Thank you for being my friends.

          That was kind of his job, his forte. He fixed things and made them work again           or built them into something better, something beautiful and functional. He           couldn’t do any of that with Newt half because he didn’t understand the other           and half because he was too damn terrified of even so much as cracking a           door to let him in. Sure, they were soulmates, but that didn’t mean that all           of his issues went away with a snap of the finger; all his problems that he’d           spent so many years meticulously stacking inside his closet full of skeletons           wasn’t going to topple out because of one person trying to open the door. He           refused that much. 

          But why did it hurt him deep inside to see Newt so….broken and upset? Why           did it hurt him so much that he couldn’t even meet the other’s eye or even so           much as look up from the dark coffee in the white mug between his hands? 

          Maybe it was because he knew this was coming: this very moment that he was           going to be forced to lay everything out on the table. He was going to have to           say it eventually. He couldn’t keep it locked away, hidden under every mixed           signal he’d sent since day one of their whatever this was. Newt was demanding           answers that Gally wasn’t ready to provide yet right now and it was either talk           or lose him all over again. This time, most likely forever. 

          Gally remains quiet for a long moment, just staring at his rippling reflection in           his coffee, unable to even meet his own eyes, the green color now drenched in           brown so dark it was almost black. “I….” he starts, but soon closes his mouth,           taking in a deep breath before slowly letting it all out until his lungs were           practically deflated. It did nothing to quell the building anxiety that rumbled           through his body like a freight train, making his tongue heavy and his head           fuzzy. 

          “I…I’ve told you before. You didn’t believe a word that came out of my           mouth and I guess I don’t really blame you,” he begins, still not looking           up from Newt as he referred to the time he came in piss drunk one night,           spewing words he never thought to say before. “I never wanted a soulmate,           never thought that having another person here would be all too fuckin’           great. I’m not really a people person if you haven’t noticed, but it all kind           of changed. I still never wanted one, but here you are and it’s kind of….           hard to do things when you’re not here, I guess. I dunno– the last time           you left, I found myself talking to walls because I’m so used to you here,           making dinner for two, all that bullshit. 

  ❝——Okay...❞ He says after taking air into his lungs once again in a loud, shudder-y breath, slowly nodding to himself.  ❝——Okay.❞ He repeats as if he needs to assure himself that that’s what he’s just said. Then he just sits there for a few moments, looking so frozen in his place that with his pale, pale skin he could be mistaken for an ice sculpture.

Then he slowly stands up from his chair and picks up his backpack, and his gaze shifts halfheartedly between Gally and the door. For a few seconds it seems as if he’s about to turn around and walk out of that door, but then he takes an unsure step towards the bedroom.

  ❝——I’m gonna...put my stuff back.❞ He finally says, as if those few words can settle everything between them. He starts walking towards the bedroom again, looking a little less unsure of his steps. His limp is more distinct than ever.

It doesn’t take him long to unpack. He hadn't exactly packed many things to begin with. And his most precious possession in the world was still here, after all; his piano, which had made his fingertips itch with the need to run them over its keys when his eyes had fell upon it on walking back here.

He’s finally made Gally talk to him. He feels as if a wight has been lifted from his chest. He flops down on the bed in a not too elegant motion. Gally only talked because he’d been afraid. If Newt had known that was what could get him to talk, then...

But Newt isn’t cruel. He didn’t put the both of them through this just to get Gally to tell him what he wanted to hear. He hadn’t even considered coming back to this place when he’d left it a few hours ago. He’d been so determined to leave. But he’s left twice now. What if Gally starts to think this is just one of Newt’s tricks to get him to do what he wants? What if he stops taking him seriously? Not that Gally took him seriously before, but still...

          “Yeah– Yeah come in.” Gally says, rubbing the back of his neck as he moves           out of the way, giving Newt as much space to enter as he needs. Gally closes           the door softly behind him, doing back up the latches before running a hand           through his hair. “I’ll go…make some coffee. You take it with creamer, right?”           he asks, shifting a bit around the other while still repressing the urge to hold           him close and make him never want to leave again. Once in the kitchen, he           gets the coffee maker all set up and stares down at the dark water as it begins           to drip into the glass. 

          He doesn’t know what to say or how to even approach talking about anything.           So he remains silent until the coffee is finished, preparing Newt’s how he has           learned that he likes it before taking the two mugs out, setting them on the           coffee table. Gally stares down into the pitch black of his own, watching the           ripples on the surface from his thumb tapping at the side until finally, words           are easing out of his mouth. 

He merely nods at Gally’s question, his fingers still tightly clasping the strap of his backpack. His gaze is a little distant as he takes in the furniture around him as if he hasn’t seen them in years, when in reality it’s only been a few hours. This place never really felt like home, anyway.

