#winter 2nd movement cover

[a9shou]

A.Vivaldi - The 4 Seasons Winter (Largo) [Piano Cover]

[daisynik7]

Epilogue

Pairing: Aoi Todo x f!reader

Rating: Explicit - MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~4.7k

cw: switching POVs (reader is in 2nd person, Todo is in 3rd), established relationship, explicit language, smut – phone sex, PIV sex (cowgirl, doggy), nipple play, clitoral stimulation, lots of dirty talk, degrading language (use of the word slut), pet names (babe, baby, baby girl, good girl, princess, sweetheart)

Summary: All of what happens in four months of dating your new boyfriend slash past rival Aoi Todo, leading up to Takada-Chan’s “Winter Wonderland”.

Author’s Notes: Things get explicit here! This is just a fun little bonus chapter to see our two idol fans going at it (literally). Hope you enjoy! Thank you everyone for all the love and support on this, I really appreciate it! Divider credit to @/saradika. 

Previous Chapter | Masterlist

Tag List: @iwillbiteabitch

Dating Aoi Todo is never boring. If you’ve learned anything from this relationship so far, it’s that. 

Also, taking things slow has proved to be much more difficult than you and Todo ever anticipated, especially when the two of you are alone together. That commitment is broken about a week into your budding relationship.  

The night of the confession, you and your new boyfriend talked for hours while Sara slept on your couch as a watchdog. You didn’t dare try anything with your best friend right outside just a few feet away. To prevent temptation, you set up an air mattress for him as the night progressed, agreeing to sleep separately. The only physical contact you made was when you both feel asleep in your respective beds, holding hands. Cute, innocent, and wholesome.  

After that night, you and Todo started texting every day. He is a man who loves sending good morning texts, along with an array of different emojis. His favorites are the smirking face (of course), the muscle flex (another of course), and surprisingly, the koala bear, which always leaves you with a goofy smile on your face whenever you see it.

Four days after the confession, there is a late-night phone call that lasts over three hours, covering different topics from favorite foods (his is skirt steak, yours is salmon nigiri), ideal date ideas (both of you said a Takada-Chan concert), and pet peeves (he said boredom, you said passive aggressiveness). 

This call also may or may not have ended with phone sex. 

You and Todo just finished discussing your favorite movies when he asks, “Aren’t you sleepy? It’s past one already.”

“I drank a lot of matcha today, so I’m still wide awake,” you explain, shifting around beneath your blanket.

There is silence on the other line and after a while, he finally says, “I can help you fall asleep. So, what are you wearing?”

You snort into the phone, laughing at his less-than-subtle attempt. “You can’t be serious right now.”

“Come on! Just play along!” He clears his throat and in a significantly lower octave, he repeats, “So…what are you wearing?”

You do your best to hide your giggles. “A t-shirt and pajama shorts.”

Even his smirk is audible through the phone. “Sexy.”

Cheeks getting sore from smiling , you comment, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re not very good at this?”

“I’m good at it! Come on babe, you’re ruining the mood. Just…let me get in the groove.”

Growing impatient from his feeble attempts, you take matters into your own hands. “Why don’t you think about me in that mini skirt you like so much. The one from Takada-Chan’s birthday. I know how much you like that.”

“Okay,” he replies quietly, some movement evident on his end.

“You’re supposed to show me how rough you like it, remember?”

“Yeah,” he blurts out, starting to breathe heavily. “Can we do that one time? Please?” 

Hearing him beg arouses you, hand reaching between your legs, spreading them wider beneath the covers. Feeling too brazen at this point, you purr, “Only if you can make me come right now.”

He whispers your name under his breath, followed by a husky, “Fuck. Tell me what you want to hear.” There’s movement against cloth and you can only imagine now that he’s touching himself, palming the bulge straining inside his briefs. 

You shove your panties down your legs, rubbing circles around your clit. “Tell me how you want to fuck me in that skirt.” You’re already wet with arousal, though you don’t tell him that yet, keeping it a naughty secret to reveal when the time is right.

“I want you to ride me in that fucking skirt. Want to bounce you on my fat cock.” His growl is guttural, too fitting for a grade-A beefcake like him. Of course he sounds this sexy when he’s turned on, and of course you’re falling fast for it. 

Desperate to hear more, you goad him. “Yeah? What else?”

He swears harshly again, loving the way you coax him into being bad. “Want to suck on your tits while you’re bouncing on me. Want to play with your clit until you squirt all over my cock.”

“Fuck, I’m touching myself right now,” you whine, squirming against your fingers. 

His voice is erratic, trembling with frenzy, gradually losing himself to the pleasure. “Yeah? Imagine my big fucking thumb on your pretty clit, rubbing it so fucking fast until you come on my big dick.”

“I’m so wet for you, so creamy for you.” You’re salivating, drool leaking from the sides of your mouth, fingers squelching lewdly between your thighs.

“Spread it all over,” he demands. If you listen closely enough, you can hear the rapid strokes of his cock within his fist. “Do it, slut.”

You obey his orders, sliding your middle finger up and down your slit, collecting your slick to smear it over your throbbing bud, so close to your orgasm. In a daze, you moan his name, letting is roll off your tongue.

He jerks himself off to completion, coming from the sweet sounds of his name from your mouth. In between heavy breaths, he grunts harshly. “Fuck. I just came. Sorry.”

You giggle, slowing the pace of your fingers, teasing him. “I thought you were the one that offered to help mefall asleep?”

Embarrassed, he says, “I know, I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect you to say my name like that. That really got me.” There’s more shuffling in the background as you picture him inspecting his own mess. “Holy shit, I came a lot.”

“You should go to bed. You’re probably sleepy now.”

“No, not yet. I have to make you come still,” he offers, determined. 

“It’s fine.”

“No. I need to make you come tonight so I can fuck you in that skirt. It’s going to happen.”

You learn that when Todo is determined to do something, he does it. He is a man that, when given any challenge, will do his damn best to complete it no matter what. 

~~~

Not counting the phone sex, Todo could confidently say that they have been successful in taking things slow. That is, until a few days after the infamous phone sex, when all hell breaks loose.

It begins when his girlfriend decides to host a Takada-Chan concert marathon. The pop idol kicks off her international tour a week after Todo’s confession. To honor the start of it, she invites him, Sara, and Yuji to eat a bunch of delicious food and binge watch all Takada-Chan’s concerts available on streaming platforms. Sara and Yuji stay a while, but after the fourth consecutive Takada-Chan concert, they have enough, leaving the couple alone to their own devices, which anyone could guess is not a good idea if they are still sticking to the “taking things slow” route.

As soon as their friends leave, the two give each other one glance before the kissing starts. He spent all day resisting the temptation to touch her in any way since they were with Sara and Yuji. It’s been an excruciating four hours considering how cute and irresistible his girlfriend is. 

She slides her hands under his shirt, pawing at his eight-pack. He slips his tongue inside her mouth as he completely pulls his shirt off. She pulls back, gawking at his body with wide eyes and an open mouth, practically drooling for him. “Like what you see?” he teases, raising a brow at her. She nods her head, leaning in for more kisses. 

Eventually, she whispers, “Wait.”

He stops, leaning back on the couch. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just have a little surprise for you. Wait here.” She gets up and disappears into her bedroom, leaving Todo confused and concerned. After several agonizingly long minutes, she comes out. When he sees her, his jaw drops, blood rushing straight to his cock. 

The mini skirt. She’s wearing the fucking mini skirt. Not only that, she’s also wearing the same blouse she wore at the café, the one that exposes her shoulders and plunging neckline. Essentially the same outfit he has fantasized about since. In one swift motion, he hoists her up onto his lap, spreading her legs so that she’s straddling him. “You’re such a good girl for me, huh?” he growls, scattering wet smooches all over her face. “Such a good girl.” He fondles her body beneath the skirt and to his shock and delight, she isn’t wearing any underwear. “Not even wearing any panties for me, you fucking slut.”

“Only for you,” she whispers, directing his giant hand to her pussy. “Do you feel how wet I am for you already?”

“Fuck,” he breathes out, pressing his thumb to her and drawing circles around her clit. A guttural moan vibrates from her throat, making him move his thumb faster. 

“I want you,” he grunts, feeling fucking feral beneath her. 

“You want to fuck me here on the couch?” She’s panting now as his fingers brush against her bud faster. 

“Yeah, right here, right now. Show me that pretty pussy.” With his free hand, he lifts the hem of her skirt to put her on display,  watching her melt away in the palm of his hand, thumb unyielding against her clit. It glistens with her slick and his dick get tighter and tighter in his pants from the mere sight of it.

She tugs at the waistband of his joggers to release his erection. There’s a thick bead of precum on the tip. She rubs her thumb on it, spreading it over the head, causing him to groan in pleasure. Somehow, she conjures up a bottle of lube and pours a generous amount straight onto him, then she slides her fist up and down his shaft. In this moment of pure ecstasy, he can’t help but thank the pop idol gods for bringing this goddess of a woman into his life. He slides his fingers inside her, relishing how wet she is. Everything is happening so fast; his carnal desires take control. “Fucking ride me,” he commands. 

She gets up on her knees, guiding the tip of his dick to her fluttering hole. Slowly, she sinks down on him, moaning. This is the hottest thing he’s ever fucking seen in his life. “So tight for me. My good girl,” he coos, gripping at her hips and gently moving her further down his shaft. 

“So big, baby. Oh my god,” she whines. Once he bottoms out, she grabs hold of his shoulders and rocks back and forth on his lap, adjusting to his size. 

“Take the skirt off. Want to watch you fuck yourself on my fat cock.” 

He tries to lift her up from his lap, but she shakes her head. “Don’t pull out. Feels so good. So good.” 

Absolutely unhinged, Todo growls, “I’m going to rip this skirt off, then. Need to see your pussy creaming all over me.” He hooks to the waistband, easily ripping it along the seams, tossing it behind him. Smirking, he whispers, “That’s it. Just like that.”

“My skirt!” she cries out, shocked and aroused. 

“I’ll buy you a new one, princess. I’ll buy you hundreds more so I can fuck you just like this.” He holds her waist again, setting the pace, thrusting his own hips into her. His eyes are glued to the shiny ring of her cum collecting on the base of his cock. “You’re so fucking hot, you know that? You wanted to get fucked in that skirt, huh? Such a slut for me.” He releases his tight grip on her as soon as she starts bouncing up and down on her own, digging her nails into the skin of his shoulders, fucking herself deeper. The sounds she makes are music to his ears.

He focuses on her clit again, massaging it with his thumb. She gasps, startling him. “You okay, sweetie?” He cups her cheek, caressing her skin softly.

“Yes, so fucking good!” Her eyes are half-lidded, mouth parted open, looking absolutely divine. She grabs at his wrist and puts her lips over his thumb, completely engulfing it into her sloppy mouth. She moves him in and out, swirling her tongue around him with each stroke. 

He bites his lip to stifle a moan. It takes everything in his willpower to hold back his orgasm. The way she moans, the fucked out look on her face, the thumb sucking. It’s too much and not enough all at the same time. He pulls out of her mouth and switch hands to place his wet thumb on her clit, while the other hand, still glistening from her slick, glides underneath her blouse and up to one of her nipples. She isn’t wearing a bra. 

“Such a fucking good girl,” he murmurs as he strips the blouse off her body. He squeezes one of her breasts and puts his lips around the nipple, sucking hard. With both her hands, she squeezes her tits together, leaning forward, feeding them to him.

“Yeah, want to feed me these big tits, huh baby? So fucking needy.” He buries his face in between her breasts, kissing her nipples one at a time. 

“Suck them hard,” she whimpers. He alternates between each breast, sucking hard until each nipple is taut and plump between his pursed lips.

Mouth hot on his ear, she purrs, “Baby, I’m so close.”

“Come for me, beautiful. Come all over my cock.”

With his lips latched onto her breasts, thumb relentless on her clit, and cock deep in her pussy, it’s no surprise when, after just a few more minutes, she throws her head back and cries out, “I’m coming!” She clenches around him, creating a sensation of pure ecstasy, he can’t help but orgasm right along with her. She moans as it continues, his thick cum filling her up, the excess dripping down the inner plush of her thighs. She collapses against him, panting and trembling slightly from the euphoric rush. Todo cradles her in a warm embrace, burying his face into her neck. 

“You did so good, sweetie. So good for me. Thank you,” he muffles, breathing heavily against her skin. 

“That was amazing,” she says, still slumped over Todo. 

“You should go pee, baby. Don’t want you to get a UTI.”

“Just give me a few minutes. I’m tired.”

Todo, who is also exhausted from having the biggest orgasm of his life, gets up and carries his girlfriend bridal style into the bathroom. He plops her down on the toilet and turns the shower on. When he hears the distinct sound of a tinkle, he breathes a sigh of relief. No girlfriend of Aoi Todo will ever get a UTI from sex, not on his watch. 

~~~

Once the floodgates open, nothing stops you and Todo from pouncing on each other every chance you get. The sex is always nothing short of amazing. Despite not being able to keep your hands off each other, you still try to keep PDA down to a minimum. But Todo, being the big bravado self he is, let’s his guard down a few times. He still grabs your ass in public, especially when you’re wearing dresses, shorts, or skirts. And honestly, after the first time, you intentionally started wearing skirts more often just to tease him. 

Whenever you do indulge in the occasional kiss in front of your friends, Todo always gets carried away, shamelessly driving his tongue into your mouth. Normally, you love this, but only in private. Understandably, Sara always gives your boyfriend a whack on top of the head to get him to stop, which he does before muttering an embarrassed apology.

Besides the disgust over the occasional PDA, Sara and Todo get along great. They bond over working out, horror movies, and teasing you. Todo’s brother Yuji is your brother now too. He’ll ask you for advice when it comes to girls or his friendships. You ask him for advice on how to deal with annoying people at work, since Todo’s advice is always, “Just tell me their name and I will beat the shit out of them.” 

As with any relationship, there are issues you two have to work through. When Todo first explains his job, you are convinced he is playing some bizarre prank on you. To be fair, someone describing themselves as a “Jujutsu Sorcerer” who “exorcises” evil curses sounds like something straight out of a shounen anime. When he demonstrate Boogie Woogie, where he manages to switch positions with Yuji in the blink of an eye, you are certain you are going crazy. After a few weeks of processing everything, with a lot of patience from Todo and moral support from Yuji, you can safely say you’ve made peace with understanding the gist of Todo’s profession. Of course, there is still plenty that you can’t grasp, but Todo’s confidence in himself relieves the stress caused by that uncertainty. 

There are times of jealousy and insecurity on both sides that lead to fighting and arguments. When you start your full-time job after the summer, he gets jealous over one of your male coworkers training you for a week. Even after doing your best to convince him that it is strictly professional, he still can’t help himself from making snide remarks about your coworker at the end of the week. An issue that you’re still working on, and slowly getting better at, is trying not to be petty when you get annoyed with him. During this time, you just can’t help yourself.

Eventually, you manage to find the best way to shut him up. 

It’s been two weeks since you started your new full-time job. This week, you worked with a coworker, Kenji Saito, for training. Saito is a man several years older than you who is married with kids. But none of this matters to Todo because he is still jealous. As you prepare dinner at his place, you mention, “Training went well. Saito said I should be ready for my first project next week.”

Todo grunts. “Saito. I’m surprised you’re not calling him by his first name yet. You two have been spending soooo much time together.”

You smile to yourself, unable to resist provoking him. “I barely call you by your first name. But if you want, I can start calling him Kenji.”

He moves behind you like a lion stalking his prey, growling in your ear. “Don’t do that.”

You turn to face him, his body towering above you, casting a daunting shadow. “What are you going to do about it, Aoi?”

As quickly as he moved behind you, he slings you over his shoulder, carrying you into the bedroom. He tosses you onto his bed, stripping off his clothes while you do the same, already wet against your panties. You’re laid on your back when he straddles you, the way he looms over you intensifies the growing sensation in your loins. He leans down to kiss you sloppily. “Only I get to do this to you, right? No one else?” he asks, between kisses.

“Yes, baby. Of course.”

“Then say it for me. Please.”

“Only you get to do this to me. Only you.”

He flips you over on your stomach and presses up against you, lips tickling your ear as he demands, “Say it. Say it again.” His cock throbs between your ass cheeks. 

“Only you, Aoi. This pussy is only for you. Fuck,” you whimper, desperate to feel him inside you.

“It’s mine, huh? You’re my good girl. You’re my fucking slut. Say it.”

