#an apple don't ever underestimate him

[almakfi-m]

the reason basim cannot be trusted is that he unironically likes abominations such as honey and lemon juice

[3lliesan]

"Yandere x reader twst characters!" "Yandere first years!"

No, I just want a twst au where the first years decide to test how far they can go with insanity with how many horrors they deal with in one school year. Yuu included.

Yuu should act like the leader they were meant to be instead of being just a background piece.

Ace may not have a UM of his own and constantly gets underestimated, but knows how to put his wits and misdirection to good use.

Deuce may be slow when it comes to learning new things and is trying his best to be an honor student to make his mom proud... But he now knows that an honor student doesn't have some other qualities of his and that it can help him in more ways than one.

Jack may be a person who follows his principles well, but maybe, a little bit of personal justice wouldn't hurt. Especially when it comes to his pack.

Epel isn't going back to his old days, he swears! Even if it is tempting sometimes. But ever since he finally started to understand what Vil meant after that conversation with Deuce from VDC, as well as some tips from Yuu... Playing the "poison apple" is quite satisfying once he got used to self-restraint.

Ortho might act optimistic and innocent most of the time because his personality was set to be that of a child, but he's also... very overprotective of those he considers family. He's constantly learning more about the world around him, which also extends to the people he surrounds himself with! So, he shouldn't have much of a problem with... terminating threats to those he cares about. The line between right and wrong is blurry in NRC, after all!

Of course, there's nothing like murder or anything like that!... But the psychological damage/reputation/injuries are enough to scar anyone who goes far enough to do anything funny is quite... unfortunate.

The best-case scenario is when you get spooked enough as a warning! But I don't recommend trying again though. :D

You don't want to be one of the people who are foolish enough to do the same despite having a clear mind, unlike those who Overblotted, do you?

I may or may have not randomly written this after remembering the english lyrics to this song exist.

[twst-rose-prisms]

How do you think TWST boys (the ones below 170 cm like Riddle, Kalim, Epel etc.) would act like around s/o who's insanely tall? I keep reading fics that go like "he put your head on his shoulder" even though I'm almost a feet taller than him and I just end wondering how that's possible. (I'm 17 and is 6'5)

Hi hi~ First of all, thank you for your request anon! Sorry if you have to wait long enough cuz I was a bit busy with school 😭 Anyhow, I hope you like this because I put a lot of braincells into it hehe (also anon you're so tall, like literally a head taller than me-)

Twst boys with a partner that's a lot taller than them

Characters: Epel, Lilia, Riddle, Kalim x Reader Genre: Fluff Warnings: None!

🍎Epel

- I feel like he would be conscious of how he looks and his height but doesn't act too worked up over it, so if his partner is hella tall then he probably won't be bothered much unless they tease him about it. However if his partner is both tall and physically strong then he'll be very impressed at their strength instead! Probably asking things like what's their training methods or things like how to improve your muscles, etc. - He probably thinks it's a bit troublesome that he gotta look up to you every time you two are chatting, but as long as there's no teasing at him then he won't pay attention to that much, he won't admit he's secretly jealous of your height though... Okay, he will be, just a little bit, but afterward he just thinks about how cool you are when you always appear a head taller than most people in school and how it's so easy to spot you among the crowd. He seriously wants to be cool like you! - Don't treat him like he's a small, frail boy who needs help every time, that's the top thing on the "Absolute no" list for Epel. Even when you have an advantage in height, so what? He won't let that be a thing for you to make fun of him! In fact, it just gets him even more fired up to work himself better so he can catch up to you quickly! He has a lot of room to grow and he definitely won't give up either. - He definitely boasts about how cool his partner is or how tall they are to others with a proud look on his face. He is lucky for sure to have such an amazing partner like you, no one would ever be able to look down on you (in both ways) and that's what he loves to see! You're so strong and cool... sorry, did he already say that? Well he couldn't help it, you really are in his eyes! - He gonna insist on carrying you a lot of times even though you told him it's not necessary, but he would ask things like "Are you underestimating me?" with one of those "polite smiles" of his just to get you to give up or mess around, and he always success every time he did that. Much to your surprise, he actually might be able to lift you up! And that surprise looks on your face is exactly what he wants, just because you're a head taller doesn't mean he can't be a man around you! He would look super smug about it as he ended up teasing you a bit about this or bringing it up occasionally to see your reaction. He can be a bit of a prankster as a treat~

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🦇 Lilia

- Despite being fairly short, I think Lilia never gets bothered in the slightest mainly because he can teleport or float in the air like a bat he is. So even if his partner is insanely tall, he can just float up to their eye level with ease and even use their shoulders for leaning support. (he's just being the silly he is yknow) - But he would be fairly impressed for sure with how tall you're as you easily stand out in the crowd with your head above others or how easily it is to spot you. He thinks it's cool how humans can be so tall but also so short, it's really fascinating for a fae like him! - He can easily take books from the highest shelf or reach out for that one apple hanging on the tree, but sometimes, this guy would start acting like the tease he is and ask you to get it for him. "But you can just float?" "Hoho, but I'm feeling like walking today though~" and just land on the ground so casually like the prankster he is... as you just sigh and get the thing he requested with ease while the fae chuckles in the background. - He loves surprises, so don't question it if he suddenly floats up and kisses you out of nowhere when you expect it the least. That look of pure shock on your face is just priceless for him, peace and quiet is not an option if you're Lilia's partner no matter how tall you're. He definitely lives long enough to seen and talk to people that are as tall or even taller than you, so he knows how to handle it perfectly or even startle them back. - He also loves messing around, so he'll just appears out of nowhere, his body upside down as you got so startled you nearly froze when your eyes meet each other, and he laughs, like a lot. He just loves it when he can throw you off with such remarks and randomness, just because you're a head taller doesn't mean he can't scare you~ - You can try and surprise him back, maybe when he was being a bit too absorbed into chatting with you about something and you lean in, face inches away from his as both of you just stare at each other for a good second before you lean away and ask him to continue. Believe it or not, Lilia was thrilled at that attempt he ended up laughing like an idiot for a good minute, oh silly you, do that again next time! He'll only end up fascinated by you even more if you act like that, so surprising yet so exciting~

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🌹 Riddle

- He's very conscious of his height and could easily get angry or irritated at the slight mention of it, so I think he would feel even more conscious if his partner is a head taller than him. He always wanted to be the cool, reliable type of boyfriend in his partner's eyes, but to think now they're the taller one, a head taller even... He is not bothered at all. Not at all! - But that doesn't stop him from wanting his partner to depend on him too, considering he's still an honor student and a housewarden, he'll try to look past the height difference between you two and act like a reliable boyfriend and offer to help you out whether with your study or other things. He knows having a tall height has an advantage like be able to reach for high shelves easily, and whenever you do so, he just tries to not get flustered over it and thanks you properly... Don't worry, he's just being a bit shy~ - He hopes that his partner, being insanely tall, doesn't make fun of his height or mention it too often. He'll try to let it slide if you bring it up in a way that doesn't sound irritating to him, he might easily get upset but he always tries his best to not get unreasonably angry at you, that's the last thing he wants after all. - Whenever you two sit next to each other and when he can easily reach your face better, he will take it as a chance to appear more "boyfriend-like" to you... not that he already isn't one, but sometimes he can't help but wish he could reach your face easier so he can kiss them or cup your face better. Occasionally, he would even lend his shoulder for you to lean on too, not only does he feel like he's doing a good job being your partner but also feels taller too somewhat... That's a secret he'll never tell you though. If only he could be as tall as you... but rest assured, he still has more room to grow. (Or at least that's what he likes to believe) - You can be a bit of a tease by leaning down and randomly giving him a kiss, he'll be as red as his hair with those gray eyes looking all shocked! He probably scolds you to not do that so suddenly the next time but don't worry, he's not mad at all~

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☀️Kalim

- He's probably the one that's the most unbothered in this list since he doesn't care for things like height or appearance in general, but he'll definitely be impressed at how tall his partner is and shows it outwardly, he never holds back when it comes to compliments! - Though I think he'll love having a tall partner too as he can ask them to help him reach high shelves or just be able to spot them so easily in the crowd is enough to make him happy! Just imagine a cheery and bright Kalim running towards you from miles away while waving at you with the way your head pops up in a crowd, that would definitely bring a smile to your face for sure!! - He also isn't too conscious of his height or think too much about it, he is pretty carefree overall so it won't be at the top of his head! However, due to your height difference it would be a bit troublesome when he wants to kiss you but he can't... so he came up with a solution to jump up for that! And don't underestimate him, he's good at jumping despite his short height! (As he bounces up the air and you just so happen to lean down, both of your heads collide... Jamil questioned why both of you got a bump with a worrying look but neither of you explained it truthfully which only raised his suspicion even further... Don't tell him okay?) - Piggyback ride? Piggyback ride! Because of your insanely tall height, you definitely can lift him up and he is excited to say the least! He loves being carried around! So whenever he can wrap his arms around you as you carry him and run around the campus, he'll have a really big, happy grin on his face. Either that or you two do a jump challenge of whoever can reach that tree branch better (even though you know it's a surefire win for you) and the winner gets a free coconut juice! Kalim definitely tried his best to win every time despite his short height, and even when he lost he never appeared sad and the total opposite instead, he just has so much fun being around someone cool like you! - He also loves carrying others too, and he would also do the same to you despite your insane height. Similar to Epel, although you keep telling him it's fine but how can you say no after he give you that cute grin full of sunshine... so you just so happen to say yes, and as enthusiastic as he is, he quickly swoops you up off the ground, see, he definitely can carry you with ease! ...And it doesn't last for long as you both fall over to the ground. He felt bad for dropping you like that and quickly apologize before giving you a big grin and a cheek kiss as an apology gift, so cheeky and adorable of him~

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Fun fact: Did you know Ruggie escaped this post with a clutch? He's 171cm, just 1cm away from being in this list~

[ventique18]

~ Crowley Vignette Pt. 3 ~

After lunch, Crowley's GOT NOTHING TO DO because all the professors are at their classes, so he might as well go to Sam's TO KILL TIME.

???: "You don't gotta worry 'bout that!"

Crowley: "Hm? That voice..."

He's far away, but when he looks to that direction...

Grim: "Ain't no one noticin' a cut class or two. So let's go nap instead, nyahaha!"

Yuu: "Let's go back to class"

Then Crowley starts spewing to himself "To think that there are two rebels cutting classes in my school... Seriously, I cannot believe it!"

Then an entire gang of students swaggers to Grim and Yuu because they're gonna take over the bench to slack off. Grim doesn't relent; they got here first so finders keepers!

"MORE STUDENTS HAVE COME TO CUT CLASSES!"

It looks like a fight's about to break out. Just what kind of discipline is going on at his school?!

"HEY, YOU LOT! Shouldn't you be at class right now?!"

Grim panics so Yuu apologizes for him.

"After having witnessed such blatant disobedience, I'm inadvertently getting reeled in by a sincere apology..."

"Everyone, please get back to your classes. I would very much appreciate it if you were to study properly. Magic talent without hard work is not quite as sweet. While it's true that being born with a natural sense for it is important, it is the daily grind and experience that truly matters."

Then he asks if the students recall his speech earlier. Grim says it was boring as hell so he wasn't listening at all. The random Ignihyde students says "Same, same."

SO OUT OF DESPERATION, Crowley turns to Yuu and asks if they remember.

"Of course I remember." / "It was something about a grape tree, yeah?" IT WAS AN APPLE TREE.

The random Savanaclaw student cuts in and says he's noisy as hell. He's the Headmage, but it's not that they need to listen to him yeah?

Diasomnia Student: "Yeah. And it's not like we've ever seen the headmage perform any amazing magic. Even the housewardens don't give a crap about him..."

Savanaclaw Student: "What a loser. 'Kay, let's just ignore him!"

Crowley: "... Really, what troublesome kids."

Crowley: "It can't be helped then. Let me show you how important it is to thoroughly study magic."

"... For I am very kind! / WATASHI YASASHII NO DE!"

AND THEN HE WHIPS THEM AND LITERALLY TIES THEM TOGETHER DASHJKHKJADS

Crowley: "It is not a bind. This is the whip of love! Only a slightly tougher version."

The students panic, but the Diasomnia student claims that magic's flimsy and can be easily broken. ... Not?! What's going on? His magic doesn't do shit...

Crowley: "Why, of course. Am I not the Headmage of Night Raven College? This level of magic is naught but as simple as breathing."

He sighs and comments that these kids are underestimating him one too many times. It won't do that children who can't even gauge their own abilities are looking down on an educator like him.

"I simply had to make you understand your own immaturities."

"Go, go, Crowley go! Show them how much of a baby they are!"

Yuu: "Now's the perfect time to run away..."

Crowley: "And for you: Whip of Love! Gentle Ver.!"

And then both Grim and Yuu get captured!

Crowley soothes the struggling Grim by saying that he really has high expectations for both him and Yuu. He's certain that the two of them can change the future of this school. 🤔

"You can do that, can't you?"

Grim: "'Course. Just leave it to the great genius master Grim!"

Grim: "... So let me go already!"

Crowley: "Well then. Shall we take each of you to your respective classes?"

Grim: "What?! Tied up like this?! If the other guys saw me, I'd definitely never hear the end of it! Let me go! Let me go!"

Crowley: "As you are Night Raven College students, take this as a lesson opportunity to reflect upon."

"Because all of you are... my precious, precious apple trees."

[allykatsart]

Spades

Spades(Here) Clubs Hearts Diamonds

Starting a small series for the next few days, and I'll be at Fan X by the time the last of these post! I'm not making a full set, but these are the hypothetical face cards of the card deck! All characters depicted are OC's and I'll add more info about them under the cut!

