#and then gets dropped into some scenario where he has to charm and dazzle an important person and he fucking nails it to everyone's surpris

[happyk44]

I want Jason to be such a skilled liar when the situation calls for it but being so bad at it otherwise because 90% of the time he does not see the point in lying.

[ttuesday]

HCs of the fellers trying to flirt with you

You sat at the bar in the saloon, alone. You weren't planning on staying long but after dropping a particularly troubling bounty off at the local sheriff's office, you decided that you needed a drink. That's when he walked in. He was with a rough looking group of men but the second he entered the saloon, the only thing he could pay attention to was you.

Arthur

it takes Arthur about an hour to work up the courage to approach you. When he finally makes his move, he goes to stand next to you at the bar and casually orders a drink.

While the bartender rushes off to get him a beer, neither one of you speak. Just before Arthur goes to sit with his group again, he mumbles "Excuse me but um... you got some real pretty eyes".

Arthur doesn’t hang around to see your reaction. Before you can even say thank you, he's already walking away. We all know Arthur doesn't have the highest self esteem so he’s already certain you'll reject him.

You have to show him you're interested, otherwise he presumes there's no chance. The next time he comes up to the bar to order a drink, you say "You never let me thank you, how's about I pay for your beer?". There's no way Arthur let’s you pay for his drink but that does show him that you're interested. As you both start talking, you can't help but notice his small smile and his cheeks turn a rosy red.

Charles

Let’s be real, Charles doesn't know how to flirt. He's seen Dutch chat up Molly and Mary-Beth at camp and he has unfortunately witnessed Micah try to charm the majority of people but he just doesn’t think he can do that.

Charles comes up to the bar and orders himself a drink, making sure to keep a respectful distance from you. He wasn't going to say anything to you but he couldn't help himself when he saw the beautiful hunting knife you had holstered in your gun belt

“That’s a nice knife, is that a custom handle?” he asks, timidly gesturing to it. You answer him and it leads to a full blown conversation about different weapons you both own (how romantic). Charles talks about his bow and how he prefers to make his own arrows

Before the night is out, Charles offers to make you some arrows and asks if you'd like to go hunting with him sometime so ye can exchange some tips and tricks with each other

Dutch

Dutch has rehearsed this a million times, saying the best pick up lines to himself in the mirror and trying to figure out the formula to get anyone into bed. He immediately turns on his charm as he approaches you.

Dutch gazes at you for a few seconds, his eyes wandering up and down your frame. He clears his throat before saying "My apologies, I don't mean to stare. It's just, I've never met someone quite as beautiful as you". This man will absolutely smother you in compliments and of course, he'll get poetic. "The brightness of your smile makes the most dazzling star look dull" he recites as if he’s in a Shakespeare play.

He tries to impress you with his money, obviously. Dutch doesn’t even ask you if you want a drink, he just buys you one. And when he's paying for it, he opens his wallet just wide enough for you to see all the fifty dollar bills he has stuffed in there. On the slim chance his charm doesn’t get you into bed, he’s hoping his money will.

Dutch vaguely describes what he does for a living, emphasizing the fact that he's in charge to try and impress you yet again. And since Dutch is just so generous, he offers to pay for a room at the hotel down the street too *wink wink*

Micah

Micah will completely abandon whoever he came into the saloon with and walk straight up to you. He doesn't waste anytime, coming up next to you with a cheesy smile plastered across his face. "How's about you pay for the drinks and I'll pay for the room" he smirks.

You could go off with him immediately or if you tell him to stick his shitty pick up line where the sun don't shine then he backs off... but not for too long. Micah comes back about 10 minutes later, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "Easy tiger, only came to get another beer" he lies, not even half done his first drink.

He stays around the bar and tries to make small talk with you. It doesn't work at first but eventually you both actually start talking. It doesn't last long though. It all happened very fast but some drunk bumped into the both of you and then Micah shoved him into another group which led to the whole saloon erupting into chaos.

Two men grab Micah and throw him out of the saloon, one of them yelling at him that he's barred. You could stay inside, finally free of Micah bothering you or you could follow him out and see where the night takes ye.

John

You wouldn't think John is good at flirting... and you're right but John thinks he knows what to do. He waits for the perfect moment before going up to you, which is basically when you finish your drink or pull out a cigarette.

Then he quickly hurries over to you and offers to buy you a drink or light your cigarette. John presumed flirting would be easy after that but he doesn’t know what to say. He opens his mouth to say something but words fail him.

For a few seconds he just stands there, trying to think of anything impressive to say to you but then he starts to get paranoid that he's taking too long and that he looks weird. So he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind "So... you come here often?".

Poor John's mind is absolutely racing as he tries to figure out if that sounded stupid. He’s already picturing about twenty different scenarios of you rejecting him but to his surprise, you smile and answer his question. It settles him a little, knowing that he didn’t immediately fuck it up and he asks if he could sit with you for a while.

Javier

This man is the definition of smooth. He’s nervous approaching you but he tries not to show it. He acts confident and hopes for the best.

Javier doesn’t go straight into flirting, first he starts a normal conversation with you but throws in a few compliments. His one goal is to make you blush as much as possible so he can tell you how cute you look.

He casually asks if you’ve eaten yet and that the food at the saloon is terrible. Luckily for you, Javier tells you that he knows the perfect place to eat and that it has the most beautiful view he’s ever seen.

Javier leads you out of the saloon and to the general store, telling you to wait outside. He comes out with a satchel full of all kinds of food and brings you away from the busy street and sits under a nearby tree for a picnic. When you question him about this apparently amazing view, he looks at you and nods “Yeah, it’s the most beautiful view a man could ask for”. 

Bill

Bill doesn't exactly know how to approach you, so he spends the majority of the night admiring you from a far and thinking of how he can make a good first impression. Eventually, the fellers he came in with get sick of him talking about you and tell him the 'perfect' pick up line.

It's super obvious that he’s trying his best to act casual as he approaches you. Bill gestures to the tacky menu beside you "Y-you using that?". You pass it over to him and Bill says what he believes to be possibly the best pick up line known to man.

"Huh, I wonder what's on the menu... you and me? Wait, no, shit... shit I said that wrong, I meant to say me n' u... heh, get it? It’s like menu". Of course he had to fuck it up somehow. On the inside he's cursing himself but he's trying to put on a brave face.

He only relaxes when he sees a small smile on your face. “That was a uh... pretty terrible pick up line” he admits. You agree with him and Bill starts laughing “If you think that was one bad, you should’ve heard the other ones”. You spend the rest of the night laughing with Bill as he recites some more god awful pick up lines.

[goblinshork]

Ok so what abaut Bodyguard and Agony whith a a naga prince that just hates the royal life and dreams of just having a simple life living in a cottage and selling homemade jewelry, so Reader his childhood best friend, personal bodyguard and person who he feel in love whith decides to make his dream come true (bonus if the prince has a sister so the kingdown whont stay whiout a ruler and she helps Reader whith the plan, bonus+ if the prince is kinda huge and scary to other people but he is just a chill dude that likes to make rings and necklaces)

Short scenario please! (Also sorry if its too long, feel free to just ignore this if you whant)

Not too long at all and I think it's an extremely charming idea! Thank you for sharing; big gruff, undercover sweeties are one of the most Choice(tm) archetypes.

This also got super long, but the vibes were singing to me.

Features: Slight angst, happy ending, kissing

Bodyguard + Agony (Monster Ask Meme)

Hands, Touching Hands (m!Naga x gn!Reader) [3.7k]

“Don’t lie, how many names do you remember?”

Alok yawned, curved fangs peaking out from almost-lips.

“None, thankfully,” he said, scratching at his curls, cut short enough that they barely formed.

“Impressive.”

“Oh—no, you won’t distract me. You agree with me don’t you?”

The book Alok had toyed the entire briefing slammed shut, the many bracelets at his wrist clinking for emphasis when you did not answer.

Watching him unfurl his tense length of tail, broad shoulders rising far above you as he 'stood', there was little to say but, "It’s not my place."

"Then it’s not mine, either."

He slunk toward the door and you picked up the book--the monstrous thing--with your arms rather than your hands before following him.

"Just give it time," you said in a reassurance that was too shallow to drown his mood.

Every move forward looked painful as he slithered forward like a child first learning to move against stone rather than soft grass. Unlike when he was a child, he was stilted by frustration rather than inexperience.

The conversation was left dropped, burning like the weight of the tome in your arms. If you were alone, you'd tell him to carry it. But servants, nobles, and royals passed frequently, all low bows and murmurs, moving on a touch quicker than polite.

When you first arrived to the kingdom, a slave dressed sweetly and presented as a gift, you'd marveled at how anyone could find the royal family intimidating when removed from their wealth and status.

Baby yellow skin and soft pink dapples painted everyone of them. Alok, himself, was more pink than yellow, and it reminded you of those delicate, painted dolls you'd press your face against glass to get a closer look at before being shooed away by the shop-keep.

You supposed little had changed since then, except now you were simply stared at, expected to keep your fingers off the pretty pink glass always, always in front of you.

The hallway Alok stopped moving forward in was empty, private; his. Without a word, you tossed the horrible book toward his crossed arms and swept the windows, floors, and ceiling for anything strange. His fumbling for the book, fingers audibly skimming against pages, made you smile.

"It's clear," you nodded. "Workshop, right?"

Alok deflated a bit, too caught between the mention of his workshop and pretending to have perfectly caught the book to keep his anger stoked.

"You're asking now," he said flat, looking from the book to you.

Putting up your hands in mock defeat, you turned, alert enough.

@

"I'm not angry at you.” The slits that served for his pupils, deep red and small in their focus on the gem he was cutting, turned to you when you said nothing in response.

“Sorry, I--” was dazzled by your eyes? Was enamored by how passionate you are for perfecting that sparkling little gem? “I know.”

“I just wanted to say it.”

You stretched from your place beside the door, perched on one of the few chairs at your disposal in the entire castle, “Thank you.”

“Don’t be patronizing,” Alok grumbled, pausing in his work. “I know...I know very well you must be tired of this, even if you won’t say it.”

The window was suddenly so interesting, your throat burning as you swallowed down the feeling kindling there.

“This is my home,” you said after hearing the scales of his tail shift closer. “There’s nothing to be tired of.”

Slowly, his hand rose to hover over yours, where it lay on your lap, “But you should be. I’d give you anything you needed. They couldn’t stop me.”

Everything you wanted to say was tucked in the patch of air that separated his touch from yours.

Any person, bought and raised to be singularly loyal would hesitate at the offer of freedom, wouldn’t they?

They’d want to grab his hand, wouldn’t they?

You could only guess as a love for a prince was not something to be said aloud unless you were allowed.

And you, a slave turned body guard, were not.

Standing, you scattered the almost-moment with a shake of your head, “I don’t care about freedom half as much as you think I do.”

His hand fell limp to his side, the slits that served as his nose flaring wide, as you continued.

“I’m your bodyguard and I’ll be your children’s bodyguard and I’ll be the same to whoever you choose from that book,” you finished, thoroughly shooing yourself away, wanting so much to run out the door.

Alok said your name quietly, but you remained silent.

And everything was still until it wasn’t.

In one smooth motion propelled by his sheer size, Alok stretched to the book and hurled it out the open window.

“No, you won’t. I’ll be their prince,” he said low, body suddenly too large for the room. “But I won’t be their king.”

You did run, then.

@

Perhaps the only place off-limits for a would-be king allergic to potential suitors was his sister’s drawing room.

Adur payed you no attention as she demanded entertainment from the brightly colored darlings and dark patterned beauties of the upper echelon.

“Did you know, I simply adore the pattern of your bangles lately,” she cooed, pointing to a decorated tail. “So perfectly in style.”

She continued on, picking this and that to sigh over, as you stood against the corner that provided the best view of the room, next to the door. 

You recognized each piece she fawned over as being similar to something Alok had on display or nearly-done in his workshop. Ah, to know a magician’s tricks.

Melting into a squat, you let their voices wash over you. No heart could hurt for long listening to women enjoy court gossip as much as this bunch did...from a distance.

When you, Alok, and Adur were younger, the rules seemed less stone and more like blades of grass, flexible and beneath you. Adur set you in front of her always revolving group of friends and tried to fit tail bangles around your thighs and waist. Alok insisted you sit side-by-side while studying geography, arithmetic, and etiquette. You lay between them on sunny afternoons, napping, legs touching tails.

But everything golden goes grey eventually.

“Well, do tell me. Did he throw it in the fire?”

You turned from the window, swapping red, setting sun for sharp, red eyes, “Out of the window.”

The room was empty but for you and her now. Adur pacing around, tail making quick work of circling the room as she read from her collection of letters.

“Still the amount of melodrama I expected so,” she shrugged, raising shoulders toward her pleased mouth as a silent finish to her sentence. “I, on the other hand, did pick.”

You rose, legs tingling from the sudden change. “Who?”

“Prince Talsa,” she said after cutting open a letter with her claw, “I’ve already decided on a short engagement and a respectable wedding down south. Perhaps closer to his kingdom than ours.”

“Talsa? Not rare one who everyone’s after?”

Adur looked at you as though you should know better before deigning to explain, “Prince Talsa is rather plain looking for a naga, yes, but that’s just the point.”

“Go on,” you said, wanting so much to be distracted.

“Think about it,” Adur scoffed. “Rare, beautiful babies create wonder amongst people, but children who look as though they could be born anywhere....don’t you see the appeal?”

She leaned against the window, long black hair obscuring her pink and yellow face, “They would be royalty that even the most common of folk could feel familiar to--feel endeared to. Even someone as devoid of charm or pretense as Alok could gain some favor. From their birth, I’ll have them attend every little festival and celebration. Their bond with the people will be unshakable.”

“You’ll make the best queen,” you said, unthinking to the implication.

“Has something happened to Alok?”

“No, you ju--”

Adur turned to you, delicate face empty, “It doesn’t matter what we know. He’s the eldest and alive and destroying a book won’t change that.”

Your hands shook as you laced them together, risking at least your life, by asking:

“What if we could change it?”

@

Everything in the little room lacked splendor, save the jewelry that her brother displayed to no one but himself, built only to separate Alok from his mentor. A failed attempt to elevate a man too gargantuan to grow further.

Even the flooring was rough on the tail, not smooth stone but brick for retaining heat. Only care for function within these four walls.

Adur noted her brother’s tail was bare as she swept over the lacking room, only his leather work belt draped over the apex where tail met torso. Every bit of jewelry he wore crowded his wrists and fingers, noisy as he worked on some large bangle unfamiliar to her.

He looked haggard, frown too ugly and deep to be a mere product of concentration. Grey tickled the roots of his bangs, pronounced enough to shine in the lamplight. Alok was getting too old to be a prince with only time for his hobby.

“Sometimes I think it would be kinder to simply put you out of your misery,” Adur said, closing the door behind her.

Alok’s back tensed, but he did not pause his work, “I’m surprised you said it out loud, but don’t say it like a joke.”

“Don’t be so serious,” Adur sighed, “of course it was a joke.”

“Where is--”

“Your human delight? Running errands for me.”

Alok did turn then, face flickering through emotions too fast to name, “They’re just as much your dear friend as mine, you little viper.”

“Forgive my callousness, but I find you respond to little else,” Adur said, picking at the sheer fabric of her top so it draped correctly against her arm again. “And perhaps they are my friend. But they are not just yours.”

“I won’t be king...even if they weren’t here.”

Adur laughed in a sizzling tone, forked tongue dancing with humor, “Oh? And I suppose your little fantasies of running away involve you doing so alone?”

Only the flames licking back and forth in the small forge answered her.

“You’re too old to be deluding yourself like this,” she went on, dropping a bottle and a sheer robe on Alok’s work desk. “It’s time to make choices once and for all, brother.”

“I’m not--”

“I’m not asking you to rule. You’d be pathetic at it, yes, I know. If not for our dear human friend, you’d have flunked every tutor save for your precious jewelry maker.”

Alok curled back over his tail, fingers picking at the fabric of the robe his sister had dropped. “Then what are you asking?”

Hand on the doorknob, Adur smiled, “if you had your way and left to live like a common man with your human, would you really never come back?”

“Never.”

Adur opened the door. “Good.”

@

The drider--Woodnet? Woodne? Wodner?--stayed near the the door as you did, but unlike you his sleek, black legs rested on a few thin lines of webbing where wall met ceiling.

Slowly, Alok raised his face to address the bodyguard, entirely unused to being the short one. Worse still was the struggle to match sights with the correct pair of the drider’s many blinking eyes. If you were here, you’d have nudged him to follow your lead already.

