#old man librarian core

[egonkula]

i think about this picture of rsl all the time like ohhh my gosh he is so goober here

[sabrondabrainrot]

THEY LOOK SO CUTE I'M GONNA PINCH THEIR CHEEKS ❤️

[ayumigotabittoolonelyquitted]

Jjk men and their type (my opinion) drabbles

Synopsis: jjk men and their girl types this is basically a drabbles and I m just saying , this isn't canon and they might even date someone completly different from what I said who knows. (In canon course ',;) )

Characters : gojo Satoru, geto suguru, choso kamo ryomen sukuna and nanami kento.

Warning ⚠️: I swear this ain't canon don't get your sweet little heart in pain.

Requests are open!

Looks wise course 😔

CHOSO �� goth/emo girls

He definitely has a thing for emo/goth girls. We're talking black eyeliner that could slice a man, chipped black nail polish, oversized band tees, and fishnets. If she listens to old My Chemical Romance or some underground post-hardcore band? He’s done for. He’s giving "silent protector of the spooky girl at the back of the venue" energy.

GOJO — baddies

Gojo likes baddies, period. Glammed up, fashionable, probably the kind of girl who knows how to make an entrance. Hair always done, nails always fresh, lashes fluttering like wings. Think high fashion, a lil mysterious but very visible. Bonus points if she’s taller or wears heels,he likes someone who challenges his ego just a bit.

GETO — beauty that isn't quite describeable

Geto is into quiet, ethereal beauty. Think long, silky hair (any color, as long as it flows), elegant dresses, and those girls who look like they read poetry under candlelight. Soft eyes, maybe a resting sad face. She doesn’t even have to talk much,he’ll fill the silence. Something tragic in her gaze? He’s already in love. (Ayumi ; Hey hey geto's my bitch 😔)

NANAMI — soft, elegant women who give him peace

Nanami likes the clean, classic beauty. Timeless style, minimal makeup, neutral tones. Maybe a bit of librarian-core or soft academia. He’s into grace, posture, the girl who wears a watch and always smells like expensive perfume. She doesn’t need to be loud,he loves subtlety and intelligence in her aura.

SUKUNA — unhinged bad girls who’d burn the world for fun

Sukuna’s taste is feral. He likes the dangerous girls. The ones with piercings, intense eye makeup, something unpredictable in their walk. Maybe she’s got tattoos. Maybe she stares back when he stares. He’s into the kind of girl who might stab him in his sleep and he’d wake up like, “hot.” Think femme fatale, but with rage issues..

Personality wise

Choso kamo

Choso is so emotionally starved it’s insane. He falls for someone gentle, nurturing, but not a pushover. Someone who talks softly but holds space for his grief, who listens without judging. He needs warmth. The type who quietly notices his pain and says, “You don’t have to explain,I’m here.” He’ll be loyal until the end. Bonus if she’s a little quirky or awkward,he finds it endearing.

Gojo Satoru

Gojo acts like he wants a girl who worships him, but in reality? He’s obsessed with the one who doesn’t. The one who teases him, rolls her eyes, and treats him like he’s just some guy (because underneath all that power, he is just some guy). She’s witty, sharp, probably emotionally unavailable,he loves the chase. But if she’s also secretly kind? He’s ruined. He’ll try to make her laugh just to see her smile.

Geto Suguru

Geto is drawn to idealists with a hint of melancholy. He falls for the girl who sees beauty in broken things, who’s poetic, introspective, and quietly passionate about the world,even if she feels like she doesn’t belong in it. She has convictions, but also sadness. He sees her and thinks: “She understands me.” If she loves people even when they hurt her? That’s it. That’s the one. (She is me , me is her 😝)

Nanami Kento

Nanami needs someone stable, but not boring. Someone grounded, emotionally intelligent, kind without being naive. He appreciates responsibility and depth, someone who values calm over chaos. But he also secretly loves someone who brings little sparks of spontaneity into his life,a soft rebellion against his rigid structure. She reminds him it’s okay to rest. That he’s allowed softness, too.

Ryomen Sukuna

Sukuna falls for the one who challenges him. She’s not scared of him,she’s intrigued. Bold, sharp-tongued, unapologetically herself. She doesn’t try to fix him, she meets him in the fire. Maybe even matches his cruelty in her own way. She’s a bit unhinged, a little morally grey. He’s obsessed with her defiance, the way she doesn’t flinch. She might hate him,but he’ll love her for it.

[psychologeek]

12.08.2023 prompt - Love Among the Shelves

Barbara was at the children's section's front desk when he approached.

It was her day shift, but every instinct she developed during her over-a-decade time as a vigilant, screamed inside of her that this man was DANGEROUS.

"Excuse me, sir!" She called him, as she took a quick look at the population.

(fifteen children, ten mothers, and a teen- probably a babysitter, or an older sister).

"How can I help you?" She asked as he stood in front of her, almost 2 ft over her. She quietly unlocked her wheels, and reach for the emergency taser.

"I want to get a library card." He says.

"This is the children section, mr...?"

"Dan. Just Dan. And that not for me, that's for the hellion". He gesture to his left, only seem to notice no one's there.

"ELLIE!"

"Sheesh, Old Mold." A kid show up. "No leed to yell. MY ears are still new and working."

"You can't just disappear without telling anyone!"

"What, am I in prison now? Oh, wait, I'm not the one who's been locked up!"

"You little hazard. What did we say about telling OUTSIDERS private information?"

"Do it for fun and profit?-"

And the man just grab by the back of her hoodie, and pick her up in one hand.

"That's the Hellion. She needs a library card."

The kid move a little, trying to escape, before giving up and just looking at Barbara.

"Hi! I'm Ellie - WOW ARE YOU JAZZ'S CLONE?".

-OR-

After learning that Danielle just travel around the world on her own, Dan's core re-develope his old obsession.

(protect her)

They travel across the world as Dan& Ellie - father and daughter.

Ellie wants to go to Gotham, (They have WEIRD THINGS) and they try getting a life there.

On an attempt to get something like normal (halfa?) life, Dan take Ellie to get her first library card.

Enter Barbara Gordon, a librarian extraordinary by day, and a vigilant named "Oracle" by night.

Somehow, she keep meeting that single dad (ex-prisoner) and his daughter.

(she CAN'T be introduced to Damian. The world may not survive it).

Or: I started thinking Dan/Barbara and now I can't unsee it.