Get Your Own Art!

Cat (Catherine) ~ King of Spades

Cat has had the most changes out the entire cast. Originally she was just a normal college student who found herself wrapped up in the supernatural world. Nowadays, she's the Tether to Cosmo, the Apple Dragon!

Her vibe is that classic, vintage, Americana feel, and she aspires to one day own a Harley. Cat is 4ft 8in tall, plays softball at the local college, and tries her best to stop Cosmo from getting her in trouble. She can bemoan how she got to be a Tether to such a lame dragon, but over time she learns to appreciate Cosmo and master his power!

Her main weapon is a baseball bat and she will take your kneecaps with it.

Mentor ~ Queen of Spades

This character is currently unnamed because I need to put more research into naming conventions. This character is Indigenous American, and I don't want to have something too stereotypical or something that doesn't fit. I designed him with ethnicity in mind because I don't see a lot of Indigenous American representation and I wanted to branch out!

He is the Tether to the Moon Dragon, who is constantly being hunted by the Sun Dragon. So, as you can imagine, he's on the move a lot! He's a biker who travels from Coast to Coast, doing odd jobs and living life on the road. He ends up teaching Cat a thing or two about being a Tether, and why she should respect her dragon. He can't stay long though, he has to keep moving.

Cosmo ~ Jack of Spades

Now, you may be wondering why an Apple Dragon, living on the west coast of America, is an Asian dragon. That's a fair question! Turns out, apples originally came from Kazakhstan, supposedly going through Russia, before finally landing in Europe! "American as Apple Pie" really takes on a whole new meaning huh?

Well, Cosmo followed a similar route! He's the sweetest dragon ever and really just wants to help out his friends. He'll stand up for what's right and help out those in need. Cause of this, he chooses his Tethers very carefully. Aldar Kose, Robin Hood and even Jonny Appleseed were all previous partners of his, and he believes in his Tethers even when they don't believe in themselves!

That being said, he's a tiny dragon and is often underestimated. He's a dragon of Apples, after all, not a dragon of anything important. But he doesn't need to be! He's happy with himself and he can look out for the little guys like him! And hey, if he can save the world in the meantime? Well that'd be just dandy!

(Also, yes, he is designed to look like an apple peel with chocolate on top, cause he's just so darn sweet!!)

[tonydaddingham]

the more that ive thought about it (it of course being the argument clip), the more that i need to get something off my chest and defend aziraphale - not necessarily against anyone, not saying anyone is attacking him, but whilst crowley is my special apple crimble crumble boy, aziraphale is the goodest lil dude and there is nothing i wouldn't do for that messy man-

i think what a lot people forget about aziraphale is that he is so fucking clever, he is arguably more intelligent than crowley, but has the irksome, painful dichotomy of being kind. what kinda upset me in the clip is that crowley almost addresses aziraphale as if he's stupid, when he's anything but. aziraphale is fully aware that gabriel, michael, uriel etc are all wankers, he's not oblivious to it, but aziraphale is an unfailingly empathetic and compassionate angel, and will try to always see the best in people.

the fandom sometimes mistakes this for naivety or even ignorance, and it's not - aziraphale is not naive, he knows that these angels are shits and treat him poorly, but aziraphale has a pretty strong view on what an angel should be, what they should embody, and even though he knows deep down these other angels don't really follow the same blueprint, he hopes and he tries to remain optimistic and see the best in them. he hopes to be forgiven for his trespasses just as he forgives those who trespass against him✨

and so by the end of s1 i think he really does give up on being an angel ("just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" got the most satisfied, bashful grin on him we've ever seen) and instead is just a good person. and i think crowley fails to realise or accept this - not bc he's stupid either, but i think he sometimes really underestimates aziraphale and possibly because he thinks (possibly due to his own trauma- the apocalypse as well as the Fall) that god will never love a being that isn't good and godly at the same time. he can't accept that that the two things, being good and being godly, are entirely different concepts, and that in aziraphale the two must go hand in hand.

aziraphale understands the difference, and knows that he can still be loved by god even if he doesn't align himself with heaven anymore. so therefore its a real foreign idea, a ludicrous concept, to crowley that aziraphale is still being kind to gabriel, being compassionate, when in his mind this is the angel that wanted to kill them both and is a first class wanker to boot.

but i think that does actually show that, not in any way maliciously or intentionally but likely just as a projection borne out of anger and possibly self-hatred, crowley is thinking appalling little of aziraphale right now. does he really believe that the angel that he slithered up next to on the wall and who not only didn't smite him on sight but also conversed with him and listened to him and sheltered him from the first rain whilst not even bothering to shelter himself is incapable of being kind without being heaven's puppet?

so yes i totally get where crowley is coming from, and whilst it kills me a little inside to think that crowley might consider himself so unworthy of kindness and affection unless it originates from a systematic compulsive side effect of being a Holy Entity, i think he's being grossly unfair to aziraphale in not realising even after 6000 years of knowing him that aziraphale might just simply be a really kind person.

[pollunam]

Flaws. Part 1.

Warnings: 18 + blood, and canon typical violence.

"So, Gus, I want to introduce you to a lady who will be joining you," Gabbin nodded, gesturing to open the door. I stood confidently behind her, fiddling with my gloves. I wouldn't say I was easily frightened. Try being scared when your father made you throw knives at apples atop your brother's head from childhood.

The door creaked open, revealing a smoke-filled room. Smoke swirled elegantly in the air, forming intricate patterns against dark wallpaper and faces full of hope, albeit not the most enthusiastic ones.

"Well, this is Gus March-Phillips. Maybe not the finest gentleman, but he knows his trade," Gabbin introduced.

"Welcome, milady," he smiled, adjusting his already curled mustache.

I nodded. "Lovely coat, I think I've seen it on someone else before."

Gabbin sighed heavily. "It's time for you to go, before he starts undressing me."

I smiled, pulling out a cigarette. Gus promptly offered a lighter.

"And I'm certain I've seen it somewhere too."

With that remark came two heavy sighs, and we triumphantly left the room. There was no time to think about formalities; we had a challenging task ahead, which I already knew about, but this man inspired confidence.

"Our team is quite unusual, I trust you understand that," Gus closed the car door with my suitcases already inside. The driver set off, illuminating the gravel road with yellow headlights.

"It doesn't bother me; I'm part of this 'unusual' company," I air-quoted.

"They'll like you."

"Now I'm nervous," I chuckled.

"I just can't figure out how they picked you for this assignment. You don't look like a reckless headhunter at all."

"Someone has to keep an eye on you boys."

The car stopped at the pier. The night air was fresh and breezy, blowing in from the ocean. Salty splashes danced joyfully at the shore, cresting with white foam on the sand. The sky glittered with a myriad of stars, perhaps the most romantic scene I'd ever witnessed. I stood mesmerized, watching the waves break beautifully against the pier.

"Enjoying the view?" Gus held my suitcases. "Too bad, it's time to go. I'm sure the ship's view won't disappoint."

I nodded quickly, following him.

"Finally, we've been waiting for you," someone shouted from the deck, and a head in a comical sailor hat appeared over the stern. "Good evening, milady," the stranger whistled, offering his hand. "Graham at your service."

I smiled. "Thank you for your help. This dress isn't the best attire for a ship." With one hand, I lifted the hem of my dress to climb aboard.

"Then take it off," a broad-shouldered man with round glasses appeared in the cabin doorway. His accent marked him as a foreigner. Tall and sturdy, he resembled a Viking woven from northern winds.

"Isn't that a bit forward of you?" I retorted.

"I didn't mean what you thought, mind you," he chuckled warmly.

"Then say it so you're understood."

"Affirmative, my dear."

I flared up. The big guy was clearly teasing me.

"Anders, where are your manners?" Gus shook his head. "We're not a band of brigands; we're gentlemen who never underestimate ladies. Especially ones like her."

"Are you planning to travel with us?" Anders agilely descended from the cabin. "This isn't an Atlantic cruise."

Graham whistled again. "Pay him no mind. He's big, but not the brightest."

"No problem. I just don't understand how such a massive bear isn't sinking the ship with his presence."

Anders squinted. "I find that amusing."

"I'll try to entertain you more often," I smirked.

"Good evening! I'm Freddy," a man appeared from behind, sporting a blue scarf around his neck. He smiled warmly and openly.

"I'll show you to your cabin. Space is tight, but we'll find something suitable," Gus gestured for me to go ahead, descending a small staircase inside.

The large room served as a dining area, kitchen, and bedroom with two bunk beds. It smelled of apples and wine. The beds were neatly made, and an open bottle of alcohol sat on the table, emitting a pungent scent.

"The safest bet would be one of these beds."

"Seems like there aren't enough."

"Don't worry, we've got sleeping bags."

"I can take it, no problem. I've slept in worse conditions."

"No, no. We'll do it differently," Gus grinned, "forget about the sleeping bag, it's pure mockery."

"Listen, Gus, I appreciate that, really, but it's not necessary at all."

"It's absolutely necessary, trust me. Conversation's over, just like the tour. Make yourself comfortable," he said, heading upstairs heavily, while I sat at the table, resting my head on my hands. Thoughts leapt and tangled in my mind. Well, this adventure was right up my alley: gunfire, smell of danger, and the scent of pure escapade.

I pulled out trousers and a white shirt from my suitcase and quickly changed, listening to voices from above.

"Someone needs to sleep in the sleeping bag tonight. We'll take turns after."

"I can do it, no problem," a hearty man offered. I chuckled approvingly, tying my hair up in a bun.

By the time I finished brewing tea for everyone, the ship had already set sail. Carefully, I climbed up, carrying four mugs.

"Thanks a lot!" Graham smiled, noticing me; he immediately took one cup, "need a hand?"

"No, it's alright, I'll manage."

Fredrick appeared right away, "now that's service."

"Just a friendly gesture."

Gus stood at the helm.

"Hey! Up there! Tea?"

"Leave it there, I'll get it later!" he shouted back.

I carefully placed the mug on the stair step and looked around for the Viking. How could one miss such a broad man - it was a mystery. A silhouette appeared at the stern. Anders was coiling rope, sitting on the edge of the hull; he seemed completely absorbed in his thoughts, focused on his task.

"Hi again," I leaned against the rail, offering him a steaming cup, "care for some?"

"Is it poisoned?"

"No, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't do it so blatantly."

"Now I'll have to be on guard," Anders smiled, taking the tea, "thanks."

I looked at the receding shore, flickering in the darkness like a fallen star.

"Why are you here? I mean, your job... it's quite... dangerous."

"It's a long story of family drama, but I'm glad to be where I am, despite the danger."

"I understand, yes," the Viking nodded, "I have a similar story."

"Where are you from?"

"Denmark."

"Ah, a true Viking," I smiled, "how could I possibly be scared then?"

"Still, don't anger me, alright," Anders also smiled, adjusting his glasses, "I like how you called me that, but please don't spread the idea."

"Deal."

We sat in silence, listening to the sound of water pushing against the hull and the wind whistling through the sails. The coolness enveloped me, but it seemed I had completely forgotten about it, imagining London engulfed in fire and war, left behind. Ahead, the horizon blended seamlessly with the ocean in a vast blue landscape.

"Aren't you cold?" Anders broke the fragile silence.

"A bit, but it's so beautiful here, I can't stop admiring."

"Better go below, it's easy to catch a cold in the ocean."

I nodded, "I'll go down soon."

Alone again, I leaned against the stern, staring at the ocean's surface. Dark as lead. I didn't feel like sleeping.

"Here," I didn't even notice Anders returning, handing me a blanket, "for the tea."

"Thanks, what will you do for two teas?"

"Save the pleasure for later. Although, you did take off your dress."

"Hey, Viking!"

He laughed, "I'm just kidding."

"Go already, or you'll catch a cold," I teased him back, wrapping the blanket around my shoulders.

"Just a tip, if you're sailing for the first time, it's easy to get seasick if you stare at the water. You won't notice when you fall in."

"My intuition tells me to listen to you, but common sense suggests testing that theory."

"Now I see why you're here," he sat on coiled ropes, "go ahead, test it."

"You're a troublemaker."

"How so?" Anders raised his eyebrows in confusion, "I've been sitting quietly, brought you a blanket, and said nothing about your clothes."

"Alright," I turned away.

In reality, I felt dizzy. I couldn't afford to collapse now, or else there would be enough jokes to fill three huge books titled "I'm the funniest person on Earth and I'm called the Giant Viking."

" You know, you really annoy me. I'd better go."

Anders slyly raised his eyes at me, "just like that? Just because of me, darling? You give up quickly."

"I've had enough of your teasing for today."

"Well then, good night."

He didn't move from his spot, not even a twitch, much like me. My legs felt weak.

"Are you alright?" Graham shouted, having taken over from Gus at his post, he raised an eyebrow, "you don't look too good."

"You all here are masters at giving compliments."

"I meant you look kinda green."

"Ah, no, that's my natural skin tone," I waved dismissively, feeling nausea creeping up.

"Alright, then can I take Anders from you? I need some help."

"No problem."

Anders stared at me intently, gripping the ship's railing.

"Five minutes, buddy," he signaled to Graham with five fingers, climbing up. "You know, my intuition tells me to just toss you overboard, but common sense," he scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder, "suggests helping you again."

"Let me go, I'm about to be sick," I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Not on my favorite sweater. Hang in there."

"Oh God!" Everything blurred before my eyes. "I'm not kidding."

Anders sat me down on the step leading to the helm. "Don't go anywhere," he smirked.

I dropped my head back, closing my eyes. Silly rocking. Silly mission and silly Viking.

"Pour."

"What are you pouring?" I couldn't open my eyes, and that turned out to be a blessing because right after that command, water splashed over me. It eased the discomfort.