He lets out a small sigh and lets the backpack slide off his shoulder as he moves to one of the chairs and sits down, although his whole figure is still tense. His arms are wrapped around him as if to protect himself, and knees are drawn close together, his elbows resting upon them. When Gally places a cup of the hot liquid in front of him, he takes it greedily into his hands, wrapping his bony fingers around it and feeling the numbness slowly seeping out of them. He lifts his gaze when the other male addresses him.

  ❝——Out.❞ He replies dully, but it’s true. He had been walking around all night, unsure of where to go or what to do as his mind took him to places he didn’t wish to go. He lifts the mug to his lips and takes a small sip from it, allowing the sweetness of the liquid to burst on the tip of his tongue. He’s always had a bit of a sweet tooth.

  ❝——Gally, listen,❞ He starts abruptly, placing the mug back down on the coffee table.  ❝——I came back ‘cause I needed to talk to you about somethin’. There’s somethin’ I need to know ‘fore I  decide if I’m gonna stay.❞ He’s finally looking at the other male, his gaze more confident than before.

          If anything, he was angry at himself. I need to think. Those words just kept           playing over and over in his mind, the message flashing behind his closed           eyelids until he couldn’t take it anymore. He flings the covers off his body,           grabbing a package of cigarettes off the night stand and makes his way to           the window. Taking one out, he puts it between his lips, lighting it up as he           opens the window. As the nicotine spreads through him, quelling the boiling           anger and anxiety inside of him, he finally was able to think. He had a           fifty-fifty chance of Newt coming back to him, of getting probably one of the           best things that had ever happened to him home. But that also meant he had           a fifty-fifty chance of losing him forever. It wasn’t hard math on paper, but in           his heart and mind, it was one of the hardest things to accept. 

          Three cigarettes later, his phone goes off once more. Gally bangs his           knee against the windowsill as he dives back for the bed, fumbling with           his password to get in and see who had texted him. are u still awake?            He practically held his breath as the three dots at the bottom of the           screen indicated that Newt was still typing. A few seconds later, his           phone buzzed in his hand. i don’t have my keys. 

          Newt had come back. He hadn’t left forever, he was right outside the front door.           Gally barely had even realized that he was moving until he made it to the front           door, quickly undoing all of the locks and flinging the door open to look down           at the other male, meeting his eyes and just staring. It felt like there was           something caught in his throat, something hard and round that didn’t go away           no matter how hard he swallowed. 

So he still cares about Gally. He cares a lot. Although he still can’t figure out why. Yes, they are soulmates and all that, but it can’t be just that. It’s something more; something he can’t quite put his finger on. He just knows that he wants to stop feeling it. Gally has done absolutely nothing to deserve the strong pull that Newt feels towards him whenever he thinks of him. He wishes he can go back to hating him, just like when they hadn’t found out they were destined to spend what was left of their lives learning how to tiptoe around one another. Things were much simpler then.

He looks up at Gally when he opens the door, and he looks utterly miserable. His eyes are puffy and red, and his skin looks paler and sicklier than ever, as if he hasn’t eaten anything for a whole day, which, in hindsight, is rather true. If this is the effect of not having Gally around, he isn’t going to admit to it even if it kills him.

His gaze is a little shy when it meets the other male‘s halfway, not lingering in one place for too long. He knows he’s probably been far too childish for his own good, but a part of that can be blamed on his condition. Does Gally know about his depression? He can’t remember. It’s still not a good enough excuse for him packing up and leaving without a warning, but he does do crazy things when his depression kicks up, when his mind takes over his life and whatever fear he’s been holding inside overflows. He had been afraid of being left behind, so he’d chosen to do the leaving instead. Too bad that his heart hadn’t been in it from the start.

Underwater Airbnb lets you sleep among 35 sharks

This gives “sleeps with the fishes” a whole new meaning. Airbnb is offering three one-night stays at the Aquarium de Paris, with the circular room offering a stunning 360-degree view of sharks. And it won’t cost you anything to do it.

you’re so stoic or deadpan most of the time but when your get flustered your face lights up red like a beacon and it’s so cute.

you’re such a bum getting up late all the time but you always greet me by wrapping your hands around my waist and just get dressed already

you have no idea what personal space is and it’s really distracting when your face is two inches away from mine, what if i turn my head and accidentally kiss you

your music choice is so bad but your undeniably yet irritatingly cute when you bop your head along

That thing where they first meet again and that expression of confusion bc ‘I know them’

and then they struggle with getting closer for no damn reason but just?? t h e m

And tHEN THEY GET FLASHBACKS OF THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT TORE THEM APART IN A PREVIOUS LIFE

Or one of them does and they have to stare into that other person’s face every morning knowing they’ll never understand how much they love them

I have received several messages about tricks to writing and if there are any key POINTS to being a GOOD writer. Good, as a term is subjective of course, changes from one person to the other. Though WRITING does have certain tricks to it to look more appealing to the reader, and in our case, being a ‘GOOD WRITING PARTNER’ is more about making things easier for the people you share your hobby with more than the actual style of your writing. So what is this that I am talking about?