Tag some I think would like this:

@stealingyourbones @im-only-here-for-the-fandom @hdgnj

[feyclowns]

a brief look at pixie biology

goofy guys. i like these ones. sillies.

most pixies are very short and stocky, with square builds. they're the smallest of the seelie

body hair is infrequent, near non-existent

males are ever-so slightly larger than females on average, though it hardly matters

pixies function very similar to fairies, they have near identical anatomies and also get inebriated from sugar

primarily eat fantastical beasts along with magic supplements

pixies grow up a little faster due to less time needed maturing their core systems. takes them about 1300 years.

pixies take very few genes from their non-pixie parent- a hint of eye color here, a darker skin color there..

despite their funky core systems, pixies, once given the magic-using tools they need, are just as adept with magic as fairies

they all speak with the same flat tone, but tend to have difficulty masking their expressions

they have an inborn talent for numbers and repetitive behaviors- they flourish in a group where everyone has a set role that they do over and over again.

each pixie is given a set role after their rearing period has ended. some pixies show the rare ambition to climb some ranks but most are generally comfortable with where Head Pixie puts them.

all fairy-based seelie buzz their wings but pixies are especially guilty of buzzing when agitated

pixies used to be quite rare, with small mixed families, usually employed by fairy companies to deal with paperwork and other tasks- librarians, attorneys, secretaries, etc

honorable mention: the curious case of Head Pixie

so many people cannot stand this guy.

this guy is weird. the council does not like weird. he is like, biologically, the biggest outlier for the pixie species ever

side note: my HP doesn't look as old as canon due to the way my fairies age (and pixies generally live longer anyway since they consume magic rather than produce it) but he is still, in fact, very old

fey dad, pixie mom. HP's pixie status was debated hotly for a long time due to the main factor that he had a functional central core- in fact, it was too functional; HP produces too much magic for his system to handle on a regular basis.

HP handles this in two ways; lots of offspring and lots of using his magic to power things. man, building a business empire is easy.

he's larger than the average pixie as well, by 7 inches (this makes him look huge)

all of HP's kids are normal pixies (barring the handful of fairy children)

HP is old. really old. he's about to hit a million. he's older than jorgen's nana. he's showing his age but he looks pretty good. his fey lineage and magic overproduction are the primary reasons for this, but he just likes to say he lives off black coffee and pure spite. he is staying around forever, baby.

[askror]

Okay, serious question time for the Consortiom

I know this was never gonna happen becasue you hate his guts, but in practical terms what - if anyhting - was stopping you from digging up Mimic's corpse, shoving it full of gadgets, and resurrecting him?

"We heard about what happened to Mimic a little too long after the body would have been useful. But moreover, why would we want to do that...?" Hierophant scratched his chin in confusion, the broad-shouldered lion tilting his head. "Making more people end up like this is bad enough. But doing it to him?"

"Right on target, big man." Hangman in particular felt especially irritated by this question, if the way he continuously began spinning one of his pistols absent in one hand was any indication. "If you got done in, would you wanna have to deal with looking at the bozo whose fault it was every day? Talking to them? Working with them?"

Priestess sighed from behind the warped and water-damaged old book she was thumbing through. The other two ducked down like they'd been shushed by a librarian, which honestly wasn't too far off from the truth considering their current surroundings.

"The cybernetics might have scrambled their thoughts, but at their core, you're still looking at Smithy and Slinger," Priestess said heavy-heartedly. "...And at his core, Mimic was a traitor. You can't remove that from a person, and making the mistake of trusting them twice is something only a fool would do."

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: 'Ascendance of a Bookworm' #21 (4.9)

Ascendance of a Bookworm #21 (4.9) by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina, Quof

adventure

fantasy

magic

library science

librarian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poison! Thievery! Betrayal! Whatever wayward designs within which these characters find themselves, the precipice of change looms all the more dangerous when the urgent call of a nefarious other threatens to push them off the edge. In ASCENDANCE OF A BOOKWORM v21, Ferdinand's forthcoming departure to the Duchy of Ahrensbach is equally stymied and accelerated by a frantic side story reminiscent of Poe's The Purloined Letter.

The circumstances surrounding Ferdinand's forced dismissal is an awkward and dangerous mix of known and unknown dilemmas. Everyone knows Lady Georgine has her sights set on Ehrenfest the Eighth. But does Georgine's revenge exist merely to spite Ehrenfest? Does she hope to elevate Ahrensbach in Ehrenfest's ashes? Does she hope to monopolize Ferdinand, personally? Who else is she willing to sacrifice to get what she wants? Her husband? Her daughters? Nobody really knows. And so, with little beyond a guard knight, a scholar, and his own intuition, Lord Ferdinand embarks on the newest chapter of his tumultuous young life.

Fortunately, before all of that sadness weighs down the narrative, the author saw fit to insert a good deal of drama with a pseudo-side-story that consumes roughly 40% of the book.

In short, someone weasels into the High Bishop's chambers in the temple and thieves the Bible. At length, Lady Rozemyne and the gang must conduct a thorough and detailed search to find the culprit, bring them to justice, and retrieve the stolen artefact. The whole ordeal involves deception, kidnapping, a renewal of Lower City allies, a confirmation of Noble's Quarters egotism, and some good old fashioned violence.

The Bible-stealing incident is a great example of what makes this light-novel series so enchanting. At nearly two dozen volumes, readers know, explicitly, that everything will work out fine. And yet, the narrative construction quickly and abruptly nudges readers with the implicit presumption that things are going to be bumpy for a while. Things may work out for the core cast of characters in the end, but the knowledge they gain from surviving each stress test may well change them for good.

ASCENDANCE OF A BOOKWORM v21 is a fond farewell to Ferdinand. The book makes no short mention of the young man's growing emotional entanglement after meeting a certain bookworm (often riddled with worry). The sendoff is sweet. And reality sets in fast. Soon, Rozemyne will require a whole bevy of overeager friends and family to keep her within her remit when her next term at the Royal Academy begins. And just as there will be fewer eyes available to watch Ferdinand's back in Ahrensbach, so too will there be fewer eyes available to keep Rozemyne on course.

❯ ❯ Light-Novel Reviews

[lex1nat0r]

White Elephant: For Answer

AAR #23 & #24

Session reports from my ongoing Lancer game.

Characters (LL 3):

Raiju (They/Them, Hacker 2/Heavy Gunner 1/Nuclear Cavalier 3, Barbarossa 3) - HA Barbarossa “Counterproposal”

Sunshine (They/Them, Grease Monkey 2/Technophile 2/Engineer 1/Gunslinger 1, Pegasus 3) - HORUS Pegasus “Exchange of Affection”

Rook (He/Him, Walking Armory 1/Brutal 3/Leader 2, Balor 3) - HORUS Balor “Your Burden”

Daylight (She/Her, Technophile 2/Engineer 3/Ace 1, Vlad 3) - IPS-N Vlad “Look What You Made Me Do”

Magpie (They/Them, Hacker 3/Technophile 3, Goblin 3) - HORUS Goblin “Destructive Interference” (player not present for session #23)

NHPs:

Molotov - Via Sunshine’s Technophile talent - Projects as a small velociraptor - unshackled

Willow - Via Daylight’s Technophile talent - Projects as 1-2 squid - unshackled

Murgatroid - Via Magpie’s Technophile talent - Projects as a wizard? - shackled

Prometheus Antichiral - fork of a cascaded NHP from the Sanctuary Blue cloning facility - projects as a wizened old man - unshackled

Alex - library administrator, rescued from the RimTech corporate archive - projects as a librarian - shackled, currently in low power mode

Sisyphus - Via Sunshine’s Pegasus 3 - no known projection habits [ha ha ha you can’t see me] - shackled

Osiris - Via Magpie’s Goblin 3 - projects to seemingly puppet around Destructive Interference - shackled

Prev session writeup

With the recovery of the militarized printer cores, things are looking pretty good for Stefan's planned planetwide demonstrations. The Lancers agree to help out on the day of, which means Stefan owes them a favor.