"I don't know what's wrong with your character, darling, but this is the second time in a couple of hours that I've had to come to your aid. And now I'll have to sleep in a sleeping bag instead of a warm bed."

"Well, it'll pass quickly," Graham's voice assured me, "I've been through the same."

"I warned you."

"It's okay, she'll recover," Freddie chimed in.

And I still couldn't open my eyes. I had no idea the ocean was a worse enemy than the Germans.

"Can you get up?"

"Yeah, just a minute," I sighed, gathering my strength, and slowly stood up, leaning on the railing. "I feel better, thank you, really."

"You'll feel like a fish in water tomorrow," Graham promised, "good night."

I nodded, unable to carry on the conversation.

"Let's go," Freddie offered his hand.

Anders critically observed what was happening, folding his arms across his chest.

1:0 in his favor, it seems. However, there's still plenty ahead.

[alpaca-clouds]

A neat historical detail in Castlevania

As I just finished reading the somewhat older David Graeber book "Dept: The First 5000 Years" and this book kinda had me constantly thinking about this one scene from Castlevania S03E01.

Now, mind you. The first four Castlevania seasons really are not that point on when it comes to history. Generally speaking the scenes that have Isaac tend to be a bit more historically accurate, but both in terms of general history, and historic clothing this show is often quite far away from the reality.

And here comes this lady in, who in Lindenfeld sells a bit of produce. First: This lady has fairly accurate clothing for the time. Sure, there is a bit of an issue as she is wearing no jacket or anything, while it is clearly early winter. (But that is a general issue in the entire show. I wrote about this before: I am fairly sure that Castlevania takes place between Late-September 1476 and Late-December '76 or Early-January '77. And winters around this time were darn cold - especially in this area. And the folks at Powerhouse clearly underestimated the weather xD)

All of this makes me so delighted that this one specific scene is actually pretty spot on.

What happens in this scene? Well, St. Germain wants to buy two apples, and this lady, who clearly cannot stand him. So, she overcharges him, asking double the price of the day before. He is a traveler who came through several other places before, and he has a silver coin (a groschen) of a higher value on him. Meanwhile she is like: "Eh, I don't care. This is one silver coin, it counts as one silver coin."

Now, to be fair: The price is a bit too high historically speaking (generally speaking a silver coin at the time was usually worth between 25 and 50 English pounds in today's money). While we surprisingly have no written down prices for apples, we know that generally apples were sold by weight and not per unit, and were considerably cheaper.

However, other things in this scene check out.

See, here is a thing that people do not realize about the middle ages - and specifically the late 15th century.

Most people did not in fact use coin money, but just a system of credit and debt.

In the late 15th century, coinage was super, super unreliable as the value was constantly changing, due to the political instability of Europe.

About the first part of this: If you ever heard people talk about how folks bartered. Yeah, that mainly is bullshit. Yes, at times this happened during the middle ages, but it mainly happened for the following reason: Until the Roman Empire came around people in Europe mainly just went about exchanging goods under the thinking of "I do you a solid, you will do me a solid". People basically had "dept" with people from their village. Then the Roman Empire came and introduced money, so after the empire fell and the money was gone (because no new money was minted) and people still had about the money value of the goods in mind, and would go "well an apple was about worth as much as 4 eggs, so give me 4 eggs in return". But this also declined during the middle ages.

While yes, at the point the show takes place there were once more people minting money, the royals that controlled the currency constantly changed the value of the money around to adjust the dept and taxes through it. Which was especially going on a lot in the late 15th century, because of the wars going on.

So, most people went back to just the old dept system. Aka: "You do me a solid, I will do you a solid in the future." However, there was a group of people, who could not partake in this form of exchange. And that was travelers, who obviously did not stay around along in one place to get to do "a solid" in return, were to foreign and hence distrusted, and as such had to use coinage to trade. Because at least whoever sold something from them had something that they could trust on in return. Hence, St. Germain, who is a traveler and clearly has the aura of a fraudster, would have to use coins to trade. And again, the value of the money was actually super instabable. While the well-dressed market-lady would probably not really know the current value of coins, she is totally not off to say: "Duh, prices rise," and who is there to check on her.

Hence, I have only the highest respect for this queen, who miraculously has actually gotten a voice actor. xD

[gabriel-xander]

Don't Forget

[Sans x Female!Reader]

15: Let's Talk About Your Car's Extended Warranty

♪⁠────✿⁠(⁠✧◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕✧⁠)✿⁠────♪

The call goes as well as you expect it to. You made sure to tell her you really couldn’t talk for long since Sans’ brother (yes, you told her his name, it’s only fair if she knows), Papyrus, wants to discuss some house rules over dinner. She let you go soon after, reassured when you told her you call her again later today when you get settled down.

You actually really like the balcony: it’s facing the direction of Waterfalls and it’s just cozy. You might bring a chair out here whenever you want some alone time.

Going back inside and down stairs, you see that the table that was pushed against the right wall (the one with their pet rock that was still there) was pulled away from said wall. There are three, identical wooden chairs: one on the left, one on the right, and one at the head of the table closest to the kitchen. The pie was already freed from its container and set on the table next to the pet rock.

Sans was already sitting at the head of the table, and he motions for you to take the seat on the right side. You do so without any complaint. There’s already forks on the table alongside glasses of water and a pitcher of iced water, too.

Respectfully, they have GOT to rearrange the minimal furniture in this house.

“everything okay?”

“Yep! Gonna call her again later though,” You clasp your hands and set them on the table, “I—told her your name because I thought it’s only right if she knows who I’m staying with.”

He tenses up, “and?”

“And… She wanted me to tell you her name in return,” You smile at him with a wink, “So the story is that Napstablook didn’t tell you shit, okay?”

Sans sighs for the nth time that day, “you’re trying to give me a heart attack, aren’t ya?”

“Whoops! Sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t have the guts to handle it.”

Before the punny monster can quip back, the greatest monster to have ever lived bounces into the living room with a flourish. Two plates of spaghetti in his hands and he sets them down gently in front of you and his brother.

“where’s your plate, bro?”

“IT SEEMS THAT I MAY HAVE UNWITTINGLY UNDERESTIMATED HOW MUCH I NEEDED TO MAKE. I’M SO USED TO MAKING ONLY ENOUGH JUST FOR YOU AND I.” Papyrus sighs so sadly,  “BUT YOU TWO NEED NOT WORRY. I AM WILLING TO MAKE THIS SMALL, YET PAINFUL, SACRIFICE SO THAT YOU TWO CAN ENJOY MY COOKING!”

Jesus.

You’re slightly scared for your life, but you can’t help but still feel grateful he cooked something for you at all to welcome you. Even if it’s going to taste bad (maybe it’s not that bad and Sans was exaggerating?), you want to at LEAST take ONE bite.

“Thank you for the food, Papyrus!”

“YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY WELCOME! FEEL FREE TO DIG IN,” He widens his eye sockets, “OH, I NEARLY FORGOT SOMETHING. I’LL BE RIGHT BACK.”

As the frantic skeleton hurries back to the kitchen, you scrunch up your nose and take the fork. Whelp, rip in pieces you. You stick your fork into the noodles (they feel kind of stiff, you don’t think they’re fully cooked) and twirl the utensil. Sans looks at you like you’re fucking crazy.

“you’re not seriously gonna eat it, are you??”

“Well yeah, dude. What else is there to do? He made it for me, of course I’m gonna eat it,” You shrug and bring the food to your mouth, “Bone Apple Tea, I guess.”

“wait!”

But wait you did not.

Your face reflexively scrunches up.

The taste is indescribable.

…

IS WHAT YOU WOULD SAY IF YOU’RE BEING NICE ABOUT IT!!!

You grip the fork tightly in your fist, your other hand covering your mouth as your body hunches over.

The noodles are under-cooked and you can just tell he didn’t add salt to the water. The tomato sauce was too clumpy and whatever fucking seasoning he used made it taste as though it was already expired. The meat for the meatballs was way overcooked, super dry, and was a horrible mix with the sauce.

Your heart (and taste buds) was broken and hurting: how could ANYONE lie to Papyrus about his cooking?! The food is so awful and not fit for consumption; this could seriously get you sick were it not for the fact that it’s made of magic.

You force yourself to swallow it down even though you weren’t done chewing. It hurt like a bitch but you couldn’t keep it on your tongue without running the risk of throwing it up.

That’s what she said.

You notice Sans’ pained and sympathetic expression as you reach for your water and chug it down like there’s no tomorrow. It wasn’t nearly enough so you stole Sans’ water (“hey!”) because you can’t wait to serve yourself another glass.

You slam the glass down. “Ahhh! Oh, my God!!” You whisper-shout, “What the hell was that?!”

“i warned you not to!”

“I didn’t think it would be like that!!” You look down at your plate to glare at the offender but, “…Huh?”

“YOU DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD BE LIKE WHAT?”

Papyrus comes back with a bowl of grated cheese, setting it down on the table. You can feel you have some sauce at the corner of your mouth, but you are NOT licking it off. You wipe it off with your thumb instead, eyeing your empty plate.

“YOUR PLATE…!”

Yeah, you’re fucking confused, too! The pasta has completely vanished from yours and Sans’ plate with the only evidence that it was ever there being the sauce residue on the plates, your fork, and now on your thumb where you had wiped it off your face. Sans said he’d help you out, but what did he do? This is his doing, right?

“YOU… YOU REALLY LIKE MY COOKING THAT MUCH, THAT YOU ATE IT SO QUICKLY?”

His face is full of hope, and his hope is so unbelievably fragile. You know that when the day comes and you finally tell him the truth, it’s just going to hurt more. You could just not do that, but it goes against your morals and principles.

Ohhh, you don’t want to lie to the poor baby! Some way or another, Sans seems to notice this dilemma, and comes to your rescue.

“you should’ve seen it, bro. i don’t think i’ve seen anyone enjoy food like that before.”

“OH, WOWIE!!” Papyrus bounces from joy. “MARK MY WORDS, [Y/N]! I, THE GREATEST CHEF, PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!”

…Yayyy…

Sans can clearly see the disdain behind your polite smile. He can’t help but feel bad since… Yeah, they (as in himself and his other friend) never should have lied to him about his cooking. Maybe then he would’ve taken the criticism and gotten better. Still, as long as he just uses his magic to toss the spaghetti into the garbage dump, then you’ll be fine.

“I-I’m still feeling kind of hungry though,” You purposely avoided saying anything about the food, huh? “Let’s eat the pie now and talk about what we originally supposed to talk about.”

”YES, GOOD IDEA! FIRST, LET ME TAKE THESE…”

The tall monster takes the plates, forks and the poor bowl of cheese back into the kitchen. You clear your throat and reach for the pitcher of iced water. You refill yours and Sans’ cup.

“… Sorry, your water tasted better,” You lamely say, “Much crispier.”

“eh, forgeddaboudit. you earned it after that stunt,” Sans nods in approval. “you sure got nerves of steel.”

“I also got ten years of my life taken away from me after that,” You huff while shaking your head, “It’s-It’s fine though, what’s done is done.”

Papyrus comes back with three plates, new forks, and a knife. He sets it down in their proper places before he starts to cut up the pie.

“SO, WHERE DO WE EVEN BEGIN?” He asks.

You look at the brother’s silently, but they’re both equally silent. You don’t know why you even expected Sans to know, he hasn’t had anyone other than Papyrus. That’s fine, you’ll be happy to start it off.

“We can start off with discussing some routine we’re all used to. You know, things you guys do everyday, and what I do everyday,” You put a hand on your chest, “For example, my usual routine is make breakfast, clean up around the house if I need to, shower, and lately, I’ve been going out with a friend after that. If it’s a lazy day, I’ll spend it inside and do some of my hobbies. Though hopefully now that I’m here, I can replace that with work.”

“OH, I SEE. SO PRETTY BORING, THEN.”

“PFFT!!” You can’t even get mad, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“I CAN’T SAY MY SCHEDULE IS SET IN STONE, I DO WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE.” By now, the younger brother has given you and himself a nice slice of pie, currently getting another for Sans, “I EAT BREAKFAST, THEN I TRY TO WAKE UP SANS.”

“You try to wake him up?”

“THAT SKELETON WAKES UP WHEN HE WANTS TO WAKE UP.”

“Damn, you’re so real for that, Sans.”

“thank.”

“Welcome.”

“UGH! ANYWAY,” Now that everyone has a slice, he sits down at his seat, “AFTER THAT, I WILL SEE WHERE THE DAY TAKES ME. SOMETIMES I WILL RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES, OR I WILL TRAIN WITH UNDYNE. OR MAYBE, I’LL DO NONE OF THAT, AND JUST HAVE FUN IN SNOWDIN.”

You’re already eating the pie, feeling the magic replenish your exhaustion. Sans was already halfway done with his slice; it was odd to watch either of them eat because where is it going???

Sans finishes chewing then finally shares his side. “like i told you on the way here, i work at the sentry stations around different parts of the underground. i kinda just work at my own time, though.”

“YOU ALSO HAVE AN ILLEGAL HOTDOG STAND BUSINESS.”

“it’s only illegal if you say it’s illegal.”

“SANS, YOU KNOW THAT’S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!”

“says who?”

“SAYS UNDYNE.”

“but she’s not a cop.”

“BUT SHE IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARDS!!”

“you know, i think that’s what’s wrong with this society. too many authoritative figures trying to take down my small business.” Sans points his fork in your direction, “you got my back, right [y/n]?”

Girl, HUH? You were just trying to enjoy the show, not be a part of it!

You laugh softly at their banter still, “I think if you’re gonna do crime, you gotta do it right. I mean, are you even stylish with it, Sans?”

“uhhh…”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING! HE HAS NO CLASS AT ALL!!”