“I’m your good girl, Aoi. I’m your – “, you pause to catch your breath. “I’m your fucking slut.” 

He gets off to reach towards the dresser next to the bed. As he does this, you get on your hands and knees, ready for what’s to come (literally). You crane your neck to watch him smear a generous amount of lube along his hard cock, causing you to lick your lips in anticipation. He tosses the bottle onto the floor and positions himself behind you. 

You stick your ass out, back arched and ready for him. He slides the tip along the folds of your pussy, guiding himself in slowly. It’s times like these that you are reminded at how fucking huge your boyfriend is, and you love it. Once he’s to the hilt, he stops. “Shake your ass on my cock. You know how I like it.”

With your hands clenched to the sheets, you thrust yourself onto his dick, back and forth, back and forth. After you’re fully adjusted to his size, you pick up the pace, his cock easily sliding in and out with each thrust. “Just like that baby. Fuck. Wish I could take a video of this. You look so good on my cock. Doing such a good job,” he praises, watching you do all the work.

You continue to move yourself relentlessly on him, moaning loudly into the pillow. When you reach your climax, your back arches even more as you orgasm without saying anything. You don’t want him to know you came already as you keep on fucking him. Todo chuckles in his deep voice. You can almost feel the vibrations of his laugh against your throbbing pussy. “I know you came all over my cock, baby. You can’t fool me. You’re so wet. It’s dripping all over the sheets, nasty girl.” He reaches around to rub your clit, his fingers lubed up and wet with your cum. 

“Fuck. Aoi. Oh my god, don’t stop. Oh fuck,” you whine.

“You’re so good to me, baby. So good. Taking it like a good girl,” he whispers, massaging your sensitive bud deeper. Your pace slows down, knees weak from your first orgasm. Todo places his free hand on your waist, spreading his fingers wide to grip at your skin. “Let me take over, baby girl.” 

You let him, of course. He uses his hold on you to time the thrusts of his hips perfectly. Todo makes you orgasm twice more in this position before he releases himself inside you, filling you up to the brim with his creampie. He pulls out, his load making a mess on his sheets. 

After you do your business in the bathroom, the two of you cuddle in bed, blissed out and exhausted. He turns towards you, kissing you on the forehead, apologizing. “I’m sorry.”

You hum, closing your eyes. “For what?”

“Being annoying,” he admits.

“And…?”

“Being jealous.”

“…And?”

He nuzzles his nose against yours. “For being an asshole.” 

You smile, peaking at him with one eye open. “I’m sorry for being petty. I’ll work on not using that against you when you’re feeling upset about something.”

“To be fair, I wasn’t that upset. Like anyone can compete with me, right? Especially not Saito.” He makes a face when he says that name.

Still feeling a little naughty, you joke, “You mean Kenji?”

