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naughtyneganjdm · 7 months ago

Text

Leather and Latex

Summary: Every year Negan throws a Halloween party at The Sanctuary and this year he asks you to be his date. Endlessly, Negan has asked you to be one of his wives and you have turned him down. So for the Halloween party he tries to get you to dress as one of his wives, but you have something else in mind.

Characters: Negan & the reader (OC, second person)

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59504641

Warnings: 18+, Swearing, Smut, rough sex, unprotected p in v, Halloween themed, no use of Y/N, female reader, little to no plot, leather, latex, Batman references, praising kink, spanking, edging, etc.

Notes: This is day 4 to go with this kinktober list. The prompts I chose were Leather or Latex and Sensory Deprivation.

You never really pictured Negan to be much of a fun guy. Or a good guy for that matter. But when Halloween came around, it was shocking how much The Saviors and Negan loved to throw a good Halloween party. For the most part, Negan did it for the children, which he’d never let people openly know. He had an image to uphold, but over the last few months you had really gotten to know a different side to Negan.

Tonight Negan had asked you to be his date for the party and you accepted. You couldn’t exactly turn down the leader of The Sanctuary. Even though, recently, you had turned him down many times before. Especially considering the situation at hand. For the last few weeks, Negan had been desperately trying to get you to be one of his wives, but you turned him down every time. It was driving him crazy and you kind of loved it. You reminded him time and time again that you didn’t want to be sitting in a room, wearing a black dress like some mindless drone waiting for him whenever he wanted you. No, you wanted to be making a difference. You wanted to be someone that people respected. And to be respected? You couldn’t be one of Negan’s wives.

So the only thing at this point you had really done with Negan was kiss. But you would quickly stop things and shut him down. Hell, you liked Negan, but you had to make a point with Negan. You weren’t just someone who was pathetic and needed him to take care of you.

Tonight, when he brought you your ‘costume’ it had only fueled you more. Negan was specific in what he wanted you to wear. And that costume was a black dress and a nice pair of shoes so that for one night, you could be one of his wives. You played along with it, but when the opportunity arrived for you to pull one over on him, you did. Many times you and Negan had talked about things you liked before the world fell to shit and Negan stressed that he was a big fan of Batman. So when you had gone on a run with the saviors and found a Halloween store that had an extensive Batman costume, you made a deal with Negan. You wouldn’t be upset if he put that on. Even though he originally wasn’t planning on wearing any costume.

So that’s where he was. In the bathroom attempting to put on the costume that you had asked of him. At first, he was uncomfortable with the idea since it had extensive amounts of latex and leather. And he didn’t know if he could fit into it.

Laid out on Negan’s bed, you hadn’t let him know that you were out to surprise him with something while he had been locked away inside his personal bathroom that was in his bedroom. The loud music from the party that was already going on downstairs filled the air and it made you smile.

“You know, this is fucking awesome, but I think I’m going to need some help with putting on all the pieces,” Negan’s voice began, stepping into his bedroom to reveal that he had the cowl on along with a long-sleeved black shirt and the full batman pants set up. At this point he only had on half the costume, but you really didn’t give a shit. Once his eyes fell on you, he came to a quick stop and gave his classic Negan lean. “What in God’s name are you doing?”

“Me?” you questioned, looking down at yourself. While Negan was away in the bathroom you had grabbed a pair of his pants, one of his crisp white t-shirts, his red scarf and his leather jacket that he had set aside to get changed. On your right hand you had snatched the leather glove that Negan often wore and put that on too. Swiftly you had changed out of the classic Negan wife get up and into this which had his hazel eyes gazing over you. “Can’t you tell who I’m going to the party as? If you let me borrow Lucille, it would complete the set.”

“Where’d your dress go?” Negan looked around to see that the dress was laying on the floor at the foot of the bed. “Damn darlin’ you really wanna test the limits with me, don’t you?”

“No, I just really wanted to be Negan for Halloween,” you pulled yourself to the edge of the bed, biting down on your bottom lip. Curling your fingers around the bed, you gave a simple shrug and looked up to Negan with a sense of innocence. Wiggling your finger at Negan had his jaw flexing and in the Batman cowl, it actually looked incredibly sexy. Stepping forward toward the bed, Negan stopped when he reached the area before you. Outstretching your hands, you hooked your fingers with his and heard him growl. “You know…I always had a fantasy about having sex with Batman.”

“I don’t have the full costume on,” Negan pointed out with your eyes gazing over the parts of the costume that he already had on. The top was clinging to his body showing every part of his slender torso and the pants already looked good on him. Taking your hand, you reached out to palm in over the front of the pants eliciting a loud grumble from Negan’s throat.

“Is that you or the costume?” you wondered, licking your lips and dropping your palm between his legs to cup his testicles firmly. Wincing out, Negan tipped his head back and the prominent vein was visible at the side of his neck.

“That’s all me,” Negan responded, sucking in a sharp breath of air. “What about the Halloween party?”

“I think we can have our own party in here,” you suggested, standing up from the bed before Negan. Sliding your palms up over the lengths of his torso, you curled your fingers around his shoulders to get him to lower down closer to you. “Unless of course, you don’t want to have sex…”

“Lucky for you I always had a fantasy of fucking myself,” Negan mused with an arrogant bob of his head. It was such a ridiculous line and the way he delivered it was so cheesy that you couldn’t help yourself with laughing. Grasping your hips firmly in his hands, Negan snickered and drew his tongue out over his bottom lip. “This was a bold decision.”

“I’d like to think of it as smart,” you reasoned with him, tipping up on your toes to press kisses over his jawline. Groaning out, Negan tipped his head back and allowed you to pepper his throat with wet, teasing kisses. “I’m Negan already, so why shouldn’t I look the part?”

“No one gets to wear that leather jacket, I hope you know that,” Negan was letting you know that you were somehow special in the way that he wasn’t angry with you for wearing it. “I will worn you though, this was a bitch to get on, which means it’s going to be a pain in the ass to get off.”

“Well good thing I’m determined and have patience,” you slurred, purring out when Negan’s palms slid in over your sides toward your bottom to give it a firm squeeze. “I’m still not going to be your wife. I need you to know that.”

“No, this is purely Batman and Negan having sex,” Negan snorted and it drew attention to his eyes. Negan had already put the black makeup around his eyes to fit with the cowl and you couldn’t help but smile in how serious he took this whole thing. It really brought out the color of his beautiful hazel eyes and you were actually kind of glad you did this.

Tipping up on your toes, you brought your lips together in a hungry sweep that had Negan clinging firmly to you, pulling him flush against you. With every caress of his lips, you felt your heartbeat growing stronger.

“Fuck me,” Negan grunted, dropping his head down to look between the two of you. “My dick is only just starting to get hard and these pants are killing me.”

“We’re going to have to get them off you then,” you worked with the belt realizing what he meant with it being so many pieces. It took a lot to get them undone and you had to use a lot of strength to tug at the material when you dropped to the edge of the bottom of the bed. Getting the material down to his thighs made you smile when you saw his semi-erect length before your eyes. Caressing your hands up over his thighs and toward his hips had him sucking in sharply. God, his incredible v-line looked twice as amazing in what he was wearing. “Look at the weapon you were hiding on you this whole time Batman…”

“Weapon?” Negan repeated with an amused rumble, humming out when your fingers curled around his shaft. With gentle strokes over his body, it had him growing harder within your grasps. “I like that. It’s both a weapon of mass pleasure and destruction. Because tonight, I’m gonna absolutely destroy your pussy.”

“Now that better be a promise,” you purred, reaching around to grab his small ass in order to tug him forward. A wicked smirk tugged at Negan’s arrogant features when you let the tip of his cock drag over your full lips. Extending your tongue out ever so slightly against the ridges had him breathing loudly. “I’d hate to be let down by my favorite superhero.”

“Oh, that would be a catastrophe,” Negan agreed, his head nodding slowly and his gloved hands hooking around you to grab firmly at the back of your head. Wetting your lips, you pressed teasing kisses over the head of Negan’s cock that turned to gentle flicks of your tongue over the swollen tip. You didn’t want to jump right into this. No, you wanted to make him suffer with continuous wet, hot kisses at the tip that would grow more in strength. So that way by the time you finally did take him into your mouth, his legs were uneasy with his breathing broken. Watching Negan was the key to all of this with you lapping at the underside of his cock and then taking him further back toward your throat. “Y’know, I’ve never missed a Halloween party.”

“There is a first for everything,” you pulled your mouth away with a wet sound, your lips glimmering as you pressed them up to the tip. Extending your tongue out had Negan growling out. “If you’d rather be at the party.”

“Shut up and suck my dick,” Negan scoffed getting you to chuckle against his flesh. It had him tremoring and stepping in closer to you. His free hand wrapped around the base of his erection bringing his cock to your lips. Sinking it between your lips, Negan started to rock his hips back and unhurriedly forward toward your throat. Grasping at his hips, you allowed him this. You knew how bad he wanted this whole thing so you were going to give it to him. It was a mix of him letting you pleasure him and him fucking your throat. When he thought you’d need to catch a breath, he’d loosen up before urging you down his cock firmly. “Good girl.”

After a few firm thrusts to the back of your throat with a gagging sound following, Negan pulled his hips back and away from you. It had a line of spit connecting your lips and his cock. An amused sound escaped him when he pushed into your shoulders to get you to lay back.

“I’ve never given head before with something like this on my head, but let’s give it a shot,” Negan pulled at the pants you were wearing and it didn’t take much to get them from your body. Tearing at your panties had you gasping out, but Negan didn’t take his time. Dropping to his knees, his hands forcefully pushed your thighs apart and it was pretty immediate that you had his head between your legs. A rough, forceful kiss was pressed against your folds causing you to arch your back up toward him. Humming out, Negan dragged his tongue out between your folds teasing at your sensitive body. Slurping faintly at your clitoris had your fingers reaching down in search of his hair, but you realized that he was still wearing the cowl and it made you laugh. “What?”

“This is just new for me Batman,” you liked the smile that he gave you with his head tipped back. This was both incredibly sexy and ridiculous at the same time, but you weren’t going to complain. Dropping his head back down, Negan was very dominant in the way that he ate you out. It was no time before you were a shuddering mess beneath him clinging at whatever you could grab. You may have preferred to see Negan’s face and not so much his Batman mask, but you were making it work. “Negan…”

With your moans, Negan kept up the pace of his mouth and tongue working to bring you right to the edge of your orgasm. Bouncing your hips toward him, you were in desperate need of the orgasm that he was working up inside of you. It had been so long and he was surprisingly doing such a good job even with that cowl on.

Negan’s fingers hooked with yours right when you were about to come and you threw your head back into the pillows. It had an amused rumble falling from Negan’s throat when he sat down at the bottom of the bed. Your thighs were tremoring, your eyes slammed close leaving you with the sensation of spinning. Even though you were trying to catch your breath, Negan was ready to keep going.

In a haste, he pulled you in over him. Together the both of you shakily worked to pull the tight material of the long sleeve that he was wearing up his body to toss it to the floor. Crawling further in over his lap, you curled your fingers around his neck and it felt strange with the way the cowl felt against your fingertips.

“Wait,” Negan demanded, reaching for the red scarf that you had put on. Lifting it, he wrapped the material around your eyes and it had you releasing a shuddering sound. By his low rumble of a laugh, you could tell that he was amused. By taking your sight away, you couldn’t see a thing and he knew that. Maybe just simple shapes, but that was it. Gasping out, you tried to keep yourself balanced by holding onto his shoulders when he firmly tugged the white shirt up over your breasts and yanked down the cup of your bra. Negan’s mouth was quick to cover your breast, his tongue circling the nipple eagerly. “So fucking perfect.”

Whimpering out, you felt the length of Negan teasing at your entrance and you bucked up against him wanting to have him enter you, but he wasn’t giving you the satisfaction of that yet. Instead he continued to pamper your breasts with kisses until he hooked your arms behind your back in one of his hands.

“You are my prisoner after all,” Negan nipped at your neck, having you cooing out at the sensation. You could feel the leather of Negan’s jacket hot against your exposed flesh with Negan firmly rolling you over onto your stomach. Pulling your hips to the bottom of the bed, Negan roughly pushed into your lower back before kicking your legs apart. The warmth of Negan covered you with him wrenching your arms behind your back. “You are a naughty girl.”

“I’m so naughty,” you purred out with Negan’s cock hovering over your bottom. A soft tapping was felt against your cheeks before Negan led his cock to your entrance. In a swift, fluid movement Negan filled you completely having you throw your head back. A loud cry fell from your lips when he pulled his hips back and then firmly smacked forward. The movement was so strong that it had you bouncing forward up the bed. “Fuck!”

“I did say I’d deliver on a promise of destroying your pussy,” Negan growled in your ear and with your sight taken away from you, you felt everything in so much more detail. Every powerful thrust had you moaning out, your cries not being held back with Negan pounding into you with reckless abandon. Loud smacking sounds of your flesh filled the air and he wasn’t letting up on the grasp of your arms behind your back. “Such a tight pussy. It feels like it was made for only me. Who does it belong to?”

“It’s yours,” you whimpered, biting down on your bottom lip with every powerful forward thrust he made inside of you. It was hard to form words with your face buried against the bed and your eyes covered. What Negan was doing to you was both incredible and mind blowing. It wasn’t romantic, but that was never really something you pictured Negan being.

“I asked you who it belongs to,” Negan finally released one of your arms, giving your ass a firm smack. Whimpering out, you clung tightly to the comforter on Negan’s bed.

“Negan,” you were quick to answer wincing when he dropped your other arm. Both his hands were squeezing at your ass while he led you back over him repeatedly. Plunge after plunge of his body was rough, powerful and had you attempting to crawl upwards, but he would pull your hips back to him.

“I know this big cock has to be new for you sweetheart, but you’re going to take it like a champ,” Negan assured you, his right hand reaching out to press between your shoulder blades to keep you in place. Leaning over you, his weight braced against his arms that were beside you. Hooking his left hand with yours, Negan squeezed his fingers tightly with yours when he started rolling his hips forward, his lower abdomen smacking against your bottom. “Good girl.”

There was some racket downstairs from the party, but you were so lost in this that you didn’t care. There was a heat growing in your belly with every deep thrust Negan left you with. Negan’s mouth was covering your shoulder, neck and jawline with hot kisses.

“You feel so fucking good,” Negan growled in your ear, drawing chills throughout you. Turning your head just enough had you begging for his lips to cover yours. Giving you what you wanted, Negan stole a kiss from your lips that had you desperate to kiss him back. “Are you going to come?”

“Yes,” you panted, your body bouncing back into Negan’s thrusts. He had you trapped beneath him, but you liked the way it felt with him surrounding you. The smacks of his testicles against your clit felt amazing with him plowing into you. Grunting against the side of your neck, Negan bit at your jawline and hissed when your body started to tense up. Feeling your body contracting around his, Negan’s hips seemed to falter leaving you with a cry. “Please. Negan!”

“Not yet,” Negan snickered, pushing up and away from your body. The drag of his cock from your warmth was agonizing with him leaving your body. He seemed amused with your whining as he flipped you over onto your back. Crawling in over you, he urged your right leg to curl around his waist and you frowned. “You’ve teased me this whole time and you can’t wait a few extra minutes to come?”

“It hurts,” you frowned getting a deep rumble of a laugh to fall from him.

“And now you know how it feels when you’ve sent me packing with the blue balls every time you made out with me,” Negan breathed against your lips, amused when your hips arched up toward him begging him to enter you again. “You’re a greedy little thing.”

“I thought Batman was supposed to be the good guy,” you reminded him with Negan snickering against the side of your neck. “You’re going to leave a lady aching and in pain?”

“Batman isn’t liked by everyone you know,” Negan reached between the two of you, his lips hovering over yours. Leading himself back into you with ease had the both of you moaning in unison. At first, the roll of his hips was slow. It was almost torture with the slow pull back and the unhurried push forward. It was having him fill you completely and then almost leave your body before smacking forward again. Your arms hooked around his shoulders, you fingers digging into his flesh. “Give me what I want and I’ll let you come.”

You didn’t respond. He wanted you to be his wife, but there was no fucking way. Your silence didn’t bode well for him with his thrusts becoming more forceful having you bounce upward with every movement, “It’s not that hard to just give me what I want.”

“I won’t be one of them,” you denied him, your nails biting into his skin with how hard Negan started to fuck you. It had your back arching with you crying out his name again and again. You were thankful that the music was loud downstairs or otherwise you would have drawn the attention of someone in The Sanctuary. It was so fucking good, but just like before right when he got you to the edge, he stopped leaving your heart hammering in your chest. “Goddamn it Negan.”

“Only good girls get to come and you’re being very bad,” Negan slurred, his mouth covering your exposed breast. Nipping at the taut bud had you purring out, your fingers sliding up toward the back of his head where that fucking mask still was on him. And then he started moving again. Sharp, torturously slow movements that had you gasping with the sensation. “You wanna come? Give me what I want.”

“I’d be miserable,” you whined, your throat tensing up with Negan kissing up over your chest toward your neck to bite at the side of it. That would certainly leave a mark. “I want to be beside you, not waiting for you to return.”

“Goddamn,” Negan snarled, pulling away from you again, but this time he was tugging the blindfold down to get you to look at him. Trying to get the cowl from his head, you helped him when he hissed out and managed to get it off. Tossing it aside made you smile. He was soaked, his messy hair clinging to his head with him rolling you over so that you were on top of him. “If you don’t want to give me what I want then make yourself come.”

You weren’t going to fight that one with you bracing your hands over the center of his chest. Negan’s palms cupped at your breasts while you started to bounce yourself eagerly over his hips. You wanted to feel all of him and you were so desperate for that release. Winces were falling from Negan’s throat, his hazel eyes narrowing while you had your way with him.

Breathy pants were falling from your parted lips. Negan’s hips were meeting yours with every downward thrust you made over him. Your motions went from careful to forceful with Negan grasping to your hips to help you rock over him in swift movements. Your face was hot, your heart hammering when you threw your head back finally reaching that orgasm that Negan had held off from you for so long.

“Don’t stop,” Negan hissed, pushing up so that he could kiss over the side of your neck, forcing you to continue to move your hips over his even though you were already weak from how hard that prolonged orgasm took to get. Grasping at his wet, dark hair you knew he was looking for that same kind of euphoric feeling you allowed yourself to have. Short, pronounced winces were pressing against your throat. A few more powerful thrusts beneath you had you clutching to Negan when his cock twitched inside of you filling you with the first line of his cum. Bouncing up toward you, Negan clung tightly to you until the end of his orgasm, his breath warm against your lower neck. His arms were holding tightly to you and you were clinging to him. “I don’t know why you don’t want to be mine.”

“Because I can be yours without having to be your wife,” you hushed him, dragging your thumb across his bottom lip. Nipping at the pad of your thumb, Negan’s hazel eyes hooked with yours and it made you smile that he still had the Batman make up around his eyes. “I’ve been yours this whole time Negan. You’ve just been too blind to see it.”

