I seem to pick a Very Specific type of daily life setting danmei which is realistic, this made my heart feel heavy and reminded me of growing up with no real fancy happy ending but instead feeling a lot like I was looking into someone’s diary, someone’s life, a reality for someone that I also understand. its definitely similar to 他们的故事 in how they both feel like i looked into a real life, very relatable, very intimate storytelling style like the author is sharing their own experiences maybe).

夜半衣寒 (finished. 124k characters, about 2 weeks to read).

盗墓笔记1：七星鲁王宫 (finished, 40k? ~2 weeks)

盗墓笔记1： 怒海潜沙 (finished, 30k? ~2 weeks)

论如何错误地套路一个魔教教主 (in progress currently, around 6/26? chapters done so 1/3, debating about switching to SaYe or HanShe next for some daily life vocabulary, or in contrast going to LiuLi or Cang Lan Jue next for xianxia type vocab, or even Tian Ya Ke for some more wuxia vocab... in a way I think I should maybe do something higher unique vocabulary level for a while to get a lot of repeated exposure to new words in a short time...)

Bolded are the reading materials I’d recommend for other learners. My other picks I either read too early and really slogged through lol or read because I personally really liked them but they may not interest others as much.

#rant #my reading list

[magnetarmadda]

Hi there! Like probably a lot of people, I'm quite jealous and in awe of the amount of reading you seem to get done. If you don't mind my asking, did you read this many books when you were in grad school? I'm in the last few months of my PhD (in paleontology!) and I've found that working on my thesis has absolutely killed my ability to get through books. Did this happen to you? Did your brain recover afterward? Or did you never deal with the reading slump?

Thanks! (And I hope you're having a good day, because you seem like a cool and nice person!)

Hey, hi! First, best of luck with your final months of grad school!!! Honestly, for me, they were so hard because of the lack of structure. Just, “finish your dissertation” and that was all the instruction really. If you ever wanna chat/vent about that, lemme know!! (Also paleontology!!! That’s so cool!!)

I always like to preface my reading habits with this: I have a very fast reading comprehension speed, and so for me, it averages out to about 100 pages of a novel in an hour and about 75 pages of nonfiction in an hour. In that way, I got lucky with the combination of early reading education, at-home book discussions, and genetics. So I can sit down and read a 300-page book in one evening, which meant that, even though I was only reading only one or two days a week, I was still getting through 50+ a year that way in grad school

I also listen to a lot of audiobooks and love trade paperbacks of graphic novels. The graphic novels can be quite fast reads for me, and this again is partly luck and genetics—my mom’s an artist, so I learned to look at images critically quite young, and can frequently find important info in them quickly. Then, for audiobooks, I do struggle with some chronic illnesses and chronic pain, and I frequently have to check out of life—but I cannot be left alone in my own head, or I rapidly catastrophize lol. I also can’t shut my own brain off when it’s time to sleep, so I listen to audiobooks then as well. I’d say this means I average about 4 audiobooks a month, where they’re usually between 8 and 14 hours (I do listen at 1.25 or 1.5 speed, because otherwise my brain stops paying attention)

I was also lucky with my advisor in grad school. She had a firm self-care policy, in that she cares more about her students’ well-being and health than timely progress. So I never felt like I was stealing moments or neglecting my work—I was trying to cultivate the healthiest version of myself, given all the other factors outside of my control. In the six years I worked with her, we actually spent more than one meeting talking about fantasy novels instead of research, which was lovely

But, yeah, there were a lot of reading struggles in grad school for me. I would go long stretches of time where the idea of opening a book and reading more words was unbearable, because god, didn’t I just spend all day reading and writing?? I also started to not care as much for the types of books I read before grad school, so now I’ve got a few stacks of books on hand I feel guilty that I haven’t read (but I’m trying to recognize that I’ll probably never read them, because tastes can change). So I might've had motivation to read, but nothing I had on hand sounded particularly good

Submitting that dissertation and knowing the hard part was over was actually the biggest relief, I think maybe of my life. I defended in mid-October and then submitted the finished manuscript about two weeks later, and then I spent a solid month just…reading whatever the fuck I wanted to lol. I have a postdoc now (and am applying for faculty jobs 🤞), and the responsibilities are waaaaaay less than as a grad student. In fact, my PI is adamant that I should not do more than 40 hrs a week, and so I’ve been able to plow through books like wild in the last few months

