#I'm sure I have more samples but these were already drafted

[shannonsketches]

Anyway here's more of Vegeta's character arc continuing to be one of the best there ever was

[maxtermind]

Imagine that the reader, Charles, Lando and Carlos randomly get the idea to go to Costco and try some viral food they saw on TikTok so when they go to buy the product, Charles grabs a separate cart and when the guys ask him why if they are only going to buy one thing, he says that the reader always ends up buying too many things and then has nowhere to put them so Charles is used to carrying an extra cart because he knows his girlfriend is a compulsive shopper.

retail therapy

★ : feat :: charles leclerc x reader ★ : genre :: fluff; crack ★ : word count :: 1.4k ★ : a/n :: i've had this in my drafts for so long. i'm so sorry love, i unfortunately suck and forget to schedule the post. thanks for the fun request <33

You found yourself in the expansive parking lot of a large store on an otherwise ordinary Saturday afternoon, accompanied by Charles, Lando, and Carlos.

The mission? To grab the viral food product that TikTok had unanimously declared a must-try: Shin Ramyun. It was supposed to be a simple in-and-out operation, but Charles had other plans.

”Why'd you grab an extra cart?” Lando asked, one eyebrow raised in confusion as Charles nonchalantly pushed the second cart alongside his own.

”We're only buying one thing,” Carlos chimed in, clearly perplexed.

Charles sighed dramatically, casting a knowing glance at you, who were busily scrolling through your phone to find the exact aisle where the magical ramen resided.

”You guys don't understand,” Charles began, shaking his head as if explaining a basic concept to toddlers before whispering so you wouldn’t catch it. ”Y/N always ends up buying too many things. It's like she has a radar for… unnecessary purchases.”

”Hey!” you protested, looking up from your phone. ”They're not unnecessary. They're uh- useful in unexpected ways!”

”Like the 50-pound bag of gummy bears?” Charles retorted, smirking when he saw your eyes widen. ”Or the industrial-sized jar of pickles you bought last time?”

”They were on sale,” you defended, crossing your arms. ”And you love pickles.”

”I love them in moderation, not in bulk.”

”You take that back, mister!”

Lando and Carlos exchanged amused glances, clearly enjoying the back-and-forth.

”So, what's the plan?” Lando asked, eager to get the show on the road.

”Simple,” you said, a mischievous glint in your eye. ”We go in, get the Shin Ramyun, and maybe... just maybe... see if there are any good deals.”

Charles rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. ”And this,” he said, gesturing to the extra cart, ”is why we can't have nice, quick shopping trips.”

You entered the store, greeted by the overwhelming scent of bulk goods and free samples. You navigated through the aisles, Charles dutifully pushing one carts, while Lando and Carlos alternatively pushed the other.

”Okay, the Shin Ramyun should be in aisle 12,” you announced, leading the way. ”But we should definitely check out the electronics section first. You never know when there's a sale.”

”We're here for food,” Charles reminded you, though his tone was more resigned than stern.

”And electronics,” you added cheerfully. ”Come on, it's right this way.”

Lando nudged Carlos, whispering, ”Ten bucks says our bill will be over two grand.”

”Mate, talk around five and you're on,” Carlos replied with a grin.

Sure enough, as you wandered through the electronics section, your eyes lit up at the sight of a massive flat-screen TV on sale.

”Look at this deal!” you exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement. ”We could totally use a new TV.”

The boys behind you just shook their heads and to appease them, you slowly started, ”I’m just saying that the bonus I got last week has got to—”

”You guys have a TV,” Lando snickered.

”Yes, but not this TV,” you said, gesturing dramatically. ”Think about movie nights! Think about the sports games! Think about—”

”Think about where we're going to put it,” Charles interrupted, though he was already losing the battle. The allure of a good deal was strong, even for him. You could see it in his eyes that he was already almost convinced.

”Fine,” you huffed anyway, moving along. ”But we're coming back for it if we have room.”

Lando and Carlos exchanged looks, trying to stifle their laughter.

”You guys are a mess,” Carlos said, shaking his head. ”This is better than Netflix.”

”Just wait until we hit the snack aisle,” Lando added, trying to be discreet but you caught it. ”That's when things get really interesting.” He just gave you a nervous cheeky smile in return as you glared.

As you made your way to aisle 12, you inevitably got distracted by various items along the way. A giant jar of Nutella? In the cart. A set of high-end kitchen knives? In the cart. A year's supply of toilet paper? In the cart.

Charles dutifully followed, pushing the now significantly heavier cart with an air of resigned amusement. ”See?” he said to Lando and Carlos. ”This is why I grabbed an extra cart.”

Finally, you reached the aisle with the viral TikTok food product. There it was, Shin Ramyun, in all its spicy glory, stacked high and tempting.

”Here it is!” you said triumphantly, grabbing several boxes and adding them to the cart. ”Mission accomplished.”

”Can we leave now?” Charles asked, though he already knew the answer.

”Not yet,” you replied, a mischievous twinkle in your eye. ”We need to check out the outdoor section. Summer's coming, and we could use some new patio furniture.”

Charles groaned, but there was no real annoyance in it. He knew this was just how your trips to the store went. Besides, there was something endearing about your enthusiasm for finding deals and stocking up on... well, everything.

As you wandered through the outdoor section, Lando and Carlos tried out various patio chairs and loungers, providing a running commentary that kept everyone entertained. You found a particularly nice set that you insisted would look perfect in your backyard.

”Think of all the barbecues we could have,” you said, looking at Charles with pleading eyes.

Charles sighed, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. ”Fine, but this is the last thing. I mean it.”

”Promise,” you said, kissing him lightly while your friends fake gagged in the background.

You made your way to the checkout, carts overflowing with all manner of items. The staff recognized the boys and immediately started asking for photos and signatures as you guys waited for your turn.

That’s when Charles moved around and squeezed,”Gotta run to the toilet, I’ll be back in two?” He leaned down to whisper.

You shrugged and nodded your head, instead discussing Lando's new apartment with him. Failing to notice how Carlos was nowhere in sight either.

The cashier raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as she rang up the seemingly endless stream of products.

She was on the last few products when you heard Lando sigh under his breath and as you turned around, you saw Charles and Carlos carrying the box of the TV that you were eyeing.

Your own eyes widened as you jumped up and down and screamed,”No way, I love you!” Charles just snorted as skipped towards him.

He set the TV down and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a warm hug. ”I couldn't resist,” he admitted, his voice soft. ”Your excitement is contagious.”

You beamed up at him, feeling the love and warmth in his embrace. ”You always know how to make me feel loved.”

Charles kissed your forehead, his eyes twinkling. ”Cmon, babe. It’s like breathing for me now”

Lando and Carlos approached, carrying the last few bags and boxes. ”You two are adorable,” Lando teased, nudging Carlos. ”A bit nauseating, but adorable.”

As you left the store, pushing your heavily-laden carts towards the car, Lando and Carlos couldn't help but laugh.

”I owe you ten bucks,” Lando said, nudging Carlos.

Charles wrapping an arm around you. ”What do you think we can do with our old TV?” You smirked before looking over at Lando and Carlos who were loading the car.

”You know the way Lando bought a new apartmen—” Your boyfriend threw his head back and laughed before you could even finish.

”God, baby, I love you! Compulsive shopping and all.”

You smiled up at him, your eyes sparkling. ”And I love that you always bring an extra cart. Just in case.”

”So, what's the first thing we do with all this stuff?” Carlos asked, squeezing the last box into the trunk.

”Easy,” you said with a grin. ”We head home and have a fun game session with some Shin Ramyun and a movie on our new TV.”

Lando snickered. ”Sounds like the perfect end to a perfect shopping spree.”

”And if anyone asks,” Charles added with a wink, ”this was all part of the therapy. Sometimes, a little retail indulgence is just what the doctor ordered.”

”Retail therapy,” you said, snuggling into Charles as you drove off. ”It's cheaper than real therapy. Sometimes.”

Charles laughed, kissing the top of your head. ”And way more fun.”

(grid masterlist \ masterlist \ drop a request ) ©maxtermind // do not copy, rewrite or translate any of my work on any platforms.

[shakingparadigm]

since it wouldnt make narrative sense for sua and ivan to be revived, is it possible their bodies are being stored somewhere?? i know hyun woos buried in anakt but since they were actual participants do you think theres like an alien stage cemetery. or like theyre being stored in tubes like that one luka drawing. something something circle of life sample dna to get the best idol

I'm honestly not sure what they do with the loser's bodies after their deaths (I know in the early drafts the loser was fed to aliens, but I'm not sure if that still applies now).

Maybe it depends on what the guardians want to do with them? Nigeh is already extremely neglectful and quickly forgot about Sua after her death, so I don't think they'd care enough to have her body stored. Maybe Unsha would consider preserving Ivan, but human pets are more like products to him, and if Ivan isn't actively bringing him success then I don't think Unsha would bother keeping him either.

Overall, human pets are mostly treated as commodities. Aliens can adopt several at a time and often own more than one pet, so a loss of one wouldn't bother them too much (as seen by the behaviors of the other guardians, who move on very quickly and immediately start cultivating their next talent). Especially since aliens are disconnected from the feelings of humans and view them as lower life forms. It would be interesting to harvest a deceased pet's DNA, but they'd most likely have to dispose of them after a while. Plus, it seems like most human pets are born through normal biological means rather than artificially made (with Luka being a special exception).

Once again, I'm not sure on the actual answer. I personally still hold the idea of their bodies being preserved somewhere (just for the extra pain factor), even if it might not logically be the case in canon. This is very interesting to think about, though!

[abysscronica]

Feel free to answer 1, 2 or all three \o/

11. Post something from a current wip or concept 12. The funniest comment someone has left on a fic of yours? 13. Inspiration for Captive? I know it's been complete for a while now, but I'm just curious what kicked it off. (Captive played an inspirational role in my first Eustass Kid fic, so I'm curious <3 )

Thank you Quin and sorry for the late reply! Since the answer to no.11 is quite long, I'll reply to the others in another post (here).

From this ask game. (I have some other asks for it, will get to them later)

11. Post something from a current wip or concept

This is from a One Piece fantasy AU that I'm probably never going to work on fully, so it's a good chance to share it. It's just a draft and it's a OP x reader story, even if it doesn't look like it.

Koby held his breath in the humid darkness of the inn. Or what was left of it, anyway.

The stench of death impregnated the air, stale, heavy. It was hard to make out the details of the dining hall in the moonless night, although the young commander was partially grateful for that. He could see the outlines of the corpses, maimed, men and women alike, but not their horrified faces. He could see limbs, feel the mush of their organs under his boots. The wooden beams of the floor were probably covered in dry blood.

_______________________________________________________

He could hear the buzzing of the mosquitos, always preceding them at the crime scene.

His blond companion, beside him, pressed a handkerchief to his mouth, desperately trying not to puke.

“How many?”

“Eleven, that we know of,” Helmeppo grunted, his voice sounding more like a whimper.

No wonder, Koby thought, with his heightened half-elf senses, the blonde was surely worse off than him.

“Bring the torches down, get the men to collect samples and sketch out the crime scene.”

“What for? The murderer is already in our custody,” Helmeppo said from behind the cloth.

 Koby frowned at the floor. A delicate hand lay at his feet, a feminine one, severed below the wrist by jagged teeth.

“It’s the third case in two moons. We need to reopen the investigation,”

“Fine. Ugh, I need to get out of here,”

 Helmeppo rushed up the few stairs that led outside. The faint light of the stars cast clearer shadows in the inn for a moment, allowing Koby a better view of the massacre.

He looked, trying to imprint to his memory as many details as possible. Not that he could ever forget. Then he turned and followed the comrade outside.

It was a relief when the fresh air of the night greeted him, even there in the Rats Heap, where the air always carried a lingering smell of human and animal ejections.

“Commander Koby.”

 Out of the three soldiers composing his inner squad, only Hibari saluted him as he stepped in the small clearing among the buildings. Koby nodded to her and looked at Grus.

The tall man was leaning against the tumbleweed wagon, arms crossed on his broad chest, serious eyes glued to him.

“Is the prisoner secured?”

“Yeah.” Grus banged the wagon with his fist “Chained up like a damn sausage. Not that it matters, given his state,”

“His conditions are pretty bad,” Hibari confirmed “He’s burning up, even for a half-titan. We tried talking to him, but he doesn’t seem present at all,”

“We should just kill him,” Helmeppo shrugged.

 Koby shook his head.

“What? No. We need to find out what happened.”

“With all due respect, Koby, this looks just like another case of half-titans going mad,” Grus sighed “They do that, you know.”

“It’s been too many cases in such a short time. Also, they usually don’t just fall sick and die immediately after, and yet this is the only one we managed to capture alive so far,”

“So? Maybe it’s something with the stars, the seasons, the year. These guys have demon blood in their veins, who knows what’s up with them,” Grus said.

“Even so, I’m worried,” Hibari admitted “These cases will strain the situation with the half-titans in the city… they don’t do well when they feel threatened. We risk an escalation.”

“And so close to the First Blood Tournament! I hate this job,” Helmeppo groaned.

“We need to find out what’s going on,” Koby concluded “Helmeppo, call the other squads and have them analyze the scene, like I asked you. Grus, bring the prisoner to the headquarter and give him to the healers.”

 Grus blinked.

“The headquarter? I thought we were sending him to Impel Down. They have a lot of titans working there. If anyone knows how to make him talk, it’s them.”

“We’ll keep it as last resource.”

 The soldier shrugged, then mounted on the wagon and spurred the horses down the street.

Koby took a deep breath and glanced back at the inn.

“We need to keep the capital safe.”

Three days had passed since the massacre. No progress had been made in the half-titan case, and the rest of the population was growing listless. Two teenage half-titans had been killed in the Rat’s Heap, the poorest district of Sabaody. The militia presence was very scarce there, and daily disorders were the norm, but not at this rate. They were receiving frequent reports of aggressive half-titans from other districts too.

The only information they gathered on the murderer was his name, Gin, and that he was a hunter in the marshes at the Southeast rim of the capital. Like most titans, he was on a watchlist, but his past before arriving at Sabaody was a mystery.

“NEWWS! GET THE NEWWS OF TODAY!”

 Koby walked through the crowded streets of the Sunlight Market, staying large of the people swarming around the news boys.

