#they had an impossible task and they basically won

[gcballet]

Just saw someone complaining about the Newhart ending from 0611 being mockery of people who ship Nandermo and frankly I can only imagine that account is someone who's under 20 bc that is not what mockery/rejection of queer ship fans looks like. You were in preschool when BBC's Merlin came out, you don't know. S6 and finale spoilers below.

The point of the Newhart parody ending was to provide an ending for fans who just wanted WWDITS to stay a goofy status quo sitcom. It's answering the black and white footage of the vampires in the 1950s. The sitcom status quo is a famously really hard trope to work with. The Simpsons is literally still struggling with it - decades of skilled comedy writers have never defeated it. It's a commentary on being satisified by the media we consume. The vampire can never fully be satisfied, no matter how many lives she consumes. The status quo can never be broken no matter how many episodes it attempts.

The 1980s trope of 'it was all a dream' happens in The Bob Newhart Show, it happens in St. Elsewhere, it happens in Dallas. They aren't mocking a queer ship, they're mocking sitcoms and how they've been hamstrung by format in terms of the story they can tell. Assume they did pursue Nandermo unambiguously, onscreen. It would be legitimately too dark for a sitcom. Or conversely, too hopeful for a documentary.

The other generic format choice restricting them is the documentary, because everything the characters do in the show is them being watched by a group of strangers with film equipment. None of their behaviour is wholly real. The entirety of the finale is Guillermo realising his behaviour will change when the crew leave. His behaviour has been influenced by the presence of cameras, and it will happen again. For the first time in six years, he's going to experience actual privacy, and there will be scope for him to express things he has deliberately suppressed with the cameras on. In the first episodes of S5, we saw him get increasingly frustrated with the crew, calling them vultures, as they tried to get the story on what happened with Derek. He's ready for his privacy back, and space to change, but the vampires live by sitcom rules. They aren't prepared to change, or at least, he isn't confident about it.

What We Do In The Shadows (2019-2024) is restricted by two specific genres and their conventions, and the first two 'endings' - the dream sequence and the switching off the cameras - represent exiting both of those genres before any significant radical moves can be implied for Nandermo.

It's a sitcom, therefore the central couple must be in perpetual will-they-won't-they (Friends), the gays must be physically chaste (Modern Family), and the status quo must be maintained (The Simpsons). Once the sitcom is ended via the Newhart ending (which positions Guillermo and Nandor as a married couple, that's not a small thing at all), the documentary tropes can close out.

Documentary tropes are a little harder to pin down, but generally the story should end with Guillermo truly moving on and leaving in a poignant and somewhat tragic way.

Guillermo's narrative thread throughout the documentary version of the show is about his identity and relationship with Nandor. He gives the cameras a big show of finally saying goodbye to Nandor, going on to be a new version of himself, and waits until the crew begin to derig before acknowledging again that a documentary is performative, and he intends to continue their relationship. The documentary format means intimate moments must be captured. When the documentary ends, the intimacy may be private. That's why we don't get a Nandermo kiss. It's allowed to be private now.

Guillermo is sad throughout the finale, yes, but I would argue he's actually mostly stressed, because on one level he understands that the show must commit to one of two trope endings. The sitcom, the repeating lives of the vampires where nothing matters and you can be hypnotised to believe there was nothing deep about it. Or the documentary, where he is forced to tragically leave forever, having learnt a valuable 16 year lesson, perhaps meeting again for a 'where are they now?' Twenty years later.

He thinks he has to choose in under an hour, between the endless sitcom cycle the vampires find natural, or walking away with the humans who made the documentary to capture something ephemeral and temporary.

They do both, and then Nandor and Guillermo get what is clearly the ultimate ending. It's not formatted in such a way that you choose between endings. They're not alternate endings, they're subsequent endings. It doesn't have multiple endings like Clue, it has multiple endings like The Return of the King.

And maybe Guillermo and Nandor don't kiss on the mouth and declare their love for one another, but the camera crew is still leaving the room. What they do do is agree to stay together and work together on something to make themselves and/or the world better. Then Nandor invites Guillermo to share his pseudo-bed and disappear into a private space he has created in secret for the two of them. Even phrased matter of factly that's romantic. Someone flippantly called it 'the gays getting sent to super hell' and wow way to deliberately miss the point. Nandor never follows through on big projects, but he built a miles deep tunnel under the earth so he and Guillermo could at last be alone away from a huge documentary crew and roommates with super hearing. That's beautiful. They don't owe you an onscreen kiss to prove they're in love. They (Nandermo and the show producers) don't even owe you representation, and if you think otherwise, you've not bought into the premise of the show. You are the voyeur watching the documentary, the fan watching the Ross and Rachel (Nandor and Guillermo have been compared to them by the cast).

The whole point of the endings is that they moved Nandermo outside the unreality of TV genres. Not a sitcom will-they-wont-they, not a tragedy within a documentary, just two weird guys in a coffin in a hole in the ground, doing whatever they want because nobody is watching and judging.

They didn't make Nandermo canon, they made Nandermo real.

[guiltyonsundays]

Incredible sequence of posts on the dash just now

[aebinspa]

beg for you

PAIRING: winter x y/n reader

SUMMARY: Winter is your trusted, yet hated, co-worker. You both work for the South Korean secret service and are known to be a match made in heaven when it comes to killing or making someone disappear. Your already precarious relationship changes when you are assigned to find, and mercilessly kill, Choi Ye-won, a North Korean spy who has settled in South Korean territory.

GENRES: angst, violence, suggestive, death, blood, bad ending!

WORD COUNT: 3k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: english is not my first language! as you can see graphic design is my passion (i tried please ignore). i don't know if i'm good at writing stories like this but i tried!! i'll make it up to you by writing next time something extremely sweet for minjeong :))

It was night. Not even a sound seemed to rise in that total silence. The only noise the human ear could have heard was your breathing and your colleague's combined. The one who broke the religious silence was your colleague who began to reload the magazine of her gun. “Winter, for the love of God, be quiet” whispering had never been easy for you and, with a colleague like that who drove you crazy every second, all you could train was patience, certainly not silence. “There is no one in this hole in the forest anyway. And what's a mission without a little action?” she replied sarcastically to you with a raised eyebrow.

You, Panther, and Winter, your colleague, had been tasked by the South Korean secret service agency to find, interrogate, and then eliminate without any mercy Choi Ye-Won, informant and daughter of one of the most important men, at a managerial level, of North Korea. The young woman had been in South Korea for a few years and could get a huge amount of information to the North, without ever being traced. For a week, however, the secret services had been breathing down her neck and seemed to have discovered one of her many secret hideouts.

“I've always said that. Kill and let kill, what’s wrong with that? We are the God who decides what is right and wrong” Winter snorted, whose code name described her perfectly. “You’re crazy. We should only kill when it’s strictly necessary. What’s so nice about knowing you’ve taken someone’s life?” even though you knew no one was around, you persisted in whispering. “That you stole his life and his last words. He will die seeing you and no one else"

You and Winter thought differently about everything – it was always a debate. Nothing ever coincided when it came to you. Life, death, and desire were concepts that took two totally different paths in your subjective vision.

“Let’s stop for today, this little princess of the North won’t be captured so easily” “Well, what are you going to do?” A spark lit up in the eyes of the young girl with whom you share this difficult job. Winter took the gun and threw it as far as she could; it ended up near the abandoned house that you were observing from behind the trees. You turned to her, speechless; Winter walked past you with a satisfied smirk and headed toward the house

“Are you dumb?” “Why?” “First you complain about my inability to understand how important it is to do everything by the rules and now, not caring, you are perched on a criminal’s bed.” You yawned loudly and invited her to sit next to you.

Winter, despite appearances, sometimes seemed to let down that insurmountable barrier. The eyes, almost always empty and dull, sometimes revealed an unusual light that would have made even the darkest place shine. It wasn’t the first time you found yourself staring at her: her blonde hair, now gathered in a high bun, and the heavy black makeup made her seem more attractive - and cold - than usual.

“Are you kidding, right?” “Can't stand me at all?” your cheeks reddened slightly. “It’s counterproductive to get attached to someone you work with, Panther. Learn some basic rules” “So if we didn’t work together, would you be able to get attached?” Holding Winter’s gaze was an impossible mission; the mission you were trying to execute was child's play in comparison. You turned away unable to continue looking at those two puddles.

An unexpected thud made you turn towards the door, both with loaded guns and two lives to protect. You both exchanged a knowing look, before hearing another thud and coming back to attention. Winter didn’t fail to make a sarcastic comment before thanking God for sending you to die or kill.

“Don’t shoot” The first thing they taught you when you were still spending your days training was to not trust anyone. Sure, you wouldn’t shoot until you were shot, but you couldn’t say the same about your partner. You turned to look at her and noticed that she didn’t have any killer instinct. “Don't shoot for any reason, Y/n”

It was the first time she called you by your name. In astonishment, the gun slipped from your hands which had turned to butter. The next second Winter was pointing the gun at you.

“What are you doing?” “I thought you would end up getting more upset when this time came. I was wrong, maybe you are more qualified than I expected” “Winter” your angry gaze for the first time was able to hold the icy one of your colleague. “Everything will be fine, just do what I say”

These were the last words you heard, then something in your mouth prevented you from rebelling, and finally, darkness.

In a hotel room with furniture of questionable taste and an air that smelled of rottenness, you opened your eyes after a few hours. Your hands and feet were tied together, your mouth was dry and your hunger was starting to eat you from the inside. The first sensation when you woke up you also hoped would be the last. You didn't know where you were, you weren't completely aware of the dangers around you, and above all you were without a gun. Even though the last drastic moments you had lived with your perhaps no longer colleague were flashing through your mind, you had a hard time rationalizing everything. Was the woman who had accompanied you for the last five years trying to send you to the other world? And then, who was the little girl who had joined Winter? In the whirlwind of emotions and resentment that was building up in you, the door of the room slowly opened, contributing to creating more agitation in your nervous system.