I also want to say: grad school is hard. It’s so absolutely difficult. Master’s programs are rough, and PhD programs are their own rodeo, and it sucks to say (because it sounds awful to most people, I know), but unless someone goes through grad school themselves, it’s hard to fathom what makes it so hard and exhausting. It’s totally okay to cut yourself some slack for finding you don’t have as much energy for other things, even the things you really enjoy. The books will be there waiting, and I'll admit it took me a solid 4 years to accept that myself lol

Thanks for the lovely ask, and I really do wish you well as you finish up 💜 again, I'm here--ask box or dm--if you'd like to take more about any part of the process 💜

#about me #reading #mad answers asks

[nedlittle]

hello! toomanyassassins here! i've been enjoying your monthly book overviews and it's inspiring me to try and get back into reading and to try using storygraph. do you have an tips for reading as much as you do? i struggle to even get past the first page of most books, much less focus on them long enough to finish them 😅

i'm glad someone is reading my reading wrap-ups!

to be completely transparent, the reason why i've been able to read so much is because i spent the first half of the year unemployed and passively suicidal, so i had the free time living at home to read, and i had the incentive to read because it's one of the few things that can actually distract from the fact that my brain is eating itself alive. and i read a lot now because i have a relaxed job which can have long stretches of time where i have nothing to do but sit at a desk and mop/try not to freeze to death/wonder why nobody is coming to hear my wonderful whale facts, so there's ample time for me to read on the clock, and my boss doesn't mind.

some actual advice is to carve out a dedicated time each day when you want to read. 9/10 nights i read in bed before i fall asleep, desperately trying to take in as much as i can before melatonin sends me to the shadow realm. it gets you into a routine and helps you feel cozy. i can get an hour or two in each night depending on the circumstances. and then my kindle sleeps on my pillow next to me so if the insomnia keeps me awake at 4 am i can at least pass the time.

do you have a commute? read on that! in 2020, i read moby-dick and the brothers karamazov and the worst journey in the world because i lived and worked in the suburbs of shanghai and everytime i wanted to see a friend or a museum or get basically anywhere not in my district, i had a minimum 40 minute metro ride each way. on my (mercifully shorter) commute to work, i could still get in a chapter or two! if you have to drive, try audiobooks! they aren't generally for me, but i imagine they'd be good if you're like. stuck on a highway somewhere waiting in bottlenecked traffic. regardless, i have a physical book or my kindle (or both) in my bag nearly every time i leave the house just in case i want to sit in a park for a bit or have to wait for an appointment etc.

sometimes you gotta shop around and try a few books before you're actually engaged in one. at least once a month i will think okay, i'm going to read (x) only to open it up on my kindle, read the first couple pages, and be like nah, not right now. so i open another book and sometimes that also isn't the right one, so i open another until i find something that clicks with how i'm feeling. if you're not immediately gripped by something it's totally fine to put it down for a bit or for forever!

lastly, reading shouldn't be a competition and i think goodreads and our collective obsession with categorizing, aestheticizing, and presenting very specific versions of ourselves has done detriment to the way people read because it isn't enough to read for fun you've got to be ahead of your reading challenge you've got to read (x) number of books with y-specific rep in them in order to be seen like you're Consuming The Right Media. yes, i have a reading challenge on storygraph but it's partly because i just like graphs and diagrams and have a brain made of swiss cheese. just have fun with it man! it's not a competition and it's not a game it's something that should be done for pleasure and information :)

#oppression is real and it's called living on line 9 of the shanghai metro #once we got so lost heading back from rollerskating we ended up at dapuqiao and i was the only one who didn't have to transfer #tianzifang? also off of dapuqiao #anyway this got really long so i'm sorry but i hope it's helpful!! #peachrosestudies #answered #long post

[sssardonian-ssserpent]

♈ a description of their home - apartment building or detached house? how many rooms are there? colours of their walls? any decorations?

♉ what are their neighbours like? their relationship to them?

♊ what kind of mail do they get (except for bills)? have they subscribed to any magazines/newspapers?

♋ do they read any newspapers/magazines? what kind? what topics are they interested in? do they flip forward to the cartoon page first?

♌ how do they drink their coffee/tea?

♍ any pictures on their walls? what kind/of who?

♎ is their closet tidy or are the clothes just being thrown inside or lying on the floor?

♒ their cleaning routine - laundry/dishes/cleaning the rooms

1. Already answered!

2. Pentious picked the abandoned outskirts of the Pentagram for a reason, so he wouldn’t have any neighbors who would be able to figure out where he lived. If anyone does try and settle down close to where his bunker entrance is, he bombs them in an effort to get them to leave.

