#Which means I gotta set up a ko-fi

[humblemooncat]

Welp, time to start thinking about taking commissions so I can afford a better laptop. orz

[iron-sunrise]

Emergency mutual aid request

Alright so as predicted the apartments rejected our application (I fucking knew it. $100 down the shitter) and there's like, nowhere else available until November. Which means....Roommate is going to stay with his mother and I will likely be sleeping rough. I'd like to avoid that (especially during a pandemic spike thanks to the Eris variant which will be rocketing around the city shelters). My chronically ill ass will probably not make it lmao.

And I dont really have any couch surfing options.

Surprisingly it wasnt my application that rejected us but a third party with too much medical debt. Which he didnt tell us about.

Anyhow I know I wont find a place for myself within ten days but if I had another 30 days I might have a chance, so, I'm hoping to check into a cheapo extended stay for a month.

Cheapest I can find is for $1500ish

I set up a ko-fi goal here

or

My cashapp is $kingsevil

Any $$ left over is going toward a storage unit for my things. Afterwards, well, ball is in my court I guess. Gotta find a place!

[nierly-amazing]

Open the Memory Cage: Chapter 24: Shenanigans

Thank you so so much to jJohn313 for being a huge support and kickstarting me into writing again! This still would be in fic limbo (heh) if not for him!

Summary:

Take two…three…four…seven…eight…

[Read on Ao3]

[Like my work? Support me on ko-fi!]

------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Text

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird to be meddling in someone’s love life like this?” A2 grunted and handed 9S a bag of fruit. “How many picnics have you had so far?”

“We’re not—” 9S snapped. “I mean, we’re trying to—” he slams the lid of the picnic box. “Shut up.”

A2 shrugged and walked off. 

11S rolled toward them on an old office chair. "Let's see. So far you've been to the flower fields, the cool spot by the factory where you got attacked by seagulls, the amusement park where you all nearly got killed by that bunny robot..." He leaned back in his chair which gave a threatening creak. "...the spot by the desert where Jackass was testing her new explosives..."

"Yes, we remember," 9S sighed.

11S continued as if he didn't hear him. "...the entrance to the Forest Kingdom because you remembered 21O and 6O can't reach the library without falling apart, aaand the desert oasis that got hit by a sandstorm."

9S glared.

"Okay, geez." 11S rolled away.

“A2 does have a point,” 2B said. She casually slipped a few sandwiches behind the shelves. “Should we really be doing this?”

“It’s fine, it’s for the greater good!”

“The greater good? What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about it, let’s go!”

6O dug into the bowl of apples and settled herself on the frayed, vaguely plaid blanket. “Thank you so so much for inviting us to another picnic!” she beamed.

“Of course!” 9S said with a mouthful of PBJLT. He scrunched his face up while swallowing the mess.

The Scanners had gotten more creative with sandwiches for their picnic since the previous attempt was less than impressive. Since they lacked the old recipes for condiments, they had to make do with whatever substitutions they could get their hands on. Plus, the thought of killing an animal to put part of its flesh on some bread when they didn’t need to eat seemed—as 42S put it lightly—pretty fucking disturbing.

9S was skeptical at first at the choice, but 13S and 14S assured him they taste-tested them beforehand. 

I don’t think they know that ‘taste-testing’ means making sure it passes the test. He quickly washed it down with a glass of fresh-squeezed juice. 

At least the drink was good, if a bit chunky.

2B and the Operators each took a sandwich. The Operators quickly tossed theirs behind them when they thought no one was looking but 2B took a few small bites from hers. She made an expression 9S couldn’t decipher and set it back on the plate.

After a bit of idle chit-chat, 9S messaged Anemone to call. Thankfully, it came a lot sooner than before. 

“ Geez , Anemone, why do you have to keep calling during our picnics like that? Can’t it wait?” He faked a heavy sigh.

“What do you mean, this was your id—”

“Right! We’ll be there in ten!” He nearly batted his pod out of the air to close the channel.

The Operators both tilted their heads at him.

“I’m so sorry, Anemone needs us again. It’s so inconvenient!”

“What did she need you for?” 6O asked.

“I dunno but it sounds important.”

21O simply looked at him then at 6O. They shrugged.

9S stood and dusted crumbs off himself before he grabbed 2B and turned on his heels. “We’ll be back ASAP! Bye!” They took off at a brisk pace toward the nearest building, dodged behind it, and waited. And waited. And waited. Again, nothing happened. The Operators kept nibbling on the fruit only and engaged in what seemed like small talk. 

9S sighed louder than he anticipated. 2B gave him a questioning hum.

“Man, I know these things take time and like I’ve said before we just gotta be patient with them but maaaaaaan.”

“Maybe we can stay the whole time next time,” 2B offered as she peeked out at them.

“Well, they definitely won't say anything in front of us.”

“No, I mean,” she paused and leaned back toward him, “I would like to have just one uninterrupted picnic to spend time with all of you.”

9S sat up straight. “Oh.” He shifted his gaze to a trail of ants on the wall. “Ohhh, 2B I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that. I was so focused, I didn’t—”

“Nines, it’s not that big of a deal,” 2B snorted. 

“You sure? I feel like I’ve been messing up a lot lately.”

“I’m sure. It’s nothing compared to what I’ve—”

“Hey!” 9S put his hand over her mouth. “Don’t talk like that!”

2B whined.

“ 2B ,” he pouted.

“Okay,” she said, muffled through his fingers.

He pulled his hand back and bumped his forehead against hers. She blushed.

After a minute 2B spoke up. “You know, if I can’t say things like that you can’t either.”

“What?”

“You can’t say you’ve messed up like that.”

“But that’s not the same! That—” 2B slapped her hand over his mouth. “Hey!” 

“ Nines, ” she said in the same tone he did.

“Yeah, yeah.”

2B snorted and headbutted him.

9S headbutted her back, pushed her against the wall, and pressed his knee between her legs. Her arms slid up his back as he leaned in for a kiss. 

“I love you, 2B, don’t ever forget that.” He pressed his fingers to her thigh.

“I love you too, Nines. But…” She grabbed his hand.

“Hm?” He leaned back and looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh, right.” He coughed and shifted his legs. “Anyway, you’re right, let’s just have a normal picnic next time!”

---

The next picnic was not, in fact, a normal picnic.

“How was I supposed to know we set up between a moose and her baby?” 9S exclaimed over the ruins of their picnic. “Pod only scans for machines, not wildlife!”

“You still picked the spot, son .” 21O crossed her arms.

“Not sure I like you saying it that way.”

“It’s fine you two!” 6O said while she rubbed her wrist. “The moose didn’t hit me, I just fell! It doesn't hurt that bad. It's not like I have glass bones or paper skin or anything!” 

“Still, we need to be careful,” 21O sighed. She turned back to 9S. “ You need to be more mindful when choosing a location. Might I remind you what happened last time...times.”

“Hey, why are you singling me out? 2B helped pick—” His words caught in his throat.

2B looked at him with a frown.

“Er—sorry, 2B. It’s not anybody’s fault. Let’s just find a new place before the moose decides to come back with reinforcements.”

“Fine,” 21O huffed.

6O sighed. 

2B finished bagging up all the supplies in their muddied picnic blanket and threw it over her shoulders. It hit her back with a loud crunch.

“Oops.”

9S held back a groan.

---

They re-set up at the top of a shrubby hill and dusted off the surviving fruits. 9S nestled himself in 2B’s lap and popped a cherry in her mouth. She bit down a little and her expression softened as the sweet juice flowed into her mouth. And then…

Crunch.

9S sat up. 2B kept crunching but tilted her head at him. He bit his lip.

“Nines?” She swallowed.

“Nothing, it’s fine.” He gave her another cherry.

6O and 21O each took a handful of cherries.

Crunch.

9S cringed. The crunching continued. Inside him a battle waged. He picked up another cherry. He looked to 2B, 6O, and 21O as they happily munched and crunched the stony pits. He looked back to the cherry, shrugged, popped it in his mouth, and bit down.

Crunch. 

Well, at least their teeth weren’t made of chalk or anything. 

“Wow, humans sure had strong teeth to be able to eat lots of these,” 6O mused between crunches.

“...Yeah,” 9S said. “Y’know, I kinda prefer it without the seed.” He spat one out into the grass. He nodded. “Mmm, much better! Try it!”

6O and 21O shrugged and spat theirs out too. 

“Agreed,” 21O said after a moment. 6O nodded, too.

“I like the crunch,” 2B said and popped another in her mouth.

Crunch.

9S bit the inside of his lip.

“Hey, 2B?”

“Hm?”

“I bet I can spit this further than you can!” He aimed and fired a seed into some bushes a few meters away.

2B’s eyes lit up and she immediately shot her seed out further than he could ever dream of, which sprayed him with cherry bits in the process.

She covered her mouth. “Sorry!”

9S snorted and wiped his face. He began to laugh. He grabbed another cherry and shot its seed after 2B’s, much further than before but nowhere near hers. He coughed on a bit of juice and tried again, still laughing.

6O joined in, then 2B; they took more cherries and shot the pits out over and over. A warm feeling grew inside him and he leaned against 2B. She hummed and leaned back but only until she got another cherry. She angled her head with laser precision and launched the seed.

“Come on, 21O!” 6O nudged her. “Join us!”

“I don’t see wh—” She rolled a cherry between her fingers and looked at the others smiling like dorks. A small smile grew on her face. “Oh hell, why not?” She popped the cherry in her mouth and with a deep breath launched the whole thing a few meters away. A small bird sitting in the brush nearby pounced and flew off with the treat.

“Good enough,” 9S chuckled. He leaned against 2B once more and hooked his arm around her for support. 21O huffed and tried again. 

9S felt something welling up in his chest. “I’m really glad you came back to us,” he hummed. “I missed this.”

21O raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? We’ve never done this before.”

“I mean like…” He pinched his chin. “I don’t know how to explain it. I know we haven’t done anything like this but it feels right. Like in another universe, this would have been a normal experience for us.”

“Yeah, I feel that,” 6O nodded. “Despite being so distanced from each other back with YorHa, there was still that feeling of…family.” She looked at 21O but looked away when she returned her gaze.

2B pulled 9S closer to her. She didn’t speak but the look on her face made 9S feel warm. 

“Despite everything,” 9S murmured, “the four of us still managed to get out of this alive. More or less.”

21O wiped her eyes and nodded. “Despite everything, we’re still here.”

---

How was the picnic?

It was great!

We shot cherry seeds from our mouths.

Ah. Ok. Did they confess finally?

No. But we might be getting close. Maybe.

You gotta invite us next time.

Yeah, we’re kinda jealous. You have all that good food all to yourselves.

Well, there is a lot of food, yes.

You’ve had six picnics and never with ussssssssss!

What’s stopping you from having your own?

…Good point.

We’re gonna need more supplies.

Easy peasy! I’m a pro at these things now!

Anyway! They’re gonna start getting suspicious about you leaving all the time if they haven’t already.

Do you think it’s time?

For the ultimate romantic getaway?

The what? Oh, the Lunar Tears?

Yeah, why haven’t you gone there already? That’s like the easy way to get a confession from at least one of them.

True, but I’m worried if that doesn’t work then nothing will.

Maybe just leave them be after this.

Nobody asked you.

Knock it off. 

Hmph.

She’s right though. If this doesn’t work then give them a break for a while and see what happens.

I guess. Well, let’s make sure this is The One.

We’re gonna need some candles and the best sandwiches we can create!

Just fruit is fine.

[alieinthemorning]

Hot Chocolate [Dabi | Todoroki Touya]

Content: Hurt/Hurt, Angst to Angst, No Happy Ending (I’m sorry)

Pronouns: None

Header: @/takepopopopopo

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Today was the perfect day for hot chocolate.

If only you were able to partake in the mug you had made.

Instead, you were having a hard discussion with your… 

With Dabi. 

It seemed like he was finally cutting ties with you.

You held a steady gaze with your own chocolaty reflection. “So none of it was real? You didn’t mean any of it?”

He chuckled, a sound you used to adore. “If I loved you, would I really have kept you around? Love is a weakness, I don’t have weaknesses.” 

You gave your own mirthless laugh. “You could’ve defeated me, broken me, left me as a pile of ashes. What stopped you?”

You wanted to look up. Gauge his reaction.

His eyes were ever so telling. 

But… 

You were scared. What if he was here to set you a blaze now? 

“I gotta admit, it would’ve been easier to get rid of you if you weren’t so beautiful.” 

You swallowed the lump in your throat, choosing to ignore his compliment. “The worst part was that I saw it coming, I knew you’d hurt me, hurt us, but I still kept you around.” You shook your head. “We were never in love, we were simply caught up in a nightmare that felt like a dream.”

“Nothing you guessed about me was true, I’m nothing like anyone's ever seen before.”

“You’ll end up dead if you keep that up, and it won’t even be at my hands.”

“Oh? Well then I’d better take my leave then.”

You stopped him, barring him your now cold mug. “Since you wasted my time.”

He brought it up to a scalding temperature, but you didn’t care. You just wanted to relish in the last bit of contact you’d have with Dabi. His heat transferred into your cold fingertips, filling you with his energy one last time. 

Right as you took the mug from him, your eyes flickered up to meet his.

You were surprised at what you saw.

“This was never how I wanted things to go.”

Regret. 

Well, that made two of you.

At least you had hot chocolate.

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[drawloverlala]

April Status Update

Ah it’s finally April! Autumn started over this hemisphere too, which I love! although it’s still too hot which I don’t love too much lol

But well I officially finished the last commission request from February before March ended, so I’m ready to let you know when I’m opening commissions again!

I’ll be opening them on Saturday April 8th! 

In my commission info page I’ll make the email button let you to send me an email as well, pretty much like last time, prices will be the same, but there it will be more slots!

Also, I have a Ko-fi!! I’ll be using it as a tip jar of sorts! I may consider using it for other things in the future, but that’s the main use I’m going to give it for now.

 😊 Thank you very much if you decide to tip me! I really appreciate it! ☕💕

Ah also, another thing that’s important that I should mention!!: the OneDrive cloud on the email I use for commissions it’s currently kinda full 😅 and that interferes with sending emails with big files, so in order to get more space I’m going to clean up and delete everything there. I’ll do that on this Monday 3rd in the evening.

So if you commissioned me in the past and you don’t have the drawing I did for you for any reason, you can email me and ask for the file no problem! 👍✨

I think from now on, Ill be doing a cleaning of commission files on OneDrive each new year 😆 

As a bit of just rambling, I was heavily considering using Ko-fi for this commission batch, since it would allow me to limit the number of requests I’d receive.

But in the end I decided to do it the way did it last time 😅, because I am afraid it may be bit tedious to lead you through my commission info page then to ko-fi and then ko-fi makes you click more things...I mean it feels like it would take you more steps to make a request, so that kept me doubtful about this choice. 

Also I know some of my frequent customers prepare their info beforehand, and I don’t know if Ko-fi will allow them to paste or link their info more comfortably as a mail does, an email it’s also just more direct I feel,

I think for now I just won’t set a goal of finish all request in one month alone, I think since last batch was more or less a test, I can conclude that each batch taking around 2 months it’s alright actually! 🤔 

I wanted to be able to open commissions each month (like opening and finish 1 batch of commissions monthly) as to make a sort of monthly income, trying to reach a sort of living wage each time, but the amount of requests I have the luck to get is like 2 batches or so, so if I take 2 months on finishing that it’s really fine actually.

I mean I guess the proportion of commission requests vs the amount of time I can take on finishing them may always vary anyways, I guess I just have to accept that instead of pushing for it to be a monthly thing 😆 who knows!