“PRINCESS UTA’S EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY IS ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY, AND THE FIRST BLOOD TOURNAMENT WITH IT!”

 Like he needed someone to remind him that.

Humans and half-elves were throwing coins at the boys, papers were being handed over in all directions.

“THE CITY IS GOING TO WELCOME GUESTS FROM ALL OVER THE CONTINENT! ALABASTA! KANO! LITTLE GARDEN! TOTTOLAND! MAYBE EVEN WANO! AND WHAT ABOUT ONIGASHIMA?!”

 Some loud gasps rose from the crowd. Koby winched lightly.

“HOW MANY CHAMPIONS WILL THE OTHER RULERS SEND?? FIND THE UPDATED LIST IN THE LATEST ISSUE!”

 They knew how to sell their paper, Koby would give them that. Those boys were certainly trained by the Lord of Whispers, Morgans himself.

 The commander took a hard turn and put some distance between him and the busiest square of the market.

He had ditched the silver cape of the ground Militia for a casual outfit, a linen scarf wrapped around his chin not to be recognized. He walked for the best part of an hour to a small park by the river. There were very few people around, mostly homeless men hanging in the shadow of the trees. One of them, a blind one, was throwing crumbles at the ducks by the bank.

 Koby opted for a bench right behind him and sat.

“Has the mist dissipated yet?” he asked.

“The fog is all I see.”

 The homeless was wrapped in a ragged cloak, but his frame was still impressive. He didn’t turn nor greeted the visitor.

“I hope you know how great of a risk it is to meet you,” he said, offering some seeds to the closest duck.

“I know. I’m sorry, but I need to know if you have any information on the mad titans’ cases. We are grasping at straws here, and we are expecting the first delegations to arrive in less than a week.”

“I’m working to make sure we don’t get spies from Kaido or Big Mom in the city amid this new influx. Public security is your job.”

“I’m sorry, Sir Diez, but you are the only one that can get me real intel from the streets.”

“Don’t use my name.”

“Sorry. But it’s true. I need… to talk to someone. Someone that can help.”

 The other paused for a moment.

“I heard you apprehended the last titan alive.”

“Barely, yes. He’s in our custody now but he’s mostly unconscious, and when he does wake up he’s hardly more than a vegetable. They’re feeding him through nectar and blood injections, but I’m afraid he’ll die soon.”

“So what are you asking me? I know nothing of this titan madness. Unless you came to me because I’m a half-titan myself?”

“Absolutely not!” Koby yelped, pressing a hand to his mouth immediately after “S-Sorry, I mean, no. What I want is… I’m looking for someone that can get the information out of the prisoner before it’s too late.

…

“You want someone who practices witchcraft.”

 Koby hesitated.

“Yes.”

 Diez remained silent for a while. Of course they both knew that witchcraft was forbidden in the capital, but they also knew that the lower belly of society harbored many sorcerers.

“I could give you some names,” Diez said, rubbing his chin “But there’s no guarantee that you’ll get what you want. These people are criminals, they can be deceiving.”

“Well, at least it would be a start.”

“No.” Diez threw the rest of the feed in the water, and the ducks around him stormed in the river “It’s not a witch that you seek. What you need is a Mind Whisperer.”

 Koby’s eyes widened.

“Wait… we have someone like that in the capital? They’re so rare, I thought they could only be found at the Tree of Knowledge, in Ohara. I put in a request days ago but by the time the crow comes back, the prisoner will be dead.”

“There are illegal Mind Whisperers of course, albeit not many. Usually they are swindlers, or hold very scarce power.”

“So…?”

“I caught wind of someone. Not here – in Water Seven. I’ve only heard of them once, so I don’t know how accurate the intel is. But they say this one is the real deal.”

 Koby’s heart pounded. The free city of Water Seven was just a half-day away by horse from Sabaody.

“Where can I find them?”

“I only know they work as a healer in the Cherry Blossom clinic.”

“Cherry Blossom clinic. Got it.”

 Koby rose and bowed imperceptibly.

“Thank you, sir.”

 As he moved to leave, Diez called him back.

“I don’t know much about this person’s background, but I do know they are discreet and have high profile clients. People that can tamper with others’ minds are dangerous. Be on your guard, boy.”

 Koby looked at the half-titan’s back, then nodded.

“I will.”

[reader is of course the Mind Whisperer]

[idyllic-ghost]

title: The Most Precious Thing pairing: nurse!jeonghan x surgeon!reader genre: hospital au, fluff, secret relationship warnings: medical talk (tumors, brain biopsy, potential cancer), mentions of food/not having time to eat, stress synopsis: you and jeondhan had been dating for a few months. since you worked at the same hospital, you decided to keep it a secret so as to not complicate things with your colleagues. however, during a moment of weakness, one of them figures you out. wordcount: 3.6k taglist: @enhacolor, @shuabby1994, @junhui-recs, @dkakapizzaboy, @just-here-to-read-01, @loviehan, @userjunhuii, @novalpha, @bubblymoon, @aaniag, @d0nghyuck, @fantasy2wonderland, @seunghancore, @woozixo, @niktwazny303, @lllucere, @uniq-tastic, @wonwoospartyhat, @stariightjoyy, @hyneyedfiz, @cali-snow, @pearlygraysky, @crazywittysassy, @yeosayang rating: PG 13

request: nurse!jeonghan x surgeon!reader with prompt 2 and 53 (requested by @tfmingyu) prompts: 2. "i like the way your hand fits in mine" 53. "do you believe in soulmates?"

a/n: after a very long time of keeping this request in my drafts, and after many major changes to the story - it's finally here! i'm sorry for taking so long!!

join my taglist

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"You have another appointment you need to look at, Doctor Y/L/N," Jeonghan said as you walked past, enunciating your title in a slightly mocking manner.

"Remind me of that later, nurse Yoon," you answered and doing the same to him. "I have a patient waiting for examination results."

Jeonghan took the file from your hands and looked at it while walking beside you. He let out a few hums and eventually gave it back to you. You looked at him with an arched brow, questioning if he really understood what it said.

"I understood about half of it." He nodded. "Checks out."

"The patient has a brain tumor." You sighed. "We need to do a brain biopsy... and I have to tell them, which is stressing me out."

The two of you walked into the elevator and you pressed the button for the third floor. Jeonghan wasn't sure why he had followed you, he technically had to be on the first floor at this moment. Today was luckily a slow day, a near impossible occurrence - but he was lucky. The doors closed, and the elevator quickly moved up.

"You're stressed about telling them and not doing the surgery?" He scoffed. "Every day you surprise me more."

The elevator dinged, signaling that you had arrived on the third floor. Before the doors could open, Jeonghan leaned down and placed a quick kiss on your cheek. You looked over at him with wide eyes, but you had no time to scold him for kissing you at work - the doors were already open.

"Good luck with that patient!" he said in a sing-song voice.

"You're not coming with me?" you asked as you walked outside the elevator, trying to act normal.

"Oh no, I have to be at reception." He gave you a Cheshire-cat grin as the doors closed.

Another sigh escaped your lips, but you couldn't help but smile. He was always risky, even if you tried to convince him to not be suspicious while at work. The two of you had started dating a few months ago. Meeting at a hospital doesn't seem very romantic, but Jeonghan was surprisingly good at making any situation into a sweet one. You had told him to keep things secret, while he didn't care either way. His carefree look on life did get on your nerves at times, but you looked past it for how good he was to you otherwise. Like now. He could see your stress from a mile away and went with you as far as he could go to try to cheer you up. It was cute. He was cute.

After telling your patient the news and explaining what you would need to do, they obviously freaked out a bit. They hadn't come in expecting a brain tumor, and now you were telling them that you had to make a small insition in their skull and take a sample of the said tumor to see if it was cancerous. Like any surgery, it didn't come without any risks, and you of course had to tell them that. After being a bit sympathetic you left, a tension headache already starting to affect you. As you walked through the corridor you started feeling a bit dizzy and stumbled to the wall to hold yourself up.

"Y/L/N?" a familiar voice said.

A pair of strong hands held you up. When you looked beside you a colleague of yours stood beside you. Choi Seungcheol, you were in the same undergrad class but ended up specializing in different areas. You in general surgery, and him in oncology. It was mere chance that you had ended up working at the same hospital. When you told your friends, they dreamily answered that it must be fate - to which you responded with that the cute doctor was involved with someone else, much to their dismay.

"Oh, Choi I actually need to speak with you..." You breathed out. "I just need to sit down for a bit..."

"Let's focus on you first. Have you had time to eat anything today?" he asked as he led you to the elevator.

"I'm fine... listen, I'm about to do a brain biopsy," you explained weakly as you watched him push the button for the first floor, "I'm pretty sure it's a cancerous tumor, it makes sense with the patient's other symptoms. I just want your opinion on something-"

"Y/L/N, did you eat today?" he asked again, ignoring what you were saying.

He was still holding you up, which you were incredibly thankful for because your legs felt like they were about to give out. With your right hand, you steadied yourself against the railing in the elevator which let him loosen his grip on you.

"I ate around ten AM.", you said, "I've been working since, I didn't have time to get lunch."

It was only a little bit of a lie since you wouldn't qualify the thing you ate as your meal. It wasn't enough to keep you satisfied for the rest of the day, and therefore, not sufficient. What dr. Choi didn't know, he couldn't criticize you for.

"Then we'll get you something to eat," Choi put simply, "After that, I'll give you my opinion on your case."

The elevator doors opened, and the two of you walked out. Dr. Choi sat you down on one of the waiting chairs and went over to the vending machine. You watched as he fed the machine some cash and pushed on some buttons, bending down to pick up the item as it fell down the machine. Soon enough, the doctor came back to you with a energy bar.

"Just to get your blood sugar up," he said and handed it to you.

"Y/N?" From a distance, you could see that Jeonghan was running up to you.

You cringed at his usage of your first name. It wasn't professional, which is why you wanted to avoid it. The man beside you raised his brows at the use of your first name. Clearly it surprised Doctor Choi a bit which only made you feel worse. Jeonghan finally arrived at your side, his eyes full of worry at the sight of your slumped form.

"Are you alright? You look sick," he crouched down in front of you.

"They just need to eat a bit," Choi chimed in. "Then they'll be just fine."

"You haven't been eating?" Jeonghan ignored the fact that your colleague just said you'll be fine.

"I didn't have the time, nurse Yoon," you said sternly. "I'll be fine, it's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? You should give yourself time to eat." He sighed.

"Well, thank you for your medical advice," you said sarcastically. "But as I said, I didn't have the time. I have patients that need my help."

"I'm going to give you two some space..." Seungcheol interrupted. "Come over to my office when you can Y/N, I'll look over the case."

You were about to stop him from leaving, but Jeonghan grabbing your hands distracted you. You looked over at him, forgetting that you still had to consult dr. Choi on a myriad of things. Jeonghan had a serious look on his face as he sat down beside you.

"Why don't you have time to eat?" he asked. "You should at least be able to eat some sort of energy bar while in between places."

"I didn't have anything on me." You sighed and rested your head against your palm. "I'm sorry for being angry... you didn't do anything wrong."

"I know that, sweetheart." He chuckled and threw an arm around your shoulders. "When does your shift end? Do you think you can get off early if it's for health reasons?"

"I just need to eat a bit, Jeonghan, I'm not sick." You looked up at him with a thankful gaze.

"Oh, I know..." He smiled. "But nobody else does."

"I'm not going to lie to anyone!" You laughed, a sense of relief flooding your systems at how carefree you could be around him.

Usually, you would've told him to keep his hands to himself, but it felt so nice to have him take care of you. So damn it all, you thought as you leaned your head on his shoulder. For once you let your walls down at work, and you just hoped nobody would see.

"Come to me when you're done for the day," he said. "We can go get take out and I can stay the night at your place to make sure that you'll actually get to sleep."

"That sounds nice." You nodded and sat up. "Now I need to talk to Dr. Choi about my patient, though."

"Go get some better food at the cafeteria first." Jeonghan grabbed your hand before you could walk away. "Just a sandwich and some water, it doesn't have to be anything big."

You nodded and stayed there in front of him. He was smiling brightly up at you, and you just couldn't walk away - mostly because he was still holding your hand. You tried to discreetly signal for him to let go of your hand, but he didn't get it. He didn't get it, or he was pretending to be oblivious. As much as you loved him, he could be infuriating at times.

"Jeonghan," you whispered. "Why are you still holding my hand?"

"Because I like the way your hand fits in mine," he teased. "What? You want me to let go?"

All you did was let out yet another sigh, but Jeonghan gave in and let go of your hand anyway. He liked to tease you, but he wasn't about to start driving you insane when you're this stressed out. No, that would be saved for occasions where he would actually enjoy watching you get flustered. You said goodbye and were on your merry way to the cafeteria, unaware of how your boyfriend's gaze lingered on you until you were out of sight.

By the time your shift ended you felt like your legs were about to give out from under you. However, when you made your way to the reception all of the stress washed off your body, like taking a cold shower after a hot workout, as soon as you saw Jeonghan. He smiled at you, and you nodded to him.

You walked out alone and sat down in the passenger seat of Jeonghan's car. Luckily, you had taken the bus today, which meant that Jeonghan could drive you home. A few minutes passed, and he joined you in the driver's seat.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked as he put on his seat belt and started the car.

"I'll go for anything right now, just let me put some greasy food in my mouth." You groaned dramatically.

"Coming right up," Jeonghan chuckled.

The couch felt so unbelievably soft. Never had you considered your very own couch to be this great of a buy, but considering how comfortable you were right now it might be the best thing you had ever bought in your entire life. All of the credit couldn't go to the couch, of course, because some of it also had to go to Jeonghan. You were snuggled up on his chest, your legs laying in between his, and his arms wrapped around you. A warm blanket was laying over the two of you. On the coffee table stood two boxes of empty Chinese take-out, the closest thing you could find to the hospital.

"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" Jeonghan muttered, despite him also being half asleep.

"I think I might be." You shifted so that you could meet his gaze. "Weren't you going to make sure I got a good night's sleep?"

"I don't think this is the optimal place for sleeping," he retorted with a smile.

"Well, I think it is." You put your forehead against his chest. "You're such a good pillow, baby, don't worry."

"Come on, angel, let's get you to bed." Jeonghan chuckled and helped you sit up.

