#Shelly's London

[winchestergirl2]

genv Episode 7 is SICK (and twisted)

[luminositymoth]

Hypothetically, I believe the creature could’ve competed in and absolutely destroyed the Olympics. Frankenstein is set in an unknown date in the 1700s, but, knowing that it was published in 1818, I’m going to take the liberty of placing it in the later 1700s. The creature was first born then and, knowing that he was created to be better than any man, I assume he would’ve lived longer than any man as well. The first global Olympics was set in 1896 and the creature could’ve very well lived until then, especially if we work with the idea that Victor could’ve mended him as needed for a majority of his life (of course the initial requirement to be fulfilled is that Victor cares for his creature instead of abandoning it). Additionally, the 1896 Olympics included European countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, where the book is generally placed. There are no explicit rules that I can find baring the entry of human made creatures, so I can only assume the creature would be allowed to enter on technicalities. Therefore, the creature would’ve been able to join the first Olympics and absolutely win, with his superhuman size, strength, speed, and mental abilities. However, this will always stay hypothetical because Victor would never care for his creature.

[packdigitalforyou]

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[flashfuckingflesh]

Underneath the Pulpit Waits an EVIL Difficult to Stomach! "The Borderlands" reviewed! (Second Sight Films / Limited Edition Blu-ray)

Order the Limited Edition Blu-ray of “The Borderlands” Here at Amazon.com After exposing phony divine miracles at a Catholic Church in Brazil that resulted in the death of fellow Catholics, including a Cardinal, Vatican investigator and religious brother Deacon starts to lose faith with every fraud upon fraud case that points to the non-existence of a higher being.  Having fallen on the drink,…

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

a list of some autumnal movies/series 🍂

i am nothing if not an organised little goblin who can not stop themself from making a good list. this is just in case you want something with that fall vibe but can't think of any. just close your eyes and point somewhere on this little list, or even put the numbers in a generator and go with whatever the result is ♡

winter | spring | summer

🥧 ‧₊˚ ⋅ movies ⋅˚₊‧

nosferatu (1922) 

sabrina (1954)

the creature from the black lagoon (1954)

psycho (1960)

rosemary’s baby (1968)

the rocky horror picture show (1975)

halloween franchise (1978-)

friday the 13th franchise (1980-)

an american werewolf in london (1981)

dark crystal (1982)

a nightmare on elm street (1984)

ghostbusters (1984-)

ronja rövardotter (1984)

clue (1985)

princess bride (1987)

the witches of eastwick (1987)

elvira mistress of the dark (1988)

dead poets society (1989)

when harry met sally (1989)

ghost (1990)

the witches (1990)

death becomes her (1992)

hocus pocus (1993)

addams family values (1993)

interview with a vampie (1994)

the craft (1996)

the first wifes club (1996)

the scream franchise (1996-)

halloweentown (1998)

practical magic (1998)

you’ve got mail (1998)

the blair witch project (1999)

sleepy hollow (1999)

chocolat (2000)

amelie (2001)

the lord of the rings franchise (2001-2003)

scooby doo (2002)

school of rock (2003)

mona lisa smile (2003)

peter pan (2003)

pirates of the caribbean franchise (2003-2017)

north & south (2004)

pride and prejudice (2005)

the descent (2005)

just like heaven (2005)

the devil wears prada (2006)

the lake house (2006)

penelope (2006)

el orfanato (2007)

juno (2007)

ratatouille (2007)

bridge to terabithia (2007)

the edge of love (2008)

twilight (2008)

the curious case of benjamin button (2008)

julie & julia (2009)

jennifer’s body (2009)

dorian gray (2009)

coraline (2009)

true grit (2010)

the cabin in the woods (2011)

jane eyre (2011)

wuthering heights (2011)

perks of being a wallflower (2012)

the odd life of timothy green (2012)

hotel transylvania (2012-)

the conjuring franchise (2013-)

what we do in the shadows (2014)

the riot club (2014)

as above so below (2014)

john wick (2014-)

the age of adaline (2015)

the witch (2015)

far from the madding crowd (2015)

the edge of seventeen (2016)

paterson (2016)

20th century woman (2016)

the love witch (2016)

mary shelly (2017)

murder on the orient express (2017)

get out (2017)

a quiet place (2018 + 2020)

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society (2018)

on the basis of sex (2018)

knives out (2019)

ready or not (2019)

the lighthouse (2019)

little women (2019)

the gentlemen (2019)

emma (2020)

ammonite (2020)

the dig (2021)

fear street trilogy (2021)

good luck to you, leo grande (2022)

the batman (2022)

fresh (2022)

bodies bodies bodies (2022)

mr malcom's list (2022)

totally killer (2023)

slay (2024)

🧦 ‧₊˚ ⋅ series ⋅˚₊‧

moomin (1990-1992)

twin peaks (1990-1991)

x files (1993-2018)

buffy the vampire slayer (1997-2003)

gilmore girls (2000-2007)

supernatural (2005-2020)

vampire diaries (2009-2017) / the originals (2013-2018) / legacies (2018-2022)

downton abbey (2010-2015)

the walking dead (2010-2022)

once upon a time (2011-2018)

american horror story (2011-)

teen wolf (2011-2017)

peaky blinders (2013-2022)

outlander (2014-)

how to get away with murder (2014-2020)

the magicians (2015-2020)

izombie (2015-2019)

poldark (2015-2019)

critical role (2015-)

stranger things (2016-)

ghost files / buzzfeed unsolved (2016-)

lucifer (2016-2021)

shadowhunters (2016-2019)

anne with an e (2017-2019)

the good fight (2017-2022)

riverdale (2017-2023)

manifest (2018-2023)

killing eve (2018-2022)

succession (2018-2023)

you (2018-)

a discovery of witches (2018-2022)

the chilling adventures of sabrina (2018-2020)

dickinson (2019-2021)

virgin river (2019-)

carnival row (2019-2023)

the witcher (2019-)

the umbrella academy (2019-2024)

sanditon (2019-2023)

good omens (2019-2025)

the haunting of bly manor (2020)

i’ll be gone in the dark (2020)

queens gambit (2020)

the great (2020-2023)

shadow and bone (2021-2023)

the nevers (2021-2023)

wednesday (2022-)

interview with the vampire (2022-)

vikings valhalla (2022-2024)

lessons in chemistry (2023)

my lady jane (2024-)

[teecupangel]

Do you think ac x peaky blinders would work? Like with the frye twins? (ghost kenway nonny)

If we’re setting this around Season 1, Jacob and Evie would be around 75+ years old by then.

But we do have a certain Frye that can interact with the Peaky Blinders:

Lydia Frye.

She already has dealings with Churchill so it won’t be that strange that her connection to Churchill will be the reason why she would investigate the Shelbys.

I think around season 2 or 3 would be the best place to put her though, after Grace’s betrayal, making this a case of Churchill asking Lydia for help because he realized that the Shelbys may become even stronger if they’re not kept in check.

Of course, just because they’re on their 70s, doesn’t mean the Frye twins can’t join her.

“We just want to visit our old haunts, that’s all.”

Lydia doesn’t think anything of it. She trusted her grandfather and grand-aunt to know what’s best for them.

Also, Evie’s grandson is with them and he has a good head on his shoulder so it should be fine.

It was not find.

Jacob sees the Peaky Blinders and immediately recognized where he heard the name Shelby before.

After Jack corrupted the Rooks and killed those who opposed his reign of terror, the Brotherhood had to destroy what remains of the Rooks to ensure the safety of London.

It had broken Jacob’s heart and Evie told him that it was fine if he wanted her to take care of it. He shook his head.

The Rooks were his responsibility. It was only right that he ended things.

That was why he realized why the Shelbys looked familiar.

During the final days of the Rooks, Jacob ordered that the children who were being used by the Rooks as messengers and spies to be sparred. The Brotherhood agrees because, while these children had aspirations to be part of the malicious merciless Rooks that Jack created from the corpses of those who followed the Fryes before, they hadn’t done anything wrong. They were still young.

