porcelain / ivory

a  single,  golden  brow  arched.  were his mood not so sour he might've chuckled at the ridiculousness of one of the statements.  ❝  i thought you knew me better, cousin. ❞   pausing, calyx took a longer drink, nearly draining the contents of his glass.  ❝  fomo is for the rest of the populace. i'm here because mother requested my siblings and i all be present. ❞   a request from the queen was hardly one at all. calyx rolled his eyes, lips twitching a fraction upwards.  ❝  there is certainly far worst company here. ❞

fire  surged  within,  upper  lip  curling into a snarl after shock has passed, as prince searched for culprit. only for valyrian hues to land upon goldengrove's flower. fire turned into smoke and released as a huff that lingered between annoyance and amusement.  ❝  hilarious? ❞   calyx kneeled down, no attempt made at hiding his actions as he gathered snow in gloved hands. grinning when he stood up.  ❝  you find declaring war amusing, calla? very well. ❞   without hesitation, he advanced and threw the snowball at her.

boots  landed  hard  with  each  step, crushing delicate flakes that made up wintery blanket cursing the ground. a scowl was frozen upon dragon's visage as he absentmindedly scowled through his phone and didn't melt as head turned, only grew harsher in the face of rudeness. recognition didn't change anything.  ❝  yes, i do mind. ❞   he hardly cared for the view but his feet remained firmly planted.

[  💌  →  💘  ]:   i'll   keep   that   in   mind   that   you   let   me   get   away   with   everything [  💌  →  💘  ]:   do   your   best   to   keep   up   with   me,   pretty   boy [  💌  →  💘  ]:   i'll   kiss   it   better   when   you   do   fall

[ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 ] hey, i never said that. i'd stop you from robbing a bank or something similar to that. [ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 ] maybe i should fall then if it means i get an extra kiss. [ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 ] falling for you worked out pretty well after all

crown  princess  could  hear  the  sass  in  his  voice.  he  didn't  like  it  and  who  was  she  to  blame  him  ?  the  cold  wasn't  kind  to  those  with  wounds  that  could  never  heal,  but  to  those  who  would  take  every  opportunity  for  kinship  it  was  perfect.  taking  a  rather  large  sip  of  her  wine  glass,  the  harpy  got  up,  taking  her  hand  out  for  him  to  take.  "  well,  would  you  let  me  appreciate  a  different  view  then  ?  "  a  tilt  of  her  head,  a  saccharine  smile  and  love  within  amethyst  hues  glowed.  he  was  her  favorite  view  and  the  cold  mountains  could  wait  forever  ⸻   she  however,  could  not  wait  for  his  embrace.

valyrian  eyes  lingered  longest  upon  her. no snow covered landscape compared to her beauty. the cold hadn't claimed his expression entirely, and the corner of his lips curved upwards.  ❝  if you insist. ❞   his fingers interlaced with hers. leg's stiffness was ignored so klahan could stand smoothly, habits of concealment traced back years, never to be discarded.  ❝  how do you want to spend our time here? i've overheard many talking about the christmas market and the slopes. ❞   he'd sit out of the latter, wait at the bottom of the mountain with a warm drink.

finding  parking  here  had  been  terrible.  then  again,  he  wasn't  considered  to  be  one  of  the  more  elite,  was  he?  instead  of  dragging  at  him,  he  found  he  bore  this  burden  with  a  curious  grin.  he  would  rather  have  his  own  reliable  vehicle  present  for  a  fast  getaway  if  need  be  than  rely  on  others  for  much  of  anything.  royce  dragged  the  edge  of  his  nail  long  the  laid  -  out  crystal,  and  then  fiddled  with  one  of  the  hanging  wreaths.  “call  me  sentimental,  but  i  hope  this  christmas  is  quiet.  the  last  one  was  far  too  high  -  octane  for  me.”  he  winced  with  his  jaw,  spinning  on  the  heel  of  his  polished,  glossy  loafer.  “i  near  don't  know  what  to  do  when  my  phone  is  quiet."  he  anticipated  the  buzz  every  minute.

with  a  final  farewell,  theon  stepped away from the conversation with one of the resort managers, tucking the report into his bag. another reason to dislike crowds in his home - they ate into his time to enjoy the holidays. but he had no intention of handing off his responsibilities, not when winterfell was center stage. the old gods knew southerners could find complaints with a diamond, best to not give them fuel for their fire.  ❝  it's normally quieter than this, ❞   he said, pausing instead of continuing past the man. small talk normally avoided.  ❝  christmas is meant to be celebrated with others, family and friends, but the resort is large if you're looking for some quiet. ❞