He walked with you to the bathroom, where you brushed your teeth together. There were two toothbrushes in your restroom: one was yours, and the spare one was for Jeonghan whenever he would come over. It was always a nice reminder for you when he wasn't there because it was the story behind the toothbrush that made it so special.

It was about the fifth time that Jeonghan had stayed over, and he had forgotten his toothbrush, which was an honest mistake but still very annoying. You didn't have any extra toothbrushes at home, so the two of you had to go to the nearest store and buy some. Earlier that week, your car had broken down and it was raining heavily outside without any sign of stopping. Both of you were determined to get that toothbrush so, while holding the hoods of your jackets over your head, you ran through the rain all the way to the store. When you got home, with a toothbrush and some extra toothpaste in a plastic bag, you couldn't help but burst out laughing. With anyone else, this occurrence would infuriate you because how can someone forget a toothbrush? However, it wasn't just some person, it was Jeonghan, and it made you realize that you'd do anything with him.

"What are you looking at?", Jeonghan managed to get out, despite the toothpaste in his mouth.

You hadn't realized that you had been staring at him through the mirror. He wore a sly grin on his lips, as he always did when he caught you doing something that he could use to potentially fluster you. You just shook your head with a small smile and kept on brushing your teeth. When you turned your attention to your reflection in the mirror, Jeonghan spat out the toothpaste he had in the sink and washed his toothbrush. His arms snuck around your waist and he peppered a bunch of kisses on your cheek.

"You have toothpaste on your mouth! Stop!" you shrieked, followed by a laugh.

"Tell me why you were staring at me!" He grinned.

"It was nothing!" you whined, but he only started attacking your neck instead. "Stop it! You're getting toothpaste all over me..."

He stopped, leaning his temple against yours as he met your eyes through the mirror. You washed your toothbrush and wiped off the toothpaste he had gotten all over you, then wiped off the toothpaste from the corners of Jeonghan's mouth.

"I hate you," you grumbled.

"I love you too." He grinned.

The two of you waddled out of the bathroom, turning off the lights as you left, Jeonghan still holding onto you. It had started raining outside, like the day you had gotten drenched in search of a toothbrush. As you got into bed, Jeonghan crawling in beside you, you kept thinking about that day. It all crashed down upon you, a sort of enlightenment, as he looked lovingly at you.

"Do you believe in soulmates?" you asked softly.

"I don't know." He said as he brought you closer into his arms. "I guess I've never thought about it."

The rain kept on falling outside, creating a melodic sound against the rooftop and your windows. You put your head on his chest to avoid eye contact. It was all too embarrassing to act like this. Not that Jeonghan made you feel like you couldn't, he was an affectionate guy, but you just weren't the type to act like that. Never had you been the type to say it first, but there had to be a first time for everything.

"Because I kind of think..." you muttered, "I kind of think I might've found one."

"A soulmate?"

"Mhm..."

"Who?"

You went quiet. It was a hard thing to say. Now you wished you hadn't said anything, to begin with. If you hadn't, you would've been asleep by now.

"You," you finally whispered out, barely audible.

Now it was Jeonghan's turn to be quiet. Your entire body ached with anticipation, and you wish he would just say something to break the tension already. He didn't. He pulled you even closer to him, so impossibly close.

"A nurse and a surgeon being soulmates..." he muttered. "It definitely sounds like a cliché... I'm down for it."

It wasn't quite what you had meant, but Jeonghan knew that. He knew you wouldn't be able to say what you actually wanted to, that you would try to say it metaphorically just in case he didn't feel the same, and that you wanted him to play along. Of course, he wouldn't do that. He wanted to hear it from your lips, if you were comfortable enough around him you would.

"That's not...", you sighed because you knew that he knew, "I love you, Jeonghan."

His hands went to the back of your head, gently patting it. His lips met your forehead to place a kiss there, and you felt him smiling.

"I love you too, Y/N.", he said.

The next morning you woke up with no one beside you. Your alarm clock had woken you up, but the sunrise shining through the windows did the trick too. You were in a complete daze as you walked out to your kitchen to make your breakfast before you had to storm off to work.

"Good morning, pretty," a smooth voice echoed through your head, and you almost thought that you were still dreaming.

"You got out of bed before me?" you said as you rubbed your eyes.

"Yeah." He brought you a sandwich and forced it into your hands. "I made you breakfast, and I prepared you a lunch."

There was a box laying on the counter and a water bottle standing beside it. You looked between the lunchbox and your boyfriend, and you felt yourself start to tear up. Maybe it was because you were still tired, or maybe it was just because you didn't expect the sweet action. You wrapped your arms around Jeonghans middle and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," you said.

"You can thank me by eating it later today. When is the biopsy scheduled for?" he asked.

"It's right before lunch." You pulled away from him and pretended to rub your eyes again to dry away any tears that might be there.

"Eat it right after the biopsy then," he said. "Now, let's hurry up. We have to go get ready."

Quick footsteps made their way through the corridor. You were in a hurry to see Doctor Choi. He had looked over your notes last week, but now you actually had results he could look over. You didn't want to screw this up, this month had already been hell and if you could just get one thing perfectly done you'd feel satisfied.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," you said as you walked into his office and put your papers on his desk. "Could you take a look at these for me?"

Seungcheol picked up the papers and looked through them, reading them thoroughly. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, but his expression made you nervous. You had a bad habit of always biting your nails when you got nervous.

"It looks good, I think it's like you said before." He nodded and looked up to you with a comforting smile. "Biopsy went well?"

"It was just fine..." You sighed.

"Do you want to have a seat?" he asked and motioned for the chair in front of his desk.

"Actually, yeah I would love that." You sat down and immediately slumped over ever so slightly. "I've been running around all over the place, my legs are tired."

Dr. Choi nodded as he looked through a few papers. He was very clearly just trying to find something to keep himself busy with, to stall something he actually wanted to bring up.

"So..." He suddenly had a curious smile on his lips. "You're dating a nurse?"

"What?" You almost jumped out of your seat.

"Yoon Jeonghan, no?" He grinned.

"Did he tell you? I swear to god, I will-"

"He didn't," Choi interrupted. "I just guessed. Thanks for confirming it."

Your eyes shut tight as you leaned your head back and groaned. The secret was bound to be revealed at some point, but you didn't want it to happen just yet. Being surrounded by a bunch of smart doctors wasn't optimal for keeping things hidden.

"You're cute together," he commented. "He clearly cares a lot for you... although you should definitely tell him to lay off while at work if you're trying to be inconspicuous."

"I've tried." A laugh escaped your lips.

There was a pause, a moment of complete silence between you. Seungcheol seemed to be inspecting you in some way, at least it seemed like it when it felt like his eyes were staring into your soul.

"Take care of him well, Dr. Y/L/N," he said and stood up. "I wouldn't be able to see him go through another heartbreak."

"You're friends?" Your eyebrows shot up. "And neither of you told me?"

"It wasn't neccessary, but now that I finally know you're together I think you should know," he said with a still friendly smile. "As I said, he clearly cares about you if he was willing to keep this from me. So please... don't hurt him."

There was something in his eyes that made you curious. He knew something about Jeonghan's past that you didn't. You weren't exactly planning on breaking Jeonghan's heart, so it didn't really matter - but seeing how deeply Seungcheol cared really made you want to know.

"I won't." You nodded.

"Thank you, I'm sure you won't... I just like to be safe, I guess." He motioned for the door to his office. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to do some work."

"Oh, of course." You got up and walked over to the door. "You won't... tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not, Y/N." He gave you one last smile before you closed the door behind you.

Your brain raked with many ideas of what could have happened in the past. Clearly, it was a bad relationship but you were curious as to what exactly happened. As if on cue, Jeonghan walked around the corner.

"Doctor Y/N!" He smiled brightly before looking around himself.

"Nurse Yoon," you greeted with a small giggle as you watched him try to see if the coast was clear.

"I made you a lunch this morning." He handed you a brown paper bag. "You haven't already eaten, have you?"

"I haven't." You grinned and accepted his bag, "Thank you."

It had become a normal thing for him to make you lunches, and you weren't complaining. They were just simple sandwiches for the most part, but it was still special to you.

"Could I... get a kiss as a payment for being such a good boyfriend?" he asked with a sly smile.

"And here I was, thinking you were making me food out of the kindness in your heart." You jokingly put a hand over your chest to fake being offended.

He didn't have much time to respond, since you pressed a quick kiss to his lips. His eyes looked love-drunk when you pulled away. You were starting to understand why Doctor Choi was being careful. Jeonghan was probably the most precious person you had ever met. He may be a trickster, a mischievous little devil, but once you peeled away that layer there was nothing but tenderness in his actions. Everything he did, he did delicately and with a warm heart. Perhaps that's why he made such a good nurse. You smiled at the thought, and Jeonghan's eyebrows knitted together.

"You're staring at me like that again," he muttered. "I wish I could look inside your brain."

"Oh trust me, that's my job - you don't want to do that," you joked, successfully making Jeonghan chuckle.

"I'll see you tonight?" He smiled as he slowly started walking away, his back turned against the way he was walking.

"Of course," you said. "I wouldn't dream of missing it."

His smile widened, finally turning away and walking to wherever he needed to be. You watched him leave, not having the strength to look away.

[teashopwritingzz]

Hello can I have a request for the dorm leaders?? Their s/o reveals that they are a descendent of the great seven?? (Assuming that Malleus and Idia aren't related to Maleficent and Hades)

Oooh, yeah I can do that! It’s an interesting concept, the dorm leaders meeting someone actually related to one of the Great Seven...

And I'm also very sorry for the delay! Writers block yet again... But I'll finish up my drafts and open up requests again real soon!

Here’s your order! Seven cups of tea; One Rose Milk Tea, one Decaf Lemon Jasmine Tea, one True Blueberry Tea, one Masala Spice Chai Tea, one Taro Milk Tea, one Coconut Butterfly Pea Flower Tea, and one Jasmine Green Tea! Enjoy~!

¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º° °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸

Riddle Rosehearts

~ When it was revealed, he was quite surprised by the news. You, related to the founder of the rules of the Queen of Hearts!

~ He’s honored and thrilled to find out that you’re related to the Queen of Hearts, making sure to be polite and very respectful when speaking to you or whenever he’s with you. And it makes him hope you have high respects towards the rules!

~ If so, then he expects you to help him with rule breakers. Giving them an earful and a proper punishment would help greatly! 

Leona Kingscholar

~ Actually raises his eyebrows in surprise. But he covered it with a huff and a smirk. 

~ And here he thought you were a measly herbivore, when you secretly had the fangs of a predator. This definitely peaked his interest!

~ Did that mean you were also royalty? That meant he'd have to give you some more respect. But he'd still be quite the tease. Hey, maybe you could merge his and your royalty together someday, eh~? Hey, what's with that look?

Azul Ashengrotto

~ You? Related to the Sea Witch?? He certainly wasn't expecting that. He regains his composure though and hides his surprise really well with that suave of his.

~ If what you are saying is true, maybe you know a thing or two about making deals and contracts, like him. He could use the help~! What do you say?

~ But all that aside though, he finds it interesting. He didn't know you could be so full of surprises~. Buuuuut he won't stop trying to convince about the contracts-

Kalim al Asim

~ This calls for a celebratory party! He's already off to plan and prepare with Jamil, who grumbles and just wants his overflowing list of chores done for the week.

~ He doesn't find you any different though. So what if your relative was a Desert Sorcerer, you're still the same, right? He can still be with you, right??

~ Things between you two won't change a bit! You're still the same old (y/n) and he's the same old Kalim. But he does find your whole descendent thing fascinating and he might ask a question or two!

Vil Schoenheit

~ Doesn't look all that shocked on the outside, but on the inside? Oh he's confused and surprised. The potato was related to the Beautiful Queen? The one he looks up to and strives to be just like??

~ Your knowledge in beauty must be as immense as his! He'll suggest you sample some of his makeup. We can't have the descendent of the Beautiful Queen to look drab!

~ And he will ask you for tips, if you have any to spare! Any fashion advice or makeup advice would be appreciated! And he'd always give you his own in return. Two queens living the high life!

Idia Shroud

~ Was he hearing you right? You were actually related to the King of the Underworld? Well, this just made you 100x more intimidating.

~ It would take a lot of convincing and you/Ortho showing him you weren't all that bad! Try spending time with him and earning his trust, it'll help. After a long while of hang outs and chatting, he won't find you so scary anymore!

~ Much like everyone else, he didn't think you could be related to the King! But didn't that make you a demigod?? Did you have cool abilities just like the King of the Underworld?? Oh, so many questions that need answers...

Malleus Draconia

~ The child of man was related to the Thorn Witch? Well wasn't this a surprise! All this time, he thought you were just a mere human.

~ He'll have so many questions! Are you actually a fae? Do you possess magic abilities? Do you know the spells the Thorn Witch used? Could you teach him them??

~ His curiosity towards you has grown immensely now, so be prepared for Malleus to keep a sharp eye on you and to wanna be your side even more now, now matter the time of day or night.

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[kjscottwrites]

hiya, i am very interested in outlining techniques/habits. would you be willing to do a whole post about yours?

Sure! I love outlining and talking about outlining so bless u and sorry for this rambling in advance. Let me get into it with the caveat that by no means is this an instructional, I have zero professional experience, this is just the way I do it, and everything I learned I learned from ... fuckin film school lmao so it's unlikely to be optimized for writing novels anyway.

ANYWAY - I'll break it down into steps:

Step 1: The Dump

I always start with something loose and improvisational I'll call it a "scratch" or a "dump" outline, pretty much no rules with this one. Sometimes it'll be a free-write in a word document, sometimes a structured outline, sometimes just word bubbles and a bunch of bs scribbles on a piece of notebook paper. Whatever.

This is always focused on just the initial idea. I typically avoid granular character details like names and appearances and personalities at this point - I stick to general utilitarian figures, the bare minimum I need to move them through the story. Emotional arcs and defining traits and backgrounds come later - this way I can make each character weave seamlessly into the narrative, vs trying to make the narrative mold to a bunch of misc. preset characters.

At this point, my MAIN goal is to nail down three key things:

A) What's the central dramatic question?

B) What are the stakes?

C) What are the messages/themes I want to touch on?

