#boss is definitely fan of 1800s style

[lesdrawsposts]

Boss...

introducing tumblr sexy man, Boss. I know it isn't sexy as you thought would be but i want to do something different.

[larrygirls]

Here are a few of the fics I’ve read recently (december til now)! I went for awhile without reading any so that's why it took me so long to make one of these again. Hope you enjoy! -Emma

📓Just A Touch Of Your Love by thegirlontheblackhoodie Word Count: 12K Summary:  Harry is a touch starved omega trying to get through it on his own. Louis happens to be the only alpha around to realize it and offers to help.

📓Flowers Don’t Tell (They Show) by loulicate Word Count: 16K Summary: Harry is a lawyer, Louis owns a flower shop. Harry goes into his shop to buy his mom flowers and falls in love with the cute florist boy.

📓Everywhere & Nowhere by 2tiedships2 Word Count: 16K Summary: Niall took a seat and said, "Apparently Louis' downstairs neighbor is a fan of giving Louis creepy gifts. Maybe I should go introduce myself and tell him that Louis actually prefers food." "What has he given you?" Liam asked. Louis shrugged as it were no big deal. "There was a rabbit's foot keychain on the door a little after he left from introducing himself and there was a small teddy bear sitting by my door tonight. Obviously I can't prove it's from him, but they seem to have his scent. I could be wrong though." "Wow," Liam said, looking deep in thought. "That's old school." “What's old school?" Niall asked. "Giving creepy gifts?” "I've never known an alpha to do it, to be honest, but he's courting you.” Louis couldn't contain his look of disbelief directed at Liam. "He's courting me. Like some sort of romantic shit they'd do in the 1800s or something?"

📓A Springtime’s Wilt, An Autumn’s Bloom by snowcaplou Word Count: 20K Summary:  Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

📓We Both Got Nothing to Hide by lovelarry10 Word Count: 43K Summary: Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

📓Your Touch Shouldn't Make Me Feel Like This by thinlines Word Count: 48K Summary: Uni AU in which Alpha Harry has been in love with his omega friend for the longest time and one motorbike trip to the countryside with Louis made him realize that he could no longer hold back his feelings.

📓Suicidal Chemistry by sullenlarry Word Count: 58K Summary: As long as he can remember, Harry has always been sure of one thing: he's in love with his oblivious best-friend, Louis. There's just one minor problem....Louis has depression. Harry works at a bakery, but he's really made a full time job out of trying to save Louis from himself. What happens when a quack named Dr. Horan tells him to take Louis on a vacation? Individual feelings will be explored...but can Louis love him back or is the will to live too far gone?

📓The Nightingale by thebluejay1 Word Count: 66K Summary: Louis Tomlinson is a daily customer at the local bakery. His life changes when he meets Harry Styles, the boy behind the register. But when Harry finds out about Louis' abusive boyfriend, he does everything in his power to protect him. Through it all, they become closer. Will Louis choose fear over true love?

📓Unbelievers by isthatyoularry Word Count: 136K Summary: It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

📓The Longer The Wait The Sweeter The Kiss (It’s Better My Darlin’ I Promise You This) by pleasinglouis Word Count: 160K Summary: It all started with a letter from his grandmother's Executor of the Estate. His life had been just fine in New York, he'd had a great internship, more friends than he knew what to do with, and a powerful family name to provide a million opportunities for him. But the minute he'd received that letter a desire for more was born. That was how he wound up here, stranded on the side of a dusty old road with a broken down car and a carry-on full of dreams.

(Or Louis is a big city omega that can't stand stubborn alphas and Harry is the southern cowboy that hates the city)

[wherethingscomebackx]

Top 25 Larry fics of 2019

It’s that time again!

You may be familiar with these lists:

Top 25 Larry fics of 2016

Top 25 Larry fics of 2017

Top 25 Larry fics of 2018

As always, I read a lot of fic and the majority of it is Larry. I like making lists and I like Larry so I thought I’d do some minimal research of the top 25 larry fics published/completed in 2019 in order of least to most kudos (with links). All of these fics are top notch so you should all check them out! 

25.) Foolishy Laying Our Hearts on the Table by @runaway-train-works (11k)

“You think Harry wants that?”

