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poignant-wcb · 2 years ago

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A slice of life flashback to an ordinary day on South Beach pre-Beast. Willie tries to rope Wenzel into helping him. Wenzel ends up bonding with Hector, one of William’s adopted sons.

(Thank you to Dion for writing this extended character study with me, while I was figuring out Wenzel’s voice! 💖)

@willieshaw

Wenzelslaus did not want to talk to William today. Most days he did not want to talk to William, but it wasn’t like you had a choice when William caught your eye. Resisting, pretending that he hadn’t looked at William, merely looked through him was pointless, it would result in William shouting at the top of his lungs and causing the whole Island a headache. So, Wenzel sighed and made his way over to William’s site.

“Good morning William,” Wenzel politely dithered, hoping to precede William’s loud salutations. “And what are you working on today?” he asked.

— — —

Willie was lumbering a giant slab of rock for one of them new houses up on the farm. Mrs Maja keeping him busy, it were a thoughtless task but he spotted someone who’d be of no use. Save for maybe abit of delirious delight. “WENNY!” He shouted, which of course wasn’t the lads name but he seemed to affront to duck. “Be a ‘ouse for t’ new lovebirds. You’s met ‘em? Good’uns they are!” Will hefted the slab to one hip to give Wenzel a good slap on the shoulder. Perhaps he could convince Wenzel to be of use. He had two hands after all, even if the slight bugger tried to worm out of everything. “C’mon ducky you’s help.”

— — —

Wenzel supposed he should be happy that he had no special abilities over air or earth, for William’s boisterous temperament would have driven him well past madness by now. Wenzel smiled bloodlessly at William’s preferred name for him. Wenzelslaus was hard for most people, Wenzel was a little more accepted, but William had deigned that he was simply Wenny. Not that Wenzelslaus approved. “Ah, the new lovebirds?” Wenzel repeated, with no idea about who William was talking about. Should he know? “How lucky they are…” Wenzel winced as William slapped his shoulder, pushing his wire-framed glasses further up his nose, the spitting image of a meek, and not physically inclined man. “Yes well, I do not think I can be much help for you William,” Wenzel trailed off, smoothing his shirt. “You do not need my help to move these uh…” Felsplatte…? Rock… “... These plates.”

— — —

Willie laughed, boisterous as he always was and gestured for little Wenny to follow him. “Need you’s wa’er magic. Int’t grand! Look ‘ere.” Will threw the giant slab up without so much of a care and caught it before the giant heft of rock could do damage to the aforementioned structure. Will held it suspended in a pocket of air. Will grunted, and guided it safely to a spot that was adequate for now, he’d have to move it again later. This house was gonna be on stilts. New fangled ideas that had come from one of the new’uns which were good, they needed fresh input and new designs. Willie was eager to learn so long as they spoke plainly, and didn’t scrawl out their ideas into incomprehensible scribbles. “Need you’s t’ whoosh whoosh and clean it all up.”

— — —

Wenzel flinched as William threw the rock above their heads. He scrambled backwards, terrified that this was all some plot to kill him, some foolish, stupid joke that ended with their brains splattered on the ground. William caught it with his powers, but Wenzel's heart was hammering in his chest like miners striking gold, and stayed that speed even as William demanded that Wenzel clean the rock plate. "With… With what water, William?" Wenzel hissed, exasperated and annoyed at William's ceaselessly cheery demeanor. <<Ach, you ignoramous,>> he muttered in German under his breath. "Where is the water for this… whoosh whoosh, William?" Wenzel asked, tension leaking into his tone on account of thinking he was about to have perished.

— — —

Wenzel did articulate a rather valid question. Willie paused, glancing around deep in the farm there were sure to be sources of water nearby. “Get som from t’ oink oinks?” Willie proposed, with a terrible imitation at a wink as he gestured towards the pig trough. Which was still some walk away and not exactly an immediate source for the lad. Well it weren’t Will’s problem, lad should show a little initiative. He was now wishing that he’d dragged Hector out and not just haphazardly stumbled into Wenzel. Least the lad as cautious as he was, was willing. Unlike Wenny.

— — —

William wasn't hard to read. Wenzel knew he was starting to get annoyed, he was leaning back, practically looking around for one of his sons to come and help him and chatter loudly with him. "You want me to… clean… your plate with the water from the pigs?" Wenzel repeated, slowly, because it sounded like a stupid idea.

— — —

Will admittedly, had not thoroughly calculated what it was he was saying, so it took him a good minute to catch up with Wenzel. He huffed, laughed, and took a step back to come and give Wenzel a lighter tap. “Smart one you’s. Fetch us some from t’ sea then.” Willie said, with a big beaming grin, knowing it’d take him time to hurry off down with a bucket.

— — —

Wenzel was not exactly pleased that William was still tapping his shoulder, all bawdy humour. It always felt like William was showing how easy it was for him to literally push people around. “William, I came over to see what you were doing,” Wenzel said, politely ignoring the fact that he hadn’t wanted to say hello to William in the first place. “If I could help you now I would,” he lied, usually reticent at giving out help even in a good mood, even when it was easy. “But you are asking me, ja, to go out of my way to the beach and back hauling up the big bucket of water…? If it rains tonight won’t that do the washing whoosh for you?”

— — —

There he went. Trying to weasel his way out of doing anything. Will huffed again, loud and a little obnoxious as he needn’t breath anyway. One of those delightful little perks of the island. “What ‘ave you’s done today yoof?” Will considered him, folding his arms over his chest as he eyed up Wenzel with an unusually stark look. It weren’t often that Will didn’t have warmth to his eyes. The smiles, the good humour, it all faltered, a little.

— — —

And there William revealed himself, the good nature dropping as he began to throw his weight around, haughty and sure. Wenzel winced and took his glasses off, meekly cleaning them on the edge of his shirt. “William, just because I am not building houses doesn’t mean I am not doing anything.” Wenzelslaus looked up at William, or the blur that was William, more confident when he didn’t have to see William. “You like eating the crayfish, yes? I was baiting the traps.” A task which took Wenzel all of a few minutes, and left him with plenty of time to float in the sea. “I think I saw Hector at the beach. Maybe he can bring up some of the water to do the cleaning?”

— — —

“Willie. You’s call me Will.” No-one called him William. Certainly not a little lad like Weeny-boy. He couldn’t be dealing with that, and he wasn’t sure he fancied crayfish whatever that was. Sure no doubt he’d had it before. “Right-o, right-o. You’s keepin’ busy.” Which was good it was what all of them needed right now. They’d had an influx of people and now things were starting to get busy, a group had branched off and started a new village. A new village! Up in the hillside. “Hector is at beach? Good! Gonna find ‘im then. What you’s doing now?” Will asked, he neatly organised his tools so no-one could be coming and telling him off for being disorderly. Mostly Mrs. Maja. She’d come by and just tut him.

— — —

Wenzel knew he could call William by a nickname, almost everyone did. "Ah, yes," he nodded at William's insistence, not particularly interested in calling him Wilie. He still struggled with getting his Ws to sound right. Wenzel had hoped William would want to send him off to the beach, not come along with him. He suppressed a sigh as Will bounded up next to him, tensing for a 'friendly' slap to the shoulders that would rattle his bones. Surprisingly, it didn't come.

"Now?" Now Wenzel was returning to his hut and going to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling and wonder when he was going to die, if he was ever going to feel different or better, worry at what the Island would throw at them next. "I was going… to get something to eat." Maybe William would understand and appreciate that. Let Wenzel go out of empathy. "Ah I hope Hector is still where I saw him, the tide has started to go out…"

— — —

“You’s cookin’ us dinner duck?” Will asked, with a ferociously foolish smile. Coming down from the farm was easy enough. They’d stripped out of a path to wind down onto the beach. Of course the closer you got to the beach the more it turned to sand. Will had tried to argue that point of bricking everything over but he’d lost that motion. “I’m pulling you’s leg! Don’t have t’ worry ‘bout that.” Will chuckled to himself, beaming out into the sand as he spotted a familiar face. Well Wenzel was right afterall. Hector had been out on the beach.

— — —

Wenzel wasn't a duck, and he most certainly wasn't a cook. He stammered at William's request, his face flushing uncomfortably. "Ah well I wasn't -" William put him out of his misery, another of his endless jokes. "Yes, a joke," Wenzel nervously agreed, not the biggest fan of William's teasing sense of humour. Wenzel let out a rather pathetic, "Ha ha," in agreement with it.

Thankfully William's attention was quickly distracted by Hector coming into view before them. Wenzel squinted at the sharp light reflecting off the waves, looking over at William so he could prepare himself for the imminent bellowing that was sure to begin. Wenzel paused, watching the way William's entire body lightened at seeing his son. The way his smile stretched, his shoulders straightened.

Wenzel looked to Hector, who had seen them coming and looked marginally more accepting of William's forthcoming shouting than Wenzel had. There'd always been a level of tension between the two older boys and William, one that Wenzel had quietly watched develop over the years. Despite his own dislike of William's attention, he always thought it was a shame that the two older boys were so staunch against Will. Wenzel knew that William only tolerated him, when compared to the obvious affection he showed to his sons. It would be nice, to be so deeply cared for on this horrible island.

— — —

Willie had beamed, waved and obnoxiously shouted his words incidentally amplified by his excitement. Not that Hector hadn’t already spotted them, and wasn’t already on his way over. Traversing the beach still a little sodden from having gone swimming, or whatever it was his ilk of water folk got up to. Willie didn’t know, and he had cared to ask once, but he had perhaps forgotten everything that Hector had told him.

“Ay’up yoof!” Willie grinned, Hector was now within normal talking distance and not his obscene enhanced magic. “You’s free t’ help?”

Hector looked between them both, carefully reviewing Wenzel and William as a pair - not that Willie noticed. “Yes—“ He said, hesitant and then as if he’d tallied it all up. “Isn’t Wenzel helping you?”

“No!” Will aggrieved with a slap to Wenzel’s shoulder again. He stepped forwards, forgetting entirely that Wenzel was even there as he spoke quickly to Hector. “Lad int’t up for t’ job. You’s bring up t’ water? Need it t’ clean up them stones ‘fore I start t’ rest.” Will gave Hector a touch to the shoulder, a little gentler but no less firm, the bloke didn’t flinch. “Ay’up leave you’s t’ it. Find me when you’d ready.”

