#I think i might lean back into posting more suggestive stuff again

[thelostmoongazer]

yeah he's baby girl or whatever

[physalian]

How to make your writing sound less stiff

Just a few suggestions. You shouldn’t have to compromise your writing style and voice with any of these, and some situations and scenes might demand some stiff or jerky writing to better convey emotion and immersion. I am not the first to come up with these, just circulating them again.

1. Vary sentence structure.

This is an example paragraph. You might see this generated from AI. I can’t help but read this in a robotic voice. It’s very flat and undynamic. No matter what the words are, it will be boring. It’s boring because you don’t think in stiff sentences. Comedians don’t tell jokes in stiff sentences. We don’t tell campfire stories in stiff sentences. These often lack flow between points, too.

So funnily enough, I had to sit through 87k words of a “romance” written just like this. It was stiff, janky, and very unpoetic. Which is fine, the author didn’t tell me it was erotica. It just felt like an old lady narrator, like Old Rose from Titanic telling the audience decades after the fact instead of living it right in the moment. It was in first person pov, too, which just made it worse. To be able to write something so explicit and yet so un-titillating was a talent. Like, beginner fanfic smut writers at least do it with enthusiasm.

2. Vary dialogue tag placement

You got three options, pre-, mid-, and post-tags.

Leader said, “this is a pre-dialogue tag.”

“This,” Lancer said, “is a mid-dialogue tag.”

“This is a post-dialogue tag,” Heart said.

Pre and Post have about the same effect but mid-tags do a lot of heavy lifting.

They help break up long paragraphs of dialogue that are jank to look at

They give you pauses for ~dramatic effect~

They prompt you to provide some other action, introspection, or scene descriptor with the tag. *don't forget that if you're continuing the sentence as if the tag wasn't there, not to capitalize the first word after the tag. Capitalize if the tag breaks up two complete sentences, not if it interrupts a single sentence.

It also looks better along the lefthand margin when you don’t start every paragraph with either the same character name, the same pronouns, or the same “ as it reads more natural and organic.

3. When the scene demands, get dynamic

General rule of thumb is that action scenes demand quick exchanges, short paragraphs, and very lean descriptors. Action scenes are where you put your juicy verbs to use and cut as many adverbs as you can. But regardless of if you’re in first person, second person, or third person limited, you can let the mood of the narrator bleed out into their narration.

Like, in horror, you can use a lot of onomatopoeia.

Drip Drip Drip

Or let the narration become jerky and unfocused and less strict in punctuation and maybe even a couple run-on sentences as your character struggles to think or catch their breath and is getting very overwhelmed.

You can toss out some grammar rules, too and get more poetic.

Warm breath tickles the back of her neck. It rattles, a quiet, soggy, rasp. She shivers. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. Sweat beads at her temple. Her heart thunders in her chest. Ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba- It moves on, leaving a void of cold behind. She uncurls her fists, fingers achy and palms stinging from her nails. It’s gone.

4. Remember to balance dialogue, monologue, introspection, action, and descriptors.

The amount of times I have been faced with giant blocks of dialogue with zero tags, zero emotions, just speech on a page like they’re notecards to be read on a stage is higher than I expected. Don’t forget that though you may know exactly how your dialogue sounds in your head, your readers don’t. They need dialogue tags to pick up on things like tone, specifically for sarcasm and sincerity, whether a character is joking or hurt or happy.

If you’ve written a block of text (usually exposition or backstory stuff) that’s longer than 50 words, figure out a way to trim it. No matter what, break it up into multiple sections and fill in those breaks with important narrative that reflects the narrator’s feelings on what they’re saying and whoever they’re speaking to’s reaction to the words being said. Otherwise it’s meaningless.

—

Hope this helps anyone struggling! Now get writing.

[snixkers]

Wrinkles like Rivers

Pairing: Alex Blake × Fem!Reader

Hurt/Comfort

For: @olderwomenaremyfavs

Content Warning: References to canon violence (drugs/crime), age gap (reader is in her 30s, Alex is in her 50s), very brief suggestive comment, insecurity over appearance

Summary: At a work function, Alex feels like the other agents have her beat, in more ways than one.

Author's Note: Omg! This is my first fic posted on this site, so I'm super excited! Hope this is what you were hoping for!

Feedback is always welcome!

Requests are OPEN

It was another Bureau function, and the atmosphere was relaxed and casual. Agents usually consumed with the worst of humanity were able to escape, just for a bit, and find comfort in a night out. You mingled with some people, recognizing names but not faces from your girlfriend's stories.

For some reason, these events seemed to have the opposite effect on Alex, who usually ended up silent and brooding in the corner. You could tell she was thinking about something, but she always brushed it off so confidently that you were certain you were imagining it. After all, she was the profiler, not you.

Tonight was a different story. You could see it in her tense shoulders, her narrowed eyes, and her half-smile. Her glass was still full, although that wasn't unusual for her. Even though it wasn't your profession, you were certainly a profiler when it came to her.

You excused yourself from an agent telling you stories about her escapades busting a drug ring, making your way back to the woman watching you with rapt attention. She blinked out of her stupor when she noticed you, quickly throwing on a smile and wrapping her arm around you. It was a nice attempt, but you couldn't be fooled.

"Alex," you began, "is something bothering you?"

She shook her head, although you anticipated that reaction. Alex always kept her emotions sealed away in a vault that you rarely were given the key to. You sighed, wrapping your hands around her wrist gently and leading her off to an empty hallway.

You decided to try again, within the comfort of your sole presence.

"Alex, I know something's bothering you. And I'd appreciate it if you'd let me help."

She let out a sigh, her smile fading slightly as she fiddled with the ends of her hair.

"It's not important."

You had to resist the urge to roll your eyes. Alex *was* important. She could tell you that the sky was green and you would agree.

"Alex, please. I want to know so I can fix the problem."

She sighed, avoiding your gaze and taking a small sip of the wine provided by a rather wealthy colleague of hers.

"Watching you talk to all of those other agents, it's just hard for me. They're young, they're good in the field. Their stories are more exciting."

Your heart melted in your chest, trying to soothe any insecurities she might have.

"I don't care. You've been in longer than they have. You're more smart logical and strategic. Plus, I like a woman with a little experience."

She held back a snort at your words, but her eyes still held traces of doubt.

"It's not just about the brains. Just look at me. I mean, you could date anyone you want. There must be someone out there who's younger and prettier."

You frowned, the warmth in your chest quickly evaporating. "Alex, no. I love you. I love everything about you. I love the way your eyes crease when you laugh. I love the wrinkles on your forehead. I love the gray hairs you're hiding. Do you know why? Because to me, that stuff makes you even more beautiful."

Her gaze softened, and you could practically see her trying to come up with another excuse for why she wasn't good enough. You shook your head, leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I'm always going to pick you, Alex."

She nods, taking a deep breath and kissing you back a little deeper, trying to convey the gratitude she felt. Luckily, another part of being such an expert on how she felt was that you already knew.

You smiled back, glancing over at the party.

"Should we head home?"

She nods in agreement, wrapping an arm around your waist and leading you back out to the party, the both of you clinging to each other the way you always would.

"Absolutely. Garcia told me about this game called 'Wordle', and I want to try it out."

[tciddaemina]

so i had a dream last night about a svsss bingqiu dating sim story set post-epilogue where Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe hadnt gotten together. idk how that would even be set up but like maybe they stopped Maigu ridge but didnt bone but its still revealed Binghe is into Shen Qingqiu, and now its in the peace afterwards where things have more or less gone back together and Shen Qingqiu has finished his sexuality crisis and decided he absolutely needs Binghe to rail him

and so its this situation of Shen Qingqiu in a dating sim, but his only romance route is Binghe and hes just trying to select the correct dialogue route to getting rawed over the nearest desk except he has no romantic experience except reading godawful stuff like PIDW and so he keeps fucking it up by saying the most unhinged shit, and it keeps making Binghe blush and run away or misunderstand him because hes so used to Shen Qingqiu being dense and misunderstanding all flirting that now that Shen Qingqiu is explicitly and deliberately trying to flirt with him he keeps explaining it away

and so Shen Qingqiu is like tearing out his hair and choosing increasingly more unhinged dialogue options and dressing in increasingly raunchy clothes to try and get Binghe to do something and its just like. 10000% pure crack

And its like

-

Shen Qingqiu sitting across from Binghe, the two them drinking wine together after dinner. The hour is late, the day stretching long and the two of them enjoying their rest after a day of endless meetings. The breeze is sweet with the scent of golden night jasmine, the candle light is dim and intimate.

Shen Qingqiu bites his tongue, an impatient itch running up his spine. It's a fine evening, but he can't enjoy it - all day it's felt like his nerves have been ground down to a find powder. All week, his nerves have been ground down. He just about tastes his impatience now, so thick its grown, its given a physical taste in his mouth.

He glances at the dialogue boxes hovering before him resentfully.

1. BOLD. "This master is tired of waiting. He has wanted Binghe too long." [Lean over and kiss him.]

2. EXTRA BOLD. [Let your actions speak for you! Start removing clothing and reach for him! Get it started!]

3. SUGGESTIVE. "Binghe has been a good boy. Why not allow this master to show his favor?" [Glance demurely at Binghe's crotch.]

4. SLY. "How have Binghe's energy levels been? Is he he still feeling unbalanced from Xin Mo? Perhaps this master can help..." [Offer dual cultivation.]

5. COP OUT. The weather is fine today, is it not?

And Binghe sits up, eyes softening, touched by Shen Qingqiu's concern. A soft ping rings out, an alert appearing in the corner of Shen Qingqiu's vision [+15 affection points]. Still, he appears a bit abashed, ducking his head.

"Ah, shizun need not worry. Mu-shishu has been taking care of this disciple - this disciple has been meditating each morning in the spiritual caves," Luo Binghe says, hurrying to reassure Shen Qingqiu and completely missing the point. "Shizun shouldn't concern himself - he has his own energies to worry about. Has Without A Cure been acting up again?"

Fuck Without A Cure!! Shen Qingqiu almost screams. This isn't about that! Tens of millions of words of Binghe fighting and fucking his way through the plot of PIDW, suave as anything, and yet here he can't see a flag being waved in front of his face! What next? Will Shen Qingqiu get out a flag and wave it, shouting Please fuck me??!!!

Binghe! Please be more conscientious of your poor master and think with your dick a little more!! Where is that insatiable lady-killer when you need him??? Shen Qingqiu is so frustrated he feels like he might spit blood! Please do something about it Binghe!!

Shen Qingqiu just smiles and inclines his head. "It has been manageable," he says, and tries a little harder, attempting to redirect the conversation. "Though... with our energies in such a state, perhaps we might find a way to help one another..." He looks at Binghe shyly over the top of his fan, lashes lowered. He bites his lip, a small thrill of shy anticipation running through him.

Binghe brightens, eyes clearing. He straightens. "Of course!" he says eagerly. "This disciple would be honored in taking over for Luo Qingge in balancing shizun's meridians each week! This disciple will ask Mu-shishu for a lesson on the proper way to circulate energies through the meridians of the wrist!"

So dense!! Shen Qingqiu's jaw twitches, and he almost throws his fan down onto the table. He smooths out his expression immediately, mask serene and implacable. "Ah," he says delicately, because fuck it, maybe he needs to be more explicit. "This master was perhaps thinking another way..."

And Binghe nods, realization washing over his face. "Of course," he says. "If human solutions are not working, but perhaps a demonic method-"

Yes! Like the divine pillar! Please fuck this master! Binghe is finally catching on!!!

