#GIVE ME ARLO OR GIVE ME DEATH

[shorthaltsjester]

yes arlo black is Easily one of my favourite shortform cr pcs Yes i think her dying tonight would be a very neat very cool story beat

[readychilledwine]

Hiraeth

Summary - After your husband dies, Lucien fills a void you and your son never thought possible.

Warnings - death of a partner, single momming

"Jump, Arlo," Lucien's arms and hands were reached up, waiting for the young male to throw himself into them. "I have you, bud. I will catch you."

Your son watched him, one little hand steadying himself on the thick rough bark of the solid oak tree, the other in his mouth as he chewed on his fingers from nerves and stared down at the redheaded male.

He had managed to climb several feet into a tree while Tamlin had been checking in with you. He was constantly asking how you two were holding up since Andras' death, asking if he could provide anything, asking about Ro.

Lucien had been watching him, but Lucien, raised in the rough Autumn Court, had always allowed your son to explore beyond what you and Andras had been comfortable with.

He had been around more since your husband's death, playing with your son, talking to him, teaching him about the forest and different skills. He had taught him to fish, to cook on a camp fire, they even sword fought together with little wooden swords the Autumn male had made.

At first you had thought it was Lucien acting on something he felt obligated to do, but you had realized slowly it was out of love for Arlo. His little buddy, as Lucien affectionately called him. They had begun to dress in matching outfits, style their hair similarly. Arlo loved Lucien almost as much as he had loved his father.

"I'm too scared," his little voice pulled you back into the moment. The soft tremble of his lip as he looked at you wide-eyed. He was only 5 feet up. For a grown fae, it was an easy jump, or fall, for a child it had to be terrifying, though.

"Arlo, I promise you I will catch you," Lucien spoke softly to him. "I will not let you fall and get hurt. I am right here." Your hand shot to Tamlin's wrist, squeezing tightly as Arlo adjusted his stance with a nod. You refused to look as his little knees bent and he leaped, throwing yourself into Tamlin's chest and hiding in the High Lord's arms.

Soft giggles and laughter, from the tree had you glancing from between your fingers. Arlo was in Lucien's arms, held tight against his side as the old male praised him for his bravery. Tamlin looked down at you, brows raised, and you back away with a soft apology.

You two watched as Lucien held your son high above his head, letting the little boy hold his arms out as if he could fly. "I heard Feyre is home from the Night Court. How is she?" Tamlin typically avoided the topic of his love with you, but news spread fast in Spring of her long awaited return. You had known he was hurting, and were happy, if he was.

"She seems happy, like she's been freed from something." Tamlin answered plainly. "I should return to her. It looks like Lucien and Arlo are going to play for a while. He missed him constantly while we were gone. Kept asking how much longer we'd be staying, mentioning how he promised to take Arlo on a camping trip soon." Tamlin kissed the top of your head. Holding a hand up to Lucien in farewell before moving to go back to the manor.

You watched as he chased your young son through the clearing before finally catching him.

Their laughter became one, as they laid down in the soft plush grass. "Are you going to join us or just stare?' Lucien asked over his shoulder. "Your mom is weird, bud." Arlo laughed and nodded eagerly. Enjoying watching the male tease you.

The three of you laid there, watching the clouds drifting and pointing out different shapes in them. "Are you going to have dinner with us tonight?" You say next to Lucien, his head immediately coming to rest in your lap.

"Are you inviting me to dinner tonight, my lady?" His tone held insecurity in it. "I know you two are-"

"I can feed you, Lucien." You interrupted quietly. "Tamlin has been giving me more gold lately than I know what to do with, especially because he keeps paying for things on top of that out of guilt. It's been so long since you've joined us. Please." Arlo had fallen into a sleep against Lucien's side. His soft breaths comimg out in little snores. "He misses you so much."

Lucien looked up at you then, and it happened. A deep burning sensation setting into your soul as that string appeared. Lucien felt shock hitting him as his breath hitched. "You're my mate." Shock fell into his tone as your own eyes widened.

He sat up slowly, eyes studying you cautiously and laying Arlo gently on the ground. His hands were on your face almost instantly. "Still want to serve me that dinner, petal?" Your breath jumped into your throat. "Because even the Gods know how deeply I burn for you."

"Arlo," you whispered. "He's missed you so much. We-"

"We will talk to him about it tomorrow and just enjoy the night together. The three of us." Lucien kissed your nose, sealing the offer. "I've missed him, too. Going into the woods isn't as fun without my little buddy."

You smiled at him, eyes sparkling. "Guess I can't be mad when you take off with him for days at a time now, huh?"

Lucien leaned his forehead against yours, "I need to teach my son how the world works, petal." His tone was light and joking. You stared into his eyes, lips flicking slowly to his plush lips then back up. "Well, if you insist, darling."

Lucien pulled you to him, kissing you softly before pulling back. "Let's go feed our little guy." You nodded, hands laced into his shirt. "I promise you a thousand more kisses when he's in bed tonight."

He lifted Arlo carefully, carrying him into the stone house you and Andras had built together. "Give me sign this is okay," you whispered into the wind. "Please, Andras."

A butterfly landed on your arm, fluttering it's wings gently, before chasing after Lucien and landing on his shoulder. Then on Arlo's nose.

Chaos ensured hours later as Lucien and Arlo ran and screamed through the House. They were on a warpath to save the kingdom from invaders. A deep voice replayed in your mind, the last words spoken to you by your husband. If I die, go to Lucien, lean on him. He will love you as I have. Both of you.

A soft breeze rustled your hair pushing you towards Lucien, towards the house. Go, it seemed to whisper. Lucien stood in the door way, looking back at you and waiting, his face falling in concern. You went to him, kissing him again and closing the door behind the three of you.

And Gods he did. He smiled at you as he spun Arlo, the bond almost radiating between you two as if it was the sun itself. I love you, y/n. Andras' voice said again in your mind. Be happy, my love. If I don't come home to you. That is my only request.

Lucien and Arlo moved to the table, setting it before running upstairs to wash up for dinner. Hands found your hips and a kiss was snuck before your son came back down. "You seem happy," Lucien whispered.

You nodded, eyes welling slightly with tears as he started to grab food to take it to the table. "I am."

As the three of you settled at the table, a feeling of home came back to you. A feeling you didn't know you had been longing for since your husband's death. Lucien moved to hold your hand as if he sensed it, "Me too, y/n."

[bullet-prooflove]

A quick round up of updates on the blog including new characters added to the ASK LIST and a list of fics that went out last week:

New Fics:

Chicago Med:

Keys - Crockett gives you a safe space to work through your grief.

Bali - A vacation in Bali leads Jack to make some life changes.

Sunday Morning (NSFW) - You give Sean a very memorable Sunday morning.

Cobra Kai:

Masks - Terry realises you're uncomfortable at an event.

Stranglehold - Terry begs an unlikely duo for help.

Haven:

Domescity - You always seem to fit perfectly into Dwight's life.

Nightmares - Dwight has always had nightmares.

On The Rocks - Dwight finds you on the beach after a fight about Wade Crocker.

JAG:

30 Minutes - Mic decides to give you another thirty minutes in bed.

Law & Order SVU:

Bitter - Mike lashes out after a traumatic event. (Mike Duarte x Terry Bruno x Reader)

Mayans:

Wakeup Call - All Bishop wants is to stay in bed with you.