Other option I was thinking of is to raise my prices, but I think I’ll wait a bit more before doing that 😅

But anyways! that was a bit of a long rambling! lol

I’ll keep considering Ko-fi for commissions, maybe like sketches and more simple kind of requests 😆 I’ll just have to keep thinking about what else I can do with it!

And I think that’s all I gotta say for now! Thank you for reading my rambling if you did! 😄

I hope April is good to everyone!! ^_^ 

[coochellati]

I'm so sorry to hear what happened Jovia!

Man this stuff with your mother is fucked up. I had a friend, her grandma was similar, but instead of valuing a house she valued money more than her family. They didn't even hold contact at all because of this.

I saw a lot of people setting up a Ko-fi page for supposting, that might help! Though read about what it does, sadly I don't know how it works.

I hope everything will be alright. You know what yes! Everything will be figured out because your boyfriend, us and Bruno are with you! :D

-PBS anon

thank you so much for the support, it means so much to me. Seriously, all your asks make me smile. 🩷🩷 heheheh i got that Bruno bot up and running so im probably gonna make him say comforting things, which I WILL share here, but first i gotta learn how speak the way Bruno speaks. The AI bot can transpose my voice all the way down to Bruno’s, so my higher-pitched voice isn’t a problem, but i need to have the diction there too…. anyways, not trying to get to get too off-topic here speaking about the bot but 😂

I just cannot fathom how anyone could possibly think that money is more important to them than their kid. (I’m talking about my mother and your friend’s grandmother—cuz at the end of the day, my mom just wants to keep a “perfect” house so she can sell it for maximum profit.

oh my god when we were kids, she would yell at us so much if we “hurt it” in any way. (Actually, nah, she still does this.) But like, dents in the wall are going to happen. Chipped paint is going to happen. It’s not like we tried to destroy it, but like. Kids are kids. and you shouldn’t yell at them. Can you really expect to keep a house absolutely perfect?

That’s actually a really good idea. I’ve considered a GoFundMe, but im also kind of scared to ask the internet for help? Augh. i think i should just bite the bullet and do it—i literally have $40 to my name. Would Ko-fi bet a better place…? I will look into it……….

[thewizardtower]

Unsolicited…

You've got a really overwhelming situation. It’s a bit ancillary to my irl job (env health and industrial hygiene), so I wanted to toss some thoughts to the void to maybe make it less heavy? (Def feel free to disregard and delete)

Since the AC is too large for the house, the house will stay too humid because the AC doesn’t have time to “dry” out the air – it’ll kick on and off too quickly instead of running for awhile. I’m guessing this is also contributing to the fire hazard (power cycling of the unit). You may be able to find a company that will trade the unit for a more appropriate one, which could help recoup some of the costs for a new system, or maybe local rebates with the power utility provider if the new unit has a heat pump, or just for being smaller and consuming less energy overall (spitballing ideas)

If you have a dehumidifier (bit spendy), you can put this in affected areas to help the problem from getting worse. For an attic, you can try placing it near a central air intake or exhaust inside of the house, like near vents or the furnace, to try and catch the airflow (if you put the central air furnace to ‘recirculate’). Changing your furnace filters monthly if you don't already should also help with air quality.

Mildew will stain, like the plywood and drywall in the attic, but if it’s dry, it shouldn’t grow. You can also spray surfaces in a diluted bleach solution to help manage it. Just a small bottle of plain bleach (none of those silly laundry kinds) and a spray bottle. An N95 respirator and long sleeve shirt/pants would be a good idea if you go into the attic, but mostly for fiberglass (if you don’t have blown insulation) and potential critter dust (mouse droppings, esp if you’re in a rural area, which I assume if you have a well)

A “hot attic” will be that (hot), but it shouldn’t be “humid”. If it is, it might be worthwhile to visually check your roof or attic and make sure the PO didn’t leave you with a crappy roof and soffit venting set-up, or that the vents weren’t block by wasps, critters, etc.

Sending the best vibes I can, from one broke Millennial to another

Gotta stick together to survive in this shitty capitalist hellscape

Bless you honestly. 🙏🥺 Thank you for this advice! I'm definitely going to use the bleach solution on the mold.. it's everywhere and all into my insulation.

Exactly everything you said is what the repair guy just told me lol that's exactly why there's mold. The previous owners installed a gigantic unit for whatever unknown reason. Unfortunately the AC unit is roughly 20 years old, so I can't trade it in for anything because all the parts and coolant supplies it uses are no longer on the market/viable. We were able to measure what kind of AC unit we'd need and the smaller unit brought the cost down from $13k to...$11.6k. So, not much, but still a little. (I've been considering asking for ko-fi donations since I'm honestly and truly desperate, but I first need to wrestle the part of my brain that doesn't allow me to ask for help first lol).

Thank you, anon, for your advice on this. It truly means a lot to me that you took the time to reach out! People like you make being a poor millennial a little bit easier. Seriously, bless you.

[blot-squisher]

Surviving the Game is a masterpiece which I’ve now read through three times. Thank you for creating such a fascinating, well-developed universe for so many of our favorite characters.

Gotta ask - plsssss tell me we’re getting Oni in Part 2? He’s absolutely terrifying but good lord does he give me ✨feelings✨ (just like Trapper, and you did such a phenomenal job with Evan).

Also will we see the Hag? She is like the coolest killer ever imo but they gave her such a bland, throwaway backstory and I’m 100% confident you would do her justice.

Last one - Spirit? I mean she’s just so badass and we all know she desperately needs a solid portrayal through a queer lens.

Please let us know if you set up a Patreon or we can buy you a coffee so we can support you and your writing!

Thank you so much! I had a ton of fun working on STG and it always makes my day to know how much ya'll have enjoyed reading it <3

We will be getting all three (and some others) in part 2! Some sooner than others, but they will be making appearances :D

I am seriously considering setting up a Patreon or Ko-fi. I need to look into both thoroughly first but I'll be sure to let ya'll know when/if I do. <3

[adarlingmess]

Darling's Diary - Ko-fi Commissions, HD File Cleanups, and Updates

Hey darlings! I hope you're all doing well!

I've set up my workspace and I'm ready to work again! The move ate up a huge chunk of my savings and I won't receive my utility deposit from the old place until December 10th, so I'm working extra hard! Gotta get that dough before the holidays so I can serve something nice for Christmas dinner :)

Recently, I got feedback about my prices and how some would prefer more affordable options for commissions. While I enjoy working on big pieces, sometimes the burnout and fatigue catches up, and I also miss the days when I offered small commissions during my college days. I figured that I also need the extra cash this holiday season. After thinking it over, I'm bringing back sketch commissions on Ko-Fi! The same terms and conditions apply, except they're not subject to discounts and promos. Click here to request a Ko-Fi commission!

As for my regular commission status: I am currently handling four commissions per usual. However, I won't be paid until December 5th or so for the fourth one. Two of them are big pieces hence the amount of time it's taking to finish them, and the move coincided with the production days set aside for those pieces. I'm sorry for the delay. I will take on more once I clear at least one from my list. My holiday sale is still ongoing so feel free to reserve a slot and I'll add you to the queue. Promo runs until December 15th!

In other news, it's less than 40 days until 2023! Which means it's time for me to do my yearly file review to free up some space on my laptop. To those who commissioned me this year, you can ask me for an HD copy of your files before January 1, 2023. After that, I'll be deleting the raw CSP files and the HD files from my hard drive. However, links to my GDrive are still working!

That's all for now! Stay safe everyone!

[yuuana]

Music May #3: NMIXX - Love Me Like This release: March 2023 genre: Kpop

So I'm going to probably bounce back and forth between recent releases and older (last year), with Thursdays for even older throwbacks ... which means I'm barely going to make a dent in my "new music" hoard, but a jagu's gotta start somewhere? So today we're hitting something on the newer side of the hoard.

As stupid as it's going to sound, I'd been kind of avoiding featuring these girls (shh, maknae's an '06-liner, Mama Jagu can call them girls) after all the stupid melodrama around their debut. Being on JYPE probably didn't help with that - that's a label with some serious baggage in the Kpop world. Add in that their debut single was something experimental and distinct and, well, yeah, they ended up catching more than their fair share of shit.

Fast forward to this year and while they've now dropped a member, the girls feel more settled in their concept and chemistry. "Love Me Like This" is a poppy, punky, dance beat that feels both fresh and familiar. It's easy enough to take at face value as a love song, though if you look a little closer, it's quickly apparent that the lyrics aren't quite as specific a set of instructions as one might think on a first listen. This is also probably their easiest starter track if you're new to the group, as there's a lack of MIXX-ness compared to say "O.O" or "Dice" - it keeps a steady beat through the whole runtime and even the bridge flows in a predictable way for this sort of bubbly pop.

The video is a playful mix of performance cuts and light narrative, silly and colorful in a way that further expresses NMIXX's youthful and energetic concept. The choreography sections are a workout all right, with a whole lot of hip action as a way of playing up the femininity and love angle while at the same time set dressing and costuming emphasize that bratty energy. And when they aren't dancing, it's magical and playful and whimsical. This isn't meant to be something deep, just something fun.

"Love Me Like This" is the earworm B title to NMIXX's latest EP, expergo, which is available now wherever you enjoy streaming your Kpop faves. They are also actively on tour with 7 shows here in the US between now and the 16th. They don't exactly have the largest discography to be supporting touring, so I'm curious what this show will involve, but since I live in the middle of nowhere, I guess someone else is going to have to tell me. ;)

Want to sponsor a song selection? You sweet angel! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS LUNATIC PARADE WonderGOO Tokuten Drama CD  “Tumult at the Lost Child Center ~Don’t be too Childish~”

Original title:「ディアヴォリック★自堕落生活～長男の憂鬱～」

Source: Diabolik Lovers Lunatic Parade WonderGOO Tokuten Drama CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Midorikawa Hikaru & Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Translator’s note: Honestly Ayato & Yuma are such a fun pairing because they’re both relatively ‘chill’ guys who have more of a childish side to them. Defintiely the perfect pick for a CD about a lost child center haha. It was really cute to see Yuma interact with the kids, although I never doubted his skills in that regard. He just radiates those ‘big bro’ vibes. :p Ayato on the other hand struggled a bit more, but I think he’s decent at dealing with kids too. Let’s just be grateful it wasn’t Kanato there instead or he would have set those poor children on fire lol.

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🎶🎶🎶

Ayato: Ahー Ahー If you have found or are looking for a lost child, then…get your ass to the damn lost child center! (1) Do you understand!? 

🎶🎶🎶

Ayato: Heh…Whatcha say, Chichinashi? My announcement was flawless, no?

Yuma: Ahー It was a fuckin’ disaster. Why did it sound like ya were givin’ them an order at the end!? Haah…I’m really out of luck, havin’ to do this job together with this dumbass. 

Ayato: That’s my line! The kids are gonna get scared by you with your big frame and that nasty look on your face!

Yuma: Ah? No way. Just so ya know, lookin’ after some lil’ brats is a piece of cake for me. I used to do it all the time in the past after all. 

Ayato: Heeh…Even if that’s true, the past is the past, right? Whether it’s lookin’ after kids or anythin’ else, I’m not losin’ to you so you better brace yourself !

Yuma: Oh come on, don’t get so damn competitive over every single thing! Ahー What a pain in the ass…

A crying girl is brought in. 

*Thud*

Ayato: …Oh! A lost child was brought in right on cue! …’Kay, I’ll make her stop cryin’ so watch closely!

Yuma: Well, show us what you’ve got. 

*Rustle* 

Ayato: Oi, brat. Stop cryin’ right now. Those sobs and sniffles are hella loud and annoyin’. 

Child: Uu…

Ayato: Hah? What am I doin’ wrong, Chichinashi? I gotta make myself clear to her, right!? 

Yuma: You’re being way too serious to a kid. Haha…Ya have to be a lil’ more chill when ya talk to them. 

Ayato: Haah!? What should I do then!? 

You try to explain. 

Ayato: I see…Her name, huh? ーー Oi, you! Teach me your name! By the way, mine’s Ayato. Remember to add ‘-sama’ to the end when you refer to me, ‘kay?

Yuma: I can’t believe he’s askin’ a kid to refer to him as ‘-sama’. Pfftー! …Lame!

Ayato: …Shut up!

Child: Uu…

Yuma: Ahー Look, she’s even more scared now ‘cause ya started shoutin’ out of nowhere. 

Ayato: Keh…! Aah, what now!? I guess I should do somethin’ which will catch her attention…Oi! Teach me what works best with small human girls!

You explain.

Ayato: …Dolls!? Me…!? 

Yuma: Pfft! Playin’ house with dolls. Go ahead and give it a shot! I mean, ya talked pretty big earlier so I’m sure ya can pull it off, right?

Ayato: Geh…I’ll do it! Chichinashi, you help out too!

You nod.

Ayato: Come on. I’ll play with you, so pick your doll. 

*Rustle* 

Ayato: Haah…? You had all these choices to pick from and you went with the creepy Witch? So, how do you want to play?

The child explains.

Ayato: Haah…!? I’m playin’ as the Princess while Chichinashi gets to be the Prince!? ーー Hold up. Why did you divide the roles like that!? Shouldn’t it be the other way ‘round!? 

Yuma: Haha! Maybe the kid’s tryin’ to show her good heart by lettin’ ya be the Princess since you’ve been havin’ a hard time so far. 

Ayato: Haah!? 

The child asks to play.

Ayato: Haah? Ah…Right…Let’s see… (talks with a high-pitched, feminine voice) ‘Ah, I’m a cute Princess. Nice to meet you!’

*Rustle* 

Yuma: Pfftーー! …Fuck…I can’t believe I have to witness this…Is this a new type of torture? Haha!

Ayato: You bastard…Shut the fuck up! Don’t watch!

*Rustle*

Ayato: …Haah? You want me to have this apple? I’m not that dumb to just eat an apple given to me by some shady-ass Witch! No thank you!

Child: Uu…

Ayato: …!? 

Child: Uu…

Ayato: …Fine! I just gotta eat it, right!? …’Nom, nom, nom’ …Ah? I’m not gonna fall unconscious from the poison. That’d be hella lame!

Child: Uu…

Yuma: Ahーahー Ya never learn, do ya?

Ayato: Aah…!? Honestly, you’ve been talkin’ like you know best this whole damn time. Then you do it instead!

Yuma: Yeah, sure. Come on. Hand me the Princess doll.

*Rustle*

Yuma: …Ughー! The apple’s poison…!

*Thud*

Ayato: Haha! He’s totally into it. Lame!

Yuma: Say whatever ya want. …Oi, Sow! Don’t be spacin’ over there and kiss me already!

You seem surprised. 

Yuma: You’re the Prince here, right!? Wake me up with a true lover’s kiss! …Hehe. If ya want, I don’t mind if ya kiss me directly instead of usin’ the dolls.

Ayato: Haah…!? Oi, hold up! Why would she do that!? 

Yuma: …Ah!? Those without a doll should stay out of this!

Ayato: Shut up! …Ahー God! We’re done with this! Away with this crap!

Ayato sends the dolls flying into the air. 

*Woosh* 

Yuma: Tsk…Just how immature can ya be? 

*Rustle* 

Yuma: Hey, lil’ one. Why don’t we ignore that guy and draw some pictures next?

The girl nods.

Yuma: …Sure. You’re a good girl, aren’t ya? …Come on! Let’s see whoever can draw the better picture! I’ve got my hopes up high!

They grab paper and marks to draw.

*Scribble scribble*

Ayato: Oh! She’s really into this! Amazin’!

Yuma: Heh, want to join us? 

Ayato: …! In your dreams! …But well, I guess if you insist, I’ll do you a favor.