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Tags: @slutlanna976 @fuckthis-and-fuckthat @jennydehavilland @pixelb4rbie @ibelongtonegan

@smallsadjellyfish @labyrinthofheartagrams @msjamesmarch @thebeautysurrounds @hotfornegan

@redmercysugar @caprithebunny @tuttifuckinfruitty @emoryhemsworth @a-girl-interupted

@akumune @stoneyggirl2 @xsarcasticwriterx @haleygreen23 @xhannahbananax03

@sanctuaryforthelost @burningredaffair @killaweiser @dead-of-niight @ayumi-wolf

@promiscuousbarnes @tone-stark @lanadelnegan @peachihellcat

#Negan #negan x reader #negan fanfiction #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #The Walking Dead #The Walking Dead fanfiction #Negan Smith #Negan x you #Negan Smut #Negan Imagine #twd fanfiction #twd smut #kinktober 2024

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ambrosiagoldfish · 4 months ago

Note

i’m going a teensy bit feral reading your adam x third spouse story so i guess im just asking for part five and for it to hopefully have focus on dad beat dad and how lucifer would react to seeing the reader again after so long and like what would happen n stuff 🤭🤭 ofc if this is dumb ignore it i like what you’re doing with the story already !! the part im most excited for is the finale tbh but there’s a lot of time in between what you have rn and then so i’m just yapping abt stuff that could be cool in between. thsi is so jumbled omg sorry i just wanna see more of your writing it’s so good

idk how to end this uhh i love you bye 🫡

Benefit of the doubt PT.5

Adam x 3rd Spouse! Reader

Warnings: GN! Reader, confronting the past, next to no Adam (I know, sad, but it’s for the plot), Reader focused chapter, this is set during ‘Dad Beat Dad’, swearing, the next 2 chapters will have a LOT more Adam DW ❤️❤️

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Request Box: OPEN

Word count: 4322

A/n: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the support on all the other chapters. It’s been 8-ish months since the last update and for that I want to apologize. I’ll save it for its own dedicated post to not full int his page too much. But if you’ve saw one of my post from the other day, I have posted this on A03 and I’m giving myself 8 total parts. 7 will be the finale and 8 will be an epilogue styled thing (not even sure if I’m wanting to do it so when we get there, you guys can tell me if you want it!! ) so yeah, enough rambling, you’ve all been waiting so long for the next part so here you go!! <3

Reblogs are VERY appreciated!

(My posts have been flopping so much, I would love you forever if you did 😭)

Old memories have a habit of slithering their way back into a person's mind, and even sometimes, people

The first few months at fhe hotel were a lot more enjoyable than you originally expected. Most days went relatively the same, Charlie would choose an activity to do and you would observe the progress they made.

At first, progress hadn't shown much promise but as everyone grew closer, things began to look up. Angel had gone clean with his drug abuse and was distancing himself from his line of work. Sir Pentious started to actually trust the people around him and has done no major constructional damage to any buildings as of late.

Everything was going so smoothly that, when you had woken up one morning to the sounds of screaming, running, and just general chaos. You thought everything was finaly going into the ground.

You quickly run down to the lobby, thoughts of what could be happening run through you. Did one of Pentious experiments fail and explode? Were we being attacked by one of the many gangs in town? Did Alastor decide the hotel was actually boring and started destroying it, starting with the occupants? Whatever it was, you hurry faster to the lobby.

But what was meeting you there was… unexpected to say the least. Party streamers, banners, cookies. It looked like some kind of welcome party heaven would do, albeit with less flare and taste in decor. A banner that read ‘Wellcum Daddy’ was being hung up by Razzle and Dazzle, everyone was either cleaning or baking something, and Vaggie seemed to be ordering them around.

You look at the clock, huh, it’s way too early for any kind of Charlie’s trust exercises. Not to mention, she would have told you about the curriculum and there was absolutely not a 10 AM home-EC class listed on your schedule.

You quickly run up to Charlie who seemed to be preoccupied with helping Vaggie put something up “Charlie, what’s going on?” You tap on her shoulder, She jumps a bit before just realizing it’s you,

”Oh- Y/N, I’m so sorry, I completely forgot to get you!” She apologizes when Vaggie pops in,

“Don’t be, I told Nifty to go wake you up, but looks like she had better things to do” she points over at Niffty swifty stabbing bugs and removing cobwebs out of habit

“It’s fine, just… what’s everyone doing, what’s with all the party supplies and sweets?” You say, arms to the festive lobby around you.

“Oh well…” she took a deep breath “you know that The deadline is fast approaching and while we’ve made progress it’s not much” she paused, trying to even brace herself for what’s coming out of her mouth, “I have asked… my dad to come over and hopefully get us a meeting with heaven” she stops, completely caved in on herself.

“Wait, so… your dad is coming here?” you thought about the times she had asked you to get them a meeting with heaven but you had already explained to her that it would be next to impossible for someone like you. You had to practically beg just to monitor the hotel

Charlie Picked herself back up and looked at you with a shakey demeanor, “Yeah In about… 55 minutes”

You blink a few times before giving a small chuckle “Well, would you look at the date! I think it’s time I used my 1-per-month trip back home! If you’ll excuse me-“

“Wait! No-“ she trips over herself “We need you here, if dad can see, not only the progress we’ve made, but also that we already have an angel supporter, there’s no way he could say no!”

“Charlie, I don’t think it’s a good idea-”

“PleasePleasePlease! I will pay you back, promise! But I- we could really use you there!” Her eyes looked at you, similar to a puppy. She hands clasped together In plea.

You looked away in thought. Seeing him again was the last thing you wanted to do at this moment, any moment for that matter. The last time…well to be honest, the whole exchange hadn’t meant anything to you in quite a while. He could say whatever he wanted about you… it was the words he had to say about Adam that kept your heart ablaze in anger at the Morningstar.

Trash? He should really look in the mirror before saying that about your Adam. But… this could be a good opportunity for the hotel -as much as it pained you to admit- You can only sigh, “fine.. for the hotel…” You let out a small chuckle raising your arm in defeat.

Charlie jumped up and down with glee, repeating a matra of ‘Thank You’s’ before continuing “I get it might be difficult since you’re an Angel.” She tries to give some comfort. But that caught your attention.

“Because I’m an Angel?” You honestly didn’t mean to say it out loud but it came out as a question.

She looks at you confused “yeah, you know, considering I don’t think angels have too kind of thoughts to my dad for being… the devil” she laughs nervously

Oh. Oh. So that’s what she means. So she doesn’t know about your past with him? Not too much a surprise, I doubt Lucifer would bring up any of his failures. But that also made you realize one other thing. Charlie doesn’t know about your marriage with Adam.

Look, you didn’t mean to keep it a secret. In fact you had already assumed they knew. I mean you were sitting literally right next to him and Vaggie already knew who you were. You just thought she would have told Charlie, but knowing this now… it may be best to keep it a secret.

You let out a quick “I understand.” and with that, you all went your separate ways, you did contribute to the decor the best you could, as well as helping Sir Pentious and Nifty with the baking until finally, it was time for Charlie’s dad to arrive.

You walked over to a more remote place in the hotel lobby, look… you may have to interact with him today but you will not be doing it that soon. Instead, you decided your best choice of action was to sit and watch quietly until Charlie decided it was time for you two to meet. And in the meantime, you can mentally brace yourself.

Charlie sighs deeply “Okay everybody, it’s showtime!”

With that she swings the door open revealing the one, the only (thank Father) king of hell himself, Lucifer. Immediately Lucifer pulls his, obviously nervous daughter into his arms. He greets her with excitement before moving on to Keekee, and eventually Razzle and Dazzle.

He eyes the room, clearly covering up any distain for the hotels “character” to protect Charlie’s feelings. At least until he got to the bar which even he couldn’t lie his way through.

Even from the distant view you were from, you could see Alastor and Lucifer weren't going to be the best of buds anytime soon. As soon as they were introduced to one another they immediately got into it. Huh, at least now you have something in common with Alastor at least! If that’s even a good thing.

Their quarrel lasted a few minutes, everyone either waiting for it to be over, completely ignoring it, or enjoying it as entertainment. It lasted what felt like an eternity and was only interrupted when a short and plump woman by the name of ‘Mimzy’ came into the scene.

The old time-y dressed woman was one of Alastor’s friends, you honestly didn’t think he had those but you digress. Eventually once the commotion dies down, you see Charlie give you a nervous smile and wave for you, ‘that’s my cue’ you thought. Anxiety still felt taught in your heart but still you pushed through.

You walk out of your hiding spot, walking up to be next to Charlie. Still trying to keep your presence hidden for as long as you could, savoring those last few moments of peace before a wave of interactions.

Charlie clears her throat and puts on a more professional demeanor despite her nervousness, getting the attention from her dad, “And last but certainly not least, i’d like you to meet our Angelic sponsor-“

“Y/N!?-“ the fallen Angel suddenly started coughing, clearly having choked on his own words. He clears his throat “Sorry! I just wasn’t expecting… you to be here” he lets out a chuckle.

“You guys know each other!?” Charlie looked shocked, her voice pitching up in bewilderment.

“We’ve… met before,.” Your voice was low, But still you pushed through “Though, it’s hardly relevant to anything of importance now. Isn’t that right, Morningstar?”

Lucifer's face contorted into an uncomfortable shaky smile, fingertips digging into his Apple-shaped cane. Perhaps he felt some type of remorse for the way things happened back all those years ago, but even if that’s true, you had no plans to forgive him.

He clears his throat “Yes it’s- unimportant Sweetie.. “

You 3 stand in awkward silence for a moment, all you can do is glare daggers at the short ex-Angel in front of you. Eventually though, you couldn’t stand the scilence any longer, “Well Charlie, I have to get something done in my room and I’ll be back to help with the tour in a few minutes, if that’s ok?”

Charlie looked like she wanted to protest, for you to stay with her through the tour, but she knew you wouldn’t just leave and not come back. “Um, yeah that’s fine! Me and Alastor can get the tour started and you can meet us around the 4th floor?”

You gave a quick nod as agreement and make your way to your room. Sighing, you flop down on your bed, feeling the soft warmth as you sink into comfort. Pulling out your phone, you quickly typing a text to Adam but your thumb simply hovered over the send button, anxiety washing over you. Your message was simple,

‘I promise that everything’s ok, but he’s here’’

You were hesitating, should you even tell him that he's here? You didn’t want to worry him over something so insignificant. He has a show tonight, he wouldn’t be at his best if he was constantly thinking you would be in the same room as the devil.

Or even worse, he could just cancel the show completely and march down here and a cause a ruckus which at best would completely destroy the Hotel’s plans and at worse… No, you can’t think of that.

You look at the message again before just setting your phone on your nightstand. 10 minutes… that’s all you need before you go back out there…

…Lucifer was having… let’s just say a tinsy bit of a bad day. Not only has he been forced to interact with that insufferable yellow-toothed sinner but also, he has been reunited with someone he hadn’t seen in a millenia, you.

The anxiety of the day was only topped off with the added stress of being with his daughter. Don’t get him wrong, he LOVES his daughter and is always happy to see her, but the way she talks and acts with these sinners… Ugh, it reminds him too much of himself back in the day.

Her hotel too… He may have given her the place but he never gave it much thought beyond it being a pipe dream for her. He was just trying to do something for his daughter, especially with… Lilith being out of the picture. He just wanted to cheer her up, and unfortunately it seems ‘grandiose plans’ run in the family.

Even now as Charlie and that Red haired Buck show him around, Charlie explains excitedly about different things they have at the hotel. It reminds Lucifer about how she was when she was little, that glow of joy never seemed to fade away from her despite the conditions she lives in.

But even still, as much as he’s trying not to zone out and actually listen to his daughters rambles, his mind keeps trailing back to one, singular thought. You.

What were you doing here? He knows you were there to ‘support the hotel’ as Charlie puts it. But this is the absolute first he’s hearing about it. Why wouldn’t heaven tell him that another Angel was down here, let alone, you most of all. The last time he saw you was… not the best first meeting

Were you here in secret? You clearly weren't fallen, considering you still had your halo and you didn’t look like you’ve been damaged anywhere close to what you’d be if you had fallen. Not to mention… Adam, the exterminations were his idea so why would you even consider an alternative when you are his-

“Uh, Dad?” Charlie interrupted Lucifer’s thoughts, a look of worry on her face. ”You’ve got a little bit of… horn? Sticking out”

Lucifer looks up and sees that he’s subconsciously beginning to phase into his full demon form. He quickly takes his hand and pats the horns as if he was just dusting off his coat, causing the horns to seem to fade away like dust. Wow, today really seems to be getting to him.

“Ah sorry Sweetie, it’s nothing just… uh..” He thinks for a moment, he has to talk to you alone, just for a second. “*Ahem* I was just realizing I had to… use the bathroom, I seem to have had one too many drinks on the way here. Can you tell me where the… bathroom is?” He lets out a chuckle to hopefully cover his lie.

“Oh, it’s just down the hall and to the right, I can take you there-“

Lucifer quickly lets out a loud ”No!“ Before clearing his through again “I can get there on my own, just wait here and I’ll be back!”

Before Charlie can even answer, Lucifer rushes through the halls of the hotel, yelling a ‘I’ll be back soon’ to his Daughter before turning the corner. He lets out a deep breath as he lays out the plan in his head. Figure out why you’re here, and get back to Charlie as fast as inhumanly possible.

Picking his feet up again, he makes his way to the lobby of the hotel, he looks around for a moment before spotting the check in desk. ‘They usually keep visitor information there, right?’

He quickly scours the desk, looking for any forms or documents that have your room number, before finally setting his eyes on your room number. It didn’t take long to find you seeing as there were such few occupants in the hotel.

He memorized your room and repeated it to himself while walking to your door. Past the first, 2nd, then finally, halfway through the hallway on the 3rd floor he finds it. Before he can knock, a sudden wave of worry floods his senses. Seriously, Why would he hesitate now?!

He shuffled around nervously, starting to doubt this little mission of his. Should he really be doing this? Is he really worried about you being here or is the real reason he came here because he wanted to… apologize to you? It’s true that the guilt of what happened all those years ago was still there. But… Digging up old memories just because he’s selfish and wants to apologize to you? He takes a deep breath.

He had to make things better or… at least get some things off his chest. So, with a heavy fist and an even heavier heart, he gently knocks on the hard wooden door…

This had been the longest 10 minutes of your life, trying to decide wether to send Adam the message, or to even return to tour with Charlie at all. As much as it pains you to say, you still become anxiety ridden when he’s in the room or even the mere mention of him. That spark of defiance you had in the lobby earlier being nothing but a small bit of courage. But you remembered that you had promised Charlie you’d be there for her, and you certainly weren’t one to take back a promise.

Before you could decide what to do, you hear an ever so faint knock on your door. Curiosity peaked, You thought Charlie was supposed to be waiting for you on the 4th floor? Had you taken too long and the tour went south? You quickly made your way to the door and hoped you wouldn’t see a very angry Charlie on the other side.

As the wooden-door creaked open, your face slowly turned bitter at The short, impish man who stood on the other side. Lucifer Morningstar. To be honest, you much would have preferred the angry Charlie, TWO very angry Charlies over this.

The man shuffled awkwardly in place, gripping his cane. Neither of you could break the silence . He avoided any eye-contact with you and even you couldn’t hide The disgusted expression on your face when looking at him. Finally after what feels like 3x the eternity you’ve lived thus far, you spoke In shaky words, ”What do you want?”

Lucifer pushed out his words as well as he could, meek they were, but you understood what he said “Can we please…talk?”

Your fingers gripped at the door, nails embedding into the wood, leaving scratches. It took all you had not to slam the door right in his face, but even if you had, it wouldn’t have solved any pressing issues. If anything, it might make him against Charlie’s idea with the hotel, which you couldn’t afford. You take a deep breath before letting out a quick but unsavory,

“5 minutes”

The short demon shuffles his way into the room as you follow in behind him, locking the door to prevent someone like Nifty or Charlie from walking in. Lucifer stands timidly by your nightstand as you stand on the complete opposite side of the room, facing him. Lucifer runs his neck as he lets out a shaky sigh “I just want to know what you’re doing here…” he pauses, he looks like he has more to say but decided not to.

You can only laugh to yourself “I’m here because I believe I think Charlie’s idea has potential to be great. The exterminations, they have to end… that’s why I’m here”

Lucifer seem a bit… surprised? Surprised with your stance on the exterminations. you figured he needed more than that so you continue “I… I’ve never been one for the exterminations. I've been against them from the start. I just didn't know what else to do. Nothing else seemed…right.“

He stayed silent, processing what you told him. He really didn’t understand you, he had a completely warped view of you. “If that’s all you wanted to know I’d rather you take your leave-“

“No!” You step back at the sudden raise in voice but he quickly clears his throat “No, there’s another thing. I would… I’d like to apologize to you about how things went… when we first met.”

You stared at him, the silence once again feeling the air. You didn’t dare break it, you watched as the impish man looked around with anxiety, trying to find the right words. “It’s always been there, in the back of my mind. How we- I, treated you. It was unacceptable… Lilith kept telling me to let it go, that she was done thinking about it, but I just couldn’t.” He takes a deep breath “so, I’m so sorry for hurting you, Y/n…”

Lucifer Morningstar. The man in front of you looked more akin to a puddle than a person at this point. Sweat dripped from his face, a scrunched mouth filled with a sour taste. He wasn’t looking at you, focusing his attention to the ground. Finally, after many long seconds later. You step forward, grabbing his attention.

“As much as I appreciate the apology, I don’t forgive you.” Lucifer began to speak or at least say he understood but no matter what his reaction was going to be, you interrupted him ‘“-I don’t forgive you, because I’m not the one who deserves it”

To that, Lucifer's head was struck with confusion, “what do you mean?” He tried to make sense of your words, shifting eyes looking around in unease before landing on a framed photo of a candlelit man, an old and forgotten, yet familiar smile on his face… ”You mean… Adam?” Despite his best efforts around you, saying the first man’s name still dripped his words with venom. That same sour taste filling his mouth at the mere mention of him. ”What does-” he stops himself, he knows why.

You breathe in slowly, “What you said to me, all of those years ago, hasn’t meant anything to me in a long time. I’ve gotten through it 10x over and finally understand that I am more than those words” you take another step towards him, closing the gap, “so… there's no use for your apology to me. But Adam… you’ve hurt him more than you couldn’t possibly imagine“

The room was filled with dense air, like any sudden move could kill the king of hell or even you at any second but still you continue. “Adam deserved so much better than what he was forced to have from you, so if anyone deserves your apology, it’s him.” He goes to speak but you shut him down again “but we all know that you are too prideful to do so, and Adam… he’s too stubborn to hear it”

You don’t yell, scream, all of your words coming soft from your lips “So… what you’re going to do, if you truly mean what you say. You will go back to your daughter, forget this conversation ever happened, then you can march back to your big castle with your Loving wife, and leave us be, for the rest of eternity.”

