#voice of the whistler

[letterboxd-loggd]

Voice of the Whistler (1945) William Castle

June 30th 2024

[mangeur-detoiles]

LUCY & KATE | NCIS HAWAI'I 2x22

Lucy worried for Kate.

[booasaur]

NCIS: Hawai’i - 2x16

[contentabnormal]

This week on Content Abnormal we present Marvin Miller in The Whistler's tale of "Treasure Hunt"!

[mapis-putellas]

𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔

Pairing: Alexia Putellas x reader

Words: 3600

Warning: none

Summary: You take Alexia on a surprise Christmas trip to Whistler, Canada. [Requested]

The trip to Whistler had been in the works for months, planned out with all the precision of one of your team's training sessions. The goal was simple: a cozy Christmas in the mountains, skiing by day and unwinding together by night. Alexia had been elated about it from the start. But as soon as the two of you stepped off the plane, her excitement collided with the reality of the freezing Canadian winter, and her enthusiasm took a slight hit. The two of you hadn't even gotten to the cabin yet, and she was already tugging her scarf tighter around her neck, teeth chattering and eyebrows furrowed as she tried to bury her face in her coat.

It was late when you arrived at the cabin, so after unpacking the essentials, you put together a quick dinner, each of you too tired to do more than eat quietly by the fire, savoring the warmth. Afterward, you both moved to the bathroom, Alexia looking comically miserable as she peeled off her layers of cold-weather clothing. She muttered something under her breath, half in Spanish and half in English, that was likely a complaint about the chill as you guided her into the warm spray of the shower. The exhaustion from the trip hit as soon as you got out, and the two of you collapsed into bed, Alexia curling up close as you held her, excitement for the next day's plans lingering between you even as sleep took over.

The next morning, you woke to find Alexia still fast asleep, barely stirring when you leaned down to kiss her cheek and whisper that it was time to get ready. She mumbled something unintelligible, eyes remaining stubbornly shut until you nudged her again. Finally, she cracked an eye open, groaning as she dragged herself up to sit on the edge of the bed, her hair tousled and her face etched with sleepy reluctance.

"Here, baby." You hand her the coffee you'd made, and she takes it with a sleepy smile, bringing it to her lips with for a cautious sip. As she sat sipping her coffee, you started pulling layers out of her suitcase. One by one, you helped her bundle up: a thermal layer, a thick sweater, a puffy jacket, woolly socks, gloves. Even a woolly hat.

By the time you were done, she looked more like a marshmallow than the world-class footballer she was, bundled in layers of thermals and fleece.

Alexia blinked, tugging at her gloves and shooting you an unamused look.

You grinned as you tugged Alexia's woolly hat down over her ears, admiring how cute she looked bundled up like this. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, and her lips formed an adorable pout.

"I look... silly," she grumbled, glancing down at herself and tugging awkwardly at the sleeves of her oversized coat.

You laughed, stepping closer to adjust her scarf. "No, you look adorable."

Alexia's pout deepened, and she raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Like... marshmallow. Fat marshmallow," she muttered, a little frustration creeping into her voice.

"An adorable marshmallow," you insisted, leaning in to press a kiss to her nose. She huffed, her lips twitching as if fighting a smile, but she couldn't hide the slight blush that crept over her cheeks.

"Ridículo," she mumbled, shaking her head as she playfully nudged you. "You enjoy this too much."

"Maybe," you admitted, grinning as you pulled your own gloves on. "Alright, ready to go, my cute little marshmallow?"

She shot you a look, though her eyes sparkled with a mix of exasperation and affection. "I am not a marshmallow," she muttered under her breath as she followed you out into the snow, pulling her hat down a little lower.

The two of you started trudging through the snow toward the rental shop, but it quickly became clear that Alexia was struggling. She slipped slightly with each step, gripping onto your arm like her life depended on it, muttering to herself in Spanish.

"This... no easy," she complained, her fingers digging into your jacket as she tried to steady herself. "Snow is... dangerous."

"Dangerous?" you teased, glancing at her. "I think you just need more practice, Ale."

She gave you a mock glare. "In Spain, no snow, you know? This... es muy difícil."

You laughed, shaking your head. She stumbled again a few seconds later, clinging to your arm even tighter and shooting you a pleading look.

"Carry me?" she asked, batting her lashes, clearly not entirely joking.

You chuckled. "I'd love to, but I think you'll need to practice walking if you want to ski later."

Alexia rolled her eyes, grumbling under her breath as she tried to keep her balance. By the time you reached the rental shop, there was already a line forming. Alexia shivered, cuddling close to you as you waited, her gloved hands tugging at your jacket.

Her nose, cold from the air, nudged against your neck, and you jolted slightly at the icy sensation. She giggled, her laugh muffled as she pressed closer, wrapping her arms around your waist.

"You're freezing, Ale," you muttered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as you pulled her close.

"Warm me," she mumbled, her voice low and half-hidden by your coat.

You rolled your eyes playfully, giving her a squeeze. "Just wait until we're actually skiing, baby. This is nothing compared to that."

She huffed, burying her face against your shoulder as you both shuffled forward in line. Alexia stayed pressed against you, eyes watching the skiers outside with something between curiosity and dread.

When it was finally your turn, you collected your skis and poles and started to help her secure her boots to the bindings. Alexia struggled to snap her boots into place, muttering a string of soft curses under her breath in Spanish as she fiddled with the straps.

"This is... estúpido," she muttered, looking up at you with a frown. "Does not... want to fit."

You knelt down, smiling as you adjusted the bindings and helped her snap her boots in place. "There. All good now," you said, pressing a kiss to her forehead to soften her frustration.

She sighed, her frown melting a bit as she looked at you, a hint of her pout still lingering. "Thank you. But... this still looks... hard."

"It's just going to take a little getting used to. We'll start easy." You handed her the ski poles, laughing softly as she stared at them like they were foreign objects.

She raised an eyebrow. "And... what is this?" she asked, holding the poles awkwardly. "I... I only see people do this on TV."

You smirked, trying not to laugh. "Those are your ski poles, Ale. They're for balance."

She made a face but didn't argue, clearly not sold on this idea. You reached out to guide her toward the beginner slope, explaining as you went. "We'll start on the bunny hill. It's for beginners."

"Bunny hill?" she repeated, looking at you skeptically. "Like... animal?"

You couldn't help but grin. "Yes, but here it means a small, easy hill for people just starting out."

Alexia didn't look convinced, glancing over at the slight incline. She let out a small sigh, clearly trying to come to terms with the fact that her first attempt would be on the easiest slope there was. But she didn't protest, just nodded, and gave you a resigned look.

"Fine. But no laughing if I... fall," she warned, her eyes narrowing.

"I would never," you promised, though the twinkle in your eye said otherwise.

She let out a huff, shaking her head. "Liar. You will laugh, I know you."

With a smile, you pulled her close for a quick kiss. "I'll try to keep a straight face," you said, fighting back a laugh.

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling a little. "Mentirosa," she muttered, but her voice was soft, affectionate.

With one last reluctant sigh, Alexia gripped her poles tightly, her eyes darting over to the bunny hill with a mixture of determination and trepidation. You walked side by side, ready for whatever mishaps were about to unfold.

The two of you spent most of the day on the bunny hill, enjoying the quietness of the snowy landscape and each other's company. Alexia tried her hardest to keep up, but it was clear skiing wasn't in her wheelhouse. And, much as you tried to stifle it, you couldn't help but laugh every time she lost her balance and fell on her backside, letting out quiet curses in Spanish as she tried to pull herself up. You held out a hand to her each time, grinning as she took it with an exaggerated sigh, always muttering something unintelligible under her breath. Despite her frustration, you could tell she was still having fun, the sparkle in her eyes more than enough proof of that.

After a while, the two of you trudged back up the small slope for what felt like the tenth time that morning. Alexia stopped at the top and, with a huff, stabbed her ski poles into the snow. Without warning, she stumbled forward, collapsing into your arms with a dramatic sigh. Immediately, you wrapped your own arms around her, chuckling as you pressed a gentle kiss to her woolly hat, feeling the soft texture against your lips.

"You okay?" you asked, your voice laced with affection as you held her close.

Alexia nodded, though you could feel her shivering slightly against you. Her hands slowly moved around your waist, finding their way behind your back as she shifted closer. You sighed, thinking she was simply getting comfortable—until, out of nowhere, her cold, bare hands slipped under the layers of your coat, pressing directly against your warm skin. The sudden shock made you gasp, your body arching into her instinctively as the freezing sensation seeped into you.

"Alexia!" you cursed, trying to pull away, but her arms held you firmly in place, her giggles echoing in your ear as she buried her head into your shoulder, clearly relishing your reaction. "Are you trying to freeze me to death?"

Her laugh was muffled against your neck as she tightened her hold, her cold hands sliding even further up your back, sending chills up your spine. "Is warm here," she murmured, her accent soft and adorable even as she continued her playful torture.

"Oh, you're impossible!" you groaned, squirming as she wiggled her fingers against your skin, making you shiver from the icy touch. She giggled again, tilting her head to nuzzle her freezing cold nose into the side of your neck, and you let out a sharp gasp, torn between laughing and cursing as the chill made you instinctively huddle closer to her. "Seriously, Alexia, you're going to give me frostbite!"

"Is nice," she whispered, her voice laced with mischief as she continued to press herself against you, her cold hands roaming along your back, seeming to take every opportunity to spread the chill. Her head tucked deeper into the crook of your neck, her cold nose brushing against your skin as she let out a contented hum, completely ignoring your protests.

After a minute of her relentless antics, you finally mustered the strength to bat her hands away, catching them in your own as you took a step back, shivering from the cold that still lingered on your skin. You turned around to see the gloves she'd dropped earlier lying in the snow, and you quickly reached down to grab them, shaking your head as you held them out to her.

Alexia had a pout on her face when you turned back around, her expression a mix of disappointment and playful indignation. Her lower lip jutted out slightly, and her eyes narrowed as she looked down at the gloves in your hands, clearly unhappy that her fun had come to an end.

Rolling your eyes, you grabbed her hands, tugging them forward as you slipped the gloves back on, muttering under your breath, "You're nothing but trouble, you know that?"

She giggled, giving you a look of innocent defiance as she wiggled her now-gloved fingers in your hold. "Me? Trouble?" she replied, her accent thick as she batted her eyelashes at you, doing her best to look as angelic as possible.

"Yes, trouble," you huffed, tightening the gloves on her hands with a smirk. "And now that your hands are warm, no more sneaking them under my coat, got it?"

Alexia's pout deepened, her shoulders slumping slightly as she looked down at her gloved hands, clearly disappointed. "But is warm," she whined softly, her gaze flicking up to meet yours, a hint of mischief still sparkling in her eyes.

You let out a playful scoff, crossing your arms as you raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't care how warm it is, your hands were like icicles!" You shook your head, giving her a gentle nudge as you added, "You're lucky I didn't push you back down the hill."

She laughed, her giggles filling the air as she leaned in closer, reaching up to tug gently on the collar of your coat, her smile softening as she looked up at you. "I don’t mind," she murmured, her gaze warm despite the cold around you.

You felt your heart soften at her words, her playful charm as endearing as ever. Smiling, you leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, watching as her eyes widened in surprise before her cheeks flushed, a faint pink that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Come on, trouble," you whispered, squeezing her hand as you turned to guide her back down the hill. "Let's get you warmed up for real this time."

