#more recently my mother became a librarian!

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Gary Lewis, born 30th November 1957.

Born and raised in Easterhouse, Glasgow Lewis seems an unlikely actor, he has had jobs as a roadsweeper and librarian, his brother, a teacher encouraged him to do more and he became in his own words a “voracious” reader, this pushed him into wanting to become an actor at the age of 32.

It was a chance meeting with fellow Scot, Peter Mullan that gave him his break, he joined the regular “in house” actors in Ken Loach films, starring with Mullan in My Name is Joe and Robert Carlyle in Carla’s song he was in good company to learn.He had a cracking role in Peter Mullan’s film Orphans, with one of my favourite lines, “She’s not heavy, she’s my mother”

Lewis won the best actor award for the part at the Gijón International Film Festival in 1998.I think most of you will remember Gary Lewis playing coal miner Jackie Elliot, father to the films title role Billy Elliot. I sometimes feel like I m repeating myself when noting the CV’s of these actors, Taggart, Rab C Nesbitt, Rebus were early shows for Lewis, while Stonemouth and In Plain Sight are more recent.

Then there is of course Outlander. Gary Lewis appeared in the first two seasons of the hit show, based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon playing, Colum MacKenzie, laird of the MacKenzie family and Uncle to Jamie Fraser. Colum died in the season finale 2 finale Hail Mary. Of Outlander he says,

“The fan base is extremely passionate. It is strange because I live in Scotland and Outlander isn’t massive here to the extent it is in Australia, America and Canada. There are fans all over the world.”

The past few years have been busy for Gary, he managed to snap up an appearance in the final series of Still Game, as well the movie, The Vanishing, teaming up again with Peter Mullan and last weeks birthday boy Gerard Butler. He has also been in His Dark Materials, Rig 45, It’s a Sin, Vigil and series 3 of The Bay.

IMDB has Gary, along with Billy Boyd and Sharleen Spiteri to star in a film, set in Glasgow called I Feel Fine, however I think the project has stalled as it has been at the “announced” stage for several years now. Gary is also to play Roald Amundsen in the film North Pole: 90° North.

Gary wa also in the Scottish feature film, Stella, about a German Jewish refugee who finds herself working in a stately Home in Dumfries and Galloway belonging to aristocratic supporters of fascist leader Oswald Mosely. I havent seen the film as yet, but will try and remdy that as it has a good rating on Imdb.

Gary reprised the role Colin Robertson last year in the second series of Vigil, he was seen earlier this year in Frankin, Michael Douglas in the lead role as American founding father Benjamin Franklin.

Earlier this month Gary was sighted alongside Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, shooting aboard a boat in Newquay. It's speculated that the trio were filming for an upcoming British TV series on Apple+, named Down Cemetery Road., although I can't find him on the list of actors.

[semper-legens]

40. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Owned: No, library Page count: 518 My summary: Henry met Clare when he was twenty eight, and she was twenty. Clare met Henry when she was six, and he was thirty six. Henry travels through time, a strange genetic quirk which sees him rocketing around his personal timeline at apparent random. But how can they live a normal life out of sync? When Henry disappears for days at a time into the past or future? When Clare is left waiting, hoping for his return? They cannot control time, after all. And they cannot fight fate... My rating: 2/5 My commentary:

A little while ago, my friend Megan and I were in London, looking for last-minute tickets to a show to fill our time between the shows that we'd booked. With few affordable options, we found ourselves settling down into the cheap seats of The Time Traveler's Wife to see what was what. Now, we'd never read the book before, nor had we seen the film or the more recent TV series, so this was our first engagement with the story. And it was...odd! Naturally, I became intensely curious about whether the strangeness of the plot was an adaptational problem or if it was inherent to the story in general. One reservation at the library later, I had a copy of this doorstop in my hand. Now, a lot of people love this story...but I couldn't really see much in there, I'm afraid. Let's get into it!

One of my biggest problems with this story is that, despite being titled after Clare, it isn't Clare's story, it's Henry's. It's really just The Time Traveler Who Has A Wife. Clare is such a static character. She doesn't really do anything proactive other than introduce herself to Henry at the allotted time, and as a teenager attempt to pressure Henry into having sex with her. Once she's in a relationship with Henry, she becomes less and less relevant. At first, she's in university, then presumably she graduates, though it's never mentioned, then she becomes a paper artist. We don't really get to see why she wanted to be an artist, who she is, what she likes and dislikes outside of Henry...her whole life revolves around Henry. She's compared to Penelope from the Odyssey early on, and that's pretty much her whole character. She waits for Henry. She waits for her life to catch up with Henry's, then she marries Henry, then she loses Henry and waits until she can see him one more time. Henry is everything to her and that's all she has. I wound up internally comparing her to the main character of Outlander as I was reading, because these are very similar stories in terms of genre and audience (and protagonist's name, come to think of it), but at least I have a sense of who Claire from Outlander is. She's compassionate, she's caring, she's spunky, she's seen some shit in the war but is determined to make the best of her life. This Clare? Just...doesn't have much of a character.

And this is where I divert to the thorny topic of class, because hoo boy. I don't know anything about Niffenegger as a person, but if you told me she grew up rich I would not be surprised. Henry's mother was a famous opera singer, his father a gifted violinist, and he's a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago - like, an actual studied-library-science librarian, not a library assistant like me. Clare's family is lives-in-a-mansion rich, her family has servants, and she lives on her trust fund. Now, writing about rich people is not a bad thing. But this book does not see itself along the lines of class and wealth at all. It takes a long time for us to see how Clare and Henry are living (his salary, her trust fund), and they are mentioned to struggle for money until Henry does some time travel lottery winning. But like...we never see them struggle. Henry keeps his job, despite randomly time travelling away every so often and being caught naked at work and being pulled up for that once. It takes ages for Clare to offhandedly mention she's living on trust fund interest, and she drops that so casually, like that's just a normal thing that everyone does. They have season tickets to the opera! Their lifestyle doesn't change when they become millionaires outside of buying a house! They live in this world of wealth and privilege that is so, so alien to me (and I'm pretty middle class!) and it was so hard to connect to them because of that. These people don't have problems. They just have money.

While we're on the subject of thorny topics, however, let's talk about race! Remember Clare's family servants? One of them is the cook, a stereotypical black woman cook who acts like a mammy stereotype from a 1930s film. Clare has this 'friend' (they interact like twice) who is a black lesbian and she's weird and vaguely antagonistic. And while Henry's family doesn't have servants, they have this family friend, Kimy, a Korean woman who is basically a second mother to Henry, spends her entire time on-page caring for Henry and his father, and speaks in a stereotypical broken English. These are also the only characters of colour I noticed in the book. There's this...joke?...about Clare's friend Gomez being nicknamed Gomez, but he's actually of Polish descent. So two of the three non-white characters here are subservient to the white characters, and that is their entire purpose and characterisation. It's that much more glaring for never being commented on! For Henry and Clare, this is normal.

Anyway. I struggle to understand what the point of this book was. Like, it's not the romance between Henry and Clare, because there's nothing there. We never see Henry and Clare getting to know each other or interacting as adults outside of the status quo of them being hopelessly in love. They already are soulmates when we meet them, and there's not a lot of development there. Is it their ongoing love story? Not really, there's no tension there. They struggle for money for like five minutes. There's the whole baby subplot, but we learn from a future Henry in the middle of it that they end up having a kid, so that gets deflated. The tragedy that Henry's inevitably going to die in his mid forties and leave Clare alone? But I haven't connected at all with either of these characters because they're both paper-thin. Henry gets more development, but it's still not enough. The whole middle of the book is just an exercise in nothing happening until the narrative decides 'we need an ending, time to kill Henry'. And I just do not care about it.

Aaaaaaaaaand I suppose I should end here with talking about the very squicky fact of the age gap in Clare and Henry's relationship, and how Fate plays a part in it. Clare first meets Henry age six; Henry is in his thirties. Clare spends a lot of time coming onto Henry as a teenager, and they wind up first having sex when she is just-turned eighteen, and he is in his forties. Henry kisses Clare when she's thirteen and he's an adult! Not to mention that we see Henry and Clare really getting to know each other when she's a kid - and a little kid, at that - but never as adults. Hell, one of the first things Clare says to Henry is that the last time she saw him he was sucking her toes in their meadow and that she was pressuring him for sex for years. And it's all meant to be okay, because they're fated to be together, I guess. Like, that's the reason we're not meant to find that weird. The time travel works on stable time loops, Henry cannot change the future no matter what he does (we're meant to take that as read, pretty much) and he and Clare are married in the future, so they're always meant to be. Clare has had no other partners, outside of sleeping with Gomez once, which she feels awful about. Henry is implied to have slept around a lot before meeting Clare, and his ex is obsessed with him to the point where it's implied that learning they aren't gonna be together forever is a reason for her suicide, but that's fine and he doesn't feel like apologising for that. Their whole relationship dynamic is fucked! But the book wants it to be romantic, so it's romantic. Just don't think about it, okay? Just don't think about it.

Next up, some fact, and a look at how Indigenous people discovered Europe.

[mama-qwerty]

What’s Right In Front Of You

Hey, look! I wrote something!

This is for @doomfox because who else loves Wade/Callie stuff as much as me?

I came at this one a little differently. Wade’s a Dark, but he and Callie weren’t dating, just friends, when he turned. This here is where they realize they ~gasp~ may see each other as more than friends!

I hope it turned out okay, I’m a bit rusty.