For Cavernous specifically (and for a lot of my other projects) I used the snowflake method as a jumping off point. I'll start with a couple of sentences, expand that rough logline into a 2-3 paragraph summary, then expand that summary out into something between 2k-10k words that maps onto a rough beginning, middle, end. (I personally try to avoid strict 3-act structure, save the cat, heroes journey etc. but if these help you, use them!) If I'm not sure about a certain part of the story at this point, I just skip it and put in a placeholder like "and then something bad happens and they..." The point is making a vessel for the story, not necessarily filling that vessel.

ANYWAY this is getting long so I'll put the rest of the steps under the cut:

Step 2: The Actual™ Outline

Were I working on a screenplay, this part would be "breaking the story" but idk if y'all call it that for novels. Basically I expand things out into a more formal/traditional outline slash treatment, like probably between 8k-15k words? This is an action-to-action synopsis, broken up chapter-by-chapter (or scene-by-scene for a screenplay) without skipping anything. If there's unknowns, plot holes, or other problems, this is where I fix them.

My rule of thumb for outlines is mainly just "describe it on the page EXACTLY how you'd describe it to your friend who asked you what the scene was about." Hit only the important stuff, keep it informal/conversational, do NOT worry about specificity and good prose. Sometimes I put memes or emojis in these, it's like. Whatever captures it in the absolute easiest way.

I use bullet points: A) whenever I'm not sure what order I want things to play out in. This is especially useful for worldbuilding/exposition heavy scenes where I want a defined set of information to get doled out organically in the drafting. B) When a scene is complicated/action-packed/has multiple side by side storylines.

I use stream-of-consciousness paragraphs for pretty much everything else. Here's a little sample of the Cavernous outline for reference. This is pretty much how my outlines are gonna read on any type of project:

I'll also do a lot of character work in this step! Which i won't talk about a ton bc this is already long and that's a WHOLE topic on its own - basically this stuff:

(also making a lot of picrews like, so many fucking picrews)

If there's multiple parallel storylines, I decide at this point exactly what order they go in and how they're paced out. Logically you should write your A Line, B Line and C Line separately and weave them together after the fact, but for some reason I basically never do that - working strictly chronologically makes more sense to me. Why? Because I am smooth brained. I don't recommend it, it's a hassle. ANYWAY color coding for multiple storylines is *essential* either way. Cavernous has just an A and B line in the first half, and a diverging C line in the second half which re-merges with the B line by the end. I plan on having the second book structured similarly!

The other thing I do during this step is some of the more utilitarian stuff - I make decisions about format, perspective and tense, wordcount goals, target demo etc.

MOST importantly I lock in my logline and elevator pitch at this step. I know that if I'm struggling to write either of these successfully, something is amiss in the foundation of the story and I have to go back and find it and fix it (or chose to cut my loses and move on to a new project, even) before I ever start drafting.

Step 3: Being inconvenienced Usually this is where I start drafting until I start to get forgetful and sick of referencing back to my wordy-ass outline

Step 4: Making a technical outline to fix step 3

I'm not really sure you could call it an outline? Actually no, yeah I'd call it a beat sheet. It's an easily edited quick-reference version of the Actual™ Outline. Anyway I gave an example of the one for cavernous here - so I'll share a bit from a different project:

Some of these points are expanded for a bit of clarity but some of them are just shorthand - this isn't necessarily decipherable to a reader, but *I* know what "Lundis receives a sign" means and as long as I have it in this simplified structure I can easily rearrange and move that D line scene up so that it falls just after the titles if I want, for instance.

I typically force myself to stay on track, but IF shit starts going off the rails in the drafting stage in a way that I like, I always stop, go back, adjust the outline(s) accordingly, make sure everything still works, and then go back to drafting. Because I deadass can't write without a roadmap. I become completely helpless and grind to a halt.

So yeah. Maybe all this will be helpful to someone? Maybe it's not. My biggest piece of advice for anyone looking to hone their outlining/structure/planning skills is take 👏 a 👏screenwriting 👏 course 👏because even if you have zero interest or intention to do screenwriting, the discipline is SO technical and SO different and it'll at WORST offer a new perspective. That's my soapbox. Okay love u bye

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #13

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

[AO3]

((edited because I figured out to add some more history facts that I think are important))

~POV Sinbad~

"The Kou Empire, huh?"

"That is going to make things risky."

With all of the Generals caught up with what happened in Balbadd, they needed to start planning for King Sinbad's trip to the Kou Empire, as well as catching him up with everything that had happened in Sindria while he was gone.

"LadY YamuRAI H AA AA A" A yell came from the hallway accompanied by the sounds of running.

((Sinbad is hidden on the left. There's a hint of him poking out.))

A panting magician gave apologies for disturbing their meeting and ran to the head of Sindria's magicians. "I wish I knew you were here so I didn't search the tower first~" Then he started explaining about some magical proof. Most of his words sounded like gibberish to the rest, but it was clear that he had made some kind of break though.

Yam jumped out of her seat. "How did you finally figure it out?! Who figured it out?!" She whipped her head to her King, "Sorry your majesty," and then looked back to the other magician.

"It was the work of the Prophet!” the magician answered. "We were talking about her illness and she pulled out scrolls that- you just have to read them for yourself!”

Mori had said that she had written other scrolls before she started coping down Fate. This must have been what she was working on.

Both magicians bowed out to go test out this new information. Before they could leave, Sinbad ended the meeting; there was no way he was going to wait to learn what other information Mori had blessed them with. Ja'far followed as did a few of the other Generals.

When they got into the court yard, the doctors that had been sent to take care of Mori were already pushing their supply cart back to their main building. The magician that had stayed behind spotted them and raised two scrolls up triumphantly. "She let me take the scrolls!"

---

News of the scrolls written by a Prophet spread throughout the Black Libra Tower within an hour. Yamuraiha and the doctors explained their significance to King Sinbad.

If even a fraction of the theories in the scrolls proved true it would completely changed their understanding of how illnesses work. If Mori wasn't sick she would undoubtedly be swarmed with questions and demands for proof. According to the magicians, nothing in the scrolls went against any known information. Instead, they gave explanations to why certain things that had been attempted in the past had failed. What she wrote about 'cells' was what really caught the eyes of the white magicians and doctors. As an example, according to Mori's writing there were blood types and most couldn't mix; that would explain why most past attempts at blood transfusions had failed.

The 2nd scroll showed a break down of even smaller particles, and how the structures of different particles made up everything. This was going to bring alchemic magic to a whole new era. Sure, such things would most likely be limited to high magicians, group efforts, and the Magi, but it looked possible now. A lot of common magic of the current day took extreme amounts of magoi in the past because they hadn't found the right formula yet. Mori's writing -if true- could easily be used as a guide to finding the right order of commands for many spells.

And even more than that, Mori had said that she had even more information to share; she had just ran out of scrolls and ink.

Mori's presence in Sindria, and everything that went with it were Fate and the Rukh's guidance. King Sinbad could see it -the future he wanted.

---

~POV Mori~

In Sindria's Palace there is a Great Bell. It is rung during celebrations, and to signify the King returning home like it did earlier that day, but it's main use was to ring every 2 hours to tell everyone the time since clocks weren't invented yet. So even though I was a sick person trying to rest during the day, I was woken up by the Great Bell every 2 hours... which of course is also situated right on top of the guest tower.

For obvious reasons, I was awake again.

I wish I knew how the others responded to the scrolls. I really wanted to know Yam's opinion most. Those scrolls basically gave away the secret to Yunan's signature alchemy magic.

I still had the first scroll I had worked on -the one on the science behind blimps-, and the last science scroll I had started. That one was on DNA, and reproductive systems. It was the last one I started in Balbadd. I hadn't started working on it until sunrise on my 2nd sleepless night and it showed; there were missing words everywhere, many incomplete sentences, and I couldn't stay in topic.

These mistakes were too great to fix with an ink knife. Editing was going be super annoying and time consuming since I couldn't work digitally. I'd have to physically cut up the first draft to put everything in the right order before making the next one.

Wait- Did this world have scissors???

Back home the first evolution of shears that could be labeled as scissors was in Roman barber shops in the last hundred years or so before Rome fell. China would spontaneous also create something akin to scissors not long after. Reim and the Kou Empire seemed to line up with Rome and ancient China for the most part, so I tend to use them to place the time period, but the dress Princess Dunya wears is centuries off and throws all historical accuracy questions out the window. Rome was long gone by the time boning was added to women's undergarments, and that dress had all the signs of boned corsetry.

Fuck it. I'll ask for scissors and if they don't have them I'll just invent them myself. I had been drafting professionally for the past 4 years. That may have been for microelectronics, but it uses all the same skills; I could do this. I needed to get a ruler -or at least a straight edge- and a drafting compass which they probably have based on the look of maps in the series, and pencils, or at least colored inks if they had them. I probably needed to reinvent the French curve(stencil tool used in art & drafting)...

Since I was struggling to fall back asleep I moved to the table and pulled out my test scroll. It was full of random marks and some of my early drawing attempts that I used to practice with the dip pen -it's also where I wrote down the dreams from the Rukh. I'd write the list of things I needed, rip the section out of the scroll, and pass the list to someone who could get me what I was asking for. I added some living necessities too like sleep wear and a comb.

The maids that came to give me dinner, and next dose of medicine were not pleased that I wasn't in bed -I was an important guest who was sick after all. And I wasn't pleased to have to drink more of that bitter medicine, but we can't have nice things all the time, now can we?

My voices was strained but I managed to communicate enough. I gave them my list, and laundry (the clothes I wore on the boat) before they left. They'd get me the things the next day. I was instructed to sleep until someone brings me breakfast the next day... which is what I was going to do anyway since the sun was practically gone. I might be a bit of a workaholic but I'm not going to let myself pull an accidental all-nighter when I know I'm still sick. I'm far more self aware than that.

And besides, the Great Bell didn't ring at night.

---

Maids brought my breakfast (& meds) the next morning and let me know that my clothes would be cleaned and dry by the end of the day. I guess they didn't use magic for everything.

They also gave me all of the drafting and inking supplies I asked for except for scissors. In one of the omakes Sinbad was shown cutting his hair with a knife as a part of his normal grooming. I had hoped he was just old fashioned.

For the greater good and the future of my own hair care, I drafted up detailed designs for a few different types of basic scissors. They wouldn't look fancy, but hopefully I had put enough of a detailed explanation on everything for the smith to figure out what I was asking. Steel wasn't developed until the middle ages and some of the counties of this world matched that so I hoped

that God and anime were on my side. I really wanted scissors that would be a good quality.

And if that didn't work I'd just have to get used to using knives and bladed rollers like a regular person.

The Great Bell rung for 10 am. There were at least another 2 hours before someone would show up, to give lunch, that I could ask to take my draft for the scissors to a black Smith.

I should be resting as a sick person. I should be more exhausted and in pain as a sick person. What was making me recover this quickly?

I still didn't feel like laying back down, so I decided to start drafting up the materials and equipment for proving everything I had written in the scrolls I gave the previous day.

Globally, micro-organisms, viruses, and bacteria were not really accept or proved until the late 1800's. Since Magi seems to take place some time around our 100AD-1300, and Yunan hinting at chemical compounds was seen as shocking by Yam, I knew that my bio scrolls were probably causing an uproar in the Black Libra Tower. I refused to use actual people or wait for an outbreak to prove it like how it happened in history -like how John Snow proved it when finding the cause of cholera outbreaks in 1848 and 1854 England. No, I needed to show how to prove these things in a lab, and to do that I was going to need to explain how to keep samples and invent a way to see microorganisms.

First was for a glass petri dish and other containers for samples. I'd need at least 3 -preferably more. I know glass works have been around since BC, and that this world had glass windows in some scenes, but I worried about the quality of the glass contaminating the experiments. I was going to have to boil them beforehand to sterilize them anyway.

Gosh I wish I had access to nonporous, air tight containers, and a temperature controlled environment. The heat and humidity of Sindria could easily mess everything up.

Wait... I suddenly remembered a scene from the Magnostadt arc when they showed how a sample was being stored. They already had good enough glass. I knew there were magic bio experiments but I had no idea how they worked.

With the realization that I was getting ahead myself, I switched to writing about how to use the scientific method to test for germs. It was basically the bread in a bag test to teach young children about germs but with petri dishes. I also wrote about how to analyze samples with a microscope to see micro organisms so I was going to have to figure that out next.

Lunch came as the perfect break.

Just thinking about reinventing this thing made me nervous. I knew magnifying glasses existed in ancient Rome, but they would be nothing like what I was used to. I had to explain how light moves and made multiple diagrams showing how concave and convex lenses affect light as well as the material of the lens. I ended up also showing how to make a telescope even though I knew Yam already had one.

Magicians were the only ones shown with glasses. Maybe now the rest of the world could have them too.

4 o'clock came and so did 3 doctors and a magician. It was less than yesterday, but still more than necessary to treat or analyze one person. I only recognized one of the doctors from the previous day. All of the new faces looked nervous. None of them looked young by any measure, so I really doubted this was their first time treating someone.

They weren't happy to see me at the table and made me return to my bed -their loss.

The doctor from the previous day was the one doing most of the talking. "Your recovery is amazing. You will most likely be better in another 3 days at this rate if not sooner. It's practically a miracle."

I smiled. "It's pretty shocking for me too." As long as I spoke quietly and kept my comments short, I found I could talk again for a bit.

The doctor was silent for a moment before changing the subject. "I know you need rest, but would you be willing to answer a few questions about those scrolls from yesterday?

The 3 other men looked expectant. This was why they were here.

"I don't mind as long as you don't make me talk too much."

Then came the question I was expecting since I had first made the scrolls. "I know you are a Prophet and the information came from your visions but is there any way you can prove what you wrote?"

I pointed to the table with the scroll I had started earlier. "I can't prove it with the current equipment I have, so I've been drafting up the needed equipment and processes for proving it."

They all turned to look at where I was pointing.

I added, "It's not done, but you're welcome to read what I have so far."

I was thanked as they went to the table they had called me away from when they entered.

'He called it 'visions?' Really?' I had to ask Sinbad later what he was telling his people about me so I could keep the story straight.

The magician confirmed for the others what I wrote about light bending. There was magic to do that, but not everyone is a magician. I had just invented a way for non-magicians to bend light.

Just wait until I show them a prism that can split light into colors. Or teach them how light is perceived in the eye. Or even better, show them the double slit experiment that proves that light is a particle not just a wave... Did they know light was a wave yet?

"Lady Prophet."

I was pulled out of my thoughts.