They still deserved a chance.

One of those children was a boy only called ‘Shelly’.

It was a nickname that would sometimes be used in fondness and sometimes as an insult.

He wasn’t sure if Shelby was the boy’s real last name or if he took on the name Shelby to run away from the stigma of being the Rooks’ Shelly.

Regardless, Jacob recognized his… children? Grandchildren? Jacob wasn’t entirely sure if they were his direct relatives or if they were cousins or something similar.

But now Jacob believes that it is his responsibility to look into this and, if the Shelbys do prove to be detrimental to the safety of the populace, end their power just as he did with the Rooks.

He tries to hide it from Evie but she found out early on.

It wasn’t all the hard to considering Evie found the Shelbys quite familiar, especially the one called Tommy. Realizing they might be related to the Rooks’ Shelly, Evie realized that Tommy definitely looked like Shelly so they might be directly related or something.

And that’s how the Frye twins start investigating the Shelbys while hiding it from Lydia who is… technically doing the same thing but the Brotherhood had given her permission to take out the Shelbys if necessary.

They did not agree to the chaotic Frye twins to be part of the mission.

And then there was Evie’s grandson who is… well… there to keep the chaos to a minimum.

At the very least… he’ll try.

(His best threat is “I’ll tell Lydia everything” and that usually gets everyone to back off XD)

[honeypotdrops]

✿Note from Honey: this is just some crumbs i have to sprinkle for you on a new OC i’m working on, i’ll post more about her background and story soon if it’s wanted but i had to get this one outta the box first- consider this a light snack from me to you <3

✿side note: I REALLY hope you enjoy this- being new to this game, i was so hesitant to post this because i don’t feel as though my writing is to the quality to do so just yet but i just thought WHAT’S THE WORST THAT’S GONNA HAPPEN :) anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: literally nothing i don’t think? the slightest mentions of alcohol, soft soft, cute times of people reminiscing about home!<3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

♡ 𝒮𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒟𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 ♡

OC Calico X Task Force 141

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Missing home was a part of calicos’ daily routine.

During the spare hours of the day she’d be thinking of the next time she’d get to cram onto a busy tube from Victoria Station.

She’d dream of the first time after a long time of standing in the cold and shielding from the rain with her friends outside an overpriced bar in Central London, sipping Prosecco, even though she’s always hated it, but never had the heart to tell them..

She missed the way home made her feel- Some days, more than others.

This was in fact, one of them days.

She was swamped head to toe in paperwork, deadlines, mission reports, “that person’s injured”, “this person wants to arrange a meeting” and the list unfortunately went on..

She huffed and moved away from her desk, throwing her head back and feeling tears form in her eyes and stress taking over her body.

her thoughts were disturbed by a knock at the door- 

“Come in!” She called half heartedly.

Gaz struggled as he entered the room, holding a large box, covered in brown paper with small tiny illustrations of christmas trees and Santa hats all over it.

“this, my darling was left, for you” he smiled brightly, dropping the heavy package on the desk making a loud thump as it left his hands.

Calico furrowed her brows, inspecting the parcel on her desk.

“For me?” she replied in disbelief “What for?”

All Gaz responded with was a shrug “No idea, was just labelled as ‘special delivery’ and addressed to you” he smiled softly at her, turning to leave the room.

She forcefully ripped off the paper, the amount of sellotape on this thing was criminal.

with one last pull of the plastic, the box was finally open.

she delved inside, rummaging through layers of red and green tissue paper.

She found a small card, written on it was “To our Frankie”

she flopped back down on her chair, opened the envelope, and pulled out the card. 

There was a picture on the front of two penguins in hats and scarves ice skating around a Christmas tree. She smiled to herself and read the inside;

Frankie, 

Home feels strange without you here, we spend everyday missing you and thinking about you, we hope that this helps you in the same troubled times, and we hope it helps you remember the feeling of home..

P.s don’t eat them all at once, and remember to share, we know what you’re like!

All our love,

Mum, Dad and Freddie 

x x x

the tears that were looming over her began to fall, she smiled and held her hand to her chest, the warmth of love radiating inside her, like a glowing orb where her heart once was- 

she wiped her tears on the back of her hand, placing the card upright on her desk beside a picture of her, her parents and her younger brother. 

she got up and dove into the parcel without a second thought, she found all sorts of her favourite goodies and treats she loved from back home that filled the box to the brim.

Dairy milk bars, tonnes of them, so many she’s sure she could start her own trade here on base, wine gums,  boxes of Yorkshire tea bags, biscuits, the absolute lot.

as she dug deeper to the bottom, she found a small printed picture of her and her two friends, Shelly and Kate- it was one of the last pictures they had taken while she was on leave.

The three of them outside her childhood home, arms wrapped round one another, smiles and sunburned cheeks, all with glasses of whatever concoctions they were drinking that night.

she turned the photo over to another message, neatly written in bright pink and purple gel pen with small doodles of hearts and stars around it,

“WE MISS YOU TOO! CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU CALI” 

P.S- YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHARE THIS ONE!

LOVE YOU ALWAYS,

-YOUR GIRLS<3

 X O X O

Calico shook her head and huffed out a laugh, she peered into the box where there was two mini bottle of Prosecco and a tacky picture frame that looked like it fell and stumbled out of the nineties, the words “best friends” around the pink and green frame.

she slid the picture in and placed it next to her other ones that scattered across her desk, smiling at the reminders of the people who wished her a safe return home.

She placed the items back in the box and slid it under her desk, taking one of the chocolate bars out and happily munching away while returning to the work ahead of her.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Calicos’ day was now slowing coming to an end, she had made a cup of tea with the goodies sent from her Mum and sat herself down behind her computer, shoving another piece of chocolate in her mouth before tackling the last piece of work ahead of her.

Another knock at the door appeared causing her to almost choke on the mouthful of chocolate she had crammed in.

“Yeah- uh..come in” she muffled out.

“Heard you had a delivery love?” Price poked his head round the door, smiling at her with intrigue in his eyes.

Calico squinted “yeah…maybe..” she replied cautiously while swallowing the evidence to try not to give herself away, her Mum wasn’t wrong- she did not like sharing.

“what’d ya get then?” Ghosts’ body moved in behind Price, his dark eyes making her break and her previous innocent look start to crumble slowly.

“Aye don’t be all secretive bonnie, let us av’ a look then” Soap tried shoving his way past both bodies standing in her doorway but failing and only his head appearing below the Captains.

Calico put her head in her hands and laughed at the sight.

“It’s like you lot get the most minuscule scent of a good cuppa and suddenly become like bloodhounds searching for it” she chuckled, shaking her head “is there more of you or-?”

“Yeah, i’m here too i just- i don’t think anymore of us can fit in this doorway” Gaz called out 

Calico rolled her eyes and smiled, motioning for them to come in and sit with her.

the placed themselves round her little space watching intensely, like small primary school children during show and tell, while she showcased the goods she had been sent.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

 Tea’s had been made and shared out between the group, biscuits had been dunked and wine gums had been shared, much to Calicos’ disgust but, part of her didn’t mind so much after seeing the happy looks upon their faces.

They spent most of the night snacking away as the sky got darker and the base got quieter.

Calico turned to the box and dug out a chocolate bar she had been keeping for herself.

She peeled back the purple wrapper and snapped it bit by bit, she handed a strip of it to each of them, smiling as she did.

They all savoured it, the taste that was so familiar to them all, reminding them of their childhood, Christmases with loved ones or anytime there was a bowl full of treats on the family table. 

Calico smiled at the sight, she nibbled the last piece and sat back in her chair next to Price.

He sighed contently finishing his last square and taking a sip of tea before speaking.

“tastes’ like home” 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Note from Honey: If you made it this far thank yewww for reading <3 i really hope you liked it, i feel like it’s not much but BARE WITH, i have so many ideas for this character.. at the moment they’re all kinda balled up and bundled in a box lmao

Love ya!