If you were here...this wouldn’t be happening in the first place. Just another wishful thought to swallow down as Alok struggled to stay polite in the face of his father’s prime bodyguard.

“Outside the room is fine,” Alok said in a clipped tone, turning as he did to avoid dealing with anymore niceties.

“Forgive me for questioning, Prince Alok,” the drider said, voice drifting down like floating silk. “But bathing is when you are most vulnerable. I can not help but object to the risk.”

The drider polished each word, in no hurry to finish his sentence and Alok’s eyes rolled once--twice--thrice by the time there was silence. If only this were any guard other than his father’s favorite.

“I understand,” Alok said. “But, the windows are trapped and you will be guarding the only entrance.”

The sound of burdened legs skittering down stone, followed by the opening and closing of the lone, stone door was his answer.

Driders were generally no longer friends of Alok’s kingdom. Wodnel....no, Wodni perhaps, was a relic of a time long gone, when his father was just proving himself a leader of a nation. That Wodnir--that was it, Wodnir--was so protective of Alok, having sparsely been involved with him and having been enslaved through ruthless, warmongering means made Alok’s shoulders bunch, the muscles between protruding over scales.

Is that how it was between you and he? Did you feign fondness and care or was it true? Was it true but maligned of him to hope for it due to how you came to be near him? Because of he was?

Alok disrobed and slunk into the hot water, hoping to drown his pithy doubts that crowded so large in his mind.

Flakes of shed rose to the top the longer he soaked, proof of a difficult shed. There was sure to be more bits to come as he scrubbed himself with the, apparently, ‘to die for’ body scrub his sister had left last week.

You were usually the one to soothe his bubbling stress in a life of constant politics and decorum, but the bits of dead skin were proof enough that Alok truly was getting too old for delusions. You’d only been away for a week and a spare number of days and here he was, so tense that not even a hot bath could unfurl him.

Ugh.

Politics and decorum. How would he survive tonight without you? Adur was announcing her engagement tonight, in tandem with the nobles emerging from their collective sheds at the tail end of the Harvest Festival.

Alok scrubbed himself raw, hoping to emerge a new man who could weather life half as well as everyone around him. But the harder he lathed himself in soap, the clearer the truth rang.

If only he could have you.

@

You had relieved Wodnier of his duties, thanking him with a bow, and standing stiff beside the door for precious minutes, waiting for his delicate range of hearing to wane.

As an apprentice, you had met Wodnier often enough to know he wished you well as much as any spider did a fly.

Hammering against your chest, you feared the vibration of your heart was loud enough for him to hear. And there was always a chance the door shutting at the end of the curved hallway was a trap; that Wodnier still stood in Alok’s quarters and was not making his way back to the King.

But you didn’t have time to be safe, only quick.

Jittered by adrenaline, you sprinted to Alok’s room---toe first, heel last--and back, holding your breath once you made it back to the door of the bath.

Sweat pooled against your forehead, but nothing sprang toward you sans the faint sounds of Alok bathing.

You slipped past the door, the pack in your hands bulky enough that the door opened wider than you’d wanted, the hinge creaking.

“Alok?”

The figure behind the curtain froze before calling back your name.

“We don’t have much time, Alok,” you pressed in a sure voice, but your legs wobbled as you neared the curtain. “I’m....I’m running away and I’m taking you with me.”

“What?”

Coming past the curtain, your chest could barely contain your quick breathing. His hair was devoid of any gray, blacker than pitch as it fell just above his ear holes and forehead. Muddy brown and maroon scales were sleek and wet, droplets rolling down his body, even near his---

You looked back up quickly, away from where his belt always covered. “I mean, I want us to run away and we need to go now.”

Having followed your wandering gaze toward the apex of his stomach and tail, Alok frantically looked toward his arms, the muddy water, “What in the fuck is this?”

“Adur is helping us,” is all you said and it was all Alok seemed to need as he picked up the bottle the dye had been in, nodding. “She said it’ll only last until your next shed but, by then, hopefully....”

“She wants to be queen very much,” he murmured.

You tore open the pack, reminding yourself that time was short, and held them out. “Yes. So, we need to go.”

“You have no idea--,” Alok started, before interrupting himself. “I need something from the workshop.”

“We don’t have time.”

He shook his head as he took what you offered, dressing himself in plain leather and thick, scratchy wool. “It will be quick.”

You opened your mouth--- “Please.” --but couldn’t keep firm in the face of his pleading.

“Okay.”

@

Alok threw a few rings, bangles, and tools into the bag.

“Only enough to sell and get started again,” he assured.

But as you turned to leave the room, his hand was on your arm, pulling you back.

“We--”

“I love you,” he breathed, holding two thick, ornate bangles in his free hand. Both were decorated, from the side you could see, with marigolds, jewels gleaming in the center of their petals. You recognized each one.

One was the size to fit a large tail while the other...

“Alok.”

“I want us to leave belonging to one another.”

Your shaking hands dropped the large bag and his slid to hold both yours in his large one. “If we leave together, we’ll live together too won’t we?”

Even your head shook now, from side to side, hoping to discern the moment as waking or dreaming. “Alok. Of course, because...Of course we will.”

“Oh, please say it,” he said, tugging you nearer still.

He repeated your name and like a spell, you found your words, “We’ll live together because I love you, too.”

His thin mouth, soft and bloodless, fell to yours from his full height, his body curling over you as he pressed against your lips again.

“Let me put it on you,” he whispered, mouth moving against yours as you clung to him.

“Hurry and then we can....Just the bangles and then we must go before it’s too late.”

Careful of his claws, he lifted you to sit on his work table before slipping his own bangle over the small tip of his tail and up further, until it stuck in place under his belt.

There was no time to remove your pants, to mold the bangle against your bare thigh as was intended, but Alok’s thick hands skimming around the metal the entire way up burned as though he were doing just that.

You slid off the table, when the bangle was snug, to melt against him for one brief moment of loving calm, your face rubbing against his neck.

You didn’t have time for more.

After disentangling from his tight hold, you threw the bag at him, near tears as he scrambled to catch it. “I know it’s selfish, but I’m so glad you’re going to be mine instead of a king.”

And then you ran, hand in hand.

@

“Hey! Heeeeey,” one of the children yelled as the whole group of five ran toward you, kicking up dust on the dirt-packed road. “My momma said that snake man eats kids who don’t do chores!”

“My papa said he can’t help with the festival because he’s growing more arms!”

“That’s dumb, Brittany. My papa is smarter and he said the same thing as Corey’s momma. He’s a kid eater!”

The group shrieked in delighted horror as they squabbled on the specifics of what was really, truly going on in their village.

You hiked the basket in your arms higher after several attempts to respond, loudly telling them to pay attention or you’d leave.

As though pulled forward by strings, they straightened as still as a child could, a few even holding their hands over their mouths to keep silent.

“All of your parents are right,” you nodded, “Every two months he must curb his huge appetite and force back his new, child-grabbing arms so he doesn’t hurt the very naughty children of this village.”

They all clamored to stress their innocence in a cacophony of babbling that soon grew into questions.

“Is that why you live with him? ‘Cause you protect the village?”

“And him,” you said.

“At the same time?!”

“Of course, it’s my job. Now go back toward the smithy before you find out just how many arms he has.”

Lunging forward in jest was enough to urge the children away, all of them teasing the other that they would be last to get there and a snake man’s lunch.

@

“You’re horrible,” Alok groaned, scales pale pink and yellow from a successful shed. “Soon, they’ll be grown-ups, running us off.”

Hefting the basket onto the dining table, you laughed, “they adore you in secret.”

The cottages here were baked of mud, hay, and a few supportive beams of wood and yours was no different. There was no splendor in the room-less house, but it was truly yours and his. And that was luxury enough.

“They had enough this time?”

You shook the canteen of dye, moving to stand next to him on the low hammock that served as bed, “And the next shipment of birch will contain enough to last us three months or more.”

Alok smoothed his claw down your face, his own expression wistful, “I feel too content to explain.”

You pressed your nose against the pink of his jaw, letting him raise you to straddle him.

“Then show me.”

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Of Monsters and Men

Chapter 2- Lay Me in the Sun

Summary: You’ve spent the past handful of years with your Witcher throughout your travels around the Continent. After a hunt, you’re all he wants.

Warnings: smut, fluff, Geralt being a hottie

-Part of my OMAM series that I’m working on, this is right before the happenings of the Witcher season 1, which is in the next chapter

Masterlist

You are currently sprawled out upon the vibrantly green summer grass, enjoying the softness of your living bed as a warm breeze brushes past your skin. You had hacked at a tree with your sword for about an hour and a half to let off some steam until you got too bored and sweaty. You then went for a refreshing dip in the nearby river before lounging in the afternoon sun where you happen to be right now.

Geralt has been off all day on the hunt for some subspecies of troll while you've been chilling with Roach by the river. He didn't seem keen on having you come with him this time, so instead you let him have his "me time", odd way to call hunting and hacking off a trolls head "me time" but it's Geralt so you didn't press any further. He just likes doing his thing by himself at times and considering how nice a day it is, let him.

You've been his travel companion for a good handful of years now, which delightfully has resulted in that of a strong romantic relationship with your fearsome Witcher. He keeps himself as a big scary badass with a look that could send you running for the hills, according to all the people of the continent that you've both met. But to you he's the most gentle, funny, loyal, and protective lover you've ever had, quit the opposite of what the villagers think of him.

He listens to you and cares so much about if your happy around him, which you always tell him yes. He needlessly worries that he's too much or too little for you, that maybe he doesn't show how much he truly loves you often enough. But you have grown to understand that he speaks his love language through his actions and how he looks at you, as you've found this better then any amount of words on a man's tongue could possess. And it's just how Geralt shows his affection towards you, as he's never been a mushy kinda guy who will flatter you with his abundance of compliments. Which you never have minded, in fact it would send you howling with laughter at the thought of Geralt singing you a song about your beauty compared to that of a flower. Now that would be quit the scenario.

Laying your head upon the pads of your hands, you close your eyes, letting yourself sink into the comfort of the tall grass as you enjoy the sounds of rushing water over the river rocks, that is, until a foul stench reaches your nostrils. Your face contorts into an unpleasant grimace at the nasty scent of something recently deceased coming your way. Then another more familiar smell reaches your nose and you know exactly who it is. If his disgusting smell didn't already confirm his identity it would be his heavy footfalls onto the soft earth, disrupting your peaceful afternoon snooze that you get so rarely.

Suddenly the footsteps get louder until they suddenly stop near your boot covered feet, as a shadow blocks the sun from reaching your face. You slowly open your eyes to behold the sight of your Witcher who is very visibly covered in something that is definitely not guts. But most certainly came from said guts of some unlucky creature.

"What threw up on you this time?" You ask, as he's about to give you a probable vividly disturbing answer, you hold your hand up to shush him.

"You know what, never mind."

He laughs at that as he slings something off the side of his shoulder, without warning the grotesque decapitated head of a rock troll slumps to the grass with a thud. The nasty fucker staring blankly into your ruby colored eyes while it's pale tongue slides out of its mouth, black inky bubbles of blood and saliva seeping out from its slacked jaw. You hiss at it before briskly gliding up into a standing position where you then take a few steps back.

"What the fuck Geralt! I was having a very nice and relaxing moment before you dropped that nice little present way too close for comfort." You sass at him while you fold your arms over your chest, he simply smiles, amused that he's annoyed you.

"You don't like my gift?" He muses with a cocky smirk upon his dirty face.

"Maybe if I was an orc, you got the wrong species, love. Uh, but hey...good work on not getting eaten alive."

"Whatever it takes to come back to you." He quips, you rolling your eyes at his adorable sarcasm.

"Alright troll slayer, I think you should take a dip in the river. I mean what is even on you it looks like brown chunks of....oh god is that cow?" You grimace in disgust once again, every so slightly leaning into him to take a better look at what's actually coating his leather armor.

"I truly have no idea. And I will take your kind suggestion lest we have wolves hunting us in the wee hours of the morning, like little angry ghosts." He replies with a nod before walking past you and stripping himself of his black leather armor.

He drops it in the grass as he quickly pulls his dark under shirt over his head where he promptly abandons it by a nearby rock. You don't even realize how hard core you're staring at him right now while you subconsciously bite your lower lip as your gaze travels from his bare shoulders to his chiseled torso. He's got an abundance of scars in various parts of his body and his muscles are as hard as stone. This is nothing you haven't seen before but still, Geralt knows how to put on a show, whether he knows he's doing it or not.

He slides his boots off and as he's casually unbuttoning his trousers does he finally look up to catch your lustful gaze. He smirks as you stare on boldly at his half naked self, a blissfully dumb smile upon your face.

"I could think of a couple ways we could spend the evening and right now my love you are just...a lot." Geralt keeps eye contact with you as he continues to unbutton his pants, he slides them down his god-like body until he's finally standing in the summer evening as naked as the day he was born.

He gives you a charming smile before turning and walking into the river to clean himself off of all the troll innards. He goes beneath the water before resurfacing once again, in the meantime you sit yourself onto the river bank and smile to yourself at the delicious sight of your glistening Witcher while he washes himself clean of all puke, blood, sweat, and whatever else is coating his skin. Suddenly all goes quiet and you can't see him above the water anymore, but you can see how his form is on a path for your legs that are dangling in the river. Quickly you pull your legs from the rushing stream just as Geralt resurfaces directly in front of you.

"You were not about to drag my ass into the depths, these are my only dry clothes." You halfheartedly whine, a small chuckle escaping you as Geralt rests his muscled arms upon the riverbank.

"Then take them off." He gives you an inviting look as you raise an eyebrow at his boldness.

He just smiles adoringly at you from the riverside, silently begging you to shed your clothing to come join his bum in the water. With a shake of your head, you stand up and tug off both of your boots, throwing them near Geralt's armor. Then you peel off your loose grey top that was conveniently all that was covering your top half from the eyes of the world. You look down at Geralt who's golden eyes have not left your body once, a giant blissful smirk playing at the corner of his soft lips as you give him a show.

You throw him a wink before sensually unlacing your pants, those things abruptly falling to the grass in a black puddle at your feet. You stand naked above him on the river bank like a water nymph in all her alluringly bewitching beauty. Playfully teasing him as you dramatically stretch in the warm sunlight, he watches as your arms reach for the clouds, your breasts lifting with the movement. You look absolutely radiant, a goddess come to earth that could make the very stars jealous with your dazzling features.

Your eyes lock with his and without warning you launch yourself over Geralt's snowy head, intent on making a large splash in the process, just to tease him. When you resurface he's rubbing the water from his eyes, you casually swim over to him, a cheeky grin adorning your wet face. Once he's gotten the water out of his eyes he lowers himself into the river until all you can see is his shoulders and his handsome face.

"All clean now?" You ask, tilting your head down to blow some river bubbles.

"Remarkably." Quips your Witcher with a low chuckle.

"Good...now you can take me on the grass of the riverbank, right in front of Roach." You state bluntly, Geralt's golden eyes widening in pleasant surprise as your face suddenly breaks out into a fangy grin.

"She's seen too much already." He jests, nodding in her general direction as she obliviously nibbles away at the grass.

"She's seen worse." You add.

"Fair point." Replies Geralt with a casual shrug.

You lower your face into the water, bringing it back up just as quickly before you spit a line of cold water right onto Geralt's cheek. He shuts his eyes as he takes your assault like a champ, letting you have your fun for the time being cause in a couple minutes he'll have you screaming his name into the afternoon breeze. Once all the water has left your mouth do you finally stand up and glide over to your patient lover. He watches you the whole time, keeping his sights onto your beaming face, although he's not unnoticing of how the water only conceals your bellybutton and your delightful treasure below.

"Hopefully no one stops by for a drink." You state with a small laugh as you stand in front of him.

He looks down at you with a soft smile gracing his kissable lips, you raise your hand up and let it trail down the side of his arm in a casually intimate gesture. He watches in content silence as you touch the skin of his scarred forearm, all the way down until you reach his hand where you then open your palm out for him to take. He does so without question, knowing exactly what your intended plans are for the both of you next. With a seductive bite of your lip, do you lead Geralt to the side of the river bank were your little camp is set up.

You let go of his hand and lift yourself up onto the soft grass where you stood not even five minutes ago. As you're seated, you turn around to face Geralt who's doing the same. You quickly bite the inside of your cheek when your eyes are known to the delicious sight of is hardened member glistening in the beams of sunlight through the nearby trees. He falls to his knees as he crawls over to you in the grass. When he reaches your closed bent legs he gives you a pleading look. Asking for your permission to continue, you smirk at him and slowly part your legs to his great delight.

