#there's actually a bigger piece from his chapter that i want to draw

[kinaesthetiqueer]

doodle of a scene from chapter 17 of On the Run from Tomorrow, my missing scene fic that i wrote to process JNR post v3 grief. i avoided a final edit pass for this chapter for a week because it's so utterly gut wrenching, but it's cathartic and lovingly written, i swear.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

There are so many places in the Villeneuve Dune adaptations where he just...takes all the narrative pieces that Frank Herbert laid out and subtly rearranges them into something that tells the story better--that creates dramatic tension where you need it, communicates the themes and message of the book more clearly, or corrects something in the text that contradicts or undermines what Herbert said he was trying to say.

The fedaykin are probably my favorite example of this. I just re-read a little part of the book and got smacked in the face with how different they are.

(under the cut for book spoilers and length)

The fedaykin in the book are Paul's personal followers, sort of his personal guard. They show up after his legend has already started growing (the word doesn't appear in the book until chapter 40) and they are people who have specifically dedicated themselves to fighting for him, and right from the moment they're introduced there is a kind of implied fanaticism to their militancy that's a bit uncomfortable to read. They're the most ardent believers in Paul's messianic status and willing to die for him. (They are also, as far as you can tell from the text, all men.)

In the book, as far as I can remember (I could be forgetting some small detail but I don't think so) there is no mention of armed resistance to colonialism on Arrakis before Paul shows up. As far as we know, he created it. ETA: Okay I actually went back and checked on this and while we hear about the Fremen being "a thorn in the side" of the Harkonnens and we know that they are good fighters, we don't see anything other than possibly one bit of industrial sabotage. The book is very clear that the organized military force we see in the second half was armed and trained by Paul. This is exacerbated by the two-year time jump in the book, which means we never see how Paul goes from being a newly deposed ex-colonial overlord running for his life to someone who has his own private militia of people ready to give their lives for him.

The movie completely flips all these dynamics on their head in ways that add up to a radical change in meaning.

The fedaykin in the movie are an already-existing guerrilla resistance movement on Arrakis that formed long before Paul showed up. Literally the first thing we learn about the Fremen, less that two minutes into the first movie, is that they are fighting back against the colonization and exploitation of their home and have been for decades.

The movie fedaykin also start out being the most skeptical of the prophecy about Paul, which is a great choice from both a political and a character standpoint. Of course they're skeptical. If you're part of a small guerrilla force repeatedly going up against a much bigger and stronger imperial army...you have to believe in your own agency. You have to believe that it is possible to win, and that this tiny little chip in the armor of a giant terrifying military machine that you are making right now will make a difference in the end. These are the people who are directly on the front lines of resisting oppression. They are doing it with their own sweat, blood and ingenuity, and they are not about to wait around for some messiah who may never come.

From a character standpoint, this is really the best possible environment you could put Paul Atreides in if you want to keep him humble. He doesn't get any automatic respect handed to him due to title or birthright or religious belief. He has to prove himself--not as any kind of savior but as a good fighter and a reliable member of a collective political project. And he does. This is an environment that really draws out his best qualities. He's a skilled fighter; he's brave (sometimes recklessly so); he's intensely loyal to and protective of people he cares about. He is not too proud to learn from others and work hard in an egalitarian environment where he gets no special treatment or extra glory. The longer he spends with the fedaykin the more his allegiance shifts from Atreides to Fremen, and the more skeptical he himself becomes about the prophecy. This sets up the conflict with Jessica, which comes to a head before she leaves for the south. And his political sincerity--that he genuinely comes to believe that these people deserve liberation from all colonial forces and his only role should be to help where he can--is what makes the tragedy work. Because in the end we know he will betray all these values and become the exact thing he said he didn't want to be.

There's another layer of meaning to all this that I don't know if the filmmakers were even aware of. ETA: rescinding my doubt cause based on some of Villeneuve's other projects I'm pretty sure he could work it out. Given the time period (1960s) and Herbert's propensity for using Arabic or Arabic-inspired words for aspects of Fremen culture, it seems very likely that the made-up word fedaykin was taken from fedayeen, a real Arabic word that was frequently used untranslated in American news media at the time, usually to refer to Palestinian armed resistance groups.

Fedayeen is usually translated into English as fighter, guerrilla, militant or something similar. The translation of fedaykin that Herbert provides in Dune is "death commando"...which is a whole bucket of yikes in my opinion, but it's not entirely absurd if we're assuming that this fake word and the real word fedayeen function in the same way. A more literal translation of fedayeen is "self-sacrificer," as in willing, intentional self-sacrifice for a political cause, up to and including sacrificing your life.

If you apply this logic to Dune, it means that Villeneuve has actually shifted the meaning of this word in-universe, from fighters who are willing to sacrifice themselves for Paul to fighters who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their people. And the fedaykin are no longer a group created for Paul but a group that Paul counts himself as part of, one member among equals. Which is just WILDLY different from what's in the book. And so much better in my opinion.

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 6

(Quickly running out of Monster men drawings to use as my chapter pictures. May be a hot minute until I get the next chapter out since my laptop can barely stay conscious long enough to draw another one and I want to only use the monster AU versions of the characters for this series.)