After getting the list of places Stefan thinks are most critical to protests:

Raiju and Sunshine decide to hold the line at the MilAgro Enforcement Armory, to keep an eye on where any organized police or military response is going to come from

Rook oversees the main protest in the plaza in front of MilAgro corporate HQ

Daylight parks her Vlad in the clone housing district since that's the most likely target of reprisals

(Magpie is off-screen doing e-war stuff)

Once the protest kicks off things seem quiet but Rook notices increasing police presence in the plaza, Daylight gets word of mechs approaching the clone district, and when Sunshine and Raiju scan one of the green-striped helicopters traveling to and from the Enforcement Armory, they find that military equipment is being brought in instead of shipped out. Not wanting to get caught flatfooted, Raiju just blows one of the transport helicopters out of the sky.

Things kick off rapidly from there, though the opfor doesn't have the initiative they expected. A hurried broadcast by one Lucien Trulock indicates a faction of the MilArgo board supports the Guardian Fleet, and have thrown in with the Shield Frontier who have supplied equipment and mechs that are now marching out of the Enforcement Armory. Sunshine does their best to combat Shield Frontier propaganda broadcasts while helping Raiju slow their advance. Rook makes a hole in the constricting police cordon around the plaza to evacuate protestors, and Daylight starts conducting hit-and-run attacks on the mechs advancing on the clone housing, eventually bringing down a block of apartments to cover the evacuation of civilians.

In a second broadcast, Trulock triumphantly announces that the Shield Frontier has taken control of MilArgo's experimental land battleship the Argo and it's superheavy ship-class weapon is pointed at the Eye of the Tiger, which is being herded into range by Shield Frontier subline warships. The Lancers advise Captain Borrego to take the Tiger out of range of the Argo's main weapon even though that means it will take some hits from the Shield Frontier wolfpacks. But even with the Tiger safe, there's still the Argo to deal with...

Combat 4.2: Shipwreck

Sitrep: Behemoth Brawl (from Enhanced Combat)

OPFOR:

The Argo (Vehicle Behemoth)

Flight Deck x2 (produce T2 flying Cataphract Grunts)

Gun Emplacement x2

Point Defense

As the Lancers head to the battlezone, the massive enemy warning flashes on their consoles. This isn't the first time they've seen it - the same warning pops up when they get too close to a battleship. But this time, the warning flickers and is replaced with something else:

Shoutout to Magpie's player for taking a screencap of this because I did not

With that message of encouragement from Arjhet and Tehjra, the lancers engage.

Outcome: The Argo destroyed on round 7

(Tokens by Retrograde Minis (on the basic blank hex tokens that come with Lancer so they show up well), map by Interpoint Station’s Lancer sprites, VTT is Roll20)

Analysis:

Every Lancer GM, deep in their heart, wants to run something like a Behemoth one day. Despite that, I knew going into this that I didn't actually like the Behemoth Brawl setup. It's basically a damage check - can the Lancers do x damage in y rounds? I felt - and still feel - that it doesn't provide enough back and forth as regular sitreps. I tried to remedy that by providing two twists.

The first twist: Lottie Wisely, a reporter from Argus Syndicated Networks (seen above hunkered down on the top-left rocks) was watching the fight. The players decided not to interfere with her drones, which worked out well since they ended up winning the fight.

The second twist: the Shield Frontier is using hardcopy orders and intelligence, scrubbing as much of their footprint as they can from the omninet. The Argo had a signals room where a lot of this was stored. A PC (in this case Magpie) could dismount their mech and board the Argo to try to recover this intel, which they did, along with some MilAgro cultural artifacts that can be used as leverage to help resolve this attempted coup.

Despite all that, the actual fight got very same-y once the PCs destroyed the Argo's hardpoints. Behemoths was reduced to launching missiles at everyone within range 15, which is kind of a boring thing to do multiple times per round. It did destroy Destructive Interference, which isn't really impressive since it's a Goblin, but that did leave Murgatroid and Osiris bickering over whose fault it was.

The Argo's missiles are Knockback 1, which is kind of cheap especially as they can prevent an Apocalypse Rail from charging. There isn't really anything to counter Knockback aside from being flat-out immune to it. So overall I feel like the Behemoth statline needs to be reworked to work for me.

I think next time I run something on the scale of the Argo (and there will be a next time) it's going to be treated more like terrain than a specific thing to shoot at. Turrets popping out of armored blisters, on-board mechs deploying, maybe some fuckery with control points moving around, that kind of thing. I think I've been proven correct in my assumption that basically having one thing to shoot at doesn't work for Lancer.

Next Time: the new MilAgro?

[biggie-chcese]

rain code age headcanons because i have literally only ever been choosing ages based on what's funniest but now i wanna cast away my grand layers of irony and be genuine for a moment. also. this goes pretty in depth so be prepped for the long haul when you click read more lmao.

spoilers for the whole game below and it's because of one specific character iykyk

Yakou - this man has the soul of a guy in his late 40s going through what would be his midlife crisis if not for the fact that he's fully aware he passed the midpoint years ago. but that soul is trapped in the body of a guy who doesnt look a day older than 28. what moisturizer does he use? i doubt he even uses anything other than that 13 in 1 shampoo. anyway, i think he's 32.

Halara - 26. nothing really to justify this other than they've got that mid 20s swag but 25 didn't feel right. adult enough to be as competent as they are yet young enough to look like that. moving on.

Desuhiko - 19. i think he's the youngest of the NDA because. well. idk man have you read his dialogue? he's got a whole lot of growing to do and is still very lost on his direction in life. he's giving 'bitch fresh outta high school (or in this case, detective training) and relishing in his freshly obtained freedom."

Vivia - 28? yeah i got nothing for this i am going purely on vibes here. 28 just feels right.

Fubuki - 23. she's clearly still a bit young but is also clearly a grown ass adult who wasn't raised right so i think this makes for a happy medium, especially if she's already been on some worldwide adventures n shit before the game. works out quite swimmingly methinks.

Kurumi - 18. for my personal comfort bc we'll get to yuma later but im not gonna sit here and ignore the way the game constantly grovels at the audience's feet to ship them so id rather she not be any younger than this. anyway, more about her: she tends to hold her own as an informant with more competence, maturity, and effecience than most of the NDA. but she also has a pretty childish black and white view on things, like believing her beloved detectives are always right (girl if you were real you would be ENTRENCHED in stan culture oml do NOT get into minecraft youtubers) but i've... seen 18 year olds on the internet that are exactly the same so whatever

Aetheria girls - putting them all at 17-18 because, based on honorifics, they are treated as upperclassmen by their peers in the Japanese dub. i think waruna is the youngest and kurane is the eldest.