You immediately regret it as soon as he wrestles between the sheets, giggling hysterically as he tickles you to the point of tears. 

~~~

It’s been four months since you’ve been dating Aoi Todo. Four months of amazing sex, occasional bickering reminiscent of the origins of your relationship, and new discoveries about each other that bring you closer than ever. 

Now, you stand beside your boyfriend, waiting in line at the mall you first met at. Today, Takada-Chan is hosting a special Winter Wonderland event. Essentially, instead of taking a picture on Santa’s lap, Takada-Chan fans get to take a picture next to the pop idol in front of a snowy backdrop. After touring internationally the last few months, the singer planned an impromptu appearance at the mall of her hometown to celebrate the holiday season.  

When it’s finally your turn, Takada-Chan greets you with that beautiful, bright smile. “My favorite couple! I’m so happy you made it! I was hoping to see you today.”

“Takada-Chan! We’re happy to see you, too. It’s been a while. How has the tour been?”

“Tiring. It’s nice to be back home for a little bit. Happy holidays! Oh! Todo, please go follow Haru, he’s going to give you a little something. Think of it as a special gift from me.” She winks. Todo bows deeply and follows Haru behind the set. You can’t help but smile to yourself noticing that your boyfriend is still speechless around the pop idol. Some things never change.

You decide to finally be honest with her. “Takada-Chan. You’ve been so good to us. I have to come clean about something. The first time you met Todo and I, we weren’t actually a couple. We were just faking it because you seemed to like us so much better together. I’m sorry.” You look at her nervously, praying to the pop idol gods that she isn’t too upset for the deception.

To your surprise, she smiles even wider, a twinkle in her eyes. “I know.”

“You know?!”

“I knew you two weren’t a couple. To be honest, I knew it was a bit risky on my end to play matchmaker, but I just couldn’t help myself! Who better to be together than two of my #1 fans?” She gives you another wink as you stare at her, mouth agape. 

She continues. “Also, sweet Todo was convinced that I was his future wife. Poor guy doesn’t know I don’t swing that way. So, I wanted to steer him in the right direction to you. And now look. The fruits of my labor! The results are a beautiful harvest of love. You two are just as cute as I thought you’d be.”

Shocked, you stammer, “Takada-Chan…I really don’t know what to say. How can I…how can we repay you?”

She reaches her arms out to squeeze your shoulders. “I don’t need you to repay me! Anything for my fans.” Leaning closer, she whispers, “But tell me this: Who made the first move? You see, Haru and I had a little bet going since the two of your first visited my dressing room. Haru claims he won, since he saw Todo holding your hand at the big group date. I placed my bets on you, of course.”

“Well, actually, I kissed Todo that morning. So, you did win.”

The pop idol jumps up giddily. “You made the first move?! I knew it! That’s my girl! I love a woman who takes initiative! I’m going to pester Haru to give me my money back.”

“Thank you for everything, Takada-Chan. I mean it.”

“I’m happy for the both of you. Can’t wait to see you at my next event. DM me if you ever need anything!” With a hug, the two of you say your goodbyes. 

You find an empty bench nearby to sit on while you wait for your boyfriend. Todo reappears from the back with two black t-shirts in hand. As he sits next to you, he unfolds the shirts so you can see the front. It’s a screen-printed photo of you, Todo, and Takada-Chan doing the Taka-tan beam in her dressing room. 

“This is awesome! Our own special gift from Takada-Chan! I’ll cherish this forever. My two future wives in one picture,” he grins.

Laughing, you wrap your arms around him, giving him a passionate smooch on the lips. Blushing, he asks, “What was that for?”

“I just really wanted to kiss you.” You gaze into his eyes, smiling before saying, “Because I love you.”

His eyes widen. “What did you say?”

“I love you, Aoi.”

Suddenly, he picks you up and sits you on his lap, beaming. “You love me?”

“Yes. I love you!” You throw your arms around him in a warm embrace. 

He buries his face into your neck, muffling, “I love you, too. I love you so much.” He holds your face in between his palms, kissing you square on the lips. “I love you,” he repeats, kissing you all over your cheeks, forehead, and neck. His hands roam down to your waist, pulling you closer to him. 

Relationships are never perfect. People are never perfect. But this moment right now is perfect. Confessing your love feels natural. It makes sense. To think that this whole thing started off as a ridiculous rivalry and blossomed into a “beautiful harvest of love”, as a certain pop idol would say. It just proves that sometimes, finding love can start off silly and ridiculous. And with Takada-Chan playing matchmaking for you and Todo, you couldn’t write a better love story than this.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dancing monk icon by Marcy Hall Art

* * * *

Blessings on this eve of the Feast of St. Brigid!

I feel especially blessed to have had the joy of joining with a group of dancing monks online last Monday to celebrate Brigid's call to us as midwife, muse, and transforming fire.

February 1st-2nd marks a confluence of several feasts and occasions including: the Celtic feast of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, Candlemas, Feast of the Presentation, and Groundhog Day in the northern hemisphere! (Imbolc is August 1st in the southern hemisphere).

Imbolc is a Celtic feast that is a cross-quarter day, meaning it is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. The sun marks the four Quarter Days of the year (the Solstices and Equinoxes) and the midpoints are the cross-quarter days. In some cultures, like Ireland, February 2nd is the official beginning of spring.

As the days slowly lengthen in the northern hemisphere and the sun makes her way higher in the sky, the ground beneath our feet begins to thaw. The earth softens and the seeds deep below stir in the darkness. The word “imbolc” means “in the belly.” The earth’s belly is beginning to awaken, new life is stirring, seeds are sprouting forth.

In many places the ground is still frozen or covered with snow, but the call now is tend to those very first signs of movement beneath the fertile ground. What happens when you listen ever so closely in the stillness? What do you hear beginning to emerge?

St. Brigid is said to bring the first sign of life after the long dark nights of winter. She breathes into the landscape so that it begins to awaken. Snowdrops, the first flowers of spring are one of her symbols.

On the eve of January 31st it is traditional to leave a piece of cloth or ribbon outside the house. It was believed that St Brigid’s spirit traveled across the land and left her curative powers in the brat Bride (Brigid’s Mantle or cloth). It was then used throughout the year as a healing from sickness and protection from harm.

Often in Ireland, I have heard Brigid described as a bridge between the pre-Christian and Christian traditions, between the other world and this one. She bridges the natural and human world. Brigid sees the face of Christ in all persons and creatures, and overcomes the division between rich and poor. Our practice of inner hospitality as monks in the world is essentially about healing all of places we feel fragmented, scattered, and shamed. One of her symbols is her cloak which becomes a symbol of unity. All can dwell under her mantle.

[Thanks to Christine Valters Paintner and to the dancing monks]

[classicfilmfan64]

A great 1968 Drive-In movie classic, with great music and some notable actors. I own the DVD, it's a fun, silly comic farce, a social commentary, for the time that it was made. A great 'what If' hippie movie scenario. A film made for a decent budget, for an indie film, by AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, aka AIP.

TRIVIA- 2 Oscar winners are in the cast, and It's Richard Pryor's 2nd film. He has a small part, here as a band member, the drummer. The film was shot in 15 days. Budget $700,000 Box office $4,000,000.

This film and GASSSS, another hippie-themed film are a double feature DVD, I own that version, and I included a photo of the DVD cover.

Striking a zeitgeist nerve, Wild in the Streets stars Christopher Jones (Ryan's Daughter) as Max Frost, a rock singer and poster boy for the counterculture revolution of the '60s. While performing with his band, The Troopers, at a political rally for Senate candidate Johnny Fergus (Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild), Max seizes the opportunity to spout his own political philosophies which include, among other things, that the voting age should be lowered to 14. And thus begins the tale of Max's meteoric rise. But as he moves further and further into uncharted waters, first as a voice for the youth movement (or is he just a mouthpiece for opportunist politicians?) and then as a nominee for President of the United States, Max will not bend to the will of the old guard. Instead, he begins implementing his own ideas of what would make a better world, including re-education camps for those over the age of 35 along with a liberal dosing of LSD.

Directed by Barry Shear | Starring: Shelley Winters, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrook, Richard Pryor, Ed Begley, Sr.

[mmeveronica]

The wheather is getting colder in the northern hemisphere, so may I introduce you to my new homebrew druid circle. Wheather you're looking for a powerful crowd controller or just a druid full of icy power, this new circle is for you!

❄The Circle of Winter❄

Druids of this circle recognise the power winter holds in making equals of all of nature, that the mightiest bear and the tiniest mouse both hide from a winter breeze. They see the greatest might of winter is making everything slow down and the build up of ice and snow across the land.

They've learned to channel this power and can summon a spirit of winter's wind to aid them in combat.

❄Circle Spells

When you choose this circle, you gain access to certain spells at certain levels listed below. These spells all count as druid spells for you and you always have them prepared, though they don't count against the number of spells you can prepare.

Additionally you learn the Gust cantrip. If you already know it you learn another druid cantrip instead. Gust doesn't count against the number of druid cantrips you can know.

Druid Level | Spells

2nd | Armour of Agythys, Healing Word

3rd | Rime's Binding Ice, Gust of Wind, Gentle Repose

5th | Sleet Storm, Gaseous Form

7th | Ice storm, Death Ward

9th | Cone of Cold, Control Wind

❄Spirit of Winter

When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you can expend a use of your wild shape to summon an intangible spirit up to 60ft away that takes the form of a winter's breeze as a bonus action. It covers a 20ft radius sphere. Inside this sphere snowflakes blow around, if it is under water or in another liquid, frozen bits of the liquid flow around. On your turn you can mentally command it to move up to 30ft (no action required).

Enemies that start their turn inside the range of the Spirit of Winter have all their movement speeds reduced by 10ft until the start of their next turn. Whenever you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that deals cold damage you can cause each enemy inside it's range to take cold damage equal to your Wisdom modifier. Additionally whenever you cast a spell that restores hit points to a creature you can cause each ally inside it's range to heal a number of hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.

The spirit lasts for one hour before dissappearing. You can only activate the additional cold damage or healing a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.

❄Windchill

At 6th level, the power of winter infuses your wind magic. Whenever you cast a spell with "wind" in it's name you can choose to cause it to deal extra cold damage. This extra cold damage is a number of d8 equal to half the level of the spell slot used to cast the spell, rounded down (minimum of 1).

If the spell already causes creatures to make a saving throw each turn the spell is active, creatures take the extra cold damage when they fail this saving throw or half as much on a success. If the spell doesn't, they make a constitution saving throw at the start of each turn they're in the spells area of effect, taking the cold damage on a failure or half as much on a success.

Additionally when you cast the Gust cantrip you can choose to make it deal additional cold damage on a failed saving throw. The cold damage is 1d8 when you gain this feature but increases to 2d8 at 14th level.

❄Winter Wonderland

At 10th you gain the ability to cast the Wall of Ice spell once per short rest or long rest without expending a spell slot with this feature with a few changes.

The initial damage is halved and the lingering fog from broken sections is removed.

The spell's duration is 1 minute without concentration.

You can only create 5 10ft square sections instead of the normal 10 or the dome or the hemisphere.

❄Brittle Prison

Additionally, you become resistant to cold damage.

At 11th level Wall of Ice is added to the Druid spell list for you.

At 14th you can target a creature within 60ft of you to encase in brittle ice once per short or long rest as an action. The target must make a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or become restrained and incapacitated. If it is within the range of your Spirit of Winter it has disadvantage on this saving throw. The creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of it's turns ending the effect on a success.

When a creature you can see that is restrained by your Brittle Prison takes bludgeoning damage you can use your reaction and double that bludgeoning damage. After you use this effect the creature is no longer restrained or incapacitated.

[freezethebeez]

it's a quiet autumn: a c!clingy cozy drabble

It's not something you're used to. You're used to wars breaking out, cities crumbling, houses being destroyed, lives being taken, and paperwork– so much fucking paperwork.

info: 2nd person, fluff with some angsty feels, snuggling & cuddling, got some hair pets in there and forehead kisses for good measure (all /p)

-> fic below the break :]

-

It's a quiet autumn.

It's not something you're used to. You're used to wars breaking out, cities crumbling, houses being destroyed, lives being taken, and paperwork– so much fucking paperwork.

Autumn is not quiet in your eyes. Autumn is a precursor to a cold winter– and by gods, are the winters cold.

But it's not cold here. It's not cold in your small cottage in Snowchester where the lakes are always frozen and the grounds are always covered in snow. It's not cold here by the fire– the fire that burns and emits smoke from chimney free of spiderwebs; you don't dare set foot in the mansion because of that. You haven't set foot in there at all, you don't think.

And you don't need to. You don't need that mansion and the ghost that inhabits it because you have everything right here. You have everything alive right here. You have a burning fire and a working oven with cookies baking in it (you don't think about the fact that the recipe is his), and you've got a living person beside you– laying on you. His head is in your lap and his hair is soft in your hands and he's alive– that's the most important thing, you think.

Tommy was never meant to die in the first place, and yet he nearly did under your command. You'll never forgive yourself for that, but he forgave you, and you'll endlessly appreciate him for that. Nothing will compare to evenings like these, anyway.

There's no one who could replace these evenings. No one who could replace the head of curly, golden hair spilling over your blanketed legs. No one could replace the soft sighs that reminds you of how alive he is– especially not him and the way he floats instead of breathing. No one could replace the feeling of his small movements as he works on finishing up the matching scarves he's been knitting for the two of you in honour of the seasons changing. No one could replace the sight of a warm fire's glow against his cheeks– not him and the way his skin is translucent and the light shines right through to you.

(Then again, nothing could replace the love you have for him, but not– not him, him. The other half. You've never stopped loving that half and you don't think you ever will. It's just– the current half is off-putting, a shell of the person you lost and the person you loved so deeply.)

You don't think about it. You shoo him from your mind for what feels like the thousandth time since he left. You focus on the one in front of you, the one you've hurt far more.

You apologize. You don't apologize in the form of words, though. He understands all the same– the meaning behind the kiss you press to his brow. He gets it. You know he does by the way he looks up at you, the way his eyes dull with the same words he's spoken and communicated through intertwining his fingers with yours– "You don't have to apologize anymore," his eyes say. "I forgive you."

You don't believe him. You don't think you ever will. You'll try, though, because to be stubborn is to be like him and you refuse to be like him; you cannot shoo away a ghost when the ghost lives inside of you; you cannot give him a door.

The timer in the kitchen rings out. You feel bad that you have to stand– that you have to leave Tommy again– but he lets you up with ease– lets you go with an ease that makes your heart ache. You head to the kitchen. You open the oven and let the heat hit your face like the warm summer sun; the smell of cookies reminds you of the yellows, reds, and oranges burning the leaves of the trees. You place the cookie sheet on the stove to let them cool. You're reminded of a time long since passed– a time surrounded by cobblestone walls and an artificial desert.

You return to the couch where Tommy sits waiting for you. You notice that he's nearly done the scarf– green, so you know it's for you.

You take your seat; he places his head on your lap. He asks without speaking (he's like him, in that way), and your fingers return to the soft curls. He lets out a pleased sigh– breathes it out– breathes and his heart beats, too.

"The cookies smell good," Tommy mumbles, sniffing the air once more for good measure.

"Thanks," you reply.

"New recipe?"

"Old one."

"His?" And Tommy doesn't need to say his name for you to know. Saying his name feels like the end of the world, honestly. There's a mutual understanding between them, though, one that keeps the world from ending again.

"Yeah," you admit, and his name isn't mentioned and the world doesn't end. Tommy is still alive and you're (regrettably) still alive and the cookies are still warm and the world isn't ending.

And autumn is quiet.

[lovewillthaw-j]

Elsa’s powers appreciation (part 2 of 3) - Freezing

To recap, I’d like to classify Elsa’s powers into 3 categories and 3 posts - making things out of ice/snow (part 1), freezing (and melting) and movement/kinetic energy.

Before I dive into part 2 - I received some comments on the first post about Elsa’s ice decorations on Arendelle castle, which I missed out on. I would classify them as medium sized objects that she creates out of ice =)

What is the difference between part 1 and part 2? Well, I make a distinction between her creating something that was not there, versus her freezing (ie lowering the temperature of) something that is already there. Of course this is just my opinion and some are arguable, such as the snowstorms - you could say she created it or you could say she froze the weather.

1. Small-scale freezing

In the first row, she freezes window sills both as a child and as Queen: in between, she is freezing the scepter and orb before the coronation (and also during the coronation itself).

In the second row, she freezes water under her foot and discovers she can walk on water. To the right, are 2 contrasting examples of her freezing the water fountain. In the first, she physically touched the fountain; in the second, she has “levelled up” and can freeze the fountain without physical touch.

2. Freezing the room she is in + the floor of the Enchanted forest

In the first row, she freezes the floor of the great hall (and the whole hall too); next to it is the sad scene after her parents’ funeral, which she didn’t dare to attend for fear of hurting everyone in her grief; rightmost, she is freezing the room within the ice palace and causing a mini snowstorm. (for snowstorms, she also uses her kinetic powers which I will cover in the third post)

In the second row are the two times she froze the forest floor, first to stop the Northuldra and Mattias’ soldiers; second during her fight with Bruni.

3. Further lowering the temperature of an already cold place

I want to point this out cos she does it quite a lot. Her powers are just THAT awesome! In the first row, in her anguish from hurting Anna, she lowers the temperature of the already cold great hall, causing more ice to form on the already icy floor and to spread up the walls (2nd pic) Next to it, in the ice palace, as she despairs while talking to Anna, we hear the sound of ice forming and we see more ice fractals appearing in the castle walls (which are made of ice and are already cold).