“Hey sweetie, didn't you get scared while you were waiting all here alone?” You wanted to scream, but you only then noticed that your mouth was covered with a dirty cloth that prevented you from making any sound. “I know, I know. Take it easy. First, let me introduce you to my assistant,” she came forward timidly, in front of the bed where you had been placed, the girl who had stunned you, “She’s Choi Ye-won. Or at least, it’s Choi Ye-won on the passport that brought her here.”

Your head hurts. It felt like someone had landed countless blows on your head - maybe that's what happened. All the words that came out of Winter’s mouth came to you distorted. You wanted to answer her, but everything you thought couldn’t take shape.

“Y/n” Just saying your name for the second time, you started to thrash furiously on the bed, so much so that you scared the little girl who hid behind Winter. “Calm down, let me at least get this stuff off your face…” the blond-haired girl approached with huge strides as if to make you understand that it wouldn't be a problem for her to handle you and your outbursts.

As soon as Winter pulled the fabric out of your mouth, you instinctively grabbed her right arm and bit it so hard it made her in agony.

You tried to take your first steps after the impetuous action you had done, but you immediately realized that your legs could not move. Immediately after, cold as death, a gun was pointed at your temple.

“Let's calm down so no one gets hurt, what do you say?” “I won't play your game much longer, Winter.” “You'll be the one to say the famous last words, Y/n.”

Winter was in front of you, sitting on a wicker chair that screamed to the world that it had been clandestinely manufactured. The little girl, now sitting on the bed where you had been, was looking at you with a grim look.

“Ask me what you want.” Winter had no intention of letting you breathe: every word was accompanied by a lethal look and a gun pointed at you. Her ways were familiar to you but feeling the effect on your skin was something else entirely. “Who are you?” Winter looked at the little girl on the bed and then rested it on you. “Are you already ready to die?” “Answer me so I can die without regrets.”

Winter stood up from the chair and came closer, then sat on your lap and put her arms around your neck. This time the gun went to place behind your head. “What’s going through your head is probably right, Y/n” “Stop calling me that. I’m still in a work context” A disturbing giggle left the blonde’s lips. “I always told you: perfection will kill you”

This time Winter ran a finger over your lower lip and then over your upper lip. He gingerly approached your lips, kissed you, and then bit you so hard it made you bleed. The drop of blood hit your neck until it reached the hollow of your breast. Winter looked you in the eyes before smiling and lowering her head slightly; she slowly licked the trickle of blood. She met your eyes once more and licked her lips before speaking.

“I’m Choi Ye-won” A simple answer was enough to send you into a state of confusion. All the certainties, everything you had shared in the last five years flashed before your eyes: when was the truth falsehood and falsehood truth? “Prove it to me” Winter snorted loudly. “That’s my younger sister, she was brought to South Korea a few months ago and now everyone is convinced that she’s Choi Ye-won. They thought they had found the right person,” another stupid, irritating laugh came out of her mouth “But the right person is me and I’ve always been here. Next to you, next to the secret services, and close – maybe too close for your tastes – to South Korea”

“Why?” “Explain yourself better, Y/n” “What does all this mean?” Winter dropped the gun and, with her free hands, began to stroke your hair. “Unfortunately in all of South Korea, the agents chosen to carry out this mission were the two of us. The prey and the hunter. You understand that one of us had to disappear, one way or another”

The cold coming in from the large window of the room had numbed your body. You were unable to move. “So you're going to kill me?” “I'm not going to let you live”

Still sitting on your lap, Winter moved the gun from behind your head to your heart with a coldness that seemed forced even for her. “I know very well that after telling you everything you won’t let me escape to my country with my sister. I can’t stay here anymore. Winter only exists on South Korean soil and in your heart” “Winter is you” “No, I am Yewon. You're Y/n. I don't need to know anything else to make my own decisions."

A staring contest as painful as yours had never been seen, and yet you should have been two of the most feared women in Korea. Cold hands, throbbing hearts, and blood were all that remained of you. This time it was you who approached the blonde to kiss her and, Winter, without being told twice, returned a kiss that was anything but sweet: blood and saliva mixed, your wound continued to bleed and Winter couldn't help but be violent even in a moment that should have meant something else entirely.

“When?” “When I’m ready” “And when will you be ready?” Winter stood up from your lap and immediately the cold air hit you mercilessly. “I have to save my sister. I’m sorry, in another life maybe it would have gone differently” “It’s not your fault. After all, you always told me that it’s counterproductive to make friends at work” Winter laughed loudly at the word “friends” and then left the room with her sister. They both wished you goodnight. That day you abandoned the idea of ​​sleeping and kept your eyes open for fear that someone would kill you without giving you the chance to see her one last time.

The next morning Winter seemed intent on carrying out the final act. She was gripping the gun with all her strength and, as she paid the bill, her hand was shaking. The two sisters had planned to leave that day. They had taken a suitcase and filled it with any junk that might pass them off as respectable people. Watching them get ready so hastily confirmed to you that the two were desperate and couldn’t wait to leave and get protection. Are you willing to leave everything behind, Winter?

You walked side by side. Winter held the fully loaded gun behind your back. The two had revealed to you that a North Korean collaborator would come to pick them up and take them safe and sound, after a nice trip around the Sea of ​​Japan, back to their homeland.

“How old is your sister?” you asked, bored by the situation you found yourself in. “Sixteen” “Um. It must be fun for you to put a minor in danger.” “I have never killed or let people get killed who had nothing to do with the shady dealings their guardians were involved in.” “Your work ethic is sometimes worse than mine.” “Um?” Winter turned to look at you, shocked to hear such a serene tone.

You stopped, noticing how the boat that was waiting for the two young girls was a wreck in all its parts. “I see that North Korea treats you well” “There is no reason to expect more than salvation”

In Winter’s eyes, you see a new form of anger, rejection, and renunciation. The blonde touched the trigger of the gun and pointed it at you. “Y/n, I know it may seem terrible as an ending, but at least I will be the one to kill you. Your companion, your beloved and, soon, the incarnation of death” “Uhm” “Your last words?”

Looking into Winter’s eyes was a great way to distract her, and the five years you had spent together had proven that. You smiled cheekily, not losing eye contact with the blonde. “Maybe you really do have a heart too”

A second later a scream broke the unhealthy atmosphere between you and your colleague. Winter quickly turned in fury towards the scream uttered by her sister, who now found herself in the arms of the man who was supposed to take them to North Korea. “Leave my sister, you fucking idiot!” Oh, how satisfying it was to see a cold and calculating woman lose all her composure in an instant.

The man had a gun pointed at his younger sister’s temple. “Winter” In response, the girl turned violently towards you, pointing the gun straight at your forehead. This time it was you who had an annoying smirk on your face.

“That man works for the Secret Service, he’s a colleague of ours. There’s an entire squadron nearby ready to intervene at the first gunshot” Winter was shaking. “I'm about to offer you an advantageous deal” “Speak, you ugly bitch” “Leave the gun” "Never"

Winter had perhaps forgotten that in martial arts you had been at the top of your class for years. With a quick gesture, you threw the blonde’s gun as far away as possible. Now it was you who had the gun pointed at the young North Korean girl's forehead. Winter started laughing. “When did you realize that?” “When we were in that shitty little house and you came out with sentences I’d never heard before. Killing is your life, saying you didn’t want to do it was a pretty strong warning signal, don’t you think?”

“What do you want, Y/n?” “Your life.” Winter didn’t look scared at all. “And what do I gain from it?” “Your sister will live. I will personally send her back to Korea and cover up any clues or traces that could lead her back to you.” “Was I her doom?” “You can be her salvation.”

Winter turned to her sister and told her to cover her eyes and ears. “I trust you, Y/n.” “Me too. I know I wouldn’t screw up. Work is work and…” “Death is death. Don’t make it long and kill me.”

You pulled the trigger. You looked into Winter’s eyes one last time. The blonde seemed to feel the same. She was shaking, but nothing could stop you from completing the mission. “Thank you for everything, Winter. We’ll complete the mission together this time too” “Spare me this bullshit”

A gust of wind ruffled both of their hair, Winter’s sister let out another scream and started to cry. Tears were streaming down her face.

“Winter, your last words?” The girl smiled like you’d never seen her do. She chained her black pools in your eyes and whispered the next words. “Y/n, I loved y-”

You didn’t let her finish. One blow and the girl’s body was lying helpless on the ground. The pool of blood that formed beneath her seemed to be a representation of the blood she had taken from everyone she had killed over the past few years. She had been a liar, a murderer, the top of her class, and also the love of your life. You turned and signaled to your colleague to leave in the boat, which silently went away along with the tears of a younger sister left alone.

In the months that followed, the secret service agency named you and Winter the best agents they had ever had. Your names were now both imprinted on the golden walls of the department waiting room. No one ever knew that Winter was Choi Ye-Won; everyone cried her name believing that she had been killed by the North Korean whose body and traces you had then eliminated. Winter's sister remained safe in North Korea.

In your memories Winter was never Choi Ye-Won, but always and only Winter. Like the cold earth that now enveloped her body. In the future you asked your colleagues, when your time came, to bury you next to your beloved, yet hated, colleague. Choi Ye-Won was born and died as Winter in your heart.

[thedemonscrawler]

Is there a certain way you go about the characterizations of the different incarnations of Eclipse?

Their motivations!

So at his core, Eclipse is an angry, paranoid, spiteful, arrogant, lonely, possessive, socially-inept person who can't communicate to save his own life. No matter where in his life you're writing him from, these traits persist.

The differences come in what his goal is, and which of his core traits are being amplified because of it.

I've written the Original Eclipse the least, mostly because I actually got interested in the show following his death 8'D. This Eclipse is the most closed off of all of them, the least likely to change his mind, the angriest and most vindictive. He hasn't been betrayed yet, he hasn't really failed yet, so his arrogance is at an all time high.