— — —

Wenzel had been too busy looking at Hector, forgetting to watch William. He nearly jumped out of his skin as William hollered for Hector, which was pointless since Hector was already coming close to them. Hector looked at them as if William had brought Wenzel home as a love match. Wenzel took a neat step to the side, except William clapped his shoulder hard enough to bruise. Wenzel murdered under his breath as William briefed Hector, leaving as quickly as he arrived, without a care in the world.

"I… ah…" Wenzel gave Hector a polite, grimacing smile, rolling his shoulder out from where William had clapped it. "He wanted to clean the stones with the pig slop," Wenzel weekly offered, taking off his glasses to clean them and neatly avoid Hector's accusatory gaze.

— — —

Hector watched intrigued, as the scene rapidly unfolded. Which of course seemed on par when William was involved. Felt a little odd all considering but Hector wouldn’t get involved in the politics of it. The disparity between his siblings. He did however find himself landing with a moment alone with Wenzel. A true oddity. The man was quiet, a little meek, Hector had scarcely gotten too many words out of him all these years.

“He’s a lot.” Hector offered, with a benign smile that bordered on apologetic. “He means well, I don’t think he strictly…thinks anything through. Are you…” Hector mused over his words, and then asked quietly. “How are you Wenzel?”

— — —

Wenzel let out a long, slow breath as Hector’s voice thawed, all but offering an olive branch to him. Wenzel put his glasses back on and smiled at him, nodding his head along emphatically as Hector talked about William not thinking things through. “Ah yes, it… it is not how I would do things,” Wenzel admitted easily, bobbing his head as they talked. He most certainly wouldn’t feel as if he could ask anyone to casually work alongside him with no warning.

Wenzel sucked his teeth, and then raised his eyebrows at the next question Hector asked. “Oh, me? I am… I am good, thank you,” Wenzel said politely. He had moped about the morning as he struggled to remember his ex-wife’s name, a benign fact that had tormented Wenzel horrifically. It was not the sort of thing one should forget, even if the match had been doomed from the start. “And you, Hector? How are you? I hope William hasn’t derailed you?”

— — —

Hector did feel for him, as quiet and discerning as Wenzel was. He seemed a fragile man on the verge of collapse. “You wouldn’t clean up with pig mess?” Hector teased, a light smile and an air of easiness as he went to sweep up the nets he’d been fishing with. Half expecting, half hoping that Wenzel would follow. “Not at all. Not much this morning, could do with finding something else to keep me busy. Out of trouble as Will would say.”

Hector stood to shield his eyes from the sun. “I’m fine, life carries on doesn’t it?” He said, which was to say that losing his mother was difficult. A tragedy, but a tragedy in a series of tragedies unfortunately. “I’m worried for Chariot though…I haven’t seen him since he took off. I think he’s taking it all the hardest.”

— — —

"Ah, no," Wenzel smiled, very pleased that his comment had hit the sweet spot of polite but pointed, that Hector smiled at it. "But I do not wish to judge William. He is less modern with his concepts of hygiene… than you or me?" Which was another way of saying he was something of a mess. Most people forgave him for it, given his skills.

Wenzel had nodded along about being kept busy, not something he was particularly successful in. He didn't need to be pestered to not get into trouble, though he was sure that William thought in this he was lacking. So prompted, Wenzel walked out to help Hector pull the nets in, which meant he had no way of backing out when Hector talked about his mother's passing. Of course he would be thinking of her. Wenzel winced and pulled on the nets all the faster, urging his powers to lessen the drag of the net. "Life…" Wenzel started, and then stopped, trying to find something to say. "Life is strange here… Someone like a William lives a hundred years, but…" Hector's mother had died. It wasn't the right thing to say.

"It makes no sense, just like outside." Wenzel smiled at Hector, nervous and awkward as hell. "Chariot… maybe he needs time, quiet…" he meekly offered, protecting onto the stoic and quieter brother.

— — —

Hector leant over to haul the nets in, watching with slight envy as the ordeal became easier. Wenzel had obviously done something. It hadn’t slipped by him that despite being modestly quiet, Wenzel was capable. Hector hauled the nets and with Wenzel’s help the task flew by. He seized the one or two fish that had been swept up by them. “Chariot…he was the closest with her. You’re probably right.”

He dumped the fish into a small bucket. Hector didn’t have the stomach to kill them himself, but they were nearly dead anyway. “But don’t you think that’s wonderful? That people can live here longer than they would’ve. Don’t get me wrong…” If given the opportunity he’d swap Williams’s life for his mother’s, but life hadn’t worked that way. She hadn’t been well since Sun’s birth. They all knew that even if they wouldn’t admit it. “I miss her. But we have each other, right?” And, by extension, that included Will.

“How old do you reckon he is?” Hector said as a way of distracting from the morbid topic of death. It made him feel like he was drowning. “Hundred? I think he’s older than that. Least three.” Hector flashed him a genial smile. “Predates the Bronze Age, maybe?”

— — —

Was it good to live longer? Their seemingly eternal youth, only it was wasted away on this island. A place that elevated people like William, where Wenzel found himself scrambling for any relevancy. "It is a blessing, but in exchange we must survive the island." It never made sense to Wenzel, why the island would keep them alive, give them youth but try to kill them in its next breath? It perplexed Wenzel, almost as much as their powers. "She would want you to survive," Wenzel said, nodding along with Hector's more inclusive statement about having each other.

Hector asked how long William had been around the island, and Wenzel was glad for the distraction away from death, a topic he preferred to investigate drunk and idly floating in the sea. Wenzel had an idea of how old Willie was, somewhere in the mid 19th century, pre-German unification."Well he is early Industrial revolution," Wenzel began, too soon to see the joke that Hector had set up. "Ah, I mean… yes Bronze age." Hector nodded sheepishly, shooting Hector an awkward smile, like he was always waiting for permission to be jovial. "He speaks like Bronze age?" Wenzel suggested. William was hard to understand, but he'd been one of the first people to talk to Wenzel, and after so many years he was used to his voice. "I used to think all English people must speak like this. Used to say a'yup, thought it was the translation of 'hallo'." Wenzel smiled at Hector, a little more confident.

— — —

“Survive we must.” Hector looked to Wenzel, who seemed to be worried? Or perhaps considering? Hector wasn’t sure. It was hard to get a read really on Wenzel he was one of those enigmas that floated about the island without really ever opening up. He had heard from others that Wenzel hadn’t at one point known much english which was swiftly confirmed from the horse’s mouth. “Just a little joke ‘cause he seems so old. Ancient even. Oh bless – I bet that was real confusing.” Hector hefted the last of the nets in but there was nothing more for them to give. He wound it all up into the neatest pile he could make. “Wait–you’re saying your first exposure to English was Will?”

“Man. I bet that was a trip, huh?” Hector hauls up the nets to sling them over his shoulder, well part of it. They’re too long really for that. He only intended to haul them half-way up the beach and then leave them there for tomorrow. “I don’t think…we’ve ever really spoken.” Not properly at least. Hector had tried to softly and politely engage Wenzel, but he seemed to be on the shy side. “Do you usually hang out with William a lot?”

— — —

Wenzel had eventually realised Hector was joking, but he bit his tongue to stop himself from lamely repeating that fact as Hector kindly explained it. He focused instead on where they were going now, the humourous revelation that William had been part of his first exposure to English. "Yes well, I am German… I arrived at an… unpopular time to be German. Even though I never fought in the Great War, and I was not a brownshirt." Sandwiched between two horrible wars. He'd been horrified to learn that the fringe political group he'd scoffed at had taken the reigns of his country and caused such harm.

"William does not know what Germany is," Wenzel weakly offered a counter. He'd been aware that there was the Austrian-Hungarian empire, at a very tenuous stretch, but being a Berliner Wenzel identified more as an ex-Prussian. "And I do not think it matters to him if you understand what he says when he speaks to you." That had certainly been Wenzel's experience, intimidated by the large, muscular man who had sat down at him and chatted his ear off with no fuss about the fact that Wenzel didn't understand a word he said.

Wenzel was mortified when Hector pointed out that they hadn't had much conversation before. He kept mainly to himself, a lingering remnant of how he'd first felt when he'd arrived on the island. "No," he quickly said when Hector asked if he often spent time with William. Wenzel grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest. He most often spent his time blissfully alone.

"I have some time," Wenzel offered, a rare motion indeed. He liked how easy it was to talk to Hector, which was surprising. Sun was the most boisterous of the brothers, and set a bad example in what Wenzel could predict. "If you would like help with carrying the water?" Wenzel added on, shrugging his shoulders.

— — —

Hector quirked a brow as if surprised to hear that Wenzel was German. He and Chariot had been young when they’d arrived on the island, but not young enough to be totally ignorant to new accents. Still it was charming to have it confirmed. “How old are you Wenzel?” Between the two wars. That certainly pegged him as much older than he looked, but not quite as ancient as some others. “No, you’re right, I think William likes to talk to people. He means well…”

Or at least Hector thought he did. Will was impassioned and had a narrow range of focus, but Hector had seen the way him and Sun were together. Sun reading to him, bringing him salvage to examine, and trailing behind Will like a pup. “Sure thing, any help would be great.”

“You’re good with water, aren’t you?” Hector despite not being the youngest had been the last to discover his attunement. It had laid in waiting for him. He didn’t mind so much. Instead he’d spent the last year religiously cataloguing every instance of attunement use. Particularly water because he was biased. Except he’d run out of space in the little pocket notebook he’d washed up with, and then had meticulously dried out. “What’s it like? Your connection to water? Can you feel it all across the island?”

— — —

How old was Wenzel, now there was a question he could answer well enough. "I was thirty one when I arrived here in 1929. I think someone came here and said we have moved to past the year 2000? So I am at least one hundred and two years old." Which was a dreadful thing to live with. Living old enough to be considered an outlier, a true anomaly, his years on the island an endless blur of lifetimes of beach and sand and chaos. "It makes you wonder what it is all for, hmm?" Wenzel nervously tittered, trying not to become overwhelmed. He had decided he would only truly let himself be morose if he lasted past one hundred and forty four years old. That was the twelfth in the Fibonacci sequence, and the thirteenth came at two hundred and thirty three, which seemed an outrageous amount of time to be alive, even more outrageous than one hundred and forty four years. "I hope you do not think that is the Bronze Age..."