“Damn, you think you know someone and it turns out he’s not even flamboyant with his illegal activities,” You give Sans the side eye, “To think that I admired you.”

“how did this get turned on me???”

“Not now, Sans. We gotta talk more about our new lives together,” You smile at Papyrus, “Seems like our schedules won’t clash very much. Next we should talk about what we’re expecting from each other.”

“WHAT? BUT I AM EXPECTING NOTHING FROM YOU.”

“yeah, same here.”

You raise an eyebrow, “Really now? So… you don’t expect me to pick up after myself if I leave my things around?”

“uh…”

“WELL…”

“What if after I shower, I leave a mess in the washroom with water puddles and towels everywhere? Oh God, and my hair?”

“YOU-YOU’RE HAIR…?”

“oh god, what about your hair?”

“In simple terms, I shed.”

“WHAT?!”

“oh…”

You start laughing, “This is what I mean! I get it if you’re trying to be polite, but telling me things like you expect me to clean up after myself is important.”

You continue with a more patient expression, “Which is another thing. I personally don’t mind helping with cleaning up around the house, but I don’t want it to turn into me doing ALL the cleaning ALL the time. I also don’t mind doing the cooking too, but if there are days when I don’t wanna do it, then it’d be great if you guys can take care of it. You get what I’m saying? Those are some things that I’m expecting from you two.”

“wow, someone even more responsible than papyrus,” Sans props his elbow on the table and leans his chin on his fist, “but i dunno if that’s sayin’ much if he’s not very responsible to begin with.”

“WHA—I AM CERTAINLY MORE RESPONSIBLE THANYOU ARE, THAT’S FOR SURE!” Papyrus huffs and crosses his arms, “[Y/N], YOU BRING UP VERY GOOD POINTS. I DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH YOUR TERMS.”

“same here, it sounds reasonable so far.”

“And, like, not to sound prissy, but I gotta point out the obvious fact that I’m a lady, and a human. This is a terrible combo because that means I’m a little more high maintenance than the average.” You pointedly shake your head, “Please, do not touch my things, and do not go through my things. I’ll try not to leave my crap out everywhere, but if you see a lady product here and there, just look away.”

“IS BEING A WOMAN SCARY, [Y/N]?”

“Oh, dude. Like you wouldn’t believe,” And that’s putting it gently, “This is all I can really think of right now. If there’s anything else really important you guys need to know, I’ll bring it up later.”

Papyrus strokes his invisible beard, thinking hard about something. You go back to eating your pie, and as you do so, Sans speaks up himself.

“in that case, i can’t really think of anything but this one thing,” Sans tries to hold up his pointer finger, but his mittens make it a little hard, “my room is off limits unless i tell you you can go in. capiche?”

You figured he’d say something about that eventually.

”Capiche. Not to sound like a maid, but if you—both of you, want me to clean your rooms, then I can help with that too.” You say with a wince, “I got real good at that when staying in the Ruins. I think I have to actually call it a hobby now.”

Sans snorts, “duly noted.”

“I REALLY CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING TO ADD,” Papyrus sighs rather dramatically, “PERHAPS… IF YOU ARE TO GO OUT ANYWHERE, MAYBE LET EITHER SANS OR MYSELF KNOW BEFORE STEPPING OUT. IF YOU SOMEHOW GET CAUGHT, OR IN TROUBLE, WE’LL AT LEAST KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.”

“Okay, I can do that,” You nod, “Uhhm… Oh! Uh, I should probably get a spare key eventually, right?”

“BY GOLLY, YOU’RE RIGHT!” Papyrus suddenly stands up, his hands on his sassy hips, “TOMORROW, WE WILL GO OUT TO GET A KEY COPY, AND PERHAPS OTHER MISCELLANEOUS THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED.”

“Oh, by the way,” You reach into your dress pocket and pull out your phone, “I should get your guys’ number. You never know, I might find a funny looking rock and I’ll need someone to tell it to.”

“YOU’D WANT TO TELL ME ABOUT A FUNNY LOOKING ROCK?”

“Of course, I would!” You hand over your shitty little phone.

“I CAN ALREADY TELL THIS IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP!!”

Sans stands up, “hey, [y/n]. mind helping with putting the table back?”

“Hm? Oh, sure.”

You guys have finished your pies, so you get the plates and forks off the table first and take them to the kitchen. You fully intended to take them to the sink, but…

“Aw shit,” You’re staring right up at the tall, tall sink.

Snap!

The plates and forks illuminate a soft, light blue before disappearing from your hands. You gasp and widen your eyes in surprise, then you hear a soft clink from above in the sink. You quickly turn around and make eye contact with the smiling skeleton. He just winks at you and motions for you to get back there.

You know what? You need to start getting used to that so you opted to not question it.

Papyrus hands your phone to Sans, and while the shorty is busy with entering his number in your phone, you and Papyrus move the table back together. The chairs were pushed in under the table and you also pack the pie back up and put it in their Food Museum.

…

One half is filled with different pastas, and the other half just has an empty bag of chips.

You’re going grocery shopping tomorrow, too. You cannot let them live like this. You feel bad you can’t clean the plates, but you can’t do much about it if you can’t reach it.

“SANS, CAN YOU READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY NOW?”

“sure thing, bro. get ready and i’ll meet you there.”

“[Y/N]!!”

You jump, “Papyrus!”

The tall boy bounces into the kitchen with a wide smile, “IT’S A SHAME THAT WE HAVE TO CUT IT SHORT FOR TODAY. BUT, TOMORROW WILL BE OUR OFFICIAL DAY OF FUN!”

“I’m looking forward to it, Papyrus. Seriously, I have to thank you again for taking me in.” You’re so thankful that you almost want to bow but you refrain from doing so.

“THERE IS NO NEED TO THANK ME. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, [Y/N]. IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, YOU CAN ALWAYS COME TO-”

“-me,” Sans interrupts swiftly and casually, “you know how cranky you get when you’re woken up in the middle of the night, bro. ‘sides, you have more trouble falling back to sleep than i do.”

“HM, YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT. THEN PLEASE, IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, YOU CAN ASK SANS.

You nod in understanding, “Roger. I’m staying up for a little longer, so you have a good night, Papyrus. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“GOODNIGHT, [Y/N]. MAY YOU HAVE THE GREATEST OF DREAMS.”

(Un)expectedly, Papyrus gives you a big hug, lifting you off the ground. You laugh and return the hug, patting his back in good faith. He sets you down gently as he did the last time, and walks out of the kitchen with a pep in his step.

What a cutie patootie.

Sans lingers back to return your phone to you, “wait for me, okay?”

You raise an eyebrow, “Oh… kay?”

He winks before leaving you alone in the kitchen. You roll your eyes with a smile and check the contact names they set themselves as.

—

sans

THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!!

Toriel the Beloved <3

—

You deadpan, changing Sans’ name to “Sansational.” Wait, “Snas” is funnier. But you also like “Sansational.” Hm. As a final decision, you change his contact to “Snasational.”

Kekeke.

Speaking of your contacts, you should call Toriel now. You walk out the kitchen and head up the stairs. When you’re quietly passing by Papyrus’ room, you can hear Sans’ baritone voice read out the title of “Pick-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny.”

How cute.

You go right down the hallway and walk out to the balcony. The time says it’s almost 8pm, but it still looks so light out. You feel a little tired, but not enough to sleep just yet. You put the device up to your ear, waiting for her to pick up.

Ring… Ring…

You lean forward on the balcony and cross your feet to get comfortable.

Ring…. Ring…

Rin-

“Hellloooo?”

You snort at the slurred tone, “Hey, mom. You good?”

“Oh, yesss. I had just… found this old bottle of Moonshine in the storage room, and-” She hiccups, “-I just wanted to have a little some.”

“Moonshine?” You grin and tease her, “Aw, really? Miss me so much already?”

“Pfft—Yesssss! I miss you alreadyyyyy! I don’t…” Her tone becomes somber, “I want you to come home soon…”

Uh oh.

Your smile slowly falls; memories of your other mother come to mind at Toriel’s behavior. You try to stop thinking about it. Toriel isn’t like her.

“I know, ma. But you’re going to be just fine without me, okay? And remember that I’m not going to be gone forever. And I’ll still call you as often as I can.”

“But you left…”

“You sent me away.” You remind her gently but assertively. “And for good reason, remember? This is going to be good for me and make me happy.”

“I did… I DID send you away…”

The line is quiet.

You sigh. “Hey, look-”

“I—I think *hic* I think I shhhould get some-some sleep,” Toriel sniffs grossly, making you wince, “You—You just forget about this, my little, little child.”

…No, you’re not going to just forget about it. It seems like something she seriously needs to talk about, but when she’s sober. For now, you’ll let her off the hook.

“Get some sleep, mom. And drink a lot of water before you sleep, okay?”

“I will, just for-just for you.”

You smile, “Goodnight, mom. I love you.”

Toriel whimpers as if she was going to start crying, “I love you too, my [Y/n].”

You wanted to change your mind and talk to her for a little longer, but she hung up on you first. You sigh heavily and put your phone in your pocket. You drag your hand down your face and shuffle your feet back so you can bend over a little more.

You know that awkward pose of leaning over something but when you arch your back like a slut then it’s just comfortable? Yeah, you do that. It’s the way of your life, you can’t help it.

Ohhh, Toriel.

You knew she liked to drink, especially wine before bed when she reads a book. But you didn’t think she was the type to drink her sorrows away. It’s taking a lot in you to not go to her right now to take care of her. That’s not your job, and you stopped doing that for any parental figure when you moved out at eighteen.

You stare out at the Waterfalls, feeling better at the scenery.

You REALLY like this balcony. You can tell the brothers don’t use this place very often since the snow on the rails and floor was perfectly untouched before you came along. You’ll ask Sans or Papyrus if they have an extra chair they can spare for you to bring out here.

Anyway, Sans said to wait for him? But you kinda just wanna finally take your shower and sleep. As you’re straightening up, the door behind you opens.

You turn around and nod at the skeleton, “Hey, bone boy.”

“hey,” He leans against the open door frame, “everything okay?”

“Okay as everything can be. So, what’s up? You needed something?”

“figured that i owe you for that creepypasta. you’re not satisfied with just one slice of pie, are ya?”

“Can’t say that I am. So, what do you got in mind?” You tilt your head, having a feeling that you know where this is going.

He takes out his right hand and points his thumb behind himself, “wanna come with me to grillby’s?”

Taglist:

@lemonboy011

@adriixboo

[learnfromjobs]

What's up, learners? It's your boy, the one and only LearnFromJobs, here to school you on the art of innovation and making a dent in the universe. You know who else was all about that life? The late, great Steve Jobs.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Jobs? That guy who made overpriced phones and wore turtlenecks like it was his job?" But hear me out, people. The man was a genius. A legend. A mythic figure in the world of tech.

You might not know this, but Jobs wasn't always the mastermind behind Apple's success. In fact, he got fired from the company he helped start. But did he let that defeat him? Hell no. He went on to create Pixar, revolutionize the music industry with the iPod, and completely change the game with the iPhone.

And let's not forget his signature move: the keynote presentation. Jobs knew how to work a stage like nobody's business. He could make you believe that a new phone was the greatest thing to ever grace the earth. That's the power of storytelling, people.

But it wasn't just about the products. Jobs was all about the user experience. He believed in simplicity, elegance, and intuitive design. He once said, "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." And boy, did it work.

So what can we learn from Jobs? Well, for starters, never give up. Even when things seem bleak, keep pushing forward. And always keep the user in mind. Don't just make something that looks cool; make something that makes people's lives better.

And last but not least, never underestimate the power of a good black turtleneck. Just kidding. Maybe.

[crisiscutie]

Why do you think some people think just because Hojo is unattractive to them, that somehow makes him not Sephiroth's father? Do they not consider that maybe Hojo looked like Sephiroth when he was young or maybe he got his looks from Lucrecia?

*cracks knuckles* You got me stepping into hot water, now. Disclaimer: Most of this is just my opinion.

I think this phenomenon also comes from the camp of people who just want Vincent to be Sephiroth's father. While people can hold differing opinions, the cold, hard truth is that Sephiroth is, without a doubt, Hojo's son. Not only by their physical similarities, particularly in 7R, but also by the several overlapping personality traits that they share. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If I recall correctly, they even have a similar laugh!

These strong similarities are also why Hojo projects on Sephiroth. His son is the living embodiment of his dream of transcending humanity through his scientific brilliance. He is also undoubtedly an abusive parent who displayed an unhealthy obsession with his child. He repeatedly endangered him, objectified him, and followed him obsessively. I mean, the Silver Elite existed before Sephiroth was even a teenager!

As for their personality traits, it's important to know Sephiroth and Hojo share a ruthless drive towards their goals. They do not care about morals and ethics. They will get what they want no matter what. Hojo also shares Sephiroth's intense narcissism and disregard for most humans. Yes, even pre-Nibelheim Sephiroth had shades of this as well. While Sephiroth's narcissistic tendencies can be traced back to his position as Shinra's prized weapon, it becomes more reminiscent of Hojo's narcissism after his descent into evil. I believe it's possible that Sephiroth suffers from a form of Acquired Situational Narcissism. Give that link a click to learn more about it.

Their physical similarity is debatable in older games, but in 7R? They share a much stronger resemblance. It's clear they have many similarities in their facial features, including their nose, lips, facial shape, hairlines, and so on. Of course, Sephiroth still has traits from his mother as well, some in personality and appearance. But boy, do some underestimate the similarities between father and son.

I also think a good deal of this phenomenon is due to Draco in Leather's Pants. Sephiroth is a tragic villain, but it's easy to forget that "villain" part as well. It's disgusting and tragic that our Crisis Cutie was subjected to such inhumane experimentation, exploitation, and other abuse which nobody should ever have to go through. But since Nibelheim, Sephiroth has become a sadistic and vicious man who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.