-Honeypot<3

[owls-spice-cabinet]

Daybreak

Posting this was so weird bc I didn't want to post it on Ao3 but there was already Part 1 on Ao3 so HERE WE ARE i guess idk it's out there floating in the void somewhere without my name on it bc I couldn't figure out how to post anonymously on Ao3 and it's too late to reclaim my orphan now :) but here's the Ao3 link

ANYWAY. This is a continuation of a previous fic of mine called Dawning. Ao3 link there for everyone. @worldseer @cod-dump @midnight193 anyone not 18 years of age, get the fuck out for legal reasons thanks byyyyee

Words: ~7000 Content: blow jobs, cum swallowing, outrageous flirting, idk it's not that spicy Ship: implied eventual nikpricegraves; it's mostly just nik/graves and price/graves

Phillip had been in London a few times now, mostly either stopping over between flights or meeting up with a new client from somewhere even farther away. He had a few places he liked to frequent when he had some time to himself, although that wasn’t common. Typically, he’d follow his Shadows around like their namesake to various restaurants and bars—sorry pubs. Right now, however, he’d let the more outgoing of them go off while he and the others stayed at their hotel. It was a new place, not one he’d stayed in before with or without his troops, but he’d also never brought this number of troops through London before. When he’d asked Laswell for recommendations, he’d taken her seriously.

For the price, the place was surprisingly accommodating, which probably put it towards the top of Laswell’s list in the first place. It was far from the city center, leaving plenty of buffer room between his forces and the rest of the public. He wasn’t paranoid, he was experienced, and experience told him cordoning off a whole floor of one hotel with armed guards—armed American soldiers—might have raised too many questions surrounded by an entire city of international travelers. Granted, that meant the rooms were a little smaller than some others he'd stayed in, but the management clearly had some experience in putting up soldiers for a few nights.

It did have a nice bar, too. It was backed up against the hotel’s in-house restaurant, so they could share supplies without having the bar as the main focal point to the foot traffic outside. There were numerous tables throughout the space, and a collection of booths set up against the back wall and one of the sides. A large rectangular window ran the length of the wall opposite the bar, and there were two doors out of the room: one exited to the street behind the hotel, and the other went to the rest of the building and the rooms upstairs.

Phillip sat in a booth against the side wall, enjoying the chance to quietly wind down after a more informative mission than he’d counted on. It had been slightly awkward at times, after he’d worked up to returning Nik’s advances where other people might notice it. He hadn’t been making a show of it, just… hadn’t been hiding. It hadn’t been awkward doing it—actually that had been so stupidly easy, it had felt like breathing. Answering very carefully worded questions from his officers had been the awkward part, mostly for them. Especially for Jackson, who’d followed him out of the Marines and had stayed at his right hand for almost a decade now.

Fortunately, no one had been an ass about it. Granted, that was probably a perk of being your own boss. If anyone was dumb enough to be an ass where he could prove it, he could fire them. But honestly, aside from the odd conversations and the usual frustrations that came with dealing with Russians, the mission had wrapped up neatly. Not entirely successful, but certainly far from failure.

Phillip got up and walked over to the bar. One of the bartenders, a woman with dark red hair and glasses whose nametag read Shelly, took notice and put a smile on as he came within conversational distance.

“Is everything alright, sir?” she asked.

“Just fine, thank you,” he answered politely. He set his half-finished whiskey on the rocks down on a coaster. “If I ask you to keep an eye on that while I go use the restroom, would you do that?” He figured it wasn’t much to ask, considering there were all of twenty people in the room, and all but three were his Shadows—his quieter Shadows.

Sue him, he was a little paranoid. He was military, he’d just pissed off some Russians, and he wasn’t at his home base. He was allowed.

Shelly smiled and nodded. “Absolutely, sir. I’ll put it over here for you,” she said, picking it up and setting it behind the bar near her station. “Just ask when you’re back.”

“Much obliged,” he said, taking note of where it had ended up. Then he left.

-scene break-

When he returned, he heard the hum of chatter in the room was about the same as he’d left it. Nothing much had changed. It was still only barely 21:45, so no one was in a hurry to get to bed—not even his Shadows, who’d had a long flight today. Phillip eyed his Shadows, scattered at various booths and tables throughout the room. They seemed to be exactly as he’d left them as well, gathered in their groups of three to five and talking quietly amongst themselves.

The doorway that led down to the restrooms was on the far end of the room from the bar. He’d emerged behind most of the other people in the room, giving him plenty of time to survey the room. He looked around to where he’d been sitting earlier, and stopped.

Now that was fascinating.

Laswell had recommended this hotel, he recalled. She knew it had the capabilities to keep him and his soldiers safe and happy for the time they had to be here. Except, Kate Laswell was not an officer of any military force. She had no troops to command, and rarely traveled in groups who needed such accommodations. Why might she have known about this little place, then?

Phillip smiled to himself, recognizing the back of Nikolai’s head and shoulders at one of the tables near the rows of booths against the back wall. Looking around, he saw John Price standing at the bar, making small talk with the other bartender whose name Phillip didn’t know. He almost did a double-take, then stared, trying to figure out what about John’s person had suddenly made it almost impossible to look away from him.

He figured it out as he walked silently up behind Nik’s chair. Nik, John, and Sergeant Garrick had all had to leave before the mission in Urzikstan had officially resolved, so he hadn’t been there in person for Phillip to share all the amusement he found in putting a few puzzle pieces together about himself. For example, he’d figured out, after those three had left, why he had felt so differently towards Nik when John had clearly been flirting with him over roughly the same amount of time, and Phillip had been just as clueless.

The answer was surprisingly simple. Surprising to him, at least. Again, he had been clueless.

See, Nik had started out as something resembling a friend. If John hadn’t been in the picture, Nik was someone Phillip would have asked out on a date, held hands with, watch a movie with—all those horribly romantic things he’d always felt weird about before.

John? Not quite the same thing.

He’d finally figured out he wanted John to absolutely ruin him, even though he wasn’t entirely sure what that would entail.

And while the dark blue collared shirt and grey jeans John wore now were nothing particularly special on their own, it was the first time Phillip had seen him out of field uniforms and a tac vest. The outfit was nothing if not encouraging.

When he reached Nik’s chair, he put one hand on the back of it, careful not to touch Nik more than brushing his shirt with the back of his knuckles. He knew sneaking up on people with combat training was a gamble already.

“John oughta be more careful,” he said in a low voice, “leaving such a handsome man like you unattended in a bar at night.”

Nik had tensed initially upon realizing someone had snuck up on him. But he had long since recognized Phillip’s voice. He hummed, giving no verbal answer, his shoulders relaxing.

Phillip leaned over, placing his other hand on the tabletop so he was hovering beside Nik’s head. “But then again, with an ass like that, maybe he doesn’t need to be careful,” he said, tilting his head slightly in John’s direction with a small smile.

Nik’s own smile turned a bit devious as he followed the indicated line of sight to John’s ridiculously attractive backside. Then he looked back to Phillip. “Are you suggesting I only stay with him for his looks?”

Phillip turned his head to meet his gaze. “I wouldn’t dream of such an insinuation, Nikolai. I have it on very good authority that you have excellent taste in men.”

That made him laugh softly, his dark eyes crinkling. Phillip had missed the heady, fluttery feeling he got seeing it. The whiskey he’d been drinking earlier couldn’t compare. Nik lifted a hand to place under the far side of Phillip’s jaw, turning his head just a bit more until he could lean in to kiss him.

Phillip gave a silent sigh, leaning into him in return. Yeah, he had missed this too. When Nik released him, he checked the bar and found John hadn’t moved.

“How long are you here?” Nik asked him.

“Just tonight and tomorrow night,” he answered, a little distantly. He was thinking.

“Don’t stare too hard, you’ll burn a hole in those very hard-working jeans,” Nik said with a smile.