Of course, there are many tips to write things that are more readable, to have your writing flow better, if you will. But this is more about giving your partner things they can actually work on, aka the CONTENT of your writing. Carefully chosen words, poetic approaches, styling etc. etc. sure have their effect on making a piece of writing a joy to read, though it does not mean your reply is not STALE. If the content is lost within words, no matter how beautiful it may be to read your writing, it will LOSE points of actual action and thus will be DRY, and a HARD reply.

Don’t have your muse only mentally react, especially for longer threads which usually consists mostly of muses’ train of thoughts, environmental and emotional exploration, pen-portraiting of expressions and so on, it is important to CREATE action rather than ONLY give reaction. Be it physical or verbal, big or tiny, drop at least a line of MOVEMENT without any IMPACT. Your partner will have a chance to EXPAND/CHANGE/FURTHER-EXPLORE the current situation if you too put in the effort of creativity. Don’t leave your reply at EXPLAINING feelings/thoughts/etc, make sure it takes body somehow. Read your reply as if it is someone else’s and given to you, see if you can build a picture over it, find points to WORK & turn into material for yourself.

1)     Coffee shop AU

i)       Barista and person who has a ridiculous coffee order

ii)      I’m worried about your coffee dependency

iii)     you accidentally poured boiling hot coffee over me so you’re responsible for taking me to A&E

iv)     you give me a different fake name every time you come into starbucks and I just want to know your real name bc ur cute but here I am scrawling “batman” onto your stupid cappuccino

2)      Flower shop AU

i)       You buy a weird amount of flowers and I’m concerned as to why

ii)      I’m allergic to flowers but I work in a flower shop – you’re a customer who’s very confused as to why I’d do that

iii)     (this is also a good way to incorporate flower meanings eg, buying certain colours/types for person to represent feelings etc.)

3)      Library AU

i)       You’re overdue on this book and I want it so I’m tracking u the fuck down

ii)      I work in the library and I’m a little concerned for your health bc you never stop studying

iii)     The library’s pretty empty save for you and me and OH that couple making out loudly in the shelves somewhere

4)      Awful first time meeting

i)       I accidentally punched you in the face when I was too overexcited about something

ii)      I thought you were my friend who’s just done something awful to me (read: cut my hair while I slept, dyed all of my clothes pink, etc. etc.) because you look similar from behind so I stormed up to you and shoved you from behind while calling you an asshole

iii)     You get the gist to this one

iv)     Oooh when you told me your name I thought you were joking because it’s fucking awful and I made a joke about it and things got awkward real fucking fast (perfect for a Hannibal au just saying)

5)      Weird places to meet/awkward meetings in general

i)       We live in the same block of flats but haven’t ever talked and Sunday morning we were both doing the walk of shame and had to stand in the lift together

ii)      “okay I know that being in the woods at 2am is a weird thing to be doing but my friend called me and- wait, why are you in the woods at 2am, fuck I’m going to die aren’t I?”

iii)     A personal favourite of mine – first day at a new job and oh fuck my boss is the person I drunkenly hooked up with last weekend/night

iv)     We keep accidentally running into each other I’m not a stalker I swear

v)      You live across from me in our apartments and we smile when we see each other but we don’t really know each other and oh you’re the stripper at my friend’s stag do/hen night fuck this is really uncomfortable

vi)     “My shower’s broken but I’ve got a date tonight could I possibly use your shower please?” “Oh sure (neighbour that I’ve been crushing on for the past six months) of course you can use my shower to get ready for your date (fuck fuck fuck)”

6)      Friends to romance – pining and all that wonderful shit

i)       You’ve got a date tonight and you asked for advice on what to wear but I’m so in love with you and damn you look good in the outfit I picked out for you

ii)      I really like you but you’re my best friend’s ex

iii)     You’ve liked me for ages and were really obvious about it and I didn’t like all the attention but now you’re over me I really miss it and fuck I think I like you too?

iv)     Somewhere along the way of getting into bar fights together, staying up all night with movie marathons, other friendship things, I’ve fallen in love with you but oh my god this could ruin EVERYTHING

v)      Friends with benefits oh wait I like you

7)      FAKE DATING HOLY SHIT I LIVE FOR THIS

i)       It’s my highschool reunion and I need a hot date so I can rub it in the faces of the people who hated me

ii)      My homophobic parents are coming to visit will you pretend to date me as an extra “fuck you”?

