#AS ALWAYS feel free to chat with me about the details of the artifact -- you already figured out some stuff but i'm happy to help!

[greedbent]

Kaz Brekker had made a mistake.

To the masses, that was practically impossible. Every move he made was calculated, having long considered all options as meticulously as any skilled swordsman cared for his equipment—making sure everything worked perfectly, accounting for any weaknesses in his armor before diving headfirst into battle . . . That was, after all, how Dirtyhands preferred to be seen. Oftentimes all it took to keep someone well under his thumb was the fear of him always being a hundred steps ahead. They couldn’t so much as wriggle without him knowing and having a retaliation that would hurt so much more—no matter how quick or slow it came.

People thought of Inej as his spider: she could crawl anywhere, get him any information he needed, but at the end of it all . . .

He would always be the one in the middle of the web waiting for his moment to strike. And when he made his mistakes, he mended the tears in that web before anyone could see them. He compensated. He created a new tangle, a new distraction, redirected his enemy’s attention before they ever noticed he’d lost his footing and nearly tumbled through one of the yawning gaps.

Kaz Brekker made mistakes people usually never saw.

Until now. When such a mistake mattered enough that he couldn’t risk making it— But he had.

It was clumsy. Unacceptable. Deserving of more than just a slap on the wrist. Tartaglia caught him off-guard in ways he always did. Kaz never struggled to dig his fingers into someone’s sore spots, never came across anyone who didn’t have at least one to exploit: the one thing that would always get them on their knees if pressed just right. But Tartaglia had never been easy. He was impulsive. He was as feral as a rabid dog, someone who couldn’t be saved and should be put out of his misery (only that he wasn’t in misery at all, but thrived in the chaos). He was an unpredictable whirlwind as much as Kaz attempted to wrangle it, to hone the unpredictability into a predictability. And that was where the mistakes happened.

Kaz couldn’t reason with insanity.

Even the weak points of that chaos were more of a trigger to an explosion than a means of controlling the creature inside; no, if he pushed Tartaglia’s buttons, he wouldn’t get his cooperation. Kaz had his modesty where he needed it; he knew the Harbinger would have no reason not to gut him right here and now if he wasn’t careful.

—and Dirtyhands had plenty of work to do before he was ready to die.

Mentally, Kaz stepped back from that cage. He removed his hands from between the bars where he had been taunting the beast. And his next exhale came tight, hardly much of a relief—as if he’d expelled a mere fraction of the breath now caught and burning in his lungs. As much as he despised this . . . he backed off. (The rabid dog wasn’t his enemy more so than he was an obstacle.)

“Fine,” he said, tone crisp and final. “Then I need you to first start being honest about the job you’re asking of us.” And as much as he despised meeting that icy leer across from him, Kaz still held it unwaveringly. His jaw tightened, but he continued. “The Fatui don’t go sniffing about for random and unassuming valuables like treasure hoarders; some of you are a bit more sophisticated than that.” Some of you was very deliberately directed at the creature sitting here with him. “The artifact in question doesn’t just crumble to dust when it’s dropped. Tell me what’s so special about it and what sort of danger I’m putting my ‘kids’ in.”

It would be a fair assessment to call both men seated at this table ruthless. Truth be told, it was the only reason Childe found his current company at all tolerable to deal with. For at his core, Kaz was just as insufferable as the other Harbingers: always plotting and scheming, more likely to play the long con with everyone he met than simply eliminate problems head-on. From the moment he'd sat down, Childe knew the shrewd stare across from him studied everything. Kaz's (usually) unflinching stoicism was a veil for cogs that never stopped turning.

That was where the two men seated at this table differed.

Childe's sharp gaze did not seek out weakness for the sake of a scheme. When prey exposed its throat, he did not use the opportunity to tie a leash around it to control and exploit at a later time. No, he latched on with his teeth.

The slip in Kaz's composure was only the briefest instant—but that was enough for the ferocity in Childe's blood to target that weak point. Heh, and he hadn't even been trying to earn a rise. How sloppy.

But Childe's (admittedly pointless) veil of civility had its flaws, as well. The less-than-subtle, deliberate taunt in Kaz's "follow-up query" stretched the corners of his grin just a fraction too wide. Teetering on a knife's edge of which Kaz's words tested the sharpness.

"I have no problem with you asking questions that are relevant to the job at hand. However, I don't see how that could possibly be of any concern to you when you stand to profit either way. Besides, I believe I just finished explaining why I'm a poor fit for the job." If he undertook the task himself, there would be blood and destruction...much like what would become of this very tavern if the man across from him didn't tread very carefully.

Shaking his head, Childe tsked as if scolding a literal bearer of his namesake. "Were you even listening to my proposal? And you call yourself a professional." Spreading his hands wide, his gaze once again lazily traversed the room, this time spurred by boredom. "If you have any legitimate questions, you'd better ask them now. Otherwise, this offer has a time limit—as much as I'd love to spend all evening indulging you, I have a few debts to collect before the night is over."

When he leveled the other again, Childe's stare was solid ice: a testament to the ruthlessness at his core. "Unless you'd like to give your wraith the chance to ask her own questions—now that would be worth my time, if the real professional could join us. After all, she's really the one who's services I'd be enlisting." He inclined his chin. Brazen. Inviting retaliation. "Or does everything have to go through Daddy for approval? Can't have your kids making any decisions on their own, now can you?"

[mizziix]

@bedofherteeth​ Tch... you’ve activated my trap card. You absolute fool.

Putting this under a readmore just in case it gets long, because I’m on PC now and can do that!

For those that missed it, this is Andrei Nichols, 7th Generation Lasombra Elder who has no idea that’s what he is.

For some further context, the game that he’s in is a straight up ERP game. Some people in the game treat it exactly like that, a chance to just have some of their powerful OC’s meet and bang like you’re browsing Meet’N’Fuck games. More power to them, but me and my friends in the server are what’s known as slightly insane. 

Within this game, one of the first scenes he did was, well technically the first one was meet’n’fuck a vampire milf, milfpire if you will. This is an ERP game. However, at every opportunity the fact has been emphasized that he is creepy. He lives in a completely abandoned, dilapidated apartment building. It’s always cold there, and no matter how many people you enter with it always feels like you are hauntingly alone. Everything is watching you even though nothing is there. It has managed to unnerve other vampires and even seasoned mages, one of which I’ll explain later he’s important. The other vital element here is that, again, Andrei is aware of exactly none of it. He is confused why more people don’t visit unless invited, he doesn’t know why he doesn’t have neighbors, and it’s actually left vague if he’s even paying rent to a landlord or he just thinks he does. He’s called the plumber about the fact that his shower doesn’t spray water but instead the cold black nothingness of the Abyss, but they didn’t show up. Eventually he stopped calling as, well, it cleans him well enough. All of his clothes and towels in the room kept getting stained with old, rotting black blood though, so he’s learned to just leave all cloth outside of the room while he’s showering. You get used to it.

He also collects things, just idly. At the recommendation of the aforementioned milfpire and the soon to be mentioned Mage he’s begun to spice up his rather drab apartment. So, he has a few pretty flags up, he’s strung up some lights, and over most surfaces he has various nicknacks scattered around. Cool things he’s gathered in the city, more than one of these are magical artifacts. However, he’s not a Tremere nor a Wizard, so he has no idea. You might be noticing a theme here.

Also Playstation games! He collects old Playstation games, the good and especially the bad.

The most important interactions he has so far are with two mages, one played by my boyfriend and the other played by @bloodtreachery​, the Hermetic mage Adeptus Maior Artixano le Bateleur bani Criamon, Entertainer of the Ephemeral, Storyteller of the Elemental Cycles, Wanderer of the Nine Worlds, and Tapestry of Tales Yet to Be Told. Andrei just calls him Artixano, or Artie. The long and short of it is that these two are coworkers, have been for years at this point. They work at the magical femboy hooters mentioned in my last post, a free use tea house run by my boyfriend’s character. It’s a wild ride.

Artixano came by to Andrei’s place to chat, hang out, play some games, and deliver some gifts. They ended up playing Crash Bash Haberdash, a hat based cart racing game that absolutely sucked. So they stopped doing that, and through some flirting Artixano got Andrei to play dress up for him, modeling some clothes he had bought. This server being what it is, after Andrei stripped he didn’t make it to the first dress before they were making out.

This is where I have to re-emphasize something.

Even if he’s not aware of his past, Andrei is still a Lasombra elder on the Road of Kings. From the START, the MOMENT he was out of his clothes he was scheming on how to defeat Artixano in a battle of seduction. What does that mean? How does that even work? You obviously don’t understand.

For the sake of everyone I will refrain from recounting the details, but safe to say Artixano did pick up on the invisible battle of wits and dicks going on here, once he started teasing Andrei and Andrei started to fight back it was on. 

The rest of the scene was the most calculated sex scene either of us had ever written, it wasn’t about having fun (even though it was) it was a chess match of planning, maneuvering, and outplaying your opponent. The entire time we were joking that L’s theme from Death Note was playing in both of their heads even though neither of them had said that this was actually a challenge. There were Dune levels of Machiavellian plans within plans within plans going on while these two were having anal sex.

It all ended with one of them winning. It was never stated who won. They will forever disagree on the conclusion.

[likes-history-a-normal-amount]

Long time lurker first time caller, taking my first dip into having a side blog— don’t know what to make as my pinned intro but I will try my best!!!

Hello!!! My name is rosy (they/he/she), I am in my 20s, and I love talking history!! Also will be reposting art and pretty/goofy architecture!!!

Might talk about whatever current history deep dive I am in!!!

I am autistic so while I don’t always use tone indicators I do find them very very helpful!!

So feel free to ask for tone clarification!!

I also am trying to get in the habit of doing image descriptions (IDs). I’ve been going back and trying to retroactively add them as well as add them moving forward but if I miss one PLEASE tell me!!!!!

[GIF Description: a big brown bear in a thick grassy field behind a mesh wire barrier/fence. the bear is a sitting on its hind legs and waving at the person who is recording from inside their car. End ID]

Current Book(s): The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Berry as well as the book LAttitues: An Angeleno’s Atlas

(I tend to get sidetracked while reading by looking at its historical context so it may therefore—like it does with anyone else— impact the way I analyze art and history for a bit) (also I am trying to get back into reading and sometimes read a bit slow or randomly switch books 😢 so don’t expect the book to change or genuinely get finished too often lolol)

Last Book: Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History by Vidya Krishnan

Wow!!! Very good but not the most happy books (understandably) Super informative and so many parallels to the current pandemic! Everyone should read this if not to be better familiar with a disease that’ll definitely be talked about more again in the coming future

Last Last Book: Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke

Wowow loved this book!! Such a cool and interesting format, walked into it blind and I think that was a great choice to make!! Another banger recommendation from Shayne Topp from iCarly!!

[GIF Description: an already wet polar bear charging up and the jumping through a patch of ice over a body of water. the bear kind of jumps, the ice breaks, THEN he goes through, a bit cute and clunky and definitely not a skillful and fluid motion. the bear’s butt goes through very last, almost slumping in, much slower than the initial push and dive it does. End ID]

In college I studied business (economics and labor rights were my favorite topics) and theatre (mostly tech and theory, not acting) so perspectives can often come from those lenses!! I most definitely have blind spots as I am a white person in the US and from a pretty progressive city, so criticism and corrections in my msgs are always welcome!! if you know good resources outside of what I post that you think will help me gain a new perspective or understand a topic further I would love to hear it!!

Art reblogged will probably be more focused on older art pieces/artifacts, just to keep it more separate for my brain between the newer art I repost on my main

[GIF Description: forest landscape containing the midsection of a few trees. during the gif a sun bear climbs up one of the trees in a sort of one paw after the other motion; kind of like someone cautiously climbing a rope, but the sun bear seems very determined, yet relaxed and sure of itself. the tree is about large enough for its paws to mostly wrap around but small enough that you would expect it to sway if it was any smaller. when the bear goes up it. The bears mouth is slightly open, seemingly breathing out of that instead of its nose, making it appear a little goofy looking. End ID]

History Interest Stuff::

BIG into Los Angeles history, specifically the history of Griffith Park (I could talk about that for hours!!) would love to chat about community spaces being epicenters for cultural change, especially Griffith and it’s use by all demographics during times when that was atypical (bc of vague deed details please ask more I love telling people abt it). Or it’s darker less talked about involvement in post ww1-cold war.

Love 20th century history, but not in the often questionable ‘I like world war tactics/weapons/military leaders’ way, I’m more into ww1, 2, and Cold War pre and post war causes, implications, and consequences.

Been into learning abt british colonialism in Ireland and its history of religious persecution and its cause on later british colonialism!!

[GIF Description: someone cutting into a loaf of bread on a cutting board. it is brown and shaped like a teddy bear. It has lighter tan/white bread in the areas where the face and rear paws are. It has darker brown/black bread as eyes, nose/mouth, ears, and the paw pads on rear legs. End ID]

Ok I think that is all again I lurk far more than post bc I am shy 🙈🤣😜🐻😱 and bad at talking to people

[yoshkeii]

"𝙵𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚜"

࿐ character(s): Daichi Sawamura, Asahi Azumane

࿐ genre: sfw, soft/fluff

࿐ type: (au) headcanons

࿐ requested by: anon

⌦ boyfriend male!reader (he/him)

⌦ genshin impact x haikyuu!!, modern settings

⌦ ‘can i request an au headcanon (basically genshin impact x haikyuu!!, modern settings, but the vision bearers are rarer than post traveler time and there's still spiral abyss where vision bearers help discovering new information and artifacts, and getting paid from their country for that) So, daichi and asahi's boyfriend(a vision bearer, which element is up to you to decide.)(also separetly) reacts that their boyfriend just give them an old flower artifact that he found that reminds male!reader of his boyfriend‘

A/N: an interesting concept !! thank you for requesting, im not good with reactions but- ihopethisisokay,, i dont think i did well on this,, khai writes hcs weirdly pt. who fucking knows.

asahi azumane’s give flower: wanderer’s troupe or viridescent venerer

𝙳𝚊𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚒:

》 staring at the rosy-red petaled flower that was supposedly made into a brooch, a piece missing that would make the item stay on the wearer. your eyes glossed over the item, identifying cracks and scratches on the metallic bronze pieces that accompanied the ordinary looking flower, that somehow was in one piece. just... slightly off-colored. before jumping as your name was called by another vision-bearer with two others by the way towards the exit of the Abyss floor, you began to hurry over to them as you gently slid the “Gladiator’s Nostalgia” into your pouch. the name you had read before within a dusty journal, remembering it so clearly with a much vibrant image than the real one you had now. but it oh, so reminded you of your beloved boyfriend, the one waiting for you at your shared home. 《

→ Daichi didn’t know he would be dating a vision-bearer, no one would’ve thought of a thing really. they were such a rare sight to see out in public- especially in the modern days. but that only just added to the many surprises you came home with after your days of working in the “Spiral Abyss” is what they call it.

→ giving him the faded-out red flower as soon as you walked through the front door, a bright smile across your face, was a sight he would never get tired of. except the slight worriedness would built up seeing scratches n bruises along your skin the more he stared...

→ eventually leading him to treating your injuries properly, maybe a slight scold or lecture here and there-

→ “Love, you know you have to be careful. Especially with fire! I know you have a Pyro vision, but that doesn’t mean mess around- and play with fire itself- You aren’t immune to it.” “..even worse that you tried using your abilities to cook..”

→ “He-hey it was a one time thing-!! and I was really curious ‘Muraaa..” you whined, wincing and pulling your face away with a pout as Daichi pressed a cotton swab onto the cut along your cheek.

→ “Yeah yeah, lil’ember.” He muttered the nickname, swiping a thumb over the bandaid to cover the cut. “..there you are done, now go get a change of clothes dirty boy- I have to put the first aid stuff away.”

→ seeing you disappear pass the door frame of your shared room, he went back to pack and close the first aid kit. before his eyes wandered towards the flower you had given him earlier, which was just idly sitting there on the counter. Daichi picked up the flower holding it gently in his palms, feeling the petals with his free hand.

→ he stared at the flower for a long moment, observing the petals before noticing the scratches on the metal pieces attached to the brooch. he smile gently, beginning to realize this was a gift to him, a gift that you gave and probably risked your life to nag. 

→ sighing deeply at the thought of you getting hurt, knowing how clumsy you can be, he went off to the shared room where you would be. just to make sure you dont... do something stupid.

→ “Y/N?” Daichi had softly called out, seeing your head peek out from the closet as you slid a shirt on. he motioned his hands upwards a little, still holding the faded-brooch in his palms. 

→ “Oh! The Gladiator’s Nostalgia? The flower, do you like it??” the way you had ecstatically replied, he could imagine a puppy’s tail wagging so fast. your eyes shimmering as you awaited his answer.

→ “I love it, ember, it was really nice of you to give it to me.” “..although I hope you didn’t get hurt too much... to achieve it. I bet this was hard to get-” He spoke softly, genuine about the words slipping through his lips.

→ “Well actually... not really-” seeing Daichi look at you in confusion, “..I’ve seen that artifact set a lot on my runs with my team, but are often- broken’n’damaged. So I- I could never give you one-” “There’s also different ones apart of the same set for yours!! I might try to collect the others for you... or more.. flowers..”