You lean back on your elbows as his large form covers you from the sun, his hands land on either side of your face as his member grazes against your inner thigh. He's instantly attacking your lips in a heated embrace, pulling a moan from your lips as he takes this opportunity to stick his tongue into your mouth. Your tongues dancing in the darkness, he carefully leans himself onto one forearm as his other hand travels down the side of your body where he then parts your legs further apart for better access.

You can feel as he guides his cock to your slick entrance likes he's done this a hundred times before. Once he's found his mark does he then slowly push into you, you let out a breathless gasp at the uncomfortable sensation sliding into your wetness. He lifts his face a couple inches from yours to make sure you're doing okay and that he isn't hurting you too much. You look into his concerned eyes as you try to hide your slight discomfort, you've done this so many times before, it's just Geralt can be a lot to handle and you need a second.

Leaning up to give him a chaste kiss you find his eyes once again as a blissful smile appears onto your stunning face. Confirming that you've adjusted accordingly and it's time to pick up the pace. He ever so carefully does he thrust into you once again, starting off slow so you can prepare yourself for when he goes faster. Your hands claw at his muscular back as his head falls to your shoulder.

"I'm not a fragile maiden, fuck me Geralt...I can take it." You practically growl in his ear, sending chills down his spine as a cocky smile appears onto his handsome face.

"You're ready now?" He teases as he pecks you on the cheek, you turn to glare at him.

"Shut up, let's make a goddamn dent in the side of this bank." You rasp out as he begins to pick up the pace, heeding to your confident command.

He pounds in and out of you in a beautifully pleasurable rhythm that's sending you into a flurry of whimpers and moans at the sensational contact of his cock inside you. Your body feels electric with each new thrust that he sends deep into your womanhood, as he bottoms out every time. A dazed smile finds its way onto your parted lips at the sounds of Geralt's own grunts and staggered breaths.

He pushes you into the grass as he lays atop your shimmering body, his hips doing a fantastic job at keeping your legs apart as he thrusts into you over and over again. You're to out of to even think of wrapping your legs around his body, all that you're able to manage is a tight grasp onto his right arm as your other hand is clawing at the ground for some support.

The sweet sounds of skin on skin contact dissipates throughout the evening breeze. All of it lost to the roar of the river and yours and Geralt's moaning. Your as wet as the water below you as he slides in and out of you with ease. Sending waves of pleasure into your hot core, it's gradually building up with every new thrust he's throwing at you. When you turn your head to the side to get a better look at him, you can tell how concentrated his face is as more grunts subconsciously escape from his lips, he's on his way to paradise.

The building of your own pleasure rises every time he hits your sweet spot until you can't take it anymore and all at once your orgasm hits you like an arrow in the chest. Sending euphoric waves of pure bliss pulsating throughout your entire being as your walls close in around his hardness.

"Ah fuck Geralt!" You scream in ecstasy as another moan slips from your throat, "Geralt! Uh...ahhh oh my fuuuck!"

He relentlessly continues to pound into you as he chases his own high in the midst of you cuming. It's sending more shock waves into your sensitive clit with lack of a break. But you don't have time to care as another orgasm begins to build inside of you once more with every full thrust of his manhood into your dripping entrance. Due to him being a Witcher and all, heavily contributes to his high stamina, but luckily for him you're not entirely human yourself and can keep up with his lack of exhaustion.

More whimpers fall from your lips as he kisses the side of your sweaty cheek in a small act of appreciation for how well you're doing. He understands he's big and how he doesn't get tired easily, so he's rather blessedly grateful for you as a partner who can take him so well. Suddenly he lets out a string of curses mixed in with your name here and there as he releases his load into your aching womanhood. You cuming right after him for the second time today as you let out a pleasurable scream.

"Ohhh fuck Geralt...ohhh fuuuckk."

He gives you a couple more ending thrusts for good measure before he pulls himself out of you and lays at your side in a sweaty heap of heavily breathing Witcher. You can feel as his cum drips out of you and into the grass that's lightly caressing your legs. You're breathing heavily and your inner thighs feel sore as you lay here ever grateful for the cool wind that fans your swollen entrance and sweaty body.

You look up to the blue sky and watch as great puffy clouds roll by, a single falcon gliding on the current, completely oblivious to the smell of sex lingering in the air near you two. You turn your attention to Geralt who's watching the bird of prey fly high into the clouds.

"You think anyone heard us?" You furrow your brows in wonder.

"Some squirrels, probably a bird or two." Replies Geralt nonchalantly as he continues to breath heavily.

"Well I'm glad nothing bothered us, I would have gouged their eyes out if a single person disturbed us." You mutter, a flash of fire in your scarlet eyes.

"Oh Y/N, my ever gentle flower." Muses Geralt with a content sigh as he props himself up onto his elbow to have a better view of you. Smiling at him you go to do the same.

"I can be gentle." You laugh out half defensively, knowing full well that is not entirely true.

"Half the scratch marks on my back are your doing my dear." Replies Geralt with a kind smile as you playfully roll your eyes at him.

"Well, that's not completely my fault." You sass back as you slide yourself closer to him. The two of you now inches apart in the soft grass, he studies your face for a moment, really taking you all in.

"What's on your mind." You ask while playing with the ends of his silver hair. His eyebrows furrow for a second before he relaxes again, deciding to lay both you and himself back down on the riverside grass. He pulls you in close, enough that your top half can now lay comfortably upon his muscular chest and shoulder. You snake an arm over his torso as your head rests nicely upon his strong shoulder blade, your faces so close. His gaze keeps to the clouds above as yours watches him search for an answer.

"I think I may need new clothes." He finally confesses after a short while, you lightly chuckle at his blunt realization.

"What? No. I love the smell of death on you. It's very sexy." You add, sarcasm clear in your voice as you subconsciously trace the scared flesh of his torso.

"Thanks." He mumbles as his free hand finds your arm that's currently draped over his stomach, he trails his fingers upon your skin before resting his hand on your forearm, "The next village over, I'm trading that troll's head for enough coin to get us close to Blaviken...then we'll see what monster there might bring us some better gold."

"I've never been, but I know of a wizard who lives there in some fancy tower all alone, don't know his name or anything. Who knows what kinda shit he gets up to these days, I can't imagine it's anything pleasant or humane." You mutter into the breeze, you'd made sure to keep your distance from any mages or wizards for as long as you could after something caused you to finally become fed up with them.

You don't adheredly have any standing beef with any of them in particular, in fact you had been very close with one, but that was such a long time ago. It almost feels like it could have been a past life. It's just you've lived long enough to know that people like such are usually superstitious bastards who'll believe any prophecy that destiny may conjure up for them.

They do as they please and their use of magic is not always used with good intentions. Although one may say due to your father being a sorcerer and all, would make you part mage, but on the contrary. As far as your abilities go in the tricky area of sorcery and it's mysterious being with how it can be inherited from parent to child. Your capabilities run a specific line of nothing but whatever part vampire runs through your veins. Nothing more, nothing less. Unlike with mages in their give and take, you can simply bend your lighting to your will whenever you call it into your vessel via the dark gift.

That being said, you've seen the atrocities that mages and wizards alike can commit when given the opportunity, so for that, you don't fuck around with them, nor use your deadly gift very often. Figuring you're already dangerous enough as it is, people never seeming to want to keep you around for too long. Perhaps that's why you and Geralt are perfect for each other, if the world won't have you, at least you have one another's company.

"I know of your dislikes for wizards, but we...well I, need new clothes. And there's surely some coin to be given in that place." Whispers Geralt as he holds you close, you let out an annoyed sigh, earning a small laugh from the man beneath you.

"Dammit you know I can't say no to another adventure, wizard or not, I wanna see what Blaviken has to offer us."

-

Tagged:  @notahappytree​ @ashleyforeverareject​ @sokkasdarling​ @kmuir1​(@auds24 sorry idk why ur name won’t work)

[andytheaverage]

The Green Knight (2021)

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The Green Knight (2021), with its excellent cast and feast of visual storytelling, does cut a pretty trailer, but it’s hardly the adaptation we’ve all waited nearly 2 years to see. Rather on the slow side, there is plenty of breathing room (often to excess), but often feels wanting. The performances are well-played, albeit terribly subdued, which create interludes that feel tedious. Dev Patel has proven himself time and again that he has the capacity to play a nuanced lead, and he does well here, but it is the side characters that break the monotony and steal the show, most notably Joel Edgerton (Lord), Erin Kellyman (Winifred), and Barry Keoghan (Scavenger). 

David Lowery’s “adaptation” explores the journey of an untested and somewhat undeserving not-quite-Sir Gawain, a far-cry from our Hero in the text, more akin to Prince Hal. This change adds elements to the character with which an audience might more easily identify, and should make this a coming-of-age tale, as well as a moral one; though, this film fails as both. 

As a coming-of-age tale, Gawain never quite gets there, and it almost doesn’t matter if he does, because it's not really his tale at all. Nor is this film about morality, not even as a cautionary tale. Perhaps it's more accurate to call it an instance of ‘careful what you wish for’. Gawain doesn’t seem to know what he wants. Does he really want to be a Knight? Is this about living an honest life or living up to familial expectations, particularly your mother's? Hard to say, as many of the female characters, including Gawain’s mother (Morgause and Morgan Le Fay made one), are treated as mystery elements themselves. It’s also not clear just how far her control extends, if it has any limitations. Is there anything in this world that is true?

Perhaps we'll never know his mother's true intentions; it clearly wasn't for her son to be his own person and make his own decisions. A man simply doesn’t become a Legend without his mother’s entire fabrication of the quest, it would seem. Does Gawain feel so out of place in his own story because it’s already set out for him? Was Morgan Le Fay simply Lowery’s segue for the concept of Legend as a set path for Gawain to follow? But as such, Gawain’s tale of morality isn’t what it seems, as he doesn’t even have the illusion of choice. Or was it all just a journey back to nature, back to green? Lowery never lets us forget just what color matters most here. There’s even a fun monologue about it! Even the design of the Green Knight is just a little too on the nose; his appearance essentially being that of an ent. 

About 2/3 of the way through, The Green Knight actually shows a hint of promise, but it is short-lived. In case you haven’t already lost interest with the lengthy side quests; everything turns sour at the arrival of Lord and Lady Bertilak’s castle (simply titled Lord and Lady), and what should be the bulk of our story, the “exchange of gifts” and Gawain’s true test of morality. The “exchange of gifts” is glossed over for a taste of something completely different, as it takes major liberties with not only a core part of our tale, but arguably what’s most memorable about the original. It becomes Lowery’s convoluted vision of a different sort entirely, one where Gawain seemingly refuses to take part in his own story. While possibly an interesting take in itself, it does a disservice to the text, and accomplishes nothing other than an attempt to be shocking. 

There’s something richer in the “exchange of gifts” simply not explored in Lowery’s version, or the compulsive need to “subvert”, and the film is poorer for it. How can you even subvert something which you refuse to touch upon? It’s also extremely odd and honestly baffling, that in this day and age, homosexual themes and undertones would be downplayed or outright rejected (as they are here), rather than embraced and explored. Altogether, this omission seems a poor choice and a clear indication that Lowery holds little to no affection for the original text. Disregarding the “exchange of gifts”, the journey becomes something vain and hollow; perhaps intentionally, but doesn't serve anyone, least of all the story. 

Following the tale’s example, the girdle (sans the accompanying scar) is the all-encompassing symbol for Gawain’s shame, but Lowery takes it a step further, in which he is so seduced by its promise of protection that he literally soils it with his lust. But this scene is so abrupt at the all too brief “exchange of gifts” (in a film that stretches everything to excess) that it seems to lack consideration and its only purpose is to disturb. The girdle furthermore becomes a symbol of his unearned and unholy life (which we’re shown), were he to continue to fail to accept his fate and his test, although this too seems superfluous. What’s interesting here is that in either scenario, Gawain remains undeserving. He is not especially virtuous, he’s not even decent from what we can see, and has failed in almost every chivalric aspect; after all, he is “no knight”. Even so, in the original, even the Green Knight can’t begrudge his lack of fidelity in this one aspect; “because you wanted to live, so I blame you the less”.

A message of The Green Knight seems to be acting out of selflessness as the only indicator of a truly good deed, with no expectation of reward. This is evident in the dismissal of the “exchange of gifts” and Winifred’s admonishment, "Why would you ever ask me that?", but this message is so muddled within the world of the film, that it’s somehow also completely out of place. After all, Gawain is rewarded in a way, with several of his trappings, which are returned to him after being stolen. Speaking of rewards for good deeds, religious themes are also notably lacking, favoring the pagan angle (as expected of A24), though which is never expounded upon. There is the decision to keep some not-so-subtle imagery of crippled Christianity; i.e Gawain’s shield (with Mary’s visage on the inside and a small pentangle on the exterior) and a cross at the Green Chapel. 

Lowery gets too hung up on a confused mix of vague and painfully obvious ideas of symbolism and makes huge, unwarranted leaps. His work here reeks of self-indulgence, to the point of parody. It’s also simply never clear what anyone’s intentions are, his least of all. His ideas are so flighty and changeable that contradictions abound in the finished product (It’s clear why he needed all that extra time to re-cut). The whole thing is so nebulous that it may fool some into thinking it’s beyond their grasp, but it just reads as pretentious. The thing is, The Green Knight tries to be too many things at once, and in doing so, fails at all of them. Lowery lacks the conviction to support anything he presents and has no sense of narrative structure. Simply put, this film lacked proper direction and would have greatly benefited from fresh eyes on the script.

The Green Knight may question 'What is Honor and if it does exist, what is it worth? For even if there comes a time to prove yourself for Honor’s sake, what is it all for? “Is this all there is?”’, but Lowery drops the concept of Honor as soon as he picks it up and chooses to explore Legacy and Legend, and while it leads us on an interesting journey of interpretation, it’s very heavy-handed. It’s also difficult to answer any of these questions because Gawain is simply not worthy of anything. It’s not just that he is imperfect; he is not good and never acts out of selflessness or for the actual sake of Honor. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word. The original text asks us to stay true, true to our word and our values, in uncertainty and despite our fears (as a Good Knight should, and which Gawain ultimately is.) Lowery, on the other hand, begs us to forget the narrative, because he doesn’t know how to do it, and the search for meaning, because there is none. I’m not even sure he knows what he’s made.

Overall, though heavily burdened by its sluggish pace and lack of structural integrity, The Green Knight, at least on the surface, appears to be a somewhat earnest attempt at exploration within the fantasy/horror genre, asking a lot more questions than it answers. But while its visuals may dazzle, it’s a cold and unfeeling thing, devoid of all charm of the original tale, and can hardly be called an adaptation for many of its choices.

Source: https://letterboxd.com/avega007/film/the-green-knight/ 

(I wasn’t expecting to go off when I just got a letterboxd, but this film left me heated.)

[alisamaefawn394]

So it’s like 6.30 am here: I’ve been knowingly awake since 5.45, yet I don’t think I really slept even before that. My temp and pain are all over the place lol and I have a full day at school (8.45-3.45, yes that is a 7 hour solid day.)

BESIDES THE POINT.

In this past 45 minutes I’ve come up with the most DELECTABLE scenario and I’d like to share it.

It starts on a Thursday. On Thursdays I have music p1+2, free p3+4, PSHE p5, then lunch, then English (Shakespeare) 6-9. Yes we have nine lessons.

And it begins with me forgetting my lunch on my mums kitchen counter which my boyfriend noticed when he let himself in later on in the day to sit with the dogs. Instantly, he picks my lunch up and packs me a few goodies before heading out to his car. During this I’m in a triggering PSHE lesson about topics I’d rather not think about so early in the morning.

When he arrives he charms the desk lady to let him in over the intercom and convinces her to accompany him from central office to my building. Someone in my block hears the low hum of his car and the engine shutting off once he parks, and instantly identifies it as a Jaguar, and proceeds to mouth this word to the entire class (all of sixth form, 30ish people) while in a very tense discussion.

Minutes later, the class is nearly over, and a 6ft+ figure clad in a ‘casual suit’ is looming outside the doorway, his frame but not his face visible to almost all of the class from the glass walls. I however sit in the far corner. Then, when chairs start moving and students begin standing, he gently knocks on the door and opens it with a rubber glove covered hand.

“So sorry to intrude,” says his suave voice to the two teachers in charge, the sound slightly muffled by his mask, “I’m just here to drop off a lunch. Do you mind?”