Wenzel didn't think too highly of his abilities with water. He ducked his head at Hector's keen interest, wishing he hadn't decided to be altruistic and offer his help. "Ah, I have my abilities, yes." There were a few spare buckets a little up the beach. Someone was optimistic about the haul of fish from the nets. Wenzelslaus pulled the water from the surf into a flowing sin-function wave, arching it carefully into the buckets. A rather extravagant display for a mediocre result. Water in buckets, to wash some stone.

Wenzel sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Salt water is the best for me. Not good for much." He couldn't water their fledgling farm, or help direct and gather rain. He could fish half-decently, if pushed to it. His latest party trick was desalinating seawater and drinking it, a trick with a variable success rate, and one Wenzel felt like might sign him up for more work than necessary. "I can feel the ocean, but not very far." Wenzel shrugged, hoping that would be the end of Hector's questions. He did not feel qualified to talk about his abilities, at all.

— — —

“No, no not at all.” Hector is quick to add as Wenzel implored whether he was Bronze Age or not. The joke clearly well and truly lost on him. “Fascinating…” He had learnt a little but not enough to know what Germany was like in the 20s. Life beyond the small young and childish bubble that he had lived in was largely unexplored. The island had shut one door of learning, but opened up another to those that had the aptitude. “Where abouts where you from, before here, out there?” Hector found that he was fascinated with Wenzel. Who by in large looked not much older than himself, even in some ways, acted like it too and yet he was far wiser, and older beyond his years. Hector wished to study him, he wished to befriend him, and most of all he couldn’t understand why William was inclined to bad-mouth him in his jovial overzealously friendly manner.

Hector had to stop and watch in awe as Wenzel did an impressive display of his powers. “Incredible.” He whispered. “You’re too modest Wenzel, this is amazing.You are amazing.” He wished he had something to scribble down against, to make notes of the ease in which Wenzel had done this. No incantation, not even so much as a hand gesture save for the slow flick of his hand towards the buckets. “Just because you’re a little salty, doesn’t mean you aren’t useful.” Hector just couldn’t help but marvel at him.

— — —

"I am from Berlin, beautiful city." Wenzel had fallen in love with it over and over again. A child running and biking through the streets, then a young man finding night clubs, more and more fun. "Ah but that is in the past now." Wenzel tightly smiled, looking out to the sea. There was no point thinking about it too hard. They were here now.

Wenzel was defined by regret, his current situation was no different. He shouldn't have moved the water, if he did he should have done it in a normal, direct, brutal way. His heart skipped a beat at Hector's open admiration, flattered by the attention, but growing dread at the thought of Hector spreading word of his amazing abilities. "Nein, nein, nein- no," Wenzel emphasised, holding up his hands to Hector. "It is not amazing… I am not amazing. I am barely good at it." Wenzel wouldn't hear a word of it. He was not talented or special, but he was capable of working hard. "It is just practise. You will far surpass me, Hector," Wenzel smiled anxiously, his face dropping fast. He did not want to be constantly nagged to do something. He would rather decide to do it on his own (which rarely happened). "Please do not go around and say I am amazing." Because demonstrably, he wasn't.

— — —

Hector watched as Wenzel devolved into a fast declaration that he was not in fact amazing. Not talented. Not anything at all really. He was such a curious oddity. If the little exposure Hector had, had to him meant anything. “Hell yeah, it’s over for you once I’ve got the hang of it Wenzel.” He teased, though it was abundantly clear that Wenzel didn’t seem to latch very well onto humour. So far Hector had amassed that Wenzel tended to take everything at face value. “Seriously, there aren’t many water folk are there? So I need someone to look up to and admire.”

Hector dumped the nets a safe distance up the beach so they wouldn’t get washed away. Swapping them instead for a bucket, in each hand, of salt water. Leaving one for Wenzel. And, of course the fish bucket which Hector would have to come back for. “Why don’t you want people to know?” Hector asked, though he had a feeling he knew why. Along the same lines of why Chariot never wanted to help much of anything. In Hector’s opinion it was selfish, but he didn’t want to make assumptions without first asking.

— — —

Hector was eager to surpass Wenzel, which was good, very good. Though just as the tension was leaving Wenzel, Hector made a comment about wanting someone to look up to. Wenzel winced at the very thought of being a role model, his shoulders moving like he had a spider crawling up his back. “Ah yes… well…” Wenzel looked at the bucket he had to carry, at once bone-weary at the thought of taking it to William and doing his chore for him.

Why didn’t he want people to know? Wenzelslaus cleared his throat, took off his glasses to clean the spotless lenses. A stalling tactic. “I am not amazing. It is the truth,” he said in a hushed whisper, revelling in the easy way the world went blurry around him. Nothing to put pressure on him, just a comforting mess of shapes and light. He’d raised himself up once before, been at his own peak, climbed to the top, lived the high life. And the second he’d seen the house of cards wobble, he’d taken drastic measures so he wouldn’t have to live with falling from grace. His retribution was being here. If he let himself think he was good again, if people relied on him, he would just let them down again. Send them all crashing and burning to ruin. Wenzel affixed his glasses, and gave Hector a humble roll of the shoulder. The best thing he could do would be not to get in anyone’s way. “William will be waiting for us,” he said calmly, picking up his bucket and heading towards the building site.

END.

#william 01 #hector 01 #flashback #in which wenzel is a workshy bitch and suffers from crippling low self esteem

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nanalikessurveys · 10 months ago

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When’s the last time you ate bread?

I had a ham&cheese toast at a café this morning.

What’s the last movie you watched on your own?

Lately I've been watching a lot of movies and the last one I saw was Society of the Snow. Totally recommend it, a horrific depiction of an awful tragedy, I teared up a bunch of times.

What about the last movie you watched with another person?

Stormskärs Maja (or Myrskyluodon Maija in finnish). It's been a big hit here since it came out so I went and watched it with my mom at the theaters. I liked it a lot, it was really atmospheric.

How many coats do you own?

I have two winter coats and few other coats for warmer weather.

What about shoes?

One pair of winter boots, and then about 5 pairs of sneakers/tennis shoes. I also own two pairs of heels in case I need them for some party/whatever fancy situation.

One word to describe your most recent ex?

Nice.

Where, in your current country, would you like to live, other than where you do now?

Maybe in Turku, the city is really pretty with a lot of history and culture. Also, it's not a big city but not a small one either which is perfect.

Do you like snow?

Yesss I love snow.

Do you like sheer clothing?

I like when some clothes have some sheer parts in them, like on the sleeves or somewhere around the neckline but I wouldn't wear a fully or almost-fully sheer clothing.

Have you ever seen anyone famous in the street?

Some local celebrities.

Are you hungry right now?

I am.

Are you regularly tired?

I'm not and I'm super happy about that. I mean I've never had major problems with being tired all the time but I've felt more tiredness in the past compared to now. This past year I've been paying more attention to my eating, that I eat regularly and eat balanced meals. I feel so much more energetic now and my skin and hair have never been in this kind of condition.

What was the last thing to upset you?

Today I tried to book an airbnb for a little getaway trip I'm planning on having later this month but for some reason it didn't work out so I just gave up lol. I'm gonna try again some other day though.

How’s the weather been today?

Around 0 degrees celcius with some snow and a lot of ice on the ground. It's been like that for a few weeks now.

What was the first tattoo you got or what would be the first tattoo you’ll get?

I haven't given that much thought to it. I'm not totally against having a tattoo but as of now I don't have any plans of getting one.

What was the last store you went into and did you buy anything?

I went to a mall today to pick up new glasses for me. (I was so done only wearing contact lenses all the time so I had to get glasses) Anyway at the mall there was this boardgame store I've never seen there before so I went and took a look but I didn't buy anything.

Have you ever been late for school or work?

At school if I was going to be late I just skipped the whole class. I didn't want to go to the classroom late, I was too shy for that lol.

Do you prefer to shower in the morning or at night?

I like night showers more.

What is your favourite kind of fruit cobbler?

I'm not sure what a cobbler is. If it's the same or similar as pie then I like berry pies, like blueberry or some mixed red berry pie.

Is there a basement in your house? If so, what is it used for?

I live in an apartment building and there is a basement which has some storage space and also a laundry room. It also serves as a bomb shelter if we ever end up in that situation (obviously hopefully never).

Have you driven a car today?

No, I don't even have a licence.

Do you have a small, medium or large bedroom?

It's pretty small but I mean my whole apartment is pretty small.

Have you eaten soup this week?

No, I don't eat a lot of soup.

Are you a fan of The Office?

I've never watched that.

When was the last time you started a new medication?

A couple years ago but I'm already done with it. I only have one daily medication right now which I've been taking since 2017-ish.

What is your favourite type of nut?

Cashew.

Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a middle name?

My dad doesn't.

Have you put your phone on silent today?

It's never on silent, it's on vibrate.

Can you name all 50 US state capital cities?

I'm confident I know all of them because I used to be super into a lot of geography games online but if I had to list all of them now from just the top of my head I probably wouldn't even remember half of them.

Do you read John Green novels?

I've only read one of his book, Paper Towns. It was good but I'm not super into fiction books, I'd rather watch a movie or read non-fiction.

Have you ever been to Universal Studios?

No but it would be nice to go.

Can you tie balloons?

Nope. Well, I've never tried but probably not.

When was the last time you were at a pet store?

About a month ago to buy some cat food.

#survey #surveys

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ninalanfer · 2 years ago

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Make 9 2023

We all know a make9 is more of a hopes and dreams and inspiration going into the new year than it is actual plans. But it gives you something to look forward to don’t it? So here we go.

Julia Hjärtvärmare by Maria Gustafsson One of those projects that have come with me from 2022. I have the yarn for it, I’ve even spun for it. It’s been ready to go for almost a year now. But... One of the first steps is to cast on 567 (actual number) stitches and euhm... Yeah. That’s more than a little daunting.

Poet Socks by Sari Nordlund I usually don’t put things as socks or mittens or hats on this. The small projects will happen when they happen anyway. But Poet Socks are something of an undertaking. Really they represent a whole list of more complex knitted socks (both lace, structure and stranded) I have that I’d like to knit. Last Socktober I really went sock crazy and I’m still kind of on that high. Ofc the craziness was more that I found and dreamed of knitting all these socks. A week or two into October Arjin got sick and all my energy was diverted to that. So I never got the chance to knit all the socks. One day.