Even after the ceaseless questions about their well-being after, well, everything that had transpired in the past year, Martyn insisted on only tapping into their more vulnerable state during their song-writing process, and when they were among family. Alas, the latter had to be put on hold, for their family home was overrun by people from all over the kingdom. Meanwhile, Theon insisted on running after him as if he was surely about to act out. "You're too overcome by curiosity to turn around." He smiled to himself as he stopped in his tracks promptly, hoping that his brother would bump into him from following so close. "What if we threw a talent show before the big dinner party? We just need to come up with a prize everyone would want... I really want to see someone fail at stand-up, Theon please!"

a  sigh  fell  from  his  lips, eyes rolling slightly, brotherly fondness lingering in dark pools. perhaps one day his brother would grow up a little more but until then, theon would continue watching out for him - and potentially quashing antics that could get him into trouble when he could.  ❝  i've long misplaced this curiosity you speak of, ❞   he deadpanned. quicker on his feet than appearance might suggest, he narrowly avoided crashing into martyn.  ❝  the staff is busy enough with all the other activities. i'm not going to give them another event to staff and help run. they also deserve to spend time at home with their families. ❞

"Gods,  I  missed  this!"  Life  always  feels  a  little  better,  when  there's  snow,  at  least  in  Myranda's  opinion.  The  white  flakes  swirl  in  the  wind  and  the  cold  doesn't  deter  her  from  standing  in  the  centre  of  it,  gloved  hands  out  to  catch  them  as  they  fall.  Cheeks  and  nose  are  red  from  the  cold,  but  there's  no  incentive  to  go  inside  just  yet.  "It  doesn't  really  feel  like  Christmas  until  everything  is  covered  with  snow,  does  it?  I  was  gonna  wait  until  everyone  was  gone,  but I think I'm  gonna  have  to  break  out  the  skis  tomorrow.  You  gonna  join  me?"

dark  hues  turned  upward  toward  the sky as snow fell around the pair. some of the snowflakes landed upon his cheeks, coldness being absorbed by the flesh as a flower would drink water, which left a faint red tint along his cheekbones. theon didn't shiver. ice didn't tremble in its home.  ❝  it doesn't. i can't imagine celebrating christmas anywhere else. ❞   he only wished winterfell's normal quiet graced them, but as his father had once welcomed many to the resort in celebration of the holidays, so did he  ❝  i'll never say no to spending some time on the slopes. if we go early in the morning, we might beat the crowds. ❞

promised relaxation and 'me' time for the day granted to his beloved wife, bringing the father of four alone with three of his children now running about, scattered in the snow-covered field. laughter, thuds, followed by even louder fits of laughter echoing from where he stood. smile soon clings to his features, watching them find merriment even in the simplest offerings of the resort. one quick look and he spots something fall into the mounds of snow, catching up with the owner of the pocket from where it must have fallen from, ❝ here , you dropped this . ❞

the  cold  didn't  bother  him;  stark more statue than man standing on the edge of the playground. sharp eyes watched as his children built a snow castle together - his daughter's voice occasionally grew loud enough that he could hear a word or two of the directions spoken to her little brother. a smile lived comfortably upon his visage; another's voice didn't even dim it.  ❝  oh, thank you. ❞   he hadn't even noticed that the plush wolf toy had fallen out of his pocket.  ❝  my son would've been distraught had i lost this. ❞

before  he  could  answer,  lyanna,  having raced over to pick up more snowballs, stared up at shyra and declared, "of course we can!" before racing back into the fray without another word. theon was left chuckling.  ❝  i guess we have an answer. ❞   he glanced over at shyra.  ❝  they're certainly determined to win the snowball fight. ❞

head  tilted  to  one  side,  then  the  other.  and  then  amused  smile  stretched  across  kovarro's face,  and  he  withdrew  his  phone  to  quickly  snap  a  few  photos.  "oh,  the  poor  judges,"  he  snickered  to  @steelfyre  @disrcpairs  @unbowcd  at  the  line  of  three certainly-not-intentional  phallic  shaped  showmen.  "these  all  should  win  the  jury's  choice  though."