Warnings; multiple yanderes, platonic yanderes, romantic yanderes, monster AU, eating Humans mentioned, more AU history, Cater is not having a very Cay-Cay day, food is an excellent way to bring groups together, Fauns, Satyrs, Kelpies, Crow Fae, Unicorns, Water Nymphs, vampire bats, dragons, cervitaurs, Raiju, Mermen, Cecaelia, Gnolls,

~~~~~~~~

Lunch finally rolled around and you were surprised that Ace and Deuce had actually taken Trey's words seriously and accompanied you to classes. Ace had loudly complained about his volunteering for a little bit but once he saw how many students actually took an interest in you, he stopped complaining and started viewing the task as a kind of important role only he could do. Naturally, Deuce was far less irate about the situation though there were times he almost came across as a punk when it came to others trying to harass you. Both had adjusted well to being around you and come lunch Deuce was actually taking pride in explaining things to you.

"-and that's what makes Fauns different from Satyrs."

"So Fauns are the nicer version of Satyrs?"

"For the most part. Satyrs are known for being loud and always wanting to fight-"

Ace cut Deuce off, shoving an uncooked carrot into the Faun's mouth to silence him. You had seen the two interact and you got the distinct feeling that the Faun and Satyr had more of a brotherly relationship with one another. Where they both had different personalities, when they did agree on something it was practically a law to them.

It was fascinating to hear that these monster men had similar names to the mythical creatures from your world and you wondered why such an overlap existed. Maybe the Humans from your world did interact with this world in the past, or maybe it was just a coincidence. Still, it seemed almost too close to be mere coincidence.

"Anyway, now that Dunce here is done talking-"

"You know my name is Deuce-"

"Like I said, now that Dunce is done talking, I have questions for you, (Y/n)."

You almost laughed at the back and forth banter of the two Goats- Faun and Satyr respectively- as their voices fumbled over one another. Truth was, you had been expecting far more questions than the few they threw at you between classes, so now was as good a time as any to ask.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"So, you don't have magic? Like, at all?"

"No magic whatsoever. Where I came from, magic is a myth and no creatures have magic."

"Okay. But how do Humans survive? No horns, no claws, nothing to protect themselves from bigger creatures."

"We make weapons. I know you all have bows, arrows, and knives, we have the same. Guns too, but I haven't seen any guns used here."

"Wait, what is a gun?"

"Basically an automatic bow that fires little pieces of metal using explosive powder that needs a spark which launches the metal through their target."

Ace seemed almost excited by your vague explanation of a gun, opening his mouth to ask you another question. His voice died in his throat as his gaze locked onto something behind you, prompting you to turn around to look at whatever it was that had unsettled Ace.

Standing not too far from you was the large figure of the Horse-man Trey. Ace told you he was a Kelpie, but you just couldn't make that connection seeing as he looked like a big white horse and not a water kelp-horse like Kelpies were supposed to be. He was clearly making good on his threat to check in as he approached you with a patient smile on his face.

"Hello (Y/n), have Heartslabyul's first-years been adequate guides for you today?"

"Yes. Grim doesn't even have to try half as hard to keep me safe now and I haven't been late to any of my classes other than the first one."

Trey gave a genuine smile at this, nodding his head as he was pleased to know his choice had been a good one. Seeing the centaur made you wonder about Cater and what may have become of the air-head student. In some ways, you worried asking would have a negative effect, but you were so curious you couldn't help but inquire about him.

"So... What happened to Cater?"

"He is being dealt with by the Headmage. He's lucky he isn't going to get expelled for what he did, but once the Headmage is done with his punishment, he's going to be turned over to Riddle."

"Is Riddle mad about all of this?"

"Well... I actually haven't told Riddle yet. He has a short fuse and isn't going to take Cater's actions well, especially since he asked both Cater and I to protect you if we happened across you. Odds are Cater is going to be collared and kicked out of his room for the foreseeable future."

This made you frown in contemplation at the prospect of the Red-haired student being punished too harshly. Though you were upset Cater took photos of you without asking and likely set several poachers on your trail, you didn't want harm to come to him. Sure, he was stupid and made a stupid choice, but he shouldn't be hurt or kicked out of his home for it.

"... If he is kicked out of his room, is there anywhere else he can go?"

"No. Riddle is very strict about rule-breakers being banned from the dorms so long as they have one of his collars on, and most other dorms aren't keen to house a student that isn't theirs. He's probably going to be sleeping in the Heartslabyul lake if Riddle doesn't ban him from there too."

The morality of the issue weighed on you and made you worry about the ditzy redhead. Though you didn't really trust Cater or his clearly impaired decision making skills, you still felt like he deserved basic decency despite his actions. You knew firsthand how the creatures that lived around campus were genuinely terrifying and dangerous, so you didn't want him thrown to the metaphorical or actual wolves.

"Can... can Cater stay in my dorm?"

Your question earned you several dubious looks from the Goats and Trey as if you had grown another head or said something unhinged. Even Grim had to pause his hesitant raw veggie medley- the only thing the cafeteria served today- to stare at you in surprise.

"You- you want Cater in your dorm? Why?"

"Well, it wasn't like he knew what he was doing was bad, and I don't think he should be left outside for his poor choice."

"(Y/n), do you realize how vicious poachers are in Twisted Wonderland? You will be hunted every moment of every day because Cater couldn't keep himself from posting you to that stupid Magicam app he is obsessed with. The second you are unguarded you will be attacked. The Headmage is even considering assigning Sam and Vargas to your dorm just to make sure poachers can't get in, or even moving you to Diasomnia so Malleus can protect you. I don't think you understand just how seriously we need to take your safety."

"I'm just a Human though, I'm not a princess or someone important. Why all the fuss?"

Your comment made Trey let out a long and exasperated sigh, his gaze leaving your confused form as he tried to keep in mind just how new you were to their world. Humans were never just Humans in Twisted Wonderland, and them simply dying out has made a far felt ripple in the history of every known species. For so long, so many species had adored and tried to protect Humans, but even they couldn't save the fragile species from the hunger so many magic users had for their very flesh.

Most things in the technological realm and cooking realm- pastries and phones included- only existed because Humans led the way to them being invented. Even now, technology has been mostly stagnant for over a hundred years with only the Shrouds having any aptitude as far as advancements were concerned. Trey himself had Humanity to thank for his family's bakery and the many cuisines local to the Queendom of Roses.

"(Y/n), Humans have never been 'just Humans' to us. Maybe to Sunset Savana, but never to the Queendom of Roses. Even Briar Valley had laws in place to protect your kind from everyone else. I get you may not understand it, but compared to most other species, Humans were better than most in the emotional and critical thinking department. It was Humans creating new inventions, coming up with unique ideas, and above all else, peacekeeping between the various species and races to the point they were called Beast-Tamers. Most wouldn't even speak to their Fae counterparts until Humans got the two to interact amicably."

You were somewhat surprised to hear all of this, having been under the impression that Humans were mainly pets to the other species. It was interesting to hear what Humans were credited for and that despite all they did to help, they were still hunted as food until extinction. The few from Savanaclaw you interacted with had been both sides of the spectrum of threatening you or being peaceful to you and it made you wonder just what kind of species were still keen to get a taste of your forbidden flesh.

"Honestly," Trey continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if several Kingdoms and Queendoms sent ambassadors to take you away from Night Raven for your own safety. I just know the international law makers are going to have a field day the moment it becomes common knowledge that you're here."

It made sense that Trey was stressed about this, you knew from your own home how aggressively endangered and near-extinct species had to be protected, but you still felt Cater shouldn't carry all the blame. If it wasn't Cater, it would have been someone else. Just because he was the fool to do it first didn't mean that others wouldn't have tried or succeeded in the same endeavor.

"Still, if he gets kicked out of the dorms tonight, will you at least tell him I will let him stay with me?"

"If you really want me to," he sighed heavily, "I guess I can tell Cater about your offer. I won't tell Riddle though, knowing how that Unicorn is, he will actually harm Cater for even thinking about taking shelter with you after what he's done."

~•§•~

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Riddle was beside himself with rage and even stomped his hooves against the marble floors of the Headmage's office, almost cracking the stone with his rage. Cater was trying to sink into his chair and hide from the Sophomore Housewarden who was beyond the point of furious with the water Nymph. Not only did he get a dressing-down from the Headmage, but he was going to be thrown at the mercy of his own Housewarden who was known for being an absolute hard-ass on rule breakers.

"It wasn't like I was trying to target her! I just-"

"SILENCE! YOU WILL SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO, CATER DIAMOND!"

The firm tone Riddle used made Cater shut his mouth and bow his head, trying to avoid upsetting the Unicorn further. There was no way he would be able to go back to his room at this rate and odds are he would be sleeping in the forest if Riddle had anything to say about it. Plus, he still had that essay to write for Trein that was due tomorrow.

"He apparently took a selfie with (Y/n) and posted it to Magicam with hashtags indicating she is Human. By the time I got him to delete the post, it had been downloaded several thousand times. Since then I have already received a call from the Royal Sword Academy Headmage to confirm a Human lives here now, and what we as the heads of our schools can do to protect her. No doubt representatives from Briar Valley and the Queendom of Roses have already been dispatched and will arrive on the island soon enough, not to mention how many poachers are likely on their way here as we speak."

Cater knew how upset Riddle was given the fact the Unicorn's horn was humming loudly with magic and the Unicorn himself was a bright red. Things really weren't coming up Cay-Cay today.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

~•§•~

You felt a bit more comfortable with the school as a whole by the time classes had finished for the day. Practical Magical Theory was an interesting class, even if you really didn't have the faintest idea what they were talking about. According to Ace, you were lucky you didn't have Flight Class because there was a high chance you wouldn't be able to participate in the class itself. Still, you were happy to have a moment to let things settle down for a bit.

Ace and Deuce walked you to your dorm, but had been called to Heartslabyul by a quick text from Trey, leaving you alone in the dorm with Grim. Despite the beginning of the day being an absolute wash, the rest of the day hadn't been too bad. It was around this time you decided you may as well start on making some dinner. You could hear Grim's stomach growling already as you both went to the kitchen.

"Are you gonna make something good like you did for breakfast?"

"I'm going to try to."

"What are you gonna make?"

"Well, I was thinking we have the stuff here for a really nice soup-"

You were promptly cut off by the Kitchen door swinging open with a loud bang. Clearly, you were going to have to tell the professors or even the Headmage Crow about securing that side door given how it had already been used twice by others seeking to get into your dorm. Luckily for you, those that walked through the door had at least two familiar faces in the group.

"Sorry for interrupting," Lilia called out, happily making his way over to you in an almost bouncy gait, much like a bird hopping around, "hope you don't mind I brought Malleus, Silver, and Sebek too. I heard one of the Heartslabyul students blew the whistle on you being here in NRC. Figured you could use a bit of extra protection in case any poachers try their luck. Besides, the nest here is just as big as Malleus' nest in Diasomnia."

It was then Malleus spoke, his voice a deep rumble in his chest as he looked over you.

"They will not lay a hand upon my hoard without paying with their lives for such a transgression."

It was clear the Dragon was not happy with the events that took place and he seemed to be quite content claiming you as one of his Hoard. When Lilia explained it to you last night, apparently the moment Malleus decided he was adding someone to his Hoard, he became extremely attached to that person and would even become violent in their defense. Given the way others talked about him, he must have been a genuinely frightening and powerful person to command such fear and respect.

"... So does that mean I'm making soup for all of you or..?"

"If you don't mind. I certainly want another bite of your cooking, (Y/n)!"

Lilia took his perch back on the counter and swung his feet, seeming rather impish and almost childish in his behavior. You just shrugged and nodded, gathering enough ingredients to feed the group several times over. Your hope was that there would be some left over for you to take during lunches. As nice as it was to have raw foods once in a while, you'd rather your meals be cooked.

Grim clearly only trusted Lilia and sat next to the Bat to watch you bustle around the kitchen. He even let out a soft purr when Lilia began to pet his forehead and ears. Where you would have scolded them for sitting on the counter, it wasn't like you didn't have enough counter space already. Starting the broth and preparation was rather simple for you and it was clear those standing around you were keen to watch you prepare the soup.

"(Y/n)," Grim meowed, "where did you learn to do all this fancy stuff?"

"Humans usually cook their food. So I just learned while growing up. Of course there are some things you can have without cooking, like a sandwich or a fruit salad, but most big meals are better cooked. Now, that doesn't mean every Human can cook well, but most are good enough at it."

"So does that mean I can have more of the food you cook?"

"Like a bigger portion? No. But you will always get to have some of whatever I make, okay?"

Grim purred loudly at this, his face lighting up with an excited smile. Clearly the little creature was pleased with your arrangement even if it meant he had to go to boring classes with you. The food was absolutely worth it and he got to sleep in a mountain of pillows and blankets after a long day. It was all way better than the hole in the ground he occupied when he wasn't actively running for his life before he met you.

Once you got most of the soup started, you knew it just needed to be covered and cooked, listening idly to Lilia talk with the others about the events of breakfast and the Gnoll that invited himself in. It was when you finally got this moment that you took a good look at the other two visitors who were either Silver or Sebek, seeing as Lilia didn't point out who was who.

Much to your surprise, one of them reminded you of the Kelpie and Unicorn you had met earlier but he had an obvious three point antler rack attached to his head. His lower half was that of a reindeer and was fairly fluffy compared to the short coats of the Kelpie and Unicorn. Part of you wanted to test if he was as soft as he looked, but you figured it would not be considered appropriate to pet him.

The second new face was an almost canine like man with pale green hair that was slicked back and spiked up at the ends. His eyes were intense as was the apparent scowl that held his features, two sharply pointed dog ears atop his head. Bright yellow-green eyes tracked your every move and regarded you with as much curiosity as you regarded him. The similar medium length tail fur swayed lazily as his tail slowly began to wag when you looked at him.

The soup was beginning to smell rather good and it was clear four of the five others in the kitchen were taking note as they occasionally sniffed the air. Lilia, Grim, Silver, and Sebek were clearly keenly interested in the scent but it was Malleus' behavior that caught your attention. Instead of sniffing or lifting his nose as the others did, his forked tongue slowly slid from between his lips like a snake as if he were tasting the air. You almost laughed at the oddly reptile behavior before his gaze suddenly snapped to the door of the kitchen.

Standing in the doorway was a curious looking man that seemed to have fins on the sides of his head. His almost scaled skin had a kind of faint green tint to it with intense blue undertones, his eyes being two different colors with the right one being a pale gray and the left one being a bright gold. Atop his head were tousled blue-green locks with a singular black stripe that crossed over his forehead above his left eye.

"Oya, it seems I'm not the only one with culinary interests. Apologies for intruding, but the lovely smell drew me in. Would you mind telling me what it is you're making?"

You were surprised to see the almost Fish-like man despite how polite he was being with you. Instead of hopping in to defend you, Lilia looked at you for what you wanted to do with this interloper. Malleus seemed rather keen to rid you of this newcomer's presence but you held up a hand to stop him from acting. Part of you worried this new visitor was dangerous, but because he was wearing a school uniform you figured he was just another student.

"Soup?"

"... May I ask what kind?"

"Only if you tell me your name first and what you were doing around my dorm."

"Ah, forgive me. It seems in my haste to get to the heart of the matter, I forgot my manners. My name is Jade Leach, I'm the Vice-Housewarden of Octavinelle. I'm going to assume from your appearance you are the highly talked-of Human now living on campus. Azul informed us that you would be remaining here for the time being. As for what I was doing, I am rather interested in the foods that grow wild above water, so I was out gathering some mushrooms to sample."

He lifted the foraging bag that hung over his shoulder, showing you the contents within. He was right in that he had gathered up a fair few number of mushrooms and there were several that you actually recognized. You were no master of mushrooms- of course- but you still recognized a few species that were safe for you to eat, seeing several button mushrooms among the many gathered.

Those would be great in the soup you were making, and it was early enough that you could add them right in and they would cook just fine.

"Okay, Jade. I believe you were at least out gathering mushrooms which is innocent enough. I'm actually curious if you wanted to trade for some of those button mushrooms you have, they'd go great in the soup I'm making. In return I'll tell you about it and you can have some to eat if you'd like."

Jade actually seemed to brighten up at this, his smile becoming less strained and his expression smoothing from the stressed way his brows had been pulled together. It was almost as if he had been wanting to ask for some soup but was far too polite to actually inquire. He nodded and set his bag on the counter, letting you pick out the little rounded white mushrooms from the selection he gathered.

"I'm quite partial to the cuisines the different kingdoms have to offer. Rare as it can be to find those who are masters of their craft, I would still like to sample the meals above the ocean waves. I would be grateful for whatever knowledge you can share with me. It isn't every day that someone adept at cooking graces this school."

"Hey," Grim interrupted loudly as you set to dicing the mushrooms, "that's my Hooman you're talking to! She only cooks for me, but I'm kind enough to share with all of you. Don't forget it, got it?"

Jade gave a rather patient simper to your primary companion, resting his right hand over his heart in an almost polite gesture.

"But of course. I'm simply interested in learning to make such meals for myself. I'm certain Azul and Floyd would be keen to taste such a wonderful smelling dish."

This seemed to satisfy your little companion as he nodded with a pleased smile, watching you add the mushrooms to the rather large pot you decided to make the soup in. Thankfully it was a cauldron type pot made for cooking soups over firepits. The fire so dutifully warming your meal crackled pleasantly even as you stirred the bubbling mixture.

"Do you want to ask them to come over, Jade? I made way too much. Honestly, everyone here could all have a bowl, a second bowl, and I would still have enough soup for the rest of the week. I think I went a little overboard in the food department. Should have probably started with a smaller pot, but we're already this far..."

Jade seemed surprised at this, but nodded respectfully and pulled out his phone. You were curious just what Jade was as you really hadn't seen many fish-men during your day, but you weren't going to ask him. If he wanted to tell you what he was, that was his business. Didn't make you any less curious though.

"If you're certain? I'm sure Floyd will be thrilled to have something new to try. He doesn't like some mushrooms, but I don't believe he has tried the ones you've selected, and he certainly hasn't tried cooked mushrooms yet. Azul may try to heckle you into a deal, however. He is always looking for new ways to improve the Monstro Lounge."

"Yeah, of course I'm certain. I offered, didn't I?"

He nodded and began tapping away at his phone, but Lilia seemed rather keen to speak up. The Bat had been listening keenly to the conversation and felt he needed to make himself clear to the notoriously crafty student.

"If Azul threatens (Y/n) or tries to force her into a deal, we will have more than a few problems, understood?"

"He is aware. Believe it or not, those of us from the Coral Sea are actually quite fond of the legacy of Humans. Even Floyd has been babbling excitedly about meeting (Y/n) here."

"That's right, Humans were popular among the various merfolk kingdoms. You all even have a famous story involving the mermaid princess falling for a Human and joining him on land."

"Yes. She struck a deal with The Sea Witch to gain legs she could use to dance for the Human man she fell in love with, too bad the deal didn't hide her gills or fins though. Still, the Human loved her."

You listened to the conversation as you stirred the soup, glad that all of the flavors seemed to be coming together rather well despite the large amount of food you found yourself making. Judging from the conversation Lilia and Jade happened to be having, Jade was a Merman of some kind and apparently Mermen were one of the 'safe species' for Humans to interact with. Though you knew not to judge an individual by the species, it did put you at ease to know he was one of the safer ones.

It was as you were taste testing the soup that the door to the kitchen once again flew open as another visitor invited themselves in. It was offical now, four times proved it was far too easy to get into your dorm through that door. Maybe Lilia would be able to fix it for you, or Malleus seeing as Lilia said it was the Dragon who had mostly fixed up your current abode.

"(Y/n), you're an absolute angel! I thought I was going to have to sleep in the woods once Riddle temporarily banned me from Heartslabuyl! He won't even let me sleep in the lake even though I'm a Lake Water Nymph because of what happened. You believe me when I say I didn't mean to put you in danger, right?"

Cater had thrown himself at your feet, holding onto your legs as if he were some abandoned pet seeking shelter from a blizzard. Around his neck was a thick metal collar that extended out to the sides in black and red colors, forming a heart-shape that locked in the front with a golden and black padlock. He was careful not to get in the fire that was dutifully cooking your soup even as he groveled at your feet.

"O-oi! What's the big idea with everyone coming in that door? It's dangerous to leave that thing unlocked."

"That's what I'm saying! So much for protected and safe with that thing in here."

You couldn't help but slightly grin at Grim as he voiced your own concerns out loud. Lilia simply regarded the door, snapping his fingers to close it as a large metal bolt affixed itself to the door before clicking into place.

"There. Now it can't be thrown open anymore. But why is Cater here? Cater, when did Riddle collar you and why?"

Cater seemed to realize there were others standing around you as he suddenly straightened up, clearing his throat and taking several steps back from you. He tried to play off the desperate display he had just shown and was failing miserably. Cater looked much worse for wear than you remembered him being and you genuinely began to hope the Unicorn hadn't actually harmed the ditzy redhead.

"Well... I may have 'accidentally' posted a picture that told everyone that (Y/n) was a Human and was on NRC grounds, but I totes didn't realize it would put her in danger! Honestly!"

Lilia's bemused smile almost instantly fell away into a glare as he regarded the man standing by your side. You added a bit of salt to the soup as you wated, watching the thick broth bubble and roil with vegtables and diced meat. There were a lot of things you could do in that moment, but something told you it was best to let Lilia handle this situation.

"And what did you think was going to happen, Cater?"

"Tbh, I thought that I would just get a follower count boost and everything would be fine. The Headmage and Riddle sure made it clear I was wrong for thinking that. Lessons learned!"

"It only cost us the safety of the last Human left in Twisted Wonderland."

"I said I was sorry!"

Everyone except Cater seemed to be exceptionally upset as they all glared at him, making him duck behind you as if you were the best shield from their rage. You just let the tall student try and fail to escape the ire of the others. For once, a polite knock came at the kitchen door, breaking off the aggressive staredown taking place.

"Hey, why are we here, Azul?"

An almost sing-song voice hummed from somewhere on the other side of the door, prompting Jade to walk over and open the door for who you assumed to be the two he was talking about. In strode a rather lovely looking man with snow-white hair and shining mauve blue eyes hidden behind thin framed glasses. Around his face were lovely and intricate black markings that reminded you quite a bit of the tentacles of an octopus. Behind him lumbered a rather tall man who almost looked identical to Jade if not for the swapped eye color and slight difference in height.

"We're here because Jade told me there is a profitable venture to be had and I am not going to miss out on this chance to make the Human's acquaintance, Floyd."

The shorter one hummed in a smooth voice and you almost giggled at the rather fact-of-the-matter tone that the white haired one spoke with. You felt it was safe to assume the rather lovely man was Azul and the near identical to Jade fish-man walking with him was Floyd.

Floyd almost made a show of sniffing the air, following his nose to where you stood in front of the pot of soup, watching him curiously. Once his gaze fell on you a wide grin overtook the slight frown he had been pouting with. You could see the way his eyes trailed over your figure due to the bright yellow of his right eye highlighting his pupil as it darted up and down.

"Ne ne, what is such a cute little Shrimpy doing this far above the water? You're so small I just want to squeeze ya."

He took a single step towards you and this seemed to be enough for the two- Silver and Sebek- to suddenly intercept him with swords drawn, creating an 'X' that blocked the tall Merman from approaching further. It was more than a little surprising to see weapons suddenly drawn, but maybe you shouldn't be all that surprised. Lilia did say he came over to guard you again and even brought the others for the same purpose.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt them, I just want a little feel on if Shrimpy is as soft as they look!"