NCIS:

Show Me (NSFW) - A late night with Jimmy results in a video being sent.

NCIS - Hawaii:

Part Four:  PSYOPS - Charlie finally tracks you down in Mexico.

NCIS - LA:

Underneath The Stars - You and Harm have a unique wedding night.

Six AM - Marty watches you sleep after the accident.

The Call - Arlo calls you at three in the morning expecting to get your voicemail.

NCIS - NOLA:

Roses - Dwayne realises your being courted by another man.

Waiting - Dwayne can't stand to see you with another man.

The Storm - Dwayne and you take shelter together during a hurricane.

NCIS - Sydney:

History - Deshawn fears for the future when you into a face from his past.

You & Me - After the death of your ex, your relationship with JD is brought to life.

The Rookie:

More Than Life It's Self (NSFW) - John reminds you of his feelings for you at a crucial moment.

White Collar:

Light The Match - You and Keller share a kiss after you liberate your grandmother's ring.

Will Trent:

Trust - You realise that Will's been keeping a secret from you.

Yellowstone:

Texas - Travis and you make a realisation about your relationship.

[doberbutts]

OK so I keep getting asks asking me for an update on my music adventure I started before the new year and, based on your suggestions and also people I already had on my playlist:

[obligatory disclaimer: some of these artists I have already deleted because I'm mad about their non-musical actions, others have followed me since childhood, and some I had well before I knew they were black or had black members in the band]

Alex Boye - black, kinda everything but the ones I have are pop - already had

Alicia Keys - black, r&b/soul - already had

Allison Russell - black, pop - still deciding

Amaare - black, r&b/soul/afropop - still deciding

Amythyst Kiah - black, folk/alt-rock/blues - still deciding

Angel Haze - black, rap/hip-hop - still deciding

Angeline Morrison - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Anjimile - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Anna Field - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Arlo Parks - black, indie/pop/folk/r&b - still deciding

Ben Harper - black, raggae/alt/indie - still deciding

Beyonce - black, pop/r&b/soul - already had

Birds of Chicago - black (wife, married), folk - still deciding

Black Eyed Peas - black (mostly), alt/r&b/pop-rap/EDM - already had

Blanco Brown - black, country/hip-hop - already had

BOB - black, rap/hip-hop - already had

Bone Thugs N Harmony - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Brittany Howard - black, alt/indie - still deciding

Candi Staton - black, r&b/soul/pop - deleted, this is more my dad's music than mine tbh

Carolina Chocolate Drops - black, pop/folk - not exactly what I was looking for but I like it

Cee Lo Green - black, r&b/soul/hip-hop/EDM - already had

Chris Brown - black, rap/r&b/hip-hop - already had, deleted long ago after he beat the shit out of Rihanna and then released Fine China, but I do like the sound even if the guy singing it is a piece of shit

Ciara - black, r&b/soul/pop/EDM - already had

Clipping. - mostly nb (black rapper), hip-hop/rap/EDM - deleted immediately, this is way too far into the Just Noise territory and several songs give me a headache

Damita - black, gospel - already had

David Jordan - black, metal/pop - already had

Dead South - mostly nb (black cellist), folk/bluegrass - already had

DEATH - black, proto-punk - honestly debating deleting, not a huge fan

Death Grips - mostly nb (black rapper), hip-hop/rap - same problem as clipping, too far into Just Noise and deleted immediately

Destorm - black, EDM/pop/hip-hop/rap - already had

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - mostly nb (black vocals), jazz/funk - still deciding

DJ Casper - black, EDM/hip-hop/rap - already had because cha cha slide

DJ Mehdi - black, EDM - still deciding

Fall Out Boy - mostly nb (black bassist), alt/indie/pop-punk/pop-rock (collabs) - already had

Fatoumata Diawara - black, folk/afro-pop/blues - liked her in Gorillaz collab, still deciding for her by herself

Flowerovlove - black, pop/indie/trap - still deciding but mostly favorable

Flying Lotus - black, EDM - still deciding

Gary Clark Jr - black, blues/raggae/r&b/hip-hop/soul - not exactly what I wanted but favorable

Genesis Owusu - black, punk/rap/hip-hop - also not really what I wanted but favorable

Gloria Gaynor - black, r&b/soul/disco - already had because I will survive

Iniko - black , alt/soul/EDM - still deciding

Iyaz - black, raggae/pop/r&b - already had

Jackson5 - black, r&b/pop/soul/disco - already had

Jake Blount - black, blues/folk - still deciding

Janelle Monae - black, soul/r&b/EDM - incredibly favorable, probably keeping

Jason Derulo - black, pop/r&b - already had

Jordin Sparks - black, r&b/soul/pop - already had

Joy Oladokun - black, pop/folk/r&b/rock - still deciding

JP Cooper - black, alt-rock/soul/house - still deciding

Kaia Kater - black, indie/folk - still deciding

Kanye West - black, rap/r&b/hip-hop - already had because he has a handful of Christian songs my dad likes, deleted long ago because it's Kanye.

Kid Cudi - black, EDM/hip-hop/rap - already had

Laxcity - black, EDM/lo-fi - still deciding but incredibly favorable

Lil Jon - black, hip-hop/rap/crunk - already had because get low

Lil Nas X - black, hip-hop/pop rap/country - already had

Lizzie No - black, folk/blues/country - still deciding

LMFAO - black, EDM/hip-hop - already had

Lou Bega - black, mambo/hip-hop/ska - already had because mambo no. 5

LustSickPuppy - black, rap/EDM - deleted, immediate dislike

Magnolia Park - black (mixed group), pop-punk/alt-rock - THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!!! Whoever suggested it, thank you!!!!!!!!

Mangodog - black, pop - still deciding

Maroon5 - mostly nb (black keyboardist), pop-rock/soft-rock - already had

Mavis Staples - black, r&b/soul/folk - still deciding

Me'shell Ndegeocello - black, soul/jazz/hip-hop/raggae - again this is mostly Dad Music and not Jaz Music so it was deleted

Michael Franti - black, hip-hop/raggae/jazz/folk - already had a few because I love his sound and didn't realize he was black, whoever recommended him thank you for the new info

Michael Jackson - black, pop/soul/r&b/rock/disco - already had , it's also Dad Music but it's fun

MikeQ - black, EDM - still deciding

MNEK - black, EDM/pop - THIS IS ALSO EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!!!!