Martall by Maja Karlsson I might’ve been gifted Maja’s newest book, Koftor, this past holiday. There’s several cardigans from that book that I want to knit. But on the top of the list is Martall. I’m partial to the round yoke and simple, sensible cardigans. (And I love the lore surrounding Martallar). I also have a hole in my wardrobe for a long one. Had for a while. Had a lot of plans for one, but never gotten around to it. So in a way, Martall represents that need. Maybe it ends up being a neon rainbow on black as have been on the drawing board before. Or maybe a modified Harvest (tincanknits) in hand-dyed, handspun. We’ll see.

Vintersol by Jennifer Steingass This is where the yarn for my former plan for the Maja Cardigan will go. I have a few of Steingass’ patterns (who doesn’t? They’re all gorgeous), but this is the only one of them that uses this weight of yarn. I’ll probably also want to knit it as a cardigan/jacket (because I don’t tend to wear this thick sweaters) and I’ll knit it flat. Stranded knitting on the purl side really isn’t that difficult. Not when you hold both strands in the left hand. (Or two in the left and one in the right as a few of the rounds in this is three strands). There also isn’t that much colorwork in this sweater, so it fits. I’ve already swatched for it, it’s gonna be really pretty. This’ll also go into Garnhärvan Podcast’s knitalong #ghdrömmenkal because if I don’t start now I’ll never start.

I Dina Händer Skirt by Emma Josefsson The picture here is of my shawl from the same pattern. I plan to modify it to knit into a skirt. I’ll probably end up either putting buttons down the front or grafting it together in the end. I’ve yet to make up my mind. It’ll go more towards greens and autumn orange/red and such, but in the same yarn (Alpe form Järbo). Cuz I’ve used the heck out of that shawl and the fabric is really nice at a looser gauge. I only have one knitted skirt and I use it pretty much all the time. It’d be nice to have something to change it out with.

Silva by Ivar Asplund This had been with me since last year. I now own the yarn for it. Only waiting for my 3mm needles to be free.

Goldfern by Jennifer Steingass I will not give up on a handspun Goldfern. It will happen I tell you!

Suolaulu by Jenna Kostet I was also gifted Jenna’s newest book Knitted Kalevala for the holidays. (And let me tell you it’s been difficult to not fill this entire make9 with knits from either books I’ve been gifted! The more I read them, the more of the patterns I wanna make...) I want to knit like five of the patterns in it already. But Suolaulu is in the top spot (the original sweater, not the yoked version). A really magical book in it’s own right, on top of the stunning patterns. And I’ve yet to decide if I want to do the dropped shoulder or if I’ll do a plain round yoke like I know fits me. I imagine a dropped shoulder would create a lot of bulk under the arm? I’m not sure if that’s true but we’ll see I suppose.

Batgirl Crop-Top Hoodie by Me And lastly, the batgirl hoodie. I still dream about this sweater. A thin, light fabric in the heather colorway from Rauma (Finull). The hood will drape nicely over my head or shoulders (the bat ears is another problem I haven’t solved yet but we’ll get there) and the sleeves will be tight and long (maybe even with a thumb hole?). And since it’s cropped it’ll be perfect to wear over tight tees indoors. I need this in my wardrobe!

---

So some want, some need, some dreams for this year. I’m excited for it at least!

#make9 #make92023 #knitting

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depoteka · 2 years ago

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stefan karwowski's outfit in every episode of czterdziestolatek post when

#maja and i gonna do it one day

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byeonqkwan · 6 years ago

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So today is going to be my ‘write Maja, write !!’ day, so if you see me on here please, yell at me to go the duck away :’)

(I’ll probably be on in the evening, but that’s hours away lol)

#maja talks #i'm gonna do my analysis part today #I have 5 days left and I still haven't written more than one page lol #so today's the day

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colorquest · 1 month ago

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~☆~

D: Hey, hey, how much you wanna bet I can jump from the ladder to that chest without getting hurt? D: I'll land on all fours. M: I'm not sure I really want to bet anything on that, D... S: If there's anyone who could do that, it'd be you Debbie. D: Okay both of those answers are useless to me. D: Vilmr can you at least pretend you don't believe I'll make it so I can rub it in your face when I do? V: ... 🔆 D: Vilmr? S: You look deep in thought Vilmr, what's on your mind? V: I am just starting to wonder... V: If maybe we should ask Maja, if we should be streaming this. D: Are you serious. M: Do you mean from a legal standpoint, or...? V: I am thinking more about our karma. V: What if we are attracting bad company, observing this as skeptics? D: Well then you shouldn't have to worry because you're not the one seeing it. V: I can worry for your safety too, you know. S: It's nice of you to worry for us Vilmr, but I think it's alright. D: Yeah a million jillion people have seen eclipses before and ended up okay. D: Probably. D: I mean how else would we be here right now. V: Mmh... V: Maybe...

S: Oh hey, I know we can't tonight, but... S: You know what'd be fun tomorrow night? D: What? S: We should play night tag again! 🔆 S: Since the moon's so new it'll still be extra dark out. S: I know how much you like night tag Vilmr! V: Only if it's not in the woods this time! V: I hate it when Debbie hides in the trees. V: We can never find her! D: Hey okay, nobody ever said it was against the rules. V: Well I want it to be against the rules now. D: Pssh. D: Not my fault I'm super smart and think like, five steps ahead. S: Well, we could fly down somewhere more wide open if Yuan is around tomorrow night? D: Fuuuuuuuck yes, I'd be so down. M: Oh, I don't think I can tomorrow. S: *gasp* S: Oh my gosh right, tomorrow is your first night at the comic shop isn't it? M: Yeah, but I don't mind if you guys go ahead without me! D: Excuses, excuses... D: If you're scared of getting owned just say so. M: You got me, D. M: My job is just an elaborate ploy to avoid losing at tag. S: Well maybe we could save it for another day and go comic shopping instead? :> D: What the heck, are we gonna be shopping for like, hours? D: We could still play night tag, like, we can do both-- OH! D: Ohhhhh, if we do go though, Michael you BETTER remember to bring that hat. M: Haha, of course D.

S: *yawwwwwn* S: Vilmr, you still seem pretty agitated, are you that worried? V: What do you think? D: I'm not even gonna get innnnnnto this anymore! D: Honestly I think it's just so stupid silly. D: If you don't even believe in this stuff for real, what is even your reasoning this time? V: Debbie, just because I do not worship a moon god does not mean I do not believe in bad karma. V: With or without gods, things are always at play in this universe. V: It is not stupid, not to me. V: What happens if it really is a bad omen? V: What if we're doing something really dumb right now? V: Just to say you got to see it? D: Jeez Vilmr, you gave me your cell so you could avoid talking like this! D: I might as well be replaying Maja's voicemail, you two sound so similar. V: You are impossible! M: Vilmr, we're not the only ones watching this livestream.🔆 M: I'm seeing there's at least another fifty on the same page. M: Do you think they're in trouble too? V: Yes, I do. V: I'm really starting to think this stream shouldn't be up in the first place. V: There is a reason why this eclipse is in such a remote part of the planet. V: Think about it. V: The only places this can even be observed at all are either in the middle of the emptiest ocean in the whole world, or on the furthest edge of all of Halvma. V: Nobody even lives there. V: It's almost like nobody's meant to be seeing this one. S: What do you think is going to happen, Vilmr?

V: I! V: I do not know. V: But it feels like something bad. V: The air is biting all around me, I can feel it. S: Vilmr, I don't mean this in any sort of judgemental way or anything, but... S: You tend to say these kinds of things about a lot of things. S: And things usually end up alright. V: Ah, but see you fail to realise, you use the keyword: "usually." V: As in, not always. V: Sometimes, things still go bad. M: ...you do seem to have some pretty impressive foresight from time to time, I have to give it to you. V: Thank you. D: Okay well nothing's gonna stop me from watching this, sorry not sorry. D: If it means I'll die, at least I did it watching something cool, right Samantha? S: ... D: .........Smumantha...... S: Well now I'm nervous! V: And there is good reason for this! D: Well duh, you scared her into feeling that way! D: -_-!!! M: Okay, I know I complimented your foresight just now Vilmr but I really do think it's... a bit of a stretch? M: This time, I mean. M: Like, uh, aside from the fact that this might be legally dubious, D: enough with that already we gettttt it we get it. M: I think we'll be okay. M: It's not like we're actually seeing it in real life, you know? M: It's just a projection of it, after all. S: Oh, I guess that's a good point. D: Literally such a good point, probably the best point you've ever made actually Michael. V: Blughghhhhhh...

D: It's already about to start anyways, huhuhuhUAHAH!!! S: Ahhh no okay I'm still scared! M: It's just a video Samantha, nothing divine about that! V: Maja förlåt miggggggg... D: No turning back now, scaredyturds!