With that, you step away from him, words that have been bubbling inside you for centuries finally having been let out. It felt like several hundred pounds had been lifted off of you. You begin to walk to the door to let him out, wanting the conversation to be over, When you hear him speak a faint ”Ex-Wife actually”

You pause, your teeth already biting your tongue. Honestly, if you really thought about it, it was poetic. The Angel who ruined two marriages, leaving Adam nothing but a broken heart and baggage, ended up with a failed marriage himself.

But even still, you still felt a slight pain of pity for him. Through clenched teeth you let out ”I'm… sorry to hear that. It must be hard.”

This kind of thing, no matter the person, is always tough. You knew the aftermath of it through Adam, even now he struggles with so many issues from it. In that regard, you felt pity for the ruler of hell, but the rest of you felt… glad? Glad that he finally understands just a thorn of the pain he inflicted on Adam.

“The 5 minutes are up so… go now… please.” Your voice shakes near the end, your will power for everything you’ve done starting to break. Lucifer looked equally as defeated, you could tell he wanted to say more but he just nodded his head before walking out the door. slowly, silently, you close the door back before sliding down it as your legs give out.

You wanted to cry, scream, do anything but sit there, but you couldn’t. Your voice hurts from talking, your feet hurt from standing, everything just… hurts.

DING DING DING

A luminous yellow light follows the sound, you lifted your head and saw your phone on your nightstand. Adam… You used all of your strength to make it to your bed, practically having to crawl to avoid any more tiredness in your aching body. You finally land on the soft mattress to pick up your phone, seeing the plethora of messages from Adam.

DIXKMASTER69

Yo Bitch, everything good??

You’ve been typing for like 10 minutes

Answer me

Hellllloooooo??????

Oh, that’s why he was texting. You had completely forgotten your half written message you were debating on sending earlier. You start to delete it and rewrite it when suddenly,

INCOMING CALL FROM DIXKMASTER69

You sigh at the screen, your phone vibration sends chills through your aching arms, it acts as a lifeline for you not to fall asleep on the soft plush beneath you. You press the answer button.

‘Fuck Babe, finally! Are you ok?!” Adam’s voice sounded angry but you know he was just worried “you’ve been texting for like 15 minutes”

“Yeah, don’t worry Adam, I... must have fallen asleep while trying to message you”

“It’s 12 in the afternoon, you dont normally fall asleep in the middle of the day” Adam questions, his voice having obvious worry for you.

“Today’s just been very tiring. But I promise I’m fine, it’s just happened a lot today.” You hated lying to him, your other half, but you know this is something that he shouldn’t have to worry about.

You hear him groan, “how many times do I have to fuckin’ tell you not to overwork yourself for those sinners”

“I know, I’m sorry” you pause “I… I have to go now but I promise I’ll call you later, yeah?“

He was quiet on the other side before he lets out “Yeah, just don’t overdo yourself ok?” His voice was soft, no hint of sarcasm or anger, just him.

You let out a small breathy laugh “I promise. Have fun at your show tonight. Talk to you later, love you.”

“Love you too”

CLICK

You sigh to yourself, you still have the tour to do. It’s fine, everything is fine.

Tomorrow will be a better day. it has to be.

TAGLIST: @tired-of-life-86 @nervoussystemss @qopia @lovelyemily @hcneyiced @v3r41ynn

@ghostdoodlen @nxptvne-13 @ximenavc-che

@edgyfluff @ericityyy @diffidentphantom @faimmm @slasher-whore69 @1-randomized @ozzersauce @fanlovedlt @alientee @pandaquick @white-00-7 @call-me-nyx @adamstruelove @jennieyeager @sillyycatt @solatiium @my-name-is-heartache @parisiterileymoon @titan-senpai @lovely-night-owl-86 @innergardentoadpony @animefan106sposts @starlightstarbrightmyfirststar @lovkayy @ilikedrinkingsoda @barrythestrawberry041 @deadpoolssweetchimi @asegirllovesreadingporn @ripashy @deleted-1-800 @sirenetheblogger @ur1nonlygabi @aweleyirene @n0tmentallystable

(I really hope I didn’t forget anyone if I did, just asked to be added in the comments!!)

Shoutout to these specific asked as well, love you all <3

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thepunkmuppet · 2 years ago

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the possible future of the hatchetfield series: hatchetfield halloween party livestream full rundown

again apologies if someone has already done something like this, but I’m procrastinating doing my coursework and just want to talk about hatchetfield I want everyone to be aware of this exciting stuff that was announced in the stream so here you go:

the next starkid musical to be released will not be in the hatchetfield universe.

the guy who didn’t like musicals will soon be ready to license.

nightmare time 3 was originally planned to be released in the same year as nightmare time 2 and will wrap up the overarching nightmare time stories (which seem to be miss holloway and the foster sisters respectively).

if they did a fourth hatchetfield musical, it would be about miss holloway and her backstory. it is already written. I am very very extremely normal about this fact 😃

there is a possibility of a hatchetfield movie, and workin’ boys was sort of a test for this concept. it would be a slasher murder mystery centering around the hatchetfield community players (zoey chambers and the cast of workin’ girls, possibly also with ruth, hidgens, alice and any other theatre-oriented characters but that part’s just my speculation). the transcription of the teaser description can be found below the nmt descriptions.

ok so here are the transcriptions of the nmt3 episode descriptions:

Story #1: Bottle Imps

Bill Woodward has been chosen to test CCRP’s latest and greatest product; Bottle Imps. These reality-bending buddies will bring their owner the one thing they desire most. When his new imp, Lovely, leads him to his soulmate, Bill decides to use his magical companion to play matchmaker. But to help Charlotte find the man of her dreams, Bill will have to bend the Imp’s rules. Rules he’s been warned, must never be broken…

Story #2: Frankenruth

Desperate to see a naked body, Ruth Fleming and Richie Lipschitz volunteer at the morgue of St. Damien’s Hospital. Their terrible plan becomes exponentially more terrible, when they become unwitting subjects in the experiments of the body-snatching madman, Doctor Laszlo, who claims to have conquered death itself. If Hatchetfield thought Ruth was bad before, then they will cower before the unspeakable horror of… Frankenruth!

Story #3: Becky Barnes Climbed a Tree

Becky Barnes is on top of the world! Not in a literal sense, of course. She’s deathly afraid of heights. After years of struggle, Becky’s life is finally everything she dreamed it would be. She’s engaged to her high school sweetheart, Tom Houston, and the two have a surprise baby on the way! But, as the couple prepare for the arrival of baby Marie, a shadow from Becky’s past returns to haunt them.

Story #4: Devil’s Night

Tim Houston has a crush. Unfortunately, it’s on his older, mature and totally cool babysitter, Grace Chasity, who he fears will never see him as anything but a snot-nosed little kid. But when a devilish maniac with murderous designs on Grace attacks Hatchetfield the night before Halloween, Tim must protect his beloved, or join the killer’s growing body count. It’s another slashing adventure on the night HE came home… Devil’s Night.

Story #5: (long special episode) Miss Holloween

It’s Halloween in Hatchetfield once again, and Miss Holloway is celebrating the same way she’s done for decades, staving off the horrors that go bump in the night. But when Duke gives her an invitation to his wedding, the dejected Miss Holloway begins to chafe under the terms of a contract forged many years ago. She strikes a new bargain, but unfortunately her creditors are known for their tricks, not treats. Just as Miss Holloway gives up her powers in exchange for a mortal life, a monstrous new threat rears its ugly head. As All Hallows Eve descends, and all Hell breaks loose, Miss Holloway must save the town or die trying… for real this time.

Story #6: (long special episode / season finale) Orb Weaver

Lex Foster had a life once. A home. A boyfriend. Now there is only the road, and her sister, and the fear of the men who are hunting them. As Hannah Foster watched Lex sink deeper into despair, she is certain of only three things: Webby is gone. She cannot help them. They are alone. Elsewhere, an old soldier awakens from a catatonic state. Returned from some unimaginable Hell with a mission. He knows that somewhere, two magical girls require immediate evac… then maybe some coffee.

very important: if you want nightmare time 3, WATCH NIGHTMARE TIME 2. BUY A TICKET TO THE LIVESTREAM. SHOW THAT THERE IS LOVE AND DEMAND AND IT’S WORTH THEIR TIME AND MONEY I AM BEGGING YOU

hatchetfield movie: Cast Party Massacre

The Hatchetfield Community Players. You will never find a cattier troupe of two-faced thespians. But when the blood begins to flow at their latest show’s cast party, they must consider: is there a secret murderer in their midst? And more importantly, who amongst them is a good enough actor to pull off such a performance? Can they set aside their petty squabbles and tangled romances, or is it curtains for this ensemble? Who will survive… the Cast Party Massacre!

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anim-ttrpgs · 7 months ago

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Gorgon Player Character Rules in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Eureka has six playable "monster" types, and about ten total supernatural character options all together. Each supernatural trait is taken basically as if it is a normal trait like the ones you have been seeing us post. You cannot give a character more than one supernatural trait--and from what you are about to read, you probably wouldn't want to. Playing monsters is recommended for "advanced" players only, people who like a lot of "crunch" in their games, as require you to keep track of a lot more mechanics than playing a normal human.

I was going to post the wolfman but a bunch of people wanted me to do the gorgon so I'm impulsively doing the gorgon.

Here is the Gorgon Trait. This is going under a Read More because it's long as hell but we really hope that you will check it out and comment. This is, like, the whole entire ruleset for playing a gorgon in Eureka.

Gorgon (Monster Trait)

A gorgon is a mythological creature owing its origin in legend to Ancient Greece, Medusa being the most well-known example, but far from the only one. Historically, gorgons are often, but not always, depicted with serpents for hair, wings, and/or a serpentine tail[1], as well as frequent descriptions of other reptilian or serpentine features.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] The latter of which is far too noticeably abnormal for an investigator, but is not excluded from the possibility of belonging to a monstrous NPC. Gorgons as they are already push the boundaries of what a monstrous investigator can look like.

Petrifying Gaze

One of a gorgon’s most defining features is their petrifying gaze. Any living thing with eyes the gorgon makes direct eye-contact with for more than an instant will be turned completely to stone within seconds. This only works at a range of about 10 feet. Clothing and small objects they are holding will be turned to stone with them. [go back and clarify this is how the witch and fairy’s curse works too] This is not an ability the gorgon can control in any way, it happens to anyone they make eye-contact with.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This works even if it is eye contact with only one eye.

If a gorgon makes direct eye-contact with someone unintentionally (as is a natural human instinct), they can avert their gaze quickly enough to spare them with a Full Success on a Reflexes check. If the other party is aware of the gorgon’s petrifying gaze, they may also make this Reflexes check. A Full Success by either character will prevent the petrification.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A gorgon’s life is often one of isolation, with intimacy their most deadly curse.

Investigators are assumed to make eye-contact by default if they have a non-negative stat in Social Cues. For NPCs, the Narrator rolls 1D6, and on a 2 or higher, the NPC is assumed to make eye-contact by default.

The petrifying gaze only works through direct eye-contact, not through artistic depictions, photographs, video, or reflections. Looking through sufficiently opaque fabric, lenses, or other material will also prevent petrification, as long as the gorgon’s eyes are obscured from view.[1] The effect of direct eye-contact with a gorgon is still potent even if the gorgon is deceased, so long as the eyes are intact. Undead, living dolls, and gorgons are not affected by this petrification.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Contact lenses will not help to prevent petrification. Also, only the gorgon’s eyes being obscured from view matters. If the other party is wearing sunglasses, they will still be petrified.

Petrification is generally absolutely permanent, and is not reversed when the gorgon who caused it dies.

Effects of Being Petrified

A victim of petrification will not be aware of their surroundings while petrified, but they will lose 4 points of Composure per day until they are effectively dead, and can never be returned to normal. If relevant, consider NPCs to have 1D6+1 points of Composure to lose before this Composure loss starts to eat into their HP.

Reversing Petrification

However, a fairy or fairytale witch could reverse the effect (see p.XX). However, the petrification of gorgons is not the same as the petrication of a witch or fairy’s curse, and requires different components to reverse. Instead of the name or a lock of hair, this requires both eyes of either the victim or the gorgon who caused the curse. If this is done with the gorgon’s eyes, this only works on one victim (since the gorgon’s eyes are destroyed by the process)

Anyone coming out of petrification will do so as if they have just had a very long and totally unrestful sleep, and any damage they sustained as a statue will immediately take effect. For example, chips in their stone body become lacerations in their living body. If an arm was broken off their statue, their arm is now severed.

Snake Eyes

The eyes of a gorgon resemble those of a snake, and have vertical pupils. For a gorgon, “automatic” success or failure results are reversed, so a roll of double 1s is an automatic success, and a roll of double 6s is an automatic failure.

Gorgon Skin

Choose only one of the options below:[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The coloration of a gorgon’s scales is up to the player’s choice.

Normal Skin (Option): It’s normal.

Scaly Skin (Option): The gorgon’s skin is covered randomly in large patches of thick, hard scales. It is up to the player where on the body these patches are, which may make it easier or harder for the gorgon to pass as a normal human. Regardless, these scales reduce damage by half against 1-Damage and 2-Damage melee weapons. Having Scaly Skin also gives the gorgon Claws.

Full Coverage Scales (Option): The gorgon has no human hair anywhere on their body, and is instead covered nearly head-to-toe in thick, hard snake scales except for a smooth underbelly on the front of the torso, the inside of the hands, and soles of the feet. These scales make it near impossible to pass as a normal human without wearing full-body coverage, but reduce damage from all melee weapons by half. Having Full Coverage Scales also gives the gorgon Claws.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Gorgons with Full Coverage Scales also shed their skin a few times a year, but this does not happen often enough to be worth considering a codified mechanic. The patches of scales for Scaly Skin may also shed occasionally.

Gorgon Claws

A gorgon only has claws if they have Scaly Skin or Full-Coverage Scales. If they do, the gorgon’s nails are hard and sharp, like claws[1]. Because of their superhuman strength, these claws deal 2 Penetrative Damage.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A steel file is required for filing these nails down, they tear up lesser files.

Gorgon Wings

Choose only one of the options below:

No Wings (Option): The gorgon has no wings. This is very helpful for passing as normal in public.

Wings (Option): A large pair of wings (leathery or feathery, player’s choice) stretch out from the gorgon’s back with at least a 15-foot wingspan from tip to tip. Effective use of these wings for flight requires enough space in one’s surroundings to fully extend the wings as well as get a running start, and an Athletics check. However, because gorgons lack any sort of tail or rudder, their flight will never be as stable or graceful as most other winged creatures. Apply a -1 to any roll to avoid obstacles or take any other action while in flight.

Full Success: The gorgon can take flight fully. +4 Acceleration.

Partial Success: The gorgon can at best glide low to the ground, maintaining flight for a few seconds at a time as they must touch down to kick themselves back off frequently. The gorgon will still have to contend with most Chase obstacles while this low to the ground. (As a travel method for the purposes of tracking Ticks during travel scenes, this kind of “flight” is only -2 Ticks.) +2 Acceleration.

Failure: The gorgon fails to take to the air, and probably falls flat on their face.

A gorgon’s wings are nearly impossible to hide without attracting at least some attention. As long as the gorgon is wearing sufficient clothing,[1] a Stealth roll can be made to hide their wings for the duration of one Scene, on a per-Scene basis.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] One suggestion would be to wear a large overcoat and walk with a hunch.

Full Success: No one will notice if they’re not already looking for it.

Partial Success: Most people won’t notice or care, but the gorgon will likely attract some stares in public. It looks like they are hiding something, maybe a backpack, under their clothes.

Failure: The gorgon’s wings slip out and, even if just for a moment, it is obvious to anyone looking that they are real or at least very convincing fakes.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Which is weird in and of itself.

Gorgon Hair

Choose only one of the options below:

Normal Hair (Option): It’s normal. If the gorgon has Full Coverage Scales, then this means no hair at all.

Normal Hair with Serpents (Option): (This option cannot be chosen alongside Full-Coverage Scales.) Alongside regular hair, the gorgon has several snakes which protrude from their scalp. These snakes grow in length at the same rate as the gorgon’s hair, though they are always slightly longer than it. So long as the snakes are behaving well, a gorgon can pass for normal without wearing a hat or hair cover. See “Head Snakes” below.

Full Serpent Hair (Option): Many snakes protrude from the gorgon’s scalp, fully covering it. These snakes grow out at the same rate as human hair. The gorgon will require significant coverage to hide these from the public eye.

Head Snakes

The snakes on a gorgon’s head can be any species of medium-sized venomous snake, though they are always all the same species. These snakes are part of the gorgon’s body, share their nervous system, and do not require independent sustenance, but do have minds of their own. The gorgon has only about as much control over them as they would a moderately trained pet. Unlike a gorgon’s primary eyes, the snakes’ eyes do not cause petrification.

The gorgon can sense anything that their snakes can sense, granting them a +1 Contextual bonus to all Senses checks. (If the gorgon has Full Serpent Hair, increase this bonus to +2.)

The snakes can swallow objects up to about the size of a baseball and spit them out at will.[1][2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] No, this does not mean they can spit them out with any considerable force.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] These snakes do not have a back end, they end at the gorgon’s skull.

A snake’s head being severed is painful and upsetting, requiring the gorgon to make a Composure roll at +0, but the head will grow back from the stump within one day. If the gorgon wants to cut their “hair,” it won’t be a fun process, but the gorgon only needs to make one Composure roll (with an exacerbating factor) no matter how many snakes they cut.

The snakes on a gorgon’s head have their own venom (chosen from the same list as “Venomous Fangs,” below). All snakes share the same type of venom with each other, but this does not have to match the type of venom in the gorgon’s primary fangs. Because it is a much smaller dose, however, it has an increased Onset Time of 1D6-1 Ticks to take effect. (If the gorgon has Full Serpent Hair, it takes 1D6-3 Ticks instead.)

At any point when another character is within arm’s reach, the gorgon may attempt to sic her snakes on them. When the gorgon is at 3 Composure or lower, this is no longer a choice. The snakes become aggressive, and this is rolled every time a person comes within arms reach of the gorgon. Roll 1D6. This takes one Movement if time is measured in Turns.

1-4: the snakes will do nothing.

5: the snakes will lunge out but miss the target.

6+: one or more of the gorgon’s snakes will lunge out and inject venom into the target. If the target is not Grabbing or being Grabbed by the gorgon, they can avoid the bite with a Full Success on a Reflexes roll.

Add +1 to this roll if the gorgon has Full Serpent Hair. Also add +1 if the target is antagonizing, aggressing, or otherwise frustrating the efforts of the gorgon. Add an additional +1 for every point of Composure the gorgon is missing below 3, as seen below.