Yuma: You really are a pain in the ass, aren’t you?

*Scribble scribble* 

Ayato: Hm? Oi, kid. Whatcha drawin’? 

She explains. 

Yuma: Heeh…Your mother, huh? 

Ayato: Hah! Ridiculous! I’m not gonna draw that sorta crap. Let me think…

*Scribble scribble* 

Ayato: There we go! This should do!

Yuma: The fuck’s this round thing? 

Ayato: It’s the takoyaki I ate the other day! It had a Western-style twist to it, so instead of seaweed flakes, it had some other green-colored thing sprinkled on top. It tasted kinda strange. 

Yuma: Ya really couldn’t think of anythin’ else to draw? 

Ayato: I could ask you the exact same thing! The fuck’s that supposed to be? Don’t tell me you drew some vegetables? 

Yuma: Oh! Nice observation! It’s a new variant which I planted just recently. I really hope they’ll grow nice and big just like in this picture one day!

Ayato: …!? Aren’t those a little too big!? They’d easily reach above the roof of the house!

Yuma: Aah…? I bought the seeds at the Demon World so that’s the least I’d expect from them. So…What did ya draw? 

You show them your drawing.

Yuma: …Ah? Are these…The fireworks at the Parade? 

You nod. 

Ayato: Then over here are the gondolas? …I mean, I guess you did an okay job. Not as good as my drawing though!

The door opens.

Ayato: Oh, another lost child? 

The mother of the child rushes inside. 

Yuma: …Oh! You’re here to pick up yer daughter? …Hey, look who’s here. 

Ayato: Good for you! Go and enjoy the Parade, ‘kay? 

Yuma: What’s this? Are ya feelin’ a lil’ lonely perhaps? 

Ayato: Shut up! That’s not it! 

Yuma: Hahaha! …Oh? 

*Flip* 

Yuma: What? …You’re giving this drawing to us? …Haha! Ya did a great job! 

The child smiles. 

Yuma: This guy with the ponytail is me, right? 

She nods. 

Yuma: Yeah, thanks! …So, this stick-like girl in a skirt whose lackin’ any indication of curves whatsoever must be her, right?

The child nods again. 

Yuma: Hehe…Aren’t ya happy she drew such an accurate representation of ya?

You pout.

Ayato: …!? Hey, where am I then!? Show me!

*Rustle* 

Ayato: …Aah? Oi. Don’t tell me this guy with the red scribbles on top of his head is supposed to be me? 

The child nods again. 

Ayato: My hair isn’t that much of a mess! Come on, take a better look! It’s supposed to be spiky and looks way cooler than this!

Yuma: Nah, I think she did a pretty good job. Honestly, I can barely tell the difference! Haha!

*Rustle*

Ayato: Well…I guess I’ll accept it as a souvenir. Don’t get yourself lost again, ‘kay?

Yuma: Come on, ‘Ayato-sama’, why don’t you wave her goodbye? Thank the girl for playin’ with ya!

Ayato: Haah…!? I’m the one who played with her! Idiot! …Don’t you dare show up again, ‘kay!? 

The child leaves with her mother.

Yuma: Ahー That was kinda hectic. Oh well, I’m glad she was safely picked up by her parents. 

Ayato: …There’s absolutely nothin’ good ‘bout it!

Yuma: …Ah? 

Ayato: I didn’t get to show off what I’m capable of at all! ーー Oi, Yuma. Go and look for the next lost child. 

Yuma: Haah? …No way. Why should I do that? 

Ayato: Shut up! I feel like I got a feel for lookin’ after children now. So hurry up and bring in the next one!

Yuma: Listen up…It’s better if no children get lost at all, so don’t be spoutin’ bullcrap. Besides, if ya want to find one that badly, then look for them yerself!

Ayato: Haah…? And why would I do that?

Yuma: Ahー But I guess if ya were to come across one, you’d just scare and make them cry again. Just think of the disaster from earlier. Guess it’s too much to ask from ya.

Ayato: That’s not true! 

Yuma: Oh? I’m not convinced. 

Ayato: Shut up! I’ll show you! I’ll be back with an impressive amount of lost children, so you better be scared!

Ayato runs off.

*Thud* 

Yuma: Ahー Thank god that loudmouth is finally gone. I’m kinda tired from havin’ to deal with the kid, so I guess I’ll rest up a bit. Hey, go and make some tea!

Another child is brought in.

Yuma: …Wait!? Haah!? Talk about bad timin’...Yeah, this is the lost child center. We’ll take care of the lil’ one, ‘kay?

The door opens again.

Yuma: Ah? Two in a row? …Wait, there’s two at a time? 

More children are brought in. 

Yuma: Again!? Ahー Their cryin’ is drivin’ me nuts…Shut up! I’ll look after y’all so come here! …Anyway, what’s Ayato up to? I’m over here drowning in lost kids so don’t tell me he’s sleepin’ on the job!? 

All of the kids cry at once.

Yuma: Ah, hey! Don’t fight! …If ya can’t share and get along like good kids, I’m takin’ that ball away, do ya understand!? 

The crying intensifies. 

Yuma: …Aah? If you’re hungry, go to that Soー …I mean lady over there. Eat slowly so ya don’t choke, ‘kay? 

The children continue crying. 

Yuma: …Aah…Fuck, this is a pain…If I had known it’d get this busy, I would have rather had that fool ‘round still. …Right!

You ask Yuma what he’s going to do. 

Yuma: Hehe…I had a fun idea. Keep the kids busy for a bit, ‘kay? 

*Thud*

🎶🎶🎶

Yuma: Ahー Ahー This is the lost child center speaking. We are looking for Sakamaki Ayato-kun, 17 years old, has red hair and a resting bitch face. We believe he might be somewhere close to the takoyaki vendor. If you spot him, please tell that idiot to come to the lost child center.

I repeat. We are looking for Sakamaki Ayato-kun, 17 years oーー 

Ayato bursts into the room. 

*Thud* 

Ayato: You bastard…! Cut the crap!

Yuma: Oh! My announcement was very effective! Haha! So, how does it feel to get called to the lost child center at yer age? 

Ayato: Everyone ‘round me started starin’ or pointin’ fingers at me while laughin’...! I nearly choked on the churros I was eatin’ on top of that! It was horrible!

Yuma: Oh? You weren’t at the takoyaki place? Damn, I spread wrong information. 

Ayato: Who gives a damn ‘bout that!? Meet me outside! I’ve had enough!

Yuma: Ahー Now’s not the time to fight. Hurry up and help me take care of these brats. 

Ayato: Kids? I couldn’t find any lost children thoーー

All of the kids start crying again. 

Ayato: Aah…!? What’s goin’ on over here!? 

Yuma: We’re actually fully booked over here. Now’s not the time to act like a big child yerself. Get to work, come on!

Ayato: Geh…!

Yuma: Oi, brats, listen up! Mr. ‘Ayato-sama’ over here is dyin’ to play with all of ya, so let him join in on the fun, ‘kay?

Ayato: Haah…!? Don’t just say whatever ya damn please!

*Rustle* 

Ayato: …!? Hey! Don’t jump at me!

*Rustle rustle* 

Ayato: Don’t climb up my body! Let go of me…!

*Rustle rustle* 

Yuma: Hah! He’s over there wavin’ his arms ‘round as if he doesn’t like it, but he’s probably enjoyin’ all of the attention. Thank god I got paired up with someone who’s on the same levels as these brats. 

Ayato: Fuck…! Chichinashi, don’t be over there laughin’ with him but help me out! …Ugh! If that’s what the guy wants, then he can join me instead!

Ayato tugs Yuma close.

*Rustle* 

Yuma: Haah!? …Hey, stop! Don’t pull my hair!

*Thud* 

Ayato: Haha, lame! Oi, my loyal servants! Let’s beat up the bad guy!

*Rustle rustle* 

Ayato: …Wait!? Idiots! Can’t you tell that you’re only supposed to attack the big fella over there!

Yuma: Heh…You’re a hundred years too early to order those brats ‘round! Come on, let’s show him who’s boss!

*Thud*

Yuma: …Ack! Oi, ya lil’...! Who’s the one who punched me in the sides just now!? 

Ayato: Oi, Chichinashi! Whatcha lookin’ so surprised ‘bout? You should join in as well!

You hesitate. 

Yuma: Well, these kids don’t hold back, so ya better know what you’re gettin’ yerself into! …But it wouldn’t make for a bad memory of the Parade, right? 

ーー THE END ーー

[tobesolonely]

it’s not christmas ‘til you come home

a/n: hello!! please enjoy this piece from my dad!harry universe! (u dont have to read any of them for it to make sense, but it would be cool if u did! loosely based on it’s not christmas ‘til you come home by norah jones <3 hope you enjoy! thank u to @harryysstyless​ for beta reading for me!! happy holidays everyone :)

warnings: SMUT, a bit of angst <3 word count: ~5.1k 

my ko-fi! thank you :)

December 23rd, 2:00 PM

For as long as you and Harry have been in a relationship, you’ve never not spent a Christmas together. 

Before expanding your family, you and he used to hop from party to party every Christmas Eve. Both of you would be absolutely trashed by the time Harry’s driver would drop you off at his house in the early hours of the morning. You’d sleep in until approximately noon, willing your hangovers to go away before finally making it down the stairs and into the kitchen to prepare two steaming cups of coffee. The two of you would then make your way into the living room and exchange gifts (where Harry always went way over the budget you’d set). 

Once you had your first child, Allison, your yearly tradition of party hopping and getting so drunk you could hardly put one foot in front of the other was no more. Instead, you and Harry opted for calm nights in, watching Christmas movies and drinking hot cocoa until she eventually grew tired and got carried up to bed. You would wait an hour or so before springing into action, playing Santa and setting out all of the gifts she asked for and then some. Harry never forgot to take a big bite out of the cookie and carrot left out for Santa and his reindeer.

This tradition stayed the same once your second baby, Oliver, was born. Even though he was too young to know what was going on, Harry was still excited to spoil him rotten this year as it was his first Christmas. However, given the current state of the world, you were afraid Harry would not be here for the first time ever.

“Mumma, when’s daddy coming home?” your six-year-old, Ally, asked for what had to be the seventh time that afternoon. “I made him a drawing for his gift ‘nd I can’t wait for him to see it!”

“Let me see what you drew for Daddy, love bug,” you say cheerily, purposefully glossing over her question. Ally proudly holds her drawing up next to her face. She looks up at you with wide eyes, awaiting a compliment from you. 

“That’s gorgeous, bug! Daddy’s gonna love it,” you inform her. “Maybe you can stick a lil’ bow on it and set it under the tree for him, hmm?” 

“Good idea, Mumma!” Ally runs to the box where you kept all the supplies for gift wrapping, digging around for a pink bow to stick on the corner of her drawing.

While she’s preoccupied with finding the perfect bow to place on her drawing for Harry, you take a quick glance at your phone. He still hadn’t gotten back to you since last night’s quick conversation when he very briefly mentioned he didn’t know if he’d be able to make it home.

He was filming in Los Angeles. You shared your uncertainties about him going before he departed but in the end, this was an opportunity you didn’t want him to miss out on. You read the Los Angeles Times free articles on your phone daily, keeping track of the state of the pandemic in Southern California. You knew it was much worse there than it was at home in London. You feared what you were afraid of was sadly bound to happen— Harry may get stuck in LA.

You didn’t want to say anything to your curious daughter because communication with him had been so sparse. You didn’t know anything for certain yet. But what were you supposed to think? You knew flying nationally wasn’t a good idea at the moment, never mind internationally.

“Hey bug, d’ya think you can watch your brother for a moment? Mumma’s gotta go make a phone call.” 

You hear your daughter let out a slightly irritated sigh. “I suppose I can, Mumma.” Ally responds with a voice laced with exasperation. You chuckle slightly under your breath at your overly dramatic (much like her dad) six-year-old and head into the kitchen, quickly dialing your husband’s familiar number.

“Hello?” 

You let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Harry’s low, hoarse voice. 

“Hi, honey. Just checkin’ in to see how things are going…” you hear shuffling on his end. “It’s December 23rd, you know.”

“I know, love.”

“Did I wake you?”

“Six in tha’ mornin’ here.”

“I’m sorry, H. S’just Allison keeps on askin’ when you’ll be home and ‘m just so worried you won’t make it home on time and you’ll miss Oliver’s first Christmas—“

“Darling,” Harry interrupts your anxiety-fueled ramble. “‘M gonna make it home. Have I ever not been there when I said I would?” 

“No,” you say quietly. “I’m just worried, Harry. I hear traveling is going to get very strict because they’re trying to prevent people from going anywhere for Christmas…”

“Fine, then I’ll get my own plane with jus’ me and a pilot. Wear a mask the entire time and whatnot. Yanno I can make that happen if it’s necessary, pet.” 

Harry’s calm demeanor about the whole situation brings you a bit of peace. Perhaps you were catastrophizing something that wasn’t as big of a deal as you thought it was a mere two minutes ago. If he wasn’t worried about not making it home, you didn’t see any reason to stress about it— not for one second longer.

“Okay then,” you reply, still a bit wary of his travel plans. “What shall I tell your daughter? She’s drivin’ me up the walls asking where you are every twenty minutes.”

Your husband lets out a breathy laugh, causing you to giggle along with him. “Tell her not to eat up all the Christmas cookies before I get a taste of one.”

December 24th, 8:45 AM

Part of you was hoping you’d wake up on Christmas Eve and Harry would be tucked into bed next to you, plump lips parted, the sound of his snores the only noise in the room. However, you were a rational woman, if nothing else. You knew he wouldn’t be by your side when you woke up. 

You make your way down the hall and peek inside your son’s room. He was fast asleep, plump thumb in his mouth. You smile at your sleeping baby and gently close the door behind you, deciding to let him sleep in a bit longer before waking him up to feed him. 

Next, you walk to your daughter's room, gently pushing open the door in case she was still sleeping. Instead, you find her sat at her desk, deeply focused on what appeared to be another drawing. 

“Good morning, lovebug,” you greet your daughter in a sing-songy voice. “You’re up early. What are you working on?”

“Makin’ a letter for Santa,” she replies, not bothering to look up from what she was doing. 

“A letter for Santa?” You start racking your brain for anything you and Harry could’ve possibly forgotten to get for Ally, but you finished your Christmas shopping for your children way back in November.

“Yes,” she answers matter-of-factly. “‘M askin’ him to make sure my Daddy is home by tonight so we can eat cookies together and watch Toy Story, Mumma.” 

“I’m sure Santa will make that happen for you,” you reassure her. “You’ve been a very good girl this year, been so helpful with Olly and doin’ so well in school. The least Santa can do is get you whatever you want.” You see her smile as she digs around in her crayon box.

“Can we wait ‘til Daddy gets home to make Santa’s cookies, Mumma?”

“Sure we can, bug,” Ally claps her hands together excitedly, bouncing around in her tiny chair. “Gonna go make some pancakes, does that sound yummy?”

“Can we have chocolate chip pancakes please?”

“Are you askin’ me that because your dad isn’t here to throw a fit about it?” You give her a knowing smile, causing her to giggle.

“Maaaaybe…” Your daughter turns to face you, swinging her legs back and forth.

“If I make your chocolate chip pancakes, you can’t tell your dad. Deal?” You hold up your pinky. Ally gets up and runs to you and you bend down slightly so she can link her finger with yours.

“I pinky promise, Mumma!”

“Our little secret, yeah?” she nods. “Keep an ear out for your brother for me, bug. I’ll be downstairs.”

December 24th, 3:00 PM

“Love? ‘M afraid I got some bad news...”

As soon as Harry’s voice comes through on the other line, you can tell whatever news he’s about to share with you won’t be what you’re wanting to hear.