→ “Wa-wait-,, there’s more-?” he longed on his question, before he could let out another word he noticed how you started to ramble. talking about interesting details of the items you could get him on your adventures and battles, and all he did was listen. settling down on the edge of the bed while you went on.

→ you were so passionate with your job, what you were doing as a vision-bearer. it’s what he liked about you, or well... loved about you. although he wonder if every Vision-bearer were the same, he’d still take you, . date you, just as who you are. with, or without a vision. and ofc he will keep an eye on what gifts you decide to give him in the mere future.

𝙰𝚜𝚊𝚑𝚒:

》 being an Anemo Vision bearer, your able to adapt and flow with whatever could come your way. making elements spread across the battlefield with one set of moves or to crowd-control them into one spot for the others to strike the unfortunate foes. time to time you would stumble upon the “Viridescent Venerer” set in the fallen loot of opponents or the scuffed chests that were stashed at the end of battles. they looked so different than most artifacts, especially the flowers. common artifacts were genuine real flowers, making them have the same aspect as any other flower, withering and fading into nothing but dull-bland colors. but the Viridescent Venerer’s flower did not, it was just a white wild flower that used to cover the earth. and it has not withered one bit, and still gives off an exquisite fragrance you noticed as the times you ran by it... and well of course noticed it as the scent was what you usually smelled since you had one as part of your outfit. 《

→ Asahi had always pointed out the flower on your outfit, the “In Remembrance of Viridescent Fields“ is what the books would title it, but in short you just called it the Viridescent Venerer flower or just... Viridescent for Asahi’s sake.

→ he had always complimented on how it looked beautiful and pretty, especially when his beloved boyfriend is wearing it. 

→ as days of works and floors of the Spiral Abyss, you managed to find a new piece of the Viridescent to use. unlike discarding the one you currently you had, you had an idea that came into mind, finding you sliding the newer artifact into your bag before leaving off to home. a smile brought onto your face.

→ now cuddling in each others presence, you both chatted about your days. already cleaned yourself up from your days works. hand in hand with soft laughter erupting from both of you, before it died off into comfortable silence.

→ “Azumane, love?” you simply called out, knowing you caught his attention instantly as you felt movement from him. “You certainly like the flower on my fit.”

→ “Well it really is- pretty. Like knowing how regular and most flowers wilt and wither- That one hasn’t! An-And I believe its the same one you wore the day we met too-” he noted.

→ to only be surprised at his memory of these types of things, you laughed- making him startled and a bit embarrassed.

→ “You sure have quite the memory, to even remember that image? I’m impressed, so I assume... it has caught your eye since the start? Just like I was to your own vision~” you cooed, getting up from his grasps before disappearing pass a corner of a wall.

→ confusion expressed on Asahi’s face, sitting up from his position on the couch before his eyes caught the glimpse of the Viridescent in your hand.

→ sitting on the edge of the couch, you motioned the flower towards him, a gentle smile across your face.

→ “I would simply like you to have mine then, it is quite old- and worn from the times I’ve had it through my lifetime. But I think it’ll be a nice gift from me to you.”

→ hearing the words being slipped passed your mouth, he felt tears daring to fall from his eyes- Asahi did not know why. but imagining keeping the Viridescent you had for who knew how long-

→ it would be something he would cherish, something he wouldnt let go.

→ exchanging gentle kisses across your face in exchange, trying his best not to cry the joy. because it was so touching- so simple yet so poetic to give. he didn’t think he deserved one.

→ and from that afternoon, Asahi had kept it. he had kept it safe and sound, bringing it with him whenever you were never there. so he had something to calm him down in anxious moments. he had a memory of you in a flower that would never wither.

[miracul0us-multishipper]

Deal with the Devil

(Marillion AU)

This is a part shortly after “The collector”. Since this is more of a loose AU than a coherent fic, I’ve decided that I don’t need to write in chronological order.

- - -

“Good. It seems like you decided to follow my invitation.”

She whirled around, cane at the ready and her free hand raised to summon a butterfly if necessary. Thanks to Nooroo’s affinity to moths, her eyes could see even in the darkest night and she recognized the figure approaching her immediately.

“Gabriel Agreste?”

This is it, Marillion thought, I’ve officially gone mad.

Not only did she follow a mysterious invitation to this godforsaken place in the middle of the night, now she was already hallucinating. Everybody knew that Gabriel Agreste never left his home. Why would he abandon his fortress of solitude for Paris' Number One Enemy?

“I apologize for the secrecy.”, he answered unperturbed. “Surely you understand how unfortunate it would be to be seen in public. People of our... standing would certainly attract too much attention.”

That was when it really hit her. She wasn’t hallucinating. She was here. With Gabriel Agreste. Her greatest idol. Father of her crush. And she didn’t even have her portfolio with her.

“Monsieur Agreste!”, she repeated, all but squealed. “What- I didn’t expect- Why are you-“

He raised a hand and her mouth snapped shut. God, she hadn’t even been here for a minute and was already embarrassing herself.

“You must have many questions, Mademoiselle Marillion – as do I. If you don’t mind, I would prefer to continue this conversation somewhere... safer.”

He turned around and glanced back at her.

“We wouldn’t want your spotted little friend to cause us any trouble, now, would we?”

She hurried to nod and stumbled after him, through what looked like a secret door in the garden wall of the Agreste Mansion. Under normal circumstances she would have paid that detail a little more attention – who the hell had a secret door in their backyard?! – but these weren’t normal circumstances. She was being invited into the home of her idols. By Gabriel. Freaking. Agreste.

Who cared about some weird gimmicks?

“Monsieur,” she finally managed to regain her voice. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand- not that I’m not honored by your invitation, I really am! But... well, most people agree that I am a threat. Why would you want to meet me?”

The fashion designer didn’t slow his steps and she almost had to run to keep up.

“Most people,” he rebuked distantly, “don’t pay as much attention as I do. And I did not come this far by caving to what 'most people' think.”

She mentally kicked herself.

“O-of course, Monsieur. I’d didn’t mean to imply- Wait.”

She froze and Agreste reluctantly came to a stop as well.

“Does that mean you... you believe me?”

If it weren’t so dark, her eyes would be shining with hope.

“You believe that I’m one of the good guys?”

“No.”, he said coldly, crushing her hopes and dreams in an instant. But before she could excuse herself to wallow in self pity – or cry – his expression softened and he placed his palm on the wall in front of him. A line of green light ran over his hand print and a mechanism beeped in confirmation, then the wall slid open to reveal another secret door.

“I believe that you are the hero.”, he finished and stepped aside. “After you.”

Awestruck she followed his command and entered the lair. Because that’s what it was: a lair. The most glorious lair she’d ever seen.

A huge, circular window allowed the moonlight to flood the room, it’s butterfly-shaped inlay casting shadows on the floor. Which was almost invisible from the amount of white butterflies resting on the ground, slowly fluttering their wings as they reacted to her presence.

“This place used to be an observatory.”, Agreste explained as he followed after her. “My late wife's favorite hideout. We are directly at the center of the twenty-first Arrondissement; which means your akumas can easily reach every corner of the area. The security measures are state-of-the-art and will deter any intruder, whether they are merely civilian or another miraculous wielder.”

She couldn’t listen properly, too busy gaping at the room. Agreste talked on, undeterred by her lack of manners.

“The window will be covered by a rocket-proof shutter most of the time, as not to alert anyone of its... rather obvious design. But I couldn’t resist to add it either way. Just in case that one day, after you have defeated Ladybird, you won’t have to hide your symbol anymore.”

This was all... too much. She couldn’t possibly keep up with everything.

“I-I'm sorry,” she stammered out, “Monsieur Agreste, what is this supposed to mean?”

He smiled at her. The cold, stoic Gabriel Agreste, who rarely even showed affection to his own son, smiled at her. With a fatherly touch of her shoulder, he turned her towards the window.

“It means,” he said softly, “that all this is yours – built just for you, to let you reach your full potential. If you chose to accept my help, that is.”

Impossible. Utterly and completely impossible. Marinette Dupain-Cheng could never ever possibly be this lucky.

Thank you, she wanted to say, thank you a thousand times. I am honored.

“Why?”, was what came out of her mouth instead. Quite rudely, for such a miraculously generous offer.

Agreste stepped around her and in front of the window.

“Because you have inspired me, Mademoiselle. There are far too little people who would risk the animosity of an entire city, even for the most noble cause. You and me, we are the same in that.”

She had to suppress a squeal. Gabriel Agreste really thought so highly of her?!

“We would do everything, risk everything to do the right thing. To help the people we love.”

He looked into the distance, his expression hardening.

“But there will always be others who cannot understand this. Like Ladybird and Chat Noir, who never look beyond their own, selfish desires.”

A grim, gleeful relief flooded her. He got it. He wasn’t blinded by Ladybird's fame, he could see through it. Finally, finally, someone truly saw things her way.

“They just don’t listen!”, she raged, feeling like a weight had fallen off her chest. “They act like- like I'm some kind of terrorist! I am helping people! They only ever get in my way, but they get to call themselves heroes? If it weren’t for me, they would have torn Paris to pieces in their arrogance! They're so incompetent it physically pains me.”

“No one knows that better than me.”, Agreste agreed with a nod. “And I do not presume to understand just how tiresome that must be for you. But maybe you should consider that there is more to them than incompetence.”

She visibly deflated.

“More...?”

His face was grim when he turned to her.

“Ladybird and Chat Noir,” he said seriously, “are dangerous.”

Huh?

“Think about it.”, he implored, eyes blazing with an eager determination. “They wield the most powerful artifacts in human history. They have the support of a guardian, maybe even his entire order. And once he begins training them, they will have nearly unlimited backup.”

He put his hands on her shoulder, almost apologetically. As if placing a heavy burden on them.

“You have seen how they wield their powers yourself. Who knows what will happen once they have even more? Nobody knows their true goals, after all. You aren’t hurting anybody, so what are they really trying to accomplish?”

He shook his head.

“Right now, the only thing standing between Paris and the mayhem they will cause... is you.”

Marillion almost thought he was being overly dramatic, but then thought of everything else he had said. Agreste knew so much already, had gotten so much right no one had even bothered to think about before. If he was this confident, then by all means, he had to be right.

“Monsieur, I am... I am incredibly happy that you believe in me.”, she finally managed to get her feelings out. “And all this is just- it’s incredible. Thank you.”

It had been her and Nooroo, all this time, and while they made a great team, they were both... helpless from time to time. Not sure of their decisions, their abilities. And while she would never risk Nooroo's safety, she... she just really wanted an adult to talk to. Someone who could tell her what to do, with all this mess. She was just fourteen, for gods sake!

How often had she agonized about not being able to talk to her parents? How often had she been forced to lie to them, the people she trusted most? The people who always had her back, who only ever wanted to support her?

She swallowed.

How often had she had endure their fear? Of Marillion, of her? The people she loved the most were scared of her Alter Ego, didn’t understand her, couldn’t help her.

But now Gabriel Agreste – her idol, her role model! – offered her his unconditional trust and support. Told her she inspired him!

“I'm just- I don’t have anybody.”, she tried to put her feelings into words. “Ladybird and Chat Noir have each other, and their guardian, and the hearts of every Parisian. And I try so hard to get things right, be there for everybody, but I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. To know that you think me to... to be all these great things, that you built all this” – she gestured around the room – “for me... it means so much to me.”

He smiled.

“You won't have to carry this burden on your own anymore. My means and knowledge are at your disposal, and you will find that I am a very reliable ally. I will help you figure out how to defeat them – and how to contain their miraculous, afterwards.”

Marillion blinked. She'd never... thought that far ahead.

“To contain their miraculous'?”

“Of course. We don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands, do we?”

Hastily, she nodded. Of course not! She felt stupid for not even having thought of what came afterwards.

“Or to let the guardian reclaim them.”, she added, mostly because she didn’t want Agreste to think she was an idiot. “He'd only reseal their Kwamis and try again, with a new enemy.”

A secretive smile crept on Monsieur Agreste's face – who would have thought he could smile that often?

“Naturally. But you should know that I am prepared for any eventuality.”

He reached for his tablet and showed her the display. It showed...

“Miraculous'!”, she gasped. Pages and pages full of Miraculous', and their respective heroes. There were words written next to them, a script that was more code than language.

“What is this?”

“A book. An encyclopedia of Heroes, containing all their strengths and weaknesses. Not to forget the guides to create potions and spells. The knowledge it provides can give you a variety of new abilities, or significantly weaken your opponents.”

He shut off the device and turned away.

“It used to be mine. But somehow, Ladybird and Chat Noir managed to steal it from me. There is no doubt that they are preparing something nefarious to use against you.”

The knowledge that something like this book existed, and was currently in the hands of her enemies, settled in her guts like a stone.

“Don’t be afraid.”, Agreste assured her quickly. “By the time they are successful, we will have found a way to counter them. With me at your side, you have nothing to fear.”

She looked up at him. In awe of his confidence, she allowed herself to voice the question that had nagged at her since the moment he had begun sharing his knowledge.

“How... do you know all this? About the book, the miraculous.”

He hadn’t even blinked when she had mentioned Kwamis. Obviously, he knew even more than he let on.

“Are you... are you a guardian?”

He looked back at her over his shoulder.

“Of course not,” he scoffed and she shrunk in on herself. “Or I would have found the miraculous ages ago!”

He noticed her embarrassment and immediately softened his features.

“I am merely someone with great interest in all magical knowledge. A scholar, so to speak.”

With a grim smile, he offered her his hand.

“And there is much I could learn from you. Almost as much as I could teach you. Are you ready to grow into the most powerful heroine there is, Marillion?”

She didn’t have to think about it. Ladybird won’t know what hit her.

“It will be my honor.”

That night, Marillion gained a secret base and a secretive ally.

And Gabriel Agreste, at last, regained control over the butterfly.

[secrets-and-aetherlight]

LFRP - Yves Severin

==Basics==

Name: Yves Ardouin Severin Aliases: Gwydion Thorne, Vidaux Rook, and many others not currently in use Age: He appears to be about 30 years old. (Spoiler: he is not 30 years old.) Gender: Male Race: Elezen, Duskwight Namesday: 26th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon Sexuality: Pansexual, polyamorous  Relationship Status: Single Alignment: Complicated

==Appearance==

Height: 6'9" Hair: Black with white highlights Eyes: White Distinguishing Marks: A long diagonal scar running from the right side of his forehead at the hairline to his lower left cheek, with a break at the bridge of his nose. When asked how he got it, he tells a different story every time. Common Accessories: A few pieces of jewelry, and perhaps a dagger or two.  Tattoos: None Piercings: Ears

==Personal==

Birthplace: The Black Shroud, or so he usually says. When pressed, he will sometimes add that he was born underground, in the halls of old Gelmorra. Residence: Ul’dah. However, his apartment in the Goblet is often left unoccupied as he wanders around Eorzea. Profession: Yves’s lifestyle suggests that he’s independently wealthy, but where that wealth came from is not entirely clear. Certain academics - along with some less reputable individuals - are aware that he’s remarkably knowledgeable about Mhach, and that he’s even capable of acquiring Mhachi artifacts for those willing to pay handsomely for his services. This is not known to the general public, however. Known to even fewer people is the fact that he has authored a number of popular Gothic novels, and has been publishing them under the pen name of Gwydion Thorne for over 20 years. Hobbies: Traveling, reading, writing, sketching (usually grotesque or unsettling images), people watching, some light gambling, wine connoisseurship Fears: Death, rather ironically. Himself, a little. The existence of true goodness in the world, and the suspicion that he is its antithesis.  Ambitions: To live and live well for as long as life holds even a scrap of meaning for him. To die with dignity when all meaning has at last faded away.

==Relationships==

Parents: Deceased Siblings: Deceased Spouse: None Children: None Other: Igor, his cat. Louisa Craddock, his longsuffering publisher.

==Brief Background==

Little is generally known about Yves, and he seems to prefer it that way. He has been using Ul’dah as a base of operations since shortly after the Calamity, but he actually only spends about 30-40% of his time there. The rest of his time he spends traveling around Eorzea. His publisher is the only person who knows who he was before the Calamity, and even her knowledge of his past is limited to the 25 years in which she has known him. She has learned not to comment on the fact that he hasn’t appeared to age a day since she first met him.

==RP Hooks==

The Son of Mhach: If your character studies Mhach or the War of the Magi, maybe they’ve heard about Yves through the academic grapevine.

The Rook: If you play a character who operates outside the law and has an interest in black magic or objects of power, they might wish to set up a meeting with Videaux Rook - the alias Yves uses for his shadier activities.

The Ill Omen: If someone took an interest in Yves’s travels around Eorzea, they might discern an unsettling pattern: death tends to follow in his wake. But while he has been a suspect in a murder or two, he has never officially been charged with a crime.

The Novelist: While Yves tries to keep his side gig as a writer of Gothic novels secret, an astute fan of his horror-infused romances might be able to do a little sleuthing and find the link between Yves and Gwydion Thorne, his pen name. 

