#and dialogue around him was always about how young he was and how far he'd go in life

[roaringheat]

HOSEA AND LENNY??? UR SHITTING ME RN

[dailydemonspotlight]

Sandman - Day 132

Race: Night Arcana: Strength Alignment: Neutral-Chaos October 22nd, 2024

Mr Sandman, sand me a man. Make him the cutest man car door hook hand.

Dreams have always been an incredibly curious part of human existence as a whole, and many different cultures around the world have looked for ways to explain the phenomenon, one that we, even now, don't fully understand. After all, even with our relative understanding of why they form and how they work, dreams are still a bit of a mystery in the terms of their purpose. This brings us to back in the day, however, when we knew even less- dreams were even more obscure in their origins and their role, and as such, like many things, people looked to folkloric explanations. Case in point, our subject, the Sandman: the bringer of dreams in traditional European folklore.

Traditionally a Scandinavian being, though one that spread throughout much of Europe, the Sandman was a popular figure that existed to help people fall asleep and grant them dreams. One of the earliest accounts we're aware of, being an 18th century German dictionary of the supernatural, speaks of just this, as 'der Sandmann kommt' (literally 'the Sandman comes') was an idiom used to refer to someone who looked like they were just about to sleep. The phrase was also typically used to refer to a child who would rub their eyes, or alternatively had rheum under their eyes upon waking up, and essentially was a joke about the fact that the Sandman had thrown sand in their eyes while they were asleep/to make them fall asleep.

However, as time went on, the Sandman began to take on a far more literal role, solidified in the famous 1817 story 'Der Sandmann,' which paints the figure in a far more antagonistic light; as the story goes, a young boy is told of the story of a 'Sandman' who would throw sand in the eyes of anybody awake in the wee hours of the night to make their eyes fall out, after which he'd steal their eyes and bag them up to feed to his children back home. This eventually ended up inspiring the story Ole Lukøie, which was a far less horror-focused fairy tale. The 1841 story speaks of the eponymous Ole Lukøie, roughly translating to 'Mr. Shut-eye,' who would be a fairy-like figure who brought a carton of milk to pour in people's eyes to let them sleep.

However, with the strange translations of the story early in its lifespan afoot, Ole Lukøie would be described as 'throwing a powder' into people's eyes instead, and somewhere down the road, someone decided to call him the Sandman instead. As time went on and the concept evolved, the Sandman became detached from Der Sandmann and more associated with Ole Lukøie. Now, with the myriad of poems and stories about him being related to him bringing good sleep instead of, well, stealing the eyes of children, the Sandman became a far more friendly figure who brought good dreams and inspired imagination far and wide. He was said to have told stories in the night, bringing about what dreams were, bringing this all full circle.

Shin Megami Tensei takes the theme of sleep and night to a head with the design of the Sandman, as his head is literally a moon, and the sack he carries is filled with the sand that the Sandman would toss into the eyes of children to put them to sleep. I'm not sure why his preset dialogue in most games is on the older side, though, as several interpretations of the Sandman show him as a child- it might just be a translation thing, might be connected to his general race as a Night (which is a fun nod, honestly,) or it could even draw connection between him and the original story. I'm not sure, but still, it's a fun and memorable design in the series that has barely changed over the years for good reason.

[captainbobbin]

tagged by @goth-automaton yeehaww

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

I am gonna skim over a couple of fics though that I think were a bit rushed haha - my last batch of fics that came out were all done as part of my one-fic-per-day challenge so some of them are a bit scrappy haha; sue me for only using the fics from that challenge that I felt came out a little more solid lmao

Bearbaiting (nsfw)

“Prove it,” Astarion had spat, and none too kindly.

Earth, Comet, Eclipse

“Your dad's sleeping tonight,” Terra explained once Xion found him outside. He’d asked her earlier in the day to find him, and now he leaned against the wall and gave her an easy smile, which she returned. She liked Terra. She liked how comfy he was, how easy he was to be around. He gave a nod towards the wooded area nearby, the expanse of forest that hugged the edge of one of the rivers that ran around the Land of Departure. “Berserk, however, is up and hunting. Thought we'd go make it a game. You in?”

Midas

“Sanji,” Zeff whispers, hunched by the kitchen door and peering out, tone hushed and severe. Usually it's eggplant or brat or boy. Must be important. When Sanji totters over he's barely hip-height, far too young to be in a galley and far too young to be anywhere else. A hand plants on his head carefully to corral him, aim his gaze outward, and above and below they share the two-inch gap of the door and look out at the dining room. “Look.”

Afterimage (nsfw)

Saïx was pretty familiar with Xemnas’ abilities. Not all of them, which would infuriate him if only he was lucky enough to be allowed such a feeling for Saïx always wanted to know more, but for the most part Xemnas’ strange quirks and magical talents had stopped being unexpected. He’d grown numb to Xemnas floating off of the floor, to lights responding and things moving with barely even a glance, to thorns of nothing winding around things Xemnas’ wanted brought closer - himself included.

Trained Talent (nsfw)

There was a bit of a stereotype about jesters; that they were all secretly miserable, hard done by, only putting on a brave face and faking their cheer because at all times they were at risk of being admonished by whichever member of royalty they tried to entertain. That performers wore masks and actually suffered behind their smiles. There was a nugget of truth to it - a smile is a good way to cover up a frown, after all - but the truth that was more potent was that being a clown was a position of power.

Budbloom

Elliott, truthfully, didn’t spend that much time at the cabin these days.

The Front

Sanji wasn't an idiot. He knew from the first moment he applied for the job that Raindinners was sketchy as fuck. He'd been around, knew kitchens, could tell when corners were being cut - and believe him, they're cut often in a lotta places - but this was something else altogether.

Headspace

“What do you want, Booga?” Jasper snarled as the other Spectral Sentinel all but waltzed into his private quarters after the sound of grating rumbling shook the entire floor. The dull creature had no concept of boundaries and Jasper knew that that was not about to change, but by the goddess he ought to at least learn to knock adequately.

Shear

Xemnas thought often about the concept of trust.

Deathroll (nsfw)

Surviving past lovers, had they the gall, might go so far as to call Crocodile lazy.

I'm surprised that I don't start with dialogue more often - I feel like I often open the fic with something spoken or something that comes back later, but it seems that I actually often start with an establishing paragraph that sets up the point of view characters current emotional state/line of thought. Which isnt a bad thing tbh! Though I think I'm going to have to try and change things up now and then haha

anyone who would like to do this meme, feel free to join in! I'd love to see @hroggins, @winxixia, @finlands-beret share their version and their thoughts but no pressure of course!

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

🌤️ 💧❄️ for wips plsss 🥹

Hi Mochi! Thank you for the ask. I'll try and give you as much Linzin goodness as I can😉 Also, these are super duper extremely rough. Go easy on me🫠

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

"No matter how many walls you erect, Lin- no matter how far and wide you travel, do you really think you can escape from your past? You're always going to be the woman Tenzin left behind. Because no matter how many accolades you bring home- how many lives you save- the number of sacrifices you make- you're always going to be Tenzin's bitter ex-girlfriend from those newspaper clippings. And that's the real truth about being a woman. You confused womanhood for motherhood. And that's why you lost Tenzin."

I hurt my own feelings here.

💧Share something romantic/hot from your WIP, or just something sweet if it's gen.

I think this is both romantic and kinda hot- at least the direction it's headed in haha.

Tenzin leaned in to whisper in her ear. Of course, nobody could hear him, but Lin stiffened when he spoke. "I need you take your clothes off." His hand was on the small of her back, massaging the area carefully. Lin glared at him. He may be the last Airbender, but she was ready to live in a world with none. He was simply insufferable. And of course he'd say something like this when he was around. "Tenzin, zip it!" she chided from between gritted teeth, looking straight ahead. Tenzin laughed and casually moved his arm around her shoulder to draw her closer into his embrace. "What can I say, councilman," the man continued. "I thought you had found soulmate in the young acolyte." Lin stifled an eye roll. Or maybe she was just distracted by thoughts of killing Tenzin. His hand dropped back down under the table inconspicuously and made its way up her thigh. Lin stiffened again. But when his fingers glided between her thighs, she actually considered fracturing those appendages between her well-sculpted adductor muscles. "Pema was but a chapter in my book. Lin, on the other hand, is the whole story of my life. She's on every page." And now he had to go and be a sweetheart. Asshole! His hand slid under her skirt. That's it. No more Airbenders.

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

Poppy called out to her granddaughter for the second time that morning. The Beifongs weren't known for their patience. But when Poppy yanked off the duvet to reveal her wild house guest, she was greeted by pillows. This was Lin. Lin Beifong didn't sleep in late like her mother. Lin Beifong, like her mother, snuck out of the house though. "Lao, send the guards out to find Lin!" she yelled, expecting, like routine, for her voice to reach her husband downstairs. "She's been here less than a day and you already lost her?!" his voice shrieked back. "If I could carry her in my mouth like a horse-frog, I would. But we're humans!" The yelling was incessant but very natural to the couple. It was their love language- of sorts- their most sacred modicum of communication. They would argue from different corners of the house- and while they wouldn't lose their voices, most around them were sure to lose their hearing. But just as the scullery maid, Yin, in the kitchen was about to plug her ears with cotton, the bathroom door slammed open against the wall. With a thin towel wrapped around her body, Lin's eyebrows joined at the sight of her grandmother in her bedroom. "I didn't run off! I went to shower." Lin had to yell to make sure her grandfather heard her too- else the old couple would still be screaming, beating around the bush. Luckily, Yin's ears were plugged.

Ask for teases on my WIPS.

[h0n3yk1tt3n]

pink foam on play night sounds interesting

This was originally just meant to stay as a snippet of a hypothetical fic for an ask game but, like a surprising amount of things, spiraled into something way bigger (if I had a nickel, weird that it happened twice, etc etc)

The prompt was "realization of feelings at the Worst Possible Moment + boyf riends" (hi Luna) and naturally I set it during The Play, and the Pink Foam is from the Red Dew getting shaken and dumped out. Probably the only thing I've written that doesn't involve a Title Drop in the dialogue so far. Or ya know, the only one that has a title without a Title Drop.

BUT anyway here's the sort of,, I guess processing snippet?? Of feelings? Whilst the Worst Possible Moment is still kind of in effect lol. And it's long bc my writing style is yammering on apparently /j

Jeremy hated to say that while Michael was being blocked, he did more or less forget about him. But he didn’t. Not really. He’d always felt that something was missing. Something important. An empty space next to him, usually filled by Brooke or Rich before long, but the feeling didn't go away. There was still something - someone - that should’ve been there. He’d look at old blankets and knick knacks gifted to him and be tinged with an ache of familiarity. Where did he get this? When did he get this? No, his dad hadn’t given it to him; he would’ve remembered that. Wouldn’t he? Who gave him this blanket?