“What is it?”

It’s silent for what feels like entirely too long. You get up from your position on the couch next to Ally, telling her you’ll be right back. After breakfast, she convinced you to watch Toy Story with her, which quickly turned into a whole Disney movie marathon.

“Not so sure I’ll be able to make it home.”

You’re not sure if it’s his calm tone that bothers you, the fact that you didn’t want him to go to Los Angeles in the first place, or simply the fact that you and your children missed him terribly and haven’t seen him in nearly a month–– but your mood changes from relaxed to undeniably outraged in three seconds flat.

“You’re kidding.” Your tone is sharp, venomous. Harry once again takes a moment before responding, knowing that the current tone of your voice means he’d best proceed with caution.

“‘M not, love. I woke up early and everything to try and get this sorted out, it’s 7 AM so I was gonna try and catch an early flight––”

“I told you I didn’t want you going to LA,” you cut him off, voice rising slightly. “You knew how bad the pandemic was getting there. I told you this would happen.”

“What do you suppose I do then, Y/N?” His tone is becoming equally as sharp. “Y’want me to tell ‘em, “Sorry, I don’t give a fuck about the travel restrictions. My wife wants me home so let's make it happen!” ‘S that what you want me to do?”

“Don’t be a smartass, Harry,” you spit. “I’ll give the phone to your daughter and you can tell her you won’t be home in time for Christmas, then.”

“Y/N…” his tone is calm again. Fearful. “Don’t make me do that.”

“She woke up early to write a letter to Santa to tell him she wants you home by tonight, Harry,” your tone softens as well. “Even Olly has been asking for you. Swear his new favorite word is ‘dada’.” He laughs at this as do you, and the shared tension that was present just minutes ago dissipates. 

“Just… lemme try a few more things before I tell her, yeah?”

“Harry, it’s already three here,” you gently remind him. “Even if you do make it home today, she’ll be asleep by the time you’re home. I think you just need to tell her.”

Your husband sighs, knowing you were undeniably correct. “Alright. Give Allison the phone, please.”

December 24th, 8 PM

“Almost time for you to head to bed soon, yeah Allybug?” Your daughter lets out a loud sigh in response, not shifting her gaze from the television to you. Ever since Harry told her he wouldn’t be home in time to eat cookies with her, she’s hardly said a word. She’s never experienced a Christmas Eve without her father so understandably, she was missing him tonight.

You shift Olly, who was falling asleep nursing on your lap, into a different position so you could face your daughter directly. From your new position, you can see just how tired she looks. 

“‘M not sleepy, Mumma. Gonna stay up and wait for Daddy,” she informs you of her new plans. “When Daddy is home that’s when it’s time for bed.”

“Ally, remember what Daddy told you on the phone earlier? Santa won’t come unless you go to sleep.”

“I don’t wanna sleep,” she’s quickly starting to grow upset. “Not until Daddy tucks me in!”

You purse your lips, not wanting to argue with your headstrong daughter when your son was so close to drifting off into his nightly milk coma. Turning your attention back to the movie that was quietly playing on the television, you decide to drop it for now and try again later.

December 24th, 9:05 PM

Not more than an hour later, Olly is upstairs in his crib fast asleep whilst Ally is still laying on the floor in front of the Christmas tree, fighting sleep. She was determined to stay up until her father walked through the front door, and you knew getting her to agree to go to bed was going to be a battle and a half.

“You’re not ready to go to bed yet, Ally?” Her eyes fly open once she hears you addressing her.

“Not yet, Mumma. ‘M not sleepy yet.” Her words are a little slurred due to the exhausted state she was in. You hum in response.

“Could’ve sworn your eyes just shut for a minute there,” you pause for a second to see if she’ll look your way. “Must’ve just been my old lady eyes playin’ tricks on me, y’think?”

“I wasn’t sleeping!” She immediately defends herself, frown lines indenting her forehead. “Can we drink more hot chocolate?”

You knew if you wanted your daughter to fall asleep within the hour, another sugar rush wasn’t the best idea. You instead offer her a hot cup of sleepytime tea and she excitedly agrees once you tell her it’s her father’s favorite type of tea to drink at bedtime. You place her down on the kitchen counter while you fill the kettle and wait for it to whistle.

“What are you looking forward to the most from Santa, bug?” 

Her eyes light up at your question. “Well, I really want a new bike! ‘Member Mumma? How I asked him for a pink bike? And I also want a cool swing set! Since we haven’t been able to go to the park in so long,” her smile falters and she looks down at her dangling feet. “I want Daddy to come home the mostest, though.”

Your heart feels like it’s going to break in two upon hearing your daughter admit that Harry being home would be the greatest gift of all. “So do I, lovebug. He’ll be here in the mornin’ to watch you and your brother open all the gifts Santa got you though, don’t you worry.”

For everyone’s sake, you hoped that was true.

December 24th, 11:50 PM

Sleep wasn’t coming easy. 

You finally got your daughter to bed at around ten o’clock and waited thirty minutes before laying out your children’s gifts. It took much longer than it usually did considering you had to do it all on your own. Harry was usually the one to quickly assemble the larger toys while you laid everything out around the living room. 

Despite it taking longer than desired, you were proud that you got it all done without waking your children up. Consequently, that meant you were now left all alone with your thoughts considering you had no more tasks to occupy yourself with. 

You kept contemplating calling Harry, but you weren’t sure if he was busy on set or not. Surely he was immersing himself in work to distract himself from the fact he would not be spending Christmas with his family. 

Deciding you may need a cup of the sleepytime tea you offered Allison earlier, you quietly get out of bed and open your door, sock-clad feet padding softly against the wooden floors. It’s unnervingly silent in your home–– the tea kettle coming to a boil being the only source of noise. You keep unlocking and re-locking your phone, finally deciding to call your husband to see how he’s spending his day. It goes to automatic voicemail.

You assume the reason for this must be that he’s busy filming on set and set your phone down with a sigh, standing on your tiptoes to retrieve a mug from the cabinet. You mutter a slew of curse words under your breath intended for Harry who always puts the mugs up far too high even though you tell him not to.

Right as you begin pouring the now boiling water into your teacup, the faint jingling of your front door causes you to startle so badly that you nearly drop the kettle on the ground. You try to think back to everything Harry ever told you to do in the event of an intruder but your mind goes blank from fright. Deciding to use the scalding water as your weapon, you slowly creep towards the door, your only plan being to fling the water on whoever it was as soon as they got the door open. As soon as you hear the lock click, you flick the lid open that covers the spout and draw your arm back.

“Shit––”

“Harry?”

Your husband jumps slightly, his eyes blinking rapidly in an effort to adjust to the dark living room. You reach beside him and quickly turn on the light, shakily letting out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. He looks exhausted, his hair is an absolute mess, and his eyes are red from sleep deprivation–– but he’s home. You set the tea kettle down on the coffee table and fling yourself into his arms, breathing in the scent of the man you haven’t seen in a month. He drops his bags at his feet so he can properly embrace you, pulling you into him.

“Merry Christmas, darling,” he presses a kiss to the top of your head and stays like that for a moment saying nothing, just breathing you in. “Missed ya so fuckin’ much.

“How? I thought…” you trail off. “You said that they said…”

Harry laughs quietly. “Remember what I told ya? I said to ‘em, ‘Don’t give a fuck about your travel restrictions! M’wife wants me home.’” You laugh at him, knowing he was far too kind to talk to anyone that way. 

“Yeah, okay,” you reply sarcastically. You pull him in for another hug, placing wet kisses along his jawline. “I’m so happy you’re home. The kids are gonna be over the moon, especially Allison.” Harry hums, surveying the room.

“Looks like you did a good job in here, Mrs. Claus. See ya even assembled some toys all by yourself,” he quirks an eyebrow. “Were you jus’ pretendin’ not to know how to do it all these years so I’d be stuck with all the hard labor?”

“Maybe.”

He pulls you back into him, tickling your sides. “My sneaky girl,” he bends down so his lips are level with your neck and sucks gently, causing you to let out a quiet moan. You see his eyes land on the tea kettle that was sitting forgotten on the coffee table. “Making a cuppa? Can I have one? ‘M freezin’.”

“I can think of something else we can do to get you warmed up,” you reach for his hands, interlocking his fingers with yours. “If you know what I’m gettin’ at.”

“Hmm…” Harry releases one of his hands from your grip and taps at his chin, pretending to be deep in thought. “Not too sure I can say I know what you’re sayin’. Maybe you should just tell me?”

You frown. “You’re really gonna make me say it, huh?”

“Y’know I’d give you the entire world if you asked me for it. All you gotta do is tell me what you want from me and it’s yours–– ‘m sure you’ve known that since the first day we met, though.” Harry takes a step back, crossing his arms across his chest. Even in his thick winter coat, you can see the way his biceps flex, and it makes you even more feral for him.

“Fine,” you say quietly, feeling yourself start to grow shy under his intense gaze. “I’m kinda... in the mood.” You say it so softly that it would most likely be inaudible to Harry if he wasn’t standing mere inches away from you. Harry throws his head back in laughter and you quickly shush him, not wanting any of your children to wake up.

“In the mood? C’mon, pet,” he uncrosses his arms and reaches for one of your hands. “Tha’s not tellin’ me what you want from me. Tell me exactly what you want, lovie.”

“You know what I want, H,” you tell him with a hint of annoyance in your voice. “It’s been a month. Yanno I want you to fuck me, why are you makin’ me say it?”

Harry gives you a shit-eating grin. “You jus’ said it. I didn’t make you say anything.”

You roll your eyes at his immaturity, already in the process of lifting your nightshirt (one of his old t-shirts that’s become just a little too tight on him) over your head. “Are we gonna get to it or not? Because if not, I’ll just go back to makin’ myself some tea and call it a night––”

Harry takes half a step towards you and reaches up to cup your face, colliding his lips with yours. His lips are a little chapped and taste of his favorite rose lip balm. You feel your body relaxing into the kiss, knees going weak as he walks you back onto the couch.

“You’ve been eatin’ up all the sugar cookies, haven’t you? Can taste it on ya. Thought those were for Santa,” he’s pulled away from you to examine your face. “A bit naughty of you, wouldn’t ya say?”

“Please stop referring to yourself as Santa when we’re about to have sex, Harry.”

“You’re not bein’ very kind to the person that’s about to go down on you, are you?” He sucks harshly on the valley between your breasts, wanting to be sure a deep-colored bruise will appear on your skin later. “That’s okay. It is Christmas, after all. ‘M in a giving mood.”

“Stop talking and get to it then.”

Harry slides off the couch and onto his knees in between your legs, gently kissing your thighs. “Cute pair of undies–– s’like you knew I was comin’ home tonight.” Before you can respond Harry’s fingers are tugging at the waistband of your underwear, eager to get them off of you. He presses light kisses to your core, mumbling about how much he missed the smell of you and how sweet you tasted. 

One hand is resting across your stomach while the other one is in between your folds, spreading you open. You try squeezing your thighs around his head, overwhelmed by the feeling of your husband’s lips around your clit after being away from him for so long, but he removes his hand from your stomach and pushes your thighs back apart.

“Feels so good,” you’re breathless, tangling your fingers in Harry’s hair as his hollowed cheeks begin to suck more roughly on your clit. “Missed you so much. Missed this–– us.” 

Harry pauses momentarily to look up at you. “I know, angel. God, do I know.” He attaches his lips back on you, swirling his tongue around your clit as you  choke back your moans. The hand that is holding you open moves down to toy at your slit as he wordlessly checks to see if you’re okay with his fingers being in you. 

“Please,” you say softly, encouraging his next move. He spits on his index and pointer finger before slowly sliding both of them in you, immediately curling them up. “Oh, Harry. Fuckin’ love when you do tha’...”

“Know you do,” His response is curt, simple. He’s focused on the task at hand–– getting you off. He uses the hand that’s lying across your stomach to rub tight circles on your clit, sensing you’re nearing your orgasm from the way you’re starting to clench around him. “Such a good girl fo’ me, darlin’. Gonna make a mess on my fingers in a second, aren’t you?”

You nod as you try to control your breathing and the loudness of your moans. The last thing you wanted was for your daughter to come down to inspect the source of the noise. “Fuck, Harry.” 

“Come on, darlin’,” he gently pinches your clit, causing your body to jolt at the sensation. “Gimme a good one. A lil’ welcome back gift for me, hmm?” 

Your hips are bucking up to the rhythm of his fingers slipping in and out of you as your orgasm quickly approaches. “Har, I’m close…” it comes out sounding more like a warning than a statement. He moves the two fingers he has inside of you in a back and forth motion, coaxing your first orgasm out of you.

“Tha’s my girl,” he whispers, not stopping his movements even as your back arches as your first orgasm rolls over you like a giant wave. “Givin’ me a good one jus’ like I knew you would. Jus’ like you always do. M’ sweet girl.” As you’re starting to still, Harry pulls his fingers out of you and holds them up to your mouth, instructing you to suck them clean. 

You prop yourself up on your elbows so you can properly lean in to steal a kiss from him and notice a rather sizable tent has formed in his pants. Harry gives you a sheepish grin as he palms himself, hissing from the feel of his palm against his cock.

“Want me to do somethin’ about that?” You scoot over on the couch and pat the spot next to you, signaling for your husband to sit beside you. He lifts himself from his seated position, stretching his legs out a bit before plopping down beside you.

“Are you offerin’ me a blowie?”

“I mean, yeah?”

“Can we skip that an’ you can jus’ ride me instead? Think I’d quite like that.”

“Oh you would, would ya?”

Harry nods and unzips his pants, taking himself out. He licks his hand and gives himself a few pumps. “Still on birth control, I’m assuming?”

You roll your eyes as you move to straddle him. “Only been gone for a month, Harry. Of course ‘m still on it, you goof.”

“Can never be too careful. I don’t think now’s a good time for another lil’ one, do you? Think we should at least celebrate Oliver’s first birthday before we try for another one.” His hands are on his hips as he lines you up over his cock, helping you slowly sink down. You missed the burn of him which was even more intense than it usually was considering it’s been a while since he’s taken you.

“I think you’re right,” you reply. You rest your head on his shoulder while you adjust to the size of him, needing to take a moment to yourself before attempting to move. After a short adjustment period you begin rolling your hips, grinding against him in a way that was also bringing pleasure to your clit, still swollen and sensitive from your last orgasm.

Harry’s eyes are fixated on the way your breasts bounce in front of him, the way your stomach slightly jiggles each time you crash back down onto him. His lips are caught in between his teeth; you’re hoping he doesn’t break any skin so you don’t have to hear him whine about how badly the bruise hurts him later.

“Ridin’ me like your life depends on it,” Harry mutters. “Fuckin’ love takin’ you like this, angel. So fuckin’ deep.”

You simply hum in agreement, brain far too foggy to form a coherent sentence. Harry notices your movements starting to become smaller, lazier, so he puts his hands on your hips and decides to take over. He’s thrusting up into you like you’ll up and run away from him if he doesn’t give it his all. He cups your face with one hand and gently guides you towards him, pressing open-mouthed kisses against your lips.

“Fuck, H,” your eyes are squeezed shut and your wrap your arms around his neck, feeling your second orgasm quickly approaching. “Rub my clit please, almost there.”

Harry’s fingers immediately come down to rub at your slick nub, not faltering his relentless pace in the slightest. “Clench around me again, lovie,” his voice is higher than usual, whiny, and you know your husband is just as close as you are. “Love when you do tha’, jus’ need you to do it one more time.”

You do as he wishes once more, knowing once he cums you’ll be directly behind him. Harry lets out a string of expletives as he releases inside of you, pulling you tightly against his chest as he rides out his orgasm. You continue riding him, not slowly down as you chase your own release next.

