#but I can't recall it

[quantomeno]

Layton Christmas Gift Exchange

The person I was given to give a gift to was @alex-r-kingston

The prompts were:

Puzzle family fluff - something warm and cozy

Layclaire

Pick a track from any game’s OST- create what comes to mind

I think I managed to get all three in this.

There are two links to songs in the story. Play them while you read the parts that follow them.

Professor Layton sat by the fireplace, alone. It was Christmas again: a time of reunions and family…

…And love.

Layton looked down at the photograph in his hands. His beloved Claire smiled back at him. With a sigh, he looked out the window and into the snowy night. Despite the warmth of the fire, Layton felt the cold wind of that winter’s day in the streets of London…

“Look,” Claire pulled his sleeve, drawing his attention away from the jewellery store window..

He turned to see she was pointing at a family: the mother and father were each holding a hand of their son as the three of them walked, laughing as the child gaped in awe at all the lights and decorations and toys on display. Claire looked up at him and smiled.

“You know Hershel,” she began. “I’ve often wondered…”

“Yes?”

She laughed and looked away. “Oh, well...” plucking up her courage she looked back into his eyes, a glimmer of curiosity in them. “Would you ever want a child?”

Hershel was taken aback, but he quickly smiled back. “I hadn’t quite thought of it…”

“Well, I think you would make a wonderful father, Hershel,” Claire said. “I could see you with a large family.”

Hershel laughed, embarrassed, but oddly flattered. “Are you sure? You know I was an only child growing up; a large family is something I’m rather… unfamiliar with. I doubt I could manage it.”

“I don’t think that matters, Hershel,” Claire replied. “You are such a calm, patient man. I think you would be wonderful with children. And I’m sure they’d all love hearing your puzzles!” Claire rubbed his arm affectionately and peered up at the massive Christmas tree that stood in the square. The family they had been watching were there too, with the father holding up the son so he could see his reflection in the shiny surface of the baubles. “Isn’t it such a gorgeous tree this year?” Claire sighed.

“You know,” Hershel rubbed his chin. “It reminds me of a puzzle…”

Claire shook her head in mock dismay. “Oh, please Hershel, can’t I enjoy the tree in peace?”

“It’s a clever one.”

With a bright smile on her face, she gazed up into his eyes again. “All right, go on. Tell me.”

Hershel cleared his throat. “Well, it goes like this…”

Layton was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of a knock at the door. He returned the photograph to its place and went to answer it.

There before him stood a young boy ― he shook his head, no, young man ― dressed in blue, arms laden with presents.

“Professor!” Luke smiled. “Merry Christmas!” He squeezed himself through the doorway, but despite his efforts he tripped, a present falling from the pile of precious cargo. Luke’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched it tumble to the ground before it was caught by the Professor, just before it hit the ground.

He chuckled. “And merry Christmas to you too Luke.” He placed the errant gift on the sideboard and took in the stack Luke still carried. “My word, you’re buried beneath those things! Let me help you.”

Luke blushed. “It’s like you always used to say, Professor, ‘a true gentleman never shows up empty handed!’”

“I’m glad to see you’ve been taking my lessons to heart,” Layton said with a smile. “It’s been so long, Luke. How go your studies abroad?”

Luke opened his mouth to reply, but before he could utter a word, a high-pitched cheer came from down the hall. A little girl rushed out and tackled Luke with a hug.

“Cousin Luke!” she cried.

Luke picked her up and spun her around.

“Wow Kat! You’re a big girl now!” He placed her back on the ground and she spun around, showing off her dress.

“I’m not a girl,” she said, sticking her chin up haughtily. “I’m a lady!”

Luke put on a stern face. “Yes, of course.”

“Katrielle, get back here! I haven’t finished your hair.”

Luke turned to the source of the voice. “Flora!”

Flora, focused on chasing the little lady, looked up in surprise. “Luke! The Professor didn’t tell me you were coming.”

Layton smiled as he dragged a curious Katrielle away from the presents. “I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“It’s a proper reunion,” Flora said. “Dinner’s almost ready by the way.”

Luke’s face dropped and he cast a worried look over to Layton, memories of Flora’s previous culinary experiments flashing through his mind. He hated to think what she might have done to the ham, or worse, the Yorkshire puddings!