In the second row, with the castle glowing red, again more ice fractals appear and icy spikes form on the walls. On the right is a screencap from the dungeon scene showing more ice forming on the walls as Elsa’s emotions cause the temperature to drop further.

4. Freezing an entire geographical area + weather

This hardly needs description. She freezes the entire fjord and causes it to snow in summer in Arendelle. 

Later on, after breaking out of the dungeon, her panic causes a massive snowstorm to form around her (again, snowstorms also involve her kinetic powers), engulfing the castle and lowering the temperature even further, such that huge spikes of ice block Olaf and Anna’s path inside the castle; also, so much snow blankets the castle that Anna is able to slide down the side of the castle safely to the ground. The storm also causes the fjord to freeze even colder; some of the ships move as a result of the warping ice and one of them topples and almost falls on Kristoff and Sven.

In the final image (post Great Thaw), Elsa has got it under control and is able to make it snow in a controlled manner and only in the castle courtyard.

Not shown is the epilogue of F2 where she has frozen the Dark Sea and gallops over it on Nokk.

5. Her hair

Haha, now for something light hearted. You can argue that this is a separate power, but I’d like to think that she froze parts of her hair in place to give her iconic hair do. Watch the progression of the screencaps - her long locks by the side of her face initially drape down, and with a sweep of her right and then left hand, they get plastered to the side of her head. Magic frozen hairspray...

6. Uniquely Olaf

Have you ever stopped to consider that the magical personal “flurry” that Elsa made for Olaf is pretty mindblowing? She literally made a mobile, perpetual freezer! ie, a localized zone of cold temperature that is cold enough to snow and keep Olaf from melting, AND follows him everywhere! To put it another way, in 1840s Arendelle, Elsa has invented a fridge! (that follows you) Wouldn’t every household want one of their own for those hot summer days?

Olaf’s permafrost is similar and a little bit frightening if you see it as Elsa “encasing” you in ice. She can permafrost all her sentient creations including Marshmallow and the snowgies now. 

7. Freezing head and heart

This is one of the darkest sides of Elsa’s powers. She is able to send her freezing powers “into” a person and if it is the head - knock the person unconscious and turn some hair white; if it is the heart, the person freezes from within and their hair will turn all white like Elsa’s, prior to becoming an immobile statue of ice. Do you know what this reminds me of? I watched a nature documentary on certain parasites which infect insects and take over their mind before killing them from within. Could Elsa control your mind? I think Evil Elsa could...and would...(Hell, if Nattmara could...why not Elsa. -FoS)

I like to think that during the fight with Weaseltown’s men, she was falling to the dark side and if that had not been arrested, she could have easily unleashed her powers and frozen the hearts of all her assailants.

BTW, I did not realize before that when she hit Anna in the head, you can see a snowflake impact Anna’s head briefly. (captured in my screencap)

In the second row, I want to point out that frozen Anna’s body was SO COLD that Hans’ sword frosted up before the sword made contact and shattered. And this brings me to the next point...

8. Freeze metal and stone to ultra low temperature that they break

So I did some research and some metals can shatter once it is colder than a specific temperature called the “ductile to brittle transition temperature”. Cheap non-alloyed steel can shatter at about -30 degrees Celsius. Alloyed steel can withstand much colder temperatures. This is important when building metal structures eg ships and rigs for use in the Arctic or Antarctic. I’m no materials scientist so I’ll let people chip in on this if they wish. 

The point is, our Queen CAN FREEZE TO COLDER THAN -30 DEGREES!!! And she sure has superhuman invulnerability to cold! Human skin sticks to cold surfaces.

In the rightmost screencap, Elsa has broken out of a solid stone dungeon! Maybe she blasted it open (we don’t know) but this too is freaking amazing! I did some brief research and this is called frost weathering or frost shattering. Essentially she could break through stone by rapidly freezing all the water in it since water expands on freezing. (again, I’m no expert)

It is my belief that in F2, she could have destroyed the dam singlehandedly. Earth Giants pffft. And she would have stopped the water at the source too.

Elsa is definitely impervious to her own cold - she hugs frozen Anna (who is cold enough to break metal) cheek to cheek and is unscathed.

Interestingly, in F2 Anna holds the ice sword that Elsa made without being hurt by the cold - perhaps Anna gained some cold tolerance after coming back from being frozen herself. And she hugs Olaf all the time too.

9. The Nokk + Magic Freezing Thighs 

Elsa is pretty fearsome in combat - I will touch more on this in the third post. Here, she figures out pretty rapidly how to stop the Nokk by freezing him. In the epilogue of F2, one of the most beautiful FX scenes - she freezes the Nokk and he willingly obliges and becomes a beautiful ice horse that can travel on land.

Have you ever wondered how Elsa stays on the Nokk “bareback”??? (bareback referring to Nokk...although Elsa’s dark sea gown is pretty bare in the back too lol) I know @super-mam-te-moc and I have! 

Look at these 3 screencaps - on the left, the Nokk is bucking and thrashing around, trying to shake Elsa off; in the middle, she is riding the Nokk at a speed faster than the tsunami of water; and on the right, the Nokk is rearing up on hind legs while Elsa makes the huge ice wall with her hands in the air. In all these situations Elsa stays firmly on the Nokk and never falls off or slides off!

Our conclusion is - she has magic freezing thighs that help her stick to the Nokk...LOL

10. Melting

Lastly, Elsa is able to melt everything she made. With the help of Anna’s great love (lovethawmode) she melted the entire fjord and Arendelle. (kinetic powers are at play here too as she makes everything float into the sky and coalesce into a giant snowflake)

In F2, she also demonstrates melting the ice floor that she froze.

What we don’t know yet is whether she can melt “natural” snow that she didn’t make herself, or whether she can reverse a natural winter and turn it into summer. Let’s wait for more out of this world powers in future shorts, movies or series!

[drmmyrs]

Dropped (Becca x MC) Part 4

Soo this is the final part of this fic, thank you guys for following their journey till the end. Hope you enjoy 💕💕

tag list: @wlwplaychoices  @alexlabhont @woltk @alexroyard @red-queen1013 @gluten-free-yogurt @uselesslesbianfr @noixngn @dopeyouth @falloutdc-blog @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @baexpoppy @veenast (including some of those who reblogged and replied to the 1st & 2nd & 3rd parts. If you want to be included in the tag list just let me know 😊)

Read Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Pairing: Becca x MC (Emily)

Word Count: 1378

Warnings: none

Becca had been pacing back and forth outside the door for the past several minutes. She already knew what she was going to say. She already went through it in her head countless times. But actually saying it out loud... Maybe I should just do this another day? Becca shook her head. No. She needed to do this. She was there now. Any day later, she wouldn't be brave enough. She let out one last anxious breath and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened. And then there she was, the woman that consumed her thoughts by day and haunted her dreams at night.

"Becca?"

Emily looked tired. Dark circles formed under her eyes–eyes that once wore a fiery sparkle now replaced by a dull glint. At that moment, all of Becca's previous thoughts went out the window. All she wanted to do was hug her, comfort her, take away all the pain, all the hurt. But then she remembered she was the reason for those.

"Don't worry. This–this won't take long."

Becca thought of their anniversary night. How Emily waited for her, alone, while she got herself drunk, without a care in the world. How she brushed her off when she got home, ignoring all her shouts, her pleas, her cries. And then she remembered that night—the haunted look in Emily's eyes when she saw someone else kiss her.

"I'm sorry, Em. I am so so sorry for everything. I was an idiot. I–you didn't deserve any of that."

Emily avoided her gaze, her eyes drifting down the floor.

Becca continued. "But you're wrong. I never–even for a second–stopped loving you. I know you probably won't believe me, but I never cheated on you. Hell, I never even thought of cheating on you." Becca bit her quivering lip. "I love you so much which is why I–I–"

Becca closed her eyes as her next words came out almost as a whisper. "Which is why I'm letting you go."

At her words, Emily's eyes trailed up to meet Becca's gaze, and the look on her eyes almost made Becca question if she was doing the right thing.

"I–I won't bother you anymore." Becca stepped forward and pressed her lips on Emily's forehead. "Goodbye, Em."

Becca walked away as tears started streaming down her cheeks, not once looking back.

***

The next few weeks passed in a blur. The finality of their breakup left a dull, hollow ache in her heart even though Becca knew she did the right thing. She busied herself in school in an attempt to brush away thoughts of Emily while doing her best to ignore Chloe and her friends, leaving her once again alone and friendless on campus. But maybe that was for the best. She didn't think she could be all social even if she wanted to.

One afternoon, Becca was about to go home when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi. Is this Rebecca Davenport I am speaking with?"

"Uhh, yes. This is she."

"This is Samantha Winters. We met on the mock trial? I was calling to see if you'd be interested in an internship here in California."

*** Emily's POV

"'... Not all college relationships last. But even so, the love you shared, the stories you created, even just for a passionate while, will stay with you for a lifetime.' Eeeeek, this is so beautiful, Em." Kaitlyn looked at Emily, pretending to wipe tears from her eyes.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Anywaay, I guess I better show this to James then."

On the way to the campus, Emily had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice the blonde heading straight towards her. At the collision, books scattered all over the floor.

Emily rushed to help pick them up. "I'm sorry I–Madison?"

Madison looked up. "Emily! Sorry, didn't see you there."

When Madison stood up and faced Emily, there was a distant and sad look in her eyes. "Thank you," Madison said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Are you... okay?"

Madison hesitated. "Yes, I–" She sighed. "I just got back from Becca's place. She said she wasn’t leaving till later, but when I got there, her car was already gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

"Becca... is leaving?"

Madison shot Emily a sympathetic look. "You didn't know."

Emily shook her head.

"She was offered an internship at California. I–I'm not even sure if she's coming back," Madison said dejectedly.

Emily shifted from one foot to the other. "I see."

Emily and Madison stood there silently for a moment until Madison spoke up.

"I probably should get going. It was nice bumping into you, Emily."

"Same to you."

Emily continued to walk towards the campus, each of her steps getting shorter than the last until she finally came to a complete stop. She then turned around, knowing where she needed to go.

*** Becca's POV

Becca sat near the edge of the hill, surrounded by trees covered in snow as cold air wafted all around her. She took a sip of the hot coffee she brought with her, hoping to regain some warmth.

"You know, I never understood why you didn't just leave your blankets and pillows here. I don't think anyone else knows about this place."

Becca turned around in surprise at the voice.

"Emily..."

Emily gave Becca a small smile as she sat down beside her.

"I couldn't risk it. Decent blankets and pillows are expensive, you know."

For a while, they just sat there, gazing at the city lights below. The only sound heard was the gentle rustling of leaves and the occasional breeze.

"Madison said you were leaving."

"I was going to, but I said no. It was a corporate law internship. I didn't think it was right for me."

Emily nodded in understanding. Soon, the silence grew again between them.

"Becca... what happened to us?"

Becca's gaze drifted over to Emily. Her expression was indiscernible as she continued to observe the stream of tiny movements on the city below.

"What happened to me, you mean," Becca muttered before returning her gaze back in front of her. "Working at Uskea and being at law school at the same time, after a while it just gets to you."

At the corner of her eye, Becca saw Emily turn her head to face her. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a hard time?"

"I–I was scared, embarrassed. I didn't want to look weak. I didn't want you to see me weak" Becca released a shaky breath, creating a misty cloud that rose into the air. "Because then, you'll see that I was never good enough for you."

Becca continued, "Instead, it became easier to fall back on old habits. And before I knew it I–" Becca squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away, before opening them again.

"At first I thought, somehow, I was protecting you, protecting us." Becca let out a humorless laugh. "It was too late when I realized that I wasn't. I was–" She clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm, "I hurt you."

"Becca..." Emily reached out and unclenched Becca's fist, interlacing her fingers with hers. Becca held Emily's hand tighter with her head held down as hot tears started to prickle her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Becca whispered.

Emily took Becca's chin and gently tilted her face up. Becca could hardly meet her eyes. "Becca, look at me," Emily said softly.

Slowly, Becca met Emily's eyes, her gaze warm but piercing. "You don't need to pretend for me. Not now. Not ever." Emily held Becca's face, wiping away Becca's wet cheeks with her thumb as she pulled her closer. Their lips met hungrily, filled with longing and passion. When they pulled apart, their foreheads rested against each other.

"Can we... try again?" Becca breathed.

"As long as you promise me no more secrets."

Becca kissed Emily again. "No more secrets."

Becca and Emily spent the rest of the afternoon in each other's arms. They watched as the sun began to set, basking the city in a gorgeous shade of orange. And when the lights began to dim, they regretfully decided to descend the hill, braving the cold, hand in hand.

[softheartedscorpio]

Wolfstar with prompt 3?

Winter/Holiday Prompt #3: Makeout sesh in front of the fire, but someone is being a tad too respectful.

Pairing: Wolfstar

Warning: Mature Content/NSFW/Smut

Background: It’s Remus and Sirius’s 7th year, they’ve been together since 5th year. James and Lily have been together for almost a year at this point.

—

The heat of the fire bathed the two teens as shadows danced along the walls of the common room. Everyone had gone to bed a few hours ago and the only sound was the crackling of the fireplace.

Sirius ran his fingers through Remus’s hair before tangling them at the curls at the back of his neck, letting out soft moans as their tongues danced together. Remus tugged Sirius onto his lap so he was straddling him and pulled back slightly, nipping at his bottom lip as he did so, “Is this okay?” He questioned breathlessly as he took in Sirius’s flushed face and swollen lips. “Yeah,” The dark-haired teen panted out as he tugged Remus back into another unrushed kiss.

Remus settled his hands on Sirius’s waist, eyes closed, fully enjoying the warmth spreading through his body from Sirius’s hesitant touch as his hands slipped from short hair down a sweater covered chest. He let out a hum in pleasure as Sirius ground their hips together slowly, allowing his hands to explore under Sirius’s shirt, loving the feel of the toned muscles there. Sirius broke the kiss as he started kissing down Remus’s neck, pausing before gently sinking his teeth in the base, “Siri...” Remus groaned quietly as he thrust his hips up into his boyfriend’s. Sirius froze, an uncertain feeling rushing through him, before pulling away. “Sirius?” Amber eyes studied the face of the blushing teen, “Is everything okay?”

“I-Yeah,” Sirius cleared his throat, eyes falling to his hands that were fidgeting with Remus’s sweater. Remus furrowed his eyebrow as a flicker of frustration and disappointment went through him, “I’m not pushing for too much am I?” He asked gently. “No!” Sirius’s head snapped up as he shook his quickly. “Then what’s going on? Everytime we make out, you stop us. Is it—Is it me?” Remus’s insecurity tainted his voice as he tried to understand. “No Moons. Oh Merlin no,” Sirius breathed out as his hands went to Remus’s cheeks. “I...I just...I don’t want to push for too much, too soon.”

“Too soon? Pads we’ve been together for two years,” Remus raised an eyebrow. “Lily and James already slept together and they’ve been together far less.” Sirius blushed once more, turning away. He knew that. James and him had talked about it. “Sirius. Talk to me,” Remus finally sighed. “I’ve never...and I want to but I’m scared. I don’t know much about it and...” Sirius looked up with wide grey eyes as realization hit Remus like a truck. Sirius wouldn’t know about it. Sirius’s first hug was James in 2nd year. His first kiss was Remus and that was 5th year. His family wasn’t an affectionate one and the idea of his mother talking to him about the birds and bees was fully ridiculous.

“Has anyone ever talked to you about sex?” Remus asked softly as he pressed a soft kiss to Sirius’s forehead. “James did,” He flushed as he looked down at his hands. “Lily did too, but James was more detailed.” Remus nodded as he rubbed Sirius’s back slowly, “I won’t push you until you’re ready.” “I want to. I just...show me?” Sirius rushed out as he looked up at Remus. Remus felt a rush of love for the teen in front of him, “Of course.”

He gently moved Sirius off of him, “Moon- Wha-?” “Shhh Pads,” Remus shushed him gently as he shifted Sirius to his back and crawled over him. “I’ll take care of you.” Sirius watched as Remus pulled his sweater off, his eyes roaming the scarred chest and muscled form that was hidden beneath the baggy clothes. His breath hitched as he let his hands run up the pale skin drawing a soft sigh from Remus.

“Your turn,” Remus encouraged before slowly unbuttoning Sirius’s shirt leaning down to kiss the tattoo over his heart. “I still love this,” He murmured as he traced over the paw print that signified Sirius’s animagus form. “Thank you,” Sirius murmured as he allowed the shirt to fall off his arms and tossed it to the floor. A trail of kisses were pressed down his chest before hands slowly undid his pants, “Too much?” Remus’s eyes flickered up to meet his and the intensity in them had Sirius’s heart racing. Remus had of course seen him naked over the years of sharing the dorm, but never like this. “No,” He breathed out as steady hands pulled them down and another kiss was pressed on his hip bone.

Remus crawled back up Sirius’s body before pressing a lazy kiss to soft lips that had the tension melting out of the smaller male. “Trust me,” Remus murmured against his lips and Sirius could only nod. Long fingers wrapped around Sirius’s length, moving at a slow pace as a gasp escaped pink lips. “R-Remus,” Sirius breathily said as Remus kissed him gently. His length was at full attention within moments and soft noises were escaping with each unhurried movement.

A whine escaped Sirius as Remus moved his hand away before a whispered spell caused a rush of coolness through Sirius’s body before a long finger pushed at his entrance, “Relax.” Remus soothed as Sirius tensed up. He eased his finger inside slowly, giving Sirius time to adjust. When a quiet sigh escaped the other teen, he began pushing it in and out at a lazy place as he kissed Sirius leisurely. “Rem...” Sirius moaned as he broke the kiss, Remus began kissing his way down the exposed pale skin before adding another finger.

Sirius’s moans grew in volume as Remus worked them at a faster pace, searching for the bundle of nerves, sitting up to use his other hand to rub Sirius’s hardened length once more. “O-Oh Remus,” Sirius gasped out as he arched into the touch. A smirk danced along Remus’s lips as he ran his fingers over the same spot once more, loving the sound of Sirius saying his name. “Do you want more?” Remus asked lowly in his ear causing shivers to run down Sirius’s spine as a whimper left his lips, “Please.”

Remus sat up, removing his fingers much to Sirius’s displeasure, and pulled his own pants off. Another whispered spell had his own length slicked up, grey eyes watching intently as his hand moved over himself. “Are you sure?” Remus checked as he aligned himself with Sirius’s entrance and searched his boyfriend’s face for any uncertainty. Sirius bit his lip nervously before nodding, “I want you.”