(Who is Callie?)

~~~~~

On a beautiful summer Saturday, all of Green Hills turned out for a fundraising event thrown by the public library. Callie, the head librarian, had organized the event, specifically to collect funds for the local food bank. She knew a number of families had been hit hard with the recent economic downturn, and wanted to pull the town together to offer help.

Main Street was closed, and the businesses along it ran booths on the street, offering samples, raffles, and games in return for donations. The Wachowski family manned the veterinary and police booths, while Callie and her boys covered the library’s. At the moment, the MacPherson and Wachowski kids were all off, moving up and down the street as they visited and sampled the various offerings, with the exception of Knuckles. He stayed behind to help his mother.

The booths were all in a line together, leaving the matriarchs of each clan to chat.

“So,” Maddie said, a little smile curling her lips. “I hear Wade’s a pretty frequent visitor to your house these days. Is there a little something-something going on between you two I should know about?”

Callie rolled her eyes, uttering a little laugh. “I know it sounds really cliché, but we’re just good friends. That didn’t change after he did. He’s still got a standing invitation to swing by whenever he likes, for supper or just to hang out. Honestly, I was worried he’d be mad after Eclipse turned him into a Dark, but he seems okay with it. Which is good, because Hallmark doesn’t exactly make ‘Sorry my kid transformed you into a giant space gremlin’ apology cards.”

The vet gave a little laugh, shaking her head. “I don’t know, Cal. Seems like there could be more to it than ‘just friends’.”

It was the librarian’s turn to shake her head. “There’s not. Trust me. He doesn’t see me that way.”

Maddie sidled up and gave her a little side-eye. “Do you see him that way?”

Callie cocked an eyebrow. “Okay, is this a ‘pair the spares’ type of thing?” She said it with a little snark, although the line of questioning was starting to bother her. “Just because Wade and I are both single and friends, that automatically means we’ve gotta become an item?”

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Maddie said, lifting her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just saying that you two seem to have gotten close, even moreso after he changed, and was just wondering if you were--”

“We’re not,” the redhead said, her voice a little harder than she intended. She took a little breath before continuing, softening her tone to a more apologetic one. “We’re just friends.”

Maddie nodded. “Okay. Fair enough.”

The vet turned to greet a visitor to her booth, and Callie gave a sigh. Truth be told, she had been having the same type of thoughts. Wade had been stopping by a lot more frequently lately, and it wasn’t unusual for him to stick around and watch a movie after her boys had gone to bed. She didn’t pick up on anything more to it than simply two friends enjoying their time together. He hadn’t exactly made any ‘moves’ on her, or even dropped any hints that he’d like to take things to the next level, as the rom-coms would say. As far as she knew, he simply enjoyed spending time with her. As a friend. Nothing more.

Of course, she didn’t exactly have a lot of experience with romance and relationships. But she was fairly sure she’d have noticed if he was flirting with her.

Fairly sure.

Then again, this was Wade. The man’s photo was practically in the dictionary under the word “anxiety”. That hadn’t changed since he became a Dark, although he did seem a tad more confident now that he’d fully adjusted to his new life. He was taller, stronger, and more toned than he had been as a human. He actually seemed . . . happier, in his new form.

Callie looked around, craning her neck to find him in the crowd. He wasn’t hard to spot, with his dark scales, gold-on-black eyes, and long, barbed tail. He wasn’t as comfortable going au naturale like Eclipse was, and usually wore a pair of cargo shorts—slightly modified to fit his tail—and one of those horrendous Hawaiian shirts he’d become so fond of. He may have been a Dark, a member of the Black Arms warrior race, but he somehow still looked like the Wade she knew before. Impeccable fashion sense and all.

She spotted him at the ABC Daycare booth, playing with the kids and chatting with their parents. As she watched, her own child, Eclipse—the very same young darkling who had changed Wade into one of his kind to save his life—pounced onto the larger Dark’s shoulders with a laugh. Wade gave him a grin, and noogied the boy’s forehead.

A small smile curled the redhead’s lips.

“You never answered Mother’s question,” a deep voice said, and Callie gave a little gasp at the startle. She looked down and found Knuckles staring at her, his brow furrowed slightly.

“I’m gonna put a bell on you, I swear to God,” she said, giving the boy a light flick on the forehead with her finger. “What question?”

“She asked if you saw Wade in ‘that way’,” he said, twisting his head to look down the street at the man in question. He turned back with an eyebrow raised. “Do you?”

“Hadn’t really thought about it,” she said with a shrug, turning to pass out a few bottles of water to passersby.

“Think about it now.”

Callie turned and planted a hand on her hip as she leaned against the table. “Ya know, I would have pegged Sonic as the little matchmaker of the Wachowski boys. Why the sudden interest in my love life, Knux?”

“Because you are old and in need of a life partner who can care for you as you age.”

She couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter at that. Knuckles the Echidna, ever the tactful soul. “Thanks, Knux. I can always count on you to put things into perspective.”

The teen paused, casting his eyes to the side for a second as he thought before turning back. “Perhaps that did not come out as I meant it. You are . . . important to us. To me. I do not wish to see you all alone. And even though I think there are better prospects for you, Wade is honorable and true. He would make a fine mate.”

She threw him a cocked eyebrow. “Better prospects? I wasn’t aware my relationship status was so important to you.”

He nodded. “My brothers and I have all discussed the best matches for you.”

“Okay, I officially don’t want to know who you three picked out,” she said, shaking her head. The idea that the Wachowski boys had all spent time discussing the ‘best match’ for her romantically made her feel a bit weird. “Can we stop talking about this now?”

“You still haven’t answered the question.”

“Honey, she doesn’t have to answer the question if she doesn’t want to,” Maddie said, swooping in to save the flustered redhead. “This really isn’t any of our business.”

“But you asked,” Knuckles said, tilting his head in his confusion. “How else would we know if they are compatible for courting?”

“That’s between them. If they like each other, and if they choose to pursue a relationship, that’s their choice. They decide how fast or slow to take things.”

The echidna curled his muzzle in annoyance. “How inefficient. My people would not be so . . . indecisive in their courting.”

“How do echidna court?” Callie asked, crossing her arms before her. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

“They challenge each other to battle, issuing strong cries and postures to try and intimidate the other. The longer this goes on, the better match they are said to be for each other.”

The two women looked at him with wide eyes.

“Are you serious?” the librarian said, her voice soft.

“No. I was six when my tribe fell. How am I to know how my kind courts?”

The women exchanged a glance, before Callie pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

“Hello my fair ladies,” a voice called, and the trio turned to see Tom approach the booths. He was doing his sheriffly duty by wandering up and down the street, meeting and greeting townsfolk and making sure everything was running smoothly. He glanced down and tipped a wink to Knuckles. “And my oldest son. How’s everything going?”

Before either woman could answer, Knuckles spoke up. “Father, you are the law of this town. You must demand that Callie answer the question.”

The sheriff tossed his wife a raised eyebrow. “Uh, what?”

“Nevermind,” Maddie said, waving a dismissive hand. “He’s very much ‘dog with a bone’ right now.”

Knuckles turned to her, his muzzle pulled in a little snarl. “I am not a dog, and there is no bone! But there is a question that must be answered if we are to find Callie a suitable life mate!”

The redhead in question tilted her head back and uttered a frustrated grunt. “Oh my gawd, Knux, let it go!”

Tom flicked his eyes between the trio, and gave them a questioning glance. “Dare I ask?”

Maddie uttered a soft sigh. “We’ve been trying to ascertain whether or not Callie likes Wade ‘like that’.”

“She refuses to answer!” Knuckles cried, pointing at Callie. He’d apparently reached the end of his patience. “Tell her she must answer, Father! Right now!”

“Okay, okay,” Tom said, holding his hands up in a calming gesture. “Take a breath before you start sparking, big guy.” Knuckles did as instructed, and when he calmed, the sheriff continued. “Now, we can’t force her to tell if she doesn’t want to. That’s private and personal, and entirely her business, right?”

The echidna let out a huff through his nose, before turning away with a scowl. “Yes.”

“Okay then,” the sheriff said, snagging a water bottle from Callie. “Although, if you do, you know, ‘like him’, you maybe oughta think about making a move. ‘Cause you may have a little competition.”

Callie furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”

Tom tilted his head toward Wade, who was still down the street. Eclipse had moved on, but the Dark was now speaking with a very pretty woman who was very obviously flirting with him.

“Who’s that?”

“Kelly Stevens,” Tom said before taking a swig of water. “Wade’s had a crush on her since about third grade. Looks like he’s caught her eye. Dude’s getting more attention now than he ever did as a human.”

The furrow in Callie’s brow deepened. That certainly seemed to be the case. Whenever the two of them went out and about together, she’d noticed other women taking more interest in Wade. He seemed oblivious at the time, but now it looked as if he had finally noticed. He chatted back with Kelly, and Callie noticed how his muzzle darkened in a blush.

Then he paused and turned toward her, and their eyes locked.

Callie’s face burned as a blush of her own surfaced, and she jerked her eyes away. Her heart hammered in her chest.

Oh. Oh no. OH NO.

“L-looks like I’m running low on water, be right back!” she blurted out, and shot away from the booth to duck into the library.

It was cooler in here, and quieter. Callie moved to the front desk, slumping behind it into her chair and rubbed her temples with shaky fingers.

“Get a grip get a grip get a grip!” she hissed to herself. She wasn’t some schoolgirl developing a crush on her best friend. She was a grown adult, who loved her best friend, but was not IN LOVE with him.

Right?

Right??

~X~X~X~

Wade walked through the street, a faint smile on his lips. The sun felt so nice on his scales, and he turned his face up to catch it on his cheeks. Well, muzzle. It’d been about six months since he changed into a Dark, and in that time he’d gone through the stages of grief to finally land on ‘acceptance’.

This was who he was now. It’d been hard at first, but his true friends had stood by him to lift him up when he felt at his lowest. Tom and Maddie. Their boys. Callie, and her boys. Even when his own mother seemed to want nothing to do with him, his friends stood behind him.

His smile grew as he thought about Callie. It was strange—even though Eclipse had done this to him, he’d never felt any anger toward the boy. Wade practically had one foot in the grave, and the darkling had saved him. Changed him, yes, but Wade was still alive thanks to that boy. And maybe it had taken a little while to understand just how amazing that was, but Callie never once faltered in her support of him. Not. Once.

In fact, they seemed to be better friends than ever now. He stopped by her house almost daily, and their friendship seemed stronger than ever. They were practically inseparable. She was his absolute best friend in the world.

Best friend.

Yep.

Nothing more.

. . . right?

His smile faltered slightly at this thought. He seemed to think about her . . . an awful lot lately. Like, A LOT a lot. And it seemed that no matter how much time they spent together, it wasn’t enough. They didn’t even have to be doing anything specific—just sitting together quietly as they read or watched the boys play was fun. And his anxiety flared a lot less when she was close. She felt . . . safe.

A few people called out to him then, and he broke from his thoughts to wander over and visit. His tail swished lazily behind him, and a few kids gave it a playful tug as he chatted with their parents. Wade turned and gave them an exaggerated growl, playing the part of a scary monster, and the kids gave a playful scream and scrambled. Their light giggles gave away their true feelings, though, and soon they were back, examining his clawed hands and playing with his tail.

Life was actually good for Wade Whipple 2.0. He felt good. It was kind of ironic that people accepted Dark Wade a lot easier than they accepted Human Wade. And maybe a little sad. But it was something he tried not to dwell on.

“Gotcha!” a voice called, and Wade felt a thud as Eclipse launched himself to land on the Dark’s shoulders. “You coming over for supper tonight?”

“Depends,” Wade said with a grin, delivering a noogie to the boy’s head. “What’s your mom making?”

“She says if we don’t make ourselves sick with junk food today we’ll order pizza,” the darkling said, shoving Wade’s knuckles away. “But I think she’ll order pizza anyway, so I’m trying everything.”

Wade gave a laugh as he pulled Eclipse off his shoulder and tucked him under his arm. “You’re a little snot, you know that?”

The boy laughed, struggling weakly against his captor. “I’m telling Mom you said that! She’ll be mad at you!”

“I doubt it. She called you a snot the other day.”

“Term of endearment!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Wade dropped the boy to the ground, giving him one more noogie as he did so. “Why don’t you go find your brother? You wouldn’t want him, Sonic, and Tails to get into trouble without you.”

Eclipse gave a little gasp. “They wouldn’t!”

And without another word, the boy hurried off to find his friends. Wade uttered a little laugh as he shook his head.

“You’re really good with kids,” a voice called, and Wade turned quickly to find a very pretty woman smiling at him. It took a few seconds to recognize her, and he gasped.

“Kelly??”

She smiled, revealing a line of perfect, white teeth. “Hi Wade. I’ve been looking for you.”

Wade gave her a crooked smile. “Uh . . . here I am, I guess? Why were you looking for me, exactly?”

She moved closer, pushing her chest forward in what seemed to be a well-rehearsed movement. “You’ve become quite the talk of the town lately.” She flicked her head, sending her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. “And there’s just something about a confident man that I find . . . interesting.”

“. . . oh?” Wade’s brain was officially screeching to a halt. Kelly Stevens had never spoken more than a few words to him in all the time he’d known her, so this little conversation was unexpected to say the least. His tail flicked in little jerks behind him in his growing anxiety.

“Mhmm,” she said, moving closer. “In fact, I think I’d like to get to know you a little better. Would you like that?”

Wade’s muzzle turned darker as a blush rose, and he stared at her with wide eyes. The third grader within him, who had been absolutely smitten with Kelly, rejoiced and did cartwheels in his mind.

But there was something else. A little tug of his instincts. He was being watched. Turning his head, he picked Callie out of the crowd immediately, and their eyes locked. He saw a blush surface on her cheeks, before she turned away quickly.

His heart beat a manic pace in his chest, and he watched as she hurried off into the library.

Kelly was forgotten, the third grader within him quiet. There was something he needed to do.

“I have to go,” he mumbled to Kelly, before weaving his way through the crowd and toward the library.

~X~X~X~

Callie took a few deep breaths, trying to rein in her racing heart.

Okay. She could deal with this. She wasn’t really in love with Wade. It was just the conversation she’d had out front that put her in this really, really weird mindset. She was . . . glad Wade was getting more attention. He was lonely, and seemed unlucky in love, and now he was getting the attention he wanted. Yay, right? Good for him.

Still. What if--

Her thought was cut off as the doors swished open, and she turned quickly. Wade stood in the entrance, looking at her with . . . concern?

“Cal?” he said, his voice soft. “You okay?”

She stared at him for a long moment, before she pulled up some snark. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I just came in to grab some more water for the booth.” There was a stack of a few cases of water bottles in front of the desk, and now she moved around to grab one. She hefted it up and placed it on the counter. “See? Just . . . restocking. That’s all.”

He stood there for another moment, before moving closer. “Yeah. I getcha.” Gold eyes flicked to the side before moving back to hers. “So . . . how’s it going?”

“Good,” she answered, a little too quickly. “Good. Good turnout. Think we’re gonna meet our goal and then some, so that’s . . . good.” Her lips pulled into a thin line. “So . . . you seem popular today.”

A clawed hand went to the back of his neck. “Y-yeah.”

An awkward silence settled over them. “She’s really pretty.”

The blush was back on his muzzle. He didn’t respond for a long moment, and when he did, his voice was soft. “I guess.” His mouth twisted, and brow furrowed. “Listen, Cal, I--”

“Wade?”

They both turned to the doors, where Kelly now stood. She gave Wade a little smile, before turning her gaze to Callie. A quick flick of her eyes up and down the librarian, and Callie had an idea she was sizing her up as competition. With a barely-there smirk, Kelly seemed to judge her as not a threat.

And suddenly, Callie was transported back to high school. That awkward girl, never popular or accepted. Never anyone’s best friend. Shy, and alone. Overlooked, dismissed, and forgotten.

She pulled her braid around and gave it a tug.

~X~X~X~

Wade glanced at Callie when Kelly did, and missed the little smirk the blonde developed.

But he didn’t miss the way Callie seemed to shrink before his eyes. The way she pulled her braid around to tug, like she always did when she was feeling anxious. The way the redhead cast her eyes to the side, as if suddenly self-conscious.

“Wade?” Kelly called again, and drew his attention back to her. “Why’d you run off like that? I thought we were having a nice chat.”

Wade threw a glance at Callie, before turning back to the blonde. “I, uh, I was just making sure Callie was okay.”

Kelly flicked her eyes back to the redhead, before moving closer to Wade. “I’m sure she’s fine. But I’d like to continue our conversation somewhere a little less crowded. Like say, dinner?”

Conflicting emotions bloomed in Wade, and his heart tripped a manic pace in his chest. That small part that still carried a torch for Kelly cheered, while another part sounded a warning. For what, exactly, he wasn’t sure. “I’m probably going to Cal’s for dinner. Sorry.”

A look that seemed a combination of surprise and annoyance crossed Kelly’s face then, and she planted a hand on a cocked hip. “Oh, come on now, Wade. I know you’ve liked me for a long time. And I’d really like to get to know you better. So why don’t I make it simple? Look a me.”

She struck a pose that displayed her beauty. Her long, shiny blonde hair. Perfect complexion and teeth. Delicate features. Slim body with perfectly rounded hips. She was beautiful, she’d always been beautiful, even when they were in school. Wade couldn’t help but blush once again.

“Now,” she said, a smile that wasn’t quite a smirk on her lips. “Look at her.”

Wade did. He turned and looked at Callie, his heart beating faster.

No perfect hair, or skin, or teeth. No hourglass figure. Nothing that would put her on the front cover of one of those fashion magazines.

But she was kind. And sweet. And loving.

And she made him laugh, and feel safe. She spoke her mind, but did so with kindness. The epitome of “Do no harm, but take no bull.”

And when she smiled . . . when she smiled at him . . .

She was beautiful.

~X~X~X~

“Look at her.”

Callie flinched at the implication, giving her braid another tug, and flicked her eyes to lock with Wade’s. His face was unreadable, but she could almost hear what he was thinking.

Dry red hair that could be on the frizzy side if it was humid. Pale skin, with little sunburn patches because she keeps forgetting to reapply sunscreen. A little too much in the way of belly, and not quite enough in the chest or hips to balance it out.

Wade was a sweet man, but he wasn’t blind. Who in their right mind would turn away a beauty like Kelly for a blah like her?

“Who would you rather be with?” the blonde asked, drawing Wade’s attention back.

Callie took the break in eye contact to beat a hasty retreat. She dropped her eyes and turned to grab the case of water. Without a word or glance back, she hefted it up and carried it outside.

“There you are,” Maddie said, a little smile on her lips. “I thought you got lost . . .” The smile dropped once the vet got a good look at her. “What’s wrong?”

The librarian shook her head. “Nothing. Can you watch the booth? I need to get some more ice.”

“Sure . . . are you okay?”

Callie shrugged. “Low blood sugar, maybe. I’ll grab a bite before coming back. Thanks for keeping an eye on things.”

And without giving Maddie a chance to respond, Callie turned and hurried toward the gas station down the way. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She felt like the biggest fool on the planet.

~X~X~X~

“Who would you rather be with?”

Wade turned back to Kelly, a look of slight surprise on his face. He opened his mouth to respond—what, he wasn’t sure—when Callie suddenly turned, grabbed the water, and headed out the door.

He wanted to call out, go after her, but Kelly sidestepped to block his path.

“Looks like she made the choice easy for you,” she said, a little laugh in her voice. “So shall we go and find somewhere more private to chat?”

A spark of annoyance flared to life in Wade’s mind, and he furrowed his brow at Kelly. On the surface, this attention was flattering and nice. But there was something that poked at him. Something unsettling.

“Why didn’t you ever want to ‘chat’ with me before?” he asked, his tone soft but firm. “We’ve lived in this town forever, and you never wanted to get to know me when I was human. Why now?”

Kelly seemed to freeze for a split second, before recovering and giving a soft laugh. “Maybe I’ve finally come to my senses about you? Maybe it took me all this time to realize just how . . . special you are?”

She reached up to caress his muzzle, but he stepped back before she could make contact.

“Maybe,” he said as he moved around her. “Maybe I would rather be with someone who thought I was special before I changed, too.”

Without another word, Wade walked away, and pushed through the library doors.

~X~X~X~

Callie stepped into the gas station, her mind a whirl and heartbeat a fast samba. Distraction. She needed a distraction.

She slowly walked up and down the aisles looking at the wares without really seeing them. Snacks and cereal and medicine and tissues all blurred together as she moved through.

What was bothering her so much? Sure there was the old wound of the ignored high school girl, but there was something more than that. Her conversation with Maddie and Knuckles resurfaced, and she frowned. Did she see Wade ‘like that’? Was she . . . was she hurt? Jealous?

She’d been spending so much time focusing on whether he liked her, she didn’t give much consideration to whether or not she liked him.

And right now . . . it kind of scared her that she might.

Lost in thought, Callie rounded the corner to the next aisle and nearly ran into Knuckles. The boy stood stock still, looking up at her with his typical furrowed brow. She almost yelped in surprise, and leveled an annoyed eyebrow at him.

“Knuckles Wachowski, are you stalking me or something?”

“Mother asked me to help you carry the ice back,” he said, before lowering his head in a slight bow. “And . . . I would like to apologize.”

Her expression changed to one of confusion. “For what?”

“For invading your privacy regarding your feelings toward Wade.” His voice was soft, and he placed a hand to his chest. “It was not my place to demand answers. You do not need to find a mate if you do not wish to. I . . . I simply care for you and wish you happiness in life. Companionship. I am sorry for overstepping your boundaries.”

The confusion gave way to kindness, and Callie smiled. She tried not to play favorites with any of the boys, but if she were being honest, she really enjoyed Knuckles’ company. He was so different from the others, and saw the world in interesting ways. In many ways he was wiser than his years, and she enjoyed their conversations.

The echidna was the tallest of the batch of kids, and nearly came up to her shoulders. She tucked a knuckle under his chin, and lifted his head to meet his gaze with her own.

“Knux, I really appreciate the apology,” she said, her voice soft and gentle. “But don’t worry about it. I know your concern was coming from a place of love. I’m not offended. At all. We’re good.”

She held out a fist and he raised his to give it a light bump, a small smile on his lips.

“And it’s only natural to wonder. Wade and I do spend a lot of time together. From the outside observer, it would seem that we’re, you know, together.”

“So, you are not?”

Callie was quiet for a long moment as she considered this. “I didn’t think I wanted to be.”

“But now you are not sure.”

Another period of silence as she directed him toward the front register. “No. I’m not.” She paid for the ice and the two went outside to collect it. “To be honest . . . I don’t know what I think.”

Knuckles gave a hum as she handed him a bag of ice. “You care for Wade.”

“Yeah, I do.” She took the second bag of ice and the two began to walk back toward their booths.

“And he cares for you.”

Callie cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at him. “That wasn’t a question, was it?”

The boy shook his head. “He would not visit your home as often as he does if he did not care for you.”

She snorted out a laugh. “I do tend to feed him. That could be what’s drawing him back.”

The echidna snorted out his own laugh. “Food does tend to be a powerful motivator to some, but I doubt that is what he most looks forward to when he visits.”

They shared a little laugh at that, before quieting. Callie gave a long sigh, shaking her head. “Ah, I’m not good at this kinda stuff. Flirting requires a subtlety that I simply am not capable of. I’m more like a baseball bat upside the head.”

Knuckles hummed in amusement at that. “I have always appreciated your very straightforward manner. You always say what you mean, while so many others use their words to deceive.”

Callie pulled her lips tight. “Sometimes a deception isn’t meant to hurt others. Sometimes it’s to hide something that person doesn’t want to admit. To others, or themselves.”

He glanced up at her. “Because of pain.”

A nod. “Or fear.”

The echidna seemed to consider this. “You fear your feelings.”

She uttered a frustrated sigh. “I honestly don’t know. I care about Wade. A lot. He makes me laugh, he keeps me from freaking out, we can sit around for hours just talking about nothing in particular, and is really good with my kids. But . . . is that enough? I mean, is all that enough to, you know . . . love him?”

Knuckles was quiet for a long moment. “You think loving someone is measured in some sort of balance of actions? Like a . . . a checklist of sorts?”

Callie screwed her face up as she thought. “When you say it like that, it sounds really dumb.”

“The way you said it sounds really dumb.”

“Well, thanks so much.”

“Does he make you happy?” the teen asked, turning to lock her blue-green eyes with his violet. “Do you enjoy spending time with him?”

She stared at him for a few seconds, her mind spinning. Then her lips curled into a small smile. “Yeah. He does. And I do.”

Knuckles gave her a curt nod back, turning to look forward once more. “Then it is enough.”

They were getting close to their booths, and Callie cast a side-eye to him, a small smile on her lips.

This kid. This space echidna was the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy, with strength unmatched. He’d been on his own since he was six, was easily confused by common Earth phrases, and didn’t understand a lot of interpersonal interactions.

But he somehow always knew how to cut right to the heart of the matter when they chatted.

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. Their booths came into view, and Callie’s smile faded when she saw a certain Dark in hers.

~X~X~X~

Not long after Maddie sent Knuckles to help Callie, Wade came out of the library, head on a swivel to find the redhead. When he didn’t see her, he walked up to Maddie for help.

“Have you seen Callie?”

Maddie gave a look to Wade and glanced down the street. “She headed down to the gas station for some ice. What’s wrong?”

Wade opened his mouth to answer, when Kelly walked out of the library. He froze, eyes wide and staring as the blonde gave him a sour look before walking away. Maddie looked between the two, and nodded as understanding bloomed on her face.

“Oh. I take it there was some kind of . . . incident inside?”

The Dark shook his head. “No. Maybe? I dunno, I’m not really sure what happened. Kelly said she wanted to get to know me and then Cal looked like she’d been punched and walked out and it made my stomach all twist up and I have no idea why this is bothering me so much.” By the end of his statement he was speaking fast, his tail moving in angry flicks. Maddie put her hands on Wade’s shoulders, and gave him a little shake. “Whoa, slow down. Are you and Kelly going to--”

“No.” The answer came immediately, with no hesitation. He didn’t even have to stop to consider it. “She’s pretty and all, but . . . I don’t think she wants to get to know me for, you know, me.”

“Okay,” the vet said, letting go of his shoulders to cross her arms. “Those are some good instincts. But do you think, maybe, there’s another reason you don’t want to be with her?”

His brow furrowed. “Like what?”

Maddie’s lips curled in a little smile. “Well, you said your stomach got all twisted when you saw Callie leave. Why do you think you reacted like that?”

“Because she’s my friend and I don’t want her to be upset.”

“Okay, fair. But, is she just your friend?”

Wade paused. “Best friend?”

“Wade.”

“What?? I don’t know what you mean.”

Maddie uttered a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wade, I want you to think about Cal. Think about how you feel when you’re around her. When it’s just you two.”

The Dark sighed, but did what she asked. His stomach still clenched at the memory of Callie leaving, especially with that hurt look on her face. He wasn’t completely sure why she looked hurt, but the image was burned into his mind all the same.

Now he tried to think of other times, when they laughed together, and chatted about nothing. When they watched movies after her boys had gone to bed, just the two of them, in the dark living room, sitting together on the couch. When they worked in her yard, or went to the park, or just sat near the pond, feeding the ducks.

When she smiled at him, and he felt like all the world blurred around them, and it was just him and her.

His stomach squeezed again, but a warmth spread into his chest. This wasn’t a feeling of guilt or sympathy. No, this was a different feeling. One of happiness. Of contentment.

Of . . . something more.

“. . . oh.”

His voice was soft, and his tail—that had been flicking in an agitated manner before—slowed to a gentle swing as a realization hit home. Maddie looked at him, a small smile on her lips.

“There it is.”

Wade stood still for a long moment, eyes wide and unfocused as his mind ground to a halt. It seemed so obvious now. These feelings. He felt quite stupid for not realizing them before.

As he pondered his apparent blindness to his own emotional state, Callie and Knuckles returned to the booths. The echidna hesitated for a moment, glancing over to the redhead with him, the smile that had been on her face fading when she saw the Dark.

“Hey,” Wade called, moving slightly closer.

“Hey,” she replied, pulling the ice bag before her almost like a shield. Her cheeks burned again, and she moved to her booth to dump the ice in the cooler beneath the table. “So . . . how’d things go with Kelly?”

He flinched at that, muzzle flushing. “F-fine.”

“Oh. How . . . how fine?” She wouldn’t look at him.

Wade moved a little closer. “Can we talk?”

Callie’s brow furrowed, and she turned to give him look, her lips pulled into a tight line. She flicked her eyes around them, at the crowds wandering past and specifically at Maddie and Knuckles, who tried to look like they weren’t watching nearby. She turned away and began shoving water bottles into the ice-filled cooler, her voice gaining an edge that told him she was shutting down emotionally. Or trying to, anyway.

“Kinda busy right now, Wade. And if you wanna talk about what I think you do, save your breath. I’m not your keeper. You can date her if you want. Makes no nevermind to me.”

She sounded angry. Hurt. Wade moved right next to her, his chest tightening as the seconds ticked by.

“Cal, just listen--”

“NO!” she hissed, rounding on him. A few passersby paused and threw glances their way, and Callie shot annoyed looks right back. The curious bystanders chose to move on, and she turned back to Wade. “We are NOT doing this. Not now, not here.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, before nodding. “Okay.”

Then he grabbed her arm, and teleported them away.

~X~X~X~

Knuckles and Maddie stood and watched the back-and-forth between the human and Dark, and uttered almost identical gasps when they vanished in a flash of light. After a few seconds, the echidna broke the silence.

“She is going to be pissed.”

Behind him, Maddie nodded. “Oh yeah.”

~X~X~X~

They reappeared in Callie’s living room, and the librarian uttered a grunt as she staggered on her feet. She hated teleporting. It disoriented her something fierce and did bad things to her stomach. When she knew it was going to happen she could steel herself for it, and make, well, ‘reentry’ not as jarring. But this wasn’t one of those times, and she took deep breaths to keep from throwing up all over her coffee table.

Wade hovered behind her, arms at the ready to catch her if she fell. She weakly slapped them away as she staggered to the kitchen for some water.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” she growled, yanking the fridge door open. “Why did you do that?”

“You said you didn’t want to talk there!” he said, following her and placing the kitchen island between them. “So I figured we’d go somewhere that was quiet and empty.”

Callie took a swig of water before giving him an annoyed look. “We could have gone into the library! It was quiet and empty!”

The Dark went quiet for a few seconds before pulling his shoulders up in embarrassment. “Oh. I didn’t think about that.”

The redhead rolled her eyes as she took another drink. “Look, we don’t really even need to talk at all. If you want to date someone with more Botox than brains, you go right ahead. You don’t need my permission.”

“That’s not—”

“I mean, I get it,” she continued, her mouth running away with her. Emotions swirled inside her, and she didn’t know if she was more angry or hurt right now. But between the two, anger was a lot easier to deal with. So she let her snark out. “You’ve liked her for a long time, and she’s really pretty with the hair and the face and the boobs. I get it. What’s not to like, right?”

“I guess? Callie, listen, I want to—“

“And now, suddenly, she’s interested in you. Woohoo! Dream come true for Wade Whipple. He’d be a fool to turn that down. I mean, why would he? It’s not like there’s anyone else, right?”

Wade pulled his lips tight, and his tail flicked so hard it made a soft ‘crack’ sound, like a whip.

That sound was enough to snap her out of her over-emotional ramble, and she stopped herself, guilt poking at her. This wasn’t fair. Just because she was hurt and jealous and feeling just a smidge pissed at herself for not realizing how she felt about Wade long ago didn’t mean she should take it out on him. It wasn’t his fault.

She didn’t want to ruin things for him. Because in the end, she wanted him to be happy.

Even if it wasn’t with her.

“I’m sorry.”

Wade blinked, a look of confusion crossing his face. “What?”

“I’m being a jerk. She’s pretty and likes you and you like her and that’s all that should matter. I shouldn’t be cranking at you over this. I’m . . .” She took a deep breath, and let it out in a shaky exhale. “I’m happy for you. Really.”

“Callie, you don’t have to—“

“I’ll explain to the boys why you’re not coming around as often,” she continued, walking around the counter, her brow furrowed. “They’ll be disappointed, especially Eclipse, but I’ll make sure they understand—“

“For crying out loud Cal, will you shut up and listen to me!” Wade all but growled as he grabbed her by the upper arms. “There’s nothing to explain, and you don’t have to be happy for me. You are the one who makes my stomach twist!”

Callie’s brows, already furrowed, pinched in confusion. “What??”

Wade flinched, releasing her and stepping back slightly. “That didn’t come out right. What I mean is, I feel like I might throw up when we’re together.”

She stared at him for a long moment. Wade wasn’t always great with expressing himself and often got words wrong, so she had become pretty good at interpreting his meaning. But right now, she was drawing a blank.

“Okay, are you trying to get me to slug you? Because, congrats, it’s kinda working.”

“No!” He pressed his fists against his temples, uttering a frustrated grunt before dropping them and looking at her with a helpless, almost pained expression. “I like you!”

She blinked, her face going slack. “. . . what?”

“I like you, Cal,” he said again, moving closer. The blush was back on his muzzle, and his voice shook with his heartbeat. His tail whipped and flicked behind him, in what Callie could read as either nerves, or excitement. “I mean, I really like you. You’re my best friend and the only person who’s ever treated me so nice. I love spending time together, I love your boys, I love how . . . how safe I feel when I’m with you.”

He moved closer as he spoke, and now stopped right in front of her.

“I lo—“ Wade pulled his lips tight again, and swallowed hard. “I love you.”

Callie’s brain stopped. There was no other way to describe the absolute lack of thought that went through it in that moment. She simply stood there, staring at the Dark before her, locking her blue-green eyes with his gold. His words rolled around in her head, and took a minute to fully sink in.

Loved her? He loved her?

Still, she stared. Unblinking. Unmoving.

~X~X~X~

Wade’s heart pounded so loud in his ears, he swore it would deafen him. He’d said it. The thing he’d finally admitted to himself only a few minutes ago was now out there, in the open. He had realized how he felt about Callie, and now she knew, too.

But she was just standing there, staring at him. He’d never seen her so lost for words. Had he made her uncomfortable? Was she trying to think of the right way to let him down? What if she were . . . repulsed by the idea of him, a non-human, feeling that way toward her?

His face fell as that thought sank in.

Oh.

Oh no.

That was it. He wasn’t human anymore, why would she want him? He’d put her in a really awkward situation by confessing his feelings for her, and now she was struggling with how to respond in a way that didn’t hurt him. Oh no, no, no. He was so stupid for just blurting that out. He should have talked to Tom or something, this was a bad idea, he shouldn’t have—

“I like you, too.”

At first, Wade didn’t hear her. Between his rampaging heartbeat and the negative thoughts spiraling in his head, he missed it. But the smile on her face was harder to miss. “What?”

The smile spread wider. “I said, I like you too.”

It was his turn to stare. “You . . . you do?” She nodded, that smile still on her lips, and a slight blush burning her cheeks. “Really?”

“Really, really.”

For another few seconds, Wade stood frozen, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. She . . . she liked him back?? He bit his forked tongue to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, and the pain that followed assured him he was quite awake.

“You like me . . . even though I’m . . . uh . . .” He flicked his eyes down at himself, giving his shoulders a shrug as he gestured to what he was.

Callie cocked an eyebrow at him. “Wade you should know by now I don't really give a fig what people think. Especially when it comes to family and those I love.”

That last word shot straight through his heart, and he gaped at her. “L-love?”

Her blush deepened, and she nodded, stepping closer. “Love.”

They locked eyes again, and after a few seconds Wade gave a little laugh as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a bear hug. “You love me, you love me!” He gave a little cheer right before pressing his lips against hers in an impromptu kiss.

When they broke apart, he gasped, placing her back on her feet as a look of concern passed over his face. “Ohmygawd I’m sorry I should’ve asked first I’m sorry I’m—“

That was as far as he got before Callie grabbed a handful of his horrendous Hawaiian shirt and pulled him to her to kiss him back. He froze in shock for a few seconds, before relaxing and returning the gesture. When they parted, she wore a soft smile.

“Rule number one; never ask for a kiss.”

A smile spread on his face, and he nodded. “Oh. Okay.” Then he moved in for another.

The two shared a quiet moment together, exchanging kisses and just enjoying their time as a new couple, when Callie’s cell chirped. She ignored it for another minute, but when it chirped again, she sighed, and pulled it from her back pocket. Flicking her thumb over the screen, she uttered another sigh.

“Maddie needs me back at the booth.”

Wade’s shoulders slumped as disappointment flooded his chest. “Oh.”

Callie replaced her phone, and took his hand into hers. “To be continued?”

He squeezed her hand, a smile on his face. “Absolutely.”

She held her breath and closed her eyes as Wade teleported them back.

~X~X~X~

In a heartbeat, the silence and isolation of her house was replaced with the noise and crowds of Main Street. Callie and Wade appeared in her booth, and found the rest of the boys returned, all crowded around Eclipse. The darkling lay on the ground, curled into the fetal position, moaning.

“What happened, as if I have to ask,” the redhead sighed, moving to pick up her younger child. Eclipse gave another moan and wrapped his arms around her neck, resting his head on her shoulder.

“I’m dying,” he croaked. “Make sure Silver doesn’t touch my stuff.”

“You’ll be dead, what’re you gonna do about it?” Callie said, patting his back gently.

“I’ll come back and haunt you. You’ll wish you were nicer to me.”

“Ah, you poor, poor, mistreated dear,” she cooed, swaying her body from side to side without thinking. “And what caused this tummy upset, I wonder? Could it be too much junk food?”

“I was the deep-fried Snickers that did it,” Sonic said, crossing his arms. “We told him to go easy, but he didn’t listen.”

“How many?”

“Three.”

“Holy crap, I’m surprised he’s not dead already,” she said with a little laugh, and Eclipse groaned against her neck. “Ya know kid, just because you can eat anything doesn’t mean you should.”

“Can’t talk. Dying.”

“Mhmm.”

“Want me to take him home?” Wade asked, a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take care of him while you finish up here.”

Callie caught the look Maddie and Knuckles exchanged at Wade’s touch, and she gave them a little smile and nod. The echidna returned both smile and nod, just as Eclipse retched, and a warm splash soaked her back.

The redhead stopped swaying, and leveled a look at Maddie, who grinned and shrugged. “The glamorous life of motherhood, am I right?”

Eclipse moaned in her ear. “I threw up.”

“Thanks for the heads up, kid,” Callie muttered, before turning back to Maddie. The vet smiled and shook her head.

“Don’t worry about Silver, I’ve got him. Go on and take care of things.”

“Thanks.”

Wade took her hand and gave the others a little wave before teleporting them back home.

~X~X~X~

Sonic turned and gave his mother and older brother a raised eyebrow. “Did they seem a little . . .”

“Yes,” Knuckles said, standing with a smug grin and arms crossed. “Callie and Wade now appear to be courting.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

The blue hedgehog pumped a fist in the air. “YES!” He turned to Tails, hand out. “You owe me five bucks.”

“Hey now,” the kit said, hands on hips. “He just put his hand on her shoulder! That’s not conclusive evidence. You can’t just--”

“Tails, sweetie,” Maddie said, ruffling her youngest’s bangs. “Trust me. Pay up.”

The boy uttered an annoyed grunt. “Ugh. Fine.”