"- the demon realm probably has entirely different healing practices and methods! Why have we never thought to look before? Maybe they will have something. Shizun, I will go immediately-"

"That wasn't quite what I-"

"Shizun is so wise! Wait for me shizun! I'll be back before you know it!"

-

Whoops there's a part 2.

[groversimp]

Hey! First ever request, can i ask for a Luke Castellan x male reader where reader is an ill son of Ares and Luke nurses him back to health? Thank you lovely!!

Sorry, I Can’t Take Your Touch

YEARNING!!!

Ty for your patience anon!!

Warnings: stab wounds, slow burn, tension so hot it could burn someone, Luke, slightly suggestive?

This is post-betrayal, you’re a part of Kronos’ army

“I don’t need your help, Castellan.”

Those were the first words to come out of your mouth as Luke approached you with a first-aid kid, his darkened eyes glare down at you. You suck in a breath as you sit up from the blood-stained cot.

“Yes, you do, Y/L/N.” Luke’s voice is rough from the day of battle- screaming commands and demands. Anyone else would think he still looks confident, but you can see the exhaustion in his eyes. ‘He knows what he’s doing, this is his rebellion’ you tell yourself, if you were anyone but yourself you might believe your words. You know Luke, so much more than you know yourself even.

“No-“ You said, kicking a leg out to shove him away as he walks towards you. He dodges your attack with a swift step.

Leaning on the cot, his knee rests on your leg as he pins you down with one arm. “Stay.” He says, your witty response dies on your tongue.

He moves his arm to grab your waist, using his other hand to open the first-aid kit. He pours some rubbing alcohol on the deep cut, ignoring your wince. With a soft grunt, he shifts and pulls you up with him.

He starts to wrap the bandage-wrap around your mid-section, plush gauze and fluffy cotton over your wound.

“Where’d you learn this stuff, Luke?” You ask, soft words almost dying in the deep silence wracking through the room.

“These are just the basics, I picked it up from some Apollo’s kids before I left.” He says, Luke looks up at you- you’ve never called him by his first name. His eyes linger on you a beat too long, memorizing the concerned furrow of your eyebrows, the deep fire that lays beneath your eyes. Everything he loves about you. It’s like second-nature to him.

“You never learned, Y/N?” Hearing your name slip from his mouth felt so wrong yet so right, and you know you would give anything to hear him say it again.

“No,” you say. “No, I never wanted to.” Luke hums in response. After awhile of silence, he looks up at you, eyes looking over your form.

His lips are a hairbreadth away from yours, so close you can feel them but not close enough to be pressed against yours. It’s almost painful, the desire you have for him. The want, the need, to have him to yourself. To lock him away and keep him safe. Away from wars, away from commanding.

He pulls back, away from you, then stands up without a look at you.

“Rest, Y/N.” He says, voice deep and shadowed eyes not looking to you. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he left, you sighed and fell deeper into the cot. You really should stop this before it begins.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

. . . 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐲.

[ 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 & 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ] —

please read thoroughly before you follow/interact!!

✦ 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞

this is a smut-free blog!! the reason i say that instead of just sfw blog is because i occasionally rb suggestive content (whether it’s fanart or fics), and write + post mild dark content (mild gore, other horror elements, twisted dynamics, yan stuff, etc). those posts are usually tagged with cw dark content or cw suggestive! some of my general posts might also be suggestive/dc-leaning. 

in other words:

i won’t write or rb full on smut, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all my content is sfw. please mind the distinction!!

and with that being said — please don’t tag me in smut / explicit fanart / heavy dc, or send me any nsfw asks!! :’) suggestive stuff (jokes, tension, bare bodies, suguru’s tits, etc) is obviously fine, but i’d prefer to keep this blog free from anything too explicit </3 (additionally, i’m uncomfy around pregnancy/childbirth topics!!)

i understand that the line between sfw and nsfw can be really thin, so don’t hesitate to shoot me a dm if you have any hesitations or questions!! i don’t want anyone feeling like they have to walk on eggshells around me, especially those of you who regularly write/interact with nsfw content!! i’m sensitive to quite a few smut tropes and dc topics, but still an avid supporter of smut/dc writers, and very anti-censorship in general :)

✦ 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰?

minors can follow and interact, but once again; please please mind any suggestive/potential dark content that i might rb or write!! :’) i would ask that you stick to the sfw stuff for my peace of mind… i don’t curate this blog to be a safe space for anyone other than myself, so i can never guarantee that the content i post is suited to you + won’t make you uncomfortable — if it does, then you’re always more than encouraged to unfollow/block! i never take it personally, so please don’t hesitate!!! even if this blog is typically on the sweet side, it’s still run by an adult!!!

in the same vein, bloggers who write/interact with smut and dark content are always welcome to follow/interact — just please mind my own boundaries and understand that i might not be comfortable following back depending on how sensitive i am to the particular content you post, and how you tag it!! it’s never ever personal, just for the sake of curating my own safe space on this website <3 but i’d love to chat with you either way!

this seems like a good place to say that i thoroughly support blocking, softblocking & unfollowing for any reason at all!! if my content makes you uncomfortable, or if you find me annoying, or if i’m spamming your dash — or anything else — pleaseeee do whatever you want to do!! never feel pressured to follow me just because you like my writing, or because we’re mutuals, or for any other reason. i will literally never ever take it personally!!

✦ 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 / 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬

i don’t take requests, but you’re always more than welcome to drop by my inbox with brainrot or concepts <33 or for any other reason at all!! i don’t bite!!! (neither do the mice…. probably……..)

if you’d like to pick an emoji or title to go with your asks, then feel free :3 so far these are my anons:

🐑 , 🌙 , 🌖 , 🍰 , 🐟 , 🦐 , 🌺 , 🪷 , ❄️ , 🍓 , 🪄, 🐰 , 🎀 , 🧸🍪 , 🫧 , 🃏, 🌷, 🦈, 🥭, ☕️, 🪼, 🪅, 🫀, 🧠, 🙂‍↕️, 🌱, 🪐, 🐰🩺, sleepy anon, stsg anon and arinon!!

with that being said: please don’t send me hateful asks, whether they’re directed towards me or any other creators + asks with uncredited fanart attached!! i’ll delete them and block you based on the severity of the ask :’) please understand. and please keep in mind that my brain is a big mess — sometimes i might answer your ask instantly, other times it could take me weeks. it never has anything to do with you or your asks, i promise!! i love receiving them and thinking about them 🥹 just pls be patient with me!!!!

✦ 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬

many of my favorite characters are awful human beings <3 i’m a lover of all villains and that extends to characters like kenjaku and sukuna, but also ones like makima (csm) and mori (bsd)!! 

if that makes you uncomfortable, or if you think that equates to me condoning their actions / that liking them reflects my morality irl, then please block me!! i post about my blorbos regularly, and i’d hate to make anyone uncomfortable, but this is my little blog bubble at the end of the day. look after yourselves!

✦ 𝐝𝐧𝐢

last, but not least; please do not interact if you are bigoted (racist, ableist, queerphobic, misogynistic, pro-israel, etc) + if you harass people over the fictional content they create or consume!! (under any circumstances)!!!!

(thank you sm for taking the time to read all this, i appreciate it more than you know 🥹 if you have any questions, feel free to send an ask/dm!! i hope i made everything clear & concise!!!)

[silverofthunder]

☆ (the beauty of) your world ☆

Papa Emeritus IV x GN Reader

summary: With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

content: 2.8k words, mystery (kind of), drama, fantasy, romance, fluff, SFW (i think?)

♡♡ part 1 ♡♡ part 2 ♡♡ part 3 ♡♡

Fourth part already, wow! Now I have finally started to plan this story so it might help keeping this all together - hopefully, at least. This is my fave part so far, it was so easy to write this. Enjoy!

The time seemed to pass way too slowly as it usually did on Fridays. You had checked the clock too many times and picked your phone up several times to scroll social media so you could have something to do when there were no customers to be seen. However, there wasn’t much to see in social media apps – only a few posts about weekend plans or cute photos of pets and then only random recommended, boring stuff that you just ignored.

You leaned against the counter with sigh and locked the phone, putting it aside and let then your gaze to take in the shop. It didn’t take long before a sound of buzzing got your attention and you picked your phone back up, seeing the notification of a new message arrived hovering on the screen. Your heart made a happy jump in your chest as you saw Copia to be the sender and quickly you unlocked the phone, opening the message.

Meet me by the abandoned church at 10 pm. - C

Smile rose to your lips instantly, excitement hopping up several levels within you. Your curiosity was aroused, too, so you had to reply and ask what that was about. It didn’t take long before Copia replied with ”you’ll see it, then” and a winking emoji. You let out a light chuckle, mind already starting to ponder all the options of what would await for you. The abandoned church itself was a cool sight to see and you had done your exploration there a few times but surely there was going to be something more.

”Whoever got you smiling like that must be a special one.” Your co-worker’s, Olivia’s, voice broke you out of your thoughts and you quickly unlocked your phone, turning your head to see Olivia looking at you with amusement.

”Yeah, he is,” you admitted and Olivia seemed to study you closely.

”It’s fairly new thing, isn’t it?”

”Yes,” you answered briefly as you really didn’t want to share much about your personal life. Olivia was nice and all but you wouldn’t exactly call her your friend.

”If he is a good one, please, tell me where did you find him? I’ve gotten so sick and tired of the assholes who just disappear after one meeting or who don’t know how to treat a woman respectfully,” Olivia said and you could almost sense her frustration.

She had talked about her… acquaintances several times and it seemed that she had been really unlucky with guys but you really couldn’t indentify with her situation. You had never looked for anyone, you had enjoyed your single life until Copia had just appeared in your life.

”Maybe you should just stop looking for someone,” you suggested, shrugging and then grinning. ”Worked for me, at least.”

Olivia didn’t look impressed, her one brow rising up.

”So I should just wait and see if I happen to run into someone in one day and then he magically falls in love with me?”

You chuckled, nodding. ”Yes. It honestly can happen.”

”I doubt it,” Olivia stated, though now there was a small smile tucking at the corners of her mouth. ”How did you meet your guy, by the way?”

You grinned, shaking your head.

”Trust me, you don’t want to know that.”

Olivia looked like she wanted to ask more but you shook your head again and she got the message. You weren’t going to tell her more. Not now, at least.

You were a bit late as you had taken too much time figuring out what to wear for the evening. Eventually you had settled for a button up shirt and some loose-fitting trousers with a long, warm coat, scarf and your favorite mittens. Copia was already waiting for you, leaning against the handrails in front of the church, a guitar case on the stairs by his feet.

”Sorry, I’m a bit late,” you apologized, smiling at him as you climbed a few stairs up.

”Don’t worry, I have all the time in the world,” he said, pushing himself off the handrails and taking a hold of your hand and leaning in to kiss your cheek.

”What’s that for?” you had to ask, pointing the guitar case. ”I didn’t knew you play a guitar.”

”I didn’t play for a long time but I felt it would be nice to do that for a special occasion.”

”And this is that special occasion?”

”Yes,” Copia said, smile wide, and picked up the case, still holding your other hand. ”Let’s go.”

You let Copia lead you away from the stairs, taking then turn to right and head behind the church. It was kind of hard to see when there were no working lights around on your path but you trusted that Copia, or vampires in general, had a good night vision. You tried your best at not to trip on any branches of bushes or anything else that grew or were on the ground as you walked forward and realized that maybe your choice of trousers and coat wasn’t the best.

Copia took you all the way to the back of the church and then continued forward where there seemed to be some smaller building. You walked past that, and then you could see another, a bigger building rising before you. Copia stopped by the metallic staircase and motioned you to go first.

”Is this safe?” you asked, eyeing the stairs suspiciously.