<[Last] || [Next]>

#0003 #log #debbie #vilmr #michael #samantha

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megacarapa · 2 years ago

Photo

i finally got off my ass to compile all these into a post, heres all the stuff i made at the ceramics class i went to *checks date* 3 MONTHS AGO??? by lord time moves fast these days

individual/process photos under the cut, fair warning for a loooot of pictures like a LOT

general process pics

bowls

plate 1

plate 2 + whatever this heart shape thing is

maja ended up taking both of them to use for jewelry as pictured above, by this point i feel the need to explain that the entire time i was in this class i had no fucking idea what i was doing and didnt really prepare in the sense of think about what kind of stuff i want to make, so i just spent the whole time making random stuff (except for 2 which i will show in a bit) hence this random heart and whatever this alien colored thing up next is

^im thinking im probably gonna gift this to my neighbour to use as an ashtray

another random one but im gonna use it as a candle holder

random figures i made while trying to figure out what to make next that i didnt think would survive the bake but the prof baked them anyway and they... kinda survived but they both just kept going through accident after accident and ended up Like That

they’ve been through it all DFGDFGDFG the reason why the snowman is green is bc when we were painting them it took me a while to paint all of my stuff so by the time i was finishing my last one they were already packing up all the colors and when i finished i noticed i forgot to paint the snowman and green was one of the only colors left so i just. dipped him in the green real quick so now hes a fucked up little alien snowman

it begs the question of is it better to exist in a non-fucked up state or to just not exist at all? they may both be fucked up but i made them and theyre mine and i love them so much.

onto the last 2 things which are the ones im actually really happy with - this plate (?? english is hard) for holding cake i made at mom’s request

and this cat bowl i made trying to make sth like this

lots of pictures bc its my pride and joy lmao i love it SO MUCH😭😭 i was origianlly planning to draw a face like >.< on the cat but as i said i was rushing to finish all the painting and completely forgot to draw a face sdgdfg, but judging from how well the face on the other cat ended up maybe its better this way

and so while i was actually attending the class i had no ideas of what i wanted to make but i swear to god the SECOND i finished the class i started seeing a bunch of cool ceramics everywhere and being like OMG I WANNA MAKE THAT I WANNA MAKE THAT but i CANT anymore bc the class is over and UGHHHH I MISS CERAMICS SO MUCH TAKE ME BACK BABY I PROMISE IVE CHANGED OTL

in summary this class was really nice and i obviously still have a shit ton to learn so im really hoping i can do something like this again in the future o(-(

#mine #my crafts #finally got this done. i still have another compilation post i wanna make for embroidery ive made over the past month #these are a nightmare to put together but i fucking do it

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echo-bleu · 2 years ago

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The WIP ask. :) For 2 ✍️ and 👷. For 4 💡 and 👀. For 5 🎮 and 👀. Also, have to comment on those numbers on Whitcher fics - AWESOME!! *grin*

So many questions!! Thank you! and thank you, I'm so happy to be inspired again, it feels incredibly good.

2 is Singer Street, one of my original projects. It's about a neurodivergent shared house and the community they build around it. There's a little synopsis here and a presentation of the main characters here for anyone curious.

✍️ How far have you got with it?

Uh not much more than the last time I talked to you about it, or talked about it here actually. I haven't written in two months. So the actual draft is like 8k, most of which is the first 3 scenes. I did open the file yesterday and read the first scene, and I went "yeah I'd read that book" so I guess that's a good thing? I do have a mostly clear plot, all the characters, so most of the work outside of the actual writing is done.

Theoretically, writing it is my priority, but I'm not gonna lie, the Witcher stuff are taking over for as long as the hyperfixation is on, because brain (and because it's fun, too).

👷 How has the creation of the story gone so far? Stressful or fun?

More fun than stress, unless I start thinking about it in terms of a novel I might one day want to publish. Then I get all perfectionist and just end up dropping it. Given that you've picked me back up a bunch of times already, you know that :)

4 is left you behind just standing there, a Witcher fic. I started it a week ago, and it's one of those fics I just plot as I go, so I have no idea about length (it's 11k now). It has a disabled&traumatized Jaskier and a powerless Yennefer running a small inn and raising a little autistic girl named Maja, six years after Jaskier was tortured by Rience, and Ciri finding them there.

💡 What inspired you to want to write it?

It's a mix of things. I came up with Maja as Jaskier and Yennefer's daughter as a crack concept originally (where Jaskier had a kid from one of the many women he slept with and he wasn't raising her, but when Yennefer saves his life in Oxenfurt she claims the law of surprise and the next day the mother dumps Maja into Jaskier's arms. Jaskier isn't going to give her up, thank you very much, so they'll just have to co-parent, won't they?) I might still write that fic, I actually wrote a little stub, but then Maja took a life of her own.

The second thing was that I wanted to explore Jaskier actually going to the coast (as he offered to Geralt) without Geralt and staying there, and the idea of Rience's torture ending in disability and life-altering changes. Those Jaskier/Yennefer scenes in season 2 are what got me hooked to the show, so that was the starting

👀 Can you give us any sneak peaks?

She can see in Julian and Yen’s eyes that they’ve been through as much as she has, if not more. The calm and peace of this place is deliberate, a comfort that they’ve crafted for themselves and their little girl. Maybe that’s why Ciri feels like she can trust it. It’s real, but it’s purposeful.

This is a place made to rest and recuperate.

What happened to them? Why do they need this quiet so much? Julian’s scars look terrible, although Ciri has seen – and acquired – more than her fair share. But it’s more than that. It’s in the way they move around each other, the way they gracefully, almost unnoticeably shy away from contact with anyone other than their family, the compassion in their gazes.

Yen gives hints of being more distant, cold, even, like she wasn’t always so caring. There’s something about her that reminds Ciri of her grandmother, a fierceness, an old anger that hasn’t quite been smothered. Julian, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a vicious streak in his body. Oh, Ciri has no idea what he’d do if someone tried to harm those he loves, but he’s genuinely as kind as he shows himself, she’s sure of that.

She’s curious about his witcher story, and even more curious about why Yen felt the need to intervene before he could tell it. How would he have met a witcher? Does it have anything to do with where he got those injuries?

Her thoughts drift back to Geralt, and then to his bard, the man she’s here to find. Jaskier. The spell led her here – why? Why would Jaskier be in Enktell of all places?

Oh.

I'll answer 5 in a second post, because otherwise this is going to be too long.

From this WIP game

#thank you!!#ask game #echo's writing thoughts #singer street #left you behind just standing there #the witcher #jaskier #yennefer of vengerberg

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demigodforfend · 2 years ago

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Nightmares Without Dreams

Forfend did not sleep. It did not dream. However, it did rest and with that rest often came a deluge of the day's thoughts and worries as well as a host of old memories.

Usually, it was its worries that plagued it excessively in the twilight hours. They were quiet things during the day. Distant. Ignorable. At night, though, they bore their claws and sank into its mind like lions' teeth.

Not tonight. Tonight, it was memories that haunted it.

Blood and battlefields and broken weapons. Screaming, crying, begging. Monsters on both sides of this war, but innocents on only one. Fire. Pain. An ominous red glow staring down at the world with unconcealed vitriol.

Forfend tried to push the thoughts away, but they wouldn't go.

They were too fresh. It had happened only three months ago. Only several thousand years ago.

The gap in its consciousness had been filled rapidly by time. It had missed so much. The Sundering still felt so close for it, but for others it was only a distant story. A history lesson. Nothing so tangible as Forfend's lived experience existed.

It sighed with the slow hiss of a doused fire giving up the last wisp of smoke.

Its mind was drawn back to the last battle it had been in. Forfend found it strange how broken up its memories became in its last moments.

It had been wounded. It knew that.

It had been fighting desperately against... something of Atrox's twisted design. The specifics were probably moot. All of those damned things were murderous monstrosities regardless of what they looked like. Still, it was bothering Forfend that it couldn't recall any details at all.

And then it had woken up with Fletch stanced to flee in front of it.

It should know more. It was not prone to failing to remember things. That was a trait more common in beings of flesh and blood.

Forfend's mind was not infallible, but its memory was exceptional and it did not have such gaps elsewhere.

Frustrated, Forfend lit the rune on its face and stood. It needed to move for a bit. Maybe it could reset its thoughts and have a more peaceful rest when it returned.

It exited its storehouse-turned-home and saw Jessie sitting on the edge of the forge with a coffee in hand.

Startled, it asked, "What are you doing up so late?"

"It's not late anymore. It's early," Jessie countered and nodded at the horizon.

There, the first edgings of purple crept into the blackness of the night. It would not be daylight for hours yet.

"What are you doing up so early?" Forfend tried again.

Jessie shrugged. "Woke up. Couldn't get back to sleep. Same as you, I'd guess."

Forfend nodded.

"I'm gonna use the opportunity to get my morning rounds done early and maybe do the grocery shopping when Maja gets the place open."

Forfend nodded again. Jessie was always the practical type.

"Bell needed out to pee and I couldn't get back to sleep after. What's your excuse?" Jessie asked.

Forfend hummed, pondering if it should share or not. It decided on honesty. "I do not sleep, but I often have much too much time with myself when I rest."

"Nightmares," Jessie nodded sagely. "Are you alright?"

Nightmares. They weren't nightmares in the traditional sense, but it was as good a word as any. Frightening images had left it awake and fretting. What else could that be but a nightmare?

"I am okay." The longer it stood here and spoke with its friend, the more that felt true.

"You want to make the rounds with me?" Jessie offered.

"Yes," Forfend accepted immediately.

"Great. I'll get dressed." Jessie stood and stretched. He set his coffee cup down on the edge of the forge and wandered back into the house.

A few minutes later, he returned in full uniform and reclaimed his coffee cup. He slipped his free hand into Forfend's oversized palm.

"Tell me about your nightmare?" Jessie inquired gently as they walked leisurely toward the edge of town. "Might help you get it out of your head."

Forfend nodded and spoke freely to Jessie who listened intently. Jessie had no advice to offer. These were age old problems, long since solved or deemed unsolvable or forgotten or unknowable. But he listened anyway.

And Forfend did feel better when it finished speaking.

A silence lulled between them.

"Thank you," Forfend said with all the sincerity in the world.

Jessie smiled. "No problem. You can let me know if you have anymore nightmares. I don't mind going out early to chat. Besides, this way, we get to see the sunrise."

Forfend followed Jessie's gaze.

Gold stretched across the horizon and reached up into the dusky blue still hanging overhead, tinging the edges purple. It was breathtaking.

It was the dawn of a new day and Forfend was struck by the nearly tangible feeling that everything was going to be alright. It took that feeling to heart.

#twilight of the demigods #forfend #backstory #side story #dnd

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tuiyla · 4 years ago

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Sentimental Affection: Hambo, the Shirt, and Objects of Psychic Resonance

Adventure Time and the mundane, aka Daddy, why did you eat my fries?

Ever a show to be full of hidden symbolism and so much more under the surface than its 11-minute runtime would allow, Adventure Time uses seemingly mundane objects like a teddy bear or a T-shirt to convey the monumental importance of character dynamics. This doesn’t only apply to objects but actual parts of one’s self, like Finn’s arm and the interwoven significance of his many swords. And then, there’s Marceline.

Like with many of the show’s more complex aspects, this is especially prevalent in Marceline’s story. How do you stress the sheer volume of having lived for a thousand years? How do you signify the lack of letting go of the past, lack of maturity? You give a girl a teddy bear and have her hold on to it for as long as she can. And it’s not just Hambo that adds unexpected depth to Marceline’s character and her relationship with others. There’s the infamous rock shirt, which we’ll get to, and then there’s the French fries eaten by Hunson Abadeer.