3 Composure: +0

2 Composure: +1

1 Composure: +2

0 Composure: +3

Forked Tongue

Gorgons have forked tongues like snakes, as well as the ability to sense heat through pit organs in the nostrils. They can still identify the approximate location of living organisms and heat sources even in total darkness. Additionally, they are able to detect a much wider variety of chemicals than any human nose. These properties mean that gorgons can reasonably make Senses checks that an ordinary human could not attempt, or could gain additional information from relevant Investigative rolls that others would not.

Scent Tracking

Gorgons are capable of Scent Tracking. (See p.xx “Scent Tracking”.) A gorgon must regularly and very noticeably taste the air with their tongue while tracking a scent.

Superhuman Strength

Gorgons are considered to have superhuman strength, and have a +2 Base bonus to Athletics and +1 Base bonus to Close Combat.

Serpentine Anatomy

With an Athletics check, a gorgon can squeeze their entire body through any gap larger than their own skull, and/or perform other extreme acts of contortion.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] If the gorgon in question has the Just Built Different Trait, apply a -2 modifier to this roll.

Full Success: Gorgon makes it through.

Partial Success: Gorgon takes 2 Superficial Damage but makes it through.

Failure: Gorgon takes 2 Superficial Damage and gets stuck.

Venomous Fangs

Most gorgons have long, retractable, venomous fangs in their upper jaw. The venom only takes effect if injected into the target’s body, not if ingested.[1] Regardless of the type of venom, a second bite will double the damage or penalties taken by the target from the venom, but will not accelerate the process.

Each gorgon’s fangs has one of four possible venoms, though if they have snakes on their head, those may have a different type. Choose only one of the options below:

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Unless the victim has open cuts in their mouth or stomach.

Constrictor (No Venom) (Option): This gorgon does not have venomous fangs and neither do any snakes that may be attached to their head, and instead they rely on raw physical strength to subdue their prey. A gorgon with this feature has an extra +2 Base bonus to Athletics.

Paralyzing Venom (Option): One minute after being bitten, the target must make an Athletics check.

Full Success: The target has a -3 penalty to all rolls for 3 Ticks.

Partial Success: The target has a -4 penalty to all rolls for 4 Ticks.

Failure: The target has a -5 penalty to all rolls for 5 Ticks.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This will be the number of Scenes instead if you aren’t tracking Ticks.

Agonizing Venom (Option): This venom applies poison (Non-lethal, OT: Immediate, DF: Per Round) to the target.

Lethal Venom (Option): This venom applies poison (Lethal, OT: 10 minutes, DF: Per minute) to the target.

Spray Venom (Option): Can be injected or sprayed, but requires 2 doses (see “Venom Doses” below) to take effect either way. When injected, it applies poison (Non-lethal, OT: Immediate, DF: Per Tick) to the target. When sprayed, the gorgon can propel the venom up to a range of 6 feet with a Close Combat roll, which causes immediate damage:

Full Success: 4 Superficial Damage

Partial Success: 2 Superficial Damage

Failure: No damage.

The gorgon must aim for the target’s face or an open wound for this attack to be effective. Clothing which completely covers the eyes will render this spray harmless, and a target wearing glasses will take half damage. Any Injury roll taken as a result of damage from this attack will count as one degree worse than the actual result.

Venomous Bite

When a gorgon has someone in a Grab or (regular) Hold, they may make a bite attack to inject venom into their opponent. This attack is rolled using either Athletics or Close Combat, and is subject to all other regular rules regarding melee attacks.

Full Success: Gorgon injects venom and deals 2 Superficial Damage.

Partial Success: Gorgon injects venom and deals 1 Superficial Damage.

Failure: Gorgon cannot get their fangs into the victim.

Venom Doses

Gorgons do not have an infinite supply of venom, and replenishing it takes a long time. If a gorgon does not have enough doses, they cannot use their venom. A gorgon can never have more than 4 doses stored at a time. At the start of the adventure, gorgons have 1D6-2 (to a minimum of 1) doses of venom stored. Venom is replenished at a rate of 1 dose per week, however, a gorgon can spend a number of Eureka! Points to instantly recover an equivalent number of doses.

Terrifying Visage

At will, the gorgon can contort their face grotesquely. Gorgons have a +2 Contextual bonus to Threaten.

Gorgon’s Blood

Arterial blood from a gorgon is deadly poison.[1] If it enters the body through any means, it will cause Lethal Poison.[2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Obviously this does not affect gorgons.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] For vampires, this counts as Non-Lethal Poison.

However, venous blood from a gorgon has supernatural healing properties for living creatures other than gorgons.[1] If fresh venous gorgon blood is applied to the wound with a Medicine check, the Medicine check will restore 1 or 2 additional HP depending on the amount applied. Extracting enough blood to restore 1 HP will cause the gorgon 2 Superficial Damage. Extracting enough blood to restore 2 HP will cause the gorgon 4 Superficial Damage.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Though vampires are humans, their healing is not the same, and this blood will have no special effect on them whether ingested or applied to a wound.

Blood taken from a wound will usually be a mixture of arterial and venous blood. If this type of blood enters the human body, roll 1D6.

1-5: The blood counts as arterial, as the poison ruins any medicinal properties of the venous blood.

6: The blood counts as venous.

If a character attempts to extract venous blood from a gorgon, the Narrator makes a hidden Medicine check for that character.

Full Success: Up to 2 HP worth of venous blood may be extracted.

Partial Success: Up to 2 HP worth of venous blood may be extracted, but causes an additional 1 Superficial Damage to the gorgon.

Failure: The gorgon takes the same amount of Superficial Damage as with venous blood, but the extracted blood is contaminated with arterial blood, unbeknownst to the characters.

Serpent’s Jaw (Gorgon True Nature)

Gorgons need to devour human beings whole as part of their diet.

The following sections deal a lot with “size” and “capacity,” which in most cases we handle abstractly. We advise that players and Narrators use common sense when working with these mechanics. Go with what seems to fit in the moment based on the rules provided, rather than pausing to calculate the exact volume of people or objects.

The gorgon regains no Composure from eating normal food, but does gain Composure from sleeping. They will lose Composure from skipping meals or skipping sleep. A gorgon’s diet works very differently from most characters’, see below for details.

Composure loss from skipping meals: Yes

Composure restoration from eating three meals a day: No

Composure loss from skipping sleep: Yes

Composure restoration from full night’s sleep: Yes

Normal Food

Gorgons are obligate carnivores. In order for a meal to count towards their daily meals, it must be primarily composed of meat. When gorgons eat normal food, they need to eat one exceptionally large meal and subsist off that for some time. Gorgons need only eat one meal per 48 hours, but the Wealth roll for buying this meal has a -3 penalty.[1] Food Budget for a gorgon costs 3WP, and only covers a single meal.

[1 Off to the side in the final formatting] Ordering this much food in public may attract attention.

Eating this one meal of normal food will prevent Composure loss, but will not restore Composure. At the start of an adventure, they are always assumed to be in need of food that day.

If a gorgon attempts to eat multiple smaller meals over the course of a day like a regular person (or eat people piece by piece) they will suffer intense indigestion and lose 1 point of Composure each day they attempt this. Snake digestive systems aren’t built for that.

Swallowing Large Objects

Despite being outwardly near indistinguishable from the shape of a regular human, the internal muscular and skeletal structure of a gorgon resembles that of a snake. Their lower jaw is comprised of two separate mandibles attached by elastic ligaments, allowing their mouth and throat to stretch to incredible size. The back teeth in both upper and lower jaw are hooked backwards like those of a snake.

Their collar bone and sternum are similarly only attached by elastic ligaments, and, where needed to accommodate their eating habits, their skin and musculature are able to stretch well beyond the limitations of a regular person.

A gorgon can effortlessly swallow anything up to about the size of a baseball.[2] For anything up to a little larger than 3 feet in diameter[1] the gorgon must make an Athletics check.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] About the diameter of a large beach ball.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] This does not prompt a supernatural ability Composure roll.

Full Success: One Movement

Partial Success: One Action

Failure: 3 Actions (or 1 Tick)

Objects that are larger, but are elongated and able to pass through an opening a little larger than 3 feet in diameter (such as a human body), take longer to swallow:

Full Success: 1 Action

Partial Success: 3 Actions (or 1 Tick)

Failure: 6 Actions (or 2 Ticks)

The gorgon can still attempt to swallow objects of even larger size, but may hurt themselves. The gorgon takes 2 Superficial Damage[2] and a -2 penalty to the Athletics for every 1 foot or so of diameter the object increases beyond that of a human body.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] If the target is around 4 feet in diameter (your average hula hoop), that would be 2 Superficial Damage and -2 to the Athletics roll. If it’s around 6 feet in diameter (a large dinner table), that would be 6 Superficial Damage and a -6 to the roll

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] This damage should only be applied after the object is fully swallowed (or after a Failure).

Full Success: 3 Actions or 1 Tick, but takes no Superficial Damage

Partial Success: 6 Actions or 2 Ticks

Failure: They can’t swallow it, but still take the Superficial Damage from the attempt. They may try again.

Spitting Out Objects

Reversing the process is much trickier. To spit out any swallowed object, the gorgon must make an Athletics roll. If the object smaller than about a 3-foot diameter sphere (such as a beach ball), the item, use the following results:[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] After a victim has been digested, only one roll needs to be made to spit out all or most of their clothing. Particularly protective articles of clothing (such as a motorcycle helmet) may still contain bones.

Full Success: The gorgon can spit out the object as 1 Action.

Partial Success: The gorgon either:

takes 2 Actions (or 1 Tick) to cough up the object, as well as 1 Superficial Damage,

loudly belches (drawing a lot of attention) as they cough up the object,

or, if they were trying to retrieve a specific object, coughs up a different random object from the Random Gorgon Contents Table.

Failure: The gorgon fails to cough up the object, and either:

takes 1 Superficial Damage

loudly belches, drawing a lot of attention

Larger objects (including most people) are a bit more difficult to spit out and use these results instead:

Full Success: The gorgon is able to spit out the object with 3 Actions (or 1 Tick).

Partial Success: The gorgon is able to spit out the object with 6 Actions (or 2 Ticks), and both take 2 Superficial Damage.

Failure: The gorgon not only fails to spit them out, but belches, either:

drawing attention

or, if the gorgon was hoping to get them out alive, reducing the time they have before suffocation by 6 Rounds.

Stomach Elasticity

An experienced gorgon’s stomach can stretch virtually indefinitely, though weight and bulk can quickly become an issue.[1] The gorgon may take penalties or encounter other difficulties based on how much volume they have in their stomach, as seen below:

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Any gorgon without Full-Coverage Scales is very likely to have noticeable stretch marks around their waist.

Less than a Basketball: No penalty. One of a gorgon’s “normal” meals is about the upper limit of this.

Less than One Adult Person or Equivalent Mass: No penalty. Could pass for pregnant.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The stomach is quite a bit higher up than the uterus, but the likelihood of anyone shouting “Hey, her pregnancy is too high up!” is pretty low.

One Person or Equivalent Mass: -1 to Athletics, Close Combat, Reflexes, and Stealth. Could pass for pregnant with nonuplets.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] At this point the gorgon must lean back as they walk to adjust their entire center of balance.

Two People or Equivalent Mass: -2 to Athletics, Close Combat, Driving, Reflexes, and Stealth. Can’t reasonably go out in public like this.

Three People or Equivalent Mass: -3 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Can’t reasonably go out in public like this.

Four People or Equivalent Mass: -4 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Can’t reasonably go out in public like this.

Five People or Equivalent Mass: -5 to all Physical Skills except Senses.. Can’t reasonably go out in public like this.

Six People or Equivalent Mass: -6 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Gorgon cannot move more than a bare minimum speed.

Seven People or Equivalent Mass: -7 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Gorgon cannot move more than a bare minimum speed.

Eight People or Equivalent Mass: -8 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Gorgon cannot move at all without a Full or Partial Success on an Athletics roll, and even then only bare minimum speed.

Nine People or Equivalent Mass: -9 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Gorgon cannot move at all without a Full or Partial Success on an Athletics roll, and even then only bare minimum speed.

Ten People or Equivalent Mass: -10 to all Physical Skills except Senses. Gorgon cannot move at all without a Full Success on an Athletics roll, and even then only bare minimum speed.

Beyond Ten: -10 Athletics, Close Combat, Driving, Reflexes, and Stealth. Gorgon cannot move at all, period.

On a per-Scene basis, a gorgon can make three types of roll to make their stomach appear one size smaller for the duration of the Scene. With a Full Success on an Athletics roll, the gorgon can suck in their stomach. With a Full Success on a Stealth roll, the gorgon can adjust sufficiently baggy or form obscuring clothing to hide their stomach size. With a Full Success on a Manipulate roll, they can act nonchalant so as not to draw attention to themselves. These methods can be combined, for up to a total three size category reduction in visibility and attention drawn.[1][2] Each of these rolls counts as one Movement if time is measured in Turns.

[1 Off to the side in the final formatting] These methods do not reduce the penalties, just the amount of staring.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] A gorgon with the Just Built Different Trait can have their stomach counted as one size smaller all the time by default.

Neither of these methods of reducing the conspicuousness of the gorgon’s belly will hold up under direct scrutiny, it only “passes for normal” in the sense that even for people who do take notice, their first guess won’t be that there is a body in there, and it would be very rude to ask.

If anyone inside the gorgon’s body is attempting to struggle or scream for help, count the gorgon’s stomach as two sizes larger for both conspicuousness and penalties.

Swallowing Live Prey

If a target is (very understandably) resisting being swallowed the gorgon must first Grab them. Once a gorgon has a target Grabbed, they can put them in a Hold as normal, or put them in a Swallowing Hold.

Swallowing Hold

Mechanically this works exactly like a regular Hold except where stated otherwise. The gorgon has stretched out their jaw and begun to swallow the target whole. There is no Submission with a Swallowing Hold. If this is being done head-first, start to apply the Drowning/Suffocation rules to the target immediately.

Once a gorgon has their target in a Swallowing Hold, at the next opportunity, they may make another Swallowing Hold to finish the process and fully swallow their target.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Experienced gorgons often prefer to start with the hands. It also helps to lift a victim upside down, bringing gravity on one’s side.

Once a victim is cut off from air, the Drowning & Suffocation rules come into play. Optionally, once a victim is fully swallowed, the Narrator may simply declare them as good as dead with no need to play out their struggle mechanically.

Once a target is swallowed fully, the gorgon no-longer has any of the penalties associated with putting anyone in a Hold. Instead, refer back to p.xx Stomach Elasticity.

Internal Struggle

As mentioned earlier, living victims can struggle and fight, causing trouble for the gorgon inside and out. While in the stomach, they count as Held. If armed with a small piercing blade or a small firearm, they can attempt to attack the gorgon from inside, dealing normal damage. In this case, a Partial Success on a Firearms attack will still hit for full damage, and a Failure would fail to correctly operate the firearm and pull the trigger under these conditions. To escape, a victim will have to succeed at two Escape attempts, the first to reach up to the gorgon’s mouth, where they will count as being in a Swallowing Hold but without Drowning/Suffocation, and the second to pull themselves out of it. If the gorgon is taking a penalty to Athletics rolls because of stomach size, this penalty is not applied for the purposes of Weight Class with the victim’s Escape attempts. Attacking or trying to Escape will count as exertion for the purposes of the Drowning/Suffocation rules.

Digestion and Composure Restoration

Regardless of which option is chosen, the gorgon’s player should track the Ticks for digestion separately on their own. It should be noted that gorgons get more nutrients from live prey, but can subsist on recently-dead victims as well, as long as there is no decomposition. Choose only one of the options below:

Serpentine Enzymes (Option): The gorgon will digest person-sized meals over the course of a full week, and is able to fast comfortably for some time after. The size of the stomach will gradually decrease by one degree (see “Stomach Elasticity” above) every 48 hours or 40 Ticks. For 14 days, the gorgon will not lose Composure from skipping meals. For 7 days, the gorgon will regain 2 points of Composure per day per victim.They will regain an additional 1 point of Composure per day if the victim was eaten alive. Inorganic materials swallowed (such as a victim’s clothing) may sit in the gorgon’s stomach indefinitely until spit out. Neglecting to spit out clothing for several meals may result in being unable to reduce the size of the stomach past a certain point.

Additionally, at the start of each adventure, roll 3 times on the Monster Stomach Contents Table (see p.XX). The results are leftover objects that are still in a gorgon’s stomach from their last several victims.[1] Write these objects in the gorgon’s inventory but mark that they are in the stomach. Once per Scene, at the cost of 1 Superficial Damage, a gorgon with Serpentine Enzymes can attempt to spit out a single random object from the Random Gorgon Contents Table that they forgot was even in there.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The random results that this table spits out[1.1] will tell a story, and could imply a lot about the gorgon in question, but the intent is to leave creative leeway for the player to work with. A shoe belonging to the whole party’s mutual friend Jennifer could imply that Jennifer is never to be seen again, or that Jennifer is alive and well after she and the gorgon made a drunken bet.

[1.1 off to the side in the final formatting] Pun intended.

Aqua Regia (Option): The gorgon digests food with shocking rapidity, burning calories like a jet engine[3], and nothing can remain intact in their stomach for long. Eating an entire person still only sates the gorgon for 48 hours. The size of the gorgon’s stomach decreases by one degree every 2 Ticks. A victim is considered “digested” after 4 Ticks, and the gorgon regains 1 point of Composure from that victim (or 2 points instead if they were eaten alive). The gorgon can continue to swallow more prey while they are digesting - track the Ticks for each victim separately.[1] There will be nothing left to spit out, as this gorgon’s stomach even rapidly breaks down inorganic material into vapor.[2]

Victims in the stomach of a gorgon with Aqua Regia suffer from damage equivalent to Lethal Poison, not representing actual poison, but rather the rapid dissolution of their flesh. (Lethal, OT: Immediate, DF: Per Round)

Additionally, Wealth rolls to buy food for this gorgon have a -4 penalty instead of -3, and they lose 2 Composure for skipping a meal instead of 1.[4]

Gorgons with Aqua Regia cannot spit out random objects. No small object can survive more than a single Tick in their stomach. If they do try to spit anything out, double any relevant damage penalties.

[1 Off to the side in the final formatting] Note that with Aqua Regia, each victim only restores Composure once, not continuously like with Serpentine Enzymes.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The large amount of vapor created by this digestion means that the gorgon will have to expel it after eating - often with a small burp.

[3 Off to the side in the final formatting] While gorgons with Serpentine Enzymes can be found to have all manner of body types regardless of their diet, gorgons with Aqua Regia struggle to put on any weight at all.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] Sometimes there are people who simply require more than others to live at the same standard of health. Can they simply curb their greed?

Cold Blooded Killer (Gorgon Weakness)

Cold-Blooded

Though they still have mammalian features, a gorgon’s body temperature is not self-regulated. Their skin will feel room-temperature to the touch, and they will not be easy to spot with thermal imaging.