The staff shake their heads, and everyone in the class just kind of stares in awe as he carries a pink lunch bag around the room. He’s taller than the rest of the boys by a long shot, and dressed so impeccably, that’s not to mention the facial hair and the auburn man bun resting at the nape of his neck. He’s definitely older, they can tell, and they momentarily forget that they’re all meant to be signing out in order to head for lunch in the village. He looks... familiar to many of them.

Their eyes follow his, scanning the room, until he spots his destination. The small girl, cramped in her chair behind a single desk and between two towering bookshelves, book open before her and crutches by her side. He gains a bounce in his step at the sight of her red waves, nearly fastened with a ribbon, and he bounds over to her, alerting her to his presence by a hand on her shoulder. Or should I say, mine.

“Hiya princess,” he says. “Tom!” I almost shout in return, all decorum having flown out the window as I fling myself upon him, beaming from ear to ear despite the tear tracks on my pale cheeks. He curls his arms around me and holds my figure off the ground as he plucks the chair from behind my desk and seats himself down.

He brushes my hair from my temple and places a soft kiss to the centre of my forehead. “You feel warm sweetheart. Temperature okay?” I hum in reply. “Blood pressure? Oxygen? Heart?” I chuckle. “I’m fine, Tom.” But he won’t relent, even when he traces his finger up my spine. “All of your tablets? Heart? Pain? St-“ “yes tommy.”

With that final reassurance, he quietens down enough to ask why I’m crying, why I look so forlorn, but before I can respond, a nervous figure of only 5ft7 stands bear us, rocking on the balls of his feet. “Sorry, we just wanted to know if Lis is ok.” He says, and I scoff lightly. “No, you wanted to know why my boyfriend is here and who he is, isn’t that right Sam? You were just elected interrogator.”

He doesn’t even deny it, but he does move a palm to cover mine, startling my face up and alerting Tom to my mild discomfort. “So you’re Sam, are you?” To says contemptuously. “It was a tough lesson for her is all. I checked the schedule on the cooker, s*icide lesson just. It’s a triggering topic. She went through that for a long time and didn’t particularly need a reminder.” Sam almost looks upset by those words, and holds his arms open , almost as if inviting me for a hug. I look to Tom for reassurance, and move into Sams arms for just a moment before I detach myself. “Thanks Sam.” I say. “Would you mind getting me a cup of tea, babe?” And Tom stands up too.

A few minutes later and he’s back at my table with a mug of hot milky tea, disgracefully taken with sugar and without earl grey, but Tom steals a few sips nonetheless. We can hear people talking, but no one has the balls to talk to us for a while, until a girl with no social etiquette comes bouncing up and asks, “are you famous or something? You look proper familiar. Where’ve I seen your face before? Sure as hell isnt from her, you’d never know she exists for all she speaks.” Tom stifles a chuckle and pecks my lips before answering. “My name is Tom Hiddleston.”

A few murmurs erupt around the class, but nothing too major. It’s like they can place the name and the face but can’t put it together. “My perfect boyfriend is a top class actor,” I reply, something snide in my tone. “He’s performed brilliantly in movies such as I Saw the Light, Crimson Peak, High Rise and more; he won an award for his incredible acting in The Night Manager, a short series; and he has played Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Thor franchise. Not to mention that he was Coriolanus in the National Theatre Live production which he should’ve gotten an accolade for, and he’s also a unicef ambassador. Need I go on? He can sing, play guitar, piano, trumpet; he can juggle while holding beer between his feet, he can play rugby, and he can recite Shakespeare at the drop of a hat. Never once has he been in trouble for saying something offensive, and he’s the kindest soul I’ve ever known.”

A chorus of awwhs sound from odd places around the room once I finally die down, only to receive a sudden pash from Tom. I unravel the tie from his hair and let my fingers run through the curls, tugging gently at the roots as a sign of gratitude. A few people speak to us after that, but none of the interactions of signing autographs and taking pictures and such (good natured tommyyyy), are as memorable as when a man with even less social graces than the girl before.

“So are you two shagging or not?!” He shouts from the kitchenette. Tom and I share a glance before I concede and let him take this one. He gently tugs at the collar of his shirt and moves his neck to the side. The bruising purple marks, the faint scratches... they’re answer enough and people begin to ooooooh. He sits and runs his hands up my arms and my spine and my hair while I finish my lunch, and Tom then carries me and my bag and my crutches over to the other side of the stairs for my afternoon class.

“Miss, this is Tom Hiddleston, my boyfriend.” I say. She seems instantly enamoured and leaps into questioning him about Shakespeare and his favourite performances and his favourite books. He answers all of her questions before leaping into his favourite Shakespearean monologue, absolutely dazzling my teacher. “Would you care to stay in our lesson this afternoon? I’m sure you have some wonderful insight.” She offers, and he graciously accepts. “I studied the tempest at university, and I do quite enjoy the play. I’d love to share my thoughts.”

And that’s where I got up to really got at the end of the day he walks me to his car and we drive home lol. It took me almost an hour to write this plz appreciate it.

[mob-likes-milk]

Hi!! Can I ask a scenario where the reader is having like a sleepover with mob and in the night, the reader woke up and see ???% cuddling against them? I hope it's not too weird ! Have a nice day! 💖

the sweet comfortof an embrace

Pairing: Reader x Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) (Mob Psycho 100)

Summary: (Angst & Fluff) Duringone entertaining sleepover, (Y/n) decide to share some of their worry with Shigeo,their childhood friend. They are pleased he’s able to reassure them, but in themiddle of the night, it’s their turn to take the role.

Warning: Descriptionof a nightmare & mentions of panic attacks and wounded people.

Word count: 4581

A/N: I made your request very long, I hope it doesn’t bother you too much! I wanted toexperiment a bit with my writing and got carried away! (again) I had so many ideas forit, if you want me to redo it please tell me! Maybe make it fluffier orsomething! ♡

Anyway, I’m finally back from my hiatus! It was really stressful and I’m quite upset because I didn’t make itas I expected, but writing your requests calms me down and generallymakes me happy! I really hope you’ll like this story, which I found the conceptvery cute! Be ready to get more stories soon! (*´∀`*) ♡

Themidnight sky was painted with smooth strokes of sapphire and dark lavender hues;the delicate shine of the croissant moon and of the numerous ivory starsenlightened the outlines of the aligned residences. The appeasing chilliness ofthe air refreshed the rare passers-by crossing through Seasoning City, theirrestful walk guided by the warm light of the lamp posts and the few illuminatedwindows. The darkness of the night was torn apart by some awaken citizens who appreciatedthe everlasting silence of these late hours to study their courses, finishtheir work on important projects or to have fun with their loved ones.

Thistranquil night, (Y/n) was staying at Kageyama’s charming household. Their longtimefriend Shigeo suggested them to come over to spend more time together; he knewthey were free this time because their aunt didn’t ask them to look after theiryounger carefree cousins. They obviously accepted the invitation, theexcitement of stuffing their face in delicious snacks and watching stupidlyfunny movies was all they wished to have with the sweet and caring boy. Theythought about the event all day, their already packed bag had patiently waitedfor this moment inside their locker, right besides their clean shoes.

During the agreeablesleepover, hours flew by without them knowing. They enjoyed the late hours ofthe Friday night to talk about all the things they missed, to eat a mountain ofjunk foods and to watch the humorous movies (Y/n) brought. Already watchingtheir third film, the atmosphere of the bedroom felt light and gleeful; thelaughter of the (h/c) teen filled the air.

“Did theyreally end the movie by doing this to the dog? It should seriously be illegal.”They tried to muffle their uncontrollable chuckles out of the sleeping adultsand younger boy’s hearing distance, holding tight on the fluffy blanket theyshared with Shigeo. The boy only smiled back at them, unable to laugh at theblank joke. It wasn’t his type to laugh at funny movies, or anything in general,but he still enjoyed the moment he had this night a lot. He was besides the oneindividual he felt conflicted for so long; he refused to accept the feeling hehad for his friend when they were younger, determined to only feel a platonicaffection. But he can’t stop the loving thoughts of their smile, theirsparkling (e/c) irises and their outstanding capacities of being the sunshineof every life they encounter; they are truly special to him. When he knew they werefree from their responsibilities this night, Shigeo jumped on the opportunityto be with them; he wished for it for so long. At this moment, his heart jumpedat the rhythm of their laugh, a warm blush crossed his round cheeks, he trulyfelt happy.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 67%

Thedelicate arms of (Y/n) made their way around their friend’s shoulders, thelaugh now muffled by the soft fabric of Shigeo’s top pajama. The warm of hischeeks increased, his hand hesitantly made its way up to their covered back,soothing them.

“Ah ah,thank you, thank you…” They calmed down and slowly retreated from the hold, to theboy’s dismay. “I think that fatigue is taking over me, we should probably go tosleep now.” (Y/n) suggested, their tired figure standing up to stretch.  Shigeo was also feeling drowsy from the longday of school and the wonderful night he shared with his crush, so he simplynodded in response and let out a short yawn.

They pickedup the laptop with almost dead battery off the wooden floor to their bag in thecorner of the bedroom. The sleepy boy used the small amount of time to placeboth their futons down and to gather the colorful empty packages to throw themaway.

Through thecomforting silence of midnight, (Y/n)’s mind was still bothered. Even after theeventful night, the bothersome thought they had for days sadly didn’tdisappear. They glanced to the side, spotting the pastel blue walking form oftheir friend and hesitated. Did he know how to deal with this type of problem?It’s not something uncommon for students to be worried about, but they didn’twant to ruin the whole time they had together to make him reminder of school,and all the stress that come with it.

Shigeo knewhis friend felt uncomfortable when he saw they were still in the corner of hisbedroom, fidgeting and frowning at the wall. He walked to them, concerned aboutwhat happened.

“Is theresomething wrong (Y/n)?” He queried in a whisper, surprising them out of theirintense internal argument. They looked back to meet his porcelain face, theytried to search an answer on his features but soon complied.

“I’m just…Really worried about a test…” They dubiously started, an exhausted sighescaping their lips. “My grades are getting worse these days, and I’m so scaredabout how my parents will react if it continues…” (Y/n) gulped, they knew thelight mood of the night as dropped because of their foolish thoughts, theyshould have kept these to themselves than to share it with their childhoodfriend.

“I know howyou feel.” Shigeo’s voice resonated inside the quiet room, his hand now on hisfriend’s shoulder. “It worried me a lot before, I kept stressing out beforeexams because I was afraid of failing.” He gazed back at the dazzling (e/c)orbs in front of him, his voice halted at their sight. He tried to composehimself before continuing. “I-I think the best way to pass tests is not toworry about them, don’t think too much before it’s time to do them.” A smallsmile was pulling on his lips. “You don’t need to panic on them when you knowyou already studied hard; your work will pay off.”

A preciousgrin adorned the face he admires, a shy laugh escaped the young student’s lips.“Thank you so much, I will follow what you said.” They answered happily. Itwasn’t much for an advice, but it was enough for them to clear away theirinitial worry.

The teensheaded to their respective futon, finally getting some rest of the day. Thecold sheets immediately calmed them, the appeasing feeling soothing theirdrained bodies.

“Goodnight(Y/n).” the raven-haired boy said calmly, his hand on the switch of his lamp.“Goodnight Shigeo.” They replied with a smile, the blanket already wrapped tightaround their form. Mob smiled back at the sight of his crush now relaxed. Hesoftly pushed on the switch, the vanilla light of the lamp disappeared in ablink of an eye and obscurity took over the tiny room. The serene atmospherequieted their past thoughts quickly, their minds drifted away to a new worldfull of mystery.

-

Darkness.

Shigeo’s vision was drowned in darkness.

Everythingfelt eerie, he knew he wasn’t in his bedroom at this moment; he was standing somewherebut his subconscious didn’t accord him any answer. He turned around swiftly,his black eyes inspected inside the obscure place, but the darkness engulfedany possible item or living creature inside of it.

His jitteryfootsteps resonated against the cold sleek floor, he ran across the unknownplace to maybe find a source of light to guide him, someone he could ask for helpor even a wall to reassure him he wasn’t going haywire, but his efforts werefutile. His lungs were screaming for air and his stomach was tied in a tightknot, where was he? What is this place? Does someone kidnapped him and confinedhim in this gloomy room? If so, what has he done to deserve this? A troublingfeeling took over his senses, an emotion of unease spreading through hisshaking body.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 78%

His mind was suddenly attacked by apainful headache; his hands rushed their way to forcefully grip on his short ebonyhair to stop the swinging feeling, his feet staggered to barely maintain hisquivery figure. The distressing sensation worsened, imaginary colors burned hisalready teary eyes. His drained body gave up from the torturing feeling and he droppedon his knees, his pale face felt like melting by the boiling pain, the freezingsurface of the floor seemed to slowly calm it down.

Shigeo tried to steady his unevenbreathing, his throbbing heart felt like suffocating inside his stiff chest,the aching feeling of the unknown taking over his mind.

He didn’t know where to go until asoft, pure white light emerged from the blackness of the room to meet his fuzzysight. His head snapped to its source, a new refreshing emotion bloomed insideof him: hope.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 75%

His glacial hands tried to clear hisbleary eyes, his palpitation calming in relief. He took a restful breath beforelooking back at the light, its outlines wasn’t from the dim glow of a shycandle flame, neither was it from a untamed and dangerous fire, it felt moreshaped, constant, and to Shigeo, strangely familiar.

The silhouette of a running childbecame clearer through the dark. Its spiky hair bounced to the movement of hispace and a kind black smile contrasted to the brightness he offered, a roundform was held by its frail arms.

“Shigeo, I’m so happy I found you!”The young boy exclaimed, its tone enthusiastic. It was a voice Shigeo knew toowell.

“Ritsu… What are you doing here?” Heasked perplexed, standing up in the process. His fingers started to pick oneach other; worry drawing on his features about what was happening.

“More like what you are doing there!But come on, I want to play some games! Do you want to play with me?” The youngRitsu suggested, handing to his older brother the glowing ball he was holding.Mob hesitated for a second, why was his brother a toddler here? And why was heeven here to begin with?

He shook his head quickly; he didn’tneed to be concerned about all of it now. He needed to reassure and to takecontrol of himself. He drew his hand nearer to the warm light, the transparencyof his skin turning his fingers red. The aura felt light and comfortable, hewill play with Ritsu and probably, everything will go nicely.

The moment his touch brushed on thecream shine of the ball, a deafening scream broke the silence of the place.Shigeo withdrew his actions, his hands trying to suppress the agonizing screechfrom piercing his eardrums. He glanced back at his crouching brother, his darkmouth no longer smiling, but wide-open in pain. Black tears travelled thegleaming face, the outlines of his figure turning to a bloody red. He panickedat the sight, what has he done? Was he okay?

Puddles of light red splattered theimmaculate floor, the cry of the toddler became louder.

“You’re the worst big brother! Youkeep hurting me with your powers, it hurts so much!” The red figure yelled, hisbody rising and falling to the movement of his wailing.

“Wait, Ritsu! I’m so sorry!P-please-” The room started to shake violently before he could finish hisexcuse. He fell on his knees and the sound of the screams echoed back to hisdirection. Everything was out of control. Everything was his fault.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 86%

Flashy colors blinded his vision,his mind tried to concentrate on his breathing but he knew everything willbreak down. He tightly shut his eyes; it was it, the moment he will loseeverything.

The screams and the shake of theroom were incredibly more violent, he didn’t know if he will support thesituation any longer. His breathing was irregular, and at the moment he thoughthe will explode, the room was back to normal again.

He looked around, his breathingstill loud after what he experienced. He used the new calm of the room tocompose himself, loads of unanswerable questions flooding his troubled mind.

The clatter of shoes hitting thecold floor made Shigeo’s head snap to its direction, beads of sweat alreadyforming on his temple.  The enlightenfigure was considerably taller, its silhouette lanky and still incrediblyfamiliar. The young teen swallowed back the lump inside his throat, his handsshook at the adult in front of him. Was it his master?

“Oh! Mob! What are you doing on thefloor? Come on, stand up.” The voice of Reigen energetically demanded to thequivering boy who complied to his request immediately.

“Okay, now that you are on your twofeet,” He started, a black smirk forming on his gleaming form. “I want to tellyou my excuses.” He confessed nervously, scratching his neck out ofembarrassment. Shigeo’s eyes widened, did his master really apologized to him?But what was the reason?

“I think that… I bothered you toomuch today, and even this week.” His voice started to mumble, he wasn’t surehow to put his words clear. “You wanted to spend more time with your friend andI kept you away from that, I’m truly sorry.” Small tears started to blur hisvision; he couldn’t believe that his master finally understood his situation,and even his feelings. A genuine smile showed on his feature, this has to bethe right path.