”Yes,” Copia said softly, gently patting your back and urging you forward.

You started climbing, the metal under your feet giving a small noises with every step. It was kind of unnerving but knowing that Copia was there with you, made you feel safer. With Copia’s instructions you climbed until you reached the roof and when you turned to look at towards the church, the sight that greeted you was so pretty. You could see the city spread out before you in all its night glory, the lights shining in different shades near and far, the moon casting its light above you.

”Wow,” you said in awe. ”I had no idea that you can see the city from here.”

”Well, now you know,” Copia said, stepping beside you and putting the guitar case down. ”This is one of my favorite places, I have spent so many nights here.”

”I can see why.”

You took a glance at Copia, seeing him looking at you with a soft, happy expression.

”What?” you asked, now properly turning to Copia.

”I thought that if I ever found someone… special I would bring them here,” Copia spoke softly, a dreamy smile on his lips. ”This is a part of my world – the quiet, oftentimes lonely nights. But seeing all this made me feel less lonely, no matter how odd it sounds.”

Something tugged at your heartstrings and you instinctively moved closer to Copia and wrapped your arms around him to comfort him. He relaxed into the embrace and for a while you just stood there, in silence.

”So this is a date, then?” you eventually broke the silence, pulling slightly back so that you could look at Copia.

”Sí, obviously.”

You smiled, moving your hand and giving him a light, playful shove to the upper arm.

”Such a romantic,” you teased, making Copia laugh, a proper, deep laugh this time. You loved the sound of it, your smile only growing wider. It always felt good when you made him laugh.

”Always have been,” he said, maybe half-jokingly, then leaning in and placing a kiss on your forehead. ”Now, sit down and get ready for some guitar tunes.”

You didn’t have to be told twice so you sat down, eager to hear Copia playing. While you waited Copia to take his time for getting ready, you let your gaze admire the night lights, and hoped that you had taken your notebook and pen with you. It wasn’t typical for you to leave home without them but this time you had thought that you would rather enjoy the moment as it was, without any distraction.

”Here,” Copia soon said, your gaze falling to the worn-out notebook he was handing to you. ”There’s some pieces of lyrics I’ve written.”

Surprised you took the notebook, examining the cover. There seemed to be some symbol on it, like it was embedded on it but due to darkness and wear and tear you couldn’t make out exactly what it was. Just as you hesitantly opened the notebook, Copia played the first chords, and you removed your other mitten and took your phone out of your pocket, putting the flashlight on and pointing it towards the page. Words were written in black ink, handwriting looking pretty and for a moment you just admired it.

Copia was now playing properly, the soft, slow melody filling your ears and you started to read the words. The longer you read and the more you listened Copia’s playing, it felt like the words on the pages and the melody matched well sometimes. Whether it was intentional or just a coincidence, it was beautiful nonetheless. Then you closed your eyes, for a moment just focusing on the sound of the guitar, letting the music paint a picture in your head. Sadness, longing, hope.

It didn’t take a long before you were caught off guard by a low, sweet voice. You opened your eyes, turning to look at Copia completely in awe. You had had no idea that he could also sing but it certainly was a nice surprise. With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

When Copia eventually stopped singing and played the last chords, you put your phone and Copia’s notebook down and plunged then forward to smash you lips against his. Copia let out a surprised noise, then melting into the kiss, his other hand cupping your cheek. You balanced yourself by leaning against Copia’s shoulders with your hands as your mouths explored one another slowly. There were so many things you hoped you could say but didn’t have words for so you had to try to convey them all through the kiss.

Way too soon air became needed for you so reluctantly you pulled away, searching for Copia’s gaze, your heart beating faster inside your chest.

”That was amazing,” you breathed out, knowing it was quite an understatement but right now you had no better words to offer. Copia grinned.

”I’m glad you liked it.”

”Liked it? I loved it!” you stated emphatically. ”You really have a beautiful voice and the lyrics… Wow, I’m impressed.”

Now Copia was basically beaming and you couldn’t help but lean to place a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. It made him chuckle and you felt the sound of it in your heart, the warmth spreading all over you.

”You definitely need to play and sing more,” you said smiling. ”Have you ever played for the audience?”

Copia nodded. ”Si, but it’s been decades since the last time. For some reason I lost a bit of the spark to do that even tough it was fun. But I think that tonight I might have gotten a part of that spark back.”

The way Copia’s eyes shined even in the darkness of the night, made you feel so happy.

”Are you implying that I inspired you to pick up the guitar and start singing again?”

Copia flashed you a crooked smile, raising his other brow.

”Well, you’re an artist yourself, so you probably understand how the inspiration works.”

You nodded, lifting your hand up to caress Copia’s cheek.

”Oh, I know that very well.”

Copia leaned against your touch, smiling sweetly, and you were so glad that he chose this night to spread out his heart and show more of himself. This was a perfect date, if you were honest. While you would have been completely fine with the basic movie or dinner date, this seemed more… you and Copia if that made sense. You weren’t even sure how dinner date would even work with a vampire.

”What’s going on in that sweet head of yours?” Copia interrupted your train of thoughts and you shook your head.

”It’s silly…” you started, lowering your gaze. ”I was just thinking how perfect this date has been. And I was wondering how it would have worked if we had had a dinner date instead.”

Copia moved his hand under you chin, gently making you to look at him.

You hummed, running your fingers along Copia’s cheeks, stopping right upon his upper lip. Copia’s lips parted slightly and you could see the fangs coming out, a wind-like movement passing you before settling into a warm vibration around you.

”That’s not silly,” he spoke softly. ”I’m happy that this has been a great date for you and I have also enjoyed this so much. And what comes for the dinner date… Well, I can eat human food but it doesn’t do much, you know. It would have been a bit weird for me but I would have managed it, of course. But it didn’t feel right for us so I wanted to do this.”

”With you I feel more like a human,” Copia said quietly, caressing your chin with his thumb. ”But I also hate these vampire aspects less.”

Smiling, you leaned closer to Copia’s face, watching closely how his other eye changed its color to red, how his nose twitched and you felt that odd satisfaction deep down as you knew that your scent was causing that. Naturally you had to close the gap between you, capture Copia’s lips in a kiss again, your mouths easily finding a perfect, slow rhythm. The night was cool and his lips felt cold against yours but you felt so warm within. It wasn’t a full, blazing fire but something more gentle, lingering – like a fluffy blanket wrapped around you. You hoped you never would have to let go of that feeling.

With a fluttering heart you pulled then back, smile matching to Copia’s as your gazes met. There was so much to see in those beautiful mismatched eyes, whole books of stories, remnants of the long life lived and you were already so lost in the vastness of it, the world you were now the highlight of.

The next thing seemed to happen in a blink of an eye and you found yourself to be pinned down against the cold surface of the roof, guitar now resting on the side and Copia hovering above you, his gaze taking in the sight of you. Gently he took a hold of you hand, pulling the mitten away and bringing your wrist close to his lips, then placing a light kiss on it, making you shudder.

”Could you feed off from me?” you asked, feeling how Copia tensed for a moment.

”Now?” he asked, confused, and you nodded, surprising yourself a bit by that.

”Yes, if you want to.”

Copia stared at you as if he was looking for any signs that could tell you weren’t actually serious. Then he inhaled deeply your scent, your wrist still close to his lips and you could see how tempting your offer had been. Then he shook his head, placing another kiss to your wrist.

”As much I would like to do that, now’s not the right moment,” he said, letting go of your hand, leaning closer and cupping you face. ”I’m not ready for that yet.”

You felt slight disappointment tying its knot within you but this wasn’t all about you or what you wanted. You didn’t want to drive Copia away by being too eager or persistent.

”It’s okay,” you said, offering Copia a reassuring smile. ”I can wait.”

A half-smile passed Copia’s lips as he run his fingers along the side of your face.

”It would hurt no matter how careful I would be. Until the venom kicks in, at least.”

”It can’t be that bad, right?” you sighed, and Copia made a face at that.

”Well, it doesn’t hurt as much as turning into a vampire but it still hurts.”

You pondered his words for a while, trying to imagine different kind of pain levels but of course you couldn’t grasp the reality as you had no idea how it would be. The idea of him biting you, feeding off from you, was still intriguing and you weren’t going to take back your offer.

”Okay, enough of this serious talk…” you said, changing the subject. ”Could we leave now? It’s getting a bit cold.”

Copia was instantly on his feet, extending his hand to you, his usual warm smile returning to his lips.

”Sure, I’ll walk you home.”

taglist: @nijiru

[traegorn]

Going from Script to Page

(originally posted to my personal blog)

So the big difference between Peregrine Lake and my earlier comics is, obviously, that I'm not the one drawing it. When I was doing my earlier comics, I never wrote down what I was planning, I just had it in my head and would translate it directly to the page. At most I'd write one sentence lines about strips so I could plot out pacing. I did a few thumbnails early on to figure out page layouts, but more often than not the pages didn't exist in any form until I wrote them. That obviously isn't a way we can work for this comic. I can't sit there over Ethan's ( @wistfolie ) shoulder while they draw, since that would be weird and we don't live in the same city. So I do what comic writers have been doing for quite some time. I write scripts. That's where every page for Peregrine Lake starts. Then, if Ethan needs any clarification on a description or has an alternate suggestion for a setting or scene, we talk about it. But again, we start by my writing a script. So I thought it might be fun to take a look at a recent installment and compare the final art to the initial script I wrote. Our example is the October 22nd page titled "Greg." It is, unsurprisingly, the first page where we see the final of our four main characters. I love this page, but let's see the initial script:

Panel 1 Greg emerges from the curtained doorway. Tall panel. If this were television or film, we'd smear some Vaseline on the lens for the best gooey soft focus shot we could get. God damn, we want everyone seeing this to want a piece of Greg. Like take a second slice home in a take out box and eat it while watching Netflix. Let's make this far more detailed than any other panel. Let's get people to demand we print this man on body pillows. Panel 2 Close up of Bev's face. She wants to just lay Greg down and cover him in butter. Bev: (tiny ass words, whispering to self) Yeah... not talking good. Panel 3 Greg leans on the counter towards Lynn, Bev is... "reacting" quietly, but no one's paying her any attention Greg: Hey Lynn, Bob hasn't gotten me those antique iron nails yet. I said I'd call when they come in. Lynn: Thanks, but not what I'm here for. I may have an... off the books job for you Greg: How off the books Panel 4 Close up of Lynn. Lynn is very serious. Lynn: Off the books off the books. Greg, this is my new friend Bev. Panel 5 Back to a shot of the three of them, Greg turns to Bev smiling Greg: Hi! Nice to meet you. Bev: (tiny words) Hello tall man

Yep. That is... that is pretty close to what we got. We moved some of the dialogue around to fit better with the art (moving some of Greg's stuff to panel one from panel three), but overall we stick pretty true to it. Ethan read my ridiculous descriptions and understood the assignment. And yeah, I think it's safe to assume at least some of our audience wants a piece of Greg now.

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Major Update

The request will be opening soon because I'm down to like the most obscure requests that I'm actually struggling to find photos for. So in preparation of this I have to get a lot of announcements out of the way so this post might make a lot of people angry. Might make some of you happy But I need to get this out of the way before I open up the request again.

Let's start with the things that I know are going to piss people off as of right now. No. Webcomics no. Webtoons. Yes, I do know several webtoons/webcomics have been turned into anime. Those will be allowed but that's because they're anime now. Also no mechs. However, this is just for now. Remember I've only been doing this blog for maybe 3 months. So let me get more into the groove of things before we add on all of those things. So maybe when I've been doing this for 6 months to a year we can start allowing that Web comics, webtoons and mechs but I'm already struggling with keeping up with requests and keeping enough stuff in the queue as is. So I don't want to complicate things even further and make things as easy as I can on myself. Now there is a reason for this because I may be changing jobs soon and I don't want to have to put the blog on temporary hiatus during that transition.