Jeremy might’ve forgotten Michael entirely had Halloween not gone so specifically wrong. Even now, he was remembering new things every moment. The character and weapon set Michael favored in Apocalypse of the Damned. His favorite fight scenes in film that he would sometimes act out when waiting for food in the microwave to heat up. Elaborate dreams that he would call to tell Jeremy about before he could forget them, a few of which they created characters from and stories for that Jeremy had jotted down notes for in a space-themed notebook.

He remembered schoolyard taunts that Michael would effortlessly deflect at as young as eight years old. Assurances that those mean kids just wanted to make him feel bad and to not listen to them. To listen to me. Because I like you. And I don’t want you to feel bad. And Michael proved as much, time and time again. Day after day. Year after year. Michael never stopped fighting for him. Not really. He researched from the sidelines. Worked in the shadows. Showed up in Jeremy’s time of need to help, like he always did.

It’s you, he realized.

This realization was interrupted by a SQUIP-driven Brooke tackling Jeremy to the ground, and while he had reservations about fighting her regardless of technological influences, he accepted that it would be another apology to pile onto all the others as he pushed her off of him into a costume rack; the broken one, that always got overloaded with costumes because the functional one was much smaller, with only enough space to hold the leads’ wardrobes. The lower bar collapsed and buried Brooke in costumes of questionable quality.

Michael held out a hand for Jeremy to take, slow motion taking hold of the moment. Jeremy’s hand falling into Michael’s. Michael’s fingers closing around his hand securely. Michael pulling Jeremy up off the ground. Jeremy watching the shine of the spotlight behind Michael’s head shift as he rose higher. Jeremy momentarily forgetting how to support his own weight when he was back on his feet. Michael putting his free hand on Jeremy’s shoulder to steady him. Jeremy wondering if he was short of breath because of his scuffle with Brooke or because he'd suddenly gained a sense of awe over Michael's smile after being without it for so long. Realizing that being the cause of Michael's smile gave him a sense of pride and happiness that little else in the world had been able to rival over the years.

It was always you.

[quiveringdeer]

Sorry to fan the flames of your baby fever (except no I'm not), but pls consider Reiner giving the baby a bath in one of those little tub sets, being ever so careful not to get soap in their eyes and not even caring when he gets splashed.

😤HOW. 👏🏽 DARE. 👏🏽YOU. 👏🏽 😤

Nah, but this is cute as heck!! And what a lovely image to think of while taking a break from the "First day of the new year back at work + it's a Monday" grind.

Gosh, I really just love the idea of Reiner being a stay at home dad too tho. He would enjoy it soooo much. Just getting to be a kept man and dote on his babies all the time! 😫🥺🧡

He's always soooo careful whenever handling any kiddo as wee babes. I mean, also any age cause he's just a cautious guy due to his size anyway, but the DELICACY with which he holds and interacts with lil babies is the most heartwarming, cavity inducing scene to watch!

And after washing them up in that tiny lil tub, and getting them in their diaper, he cradles them close as he opens up their dresser or closet and talks to them in such a kind voice, asking them what they want to wear for the day!

And while it's a very gentle voice, he tries not to talk in "baby talk" because this man read sooooo many books in preparation for his first kiddo. (He's determined to do everything he can to be the best dad!) And I'm talkin not just "So You're Gonna Be a Parent" books, but also psychology articles about raising kiddos, and even pedagogy for teaching infants and toddlers! (especially if he gets to be a stay at home dad but you bet your breeches he's making time to read these even with a full time job and being sure to still keep the care and romance alive in y'all's relationship throughout the pregnancy 💞)

He gravitates toward the Montessori teaching approach for when they're really young. Oh! And the whole point of the above tangent, is he read a number of places that by talking to babies and toddlers in a "non-baby speak" voice, helps them better develop their speech skills. Both understanding and talking.

He'd probably even go so far as to incorporate sign language into their life, to better be able to communicate before they have the ability to physically talk.

"Reiner, honey, isn't that a little excessive?"

"But how will they communicate with us until their muscles are strong enough to talk?"

"Oh no babe, I get teaching them sign language to communicate before they can speak. I just don't think we need to plan to take an Advanced ASL course before they get here."

"But it says we'll learn dialogue for conversations that happen around home and school and common phrases associated with talking about the weather and sports. This way I can explain what's happening on the TV when we watch soccer and football."

"Babe, I don't know if they'd be able to understand what's going on regardless of you signing it or not...cause, that's going to be a lot to expect them to learn before they're a year old."

"Oh...right."

"But hey, why don't we put a reminder to take the classes eventually. Knowing ASL will still be a great skill to have. We just don't have to try and learn advanced conversational ASL in the next 6 months. Okay?"

"Yeah. That does make sense. Guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry."

"Hey, hey! No apologies needed Mr.! I love how excited you are and learning all these new things with you. But it'll be okay if we don't know everything or have everything perfect before they get here. I don't even think that's possible with all the time in the world."

"...You're right." You open your arms and wave him to scoot closer for hugs and cuddles. "I just want to make sure they have a good headstart on things. And...that I don't mess things up."

"Reiner, look at me." Two fingers press under his chin to tilt his head up when he doesn't look up. "We're going to make mistakes. No matter how prepared we are. All we can do is love them, and show them we love them. Everything else will work itself out."

"Yeah."

If only speaking words out loud or knowing how logical they were could alleviate anxiety and worry. You press a kiss to his forehead. Then a few more all over his face until he's grinning and retaliating with his own smooching barrage. By the end you're both laughing.

"Love you, Honey Grahams."

The sweet nickname earns you the rich sound of Reiner's renewed laughter. "I love you too."

[yzeltia]

Dates of the Realm

Chapter 2: Destroying the Illusion

Characters: U'rahn Nuhn, @driftward's Nyx Blackmoon, Yadovv Gah

Rating: T for Nuhn

Notes: Thank you to Driftward as always for line edits, dialogue pitches, writing many of Nyx's lines here, and letting me borrow Nyx.

    “Good Night, Rahn. Good Night, Gah.”

         Another date having come to a close, U’rahn waved goodbye, his goofy love-struck smile upon his face after getting a small kiss on the nose from his girlfriend. Yadovv crossed his arm, having tagged along to observe the courting rituals of the Miqo’te. Of course, he was largely unaware they were far from a typical couple.

         The day was spent just outside where the Goblet met Ul’dah. U’rahn invited both to play around with the friendly star marmots. Yadovv had been a bit self-conscious about being in such a large, well-traveled area; however, it seemed the other patrons were more wary of Nyx than him. Once the young Nuhn had worn himself out, he was coaxed away from the fluffy creatures to have a quiet dinner at the large estate north of the Gage Acquisition Headquarters which had led to the surprisingly chaste goodbyes he'd witnessed. Curious, the Amalj’aa crossed his arms and shook his head.

         “I do not understand. It is my understanding that it is your duty to see her to bed to ensure your tribe’s progeny?”

         “Huh? Nyx isn’t gonna be my tribe’s genie?”

         “…”

         “…”

         “To create offspring.”

         “Oh…OH! HEY HEY! You can’t just imply something so casual as that Yad,” he hissed at the Amalj'aa, “Besides…Nyx isn’t a Drake…she’s special…”

         “Special? In what way?”

         U’rahn looked left, then right, ears perking for anyone other than the estate manservant quietly reading at the front desk. The only thing amiss was the strange hawk that had taken a liking to him at the pool that he couldn’t quite shake off.

         “Well…she’s my most special someone…y’know?”

         Yadovv shook his head.

         “Er…she makes me feel all warm inside.”

         “Warm?”

         “Yeah. I burn for her.”

         “I think I am quite familiar with burning within, but that is for the fire of battle. I do not understand how one might burn for another. Unless you mean to say you’ve been tempered by her?”

         “Well…,” U’rahn started, looking to the hawk as it cocked its’ head at him, “I can imagine that’s what it might feel like. I would do anything for her. I want to be her y’know… How do I put it…?”

         The Miqo’te lit up then snapped his fingers before gesturing at the other to stay put before sliding downstairs in his bathing suit to click orchestration on max before hurrying back up. His head bounced to the loud beat as the sounds of a piano sounded out. In a red flash, his clothes changed, calling back to fashion some three-four decades past. Head flicking back, he broke into song.

Yadovv watched as U’rahn fell to the ground in front of the building, the strange blonde man with the beanbag gun simply walking over him to go back into the house. Wandering over, the Amalj’aa kicked lightly at the Miqo’te’s twitching body, knowing well the other was a bit indestructible, but not fully immune to damage. Soon, the warrior popped back up to his feet then shook his head out.

         “Did that explain anything,” U’rahn asked, the falcon fluttering down onto his shoulder to perch.

         “…Love hurts.”

         U’rahn tilted his head, “Well, it can…but not the vibe I was going for. But..I guess I do…l-lo…lo….lov...”

         “Love her?”

         “Yeah! That,” he agreed, face burning red as he nodded.

Yadovv rose a brow then looked up, finding Nyx standing in the doorway behind them.

“Rahn. Are you alright.” asked Nyx, walking over to the pair.

Rahn simply put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. “Yeah, of course! You know I’m tougher than that!” he said, face still red.

Nyx turned to Yadovv. “I am curious as to the impetus for this performance.”

Yadovv laughed in that uniquely Amal’jaa way, his head nodding as his chest shuddered. “He has described you as his special someone. That performance was his explanation.” He leaned down to look carefully at Nyx. “He burns for you. I did not understand, but the passion in his performance makes it obvious. The same fire which licks the hearts of my people, that heat which presses against the cages of our bones and sets us aflame, in pursuit of excellence, of ourselves, of battle. Perhaps that same feeling is what he holds for you and calls it love.”

Yadovv looked over at U’rahn. “Though he seems to have some trouble saying it.”

Nyx looked at Yadovv, unblinking. “I understand.”

“And what of you? What stirs your passions, Black Moon?”

“I have none.”

Yadovv laughed once more, more of a chuckle, and U’rhan looked taken aback.

“But Nyx! What about your love of experience? And all the neat stuff we’ve done? You like spending time with me… right?” His expression was pained, and for once, he was not puffed up like he thought a hero should be, but seemed to wilt a bit.

Nyx stared at him. The light seemed to play on her right eye, flickering, as it rapidly made its tiny microadjustments.

“When you say passion, I imagine you mean feeling. One of the scientists explained feelings to me once. May I have your hand, Rahn?”

When he held his hand out, she took it in hers, and pressed a thumb into the palm of his hand. “When you feel something like touch, or heat, or pain, it is a response to change, out in the world, she told me. Like now. You can feel my thumb. When you feel something like sadness, or anger, or joy, she told me that was a response to a change inside of you. It can be felt, much like my thumb, but not from the outside. It is felt from the inside.