Yomi - 25. he has that vibe. old enough to be taken seriously as an adult but young enough to act like That™. yknow?

Martina - 32. she's giving older woman sexy librarian vibes and generally carries herself with a certain level of poise and maturity but is also a freak in a way that can best be explained by being a woman in her 30s. not elaborating on this

Swank - 41. to me he's like those awful surly businessmen who go to cabaret clubs to drink and smoke their office job woes away and cheat on their wives. but he also has extreme mafia boss swag about it so i kinda love him for that. dunno what this has to do with age tho. moving on.

Seth - 22 because he's giving youngest brother. i think he's the youngest of the peacekeepers in general. guillaume definitely bullies him about this.

Dominic - 34. bro is built like a jojo character what else do you want me to say. he's still got that youthfulness about him that makes me think he's still not going through his midlife crisis, so i wouldn't place him any older

Guillaume - 23. guillaume is so girlypop manic pixie dream girl core that she's definitely got the energy of someone who is young but also strikes the balance of being someone who has a job and a mortgage. dunno how she does it. id like to think she isnt even much older than seth but still bullies him for being the baby of the peacekeepers. do u understand my vision. please. they have so much annoying coworker potential.

shinigami - idk like 1000. she's a death god who cares.

yuma - okay. yeah. look i dont give a singular fuck about age discourse- headcanon whatever you want- but from looking at canon material i genuinely think that he could not possibly be any younger than 21. 20 if we wanna push it. yes, i know he looks young. i have eyes. but also, im in my 20s and the most common thing people tell me when i reveal my age is "oh, i thought you were 15." one time a person asked me if i was 12. at my job. that i was actively working at. i was 20. adults can look young, and contrary to the classic 1000 year old loli dragon trope he doesnt act overtly childish. he acts like a normal fuckin guy. yes he cries but like. you wouldn't in his position? bro speedruns lifelong trauma so skillfully that he's backwards long jumping into alternate universes where everything is somehow worse. i'd be freaked out if he didn't cry. also im aware that the child prodigy detective trope is a thing and that kodaka has written that before but... he was number one three years ago. and the training takes two years. which means, if he is a minor in the game's present day, he started working at the WDO at 12 and became number one at 14... at the oldest. have you ever met a 14 year old? forgive me for not suspending my disbelief here. and really the kicker for me is that yuma has a line where he says he's not sure if he's drinking age (which would be 20 in japan), but you know who would be sure? you know who knows yuma's age better than yuma?

makoto kagutsuchi - this megacorporation CEO has a fully stocked minibar installed in his penthouse. <- sentence i cannot bring myself to believe if it's about a child. since i also cant picture him becoming CEO at age 14 without yomi at least once angrily pointing that out (he only ever mentions that makoto is an outsider, or has his head in the clouds), id like to think both him and yuma, at their youngest, earned their top spots at their respective organizations at 18. it keeps their gifted kid syndrome and young prodigy-ness without making things comically ridiculous or uncomfortable for the sheer amount of sexual situations yuma gets put into.

anyway that's my silly little ramble on age headcanons. this was actually really fun to think about. shoutout to kodaka for leaving out the ages. funniest choice he could've made

[puppetmaster13u]

Who wants some Gotham area Ecto-Entities?

Xir Duke Gotham (Air Core) An old city spirit once beautiful now brought to the edge of constant agony by the curses zey hunt, & is one of the older city spirits resulting in them being territorial

Marquess Bludhaven (Water Core) A winged city-spirit covered in blood who becomes bloodier with every death in the city, though who loves his vigilantes very much, like little cousins

Marchioness Arkham (Earth Core) A young adult spirit who is roughly 103 years old who acts as though the building is her dollhouse, & who appears utterly mad to mortal minds

Bill (Poison Core) A low-level criminal who was in the wrong place in the wrong time who the Joker killed one night after a failure that wasn't his fault

Mime (Light Core) A grayscale woman with black tear streaks and striped sleeves & pants who acts out her words, unsure as to how she died

Matches Malone (Fire Core) A man who gave his blessing for Bruce to use his identity so he isn’t forgotten & regrets several of his crimes that happened in life

Esme (Shadow Core) A small girl who usually prefers she goes unseen who died locked in a cupboard & likes to hide in Batman's cloak for safety

Landgrave (Portal Core) A ghost who captains the guards of Gotham’s Lazarus Pits from interference & has a grudge against Ras

Owlet (Metal Core) A young dead Talon who had begun to break the brainwashing & wants to save the other ones if they can manage

Thomas Wayne (Water) Bruce’s father who lives in Gotham’s Ghost Zone & continues to act as a doctor to everyone who needs it

Martha Wayne (Crystal) Bruce’s mother who lives in Gotham’s Ghost Zone & violently protects her son & family from the other side

Stygia (Electric Core) A former mobster who doesn’t remember who or what killed her & is searching for answers 

Playwright (Fire Core) An old librarian who died when the library caught fire whose hair is still a gentle flame akin to a comfortable fireplace

Crescent (Ice Core) A teen who helps Bruce after he helped solve ver murder & where ver body was being hidden & who acts like an informant

[thegodemperorsmycopilot]

I am surprised that no one has created or published their own Space Marine Chapter named the Twilight Kings.

There're the Angels of Twilight and the Twilight Lords, as shown below, but no Twilight Kings. Nor Princes.

So, here's a random addition to the lists of homebrewed Astartes.

Twilight Kings

The Twilight Kings are a Space Marine Chapter of unknown provenance, rumoured to be a Chapter created in secret during the second or third Foundings.

The truth is that this Chapter's original core was made up of Night Lords Great Crusade veterans - loyal to the Imperium, Terra, and the Emperor of Mankind - left behind by their Legion to ensure continued Compliance and forgotten before the Heresy truly began. The rest were survivors from the Shattered Legions, lost Dark Angels, and excess troops from the Ultramarines & Imperial Fists.

Given a far-flung system on the edges of the Imperium as their fiefdom, and a protectorate prone to Xenos-induced rebellions and Old Night heresies, their tactics and culture evolved over the millenia as their geneseed did the same, with a little help from Mechanicus biologists.

The Twilight Lords are now akin to knights of noble orders with the capacity for brutality that is only exercised for the most savage and demanding of foes. The mutations in their geneseed leave them with alabaster skin, fully white eyes, and a propensity for clairvoyance, which has led to the Chapter's Prognosticars, a unique combination of Librarian & Chaplain.

However, the geneseed is challenging for aspirants' bodies to accept, and their Chapter's numbers have been dwindling for some millenia.

Bellisarius Cawl's Primaris reinforcements were a miracle for the Chapter, bringing much needed numbers and a legacy to impart.