As you and Alexia headed back to the cabin, a mischievous idea began to form in your mind. She was walking a bit ahead of you, bundled up and focused on keeping herself steady in the thick snow. It was the perfect opportunity.

You bent down, scooped up a handful of soft, powdery snow, and quickly shoved it down the back of her jacket. Her reaction was instant. A loud gasp escaped her as she shrieked, twisting and squirming, trying to shake the snow out. "Ay!" she yelped, hopping from foot to foot. Her hands flew to her back, frantically brushing at her jacket in a futile attempt to get rid of the snow as it melted against her skin.

You couldn't help it—watching her wriggle around like that had you laughing so hard tears filled your eyes. Her face twisted in mock outrage, eyes wide as she stared at you in shock.

"Oh no... you didn't," she said, her accent thick and her expression one of complete betrayal.

You could barely manage to get a word out between laughs as you pick up yet more snow. "I—I did! Payback for those cold hands earlier."

But to your surprise, she didn't attempt to get you back. Instead, Alexia gave you a look so full of hurt, bottom lip quivering ever-so-slightly, that you felt a pang of guilt despite yourself.

"Oh no, oh no, don't do that," you stammered, dropping your handful of snow and hurrying toward her, arms outstretched to pull her close.

Alexia shivered as she clung to you, still giving you that wide-eyed look of betrayal as she buried her head into your shoulder, sniffling dramatically. "Es... so cold," she whispered, clutching you even tighter, the snow in her jacket now melting against her skin. She was practically trembling as you held her, and you realized you might have overdone it a bit.

"Come on, let's get you inside," you said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as you quickly guided her toward the warmth of the cabin.

Once inside, you immediately set about helping her peel off the snow-soaked layers. Her jacket came off first, and then her scarf and gloves, her damp hair clinging to her face. She looked like she'd just trekked through a snowstorm. You felt a pang of guilt seeing her like that, her teeth chattering slightly as she shivered in her damp shirt.

"Sorry, love, I didn't mean for it to be this bad," you murmured, brushing a few damp strands of hair from her forehead.

She didn't answer right away, just looked at you with those big, puppy-dog eyes and a still-pouting expression. "You... are cruel," she muttered in her thick accent, though there was a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Let me make it up to you," you replied, quickly pulling off your own jacket and scarf. You grabbed the hoodie you'd left discarded on the couch last night and stepped toward her, gesturing for her to lift her arms. She obeyed, still giving you a half-hearted pout as you pulled her damp shirt over her head and tossed it aside.

Once her shirt was off, you slipped the hoodie over her head, guiding her arms through the sleeves and tugging it down to cover her properly. She looked adorable, swimming in your oversized hoodie, her face still showing signs of a pout, though she looked a bit less disgruntled now that she was warming up.

"There we go," you murmured, giving her a soft smile. "All better now?"

She didn't answer immediately, just crossed her arms and looked at you, still pouting. Without saying anything, you made your way over to the couch, settling down with your head resting against the armrest. You looked at her and opened your arms invitingly, a grin tugging at your lips.

Alexia's pout vanished, replaced by a barely concealed smile as she eagerly scrambled onto the couch, laying herself down completely on top of you, her head finding its favorite spot against your chest. You wrapped your arms around her tightly, holding her close, feeling the weight and warmth of her body sink into you.

"You're a big baby, you know that?" you whispered, chuckling softly as she adjusted herself, making herself comfortable.

"Sí, but... you love me," she murmured in reply, her hands sneaking under your shirt once more, only this time between you and the couch, pressed against the bare skin of your back. They were still ice-cold, and you couldn't help the shiver that ran through you as her cold fingers settled there.

"You're trying to freeze me alive, aren't you?" you muttered, half-joking as you tightened your hold on her.

She giggled, lifting her head slightly to look at you, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe... a little," she admitted, nestling her head back against your chest, her nose cold as she pressed it against the side of your neck. You could feel her breath, still a little chilled, against your skin.

"Why are your hands still so cold?" you asked, laughing softly as you ran a hand up and down her back, trying to warm her up. "You're going to freeze both of us if you keep this up."

She gave a soft, sleepy hum as she nuzzled even closer, her weight pressing down on you comfortably. "I like your warm," she mumbled, her accent thickening as she relaxed more. Her voice was quieter now, tinged with a hint of drowsiness. You could tell she was finally warming up, her breathing slowing as she settled against you, her head tucked into the crook of your neck.

"Fine," you whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "But no more cold hands on bare skin, okay?”

At that, she immediately lifted her head, looking at you with wide, sad eyes, her lower lip jutting out in a pout that was as adorable as it was ridiculous. "No... cold hands?" she repeated, clearly not pleased with this new rule.

"Yep, that's the rule," you replied, struggling to hold back a laugh at her expression. "No more freezing me."

Her pout deepened, and she leaned in closer, her face mere inches from yours as she stared at you, her brown eyes wide and pleading. "But... I like your warm," she said, her voice soft, her lips quivering slightly as she tried her best to convince you to change your mind.

You couldn't help but laugh, shaking your head as you reached up to gently cup her face. "Alright, alright... but only if you promise to give me fair warning next time. No more surprise attacks, okay?"

A bright grin spread across her face, and she nodded enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she snuggled back down against your chest, arms wrapping around you once more. "I promise," she whispered, her voice muffled as she buried her face against your shoulder, her cold nose pressed against your skin again.

You sighed, letting out a soft chuckle as you held her close, feeling the last traces of cold finally start to fade as her breathing slowed, her body relaxing completely against you. It wasn't long before you felt her weight grow heavier, her soft breaths becoming steady and even as she drifted off to sleep, her face still nestled against your neck.

You ran a hand gently up and down her back, tracing slow, soothing circles as you held her, savoring the warmth and comfort of her presence. Even with the cold hands and dramatic pouts, you wouldn't trade moments like this for anything.

**

Tags:

@marysfics @ceesimz @codiemarin @girlgenius1111 @goldenempyrean @simp4panos @xxnaiaxx @liloandstitchstan @silentwolfsstuff

[cissyenthusiast010155]

hihi

could i request prompt 37 with Larissa x

We Want Who We Want ~Larissa Weems xFem CollegeAge!Reader ~Holiday Bingo

Hi hi anon! Happy Holidays!!! Thank you for the request. I always love getting and writing them! This is my second Holiday Bingo for the 2023 season. This one is with the regal and elegant Larissa Weems. Enjoy! ❄️💋

Previous Bingo <—found here!

Holiday Bingo <—Here!!

Mommy… Master List

Requests & Prompt-List

Prompt- Sky Resort/Winter Cabin

#37. Best Friend’s Mom troupe

Warnings: NSFW, 18+!!!, smut, age gap (all legal), mommy kink, kissing, grinding, fingering, thigh grinding, strap-on use, strap-fucking, multiple positions, teasing, semi-pda, flustering, light power play, light taunting, light overstimulation, implied future smut, implied eating out, etc.

Enjoy (;

“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Weems.”

You thanked the mom of your best friend as you got into the Weems’ car. They had invited you to their ski resort/winter cabin. You had been best friends with their daughter since grade school, and now you were both in college. You had been close to the whole family really, having been raised in the same neighborhood.

“Please Darling, call me Larissa.” Mrs. Weems insisted with her hypnotizing voice and her familiar smile.

Jesus… You had forgotten how much you enjoyed Mrs. Weems’ voice…

You blushed lightly and nodded.

“Of course, Larissa” you said, purposefully accentuating her name.

It was your first time seeing the Weems’ family since you went off to college last year. And so when they had found out that you were in town for winter break, the who family immediately invited you to come with to their winter resort.

And how could you refuse?

And so here you were, sitting in between your childhood bestie and her younger brother, in the back seat of Mrs. Weems’ white Volvo. The drive was a good ways away, as you were driving from Vermont to Whistler. But you didn’t mind.

The drive went by in a flash, and soon the car pulled up at the ski cabin. The time had flown by as you caught up with your bestie and her family. You talked about your college, she talked about hers, her brother talked sparsely about his school, Mr. Weems spoke a bit about his work, but by far the most capturing speaker was Mrs. Weems. Every time she spoke, the hours seemed to turn into minutes. You could listen to that woman talk for ages. And you happily egged her on to continue talking for majority of the drive. But like most things, they enjoyment seemed to fly by and come to an end.

“We are here…!!” Mrs. Weems exclaimed in an almost song-like expression, making you swoon lightly at her voice once more.

Everyone piled out of the car, and Mr. Weems immediately recruited your bestie’s brother to help him shovel the snow out of the driveway. Mrs. Weems Larissa delegated your best friend to grab the food stuffs and put it away in the kitchen.

“That leaves us, Darling. Would you mind helping me with the baggage…?” Larissa hummed in her low and musical tone.

These pet names tugged at your core far more than you remember them doing…

“I… of course, Mrs. Weems…!” You squeaked, a little intimidated by being alone with the tall blonde.

Larissa looked back at your and cocked her eyebrow at your expectantly.

“Oh Larissa-shit-Sorry right—!!” You exclaimed, your face getting red in embarrassment.

The woman’s eyes sparkled in a way that was new to you. She seemed amused… More than usual. She immediately smiled back at you when you corrected yourself.

“No worries, Dear.”

You blushed even more at the pet name, as you helped your best friend’s mom with the baggage. As you carried the luggage inside, your mouth dropped at the expansive and marvelous nature of the cabin.

This wasn’t a cabin… This was a fucking ski mansion.

Larissa chuckled lightly at your reaction.

“Let me show you around, Darling…” she hummed.

As you dropped off the baggage in each room, Larissa showed you the layout. The center of their ski resort was the common areas— kitchen, dining room, storage, living room, terrace, etc… Mr. Weems had the Northwest Wing, —This place had fucking wings—!!— The brother had the Southwest wing, and your bestie was in the Southeast wing. You dropped everyone’s bags off in each of their corresponding wings and rooms. Lastly, the Northeast wing was Larissa’s.

“The guest room that you will be staying in the Northeast wing right across from my private quarters.” Larissa informed you with a hum.

There was that sparkle in the woman’s eyes again…

“Thank you, Larissa…” you hummed right back.

Who were you to complain about being so close to such a goddess..??

You bit your lip lightly, as the woman smirked and opened your door, showing you into your room. Your eyes widened at the luxurious nature of the room, just as wealthy as the others… You placed your bags in the massive room.

And turned back to the woman. She seemed continually amused at your shock. Your gazes locked and your eyes gazed into Larissa’s for the moment. No words were spoken. You swore you caught the woman lick her lips, but part of you also swore that you imagined it. Neither of you backed down from the challenge of each other’s gaze.

Before you could think of it anymore, Suddenly you both heard Mr. Weems calling for everyone from the common space. The trance was broken and Larissa immediately swiveled towards the corridor and indicated for you to follow her back to the living room space.

You both met with the rest of the family in the living room, where Mr. Weems announced that he would be taking the children skying. He asked if you would be join them.

But before you could say anything, Larissa placed her hand on your waist and elegantly pulled you closer to her warm body. Your breathed hitched lightly at the physical closeness of the two of you. Your eyes widened and you looked to the side and up to the tall mother in anticipation.

“Actually, I will be needing her help in preparing for our holiday dinner. Plus, my Darling, I believe you don’t ski, isn’t that right…?” Larissa purred.