~~~

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[humm-bird]

So! I'm taking it upon myself to summarize everything that happened to me before Watts showed up.

There's likely a lot of history that I am missing, likely with Gavamont, Ratazom, and Evilwizard, but this is just what I know. Forgive me if I mess up any details.

Before I joined the Council

When I first showed up, I got into a ruckus with the Council. Basically, they were (and still are) enforcing their laws and shit on a place where the gods had repeatedly told them to fuck off. That place is my home dimension.

This incident was specifically about taxes. I got into an—honestly very unfair, given that it took place in my home dimension and practically everyone there wanted the Council to fuck off—court case against the Council's only tax wizard at the time, @greywizard-reporter-jim.

The Council lost, and the god of justice (who really should take it's job more seriously, but I digress) teleported an adult thermonuclear moth into the City of Towers.

Unfortunately, I was stupid and told the Council that the moth was close to detonation and they promptly handled it.

I got Jim fired (sorry bout that) and started hanging out with him. Pretty cool guy, not gonna lie.

We did various things to fuck with the Council, including causing havoc at the... uhhh... I think it's called the Vault of Relics? Something like that. Anyways, all you need to know is that it's where the Council keeps their super powerful magic items. Side note, that was my first test of my Mithril Hydra!

Anyhow, while the bureaucratic fucks were distracted, Jim stole a bunch of documents from their archive.

We kept trying to fuck them over until I realized that I couldn't just defeat them. That's when I made my deal to join them to try to make change via policy rather than force.

Also, pretty soon after Jim started doing crime, his ex, @battlemageserioth, came after him. The story of how they got together is long and complicated, but basically Jim seduced Serioth to get a position on the Council. They were actually kind of in love but they were both complete messes at the time so it didn't really work out.

Working for the Council

I quickly became better acquainted with Serioth, and had a... friendly rivalry, I guess, with him. Basically, he was very devoted to the Council and didn't understand that it was pretty shitty.

He was tracking down Jim, but Jim learned how to combine tax magic an necromancy. Those skeleton mafia debt collectors are quite formidable.

Around this time, @djitch wanted to be a cook for the Council. I put in a good word with her, and she's currently working at a restaurant in the City of Towers that I cannot remember the name of.

Next big event!

The age of gretchen (aka everyone panics about a monster that ended up as a friendly eldrich horror)

Okay. So. @gr3tchn. You might know her from fucking with M.M. recently. She is basically the concept of hunger given physical form.

When she first appeared, I was one of the first people to respond. Uh, actually, before that, some context.

On Raazaa, attacks by monsters are very common. The big ones are by far the most dangerous. Well, except for the mermites. Those things will fuck you up. Anyhow, as a consequence of the preferred method of deterring giant monsters, my first response to seeing one is generally "hit it until it goes away."

I blasted a giant hole in Gretchen (sorry bout that) and she just turned into another mouth. By the by, she could barely talk at the time. The blast also sent a bunch of chunks flying everywhere.

Let's make this quick. Various pieces of Gretchen messed up a lot of stuff and met a lotta people. For example, @effervescent-and-frothy used to be a wizard but is currently Gretchen's... daughter?

@feyosha figured out that Gretchen changes based on context. For example, the bit that mothered Effer became very motherly, the one that visited @wizard-council-librarian became very studious, you get the gist.

By this point, Gretchen was fully sentient and I was just being stupid and rude by trying to fight her.

FeyOSHA "defeated" her by having sex with the giant eldritch horror. Not my kind of thing, but I don't judge.

...

Let's see... the next big event was...

Oh. That motherfucker.

Werill.

Serioth started having weird memory lapses. Nobody knew what was up until he wrote down that it was some sort of bug. He also was suspecting something up with Werill and a certain spot in the Board's chambers.

First, some background on Werill. He's a power-hungry shithead who was on the Board of Archmages, proposed a bunch of greedy bullshit, you get the gist.

Serioth went down a secret passage in the Board's chambers and found a massive underground... cathedral? I don't know. Anyways, Werill was in there, along with a LOT of memetovores. For those who don't know, a memetovore is a weird bug that eats memories.

Werill monolouged for a while before he sicced the little fuckers on Serioth and my guy barely escaped.

I heard all the commotion and went down to investigate. Werill was kinda kicking my ass too but I summoned my mithril hydra and that pretty effectively squashed the memory-eating bastards.

I managed to capture Werill, but I couldn't hope to kill all of the bugs and they had access to the underground portal room so they quickly fucked off to a buncha parts of this multiverse.

Now, cut to Serioth real quick. He and Jim are (I think, I could be wrong) still yearning for each other and Serioth's nearly memoryless subconscious lead him to Jim's old tower.

Something you need to understand is that Serioth was a revenant, clinging onto life via his duty to the Council. Now that the Council has betrayed him, he's fading away.

Anyhow, Jim turned him into a lich so that Serioth could live.

As for Werill, he's got a fucking false hydra in the ruins of the Council portal room, and we need to deal with soon.