However, rumours circulate that the Twilight Kings' Primaris geneseed may actually be of Night Lords' stock, despite Lord Guilliman's decree.

The Twilight Lords are on the very edge of Imperium Sanctus, dealing with the Imperium-splitting Warp rift on their very doorstep as well as a Tyranid splinter fleet they've marked as Chimaerae.

Allegiance: The Imperium of Man

Faction: Adeptus Astartes

Heraldry: The Chapter's symbol is a gold crown, with subtle lightning bolts creating its pinions, on a midnight blue background. Companies are indicated on their right pauldrons by half skulls of ivory stamped with their company number occupying the aft halves and Noxean runes for squad designation & number in the bottom forward halves over a midnight blue background.

Colours: Deep purple with dark blue highlights and bleached bone accents.

Iconography: Veterans of the First Company wear suits of bone & ivory. Assault troops bear crimson helmets. Leadership positions are denoted by crimson vambraces/gauntlets and blood drops on helm and/or pauldrons. Banners are crafted from the flayed hides of their enemies and hung from squad & hero backpack poles. Symbols of death, such as bones & skulls, adorn their armour.

Homeworld: The Twilight Lords have a fortress monastery and facilities upon the moon Nyxes, which is one of three moons that orbit the planet Noches, the system's namesake. However, the Chapter's forces are stationed on defense facilities within the massive asteroid rings that surround the system itself.

System: Noches

Protectorate: The Quartraghast Nebula, Upper Eastern Fringe

Motto: Crepusculum in caligine. = In twilight shroud.

Colours (hexcode) :

- #59003e Ford Purple

- #0d407f Citadel Macragge Blue

- #ffecc1 Bleached Bone

[avatarofthearchives]

Ranking Magnus Archive Episodes From Most Favorite To Least Favorite

(Disclaimer: I don't think there's a single Magnus Archives episode that I genuinely dislike, so even the lower rated episodes on this list are still pretty good in my eyes.)

Season 1: Lost John's Cave, The Piper, Across The Street, Infestation, A Distortion, A Father's Love, Skintight, Desecrated Host, Hive, First Hunt, Dreamer, Do Not Open, Angler-Fish, Confession, Colony, Alone, Anatomy Class, Growing Dark, First Aid, Burnt Offering, Lost And Found, Old Passage Ways, Piecemeal, Strange Music, Squirm, Freefall, Page Turner, Human Remains, Boatswain's Call, Killing Floor, Arachnophobia, Schwartzwald, Cheating Death, A Sturdy Lock, Vampire Killer, The Boneturner's Tale, Burned Out, Thrown Away, Taken Ill, The Man Upstairs.

Season 2: Burning Desire, Literary Heights, The New Door, Still Life, Too Deep, Lost In The Crowd, Trail Rations, Recluse, Personal Space, A Long Way Down, Distant Cousin, Thought For The Day, The Kind Mother, Librarian, Underground, Held In Customs, Burial Rights, Binary, First Edition, The Tale Of The Field Hospital, Hard Shoulder, The Butcher's Window, Tightrope, Exceptional Risk, Pest Control, Takeaway, Blood Bag, Book Of The Dead, Section 31, Crusader, Observer Effect, The End Of The Tunnel, High Pressure, Fatigue, Children Of The Night, The Smell Of Blood, Grifter's Bone, Foundations.

Season 3: Family Business, Another Twist, Creature Feature, Testament, Tucked In, Upon The Stair, Stranger And Stranger, A Guest For Mr. Spider, Dead Women Walking, The Masquerade, The Coming Storm, Sneak Preview, Thrill Of The Chase, Nightfall, I Guess You Had To Be There, Cruelty Free, Monologue, Drawing A Blank, We All Ignore The Pit, Total War, Light's Out, The Show Must Go On, Nothing Beside Remains, Cracked Foundation, Return To Sender, Dust To Dust, The Uncanny Valley, A Matter Of Perspective, Eye Contact, Taking Stock, Breathing Room, Containment, Body Builder, Dig, The Eyewitness, Nesting Instinct, Absent Without Leave, Third Degree, Possessive.

Season 4: The Eye Opens, The Last, Panopticon, A Gravedigger's Envy, Bloody Mary, Chosen, Weaver, Heart Of Darkness, Entombed, Cul-De-Sac, Doomed Voyage, Left Hanging, Threshold, Web Development, Far Away, Infectious Doubts, Scrutiny, Sculptor's Tools, Decrypted, Time Of Revelations, Civilian Casualties, Rotten Core, Reflection, Zombie, Nemesis, Cost Of Living, Concrete Jungle, Love Bombing, The Puppeteer, Submerged, Dead Horse, Remains To Be Seen, Flesh, Extended Surveillance, Meat, Heavy Goods, Big Picture, The Architecture Of Fear, Dark Matter, The Movement Of The Heavens.

Season 5: Last Words, Curiosity, Seeing It Through, Recollection, Connected, A Cozy Cabin, Dwelling, The Sick Village, Roots, An Appointment, Blood Ties, Wonderland House, What We Lose, Like Ants, Scavengers, Quiet, Checking Out, Fire Escape, Strung Out, Accomplice, This Old House, Locked In, Ignorance, Processing Line, In The Trenches, Peers, Monument, Epoch, The Worms, Parting, Night Night, Wellbeing, Adrift, The Gardener, The Great Beast, Precipice, Centre Of Attention, Revolutions,

[burnwater13]

Paz Vizsla using his flight pack to fight the Imps who were attacking Din Djarin and Grogu on Nevarro. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 3, The Sin. Calendar from DateWorks.

Grogu didn’t know a lot about Paz Vizsla. Yes, he’s a Mandalorian. Yes, he’s bigger than a brick privy (he’d heard Bo-Katan say that). He thought he should have been given the Darksaber when Grogu’s dad managed to get it away from Moff Gideon. Oh, and he’d once saved Grogu and his dad from the Imps and bounty hunters on Nevarro. But that was it. 

He didn’t know if Paz Vizsla liked music, ate frogs, or drank Spotchka. He didn’t know if the huge man liked dancing, debate, or wrestling. Could he recite the planetary capitals for the Core Worlds? Did he polish his armor every day? Did he back talk the Armorer? Who knew? Not Grogu.

Why this was important was pretty simple. Paz Vizsla had a famous Mandalorian ancestor and Grogu knew everything anyone could know about Tarre Vizsla. Every Jedi did. That’s how special he had been. You couldn't study Mandalorian history and culture at the Jedi temple and not learn everything there was to know about the only Mandalorian Jedi. 

Yup, that’s right. Tarre Vizsla, who had been Mand’alor a thousand years earlier, and who had created the Darksaber, had also been raised as a Jedi. As if that wasn't enough, he’d been of those rare people who had left all sorts of records on both Mandalore and Coruscant that provided future students of the Jedi-Mandalorian conflicts with a guide to understanding what was important to and what motivated Mandalorians. 