“I asked her many questions during our time together. I understand that many of these internal emotional feelings are not so different from the external physical ones. Sadness can feel like heavyness in your limbs. Anger can feel like heat. Joy feels like buoyancy.”

Nyx turned U’rhan’s hand over in her own, clasping it with both of hers. “I do not experience these internal feelings like you do. I experience pressures and levin potentials. I have senses you do not. You have senses that I lack. I do not have passions. But I do have feelings. I do not find them difficult, as many others seem to. They simply are. A useful input, same as many others. If you are like most, my description of them would not be useful to you, but I do have them anyroad.”

U’rahn just looked at his hand, wrapped up in hers, and looked up at her face to see her staring at her, much as she usually did. He felt he should say something, but for once, he was not certain what to say.

Yadovv made a clicking noise as he nodded his head vigorously.

“And what of this love that your Nuhn finds so hard to say?”

Nyx turned her stare to Yadovv. “Love has many definitions, and I have not yet determined which are most accurate. If you mean as a feeling, then no. I do not feel love.”

She turned her gaze back to U’rahn, and the glinting on her dark eye shimmered before suddenly going very steady.

“But I do have feelings. And preferences. I enjoy spending time with U’rahn. He is predictable in ways that I appreciate, but also finds ways to explore and find new experiences. I believe his decision making skills are poor, but the reasons behind them are usually towards outcomes I find acceptable or desirable. I would take care of him if he were injured, and I weigh his requests more heavily than most.

“Perhaps it could be seen as love. But if so, I also love Vauban and Gohtawyn and Gage.”

Nyx looked at U’rahn, and shifted her hands around his so that he could easily let go or pull back if he wished. “I understand if you find this uncomfortable.”

U'rahn's tail sank, dragging on the ground as the gravity of it all hit him, yet did not let go of Nyx. Yadovv looked on, watching the hero be more still and quiet than he'd thought him to be capable of. As the Miqo'te stood and tried not to dip further into his sinking mood, the interloping hawk fluttered its wings then landed on his shoulder giving him the slightest of shocks as it weighed down on him.

"So…is this courtship over then," Yadovv asked, tilting his head.

U'rahn's ears perked, tail flipping up high as he shook his head. "Of course not! That is love! Just a Nyx kind of love," he started before putting his hand on his chest. 

"I can understand the weight and electricity. When we're together I kinda feel weightlessness and my heart feels all staticy…kinda like a balloon. My old man said my mom was in love with him well before he really could put it together himself. And I'm impulsive and stuff…I'm gonna fall way harder than most people. And…and I weigh morrre than most to herrr…we're girrrl frrriend and boy frrriend afterrrall. A-And I'm a Nuhn so therrre can't be jealousy and stuff…and I'm happy Nyx has people she loves and that love herrr too," he babbled and purred.

Yadovv stared while U'rahn smiled at Nyx and fluttered his ears joyfully. 

"So you two will then bear offspring even in your disparate means of affection?"

U'rahn burned red. "Hey Hey! What did I say about bringing that up!? It's rude…cause y'know, some people can't do that and you don't know."

Yadovv looked to Nyx for a more coherent answer.

"I cannot produce offspring."

"So then you stay together why?"

" 'Cause of all the stuff we just said! I weigh more than most to her and she makes me feel good about myself. I l-lov…love her. Yeah, I love you Nyx!"

“If you are willing to accept my earlier description as stated, then I love you as well.”

Yadovv stared as U’rahn fluttered his ears happily, thinking it might have been better to ask literally anyone else.

[endlessnightlock]

25 Dialogue Prompts: 6, 16, 25 ❤️

16. “I didn’t think you would notice, much less care.”

This is a prequel to another fic I wrote. If there is interest I'll reblog.

Katniss stood, lemonade in hand, amongst the crowd of unattached ladies assembled for a story from Lord Odair. She wasn't paying their host much attention-he was telling them something or other about their neighbor's gamekeeper and the time he mistakenly let their geese loose inside Trident Hall. The other young ladies offered Lord Odair sympathy for the mess it had caused, but Katniss bit back a laugh. Lord Odair was a notorious prankster and not above stretching the truth when it served him. Katniss would have to hear, Sir. Abernathy's side of the tale before passing judgment over which landowner was in the wrong.

Discretely Katniss patted the back of her coiffeur, hoping the intricate braids her borrowed maid, Delly, plaited around her head would stay in place for the evening. Her faithful Madge hadn't been able to journey with them to Trident Hall this time due to a family event. Katniss missed not just her skill in dressing and hairstyling but also her friendship. She trusted Madge with anything.

Katniss glanced around the ballroom. The room was crowded with friends and neighbors from the county of Panem and neighboring counties. The Everdeens traveled a long way to be here and planned an extended stay for their trouble.

"Ms. Everdeen?"

Drat. Apparently, tonight wasn't just an occasion for friends and neighbors but enemies as well. Enemies may be an exaggeration, if she were honest. A better term would likely be a massive annoyance in the form of Lord Peeta Mellark.

She couldn't stand the man after he'd made a joking offer of marriage to her last season. Everyone knew she was an old maid, that her younger sister Primrose was the Everdeen sister eligible men had eyes for. Katniss couldn't forgive Lord Mellark for shaming her in such a way. The only thing that would have made the whole situation worse was if he'd asked for her hand publicly.

Pasting a smile on her face, Katniss greeted the irritatingly handsome man waiting at her side. Lord Mellark bowed, bright blue eyes nearly twinkling in the candlelit ballroom, decided mirth turning his lips up in the corner. How he loved to tease her-it ate at her the way nothing else did. Not that she would let him know.

"How do you do sir," she asked politely, "are you enjoying the ball so far?"

"Very much. Yourself?"

"Yes, the company has been excellent. Until this moment, of course."

Lord Mellark smirked. "I could say the same, but I am a gentleman and would not sully your delicate sensibilities in such a way."

Katniss rolled her eyes in disdain. "I assure you that I am no delicate creature. Sully away, my Lordship."

"Not a bad offer, Ms. Everdeen. I'll keep that in mind, for later perhaps. You are looking quite beautiful in that green gown. It's too bad you are so mule-headed because you are the loveliest creature here. You are always so to me."

Katniss gaped at him, the audacity of his words besting her for once.

"Green, it is your favorite color," Lord Mellark went on, focussing directly on her, something like fire in his eyes, "and you wear it as often as possible."

"I didn't think you would notice-"

"I have."

"Much less care."

Katniss was surprised to see the constant defensiveness Peeta wore like a cloak melting away. "Katniss-if I may be so brash-I remember everything about you. Every smile you gave me before deciding I was some sort of cad, every conversation we've had where passion or humor lit your eyes and made me want to kiss you senseless. Please," Lord Mellark glanced around to make certain no one was paying them mind, "give me a chance to explain what happened last year."

"Stop," Katniss whispered, stomach plummeting to the floor. She couldn't go down this road of heartache with him again.

"I can't!" Lord Mellark exclaimed, louder than he should have. He backed away from her, his expression pleading. "After the ball, meet me in the third-floor study. Please consider it."

[syeph0fuck]

Jusy realized I should write more of Will with bad internalized homophobia like SHEEESH he's from Texas?? ZAMN.

My brother in Christ I interrupted a funny haha fic with some good ol' Will internalized homophobia yeehaw.

I literally just made Nico trans in it and went "sheeeesh I should rant about the Texas law- wait... Texas... Will Solace... From Texas... Naomi solace.... Texan... I do it." And wrote transphobic Naomi and it's so ooc that I appreciated wasting my time for it.

BUT ANYWAY do you ever wonder if Will has that? Like, even though he's pretty open about dating Nico do you ever wonder if one of the reasons he isn't as openly affectionate when it comes to talking about their relationship (mf I will count Nico not shutting up about him being his boyfriend as affectionate and you can fight me) is because of that? Like, when u think about it real good and hard him wanting to protect Nico is more of just,, a Will thing and not just because it's his boyfriend.

We're literally told by Apollo that Will is one of the most caring people alive, going as far as to buy clothes for Apollo himself out of the goodness of his heart, so to me it wouldn't be too far fetched to think he would protect everyone around him just because it's who he is.

Especially since he's a healer, he probably is always thinking, "I can't let these people get hurt, I can't lose them. I need to protect them before they even can get hurt." And honestly that has a lot of potential too. It's not entirely related to internalized homophobia but I think it adds a lot to him as a character to just naturally be protective of people, especially people he's close to.

I'm just writing Will Solace lore before the book comes out ain't I.

Anyway, in the new book I'd really like for him to talk about how even though he loves his siblings he feels a lot of resentment because of how they would leave all of the heavy lifting to him, and how they'd always leave patients to be his job. It's right there too, since he's the one with all the healing power and knowledge. But because of that people brush him aside as just the healer guy and don't even take the time to learn his name, and even if he saves someones life they don't appreciate him as a person, just what he did for them. And obviously it'd probably make people hate Kayla and Austin since they are some of the few named Apollo campers who aren't dead but it'd add flaws and dimension to them as characters, especially if we were to take into consideration the fact that compared to Will, they could have little to no healing powers at all and would be basically useless in that department, but even though Will knows that he still wishes they'd do what they can to help, since having to help so many people and watch them all die takes a fucking toll on the brain, so of course he'd want someone to for once help.

And honestly I think the fact that even in canon Nico actually does help kind of says a lot, since we aren't ever shown or even told that any other campers help, just that Nico does. If anything we're told Will does all of it. That's not even mentioning that he became head counsellor (or whatever it's called my brain is die) at a VERY young age, the dude was 11 fucking years old, he'd have to basically raise his siblings, year round or not. And if we are to go with canon and say that Naomi is a good mom, that would mean that Will stays year round, completely missing any time at his ACTUAL home and time with his mom BECAUSE he's the only healer. He's on the job 24/7, so to have him talk about (in dialogue or not) how legitimately stressed out he is and how he's genuinely angry at his siblings for leaving the hardest work to him would be good.

That's not even MENTIONING the fact that he might possibly hold resentment or even hate Percy for not giving him time to mourn Micheal because Annabeth was in serious danger and needed healing, which even though he knows that it was a GOOD thing he did and that it was better overall to save Annabeth, he'd still kind of hate him for that because he had just lost his brother and became the new counselor and now had all these duties he had before, he'd want some time to process that.

And I'm not even saying bash Percy I'm saying that it should be explored in the book because when someone does something that hurts you, even though you know it was good or because they just couldn't do what you needed them to do, you'd still be kind of angry at them. And I feel like him being the only healer would make him just that much angrier at Percy

But i'd also like for him to be somewhat okay with him, not the jealous asshole boyfriend he is in fanon.