“Dunno. Maybe. Wanna make him happy.” Harry takes advantage of the red light he’s pulled up to turn and look properly at Louis’ face. He’s not even looking in Harry’s direction though, focused instead on something out of his side window, head drooped, mindlessly playing with the string of his hoodie between his fingers, lost in his own world somewhere. For some reason, it makes Harry’s spine straighten.

“Because he’s your best mate?” Harry questions carefully.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

He couldn’t have heard him right. “What?”

Louis releases a deep breath, still not turning around. Harry wonders who he thinks he’s talking to right now. “He’s so pretty. Want to kiss him all day long. And buy him a big house and give him presents and marry him.”

Or

The one where Harry is in love with his best friend Louis but doesn't think he stands a chance until some wisdom teeth and a rather unusual confession might just change his mind.

24.) Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices by @toomanydreamers (126k)

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

23.) all we can do is keep breathing by @avocadolouie (310k)

“Harry, I-I’m so sorry…” Louis stutters out, trying to keep his voice level and even, to portray a depiction of strength, but with the way Harry is looking at him, staring at him like he has a personal passage way straight to Louis’ soul, it’s so hard, nearly impossible.

That simple opening phrase, that short introductory acknowledgement that is often rushed out so easily, painlessly, at a safe distance. Giving a doctor the ability to portray empathy without true emotion, without feeling the full brunt and sheer force of the underlying pain itself.

But Louis feels it, he feels the crushing agony laced behind the phrase, he feels the weight of the painful words slipping from his lips, the cause and effect that the three-word expression holds. The distantly empty “I’m so sorry” that doctors throw out in self-preservation, isn’t at all empty for him. Louis recognizes it, he understands it, he feels it.

--

a fated story of two broken and battered boys who barely survived the unimaginable and how the love of one little brave girl defies all the odds and somehow puts them back together.

22.) Raise a Glass to the Four of Us by @2tiedships2 (25k)

Louis stared at his luggage.

Well. Apparently not his luggage, because the clothing he was looking at currently was a: worth more than everything he currently possessed, b: not his size at all, and c: more suited for a fancy ass lawyer than a holiday in NYC with his best mates.

“Ooh, nice loafers,” Niall said as he pulled one out of the suitcase. “I love the rainbows.”

“Okay,” Liam began. “What do you want to do first? Eat, shop for new clothes, or spend hours on the phone with the airline?”

Louis continued to stare at the luggage.

21.) You Have to Retreat to Advance by @2tiedships2 (18k)

“What am I going to do, Perrie? I can’t go on this retreat by myself. My boss literally said he wants to meet my omega.” Harry paused. “Okay, not literally but he definitely expects me to be bringing him.”

“Don’t people go on these things by themselves?” Perrie asked.

Harry shrugged. “Of course but that’s not the point.”

“What’s the point?”

“My boss is expecting to meet my omega! I don’t have an omega!”

“Is this a paying gig?” Perrie asked.

“You mean paying an omega to spend the weekend with me? I’m sure the resort has nice amenities. Does that count?”

“I take that as a no,” Perrie said with an eye roll. “It’s okay, Louis might be willing to do it for free.”

“Who’s Louis?”

Or the one where Harry is expected to bring his longterm omega to the company's mountain retreat. Since he hadn't told anyone that they'd broken up months ago, he now has to find someone willing to play the part.

20.) A Darker Shade of Love by LittleSpoonStyles94 (750k)

Louis is a 30 year old multi-billionaire with a very dark past. He is violent and is a sadist with a taste for pain. Harry Styles is a 19 year old student who sets out to London after being kicked out by his homophobic father to follow his dreams. He wants to go to the best University to study but he needs a lot of money so he starts to work as a part time stripper at a gay club to support his studies and his life. The club he works at, Garland's, is part owned by Louis Tomlinson. When they meet, its life changing for the both of them.

19.) You Still Make Sense to Me by @amories (37k)

Harry, Louis, and their family navigate life together through the years.

18.) Like Water Over Fire (Like Water On Fire) by @mcssymon (119k)

“I’m sorry your highness, I think I misheard you, did you really say that you are hoping to meet your husband?” Oh god, Louis panicked. Was Prince Harry gay? Was he even allowed to be gay? Surely he wouldn’t be allowed to have a selection from a group of men, right?