The Cursed: Yves spends a significant amount of his time people-watching in public places. He especially seems to enjoy places where tensions run high, and appears to delight in expressions of strong emotion, especially negative emotions. This can sometimes put him in the path of distraught or violently-inclined individuals, but for some reason, he doesn’t seem to mind. If your character spends time in public places such as restaurants and taverns, and especially if they're currently wrestling with anger, fear, or grief, they might encounter a strange Duskwight who appears interested in their problems, for better or ill.

==What I’m Looking For==

RPers who are interested in a character concept that is somewhat lore-bendy. While I believe Yves’s history and the curse that afflicts him are compatible with the lore we’ve been given thus far, I did expand on that lore quite a bit. Message me if you’re interested in details.

Friends, allies, love interests, business contacts, and enemies. Yves lacks acquaintances in general, and aside from his cat and his publisher, he doesn’t really have anyone he’d consider a friend. He does have enemies, but he could always use a few more. He could even potentially be an antagonist, as long as his involvement in the plot makes sense and he survives it, of course.

==What I Won’t RP==

Anything related to sexual assault or sexual coercion

Underage sex, drinking, or drug use. I also prefer not to RP violence against underage characters.

Suicide or suicidal ideation (I’m somewhat flexible on this, but I’d really appreciate an OOC trigger warning before the subject comes up IC)

Gratuitous torture scenes (but I’m okay with violence and gore in other contexts)

Yves is located on Balmung, but I’m happy to visit other Crystal servers for RP. Shoot me a message here on Tumblr if you’re interested! If you prefer to chat on Discord (I typically do), feel free to ask for my username.

@mooglemeet, @crystalxivrp, @balmungrp

[depressed-sock]

Monster of the Week 2

one

Words: 3k

This work is entirely a self-indulgent throw a bunch of Oc’s at the TMA world and see what happens lmao

Tw: threatening of bodily harm

sections 2 and 5: stranger fear, harassment of a colleague, purposefully using the wrong name, mention of intent to gaslight, it/it's pronouns used

section 3: flesh fear, not actively descriptive but it deals with meat if you want to skip it.

Click. 1

“Investigation of Why the Archive never stays organized, brought to the Archives attention by me for the last thirty years." She stresses the words, trying to make her frustration clear to everyone who can hear her in the room. "Investigation begins on July 9th, 2014, and is being investigated by archival assistant Olivia Stanek.”

"So, first things first." She pauses, taking in a deep breath as her hands stay firmly clasped together before she finally releases her pent up anger with a quick movement. Standing up sharply and banging her hands on the desk. "What do you people not understand when I say to put things back where you found them!"

She turns with a barely held back growl, glaring at the now suspiciously empty room around her. "You fucking little cunts, I will find you and I will get you to leave my organization system alone!"

Click. 2

"Did you try turning it off and on again?" The man next to them sighs heavily, his shoulders already taking on a stiffness of agitation.

"Yes, Rupert. That was literally the first thing I did." Corwin glares at the blonde man who now decides to lean against their desk. His face forced into a quiet contemplating frown as he stares at the static-filled screen of their computer.

"My name is Rick, and did you click any suspicious links?" He glances at them, missing their glare that's turned into the perfectly innocent look of boredom.

"Do I look that stupid Rupert? Really?" They cross their arms over their chest defiantly, watching carefully as the man's frown twitches into a barely held back snarl.

He's already breaking down and the day has barely started. An accomplishment that's taken only a few weeks of patience and maybe Corwin is a little too proud of that.

"Rick. My name is Rick. And," he sucks in a deep breath before blowing it back out, "You know what, move I need to check the cable from the computer to the screen." He pushes their chair back without their consent, kneeling down under the desk to look for the cable.

The cable that they had purposefully cut with scissors earlier. After they unplugged it of course. They're not that stupid.

"Why is this cut?" He brings half of the cable out, holding it up for them to see while he tries his best to glare them down.

An attempt that feels more like dealing with an upset child. So they treat him exactly like one. "If I knew that, why would I have called you?"

"You!” He bites back the rest of his reply. Taking a moment before he finally grits out, “Just use a different computer until I find a replacement cable!" He stands up fast and awkwardly, knee slamming into the desk and forcing out a string of curses before he finally storms out of the room in anger.

"You got it, Rupert!"

The scream of rage that follows is a lot more satisfying than they'd thought it would be. Maybe they should go out into the world and do this more often. Maybe it's their true calling.

"Was that the doppelganger thing? I figured it would have quit by now." Olivia walks up from behind them, coming to a stop beside them as she tries her best to force her greying hair up into a messy bun. "Or at the very least murdered you next."

"Yeah, I think we need to start upping our tactics." They stare at the doorway he had left through an evil grin slipping free, "I say we gaslight it next."

She gives them a look of disgust, "Corwin really?"

They shrug in response, "It's not my fault it decided to kill and replace the I.T guy. Or that it's choosing to suffer by continuing to work here."

"Speaking of suffering. Where's the statement you were investigating in California?" She leans just a bit closer to them, her hand gripping the edge of their desk. While her eyes take in every aspect of their existence.

"I don't know. I put it back after I was done writing down the details I needed." Which is most of the truth. They put it back. Then Jordan took it back out and then they lost it in California because neither of them wanted to go back to the campsite.

Corwin's not going to tell her that. At least not yet. Maybe when Jordan pisses them off at some point but right now they'll wait to throw him under the bus.

Even if she's towering menacingly ever closer over them, her voice a whisper of threats, "If I find out that's a lie, I will personally hunt you down and skin you for the Stranger."

"Right, you do that. It's been great chatting with you Liv, now if you don't mind I'm trying to make the doppelganger’s life a living hell."

Click. 3

"Imani! Do you know where the werewolf files got put?" Jordan's voice echoes through the room of filing cabinets. Well, she thinks room, but it almost feels like an endless warehouse at times. Like now for example. She's pretty sure she's somehow gotten lost even though she's exactly where she needs to be.

"Um, I think it's somewhere near me?" She responds a bit more quietly but nonetheless heard; the room already echoing with her voice. It's what she likes about this particular room, no matter how loud or quiet she tried to be if someone else was in the room they'd hear her. "Let's see, nightmares about trees, mutated frogs, hmmm oh is this…. WHAT THE HELL."

She barely has enough time to cover her mouth and nose with her sleeve, backing away but still not fully able to escape the smell that layers itself against her tongue.

"Imani?"

She gags, backing up further away. Taking a second before she feels safe enough to speak muffled words, "Why is there a filing cabinet that's filled with rotting meat? This is… oh gods this is disgusting."

"....Oh um, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be in Artifact storage. One second, let me go get someone to come collect it."

Her brow furrows as she stares at the cabinet, confusion becoming more and more prominent, "What? Why is there supposed to be a filing cabinet full of meat in Artifact storage?"

"Good question! I have zero answers." Is all she gets out of him before she hears the door shutting behind him. How did he even find the door that fast? She’s never been able to find the door that fast in the last few months she's worked here.

When she had applied for the job she had thought she had known what to expect. Creepy things, supernatural things. Gwen had given her a full rundown of the fears and the possibility of not being able to quit. She knew what to expect.

But knowing and experiencing are apparently two different things. And she's pretty sure nothing could have really prepared her for… this.

Click. 4

“I’m thinking we need more empathy in the Archives,” Gwendolyn says, as she adjusts her glasses, though it seems to do nothing to help as she continues to squint at the paper in front of her.

Oliva feels her face crawling into a snarl in response. Her fingers gripping into the edge of Gwendolyn’s desk she leans against. “Which one of those little fucks complained about me?” She would be sure to personally show whoever it was, exactly how empathetic she couldn’t be.

Gwendolyn turns her squinting from the page straight up to her with a look of amusement followed by an exasperated sigh, “Love, is there something I should be aware of if you think someone's complaining about you?"

Olivia glares down at her before a smile splits her lips and she lets out a bark of laughter, "Would I really need to tell you that bright eyes?"

Gwen's laugh is light, her eyes taking on a brighter sheen before fading to a dull grey, "No, I guess not. But I’m talking about empathy in general. Corwin seems more intent on harassing I.T than ever before, Jordan has begun to withdraw from people, Imani is starting a bad habit of asking questions she shouldn't, and you continue to be you.” The last part of her complaint dulled as she pries one of Olivia’s hands free from her desk, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles.

“I don’t see how this is a problem?" She shrugs, not bothering to free her hand. "Everyone in the Institute is some kind of fucked up. So Jordan’s a little more untrusting of everyone and Imani is overly curious, she certainly wouldn't be here if there was no attachment to the beholding. It’s all problems that will eventually resolve itself.”

“I see you didn’t mention Corwin or yourself in that.” Gwen let’s go of her hand to set her glasses down. Quickly trying to rub the tiredness from her eyes.

“You love me just the way I am," she leans forward planting a soft kiss on Gwendolyn’s wrinkled brow, "and Corwin is trying to deal with our doppelganger issue.”

She grins widely in response, “I wouldn't have it any other way Love." Before her grin turns into a soft frown, "So, it was one of the poor lads in I.T? Which one?”

“Gwen, you already know who. And do you really expect me to ever show an interest in learning anyone’s name or Identity here?” She doesn’t bother to add on the last of her thoughts; considering how often people die. Too often to really get attached anymore.

“As much as I love you all thinking I’m all knowing I truly am not. Honestly though, I don’t think anyone here really has bothered with that. The poor thing chose very poorly in any case. Not much fear to be fed on when everyone is either already a stranger or you just have a deep-seated hatred for everyone and everything here. Not to mention, every single member here has been estranged from anyone they could call family.”

She narrows her eyes at that, “You know I’ve always wondered about that.”

“What? Do you really think any sane person with love and support would ever continue to work here? Let alone apply for a job here?”

"What does that make us then?" She leans forward, arms resting on Gwendolyn’s shoulders as their foreheads touch together.

"Two old women who are deeply in love with each other and bringing terror wherever we go."

"You always do know how to sweet talk me. But I'm still going to strangle the first person who doesn't put a statement back correctly."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Click. 5

"Alright, I've got your computer back in working order." The man claps his hands together, a look of accomplishment on his face.

A look that is quickly wiped away by Corwin’s own smile, "Great, but uh, something seems to be wrong with Olivia's computer now. Not sure what but it's stuck on this video and I can't seem to get it off."

"Why were you using Ms. Stanek's computer?" The man asks carefully. Lines of frustration already wrinkling around his eyes.

"Because you told me to use a different computer? Seriously are you always this forgetful Ralph?" They tut half heartedly with a shake of their head.

"What I meant by a different computer, was one of the dozens we have that no one else uses. NOT Ms. Stanek's.” They can almost see a static around him. A form that’s too long, too strange takes up the dark fuzzy spaces around him. It probably doesn’t even realize how badly it’s giving itself away.

"Well, I guess you should have been clearer then. Either way doesn't change the fact that the screen is still stuck on that video."

“I can’t believe this, why are you doing this?! I thought we were friends, Corwin!” He finally breaks, words echoing in slightly different tones against the emptiness of the room. They can’t help the sharp grin as it finally asks exactly the question Corwin has been waiting for. They stand from their chair, immediately crowding it’s space.

“See the thing is Ralph,” they lean in close, “I don’t have friends. So you being my friend is incredibly suspicious. So suspicious that I may have to do something about it. And I’m sure you don’t want that, do you Ralph?”

It tries not to look intermediated by their smaller stature but fails as their eyes take on a dangerous hue. It’s voice comes out weakly, now a pale imitation of what it was, "my name’s rick..."

“No. It’s not.” They know. They see.

It’s beginning to shake. Fear overriding its previous anger. Until finally it turns, fleeing the room. Not bothering to try and rebuttal them. A disappointing outcome to say the least. They had at thought it’d try to murder them. It’s why they didn’t point out the real reason they knew he wasn’t Rick.

It would have been funnier though if they had. They can already imagine what would happen. Watching the dawning realization on its face and it immediately looking down at his ID to find a man who looks vastly different than it. After all, everyone's ID photo on their work badges are all polaroids that have been laminated on.

Too many missteps from previous generations that made it necessary. At least it’ll make it easier to know if the doppelganger decides to switch to someone else in the Archives.

They wonder if it'll finally leave now.

Something in the back of their mind tells them it’s far too late for that.

Click. 6

"Jordan! Don't you dare run away from me you fucking little-"

"Olivia?" his footsteps slow and he turns back to face her with a furrowed brow, "I'm not running from you? We've got a loose artifact in the filing room."

"Don’t you dare start making up excuses!" She's still storming towards him, face scrunched in anger.

He should probably be afraid. Olivia on rampage mode always meant that someone was at the very least going to be severely injured. Mostly because some idiot didn’t take her threats seriously even though it’s been proven time and time again that her threats are 100% serious. But he's got far greater fears than anything she could ever do to him.

"I'm serious Oliva. Imani found the meat cabinet there." He holds up his hands in surrender but it does nothing to placate her.

"AND YOU JUST LEFT HER THERE!"

"Yeah? It's just the meat cabinet. At most it'll make her sick for a couple of days and then she'll be fine." They’ve all had to deal with a rogue artifact at one point or another. It was the archives own official... hazing? No, it’s not so much a hazing as it was just something that happened too often and the newbies didn’t know better yet.

"I can't believe this, you just abandoned your co-worker to an Artifact!"

"Olivia you've literally done the same thing to all of us. Live by example maybe?" He’s also pretty sure she’s killed people so he doesn’t really understand where this is coming from.

She stares at him for a long moment before her body immediately relaxes as if she’d never experienced anger a single day in her life. "Eh, who am I kidding, I honestly don't give a shit if you've let your paranoia get the best of you. Anyway, did storage move it there? Or did it decide to do that itself?"

"I'm not paranoid," he bites back. And what does paranoia have to do with leaving Imani there? She can handle herself, she doesn't need help. "I haven't gotten to Artifact storage yet to find out."

"Right well you get that sorted, I'll go grab Imani out of there before we have to hire janitors." She pauses turning back with a glare, "By the way do you know what happened to the California statement you were helping Corwin with?" Her voice takes on it’s previous edge, eyes tightening in anger.

"No." He definitely does not know exactly what happened to it. It could have caught fire, or could be buried, or ripped to shreds. He doesn’t even know if it’s still anywhere near that makeshift campsite.

"I'm watching you, little man."

“Yep, bye Oliva.”

Click. 7

(The sound of the air conditioning kicking on fills the room, accompanied by the sound of a man cursing under his breath.)

"Ah there you are-”

(The man lets out a barely held back scream, and something flatters to the floor.)

“Oh calm down, your name is Rick, correct?"

"Uhm...Yes, Ms. Gwen."

"Fantastic, I've been looking for you. Unfortunately, there seems to have been an issue with your work contract and you're now being transferred to the Archives."

"What! But. NO, I quit, I'm not going back down there with those demons."

"Oh dear. You can't quit. And I think you'll fit in just fine if you think them monsters of your equal."

"I-"

"No, hush now. If you kill any more of my employees, I'll have to let Corwin deal with you exactly how they wanted to and believe me. That young person is incredibly creative when it comes to killing your kind."

"..."

"So. Pack your things, and I'll get your contract sorted. Don't try to run, because" (a harsh bark of laughter fills the room.)

"We'll find you."

(The man curses a bit more under his breath before heavy steps lead out of the room and fade away. The woman gives out an exhausted sigh.)

“I see you’ve started recording again. Preparing for an Archivist who’ll never exist? Or are you preparing for one that’s coming to visit?”

…

“I guess it doesn’t matter because we both know the answer to that don’t we.”

Click.

[hyperverbalbillionaire]

wishlist: some general plots to collaborate on

All plots are pretty basic so details can be worked out and personalized to your muse. Plots can also be combined to create something even more complex.

• Brainwashed: by Hydra, skrulls, or whoever. I’m not picky, I just want a plot where someone good is suddenly the bad guy, everyone freaks out, but then figures out they’ve been brainwashed all along.

• Mind control: aliens, infinity stones, again, I’m not picky. This is similar but with less apparent free will and it’s obvious to everyone from the start.

• Undercover: I love a good undercover AU. Maybe Tony uses his business contacts to find some bad guys/Hydra/someone helps him uncover a plot to take over Stark Industries. The possibilities are endless, really. 

• Kidnapping: Two muses forced to cooperate together on how to escape. Could be Hydra or some other baddie. Don’t forget that even plot is improved when you add “in space!” to it. 

• Skrull Invasion: Two muses copied and imprisoned and working on how to contact the Avengers and warn them about the secret invasion.

• Body swap: with questionable science and sexual tension.

• Superpowers: Someone gets new/different superpowers they didn’t have before. Something crazy and hard to control but temporary is fun.

• Post-apocalypse: Not so good guys have taken over after EG. Many of the Avengers still live at the Compound and try to keep the peace.

• Zombies: could be a rage virus or traditional zombies and they don’t know what’s causing it. A superpowered character could be immune. Always an angst-fest.

• Time travel: time travel through the quantum realm. Could end up in various eras if things go wrong. Or there could be a specific mission into the past.