3. Already answered!

4. Pentious doesn’t necessarily have any subscriptions to a daily newspaper, no, but he does make an effort to keep updated on all of the big events that go on through the Pride ring, either via getting newspapers from local paper bins (those giant boxes with newspapers inside of them that you have to put a coin into) or by buying them off of vendors on the street, usually by himself when he’s out on Hell’s streets or by sending an Eggboi to do it when he’s too busy to leave his bunker. He reads all the articles within that paper, just to make sure he never misses anything, and yes, that includes the comics section for the Sunday edition. He never finds them funny.

4. He takes his coffee with an overwhelming amount of cream and sugar, with tea usually being an emergency substitute if he’s somehow ran out of coffee grounds. He can drink his coffee black, years of choking it down when he was a kid for the sake of his workplace rendered him indifferent to the bitterness, but he absolutely would prefer to have it taste of cream and sugary sweetness.

5. He usually tends to keep his wall bare of any photos or paintings, partly because there simply isn’t any room for them, and partly because they would make it harder for his computer system to keep an eye on every room in his bunker. But the one place he does keep both is his personal trophy room, a long hallways that depicts every instance of carnage or brutality he’s committed when he was alive, usually in the form of newspaper clippings, old articles and documents that were salvaged from the 1800’s, warped bits and pieces of his old ships, and of course, paintings that depicted his reigns of terror by dozens of artists all over the world. He usually goes in there whenever he needs time to think, or when he begins to fall into a rut and needs to yank himself out of it.

6. He tries to keep his closet tidy, but admittedly, it is rather hard to keep said clothes tidy when all one has is a wardrobe composed of nothing but shirts, suit tops, dresses, and skirts, with no room for pants, underwear, or shoes (for obvious reasons). So sometimes he’ll just toss things into the closet or the washbin and leave it for the Eggbois to pick up on account of being too tired to really care, so sometimes he’ll hang fresh clothes up, sometimes he won’t.

7. Honestly he mostly lets the cleaning get done by the Eggbois. They have the numbers that they clean everything without it taking hours upon hours, and while they’re stupid, they can at least do basic tasks like washing the dishes or doing laundry. Though the one place Pentious does make an effort to clean by himself is his workshop. Got to keep it clean of soot and sawdust after all.

#sir pentious #mun post #ooc post #winters club #headcanon

[no-hugs-peach]

Anniversary Adventure Pt. 5

We're home now!

To recap since Thursday:

Do not go on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Frostburg Flyer unless you have a credit card with Visa or Discover. Otherwise you have no way to pay for parking for more than 4 hours, and it is a 4.5 hour train ride with a recommendation to arrive 30 minutes early. We don't know how the actual train ride was, we missed it. Partly looking for parking, partly stopping for breakfast on the way. We were so frustrated with the parking that we also didn't do the rescheduled ticket for Friday. And the tickets are non-refundable.

We salvaged our attitudes during the afternoon and...I am forgetful. While I was in the library, I went to grab my book out of my backpack. I noticed that our travel journal had something between its pages, so I open it up and what do I find? The anniversary card I bought Hubs over a month ago, and hid in the travel journal so he couldn't find it. When I got back to the room, I was able to give him his overdue (by a week) card.

But do check out Fratelli's Italian & Seafood - large portions so either share or prepare to take leftovers with you. But their crabcake was like 90% crab meat and so delicious.

Turns out the siren we heard at noon on Wednesday was not them testing the tornado siren as we assumed. Which is good, because that siren went off at 5am on Friday morning. That is their fire department siren. Yeah, Maryland is not in tornado alley and Boonsboro is in the mountains. But 20+ years of training does not go away overnight.

Friday was lazy day and shopping at the local shops. I spent 2 hours in the massive soaking tub (while I was in the library on Thursday, he was soaking since he doesn't usually get the opportunity (most tubs aren't made for people built like lumberjacks)) and reading Blood Majick (the last in the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy). Then we hit up Josie's on Main, where we got some nice scents to diffuse, and Turn the Page Bookstore, where I got a new copy of Montana Sky and The Dark Witch. My copy of Montana Sky has a damaged cover, it is over 10 years old and well loved, so I wanted a new copy. My copy of The Dark Witch, however, is a tale of Barnes & Noble changing the edition they carry. So it is a different size to the other two in the trilogy and I prefer my series to all be in the same style.