Mon Rovia - black, folk/r&b/soul - still deciding

Morcheeba - mostly nb (black vocalist), hip-hop/rock/folk - deleted, Dad Music

Moses Sumney - black, soul/jazz/alt/indie - still deciding

Nelly - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Nicki Minaj - black, pop/hip-hop/rap - already had

Nico & Vinz - black, pop/pop-rock - already had

Nightmares On Wax - black, hip-hop/techno - still deciding but highly favorable

Nova Twins - black, alt-rock/punk/nu-metal - deleted, Just Noise

P. Diddy - black, hip-hop/rap - already had, I'm aware of Diddy's deeds however they sang this version of I'll Be Missing You at my grandfather's funeral and it makes me think of him and cry

Plain White T's - mostly nb (black drummer), alt-rock/indie - already had

POD - mostly nb (black guitarist), Christian nu-metal - already had

Pussycat Dolls - mostly nb (black vocalist), pop - already had

Queen Omega - black, reggae - deleted, not my genre. sorry Odie, she doesn't stray far enough into the genres I do like for me to hold much interest

R Kelly - black, r&b/soul/hip-hop/rap - already had, literally the same thing as Diddy I Believe I Can Fly was played at my grandfather's funeral so I've held onto it

Rhiannon Giddens - black, folk/country - still deciding

Rihanna - black, pop/EDM/hip-hop/reggae/r&b - already had

Rusted Root - mostly nb (one black member) , rock - already had

Santigold - black, EDM/hip-hop - EXTREMELY favorable, very very close to what I was looking for

Shannon Funchess - black, alt/EDM/punk - still deciding

Straight No Chaser - mostly nb (black vocalist) - already had, it's an acapella group that did parody mashups of christmas songs that I find hilarious year after year

Stromae - black, hip-hop/EDM - EXTREMELY favorable, very very close to what I was looking for

Sunny War - black, folk/punk/pop - still deciding

Tanerelle - black, r&b/soul/pop - still deciding

Tank and the Bangas - mostly black, soul/hip-hop - not really my genre but I like it well enough

Teebs - black, EDM - still deciding

The Weeknd - black, alt-r&b/pop/EDM - it's weird bc I either hate the song or I really like it with no in-between so far

Thurston Harris - black, r&b/soul/rock - already had

TLC - black, r&b/hip-hop/pop - already had

Todrick Hall - black, r&b/pop/hip-hop - already had - this particular song of his (Beauty and the Beat) re-opened my relationship with one of my black aunts so I kept it

Toro Y Moi - black, EDM/pop/indie-rock/hip-hop - still deciding

Tray Wellington - black, folk/jazz/blues - still deciding

Tricky - black, alt/indie/EDM - still deciding, but favorable

TV On The Radio - mostly black, pop-rock/indie-rock - still deciding, but favorable

Usher - black, hip-hop/r&b/rap - already had

Vagabon - black, EDM/indie-rock/pop - still deciding

Valerie June - black, folk/blues/gospel/soul/country - still deciding

WHOKILLEDXIX - duo with one black member, punk/rap/rock - I also either hate the song and delete it immediately or really like it with no in-between

Whole Wheat Bread - black, rock/punk/reggae/rap - still deciding but favorable

will.i.am - black, hip-hop/pop/EDM - EXTREMELY favorable

Witch Prophet - black, r&b/soul/jazz - still deciding

Wiz Khalifa - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Yola - black, r&b/pop - this is also Dad Music but I like it and I think her voice is beautiful so I've kept it

[beehiveofblorbos]

VERY interesting line out of someone whose ability is capable of “Rewind”.

I’ve spoken before about how John’s ability is symbolic of his mindset of giving as good as he’s gotten, and Arlo’s ability is symbolic of his refusal to let anyone in. So that kind of led me to wonder about the meaningfulness of the other main cast character abilities.

So when I saw this, I was literally gutted with surprise. What a starting point.

in a way, i wonder if Sera is speaking to herself as well as John? After all, she spent a lot of time wishing she’d never lost her ability, and early in the King John arc she often derides herself for believing John’s words and luxuriating in a lie.

just as John saw himself in Seraphina when they first met, throughout John’s breakdown Seraphina begins to see herself in John - her old self, who was blinded by everything around her and didn’t use her authority for anything of importance.

A big theme of Unordinary is moving forward. Another post I was thinking about while writing this is this one, by @unordinary-diary

And there’s more, too. Remi and John have both repeatedly endangered themselves due to their inability to move on from the deaths of Rei and William (not that either should be expected to: it’s been months or weeks). The entire problem a lot of high tiers have had, and that a lot of John’s development is centered around, is the inability to move forward from their pasts or fixations (Seraphina’s perfection, Arlo’s order). And even Blyke’s rapid improvement and ascension to high tier was a result of his inability to move on from the powerlessness he felt during Joker, and later John’s, reign over Wellston.

So what if Sera is the character meant to embody that theme through her ability? I mean, her ability’s got a few more parts to it other than Rewind. She can freeze time, so literally sink back into the past and reflect on it, but even that’s mostly talked about as her moving faster than everyone. And when she loses her ability, she spends more time dwelling on her situation than ever… which is actually beneficial to her. And it is a nuanced topic, it’s not like Unordinary is saying you shouldn’t self reflect either

[argowrites]

Love and Legacy, Epilogue Part 1!

By the second month of their working together, Viktor could only manage six hours before his eyes grew heavy and his mind muddled. It was frustrating for them both. Still, Viktor came every day. They had a shared goal, after all. It also marked Viktor lasting longer than the direst predictions. A milestone neither of them acknowledged but Singed took as a sign they were doing something right even if the last variant had left Viktor so nauseous he hadn’t been able to eat without vomiting for two days straight.

“I will miss tomorrow,” Viktor said somewhere around the four-month mark.

“Why?” Singed asked pointedly.

If Viktor was giving up, he’d be angrier than he had been about the imprisonment. He had raised him better than that.

“I am…moving in. With Jayce. I need to pack my things and–”

“I did not realize it was so serious,” Singed replied evenly.

He knew about the relationship and was unsure about it. Jayce Talis was intelligent, so they said, but he was a distraction. Singed knew. His own wife had been one, years ago, before she had died and then her death had been a bigger one.

“It is not…well it is, serious I suppose, but it is not because of that. I fainted. Again. Not as bad as the first time, but he worries and I can see that it would be better to have someone know if I was lying unconscious on my bathroom floor,” Viktor said with a shrug.

“When did you faint?” Singed asked.

“Yesterday. Not long after I left.”

“He was quick to move you in with him.”

“He found me.”

Singed considered that for a moment. He knew how Jayce Talis must have felt. Six months before her death, he had seen his wife faint for the first time. He had thought his heart would stop.

Act IV of my Viktor Quartet

Fandom: Arcane: League of Legends

Rating: Mature

Chapters: 25/26

Characters: Viktor, Singed, Silco, Jinx, Ekko, Jayce, Mel, Heimerdinger, Caitlyn, Vi

Relationships: Jayce/Viktor, Jayce/Mel, Jayce/Mel/Viktor, Singed & Viktor, Silco & Viktor, Jinx & Viktor, Ekko & Viktor, Jayce & Caitlyn, Silco & Jinx, Minor Cait/Vi

Additional Tags: Angst, Viktor-centric, Author knows a little about League lore, Divorce Era (but short)

Next Time: Ekko, Arlo, Jayce, Viktor

[kiirer]

Tell me about your ocs >:3

WJSJSJS I PANICKED WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS ASK /pos

cw: alcohol, death/murder, sexual assault (not in detail - but it's there), grooming

okok i have a lot of ocs but ill talk about my three silliest guys!! i have two main oc universes, one called ataraksja/ataraxia (the one ill talk about in a moment) and terra del sole (late medieval fantasy kinda thing)

ataraxia was one of two main ideas epicurus, a greek philosopher, was known for - the other being epicureanism. ataraxia is state in which full peace of mind is achieved, it is an unreachable ideal state.