"You said this isn't finished and there is plenty of space in this scroll for more, but would you let us take this back to the tower so we can get started?"

I wanted to say 'no.' I was still coming up with things to add to it, but I also knew that holding things back because I wanted to save paper was a fool's game. Besides, I could always add more to it later.

I nodded and they thanked me before making me promise not to leave my bed. They were grateful for this new scroll but not at the expense of my health -they were doctors after all.

And then they left.

It was probably about 5pm if my internal clock was on schedule, so I had about an hour before the next ring of the Bell.

Even if I wasn't a man of my word, I would have lost the motivation to work with my current project taken from me while I was still in the middle of making it.

So, I did the thing I grew up doing when I was bedridden from illness: I looked out the window. From the bed I could only see the tops of the buildings on the other side of the courtyard. The Tower that was just poking in from the left had to be the Black Libra Tower.

The waves in Sindria were calmer yet stronger than those in Balbadd. It was probably due to Sinbad's influence. He brought stability and security to his people. I could understand why so many chose to follow him or ally with him. But I knew where all this would lead. As he obtains more power and influence he will stop being able to see himself from the pedestal that he and everyone else put him on; his greed will make him blind to the wants and needs of others, and like a middle aged parent that isn't ready for their child to leave the nest he will take out his frustration on the world that was moving on without him. When Sinbad dies at the end of the manga, Drakon realizes that they all put too much on Sinbad's shoulders.

To change Fate, I was going to have to make sure I never put him on that pedestal nor rely on him for much. And I was going to have to convince the 8 Generals to do the same -or at least to start pulling more of the weight.

The 6 o'clock Bell came faster than I expected, as well as my dinner not long after. They brought my clean laundry, a sleeping gown, and some other common clothes and things for my convenience.

I would have preferred something much shorter for the night gown since I hate having a lot of extra fabric around my legs when I already have blankets. I was not going to risk being walked in on by doctors or whoever when sleeping naked, so I would make do for now.

There was no way King Sinbad wasn't going to reward me for those scrolls. If it was some kind of treasure I'd sell it and buy a new wardrobe for myself that actually suited me, and if the reward was a request then I would ask that he pay for everything directly.

The light coming in my windows changed, and I watched my 2nd sunset in Sindria.

When Sinbad found this island 10 years ago, he completely terraformed it. He didn't get rid of all of the vegetation that was here, but he did break down one of the sides to allow for easier access by boat. The side he carved out faced northish towards all of the other known countries, so no boat would have a reason to circle the island. It was a decision that would benefit the merchants and make it easier to defend.

It also meant that my windows faced west, so I could watch the Sun set every day. I couldn't help but see that as a blessing and a curse. Sure not getting the sunrise meant I'd need to put more effort into

waking up in the morning but that wasn't the part I was worried about.

See- The thing is... I have synesthesia (having 2 or more senses overlapping). I see sounds, letters, and numbers as colors and textures. I have it mild enough that I can normally block it out so it's not too distracting (thank God because music is a main stim), but sometimes I'll hear something and get overwhelmed by how it looks.

Each letter and number is a color. So every voice can make every color, but language, pitch, tone, and accent all affect the colors and textures I see from a person's voice like a filter. There have definitely been some people that I struggled to give my full attention to when I first met them because I was entranced by how their voice looked. The more I hear a person's voice the more I'm able to move its visuals to the background so I can focus -desensitizing myself to it.

Luckily, Sinbad's voice is normally not so distracting that I stop paying attention. Since it's like a merger of every voice actor I've heard play him (All the characters I had met so far were like this.) I'm already desensitized. The similarities across all of the VAs meant that his voice looked like a sunset -full of deep purples and magentas, and bright reds, peach, and gold, and with a smooth and flowing texture like painting in acrylic with a wet brush -like a painting of the last moments of a sunset.

His voice was as pretty as he was.

I hadn't actually gotten to see or hear him for a whole day. But I'd get to look at his voice's equivalent every day while living under his protection.

It was frustrating to admit -I barely knew him as a real person- yet I couldn't deny that I missed him. I feel asleep watching the sun set.

((I wasn't going to write about my synesthesia, but this is my fanfic and I thought it might be fun to reference the colors peoples voices make when the characters talk. I'm not going to paint every VA and head cannon, but I will describe them as I go. Ja'far's Japanese and English VAs have voices that look very different so finding the middle ground is proving tricky.

Also, anyone who noticed that the purple I see in Sinbad's voice is the same as the purple I've been using for the illustrations and comics is super smart and cool.))

[ravenadottir]

part 2/3 of this ask:

~ why they decided to sign up for the show ~

bobby. mainly for the promise of fun and possible friendships. that's the primary thought in his mind, followed by the possibility of meeting girls (AND BOYS) and finding a romantic connection. i genuinely think bobby didn't prioritize romance because of past experiences. love island was also a way to popularize his cooking, and that might be reason number three.

carl. someone convinced him of doing it. a close friend that told him how much he needed to be driven outside of his comfort zone, and what could be more outside of the box than signing up for a show? "this could legit be the future of dating" was definitely his first thought and motivation to go for it, but he never thought he would actually be picked up. his age, occupation, even looks, he might've thought to himself he wouldn't be drafted.

chelsea. all about the promise of fun, friendships and being around hot guys all day, every day. the prize, or even finding her soulmate, were never part of the reason. but love island is one thing, and that is the certainty that you'll have fun and have something to talk about on social media for a very long time. i reckon chelsea had realistic expectations and that's on that.

elisa. i usually don't talk about her, because usually i don't have anything to say. but this time, bear with me. elisa talks about the possibility of finding a king *CLEARS THROAT* queen, because she was already very much into mc. the point of signing up was clout. it was! she had no idea how the turn tables, i guarantee! she was as surprised as mc was when they had roughly 10 days to get to know each other and fall in love like that. her main reason was clout, especially when she realized she wasn't hitting the villa as an og girl, or even on casa amor. she lost hope, only to see mc and get the fanny flutters.

gary. putting yourself out there. that's definitely the reasoning behind it. he talks about how he wants to settle down after a high bodycount and i don't doubt it for one bit. he shows how serious he's about it, especially after coming back single from casa amor. a way of driving himself into something fun AND that could bring him love, or at least the promise of it, are the main reasons.

henrik. he says it himself "meaningful connections", whether those are romantic or not. if anything, getting a tan while making friends would also be a shout, and henrik being the puppy he is, i believe in it, fully. his is probably the most honest answer about their intentions on season 2. it's very credible, to say the least.

hope. she's the "very strong woman" at first, but really a good friend and companion to mc once you get to know her. she shows a soft side to her that most women can't really display or be perceived as. proving she could find someone, and win, was the main reason. making friends on the way was definitely a second. she talks about how mc was her only close friend in there and is so sweet. also further proof this was in her mind when she signed up. perhaps because of her schedule she doesn't have much spare time to meet new people, so that might be part of the reason.

ibrahim. mainly to change. i really think rahim has this perception of himself and how he needed to open up. most ex-islanders talk about how life changing their experience was, and i really think he saw it as a way out of his closed off personality. he made an effort aside from the comments people made about him. i love that about his character.

kassam. definitely the experience itself. not very interested in friends, because of how he deals with big groups, and maybe about love and a romantic connection. kassam being so reserved, and already eager to make an album about his journey, makes me think he was there to explore himself as a person, since he probably never had the chance to do it so, before. even for a very little time window, people can find wonderful things about themselves when exposed to a situation like that. i do reckon he would've prefered to be an oh guy though.

lottie. for the boys, definitely. she talks about how hard it is for her to meet men in her line of work, which is makeup. she has a sense of how she wants go to about things, and probably saw herself in the leading role before hitting the villa. but i do believe she signed up for the promise of love, secondarily for friendships, and thirdly, for the journey.

lucas. he knows the producers triangle people into profiles, and there's always someone, sometimes more than two, people that fit in with others perfectly. perhaps love island was the cleanest and fastest way to find that person for himself. i don't think he would favor friendships or journey over love, but he ends up having a friend for life after meeting henrik. (possibly another two: carl and kassam, once they meet at the parties).

marisol. i think her competitive genes took her to sign up for the show. in my head, marisol has a need to show up her skills at all times, and being in a big group, where she could have samples of personality to have relationships with was a big plus. sure she thought about love and friends, but they weren't even close to the main reason why she was there. maybe an experiment, possibly a way of her understanding people further, was her number one motive.

noah. for the whole time he's been there i honestly haven't thought much about his reasons. at first i considered the show could've been the opportunity he wanted to discover more about himself, under the romantic scope. he must have not had much luck with love on the outside and that tells me he wanted to push himself out of the comfort zone, but failed miserably. especially if he had a thing for mc.

priya. not gonna lie, i think priya signed up for the fun. she does have commitment issues, and even talks about them. "i'm here to change." you're here to have fun, girl, don't lie! because she took every opportunity of changing and tossed in the trash. going to the show to have fun is not a bad reason, but i reckon she should've been honest about it.

part one

[scabopolis]

Tagged by @strideofpride to share a snippet! I've shared a wee-bit from this fic I'm working on (the first draft is finished! and is 22k words lol) already, but it's either sharing samples of this or the cover letters I'm writing.

An unedited excerpt from my Kate/Anthony fic (goes au mid-ep 2x01, and then zig zags throughout the series beats as I see fit):

“Anthony,” his mother chirps, “we were just about to take tea in the garden. Will you join us?” He reads the tilt of her head and the shift of her eyes to Miss Sharma quite well. Kate is looking at him without any true feeling. Her expression blank like he is a stranger to her. 

“I am sorry,” he answers. “I cannot.”

“Surely you can spare a moment, Lord Bridgerton,” is Lady Danbury’s reply. Ah, so his mother and Lady Danbury are united in whatever today’s scheme is. “It is such a lovely day.”

“That it is, but Parliament cares not for the weather. I have much to read before tomorrow’s session.” 

“At least sit for—” 

“Lady Danbury,” Kate cuts in, not unkindly. “The viscount is quite busy, can you not tell? Perhaps we should allow him to continue with today’s business.” 

Silence hangs in the corridor for only a moment. Miss Edwina clings to the arm of her lieutenant, her eyes on her sister. 

Benedict claps his hands together, bringing all attention to him. “Quite right you are, Miss Sharma. Anthony is quite busy. However, I—,” he affects a comically pathetic expression, “as the second son, am little more than a wastrel with few demands on his time.” He presses a hand to his chest. “Might you save me from my unproductive and idle thoughts?” 

[pixie88]

Christmas Shopping

Chapter 3 - Addicted to you.  

A/N: It felt so weird writing/editing this chapter in the middle of summer, but that’s how their timeline worked out! I can’t remember the last time I released a H&L chapter or wrote one to be fair, I think after this I have 2 more in drafts. Better get back to it! I hope you like it 😘  

Tagging those who asked to be tagged but if you want to be added let me know!

Read previous chapters HERE!

Warnings: Fluff & NSFW

Songs: Kelly Rowland - Commander, Rihanna - Only girl, Magic - Rude & Wyclef Jean - Perfect gentleman.

Word Count: 2673

Pairings: Laila x Harry

Enjoy! 😘  

A couple days later.

"So what are you going to get Harry for Christmas?" Nikki asks her as they had taken a break from shopping to have some lunch. "I have no idea what to get him!" she sighs. "I'm sure he'll be happy with you in some sexy lingerie," Nikki winks at her Laila lets out a loud laugh making people turn to look at her. "Or you can get him a Santa costume?" she laughs.

"What are you getting Stu?" Laila changes the subject. "He wants a new aftershave, I can't remember what he normally wears. What does Harry wear?" Laila has a think "Erm...a few different ones really Paco Rabanne One Million, Davidoff cool water, Boss Bottle that one what's his face is in the advert....the guy that plays Thor. Is one he smelt recently and liked but he didn't get it because they sold out and only had the sample bottle."

"You can get him that! I might have a sniff to see if it's something Stu would wear too!"

After lunch, they are walking through the shopping centre, Nikki ended up getting Stu some aftershave. Laila was still unsure what to get Harry, so Nikki drags her into Ann Summers. "What about these??" Nikki holds up some fluffy handcuff, Laila snorts. "We already have some, but without the fluff!" Nikki puts down the cuffs "What about cock ring? Closest Harry will get to sticking a ring on it!"

"We have that too," Laila blushes. "Crotch less knickers?" Laila nods signalling she has those. "Weighted love ball?" she asks and Laila again nods. "Feather tickler?" nod, "Blind fold? Riding crop?" Laila again nods, "Jeez, it would be easier to ask what you haven't got!" the pair laugh, "What? It has been eight years remember!" Laila winks at her.

"What about anal beads or ball gag?" Laila pulls a disgusted face "Finally! What about nipple clamps?" Laila laughs, "Only if they're being used on him!" she laughs. "God! Just think 6 months ago you were a born again virgin...now look at you! Getting more action than all of us put together!" Nikki giggles "Just over 7 months actually!" Laila corrects her.

Laila's phone Pings.

"Nikki! Look what Harry has done to Mabel!" she hands her the phone. "Awwww! Laila how adorable do she look!" the pair coo over the photo. "Has she met her new dog walker yet?" Nikki asks as she hands back the phone "She's met her, she's actually taking her out today." she smiles.

They ended up leaving the shop with some Christmas theme lingerie.

Later.

Laila arrives home all the lights are out "Harry?" Laila calls out. "I'm in the living room!" he calls back, she hangs up her coat and makes her way across the hall. When she opens the living room door the room is lit with tea and fairy lights, there are blankets and cushions on the floor in front of the coffee table. On the coffee table there is a chocolate fondue with fruit and marshmallows next to it "Aww Bear! What's all this?" she wanders over to him on the floor. "Where's Mabel?" she looks round the room as she sits next to him.

"She's gone to bed, Nessa took her for a 2 mile walk today!" he cups her face pulling her in for a soft kiss. "Aww, are they getting on OK?" he smiles, "Yeah, I've booked her in for Monday to Friday this week coming about lunchtime, so you'll met her this week."

"Right, enough about this dog walker. Are you going to let me feed you?" she winks, he leans forward grabbing a strawberry and hands it to her. She dips it into the chocolate and guilds it towards his lips, he's just about to take a bite when she redirects it to her mouth and takes a bite. He laughs and reaches over and pulls her lips to his. His tongue swirls with hers tasting the chocolate covered strawberry, he pulls away "That was amazing!" he grins at her.