iii)     There’s a person who won’t stop bugging me will you pretend to be my partner so that they’ll fuck off?

iv)     I told my sister I have a boyfriend so she’d stop trying to set me up with people but now she’s coming to visit and I’m in too deep I need a fake boyf ASAP

8)      Soulmate aus

i)       The first words your true love(s) will say to you are tattooed on you and why the fuck are their first words something really ridiculous like ‘I’ll pay you a tenner to punch me in the face’ or ‘quick what’s your favourite animal’ or ‘fucking shit hell holy fuck wow oh my god jesus h Christ fuck me’ etc. or even worse a really ridiculous song lyric like  the opening lines of uptown funk or a high school musical song or smthing did you have to serenade me the first time you saw me asshole?

ii)      You get an ‘impression’ of your soulmate when you turn 18 or something but all I got was a strong smell of bananas or an overwhelming feeling that Thatcher was a good prime minister or an image in my mind of a fucking unicorn

iii)     The more ridiculous the better actually

iv)     Something like whenever your soulmate sings a duet you can’t help but join in and my fucking soulmate is in a goddamn band but I can’t sing for shit

v)      Or maybe something like soulmates always sneeze at the same time and I cant be sure but me and this kid in my French class just sneezed at the same time are we soulmates or was it a coincidence (proceed w character trying to make themselves sneeze around said person to see what’s what)

9)      Alternate universes for real

i)       Mermaids

ii)      Siren and asexual pirate who doesn’t understand why all his crew are losing their shit that person has a nice voice sure but what the fuck is happening

iii)     Hogwarts

iv)     We live in a world where the greek gods are real and you went and got yourself cursed and now I have to go on a fucking quest to sort this shit out why do I love you again?

v)      Pacific rim au (either they’re drift compatible or one of them is a ranger and the other stresses constantly bc what if they die yes I have read a fic like this no I didn’t come up with this one but it’s fucking good) (also if you haven’t seen that film go watch it now)

vi)     Literally any movie or book universe you like tbh just go for it

10)   Other aus that I like

i)       I wanted to go on the ferris wheel but there has to be two people to a cart come on random person let’s go oh wait are we stuck at the top? Fuck

ii)      We work in the same office and you have a goddamn squeaky chair and you wONT FUCKING STOP SQUEAKING IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT ANNOYS ME

iii)     Our mutual friend set us up on a blind date and I thought I’d hate it but you’re actually… kind of funny? But because I expected to hate it in no way am I going to let you change my mind just because you’re gorgeous and funny and intelligent oh no my friend is not winning this

iv)     It started to snow and I’m the only one of our friends who would go outside with you – I soon found out why none of the others would go out in the snow with you (this works best if they’re new friends who don’t know each other all that well) when you shoved a handful of snow down my back and declared snow war

v)      It’s nowhere near Christmas it’s literally still November would you calm down about Christmas wait no why are you getting the tree out no stop please stop (if you do this pre-relationship you can have the grouchy one secretly finding the other’s excitement endearing and falling in love with them actually that works for established relationship too)

vi)     Current partner got a new job in America (or other country far away) and we’re getting by on skype calls and emails but it’s not easy and then I met someone new (can be poly or can be finding the OTP person)

vii)   You want us both to get in shape and I hate working out/running but your ass looks really good in shorts oh the things I do for my friends and their nice asses

viii)  Carrying on from 10.vii. you’ve caught me checking you out in what I thought was a subtle way too many times and now you’re calling me out on it what do I do???

ix)     You’re an actor/other famous person that I really admire and I just saw you in the street and as I was debating whether or not to say hi you came up to me and started flirting what do I do??

x)      You were waving at your friend behind me but I got confused and waved back at you and now I’m dying of embarrassment but you think it’s cute

xi)     I sat down in the wrong class and I’m panicking but don’t want to get up and leave because the class has started and you think it’s hilarious and shut up you dumb fuck you don’t know me aahhh

xii)   I’m a waiter at this wedding and you’re a drunk guest who will not stop hitting on me please I’m trying to work no I can’t dance with you omg let me find you some water

xiii)  Our best friends are that awful ‘cute’ couple that make-out in public and call each other “sweetie” and “sugar” and “babe” and god they’re awful let’s talk about how awful they are – develops into “shit we’re the awful couple now”

xiv)  You pissed me off in class so I threw a book at your head and now I’m in detention and jesus fuck I hate you so much and the teacher made me apologise and wait you’re cuter up close and the way you talk is kind of nice actually oh fuck no

Okay I could go on forever but this is over 1,500 words of auing already I have too many ideas christ