He deliberately seeks to hurt Cloud, his friends, and others. He takes great care in planning his words and actions accordingly. No one truly knows if Nibelheim Incident Sephiroth was acting out of his free will or was being controlled by Jenova, but I've always believed the former, with hints of Jenova's influence. From what I believed, his intense anger and feelings of despair, he took out his frustration on the innocent people living in the town he happened to be in, killing and hurting even children. The main characters, especially Cloud and Tifa, have good reason to fear and despise him.

Advent Children Sephiroth, I consider being pure evil. He sees everyone, even his own remnants, as tools to be used and he is out to make everyone suffer. I don't think some people understand how horrifying Geostigma is. The disease not only causes physical deterioration, which happens slowly and painfully, but it also viciously attacks your psychological state. You are feeling agony and despair in EVERY SENSE. And guess who makes up a majority of Geostigma victims? Children. Especially those who come from disadvantaged circumstances. Sephiroth had it out for everyone (especially poor Cloud) in that movie.

What makes Sephiroth interesting for me is his complexity. Even though he thinks he's above humanity, he demonstrates his humanity on multiple occasions, in subtle and obvious events. He finds solace and love in Jenova as he projects his motherhood fantasies onto her. He feels that both she and he were wronged by humanity, thus need to need to enact their vengeance on the world. And not only does he feel a strong sense of belonging with Jenova, but he also desires to carry on her mission of conquering and obliterating other worlds in the universe in her name. That is some serious devotion and love right there. I recall a moment in 7R where, after the party defeats the Jenova Dreamweaver, Sephiroth just looks so dejected as he picks up Jenova's body. Seeing an extension of his mother getting hurt is obviously upsetting for him.

Jenova is a tool for him to project his fantasies onto her, and with her being a blank slate, she can transform into anything he desires, his insecurities aren't present around her. But around Cloud and others, the insecurities are present. Sephiroth deflects to protect himself and to manipulate Cloud and the group. He is well-aware of the similarity between him and Cloud. Check out this gifset for an example of those common Sephiroth deflections.

As I said in my rules, we love the Crisis Cutie at his best and worst on this blog. Although Sephiroth is a tragic villain who did not deserve the horrific abuse he suffered, he made the conscious decision to continue a cycle of pain and hatred created by Shinra.

I'm crossing my fingers that Rebirth and Ever Crisis can capture the complexity of his character and give him the treatment he deserves. I don't want Sephiroth to be woobified more than he is already, but I also don't want his villainy to get overplayed either. I want to see more of Sephiroth's complexity and his identity crisis.

[applepiesupreme]

American Apple Pie

Pairing: Low/Mid Honor Arthur Morgan and female OC.

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Savigne Ricci is a temporary guest at the Van der Linde camp. Her path crosses with the enforcer of the gang, Arthur Morgan, and despite their differences, a relationship develops between them. Whole lot of smut and fluff, slow burn-ish.

AOC link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54945853/chapters/146337121

Chapter 23

Antoine's was renovating and they were supposed to be closed for five to seven days, depending on how the construction went. 

Savigne decided, no better time to get rich.

The restaurant allowed them to prepare and store their own meals if they used their own ingredients and most people used that offer to make themselves lunch or dinner for their breaks. She did, too, but now she took out the pizza dough balls she had left to cold marinate ahead of time so they can warm up by the time she arrived at camp. Chef Ecco sauntered over, curious what she was doing and nearly lost his god damn mind when he saw she had prepared pizza dough, praising her to high heaven and exchanging recipes with what he thought was the best dough and best pizza recipe. He shared with her the shops he acquired his cheese from, then even gave her a pizza peel from the kitchen as a gift. 

Ruth and her flock watched from a distance with scowls and Savigne basked in their disapproval.

She went to the open market in Saint Denis to shop for ingredients, strolling around, sniffing and tasting the vegetables, cheese and spices. It was no Grand Bazaar but Saint Denis was becoming more metropolitan by the week and she was impressed with the new, “exotic” food that was sprouting in the market.  

When she arrived in camp it was early afternoon, most folks were out to do whatever they did during the day, so she prepared the fire for the oven – it needed to be very hot for the pizza - and changed into comfortable clothes. 

She prepared the sauce and the toppings, then poured herself a glass of wine and sat at the table, watching the water. Mary Beth came over and Savigne poured her a glass, too. Mary Beth shared the story of the latest novel she was reading and she listened.

“That makes no sense.” 

“What makes no sense?” Mary Beth asked. 

“The man’s too perfect.”

“That’s the point” was the amused reply.

“No I mean it’s not realistic. He’s gorgeous. Strong. Clever. Rich. And a gentleman. And apparently also…you know…a great…lover,” Savigne concluded.

“And?”

“And – so he’s too perfect.”

“Ya saying men like that don’t exist?” Mary Beth grinned. 

“Have you ever met one? I know I haven’t.”

“Haven’t you?” was the teasing question.

“Are you trying to say that Arthur is perfect?” Savigne snorted. “Or that I am?”

“Perfection is boring," Mary Beth shrugged. "Besides, you’re perfect for each other, no?” Savigne shrugged. “Perfect” wasn’t the word she would use, but she had to admit that this was a relationship that should have failed and yet somehow didn’t. Who knew that she could fall into co-habitation with someone this easily, this comfortably? And someone like Arthur, too! Nobody would argue that both of them were difficult people to be around and yet, bizarrely it somehow worked. 

“You know how many bets I won thanks to you guys?” was Mary Beth’s gloating question.

“Bets?!”

“That’s right. Folks around here don’t understand you the way I do,” Mary Beth sighed. Savigne rolled her eyes. “Hey now, don't underestimate me. Ain't I the one who knew before either one of you did?”

“Hmmmmm…What else do you know, oh sage one?”

“I know the man is ensnared," Mary Beth pursed her lips, her eyes shifting to the oven. “Getting him hooked up proper, are we?”

“Why? Because I cook?” Savigne laughed. “It’s just food, what’s the big deal?”

“Just food,” she mumbled teasingly. “I don’t think Arthur has ever been spoiled like this before. It's not that you cook, it's that you cook for him.” She paused for a moment, then quickly retrieved her notebook to scribble in it. "Need to use this in my novel."

"You're writing a novel?"

"I am," she said smugly. "You're craftier than you look, you know. Maybe I should get some pointers from you."

“Right,” Savigne huffed, secretly pleased. “All I do is cook dinner. Happens to be my job anyway. You could even call it self-serving practice.”

The other woman hummed with a smirk. “Ain’t just dinner. It’s being cared for that he’s addicted to.”

“Not going to apologize for that!” Savigne mumbled, but her grin grew just a little wider. 

They watched Arthur arrive at camp and stroll over to talk to Dutch. Mary Beth drank the rest of her wine, gave her a knowing look and left. 

Savigne saw him walk over a few minutes later, eyeing the ingredients on the table. She got up and came around to hug him and kiss him on the cheek - a ritual she still stubbornly followed and he still stubbornly endured.

"You cookin' dinner?"

"Only if you're hungry," she said lightly. He grunted in affirmation and went to wash the sweat and dust off his hands and face.

She quickly flattened a ball of dough on the peel, spread the sauce, added the ingredients and pushed it into the hot oven. Few minutes later she placed it on the wood vegetable chopping block, cut it by pressing her palm on the spine of the knife and slapped his hand away. 

“You just watched me pull it out of the oven. It’s hot. Give it a minute.”

He grumbled a little and poured himself a shot of whiskey. She adjusted the corners of his napkin just so. “How was your day?”

“Fine.”

He finally noticed the side-eye she was giving him as he was staring at the steaming pie and took the cue: “Yours?”

“Glad you asked!” she started with enthusiasm. “Antoine’s is renovating. So I’m going to have a few days off.”

She slid the chopping block over and announced: "Pizza Margarita from Italy! Bon appétit!"

“So I was thinking…” she said, getting up to prepare the next pie on the peel, “…we can do something. If you have the time.”

By the time she sat down he had already eaten half of it. She knew that expression on his face and smiled with satisfaction. “Good, huh?”

“It’s from Italy, course it’s good,” he shrugged, grinning at his own cleverness. 

She pulled out the second pie, cut it and put it on a separate plate. He eyed the plate with some resentment as she took it to Jack.

When she returned, to nobody's surprise, he was finished. 

She sat down and sipped her wine. 

"That it?" He was looking the rest of the dough balls. 

“Do you have the time to do something together?”

“I got time,” he admitted carefully, possibly already guessing where this was heading.

Satisfied, she jumped up to make the next pie. Her fingers, quick and nimble with practice threw on the ingredients and slid the pie into the oven with the peel. 

She sat back down as he served himself another shot of whiskey. 

"We can...I don't know...go to Strawberry."

He gave her a look. “Lemme guess…ya wanna go treasure huntin’.”

She slid the second pie onto the block, cut it, then snatched it from his grasp. “You’re going to burn your tongue, wait a minute, Jesus!” She sat back down and sipped her wine. “And yes, that’s the idea.”

“Savigne…” he started, exasperated, but before he could say more Jack ran over and asked if there was more. 

"How the hell did ya eat that whole pie so fast?" Arthur protested and she rolled her eyes at the irony. Jack admitted that his mom and dad had each taken a slice, too. Arthur grumbled darkly at that. She pushed the block in front of him and prepared the next one while the two of them argued. 

"Five minutes, Jack. Did you like it?" 

“I loved it!”

"Can't have loved it if ya gave it away," muttered Arthur as he chewed. 

"Don't listen to him.” she quipped. She cut the next pie and placed it on his plate. "Be careful, it's hot." He ambled away carefully. 

She sat back down to sip her wine and met his gaze. 

"Well what about me?" 

"You had two pies," she teased. 

He glanced at the last ball of dough. "You want me to take ya, that it?”

“Pffft. I want to know if you’re coming along,” she said as she got up to prepare the pie. After she slid it into the oven: “I’m going either way. It’ll be an adventure.”

“That so?” he said, eyebrows raised as he poured himself another shot. 

“That so,” she confirmed, pulling out the pizza a few minutes later and sliding it on the chopping block. "I can do everything on my own just fine, thank you very much," she added as she cut the pie.

He was clever and waited until it was pushed in front of him before he said “Y’ain’t goin’ alone." 

"Don't tell me what to do!" Savigne growled with some heat.

He was expecting that and there was clear amusement to his tone when he spoke over the chewing. "Or what?"

"Or I'll do it," she grumbled, taking another mouthful of wine. 

He finished his pie, drank the rest of his shot, pushed the empty block aside and put his elbows on the table, leaning in.

"Well then," he sighed, his eyes twinkling, "I might have to…you know…punish ya." He watched the red blotches blooming on her cheeks. “Think yer overdue for a lesson.”

“Thanks to you we can never go back to the bath in Valentine!” she hissed. “I’m pretty sure the entire hotel heard us.”

“Course we goin’ back,” he grinned, leaning back in his chair and pulling out a cigarette. “And wasn’t us they heard, was you.”

"I wasn't there by myself, was I?"

"I got no problem with it," he shrugged smugly. 

She ran her palms over her face, annoyed how quickly and violently she blushed. Also annoyed how pleased he was with himself. Arthur had strutted out to the lobby that day like he had conquered Rome while she had run straight for the exit, not even attempting to pay the bill that week, mumbling that she was going to retrieve the horses.

“God, I can never look Bill in the face again,” she whined.

“The man works in a hotel,” he drawled. “‘M sure he’s used to it. ‘Sides…I liked it.”

"You know what - we’re doing separate baths from now on."

He hummed to himself, inhaling the smoke. "Ya actually think a door's gonna stop me," he mused, leaning on the table, the muscles in his wide shoulders rounding up. 

"You wouldn't dare.” He just chortled at her disbelief. "I think you're missing the bedroll, Mr Morgan.”

"That how you treat yer guide?”

A smile bloomed on her face. “So we’re going?”

He sighed. “Reckon findin' a pile of rocks gonna spare me years of naggin’.”

This stumped her because it implied that he thought they would be together for years to come. It’s just a figure of speech you fool, she mused and it was, but that didn’t matter much to her heart. 

She lied awake for a long time thinking on that, annoyed that her mind would start writing an epic novel because a few uttered words but unable to stop it. What would life be outside the gang with Arthur? What could a man like that do? He was good with horses, she thought, he could breed horses. Or maybe train them. He was good with a lot of animals, so maybe he could be a rancher. Or - twist of fate - bounty hunter. She scratched that possibility off the list. Too dangerous. Farmer? No, didn't seem fitting. It was hard to imagine him outside of his current environment, as if being an outlaw was part of his identity and this life was his natural habitat. What if he missed the social interaction with the gang? Sure, they had a fine time now but that's because he still had that. Removing the gang would rob him of all his friends and family and she couldn't picture him enjoying life without all that. Then again, he did enjoy solitude in nature, didn't he? Maybe he was more of a loner than she assumed. 

She jumped when he spoke up. "What ya cookin' in yer head?"

"I'm just excited," she said, irritated how much of a light sleeper he was and how, even with his back turned, he always knew when she was awake. "I'm going to be rich tomorrow."

He turned to face her and shifted closer. "Might have to rob ya then," he whispered.

"What if we really find a treasure?" she said more seriously a while later. We could do anything we wanted. We could both just pack up and go away. Start somewhere new. Together. She thought on how to ask these things and couldn't make the words come out. 

"I'll eat my hat, tell ya that," he mumbled sleepily. 

"Wouldn't mind seeing that" she sighed and settled into his chest before she drifted off.