Prince Harry looked partly like he wanted to laugh, but also very, very nervous about what he had just admitted, “Yes, sir, you heard correctly”

Or Prince Harry has 46 men and 13 weeks to find the husband of his dreams, Louis has a limited amount to time to live out a royal fantasy. They might just be exactly what the other needs.

17.) waiting for the tides to meet by @nauticalleeds (59k)

Louis lets out a deep breath, thinking about Harry’s soulmate. Thinking about how Harry’s soulmate is probably as beautiful as Harry, some person that Louis cannot compare to, and how the universe has chosen them to be Harry’s. Fuck the universe. “Fuck you,” he calls out to the universe. He’s aware of how crazy he sounds.

Maybe he is crazy, with how he’s falling for Harry. And fuck that, too.

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

Featuring a lovely cup of OT5, a road trip down the coast, and a scene where Harry eats a whole head of lettuce. Don't ask why.

16.) Call Answered by @vondrostes (249k)

The day after his 27th birthday, Harry Styles attempts suicide. Louis is flown to his bedside to unravel the mystery of why he did it after a flash drive is found with a note attached, addressed to Louis. On it are a collection of 78 songs, all written for different dates from their past.

15.) Counterbalance by @louandhazaf (44k)

Harry Styles loves two things: teaching ballet and racing motorcycles. Those two worlds collide when his greatest rival on the track, Louis “Tommo” Tomlinson brings his tiny siblings to Harry’s class.

14.) Everywhere and Nowhere by @2tiedships2 (16k)

Niall took a seat and said, "Apparently Louis' downstairs neighbor is a fan of giving Louis creepy gifts. Maybe I should go introduce myself and tell him that Louis actually prefers food."

"What has he given you?" Liam asked.

Louis shrugged as it were no big deal. "There was a rabbit's foot keychain on the door a little after he left from introducing himself and there was a small teddy bear sitting by my door tonight. Obviously I can't prove it's from him, but they seem to have his scent. I could be wrong though."

"Wow," Liam said, looking deep in thought. "That's old school."

"What's old school?" Niall asked. "Giving creepy gifts?"

"I've never known an alpha to do it, to be honest, but he's courting you."

Louis couldn't contain his look of disbelief directed at Liam. "He's courting me. Like some sort of romantic shit they'd do in the 1800s or something?"

13.) Swallow The Knife by whoknows (76k)

“You came,” Louis says, still breathless, clinging to Harry, uncaring that his sweat is getting all over Harry’s presumably clean dad shirt, or that he’s making Harry hold up all of his weight.

“Of course I came,” Harry says. He shifts, one arm curled underneath Louis’ arse, the other spreading wide in the middle of Louis’ back. “If I ignored you every time you pissed me off we would have stopped being friends a long time ago.”

Louis already knows that, of course. It doesn’t do anything to stop the pleased squirm in his belly every time Harry proves it, though. They fight like nobody’s business, both of them too stubborn to pull their punches when they’re arguing, and it used to get them in trouble, but they always make up.

Adrenaline makes Louis loose-lipped, and they both know it. He tightens his arms around Harry’s neck, buries his face in his hair. “I missed you,” he confesses, quiet. “Doesn’t feel the same up there by myself.”

12.) and oh, all of your saturdays could end up in woe by ihavetoomuchfreetime (70k)

a fic in which louis' in a long-term relationship with an abusive asshole, niall, zayn and liam are so far but not really, and harry is that all too friendly guy who works in sainsbury's.

11.) thinking about the t-shirt you slept in by @absoloutenonsense (52k)

Harry's alpha fraternity donates to a local thrift shop (because of Liam's latent crush on a cute beta in his lecture). Louis' financial situation (and confusing omega instincts) lead him to make some interesting fashion purchases. Lots of pizza, feelings, and not-really-lying.

10.) Consequences by @allwaswell16 (78k)

Two years ago Harry let his powerful family come between him and the love of his life, something he deeply regrets. Louis has tried to move on from their devastating break up. Sometimes, he even thinks he has. It only takes one moment to freeze them back in time.