The "protagonist" (it used to have a plot but it changed so many times theres basically nothing now. im better at characters' personal life stories and relationships than coming up with plots) of ataraxia is Inka Zając, a young adult struggling with an addiction! I came up with his name when i opened a cupboard and saw the child-appropriate coffee tube

Inka is rather reserved and aloof, he does not speak unless spoken to and his social skills are mediocre at best. He's also narcoleptic; he takes meds, but then stops at one point.

As a barely 12 year old child he once helped his friend's sister by assisting her in disposing of a dead body. This is not important at the moment

After the death of his mom an unspecified amount of time ago (probably when he was around 16-17?), Inka's mother's drinking gets worse. Dagmara would occasionally drink recreatively, especially with her wife, Joasia, but now she uses it as a way to drown her sorrows. After prolonged exposure to her behaviour Inka takes after her, his mom's death impacted him greatly as well, and he doesn't want to feel useless and depressed all of the time. A little after his 18th birthday his only friend, with whom he had a sort of weird codependent relationship with, left him. Before this Inka would often steal from his mother (which often ended in her scolding him or sometimes, as her state worsened, physical violence even), but now he could buy alcohol on his own. (How did he afford this? I don't know. There's multiple ways i think.)

Now he's about 20 and he meets his longtime friend again, at a funeral - hyperthyroidism increases the risk of a heart attack and so does alcohol. Inka was hiding in his room at the time it happened, not wishing to have anything to do with Dagmara at the moment.

He recognizes Arlo's stupid face almost immediately. They both have to be there early, considering Inka was currently Dasia's closest relative, as she had no siblings and her parents were long dead. Considering Inka's state Arlo was supposed to give a speech instead of him. As a child he spent a lot of time over at the Zając family's house.

Arlo himself is rather charismatic and friendly, he's easy to make a conversation with. However he has a quite short temper and tends to get overly emotional easily. He's easy to fluster or embarass as well as to irritate, all three commonly used against him.

For his background - he grew up in a very.. tense household. When he was maybe 4 or 5 years old his parents had a divorce and he and his sister stayed with their father while their mother, Karina, left for good (she still had to pay child support, of course, but she just didn't want to contact any of them anymore. Neither did the dad). I won't get into the reasons because there's a lot of.. weird, maybe even a little creepy, behaviours included...!!! but!!! basically their mother was not a very good person. the dad wasn't neccessarily an angel either but he was way less bad at least. Arlo's sister, Alla, is 8 years older than him and she still remembers all of the abuse (from Karina) she had to endure. Arlo barely remembers her. He only really knows her face from the paintings hanging on the walls of the very empty now house.

Alla silently feels envious of her brother for having it way easier than her, but at the same time she reminds herself that he wouldn't have deserved that either. It was worse when she was younger, but considering she is almost 30 at the moment she has long realized that it was just misdirected resentment which was supposed to be aimed at Karina.

Arlo deeply admires Alla, going as far as copying her style, her hair, and even her name, when he came out, around 6th grade. Their father didn't really care and Alla was supportive and except for maybe a bit of trouble at school it went well (in my country elementary school lasts for 8 years, so - Arlo probably sent someone to the hospital once by headbutting them or something and no one really felt like bothering him anymore). There was another incident about 8 years before the funeral stuff - Arlo was assaulted and for about a year he struggled to do anything, he was just a child, and so the support from Alla, Dasia and her wife, Joanna was very important.

Back to the present - Inka was suprised at how tidy Arlo looked. His hair was unnaturally straight and his bangs were parted evenly, he was wearing a proper suit and tie as well. All that didn't fit was the horns that decorated the top of his head. Inka would lightheartedly offer to cut them off, perhaps using a saw, to which Arlo'd react with mock-shock, telling him he's crazy, etc. Then he laughs for a little too long, sending himself into a coughing fit while Inka watches absentmindedly. As Arlo coughed up ooze he simply turned away. Seeing that, Arlo reassured him it was alright and that his throat was just a little dry. Inka rolled his eyes before leaving to join the other guests in the church.

Inka fell asleep halfway but was later abruptly woken up due to cold water being splashed in his face by his dear old friend! He caught a cold later probably. After paying respects to the dead woman it was time for repast, during which nothing relevant happened, Inka just had to make small talk with relatives, which was annoying, but doable. The harder part was pretending to be fully sober, especially as the repast went on.

Pretending to be sober also proved quite difficult as Arlo tried to get closer to Inka again, to Inka's dismay. He felt bad when Arlo praised him for not letting the addiction take over his life and Inka felt guilty knowing that he still drinks, just not as much when he's supposed to meet up with him.

Inka inteprets all this as Arlo simply wishing to be friends once more, and partially that is right, though he did have an ulterior motive as well. That is trying to invite him into this definitely-not-a-cult thing, this being an occasion for Arlo to prove himself

Arlo's mother left and his father was emotionally distant - it wasn't long before he started viewing one of his mother's old acquaintances as a sort of new mother figure. She taught him virtues that she had learned from her mother before. She taught him religion, she taught him fear, she taught him love and she taught him hope. Alla couldn't take care of him when she was in university, he thought he was all alone against the world and so it was not all that hard for him to believe her when she said she wanted to help.

Tatiana taught him about the saviour to come from beyond the stars, to blind all creatures of the day and to fill the world with eternal darkness.

This fairytale did raise questions in Arlo eventually, all of which Tatiana gracefully answered with careful half-truths or dismissed. Most important of all, every time he did this she reminded him that he is special.

Special, special..

She said there would come one day on which the saviour would be born, some day soon even. Arlo doubted this, but seeing it bring Tanya joy and most importantly, hope, he decided to entertain this idea.

Tanya's family had been guarding a seemingly meaningless relic for generations; a simple family heirloom, a flower yet to bloom, though it was like no other.

What happened next is kind of hard to explain, mostly because of it being an uncomfortable topic, but to sum it up Arlo is soon forced to eat the aforementioned snakefruit. It is full of ichor and the outside's texture is very.. fleshy and off-tasting. It's repulsive, to say the least. Like a pulsing piece of meat. He asked for it himself when he heard Tanya mention that it's special, just like he is, but he soon regretted ever agreeing upon this. Arlo's mind was hazy, fuzzy, and all he could remember vividly from this was the fact it was disgusting, it was hard to swallow and he almost choked a couple of times.

Arlo did his best to convince himself that it was his own idea. That all was well. He tried to make it seem, to himself, like he was (still) in control.

(He did it to impress Tanya. She wanted him to do this. She wanted this to happen. Tanya still cares for him and his wellbeing, though her way of thinking is incredibly flawed. Despite caring for Arlo, she vowed to punish him for this heinous act of disrespect against the saviour from beyond the stars.

Inka knows that he's probably boring, that he's hard to talk to, especially considering he is grieving and struggling mentally. Half of the time when Arlo tries to visit him Inka simply sleeps trough the sound of the doorbell. The other half of the time he is drawn out of his house forcibly by Arlo, who keeps beckoning him to spend time together. He doesn't understand what Arlo wants because he feels numb and he knows he's not very fun to be around. He doesn't provide much to their conversations, it's like talking to a wall. Normally he'd be talkative, especially with someone he knows so well, but now even if he was able to get a word out he wouldn't simply because he felt like Arlo abandoned him consciously.