Now on to the next thing and this is probably going to make a lot of people happy but people please do not make me regret this decision. But, after hearing the many lamentations from mostly the Naruto fandom, much personal debate and seeing how a similar blog handles things. I have decided to lower the minimum age for the polls to 16. Now that means minors can and probably will be matched up against each other and against 18+ characters. Please don't come at me about that choice, these characters are fictional. You can't hurt them, and a blog like this isn't going to normalize preying on minors. YES it's wrong in real life, but anime teenagers are not normal teenagers. I literally just finished an anime about a assassin trying to get back to his wife. He was 16 and had a wife I swore he was at least 20 sometimes anime ages don't make sense. Please don't start anything or I will start blocking. But for those of you who don't want to participate in those polls, I will make a special tag so you can block all polls that have confirmed 16 and 17-year-old characters So you can block the tag so you don't have to see it and participate You will be able to find it when I update the rules post in the next day or two when I have everything finalized. Now this is subject to change if people do not behave. So do not start attacking me because I allow this or I will bump that age back up to 18. Do not make me regret this

Now when it comes to requests you have 10 characters and can request up to Four-way matchups. I don't care how you break that down so you can do two four-way polls and a two-way poll or request five two-way polls don't care. Figure it out. I'm pretty sure everyone can do math but the max is 10 characters However, you want to break it down with two-way, three-way and four-way polls.

I'm also setting a limit on how many times you can request a day. Please only do it twice. That's up to 20 characters. So everyone gets a chance to request polls

Remember Six-Way polls are not something you can request directly. They are something I make as a special thing, when the queue leans too much into one character or fandom. However, you can suggest a theme. I have done fire and ice powers. You all seem to like the goth girl and the anime men in suits. You get the idea. You can always put some theme ideas at the bottom of your request. So I can add them to my list of themes that I have saved when I need to make a six-way poll

I think that is all the major announcements So now with these updates everyone can start thinking of the new matchup request because they will be opening up soon and that request box fills up fast

[yandere-sins]

Poll Feedback Replies!

Results beneath the cut! Thanks to everyone responding, you are all so kind to leave such nice replies and I am glad you are enjoying the polls as much as I do!! ♥ I am very grateful to everyone reaching out and working on this together with me, thank you everyone and of course—if you have any more thoughts you are welcome to share them!

(I put similar suggestions together! And there might be a poll if you read through it all ;) I know you guys love them :P)

Thank you so much!! I am glad you are enjoying my writing and the weekly polls ♥

The more interactions with the yandere is a very good suggestion and I put it on my little reminder note to include more interactions in future polls! :D

Thank you for your response! More and faster replies are noted!

Although a good critic point, I do have to defend myself a little on it. I know I've not been the most active with replies, sometimes taking a week or two to catch up to them, but I do reply to every. single. comment. that I get. The problem as to why it takes so long is honestly just mental/physical exhaustion (as you know there's been a lot going on in my life and having a fulltime customer service job is taxing as well), so I usually wait until the polls are over and then go through all replies. I sincerely try and hope to be able to get back to at least replying to new comments every day, but I hope you guys can understand that interactions can be tricky and I'd hate not to have the mental capacities to really think about what people reasoned and just reply the same words over and over instead ^^'

Edit; you are still right and I'll catch up to them. I have been neglectful on them for a while.

However, as a sidenote, I don't go into stuff explicitely when I reblog the polls because think about it this way: You only see the poll when I reblog it and not when I post it for the first time. So you read the blurb, think of what you would do, and suddenly see my reply. Now you might change your thoughts and go for something else just because I made a good/bad point with my reply. I do sometimes give hints as to where the poll is at currently, but if I take a side that could inevitably influence people to not choose what they want ^^' So the half-time and last day announcements are staying vague on purpose to give everyone a chance to make a decision without being actively influenced unless they decide to check the comments.

I am very glad you guys are enjoying them so much!! Thank you for reaching out and giving me feedback!

What I will do for more clarity: I already put a note at the beginning of the blurb if the polls are multiple parts, but I think will do it like "Part 1 of 2 (or like 1/2 and 2/2)" so it will be obvious if it's finished or not. That is IF they are consecutive, week after week. However, if it's planned as a standalone, I might just continue to not mention any parts so you guys know it's just this one for now, and if I ever pick it up again, I'll just leave a note saying "Continuation of this post" before the blurb and link to the previous one. I hope that helps and lifts some of the confusion!

As for the writing a "conclusion" I am somewhat split... I always wanted to give the chance for everyone to use their own imagination and problem solving skills to think of the solution they lean towards. It's like a creative exercise that invokes moral values and mindful thoughts. And of course it's fun to see how and why others agree/disagree.

It would really take the magic away of the polls being genuinly without judgement (there being no right or wrong answer) but I do understand the curiosity about what happens next from a storyteller point of view. I do have a bit more background information that could be shared but is purposefully not mentioned because neither you, the protagonist nor you, the reader have that information available and need to make a decision based on the information you have (e.g. as the writer I knew what is in the last package the yandere wanted to send you). I need to know that information to make the story more convincing, you don't need it so you can make a real, genuine decision with the same amount of information that your yandere gives you.

There might be some disillusion if I take away the freedom from you guys to think about what comes next, and you might end up hating the conclusions that I came up with, especially if it interfers with your imagination and I'd hate to disappoint you all :( -> And just to add on, there are a lot of small things that could entirely change a decision for better or for worse. Like for the hiding poll, if the reader was small or tall that could influence the situation's outcome as you guys have proven with your replies! Thus not every outcome that I portrait might actually be an accurate or realistic one, rather one I thought of?

I could offer doing like a "monthly" review (or like every 4 to 5 polls or so) where I go through my ideas of what each choice does, but even though I have a writing blog I just don't think people would much care for me yapping, trying to go through every possibility I can think of... ^^' (I don't have that kind of confidence lol) But! I am not against it. I'll let you guys decide if this is really is something you want despite the danger of disillusion I spoke about before. To me, a lot more speaks against writing conclusions to the polls so I haven't done it until yet, but if there's a genuine interest in it, I will try my best to include it between requests!

@watch-out-for-them

Thank you for your reply! I am glad you are having a lot of fun with the polls! :D I'm afraid the not showing up is out of my hand, but if it helps: I post the polls on Sunday, the first reminder on Wednesday, and the last one on Saturday. I don't like promoting myself too much but there's still the possibility of turning on notifications if that is an option for you!! Still thank you for interacting and leaving feedback ♥

[ @lorkai / @furudolove / @kiwi-donut ]

Thank you for all the insights, praise, and love for the polls, I'm so glad you are here to enjoy them and participate!! I am especially glad to see a lot of you coming back for every poll and it's always fun to interact and read your thoughts!! �� I'm glad I get to have a chance to inspire you and reflect on your decisions, that is truly and honor that I am grateful to have!! ♥

[gmariam321]

I'm sure I've posted this before, since I started it years ago. But I think I can actually finish it now, so here's the beginning. Nothing deep, just a long one shot that puts Ianto and Gwen in quarantine. Because why not? Interesting dynamic, especially set after 'Meat.'

I'll be sure to share when I post it to Ao3! Enjoy!

Sunflowers and Seclusion

"You do know you're not supposed to touch the pretty things either, right?" asked Owen, his white hazmat suit failing to obscure both the tone of his voice and the roll of his eyes. He taped a plaster over Gwen's inner arm and pocketed three vials of blood. "SOP with unidentified flora or fauna in the field, Cooper. Didn't you read the manual?"

"There's a manual for flora and fauna?" Gwen asked. She sounded more upset than annoyed at Owen's rebuke.

"And Merriweather too," Ianto murmured, leaning against the glass outside the large suite where Gwen would be spending her time in quarantine now.

"Ha bloody ha," she said; now she sounded slightly annoyed, though also a bit scared. "You could have stopped me, you know."

"I believe I did say something to the effect of 'Let me get the hazmat gloves and containment box first,'" Ianto replied easily.

"They looked like sunflowers," Gwen replied sullenly. "I like sunflowers."

"A comically large bouquet of bright red sunflowers in the middle of the park didn't raise the 'Don't touch this without gloves' flag?" Ianto asked. Gwen sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I thought they were nice. We never get anything nice from the Rift."

"Maybe you were supposed to think they were nice and pick them up," Tosh piped up from behind Ianto, where she was studying one of their field scanners. "I'm getting some strange preliminary readings from them."

"You're being careful, right Tosh?" Owen turned and asked.

“They’re still upstairs in the box,” she said. “I’ve got a scan running remotely.”

“Good,” Owen replied. "I don't want us all coming down with some strange intergalactic rash."

"Ooh, I had that once," Jack said, appearing behind Tosh. "Found some cute guys with tentacles to rub in some cream and was better in no time."

Gwen blanched, Tosh frowned, and Ianto rolled his eyes. If he had pound for every time Jack talked about tentacles, he could eat at the fanciest seafood restaurant in Cardiff. Owen snorted and turned back to Gwen.

"I've got what I need to start looking into whatever this is." He waved his gloved hand vaguely over Gwen's body. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, her arms and legs covered in bright red spots. They were perfectly circular with a pale center, and apparently quite itchy, as she laid down on the and started scratching her arms like mad the moment Owen stepped into the decontamination airlock.

"Maybe it's just hives?" she suggested.

"I don't have any allergies on file for you, though that doesn’t rule it out," Owen said, taking off his helmet in the corridor. "It could be anything— allergies, a fast acting virus, bacteria, even fungus. But I don't think those flowers are quite normal given that you found them after a Rift alert, so we're going to assume your rash isn't normal either."

"Do you have anything for the itching?" she asked. "It's bloody awful."

"The shot I gave you should start to help. I'll bring down some cream once I start some tests running. If it’s not an allergic reaction—and if it’s alien—it might be a while before I have some better answers."

Gwen sighed and laid down, still scratching. "Thanks, Owen. Make it the good stuff, yeah?"

"As long as you don’t go picking alien flowers again," he tossed over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Hey Tosh, what kind of readings? And can you help me with some of these tests while your scan runs?"

They walked upstairs together, talking quietly. Jack watched Gwen for a moment before turning toward Ianto. "And you're feeling all right?" he asked. "No spots, no itching?"

Ianto shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "At least, not yet. I didn't touch the bouquet, not being much of a flowers man myself, but I did help Gwen to the car."

"So we'll keep an eye on you as well," said Jack. "I doubt it's contagious, as it seems directly linked to the flowers, but you were close when it happened. Let us know if you notice anything."

"I figure I would have by now," Ianto replied. "Considering how quickly it hit Gwen."

"Maybe," said Jack. "But maybe indirect contact takes longer to create a reaction."

"Thank you for the optimistic outlook, sir," Ianto replied with the driest tone he could manage. "If you don't mind, I'm going to start looking through the records for other alien sunflowers that may have fallen through the Rift and infected past agents."

Jack motioned at the door. "After you," he said with a grin. He turned back to Gwen first. "Take it easy and get some rest. We'll figure this out."

She sat up, clearly miserable. "Can I talk to Rhys?" she asked. "We were supposed to work on the wedding tonight."

"I can call him if you like," Ianto said.

"I want to talk to him," Gwen said. "I'm already going stir-crazy in here!"

"You've been here for barely half an hour, Gwen," Jack pointed out. "If you're that freaked out about being in a room by yourself, maybe you need to spend more time alone."