On the flip side, after his defeat and expulsion from Sun's head, this is also the rawest point in Eclipse's life. There's a lot of good fics about scraping his broken ass out of the woods and patching him up, and for good reason. Strip his arrogance away with his loss, and he has nothing.

My favorite is the Backup Eclipse. Eclipse 2.0, my beloved! Still arrogant, still angry, but spite is his strongest trait. He was defeated and he knows it, and he's learned that he needs to be a bit smarter in manipulating those around him. By escalating the game to the next level when he amplified Moon's kill code (giving us the guy, Kill Code), Eclipse started a chain reaction that is STILL going on in current canon.

The Backup is my favorite because his characterization runs from one end of the spectrum to the other. He comes back as a bedraggled version of himself, forced to deal with basically being Bloodmoon's prisoner while also getting them to work for him. He manages to enact one victory after another, culminating in him actually gaining the star. He did it, he won!

And then he fucking crashes.

Possession and loneliness are his strongest traits in the second half of his arc, and he picks up depression as well. Spite has become bitterness. Eclipse was never supposed to win, and he knows it. The star was only ever a means to an end, a way to get Moon's attention. And when Moon resets himself... Eclipse doesn't know what to do. He attempts to respark that rivalry, but New Moon isn't interested.

With no goal to latch on to, Eclipse crumples under his own misery and lack of purpose. On his way to winning, he destroyed everything that made his life interesting.

And then he got space lasered.

And then finally Eclipse 3.0, the Recreated Eclipse. I don't make a distinction between who he was before Lunar blew up his body and after, though I know some folks do.

Eclipse 3.0 starts off with anger, of course, and a lot of confusion and desperation. For a good amount of time in there he was p much feral. This one is mired in self-pity, and lashes out because of it.

Because that's what makes this one really interesting. He's picking up from where the Backup left off-- he has no purpose. I think he sunk his claws into the goal of 'find my creator' just to HAVE a goal. He's also interacting regularly with other people for the first time in his life(s), even if he does spend a lot of time taunting Moon for stuff that neither of them were personally there for.

Two things, I think, really helped Eclipse start stabilizing. The first was, uh. Solar's death 8'D More specifically, it was Puppet giving him an impossible task to focus on, and Eclipse always needs a goal. The second was Earth started socializing him. Which I love-- hell, I wrote that myself back in Sunk Cost. Earth always had the advantage of not being personally victimized by Eclipse like her siblings were, which let her be more tolerant of him.

Eclipse in his current state is still arrogant and possessive, and his people skills still suck. He's 'better' as a kind of side effect to Puppet's request; bringing Solar back, doing this Super Important Thing That Even Moon Failed At? Was a major ego boost. Eclipse learned a very important lesson:

Doing good things gets you attention and praise.

Which is why I think he had such a rocky start with the new dimension Sun and Moon 8'D He was chasing the high of being the hero, at the cost of actually paying attention to what was going on. He knew how things were supposed to go, that made him The Smartest. He's a good guy for extremely selfish reasons XD

But he's also finally made it to where a lot of fanfic authors have gotten him. A little less lonely, a few wounds healed. He does have people he cares about, without any intent for manipulation involved.

So yeah. I guess in summary:

Original Eclipse (Upright): Vindictive, angry. Would bite your hand off rather than take it Original Eclipse (Reversed): Lost, bewildered. A feral animal, but one that can be tamed.

Backup Eclipse (Upright): Spiteful, serious. Lost the game once already, has no intention of losing again. Backup Eclipse (Reversed): Bitter, desolate. An Eclipse without a purpose, can be coaxed onto new paths. Still will probably bite you a few times first. Recreated Eclipse (Upright): Arrogant, possessive. The end goal of many a fanfic, actually able to get along as a functional member of society... mostly. Recreated Eclipse (Reversed): Feral, desperate. Clinging onto what fragments he has in a life he didn't ask for, and hating every second of it.

Idk if that was useful but there you go!!!

[snootlestheangel]

Here's one of the better ideas I've had in a hot minute that I forgot about for a couple of days (it appeared when I was trying to fall asleep and I thought about it so good I slept really hard and it disappeared until this morning)

Combining fantasy and modern day

Price, Soap, and Gaz are still the 141 and are still SAS and still highly skilled soldiers. It's still a modern military for them, and everything is just about the same.

The fantasy element comes with assassins.

There's a worldwide understanding basically that any country, place, person, what have you, can hire an assassin for whatever purpose. They're kind of an independent, neutral organization that regulates how much an individual should be making based on the task they're being asked to do (assassins but if they unionized)

But they're not called an assassin

They're Reapers.

Unnamed ghouls of darkness that leave behind a trail of bodies everywhere they go.

Its a dangerous job, one that's short lived and where one dies unknown and uncared for. It's why seniority ranks so high for Reapers, and usually the senior a Reaper, the more notorious they've become. The most notorious Reapers get named, not only by other Reapers, but by the world. But these are few and far between.

The most notorious was named Grimm. It's presumed he was the first Reaper and the most successful. He had a whopping thirty year long career, and an impressive number of confirmed kills.

Then there's Plague, War, Shadow, and Oni. *yall see the vision?*

All Reapers wear dark, more form fitting clothes. Perfect to blend in and move around undetected. The named ones get ornate masks, still made of dark colors to blend in, but an image that imprints on people that are lucky to survive.

But then there's Ghost. The only Reaper to wear white. The saying there is "when you're so good at your job, what's the point in following the dress code?"

He has a decent career now of ten years. In his early two years, he was the laughingstock of Reapers. A Reaper who wears white? Surely I'll see him coming!

But it's how he earned his name faster than any other named Reaper. After just two years, people quickly realized the white mask didn't make a difference. He was lethality personified. He was there and then he wasn't, like a ghost. There's definitely some play about ghosts always being portrayed as white sheets with holes in them.

But Reapers have a bit of power in their own to choose who they worked for, what they do, and for how much.

Reapers could place bids on anyone/thing asking for assistance from one of them. The actual bidding process is unknown to any organization that isn't a Reaper, and being bid on isn't always a good thing. Sometimes it means Reapers want to take YOU out, and they're competing to see who gets the honors. Seniority and notoriety gave bonus "points" to the bids, and named Reapers usually won everything they bid on because of those extra points gained: and usually just because of those extra points *wink wink*

Task Force 141 is stuck dealing with a massive terrorist network and they're having trouble taking out many of their targets.

So against what is considered ethical, they make the announcement they're looking for a Reaper.

And the bids started off high. Most Reapers only bid to be the one so they could see how high the numbers got.

Laswell is the one fortunate enough to inform the boys when the bid closes and they get their Reaper. It's an official message from an unknown origin, impossible to trace. It details how big of a deal this particular bid was for the Reapers, and Laswell shares it with the team.

Their Reaper won by a landslide, Laswell informs. She tells them how even just base bid points, excluding any seniority and notoriety points, the Reaper had outbid the next one by over a thousand points. The bonus points accumulated another 10,000.

And they're all sitting there in shock, cause holy shit, who would bid that high in the first place and who has that much in bonus points????

The message Laswell got?

"Congrats. Your bid broke records, with the winner's base bid being over a thousand points higher than the next. This excludes the ten thousand in points earned from seniority and notoriety. Ghost will dictate the price at his arrival. Best of luck."

A rather shocking way to learn that The Ghost had bid so high on their little team's efforts.

The reason he bid so high, you may be wondering?

Well he wasn't about to let any other Reaper work for his husband, now was he?

Of course, poor Soap MacTavish is in for a world of surprise when he learns his quiet husband Simon Riley is the most notorious Reaper to date.

I have a couple little sneak peek ideas brewing for anyone that wants to ask. I'm just gonna let this settle first 😁

[road-kill-eater]

What is the relationship between Boots and Hawthorn?

hmm theyre fairly complicated, and their relationship can't really be summed up without going into their story at least a little bit as i have 100k+ words on them at this point. basically they're my adaptation of the fairy tale "the giant who had no heart in his body", and i take a lot of inspiration from the version from the storyteller by jim henson in particular, where the giant (hawthorn) is trapped within a dungeon in the castle and the prince (boots) is tricked into freeing him, thinking him repentant for his past crimes.

following that, boots tracks hawthorn down and gets himself into a situation wherein he cant return home until he frees his brothers (they went to kill hawthorn, who turned them into ravens), but hawthorn is not a very welcome host, and cannot be easily fooled into giving up the location of his heart, and because of its lack he is callous and sometimes cruel. in fact hawthorn generally tries to drive boots away by giving him difficult or impossible tasks, lying about where his heart is and then berating boots for checking, and teasing and beguiling the shy fellow endlessly.

they also spend a lot of time bickering over philosophy and morality, one being nihilistic and utilitarian, and the other being idealistic and humanitarian (those who have read the sea wolf by jack london will understand the dynamic). hawthorns primary redeeming quality is that at the very least he ultimately respects boots' autonomy in a way his own family does not, and over time the daily tasks become less impossible and less of an attempt to drive him away. however there is a very clear limit to how much hawthorn can be won over, without his heart he can only soften so much, and what emotion he does feel is faint and distant. so boots' motivation for finding the monsters heart shifts to do so for the sake of a relationship they could have, rather than to save his brothers so he can return home. but doing so is also a great betrayal to hawthorn.

ill stop there, its a good summation of the bulk of their dynamic i think.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello! Can i request ror characters react to erza reader vs 100 monsters or titans? Maybe before the tournament started, zeus decided to try and scare the humans by suggesting a game before the actual tournament. Basically, both the human fighters and the gods fighters draw numbers or turns to fight the monsters/titans. But this backfired when erza reader draw the first turn and challenge all 100 monsters or titans and won. I think both sides are either shocked of reader, terrified, curious or just falling in love with erza reader.

-It was a chance Zeus was willing to give humanity, dealing with two problems at once, letting humanity face off against demons before the tournament would begin.

-There was an overabundance of demons, and this was a way to, hopefully, get rid of some, with humanity also proving themselves.