As iconic as the Fry Song has become and as synonymous with the complex Abadeer father-daughter relationship as it is, it seems silly, at first glance, that Marceline would be so upset over that simple transgression. But Adventure Time has a special talent for making the mundane whimsical and significant, so through the context of the full song, through little glimpses here and there, we understand the symbolism of the fries. It’s Hunson’s disregard for Marceline’s feelings, his carelessness, his lack of understanding, that really matters.

Just a teddy in the wreckage of the world

So what about Hambo? Hambo is, for a while, everything to Marceline. Hambo is the one representation of her relationship with Simon that she has left. It’s a remnant from the wreckage of the world, a plushie given to a scared little girl by an equally scared old man. It’s the one thing Simon leaves behind when he abandons Marcy, for her own good, and summons Hunson to take care of her instead. But Hunson eats those fries and so Marceline takes the family axe instead and keeps it as safe as she keeps Hambo.

Hambo stays with Marceline long after she turns into a vampire, ever a symbol of the tragic childhood she lost and yet is stuck in. It’s not a coincidence that she’s implied to tolerate much of Ash’s jerkish behaviour but draws the line when he sells Hambo for a new wand. That’s the only thing of Simon, the real Simon that she has left and it matters more than a boyfriend who doesn’t care about that. Disregard for Hambo is disregard for her. So Marceline keeps moving all across Ooo, both to escape from this new, twisted version of Simon and to find the one thing that proves he wasn’t always like this.

You kept the shirt I gave you?

Let’s take a break from Hambo for a moment. Let’s picture a time long before Finn washed up on the shores of Ooo, before the Candy Kingdom grew into what it is today. Marceline and Bonnibel are friends, maybe more - details depend on whatever nuggets “Obsidian” gives us. For a while, it works, and Marceline gives Bonnie a rock T-shirt. That shirt is so quintessentially Marcy that it becomes a symbol of their relationship when it’s with PB. The two drift apart, though, as Bonnie becomes known as Princess Bubblegum to everyone else and Marceline leaves before she can be left behind. The shirt becomes a sort of inverse of Hambo: a token of love that’s - as Marceline initially thinks - never cared for. Bitter as she might be over this, Marcy leaves it all behind as she left Hunson with the fries. She never really got to grow beyond being that young girl who was left Hambo in the snow.

Except, Finn does come along, eventually, and he brings Bonnie and Marcy together again. It’s intense and Marceline lashes out because, well, sorry she’s such an inconvenience. But in truth, it’s Marceline who tags along to defeat the Door Lord despite having no stakes in the mater, and it’s PB who wants to get her precious possession back. Her treasure is, of course, Marceline’s shirt. The one she always has worn, just in the comfort of her own room or under something else. Not out in the open, one might say, but constantly nonetheless, even long after Marceline was gone from her life. A reminder of what they had as much as Hambo is a reminder of who Simon was to Marcy.

That’s the wonder of “What Was Missing”. It lampshades the potential cheesiness of the message, that being “the real treasure is friendship”, but it is genuine in how it portrays that message beyond what would be expected of a kids’ cartoon. Finn keeps a piece of Bubblegum’s hair, but PB is right there to hang out with whenever they want to. Bonnie keeps Marcy’s shirt because she thinks it’s as close as she’ll get to be around her again, but Marceline tagged along just for the joy of being around them. What these two examples have in common is that both Finn and PB want something more from the relationship with the actual person, something they think is unattainable, so they hold on to the objects instead of reaching out.

I’ll get your kid back, toy

So what about Hambo and Marceline reaching out to Simon? When the Ice King inevitably finds her, again, Marceline is rightfully frustrated and just about ready to pack up and move again. But she’s grown these past few years since Finn entered her life and helped her face her past demons. It breaks her heart but she starts accepting Simon back into her life. They hang out and she insists on calling him Simon, because she never stopped viewing him that way. She knows who he used to be, even if he doesn’t, and she clings onto the representation of that hope, Hambo.

Marceline is already in a much better place by the time “Sky Witch” rolls around than she was at the start of the series. She kind of has Hunson, Simon and Bonnie in her life again. It’s all a bit complicated and unresolved - ”Stakes” isn’t for another two seasons - but she’s on her way. That doesn’t mean she’s gonna let the opportunity to get Hambo back pass by, so she asks for Bonnie’s help. It’s a bit awkward but she spent all this time being angry and feeling like she wasn’t good enough when PB cared enough to at least keep the shirt, so maybe that’s as much hope as Hambo is for Simon. And that’s exactly what “Sky Witch” proves, as Bonnie’s level-headedness helps Marcy navigate Maja’s treacherous turf and gets her Hambo back.

There's only one Hambo

There’s a misconception, a common and understandable one, but a misconception nonetheless when it comes to the shirt and Hambo. When Maja says that Hambo’s psychic resonance is nothing compared to the shirt’s, it’s easy to see the implication being that the shirt is that much more important. Therefore, Marceline is that much more important to PB than Simon is to Marcy. This isn’t entirely inaccurate but I also think that what’s important here is not to put these two objects and therefore the two relationships on the same scale. It implies that we’re comparing the familial type of love between Simon and Marcy to the romantic love between Bonnie and Marcy and that’s just a false and pointless comparison. Instead, the significance once again comes through trademark Adventure Time subtlety.

“What Was Missing” was mainly the Bubbline dynamic from Marcy’s perspective: her hurt, her anger over not knowing why it all ended. The twist with the shirt at the end only hints at PB’s side of things and “Sky Witch” takes it home. From the little moments at the beginning of the episode to the revelation that PB gave up the shirt for Hambo, it’s a full package. It’s in everything, including the scene where Peebs dismisses Hambo’s importance. It’s just a doll, totally replaceable, an insinuation which insults Marcy deeply. Bonnie doesn’t necessarily get why Hambo is so important but, in a way, PB does understand. She understands, because Hambo is to Marceline what the shirt is for her: hope.

When PB gives up the shirt, she gives up the only piece of Marceline she’s had for all these centuries. It wasn’t replaceable, just like Hambo wasn’t, but by giving it up she gives Marceline her most treasured possession, her hope. And you know what else? By giving up this remnant of the past, Bonnie gets Marceline back. “Sky Witch”, then, is the beginning of their new dynamic, as the lesson from the Door Lord finally sinks in. And by equating, in a way, Hambo and the shirt, after we’ve already seen in “I Remember You” and “Simon & Marcy” how monumental that relationship is, this makes Bonnie’s devotion to Marcy clear as day.

Magic, madness, sadness, and all the rest

Hambo becomes something even bigger in “Betty”. The reason why Maja wanted Hambo and then the shirt in the first place is because Adventure Time acknowledges within the logic of its own universe how important the love poured into these objects is. She uses the magic of the shirt and Simon uses the magic of Hambo. Marceline, reluctantly, lets go of Hambo because she just got Simon back, just as PB let go of the shirt and got Marcy back. Nothing is ever that straightforward in the land of Ooo, though, so Hambo brings Betty back but it can’t save Simon. Now Marceline got a taste of the old Simon, had hope, and it lives on in the person they sacrificed Hambo for: Betty.

Betty’s hope is misguided, though. With her time jump to modern day Ooo, a journey of denial and desperation begins that leads her and the whole land down a road of magic and madness. Betty’s shenanigans is its own separate post, really, and all the themes of acceptance, denial and change they represent. What I find fascinating in this context is how, again, in true AT style, the butterfly effect did its magic and the mundane lead into the whimsical and grandiose.

Right there where you left it, lying upside down

Simon gave a little Marcy her teddy doll and Ash carelessly passed it on. Marceline gave Bubblegum a rock shirt, something so quintessentially her that it was the one thing Peebs held onto even after all those years. The shirt was a symbol of their lingering connection and its sacrifice meant the start of a new chapter. The significance of the shirt was enough to get Hambo back, which in turn was powerful enough for Simon to get Betty back. And, eventually, by moving almost literal heaven and hell, Betty brings Simon back. Everything stays, but it still changes.

The shirt is not Marceline. Hambo is not Simon. Objects are not people, nor can we only be with people if we let go of those objects. That isn’t the message the show is going for. And these objects are only catalysts for character arc and dynamics in most cases, anyway. Marceline doesn’t grow up by letting Hambo go, she succeeds in leaving the past behind in “Stakes”. And, if the “Obsidian” trailer is any indication, even that doesn’t mean she’s done with all her demons.

What the intertwined stories of Hambo and the shirt tell us is that complex, emotional stories can be told through simple objects. A teddy doll can signify a thousand years of pain and yet provide hope, while a rock T-shirt can pack some good old-fashioned queer yearning into it. Hambo and the shirt aren’t even monumental parts of Marceline’s, Simon’s and Bubblegum’s stories, even if Adventure Time finds clever ways to use them in the plot. They are just two simple things that represent so much in terms of character development and some of the show’s central dynamics, and that’s damn good storytelling.

#bubbline #adventure time #marceline abadeer #princess bubblegum #obsidian #at #pb #hambo #simon petrikov #my thoughts #missed writing about at

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perfectlullabies · 4 years ago

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Oh my god, it’s your birthday! 💕 Happy birthday to one of the sweetest and most special people around. You bring so much joy just by appearing on my dashboard, that’s how special your presence is! I hope all the joy you’ve spread comes back to you on this special day. May all your dreams and birthday wishes come true, you deserve it, Maja. Have an amazing day, love you! 💋✨

aida!!! do u want me to cry!! this is so kind thank u so much!! i think it’s gonna be a lovely day indeed so thank u once again for all the sweet vibes💜

#i hope your day is lovely too!!!!

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polar-stars · 4 years ago

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some random Shokugeki breakfast headcanons

(SnKimiko-Verse related)

Breakfast Headcanons for the different families in my “Shokugeki no Kimiko”-Verse. For...some reason.

🥐🍳🥞

The Yukihiras (SoRina Family)

When Hiraku & Kimiko were still going to the local school, Soma and Erina always had a competition every night after the restaurant closed over who’d get “Bento-Rights” the next morning. Whoever won got to make the Bento obviously ahdh.

Soma really loves to make them all kinds of Onigarazu, while Erina has developed her own kind of honey-pork dumplings, that Hiraku in specific loves a lot

During the week, while the children get their bento for school, the adults usually each make an individual, quick breakfast for themselves at different times. Although with Soma and Erina of course they are proud enough of their creations to urge the other that they should have a taste as well.