Of course, to access those records you needed to know that they existed, that a Mandalorian-Jedi had created them, and that they were never meant to be used to harm either the Jedi Order or the Mandalorians who challenged them so routinely. Grogu wasn't surprised to find that no one had accessed those records but him. At least the ones on Coruscant. 

He was sure Master Yoda would have had words of wisdom to share about balance in the Force and stuff like that, but really Grogu had just been trying to avoid the cheek pinching librarian and darted down a corridor that he’d never bothered with before and found himself walking through a space filled with all sorts of artifacts the Jedi had collected for millennia. 

Boxes, trays, plinths and shelving units overflowing with artifacts were sort of organized. If you call creating a winding path than only someone the size of Grogu could easily navigate ‘organized’. He suspected, much later, that it was because of this type of organization that he was the person able to find the the small metal box that held the records that Tarre Vizsla had created. Anyone else who even tried to walk through the room would have caused an avalanche of artifacts which they would have had to use the Force to suspend and even then it was going to leave a mark. 

Having seen Din Djarin’s new armor, as compared to the bounty hunter’s old armor, Grogu realized that the box he had found all those years earlier must have been made from beskar. It was shiny in a kind of understated way that didn’t match what he knew about other metals. Even in the dim light of the huge storage space he could tell that it had been created by a highly skilled craftsperson. Of course it was the same size as he was and he was looking at it from about ten centimeters away and had plenty of time to just stand there and appreciate it. Most people hadn't had that chance since it was built.

There were three indentations on the box and a very fine line separated two of them from the third on a horizontal plane. Grogu put his hand on the indentations and realized that they were handholds, or probably finger holds for a human or a species of a larger size than him. He pulled very gently but nothing happened. Dank Farrik! The box was locked. Now he really wanted to figure out how to open it. 

He wasn’t just curious about the contents. He could sense that something in the box wanted him to open it. But if it was locked, how was he going to do that?

Then he thought he heard a whisper. Really just a wisp of a sound that slipped into his ear and tickled the tiny hairs in it. “Oooo reee vaaa dddd”. Huh? What kind of word had that been? “Ohhh riii vvvv aaa ddd”. Oh ree vad? Grogu didn't know that word. What language was it? The only word he knew that was even close was ‘Ori’vod’ which was Mando’a for ‘Big Brother’, really big friend or special friend. Oh! 

Softly as he could Grogu whispered ‘Ori’vod’ and hoped his accent was okay. He found Mando’a must easier to speak than Gal Basic, but he still didn’t speak it very often. Almost no one at the Jedi temple spoke it and the few times he had offered up some sort of answer or advice using it, he got all the strange looks and comments about speaking something people understood from his classmates. 

It must have been okay because he heard the slightest sound of a latch being lifted or shifted to one side. He couldn’t tell for certain which it was but something had happened and that was enough. He put his hands in the indentations again and carefully lifted the ‘top’ of the box and found himself staring at an orb, maybe made of crystal, or perhaps a polished gem of some sort. It was dotted with tiny symbols and when he carefully lifted it from the box, it glowed with an internal light and was startled to see the images that where painted on the walls and ceiling all around him. 

At first he thought they were stars, but then he realized that they were something closer to topics. He brushed a finger carefully over the surface and pressed gently on a symbol that reminded him of a fish. The whole display changed and that very, very soft, faint voice was whispering in Mando’a again. He wondered what he could do to change that. He liked Mando’a but he didn't really have the vocabulary to understand it all that well. Perhaps he could tune into the object using the Force?

As soon as he did that he heard a voice speaking Gal Basic.

“Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Tarre Vizsla, friend. May you learn and reflect on what you have learned.”

Grogu was so surprised at that he almost dropped the orb. Instead he said “naak” and watched the light dim and the orb seemed to shut itself off. He was grateful for that. He carefully replaced it in it’s box, closed the lid and said “naak” again. When he tested the box, it refused to open. He was grateful for that. 

He retraced his path and managed to sneak out of the library and made his way to the cafeteria. Everyone at the temple expected to see him eating with a happy grin on his face. It was the perfect cover for having discovered that amazing artifact and it made all of his future visits to the library far more purposeful. 

One thing he could say about Paz Vizsla, based on what Grogu knew about his ancient relative, always expect the unexpected. You never knew when they were going to save your life or give you a guide to the galaxy. You just had to be patient. Not much of a Mandalorian trait to be honest, but Grogu was also a Jedi and no one ever saw that coming.

[kashimoistyping]

"Mhm, it's me."

The librarian in real life seems weak, like a shy, nerdy girl, her attire surely doesn't help with that image as well, with her long skirt reaching to her ankles, as well as the white dress shirt with ruffles, the bolo tie adorned by some blue gemstone brooch, and a black trench coat. The way she dresses makes her look like an old, gloomy but classy woman. Perhaps the habit of dressing well to not lose any face forced by her parents has seeped into her very core. On her side, a vintage book strap carrier is sling over her shoulder, containing many books — many curses, in reality. Nesting in her long unkempt hair is one of the many green fairies, the ones you've heard rather disturbing things about. Adjusting her glasses, she takes a proper look at the supposed old man she was texting before this very moment.

"Yeah, I know, I look weak. Just like what you've expected, don't I?"

— 📚

Kashimo raised an eyebrow. So this was what the librarian looked like... He was actually quite intrigued, maybe because he was expecting someone older, or something. A girl? Certainly not.

He was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about what to say next. He sighed. "Well, If I've learned anything in life it's that you shouldn't look at the appearance"

[bonfire-at-the-crossroads]

The StoneyWoods Festival was the brainchild of Ciaran and other folk in Kiltyclogher who have suffered the loss of a loved one. It began a few years ago after several of our beloved friends and family passed away - LONG before their time.

Ciaran and Caroline’s 17 year old son went out for a jog and died along the road.

Alison and Fergus 4 year old son died of the flu.

Orla the village librarian hung herself, and was discovered by her husband.

The man who organized and ran the youth boxing club got some sort of kidney infection - and was dead in week or two. He was in his early 40’s and fit as a fiddle.

The festival was organized to celebrate their lives - and ALL lives. No matter how painful or mundane our time on earth may seem, it is WORTH THE LIVING.

Music, games and competitions for the village children - a big old barbecue for everybody in town to come out and munch a burger or two, and chat with our neighbors. It has run for several years now - and is something the village can look forward to when the days get brighter and the weather finally gets warmer…

******************************

Ciaran came out to the studio the other afternoon to pick up the clock I repaired.

In a remarkable day of clear sunshine - we sat together drinking mugs of tea and munching fresh soda bread - with the sunlight on our backs and the clock ticking away on the wall….

Peace and quiet sometimes produces good talk. Talk that might not easily happen outside of the limnal space of the studio.

We talked about the recent deaths of two men in the village.

“He went out to the barn and put a bag over his head. He hung himself. His wife found him.”

“He had an old shotgun. He went out to the field. His wife found him.”