Phillip ducked his head and smiled. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and glanced back up at the bar before looking at Nik again. “He was flirting with me half the mission.”

“He was, very badly. It was funny when you did it back, though,” Nik said, reaching up to trace the underside of Phillip’s jaw with a fingertip.

He nodded his agreement. He’d only managed it once or twice before John and the rest had left, but the effect had been priceless. The look of shock all over his face right before he’d muttered something like “fuck off” and stalked away had entertained Phillip for days the first time.

“I don’t want to interrupt your evening, but I also feel like you’ll understand perfectly if I tell you this,” he said, keeping his voice low at Nik’s ear.

Nik’s hand remained tucked under his jaw. “I am listening, Лучик,” he murmured.

Phillip was glad the light in the room was low enough to help disguise whatever blush was creeping up the back of his neck. Just because he’d admitted it to himself didn’t mean he knew how to admit it to other people. He’d meant it when he’d said Nik would understand—he was counting on it, actually. “I have been wanting that man to fuck me into oblivion for weeks.”

The smile on Nik’s face widened, gaining a sharp edge. His dark eyes glittered when they turned to him. “I don’t think I would mind such an interruption at all,” he said in that low tone that made Phillip’s knees wobble a bit. “I have it on good authority that he is very good at such things.”

Phillip could practically feel the blood in his body draining south—a fairly novel sensation, he might point out. He hadn’t realized what proper sexual arousal felt like outside of physical stimulation until about a month ago, and that had been almost as groundbreaking as realizing he hadn’t actually been romantically invested in any of his previous relationships.

Nik wasn’t finished speaking, however. “I do have two conditions,” he said. “One, you are doing the work of seducing him, because I want to see that. Two, I will allow the interruption tonight, if I am allowed to have you to myself tomorrow night?” He accentuated the last phrase by taking hold of Phillip’s jaw, turning his face to him, and gently running his thumb across his bottom lip.

This man would be the death of him, Phillip was sure. He grinned, barely resisting the urge to lick his bottom lip. “You got yourself a deal, handsome,” he said. He lifted his hand from the back of Nik’s chair, setting it on his shoulders instead. Before he stood up, Nik pulled him in for a peck on the lips. He squeezed his shoulder in return as he straightened up from where he’d been leaning on the table.

Nik and John must have come here before, he was starting to suspect. John had been standing at the bar, chatting with the other bartender for a while now. Even the most complicated cocktails on the menu here didn’t take that long to make, so there must be some history there. Plus, Phillip remembered he still had to retrieve his own drink from Shelly. He did that first, walking up to her with a polite smile.

“I’ve kept it safe for you sir,” she said, setting it in front of him.

“Thank you very much,” he said, picking the glass up and taking a drink from it. Then he turned to face down the bar towards John. “So why don’t you ever wear jeans in the field, John?”

John stared at him, blue eyes dark and impassive. The bartender he’d been talking to took note and set about actually making drinks. John was silent for a long pause, like he was waiting or looking for something. “Thought those lot might be military,” he said gruffly, gesturing to the nearest table of Shadows.

They weren’t in uniform exactly, but it wasn’t far from it. A few of them wore the company-issued sweaters or jackets. Hell, Phillip himself was wearing a black collared shirt with the Shadow Co. insignia stitched small over the left breast. He was allowed to wear his own merch, he’d founded the damn thing.

“Yeah, we’re stopping over for a couple nights on our way back across the pond,” Phillip explained, stepping closer. “Laswell recommended this place, actually. Guess I know why now, seeing as you’re both lookin’ pretty cozy around here,” he went on, tipping his head towards Nik watching from his table.

John grunted, accepting a pint from the man behind the bar. “Yeah, funny thing,” he muttered, taking a sip, then licking foam from his mustache.

“Gonna answer my question?” Phillip prompted, leaning an elbow on the bar. “Saw plenty of the guys wearin’ jeans in Mexico. Never seen ‘em on you ‘til now.”

It was clear John didn’t quite grasp what he was doing here yet, but was still valiantly trying to figure it out. “We have dress codes for a reason,” he answered, holding his gaze. “They work for job.”

Phillip nodded like he’d actually cared about the reason why. He hadn’t, not truly. “Well, I guess I’m grateful you follow dress codes, then,” he said, raising his glass a little.

He got another outwardly impassive look in response, only briefly interrupted by the bartender placing a second drink near him, presumably for Nik since Phillip had seen vodka go into the mix. “Do I want to know why?” John asked, sounding the slightest bit genuine.

With a slow grin, he leaned in. “’Cause I would’ve been dead six different ways if you’d had these on out there,” he said, helpfully casting his gaze down John’s person to make his point. “’Specially considering you like to lead up front—” He sucked air through his teeth, quirking his eyebrows a hair higher. “Distracting.”

John caught on, finally, rolling his eyes and turning back to his pint. “Fuckin’ Christ,” he muttered, taking another, bigger, drink from it.

“Oh, you can dish it out, but you’re not taking it?” Phillip asked.

“I was not—!” He cut himself off sharply when he caught the smirk on Phillip’s face.

He raised an eyebrow at him. “You weren’t what?” he asked. “When you were watching me check over my weapons and you made me do it twice because you wanted to see how I handled the equipment, and then said I had good handling skills for an American, you weren’t doing what, exactly?” He was being nice enough to keep his voice down, but it did mean he had to get a little closer than a usual conversation.

He would admit, he did enjoy the stern glare he was getting out of this. After a few confusing weeks at the mercy of Nik’s very purposeful flirting and John’s only sometimes purposeful flirting, it was nice to be on the same page for this exchange.

“None of your boys is here, no need to worry about a reputation,” he added quietly. “I’m certainly not.” He wasn’t worried about his reputation, no, but there were plenty of aspects of this conversation he was largely bluffing through. But what else was new for him?

John rolled his eyes minutely. “You’re fuckin’ insufferable since you figured yourself out.”

“I was insufferable before, too. But even then, I couldn’t manage to get under your skin the way I can now, so what does that tell you?”

“Fuck all.”

Phillip smiled again. “Does it bother you that you’re no longer automatically controlling the conversation now that I know what you’re doing?” In his periphery, he saw John’s hand flex and tighten around his pint glass. “I wouldn’t be too concerned. I mean, you’ve still got plenty of experience in other areas that I don’t, so I’d probably let you push me around a bit if you wanted.” Never mind the fact that, like Nik, John’s arms were incredible, and he probably wouldn’t have minded in the first place if either of them wanted to push him around at all.

Huh. Go figure.

For the first time since Phillip had walked over here, John’s eyes weren’t carefully unreadable. Something about his expression had darkened almost imperceptibly, and Phillip couldn’t decide how he felt about the shudder that it sent down his spine.

This time John leaned in a little. “Don’t make an offer you’re not willing to follow up,” he said.

“When have I ever backed out of a good deal, John?” he replied, keeping an easy smile on his face despite his heartrate ticking up just from the tone of John’s voice.

“A deal?”

“I get what I want, you get what you want. Mutually beneficial arrangement.”

A small smile appeared on John’s face as he moved his pint glass a little farther from the edge of the bar. He leaned an elbow on the wooden surface, mirroring Phillip’s position. “You know what you want, just like that?” he asked, his tone finally picking up some of the playful tone Phillip had been using.

Phillip answered truthfully, because it didn’t seem like a good idea to bluff this one. “I’m open to negotiations, if you’ve got ideas all of a sudden.”

It looked like John hadn’t been expecting that answer. That was fair, since Phillip wasn’t particularly known for his abounding sense of humility without ulterior motive. John looked at him silently for a second, then turned back to his pint on the bar. “Damn you,” he muttered as he took another drink.

This was fun. Phillip grinned again, turning his back to the bar and taking up his own drink at last. It was almost gone by now, and he had no desire to stick around to order another one. He found Nik still sitting at his table, watching them both from across the room. He caught Phillip’s grin and smiled.