Inka did not blame him for his condition, of course, but he felt betrayed when his best friend of so many years left so suddenly with seemingly no regrets.

Little did he know, Arlo had many regrets! Though that's probably a topic for another time!

Over the course of many months Inka opens up more, slowly, as Arlo continues to pester (/affectionate) him with his presence. Inka still drinks, but a little less (mostly because he can't afford it😔😔 but he'd probably tell Arlo it's due to some way cooler sounding reason like nobility or morality), a small step in the right direction! However, as he drinks less and as the months go by he can easily tell Arlo's mental and physical condition is getting worse. He exhausts himself quickly and he gets coughing fits more and more often. He tends to lean over, especially when sitting, as if he is in pain. A few times he (nearly or actually) throws up or passes out, even if just for a moment.

Finally, sometime, Arlo is able to coerce Inka into joining the weird faith group, unofficially led by Tanya (and a bunch who aren't important atm).

Tatiana declares that Arlo is to be sacrificed for the saviour from beyond the stars. To prove himself as well, she appoints the newest member as the executioner

Arlo's frozen in fear and Inka's terrified as well, he asks whether he really has to do it, whether someone else can't.. to which Tanya simply responds by saying she'll find a different trial for him then. Arlo's even more uncomfortable with the idea of being brutally executed by someone else. As for what happens next I feel like it is summed up well here

As he sits over the dead body, Inka watches something pulse inside Arlo's desecrated body. He watches an unfamiliar white mass tear it apart further as it slithers out in the form of a winged snake

For the first time in her life Tanya experiences true regret.

And now Inka's stuck with a weird star thing that has somehow gotten attached to him.

Weles is a shapeshifter - it's hard to define what they are and the closest is to say they're simply a star. Like the sun.

They can change colour and shape. They can speak, hear, see, taste, feel... when they want to. The bigger their form, the further the "organs" are scattered, the harder it is to be able to keep their senses!

Inka relapses. He tries to sleep trough most of the day, occasionally interrupted by Weles desperately trying to get his attention. Sometimes they'd intentionally take on Arlo's form to just toy with him. Sometimes they'd pretend to be a book, a fork, an apple, whatever! Just to play with Inka, to get a rise out of him.

There's a lot to say about these two specifically but i don't want it to be twice as long as it is right now

At some point Inka becomes used enough to their presence to not react so negatively, maybe. He just grows numb to everything, pretty much, just wanting his moms and Arlo back. Sometimes he'd beg Weles to take on Arlo's form on purpose, to apologize, to hug and to kiss, to just be there...

Weles does have a main physical form that's not supposed to resemble anyone, it's the fully white one with wings and long hair! It does bear some purposeful resemblances to Arlo (in their refs specifically!!) but i'll talk about it another time

ahdjssfj this is so long already but umm i can talk more about their relationships/dynamics! weles and inka actually get married at one point canonically. and i have a happy au where theyre poly and happy - an au where Weles somehow just. exists anyway. if Arlo was alive somehow after Weles left his body he would resent them. if Inka and Arlo switched places Arlo would resent Weles to hell and back.

[1ore]

ive been playing pokemon go recently. and i put my avatar in a funny mask and then the rng treated me to a series of events and i was like. aha. what if this resurrected my pokemon gijinka fixation after 10 years of dormancy.

little dude doesn't have a name, but he's like if a guy turned into a zoroark instead of the other way around. they absolutely mystery dungeon'd his ass. 　

i keep thinking about that Love, Death, & Robots short about people who pilot monster meat mechs to pitfight recreationally, except the twist is that one of the monster meat mechs is actually a sentient creature piloting a human lesbian instead. and I think to myself. ohhhh. what if this is what shadow pokemon are like. so I think our man is an early shadow experiment that went wrong, a fusion between the dude and the vat-grown husk they were supposed to pilot. 　

can pass for human and pretends to be a pokemon trainer (poorly.) their "team" is a rotating cast of, like, starlys and bidoofs and whoever else they meet in the dirt and convince to play along, plus the pokemon they impersonate in costume. they are not above tossing up an illusion of themself and then getting into the ring. they don't have pokeballs, training equipment, or money, and they have only a nebulous concept of giving commands, so they typically get furthest in battle on their own sweat. 　

is a public nuisance to Team Rocket because comrade shadow zoroark is going back to liberate his fellow monsters 　

　 　

poking arlo's body with a stick. poking arlo's body with a stick. p

[heroesarecalling]

tacticalempathy asked: ❛ Could we, like, maybe not, with the physical violence? ❜ For Arlo meme. // always accepting!

There's a sharp inhale and exhale from Arlo. The two had been sent to interrogate a suspect and from the moment Arlo walked in to the house there was something that rubbed him the wrong way. The way the suspect talked about the victim, blaming her for her own death; Arlo didn't like it.

Arms crossing across his chest, he lets out a breathless sigh.

"Sorry, he just... he just really pissed me off."

He pauses to give himself a moment to collect himself, to get back on the right track.

"I should let you do the talking from now on. I'll... try to control my anger."

@tacticalempathy

[crazydaymycrazyway]

Imagine Arlo finding out that Rei's murder is Val. Then the inevitable breakdown. Then I suppose it's him distancing off from his aunt, because I believe Arlo would take the logical stance according to circumstances. The evidences and circumstances that will be presented to him only has one logical conclusion. Cutting off contact a cold blood murderer. But then it struck me, what if he pretended to such upto her and her ideals. I mean, like I dunno, catch her off guard in between vigilantes and say something like, 'oh my God aunt Val, what are you doing? Me? Oh I'm just getting rid of these vigilantes. They're pests and disrupt the work of authorities who only want peace and these pests deserve death. I can see that you have the same idea too. Looks like we ended up having similar thoughts, but hey I'm not surprised. So what else are you thinking of doing? Remi, Usen and Blyke? I'm giving up on them. If they can't stop being stupid, there's no need to give them a second chance. Let them die. Seraphina? Please. I thought about what you said. I choose to side with the sutgorities because they only want good for us. You lied to me, but I understand. It's not like I can be angry at you because you tried to do the right thing! Now, what are you upto aunt? Then Arlo gets info about Val's outings and all and the the information. But then it hit me, this planet of UNO reverse on Val might not work because she's too smart. This might end up with Val doing the UNO reverse. So I decided to drop off my idea. Because Arlo might be smart, but that woman is smarter and might end up gaslighting all the plan out of Arlo before he realizes it. So...sorry Arlo. You'll suffer too, just like everybody else

[acorrespondence]

@freekicks Oh man I have lots; so many that I’m making this a new post so I don’t clog up that poor person’s replies with 50 messages, haha! Basically, it’s an expansion on the idea that everyone has headcanons/canon details that are absolutely integral to their enjoyment of the story and any transformative works based on it (hard), and headcanons/canon details that they’re fond of but could still get pretty much unaltered enjoyment out of a fic that contradicts them (soft). Obviously all these are just opinions and what I get out of the story isn’t and shouldn’t have to be the same as what anyone else gets out of it.