"Floyd, that's enough. She was polite enough to allow me to invite you and Azul over and she is quite the rare specimen, you can't threaten her so casually and expect those guarding her to not be upset."

"I didn't threaten, I just said I wanted a big ol' squeeze."

"Same difference where you are concerned."

"Eh, you're so boring sometimes, Jade. Anyway, what is Shrimpy making over there? Smells good~!"

You were stunned at the almost aggressive behavior from Floyd given how calm and level headed Jade had been thus far. Maybe it was just a quirk of Floyd's to be a little more hands on than others. It honestly made you glad to know your self-appointed guards took their task seriously as they still refused to let the large Merman near you. Speaking of your guards, Floyd didn't seem put off by their aggression in the slightest and almost seemed amused by them as if it were all one big game.

Tension was thick in the air as the almost aloof Floyd smiled at you, watching you grab several bowls and begin ladling out ten total servings. You were not really all that surprised when there was still more soup to go even after you filled enough bowls for yourself and the ever increasing number of guests.

Maybe you were right to make so much after all. Hopefully your surprise guests had all shown-

"Why is the door locked? Hey, Human, I smell food in there! I already ate all the Dandelions from this morning! Can I have some of whatever you're making? Please? I'm starving out here."

Peaking through the windows to the kitchen was a familiar grizzled muzzle of the Gnoll you had met that morning. Ruggie was staring with those unsettling bright blue eyes and you were unsure if you wanted to laugh or scream. You scolded yourself in the back of your mind, remembering that animals would often return to places if they were given food prior and no doubt the Hyena man sought to do the same.

"Should I let him in, (Y/n)?"

Lilia asked, eyeing the lock on the door as Ruggie began to loudly whine and cackle for attention. You just sighed and nodded, knowing the Hyena wasn't going to leave now that he knew there was food ready and waiting just inside.

"May as well."

The Gnoll was quick to enter once the door opened and he happily grabbed one of the ten bowls, immediately scarfing down the soup without even glancing at the now large group of men standing in your kitchen. You didn't bother offering a spoon to Ruggie as it was clear he didn't need or want one. Despite the odd group that had gathered under your roof- technically it was the school's roof, but now wasn't the time for semantics- they all seemed keen to dig in when you passed out the bowls.

Getting yourself a bowl- seeing as Ruggie had taken one of the ten- you were able to finally take in the meal of your labors. It wasn't half bad and those button mushrooms added just the right earthy flavor that really brought the soup together. All of your visitors clearly liked the soup as well and Grim was the first to ask for seconds.

"Miss (Y/n)! This is a fantastic meal! I don't think I've had such flavors in anything I've eaten before! I would only think a meal from my liege could possibly taste better!"

"Sebek," the white haired one interrupted the shouting one, "you don't need to yell at her."

"I'm talking at an adequate volume, Silver. You dare say this meal isn't divine?"

"That's not what I said at all."

Lilia giggled as the two odd characters argued, hopping off the counter to serve himself another helping of the plentiful soup. Despite the absolute lack of respect for your personal space they all seemed to share, you couldn't help but smile as well. The many men you had met were odd and so unique in many ways but none of them actually seemed all that bad once they relaxed and got talking.

Maybe these monsters weren't as monstrous as you thought when you first met them. Hopefully their worries of poachers would just prove to be worries, but you knew you weren't truly safe yet and anyone could be a threat if they genuinely wanted to be. You just hoped there wasn't another shoe waiting to drop on your peaceful evening.

~•§•~

"Trey?"

"Yes, Riddle?"

"Invite (Y/n) to tomorrow's Unbirthday party. It has become rather clear to me that no one can look after her the way the Queen demands, so I will step up and take on that task."

"Riddle..."

"She will be safe with me, I will do whatever it takes to ensure it."

[slvt4felix]

I Could Never Hate You (Part |||)

Pairing -> ninthmember!reader x Lee Minho WC -> ~2,700 words Includes -> Reader has anxiety, fluff, and maybe some angst due to the beef with Hyunjin Summary -> You prepare for the day trying not to let your nerves for the concert later take over. This should be easy with Minho by your side but the grudge is still being held strong between you and Hyunjin. They say time heals, but can time heal this? Author's note -> Hi everyone! Welcome to part three of this little mini series. I didn't expect for this to be even more than one part but now I'm thinking it's gonna be around 4 or 5 parts to completely finish it off. I was gonna try and make this the final part but I realized writing short chapters feels much less overwhelming to me so I decided to break it down a little bit. I hope you like it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments <3

♡ Masterlist // Previous // Next ♡

"You have got to be joking right now..." you mutter to yourself as you frantically look around the bathroom. You had completely forgot to bring clothes to get dressed in after you showered. Hyunjin left a while ago and after a few laughs with your new love, you had decided to actually get ready for the day, realizing you can't spend the whole morning alone with Minho, no matter how much you want to. There's too many things to do today.

So, you had left Minho to go take a shower without too much thought. Well obviously not much thought considering you forgot your clothes. You could easily slip your pajamas back on and go get your clothes, but they were dirty and you were clean. You hate having to wear dirty clothes after a morning shower. It was supposed to be the start to a fresh day. With a concert later tonight, you are already anxious enough as it is. The shower did help a little, but this situation, although a bit silly, is souring your mood a bit. On days like these, you just want everything to go right, so it can get frustrating when little things happen. You take a deep breath, not wanting to let your thoughts go any further.

'Hyunjin would understand' you think, saddened by the events of last night. Normally, he would be the first one you would go to when you got nervous

You sigh, annoyed with your thoughts, and grab the wrinkled sweatpants and t-shirt. It'll have to do. You guys just started dating the day before, you don't wanna scare the poor man away by immediately walking out nearly naked with just a towel to cover.

Just as you're about to slip the shirt back on, your nose wrinkled in disgust, you notice a piece of black cloth resting on the counter next to the sink. Your mood instantly shifts as an idea pops into your head.

You swiftly grab it from the sink, unfolding it so that it is no longer inside out, and just like you thought a familiar design appears on the front. It's one of Minho's favorite shirts. He must of left in here last night when he changed into his pajamas. You smile, admiring the stupid drawings on the front. They are just so fitting to Minho.

Without a second thought, you slip the shirt on, getting a whiff of Minho's cologne as it passes over your face. Looking in the mirror, you notice that it covers just enough to not be too scandalous, especially with your underwear on. Minho wasn't too much bigger than you, but the couple inch height difference and his wider frame made for the perfectly oversized shirt.

It was the perfect solution; you got to wear Minho's shirt, you didn't have to walk out in a towel, and you didn't have to put all your clothes back on from last night. And hopefully, Minho's reaction will be an added bonus.

You open the door and venture out into the room, immediately seeing Minho. He's now fully dressed since he took a shower the night before when you were busy having an argument. He's on his phone patiently waiting for you while sitting in the chair Hyunjin had vacated just about an hour earlier.

He looks up upon hearing the bathroom door open, and you make eye contact. As he does so, his soft brown hair falls in front of his eyes. He uses a hand to brush it away, lightly threading through his hair. You see his eyes widen a bit at your choice of outfit and you send him a shy smile back before walking softly over to your suitcase. You bend over, making sure everything is still covered, and grab the casual clothes you had planned for today. You always dressed as comfy as possible before you had to get into the extravagant outfits the stylists prepared for the concerts. They weren't too bothersome, but sometimes the tight clothes weren't your preferred choice for all the dancing that comes with going on stage. But hey, at least you looked hot.

You stand back up after gathering the soft cotton into your hands. You're a little surprised upon feeling arms wrap around your waist. You smile as the scent of Minho's cologne yet again fills your senses; It's one of the many things you love about him.

He pulls you closer so you’re pushed against his front, his head resting on your shoulder. Your heart starts to best faster and you realize just how comforting his hugs are. You could really get addicted to this fast.

"You look so beautiful," he says softly. His breath hits your neck, sending goosebumps down the rest of your body. He doesn't say anything, but you know he had to have noticed. You're glad he doesn't make a remark, but you know just how caring and observant Minho can be. You can't help but think he's already stored that bit of information away for another time.

"My hair's wet, and I'm not even dressed yet," you say with a giggle.

"I know, I just can't believe I missed out on this for so long," he says as his grip around you tightens slightly. You can practically feel him start to recall memories from the past few years, of the way he used to treat you. It's a wonder how this is the same man who was ignoring you just days ago. But you wouldn't trade it for the world, you would stay in his arms forever if you could. He's the same Minho you used to know all those years ago, before all the insecurities got between you two.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door pulling the two of you out of your daydream.

"God, why can't they just leave us alone," he says, rolling his eyes. You just laugh at the remark, aware of just how much Minho really loves those guys. Sure, they can be annoying sometimes, but you grow to love it.

He brings his head off of your shoulder, pecking your cheek as he moves away. Heat floods your face, despite already having a more intimate kiss with Minho the night before. Your confident that no matter how long your relationship manages to last, his affect will never wear off. Minho is just the type of person you can't help but be in love with.

He shuffles away from you and you move to go back into the bathroom, excited to finally finish getting ready for the day. Minho opens the door, not thoroughly thinking through his actions, eager to get the conversation with whoever knocked over with.

You freeze in your spot halfway to the bathroom when you hear the hotel door open. You look up, seeing Chan on the other side just as you had expected. You're not too uncomfortable since practically all the boys have seen you in this state of dress before. After years of being in the same group, it's difficult not to walk in on each other. You don't mind too much anyway.

However, this may be one of the instances where a quick glance may be your downfall. Minho's shirt and no pants may be a bit too much for Chan to not question anything. Chan can be very scary when it comes to stuff that could affect the group as a whole, and a relationship could definitely do just that. Let's just say confessing to Chan was not one of your goals for the day.

"Hey Minho, we're having breakfast downstairs before we head out for the concert venue. So once you guys are ready just meet us down there," he tells your boyfriend. You can see a small smirk form on his lips as he says the last sentence. You know he's probably thinking about the plan the boys had formed last night to make you and Minho stay in the same room. If Chan was in on it, then everyone was in on it.

While waiting for Minho's response, Chan raises his head to see around him. You assume he's looking for you to ensure the other man will actually pass the news on. The two of you make eye contact, and it's unsurprising as you watch his eyes widen upon taking in your outfit. Your blush deepens, instantly ducking away into the bathroom, not wanting to be under his scrutiny any longer.

You finish getting ready, trying to block out the conversation from right outside the door. You honestly don't even want to know what Chan said after that whole fiasco.

When you go back into the main room, Chan is gone thankfully. He must of still had a few more of the boys to wake up.

Minho and you make your way downstairs to get breakfast together with the guys before it's time to head out for the busy day. Typically, hotel food isn't all that exciting for you. You much prefer to stop at a cafe or some other restaurant on the way, but today, waffles in the middle of a hotel lobby don't sound half bad.

On the way, you walk side by side, your heart skipping a beat whenever Minho looks your way. You glance down as he subtly touches his pinky to yours. You haven't had many relationships before, falling victim to the lack of romance related to the industry you’re in, so you can't help but wish to have the typical teenage romance you hear about in movies. You've dreamed of it for years and the fact that it's finally happening makes excitement bloom in your chest.

Minho takes the hint, clasping your hand in his, sending a smile your way. Emotion floods your body, making you feel as if you could take on the whole world with just his hand in yours.

When the two of you enter into the breakfast area, you subconsciously drop his hand, suddenly aware of how many people are around, fans and members alike. Felix looks up, noticing your presence and waves you over. There's two seats available, one at the end of the table next to Jeongin and the other next to Felix, which also happens to be directly across from Hyunjin, who all of a sudden looks a little too interested in his food.

Without a second thought you go to take a seat next to Jeongin, but Minho beats you to it. He flops down in the seat smiling cheekily.

'Asshole' you think, falling back into the habit of calling Minho names. He may not hate you anymore, but that doesn't diminish his love for annoying the absolute shit out of you. However, instead of making you roll your eyes in annoyance, it makes your hands twitch by your side, nerves flooding your body head to toe. You know it was his plan, but it really is not helpful at all right now.

Felix smiles up at you, yet if you take all the tension into account it could arguably be a grimace. He pulls the chair out, and you take a seat; your back is a little too straight and fingers are still picking at your cuticles. You don’t want to raise any questions, but sometimes you really can’t help your nervous habits.

There had been plenty of chatter when walking up to the table but it had stopped suddenly upon Felix waving you over. It hasn’t resumed since, and the looks your members are giving each other are not subtle in the slightest. It’s obvious they know something.

Just like you had thought, word must have gotten around fast. It’s just a question of who spilled the beans and what it is they all think they know. Is it about the fight with Hyunjin? The fact that you and Minho had slept in the same bed? Or perhaps it was because you were seen wearing his shirt this morning?

But who knows? Before you even have time to fully ponder the questions or for anyone to break the uncomfortable silence, there’s a loud noise gathering everyone’s attention.

Hyunjin had sent one final look of panic to Felix before abruptly pushing his chair back and storming out. Everyone looked up in shock and suddenly it’s very clear that they were not aware of the fight. How are you gonna be able to explain this one? You don't even understand what happened. I mean sure, Hyunjin and you had fought and you didn't make up yet so it was uncomfortable, but you don't know why he would feel the need to make a scene like that. You guys had interacted just fine this morning. Maybe he was just uncomfortable with the idea of having to pretend everything was fine. You aren't exactly hiding the fact that you aren't happy with him right now. Due to basically being two peas in a pod, Hyunjin can usually read you like a book.

You glance over at Felix in hopes that he knows what that was all about. It's not much help when all he sends back is a shrug and an apologetic smile.

Unsurprisingly, there were few words spoken after this; the majority of the silence only being filled with concerned looks.

So breakfast was a bit awkward to say the least...

Unfortunately, that is extremely worrisome considering the schedule for the rest of the day. You guys don't have time for awkwardness and unsettled fights. Yet, you also don't have time to resolve anything. A never ending cycle of tension, how exciting. It's one of the not so fun parts of being an idol; the fakeness of everything. You just have to hope your groups acting is going to be on point enough today to not draw any attention. Fans were nitpicky and it was always best to avoid as many rumors as possible. With how close you and Hyunjin are, there's bound to be questions if you don't act all buddy buddy like you usually do.

The group takes two separate cars to the venue, and you can't help but notice the members are a little different than normal. More specifically, Minho has taken the seat next to you which is typically occupied by Hyunjin. In fact, Hyunjin isn't even in the car anymore.

This isn't the first time the cars were specifically divided out. Years ago, they had to switch which car Minho was in to keep the chaos under control. Previously, Minho had been in the same car as you, but once tensions started running high between the two of you, he had immediately been switched in hopes to keep the peace. It seems that was exactly the goal of today. God, you need to stop making so many issues within the group.

It seems that as the day progresses things are just getting more stressful. Hyunjin is avoiding you, and you can't help but feel as if you're messing up the group's dynamics. Suddenly, you're reminded of the awkward encounter with Chan this morning. If he figures out everything that has happened, is he going to be frustrated with you? Maybe you just never really fit in the group to begin with.

With every mile closer to the venue, you feel like you're approaching your doom. This is not the right mental state to go on stage, but that wasn't exactly an option, now was it?

So for now, you simply grip Minho's hand tighter, hoping to quell the growing anxiety inside you. You just have to make it through the concert and then you can resolve all the issues happening.

But it's never that easy is it?

Taglist: @armystay89 @thisisnotjacinta @silentreadersthings @seungminsapuppy @linos-kitten @hafrenstay @redstayrosie

[prophecyofwinter]

Across the Sea and to the East

Aemond Targaryen x Stark!Reader

Summary: Under your uncle’s usurpation of your brother you have been sent away to hide in Lys under House Rogare. You’ve found new purpose with the Lord of Light but you will be called home soon.

Tags: slight slow burn, actual burning, violence, smut, angst, tags will be added as we go.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | Prologue

Chapter 3: Lemon Scented Letters

“You know it is not good luck for one to fall asleep after morning prayer.”

You groan as thin curtains were forced apart allowing the full force of the sun to shine through. You roll over to cover your face, maybe if you hid away she’d let you sleep. The pups at the foot of your bed stretched and jumped off to go seek out the cooks for some type of meat scraps.

They get bigger and bigger every day, it’s been almost a month since you’ve received them and they have grown quickly.

“Did you know it is bad luck to wake the Lady of Light at any point?”

“I will take my chances Y/N. It’s almost midday!”

You sigh in defeat and roll over to your back, letting out a big puff of air blowing your hair out of your face. Thankfully you don’t have anything to do for the rest of the day, just you, Tyanna, and a bunch of cute little sandwiches.

“Tyanna, the cooks are serving those finger sandwiches for Luncheon aren’t they? Cucumbers are in season aren’t they?”

Suddenly you hear stomping leading up to your room and the abrupt sounds of your guards berating the individuals at the doorstep of your personal chambers. You recognize the voice instantly… fuck.

“Let Priest Titus in!”

Red Priest Titus, he’s one of the oldest in the temple and came over on a pilgrimage to bear witness to you. He’s one of the few who believes in you but still gives you a hard time with your choices.

“When were you going to tell me?!”

He could be talking about any number of things, for an old wise man he fumes up far too easily. Reminds you why he doesn’t deal with the politics of the temple.

“If you wanted to join us for luncheon you could’ve just asked.”

“You know very well I am not talking about finger sandwiches!-“

“Well I only want to talk about finger sandwiches so this must wait until after…”

The old man was very clearly fuming, about to bust at the seams of his Red robes. You had no idea what he was talking about but just to see him getting mad makes your day.

“This absolutely cannot wait! When were you going to mention to- to- to anyone that you were going back to Westeros!”

“No one is going back to Westeros! Not soon at least-“

“Then explain this!”

A letter is thrown at you, but it is an open piece of paper so it just flutters to the ground a few feet in front of Titus with a more embarrassed look on his face while you lay slightly amused.

“Well. Now what.”

“Allow me to get that my Lady…”

Tyanna rushes from the other side of the room to grab the piece of parchment off of the floor and handing it over to you and backing away slowly.

You rub your tried eyes and unwrinkle the letter that had been so foolishly tossed to the floor and began to read unamused.

To the Court of the Lady of Light

The Crown of Westeros and House Targaryen humbly requests the beloved presence of the illustrious Lady of Light.

By the turn of the next moon, we wish to be gifted with her graces presence.

We hope to hold a banquet in her honor, as we understand it draws near to the Feast of the First Sun.

We would be honored to host the week of festivities in tandem with the Faith's own Summers Night Feast in Kingslanding.

Alongside her grace and her Courtesans, will be joined by his royal highness King Viserys and Queen Alicent with their children Prince Aegon Targaryen, Princess Helaena Targaryen, and Prince Aemond Targaryen. Other Houses may be in attendance at their own will.

Sincerely, the Crown of Westeros.

Your face softens as you read and a soft lemon scent wafts through your nose, clearly it was soaked into the paper somehow.

He knows… He really knows…

“Aemond…” you whisper delicately while stroking his name written on the paper.

“This is an insult! They dare try to dirty our grand feast with- with- their shit copy!” You can barely hear Titus over the blood in your ears.

“We must go, write them back immediately.”

“Forgive me for saying but have you been inhaling too much Ash my Lady?! You do not know what they have planned!”

You hop up from your bed almost immediately, you felt the need to defend Aemond. No one here knows him, and to assume he would have this sent out to harm you?

“Aemond would not allow!- The Targaryens would not allow such acts on their grounds!”

You feel the room get cold and silent even with the humid summer heat. Your outburst you’ll admit was uncalled for but, if Aemond wants to see you, you shall be seen.

Titus’s face hardens and zones in on you and the letter in your hands and lets out a strained breath admitting his own defeat.

“I see, very well. I am bound to you, I go where you go my Lady.”

“Have a Priest write a letter back confirming our attendance, and Tyanna, gather members for a procession to escort and attend to me during our stay. After luncheon of course.”

Titus’s quick defeat should worry you, clearly the mention of Aemond made him realize something. The relief and serenity of the thought of being back in Westeros, even if not the North. Is too great for you to think about much else.

Oh Aemond…

——————————

“I heard Lys is nice this time of year.”

Alicent feels her body tense up at the mention of the three lettered country, especially when it falls from Aemonds mouth. She takes a long sip of her tea to articulate her thoughts, but the worry eats at her tongue regardless. Even the gardens that surround them help none to ease her stress.

“You have no business in Lys, you’ve never been. Why the interest in Lys?”

Aemond walks closer to the table where his mother sits and pulls out his own chair to take a seat across from his mother. Hands folded neatly, no elbows on the table as his mother taught him so, deep breath in long breath out.

“I read a book in the library, about the Lord of Light and the temple in Lys. A rather new book actually, published in High Valyrian around 2 years ago. It tells about their new Deity, the Lady of Light. Few know her name but they describe her with features from the First Men-“

“Do not torture me any longer, I cannot bear it. Aegon babbled to you, didn't he?”

Aemond sits for an extra moment longer, thinking about where he wanted this to go. What he really wanted to come from this interaction.

Maybe he would make his Mother sit in it a little longer.

“Aegon talks about a lot of things Mother, which do you speak of? I just wanted to tell you of my studies, since we tell each other important information.”

Alicent knows she’s asked for this to some extent. She knew Aegon would tell Aemond but she didn’t think it would happen this soon. She knows Aemond cares about this girl and he wants her to suffer just a little.

“Gods! I’m sorry that I did not tell you but need I remind you how you reacted the last time she was mentioned! I didn’t know where you were, you disappeared for days!”

Aemond says nothing, he sits there and twiddles his thumbs. Maybe he was sitting there to think or maybe to just see if his mother kept going. It was a cloudy day, no burning sun coming down on Aemonds black leather clothes, he could sit here all day if he wanted to. Normally the hot weather makes it too hot for him to think clearly.

“What would you have me do Aemond? Invite her here? So your eyes can meet and embrace each other while crowds clap and cheer, then marry and run away into the sunset?-“

“That’s exactly what we shall do. I read in the same book that they hold the Feast of the First Sun at the same time as the Summers Night Feast.”

Aemond had thought this through delicately it seems… What he asks is a tall order, not realistic in the slightest. However, if Alicent desires to place Aegon on the throne, Aemond having the fancy of a powerful religious leader wouldn’t… not help.

How would she get the faith to approve of such an activity though? To break bread to who they believe are heretics… The North has the Old Gods, the Targaryens have the Valyrian Gods…

[poledancingdinos]

Hostile Territory - Chapter 26

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC (Leah Coleman)

Word count: 3.7K

Warnings: Dom/Sub Undertones, Video Chat Sex/Masturbation, Shibari

Catch up: Series Masterlist

Taglist: @amberangel112 @utterlyhopeful-fics @marantha @kebabgirl67 @littleone65 @omgkatinka @luclittlepond @athenepromachos @enchantedbytomandhenry @narnianaos @geralts-yenn @peaches1958 @avengersfan25 @sillyrabbit81 @summersong69 @identity2212 @liecastillo @lena-banena @mrsevans90 @confessionbrain-writings @eclecticfashionbookszipper @happydistraction @hannah9921 @valacircareads @toooldforobsessions @kingliam2019 @rosecentury @wa-ni @secretdream2 @missemrose

Masterlist

Day 351

Sitting down on the opposite side of the table, Ethan pulled Leah’s sketchbook out from under her pen and began to flip through the pages.

“Coleman, come on, you’ve been exclusively drawing crows for weeks, you gotta give us something different.”

“They’re ravens,” Rohan corrected, coming to sit on Leah’s left across from Ben.

Ethan frowned at Rohan, shaking his head. “What’s the difference?”

“Same family of bird but ravens are bigger.”

Leah did indeed have a book full of ravens. With forming hundreds of feathers being so intricate and tedious, it kept her mind focused on her task rather than on how much she missed Sy. The only problem was that she’d had so much practice over the last four months that they were actually becoming easy.