Ianto tried not to roll his eyes. Of course Gwen was going stir-crazy, because, like Jack, she was the kind of person who thrived on the company of others. She liked action and adventure and functioned perfectly well with chaos and noise. Ianto, on the other hand, would love the chance for some peace and quiet in the Hub once in a while—even if it was in quarantine.

"How about I call him first,” Ianto said. “I can tell him what's going on, reassure him you're all right and we're doing everything we can, then bring your mobile. I'm not sure about the signal down here, but if you’re still awake, you can try. Sound all right?"

"Thanks, Ianto."

"You're welcome. Anything else? Some water? Owen says coffee might not be a good idea with the shot." "Shit," she said, falling back down on the bed. "No coffee? Tea, maybe? Isn't that supposed to be calming?"

"I'll see what we have," Ianto replied. "Give me ten minutes."

"Always ten minutes with you," Jack murmured, wagging his eyebrows. Ianto smirked at him. "And counting," he murmured. "Excuse me, sir, work to do."

He headed upstairs to call Rhys Williams and prepare some tea. Jack winked at Gwen and followed, while Gwen sighed, flung her hand over her face, and clearly tried not to cry.

* * *

It wasn't ten minutes later, after Ianto had got off the phone with Rhys and was waiting for Gwen's tea to steep, that he noticed a strange feeling on his hands. Glancing down, he saw several familiar looking red spots dotting both the tops and bottoms of his hand. Mouthing a curse, he took off his suitcoat, rolled up his sleeves, and saw even more covering his arms. And as soon as he saw them, it was as if his mind gave his body permission to start itching like mad.

Suddenly he wanted to rip off the rest of his suit; he understood now why Gwen had insisted on shorts and a t-shirt, as the heavy wool fabric was hot and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he didn't have anything besides long pants at the Hub at the moment; maybe he could borrow something from Jack. But first he had to let Owen know.

Walking toward the medical bay, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and found himself clinging to the railing as he glanced down at Tosh and Owen running their tests. Taking a deep breath to stop the world from spinning, he cleared his throat.

"Looks like I'll be joining Gwen downstairs," he said, his voice coming out lower than he'd expected. He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I think I'll take one of those shots you gave her as well."

"Shit," said Owen. "Get down there fast, I'll grab my gear and meet you."

"Right." Ianto nodded and turned to leave. He scratched at his arms. "Tosh, can you ask Jack if he has any shorts I can borrow?" he asked. "There is no way I can stay in this suit."

"Of course," Tosh said, looking concerned. "We'll be down right away."

"Quarantine, teaboy," said Owen. "Now." He started gathering supplies while Ianto hurried back to the suite that Torchwood had long ago set up for exactly these situations. Used only for agents compromised in the field by unknown biological agents, it was a large, sealed off chamber with several beds, a table and chairs, and its own bathroom. It was rather like something from a medical thriller, but it did what it was supposed to do even if it looked cliche: kept the pathogens in and the rest of the Hub safe. Assuming Gwen and Ianto hadn't already spread it by making their way through the Hub.

Gwen sat up as Ianto let himself into the chamber without a hazmat suit. "Oh no," she said. "You didn't get it too?"

"Yep," said Ianto, taking off his shirt and tie. He left on his white undershirt and tried not to claw at the red blotches rapidly covering his arms. "So either it's spread through contact or through the air."

"God, if it's through the air, then the entire Hub might be infected!" Gwen exclaimed. "Or the park!"

"We've got procedures in place for this sort of thing," Ianto replied. "I imagine they'll lock down the Hub and go into quarantine mode now to filter out any particles in the air. And if we need to, then we quarantine the park, though we've never done anything that big since I've been here." They'd have to disinfect the SUV as well, and keep an eye out for any reports of the rash spreading beyond the park. It was the worst possible timing, that two of them were in seclusion when there was suddenly so much to do. Jack would almost certainly have to call UNIT if the park was involved, and he always hated that.

Ianto glanced around and claimed the bed opposite from Gwen, then let his elbows fall to his knees, wishing he could rip the itchy trousers off, but not wanting to sit around in his pants with Gwen. He was rather stunned at the ferocity of the rash and how suddenly it appeared. It was exactly as awful as Gwen had said in the SUV as he'd driven them back to the Hub less than an hour earlier: the sudden dizziness, the hot and itchy spots, and increasing fatigue. He only wondered why it had taken longer for him to break out. Perhaps he hadn't contracted it from the flowers directly, but from helping Gwen back to the Hub.

"I'm sorry I picked up the flowers, Ianto," Gwen said quietly. "You wouldn't be stuck in here if I hadn't."

"They were quite pretty," Ianto replied with a shrug. "But you really do need to read the manual."

"Maybe Tosh can find a copy and you can stand over my shoulder and quiz me," Gwen said with a laugh. She scratched at her forearms. "Because I will never, ever touch another plant, flower, or seed in the field again."

Ianto snorted and let his eyes slip closed as a wave of pain and discomfort gripped his legs, causing him to tense. He breathed deeply through his nose to try and resist the urge to scratch.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" she asked quietly. He nodded silently.

"I'm going to scratch myself raw soon," she said. "It's my arms that are bloody awful."

"Legs for me," Ianto replied, lying down to try and calm the unexpected anxiety. What was it that could cause such an intense and quick reaction? Why was it affecting them in different places? Was it alien? Was it fatal? Where were the others?

"You'll need to get those trousers off," she said. "We're all friends, after all." She tried to sound light-hearted, but Ianto could hear the effort.

"I asked Tosh if she could borrow some shorts from Jack," Ianto replied. "Hopefully they’ll appear with the shot Owen is getting ready."

Gwen was silent for a moment, then abruptly giggled. "Jack owns shorts? I don’t believe you. He only ever wears blue trousers!"

"Or black," Ianto pointed out. "Occasionally grey."

"And brown, I think I remember brown." She turned her head toward Ianto. "You'd look good in brown."

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "A brown suit? Seriously?"

"I saw one at Marks and Spencer the other week, it was gorgeous. Rhys doesn't need such a thing, but you could pull it off—tan shirt, burgundy tie…" She trailed off, her eyes slipping closed with a sigh.

Ianto watched her with concern. "You all right?" he asked.

"My arms hurt," she said quietly. "Probably why I'm babbling about suits, I'm trying not to think about it."

Ianto smiled as he stared at the ceiling, wondering where Tosh was with his shorts and Owen with his shot. "There are worse topics of conversation."

There was another pause of silence. "Can't really picture you in shorts either," she said. "Seeing you in jeans is shocking enough."

Ianto laughed quietly to himself. "Believe it or not, I used to be quite the jeans guy. I've got myself a studded belt and everything."

Gwen rolled over onto her side. "Now that is something I'd like to see, Ianto Jones decked out for clubbing! And what about Jack? Does he ever wear jeans? That’s even stranger than him wearing shorts."

Ianto smirked as he thought about the last time he and Jack had gone out. They'd gone to a local pub and played pool, and Jack had looked amazing dressed more casual. He almost said something, but was saved when Tosh, Owen, and Jack all came dashing into the corridor.

"Ianto!" Jack exclaimed. "You just told me you were fine!"

Ianto sighed and sat up. "And ten minutes later I broke out in spots, so clearly I misdiagnosed myself."

"Whatever it is, it's quick and virulent," Owen said. He stepped into the airlock and started pulling on his hazmat suit again. "I want a blood draw to compare with Gwen, and I've got a shot for you, plus lots of cream for you both." Jack waved a pair of shorts and socks and tossed them into the airlock. "Oh, and we get to see your legs. Wonderful."

"I have perfectly fine legs," Ianto protested. "At least when they’re not covered in spots."

"How do you feel besides the rash?" Owen asked as he stepped into the room. "Any other symptoms?"

"It's getting more painful," Gwen said. "And I'm dead tired. Feel like I could sleep for a week if only my brain would stop running in circles."

"That might be the shot," Owen said. He tossed her the cream and walked over to Ianto to start his examination. "How about you?" he asked. "Anything besides the rash?"

"A bit achy," Ianto replied. "Tired. Head's starting to hurt."

Owen stuck a thermometer in his mouth. "Low grade fever. So maybe not an allergic reaction. If it gets worse, I'll give you both something for the fever, but right now I'd rather let your body fight whatever this is on its own before throwing something else at it that could end up making it worse. Speaking of which, give me your arm so I can get some blood."

He did a quick draw, then had Ianto turn around so he could give him a shot in his upper thigh. Gwen giggled and Jack wolf-whistled when he unbuckled his pants enough for Owen to get it in the muscle. Owen grumbled under his breath. Ianto decided his legs itched bad enough that he didn't particularly care about dropping his trousers anymore and stepped out of them. He grabbed Jack's shorts, pulled them on and changed his socks, then collapsed on the bed, the small effort exhausting.

Owen bent over him and started poking at his legs. They were worse than Gwen's, and he flinched as Owen pressed on several large red welts, finally smacking the doctor's hands away as a furious burst of itching commenced.

"Stop it," he muttered. "Hurts enough without you poking it."

"It's blanching," Owen said. "Which is a good sign. Could still be an allergic reaction, which would be a damn odd coincidence if it were earth-based, but not so much if it's alien. So slather some cream on it while we go run some more tests. Call if you need anything."

Gwen was sitting up on the bed, her face pinched. "When is the medicine going to help?" she asked, her voice laced with pain and frustration. She hissed as she started rubbing the cream up and down her arms.

"Depends on what’s causing it,” Owen said with a shrug. "Not much else I can do until I know exactly what to throw at it. I'll be back to check on you in a while and bring a steroid in case it’s worse."

He left the suite and returned upstairs with Tosh. Ianto sat down and rubbed the cream onto his arms and even more on his legs, then laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to scratch and rub them. It was worse than any childhood illness he could remember; he half wondered if adults were in fact weaker than children, as he seemed to recall his niece and nephew going through their fair share of rashes with little complaint. Then again, maybe these things hit adults harder, or they worried about it more while kids kept playing their video games with little thought for things like aliens and death by spots.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked quietly from the other side of the glass. Ianto sat up, surprised he was still there. Jack was standing close to Ianto's bed, watching him with a look of concern. He tried not to read anything into it.

"Pretty rotten, actually," Ianto said. "Never itched so bad in my life."

"I'm sorry," Jack started, but Ianto stopped him before he could continue.

"What for? It's not like it's your fault."

"I sent you out there," Jack pointed out.

"And did you drop the poisonous sunflowers in the middle of the park?" Ianto asked. When Jack shook his head, Ianto sighed. "Whoever went out there would be in here now—even you, I suspect."

"Yeah, but I could always—"

Again Ianto stopped him. "Don't even say it."

"Sorry."

Something occurred to Ianto, and he glanced over at Gwen, wishing he had a bit of privacy, then stood and walked around his bed over to the glass, turning so his back was to her. Jack moved closer, mirroring him as if he wanted to reach out.

"The…you know…" He tried to give Jack a look, knew it wouldn't work though. "The thing tonight? That we were going to? I won't be able to go. I'm sorry."

Jack frowned as his hand came up to the glass. "I didn't even think about that," he said. "Of course you can't, and don't apologize. We can go another time."

"You could still go," Ianto suggested, though he sort of hated it. "Maybe take Tosh? She'd enjoy it. Not Owen, though, since I'd prefer to have my doctor on call." He offered a smile, but Jack shook his head.

"Of course I'm not going without you. We're all staying here until we know what we're dealing with."

"Lockdown?" Ianto asked.

"Teamwork," Jack replied. His face softened and he smiled. "We'll go another time. I promise."