Yesterday we made the drive home in ~13 hours. Unlike the rest of the trip, it was 90 and sunny during most of the drive. A bit annoying, but we made good time.

Today we're in recovery mode: Getting chores done and prepping for work tomorrow.

#Reesee travels

[jazz-vcd]

Final Reflection

Task 2 was a rollercoaster ride (it was a lot of fun, but I was also scared that I wouldn’t make it to the end). It was a big project, so I will break the reflection into parts.

First up was the collage for which I presented Neville Brody’s quote “typography is a hidden tool of manipulation in society.” I chose this quote partly because I believe it, partly because I love how seriously designers take themselves, and mostly because it sounds cool. I cut the quote down to just 5 words “a hidden tool of manipulation” as the full quote was too long and cluttered the page. I knew I would probably lean towards Postmodernism and grunge in my collage, so when a classmate brought a collection of old art magazines to cut up, I plundered accordingly. I was picky with my letters, collecting letters with a handmade/printed look that were similar sizes and colours. Initially I wanted to make a collage like a hidden objects game so that I could use details as features on different pages of the zine. I tried many iterations of the collage but ultimately felt the images I had weren’t cohesive, so I decided to cut back to only the fortune teller since he tied in nicely with the quote.  I followed Constructivist influences when creating the sunburst and positioning the words. Overall, I love the way the collage turned out, although it is off-centre which really frustrates me – in future I’ll be sure to measure things out properly before cutting them up or gluing them down.  

Collage evolution (#DesignIsAnIterativeProcess)

Next up was the monogram, which was the section I struggled with most. Silly as it sounds, I don’t like my name, so I wasn’t keen on investing time into portraying it. Still, I gave it a go- I do appreciate a good monogram (and it was mandatory). I found myself drawn to older monograms; those made by creatives who used traditional making techniques like printing or engraving to sign their works.  Our first monogram exercise tasked us with hand drawing 2 monograms inspired by 3 different font styles. 

Dodgy attempts at hand lettering

Of the styles I experimented with I wound up really liking the blackletter designs, so I sent it to Illustrator using the Adobe Capture app, where I edited it to improve the quality of the vector and position the letters more nicely together. I kept some of the texture of the original drawing to maintain the handmade feeling, but edited enough so it felt refined. My monogram was well made, but could have been more interesting – I really struggled to find ways to weave the letters J and T without it looking like a stick. I am interested in pushing myself on this front to improve my typography and hand lettering skills.

Brainstorming alternative monograms

Process of designing final monogram

Final monogram (in a container)

Finally, all the pieces came together for the zine. I got Covid right in the middle of this project so it was a little hectic for me. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the making process and felt that it was a great creative exercise.  My font choices were Kiln Sans (sans-serif)- a textured font styled to look like a wood-block print; and P22 Typewriter (serif). Both of these fonts came from the Adobe Fonts library, and both emulated the handmade look that I love. I enjoyed playing with the layouts of the text and tried to develop a look that blended the geometry of Constructivism with the chaos of post-Modernism. That being said, after looking more carefully at the magazine spreads of Greiman and Carson, I could have done with a more careful use of grids in my layouts (particularly on pages 4 and 5). I enjoy learning the Adobe suite so most of the issues I faced during the creation process felt like learning opportunities – except for the problems that made me feel crazy... I'm looking at you printing set-up. It took me four tries to get all the pages printed in the right order, I had to add an extra collage in the middle to make the pages divisible by 4, then the pages printed unaligned. I cut them to size as best as I could, but realised that I definitely need some practice with using bleeds/slugs/etc to achieve the desired results.

(Bonus collage/mini-poster in centerfold!)

Final zine spread, cover to cover

This project (and class overall) has helped me to further develop my own art style, while encouraging me to see a project through to completion – something I really need to work on outside of uni. This process has also deepened my understanding of the history of design, giving context to and (I think) improving the overall quality of my work.

#finalreflection #week13

[tobiasendamborg43]

Minecraft PS5 Update Release Date: is Minecraft on PS5?

Gaming

Minecraft PS5 Upgrade Release Date Is Minecraft available on PS5?

Published

By

Minecraft is the most played round of building, perseverance and building. It is anticipated that the first part of its Minecraft PS5 Update Release Date will be out soon. tclonline.org We thought we'd look into and see if the wonderful people at Mojang have around to making an Minecraft PS5 upgrade of the game. Or are they too busy making caves and calling Bluffs. Below are the answers to these questions.