Gorgons have nine levels of body temperature (seen under “Body Temperature Levels” below), and their body temperature can have significant effects on their ability to function. At the start of an adventure, a gorgon’s body temperature will always start at Ideal. Under most circumstances, their body temperature will decrease by one level at the beginning of every Scene, not counting the very first Scene of an adventure.

Because gorgons can not regulate their own body temperature, they are at the mercy of ambient temperature. In average ambient temperatures of 90°F and above, the body temperature will instead increase by 1 level each Scene. In average ambient temperatures of 50°F to 32°F, the body temperature will drop by 2 levels every Scene. In average ambient temperatures or 32°F and below, it will decrease by 3 levels every Scene. With no internal body heat, jackets and blankets are of limited help, though in temperatures of 50°F or below, they reduce the temperature drop by 1 level.

In real life, temperature fluctuates from day to day, and throughout the day and night. However, to keep bookkeeping from being a nightmare for the Narrator and player of the gorgon, for game mechanic purposes we recommend you set a single average outside temperature for the entire adventure based on the region and time of year it is taking place. For interior locations, most buildings are kept at a “comfortable” temperature between 65°F and 75°F.

Body Temperature Levels

At high body temperatures, gorgons digest more quickly. When an entry says “double digestion speed,” that means count every Tick that passes as 2 Ticks for the purposes of how quickly something is digested. At colder temperatures, gorgons cannot continue digestion at all - spending extended periods of time at this temperature will count as not eating for that amount of time, even if they have food in their stomach.

Overheating: Double digestion speed. -3 to Composure rolls. -5 to all Skills. 2 Superficial Damage for every Tick that passes at this level.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Overheating is the only body temperature that will make a gorgon’s skin feel warm to the touch like a regular person’s skin.

Too Hot: Double digestion speed. -1 to Composure rolls. -2 to all Physical and Interpersonal Skills.

Hot: Double digestion speed. +1 Contextual to Reflexes. -1 to all other Physical Skills and all Interpersonal Skills.

Warm: +1 Contextual to Reflexes.

Ideal: No bonus or penalty.

Cool: +1 Contextual to Stealth

Cold: Do not advance digestion. +1 Contextual to Stealth. -1 to all other Physical Skills and all Knowledge Skills.

Too Cold: Do not advance digestion. -1 to Composure roll. -3 to all Physical and Knowledge Skills.

Freezing: Do not advance digestion. -3 to Composure rolls. -5 to all Skills. 2 Superficial Damage for every Tick that passes at this level.

Warming and Cooling Sources

Spending 1 Tick engaging in the listed activities or standing near the listed objects will raise or lower the gorgon’s body temperature as noted below. With no internal body heat, jackets and blankets are of limited help, though for Moderate Cold Sources or colder, they reduce the temperature drop by 1 level.

Major Heat Source: Increase by 3 levels. Examples: bonfire, furnace, “hot” bath or shower (around 100°F or higher)[1].

[1 off to the side in the final formatting.] What is “hot” or “warm” to a warm-blooded individual is very different to a cold-blooded individual.

Moderate Heat Source: Increase by 2 levels. Examples: Heat lamp, campfire, space heater, heated blanket, “warm” bath or shower (around 90°F), sharing body heat with a warm-blooded individual under a blanket.

Minor Heat Source: Increase by 1 level. Examples: hand warmers, heat vent, hot water bottle, strenuous exercise[2], ambient air temperature of 90°F or above, sharing body heat with a warm-blooded individual through skin contact[1].

[1 Off to the side in the final formatting] Having the warm-blooded individual in the gorgon’s stomach counts.

[2 Off to the side in the final formatting] Muscle movement generates heat.

Minor Cold Source: Decrease by 1 level. This is the default for ambient heat loss in the environment, which is why gorgons lower 1 body temperature level in most Scenes.

Moderate Cold Source: Decrease by 2 levels. Examples: AC unit, open refrigerator, ambient air temperature of 50°F to 32°F.

Major Cold Source: Decrease by 3 levels. Examples: Open freezer, ice pack, cold bath or shower (around 50°F), ambient air temperature below 32°F.

Monster Eyes

Most gorgons have learned the hard way not to look too closely at other people’s faces without a good reason. Gorgons have a -1 penalty to Social Cues and Charm. Additionally, if a gorgon sees their own uncovered eyes in any way, such as through a reflection, photograph, etc. they must make a Monster Composure Roll.

Yawning

If a gorgon gets less than a full night’s sleep the previous night, the Narrator rolls a hidden D6, and that many Ticks later, the gorgon will feel a monstrous yawn coming on, and must make a Reflexes check to stifle it if they don’t want anyone to see their enormous maw.

Full Success: The yawn is fully suppressed.

Partial Success: The gorgon yawns wide, but not noticeably wider than a normal person could. However, anyone looking directly at them may notice the other serpentine features of their mouth.

Failure: The gorgon yawns, momentarily opening their mouth at least wide enough to swallow a football.

Loss of Eye Coverage

Gorgons will typically wear dark or mirrored sunglasses, dark veils, or other means of covering their eyes. This eye coverage is always at risk of being lost in some way. If any offensive roll is made against them, and at least one of the dice on this roll shows a 6 [1], the gorgon’s eye coverage is knocked off, knocked away, or otherwise slips[2], regardless of the outcome of the roll. Additionally, if the gorgon gets a Partial Success or Failure on an Athletics or Close Combat roll, their eye coverage is also knocked off if either of the dice show a 6.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] To be perfectly clear, this is not about a +6 modifier, or a cumulative 6 made by adding things up. If you roll the dice and see a 6 on the physical dice, that is when the glasses are knocked off. This also applies when any roll happens to use a D12, still look for a 6.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Just go with what makes sense - if the gorgon is wearing glasses, they are knocked to the ground. If they’re wearing a veil, it might just blow aside and require an action to readjust. If their eyewear is firmly secured to their face (such as ski goggles or a tightly tied blindfold), then don’t use this rule (though wearing ski goggles indoors is going to turn heads).

To recover their eye coverage after losing it, they must take 1 Action to retrieve it. Another character may also use their own Action to find and retrieve the glasses.

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patito-oward · 10 months ago

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one of my favorite pieces of indycar lore is beadgate, also referred to as tubgate, and it is TRULY not talked about enough. in case any of you don’t know, here’s a deep dive into the lore.

to really get the full effect you have to rewind to may of 2021. for anyone who doesn’t know all of the drivers basically live in a lot together in motorhomes for the month of may. rossi returns to his bus one day to see that his golf cart had been put up on blocks, had the wheels taken off, and the wheels were now on top of his motorhome; see below:

so alex, because he’s the most predictable human alive, is furious. he’s determined to find out who did this and get revenge on them. eventually he breaks down sweet baby colton, who originally helped conor with the golf cart on blocks, and colton tells him it was conor.

alex had already narrowed it down to conor, but colton confirmed it. alex even overhears a call between conor and colton where conor is panicking thinking alex is onto them. then alex starts a deliberate plan to get him back and make his life hell. despite being very adamant that he had nothing to do with the golf cart conor is very careful because he knows revenge is coming.

throughout the next week and a half-ish alex tries everything to get conor back. conor is being very careful to lock his bus and car whenever he’s away, and he’s also stopped using his golf cart completely and hidden it somewhere at the speedway. alex is so dedicated to doing this that he finds out who conor was going on a date with that night (because conor was a bit of a whore before his girlfriend), dms the girl on instagram, and gets her in on this prank.

he basically asked her to keep an eye out for his motorhome keys in the car or on him, she says she doesn’t see him, but tells him where they went for dinner. rossi goes to this restaurant, convinces the valet to give him the keys to conor’s car and looks for the keys to his bus, they aren’t there. then, not willing to give up, he goes to conor’s house and breaks in, still can’t find the keys.

finally, he heads back to the speedway and decides he’ll fuck with his golf cart instead, but like i said, conor’s golf cart is MIA. rossi starts a search party for this golf cart, he has everyone he knows, including doug boles (president of ims and conor’s step dad), looking for this golf cart and they can not find it. he calls it off for 2021, but promises that he’s not done yet, and now has a whole year to plan his next prank.

a whole year goes by, it’s may 2022, and because conor is who he is he decides an inflatable hot tub is an absolute need for his motorhome.

he is so proud of himself for this thing and is showing it off to everyone, and the absolutely diabolical alex rossi sits back and laughs maniacally as everything falls into place.

alex does extensive research (as he does on most things) and finds out exactly how many orbeez it would take to fill the hot tub, and on tuesday morning of practice week he sneaks over to conor’s hot tub, and 4 hours later conor goes to show off his hot tub to someone and finds this:

conor is furious and on the hunt for who would’ve done this, he, wrongly, assumed that it was done monday night and therefore couldn’t be alex because alex was with him. the whole week goes by, and he still doesn’t know who it is, until the night of the victory banquet when alex drops this:

anyways this is my favorite thing ever hope you all enjoy as much as i do

#indy car #conor daly #alex rossi #alexander rossi #beadgate #alex you dropped this 👑

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breelandwalker · 5 months ago

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Cold Moon - December 14-15 2024

Bundle up, witches! It’s time for the Cold Moon!

Cold Moon

The Cold Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs in the month of December. This will be another month when the moon appears full for two nights in a row, so we’ll have a nice bright full moon in the sky for the 14th and the 15th, with peak illumination on Dec 15th at 4:02am EST.

Like most full moon names, the Cold Moon takes its’ moniker from an English translation of a traditional name used by one or more North American indigenous groups. There are a number of indigenous names that reference the wintry conditions when this moon occurs, including Snow Moon (Haida, Cherokee), Winter Moon (Tunica-Biloxi), Hoar Frost Moon (Cree), and Long Night Moon (Mohican). More evocative names include Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree) and Moon of the Popping Trees (Oglala), both of which refer to a phenomenon which occurs during extreme cold, when the sap inside a tree freezes and the expanding pressure causes portions of the bark or even entire limbs to “pop” with loud cracking sounds that can be heard for miles.

Other names for the December moon include Yule Moon (Norse origins), Oak Moon (Celtic origins), and Bitter Moon (Chinese origins).

What Does It Mean For Witches?

The year is winding down. It’s time to wrap up our projects and put aside what we haven’t finished or no longer need. Rather than berating ourselves for the things we didn’t finish or didn’t accomplish, this is a time to give ourselves some grace and celebrate our successes and triumphs and the things we DID accomplish.

With only one page left on the calendar, many of us are already looking ahead to the new year, making plans and setting goals. This is a good time to brainstorm and engage in a bit of broad-view planning. Sketch out the things you’d like to see or do or try in the new year. Give voice to your dreams and start thinking of ways to make them happen.

The Cold Moon also falls shortly before the winter solstice this year (Dec 21), which could be a boon for anyone looking to time their seasonal rituals in optimal fashion. A working could be begun on the full moon and built up to culminate on the solstice, or whichever post-moon December date has special meaning to you and your practice.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

Have a small supper gathering with friends or family (holiday themed or not, it’s up to you) to share joys and fellowship and enjoy good food and drink. Make wishes together for the new year. (Wish jars can be done individually or as an informal group ritual. Sharing wishes anonymously can be a fun party game.) A “White Elephant” gift exchange or swap meet with inexpensive or homemade witchy goods for your circle could be fun too!

Make a wish jar for the new year and put it out to charge under the Cold Moon. Cleanse any of your tools or crystals or accoutrements that you use moonlight for one more time this year.

This is the perfect time for divinations and goalsetting for the coming year. Pull out your favorite divination tools and your new planner and sketch out the coming year. You can also try candle wax divination with holiday candles, if that’s something that interests you.

Also, save those seasonal bayberry candles for future use! They’re great for debt repayment and money-drawing spells.

If you need some ideas for a fun family activity, you can feed the birds for good luck, either with scattered birdseed or pinecone birdfeeders. String dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, pinecones, holly leaves and berries, and other seasonal faves to make garlands. Stick apples or oranges or clementines full of cloves in pretty patterns to make pomanders.

Use those fibre arts skills to create a special piece to keep your home warm and safe and well-supplied until spring. It doesn’t have to be anything big - a simple weaving or single square will do. Crochet or cut out snowflakes for your home decor. If you want to get fancy, pick up a ball of cotton warp thread and look for old doily patterns - they look great as hoop weavings hung on the wall (or make a witch web in winter colors).

Make one more batch of moonwater to carry you through to the new year. If it happens to snow or freeze where you live, you can save clean snow or icicles for special (non-drinkable) elemental water, which can be a fun base for moonwater as well.

And speaking of elements, make sure to remember in all your seasonal decorating that fire safety is paramount. Be careful with your candles, warmers, light strings, plugs, extension cords, and cables. DO NOT “daisy chain” your extension cords or power strips. Never leave candles or wax warmers or simmer pots unattended, and turn off your holiday lights before bedtime. Safety first, witches!

Thanks for joining me for this exploration of full moon magic. See you next year!

Happy Cold Moon, witches! 🌕🧊

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts

Secular Celebration Suggestions for Yule

Moon Rise Calculator - The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Cold Moon: Full Moon in December 2024, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

December Full Moon 2024: Cold Moon’s Epic Spiritual Meaning, The Peculiar Brunette.

How Do Trees Survive The Winter?, National Forest Foundation.

How to Make Pomander Balls, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Fun Kid’s Activity: Winter Pinecone Bird Feeder, Audubon Southwest.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

#witchcraft #witchblr #witch community #witch tips #full moon #cold moon #moon magic #lunar magic #lunar calendar

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sweetshuga · 2 months ago

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Introducing... roomie!chris

Best paired with... you!

✧ Your roommate, charming, social butterfly, camo pants & t-shirts, allergic to haircuts, baggy jeans, clingy, talkative, loves to cuddle, popular around campus, all I need by Lloyd, would do anything for you, lowkey obsessed, silver jewellery, pepsi enthusiast, a switch in bed, fratboy vibes, his phone is full of pictures of you, a freak, down bad for you, gets good grades but also a big-time party animal (dunno how he does it honestly), random deep talks at 3 am + more.

Read about him.ᐟ

Roommates 1

Roommates 2

Roommates 3

Roommates 4

Roommates 5

Roommates 6

Roommates 7

Roommates – Origin

Roommates – Celebration Smut

Roomie!Chris hcs

Random texts with roomie!chris

Isa’s rambling ۶ৎ Sooo chat, here is a little something! I’m making this an official au since I’ve already done shit ton of blurbs and stuff with it (and am planning to do more). He’s cute, a lil’ obsessed, but cute nonetheless.

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kudouusagi · 4 months ago

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Animedia Uryuu Kyouko interview

Not skating but playing karuta!?

Q: What is the scene that you though "this is hot" the most during?

A: While they were playing Karuta! Please feel that true breath of life!

You'll be able to see all sorts of firsts!

You'll be able to see how Sakurayashiki and Nanjou interacted while they were young!

Just as the title says, you'll be able to see their morning routines!

You'll be able to see Hiromi-chan in love!

Click to read the rest of the interview

We asked Kyoko Uryu for secrets about the production of the OVA!

--It's been just about 4 years from when the first season was aired on TV, and the OVA is going to be shown in theaters soon. How did you determine how production would go?

While we were making the first season, people would often say things like "I'd like to do this type of thing in season 2" so there was a strong desire to continue in the production team. So it was determined we'd make a season 2 very soon after we saw the reaction to season one. However, since it's an original anime without a work to base it off of, and the staff had plans to work on other projects, we figured it would take a while to make another season. We decided to produce an OVA before the second season, as we wanted to deliver something new in the meantime, and also as a gift to express our gratitude to the fans who would be waiting for a long time. That ended up taking quite a while too though......(sweat). Thank you so much for waiting......!

--Uryuu-san, please tell us your favorite part of the OVA, that's an "Omnibus story about their everyday lives"

We wanted to make something we couldn't do in the series, and we wanted to make it something that us as the staff would also want to see, so this is an episode we made from all of our ideas. I can't say much about the content yet because it would be spoilers, but I can tell you now that my personal favorite point is the theme song! Not only is it sung by Reki and Langa, the lyrics that Utsumi-san helped produce are amazing, so please listen to the full version on the OVA bonus CD!

--In the commercial currently available, we see Sakurayashiki and Nanjo in their highschool days. Was the part set in the past something you came up with after it was decided there would be an OVA?

Well, we had decided that they've been "frenemies since childhood" before this, but we started from wondering how these two would have been during their school days if they fight like children even as adults..... That's how we went about creating this story. We hope you enjoy seeing their former daily lives(?) that we aren't really able to depict in the main series.

--If there's a character that your impression of has changed, or you've found a new appeal because of the OVA, please tell us!

Kikuchi! Kikuchi is a mysterious character by nature, but I think you'll see a side of him that's completely different from the image you have of him from the TV series.

--Other than the second season that's already being made, there have been various collaborations and pilgrimage tours held for this series that's been loved for a long time. Is there anything that you personally want to see happen for SK8, Uryuu-san?

I feel like the fans of SK8 have a deep love for this series, so if I ever have the change, I'd like to have a tea party or something like that to talk with the fans about the series. I'll never forget about how enthusiastic the fans were at the talk event held during the pilgrimage tour last year (lol). Other than that, I'd like to be able to have a Canada episode someday and be able to hold a Canada pilgrimage tour...... of course before that I'd like to go to Canada with Utsumi-san for location scouting!

--Finally, please give a message to everyone waiting for the OVA to go one sale and the theater screening!

Thank you so much for waiting 4 whole years.

The OVA is made for the fans who are overflowing with love for SK8, and I think it's packed full of rich content for them so please look forward to it!

The limited time theater screening will of course contain the OVA itself, but we also plan to deliver specially edited footage from the first season so that everyone in the theater can enjoy it together, as well as behind-the-scenes talks with the cast and director. There will be footage only shown in the theater so I hope everyone will enjoy it together before the OVA comes out. The OVA packaging will be just as elaborate, if not more than, the series packaging, so we hope you'll pick it up and watch it over and over again!

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity

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professorlaytonarchive · 8 months ago

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Dear fellow Professor Layton fans! I’m writing this post to explain the timeline of events about the search for Mansion of the Deathly Mirror to clear up any misconceptions or missing information you may have.

To start, Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror (レイトン教授と死鏡の館 ) is a game in the Professor Layton series that was exclusively released for mobile. It was available on Professor Layton Mobile. The game features a brand new story formed by 6 chapters in total. Each chapter was his own i-appli, and they were released every two weeks starting from October 2008. As of June 2024, a translation of the original version is in the works, with the first chapter already released and as of September 2024 all 6 chapters have been preserved

Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror -Remix- (レイトン教授と死鏡の館 -REMIX-) is an updated version of Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirroravailable to i-Mode devices through the Professor Layton Mobile and Mobile R portal. This version has different puzzles, slightly better animations and slightly different dialogues compared to the original version.