An amnesia au

9.) Strawberries & Cigarettes by @dimpled-halo (76k)

Harry looks up and immediately freezes. Next to Ms. Archie stands the boy from just the other day. The boy with the leather jacket and chipped black nails, that might or might not be sketched in the very book Harry has just placed on the table in front of him. The leather jacket is missing today, probably because they aren’t allowed as part of their required uniform attire, but Harry can still see the fading black nail polish on his nails, and eyeliner around his eyes. Harry’s mouth goes a little dry. This boy is so intriguing to him.

“Ye-yes, Ms. Archie?” Harry tries to play it cool, but he’s almost positive that his cheeks are burning red, and he’s relieved neither of them can tell how fast his heart is beating in his chest.

The boy seems to also recognize Harry, because his lips curve into a knowing smirk.

“Harry is at the top of his class. He’s your best bet at getting familiar with things around here.” She explains.

Louis nods, his smirk still very prominent on his face. “Thank you Ms. Archie. I’ll be sure to take advantage of young Harold here.”

*

Summary: Two stories, eleven years, and the two boys that never stopped loving each other.

8.) Pain makes people change by Deidei (113k)

An organization called Canis Lupus existed solely for changing humans imprisoned in their wolf form back to their human form. Some people after experiencing some traumatic event can only ‘’protect’’ themselves from the pain by forgetting everything. To do that, to feel safe, they shift into their wolf form.

Which they'll be stuck in forever should no one intervene.

Louis Tomlison went through a traumatic experience at the age of twelve in which he lost his mother, to make the pain go away he shifted into a wolf and fled. He survived in the wild as a wolf for five years until Canis Lupis caught him... Though he wasn't alone, he had a pup at his side.

7.) Pretty Please (With Sugar On Top) by @angelichl (113k)

Harry is a sugar baby omega who cons rich alphas for a living. Louis is a rich alpha with too much self-control.

6.) Enemies with benefits by ssii8 (267k)

Where Harry is captain of basketball team and Louis is captain of football team and they hate each other. But somehow this doesn't stop them from having sex.

And everything is perfect until they start to feel something more.

5.) Ready To Fall by whoknows (21k)

“Ninety and rising,” Nick says triumphantly, as though making Harry’s heartbeat pick up by thrusting an obscenely attractive person in front of his face is any kind of success. “Louis Tomlinson has just walked into our control room and suddenly our dear Harry Styles has lost all ability to speak. Could this be some kind of strange coincidence?”

“I hate you,” Harry hisses, forcing his eyes back into Nick’s direction, uncaring that the mic must have picked it up. “I thought we agreed that you were going to play fair.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nick denies, except he’s holding up a picture of Louis’ face now, sharp cheekbones prominent, soft lashes nearly sweeping against his cheeks as he looks down, and his fucking mouth –

“A hundred and two!” Nick crows, all but clapping his hands together in glee. “The highest it’s ever been!”

“To be fair, I did bend over the desk on purpose,” Louis’ voice comes crackling in the headphones. Harry practically breaks his neck whipping his head around at the sound of it, gaping at him through the glass panel. “You can’t really blame him for getting a little excited about that, can you?”

4.) Close to Nowhere by @angelichl (34k)

“I will kill you in your sleep,” Louis threatened as he quickly stepped out of his jeans.

“I don’t think that would work very well baby, seeing as you talk to dead people all the time.”

“I’ll kill you in your sleep and ignore your ghost. And don’t call me that.”

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting.

3.) Play Pretend, Find a Friend? by @angelichl (40k)

They had to pull back for air. Louis surveyed the guy’s face, in awe of his blown pupils and sharp jawline, the way their shared spit glistened on his lips.

“Hi,” he breathed. He blinked, and came back to himself a little bit, blushing at his own boldness. “Sorry. Is this okay?”

The stranger removed his right hand from the curve of Louis’ waist in order to cup his jaw, tilting it up to the angle he desired. He pressed their lips together, murmuring, “Definitely.” And then he kissed harder.

When Louis sees his ex-boyfriend kissing a random girl at a party, he acts out of blind jealousy. He kisses the first guy he can find. It turns into a thing.

INSPIRED BY CLOUDS.