But that was not, in fact, the only thing she’d sketched lately and she prayed that Ethan wouldn’t flip to the back end of her sketchbook.

“Fine,” she said, waiting for an appropriate time to reclaim her sketchbook, “name an animal and make it hard.”

The boys took a moment to think before going around the table and naming their picks, beginning with Rohan and ending with Jer on her right.

“Lion.”

“Peacock.”

“Elephant.”

“Crocodile.”

The boys looked at Jer like he’d just said unicorns were real. It was an unconventional choice, sure, but it definitely met the assignment. She would have to learn the shape and texture of the skin. And, to fit on a single page, it would have to be a close up of its face which also meant teeth.

“I guess I have never done a croc before,” she said.

“That was obvious,” Ethan said, thumbing through the pages and showing off the dozens of animal pictures and the briefest glimpse of one that was much less PG. Read not at all.

Leah slapped a hand over the sketchbook. “Okay, I get it. No more ravens.” She slid it back across the table and set her small pencil case over it. “Was there a reason you guys came in here in the first place? You know, other than to criticize my artistic choices?”

“We’re going into town for a drink. You should come with.”

Leah wasn’t in a particularly social mood but she’d been waiting for an excuse to go into town and visit a post office. She had a letter to send out that she did not want associated with the US military in any way.

An hour later, they were walking through the streets of the German city they called home. When they walked past the store front, Leah held back, telling the boys she would catch up with them in a minute. They offered to wait for her but she waved them off, not wanting to risk one of them seeing something they shouldn’t.

Once inside, Leah headed straight to the section that held the shipping supplies. Double checking that no one was looking over her shoulder, Leah pulled her sketchbook out of her backpack and slid out the image she had carefully cut from the book before leaving the base.

Sy had decided to live off base for the first time ever so he now had a postal address that went to a private residence. Like she’d done the last time she’d given Sy one of her drawings, Leah put it between two pieces of cardboard before sealing the envelope and paying for everything with the bored teenager behind the counter.

Day 362

The incessant buzzing drew Leah from her sleep. She wasn’t sure who the hell decided to put up shelves in the middle of the night but she was going to give them a piece of her mind. Only, when her eyes blinked open and she looked at her nightstand, she realized the buzzing wasn’t coming from a power drill, it was coming from her phone.

“H’llo?”

“What are ya doin’ to me baby girl?” The tone of Sy’s voice made her insides flutter. It was… Leah squinted as she looked at the overbright phone screen. It was two in the morning, six o’clock back in Colorado. Leah had one guess as to what had possessed Sy to call her as soon as he got home from work, time zones be damned.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“No?”

“No.”

Sy hummed. “See, I think ya know exactly what you’re doin’ and you’re lyin’ about it to be a brat. Because only a brat would send their boyfriend a sexy little drawing of herself naked and tied up while he’s a world away and can’t do a damn thing about it.”

There was a brief pause as Leah’s sleep-addled brain processed his words. “Does that mean you like it?”

Back home, Sy stared at the picture as he repeated Leah’s words in his head. Does that mean you like it? As if there was even the slightest chance that he could not like the image of Leah laying on her stomach, tied in ropes from shoulder to ankle with her tattoos peaking out. The amount of time she must have spent getting every strand of rope, every knot perfect was unfathomable.

“Darlin’ even if there was any blood left in my brain for me to describe how much I like it, I don’t think the words actually exist.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“Do you… Do you want to show me?”

A crooked smile pulled at his lips at the invitation in her words. “You wanna see what you do to me? Maybe you also wanna watch me take care of the little problem ya caused?”

From what Leah had seen, there was no ‘little’ about it.

“Can I?” she asked on an exhale.

As Sy took his boots off—something he hadn’t done in his rush to open Leah’s letter—he switched the call to a video, waiting for Leah to accept. When the image came on screen, it was fully dark. He heard the bed squeak as she moved to turn the bedside lamp on and her face came into view.

He was relieved to see that, although a little sleepy, she didn’t look tired. She wore a thin camisole and he was willing to bet she was only wearing her typical boyshorts underneath. Making his way to the bedroom, Sy continued his study of his girlfriend.

Due to the time difference and the fact that Leah was constantly being shipped out on ops, they hadn’t had many opportunities for face to face conversations. It was reassuring to see she looked healthy and injury free.

Stripping out of his uniform one handed would pose a challenge so Sy propped his phone up on the dresser and took a step back.

“See this? I didn’t even have time to change. I opened the envelope the moment I walked through the door.”

He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it over the edge of a nearby laundry hamper. His shirt came off next before his hands moved to his belt. Leah licked her lips, her eyes traveling up and down the screen.

His hand slid into his pants, grasping his shaft over the cotton of his underwear. “I gotta say baby girl, I’ve never had a drawing make me hard before.”

He’d also never masturbated on camera but there was a first time for everything. Apparently he’d reverted to ‘horny teenager’ status now that he had his first steady girlfriend.

“You were the one who wanted to watch. Tell me what you wanna see. Should I sit or lay down?”

“Sit.”

Sy looked around the room, spotting the phone holder he used to watch videos while he cooked or cleaned. The angle on it could be adjusted so that the phone was almost completely vertical.

Still in his underwear, Sy walked to the bedside table to grab the stand then returned to the living room. He set the phone down on the coffee table, adjusting it at what he hoped was a good distance from the couch. Before he could talk himself out of it, Sy stood in front of the camera, hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his underwear and pushed them down. His hard dick sprang up to rest against the patch of hair on his lower stomach.

Leah was silent but the slight hitch of her breath and the quickening rise and fall of her chest told him that she was turned on. His chest and thighs filled her screen, showing off his hard earned physique. 

“Makes you hot, don’t it? Knowin’ ya drive me fuckin’ wild.” He stroked himself as he spoke. There was no way he was just going to let any length of silence linger. “Bet you’re drippin’.”

Properly phrased dirty talk was something Sy had learned she really enjoyed. If she was in the mood it made her wet but even when she wasn’t it was like it reassured her to know that he could want her without acting on it. Leah didn’t always want to touch or be touched but hearing verbally how much Sy was attracted to her gave her confidence that she was enough just as she was.

Sitting down, Sy recentered the phone on the table. “You gonna help me baby girl? You gonna let me see you too?”

Leah bit her inner cheek, looking off to the side. For a second Sy wondered if that was too far but then Leah pushed the blankets down to the end of the bed and rested the phone against them.

She disappeared long enough to turn the main light on then came back to kneel on the bed. Her hair was tied in a messy braid over her shoulder, leaving the swell of her breasts on full display. The tight fabric of her white camisole left nothing to the imagination.

As Sy continued to look his fill, his hand returned to its task, slowly moving up and down his length. A groan unconsciously rose from his chest when Leah shifted her knees further apart, revealing the wet patch on her indigo boyshort.

“You gettin’ a little needy there?”

She couldn’t speak but the hitch in her breath was answer enough. In an unexpected move, Leah’s fingers trailed up her stomach to pinch her nipples through her shirt. Even if she had admitted to getting aroused when they were together, she had yet to act on it in front of him. If he’d known that having the protection of a phone screen was what it took to help her trust him, he would have suggested it earlier.

“You gonna make yourself feel good, baby girl?”

She squeezed her tits, pinching her nipples one more time before peeling the camisole off. Sy’s hand paused around the base of his shaft and squeezed. He’d missed that sight. Leah was, hands down, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“I’ll try.” It wasn’t exactly a sexy answer but it was the truth. She would only get more stuck in her head if she made any guarantees but she couldn’t find the words to explain that.

Luckily, Sy understood what she meant. He moved to pick up the phone, looking straight at Leah as he spoke. “Good girl, for tellin’ me. No pressure, okay?”

Leah took a deep breath, giving him a small nod. “Okay.”

He gave her a reassuring smile before putting the phone back on the holder and leaning back in the seat. “Take your panties off. Show me all that sweet wetness you made for me.”

Shifting to lay on her back, Leah raised her legs to show her ass off as she obeyed his order. Once the scrap of fabric dropped to the floor, she leaned up on her elbows and let her knees fall to the side.

“Fuck me.” Sy resumed stroking his cock. Her entire apex was shiny with the evidence of her arousal. “Did ya also get this wet when you were drawin’ yourself all wrapped up for me?”

“Maybe…” She had most definitely gotten wet after hours of researching different shibari patterns. Actually, she’d gotten wet just remembering when Sy had first showed her what he could do with a rope. Though she hadn’t realized it at the time, she liked the idea of being at his mercy.

Her fingers found her clit, drawing slow circles around it. Just the soft touch sent a spark of electricity down her spine. Her climax built as she watched Sy chase his own peak, the filthy words never ceasing to fall from his lips. Her mouth watered when she spotted the first drops of precum leaking from his tip which he immediately used as lube to tease his sensitive glans.

It wasn’t long before he was spilling himself onto his stomach, his abs clenching with every jolt of pleasure coursing through his body. Head tipped back, Sy caught his breath but his eyes immediately shot open when Leah found her release, moaning his name as she did.

Day 209

“Stop abusin’ that cheek, baby girl.” Sy’s thumb brushed over said cheek, pulling Leah’s attention away from a random spot on the floor. “No sense in worryin’ about what happens when we get back to base.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it.”

“Will ya let me try something with you?” he asked, putting the last of the freshly cleaned dishes away. “Something that I think ya might really enjoy and that will take your mind off worryin’?”

Leah frowned, feeling wary of the oddly vague request. Planting her hands behind her, she hopped up to sit on counter. “You’re gonna have to give me more detail than that.” 

Coming to stand between her thighs, Sy took the dish towel from her hands and draped it over the oven handle.

“I think you need to give up control and not just the way we’ve been doin’. Actual submission for a scene where ya pick a safeword and we negotiate everything before it starts. Then I want ya to give me full control.”

“How is that different from before?”

“Because before you could have said or done anything ya wanted at any time and I would have followed your lead. Here, once we start, I’m askin’ that ya let me do all the thinkin’. You let me make all the decisions knowin’ that everything I do is in your best interest and will follow exactly what we agreed.”

That did sound appealing. She couldn’t tell how many times she’d wished her brain would quiet down rather than running a million miles a minute but she wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by ‘negotiate’.

Although, she did vaguely remember the contract scene from when she’d watched the Fifty Shades of Grey movie.  She’d seen it during a weekend leave and had fallen asleep halfway through so her memory of the whole experience was rather foggy.

Plus, that movie was basically just porn with a lot of plot and she would never take relationship advice from porn videos so she definitely wasn’t going to take any from a movie that couldn’t capture her attention enough to stay awake for two hours.

Pursing her lips, Leah chewed on her inner cheek until she realized what she was doing. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips instead and she gave a small nod.

“Alright,” Sy said, running a soothing hand over her right thigh. “Here’s what I would like to do. I want ya to kneel for me while I tie a rope harness over your chest. If that feels okay, I might continue makin’ a pattern down your leg.”

“What do you want to do once I’m tied up?”

“Nothing. If I finish makin’ patterns down both your legs without ya askin’ to stop then maybe I let ya sit with the ropes for a bit but, otherwise, I’ll take ‘em off right after.”

Leah frowned, she was definitely curious even if she still didn’t know how it was supposed to help her relax… Or what Sy was supposed to get out of the deal. 

They’d messed around a few times since their little tryst on the roof and she was becoming more comfortable with him. She found that she was much more willing to engage in something sexual knowing that Sy wouldn’t push to go outside of the limits she set out beforehand. There had still been a few times where she didn’t want to do anything at all but he seemed to sense it—or maybe her behavior was more transparent than she thought—and he hadn’t initiated anything more than kisses and cuddles.

“You wouldn’t want to get off after?”

“No. Even if you said yes to me now I don’t trust that you’ll be clear headed enough to stop me if you change your mind later. If this works like I want it to, it might make you feel a little groggy.”

“Oh.” She was still skeptical but if Sy thought it would have that much of an effect then she wanted to believe him. “That sounds fine. I don’t have any issues with that.”

He asked a few more follow-up questions before sending Leah to change into leggings and a long-sleeved shirt.

While Leah did as he asked, Sy pulled a few lengths of climbing rope from where they had been stored after their hike. Leah had noticed that one of her old ropes was beginning to fray so she had cut it and put it aside to be dealt with later. It wasn’t made for shibari but he was going to stick to basic patterns that put little to no pressure on Leah’s body and her shirt should protect her from rope burn if the harness shifted as she moved.

After finding a pair of scissors in the kitchen, he climbed the stairs to go join Leah. Her bedroom door was open and Sy walked in just as she finished pulling the shirt down her stomach. The room wasn’t abundantly spacious but there was enough space on the floor for Leah to fully stretch out onto her back which was all they needed. 

“I’m just going for something decorative here so you shouldn’t feel much pressure but if anything pinches or feels remotely wrong you need to tell me. I’ll stop and fix it before I do anything else.”

That was easy enough. She already had an idea of what level of pressure was too much from aerial hammock. Sometimes the fabric could be constricting which required her to loosen it before comfortably moving on to a different pose.

Leah watched as Sy took a throw blanket from the end of the bed, spreading it on the floor then putting a pillow in the center. There was no way of knowing how she would react until they started and he did not want to risk her panicking and rolling off the bed. He made Leah test the position, confirming that she was comfortable before sitting on the ground next to her.

“Have you thought of a safeword?”

“Valkyrie.”

“Good. If you say that, I stop. If it’s too much of an emergency for me to untie you, I’ll cut the ropes off,” he explained, pointing to the scissors.

Sy encouraged Leah to close her eyes as he worked to focus on the sensations. Every step was described as he wrapped the rope and he frequently checked in before moving on. By the time he’d finished with the simple harness, Leah’s head was falling forward.

“Leah, can you sit for me and stretch out your legs?”

He kept his hands on Leah’s waist to hold her steady while she shifted onto her hip then uncurled her legs from under her. Despite putting her hands on the ground, she wobbled when her arms gave out, feeling boneless. Seeing her falter, Sy moved the pillow and made her stretch out on her back rather than sit.

The next few times Sy checked in, Leah gave him a slurred ‘fine’. The pressure of the harness was… Nice. Relaxing like a long hug. Though her legs weren’t restrained, they still somehow felt heavier with the presence of the ropes. Her head, on the other hand, felt light and floaty.

Scratch that, her whole body felt floaty, like she was being lifted in the air.

“You with me, baby girl?”

Leah hummed.

“Open your eyes for me?”

Her eyes fluttered open, finding Sy much closer than she expected. That was when she realized they weren’t on the floor anymore and she was laying over his chest on her bed.

“How’re you feelin’?

“Good. Great actually. What the hell kind of magic was that?”

Sy smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “People often call it bein’ ‘rope drunk’.”

“I can understand why.”

Running his fingers under the ropes, Sy made sure that nothing was pinching her skin after the change in position. Noting that there were no danger spots, he started slowly undoing the ropes from her left leg.

“How did you get into this anyway?”

“Back before I became an officer we were out on this training exercise. They rushed us to this rendez-vous point only to tell us that we had a thirty-six hour wait ahead of us. Anyway, we had nothing by means of entertainment and one of my squad mates was a real kinky fucker so he ended up showin’ us a bunch of basic ties and shit. I liked the idea of it enough to do some more research and learned how to do it safely.”

That was typical. ‘Hurry up and wait’ was a common practice in the military. The most surprising part of that explanation to Leah was the fact that shibari required research beyond knowing how to make pretty knots.

Sy massaged Leah’s legs to make sure the blood flow returned once the ropes were off. He couldn’t help but picture the marks that would have been left had Leah not been wearing any clothing. Or how sexy she would have looked with the ropes still on. Going off Leah’s positive reaction, he allowed himself to look forward to doing it all again in the future.

Chapter 27

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 16

Not gonna lie. I was hoping they'd eat fishmen this chapter.

I don't know why, but something about those bladefish makes me think there's some elaborate pun that I just don't get. I know their design is based on flying fish but they have blade-sharp edges, but I feel like there's supposed to be something more to it.

The blade is most likely made of keratin and is actually a layer of highly specialized scales.

Where'd the dramatic wind and waves come from? Is that just because of her trying to cast magic?

As this series progresses, Marcille's incantations are less detailed. I can tell some of the characters she's using match some characters in the spell Falin cast in chapter 11, so they use the same school of magic (Makes sense since they attended the same magic academy) but have different specialties.

The reason the runes are simpler is probably because the author decided drawing the intricate rune designs is too much hassle, but I'm going to say Marcille is either getting into the habit of mumbling her spells so nothing notices her casting, or her brain is still a bit scrambled because of the mandrake incident.

Realistic outcome: Causing fish with sharp edges to come falling from the sky can result in people getting cut.

I wonder what that big shadow at the top of the food pyramid is.

Love this little detail. The fishmen don't eat the bladefish's fins. Even if they can safely bite into and eat it, there's probably no meat in the fins.

Another detail I love: The kraken has serrated suction cups like real-world giant squid.

I'm gonna guess that water feels slimy or oily when you're under the effects of waterwalk. Fun fact, we can't actually detect wetness. What we call "wet" is actually a mix of tactile and temperature feedback from our touch receptors that our brain associates with "wetness". It's the reason why reptiles sometimes feel slimy. Their skin just happens to be similar enough in feel and temperature difference to what our brain registers as wet.

Never noticed it before, but the party have to throw off their backpacks when they get in a fight.

Laios said this kraken is several times bigger than normal. They are facing a GIANT giant squid. Is that a mutation or do krakens have no upper limit to how big they can get? I'd imagine if it's the latter, this could be a self-fixing ecosystem problem because the kraken would eventually starve to death because its metabolism would become unsustainable.

Kui definitely did a bunch of research on squids going into this chapter. Look at that jet propulsion form.

Since the kraken is so big, it probably gets pieces of the fishmen it eats stuck in its suction cups all the time. It's like getting something between your teeth.

YES!! This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see them do with Waterwalk.

And this confirms that the spell can raise a sunken object.

And one more amazing detail on the kraken. When it dies, the chromatophores in its body stop working and it loses its color, just like real-life cephalopods.

Laios didn't seem to get grabbed before they killed the kraken so I think he was investigating the tentacles and got stuck.

And after all that, they're not even going to eat any of the kraken. They're going to eat the parasites in it.

This is the biggest tantrum Marcille has made since chapter 1.

But she's still drooling for the food through it all.

Everyone's always been willing to let Laios suffer whenever he gets in trouble by his own actions. Senshi is probably a bit sympathetic, but Marcille and Chilchuck came along to save Falin and have been annoyed since day one that Laios is using the journey and their lack of funds as an excuse to indulge in his monster culinary interest. Granted, compared with that other party, they're only doing so well because they don't have to worry about logistics and supplies as much. But Laios keeps causing trouble because he's willing to engage with some dumb antics.

I love how Marcille can apply magic effects by just hitting people with her staff. I bet it's cathartic at times.

SENSHI FLASH!!

back

[television-overload]

of our own making

(an X-Files fanfic)

Chapter 23/34 - filing cabinet

[Read on AO3]

The water cooler gurgles as he fills a small paper cup and takes a sip. Today had been the day. After weeks of going through personnel files for prospective replacements, they finally met with a few candidates. He meant what he said to Scully; he’s ready to let go of the reins a little. That doesn’t make the actuality of handing over the X-Files any easier.

Force of habit, he thinks, to resist any and all efforts to boot them from the X-Files. He has to keep reminding himself that it was his idea this time, and that they’d still be working on them in a consulting capacity anyway. He isn’t quitting cold turkey. And besides, they’re moving on to bigger and much better things.

Lost in thought, he doesn’t notice at first when a few other guys gather around, each filling their own cups with water.

“So, Garcia,” the first one says, addressing a man Mulder vaguely recalls works in Organized Crime. “I hear the wife’s about to pop. You ready?”

Agent Garcia smiles, nodding his head. “Oh yeah. We’re going out tonight. One last night on the town before the baby gets here, you know?”

“You gotta do it,” another agent says. Agent Mann, or something silly like that, Mulder thinks. “They call it a ‘babymoon,’ you ever heard of that? My wife and I took a trip down to the Isle of Palms for ours before Michael was born. Great beaches. Now we’re lucky if we make it to the coast without one or all of our kids ingesting sand.”

The men share a hearty laugh, and Mulder feels a little out of place.

“Amy would have killed me if I hadn’t taken her out for a nice dinner before our first,” the first agent says. “It was another two years before we were able to go to a nice restaurant alone, so I wouldn’t have blamed her!”

Is this something people do, Mulder wonders? Is Scully expecting it? Maybe he had missed the memo at some point. Is there a soon-to-be-dad handbook somewhere that tells them how to win points with their wives before they become parents? Should he have come up with a plan to do something special for Scully? Their lives are about to irreversibly change, and he hadn’t even considered, really, that very soon, it won’t be just the two of them anymore. There will be a third person, someone entirely dependent on them just to stay alive.

He fills his paper cup again, feeling sweat begin to form under his collar.

Dinner. He can do dinner, that’s a good idea. He should ask her. One last hoorah as the infamous Mulder-Scully duo for old times’ sake. She’d like that.

With a polite nod and a forced smile at his fellow agents around the water cooler, he heads back toward the elevator, and back to the basement.

-.-.-

“Hey, there you are,” Scully says as he shuts the door behind him. She’s elbow deep in one of the filing cabinet drawers, evidently rooting around at the back for a stray piece of paper that has escaped a folder. “Help me figure out which files to make copies of. I know you’re going to want to keep some of them,” she says.

She knows him so well. He’s already started making a mental list of ones he wants to have in his personal collection. The Bellefleur file, for example. And of course, the ones with his name or Scully’s in it, but those are for much less happy, nostalgic reasons.

Slouching his suit coat off his shoulders, he rolls up his sleeves and approaches the drawer, offering his assistance in reaching the wayward scrap of paper. Her little arms are too short, a fact which he intends to tease her about later. His fingers successfully find the edge of the document, and he extracts it with careful precision.

A familiar picture stares back up at him, giving him a hearty chuckle.

“Remember this one?” he asks, turning his sketch of the Jersey Devil back toward her.

She laughs as she takes it from him, inspecting it. “How could I forget?” she says, “I think this image is forever ingrained in my psyche.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of my drawing,” he says. “I want a copy of that file. With my beautiful artwork, please.”

She rolls her eyes, but opens up a folder and slides the paper in its rightful place. He can’t help but notice it was already in the ‘to-be-xeroxed’ pile before he said anything.

The office falls silent as he continues rifling through the cabinets, plucking out a file here and there that he wouldn’t mind keeping. It’s a walk down memory lane, for him. Flukeman, Big Blue, the vampire sheriff in Texas… Who would have thought that seven years later, he’d still have Scully by his side as he prepares to let go of what became his life’s work? Their life’s work. She should have run screaming from here years ago, but she didn’t.

Now look where it’s gotten them.

Glancing up at her from over the top of the overstuffed file drawer and filled with a sudden surge of gratefulness that he doesn’t know what to do with, he blurts, “Let’s go out to dinner tonight.”

She freezes, and he mentally kicks himself for the hasty delivery of his idea. Theoretically, he should have planned a better way to ask her. After a second that feels like an eternity, she turns to him with a skeptical tilt to her brow and a small smile. 

Well, at least he knows he’ll still get to see her make that expression at him even when they’re off the X-Files.

“I mean, we could try that new place in Dupont Circle. The one your mom was telling you about? If you want.”

“What’s the occasion?” she asks, folding her arms expectantly in front of her chest as she leans back in his office chair.

“You know,” he shrugs, “pretty soon it won’t be just us anymore, and I– I like… spending time with you… So I just thought it would be nice to—”

She smiles shyly. “That sounds great, Mulder,” she says, interrupting his fumbling explanation. “Tonight at seven?”

He grins, ducking his head to hide his goofy expression. “Yeah, seven. I’ll make the reservations.”

-.-.-