Synopsis

Professor Layton and his number one apprentice, Luke Triton, are invited to a party hosted by famous author Drevin Murdoch. At this party, he reveals to be in possession of a mirror that allows the attendants to talk to the dead. However, after Murdoch is found dead the following morning, it's up to Layton and Luke to find out the truth behind the Deathly Mirror, and the secrets Murdoch's Mansion holds.

(Credit: Keitai Wiki)

Chapter 1: A Single Piece

In 2014, a streamer managed to record the first three chapters of Deathly Mirror. A little while after, the streamer began to be harassed by multiple fans, eventually leading them to take down the videos. Due to the lack of preservation efforts at the time, the videos weren’t saved.

Years later, bits and pieces—such as screenshots, articles, and press videos—were found, but nothing concrete.

Chapter 2: A Picture Forming

In May of 2023, a Japanese fan posted the first part of what would become a complete playthrough of all six chapters of Mansion of the Deathly Mirror Remix. This was monumental for the Layton Lost Media (LLM) scene. However, during the 11 months it took to release the full playthrough, there were some difficulties with Western fans. The issues included harassment of the player for more videos, begging for the ROM (despite the player clearly stating they were afraid of Japan’s strict piracy laws), and other forms of harassment.

This period caused uncertainty and worry throughout the Layton Lost Media community, leading the community to strictly instruct members to cease any future contact with the player to prevent the playthrough from being lost before its completion. Around the same time, in February of 2024, thanks to the help of the user @/ponkikipon on Discord, we were able to preserve the ROMs of the original chapters 1-3. In April 2024, the playthrough of Remix came to an end with the release of the video for the sixth chapter. This allowed for the formation of Team Enigma, which sought to fully remake both the original and remixed versions of the game into one package, translate the original game into English, and expand their efforts into other translation projects. Chapter 1 is currently fully translated and available.

Chapter 3: The Final Piece

In September 2024, Keitai Wiki and a user by the name of @/yuvi on Discord managed to locate chapters 4-6 on a junk phone, marking the full preservation of the original Mansion of the Deathly Mirror. This allowed Team Enigma to bypass multiple roadblocks in the development of the remake and translation.

Please show your support by supporting Keitai Wiki, Team Enigma, and Team Professor Layton Archive.

https://x.com/rockmancosmo/status/1834626811646599498?s=46&t=r1PBA7kkYm_L_o06jhQMgw

#layton #layton series #professor layton #hershel layton #luke triton #level 5 #professor layton and the mansion of the deathly mirror #mansion of the deathly mirror #deathly mirror #professor layton projects #professor layton lost media #Professor Layton information

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hotchstead · 5 months ago

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Begin Again • M. Casey

Requested: no Word count: 3.2k warnings: none?

A/n: this was originally something I wrote for an oc x evan Buckley that I never posted so thats why there's like actual names and back story stuff ..

Masterlist

You stood in your bedroom, digging around through your clothes for the right thing to wear. Was this a casual thing? Yes. Did you want to dress super casual? No. Because this was the first time in months that you were allowing yourself to have an ounce of happiness. Allowing yourself to go out there and let someone see the rawest form a girl could have.

The outfit you chose went perfectly with a pair of heels you had bought last year but never worn. Jeremy never let you. Not to a party, not even to a business meeting he had had. So really it was a mystery if they fit. Guess now was a good time to try them on… right?

Hesitantly, you slipped the shoes on, double checking yourself in the full length mirror behind your door. It was good. It was nice, didn’t scream business meeting or ‘hey let's ditch and have sex’, and considering you had work in only a couple hours and this was just coffee and pastries at a cafe, it felt perfect.

Your parents were out, their ritual was to have breakfast out at least twice a week. Today was one of the days so you were alone in your thoughts as you left the house. You plugged your phone into your car to play some music for the drive. Only fifteen minutes.

And those fifteen minutes were full of anxiety. Would Matt like your outfit? Like you on the side of things where you weren’t a firefighter? Your heart was racing but you shook your head. If it didn’t work out like that, you’d be friends. Regardless of status, you’d already interacted enough to stay friends if everything plummeted.

You had to keep reminding yourself that as you parked, all the spaces for the block were taken so you were a bit away when you finally got out. The cafe was around the corner and you fiddled with the hem of your shirt before starting the walk there.

With every step you went over what you expected to happen. You thought you were a boring, unfunny mess so if anything Matt would probably get out of there earlier than expected, causing you to carry your half of the check and head to work licking your wounds.

The bell above the door jingled, alerting anyone around of your presence and you spotted your date at a table in the middle of the room. He saw you almost instantly, how could he not? Everytime the bell rang from the front he turned in his seat to see if you were now coming his way. The first 7 times it wasn’t, but it was now.

Instantly, he stood, smiling widely while waving you over. You walked over to him, letting out a light breath before smiling back at him. It was impossible not to. “Hey,” He went in for a hug, wrapping his arms lightly around you before moving to pull the chair out for you. Something you were not used to one bit.

“Hi,” You smiled softly, sitting in the seat and watching as he moved to sit back down. He’d already had a cup of coffee on the table but that was it, it seems he was waiting for you to even have something to nibble on. “How’s your morning been?” You added, a lady coming over to get an order in for the two.

Once she left, Matt shrugged. “Can’t complain. Not gonna lie I was worried you weren’t going to show.” He offered right off the bat, causing Your eyebrows to raise. And here you were thinking that he wasn’t going to be all that excited to see her.

You hid a smile before shaking your head, “I’m not exactly a flaker.”

“Thank god, imagine how embarrassing that’d be for me.” He joked, taking a sip of his extremely light coffee.

You noticed the color of it and chuckled lightly. “How much cream is in that cup?”

“Probably about 50% of it.” He laughed and shook his head, “Nah, maybe like 4 of those little cups they give you. She gave me a weird look when I was putting them in too.” He sat back as your coffee was brought out along with two muffins. One chocolate chip, one blueberry. The chocolate one was Matt’s.

You reached over and grabbed three of the equal packets, swirling it into your coffee. “Dark and sweet.” Matt spoke, “Light and bitter, two sides of a coin.” He stated and you nodded. If it were Jeremy he would have rolled his eyes and told you not to waste the sugar in a drink where you can’t even taste it.

The thought of him made you shift in your seat, crossing your ankles loosely. Matt didn’t notice the slight change in demeanor so he leaned forward slightly. “Not to be the person that asks a million questions on a first date but this is a need to know, what music do you listen to? Because I listen to a mix of like rock and pop but I don’t think I can stand someone that listens to hard rap or something. No offense if you do but-”

“Matt,” You cut in with a laugh, shaking your head. “I don’t listen to hard rap. Or country really? Though there are some songs that I could scream at the top of my lungs. Mainly classic rock, my dad was a big metal head in his day and age. And of course hispanic music, being Cuban I couldn’t go any night in the summer without my neighbors blaring the music so loud that I’m positive you could hear it three blocks away.” You tended to ramble when it came to things you liked talking about.

Music was one of those topics. You could go on and on about the classic rock band Queen, or Fleetwood Mac to Celia Cruz. “Yeah? Around my neighborhood if the neighbors could hear your music then you were being an inconvenience.” Matt countered, looking at you with awe. “But I’m glad we got that covered, cause like I said, I’m peculiar about my music choices.”

“I feel like everyone is peculiar in their taste of something. Like for instance if you like mint chocolate chip ice cream I might have to just up and leave this table right now,” Now you were joking to an extent but the taste of that flavor ice cream made you want to gag.

By the look on Matt’s face, he was guilty of your charge, “Okay well this was nice,” you fake got up before shaking your head, “No I’m kidding but don’t ever ask me to have a bite.”

He held up his right hand and nodded, “Swear.” A solid laugh came out of his mouth, catching you by surprise. Nobody ever thought you were funny. Any joke you tried to do was met with a blank face, maybe a pair of rolled eyes before the conversation continued.

In response to Matt’s laugh a grin spread on your face, “What’s your favorite band? You said you like classic rock right?” You asked, picking off a piece of your muffin to eat.

He didn’t answer right away, there was a clear sign of thought on his face. Thinking over his answer. “Hm, I like a lot of them, what a heavy question.” He mumbled with a light smile, looking down at his hands in a bout of concentration.

“Cause like, Queens iconic, so many good songs. But if I’m honest I really like The Animals. They have some really good songs. House of the Rising Sun is a classic.”

“No way, that’s been one of my favorites since I was little. I had a neighbor when I was a kid that only listened to like obscure bands and they were one of them. I have basically all of their albums in some form.” you rushed out excitedly, seeing the smile on Matt’s face widen as you spoke more.

The boy leaned forward happily, “You get it! God I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that actually likes their music or has it anywhere but Spotify.”

You two rambled about classic rock for the next twenty minutes, who the best Beatles member was, which Motley Crue song they listened to most. It was as if you two were catching up after not seeing each other for ages rather than a first date.

“You know,” Matt randomly spoke after a moment of silence for both of them to drink the coffees in front of them. “I never understood the people that call the sun a planet.” He finally took a bite of his muffin and it was giant. The entire top was basically off of it, that's how big of a bite it was.

Your eyebrows raised in surprise as Matt ate it peacefully. “For example, I was out on this call once, and the guy was making a solar system diorama for his kid. But the sun was labeled a planet. Only noticed because he had somehow managed to get a skewer through his cheek, was going to leave that out but felt like you’d ask how I’d notice that little detail. Anyway I tried to correct him but he insisted he was right.”

He rolled his eyes. Finishing the top of his muffin while you were still picking at yours. Though you were a sucker for talking about music or things you were interested in, when it came to stuff you weren't knowledgeable on or didn’t like, you fell quiet. Shy even.

“I love space, I don’t really know much but it’s so beautiful. I’d love to visit like Mars, or maybe one that hasn’t been visited.” You offered, there wasn’t much you knew about space so you just offered up the closest thing that you did. It was beautiful.

He finished off his coffee before looking at her, “Same, but I’m staying away from venus. You know it's the hottest planet in the solar system? You’d think it’s mercury but nope, venus.” Matt spewed off a random fact, catching your attention more than he already did.

You flinched back as your face twisted in confusion, “Oh? Why?” You were interested in what he had to say, maybe it was the idea of still learning new things at 26 or maybe it was his excited expression as he thought over what he was gonna say briefly before talking. Whichever it was, he was ready to offer up any information.

“Mercury has almost no atmosphere, which is what would hold in the heat from the sun. Unlike Venus, which has a suuuuper thick and heavy atmosphere. Have you ever been in a real greenhouse?” Matt was talking with his hands the entire time, and you could pinpoint the excitement down his fingers.

“Uh…” You had to think, Rhode Island didn’t have many areas for stuff like that. “I don’t think I can say I have.” New York didn’t have any either, well, at least not that you knew of.

Matt scooched his seat closer, trying to keep his voice to where only the two of them could hear. “Well, Venus’ atmosphere makes it like a greenhouse, super hot and toxic. I’m talking ‘melt and erode you’ toxic.” He went on for a few minutes about the atmosphere and how Venus didn’t have enough water to bring co2 levels down and there was too much sulfur.

You simply sat with your legs crossed and listened. Hopefully some of the information would stick and you’d be able to tell your parents about the planets and everything else Matt was so happily rambling about.

Both of their drinks were gone by now and same went for their muffins. The last ten minutes had just been pointless conversation about whatever came up as a topic.

“So why’d you become a firefighter?” You asked, finally landing on the reason the two had even met. And what a terrifying first day it was. Matt’s face twinged down, causing you to lean forward slightly. “Unless you don’t want to talk about it.” You offered.

It was ingrained in your mind to always make sure the other person being talked to was comfortable. “I do, I became a firefighter because I knew that helping people, and having a sort of reason to my life was what I needed.” He offered, his eyes going down to a random stain on the table. A spot of coffee that he had spilt earlier.

“From what I saw at that highrise, you’re doing good.” You offered. It was true, hearing how he (and Kelly) had handled both the girl and the injured man during that earthquake was amazing.

He slightly nodded, seeming to get into his head for a moment or so, some sort of hidden demon in his mind grabbing a hold while he sat for a nice morning meal. “Anyway, what about you?” He was good at diverting, bringing the conversation to someone other than himself when it came to topics that he didn’t want to talk about.

It was something he had developed the skill for in his earlier 20’s.

“Oh-, well, when I was younger my mom had really bad chest pains. So bad that she couldn’t even move to call 911. I was like, 12? Had never had something like that happen. She managed to get me to call them and they talked me through everything but being so vulnerable, so… open to the worst possible outcome, made me realize I want to help others the way that person at dispatch helped me.” The wrapped for the muffin was rolled and still being twisted between your fingers as you spoke.

It was hard then, your dad had been just out of town for some lawsuit, and your mom was so scared. Sarah was out with friends and Charlie was just a baby. Matt’s face fell soft, it seemed like a horrifying moment for anyone, especially a preteen.

“I’m sorry. Did she end up being okay?” He tentatively asked, unsure of what else to really say, parents can be a touchy subject. Trust that he knew. When you nodded he let out a soft sigh of relief.

You placed the wrapper down gently, “Oh, yeah yeah, she made it. Everything was fine. Emphasis on was.” In an attempt to cut herself off from talking you dragged your eyes across the nearly spotless floors of the cafe.

Peaking at the strangers and how happy they seemed to be in their own social bubbles. When your eyes came back to Matt’s he had a look that came off like he wanted to know more, “I say was cause um, she has breast cancer now. Late stages. Don’t know if she’ll be able to get better but I’m okay, please, please, don’t give me that pity look.” It was one you didn’t know well in your own experience but had seen it enough around to point it out.

On Matt it was his eyebrows tugging down along with the corners of his lips. “I’m not trying to, but I just, I am sorry that sucks. A lot. We can change the subject. Like, dream vacation spot?” He threw on a happy aura that slowly but surely dragged you out by the hair.

“Hm, Venice probably. I want to ride on a gondola more than I want anything in this world. Maybe even more than be a firefighter.” You joked softly, earning another soft chuckle from the blonde across from you.

He nodded, his smile still as bright as the north star, “That’s a solid choice. I have a lot of choices and that’s definitely up there.” Which wasn’t exactly a proper answer to the question but seeing as it was pretty much time for them to head out, you didn’t question it.

Both of your watches beeped: ten past nine. Meaning it was time to go. Matt stood first, tossing both of their trash away. Easily he pushed his chair in and offered his hand out to you for you to take, leading them out of the building.

“This is kind of good, both working the same, or similar in time shifts. Makes hanging out wayy easier.” Matt stated, squinting as you stepped back into the sun, your opposite hand going up to shield your eyes. He was right.

Dating as a first responder was hard. It isn’t easy for people that don’t get it. Same goes for doctors and such. Being with someone that has an odd schedule is difficult to adjust to. But other firefighters or paramedics could make it work.

As you walked down to your car, just chatting, you wanted to tell him a million things. How you felt more accepted in this short date than the entirety of your last relationship. Or that him just getting you was such a refreshing change from Jeremy.

And you almost did.

Almost.

“You know, around this time of year my sister and I would always, always, watch the Halloween Town movies? It was always her favorite.” He broke their silence just a few feet from your car. Bringing the brunette’s attention back to him at that very moment.

She stopped them at the car, him looking it over. 2017 black Elantra. “Those are all really good movies. My favorite is the… third? One? The high school one.” You countered, facing him.

“Personally I love the original. A true classic.” He offered, leaning against the car like a cool guy in an early 2000’s rom com. “What other movies do you like? Childish or not.” It felt as if he didn’t want this date to end. Not that you did either.

You held onto your purse strap tightly as you thought, “Childish would be Disney’s Hercules. None would be this comedy I saw a few years ago, Without A Paddle. Super funny.”

“Never heard of it.” Matt’s words caused you to gasp. It was an amazing movie.

You shook your head quickly. “What? You have to. It has Matthew Lillard in it and he's amazing. So are the other guys, Dax Shepard and Seth Green.” You listed off, the movie being so ingrained in your mind that you could pretty much quote half of it right in that moment.

Matt shrugged, “I’m sorry,” Quick glance to his watch, “I love this conversation but I have to go… maybe we can watch that together sometime?” He asked, causing you to stop mid sentence, a blush falling over your cheeks.

A second date. So this one went well. You went all out of your usual comfort zone and it went well. “Yeah, yeah we should.” You replied and Matt once again nodded, waving and giving his goodbyes before walking the way you’d come, to find his own truck.

Once he was gone you grinned widely, getting into your car.

Everything about today was different. The past eight months had been nothing but hell. Love had scorned you more times than you could count, Jeremy worse than others. But Matt felt different. In a world of black cats he was a golden retriever. It was… refreshing?

That wasn’t exactly the word that you wanted to use but it’s what you felt. Everything felt better. Bigger. Comfier.

So on this beautiful Wednesday morning. you could feel it Beginning Again.

JOIN MATTS TAGLIST HERE!

tags: @winchesterszvonecek, @halsteadbrasil, @wnbweasley, @firetruckstuckley

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jtargaryen18 · 8 days ago

Text

Under His Skin ~ Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

Words: 8k

Pairing: Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow (Nolanverse Batman) x F Reader

Warnings: Stalking, sabotage, gaslighting, head games, x-rated fantasies/thoughts, drugging, voyeurism, panty kink, manipulation.

You deliver the painting to Dr. Crane, hanging it in his office. The simple act sets your fiance off in a way you never could have anticipated. In the span of a day, your life comes apart around you with Ares' very sanity in question. Is Jonathan Crane your savior or the architect of the trap you and Ares fell into?

Disclaimer:The author of this work claims no ownership of characters aside from the reader, and original secondary characters mentioned. This work is not intended for those under the age of 18 due to explicit sexual content and darker themes. By reading this work or any works on my blog (jtargaryen18), you agree that you are at least 18 years of age. I do not consent to have my work hosted on any third party app or site.

She knocked on Jonathan's office door the next day. The sound was gentle and polite, neither rushed nor hesitant. He liked that. She'd arrived at her usual time, time she normally spent with Ares. And she chose to spend it here instead. Whether she realized it or not, the shift had already begun.

When Jonathan called for her to enter, she stepped in, carrying the painting, the crows in oil-dark chaos on canvas. She balanced the frame carefully against one hip, as if it were more fragile than it actually was.

Jonathan rose from behind his desk and crossed the room. "You brought it yourself," he said, a faint curve of a smile at the edges of his mouth.

"Delivery service was overbooked," she joked lightly, shifting the weight of the painting. "And anyway, art installation is one of my many hidden talents." She offered it like a peace offering. Or maybe she didn’t even realize that’s what it was.

Either way, he accepted it.

She was dressed elegantly today. Nothing obvious, but it pleased him because it marked a return to her pattern. The details were there in the smooth line of her blouse, the subtle gloss on her lips, and the faint shimmer along the hem of her sleeves where the fluorescent lights overhead caught it. The sleek heels she wore today made her legs look endless. The shiny nylon covering them made him wonder. Were they stockings? Jonathan loved stockings both for aesthetics and restraints. Or was she wearing full panty hose? A fragile covering with nothing underneath so he could just rip through the crotch and push his face into that sweet, heated cove.