She grabs another strawberry covers it in chocolate and traces it against his pulse line. Her tongue follows the same path, he groans and his breathing hitches as she pulls away she places the strawberry against his lips, he takes a bite. His lips brush over her finger tips making her every nerve ending stand on end. He knows the affect he has on her "How was that?" 

"Tasty!" he grins and winks at her "Your turn." he picks up a marshmallow covers it in chocolate holds it out for her to bite into it. "Hmmm..!" she smiles at him "Did you get all your shopping done?"

"I need to order a couple of bits online, but after that..I'm done."

"Christmas day, what are we doing?" he asks.

She sighs, "I don't know how we are going to split between them all!" she leans against him and his arm comes around her. "I have an idea....as it's our first Christmas together, what if we did Christmas day just me, you and Mabel? In bed in our PJ's? I'll cook us Christmas dinner. Then Boxing day we do a buffet for both families?" she sits up to look at him "So, a lazy Christmas day? In bed?"

"Yeah...PJ's, snuggles in bed and a Harry Taylor roast. What more could a girl ask for?!" he winks waiting for her answer. "I love it!" his face lights up "Really?!" he questions her. "Yeah, Christmas day in bed with my hunky boyfriend, but I have one alteration....no pajamas!" He raises a brow to her, "Noted!" he jokes. "Instead Christmas jumpers!!!" this wasn't the answer he was expecting.

She giggles "Your face! But I want matching Christmas pajamas!" He chuckles "OK, but no photos my brothers will rip into me!" she sighs "Oh! Come on, one photo? Just to make me happy?" she pouts. "Fine, if it makes you happy." she claps getting her own way, "I think you owe it to Mabel after today!"

He chuckles "She looked cute!" "She did! Oh are you working Saturday?" she asks. "I don't think so?" he questions. "Every Christmas we do a friends Christmas party, kinda like a blow out before the family stuff. Nikki has planned it for Friday night and she has found somewhere that is having a 90's to 2020's night"

"Sounds good, who's going?" he asks. "Remy, Alec, Nikki, Stu, Alene, Daniel and now us!" she smiles. "I'm guessing we get completely smashed then?" she laughs.

Friday evening.

They arrive at the club Nikki found, Laila and Harry are the last to arrive.

Laila notices Stu and Nikki at the bar, she sneaks up behind her Stu spy's her, but Laila puts her index finger to her lips signalling him not to say anything. As she reaches Nikki, she wraps her arms around waist, making Nikki whip round with a face like thunder until she realises it was her friend "Laila, I was just about to...whatever. Glad you guys are here." she shouts over the music.

"Sorry, Mabel's walker got back late. Where are the others?" Laila calls back, Nikki points over to a table where the rest of the group are sat. Harry leans in, "Shall we get a drink first?" Laila nods "What you guys having?" Stu asks. "I know Laila's drink, Harry what ya having?" Nikki asks.

After they make their way over to the others "Hey!!" Laila call out as she takes a seat next to Alec, who hugs her and Harry. They are sat for a few minutes when Kelly Rowland - Commander begins to play Nikki jumps up, grabbing Laila's hand dragging her to the dance floor.

Nikki starts to sing along.

"From here on out

I'll be your commander (I'll be your commander)

No fear no doubt

I'll provide the answer

Right now I command you to dance"

She points to Laila, who starts to sing along with her. The pair are dancing on the edge of the dance floor in view of the table, laughing, their bodies swaying to the music the pair attract a couple of strangers, who slowly move closer to them waiting to make their move to become their unwanted dance partners.

Completely oblivious to the unwanted strangers, the song switches to Rihanna - Only Girl they continue to dance. Suddenly both girls feel someone behind them as they turn they saw Stu and Harry, Laila looks up at him confused "I thought you don't dance?" she laughs. He wraps his hands round her, swaying her as he leans in, "I don't, but those blokes behind me were inches away from trying to dance with you two."

She looks behind him "Oh, you didn't want me dancing with a stranger?" she laughs, he shook his head and they continued dancing away.

The next song was Magic - Rude as it starts up Laila starts singing it to Harry when she gets to the chorus he joins in.....

"Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?

Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die

'Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is no!'

Why you gotta be so Rude?

Don't you know I'm human too?

Why you gotta be so Rude?

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl, marry her anyway

Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say

Marry that girl, and we'll be a family

Why you gotta be so Rude?"

Both grinning and smiling, he cups her face pulling her in for a kiss.

A little later back at the table "Laila, Boxing day....is it OK to bring Melissa?" Alene asks, Laila looks over to Rem. "Is Rem OK with that?" she looks to Alene who nods "If it's OK with Rem it's OK with me." when she looks up Rem mouths "Thank you." to her.

Daniel comes over from the bar with a tray of drinks "Sex on the beach anyone?" he passes them around the group. "Damn Daniel at least buy a girl a drink first!" Alene teases him "Sorry Len, but you aren't my type!" he winks at her, the group laugh.

A little later Perfect Gentleman - Wyclef Jean starts playing a tipsy Harry pulls Laila away from the bar and onto the dance floor. He spins her before pulling her close to him swaying them together. "Hey, you are a liar!! You can dance!" Laila giggles as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"My moo....ves only get bet...ter after I've add....a few." his words are slurred, his hips move with hers. He spins her round again, her body collides with his "I think you need to get drunk at every party or night out if it improves your dance moves!" he smirks before claiming her lips. As they sway with their lips locked, Laila can feel him begin to stiffen against her hips "Hmmm....someone seems to be enjoy themselves a little to much!" She winks.

He looks round checking no one is near, his lips brush against her ear "Can we head home? I got some other kinda moves I want to show you!" she giggles and bites her lip, "Let's go!" they say their goodbyes and head for the tube.

10 Minutes later.

Their underground train arrives empty, he sits and pulls her onto his lap. He captures her lips, the kiss becomes heated, Harry pulls off his coat and places it on her lap. His hand creeps under his coat snaking into her jeans "Bear, not here!" she whispers, he smirks against her lips continuing his trail. He lets out a soft growl. He reaches her hidden jewel, her head rolls back as his lip pepper down her neck.

She bites back a moan as he works between her slick slits.

Through the speaker they hear the next station is their stop, they both groan with disappointment. "Come on, we can continue this at home!" she gets up as the train pulls into their station.

2 Weeks later.

It's the day before Christmas Eve, Laila has just finished her last day until the new year, she wanders into the kitchen, "Oh, Harry! You're home early!" she was sure he mentioned he was training Stu tonight.

He's leaning against the kitchen counter with a whiskey in his hand, he looks over to her "I canceled Stu's PT session....Laila, there's something I need to tell you..."

He looks as if what he's about to tell her is tearing him up inside, her minds goes into overdrive....Was history repeating itself?

"Bear?" she looks at him concerned, he takes a deep breath "When I came back today to take Mabel for a walk at lunch....I bumped into Nessa." she laughs, "What is she annoyed we didn't get her to take Mabel out today?" he silently chuckles, but it quickly fades. "She was walking another client's dog, she asked if she could join Mabel as I was taking her over to the fields. We were just sat on a bench talking...she asked me about work and us. Then this afternoon she turned up at my work for a PT session, I didn't even know she booked. I was giving her a tour of the gym and she tried to kiss me..."

Laila's cheeks burn, but soon drain cold "What?!" was all she could conjure up from her lips. "Laila, I promise you as soon as she leaned in I stepped back. I was just as confused as you are, I asked her to leave after that." she can see he's just as shocked as she is "Laila? Please say something!" he softly pleads with her.

She sighs, making her way over to him cupping his face "Looks like we need to find a new dog walker." she laughs, he rolls his eyes at her. "Hey, It's not the first and probably won't be the last time a client tries to make a move on you....I remember a client making some more steamier moves on you about 7 months ago," she grins at him. He laughs, "Those were wanted moves!" he reminds her. "More than wanted...just look at what happened that night...but I'm glad you told me about Nessa." she pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss his nose.

"I've never given another woman a tour of the changing rooms since." he laughs before continuing "That is how and why we work because we are honest with one another!" he kisses her nose. "OK, can I be really honest..Bear?" he nods, "You stink!! Did you not shower before coming home?" Laila baits him. "Oh, I do? Do I?" he raises a brow to her.

With that he throws her over his shoulder "Harry?! Put me down!" she screams between her laughter. "Sorry, my love that's a no!"  his hand strikes her arse cheek as he begins to climb the stairs with her over his shoulder. "Harry!!"

Later.

Cuddled up on the sofa watching a film "Bear?" he hums in response. "Can I be the one to sack Nessa?" she giggle, he starts searching her hair, "Harry, what are you doing?" she asks. "Looking for your devil horns," he chuckles, "But if it makes you happy...Yes, you can sack her.... to be fair, it means I don't have to deal with her," he starts to stroke her hair back down "Now how to do it? Mwahahaha!!" she fakes an evil laugh, "You really are the devil!" he smiles at her "Oh, you've seen nothing yet, Bear!" she winks.

@aussieez​ @secretaryunpaid​ @lem-20​ @irisofpurple​ @khoicesbyk​ @txemrn​ @wombatsxkookaburras​ @beautifuluknownvoid​

He pulls her onto his lap, so she's straddling him, he cups her face "Why don't you show me?" his lips crash to hers.

Chapter 4

[rixxy8173571m3w1p3]

Whatever Keeps You Up At Night

Boy, this fic has been one I've been picking at for months. And while it's not perfect, I think I'm going to go ahead and post it cause I feel pretty good about it. There's a few song, movie, and poem references. I'll be surprised if someone gets them all.

In this fic the reader thinks about sleep

______________________

Clouds drifted across inky skies. Your central heat was cranked up just enough to leave you defrosted, but not any higher in fear it could fail. You thought of getting something to drink, but you didn't want to leave the warmth and comfort of your bed. Winter wasn't your favorite season, but it reminded you of him.

Oh, if you would've been in his home, there certainly would've been more sound. It wouldn't have necessarily come from the house itself, but from him; his breathing, footsteps, or the light whistle of his teeth which covered up his snoring; its sound feeding the springtime in your heart. If you had gone over when he was ready to go to bed, he would've stayed up and entertained you. Yet, none of that could've taken place if he wasn't home. So, you weren't in his home, you were in yours.

In the sharp corners where shadows laid, you dared not step until it was noon. In the daytime, though mostly in the evening was the draft which never went away and gave you a chill; causing you to wrap your duvet closer. It smelled like Ricks detergent, and you were surrounded by the night. You weren't a stranger to its lonesome ways, nor were you acquainted with it, but you existed in it; willing yourself to be anything other than awake. Try as you may, tonight's sleep might not come so readily, because you already begun to think about him and dearly wished he was home; on earth; in this dimension; anywhere close if he could help it; except for right now where it could not be helped that he was on assignment and that you had to be without him much longer then you wished, but you would wait as well as go on because you did have a life; albeit a little bland without him. 

At night, while part of the world was quieting down, other parts were waking up and heading off to work; you could do either; so could he. Sometimes you would work through the night, especially when you had an idea itching to be written, but most often you would sleep; or at least try to sleep with hopes of having sweet dreams; at times your dissociated thoughts having found their way back to you. You had never been much of a dreamer, and you rarely liked to dream; you never felt rested enough in the morning after, but at times it was nice; more so if Rick was in them. Thoughts of how he was doing kept you up at times - as it was doing now - and you could only wonder where in the universe he currently was, but you'd almost forget about it if anxious thoughts took over, and problems you hadn't solved reappeared. Sometimes thoughts of the past intermingled with your dreams; as pleasant or heartbreaking as they could be.

Tossing and turning were options you could accept, but if he was available, you'd call Zeta-7 to hear him, and allow his cheerfulness to ease you into a gentle submission; to relax beyond compare, and leave you in a decent enough mood to doze. Why, you could listen to him explain anything from quantum mechanics to the variety of animal mutations which existed in a galaxy far, far away; to be lulled and softened by his cadence, was a treat you wouldn't have traded for anything in the world. If it happened on the rare chance that you were overcome by exhaustion, you'd just fall asleep as soon as your head hit your pillow; not understanding how or when you'd close your eyes, though you were always grateful when you did. However, if it so happened that you woke up randomly without a cause, but from a feeling, then you knew; you had just missed him; his existence being like a midnight soliloquy; like a ghost, he was sometimes there, but then wasn't; it wasn't that difficult to see why, but it still surprised you nonetheless.

It seemed that once you had given Rick the permission to visit whenever he liked, he did; being woken by the familiarity of his presence on more than one occasion. It was neither ambiguous or obscure, but there, like the air you breathed, being a living, positive force of goodness; vital to your existence. Just when you thought there were no other comparisons to be made, he continued to become and shape himself into the extraterrestrial being that he caused himself to be. Oh, some days you would miss him something fierce, but whenever you'd find yourself so alone, you'd remember that he'd come; whenever it was that he could.

Now, he wasn't sloppy, nor did he hide that he had come by, but he was careful. Quietly, he would check about the house, then would step into your bedroom with caution as though sleeping beauty might wake. At times you only caught the blur which barely stepped out of the doorway, or was soothed by the hand which smoothed out your hair, and other times it was just his scent which lingered; an echo of his existence. Once he sang you a Mexican love song, which made your heart burn, and it seemed interwoven into your half-woken state; having been so drowsy you thought you had dreamt it. And because he worked at random hours, and sometimes for days and weeks at a time, he'd come and lightly kiss you hello and goodbye before going back to work, though your recollections were few. It was precious, and you enjoyed it; at least when you were conscious of it. Most of the time, however, you were only aware of the warmth which touched your cheek and of the blanket which had been placed over you when you were cold; these being the other ways in which he showed you he loved you.

Yet, it happened one night, just as you were about to go to sleep after having spent a better part of the day typing, you saw the familiar green glow in the hallway, and then saw him come through your doorway. He looked at you as though you were a ghost, and you stared into the dark, your nowhere man being there; somewhere out of your reach. As you were about to turn on the light, his gentle touch stopped you. Unsure of what he was about, you didn't struggle as he pulled you into an embrace, but having him squeeze you with all his might, trembling despite himself left you unsettled. “Ricky," you wondered; a flutter of anxiety starting to build in your chest. "what's the matter?”