Ianto sighed. "All right. Sorry I mucked it up."

"You didn't muck anything up," Jack said. "Besides, you're wearing my clothes, and that's a good show too."

Ianto rolled his eyes, then made a motion back toward his bed. "I'm going to go lie down again. Standing is actually quite a chore."

The look of concern reappeared instantly. "Do I need to call Owen?"

"No, let him work on figuring this out," Ianto replied, slowly letting himself back down to the bed. The fatigue was a weight on his shoulders, heavy and overwhelming on top of increasing soreness and stiffness. "The quicker he runs his tests, the faster he can cure it."

"All right. I'm going to poke around the archives and see if I can find anything similar." Jack grinned when Ianto sat up, eyes wide. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"If you make a mess," Ianto said, laying back down. "I'll know it was you."

"And if I find something that helps, you won't care. I'll be back in a while to see how you're doing." He turned to leave, then stepped back. "How're you hanging in there, Gwen? Still awake?"

Gwen opened one eye and offered a crooked grin. "Can't very well sleep through all that, can I?" Ianto groaned, because he knew from that tone of voice—even sick—that as soon as Jack left, she was going to start asking questions. Lots of questions.

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Jack laughed. "Get some rest and call us if you need anything."

Ianto nodded, Gwen waved, and Jack left. Ianto closed his eyes and flung an arm over his face, hoping he gave off the clear impression of trying to sleep.

He heard Gwen turn toward him and imagined the curious look on her face.

"So," she started. "You had plans for tonight."

"So did you," Ianto pointed out without moving his arm. If his voice was muddled, he didn't really care.

"You had plans for tonight with Jack," she said. "Personal plans?" He was silent. "Date-like plans, perhaps?"

"Gwen…"

"Come on, Ianto," she said. "We're stuck here together so we're going to have to talk about something."

"How about the wedding?" he suggested. "How're the plans coming?" She snorted, which finally prompted him to open his eyes. She was laying with her head on her left elbow, her right hand idly scratching at her forearm, red lines streaking her pale skin.

"I know perfectly well you lot are sick of hearing about it," she said. "And that's not what I want to talk about. Do you have a date with Jack tonight?"

"No," Ianto grumbled under his breath. It was true, since he was stuck in quarantine.

"Did you?" she pressed, catching on quicker than usual.

"We…we had plans to meet someone," he admitted. "Piano player. Friend of Jack's."

He saw the look on Gwen's face and huffed in frustration; everyone always assumed that any 'friend' of Jack's was a 'friend' in the sexual sense of the word. But contrary to the image he worked hard to project, Jack did not sleep with everyone he crossed paths with. Yes, he had quite an impressive back catalog—that much he'd admitted was true. He'd also confessed that as the decades wore on, his usual inclinations toward such things started to slow down. Not that he was celibate; far from it. Yet he didn't sleep with nearly as many partners as he liked people to think he did. He said it was fun to keep up the reputation; Ianto suspected the playboy image was as much of a shield as his own suited archivist persona.

"Jack does have friends, Gwen," he said. "Some of whom are even aliens."

"What?" she exclaimed. "What do you mean, alien?"

He turned back toward the ceiling, satisfied that he'd distracted her from her original line of questioning. "Winstead Wallis is a jazz pianist. Second generation Mintoo. His family was stranded here a long time ago. Jack helped them settle, kept in touch with the family, and never slept with any of them. Now Winstead's retiring and playing some of his last shows. So we thought we'd go out and support him."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "On a date."

"Gwen…"

"Ianto," she parroted back.

"Leave it."

Silence.

"Why?"

Ianto turned toward her in surprise. The simple question sounded completely honest, with none of her usual guile, manipulation, or frustrating ignorance.

"Because it's none of your business?" he suggested as dryly as he could so she would get the point.

"If you're going out to meet aliens, that is certainly Torchwood business," Gwen replied. Sometimes she was smarter than she came across; Ianto tried not to roll his eyes.

"Then I’m sorry we didn’t invite you all. We'll plan a team bonding night to go hear the six-fingered alien pianist retire."

"Six fingers?" Gwen asked in surprise. Ianto simply smirked in reply.

"That's not the point,” she huffed. “You're good at deflecting, you know."

"And you don't know when to let something go."

"All I asked was if you were going on a date with Jack."

"And I told you where we were going."

"But not if it was a date."

Ianto sighed and sat up, his head fuzzy. He glanced around the room, trying to find something to distract him from scratching his legs, but there was nothing, so he did, letting his frustration find an outlet. "Why do you want to know? Why do you need to know? Just because there are only five of us working here doesn't mean the expectation of privacy is null and void."

"When two out of five coworkers are dating, the probability of privacy is pretty low!" Gwen said. She sat up as well, hugging her arms to her chest, her face a pinched mask of pain. "Look, Ianto, I'm not trying to pry—"

"Could have fooled me," Ianto muttered.

"But … well, you know how Jack is. He doesn’t seem…well, like the dating type, does he?"

"And you know this how?" Ianto asked, his voice both flat yet pointed. She flushed and waved her hands about.

"I don't, I'm…from the way he talks, the way he acts…" She trailed off with a sigh. "He's clearly a player, Ianto. He's not one to settle down."

Ianto grinned, showing his teeth in that same way Jack did when he was playing the shark. "Who says I want him to settle down? Maybe I don't want to settle down."

Her eyes widened, and he stood up to loosen his tense legs. A quick turn around the room convinced him to return to his bed and lay down again. The silence was uncomfortable, but the effort of walking upright and doing something was almost too much.

"I don't want to see you get hurt," Gwen said quietly. Ianto bit his lip, then released it, and with it the words he'd wanted to say for almost a fortnight came tumbling out.

"Gwen, if that was true, then all those things you said and did when Rhys was here helping with the space whale wouldn't have happened." He waited for the inevitable response of hurt and anger, protestations of defense...

[drawsdenfiles]

Isn’t Trump in the Epstein files approx. 70 times? Also didn’t he pay off that woman with money from his own business? How can you trust a man like that to run a country?

This is a really, really long one you guys. I'm trying to seriously address all these points anon's making, because I think they're really good ones... but that being said, this post is really freaking long.

Seriously, before reading it, you should just scroll to see how far it goes. Maybe not the longest post ever on tumblr, for sure, but wow. I surprised myself. Maybe get a snack before you start reading.

Warning: I will be discussing the Epstein case as well as the hush money trials, so if there are aspects about those two things that disturb you, I'd suggest maybe skipping this one until you feel you're ready.

Okay, here we go.

Isn't Trump in the Epstein files approx. 70 times?

So, okay, I unfortunately don't know too much about the Epstein stuff, only because I started really paying attention to things back in 2023(after October), and the big, big Epstein stuff came out sometime in... 2019? Maybe 2018? How disgusting is all of that, by the way, how freaking sick.

For the first time, I started really looking into this Epstein thing because you brought it up(thank you for that), and I found an interesting article on The Washington Post that was published... Wow, July 11th! From the time of me answering this question, that's literally just 4 days ago.

I also took a minute to look up whether the Washington Post tends to lean left or right(you should do this with every news source you look at), and it appears they tend to lean left. Also, it appears their fact checkers tend to lean left as well, so that's something to keep in mind. I didn't know fact checkers were allowed to lean on either side, but apparently that's a thing. Ew.

So, that being said, the fact that the Washington Post tends to lean left should make this article all the more fascinating to you. They seem to lean one way and yet, here's some passages straight out of the article that actually defend against the alleged connections between Trump and Epstein:

... But Donald Trump’s name never appears anywhere in the transcripts. That hasn’t stopped Democrats — perhaps seeking to distract from President Biden’s travails — from suggesting on social media that there’s a disturbing connection between the former president and a sex predator. Some social media posts have claimed that Trump was mentioned in a draft indictment released last week, but that’s false. Only 2006 grand jury testimony was released."

... Trump has acknowledged that he and Epstein were in the same Palm Beach social circle decades ago. But their relations appeared to have ended by the time Epstein’s legal troubles began.

...the relationship soured in 2004 after the two men battled over acquiring a choice Palm Beach property, an oceanfront mansion called Maison de l’Amitie. Trump won the auction, and phone records — the call logs Lieu referenced — indicate that the two men did not communicate after that. Two weeks after the auction, Palm Beach police received a tip that young women were seen coming and going from Epstein’s home — which led to the grand jury investigation.

It just goes on and on and I think this article addresses a lot of the questions/concerns you might have about the alleged link between Trump and Epstein. Here's the article. I think it's a pretty solid read... Again, I'm skeptical of everything I read, but I liked that this source apparently leans left, and yet says Trump isn't the guy people on tumblr/twitter/instagram seem to say he is.

Also, didn't he pay off the woman with money from his own business?

Okay, so you're bringing up the hush money trials. That's totally fair, because yes, Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts. Since I already brought up the Washington Post, here's an article from them that talks about all of this stuff- the evidence provided and the other people who were involved. I am... still so new to researching this stuff, but that is a big case and here's how I feel about it:

I just... I don't really care. Is that bad? Sure, fine, but it's the truth. This isn't me blindly following Trump, this is me saying that I find it suspicious that they waited until the election year to prosecute him, and that there are some things he's involved with that I just don't find to be that significant.

It's kind of like how they keep saying "Jan. 6th is as bad as 9/11!" when it really wasn't. Look at the videos, the loss of life, and the international reactions of each event, and tell me without the anon feature on, that Jan. 6th was as bad as 9/11. Anyway, sorry, I got distracted. I just find it icky that they waited until the big election year to prosecute him.

Like okay, he was found guilty, but there's a reason why millions and millions of people still want to vote for him. I mean, doesn't it feel like election interference, or is it really just me? And how many other politicians have icky stuff like this that- if they ever decided to do what Trump's doing- could be used against them to keep them from campaigning?

First there was the Russian collusion thing, then we had this huge federal prosecution thing, and then the debate, and now the assassination attempt... Ugh, say what you want about July 13th, but there's a lot of questions I would like to have answered about that. I mean, it had literally just happened and reaction not only on tumblr, but on the media/news sources we're supposed to trust, was crazy. Just crazy. Not to mention that some things during the assassination attempt... they just don't make sense. Let me know if you want me to talk more about that, but understand that it's all still really, really fresh. I'm just someone asking questions, that's all.

Ugh, sorry. I got distracted again. Anyway, the 34 felonies just aren't that important to me when placed next to all of the crazy stuff we're seeing not only in America, but around the world. If that makes me a bad person, well... meh. I'm just impressed that nothing seems to stop this guy from continuing his campaign, not even a freaking bullet through his freaking ear. Jesus.

How can you trust a man like that to run a country?

I didn't always trust him. Actually, I never really even cared about him, but I trusted the people in my life who supported him and who were upset by the nonsense. Whether it's the people who are close to me irl or the people I've found on youtube since starting down this path after October, I think they're making a lot of sense compared to the the people who... Ugh. God, I don't know if I should get into that right now. I don't want to point fingers unless I'm asked to, so I'll keep this about my feelings for Trump.

I think partly why I trust him to lead the country now, is because I started looking into all the mean stuff almost 100% of the media are saying about him. I started listening to the speeches they were referencing, like the one where Trump said to "Get over it." Has anyone actually listened to that speech? because I personally found it to be really genuine and really sad. I'm having the hardest time in the world trying to locate a link for you to watch that speech, but if you're able to find it- please tell me so that I can include it in this post.

It was a really sad speech. He basically said to the victims of... I'm so sorry, I can't quite remember, but these people are suffering and they lost loved ones in what I'm pretty sure was a shooting... and Trump gives this speech and he tells these victims something along the lines of, "This was a tragic event and you're going to be stuck in this place for a long time. The rest of us have to move on and get over it, so we're going to do that, but we'll still be with you here as we move forward."