“Harry,” you’re in a trance-like state, chanting his name over and over as you bring yourself over the edge. “Harry, fuck!”

“That’s my good girl,” he says quietly, rubbing your back as you rest your head on his shoulder while you catch your breath. You feel him beginning to soften inside of you so you lift yourself off and lay back on the couch, legs still shaking. It’s quiet for a couple of minutes as the two of you reveal in the afterglow of your orgasms, Harry gently running his fingers along your leg.

“Round two in the shower?”

December 25th, 6:42 AM

“Mumma! Santa came and he left lots of toys–– Daddy?”

Harry lets out a dramatic “oof!” as Ally jumps onto him, pulling the covers back. Her eyes are wide and she giggles are Harry pulls her into one of his infamous bear hugs, placing kisses all over his face.

“Mornin’, love bug! What’re you doin’ up so early?”

“It’s Christmas, Daddy! Santa came!” she sits back on her feet, a confused look on her face. “Did Santa bring you on his sleigh last night after me ‘n Olly went to bed?”

“Y’know what? He told me to keep it a secret, but he did,” Allison gasps in response to his news as she processes it, placing a little hand over her mouth. Harry sits up and gets out of bed, scooping her up in the process. “How ‘bout we go make Mum a cuppa before we see what Santa got for you and Olly? Tha’ sound good? Let’s let them sleep for a while longer, hmm?”

As you hear them exit the room you take a second to reflect on how lucky you are to spend another Christmas with you beautiful family before drifting back off into a deep, albeit short, sleep.

[nightswithkookmin]

RE: JUNGKOOK CHANGED IN RUN

Anon:

Why did Jungkook not want to be on Jimin's team in the last run episode? He has changed a lot from before. Thoughts.

My first thought is, you don't gotta interpret everything in a negative light.

Not every strong reaction is a bad reaction.

I'd be a phony ass fraud if I sat here and told you with my two thumbs that I didn't raise a brow at that moment. I did.

Especially when you contrast that episode with run 112 which falls on all fours with this current situation- ok may not all fours.

But in that video, like many others, RM had suggested they form teams based on the sunglasses they wore, just as he had suggested they form teams based on the seating arrangements.

Of course he'd meant it as a Joke just as we discussed in a previous blog post. Personally, I expected they make a draw, rock papers or even dance in circles like they did in the other episode to decide who got who in the competition.

But it seems in all the times he's been paired with JM he's been supper thrilled about it. He even warned the members not to underestimate him and JM when they'd unanimously concluded they were the disadvantaged team in the game- Jin not even bothering to ask them what their scores were on Korean.

He reset the timer to 10 seconds when Jk pointed out he wasn't good at reading fast

When the time stopped and they were asked to make a team of four, he turned to find JM almost immediately as if to make sure JM was part of the four, he held on to his arm to prevent RM from breaking the link.

He was supposed to pair with Yoongi and Jimin with Tae but he didn't even try to find Suga. At least V did try to find Jimin. He moved towards JM and when he realized JK was hugging him he went for Suga.

Throughout the episode he was giving JM tips on how to cheat and shot when he wasn't sure of the answers.

Yet in the last run, he didn't seem as enthusiastic about being paired with JM- or so, he'd have us believe. Smirk.

He ain't slick. Lol.

To me he seemed, on the surface of it, either really salty about the others having Jin or RM on their teams or upon reflection, just plain ass overcompensating for something.

I'd go with the later.

It's similar to how, Jimin got the Sauna card and he'd complained about not liking the Sauna but then swapped cards with Tae so he could be on JM's team.

Or how he'd make a theatrical show of wanting to win a competition but smirk satisfactorily to himself when he loses.

I really don't think it's a big deal.

Personally, I love watching them paired up and doing such activities. It's a great way to see how they work together as partners and as a team.

It's also a great way for them to spend time with eachother, enjoy eachother, nurture their bond and strengthen their relationship.

Fanservice or not, scripted or not, you cannot deny that spending time together doing activities together is good for building a relationship.

They spend a considerable about of time together off cameras but a lot of their time is spent on cameras and at work.

They gotta find a way to make their relationship work on the work as I keep saying. All that 'fanservice' people say they are doing? That's them making it work. They gotta find a way to go on dates, feed eachother, hold each other's hands, tell Jokes, laugh at eachother's jokes, express their attraction for each other, flirt, share eachother's interests and do things couples do without inviting public scrutiny to their every interaction and invasion of their privacy.

So where they see an opportunity they go for it. For JK it's the the little decisions he makes on their behalf like choosing where they will sleep, what activities they can do together, wanting the bigger room, making sure JM wins the presidential suite, or choosing a room detached from the other rooms.

He invests in his relationship the best way he can. Same goes for Jimin.

I keep saying this whole fanservice culture is a win win situation for them- for even any queer idol couple in the same band.

What seem like a challenge could technically be an opportunity for a date for them without dispatch breathing down their necks.

A typical example would be this. Jimin said he wanted to go get Yoga with the others but ended up going with YoonKook on their brewery excursion.

The more time they spend together, on and off cameras the more closer they get and the more they get to know eachother on a deeper level.

But you have to bare in mind, they need their personal spaces too in order for their relationship to function properly.

Jimin used can be very needy in his relationship but for the most part he enjoys his independence too.

Jk has always had a strong sense of independence but he can equally be quote needy and over attached once he is in a relationship- especially when things are going great for him.

Spending time apart, persuing personal goals and interest is good for them.

If it helps, think of moments when they hang around eachother as Jikook dates and when they hang quietly in the background of videos do think of those as them having their me times at work...

Would they miss an opportunity to 'date' or hang privately with eachother? I don't think so.

It's in their dicks interests and the interest of whole production team and crew to allow them to be around eachother as often and as much as they want and can.

I for one, I'm not prepared to sit through yet another excruciating episode of Jungkook wanting Jimin- physically and emotionally. I'm still dealing with the PTSD from the last BonV four episodes.

Y'all buy me Ko-fi please. I don't intend to sit through that shit sober.

If Jk is pushing to be on JM's team and what not it's mostly because he feels he needs to spend more time with him. If he's not pushing for that it just means he or they are both allowing for space and room in their relationship for eachother to pursue other activities and interests or even connect with other members- unless of course they are having relationship problems which I don't think is the case.

Jimin is particularly good at this.

He goes out of his way to nurture his relationship with the others even on set.

He does this especially with Tae.

He'd take Tae to go see places he and JK had already been to, he'd request to take pirate rides with Tae- even though JK is available and won't hesitate to let him know, he often make plans involving Tae or even the others- in Soop when Tae asked him to go ride around the town with him he chose to stay and manspread on Jin and Yoongi. *I'm cackling. Lmho.

Jimin is a funny guy.

Now does this mean he doesn't like spending time with Tae or that he's changed? Hell no.

Hell, Tae does the same thing from time to time too. I mean when he found out he had picked a Sauna card he asked to swap it knowing very well Jimin had picked that card too. Soulmates coulda soulmated that shit in hot piles of steamy.

Sure JK lurks around sometimes. He is the resident intruder stepping on Jimin's other ships' neck. Love him for this. Lol.

Perfect Disney villian.

Tae had to drag his ass away from the kitchen for intruding when he and JM were cooking in the Kitchen. Let's not talk about him physically removing him from JM's car or all the times he's complained about JK raining on his Vmin agenda.

When V wanted to be on a team with JM this man literally sabotaged him, hugging Jimin first. It's his laughter afterwards for me. Lmho.

V needs to insure his Jimin cos at this point it's trademark infringement. Hashtag soulmates. Lololol.

Jk needs to go ahead and free Vmin.

But JM does this too, in much more subtle ways- I'll never forget the look he had on his face when he had to get off the bus and walk home as punishment. It was the most heart breaking thing I ever seen.

Then he had to hang off Hobi to get JK to leave his friends and come to him.

It's why I used an ellipsis the last time I talked about Jimin being very mature now. Old Jimin would have, clapped back, made JK pay for that outburst if he genuinely thought JK meant what he said or believed JK really wanted to be on a team with someone else.

Y'all don't see him when JK compliments other people? He stays kicking his feet under the table🤣🤣🤣🤣

I used to pinch a gurl I liked when other gals talked to her when I was little- In my defense, I didn't even know I liked her or that it was straight up abuse💀

Jimin can be pretty scary and petty when he's mad or offended.

If it helps you sleep at might, think of this moment as just another one of those 'we've been a unit for so long do you wanna be with someone else now' scene from February last year.

Jk answered yes when JM asked him that. But do you really think he meant it?

Jikook is complex, not complicated.

They love eachother.

We can't be looking at their interactions as either or. Grey areas exist and it's not a negative thing.

Signed,

GOLDY

[kindahoping4forever]

Watch Me Bloom: A Few Months Ago // Ashton Irwin

I’m so excited to finally share this with everyone! As I mentioned, the week leading up to Superbloom really inspired me. It was so hard to believe that just seven months prior, we were living the ups and downs of CALM’s release while this was a essentially a never ending parade of self-reflection and joy. My fic Release explored a relationship dealing with CALM and I thought it’d be fun to see what the Superbloom experience might look like thru the lens of a relationship. (I wouldn’t say it’s a sequel - in my mind, they’re different relationships- but you could call it a thematic companion.)

As always (but honestly even more so this time because omg this section especially changed again and again), my eternal love and gratitude to @cal-puddies​​ for always offering direction, notes, encouragement and a good roast when I need it.

Warnings: What a surprise, it’s Boyfriend!Ash. Brief quarantine mention. So much fluffy smut you’ll wonder if I’m alright. Oral sex performed on a female. Unprotected sex within an established relationship. This is the tame chapter, folks. The calm before the smutty storm, if you will.

Word Count: 3319

Watch Me Bloom Masterlist

Masterlist // Taglist // Ko-Fi

Let  me  know  what  you  think!

You sleepily roll over to snuggle your boyfriend but instead of being surrounded by the warm firmness of Ashton’s back, you feel cool air and the beginnings of a falling sensation. Your body jolts awake to catch itself, your brain making the unpleasant discovery that there’s no one laying next to you and you’re about to tumble off the couch. You shake your head upon realizing you once again fell asleep in the living room, watching TV.

It was a bad habit you fell into once Ashton got busy with his new project. You still hadn’t gotten used to falling asleep without him and a part of you can’t help but long for the early days of quarantine, when you spent the majority of your time lazily wrapped up in sheets and each other.

But as time went on, you started waking up alone and finding him sitting outside with a coffee, scribbling away on a notepad. Other days you’d wake up to the sounds of him already in the shower, singing gibberish words to fill out gorgeous melodies he dreamt of and is trying to perfect while he gets ready to take on the day.

He eventually showed those scribbles and shower songs to his housemate, Matt, who helped him shape them into demos, which they then decided to make into fully produced tracks. After weeks of rearranged furniture, strewn about instruments and dodging cables running through the hall, Ash gleefully shared that he planned to release these songs as his own album. You’d kissed him happily, shared in his joy and teased him relentlessly that it took him this long to tell you. You couldn’t have been happier for him and you loved seeing him excited about work again, especially after the frustration surrounding the band's album release earlier this year, but every night when you go to bed alone, you just miss him.

You shuffle into the kitchen and dump the rest of your long forgotten tea in the sink, turning on the tap to wash the cup. While you wait for the water to warm up, you cartoonishly stretch your arms over your head and loudly yawn.

“Long day?” A voice asks from across the room.

You chuckle and turn to greet Matt, who’s headed towards the sink with an armful of various mugs he and Ashton must’ve used for tea, coffee and water over the course of the day.

“Well, I got up earlier than usual and Ash had already made his side of the bed, so I’m sure it was nowhere near as long as yours,” you comment, reaching out to take the dishes from him.

He silently thanks you with a kind smile. “Yeah he was up and at it even before me today,” he admits, shaking his head. “Had quite the breakthrough today, though. I’m sure he’d love to tell you about it if you wanna pay him a visit.”

You lightheartedly scoff as you quickly wash the cups. “And also he’s just moved from your studio down to his and you think I can talk him into actually getting some rest?”

He laughs at how well you know your boyfriend. “I told him I was gonna call it a night but I don’t think he’s taking the hint,” he admits.

“Sounds like our guy,” you shrug, setting the clean mugs on the rack to dry. “I’ll pop by and check on him before I turn in.”

You head for the bathroom and quickly go through your routine; you mentally cheer when you turn on the light and see Ash’s green henley draped haphazardly over the bathtub. It smells like him so he must have just tossed it aside when he showered earlier; you inhale deeply as you slip it over your head and throw on a pair of sleep shorts before heading down to the basement where he’s working.

You tentatively make your way down the stairs, not wanting to startle him. As you suspected, he’s intently focused on his computer screen, dragging and dropping components of a track, trying to layer the elements just the way he wants, something he was recently so proud to tell you he had learned to do.

You knock quietly on the wall when you reach the bottom. He turns around to investigate and exclaims your name with far too much enthusiasm for the late hour. He opens his arms, which you know means he wants you to come sit on his lap. He greets you with a sweet kiss as soon as you sit down and hums when he recognizes the scent of your nighttime skin products. “Bedtime already?” He asks, sounding slightly disappointed.

You jab his side playfully. “Already? It’s pretty fucking late, dude,” you tease. “I fell asleep on the couch again.”

“Aww, baby, no,” he commiserates, stroking your arm empathetically. "You weren’t waiting up for me again, were you?”

“Maybe subconsciously,” you shrug. “Missed you a lot today. Dreamt about you last night. Dreamt about you while I was asleep right now. I dunno, it’s weird.” He hugs you tighter to him and you rest your head in the crook of his neck. “Matt said you had a good day, though?” You say in a bright voice, trying to compensate for your sad admission.

Ashton softly smiles and squeezes your leg, indicating he knows you wish you hadn’t told him what you did. “Yeah, it was crazy, I woke up with this song in my head and I had to rush down here before it went away,” he explains. “It was so clear in my mind - every instrument, every aspect of the production - and it took all day but we’ve almost got it exactly how I imagined it.”

You rest against him while he clicks around on the computer, playing you different files and explaining each step they took in their process that day. You watch him, instead of the screen, admiring the way he lights up when he talks about his art, the way his dimples just keep sinking deeper and deeper as he delights in telling you the inventive tactic they came up with to get the guitars to sound a certain way.

You peck at his cheek, enjoying the scratch from his light beard. “I’m so glad you had a good day,” you coo. “Think you might want to head up to bed with me now, though? I love seeing how happy this makes you but you’ve still gotta take care of yourself, babe. Still working when I go to bed and getting back at it before I wake up? It’s happening a lot and I get worried sometimes.”

He plays with the hem of your - his - shirt while he listens to your concern. “I know. It’s just easy to get caught up when it’s going good. And it’s all been going so good!” His wide smile turns to an understanding nod when he sees you lovingly shake your head at his excited excuse. “But I know you’re right, baby, I promise I have been trying to be mindful. Today was just the perfect storm.”

“OK,” you murmur, believing him for now, knowing you’ll surely be having this conversation again in a few days’ time. He tilts your chin up to him and moves in for a soft kiss. You sigh as his lips gently move over yours and you reach up to run your fingers through his hair; because of the lockdown, he’d been letting it grow and you were loving it. You’d convinced him to let you trim it a few times to keep it healthy and now you were obsessed with getting your hands on it all the time.

He starts to pull away but you let out a slight whine and bring him back in, deepening the kiss while you’re at it. He lets you lead the makeout as he wraps his arms around you, holding your body against his. You shift yourself in his lap so that you’re straddling him in the chair.