“I-I-I wish I could just stay here with you,” he began in a low voice; the scent of smoke and disinfectant coming off of him as you rubbed his back. “where n-nothing bad happens.”

He had smelled like this before; as though he had been busy with janitorial duties instead of sorting through papers or lab samples. “Bad day?”

“Y-yeah."

Bad wouldn't be the beginning as to describe it; of that you were sure. You assumed it was another case where he was responsible for the lowly, more humble work which his workmates didn't care to do; or was assigned as to demean him; bullied into doing; likely all of the above. “I'm sorry,” you softened. “I hope it wasn't that bad.”

“It's - I'll b-be fine. I just - I-I had to see you.”

A chill ran through your back. Under any other circumstances, you could've interpreted that as one of his romanticisms, but his quiet desperation brought about a fresh wave of worry instead. "But can you see me in the dark?"

"I wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't for my bionic eye. Did I-I tell you about that yet? I'm sorry if th-that sounds gross."

"I don't know if you told me yet. I guess now is a good time as ever, but maybe you can explain it in detail another day."

"I'm s-sorry, I know you were about t-t-to go to bed, but I - all I could think about was you."

Warmth flooded your cheeks, and you wished you had worn something cuter instead of an old pair of pajamas, but you knew he didn't care. Zeta-7 was lovely that way. You tried to think of something flirty to say in return, but a yawn escaped you instead."Boy, I really have bad timing, d-don't I?" he commented.

"Dear, don't get me wrong, I love having you here," Which was true in all respects, though you wondered if you could put him at ease. "but maybe… perhaps it would be better if we went to the living room. I can get you something warm to drink if you'd like.”

“Y-you don't have to do that." he said in a hurry. "Besides," he continued. "don't - don't I look better this way?”

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you cooed. 

“No, you don't. Why would you say that? I already know you as you are and I can say for certain that you are the light of my life. To me, you've always been handsome. In fact," you smiled up at him; unsure if he could see your sincerity. "you're the man of my dreams. I dream of you, of that darling smile, of your winning personality which lights up my days, and of your sweetness. Your unconditional sweetness. If you don't believe me, you can always check my dreams.”

“Gosh, if life….si la vida pudiera ser u-un sueño," he sighed, "then I'm sure it'd be you. If I-I had the time it'd be nice if we could - if I could dwell there; in that dreamland of yours. I bet it'd be swell, and normally I'd think all of that - all of which you suggested would be swell, but today hasn't been--it hasn't been that kind t-t-to me."

"I know, but isn't there anything I can do for you Rick?"

He didn't answer. You moved a hand to caress his face in hopes of soothing him but instead found a bump on his right cheek which caused him to wince. “What was that?"

"It's - it's nothing."

"Don't you lie to me Ricardo," you reprimanded. "this is something."

Gingerly, you followed where his skin was warmer than usual and was raised. Your heart sank at the thought of what could've happened. "Oh no, did they…. did they hurt you? What happened?"

A noise escaped him, but he neither confirmed nor denied. This, in turn, made you reluctant to want to return him to the monsters, but you knew he would go; whether or not you wanted him to. The villainy which existed in his kind and Zeta-7's rarity made him such an easy target. You had talked to him about it before, about how he should speak up, but the harsh reality of his situation prevented him from doing so, and you wondered how much more would they try to take from him. True, he wasn't a broken man, but even bravery needed its encouragement and you were going to love him all the more for it because that's all you could do at the moment. "My sweet, sweet man, do you know what I love about you?"

Passing a hand through his hair, you were careful not to brush his cheek, to which a sigh escaped him; the likes of it as though he only just now began to calm. You continued. "I love that no matter what, you'll persevere and continue to be determined. You're so strong, that I couldn't be prouder, but please, don't let them take you away from me."

The arms which had almost been lenient in their affection held you a fraction tighter; immovable in the way in which you were grounded. It was as though being in want of comfort, he in turn desired to return in kind; his impalpable emotions giving way to simpler, softer ones.  "I missed you. I-I missed this. Warm hugs and a-affirmation."

"If it's hugs you want," you replied softly. "you can have as many as I can give you. Affirmation? I'll give you enough to reach the moon. I'm no scientist, but somehow, I know you could make it come true."

Warm lips kissed your forehead, and a relieved chuckle brushed your cheek.  "The math w-would be nearly impossible."

"So there's a chance." you giggled.

Leaning in close enough, he pressed his forehead to yours. "Yes, th-there is if you believe it enough."

"I do believe, but more so I believe in you. How...how can it be that someone as incredible as you would be harmed by people who look the same? To hurt my man of all people? I ought to get some training and become your bodyguard or something. It just isn't right for anyone else to touch even a hair on your head."

“It um - it was an accident. I sh-should've been paying attention to where I was going. I know it seems bad, but it isn't." which you knew wasn't completely true. "However, I'll get it treated. I-I promise.”

"Why don't you let me take a look at it? I have a first aid kit in the hallway. And while I never finished my medical training, I know enough to treat this. Please, why not let me play nurse and help you feel a little better?"

“M-mi corazón, I would rather y-you don't see it. It looks worse th-then it actually is, but it's fine. Really, I-I swear it is. You've already done more than enough.”

Pulling away a bit, you wondered. "Have I? It seems all I've done is talk you into oblivion, but what about you?" 

"Wh-what about me?" he wondered.

"It isn't like you to swear. I haven't heard you swear yet." you teased, pressing a soft kiss on his injury. "I doubt I ever will." 

"It's not th-that kind of swear," he began to explain, but then he stopped, thought for a bit, then chuckled. "but I-I-I see what you're - I understand the joke."

You noticed that Zeta-7 avoided standing in the moonlight, and while you couldn't really see him, you didn't relent in your expressions. “Man, if I would've known you were coming over, I would've dressed up a little and made sure there was extra food for you to eat. I'm sorry.”

“It's alright, I-I already ate. I finally used my coupon for Rick's Diner near main street."

Playing with the collar of his sweater you wondered. "Was it any good?"

"It um - it was alright, but I think next time I'll pack some food to warm up. You um - you smell nice by the way. I'm sorry if I-I smell.”

By now, you had gotten used to the variety of smells which could've wafted off him. He had smelled better and worse before, but that only added to his curious ways and charms. "Well, if you're so worried about it, then why don't you stop being so shy and come a little closer. That way you could smell like me."

The silence which proceeded was almost frightening. Hmm, you might've gone too far again, but you couldn't help yourself; half the time he opened the way for light teasing. And yet, you had told yourself before that it wasn't so kind to play with an old man's heart; despite the best of intentions, it might not have been perceived that way, but in the quiet of the room, you could feel his mature heart quicken at your words, and the light rustle of clothes as he fidgeted despite himself. He was so adorable, it was almost criminal, but before he could stumble upon himself in embarrassment, you added. "I was just kidding. Goodness, I guess I have bad timing too. At least where jokes are concerned. Still, to have you here…it's better than a dream."

Again, there was a silence that proceeded and you felt the tug of doubt, but he broke the silence with his sincerity. "I-I never thought you - that I'd be so lucky to enjoy moments like th-this. Let alone with a-a woman."

"In the dark?"

"Whenever. I'm s-sorry I still get embarrassed, but you make me nervous at times. Y-you can be a little unpredictable."

"Good," you brightened. "keeps things exciting. Though, everytime you say something like that, it makes me wonder if it'd be the last time I'd hear you say it. It better not be."

"In my line of work," he admitted solemnly, "there's always a-a chance of that happening, but it's not - I don't like to think about it. However, it does make me appreciate that I'm able to have someone when I - when I'm lonely. I know how pitiful that sounds and how much I repeat it, but you don't know how it's been a great comfort. If you weren't here I'd…"

Though the words died in his throat. You had a feeling as to what he might've meant to say, and frankly, you were glad to not have heard them. Rubbing his back, you cooed. "It's okay. It's all going to be fine. I don't mind how many times you tell me, because I know how much you mean it. I'm right here if you need me. As I am now, and always will be. If you'd like anything...if you need to or want some fresh clothes to change into, I'm sure I can find something around here that might fit. If you want to stay here with me, that's ok too. Whatever you need, I'll be happy to help."

"Allowing me t-t-to come here is more than enough." 

Resting a hand on his chest you wondered. "Are you sure? You could stay. Couldn't you stay?"

"I-I wish I could princess. You don't know how much I'd rather be here, but I-I don't want them coming here t-t-to retrieve me, so it's better if I go soon."

"Why?"

"If the guard Rick's have to retrieve me one too many times, they might limit my portal gun use and I'd rather avoid that."

"I swear, I think there's a curse keeping us apart."

Caressing your cheek with the pad of his thumb, he chuckled. “By now, I ugh - I suppose I've become a bit of a broken record, but I promise I'll make it up to you. Curses and swearing aside that is."

"I know."

You didn't want him to go. Not back to those people who couldn't appreciate him. How he put up with it you didn't know. “Maybe one of these days, you could skip out on work and we'll go somewhere. Maybe we could go to Blips and Chitz, and I'll try that one dance game designed for spider people. Wouldn't that be nice? Then we could go see the Jerry's and I can get asked embarrassing questions all about you. How does that sound?”

Bending down to kiss you, he winced but kissed you nonetheless. “That would be swell, but w-we can't go tonight. I-I should get going. I had wanted to make sure you were safe, but it's nice t-t-to see you up. I hope you didn't mind me barging in this way.”

“I don't mind, but I only wish that I could be awake more often when you're here.”

“I-I know, but it's okay. I usually can't stay for long anyway.”

What a shame it really was. You hid your face in his chest, relishing in the warmth and softness of his sweater while you still could; foolishly hoping that he would change his mind. Who would've known he could be so stubborn. Then again, you couldn't find fault in that. “Maybe if I ask the sandman hard enough to bring me a dream," you admitted in a girlish voice. "then I'll see you again real soon."

"I will see you. Y-you only have to look for me."

"In my dreams?"

"If y-you believe."

You pulled him in for a kiss then, pressing peck after peck knowing that he would disappear. You knew he didn't get enough affection already, and he'd have to make due with what you could give him, but was it really enough? You'd never know. With one arm around you, his other was digging around in his pockets for his portal gun. And just as his fingers lightly brushed it, you stopped him and handed him your favorite stuffed animal. “Huh? F-for me?”

“Mhm. That's Bimbo, he'll be sure to keep you safe. He um…my dad had always told me that this stuffy would keep me safe and I consider him one of the dearest friends in the world, but right now I know I'm not the only one who could use a friend. I'm sure he'd be happy to keep you company for a while."

"But h-he's important to you."

"True, but you're the most important to me. Now, something to remember is that he likes to give plenty of hugs and enjoys tea parties, though he would never readily admit it."

"I-I like those things too."

"See? You two are going to be good friends. There's no doubt that you two will get along."

The arm which had been holding you about your waist held you a fraction tighter, and if you hadn't given him a light push, he might've not been encouraged to go. “You gotta let me go now. I don't want you to get in trouble. Please, just make sure to return to me in one piece. Understand?.”

“Yes, I-I-I do. I will.” he answered, before opening a portal and stepping through. 

The warmth he had brought was already growing cold. And checking the time, you were sure that you weren't going to get a wink. So dragging the duvet cover with you, you plopped yourself on the couch and flipped through Interdimensional cable, until you found a movie you've might've watched a dozen times before; snuggling into the pillow that still smelled like him; hoping that he will be fine.

Fin

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Did you see Narita talking about another new work on twitter? Though since it is for a live-action drama airing on March 2019, I'm assuming he already finished writing the story so they can begin filming (but where did he even find time to write it?). But then again he is also making (or made?) the draft for the spinoff manga for the drama, so… Thinking about how many works he is currently working on makes my stomach hurt. (On another note, the synopsis slightly reminds me of Durarara...)

I did! I’m as flummoxed about it as you are, I mean…when was he working on this? We just! Don’t! Know!

For those who’ve done a double-take and gone, “Hold the phone…Narita’s written an original draft for a live-action drama? A live-action drama that’s actually gonna air?” well, here’s a couple tweets and an article on the drama with comments from the two lead actors, Narita, and others. The live-action drama is slated to broadcast on WOWOW in March 2019, and there’s going to be a spin-off comic starting serialization in February (as anon points out!).

The drama is called 「虫籠の錠前」which translates to “Lock of an Insect Cage.” It sounds like the leads are involved in some sort of conflict between “the people of the underworld” and those who were created via human experimentation by a cult called 「むしかごの庭」(Mushikago’s Garden --> Insect Cage’s Garden) …I think. Perhaps someone out there will correct enlighten me on this…

Edit: I checked my translations with a friend; he says they’re right. 

Frankly when I saw “human experimentation” and “cult’ I immediately thought of both Nebula and SAMPLE from Baccano! soooo even if this is live-action drama, I expect it will surely have a distinctive Narita feel to some extent. 

I’m still finding the concept of an actual LIVE-ACTION show being Narita’s brainchild the oddest thing, not quite able to wrap my head around it yet. I mean…live-action! That’s kinda mainstream, yanno? It feels like a more ‘major league’ thing than usual for him, so I’m going to pray this drama doesn’t flop. If it does well, it could open further doors…right? Fingers crossed.

I’ll end by sharing the key visual below:

[rageagainstthemarine]

Sav/Raya (cus I'm weak for shippy stuff) [Puts head on the other’s shoulder]

The Undercroft was taking its toll on him, Savill thought, as his rubbed at his eyes with crackled knuckles. There was a joke somewhere between the dry cracks on the back of his hands where they bled from the cold and the amount of blood magic it took to finish the Inquisition’s demands. It wasn’t funny how little enough he had left over to warm himself when he lifted his attention from his experiments and found himself stiff from the freezing winds coming in. 

Forge or no forge, Skyhold’s surrounding mountains and its snowstorms were no match. 

At least the library had four entire walls and books to make it seem like he was still doing his job in the warmer, upper halls. Drafts still came wheezing through where old bricks had come loose from their mortar and windows with cracks as old as their glass, but they were nothing compared to the Undercoft’s open view. 

Savill glanced at the back of his hand when he turned the page. He flexed his fingers and with a small push of magic, sped up his blood’s clotting until there was nothing but thin scabs. He ran a finger over them with a yawn before closing the book. He hadn’t been able to read the words with much clarity in the first place.