The latest Minecraft update presents new precipice and cavern arrangements and is expected to be available soon, designers Mojang have confirmed. The appropriately named "Caverns and Cliffs" update additionally presents another square, Copper Ore, and is expected to be released this week.

Many gamers have fallen in love with Minecraft over the long haul and now it appears likely to become another control center. With the incredible PS5 Showcase blowing us away with its cost and release date announcements, we're presently drawing nearer to a potential Minecraft PS5 Upgrade Release Date. Keep reading as we outline what Minecraft gamers will be able to expect from their game on the PS5.

Minecraft Update 2.26 PS4 - Minecraft: How to Breed Horses just got its most recent update, numbered 2.26 If you're looking for the notes for fixing you've arrived at the right spot. Some of the notable updates include new highlights, such as candles, pruned Azaleas, and new test highlights from Caves and Cliffs. There are also many ongoing interactions UI and bug fixes.

Can you play Minecraft on PS5?

Let's begin with a simple question. Although there is no Minecraft PS5 Update Release Date however, you can still play the game on your PS5 console. The PlayStation 4 version is viable with the PS5, and you can purchase and download it from the PlayStation store. It works the same way as it did on the PS4. You can even utilize PSVR in the event that you want to.

How to Play Minecraft on PS5

It is essential to make sure that your framework is current to play Minecraft on your PS5. Sony are likewise quick to add the disclaimer that some of the features available on PS4 might be missing, because of in reverse similarity that does not actually move all functions.

To play Minecraft on PS5, you can follow one of a few ways:

Supplement with a PS4 game circle - Move an unmodified copy of the game from your PS4 to your PS5 utilizing WiFi information move - Download and introduce the PS4 game onto your PS5 - Any of these choices will permit you to play Minecraft on your PS5.

Is there going to be an Minecraft PS5 upgrade? If yes, when?

Control center explicit versions of Minecraft PS5 Upgrade Release Date. This was done to provide an inclusive Minecraft experience for players. This resulted in the Bedrock Edition. It is likely that it was partly driven by cross-play gaming. You can play the identical game with your friends regardless of which control center you choose to use. There will not be a PS5 version of Minecraft. But, will there be an update to the game for PS5, to exploit its new features and capabilities?

There is no authority to verify the validity of this sentence at the time of writing. This shouldn't come as a surprise. As the owners of Minecraft, Microsoft will not likely be in a rush to release a more modern version of the game to Sony clients. Based on the odds you can be sure that an updated version will show up ultimately. We do not know when but we don't have any clue. Be that as it might you will be able to appreciate the investigation when those caverns and precipices emerge. Related topics:

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[sponfawn]

Finished finals today, so I was able to work on the storyboard a bit! I'm super rusty 😭

#sbj more than human #storyboard #sbj more than human amv #update #got like 4 pages partly done

[lindstromm]

Simplified Bookbinding: How to make a cheap first book

By now, you may have seen some of the bookbinding posts in which @renegadepublishing​ bookbinders have turned fanfiction into works of art. Wow. Gorgeous. Also intimidating. @armoredsuperheavy​ wrote a manual they share as a google doc for free (linked on the pinned post on their tumblr). It’s amazing.

Maybe you want to try bookbinding, but it’s expensive; you need to buy a lot of stuff; you’re not very good at crafts.

This post teaches you everything you need to make a cheap and crappy first book!! Yay! You can totally suck at it and it’s fine!!

In this post, I’ll show you how I made this book:

out of Elmer’s school glue, scrapbooking paper and a Cheerios box. It cost less than $20. Making a cheap and crappy book will help you figure out if you want to invest the time and money to learn how to make a beautiful book that will last for years.

There are four steps to making a book:

1. Format the text and print it. I’m skipping that for this practice book. We’re binding blank pages.

2. Create the text block.

3. Create the case.

4. Attach the case to the text block.

Long post with pictures, Youtube videos and instructions under the cut.

Step One: Format and print the text. (Skip)

Step Two: Create the text block

Renegade Bookbinders fold and sew signatures. We’re not doing that for this practice book because sewing requires skill and equipment. We’re just going to use glue.

Use A5 paper. A5 is paper that measures 5 and 7/8 inches by 8 and 1/4 inches (148mm by 210mm). If you use a different size, you’ll have to measure your own cover boards; the measurement in this post is for A5 paper.