“He put you up to this?” John asked. When Phillip glanced at him, he added, “Nik, I mean.”

Ah, right. “Nope. Not his idea, just his blessing.” He drank the last of his whiskey and set his glass down on the bar. “Tell you what,” he said, pulling his hotel keycards out of his back pocket (because they always gave you two even when you were clearly one person). He slid one out of the little paper envelope with the room number scrawled on it, and put it back into his pocket. “I will leave you with options,” he said quietly, reaching over to slide the extra keycard with its little envelope into the breast pocket of John’s shirt.

John let him do it, following his every move carefully, but remaining still.

Then he walked away, down the bar to Shelly to pay for his drink before he left. It took great effort not to glance sideways at John still standing at the other end of the bar. He almost broke when he had to look back up at Shelly with a polite smile and wish her a nice evening, but he held his ground. He put his wallet back in his pocket and left the bar.

-scene break-

Just over ten minutes after Phillip had arrived back in his hotel room, he heard the small beep and click of someone using a keycard to open his door. His initial reaction was one of relief, because the past ten minutes or so had been some of the most uncomfortable in his life for many reasons—not least of which was he couldn’t recall a time in recent memory he’d literally been so horny he couldn’t think straight.

No, the comedy of that phrase was not lost on him.

He closed his laptop, pushing his chair away from the desk where he’d been using his emails as a distraction. John closed the door behind him and came forward to stand in the doorway where the main room met the little entryway. He folded his arms and leaned against one wall, crossing one leg over the other as he did. Phillip didn’t try to disguise the fact that he was staring.

“You still open to negotiations?” he asked.

Phillip leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out and setting one stocking foot over the other. “Yep. Get any inspiration on your way up here?”

He supposed in any other situation, the look in John’s eyes would have set him on edge the same way a raid siren might. It was a dark, intelligent, dare he say hungry expression, and all it did now was make a low heat ignite in his gut and his dick twitch in his pants. John pushed off the wall, unfolding his arms as he walked over to Phillip’s chair. He set the keycard down on the desk, then grabbed an arm of the chair to turn it so they were facing each other.

“I’m going to ask you some questions and I would like honest answers to them,” he said, now leaning over him with a hand on each of the chair’s arms. “Think you can manage that, Phillip?”

Phillip’s mouth went unexpectedly dry. He nodded, running his tongue over his bottom lip. “Doesn’t sound too difficult, no.”

John gave a small smile, but his eyes still held that focused, almost predatory expression. “Good. Am I allowed to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t kiss him immediately, which might have fried something in the back of Phillip’s brain out of sheer anticipation. Unfair. “Good,” he went on instead. “Downstairs, you’d said I could push you around a bit. Did you mean that literally? Am I allowed to pull you around a bit?”

Fuck, of course he’d remembered that. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to curl in on himself under John’s gaze, but he didn’t. He gave another nod while his tongue caught up with his brain. “Yeah, I meant that literally,” he breathed, feeling like a bug pinned to a board. Only, he’d crawled onto the board himself and stayed put while the pin came down.

John nodded once. “You understand that if I say or do something you don’t like, you will say something, and vice versa, yes?”

Phillip gave him a flat stare. “John, I’ve had sex before. I know how consent works.”

“Fine then,” he said. He grabbed both of Phillip’s wrists, one in each hand, and hauled him bodily upright out of the chair.

Phillip made note of two things. One, the show of strength had been undeniably hot and had flooded his brain with another wave of arousal that quickly drained right to his dick. Two, John was still in his shoes whereas Phillip stood in socks, which made their height difference that much more noticeable. All told, he felt almost… small. Before he could think further into how he felt about that, John’s mouth had found his, and thinking was no longer important.

Admittedly, he’d thought about what it would feel like to kiss John. He’d never kissed anyone with facial hair, after all, because Nik preferred a clean face, and it had obviously never come up in his previous relationships. Turned out, Phillip didn’t really care. Yes, he could feel it tickling his face, and yes, it required a bit of maneuvering sometimes, but he didn’t care. Possibly he didn’t care because he’d been dying to get his hands on this man for weeks; possibly because he was harder than he’d been in recent memory and the prospect of relief was overshadowing a lot of other things at the moment; and possibly because John had just shoved him up onto the desk he’d been sitting at, and keeping his balance took the rest of his brain power.

“Fucking shit,” he hissed, once again aware of how achingly uncomfortable his jeans were becoming. He’d never been pushed around like this—he’d been the one doing any manhandling, usually because the lady had asked very nicely. But fuck, he could understand the appeal.

“Good?” John asked. He’d long since let go of Phillip’s wrists, now gripping his hips instead.

Phillip didn’t bother answering such a stupid question. He hooked his left arm around his neck and grabbed his collar with the right hand, pulling him back in to keep kissing him. John lurched forward with the usual grace of someone caught off guard, inadvertently pressing one of his thighs (his large, muscled, and horrendously attractive thighs) directly into Phillip’s groin.

Phillip moaned into his mouth, his hips involuntarily pressing forward against the pressure. He broke away to breathe, to try to clear his head that felt like it was swimming with want. He barely got a breath in when John’s hands pulled his hips back against his leg, and the rush of pleasure forced half the air from his lungs anyway. He growled, catching a glimpse of the smug smile on John’s face right before he kissed it, perhaps a bit more forcefully than was strictly necessary. Judging by the noise it got from John, though, neither of them cared.

He felt John’s tongue press against the seam of his lips with clear intent at the same time he felt the man’s hands tugging his shirt out of his waistband. He let both happen, groaning softly when John’s warm palms fit snugly around his ribs and his tongue slid into his mouth. Again, it was something Phillip had never understood to be particularly pleasant, let alone attractive, but he was discovering a lot of things made more sense when he was actually attracted to the person in question. John’s leg ground up against him again, drawing a quiet groan from him as he tried desperately to hold onto his composure.

It wasn’t easy. The warmth from John’s hands was making goose bumps erupt in their wake along his sides, across his lower back, and slowly trailing higher. The movement of his leg against the bulge in Phillip’s jeans turned slow and repetitive, pulling small noises from his throat even as he tried to hold them back. He could feel his body heating up as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over him, until he realized the situation was heading towards a conclusion far faster than he’d wanted.

He reached up with the arm still looped around John’s neck, weaving fingers into John’s hair and holding him there when he broke away from the kiss. “Will you cut that out,” he said, breathing hard, “and do something more constructive?”

The smug little smile was back on John’s face. He squeezed Phillip’s ribs and leaned in until their foreheads were pressed together. “You were making such pretty noises for me, though,” he murmured.

Phillip turned his head away, blushing deeply. That only gave John the opportunity to duck his head and start covering his jaw and ear and neck with hot, open-mouthed kisses. Without really thinking, Phillip tilted his head back, allowing him more room.

He gave a small gasp when John began sucking a mark below his ear. “Fucking Christ, John,” he whined, dragging his fingernails through the short hairs on the back of John’s head. “Please—shit, John—"

John made a low noise in his throat, detaching from his neck and licking over his handiwork once or twice. “God, if I had the fucking time,” he said into his ear, sliding his hands back down to rest on Phillip’s hips and squeezing, “I would keep you here for hours with just my fingers until you couldn’t remember your own name and just begged me to fuck you properly.”

A shudder ran down Phillip’s spine, making his stomach clench and his hips twitch forward of their own accord. Evidently, he wouldn’t mind that at all. Great. Not currently helpful, however. He closed his eyes as John once again mouthed at the underside of his jaw, struggling to put together a sentence that made sense. “Yeah, okay. But since it sounds—hah, fuck—like you don’t have the time, what—mm—what are we doing now?”

John pulled back to look at him with the same infuriating self-satisfied expression. “Impatient—”

“Yes.”

That made his eyebrows lift slightly. “Fine. Can I suck you off?”

Finally. “Yes, you can absolutely—” Phillip never finished the sentence.