Her tone sounded… possessive…??

Now all eyes were on you. You gulped and locked eyes with Larissa, whose eye shored through your soul. All you could do was shake your head. She was still holding onto your waist. Your blush darkened.

“Excellent. Then it’s decided.” She exclaimed in her hypnotic tone, “You three go skying, while we prepare dinner.”

At the agreement of the rest of the family, Larissa let go of your waist. You could feel her hand burning into your clothes skin, and with that feeling suddenly gone, you instinctually let out a small whimper.

You desperately hoped that no one had caught it, and no one seemed to as no words about it were said. Mr. Weems and his children were busy running around to get their ski gear, as you just stood there frozen.

What has just happened…??

Suddenly you felt a hand against your back. You shivered through your entire body and looked up at Larissa as she guided you to the kitchen. She looks down at you with a knowing, darker smile. Before you knew it, the rest of the family had run out and left to hit the slopes before dark, leaving you alone with your mother’s best friend.

For the next few hours, Larissa had you complete menial tasks. Things such as dicing, mixing, chopping, and other cooking tasks. This wasn’t the problem.

The problem was the amount that this woman was affecting you… She was full on teasing and flirting with you. And it was fucking working.

All the pet names that she used… “Darling, would you be a doll and grab the tomato paste…?”, “That’s perfect, love. Just like that.”, “Oh Sweetheart, are you too short to reach that…?”

All the lingering touches on you… Her fingers lightly grazing across yours, Her hands squeezing your waist, her fingers tapping and running along your neck, her hands lightly massaging and lingering on your shoulders…

All the compliments she paid you unconditionally… “You look good in that, Darling…”, “You’re a natural, Love.”, “Such a good little sous-chef…”

It made you realize how much you like Larissa. And not just liked. But like like liked. The kind of like where by the time the family returned, you were day dreaming about the woman taking you against the counter… whispering filth in your ear… and making you forget everything but her.

But to be fair, you weren’t exactly being nice and fair to her either. You may have bent down a couple times in front of her after having “accidentally” dropped something… and you had no trouble purring out her name in every sentence you formed…

Then dinner came around, and you all sat down to eat. But Larissa didn’t relent. Sure, she was verbally less forward about her intentions, so that her family wouldn’t catch on. But her intentions were just as clear.

During dinner, Larissa had chosen to sit across from you. Throughout the meal, you felt her heeled foot graze up your leg, causing goosebumps to erupt all over your skin. You took deep breaths as your breathing threatened to become labored the higher up her heel dragged up your legs.

She gave your daggers stares every once in a while, and the woman wore a mischievous smirk the entire meal. You swore you’d get her back…

Finally, dinner ended and everyone began to retreat to their rooms. Larissa snagged you once more to help her clean up the dishes. As you were washing the dirty dishes, the woman came up behind you, placing her lips on the shell of your ear.

“Meet me in my room once you’ve changed and are ready for bed…” She huskily whispered.

Shivers went through your spine and directly to your core. You nodded and didn’t say another word. Once the dishes were done, you raced to your room. You quickly stripped your clothes and hoped in the shower, desperate to wash off all the embarrassment and blush from your frame. After your shower, you went to put on your pajamas. On your bed when you returned from the shower, you found a set of silk pjs, a button down shirt and a pair of shorts. Along with the set, there was a note.

Wear these. Only these. ~Larissa <3

You gulped and nodded instinctively. You put on the pj set, and left your room, quietly creeping across the hall to Larissa’s room.

You knocked lightly, and the tall woman answered the door. She smiled lightly and opened the door slightly for you to slip in. She closed the door behind you.

“Have a seat, Darling.” She purred with a warm smile, indicating to the edge of the bed, “That set looks marvelous on you.”

“Thank you, Larissa…” you purred right back.

You sat on the edge of the bed, finally getting the courage to look at the woman. Your eyes widened as you saw Larissa. Her pinned back hair was completely unpinned, her blonde curls bouncing freely. She was wrapped up in a thin silver, silk coverup, that accentuated her curves perfectly. She still had somw makeup on, just her lipstick as far as you could tell. Her red, luscious lips… Your mouth went dry and you couldn’t help but stare.

“Cat got your tongue…?” Larissa teased, as she continued to elegantly stand right in your line of sight.

You gulped and blushed even more.

“I—Larissa. You look… really good…” you breathed out, your face tomato red with blush.

Larissa smirked and began to stalk slowly toward you. She stopped right in front of the edge of the bed. Her fingers delicate yet firm moved to cup your face, caressing your cheek. You instinctually leaned into the woman’s touch, closing your eyes and humming lightly in delight.

“I like my name on your tongue…”

Your eyes shot open at Larissa’s words. You gulped and looked up at her gaze. Her eyes were dark and shimmering like they were all day.

“I like it too…” you whispered in confession.

Larissa then leaned into your personal space, bringing her hot breath against your neck.

“Tell me if you want to stop, and I’ll stop, no questions asked, alright Darling…?” She breathed out.

“Yes. Don’t stop—” you let out in a gasp.

As soon as those words left your lips, Larissa mouth was on your neck, licking, sucking, and tasting your skin. You were sure that she would leave marks by the way she sucked, but you couldn’t care less right now. Larissa quickly found your sensitive spot. You craned your neck back and your eyes rolled back as your mouth opened in a silent scream.

“Ohhhhhh Larissa—” you breathily groaned.

Larissa hummed in delight at your groan. But she quickly pulled you away afterwards, making you whine.

“Tsk tsk, Darling, no whining.” She sternly told you.

Your eyes widened and you gulped.

“Sorry, Larissa”

Larissa smiled and nodded in understanding. She then picked you up with ease, making you yell lightly. She carried you back to the middle of the bed. You played on your back, propped up by your elbows, as you watched the older woman at the edge of the bed.

She began to teasingly remove her robe. You bit your lip and groaned.

“Please don’t tease…!” You pleaded with the woman.

Larissa chuckled and quickly removed her robe, revealing a crimson lingerie set.

“Alright, Darling…”

Larissa then crawled up the bed and came up on top of you. Both of your breathing were already labored. Your eyes locked once more. Before Larissa could do anything, you reached up with one hand, grabbing the woman’s neck and smashing your lips together. You groaned into the kiss. Larissa growled playfully, making quick work of grabbing your hands and holding them above your head.

“I’m in charge…” she purred darkly against your lips.

The kiss was heated and passionate. You could feel the years of built up need against the woman’s lips. Eventually, you bit had to pull away for air.

“Fuck. I’ve wanted to do that ever since high school…” you panted with a big shit eating grin spread across your face.

Larissa chuckled at your confession.

“I hear you, Darling… It took all of my restraint not to just take you in the kitchen earlier…”

Your mouth went dry and you bucked your hips up and groaned in response to her words.

“Yessss please Larissa…!”

“The walls are soundproof so if you want anything, you are going to have to scream and cry for it, Darling…” Larissa purred lustfully.

As she said this, she straddled your frame and began grinding her body against yours.

“Ohhhhhh fuck fuck” you panted, getting louder and louder, “please clothes—off Larissa—!!”

The woman still had your hands pinned above your head with the ease of one of her beautiful and manicured hands.

“Using your words, good girl…”

Shivers ran through your body at the praise, especially as you felt Larissa’s free fingers unbuttoning your pj shirt. You eyes fluttered open at this act and your mouth dropped at her unbuttoning your shirt one handed with ease.

Larissa met your gaze shortly as she continued to expose your chest.

“Not my first time, Darling…” she chuckled tauntingly.

“What, have you fucked your daughter’s best friend before?” You shot back.

As soon as the words had left your mouth, you gasped and you knew it had been a mistake. Larissa gaze met yours, staring you down. She chuckled again, but this one was darker and more wicked…

In one swift move, Larissa shifted you on top of her own lap, as she rested against the headboard of her bed. She placed you to where you straddled her one creamy thigh, and her hands were on your waist.

Your shirt was unbuttoned three quarters of the way. You gulped and looked towards the woman. She met your gaze with a smirk. The hands on your hips ground you down of her thigh, making your squeal in pleasurable stimulus. Your hips instinctually bucked against her thigh, desperate for the stimulus. The combination of her creamy thigh and the thin silk against your exposed cunt made you dizzy. Larissa continued to grind you against her thigh, not relenting. You bumped the woman’s thigh in needy desperation as she watched amusingly.

As your moans and yelps turned more incoherent, as you got wetter and wetter to the point of where you could combust any second, Larissa brought her lips against the shell of your ear.

“No, you are the only friend of my daughters who undresses me with your eyes and who acts a like a slut needing to be put in line…” Larissa darkly cooed.

“Ahhhhh mMmm fuck Larissa please—!!” You cried out breathily.

“What do you need, Darling…?” She teased.

“N-need… need to cum GOD please Larissa—!!!” You cried out, your body starting to shake from the stimulation.

Just as those words left your mouth, Larissa yanked you off her thigh, and dropped you in the spot of the bed in between her legs. You squeaked in dismay and response, almost ready to cry at how close you had been.

“No n-no Larissa please…” you immediately began to beg the woman.

Larissa simply shushed you, effectively silencing you. Her hand ran up and down your sensitive frame. You immediately leaned into her touch and purred in pleasure.

“Let’s make you purr properly…” she cooed lustfully.

Larissa then continued to removed your shirt, throwing it aside, and moving to your shorts, which were thrown aside just as easily. Her hands then positioned you to straddle her entire frame, exposing your cunt to the cold air and making you yelp lightly.

You then felt Larissa’s cold fingers cup your sex.

“Ahh ahhhhmmmm Larissa yessss please…!!”

Larissa smirked and slid two fingers into your cunt with ease.

“Darling, you are drenched.”

The words left the woman’s mouth with pride. You blushed but didn’t have it in your mind to respond, no you were too occupied, grabbing onto Larissa’s shoulders for support and desperately grinding against her hand.

“Yes yes yessss Larissa—” you hissed.

Her fingers pumped and curled inside you with ease and to no surprise to either of you.

“I’ve been working you up all day, hmmm love…? Making you such a needy girl…”

You nodded your head vigorously and groaned once more.

It didn’t take long before you were on the edge once more, and begging Larissa to let you cum.

“No, not yet.” She firmly told you.

You whimpered but nodded in understanding.

“What do you think my daughter, your best friend would think if she walked in on us…?” Larissa lustfully cooed.

Your eyes rolled back and you cried out at her words.

“Oh God No no no soooo bad—!!” You cried out, “please Larissa please need it need it so bad…!!!”

With that, Larissa pulled out of you completely.

“No fuck n-no!” You exclaimed and groaned loudly.

Larissa chuckled and firmly grabbed your cheeks, holding them together.

“Darling, You have no idea what you were getting yourself involved in… Are you still sure about this…?”

Suddenly a wave of confidence crashed over you, you lined yourself up with the woman’s clothed sex and ground yourself against her, making Larissa hiss out in pleasure.

“Give it to me, mommy… I can’t take it…” you whispered in the woman’s ear.

Suddenly, Larissa lunged you forward, flipping you back and on your back, as she towered over you and held you hands above your head once more, spreading you out like a starfish. She growled in your face, making you busk your hips up in desperation.

“Careful what you ask mommy for…”

You gulped and whimpered, still bucking your hips up for any kind of friction. Larissa then released you, and got off the bed. You immediately sat up in confusion.