The paper is the most expensive part of this book. You can buy a ream for $13 or go to Staples and get the cheapest 8x11 ream they have and ask them to cut it down for an extra $2. Or you can cut your own stack of paper. Measure a stack about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick and put it in binder clips.

You need liquid glue (I used Elmer’s school glue and that’s why my book is already falling apart but you’re not buying anything special for this practice book). You also need a brush with short stiff bristles. I had a craft paint brush.

You need a piece of non-stretchy fabric (don’t use an old t-shirt, use an old pillowcase) that measures 7.75 inches by 3 or 4 inches.

Watch these two videos and do what she does:

She has a fancy book press, but you don’t need one. Put the text block between sheets of waxed paper (so the glue doesn’t stick to anything else), then just pile heavy books on top. Here’s my cheap book press! I leave my text block to dry overnight.

Congrats! You have finished step 2 and your text block is ready for the casing.

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

Step Three: Make the Case

For this step, you’ll need some decorative paper or cardstock. If you want to be totally cheap, just use printer paper or ads or whatever you’ve got. I had some scrapbooking paper. You’ll also need thin cardboard. I used a Cheerios box. Use something you can cut with scissors so you don’t have to buy an exacto knife.

In this project, I used:

1. One piece of 12x12 inch cardstock cut in half for the cover paper.

2. One piece of 11x3.5 inch cardstock for the spine cover.

3. Two pieces of 12x12 text weight paper for the end papers.

4. One piece of text weight paper cut 8 inches by the width of the spine for the spine guide. So if the text block is 1/2 inch thick, cut this spine guide piece 1/2 inch wide. If your text block is 3/4 inch thick, cut the spine guide 3/4 inch thick. You’ll want to get this measurement right or it throws off how the case fits onto your book.

5. Two pieces of thin cardboard 8.5 x 5.75 inches for the cover board. That’s measured to fit a cover for A5 size paper.

Got your supplies together?

Glue the spine guide (the small skinny piece of paper) and cover boards to the spine cover (the piece that is 11x3.5 inches). Leave 1/4 inch between the spine guide and the cover boards. I used an Elmer’s glue stick but you can use liquid glue that you spread with a brush. Be careful not to get the paper too wet or it wrinkles badly.

Put waxed paper over it, set a heavy book on top, and let it dry for an hour.

Now we’re going to attach the cover paper to the cover boards (the Cheerios box). Again, I used an Elmer’s glue stick. (Usually I use a higher quality tacky craft glue, but don’t buy fancy glue for your practice book.) Line up the edges of the cover paper with the spine cover as best you can (not overlapping, just lined up), apply glue and then cover with waxed paper, set heavy books on top, and let dry for an hour.

This is what it looks like from the back side:

Flipped over, it now looks like this:

Cut the edges so it’s basically even, and then cut a curved piece out of the corners so it looks like this:

Next step is to glue the cover paper and fold it over the cover boards. Use the glue stick, or use liquid glue and smear it smooth with the brush. Crease it well and smooth it with a ruler (bone folders are the better tool, but I’m not asking you to buy tools for this book):

Set waxed paper over it, pile heavy books on top, and let dry for an hour.

When it’s done drying, you should have a case:

Yay! You finished step 3!!

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

Step Four: Attach case to text block

Go get those two sheets of 12x12 inch text weight paper to make the end papers. Cut them so they’re the same height as the text block (8.25 inches). Fold them in half with the right sides together.

Pick up your text block. Notice how the cloth on the spine is partly glued onto the page? Pull that back until the cloth is very close to the spine.

You’re going to glue the crease of the end paper right into the edge of that cloth, so you want it as close to the spine as possible. Spread liquid glue on the crease of the end paper and set it into the spine cloth. Very Important: Put waxed paper or a piece of trash paper between the end papers and between the end paper and the next paper on the text block. Otherwise you’ll glue a chunk of pages together. Do this on both sides of the text block (you can let it dry before flipping it over to glue the end paper to the other side).

Pile books on it and let that dry. Your end papers are bigger than your text block. After everything is dry, cut off the edges so they’re even.

Now we’re going to glue the end papers to the case. Set the text block into the case and wiggle it around until it looks good. You want about an 1/8 of an inch around the text block. Mark the corners on the inside of the case with a pencil where you want the edges of the text block to be.