• Alien worlds: they end up on another planet post-eg, maybe as Earth representatives and/or ambassadors. Fun world-building opportunities.

• Villain: using powers for evil instead of good. Tony going evil is always a good time because he doesn’t think he’s evil. He thinks he’s doing the right thing but nope!

• Reincarnation: Some alien artifact makes them remember their past lives, which is apparently a thing much to their surprise.

• Online dating: Two muses are tired of traditional dating and relationships not working out. They meet on a dating app and either A) don’t know it’s the other person they already know or B) they don’t know each other and essentially get married on the spur of the moment after chatting online and then meeting in person once.

• Arranged marriage: A) Historical and it’s not so much arranged as set up because she’s already pregnant with his or someone else’s kid. B) Asgardian or alien/human arranged marriage for handwavy peace between realms reasons.

• Regency: Jane Austen-type thing with all the stiff propriety and societal constraints that one can imagine. They can’t be together because of class (or because they’re both men?) It’s the traditional historical AU full of angst and UST or secret trysts.

• Secretly dating: You get me. They have to pretend in front of the rest of the team that they’re not dating while behind closed doors they’re so totally dating. The team, meanwhile, knows all along and makes bets as to when the two dating muses will figure out that they weren’t nearly as stealthy as they thought.

• Fake secretly dating: Payback is a bitch. After all the team’s teasing, they decide to pretend to secretly date just to get back at them but, as you might expect, it gets out of hand and brings up some real feelings.

• Love magic/love powers: That always gets messy when there’s an outside influence but fun if the person was already in love with the object of their new obsession anyway.

• Inception AU: A) Dreamshare is secret and only used for interrogation by SHIELD and other shadowy government agencies or B) it’s completely legal and Stark Industries has the market cornered on the technology and Tony is always testing out the latest drugs and units. Interesting things happen when he shares his dream with someone else.  

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 2019 - 3 (Pre-canon)

Summary: Nihlus and Alistair Shepard had to talk SOME time on the Normandy before Eden Prime, right? Something’s in the air, and it’s enough to almost make a man forget he was nerding over a sexy ship. Almost. The Normandy is one sexy ship after all.

---

There was nothing like checking out a new ship to get the blood pumping.

No doubt about it, the Normandy was a marvel of modern engineering and what could happen if two stubborn species put their oddly matched heads together. It had the power of the turian fleet, mixed with the ingenuity humans were so fond of employing. Where they crossed over, it was a fusion of efficiency and passion.

To put it bluntly, Alistair Shepard was in love.

“You are a beauty, you know that, right?” He patted the wall, his datapad streaming details. “Oh, you sexy thing you!”

Yes, he was talking to a ship. But it was a very handsome ship, and Joker could fight him on that.

Anderson had assigned him to check things out and get a feel for the details. After a few hours of scanning the place, he was almost through. The information on his screen was downright mind blowing – and best of all, he got to look at it whenever he wanted. He could probably spend days analyzing the data, finding more of the details left out of the official reports. They were always so dry – this was the meat, the heart of the ship. It was like he was present for open heart surgery and birth, all rolled up into one.

Was he getting emotional? He was, wasn't he.

“Anderson is going to love this data.” He hummed to himself as he turned to his bad side to check a screen. It had been beeping for quite some time, but he hadn't been able to see it. “Huh? Someone's coming down?”

It didn't give an ID number or rank, so that excluded pretty much everyone on the ship. The only person he could think of was maybe Anderson himself, or possibly Bo if she didn't feel like putting details in. Still, Alistair frowned as he tapped the message. It didn't sound like either of them.

The door behind him opened, and the clicking of talons caused him to whirl around. There was a turian standing in the room, arms crossed over his chest and face blank. At the sight of him, Alistair felt his face heat up, and his datapad went behind his back like he was hiding some kind of dirty magazine. To him, it kind of was.

And Nihlus Kryik had basically just witnessed him stuff it under the metaphorical mattress like a horny teenager. Great.

“Am I interrupting something?” His tone and mandibles suggested far too much; Alistair's face burned even brighter. “They said I would find you down here taking readings.”

His program was still running in the literal background, so... yeah? “I'm almost done. Captain Anderson requested a full work up.”

“From his best tech, no less. He must be expecting something interesting.” Nihlus walked further into the room, towards the screen Alistair had been compiling his readings in. “Care to share your preliminary thoughts, Shepard?”

Was he making fun of him? Alistair frowned as he looked down at his datapad. There were a lot of details, to say the least. Trying to put it together succinctly took up a large amount of brain power. As he worked, his eye wandered. He met the turian's gaze – Nihlus was laser focused on him. Down went his eye.

Damn it all, he was...

Still. He cleared his throat, putting his datapad to the side. “It's like you took the best of both our species' engineering feats and combined them into one ship. We've melded them into something completely new. It's fascinating. I can't wait to see him put through his paces.”

The turian cocked his head briefly. “Him? From what I've heard, humans tend to think ships are female.”

There was a flat tone to his voice that suggested a cultural translation of whatever he considered female – Alistair had done enough study to basically have a grip on turian gender and how it translated across the species. Still, the look in his eye almost suggested Nihlus was amused by this.

Damn it, when had he talked to Joker?

Alistair rubbed the short hairs on the back of his neck as he spoke. “Most do. Not me. The Normandy is a guy in my mind.”

“A very capable man, no doubt.” Nihlus' gaze was on him again. “The kind anyone would admire, perhaps.”

The tone of his voice did awful things to the human's stomach. Still, he kept his face as blank as possible as he nodded. Nihlus might not have been an enemy, but he was a Spectre that Council had just so happened to position on the Normandy. This was no polite meeting of the minds – he was watching for something.

Or someone. It didn't take a genius to narrow his targets down to a very short list.

“You didn't come down here to talk about the ship.” Alistair put his datapad back in its pouch and checked his omni tool for details of another scan he was running. “So, I assume you're here to watch somebody.”

Turians didn't smile like humans did, but he was pretty sure Nihlus gave his version of a smirk as he crossed the room to meet him there. There was very little space between them, armor almost brushing against fatigues. So close, almost in touching range.

It was a little too close for a friendly chat.

“You're as perceptive as Anderson suggested. No wonder he wanted you on the Normandy.” The smirk was in his tone as his eye roved up and down. That... was a tactical overlook, to say the least. Now Alistair's stomach was really flopping. “You must be popular.”

From his studies, he knew turians had subvocals that most humans couldn't pick up. However, Alistair was getting the feeling he knew what the other man was projecting. Given both their positions, it was a little inappropriate.

Not that he was complaining. Nihlus was handsome, to put it mildly. And if he was interested...

“I keep to myself.” A beeping from his wrist made the human grimace. “Oh, great. We're heading to Eden Prime.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I need to go get ready and get the rest of my team.”

“We'll talk afterwards. There are some things I want to discuss with you in private.” Nihlus headed towards the door, but looked back briefly. There was nothing casual in that gaze – he was raring to go, and not to shoot something. “See you later, Shepard.”

And then he was gone, leaving Alistair alone with his traitor hormones and a head full of nonsense. The human groaned and shook his head hard to get some rather inappropriate thoughts out of his head. He had to focus on the mission.

That... was going to be hard.

---

“Stripes spoke to you down below?”

“His name is Nihlus, Bo.”

“Stripes, Nihlus, same thing.”

The soft clicking of armor being put into place created a steady rhythm in the small room. Bo and Alistair were old hands at this, and it was all muscle memory. That left their mouths free for talking as they strapped into their gear.

The large marine checked her shotgun before putting it on her back. “He's into you.”

“No, you think?” Alistair's voice was dry as he adjusted his leg armor, tightening it by a fraction of an inch. “He was practically screaming he wanted to do it right there.”

“Thank the gods for a turian's sense of duty then.” The sarcasm dripped from Bo's voice as she pulled on her gauntlets and flexed her large fists. They had just upgraded the shields on them – better for punching the shit out of people. “You two meeting up after we hit Prime?”

Most people wouldn't have gotten an answer to that, but Bo wasn't most people. Alistair trusted her with his life and then some. If anyone deserve to know, it was her. Besides, she probably had money riding on it, and if she was getting it from Joker he would be more than happy to help make the pilot a little poorer.

He liked the guy, but it was fun to make him lose.

“He said we'd talk. That can mean anything to a turian.” He slipped his Striker pistol into its holster after checking to make sure the heat gauge was working. With all his modifications, sometimes it could act a little funny. “You think this counts as foreplay?”

Bo snorted as she stood up, towering over her partner. “To a turian? It's practically a proposal. Should I start planning the wedding?”

“You're an ass and I hate you.” Alistair's cheeks burned as he checked his omni-tool: 10 minutes til the drop. “Come on, we need to go get Kaidan and Jenkins so we can go.”

Nihlus had probably already left, off to go do Spectre things. Still, Alistair was glad for that as they headed towards where the rest of their team was waiting in the airlock. A familiar tension settled into his skin as they walked. It was almost time.

Still, he wasn't too worried. After all, it was just a routine mission to check out a Prothean artifact. How difficult could it be?

[bark-at-the-moon-moon]

The first part of the series I am writing for my Fanwalkers. With Que’s background already published, Orin’s will follow shortly after some editing. 

To read Que’s story:

 https://bark-at-the-moon-moon.tumblr.com/post/167719490963/que-artificer-archer-alone-this-is-the-first

Again, much thanks to @isharton for the awesome art!

Enjoy the story below =D

Ties That Bind - Part 1: A Journey Begins

It had been only a week since the two planeswalkers met, and now they were here land that was foreign to both of them. Though exploring new places was generally the nature of planeswalking, this wasn’t a pleasure walk.

“I never imagined places like this existed,” Orin looked out into the distance, his excitement hidden behind his fur, “I’ve only ever known that forsaken desert.”

“It reminds me of where I grew up,” Que raised a hand to block the sun from his eyes, “I hate it.”

Orin turned on his heel and looked at Que, his one ear twitching.

“Isn’t your home just a bunch of metal and Etheria?”

“Etherium,” Que clicked and walked past at Orin, “It’s called Etherium. And I said where I grew up, not where I live and you happened to planeswalk to.”

“Wait, so you didn’t grow up in that depressing metal crap shoot?”

“No. I was raised in a place called Bant,” one of Que’s back hands flicked for Orin to follow, “And it’s not a crap shoot. Esper is a wonderful place.”

Orin breathed in the fresh mountain air, and let it out in a frustrated huff. His paws slipped and skid in places, but he was slowly catching on how to walk in this new land. The emerald scales on his arm shone in the bright sun. Que continued to press forward, pushing aside branches and foliage. Orin sometimes envied that metal body of his. Not needing to rest or worry about overexertion. Those thoughts were quickly swept away when the idea of what he would lose to get that came up.

“My intel says that around here should be a powerful artifact,” Que stopped and turned his head completely around to face Orin, “But it wasn’t specific as to where around here. I had us planeswalk as close as I could.”

“That’s, um, reassuring,” Orin winced at the sight of Que turning his head in such a fashion. He had only seen zombies be capable of such...feats. Without warning Que turned his head back, making a complete circular rotation of his neck, making a chill slide from Orin’s neck down to his tail. Another supposed bonus of replacing his body with metal meant no bones to break, thought Orin.

“The item is also supposed to be a few feet long and slender.”

“So, like a staff or sword?”

“Or a crystal. Or Rod. Or a multitude of things.”

“Wait,” Orin paused before picking back up pace, “How did you get information on this place without looking here yourself?”

“Oh,” Que said in what could be considered a mixture between and chuckle and a chirp, “I have my means. But let's not waste time on idle chit chat. I’ll search this side, you search that side.”

Dark amber crept over the sky. Orin stared into it’s mesmerizing hues, remembering his home. His family.

“I guess some things are a constant on any plane.” Orin mused, smiling.

“I visited a plane once with five suns,” Que cut in from a few feet away, “There was never a sunrise or sunset. Perpetual noon, if you would.”

Orin’s smile flipped, another moment among many.

“Where you always like this, or did it come with the metallic body?”

“Always like what?” Que pushed some large leaves aside and peeked his head over a bush, staring down at Orin.

“Mechanical, distant, ‘robotic’,” Orin put emphasis on the last word. Que had shown him the thopters and mechanical devices of Esper,  taught him of the unfeeling machines that do tasks with utmost efficiency.

“I…” Que seemed to look out into the distance, searching, before pulling back the foliage and letting it cover him from vision. Orin could hear his footsteps walking forward and away. His ears folded back and he lowered his head. His paws moved on their own as he returned to searching.

The two sat in a small cave, a soft glow making their shadows dance along the walls. Orin sipped from his cup of water, looking out to the night sky. Que sat silently next to him, staring into the fire. Crackling wood and the whirls from the breezes filled the night, but no animals responded. They had not spoken since earlier that day, nor had they found the artifact. Orin glanced over at Que, his ears dropping back slowly.

“I’m sorry,” The ainok’s voice cracked, “for earlier. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

There was a long pause, then Que turned to look at Orin. That expressionless face stared at the furred planeswalker, making seconds feel like minutes.

“Do not fret over it,” Que turned up into the night sky, “Sometimes, I don’t think about how others will react before I speak. For someone like me, who has seen much and experienced more than you have yet to experience, mentioning Mirrodin may have been intriguing. That being said, it was insensitive of me to comment in such a way at a moment of remembrance for you. I had forgotten your circumstances. I, owe you the apology.”

Orin turned his gaze away from Que and up to take in the night sky once more. The two looked up as the sparkling dots looked down on them. Neither knew when it happened, but they both dozed off at their own pace, the fire dwindling as the night grew longer.

The sunlight entered the cave just right and danced over Orin’s face. The ainok rolled over and peeked open one eye. He saw the smoldering remains of the fire, dusty walls, and no Que. He propped himself up quickly and looked around. He was alone in the cave.

“Que,” He choked, his voice turning from hoarse due to the dust and smoke to a full on yell, “Que?”

At the opening of the cave, Orin could see dust falling from the top just outside the entrance. He slowly reached a hand out to his sword ,his hand tapped at the ground while his eyes stayed locked on the entrance. Frantically he fumbled until he had no choice but to look. His sword was gone. He shot back to the entrance where now he could see more dust and hear a noise, like scratching. It grew louder and louder as more dust fell. Orin jumped to his feet, readying himself to fight of whatever animal was coming. He had seen several strange creatures on Alara, and knew each plane offered its own dangers. The scratching was close now. Whatever it was had to be just outside the opening. Orin breathed in, then out, and readied himself.

The sun’s light obscured the details of two arms reaching in and latching onto the roof at the entrance of the cave. A moment later the creatures entire body flipped down and into the cave. Orin took a step forward and pulled back a clenched fist, winding up to punch. Before he could even fully register what happened, the cave glowed a bright, blinding teal. Orin froze to see Que just below him, mana bow at the ready, a blue arrow pointed up at to the ainok’s chin. Que was sprawled on the floor like a spider from rolling into the cave from above. Orin could see his sheathed sword in Orin’s free hand.

“I’d rather you not get violent first thing in the morning after screaming my name.” Que mumbled, obviously annoyed.

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t wander off when we are in a new location,” Orin made sure to add emphasis, “And if you wouldn’t take my sword.”

“My apologies,” the mana bow dissipated and Que stood to his full height, offering up the sword, “I went out to try and hunt something for you to eat.”

“ Hunt? With a sword?” Orin snatched the sword and began to secure it back to his side, “you have a bow and arrow that use mana. That you can control.”

“I left much earlier to try with that,” Que expressed what Orin could only say looked like displeasure, “There were unforeseen circumstances. I cannot use my bow unless it is the only option to me. That’s the reason we must get going. Now.”

“What are you talking about? That bow is like, your thing. You can’t really even use a sword. Remember, we tried that training thing before.” Orin scratched behind his ear, barely paying attention.

“No,” Que turned to look out of the cave towards the wilds “You don’t understand. We may be abandoning this quest.”

Orin huffed and pushed his way past Que. His pads felt good on the earth that the sun had heated up. His balance almost faltered as the avian’s hand pulled on his shoulder.

“Look, it’s too early for this nonsense, okay?” Orin yanked his shoulder out of Que’s grasp and walked forward.

“Orin,” Que clicked, “I found out why we haven't seen any wildlife.”

“Oh,” Orin turned on his heel and crossed his arms, “Do tell.”

A large shadow covered the opening of the cave moments before the thud of it landing. The Ainok turned to face the chest of a large beast. His eyes traced up it the creature’s body. Large green and grey malleable plates covered its form, giving way to greyish sinew. It was humanoid, but far from human. Long arms ended in clawed hands. It’s face appeared human, but was covered in the plates making up the lines of the face. Long, thin strands of tentacles hung from its head, some even over its shoulders. The creature looked down at them, and tilted its head to the side like a confused dog.

“Slivers,” Que shuttered.

[everything-tony-feared]

Bucky Barnes/James Barnes/The Winter Soldier imagines

Hi all! This is a pretty long list of possible situations for you and our darlin' Plum. Feel free to use them however, and if possible, tag me! I love reading Bucky x Reader (or Bucky x Tony, ikik..) and there's just never enough of it around.

I'm thinking about doing some of these so let me know if you're interested in reading one!