“Is this your plan to tire me out so I’ll come to bed?” Ash grins.

"Thought this was your plan," you tease, tugging his lip between your teeth. "You asked me to sit in your lap, I know your style."

He giggles as you start nipping at his jawline before making your way down his neck and settling in to kiss up and down his collarbones. He sits back and lets you work, running his hands up and down the back of your top, occasionally letting his hands wander down to appreciate how tight your sleep shorts fit over your ass.

“You’re markin’ me up, baby,” he laughs, attempting to detach your mouth from his chest.

You allow him to bring your mouth back up to his, darting your tongue across his bottom lip before saying with a smirk, “Something to help you remember me while you’re locked away working.”

Before he can respond, you move in to kiss him again and as you feel him growing hard underneath you, you lazily begin grinding on him. He groans and moves against you a few times before running a hand up the leg of your shorts.

He raises his eyebrows when he feels how wet you already are for him. “Aww, you really have been missin’ me, huh?” He teases, eyes shining in the dimly lit room. “You know you can always just tell me when you need me, that’s part of the fun of working at home.”

“Don’t wanna interrupt the artistic genius process,” you tease back, sitting further back on his thighs so you can palm him through his shorts. “Plus, I don’t think Matt would appreciate that very much.”

“I’d love it if we didn’t talk about Matt while your hand is on my dick,” he jokes, lifting his hand out of your shorts and up to his lips to lick. You roll your hips impatiently as you watch his lips suck your essence off his fingertips. “Mmm, sweet tonight, baby,” he murmurs. “Think I’m gonna need more.”

Ashton grips the backs of your thighs and suddenly he’s standing to lift you off of his lap and onto the desk in front of him. He deftly uses one hand to move his laptop and various hard drives to the side and uses the other to start tugging your shorts and panties down.

He drops to his knees and the surprise of that sight gets a low moan out of you. When he licks a stripe up your center, you take on a much whinier tone. “Babyyyy,” you try to reason with him, tugging on the collar of his white t-shirt. “I don’t wanna keep you awake any later than you need to be, let’s just fuck and get some sleep.”

He sits back on his heels, peeling off his shirt, flinging it behind him. “Heard my girl was missing me,” he counters, dragging a finger slowly through your wetness. “Gotta make sure you can make it through the day tomorrow.” His thumb plays gently at your clit while he runs his beard along your inner thigh - he’s learned you love the scratch - before fixing his mouth on your skin, clearly intent on leaving a large hickey.

You shiver when without much fanfare, Ash starts softly licking at your clit with just the tip of his tongue. “That’s my needy girl,” he says in a low voice that gives you almost as much of a chill as his mouth just did. Your brain constructs a witty reply but you’re not entirely sure the mumble that came out of your mouth made sense; his tongue is fluttering against your clit now and his hands are forcefully spreading your legs wider while somehow also tenderly massaging your skin.

You pry your hands off the edge of the desk where you’ve been bracing yourself and wrap them in his hair while his mouth works you, loving how his eyes dart up to thank you every time you brush a wayward curl off his forehead. It’s a great juxtaposition to the warning look you get when you start bucking your hips against his face. You didn’t mean to start getting rowdy but he slipped his fingers inside you at just the right angle and at the same time his beard dragged across your skin and his lips finally enveloped your clit - you couldn’t help yourself.

“Easy, sweetheart,” he soothes, sliding his hand underneath your shirt and laying his palm flat across your stomach to settle your movements. “Need it that bad? Could’ve sworn I had you the other night, you’re acting like I haven’t touched you in weeks.” His tone is the perfect blend of condescension and care and his words tease you almost as intensely as his fingers curling inside you.

Your reply is interrupted with a surprised moan when he fits his lips over your clit once again and starts sucking rapidly. “Maybe… having you… just makes… Jesus… makes me want you… mmm-more… fuck, babe, I’m cumming.”

You’re shocked by how fast and strong your orgasm hits you - maybe Ashton’s teasing wasn’t too far off and you are just that needy. You lay back on the desk, tugging at his hair, biting your lip to keep from crying out too loudly; try as you might, you can’t ignore the urge to grind against his mouth and the vibration from his groaning only adds to your pleasure.

He keeps at it until you push him away and you whine when he withdraws his fingers from you; you’ve just barely caught your breath when you squeeze his arm to get his attention, craving him near. He, of course, knows what you need and stands to tend to you. He brushes his fingers across your lips before cleaning the rest of your wetness off of them with his own mouth.

You’re pretty sure you see his cock jump in his basketball shorts as your tongue peeks out of your mouth to sample what he’s shared with you. “Taste good, baby?” He asks with heavy breath.

“Tastes better when I’m mixed with you,” you counter, pulling him in.

He moans into your passionate kiss, one hand trying to lean you back on the desk and the other yanking his shorts down. You resist his attempt, catching him off guard by pushing on his shoulders, guiding him back to his abandoned office chair; you climb in his lap to straddle him again, explaining, “Been wanting you like this all day.”

You take his cock in your hand and give it a few strokes before lifting yourself up and tapping your clit with the tip; you play like this for a minute, using him to tease yourself, rubbing your pussy on him, coating him in your wetness until he grabs your hips and sighs your name in a soft plea.

Smiling to yourself, you think maybe you should rib him about being as needy as you, except you don’t want to wait any longer to get him inside you; he watches intently as you balance yourself on the arms of the chair to line up and sink down on him. You groan together in lustful harmony at the feeling and you begin tentatively rocking your hips, enjoying the familiar stretch of him filling you.

You’ve got a moderate rhythm going when Ash starts playing with your nipples through your shirt; you slow your pace a bit and reach to pull the henley off when he stops you. “Leave it on,” he requests with a glint in his eye, fingers swiftly undoing a few buttons to expose more of your chest. “Now whenever I wear it, I won’t be able to stop picturing you riding me.”

You grin at him and lean back on his thighs, grinding slowly on his cock, trying to find that perfect angle. His hands are all over you, under and over the shirt, running over the tops and inside of your thighs; his grip eventually settles on your ass, kneading it and helping you bounce yourself on him.

You ride him at varying speeds, paying attention to the sounds he’s making and the way his body responds to your movements; you can’t get enough of seeing his jaw clench as he struggles not to fuck up into you, trying to let you have your moment.

He squeezes your ass so hard you know there’s bound to be finger shaped bruises in the morning. “Fuck, Ash,” you whisper, mouth against his ear. Your tongue flicks out to toy with his earring and the gasp you get in response is as satisfying as you’d hoped.

“Gettin’ close,” he strains, lifting his hips against yours slowly, thinking if he’s subtle enough maybe you won’t mind.

“God… same,” you tell him, speeding up and bringing a hand between your legs. “Wanna cum with you, babe.”

Ashton takes that as permission to be more blatant with his thrusting and as your breath starts stuttering, he even throws in a few slaps across your ass cheeks; his instincts are correct and within seconds you’re pulsing around him. Your eyes squeeze shut and flashes of white are all you see; you can tell by the tone of his voice he’s praising you as you orgasm but you can’t process what he’s saying.

His arms wrap around you and he holds you close as you squeeze his cock. You rock against him, working yourself through it when he buries his face in your chest to muffle an exhausted grunt as he cums inside you. You stroke his hair, murmuring how good he feels; he catches his breath and his embrace tightens around you as he pulls you into a soft yet sloppy kiss.

“Love you,” he says quietly, resting his head between your breasts again, beard prickling your skin.

You play with the thin chain he’s wearing, admiring the way the silver contrasts with the dark ink on the back of his neck. You’ve seen this side of Ash more in the past few months than you had the entire time you’d been together and it still takes you aback every time it comes out. “Love you too,” you whisper in reply.

He helps you off of him and you excuse yourself to the adjoining bathroom. When you return a few minutes later, he’s redressed, the desk is back in order and all his equipment is shut off.

“Bedtime?” You ask, pleasantly surprised.

He grins. “Like I’d be able to think about anything else tonight,” he reaches for your hand. There’s a comfortable silence as he starts to lead you out of the room before pausing at the foot of the stairs and turning to you. “You know I miss you too, right? When I’m working all the time like this? I think about you a lot.”

You lift your joined hands, kissing his knuckles. “I know, babe, I’m sorry if I made you feel bad when I said all that, I was just tired,” you frown slightly.

Ash slings his arm around you, kissing the top of your head. “Can I tell you a secret? This shirt was actually clean, I sprayed it with cologne and left it out for you,” he laughs, tugging at your collar. “Wanted to wear tomorrow and spend the day having you close to me.”

“Ashhhh, that’s so sweet it’s almost gross,” you aww. He chuckles as you hop onto the step in front of him and peck rapidly at his lips. “Bold of you to assume I’d let you have it back, though.”

He snorts and follows you up the stairs. You turn to him at the top. “Make you a deal: if you’re still in bed with me when I wake up tomorrow, the shirt’s yours.”

He spins you around and gives you a gentle swat, directing you to the bedroom. “Deal.”

————-

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[haldenlith]

I big time splurged, using the rest of my "fun money savings" (I have fun savings and "oh shit something broke" emergency savings), and got myself a tiny graphic display tablet. I got the Artist 12 Pro by XP Pen.

I almost got the Artist 22E, because on eBay there are a few good listings for it at half price (a good heads up for anyone looking for a good big tablet), but I just couldn't justify it. Buying the 22 would mean I'd need to buy a monitor arm, because it'd be so big I couldn't store it anywhere. The 12, I can just get a nice little laptop stand (which would be considerably cheaper) and store it on my desk.

No more spending for a while, though. Consequently, I removed the goal from my Ko-Fi (even though I didn't spend nearly that much -- the 12 isn't that pricey). Don't know what to set for a new goal, as I don't have anything I really need right now. The tablet should help me out, given that I've always had a hard time with hand-eye coordination with drawing. It might help me with my rolling burnouts, since I don't enjoy drawing with the coordination issues.

Speaking of KoFi, I thought about putting it as a monthly thing instead of a one off tip jar, but I don't think I have anything I could do as incentives. Not feasibly, anyway. Maybe paywall timelapses? I know one offs I could do, like for a $5/month tier, you get a profile picture headshot like I have. Something to think on. Gotta hustle somehow (which fear not, I hate, but it is what it is).

[adventures-of-the-creeping-bam]

NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY: THE ADVENTURES OF THE CREEPING BAM,  BOOK FOUR: THE HUNT - CHAPTER 20

If you’re new to the story, please go check out Book 1 first …

Boof 4 Chapter 1 is here …

IMPORTANT:  Please note this story includes content that may be considered mature, such as moderate battle violence, some strong language and occasional mild sexual scenes.

If you want to support my writing, feel free to swing by my Patreon or Ko-fi.

CHAPTER TWENTY:  ART

“I wondered where you’d gotten to.”  Shay takes me somewhat by surprise as she drops onto the step a noticeable distance from me, clearly wanting to respect my boundaries right now even though she’s still sitting close enough to be friendly.  Prob’ly she knows me well enough to know I ain’t gonna turn her away no matter what kinda mood I’m in, we’re too good friends for that now.  And I could use the company.  Maybe I been beating myself up a little too much since we got back, and more so after that interrogation …

Fuck, that didn’t go well.  I mean it did, I scared the hell outta that nasty bitch in there and she gave up everything she could, even went so far as to agree to draw us a map o’ the tunnels, ‘least as much as she knows about navigating ‘em.  Including the route from the Late Bone to the Playhouse, which is helpful.  Although it’s still up in the air exactly what the plan actually is there, so I ain’t had much of an idea what I gotta do for prep.  So I’m just taking care of everything instead.

After I left the interrogation I saw Darwyn back to the infirmary, leaving her with the healers so they could try and get her back to fighting fitness again in case we really are gonna go tonight.  I still ain’t comfortable about the idea of her coming, not so soon after she took that wound, but she’s insistent, downright indignant about it really, and even Kesla found it hard to really argue too hard about it, the way she got.  Although she did insist Darwyn at least catch a few hours o’ sleep after, just to give her some peace of mind.  Not that I’m too confident she’ll actually do that.

Meanwhile I went back to my own room, having heard the temple’s staff had gone to our hotel to collect the remainder of our gear alongside our horses to bring here since we’re making this place our base of operations moving forward.  Finding my own admittedly spartan luggage waiting for me, I sorted through it for my duffle and, having collected my gear, went in search of somewhere good and quiet for me to set up for my prep-work.  I thought about going into the library, finding a quiet corner in there to work, but in the end decided against it.  Didn’t feel like a clever move setting up my full armoury on one o’ the big tables in there to give my blades a good polish and sharpen, reckon it would’ve sent the wrong message.

In the end I found this nifty little spot in the endlessly surprising environs of the temple’s uncannily oversized architecture, once again baffling me with the way it’s so much bigger than it has any right to be looking at the building from outside.  Like the fact there’s a whole open, grassy space somewhere in the middle of it all.  Granted, it ain’t really a garden, there ain’t flowerbeds or even any bushes or little trees, just an open cloister with a stretch o’ grass surrounded by raised white-stone paving, with a pool in the middle.  It’s a glorified font really, maybe ten feet across with two foot walls round it, but when I had a look in it before I set up I saw weeds and lily-pads in it, with frogs and coy fish swimming about in the surprisingly clear water.  Clearly it’s intended to be a calming, tranquil place, for folk to come and unwind when they get stressed.  Seemed the right place for me, then.

So I settled on the edge of the clipped lawn and laid my oilcloth out in front of me, then set the entirety of my collection out on it so I could go over all of it, seeing what might need tending to, and what I might wanna give a courtesy clean anyway, for my own peace of mind.  Including the my battle armour, now I finally got it to hand again.  I’d made a decent amount of headway by the time Shay found me.

She sets her own more modest pack aside and stretches her legs in front of her, giving arching her back a little as she leans on her arms, shoulders back too.  I can’t help watching her as she does it, she’s an incredibly beautiful woman and this seemingly casual, mostly unconscious act is a very sexy thing to watch.  Then she catches me looking and I turn back to my own work, frowning in frustration as I try to get my mind off such thoughts again.  Honestly I ain’t really in the mood for it right now.

Instead I pick up my rag again and the oil bottle, upending it into the cloth before setting it aside and taking up my sword again.  I pause for a beat before starting to polish the freshly honed blade, looking down its length first one side, then the other, one last check for any nicks I might’ve missed.  I don’t put the rag to it until I’m entirely satisfied.  Not that it’s doing my mood any more favours …

“How are you finding my old sword, by the way?”

I give her a quick sidelong glance after a beat, sat forward again now, stripped down to her under-armour again, and it’s fitted good and snug, fashioned just as well as that miraculous mail she got from Hurrig Stormshield back in Bavat.  She looks as striking out of it as in, the way it’s all been put together.

But it’s her face I’m reading now, I can’t help it.  It might’ve sounded like a casual, friendly off-hand query, but I’m getting to know her well enough I can read her underlying mood.  She’s worried about me now, I’d have to be an idiot not to pick up on it.  After what I did in that backroom I ain’t surprised.

“It’s serving real nice, all things considered.”  I manage to keep my voice light and level, not clenching my teeth any, at least.  “Now I got used to the difference in heft and balance, I’m getting real comfortable with it.  To be honest, it’s actually better than my old one, ‘least in terms o’ reach.  It’s a real nice piece of smithing.  Good as Guild work, even.”

“Yeah, da insisted I have a fine set of blades when I grew old enough for them.  He had them made to order, in Hocknar, one of their best forges.  A nice family place, they’ve been doing it for quite a few generations, he said.”

That has me grinning, even though I can’t vouch for there being much real humour in it, not right now.  “Shit … wouldn’t happen to have been the Merphin shop, would it?”