-Zeus explained the rules, that there was a total of 100 demons of varying strengths, and humanity would choose three fighters to fight as many as they wanted in 3 rounds. However, the numbers of demons they chose to fight and defeat, then the number of rounds in Ragnarok would lower, giving the fighters less of a chance to perish, as only the strongest would fight.

-Zeus, having an inflated ego, then boasted, “And if all 100 demons are killed, then we, the gods, will call off this tournament, and humanity will be spared, and as an added bonus, we will start doing what we are supposed to, and manage the humans properly this time.”

-Many were annoyed at Zeus’ stipulations, as this seemed like an impossible task for humanity, but many more were annoyed, if humanity managed to succeed, then they would have to own up to their own mistakes in failing to properly manage humanity and handle the problem without violence and cruelty this time.

-Brunnhilde approached the three fighters she chose for this test, and you were the one selected to go first. Many were jeering, seeing a woman, telling the men to fight for you instead, but you weren’t bothered.

-Zeus was impressed with your focused and determined look, “Well then Y/N, please state how many demons you would like to face.”

-Your eyes were firm and sharp, “I would like to face… all one hundred!”

-The crowd instantly was roaring, either with cheers or in shock by your bold claim, and while your fellow fighters for humanity were shocked, Brunnhilde wasn’t, as her arms were folded across her chest, looking amused.

-You activated your ability, changing your armor and equipment as Zeus chuckled, thinking you were too cocky, and this would humble you, but he allowed it and started the tournament.

-Ten minutes later, Zeus, along with most everyone in the arena, were gawking as you sliced through your 70th demon, easily dodging another- you were making this look so easy!!

-Most of the demons you cut down were on the weaker side, but for normal people, ones who were not warriors, they would have seemed strong.

-Zeus was impressed by your strength, he had no idea that humans were so strong, and many of the gods were the same. Shiva was cheering for you, impressed by your ability, and Thor couldn’t help but feel a swell in his chest, proud of what you’ve been capable of doing.

-Lu Bu and Leonidas, who had been the other two who would have had a chance to fight demons, had you not taken them all, were also cheering, both impressed with your ability and skills.

-By the time you were down to your final demon, the gods were stunned, many were cheering for you, not wanting someone like you to perish, while humanity had never stopped, and now that you were facing off against the strongest one, they were even louder than before.

-You lowered your sword as your current requip faded and many were worried you were out of juice, as you were panting heavily from the workout, and you were a bit banged up, but nothing serious.

-Your ear twitched as Zeus made fun of you, “Quitting already Y/N? you’re only one away from saving humanity~ but if you can’t do it-”

-You turned, a dark aura surrounding you, making you look like a demon yourself as Zeus squeaked in fear, terrified as you turned back to the demon as you inhaled deeply and your body began to glow, another set of armor beginning to form.

-You shouted out, “Heaven’s Wheel Armor!” and as the light faded, you looked almost like a Valkyrie yourself, wearing armor that came with a set of steel wings, holding a sword in each hand.

-More and more swords appeared, surrounding you until over two hundred swords were around you like a halo, making everyone freeze, their jaws dropping and eyes bulging as you launched the assault, easily taking care of the demon.

-As you were announced the winner, the crowd was deafening as your armor faded, leaving you in your normal clothes as you looked around, smiling softly.

-You caught Brunnhilde and Goll as they leapt into your arms, cheering for you as you smiled, sagging into the embrace as you sighed softly, happy that you had been able to do this.

-Several of the gods were very impressed, it made them curious on how strong humanity was; part of them wanted the tournament to continue, but that wouldn’t have been very honorable, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have sparring matches~

-You were happy that you were being celebrated, but you were just happy to have a slice of strawberry cake in your hand as you sat around the other warriors who were all celebrating your hard-earned victory.

-It was well worth the effort you put in fighting now that humanity didn’t have to fight for survival.

[sortofshea]

On the 12th day of @hprecfest this fandom gave to me...

Day 12: a fic by your favourite author

Title: Heal Thyself by @astolat

Pairing: Draco x Harry

Teen | 46.9k words

Summary:

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.”

“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.

"Oh, I thought you might,” she said. “Well, goodbye.” And off she wandered again in her addled way.

Why I recommend it:

Choosing a "favourite" author from this fandom is an impossible task. Astolat won this spot despite a whole host of other contenders because I cannot simply pick one, but many of my other favourite authors are featuring in other prompts and I've read just about every single scrap of HP fanfiction she's written.

This fic is an absolutely stunning exploration of Draco's journey to redemption after the war. It is very apparent that he only begins the course to become a healer out of pride and spite, but after a few years, he starts to realize that he also wants this for himself. He struggles and fights his way through a wand that is reluctant to cooperate with him and the reactions of the public and his peers to his presence in the course.

Through gritted teeth, Draco works hard to make ammends for his past. He lives, breathes and sleeps his studies and work. This guy stops going out unless his very beneficent senior tells him he must. Even after he graduates and goes on to become a special consultant for only the most difficult of cases, he has to be kicked out of the hospital by the Chief Mediwizard. Not for good, of course, just out of the permanent residences and told to get a real flat and work no more than 5 days a week.

Draco has found something that he is not only good at, but is also benefitting both his patients and himself. His patients recieve care from literally the best Magister in England, and Draco finds that he is able to heal the bits of his soul that have been eroded by dark magic and corruption.

Listen, House, MD is one of my all time facourite shows. Draco doesn't give Dr. House per-se, but he is portrayed as a grumpy, tortured prodigy who is more often than not, the only one capable of saving his patients. The story is full of such beautifully crafted magical theory and magical medical lore, its truly brilliant. I crave this. I eat that shit right up. I will never stop rereading this fic.

As for the drarry of it all, Harry comes into the story when Draco has reached the top of his game, essentially. He's rebuilt his life in as successful a fashion as he knows how, and he's found a certain fulfillment and even peace with himself. Harry is deeply mistrusting of him and holds an unfairly harsh opinion, even after Draco saves his life. Having coincidentally discovered that fragments of all 3 killing curses Voldemort hit Harry with had not exactly vacated his body, Draco begins operating at once. It is a long, exhausting and harrowing procedure, but he does it. After the fact, Harry decides he's lying about something, hiding something and reverts to his basic programming; he begins stalking investigating Draco Malfoy.

When he discovers absolutely nothing, not a single hair out of place, he is baffled. He realizes that somehow Draco has literally managed to cleanse himself of all darkness. Despite all odds, he has crawled out of the corruption that was bred into him and come out a changed man - but also very much the same Draco he has always been. Honestly, after Harry has his come to Jesus moment and realizes he has feelings for Draco, its all very quick and easy between them.

Watching Harry fall into old habits and expect absolutely nothing but the worst from Draco, it's so stunningly relieving when he finally clues into it all. After realizing that Draco is a changed man, Harry mostly just finds it incredibly amusing to hang around and annoy him. It takes some time before he realizes that he has feelings for Draco, but when he does, these two quickly fall into such an easy rhythm with each other.

I need to end this outrageously long rec, thanks for reading for this long. Just do yourself a favour and go read this phenomenal fic. Also go leave kudos and comments!

Honourable mentions also go to Erosmancy, House Proud, The Compact, Reparatio and Slithering, which are some of my other favourites by Astolat.

[astor-and-the-endless-ink]

Astor’s Intro

✦ Christian

✦ 17

✦ She/he/they

✦ This is my writing and character art blog!

✦ @encre-sanguine is my main blog :3

✦ I change my name a lot, but I’ll always keep the and-the-endless-ink part so yk who I am XP

Works In Progress

🪽💫 The Gift and the Ghostspeaker 🌙🤍

-> Masterpost Link Here <-

On the planet of Zephan, three teenagers live their lives the way they always have.

Rhys Lucen—the son of the world’s ruler, the Ghostspeaker—lives in luxury with his family, including his secret and possibly cursed half-sister, Brynn. But when word gets out that three-year-old Brynn is alive, people start to panic and riot, and Rhys has to run for his and Brynn’s lives, aided by the same Ghosts that his father has the Gift of speaking to…

Sterling Pierce and his sister, Sage, struggle to survive their abusive Mage father’s magic addiction—which he feeds using them as an endless supply. But Sterling has the Gift of using magic as well, so when his father threatens to murder the siblings in a fit of rage, Sterling uses his power to fight back—killing his father, and nearly killing Sage by mistake. Now she needs a magic transfusion bigger than what any hospital on Zephan can provide, and there's only one way to gather more…

Kairo Rayos is descended from a long line of Ghostspeakers—one that ended with his infamous immortal father, Lev, who started the Lunari Alliance to fight the Ghosts’ rebellion against the Creator God, Solaios. Now Lev has been banished to the abandoned Blanklands surrounding Zephan City, and Kairo, thanks to a deal his father struck with the Ghostspeaker, is safe inside—but most Zephnic people don’t take kindly to followers of Solaios, especially immortal ones, and all Kai wants is peace. This kind of peace, however, can only come through the afterlife, and as his family and therapist are always quick to tell him, immortals can’t die. But when proof appears that they can—and have, as an immortal’s dead body was found in the Blanklands, seemingly murdered—Kai sets out to find the killer, and through them, eternal peace…

As Rhys finds himself assigned a seemingly impossible task from the Ghosts—killing every living immortal—and Sterling teams up with him to collect the immortals’ magic for Sage, they discover that things are not what they seem on Zephan, and that they're included in a prophecy called The End of Immortality. The question is whether or not the prophecy is true, let alone morally right—and will they find the supposed ‘chosen one’, who happens to be trying to get himself killed?

💚🗡 This Blood Will Remember ✒️🩷

Okay so it’s basically just vibes rn but I love it, stay tuned?

♠️♥️ Unsuited ♦️♣️

The Game for the Unsuited has officially reopened - and Alana Hargreaves, a girl with no proficiency in any of the four Suits of magic, is the first of the chosen Pawns.