It just... It broke my heart. Seriously, if you can find it, tell me. I'd love to link it. It's been so buried by the assassination attempt that I'm having a really hard time looking for it.

Man...

Your question reminds me of the time I took a "Race/Gender Representation in Media" class(I can talk more about that experience if you want, but maybe later) and the teacher spent a lot of time teaching us that not only are we all racist, but we also couldn't trust the media. Did anyone else take these classes and had to write papers on these things? It's been a few years, but I remember having to make a power point about the media.

This one lesson went something along the lines of, "Did you know that all major news media all around the world is owned by six companies???" Which is... uh. Kind of true, if you look into it... and if you were told that and you were disturbed by it, good! Now take a minute and ask yourself why almost 100% of the media seems to be pushing the same thing at every turn, and why it's almost always anti-Trump. Almost. The times when they're kind of nice to Trump are the times when I'm REALLY wondering what's going on behind the scenes, hahaha. Like, uhhhh... You compared him to Hitler a month ago and now you're being nice? Hahaha.

Oh, what's the latest thing they're pushing right now? Project 2025? I swear that's a total red herring and I'm not asking you to believe me, but I am asking you to think about why they're all suddenly talking about it. Why did it first seem to explode on reddit and now, why is it all over the news media and the social media, as well as why is it all these high-ranking government officials seem to be talking about during the insane senate hearings that are going on right now. Seriously, please. If you're going to hate me for supporting Trump, then I'm going to tell you to think about a couple of things here and there.

Oh, by the way, I also happened to take that class on the year Trump was first elected. WOW, what a thing to see. I swear, I really got the feeling that the teacher was encouraging her students to fear for their lives after that. It was a lot like what you're seeing people posting now- "Be careful! Now that Trump survived and is their martyr, the right is going to be meaner than ever!" Fear mongering. The term you're looking for is fear mongering.

It's all just so wild. I'm losing a lot of sleep over all this, but... honestly, I think it's worth it.

Jeez, see? I warned you it was going to be a big post. There's a lot to talk about and I want to talk about it in a way that people can understand. I want to give you these sources that I found and I also want to be as real as I can be. The "I don't care about the 34 felonies" thing can totally be used against me, but... I don't know, I'm over it.

I'd just like the opportunity to vote for a presidential candidate in a fair election this November. That's it. If I have to know literally everything about this guy in order to defend my vote for him to the people who are grieving about the fact that the bullet missed, fine. It is what it is.

If you made it this far, WOW!!!!!!!! Thank you for reading what I had to say about all this stuff! I hope I didn't make too many spelling mistakes, haha. I'm an artist, not a writer!

[scarletslippers]

Nace Countdown to Christmas - Day 18

(From this post of relationship milestone prompts)

On AO3

first major purchase together

“I have to take Florence into the shop. Can you follow me and give me a lift to work tomorrow?”

Nancy drops the case file she’s reading and looks up. “Again? What happened to her now?”

“Routine maintenance this time. I’m having Nick look at her.” He sighs and pushes his hair back. “I’m worried she might need to retire from long-distance road trips.”

Nancy feels the ache bloom in her own chest with memories of their trips in Florence. Ferrying her safely to New York to remove the wraith. That mini-vacation they took to Portland. Trips home from med school, with Christmas music blasting on the radio and Ace smirking at her singing. 

“Oh, Ace.”

“I know. We might need to think about buying a car. Still use our own cars for routine stuff, but to have one that’s in better shape for longer treks.”

Nancy quirks her lips at his implication. “Are you suggesting I also give up the Sunbeam? I made it up and down the coast catching sin eaters in that thing!”

Ace leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I love the Sunbeam, and I would never suggest you give it up. But I also wouldn’t complain about you driving a more nondescript vehicle when tracking criminals.”  He pulls back, catching her skeptical gaze. “Just think about it.”

————

Her hands are shaking, even as she grips the wheel tightly and forces deep breaths, trying to tamp down the panic. Ace will be here soon, she reminds herself, replaying his words over and over in her mind.

Stay put, he’d said when she called, her trembling voice forcing out only his name. I’m on my way. 

She shudders out another breath at the flash of headlights in her rear view. She’d know them anywhere.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he says when he opens the door, kneeling and tugging her into his arms. “It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.” 

She slides her arms around his waist and presses her face into his chest. He’s a blanket of comfort—warm and strong, his heartbeat beneath her ear and the smell of their detergent in her nose. 

“I was tailing that guy, and…I got run off the road,” she mumbles into his jacket, when her breath steadies a bit. 

“But you’re okay?”

Nancy nods. “I’m not hurt, just panicky.”

“Okay.” His hand rubs soft circles against her back, soothing her tension. “Did you get the plate number?”

She snorts.

“Right, stupid question. I’ll text it to Tamura later.”

“Thanks,” Nancy says as she pulls back from his embrace, managing a weak smile and tucking her hair behind her ears. 

Ace’s thumb catches a stray tear at the corner of her eye. “Are you good to drive home? Or did you want to swap?”

“I’m good. You’ll follow me?”

“Yeah.” He kisses her forehead and stands, making sure she’s settled. 

Once she’s buckled again he moves to close the door, but she stops him. “Ace? I think we should get that new car.”

[s-creations]

🛁🛁 platonic bathing in like a lake or small river with the M & L & W²

🛁 Bathing together/platonic bathing (specifiy)

((Woof, this one is long and rather difficult to write, enjoy!))

Link to Post

Mario and Luigi couldn’t help but let out a groan as they dropped on their bags. Both followed soon after. Sitting on the ground as they leaned against the other in exhaustion. 

“You two really aren’t built for hiking? With all the stuff you’ve done so far? This is a worrisome development.” Waluigi casually pointed out as he placed down his own bag. Further back, Wario was already doing his best to set up the large tents, grumbling as he did so. 

“We’re not really one for nature.” Luigi argued back.

“City boys, right here, all our lives, never left the city limits. This is different for us.” Mario added on. 

“...Wow. Mushroom Kingdom heroes, right here. Can’t handle a little bit of nature.” 

The conversation paused when Wario let out a cry of triumph. Who stood back from his handing work on getting the two large tents set up. With that out of the way, he turned to join the conversation properly. “Think your sensitive skin is going to bruise sleeping on the ground?”

“Very funny,” Mario huffed, “This is just a different kind of terrain for us. Give us some slack.”

“Absolutely not! As your mentor, it’s our duty to make sure you’re ready for any situation.”

“Okay, ‘mentor’, what lesson are we being taught here?”

“How to rough it, in a very moderate way. If we need to leave the Mushroom Kingdom for something major, our best bet might need to be a sneak approach. So, how do we survive the wilderness with very little with us? We’re taking it easy on you two this round.” 

The twins groaned again, but didn’t argue back. Merely standing once more with their bags still resting on the ground. Mario stated, “Alright, what’s the first thing we need to get done.”

“Well, we have the tents set up-”

“I have the tents set up.” Wario interrupted his brother with his arms crossed. 

“Fine, whatever, they’re set up is the bottom line. Now we get the rest prepared and properly stored away.” 

Bottom line, it took a few hours before the camp was properly set up. Each twin paired with another brother so enough information was covered. Food safely stored, a place for a small campfire, tents secured so each set of brothers had their area set up for sleep. 

“And…that’s it,” Waluigi looked around, “We have it all set up. Nicely done you two.” 

“That wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.” Luigi admitted. 

“Well, with that being done, we should probably-”

“Heads up!”

That was the only warning given before Waluigi had grabbed onto the twin’s arms and pulled them out of the way. Rushing past the three was Wario, now wearing only his underwear, let out a loud ‘Woop!’ as he jumped into the river. Creating a large enough splash that Waluigi had to pull them all back further with a look of disgust. 

“Do you mind!” Waluigi huffed as his brother’s head popped out of the water’s surface. 

“No, I don’t,” Wario smirked back, “What are you worked up about? You’re gonna be getting here soon enough.”

“That doesn’t mean I want the rest of my clothing wet!” 

“What is happening right now?” Mario cautiously asked.

“Bathtime,” Waluigi replied simply, “We’re disgusting and this is the closest thing we’re going to get to clean water. Come on, clothes off.”

“Um…we’re good.”

“No you’re not. Trust me, nothing is more aggravating than trying to sleep covered in a good layer of dirt. You’re not going to be in your birthday suit, just your underwear, you’re fine.” Waluigi casually commented as he started doing as he suggested. 

Mario and Luigi gave each other a worried glance before starting to do the same.

“How long are you lot going to take, I’m almost done!” Wario called out.

“Not without soap you’re not!” Waluigi argued back, “I’m not going to be stuck in that tent with you if you’re going to smell like sweat.” 

“I have water washing over me.”

“That is not enough.” 

Being the first of the twins to approach the river’s edge, Luigi let out a yelp as he pulled his foot back out of the moving water. “It’s freezing!”

“Well, yeah, this isn’t indoor plumbing. Nothing’s here to heat it up,” Waluigi stuck his foot in, “And it’s not that bad. Come on, in you go.”

The twins stuck close together as they inched into the water. Realizing it wasn’t as cold as they originally thought it was. But still keeping their arms crossed to hold into the stable point of warmth they created. Only for that plan to end when Mario suddenly felt hands in his hair. Waving his own arms in a desperate attempt to push the other away.

“What are you doing!?” Mario turned, glaring at Wario. Who was holding a sheepish smile with shampoo covering his hands. 

“What? Just trying to help.”

“I can wash my own hair, thank you.”

“With how much you were whining about being tired? No way. Now hold still!”

Luigi only watched as Wario quickly wrapped an arm around the other twin and furiously scrubbed his fingers into Mario’s hand. All the while, the fire user was kicking his legs in an attempt to get Wario to stop or to break away from it. Just as Wario started, Mario was able to slip out. Quickly diving under the water to make his escape. Only for Wario to follow close behind. 

He was pulled away from the ‘fight’ feeling a tap on his shoulder. Finding Waluigi there with shampoo pools in his other hand. “Keep your eyes close.”

“Okay.” Luigi smiled softly and faced forward again. Remaining still as fingers gently ran through his hair.

Both respectfully ignoring the ‘fight’ between their brothers.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #7: Morsel

(A/n: Using the make up day to both take a break from the role quest rewrites, and add to the lil FoM AU idea cos after I posted the first one, I actually had more ideas of how to set up the town and assign roles to the various scions/major scion related characters. :'D Just needed the right prompt to use, but I was still prioritising the role quest stuff in the first place.

This one also gives an idea of where the role assignment is for the Scions in the town, though again I'm not exactly doing a 1-to-1 exact matching assignment, some roles might even be merged or altered since I'm mainly hitting the vibe of the game for this AU. But to focus on this piece, here's Thancred and Ryne running the town inn!

Word count: 1145)

The inn was rather quaint in its simplicity - a wide open central hall with stairs on either side leading to an open upper level. The main desk was tucked in next to the stairs, curving around and stretching back into a bar, and behind it, a wide archway leading into the kitchen.

A young hyuran girl with orange hair wrapped in a pink ribbon stood behind the desk, rustling through some paperwork. She looked up upon hearing the door open and seeing Minfilia walk through, she smiled.

“Hello Minfilia, are you here for the financials?” Minfilia didn’t get to answer as the girl spied Fhara peeking around her shoulder, offering a little wave. The girl turned and yelled into the kitchen, “Thancred, Minfilia’s here with someone!”