“The turkey is coming out in just a few minutes.” An elderly woman, an apron tied around her waist, poked her head out the kitchen door. “And hello to you Master Triton,” she winked at him. Luke sighed in relief: if the preparations were in Rosa’s capable hands, he had nothing to fear.

As the three old friends sat down to share stories, they were interrupted by yet another knock at the door.

“Who could that be now?” Flora asked, peering towards the hall. “Another surprise guest of yours?”

Layton shook his head. “It’s a puzzle to me as well.”

“I’ll get it,” Luke said, jumping up from his seat and racing to the door. From the lounge, Layton and Flora heard his voice as he opened the door.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Not even a ‘hello’, Luke?” a woman’s voice came down the hall. “I thought the Professor taught you better.”

“Oh, right! Sorry…’ Luke cleared his throat in embarrassment. “Merry Christmas Emmy!”

Having recognised the voice in an instant, Layton was already out of his seat and at the door.

“Emmy! Come in!” he held out a hand for her coat. “What a marvellous surprise. Last I heard you were in the Alps.”

“Nothing gets past the great Professor Layton, does it? My latest assignment with the World Times wrapped up sooner than expected, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to visit. It’s been far too long since we last spoke and isn’t Christmas the perfect time for a reunion?”

“‘One must always show gratitude to one’s teachers’,” Luke recited. “isn’t that right, Professor?”

“Ho ho, indeed Luke.” He smiled. “Go set an extra place at the table for Emmy; there are some people I need to introduce her to.”

“Yes, I got your letter,” Emmy shook her head with a wry smile. “I’m surprised how little it surprises me to hear you’re now a father.”

Rosa had just started to carve the turkey when Emmy rose from her seat with a quizzical look and held a hand out to signal for quiet.

“Did you hear that?” she asked, peering around. “I’m sure I heard…”

This time everyone could hear it: a soft knocking at the door.

Flora looked to Layton who frowned. He went to the front door and pulled it open. There on the front step, was a bespectacled man with hair like a loaf of bread and, behind him, an older, bearded man in a red suit.

Layton blinked.

“Happy Christmas, Hershel,” the man said. “I hope I’m not… intruding…”

“Desmond…” Layton breathed. “I… Well, this is quite unexpected. Please, by all means, come in.” He opened the door wider and motioned him in. “And welcome to you too, Raymond.”

He guided them into the dining room where the others sat, speculating as to who the arrival might be. When they caught sight of the guests, they went silent.

Desmond looked around, taking in the holly and boughs of fir that lined the sideboard, the feast spread out upon the table, the fire crackling gently in the hearth.

“Quite a… domestic scene you have here.”

“Rosa, Flora, Katrielle,” Layton said. “Could you set two more seats for Professor Sycamore and Raymond?”

The three of them scurried out of the room, leaving Luke, Emmy and the Professor with the two new guests.

There was a pause. No one quite knew what to say. Raymond straightened his already pristine jacket. Luke stared down at his shoes. Desmond opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word he found himself in the embrace of his brother.

“I thought I would never see you again,” he said, stepping away slightly to face Desmond properly. Desmond avoided his gaze.

“I was afraid I’d show up here and have the door slammed in my face…” he chuckled drily. “If anything, that would have been easier to accept than a hug. I don’t quite know what to do with myself here.”

“You’re here with family, Desmond,” Layton replied, smiling.

“Come, sit down,” Luke added, motioning to the laden table. “We’ve got plenty of food!”

“And Christmas crackers,” Emmy waved one of them in the air. “I know how much you like bad jokes!”

“I have perfectly good tastes in comedy!” Desmond stuck up his nose and crossed his arms. “You Philistines just don’t appreciate it.”

Everyone laughed. Flora and Rosa returned with chairs, followed by Katrielle carrying a small stack of crockery.

“I see we’re all getting in the spirit of things,” said Rosa. She put the chair down and turned to Layton and Desmond. “Are you going to introduce us properly?”

“Of course,” Layton cleared his throat. “This is my brother, Desmond Sycamore, and his butler Raymond.”

“A pleasure,” Raymond dipped his head.

“And Desmond, these are your nieces: Flora and Katrielle.”