She has a plan to win the Game without playing by the rules; anyone who had ever won before had gotten in, gone a bit insane thanks to the Game's mysterious challenges, developed Sanity magic, and gotten out. But if everything goes according to plan, Alana - and her best friend, Penn, who was chosen for the Game the year before - will learn a different Suit of magic and, once no longer Unsuited, be allowed to go back home.

But as Alana realizes upon entering the Game's giant forcefield, there are two problems with her plan:

One, Unsuited Pawns aren't the only ones playing - in fact, the Game is practically ruled by a Queen of Hearts Mage, and she doesn't want any of her victims to leave.

Two, Penn has almost lost her mind already, but Sanity wouldn't be her first Suit of magic; she now wields the legendary, reality-altering Suit of Creativity.

As Alana investigates Penn's strange new abilities and befriends other residents of the Game - including the Queen of Hearts' messenger brother, Ace, and Charlie, the Game's built-in AI assistant whose origins are somewhat murky - she discovers that the reason for the Game is darker than anyone would have guessed, and that to make it out alive she'll need more than her sanity...but will she fight her way out, or give in and give up her mind in the process?

🩸👻 Destined for Death 🕳️✉️

Nicholas Acker is a ghost—and a special one, because not every ghost can say they were killed by their best friend…who also happens to be a half-vampire-half-bloodwielder.

Jameson, said best friend, feels terrible for accidentally killing Nick—especially considering that he just got engaged.

So Jamie does what any decent gentleman would do: set out to kill Nick’s fiancee so they can be together in the afterlife.

But when Jamie’s undercover-vampire-hunter twin shows up at Nick’s funeral, bringing with him a whole new set of complications, and Nick runs into a teenage ghost with dreams of curing vampirism, they all have to team up to save themselves—and all vampires with hope of becoming human again.

💎⏳ The Soulrobbers 🗡🪨

It’s been a long time and I don't have a synopsis and I’m too lazy to write one, basically it’s about rocks with your souls in them and fighting over them like kindergarteners XD

[brilliantorinsane]

Doomsday Machine

This was definitely my favourite since Amok Time!

Who is that white lady in the coms chair though. Yes Uhurah does appear to work all shifts at all times she deserves a break but the bridge feels wrong without her there I Don't like it.

I love when they aim for prolonged tension because they're always playing on hard mode. In this case, 'can we keep you captivated for 50 minutes about whether the glow-y space worm will kill the main character dead 1/4th of the way through the season?' When the answer is no you still gotta respect the audacity. And when (as was the case for me this episode) the answer is yes, it feels like they pulled off a magic trick.

How did it take me this long to clock that Spock is such an anxious hoverer. I mean I knew his preferred distance in dangerous scenarios was 3-0 inches, but I figured that was for practical reasons of offering protection. But then last ep when he's stuck on the ship and has lost contact with/track of the away team, he's spending every spare minute looming over the shoulder of bridge members who are just trying to do their job. In any episode where things are awry on the bridge, if he doesn't have a Task he's always drifting over to the Captain's chair (especially if Bones is there too) and placing his hand on it, never quite but always almost touching. Then in this episode Kirk returns and Spock beelines for him then trails along behind him with no clear purpose. I mean they start talking but he's trailing first. There's even a moment when Kirk sort of steps back without a clear direction yet, and Spock glances at him and quickly steps forward to close the distance.

idk, for someone whose personal space is so important to him, I find this development really endearing.

Spock's manner when he's explaining to Bones that they can't do anything about Decker taking over command is so. gentle. It got to me.

Bones had the right idea though, I was down for an immediate mutiny.

Ah well at least Spock got around to the mutiny as soon as he had Kirk's go-ahead. Love that they made it clear Kirk didn't have authority to order Spock to retake command, but the whole crew and those two random redshirts that were called in all silently collectively go right along with the mutiny.

I love the framing of Decker accepting Spock's "Vulcan's do not bluff" line as Decker whiffing it so bad. 'this dude can't command the enterprise. he doesn't even know Spock's the biggest bulshitter on the ship!'

Also this show loooves to start out with a nightmare scenario for Kirk (in this case: get this wrong and your whole crew will die but you'll be left alive to watch it) to hang over his head the whole episode. Gonna be honest I do like when they do that. Also this is one of those rare scenarios where Kirk is entirely predictable. the second Kirk was threatened with outliving his crew he was going to find some narrative justification for a scenario where if anyone is getting blown up it's him and him alone.

Speaking of I was back to feeling prickly towards Kirk the last few episodes, and this was the round where he won me back again. Specifically when he sees the fully functional Enterprise in trouble and decides, nevermind that the ship I'm stuck on is basically floating junk. I'm mounting a rescue mission.

Also love that the bare-bones crew gives Kirk scope to show off his engineering and piloting skills.

"You worry about your miracle Scotty, I'll worry about mine." That really is how this crew functions, huh. 'well we'll probably die but we might as well divide the impossibilities between a few teams and see what happens. Hey look we're alive :D'

[junesrooms]

one of the most interesting things to me about anglo saxon literature is that we don't have any documentation of the origins of the texts. i mean like, sure, we have the original transcriptions, but those aren't reflective of the creator's initial tale for a multitude of reasons!

the anglo saxons' literature was shared and performed orally by a scop (bard) at large feasts and gatherings, typically to celebrate battles won. the anglo saxons were a warrior-based culture so obviously their literature reflected that, revolving around heroism/heroic deeds, valor, honor, etc. in the form of alliterative epic poetry (one of the most well-known examples being that of beowulf). on the opposite end of the spectrum, the anglo saxons also remembered the people that were lost in battle and created the most similar form of the elegy that we see today (my favorite example being "the wife's lament"). the anglo saxons lacked written tradition and would not have transcribed their own literature but luckily some religious figures (priests/members of the clergy/monks, if i remember correctly?) lived near the anglo saxons were literate and took an interest in their culture and took on the task of transcribing whichever pieces were performed for them, which is now the collection of anglo saxon literature we have today!

there are a few problems with this though. first, simply because of the nature of oral tradition it's difficult to trace back to who originally wrote it, what their intent was, what their life was like, even down to the very basics of their age, gender, and social class. there's also the fact that since the pieces are all orally performed, words could be changed or forgotten from person-to-person or emphasized by one person and disregarded by the next, all depending on how they're being performed. all of these things affect the perception of the piece and how it can change as it passes from person to person until it eventually ends up being transcribed. there's no way of knowing how many changes and iterations it went through before it ended up the way the transcriber heard it.

then of course, there's the other problem: the biases of the transcribers. the anglo saxons were primarily pagan and of course their literature reflected that. again, they were a warrior-based society so their ideals were much different than those of the general british population in the middle ages. their scibes were catholic (so obviously anti-pagan) and because they were the ones transcribing everything, they had the freedom to alter things as they pleased. this is where we get some really interesting and confused pieces of anglo saxon literature like beowulf which has really strong pagan themes and and ideals but will then constantly reiterate that it's all due to the grace of god and jesus that beowulf is so strong and heroic. it's such an interesting phenomenon that's seen a lot in anglo saxon literature (another example off the top of my head "the dream of the rood") where they'll carry over the strong pagan themes of the anglo saxons but then cram in that it's all due to the prayer and worship of the christian god. super interesting to see how they interact and what aspects were taken from which.

but this also leads to my other point—it's literally impossible to know what actually was written by the anglo saxons and what was written by the scibes. we can theorize which portions were written by who, but because at the time there was an active effort to convert anglo saxons to catholicism which did end up partially (and i believe ultimately?) successful!! so there's an awkward sort of overlap there that makes it so we'll never really know what was actually intended by the anglo saxons and what was altered by the catholic scribes.

anyways i was just working on my research paper about women in anglo saxon literature and was just thinking about authorial intent and just wanted to rant about it

[zel-shadedreviews]

Nick Park and Aardman Animations made a satisfying comeback back in 2005, releasing a feature-length adaptation of their classic shorts, Wallace & Gromit, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

As pest controllers, duo Wallace and Gromit protect the vegetables from rabbits due to an upcoming competition hosted by the aristocrat, Lady Tottington. Once capturing all the rabbits, Wallace devises a machine to manipulate their minds into hating vegetables, but the process goes wrong where one of them fuses his mind with him. This suddenly creates a monster who goes all across the village and consumes the vegetables, where Gromit tries to find who it really is.

The film’s atmosphere and storyline parodied the classic monster movies, namely King Kong and The Wolfman, while borrowing some aspects from Beauty and the Beast. Above all that, its comedy and innocent charm had the same charm from a Saturday morning cartoon with these two comedic characters falling into a greater dilemma than anything else. I’ve heard minor criticism that due to its feature-length time, it didn’t delivery the same impact as the shorts; I tend to disagree as I felt that a longer duration was suitable for a fun story for this, containing the fun beginning that you’d expect, a mysterious middle and a thrilling climax across the mansion grounds.

Thanks to its amazing writers, it made me laugh than any of the shorts, focusing on their characters’ panicky reactions and the subtle background details. A great example of how the jokes plainly slap were playing with their background music such as involving the vocal dramatically explaining their new threat, backed up by the organ player. Little details to throw in there made me appreciate the ways how they pulled off this splendid comedy, where both kids and adults could enjoy a variety of different jokes. The basics of some of the verbal jokes ranging from simple misunderstandings aren’t funny on paper, but it’s the way how they pulled them off with their fantastic voice-acting.

Like the shorts, this one contained the creativity that what made the claymation duo so memorable to this day.

I’ll start on the animation which I felt was definitely the best out of all Aardman productions. While Chicken Run caught the atmosphere and thrilling escape, I felt that this managed to hit it out of the ballpark. It contained the same closely-eyed models for both the duo and expressed on their personalities from Wallace’s cheerful and gullible nature and Gromit’s impressive display of silent comedy. The movements switched from fast pursuit sequences across the village and manor rooftops to the slower tone in order to build up for moments of suspense. The studio worked themselves madly with their quality by increasing the possibilities with a larger quantity of background characters, though they had to tackle a vastly-difficult task which happened to be cut. When they specialise with traditional claymation, they upped their game by including a creature made entirely out of fur, cushion and a metal endoskeleton. I would recommend watching the behind-the-scenes documentary where the crew discussed how difficult it was compared to clay. The sequence of the transformation was an astounding display to bear witness to as they had to combine both materials in the same frames.