You are a consultant on cultural behavior, which means you detail the best appearance, attitude, and quirks for an undercover agent to have. Given your indepth knowledge, Fury assigns you the arduous task of bringing Steve Rogers and James Barnes up to speed on history post-1949.

You have known Tony for 15 years. You were born on August 1st, 1980, and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the war, you found yourself numb and detached from life, with your only surviving close friends and family being Harry James Potter and Ron Weasley. After suffering through apathy and depression for five years, at the age of 23, you throw yourself through the Veil. Unsure if you will encounter a blissful void, screeching hellfire and your righteous maker, or some other world, you put all your belongings in an extended bag and welcome the final step. Funnily enough, you fell face-forward into a gutter. 15 years later, Tony calls on you to consult on the portals opening at random. Unsure what to expect, seeing as you are the last magical being on this earthly realm, you agree. What you find brings back memories of parseltongue, bloodquils, and man with 7 lives. Bucky x Reader.

Born into an impoverished family, Y/N Y/L/N is the last in a long line of witch-hunters. Your father was already well into his 60s when you were born, so when he passed, it was just your mother left to instill the family doctrine in you. Despite this all, you eventually turn to a life of normalcy, and become a historian specializing in occult artifacts (that's normal, right?). Stephen Strange is a close friend, and eventually asks you to help him in his research kickstarted by Jane Foster. You come into contact with all of the Avengers although you've barely held a conversation past "Hi, how ya doin'?". With Darcy as your new best friend, and her ridiculous affair with the God of Lies, you find yourself reciting the words your father had carved into his flesh. "For our King, our God, and the Righteousness of Divinity, may God have Mercy upon your Filthy Soul." Would be very interesting with a fictional twist on a religion or faith of your choosing. Bucky x Reader where eventually Reader is the only person in the tower/compound who can successfully defend herself against attacks by the supernatural without heavy firepower- Bucky being the exception of course. Horror!theme?

It had been a nice sunny day in Manhattan. You thought to yourself, "You know what, this is gelato weather. I deserve gelato." And instead you get shot by some asshole with a red star on his shirt, kidnapped by a blonde man with a shield, and then told it was your fault for telling the red star asshole to leave your landlord alone.

Peter thinks he's sly- that you don't know about his spandex-wearing cobwebby bullshit. Ha! You'd lived next door all your life. Your WINDOW faces his. Who does he think he's fooling? Doesn't matter, he got you into a Stark Expo VIP tour. But hey, that tall brooding dude looks like he needs a laugh. Wait, what do you mean you can't say "Who pissed in your cornflakes?" to the Winter Soldier? He's not the Winter Soldier, he- oh. Shit. Haaa..haha.. "PETER!!"

As Tony Stark's assistant, you've seen a lot of stuff. You've seen him butt naked, you've seen him so drunk he thought you were Rhodey (somehow), and you've even had your heart in his chest. You and he trust each other completely. One day, you get a call and it's a hospital in Y/Home/Town. They say your grandpa had a heart attack. And so you're on leave for 2 months making sure he's okay. Ol' Dirty Dugan doesn't go down easy. When you return, there is a strange split in the team. Tony spends even more time in his lab, he smells awful, and there's bags under his eyes. The team doesn't mention him and you notice they don't call him out for missions anymore. Wtf? After some digging you find out that Clint, Natasha, Steve, Sam, and Wanda are convinced Tony is a piece of shit. They think he's selfish, a coward, and a pervert, all because of misinformation and his public image. Hell fucking no. Thank god they thawed Barnes out, at least he isn't partaking in Bully-Tony-Tuesday. In fact.. he seems to be just as distant and despondent as Tony. You have a lot of work to do.

Bucky is your best friend. In the sense that, you don't have any real friends, and he doesn't let people close. But you bring him coffee, he shares his protein bars, and sometimes you two watch youtube together. Then one day an office clerk slaps your ass. What does Bucky do? He fractures the guys jaw.

"Happy Birthday to me. Happy birthday to me.. Happy Birthday, dear (Y/N), happy..birthday..to me.." Nobody remembered. Again. Your parents didn't call. Your sister didn't call. Your old friends didn't call. Nobody on the team said anything, but then again, they probably didn't know.. you are just a lab assistant anyway. Oh, well, Jarvis 2.0 did say Happy Birthday. That was nice. Bucky overheard Jarvis, though. So he goes out and buys some flowers, a bottle of sake, and a cheesecake. And then you cry and doesn't know why. Happy birthday to me. Oneshot. Fluffy angst.

They didn't know you were sick. None of them. You were conveniently out of town when the medical check ups took place, and never allowed the pain to show on your face. But one day at work you collapse, and they can't wake you up. Cho discovers you have kidney disease. You're dying and have been for a while. Tony pays top dollar for an immediate transplant, but it will still take a month or two. You used to have morning chats with Barnes after his run. You always were an early bird. But now he's on assignment somewhere secret, and you feel even more numb. Bucky couldn't handle the thought that you'd die (you won't but he doesn't know that), so he runs. He runs and immerses himself in a mission, believing you'd never feel the same way.

You came home and discovered your boyfriend of eight years in bed with a woman you'd never seen before. Turns out they'd been having a secret affair for nearly 5 years. You are arrested for punching him in the face- not that you remember, you blacked out in rage- and humourously enough, Barnes is the one who collects you from the station. It's okay, you hadn't been in love with Jerry for a long time, but it still hurt. So when you see Jerry with his 'side chick' three months later, you also discover Bucky had a sense of humour. Apparently you're now married to James Barnes, have been for a while, and are pregnant. Of course you're not but somehow Bucky knew just what to say and do to piss Jerry right off.

[gold3nberry]

Growing Together

An unexpected guest arrives in Skyhold, reawakening memories, awakening insecurities, and making quite a turmoil in the Inquisitor’s life.

PART I/ II (Part II here)

Cullen Rutherford X Demetra Trevelyan Nsfwish

“This is ridiculous.” Demetra murmured, rubbing her tired face and looking at two very specific people in the courtyard. Luckily alone on the ramparts, the Inquisitor bit her lip, the taste of her lipstick spreading in her mouth. One of the two people she was observing tossed her head back, laughing, her hand gracefully leaning against the man’s arm. Demetra wasn’t sure she liked seeing the two of them so close. Not that she was jealous. Not at all. Why should she? Cullen was just talking to their new guest in Skyhold. Just talking. A friendly, nice chat in a very open space, under the eyes of other people. It wasn’t as if they were hidden in some alcove, she reasoned, looking at them from the ramparts. The silvery laugh of the woman echoed in all the courtyard again, reaching the Inquisitor herself. And hitting her like a punch in her guts, destroying all her well crafted thoughts.

Elan Surana.

One of the few mages escaped from the massacre of Kinloch, saved by the Hero of Ferelden and her companions. Demetra knew about her, of course, even before she appeared in Skyhold. One night, chatting while waiting for the sleep to come, Cullen had confessed her about his youthful and impossible infatuation for the mage who was his charge. It hadn’t been a problem, for Demetra. She knew he had a past, and she surely wasn’t going to be jealous of something happened when she wasn’t in his life. She had reassured him with kisses and tender words, happy that their relationship was being built honestly and openly. Beside, past couldn’t hurt her.

This until the past appeared in Skyhold, a tall, lithe, elegant figure, long ebony hair and an incredible pair of green eyes. Her bronze skin was perfect, her mouth bent in a playful smirk. Half of the men of Skyhold were at her feet well before she entered in the fortress. Even the always stoic ser Barris had thrown a look or two at their new guest, and not only because of the stave on her back. But what had made Demetra’s heart clench in her chest, it had been Cullen’s face. She hadn’t seen that expression on his face before. He was stunned, incredulous. He walked slowly towards the mage, as if he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing. “Elan?” “Sir Cullen.” she beamed “I hoped the voices about you were right and you were the same sir Cullen I knew, once. I’m happy I finally found you.”. They stared at each other for long moments. And then Cullen grabbed her hand, shaking it enthusiastically, laughing, questioning, welcoming her as he never did with any other guest before. And lately in the Inquisitor’s quarters, after a dinner where of course the mage had been the guest of honor sat near the Inquisitor herself, Cullen had continued to talk about Elan. Demetra had been filled with details about Elan’s ability to throw spells, her clever, sharp mind, her amazing sense of humor, a certain youthful disdain for rules. Demetra smiled and nodded always at the right time, but something inside her was twisting. And it wasn’t a pleasant sensation. It had been the day after, however, that she understood plently, after waking up as usual just to find herself unusually alone in the big bed. Usually Cullen woke her up before leaving, joking that he couldn’t allow anyone else to be put in such a great danger. Not that morning. The morning, the Inquisitor found Cullen in his office, Elan comfortably seated on the verge of the desk, and they were vividly speaking about something, when Demetra arrived. She had barely controlled her impulse to take her usual spot on Cullen’s desk back in a very unpolite way. She was jealous, she had finally admitted at least with herself. No, she thought returning in the present, she wasn’t. That would be a terrible lack of trust in Cullen. And she trusted Cullen. She did. Truly. She bit again her lip, as another giggle from her Commander and Elan Surana reached her.

The wind that day was colder than usual, and Demetra shivered, holding close the edges of her velvet cloak. Forcing herself to walk away – she couldn’t deny her duties any longer – the Inquisitor went through her day. But everything resulted difficult, to the point where even Josephine, always at her side, seemed exausted. Merchants in the Southern Approach required more soldiers to escort them, the scholars who were studying the elven artifacts asked for more informations, Templars required directions now that the Skyhold’s tower was the new Mages’ house. The pile of letter and reports didn’t diminish despite Demetra and Josephine’s hard work. Every minute a new messanger seemed to arrive with a scroll or a “urgent message”. Demetra clenched her teeth, writing the umpteenth answer to a noble who wanted her to marry a son, a cousin, a brother. She didn’t have time for those silly ideas, especially because more or less half of Thedas knew about her relationship with the Commander. But at least part of the nobles didn’t seem to consider it more than a dalliance. The thought offended her, making difficult to be polite in her letters. With a vaguely annoyed sighed, Josephine marked something on a little calendar “We have to delay your journey in the Emerald Graves, Your Worship. You don’t have a single day free before three weeks.” “I’m sure Fairbanks will be fine even without me babysitting his people.” Demetra replied tiredly, before huffing, realizing that the ink in her inkpot was finished. Again. The Ambassador wrote furiously a note on the calendar for her assistant, and the sound of their feathers on the paper was the only one in the room for a long time. Until Demetra lifted abruptly her head, hearing a loud, pleased roar from the courtyard.

Josephine’s frown deepened “What’s going on there? I hope Sera and Bull are not having one of their races again! We just rebuilt the fence!” Another exulting explosion of voices and Demetra couldn’t restrain a little smile “Shall we have a look?” “I… yes, I’d like so. I think nobody is going to scold us if we take a little break, Your Worship.” Josephine smiled despite herself, clearly restraining barely her impulse to stretch. “I can’t imagine someone brave enough to scold at you, Josephine.”. They shared a giggle, finally leaving the room, their steps light and quick.

Demetra’s smile faded a little, when they arrived at the top of the courtyard’s stairs. Elan Surana was standing proudly in the training ring, a crowd of Skyhold people all around her, cheering and shouting. She had discarded her Mage robes, and she was wearing a simple pair of leather breeches and a short top, which exposed her toned abdomen. Demetra crossed her arms, refusing to feel uncomfortable, sensing the abundance of flesh on her belly, and focusing instead on the match. As a warrior, the Inquisitor was curious to see an unknown fighter at work. Wielding gracefully her stave, Surana was sparring against one of the soldiers. She wasn’t using her magic, but she was nevertheless very fast, elegant and accurate. Her lithe body twirled and turned, confusing with its quick jumps the bigger, and slower, opponent. Her movements were calculated to not waste an inch of energy in useless tricks. She didn’t need magic to be a valid opponent, Demetra nodded to herself. Standing at her moves, Surana knew how to take advantage of a stave using that as an effective weapon. The Inquisitor wasn’t surprised at all when the elven woman knocked down the soldier, standing victorious, the sharp end of her stave pointed against the man’s throat. “I yield!” the man shouted, but he didn’t seem terribly disappointed. “Well done, Carson. And very well done, mistress Surana.” Cullen smirked, clapping. Elan bowed graciously, laughing “You’re training these men well, Commander Cullen. For a split second, I thought I was going to lose.” “Just for a split second?” Carson groaned, making them all laugh. “Mistress Surana is becoming quite familiar with Skyhold’s people.” Josephine commented gently, clearly enjoying the fresh breeze. Demetra nodded, not knowing exactly what to say. But she didn’t have to, since Cullen spotted them on the staircase and waved at them. The Inquisitor waved back, happy that he was moving where she and Josephine were standing. The Ambassador gave her a sly look “I think I’ll have some tea, before we start to work again, my lady. I’d invite you to join me, and you too, Commander” she added, when Cullen arrived “but I think you tw have important matters to… discuss.” “I’d like a cup of tea.” a voice intervened. Surana, sweat and radiant, grinned at the Ambassador “It has been a long time since I could drink something different from rivers’ water!” “It’d be an honour, Mistress Surana!” the Ambassador clapped her hands happily “And I have some special sweets from my Country that I’m sure you’ll love!”

“Wonderful!” Surana replied “I have never enough of sweets!” “You tell me!” Cullen smirked back “Did you know, Inquisitor, that once I found someone, who was supposed to be in the library practicing, in the kitchen, stealing pastries?” “And did you know, Your Worship,” Elan laughed “that the thief and her Templar shared that delicious booty?”. Demetra smiled politely, telling herself she wasn’t bother by that “her Templar”, and Elan continued “Gosh, looking back at how much I ate I really risked to become the fattest Mage in the history of Mages! If that was happened, I should have run away to hide in a cavern!” Demetra forced herself to not stiffen or let her smile fall. And then Surana gestured at the Inquisitor herself “Sadly, I’m not like you, my lady. Your curves are beautiful and add charm on you.”. Demetra’s smile was so forced she felt her lips trembling for the effort. Luckily, Josephine was impatient to have her well deserved tea, and she dragged her guest away. Cullen chuckled “It’s good that Elan is always so honest. Even if her tongue put her in troubles more than once.” “I wonder why.” She hoped her voice was less stern than she heard it, but judging by Cullen’s face she wasn’t sure. He came a bit closer “She’s right, you know? Your curves are absolutly ravishing.” Cullen pressed her against his body, kissing her temple “You are absolutly ravishing. Did I tell you that, today?” She smiled, kissing his cheek. It was intended to be just a playful kiss, but he turned his head suddenly, capturing her mouth with his. It wasn’t a long kiss, since both of them knew there were always prying eyes around them, but he whispered wickedly “Would you like, my beautiful Inquisitor, accompaning me to inspect the new lockets in the prisons?”. The pressure of his hand on her generous hip, his leg almost between hers, told her exactly what type of inspections he had in mind. She knew her eyes were darkening quickly “I don’t have a lot of time, actually, Commander.” “Then you shouldn’t looking at me in that way.” he growled, his lips near her ear. She shivered, her skin already flushed and sensitive. She’d be embarassed he could turn her in a puddle of lust just using that low voice of his, if she wasn’t enjoying that so much. “Maybe a quick inspection…” she rectified, leaning against him, knowing he adored feeling her in that intimate way. He made a noise, something she couldn’t describe precisely, but that made her feel beautiful and desired. Cullen took her against the wall of the hallway which led to the cells, after locking the door. She muffled her gasps and moans against his neck, as he plunged into her again, and again, panting and grunting satisfied. They fell together in the bliss, her legs wrapped around his hips, his mouth on her neck, trembling and kissing wildly to muffle their moans. When she returned to her desk, Josephine was so corteous to not mention the bruise on her neck.

She didn’t know what had awoken her, until she heard a well known gasp for air. Turning, she found Cullen sat on the verge of his side of the bed, panting harhsly, his skin covered in cold sweat. “Would you like a cup of water?” she asked quietly, not wanting to startle him more. His eyes were wide with pain and terror, and he blinked twice before nodding. He drank slowly, careful to not spill the water since his hands were trembling hard. Sat next to him, the pitched at her feet, Demetra wanted nothing more than caressing his back and pushing back from his forehead the wild curls. But she knew he needed to be okay with that. Experience had taught her to always ask first, when those episodes happened. Touching him wasn’t always the right thing to do, despite her feelings about leaving him alone. It wasn’t about her, after all. So she sat next to him, not too close, her posture forcibly relaxed, waiting patiently while the moon walked in the dark sky outside the window. “I… I had a nightmare.” If the room hadn’t been quiet, she would have missed his words. He shook his head, pressing his forehead on his clenched fists “Maker, I saw… again… I was in Kinloch again.”. He looked at her, eyes reddened “I saw those… things killing my friends and the mages, I saw… you were there and I couldn’t save you.” “Oh, Cullen.” she murmured, hating herself for not having found something better to say. His teeth were so gritted she feared he was going to break them. Another silence. It was always hard making him talk, after a nightmare or a lyrium withdrawal. The room was a bit too chill for her taste, and she shivered slightly. He noticed and smiled bitterly “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you. Go to sleep, Demetra, I’ll have a walk to calm down.” he murmured, standing slowly. “Oh, I’ll come with you!” she decided, trying to not appear too worried. He smiled faintly, a gesture which didn’t reach his eyes “No, it’s okay. I just need…” to be alone for a bit, she completed silently “to walk for a while. I’ll return soon, I promise.”. She waited for a long time, under the blanket, looking at the first rays of sun shyly coloring the sky, the other side of her bed still empty and cold. Before she finally gave up, letting her eyes close, she sent a prayer to the Maker, stretching her arm on Cullen’s side.