“I almost got worried when I couldn’t find you below,” Savill heard Raya say, and he stretched his legs before shifting over on the couch. He pat the open space besides him. “I thought maybe Fahleon had enough of you and threw you in the dungeons again.”

Savill snorted. “It’s good to see you, too, scilia. You always have the nicest words for me.”

“Of course!” She made herself comfortable and picked up the book he’d put down. She raised a brow. “Recounts of the Priests of Dumat’s Temple?”

“It is, unfortunately, not as an exciting read as the title suggests.” At least, he thought. He wasn’t sure what if he’d picked it up because of Corypheus’ mention of if it was because it was one of the only several written by Tevinter scholars. He scratched at his stubble. Not that it mattered now. He wondered if Raya was waiting for something to finish baking. He frowned. When was the last time he ate?

Raya tossed the book back onto the table and he blinked, hard, out of his thoughts. It wasn’t worth the effort to try to remember the past few days outside of what progress he’d made with the red lyrium samples. 

He glanced at his hands again. There were no signs of any sort of infection from them, and the scabs were already pulling themselves away as the skin healed beneath them. He lifted a brow. And the color was coming back to his fingertips. 

In fact, he’d felt warmed up the moment Raya arrived. That spell of hers, so wasteful but so convenient, to be able to keep a tight ball of warmth around herself in even the chilliest wind.

Savill sunk further into the couch with another yawn. It was hard to resist closing his eyes when it was quiet and he was warm and Raya babbled on about Skyhold’s gossip in that soft voice of hers. He hummed when he felt a hand in his hair and made himself comfortable when he found his head on her shoulder. It was an awkward angle, but he’d take the stitch in his side in exchange for a few more blessed moments. Good things never did come without their pain, anyway. 

“There’s a pie that’ll be done by the time you wake up.” His stomach growled just at the thought of it.

“Like I was saying,” he said. “The best words for me.”

[lunapaper]

The year was 2010. Emo was just starting to die out (long live the scene). I was studying to become a secondary school teacher, and Katy Perry was shooting whipped cream out of her boobs...

Second albums, more often than not, fail to live up to the hype. And yet, Teenage Dream has somehow endured.

While Perry’s 2008 debut, One of the Boys, launched her into the mainstream, it really hasn’t aged all that well. On tracks like ‘Self Inflicted’ and ‘Fingerprints,’ she tries way too hard to emulate Paramore’s bold pop punk. On others, she attempts to rebel against her gospel roots by turning the bawdiness up to 10.

It can also come off pretty juvenile at times. The singer was almost 25 when she sang on the title track: ‘So over the summer, something changed/I started reading Seventeen and shaving my legs/And I studied Lolita religiously/And I walked right in to school and caught you staring at me.’

But let’s be honest: Even though it’s been declared ~problematic~, you still jam out to ‘I Kissed A Girl’ when you hear it, don’t you? I hadn’t listened to ‘Ur So Gay’ before this, either, but its slinky, jazz-infused vibe absolutely slaps.

Like Teenage Dream is also a product of its time, presenting pop at its most sugary, hook-laden and bombastic. It managed to spawn 5 No.1 singles, the second album in history to do so after Michael Jackson’s Bad, as well as a documentary, Part of Me. There’s even a deluxe edition, cleverly titled The Complete Confection. It was Perry at her peak.

You know the title track, of course. Evoking images of cherry red lipstick, tight denim and driving down an empty highway in summer, Perry desperately clings to the memory of young love, breathlessly pleading ‘don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back.’

‘The One That Got Away,’ meanwhile, is its bittersweet sequel, Perry's lovesick nostalgia now tinged with regret. Yet, the only thing I really remember about the song is the video starring Cassian Andor himself, Diego Luna, as Perry’s past love, the beautifully dishevelled and tortured artist of my dreams (Dear God, that penetrating stare...) He’s also the only reason why anyone bothered to watch Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, if it wasn’t already obvious.

First single ‘California Gurls,’ on the other hand, is pure pop exuberance at its most campy and carefree, indicative of a more innocent time when it wasn’t driven by algorithms or social media. ‘Firework’ is still a go-to empowerment anthem for just about every kind of montage imaginable. ‘ET’ (featuring a pre-’presidential’ Kanye) is heavily-synthesised cyber pop that doesn’t get nearly enough love.

But Teenage Dream, in retrospect, has quite a few misses. ‘Peacock’ is just one big, long, glitchy dick joke. ‘Not Like The Movies’ is big ballad schmaltz. The brassy soft rock of ‘Hummingbird Heartbeat,’ meanwhile, opens with a hell of a line: ‘You make me feel like I'm losing my virginity/The first time, every time when you're touching me.’ And I’m pretty sure ‘What Am I Living For?’ is partly plagiarised from Justin Timberlake’s ‘My Love.’ Even Pitchfork awarded Teenage Dream a rather tame 6.8 in their recent retrospective review.

By the time Perry released Prism in 2013 – her ‘darker, moodier’ record - she had shifted further into ‘inspirational anthems.’ There was the inescapable mega-hit ‘Roar,’ the saccharine power ballad ‘Unconditionally’ and the Eastern-tinged ‘Legendary Lovers,’ complete with wellness and spiritual motifs.

But it wasn’t without its bangers: ‘Dark Horse’ (featuring Juicy J) jumped onto the trap pop bandwagon just in time with its subterranean bass and eerie, otherworldly synths. Even the slick, 90s-indebted ‘This Is How We Do’ has a certain charm.

Prism also marked the point where Perry’s invincibility began to wear off. Where the masses once lapped up her candy-coated antics, they were now calling her out for wearing braids in the video for ‘This Is How We Do’ and dressing up as a geisha during a performance at the American Music Awards.

And they would only get louder during her era of ‘purposeful pop.’ Released in the aftermath of the 2016 US election, Witness was meant to cement Perry as ‘Artist. Activist. Conscious’ - as her Twitter bio read at the time. She had joined Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. On Instagram, she was quoting the likes of Socrates and Plato. She was Woke now, and she was telling anyone who’d listen.

Yet you’d be hard pressed to find much trace of this ‘purposeful pop’ on Witness, bar the first single, ‘Chained to the Rhythm.’ Written with Sia and Max Martin, the singer implores listeners to ‘put your rose-coloured glasses on and party on’ amid whirling, colourful synths.

The rest of the record, however, is made up of either soppy, overly sentimental ballads (‘Save As Draft,’ ‘Pendulum,’ ‘Into Me You See’), awkward lyrical turns and CHVRCHES/Purity Ring knock-offs (‘Hey Hey Hey,’ ‘Roulette,’ ‘Deja Vu’).

Funnily enough, Purity Ring’s Corin Roddick produced some of Witness’ better tracks: ‘Mind Maze’ and the soaring ballad ‘Miss You More, along with ‘Bigger Than Me.’

Final track ‘Act My Age,’ meanwhile, feels like a pre-emptive strike against the criticism Witness would inevitably receive (‘They say that I might lose my Midas touch/They also say I may become irrelevant/But who the fuck are they anyway?’).

Then there’s the godawful ‘Bon Appetit’ (featuring Migos) with its food-related double entendres. It was ‘Yummy’ before ‘Yummy’ existed. Seriously, I just wanna see Orlando Bloom say he likes this song with a straight face...

But I will still defend ‘Swish Swish’ to the death. Do the lyrics suck? Yeah, but Perry’s never been the strongest lyricist. But its pulsing 90s house beat does a lot of the heavy lifting, along with Nicki Minaj’s spitfire verse.

The promotional rollout for Witness, meanwhile, proved just as messy. Among the most infamous was a 72-hour livestream, where voyeurs got to witness Perry sleep, meditate, do yoga and welcome a random assortment of guests, including Gordon Ramsey and activist DeRay McKesson. Then there was the meme-laden video for ‘Swish Swish. She literally served herself up on a platter in the clip for ‘Bon Appetit.’ She tried reigniting her feud with Taylor Swift on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. Needless to say, it reeked of desperation.

Looking back, though, you can’t help but feel a little bad for Perry, trying so hard to please only for it to blow up spectacularly in her face. So devastated, it sent her to the Hoffman Institute, which offers an abridged version of therapy. As she later told the Guardian:

‘I think the universe was like, ‘OK, all right, let’s have some humble pie here […] My negative thoughts were not great. They didn’t want to plan for a future. I also felt like I could control it by saying, ‘I’ll have the last word if I hurt myself or do something stupid and I’ll show you’ — but really, who was I showing?’

But although Witness lacked the perkiness of Teenage Dream or the cartoonish charm of One of the Boys, it shines best on its darker moments.

‘Dance With The Devil’ has the kind of smoky allure that wouldn’t look too out of place on a BANKS album, while ‘Power’ is a revelation. Produced by Jack Garrett, what could’ve been yet another dull empowerment ballad is turned into a gritty, groaning slab of vaporwave pop, with sultry sax riffs that sample, of all things, Smokey Robinson’s ‘Being With You.’ It’s electric as fuck. You believe it when Perry sings: ‘’Cause I'm a goddess and you know it/Some respect, you better show it/I'm done with you siphoning my power.’

If the singer had just done away with the whole ‘purposeful pop’ concept and stuck with Garrett, Roddick and Terror Jr’s Felix Snow as her core producing group, Witness probably wouldn’t have been half the failure it was. It could’ve had a chance to grow on people, the kind of slow burn Perry could’ve gotten away with at this point in her career. The cyberpop dystopian feel also could’ve gone hand in hand with her newfound wokeness, echoing people’s fear and anger in the aftermath of Trump’s win. But alas, we’ll never know...

While the rollout for Witness over the top, Smile’s was lacklustre and wildly inconsistent.

First single ‘Never Really Over’ came out a whole 15 months before the release of Smile to little fanfare, along with a hippie-inspired video to match. ‘Harleys in Hawaii’ later followed, which also stuck with the flower power aesthetic. Other singles - ‘Daisies’ and the title track – seemingly came and went without a trace.

So how did Katy Perry get to this point? And is there any chance of coming back?

It’s hard to say. A lot of artists go through a rough patch or two:   Miley's twerking antics divided audiences when she released 2013’s Bangerz. Taylor Swift’s reputation divided audiences. Only in recent years has Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP been vindicated. Such is the nature of music and pop culture in general. It’s fickle, just one vicious cycle after another; an endless quest for trend-bait that'll never end.

Right now, disco pop is going through a renaissance, while hyperpop reigns supreme. Dua Lip and Charli XCX are basically untouchable at the moment. TikTok has taken over from Top 40 radio when it comes to breaking hits, while the gap between album releases has also grown shorter and shorter. Even the nature of fandom has changed, shifting from old-school elitism to the bloodsport that is ‘stanning,’ along with an unhealthy amount of ‘endless simping’ (to quote a close friend of mine).

Perry, meanwhile, has failed to keep up, choosing to play it safe in order to avoid further scrutiny. But in doing so, she strips away the humour, the mischief and other idiosyncrasies that fans fell in love with in the first place.

But what choice did she have? As Junkee’s Sam Murphy notes in his own piece about Perry’s rise and fall:

‘At that point, you have two choices as a popstar — hunt for relevancy or make what comes naturally to you. Perry chose the former and came unstuck. She inserted vague wokeness into her songs as cancel culture infiltrated pop, tacked on rap features as hip-hop became the dominant commercial genre, and worked with producers who may have been able to find her credibility.’

(Full disclosure: I started writing my piece on Perry back in December 2020, so the timing of Murphy’s piece and mine is purely coincidental).

Even if you don’t believe in cancel culture, no one actually wants to be cancelled. It’s just not good for PR, especially for someone with an image as glossy and as carefully put-together as Perry’s. Even now, she continues to atone for Witness, telling the LA Times: ‘Having more awareness and consciousness, I no longer can just be a blissful, ignorant idealist who sings about love and relationships […] Even my travels have afforded me a new perspective on cultures, class systems and the inequality around the world, not just in the United States,’ though she carefully avoids the subject of politics on Smile.

But redemption is possible. Swift – Perry's one-time nemesis - was a total pariah back in 2016, mocked for her Girl Squad, for diddling the Hiddles while on the rebound from Calvin Harris and criticised for remaining coy on her political leanings. Now she’s earning indie cred with two of 2020’s biggest albums, folklore and evermore, and has thrown her support behind a number of social causes.

The devil works hard, but Swift’s PR team work harder. I might not be her biggest fan, but Taylor works Kris Jenner levels of mastery when it comes to rebuilding public sentiment. Thanks to her newfound indie cred, you’ve almost forgotten about the pastel atrocity ‘Me!,’ her 2019 duet with that insufferable drama kid cliché, Brendon Urie. Shifting her songs away from petty grievances to more original storytelling was also a smart move.

But while Swift has managed to move on, Perry seems to have fallen into the same adult contemporary trap as Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera and Pink, one that ensnares many female artists over 30 (Though many have also managed to escape – Gaga, Taylor, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kesha, Robyn...)

As ‘woke’ as the industry and fans at large might think themselves to be, they’re still pretty ageist. There's still an expectation to ‘mature’ your sound as you age, to become more ‘serious.’ No more fun, no more experimenting, boomer. But when you do end up filing away the edges, you’re called dull, generic and past your prime. Perry said as much on the aforementioned ‘Act My Age. You just. can't. win.

And yet, many female artists over 30 have created some of their best work yet in just the past year or so: Hayley Williams made the dramatic shift from pop rock to low-key, Radiohead-inspired tunes on her solo debut, Petals For Armor. Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters was hailed by critics as her most bold, urgent and visceral. Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? was a cut of understated disco pop elegance. Carly Rae Jepsen, meanwhile, released an equally stellar companion to 2019’s Dedicated.

At this point in her career, Perry could afford to follow a similar path to that of the Canadian singer. Once the meme value of ‘Call Me Maybe’ wore off, along with her mainstream appeal, Jepsen finally had a chance to discover real creative freedom, pushing her sound to greater heights and earning critical acclaim, all without having to compromise her love for catchy hooks and bold synth pop arrangements.

A couple of years ago, a Reddit user made a post about participating in a focus group held by Perry’s label to discuss why she’s ‘no longer one of the[ir] most notable female pop artists,’ and ‘what can [they] do with her image or marketing to make you care about her again?’

It’s depressing to think that an artist as accomplished as her needs a focus group to help solve her identity crisis. There really is no easy answer. Hopefully, Perry will be able to return more vibrant and assured than ever, on her own terms...

-Bianca B.