Shay raises her brows at that.  “Impressive guess, how did you –”

“We go there ourselves, they’re real good friends of ours.”  I turn the sword over and start on the other side, watching what I’m doing now given how sharp I like to keep my steel.  “Kesla’s known ‘em all for years.  She says one o’ their ancestors trained under dwarves, in their own forges, so he handed some pretty serious knowledge down the generations.”

“I can see that.”  Shay nods, reaching over and picking her pack up again so she can open it in her lap.  “Most of my own blades came from there, I’d say.  I take good care of them, but honestly a lot of the time I don’t really have to do that much work to keep them keen, this really is almost as good as real dwarven forged steel.”

Nodding along myself, I carefully test the edge with my thumb, giving the blade a gentle flick as I do and listening to the subtle, mildly tuneful little ring it produces.  “Yeah, it is.  Beautiful work.  You’re sure you don’t want it back?”

She watches me for a beat before answering, and I can’t really tell what she’s thinking in that moment.  “What, you want to swap it for Ashsong’s blade, maybe?  I can’t say I’d be entirely adverse to the idea, this damn vampire steel still makes me a little uncomfortable.”

“Thorin no.  No thank you.  I handled it enough for one lifetime, I reckon.”  I can’t keep the edge out my voice this time, the thought of what I did with it up there in the tavern gives me chills enough to shudder.

Again, she don’t answer right away, looking at me with an even more critical eye now, and I know full well she’s seeing right through whatever flimsy façade I managed to put up before now.  She can tell how much on edge I am right now, how little the usual calming process of tending to my steel has managed to dull it.  I manage not to crumple the rag in my fist, instead just setting it aside on the step while I pick up the scabbard instead and guide the point into the throat before sliding her former sword home again.  Then I have to take a moment to flex my paw before I can draw the long knife again, trying to work the tension out my fingers now I’m suddenly so tight again.

“That’s all right.  I suppose it’s like you with my old sword.  I am still getting used to it, but … it does serve very well indeed, despite the quirks.”  She’s concentrating on her own business right now, at least, although it’s clear enough she’s just going out of her way to make me feel better now, help me calm down some.  She starts taking things out her own pack now, producing a cleaning kit and a bundle of rags which she lays out in front before reaching back in, finally coming out with her own tightly bundled oilcloth.

Finally drawing the knife, I look it over for a few moments, trying to use the job at hand to take my mind off what’s not being said right now.  I did a decent enough job earlier wiping this clean, but there’s still odd traces of gore from those I killed in the tavern, and I’d be remiss to not give the edge a few courtesy strokes with the whetstone anyway, just to be safe.  So I give the weapon a little flip, not really even thinking about it when I do so, letting it spin once in the air before catching it underhand, then again the other way to catch it the right way up again.  All while retrieving the dry cloth without even looking for it with my left paw.  I catch Shay watching me doing this through the corner of my eye, cocking her brow a little, but she don’t say anything more, leaving me to continue.

We sit as we are for maybe two or three minutes, just getting on with our own work here, me scrubbing at the blade with the rougher cloth after spitting on the stains, while she just starts sorting through her own gear.  I sort of watch her do it as I work, mostly out of curiosity, seeing her own collection of blades is more modest but still very well made, and I’m reminded about where she got ‘em all from.  Finally she selects one of her longest knives and takes up her own cloth to start cleaning.  Meanwhile I can sense she wants to say something again, so I just concentrate on what I’m doing while I wait.

“So, you think the tunnels are the best bet, then?”

Looking up, I find her just scrubbing away at her blade, a subtle frown tightening her brows, almost like she never spoke at all.  “Better’n you an’ Kesla going in the front door at the Playhouse.  Sounds proper risky, y’ask me.  Didn’t she already go there earlier today?  I mean if they already know what she looks like –”

“I think Lady Naru’s going to try something, some kind of spell, maybe.  To make her look different.  Besides, she says they’re not that likely to be looking at her anyway.  She says most of those highborn types don’t really look at the Help at these kinds of events, they only have eyes for their own peers.”

That has me chuckling a little, the idea that Kesla could be anyone’s servant.  “So she actually agreed to the bodyguard idea, then?”

“She’s definitely big enough.  And it means she’ll be able to explain away her weapons with ease at the door.  If they do ask in the first place.  I mean, they didn’t say anything about that being an actual rule, having to check your arms at the door, so …”

“But you have to leave your armour behind.  Both of you.  Kesla can’t be happy about that.”

“She’ll still have her jack on underneath everything else.  I suspect it’s better than going in naked.”  She frowns a little deeper now as she puts down her cloth and takes up her whetstone.  “I’m the one who’s going in there with naught but the clothes on my back.”

“Yeah, but you’re the distraction.  An’ I reckon you’re gonna be real effective.”

Cocking her brow again, she gives me a look as she ponders me for a long beat.  “I’m not sure if that’s really a compliment, Art.  Coming from you I can never really tell.”

Grinning back, I manage a decent amount of humour, at least.  More than I really feel.  “Enough o’ one, I reckon.  You’re real easy on the eyes, Shay.  You get scrubbed up and pandered and put on one o’ them fancy rich lady dresses and you’re definitely gonna turn a big bunch o’ heads when you go in there.  Which is definitely the point.”

The look she gives me as she proper glares now is even colder.  “Better get that mind of yours out of the gutter, Art of Shadows.  I don’t think either your old flame or your new intended would appreciate this talk about someone you consider a friend.”  She points at me with her knife in punctuation.

That has me frowning, mostly just because, now I’m finally working on getting it clear in my head how I feel, I’m a little frustrated she really can read me that well.  I mean I suspected, but still … “I don’t mean it like that.  Promise.�� I mean … hey, I got eyes, and you do wear your gear real tight, Shay.  I mean I get it, if it fits well it can be real helpful, but … y’know …”  I try not to scowl too much as I take up my own whetstone now and spit on it, wanting to just concentrate on sharpening this blade now.

She starts her own sharpening first, but I’m joining her within a few strokes, and soon enough we’re falling into a comfortable rhythm.  And now, finally, the work starts to soothe me, ‘least a little.  So I go with the steady beat of what we’re doing, letting my breathing settle in time with it, and soon enough the comfortable silence growing between us seems to finally start to do its intended work on my nerves too.

“Ah, there you are.”

When I look up Tulen’s already sweeping our way across the lawn, holding a large platter before her as she navigates round the pool.  I can already smell what’s on it, the mouth-watering signature of bacon, sausages, chicken and roast beef immediately setting my stomach to gurgling.  To be honest, I’d entirely forgotten about food in the time since we got back from the tavern.  But then I had other, much darker things on my mind …

Trying to push that down into the back of my mind, I turn the knife over and look down the line to inspect the edges, checking for any lingering nicks.  Nothing major, but then, like the sword it came with, this is uncannily well forged.  Merphin steel … I’ll be damned.

“Good afternoon.”  Shay has a slight quizzical tone to match her expression as she watches the young wizard approach.  “I would’ve thought you’d be with Sessa again, instead of … whatever it is you’re doing.”  She looks down at her own knife, frowning a touch as she inspects it close, then sets down the stone so she can pick up the sheath and slot it home again.

“Kesla came to find me a little while ago, to inform me that we have …”  She frowns too as she stops a little short of us.  “Um … well, at least the beginning of a plan.  She wasn’t particularly clear, just said that she was sorry, but she would very much appreciate if I could be of assistance.  She said she understood if I wasn’t up to it, but …”

“She had a tone, right?”  I venture, trying not to his with subtle second-hand frustration.  “Not exactly unfriendly, just …”

“I didn’t want to disappoint her.  And Sessa’s awake again, properly so.  She’s still not …”  She takes a breath as she must try to order her thoughts, and this just makes her frown even more.  “She’s still not out of the woods yet, but … she’s well enough, at least, that she knows her own mind again.  And she insisted, after Kesla left.  She told me that she understood too, that I’d made a commitment, to Gael at least if not the rest of you, and because I was in a position to help, that I really should.  So …”  She shrugs now, ‘least as much as she can still holding that big load.  Sandwiches, looks like.  Not exactly a bunch of ‘em, looking at it I suspect she’s been round some o’ the others before she got here, but there’s still enough for more’n just us two.

“Put that down, Tulen.”  Shay finally sighs, pointing with another knife now, the twin of the other one.  She indicates the open spot on the steps between us.  “Sit.  Please.  I think you might want some of that yourself.  I’m sure Art could.”

As if it’s been listening to her as well, my stomach chooses that moment to produce a particularly prominent gurgle.  Not for the first time, I’m real thankful I got fur so they can’t see my face flush in response.

Even so, I catch Shay smiling just a little, a cocked half o’ one at least, as she inspects the blade, then simply shrugs before sticking it right back into its scabbard again.  Tulen seems mostly oblivious to my embarrassment, at least, but then she’s taking her up on the offer, taking the last few steps before carefully setting the platter down close to me.  Then she looks down at her robes for a beat, brushing them off before hitching ‘em a little as she turns round so she can sit down on the far side of the tray from me.  Immediately looking over what’s left of the selection before picking one of the substantial rolls up before turning it round a few times between her fingers, frowning again as she just looks at it.

“Y’all right there, luv?”  I give her a sidelong look even as I’m reaching out, mostly trusting touch and my sense of smell now to find what I’m after as I make my own selection from the platter.  One o’ the roast beef ones, turns out.  With mustard, smells like.  Interesting.

“Kesla said you found something when you went out again.  While we went to the Playhouse, on her little ruse.  The distraction.”

Shooting a look at Shay, I see she’s already watching me, wary again.  Like she’s being careful reading me, checking if I’m about to break after all.  Great …

Again, I take great care with how I present myself as I take a breath, keeping my teeth apart so I don’t hiss when I do it, even if part o’ me want to.  “We found a bunch o’ stuff, actually.  Maybe a way into that Playhouse, a secret tunnel.  And some more prisoners too.  One of ‘em was real helpful.”  I manage to keep the edge from my voice as I say that last part.  Again reminded what I did in that room.

Krakka was on the ball there, at least, but then I had enough presence o’ mind I didn’t cut her too deep, even if I kinda wanted to.  She was … she made me angry, sure, and I can’t say she didn’t deserve what I gave her, but … no, Shay was right, what I did was out of order.  Krakka may have healed that cut right up in a relative blink, no reason for Shul to find out and start giving me the cold shoulder well as Kesla, but even so … it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.  I had Gael on my mind, and I was still smarting ‘bout what I did upstairs in the tavern.  She got under my skin and I just lost it.

Wanting to distract myself, I take a big bite of the sandwich, hoping I ain’t really lost my appetite just as I found it again.  Thankfully the taste alone’s enough to revive what might’ve died, like everything else I had here so far this is also damn fine food.  It’s particularly good mustard, not too sharp, but a good accompaniment to the rich, well-done beef, and the rolls are still kinda warm, which just enhances the flavour.  I start chewing with gusto now, almost willing this food to work its trick to get my mind back on track too.

“Yes.  She also mentioned that there will be a performance tonight, at the Playhouse.  That new play that Hontiresk is so pleased with acquiring.  She said you were thinking of using it as cover to get inside.”  When I look up I see she’s watching Shay now, and that she still ain’t taken a bite of her own sandwich yet.  “Apparently the two of you might be going in the front door?  I’m not sure I understood that right, she wasn’t really very clear –”

Shay frowns again as she looks up from what she was doing this time, now going over her armour, it looks like.  Thinking about cleaning her own blood and the caked dust from the mail, I reckon.  Even though she won’t be using it for this, if she really is gonna go with Kesla’s plan.  “She thought it might be clever if I were to attend the performance as a patron, with her as my bodyguard.  I understand Cafi Sirsk is setting us up with some tickets, good ones.  For the fancy seats, she said.  I don’t know what that actually means, I don’t know much about the theatre –”

“Oh, of course …”  Tulen don’t exactly put the roll down, but she still lets it settle on her lap, still clutched in her hands, as she nods, sitting back a little now.  She don’t seem much reassured, even if she does understand better now.  More’n me, anyway.  “She means some box seats, with the nobles, I think.  That must mean … oh, but that would be foolish.  I mean, why would she want to get closer to Hontiresk?”

“That’s not exactly the plan.”  Shay finally gets up and starts to move round to the tray now, dusting her backside off as she goes.  “While you all sneak your way in, we’re going to try and find a way backstage, once the play’s begun.  But Kesla wants to be up there just in case there’s any sign that they might already be onto us, that way if we do have to do anything we’ll already be close to him.”

“But …”  Tulen looks up at her with clear worry now while the half-orc just leans forward to inspect the selection, finally picking what looks like one of the chicken sandwiches.  She takes a bite while she’s still straightening up.  “I don’t think … we can’t cause a major incident in there, the Oceanic Playhouse, it’s … even if we don’t get caught, the Order could still –”

“We’re doing this for Gael, remember?”  I speak up for Shay while she’s still chewing, looking down thoughtfully at the wizard.  “We know they’re there, her an’ her da, that woman good as said it already.  Means those bastards have already fucked with the Order twice now, so if we’re working for ‘em then we’re within our right to do this.  Besides, Hontiresk already fucked with the Authority in a major way letting Vandryss pull her shit.   This could almost be called payback.”

“Retribution, more like.”  Shay offers up a kinda withering look.

“Yeah, well … colour me proper unbothered.”  I just shrug back at her.  “He asked for it.”

“Are you in?”  Shay’s turned to Tulen now, and while she’s looking more stoic now, I can pick up a little hope hiding behind her expression all the same.  “Lady Naru’s on board, but we could still do with another mage, just in case things get sporty in there.  Which they probably will.  Especially if those mercs are there.”

Frowning now, Tulen looks from her to me, then back again, before finally just staring off across the cloister for a long beat, seeming to consider.  “Yes.  Of course.  For Gael, of course I am.  I’m just … you know, I’m saying what everyone should at least be thinking.  This could cause some serious problems if it goes wrong.”

Dropping onto the step right beside her, Shay just snakes her arm round her shoulder and gives her a little crush, smiling now.  “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.  But as long as we get them back it’ll be worth any repercussions.  And frankly, I really don’t care very much about that anyway.  It’s not my city, I have no stakes here.  All I care about are my friends.”

Tulen looks at her now, considering, then finally lets a sigh go and manages a tentative smile.  “Yes.  Me too.”  She looks down at the roll in her hands, turning it over again, and while she frowns again, the smile stays.  “Maybe I should accompany you both.  I could –”

“No, Kesla would rather you hung back with the others.  She already thought about it, and she knew you would ask.  Hontiresk and his people already got a look at her, so while she will be in disguise she’d rather not run any more risks with you too.  You do stand out, after all.”

“I do?”  She turns to look my way now, a little beseeching now.

“Yeah.”  I just nod as I offer up my own opinion.  “You really do.”

Turning back, Tulen looks the half-orc over now.  “So do you, though.”

Giving me a sharp side-eye now, Shay looks ready to hiss now but just lets it go in a heavy sigh instead.  “That’s been mentioned too, but I didn’t go to the Playhouse, so they shouldn’t know me.  And I’m going to look …”  She works her mouth for a beat, like she don’t really like the words.  “Different too.”

“A disguise?  Like Kesla?  Or …”  Tulen gives her one more look over, then her brows rise as realisation dawns.  “Oh, right.  Because –”

“She’s hot.”  I almost chuckle as the words just slip out, and as it is I can’t help a wicked grin.