But at the same time, I'd kind of like for him to get mad Percy did that whole choking Nico thing and how everyone on the Argo II treated him (including Percy) and for how he was kind of a major douche to Nico before Bianca died, not because "that's my boyfriend" but more like "Dude, uncool." And then a little bit of "you fucking WHAT?" To the whole choking thing even though he knows Percy was kind of lacking air so his brain wasn't working right, he'd still be like "Dude, what the actual fuck?" Not mentioning the fact that Percy low-key fucking hated Nico through the series (and I love Percy he's 😘 he's one of my favorites I love the man but my boy really hated this literal child for merely existing and being annoying) and kind of kept the whole "Nico is evil and dangerous" thing going which like,,, my man... That shit fucked Nico up BIG TIME and the one time even he was like "what if we didn't save Nico from the jar" bc I'm not over how the characters were willing to leave the man for dead for a bit. And how he got low-key annoyed at him for struggling to get out of the jar and when he got pissed at Nico for gasping for air when he was choking the mf (And that's not even Percy bashing it's just like,,, tf was that about and yes. I know he was relieved that Nico was safe and not dead. But that's the bare minimum because he still hated Nico but the whole "no I don't know you" thing when Percy had no memory was still weird and like low-key concerned about that. I would hope it wasn't so he can get in his pants for lack of a better word and is just like "I ain't fucking with this he's not gonna believe me. I'm out." Because my boy Nico would NEVER do that shit.)

Like Will getting genuinely angry at people is like,, fuck yeah. And we know he's VERY protective of Nico (as he SHOULD as he SHOULD) so I wouldn't put it past the man to do a Will Smith on Percy for the shit he pulled earlier in the series.

[thefactsofthematter]

Royalty au?

ah yay i have SO many thoughts on this one!! this is definitely one that’s made up of a lot of vague ideas and not much actual plot, but it’s slowly and steadily coming together - the tag for this au goes over the basics!

i think my favourite part is the really unsubtle character foils that are javid’s roles. you’ve got davey who grew up in a poor farming community, joined the military out of total desperation to help feed his family, was surprisingly good at being a soldier and is incredibly well-respected, and is very very private when it comes to his personal life— he contrasts with jack, the literal heir to the throne of their kingdom: he grew up exorbitantly wealthy but fairly isolated, he’s desperate to connect with anyone so he’s a pretty open book when it comes to how he feels, and despite his status, the people around him have very little respect for him.

deep down, jack’s got a lot of heart, but even davey initially sees him as this spoiled brat who won’t listen to anyone and acts only in his own interests— that’s true to an extent, since jack isn’t exactly a very nice person when we meet him, but a lot of that stems from the fact that no one really believes in his ability to be any better, so he’s given up trying. a lot of his behaviour is a cry for help, but no one is listening, not even his own family - his brothers think it’s funny that he’s such a train wreck, and medda is so deeply frustrated with him that she just doesn’t have the patience to try and understand him anymore, which makes him try even harder to push her away.

both jack and davey are craving love and support, and they’re jealous of what they think the other has - davey has a few close friends, but he hasn’t seen his family in years, and he can’t understand why jack isn’t that close with his when they’re right there. jack, on the other hand, thinks davey has all this freedom - he lives independently, he’s got a career that he’s good at and respected for - but at the end of the day, davey was forced into his circumstances by poverty, and he’d much rather be at home with his parents and siblings, teaching at the school in their village. they both have to put in some work to get over their initial dislike of each other and find some understanding, but they’ll slowly realize how well they balance each other out, once they start to learn the truth about the other.

this was. a lot. but here’s a little passage from what i’ve got so far! it’s part of the first scene w jack and his family, so forgive the exposition-heavy dialogue tags:

"Oh, come on, Jack," Charlie teases. He's eighteen and an absolute nuisance, always happy to show off that he's the golden child that everyone wishes Jack would be. "It won't be that bad just to have a bodyguard— it'll be a bit like having a babysitter or a governess! Won't that be fun?"

"No, it surely won't," Jack huffs. He's hardly touched his dinner, too annoyed to even be hungry. If it weren't impolite and unbecoming for a future king to storm out of the room, he'd have done it by now. "It'll ruin my life."

"That's awfully dramatic," Medda says, biting back an amused grin, which only serves to make Jack feel more patronized. "You know, if you acted your age, maybe you wouldn't need a babysitter."

He catches Race snickering at that— only fourteen years old, the kid knows it's not his place to interject when the adults are arguing, but he's got no shame in laughing along like the obnoxious little thing he is.

"I do act my age," Jack huffs, after shooting Race a glare, "and that's what you have a problem with! Any other young man could could go to the bar in the evenings and no one would mind in the slightest, but because I'm /me/, suddenly it's not allowed.”

[imaginariaextraordinaire]

Episode 8 is one hella packed episode and it is an absolute joy to unpack it, beginning with this:

Clever, clever idea to have Ji-Woo repeat the line that Mi-Joo just said to indicate Ji-Woo is taking charge of things as far as Assemblyman Ki is concerned. It's also a good reminder of how tone and intent can change the meaning of a sentence even if the words are exactly the same (which is why we need good translators).

Seeing Mi-Joo stride across the screen with Seon-Gyeom behind her, it struck me that we've seen a variation of this many times before, beginning with the credit titles. While Seon-Gyeom is the sprinter, the one we see constantly trying to up the pace and charge ahead is Mi-Joo. She's always intent on moving ahead faster — perhaps to outrun the past that she finally makes peace with during the marathon? — while Seon-Gyeom moves at a slower pace, disentangling himself from the constraints of his troubled past and troubling father. The only one time we see him race ahead (in episode 2), we also see him come back and slow down.

What I particularly love about Park Shi-Hyun's writing is that in addition to all the layers and complexity she's written into the scenes and characters, she's also written a very, very funny show.

Both Shin Se-Kyung and Kang Tae-Oh do such a fantastic job with both the physical humour (without being over-the-top) and the timing that's needed to play up the wit in the dialogues. Not that Siwan and Soo-Young do a bad job — the scene in which Dan-Ah proposes to Seon-Gyeom is hilarious. My favourite is still May, who is very funny throughout this episode (the shot in which we learn she sleeps with her eyes open! GOLD).

The transitions in this episode are so well written. The insights from one scene ricochet off the next. For example, Dan-Ah in the scene at the bar — where she tells the bartender she can't risk keeping the book in her own study because she can't risk people guessing she has anxieties — gives us a look at the problems of the privileged. This is followed by a scene in which Yeong-Hwa and Mi-Joo discuss student debts, which is a relatable middle-class problem. This in turn is followed by Tae-Woong saying that he takes selfies because he's addicted to the validation he gets from the likes each of those photos gets him — a Gen Z problem. And so it is that we get a spectrum of problems that people face and hide behind performative façades.

The likes that Tae-Woong talks about pop up with manic frenzy at the end of the heartbreaking scene with Dan-Ah in the parking lot, presenting the viewer with a terrible contrast — driving away from him is the love and acceptance that he yearns for from a sister who (he hopes) knows him. All he has to hold on to is the superficial attention of the love professed by a fandom that doesn't really know him at all. Soo-Young's performance is fantastic in this scene, especially when she asks in a voice tinged with desperation why Tae-Woong keeps coming back to her despite her treating him so badly. For the first time, you realise how much it takes out of her to lash out at this desperately-sad boy. "It takes effort to hate someone," Tae-Woong tells her. My heart!

Another fantastic set of transitions comes later on in the episode, when Mi-Joo and May are unwinding at the end of a long day at the film shoot.

This is such a great example of writing inter-generational female friendships. When May remembers not being paid for working overtime, it's an acknowledgement that things are better for working women (especially in film) than it was before, but as Mi-Joo's experiences show, there's still a lot to be done because women are still driven by a certain insecurity and anxiety to push themselves way too hard (as we see a sick Mi-Joo do later in the episode).

Of course a man tries to break this gathering up — because he wants to go to bed. Superb excuse, particularly because these women are talking how much they have to work — and it is deeply satisfying to watch all three of them shut him down and establish their right to unwind.

This scene of female friendship is followed by one that shows the friendship between the three runners. Then we get to see a fight scene full of male actors. The machismo of that performance is a sharp contrast to the awkward tenderness of Woo-Sik and Yeong-Il's conversation.

While on the subject of toxic masculinity, this is the episode in which we find out Dan-Ah's father forged Myeong-Min's birth certificate to make him legally older than Dan-Ah even though he's actually 10 months younger than her. All to ensure he has a male heir. It's a nice detail that Myeong-Min's mother is the one laying out the memorial service for Dan-Ah's mother because it hints at a sense of solidarity.

Also dismantling traditional notions of masculinity is Seon-Gyeom, whom we see at his most domestic as he cooks and packs meals for May and Mi-Joo, and does chores around the house once they're gone. It's very much an inversion of the standard male-female gender roles with the woman going out to work and the man as the homemaker. To underscore this point, we see Seon-Gyeom consider the leopard-print shirt (that May and Mi-Joo hang to give strangers the impression they've got an alpha in the house) for a second before putting it away.

Speaking of alphas, Mi-Joo's really got a thing for wild cats. In addition to that shirt, her blanket is also a leopard-print and when we see her calling Seon-Gyeom, she's standing in front of a painting of a tiger. All these seem to be digs at her posturing that she's strong and invulnerable and I burst out laughing when Seon-Gyeom folds the leopard-print blanket while muttering, "I'd have guessed this is hers even if she hadn't told me."

As disinterested as Seon-Gyeom may be in films, they play a big role in sustaining him emotionally. In this episode, it's the film set that helps Mi-Joo and him come together after their stupid disagreement. Equally importantly, the film set is where he gets the time and space to reconnect with his mother.

Run On has so much fun being meta with the film bits. The film shoot within a drama is indeed an old fake.

There are two film sets we see in this episode — one with Ji-Woo and the other with Mi-Joo. While Ji-Woo's set feels relaxed, the one Mi-Joo's working in is chaotic and taxing. The two women are also at different ends of the professional spectrum. Ji-Woo is a star while Mi-Joo is not just working behind the scenes, but she's come to fill in for the person who was the juniormost member of the crew.

When pointing out the main players of their film crew to Mi-Joo and May, Hui-Jin describes the cinematographer as "a bit racist, but still a gentleman". (Mi-Joo's response is superb: "Weird.") It's an interesting choice to make the cinematographer racist because that's the crew member who decides how subjects and scenes will be framed. "Racist but a gentleman" feels like a precise summary of the orientalist perspective which (aside from being overwhelmingly masculine) shows the East through stereotypes that are often superficially beautiful, but also reductive and damaging. Not surprisingly, this cinematographer is the reason Mi-Joo flounders while translating on set.