The characters were so full of charm that it’d be impossible to hate them. Wallace was as the simple-minded inventor with a heart bigger than his common sense, where it was up to his dog, Gromit, to act as the smartest to get him out of skirmishes. With Wallace’s tendency to get himself into trouble, you could tell that it’s a normal day at the office to Gromit, but it’s the care for each-other that made them a perfect set of not only coworkers but friends. To really capture the unique Northern accent of the cheese lover, they had Peter Sallis reprise his role from the shorts and really give an excitable yet heartfelt performance with his eccentric character. Gromit on the other hand remained mute with his default mouthless face, yet could deliver an amazing amount of personality from the way he moved his eyes and mimed his actions.

Sallis’ vocals were digitally sped up for another character, Hutch the rabbit, who spawned the mindset of Wallace thanks to his earlier hiccup.

More characters were featured in the movie, starting with Lady Tottington the wealthy aristocrat, acting as a secret lover of both vegetables and rabbits, preferring the sweet nature of Wallace above pathetic attempts at marriage by the villain. Who voiced her was Helena Bonham Carter, adding a falsetto and upper class accent to the character. What I liked about Tottingham was how she wasn’t just a generic love interest, coming off as a great admire of his secret genius, and could see who to rightfully trust when it came to the beastly rabbit. They also didn’t push a relationship with Wallace, teasing the notion, yet keeping these two as friends. This sparked a love triangle with the villain but luckily didn’t focus entirely on the subplot, mainly keeping this as an element of comedy to spice up his resentment of the main characters.

The main villain was Victor Quartmaine the hunter, a lover of shooting pests without any remorse and of Lady Tottingham’s riches. At first, he pretty much served as the prideful Gaston-type, but once he realised that both his enemy and the beast are connected, that’s when he decided to up his game and dip his toes into the murderous ways. It built up an inhumane and savage side to his character, driving him a simple pompous bully into a scheming murderer to axe someone off for the sake of getting them out of the picture. At the end of the day, while its money that fuelled him, he certainly became a formidable foe by the end. Ralph Fiennes, returning to voice another villain at the studio, showed off the Shakespearean acting during the first act, while really letting his tone off the rails by the third act.

The villagers, conveniently named after growing substances, acted as the mean-spirited and dedicated types to put their gardens above anything else, thriving for the vegetable-growing competition. To really keep in line with the British stereotypes, the quality consisted of the elderly that treated their vegetables as their own, such as one of them escaping with a pumpkin on a buggy and another mourning over eaten cauliflower. I also liked how the vicar was as bad as the rest of them, where he prayed to win the competition and took a harvest to seal the deal with God. The only rational villager was the constable, voiced by Peter Kay, where he preferred to have order, showing distaste for the entire vegetable competition that puts anyone into a tizzy.

This movie was nothing but fun all the way through, jam packed with amazing visuals and a great supply of well-served British humour.

Final Rating: B+

9/10

[icyonice]

So Yakou’s wife (who I will now refer to as Mrs. Furio) won the poll. Without further ado… Medieval/Knight AU #6

(Spoilers for Chapter 4 and on plus Yakou’s DLC)

Mrs. Furio was a scholar who studied in the medical field in the Amaterasu Alliance. She worked with many colleagues to make a medicine that would heal wounds in an instant. The UK (Unified Kingdom) funded and encouraged this research but after years of no success the funding was cut. Many abandoned the research as they were starting to believe it was impossible. Only a small team was left. Seeing how they were desperate, Yomi stepped in. He offered not only funding, but human subjects to test and Dr. Huesca jumped to this offer. Their research even delved into magic and witchcraft. Mrs. Furio caught wind of this and threatened to expose them to the Kagatsuchi House if they didn’t stop. For that she was killed by an assassin who worked for the Hellsmile House.

A year after funding for research started, people who heard rumors of this research and wanted the results for themselves, hunted these researchers down. One of these hunters was a mercenary named Yakou Furio. He did anything (as long as it was not morally wrong and illegal) for pay. He was tasked with hunting her down and informing the client of her whereabouts. He stumbled upon her in a tavern and instead of reporting to his client, he talked to her. Turns out the client had other plans and he decided to ditched the job. In exchange Mrs. Furio offered to hire him as a bodyguard. In this time Yakou switched from being a merc to a knight and they got married. After funding stopped for the medicine, she kept researching on her own and made sort of a prototype but died before she could tell Yakou about it.

Basically just like Yakou’s DLC. I’m keeping how they met about the same with just slight changes.

To see my other Rain Code Medieval/Knight AU posts look here 👇

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

[honestlywtfisgoingon]

Soft — Obi-Wan Kenobi

OBI-WAN KENOBI x PADAWAN!READER

description: exhausted from training, you and obi-wan take a break together

warnings: none rly, basically just fluff :)

a/n: idk i’m always too horny to leave it at fluff and i mean it obv alludes to some shmexy stuff at the end but i just liked laying w sweaty obi. also the diff lightsaber form i’m talking abt is form v which is mine. also watching HIS HAND in this gif is making me FERAL

words: 1,279

It was that time of year for the sun to wreak havoc on Coruscant to where even the air felt stifling. You were thankful to be inside the Jedi Temple where you had the technology to be kept cool. It allowed you to train with your master, which would otherwise have been impossible if you were subjected to the weather, and yet you still found yourself blinking as a drop of sweat dripped down from your forehead and into your eye.

You continued to parry Obi-Wan’s attacks, even with your muscles on fire and your throat dry, no doubt dehydrated as all of your body’s water was working to cool you down on the outside.

Meanwhile, your master looked perfect as ever. The only sign of exertion was his hair, pushed back from his face and held out of the way by his sweat, and even then, it looked…good. Usually, you would’ve beaten him or he would’ve called off your training by now, but he was only doing what you asked.

A bit ago, you had also started to train separately with Master Windu. He used a different lightsaber form than Master Kenobi and you had taken an interest in learning it. Even though you had been taught Obi-Wan’s way your whole life, you felt that it suited you better. It allowed you to pursue your opponent more, getting rid of useless time spent in the defense position just waiting for an opportunity. It’s just who you were. You didn’t have the patience Obi-Wan had, but you didn’t want to be reckless. You had to find the best way to fight both quick and clean, and that was it.

The fact that you strived for precision and knowledge made you his pride and joy but he’d be lying if he said he was fond of the idea of you learning this new way of fighting. He worried that you would be open to getting hurt, and that could never happen. Not ever.

So here you were, slashing your sabers without stopping. You didn’t know whether he was trying to convince you his way was better, or if he wanted to push you to mastery as quickly as possible. If you truly were set on battling in that form, the latter would ease his mind a lot more. The higher your skill, the higher your chances of remaining safe.

You were up to the task, but you were worried that perhaps your body wasn’t. That question was answered when you dropped to your knees, letting your lightsaber slip from your hands as well.

“y/n!” Obi-Wan ran to you immediately, bending down and placing his hand on your back for support. He tilted your chin up to look at him with his finger. His concern was considerably lessened when he saw that, even though you looked exhausted and a little dazed, you were laughing.

“You could’ve won right now if you weren’t so soft for me.”

“Attacking my opponent while they’re on the ground wouldn’t be very honorable, my padawan”

“and because you’re soft!” you poked your finger into his chest.

“Would a man who is soft for you do this?” a split second of confusion showed on your face, not knowing his meaning until he dragged the knuckle under your chin closer and kissed you gently. Just as your eyes fluttered shut, he pulled away. The smile he gave you was sweet but there was the signature Kenobi glint in his eye.

He moved the hand on your back up to support your neck, the other snaking around your waist as he laid you down gently. His lips didn’t make contact with yours, but they were never more than an inch behind as he continued to lean over you.

“Oh no you’re not soft at all,” you rolled your eyes in joking as you slipped your fingers in between his auburn locks.

“No,” he brushed a hair off your forehead, “just completely in love with you,” he leaned in to kiss you once more, more firmly this time. Both of you sighed into it, your bodies relaxing after the physical exertion of training. One of your hands tugged at the side he wasn’t lying on, asking him to get on top of you. He obliged, and as he shifted over you took the opportunity to place kisses along his cheekbones, his beard brushing along your face, tickling you.

“Darling I’m all sweaty!” he laughed.

“With the way things are going right now, we’d be all sweaty soon anyway,”

“Good point,”

He dipped into your neck and began to suck lightly, causing you to giggle. You stopped him by tugging on his hair so that you could kiss him directly instead. A light moan escaped him when you slipped your tongue in between his lips. Fingertips brushed over your skin as he pulled open your robes slowly, your shoulders and most of your chest now exposed. Calloused hands cupped your shoulders, his thumbs rubbing back and forth softly.

It was your turn to explore more of him by slipping your hand down the neck of his robes and pressing your palm flat against his broad back. You retracted your fingers, scraping his skin lightly, another sweet sound of affirmation coming from Obi-Wan.

Both of you bestowed your touches slowly, so familiar with each other in both body and mind that you felt no need to rush. Even if you did want to speed things up, your bodies had settled and soreness was creeping in soon.

“I want you, Obi,” you kissed down the bridge of his nose then nudged the tip with yours. It might’ve been from the exercise but you could’ve sworn his cheeks got even redder. For the great warrior he was, he enjoyed the most subtle and intimate of gestures, reminding him it wasn’t just carnal desire between you two, but real love in which he could, in fact, be soft.

“and you can have me. All of me. Unreservedly,” he closed his eyes and touched his forehead against yours. “But for that, I’d rather have you in my room. I'd like to take my time with you. Is that alright?” you simply nodded. Even though he knew your answer would be yes, the way he asked permission reminded you of how gentlemanly he was.