Remus smiled before pressing their lips together as he gently pushed his tip in. Sirius let out a gasp of pain as tears gathered in his eyes. “It’s okay baby,” Remus soothed as he gently kissed the tears away. “It’ll feel good soon.” He couldn't take his eyes off of his face as he pressed himself into the warm, grasping heat of his lover for the first time, seeing grey eyes widening at the feeling of being filled for the first time, his mouth falling open to suck in a gasp of air as Remus' head pushed passed the resistance of his body and sunk deeply into him in one smooth, firm thrust before pausing inside of him.

Remus leaned so he could kiss him again, distracting him from the over-full feeling until his body adjusted to the new feeling. Remus gave a testing thrust of his hips as he felt the tenseness easing out of the body he was buried inside of. When he didn't hear or see any signs of pain he pulled back slowly until only his head was held in Sirius's entrance, and with agonising and teasing slowness pushed himself back inside, “You okay?” Remus murmured into his ear as Sirius let out a soft moan, “Yes. It feels weird but good.”

The feeling of that tight grip around him was enough to throw Remus over the edge. Sure now that he would not hurt Sirius he started up a rhythm to drive them both to as much pleasure as he could, drinking every single moan, groan, whimper and noise that his boyfriend made as he buried himself deeply inside him.

Remus grunted grabbing Sirius's hips as thrusted himself deeply inside of him repeatedly, his grip on bruising and anchoring at the same time. The feeling was amazing and he could feel himself drawing close to the edge as he stared down at the gorgeous teen under him, Sirius’s own pleasure clear on his face.

“R-Remus, I...I need to...” Sirius moaned brokenly as he clung to his boyfriend. “Cum for me,” Remus growled in his ear as his own movements began to stutter. Sirius arched as Remus watched him coming apart under him, feeling the walls around his length tightening and fluttering in response to his orgasm, seeing him spilling himself all over his own stomach, was enough for Remus. With a loud groan as he thrust once more into Sirius, cumming inside of him, panting into his shoulder as the pleasure shook through him.

“Wow,” Sirius breathlessly whispered as the fire began to die out. Remus laughed quietly as he gently rolled off his boyfriend and shifted so he was holding him tightly. “That was...” Sirius trailed off as he looked up at Remus with loved filled eyes. “Amazing,” Remus finished as he pressed another gentle kiss to his lover’s lips. “Are you okay?” He asked as he ran his fingers through long hair.

“Perfect,” Sirius sighed as he snuggled into Remus’s warmth, sounding so content that Remus couldn’t help but feel smug. “We should head upstairs to bed,” Remus murmured as his eyes slipped closed. Sirius hummed in agreement but didn’t move either. “C’mon,” Remus stood slowly with a sleepy Sirius. He got them both cleaned and dressed before they made their way silently upstairs and fell into Remus’s bed.

“Love you,” Remus nuzzled Sirius’s neck gently and kissing over the red marks that were there. “I love you too,” Sirius smiled beautifully even as his eyes fluttered closed. Smiles lingered on both their lips as they drifted to sleep.

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: A Love Poem to Skadi - Manor of Hermes, Xia Yan Route

Translation Masterlist | Themis Event Masterlist

Routes: Xia Yan | Zuo Ran | Mo Yi | Lu Jinghe

The “Manor of Hermes” portion of this event requires you to search an abandoned mansion, rumoured to be haunted, to discover its various secrets with each of the male leads. 

Please note that there are some subject matters discussed in the “Manor of Hermes” as the player progresses that may make some uncomfortable - please exercise discretion and know your limits. Feel free to ask me for details to check!

General Items (Not specific to any ML)

1st Floor - Front Foyer

Letter

MC: Xia Yan, look, there are a lot of envelopes here!

Xia Yan: Let me see… written on the front of the envelopes is…

Xia Yan: … “To Mr. Laste Modero”… was he the owner of this mansion?

MC: Maybe – I remember seeing this surname at the front door.

Xia Yan: Although looking at the style of the mansion, I’m afraid that, since it’s a hundred-year-old structure…

Xia Yan: It’s hard to make out the words on these envelopes because they’re from so long ago…

Xia Yan: We can’t get more useful information for now.

MC: No problem, we’ve only just started. With such a large mansion, there’ll definitely be a lot of things for us to notice.

Xia Yan: You’re right. Then let’s continue in.

Notebook on the Ground

Xia Yan: Eh, wait, there’s a book here.

MC: It’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”… there’s even a signature on the title page.

Xia Yan: “Allie, the one daughter I had…”

MC: This must mean that Mr. Laste also had a daughter.

Xia Yan: Plus, this Miss Allie must have quite liked this book.

Xia Yan: Look – though it’s from so long ago, we can still clearly see the marks of the book being flipped through.

MC: Mm… some places look like they’ve been flipped through a lot of times.

Xia Yan: …

MC: What’s the matter?

Xia Yan: Nothing, I just remembered a statement that I’ve heard before.

MC: ???

Xia Yan: “Those who enjoy reading “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” have no freedom, and instead desire to have freedom.”

MC: !!!

1st Floor - Maid’s Bedroom

Xia Yan: What’s this?

Xia Yan approached the items spread on the table.

Xia Yan: A notebook... the owner was Anville.

MC: The maid whose nametag we just saw on the door?

Xia Yan: Yep.

MC: Then what did she write?

Xia Yan: Let me see...

Xia Yan quickly flipped through the notebook. As he continued his movements, his expression gradually became... quite off...

MC: What’s the matter? Is there something weird written in the notebook?

Xia Yan: Nothing major - just some big family drama about ethics. 

Xia Yan: If it were broadcasted on TV, they could probably make several tens of episodes...

[Get: Anville’s Notebook]

2nd Floor - Prep Room [enter after finishing Jolena’s requests]

MC: Eh? ... Why’s there a rope on the floor?

Xia Yan: Let me see.

Xia Yan crouched, picked up the rope on the ground, and looked it over carefully. 

MC: Did you see anything about it? What was this rope used for? 

Xia Yan: Remember how we saw some weird marks on Allie’s windowsill wall?

MC: Are you saying that those marks were left by this rope?

Xia Yan: It should be, based on the sizes of the wall marks and this rope’s shape and length. 

MC: But that doesn’t explain what the rope was used for...

Xia Yan: Have you heard of the story of Rapunzel?

MC: Are you talking about the story where “the imprisoned Rapunzel used her hair to pull the prince into the tower”?

Xia Yan: Yep, but I’m afraid that what happened in this mansion was...

Xia Yan: “The prince pulled at a rope beside the window to help Rapunzel escape from the prison temporarily.”

[Get: Rope]

3nd Floor - Book Materials Room [enter after finishing Muller’s requests]

MC: ...

Xia Yan: What’s the matter?

MC: Xia Yan, look at the book with the black cover on the bookshelf.

MC: Isn’t it very weird?

Xia Yan: We’ll know after taking it out to see. 

Xia Yan took out that weird book from the bookshelf and quickly flipped through it.

Xia Yan: ...

MC: What’s the matter? Why did your expression become so serious?

Xia Yan: This is a missionary book. It’s passed on by a heretical evil cult called “Cult of Rebirth”. 

Xia Yan: As for the book’s contents... you’ll know after taking a look.

[Get: Missionary Book]

Xia Yan-specific Items

­1st Floor – Dining Room

MC: There are some cracked wood chunks and panels here.

MC: Seeing how they look, they seem to be the same as the chairs in the house.

Xia Yan: But looking at the shapes of the cracks on the wood chunks, they received external force.

MC: External force… so someone smashed the chair?

Xia Yan: Or maybe someone fell on the chair and broke it into pieces.

Xia Yan: Plus, look at these wood chunks. These dark circles seem to be congealed blood.

MC: So an argument or fight broke out here?

Xia Yan: Probably.

Xia Yan: Hm?

MC: What’s the matter?

Xia Yan: There seems to be something else in this pile of wood chunks?

After he spoke, Xia Yan crouched down and started to search through the pile in front of him.

Xia Yan: Found it!

MC: What is it?

Xia Yan: Look.

MC: Yellow gem shards…

MC: They’re the shards from “Allie’s Winter”!

Xia Yan: That’s right!

[Get: Bloodied Wood Chunks & Yellow Gem Pieces]

1st Floor – Kitchen

Xia Yan: !!!

MC: What’s the matter? Why is your expression so strange?

Xia Yan: Look here – these residues seem to be charcoal.

MC: Charcoal? But isn’t that something that will be produced after wood is burned?

MC: Did someone set something on fire in the kitchen?

Xia Yan: I think so. Look at the cabinet on the side.

Xia Yan: Its placement isn’t consistent with the positions of year-round furniture placed on the ground.

Xia Yan: And these old marks surrounding the charcoal on the ground…

Xia Yan: I think that after the original cabinet placed here was burned down, someone brought over a new one.

Xia Yan: And it’s not just here. As we came in, I observed this place.

Xia Yan: Most of the walls on the first floor all have the black residues from after a fire.

Xia Yan: Several important forks in the path also show post-fire results.

MC: So this mansion…

Xia Yan: That’s right, a massive fire might’ve occurred at this mansion.

MC: … Then should we take another look to see if there are any other clues around here?

Xia Yan: Good idea.

Xia Yan shifted his gaze back at the residue on the ground, then reached out to brush some aside.

Suddenly, following his movements, a yellow object revealed itself from the ash.

MC: This is!

Xia Yan: Looking at its shape, it should be a gem piece from “Allie’s Winter”!

[Get: Ash Residue & Yellow Gem Pieces]

MC: Hung on the wall is… a frying pan?

Xia Yan: …

MC: I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s weird that the pan is hung here…

MC: Especially compared to the pans that have been knocked on the floor.

MC: Though they all look dirty and old…

Xia Yan: The frying pan on the wall is clearly somewhat newer. Plus, there are the marks of someone putting it in order.

Xia Yan: While the accumulated dust and dirt on the pots and pans on the floor are thicker than on the wall.

Xia Yan: They also bear clear marks of damage on them.

Xia Yan: They probably were never used ever since someone knocked them down.

MC: But they’re all in one kitchen, so why is there such a major difference?

Xia Yan: One fairly strong possibility is that the pans were knocked down because of some sort of unexpected event.

Xia Yan: And after the unexpected event, someone returned to the mansion again and settled down here.

Xia Yan: The pan hung on the wall should be the one he used.

Xia Yan: Although, these are only my guesses – we still need more proof.

After he finished speaking, Xia Yan extended his head out, looking over the things on the wall.

He carefully stuck out his hand, trying to take off the pan.

The same moment that the pan left the wall, something fell down from the gap.

Xia Yan: A yellow gem… it’s a piece from “Allie’s Winter”!

[Get: Pans that have been organized & Yellow Gem Pieces]

 2nd Floor – Laste’s Book Room

MC: Why’s there a clean sheet of paper here?

Xia Yan: Paper?

Xia Yan stood beside me, carefully looking over that sheet of paper, then leaned close to it to give it a sniff.

Xia Yan: This isn’t a clean sheet of paper – there’s stuff written on it.

MC: ???

Xia Yan took the paper from my hands, then look a lighter from his pocket.

He pressed down on the lighter, simultaneously holding the sheet above the flame. A while later, words started to appear, one by one, on the sheet.

MC: !!!

Xia Yan: As expected… the words written on here were written with diluted acid.

Xia Yan: They’ve almost all appeared – want to see what it says?

MC: Mhmm.

I took the paper from Xia Yan, inspecting the contents on it.

MC: … “Commission received. In three days at 19:30, I will bring the police force to your place.”

MC: “Please relax. We will definitely capture your daughter, lost in her delusions, and the hoodlum Winter, who destroyed your house with fire, and bring them to justice.”

MC: “Police Director Chuck.”

MC: Xia Yan, this…

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Let’s look around the surroundings again and see if there are other clues.

MC: Sure.

Xia Yan and I split up and got to work, going around and carefully examining the book table again.

But what was regretful was how, aside from this sheet of paper and the occasional gem pieces we noticed in the corner…

Xia Yan and I got nothing.

[Get: Police Director’s Return Letter & Yellow Gem Pieces]

--

Statue Password: 1930

MC: This is…

MC: Case files for a lot of people…

MC: (Were they collected by Mr. Laste?)

I flipped through the files I was holding, reading as I thought rapidly.

MC: (A portion of these people were doctors treating mental illnesses. The other portion is those who have already been cured from their mental illnesses.)

MC: (The parts on the case files that have to do with mental illnesses have all been circled.)

MC: (Looks like Mr. Laste paid a lot of attention to this bit.)

MC: Doctors… healed patients… could Mr. Laste have wanted to know about ways to treat mental illness?

MC: (But on the last case file here, there’s an annotation…)

MC: “All… useless”?!

[Get: Many Case Files]

 3rd Floor – Storage Room (1)

There were lots of brightly-coloured toys in the wooden boxes beside the walls.

MC: Xia Yan, look, don’t they look like the woolen dolls we bought when we were little?

I pointed at a woolen rabbit as I spoke to Xia Yan.

Xia Yan: Haha, they do look a lot alike. Plus, did you notice how these toys are just like we were when we were little…

Xia Yan: Each one is paired up.

Xia Yan: Look through them – maybe a name is stitched on these toys.

MC: …

I took the woolen rabbit out of the box and carefully inspected it.

MC: Xia Yan, there really are some!

Xia Yan: Ah?!

MC: Names are stitched behind the ear of the rabbit. This one has “Allie” on it…

I scooped out the other rabbit.

MC: There’s “Winter” on this one!

Xia Yan: …

MC: Xia Yan, the relations between “Allie” and “Winter” must have been very good.

Xia Yan: Mhmm, I also feel that way – they must have been like us…

Xia Yan: They used these toys as testament to that.

Xia Yan: After all, all else aside, it’s not easy to collect the pairs in this box of toys.

MC: Why?

Xia Yan: Based on the time when this mansion was built, Skadi Island had been completely closed off from foreign economies at that time.

Xia Yan: Their commercial dealings with other nations were basically “zero”.

Xia Yan: Back then, woolen toys like this were all shipped goods – they needed to be imported from other countries.

Xia Yan: It was difficult enough to get one – getting two would be even harder than that.

Xia Yan: Based on this, they really did see each other as important.

MC: Is that so…

I looked at the toy box in front of me again. Suddenly, a fleeting sparkle deep in the box caught my attention.

MC: Seems like there’s something there?

I felt towards the sparkle.

MC: It’s one of the gem pieces we’re searching for!

[Get: Pair of Woolen Rabbits & Yellow Gem Pieces]

MC: Xia Yan, look – what is this?

I pointed at the objects in the corner.

Xia Yan: I think they’re buckets that contain some sort of liquid – I’ll take a careful look.

Xia Yan stepped up to the oil buckets.

He took out his carry-on collapsible dagger, nicking a tiny hole into the bottom of the bucket.

The moment the hole appeared, a dark, partly-solidified substance came out from the cylinder.

MC: This is?

Xia Yan: It’s the colloidal precipitate that formed after thermal oxidation was performed on gasoline.

Xia Yan inspected the stuff that had appeared in front of us and quietly responded to me.

Xia Yan: But… why are there gasoline buckets here? Plus, there’s no opening.

MC: They’re probably needed for some of the installations in the mansion, so they’re here as backup reserves.

Xia Yan: That can’t be. I specially took a look before – the fireplaces and the kitchen all use wood to light fires in the mansion.

Xia Yan: The lighting in the mansion is also mostly candles and fire lanterns – they basically have no need to buy gasoline.

Xia Yan: Exactly why did they buy these?

MC: Xia Yan, look here, there’s purchase information stuck on the bottom of the gasoline buckets.

I pointed out what I’d noticed for Xia Yan to see.

Xia Yan: Let me see… the purchaser was… Winter?

MC: Mhmm. Aside from that, some of the gem pieces we’re searching for are hidden in the crevice behind the gasoline buckets!

[Get: Gasoline Buckets & Yellow Gem Pieces]

 -

B1 Level

MC: (We’ve already collected all the gems.)

MC: (Johnny said before that the four gems could open four main doors…)

MC: (The notch above this door’s lock is similar to the notch on the fire portion. How about I try putting in the collected yellow gems.)

-

MC: Xia Yan, look at the thing hung on the wall!

MC: A white coat and scattered long hair…

MC: And the ghost mask on the table… isn’t this like…

Xia Yan: That’s right, it looks the same as the “Lord of Evil Thoughts” that appears in the polar nights, according to legend.

Xia Yan: With the cleared-up pans that we noticed before in the first-floor kitchen…

Xia Yan: It’s very clear that someone settled down in the mansion and pretended to be the evil ghost.

MC: Who is that person? And why did he do this?

Xia Yan: I don’t know who it is, but as for why…

Xia Yan: Do you still remember what those people who encountered the “Lord of Evil Thoughts” did, right after encountering him?

MC: They fled, and never went back to the mansion…

MC: Could it be that the person who pretended to be the ghost did this to scare away adventure-seekers at the mansion?

Xia Yan: I feel like this is possible.

Xia Yan: Based on the marks in the kitchen and the rooms, this person clearly lived here for a very long time.

Xia Yan: To be able to guard this abandoned mansion for so long, not to mention thinking up of ways to scare off the people here…

Xia Yan: Could he be protecting something?

[Get: White clothes and fake hair]

 MC: This mirror on the wall over here is shattered.

Xia Yan: Looking at the shatter marks, it probably received external damaging force.

MC: You mean… someone smashed the mirror?

MC: But why would he do this?

Xia Yan: Let me ask you, what’s a mirror typically used for?

MC: A reference for you to clean up your appearance?

Xia Yan: What else?

MC: We can use the mirror to see ourselves?

Xia Yan: Then, what if someone doesn’t want to look at themselves?

MC: So he smashed the mirror?

Xia Yan: That’s right. I’m guessing that the person who broke the mirror didn’t want to see himself for some reason, particularly not his own face.

Xia Yan: Plus, do you remember the bloodied wood chunks we noticed on the first floor?

MC: At that time, you speculated that maybe there were people who got into conflict there.

Xia Yan: Yes. If we link that to this mirror…

Xia Yan: Maybe this person injured their face in the conflict?

[Get: Shattered Mirror]

[sohoharlem]

[I included the blinds in this one if you want to post this one instead.]


I’d just like to add as a side note that before this, in early 2020, Sebastian had become more active again for the first time since around 2018, after drama went down with his ex. It had appeared that he was making a turn around for the fandom and becoming himself again, or at least attempting to.


Late March - June of 2020 


TFATWS stops filming. Sebastian starts looking rough through quarantine. 


March 25th he does a podcast with Don Saladino where he critiques people who travel during the pandemic, calling them dumb fucks and that it pisses him off.


April 29th Seb does solo pap walk with latex gloves.


May 3rd Seb does solo pap walk with mask and latex gloves, he even waterfalls his water bottle.


May 13 he posts a picture of NYC saying “Happy Days will come again” and puts a praying emoji.


May 15th he posts beautiful pictures he took of his city NYC during the pandemic and tags it “I love New York. We’ll be back.” (talking about pandemic being over.)


He appears in his friend’s Aaron’s video wearing a mask and looking at people without a mask and looking disappointed in them for not wearing one.
He does a few other interviews, including one with Variety, where he talks passionately about thanking healthcare workers and how he claps everyday at 7PM out his window to thank them.

 
It is evident he takes the quarantine and COVID very seriously.


Mid-Late May


He starts looking rough and it becomes evident to his fans that the quarantine is not doing him well. 


After his May 15th posts he stops posting.


May 22nd 2020 Sebastian Stan is signed with CAA.


*where things get weird*


Fans start wondering if he is doing okay and begin to grow concerned, especially after his most recent story showing him singing that he can’t wait for this year to end.
 

He is MIA during the George Floyd and BLM movement and fans begin leaving comments on his instagram interrogating him for not speaking about BLM and for his silence.


Fans begin leaving comments such as “Silence is an answer” on his Instagram and talk about his past start to arise on Twitter. (About his ex who used the N-word, and his assistant that he fired because she was Islamophobic. 


Other fans are still worried for his sudden silence during a time where most celebrities are being extremely vocal about BLM. 

While they are upset, they are still concerned.
On the news, his neighborhood is one of the areas in NYC shown on TV for being looted and attacked by vandalism. 