As soon as the first word was out of his mouth, John pulled him off the desk, turned him around, and pushed him onto the foot of the nearest bed. He only managed to stay upright by grabbing onto one of John’s biceps. It didn’t really matter, though, because the second his ass hit the bedspread, John’s mouth found his again, and he felt himself being eased slowly and very deliberately onto his back. John licked into his mouth again, and his hand not currently supporting his weight snaked up and into Phillip’s hair, gently pulling his head back slightly. Fuck, did it feel good, too. If his eyes weren’t already closed, they probably would have crossed.

John pulled away, his hand sliding down along Phillip’s face to his collar, resting on the first button. “Still good?”

Phillip tried to answer, but the words “what” and “yeah” both wanted to come out of his mouth at the same time. It ended up as an unintelligible noise half-way between both words. He blinked, a little confused as to why that hadn’t made sense, and then John burst into poorly restrained but genuine, honest-to-God giggles. Phillip covered his face, a blush searing his ears and cheeks as John buried his face in his chest to laugh.

After a couple seconds, he lifted it to say, “How’re you already fucked dumb when I haven’t even touched you?” He was still smiling fit to burst.

Phillip hit his shoulder. “Oh, shut up!”

“I’m not making fun of you,” John said, leaning down and starting to press kisses across his cheeks and jaw.

Phillip let him, because it felt good. “Yeah, sure.” But it didn’t feel good enough to let it continue indefinitely. He reached up and grabbed John’s chin, forcing eye contact. “Did your mother never teach you not to play with your food?” he asked pointedly. “I thought you asked to suck my dick, and my belt buckle has yet to be undone.” He raised his eyebrows a hair and tilted his head in lieu of asking John if he could see what the problem was.

There were still traces of amusement all over John’s face, but all he did was peck him on the lips before pushing himself up a bit. “Undo your shirt,” he said. He watched as Phillip did so, waiting until he was more than halfway through the buttons before he reached to undo Phillip’s belt, the button and fly following quickly afterwards.

Phillip sighed to himself when at least some of the pressure was taken off his erection, then yelped when John dragged his jeans off with enough force to pull him to the edge of the bed. He pushed himself up on his elbows to ask what the fuck, but the words stopped short of his mouth when John’s hand slid over the tent in his underwear, squeezing him gently. Whatever he’d been about to say melted into a moan as his head lolled back. The sound was loud enough to surprise himself, and he reflexively put a hand to his mouth.

John clicked his tongue, leaning over him again to take his hand from his mouth. His other hand moved slowly, slipping under the waistband of his shorts. “None of that now,” he said in a low voice. “Told you already what pretty sounds you make.” He bent down closer. “I wanna hear ‘em, Phillip. Yes?”

Phillip nodded wordlessly, mostly too preoccupied with the trajectory of John’s other hand to really protest.

“Good man,” John told him. He ran his thumb over his bottom lip before ducking down to press his mouth to Phillip’s neck. He trailed lower, dipping his tongue into the hollow of his throat and then moving to suck another mark just below his collarbone.

Phillip watched him, feeling like someone had lit fire to a trail of gasoline in the wake of John’s mouth on his skin. Beneath the obvious buzz of desire, there was a more subtle feeling building, and it was sort of familiar. John was making him feel wanted, like Nik did any chance he got, it seemed. When John reached his stomach as he kissed his way down his body, he let out a sharp breath at the tingly, giddy feeling that washed over him. John lifted his head to look at him and smiled, which finally made Phillip realize he’d had a small smile stuck on his face for a while now.

He might actually like John. That was interesting.

John finished decorating Phillip’s front with kisses and finally slid Phillip’s underwear off, sinking to his knees as he did, and letting them fall in a pile with his jeans near the bed. The sudden freedom made Phillip groan in the back of his throat. His dick was almost painfully hard, the head a clear shade of red and beading precum already. Phillip watched, still propped up on his elbows, as John made himself comfortable between his legs. The dark, almost hungry expression was back in his eyes, and as much as it made a blush rise to his cheeks and ears to be this exposed to its intensity, he couldn’t find it in himself to look away. John wrapped his right arm under Phillip’s thigh and hoisted his leg over his shoulder, all while still focused on his main goal.

He wrapped his other hand around the base of Phillip’s dick, making him hiss at the contact. John smirked. “Could get used to a view like this if I’m not careful.”

Before Phillip could respond with some remark in return, John flattened his tongue and licked up the shaft from his hand, finally taking the tip into his mouth and running his tongue over the slit.

Phillip’s shirt slipped off one of his shoulders and he didn’t even notice. “Holy shit,” he breathed, his voice sounding higher than it usually did.

He watched John take more of him into his mouth, then slowly pull back, pressing his tongue against the underside of the shaft and squeezing his hand lightly. Phillip’s leg twitched, trying to close on his head, but the arm John had wrapped around it held it in place firmly. He let out a shaky breath, like he’d just remembered to breathe in that moment, which was fairly accurate. He watched, utterly fixated, as John’s movements got longer, taking in more of him, and occasionally felt his dick twitch against the roof of his mouth or against his tongue. God, it felt fucking incredible. John’s mouth was hot and smooth sliding over him, bobbing up and down, steadily picking up a little speed as he swallowed him inch by inch and his hand covered less and less of him.

Phillip’s hips gave an aborted thrust without him meaning to as a rush of arousal shot through him at the sight. John made a noise that sounded more surprised than anything else, and he didn’t take his mouth of Phillip’s dick. Still— “Fuck, sorry—” Phillip started to say, and never finished.

John looked up at him sharply, then gave a harsh suck as he drew back, effectively negating any speaking ability Phillip might have had in the moment.

His head fell back with a loud moan he didn’t have the wherewithal to even try to cover up. “Jesus Christ,” he wheezed, his heart pounding in his ears. “Point taken, holy fuck.” He let his head hang back with his eyes closed as his mind went somewhat dizzy with pleasure.

John didn’t let up, however. If anything, he got more insistent now that he knew how to get a reaction out of him. This wasn’t the first blow job he’d ever had, but it was certainly the best by leaps and bounds. Granted, that made sense, given the whole “Not Figuring Out His Sexuality Until a Month Ago” thing. Phillip’s brain was so overwhelmed, he had little idea of the specifics outside of it being John’s mouth around his dick, and it feeling fucking wonderful. Too wonderful—he could already feel his climax threatening on the edge of his senses. Although… that was sort of the whole point here, wasn’t it?

It felt like his head weighed a hundred pounds trying to pull it back to its usual position, but he finally did focus back on John’s slightly tousled brown hair. He made a low noise just taking in the sight again, struggling to keep coherency in his thoughts as he watched. “Fuck me,” he breathed, his hips once again trying to buck up deeper into John’s beautiful, talented mouth. It drew a groan from John, sending vibrations up the length of Phillip’s dick still in his mouth. One of his hands reached out in a flash, grabbing onto John’s hair. “Holy—God fucking—John!”

John’s eyes flicked up, meeting his gaze as he drew back, his cheeks hollowed as he sucked and his lips shining with spit.

Phillip loosened his hold on his hair, taking a breath shaky with the effort of not coming just yet despite John’s concerted efforts. “’M not gonna last—shit,” he started to say, but was derailed yet again by watching his dick disappear into John’s mouth. He watched, his hand never moving from John’s hair, as John’s nose came to rest in the light brown hairs surrounding the base of his dick.

He felt his dick jump in John’s throat—in his throat, holy fucking shit, first of all. It drew another low groan from him, sending more vibrations through Phillip’s body and pushing him closer and closer towards the edge. Phillip watched John’s blue eyes flutter closed briefly in utter satisfaction, and felt his fingers dig into the soft skin on his inner thigh. It was as beautiful as it was obscenely hot.

“Jesus fucking Christ, John, I’m close,” he managed, his voice tight. “Where—”

John’s eyes snapped to his, and the arm wrapped around his leg tightened its hold. He swallowed.