The next morning they set out early. It was a long ride to Strawberry and they wanted to arrive before they lost the daylight. Arthur watched with fascination as Savigne whipped out a list and rattled off all the items she had decided they needed. He shot down half of them saying they're not traveling to Canada and there are towns in between, also game to shoot. There were some things on the list he just listened to incredulously like "extra matches, extra soap, extra boots, extra sling in case Cricket's basket sling got ripped etc" and dissuaded her only by reminding her how much Cricket would suffer under this "extra" weight and added that this was not how adventures worked. She relented. 

She prepared the horses as Dutch called him over, saying there is a job he needs Arthur to be on and when Arthur said that he will take care of it when he returns, Dutch’s eyes sought out and blazed at Savigne as if she had said it. She took some satisfaction in that.

They trotted out in the brisk morning air and she was unreasonably excited. 

"You know, this is my first time doing anything in the countryside," she remarked. "Are we going to camp under the stars?"

"Course we are," he said from ahead, "or was you aiming for a hotel, Princess?"

"I prefer the camping."

"Won' be glamorous, I tell ya that," Arthur grunted, sounding unsure what she was so excited about. 

"That's the point," she quipped. 

He waited patiently as she stopped several times to watch animals through her binoculars and then wanted to get off to look at some flowers she hadn't seen before. 

Overall it was a pleasant ride, cool and relaxed. There was a lady by the road who needed help and Savigne gave him a questioning look but he rode on as if she wasn't there and later said that she's always there and it's an ambush. This sobered her a little to dangers she wasn't aware of and she was glad he was with her.

Late afternoon they arrived to the outskirts of Strawberry but instead of heading into town, Arthur aimed north and a mile or so out said they needed to rest the horses by a stream. He told her not to go too far, that there were wolves and cougars around and Savigne didn't need to be told twice. 

An hour after they broke rest they arrived at a hill and for the first time she saw the three rock formations in the distance, reaching to the sky. 

Unfortunately her good mood turned when they arrived to the foot of a bridge. Arthur went right over it with Frost and she lingered behind, preparing. On the other side he noticed she wasn't following and came back. 

"What's the matter?"

"I need to prepare," she told him, locating her blindfold. 

"For?"

"Crossing the bridge."

He watched her put the blindfold on. "The hell ya doin'?"

She pulled it off, exasperated. "Why don't you go ahead, Arthur, I'll be there in a few minutes."

He didn't move, intrigued. She put the blindfold back on, arranged it just so and took a couple of deep breaths. 

She was about to lean over Cricket's neck when he spoke up, startling her: "Savigne, y'afraid of heights?"

"So what if I am?" she said, frustrated and pulled down her blindfold again. 

"Nothing," he said, his voice somewhat softer. "Just didn' know.'"

"You go ahead," she said, "Cricket will take me over, he knows what to do."

He looked like he was going to argue, then decided against it and left. She swallowed, tightened the blindfold and leaned over Cricket's neck, whispering for him to go. She felt him walking, slow and easy. The timbre of his hoof beats changed as they mounted the bridge and she shuddered. Slight sweat broke over her brow and she ignored it and instead, mentally went through the ingredients of chocolate pudding.

Cricket stopped once he was over and she took a deep shaky breath, sat back up and took off her blindfold. 

Arthur was waiting on her and he didn't comment further, just gave Cricket an appreciative look which she felt very proud about and they continued. When dusk set, he said they were camping there for the night because the rest of the way was too steep and treacherous to navigate in the dark. 

He prepared the fire and said he will see if he can hunt something even though they had food and left. She fished out the canned beans, canned tomatoes, vegetables and her spice set and prepared vegetable chili. 

He came with a rabbit and cleaned it and she prepared to grill it with salt, pepper and thyme while he washed off the blood on his hands.

When he returned they waited for the rabbit to cook, then she served him a bowl of grilled rabbit, chili and a slice of the sourdough bread she had baked in preparation the day before. He ate the whole thing in his usual hungry, no-nonsense manner and wiped the bowl with the bread, saying this was some fancy camp food and asked for more. After, the lighted his cigarette and pulled out the whiskey and she took a small glass, warming it in her hands.

The stars were out and it was a warm night, slightly breezy but overall calm and beautiful. 

"You know, I envy you," she said at some point. "You live like this all the time."

"I like being out here, that's true," he said, gazing at the sky. "Quiet."

"You can camp wherever you want, you can travel the whole country if you want to. Must feel very free."

He scratched his beard. "Yeah, it does."

"You think I could do it?"

"No."

She blinked at his short answer. "Why, because I'm a woman?" she asked evenly.

"Cause ya can't shoot," he said with a grin. 

She huffed. Then, carefully: "You ever think of life outside the gang?"

"Sure," he said, the campfire dancing in his eyes.

It had its challenges, to be with someone like Arthur. She couldn't read him, he was wildly different in his upbringing and values, and worst of all - he rarely expressed his opinions or his plans for the future. Sometimes - most times - he acted like he deeply enjoyed her company and that was all it was. Other times he made her think she was profoundly underestimating her importance to him. It was like being in a dark room and trying to feel her way around.  

"What does that life look like?" was her careful question.

He gave her a long look. "Hope to find out soon."

They were quiet for a while, watching the Moon move up. She was happy to be there, happy to be with Arthur, happy to be outdoors, in the country. Away from of camp he seemed more at peace, calmer, more balanced.  

"Ready for bed?" he said finally. 

She was tired from riding all day and nodded. She crept into his arms in the tent and was almost immediately asleep.

The next morning she was standing at the edge of a cliff, looking up at Arthur's amused face, then back down at the ravine. Then at the ledge across, then back at him. She took a step back, her palms sweaty. 

"Ughh...let's check the map again."

She took it out and spread it with trembling hands. 

"I'm not sure..."

"Clearly says we gotta jump over," he interjected smoothly.

She bit her lip, looked back at the ledge. "That can't be right, it's too far."

"Ain't that far," he lazily scratched his beard. 

She glanced back at the ravine. Her foot started tapping. The day felt unnaturally hot, so she loosened the top button on her blouse. 

"I'm thinking..."

A grunt of ‘go on’. 

"…thinking..."

He shifted on his feet, unperturbed. 

"…that maybe we should come back another time."

His eyebrows rose at that. 

"Clearly we don't have the equipment we need for this."

His gaze shifted to the ledge, then back at her. "What equipment ya need?"

"You know...climbing equipment. I can read a book. In fact, let's go to the library in Saint Denis! I can look it up and we probably need some pins and foot gear and hooks and a rope of course, scratch that, several ropes, then we need to practice somewhere, can't just start he-"

"Ain't comin' back here," he said casually. She opened her mouth to argue and he added: "Y’ain't either."

"But..." she sputtered.

"It's a jump. Ain't that far." The corners of his lips curled up.

"It's really high though."

He took off his hat, fanned himself a bit. "Thought you said you can do everythin' on yer own."

She pressed her lips together. "I can!"

"'Cept that," he said, pointing his hat to the ledge. 

"I can do that, too! I just need to learn-"

"How to climb the Rockies?"

She wanted to slap him so bad, her palm itched.

He put his hat back on. "I can do it." A thoughtful palm on his chin, "But..."

"But what?" she asked, annoyed. 

"Why would I?" The hint of a grin. The brute. 

"What do you mean, why? I told you we'll share the treasure!" She flapped the map shut with a huff. 

"And if there ain't any?"

"Well we won't know until we look."

"Hmmm..."

A few moments passed. Who knew when she might get time off again from work? He was such a prick, using her fear of heights against her.

"Need more'n that if I'm riskin' my neck," he sighed in a regretful tone.

"What, you want the whole thing?"

A dismissive shrug. "A whole of nothin' is nothin'."

"God! What then?"

He gave her a look. A long moment passed. She would have laughed if she wasn't so frustrated. 

"Seriously?"

He shrugged. "It's my price." Then a smug "Ma'am."

"This here isn't Cricket, you know."

He turned away. "Well then, let's head back while we got the light."

"Stop!" she laughed, defeated. "Stop! What do you want, a promise?"

"That'll do."

"You're insufferable, you know that?"

"What'll be, miss?"

"Alright, fine, I promise," she chuckled.

"Promise what?"

"I promise whatever. Christ, get over here already!"

He sauntered over, obnoxiously proud of himself. "Give it here."

She handed him the map and he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. She grabbed his arm before he could set off. "You better be careful," she added somberly. 

"Yes ma'am."

"I'm not kidding, be care-"

He jumped the gap and landed casually on the ledge. "God dam it!" she gasped, hand on heart. She ran as close as she dared. "What do you see?"

"Another ledge."

"Seriously?"

"Why, this here suppose t'be the only one in America?"

She cursed under her breath at how impossible he was today. "How far?"

He didn't answer and just jumped out of sight. Her heart flipped. "Arthur!"

"Calm down woman! You'll hear me if I fall, believe me."

"Very funny," she called over, but then decided it was better not to break his concentration. 

She sat down at a comfortable distance from the ledge, pulled up her knees and started to tap her foot. Should have gone for that climbing gear, she thought, waiting and reminding herself to breathe. The minutes ticked by so slowly on her pocket watch, she was starting to believe it was damaged. She jumped to her feet, went over to Cricket, petted him anxiously. Then she repeated it with Frost because you can’t just pet one horse and not the other. Then she went back and sat down again. Then she jumped up, checking her watch. It had only been five minutes. 

Five minutes after that she was so restless that she crept to the edge of the ledge and called out to him. He didn't answer which made her really nervous. Now she was running between the horses and the ledge and doing the same actions over and over again. Sitting down, getting up, petting Cricket, petting Frost, calling out to him, sitting down, getting up - she knew she was being stupid, but the compulsion was so strong, she couldn't resist. 

After what seemed like hours he called back. The relief that washed over her made her knees buckle. 

"What took so long?" she called, trying to calm her heart that was galloping in her chest. 

"Ain't easy hoppin' around with all this gold!" came the answer. 

"What?!! You serious?!!"

He jumped into view. Empty handed. He gave her a grin and she was compelled to find a gun and shoot him. 

"I fucking hate you!" she yelled. Then: "Be careful!"

He jumped back to her side and she swung her arms around his back. 

"Whoa woman," he chuckled, "y'alright?"

"I was worried," came her muffled response. 

Then she stepped back and slapped his chest. "You're enjoying this way too much!"

He clicked his tongue in amusement. 

She bent down, hands on knees, trying to regain her breath. "All that and we got nothing."

"Didn' say we got nothin'." 

"What!?"

He fished out a piece of paper. When she unfolded it, it turned out to be another map. 

Her eyes widened and she got all jittery. "Oh my god, ohmygod I knew it! The treasure map is real!!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "No it ain't. Just someone's idea of a prank."

"You telling me somebody jumped around these ledges here just to set up a prank?" she said with clear disbelief.

He threw out his arms. "Clearly."

She looked at the map, her excitement undimmed. "Only one way to find out! Where's this, I wonder?"

"I know where it is and we ain't goin' there," he said, wiping his brow. 

"Why not?"

"Dangerous."  

"You say that about everything!" He gave her a side eye. "Just tell me where it is, then."

"The hell I am," he huffed and walked away. "Knowin' you, you'll just run off there first chance."

"You're such a brute," she hissed. Then, calmer: "Charles might know." She saw the slight tensing of his shoulders as he was walking towards Frost. "He might even take me," she added with a drawl. 

"He ain't takin' ya if I say not to." He was fishing for his water canteen in the saddle, trying to hide his annoyance. 

"I might cook him a prize," she quipped, sauntering over. "If he hunts a rabbit, I can make him kouneli stifado. Greek rabbit stew." She knew she was pushing it because Arthur was irrationally possessive of her cooking and pettily disinclined to share it. The only person he made an exception for was Jack.  

"Woman..." he gave her a hard glare. 

"What?"

He huffed and stuffed the canteen back in, then gave her a long, intense look, walked over to the side, squared his feet and said "Come here."

Her eyebrows rose. "Don't think I wi-"

"Ain't you promised?" was the low growl. 

She blinked. "You're collecting now?"

"I am. Come here."

She eyed him head to toe to gauge if he was being serious. 

"Now, Savigne." he said, his tone more serious, less playful. 

She walked over and stood in front of him, suddenly excited. He cupped her chin and gave her a long crushing kiss. When he broke it, she was breathless. His eyes crawled over her body. "Strip." He said with a low voice.

"Here?!"

"Here."

"But..."

"Ain't nobody 'round for miles." She almost shivered at the way he was looking at her. Then again the command: "Strip!"

She stepped back and started to unbutton her blouse. She glanced around nervously, there was nothing but rocks and trees. But it was daytime and in the open and he had asked her to take off her clothes, this was way outside her comfort zone. She stripped out of her blouse, her boots, her jeans, then her underwear, standing stark naked in front of him, resisting the urge to tap her foot. He watched her with hooded eyes, hands on gun belt. She hugged herself with the instinct to cover her nakedness but he waved an arm.

"None of that."

She bit back her argument and dropped her arms to her side, twitching nervously on her feet. He would take any objection as a challenge and enjoy squashing it, so the best thing to do was to comply completely. 

He came to stand in front of her, then slowly circled her, his left hand gliding over her leg, her stomach, a breast, a shoulder blade, her spine, a butt cheek, waist. Despite the urge to cover herself, she felt her exhilaration still present, pulsing in the background. His other hand smoothly slid off her tie and he ran his fingers through her hair to loosen it over her back. After a full circle he kissed her again, aggressively. 

"On your knees," he whispered into her ear. 

She sunk down, feeling herself getting wet. She looked up at him. His face was unreadable but his eyes were dilated and full of want. 