“Get on all fours.” Larissa ordered, as she opened the side drawer of her bedside drawer.

You immediately did as you were told, getting on all fours so that you were facing the door. You heard Larissa shuffle to put something on, before joining you back on the bed, this time behind you.

“You want mommy to give it to you, Sweetheart…?”

Her tone dripped with lust. You gulped and nodded eagerly, wiggling your ass in the air.

“Yes yes yes mommy please—!!” You cried out.

Larissa came flush up against your behind, her strap-on dick gliding against your folds.

“Mommy’s applied generous lube on her dick, Baby… all ready to make you mine…” she growled.

Before you could respond, the woman was pushing her dick into your core.

“Ohhhhh ahhhh fuck fuck— Larissa!!” You cried out.

“Shhh, good girl… taking me so well, breathe, Darling…”

You took a deep breath, and then you could feel her dick all the way inside you, all the way to the hilt.

“Shiiiiiit…” your eyes rolled back, “More GOD MORE please mommy!!”

“Good girl.”

Larissa began rocking her hips back and forth, pulling her plastic dick in and out of you at a decent pace.

“Yes god Harder F-faster—!!!” You screamed desperately.

Your hands gripped the sheets beneath you like a vice.

“S-so close—-!! Larissa Mommy please…!!!” You screamed.

Larissa chuckled, and with one more hard thrust, you were coming on her dick. Hard. Screaming and panting.

But Larissa didn’t stop after that. No, she sped up. Tears began to fall down your face.

“F-fffuck Larissa god—!!” You screamed.

Before your mind could register anything, Larissa had flipped you back onto your back, fucking you into the mattress. Your mount opened in overwhelming pleasure.

As Larissa pounded into you and you could contain your screams, you suddenly lunged forward and smashed your lips into hers.

God were you definitely addicted to these lips…

Larissa full on moaned into the kiss, and she never relented in continuing to fuck you into her mattress. Not once. Your eyes rolled back and you screamed as your next orgasm overtook you.

Your whole body went limp after you came down from your high, and Larissa was quick to kindly help you down and off your high. She slowly pulled out of you, still a panting, limp mess. You collapsed on the bed, and Larissa was quick to throw the strap to the side and go into the bathroom to grab a warm washcloth, then coming up next to you.

“May I…?” She gently asked for permission to take care of you.

You nodded with your flushed face. Larissa hummed in satisfaction as she cleaned you up caringly. When she was done, she joined you on the bed, pulling you into her embrace.