He is still silent.


May 31st he posts a NYTOpinion video about race, hash tagging it #justiceforGeorgeFloyd .


In the screen record for his video the names of his assistants come up on his phone. 
Sebastian does not say anything else for about three weeks when he then posts another charity on June 12th, one supporting Anthony Mackie.


JUNE 2020 


June 15th he posts another charity: one for conscious kid and one for Rayshard Brooks. He uses tag #blacklivesmatter .


Sebastian goes silent again. We don’t hear from him all month and fans grow even more worried now. 


He is silent for the rest of the month.


July


July 2nd/3rd He is seen on his friend’s Luke’s instagram in IBIZA for his manager’s birthday. Camera pans to Seb briefly and he looks unamused, almost trying to hide his face.


Fandom is in hysteria, and mostly confusion, because him being across the ocean during the pandemic went against everything he spoke about. 


Fandom is very upset with him. Especially since he is unmasked.


July 2nd/3rd, paparazzi pictures are released of him on a yacht laughing and kissing AO. Fandom is a mixture of confused, upset, but also happy for him because he looks like he is having a good time.


Fans on twitter start to aim ‘cancel culture’ and Sebastian Stan is Over trends for a few hours.


Paul H makes tweet defending his friend.


After July 4th and that week, fans uncover AO’s cultural ap. photos.

 
Some fans began interrogating her on her instagram. During this time we hear nothing directly from Seb.


He is silent on IG. 


July 3rd She posts Jet-ski picture without tagging him. 


Sometime this week they go to a very crowded strip/dance club of some sort. A friend records them and AO is seen sitting next to Seb and dancing against him.


July 7th AO does photoshoot in Madrid. New pap photo. Seb looks strikingly unhappy compared to pictures from July 3rd on the Yacht.


July 7th 2020 blind item, blind Item #11: “He might live in the US full time and be a naturalized US citizen, but this alliterate foreign born A list most movie actor used the passport he has from his birth country to take a vacation in Europe.”


Mid July to late July


Jul 8th - 12th silence. We assume they are still in Spain together, but we are not sure. We know she is.


July 12th, Ale posts first picture that we catch for being a throwback. It’s her on a beach, but we find out it’s old. We still don’t know where Seb is confirmed to be.


Silence again until the 14th when both Seb and Ale are called out for blocking fans on instagram that are attacking them. 


July 27th, Ale posts picture of the Netflix show she was on.


August


Nothing until August 11 when she tags her friend in a post saying she misses her. 


August 13th Seb posts his mother on his Birthday and also a The Devil All The Time clip.


LOOPHOLE TO USA.


August 14th she posts from Bermuda.


We soon make the connection that she uses this as loophole to get into the United States during Corona Virus. 


She posts several stories from there, including a boomerang of her throwing a towel at the camera. 


August 16th Seb posts another charity event that he did in Spain for a children’s hospital and school. 

His teams says it was planned many months in advance after fans question his reckless action.


We still don’t know where Seb is. 
There are no pap pictures during this time.
August 20th she posts Bermuda again.


August 21st their 3rd pap walk in the United States in NYC. Both masked and holding hands.


August 23rd he posts another Charity.


August 25th AO posts Bermuda again. Assumed throwback. 


August 25th another Pap walk outside his front door. Fans are shocked since he is so private. They both look very off guard even though it’s labeled Backgrid, meaning paps were called. This could’ve been taken the 24th but I don’t have access to byline to confirm.


It is assumed by many fans that around this time is when they see private information about his loft being rented. let me know if you would like me to leave this part out, but I feel it might be important.


August 27th he posts a Bucky throwback.


I don’t remember the exact date, but sometime between August 28th and 31st, Seb is supposedly spotted by a random fan at LAX.


August 31st AO post’s a video from Jersey City, NJ.


At this point in time we are aware that The Falcon and Winter Soldier will resume filming in Atlanta in mid September. Article states that crew and cast are to mandatory quarantine prior.


We don’t know where they both are at this point.


September


September 4th, AO posts another picture from the Netflix show she was on.


September 11th Seb posts a 9/11 picture that he took of the city and labels it “Thinking of NYC today”
September 11th, Ale posts a photoshoot picture of herself.


September 12th, Margarita unfollows Seb.


I don’t remember exactly when, but at a certain point, Ale starts posting videos and pictures of herself in what appears to be maybe Atlanta. Before this, she posts a picture of Sushi. 
She baits with picture of a script and also a book that she could possibly audition for.


September 14th Seb posts another Bucky picture.


September 15th, Seb posts another charity.
TFATWS commences shooting around this time.


September 15th 2020, Blind Item #11: “This studio really wanted to film their new streaming show for their own stream. They want nothing to shut it down so are covering up positive COVID tests of the cast and crew. Not Netflix. Not amazon. Revealed: Falcon and The Winter Soldier”


AO continues to bait fans with pictures and videos of food and a TV watching movies.


September 18th AO posts a hiking picture that fans quickly find out is a (very very plausible) throwback from Costa Rica.


September 19th Seb posts a very strange video of himself watching gossip girl in an apartment that fans see looks very different from where Ale was “baiting”. 

Some fans claim maybe he’s just in a different room. In the video he is drinking wine and even pans the camera to his ex girlfriend on tv and then back to himself when he swallows huge gulps of wine.


September 22nd he posts a VOTE picture with Mackie. Another “Link in my Bio”. 5th one in the last few months?


September 25th she posts from what we later find out is an Inn in Atlanta where they stayed before going to Prague.


September 30th 2020, Blind Item #9: “This foreign born alliterate A/A- list mostly movie actor has brought a new escort stripper on set everyday he has been shooting. Revealed: Sebastian Stan.“


October 

*this is when Seb’s health starts to worry us


October 5th she posts a picture of Seb and her jumping in front of a bonfire at the Inn. Seb’s face is blurred out and she does not tag him.


October 6th, Seb posts video promoting his move 355. 


October 8th Seb posts the Charity water video from Atlanta.
A little after this time, AO’s location changes over to Spain. 

We are unaware of how long she is there for.


Her baiting stops for a bit.

October 14th 2020, Blind Item #7: ”This alliterate foreign born A list mostly movie actor brought in an Easter European porn star to have sex with he saw online. The whole fake girlfriend thing is not believed by anyone, so just give up.“


October 16th and 18th AO posts old photoshoot photos and tags her team

.
** Fans grow concern as AO continues to post work related content and we hear nothing about Seb.


** Seb is rumored to be in Prague, but no sighting or baiting is every mentioned. It is not confirmed they ever interacted while in Prague. 


** AO’s location finally changes to Prague and she posts pictures with someone that shocks fans - her manager. 


** AO posts fake pictures of what looks like a play she might audition for and we realize is just printed out photos. Videos of her holding fake play is recorded in a hotel lobby with her manager.


** A foreign online article that follows shooting in Prague follows AO and mentions her in their story as Seb’s GF.


October 21st,  AO posts picture of Prague with her mother

.
** Seb is still MIA and fans are still confused as to where he is and why he is suddenly so quiet.


** Rumors of that there might be covering something happening behind the scenes start to come out. Fans are worried it might be his health or something worst.


I think after this her Location changed back to Spain. 


October 24th AO posts old photoshoot photo.


October 26th 2020, Blind item #2: ”Not to be outdone by his alliterate foreign born co-star, this A/A- list actor has several women each day visit him on set. That was the same reason why he got divorced a few years back. Revealed: Anthony Mackie/Sebastian Stan“


October 27th we finally hear from Seb and it’s a picture from a bridge in Prague.


LOOPHOLE TO USA.


Ale posts that she’s jet lagged on her story with her Macbook Pro. Bait.


Silence. (I think. Someone fill me in if I missed something here.)
October 30th, Seb posts a video of an alien documentary. We later find out this is from a hotel in Mexico. Tulum.


October 31st Seb posts fans Halloween costumes of Bucky.


November


November 1st, Deuxmoi posts that he was spotted in Tulum reading a script. 


AO posts video from similar hotel room where his Alien video was. Bait.


November 7th a very suspicious influencer (who we later find out works for PR) takes a video of Seb and Ale walking on the beach in Mexico. Seb is walking about 30 feet way from her and she looks awkward following behind. Another video where she appears topless and he almost looks like he’s looking directly at the influencer’s camera.
We hear of (another?) influence who is recording them. She takes pictures of them laying in a bungalow. There is a video she records of them kissing but video is never seen by the public.


November 7th Seb posts his congrats to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. 

AO does the same on a story.
November 9th 2020, Blind Item #7: ”The foreign born alliterate A list actor who likes to often cheat on his sketchy girlfriend is being called out for yet again traveling to a foreign country for a vacation. Third or fourth one in the past few months. Besides realizing he was busted on video for not following the same rules he advocates, he is also vacationing in countries from which his girlfriend is allowed to get back into the US.“


November 9th we get the pap pics of them in Mexico and they appear very planned. Seb also appears skinny. Seb is talking on the phone, strips just his shirt as AO waits for him in water. They kiss briefly in awkward embraces, only once on lips, she gets hit by wave and he leaves her in water.


*** Around here is when Seb starts posting throwbacks and he starts looking sick 


November 12th, Seb posts a throwback to when he was on set on Endings Beginings.


November 15th he posts a throwback video for Charity on set of TFATWS with Anthony.

He makes a post for another Charity (same is bulletin prior) and he looks sick and tired. His hair is also very thin but some fans say it’s just sea water. Others are still worried about his health and think something is wrong. His left eyelid is a little swollen.


LOOPHOLE TO USA


Around this time is when AO starts posting the same sushi from around September. (possibly same.)
We make conclusion she is in LA when she then posts story with LA in background. 


November 18th she posts pictures in LA.


November 19th Seb posts a Bucky picture.


December 6th 2020, Blind Item #5: ”This foreign born alliterate A- list superhero did a video supporting a charity, Great. The thing is though, he used the opportunity to call out everyone who has called him out and said that he is great because he is taking the time to make a charity video. Probably not the video the charity had in mind. Revealed: Sebastian Stan.“


We assume he is in LA with AO. 

Rumors of them moving in together start to come up as she later continues to post pictures of a Christmas tree in a house.
Seb’s friends are in LA for thanksgiving. This is when drama with Toby happens and he changes his picture of where he posted Seb to say “throwback.”


AO continues to prove she is in LA. Bait.


November 30th/31st AO posts a picture tagging Chanel. *sorry I had to laugh at this one*
December
He does another charity which he forgets to promote this time on his IG. 


December 7th AO posts a shadow picture in LA tagging Seb. He does not approve this original photo into his tags.


December 7th Seb posts a quarantine video from his NYC apartment “Thank you for the love, thank you for the hate. Be safe.”


After fans start to speculate that he is in NYC again, on December 8th, Seb posts a Christmas tree and says “First tree in 20 years…” it’s a selfie and second picture is same tree Ale posted but cropped to find entire IG post. Background is blurred out.
AO continues to show LA house. Bait.


December 10th new pap walk admits rumors of TFATWS trailer dropping soon.


Seb is holding keys for car place that rents cars for PR purposes and there is a lot of distance between him and AO.


December 10th, Seb posts TFATWS trailer that drops and the poster later that night.
AO continues to post things about herself.


Seb continues to allow memes making fun of her and their rs to come through his tag.


She posts a video of a dog.


December 13th Seb posts a video of himself and a cat, but house looks different than LA house. He also looks very different from that pap walk, with a full beard. It is speculated his video is old but unconfirmed. 


AO posts TIFF movies and Seb does the same.


December 16th, Lily James and Seb project is announced. 


December 16th AO posts LA picture.


December 17th AO posts picture in grains yard of LA house.


December 18th AO posts another script in English and Italian.


December 18th Seb posts Charity post.
this is up to today’s date. 

If I missed anything let me know.

Mod: I haven't had the chance to read through it all, but it looks fine, doesn’t look like opinions but more fact type of thing so I'll keep it up. Thanks for taking time do that, this is crazy lol

[amiramorozova]

Dual Summoner x The Darkling pt. 32

Pairing: Dual Summoner Amira Silina x General Kirigan/Aleksander Morozova

Word count: 2297

We laid like that for a bit falling asleep but I felt him stir and leave the bed as I opened my eyes. I couldn't sleep so when we went to look over his war plans I left the room without him seeing. Walking I walked the halls wondering just what was bothering me as I kept walking till I made it to our church connected to the little palace. No one was supposed to be here but I needed to clear my head, I'd never really been here because no saint had been in front of all of us and yet now they thought I was.

The Sun Queen, that's what people call me but it's not true. I'm not just a Sun Summoner, I'm a tidemaker too so what does that make me? I thought 

The fact I came from a bloodline of sun summoners was the secret that no one was wanting to talk about. I was born in a mixed bloodline of summoners, my grandfather was Inferni and my grandmother was Sun Summoner, between those two my dad had inherited the Sun Summoner from his mother and I'd inherited both of my abilities from my parents. 

As I looked at the tapestries I stopped at one, a man with chains on his wrist with the amplifiers on it. Sankt Ilya Morozova, Aleksander's grandfather that people said was dead but then again I didn't completely think that was true. My senses knew dead was never dead as the black Heretic was supposed to be dead and Aleksander was very much alive. I was so focused I didn't even hear the sound of footsteps walking in there until he spoke. 

"Having trouble sleeping, Milaya?" Aleksander said 

I couldn't help but blush at his words as I felt his hand on my shoulder while he saw what I was looking at. I was never really that big of a believer but this power the people had to worship and believe was clear to see. Aleksander didn't say anything right away as I just stared at the tapestries and I questioned if this was right. Was I rushing into marriage because of obligation, because of finding what fate decided was my soulmate?

"Are you having second thoughts?" Aleksander asked and I sighed, "Would you be upset if I thought we were rushing into this?" I asked without looking at him.

He made me turn around to look at him and I saw in his eyes a bit of anger with our arrangement. I was to be his wife and if Dual Summoners were found I was to lead them and here I was second-guessing myself. I knew he was the only person I'd been interested in, there had been no one else.

"I think Nico is a bad influence on you, he'll be sent back to the first army." Aleksander said as I looked at him shocked. "Nico risked his life to keep me safe, to lead me to the stag." I said in a defensive tone.

I'd lost so much already and I was having a debate but I knew my powers were still my own. He wanted to bridge us together someday but it was on my terms because I wasn't a foolish girl he could manipulate. "You can't send him back to the first army; they will kill him! I need allies and he is one of my allies." I said 

Aleksander seemed threatened by Nico just being here because of him being a man, I didn't look at Nico the same way but I knew there was a lot already. I went to walk away as Aleksander grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. I felt the cool of the altar in the church against my back as I looked at him.

"Aleksander, why'd you do that?" I asked, he just walked over as he kissed me, I kissed him back as I put my arms around his neck feeling him lifting me up to where I was sitting on the altar. I pulled away as I started realizing he was getting ideas and I tried to push him back.

"Why are you scared?" Aleksander asked as I looked at him, I knew there was so much going through my head but I was scared of making mistakes. If I was going to be looked at like a saint I thought I needed to act the part and yet he tempted me from those. He made me look him eye to eye as if questioning me "Are you afraid what they'll think if they find out the truth about me? That you will be the Black Heretic's wife?" 

I had no plans to expose him as the Black Heretic because I was partially swayed by his cause but I had my morals with Baghra's training to know right from wrong. "I just think maybe our first should be when we're both ready. You tumbled with others, I'm sure Zoya was one of them." I said, looking away from him. I just wanted to get away from him before I said the wrong thing to him as he had me look at him. "Yes, you're right but you're not her. She was just to distract myself from waiting for my sun summoner, my Sol Koroleva to have by my side. Zoya doesn't mean anything to me, Moye Serdtse." 

He just called me the Sun Queen and his heart...maybe I was wrong. I thought

"When do the nobles need to cross the fold?" I asked, knowing that if I couldn't make the bridge through the fold on my own he would put the stag antler necklace on me. "In the morning, Zoya is to man the sails but I believe you can give us safe passage." Aleksander said and I nod in understanding knowing he gave me the option to the Stag necklace. I was refusing because I thought I could use the part of it that was a part of me already without him knowing.

"Answer one question and I believe it I won't ask again. Are you planning to weaponize the fold if I do this?" I asked 

I saw his expression change as he let me off the church altar and I waited for an answer as we stood there. "I'd love to throw Zlatan into the fold, he planned an attack on your life." Aleksander said as he knew there was a lot I could do possibly on my own. "That doesn't answer my question Aleksander. Lives will be at stake if you send the fold towards West Ravka knowing General Zlatan is the cause of the trouble on the night of the Winter Fete." I said 

He didn't seem to have an answer but I couldn't help but consider all of our 2nd army soldiers that might have family on the other side of the fold. People they wanted to see the moment they got off, Zoya regardless of how I felt with her probably had family members in west Ravka. I heard from people she went through the fold many times to visit family while making the sails.

"Where are you going?" Aleksander asked and I just kept walking "I'm going back to sleep" 

I didn't know if I could lay in his bed without worrying he'd use the fold as a weapon on west Ravka. The General deserved so much in fact if I got my hands on him I might hurt him for killing my fellow tidemaker but then again my thoughts went to the people who helped me get out of here. Mr. Brekker and his crew were probably going to be on the skiff.

I hope they hide from him they don't deserve to die but this will be hard. I thought

I walked into my room and laid down as I fell back asleep, when morning came I yawned but I got myself together. Genya came in and she helped me with a few things making sure I looked good and then she brought me over a dress. 

"What is this for?" I asked

"For the trip on the Skiff." Genya said 

I let her help me change into it and I looked at it seeing it was more sun summoner but my tidemaker side was represented too. Genya also put my hair together as I looked at the hairpin in my hair knowing that a lot was going on.

"Genya tells my family I want them on the skiff, if anything goes wrong with me I need their assistance." I said 

Genya nodded as she finished and I wore a cloak to cover myself not wanting to feel so out of place, I questioned if this was right. Why did he suddenly want me to help those through the skiff? Would Zlatan try to harm us if we do this? I heard a lot of noise coming outside so I went to check it out when I heard someone yell "Watch out!", Immediately I put my hands together and used the light to surround me as the air was cut in half.