Obi-Wan rolled off of you and stood up. Your hand was already out, assuming he would offer his to lift you from the ground. Instead, he swooped you up in his arms and carried you towards the door.

“Obi-Wan! Someone could see!” you whispered to him as he went to press the button of the door.

“It's alright. It’s not far and everyone’s taking a break because of the heat. Even if there is someone we’ll sense them,” he whispered back in mocking. The two of you were still completely alone, but you dropped your voice when you thought of getting caught, simply out of habit. His teasing caused you to pinch his side in playful retaliation. “Ow! If someone does come you’re on your own now,” he joked again. You laughed but didn’t take the time to quip back, wanting him more and more by the second. He was taking what you deemed as too long to open the door, so you leaned over and pressed the button for him.

Once it slid open, he strode out into the hallway with you in his arms. You took the opportunity that came with this short walk to let your eyes close and lay your head against his chest. You heard his heartbeat, but what you didn’t know was that it was beating for you.

[dyns33]

The Devil’s Lawyer 10

Part 10 of Matt Murderdock x Nice Lawyer Reader. Part 9 here 

Nice Matt had found the right term. Territorial.

Matt Murdock was territorial.

Well, not with the city or Hell's Kitchen. Not really. He was the Kingpin of New York, so it was his. And he was born here, so it probably meant something to him. He defended his empire. But it was not really important to him, it was only his mission. If they asked him to blow it all up, he would without hesitation.

No, he was territorial with her, mostly.

Very quickly Y/N had noticed certain things, but now it was obvious.

It had to be said that Matt had tried to be discreet at first. Maybe not to scare her too much. So that she wouldn't have questions.

Then he understood that she was brave and that she wasn't going to ask anything, so he let himself go.

The ritual was always the same as soon as she got home. Either Matt was already there or he would arrive later, but it would always be the same.

Matt was practically throwing himself on her, visibly irritated, sniffing and touching her.

           "Uuh. Hello ?" she had stammered the first time. "A problem ?"

           "You smell wrong."

           "You mean I smell bad ?"

           "No. Wrong."

That meant, not like him.

On her clothes and her skin, he could smell the scents of all the people she had seen during the day. The people who had shaken her hand, who had bumped into her in the street, who had handed her a folder. All the people who had dared to touch her.

So Matt would take back what was his, his hands going over her face, her neck, everywhere, quickly followed by his lips. So that his scent would cover the intruders' stench.

But that wasn't enough, so he insisted on washing her. It was a fairly intimate moment, but above all a very serious one. Matt took this task really to heart, making sure to soap her whole body with great care.

And finally they ended on the bed, and the parasitic odours having disappeared, he could totally mark her again.

By rubbing. By licking, kissing, biting.

Even though he couldn't see them, Matt was very proud of the marks he left on her body. The others, not having such keen senses as him, needed to know that she was his. They could see the marks. He purposely chose spots that Y/N couldn't hide. Little brat.

Of course it didn't work and there was always someone to touch her, completely innocently, and Matt had to start all over again. He was pissed off by it, and at the same time he didn't seem to mind.

It was hard to understand Matt.

He didn't like people touching her, and he didn't like them talking to her either. It was a bit difficult to work without communicating with others. No, not difficult, impossible. And not just to work, to live.

So Matt didn't stop her, but he mumbled dangerously whenever she mentioned someone else. He did not like her colleagues and her friends. Nor her family.

He hated when she brought up Otomo-san. He didn't want her to say 'san'. Yet it was just basic politeness, it wasn't like she was saying 'sama' or 'shujin'.

He was not happy to learn that she had met Spider Woman. He didn't seem worried, because the Spider wouldn't hurt her, but he asked her not to get too attached to the girl.

He would sulk if Y/N evoked Nice Matt.

To sum up, Matt was really jealous of everyone. Absolutely everyone.

           "Should I have a talk with Foggy ?"

           "No, why ?"

           "He hugged you... He kissed you."

           "On the cheek. Well, he was aiming for the cheek, it was an accident. We won a very complicated case today, he was happy. Then we had a drink to celebrate, and he was even more happy. Don't be like that."

           "He kissed you." he repeated, growling.

           "And what ? You're going to wash my mouth with soap ?"

           "I could."

           "Do you want me to brush my teeth ? Otherwise I have chewing gum."

           "No. Throw that away. It tastes like plastic, it's disgusting."

If Matt had taken control of the bathroom, washing her every day himself and having changed all her beauty products, shower gel, shampoos, makeup and perfumes, he had also decided that the kitchen was his domain.

No, actually the whole apartment was his kingdom now. Y/N had surprised him several times touching the furniture, sitting on all possible seats, putting some of his things everywhere.

To mark his territory, again.

He had done the same when he came to her office. Foggy hadn't said anything, he had obviously done the same thing in their shared room back in Law School.

The whole apartment was therefore his, even if he hadn't officially moved in. But he was especially present in the bathroom and the kitchen. And the bedroom, of course. His silk sheets could attest to that. He also had a problem with textures.

Y/N didn't know if Matt really liked to cook. He was good at it, but that didn't mean he liked it.

It was rather that he had a very delicate palate, that he was very picky, and that he therefore preferred to do things himself so that they would be perfect. Besides, even if he could have smelled it, he couldn't risk someone trying to poison him.

The dishes were all successful and quite good. There was only one flaw.

           "It's bland."

           "It's perfect."

           "Matt, this is bland." repeated Y/N trying not to laugh because he was already starting to pout. "No salt, pepper, spices, sauce ! Bland !"

           "Perfect. For those who know how to appreciate. I didn't throw away the salt if you insist so much, you can do whatever you want on your plate Darling."

It wasn't quite true. There were food smells that Matt couldn't stand at all, even on her plate. So he decided to banish them. He had banned many foods.

If Y/N was mad at him and wanted to scare him away, all she had to do was open a packet of Doritos. So Matt was jumping out the window. If she wasn't really mad and was doing it for some other reason, he would take the package and throw it out. Then she was entitled to a new shower.

The other option when she was furious was music. Mainly rock n roll. Very loud. But there were several types of music that Matt couldn't stand. That didn't mean he couldn't listen to it at all, he seemed to enjoy certain operas, or instrumental pieces, if there weren't too many instruments at the same time. But most of the time he was covering his ears and growled until she stopped. That was nice of him, he could have done worse.

Foggy had explained to her that he had noise cancelling headphones when they were in Law school. And that didn't seem enough. Even when Foggy himself had headphones to listen to his 'barbarian music from hell'. Matt had broken his computer once, because he had been listening to AC/DC. Never listen to AC/DC in Murdock's presence. Foggy's advice.

Everyday Y/N tried to understand how sensitive Matt was to all those little things that she absolutely didn't notice. She sometimes asked him questions, but his answers were vague. So she had to be observant.

Being a very good lawyer, Y/N knew how to observe.

For example, contrary to what she had imagined the first time, Matt's super-developed senses made him dread sex.

He didn't hate it. But it was too much. Too many information at once. Too many smells, sounds, movements. And he felt a little vulnerable during the act. It was perhaps the worst of all.

Same with kisses. Matt didn't kiss with his tongue. Even if Y/N had impeccable hygiene, he could fell everything in her mouth, it wasn't very pleasant. What mattered was what the kiss represented.

A greeting. A love declaration. Excuses. A way to reassure himself.

On the lips, it was enough. He preferred to kiss the rest of her body.

And devour it... According to him, down there, she was sweet, the taste of paradise, with divine smells. Y/N didn't want to know. But once he started lapping up her entrance, it was hard to stop him.

And foreplay. Oh Matt was the god of foreplay. He seemed to like that part of the act. He could hear her heart racing with excitement. Her cheeks heat up. Her breathing become difficult. The little moans she was making were driving him crazy.

He liked to take all his time, to listen to her, to touch her, to smell her, to taste her, but her pleasure was the priority at the end.

There was also the after. When their bodies were pressed against each other, totally relaxed and he rested his head close to her heart, smiling because she smelled a perfect blend of their scents.

Matt had never told her any of this, but she wasn't blind. No puns intended.

Remembering something that Nice Matt had said, Y/N once wanted to know if he often listened to her heart. But, not just when they were together. Nice Matt had more or less stalked Foggy around town by listening to his heartbeats.

           "You really can do that ? You… Have you ever done that with me ?"

           "If I answer you, can you promise not to bring up the other me again ?"

           "Deal."

           "Good. Yes, darling. I can do that. And yes, I've done that with you, many times. If I want I can hear every hearts in town. It's a real cacophony. And if I focus, I can tell who is where if I know certain particular heartbeats. For example, Karen is at home. She's calm, she's fine. Otomo is in an alley, he's fighting."

           "Wow, that's... unbelievable. And that's how you know people lie ? It's a bit like cheating in court. But since you cheat all the time, it doesn't change much."

           "Oh darling." he purred, rubbing his head against hers. "Don't be a sore loser. I'm just using what nature gave me, it's not illegal."

She didn't ask him if he often listened to her heart when they weren't together. Certainly yes. To find out if she was okay. To relax too, perhaps.

As with her smell, when her heart didn't sound 'right', Matt was angry. He didn't like her to be nervous, scared, sad or sick. It wasn't really helping that he was angry. Matt wasn't very good at comforting and reassuring.

But Y/N could see he was trying. It was cute.

There was that day, that one day, when she saw him drunk. Normally Matt was always in control, he was very careful, he didn't take any risks.

And then, alcohol mixed badly with his senses. It made everything very blurry. Even blurrier than usual. More intense. So intense that Matt couldn't 'see' almost anything anymore, becoming almost... totally blind.

But during a meeting with clients, he had been drinking a little. Then some more. Then too much. It had been a miracle that he managed to leap from roof to roof all the way to Y/N's, falling out of the window and staggering over to her before falling into her arms.