“She’s not a guest, Ryne, if that’s what you’re thinking, “Minfilia said, stepping back to let the girl see Fhara properly, “She’s going to be taking up the farmland to help out the town.”

“Ah, so you didn’t go for my offer in the end,” a response echoed out of the kitchen, as a man emerged and leaned on the arch frame.

“You weren’t even that sure of your own offer,” Minfilia countered, albeit with a bemused smile, already suggesting a comfortable connection between the two. As he shrugged and joined Ryne properly at the desk, Minfilia turned to Fhara and gestured to the two in turn as she began introduction.

“This is Thancred and Ryne, and as you can tell, they run the inn. Even before the earthquake we had a few folk that would pass through, but mainly the town itself gathers here in the evenings. It’s a large part of what connects the community.”

“You speak so highly of a few nights where more threats of violence have occurred over card games than I’ve seen in scummier port towns, and some cheap soup anyone could make at home,” Thancred scoffed, making Fhara’s ears flatten, though Minfilia and Ryne both gave him contrary looks.

“Thancred’s exaggerating. People get a bit passionate over the games, that’s all,” Ryne reassured, “Oh but we do have some soup ready now if you’d like.”

“Oh no, I’m fine, I wouldn’t want to take too much time while Minfilia’s still taking me on a tour,” Fhara refuted, not wanting to take up their time, only for a faint grumble to sound from her stomach, making her flush and lash her tail.

“Well it sounds like your stomach says otherwise,” Minfilia giggled, “But we can stop for a moment, it's still early in the day. And as I said, this is a central pillar of the town’s community, it's possible the others might show up while we’re here and we can introduce you then.”

She sat at a stool further up the desk, patting for Fhara to join her.

“Make it two bowls, Ryne, I’ve been on my feet all morning with my usual work as well as helping Fhara settle in.”

Ryne slipped back into the kitchen and Fhara slipped sheepishly into the bar stool next to Minfilia, watching Thancred take over the paperwork Ryne left behind.

“So you were thinking of taking up the farmland?” Fhara asked.

“Thought about it. It’d be good to directly grow the resources for our food here and then hand off any excess to Tataru next door. In the end, I decided against it though,” he said, shrugging.

“It’d be enough work to clear it out in the first place before any actual ploughing or farming could begin, and I’d have to move out there just to be able to stay on top of it all. I can’t do that to Ryne, leaving her here to handle matters,” he continued, voice dipping so that the girl wouldn’t overhear him from the other room, “Even with foot traffic down at the moment, she’d still be handling the cooking and the cleaning and the paperwork for the whole building. She’s quite capable, especially as she gets older, but I wouldn’t leave her alone to do all this at this stage.”

Fhara could only offer a brief smile of understanding before Ryne reemerged, two bowls balanced on a tray.

Once served, and with both ladies digging in earnestly - Fhara really hadn’t realised how hungry she was after her long trek to get to the valley in the first place, oh lord! - the two behind the bar area, sorting and taking inventory and Thancred offering up two glasses of water.

“Consider it on the house for now, since it's your first day,” he said, then with a cheeky smile curling onto his lips, he added, “Once you’ve got your fields all set up and you start growing, if you can give us the good quality produce, maybe we’ll consider a discount in future as well.”

This earned him an eye roll from Minfilia, while Ryne gave him a light smack on the arm and a stern huff of his name to chide him.

“We won’t do that, we’ll accept whatever you can give us,” Ryne insisted. Softening, she then asked, “Where are you planning on going after this? Since you’ll be showing Miss Fhara around.” Fhara’s ear couldn’t help but flick to hear the polite title, but she was still deep into her soup to respond.

“Tataru’s shop next door would make the most sense first,” Minfilia hummed, placing her spoon in the almost finished bowl while she spoke, “Then perhaps up to Lyse and Yda’s forge and studio. Y’shtola and Urianger are always meeting together to talk and do research on matters, so we’ll probably see  them together at the clinic. And if we don’t run into Loiusoix while he’s out on a walk, we can finish the day at his manor. Then back here to see anyone else we would have to go out of the way to meet.”

“Sounds like a plan, though if you are going to see Lyse later-,” Thancred reached under the counter and handed over a belt, wrapped up in itself for easy storage, “-she forgot this here the other night. Took it off for all the food she ate, then lost track of it in all the fuss over the arm wrestling nonsense she and Estinien ended up in.” Ryne and Minfilia giggled to recall the scene as the latter took the piece in hand.

“Will do. And since we seem to be done here,” she said, looking over both empty bowls between them, then at Fhara, “we can head off and let you two prepare for tonight. Shall we?”

Fhara nodded, tail curling as she slurped down the final dreg in her bowl, then handed directly to a waiting Ryne.

“Thank you for the food. It was nice to meet you both,” she purred, backing out after Minfilia and almost running into the open door if not for Minfilia’s quick warning.

[kate-bishops-waifu]

"Ow."

A/N: Uhhhhh I kind of hate it but these cluster headaches have been so bad that I needed to give this to myself. Do not be surprised if I delete it later, as I am already terrified to post it. Very very mild blink and you'll miss it suggestive moment.

Word count: 1336

Library Date Gone wrong.

Kate whined a little pathetically and swore under her breath. tossing her handheld console on the couch, she dramatically pouted at the girl sitting next to her who was pointedly ignoring her complaints. She leaned over resting her head on one of the pillows and squinted her eyes hoping to garner some kind of attention. This proved unsuccessful.

“It happened again.”

Ophelia didn't make any discernible response, keeping her nose in her book. Kate went on.

“That same kid- every time. I start a match and he's there, messing up my score. You know he was one assist better than me? One! I think I cussed him out the other night. He might be a hacker. Do you think he has some kind of vendetta? Should I kick his ass? I think he's like 12 I told you I talked to him on chat once-”

Ophelia nodded vaguely.

“Babe, how are you still awake right now?”

That earned her a gentle shushing.

“I literally can't stay awake, I read like, one chapter and I'm zonked. How are you still so concentrated?”

“Mmph.” Ophelia mildly grumbled, then shut her book. “Too loud.”

“But- this is the fourth time. You know I got his user-”

“You know I love when you talk about your games but darling we had such a nice quiet little moment there. Can you tell me about Fortnite later?”

Kate huffed. “You kinda sound like that librarian. And I know you know I'm not playing fortnite.”

“She wasn't uptight, you were just being a bit loud.”

Kate smiled smugly. “Well I got you to pay attention to me.”

This was answered with a patient sigh.

Kate plopped her face on Ophelia's shoulder and whined once more. This did earn her a scratch on the head. She turned her head and looked up, running an index finger over ophelia's cheek. “You have dents in your cheeks. They're all sunken in like a corpse.”

“. . . Is that a compliment?”

“Yes.” Kate sat up, scooting even closer and gently ran a hand down Ophelia's side, sliding further until she reached hip and pressed her lips against the shell of her ear. “There's noone around,” hip gave way to thigh, where she bunched a bit of skirt into a fist.

Ophelia couldn't help her face feeling warm, shying away ever so slightly. “M-maybe right now's not the best idea- I'm sorry I just,”

Kate shook her head, a smile on her lips, “you’re good.”

“It's my favorite library is all an-”

“Babygirl you're fine. I'm just gonna stretch my legs ‘kay?”

“Zoomies?” Ophelia asked, hugging her book to her stomach.

“Yup.” Kate beamed and kissed her girl's forehead, hopping off the couch in the same movement and disappearing.

OphelIa settled a little more into the couch, keeping her feet up on the table and reached over for the coat Kate had left. She unfurled it and draped it over her legs like a blanket, pulling the collar up to sniff before picking her book back up again. Absently, she began to play with the fidget necklace around her neck, a gift from Kate.

It was forty five minutes before Kate returned, two single slice pizza boxes in one hand and sipping on a sugary coffee from the other.

For a moment she thought Ophelia had abandoned their stuff on the couch, but then she noticed her coat shift and she giggled to herself.

“Are you hiding there?” She set the food on the table and went to pull the coat off Ophelia’s head but was met with resistance. “You okay?” She pulled again, lifting it all the way off. The girl underneath was curled up as tightly as she could manage in the corner of the couch, the heel of her hand pressed into her right eye. “Woah, okay, not okay. What’s going on?”

Ophelia gave what amounted to a pretty pathetic “Oww.” and shifted to sit up.

“Headache?” Kate pulled Ophelia’s hand away from her face.

She nodded. Her right eye was watering, and slightly red from pressing it too hard.

“Did you bring your meds?”

She shook her head.

“Okay here, drink this. It’s coffee.” Kate handed her drink over, and with eyes closed Ophelia turned the straw towards herself and took a long sip. She pulled away for a moment, pursing her lips. “I know it’s a little sweet,” Kate smiled, her voice low. Ophelia took another sip anyway, and Kate replaced the coat over her head. “Let’s get you home yeah?” Kate gathered their things, slinging both of their bags over her shoulder and helping the beleaguered girl up from the couch.

Ophelia held on to Kate, her arms wrapped so she could hold the cold cup against her temple. She had to press herself against Kate so she didn’t feel like she would fall. It was an awkward trip through the library to Kate’s old purple VW Beetle where Ophelia curled up as tightly as she could in the passenger seat.

The ride home was short, and more painful than she wanted to admit, Ophelia’s head was getting worse by the moment, and every sharp turn or hard rev of the engine made it worse. Kate was such an enthusiastic driver, for want of a better term. She usually found some excuse to drive faster than the speed limit and she had become rather adept at weaving through traffic. Thankfully they made it to their apartment before long and Kate helped her out of the car, “I’ll carry you in?”

Ophelia gave what Kate assumed was a nod, and reached up. Kate maneuvered her arms around her neck and lifted her out of the car, Ophelia’s legs wrapping around her middle. She buried her face in Kate’s neck.

“Atta girl. Hey, I can totally see your petticoats. Cover up slut.” Kate whispered, earning a half hearted kick.

It was a bit tricky getting inside, but Kate managed to get the door unlocked, drop their bags by the front door, and get Ophelia upstairs and into bed without tripping on Lucky who was sniffing excitedly at her legs.

“There you go, let’s get you something more comfortable to wear?”

“Meds?” Ophelia whined from between the pillows.

“Right. Yeah. Where are they?”

She was met only with a shuttered cry, and a sharp point to the bedside table.

Kate did a clumsy half jump half crawl over the bed and tore open the drawer where she sorted through a couple varieties of pills before coming upon the right one. “Here, here, drink some water and take this. It’s gonna taste really bad so I’ll grab you something sour. That helps right?”

Ophelia only writhed in pain, one arm shooting up to pull Kate down with her.

“Okay-okay shh it’s okay.” Kate adjusted them so she was sitting against the pillow with Ophelia’s head tucked into the softest part of her shoulder, tears staining her shirt pretty quickly. “We should really get you into something more comfortable,” A shake of the head. “No, no right. Umm just- oh- hey. Look who's come to check on you.”

There was a dip in the mattress as Lucky hopped up sniffing at Ophelia’s dark curls, and settling down, his muzzle pressed against her back.

“See? It can’t be so bad, Pizza Dog’s here. He’ll, um, heal you with his gourmet pizza and nasty kisses?”

It must have been an hour or more before Ophelia fell asleep, her body exhausted from the pain. Kate couldn’t tell, but she breathed a final sigh of relief that there was no more of that terrifying writhing. She’d been kidnapped, jumped off skyscrapers, even shot at, but at the moment that felt totally mundane. A problem she could shoot at or hit. She didn’t know how to deal with this, as rare as they were. She hoped her heart wasn’t beating hard enough to wake the sleeping girl. She took a long deep breath, gave Lucky a pat on the head and closed her eyes.