The film set is also the first time that Seon-Gyeom sees Mi-Joo's vulnerable side when she falls ill. It's such a clever choice to have Mi-Joo stop performing in a setting that's all about performances. Not only does Mi-Joo give up the alpha act when she's sick, she admits to Seon-Gyeom that when she's feeling helpless, her instinct is to resort to a performative lie — calling out for mom because that's what she saw other kids do as a child in a sick ward (imagine how isolated and neglected she must have felt to do this. Also, she's felt this way so many times that this performance has become second nature to her).

The anecdote suggests Mi-Joo's mulish championing of her self has its roots in past incidents when she tried to fit and either failed or was rejected. And yet, for all her strength and confidence, she's chasing phantoms and has been doing so since she was a little girl. All because she was alone and didn't have anyone she could reach out to for help. Which is why what Seon-Gyeom tells her at the end of the episode is so relevant. He helps her to reorient.

To which Mi-Joo, bless her leopard-print-loving heart, responds with

But my favourite part of this episode is the conversation that Ji-Woo has with Seon-Gyeom when he visits her set. First of all, Ji-Woo is playing a "vegan murderer", which is brilliant as ideas go and it's adorable how delighted she is about her violent roles.

I love how Run On doesn't punish Ji-Woo for sacrificing her family life for her work. Instead, it holds out the possibility that it is ok if you have that imbalance. In this scene, we see Ji-Woo's family reforming at the film set with Eun-Bi sending the coffee truck and Seon-Gyeom showing up just because Ji-Woo asked him to be there.

The mother-son conversation gives us a glimpse of Seon-Gyeom's bleak childhood and we learn that everything Seon-Gyeom did for his father was actually him doing what his mother had asked him to do. It comes as a surprise to Seon-Gyeom that his mother has noticed what he's suffered and that she understands how he'd hoped silently suffering would keep the family together. It's almost as though he's feeling seen for the first time.

Much like Dan-Ah, Ji-Woo may seem self-centred because of her ambitiousness, but she does notice what's happening beyond the obvious, especially when it comes to people she cares about. Both women are up against the worst of patriarchy. Also, I love that when she's talking about motherhood, Ji-Woo is blood-spattered — after all, being a working woman and a mother in a patriarchal is nothing short of fighting a war.

In previous episodes, it seemed as though Ji-Woo was the 'bad' (or at least not ideal) mother while Director Dong was the ideal, modern mother. Yet in comparison to how Director Dong later reacts to her son coming out, you can't help but feel Ji-Woo, with her unconditional support for her kids, might just be the better parent. What is great about Run On though is that that the script doesn't pit the two older women against each other as competing examples of motherhood or femininity. The point is that everyone's struggling, making mistakes and trying to learn from them. Ji-Woo is doing that and so will Director Dong eventually.

Love that the scene ends with Seon-Gyeom effectively declaring himself his mother's son. Take that, patriarchy.

[somersetmummy]

(A/N) This is a TNA one shot, taking place immediately following book 1 chapter 12 (the gala balcony scene). Characters, some storyline and some dialogue property of Pixelberry.

Story told from point of view of MC Katie Hide. Internal character thoughts are written in italics.

I tried to think about how they would get through the rest of the gala after their little extra curricular activities on the balcony….so here it is!

Original characters: Katie Hide (MC), Sam Dalton, Vivienne Dalton, Mason Sr Dalton, Carter

New characters: Laney, Ryan

Content warning: Some light adult language

Summary: Nanny Katie Hide and her boss Sam Dalton finally take their relationship to the next step on the night of the gala, but just when they should be feeling elated, things spiral quickly. Can they get through the rest of the evening together now that things have changed for good?

Word count: 3462 (I’m out of control!)

- Bonus social edits at the end -

Alone on the balcony, looking out over the city's twinkling lights, she should've been basking in the afterglow of the best sex of her life but instead she feels empty. Her resolve held strong in front of Sam as he skulked off seemingly full of regret but now, her mind races through every minute detail of what had just happened.

Instead of taking the time to carefully ingrain every delicious detail of their time together into her memory, she painfully second guessed every move, every touch, every whispered promise. Once her exhausted mind began to fray she decided to sweep the whole thing under the carpet determined to save face, for now. Collecting herself, she absentmindedly ran her fingers up and down her arms, goose bumps standing proud, finally giving in to the cold night air.

On her way back towards the ballroom, while wondering how the hell she was going to get through the rest of the evening, she prolongs her return to reality by ducking into one of the lavish bathrooms to freshen up.  The room is quiet, an older lady leaves as she enters, another younger girl, probably around her age, is refreshing her makeup by one of the opulent vanity's. She sits down on the plush velvet ottoman in the middle of the vanity area with a sigh, not really sure what to do next.

"Well you look like you've been through the ringer!"

Turning towards the kind voice, the girl who was doing her makeup, a warm glow pours out to her as the stranger looks her up and down with genuine concern. Her face is one of those which feels familiar, like someone she could’ve known her whole life. It is enough to encourage her to open up a little and feels like a relief to have someone to talk to after feeling so alone out on that balcony.

"I'm sort of having the best night of my life as well as the worst. And to top it all off I've left my purse in the main room..." She gestures towards her untidy hair and slightly smudged makeup by way of an explanation.

The stranger offers a knowing look in reply.

“So are you here with someone? Your dress is divine by the way."

Smoothing the front of her dress, Katie replies absentmindedly, "Oh no, I'm just here with my boss, filling in an empty seat at the last minute." Hesitant to share more with someone she'd just met, she kept the more intimate details to herself.

"Me too, well sort of. I'm a stylist, one of my clients insisted I join them to make sure they look perfect all night long, god forbid her dress creases when she sits down for dinner!" She waves Katie over to the vanity and the open make up case. "Here, use whatever you need." She continues watching as Katie gratefully grabs a brush and some powder. "I'm really just starting out but figure these sorts of events are great publicity if I can dress the right people. I mean they're all living on another planet of course but they love to be in the spotlight and gush about their outfits, which is great for me!"

The pair chat easily together for a while before Katie glances at the time on her phone screen realising she'd been gone much longer than anticipated. She’d enjoyed having an ally and getting her mind off the car crash of a moment with Sam, truth be told, she’d much rather stay here in the safety of her mirrored cave and the kindness of a stranger than plaster a smile on her face and return to the Dalton’s table. With a wistful smile she turns to the stranger.

"I suppose I should be getting back, although I can't say I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm Laney by the way." She holds her hand out to Katie and they share a gentle shake.

"I'm Katie. I've really enjoyed hiding out in here with you, thanks for everything." Leaving Laney to pack up the overly large purse full of beauty treasures, Katie heads back towards the bustling ballroom. Barely making it into the room, Laney breathlessly catches up to her holding out a business card.

"Hey, I thought maybe we could meet up for a coffee sometime, you know if you want to have someone in the real world to spend time with!" She points over to someone across the room and continues animatedly, "You said you went to NYIT right? I'm sure my friend Ryan would love to meet you too, he did his Grad course there and always loves a trip down memory lane!"

Taking the card, Katie’s eyes are drawn to Sam over Laney's shoulder. He looks just as he did before the balcony, the ever professional businessman, as if nothing had ever happened. He gives a slight tip of his head in Katie’s direction, motioning for her to join him back at the table.

The new friends share a quick hug promising to catch up soon and she makes her way over to Sam who won't quite meet her eye. Despite the frostiness between them, he's a gentleman at heart and doesn't think twice about pulling out her chair, tucking it in gently as she sits. As the bustle of dinner being served continues around them, the thorny silence between them grows thick with unspoken feelings.

After a whirlwind of Sam and his parents catching up over the exploits of various family friends and tales of the boys, Vivienne turns to smile at Katie.

"Now dear, we're being rude talking around you as though you're not here. Sam tells me you're quite the budding scientist yourself?"

She looks to Sam to see him offering a helpless smile and shrug of the shoulders and can’t help but wonder whether he’d shared anything about his previous employees with his mother, or if she was the first. As Katie pulls her eyes away from Sam’s, she pushes down all the feelings which bubbled up inside her and plasters on her most professional smile.

"Yes, Mrs Dalton, I have a Masters in Chemistry and up until recently was managing projects for Panacea Labs."

Being the expert that she is at reading people, Katie astutely notices how Mr Dalton’s ears prick, he clearly didn't know that there was more to her than being 'just a nanny', whatever that means.

"Please dear, you're practically family, call me Vivienne."

A warm glow fills her body at the thought of being accepted into the fold of the Dalton family. Smiling back at Vivienne, she continues to share stories of her experiences in the industry, her passion for science and her love for exploring through the twins eyes.

"Mickey and Mason are such a brilliant example of how a love of science can be developed at a young age. They're so curious and passionate about exploring, it's such a pleasure to be a part of."

Next to her, barely able to disguise the pride he feels for her, Sam tries his best to remain outwardly impassive while watching the rest of the table listen attentively, completely captivated by her storytelling. He'd meant it earlier on the balcony when he'd agreed that she was meant to be by his side, a partner not a secret he had to hide his feelings for. He just didn't know how to make it a reality, trapped within his own life. But in this moment, his feelings bubble to the surface and it takes everything he has not to take her in his arms in front of everyone and let them come flooding out for all to see.

After all, it wasn’t Katie’s fault that his true feelings for her hit him like a tonne of bricks earlier that evening while he watched her effortlessly talk Selene into keeping her shares. In front of his parents no less. Right there, everything he loves about her shone out for everyone to see and he realised he was deeply and helplessly in love. It just wasn’t with his fiancée. Hell that's the reason he took Katie out to the balcony in the first place, to steal a moment to share how he really feels but as always he was too much of a coward to do anything about it in fear or letting everyone else down and jeopardising his sons future.

He knows that the only way to try to push through it all is to detach himself from Katie as much as possible, even if it means becoming the bad guy. In his mind, she deserves better, she deserves the damn fairytale and that's just not something he's able to give.

As they move through the plentiful courses of dinner, Mason Sr continues to interrogate Katie on her knowledge and opinions of various scientific and business theories, although his directness falters as the meal goes on and they both seem to enjoy the lively debates. Vivienne occasionally interjects with questions of her own about Katie’s family, her life back in England and whether it's difficult to be far from home. To Katie, it almost feels like she’s on a 'meet the parents' date which in her mind could be going a lot worse.

When coffee is finally offered, Mason Sr stands abruptly, eyes focussed on Sam.

“Ladies, while this evening's discussions have been...interesting, I think it's time we get down to some business." He nods curtly at Sam before gesturing towards a quieter bar area off the back of the room.

Sam stands to follow him but not before turning to Katie and instinctively placing a hand on her shoulder. She involuntarily shudders at his touch as her mind races back to the last time they touched on the balcony.