One thing that sort of falls in the middle of the headcanon/canon divide is Raylan’s age when his mother died. The show contradicts itself on this point several times, and so it’s sort of fungible. I personally find the idea that Raylan’s mother died when he was very young, like younger than Loretta, while it may serve the parallels between them, to be much less compelling than the idea that she died later. It’s just so much more… boring for a character whose mother died when he was ten or so to have a gross misrepresentation of who she was as a person in his mental image of her. It’s much more compelling to me if he held onto that despite direct evidence to the contrary that he was old enough to understand. Of course he’d forget the hatchet story if it happened when he was eight. If it happened when he was eighteen, that opens up a much realer possibility that he just straight up repressed it, which is fascinating. Also, I don’t think it makes sense if he grew up with Helen in the house for the second half of his life there. To me that doesn’t really jive with their current relationship. (And on a less story-driven note, I am fascinated by the idea that, if Raylan’s mother died when he was thirty, he might not have attended her funeral. Because part of him knew it would challenge the version of her he had to remember in order to maintain his black and white perception of the world.)

Obviously, the mine and what it represents is a necessary component (though the time and place less so—my Old Guard au places them in the miners’ strikes of the 30s, and I’ve read a wonderful fic where the mine in question was on a different planet entirely. However, it does have to be placed in Harlan, or whatever approximation of Harlan fits the broader setting). The boys and their relationships with their daddies is another nonnegotiable for me. Specifically, the way they grew up; different times and causes of death for Bo and Arlo can work just as well. If Raylan and Boyd don’t meet until they’re established adults, that immediately kills my interest. Their rich history is so integral to why I’m drawn to the ship in the first place. It’s a hard sell for me to have Boyd leave or Raylan stay directly after the mine, but I’ve been known to make an exception if the story is compelling enough and doesn’t sacrifice characterization.

I think Boyd’s criminal history is important, though the nature of it less so. And even more important is the fact that Boyd never really makes it big as a criminal—making him some kind of fief lord of crime makes him much less interesting to me. His plans only succeed inasmuch as he always manages to survive their unraveling. I think it’s important that he’s spent time incarcerated. I’m not a huge fan of stories where they meet again outside of Harlan and never go back, it takes away the central tension between them and the place that made them that Raylan so struggles with and Boyd embraces so wholly, which for me is a really interesting part of their relationship, this dichotomy. I also don’t care for stories that give them a ton of good friends outside each other, or casual friends who actually know them and hang out with them—they’re too big of assholes for that. Of course, this doesn’t include the characters they’re close with in canon; I love Raylan and Rachel’s friendship, in particular, and their understanding of each other despite their vast superficial differences is fascinating. I guess I should say instead that I don’t buy either of them having typical friendships, period. They’re just too weird and fucked up for that. They trauma bonded at nineteen and it continues to be one of the most important relationships in either of their lives. Winona puts up with Raylan’s relational weirdness for love; no one is doing that for their drinking buddy. So they may have close friendships, but they don’t look the way you’d expect.

I’d never make their relationship uncomplicatedly sweet and unfraught, or sand down the kind of feral edges of it, and I don’t think they’d be much for traditional PDA—I just love the way in canon the physical (and otherwise) manifestations of their intimacy are so outside of what’s expected from buddies OR lovers. In the same vein, I don’t love it when Raylan goes crazy with the terms of endearment, because he doesn’t use them much with his love interests in canon. I have him use them with the girls in heavy heart more as verbal tics he picked up after spending too much time around Boyd, who LOVES to use them, plus I think he models at least some of his displays of parental affection after Helen, who canonically calls him “honey”. I’m fine with Boyd throwing endearments around liberally; I just don’t do it in my own fics because I love the way in canon he twists Raylan’s name itself into almost an endearment. He just can’t stop saying it every other sentence, so why would he give up the chance to say it by replacing it with another word? Plus, it fits in with how weird they are about each other in general.

More broadly, I have never really enjoyed full aus (based on any story) that don’t try to approximate at least the broader beats of place and history from canon, but I really really love stories that manage it. I respect authors who can sort of map canon onto a completely different stage, like the space au mentioned above, so much. I hope that I manage that at least somewhat with catching bullets.

That’s all the big ones I can think of at the moment, though I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten (most of the rest fall more under ic-ness vs ooc-ness, which is harder to articulate; “what makes them themselves?” is a much more difficult question). Ultimately, I think probably a lot of these come across through cross-referencing both of my WIPs—basically, if it shows up in both, there’s a very good chance it’s a nonnegotiable for me, and if it changes between the two, then I can obviously live without it.

[hollowsart]

Somehow, trying to redesign Batman rogues is way more difficult than redesigning Spiderman rogues.

Somehow, they aren't inspiring many ideas for me, and much like a lot of dc content, the variations of the characters as a mainline fresh new take on everything is extremely limited in the creativity of variation to their genders and backstories that lead up to them becoming who/what they are. (Or it's left as a one-time one-off thing)

I think we could do with some more genderswaps and stuff, y'know? It would help inspire more creativity with the concepts of the characters. Give more substance to work with.

Some ideas/concepts for what I mean:

Joanna Crane, excluded from her field of research because her methods were too extreme and her research was becoming unethical and against all tules and regulations. Excluded due to being a woman in a field dominated by men within the corrupt city of Gotham.

Oswin Cobblepot, worked exceptionally hard despite her appearance to get where she is in life. Becoming powerful with an impressive influence in the underbelly of Gotham. All stemming from or origins in seeking insurance and protection for her high class club/bar after it had been wrecked one night by thugs. Ever since, she'd managed to firmly plant herself proudly in the underworld.

Arnona Wesker, always had a fascination with puppetry ever since she was little. Due to a sudden house fire when she was just a teen, she lost her collection of puppets.. well, all but 1 head. She salvaged it and kept it for later. Later never came, and her life progressed like a roller coaster of hills. At some point early in her adulthood, she started to hear a voice. It wasn't her own, and it always seemed to come from where she kept that dummy head. The dummy had become sentient.

Arlo Quinzel, talk show radio therapist and psychologist who received one too many prank calls from a bored Joker that ended in his career on the airways. He was highly influential, for better or for worse. Besides psychology, Arlo also enjoyed reading about classical theater and watching performances. An interest of his that had been forced out of him by his family, forcing him instead to go into a more "appropriate" and beneficial field of work. Safe to say, he finally got his wish to entertain through theater and the arts.. albeit twisted into something less playful.

Victoria Fries, a well-known cryogenicist who merely studied the effects of cryogenics on living things, trying to find a way to prevent the death of cells on the body when frozen. In a way, trying to slow down death and aging. Her experiments were done mostly on plants as any suggestions for small animals to help progress her research had always been denied.

Edlyn Nygma, the smartest student in all her schools growing up. She was the brightest despite her dark and dreary homelife. She worked extra hard to prove herself to her old-fashioned misogynistic father, and when that failed, she worked even harder to exceed him and escape the life she suffered through for years. After succeeding, her life hardly picked up. Being forced to work in a small publishing company that made riddle and joke books, the only place that wanted to accept her regardless of her qualifications. The years of monotony and lack of approval to her ideas finally made her crack, burning the place down after. Seeking now to challenge Gotham to prove her mind and self as something worth listening to. Becoming Gotham's anonymous "Riddler" and learning to use people's underestimations of her to her advantage.

Waylynn Jones, ..idk her story could be left alone from the original. Skin condition she was born with that disfigured her, or it was like some kind of genetic mutation that made her look more crocodilian than human, only getting worse as she grew up before finally reaching a point it wouldn't progress any further, leaving her looking big and monstrous.