[kumamoto-division]

Strange magic Isekai Outfits

Inspired by @toyama-division

Aoba-"the guardian of knowledge" (winter sorcerer)

Quote:"this library is a place of knowledge if You disturbe it choose one,be a ice statue or be burn to ashes by me"

Born in a normal family since he was a child felt attracted for cold a fire in a strange contrast, his father who had knowledge in magic tried teach him but unfortunaltely he died and his cruel mother abandoned him and his sister, both wandered in the forest for a few days but they were found by a spirit of, mountains the snow and cold who noticed his potential in magic and taked both siblings under his protection. but like his power in the cold magic his fascination for fire was growing. one day the spirit died and both siblings decided to separate temporaly, on that time separated from his sister he founded out he was blessed since his birth by the fertilty goddess for "give life from inside" but it don't matter him and he foccused on lear more of all things that intereseted him and develope his project about his own fire magic...until he fall in love twice for two different mens related to fire but both ended bad...one left him after certain events that broken the ice sorcerer for lose their daughter who never born and he left the second man after realized that he never would accept his darkest side. now with a inhuman control of his ice and fire magic and his sanity and mind slowly fragmenting currently live in a kingdom out from the Chuokhu queendom as the librarian of "the infinity library" a magic library with all the knowledge in the worl but during the night nothing one would suspect of how this youngman dress up like a dark lady in a masquerade ball and use his cold fire to causing chaos with a goal...burn all the worl for all people feel all the sadness pain and sorrow that once he felt helped for a couple friends of him and his sister with he reunited after arrived at the kingdom....but recently after all the suffering his cold and sad heart started beat for someone...a king with fame of be cold as ice

"my heart felt so cold.... why it beats so hard for him?"

Kunio-"the artist of roses" (bard)

Quote:"go ahead and pass to my theater! All are welcome here!"

Borned in a rich family contrary to his brother he had a natural talent in magic but he choosed use it in tricks and perfoming arts constantly giving shows on the streets to middle class people in the streets for his family dislike but he always ignore it,after found out the crimes and corrupt acts of the royalty and his own family he decided left all away and living as a ambulant artist until join to a famous theater in other kingdom were meet a librarian with a very powerful magic who he became friend and a youngman with ability in poisons with he get married after saw him sang and dance in a fest,but like the librarian he have a goal, overthrown all the corrupt royalty (and maybe murder them) to finally end with the class system since the shadows with help of his allies and his apprentice in the sens of perfoming and the...darkest arts on the theater/information guild but strangely he have another goal,stop his brother's goal of rewrite all the timeline for evoid the disaster that will happen if he do it

"I need to stop my brother...if he go ahead with it of"rewrite" the timeline he will do a disaster..."

Natsume-the poison "lady" (pocionist)

Quote:"calm down sweetie, You don't will suffer"

After his father's dead his mother collapsed and started abuse his son but he was foccused on develope his talent in the art if adivination but after she tried kill him he decided lear about the art of the potions and poisons and with it,he poisoned his mother and escape from home,after it he decided wandering singing and dancing in parks and taverns and offering his services as fortune-teller but after discover that much persons was abused by others (and nobles) he used his knowledges in poisons and started to sell them and poison people for money,in one of those "jobs" he danced in a street and meeted an informant broker who helped him with his "objetive". After that event for his fascination for the actor/informant he decided stay in the kingdom still offering his services as pocionist and poisoner and working in the theater/guild singing and dancing while he help the informant and his now husband and his friend the winter sorcerer on his plan to overthrown all the corrupt noblesse

"what's you need from me,a luck charm,a tarot reading...or a deadly poison?"

*coming soon, double face and Ryukyu isekai outfits*

[camellia-ep]

So… I made a post when I was manic about my 13 alters. Turns out, I blew it WAY out of proportion & overestimated things. It wasn’t until after my meltdown that i stabilized & really thought about my pluralness, & I *think* I’ve figured out my System.

For a while, I thought I had 3 alters that were an id/ego/superego, Pisces Sun/Libra Moon/Sagittarius Rising, mother/maiden/crone, Hekate/Selene/Artemis trio. But recently I realized a fourth, which leads me to…

The E.P. System

Robin / Eliana

The most recently discovered alter, who is partially a fictive of Nico Robin from One Piece. Kinda the end result of DECADES of “do I want to be with her or BE her” crushes that made me trans. I realized that the more mature stable version of my little little alter is something else entirely. And re-reading the series since the show came out (yes I am a lunatic) made me realize how much I am like her sometimes: calmly sitting off to the side, reading & sipping coffee, laughing or rarely pitching in with a dark joke. And like Robin, she’s a scholar. I think of her as the part of me that wants to be a librarian. But thing is, I have been told that I DO NOT look like a Robin. Which I don’t tbf.

Violet / Elly

My little, who is present much of the time. Little means she’s partially based on me when I was younger, which for me just means anxious nerd. I think of her as the one who takes over when I text, which uh… she isn’t actually much like her namesake Violet Baudelaire, but she does share her author’s frustrating elaborate verbosity in casual settings, which also annoys people. Need to figure out how to channel her & actually WRITE something.

April / Elle

The uh… cuddly one who’s always singing. The songs that are always stuck in my head while my other alters are going back & forth, that’s her. She’s has very bad adhd. And trust me, the name isn’t from what you think it is.

Esmé / Camellia

So this one is complicated, it kinda started as me practicing a British woman’s voice because I couldn’t do a good girl voice otherwise. Then it became a manic delusion of it being my inner goddess, Mother Nature, Gaia. Then it became an alter of Esmé Gigi Genevieve Squalor from A Series of Unfortunate events, same series as Violet. Now she’s just like, a haughty bitch who’s always cynical & angry at straight people. I’m imagining her as my Aries in Venus, for some reason.

And that’s it… a lot of names…

Right now I’m thinking of changing my legal name to something along to the lines of

Eliana Camellia La Roux (Nico Robin?) Palmer

but Amanda Palmer is problematic so idk

[mountaingoatsfirstlineaday]

:) i'm the same... every song is like a little movie i get to see in my head whenever i want. it's so good.

okay i admire people who write stories that way you do because like. i can't keep a story in my head for very long. if i don't write it down it'll be gone pretty quickly... even if i do write it down, i tend not have a ton of follow through so i skip between stories all the time and mess around and so on lol. you've been working on a story since 2009?? that's so cool! it takes an amazing amount of foresight to think, as a teenager, i don't have enough skill to execute this well right now and i want to do it justice so i'm going to work on developing it until i can. the idea of endlessly creating a story and adding on and just making and making it more is appealing.

omg i love your puzzle metaphor, that's a cool way to think about it!! for me it's a lot more like taking a walk on a trail i've never been before, somewhere else and always moving in one direction. also this is making me want to read your writing... i love the "doomed character falls in love" troupe and also the "mortal/god" relationship dynamic. and the sheer amount of detail it sounds like you put in your writing?? astounding.

😭😭 location/geography/the act of moving being important in stories is just. it gets me every single time. "i used to live here" is such a powerful line i definitely understand how that could help you solve a puzzle. there's many of the mountain goats' songs that have simple lyrics and yet somehow jd has made the way he sings them and the way they're organized create a feeling of emotional charge.

wait so do the mountain goats help you design your own (blorbo) container garden? (i'm sorry. i think i'm funny.)

yes!!! i totally can see where you get that from... i feel like as the mountain goats has changed as a band the themes common in jd's lyricism have too but devotion is one i think i could point to on every single release. definitely going to listen to your playlist and i cannot wait. it has water song and love love love??? i am going to die. honestly tmg music is perfect for blorbo thoughts. so many of my blorbo/ship playlists i have to go okay. i get to put on one from each album and that's it. otherwise the playlist would be all goats lol.

i listened to the babylon springs ep cd i got from ILL (i’ll post the full haul in a sec) and holy hell. i highly recommend listening to it on a cd player that has good bass.

i cannot explain how blown away i was by it. it was soft, sweet, strangely melodic, and astoundingly beautiful. i’m not in the habit of rating things because I don’t really believe in it, but if I were i’d give this a solid 4.5 out of 5. “Alibi” made me want to write a story… “sail babylon springs” was like breathing clean air…

i’d never listened to the ep in full before, despite knowing “sometimes I still feel the bruise” pretty well and it being on spotify, so this cd was like a blessing. very grateful to the library that loaned it to mine!

[pinksirensong]

LOVE OF THE ENDLESS (VII)

If something looked like too good to be truth it probably is, Love should know that by now. After a blissful night with Morpheus, she really thought everything would work out this time...how sad it was to find out how wrong she was. Waking up to a empty bed was the first sign, but Y/N still had hope that maybe he only had business to attend, as a queen herself she knew that a kingdom needed its ruler more often than not. He wasn’t nowhere at the Dreaming and the look of surprise at Lucienne’s face was her second sign, if his loyal librarian had no idea of what she was doing here it was because once more she was kept a secret.

- My lady, what a pleasure to see you. – a raven came flying and landed on her shoulder. – This is Matthew, the new raven of Lord Morpheus. And your highness is Love of the Endless, our lord’s sister. – she wanted to find him only to hit him for making her go through with this again.

- It is a pleasure to see you again, Lucienne, and to meet you, Matthew. Could any of you inform me of my brother’s whereabouts?

- The boss? Oh, he went to the waking world to see his wife, Calliope. Some dude kidnaped her s0 she called for him, and he went – the raven responded. That was the third fucking sign that he was once again just playing games with her. All Morpheus wanted was to destroy any kind of happiness she had, he wanted to show that he’s the one with the power and once more she let him. What a fool.

- Ex-wife, Matthew, but he is right, that is where lord Morpheus is. Do you wish to wait for him?

- No, I have business to attend at Akai Ito. Would you mind passing him a message in my behalf?

- Of course, my lady.

- Tell my brother goodbye. – with one last smile she left the Dreaming and appeared at her realm. How could a queen of such a beautiful kingdom be so sad and gloomy inside? Y/N couldn’t blame anyone but herself because she knew deep down this would happen, he was always going to break her heart. She remembered her sister, who once was Delight and now was Delirium and perhaps she shouldn’t be Love. She was loveless, empty inside and deeply sad, she was the opposed of what love should be and yet it was her purpose…were the creator wrong in giving this to her, in making her like this?

- Oh, my dear Flavia. – her newest dove, who just recently died after being shot in front of the love of her life, Guilherme. Her life was full of sadness until she found him, with that she also found her mother Paula and became friends with a soccer player called Neném. She died to save all of them, but because of that Flavia couldn’t live the life she deserved with Guilherme and so she waited here with Love until his soul could finally reunite with hers. – For now, we will have to stay here, just us and the other doves. – many other souls waited for their other half, yet only one could be the truth companion of Love of the Endless.

- Oh, Y/N, if I could I would poop at his head for you. – from all the others she was the boldest and the Endless loved it. – He is a fool and doesn’t deserve you.

- Yet I can’t help but feel so much pain. It hurts too much, and I fear humanity might suffer because of me. I can not do my function properly if all I feel is sadness and…hate. I hate him for what he did, and I hate myself for letting him. – she looked around, everything could feel what she did, and it broke her heart to know it. Her beautiful kingdom would soon decay just like her, but Y/N couldn’t let it pass to humanity. How could he make all those promises only to leave to find the same woman that ages ago she chose over her?

- Until my time is up, I will stay by your side. I am not only the dove of Love of the Endless but a very good friend of you, Y/N. – she was so lucky, all of her doves were loyal and good friends. They were all missed when gone, but very appreciated when by her side. Love wished she could blame Calliope, but the muse was never the problem, she didn’t even know about the thread and all the sweet things he said to her now and before. No, she could only blame herself for letting him break her heart, but she also blamed Morpheus for everything. For the first time in all of her endless time alive she hated him with a burning passion, almost as much as she loved him. What a fool, what a lovesick fool who always believed in him. There were many thoughts at her head, too much for so little time that it numbed her.

Pointless, everything was just pointless by now. How silly of her to think she could cheat herself, cheat love as if it was a conscious choice. Oh, but Y/N really tried to, because in the end she just wanted to be happy...she wanted him to be happy too. How cruel she, as Love of the Endless, was for taking this from both of them. It was too late for her now, but not for the rest of the mortals. They made Love so happy while she was at the waking world that now it was her time to pay them back. No more distractions. No more pain. She sat at her throne, it was as majestic as the rest of her realm, and looked around. So many beautiful doves waiting for their other half, so much love around and that was because of her. The decision was made, it was a necessary one.

  — I, Love of the Endless, first born of the Endless family, daughter of Mother Night and Father Time, Queen of the realm of Akai Ito, Lady of love and hate, guardian of the sentiment of all beings, banish from Akai Ito all of the Endless family and any other being that wasn't made for and by myself, and from now on Akai Ito shall be an exiled realm. — for the good of humanity, it would only be her and her doves until the very end.

. 

.

.

a/n: HAPPY SANDMAN RENEWEWWW!!!

tag list: @the-ruler-of-death @mrs-captainsteverogers @jesllianaquilesrolon @igotanidea @intothesoul @hedwigprewett12 @queenshelby @mattmurdockmylove @boofy1998 @andieperrie18 @formenis @violet-19999

[mother-ofthe-universedraws]

Stan joined a Biker Crew lead by Jimmy Snakes while homeless. I decided make some OC’s to fill in the rest of their crew! You’ll see them in fics of mine, and also some fics of my pal, @eeveelotions

Information about everyone under the cut!

Tw: Violence, brief mentions of racism, homophobia, and transphobia, mentions of suicide, suicide attempt, and domestic violence/abuse, brief mentions of drug abuse

In the Uni Verse, Jimmy Snakes made his deal with a demon at only eight years old. His father got drunk one night and tried to kill both him and his mother. Jimmy got shot, his mother was killed, and his father shot himself soon after. Jim, however, made a deal with a snake demon; He would not only survive getting shot, but he would be given minor demonic powers, in exchange for his patrons demon getting to eat Jim’s soul once he died. Jimmy founded The Flaming Serpents when he met the Pent siblings when he was twenty-two.

Jimmy Snakes is not a nice person in the Uni Verse. He protects his crew and loves them like family, but he’s also super toxic and manipulative towards all of them. He is incredibly selfish and lacks compassion. But he’s powerful, protective, and gives his crew shelter and security; something they probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Everyone in the gang has felt some kind of persecution for who they are as a person, but under Jimmy, nobody can actually stop them from being themselves. There isn’t much somebody can do against you when your gang leader has the powers of a demon.

Stan is the latest member of the gang. Jimmy found him hanging out by a bridge that had been abandoned mid-construction in Flaming Serpent territory. Stanley had recently faced a trauma on the anniversary of him getting kicked out that he didn’t know how to deal with, and he was planning on ending his life. Jimmy thought that Stan was a scout for a rival gang at first and attacked him, but Stan quickly explained his intentions for why he was on the bridge, and Jim left him to his own business, but not before giving him a pen and a notepad, instructing Stan to leave a note to his family, and promising to be back in the morning to collect Stan’s body. After writing a note to Ford, Stan decided not to go through with the suicide.

Jim finds Stan at a diner the next morning, and has a conversation with him, surprised that he didn’t go through with the suicide. He spends the day hanging out with Stan, and, after being impressed by the kids quick wit and sticky fingers, offers Stan a spot in the Flaming Serpents. Stan quickly becomes friends with Alphonse, Luca, Petra, and Jorden, who treat him like family. He tries to avoid James and Kara for reasons I will cover later, and George hates people too much for any kind of friendship to be established.

Stan and Jimmy eventually end up dating, and the relationship is super toxic, with Jimmy gradually becoming more and more abusive. It isn’t good. Jim’s hella possessive, and sees everyone as competition, which leads to him attempting to isolate Stan from his friends. The two fight a lot, mostly over Stan being secretive about himself, or Jim not respecting Stan’s boundaries.

If you’ve seen my Felony Squad content you’ll know of Alphonse LeCult. He actually met Stan from the gang, before the formation of the Felony Squad a few years later. Alphonse is a himbo with a lot of energy, has ADHD, and a Special Interest in pharmacy. He’s been interested in the topic since he was five years old, and would often toddle himself off to the library while his dad was working and read everything about drug and pill production that he could get his hands on. His librarian would let him hide behind her desk so that he could read the books from the Whites section, back before the Civil Rights act was amended. When he was ten his father re-married, and Al gained his older step-brother, Hector. The two became super close, and still are. Al tried to study pharmaceuticals in college, but a combination of racism and homophobia directed towards him by peers and teachers alike lead to him dropping out. He joined the Flaming Serpents when he saw Petra shoplifting pills, and ended up giving her a long, LONG explanation on why she should be stealing a different brand over the one she was trying to take. Al became the regular pill collector for the gang, and they also make use of the fact that his brother is a lawyer, though Hector isn’t too sure about how much he likes his little brothers friends. Al ends up developing a serious crush on Stan, but keeps it under wraps cause Jim would probably murder him if he knew.

If you’ve seen my Felony Squad content you’ll know of Alphonse LeCult. He actually met Stan from the gang, before the formation of the Felony Squad a few years later. Alphonse is a himbo with a lot of energy, has ADHD, and a Special Interest in pharmacy. He’s been interested in the topic since he was five years old, and would often toddle himself off to the library while his dad was working and read everything about drug and pill production that he could get his hands on. His librarian would let him hide behind her desk so that he could read the books from the Whites section, back before the Civil Rights act was amended. When he was ten his father re-married, and Al gained his older step-brother, Hector. The two became super close, and still are. Al tried to study pharmaceuticals in college, but a combination of racism and homophobia directed towards him by peers and teachers alike lead to him dropping out. He joined the Flaming Serpents when he saw Petra shoplifting pills, and ended up giving her a long, LONG explanation on why she should be stealing a different brand over the one she was trying to take. Al became the regular pill collector for the gang, and they also make use of the fact that his brother is a lawyer, though Hector isn’t too sure about how much he likes his little brothers friends. Al ends up developing a serious crush on Stan, but keeps it under wraps cause Jim would probably murder him if he knew.