2.) Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat by @angelichl (34k)

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

1.) All My Colours by IceQueenRia (267k)

Green… yellow… red. Red! RED!!!

Some people were born Dominant and others submissive. Sixteen year old Louis Tomlinson was a submissive and was proud to be so… until he was forced to his knees for the first time. The man before him was every subs nightmare, an abusive Dom, the kind who didn’t believe in the colour ‘red’ unless it was in the form of blood.

There were others, but Louis was the ‘favourite’ and he was the one the Dom liked to ‘play with’ the most. In fact, when the rescue team arrived, Louis was the one currently providing ‘service’ to the Dom.

Or

Louis, Zayn and Niall are abused subs. Liam Payne is their devoted new Guidance Counsellor who just wants to make Niall smile and hear Zayn speak. As for Louis, he knows his guidance won’t be enough to help the boy heal. No, Louis Tomlinson needs something very special and very specific. He needs Harry Styles.

[anjellion-drawthings]

A headcanon-ish generation gap of some of Townsville’s baddies I made for fun! 

Emphasis on some. I know the GGG are in that sort of 80-90′s grunge category, but they actually fit their element and don’t feel… stuck in the gap? Lol.

More info about each date under the cut-

Wintress - She is based on the snow queen, so of course, she originated from somewhere around the mid to late 1800's. Because of this origination, she is fond of opera and victorian era clothes. Unlike the others though, Wintress is able to keep up and adapt, most wouldn't even figure she's that old. Abracadaver - Poor guy died in his prime, when the Mayor was a kid no less. Perished before colored film became a thing. Returning to the modern era has probably been confusing for him, but he tries not to pay attention as he's more focused on his revenge. He doesn't understand why everything moves so fast now… Morgan - Era of playboy magazines peaking in popularity, and drag slowly coming into the scene. Morgan isn't afraid to just dress however he wants, but definitely favors vintage. The cordyceps and his cause of death are the reason why he isn't as mangled as his boss. Boogie Man - This guy has existed since the 1500's but finally got his groove for spooking in the 1970's. Unfortunately, when disco died, it led to him becoming super defensive about it, as he refuses to let go. This is actually canon in the PPG comics too, Boogie Man hates when someone insults disco. HIM - Oh yeah, definitely into the drag or glam scene despite being a literal devil. He manages to work it even when that phase fizzles out too and seems to handle criticism of his style pretty well. Even in the comics, he's shown to be a fan of metal, giving a makeover to a garage band. Silico - I included Silico because I like him. He’s the example of someone who always advances rather than clinging to the past like everyone else. I consider him a part of the classic canon even if I don’t deem the reboot as such, because he just… fits perfectly with the cast. He literally uses social media to try to cancel the Puffs, and that's hilarious to me.

[scturnine]

i’m making this list of plots i’ve been wanting to do along with fcs i’m down to use/want to play against. if you want to plot together, send over a dm! you can definitely like this too, but sometimes i just forget to check the notes. my about me is here and my rules are here. i’m very bored, so i’m super active at the moment. * means i really need :))

plots 

* a pop star and her backup guitarist/tour manager/opening act/some sort of somebody that would be on tour. cute flirtation during rehearsals. tour bus antics. late night kisses on the balcony of a hotel room under the moonlight. paparazzi catching the loving gazes. rumors starting to swirl. just yes.

literally any musician/normal person plot pls 

i want a plot where a fan sneaks into a concert by claiming s/he’s one of the band member’s girlfriends (or boyfriends) and the security asks the band member and they’re like yeah we’re dating even though they’re noT AND THEY BECOME LIKE A GROUPIE AND HOOK UP BACKSTAGE OK

muse a and muse b have been paranormal investigators for years, they spend their time speaking about the supernatural world & performing house calls. the two come face to face with a heinous haunting and it has now become their job to expel the spirits from that house. and just when they think they’re finished, they realized the spirit has followed them home.

modern bonnie and clyde x 

* plot based off robbers by the 1975. 1975 robbers inspired plot with two people living off the little money they have and what they knick from the gas stations they rob. super romantic road trips, dangerous robberies, sentimental nights on their floor bed. 

small musician who plays at little venues and the bartender start getting involved and have a cute romance while the musician begins to grow. 

pirate captain (f) and captain of the navy (m) fall for each other after they’ve been playing cat and mouse for months when they come face to face once again and one of them is severely injured. the other helps the injured and their relationship continues to change. 

two actors or musicians, one’s younger and the other is more of a veteran who’s lost their spark. the older one is increasingly jealous of the other who has been winning all the awards lately, and now they have to work together on a project like an album or movie. 