           "It was good. Darling, it was sooo good ! Usually alcohol is disgusting, but this was nice. Sweet. Kind of like you. I could eat you for hours, you know that ?"

           "Yes, I know that, smooth talker. Take your clothes off and get into bed Matt."

           "Oh, straight to the point. I like that darling."

           "To sleep."

           "Hmm. Nooooooo !" he muttered, grabbing her by the waist before dropping onto the couch, dragging her down with him. "Stay with me. Stay with me forever."

           "Yeah, yeah. But let's get into bed first."

           "You promise ? You won't leave me like the others ? Everyone I loved is gone. Well I think I loved them... I don't remember, it was a long time ago."

           "Matt, come with me."

           "Always darling. I'll follow you everywhere." swore the sleepy Matt, agreeing to get up to go to the bedroom, but still not letting go, like a giant koala. Even when he was asleep, he clung firmly. A real hugger.

Matt refused to talk about it the next morning. Y/N didn't tease him with it. She knew he had said and done things that meant a lot, and that saying and doing things that meant a lot was scary for him.

He still avoided her for several days. It was during this period that she noticed that some of her clothes were missing. They reappeared with Matt when he came back.

Y/N said nothing, imagining the Devil sleeping using one of her t-shirts as a comforter, to smell her scent, as he listened to her heart from afar to fall asleep. Probably purring.

           "I don't purr."

           "Of course not." she smiled, stroking him behind his ear, listening to the little contented purring sound he was making without realizing it.

Yes, Matt Murdock, The Kingpin, The Devil, The Ninja, was a big territorial cat.

[wthtorke]

Abyss (Pt. 2)

Kjuhte won the voting on my Patreon last month so I wrote a second part to his story!

(Part 1)

Healing from your wounds was the easiest part of life on the ship. The training was hard, socializing was worse, and keeping up with everything seemed downright impossible. 

You had things to do while you didn't have a stable job. You mopped floors, took out endless amounts of trash, helped in the kitchens, served people, helped in lab cleaning, and ran just about any errand asked of you.

While you didn't have a degree in anything, the Interspecies program offered numerous courses for anyone with the will to do them. They were not college degrees, but stagnating wasn't something you wanted. Free time was a tight spot, but you took nearly all of the 'short - medium' term ones, hoping if you took enough of them, a door would open somewhere in the ship for you.

You were dead set on getting a permanent job, and while there were geniuses among your people, you weren't one of them. Not that you weren't smart and capable, but neurosurgery and advanced piloting weren't on your resume, so to say.

You stared at your datapad back in your cramped quarters, sitting on your dingy bunkbed while another three humans snored away in their bunks around you. "Human job opportunity applications" flashed in blue, with a yautja transcript under it that you guessed was a translation of the title. You scrolled through the listings trying to imagine yourself in any of them, trying to find one you could get with your current skills.

Junior Engineering (Lower deck engines)

Messenger (Cockpit crew)

Messenger (Engineering crew)

Docking operator 

Cook (Upper kitchen)

Server (Upper kitchen)

 Supply stocking

Supply distribution

Nurse 

Housekeeping (Upper human housing ward)

Medical assistant

Medical assistant? 

Y ou frowned, then hummed, clicking the tab.

Job Duties -

Schedule appointments

Obtain blood samples

Perform data entry and update

Measure and record vital signs

Sterilize exam rooms when needed

Job Requirements -

Must be of age - 21 human | 120 Yautja

Detail oriented 

Must have completed all basic through advanced first aid Interspecies courses

Understanding of lab sampling and handling

Understanding of basic yautja culture                                   

                                                                 (1/2)

You fumbled for your course's certifications, reading back and forth to see if you had missed any mandatory requirements, double-checking everything before becoming hopeful.

Filling out the application was the easiest part. You signed the terms and uploaded your course certificates and your resume. You winced before quickly hitting 'send' and shutting the datapad off, throwing it away from your lap like it'd bite you, and going to bed right after.

You worked the next day, going back and forth between the numerous tasks and errands they asked of you when, in the middle of your 'shift', your human wrist gauntlet went completely silent. You sat in a quiet corner near the lower living quarters, munching away at a sandwich as you stared at it. Did it break? You usually had a list of tasks- even if you hadn't completed the one you had at hand yet, they were assigned automatically. 

You frown and take another bite of your sandwich, looking quizzically at it like it could give you answers before a single beep had you looking back at your wrist.

'Log change_...     New Worker Assignment: Med bay.'

Med bay? 

MED BAY! 

Another beep.

'Current Job Title: Medical Assistant - Location: Yautja ward.  Supervisor: -' 

"What?" You said, mouth half-full. "Yautja ward? But-" You frowned, "But it said it was a human job?"

'Instructions: Seek the head nurse in the Yautja ward_.'

You jumped up from your spot, eating the rest of your lunch as you jogged to the nearest elevator, briefly checking your teeth on its shiny panels before making your way to the med bay. 

It was the first time you set foot in the hospital without an injury, and for once, it felt nice. The hospitals were spotless, bustling with nurses, doctors, and patients. The reception was in the middle, where both humans and yautjas checked their patients in. On top of the reception stood two signs.

Human ward on the left. Yautja ward on the right.

You looked at your gauntlet once more and turned right. Going through the people, you reached the first nurse post, where yautjas worked fast on their systems, people coming and going, grabbing supplies from the post's stock or a datapad to call for a patient. So far, the only humans you saw were maintenance or housekeeping, and one single emergency nurse was going through their patient's medical history to the yautja nurse taking over.

"Excuse me, I need to see the head nurse. I'm the new medical assistant." You say, one of the yautja nurses looks up at you, nodding and looking back at their screen. "Follow through to the end of the corridor, turn left, catch the elevator to the second floor, end of the corridor on the right."

You nod and say your thanks, moving quickly past the busy people and heading to the office you were appointed to. You stand before the open door and peek your head inside, seeing no one. Were you at the right place?

"Behind you."

You jump a bit, turning back, "Oh sorry, I'm here to see the head nu-" You choke on your words as the very doctor from your little musings was standing there, looking rather unimpressed with your gaping. "I- the-, the head nurse-"

"He's busy. I came to retrieve you personally since you are to be my assistant anyway."

What.

"What?"

"You are my assistant. You applied for the job, I chose you. Follow me." He says, already walking down the corridor. You stood there stunned for a few seconds before jogging to catch up with him.

"I-"

"You have a big assortment of certificates under your name. I hope you paid attention to the classes. I will need your experience." He says. You nod. "Yes, sir-, everything is valid." Did people not pay attention to the courses? How could that even happen?

"Good." Kjuhte takes a turn and enters the elevator, you jump in beside him. "I had no idea I was applying to be your-, ah, personal medical assistant, sir-"

"Call me Kjuhte or doctor. Not sir, and specifying that would have left room for choosing and favoritism. Things are to be impartial. No external reasons for acceptance or not."

'I would have applied sooner if I knew it was you, so there’s that.' You think, remembering your first encounter with him, walking down that corridor, and how everything seemed to slow down with his presence. Kjuhte had a hard exterior, cold, even. He had walls up, and so far you didn't know about anyone who ever managed to break them or be on the other side of it. He seemed…lonely; but at peace with that like he wanted it to be that way.

"You are not required to start today, seeing as there was a severe delay in the system and they ringed you in late. However, I'd like to give you a quick run of things, since we have some precious minutes to spare."

His voice made your ears ring. It was deep and almost...velvety. Not what you're used to coming from a Yautja, but certainly not unwelcome, you felt. The way he looked at things also made your hair stand on end like things held secrets from him. Secrets he would find out with his eyes alone. You didn’t doubt he had that ability. You just hoped to God you wouldn’t have to lie to him; those eyes would see right through it.

“Yes sir-, um-, Doctor Kjuhte.”

He nods, “Good. This way.” The elevator door opens, and you realize you’re one floor higher than before, following him out of it. “Your job will be to keep me updated on cases. You will organize and update files; I work day and night, though your shift hours shall remain fixed. The reason for your hiring is the upcoming Chiva season. Surgeries will increase, and I will need all help possible.”

You nod, “I’ll do my best. Is there any particular way you’d like things done?”

“I don’t expect you to do perfectly right away, but I do appreciate and reward effort. First, you’ll do a round of checkups on my current patients, take any samples I might have asked for during the night and get any ready results and bring those to me, and if I’m in surgery, you’ll kindly leave them at my office, which is here.” He presses his gauntlet to a door panel, and you marvel at the inside.

Kjuhte’s office is spacious; the dark walls lit up by yellowed spotlights on the ceiling set a calm mood for the office, so different from the buzzing of people on the floor below you. He had shelves with books, miniatures of bones and skeletons, and some lizard-like specimen poised on wood plaques, a tiny diorama surrounded by collections and collections of books; some human, some yautja, some you had no idea where from.

At the center of the office stood his desk and chair, with two smaller, simpler chairs in front of them. Behind his desk and chair is a glass wall, giving a view of space. He walks to his desk, his black cape following him as he walks. “If I’m not in surgery or checking my patients, I will be here, always.” You nod dumbly, trying so hard not to gape at him. “The datapad with my patient’s files will be here at my desk every morning, in it will be your tasks. I will write your tasks only in the first days. I will not baby you forever.” 

You gulp, “Yes, doctor.”

“Any questions?” 

You shake your head, then consider again, “Well, yes-, will someone else be working like me? Another assistant, maybe?”

He shakes his head, “I only needed you.”

Oh.

“I see.”He turns his back to you, gazing at the stars, closing his hands together on his front as his cape shields the rest of him from you. “You are free to go. Rest and eat properly; your first shift starts tomorrow.” He says; you nod, turning to leave when you hear his voice again. “Assistant?”

“Y-yes?”

His tusks click as he turns his head slightly to acknowledge you again. “You do not answer to anyone in this hospital but me. Understood?”

Your mouth goes dry, “Yes, understood.”

He nods at you, turning back to the stars.