In hindsight, this is a crazy idea. The restaurant they’re going to is extravagant. Ostentatious. And he knows Scully knows it, too. The margin of error for plausible deniability here is extremely small, and if she doesn’t have some idea of his feelings for her already, he’s going to have a hard time keeping it that way as they sit in a low-lit room munching on those fancy breadsticks and drinking expensive wine.

What had he been thinking? He asked her out without even sparing it a thought, not realizing how it would sound. To be going out on a date with your best friend who is also technically your wife? Langly and Frohike were right. He is an idiot. What is he supposed to do on this ‘date?’ How is he supposed to act? Does she expect anything from him? Is this his last chance to make a move? What does it mean that this is one of the last nights they’ll spend alone together before someone literally hands them a baby and lets them take it home?

The idea of making a move, after all this time spent explicitly trying not to do exactly that, has him in a spiral. He paces around the floor in his bedroom, trying not to think about what dress Scully might be putting on in her room on the other side of the hall or what she might be doing with her hair.

He can’t upset the status quo like this with the baby due any time in the next few weeks, can he? Bad idea. Bad, bad, idea. But at the same time, when else would he get the chance? He’d heard what the other agents had said… it was years in some cases before new parents got the chance to really be alone. What if he had to spend the next several years silently pining for his own wife in the home they share together, watching her be a mother to the baby they adopted? Maybe there’s a reason people don’t get into arrangements like this with their platonic best friend, after all.

How stupid was he to think he could do this without letting his feelings get in the way? Why on earth didn’t he just tell her months ago, before all this started, instead of getting his hopes up?

The answer, of course, is that he wants this. He wants this family more than anything, even if it's never anything more than friendship and cohabitation with Scully. He would have scared her away if he told her the same day she found those adoption brochures on his desk. It would be too much at once. He knows her, she would have been overwhelmed.

But, man… What if?

He checks his reflection in the mirror one more time, smoothing his hair into place. He hopes he didn’t overdo it on the cologne. Should he be wearing a tie? He puts on one that Scully got him several years ago, complete with a tie clip he’d gotten from her mother at Christmas.

He hesitates over the chain he wears under his shirt. What would Scully think if he took it off and wore it on his finger tonight? He finds that he wants to. Just a normal husband and wife grabbing dinner together. Without giving it much thought, he loosens his tie and unbuttons the top button of his shirt to free the necklace from its usual place. He knows that if he gives it much more consideration, he’ll talk himself out of it, so he pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind and slides the band onto his left ring finger.

There. He’s ready.

He takes a deep breath and opens the door to his room, intent on continuing his pacing in the living room if Scully isn’t ready to go yet.

“I’ll be ready in a minute,” he hears her call from the bathroom as his door creaks open. At a quick glance, he can see the back of an elegant dress he’s never seen before, black with a neckline that swoops down low in the back. She stands at the sink, fastening an earring in place, and it feels like junior prom all over again.

“Oh, I’m in deep trouble,” Mulder mutters to himself, rubbing his hands over his face. Forcing himself to turn away, he walks straight to the kitchen and fills up a glass of water, downing it in record time.

Not five minutes later, he hears her emerge, and he prepares himself for the sight of her.

Sure enough, it knocks the breath out of him, a fact which he makes every attempt to hide. He’s pretty sure she catches it, though, because the corner of her mouth quirks up and her eyes drift to the floor, as if she were somehow self-conscious about her appearance.

Impossible.

He’s suddenly very glad he opted for the tie, if this is what she's wearing to dinner. Although, it’s feeling a little tight, at the moment. 

“You, uh—” he starts, at a loss for words. His mouth is bone dry, despite the water he had just chugged a few minutes ago. “You—”

“Thanks,” she says, mercifully sparing him from further embarrassment. She tucks a gently curled tuft of hair behind her ear, drawing his attention to the careful way she’s arranged it. “I figured this might be my last chance to get properly dressed up for a while, so… It’s been… years, I suppose, since I’ve had the occasion to.”

This just confirms it. He’s been an idiot. Years of missed opportunities, chances he’s wasted. He could have been taking this gorgeous, magnificent woman out to fancy dinners all the time, if he’d just been able to pull himself together and see past the end of his own rather distinguished nose. 

If time travel is ever invented, he’s gonna use it to go back in time and kick his own—

“Mulder?” she says, smiling amusedly at him. He gets the sense that that’s not the first time she’s tried to get his attention, and he feels his cheeks warm. “I said, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah,” he chokes out, finding his voice at last. She reaches down to grab her purse, and he coughs to clear his throat. “Yeah, let’s go.”

She shakes her head at him in mock admonition, but happily accepts his proffered arm as they exit out the front door of the apartment. In the hall, he glances down, taking in the sight of her hands wrapped comfortably around his right bicep.

Her ring. She’s wearing it. He swears his heart might leap out of his chest at the thought. This might just be the thing that does him in. Put it on his death certificate. ‘Cause of death: the woman he loves is wearing his ring.’ What a way to go.

He doesn’t say anything—couldn’t, even if he wanted to—but he can tell that she saw him take notice. How could he not, with the way it sparkles on her finger, like it belongs there? He feels her hold loosen, and it stirs up a mild panic in his chest. She shouldn’t be embarrassed. Please, please don’t be embarrassed.

He lifts his hand to stop her from releasing him, running his thumb over the diamond inset on her finger. It’s okay, he’s saying. Look, I’m wearing mine too.

He sees the moment her eyes fix on his ring, as he rests his left hand over hers on his arm. She avoids his eyes, but he can tell she’s moved. She swallows back her emotion, and her hold on him tightens again, which sends a wave of relief through his body. 

“Come on, we’ll be late for our reservation,” he says, his voice low, just for her ears. 

She nods, and lets him lead the way.

-.-.-

His first mistake was thinking that he could get day-of reservations at one of the trendiest places in all of Washington, D.C. His second mistake was not considering that his straightforward request for a table that evening might somehow be misconstrued to mean that evening a year from now. 

It takes all his self restraint not to raise his voice at the host at the host stand, because really, why would he be asking for something like that? He’d like to give them a little lesson on the use of the English language, but he won’t, only because Scully is there and he doesn’t want to completely ruin the evening.

She’s there watching him as all this takes place, undoubtedly amused as he fights back frustration. After a moment, her hand lands on his arm, her typical method of pulling him back from the brink of a poor decision that she’s perfected over the years, and she shakes her head.

“It’s alright, Mulder,” she says. “We can just go somewhere else.”

Yeah, but where?

“Have a good evening,” the host says dismissively, and his tone is just a little bit too smug for Mulder’s taste. It reminds him of stuffy dinners with his father’s associates or interactions he had with the pompous law students at Oxford. Maybe they don’t want to eat here after all.

Scully feels him tense under her touch, and gently guides him out of the restaurant before he can respond. What would he do without her? He’d probably get beaten up a lot more often, that’s for sure. Or at least kicked out of places, like he would have been tonight.

She leads him outside, and soon enough, they’re standing on the sidewalk by the street, at a loss for what to do next.

“I’m sorry, Scully,” he says, mentally kicking himself for screwing this up so badly. “I just wanted to do something special, and now—”

“Mulder,” she stops him. “Seriously. It’s okay. I’m happy with wherever we decide to go tonight. This is about spending time together, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let's go,” she says, grabbing his hand. “Come on, I have an idea.”

She holds tight to him as she leads them down the sidewalk, passing other couples on the street on this lovely spring evening. He has no idea where she could possibly be taking them, but she’s in a great mood, so he tries not to let the minor setback ruin his night. If she’s happy, then he’s happy.

The sun draws closer to the horizon, casting a golden glow on everything and everyone it touches. It makes her hair shine like fire, and once again he counts his blessings. It feels a little bit like the night of their wedding, and that thought brings a smile to his face.

They walk past several up-scale restaurants, and Scully doesn’t even spare them a glance. Wherever she’s taking them, she must know the way there. After a couple more blocks, she comes to a stop, standing out front of a greasy diner, maybe just a little nicer than the ones they frequent in small-town America. 

“Really?” he asks, looking dubiously up at the neon sign. “You sure you don’t want to go somewhere a little fancier, Scully? You got all dressed up.”

Her answering smile is resplendent in the glowing light.

“I want to eat here, Mulder,” she says, stepping toward the entrance. A bell above the door jingles as she pushes it open. “It seems fitting, doesn’t it?”

It does. A wave of nostalgia hits him like a truck when he realizes why she brought them here. Why a diner, of all places, would be the place she chooses for their ceremonial last meal, just the two of them. He can’t count how many formica tabletops just like this one they’ve shared a meal at, over the years. Hundreds of hamburgers with a side of fries, maybe a milkshake they end up splitting when Scully’s ice water loses its appeal. Ripped vinyl booths that Scully thoroughly wipes down with wet wipes she’d started keeping in her bag for that exact purpose.

“Well, don’t you two look nice?” a waitress in uniform says as she approaches their table. Her hair looks like the 80s have come back with a vengeance, all frizzy and permed, and she chews a wad of bubblegum aggressively, smelling like her last smoke break.

In short, it’s perfect.

“What’ll it be?” she asks.

Mulder orders for the both of them, knowing Scully’s usual order by heart. She smiles the way she always does when he remembers to ask for a lemon for her water, and he makes sure to tell the waitress to bring two straws for the milkshake instead of one.

When he looks across the booth at Scully, again, he imagines a little girl sitting next to her, coloring away on a kids menu with two, cheap, plasticky crayons that break in half if you look at them wrong.

It won’t be long, now. That will be their life. Mulder, party of three. Maybe Scully will start to carry a plastic baggy of the good crayons in her bag, for when they go to places like this. He’s absolutely certain she’ll at least double her use of wet wipes and sanitizer. He’ll become a chicken strip connoisseur, knowing all the best places in the city to get the child-favorite delicacy.

“To us,” Mulder toasts once their drinks arrive, lifting his chocolate milkshake in the air between them. “To… endings and new beginnings.”

“To endings and new beginnings,” Scully repeats, clinking her glass against his.

-.-.-

It’s past dark already, barely a hint of color lingering on the horizon, but that doesn’t stop them from prolonging the evening with a walk to the National Mall. The moon is bright, and the streets are lit up for tourists making the most of the warmer spring weather. It’s a pleasant walk. Scully feels drunk, despite the absence of alcohol with their dinner. She wonders if Mulder feels it too.

He guides her with his hand in its usual place, and she feels what can only be described as complete and utter contentment, as each brush of his fingers propels her gently forward. The street leads them straight to the reflecting pool on the National Mall, a favorite spot of theirs, not that they find the time to visit often enough. They’ve missed the cherry blossom blooms by only a couple weeks, but the sweet smell of them persists, unless it’s just her imagination.

Something about being with Mulder like this dials all her senses up to eleven. She has never experienced life like this before. Are the stars always so bright? Does the cool breeze always feel like silk on her skin?

Maybe it's his cologne that has her feeling tipsy. She selfishly hopes the scent of it will linger on her clothes and in her hair even after this night has come to its end.

The Mall is quiet and mostly empty at this hour. The Washington Monument looms in the distance, lit up brightly and casting its imposing reflection on the still waters of the reflecting pool. A family of ducks disturbs the glassy surface, sending ripples radiating outward as they paddle from one side to the other.

Mulder has this peaceful expression on his face, the corners of his mouth quirked upward ever so slightly. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he had never been here before, taking in all the sights for the first time. He watches the ducks for a moment, expelling a breath of laughter through his nose as a small duckling falls behind, then swims faster to catch up with the rest of the crew.

His hand drops from her back, but before she has a chance to mourn the loss, he entangles his fingers with hers, clasping their hands tightly together. She follows after him in a daze, her lips pulled back in a self-conscious sort of grin. She can’t help it. He makes her feel like a teenager, and… she doesn’t even know what this is, really, but she likes it. 

They circle the reflecting pool for a bit, wandering aimlessly at a lazy pace, reluctant to put an end to their time together. Eventually, they end up sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the gargantuan statue of the nation’s sixteenth president a silent sentinel behind them.

Scully leans her cheek against Mulder’s bicep. Despite her best efforts to keep them open, her eyes fall shut, her body succumbing to the serenity of their surroundings and the comfort of good company. He offers her his coat, draping it over her shoulders to combat the slight chill. It dwarfs her, the extra fabric at the hem pooling on the ground behind her.

“How about we come here on the weekends?” his voice rumbles, the first words spoken since they left the diner almost half an hour ago.

“Mm?” she hums in question.

He jostles her slightly with his arm, and she forces her eyes open again.

“You know, take the stroller for a spin around the pool,” he says, gesturing ahead of them. “Maybe stop into the Air and Space museum if we feel like it…”

She smiles. She can picture it so easily, the two of them experiencing the wonders of this city through the eyes of their child as she grows. Of course Mulder would want to go to the Air and Space Museum. It’s a wonder he hasn’t dragged her there before.

“Every weekend?” she asks doubtfully, her words slurring slightly.

He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as he chuckles.

“No, not every weekend,” he says, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “I’m sure some weekends we’ll want to sleep in. Maybe have a late breakfast and watch movies. I can make pancakes. Chocolate chip.”

“Children need to have healthy breakfasts, Mulder,” she says admonishingly. Something tells her it will be a constant battle to keep Mulder from spoiling their daughter with sugar and empty carbs. But if that’s the worst of their disagreements when it comes to co-parenting, she’ll happily accept the challenge.

He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Half blueberry, half chocolate chip,” he concedes. She decides to let it slide for now.

Above them, an airplane soars across the sky, lights blinking rhythmically as it passes overhead.

It’s funny. Before Mulder, she never looked twice at things like that. But now, she finds herself checking a second time, her gaze lingering a little longer, just in case it might be something other than an airplane.

What has this man done to her?

Mulder follows the direction of her stare, his chin tilting upward. Against the backdrop of stars, the perfectly normal, human-built aircraft flies out of sight. The hand on Scully’s shoulder drops to the ground, his palms resting against the stone steps as he reclines back a little.

“Thanks for hanging with me all these years, Scully,” he says softly, his eyes never wavering from the heavens. “I really couldn’t have done it without you.”

Her lips pull back in a smile. “We make a pretty good team, huh?” she says over her shoulder.

His lowers his gaze to meet hers. “I like to think so. You think that will translate to raising a kid?”

She has often wondered that exact thing, but for the life of her now, as she looks into his eyes, she can’t think of even one reason why she questioned it.

She leans back onto his shoulder, her eyes falling shut again.

“Only one way to find out,” she answers sleepily.

He sighs happily. “Any day now.”

-.-.-

What a day. What a night.

Mulder can’t sleep, lying stiffly on his back in bed with his hands clasped on top of his torso. All he can think about is how beautiful she looked in the blinding fluorescent light of the diner, with a bit of ketchup smeared on the corner of her mouth from when she stole one of his fries when she thought he wasn’t looking. How she held his hand, content just to walk in silence beside him in the shadow of some of the nation’s most revered monuments.

What a perfect way to put a cap on their time working on the X-Files together. He couldn’t have planned it better himself (clearly). Who needs expensive wine and stale classical music when you have bottomless milkshakes and a jukebox playing the greatest sock-hop hits of the 1950s?

It wasn’t a real date, he has to remind himself, but it sure was close to one. Usually a first date doesn’t end with both parties going home together, that’s one difference. Or, well, going home to the apartment that they both live in together, he should say. But tonight, as they returned home, they got ready for bed side-by-side at the sink, brushing their teeth and washing their faces, and it felt like they’d been doing this for years. There was no awkwardness there, just a wave of peace and stability he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel in his adult life.

If they ever move somewhere else—somewhere closer to Quantico, maybe—he’ll make sure the bathroom is equipped with a his-and-hers vanity. A sink for each of them, and plenty of counter space for all of Scully’s specialty serums and creams. It’ll be nice, he thinks.

When he finally falls asleep, it’s to visions of wraparound porches and matching rocking chairs, and maybe a nice playset in the backyard with a couple of kids running around. Now that’s a dream worth dreaming of.

-.-.-

This is ridiculous. She should just go back to bed, try one more time to actually fall asleep, get a few hours of rest at least. 

But she can’t sleep. Because Mulder had gone and put it in her head that everything is about to change, and it really could happen at any moment. Somehow, when she’s with him, she forgets every apprehension that plagues her, lured into a sense of security and assurance by some mystical power he possesses. Okay, maybe not a mystical power, but it is frightening how easily she casts aside her doubts when he’s within eyesight.

But then it all comes flooding back the moment she’s left to her own thoughts. It’s infuriating. She thought she was ready for it—for this massive life change—but she’s not. It terrifies her.

What if she can’t do it? What if she misses working in the Hoover building with him too much? What if she and Mulder have a disagreement about something trivial and it pulls them apart? What if he meets a nice woman at Quantico and wants out of this arrangement? What if it’s not enough for them to just be friends and raise this baby together? What if her feelings get the best of her, and she scares him away?

Or perhaps worst of all… What if they don’t get to go home with a baby at the end of all this? What if the mother decides to keep it? What then? Would they even have it in their hearts to try again? To wait a little longer, when there are drawers full of onesies and newborn diapers already in their home?

For weeks, the same nightmare has plagued her. Standing in a hospital hallway, their path blocked by people from the adoption agency telling them to turn around. Go home. You do not get a child.

She wakes feeling emptier than ever, and wishes for the millionth time that things could be easier.

There’s so much to think about, and she can’t take it anymore. She’s scared. And there’s only one person she likes to go to when she’s scared, and he’s sleeping peacefully right behind this door.

She sighs, leaning her head up against the door frame in exhaustion. She’ll just poke her head in for a moment. Remind herself that he’s there, and he’s not going anywhere. She repeats the words he’s said to her over and over in her head like a mantra, ways he’s reassured her in the past that he’s in this for the long-haul. But for some reason, they’re hard to recall in these moments of doubt. Maybe she’d misunderstood him. Maybe she’s remembering it wrong, applying more meaning to his words than he’d intended.

Her stomach tosses and turns uncomfortably with nerves. She’ll never be able to sleep like this.

As quietly as possible, she eases the door open, a sliver of light from the hallway piercing its way into his room. He looks warm and soft, the way his face lays slack against the pillow. He’s made himself at home here. His knick knacks line the shelves, unpacked from their boxes after the move and scattered about. As she steps carefully inside, she spots a photo of them that once sat on a shelf in their office. He must have moved it here recently, part of the slow transfer of their lives out of the basement of the Hoover building. She can’t help but notice that it sits beside him on his nightstand, right next to his glasses and whatever book he’s been reading lately.

She lets out a breath, allowing the comfort he unknowingly offers to dull her senses. Just a minute longer, then she’ll go back to her room and give sleeping another shot.

Or she would have, if he hadn’t started to stir, slowly waking from his peaceful slumber. It’s almost like he’d sensed her there, some kind of psychological link that told him when she was near, and in distress. She quickly turns back to the door, hand on the door handle to open it and make her exit before he truly notices her presence, when she hears her name spoken in a confused whisper.

“Scully?”

Her shoulders slump in defeat, and her hand falls away from the doorknob.

“Sorry,” she says, turning to face him sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He props himself up on an elbow, blearily rubbing sleep from his eyes with a fist.

“You okay?” he asks.

Her mouth drops open to reassure him that, yes, she’s fine, but she takes just a second too long to answer, and she knows he sees right through her. It’s not even worth lying to him.

“Come here,” he says, scooting over to make room on the bed beside him. “We can talk, if you want.”

She really shouldn’t, but his offer is tantalizing. She’s too vulnerable to be in this position, right now. Who knows what will slip from her mouth in her exhausted and overwhelmed state? Her feet carry her toward the bed anyway, and she slides into place under the covers, staring blankly up at the ceiling as he settles on his side facing her on his side of the bed.

“Can’t sleep?” he asks knowingly.

She shakes her head, her hair rustling on the pillow.

“Took me a while to get to sleep too,” he admits. “A lot to think about. A lot, a lot.”

At least she’s not alone in this problem, she guesses. She hates feeling like the insecure one in any situation, and that’s how she’s felt more often than not throughout this process so far.

“What’s keeping you up?” he asks, gently urging her to open up.

She tries to shrug, but she knows she’ll have to come up with an answer sooner or later. There’s no reason to hide this from him. Sometimes, he knows her better than she knows herself, and that can be a blessing and a curse.

“I’m going to miss working with you, Mulder,” she says honestly, her lips sealed tight to fight back the slight tremble in them. She can’t stop hearing her own words spoken by the reflecting pool a few years ago. ‘If I quit now, they win.’

She feels a hand land on her upper arm, stroking it comfortingly. Her eyes flutter shut. She can lie to herself all she wants, but this is why she really came in here. There’s a type of comfort only Mulder has ever been able to bestow, and she needs it now more than ever.

“We’ll still be in the same building,” he says appeasingly. “We can get lunch together every day, talk about our classes, complain about the new recruits.”

It’s silly, but his words do help. She imagines sitting across from him in his own private office—probably decorated a lot like their current office is—and munching on a salad while listening to him complain about an essay one of his students turned in. It sounds pleasant. Easy. Maybe he can come help decorate her office too. She’s gotten used to his clutter. She isn’t sure she’d be able to work in the sparsely furnished office space like she’s naturally inclined to.

“And besides– We’ll still see each other here,” he adds. “Every night. And the weekends.”

The thought sends a thrill through her. Sometimes it still feels like a dream, what they’re doing. Giving up the X-Files… that’s a tangible thing. But the baby? She’s still an abstract idea, despite the fact that physical reminders of their plans are scattered throughout her apartment. The picture he’d painted earlier of a relaxing day at home together feels out of reach—like a nice idea that isn’t really attainable. Is she that traumatized from all the disappointment in her life?

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” she asks, her mouth downturned in a frown. “I mean– I know you’ve said before that this is what you want, but I—”

“You’re gonna have to learn to trust me sometime, Scully,” Mulder says, a slight sadness in his voice.

She does. She does trust him—maybe even more than she trusts herself. That’s what the problem is.

“I do,” she says. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just…”

“Freaking out?” he finishes, smiling at her in amusement.

“Just a little,” she says, returning his smile.

He breathes in deeply, his face pensive like it always is when he's mulling over a difficult question.

“I think we’re ready,” he says, projecting confidence into his voice. “I think you’re going to be a rockstar mom, and we’ll wonder why we didn’t do this years ago.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

“But what if—”

He shakes his head, putting a stop to her words immediately. “You gotta stop that, Scully,” he says seriously. “This is going to work out.” His fingers find the dainty necklace she wears, his thumb brushing over the cross. “Have faith,” he implores.

She closes her eyes, letting out a breath, and with it, trying to release some of the fear that keeps her up at night. She wants to do what he asks, to let herself go, but it's not as easy as that. Sometimes she can't help but feel like they're trying to cheat destiny, to force things into going their way when they've been repeatedly told “no” at every turn.

His reassurance does help, though. Wasn't that why she'd come here in the first place? 

Mulder settles back, turning his attention back to the ceiling. 

“What did you think of the new agents?” she asks after a moment, changing the subject. It’s hard to believe that it was just this morning that they’d interviewed a few of them, hoping to find some trustworthy hands to leave their work to.

“Reyes seems sharp,” Mulder says. “I think her background in folklore and ritualistic abuse is a good starting point.”

“Mm,” Scully hums her agreement. “And what about Doggett? Too staunch of a skeptic for you?”

Mulder chuckles. “He comes highly recommended by the higher ups, so I don’t know,” he says. “It’s always good to have a variety of opinions around, though, don’t you think?”

She turns her head to the left, her eyes meeting his in the darkened room, lit only by what little moonlight comes through the blinds. 

“I think… we’ll be okay,” she says then, willing the words to be true as she speaks them. Her assertion brings a smile to his face, and he leans back on the pillow, focusing on the patterns on the ceiling like she had been a moment earlier.

“We will,” he agrees. “For once, I think we’ll be better than okay.”