Luca is the resident Car Guy. He rides a Chevy rather than a motorbike, and the crew uses his car to transport essential items and such. Luca grew up on the streets of New York City, and developed thick skin and an intolerance for nonsense. He’s a grumpy asshole with a heart of gold, and is often described as a grumpy elderly WW1 veteran placed in the body of a short, stalky 22 year old New Yorker. Jimmy found him trying to steal parts of Kara’s motorbike. He suggested he put the parts back so that she won’t murder him, but offered him a spot in the gang for his mechanical know-how. He is still Kara’s least favorite gang member. His diet consist exclusively of meat, soda, and whiskey. Won’t eat a vegetable to save his life. If you dislike the Yankees (or like the Red Socks) you’re dead to him

Petra is bubbly, friendly, and kind; a sweetheart and a social butterfly. She will also murder you quickly and efficiently and nobody will ever find the body if you give her a reason. She looks like a cinnamon role, but actually can kill you. She joined the gang when Jim saw her take three men (all much more muscular than her) in a knife fight and win. She has complicated relations with her family. They’re still in touch, and they still consider her their own, but they’re not exactly supportive of who she is. She’ll call them on holidays, and is still invited to the pilgrimage her family takes every five or so years. They love her, but they still haven’t accepted her transition. She loves them, but she can’t be around them for too long without feeling dysmorphic and heavily uncomfortable. They do treat her friends well, and are supportive of her relationship with Jorden, (even if they don’t tend to use Jorden’s correct pronouns when referring to them). Both Petra and Stan are the only members of the gang who still practice some traditions from the religion they where raised under, even if they’re both not big on faith as a whole. Petra is widely regarded as the kindest member of the gang. She’s clever and always willing to lend a hand to her friends.

Those who meet Jorden instantly think they’re high on something. Jorden isn’t high on anything, they just have the personality of a five year old who snorts pixie sticks for a living. They have no sense of fashion at all, and likes to dress in the tackiest, most gaudy shit they can find in thrift stores. Like Petra, Jorden is also in contact with their family, though the relationship is a lot more rocky. They show up to Scott family reunions out of a sense of obligation, though they much rather be somewhere they don’t have to listen to their families racist and homophobic chatter. They once tried bringing Petra with them to a reunion for comfort and it went about as well as you think it would. Jorden technically isn’t even welcome in the household; soon as the reunions are over, they get the boot again. Jorden was kicked out of the house after graduating high school, and was mostly on their own. They stole a motorbike from a car lot, and used it to steal other things and make quick get-a-ways. They aren’t sneaky about their thievery, but has good perfect target instincts. They where invited into the gang after Jimmy saw their skills on a moterbike, and they started dating Petra not long after.

If violence was a person, it would be Kara Pent. She’s spent years getting as big as she possibly could so that she can beat the shit out of whoever she wanted. She loves beating up others more than anything, and only takes instructions on who or who not to hurt from Jimmy, and occasionally her brother. She abuses any drug that will help her build muscle, and takes immense satisfaction with how intimidating she is. If she decides to fuck you up, you won’t stand a chance. Nobody in the gang knows why Kara is this way but her brother and Jimmy, and nobody knows why she swore her loyalty to him. She wants to be the kind of fighter that nobody can beat, and she is very much nearly there.

George is there because his sister is there. And that is pretty much it. He hates people; his ideal life would be one of absolute solitude and silence. He minds his own business, and never interferes with anything unless instructed to by Jimmy or sometimes his sister. If something is happening to you, he will not help you. He won’t make things worse either, however. He is neutral to all conflicts, and prefers isolation. He doesn’t like it when people talk to him. If you try talking to him, he’ll respond so harshly you will cry. And he always somehow knows exactly which words to use to make his victim cry. There are no exceptions. The only people allowed to say things to him are Kara or Jimmy, and the only exception to his rule is if somebody is giving instructions to him. He doesn’t want to get to know anyone, and he doesn’t want them to get to know him. Every bit of information about him he keeps to himself. He won’t even eat in front of others, less they find out his favorite food.

James has been fired from several jobs, all of them on sexual harassment charges. He’s a pervert and a creep, and doesn’t seem to be ashamed of this fact. He harasses anyone and everyone he meets, with the acceptation of Jimmy and Kara. He will also do literally anything for money, which the crew takes full advantage of, usually as revenge for him being a creep. James does have a few redeeming qualities. He’s got a good work ethic, and is protective of his gang, even if he is shitty to them. He’s good at getting dirt on others; and was welcomed into the gang by Jimmy after he saw James blackmail and extort the hell out of several rich people.

[wyndryga]

do you have a favorite dnd character you've made?

ougghhh like, not really? i love all my characters for different reasons, but of the ones that have actually been played in a game id have to say my faves are the most recent two, Ophelia Oratoria and Legacy, the Stoneshaper

Ophelia is a drow warlock whos (homebrew) patron is a venom symbiote-like being made of purple ooze that lives inside her body and grants her magical power and abilities; the two are collectively known as Eviscerate, or Sevi for short. Eventually Eviscerate produces a familiar (definitely not their child) that takes the form of an Imp named Puncture (Punk for short). Ophelia believes she's the last survivor of an underground city named Thornmaw's End; a once prosperous hub of magical research and advancement. After a particularly reckless mage set a horde of demons loose on the city, O's mother, the head librarian of the largest library in the city, locked her inside the fortified building and rushed off to find the rest of her family in the chaos. Rubble blocked the entrance and O was forced to survive in the library for 60 years, becoming an adult in that time and eventually finding Sevi in a container in deep storage. They break out and O unfortunately finds her familys bodies, sans her mother, in the rubble of her once home. Mourning and directionless, the two head for the surface, eager to experience everything the world has to offer now that they're both free.

=========================

The last and undoubtedly greatest work of a talented but unknown human sculptor, Legacy lives up to her name. Built to carry on his talents and desire to create, Legacy's greatest desire is to be a world-famous sculptor, and create great works of art beloved by all.

In his life, Phineas Efesto wanted nothing more than to quietly sculpt in his workshop and make a living. With time, he might have even become somewhat famous and respected in his profession. Unfortunately, illness befell him and he was forced to work for a shady local artisan's guild in order to pay for medication. This guild took advantage of desperate artists like Phineas, and most of the works he created in his life got no credit and meager pay for. Realizing that he would die broke and alone unless he did something, Phineas threw himself into studying magic, automation, souls, and artificial life. Building off theories and examples of other man-made beings, the aging sculptor slowly planned out a way to keep himself alive, or at least, some part of him. Never quite figuring out how to perfectly copy himself, he knew regardless he was running out of time. Gathering and stealing resources and tools, one day Phineas finally made his move and stole away to the secret workshop he'd been creating. During the last few months of his life he built his magnum opus; an artificial body capable of coming to life. Putting everything he'd learned and all his artistic talent into the body, Legacy slowly took form. She was made mostly of sculpted stone reinforced with metal, with treated wooden fibers providing flexibility and dexterous, organic movement. With the body complete he began the long ritual of giving life to his creation, using up every ounce of magical energy he'd been cultivating and a little bit of his soul to breathe life into her stone chest.

As the stone body on the table sat up, Phineas began to cry, smiling the widest he had in years as he watched his creation's eyes start to light up. It looked at him, and he could see intelligence shining out. He laughed even as his frail body finally failed him after all these years of illness and hard work, stumbling back to sit in his favourite chair. He only managed to say one thing to his creation before he drifted off, but it was full of love and became almost sacred to the stone being; "You....are my legacy."

Over the next three months the stone being spent it's time learning, and growing. It spent the first month emulating it's creator's personality and mannerisms, a side effect of having Phineas use a part of his own soul to help kickstart its own. It had also been gifted with Phineas' immense artistic talent and constant need to create, using the notes and books he left behind to develop it's skill. Slowly the stone being began to develop it's own personality, figuring out that while Phineas was part of her in some way, she was not him. She was his Legacy, meant to grow above and beyond him. In his notes and research she discovered the Songs of Creation he'd used to help create her, and discovered that she had a talent for music as well as sculpting. When she'd learned everything she could from the workshop and used up all it's resources, it was time to set off into the world and become famous. She left Phineas buried outside the workshop, a statue of the man in his prime marking his grave, his name clearly inscribed at it's base. With the promise to come back some day and tell him of her fame and fortune, Legacy set off into the world to find adventure and ply her trade. After all, all the best art depicted epic heroes and events, and what better way to find inspiration than to become an adventurer herself?

thank u for asking omg i fucking love talking about my characters

btw i have an OC blog @falconcity i use sometimes

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Gary Lewis, born 30th November 1957.

Born and raised in Easterhouse, Glasgow Lewis seems an unlikely actor, he has had jobs as a roadsweeper and librarian, his brother, a teacher encouraged him to do more and he became in his own words a “voracious” reader, this pushed him into wanting to become an actor at the age of 32.

It was a chance meeting with fellow Scot, Peter Mullan that gave him his break, he joined the regular “in house” actors in Ken Loach films, starring with Mullan in My Name is Joe and Robert Carlyle in Carla’s song he was in good company to learn.He had a cracking role in Peter Mullan’s film Orphans, with one of my favourite lines, “She’s not heavy, she’s my mother”

Lewis won the best actor award for the part at the Gijón International Film Festival in 1998.I think most of you will remember Gary Lewis playing coal miner Jackie Elliot, father to the films title role Billy Elliot. I sometimes feel like I m repeating myself when noting the CV’s of these actors, Taggart, Rab C Nesbitt, Rebus were early shows for Lewis, while Stonemouth and In Plain Sight are more recent.

Then there is of course Outlander. Gary Lewis appeared in the first two seasons of the hit show, based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon playing, Colum MacKenzie, laird of the MacKenzie family and Uncle to Jamie Fraser. Colum died in the season finale 2 finale Hail Mary. Of Outlander he says,

“The fan base is extremely passionate. It is strange because I live in Scotland and Outlander isn’t massive here to the extent it is in Australia, America and Canada. There are fans all over the world.”

The past few years have been busy for Gary, he managed to snap up an appearance in the final series of Still Game, as well the movie, The Vanishing, teaming up again with Peter Mullan and last weeks birthday boy Gerard Butler. He has also been in  His Dark Materials, Rig 45, It’s a Sin, Vigil and series 3 of The Bay. 

IMDB has Gary, along with Billy Boyd and  Sharleen Spiteri to star in a film, set in Glasgow called I Feel Fine, however I think the project has stalled as it has been at the “announced” stage for several years now. Gary is also to play Roald Amundsen in the film  North Pole: 90° North. 

Gary ia also in a new Scottish feature film, Stella, about a German Jewish refugee who finds herself working in a stately Home in Dumfries and Galloway belonging to aristocratic supporters of fascist leader Oswald Mosely. The film, from what I can gather is not on general release yet, but has already won international Best Drama award at the Melech Tel-Aviv International Film Festival where it had its world premiere this month.

[a-edgar-allan-hoe]

The Last Chthonian

Bucky x Reader, Sam x Reader, Zemo x Reader

Part 10

A/N: I can’t believe I’m already on part 10 for this series and to be honest it’s fun to write. And in all seriousness, the tumblr mobile app needs to allow you to put a read more link. But anyways love you all and let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list! Mwah! 🖤🖤🖤

Summary: Imagine being Hekate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft, the night and the moon, doorways and crossroads, creatures of the night, and ghosts and necromancy. You stumbled upon Earth many centuries ago and since then have resided on the foreign planet. During the recent years you created an alias for yourself to hide your true identity, and after the war against Thanos you chose to live out your days in the Scottish countryside, until a certain trio appear at your doorstep one day.

Warnings: language, some violence, and blood

“Im sorry, did you just say Madripoor?” You blinked at Zemo, dreading the destination ahead of you.

“What’s up with Madripoor? You talk about it like it’s Skull Island.” Sam questioned, looking between you and Zemo.

“Imagine Mos Eisley from Tatooine but without the aliens and blasters.” You tried to make an analogy. “In other words, a shithole. And to be honest, I’d rather be in Mos Eisley.”

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s.” Bucky explained to Sam.

“It’s kept its lawless ways.” Zemo added before turning to James. “But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.”

You had a feeling Zemo would suggest all of you going in with different identities, and being the only woman in the group, you already had a wild guess you weren’t going to be ecstatic about yours. You looked to Bucky with a frown on your lips. You knew what Zemo had meant towards him, and you didn’t know how it would affect him to transition back into the person he tried so hard to deviate from. Bucky saw the sympathetic smile you gave him, and he returned it with a look that reassured you that he would be fine.

“Y/n.” Zemo now spoke to you, tilting his head to meet your eyes. “I’m sure you are aware of the conditions.”

“Zemo if you...” Bucky trailed off as he glared at him, silently warning him to watch what he says next.

Sam and Bucky kept their eyes on Zemo, waiting to hear what his suggested persona for you was and ready to beat his ass if he dared to suggest something that would be demeaning to you.

“No way in the pits of Tartarus. I am not going in as an escort.” You voiced with a clenched jaw. “And if it’s eye candy you need, you have Sam.”

Sam gave you a surprised look from your comment, flattered to have you recommend him to be the designated eye candy before going back to the topic at hand. “Hell no Zemo. You’re not having y/n pretend to be an escort.”

“I’m afraid Sam is already going as someone.” Zemo sat back with his hands folded in his lap. “And don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on having you go as an escort, it isn’t befitting of a baron like me. Plus, I figured it would be uncomfortable for you, so I was going to suggest you act as my fiancé, if you are willing of course.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, pondering on the subject. You were a bit relieved in all honesty. But to pretend to be Zemo’s fiancé and be in close and almost physical proximities with him?

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to y/n.” Sam uttered to you.

“I’ll do it.” You confirmed.

“Are you sure?” Zemo asked you again, making sure you were comfortable with acting the part.

“I thought Zemo might step out of line with this one, but we don’t want you to do something that will make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure. I’ve had to do things I wasn’t comfortable with plenty of times in the past.”

Once you had all landed, Zemo decided to stop by a place so that you all may get dressed. You had already packed a dress and a pair of heels with you just in case for situations like these, since this wasn’t the first time you had to dress up for a mission. The dress you wore was a black, burned velvet silk slip-like dress with the velvet print being dark red roses. The dress wasn’t too tight to be constricting of movement and fit perfectly around around your curves. If the situation should arise that you needed to defend yourself, you needed the freedom to be able to move. Going down, the fabric flared slightly at your hips, brushing barely against the floor with your heels on. The skirt was slightly sheer from the bottom of your thighs and down with the floral velvet print, and had a slit going up your right thigh, perfect for kicking and concealing your dagger. The top torso portion of the front of your dress was a spaghetti strap cowl neckline that stopped just above the curve of your breasts, allowing for just a bit of cleavage. Your back was left bare, stopping at your mid back with thin straps that came across in a pattern. Your dress almost had a Grecian/witchy look from the way it draped over your chest and hips. It wasn’t too formal or too scandalous, it was elegant and classy, and showed just the right amount of skin where it wouldn’t be too revealing.

Even though you completely loathed and detested heels of any kinds, your heels were fairly simple, made of black velvet with straps that came across your ankles and toes. You dreaded heaving to wear them but at the same time you’d stick out like a sore thumb if you wore your docs with these. Perhaps you should’ve brought your nicer sandals, but it was too late now. You kept on your mother’s necklace and wore a set of amethyst drop earrings, throwing on a silver cuff bracelet on each wrist. Your hair was let loose to conceal your short sword that you hid on your back underneath your dress, the hilt resting right between your shoulder blades. You prayed that having your hair down would cover the scars and the sword you had on your back. But you were mostly focused about the scars, you failed to mention them to the guys about it since it was something that was hard for you to share. The only makeup you had on was some eyeshadow and mascara to darken your eyes, very little blush, and a lip tint.

The last thing to do was to put on some perfume, so you spritzed on your favorite oil based one that you had from Olympus on your pulse points. The scent was filled with incense-like scents like dragon’s blood, sage, crushed red roses, sandalwood, ghostly white musk, absinthe, almonds, and heady gardenia. It wasn’t as harsh as the common alcohol based ones, this one was more earthy and ancient, and every time you wore it, the scent lingered and heads turned. You gave yourself a once over when you were done, taking in a deep breath before heading out to join the others.

You became nervous as you saw them gathered together, talking amongst themselves as they haven’t noticed you yet. You rarely ever wore dresses these days, especially of the kind you were wearing now which left you feeling bare and exposed even though the dress wasn’t at all much revealing. So as you approached them, you couldn’t help picking at your fingers in anxiety.

The men turned at the sound of your heels clicking against the ground, and when they laid their eyes on you, they couldn’t help but gawk with their mouths parted open, as if they had seen the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth. You chewed on the inside of your cheeks as you saw how they stared at you.

“Wow.” Sam was the first to say something. “You look like a million bucks.”

“What? Never seen a woman in a dress before?”

“No, I’ve just never seen you in a dress before.” Sam answered. “You’re always dressed like some hippie/librarian, with your bands shirts, sweaters, plaid pants and jackets.”

“Haha vary funny.”

“Also since when did you have muscles?” Sam noticed as he poked your bare arm. “And since when did you have a tattoo?” He observed the mark you had on your upper right arm, right below your shoulder. It was the mark that was given to you to signify your Olympian status and what you represented. It was about the color that henna left behind after you wiped the paste off your skin, the color of ginger and bronze. The center of your mark was a lightning bolt, which represented a child of Zeus. Below that was your symbol, the torch and the triple moons.

“Since when did you start asking so many questions? But yeah, I’ve always had muscles Sam, I was trained in combat since I was, you could say 9 years old in human years. Also, technically everyone has them, it’s what allows us to move and lift things. And that.” You pointed to your tattoo. “Is my goddess mark, not a tattoo. Every Olympian god has one and they each have their personal symbol that represents them.”

“Wait, so you’ve been trained since you were a kid?” Bucky looked at you to clarify what he heard as they all started to head out.

“Technically, everyone on Olympus starts training that young. Then, when they become of age, a tournament is held to display their skills, following a ceremony after, to celebrate their victory.” You explained as you walked beside them.

The four of you were currently walking on the bridge that led to Madripoor. You could see the city’s skyline out in the distance, the cyberpunk like buildings lighting up the night sky.

“Do you need my coat?” You heard Zemo say beside you, making you look at him.

“Sorry?”