"This shouldn't take too long, will you be ok here?"

"Of course she will darling, I'm not going to bite her!" Vivienne cuts in before she can reply. Sam nods in approval towards her and lingers for a moment before walking away to meet his father. Katie's shoulder still tingling at the memory of his touch.

Katie looks across the ballroom taking in the general splendour and jovial atmosphere while Vivienne takes the opportunity to really look at her, contemplating how much to share with her. After taking a few sips of coffee, she turns herself to fully face Katie and offers a warm smile.

"I can see why the boys are so taken with you...all of them."

The honesty of her comment takes Katie by surprise. Unsure how to respond, she slowly turns to meet Vivienne’s eye, raising her eyebrow slightly in question.

"You're all the things Sam said you were. He was right when he told me we'd get on well."

The intensity of Vivienne’s gaze is so strong Katie daren't look away.

"I want to thank you for everything you've done for them all. They've come alive again since having you in their life. Poor Sara was taken from him far too soon, from us all really...it was all so hard on Sam and the boys." She trails off clearly lost in memory. "I know he cares for you and wants you to feel part of the family."

“Shit” she thinks to herself. Feeling like a rabbit caught in headlights, Katie's mind races. Does she know? How can she, they've only met once before, surely that's not enough to make her suspicious?

"I think Sam's just taken pity on me because I'm so far from home and he knows I don't have any family around. He and the boys have been so gracious in making me feel welcome."

Hoping she sounds convincing she takes a sip of coffee, relishing the opportunity to hide her blushing cheeks behind the cup. Vivienne suddenly looks up with Katie follow her gaze over her shoulder. Behind her, Laney is standing with a cowboy-next-door handsome man in tow, a welcome interruption. His dirty blonde hair is slightly unkempt, his frame more lean than Sam's but he still carries an athletic look, he smiles charmingly at Katie.

“Excuse me" Laney directs to Vivienne before turning to speak to Katie. “This is my friend Ryan who I was telling you about earlier."

Katie reaches out to shake his hand which he is already holding out towards her.

"I hear you're a fellow NYIT grad? You look far too respectable to have hung out in the sort of dives I used to find myself in!"

"Try me..." she challenges with a twinkle in her eye.

Laney rolls her eyes with boredom and escapes, business card in hand, to fawn over an awkwardly dressed woman at another table.

"Would you like to dance? I promise not to break out the old NYIT match day chant moves!"

She can't help but laugh at his natural charm. After looking to Vivienne, who waves her hand in approval, she lets Ryan lead her out to the dance floor where they sway together at ease in each other's company reminiscing. It’s a far cry from the intimate dance with Sam earlier that evening, instead Katie could relax into it knowing that she wasn’t trying to hide anything, and it felt freeing.

As Sam's discussion, or more accurately argument, with his father comes to an end he heads back to the table where he notices his mother is sitting alone.

“Where's Katie?" He asks forgetting to hide the panic in his voice, worried for the second time that evening, after she had disappeared to the bathroom for half an hour, that Katie had thought better of compromising herself for him and fled the gala.

Vivienne nods towards the dance floor, Sam's eyes follow and a bolt of jealousy hits him right in the heart as he sees her in the arms of another man.

With a steely glare he starts towards her but is stopped by Vivienne's hand firmly holding him back by his arm.

“Leave her be, she's enjoying herself."

Letting out an almost inaudible sigh he sits down next to his mother but can't pull his eyes away, so enthralled that his mother's voice is almost a whisper in the background.

"She really is wonderful darling, I know even your father is impressed, of course he'll never say it." Her arm still resting on his, she studies Sam's face before continuing, "What a shame you’d not met her sooner.”

Allowing himself for a moment to hope that his mother's glowing reference suggests she is in approval of his relationship with Katie becoming something more, Sam smiles and leans forward ready to gush even more. He catches himself just in time as the ever repeating voices in his head remind him of his responsibility and everyone else's expectations of him, instead he brings it back to the boys.

"Yes she's brilliant with Mason and Mickey, they're lucky to have her."

Dancing and talking together with Ryan, Katie had almost forgotten about Sam and their earlier tryst on the balcony, grateful for the distraction and if she was being honest the attention. It's not every day that she goes to the effort of dressing up at the last minute and schmoozes the un-scmoozable to help her sort-of-boyfriend look good, it's nice to have someone sweep her off her feet and put her first for once.

"Your boyfriend doesn't seem too happy about us dancing together" Ryan nods towards Sam who is trying to get their attention, his parents behind him appear to be getting ready to leave.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Ryan's eyes widen sensing an opportunity. “Well I guess that's good news for me...can I call you sometime, take you out for dinner?"

She drops her gaze, shaking her head slightly.

“I'm sorry, I don't think it's a good idea..." trailing off, he gently lifts her chin to look up at him.

"But you're single...?"

"No, I...it's...it's complicated" she stutters while looking over his shoulder at Sam, who looks less than thrilled.

"Well, if you change your mind, Laney has my number." With that, he kisses her hand and watches the silk of her gown cling to her hips as she walks away.

Returning to the table, Mason Sr takes Katie’s hand and shakes it almost warmly.

“Pleasure to see you again Katie. Excellent damage control with Selene earlier...very impressive."

He moves to Sam, impassively shaking his hand as Vivienne envelopes her in a hug, kissing each cheek.

"Wonderful to see you again dear, give those grandsons of mine one of these from me!"

Katie smiles tenderly back at her, nodding in agreement.

After the Dalton's leave, Katie and Sam remain at the table, sipping their drinks in awkward silence, steadily interrupted by acquaintances of Sam's wanting to talk business. Finally, noticing Katie’s arm propping up her tired head, Sam stands.

“I think that's enough shop talk for one night, let's get you home."

Waiting for the limo to pull to the front of the building Sam notices her shiver in the cold night air. He takes off his jacket and wraps it around her shoulders, the most contact they’ve had all evening since being intertwined on the balcony together. His gaze lingers on hers, neither able to look away. She tries to read his thoughts as she looks deep into his eyes but all she sees is a muddle of pain, confusion and longing. It doesn't make her feel any better.

"Mr Dalton..." the driver says with a small cough as he stands by the open limo door.

Sam pulls away and walks her over to the limo with his hand hovering behind the small of her back, not daring to touch. Once settled in their seats it doesn't take long for the gentle motion of the car to send Katie to sleep, her head lulling and dropping onto Sam's shoulder.

It takes everything he has for him not to wrap his arms around her, his mind conflicted thinking of the nights events. The incredible connection they shared on the balcony, the fire within him burning hotter and brighter than ever before, his mother's glowing review, hell even his father had been impressed and suggested during their conversation in the bar that Katie’s role within the Dalton empire might be wasted as just a nanny. But none of these thoughts could quite suppress his feelings of guilt at falling for another woman, his responsibility to his sons, the business and their legacies. At least not in his mind.

Back in the penthouse, Sam makes his way into the open plan living area to find, thinking him for his help with the boys. Katie hangs back, not wanting to make small talk in front of Carter, who is incredibly astute and would no doubt piece together that things were not as they seemed.

"Miss Hide, you're a vision!"

Walking towards the elevator, Carter beams at her like a proud dad seeing his daughter on her wedding day.

“I didn't get the chance to see you before you left, my my..."

"Thank you Carter. And thank you for watching the boys, I hope they weren't too much trouble?!"

He taps his nose, keeping secret whatever mischief they got up to that evening. She smiles back at him knowingly as he steps into the elevator and the doors close.

As she turns back towards the living room she is halted by Sam standing right in front of her, so close, she almost crashes into him. Sheepishly she hands him his jacket as he offers a bottle of water in exchange.

‘You should never go to bed dehydrated" he blurts out, trying to fill the gaping silence.

“Sam...."

"Goodnight Katie, thank you for your help this evening, I appreciate you coming."

Unable to muster up enough energy to argue push any further, Katie drops her gaze to the floor as she shakes her head disappointedly. She walks away without a word, her heart aching more than she thought possible.

TAG List: @shewillreadyou @chemist-ana @txemrn @silma-words @thefrenchiemama @secretaryunpaid @sfb123

- Bonus - photo posted by Katie the morning after followed by a conversation with Jenny (before Sam drops the Italy bombshell and she was supposed to have the day off!)

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

"When your friends are able to call what character you'll simp for out of the main cast you realize MAYBE just MAYBE there might be a small problem. My relationship with Ranpo was quickly that he was the cutest character in their lineup. I almost instantly fell in love with him the more time that I spent around his antics." (Me.)

Ok, so this last month has been absolutely crazy. I've had two really, really, really hard classes and just not enough ideas to make edits out of that were for my own personal use. It wasn't until one of my friends I'm really close with on discord (Gris) wouldn't stop talking about Bungo Stray Dogs so I figured on Tuesday ehh what the hell I'll give it a shot and maybe I'll find a new husbando or comfort character to make an edit out of. AND OH MY GOD-so I got two new husbandos in this lineup and I'm ass over teakettle in love with both of them. They own my heart and soul and I would do anything for them. I wanted to start off talking about Ranpo because he is literally everything to me right now.

I won't lie, Ranpo is an absolute brat 11/10 baby bratty boi material right here. But that's what initially drew me to him. That he could be so smart but at the same bratty enough to have a freaking whine when things don't go his way. I fell in love with his little childish nature (despite being 26), the fact that he didn't know how the hell a train worked just UGH he was the sweetest bean. I have only seen one episode with him fully so far but he already owns my heart, and I've made a space for him in my heart as well.

While his outwardly cutesy nature is easily flipped on a dime once he busts out his glasses I thought that he was still just such a good boi despite him being a brat. How eager he is to be praised, so much so that he'd do anything for praise even if it means doing something for the team that he doesn't really want to do. I just love the way that he interacts with his comrades and the other members on his team. Whether that be asking one of them for a marble, monging on chips and lightly lecturing when someone is in danger, falling asleep when he doesn't think that he's needed, every little thing that Ranpo does made my heart grow fonder for him.

The scene where I knew that I was screwed, there was zero coming back from this and I would be forever screwed in this show was definitely his bratty humph that he gives to Atsuhsi and Dazai when they're lagging behind just ever so slightly. At first, I didn't really know how I was going to cope with the fact that one of my young teenage-hood favorite voice actor, turned dashed dream at eighteen when I found out just how much of a piece of shit he really was, Vic Mignogna, was going to be the voice of Ranpo. It's been... a really long time since I've simped for one of his characters. But it also taught me a lot. Just because a voice actor isn't the person that you want them to be, doesn't mean that make the character bad. It just means that they are bad. You can love a character and hate the voice actor but still like their performance. Let's face it, the reason Vic worked for so long was because he was good at what he did. He might be a bad person and not who 13 year old me envisioned but I think I can live with that.