Emmy piped up: “I suppose that makes you Uncle Desmond.”

“Yes, I suppose it does…”

That evening was spent in a blissful glow of good food, laughter and the telling of stories old and new. As Layton caught his breath after a particularly hilarious anecdote, he looked over to the mantelpiece where the phonograph of Claire watched over those gathered. Hershel smiled back at her.

You were right after all, Claire. I only wish you could be here to see this family I have.

He raised a glass to her.

Merry Christmas, my love.

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

This has to be one of the sweetest and most sentimental things I’ve ever written. But it’s Christmas so that sort of thing is only fitting.

The inspiration for this came largely from the intro to the TV series Babar. I had the vague idea of Christmas dinner with everyone arriving, and tying it in with the moment with Claire at the start was planned too, but then I thought, let’s add in the music aspect of the prompts somehow. I was then reminded of those opening credits and it was exactly the feeling I wanted.

A long while ago, listening to Time Travel, I noticed it is indeed rather more cheerful sounding than, say, Iris. In fact, with the snow falling when Layton removes his hat, it almost feels like a Christmas song, and so, what better song to use for a Christmas story? Particularly one about Layton’s future after Claire.

I also had the music of the picture book minigame in mind for the first half. I felt it captured that gentle, sweet, yet wistful atmosphere. I was toying with using Memories instead, but that’s a little too sad. Luckily, The Picture Book is also from Lost Future, so it all ties together quite nicely.

Also I left out Alfendi but included Katrielle. This is just because I’ve played LMJ but not LBMR. I know very little about Alfendi. Let’s just say Layton adopts him as a teenager and he hasn’t joined the family yet.

[swampybogg]

[higgsbison]

I need you to understand my vision

[nancyxhardy]

I actually think Cressida and Debling would be a good match. Neither of them are all that bothered about love. Debling basically wants an estate runner and maybe a child, and Cressida wants freedom from her parents and a comfortable life. They're kind of perfect, actually.

[taffywabbit]

a cover of "Panic Station" by Muse, ideally suited for chases through futuristic train platforms full of loop-de-loops and hostile robots!

usually I have a really hard time doing arrangements of existing songs, but I felt unusually motivated to tackle this one and managed to see it thought to completion! (took me a while because I kept spending too much time jamming out to what I already had done instead of working on the next parts lol)

♫ made with OpenMPT! ✎ cover art by me! ► SoundCloud link: https://soundcloud.com/taffywabbit/turmoil-terminus-zone ★ original song (for comparison): https://youtu.be/vk24UKKI4yY?si=RdQkA4BAHoRX1d7P

and here's the full-size cover art, while i'm at it!

[artgroves]

Steve Rogers Learns to Fly by @gutterandthestars

[zu-is-here]

YES (≧∀≦)☆

[gayofthefae]

Will haunting the narrative as both the innocent who was wrongfully destroyed AND the one that got away.

Season 2 Will impacting everything Mike does from that point forward just as much as Will's death impacts everyone.

El thinks of him when she confronts Brenner about the mind flayer, we know things like that. But Mike also thinks of him when he tells El he loves her.

They're all thinking of him. The last time they saw him.

The way he was never the same.

But Mike is thinking about the last time he saw him.

Losing him.

The way they were never the same.

(The way he can't get him back)

Yes, Will's disappearance changed everyone's trajectory forever. But he also changed Mike. He also made Mike's personal and romantic life impossible to return to after him.

He haunts more than just the people who mourn his death.

(The sole purpose of Mike's season 2 separation from El in the first place is so that he can never truly go back after Will)

[cellgatinbo]

tubbo and pac: (chanting) Legs Are Legs! tubbo: some legs work better than others but Legs Are Legs! pac: you know, i used to have a, uh- (looks down) ...uh, you know, nevermind.

[loveisonlyforthebrave8]

kiseki: dear to me + chen yi's ai di dimple

[bylrndgm]

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (2020) // JULIE E OS FANTASMAS (2011) 1.01 - Wake Up // 1.01 - Enfrentando Fantasmas -> Julie meets the Band.

[royalarchivist]

Fit: No one's gonna be homophobic in this village anymore 'cuz we've got the gay crystals here! No one is going to be homophobic in this village any longer!