“I think that I need to pay youbetter for your extra work, you deserve it.” The glowing figure handed to theboy a rectangular form, the edges of it slightly dropping. “Please take themoney Shigeo, it’s all for you.” Reigen’s dark lips formed a smile, his staturemore confident than before.

His hands started to shake again; hedeeply wished that, if he took the loan of money his master was giving him, theearthquake won’t start again. But he only had one choice.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 90%

His hands proceed to be near the oneof Reigen’s. He retracted his fingers for a moment; the light the young adultemitted was warm and welcoming, he was scared to hurt himself if he touched itagain. He cleared his mind and went for it, his heart beating so fast in itscage.

At his touch, the light’s rim turnedcrimson red, oh no.

His tense hands gripped to his ears,a loud and deeper yell echoed through the room, a mixture of dangerously brightcolors coming from every corner of his vision. His trembling orbs tried to lookout for Reigen, panic rushed when he met the wounded form, firmly holding hisstomach.

“Mob, I told you to never use yourpowers against other! You will only wound them; you’ll hurt the ones you loveif you continue like that…” The scream of terror was making Shigeo crazy,uncontrollable tears ran across his pale face, he never wanted to be like that.“I really thought you would change Mob, I really thought you would change…” Hisvoice was becoming a whisper, the floor shook even more violently, theenlighten figure of his master falling to its side, bright blood spreading onthe ebony surface.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 98%

“I’m so sorry, I-I’m so s-sorry…”

“Sorry for what?” A new voice askedcuriously.

The calm prospered inside theunknown room again, Shigeo reluctantly raised his head up to meet a figure heloves so much. (Y/n) was standing in front of him, the same dark smile adornedtheir glowing face.

“Nothing.” His dull voice replied.  “Well, okay, but you can always tell me ifthere is something bothering you!” They enthusiastically said, displaying theirnatural kindness.

For a second, he wanted to tell themeverything, from the beginning to minutes ago: his wish for this wholenightmare to stop, the constant torture he has done to the ones who he trulycared, the heartbreaking cries he heard, and the true disappointment he was.

His mind suddenly blew up. He realized he had neglected thefact he was a part of the darkness he wanted to escape; his form was mergingwith the infinite hole of despair he was destined to be from. He wasn’t asource of warmth and light like they were. They were the rays of sunshine ofthe lives they encountered, they made him feel better when he wasn’t feelingokay, they cared for him when he was sick, they made efforts for his experienceof life to be better, but he never did it back to them. He hates himself somuch. His emotions locked away because of powers he wished to never have, hewas cursed to be a boy who will never make them happy, because he can’t trulybe himself.

“My aunt told me I was free tonightfrom looking over my cousins, so that mean we can do something together! Whatdo you think?” (Y/n)’s light figure jumped at the thought, impatiently waitingfor his answer, but his lips were tight shut.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 99%

They extended one hand to him, anadorable black grin pushing their soft white cheeks. “So, do you want to come?”They asked. Shigeo’s eyes trembled at the sight of their delicate hand in frontof him, he knew too well it was a lure, nothing but an excuse to accuse him forthe simplest act he would do.

“No.” His voice was hollow, drainedto even explain his reasons. His eyes couldn’t look at the dreamy light anymore;he watched back the dark floor. “W-wait, why? You told me you really wanted tospend more time with me and when I’m finally out of babysitting, you refuse?” Itwas so hard for the young boy to hear, he did want to spend more time withthem, so much, but he knew he will only hurt them. “I even told my parentsabout it, I said I wanted some time to myself, to be with you more.” Theirvoice cracked multiple times, he could even hear uneven sobs. He feared he madethe situation worse. “I know I can be q-quite clingy sometime, but it’s justbecause I like being with you! We are close ever since we were kids, I reallydon’t want to lose you…” The silence was deafening, both teen waited for theother to say something, but it led to nothing.

“I’m so sorry Shigeo, I won’t botheryou anymore…” Their footsteps hit the floor loosely, they tried to go away fromhim but they abruptly stopped, loudly crying from the building sadness. Theytried to muffle their sorrowful and uncontrollable sobs, and it was at thismoment Shigeo couldn’t hold back anymore.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 100%Self-hatred

They kept hiding their misery out ofeveryone’s ears, dealing with their problems all alone because nobody tried tohelp them. But this time, he will do something. Shigeo hastily ran to them, hishand out to reach their darkening form. “Wait!”

Colors flashed when his fingersbrushed against the scalding skin, a burning feeling devouring his own hand at the touch. The same scream echoed inside the dark place, his eyes watery fromthe pain he was experiencing over and over.

“Don’t touch me! You’re a monster! Amonster!” His mind started to spin, his attention could only hear their cries.His vision grew dizzy and he feels the coldness of the sleek floor paralyzinghis burned palms, everything seemed to shatter. Was it the end? Was he donewith making everyone he loves suffer? Did they finally hate him now?

“You will kill everyone with your powers!You’re the worst Shigeo, I hate you!”

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 160%

“I hateyou!”

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 535%

“I hateyou!”

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 999%

“I HATEYOU!”

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: ???%

-

Strange lights kept flashing against(Y/n)’s closed eyelids. They stirred, slowly waking up from their relaxing slumber.Their breathing immediately halted because of the uncomfortably stifling air, theyreluctantly opened their (e/c) orbs, curious of the uncommon happenings. Brightcolors completely illumined the room in a mixture of saturated red and blindingwhite, badly hurting their still drowsy vision.

They tried to stand up, mumbling totheir friend questions of what was the reason of these flashy lights, but theysoon realized they couldn’t move. A strong pressure strangled their abdomen,what felt like claws dug into their pajama top. They started to panic,something was off and they knew it. They tried to cautiously turn their head tomeet the source of this intense force and blazing colors, their mind wonderingto everything they remembered from the past night, but the sleep wasn’t totallyoff their thoughts.

Strands of ebony hair were nowtickling their sweat covered cheeks, a black silhouette clung on themand incomprehensible mumblings filled the silence of the bedroom. Their breathstopped, they were in danger.

‘Don’t be near Shigeo when hispowers come out, he can be dangerous’ Is what Ritsu told them ever since theywere toddlers. His big brother’s force is unstable, he can’t hold to them toprotect others, he knows he could wound the innocents if he tried. It isultimately scary to not be in control of yourself; been able to kill anyone ifyou are unconscious enough, and yet, it was the situation (Y/n) was in.

Their palms became clammy, their respirationloud and uneven; they needed to escape from him and quickly. The shaking formof the (h/c) teen tried to take hold of his frail arms, their hands forcefullypushing him off themselves, but he was much stronger than anticipated. His holdbecame more intense, his mutterings louder than before, they made the situationworse.

Stress overcame their senses; theydon’t want to disappear now. They didn’t say goodbyes to their family, theyhaven’t told how much they loved their cousins, their parents, their aunt, howmuch they enjoyed to be with them, how much they care about the memories theyhad here with them and Shigeo. This boy was here from the start and they wishedto be with him until the end. A welcoming family he had, people so nice theydidn’t deserve to fade away with the fresh winds of this night. Everything willdissipate and it will be their entire fault.

They held their breath for a fewmoments, waiting for the end to come, but it never did. The flash of white andred blinded their vision, but less than before. They expired the hot air fromtheir lungs, was this whimpers they heard?

The dark figure behind them wassoftly crying on their back, the sound of sobs halting their palpitations.Their ears were now concentrating on the sound, a feeling of concern shakingtheir thoughts.

After a couple of seconds, they realizedthey were right: Shigeo was wiping on their top, the beads of sweat formingon their back tainted their shirt with his cold tears, but how will they dealwith it?

They felt like they were defusing adangerous explosive, or hiding from a wild animal. They were rummaging through theirmemories to find any advice his family had told them for emergency cases likethis, maybe if they find something they could save everyone and-

“It worried me a lot before, I kept stressing out before exams because Iwas afraid of failing.”

Exams? But it wasn’t about examsnow, it was about something serious: saving lives, they-

 “I-I think the best way to passtests is not to worry about them, don’t think too much before it’s time to dothem.”

Wait, this advice could probably beuseful. Stress is an obstacle they need to surpass in this situation, maybethey could-

“Youdon’t need to panic on them when you know you already studied hard; your workwill pay off.”

It was the answer. At this moment,they knew what to do.

They exhaled and inhaled repeatedlyand slowly, taking away the amount of worry which built inside their distressedmind. They needed to relax, think of things that make them calm down.

What first appeared was a picture ofShigeo, of the precious smile he has when he sees them, the warm blush adorninghis cheeks when they laugh and his precious chocolate orbs they fall for solong ago. He makes them happy and they wouldn’t trade this feeling foranything. So if they wanted to experience it again, they had to save him.

Their now steady hands brushedagainst the tense ones of Mob; their fingers comfortably drew circles on hisvelvety warm skin, a soft hush escaped their lips trying to calm him down.Their actions started to pay off; the tight hold their friend had on themloosened slowly. A relieved smile showed on their features, will they make it?

Minutes by minutes, the blindingcolors started to let the darkness of the night take over the room again, the airbecame breathable but the sorrowful cries weren’t dying out. Cautiously, (Y/n)turned around to face their distressed and slightly awoke friend. He wastightly holding on them as of his life depended on it. Strands of hair were disheveledon his pale face, cheeks red from his uncontrollable tears rushing out hispuffy glistering eyes. His pitiful appearance was heartbreaking to look at, hisfriend’s expression was instantly lacing with extreme worry. Their silky handswanted to caress the sadness off Mob’s face, but his quivering lips made themstop their affectionate actions.

“(Y/n)… D-do you, do you hate me?”Shigeo asked softly, his voice was so quiet and calm; they didn’t restrainthemselves to snugly hug his drained figure back.

“Hating you? I don’t think it’spossible.” They laughed at their remark, watching as the dim light of the moonenlightened his figure, relief washing over his past concern. Lukewarm tears ofgratitude travelled his swollen cheeks, a genuine smile spreading on hisbeautiful face.

“Hey, don’t cry, you’re so handsomewhen you smile, you shouldn’t ruin that with those tears.” They continued to giggle,brushing away the warm liquid off his face. His face regained the crimson color(Y/n) loves so much, he was embarrassed of their actions but his pure eyescouldn’t look away from their mesmerizing (e/c) ones.

“You know, I really like you.” Theyadmitted proudly to him, a feeling of joy spreading when they saw the sparklesof surprise gleaming across his irises.

“So, so much.” They told calmly,holding close into his tense figure, their arms completely circling his chest.They could now feel his heart beating at an inhuman pace against their skin, a satisfiedsmile pushed their rose cheeks. Goose bumps made him jump from the loving acthe accepted wholeheartedly, the embarrassment of feeling them so close had alot of effects on him. He hesitantly rested his forehead on theirs, his eyelidsgently closed from fatigue, the side-effect from using too much of his poweroperating.

“I-I-I… I really like you, too.” Hereplied tenderly, the comfortable cuddles were calming him from the pesteringthoughts he had all night. Even if it was all a nightmare, he will still takenotes of it and let the ones he cares about know how much he loves them. But onlyfor (Y/n) tonight, the others will need to wait until tomorrow comes.

Progress toward Mob’s Explosion: 0%

[europeanguy]

Gotta Gogh [Part 5.2: From Cordonia]

Pairing: Nadia x Maxwell

Words: 2.3k

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergence, Crossovers, time skips and POV changes, cheesy lines and a sprinkle of angst… maybe

Your brother is the Duke, he manages the duchy of Ramsford and the estate, he has people relying on him and people who trust him, he makes sure that House Beaumonts’ legacy doesn’t go up in flames – where do you fit in?

Where do I fit in?

The limo hits some bumps in the road, and Maxwell hits his head on something weirdly shaped. He comes to a few seconds later, realizing he’s been dozing off on his brother’s shoulder. Bertrand isn’t too fussed, he’s too busy reading something on his iPad. How Bertrand could read in a moving vehicle, he will never understand. He switches it off, uttering something about ‘needing coffee and do you want some?’. But Maxwell knows that his older brother is just being gentle on him, too gentle that it makes his mind race thinking about the worst possible case scenarios. Could all of Ramsford have burned down? Did anyone they know die? Did he get somebody pregnant?

Or maybe it’s just because Bertrand had found him with semi-wet clothes and damp, red, eyes – this sad, sad being that entered through the doors of their house in the capital.

Maxwell shakes his head no to the coffee, then shoves a hand in his pocket to make sure its still there. He traces its rounded edges, feeling its carvings press indents into his skin. And it’s a little bit comforting. He takes it out and looks at this cartoony miniature of the Eiffel Tower, bronze, with “Paris” written across the length of it in big bold words.

He and Nadia had laughed at the tackiness of it all. And yet they wore matching t-shirts proudly saying “Bonjour!”.

So, she bought one of the pocket-sized Eiffel Towers when he wasn’t looking.

Maxwell rolls his shoulders and straightens up, getting stiff in the seats. Bertrand preferred the limo when traveling to Ramsford because of that much needed leg-room, but the carpets and the plush seats made Maxwell feel like the air is being crushed out of the space. Bertrand clears his throat and scoots near the mini-fridge, looking for the cold-brew cans they kept stocked in there with the champagne.

They weren’t going to talk about it.

It must be dragging close to 10 am by now since they left at dawn, and Nadia’s probably already in New York. He can sleep away the rest of the day, judging by how nicely Bertrand has been treating him.

The thing is, Nadia knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t keep his promise. And so Maxwell found out through the other students living on her floor – Nadia left the day before. Her door was unlocked, the room left empty except for the furniture that came with it. And then he found it, the mini Eiffel Tower miniature, on the bed. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry or laugh as he picked it up. Nadia knew he thought the touristy trinkets were ugly.

What Maxwell realized in Paris is that he’s kind of really fucked. That Nadia is extraordinary, and he loves her.

“We’re almost here.” Bertrand says, sipping his coffee. He grimaces lightly, no wonder in need of a real cup soon. Maxwell nods, knowing that it’s a prompt for him to fix himself before meeting with the main house’s staff.

The limo turns down the road that leads to the vast manor he grew up in. The driveway is long and lined with trees, much like the main palace. He has time to brush back his hair – still feeling weird about its shortness – straighten his clothes, and rub the sleep away from his eyes.

After exchanging a polite welcome with the main house staff, Maxwell has disappeared off to his room in no time – and without any complaints from Bertrand at all, who simply asked him to be present at dinner at six. He tosses off his jacket and toes off his shoes, throwing himself on the bed face-down. His mother would always scold him about wearing outside clothes to bed. Maxwell squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for sleep to come – but it doesn’t.

Nadia never did say anything about not calling.

-

Nadia taps the metal ferrule of her brush repeatedly against the paint thinner can’s brim, shaking off the excess. She’s not sure how much time she’s sat there staring at the painting that never seems to be finished.

Back in New York, and she’s literally watching paint dry.

Sighing, she takes the brush again and scrapes it on the drying blob of blue paint, hardly picking up any pigment at first but eventually it gives and seeps through the strands, bright and blue. Blue.

Stop. Have a break. Nadia decides to leave the brush on the container beside the easel and stands up, feeling the strain on her back and her legs as she stretches. Quickly, Nadia opens her window to let the paint and thinner fumes out – she always forgets to, which is why she’s convinced that someday she would inhale too much and just drop dead. Then she cleans up all the candy wrappers (Gran will find out soon enough that she ate all the decorations for the gingerbread house), turns off the lights, and finally collapses on her bed, limbs splayed out – and she sighs, letting her eyes close.

It’s illogical how she hasn’t been able to sleep yet after spending a long-haul flight watching all the romcom movies available and crying. Crying is exhausting. Turns out dramatic airport goodbyes were just for movie screens – and thank god for that. A sharp pang of guilt shoots through her for lying to Maxwell. But he’s stubborn, and Nadia knew he would still try to see her off anyway.

She rolls over and sniffs the soothing smell of fresh sheets, the same old brand of detergent that her grandma always used. Their grandparents’ apartment in New York is small, but it had just enough space for the four of them for when she and Kai visited over the break. It had a small balcony for an herb garden that only their Grandpa cared for. From outside, the light pollution of the city gives casts a bluish glow in tall shadows across her room. It’s closing in on five in the morning, the sunrise late in mid-December but she can see the faint colors of dawn starting to show in the sky.

Her phone rings underneath a pillow somewhere, its muffled sounds making her heart race the longer she leaves it. Her restraint snaps, and she jumps off her bed to rummage through her room for the damned phone. Finally, she finds it underneath an orange throw pillow. She tosses the pillow away and reads the caller ID.