Phillip’s mouth dropped open silently, and he only barely resisted rolling his hips up into John’s mouth as his orgasm hit him with all the grace of a baseball bat to the head. He came down John’s throat with a punched-out gasp that faded into a low whine, one hand still buried in his hair, the other gripping the bedspread while his vision swam. He felt John swallow around him again, the muscles in his neck squeezing his cock perfectly while he enjoyed the sheer force and magnitude of pleasure currently making his toes curl and his head feel fuzzy in a way he couldn’t remember experiencing previously.

When the high eventually eased, Phillip finally untangled his fingers from John’s hair and didn’t quite collapse onto the bed, but it was a near thing. His limbs sort of felt like jello, and his brain was only a little better than that. He felt John pull off of him, then felt the edge of the bed dip when he used it to stand up. Fuck, he needed to do things. He wasn’t exactly sure which things, given this was a vastly different scenario than previous encounters. But he’d feel like an asshole later if he didn’t at least try.

He sat up in time to see John disappear into the adjoining bathroom, and he was too tired to overthink why. Instead, he reached down to grab his underwear back from the floor, only to stop when he found them on the bed within reach. That was definitely not where he’d seen John drop them. Okay. He put them on, finally just ditching his shirt, figuring he’d be getting into pajamas not too long after this anyway.

John returned, carrying the two plastic cups the hotel had supplied in the room. One was empty, the other was full, and he offered the latter to Phillip. “Drink, if you want.”

“Thanks,” he said, accepting the cup more for something to do than for a need for water. But he took a couple sips before reaching out to put on the desk near the foot of the bed.

John reached a hand out as he was settling back onto the bed, carefully combing calloused fingers through his hair. Phillip had no doubt it was sticking up at odd angles. John seemed to have fixed his hair, which was only slightly disappointing, because he’d wanted to see what he’d done to it. He leaned into the touch. John’s hand left his hair, skimming the side of his face until it was under his chin, tilting his face up towards John.

“Enjoyed that, did you?” he asked.

Phillip hummed. “Funny thing. Sex is a lot more fun when you’re genuinely attracted to someone.” John rolled his eyes, letting his hand drop to his side. Phillip went on. “Speaking of which, you want a hand there?” It was kind of hard to miss, considering he was roughly eye-level with the noticeable bulge at the front of John’s jeans. “Or is that something Nik gets to deal with later?”

John paused and half-sat on the edge of the desk with a small grimace of discomfort, appearing to consider his options. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, then at the door back out to the rest of the hotel. Finally, he looked back over at Phillip for a few seconds before he shrugged and stood up, putting his empty cup down on the desk. “Fine. Get up.” Phillip stood up. John grabbed his chin carefully and kissed him firmly. “Let’s see if your handling skills are any good, for an American.”

[couldyoutellmehowau]

Welcome to my somewhere else au blog!!

Hello! I’m Maxie aka @quackerjack and this is my very self indulgent post canon tma au

Could You Tell Me How: An Au By Maxie

In a parallel London, a decade and a half after the apocalypse, Jon and Martin are a pair of ex husbands turned qpps raising the world’s most curious 11 year old together. When Martin bonds with a strangely familiar student in the school library he works at, they soon discover they’re not the only ones who made it to this new world.

The Cast

Jon, middle aged and somewhat all-knowing. Works from home and really only leaves the house to go to Martin’s, although he has started connecting with the woman who works the register at the nearby florist’s

Martin, a school librarian and father-daughter road trip enthusiast. Content with his social circle just being Jon and their daughter; but certainly happier when Tim shows up at his desk one day

Junie, extroverted and full of questions. Loves to be the center of attention. A certified weird girl, and lover of cats

Dani, 13 and shy, but incredibly witty when she comes out of her shell. Likes to spend time in her school library, and lives in graphic tees she steals from her uncle Gerry

Tim, back in publishing, his main hobby is annoying his wife and daughter. Still not ready to forgive, but maybe ready to try again at friendship with Jon

Sasha, forged herself the qualifications for a nice academic career in this universe too. Expert in the supernatural after years of friendship with Gerry

Gerry, tattoo artist and cool uncle; his tattoo parlor is above Shelly’s flower shop, and he’s lived with Tim and Sasha for the past decade.

Shelly, a strange woman with fantasies about a past life as a monster that feel just a little too real- especially when the man she sees in them walks into her flower shop.

I don’t plan for this blog to have a chronological comic of the AUs whole story, but it will feature illustrations, short comics, and potentially fanfiction. Feel free to send any asks, for me or for the characters; and please keep in mind this is just my self indulgent au that I’ve made because it makes me happy, it’s silly and while technically could be canon compliant, I’ve absolutely taken a lot of liberties and things in it are very likely to be changed around.

Thank you for reading!!

[medievalanchoress]

Portable reliquary altar, ca. 1190-1200, shelly limestone mounted in gilt-copper with two walrus ivories (Rhineland). London, The British Musuem. 

[pastel-goth-doll]

𝙻𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚝!💜🦇

Wore this a few days ago while running errands :3c so far I’ve been really enjoying the fankenstine book I picked up which has an about Mary Shelly section as well as some history about the story itself.

[teenagedirtstache]

black and white single-breasted dog-tooth jacket with black velvet collar and matching trouser by Katharine Hamnett; black fronted rayon/viscose shirt by Ted Baker; striped cotton ribbon work as a tie availavle by the metre from John Lewis, London; black creeper shoes by Shelly's; white cotton socks from branches of The Sock Shop

[glowing-disciple]

Reading List - 2024

Currently Reading:

The Book of Dragons by Edith Nesbit

Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie

Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD by Jonas Jonasson

Books Read:

101 Famous Poems by Various Authors

The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers

The Ancient Aliens Question by Philip Coppens

The Art of Computer Designing by Osamu Sato

The Broken Dice, and Other Mathematical Tales of Chance by Ivar Ekeland

The Cairngorms by Patrick Baker

The Codebreaker's Handbook by Herbie Brennan

The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown

The Complete Book of Kitchen Collecting by Barbera E. Mauzy

Dinosaurs, Beware! A Safety Guide by Marc Brown

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dreaming the Biosphere by Rebecca Reider

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Funny Number Tricks by Rose Wyler

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Giant Sea Creatures, Real and Fantastic by John Frederick Waters

Great Mysteries of the Ice and Snow by Edward F. Dolan

Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis

Hiram's Red Shirt by Mabel Watts

A History of Chess by Jerzy Gizycki

I don't care by JoAnn Nelson

An Introduction to Linguistics by Loreto Todd

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Jungian Archetypes: Jung, Gödel, and the History of Archetypes by Robin Robertson

Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter

MASH: An Army Surgeon in Korea by Otto F. Apel

The Messier Objects Field Guide by Stephen James O'Meara

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks

Reflections on Evolution by Fredrick Sproull

Roadie: My Life on the Road with Coldplay by Matt McGinn

Some of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire by Howard Pyle

Strange Creatures of the Ice and Snow by Edward F. Dolan

Time for Bed, Sleepyheads by Normand Chartier

Weird Islands by Jean de Boschère

Future Reading:

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

Adventures in Cryptozoology Vol. 1 by Richard Freeman

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez

Ancient Mysteries, Modern Visions by Philip S. Callahan

The Anti-Mary Exposed by Carrie Gress

The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle

The Art Nouveau Style by Stephan Tschudi Madsen

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Champions of the Rosary by Donald H. Calloway

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Complete Works of H. P. Lovecraft

Cubism by Guillaume Apollinaire

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Evolution by Nowell Stebbing

Expressionism by Ashley Bassie

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods by Hal Johnson

Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Freaks on the Fells by R. M. Ballantyne

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter

Fundamentals of Character Design by Various Authors

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miquel de Cervantes Saavedra

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Humorous Ghost Stories by Various Authors