Two men with wives and children - in their 30’s and early 40’s - committed suicide within one week of one another. This, in a village of less than 200 souls. This in a silent, seemingly peaceful place of gentle days and quiet nights. Blurred rain and hanging mist - blazing stars and the sharp slice of new moon.

Death dealt from their own hands…

Ciaran is rattled to his core. Something has broken

Words are blunt tools. We sit quietly side by side. The clock ticks behind us.

“Both of these men were integral to the making of the StoneyWoods Festival. I talked to “——“ that morning about organizing the fishing competition. We have €300 to provide materials and he wants to keep using the old bamboo rods anyway….14 hours later? He is dead.”

We spoke of cancer. “They tell me they got ALMOST all of it….” And we sit in silence.

A woman we both admire has gotten a terrible reoccurrence -“ and she’s not doing well.” he tells me.

“I don’t know what to do about the Festival.” He turns to look at me.

“At this point it will just be me marching up and down the street holding up your poster. There is nobody else left.”

The Festival which was built to promote life and punch back against suicide - may not take place this year.

Because the people who work and make all the plans

Killed themselves.

[heliads]

YOUR REQUESTS ARE OPEN, I’M SO HAPPY, AHHHHH!!!

Okay, so I’ve had a few ideas for requests to send in to you, but of course my first one is for The Magnificent Seven!! I would like to request my beloved Goodnight Robicheaux with a gender-neutral reader in a modern AU, where Goody’s a veteran moving into a small town and opening up a shooting range after retiring from the military (and maybe the rest of the Seven are his old friends from when he served), and he falls in love with the town librarian? Basically just kind of a cute Hallmark movie-style Southern romance. <3

Thanks in advance, bestie, and I hope you’re doing well!! 🖤

'a new story' - goodnight robicheaux

masterlist

If there’s any place to meet somebody, it would have to be the public library. Every day, from the moment you open the doors to the minute they’re closed in the evening, you witness a steady parade of all kinds of people here on all kinds of business. There’s the usual crowd of exhausted parents with exuberant kids in the childrens’ section, then the frantic researchers, the laptop-laden students. There’s always a good-sized group on the computers, not to mention the people picking up their holds or perusing the endless aisles. Always the same story. Always the same faces.

As one of the head librarians, you’ve had plenty of years to study the constant cycle of customers. You’ve had time to watch kids grow into teenagers and leave for university, plus the steady progression of literary tastes, like when avid science fiction fans start to reach for the nonfiction titles instead of just their favorite series. This means that you know most of the regulars pretty well. It also means that, when a stranger comes to town, it’ll be sooner or later before they drop by the library.

It’s a small town. Gossip spreads faster than the morning news. You’ve heard word of a house sold on one of the eastern roads of town, then a score of empty cardboard boxes piled in the front yard as its new inhabitant moved in. Although you’ve yet to see the newcomer for yourself, rumor has it that he’s a kind-looking man who tends to stick to himself. He’s supposedly opening up a shooting range on the far side of town, which would agree with the pre-conceived notion that he’s a military veteran returning from service.

A few of your friends have taken it upon themselves to go on drives together that coincidentally end up past the newcomer’s house. You’ve never joined one of those reconnaissance missions, despite their urging; why bother? At some point, he’ll end up crossing your threshold. The library’s a core part of your small town. Everyone comes here eventually.

This inevitability is apparently not a belief shared by your friends. They roll their eyes and tease you about your distaste for snooping, but happily relate their intel anyway. The man’s name is Goodnight Robicheaux, likely a nickname from his military days. They’ve invited him to a few social events along with the rest of the town, but he rarely shows up, and on the odd occasion that he is there, will only linger for a few minutes before leaving again. They would scorn him for it, but it’s obvious that the man is quite shy, so his absence can’t be blamed on any disinclination for the town.

Your patience is rewarded a week or two after Goodnight’s arrival to town when he darkens the door of the library one sunny morning. You’re at the circulation desk, as per usual, so you have the perfect view of the front door when he shows up. The man must be Goodnight; you know everyone else, so you can’t resist a few curious glances snuck his way. Silver occasionally threads through his dark hair, and his eyes continuously scan the room, as if searching for someone hiding in the shadows.

Goodnight hesitates by the door, looking as if he’d like to approach your desk but a little too wary to commit to the task. You’re trying to decide whether you should wave at him or something, but you’re interrupted by a young girl running up to your desk to ask where she can find books on rocket ships.

You answer her with a smile, listening to all of her eager facts about outer space before pointing her to the childrens’ science section and giving her a call number scrawled down on a Post-It note so she can find a few books. This little encounter must win you over in Goodnight’s mind, because you can see him smiling at the scene out of your peripheral vision, and once the little girl leaves, he takes her place in front of the circulation desk.

“‘Morning,” he says cautiously.

“Good morning,” you return, “You must be Goodnight.”

The corners of his lips flick up into a grin, and it occurs to you that you probably shouldn’t know this, having never met him before today. “I think you’re a little more acquainted with me than I am.”

Your cheeks heat up and you look at the desk in front of you, it’s less triumphant than his smile. “My apologies. Gossip flies around here.”

“Oh, I can understand that,” he says. “I’ll accept your apology, but only if you give me your name, too. I reckon it would be unfair if you knew me but I didn’t know you. It’s hardly a proper way to start a friendship.”

You risk a glance up towards him, but his smile is warm this time, so you give him a smile in return. “I’d like that very much. My name is Y/N, Y/N L/N.”

He nods. “Y/N L/N. Lovely name. It suits you.”

You laugh. “Do you flirt with every stranger you meet?”

“Only the nice ones,” he supplies.

“I’ll take that,” you allow. “What can I do for you today, Mr. Robicheaux?”

“Call me Goodnight, please,” he insists, “And I’d love to sign up for a library card, if that wouldn’t cause you too much trouble. There are a couple of books I’d like to check out on running a small business. It can’t hurt to stay informed.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” you breeze, rummaging through your desk for the application form and a pen.

Goodnight retreats to a nearby table to fill out the form, although he returns to you straight away, and the two of you end up talking for far longer than is strictly necessary to turn in the form. You’ve just met him, but you’re already quite fond of his company. He’s got a certain cadence to his words that gives you the sense that he’s choosing them carefully, like he needs every syllable to be perfect so he can win you over. It makes you feel important, and although every new man in town probably wants to make a good first impression, you swear Goodnight is trying extra hard with you.

Eventually, he’s forced away for business, and he tells you his farewells with no small amount of reluctance. You watch him leave, one hand propping up your chin so you can pine appropriately.

One of your coworkers swings by, eyeing the closing door with intrigue. “You know, I think that’s the longest conversation he’s had with anyone here. Interesting.”

“If you consider other people’s day-to-day conversations interesting, I suppose it would be,” you say crisply, choosing to fix up a stack of bookmarks on the corner of the circulation desk instead of meeting her fascinated gaze.

The other librarian laughs. “I do when the two of you are flirting that much. I didn’t realize working up front gave you that much invitation for good-looking men to smile at you like that, or I would have tried to switch positions with you ages ago.”