-

You’re not being silly, Maxwell. All this pressure and expectations, they’re insane and being compared to your brother must hurt.

Maxwell picks at his cufflinks – gold with a monogrammed MB. Bertrand hadn’t mentioned that the six pm dinner would be with a fund manager, an estate agent, and the way too slick and smart Chief of Staff; essentially Bertrand’s right-hand man and the one he would sort of replace in the near future. He wouldn’t be taken off the payroll, of course, but he had always been critical of Maxwell and his lack of involvement in estate issues. They all formally wait in line to shake hands with the Duke and his brother.

But I know your brother loves you, and he’s proud of you and all of your achievements.

It still scares Maxwell how charming his brother could be. He lags behind Bertrand and watches him exchange fond greetings with their company. Bertrand turns towards Maxwell and beckons him towards them. His heart swells when Bertrand pats his back reassuringly as he shakes their hands.

He fits here. Right?

I know what it’s like to not feel accepted or competent – but Maxwell, this is your purpose.

Maxwell doesn’t try to dazzle them with whatever he learned that semester, it would be fruitless since these people have been doing this long enough to differentiate the fluff from substance. Instead he sits quietly for once, listening and trying to absorb as much as he could – to no avail. All he can think of was that call.

You’re amazing, intelligent, and caring, and you deserve much more praise. Your brother understands this more than anyone.

You’re starting to sound like my mother and it’s scaring me.

Why do you always joke?

But she laughed. Her laugh sounded like music to his ears, even though it was in bad quality, crackling audio over a phone. Maxwell is broken out of his trance when the first course is served. Bertrand could tell he’s still completely distracted – although thankfully not as miserable as when he had found him.

I can’t handle it, it’s getting too emotional. He reaches into his pocket again to feel the little Eiffel Tower. I didn’t know how I was supposed to let you go.

That’s why I made that decision for you.

Bertrand and the others launch into a deep conversation about estate issues. Maxwell picks at his food, focusing more on the sound of the clatter of silverware against china. Has it really been one whole semester?

Yeah. It was way too quick. I used to wonder a lot if coming to Cordonia was some huge mistake. Since, you know, I didn’t exactly fit in,

He’s not entirely sure that he fits in here too. He tries, he really does. And he wants to help Bertrand who seemed like he aged ten years from all the stress of being a duke.

But Maxwell liked to think of him and Nadia as pieces of the puzzle that come from two different boxes. They had somehow found each other and clicked perfectly. It’s nonsensical, but it happened. It’s where he fits in.

Then I met you and all that went out the window. I was right where I was supposed to be.

Maxwell keeps replaying that part in his head. He took a moment to answer, willed the seconds to slow down.

He remembered everything, it pressed at him, insistent and waiting.

I love you, Nadia.

Nadia yawned softly on the other line, and then all he could hear after that was her faint breathing. Maxwell is brought back to the present, and he closes his eyes to imagine her face under the soft yellow glow of the streetlamps in Paris – wondering what if.

End

.

.

.

.

EPILOGUE

Maxwell steps outside the limo in some street that he vaguely remembers – he could only hope it’s the right one. He tells his driver to come back in a while and smooths down his black button-down shirt, the begins to walk up the strangely quiet street. Well, relatively quiet compared to the rest of New York.

He needed this peace after what just happened, waking up with his mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton and a pounding headache. As the one morning person in the group, of course he’s the first to wake up – even though it’s already way past the afternoon. The boys back at their suite sleepily complained about all the noise he made while in the shower.

Ha! “Noise”. Excuse you, I was singing.

After Liam disappeared with the waitress, the rest of the boys decided to fuck off and blow some cash away at the nearest high-end club they could find. He doesn’t remember how they ended up at some rooftop party full of hipsters and catching wind of a familiar name in their conversations. Some rising star in the art world. An art show in Brooklyn. Here’s the address.

-

“Nadia! Hey!”

Nadia turns and spots her cousin, Kai, among the crowd. She quickly excuses herself to pass through all the people – it’s still crazy to think about just how much her work blew up.

“You made it!” She envelops Kai in a tight hug, and holds her at arm’s length. “So? What do you think?”

Kai scans the room with an appreciative look on her face. “Are you kidding? This is insane. I’m so proud of you.”

“Not the show!” Nadia gestures at herself. “Do I look okay?”

Kai laughs. “You look like an artist with a popping art show and not to mention a fat bank account after all this.”

“What?”

“She’s saying you look fine and that we promise to step in once you start unironically wearing… berets.” Damien suddenly claps a reassuring hand on Nadia’s shoulder, holding a drink on the other. His wrinkles his nose at someone who passes by wearing a bejeweled beret.

“You’re so judgmental!” Kai stifles a laugh with her hand.

Damien shrugs and takes a gulp from his drink. “So, who do I have to beat up this time?”

“Ugh, stop it.” Nadia rolls her eyes, but smiles fondly at Damien’s over-protectiveness. “His name is Steve and you guys have to promise me that you’ll be nice.”

Kai nods. “That’s mostly directed towards you, Damien.”

“I’ll be nice, alright.” Damien frowns. “I’m just saying- it’s weird that he’s an investment banker who also happens to be a baker, volunteers at animal shelters, and his name is Steve.”

“What do you have against Steves?” Nadia laughs.

“Yeah! Steves are generally nicer than Damiens!” Kai shares a conspiratorial smile with Nadia.

Damien downs the rest of his drink. “I didn’t ask to be ganged up on like this.”

Nadia’s phone rings and her whole face lights up. “Uh oh, I think he’s outside but he’s not sure which one it is.”

Kai shoots Damien a be nice glare as Nadia excuses herself to go to the entrance. Her heart pounds with excitement as she walks. A cold gust of wind greets her as she pushes open the door, and comes face to face with – Maxwell Beaumont.

She feels like all the air has been knocked out of her lungs as Maxwell looks back at her, shocked.

“…hi.”

FACTS THAT ARE DECIDEDLY NOT FUN BECAUSE THESE ARE JUST DISGUISED AUTHOR’S NOTES also I am sad

-        So it ended! FINALLY!

-        No joke it was so difficult to end this series despite it only having a few chapters. It went through rewrites upon rewrites and even me deleting a WHOLE alternate ending wherein Nadia doesn’t leave early.

-        They don’t end up together in both endings but I have greatly considered just throwing all my plans out the window and have Maxwell follow Nadia to New York. Ah… now wouldn’t that be nice.

-        Nadia literally slept on Maxwell lolol get it

-        If anyone would want to see the draft of the alternate ending I can drop you the google docs link.

-        The epilogue happens on the first chapter of both books where they’re BOTH in New York; Nadia has her art exhibit, and the TRR boys are at the “bachelor” party. Again, I changed what happened in each bc… I can.

 -        Big thanks to @pixieferry who motivated me endlessly to write and her unwavering support, and to @littlecrookedheart for basically greasing the stuck gears (this is a weird phrase) in my brain that finally got me to writing this ending, I appreciate all her help (even the kill someone and Andy cameo suggestions)

- Thank you also to everyone who stuck by this story. I’m so so so happy that I finished it, and I’m so grateful for your patience. This is the first and last fic I will post on this account because I made a separate blog for fics (that’s pretty empty as of now).

tag list: @littlecrookedheart, @femmeshep, @brightpinkpeppercorn, @zaffrenotes, @teamtomsato, @pixieferry

[laughingpinecone]

Press Start letter

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

It’s a whole lot of character combos so the specific requests aren’t overly detailed, please draw at will from my general likes in addition or as an alternative to those!

For any of these, I’d be thrilled to get any small situation or event that highlights the dynamic you see between these characters - show me what ties them together, what could make them drop their barriers with the other person. Or a big situation! I like plotty fic too! But especially if we matched on some bizarre “&” combo that never even interacted in canon, I’d love to simply see what a scene between them could be like.

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll aways be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster.

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (doubly so if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, unrequested ships, canon retellings, consent issues

Ghost Trick

For applicable characters, I am very interested in them finding about the erased timeline, but not getting their memories back, and having to live with being told about what they did but never remembering it. All what-ifs welcome (what if they managed an acceptable happy ending but didn’t reset the timeline, what if a different party went back to the past and kept their memories, what if Alma’s ghost stuck around...) Also open to AUs here, especially for generic fantasy or sci-fi settings or the Final Fantasy ones I prompted for Yuletide

Alma & Emma: an unlikely friendship, and/or something about a book that was clearly inspired by the best detective(s) working for Emma’s husband?

Alma & Sissel: domestic ghost tricks and an increasingly suspicious Alma - or a great team after she finds out what the cat can do!

Cabanela & Jowd: the loyalty... the determination... but how does Jowd express his side of their bond? What’s a Cabanela-being-Cabanela or Jowd-being-Jowd situation that’d be insufferable for anyone else, but which doesn’t bother the other one, who finds it kind of endearing?

Cabanela & Kamila: best uncle and that’s that on that. Does he teach her magic tricks? Is he not great with kids but makes an effort? What does she build that just blows his mind?

Cabanela & Missile: guard dogs bark bark. They obviously adore each other, what else can Cabanela teach Missile - and what can Missile teach Cabanela? What could they disagree about?

Cabanela & Pigeon Man: how do they meet in the new timeline, what makes their odd friendship stick this time? I love how they play off each other, with Pigeon Man’s snark bouncing off Cabs' very secure ego... does Pigeon Man end up feeling fatherly about him, in some way?

Cabanela/Jowd: please no infidelity, I only like the ship without Alma during the canon times when Alma is dead or at most a what-if where she’s not around. Did Cabanela lower his mask for a hot minute during their walk to the minister’s office, did those ~immeasurably deep~ feelings ever find an outlet? What if he’d stayed dead and tagged along with Jowd and Lynne after 15? What if no-reset scenarios? Or office shenanigans where Alma is backgrounded by virtue of not working there but she’s okay with what’s going on.

Cabanela/Jowd/Alma: what’s a hobby one of them has that the other two are dragged into? How about a day at the beach? Or in a cabin? I’ll take hot springs or basically any standard anime filler plot too. Unless you want to write about their get-together, which will never get old for me - Cabs’ stoic pining and Jowd and Alma realizing they want him and telling him is my catnip

Jowd & Lynne & Memry: please show me the Worst Mentor doing his Worst Mentoring? How is chicken involved? Do the two young detectives give him some hope for the future? What’s Memry angling for, actually?

Jowd & Pigeon Man: anything about their friendships from back in the day when Pigeon Man was still Jowd’s coroner to a new timeline where PM is still fascinated by meteors/astronomy/alien conspiracies and Jowd humors him…

Jowd & Sissel: oh the shenanigans. Some clever communication between them, on a case or otherwise? Sissel doing cat things? Gossiping through the ghost world?

Kamila & Amelie: what are they like a few years down the line, how has their friendship evolved? Throw all your aged-up headcanons at me!

Lynne & Memry: next generation detectives! Action! Ridiculous murders! Secret ghost cats! A little bit in the future maybe? Odd girl & odder girl teaming up and leaning into each other’s quirks… maybe undercover?

Lynne/Memry: same as above but they kiss - and Memry trying to get through Lynne’s obliviousness sounds like my kind of fun.

Pigeon Man & Blue Doctor: for how long has the blue doctor been a secret agent stationed in this country, has Pigeon Man crossed his path before?

Rindge & Lynne & Memry: Rindge’s burden is to be the normal one in a cast of unabashed weirdos. Memry won’t let him live it down. Lynne is faintly amused, and wishes the three of them could get a big case to show off their amazing skills...

Sissel & Missile & Lovey-Dove: pets doing pet things! What’s Lovey’s secret, how is she so blue and so strong? Sissel and Missile are on the case!

Cabanela: blind me with sparkles. I love Cabanela being fierce and dazzling bright and determined and loyal to the very end, dancing to his own rhythm, so sure of himself and of his ideas that he doesn’t even need to prove to anyone that he’s right. Too sure of the wrong idea, once, and everything crashed and burned. Casefic with ghosts? External pov about how various characters in the Special Investigation Unit see their boss?

Dark Souls

I’m only familiar with the first game! It’s probably relevant to mention that I think that linking the fire is kind of a dumbass move. There’s no winning move in this world, or at least no obvious one. It follows that I see Solaire as kind of a dumbass, tragically, inescapably drawn to a false flame even in his better ending, a paladin in a world of uncaring gods - if the topic comes up, I’d just prefer if the narrative didn’t validate his choice. Feel free to deviate from anyone's canon endings, to make things happen that'll stave off their hollowing.

Solaire & Siegmeyer: they’re both questing all across Lordran, any chance of a meeting? Could two good-natured people feel less hollow for a while in each other’s company?

Solaire & Laurentius: sun VS pyromancy go! Do their philosophies clash or can they find common ground?

Solaire & Logan: what’s Logan’s tolerance for sparkly sun boy? And what about THEIR philosophies?

Unlimited:SaGa

I’ve been in love with this game since it came out and the Scarlet Grace announcement got me all fannish again! Feel free to expand upon any of the game’s settings, they’re so charming and all so vague!

Iskandar & Leith Torles: well I spent the whole game waiting for some exposition about these two and what little there is... is in the artbook, according to the wiki? Could you expand upon that or make up something else?

Pharr & Grace: friends! And adventuring! Telling friend about adventuring? Leading friend to adventuring and discovering she’s quite apt herself?

Laura: some down time with anyone in her scenario? Or Mythe’s scenario fwiw. Who does she bond with aside from Henry?

Platyphyllum: what’s it like for a plant to travel with animals for a while? Feel free to have them bounce off anyone in either of their routes, or anyone in the cast really.

The Last Remnant

David/Rush is a welcome exception to my “no unrequested ships” DNW. I’m very interested in post-game exploration, and getting a clearer feeling of any of the cities and assorted places.

David Nassau & Torgal & Allan: like a platonic V, I’m intrigued by Torgal’s chillness toward David and by his conflictual relationship with Allan. Put all three of them in the same room and...? Skilled diplomat vs catty cat and poor Torgal in the middle?

Emmy & Glenys & Sheryl & Kate: I don’t have a specific plot hook here, I just love them all, they’re very different people and I’d like to see how they fared traveling together - or reuniting after the end of their travels! Or four unconnected vignettes, one each.

Pagus & Maddox & Sibal & Zolean: this is a ‘please adopt Zolean, he’s sad’ plea. He lost an old friend and the other three can sympathize with that, I think, and drag him into their renewed friendship and bond over being old soldiers. And three Qsiti and a Yama are fun to picture...

Pagus/Maddox/Sibal: old men being together like they couldn’t be in their youth when life got in the way, please? Get-together (who makes a move…?) or established Qsiti triad would all be amazing…

Pyre

Any cutesy activity lifted from the game would be great, like X doing laundry with Y. Any postcanon very welcome with any combination of endings as long as the revolution was peaceful. I love everyone so much. Good with background ships I requested (eg Vofred/Tariq or Bertie/Pamitha mentioned in a Volfred&Sandra fill for whatever reason), Hedwyn/Fikani, Reader/Sandra and Volfred/Oralech if applicable.

Big Bertrude & Volfred Sandalwood: something nice Volfred does for Bertrude? Some mild adventure as he brought her to the Nightwings? A bizarre request for her shop? That dialogue about their relationship slew me dead - friendship through unrequited love is one of my rare tropes, so I’d like to see any aspect of their bond. Or epistolary with an ending that splits them, either way?

Big Bertrude & Sir Gilman: consider: sneks. Tiny snake looking up to grumpy bundle of snakes in a trenchcoat. Doing snake things. SNAKES. Her convo about ascended Gilman is adorable and I wish we could see that begrudging affection in some actual interaction...

Big Bertrude/Pamitha Theyn: they just get each other and it slays me. A friendship and then more for them alone, away from the rabble of the Blackwagon... Bertrude patching up her wing best as she can... joining Pam on her travels (and complaining the entire time)...

Jodariel/Celeste: if the Heralds make it to the Union to get a shot at living a life of their own, and Tariq already has his friends and his interests in the material world, what’s left for Celeste? Maybe she could find herself unexpectedly close to Jodi, who’s good with distance and silence and also feels like the world doesn’t need her anymore...

Jodariel & Sir Gilman: On war, honor, the Bloodborder… Sir Gilman is in awe of her, obviously, but is she in a state of mind where she can be boosted by his unrelenting energy?

Tariq & Big Bertrude: he knows how to treat a lady!!! And her usual tricks just bounce off his back like water off a very polite duck. In short, they’re the perfect comedy duo, or they could be brought together by a serious cause like a Volfred in distress?