“Do you need my coat?” He repeated himself, referring to how your arms were bare against the cool night. “I wouldn’t want you to get cold.”

You stared at him, stunned from the kind gesture as you tried to form words to say. “Oh uh.....I appreciate the gesture, but I’m fine actually. I’m not that cold.” Though you didn’t want to admit it, you actually would’ve liked to try on his coat, because in all honesty it was a damn nice coat.

“We have to fix this.” You heard Sam say with irritation visible in his voice. “I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

“Only an American would assume a fashion-forward black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing.” Zemo mentioned as he pulled out his phone to show Sam. “The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.”

“He even has a bad nickname. Hell, he does look like me, though.” Sam observed the photo.

“You smell this?”

“Yeah, what is that? Acid?” Sam sniffed the air as you did the same.

“Smells rancid.” You scrunched your nose at the smell.

“Madripoor. No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There’s no margin for error.” Zemo instructed as a black car pulled up in front of you. “High Town’s that way. Not a bad place if you wanna visit, but Low Town’s the other way.”

“Let me guess. We don’t have any friends in High Town.” Sam remarked as he opened the door for the back seat.

“Y/n. A moment please, if you will.” Zemo uttered to you.

You stopped in your tracks, seeing Bucky and Sam stand on either side of the car doors, looking between the two of you and especially Zemo, with caution. You nodded your head at them, signaling you were fine and that they can get seated. And though they sat themselves inside the car, that didn’t stop them from keeping their eyes glued to Zemo to make sure he didn’t pull anything stupid.

“What’s the issue?” You turned to Zemo, giving him your attention.

“Since you will be portraying my fiancé, there’s a certain key element you will be needing to complete the image.” You watched as he pulled out a ring from his coat pocket, displaying it in front of you. “If I may?”

You stared at Zemo blankly before nodding your head and holding out your left hand for him. You knew this was only for a show, but you couldn’t help but stiffen as he delicately held your hand with his gloved one before slipping the ring onto your ring finger.

“There.” Hi smiled softly at you, his hand still holding yours. “Now you look the part.”

The two of you stood there for a moment, his thumb brushing against your knuckles, leaving behind a trail of warmth as he gazed down at you. Zemo swore he could have gotten lost in the violet swirls and gold flecks of your eyes forever, which now sparkled against Madripoor’s lit up skyline, the neon city and the places he’s visited not even coming close to the beauty he held before him.

You tried not to blush under his gaze as you gave him a polite smile before slipping your hand out of his. “I should probably change my eyes huh.” You remembered, changing your eyes to a normal color known to earth. “Should I hide the scar?” You asked him, referring to the one on your face.

“I think you should leave it. It suits you, and besides, you never know who might recognize you without it.”

Nodding your head at him, you headed to the car and settling in beside Bucky as Zemo followed, getting in the passenger seat in front of you. In the car ride there, you glanced down at the ring Zemo slipped on your finger, it was definitely a beautiful elegant ring, with a rose gold band and a pear cut garnet in the center that had diamonds that accented the bottom. Once you arrived in the city, you walked through the neon lit streets beside Zemo while Sam and Bucky followed behind. You loosened up your body as you went, swaying your hips slightly as you tried your best not to walk like a bodyguard and look threatening as everyone’s eyes followed the four of you strolling through the streets.

“Here we are.” Zemo announced, stopping in front of a bar before speaking to Bucky in Russian. “Ready to comply… Winter Soldier?”

As you went in, Zemo leaned in to whisper in your ear, his warm breath tickling your neck and startling you as he spoke in a hushed tone. “I want to apologize in advance, forgive me.”

You looked at him with furrowed brows to question what he meant until you felt his gloved hand slide across your back before resting on your waist, pulling you closer to his side. You noticed how his hand fumbled after brushing across your sword as he gave you a questioning look. What was that on your back? Did you really conceal a full on sword on your back underneath your dress? On your way to the bar table you saw people stare as you went through, some of them gawking in surprise at Bucky, or the winter soldier as he was now portraying, while the slimy men in the area roamed their eyes over your body hungrily. Zemo noticed your uneasiness from the way your muscles tensed, though your face didn’t show a sign of it, and glared at the men who dared to lay their eyes on you, only pulling you closer to him to prove that you were with him while Bucky and Sam noticed this as well and positioned themselves where you were blocked from the view of your peers, allowing you to breathe a little better as you approached the bar.

“Hello, gentlemen.” The bartender greeted you all. “Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.”

“His plans changed.” Zemo answered for him. “We have business to do with Selby.”

“The usual?”

Sam nodded his head.

“And for the lady?”

“Um Something fruity.” You answered with a flirtatious smile, silently hoping they had something like that on the menu and that you hadn’t blown their cover by ordering the wrong drink.

The bartender handed you what looked to be a pineapple martini and you internally thanked the gods for your sheer bit of luck, taking the drink and thanking the bartender with another smile. You watched as he went to work on Sam’s drink, pulling out of a jar what definitely was a snake. You gulped, your stomach feeling nauseous as you saw the bartender cut open the dead snake, taking out its guts and throwing it in the shot glass. You were mortified to say the least, snakes were one of your symbols and you had owned plenty of the gentle little creatures. You shot Sam a sympathetic look once you saw his expression.

“Cheers.” Zemo held up his glass while Sam stared at his before gathering the courage to drink it all in one go. If Sam wasn’t going to throw up, you were going to do it for him.

While your eyes were trained on Sam’s expression, you felt someone breathe over your neck before feeling a clammy hand graze across your ass.

“Hey baby-“

Your eyes widened before you grabbed the wrist of the man behind you in one quick motion, twisting his arm to an unnatural position as you yanked it away from your body, causing the sleazy looking individual let out a yelp of pain. You would’ve crushed his wrist like crumpled paper if Zemo hadn’t put a cautionary hand on your arm as he whispered to you. “Careful now.”

You let go of the man’s wrist before shoving him aside like a pile of garbage. If their identity wasn’t at risk of being revealed, Zemo, Sam, and Bucky would have gone over there and beat the guy up after you were done with him.

“I got word from high. You ain’t welcome here.” You watched from behind Zemo as a bearded man approached him.

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…” Zemo gestured towards Bucky.

“New haircut?”

“Or bring Selby for a chat.”

The man glanced between Zemo and Bucky before leaving.

“A power broker? Really?” Sam turned to Zemo.

“Every kingdom needs its king. Let’s just pray we stay under his radar.”

“Do you know him?” You asked.

“Only by reputation. In Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner.”

Another man was approaching in your direction, most likely to kick you all out or worse, and after following your gaze, Zemo turned to Bucky, speaking to him in Russian just as the man laid a hand on his shoulder. “Winter Soldier. Attack.”

You stood back, watching as Bucky grabbed the dude’s arm and twisted it back. You refrained yourself from intervening as Bucky took down the men that fought against him.

“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.” Zemo commented to you and Sam.

Bucky slammed one of the men down on the counter. And as you heard the clicking of guns being loaded, your defensive mode nearly kicked in as you almost reached for your sword before Zemo stopped you.

“Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us.” Zemo whispered to you both before turning to Bucky and speaking in Russian again. “Well done soldier.”

You let your arm drop back down to your side, not a single change in your expression as you eyed everyone around you.

“Selby will see you now.” The bartender spoke up after getting off the phone.

Zemo gave him a thanks, nodding you over and holding out his hand for you to take as you went to his side again, Bucky and Sam following after you. You went through a back door, going down a dark corridor with Zemo’s hand on your back as he guided you through.

“You should know, Baron. People don’t just come into my bar and make demands.” You heard a woman’s voice speak, turning your head to see an older woman in a suit with short white hair lounging back on the coach with her security around her.

“Not a demand. An offer.” Zemo sat down on the couch before waving you over when he saw you standing near Sam. “Come sit schatzi.”

You straightened up, plastering a smile on your face as you went over to him. Selby’s eyes followed you curiously as you placed your hand in his, your eyes rapidly moving in nervousness for what area would be the most appropriate area to sit. Were you......were you supposed to sit on his lap? Is that how couples work? No, that would be inappropriate. Before things got awkward, you quickly plopped down on the empty spot next to him, crossing over your leg in a way so that it draped over his, leaving your thigh completely exposed from the slit in your dress, save for the dagger that still remained hidden. Sam and Bucky widened their eyes at what you just did, while Zemo stiffened at this sudden movement from you as you also draped one arm around his shoulders, bringing yourself closer to him. Were you even doing this right?

“A lot has changed since you were here last.” Selby observed the two of you before her eyes landed on your ring. “Who’s this pretty little thing?”

“This.” Zemo looked at you with a loving look, throwing an arm around your waist to draw circles on your bare back, while his other hand rested on your thigh, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps on your skin as you felt shivers go down your spine. “Is my fiancé. Gorgeous isn’t she?”

How long has it been since you were this close and personal to someone? The last you could remember, women still wore corsets and people still rode carriages. You felt your body heat up from being this close to him, and from the way he stroked your back. How was a mortal man able to leave you feeling like this? If he was able to send shivers down your spine with the mere touch on your back with his gloved hand, you wondered how it would feel to have his bare hands on you, just skin to skin. And if you were being honest, you never really were a fan of cologne but his smelled of a deeper earthy tones with hints of musk, and you were surprised and almost ashamed to say you liked how he smelled. You returned the same loving look to Zemo, trying to make it as believable as possible as you ran your fingers through the hair on the back of his head before placing a kiss on his jaw close to his ear. Sam and Bucky couldn’t believe their eyes at the scene before them, the same you who preferred to be a hermit and didn’t go on dates because it involved human interaction, was cuddling up to none other than Helmut Zemo himself. Zemo’s breath faltered a bit from from your touch as he swallowed the lump in his throat, struggling not to break character. Being this close to you, he was able to get a whiff of your perfume and my goodness, Zemo felt as if he could drown in your scent, you smelled like the heavens, not overbearingly sweet, but dark and luxurious and even seductive. Is this what vampires and sirens smelled like when they lured people to their deaths? You raised a brow at Zemo, your heightened senses were picking up on his breathing patterns and heartbeat. Was he getting nervous?

“Extremely.” Selby commented, smirking at the two of you before roaming her eyes over your body. You could feel her taking you in but you kept your eyes trained on the side of Zemo’s face. “Where did you pick this one up? She looks like a fighter.”

“As they say, why not get a woman who can do both. She was part of the Sokovian armed forces, I met her through there.”

“By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?” Selby added after finally taking her eyes off you.

“People like us always find a way, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.”

“You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger.” Selby turned to Sam with a flirtatious grin, using her hand in a claw like manner as she let out a purr. “What’s the offer?”

“Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum.” Zemo got up off the couch, going over to Bucky and holding his chin between his fingers. “And I give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course. He will do anything you want.”

“Now that’s the Zemo I remember. I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right. The super-soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank. Or… condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but… things didn’t go as planned.”

“Is Nagel still in Madripoor?”

“Oh. The bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute, don’t think you can find Nagel without me. But.....” She turned you with a sly smile which made your insides turn. “Throw her in with the package and you have yourself a deal.”

Zemo, Sam, and Bucky turned to look at you with dread upon hearing her words. This wasn’t at all part of the plan.

“No, no no. That wasn’t the deal.” Zemo stepped over to where you sat, blocking you from her. “She’s not for sale.”

“Why not?” Selby raised her brow at Zemo. “I’m pretty sure a man like you could pick up someone else to be your plaything or fiancé or whatever. I like this one in particular.” She turned to you again.

“That’s not-“ Zemo started before he was cut off by Sam’s cellphone vibrating.

You breath was caught in your throat and it felt as if the room had dropped in temperature. You could feel the tension floating around the air as everyone’s eyes were trained on Sam now, making you sit up straight and uncross your legs so that they were planted firmly on the ground. Your hand rested on your thigh just above where the hilt of your dagger was as your eyes darted around the room, watching each and every person like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. You had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

Tag List: @girl-obsessed-with-things @aerynchromie @sunshinepower17 @viviace @kakimakiloh @thebivirgin @gambitsqueen @spookycereal-s @lulu-yuming @mochminnie @gabitanaka47 @s00nhi @vanteguccir @tomhollandsslilslut @dracoxxyoflam @suchababie @uhhhcrypticbastard @on-my-way-to-erebor @thewinterrbucky @mylifeispainandiloveit @fillechatoyante @padmoonyfeorge @montypythonsholysnail

[dibs4ever]

I want to keep you

Barbara laid back in her bed. Feeling exhausted

No she hadn’t been out patrolling

She hadn’t done that in months

But she was so tired she felt like she’d been on a full nights patrol. She hadn’t slept more than 6 hours combined in the last 3 days

Why?

Her fingers danced across the reason

Her swollen belly, with a little life growing inside

A baby boy to be exact

She was 8 and a half months pregnant, she’d picked out an amazing couple to be his parents. Greg and Neil, they’d been on the waiting list for a baby for the last 23 months and she was giving them the baby they so desperately wanted. She was doing the right thing right? The child would be born half an orphan. His father dead. Her a single woman with no experience on what it was like to be a mother, a full time librarian, Batgirl, and living in a dangerous city. Police commissioner Jim Gordon’s 20 something year old daughter, a single mom to a father she refused to name . Wasn’t exactly the smartest move.

Dick....she missed him. She missed him so much it hurt still even 8 months later.

Her fingers danced across her belly, feeling the flutters. It was an odd yet thrilling sensation feeling the baby boy move. She had her shirt up so she could see her bare belly move around as the baby did so.

She smiled “You’re the reason I haven’t slept. Moving around like that.” She felt what she assumed to be his foot kick her hand and laughed

“Okay well part of it, other part is my own anxieties. Not much longer and you’ll be here and honestly I’m scared.”

Another kick

“Not about birth, that’s actually the part I’m least scared of. I don’t want to have you though. Being pregnant means-“

She blinked back tears before continuing “Being pregnant means you’re with me, once I have you-you’ll be gone. I mean I know Greg and Neil will be amazing parents. They’re going to love you to no end and you’re going to be provided for it’s just....” she took a breath “Dont tell anyone but a part of me wants to keep you, see what traits of me and....him you have ya know” another kick

Barbara’s tears were replaced with a weak giggle “I’m almost positive you got his acrobatic genes. All I’ve felt you do the last month is flip around inside me and punch me in the ribs while doing so, getting tight in there Huh buddy?”

As if on cue she felt the motion inside her gut that had became familiar. She held her breath holding her hands on her belly feeling the weird sensation as the baby did a full body flip inside her.

She let out a grunt, lying there for a moment til the baby was situated and she wasn’t uncomfortable.

She thought back to that night. Nightwing and Batgirl both just had a rough battle, ending a long three month investigation with success.

Joy, adrenaline and exhaustion running through their bodies. They stood on a rooftop, taking the time to cool down and enjoy the view before heading to their apartments for a long deserved rest.

They would stay together. They’d been dating in secret now for five months. Thinking that maybe if they let themselves get into a firm stable relationship perhaps this time it would work forever. Although they were sure some people knew. They did belong to a family of some of the worlds greatest detectives after all.

He’d wrapped his arms around her from behind as she stood on the edge looking at all the lights below. She felt his chin come to a rest on her shoulder “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” She asked

He nodded against her “Yeah it is”

She smiled leaning into him, enjoying the peaceful moment

“But I’m not talking about the skyline.” He whispered before turning her chin so their lips could meet

That was all the convincing it took. Both were more than starved for touch. Having been preparing for this raid and rehearsing it for two weeks along with trying to keep their relationship secret It made their love making non existent as of recently.

Together they made love on top of Gotham’s tallest building overlooking the city they loathed below.

She was pulled out of her daydream by the life inside her moving again. He did that a lot. A constant reminder of what he was. The product of her and Dick.

She didn’t want to see him. She’d decided that once the baby was out she wanted them to rush him out of the room immediately. If she never saw him it’d make it less real

“If only he was here” Barbara said her hand on her stomach as tears attempted to build up. This was something that had been happening a lot lately. She assumed it was through a mixture of hormones and perhaps the reality of what she’d do soon

“ I want to keep you more than anything- you’re like my last piece of my best friend,but I can’t be selfish”

Should I do a second part of Barbara meeting her & Dick’s son?

[hasereshdoneanythingwrong]

Librarian AU (Part 1)

Faye sat at her desk, its ornate, hand carved top covered in various cards, books, and miscellaneous papers. She fiddled with her glasses as she read her book. It was nice and quiet, this solitary library of hers. With Google being such a predominant means of acquiring information, her humble campus library had gone almost by the wayside.

Faye rubbed the bridge of her nose as she took off her glasses for a moment, She’d have to get back to cleaning soon. It’s preposterous that the head librarian must be the only one to clean an entire university library, but it couldn’t be helped. Funds were being diverted from her to other facets of the school, leaving the humble librarian to fend for herself. Every once and a while, though, she made sure to put time aside to remind herself why she started this job in the first place; her love of reading.

What a marvelous way to live, surrounded by knowledge and culture! A mountain of books that she could read one every day and never finish them all! Faye sighed at the thought. It wasn’t all roses, unfortunately. Her responsibilities often taking priority over her own enjoyment of her work. Tracking down overdue books was the worst part. Almost everybody who borrowed books from the library seemed to never return what they loaned, meaning she had to be the bad guy more often than she’d liked. Often times leading to fines or people getting disciplined from the dean.

A clock chimed, 4PM. It was almost time for today’s classes to finish up. If there were ever a time for people to come by, it would be after their final class of the day. Faye slowly cleared her desk away, filing the cataloging cards back into their respective drawers and the papers into their files. Finally she marked her spot in her most recent novel and tucked it away below the desk. She’d have to get back to that later. After all, she’d just gotten to the good part of her newest romance novel, and wouldn’t want to lose her spot.

An hour passed as the sun began its descent, shining an orange light through the lofty library windows. No one had come, just like they hadn’t for a couple days now.

Faye: What happened to wanting to learn, to read and gain knowledge? Isn’t that why people come to this school in the first place?