None of it was necessary for a delivery, nor accidental.

Jonathan logged it with quiet recision. Presentation. Awareness. She thought about coming here, and how she’d look when she did. Still, he was aware of the danger of believing it was for him. Perception creates pattern. Pattern creates meaning. And meaning... is a weakness if it isn't real. He was struggling with letting his growing personal hopes contaminate the data.

She shifted the painting in her arms, lifting it slightly. "Is it okay if I install it now?" she asked in a careful voice. "If not, I can come back another time." She offered the out so casually, like it didn't matter either way.

Jonathan knew it was benign, an offer of convenience and nothing more. Still, some part of him unraveled at her offer because even in something as simple as this, even here in a sterile office with bad lighting and worse furniture, she was offering herself to him. Did he allow her to stay in his space? Could he pretend, even for a few minutes, that this was normal? That they were normal?

Stay. Choose me.

He hated how much he wanted it, how easily the fantasy bled into reality. Her choosing to stay, even for something as meaningless as hanging a painting in his office, fed the illusion. And illusions are harder to dismantle once you start needing them.

Jonathan smiled. "Now is perfect," he said.

And when she smiled back, bright and easy, turning toward the wall to measure placement, Jonathan allowed himself the smallest indulgence of believing that maybe, just for this moment, it was true. "Where do you want it?" she asked.

The simple question caught in his mind like a snare. Where do you want it? It wasn’t just about placement, but about agency, control. About her standing there, waiting for his instruction.

Where do you want me?

The thought struck fast and sharp. He curled one hand loosely behind his back to still it.

"Above the credenza," Jonathan said smoothly. "Center it between the shelves."

She nodded, already moving, already trusting his decision. Jonathan watched her stretch slightly to measure the space. He noted the careful way she balanced the frame, the ease in her posture. Mostly, he noted the unguarded comfort of her body in his office, on his time. He noticed the graceful lines of her body. The curve of her neck as she tilted her head. The smooth extension of her arms as she reached high, unaware, or unconcerned, that he was watching her so closely. Those long, graceful legs... He wanted to know what it was like to have those on his shoulders or wrapped around his waist, his face...

She moves like she belongs here. And the worst part? He wanted her to. And that was when the internal warning flared, sharp and cold. Crane turned slightly away, adjusting his stance, forcing his breath to steady.

Observe. Don't attach. Classify. Don’t react.

Jonathan was a doctor. A scientist, a strategist... He didn’t feel. He mapped behavior. He didn't crave it. He forced himself to look at the wall, not her. To think of the composition of the painting instead of the way her fingers brushed the frame. But it was already too late. The system had been altered.

She doesn't even know she's already staying longer than she meant to. And he wasn’t about to remind her.

That was when Ares appeared in the doorway with no knock or announcement. Just a shadow stretching long across the tile. "Everything alright?" Ares asked, his voice casual. Too casual.

Jonathan turned slightly to address him. "Perfectly." He kept his posture open and relaxed. He had to stay away from anything defensive or possessive.

Still, he didn’t miss the way Ares's gaze moved from her to the painting and then back to him. Her fiancé didn't say anything else, just stood there, half inside the office, watching. Jonathan could almost see the suspicions floating through the man's mind.

"Almost done," she said brightly, stretching to reach the top of the frame. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ares in his doorway. She flashed him an easy smile. "Hey, Ares."

Ares didn't react. Jonathan moved a little closer to her, but not too close. Just enough to catch the faint scent of her shampoo, something clean and unassuming.

Ares tensed. Good. Jonathan smiled faintly. Let him wonder.

"Thanks for your help," Jonathan said, his voice warmer than it usually was around staff. "It’ll look better with a professional touch."

She smiled back, easy and natural, focused on adjusting the level.

Ares was still staring when Jonathan finally turned back to him. "Was there anything else, Ares?"

Ares blinked, caught. His mouth opened, then closed again. "No," he muttered. "Just checking in." He stepped back into the hallway, throwing one last glance over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner.

Jonathan watched him go, then turned his gaze slowly back to her. "You really do have a talent for this," he said quietly.

She grinned. "Told you."

He watched as she carefully adjusted the final nail, completely unaware of the new fracture she’d just helped him inflict on Ares.

When she stepped back from the painting, she brushed her hands lightly against her skirt. "There," she said. "Perfect."

Jonathan smiled. "Thank you," he said warmly.

She glanced briefly between him and the now-vacant doorway, then adjusted the strap of her bag. "I should take Ares his lunch," she said, the words casual but just a little rushed.

"Of course," Jonathan said, waving her off like it was nothing. Watching her leave, he noted the small hesitation just before she turned the corner toward Ares’s office.

Jonathan closed his door and moved calmly to his desk, drawing open the second drawer. Pulling out his phone, he pulled up the camera feed. He'd hidden the camera in Ares's office over the weekend and hadn't needed to use it until now. The video feed flared to life, and he had a perfect view of the conversation about to unfold in Ares's office.

She entered his office, the usual brown paper bag in her hand. Jonathan almost felt pity for her as she went in, smiling and soft. It had been his suggestion that she return, to reestablish the routine, and offer Ares comfort. And she’d listened. Of course she had. He'd learned that she would always listen when she felt she had the opportunity to help someone else. She had no idea what she was likely walking into. And it wasn't his intention to put her in that position, but as his plan evolved, it was necessary at this point on the timeline. Now, as the timeline accelerated, as Ares forced his hand, her presence had become necessary.

She was the last pressure point. The final variable in the sequence. Ares wouldn't break completely until she was there to witness it. Nor would she walk away unless she sees what Ares has become. So Jonathan let her go, let the moment unfold.

You wanted to save him. I needed you to try. Now you’ll understand why you can’t.

Jonathan observed from a quiet corner of his office, phone in hand. The camera angle was just right, wide enough to capture both of them. He hoped the audio would be sufficient too.

Ares stood stiffly behind his desk, arms crossed, his posture coiled tight. There was nothing welcoming or relaxed about his stance. He waited, watching her.

That's when Jonathan saw the real change in him. He remembered the first time he met Dr. Ares Katsaros, his first day at Arkham. Ares had been poised and well-liked, a man who operated with ease and charm, within the illusion of control. And now? The man's shoulders were stiff, nearing his ears in his agitated state. His jaw was set tightly, his gaze frantic and sharp. Ares no longer trusted his surroundings, even worrying about speaking too loudly. What if his voice gave away the cracks in his composure?

Fascinating.

Even though the ending had been moved up, Jonathan hadn’t rushed the process. Hadn’t even had to push very hard. He'd just made a few adjustments to the system as they'd progressed. The result was a few perfectly placed fractures that were fully on display here. Isolation. Paranoia. Doubt.

And fear. Always fear.

She set the bag down gently on the desk between them. "I thought you could use something special today," she said, smiling. "It's your favorite. Monte Cristo."

Ares didn’t move to open it. His gaze was cold on her. "What was that?" he asked, pointing in the direction of Jonathan's office.

She blinked, surprised. "What?"

"Hanging a painting in Crane’s office?" Ares scoffed. "Where did that come from?"

Her laugh was as easy and genuine as it always had been. She had no walls up. "He bought it at the gallery," she said. "I offered to deliver it. I figured, since I’m already here most days anyway."

Ares's shoulders twitched.

Jonathan leaned back in his chair, the corner of his mouth tugging into something too slight to be called a smile. He’s slipping.

Ares’s voice cut again, harder. "What was Crane doing at the gallery?"

She frowned, confused but still calm."He visited. People buy art, Ares. It's not a conspiracy." She hesitated, just a breath. "And honestly? He mostly came to talk to me about coming back here. For you."

Ares stiffened, the tension in his frame suddenly palpable.

She didn’t seem to notice. "I guess he thought... I was helping you," she said, shrugging, still trying to explain it away. "He said my absence might have been making things harder for you."

And there it is, Crane thought, watching the feed with cold satisfaction.

She had no idea how that sounded to someone already cracking. No idea how much damage those simple, honest words would do.

Ares didn’t answer immediately. He just stood there, tight and silent. Torn between trust and suspicion, he was losing. He took a step closer to his desk. It wasn't aggressive, but sharp. "You think he came all the way to the gallery just to talk to you about me?" he asked, voice low.

There was an edge beneath the words now. A pressure she hadn’t heard from him before. She blinked, thrown off by the sudden coldness.

"Yes?" she said cautiously. "He said he was concerned about you."

Ares let out a sharp, humorless breath. "Concerned," he repeated flatly. He ran a hand over his face, then dragged it down his jaw, slow and tense. "Jonathan Crane doesn’t get concerned. He takes what he wants."

Let him say it. Let him tear the ground out from under himself.

She shifted her weight, folding her arms, defensive without meaning to be. "You’re overreacting, Ares," she said carefully. "It was just a painting. Just a conversation."

"You don’t see it," he muttered, more to himself than to her.

"See what?"

Ares shook his head like he was trying to clear it. He was trying to find the right words, and failing. "Don't spend time around him," he said in a rougher voice.

She blinked at him, genuinely surprised. "I really haven’t. I've barely talked to him outside of--" She stopped herself, realizing too late what that sounded like.

Ares latched onto it immediately. "Outside of what?"

She exhaled sharply. "Outside of trying to help you. That’s all."

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” Ares' voice took on an angry tone.

There it was. The edge of truth inside the spiral. Even half-shattered and coming apart at the seams, Ares had noticed.

You weren’t as invisible as you thought. Not to him. Jontathan wasn't panicking. It was calculation. Because if Ares had noticed… others might too. And she might start to question. The game board shifted. Ares wasn’t just in the way anymore. He was interfering, and that Jonathan wouldn't tolerate.

She looked away, lips parting like she wanted to speak but was struggling for an answer. Discomfort. Doubt. A crack in the foundation he built with her.

She shook her head. “Sorry,” she said to Ares, voice small. “I don’t… I don’t think that’s fair. He’s trying to help.”

She was already doing the work for him, trying to rationalize his presence and explain away the pull between them like it was context instead of something deeper.

You’re not ready to look at it yet. That's fine. I can wait.

But he knew it was coming. She would bring it up soon, and when she did, he'd have the perfect words ready. He'd reframe it instead of denying it. It wasn't dangerous or obsessive. It was a genuine connection.

“You felt it too. You just didn’t know what to call it.”

The tension between her and Ares right now thickened. He took a step closer to the desk, gripping the edge like he needed something to anchor himself. "You don't understand what he is," Ares said tightly. "You think he’s cold, clinical. He’s not. He’s worse."

Jonathan leaned back slightly in his chair. Careful, Ares. You're almost making my case for me.

"Why would you say that?" she asked. Her voice was low with hurt creeping in. "Why would you even think that?"

Ares hesitated, and just that one second was everything. It wasn’t reason Ares was speaking from now. It was fear. Not fear for her, but of losing her. A brand new fracture that he hadn't been aware of before today had appeared.

She stood there for a second longer, searching Ares’s face, looking for something to hold onto. Anything. But all she saw were his suspicion and anger.

Dropping her arms to her sides, she said, "Maybe..." She forced herself to meet his gaze. "Maybe I just shouldn’t come to Arkham anymore."

On the other side of the phone screen, Jonathan went still. The pleasant buzz of control, of watching the fracture widen, tightened into something sharper.

No. Jonathan wasn’t ready to lose her. Not from proximity nor from habit. And certainly not from some misguided attempt to keep the peace.

You’re part of the system now. You don't get to walk away.

The words seemed to knock the air out of Ares too. "No," Ares said immediately, too fast.

She took a half step back, small, but visible.

Jonathan leaned in slightly, his eyes fixed on the moment unfolding.

“But then… if I don’t come to Arkham, I’m never going to see you, am I?” she asked in a voice tinged with something he recognized instantly. Loss.

Ares said nothing, and the pause hung in the air like a final verdict.

Jonathan saw the way her shoulders dropped, the way her gaze dropped and didn’t return to Ares’s. That wasn’t the moment she gave up on him, but it was the moment she realized he already had given up. Jonathan blew out an exhale. Control. The fracture widened and it wasn’t about proving Ares was dangerous anymore.

Now she was feeling the distance herself. And soon, when fear came for her... She’ll have nowhere else to turn.

Ares ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I just..." he started, then faltered. "I just don’t want you caught in the middle of something you don’t see coming," he finished weakly.

Jonathan listened to the words collapse in real time, smiled faintly. You already lost the ground you’re trying to protect. Now all I have to do is offer her another one. He saw the way she took them in. The disappointment in her eyes and the soft retreat of someone who’d just gotten their answer.

She stood there another long moment, torn and hurting. "I’ll think about it."

And then she left, like she couldn’t get out of the office fast enough.

Jonathan watched her go, the careful way she held herself together. He didn’t stop watching until the door swung closed and Ares slumped back behind his desk, looking hollow.

Jonathan slowly lowered his phone onto his desk.

You almost lost her. Not Ares. Him.

Her quiet offer, Maybe I just shouldn’t come to Arkham anymore, had struck deeper than he expected. She would have left trying to spare Ares and do the right thing. Jonathan couldn't have that.

He stood, began pacing in his own office, one hand clasped loosely behind his back.

You’re part of me. I'm not letting you go.

That was the problem with emotional ties. They could be cut and softened, wrapped in guilt and worn down. But dependence? Dependence binds. There would be no need to lure her back to Arkham anymore. Not if he removed the obstacle entirely.

Let Ares fall. Let him become what Jonathan had always seen beneath the surface. Unstable, weak, and cracked down the middle by fear. He'd no longer be the protector. He'd become the one who needed protecting. Once Ares was a patient in Arkham, everything would shift.

She’d stay at Arkham in the hopes that Ares could be saved. She’d come to Jonathan with her questions and concerns. With her pain. And he’d have the answers, shape the narrative. Jonathan would manage Ares’s care himself with precision, control, and compassion, if that’s what she needed to believe.

When she reaches for someone...It will be me.

The timeline could no longer stretch. Ares was watching, and Jonathan now knew he was. The window was closing.

Good. That meant it was time to act.

You left Ares’s office with your heart racing in your chest, your mind spinning. The lunch bag still sat unopened on his desk. You doubted he even noticed.

Crossing the hallway slowly, the familiar halls of Arkham suddenly felt heavier, smaller. Had the walls shifted while you weren’t looking?

You’d honestly thought hanging the painting would be harmless. A small kindness for a man who, strange or not, had seemed to genuinely appreciate it. Ares's reaction took you completely off guard. You hadn’t expected the accusation in his voice. The warning.

Don't spend time around him.

The words still ran through your mind. You hadn’t been, not really. You barely spoke to Dr. Crane outside of a few polite exchanges. Talking, hanging out would be something of a miracle, because the man was just what Ares described, clinical and distant.

And yet, something about today had been different. There'd been warmth in Crane’s voice. The faint smile he gave you. He didn't just accept your help, but he genuinely seemed to want it. You'd been taken by surprise, but not in the way Ares seemed to fear.

It wasn't because you distrusted Crane. It was more that you didn't. Was that worse?

You thought, for a second, about stopping by Crane’s office again. Would he be sympathetic now? Ares wouldn't talk to you about what was happening. It would have been nice to get someone else's take on it. But you didn’t. You couldn’t. Not after the way Ares had looked at you and the things he said about Crane.

You weren't afraid of Jonathan Crane. It was fear of what it would mean if you stopped and talked to him now. Of how easy it would be, or how much you wanted to.

No. You pulled your coat tighter around yourself and kept walking. Out the doors and back into the cold. Back into the illusion that everything could still be fixed.

Across the upper windows of Arkham, behind the tinted glass of his office, Jonathan Crane watched her leave.

She didn’t look back or stop. But she had hesitated. A brief, almost imperceptible falter in her steps as she passed his office in the hallway. And for him, that was enough.

She’s pulling away from him. Not from me.

He leaned back slightly from the window, hands folding behind his back.

Jonathan stood in the observation room, his arms crossed, his coat crisp, his face unreadable. The two-way glass between him and the consultation room was polarized. They couldn't see him and his four top students. But he could see everything.

Inside the room, a man sat hunched on the couch. Restless and sweating. He was remarkably ordinary and forgettable. Except for what he took.

Jonathan’s gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly. The man had a name and a career. He had a wife and daughter. He also had real trauma now. Witness to a brutal crime orchestrated by Falcone’s network though he himself wasn't a criminal nor the enemy.

But he's not innocent either. Because he had her. And that, for Jonathan, made all the difference.

The session continued. The attending psychiatrist offered reassurance, soft language, and all the standard interventions. A diagnosis of PTSD, mild-to-moderate. Recommended a low-dose prescription. It was standard protocol.

His students, clustered around the notetaking table, scribbled in their binders. It was a textbook case. A form was printed, signed. A nurse entered with a plastic cup of water and a small pill. A dose to ease the symptoms. The man accepted it without hesitation, swallowing it down. He thanked them.

Jonathan’s hand remained loose at his side, his fingertips brushing the pocket where a second vial had rested earlier that morning. Not a standard beta-blocker or an antidepressant. It was a new compound. His compound. The first generation of the fear toxin he'd been developing, in slow-release form. He had engineered it specifically to trigger panic, hallucinations, and violent survival responses within a delayed window.

Clinical trial zero.

And the man, the one who had taken what was supposed to be his, was the perfect candidate. He almost wanted her to know that he was the one who had taken her husband.

Jonathan told himself it was scientific curiosity. An opportunity, nothing more.

Liar.

Hours later, back in his apartment, Jonathan heard the news. A man had suffered a psychotic break in downtown Gotham. Driven his truck straight through the front windows of a busy coffee shop, killing three and injuring eleven. Witnesses said he screamed about shadows, about blood on his hands. That he grabbed a shard of glass from the wreckage and, before anyone could stop him, cut his own throat. He'd bled out in front of survivors right there on the sidewalk.

Jonathan stood in the dark of his living room, watching the breaking news report, video footage of the scene. He didn’t move nor speak. He just listened carefully. The man’s name was never mentioned. Just another tragedy in Gotham’s endless cycle, another casualty. Nothing that could ever be traced back.

Jonathan closed his eyes for a moment. And when he opened them again, he was smiling.

Not for the data. Not for the science. But because that man never deserved her in the first place.

The success was undeniable. Fear isn’t a symptom. It’s a tool.

And now, it was his. His to direct, to shape... His to unleash on anyone he chose.

In that moment, Jonathan Crane stopped believing in treatment and rehabilitation. In hope and mercy.

There was only cause and effect. Stimulus and response. Fear and obedience.

And soon, they would all learn what it meant to fear properly.

Hours had passed, and it was nearly ten at night. Jonathan received the summons he had been anticipating. The message came through a staff intermediary, a woman who was tight-lipped and tense. “Dr. Crane, Dr. Katsaros has asked to see you in his office. Immediately.”