* tbh i kind of want a plot based around two celebs whose characters are a ship in the show they’re on and the’ve always been really close friends, always goofing off behind the scenes and having a grand old time, and are crazy comfortable aroud each other but then the time comes where they have to do a sex scene and it’s like a revelation of “wow they’re really good looking… their hands feel so nice on my skin like this…their lips are so warm and soft… they’re good at kissing….i wonder what this would be like if it were real” and it gets really awkward/cute and they always get flustered around each other because they can’t stop thinking about it and PLEASE

please come at me with some phantom of the opera or old timey forbidden love 1800s type of shit because i live for it and i want to make edits of our eventual ships with photoshop that i just cracked. xoxo i’m a good writer i swear. my rules and about page are on my page, and i have a discord if you’d like to talk or write on there!

oh to be an aggressive hockey guy who gets into fights during matches and has to be patched up afterwords by the exasperated medic who has a soft spot for me who’s always telling me to be careful and sometimes we fight over my reckless attitude and maybe it gets heated one night and the medic yells “i care about you asshole!!” and i need to reevaluate our every single interaction

bodyguard/celeb plot

plot based off killing eve !!

1700s witch and witch hunter

* older mob boss or whatever who runs a few money laundering business falls in love with a 20-something year old bartender at one of his bars 

les mis plot les mis plot les mis plot les mis plot idc WHICH CHARACTERS

any mob plot tbh i love that shit 

wanted opposites 

* nick o’malley

* matt healy 

kendrick sampson

kian lawley

zazie beetz

dylan llewellyn

* thomas doherty

keira knightley

harry fuckin styles

gregg sulkin

victoria pedretti

luke hemmings

* oliver jackson-cohen

jack davenport

richard madden

jodie comer

james norton

jack lowden

theo james

wanted faces 

courtney eaton 

astrid berges-frisbey

adelaide kane

victoria pedretti

margaret qualley

zazie beetz

sydney sweeney

madison eiseman

felicity jones

probably more i’m not thinking of rn but i’m pretty chill 

[siraranispleased]

Characters: Makalov Rating: G Tags: Drinking, Gambling, Impulse Control Word Count: ~1800 (~9 minute read) Summary: (Pre FE9) After leaving the Begnion military, Makalov seeks to raise enough money to pay back his debts. He just needs a little extra cushion of cash before he can start working off his dues... Prompt: "makalov getting into shenanigans before marcia finds him in por."

Happy @nagamas to you, @bi-naesala! The prompts were all quite interesting, but as one of the only Makalov fans in the fandom, I knew exactly which one I would have to work on the moment I saw it. Writing isn’t really the medium for showing off freckles like you may have hoped, but I hope a quick little line in the middle of it might be enough.

If you prefer to do your reading on Tumblr, you can check out the story below the Read More, as well!

Makalov weighed the small pouch of coins in his hand, before looking back up across the bright lights of the gambling hall. There were cheers of winners, the clacking of wheels. A troupe of minstrels on the center stage played exciting music, and servers wandered about with delicious looking drink orders. Truly, it was a carnival of the senses.

“Careful, Makalov, this is what got you in this mess in the first place,” he muttered to himself. Since finding that debt notice nailed to his door, he knew more would keep coming until he could find some way to pay it back. And he couldn't go through that humiliating ordeal in front of the knights. Not in front of Lady Sigrun. Not in front of his sister.

“Just need a decent cushion, then I can start working off the debt like normal,” he reminded himself, exchanging his coins for ten small chips, and approaching the roulette tables. He watched the wheels for a few spins, trying to see any pattern or fault with it. Once an opening was made in one of the tables, he stepped forward.

“Alright, Makalov, just remember your bad luck...” he said below his breath, before placing two chips on the table. “Just bet small...” He pushed those coins to bet on red. No numbers, just red.