He dropped his gun belt to the ground, then very slowly unbuttoned his jeans, watching her. She didn't break eye contact and kept very still. His cock sprang to his hand, eager and ready but he was calm and calculating as the fingers of this other hand glided over her jawline and his thumb pushed between her lips. She suckled at it without looking away and his jaw muscles clenched at the action. He moved closer and she didn't need to be told, she leaned in and closed her lips on the head, twirling her tongue. 

A low moan fell from his lips. He had never asked her again after the first time she had done this and she hadn't offered, curious how long he would go without asking. She knew he had enjoyed it greatly that night. But that night she had initiated it and she had been in control. Today he wouldn't allow her that. 

His hand cradled the back of her head and he urged her to take him in further and she relaxed her throat and did that, moving up and down his shaft. His eyelids fluttered and he moaned again, whispering her name as he kept their gazes locked. She moved slow and suckled gently when she reached the head, then back down, taking him in further and getting more and more wet herself, the tingling between her legs now clouding her mind with need. His lips fell apart and he started panting louder, a slight tremble to his legs. Her hands crawled up to his thighs, resting on his hips and she finally sheathed him completely in her throat and he cursed softly, his eyes gliding to his cock disappearing and reappearing between her lips. She felt him harden even more and swallowed, feeling another shudder go through his legs with it. 

He inched closer, moving against her now, gently pushing in and out as he held her head in place. She continued to hold the eye contact as he increasingly became more excited, a flush creeping up his face, the fingers on the back of her hand curling into a fist on her hair, his peals of moans more lustful. There was a look of dominance on his face, a look of power and it turned her on immensely. But in the back of her mind, suddenly the urge to rebel. To turn the tables. 

She tasted his precum and felt him slowing down. His legs trembled as he fought the urge to come. Given that he had told her to strip, she imagined he had other things in mind. Well but so did she. She raised her tongue to increase the friction and he moaned absentmindedly at that. Then she removed one of her hands from his hip and slowly moved it to her breast. His eyes glided over, fascinated as she gently brushed and cupper her breast, then continued moving her hand over her stomach. His breathing gained pace again and despite himself, so did his pumping. She hummed and his eyelids fluttered with pleasure, but his eyes were glued to her hand as she moved it lower still, over her upper leg, the inside of her thigh, then back up, up until she separated two fingers and glided them further, over her folds, then curled them at the knuckle and pushed them in. 

He hardened in her mouth and bent forward with a gasp. She thought she had him but suddenly her hair was pulled back with a sting and he slipped out. “Gettin’ bold, are we?” he growled, dropping on his knees in front of her. He bent her head with the grip in her hair before he crushed her lips, then left a trail of kisses down her throat before a suckled on a breast hard enough to make her arch and whimper.

”Turn around,” was the rough command. She scrambled to turn her back to him, remaining on her knees. The slap on her buttocks felt like someone had pressed a sheet of fire against her skin. She took a sharp breath and his left finger slid into her and her intended gasp turned into a moan. His cock pressing against her back was rock hard and distantly she marveled at his self control. She squirmed against it and he groaned with the friction. The harder slap that followed made her jump. The finger in her curled and she moaned so loudly, she could have sworn that she heard and echo of it bounce around. His large hand fondled her sensitive cheek as he curled his finger again and she whimpered, torn between pleasure and pain.

There was something obnoxious about doing this in a clearing in broad daylight, stark naked while he was completely dressed behind her. Obnoxious and exciting at the same time. The things this man could make her do! He removed his finger and pushed his cock into her. She was so wet, he slid in comfortably despite his size. His left hand found hers and pressed it flat on her belly, keeping it there as he pulled out and bucked back in.

”Feel that?” he whispered against her ear. “Feel me takin’ ya?”

She felt him under her palm, moving in and out, splitting her and moaned again. “Yes.”

His right hand squeezed her inflamed butt cheek, his left hand still on hers as he continued his slow pumping. She whimpered with excitement and pain and he hardened in her. He pushed her left hand down to her folds, placing his fingers on hers to make her caress herself as his bucking sharpened. She panted when he suckled her earlobe. She felt herself getting closer and he knew her well enough to notice it. His right hand flew up to her chin to turn her face. “Wanna see it,” he whispered as she moaned uncontrollably under the assault of his fingers, moving her own.

He must have seen her crest that peak dozens of times by now but his appetite for it never slackened. The hunger to see her vulnerable, naked, completely at his mercy, in submission to his power and to the need only he could grant her was voracious.

Suddenly, just at the verge, his fingers forced hers to still and his bucking slowed down. She moaned with frustration. “Ask me for it,” was his low command.

Savigne flustered at his self control to pull back even now, when he was as close as she was. It was freakish compared to hers. Her muscles clamped around his cock, trying to force him on. “Please,” she whispered when he wouldn’t relent.

”Please what?”

A distant part of her rebelled and he must have seen it on her face because he slowed even further and removed her left hand from her folds. She panted with need, stuck between the primal need to scratch that itch and her pride. His right hand dropped to her breast, fondling it as he glided in and out of her with agonizing slowness. This was his new thing now - forcing her to ask him for things. Breaking that wall brick by brick. 

”Please…” she swallowed, “…let me…oh..." she shuddered and whimpered.

"What's the word, little bird?" he sighed into her ear, kissing the cheek that was turned to him, his beard scratching her shoulder.

"...sing." she gasped. 

He hummed with approval and pushed her to fall on her hands, jerking her ass towards him. He pulled on her shoulders, arching her back as he increased his pace. In the back of her mind, the notion of how she had started off the year not understanding what the big deal about sex was only to become a woman who let herself be stripped and taken in broad daylight in a clearing. You think you know yourself, she thought dimly but all her thoughts scattered like smoke in the wind when he leaned over her, beard scratching her back, fingers gliding over her folds. He relentlessly brushed, caressed, massaged until her moans turned into guttural gasps and her final cry bounced between the walls of the chasm. A moment later a rumble on her back, a stuttering of grunts in her ear and the wetness of his warm seed inside her. They remained like that for a few moments, panting and baking under the sun. He sat back and pulled her with him to sit in his lap, his hands circling her waist and pressing her into his chest. She lied against him, trying to come down from her peak, her nakedness completely forgotten.

”Enjoyed this trip more than I thought I would,” he drawled and kissed her neck.

"So…about this next spot..." she panted.

He chuckled darkly. “Tell ya what. You make me some of that kuneli stuff, maybe I'll think 'bout it."

[zealfruity]

Clones as Incorrect Quotes 1/2 Master Post (Canon-compliant and Standard Fix-It AU version) Ft. Jedi Disaster Trio

Unholy mixture of random generators, unsolved/ghost files banter, and things my friends have said

Occasional spoilers following below

A few notes for these: Tup is NB he/they. Hardcase is genderfluid. Vaughn is agender they/them. Jesse has no idea how any of this works, someone help him. NO CLONESHIPPING OR JEDI TRIO SHIPPING HERE!

Kix: Underestimate me. That'll be fun.

*Dogma is casually searching around the room*

Jesse: Hey Dogma, what're you looking for?

Dogma: My will to live.

*Tup walks into the room*

Dogma: Oh, there it is.

Hardcase: Assert your dominance over your friends by kicking them in the face, and then giving them a little smooch on the forehead!

S7 501st Trooper: Didn't you die?!

S7 Echo: That was weeks ago, dude. Things change.

Dogma: Have I ever told you that you cook well?

Hardcase: Awww, no, you haven't!

Dogma: So why do you keep cooking?

Crosshair, pointing to the wall: What color is this?

Hunter: Gray.

Tech: Grey.

Crosshair, turning to Wrecker: Now tell them what color you think it is.

Wrecker: Dark white.

Tup: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

Rex: Now, the recipe calls for 2 shots of vodka.

Rex: *upends the bottle*

Hardcase: I was put on this earth to do one thing.

Hardcase: Luckily I forgot what it was so I can do whatever I want.

Rex: Do not come over to my house. If the house is on fire you may knock once, if I don't answer assume I set the fire and I want to burn to death.

Blackout: I'm not superstitious... But I am a little stitious.

Hunter: You’re jealous.

Crosshair: Jealous?

Hunter: That’s why you were being so negative about this.

Crosshair: That’s absurd. I’m always negative.

Waxer: Just took a personality test and got an A+.

Tup: Shouldn't get stressed out, it's not good for the baby.

Fives: What baby?

Tup, crying a bit: Me.

*Disneyland, in the teacups*

Kix, Jesse, and Rex: *spinning a little and talking*

Fives and Hardcase: *flying past them, spinning as fast as they can, screaming*

Kix: Isn’t this a bit dangerous?

Fives: Kix, please. We’ve been in a lot of unexpected predicaments before and we always escape unhurt.

Kix: ...

Fives: Okay, we sometimes escape unhurt.

Kix: ...

Fives: Alright, we escaped unhurt once... Then we hurt ourselves on the way home.

*Comments under an image of a lightsaber cutting bread*

Jesse: Imagine stabbing someone with this.

Kix: It would instantly cauterize the wound, so the person wouldn't bleed, so it's not very useful.

Fives: if you want information it is

Hardcase: why would you stab a person when you can have TOAST?

Rex: Hardcase is late again.

Fives: How did this happen? I called them at 8 o’clock this morning and pretended it was 11.

Kix: I printed up a fake schedule for them saying we were starting at 9 instead of noon.

Jesse: I set their clock to say PM when it’s really AM.

Rex: Oh boy. We may have overdone it.

*Hardcase bursts through the door*

Hardcase: WHAT TIME IS IT?

Kix: Where is everyone?

Hardcase: Tup had a nervous collapse, Jesse is looking after him, Rex is trying to kill Fives, so I’m in charge.

Kix: Oh my god!

Hardcase: I know, right?

Hardcase: I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.

Dogma: I have that dream, too, but you go in the other direction.

Kix: Your lover doesn't have the mental strength to caramelize onions.

Echo: Your lover thinks it takes 5-10 minutes to caramelize onions.

Jesse: Who's fucking caramelizing onions? Have you sociopaths forgotten that apples exist?

Fives: Do you think caramelizing onions is putting caramel on onions.

Hardcase: Don’t be sad!

Tup: Why not?

Hardcase:

Hardcase: I don’t have a good answer.

Dogma: You have friends and I envy that.

Tup: You're welcome to share my friends.

Dogma: *looks at Hardcase and Fives*

Dogma: I don't want those.

Fives, T-posing in the doorway: Greetings, Captain.

Rex, not looking up from his caf: Good morning, problem child.

(Post war, Jesse’s a farmer on a farm)

Jesse: I need 28 lightbulbs for 28 ducks.

Tup: Ducks can’t eat lightbulbs?

Kix: I think that’s the point.

Jesse: Exactly. I want my ducks to glow so I can find them.

Vaughn: Could you guys at least try to see this from my perspective?

Jesse: *crouches down*

Appo: *kneels down*

Sgt. Fox: *sits on the floor*

Vaughn:

Vaughn: I hate all of you.

Cody: Wow, this parking is as straight as I am.

Wolffe: I know I should be focused on the fact that you just came out, but HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY PARKING!

Fives: I have met some of the most insufferable people. But they also met me.

Omega: WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?! HE COULD HAVE HAD HOPES AND DREAMS, HE COULD HAVE HAD A FAMILY!!!

Hunter: Omega-

Hunter: It- it was just an ant-

Echo: Unfortunately, due to several experiences in my youth, I cannot just 'walk up and join a circle of people talking', but it does sound lovely, thank you.

CF99: I think it's time to start fucking some shit up.

Rex: Oh no.

CF99: More like "oh yes!"

Rex: Hardcase! Have you no dignity?

Hardcase: Of course not! How long have we known eachother?

Fives: *running towards Dogma with open arms*

Dogma: *moves out of the way*

Fives: Hey, why'd you move?!

Dogma: I thought you were going to attack me.

Fives: I was going to hug you!

Dogma: Why would you hug me?

Fives: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?

Fives: Guess what number I’m thinking of.

Jesse: 420?

Fives: No, that’s really immature of you. Someone else guess, and please take this seriously.

Hardcase: 69.

Fives: Yeah it was 69.

Hunter: How petty can you get?

Echo: I once edited a Wikipedia article to win an argument I was wrong about.

Tup: Fives, sir, I am questioning your sanity...

Dogma: I never questioned it, I knew his sanity was missing from the start.

Thorn: Your future self is talking shit about you right now.

Fox: Jokes on him. I'll ruin his fucking life.

Fox: I only have two emotions: exhaustion and stress. And I’m somehow always feeling both simultaneously.

Kix: Hi, I'm Hardcase’s emergency contact.

Counter Guy: You're here to pick him up?

Kix: I'm here to remove myself as his emergency contact.

Cody, confused and exasperated: Waxer, how do you plan on telling a bear to go vegan?

Waxer: Politely.

Hardcase: If you spell skeletons backwards, it still spells skeletons.

Kix, deadpan: Wow, I can't wait for Halloween to see some snoteleks.

Echo: You’ve got to learn to love yourself.

Omega: But don't you hate yourself?

Echo: Yeah, but this is about you. Stay focused.

Hardcase: Hey droids! The boys are here!

Fives: “That’s a guy I wanna share a cold one with." Is what Bigfoot would say. About me.

Echo, about the Force: I'm bad at feeling. I wanna be swept up in this. I really wanna believe in something outside the norm of, you know, physics.

Rex: I've lived my life by one adage, and that's don't fuck with Sith!

Jesse, talking abour an insectoid creature from a holofilm: I’m just saying that if I were a bug I’d boink him.

Tup: If I were a bug I’d do a little bug dance.

Fives: My shoulders hurt from being so charismatic.

Jesse on Naboo leave: Why is the toilet paper scented here. It’s like rubbing my ass with some fckn lilies.