“That’s your loss,” you laugh, but you can’t help a proud smile from lingering on your lips. 

You quite like the idea of Goodnight sticking by you the longest, even if it probably means nothing. The idea that it could mean something is quite exciting to you. The reason for that is, of course, pointless to describe, but the aftereffects are nothing short of captivating.

When a week passes by without a single sight of the man, though, you’re starting to think that you may have misread things after all. Just when you’re giving up the last of your hopes of a meet-cute situation, the bell over the door chimes and into the library walks Goodnight Robicheaux. Smiling. Looking directly at you. 

Unable to help yourself, you smile back at home. Ignoring the aisles of books on either side of him, Goodnight walks to you and stops on the other side of the circulation desk, hands in his pockets. 

“So,” he says.

“So,” you repeat.

He gives you a look of faint, humored consternation before continuing. “I tried coming in here once before, you know. You weren’t there.”

“I apologize on behalf of my schedule,” you smile. “I’m sorry to have missed you.”

“It’s not your fault,” he says hastily. “I just didn’t want you thinking that I didn’t try to come sooner. We’re both busy, that’s all.”

“That we are,” you agree. “I’m glad to see you back, though. If that counts for anything.”

Goodnight’s face comes alive with a smile. “It does. Say, since we’re both so busy, how about I get to know you outside of work? I’d love to take you out to dinner sometime, if that’s not too forward of me.”

You do your best to maintain a straight face, but it’s hard not to let a beaming smile slip through. “I’d like that a lot, Goodnight.”

“Good,” he says, looking relieved, “Good. How about Friday night? I can pick you up.”

You tilt your head to the side, considering this. “What about if I come to you? I’d like to see your range, if that’s alright.”

Judging by the proud look in his eyes, that’s more than alright with him. “I’d like nothing more,” he admits.

You think that you would quite happily stay there talking all day, but you’re called away soon enough on librarian business, and Goodnight has to return to his range, and so the two of you are split up again. This time, though, the parting is sweeter than before, because you know you’re going to see him again soon.

Friday can’t come quickly enough. You put on your finery and catch a ride to Goodnight’s shooting range. You haven’t actually been here before, too scared to show up without him inviting you and be obvious in your need to be around him, so you’re glad for the excuse to walk around.

It’s fairly obvious that you’re not dressed for shooting, so you linger in the lobby instead of going too far inside. One of the employees is lingering by the reception desk, his black hair pulled into a knot near the top of his head. He’s talking to a woman behind the counter, but he straightens up when he sees you.

“Hi,” you say cautiously. “I’m looking for Goodnight. Is he around?”

The man smiles. “You must be Y/N. Yeah, he’s just down the corner, I can walk you over there myself. I’ll see you later, Emma.”

The woman– Emma– smiles and waves him off. You and the dark-haired man set off down the hallway towards the center of the range. “I’m Y/N, but I think you already knew that.”

The man chuckles. “Trust me, Goody talks about you enough that all of us had a general picture. I’m Billy, by the way.”

You nod. “It’s nice to meet you, Billy.” You pause, and then, unable to resist, ask, “So Goodnight’s been talking about me?”

Billy shakes his head ruefully. “You’re the only thing he wants to talk about. Only good things, I promise. He’s a good man. I’ve never known him to badmouth anybody, least of all you. Truth is, I’ve been hoping to meet you for a while now. Goodnight’s one of my oldest friends, we met back during our military days. If someone’s important to him, they’re important to me, too.”

You hum in agreement. “I didn’t realize he had friends in the area, I thought he just moved here.”

Billy nods. “He did, but we moved here first, and he wanted the company. Most of us joined the service to pay for college, and Goody’s been pushing it off for as long as he can. Just got back recently, he did, but we’re all plenty glad to see him again. He’s a good man, Y/N. He deserves good things.”

You meet his gaze steadily. “I know. I hope he gets them, too.”

When you don’t back down, Billy manages a half-smile, as if you’ve passed some sort of test. “Goody’ll be in his office. We’re almost there.”

You glance around at the rows of equipment. “Does he teach classes?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Billy answers firmly. “That’s Goodnight’s story to tell. The rest of us manage when we can, although I’ve always been more fond of knives than guns.”

The two of you reach the door of Goodnight’s office. Coming to a stop, Billy says, “It was nice to meet you, Y/N,” and you get the sense that he genuinely means it.

“It was nice to meet you too,” you answer him. 

Once Billy leaves, all that’s left to do is knock on the door. Goodnight answers almost immediately, calling for you to come in. He’s seated at his desk when you arrive, but looks up when you open the door. His jaw actually drops when he sees you, and he straightens up at once, standing up to walk over to you.

“Don’t you look special,” he says. “I must be the luckiest man in this whole town to be the one who gets to go out with you.”

You laugh. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing.”

He chuckles, leading you to the door and back out into the sprawling complex of the shooting range. “Everything seems so well organized here,” you marvel. “I can’t believe it all opened up so recently.”

Goodnight sighs ruefully. “It’s been plenty longer than that in the making, trust me. I was fortunate enough to have friends who were willing to pitch in on my harebrained idea.”

“Yes, I met one of them when I arrived,” you comment. “Billy, I think. He was very nice.”

Goodnight perks up when he hears that you met Billy. “Yes, he’s one of my oldest friends. I take it the two of you hit it off?”

“Very well,” you answer.

“Perfect,” Goodnight muses. “He’s an excellent man. Quite knowledgeable about just about everything.”

You nod, glancing around you at the mess of customers coming and going. “I agree. Oh, I meant to ask– do you ever teach classes here? I wouldn’t mind brushing up a little for some self defense.”

To your surprise, Goodnight shakes his head firmly. “Not in the slightest. I don’t take well to guns. I used them plenty back when I was still a part of the service, but those days are over. If I never picked up a gun for the rest of my life, I’d be quite happy about it.”

You frown. “Why’d you open up a place like this if you don’t like being around guns? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

He just lifts a shoulder. “I don’t mind. Truth is, I’m not too sure of that myself. My best reasoning is just that it’s the only thing I know how to do.”

“I can understand that plenty well,” you agree. “Regardless, business seems to be doing well. By all accounts, your venture seems to be a success.”

Goodnight looks at the ground, evidently pleased. “Well, I’d be glad to receive a compliment from you any day. Enough about business, though. I believe we have a date, and I’d like to start on that as soon as I can.”

You laugh. “That’s perfectly fine with me.”

You allow Goodnight to lead you out of the complex and into the crisp night air. Evening is falling fast, and the streetlights shine a path forward to the rest of the town. This is only the beginning of the story, hardly even the first chapter, but already, you can tell that it’s going to be a good one. There will be more dates, more laughter, more quiet smiles shared over candlelight. You intend on chasing each and every one.

requested by @faerieroyal, i hope you enjoy!

magnificent seven tag list: empty for now!

all tags list: @wordsarelife