The wheel clicked and clacked as it spun, before coming to a slow crawl... “23 red,” called out the hall employee, and the winnings were dealt out.

Makalov smiled as he held up his new chips. Now he was up two from where he started. Collecting those, and the chips he initially bet with, he placed them down for the next spin. “Red again.”

And so the wheel spun several times. Many times, Makalov's heart jumped into his throat, before relief allowed him to melt and relax into the side of the table. All the while, he continued to bet “small,” always sticking to just picking the colour, never the number.

“13 black,” called out the hall employee.

Makalov cackled and cheered with delight, reaching over the table to start scooping up his winnings. “Fourteen in a row...!” he gasped, unable to believe his luck; in just one night, he had turned two chips into thirty-two thousand. If he did just that, one more time, he'd get enough to pay off his debt. All of it! In one swoop--

Quickly, Makalov started pulling his chips not just towards himself, but off the table entirely. No, no, that was exactly the sort of thinking that landed him in this mess in the first place. He could hear Marcia shrieking in his ear, see the soft but disappointed shake of Sigrun's head. Time to pack it in before anyone got hurt!

“Well, that was fun! Boy, what a night, think it's time for this good old boy to hit the hay,” Makalov quickly rambled, gathering up his chips in his purse, now full to bursting, even with the larger denominations.

“Oh, come, sir, you can't leave now! You're on a hot streak!” insisted the hall employee.

“No ho, no, I'm dreadfully thirsty,” Makalov “explained” with shifty eyes, “I have a particular drink order, and I certainly can't leave all my chips to go get it. But I shall lift my glass to you all, praising your good company, and wishing you all the greatest of--”

---

LIFE SUCKS! SO LET'S DANCE!

LIFE SUCKS! SO LET'S DANCE!

YEAAAAH, MAYBE IF WE HAVE SOME FUN

WE WON'T FEEL SO BAD!

Makalov interrupted his own warbling to grab the trumpet out of one of the minstrels's hands, throwing his still half full glass aside with a wet crash to play quite loudly and enthusiastically. And quite well, too, for someone three sheets to the wind and red in the nose.

Soon the trumpet was tossed aside, and so was Makalov, throwing himself off the stage and towards the crowd. “WHOO!”

KRRSSH!

---

“...300 for the drinks, 2000 for the tables, 8000 for the distress caused to the band,” the head of the gambling hall muttered, counting up the damages Makalov's bender had done to the establishment, while Makalov had buried his head in his hands, not just as part of nursing his hangover.

“All told, you owe us 32,500 gold.”

A weak, shaky smile spread on Makalov's lips. At least he remembered to cash out first before his inadvertent, drunken rampage forfeited it all. So he had reset himself back to square one. He still made more than 200 coins in profit from where he started.

He'd just need another 328 nights just like tonight to pay off all his outstanding debts.

And a couple more gambling halls; he certainly wasn't going to be allowed back in this one in his lifetime.

“Fair's fair,” Makalov whimpered, as he started to pile up his payment for the boss man. “Well, time to find another way to turn a hundred coins into a thousand, quickly...”

“...You're one of the knights, aren't you?” the boss man asked, looking Makalov over.

“H-Huh? Oh, um... Yes? Erm, formerly, admittedly. I, uh...retired? Retired.”

“...Uh-huh. Well, if you want to live out your, ahem, golden years in comfort, we do have a few tables still opened to wild drunks like you.”

“Sir, I must defend my honour and insist I was a splendid drunk.”

“Of course. Follow me, Sir Former Knight.”

The boss man walked with Makalov through the back room of the gambling hall, and down a flight of stairs to a cellar level. Instead of wine barrels or other stored goods, the cellar was made empty and wide open to make room for a large cage in the middle of it. Inside the cage were two men, engaging in a barefisted brawl. One was a Beorc with a bushy brown beard, the other was a Laguz with spiky red hair. Both of them exceptionally well built.

So of course Makalov winced when a punch from the Laguz sent the Beorc flying across the ring, into the cage, landing with a dull thud, drowned out over the roar of the excitable, rough looking crowd.

“The fighting pits aren't usually something we like to advertise,” the boss explained, “but you can make decent money betting on these things. And even more money winning them, Sir Former Knight of Begnion.”