Tariq & Sir Gilman: it is a known fact that the chivalric code includes the protection of the weak and defenceless and the respect of the honour of... the moon?

Volfred Sandalwood & Sandra: banter banter banter Scribes. He usually banks on his age, but he’s a baby compared to her, and their views are distant but both reasonable... did they ever have a chat when he was the Reader of the Nightwings, or does the Reader bring her along for a visit postcanon?

Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq: All I know is Tariq of all people fell and fell hard - he makes it sound like Volfred is the biggest deal ever and he’s some servant… but he’s the herald and Volfred is actually some dude who got kicked Downside (albeit a particularly charismatic and idealistic dude). And I like this double imbalance very much. What happened in the woods during Volfred’s self-imposed exile? Or do they find each other again after the ending, in the Union? If you want to lean on how alien Tariq is and/or how tree Volfred is, please do!

[voyages-extraordinaires]

C:R ~VE~ Chapter 39

“She’s definitely headed north,” Barbicane puts his hands on his hips and looks up at the large airship tethered nearby.

“Judging from the suppliiiiiies they’re loading... I’d say as far north as the Arctic itseeeeelf... maybe even the poooole...”

“An airship flying over the Arctic?” I look up at Nemo. “Is that commonly done?”

“Mmm~ in theeeeory it should be simple to fly there. The cooler, denser air is ideeeeeeal for airship travel...”

“But the wind and fog can cause issues,” Barbicane continues. “Plus, it’s so isolated, the closest ports would be somewhere in Greenland or even Canada.” 

“What’s up there, anyway?” Ned shrugs. “Just a lot of snow and Santa Claus, right?”

“S-Saaaaaanta Claaaauuuuss--?!?!” Nemo shoots a glare at Ned so deadly that I’m certain his goggles will melt. Joking or not, Ned’s charming density always seems to invoke Nemo’s anger.

“There are lots of different hypotheses about what’s at the North Pole,” says Barbicane. “No one’s ever made it up that far, though... most people use ships in their attempts, sailing up the Arctic Sea... there was one crew that tried, but...”

“Well, I know THAT!” Ned scoffs as if Barbicane had stated something completely obvious. “I’ve been in the Arctic Sea plenty of times! But never the North Pole.”

Cardia looked up at us from her silence and narrowed her eyes. “But why would Aleister take us to the North Pole?”

Nemo gives a shrug. “It’s just a hypooooooothesis.”

But as more supplies are loaded, it looks like that hypothesis might be correct. It isn’t much longer before the five of us are shooed on-board. The three boys eagerly begin pursuing the bridge, but they’re inelegantly shuffled alongside Cardia and myself onto a promenade.

It’s a very nice promenade, with wide windows angled downward to view the surface and plush couches and coffee tables stacked high with various newspapers and pleasure reading.

But... I think they could have stuffed the Pyramid of Giza itself in here and I’d still be staring at four people in various stages of discontent. Cardia is using her feelings of frustration to be productive, taking in her surroundings and planning her next move. Impey Barbicane, always energetic, is not one to let something like this get him down. He’s also plotting, but doing so with a big smile, and taking the time to let Cardia know that he’ll keep her safe, no matter what. ... I have a feeling that, in this case, she would be the one keeping him safe. She’s as cool as ever.

Following that are two fine examples of, ah... hm. How should I describe what I’m seeing before me? ‘Human battering rams’ would be a good way to start. Both Nemo and Ned have their shoulders hunched and are slamming into the locked door of the promenade. ... It looks like the former might be better at shouting the door down than making any progress with his bony-- oh, that looks like it hurt!

I run over to Nemo, who stumbles back and glares at the door while clutching his shoulder.

“Fooooools! Unenlightened barbaaaaaaaaarians! How DAAAAAAAARE you keep this great scientist chaiiiiiined--”

I gently touch his shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

Nemo blinks a few times before looking down at me and offering me a quick grin. “Mm-mm~ fiiiiine fiiiiine~!”

He then takes a deep breath and faces the door again.

“How DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE you keep this great scientist chained away from where he beloooooongs, on the wings of the skyyyyy!”

Ned finally gives up and looks back at me as Nemo continues his loud complaining.

“Looks like whatever we hope to find out, we’ll have to find out from this room.”

But his expression softens as he stands up and ruffles my hair. “But don’t worry, Professor. The second this door opens, I’m going to bust us out of here!”

“I don’t understand,” I finally say. “I know you’re concerned about us being trapped, but... wouldn’t escaping this ship be against our goals? We want to go to wherever Aleister is sending us, right? For Conseil and Smith’s sakes.”

Ned looks over at Barbicane and then at Nemo. “It’s the same for you two, right...?”

Nemo sighs dramatically before flopping backwards onto a couch, holding his knees to his chest and pouting magnificently. “I think we aaaaaaall have that same, burning desiiiiiiiire...”

“Yeah, same here,” says Barbicane. “Being cooped up like this, when there’s so much awesome tech on this ship....!”

“I’ve gooooooooooot to see the bridge of this magnificent airshiiiiiiiiiiiip!!” Nemo finally yells.

I look from the wailing Nemo to Ned and then to Barbicane.

These three grown men are throwing fits because they want to pilot the ship?!

I sink onto the couch next to Nemo and hold my head in my hands. 

“Hey, heeeeey~”

I look over at Nemo when I feel him begin to trail his index finger up and down my spine like it’s some kind of xylophone.

When he sees that my eyes are on him, his grin gets so big that it almost looks painful. “Hee hee... you’re looking awfully calm, my professoooor... my, my, could it be that you’re fiiiiiiiiiinally getting over your issue with heights~?”

He changes moods so quickly that I think my neck would break if I tried to follow along. But he looks so happy that I can’t help but return his smile.

“I’m afraid that’s not the case,” I say with a shrug. “It’s just that we’re on the coast. I feel calmer when we’re over the ocean.”

Nemo leans his chin on his hand and looks at me with half-lidded eyes. “You really do love the ocean, don’t you...?”

I quickly look away, flushing. “Well, yes, but that’s not it. You see... the ocean is forgiving.”

Nemo tilts his head with a confused, “Mrrph?”

“I mean, the ocean... holds you... it’s gentle like that...” I can’t stop my cheeks from reddening. “So the impact isn’t as... um...”

“Polly-chan...” Nemo has to bite his lip to hold back a snort of laughter. “Are... are you talking about buuuuuooyancyyyyyyy?! A--- Ahahaha--hahahahaa!! You really, reeeeeally are more of a poet than a scientist...!!”

“Don’t say that! Laugh all you want, but it makes sense,” I say with a huff. “If we crashed in the ocean, it wouldn’t be as bad as if we were over land. That’s why it’s not as frightening... geez, you won’t stop laughing, will you? I should’ve kept my mouth shut...”

“Eh, wouldn’t matter,” said Ned. “As high up as this thing’ll get, whether we’d crash on sea or land, we’d be pancakes either wa--hrrk!”

Before Ned could finish his thoughts, Nemo springs to his feet and shoves a round object into the sailor’s mouth.

“I woooonder how delicious you’d find this if I decided to detonate it...?” Nemo’s lips curl into a thin, dangerous smile. “But I’d haaaaaaaate to stain this pretty marvel with an idiot’s blood, sooooo...”

Nemo’s voice drops to a growl so vile it makes my skin crawl: “Keep. Your. Fool. Mouth. Shut.”

As Ned tries to pry the bomb out of his mouth, Nemo turns to me with a surprisingly cheerful air. “Your poetry dooooes have a point, though, my cute professoooor! If a ship did have to crash, the best scenario for it would be above a large body of water!”

He sways towards me and thunks his forehead against mine. “But don’t wooooorry... as long as I’m on an aircraft, Polly-chaaaaan... I won’t let you fall. Ever.”

“Nemo...”

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Barbicane leaning down towards Cardia and whispering: “Should we mention the Fulton?”

“Do you want a bomb in your mouth?” replies Cardia. “Besides, you don’t have the best track record, either, Impey.”

I feel my legs begin to tremble from nerves, but by that time Nemo’s lips are over mine, and my head swims with thoughts of him instead.

“Pthew! There we go!” As Ned spits the bomb into his hand, the airship begins to rise in preparation for its takeoff.

Still kissing me, Nemo sits me down on the couch, tilting my head back so he can reach me easier. His movements against the ship’s makes me feel dizzy, but it’s not unpleasant.

When the engine’s rumblings calm, he finally pulls away and gives me that expectant look again- that one that says: ‘Didn’t I do a good job?’

“Yes,” I answer his silent question. “It felt nice.”

“Heeee--!” he gives a happy hum before looking excitedly over the edge of the couch to the wide windows where Barbicane, Cardia, and Ned have already gathered.

“Go on,” I tell him. “I know better than to keep the Lord of the Sky away from a grand ascent.” I give Nemo a light pat on the arm and his smile dazzles me before he hops up to join the others.

Before he leaves my field of vision, though, he points at me and exclaims: “I LOVE YOU~!”

Nemo bounds over to the others with a crash and begins laughing loudly about the magnificence of flight technology.

I still feel his warmth, though, and it comforts me as we begin to rise in the air.

“You goof...” I whisper. “I love you too.”

My heart is still pounding as we rise higher, and I decide to distract myself by reading one of the newspapers.

[DISASTROUS POLAR EXPEDITION.]

My, what pleasant reading material. I turn the paper over and look at the date-- it looks like this was reported a few months before the Nautilus’ attack.

“Isn’t there anything more recent...?” I sigh and begin reading again.

[A handful of survivors returned to London after a mutiny at sea and a failed attempt to reach the North Pole. Jonathan Hatteras, the Captain of the expedition, was quoted as saying: “As Englishmen, it is our duty to be the first to set foot upon the Pole. If we quit now, we’re rejecting our duty to the Queen.” It was a quiet and grave speech, one given to men that only Hatteras could see.]

I read a few more lines about the captain’s decaying mental state before thrusting the paper away. The way it was described was disgusting- an exploitation of a man’s illness to sell more papers.

I hesitantly look over my shoulder to watch Nemo clap Barbicane on the shoulder and giggle about some scientific joke.

Perhaps the article hit a little too close to home for me.

[baneismydragon]

"You love me, right?" For Ladynoir

It was not the way he expected it to go down. Which, honestly, was rather impressive because in the past two years of their partnership Chat Noir must have plotted out at least 50 different possible scenarios in which he finally heard the coveted words. 

They had been joking around, legs swinging off the edge of of the parapet and laughing, enjoying the warm breeze. 

“Come on, you can’t tell me that your birthday is this week and not let me get you a present,” Chat whined, “what sort of partner would I be.” 

“The last thing I need for my birthday is a dead rat on my doorstep,” Ladybug teased as she once again failed to do a Jacob’s ladder with her Yo-yo. She scowled down at her weapon and Chat had to bite back a laugh. There was something incredibly endearing about the fact that for all the truly amazing things she had done with the magical item, she couldn’t seem to get the hang of a simple trick. 

“Ah, but you know that I won’t be giving you that, because I don’t know where your doorway is,” Chat grinned, “so your argument against my giving you a gift is invalid.” 

She rolled her eyes, but he could see her fighting back a smile. 

“Come on,” he whispered, dropping his chin onto her shoulder, “I’ll get you anything you want.” 

“Anything?” she asked, twisting her head to look at him and causing their noses to brush together. 

“Cross my heart and swear not to die, because I already promised you I wouldn’t after what happened last month.” 

She narrowed her eyes at him, her lips twisting into the disapproving pout that had become one of his favorite expressions. Not that he had a lack of those where she was concerned. Still, this particular look of fond annoyance was easily in the top 20. 

“Please?” he cajoled, stretching out the vowels like a hopeful child asking for a new toy. 

She looked away and Chat smiled. If she couldn’t meet his eyes it meant she was caving. 

“If Mayor Bourgeois is allowed to give you a statue, the least I should be allowed to do is get you a birthday present,” he whispered, trying not to fist pump as he saw her bite her lower lip. Victory was almost assured at this point. “Please?” he said again. 

“Anything?” she asked hesitantly. 

“Anything,” he assured her in the same quiet voice while internally he screamed in triumph. In fact he would probably be annoying Plagg later with his obligatory victory dance. 

Ladybug said nothing, continuing to stare out into the night, but Chat had learned patience was the key to these sorts of moods, so he simply waited, his head continuing to lull against her shoulder. 

“Chat?”

“Yes My Lady?”

“You love me right?” 

He felt his breath catch in his throat. He knew she didn’t mean it the way he wanted her to. It was a friendly statement, a joking lead-in to a request that usually meant she was insecure about something. It wasn’t the first time she had said it, but he still couldn’t help but be affected by the words. 

“Of course, to the end of my nine lives and beyond,” he said, his tone light despite the rapid pounding of his heart. 

“And you won’t make fun of me?” she said, with just enough of a tremor in her voice to belie her playful smile. 

“Never. Cat’s honor.” 

She took a deep breath and reached her hand up to pull at the collar of her suit. 

“What are you doing?” Chat squawked his face turning beet red as her fingers slide beneath the fabric and down towards her collar bone. 

She gave him a bemused smirk as she pulled out a carefully folded note, much to Chat’s simultaneous relief and dismay. 

“Never figured you for a prude,” she said tapping him on the nose with the paper. 

“What is so important that you felt the need to carry it around under your suit?” he grumbled, then instantly regretted his outburst when her shoulders hunched slightly. “Is it a picture of me? Admit it you pull it out to stare at it when I am not around.” He gave her his most salacious smirk and she gave him a playful shove, the momentary flash of doubt replaced with amusement. He mentally high fived himself on the nice save. Another thing to brag to Plagg about when they got home. 

“No. It’s a letter.” 

“I assume you are either going to elaborate, or you have decided to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming the world’s greatest calligrapher.” 

“What?”

“Never mind, you never did appreciate my sense of humor.” 

“It’s a letter for my crush.” 

His heart sank. 

“It’s stupid,” she said hurriedly, “it’s not even signed. I don’t know what is wrong with me that I can’t even bring myself to give him an anonymous love letter. I stupidly thought that maybe I would get lucky and could run in to him as Ladybug and maybe then I could…” she trailed off with a miserable laugh that broke his heart far worse than her infatuation with someone else. 

“My Lady-” 

“It’s horrible,” she cried, scooting back just enough so that she could look at him, “seriously, you have no idea how pathetic I have been.” 

“Come on it can’t be that bad.”

“For months I couldn’t even speak a complete sentence in front of him,” she wailed, “much less tell him how I feel!” 

“That’s totally normal.” 

“Oh, it get’s better. Because I wasn’t just content to make a fool of myself. No then I compensated by getting worse! My room is plastered with pictures of him. I have one framed on my nightstand!” 

“You are hardly the first person alive to go overboard about a crush,” Chat said thinking of his own hoard of fangirls that had only increased as he edged closer to adulthood.” 

“I wrote down his schedule on my calendar. In detail! Every time I learned something new, up it would go in big swirly cursive with little hearts and everything.” 

“OK, that’s admittedly a little weirder,” Chat winced, although he was somewhat amused at the image of her dotting little hearts all over the place, “still it could be-” 

“I stole his phone!”

“OK yeah, you’re crazy.”

“I told you. Instead of just confessing to him like a normal person I turned into,” she gestured helplessly at herself, “this.” 

“But at least you admit it,” he said kindly. “and if need be I can get you the name of an excellent therapist.” 

She gave him a weak smile, and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a gentle hug. 

“I thought if I could just give him this letter, even if he didn’t know it was from me, then I could… I donnow, not move on exactly but, get better, maybe?” 

She fiddled with the piece of paper in her hand and somehow, seeing her like this- relaxed and vulnerable, and just a little bit insane- made him love her even more. 

Maybe they would never amount to anything. Maybe she would end up with this mystery crush, or the next one. But in that moment Chat knew that he would never regret loving this girl. He would be happy to stay by her side in whatever way she needed him. That would be enough. 

“Do you want me to give it to him for you?” he asked, any regret he might have felt vanishing at the hopeful look that sprang to her eyes. 

“Would you?” 

“Of course Bugaboo. Although, if this turns into some sort of wacky rom-com where he thinks that I am the secret admirer and starts chasing after my dazzling good looks and unparalleled charm, you are not allowed to make it my fault.” 

“Ok,” she laughed, leaning her head back against his shoulder with a sigh that he could swear reverberated in his very soul. 

“So who am I delivering this to anyways?” he asked a little shakily carefully plucking the letter from her and slipping into into the pocket of his suit. “Who is this dashing rogue who has turned you into a literal lovesick schoolgirl?” 