“And, as in fact the two of us predicted, the inscriptions we found in that cavern in the Dales weren’t Tevene, but ancient elven.” Dorian beamed, rubbing his chin, as he did always when he found something interesting “That means that we should suggest to the Keeper… you could at least pretend to listen!” he snapped, putting down his notes. Demetra lifted her eyes from the volume in front of her “I’m listening. And I’m researching the words we weren’t able to translate…” “Oh, please.” Dorian huffed, crossing his legs “You didn’t move your eyes from that page since I started to read.”. Demetra blushed, guilty “I’m sorry, Dorian.” “It doesn’t matter.” he grumbled, clearly thinking the opposite. The Inquisitor knew he was at least a bit annoyed, since nobody took books and studies as serious as Dorian did. She tried again “Dorian, I’m really sorry. You’re right, I should have paid more attention. My apologies.”. He sighed “Fine, I suppose also the mighty Inquisitor has the right to be inattentive, from time to time.”. She stretched, suffucating a yawn. It had been three nights since Cullen had that nightmare. And he didn’t seem to sleep well. She wasn’t more worried than usual about that. After those episodes, for a couple of days he always had troubles to go in bed and take at least a nap. What made her frown this time was that he didn’t stay even in the bedroom. Neither his or hers. He just sat up, murmured an apologise and walked away. When she woke up in the morning he was always there, a sheepish half smile on his lips, and a tray with their breakfast nearby. “You are a bit pale, you know?” Dorian patted at her arm “Should we tell your Commander that you need to sleep more?”

“Dorian!” she gasped, embarassed. He shrugged, not an inch of regret “I’m just worried for my little cousin!” “You just want to gossip!” she retorted “Should we return to our studies?” “Oy, finally! There you are!” They turned, as Sera entered in the library marching loudly and eating an apple even louder “Yo, did you find that formula, Quizzie?” the young elf munched, spitting pieces of fruit everywhere, not caring to keep her voice low. Dorian promptly took away the precious volume, preventing a two centuries old book from being covered in chomped food. The Inquisitor greeted Sera, gesturing at her new blouse “That color suits you, Sera.” “Yeah, I thought the same when that lady showed it to her friends.”. Demetra and Dorian exchanged a worried look, before the woman managed to ask “Which lady?” Sera grunted, shifting on her feet “Lady Vanluck…?” “You mean, lady Van Brulck? Lady Amelia Van Brulck of Cumberland?” “Think so. Ey, don’t look at me like that! She forced Bonnie to search for this blouse forever, and when finally it arrived she refused to pay the entire price, boasting around with her friends that Bonnie should have being honored to sell her something!” “So, you stole it?” Dorian prompted, holding back a laughter. “Yeah, and I gave it back to Bonnie, but she told me to keep it, so I did.” Luckily the lady had left Skyhold that morning, Demetra reasoned with a quiet sigh, and with a bit of luck she wouldn’t suspect of the Inquisition stealing her clothes. The Inquisitor really didn’t need more troubles. Sera scratched her head “Aren’t you going to gimme a lecture?” Demetra shrugged “With a bit of luck that noblewoman won’t realize there is a missed piece in her wardrobe until she arrives at home. And, honestly, I’m too sleepy to be truly bothered.” “Oh? Oh, so you two have fought! You and Cully Wully!” the elf made clear “Why? Is it for the desk prank?” Demetra looked at her, surprised “No, we didn’t fight. Why do you think this?” “Well, I saw him walking on the ramparts in these last nights. I thought…” “Hold on!” Dorian intervened “Our Commander was walking alone? And you let me thought he kept you awake for other, good, naughty reasons!”

“Well, he wasn’t alone!” Sera rectified, before freezing. Demetra was truly surprised “What do you mean he wasn’t alone ? Was sir Barris with him?”. That would be strange. Cullen lived those moments as a weakness he was barely willing to share with her. The elven girl seemed seriously tempted to just make a quick run far away from the library “Uh, I… look, I’m not even sure he was always with her, ‘k? I just saw them one time or two!” “Her?” Demetra inquired, trying not to sound too worried. And praying the Maker she misheard. “Look, don’t put me in this shitty couple lovey-dovey thing, okay?” Sera tensed, leaning against the wooden rotunda’s parapet “I thought he told you…” “Sera, please. Who was with Cullen?” “Fine.” she grumbled “That new elven mage, his old friend. Surana, right?” “Ah.” it was the only word Demetra could manage to say, keeping her face neutral. She felt Dorian’s glare on her, but she forced a smile “Well, they are, in fact, a sort of old friends. It’s okay, you two don’t make that faces!” “Uh, okay. If you say you’re okay with this, I suppose I’m too.” Sera absently tipped her lips “Do you wanna I spy them, just to make sure the lady keeps her hands in her pockets?”. Demetra reassured her friend once again she was perfectly fine with the situation, but she was seriously tempted to accept the offer. Why didn’t Cullen tell her about this? With the excuse to search for the formula she had promised Sera to find – something which could make her bee bombs more impressive – the woman marched away. Her eyes were glued on the volumes accurately put on the shelves, but her mind was racing in quite a different direction. She wasn’t an expert about relationships, but she honestly thought that walking under the moonlight with an old crush was something you should discuss with your partner. Right? She closed her eyes, pressing the her forehead against the ebony shelf, the smell of books, wood and dust familiar in a way that helped her to calm down a little. She needed to talk to Cullen. And being honest with him about the entire Elan Surana situation. It wasn’t right for both of them lying about her being perfectly fine.

But… what if he was going to be insulted by her lack of trust? Or… if he confirmed that something was changed between them? No, she clamped her lips, that couldn’t be possible. They loved each other. He told her, holding her in his arms. Cullen would never hurt her. Yes, but he’d had feeling for Surana too, in the past. The thought made her frozen. And now she was there, both of them free from the chains of their roles as Mage and Templar. Plus, she was beautiful, confident, clever. She probably wouldn’t never ask someone about chastity vows, or stuttered speaking about feelings. A bunch of crows entering from the roof startled her, as the few people in the library muttered about the noisy birds. Not too loud, of course, since it was known the Spymaster loved them and nobody in Skyhold was eager to challenge her. Looking up where the crows were lazily choosing a spot where landing, Demetra knew there was a person who could probably help her. Discreetly. Very discreetly.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Inquisitor?” Leliana lifted her head from a scroll, gesturing her to take a seat. Demetra was already regretting to be there, and not because the Spymaster was always a bit intimidating. No, Demetra was feeling a fool, because she was acting as one. Using her title to investigate about someone. Someone who hadn’t done anything wrong. Demetra knew she shouldn’t have been there. Even if technically she wasn’t doing anything wrong, she knew it wasn’t right either.  If Cullen would ever know this… A moment of silence fell between the the Inquisitor and her Spymaster. “I was thinking about our new guest.” Demetra started, trying her best to appear calm, ignoring the little voice in her head which was shouting her that that was a bad call. “Ah, yes of course. Mistress Surana.” Leliana nodded. The Inquisitor lifted her chin up a bit, inhaling deeply “I know Cullen knew her when she was in Kinloch, but none of us knows what she did after. Well,” she rectified “none of us except you, I’m sure.” Leliana smiled gracefully, but her voice was serious “Did she say anything that worried you, if I may ask?” Demetra hoped her blush wasn’t so obviOus. Maker, she was doing this so clumsily. The last thing she needed was having Leliana’s men spying the new guest. “No.” the Inquisitor replied, playing with the embroided hem of her sleeve “But I’d like to know who is leaving under my roof.” “A reasonable thought, my lady. My agents have already collected some informations,a s we normally do for every new guest. If you wish to read them, I have everything here.”. Leliana opened with a little key a drawer in her desk, handing out an folder thickly written. Demetra didn’t want to take it, actually. But her hand moved before her consicence could intervene and put an end to her ridiculous behavor. The Inquisitor read silently, words jumping out here and there. One of the youngest pupils of the First Enchanter in Kinloch. Very talented. Selected to be trained as a Knight – Enchanter, thanks the Knight- Commander Greagoir’s raccomandation. One of the twenty mages survived in the Circle during Uldred’s rebellion. Charge of Commander Cullen when he was… Demetra closed abruptly the document, trembling. Cullen’s words echoed in her mind, his desperation and horror still fresh in her memories, even after weeks. He had been there. And Surana too. None of them deserved their privacy violated in such a way. She had choosen the wrong way to soothe her fears. She should have simply told Cullen how she was feeling. She had to talk to him, not digging in his past like a thief. “My lady?” Demetra didn’t know she was pale, but she could feel her lips trembling. Not wishing to confess Leliana her true thoughts, the Inquisitor cleared her throat “I’m fine. I was just thinking. Cullen…he told me about the massacre in the Circle.”. Leliana nodded, slowly “It was a view I won’t ever forget.” “You where there together with the Hero of Ferelden and king Alistair, right?” “Yes,” the Spymaster sighed, her eyes wandering far away “me, Mel, Alistair and Morrigan arrived in Kinloch searching for help about a delicate matter, and what we found…” Leliana shook her head, fisting her hands “Ruin, death, abominations. Everything that could go wrong in a Circle was there, that day. Frankly, Inquisitor, I’d rather not talk about this.” “Of course. And I have to go, now.” “You can take that.” Leliana gestured “I have a copy and that was going to be sent to your archive anyway.” “So, I’m going to put it there.” Demetra nodded, referring to the little library under Skyhold she had claimed as her personal one. But first, she had to find Cullen and talk to him. It was a matter that couldn’t wait a minute longer.

Cullen would reassure her. They would have a frank chat and she would realize that her fears were fed just by her insecurity and nothing more. She loved him and he loved her, and nothing had changed in the last week. All her considerations crumbled at her feet when she opened the door in the Commander’s office. Surana and Cullen were speaking quietly, very close, her hand gently placed on his arm. Hearing the wooden opening, they turned in her direction. All in a sudden, Demetra felt to be the one who wasn’t meant to stay there. She had the horrible feeling to have interrupted… something. Surana took a step back, smiling uncertain “Forgive me, Your Worship, I suppose you need to speak to Commander Cullen. I didn’t want to monopolize him.” Demetra couldn’t formulate a proper sentence or even a short reply. She could only stare at the two of them, together near the window. The atmosphere was strange, and Demetra frowned. Cullen was too pale. And were those tears in the mage’s eyes? The elven woman excused herself and left quickly the office, closing gently the door behind her. Demetra stayed still and tense, looking at Cullen “What’s going on?” Cullen seemed to focus entirely on her just in that moment “What do you mean?” “Well,” Demetra started, fighting to keep her voice calm “it seems I arrived during an important speech of some sort.” “It wasn’t… I mean, it was important, but you didn’t… not exactly, at least.” “What were you two talking about?” The question slipped from her lips surprising more her than him. And when he didn’t answer, she repeated it, a bit louder “Cullen, what were you two talking about?”. He rubbed his neck, wetting his lips “I’m sorry, but this is a… private matter. Sort of.” “You don’t want to tell me?” she questioned, incredulous. Cullen frowned “Demetra, please. It’s…it’s not something I can just tell to everyone.” “I didn’t think I was an “everyone”.” was her quiet reply, flinching when the words stung in her skin. He blushed, rubbing his neck “Maker, I didn’t mean… of course you’re not…” “Cullen,”she tried to speak with a steady voice “Cullen, be sincere: are you falling in love with her again?”. There, her worst fear finally had a face. He flinched violently “Maker’s breath, Demetra! Have you lost your mind?!” “You didn’t answer.” she bit her lip, her hands shaking. He almost ran towards her “No, for the Maker’s sake, of course not! I love you!”. He was looking at her completely stunned, grabbing her arms firmly. The Inquisitor looked at him, still unsure  “Then, why are you so strange? Since when she arrived here…”. She left her sentence falling between them, the silence too big and too scary. “And you two have been seen walking together.” she added quietly. He sighed “I didn’t plan to meet her, if this is what you’re thinking. But it seems I’m not the only one to find difficult sleeping.” Demetra shifted on her feet “Well, I’d have liked accompaning you. You know that.” “I know.” his voice was softer “But I don’t want to put on your shoulders another burden. At least when you’re in Skyhold, you should have a bit of relax and happiness.” “You’re not a burden!” she bursted out, grabbing his hand with her free one “Don’t even think to be one for a moment! And I’m happy when I’m here. And I’m happier when you don’t cut me out! I don’t need to be protected, Cullen. Not from you.” “I’m sorry.” he repeated, reciprocating her grip “Sometimes it’s difficult … I’m just so used to be all by myself that is difficult accpeting that someone else - that you - is willing to be here for me.” “I am.” she confirmed “Truly and always.” “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Surana. I assure you nothing happened. We just talked.” “But you’re not going to tell me about what.” “I can’t.” he replied, serious “I don’t want to violate the privacy of someone else. I have to ask you to trust my word.” “I’m not comfortable we have secrets between us.”she murmured quietly “But I think I can trust you. If you say there’s nothing between the two of you, I believe you.” “Oh, love.” Cullen sighed, embracing her “I didn’t want to make you feel bad. Of course there’s nothing between me and Elan. I love you, you know that.” “Yes,” she replied “but you also confessed to have had feelings for her, in the past”. He went quiet for a little, caressing her red hair “Yes, I had feelings for her, but as you told, it happened a long time ago. And let me tell you a thing: it could never have worked between me and Elan. All what charmed me at the beginning, it would build a wall after a while. We were… we still are too different. Our choices, our views about the world. We weren’t meant to be together.” he chuckled, kissing her forehead “I can fit perfectly with only one person. I’m sorry, you’re stuck with me.” When he lifted gently her chin to kiss her, she hugged him, forgetting the papers in her hand. And they fell on the stone floor. She acted on instinct, interrupting their kiss to pick them up.  “Wait, let me help you!” he offered, kneeling on the floor. She panicked “No, Cullen, I don’t need….” He smiled at her “I just want to help you!”. She recognised the exact moment in which his eyes found something -Elan’s name, his name, a date - that revealed him what those papers were. “Demetra.” he standed up slowly, a bunch of pages in his hands “This is a report about Elan. Did you investigate… about us?” “No!” she replied quickly, not liking at all that “us” “I just wanted more informations about her. You always sayI have to be more careful with my allies!” “And you decided to take my advice right now?” he snarled, crossing his arms. Demetra felt a wave of rage crashing on her, not liking how he was speaking to her “Well, do you know what she did in all these years? Or where she spent this time?” “She’s our ally! I can’t believe that you…” “If only you would speak to me earlier, instead of letting me try to figure out the truth alone!” she attacked, the tension building in her stomach. “Don’t!” he thundered suddenly, making her jump “Don’t try to blame me when you are acting like a child!” “I don’t want to blame you, I just wanted you to speak to me!” she shouted. He went silent for a moment,  his face pale and his eyes darkened. She was breathing heavily, her hands grabbing the rest of the folder. Cullen’s shook his head “And you said you trusted me.”  “I do!” she replied “And I didn’t read more than one or two pages before stopping. I realized I was wrong and I just wanted to put that in the archive and never think about it again. For this reason I came here, for speaking to you!” “And were you going to tell me about this document?”. She hesitated. Honestly, she wasn’t sure about her answer. The way he looked at her made her heart clench painfully. Without another word, he put down the documents on his desk and left the office. “Cullen!” she called, but the only answer was a closed door.

Comments, reblogs, likes, tags, are truly treasured. I’m sorry this took so much time, and I still don’t like very much this first chapter, but I’m going to leave it here. And hoping you’ll like it!