The phrasing was careful. It wasn't a request. To her credit, the woman's gaze was sympathetic on him. Jonathan nodded. The fact that the staff were so concerned about Ares' rapid deterioration would only make the man's downfall easier.

Jonathan closed the notebook in front of him gently and locked it in his drawer. Retrieving his briefcase from the shelf, he opened it again to make sure everything was in place. The concealed dispersal unit was ready, along with a fresh vial of the perfected toxin. He'd been planning to use it for an experiment on subject 034 this weekend, but he had a better use for it now.

And last, but not least, the mask he'd just completed. It offered him protection to observe the results of the toxin in person, not behind protective glass. But protection wasn't its only purpose.

The mask was crude by design. He'd fashioned it using leather and burlap with jagged stitching and two hollow eyes that saw nothing but forced his victims to see far too much. There was no symmetry in the design because it wasn't meant to offer comfort or to express humanity.

Jonathan could have chosen anything for the symbolism of it. But the scarecrow? It was inspired by the painting he bought from her gallery. A perfect symbol, one that lingers. Scarecrows by nature didn't hunt or kill, nor did they speak. They just stood there, waiting and watching. Truly a symbol of fear where they should be nothing.

Like the birds in that church...

That’s what made the mask work. The understanding that the human brain doesn’t fear violence first. It fears implication. Specifically, it fears what might happen. The scarecrow wasn’t a monster at all but a mirror. And fear, true fear, started when the mind began to fill in the blanks.

Let them project their worst onto me. Let their imaginations do the damage. I don’t need to be a god. I just need to be the thing they can’t explain away.

When he arrived at Ares’s office, the door was already slightly open. Ares waited for him, standing behind his desk with his hands braced wide, his knuckles white. His gaze went immediately to the briefcase in Jonathan's hand, and his face twisted.

“You bring notes to a fight, Jonathan?” Ares asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Jonathan didn’t respond, just stepped in and set the briefcase down in front of the desk before calmly shutting the door behind him, flipping the lock.

“You’ve always been a smug bastard,” Ares said, glaring at him.“I should’ve seen this coming the moment they hired you.”

Jonathan folded his hands behind his back. "Then why didn’t you?"

Ares stepped around the desk, slower this time. “Because you’re good at hiding it. I’ll give you that.” He stopped just short of Jonathan’s space, his gaze stone cold. “But I dug a little deeper. Took a look at your old university files. Or what’s left of them.”

Jonathan’s expression didn’t change. Of course he did.

“You weren’t fired for policy disagreements,” Ares said. “You were fired for experimenting on your own students. On patients you were supposed to be observing. You violated every code in the book, and they covered it up to protect the institution.” A pause. “You think I’m scared of you? I know what you are.”

Jonathan blinked slowly. "No,” he said softly. “You don’t.”

Ares' laugh was a sharp, bitter sound. “You drugged kids. Gaslit psych patients. You used fear like a plaything.”

Jonathan dropped his voice. “Not a plaything. A lens. Then fear shows the truth.” His hands dropped to his sides, calm but coiled. “And they were subjects, not victims.”

Ares was furious. “And that drama you staged with my fiancée today? Yeah, stay the fuck away from her. Whatever it is you think you're doing, whatever game this is, you don’t get to use her.”

Jonathan just observed him, no emotion. Just scalpel-sharp calculation. "What makes you think it’s a game?"

Ares stepped closer, his voice rising. “She’s not like you.” He gestured to Jonathan with his hands, wide and mocking. “A woman like her, warm and kind -- and you? What exactly do you think you have to offer someone like that?”

Jonathan’s jaw twitched before he could avoid the response and Ares saw it.

“You think a few quiet conversations, a shared lunch, a fucking painting changes anything? You think she sees you?” He spat the word. “She’d never want someone like you.”

Jonathan's silence deepened. It wasn't avoidance, but focus.

The insults themselves didn’t sting. He’d heard it all before. Variations of it from so-called colleagues, mentors, the first her. Jonathan used to question that. Now he saw it for what it was: a limitation.

Ares's voice cracked with certainty, but Jonathan heard the undertow -- his insecurity. He saw it in the way Ares’s hands moved, in the way his body leaned in like force could fill the gap fear had cracked open inside him.

He wouldn’t be trying to convince me if he wasn’t trying to convince himself.

And that question. "What do you have to offer someone like her?" That was projection. Ares was asking it about himself. For all his warmth and charm, Ares realized she was pulling away from him.

And she wasn’t running to Ares anymore. No, she was circling Jonathan.

I don’t need her to see me as kind. I need her to see me as inevitable.

And Ares? He’d just given him the perfect justification to act.

“You’re not capable of love, Crane. Or affection. I know your type. You’re a hollow man in a suit playing scientist.” Ares jabbed a finger forward at him.“And she is not yours to play with.”

Jonathan's voice, when it came, was quiet. “And yet… She keeps coming back.”

Ares snapped. That was the final straw. He moved fast, like Jonathan knew he would. Two strides forward, fury overtaking reason. One hand curled into Jonathan’s collar, shoving him hard against the office wall, the other still clenched in a fist.

Jonathan didn't resist. He’d been waiting. The dispersal unit was already primed, tucked into the sleeve of his coat. At that range, it was effortless. With a flick of his wrist, he released the trigger. A faint hiss. Barely audible.

Ares froze mid-threat, blinking. The first inhalation always did that. Then he coughed, staggering away from Jonathan before going completely still.

Jonathan adjusted his collar like brushing off dust. Moving fast to the desk, he hauled the briefcase on it and popped it open, quickly grabbing his mask.

Let the fear find shape.

He slipped it on with intention. And when he turned back, Ares began to scream.

Staggering backward, both Ares' hands lifted to his face like he could somehow wipe the hallucination away. He gasped, short, ragged breaths, eyes wild and unfocused.

Jonathan stepped closer, slowly, the mask casting jagged shadows across the floor.

Ares screamed again. Louder this time. Only he wasn’t looking at Jonathan anymore. He was looking at everything else. The toxin was working beautifully. There was no visible resistance or delay in onset. Just fear, pure and undiluted, pulling the strings now. Ares was reaching for something that wasn’t actually there. Slapping the air, turning in place as if he could find a corner to hide in.

Jonathan just watched, becoming the shape behind the scream.

You tried to define me as a hollow man. A suit. A ghost in a lab coat. Now you see what I really am.

And still, Ares writhed, dropping to the floor in his terror.

His words came out broken, desperate. “No... no, they’re watching...make them stop...”

But behind the mask, Jonathan's exhale was pure satisfaction. This is what truth looks like when you take off the blindfold.

A soft knock, three taps, pulled him out of his observation. It was her. What was she doing here this time of night?

Then her voice, muffled but unmistakably hers. "Ares?"

Jonathan froze. For the first time in hours, true stillness. His heart sped up, a response he could control most of the time.

Ares, writhing on the floor, had descended into full hallucination. Crawling toward shadows only he could see, at invisible threads.

Jonathan turned sharply, arms crossed loosely, watching the chaos unfold.

When it went quiet on the other side of the door, Jonathan had his answer. She's going to find security, someone with a key to let her in.

Collecting the briefcase and returning his mask to it, he closed the door quietly behind himself, making sure it locked. Ares was just conscious enough to scream himself empty.

By the time she made it to the main desk, Jonathan was back in his office. Why was his office dark when she came up the first time? Jonathan had been busy making the evening rounds. He just returned to his office. A perfect alibi.

You ran, your shoes thudding against the tile. You didn’t even process the confused look from the nurse on call, you just demanded her help. "Ares is screaming! His door’s locked. Please, something's wrong!"

The nurse didn’t argue. She grabbed her keys and waved down a security guard. You heard them running behind you because you were immediately heading back to Ares' office. You didn't stop until you reached the administrative wing.

Dr. Crane’s office was dark when you ran for help. But now, the light was on and he was inside.

Your hand hit the doorframe first, then your words came out in a panic. “Jonathan, something’s wrong with Ares!”

He looked up immediately, stood. No questions. No hesitation. Just your name on his lips for the first time, low and urgent. “What happened?”

You didn’t wait. You barely registered the nurse and security guard catching up behind you, your eyes were fixed on him.

Crane moved quickly, already stepping into the hallway before you could say more. “Where?” he asked, voice calm but sharp.

“Ares -- he was screaming. His door was locked... I didn’t know what to do...” You couldn’t finish, as fear welled up in you. Was Ares okay?

Crane turned to the nurse with quiet urgency. “He’s been exhibiting signs of increased agitation for days. I asked him to take medical leave.” He looked at you then, earnest and regretful. “He didn’t want you to worry.”

The nurse nodded. The security guard stepped forward with keys already in hand. Crane walked beside you now, fully present and engaged.

The door opened, and everything exploded at once. “Ares --” you muttered.

Your fiance's gaze locked on you, before going wide with terror. He screamed your name like it burned, coming at you with no recognition in his face. Just madness and fear. His hands grabbed for you, rough and too fast.

“MAKE THEM STOP!” Ares howled. “GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD!”

Ares grabbed your arms hard, and started shaking you, his terror-filled eyes full of things you couldn’t see.

You screamed his name again, trying to break through to him. His grip on you was punishing and painful.

Someone pulled you out of his clutches. Crane moved you swiftly, pulling your body behind his with surprising speed.

“Hold her,” he told the nurse in a low voice.

Jonathan moved himself into Ares' line of sight, pulling a syringe from his coat and popping off the safety cap. Then he pressed the needle into Ares's neck. It took effect immediately and Ares went silent, collapsing in mid-lunge. His body folded in on itself like a light switched off.

Jonathan crouched next to him a moment longer, just long enough to check his pulse. When he rose, he turned to you.

Every inch of you shook but the nurse kept a grip on you, keeping you away for your safety.

“It’s over,” Jonathan said softly. “You’re safe now.”

You stared down at Ares, collapsed but still breathing. What happened to him? Everything was wrong.

Your arms ached where he’d grabbed you, and your pulse thundered in your throat.

He just looked through me. Like I wasn’t even real.

Jonathan stood between you and what was left of him, moving with confidence. Turning to the nurse, his voice was low but firm. “Page Dr. Hilu. Full evaluation. I want Ares moved to observation and monitored continuously until I review his condition personally.”

The nurse nodded, rattled but obeying. What caught your attention was that she didn't seem surprised or unnerved.

Jonathan continued, already shifting into a role no one questioned. “I’ll notify the board myself. If this episode is tied to his previous concerns, his ability to function as an administrator is compromised. He'll need to be relieved pending assessment.”

The security guard didn’t even blink. The nurse was already calling it in, cell phone at the ready. You… couldn’t speak. Your knees were about to give out.

Jonathan turned toward you now. And for the first time, you saw him soften. "I need you to sit,” he said gently, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and steering you in the direction of his office, helping you sit in the chair in front of his desk. Shrugging off his coat, he wrapped it around your shoulders. “You’re in shock.”

You didn’t argue, just shrinking into his coat. Now you couldn't tell if you were shaking from what you just saw or because you were so cold.

“I don’t understand,” you whispered. “He… he looked right at me, and…” Your voice cracked. “He didn’t know me.”

Crane crouched beside you, his gaze meeting yours. “That wasn’t Ares,” he said gently. “Not the man you know. That was fear, unchecked and weaponized by what I suspect may be an undiagnosed chemical imbalance.”

It all crashed in on you then, how Ares' behavior had been changing over the last several weeks. Had you been so worried about yourself that you didn't see the warning signs? Had you let him down?

Like he could read your thoughts, Crane sighed, pulled off his glasses. “You were right to be worried," Jonathan continued. “Now he'll get the help he needs.”

You blinked hard, your vision blurred with tears you couldn’t let fall. And Crane didn’t push or try to crowd you. But he stayed close. It made you feel safe.

You stared at the floor, your breath shaky, your thoughts worse. You wanted to get up and go to Ares, to sit beside him. Say his name again and hope something came back. But you couldn’t move, and fear ran through you like electrical current. You were afraid he’d scream again, or he wouldn’t recognize you. Considering how he acted when he saw you, maybe you should be afraid that he would recognize you.

“Can I see him?” you asked quietly, not looking up.“When they move him, I mean. I just… I need to talk to him. When he’s himself again.”

“You can,” he said, gently. “But not yet.” His hands clasped lightly in front of him, his voice soft and even. “The sedative needs to take hold. He needs time for the hallucinations to fade. If you see him too soon, it may only compound the trauma -- for both of you.”

Crane looked like he actually cared. “I promise you’ll be updated. And I’ll speak with him myself first. I’ll make sure he’s lucid… safe… himself again before we let anyone in.”

You nodded, slowly. It made sense and it was... kind.

Blowing out an exhale, you didn't know what else to do. But Dr. Crane did.

“Come to my office in the morning,” he added, his voice still low. “We’ll talk through everything then. I want you to understand exactly what happened today.”

Your gaze met his. Something about his steadiness and patience... It made the room stop spinning.

He rose when the nurse walked into his office, but you were having a hard time focusing on their words. Both him and the nurse helped you to your feet. Everything around you moved in soft voices and medical terms.

“You’re not driving home,” Crane said, back in your field of vision. There was no judgment in his voice, just certainty. “You’re in no condition.”

You opened your mouth to argue, because independence was easier than panic. But he was right. So you just nodded. He spoke with the nurse for another moment, his arm around your shoulders to steady you.

“I’ll take her,” he said.

The passenger seat of his car was clean. Predictably so. Not a speck of dust nor a thing out of place. You buckled in without thinking after he helped you into the car. He didn’t turn on the radio to fill the silence. Dr. Crane just drove, his steady hands on the wheel, his eyes forward, his posture composed. Outside, the city blurred by. Inside, your heart still raced. You were too tired to cry. Too confused to speak.

And somehow, the silence between you wasn’t uncomfortable. There was just stillness in the cabin of his car. Like a waiting room for thoughts you weren’t ready to have.

“It’s not uncommon for stress reactions to feel delayed.” His voice was soft beside you. Not clinical. “You may feel disconnected and exhausted. You might even convince yourself that today wasn’t as severe as it was.”

You didn’t respond. It already felt like a dream you couldn’t interpret.

He glanced at you once, briefly. “That’s not weakness,” he said. “It’s human.”

The rest of the drive passed in soft turns and low streetlights. When he pulled up outside your apartment building, he killed the engine, exiting the car to walk around to you. It never occurred to you how he knew where you lived that night.

You didn’t argue when he opened the door for you. The night air was cold against your skin, but his jacket was warm. His hand was steady, settling gently at your back, then your shoulder.

Because this was Jonathan, and he'd saved you. Wait--Jonathan? You blinked, realizing you’d just called him that back in the hospital. You blew out a shaky breath, tried to collect yourself. “I’m sorry,” you murmured. “I didn’t mean to… I should’ve said Dr. Crane... earlier.”

He didn’t correct you. Just walked beside you in silence, his arm staying around you for support. You walked in silence to the elevator in your building, your feet heavy, your thoughts heavier. You reached your door. Fumbled with the keys, relieved when he took them from your hands.

His voice was soft beside you. “Just one more moment.”

You turned toward him, your brows drawn, barely processing the words... And then you felt it. A pinch at your neck, sharp and quick. And then there was nothing.

She collapsed softly into him, just as he had expected. Jonathan caught her easily, one arm beneath her knees, the other at her back. Her head dropped against his chest, the way a tired child might fold into sleep, peaceful and vulnerable.

Mine.

Unlocking the door without a sound, he carried her into her apartment, gently laying her on the couch, arranging her carefully. He left his coat wrapped around her, pressing it around her like a second skin. Let her wake up with my scent on her. Let her wonder why it feels like safety.

He thought back to what she said to him on the way up to her apartment. “I didn’t mean to… I should’ve said Dr. Crane... earlier.” Jonathan hadn't corrected her or told her it was fine. Because it wasn’t. Not to him.

Dr. Crane was what everyone else called him. Jonathan was different, it was personal and familiar. Soft at the edges.

You gave me your fear weeks ago. Now you’ve given me your intimacy. Even if you didn’t mean to.

And she’d apologized for it because she still didn’t understand what she’d done. That was fine.

You’ll say it again. But next time… you won’t flinch. You’ll say it because you mean it. Because I’ve become the only constant you have left.

Her apartment was warm and modest, a collection of paintings on the walls. Photographs in soft frames. Colors that didn’t belong to him.

Yet.

Then he moved through her home. The sedative wouldn't wear off for hours, so he could take his time. He walked through the space like a man reading a new text, studying. Books on the table. Spices in the cupboard. A spare key in the dish near the window.

He took that, sliding it into his pocket.

Jonathan stepped quietly into her bedroom. No hesitation. The room was small, but layered in details. A bedside table cluttered with books, the spines cracked and pages dog-eared. There was a journal, closed with a worn elastic band around it. He looked forward to reading it at some point, but not yet.

One pillow was indented, but the others were barely touched. She slept curled up, always on the left side of the bed. There was a throw blanket at the foot, pulled halfway up like she reached for it unconsciously. A restless sleeper who likely had vivid dreams.Emotional fatigue compounded by inconsistency in routine.

The lamp by her bed had a low-watt bulb, casting amber light across the sheets. A comfort light, not for reading.

His gaze moved to the dresser, its top drawer left slightly ajar. Inside, a shining wave of color-coordinated lingerie folded with care. With his index finger, he fished out one silky, cream-colored item. Delicate panties, trimmed in lace. Bringing them up his face, taking a deep breath. What did they smell like after she'd worn them? Were they diaphanous when her excitement soaked them through? He couldn't wait to find out.

Jonathan slid them into his slacks pocket with her spare key.

There was a framed photo on the vanity, her and Ares dressed up, no doubt at some function to celebrate his achievements. Jonathan stared at it for a long time. You don’t smile like that for Ares anymore. He set it gently face-down.

By the door, he found something he hadn’t expected. A canvas, tucked behind a chair, a painting half-finished. Paints beside it. It wasn't from her gallery, it was personal.

You paint. You never said.

A woman, hunched slightly forward on the canvas, surrounded by long strokes of charcoal and dusk-blue. No face, just emotion. Grief and loneliness. Is this how you see yourself?

He committed it to memory, all of it.

When he returned to the living room, on the side table next to the couch was a photograph with her smiling, her arm around Ares. Again. Tilting his head slightly, he turned the frame facedown as he did the others.

Finally, he returned to the couch, standing over her with his eyes tracing every detail of her. She’d never know how long he stood there, thinking about the future ahead of them. The first her never let me get this far. This time… This one is going to stay.

Jonathan walked out and locked the door behind him.

#Under His Skin #Dr Jonathan Crane #Nolanverse #Scarecrow #Cillian Murphy #Dr. Jonathan Crane x reader #Batman Begins #Batman films Nolan #Dr. Jonathan Crane x you #Dark fic

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