I knew from Ranpo's first line of dialogue that shit was going to go sideways for me. It only really depended on what type of way it was going to. The comfort character route, or the simping so hard for him route that you can't find your way out. For some reason, there was just something about his antics that made my heart warm. He quickly became one of my biggest problems of the year other than my other husbando from this series and Kuroo in Haikyuu. My softness for goofballs really knows zero bounds. They can come in many different forms but I'll always follow them anywhere in the world. When my friend Gris told me after I got through Ranpo's first big episode she instantly was like "Oh yeah I knew that you'd fall in love with him". I didn't know wether to be offended at being so obvious or happy that someone was able to guess my type so easily.

[loopy777]

Non-Review: Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)

With all the hype around 'Suki Alone,' it looks to me like most of the fandom missed that an additional Avatar comic with a story from each cartoon's era was just released for Free Comic Book Day. You can read them for yourself on either Dark Horse Digital or Comixology where it's mislabeled as being for ages 17+ (free accounts are required for both), but I'm sure one of the reasons you all love me is because of my willingness to jump in between you and these comics like the deadly bullets they can be. Well, I'm happy to die (metaphorically) for the sake of (a little anonymous internet) love, so I'm doing a full snarky review for each ten-page story. Also, I'm bored, and it's more fun to make fun of mediocre stuff than to praise stuff I like.

It's time for me to review "Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)" or more specifically "The Legend of Korra: Clearing the Air" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Matcha Makers."

CLEARING THE AIR

The cover makes this look like a story about Jinora and Ikki having a sibling conflict. That's a lie. The Air Sisters arguing is merely the inciting incident for Tenzin telling a story of his youth. I should note that, as inconsequential as the Air Sisters stuff is, it's actually written very well because it posits Ikki as a victim of circumstance and Jinora as a bully who terrorizes her little sister with threats of getting thrown in jail by Metalbenders for an accident, cementing the characterization from the cartoon. This is not sarcasm. I really do think Jinora is presented by LoK as a Holier Than Thou little snot who just so happened to be naturally gifted with magic spirit-powers, but for some reason the rest of the fandom doesn't agree with me.

Anyway, Tenzin comes in to find the arguing (and Meelo just running amok for the fun of it and so far these characterizations are perfect), and rather than telling Jinora to shut her stupid face, he delivers a tale of his youth about conflict resolution.

So the meat of the story is how, when Tenzin was "a few years older" than Jinora, a pair of vandals got onto Air Temple Island and burned some graffiti into the spinning-panel things that Korra will destroy out of frustration during her Airbending training. Literally, the vandals are depicted as scorching the wood with enough smoke to be seen across a plaza. Tenzin goes after the vandals and they flee across the bay back to Republic City proper (one of the vandals is a Waterbender with a surf-plank). Tenzin pursues, catches them, and attacks them hard enough to smash some dockside crates. They are all then arrested by Metalbenders and dragged before Chief Toph. She's going to let Tenzin go (yay Toph!) and throw the vandals in jail (YAY TOPH!) and makes this face, and this entire comic is worth it:

However, Aang arrives and instead arranges to forgo the jail-time in favor of an Air Nomad Conflict Resolution Ceremony. This is nice and in-character, but I'm totally with Tenzin that these vandals should have been thrown in jail. They literally burned insulting graffiti into antiques from a genocided culture. But instead, Aang demonstrates conflict resolution by having Tenzin explain why he's hurt and what needs to be done to redress the wrong. And so the vandals help Tenzin scrub the graffiti off the panels with water and rags and mops- how, I don't know, since they were literally burned.

They also do a ceremony thing where they each take turns bending their element into a central space between them to 'clear the air' (GET IT GET IT HA HA IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PUN BUT NOT), so it's a good thing they were all Benders because this is kinda racist. This fixes all the problems and everyone is friends. Yay!

In the present, though, things are not so nice, because Tenzin's kids are still screaming at and provoking each other. Korra comes in with Asami at the end to ask what's going on, and Asami says nothing, so I still think everyone is characterized with perfect consistency with the cartoon.

I made this sound silly, but (aside from the spinny-panels getting cleaned with a little water and elbow-grease, which doesn't matter because Korra will eventually blow them all up anyway), I actually like this one. It has Tenzin demonstrate how much he's always had to work to be the Perfect Air Monk that everyone expects him to be, and Aang acknowledges how this is unfair but that Tenzin will never let him down no matter what. It also has Katara come in at the end (for just one line, boo!) to acknowledge that this was an especially easy little conflict for Tenzin to practice on and he'll eventually face worse. I found it a nice adult moment in a story that's otherwise clearly aimed at 8-year-olds.

The art is good. It's simpler than the LoK cartoon, with flat colors, but it captures the story and has enough liveliness for everyone's character to come across in their look and body-language. The brief action-sequence where Tenzin attacks the vandals is well done, moving quickly but showing the full flow of the fight and every move Tenzin makes.

MATCHA MAKERS

Apparently, "Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia" according to Wikipedia. I had to look that up. I'm curious how many people understood the full reference in the title, especially since these comics are aimed at kids too young to be allowed on the internet.

This is a very simple story about Iroh in his tea-shop in Ba Sing Se. He has an assistant/waitress named Feng, a new character who wears glasses, ruining the hopes and dreams of all the fanfic-writers who were so sure he'd rescue Jin from the Lower Ring. A frequent patron of the tea shop is an elegant, older lady (very clearly Upper Ring material) named Li-Mei, who cannot go a single panel without giving Iroh a HEY BIG BOY look. She is very clearly smitten. Also, I feel the need to clarify that she knows his name is Iroh, so apparently Ba Sing Se is okay with the Dragon of the West serving tea to their wealthy. I don't say that as a criticism, I'm just noting it.

That night, Iroh meets up with his friends- the Pokemon-style spirits that we saw in Legend of Korra. (I don't know if they're the actual spirits from LoK, or just new spirits in the same style. This is because I would sooner grind matcha into my eyes than rewatch Book Spirits.) He serves them his special blend of tea and talks about how he's totally into Li-Mei but isn't going to pursue it because he's feeling old and doesn't want to take a risk. At this point, I could stop describing the plot because between the title and what I've said so far, I'm sure you could figure out every single plot beat that will follow.

The next day, the spirits trip Feng so that she drops Li-Mei's tea and Iroh needs to bring a replacement, and they've drawn hearts on top of the replacement tea with foam or sugar or milk or whatever. I don't know because I've never bought tea in a place that will even put the bag in the hot water for me. Iroh gets out of the situation without starting any love-affairs and runs into the back to tell the spirits to knock it off, dudes, they're totally embarrassing him! The spirits respond by giving him a flyer for a romantic restaurant. I don't know how they got it, so I can only assume that some Upper Ringer had their mail diverted.

Iroh refuses, so when Li-Mei orders more tea and he brings it to her, the spirits hover just out of her sight and threaten to smash the furniture. I am not making that up. They literally threaten to smash Iroh's furniture unless he asks the lady out. He submits to their tyrannical threats, Li-Mei happily accepts the date, he happily accepts her acceptance, and the story comes to a close. Iroh thanks his spirits friends for opening him up to new experience, but hopes that next time (so I guess Iroh is signing up for Tinder after this?) they won't threaten his shop.

At best, I can describe this story as 'harmless.' But it's been a long week and I just got a bunch more extra work at my day job that I really don't want to do, so I'm going to go ahead and call this story 'dumb.' It's rote, leans towards humor without actually being funny at all, and turns the spirits of the setting into Pokemon. And not even the cool dragon kind.

The art is strangely stiff. The coloring is soft and nice, but the drawings seems more 'assembled' than actually drawn. I swear there are even a few panels that reminded me of 'How I Became Yours' with janky poses, horrifying expressions, and just enough resemblance to the original cartoon to make me think a screenshot was partially traced and then ruined. (I'm not accusing the artist of tracing, BTW. I wouldn't even condemn the artist for tracing if they did. I'm just describing that HIBY feeling I got.) It was so stiff that rather than hear Iroh's dialogue in Mako's rich tones, I instead imagined Greg Baldwin doing a stiff Mako-impression with no naturalism to the delivery.

This story is definitely worthy of its "Also Featuring" billing. I'd rate it below Gene Yang's Mai and Suki FCBD short stories, but above everything else he wrote for Avatar.

So there you go. Overall, this is very middle-of-the-pack for Avatar FCBD stuff. It's very much of the nature of the 'Team Avatar Tales' stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Iroh story was a leftover from that project. On Free Comic Book Day, you often get what you pay for.

[fifielady]

Come To Sea, Come Home, Come Adventure

Day 4 of @usukweek​ || Free Day | Nautical AU

Note/s: This fic is also inspired and based on this song. ((My aunt’s karaoke is so loud and I’m a bit sorry that this is a bit rushed as well. I hope you enjoy it though!))

The far horizon was golden in the last minutes of the day's daylight. A distinct difference to the fierce red of the morning when Alfred went out to chop wood as soon as he woke up. He had been expecting a shower of rain the whole day but not even a drop fell from the sky; even though the clouds in the east were plentiful. Alfred stalled for a while, admiring the red of the sky reflected in the calm waters of the little port town he grew up in. A gust of wind blew, shaking the hilltop trees beside him and down and over to the sails of the ships docked by the bay of the port. 

 The town's lights were burning brilliantly against the dark backdrop of the star-kissed night sky. Cheers and peals of laughter were echoing away from the heart of the port and to where Alfred stood-- at the crown of the third hill of the island. The yearly festival of the town was pulsing with life.

 The young man couldn't resist a carefree grin curving his lips. There were lots of ships resting from their adventures tonight. Big, beautiful ships from her numerous voyages with her roughed-up, handsome sailors. Not that the other people his age in their little port weren't pretty, Alfred just thinks they lack the... uh, appeal... to captivate him like how the people crossing the seas ever did. Was it their experience? Yes, that aspect probably played a part in his attraction to others. But it was mostly because he could travel along the seas with them if he ever ensnared a sailor. 

So far, Alfred ensnared no one (Except for that one time with a local bard due to a small lapse of his judgment).

 Fastening his grip on his full satchel, Alfred took a deep breath and turned around gave the last, possibly, good-bye to the cottage he called his home for the last nineteen years of his boring life. Bang! One of the windows suddenly opened, revealing his disgruntled older brother shaking his fist.

 "It's been three years, Al! And you already have a match, for how long are you going to keep this up?!" Matthew yelled, his voice reverberated down on the hill and to Alfred.

 Alfred formed a cone around his mouth with his hands. "Until I finally get on a ship and physically drag him back!" 