Ramon: gg --> gay gnomes

Fit: [Laughs] That's right. They heard you were being homophobic so they had to come kill a couple of horses, you know? It's- yeah, it's the Gay Gnome mafia, is what this is.

Pac: Gay Gnome mafia? [Laughs] Maybe you're gonna wake up tomorrow and... all your stables gonna be gone and all your horses gonna be dead, and BOOM! The gnomes gonna be–

Ramon: but we are gay friendly so...

Pac: Oh yeah, we are gay-friendly, yeah, you're right, you're right Ramon. They wouldn't do such a thing.

Fit: [Laughs] Wait, Ramon– we're not just gay-friendly, we are GAY.

Featuring: the Town of Fobo, the Gay Gnome mafia, and Fit and Pac explaining to Ramon why they're more than just "gay-friendly."

[ Subtitle Transcript ↓ ]

—

Fit: No one's gonna be homophobic in this village anymore 'cuz we've got the gay crystals here! No one is going to be homophobic in this village any longer!

Pac: [Laughs] "The gay crystals..."

Fit: It is NOT happening!

Ramon: gg --> gay gnomes

Pac: [Laughs] "GG: Gay Gnomes"

Fit: [Laughs] That's right. They heard you were being homophobic so they had to come kill a couple of horses, you know? Yeah!

Pac: Yeah! Yeah, that- yeah! Perfect, perfect, that's the story, you know- that's the lore behind it.

Fit: It's- yeah, it's the Gay Gnome mafia, is what this is.

Pac: Gay Gnome mafia? [Laughs]

Fit: They heard they were being homophobic.

Pac: Maybe you're gonna wake up tomorrow and... all your stables gonna be gone and all your horses gonna be dead, and BOOM! The gnomes gonna be-

Fit: The gnomes, the gnomes! You know? The gnomes! They strike again.

Pac: [Laughs] The gnomes!

[Fit and Pac practice the Portuguese pronunciation of "gnomes"]

Ramon: but we are gay friendly so...

Pac: Oh yeah, we are gay-friendly, yeah, you're right, you're right Ramon.

Fit: Yeah, they're not g-

Pac: They wouldn't do such a thing.

Fit: [Laughs] Wait, Ramon– we're not just gay-friendly, we are GAY.

[Fit and Pac laugh while Ramon faceplants, Pac joining him on the ground faceplanting next to him moments later]

Pac: Ramon! That's even- that's- that's even better, Fit! They wouldn't even like- they wouldn't even get close to us, you knwo?

Fit: That's right, that's right.

[They both laugh]

Fit: That's r- oh wow, oh this... Good times, good times, good times.

Pac: Good times.

[They both laugh again]

Fit: Oh man... Good times on the QSMP, you love to see it, love to see it.

Pac: Yeah!

[allastoredeer]

One small gripe I have with some radioapple/radiostatic shippers who like bottom Alastor, which I don't see very often, is that they deliberately give him a really small dick while giving Vox or whoever else a MASSIVE one like they're using the logic that bottoms always have to be below average tiny just cause they don't use their dick for topping. (it's probably more of a problem for bottom Lucifer fans though)

It's why I appreciate it when people still give bottom Alastor the same size dick as his partner or a "bigger/slightly smaller than his partner" sized dick because he's NOT small by any means (that one official neon Alastor art is proof that he isn't)

Oh, I completely agree. I've always found that a little weird. Especially when its, like, comically small. I haven't seen it a lot of it in radioapple (probs cuz I've gotten most top!al and botton!luci out of my feed) but I have seen it in radiostatic. Not a lot, like you said, but it pops up from time to time.

Small dicks are fine, we don't shame small dicks here, but when its given to only bottoms (一_一) suspicious.

It makes me smile when bottoms have bigger dicks then their top. Just cuz they're hung like a horse doesn't mean they want to use it, and I respect that.

ALSO where is this neon Alastor art you speak of? Have I missed an official art drop? Send a link! Send a link!

[livelivefastfree]

fear as a counterweight

[glitteringcrab]

Evil Morty mannerisms (part 3)

WAIT.

Is this Evil Morty instinctively reaching for his eyepatch before recalling it's not there and camouflaging his action by scratching his head????