her  eyes  rolled.  the  sight  before them hardly worth any time. alara didn't consider herself an overly serious individual but neither did immaturity color her perspective. if the builder had sought to lighten the mood, other sculptures would've been better.  ❝  how immature. ❞   she scoffed.  ❝  they'll probably be eliminated entirely. ❞

a  small  clap  rang  out  in  the  empty  space  as  iliana’s  palms  met  ,  joy  lighting  features  at  the  simple  instruction.  “  on  it!  “  an  easy  enough  task  so  long  as  she  could  find  the  correct  drawer.  something  that  proved  to  be  only  mildly  troublesome  in  the  large  kitchen  ,  though  persistence  prevailed  and  soon  enough  she  was  toting  a  handful  of  stainless  steel  cutters  to  their  work  station.  “  okay  so  we’ve  got  the  classic  gingerbread  man.  “  doe  noted  as  she  laid  them  out  on  the  countertop.  “  candycanes  ,  christmas  trees  ,  snowflakes  ,  reindeer  ,  i  even  found  a  cute  little  mistletoe!  “

arms  quickly  became  full  of  the various of ingredients needed: flour, sugar, molasses, and spices amongst them. she placed them on the table unceremoniously before searching for the necessary tools. drawers were riffled through as refrigerator and cabinets were before. she returned with arms full again, this time carrying two bowels, measuring cups, and a rolling pin.  ❝  a reindeer! we must use that one. ❞   hues sparkled.  ❝  do you think if we hang a mistletoe cookie somewhere people will kiss under it? ❞

LAYLA BAKER ALL AMERICAN | 6.14 "I Do (Part I)"

heat  radiated  through  gloved  hands  ,  spices  fragrant  as  they  hit  her  senses.  strong  but  not  cloying  ,  and  elowyn  barely  gave  it  a  moment  to  cool  before  lifting  it  to  her  mouth  to  drink.  “  mm.  “  satisfaction  humming  against  reddened  lips.  “  i  would  kill  to  be  laying  out  on  a  beach  right  now.  “  essos  ,  dorne  ,  the  summer  isles  ,  on  a  boat  ,  in  a  cabana  ,  anywhere  the  sun  could  radiate  and  warm  flesh  with  no  chance  of  frostbite.  “  but  no  ,  we’ll  just  be  forced  to  freeze  our  asses  off  instead.  “

ice  had  clearly  frozen  the  starks' brains if they thought this was how anyone, beyond their fellow back country dwellers, wanted to spend the holidays. thank the seven that the new year's party would be in king's landing.  ❝  i'm trying not to think about where else i could be. i'm far too pretty to be depressed. ❞   the one benefit of everyone suffering together was that she wasn't scrolling through her socials and seeing people off vacationing elsewhere.

"The  restaurant  isn't  half-bad.  Small  mercies,  I  guess."  She  certainly  wasn't  one  for  snow  sports,  you  wouldn't  see  her  skiing  any  time  soon,  and  even  the  thought  of  ice  skating  made  her  exhausted.  No,  she  was  certainly  more  accustomed  to  the  fine  dining  experience,  the  warmth  of  heaters  and  climate  controlled  rooms.  And  any  excuse  to  break  out  one  of  the  dresses  she'd  insisted  on  bringing  was  worth  it.  "I  had  a  peek  at  the  menu  before  we  even  left  Casterly  Rock,  and  I've  been  dreaming  about  the  arancini  ever  since.  What  do  you  think?"

doubtful  that  the  chef  or  restaurant had been granted five stars, though decor certainly tried painting the image, but so long as the food was decent and the heat remained on then lioness would remain docile. perhaps she'd even do the little restaurant a favor and post a picture or two on her story - if they understood how to aesthetically plate a dish.  ❝  with meat or without? ❞   long, manicured nail tapped against the tablecloth as emerald hues scanned over the menu.  ❝  some of the soups sound interesting. perhaps as a first course. ❞

[  💌  →  husband  ]:   sucks   to   be   them   because   i   have   decided   on   frozen   on   repeat,   maybe   we'll   watch   the   second   one   too,   they'll   just   have   to   let   elf   go [  💌  →  husband  ]:   my   existence   revolves   around   spoiling   them   so   cookies   they'll   get [  💌  →  husband  ]:   we   didn't   bake   them,   or   we're   not   eating   the   ones   we   made   together.   don't   want   to   get   food   poisoning   just   yet [  💌  →  husband  ]:   nah,   will   drop   them   up   right   before   bed   time   bc   they   miss   mommy   and   daddy

[ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 ] spoiling them would be letting them watch elf. [ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 ] but lyanna will never say no to a frozen sing along. hope you know hans' and kristoff's lines. she will correct you if not. [ 𝗌𝖾𝗇𝗍 → 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 ] thank you for not poisoning your niece and nephew. shirei would never forgive you if you got them sick right before the holidays