Tulen’s cheeks darken immediately, while Shay just glares round at me now, looking ready to spit venom but holding back instead.  “Oh …”  the young wizard breathes, then she cocks her brow, more thoughtful now, even in her bashfulness.  “I mean … it’s true.  You are.  Very attractive indeed.  Did Kesla not already –”

“She was a little more … diplomatic with her words.”  Shay growls through gritted teeth.  “It’s not something I’m used to, but … Lady Naru says she can help me out with that.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure she can.”  Tulen nods now.  “I could as well, of course.  I mean, it’s not really my area of expertise, I’m not really …”  She falters again, her bashfulness persisting.  “But I do understand the concept.  Before the Academy, I was born and raised in a noble household.  Long enough I learned some of the expectations that might otherwise have been placed on me if …”

“You’ll be welcome, of course.”  Reckon Shay might agree as much just to save her from getting any more flustered.  Finally she just gives her another little squeeze, more companionable now.  “And it’ll be fun, yeah?  Like … I don’t know.  I suspect you’d have a better idea about it even so.”

Honestly, it’s all I can do to keep a straight enough face while she gives me a rather hot look now, clearly sensing my amusement.  In the end I just take another bite of my sandwich, and after a beat she does the same.

“Does that mean the rest of us are all going to be going in through the tunnels then?”  Tulen wonders after finally taking a bite of her own sandwich and giving it a more thoughtful chew.  “While you and Kesla forge ahead by … I don’t know, hiding in plain sight?”

I carefully set what’s left of my roll on the very edge of the closest corner of my oilcloth and take a moment to give my paws a careful wipe across my thighs.  “Some of us.  We’re gonna head in in two groups.  Me an’ a few others’ll take the tunnels, but Zul’s gonna try an’ find a way in from the back with the rest.  Reckon since you are coming it’ll be a mage with either group, but we ain’t worked out who’s who just yet, beyond the leads.  You’re welcome to make your own choice there, if you want.”

Chewing on her latest mouthful, Tulen watches me for a moment, considering now.  Finally she quirks a brow.  “If you’ll have me I’d be happy to come with you.  I should imagine going in through the tunnels makes that the most likely route for us to find where they’re keeping the prisoners, so –”

“Yeah, you’re right.”  I nod along.  “That’ll be where they’re keeping Gael.  Be good to have a friendly face coming along for that.”

That makes her frown, looking down now as she swallows a little more ponderously than I’d like.  Making the same connection I already did, no doubt.  By tonight, Gael will have been gone three days straight, in the clutches o’ some damn nasty folk, Vandryss especially.  I don’t wanna think about the kinda hell they been through in that time, but I can’t help it, and I know her oldest, best friend can’t either.  I remember what she said before, that Gael … they ain’t soft, but there’s a fragility there all the same, ‘least enough they might be broken when we find ‘em ...

Gods … I hope that ain’t true, but I know how little that kinda hope’s worth.  I didn’t get a close up look at that evil bitch like Shay did, but what I heard from her and Kesla’s enough to let me know we’re dealing with a real monster.  We don’t really know what she’s actually capable of, but it’s easy enough to guess.  Even though I sure wouldn’t ever want to.

So I just pick the whetstone and knife back up, looking the blade over once more before spitting so I can start honing again.  Taking a deep breath as I do it, working on centring myself to regain some calm from what I’m doing.  Mindful now I can feel eyes on me again.

Even so, Tulen’s a few drawn-out moments speaking again, and when she does she’s hesitant enough.  “Kesla said … when we talked, she told me you found more than just what we talked about there.  In the tavern.  She … um … she said that …”

Letting the breath go in a long hiss, I keep stroking away at that edge, listening to the sharp little scratch and watching the subtle sparking of rough stone over already keen steel.  “I killed Gran.”

Again, I hear her gulp, more pronounced now.  More worried.  “Yeah … that’s … what she said.  Um … are you –”

“Y’know I was actually a little older than him?  Maybe a few months, ‘least that’s how they reckoned it, back in the Arrowhead.  I mean, they couldn’t really be sure, me an’ him, we were both relative novelties among the foundlings.  I mean, Zul weren’t exactly from a common breed himself, but an orc and a bakaneko?  That was something else here in Untermer.”

Nobody answers that, and I keep my eyes on what I’m doing, but I can imagine the two of ‘em exchanging a look all the same.  Concern writ large on Tulen’s face, subtle but still there in Shay if you’re actually looking for it.

“So there was a time, when we were still growing, when I was actually bigger than he was.  I mean, not for long, but even so.  Early days, I just shot up, while he was still growing, like, a regular amount.  Bigger’n all of ‘em, for a while, the ones born round the same time as us, anyway.  He got strong pretty fast, orcs got that proper ropey strength when they’re kids turns into solid hardwood when they grow up, but he was awkward with it back then, hadn’t learned how to use it yet.  Would’ve been easy for me to win a fight back then.  But I never wanted to.”

Turning the knife over in my hand once, then twice, I inspect it one more time before I’m sure it’s good and honed, so I just put the stone down and retrieve the scabbard, sheathing it again before putting it down and selecting the next in line.  I don’t even realise it’s the one I used on Sal until I’ve drawn it, catching sight of a few lingering spots of her blood now, deep in the fuller, one just outside the guard.  Can’t help a slight tightening of my jaw seeing that, but I pick up the rag all the same.  Still oily enough, looks like.

“Art …”  Shay whispers now, her tone wary.

“Didn’t last, of course.  I mean, sure, orcs only grow fast as humans, but it’s relative, really.  I mean, he started getting big while he was still young, even before puberty.  An’ then he just shot up.  But by then, we’d already been in training for a while, so he got dangerous along with it.  I mean, we all did, but with him …”  I suck a harsh breath in with a hiss as I bare my teeth.  “So when Yevnik got his pick from our class for prowler training, I mean, of course he grabbed the full-blooded orc.  He must’ve thought Winterheart came early.”

I’m bent on cleaning the blade now, working the spit-wet rag into the tough spots the best I can to try and remove those stubborn spots, but I can feel the mood all the same, the concern in the other two.  I don’t need to look up to know they’re watching me with open worry now.  “It was him getting his claws in, I’m sure of it.  Cuz he weren’t born like that.  When I knew him, in the early days, when we were kids, Gran was a good one.  I could trust him, we all did.  He had my back, watched out for me, much as I did for him.  I loved him, much as I did the others.  Zul did too.  Darwyn … well, y’know what she’s like, reckon you spent enough time round her by now.  I mean sure, he was her friend, but … I guess maybe he scared her a little bit, even so.  She was always a bit wary round him, once he got big, but then she’s tiny, so it tracks.  I mean she was just being smart.  But after Yevnik?”  Another hiss, I can’t help it.

In the end I just toss the rag aside and spit right on the blade, then start working my thumb over the toughest spot.  Mindful of the edge as I do it, but my frustration’s getting to me now.  It ain’t coming, I just can’t seem to get it …

“Sal … that woman, she said it was Glyn.  Sparkheel.  Now him … he ain’t stupid, I’ll give him that, but puffed-up prick or not, ain’t no way he’s in this alone.  Uh-uh.  No fucking chance o’ that.  Besides, him an’ Gran, they were never close, ‘least not that I ever saw.  They had no real business ever working together, even after what Gran got himself mixed up in.  So I don’t buy him being the way they got in.  Is he the contact?  Sure.  But there’s gonna be somebody else behind him.  I’m sure of it.”  Finally I just give up, instead picking up the whetstone as I take a closer look at the edge itself.  Shouldn’t need more’n a pass or two, mostly I just need to oil it.

“No other way I can look at it, really.  It’s gonna be Yevnik.  When we get word to Cobb and he gets his sneaky little network on it, that’s the only possibility that makes any sense to me.  Cuz Glyn’s his little bitch, one of his favourites.  Little shit ain’t got the balls to do this without that old man’s say-so.  Except it don’t make any sense, that’s the part I can’t let go of.  I mean … I don’t get it.  Yevnik … he’s a fucking snake, the man has no moral backbone at all, he’d sell his own kin out to get ahead, but the Guild’s his life.  It’s the only thing he cares about, besides his own skin.  So why?  Why the fuck would he do this?”

The first I realise that Shay’s crouched down in front o’ me is when she reaches out with tentative hands, not taking hold of my own while I’m holding the knife, I realise, just showing her open palms to make it clear she’s trying to be gentle and very careful.  She speaks in a low, cautious tone, like she’s still holding her breath as she does it, and when I finally look up at her I realise how tense she actually is.  “Art?  I need you to chill.  Can you do that for me?”

Seeing that finally checks me mid-stroke, so the stone don’t quite spark the steel this time as I run it over the blade.  I’m a beat answering her, slowly realising how tense I am too … then I just let a heavy sigh out as I breathe:  “Oh … shit … yeah, I guess …”

When she reaches for the knife now, I just turn my paw over to let it rest inert in my open palm so she can pick it up without resistance.  She’s careful about it all the same, and doesn’t really breathe again until she’s got it, passing it into her other hand before finally settling back onto her haunches.  “Good.  Art, I’m …”  She falters again.

“We’re worried about you.”  Tulen answers for her after a beat, and her cheeks darken immediately, letting me know she mostly just blurted it out without thinking first.

Sighing, Shay takes care as she folds her wrists so she can lean onto her knees while she’s holding the knife.  She looks so solemn right now, and while she can hold my eye I get the impression she’s squirming a good deal on the inside right now, but she’s muddling through it all the same.  “Look, I get it.  That was an impossible situation.  It was fucking chaos up there in the tavern, we were all going through it, and it was just shit luck that it had to be you that killed him.  If I could have spared you from that, if I hadn’t gotten myself messed up, maybe it wouldn’t have –”

“Hey, no.”  I give the whetstone a little squeeze as I draw in a deep breath, but it’s just so I can focus myself, just centre myself as I sit forward, reaching out to let my empty paw settle on her wrist now.  “No, that ain’t on you either.  That was all his fault, but even then not really.  Maybe it wasn’t anybody’s fault, it was like you said, just shit luck.  I mean he was already dying, you already started that when you took his hand off.  I just put him out of his misery.”  I look down for a long beat, letting that sigh go now.  “Shit … ‘least I got to say goodbye.  He was lucid enough for that in the end.  Made it hurt more, but … wasn’t his intention.  It just happened that way.”

“We just don’t want you beating yourself up over this, it does none of us any good, least of all yourself, and worse there’s no reason for you to do it.”  Shay sighs, and when I finally look up again she’s just regretful.  “At least you got to say goodbye.”

Yeah … honestly, I can see where she’s coming from now.  When we all met, when she first became one of us after that mess with Ashsong and what she helped us prevent up in the mountains, she lost three friends, close ones, all in less than an hour of each other.  Every death was a swift, sudden one, they were just gone almost before she had time to register it even happened, which just made the loss hurt so much more, because she never got to tell them how much they meant to her.

I remember on the road to Bavat after, while we were first getting to know her, there were times when she would just go somewhere, just shut down for a while, close herself off and suffer for a few hours, sometimes cry but more often just soak.  Wallow in the fact that death could be a cruel, heartless bitch sometimes.  I dunno how much control Corvina really has in how that all works, or maybe it was Thorin, or maybe neither of ‘em actually have any real say in these things, that it’s … yeah, it’s like she said, and I ran with before.  Just shit luck.  Which makes death even more cruel precisely because it’s just pointless.

Giving her wrist a little squeeze, I try my best to smile, but I know it comes out real sad and completely empty of humour right now.  “They knew you loved ‘em, though.”

Managing something of a smile herself, a little wobbly but still there enough to serve, Shay just shrugs.  “I’d like to think so.  And you’ve all been there for me since, helped me get through to where I don’t feel like shit about it all the time anymore.”  She unfolds her arms now and takes hold of my paw in her empty hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of her own.  “So you can be damn sure we’re going to do the same for you while you have this to work through.  Have you got me?”

Tulen must reach out then, cuz I feel a hand grip my shoulder before slipping over onto my back and start to rub gently, just under the base of my neck.  I take another deep breath and nod, not for anything in particular, just going along with the general mood now.  “Yeah.  I got you.”

“All right.”  Shay frowns for a beat, like she wants to say something more, but then thinks better of it, maybe.  Finally she just raises her other hand again, still careful as she opens it up to offer my knife up to me now.  “Just calm down, please.  I don’t want you hurting yourself because you’re getting worked up.”

Nodding again, this time with more commitment, I reach out, a little more tentatively than I’d like, maybe, and just as carefully pick the knife up again.  I frown as I raise it in front of me, taking a beat to examine it again more closely, and I realise now I don’t need to sharpen it anymore right now.

“I’ll be there tonight, anyway.”  Tulen’s voice is soft, her tone reassuring now, and she keeps on with that gentle, soothing rubbing motion between my shoulder-blades.  “In the tunnels, I’ll be with you.  If you start to feel … I don’t know, if it gets too much for you down there, or after, when we’re inside, you know you can tell me, I can help you.”

“Thanks.”  I set the whetstone back down on the oilcloth and pick the oily rag back up again, turning the knife over between my fingers for a moment before starting to polish.  “I’ll try to remember that, when we get down there.  But I hope … I dunno, I always been pretty good at focusing when shit gets crazy.  Kesla calls it my game-face, I never really got what she meant by that.  Must be some kinda soldier thing she learned from her da.”

“I don’t know,”  Shay speaks with a half-chuckle now as she straightens up, stepping back as she takes a moment to give her back a little stretch.  “My mother used to say something similar, when she was training me.  Although I suspect she got it from my da.”

“Well I still mean what I said.”  Tulen stops stroking my back now, giving my shoulder one last little squeeze before taking her hand back, and when I look to her she’s sitting up again, looking down at the sandwich she must’ve been holding this whole time.  Still with only a few bites out of it.  It only takes a short beat for her hunger to return, making her dig back in again.

“Shay?”  A familiar voice breaks our reverie, and the half-orc in question turns quickly towards the other side of the cloister, starting to frown a little.

Lady Naru’s making her way over now, skirting the edge of the lawn as she approaches.  She’s already homing in, I notice.  “Are you ready?”

“Am I …”  That makes her frown a little tighter.  “I’m sorry, I don’t –”

“If you want to be ready for tonight, we should really get started.”  She looks past her at the rest of us now, then everything else.  “Ah, well … perhaps I should give you a little more time, if you –”

“Oh, no.”  Shay takes a step back our way, then pauses, looking down at her stuff.  “Although … yeah, I don’t know.  I suppose I can’t really take my sword in with me, can I?”

“No, I don’t think that would quite work, under the circumstances.  Kesla will be armed, but you …”  Lady Naru turns to ponder Shay’s collection as well.  “That’s not to say you shouldn’t still bring a few weapons with you all the same.  Anything that you could easily conceal, I mean.”

“You wanna borrow any of mine?”  I pipe up now.  “I got a bunch that’d suit this kinda job.”

Cocking a brow my way, Shay start to smile again, a little more of a cocked, mischievous one now.  “No, I think I’m good.  I have a few of my own in mind, I think.”  And she takes a few quick, easy strides over with her long legs to bend down and pore over her collection.

Mindful of the sorcerer’s eyes on me now, I make a conscious effort not to watch Shay’s backside as she does this, instead turning back to find Tulen’s getting to her feet again.

“Yes, of course … I thought I might help, is that all right, my Lady?”

Lady Naru blinks as she looks to her now, then starts to smile, warm but, I notice, a little mischievous like Shay, now.  “I think so, yes.  You’re most welcome.”

Tempting as it might be for me to enquire if I could tag along too, mostly just to satisfy my curiosity, I hold my tongue, instead turning back to my own work as I start oiling my blade.  Much as I’d like to see Shay get all gussied up, ‘specially if they’re planning on dressing her up like one o’ them highborn ladies, I got my own part to play in tonight’s plans, and I wanna be ready for it.

For Gael …

TO BE CONTINUED ...