Salem Kyle, his backstory can also remain pretty much the same as canon with minimal changes. Why change what works? Also I have no ideas for him tbh

Harper Dent, another than could be left the same as the main canon, just swapped around so they're a woman instead cuz we appreciate complex women 👍

[lunar-years]

Re: that ask about Jamie being a team player under Pep and your answer - it's actually not that new, referencing Pep, which is the weird part. The team notes from season 1, the stuff the writers gave Arlo White to make his "cheat sheets" for the season 1 finale match where Jamie makes that extra pass? They list Pep as the manager, and Ted and Jamie both mention him in their interviews in the episode as well. So when giving Jamie that extra pass moment, they did it with full concurrent awareness, in writing the season 1 finale, that Pep was Jamie's manager. Creating a fictional manager was never going to happen- Sudeikis is a big Pep fan, and obviously the show's production had to have struck up a good deal with Man City to feature them so much before they had rights to other teams, so they tend to show the team in a positive light even if they're Richmond's adversary. Anyway my point is, Pep as Jamie's coach isn't retrofitted or retroactive, rather, they knew Pep was Jamie's coach even when they had Jamie make that extra pass. So it IS a weird hole they've dug, because they're never going to claim Ted is a better coach than Pep (not only tactic wise but personally/how he treats players, he is beloved) but the implications of that about Jamie's career are very weird in that regard! But they've known it all along, and I can't imagine they don't consider the impact of it on Jamie given the way Sudeikis has talked about Pep before and also given how much backstory they've been said to have imagined, like how much Sudeikis apparently thinks about what informs all these characters. Theyve painted themselves into a corner where the text of the show confirms that Pep informs Jamie massively. Which I personally enjoy, but does detract from Ted's alleged influence on Jamie which I frankly have never massively cared about anyway. I much prefer Pep 😂. I do think they absolutely know Jamie was a small fish in a big pond at City and things changed for him at Richmond - he was top dog for the first time ever there, is what I think they were going for. But maybe we will learn more when they play City away.

Okay I know this was so not the point of your ask so sorry for the pivot lol but how on earth did the show convince the irl West Ham to agree to having their club portrayed on the show as the evil Rupert Mannion run Star Wars Death Star club ??? how do the West Ham fans feel about this? lmao.

To address your actual ask I just feel like they included Pep without thinking it through, because the narratives of what they're trying to do with Ted and what can be reasonably inferred about Jamie's backstory with Man City just are not adding up for me, lol. Definitely agree they're not going for "Ted is better than actual irl coaches," but they're certainly trying to portray that Ted was the exact right person for this particular group of guys at the particular time he landed in their lives. I do think they want us to believe there's something special about Ted that cultivated the team's success in a way other coaches couldn't have done in those particular circumstances of what Richmond was at that time. (And yeah it doesn't necessarily make much sense, but I just suspend my belief on that bit, because what about a goofy Kansas man with no prior knowledge of football and seemingly little desire to dig into it further leading a professional football team to victory does? )

wait edited to add: I also think you're 100% right about Jamie being a small fish in a big pond at City and things changing for him at Richmond in that it was the first time he was really in the position of being the best. Definitely!!! And that is such a good point. There were really excellent tags on a reblog of that last ask that were basically paralleling Jamie to Nate in that it's how you treat people who are powerless when you're in a position above them (whether that be actual authority or, like Jamie, just being the best player on the team) that is most telling.

[bullet-prooflove]

I have an ask for Nik Sabatino 🩷 The prompt is 3. And we kept everything professional But something's changed. Thank you so much.

Tagging: @words-and-seeds @novamariestark @whateversomethingbruh @trublu2u @stelacole @kmc1989

Nik’s been back in LA for approximately three hours when he finds out about your trip to Mexico, the one you didn’t tell him about. He’s barely had enough time to dump his bags at his hotel and shower before he’s called out to a scene in Malibu involving his C.I.

It involves two dead bodies in the trunk of his car and a high speed pursuit on an electric scooter. Only in LA, he thinks as he scrolls through Tucker’s phone bringing up his most recent internet tabs.

It's then he finds the hitlist, the one with your picture on. It’s a group shot of you, Sam and Callen,  your face is shadowed by the cap you’re wearing, but the others are in plain view. It’s been taken in a hospital carpark in Mexico, he knows that because he’s been to the same hospital, he’d dropped Arlo Turk off there with a gunshot wound to the shoulder once upon a time.

He picks up his phone, dialling Turk’s number. If anyone can tell him what mischief you’ve been getting up to in Mexico it’ll be him.

“What’s your interest?” Turk asks him before he divulges the information.

My life partner’s trying to give me a heart attack, he considers telling the other man. However your relationship is still on the downlow, not even your team are aware that the two of you are together so he goes with the usual party line.

“Classified.” He says dryly. “But there’s an eighteen year old bottle of McCallan in it for you, if you tell me everything in the file and out of it.”

By the time Nik hangs up the phone he’s livid.

You’d undertaken an unsanctioned mission into Mexico to rescue Mosley’s son. It had resulted in the horrific death of Special Agent Harley Hidoko. Deeks had been critically injured, which is why you were at the hospital in the first place and the rest of you had barely escaped with your lives.

The fallout is currently still ongoing as the entire team are being investigated by a federal prosecutor. Nobody’s sure if charges are going to land your way or not, and your career…

Lord knows if you’ll still have a job at the end of the week.

You’re trying to give him an aneurysm, Nik’s sure of it.

He uses back channels to summon both you and Callen to the crime scene. His job was over and done with once his CI was arrested by the LAPD but if he leaves the scene he has to hand over the phone for evidence and he wants to show you the consequences of your actions. It’s clear to him that none of you played out how badly the mission could have gone. When he looks at it, he can see the plan was slapdash, haphazard, not the usual standard of work he expected from you all.

Mossley’s doing, he suspects, a woman so driven by her emotions, her desire to find her son that she would have sacrificed anyone of you. Hidoko had played the ultimate price, tongue cut out, burned alive and that woman hadn’t even attended her funeral. The thought of that happening to you…

It makes his blood boil because to Mosley you’re disposable and she’s hanging every single one of you out to dry.

When you step into the tented command centre he can tell you’re surprised to see him. You tuck your hands into the pockets of your jacket as you straighten your shoulders and hold your head up high. It riles him in more ways than one because you know, that he knows, and that he can’t show how pissed off he is right now, not without dropping the dime on your relationship.

“Looks like you guys survived Mexico.” He says, his expression filled with ire as he places his hands upon his hips. “Good job.”

You say nothing as you meet his gaze but he can see the defiance in you. You’re convinced you did the right thing and the problem is he can’t argue with you. The thing he loves most about you is your conviction, you know exactly who you are, you don’t lose yourself the way he does.

It’s both infuriating and extremely erotic.

“I have a feeling that’s you didn’t call us down here to congratulate us on our success.” Callen remarks, jutting his head towards the hand sticking out of the trunk of the nearby car.

“No, it is not.” Nik says, withdrawing the phone from his pocket and holding it up for the both of you to see. “The killer left his phone in the car and we found a cartel hitlist and guess who’s on it.”

He swipes his finger across the screen and the picture appears, the one of the three of you outside the hospital.