[thereareangels]

 Doctor Who AU - Casanova      Henriette jumped in surprise when The TARDIS doors opened and Donna and Charles stepped out.      “Donna-”, she began cheerfully, but as soon as she saw the look on Donna's face, she froze.      “Run along home now, Charlie”, Donna instructed. “I need to have a chat with Henriette.      “Si, Signora”, Charles nodded obediently, rushing out the door, eager to get as much distance as possible between The TARDIS and himself.      “What are we to discuss?”, Henriette asked.      Donna explained about her discovers inside The TARDIS- By now Henriette and Rocco were in on the secret as well- And what those discoveries implied about her future and about Giacomo.      “It is a completely foreign thought to imagine Giacomo as your Doctor”,   Henriette sighed shaking her head. “and yet, the evidence is overwhelming.”      “What evidence?”, Giacomo asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.      Donna exchanged a look with Henriette, and Henriette nodded, standing.      “I shall take my leave”, Henriette intoned, bowing herself out of the room.      “Is there something you wish to tell me?”, Giacomo inquired.      Donna motioned for him to take up the seat Henriette had vacated, and waited for him to settle in before she began.      “Charlie helped me search The TARDIS this morning.”      Giacomo smiled.      “I am glad you are now feeling well enough to do so.”      Donna half-laughed hollowly.      “Maybe not, when you've heard what I've found.”      Giacomo's smile slipped away.      “What have you found?”      “Drawings on the walls of The Doctor's rooms”, Donna continued. “Drawings like yours. Drawings like the portraits you've done.”      Giacomo shrugged, unconcerned.      “We share a talent. That is a common thing.”      “You share a talent and appearance”, Donna reminded him. “The TARDIS is in your room.”      Giacomo shook his head.      “But I have none of your Doctor's memories. How could I be such a man, and not know it?”      Donna shrugged, at a loss.      “I dunno, but stranger things have happened, trust me.”      Then she was silent, but Giacomo could sense there was something more.      “Lady Saint?”, he prompted.      “Not so much a saint, it seems”, Donna sighed. “My old room was attached to his- yours- whatever..”      Giacomo felt his heart leap into his throat.      “And- you- think-?”, he croaked.      “My bed also- smelled.. like him..”, Donna mumbled.      Giacomo swallowed.      “I see..”      He studied her as she refused to look at him. She looked so miserable. He wished he knew what to say to make her smile again.      “Our rooms are joined”, he tried.      “Uhh, don't remind me”, Donna groaned, running her hands over her face and into her hair in frustration.      “But I feel that I must”, Giacomo insisted. “since you seem to assume that, as The Doctor, I would not be as gentlemanly as I have been here.”      “What?”, Donna snapped in confusion.      “Our rooms are joined, yet no intimacy has passed between us”, he rephrased.      Donna paused to consider his point.      “I suppose..”      “And you say that your old bed smells of him? Well, I dare say your bed now smells of me, as I have been sleeping there and you have been sleeping in mine.”      “..Yeah”, Donna grinned, brightening at the thought.      “Thus, it stands to reason, does it not, that a similar instance could have taken place aboard The TARDIS?”, Giacomo concluded.      “Could be”, Donna agreed. And then another thought occurred to her that made her heart drop just as quickly as it had risen. “Like... dying..”      “Sorry?”, Giacomo frowned.      Donna thought she might pass out.      “I died.. I died- and it drove him mad..”, she whispered in horror.      Donna had always been the practical sort. She knew, as most people do, that she would someday meet her end, and there was nothing she could do about it; It happened to everyone eventually. But to know that her death would occur during her time with The Doctor, terrified her to her very core. How long did she have? Was it years? Weeks? Days? Or did she never return? Was she going to die here, in the 1700's?      Giacomo watched helplessly as Donna's eyes filled with tears and she struggled to come to grips with her situation.      No, she didn't die here. The new items in her room on The TARDIS proved that, didn't they? Yes, they must. She chose to focus on that detail and tried to pull herself together.      Giacomo abandoned the chair and sat beside Donna on his four poster.  Her hands were trembling when he took them up.      She would make it home. Back to her own time. She would live long enough to see her mum again, and  gramps, and The Doctor. She still had time.      She had time.      “Not if I have any say”, Giacomo muttered, brushing her cheeks free of tears and bits of stray hair.      “What?”, Donna blinked in confusion.      “You will not die on my watch, M'lady”, Giacomo vowed in utmost sincerity.      Donna smiled a small grateful smile, and then laid her head on his shoulder.      They shared the silence together until Giacomo remembered why he'd left the archives at the church.      “Lady Donna, I've found a record of The TARDIS.”      Donna bolted upright and turned to face him, eyes wide.      “What?”      “It's vague”, he explained. “but it held a few gleanings of value.”      “What did it say?”, she prompted eagerly.      “It spoke of a box falling from the stars”, Giacomo elaborated. “It crashed into the grand canal and was fished out of the basin by local merchants of the time. The authorities tried to open the box to investigate it's contents, but it was sealed shut, and remained sealed despite their efforts. Soon after, the church took possession of the box, claiming that it was a 'divine relic' sent from heaven, and that it was their right and privilege to protect such artifacts. The box was later sold at a church auction when the local coffers ran low, and passed into the possession of an art collector of sorts. It said that he lived in this very apartment, and when he died, the box remained here, as no one wished to have claim over it any longer, and it must have been covered up and forgotten after that.”      “So.. if it's never been opened since the crash.. where is The Doctor?”, Donna worked out slowly and carefully.      Giacomo shrugged.      “I am uncertain. But, what is clear, is that it couldn't have been me.”      “Why not?”, Donna wondered.      “That record is over a hundred years old, maybe more”, Giacomo explained. “I would have been dead long ago.”      “Father Octavious!, The Scribe wheezed, running flat out down the corridor towards his superior. “Father Octavious! He's found it! He's found it!”      “Calm yourself, my son”, Father Octavious soothed the boy. “What is this all about?”      “Signore Casanova has found the document!”, he managed to gasp, holding onto the father's arm for support.      The older man paled.      “That was far sooner than I had hoped”, he whispered to himself, before turning back to the scribe. “Take Father Mattius to the cloisters. Keep him safe there until I give the order for his release, do you understand me?”      The Scribe hesitated.      “No one is to disturb him, no one. Do-you-under-stand?      “Y-Yes, Father”, The Scribe stuttered, before hurrying off to do as he was bid.      Father Octavious watched him go with anxious eyes. It was too soon. Far too soon.. [previous] [next]

[lbat1901]

Eddbusters Chapter 3

First Ghost Sighting - (Chapter 3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, inside a house belonging to an old lady, a young Norwegian looking man was seen setting up a couple of things. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” asked the old lady. “Yeah, I’m positive. You’re looking at a master of inventions” said the man. “Oh. I never got your name when you first walked through my door” said the old lady. “Oh sorry! My name is Tord. Tord Largarsson and I currently have dreams of following my future. In order to do that, I wanted to travel to England to learn English” said Tord. “Ah, I see that you’ve seem to have mastered it” said the old lady.

“Really? Thanks I guess, but I do have some problems with it at times” said Tord. “There’s always the saying practice makes perfect. I find you way better than one inventor before. He created this clock that worked great, but woke me at the wrong time and a few days before that, some Boy Scout dumped my cat at me after supposedly saving it when it was stuck in a tree” said the old lady. “Oh….that’s very unfortunate to hear, but at least they’ve tried to help. Now back on topic, you said that you’ve been having some mice troubles right?” asked Tord. “Yeah that would be correct” said the old lady. “Well say goodbye to them once my trap with catch one little mouse” said Tord. “Alright, show me how it works” said the old lady.

“Oh that? All you have to do it pull this lever right here” said Tord. Tord pulls the level down which caused a chain reaction in a form of a step to step process of things that would make the trap activate. When the last switch to it was pulled, a cage suddenly drops to the floor and in it was a whole entire family of mice. “Ta-da! I’ve managed to capture the mice into this cage” said Tord. The old lady claps in happiness. “Why thank you so much young man. Those mice have been causing trouble in my home for months and thanks to you, they’ve been brought to justice” said the old lady.

“Thank you for hiring me. But in all seriousness, you just randomly pulled me right out of the streets for this” said Tord. The old lady hands Tord a couple of cash before Tord leaves as he took all his stuff with him including the cage that had the mice in it. After walking for in a distance somewhere far away, Tord takes the moment to set the mice free as he gave them small pieces of cheese. Once the mice left, Tord continued his way down the street before catching something from the corner of his eye. In the window display to a electronic store were a wall of tvs showing a commercial. In the commercial, the cameras were filming on front of the door to the firehouse were Edd, Matt, and Tom stood.

“Uhh….are we on?” said Matt. “Yes, we are. Say your lines before things get awkward” said Edd. “Oh….ahem…..Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?” asked Matt. “Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? If the answer is "yes”, then don’t wait another minute. Pick up the phone and call the professional…….come on guys" said Edd. “Ghostbusters!” said Tom and Matt unison. “Our courteous and efficient staff is taking calls 24 hours a day to serve all your supernatural elimination needs” said Edd. “That’s right! And we’ve got the technology to do so” said Tom. “So what are you waiting for? Pick up that phone and dial our number which should be showing on bottom. We’re ready to believe you” said Matt. After the commercial ended, Tord was left in wonder. “I know exactly what to do……….I am so going to get a pie. Luckily the bakery is right next door to this electronic store” said Tord.

[Meanwhile]

In a lounge located inside a hotel, the door opens revealing Jon carrying two stone jars. “Eduardo, these two jars that you wanted are here” said Jon. “Well it’s about time they’ve shown up. Put them over there on the table” said Eduardo. “You mean by the stone template right?” asked Jon. “Yeah, just be careful where you put them down though” said Eduardo. As Jon was setting the jars onto the table, Mark walks over to Eduardo holding a clipboard.

“So remind me again on why we need this stuff exactly” said Mark. “Somebody randomly came up to me in a museum here in London and asked me if I can bring in some ancient artifacts for a party. So far I found a stone template and a golden staff that came from Egypt, but it was in a museum in Wales” said Eduardo. “Wait…..you don’t mean that you’ve stolen them right?” asked Mark. “No, I didn’t. It’s called borrowing” said Eduardo. “Sounds like stealing to me” said Mark. “Whatever! Anyway….I gave Jon the task to find other artifacts and he comes back with two stone jars. I have no idea where he got them and I don’t care either” said Eduardo.

“Hey guys! There’s a commercial about so these people that call themselves "Ghostbusters” that’s on. Come quick!“ said Jon. Both Mark and Eduardo went over to see Jon standing in front of a tv. "Well….take a look at those losers. They really think that they can catch ghosts” said Eduardo. “Yeah, it’s kinda embarrassing especially when they’re wearing outfits that make look ridiculous. Why are they dressed up like that? Are they going to some nerd event?” asked Mark with a chuckle. “Ah come on guys, they don’t look all that bad. They look pretty cool” said Jon. “Ugh….why are you even with us, Jon? Gosh…..you’re so worthless and stupid” mumbled Eduardo. “Anyway….I just checked with the staff to see when this "party” starts and they said that it’s been delayed" said Mark. “What!? Why? What is so important that they have to delay it?” asked Eduardo. “I don’t know. They told me that there’s some technical difficulties” said Mark.

[At The Ghostbusters Firehouse]

Tom and Matt were seen playing ping pong, but Matt was having a really tough time hitting the ball. “Come on Matt, why can’t you hit the ball?” asked Tom. “I’m trying! I’m trying really hard, but the ball is against me for some reason” said Matt. “It’s not against you. All you need do is to stand in a position and let the ball drop” said Tom. “I’ve tried that, but it’s not working. Aww…..I wished we were playing table hockey” said Matt. “I wish we could too, but I’m still repairing it. It just needs one more wire and it’s finished” said Tom.

“Well, why aren’t you working on it right now then?” asked Matt. “That’s because you’ve suggested that we should play ping pong and besides I was going to work on it, but no, you had to distract me” said Tom. “I’m sorry okay!” said Matt. “Guys! I have good news” said Edd as he came into the room. “What is it?” asked Tom. “I’ve hired someone to answer our calls for us so we wouldn’t be rushing to the phone all the time” said Edd.

“That’s great! Let’s go see them” said Matt. The trio goes to the front desk to meet the person who’s in charge of taking the calls. “Matt, Tom, this is Laurel” said Edd. “Nice to meet you Ghostbusters. I’m Laurel and to keep things short, I had the job of being a secretary, so taking calls won’t be hard” said Laurel. “Great! Tom, are those photon packs done yet?” asked Edd. “Yeah they are and they’ve been tested” said Tom.

“Good. We could really use some unlicensed nuclear accelerators in our life” said Edd. “Unlicensed? We’re doing illegal stuff?” asked Matt. “No, that’s just an exaggeration” said Edd. The conversation ends abruptly when the phone rings. Laurel picks it up and does her job. “Hello, this is the Ghostbusters. What can I do for you? Ah really? No kidding. Very well then. We got a call!” said Laurel. “Yay, we’re wanted!” said Matt. “Oh yeah! Where’s the caller at, Laurel?” asked Edd. “At the most fanciest and hardest to get in hotel in all of London. You probably need to hurry, the guy who’s calling seems a little desperate” said Laurel. “Right! Let’s go guys. There’s a ghost that needs catching” said Edd.

[Back At The Hotel]

Back at the same hotel where the supposed party was to be held in, a man with huge eyebrows was seen peaking through closed doors, looking scared. “Pat, it’s still in the room. Did you call help?” asked Paul. “Yeah I did. I called the Ghostbusters. They should be here in any minute” said Patryck. “Oh thank god. You know, we’ve picked the wrong day to be here” said Paul. “What choice did we had? It’s either work or be fired” said Patryck. The two ended their chat once they heard sirens before heading outside to see the Ectomobile pulling up to the curb.

Shortly afterwards, Edd, Matt, and Tom came out of the coach with their photon packs equipped on their backs. “Greetings there, you must be the Ghostbusters from that commercial. I’m Patryck and this is my friend and partner, Paul” said Patryck. “Hi there. I’m Edd and these are my friends, Matt and Tom” said Edd. “Since the introductions are done, care to tell us why you’ve called us here?” asked Matt. “Yes. You see, this hotel has been scheduled to have a party in one of its grandest banquet rooms, but unfortunately, we’ve received several complaints stating that there’s a strange presence lurking around” said Paul. “Hmm….well according to my scanner, there is a force inside the building meaning that paranormal activities are extremely high. So yeah, you have a ghost problem. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it” said Tom.

“Thank goodness. Please, uh, do follow us as we show you the room that it is in” said Patryck. Paul and Patryck lead the trio of Ghostbusters inside the hotel that was decorated in such find and stunning detail. They continued to go straight till they made a sharp right making it towards the closed doors of the banquet room. “Here we are. Beyond these doors lies the ghost. Do be careful and good luck” said Patryck. “Thank you. Come on guys, let’s catch a ghost…very quietly and slowly so we won’t scare it away” said Edd. The trio activates their packs as the readied their Neutrona Wands before going into the room.

“Okay Tom, are you reading anything?” asked Edd. “Yes, the green light on the scanner tells me that its here, but its not appearing right in front of us” said Tom. “Guys, I just heard something. It’s coming from that pot other there” said Matt. Tom points the scanner in the direction of the pot and it reacts strongly to it. “Genius Matt! You’ve found it” said Tom. “Alright guys, remember slowly and quietly” said Edd.

The trio goes up slowly to the pot as they heard rattling sounds coming from it by each step that they take. Slower and slower, they approach the pot. It wasn’t till Matt reached in for it as he slowly took the cover off only to see that there was nothing in it. “Seriously!? Are you kidding me? You said that there was a ghost in that pot” said Edd. “There was one, honestly” said Matt. “Hey! Stop arguing. The scanner just picked up something. I’m starting to believe that the ghost went somewhere in the hotel” said Tom.

“Oh great….looks like we’re following it then” said Edd. The trio leaves the room by going through a door leading them to the halls of the hotel. “It’s awfully quiet” said Matt. “Yeah, it is, but we shouldn’t let our guard down” said Edd. Suddenly a noise was heard along with sounds of metal colliding with something before all of them fired off their wands that contained jet streams of energy. “Enough! Guys, stop it!” said Tom.

Edd, Tom, and Matt stopped their firing as they noticed a cleaning lady was taking cover behind a cart. “What are you three bloody doing!?” asked the lady. “Oh, sorry. We thought you were a ghost” said Edd. “Ghost? I’m not a ghost, I’m just a cleaning lady, you wankers” said the cleaning lady. “Sorry again. Anyway since we now know that the photon packs actually work, I’m suggesting that we should spilt up” said Edd. “Spilt up!? Are you crazy? This isn’t Scooby-Doo, Edd” said Matt.

“Edd has a point. If we were to spilt up, we might encounter the ghost in action and maybe we can corner it and then capture it together as a team” said Tom. “Fine” said Matt. The three spilt up as Edd went to the left and walked down the hall with his wand readied. Edd remained put as he looked around before seeing a yellow ghost right before him, eating a tray of food. Edd proceeds to approach the ghost slowly; however, the ghost senses his presence and turns to face him. “Uhh….ehehehe…hi there. How are you?” asked Edd nervously.

The ghost only responded by taking charging change at Edd who quickly runs back the other way only to get cornered as the ghost neared him. Edd lets out a scream as he pointed his wand at the ghost which made it scream as well, but not in a good way. Meanwhile, Matt who was seen walking down a hall that was just a floor down suddenly heard Edd screaming. Without hesitation Matt runs up the stairs in an attempt to save Edd. “Edd, I heard you scream. Where are you?” asked Matt. “I’m down on the ground right next to you” said Edd.

Matt looks down to see Edd on the ground covered in yellow slime. “Woah Edd, what happened to you?” asked Matt. “That’s simple Matt. I got slimed by the ghost that we’re after” said Edd. “Sweet! How does it feel?” asked Matt. “It feels….weird. Plus this slime smells like dirty gym socks” said Edd. “Wow, I’m sure Tom would be so proud to get a sample of it” said Matt.