“Adrien Agreste,” she confessed with a blush. “I’m in love with Adrien Agreste.” 

It was definitely not how he had expected things to go down. Never in a million years would he have dreamed up this scenario when he finally heard the coveted words- his name on her tongue, her voice saying that she loved him, HIM, of all people. 

It was not what he expected- but damn if it still wasn’t the greatest moment in his life. 

Look who’s back to her 4 word prompts! On to the next one! (Not taking any new ones just finishing up the ones I have.

[petitprincess1]

Good Evening Ch9 (The Good Will Hunt)

AO3 Link Summary: Alastor goes to meet Charlie's parents and gets into an interesting conversation with Lucifer. Words: 1,631 Warning: Blood and violence, but mostly imaginary. ~~~ After Vaggie dropped herself off to the hotel to help out with the guests in the evening, Charlie went in Al’s car back to her house. She was sitting in the passenger’s seat and felt fairly odd being so close to him, especially since he was being so quiet. He didn’t even bother playing the radio or anything. Charlie glanced up at Alastor and saw that he still had such a small smile on his face. Not only that, but, despite clearly hearing her directions, he seemed to be deep in thought.

Charlie wondered if he was still thinking about what happened to Angelo and maybe even blamed himself? It was so hard to tell, since the man wasn’t easy to read. So, she looked down at Al’s hand on the gearshift and reached out to touch it, but him speaking caught her attention. Alastor sighed, “Darling, you don’t have to comfort me. I’m okay. I don’t want to say that these things happen, but Angelo has shown himself to be somewhat...difficult. ...Maybe it is fairly normal for him...bu-”

He stopped when Charlie still placed her hand on his, causing him to somewhat flinch. She stared up at the creole and said, “Well, regardless whether you think you’re okay, I’m still here. We all are. Ready and willing to lend an ear if you need to vent or leave a shoulder vacant for support. We’re here for Angelo, for his friends, and you, Al.”

Alastor glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as he slowly turned a corner and gave a soft chuckle. He moved his hand out from under Charlie’s and softly stroked her golden hair, mumbling, “What a beautiful doll you are…”

Al then followed a strand of hair down to her pale skin and was about to rub her naturally rosy cheek with his thumb, but Charlie shrunk away by pointing out, “O-Oh my house is right there!”

Alastor looked at the large manor and he smiled, “Yes, indeedy.”

~~~ When the two walked into the house, they were instantly greeted by two black, white, and brown goats that were trying to climb onto them and were making small bleating sounds. Alastor was taken aback by them and was expecting more of a calm or quiet atmosphere, not instant cuteness. Charlie, however, giggled as she leaned down to them and cooed, “Hi, Razzle and Dazzle. Who are the two cutest geets in the world~? You are!”

Al just blinked at the three and then gave a small grin, placing his hands in his pockets and getting a slight calm. That was until he felt Anthony’s phone in his pocket and the same odd, saddening anger swirled in his chest. He was about to ask if he could be excused, but then got heard a woman announce, “Oh, well, I was wondering why the two rascals ran off.”

The two looked up from the goats and looked at Lilith flipping a strand of her long golden hair over her shoulder, while staring amusedly at the two. Her long black gown glided across the floor as if it was her shadow following behind her. This mysteriously alluring atmosphere would have been a bit more effective if it wasn’t for the five more dwarf goats following after her.

Charlie gave her a strained smile and responded awkwardly, “H-Hey, mom. How’s it, uh, hanging?”

Lilith just answered as she walked closer to the two, “I would say that it is “hanging” pretty well, honestly. Almost like how you were hanging out the window this morning,” she finished with the subtlest bit of anger that made Charlie flinch.

Alastor looked between the two and gave an honest-to-goodness chuckle, gaining the two women’s attention. He looked at Lilith and smiled charmingly at her, complimenting, “My, I see where Charlie gets her charm from. Hello, Mrs. Magne! I am-”

“Alastor. Yes, I think anyone would recognize that voice in a heartbeat, dearie. Oh, and don’t say that. Charlie mostly got her adorable charm from her father. Speaking of Charlie, I am quite curious to know how you met my daughter,” Lilith questioned as she went to go sit on a couch nearby, allowing the little goats to play with one another. Despite the cuteness happening in front of her, it didn’t stop Charlie from feeling nervous. She was trying her best to think of how to explain how she met someone as famous as Alastor, but she was drawing a complete blank.

Luckily, she supposed, Alastor was quickly able to spin up a story and grinned, “Oh, I’ve come to this great town to do a report on the recent killings and to help your daughter run the hotel. That is how we met. Although, no need to worry about any possible threat coming to the hotel, I will not be broadcasting there. I hope you don’t mind me recording within here for a few days, haven’t been able to visit the local station to announce my arrival.”

Lilith seemed to be questionable of what he was saying, but other than that, it was hard to discern what she was thinking. Charlie was shifting quite a bit in nervousness and added in, “Uh, that’s also what I was doing last night, meeting him! I know it’s sudden, but...that seems to be the theme today, like one of my employees getting badly injured. Please, mom, I trust him.”

She really, really didn’t trust him, but a good bit of emotional manipulation never hurt anything...possibly. Her mother gave a hum and then shrugged, “Sure, why not? I can have servants bring your things inside, if you wish.”

Alastor gave a small nod, answering, “That would be quite lovely, madam.” Charlie then started to lightly push him towards the staircase and gave an anxious grin to Lilith, saying, “Well, I better show him around! Let’s go, A-”

“I think I’ve got that covered!” Charlie’s father called out from the top of the stairs, looking down at the three with a teasing smile. The girl’s heart dropped at realizing that her parents basically had planned an ambush in the beginning.

She felt Alastor’s weight leave her as he started walking up the stairs to Lucifer, feeling her heartbreak at her escape leaving her. 

Charlie looked back at Lilith and her mother gave a “kind” stare to her, patting the couch cushion next to her. She gave a small whimper as she went to go sit next to her. ~~~ Alastor followed Charlie’s father down the corridor, not really listening to the man talk, if he even was speaking. All that Al could concentrate on was the phone that he kept clenching and twisting around in his pocket. He was stuck thinking about the various ways that he could bring justice towards Anthony and make those that harmed him regret even misplacing a strand of hair on his head. All sorts of murderous or torturous scenarios ran through his head, causing his smile widen to an almost insane degree.

His smile slightly faltered when he heard Lucifer ask, turning his head to him, “Is that right?”

Alastor blinked at him and gave a soft smile, “I am sorry, Mr. Magne. I don’t believe I quite heard you. Also, may I say that Mrs. Magne is quite the swanky skirt!”

“Uh….sure? I said that you were from Louisiana and that you all were recently being revisited by “The Axeman”, is that right?” Lucifer, apparently, repeated his question, making Alastor just give a small nod. He was a little too invested in imagining his knife slicing a person’s throat slowly and watching them choke on their blood to desperately plea for their life. The man went on, “You did quite the extensive coverage on him, even going into great detail about some of the murders.”

Al then checked back in, sensing an accusation afoot, and chuckled, “What exactly are you getting at? My details are so, well, detailed because I am simply reading what was prompted to me. Plus, who doesn’t love a bit of gore and horror in the story! It’s hilarious!”

Lucifer hummed, “Yes...funny. I’m not saying anything just yet, Alastor. I’m merely curious and with such a crazed man on the loose, it would make sense to question anyone from down there, right? Especially considering that he seemed to be murdering those in power or criminal backgrounds...and then this man comes to my daughter’s hotel?”

Alastor just watched him as they walked up to where he would be staying, noticing that there were servants bringing his luggage. He shrugged easily and replied, “Yes, that makes perfect sense. I’m sorry if I aroused any suspicion, but I am not a killer. Do I look like one?”

“...Looks can be deceiving.”

“Quite a one-liner, Magne,” his smile remained soft as it widened slightly. Lucifer blinked, looked him up and down, and replied, “Yes. Well, I apologize for saying such things, just wish for my family’s safety. I guess I better be leaving. Nice to meet you.”

Alastor watched Lucifer and the servants leave as he opened his door, bringing his bags inside. He didn’t miss Luci learning his name or how decadent the room was, but he didn’t care. Al grabbed a bag and opened it up, showing that it was a bunch of recording equipment. However, he moved all the equipment out the way as he pulled out a long, medium-sized box.

The creole unlatched the dingy, leather box and revealed many different knives, scalpels, pliers, a missing place of where a shovel was, and many other handy tools. Alastor pulled out a classic kitchen knife and lightly stroked the dried blood that remained on there, whispering to himself, “Time to go hunting~”

[thecloudlight-blog]

New Post has been published on Cloudlight

New Post has been published on https://cloudlight.biz/gadgets-at-car-windshields-banned-starting-may-18/

Gadgets at car windshields banned starting May 18

Gadgets, such as cell phones, located at a car’s windshield that without delay distract the line of sight of the driving force can be banned starting May 18. The Anti-Distracted Driving Law takes the impact on Thursday, and violators will face penalties of as much as P20,000 and revocation of their licenses. Even palms-unfastened devices, as lengthy they obstruct the road of sight of the driving force, could be in violation of the regulation. Using mobile phones for texting or making calls or sending messages at the same time as driving can also be banned. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will understand and problem violation tickets to drivers stuck texting or calling despite the fact that the pink mild is on. The law covers all public utility vehicles, personal automobiles, government automobiles, bikes, bikes, skateboards, kuliglig, haba-habal, motorized wheelchairs or even horse-drawn carriages like those utilized by travelers in Intramuros. Exempted are drivers reporting injuries/fires and other emergency situations. The implementing rules and policies at the regulation of automobile window tint are now being drafted to help the MMDA understand violators of the Anti-Distracted Driving Law. Meantime, Republic Act 10666 or an Act offering for the Safety of Children Aboard Motorcycles will take effect on May 19. Fines are from P3,000 to P10,000 and revocation of license, and 1-yr imprisonment needs to the violation result in death or severe accidents/ damage to property. Fines could be paid to Metrobank or Bayad Centers. Enforcers will now not obtain and must now not demand that fee be made to them.

Big Boys’ Toys – Why Men Love Gadgets

From sports activities automobiles to secret agent cameras, power tools to wireless electricity devices–men love technology. Most guys have a minimum one high-tech obsession. It will be the today’s gasoline grilling gadget, a reducing facet fly rod, the most recent graphite golf clubs, computer systems, electronics–the listing is going on and on. It’s apparent that guys love devices–but why? Here are only some viable motives.

The “Wow” factor. Let’s face it: a shiny new techno-toy is cool. From the contemporary plasma display screen TV’s to slim, elegant cellular phones, a fantastically designed device is positive to capture a guy’s interest. Many devices are designed to maximise the nippiness appeal: electronic card shufflers for the cardboard shark for your family; glossy Mp3 players and cell telephones that appearance good out in town; computer audio system that seem like cutting-edge sculpture. The “wow” component is elusive, and it’s commonly a combination of flavor and feature.

It’s all approximately fame. Cutting part era is a standing image. And even the ones people who insist we do not care approximately such things get a mystery thrill from owning the present day and greatest. Those devices price money, and that they ship a signal that the owner has it to spare. They also give the impact that the proprietor is educated, modern day, and plugged-in. Most social species have methods to determine popularity among their participants, and human beings are one of the most complicated social species within the global. Techno-gadgets are just one manner guys can display their repute among their friends.

They make guys sense like kids once more.

Most men begin their love affair with devices at an early age. Little boys love far away manipulate cars, video games, child-sized equipment, and greater. A new device could make a guy feel like a kid once more. Playing with high-tech toys is something that by no means modifications. It’s engrossing, charming, and a laugh–just like it changed into while he changed into a child. Most guys get simply as excited now when they’re given a system for Christmas as they did after they were lots more youthful. No wonder device gifts are a brief and smooth manner to a man’s heart.

Believe it or not–they may be sensible. Gadgets can help you do belongings you could not do otherwise. A modern-day laptop can can help you do the entirety from recording your very own track to constructing your personal e-commerce commercial enterprise. A characteristic-packed mobile cell phone helps you to take a look at your email, play your preferred tune, or even download a movie or tv collection in addition to remaining in contact with your pals. A nicely-made electricity device lets you construct whatever from fixtures to sailboats to bikes from the ground up. Guys love devices because they do not just make our lives simpler–they make impossible achievements not unusual.

Entertainment cost. Technology doesn’t simply enhance our lives–it also makes matters greater a laugh. Entertainment technology has come some distance within the beyond a long time, from early radio and television to cutting-edge plasma monitors, video games with dazzling graphics, and more. No reply what you want to do for leisure, era takes amusing to a whole new stage. And it’s anywhere in our culture–almost absolutely everyone has a tv, a radio, a CD series, a pc, and many different gadgets. Today, even our maximum easy and acquainted toys had been given a technological overhaul: dolls walk and communicate; teddy bears play songs and tell stories; and toy automobiles have remote controls.

Considerations When Purchasing a UTV Windshield

If you are like maximum new UTV proprietors that drop a hard-earned wad of coins on a glittery, bone-inventory new system, you probably find out about that first experience that the one accent you should have budgeted for was a excessive first-class windshield. With some of the new machines in the marketplace capable of expressway speed on firm ground, and the possibly scenario that your recreational use includes a few dusty, wet, or snowy using, it is now not lengthy earlier than maximum drivers opt for a greater everlasting alternative than motorcycle goggles.

So why now not just head down to your nearest supplier and throw a couple hundred bucks at whatever’s in stock? At first look it is able to appear like a pretty easy purchase. Just make certain it fits your vehicle and you are in commercial enterprise, right? But there may be a purpose for the huge selection of UTV windshields available. Side with the aid of side owners are an adventurous, various group of fans with applications starting from leisure use in dunes or trails, to looking, to a second road felony car to get around metropolis in on those honest weather days. Besides your software, there are several different main considerations that must be made to avoid consumer’s remorse. What form of climate do you stumble upon regularly? Will you be trailering your UTV every time you operate it? Do you need to have the choice to get rid of it from the car without difficulty? What form of assurance alternatives ought to you don’t forget? This posting will cope with these questions that will help you make an educated purchase.

There are two major reasons that proprietors buy a windshield

And they are each essential on your persevered leisure of your UTV. The maximum apparent is to protect your face and frame from dirt and debris. Unless you use your UTV completely on the street, you will possibly get a mouth complete with bugs or at least a thin layer of your local soil all over you from that first actual experience. The properly information is that actually any windshield, even the only-size-suits-all 1/2 windshields which are commonly seen on UTVs running in sand dunes, will at least limit your publicity. Half windshields are often an awesome choice for low dirt, hot climate programs where insulating the cabin isn’t an issue. In addition to the customary half of windshields so that it will suit any version, there are numerous producers, like Moose Division, that make each fixed and folding half windshields in the $a hundred and fifty-$350 fee variety.

Speaking of weather, what’s the temperature and precipitation frequency wherein you ride the most? If you find yourself often scuffling with the brutal winters of the Midwest or Northeast (or any of you wacky Canadians), you not best need a complete windshield, you may want to do not forget one of the heavy duty glass windshields that commonly encompass a wiper alternative. While highly-priced, this may possibly be the last windshield you may ever purchase on your side with the aid of fact. They are as strong as a car windshield and may not scratch, and they offer the added gain of insulating the cabin, mainly when included with a cab enclosure.

Starting a Home-Based Internet Business

Whatever your background, your education, your preceding employment, your gender or your existence experience all of us beginning a domestic-based net commercial enterprise is starting on a level playing area. Perhaps someone whose heritage is in a few form of offline advertising has positive advantages because of their information of the advertising and marketing procedure however they’ll nevertheless have many new talents to collect mainly in admire of the technical facet of the commercial enterprise.

There will be newbies to the enterprise whose heritage is in PC technology.

They could have certain benefits with regard to the technical elements of the commercial enterprise but will nevertheless should find out about the marketing and copywriting aspect of factors. There could be others who come from the retail alternate. They can have useful enjoy in terms of the actual selling but will locate many new matters that they want to discover ways to collect a comprehensive image of the whole business. Almost all and sundry could have some attributes in an effort to assist inside the improvement in their enterprise; experience or information that they are able to bring to the desk.

There are abilties required to achieve success in beginning an internet business; none of them is in particular difficult and all may be learnt. If you’re prepared to put inside the time and the effort to learn those abilties then there may be not anything to prevent you being aa hit online entrepreneur anything your historical past. Many people interested in the idea of starting a domestic-based on-line enterprise go into reverse whilst they come to realize what number of new things they need to tackle board. There is no want to worry! With net advertising, in case you observe the plan you’ll be successful.