A disgruntled sigh from the young librarian was interrupted by the sound of one of the large oak doors leading into the library being opened. The door closed and Faye laid her eyes upon a young student, by the looks of her uniform. The girl, walked closer, and Faye was able to get a better look at her.

Her blonde hair was tied in long pigtails, held in place by a red and back ribbons, her eyes a deep, dark red, her skin pale, with pale limbs holding her up. The girl walked closer to the desk, stopping just before it as Faye straightened her back.

???: Excuse me Miss--

Faye: Faye, I’m the head librarian.

???: You are? But you’re so young! Faye chuckled a little at that. She’d gotten that quite a lot since she started. Most people regard librarians as decrepit old ladies, not necessarily a twenty-something.

Faye: Well thank you, I suppose, Miss-

Ereshkigal: Ereshkigal. I’m a second year here at Chaldea University.

Faye: Ereshkigal, like the goddess from the Epic of Gilgamesh? Ereshkigal blushed a little. Not many people understood her namesake.

Ereshkigal: Yes, my mother was an avid reader. I grew up hearing old stories like that.

Faye smiled to herself. It was a wonderful thing, hearing that other people loved literature like she did. A rarity nowadays.

Faye: Well she had excellent taste, the Epic was a favorite of mine in highschool, right next to the Iliad and the Odyssey. All that aside, I suppose that small talk isn’t the reason you’re here. How can I help you, Miss Ereshkigal?

Ereshkigal: Please, call me Eresh. My full name’s just a mouthful. I’m actually writing a paper on the Symbolism of Death in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and was hoping you could help me find it.

Faye nodded. It was an odd choice, to be sure, but a good one nonetheless. The librarian gestured to follow her as she took the young girl towards the historical fiction section. It was far back in the intricate library, with many winding turns blocking the way that one could easily get lost in. As they walked, the floors became noticably more aged. These paths weren’t often tread except by Faye herself. She almost considered this a safe haven of hers, though would never say that to anyone.

As they approached the shelf that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, Faye reached up onto the third shelf, grabbing the old leather-bound book and blowing the dust off of it. Wiping off the rest, Faye handed the book to Eresh, the girl eagerly awaiting the story. As Faye handed the book over, their hands connected briefly, the two of them making eye contact at the gesture, Eresh’s eyes going wide as she quickly took the book.

Eresh: I, um, thank you.

Faye: Of course, I’m, uh, happy to help. I’ll help you check it out up front.

Eresh nodded as they began their trip back. Once the two arrive back at the front desk, Faye took her normal seat, readying the checkout software. Faye looked up at Eresh. There was something about her and- no, Faye was a staff member, It would be wrong to ask a student out for coffee. No, she’d stay in her role and do her job. Even if her job did limit her in capacities such as this.....

Faye: Alright then, you’re all set. Just return it in two weeks or come back to extend the loan date.

Eresh: Thank you so much, Miss Faye!

Faye: Just Faye will do. It’d be weird if you addressed me so formally when we’re so close in age.

Eresh: Then please, call me Eresh.

Faye: Eresh it is then.

With that, Eresh gave Faye a smile that could melt an iceberg and left. Faye sighed, she should’ve dropped the renewal date by a week, just so she could see that girl again. No, that would be wrong. No, just like she said, she’d keep to her role, even if it does mean missing a chance like that..

mentions: @hasabbydoneanythingwrong @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasquetzdoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong

This idea was planted in my head by Val, so here you go. The first part of my experiment in a slow-burn.... I’m not good at slow.

[everlarkbirthdaygifts]

Happy Birthday, jbsaucy!

Happy belated Birthday, @jbsaucy​! We hope you had a wonderful day back on the 16th, and that you celebrated in style! To bring your party back around, the lovely @mega-aulover​ has written a story just for you!

For this year, I am recently divorced and trying to get the nerve up to get out there. So I would like to request a 30/40s Everlark, post divorced meeting

Jbsaucy

Dear Jbsaucy I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I apologize for the lateness, and I hope you had a wonderful day. This prompt BTW was amazing and I had a great time writing it. It was a blast. Thank you to Norbertsmom for Betaing 

Rated T 

Title:  OFF THE MARKET

-kpkpkpkp-

Divorce sucks. SUCKS.

Getting divorced sucks, being divorced sucked.

But nothing, not the tedious nature of dividing unwanted movies, the fear of root canals, or getting a speeding ticket, compared to dating. Dating, ladies and gentlemen, after being married for ten years sucked royally. 

ROYALLY!

After my divorce, my attorney suggested I get a hobby or join a club. I really wasn’t a social person. Not much of a talker, and avoided any and all spotlights. It was this fear of the spotlight that originally brought me in contact to my now ex-husband, Darius.

My best friend Gale pushed me to do one of those karaoke nights. I panicked and ran straight into Darius. He thought I was cute, and I was grateful he went up with me to the karaoke microphone. He sang and I laughed. The rest is history; the marriage only lasted ten years. But I knew we weren’t right for one another, partially because Darius was a very sexual person, for me sex wasn’t important. I got more enjoyment out of getting my teeth cleaned. He found someone who revved his engine and I got the fica and dates. 

Yup Dates.

How did that happen you ask?

Well, I’ll tell you I followed my divorce attorney’s suggestion. Preface-OUTSIDE OF A COURTROOM NEVER EVER FOLLOW YOUR DIVORCE ATTORNEY’S ADVICE.

With that warning sign, I digress. Taking a deep breath, I pinch the bridge of my nose. Wait for it... I joined a book club. 

It was the only natural course of action. After our divorce I got all of the books. You see one of the things Darius and I loved to do was go to bookstores. We’d buy all of these books with the intention of reading them, and we never did. We had bookshelves filled with books from the 100 Must-Read Classic Books by Penguin. So after my divorce, I sat in my newly minted apartment with a box of wine and all of these books. 

I was looking at the boxes, my divorce papers jutting out. Amongst them there was a note - with the name of a book club, the real 451 book club, with an address. I called them the Squad 451 or the Squad. The women were a hodgepodge of personalities; the right blend of sweet and crazy. There is Mags, the motherly type. She has boatloads of grandchildren. Then there is her neighbor Greasy Sae  who runs a diner in town. I used to go to her diner as a kid and consume her mystery meat soups. The older woman is bawdy and half of the things she says makes me blush redder than a red bean. Next is Annie, a shy, slightly mad girl who is a librarian. Delly has the personality of the southern bell who wears pink and believes in romance. I’ve known of Delly forever; she and I went to the same high school. 

Foxface,  has one of those names with multiple consonants and vowels but prefers to go by Foxy or Foxface. She is freakishly smart and sometimes, I think she has blackmarket dealings because she’s so secretive. Then there is Effie, the middle aged, tightly wound woman whose book choices are as repressed as she is, like Jane Eyre. And last, but not least, is my divorce lawyer, yes the very same one who suggested I get a hobby, Johanna Mason who is, well, a sex fiend. 

I started meeting up with them, and six months after my divorce, that’s when the ladies conspired against me and set up my profile on one of those dating websites looking for men, for me. I had no idea, and on my birthday, they presented me with their “gift.” 

It was the gift you didn’t want, like a pimple on your wedding day or the runs before an important interview, or bad breath before a first kiss. 

Greasy said that if I didn’t use my, well, feminine - looks around - petals. That they’ll dry up and turn into ugly petunias. I announced sex wasn’t important, and even friged Effie said a lady needed to literally, figuratively, and metaphorically, occassionally let her hair down. 

 I said NO.

I demanded.

I scowled.

Nothing helped.

They created a profile based upon themselves, and yet through describing themselves they pegged me. I was nurturing. I had a sexy edge. I was introverted, and yet mysterious. I was smart, honest, loyal and a closet romantic. But if you tell anyone that, I’ll hunt you down, even after I’m dead. 

They split me up like a kid of divorced parents being schlepped from one house to the other. They set themselves up in teams and each team got to pick my dates. And everytime we met for a book club meeting, I was to dutifully report on the date. Based upon their success, a second date would be permitted. 

It was a simple proposition. 

I was naive. A stupid idiot, or as Bugs Bunny say’s, a maroon. 

Because I hadn’t really ever been out there. 

To be honest, I met Darius right out of high school, at my first college party, and we were married - okay it wasn’t a big wedding. It really wasn’t a wedding at all. It was a spur of the moment, we got drunk and ended up at one of those Elvis chapel impersonators. Annnnd bada-bing. 

I never really dated, so I agreed with the book club’s plan, because how hard could dating be?

 And thus began my nightmare.

I must state, or emphatically note, not all of my “dates,” were catastrophically bad. To be fair, most of the time I wasn’t interested. Delly said I wasn’t romantically pulled. Johnna said my engine wasn’t revved up. Greasy said if the man didn’t make me want to orgasam with a look, then he wasn’t worth my time. I posed this question to the universe: How in blazing blue inferno does a man make a woman...well you know, with a look? Was that even possible?

A hazy yellow fuzz enters my head and my mind wanders. I conjure up blue eyes and translucent lashes that never tangle.  

Sigh.

…. (my brain just short circuited at the thought of large hands)

Earth to Katniss. 

Okay sorry, I spaced out for a little bit, and their words spurred me on to continue my journey. And one year after my divorcce I had stories, no I have battle scars.  To prove my point, the following are my top three worst dates. In no particular order.  

Date Disaster # 1 was with an artsy type at a chique Italian restaurant. He arrived late, and was drunk, high, or both. Then fell asleep on his plate of bolognese. Yup, in his plate of spaghetti and meat sauce. I paid for my half, tucked my tail between my legs and left.

Date Disaster #2 was with a small man with glasses and a massive intellect who didn’t stop talking about flamingos. FLAMING PINK FLAMINGOS. My brain shut down. I didn’t hear the music in the jazz themed restaurant. I didn’t even taste the heat in the gumbo. The only factoid I remembered when we said goodnight was that flamingos were gray when they were born. I couldn’t even tell you how they became pink. The man was the human form of anesthesia for my soul. 

Date Disaster #3 was a nice man. We laughed. And everything was going well. We ordered drinks, a cranberry and soda for me, the bartender special for him while we waited for our table. Turns out he has a milk allergy and the bartender special had milk. When we sat down at the table and we were talking about our hobbies, his stomach began to grumble loudly. He became pasty and then as the waiter brought out our appetizers, he threw up all over the place. It was a good thing that throwing up didn't bother me, but it bothered our waiter who gagged. Needless to say, I burned the outfit I was wearing.  

Those were the top three...but there were more, just simmering to become the top one. And for a time I thought I wasn’t made to date.  But the ladies had faith and they were really trying to choose nice, interesting guys. However, nothing, nothing that I could ever imagine could top my latest date. 

I’m rushing along the sidewalk. I don’t want to be late, but at the same time, I don’t want to tell them how much of a calamity my latest date was, but to be completely honest, I don’t want to miss it. Tonight is also the night the group meets at Mellark’s. The friendly cafe style bakery with its rich and yummy pastries, both savory and sweet. It is my favorite place to meet. Squad 451 meets twice a month in different locations, including one of the two meeting rooms in the library, one of the community rooms in the Justice Building, and on our birthdays, we meet in a restaurant, but the bakery on Main Street is our favorite location. The Mellarks owned several locations. The flagship store was always managed by one of the original family members.  

If George Senior, or the middle son Ryan Mellark is at the helm of the bakery, they allow us to cavort in the shop until close. When his older brother George Junior or their Mother Muriel was in charge, we tended to be quiet, relegating our conversations to the books. When Peeta is in charge, there are free cheese buns and chaos. 

Please, stomach gods, let Peeta be there. I skipped lunch today because I had a deadline. I also forgot my wallet at home. Thankfully, my license was at the bottom of my backpack. I need food before my stomach eats itself. I am starving when I walk into the bakery. When I see Peeta, I stop. His blue eyes meet mine and my stomach flip flops. He gives me a slow sweet smile, before his eyes slide back to the customer who is ordering.

“Katniss,” Delly squeaks, waving frantically.

Somehow, my feet carry me over to the table and there is a plate of cheese buns and I thank every celestial being in the universe. His buns are heavenly. Sitting down, I take a napkin and snatch one.  My mouth waters and my lashes close as I bring the cheese bun to my mouth.  The smell of melted cheese, fresh bread, and the hint of dill, assuage my nose, before I bite into one of Peeta’s coveted flaky concoctions. The combination of the oozing cheese, the herbs and the buttery bread elicit a moan from deep within my being. These freaking cheese buns will be the death of me. 

“Wow.” Peeta’s voice causes my lashes to fly open. 

Peeta is standing near me with a cup of tea; his face and neck splotchy and red.  

My mouth is full of delicious food, but I forgot how to chew. 

Delly is looking between us. Her pale blue eyes quizzical, like when she’s trying to understand a concept or theme in a book.

 “Okay, bitches,” Johanna says, slamming her brief down. “Where’s the rest of the motley crew?”

“Mags and Greasy just arrived,” Delly answers absentmindedly. 

“Hey, Peeta, I need a strong black coffee.” 

“Sure,” Peeta says, all the while staring at me. I finally remember to chew. “Here Katniss, your tea.”   

Taking the paper cup, I can’t help feeling bashful. “Thank you.”

“Peet,” the girl behind the counter calls. 

Whenever Peeta is here, the business is brisk. He is charming. He was always charming, even back in high school he was the most popular guy, not only because of his looks, but because he was genuinely nice. I, like all of the other girls, had a mini crush on him. 

Looking over his shoulder he says, “I’ll be right back with your coffee, Jo.” 

Now Jo is looking between him and me, but hers is a wicked grin, like right before she nails a sleazebag who doesn’t want to pay for his children. I quirk an eyebrow, clueless as to what has Johanna showing off her predatory gleam. 

“Oh, it’s chilly outside,” Mags says.

“It’s colder than Rudolph’s balls outside,” Greasy says, her gruff voice is booming. Several patrons look at her. Greasy does not care. She’s well past her sixties and it’s her motto that she should live each day as if it was her last. 

In walks Effie, Annie, and Foxface, and they all say, “Hello,” in unison. 

The book of the month is actually a YA fiction called, The Fault in Our Stars, about teens with a terminal illness. I cried when Gus...I tear up once more...at the memory. But I know we aren’t going to discuss Hazel’s predicament with her parents. 

“So,” Delly says, bouncing in her chair.

I can’t help but grimace.

“How did it go?” Foxface says. She has an accent, but I can’t place it. 

“He looked like he belonged on one of those erotic books Johanna loves to read,” Greasy says, grabbing a cheese bun.

She’s not wrong. Gloss was a blond adonis, with slate blue eyes. And abs that have a flipping twelve pack, I ought to know, I counted them. The words are out of my mouth before I am aware of what I am saying.  “He really does with a twelve pack,” I say drinking my tea.

“Did you say twelve pack?” Johanna sat up. 

My eyes widen. 

“Wait, why are you blushing Katniss?” Foxface narrows her eyes.

“Did you and he…” Annie trails off. Her doe eyes are wide. 

“Did you have your first sleepover?” Effie leaned in. 

“Or did you dry hump him like a horny-toad dog?” Greasy’s voice bounces in the bakery.

Peeta’s pauses , wiping down the counter and looks directly at me. 

“NO!” My voice sounds half strangled.

Jo and Delly exchange a look. “Peeta,” Delly calls him over. 

Oh, no, no, no, I say to myself, eyeing how quickly I can get from the back corner to the exit. It is one thing to tell the squad, it is another to have Peeta know. I think I can sprint around the chairs and clear the table near the door like an olympic hurdle jumper. 

Peet walks over. “Hey Dells, can I get you ladies anything?”

“Katniss was going to regale us with her latest date,” Delly says.

“She’s going to tell us how she knows her date has Thor’s body.” 

“You’re dating?” Peeta asks, looking at me intently.

He doesn’t know I am dating or rather, being raked through hot coals.

“Oh,” Foxface chortles. “She’s dating.”

“Remember the guy who was texting with his mother during the entire date,” Effie said.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Mags saids grinning.

“Only the part when he had Katniss talk to her, and it turned out she was psychoanalyzing her to make sure she wasn’t an ax murderer,” Annie said laughing.

“Or what about the guy who kept on mentioning his ex and cried through the crème brûlée,” Greasy slaps her knee, laughing.

I can’t help but laugh. 

“Man, those are pretty bad,” Peeta says.

I hold up my finger. “No, those are tame.”

“Tame?” His blue eyes are sparkling. “You mean there are worse dates?”

Delly snorts. “Oh there are worse. I am so glad I am out of the dating pool.”  

“Yeah, Gale just loves you,” Annie sighs. 

Delly and Gale met when I joined the book club. And while I floundered, they fell in love and now Delly was pregnant.  

My eyes shift to Annie. “It’s so much easier when you fall in love.”

“Oh?” I say.

“I met someone,” Annie says softly. “He wants to meet all of us.”

I wonder what type of guy would date quiet, shy, introverted Annie who sometimes says things that remind me of that song from those Freddy movies from the 80’s. I shake my head.  Then I narrow my eyes. “Bring him to the next session,” I hear myself say. I want to meet this man, and make sure he will take care of my friend. 

“Really.” Annie clasps her hands.

I nod, but I notice Peeta is looking at me with this strange gleam in his eyes.  “Ah...yeah.” My voice sounds breathy. I frown, wondering why the heck I sound like one of those girls. You know the ones that always appear in the music videos washing cars and dancing on super yachts. Darius was fascinated by those girls, heck, his new girlfriend looks like one of those girls.

The women are chatting with Annie about the new guy in her life.  

“We'll discuss Annie’s beau later,” Mags holds her hand in the air. “I want to hear about Katniss’ date.” Her white hair spills over her shoulder as she fixes me with a look. “So tell us, how do you know Thor has a twelve pack?”

Somehow or another I knew the scrutiny on Annie would be short lived. My time to shine would come, but when I open my mouth to speak I can see a conspiratorial glance between Mags and Annie. And it hits me that they chose this man, because he looked like Thor. I scowl at the women who set me up on this one. Mags and Annie both have a pink tinge to their faces. I would have expected this from Jo or Greasy, but Mags and Annie, well it’s INCONCEIVABLE! 