You were beat and ready to fall asleep. You’d face the consequences of your actions tomorrow, you decided.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to get a proper taste of you, Darling…” Larissa hummed in your ear as she lazily ran her fingers through your hair, while you dozed off to sleep.

~~~

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[cleolinda]

Re: Tallulah Bankhead: who was from Huntsville, AL, and as a queer woman living a bit further south of there, I cherish that: She did go around saying "I'm a lesbian. What do you do?" However, she had affairs/relationships with both women and men, which I mention only because "Bankhead never publicly used the term 'bisexual' to describe herself, preferring to use the term 'ambisextrous' instead," and I will not let humor like that be lost to history. Whatever she said about herself at any given time is valid and I'm not here to quibble about that; I'm here to point out that she said things like,

One afternoon in early 1934, Bankhead's friend David Herbert called at her suite at the Hotel Splendide in Piccadilly, only to be informed by her maid that "Miss Bankhead is in the bath with Mr Rex Whistler". Hearing Herbert's voice down the hall, Bankhead reportedly shouted, "I'm just trying to show Rex I'm definitely a blonde!"

[pippytmi]

Your ennemies to lovers prompts make me think so much about kacy during S1. I appreciate all of your Kacy fics and love the emotions you manage to create with your writing. I was wondering if you would be interested in writing a story that combines prompt 4 and 6?

It is an unspoken rule that when the DIA is involved in a case, Lucy needs to be kept far, far away.

At least, that’s how Jesse rationalizes trying to keep Lucy away from DIA Officer Whistler. He cites repeated complaints to Tennant (undeserved ones), numerous whisper-shouting matches in the halls (all Whistler’s fault), and ending in the middle of tense stare-downs more often than not (obviously biased). So really, it’s a no-brainer that Lucy indignantly ignores Jesse’s pleas and makes it her mission to give as good as she gets.

“Good morning, DIA Officer Whistler,” Lucy tells her sweetly this morning, having been waiting outside the elevator just to catch the briefly-perplexed, then immediately-annoyed expression on Whistler’s face.

“Special Agent Tara,” Whistler says curtly. “I was told I would be speaking with Agent Boone today.”

“He’s busy,” Lucy says. “Small mishap with his car.” (She’d let the air out of his tires, actually, just in preparation for today).

Whistler’s expression does not waver. “I’ll speak with Special Agent Tennant, then,” she says.

“Or,” Lucy says, following as Whistler begins to stalk through the bullpen, “you can discuss the case with me. I haven’t actually been briefed on why you’re here, but if you give me two minutes…”

Whistler comes to an abrupt stop, and Lucy nearly knocks them both over; Whistler has to grip Lucy’s arm just to keep her from falling on her face, and when Lucy meets Whistler’s gaze, she sees—strangely—a kind of uncharacteristic apprehension that Whistler never has. Whistler drops Lucy’s arm like she has been burned, and her voice goes quiet when she says, 

“It really would make more sense to discuss clearance with your boss. It’s a time-sensitive matter.”

“Oh.” Lucy tries to hide her confusion, but it’s a halfhearted attempt at best; usually, the back-and-forth with Whistler is inevitable (and maybe even slightly thrilling). Whistler never just…gives up. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” Whistler says, already heading towards Jane’s office with renewed intensity. “Excuse me.”

Lucy is practically rooted in her spot, bewildered, and she watches as Tennant beckons Whistler inside before shutting the door. “Huh,” she says aloud. “Weird.”

“What’s weird?” Kai comes in carrying coffee, and he freezes in place as he, too, realizes what Lucy is looking at. “Damn. DIA’s here already? We haven’t even been briefed on the case yet.”

“Apparently it’s ‘time-sensitive’,” Lucy says, complete with air quotes and everything. “Think this means Whistler will actually give us something for once?”

“I’m not holding my breath,” Kai yawns, offering Lucy her cup before he wanders over to his desk. “Hey, where’s Jesse?”

(Lucy decides not to incriminate herself by answering that).

By the time Whistler and Jane emerge, both Kai and Lucy are pretending to be working and Jesse is just barely bursting through the doors. Jane doesn’t comment on either; instead, she waves her arms to get everyone together and begins her spiel about how they need to work with DIA and be a happy team or whatever. Honestly, Lucy is kind of tuning out the pep talk and is instead studying Whistler—everything about her body language screams discomfort, from the stiffness of her shoulders to the sharpness of her set mouth. And when she catches Lucy staring, all she does is quickly look away.

Weird.

Later, after they've been fully briefed and Jane dismisses them to do boring grunt work, Lucy tries to edge closer to Whistler and ask what exactly DIA needs to be here for. But when Whistler sees her coming, she makes a beeline towards Jesse instead, and Lucy is left frowning at their backs.

At first Lucy doesn't think too much of it. Jesse is probably handling the precious, redacted DIA files that point them to the possible suspects in this abduction case. But then, after Lucy is tasked with talking to their kidnapping victim's husband, she tries to be polite and ask Whistler if she wants to sit in. A gesture of goodwill, really, to make Whistler feel like she’s part of the investigation. 

“Hey Whistler, do you want to get in on this?” Lucy waves her case file enticingly when Whistler emerges from the break room. “We can do a good cop/bad cop routine. Obviously we know who's who in that scenario, but if you ask nicely I might consider flipping you for bad cop.”

Whistler blinks at her. “What?”

“I'm going to interview Sergeant Nguyen’s husband,” Lucy clarifies. “Want to help?”

“That's not in my job description,” Whistler says, brow crinkling in deeper confusion. “And I have to go talk to Tennant.”

“Again?” Lucy asks this question to the empty space where Whistler used to be. Except this time, Whistler is not being invited into Jane’s office. No, Whistler is just walking away, and pretending to get a call so she has an excuse to exit the hallway.

In an instant, Lucy is pissed off. Here she is, extending an olive branch, and Whistler is acting like she's too good for it. Fine—if Whistler wants to avoid her, then two can play at that game.

Ernie patiently listens to Lucy explain all of this once the interview with the Sergeant's husband gets them nothing. “So that’s why you're hiding in here,” he guesses. “Because Whistler doesn’t want to fight with you like usual.”

“I'm not hiding,” Lucy scoffs. “I actually came here to discuss…” She lamely grabs the top file on his desk, flipping it open to the first page. “Timothy Summers. Hm. Yeah, I think he's our guy.”

“Great,” Ernie says. “So an arrest is imminent, then?”

“Oh, definitely. That's why I'm here…with you…for our next move.”

“And how does the fact that he's been dead for six months fit into this?”

Lucy pauses. “You couldn’t have just told me that?”

“It’s literally underneath his picture. Deceased.” Ernie jabs at the file with his finger, and Lucy smacks him with it. “Ow! God, you’re mean when you fight with your girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Lucy’s voice comes out several octaves higher than it should. “Why would you say that?”

“Uh, lots of reasons.” Ernie pops open a box of candy on his desk, offering Lucy a sympathetic red vine which she numbly accepts. “Everyone can see it. Honestly, I thought you two were going to start going at it on Kai’s desk the other day when Whistler broke the news that we were off the Dominguez case.”

Lucy’s jaw drops. “Because we were arguing?”

“Intensely arguing,” Ernie corrects. “Kai and I placed bets on who would kiss who first.”

“Are you serious? She hates me.” 

“Does she?” Ernie continues chewing on his red vine before whispering conspiringly, “Or does she secretly burn for you?”

Horrified, Lucy ditches the candy; surely, that must be the reason she suddenly feels sick to her stomach. “Forget it. I’m going to hide somewhere else.”

“So you are hiding. I knew it! Hey, can you—”

Whatever Ernie wants, Lucy doesn’t stick around to find out. She decides she’s going to find Kai instead, see if he has any actual leads in the case.

Except she ends up bumping into Whistler again. Full-on body contact this time, even—Whistler jerks backwards, Lucy tries to jump into the wall, and really it's a wonder it doesn't end in catastrophe.

“I'm sorry, I…” Whistler trails off when she sees Lucy. “Um, Tennant said I had to talk to Ernie about Sergeant Nguyen’s finances. Is he here?”

“Yeah, he's in there.” Lucy gestures vaguely over her shoulder. “The tech-nerd talk is all yours. I need to go talk to...other people. About things.”

Whistler nods awkwardly, still waiting, and Lucy belatedly steps out of the doorway in order to head back to the bullpen. Okay, so, Operation Avoid Whistler is officially off to a bad start.

But when she catches up to Kai, he has a much better idea of how to spend their time, and it also guarantees Lucy can avoid Whistler perfectly.

“Sergeant Nguyen was last seen at a Vietnamese restaurant two blocks from here,” Kai says. “Do you want to go check it out? Maybe we'll get something the police didn't.”

Lucy’s spirits are immediately lifted. “Yes. I could go for a banh mi,” she says dreamily. “Ooh, and some spring rolls.”

“I'm…pretty sure we're not allowed to order food from our suspects.”

“We don't know if they're our suspects,” Lucy reminds him. “And besides, spring rolls never kidnapped anyone.” She pats him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”

It ends up being closer to twenty minutes to update Jane on their next move, but Jane does give her blessing to investigate (and bring back lunch). Lucy has a pep in her step the entire way out to the parking lot, where…Whistler is standing.

Lucy notices her first; Whistler is facing the ocean, hand cupped above her forehead and frowning at something. She looks so serious—and out of place—that Lucy almost considers asking what’s wrong. Key word almost, because she is still on avoid-Kate-Whistler-mode, and she makes a mad dash to Kai’s car before Whistler can spot her.

Kai yelps when Lucy yanks the door open with, admittedly, a sense of urgency that is a tad unwarranted. “What—?”

“Drive, Kai,” Lucy demands, and he immediately starts up the engine, but he eyes her warily all the same.

(Unfortunately, Lucy makes eye contact with Whistler through the window as the car peels out of the lot, and she groans and sinks low in her seat.)

“What was that?” Kai ventures to ask. “Are you and Whistler fighting?”

“For once, no,” Lucy says. “She’s been avoiding me. So now I’m the one avoiding her.”

“Well did something happen?” The drive is quick, and before they know it, Kai is easing the car into a parking spot. “I know you two get…uh. Really passionate sometimes.”

“Because she hates me,” Lucy reiterates, feeling like a broken record at this point. “So I hate to break it to you, but you and Ernie are not going to collect on any bets related to kissing.”

Kai winces. “You know about that?”

“Yes, Kai, what the hell? I expect this from Ernie, but from you?”

“Any way I can make it up to you?” Kai asks weakly.

“Buy me lunch and we’ll talk,” Lucy says, and Kai—newfound meddler that he has proved to be—can at least follow instructions beautifully.

The restaurant turns out to be a dead-end case wise, but their menu is grand; they order too much food and bring enough lunch for everyone. (Even Whistler).

But when Lucy ever-so-casually mentions this, Jane just shrugs and says,

“I told her to stick around for you two, but she said she had to finalize some reports.”

“Wow,” Ernie says around a mouthful of noodles, “that’s dedication. Turning down free food just for work.” He pointedly raises his eyebrows at Lucy, who in turn tries very hard to glower at him with just her eyes.

“Good for her,” is all Lucy has to say about that. Jane gives her a curious look for the comment, but thankfully doesn’t ask.

“Hey, Lucy,” Ernie says suddenly. “I left my tea in the lair. Can you do me a favor and bring it to me?”

Lucy—still cradling her precious, half-eaten banh mi—has to do an actual double-take. “Why can’t you get it?”

“Because I have a cramp…in my leg…and you love me,” Ernie says. When Lucy stares back at him, unimpressed, he tries again with: “And I’ll owe you?”

“Fine,” Lucy sighs. “But you’re being so weird.” Suspiciously weird, even, but his scheming doesn’t click until Lucy is actually opening Ernie’s door and—“Oh.”

Whistler lifts her head at the intrusion, her stunned expression likely a mirror of Lucy’s. “Special Agent Tara,” she says.

“Whistler,” Lucy says slowly. “What are you doing in here?”

“Ernie said I could borrow his computer,” Whistler says. “DIA wants me here until we get a ransom demand, and I wanted to get some work done.”

“Ernie let you borrow his computer,” Lucy echoes. “Willingly?”

“Yes?” Whistler tilts her head questioningly. “Sorry, did you need something?”

Lucy knows she should be looking for Ernie’s tea. She also knows she should probably ask Whistler about it. But all that comes out is: “You know, we brought lunch for everyone.”

“Thank you, but I had lunch already.” Whistler glances back down at the computer screen, tapping away at its keys in a silent dismissal, and in an instant Lucy has had enough.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

The mechanical typing falters. “I’m not.”

“You’re working with everyone else on my team but me,” Lucy says. “That kind of feels like you’re avoiding me.”

“Maybe I felt like getting actual work done for once.” Whistler looks up again, this time with a deep-set frown on her lips. “And I wasn’t in the mood to fight.”

“Hey, you’re the one who fights with me!”  Lucy argues. “Literally, from day one. You yelled at Jane about me in front of everyone.”

“Because you stole a sensitive report which you had no clearance for!”

“Actually, I read it upside down while you were talking about how I didn’t have clearance for it,” Lucy counters. “No stealing required.”

Whistler’s jaw clenches. “That is not any better.”

“But it means I’m not a thief. I’m just…you know, crafty,” Lucy says. “Come on, haven’t you ever bent the rules a little to break a case?”

“I don't break cases,” Whistler says flatly. “I protect intel.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “Fine,” she snaps, exasperated, “you’re a saint and a better person than I am. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Are you—what is your problem? That is not what I’m saying.”

“Then what are you saying?” Lucy lets the words hang between them in the ensuing silence. She doesn’t even realize that she has placed her hands on the desk in challenge—barely any space between them now—until Whistler is hastily standing up.

Even as tall as she is, Whistler’s voice comes out incredibly small. “Nothing,” she says finally. “Please forgive my…gross unprofessionalism. Clearly, I have overstayed my welcome.” She steps out from behind the desk without even bothering to close whatever she’d been working on, and Lucy sees red.

“Oh sure, just run away,” Lucy huffs. “Go ahead! Prove you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I haven’t been—”

“I’m sick of playing this game with you!” Lucy cuts her off.

Whistler doesn’t move an inch. “What game?” 