Hardcase: Would you notice if someone’s ears were a different color than their face?

Kix: You are literally the dumbest bitch I have ever met I love you so much.

Hound: Guys I did it again i took one of Grizzer’s pills

Fang: how the fuck

Wolffe: I don't trust pears they're sensual for no reason and then taste stupid.

Hound: I suddenly got really sad at the thought of eating my dog.

Boost: The leader never stops leading in true alpha fashion.

Sinker: please never say that again or I’ll call mutiny.

Jesse: Not to be political but idk what the fuck oatmeal is either man

Hardcase: *wears girl ring on one hand and boy ring on other hand* im so gendr

Bly: I am like one inconvenience away from deleting all my emotions and replacing them with disco.

Fox: Don’t date me unless you have a sexual preference for walls.

Echo: Me trying to fit my scomplink in the scomp-port of a computer is the equivalent of a man trying to finger a woman’s clitoris.

Tup: My head hurts. I think I'm dying.

Jesse: I have a cheesing appointment with your mom in half an hour.

Cody, threateningly: Your mouth is a fancy ballroom and I am a bitter man about to spike the party punch.

Echo: Here are two pictures. one of them is your room, and the other is the garbage dump.

Wrecker: *points at a picture* That one is the dump.

Echo: tHEY'RE BOTH YOUR ROOM!

Echo: It smells like henway in here.

Tech:

Echo: Tech.

Echo, forcefully: Doesn't it smell like henway in here?

Tech: *sigh*

Tech: What's a henway?

Echo: OH ABOUT TEN POUNDS!

Hunter: We are not mad. We are just disappointed.

Echo: No, we are mad.

Hunter: Yes. We are. We are livid. But we are going to let this one slide.

Echo: No, we’re not!

Hunter: I am not a mind reader, Echo!

Omega: I did it! I memorized everything in the book! I'm gonna ace this test!

Hunter: Ok, Omega, I'll give you one more question before you go. What ended in 1918?

Omega: 1917.

Hunter: ...You're ready.

Obi-Wan @ Anakin: Why do you always have to insult the ghost of the place we're at?

Anakin: What’s up with Obi-wan? He’s been laying on the floor for like….an hour now?

Ahsoka: He’s just a little overwhelmed.

Anakin: Why?

Ahsoka: Commander Cody smiled at him.

Anakin: Is this a good idea?

Anakin: Probably not.

Anakin: Do I care?

Anakin: No.

[astrum-aetherium]

helloo dear,

today i bumped my knee (again) now its very much bruised.

infact my friend compares me to an apple ( she punched my shoulder playfully once very lightly still in the matter of 2 minutes it bruised).

this made me think about henry as you have discussed in this wonderful blog of yours he is strong and probably leaves a hefty amount of bruises.

so i can see amongst the other bruises 2 purple handprints on my hips, like the whole hand ( it happened once before only on my wrist ) . i just see it.

well its been a pleasure.

see you probably very soon.

-A

oh, he would absolutely leave behind the most vivid and lasting of bruises — (mostly) unintentionally. you could write volumes upon volumes of poems about the interchanging, varying colors of the blooming marks. he could never be quite able to calculate his force, especially in regard to handling you, always underestimating the effect his touch may have on your frame in comparison to his much larger and stronger one.

i can even see him being terrified with his own doing in the aftermath — seeing what he has done, your body donned in all those marks. admittedly, it would thrill him, but mostly alarm him, despite your many reassuring remarks that you don't mind and would always tell him if anything were amiss or not okay otherwise. he wouldn't have it, though. if you ever felt him holding back, you'd encourage him to employ his fullest force, which would always result in some kind of lasting remnant upon your skin, and it would enthrall you.

that doesn't mean he wouldn't be apologetic. as a giver and someone who would be prone to spoiling someone he was overly fond of, i see him repaying you for the bruises with something you could cover them up with — lavish, expensive garments; luxurious make-up; pretty accessories. above all, however, you'd prefer him apologizing for them physically — by tracing the marks with his hot lips, drumming his fingertips against them, or even exacerbating them by sucking greedy kisses into them. and so on and so forth.

ahhh.

[4nt1chri5t]

Whispers of Betrayal - fem!readerxDracoFF

Originally published on Wattpad - Whispers of Betrayal by Alaskas_ice (me)

4 - 'Introductions - Or not?'

"And she believed you? That?" Nott asked incredulously, still holding a piece of bread in his hand.

"Of course she did, why wouldn't she? Did you even listen to what I just told you?" Malfoy questioned him. His friends really underestimated him sometimes, not taking him seriously at all. Malfoy felt that sometimes they needed to be reminded of who he was, or who his family was.

"I heard you, Malfoy. But I thought she was smart. And someone with a little intelligence would understand - even with no memory - that everything you seem to have told her was utter nonsense. Are you sure she wasn't just making a fool of you? Or that you are even making a fool of yourself?" Nott countered, making Zabini laugh and Crabbe soon joined in.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at Nott's rude remark and slapped Crabbe's head, making him stop giggling. He may have had Crabbe and Goyle as his little servants, but Zabini and Nott weren't going to just obey his orders and were quite witty.

"Shut it, Nott. I don't even understand what you're getting at. Why can't you just think for a second and understand how my actions contribute to the ultimate downfall of Potter? Or are you just too simple-minded to understand that at all?" Malfoy sneered, leaving Nott unimpressed and already thinking of a good retort. "Anyway, Parkinson's is finally out of our hands and (Y/L/N) will soon prove to you that everything I've explained is the result of a skillful manipulation that none of you could ever master or even think of."

"To be honest, Malfoy, I enjoyed seeing Parkinson as your one true love. You two made quite a couple," Zabini interjected. "But I guess (Y/L/N) could finally be an intelligent opponent for our daily little discussions if what you told us was true or even successful. Still, won't you miss the attention of a girl in your league?"

"In my league? Parkinson was clearly nowhere near 'my league'! And (Y/L/N) would really fall for my charms if she didn't already..." Malfoy was cut off by the noisy laughter of Zabini and Nott.

Now they were finally completely pissing him off. They were clearly not worth his time or presence. So he picked up a green apple from the table and stood up. "You'll see. Just don't be such idiots and ruin the plan as soon as she shows up," he said threateningly as he walked away.

He had already told her about 'their' group of friends the night before, since she had so many questions about them. Now he just hoped that they wouldn't screw things up the first time she saw them as her friends. And although he had been worried about Crabbe and Goyle yesterday, because they were pretty big idiots - now he was more worried about stupid comments from either Nott or Zabini. Still, he figured he'd do whatever it took to make his plan work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Y/L/N) was still in the hospital wing. The first two people to visit her were the two orange-haired boys who'd found her the day she'd been lying in the courtyard.

She immediately thought of the orange-haired boy Malfoy had told her about the night before, but even if they were related, she enjoyed talking to them after a while. They introduced themselves as Fred and George and were quite a humorous duo. She could almost tell from the second they appeared in the hospital wing that they were two mischievous individuals she could probably trust. But she didn't say much to them, remembering what Malfoy had told her about what they had found out and what a hold the trio of friends had on her.

Later, Malfoy checked on her again to make sure that no one but him was trying to get into her mind. To his surprise, it turned out that Potter and his friends hadn't even turned up. It could be because of the Triwizard Tournament, but it still seemed odd. Did they really not care that much about her? Whatever it was, it played into his hands.

While he was telling her about the lessons they would have had that day, building even more trust between them, the pale girl appeared. Her eyes first landed on Malfoy, who was sitting by her bed, which made him a little nervous. Her expression, however, remained the calm and gentle one she always had. She strutted over to the bed, not seeming to be irritated by the situation and how strange it would've been a week ago.

"Hey, I'm Luna," she said to (Y/L/N). She had obviously heard the whole thing about the memory loss and how she didn't remember anyone's name or personality.

"Nice to meet you, Luna. Uh, well - more like to meet you again, I guess." (Y/L/N) said with a rather uncertain tone. Looking at Malfoy, who had maintained a soft and neutral smile - even though he was still suspicious of the whole situation - gave her some sort of comfort that Luna wasn't a bad person. The way he acted when talking about people he clearly disliked, she would have noticed by now if she was one of them.

Luna stayed for about half an hour and didn't seem to mind Malfoy's company at all. He guessed that she was just one of those people who didn't ask questions, but rather was there when you wanted to tell her something or give you some kind of advice.

"Well, she was a bit strange." (Y/L/N) said and chuckled, making Malfoy chuckle too. He was really proud of how well he was keeping up the charade.

As soon as Malfoy had to leave to do some homework before dinner, Madame Pomfrey examined (Y/L/N) for any head trauma, wounds or scratches she hadn't seen before. It turned out that, apart from her memory loss, she was perfectly well and free to go if she wished. She decided she was ready to go, although she would be on her own for the time being. Madame Pomfrey accepted her decision, although she was concerned about her ability to find her way through the school's terribly confusing corridors, which sometimes left even fifth years wandering the halls without any idea where they were.

As soon as (Y/L/N) stepped out of the hospital wing, a strange sensation ran through her body. She remembered exactly where her common room, the Great Hall, her classes and everything else was. It just felt like intuition to her, so she started walking towards the Slytherin common room. On her way, she bumped into a few other students and got a few confused looks, since it was news that she had just woken up after her incident today.

As she entered the Slytherin common room, those looks only intensified. Parkinson, a name she could somehow remember, seemed to get sick at the sight of her entering the common room, so she rushed to the girls' dormitory and brushed past her. (Y/L/N) didn't want to be bothered by the looks though and just wandered off to her dorm, which she remembered, to put on some new clothes and get ready for the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She arrived at the Great Hall in time for dinner. On the tip of her toes, she started to look for her apparent group of friends to sit with them.

Malfoy's arrogant grin widened as he saw her heading their way. He gave his friends a look that almost clearly meant 'I told you so' and then turned to her to give her another calculated smile.(Y/L/N) sat down next to Malfoy and greeted everyone in the group.

"Because of your lost memory, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Theo-""Oh yes, I know." (Y/L/N) interrupted him as she put a bit of everything on her plate and took a sip of pumpkin juice, as she hadn't eaten well in days. "Draco told me everything."

"Oh, Draco did that?" Nott said with a smug grin. "What did he tell you?"

"Everything, at least everything I need to know. Like that you're a smug bastard," she said, making the grin disappear from his face and the others burst out laughing. Malfoy looked particularly proud of what he had done. Maybe this wasn't just an exhausting plan against Potter, but actually quite amusing if she was that quick-witted.

During dinner, (Y/L/N) felt a few stares burning into the back of her head, so she turned to look at the Gryffindor table. She spotted the three of them looking at her in disbelief. Not speaking, as if frozen in place. She gave them a sinister grin, to let them know that this wasn't over. To let them know that she knew everything. Or... did she?

[haveaclock]

I am the most laziest person alive

I finally finished OC week after six days of non-procrastination..

what was I doing? .. Everything Total Drama nothing CS.

@carmensandiego-ocweek

Day one I actually made a drawing, with my fingers, because no, my dear readers I do not, have an iPad, nor do I have an apple pencil.

And whenever I draw with my fingers I put absolutely no effort into it because it's going to be a waste of time if I do but regardless it's awful.

Day 1: intros!!

Shánzi (Zhéngyì Beifong)

Shánzi is an VILE operative,origins from China, no you'll never catch the man smiling, he's never happy, and will never ever be. His choice of weaponry are just a mere pair of fans, but don't! Don't! Do not underestimate him, fans are some formidable weapons. He's usually unfazed by most things (though the lack of smile) but just, don't even mention anything regarding his past to the man, you might be–sliced and chopped.

Sparkle Shot (Millie Schmit)

Unlike her partner, Shánzi. Sparkle Shot, orgining from Germany, is happy all the time and "fun" to be around if she's not trying to end your life. Everywhere she goes glitter must be there and if there's none she'll sparkle it up! She was always a wild child. Her choice of weaponry would look more effective than her partner's, she carries an entire arsenal with her, but mainly uses her guns.

Robin Ernest (last name change is in due)

Robin is not in any way a wrongdoer. Originating from Tanzania (I'm going to change that probably.) She is one of ACME's most important agents. She will be the next chief when Chief Fraser retires from position , But for now, she is like Lieutenant. Though despite her role, she is surprisingly, calm and lazy, you'll find her slurping on some frappe on the job. That doesn't make her less important! She is extremely skilled in smarts and arts so whatever you do, don't slap the frappe out of her hand.

intros done!!

Now take random things I have here

"Woah Clock you're a gacha kid?! Cringe alert!!!"

"I'll shove uluru into your mouth"

Day 2: mission!!

Take the link and read. Okay I'll take the link

Day 3: Relationships!

Now take this one please

but why

Okay, I'm not sure if it's taking you to chapter 2..but there's a chapter 2..

Day 4: tragedy!!

I love angst the way I love my father..

so I was looking at the prompt for day 4 and I'm like.."didn't I do this 2 years ago"

incredibly cringe in need of a revamp but for now this because I'm somehow getting stressed by the fact no I can't draw full body

linky link

and linky link #2

Day 5: Mentorship

no comment

actually yes comment READ THE TRIGGER WARNING!!

Day 6: Favourite character

I was like "I dont wanna draw Nevada again.."

El Topo looks like Nevada - proud American

Day 7: La.Femme.Rouge.!!

I'm like "no...I cant.." then I'm like "wait minute! don't I have Carmen on file in Gacha?!"

..

yea

omg it's actually done so horribly...

It looked decent but then I had technical difficulties and I had to restart and I was just fed up..

But anyways..

IM FINSIHED!!!!

Yay!!

(I was finished a day ago..but it never saved on Tumblr..)

@carmensandiego-ocweek