Then apply glue to the end paper (I’m still using that glue stick) and stick it to the case, being careful to get it in position where you marked it. Put a piece of paper between the end papers, put waxed paper on top of the text block and pile some heavy books on it. Let dry for at least 30 minutes.

This next part is the trickiest part of the whole process. I’ve made 15 books, and I’ve only gotten this second end paper in smoothly in about half of them. So if you wrinkle it, you’re in good company because we all do that sometimes.

Flip the text block over, apply glue to the end paper, and stick it to the other side of the case, smoothing it out as much as you can with a ruler. Then insert paper between the end papers, set heavy books on it, and let it dry for at least an hour.

Cue symphonic music and find yourself an audience for your unveiling because . . . you have CREATED A BOOK!! It’s thrilling. It really is. If you’re holding it in your hands and wishing with all your heart and soul that it had words in it, you’re a Renegade Bookbinder at heart. Come geek out about glue (don’t EVER use Elmer’s school glue again), bookcloth, sewing techniques, fonts, paper selection. Oh, it just goes forever!!

#bookbinding #bookbinding for beginners #op #renegade bookbinders #fanbinding #cheap and easy bookbinding #simplified bookbinding

[nikadoesanart]

My predictions on BSD getting animated going forward

I’ll be taking a look at the novel page counts (Japanese and English) and comparing them to the screen time they’ve gotten so far and then using this to predict how long the remaining light novel adaptations will be (approximately). At the end will also be my rough prediction/hopes for the order of some of these being adapted. I say some because I have yet to read what there is so far of the gaiden novel translations, the main story manga has essentially still been on the DOA arc almost since where the anime left off, and I personally think that it’s currently too soon for Storm Bringer (aside from money purposes).

Note, most of this was written well before the anime 5th anniversary livestream but the announcements wound up not affecting it. I then of course made adjustments as needed account for the novel content we do have so far, both in Japanese and in English (officially).

Page to Episode Count

Not counting the afterward, ads, etc for the English/US copy, Japanese is including it

Also all eng page counts are using the Yen Press release and jp page counts are taken from the fandom wiki

*148 is purely counting the Untold Origins portion of the novel. If we also count the A Day at the Agency short story that’s included before it (56 pages), then we get the full 203

Also the English page count for BEAST was noted before the English release date but after page counts have been posted by affiliated retailers, so subtract a couple pages from the written count of 176 for the time being to account for the afterward and possible character sheets being included

Now that we have our page to episode counts (as of April 5th, 2021), let’s find the actual content run time of what we do have animated so far.

Seasons 1-3 and the OVA all have the same episode length/duration. Each episode is 23 minutes, and we can subtract 3 minutes on average from that to account for the OP and ED being played. This leaves us with an average of 20 minutes of BSD story content per episode. So on average, each of the first 3 seasons contain 240 minutes, or 4 hours, worth of story content.

Dead Apple’s total run time is 91 minutes, with the OP and ED making up 9 of those minutes. However, we do have a bit of the story content being played while the ED is playing (as sometimes happens in the anime as well). To keep the math simple, I’ll be approximating story content time at 82 minutes.

Apply these numbers to the novels that have been animated so far and this is (approximately) what we get:

Now let’s use these numbers to predict the screen time needed for the other novels

Note that we can’t really use Entrance Exam as a fair measure because of how much got cut out (just compare the run time of it to Dark Era and it speaks for itself). However, the numbers for Dark Era and Dead Apple are the best ones to use, as they both have minimal changes between anime and novel and both have official English translations currently available. Take out the approximate time taken up by OP/ED and and the numbers pretty much match up.

So with that being said, we can estimate Untold Origins (only) at approximately 3 eps/60 min and 55 Minutes at 1h 40-55min/100-115 min or 5-6 eps if it doesn’t get a movie. We can also estimate the A Day at the Detective Agency short story at the beginning of Untold Origins to take up about 1 ep, probably even a bit less.

1+ 3 + 5-6 = 9-10 episodes which isn’t enough for a full single cour season unless they all get put into one big OVA season, but also 10-11 eps (or less) seasons are a thing (ie. Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited, Blood Lad, Black Butler: Book of Circus, The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of a Holy War, FLCL)

My personal predictions/hopes for the anime adaptation timeline going forward

This is considering the manga content, current “pausing/stopping points” what wouldn’t be too awkward, each of the novels relevancy/necessity to the main story manga, and assuming we continue with single cour (12-13 ep) seasons

Hopefully/ideally a 55 Minutes movie

S4: ch 54-70

Early S5 (preferably) or end of S4: Untold Origins or A Day at the Agency

S5: ch 71-88/around where we are now?