Dammit. Ernie is most definitely in her head. What the hell; it’s not like Lucy has anything to lose. “The game where we pretend we don't like each other,” she says firmly. “You’re an asshole and I like to piss you off, but obviously there is something else here and I’m not crazy. This is—”

Honestly, in the back of her mind, the most Lucy expects is more denial. At worst, she expects Whistler to march out of the room and report her to Jane again. She certainly does not anticipate Whistler yanking Lucy in to kiss her breathless—just for a brief, dizzying moment—before pulling away.

Whistler tries to apologize, but Lucy doesn’t let her; she is once again determined to give as good as she gets (in a very different context). Lucy pulls Whistler right back in, grasping desperately at her face and stretching as fall as the tips of her toes will allow. 

It seems to reassure Whistler in any case, who eagerly slides her hands along Lucy’s back and melts against her. Maybe it's the months of pent-up aggression between the two of them, or maybe it's the knowledge that Whistler is an actual human being, or maybe it's just the ghost of the faint touch of Whistler's fingertips underneath the hem of Lucy’s shirt, but the kiss gets really intense really fast.

Lucy debates sliding her own hand under Whistler's shirt—see if she is as serious in her bra choices as she is in pantsuits—but then Whistler flicks her tongue into Lucy’s mouth and she cannot possibly be expected to focus. It's intoxicating and exhilarating and…

“Wait, wait,” Lucy regretfully manages to twist away. “We can't do this.”

“Right,” Whistler says, nodding rapidly. “It would be a mistake.” She's clearly trying to school her features into her usual stoic demeanor, but her efforts are completely undermined by her kiss-swollen lips and the obvious flush on her cheeks.

“What? No, I meant, we can't do this here,” Lucy says. “You think it would be a mistake?”

“Not if…you don't,” Kate says, almost like a question.

“Are you seriously going to throw yourself at me but not even say what you feel out loud? I think you're addicted to fighting with me,” Lucy decides.

“I didn't throw myself at you, and—if anything, you're the one trying to fight with me!” Kate exclaims. “Every day I come in, and you're there trying to undermine me. I've been trying to keep my distance for both our sakes. Obviously our working dynamic is…less than ideal, most of the time.”

“I'm not trying to undermine you. I'm just trying to get you to loosen up a little maybe,” Lucy says. “Which…okay, might be annoying. So I get why you're an uptight asshole sometimes. No offense!”

Whistler frowns. “Some offense taken.”

“Oh, it's fine,” Lucy says. “The asshole thing is unfortunately very hot. Ernie may or may not have had a point.”

“What does Ernie have to do with this?” Whistler looks horrified now.

“Not like—Ernie and I don't sit around discussing how hot you are,” Lucy tries to save face. “He just suggested that we might…you know…jump each other at some point.”

“You're not making this any better.”

“Then forget Ernie,” Lucy says. “Take him out of the equation entirely. Do you also find me unfortunately hot?”

“I wouldn’t call it unfortunate,” Whistler says. “But. Yes?”

“Okay, so…” Lucy trails off. “What are we doing here, Whistler? Do you want to walk out of here and pretend this never happened?”

“No.” Whistler steps forward hesitantly. “That’s not what I want. I��I like you, Lucy. And I know this would completely ruin our working relationship, but—”

“Shut up about work,” Lucy says, dragging Whistler back in for another fervorous kiss, delighting in the fact that Whistler certainly isn’t fighting her now.

(Lucy’s phone buzzing, however, does effectively kill the mood.)

“What is that?” Whistler is instantly back into work mode, smoothing her hair haphazardly as if someone is about to walk in any second. “Is it about the case?”

Lucy unlocks her phone with bated breath. “Maybe we finally have a ransom call,” she says, before the familiar face in her text messages proves otherwise. “...nevermind, it’s just Ernie. He wants to know if we’ve ‘kissed and made up’. I’m going to tell him we’re going to have sex in his chair.”

Whistler half-coughs, half-chokes. “Are we?”

“Obviously not,” Lucy says. Then, thoughtfully: “But I’m technically still on lunch. Did you drive here?”

“Yeah, I have a company car,” Whistler says. “Do you have another lead?”

“No, but I do have thirty minutes to spare,” Lucy says cheerfully. “Get your keys. We’re totally going to have sex in your company car.”

Whistler turns very, very red. “I…don’t think my boss would like that.”

“Fine, then we can make out in your company car,” Lucy amends. “But you’re going to have to leave first. Kai and Ernie have a bet going about us, and I don’t want either of them to win.”

“Your team has a strange obsession with your love life,” Whistler tells her matter-of-factly.

“Eh, could be worse,” Lucy says. “Jane could get involved.”

Whistler—marginally disheveled—manages to crack a smile. “Let’s not let it get that far,” she suggests, brushing one final kiss against Lucy’s mouth with a resigned sigh. “So…are we keeping this between us for now?”

“I guess so,” Lucy says begrudgingly. “Think you can keep on fighting me in front of everyone?”

Whistler shrugs. “Are you going to keep being an asshole?”

“Wha—hey, no fair! You’re the asshole. I’m the good-meaning, happy-go-lucky agent who just wants to keep you human,” Lucy says, poking at Whistler’s cheek until her smile grows even more.

“Challenge accepted,” Whistler says, smoothly tucking a strand of hair behind Lucy’s cheek before casually making her exit. 

Lucy places her hands on her hips and wistfully watches her go. This day has gone absolutely nowhere she expected it to, but dammit, she can’t be mad.

(Especially when her phone buzzes again with another text from Ernie. All it says is: NOOOOOO 😭).

[adobe-outdesign]

Nigel: The Muppets' Most Interesting Uninteresting Character

(This was supposed to be a fun little post about an obscure Muppet character but now I fell down a hole doing too much research and sunk cost fallacy won't let me live it down unless I include all of the useless information I've learned so enjoy knowing more about this character than you ever have or ever will want to know)

Nigel was created to be the host of the Muppet Show's Sex and Violence pilot instead of Kermit (who only appears in the pilot for like 30 seconds)

He was originally puppeteered by Jim Henson himself, giving him a vaguely Kermit-esq voice initially

Nigel Voice Count: 1

Nigel is a yellow... something. You’d assume he’s just a stylized human Muppet but in S4E18 Sam refers to him as a “thing”

He actually looks near-identical to a Fraggle minus the tail. I don’t know what to do with this information

Nigel was diagnosed with terminal Boring Personality disease due to the following attributes:

He’s very meek. Unlike Kermit, who will freak out and tell people they suck to their faces, Nigel raises his voice one (1) time and mostly relies on Sam the Eagle and Crazy Harry to deal with the assorted chaos

His face is flexible like Kermit’s, but he has permanently partially-lidded eyes that leave him looking exhausted in every scene he’s in

He’s generally unenthusiastic and seems like he wants to go home constantly

Jim Henson: The Works describes him as "lacking in spunk and charisma," which is hilariously cruel yet 100% accurate

What’s surprising at this point is that instead of scrapping him, he instead took on the role of orchestra conductor on the show proper, where he proceeds to do almost nothing for five seasons

The Muppets Character Encyclopedia actually provides a canon reason for this: Nigel lost the job of host due to his “shy manner”, and Kermit, feeling bad for replacing him, gave him his new job

He can technically be seen in basically every episode during the theme song, but aside from that, he often pops up in the chorus during songs

Which is funny when you consider he should be in the pit Doing His Job during those sequences

A quick list of his more important (if you can even call them that) appearances:

S1E2: He has Zoot play a song called “Sax and Violence” b/c pilot references

It’s actually implied the Mayhem falls under his jurisdiction as he threatens to fire Zoot, but this never comes up again

S1E24: Playing the part of a library patron noisily chewing gum (despite not having teeth. idk you figure it out). This one’s only notable because he’s wearing the same outfit from the pilot

S3E16: Nigel’s eyelids are not connected to the rest of his body and he’s facing backwards through the entire backstage segment so you’re uncomfortably aware of this

S1E23 has Floyd complaining that the theme song is cringe(TM), at which point it’s casually revealed that Nigel wrote it?? how is this character so important and unimportant at the exact same time

If you’ve seen this episode and aren’t deaf you might have noticed he has a completely different voice here. This is because John Lovelady has taken over as his puppeteer, presumably because Jim was busy Running The Entire Show

Nigel Voice Count: 2

Nigel has a talent for whistling, which is shown off in S2E18 during a performance with Floyd (this is the only time he comes on stage to perform that isn’t with a crowd)

He shows this off again in S4E18 to participate in the age-old sport of Annoying Sam the Eagle backstage

As of the 2011 movie Walter takes over as the show’s resident whistler because Nigel isn’t allowed to have character traits

He briefly shows up during the credits of The Muppet Movie (now puppeteered by Dave Goelz). Because of this, in the UK version of the end credits, he has another completely different voice

Nigel Voice Count: 3

After a brief background appearance in The Jim Henson Hour (S1E12), Nigel proceeded to completely disappear for 20 years

I’m guessing the reason was that his puppet was becoming unusable. The foam used for the muppets disintegrates over time, and his puppet was ~15 years old at this point

Things were particularly bleak for him in the 90s because Muppets Tonight came out with a new unrelated TV director character named... Nigel. Because Jim had passed away at this point and I think everyone working on the show literally Forgot they already had a character named that

Not that it would be that big of a problem, seeing as the chances of yellow Nigel returning were bleak. who was gonna spend time and money rebuilding an incredibly minor background character like him

TRICK QUESTION because he was rebuilt for The Muppets (2011), which is pretty amazing when you consider that he does Nothing during this movie

The new puppet looks pretty similar to the old one. I think the face is a bit rounder/more structured but I could also be losing my mind

(Side note: shoutout to whoever decided to give him a scarf in this scene. that’s such an unnecessary detail)

What’s great is that now that the puppet’s been rebuilt he’s shown up in a lot of stuff because they have no reason not to include him. Some of the more notable examples include:

The music video for OK Go’s cover of the theme song (which I certainly hope he would show up in I mean. it’s his song)

In the live shows (The Muppets Take the Bowl and The Muppets Take the O2) there’s a parade of overlooked characters, which includes Nigel. I just find it funny that:

A) The writers fully acknowledge that he’s King of the Background Characters

B) The in-universe implication that Kermit was like “no one knows who you are, wanna be in a parade celebrating that fact” and Nigel was like “okay”

His most recent appearance was in Muppets Haunted Mansion, where he’s dead (don’t worry about it). More importantly, he gets an entire shot to himself conducting some skulls, which I think is the first time the camera’s been focused solely on him in literally 40 years. Good job, buddy!

Here’s some other misc appearances that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

He appears alongside Jim and a few other Muppets in a 1977 commercial for American Express (once again wearing his pilot outfit), which is particularly strange considering he’s the only character there that used to be puppeteered by Jim

In 2010 he got a somewhat important role in the first issue of Muppet Sherlock Holmes, playing the part of a butler suspected of poisoning the head of the house

He gets one whole page in The Muppets Character Encyclopedia from 2014 (right next to other Nigel). In addition to the aforementioned info bridging the gap between the pilot and the show proper, it also states that he’s susceptible to hypnosis and he trained at the Tommy Newsom Academy for Music and Charisma

In terms of future projects: there is both a Jim Henson biopic and documentary coming in the future (side note: why???), so it’s possible he might be discussed briefly in one of those

I have no thesis statement or reason for writing this, but I guess I’ll close out by saying that I find it fascinating that a failed main character from a pilot episode is still appearing in recent Muppet productions but solely as a background character. I hope that in 2073 I can put on some Muppet media and Nigel will still be there still doing absolutely nothing

thanks for coming to my TED talk

[101flavoursofweird]

Level 5 COULD have given Flora good writing (post-Curious Village)… just look at Janice

I think Janice (or Melina, but I’ll call her Janice for simplicity sake) fills a similar role that Flora could have so easily had…

Janice isn’t physically strong or powerful like Emmy. Sure, Janice knocks out two guards with Luke’s help, but she can’t fight off a small army— and that’s okay! 

Despite this, Layton still lets Janice join them from the very start of the eternal life game. He doesn’t once argue that Janice should stay behind the stage curtain for her own safety. Granted, anyone who doesn’t compete in the game is shown to fall through the floor… but I still think it’s quite important that Layton doesn’t once worry about Janice’s presence out loud. During the prologue for PL4, Layton fusses even about Emmy’s safety, so this could be seen as a moment of growth for him!

Janice gets to interact with everyone from the start of her appearance— Layton, Luke, Nina, Whistler… We see flashes of her personality (Though it’s never distinguished whether this is Janice or Melina’spersonality!), like when she smiles at Luke’s antics, tucks Nina’s blanket around her, looks pensive when Whistler states Melina is gone, when she muses to a very confused Layton about the adventure being romantic, or when she excitedly compares the helicopter to a giant grasshopper… 

Janice even makes some contributions during the game for eternal life, like when she helps build the helicopter or she tries to save Amelia from Descole’s guards. It’s not a lot but it’s something.

Yes, she gets kidnapped on her own by Descole but like… so does Luke? All the eternal life contestants are kidnapped technically? And then, when the gang are surrounded by wolves Descole tells her to sing in order to save THEM?

Despite Mr. Whistler’s efforts, it’s Melina’s decision to leave in the end. She teaches him that he needs to let go, while keeping her alive in his memories, and she teaches Janice that she needs to start living her own life again. This is, undoubtably, Melina’s story.

It might not be fair to compare Janice/Melina to Flora (whose writing is stretched out across a whole trilogy)… and I think Flora’s writing in Curious Village alone is good. Flora, similarly, gets the final say in what happens to St. Mystere— she chooses to let the robots keep on living, after previously being scared of her robot step mother— and it’s her decision to leave with Layton and Luke in the end.