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Illuminated Manuscripts by Tamara Woronowa

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells

Joan Miro by Joan Miro

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Light of the Western Stars by Zane Grey

Living by the Sword by Eric Demski

The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Otis Spofford by Beverly Clearly

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Shining by Stephen King

The Silmarillion by J R R Tolkien

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Strange Love by Ann Aguirre

The River by Gary Paulsen

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World by Fredrik Backman

The Third Man Factor by John Geiger

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories by C. Robert Cargill

The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology by Deena West Budd

The White Mountains by John Christopher

[delicatebluebirdruins]

the empty grave reread

Saturday 2nd Nov 2024

I love this opening line and the dread is still there about the Anthony Lockwood gallery

7 the Skull hated being called tame and for good reason

3rd Nov 2024

9 Marissa's funeral proceeding treating her as a queen (they mention it on page 32 lying in state for the 3 days?)

27 "lockwood's presence game me courage"

43 the group commiting the three sins of ghost hunting

47 hello Revenent

50 birds of a feather

60 ghost client whoop (I hope I am always this excited about it)

81 "I think, that we found greater peace and pleasure in each other than in anyone. That was the good news. The bad news? I wasn't quite sure why" hmmm I wonder you were already close already emotionally. Lockwood can be a bit emotionally blind but him icing you out in THB did play a role in your leaving a small one but still. You also walked through the realm of the dead together your bond was fractured many, many times in THB for so many reasons and it was reforged throughout TCS and now of course.

86 and 103 is just me finding new things to add to my revision cards

111 the epitaph on the Lockwood's grave "knowledge sets us free" meaning so many things like the ghosts trapped in the living realm and limbo. the parents in general being killed to prevent knowledge being set free. them revealing the truth to the world about Fittes and Rotwell

114 Hey it's the second empty grave! and this one will stay empty for a long, long time

116 Lockwood telling Lucy about his parents dying will be something Cameron Chapman would shine in

121 "In my experience, graveyards can be used for lots of activities, not just ghost-hunting" what is your experience Skull? (thought when writing this up 10/11/24 calm down Mary Shelly)

130 the history of the ghost they're dealing with is great "Or possibly Luton"

134 Lockwood saying they aren't weak is so funny

138 I love this description for Flo "She liked liquorice, George and Lockwood in a somewhat unclear order"

141 bless Holly's existence "she remained impeccably polite"

142 "if you hung a uniform on a section of concrete pipe leaning against an outhouse wall the result would have possessed more intellectual zip"

157 Lucy mistakenly going after Sarah is so funny because she is the reason the Belle Dame is loose

169 Sweet sister Mary

173 bi Lucy? going with it

186 jealous Lucy protecting Lockwood

189 "It had tried to take Lockwood from me"

+ 190 "intelligience and recognition - and something more than that" i wonder what that is? Lockwood POV please and thank you

+ 199 "I hate trapezes" is there a deleted scene somewhere in Strouds notes of Lucy learning how to use a trapeze?

196 What were his thoughts with who did this? intitally I mean?

205 Poor Adam Bunchurch

209 Barnes I love you very much

214 Barnes warning them is so nice

220 we have a name for our ghost client Dr Neil Clarke

225 I want a jammie dodger now

230 I love the Skull

4th November

245 Possessive Skull "hey, fish-face find your own human"

250 Lockwood wanting to kill Sir Rupert Gale... I'd help. Also I hate how he kind of hinted at something happening to George "not off being naughty in some library again?"

253 God bless Jake the cabbie

266 Lucy is small and full of rage

269 I love Kipps "we might have to duff up a few pensioners" and Holly "there'll be some duffing up going on right now if you don't start filling us in"

282 "We could feel an abyss opening beneath ou feet"

284 I wonder what Dark London is?

296 Lavender acid? at least it smells nice

303 the idea that we may never get this scene Lockwood frozen in the midst of chaos is a crime I may never recover from

307 and there it is the truth of the Problem

317 this world has bazookas?

331 "They're here to be used. And I believe my sister would want use to use her room too. She'd want to help us escape"

335 Ezekiel is a prat

345 Lucy being miffed at Lockwood seemingly enjoying this chaos but the chaos is exposing the truth... Winkman we were so close to a moment here

353 Holly is gay

361 Good Old Esmeralda

363 What was the message George

364 Middle names are fun

372 vengeful chicken lmao but also poor Kipps

385 Oh Skull really? Lucy where would someone who works for Fittes take a Source?

389 Seriously who are you hat man?

391 Why are you doing so well Kipps?

398 Flo backstory! imagine how upset Lucy would be if she learned this in the run to Aickmeres? because Flo was part of a three person agency and she was the last one standing?

409 first sighting of Marissa and Ezekiel

415 the conversation with the Skull is great

420 Poor Kipps (Jack would kill this scene so would Ruby and the others when they go back to our world)

430 Lockwood sacrificing his coat :(

433 sticky fingers George and wolf like smile from Lockwood (in AU we could have these two meet as George is a pickpocket/thief and Lockwood sees him in the act)

437 "they were all stocky and muscular, their shaven heads like small boulders on which rudimentary faces had been drawn" this happens a few times with Lucy the way she see's large groups of "others". (And it will be something I pay attention to next time I reread as I know I am missing some) She describes them as all being from the same mould stripping them of their personhood as they are all caught up in the machine of Fittes (and Rotwell her description of the group selling hot chestnuts in the first book) in this case it works because this group is not a group made up of people it's a group like Winkman's thugs because all they know is following orders without question and I don't know where I'm going with this but something something dehumanisation I guess?

438 "That bloodthirsty young harpy" compliments!

457 Marissa being similar to Belle Dame

466 This is so spooky like the body of Penelope Fittes, her face but also the face of Marissa

474 killing the tension here Skull

Final Day 5th November 2024

480 that was a good summary Lucy

487 I love the Skull protecting them

489 Suck it Ezekiel

490 cat behaviour for sure

501 Lockwood and Lucy going downstairs arm in arm

519 healing Portland Row and themselves

525 what was the doodle

529 a glimmer of green from the Skull and of course the necklace

and there we have it the final book reread I love this book (the ranking would look like TEG/THB closely followed by TCS and then the first two way down in the rankings... I will die on the hill of them being combined was the best thing they could do in a adaptation)

[askaceattorney]

Dear J'Luc K. Star,

No. No De Killer ever set one foot in London. However, the first De Killer lived in Japan, so it is very possible they may have crossed paths.

Not that I would ever say when or how. The De Killers never keep record on every person we have ever encountered. You're better off reviving the dead or going back in time and asking him yourself.

- Shelly de Killer

[princesssarisa]

I wonder… What are the meanings of the Barbie characters' names?

Barbie: Short for Barbara, which means "foreign."

Ken: Short for Kenneth, which means "handsome."

Midge: Short for Margaret, which means "pearl."

Teresa: "Summer" or "harvest."

Nikki: Derived from Nicole, which means "victory of the people."

Christie: Short for Christina, which means "Christian."

Summer: Self-evident.

Allan: "Handsome." (Just like Ken's name! No wonder they're friends!)

Brad: Short for Bradley, meaning "broad clearing"

Of course Barbie has had many other friends too, but these are enough to list for now.

Child Characters

Skipper: A word meaning the captain of a boat. Presumably it's a nickname, though how she got it and what her real name might be I don't know.

Stacie: Derived either from Anastasia, which means "resurrection," or Eustacia, meaning "fruitful."

Chelsea: The name of a part of London, which means "chalk wharf."

Todd: "Fox."

Kelly: "Bright-headed."

Shelly (Kelly's name in Europe): "Clearing on a bank."

Krissy: Derived from Christina, which means "Christian."

Tommy (Ken's little brother): Short for Thomas, which means "twin."

Ryan (Midge and Allan's son): "Little king."

Nikki (his little sister): Derived from Nicole, which means "victory of the people."

Cassandra (their baby sister): "Shining upon man."