 Even with the distance, he saw his brother's disappointing frown. Matthew never understood him. No one in town ever did. Alfred whirled around, having enough of the daily reprimands his brother gives him every time he ventures down to the port. Don't get him wrong, he appreciates his brother's worry for him but Matthew will never understand his will to find that annoying best friend and lover of his. That guy was probably frolicking with some busty lady with rum and jewels surrounding him. Alfred clicked his tongue unconsciously, the mere thought of him made him both annoyed and more encouraged as ever.

 "Oi, Al, don't forget to pick up some thyme when you've had enough of the sailors!" Matthew bellowed for the last time before Alfred sprinted down the path of the hill. Gah! Alfred's had enough of his life in town and he'd die from crushing herbs and selling medicine for the rest of his life. An exaggeration. He hopes no one would toss him off the deck since he was an expert in herbal medicine.

 At least that would never happen if he fails to find a ship tonight. And he'd never considered stowing away, so that's off the list. Alfred knows too much what happens to a stowaway. A shiver ran up his spine as he continued to run with the salty wind. With all dangers of sea travel in his mind, he prayed again that night that he'd never meet a scoundrel. Or worse-- a pirate.

 But the chances of meeting one are slim in a nameless island port town in the outskirts of a kingdom.

  The music of the flutes and guitars was loud and lively, people in the town plaza were dancing and whooping with laughter and joy. Lights from the hanging lanterns glowed like honey under the night sky and warmed the merry townsfolk and sailors. Alfred struggled to pave a way through the dancing people and to the tavern at the end of the plaza. He mussed up his wheat hair, desperately trying not to be noticed by the celebrators lest they drag him into dancing with them. Or call for Natalia.

 Alfred scanned left and right, still in the crowd being pushed everywhere by the others and the melodies. He saw no sign of a mop of blonde hair lighter than his. He couldn't help relief from heaving a sigh out of his lips. And for a while, space loosened amidst the crowd and Alfred wriggled his way out of the bunch and into the open doors of the tavern.

 The cheers and the chattering in the tavern were less noisy than the festivities outside, though still as rowdy. Most of the ones inside were drunken sailors and sailors who were failing in seducing the barmaids. Alfred proceeded to the counter and sat on the last stool on the end, straining his ears to hear the dialogue of the men behind him. 

 A glass of grape rum propped up in front of him. "You really should stop this past-time of yours, Al," the barkeep chided him, though she said that with a wry grin on her face, "But if you make them stay a bit longer and make their pockets loose and generous, who am I to stop you?"

 He only shook his head and picked up his glass. Alfred studied the drinking, the drunks, and the miraculously sober in the tavern. Tables were full of sailors, their drinks, and pie. He sipped the given drink slowly and asked the barkeep, "Are there any captains getting shit-faced, around? With the drinks you're serving tonight, it's so much easier to try and convince them."

 "Natalia would have your head if you tried to bed one of them again."

 Alfred chuckled, "Not if she wants to go through the trouble of getting an 'adequate' husband again." Head resting on the palm of his hand, he continued, "The only other herbalist in town is my brother and he's gonna marry her cousin this summer. It'll at least take her another few years to find someone like me, you know!"

 The barkeep scoffed playfully at his words, "Nobody is as brash as you around here, Alfred Jones. But..." She had a smug look as she took out a pie from one of the ovens. Alfred raised a brow and gestured with his free hand to prompt her as he chugged down the rest of the drink. "There was some guy who almost mauled his 'first mate' because of a snide comment a few moments before you walked in."

 He almost spat out the rum in his mouth, but his eyes went comically wide. 'His first mate'?! There was a ship captain out and about instead of inspecting their ships! Alfred gulped down the drink, it burned his throat and made his blood warm. "Is he still here?!"

 She only smiled in response, her green eyes twinkling mischievously. "Alfred, be a dear and deliver this pie to that table near the sea-facing window."

 Alfred gave her a look but he still took the tray with the dessert. "You're as pretty as you are guileful, Liz." She turned to prepare another batch of drinks, her long brown hair almost slapping Alfred across his face.

 "Why, thank you."

 He huffed. So the drink wasn't free, then. Even when he entertains her customers and made them stay until morning. Alfred sauntered to the aforementioned table and placed the tray gently (You can't just put a pie down haphazardly, that's asking for a fight!). He looked up to see a raven-haired man, brunnet, an anxious blond man. The blond guy had a swollen cheek on his exasperated face. 

 "Uhh, you're the ones who ordered this pie, right?"

 The three men stayed silent. They had such gloomy expressions it made Alfred feel bad doing his nightly conquests. But his self-righteous quest like searching for his lover was a great deal heavier than consoling three men who ordered a pie. Alfred should probably not try anything on these three; they really looked like they killed a person's hopes and dreams and lived to bear it. Just as he was about to excuse himself from such a depressed trio, the blond guy suddenly slammed his fist on the table.

 "H-hey, are you--"

 The guy's swollen face whirled around and came close to his; Alfred took a step back. "I'm tired of it! I'm tired of him being such a young master! Ah, I want him to drown in his rum and! And...!" The strange man bawled and caressed the edges of the pie, "Even so...for a captain, he's so pitiful...! You agree, right?"

 "What are--"

 "Here!" The injured blond shoved the pie to him, "You bring it to the captain in the barn. I can't handle him right now!" Then he continued sobbing on the table, softly punching it with his fist. Alfred could only gape at the other two men that refused to look at him and instead stared outside the window with deadpan expressions. 

 Just what did he get into?

 Alfred sighed and went out with a freshly-baked pie in his hands to the little barn on the other side of the tavern. The festivities in the plaza were still going on but the tavern's barn was always empty and dark. And cold. But if Alfred were to personally deliver this to the injured man's captain, he could hitch a ride to the next step of finding his lover. Maybe. If the captain wasn't a blacked-out drunk already and making the cow and chickens his roommates. Ah, the animals were transferred to a new barn so maybe not.

 Clink! Clonk! The rhythmic sound of metal against the stoned pathways of the town plaza resounded loudly even with the loud voices in the festival in the center. Oh, no. NO! Alfred felt the warmth of the rum leave his body and early winter settled in his bone. The sound of armored boots stepping on the stone can only mean one and only one thing-- Natalia is here!

 To say Alfred wasn't scared shitless of his fiancee was a big, fat lie. She was so stubborn in making him her husband because he was the only herbalist who wasn't married yet. Alfred was equally as stubborn as to chase after someone who hasn't even stepped on their home island for three years. So, of course, it was a problem for both of them!

 He hurried his steps to the barn, taking extra precaution with the pie, and locked the doors shut as soon as he entered it. Cold sweat ran down from his neck and down his spine. If Natalia caught him flirting in Elizabeta's tavern again, she'd torture him rather than killing him to end his misery. 

 The clanging metal slowly went away. Alfred slumped his body against the wooden doors, sliding down and sitting on the hay-infested floor of the barn. He sighed, the beating of his heart was loud in his ears. Alfred stared into the semi-darkness inside the barn. Slivers of light went through the spaces between the wooden walls. The outside noise was muted and far away. 

 Yeah, he can still do this. If his lover with his smaller frame craved for adventure, then Alfred could do the same. All in the name of love...

 Alfred stared at the pie in his hands. Minced pie, it was a favorite of--

 "Nggh..." Someone groaned in the darkness. Right. Alfred still had to give the pie to the trio's captain.

 He stood up and walked over to the direction of the sound. The young man was blindly reaching out in the darkness using his other hand. He spotted a hunched figure, a large but faint stripe of yellow light on the man. He finally got close and shook the man's shoulder. The man groaned, still face-first as he lay on the pile on hay. Oof, that's gonna itch in the morning. Alfred shook the captain more roughly this time. He heard a faint 'Wasssit' from the man but the guy still hadn't moved an inch. Alfred resisted pulling on the captain's tied back messy, yellow hair. "Hey, man, you gotta get up if you want to eat."

 "... Wha.. ha?" The captain finally, at a slow pace, lifted his face to face the annoyed expression on Alfred. Bleary emeralds so familiar ogled him, with drool on the edge on the man's mouth. That... that face! Alfred stared in shock as the brows of the man drew together. Those eyebrows! He'd never forget someone with eyebrows like that! And the only one who had eyebrows like that was his lover with the name of--

 "Arthur?!"

 Arthur sobered up instantly, recognition and awe and shock all over his half-drunk face. "What in the-- Alfred! What are you doing here?"

 "I should be asking you that! What're you doing here of all places?" Alfred shook his head, his grip tightened on the pie, "Nevermind that, why didn't you come to see me first?!" Questions, he had so many questions. Was this why Liz had that smile on her when he came in? Because this guy was back?! Alfred was so going to kill him.

 "Wait--Wait! Let me-- let me explain!"

 "You better explain! What were you thinking, leaving this island without me and coming back some three years later?"

 Alfred's heart was beating with happiness and curiosity and a faint trace of hurt in the back of his heart. Arthur was here! After three years-- Wait, he shouldn't get ahead of himself. His lover left him for three years! Three! Were they still even lovers? Alfred placed the pie on the ground and latched his hands on the shoulders of the other man. Arthur had a dumb look on his face, the same one he had when every time he woke up from a nap years ago. Alfred felt his chest tighten from just this...

 "Arthur. You are going to tell me everything."

 And his found lover did. In his drunk and sleep-addled voice that Alfred missed. In the semi-darkness of the barn, the old lovers spoke and ate mince pie throughout the night. The celebration and its noise outside never stopped them from exchanging words of love and embraces full of affection.

 "I thought you said you'd never come back." Alfred and Arthur were on their sides facing each other on the pile of hay. It was a bit itchy but Alfred found it comfortable with Arthur in his arms.

 "Well, I'm here now." Arthur looked at him in the eyes, the truth in his new never disappearing for even a moment. "But I'm not coming back ever again."

 "...Even for me?" His grip around his lover's waist tensing, "Arthur, why did you come back to this backwater island?"

 Arthur's green eyes softened, misting in the edges. "I came back for you. You were always in my mind and every time I think of you and your smile, it makes my heartache. You were so far away. But not any more so..." he took Alfred's hands in his, " So come with me, Alfred. Let's look for adventure. Together."

 The only thing in Alfred's mind was how he loved Arthur so much and the warmth of Arthur's hand on his. He'd never let that hand go again.

 "Together?"

 "Yes."

 Alfred already had his satchel ready for the last three years.

    Extra:

 "This ship looks like she's been through too many fights... too many scars on the floorboard."

 "Er, yes..."

 "Wait a minute, why does this ship have the kingdom's insignia all scratched up? Merchant ships have to have clear insignias!"

 "Well, uh--"

 "Arthur, is there something you're not telling me?"

 "..."

  "This is a pirate ship, isn't it? Really, Art?"