Following this, Flora gets some sweet moments with Layton and Luke on the Molentary Express and in Dropstone. They’re like a little family at the festival!

Flora doesn’t get her own puzzle animation in the second game, which could be because we’re not meant to see things from her perspective when Don Paolo steals her identity. (Though that didn’t stop Level 5 during Miracle Mask when Descole was disguised as Angela?) 

But for some weird reason, Flora just isn’t present in a lot of the cutscenes. Even when Layton and Luke step off the train and arrive in Dropstone?

Okay, maybe Level 5 just couldn’t be bothered animating Flora. A one-minute cutscene isn’t going to have the same amount of effort put into it as a 1hr 40 minute movie. 

And again, Don Paolo disguises himself as Flora from when they leave Folsense onwards, so maybe Luke and Layton have less interactions with ‘Flora’ so the player won’t suspect anything. This is a good, shocking twist! And we get a nice scene in the epilogue with Layton, Luke and Flora on the train journey home. Flora doesn’t get any voiced lines outside of a hum, but she looks happy!

So, what’s Lost Future’s excuse? Flora doesn’t even get a single mention until Layton and Luke run into her back in the present… and then they leave her because ‘it’s not safe’! 

Layton… Layton, I know you have PTSD after dying and losing a previous daughter-figure and after being betrayed multiple times and losing countless people in your past and Flora got kidnapped during your previous adventure… but this choice is garbage. This writing is garbage. 

Lost Future is the fan favourite of the series, but Flora’s writing and Layton’s interactions with her suck. And Luke’s, who constantly puts Flora down for NO REASON. There’s sibling rivalry but then there’s just being plain rude.

Where was the respect Layton and Luke had for Janice? Where was the trust they had in Emmy?

I know, the OG trilogy was released way before Eternal Diva. Level 5 actually stepped up their game when it came to writing female characters during the prequel series. (I love Lady Dahlia and Katia, but tell me with a straight face that they got as much focus as Arianna or Janice or Angela or Aurora. Claire was incredible, but she died.)

But… Flora appears in the Eternal Diva prologue in a small cameo. The writers did such a good job with Janice’s character, so could they finally apply the same writing to Flora—?

No. Flora looks scared when Layton unveils Don Polo’s disguise. Layton then tells Flora to stay herewhile he and Luke chase after Don Paolo. That’s it. And Flora hasn’t appeared in the series since.

[cal4hysteria]

thanks for asking. im so normal about this topic. shakes

. andre vocal stimming. like. when hes bored he'll do the lip pops or click his tongue. hes also an avid whistler and can never shut the fuck up. sometimes he'll whistle until he falls asleep and cal hates it during sleepovers

. gets overstimulated easy, and just goes nonverbal completely when he does. like he just sits/stands there and stares off into nothing like seriously nothing going on in his head

. certain sounds set him off so easy. he hates the sound of metal scratching and crackling. and specific loud noises like cars revving, but otherwise loud things dont irritate him

. me and a friend discussed that he beatboxes. like we are convinced he does. and sometimes cal will join in if he feels like it. thanks sandy

. andre breaking pencils and chewing on pens till they explode. he kind of just chews on everything. everytime he has a drink with a straw the straw gets like. completely fuckin gnawed on

. andre keeps EVERYTHING organized. his room is clean as hell and everything has a place. he goes ballistic if something isnt in its spot. after a few years cal had learned where everything in andre's room went

. he has one big box of random shit. just a cardboard box in the corner of his room with things and contraptions. (ifyk what a doom box is.)

. impulsively says random shit and like. if he hears something funny he'll repeat it at least a few times until its out of his system.

. has a random catchphrase every week. just a random saying he'll say every day for a while. (projecting im projecting)

. can NOT control the volume of his voice for the life of him

. imitates sounds he hears around him often

. used to jump up and down when he got excited, but grew up and got bigger so now he just kind of like. shakes like hes there and he shakes.

. cant eat certain foods due to texture. like he fucking hates grapes and anything slimy

. clothes that dont hug around his skin. like he needs tight clothes or he'll freak out

@strawbrygashez !!!!!!!!!!!!!

half of these were projecting and from my friend and his own stims im normal about autismdre

[halforcdad]

the kate, kai, and lucy scene was fun and we got to see shades of lawyer whistler's effortless precision cross examination takedown when she immediately got to the root of lucy's insecurities. like when she brought up food, probably knowing how important it is to lucy, and lucy immediately gave it away by responding defensively, kate looked like she had her right where she wanted her and couldn't hide her amusement about it. but also her being able to see through lucy so easily and so quickly is kinda proof to lucy that kate knows her so well. it was so fun to watch.

the mochi scene in the bullpen was crazy for so many reasons, but especially because that was the first time they've kissed in the bullpen and at work in general! and the scene was also weirdly intimate especially when kate got up in lucy's personal space and said 'still not sharing the mochi' in that low voice. also kate 'you really know how to give a compliment' whistler being so smitten over a simple compliment almost 90% fueled by a desire to steal some mochi, she is so whipped.

all the kacy scenes were so good, and they serve as such a good measure for how far they've come. like lucy thinking kate was embarrassed by her? kate just told her coworker point blank that she'll never like him more than lucy. kate sauntered up to lucy smiling like an idiot after a compliment and planted one on her in the middle of the day. kate not being comfortable talking about them at work? she dissected all of lucy's insecurities on the bullpen floor and immediately reassured her, basically said that lucy was her favorite.

kate was bullying and teasing lucy all episode, but she was also quick to balm it over at the end of both scenes, first with reassurance that she isn't gonna like anyone more than lucy and second with a smile and a kiss because while Lucy isnt getting any mochi, kate appreciates the effort and compliment anyway

and kate's reaction to ernie calling her 'smart and kind' makes me think that more than anything, she wants to be known for her kindness, not just that she's smart enough to help with any problem, but that she's willing to help. and kate wants to help so badly. her telling lucy 'anyway, im here' made me feel something, because whether it's getting food or doing taxes, kate is there for them, not just for lucy, but for everyone on the team, and that's something s1 whistler wouldn't be caught dead doing

(also whistler looked like a rich milf and a politician's wife in that mochi scene)

[chadfallout76podcast]

"Deah Shroud!: A Nick Valentine Mystery" EXPLAINED and AMA

It never occurred to me to do this last year, but a lot of people have asked me questions about our Fallout 4 play in the last year in the Discord, so I wanted to open an AMA but also explain "Death Shroud!" and some of the broader themes involved in it.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Part 1: Pre-production

Before I get into the story, I wanted to explain how this production even came about. Over the years after working together on some official community projects with Wes Johnson through Bethesda, we became good friends. I took a couple of his acting classes and he talked about the Fallout For Hope charity initiative I started and asked for help in organizing the gaming community for his Alzheimer's Association fundraiser. The idea was to host a month-long digital event of discussion panels, game shows, improv and a play with as many different voices of video games, film and TV as we could round up. In our second year of his VoiceAPalooza fundraiser, I wanted to do an original old time radio show and see if could bring back as many of the cast that we could from Fallout 4. It was Wes who first suggested an adventure with his Silver Shroud character (that he voiced in Fallout 4's radio plays) teaming up with Nick Valentine (voiced by the amazing Stephen Russell). Valentine is, for me, one of the best written, unique companions in Fallout lore.

So, I reached out to Stephen Russell who had joined us before for charity work and he was all in on bringing Nick Valentine back to life! After that things moved fast with Bethesda's Pete Hines and Emil Pagliarulo joining us to have some fun for a good cause. We tried to get EVERY companion from Fallout 4 that we could, but schedule wrangling is tough, and some people are just impossible to track down or find. Matt Mercer would've loved to have joined us as Macready, but unfortunately scheduling didn't work, so the best we could manage would be a holotape (the only reason our snarky gun running merc had to take the big sleep in the story).

After having everyone plugged in to reprise characters, it was time to put fingers to keys and find the story...

Part 2: The Deep Lore

The origin of this story started with a thought: how would the NPC's and characters we love perceive modification of their universe by us? We, as players aren't the true creators of this universe or these characters (Bethesda is). If anything, we the players are the equivalent of "lesser gods", reshaping it in new ways, unexpected and subjective ways, and sometimes even chaotic ways (I'm looking at you avalanche of adult mods with realistic jiggle physics and Thomas the Tank Engine Vertibird).

It started with a mental image of the small ways in which we start out modding games, or even the first mods we (using the "Engine of Creation) actually create. I had a mental image of Magnolia doing her thing, singing away sultry in a crowded and smoky third rail when she looks one way, back the next and sees new curtains. A subtle thing, something a little startling, but in a universe where recreational drug use is met with a YEEE YEEEE WHEEEE...a change you simply dismiss as being overtired or a little too juiced.

I'm a sucker for old time radio. I grew up listening to classic radio horrors like The Whistler, Suspense, and Lights Out on vinyl records and cassette tapes when I'd spend summers with my grandmother on a little island off the coast of Canada. Getting the tone, feeling and sound to stage an old-time radio show was the easiest part of this whole process...it's baked into my brain lol. The key of course is finding the right narrative voice.

Enter: Bill Lobley. If you play Fallout 76, he is the announcer for the "Tales from the West Virginia Hills" holotapes, but before that he's a prolific voice actor, maybe best known for his role as the truly vile Jeremiah Fink in Bioshock: Infinite. He has a FANTASTIC transatlantic voice for old time radio and was perfect as narrator in the script.

Part 3: What Is Going On?!?!

I had the base idea, the voices to pull it off, but what was the meaning and message of the whole thing? I always start there. From a meta experience level, the story is about dealing with subjective reality that’s being torn apart. After Fallout 4 launched in vanilla, we the players changed that world and reshaped it with mods. The small changes in perceived reality are meant for the omniscient player (us) and are not meant to be perceived by the characters themselves...and yet, what if they were? And if they were...WHY?! The answer was right in front of me: there's a difference between something born into a world and something MADE into a world.

You take someone like Magnolia or Nick, both synths, that obviously weren’t naturally born from two people. They were conceived as an idea...a human idea sure, but still they were made, not born. Without even needing to say in the script, the Trickster from the Grognak comic books who shouldn't exist yet does IS also an idea. Some MADE into a world but not born...a different world sure, but still the creation of it. Nick, Magnolia, any synth as ideas themselves would sense that the world was wrong and being changed in a way no one else would because of fundamentally who they are and what they represent.

Everything that unfolds is because Nora as a keystone event in the Commonwealth, a focal point of the causal nexus making her a unique entity in that world. A causal nexus is the link between a cause and its resulting effects and ignore the science mumbo jumbo, because here's an example of how that works:

The Sole Survivor, Nora, listened to Kent's message, chose to answer him and put on the outfit of the Silver Shroud. As a unique figure she shifted perceived reality of everyone in the Commonwealth by becoming the Silver Shroud, acting like him and making people believe that a fictional character exists.

Unfettered belief and faith in an idea = manifested reality.

Rejected belief and faith in the idea = dispels that reality.

This HAS happened before in Fallout lore in the instance of people with horrifying backstories and personal tragedies choosing to become someone else such as the Mechanist (Fallout 3 and Fallout 4) or even the Ant-Agonizer (Fallout 3). This time however it was a unique figure who did this, a figure fated and meant to reshape the Commonwealth for good, bad or ugly.

This opened a door, the door through which another figure could influence and enter a new universe provided it take the form of something already in it...a reality side-step into the form of the Mechanist. Concurrently, the moment that happened, reality counterbalanced by making the Silver Shroud who was already believed to be real BECOME real as the ying to the Mechanist/Trickster's yang.

Now at home in reality, the Trickster found himself very much alive and unbound by story but had very little power to do much at all. He needed something more, an idea and faith that already existed in the Commonwealth with the infinite universe of ideas made, but not born like himself. His goal wasn't power, it was to sow chaos, reshaping reality into a realm for any and every idea despite the consequences to reality itself.

So what did he need? The belief in the Old Gods and a focus point of belief in the idea: a staff. The universe is as adaptive as it is remarkable and where the Mechanist had its opposite: the Silver Shroud, the Trickster needed its twin: enter Sheogorath...because what better staff to tear apart and reshape reality than the Staff of Sheogorath. There is a quest added in the new Skyrim Anniversary Edition in which you can build it for yourself with a few items: Branch of the Tree of Shades, Ciirta's Eye, Fork of Horripilation. In this universe it would have to fashioned with things FROM this universe.

Two eyes were needed:

The eye of a True Believer: Kent Connolly

The eye of a True Seer: Mama Murphy

Affixed to the top of a staff of the purest heartwood from a Twice Born Tree. Living wood from Harold, born a man who eventually mutated into a living tree.

Lastly, it had to be soaked in the tears of ages end: barrels of radiated blessed waters courtesy of the Cult of Atom.