A Day at the Agency can, in my opinion at least, be chucked in at any point either as a single episode OVA or as the light novel content for s4 (maybe not even taking a full episode and then starting ch 54 in the last few minutes for example). Keep in mind that the current DOA arc is a long one and has plenty to it, so personally I think it may even be better to not include a novel adaptation in a future S4, as it would likely already be a right squeeze content wise. Remember, we also have a few XX.5 chapters that are continuations of the chapter directly before them.

I still need to read what’s currently available of the gaiden novel fan translations but it can probably be adapted at any point as well. I’m estimating approximately 5-6 eps as an OVA series. I don’t really think it would get a movie, partially because you can make it only so long, especially since it’s an anime movie and unlike Storm Bringer, it doesn’t have Chuuya to practically guarantee the profit.

BEAST also doesn’t directly impact the main story and can be adapted at virtually any point. However, seeing as we do have a live action confirmed for it and it’s page count lines up very closely with Dark Era, it can be either 4 eps or (more likely in my opinion) a movie, as it can be considered almost stand alone content.

Personally, I believe it is currently way too soon to animate Storm Bringer as it came out only a little over a month ago (as of writing this) and has minimal plot necessity as of ch 91, but I do believe it should be either split into 2 movies (a part 1 and part 2) or it would need 8 episodes, likely as an OVA season. If it were to get animated sooner than 55 Minutes or Untold Origins, which I believe to be very unlikely, I feel that it would almost certainly be driven by the financial gains of Chuuya being included, and his popularity alone. Reminder, SB is about Chuuya and not SKK. Dazai’s appearance in SB is proportionally a very small percentage and he’s not even mentioned in the official plot summary.

However, you can argue that SB is starting to have some relevance now, with the recent mention of the Order of the Clock Tower in ch 90 and the increased relevance of sealed ability weapons in ch 91. However, I really do believe that you can’t adapt Storm Bringer before 55 Minutes because of Standard Island and its treaty, it also talks about sealed ability weapons, knowing who Wells is, and 55 Minutes canonically takes place during the “downtime” portion of S3. In fact, here’s Asagiri’s words directly from the Afterward (translation by Yen Press):

“this volume didn’t take place in the past, but rather sometime after the tenth volume of the manga. In other words, it’s a tale about the ‘usual’ detective agency in novel format.” (55 minutes, p 237)

Untold Origins also should be adapted sooner rather than later (at least compared to SB in my opinion) because it’s about Ranpo and Fukuzawa’s shared past, which becomes increasingly relevant ch 70 onwards, as well as the need for the ADA being founded (which ties in with Yosano’s backstory in ch 65-66).

In regards to whether I think each of these would be better suited to a movie adaptation or as multiple regular length anime episodes, it’s mainly due to page count and partly due to the budget difference between the two, as well as how difficult I think it would be to animate each of these based on what needs to be drawn. The anime industry isn’t the fastest to switch to newer technology, hence why we see issues with 3D blending sometimes. I really do think that at the very least, 55 Minutes deserves the movie budget because of how detailed and complex the architecture of Standard Island is described as, as well all the mechanical parts needed for the final battle of the novel. Hate the lizard mouths introduced in Dead Apple all you want, but you can’t deny that the 3D cgi was blended very smoothly. For any of the other novels to be movies, it’s more so because gaiden and BEAST can be considered their own stand alone stories that don’t rely too heavily on the main story in terms of when they take place and get adapted. I feel that SB is more likely to get its own season or an OVA season more so due to its length, but multiple part anime movies have also been done before (ie. the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel movies), so it’s not entirely impossible. Especially considering that merely having any Chuuya screen time means that you can expect the profit and popularity to really go up, especially with SKK being on screen together (regardless of whether you love or hate how the fandom tends to push a shipping POV on them).

These are all of course just my hopes and predictions and estimates based on information currently available, so take them with some salt. I’d love to hear opinions on how, when, and why each of the currently non animated novels should be adapted going forward. Also please stop begging the relevant BSD official Twitter pages for SB to be animated next and go read the other light novels you Chuuya simp

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd analysis #bsd theories #bsd dead apple #bungo stray dogs #bsd manga #bsd storm bringer #bsd light novel #bsd anime #bsd 55 minutes #bsd beast #bsd gaiden #bsd untold origins