~~~

Lovely tag list ♡: [if you would like to be added or removed, let me know!]

@today-in-fic @ao3feed-msr @agent-troi @angegova @baronessblixen @calimanc @captainsolocide @clo-thespin @cutemothman @danasculls @deathsbestgirl @edierone @enigmaticxbee @figureofdismay @frogsmulder @gillian-anderson-in-the-tardis @hippocampouts @invidiosa @monaiargancoconutsoy @msrafterdark @numinousmysteries @primrose19 @randomfoggytiger @skelavender @skylarksong @stephy-gold @teenie-xf @the-redhead-in-a-dress @vincentsleftear

[mysteroads]

Chapter 14: What's in a Name?

Summary: Hawks overhears a conversation and asks a very important question. Later, Shigaraki gets good advice from Kurogiri.

Excerpt:

“What the fuck do you want, Shig?” Dabi snapped the second the door closed. “Don’t tell me you’re actually considering letting the heroes near our kids, are you? Is that what you want to talk about?”

Rather than answering, Shigaraki said, “You need to tell Keigo your name.”

The silence that fell was anything but empty. Even on the roof, Hawks could feel the tension, like watching a storm build on the horizon. This was not where he'd expected this conversation between lover and boss to go. Hawks felt his eavesdropping feather heat up as Dabi’s temperature rose, right before the flame villain snarled, “Go to Hell, Shigaraki! Where the fuck did that come from?”

Shigaraki snorted and there was the creaking of a bed as he sat down. “He won’t understand until he knows. You said he was the one, that you love him, so why haven’t you told him, Dabi?”

“It’s none of your business!”

“Wrong.” There was an icy edge of warning in the word. “I’m your leader and your friend, so it is exactly my business. If you want Keigo to understand you, to take your side, then you have to tell him the truth.”

“That so?” Hawks didn’t know what to do with the emotions in Dabi’s voice.  It was the snarl of a cornered animal, a red rage mixed with bubbles of desperation and spite. “Have you told Eraserhead about Tenko? Do you think he’ll still want to fuck you after he hears how you turned your family to bloody chunks, then murdered your old man? You think he’ll get turned on hearing about how much you enjoyed it? Maybe you should do that before telling me what to do with my own boyfriend.”

Shigaraki inhaled sharply, then let out his breath just as quick and sharp. “Don’t turn this on me, Dabi. It won’t work. If only because Sensei already spoiled that little twist to All Might! Eraserhead probably knows more than me. I only remember bits and pieces; he probably read the fuckin’ police reports. If I tell him, it'll be to fill in what I'm missing.” 

Dabi growled, his clothes rustling as he turned, pacing to the window. There was the crackle of plastic being broken, then the sound of a cigarette being pulled from its pack. 

“Don’t light that shit in here.”

“Try and stop–” A grunt of impact and the sound of a body hitting the wall interrupted his taunt. Another few thuds, and Hawks tensed as he heard Dabi’s smothered sound of pain. 

“You're being an asshole. A bigger asshole than usual, and that’s coming from me,” Shigaraki said coldly. “Why haven’t you told him?”

“You’re going to break my fucking arm!”

“It’s on you to either stop fighting or burn me if you don’t want a broken arm. Now, why haven’t you told him about Toya?”

Toya?

Toya?

Toya.

The sky, already deepening toward twilight, turned black and dripped down into Keigo’s mind. The darkness constricted around him, tunneling his vision and making his lungs burn as he struggled to draw in breath. Why had Shigaraki said that name? What does Dabi know about Toya? What hasn't he told me?!

Desperately, he fumbled, trying to get down to the window. He had to know! Over the sound of his own pounding heart, he heard the other two men still talking.

“You love him. Why haven’t you told him?”

“Because I want him to love me! Not Toya!” 

[ghostly-wisp]

MR. LOVERMAN

CHAPTER 7

navigation | series masterlist | chapter 6 | chapter 8

︶︶︶༉‧₊˚.

“So, what is the deal?” Sam asks a couple of days after the whole ordeal, gesturing his fork between both you and Pedro – they hadn’t heard a lot about the status of your relationship and assumed that the two of you haven’t updated him on anything, truth is – you just hadn’t talked about it. You tense up because you’re not sure how to answer this sensitive question, but thankfully Pedro does it for you.

“No deal,” he says, closing his salad container. “We’re just testing things out – friends at the moment.” the moment replays in your head a couple of times, you’re not just friends. Sam is satisfied with this answer and leans back in his chair. He grabs the Trumoo milk he got from the cafeteria and places it on the corner of your desk, “I don’t like milk–so you can take it, if you want, Pedro.” This is Sam’s way of offering a friendship coin. Truth is, he loves the Trumoo milk that the cafeteria gives, but this was the only way they could think of as an offering for reconciliation. “I fucking hate milk,” Pedro replies, distastefully.

Later, you’re at his apartment – you're finally able to take in the decorations more intricately than last time you were here – hungover and not quite as close with Pedro as you are now – you can't help but notice just scarce his decorations actually are, though shows you the few decorations he has excitedly – such as a Game of Thrones decorative sword and a couple of Funko pops of Star Wars characters on the bookshelf he has. He has some student art on his fridge from a previous school, which made your heart swell just a little more – because they were still in mint condition. You’re drawn to this one particular drawing, it’s Pedro inside an Erlenmeyer flask, and on the top, it just says “MR. PEDGE: EXPERIMENT GONE WRONG”

He notices you’re looking at it a lot longer than the others, his smile softens at the sight of the familiar handwriting. “I did an experiment with the kids at my other school, for one of my classes it went wrong and I nearly broke a flask. They never let me live it down – this particular piece is by a kid named Bella,” he hums, “They started calling me Mr. Pedge after finding out my first name was Pedro. Not sure where the GE came from.”

You awe – you knew, obviously, that he was popular amongst the students at your school, but you never considered how the other students at school might’ve felt about him, especially after he left. “She was one of the students that made it hard for me to leave that school, but I couldn’t stay in that place any longer,” he tells you, gently placing an arm around you as you continued looking at the art. “It’s too bad I had to leave there, but I couldn’t stay where everyone had their eyes on me.” you frown, because he still has a lot of eyes on him now.

“Would you go back?” you turn to him, and he raises his eyebrows silently asking for clarification. “To your old school.” his face drops a little – and he thinks about his answer.

“No.” he tells you truthfully, moving so he would lean against one of his kitchen counters and you stand to lean next to him – “I love the students there, and my classroom was bigger, I could have a printer. But the people there know too much about my past. You and Sam aren’t there, and the students here are just as sweet, too.” he pauses and glances over to you, “The labs are nicer, too. And I’m not known as Mr. Pedge — the Erlenmeyer flask nightmare.” You leaned more towards him so your shoulders touched, “Sam and I want you here, too.” you say in a whisper – as if it’s a secret. “Lunch with you is so much better than before, don’t tell them I said that.”

He tsks, even being so bold as to turn his head and plant a soft kiss on the top of your head. “Your secret is safe with me,”

After a moment of sentimental, in-the-moment silence, you speak up – “Do you really hate milk?”

“Every fiber of my bein’.”

April came a lot faster than you expected — not only was the school year almost over, but it was Pedro's birthday.

He had told you recently that he didn't want any big celebration for it, simply being with you was enough. Although his words were very sweet, both you and Pedro knew that wouldn't end up being the case, and it wasn't.

You would've loved to do something with his students somehow, or with the whole staff – but his birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so that couldn't work out the way you wanted it to.

Nonetheless, you weren't going to let your maybe-boyfriend-maybe-not "situationship" (as the kids would call it.) have an uncelebrated birthday.

You set up your apartment for an event for a birthday — just a few banners, a homemade cake by Sam and their husband, and some of the science teachers you invited bringing snacks and booze. You hadn’t even texted him yet today, which was making you rather anxious, thinking about if he was feeling upset that his…Whatever you are had forgotten his birthday (Maybe your gift to him could be labeling your relationship!) but still, you had to get this done. You wanted everything to be perfect.

It wasn't until you finally set up the apartment just the way you wanted it that you texted him. He responded quickly, and while normally you would take dry texting as a telltale sign if someone is upset with you – he always had somewhat of a dry way of texting, so you just took the response as it was, you invited him over later, and he agreed to be at your apartment for seven – Contrary to your guests, who were coming here for six-thirty. So for the time being, you were alone in your birthday party-decorated apartment.