Once they’re old enough, Kimiko & Hiraku tend to take over breakfast on weekends as the family is more prone to breakfast together on these.

EGGS, lots of EGG-DISHES. What household do you think this is?

The Nakiris (RyoAli Family)

Back when the Nakiri-Twins were smol, Alice & Ryo made a great effort to be around them as much as they can...so they usually also ate breakfast as a family. When the twins are older and can take better care of themselves it decreases a little but ultimately this family still does eat breakfast together at least once a week.

Usually it’s prepared by one of the cherry-picked chefs working in the Nakiri-Mansion, but being great chefs themselves one of the family-members tends to prepare breakfast as well at times.

Once Akio Hayama moves into the the Nakiri Mansion he sometimes prepares breakfast as well, but more on that later.

They tend to have a rather sumptuous breakfast, with a lot of options to pick from: Various types of cheese, croissants and other pastries, freshly-baked bread, fruit...etc. Some Instagram-worthy stuff.

Despite all these luxuries, Mona and Lola Nakiri never fail to voice that they prefer when their parents cook breakfast.

Rest (AkiSako, IsaMegu, ShuYoko and so on) under the cut

The Hayamas (AkiSako Family)

Akira and Hisako both don’t like other people preparing their breakfast. Whenever the Hayama-Family is staying at a hotel, these two are sulking at the hotel buffet.

Akira & Hisako quite frankly love to prepare breakfast for their children and, while not always, they do tend to do it together. With these two teaming up it’s usually a very healthy, energizing breakfast.

But despite the teamwork, these two also have some competition going on every morning as Hisako prepares tea, while Akira prepares coffee. The competition is about which drink their children will pick up (who like both). Real fancy tea blends & coffee-combinations are born in this competition.

Kaori & Akio pick up a lot from their parents. It’s become common knowledge around the E10 that Akio makes the best tea, while Kaori could 100% work as a barista if she wasn’t a cook. And they both have a lot of breakfast-recipes stored in their head.

Once Akio moves into the Nakiri-mansion because of Hiraku, he actually does prepare breakfast from time to time. At first he usually eats on his own, because he feels awkward sitting at the same table as the headmistress but Alice’s pushy nature get him to sit with them in the end.

The Japan Aldinis/Aldini-Tadokoros (IsaMegu Family)

Megumi and Isami prepare breakfast together almost every day. It’s a great way of bonding for them. It usually turns out to be a pretty rural-breakfast but it’s very comforting and their children love.

Yes, they bake their own bread. I believe in this firmly.

Hiroshi Aldini-Tadokoro, when old enough, also tends to help out with breakfast or he goes out to pick some berries. Maja and Nino Aldini-Tadokoro often end up settling the table. This is more for weekends though.

During the week, Megumi & Isami make bentos. Bentos for the kids and Megumi also makes one for Isami, while Isami makes one for her. He even came up with an “Italian-Styled Bento” just for this.

The Tuscany Aldinis (TakuIku Family)

They don’t always manage to, but really try their best to eat together as a family. In Summer specifically. They always eat outside when the temperatures are warm enough.

There’s three kinds of breakfast: When Ikumi prepares it, it’s usually the very healthy, nutritious kind that actual athletes would eat. Like idk, greek yogurt with fruit and chia-seeds, avocado-sandwiches...meep.

When Takumi prepares it, it’s a sumptuous but also cozy European breakfast including lots of freshly picked tomatoes, egg, sausages etc.

And then there’s the times when their daughter Mika prepares breakfast, even bringing it to her parent’s bed when she’s awake before them. Mika usually finds a middle ground between her mother’s breakfast style and her father’s breakfast style.

The Ibusakis (ShuYoko Family)

Ryoko makes very traditional bentos on weekdays.

On weekends, she goes out even more and sets the table very lovingly. Shun also involves himself and smokes some bacon, eggs or so.

Ryoko has found herself a hobby in jam-producing. In the nearby forest (the Ibusakis live close to one), she tends to pick berries (or Kasumi does that for her), or gets some fruit from the market in their small village and she makes jam out of them. She came up with some truly delicious combinations on her own. Yuki always takes at least 10 glasses with her, whenever the Maruis are over.

Shun probably also bakes bread himself at times, idk I can just picture him doing that.

The Maruis (MarYu Family)

Yuki makes Bentos for Takahiro (and back when Chieko wasn’t on Totsuki, also for her ofc) during the week. And she always includes some animal designs. Because she’s Yuki.

They don’t always breakfast together on Saturday but they sure do on Sundays. This is a sacred tradition to Yuki. If it’s sunday and all of the family-members are home...They will have breakfast together.

Zenji gets send out to get bread and usually he also buys some pastries or cakes for the children (and Yuki).

Yuki meanwhile prepares the best (according to Takahiro) hot chocolate for Takahiro & Chieko (and herself).

Zenji drinks coffee or tea meanwhile.

Chieko really loves to have blueberries at breakfast. So sometimes Yuki incorporates them into pancakes. She likes making pancakes.

The Hojos (Terunori Kuga x Miyoko Hojo Fam)

They tend to end up eating together. Suzume & Miyoko wake up the earliest usually and while Suzume goes for a morning-jog, Miyoko often begins preparing breakfast. Takayuki comes down to drink tea closely after and lastly Terunori wakes up, when everything is finished usually.

Suzume loves having smoothies for breakfast, especially since she’s already being active early in the morning.

Miyoko, like Ikumi, tends to go the healthy, energizing road for breakfast but she does also prepare buns which everyone loves.

If Miyoko can’t prepare breakfast because she’s out or so, it’s either Terunori’s call or the kids go out themselves to eat out because they got too tired of waiting for their dad to wake up.

The Eizans (EtsuNe Family)

This family struggles to find time to breakfast together and when they do it’s usually on vacation, or on weekends.

Nene is the one who pushes the most for a breakfast together and when she sees the opportunity, she’ll go full out in preparation. And when the family sits together, no one is allowed to even look at his phone and ruin Nene’s precious family-together time.

Normally though, Nene & Masashi individually tend to prepare Miso-Soup or something for themselves, while Etsuya & Shigeo have gained a habit of eating out by getting something from a bakery, sit in some café or Etsuya lets his personal assistant get him (& whenever Shigeo has come to the company with him, him of course as well) something.

Kei alters between either getting something from his mom or Masashi or getting himself something outside as well.

The Saitos (SoMomo Family)

Momo often ends up making breakfast on weekends, although Kiyoko Saito later takes on the task as she’s awake earlier. Anyway this is some very sweet, Instagram-worthy stuff.

Waffles, yogurts with fruits, macarons, croissants, fine jam.....That kind-off stuff. Though Momo never fails to prepare one miso-soup and a bowl of rice, as this is all Somei asks for.

In the week, Somei is the one preparing bentos. His daughter Moe ended up helping him out at a rather young age, as she thought that the bentos could be a lot cuter. Moe ended up developing a passion for bentos through that and on Totsuki she always wakes up early and makes one for her big sister Kiyoko & also Shigeo. Moe’s bentos are legendary.

Whenever Kiyoko is in any-sort off city, she really likes eating breakfast at various cafés. Sometimes she takes Masashi with her.

The Tsukasas (for @blas-i-us *blows kiss*, but yes EiRin Family)

I think I’m gonna make it a running gag that this family rarely eats breakfast at a table, much to Eishi’s frustration. They often end up sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace or the children bring breakfast into their parent’s bed or so. When they do sit at a table, it’s usually outside during warm weather.

They do always eat together though. And they prepare it together as well. The Tsukasa children started to participate at breakfast-preparation. In fact they often end up starting the preparation as they’re awake first.

Lots of cheese, because they live in Switzerland.

Tsubame Tsukasa also tends to collect ingredients from the outside by running out into the morning rays and picking berries, mushrooms etc.

#random headcanons be random headcanons #Shokugeki no Soma #SoRina #SouEri #RyoAli #AkiSako #EiRin #IsaMegu #TakuIku #MarYu #ShuYoko #SoMomo #EtsuNe #Shokugeki no Kimiko Stuffz

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perkynurples · 4 years ago

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RULES: TAG PEOPLE YOU WANNA GET TO KNOW BETTER

tagged by @maderilien, thank you :D <3

your name and then what you would have named yourself: Annie | all my self insert characters from when I was a teen were called Emma but I’m happy with my name now :’D

astrological sign (sun/moon/rising if you know them): I’m a Capricorn annnd.... I have no idea about the rest but considering I love vague descriptions of something approaching my personality I should really look it up

when did you join tumblr and why?: oh man I joined in 2011... Pretty sure it ruined my academic career, too. I genuinely can’t remember what led to it, but my first fandom definitely was Doctor Who.

top 5 fandoms: LOTR/The Hobbit, MDZS, Discworld, Ace Attorney, uuuhh various video games

top 5 favorite films: Pride and Prejudice (2005), Princess Mononoke, the Ace Attorney live action (COMFORT SILLY MOVIE), Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Miss Congeniality (extremely fond memories)

go to song when you wanna Feel something: Out Of Reach by Gabrielle

what’s your religion or faith if you have one?: agnostic

a song that makes you feel seen: Falling by Florence & The Machine

if you could have any career: village witch

do you have a type?: I’m the Classic Bisexual - a man has to fit an extremely narrow set of criteria, and a woman just. has to be a woman

what does your heart/soul yearn for: surviving the mortifying ordeal of being known and actually being loved at the end of the day

if you had to describe yourself in 5 words to someone who doesn’t know you: plants, stories, bees, SOLARPUNK BABY

favorite subjects in school: english (I’m esl), literature, psychology

where does your soul feel most at home: At my desk when it’s cleaned and the inspiration strikes and I know I’m gonna write a lot. At the barn with my horse, taking her for a walk through lonely forest roads. In the old abandoned orchard where my beehives are.