“One million.” He says looking pointedly at you. “Per person.

He sees the expression on your face change at the realisation. One million is a lot for a hit. The guy lying in the trunk of that car, his bounty was only $250,000 and he was the head of the drug enforcement taskforce. That’s how badly the cartel wants to murder you guys.

“They haven’t identified you yet but trust me they are trying really, really hard.” It’s impossible for him to keep the bite out of his voice.

“So we need to get that site taken down.” You begin, withdrawing your own phone from your back pocket to call Eric.

“I’ve already taken care of it.” Nik tells you as he returns the phone back to the evidence bag.  “I’ve got the NSA cybernuts scrubbing it from existence but it’s been on the darkweb for almost two weeks. There’s no telling who’s seen it.”

“I’m getting the feeling your mad at us. ” Callen says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did we fuck up some super-secret CIA operation you guys were running?”

He turns his gaze on the other man, and the fury it burns deep down inside of him. There’s no way Callen doesn’t see it.

He’s almost as culpable as Mosley. He’s supposed to be the team leader, the calm one, the responsible one but he’d run head first into this mess, the same way the rest of you had. Nik knows he’s inches away from betraying himself so he does what he does best, he spins his anger towards something else, something that fits with Callen’s perception.

“You guys burned Arlo Turk.” He snaps, jabbing his finger at the other man. “That guy was the biggest source of cartel intel in the country and you burned him, do you know how many agencies relied on that information?”

None of you have any idea of all the threads you’ve unravelled, all the hard work that you’ve undone. There’s people in Washington baying for your blood, threatening to shut down Special Operations, to indict you and the two of you have no fucking clue. Nik’s out here doing damage control, he’s calling in favours, twisting the narrative, trying to save your lives and your careers.

“And there it is.” Callen mutters, the left side of his mouth twisting up into a bitter smile. “We’re making your life harder.”

He really has no fucking idea.

Nik’s phone has been vibrating in his pocket ever since this conversation started. His contacts coming back to him, feeding him information, completing the tasks he’s set them. You’re not going down for this he’s making sure of that, he’s put Mosley directly in the firing line for pulling this shit.

Already Callen’s walking away, you’re about to follow when Nik captures your arm. His eyes meet yours and you know that this isn’t over. There’s so much he wants to say to you in this moment but the words won’t leave his mouth because he’s just so God damned angry.

“Don’t think we won’t be talking about this at home.” He warns you, releasing his grasp on your arm. “I mean it Alana, you guys fucked up big time.”

Love Nik? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[mahvaladara]

Arlo walked up the house, and entered heading upstairs, he laid Fannar on the bed.

Fannar: Lying still in bed all day won't make me feel any better.. you know that.

They sighed, their eyes on Arlo, noticing what he could only see as genuine worry. A worry he had seen there before a couple of times.

Fannar: And if you keep being away, the garden won't make it, plants need tending you know. But I can rest more. How about that?

They knew they needed it, but it was boring to lie here alone, and books only kept them company for that long when Arlo was away. They understood why they needed to go, school and all that. As if realizing something, they put a hand on Arlo's

Fannar: Can you get me books from university? That way I could keep myself busy with studying, and perhaps not fall too far behind. Although without teachers, I will still be behind when I go home, but not as far. And that is something I can do while staying in bed, resting. 

Arlo hesitated before pulling his hand away, eyes falling on Fannar. He sighed.

Arlo: Make me a list and I'll get you the books. They've banned me from the library but that never stopped me from getting the books I want.

He looked at his hands, giving a small glance towards Fannar. He sighed and shook his head. The flowers would survive, he knew that, he just had to make them grow, that was all he needed. Even if everything else he engendered failed miserably and only turned out worse, he was sure, if he could grow the flowers, they would survive. At least his death would be worth something, since his life wasn't.

Arlo: I'll meet you in the morning for that list. Rest, for now. I'll go to college tomorrow and bring you the books.

He walked to the stairs and looked back at Fan.

Arlo: Night.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: Arlo and her friends must decide how far they’re willing to go to depose a cruel ruler in this third book in the Hollow Star Saga that’s The Cruel Prince meets City of Bones.

The die is cast. The era of Spring is over.

Riadne’s bloody coup on the Summer Solstice changed Arlo’s life forever. In one fell swoop and a fool’s bargain, she lost both her family and free will to the newly crowned High Queen. Now, with Arlo forced to use her powers as Luck’s Hollow Star to help summon the rest of the seven deadly sins, Riadne stands closer than ever to achieving her dark goals.

And Arlo isn’t the only one trapped in a frightening new role. Her ex-Fury girlfriend, Nausicaä, is determined to do whatever it takes to stay by Arlo’s side, even if that means becoming Riadne’s pet assassin. Aurelian and Vehan, torn apart, struggle to survive on their own.

Meanwhile, Celadon has been revealed as Riadne’s illegitimate son—and heir to both Spring and Summer, the ultimate offense in the faerie world. But the High Prince has secret plans of his own, plans made all the more complicated when the beautiful and deadly immortal Hunter Lethe takes an interest in him…

Five budding legacies will need more than luck if they hope to stand a chance against the greatest adversary the Courts have faced. For nothing’s more dangerous than a faerie tale… except the one who tells it, and maybe what they’re going to need is no longer that story’s hero but its villain.

Review:

A new Queen has taken the bone crown, a prince turned king must plot to destroy his new family, a fury will give up everything for love, and the die will cast a new path for all of them. Riadne is the new queen after killing all of Arlo's family and revealing that she is Celadon's mother. She forced Arlo to be bound to her and plans on reviving all the seven Sins and reshaping the world to her liking. Arlo is determined to find a way to fix everything, and her sort of girlfriend Nausica, fury, will do anything to protect her, even become the new queen's controlled assassin if it means saving Arlo. Meanwhile Celadon is dealing with the death of his family and the reveal of his new mother, and who he truly is and the power he has. On top of that there is a strange connection between him and Lethe, the deadly Hunter who has his own plan yet seems to be willing to do anything for Celadon. This book further explores Lethe's past (he is the son of a titan, Luck and the god of death but was forced into Atlantis to be trained (tortured for years) and his only solace was his friendship with the Moon... who sacrificed their life for his revenge. Lethe has been trying to get revenge and find a way to find his Moon again... and who just happens to bear the same tattoo that Lethe has... Celadon. This book really had the most interesting relationship between Celadon and Lethe, like I could do with an entire book about their relationship. They were the main focus of this book and I loved them. Celadon and Lethe have both gone through so much yet are willing to do anything to protect the other, they're both playing their own games in this terrible situation with Riadne, and I am sat for my Grim and Sunken Kings. Besides them, the rest of the book/couples felt kind of lackluster and a bit slow... the only thing that kept me so invested was Celadon and Lethe. They had the best storyline and the most interesting character dynamic and personality. There is a fourth book coming and I will be reading it just to see where they go with the story and the rest of the characters. This series is a saga, so honestly I don't know how many more books there are going to be. My one big gripe with these books is that they are all over 500+ pages and most of the time it's unnecessary, it truly could be shaved down because the story feels so dragged on and other chapters and events feel kind of pointless..... but anyways, I digress. I'd have to say this is my favorite book from the series so far, it truly is the best of the three and I am curious how the next one will go.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*