It wasn't until you saw what everyone else had gotten them that you became nervous about your gift.

He was excited to see the decorations, even more so to see the people that showed up. While it may not look like a lot, to him, it was plenty. People who cared and whom he liked talking to both in and outside of work. Everyone got him something extremely nice and personal to him — Sam and Aaron got him more Star Wars apparel, James gifted him a binder that had previous lesson plans for biology that he wouldn't use anymore, and Kelsey gave him Starbucks gift cards and a new watch – which was funny to the science teachers apparently because he was always asking what time it was during meetings.

You got him a fuckin' key.

It wasn't just a random key, but a key to your apartment. You knew other things he liked, but you didn't want to run the risk of getting him the same thing someone else did – which would've happened, you were looking at that same shirt Aaron and Sam bought – but now you're concerned that maybe you should've gotten him something he can show off.

He grabs your little white box and your stomach churns, he knows that yours was the last one — part of him picked his gifts out that way; The best for last. He's confused when the box has a small key inside, he picks it up and looks to you for more of an explanation since you weren't over his shoulder while he was opening things.

“It's a key to the apartment,” you explain, suddenly realizing all the eyes are on you and a teacher – you become flustered at the feeling. “I figured it would be easier, you know – instead of me having to get up, you can let yourself in.”

His eyes soften, his smile grows and his heart warms, even if the gift alone was all the confirmation the other science teachers needed—he never explicitly told them the nature of your relationship, so he didn't want to show you any physical intimacy until you were alone. All he could settle on at the moment was simply saying, “Thank you.”

That was the first night he slept over, nothing happened—everyone left closer to eight-thirty and he didn't want to drive home in the dark, or while feeling as sleepy as he does. Normally he would be up until eight, sometimes eleven—but the party drained him a lot more than he cares to admit.

Sam and Aaron are the last two to leave, and while he knows that when they're around he can do pretty much whatever – he still waits until the door is closed before he slips his arms around you, and you melt into the comfort of his arms. The warmth of his body soothes you.

“Thank you so much for today,” he says quietly, moving his face down to kiss your cheek repeatedly, making you giggle. “And for my amazing gift.”

You place your hands over his arm, leaning your head back ever so slightly just to get a better look at him– “Did you really like it?” he nods, making a small sound so you could actually hear his response. pulling away from you reluctantly, but you only turned to face him–now placing your arms around him instead. “Good,” you say, considering just how lucky you are to be in the position you're in.

“Happy birthday, Pedro.”

hi loves !! I'm sorry for the wait for this chapter.

truthfully, I've had my thoughts PLAUGED by my Joel Miller series The One-Night Stand, and while I love both series', that one is newer, and therefore, on my mind more lololol but I know I have some people that really like MRLM, so I'm trying for you guys !!

I'm also sorry it's short :(( (basically a filler) I'm losing a bit of muse for this series, and might have to put it on hiatus soon, just so I can keep it good (at least I'd like to think it's good LOL) rather than half assed. I just wanted to put this lil note here, just so that nobody is suprised (if they even read this hahahah)

TAGLIST:@djarinsstuff @doodlebob-mp3

@wanniiieeee @zeyzeys-stuff @jay1bird23 @corpsebridenightamare @queerponcho

@peqchsoup @surazim @melanie451 @krisviciousx @elliescumsl0t @theanxietyqueen17 @vasiliki-koshka

@figusquibis @lothirielcorleon @maybedisaster @kpicard @becca193 @themusingkitten @caravelofthesun @coldheartedmar @zanzann @avengersfan25 @missgurrl @wren-2-d

[teememdee]

2023 ART SUMMARY!!!

2023 was uhhhhhhh a year! And I made art! And I’m going to talk for a long time about everything I did month by month! Yippee!!!

original individual posts can be found in my #tanner art tag!

JANUARY

Started off the year with my favorite skrunklies sleepy and snuggling. Then sleeping together while holding one another is so incredibly important to me, they’re so cute and I needed to draw it. Struggled with Kai’Sa’s face but I particularly like the drapery of the pillow behind them.

FEBRUARY

First off, just a simple Kai’Sa piece for the Vibes(TM) and background practice. I was also fairly miserable and when I get miserable I draw Kai’Sa being miserable as well. I love my favorite character of all time <3

Then a quick Valentine’s Day piece, soft gradient map stuff. Love my skrunklies, hopefully this year I can make something for the day that isn’t rushed

MARCH

In March I FINALLY finished my Star Guardian Kahri fic, be the light to carry me, and drew Kiko and Ina being adorable together to go along with it. They’re SO cute and people LOVE that fic. Chapter 3 ended up being a whole 20k words and every time I re-read I’m amazed that I wrote it.

A kiss for Kai’Sa’s birthday! This was actually two sketches mashed together because I had a good Kai’Sa and a good Ahri on separate attempts. Love Kai’Sa’s smile on this one.

NOW. Strong contender for my favorite piece of the year. Captioned “please don’t lose yourself,” my K/DA-verse Kassadin’s very dead wife’s ghost weighs on him, begging him to not get lost in his grief and lose sight of their daughter. Kassadin feels lost and broken without her. I love the emotions in this one, and I think the idea comes across even without knowledge of my headcanons. Love it so much.

APRIL

Full-body piece that took me all month. I just love this one so much. It’s just pure Kahri, pure love, pure joy. Pose inspired by Blake Belladonna from RWBY’s leg pop during the long-awaited Bumblby kiss. This piece just makes me so happy.

MAY

Oops! No art! Was too busy being on a (student) film set every weekend as well as dealing with classes and multiple other stressors. I did START a piece though, but wouldn’t finish it until the middle of June.

JUNE

I actually did the first sketch of the Evelynn piece in February, but I decided to revamp it in May, and then when school finally set me free I finished it, and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Her hair was a labor to render but I'm so so pleased with how it looks, as well as the blood. The first time I've finished a fully rendered Evelynn piece!

Naafiri is so fucking cool. Upon her reveal, I was seeing so much incredible fanart and I just needed to get in on it. The shapes and points are just so good. I used to draw dogs all the time as a kid, and my younger self would absolutely flip out at seeing this. I did this piece in one day, and I have no idea how I pulled that background off but hopefully I can do it again some day lol

JULY

Two drastically different vibes here. Realized it had been forever since I had drawn Kahri so I just wanted to make a cute summertime piece. Their hands should be bigger and it bugs me but this is still really cute, I missed my girls dearly.

And then my very very sad man Kassadin being very very sad about his very very dead wife. This is what I call his phase 2 design, when he's at the peak of his grief (spiraling, as emphasized by the background) and feels just so sad and alone. In my head this and the March piece are part of a series that I hope to continue.

AUGUST

Just one piece that took me all month because I was quite busy in August, and Runeterra Kahri pieces take forever, but as I always say, it's always worth it. This pose comes from mellon_soup on instagram, who makes a lot of really great pose references for artists to use, highly recommend checking them out. This piece is just so soft to me. Captioned "'you're beautiful, you know that?'" they're saying it to each other, two people that struggle with their self image finding love and confidence in the other. Also I'm so very happy with the background. I love these two so so so so much, they're my world.

SEPTEMBER

One of my goals for this year was to branch out in the fanart I made. Baldur's Gate 3 came along and I love watching my best friend play it, we love Shadowheart and I just wanted to draw her. This came after a lot of sketches of both her and our favorite Tav that ended up changing how I draw eyes. The rendering of her face here is also something I'm proud of, her nose looks great. And again, the background! This piece didn't get a lot of attention at all but that's okay, I made it for me and I'm very happy with it.

OCTOBER

STAR WARS TOXIC YURI WENT CRAZY THIS YEAR!!! Wolfwren (Sabine Wren x Shin Hati, from the Ahsoka TV series) had me by the THROAT for a solid two months or so, I haven't been that feral and deranged over a ship in a hot minute. They had me frothing at the mouth every episode even though I did not like the show overall. Anyways. First piece is a redraw of the part in episode 4 where they just have the most charged eye contact of all time, and I decided to take that in stride with inspiration from Horimiya, a favorite anime of mine, during particularly emotionally charged moments, the background changes and there's a particular color silhouette behind them. It really fits that moment of the show and I am SO proud of these faces, especially Sabine's. Drawing from a real human face reference was kinda new to me but it's taught me a lot. The file size also ended up enormous somehow idk lol

Then, my most popular piece of the year, on both tumblr and twitter. I LOVE hand imagery, I love subtle hand touches, I churned this out in I think exactly one day, it's so soft it's so cute and I totally understand the overwhelming positivity it received.

NOVEMBER

I was not doing well at this time in the year. The state of the world just had me in a horrible mental state, I wasn't taking care of myself well at all, I couldn't get myself to make art, especially something happy or cute, it just felt wrong. But then sometimes you feel something so strong and specific there's no other way to process it than to make art. To make a long story short, earlier in the year I thought a girl liked me, I liked her back, but it turned out she did indeed have a boyfriend the whole time. We didn't see or talk to each other for a few months but in November we (and the bf, lol) met up again. When she saw me at the door she smiled at me so sweetly and it was just the worst feeling ever and I just had to hide it behind a smile and a wave. Oversharing aside, this is a style I'd wanted to execute for a while and I'm really pleased with how it turned out, would love to make more like this.

DECEMBER

All of this was done / finished in the first two weeks of the month because then I got sick + was visiting family + jet lag took me out. Kinda sad I didn't get something done for Ahri's birthday or a traditional Kahri Winter piece but that's what January is for. Anyway.

Sometimes you just want to draw girls kissing and sometimes you wanna make it a little suggestive. Not much to say. Proud of the drapery on Kai'Sa's sleeve and you can always tell I love drawing hands.

Now it's time for classwork. Here I just have two pages but I've posted the whole comic on its own, this was for my "Art and Text" class, I have it printed in a booklet and my classmates + friends have responded to it so sweetly I'm really proud, I really really want to make more comics. This project was a culmination of so many inspirations from other artists and I'm really happy with the execution even if it was really rough for me to manage my time well for that class.

Then for my "Fiction and Allegory" class, two of my friends and I made a storyboard film (which I don't want to share publicly, but if I know you you can ask for a link) and during the all-nighter two of us pulled to get it done on time, I decided one scene needed music instead of diegetic sound, so I churned this out on garageband in about an hour. Would definitely love to try my hand at making more music in the future. Wish my classmates / teacher liked / understood the film more but oh well. I learned a lot and for the thousandth time, I'm proud of what I did.

IN CONCLUSION:

I ended up with less full pieces than 2022 but what I did create in 2023 are big, detailed, emotional pieces, and I'm more than satisfied. I think my skills in rendering, backgrounds, and colors really improved and I'm looking forward to how I continue to improve in 2024. This upcoming year has a lot of scary stuff ahead (namely graduating college) but I will come out the other side regardless, hopefully with just as much art I'm proud of.

If you read all of this, thank you!! If you've liked, shared, or commented on any of my art, thank you!!!!!! It means the world, always.

[noblebs]

wip questionnaire tag

tagged by @fortunatetragedy here <3

I'll tag @writernopal @coarsely and whoever else wants to of course (blank questions below the cut!)

What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

Orion lol. He was a ttrpg character who got out of hand... At the time, I was really struggling with shelving my Ashgrove wip so I was desperate for something else to write. I started with a short story about his background. then the story for EWT officially started with the climax scene I had no context for lol.

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

you'd think I would be better prepared for this question, but it's hard to pick just one song. probably "Desire" by Meg Myers

What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

...I'm excluding Orion from this question.

Madrigal probably, we as a society need more fictional women unapologetically doing truly atrocious things. she's fun to write, and her story taps into some of my own fears/anxieties in a way that's been interesting to explore.

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Interview with the Vampire, Hellboy, Hannibal, probably Supernatural I'm afraid lol. all the gooey old horror movies that used astounding amounts of fake blood and slime

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

oof, I'm a discovery writer so plotting is always a struggle; I know exactly where I'm going with it, but only the broad strokes of how I'm getting there.

achieving the tone I'm aiming for has been difficult as well, but that's something I can make a bigger priority in rewrites.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

I don't know if Madrigal's brood count as animals....... they are semi-amorphous monsters of the primordial waters who want to achieve solid physical forms. idk how much to share about them without spoilers??

but there's one in particular in chapter 7 who ends up a little different from their siblings for Reasons, they're fun :) I um. I didn't plan to make them an actual Character but I might have to give them a name. maybe Orion will adopt them after they maim her.

How do your characters travel/get around?

Commercial flights, public transit/taxis, and more walking than Orion ever wants to do. Annex refuses to reimburse him for rental cars.

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I don't always write chronologically, so I'm sort of cobbling chapters 7 and 8 together at once because I'm not sure where I'll put the chapter break. (also because I was impatient to write the sex scene in 8)

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) will you think draw your audience in?

apparently cannibalism as a metaphor for devotion is "cringy" now, but hopefully there's still some good honest freaks out there for it. monsterfucking never gets old though, and we're going to get there I promise

What are your hopes for your WIP?

I hope that I'll be able to finish it lmao.

What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

How do your characters travel/get around?

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) will you think draw your audience in?

What are your hopes for your WIP?

[arthyritis]

A Wonderful World (Welcome Home/Puppet Friends AU) - Chapter Seven

"Just a little lower!" Sweetie instructed Ren, who was lowering Yay into the waste paper basket by a scarf wrapped around their middle. Ren followed her words, lowering Yay until their arms could reach the papers and mess them around.

"I don't see anything, Sweetie," they said, their face morphing into a frown through the mesh of the basket. "Phoebe's writings, some missing poster drafts, a page of old homework. No Pip."

"Please. Look closer," Sweetie begged, pressing her nose to the outside of the basket. The mesh was so tight it was impossible to see anything specific.

Zero stood next to her, their hand on her back rubbing gentle circles. Besides Pip and Phoebe, Zero was Sweetie's next best friend; they were everyone's best friend. They took care of everyone in special ways. Their bigger body was perfect for cuddles, shade, and more. But their best quality was how comforting and soft they were with just their body language. Sweetie smiled at them.

"OH! I think I do see something, actually!" Yay exclaimed, twisting in the makeshift harness. Ren dropped them just a little bit lower and their hand grabbed something. "Pull me up, Ren!"

The pig puppet did as asked again, pulling Yay the entire journey up to the desk with ease. She sat down and untied the scarf, trying to see what Yay was holding, and her eyes widened when she did.

A small piece of purple plastic, as small as a broken pencil lead. Ren didn't like the look of that, but was distracted as Sweetie climbed up the wall of pegs to the desk, stumbling dizzily for a moment before crawling the rest of the way over to them.

"What is it? What is it!"

Phoebe turned over on her bed to watch, too. She was highly confused, the explanation Sweetie had given her highly condensed to just the bare details, but her interest was piqued by the shouts nonetheless. The puppets were all shielding whatever Yay had found, so, as quick as she could, she got back into her wheelchair and went over to the desk, helping Zero up along the way. "What did you find?" she asked sleepily.

Yay held their hand out, and Phoebe's brow scrunched in concentration. "That's..."

"A piece of Pip's hearing aid. He did fall into the basket. But where did he go from there?"

,

"So, Wally told me you're coming to the picnic this weekend, Pip," Eddie spoke, covering his mouth politely as he chewed.

He was almost finished with his second plate of macaroni and cheese, while Pip had eaten one and put the plate in the sink already. Julie was fighting herself on whether to go back for thirds or save the leftovers for later.

"Oh, yeah, I am." Pip smiled easily. "Arts and crafts and food. It sounds like fun."

"And games!" Julie shouted enthusiastically, ultimately losing the battle with herself and scooping just a little bit more food on her plate. She really liked her own cooking, though admitted she wasn't as good as Poppy's baked goods. "I help set up the games and stuff every time. New games, known games, even some really cool games from other places! Oh boy, remember last year that game we played with the water balloons?"

"When Frank got one right to the face?" Eddie shuddered. "Yeah, one thing I'll never forget is their reaction." His southern accent was deep as he talked, and Pip admired it somewhat. All of the neighbours here were so unique but at the same time...

Eddie reminded him of Yay, with their shared clumsiness and ability to chat and chat and chat, and Julie reminded him of Sweetie, both sweet as a button with seemingly unlimited amounts of energy to boot. They made him miss sitting at home and having tea parties or drawing with the two smaller puppets, but it didn't feel as bad, anymore.

"Speaking of the picnic, I've wanted to ask ya somethin', Pip." The little button eyed puppet looked over at him, but Eddie couldn't hold contact, standing to take his plate to the sink. "I was wondering if you'd wanna help out with anything. Making a banner or placemats, maybe? You're an artist, right? I saw the little doodles outside; they weren't just Julie's."

Pip flushed, nodding even though Eddie couldn't see. "I draw, occasionally. I'd love to help out."

Julie finished her plate in record time, smacking her hands on the table in her excitement. "I can help after I'm done the games list!"

"Sounds good!" Eddie said, clapping his hands. "Well, I've got to head out of town for the rest of the day, but I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe you two want to draw up some designs for that banner, or soemthin'?"

"Sure, Eddie."

"Have a good trip, don't fall!" Julie laughed, and Eddie laughed with her, tipping his hat politely. "Bye, Eddie!"

"Bye, you two!" And he was out the door.

,

Julie and Pip got to work on some more drawings after Julie had found some loose papers to draw on.

It was getting a little late, not quite dinnertime, when there was a knock on the door and Julie went to open it. Pip sighed, assuming it was the same puppet who'd apparently taken it upon himself to collect Pip almost every day, but then it heard a different voice and softened.

"Hello, Julie. Eddie told me Pip was here. I need to talk to him."

"Oh, hi, Frank! It is!" The door closed. "We're just drawing, if you want to join."

Frank walked around the corner into the living room, their frown replaced by an almost straight, disinterested look. They were wearing a tan coat and hat and held a net and empty container. "I don't have time for that right now. Can I talk to Pip alone please?"

Julie nodded and skipped to the kitchen while Frank set down his bug-hunting supplies and stood in front of Pip, who was watching with interest and a bit of concern.

"What's the matter, Frank?" it asked, pushing the drawing it was working on away.