“Mmhm, mmhmm,” Makalov hummed, stroking his chin, nodding his head. “Hmm.” He wagged his finger as though in understanding, before looking up towards the boss. “Alternately...?”

---

Makalov sighed, once again bouncing his small coin purse in his hand, before looking up and over the dingy mercenary campsite. Apparently, the Beorc who got laid out back at the fighting pit belonged to a band of local mercenaries, and his turn as a gladiator left his “spot” open on the team.

Well, it was dirty work, but less expectations of decency and pride than the knights, Makalov thought, wandering through the camp.

“Hey, freckles!” a rough voice called out.

Makalov stopped and looked about; it was a large camp, noises coming from everywhere, maybe he was inadvertently eavesdropping on something. As he whipped himself around, he finally spotted a group of three men sitting around a barrel with a wooden plank resting on top of it like a makeshift table. All three of them looking at him. He pointed to himself and lifted his eyebrows.

“Yeah, you. You're the new guy, yeah?” the rough sounding man asked.

“Erm, yes. Just arrived. Spent, um, spent a few nights traveling from the city to get here,” he explained. “Sorry, I just, those aren't usually what people use to call out to me in a crowd,” he said, bouncing his hand in his pink, frizzy hair.

“Heh heh, I'll bet. You ever play cards, new guy?”

“Certainly,” Makalov answered immediately, before clicking his tongue and wincing, realizing he just compelled himself to join them by speaking up.

“Well then, how about sitting in with us for a round? We could use a fourth.”

Yup, there it was. Makalov sighed, and took the empty stool and plomped down around the barrel, taking out a few coins from his money purse. “This isn't some hazing ritual to dunk on the new guy, is it?” he had to ask.

The other three men at the table laughed, the lead one shaking his head. “Fresh meat like you, probably pretty desperate to join up with us. Definitely not the kind to have a lot of spending money to throw around. What's the point in cleaning you out of what little you got?”

“Fair enough. So, who's dealing?”

And so Makalov sat in with the mercenary for a few hands of cards. A few hands turned to several, and several hands turned into a proper, tournament style game. Raises were called, pots fluxuated and expanded, and purses got lighter and lighter.

And all the while, Makalov was doing pretty well for himself. Soon, he and the rough sounding mercenary were the holders of the majority of the pot, and it was between them on one final hand to take it all home.

Makalov was sweating as the face cards landed on the table. The stakes were called. He and his new “friend” showed their hand.

“Three of a kind,” the mercenary boasted with a grin, which quickly faultered when he saw Makalov's hand.

“A flu—A flush!” Makalov gasped, before cheering, throwing his cards to the makeshift table and quickly scooping up the pot. “Ha ha! I'm not so unlucky after all!”

“You clever dick,” the mercenary grumbled through a teeth bearing smirk. “You had that hand before the last card was revealed!”

“Well, don't really have much of a poker face,” Makalov explained, “so might as well lean into the flop sweats!” He grinned as he started counting up his winnings. With the money he brought with him to the camp, he was now sitting on 500 coins. Not bad for his first day on the job!

“Come on, one more hand!” the mercenary insisted.

Makalov laughed and gently tapped the table. “My friend, I've nearly cleaned you out! I couldn't possibly take away what you have left, leave you with nothing for rations for the next few days! I'll tell you what, though: tonight, I'll buy us all a round, some extra nice rations for the table! Maybe they'll have some decent mead to go with--”

---

WELL I KNOW THAT I'M GONNA GO SCREWING UP IN THE END!

BUT THAT'S OKAY!

'CAUSE I'M YOUR AVERAGE MAN!

With his arms thrown around the shoulders of two other mercenaries, Makalov drunkenly screamed out his song while kicking atop one of the dining hall tables, sending plates and cups flying, stonework crashing on the floor.

“WHOO!”

KRRSSSH!

---

“...100 to replace the beer supply,” the mercenary captain growled through clenched teeth as he tallied up the damages, “one week's pay for the fruit supply crates kicked over, one week's pay for the grain supply, two weeks pay for that drunken brawl...”

Makalov planted his forehead on the captain's desk. He weighed his coin purse in his hand, a purse that was about to get substantially lighter. He let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

This was gonna take a while...