“Oh, I’m sure he will. Do you have a walkie on you?” asked Edd. “Yeah, I do. What do you want me to use it for?” asked Matt. “To talk to Tom, obviously. Hurry it up, because I think the ghost is going somewhere else” said Edd. Matt pulls out his walkie talkie from his pocket and presses a button on it. “Tom, here. What is it?” asked Tom. “Tom, it’s me Matt. I found Edd who was laying on the ground covered in slime” said Matt.

“Covered in slime? Get him on the line” said Tom. Matt hands the walkie to Edd. “Tom, I found the ghost, but I ended up getting slimed by it. Also I think the ghost is going somewhere else” said Edd. “I see. According to the scanner, the ghost seems to be heading back to the banquet room” said Tom. “Great, the same room where we started at” said Edd. “Stay where you’re at. I’m coming down to meet up with you and Matt just so I can get a sample of that slime before you clean yourself” said Tom.

“Alright” said Edd. Meanwhile in the main grand hall, people where standing in a large crowd wondering why the banquet room was closed. “Everyone please listen. We’re having technical difficulties, but let us assure you that everything will be taken care of” said Patryck. “Pat, I just checked the room and the Ghostbusters are still busy” said Paul. “Well tell them to hurry it up” said Patryck. Before Paul could say anything, the sounds of pots crashing were heard.

Back in the banquet room, Matt was seen getting up from a pile of pots that had fallen. “What the heck, Matt? I told you be careful” said Edd. “Yeah, but what does careful mean?” asked Matt. “Let’s not get distracted here. The ghost is circling above us” said Tom. “When to get a trap out” said Edd. “I got it. I need you to use your streams, but don’t cross them” said Tom.

“Why not?” asked Matt. “If you were to cross the streams…..it would be bad. If you don’t get it, then try imagining all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light” said Tom. “Oh…..okay, let’s not cross the streams then” said Matt. While Tom was getting the trap ready, Edd and Matt stood at two different places and waited for the ghost to make a sudden movement. The ghost eventually does, causing Matt to fire off a stream of photon at the ghost. The stream manages to surround the ghost, trapping it; however, the ghost started to panic as Matt was trying to keep it from breaking free.

“Edd, I could use a little help here” said Matt. “Don’t worry Matt, I got you covered” said Edd. Edd fires another stream of photon at the ghost, trapping it in place. “Uh Tom, is that trap ready?” asked Edd. “Yeah it is. Bring that ghost over here” said Tom. Edd and Matt walked carefully over to the trap as the ghost kept struggling.

Tom then proceeds to fire a stream of photon at the ghost before all three of them lowered the ghost into the trap thus successfully capturing it. “We did it!” said Matt. “We captured our official first ghost” said Edd. “That’s right! Thanks to getting a scan of that ghost at the library, we can easily detect supernatural presence and capture it without a problem” said Tom. “Sweet! Let’s get out of here and get something to eat. I’m starting to get hungry” said Edd. Edd, Tom, and Matt walked out the room and into the main hall of where a whole bunch of people including Paul and Patryck were at.

“What happened in there? Did you catch the ghost?” asked Patryck. “Yes we did. It’s in a trap” said Edd. “Oh thank you so much! Now we can host that party as planned. How could we ever repay you?” asked Patryck. “Oh nothing really! If you ever see a ghost, who ya gonna call?” asked Matt. “Who exactly?” asked Paul. “Ghostbusters of course! Can you guys like make that a saying or something? We would highly appreciate it if you did” said Edd. “Come on guys, let’s get back to firehouse before we embarrass ourselves with these dorky outfits” said Tom.

[blockchainbullion-blog]

Nelson Mandela Revisited & the Connection with Crypto Giant Arbitrade

Accomplishments Of Nelson Mandela Revisited: 100 Years July 2018 While we (still) sit tight waiting for more news from Arbitrade, we will celebrate the accomplishments of Nelson Mandela in the run up to his 100 year anniversary this month. 

But first, if you have been keeping up-to-date with the Timeline at Blockchain Bullion, you will have read that Arbitrade has already purchased one piece of  Nelson Mandela art from the Golden Hands collection.“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson MandelaConsidering Arbitrade purposely purchased the golden artefacts during the 100th year anniversary of his birth, should we expect to hear some exciting news from the board of directors next month?The anticipation is real!Nelson Mandela’s 100th year birthday is on the 18th July 2018. Add it to your calendar guys! 

It could end up being a significant date in the world of $ DIG. Arbitrade has already publicly expressed their admiration for Nelson Mandela and praises South Africa for all it has done throughout the years in supporting the gold industry. So, it would only make sense to mark the occasion with some huge news… Let’s hope so anyway… 

UPDATE: Today, 3rd July 2018, it has been publicly announced that Arbitrade will host an invitation only presentation on the 18th July to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. The presentations will be followed by a networking reception and exhibits of the Mandela artifacts, including the US debut of his artwork from Robben Island Prison. Read the details of this occasion on the timeline announcement. 

Golden Hands Nelson Mandela ArtAs you are already aware, Arbitrade currently owns one piece of the golden hands Nelson Mandela art collection. This is a solid life-size gold cast of Mandela’s fist made during his lifetime by the Harmony Gold Mining company at his home in Johannesburg in 1964.“It’s interesting to note that when it came to casting the fist, Mandela insisted on placing his thumb next to his fingers as opposed to in front. He deemed it a less aggressive representation of his victory of apartheid. It was typical of the man.” – Leonard Schutzman, CEO of ArbitradeOriginally, Harmony Gold made a full set of solid gold artefacts to mark each of the twenty seven years Nelson Mandela spent behind bars. However, it is believed that the artefacts which Arbitrade are purchasing are part of the only remaining and surviving set. All others were destroyed by order of Nelson Mandela.You can perhaps understand why each of the remaining pieces cost a whopping $2.5 million each. Mr. Leonard Schutzman confirmed that the purpose of acquiring the iconic Nelson Mandela art collection was because it is an exceptional investment that will be used to back the family of coins that Arbitrade will be producing. Not only this, but Arbitrade believes it is also helps to mark the company’s interests and intentions.“Our set is dedicated to 1964 and 1990, marking the year Mandela was first incarcerated on Robben Island and the year he walked through the prison gates a free man.” – Leonard Schutzman, CEO of ArbitradeMr. Leonard Schutzman has confirmed the complete set and the fist has been authenticated by Harmony Gold and is in the possession of Arbitrade. It is important to remember that back in March 2018, Arbitrade drew up a contract with South African businessman, Mr. Malcolm Duncan, whereby the company agreed to buy the iconic Nelson Mandela art collection from him.Malcolm Duncan is a Canadian entrepreneur who actually knew Mandela, and reportedly paid 3.6 million South African Rand (approx. $ 263,592 USD) for the set to Harmony Gold Mining, which cast the items in 2002.Mr. Duncan wasn’t able to sell them on, until he managed to strike a deal with Arbitrade. 

At first it seems that he was a little nervous about transacting in cryptocurrencies, but the buyer and seller managed to agree upon a contractual deal, which allows Arbitrade to buy one item of the collection at quarterly intervals throughout the course of the year with Bitcoin that is then converted to fiat currency and deposited into the sellers account.Therefore, Arbitrade are still waiting, as per contractual terms, for the purchase of the remaining pieces to be formalised. These include three life size impressions of Mandela’s hand, one additional of his palm and the fist, and precious Nelson Mandela images of making the cast at his home in Johannesburg.Six Accomplishments Of Nelson Mandela1) Organizing the non-violent defiance campaignHe taught the world what activism really is: with no fear in his heart, Mandela stood up to those who sought to oppress others.2) First black and democratically elected President of the countryHe served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. 

He was the country’s first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.3) He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for peaceful termination of apartheidMandela also received more than 260 honours during his lifetime.4) He effectively ended apartheidNelson Mandela was a leading opponent of the 1948 apartheid legislation. Through his relentless passion to end racial segregation in South Africa, creating a future towards true equality in his homeland.5) His speech during the Rivonia Trial is considered one of the great speeches of the 20th century“I am Prepared to Die” Nelson Mandela’s statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the Rivonia Trial Pretoria Supreme Court, 20 April 1964.6) Nelson Mandela children’s foundation is the largest foundation in the worldAs well as founding a number of other organizations to promote equality and fight against problems such as AIDS.To finish this list outlining the accomplishments of Nelson Mandela, I have included a couple of very well-written excerpts that I found, which really helps to sum up the world’s opinion of Nelson Mandela, and which also perfectly describes his unique characteristics and journey through life;“Mandela essentially invented the iconography for honourable resistance and overcoming oppression by simply standing squarely in the centre of an unjust culture and not giving an inch of himself over to it. It is probably telling in his years as the President that he often looked as curious and unsure of his situation as he did dignified and revered. It was because it was as fresh and new to him as would freedom to any man who spent most of his life denied it. 

He was legit as they say. And legitimacy was his greatest accomplishment.” – Courtney Kross (source)“For those of us who knew and loved him, he will forever be the man who led his people to freedom, who suffered under and then vanquished the evil of apartheid in South Africa, and who built a new democracy with magnanimity, wisdom and vision. But millions of people are alive today who were not even born when Mandela walked out of prison a free man. What is remarkable, and what gives us hope for the future, is how his life and legacy continue to inspire these younger generations.” – Lauren Crow (source)Final WordsTo celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Nelson Mandela, there are many festivities that have been organised. Check out the Mandela Concerts to see how you can get involved.When reading through the Nelson Mandela accomplishments, you may have been able to witness the slight correlation between what Nelson Mandela has achieved, and what Arbitrade is trying to achieve in terms of helping to change the world for the better:I find it rather profound that Arbitrade are paving the way to change and prosperity against the traditional and unfair monetary system by creating a new era of digital assets, which will provide financial freedom for many early investors. My own personal opinions! If you would like to learn more, check out the following pages:ArbitradeHow to buy DIG $On another note, I do believe that July 2018 could bring us the news we have all been waiting for and that we may witness a wider adoption combined with a price surge for Dignity ($DIG). 

Allow me to reiterate that these opinions are purely my own and it is important that you do your own research and due diligence when deciding on your investments. If my predictions are true, I will certainly mark the occasion with some sort of celebration. Perhaps we will even create and announce an additional feature of the Blockchain Bullion website? What will you do to celebrate the occasion?One last comment (I promise!): Don’t forget to put the 18th July in your calendar – this date could be significant! And if not, well… let’s celebrate our commiserations and the 100 years of Nelson Mandela anyway. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the timeline. And remember, we are all in $ DIG together. So, whenever you are feeling a little angst, join in on the community chat and take a leaf from Mandela’s book:“I never lose, I either win or learn” – Nelson Mandela

[tarakates]

Prague held a different kind of magic, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent there. On Friday afternoon I caught my plane and flew over the dusted Alps of Switzerland and Austria I was in complete awe of the beauty, I have really come to enjoy the snow for the mere reason that it makes everything look so exceptionally beautiful, as well as the fact that I know “warmer “weather always follows. Prague surprised me I was set for my solo missions again; wandering the Christmas Markets around the town, maybe going ice-skating, doing my Christmas shopping, wandering through the city taking photographs of the main attractions and then heading home – satisfied with yet another successful solo adventure. My Friday evening started off like that I checked into DUDU PRAHA and set of immediately to explore the Christmas Market closest to me.

I found one located right in Staroƈeskѐ Vẚnoƈnỉ Trhy where the Old City Square was and where yet again another beautiful Christmas tree stood ladened with beautiful lights and decorations. I wandered around snapping photographs of the Christmas market and the beautifully illuminated Church of Our Lady before T that lay just behind the Christmas tree. Fairy lights were draped from every tree and the stall and Christmas carols filled the air. And as at every Christmas Market I was totally in my element. The Christmas Market itself wasn’t exceptional, it was actually really small, and I actually got the feeling that once you’ve been to one you know the stalls of all the rest; laden in overpriced Christmas decoration, mulled wine, food (but always traditional and always good, so always worth the extravagant price), as well traditional crafts from the area.

    However, I think each market ‘s Christmas tree really is unique and always beautifully done, it adds something special to the Christmas ambience, and the main lure for me. The one in Prague was especially magnificent as the lights are synced to a classical piece and the Christmas tree comes alive, it stops the wandering crowds below and everyone pauses in awe to appreciate the performance it puts on. It was lovely, and I was perfectly positioned to admire it.

After the short wonder around the market I made my way through the cobbled streets of the old town. Prague holds a different magic, I’m not sure if it was the architecture or the buzz of people, but even in the negative degrees, I absolutely enjoyed just roaming down the narrow streets admiring the city. I wandered through all the tourist Friendly shops, appreciating the different bohemian crafts and crystals jewelry. The different type of buildings from the Gothic area to the Bavarian houses to something you would find in France; I have really loved this part of Europe thus far; all the ancient statues and artifacts are so well kept that it is always a pleasure to just wander and enjoy. After about three hours of wandering I was ravenous and I headed back to the Christmas market to buy myself a chicken sandwich and Trdelnỉk yummy, the Trdelnỉk is a traditional pastry which is toasted over a fire in a chimney shaped and sprinkled with walnuts and cinnamon sugar. It was sooo good!!Then, by the help of my dearest friend the maps app I made my way to the famous Charles Bridge. Which was quite long and a bridge, but it held history and of course I snapped a selfie. My search for something to defrost my poor exposed frozen fingers from the icy bite of the European cold began- word of advice when in winter in Europe, always, always have gloves, it gets quite unpleasant without them, but their famous hot chocolate which is melted chocolate with a whipped cream topping really warmed my heart. I wandered back to the hostel being quiet the happy chappy.

Unfortunately, the hostel was so noisy I maybe slept a total of 3 hours the next morning I checked out, really early with a new travelling partner for the weekend, so nothing lost, something gained (well besides sleep). We both checked into Hostel Franz Kafka and then set off to discover Prague with my new-found friend, it was great I had forgotten how nice it was to have someone to share my travels with even if it was a stranger, at first. We chatted as we strolled down the cobbled street into the main city, admiring the beauty of Prague, later we split, and I was able to do some successful Christmas shopping; one of my many joys in life. Catching the tram back to the old city centre I wandered my way back to the hostel, where I took a much-needed half hour snooze before heading up to the castle and exploring more of Prague.

I found the St. Vincent Cathedral took a million photographs of magnificent building that stood in front of me. I then wandered through the courtyards and listedned to a choir singing Christmas songs or I guess it could have been a lot of happy tourists too and then moved down towards the castle, stopping along to listen to an angelic voice singing silent night in Czech as her fingers softly moved through her harp, I was totally mesmerised. After the productive afternoon I wandered back down to the hostel where I caught up with the girl and we decided to go out with friend she had met and it turned out to be a lovely evening, they gave me advice on travelling and told me the stories of their travels and even though I was way younger than them all I have to say when I wandered back through to the Christmas that next morning at 4 my heart was happy I think especially since I stood at the foot at the beautiful Christmas tree in a completely vacant market just appreciating it’s beauty and peace that now lay over the city.

So, three hours of sleep later and a full last day that lay ahead of me; I tried something new and went on one of the free walking tours and wow I was impressed our tour guide Sarah had me completely captivated as she explained the history of Prague. I learnt about the gory details of way back when, as well as the interesting good to know facts of Prague from the much loved King Charles IV to the Protestant Movement involving Jan Hus, to how the houses were numbered for the illiterate by images like the house of five crowns had five crowns on its walls, to the two towers named Adam and Eve of the Tyre Church as they were built 150 years apart due to the war that took place, I was also on educated stumbling stones that are spread out all over Europe in remembrance of those who were affected by the holocaust and how the astronomical clock worked. And then magic fell over Prague whilst we were making our way to the finishing point of the tour we were caught in a snow storm it was wonderful, the snowflakes draped us in white as we stood mesmerised by the tour guide who was wrapping up the tour.

After the tour we hurried off to the Charles Bridge and I used the last of my camera’s battery to capture the landscape that was now too covered in snow, taking photographs with the Charles bridge in the background. Later, we went to a small restaurant where I had potatoes and a chicken schnitzel, which was so great nothing like a warm meal in winter. That afternoon we continued to wander through the streets of Prague, and the Christmas Markets it was more like a laidback Sunday afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed it, we ended the night off with ice-cream and Trdelnỉk and went for my last walk over the Charles Bridge to the other side where I discovered a whole new part of the old city and I fell even more in love with Prague. But I have to say by 9 o clock that night I was falling asleep whilst standing and the plane ride back the next morning was also quiet a blur working on 8 hours of sleep over 60 hours drained me, but I would do it again I was truly sad that my weekend came to an end. Siting back in South Africa writing this now, it’s almost impossible to comprehend that I was in Prague just 2 weeks ago, wandering through a new city, setting foot in the sixth country in Europe and I really look forward to what the new year holds.

The Unexpected Adventure. Prague held a different kind of magic, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent there. On Friday afternoon I caught my plane and flew over the dusted Alps of Switzerland and Austria I was in complete awe of the beauty, I have really come to enjoy the snow for the mere reason that it makes everything look so exceptionally beautiful, as well as the fact that I know “warmer “weather always follows.