It had doodled various butterflies and filled the page, but didn't feel like colouring them.

Frank sat down in a nearby armchair, pinching his nose and looking mighty tired. "You'll have to forgive me if I leave out any details; it's been a long day. But... I heard Wally and Barnaby talking earlier and thought you might find the information beneficial."

That's where Pip noticed how ragged Frank looked. His coat was buttoned up the wrong way, and his hair was pushed up under his hat messily.

He'd rushed over here just to tell Pip this information, whatever it was. Pip found that sweet.

"That doesn't sound good. Why did Julie have to leave?" Pip asked, looking toward the kitchen vaguely.

"Because I assume you haven't told them about any of this stuff with you, and I cannot handle their energy and questions right now." Still pinching their nose, Frank took a deep breath. "Wally was telling Barnaby about your chat this morning. About telling you why you're here. It's not true. Not completely, anyway."

Pip's ears rang and it stared in silence until they stopped. Odd. That had only happened this morning when it'd left the tap running.

"I had my doubts it was the full truth," it admitted, blinking to clear its head. "Did he say the actual reason?" It already wasn't that hopeful, but the twisting shake of Frank's head doused any hope it may have had.

"I think he knew I was listening."

"Oh... is that bad?"

"Well, he's not dangerous or anything, but it's not good, either." Frank left it at that. "Now, about the picnic Eddie's hosting. It'll be in Home's backyard, that's where we host all our events, just given the nature of the house. It's alive, it likes to be included."

"That makes sense, I guess," Pip mumbled, brow furrowed. "Why are you bringing this up, suddenly?"

"Because it might give us a chance to investigate." Frank's frown shifted up into a small smile.

Pip didn't peg him as a mischievous type if it was being honest, and it was just another reminder of his own friends. Ren was responsible, but ultimately she really enjoyed a bit of trickery every now and again.

The button-eyed puppet nodded, smiling, too. "Okay... but wouldn't it be good to have some help? I think Julie would be perfect for this."

Frank's hand rose to their hat, adjusting it as they peered toward the kitchen. "You're right, she'd love in on this, but as much as I love having another Lepidoptera lover in the neighbourhood, this isn't where you belong, and she wouldn't understand that. It should be our secret, at least for now."

Pip couldn't help but agree with that logic.

,

They said their goodbyes, and after a couple more drawings it was time for Pip to return to his house; another knock on the door signified that, Wally standing there with his hands tucked behind his back, his little black shoe tapping the ground. He stared straight into Pip's soul.

"Ready to go?"

"Bye, Julie!" Pip said with a wave, the pink puppet waving back enthusiastically with a drawn-out, "Byeeeee!"

Wally walked alongside Pip in silence, and Pip noticed that ringing again. He stopped in his steps, watching Wally walk a few more ahead before he realised they weren't together anymore.

"What's wrong, neighbour?" His voice sounded muffled, further away than he was, and almost completely overtaken by the ringing now. "Puppet?"

All at once he pulled himself back to the present. His head felt light and he was dizzy. Maybe that fall his first day was just now hitting him. Did he have a concussion? Should he see Poppy?

Wally's voice called him back again and he started walking to catch up.

"M'fine," he said, passing by and hoping Wally couldn't tell otherwise, the smart guy he played.

"If you say so, neighbour," Wally shrugged, falling back into step beside him. "So, how was drawing with Julie? She's my favourite artist in the neighbourhood, other than myself. It's why she decorated so much of your house."

Pip glanced up at Wally sideways. Part of that was news to him. "You draw?"

"I paint," Wally nodded. "Still-life portraits, things for my neighbours. But my favourite thing to paint is apples, with all of their intricate details and blemishes. They're very interesting if you look at them long enough." Pip couldn't hold in a laugh, and Wally looked surprised. "What? It's true."

"It is true, that's why I'm laughing. Phoebe has said the same thing about her drawings for art class. Though, she was a bit more sarcastic about it, you sound genuine in your love of apples."

"I am very genuine about my love of apples. They're a lifeblood." Wally's eyes were wide as he explained. "There are apple trees all around Home. One might think it's because I planted them, but they've been here a very long time, and they're important to the neighbourhood's maintenance."

This felt weird, Wally being so talkative. But then again, Pip was chatting its heart away back. Maybe this was just how Wally was like with his neighbours once they got used to being here...

Was it used to being here? This day seemed to be proving that all too quickly.

"Something on your mind?" Wally asked, but Pip just pressed its lips together and shook its head. Wally pointed to the house they were at, and Pip hadn't realised they were here already. "Good night, Pip."

"Night, Wally." Pip walked into its house and closed the door with a smile.

It made a quick dinner of pasta and sauce and then got ready for the night, walking around its bedroom and grabbing pyjamas after realising it'd been wearing the same clothes for three days and that probably wasn't normal here like it was at home. Everyone else seemed to change every time he saw them, at least, but no one had pointed it out.

The pyjamas were light blue with clouds, and actually a little bit big, but it found it liked that as it held them in front of itself in the mirror. It then took off its yellow and white shirt carefully. It hadn't seen itself like this in a long time...

The scars on its chest showed to it first and it held its breath. They weren't battle scars like its friends, not in the traditional sense, anyway, but it didn't like to dwell. It pulled the shirt up the rest of the way, revealing the heart patch also on its chest, but more upper middle than down by its ribs where the scars were.

He buttoned the short-sleeved shirt onto himself quickly, then pulled on the shorts and tied them at the waist. They were soft and comfortable, and he smiled again.

What possessed him afterwards, he didn't know, but he put the receiver of the phone back onto the base before he hopped into bed, then took his hearing aids off to lay more comfortably against the pillow. The world was immediately silenced, and he was already asleep by the time the phone rang with Wally saying good night a second time.

[mandatory-blog-stop-asking]

I'll miss Akira Toriyama.

It is suddenly very important to me that you understand how good Dragon Ball actually is.

Because I get it, not everyone lived under the Equator and not everyone cares about battle shonen, but you have to understand that at some point, someone whose art you love probably loved Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama managed to influence more than just his medium. He influenced action media worldwide, every week. Almost every comics artist, writer, producer or otherwise industry person, in any country, owns some of their income to Toriyama.

From Jorge Jimenez drawing on the Father-Son Kamehameha for his beautiful tribute to Superman's family during his time drawing Justice League, to Rebecca Sugar making dance explicitly matter to fusion, to fucking Cloud in Final Fantasy 7 just doing his best SSJ2 Gohan cosplay throughout the whole game, anyone creative who liked action cared about Dragon Ball, with 2 degrees of separation being the maximum you could go before your specific 90s-early aughts references reached back to it as well.

And the memes and fame the thing accrued over the years don't quite make that make sense, because if you've never seen it, it just looks and sounds like a run-of-the-mill bad shonen show where people scream all the time and don't really grow as characters. But that's not what that series actually is. The anime is what got popular, sure, but as a manga, Dragon Ball is one of the most well-executed, funniest, fast-paced pieces of literature Shonem Jump has published, and it's crazy to think how much of it is just Toriyama improvising.

It's not perfect, obviously -- it's rote and it's old and it's repetitive, but it never stops being a good, read. It never stops being interesting, or well-designed, or fun. You'll open a chapter and something about it will make you smile, or make you laugh, or just keep you entertained enough that you have to read the next one. The fact this man made all of this weekly, without a grander plan than "I want to draw a martial arts comedy" and then codified the way we think about transformations, power struggles, action paneling in general-- there's quite literally no one else with that kind of range on their contributions to modern pop comics. We start talking Tezuko or Oda when we start talking about who's had as much an impact on the genre, and then you find out of course Oda is a Dragon Ball kid, and Kishimoto is a Dragon Ball kid, everyone whose manga you love after the 90s is a Dragon Ball kid.

And look, it's not like you have to love Dragon Ball or anything: it's art and like any art it won't connect to certain people, and it will be poison to others. You not being into Dragon Ball is fine and it's valid, and it's definitely not the first work of that nature to have a worldwide impact. Akira didn't invent manga, he just made a really good one.

But, fuck, the world is a less interesting place without Akira Toriyama in it. He brought out something so many people identified with nearly effortlessly. The guy just wanted to make us laugh and have fun; all the yelling and violence and world-ending threats came later. I need you to keep that somewhere in your head when the subject is Dragon Ball. It's fun first.

Everyone, at some point, got together and loved and lived a series that was about hard work paying off, and had a blast with it. But more than that, everyone loved a really funny, fun-loving series that could always put a smile in your face first and foremost, no matter what the villain of the arc did to Earth or the heroes. And that changed the world more than any of the thousands of edgy manga about fights always getting bigger and the protagonist always getting stronger did. Because Dragon Ball isn't just that. It is that in some level, of course, but more importantly, it's a kid stepping on poo and screaming about how gross that is. It's Majin Buu hanging out with Mr. Satan and a puppy because he loves having friends. It's a Super Saiyan bargain sale, it's Bulma shooting Goku startled, it's Kuririn not having a nose and being able to beat some dude who smells. And that's fucking hilarious.

Teach that dinosaur how to ride a ball, Toriyama. You earned it.

[partyinthemysterymachine]

I notice how you draw Harry and James is pretty different from how they look in game. I was curious how you decided their looks. It's interesting to hear about that sort of thing if you don't mind answering. Thanks

hi anon!! :3 thanks for the ask!! i will do my best to explain myself LOL but no promises it'll make any sense >:3c!

so let's go on a fun lil' art journey, anon. grab a granola bar and some gatorade, and c'mon!!!

well first and foremost: i am a NOTORIOUS "i do what i want"-er. going off the beaten path to the beat of my own drum is my favorite thing to do!

.. that said!! as i've mentioned before, actor Josh Charles was my first PB/"cast" for Harry Mason.

and my very first piece of silent hill fanart (march 10, 2018) really reflects that, LOL

incredibly, and almost a full year later to the date, i drew and posted this on march 4, 2019. now THIS is actually the closest canon-Harry i've ever drawn. (this was also around the start of the SH RP i was doing with a friend, which then spawned GOOMT lol.)

april 25, 2019. first color piece for any SH art and my first "real" time drawing james. this is also the last time you'll see him with his bangs on the "correct" side LOL.

april 30, 2019. the SH RP is still going on, and this is where i'm starting to get a better handle on what i want them to look like. Harry also gets a maroon sweater. he's also notably thinner here, and still has a lot of Josh Charles vibes.

sept 22, 2019. james sunderland thinnest browns edition. the bangs will be drawn on the right from now on.

(the only reason why they're on the right is because i forgot which way his hair actually parted. oops.)

the RP has ended. the first chapter of GOOMT is written a tumblr post and subsequently posted to tumblr october 3, 2019. i write/pst chapters 1 - 4 in the following days, then draw them again:

james's jacket is still short (but at least he has eyebrows!!); harry is still thin(ner). he's also got more of a canon-harry super low cut sweatervest.

ch 5, 6 is written/posted to tumblr. i draw and post this on october 27, 2019. please clap for my art journey LMAO

you'll also notice hte presence of A Knife. this is actually Angela's knife. shhh. ;)

still figuring out what they look like in goomt here tbh.

stuff from the following week. more figuring out! DRASTICALLY different Harry, too! still very Josh Charles-y, but starting to take on his own look as well. (note his greys!!)

i like DILFs. i like dad bods. he was intended to be a little soft around the middle.

it's not until January 2020 that i draw these idiots again:

very different nose for james lmao.

this is actually my first full body for both in awhile.

(i'm redoing this :3)

also more "accurate" debut of Harry's jacket!! this jacket was ALWAYS intended to look/be bigger on him. i can't really explain why because i don't know, other than it felt right.

at this point i've figured out how i want Harry to look. his design elements are very simple, because i'm EXTREMELY self-indulgent and i really. REALLY like:

widow's peaks

big thick eyebrows

noses. big beak noses

old men

grey hair

(you can actually find this sort of pattern across my various OCs that you'll never find evidence of on my blog anymore haha except for Zach good luck tho. >:3c)

January then gets very busy in the art department for these guys.

Harry finally gets more of a pudge and starts to "look" like himself. James also starts to "look" like himself.

a note on james's bangs: i uhhhhhhh. Stylistically, i have a thing for drawing Big Hair and Tall Bangs. this is seen in my version of Jonathan Crane. but also my hair used to do the exact same bangs so are you really surprised.

(bonus pieces of abandoned James GOOMT character sheet from 2001. i might have the files somewhere if you guys want to see What Almost Was LMAO)

more from January 2020. rubs chin.

it isn't until the end of Janurary/beginning of February that Harry finally Gets Fatter.

i'd been very unused to drawing fat people until Harry, and had been struggling up until here with actually drawing a more accurate representation of his body type to the one i saw in my head!

the reason why i made him fat is because it made sense to me that he was. people change, and being a single father changed him a lot. (and also i recognize that the only reason why the Dead Harry model was lean in sh3 was because it was a recycled Dead James model and they were Legit not going to actually put too much thought into it otherwise lmfao)

march 2020. still getting used to drawing Harry's body type!! also: even tho James's jacket is Longer in my head, i'm still trying to draw it the game-canon length.

idk why.

August 2020, James long jacket hours!!! and Harry really getting his look.

and FINALLY, one of my FAVORITES i've ever done of these two!!:

james's jacket is short here (only bc i was a Dumbass and forgot to make it longer i think?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who's to say), but this is also the color debut for the backpack!!

(bonus Sept 16 2020 YOUNG HARRY CONCEPT from when he pierced his ears in the 90s thinking Jodi was going to find him soooo handsome. he sure is he cute huh)

BONUS MATERIAL:

attempted to re-do their character sheets back in 2021. this did not go as planned, and i was having a very hard year doing ANY personal art, so. gestures.

(sorry i had to put them up here like this it's just a screenshot of the two files in preview bc i'm Totally Incompetent when it comes to computers lmfao)

this is where we are now!! now as these are just sketches for their Newest character sheets, Harry is a liiittle different in the actual file and is is literally just a screenshot of what i've already posted like mentioned above lmao.

what it comes down to is this:

FOR JAMES

i actually just forgor what he looked like and didn't ref my art to what he looked like in-game. simple as that! LOL

in the initial RP, James was played by my friend, while i grabbed the reins to Harry, so i naturally preserved some of the base features of what my friend decided for James (lean, Super Sad And Wet, pale af). i slapped on the caterpillar brows (this is also a thing i'm historically known for in character design), did some tweaks, and also let James evolve himself as i became a better artist.

longer coat because Aesthetics that's why LOL. i don't like the short jacket he wears in game-canon and i needed GOOMT james to put his hands in his pockets like how i drew him above. Reasons.

he's also so pale because [REDACTED] and much thinner than his in-game model because he did Not take care of himself very well in those three years during Mary's illness. (it's also in his genetics: Frank is lean, too (however much taller than James, rip dude 😔))

FOR HARRY

switch from blue to maroon: i like maroon/burgundy. (i realize later that the color he wears is more on the side of burgundy but y'all i hate the color spectrum and it can definitely also be called maroon so it's maroon LOL) i also just thought it looked better on him. the only other reason i can think of as to why i changed it was because.. people change. this is a new era in his life. i kept it a (more modest, sh1 harry you whore <3) v-neck sweater as a nod to his game-canon but just.. changed it to maroon. probably just a designator.

he's fat because of reasons detailed above (fatherhood, life on the road, settling down, etc). and also because he's hot and he deserves that. self-indulgent.

hair, nose, elf ears: self-indulgent.

for Harry especially there are a lot of aspects about him that "almost were" but got cut out of his development for one reason or another an really he's better off that way. i really really don't like to force development or force a "look".

the main reason i guess above all else is that Harry looks so different than his game canon is because he's not that Harry anymore. and in sh3, you never see the guy's face: him dead. i can't even recall if i'd seen the dead Harry model in full before trying to hammer out what GOOMT Harry looked like. young GOOMT Harry would look a lot closer to what his game model looks like, tho. i can tell you that much :3 (one day i'll draw a Younger Harry but don't expect it anytime soon unless the inspiration REALLY strikes lmfao)

a lot of their changes are just not that deep, honestly. my vision for them comes from forgetting which way the bangs go (looks James), developign them in my head over time, The Vibes™️, and The Indulgences™️. i'm a creature of habit for sure in the character design department LOL but my world my puddle we play in it.

i should go to bed now!! but if you have any questions about something else or anything about their designs in particular PLS let me know!! i realy REALLY love this question and wanted to answer it RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY (even tho it's been two hours since and I NEED TO GO TO BEEED DGLDFDFGDGFSKGDFDKGSDFGKH O O O P S ) SO i hope you enjoyed that little trip down memory lane (and my art tag archive LOL) and you have a good safe healthy and cool day :3c!!

[sacrificethemtothesquid]

Novel update:

So I’ve been querying since April with no luck. I’ve submitted to 44 agents, which in terms of these things is about half of my goal, but I’ve gotten feedback from a couple that indicated some systemic issues. My plan for the new year is to do a line by line rewrite and resubmit that when it’s ready. The novel as it stands is good, but given the lack of interest, it’s not good enough. I’m not disappointed - I’m actually really excited to go back to the drawing board.

It’s been a good experience. I’ve learned a lot. I’m also taking a huge leap and submitting the first couple of chapters to my critique group. I’m incredibly nervous - the last time I had a piece critiqued, it was an absolute disaster - but even though the group is savage, they’re also kind about it and that’s exactly what I need. I know what I’ve done right. I want to know what can be better.

Otherwise, things are going all right. I’ve decked the halls to within an inch of their life and have been badgering my family to do the same. Things fell apart massively over the fourth of July: the fourth is a huge family holiday because it’s my grandfather’s birthday and we go all-out with decorations and streamers etc, but this year, without my dad, no one felt like celebrating at all. Christmas is an even BIGGER deal, and I am absolutely committed to making sure things are as normal as possible. It’s going to be a fucking Hallmark card over here because even though he’s gone, the rest of us are still here and that means something.

I did pick up the phone on Thanksgiving to ask if he wanted mashed potatoes along with sweet potatoes, and had his number halfway dialed before I remembered oh wait. It’s going to be hard. It’s already hard, but like a cruise director, I am going to make sure we all have a good time or else.