I begin to speak. “He asked me to meet him at the edge of town, near route twelve.”

“Isn't that where Ripper’s place is?” Effie questioned, and she couldn’t hide her revulsion. 

“Yup,” I said, popping the ‘P’, thinking of the bar that disguised itself as an eatery. It was a seedy diner with cracked linoleum floors, yellowing formica, booths that had patches, blinking lights, and rickety chairs. 

“That’s where he asked you to meet him?” Mag’s sounds outraged. “That place is…is-”

“- a bedhaven for unsavory characters,” Foxface finishes. 

“You're brainless,” Jo mutters darkly. "Ripper's isn't the type of place you can go to Katniss. You should have called me."

As protective as I am about my friends, so is Jo. She's tough on the outside but has a really soft center. It's what makes her a perfect shark in the courtroom. Not that Darius was a jerk during our divorce. He actually wasn't. Johanna was present at the restaurant where he announced he wanted a divorce. Johanna later said it was my face, the vulnerability I tried to hide was why she took my divorce pro-bono. 

“I drove and brought my bottle of mace.” I know what everyone was thinking. The area in town where Ripper’s is located at, made the bad side of town look like a tourist destination. I didn't mind meeting my date there. I was looking forward to a basket of fries. Ripper's had amazing beer-battered fries. 

I've been to Ripper's once. I was with Gale and Thom who needed to score fake IDs. I ordered the fries, since I wasn't there for an ill gotten identification. But let me tell you, those fries. Oh! Holy mother of fries, no other fries can compare. 

Shivers!

I love food; it's why I'm a food critic now. What's so funny is that it was those fries that began my career as Buttercup, the elusive food critic. Back then I was Buttercup, the fussy eater. I blogged about them, no, I lavished them with love. I love my job. I can go into any restaurant, order anything on the menu, blog about it and get paid handsomely. And, most importantly, I can do it anonymously. Not even Darius knew I was Buttercup. He thought I was a boring housewife. Getting back to the fries, I wasn’t deterred from getting my fries.

“So then what happened?” Annie asked.

“He was there waiting for me. He stood up and smiled. And he's massive-"

"Just like a book cover," Foxface mutters.

 "He said his name wasn't Anthony, it’s Gloss.”

“Gloss?” Everyone said at the same time.

“Yup.” I sighed. “It was a sign. I should've left." Damn those fries! 

“So Gloss…" Peeta's sparkling eyes are on mine, his are an amazing hue of blue, like the indigo milk cap mushrooms. "Looks like Thor."  He frowns. "Thor with the long hair or short?"

"Long." The women around me answered as one.

Peeta turned those gorgeous eyes back to me.

Thor isn’t my cup of tea. I shrugged to show my indifference. "Gloss was sporting the Ragnarok look, short hair with facial hair."

 I swear I watch Peeta mouth, "short hair."

"Anyway, we sat at a booth. It was packed, actually." That should've been clue number two. Men at a joint like Ripper's at 8:30 on a Friday night, it was by the highway, plausible. But packed with just as many women. "The waitress who took our drink order could barely hear me."

"Was he nice?" Annie asks.

"He was sweet." Truthfully Gloss was a sweet guy.  He talked about his mother in a positive way, even if she gave him the name that was another descriptor for shiny objects. "He was attentive too. He told me his mother worked in the makeup industry. "

"That doesn't sound too awful," Delly says.

"He sounds delightful." Mags pushes her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose.  The gang is getting tired of the story and I hope they will move on to the reason we are  gathered, discussing the book we were reading. I begin to reach into my backpack because I really hate purses.

"If he's so delightful, why did he ask you to meet him at Ripper's?" Johanna says in her cross examination voice.

I wince as I take out my book.

"Yes, you must explain." Foxface demands.

"It's not nice to leave us dangling." Effie levels a look at me that has me squirming, feeling like I was being summoned into the principal's office. 

"I wanna know how you know Gloss has a twelve pack," Greasy says.

Peeta looks at me expectantly. 

Anndddd were back. I sigh. Will he run for the hills when I tell him? Most likely.

"We were talking about dancing.” My voice loses all it’s warmth. “I don't dance."

This causes a rumble of laughter and giggles amongst the women. Peeta looks confused. Finally Delly wipes the tears from her face and gasps, “You should never dance. Ever!” 

"That poor man’s toes,” Mags says, her shoulders shaking.

“Do I need to know?” Peeta looks between them. 

“I don’t dance!” I growl. The group erupts into another bout of laughter. 

“It was a scheme, a dirty underhanded scheme,” Effie says. 

The guy I was supposed to date was a dance instructor. He used the dating app as a way to drum up business. When the women meet him, he pairs them with guys who were there for a lesson. He paired me with a poor man named Harry. My nerves got the better of me, because I don’t like to be touched. Harry’s hands were sweaty. Harry tried to dip me as per my date’s instructions. I tripped, and in the process his toes were crushed, and I ended up with a sprained ankle. 

When I arrived in crutches to the next book club, well, that was one of those dates that simmers at the surface vying to be in the top three. 

“Gloss didn’t believe me. He said anyone can dance. I told him no, and explained that there are people who are predisposed to fly in airplanes, and some who get motion sickness in a car. “

“What happened next?” Foxface asks, moving to the edge of her chair.

“He went to the jukebox.”

“Oh no,” Johanna mutters. “Did he end up in the hospital?” 

“Is that how you know he’s got a twelve pack?” Greasy questions. The ladies, and Peeta are all staring at me. 

I shake my head. Why couldn’t there be a rush of customers right now? It is calm and I know the odds are against me. 

“Spill it!” Johanna demands. 

“Well, he queued up a song and waited a beat, and then Lenny’s Kravits’ American Woman started blaring. Gloss started sauntering and spun and did the splits on the floor. Next thing I know, the women in the place go nuts. They surround him, like a rabid pack of wild dogs.”

“Wait, what!” Delly exclaims her pale eyes bright, she grips the book in her hand. 

“That doesn’t happen,” Peeta says.

“It does to her,” Foxface said, her eyes shining with ferocity, like the eyes of those women at Rippers.

“Shut it blondie,” Johanna orders. 

“Yeah,” Annie says.

Taking a deep breath I continue. “He started dancing...hips…” my brain flashing to his hips gyrating. “...jutting out and…”

“Ohhhhh yeah,” Greasy cackles.

“Gyrating, his hips gyrating,” Foxface gasps.

With eyes closed I nod. “His hips were doing that all over the place. He then jumped on the table and proceeded to rip off his shirt. He shouted my name and told me his next move was his favorite. He spun onto his knees and slid up in my face before dropping his drawers.” I lower my eyes. 

“What,” Delly squeaked. “His pants?”

“It’s like Magic Mike,” Mags whispers.

I know the movie Mag’s is referring to. I’ve never seen it. “Yes.” 

“Was he naked-” Foxface began.

“-or was he wearing-” Annie cut Foxface off only to be cut off herself. 

“A G-String!” Greasy shouted excited.

I shook my head no. He wasn’t wearing anything, I can feel the heat burning my ears.

“Well don’t stop! What happened next!” Even Effie has lost her sense of propriety. 

“As I looked for an escape. It’s then I noticed  the poster on the wall, for the Slag Heap.” I pause and sigh, “Men’s Magic Friday Night Extravaganza, and Gloss was the headliner. I realized he’s a stripper.” 

And the place erupts in laughter. 

“What did you do?” Peeta asks.

My eyes connect with his.

“I slunk down to the floor and crawled my way out...drove to the hospital and made my sister administer a tetanus shot.”

 “Can I have his number?” Johanna says laughing but her eyes are dead serious. 

Peeta is smiling at me and I grab a cheese bun because they are as delicious as the man staring at me. 

Eventually we do get to the book, and it’s a pretty good discussion. Peeta let us stay until closing. Mags and Greasy are the last of the ladies to leave. It’s just me and Peeta since he let the staff go home. I’m loitering because I feel like I need to explain to Peeta why I let the ladies talk me into dating. 

I’m putting up the chairs on the tables when Peeta comes out. 

“You’re still here?”

“Yeah.” I look down at my feet.

“Katniss.”

“Peeta.” We both say at the same time, followed by a nervous chuckle.

“You first,” Peeta insists, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Dating wasn’t my idea.”

“It wasn't?” He raised an eyebrow.

I shake my head. 

“So what happened?”

“The ladies, they got me a year long subscription for my birthday, and knowing I wouldn’t go through with it, they choose who I date...until I find someone,” I can feel the heat rising from my neck and reaching my cheeks, “I like.”

“Really?”

I nod, incapable of speaking.  I cannot stop watching the way he blinks, those darned translucent lashes that never tangle. 

“Dating is pretty brutal.”

“Yeah,” I snort because dating is horrible. 

“My family is constantly setting me up. I went out with a girl who sang through the entire meal. She chose the pasta and sang On Top of Spaghetti.”

“What?” I laugh.

“That was my dad’s doing. My mom’s choice was a lot scarier. She made me do an obstacle course and made me do it three times until I beat the time she wanted me to reach.”

“Wow.”

“I was dressed in dress slacks, a nice shirt, and a tie.” He deadpans, “I even had on dress shoes.”

“I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he shrugs. 

I couldn't help but smile. 

“Dating sucks until you find someone who makes you laugh, someone who makes dancing easy.”

He approaches or maybe it’s my own feet that carry me to him. But it doesn’t matter because when his arm slides along my waist, and the other cradles my hand, I have no fears. There is something familiar with him as I dance with him. A slow shuffle, that has the room spinning but none of it matters because I feel at home.

“Will you dance with me Katniss?” His voice rumbles in my ear and my heart is pounding in my chest.

His scent is a warm heady mixture of spices, dill, vanilla, and cinnamon. 

“Would you go out with me Katniss?”

“Yes,” I answer, and just like that my dating profile goes up in flames. Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially off the market.

[inkslingersworld]

Zusammen: Part IX

Link to all parts here.

Kagami was not someone who gave up easily, and she wasn’t about to give up on searching for Adrien’s mother just because they hadn’t discovered anything yet, but she found the lack of clues difficult to tolerate. She and Adrien had already covered three days of Emilie’s last week in Paris to no avail - the filming location of what would’ve been her fourth motion picture, the grocery store she’d visited on the Monday before she vanished, the hairdresser, the Louvre, and so on. They were now retracing Emilie’s steps on the Tuesday before her disappearance, which had taken place on Friday of the same week, and Adrien and Kagami still hadn’t uncovered any useful information. However, Kagami was still enjoying herself - she liked walking through the city with Adrien.

“Okay,” said Adrien, trying to sound optimistic as they exited the jewelry store, “I will admit, this isn’t going as smoothly as I’d hoped, but there are still plenty of places that could connect to Mother’s disappearance. It’s only the first day of our investigation.”

“I totally agree,” put in Kagami. “I am getting a bit hungry, though.”

They took a fifteen-minute break to pick up some lunch; with both of their energy and morale levels low, the sandwiches tasted extra good. Once they were finished, Adrien and Kagami discussed how best to proceed.

“Our current approach is working, it’s just that we haven’t found anything yet,” Adrien said.

“Yeah,” acknowledged Kagami. “I think we’re just gonna have to keep patient.”

“Well, it says here that the library’s next,” said Adrien, looking at Emilie’s personal organizer. “We’re pretty close.”

“I’ll say,” Kagami laughed. “It’s literally across the street.”

Adrien turned to the large marble-clad fortress just ahead of them.

“Huh,” he muttered, scratching his chin. “I guess you’re right.”

===========

The inside of the library was vast; bookshelves upon bookshelves stretched across the area, each of them brimmed with volumes of every kind. The help desk looked like a tiny island in the midst of it all, though the librarian didn’t seem to care. She didn’t make any reaction to her surroundings until Adrien and Kagami walked up to her.

“Ah,” she murmured ominously, eyeing the two teenagers from behind a giant tower of books. “I’ve seen you before.”

She pointed a crooked finger at Adrien, making him squirm a little.

“Uh-huh,” said Kagami dismissively, trying to prevent her boyfriend from growing uncomfortable. “We’re wondering if you have the check-out records on hand.”

“May I ask why?” questioned the librarian suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re part of an investigation looking into the disappearance of Emilie Agreste,” explained Kagami. “We need to see which books she checked out on Tuesday, May 16 - if she checked out any books.”

“Fine by me,” the librarian drawled. “Do you have Mrs. Agreste’s library card at hand?”

Adrien pulled the card from his pocket and slid it across the desk to the librarian. She picked it up gingerly.

“Wait here.”

Adrien and Kagami watched the librarian shuffle away down one of the canyons of bookshelves. She returned less than five minutes later, a stack of files in her arms, with the library card rested on top.

“These are the complete records of each library book Emilie Agreste ever checked out,” the librarian told them, setting the files down and handing the library card back to Adrien. “She wasn’t a member of the Parisian Public Library System for very long; only for a couple months, in fact. I don’t think she ever really needed to be a member, with her mansion boasting its own library.”

“Thank you,” said Kagami and Adrien at the same time. The librarian smiled slightly.

As they walked off to a nearby table, Adrien asked, “How long do you think this’ll take?”

“Not very long,” Kagami responded shortly. “I doubt that Moreau’s murderer would hang around a public area, so I believe we’ll be safe splitting up inside the building. We don’t need to read the books cover to cover, just flip through them in case your mother left bookmarks or notes or whatever.”

It became apparent that their search would take even less time than Kagami had speculated. Emilie hadn’t checked out a lot of books; Adrien speculated that she only came here for publications not stocked at the mansion’s library. The books varied widely, from acting methods and obscure moments of the country’s past to rare amphibian species and child psychology. It was nearing four o’clock by the time Adrien and Kagami reconvened.

“Anything out of the ordinary?” asked Adrien.

Kagami shrugged. “I found out your mother read a good portion of Joris-Karl Huysmans, but that’s about it.”

Adrien sighed. “How many more books did she check out?”

Kagami looked down at the last remaining unopened file. “Two. The first one’s called Interpreter of Maladies. My mother’s read the Braille version and she told me it was brilliant - that’s high praise coming from the woman who literally tossed Harry Potter in the garbage.”

“Which book?!” Adrien asked, feeling outraged.

“Prisoner of Azkaban,” said Kagami regretfully. “She read the first few pages and just threw it in the trash can - and that’s luxury treatment compared to what she did with Order of the Phoenix. You don’t even wanna know.”

“Good lord, it’s fine she didn’t like them, but at least treat the physical book with a bit respect!” exclaimed Adrien. “Max doesn’t like them either, but you don’t see him chucking them out along with table scraps and whatnot!”

It took a bottle of water and several deep breaths for Adrien to regain control of himself, by which time it was four-thirty. They both knew that in order to remain within the guidelines Inspector Beaumont had set for them, they’d need to get back home within an hour.

“Sorry about that,” Adrien apologized, panting a little. “I got a little carried away. What’s the last book my mother checked out?”

“Let’s see,” said Kagami, flipping the file back open again. “The last book your mother checked out before she disappeared is called -”

Her eyes widened suddenly.

“What?” asked Adrien worriedly. “Which book is it?”

Kagami stared at him fearfully. “It’s called Eternally Intertwined: The Connections Between Magic and Human Emotions.”

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. For him, the connections between magic and human emotions only related to one thing - Hawk Moth.

“Are... are you positive?” he gulped.

Kagami handed the file over to him. Sure enough, the title she’d just relayed to him was staring him in the face. Right as his eyes finished crossing over the words, Adrien clapped the file shut and strode over to the help desk, Kagami trotting behind him.

“Excuse me?” he asked the librarian, who’d stopped eating her salad to give Adrien her full attention. “I was wondering what you could tell me about this book.”

He placed the file down and tapped the ink with his finger. The librarian made a confused expression.

“Eternally Intertwined: The Connections Between Magic and Human Emotions? I have never heard of such a book,” the librarian admitted. “I’m sure it’s in the catalogue somewhere, though. Let me go check.”

She trundled down a hallway didn’t return until fifteen minutes had passed. The librarian sat back down and turned to Adrien and Kagami.

“Well, I think I’ve just discovered something of use to you,” she said, taking a bite of salad. “Eternally Intertwined was a recent publication back when Emilie Agreste checked it out. It wasn’t in wide circulation; the author, Madeleine Archambault, was a folklorist whose work had been repeatedly discredited for its alleged inaccuracies. Therefore, not many publishing companies were eager to accept her manuscripts. However, Archambault was able to convince a small, local press to give her a contract, entitling her to around ten thousand euros for a dozen books.”

“That’s it?” asked Adrien in surprise. His father had told him before that already published authors usually received more than twice that amount on one book.

“It wasn’t much,” continued the librarian, “but Archambault was desperate for work. She was able to get Eternally Intertwined published in the spring of that year. We only had a single copy in the library system; Emilie Agreste remains the only person to’ve checked it out.”

“How come?” Kagami asked. “It’s been five years since then, surely someone would’ve taken an interest in a book covering that kind of subject matter.”

Adrien nodded in agreement, thinking of Hawk Moth.

“I see where you’re coming from,” said the librarian, “but Eternally Intertwined was a commercial and critical flop. Critics panned it for resembling her previous work, which they said lacked backing evidence. The press Archambault had convinced to publish it rescinded her contract and she hasn’t produced any piece of writing since. Last time anyone had heard from her, she’d been working on a documentary in Alsace.”

She took another bite of her salad before saying, “Even if it’d been a success, no one would’ve checked it out, on account of it not being returned.”

“It wasn’t returned?” said Adrien in surprise.

The librarian shook her head. “Emilie Agreste never got the chance to give it back before she disappeared. But not to worry - Eternally Intertwined included Archambault’s watercolor pictures of objects mentioned in the text, and we have prints of some of those pictures in stock.”

She pointed to a thick roll of parchment paper that Adrien hadn’t noticed. Without a word, he picked it up and brought it to his and Kagami’s table, unrolling it hastily. The watercolor he saw first confirmed his fears.

It depicted two butterflies. One was pure white, the other was black and purple. Beneath the watercolor was a single word.

Akuma.