The Trickster had no magic of his own in this universe in which to act, but thankfully courtesy of some powerful allies, he was able to make contact with shadowy cults and worshippers of the old gods who gave him the name of someone truly of faith in the old magic to make all of this work: Jebediah Blackhall, who in this spin of the universe did unfortunately get his hands on the cursed book: the Krivbeknah.

Finding allies was all too easy, as the events post main quest left the Commonwealth changed. To many, the Sole Survivor and his/her companions would be hailed as heroes. To others, they would be villains, particularly in light of what Nora CHOSE to do to the Railroad to end the synth threat for good. That's a lot of blood on the hands of heroes...

As the Mechanist/Trickster, Blackall and the Lombardos began using the staff, its changes and shifts in reality rippled backwards through time, as changing one specific thing would change its entire existence. You change some curtains and the manufacturer of those curtains only every made one pattern...the world object becomes changed universally. Tapping into the Engine of Creation to make these changes, leaves anyone MADE not born aware of them as they don't fit into the design as it shifts around them. Nick, Danse, Magnolia would all feel and see it, be thrown off for a bit before settling into the changed reality state.

At the climax when everything starts falling apart and you get everyone from GlaDOS and the Joker strolling on in, the only way to end it all is to separate the Trickster from the Staff and restore the saved intended state of reality. The Silver Shroud finds himself powerless against the Trickster...only someone from this universe would be able to intercede, hard wired into the Engine of Creation itself as an existing element connected throughout its framework and history. After sending the Trickster off packing to the moon (thanks GlaDOS), but its a little too late for reality. It collapses around them, finding themselves elsewhere...the point between the mind, creation and the outcome of reality.

After the Shroud fades away, Nick has the power and choice to roll the universe, his universe back along the tapestry of choices that led him here. They all were haunted by the choices they made the first time around, something Nora couldn't live with...that ultimately led her relationship with Danse to fall apart. So Nick decides to go back further, as far back as he can go and he finds himself back in his office with Ellie waking him up.

There are consequences to what he's done, that he's not yet aware of, ones that will become clear in our next episode. The synths remember, as he remembers...Danse, Magnolia and everyone else remembers the fall of the Institute. They all find themselves at their starting point, moving towards their intended fated position to encounter the Sole Survivor. For Nick? He's starting down the path that will led him to be held prisoner and meet the Sole Survivor for the first time.

As he'll soon discover however, things don't play out the same way this time. Moreover, while he was rolling back reality to an early saved state, he made a huge mistake and completely forgot about something and someone so incredibly important...

You'll have to wait to see what that is...

[piratekane]

vanessa lachey said "newlywed" and @dealanexmachina said "but what if it was kate and kai" and my brain went "do you really need to pay attention to the road when you can think about writing?"

and so i present this:

Kate looks between them, brow furrowed in confusion. “You want me to date… Kai?”

“No,” echoes around them. Lucy and Kai look at each other. Kai smiles weakly.

“Weren’t you just saying last week, Whistler, that you wanted to get out in the field more?” Jesse has that big wide smile on his face, the charming one. Kate’s annoyance flickers slight. He knows how charming it. He uses it like a weapon.

“Yeah, but…” Kate’s lips press into a thin line. “I was thinking more along the lines of kicking down doors. I’ve been practicing.”

“Not on our doors,” Lucy adds quickly. “God, we’d never get the security deposit back.”

Jesse’s smile flickers only for a second. “This is an opportunity, Whistler. A chance to stretch those undercover legs again.”

“They’re good legs. They should stretch.”

”Lucy,” Kate exhales. Lucy shrugs. “I can’t fake-date Kai.”

“All the kids are doing it these days.” Jesse shrugs. "Like Grace. She’s fake-dating some kid named Huey. For a school project in their humanities class.”

Lucy snorts. “Hate to break it to you, Dad. But she’s not dating him for a school project.”

Jesse’s mouth stretches open but Kate cuts him off. “Why can’t Lucy date him?”

“Hey,” echoes again. Kai frowns when Lucy sticks her tongue out at him.

“I’m standing right here, you know,” Kai points out. “I can hear everything you’re saying.”

“Whistler and Kai fit the profile. Whistler might have to dye her hair again-“ Jesse cuts off at Kate’s look. “Or not. But They’re looking for newlyweds falling over themselves, intoxicated. They get the husband, who has been doting on his new bride all night, alone and completely wasted. Then they kidnap the wife and hold her for ransom, killing her even if the ransom is paid.”

Lucy pouts. “You’re saying I can’t play a doting wife?”

“I’m saying you can hold your liquor and they’d never get you drunk enough.”

“Damn right,” Lucy beams. She winks at Kai.

He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, now you’re just-“

Jesse steamrolls over him. “We’ll need to come up with some wedding pictures for you to show off. How do you guys feel about a photoshoot?” There’s a gleam in Jesse’s eyes. “Kai, you have a suit, right? Does Inoki pose for pictures well?”

“Ooo, Kate, you can wear a wedding dress!” Lucy claps her hands.

“No,” Kate says quickly. She thinks of being young, dreaming of a white dress and someone - always indistinguishable - at the end of the aisle, waiting. She’s been having those same thoughts again but the person is coming into shape. Lucy. The thought of putting on a wedding dress for someone else… “I mean. Not yet.”

Something softens in Lucy’s eyes. “Not yet?”

Kate feels that familiar swoop that comes when Lucy looks at her. A warm and pleasant feeling that spreads from the center of her chest out. “Someday.”

Lucy smiles a smile that’s just for her. The world is faded out, just the two of them standing in the bullpen with the colors muted and pastel. Kate wants to go over to her, wants to pull her close, and kiss her.

“Uh, Dynamic Duo? You two want to come back down to earth?”

Jesse’s voice brings her sharply back into focus. She feels the tips of her cheeks flush. “Okay. Ernie can photoshop some pictures?”

Jesse shrugs. “Sounds good to me.” He smiles again, charming to wicked. “Now, let’s talk about how much canoodling you’re going to do.”

“Canoodling,” echoes. Kate looks at Lucy in horror.

[crooked-jes]

wip wednesday :)

thanks for tagging me, @urmomsonfire!!!! <3<3<3

here's a little snippet from my fake relationship fic. it's long as hell (sorry) but it's my beloved excerpt and i'm sticking a big "made with love" sign onto it. enjoy!

Bradley takes the initiative of cleaning after breakfast while Hangman is scrolling through his phone, still at the dining table. He washes all the dishes and wipes the counter clean, and then the still unpacked tote bag catches his attention, so he steals a quick glance inside. There are some basic ingredients in the bag and Bradley can’t help his curiosity, so he asks,  “What are you gonna cook?” “Pasta,” Hangman answers, and when Bradley turns around, he’s still looking at his phone. “There’s no pasta in the bag, though. Aaand,” he prolongs the vowel and hesitates for a second, “I might’ve forgotten to restock,” Bradley finishes, a little embarrassed, and scratches the back of his head. Hangman’s eyes shoot up in his direction. “I’m not serving my Italian family store-bought pasta.” Bradley blinks.  “So what, you’re gonna make it from scratch?” “Yes?” Hangman says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. They both stare at each other like the other one has lost his mind before Bradley finally raises a brow and cracks a smile. “Nat is never gonna believe it,” he says before grabbing his phone from where it's lying next to the coffee machine and opening the message box. That seems to spur Hangman into action because he suddenly stands up, the chair legs scratching on the wooden floor, and he’s at Bradley’s side in the blink of an eye. “You’re not texting Phoenix about this, you dick,” he grumbles and tries to take the phone out of Bradley’s hands, but Bradley puts it out of Hangman’s reach. “Oh, I’m totally texting Phoenix about it,” Bradley says and extends his arms even farther, trying to type while also holding his phone up. He’s halfway through the message when he feels a punch right to his gut, fairly light but strong enough to make him wince and bend in half, and soon the phone is out of his hands and Bradley pouts, though he’s not really upset about the loss. “You’re a buzzkill, Hangman.” “Jake.” “What?” Bradley furrows his brows, confused. “Jake. You weren’t gonna call me by my callsign in front of my mother, were you, Bradley?” He quirks a brow. There's a ghost of an amused smile on his lips, and Bradley blinks. “No? Of course I wasn’t.” He tries to sound convincing, but Hangman—Jake doesn’t seem to buy it, his eyes all-knowing. It’s not like Bradley has never thought of Jake as Jake. There was a time in the past when he’d let himself do that, back when Jake wasn’t Hangman yet and Bradley wasn’t Rooster, back when their egos hadn’t yet led them to rivalry so big that any kind of truce or friendship was out of the question. It all changed after the mission, but… it was just easier this way—calling him Hangman. It put some distance between them, allowed Bradley to breathe. Helped him not to feel like he was so close to the flame that he could get burnt at any second if he let his focus slip. So “Hangman” it was. Until now, apparently. Jake clears his throat. His voice is confident and steady when he speaks, but his gaze is fixed on the counter before him, not meeting Bradley’s. Instead, they are trained on the bag handles he's fiddling with. “Want me to teach you?” It’s an olive branch, one of the many they have offered each other in recent months. Bradley takes it without hesitation. “Sure.”

i'm tagging @whistler-king, @acetonitril, @cottagecori, @jaggedstartalk, @karlmschwartz, @hangmanbradshaw, @indybob, @icezansky and everyone who wants to join <3 go wild with it

[binary-not-found]

Much was said about the parallels of 1.20 with 2.20, but let's better talk about how Kate shows anger and we know it is because Lucy got hurt and not for any other reason, the case worries her, yes, but Lucy her priority, it is Lucy who could have gotten badly hurt or worse, in 1.20 Lucy yells at Kate and masks it with her jeopardizing the case, when we all knew that her annoyance was because Kate could have died in that situation.

And let's talk about "not mad, just frustrated" because it's clear she's angry and feels like yelling at her, but we also know her concern for Lucy's safety is more

"I don't care about the anniversary thing."

I'd like to know if Lucy really thought that's what Kate was worried about or was just trying to deflect attention from what just happened 🤔. Because even to Jane, who was probably watching them from her office, it's obvious that what Kate is worried about is that Lucy was acting trusting Joe fully aware that things could go wrong

The fact that she defends her point in front of Kate so decisively, the way she knows Joe was manipulated and doesn't back down even when it seems like she should, that speaks to how Lucy knows what she is doing is the right thing to do. By meeting Joe she realized that her suspicions of him being the victim were real, he was manipulated and her instincts were screaming at her to get justice for him.

"I'm scared that he might do something that he can't come back from."

And she says that because she's sure he's not guilty, that what he did was to protect himself, oh I'm loving watching Lucy become the agent she's becoming 🤗

And suddenly it seems that neither of them are upset, or frustrated or have anything else to say, I love the way Jane was probably waiting for the right moment to come in, I imagine her quietly waiting for either of them to raise their voices a little more to interrupt and stop an argument

One detail I can't get past is the way Lucy turns to look at Kate before leaving the room, she knows Kate doesn't want her to go, she knows she distrusts Joe and is upset and worried about her, but she also knows she needs to do the right thing by protecting Joe and saving him from being blamed or doing something he won't be able to come back from, and Kate's expression is...gold

"Take Whistler with you."

Because she has nothing to do with the case, but Jane simply doesn't want her in the office anymore 👀😂.

I KNOW there was an argument in the parking lot when getting in the car over who was going to drive, because Kate didn't want to let Lucy do it, but Lucy just had to do things her way, regardless, we love seeing them out in the field together 🤭

I can't be the only one who yelled at the screen when Lucy made sure Kate didn't see her before she entered the boat, because she knew she shouldn't do it by herself but she also knew she had to do it alone

"I turn my head for a minute!"

And that was exactly the reason why she shouldn't go in alone, because it was sure there would be danger, it was more than obvious that something like that would happen, and I want to think that Lucy knew Kate would be there in time, but something in the " thanks" she says, tells me that she was actually surprised and grateful that Kate had been quick enough

I'm repeating myself too much, but I just can't express how much I loved watching her handle the case and deal with Joe the way she did, she was respectful and honest with him, everything she did was to prove that he had been manipulated and that he was the victim of the situation simply because she knew he was, she knew that defending him was the right thing to do, it speaks to her as a person, her heart and her as an agent and her instinct that we have watched grow throughout these two seasons, I'm so proud of my little Lucy 💖

"You doing all right?"

Notice the way Kate looks at Lucy when she asks if she's okay, she knows that what Lucy is trying to do is deflect attention, but she knows her too well

"Maybe you even saved his life, I'm proud of you."

I'm going to take this two ways, because I want you to notice the way Lucy shakes her head when Kate tells her she's proud. First Kate says this in a way of agreeing with her and apologizing for not trusting Lucy's instinct, for reprimanding her for what she did that even though it was wrong, Lucy did it because she knew it had to be done and second, because she knows that Lucy needs someone to tell her, she needs someone to reassure her that she did everything she could, the comment she makes asking why she feels so bad if it was the right thing to do, she needs to know, for others to know, even reassure herself, that she did everything in her power to save the innocent person's life.

And how she finally breathes and lets herself be comforted, we know it's hard for Lucy to accept when something hurts her, luckily Kate knows her well enough to not need words, just hugging her, letting her know it's okay, that she's going to be okay.

2/3 episode 20