"Who did that?!" I asked 

"I did." A male voice said 

I saw a boy who had dark hair as I did with my dad's eye color that I would have considered he was my brother. I didn't have a brother as far as I knew, at least dad never talked about his past relationships so I crossed my arms while looking at him. This boy was a squaller that was easy to tell as he had the same power as Zoya.

"And you are?" I asked

"Aidan Nikitin, and you're the Dual Summoner Amira Silina." Aidan said 

"Yes, I am." I said 

I heard the sound of footsteps coming out and I knew who it was as I knew Aleksander's movements compared to my family's movements and the people coming were my family. Father reached me first but I looked over at him, seeing him surprised. "Dad, what is it?" I asked, seeing his shocked face, but then Aidan spoke "Hi Dad, I see you have a new family and my half-sister is the Dual Summoner." Aidan said 

I think most of us, the other summoners, and I were in shock to hear that this squaller was my older brother. I adjusted my cloak so my hands could be free. Aidan noticed the ring and he looked curious that I couldn't help but smile. "General Kirigan asked me to marry him and I accepted." I said calmly, Aidan just seemed to be looking before asking "So when is the wedding?" I didn't have a response for a few reasons one there were a few things more important than me at the time.

"Once her dress is ready, the materialeki are in the middle of making it." Aleksander said as I looked back seeing him walking over and I didn't even hear him come out. He walked over putting an arm around me securely. I didn't forget last night what he was implying and what he was considering. "We need to go lapushka." Aleksander said leaving with me, I nodded but I still insisted on my family going so he allowed it, having two carriages as we headed out. I noticed David was in the carriage with us and Ivan as I sighed until I saw what was in Ivan's hands.

Maybe I should just wear it...I can get the antlers and so what if he could control how far I could push the light father could just back me up. I thought 

The trip wasn't long but it was boring as I looked out the window wondering if this was a good idea. Once we arrived at the tent David now had the two items and I looked at Aleksander knowing what he was offering. Power, joined power to show our union of what was going on.

"Will I still have control of my light?" I asked

"Of course Amira, I have no intention of taking that from you just showing we're doing this together." Aleksander said 

No, I will absorb the antlers once you put them on me. We will be connected but they won't be showing outside of my body. I thought 

I nod as we stood across from the other as David put the necklace around my neck and then I saw the other piece go on Aleksander's hand as He started. I'd never had something infused into me so it was weird but I waited till it was over. I saw him smirk but I knew that he had some claim on the amplifier for killing the stag yet I put my hands together as I felt it slowly go within my body as he looked shocked. 

"How did you do that?" Aleksander asked, "I absorbed some of the power already Aleksander, besides I don't want to look like a freak." I said but didn't even try to remove his part as I put the cloak on and started to walk out freely. Aleksander took me for a naive girl when he offered this but I knew I was cunning like him. 

Baghra taught me well but we are connected, the antlers though I may have absorbed it to not look like a captive he does have the other piece. I thought 

We walked towards the skiff where I was ready, I could feel it more than I had before as we walked on the boat. I was a bit scared as I saw my family there too for support and Zoya was at the sails.  I was scared of going into the fold for the first time.

Is this such a good idea? I thought 

[newstfionline]

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Ottawa police weigh crackdown on ‘dangerous’ trucker protest (WSJ) Police in Ottawa, Ontario, are weighing military help or a court order to bring an end to a weeklong protest against vaccine mandates that has forced businesses to close, frayed residents’ nerves and strangled swaths of the city’s core. The protests, led by truckers and their supporters, have clogged Ottawa traffic and disrupted residents’ daily lives. Police said this week their intelligence indicates that more truckers and citizens, perhaps in the tens of thousands, are headed toward Ottawa this weekend. City politicians say the protest, which began Jan. 28, has morphed into an occupation.

Northeast grapples with icy roads as storm blows out to sea (AP) Northeast residents were urged to stay off the roads with temperatures beginning to drop Friday evening as a major winter storm turned already slippery roads and sidewalks into ice-covered hazards. The storm spread misery from the Deep South, where tree limbs snapped and a tornado claimed a life, to the nation’s northeastern tip where snow and ice made travel treacherous Friday. Massachusetts State Police responded to more than 200 crashes with property damage or injuries, including one fatal crash, starting Thursday evening, officials said. New Hampshire State Police reported at least 70 crashes Friday morning. More than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England. Utility crews were making progress in an area stretching from Texas to Ohio after about 350,000 homes and businesses were in the dark at one point.

Mexican cartels now use IEDs as well as bomb-dropping drones (AP) In the war raging between drug cartels in western Mexico, gangs have begun using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on roads to disable army vehicles. The self-defense movement in the town of Tepalcatepec, in western Michoacan state, said improvised land mines severely damaged an army armored car late last week. The warring gangs already frequently use homemade armored cars and drones modified to drop small bombs. But it would be the first time IEDs have been successfully used by cartels in Mexico. Security analyst Juan Ibarrola, who specializes in the military, said “the worrisome thing is the improvisation that they (criminal groups) are doing with engineering, to create weapons, boobytraps, explosives and so on.” Rather than trying to fight an outright war with the army—which they know they would lose—Ibarrola said that with the IEDs and other devices “more than anything else, what they are trying to do is threaten and take on rival groups.”

Venezuela upholds long jail sentences for US oil executives (AP) A court in Venezuela has upheld long prison sentences for six American oil executives detained in the South American country on corruption charges for more than four years. Venezuela’s supreme court announced the ruling late Friday, disappointing family members who had hoped the surprise decision last fall to hear the appeal, and a recent jailhouse visit by a top State Department official, signified President Nicolás Maduro’s government was looking to release the men as part of a gesture to engage the Biden administration in talks over U.S. sanctions. The men known as the Citgo 6—for the Houston oil company where they worked—were lured to Caracas around Thanksgiving in 2017 to attend a meeting at the headquarters of Citgo’s parent, state-run oil giant PDVSA. Once there, heavily armed masked security officers stormed the conference room where they were gathered and hauled them away. Later they were charged with corruption in connection to a never-executed plan to refinance billions in bonds.

Turmoil as Peru leader sets 2nd Cabinet overhaul this week (AP) Turmoil in Peru’s government boiled even more Friday as President Pedro Castillo announced plans for a fourth Cabinet shakeup in six months, moving just three days after the third overhaul of his ministers that was quickly followed by revelations that his newest prime minister once faced domestic violence allegations. The president’s struggles this week have only added to earlier doubts raised about the political neophyte’s ability to lead a nation. Castillo, a rural schoolteacher in a poor Andean district, was an underdog when he entered the race for the presidency last year and initially campaigned on promises to nationalize Peru’s crucial mining industry and rewrite the constitution to end the historical discrimination against Indigenous people and vulnerable populations. He softened his rhetoric when he advanced to a runoff and shocked everyone when he won.

Macron’s government seeks to reshape Islam in France (AP) The French government on Saturday introduced a new body to reshape Islam in France, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to rid it of extremism. The Forum of Islam in France leadership will be made up of clergy and lay people to help guide the largest Muslim community in western Europe. All of its members will be hand-picked by the government and women will make up at least a quarter of them. With France bloodied by past Islamic extremist attacks and having hundreds of citizens who went to fight with jihadists in Syria in past years, few disagree that radicalization is a danger. But critics also see the efforts as a political ploy to lure right-wing voters to Macron’s centrist party ahead of France’s April 10 presidential election. And critics, including many Muslims who consider the religion a part of their French identity, say the government’s latest initiative is another step in institutionalized discrimination that holds the whole community responsible for violent attacks of a few and serves as another barrier in their public lives.

North Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its Internet (Wired) For the past two weeks, observers of North Korea’s strange and tightly restricted corner of the internet began to notice that the country seemed to be dealing with some serious connectivity problems. On several different days, practically all of its websites dropped offline en masse. At least one of the central routers that allow access to the country’s networks appeared at one point to be paralyzed, crippling the Hermit Kingdom’s digital connections to the outside world. It wasn’t a state-sponsored hacking unit that took it down, but one American man in his living room. Just over a year ago, an independent hacker who goes by the handle P4x was himself hacked by North Korean spies. P4x was just one victim of a hacking campaign that targeted Western security researchers. He felt deeply unnerved by state-sponsored hackers targeting him personally—and by the lack of any visible response from the US government. So after a year of letting his resentment simmer, P4x has taken matters into his own hands. P4x says he’s found numerous known but unpatched vulnerabilities in North Korean systems that have allowed him to singlehandedly launch “denial-of-service” attacks on the servers and routers the country’s few internet-connected networks depend on. Records from the uptime-measuring service Pingdom show that at several points during P4x’s hacking, almost every North Korean website was down. One researcher described the result as “effectively a total internet outage affecting the country.”

Western Australian officials warn of catastrophic bushfire conditions (Reuters) Western Australian officials warned on Saturday of forecast “extreme to catastrophic fire conditions” as a large bushfire burned out of control in the west of the country, forcing families to flee their homes. More than 2,300 hectares (8.9 square miles) have burnt over the past couple of days just west of the tourist town of Denmark, some 420 kilometres (261 miles) south of Perth, on Western Australia’s south coast, fuelled by gusty winds and high temperatures. “Severe heatwave conditions and extreme to catastrophic fire dangers are forecast ... on Sunday,” the Bureau of Meteorology in Western Australia state said on Twitter.

US grants sanctions relief to Iran as nuke talks in balance (AP) The Biden administration on Friday restored some sanctions relief to Iran’s atomic program as talks aimed at salvaging the languishing 2015 nuclear deal enter a critical phase. As U.S. negotiators head back to Vienna for what could be a make-or-break session, Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities. The move reverses the Trump administration’s decision to rescind them. The waivers are ultimately intended to entice Iran back to the 2015 deal that it has been violating since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions. In the short term, the waivers will exempt foreign countries and companies that work in Iran’s civilian nuclear sector from American penalties.

Cyclone Batsirai blows across Indian Ocean toward Madagascar (AP) The full force of Cyclone Batsirai is forecast to hit Madagascar Saturday evening, according to weather officials. The cyclone is gaining strength as it blows across the Indian Ocean, with gale-force winds reaching peaks of 235 kilometers (145 miles) per hour, according to the island’s meteorology department. Batsirai is expected to inflict “significant and widespread damage, particularly flooding in the east, the southeast and the central highlands,” said the statement from the weather department. As a precaution, 22,000 people have already been evacuated to gymnasiums, schools or churches, especially around Mananjary, on the east coast.

[havenoffandoms]

The Witcher Imagines: Phobias

Pairings: Lambert x F!Reader; Eskel x F!Reader; Geralt x F!Reader

Summary: Imagine the witchers reacting to your phobia

Warnings: mentions of katsaridaphobia (fear of cockroaches), musophobia (fear of rats), arachnophobia (fear of spiders); 2nd person POV (reader), some swearing, no beta we die like witchers

Lambert

“Oh, you ugly fucker,” you cursed under your breath from where you sat on the bed, your hands clutching the thickest book you could find and your eyes riveted on the biggest cockroach you had ever seen. You hated the damn things. You could not remember a time when you had not been afraid of cockroaches. Thankfully, living in a city and in fairly hygienic conditions meant that you rarely had to deal with them.

This time, you were faced with an exceptionally large specimen which looked in no rush to leave your bedroom anytime soon. You tightened your hold on your book, raising it above your head as if bracing yourself to drop it on the nasty invader. You decided against it, letting out a frustrated groan as you felt hot tears well up in your eyes. How difficult could it be to kill a tiny cockroach? All you had to do was drop the book, and you would be rid of the beast forever. Instead, your muscles were unwilling to respond as fear took over every fibre of your body.

“Hey doll?” you heard Lambert’s familiar voice call out from downstairs. A string of curses left your mouth as you willed your heart to slow down. You knew that Lambert would instantly clock onto the fact that you were scared. He would be so disappointed in your when he realised that your reaction had been brought on by something as ridiculous as a cockroach.

“Doll, is everything okay?” you heard Lambert ask you, his voice growing louder as he made his way upstairs to your bedroom. Your eyes never left the cockroach as you brought your thick book over your head once again. You would not appear weak in front of the witcher. You refused to let him see you in such a lamentable state. You took a composing breath and dropped the book. You watched it fall to the floor in slow motion, but to your utter terror, the book landed inches away from the cursed cockroach. The startled insect ran under the bed at breakneck speed, pulling a terrified scream from you as you scrambled off the bed haphazardly and bolted for the door in a desperate attempt to escape your room. To your dismay, you collided with the one person you wished to avoid.

“Lambert?”

“Doll, what the fuck is going on here? Are you okay?”

Lambert’s tone barely concealed his worry as his amber eyes scanned the room for any sign of intruders who would be out to harm you. Without waiting for your answer, he manoeuvred you so that you stood behind him while he unsheathed the dagger he kept at his hip and braced himself for an attack. You barely managed to conceal the tremor in your voice as you explained the situation to him.

“La-Lambert I-I’m fine, I promise. It’s just… it’s…”

“What is it?” Confident there was no immediate threat to your life, Lambert turned around and placed two steadying hands on your shoulders, his eyes seeking yours. His brows furrowed when he noticed the wet trails on your cheeks.

“I thought I could kill it with my book, but then it ran under my bed and now I’m so scared, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry Lambert, I know this is pathetic but I’m just so terrified of the damn things,” you rambled, nearly choking on your own words as your breath hitched in your throat. You heard the distinctive pitter patter of feet on the wooden floor, causing you to instinctively cuddle into the safety of Lambert’s arms. The witcher cast a look over his shoulder as his arms pulled you closer to him. You instantly knew that he had found the cause of your turmoil when an undignified snort pushed past his lips.

“It’s not funny, you dick, I’m genuinely scared!”

“Of that thing?” Lambert questioned in disbelief. He let go of you and went to catch the no doubt terrified cockroach, watching it crawl all over his hand looking for an escape route. You felt a shiver run down your spine at the sight of the pest on your lover’s hand.

“Get it out, get it out,” you urged Lambert, who seemed far too amused by your predicament for your liking. Your words made him look up at you, and noticing your current predicament, Lambert decided to have mercy and let the cockroach escape through the open window. Once you were confident the beast was out of your room, you hurried to the window and slammed it shut so the cursed thing would stay outside. Lambert chortled at your actions.

“It’s more scared of you than you are of-“

“Spare me, asshole,” you snapped at him, turning around to glare at his smirking face. He was enjoying this far too much. “How dare you make fun of me when I’m scared?”

“Doll, don’t be like that,” Lambert tried to reason with you, but you stepped away from him in a huff. “Oh come on, I didn’t mean to be nasty about it. It’s just… well the thing was tiny.”

“For a big burly witcher maybe! To me it looked humongous,” you argued, feeling your cheeks heat up as fear made way for embarrassment. Your blush did not go unnoticed by your witcher.

“Well thankfully you had a big burly witcher come to the rescue,” he said in a sultry voice before stepping closer to you once again and pulling you into a tight hug. You kept your arms crossed before your chest, still not ready to forgive him for mocking your phobia. However, you found yourself melting into his touch when his lips left a trail of soft kisses along your cheek and throat.

“You’re lucky I missed you,” you said as you begrudgingly returned the embrace, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips at the thought of your witcher finally being home.

“Mmh, why don’t you let your big burly witcher show you how much you were missed in return, doll?”

You gladly let Lambert lead you to your bed.

 Eskel

It was the first time you stayed at Kaer Morhen for the winter. Although you were pleased to officially be introduced as Eskel’s girlfriend to his brothers and to Vesemir, the man who was like a father figure to him, you felt a sense of foreboding overwhelm you as you settled into bed the first night. Eskel had warned you that you might need some time to adjust to the cold and darkness of the place. You had tried to reassure him that as long as he was close you could face the blizzards and the pitch-black nights that characterized the deep north. It was not, however, the thought of freezing your ass off or to sleep in the dark that worried you.

Your fear was far more mundane, but certainly far more present in your mind. Kaer Morhen was a vast and old place. Vesemir was already busy most of the year patching up leaky walls and mending broken windows, so you knew that you could not realistically expect him to keep on top of the keep’s overall cleanliness. Not by himself, at any rate. Which meant that Kaer Morhen would not only be home to four witchers, Geralt’s child surprise, a bard and yourself this winter, but most likely to the beasts you feared more than anything else on the Continent.

Rats.

You had never told Eskel about your fear. You were surprised that the topic had not come up in the two years that you had known him. Rats were a pretty common occurrence, well, anywhere, yet somehow Eskel had never witnessed you chasing the damned things with a broom or screaming bloody murder until one of your neighbours decided to check on you and help you with the pests. This time, you would be spending several months in the same place as Eskel and you knew the topic would have to be broached sooner or later. You did not want to mention anything for fear that Eskel might make fun of you or decide that he could do better than a silly farmer’s daughter who could not even stand the sight of a tiny miserable rat.

You huddled impossibly close to Eskel’s large frame as soon as blew out the candle, casting the room in complete darkness. You felt him place a soft kiss on the top of your head before resting his head on the pillow and letting out a content sigh as all the muscles in his body relaxed. You pitied the fact that you could not admire his features which, you knew, would look so peaceful as the witcher was finally allowed to let his guard down after a year spent on the path.