top 5 fictional characters: Granny Weatherwax, Elizabeth Bennet, Susan Sto Helit, Bilbo Baggins, Lan Xichen

top 3 moments in a show that made you ugly cry: recently? pretty much the entirety of Over The Moon, the end of The Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb documentary on Netflix for whatever reason, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts on several occasions

the earth, the sun, the moon or the stars: the earth

favorite kind of weather: thunderstorms but only from afar, sunny afternoons in september and october, not too hot and not too cold

top 3 characters you kin with: Granny Weatherwax, Bilbo Baggins especially in my fics (going thru my trauma, I’m sorry man), and unfortunately, on a deep personal uncomfortable level, JGY

favorite medium of art: music, painting

introvert/extrovert/ambivert: introvert

a favorite literary quote: ‘Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves’ (and pretty much the entirety of Wild Geese by Mary Oliver), and too many Discworld quotes to count

some of your favorite books: Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett, Pride and Prejudice, The History of Bees by Maja Lunde...

if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?: provided my family were still reachable, somewhere slightly remote - a house with a forest surrounding it, civilisation close by but not uncomfortably so, lots of beautiful nature to get lost in. just a hobbit life with a heavy village witch undercurrents, so probably NZ with a sprinkle of feral scottish highlands.

if you could live in any time in history when would it be?: by choice?? late 1800′s, when it was still easy to go off the grid, but you didn’t have to die of a papercut anymore.

if you could play any instrument masterfully it would be: guitar. I mean I play it but. the dedication isn’t there

if you have one, what mythological god or goddess do you feel a connection to: full-on Persephone vibes, goth spouse absolutely included

and lastly, favorite recent selfie in your camera roll: not on my phone rn, but it’s mostly just me documenting my curly girl method journey akhdlkh

I tag, if you like obv: @piyo-13, @sweetlittlevampire, @a-cutebird, @elenothar, @huacheng-zhu

#dammit annie #bruh I love these #about me

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ukulelecal · 5 years ago

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Lingerie

In which Calum meets Frankie for the first time.

Pairing: Calum Hood x OC

Warnings: a very vague mention to smut?

A/N: so this is from the AU that me and maja @rosegoldquintis have going!! here is a post where i kinda explained it (check that out as ashton’s girl is sort of introduced in this!), and here is a blurb that maja wrote about cal and frankie!! this isn’t super long, about 1.7k, but i hope you guys enjoy!!! also, frankie’s face claim is devon carlson :)

The last thing Calum expected was a call from Ashton just as he was settling onto the couch for an afternoon of binging watching true crime documentaries and cuddling with Duke. He loved his best friend to death, but he was certainly looking forward to relaxing after a long week of work.

“Hey, Ash,” he grumbled as he picked up the phone, his voice still thick with sleep considering he had decided to sleep in until noon. “What’s up?”

“You busy?” Ashton asked. “And busy doesn’t mean you plan to do nothing all day.”

Calum huffed. He knew Calum all too well.

“Guess I’m not busy, then.”

“Great. Because Ophelia’s birthday is coming up and I still have one more thing I want to get her, but I don’t feel like going by myself,” he explained. Calum sighed, his body sinking further into the couch. Duke looked at him expectantly, and Calum reached over to pat his head.

“You need my help or something, mate?” He joked, giving his dog more pets as he jumped into his lap. “Are you clueless on what to buy your girlfriend?”

“Fuck off,” Ashton laughed. “I know what I’m getting, I just don’t want to go alone.”

“I mean-”

“I’ll buy lunch if you come,” he interjected before Calum could make up an excuse.

Never one to turn down free food, Calum decided that the lineup of documentaries could wait until night time.

“Fine. Lunch first, then we shop.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.”

Calum hung up the phone and glanced apologetically at Duke, who was still staring at him as if he was waiting for something.

“Sorry, bud. Ashton’s making me leave the house and put pants on on my day off. Can you believe that?”

Duke barked, and Calum chuckled as he gently lifted him off his lap and set him on the floor.

“I know. Crazy.”

With that, he headed upstairs to actually put clothes on and make himself presentable, and it wasn’t long before he got a text from Ashton announcing that he was there.

After lunch at a local deli, the two headed to the mall, and Ashton seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go. Calum nearly rolled his eyes as he led him into the store.

“Really? Lingerie?”

“It’s what she asked for!” Ashton argued. That was a lie; truth was, he had ripped her nicest set when he was a little too excited to take it off her, and he felt kind of bad about it, so he decided to get her a new one. But, she never directly asked for it.

The music was soft and mellow as they walked inside, the lighting dim, but bright enough to be able to see. It definitely had the vibe of a lingerie store, if the oodles of lacy underwear didn’t give it away already. Calum had never been in there; the store was on the newer side, and he had been single for a while, so he didn’t have anyone to be buying lingerie for.

Calum aimlessly followed Ashton around the store as he browsed, carefully inspecting his options. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration while he ran his fingers across the material and checked the prices and sizes. He wanted nothing but the best for Ophelia, and he wasn’t going to settle for anything less.

“How about this one?”

Ashton held up a jet black set for Calum to see, who gave him a pointed look.

“I’m not picking out lingerie for your girl, man,” he stated blankly. Ashton groaned and rolled his eyes.

“I’m just asking if you like it. Do you think it’s nice?”

Calum shrugged. All the sets looked “nice” to him.

“I guess.”

Ashton stared at it for another moment before hanging it back on the rack, grumbling something under his breath about coming back to it. Calum sighed; he knew this was going to be a long shopping trip.

A few minutes later, Ashton held up another, this one a dark wine color.

“This one?”

“I don’t know about her, but I think you’d look pretty sexy in that one, Ash,” Calum teased, a grin spreading across his face. The glare on Ashton’s face only made him laugh, and he dejectedly put the set back.

Calum could have sworn that Ashton looked at every single thing in the store, and he was starting to get bored. Just as he was about to announce that he would wait at the food court, a voice caught their attention.

“Is there anything I can help you two with?”

Calum didn’t miss the way his own heart skipped a beat when his eyes landed on the woman standing in front of them. Her smile was warm and friendly, and she daintily tucked a piece of brown hair behind her ear. She was gorgeous, no doubt, but she also gave off such a kind, refreshing aura among the dark, seductive vibe of the store. A breath of fresh air, Calum thought to himself.

He couldn’t peel his eyes away.

“I’m just looking for some lingerie to get my girlfriend for her birthday,” Ashton said, reminding Calum that she had asked a question. “There’s just so many options.”

The woman giggled, and Calum’s knees nearly buckled.

“Yeah, it can get overwhelming trying to pick unless you know exactly what you want, but I can try to make it a little easier. What color do you think she would like?” The woman stepped closer to Ashton to help him, Calum’s eyes subtly following.

“I think she looks good in any color,” Ashton chuckled, shaking his head. “But her favorite color is red.”

“I’ll give you a bit of advice. Don’t only think about what you think she’ll look good in. Try to think about what you think she’ll feel good in. What will make her feel confident, you know? Confidence is much sexier than lingerie.”

Calum couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips. She seemed so sweet and genuine, and he found himself wanting to get to know her better. She was endearing, her smile and soft demeanor drawing Calum in, and he got a whiff of her flowery perfume when she was close.

After she left Ashton to decide between a couple sets, she turned to Calum, and he had to act like he hadn’t been staring.

“How about you? Need any help?” She offered, her smile never leaving her face. He let his own take over his features naturally as he shook his head.

“No, I’m not here to get anything.” He cocked his head towards Ashton. “I was promised lunch if I came with him.”

She giggled again, and Calum found himself chuckling as well. It was contagious, and Calum found that adorable.

“Well, I always say free food is a good reason to go anywhere.” She fixed her hair again, pastel pink nails a contrast against her dark hair. “My name's Frankie. Let me know if you guys need anything, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Frankie.”

He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.

He watched her walk away, but it was short lived as Ashton tapped him on the shoulder.

“I can’t decide, so I’ll just get her both. I’m gonna go pay.”

Calum followed him to the register, and another smile found its way to his face when he saw Frankie was behind the counter.

“Couldn’t pick?” She asked sweetly as Ashton handed her the two sets. He shook his head.

“No, I’m sure she’ll love both, so she can have both.” There was also a good chance that he would rip one again so it was good to have another, but he didn’t say that.

Frankie’s eyes trailed up to meet Calum’s as she rang up the lingerie, and he shot her a sweet smile. A slight blush creeped onto her pale cheeks as she looked back down at the register, a sheepish grin on her pink lips.

Calum’s heart fluttered just looking at her.

She carefully folded the lingerie and placed it in a bag that she handed over to Ashton after he paid.

“Have a great day,” she mumbled. She glanced at Ashton only for a moment before her gaze averted to Calum. He nodded his head, and both men returned the sentiment before they started to head to the door. Calum could feel eyes on him as he walked, and he knew exactly who it was.

Just as they were about to leave, Calum stopped himself short. He couldn’t leave quite yet.

“Hang on one second, Ash,” he grumbled, turning around and heading back towards the register to Frankie.

“Hi,” he greeted, leaning one arm against the counter.

“Hey,” she returned sweetly, raising an eyebrow expectantly at him. She knew he’d come back, and she had been hoping he would. He was beyond hot, and his deep voice made her melt in her spot.

“Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?” He offered, knowing he couldn’t let this chance slip away. She nodded quickly before reaching around to grab one of the store’s business cards from the front of the register and scribbling something on it. He found her phone number written on the back when she handed it to him.

“I would love to…” she trailed off, and he got the idea.

“Calum.”

“Calum,” she repeated, her eyes meeting his. “Text me, yeah?”

“Of course.” He slipped the card safely into the pocket of his jeans. “I’ll see you later, Frankie.”

He met a smirking Ashton back at the door, and the two of them started to make their way back to the car.

“Hitting on the lingerie girl, huh, Cal?” Ashton teased, nudging his shoulder. Calum grinned and playfully shook his head.

“You met Ophelia while she was working at the bookstore, Ash, you’re not one to talk.”

“Guess not. But, hey, good for you! You’ve been single for the longest time. It’s good that you’re getting back out there.”

Calum hadn’t had much interest in love or dating when his last relationship ended, but Frankie seemed different. She stood out. She was the complete opposite of him, with her pastel colors and gentle manner, but that was a part of what drew Calum to her. She was the bit of light he needed in his life, and he was excited to see where they would go.

#5 seconds of summer #5sos #calum hood #5 seconds of summer blurb #5 seconds of summer imagine #5 seconds of summer smut #5 seconds of summer au #5sos blurb #5sos imagine #5sos smut #5sos au #calum hood blurb #calum hood imagine #calum hood au #calum hood smut #michael clifford #ashton irwin #luke hemmings #genny writes

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