“Are you alright, love?” you heard Eskel ask, his voice soft and barely above a whisper, “your heart is racing. You seem restless.”

“It’s okay, Eskel,” you lied, “it’s unsettling sleeping in an unfamiliar setting. I’ll be fine.”

“Would you like me to light a fire for you?”

You pondered Eskel’s offer briefly before agreeing. A bit of light and some warmth would probably make you feel better, you thought.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

With these words, Eskel got out of bed and placed some logs into the hearth. He navigated the darkness easily thanks to his enhanced vision. You sat up in bed, wrapping yourself in the covers as you watched Eskel’s shadow work on getting the hearth ready for the fire. That’s when you heard it, the distinct pitter patter of tiny feet scratching the bare stone. You froze at the sound, your eyes fruitlessly scanning the room as if you could distinguish anything in the darkness.

“Love? Is everything okay?”

“I- uh, yes, everything is fine,” you stammered, your ears picking up the noise once again. If you could hear, you knew Eskel could too. Perhaps he was so accustomed to the sound after all these years that they had become familiar. In any case, you were still hesitant to mention your fear.

“The fire is almost ready,” he said, and mere seconds later flames began licking at the logs. You guessed Eskel had used Igni to accelerate the process. Suddenly, you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye, followed by the scratchy noise once again. You felt your heart drop in your chest as fear turned your blood to ice. You vaguely heard Eskel cursing something unintelligible before kicking away a stray rat that had wandered too close for comfort to his bare feet.

A blood-curling shriek resonated in the room, and it took you a little too long to realise that you were the source of the mindless shouting.

“Get it away from me, get it away from me, oh dear gods take you all the way to hell you cursed thing!”

You were now kneeling in the middle of the bed, your face buried in your hands as you let out broken sobs at the thought of having your worst nightmare running freely around the room. Your panic was so intense that you flinched when Eskel went to touch your arm. In that very instant, you had mistaken Eskel’s touch for a rat jumping onto the bed and attacking you.

“Get off me, get off me you monster!”

“What the hell is going on in here?”

A second person, whom you recognised as Vesemir, entered the room and was demanding to know what all the shouting was about.

“Eskel, get rid of that rat, please I’m begging you!” you begged, your hands blindly reaching for Eskel who had retreated far away from you after you recoiled from his touch. Your eyes finally met his, and at the sight of your tears, Eskel finally stepped closer to the bed.

“The rat… oh, the rat,” Eskel repeated as realisation dawned on him. The monster you were so terrified of was not him, but the rat he had just kicked across the room.

“Yes, the fucking rat,” you snapped urgently, hugging your knees to your chest for comfort. You saw Eskel briefly focus as he no doubt used his witcher senses to locate the pest. Vesemir sighed and muttered something about being too old for this shit before shutting the door behind him. In your state of panic, you made a mental note of apologising profusely to him in the morning. When you turned to Eskel again, you noticed that he was holding the rat by the scruff of the neck. You shuddered at the sight, flinching when Eskel had to walk past the bed to let the rat escape through the window. Only when the pest was out of sight did you release the shaky breath you had been holding for far too long.

“I’m so sorry,” you instantly apologise, curling into yourself as you waited for the inevitable mockery, “I… I should’ve told you.”

“Yes, you should’ve. Would’ve avoided waking up the old wolf. He’ll be grumpy tomorrow,” Eskel remarked, but his soft smile indicated that he was not upset with you. You let out a relieved sigh as you slowly stretched out your legs and shyly reached out for Eskel. The witcher joined you on the bed, if somewhat reluctantly.

“I’m sorry Eskel, I’m truly sorry. I know a brave witcher like you doesn’t deserve a low peasant girl like me, who on top of being ordinary is also scared of rats…”

“Hey love,” Eskel’s hands came to cup your face as he stared into your eyes, “no, no please don’t say that. I was just surprised, that’s all. I… I thought you were reacting this way because of… because of me.”

You frowned at his words, unsure whether you understood what he was trying to say.

“What? Why would I be scared of you, darling?”

“I… I’m just glad it wasn’t me that caused such a panic. I promise you I’ll check the room for rats every night. And I’ll hunt every damn rat in this keep down if it’ll make you feel safer. Alright?”

You couldn’t help the enamoured smile that graced your lips at sweet Eskel’s words. You leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his lips, chuckling softly as your actions pulled a pleased sigh from your witcher.

“Any other fears I should know about before you decide to wake the dead again with that banshee scream of yours?”

“Shut up witcher, and hold me now would you!”

 Geralt

“You want to sleep in the woods? On the ground?”

“We could also sleep in a tree if you prefer,” Geralt suggested sarcastically, not even sparing you or Jaskier a glance as he unsaddled Roach, “don’t know if the branches will support our weights, though.”

“Alright, smartass!”

You would have much rather slept in an inn, even one of the shitty inns that you had stayed in recently would do. You hated the idea of sleeping on the forest ground. The thought of insects running all over you at night when you were trying to sleep did not sound relaxing in the least. In fact, it was the thought of a very specific beast crawling all over you that bothered you the most.

Spiders.

Ghastly things. You hated them, always had, always would. Any shape, size, colour… you didn’t discriminate, you hated all of them. You would never tell your witcher that, though. Geralt was the most powerful witcher on the Continent. He would surely laugh at you for being scared of spiders. You were certainly not about to tell Jaskier either, because telling the bard would have the same effect as shouting it from the rooftops. If Jaskier knew, the whole Continent would know within days and your arachnophobia would undoubtedly become the theme of his newest ballad.

Nobody could know about your fear of spiders. You would just have to suck it up for one night. Maybe if you volunteered to keep watch all night you would not have to sleep and could keep an eye out for the creepy things. Or perhaps you could sleep away from Geralt for one night. You quickly dismissed that idea, knowing that the witcher would instantly be suspicious and ask too many uncomfortable questions. Keeping watch it was, then. When you pitched the idea to the crowd, Geralt was quick to crush your hopes.

“You kept watch last night. You need to sleep,” he told you, a tired sigh pushing past his lips when he noticed that you wanted to argue.

“You have years of sleep to catch up on, I’ll keep watch.”

“Y/N…”

“That’s that settled then, I’m keeping watch tonight.”

“No, you’re not.”

“If I may interject,” Jaskier suddenly interrupted your discussion, causing both you and Geralt to snap your heads in his direction, “I believe it is my turn to keep watch. You two are clearly very cranky and you both need your sleep.”

“Jaskier, as nice as it is for you to offer, I-“

“Done,” Geralt decreed before you could have a say in it. You opened your mouth again to tell Geralt that you could make your own decisions when you noticed the way his eyes softened as he placed a warm hand on the small of your back and pulled you close to his body. “Jaskier’s right, dove. We’ve both been snapping at each other a lot lately. Let’s just take a night off, you and me.”

“I-“

“Please dove, I need to feel you close to me tonight,” Geralt pleaded you as he nosed your hair affectionately. You sighed in resignation at the tender gesture. You could never refuse your love anything, especially not when he was so sweet.

“Fine. I can’t wait for the winter when we’re back at Kaer Morhen,” you whisper into his armour, taking in the scent of leather and rain that clung to Geralt like second skin.

“You and me both, dove.”

That night, you and Geralt squeezed onto the same bedroll and managed to cover both of your bodies with a large blanket. You were on edge, tense, and Geralt could feel it. His arms held you close, but even your witcher’s proximity was not enough to reassure you. Your thoughts kept wandering to a certain eight-legged beast that you hated so damn much. You tried to ignore the invading thoughts, but it seemed like you were surrounded by an aura of anxiety. Geralt could feel your turmoiled state, but for the longest time he did not raise it with you. You were grateful for it, although you briefly considered telling him about your phobia.

No. Stay strong. It’s just for one night, you reminded yourself.

You almost convinced yourself that you could do this when you felt something crawl all the way up your bare arm and get tangled in your hair. You instantly froze, fearing that your worst nightmare had become reality. Your terrified eyes met Geralt’s, and the witcher’s brows furrowed in concern as he felt the change in your demeanour.

“There’s something in my hair. Geralt, there’s something in my hair I can feel it, gods get it out of there whatever it is, please,” you rambled, your voice growing more panicked with each word you spoke. Geralt nodded, his eyes betraying his confusion, but he diligently did as you told him and pried whatever beast that had become tangled in your hair loose.

“It’s nothing, sweet dove. Just a spider, nothing mo-“

At those words, you bounced onto your feet and started itching yourself all over. It suddenly felt like a million spiders had found refuge under your skin and were trying to break free. You were delirious with panic, halfway between dream and reality, as your brain tricked you into believing your own hallucination. You were so far down your own panic that you did not immediately hear Geralt calling your name in a desperate attempt to get you to snap out of it.

“Y/N? Dove, can you hear me? Listen to my voice, you’ll be okay.”

You batted his hands away, let out a startled sound between a scream and a moan as you stumbled away from Geralt and clawing at your skin, willing the sensations away. You itched your skin raw until it became painful, at which point you began sobbing.

“Y/N, calm down,” you heard Geralt’s voice resonate in your mind, like a distant echo. You instantly felt your muscles go slack and the panic lifted as quickly as it appeared. Geralt was staring at you, concern written all over his face. You guessed by the position of his hands and fingers that Geralt had just used Axii on you.

“You’re going to take deep breaths and calm down, dove. You understand?”

You merely nodded as your body complied with the command. When Geralt’s hold on your mind subsided, you blinked several times as if to focus your mind on the now and then. Your witcher stayed a fair distance away, giving you space to get back to your senses. You suddenly felt your cheeks heat up in shame when you realised how silly and exaggerated your reaction to the spider had been.

“I’m… gods, I’m so pathetic aren’t I?”

“Is she going to be okay?” you heard Jaskier ask, his voice barely above a whisper as if he was scared to startle you.

“Yes,” Geralt responded without taking his eyes off you, “you’re going to be okay, dove. You hear me?”

“It was just a stupid spider. Why am I like this? All of this just for a stupid spider!”

“Ah, arachnophobia,” Jaskier said like an afterthought to himself. You glanced over your shoulder at the bard who offered a reassuring smile. “Bear with me, dear heart, I believe I have something that might put your mind at ease.”

You watched wordlessly as the bard disappeared, leaving you alone with a still shook Geralt. The witcher took several tentative steps towards you, extending his hands gently as if coaxing a young foal to come to him. You gladly fell into the witcher’s arms, clinging onto him for dear life. Geralt indulged you as one hand came to rest on the small of your back and the other at the back of your head.

“Is that why you didn’t want to sleep in the woods?” he asked, not unkindly. You nodded, nuzzling the base of his neck to hide the blush creeping up your cheeks and the tears welling up in your eyes. “Sweet dove, you should’ve said.”

“And then what? You spend all your coin on a room just so I don’t have to sleep with spiders? Geralt, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I just wish you’d told me.”

“I was afraid. I was afraid you’d find me laughable,” you admit shyly, biting your bottom lip to stop the tears from spilling. Instead of pushing you away like you had expected, Geralt pulled you impossibly closer.

“It’s okay to be scared sometimes. It’s healthy. I’m scared of some things too.”

“No you’re not,” you argued.

“I am. I’m scared of anything happening to the people I care about. I’m scared of anything happening to you. And to Jaskier, but don’t tell him that or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I knew you were fond of me, old man,” you both heard Jaskier exclaim loudly, which pulled an amused chuckle from you and an irritated groan from Geralt. “I already have the title of my new ballad. The Witcher Who Very Much Cared About…”

“Drop it,” Geralt grumbled, allowing you to pull away from him but keeping an arm wrapped around your waist.

“Alright, alright. Here you are, dear heart.” Jaskier handed you a little pouch which gave off a strong scent of eucalyptus and peppermint. You scrunched your nose as the smell invaded your nostrils. “Although I am particularly fond of eucalyptus and peppermint, I happen to know that spiders hate it. I also like to keep the creepy crawleys at bay when travelling with my dear friend Geralt. Spiders especially. They don’t bother me when I have my trusted pouch with me.”

A radiant smile brightened your face at Jaskier’s gift.

“Oh Jaskier, thank you.”

“Don’t even mention it, dear heart. Wouldn’t want you losing precious sleep over monsters, right Geralt?”

“Hmm,” was all your witcher said as he placed a firm kiss on your temple, “speaking of sleep, all this excitement tired me out. Let’s lie down, dove.”

You fell asleep easily in the safety of your witcher’s arms and clutching onto Jaskier’s miracle spider repellent.

[mostly-megan]

December 2nd: Sleeping in

Pairing: Javier Peña x Reader

Rating: E for Everyone (Fluff)

Word count: 630; not beta read, we live and die by the sword

Warnings: Soft as a mattress

❄️December Writing Masterlist ❄️

(A/N): Prompts from @honeymandos​​; Photo credit: iStock

A chill running up your spine wakes you, causing you to pull your body under the warm covers. Your body easily seeks out the nearest source of heat and you end up pressed into his side, uttering a small grumble. Something rustles and your brain is just awake enough to realize that you must have left the window open before bed. As hot as Columbia gets at the peak of summer, December nights were still chilly.

Your eyes slowly creek open, despite the tired soreness you feel from the effort, can make out the faint, deep blue glow of early morning. Over your bedfellow’s shoulder, the clock displays 5:27 am. Your eyes snap shut, mentally groaning at the fact that the loud buzzer is set to sound in three minutes. Javi needs to be in at 6:30 and likes to be up an hour before for breakfast. It wasn’t breakfast, it was really a cigarette and as much coffee as he could manage to guzzle, but sometimes you can convince him to eat toast or shovel some eggs into his mouth before he gripes about being late. 

Your eyes peel open again. 5:28 am. Javi lay between you and the offending chronometer, peaceful and blissfully snoring. His cheek is smooched into the pillow, one arm beneath it and one arm lying over his head. His hair, a sharp contrast with the beige pillowcase, has been missed over the course of the night and now curls and lifts messily in different directions. The sheets had pulled back over the night revealing the expanse of warm, tanned skin to your bleary gaze. His broad shoulders, so strong and sturdy in every context you hold to them, flow gracefully down a light slope before disappearing from view. 

Sighing, you shuffle over, laying your cheek on the back of his shoulder, your arm lifting up to lightly play with his hair. He grunts at the weight, mumbling something into his pillow before sniffing and turning his head away. You turn your cheek as well, now facing the clock. 5:29 am. “Javi,” voice warbling from the night’s disuse, “Baby, it’s time to get up. The alarm’s gonna g-” BEP  BEP-BEP   BEPBEP-BEP  BEPBEPBEPBEPBEPBEPBEPBEP

Both of you make a wild flail for the clock, you aren’t fully sure who successfully hit the button. Javi’s low groan rumbles in the pillow before he turns back to your side of the bed, mustache turned to a sleepy grimace at the labored movement, landing with huff. You smile, kissing his temple, deciding to simply let him snooze for a bit. “I’ll get the coffee started,” a heavy arm lands on your waist just as you begin to shift. He pulls you tighter to his side with a mumbled, “No, too cold.” Biting back a giggle, you nuzzle back into his warm embrace. “Aw, poor baby, do you need me to keep you warm?” Javier’s grumble shifts to a growl, causing you to release the light giggle as you lift his arm to snuggle deeper into his weight. Drozily, he puckers his lips and kisses your cheek, leaving his lips there. He then lazily puckers a few more times, giving you a sweet series of pecks. He breathes in deeply, sighing as he exhales.

As you close your eyes, you can hear movement through the window on the street below. The early risers and morning workers getting ready for the day. You aren’t sure how long the snooze lasts, so the time feels endless and limited in the same breath. Just as you’re settling back into the shared body heat, another gust blows in. “Baby, did you know the window is open?” You lay your hand over Javier’s mouth, it was too early for stupid questions.

Tagging who might be interested: @zeldasayer​ @winters-buck​ @max--phillips​​ @rae-gar-targaryen​ @yespolkadotkitty​ @scribbledghost​ @plexflexico​ @sunshinepascal​ @agirllovespancakes​ @keeper0fthestars​ @din-djarin-owns-my-wap​ @youmeanmybrain​ @talesfromtheguild​ @frannyzooey​ @absurdthirst​ @softpedropascal​ @fairytalesintheend​​ @lackofhonor​​ @maybege​​ @getinthepoolkeanu​​ @pedroepascal​​ @pedropascalito​ @mylifeliterally​​ @catfishingmorales​​ @miss-me-jack​​ @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa​​ @pettyprocrastination @autumnleaves1991-blog​

[doubleattitude]

NUVO Dance Convention, Houston, TX: RESULTS

High Scores by Age:

NUbie Solo

1st: Navy Forrest-’Imagine’

2nd: Harper Schwalb-’Do What I Do’

3rd: Haddie Templet-’Do What I Do’

4th: Rose Ramirez-’Into the Unknown’

4th: Lucia Ruiz-’Popular’

5th: Anika Argueta-’Hallelujah’

6th: Alegria Jilpas-’Pure Imagination’

7th: Sloane Harris-’Never Enough’

8th: Maria Rosales-’Despacito’

8th: MJ Mackey-’I Don’t Want To Show Off’

9th: Mackenzie Griffin-’Small World’

Mini Solo

1st: Alexis Alvarez-’Welcome Home’

2nd: Landry Silas-’Cheek to Cheek’

2nd: Winter Eberts-’Dreamlike’

2nd: Diana Kouznetsova-’It’s In His Kiss’

3rd: Kylie Lawrence-’Breathe In’

3rd: Naiya Abalos-’Forces’

3rd: Tessa Ohran-’Knock 1-2-3′

3rd: Ava Grace Olson-’Tides of Time’

3rd: Isabella Kouznetsova-’Trouble’

4th: Claire Hansen-’By The Roses’

4th: Joli Vernon-’Joy’

5th: Ava Morford-’17 Hours’

5th: Faith Crain-’Notes of the Nymph’

5th: Harper Hammes-’Tu Quieres Volver’

5th: Justin Nguyen-’You Caused It’

6th: Lyla Terry-’Rescue’

6th: Jenesis Jackson-’Single Ladies’

7th: Rory Frye-’Amen’

7th: Brynlee Fitzgerald-’Can’t Get It Out’

7th: Hadlee Heriford-’Unbroken’

8th: Camille Foreman-’Boogie Woogie’

8th: London Smith-’Feel My Love’

9th: Natalie Gerami-’Evil Twin’

9th: Neve Colyn-?

10th: Hadley Richard-’Applause’

10th: Ella Williamson-’Experience’

10th: Khloe Kramer-’Giants’

Junior Solo

1st: Colby Rich-’I Lie’

2nd: Maya Ordonez-’For All That’s Lost’

2nd: Nyah Jackson-’Slow Meadows’

2nd: Kynadi Crain-’So Close, So Far’

3rd: Brooke Toro-’As The Dust Settles’

3rd: Brooke Vorst-’Girl From Ipanema’

3rd: Kinley Bertrand-’Rock With You’

3rd: Stella Vince-’Steep Turn’

4th: Taylor Harrison-’Dawn Chorus’

4th: Beyli Shah-’Heavy Hand’

4th: Anya Inger-’Quiet Thoughts’

4th: Bella Fernandez-’She Was Running’

5th: Brooke Dubbs-’I Know’

5th: Kara Yuan-’Petite Fleur’

5th: Elyse Tompkins-’Power of Love’

5th: Ellie Randolph-’Swan Song’

5th: Baileigh McKenzie-’Take Me’

5th: Emma Fontenot-’The Gate’

6th: Jaelynn Gatchett-’A Place of Peace’

6th: Haiden Neuville-’Before You Go’

6th: Campbell Thurow-’Can’t Touch This’

6th: Elyse Armstrong-’Hard to Love’

7th: Lena Hirsch-’Forsaken’

7th: Jocelyn Nguyen-’I Am Not Myself’

8th: Maegan Abadie-’Infinite’

8th: Juliana Reyes-’She Leads’

8th: Ava Grace Craig-’Sophie’s Choice’

8th: Madelyn McCauley-’Weightless’

9th: Julia Jacob-’Emotional Conclusions’

9th: Keira Kingsmore-’Medora Variation’

9th: Ansley Harris-’The Absence of Time’

9th: Jisselle Garza-’Waiting Game’

10th: Va’Shira Newborne-’Heat’

10th: Ava Grace Gallagher-’The Greatest’

Teen Solo

1st: Mariella Saunders-’Until We Break’

2nd: Chloe Slone-’As The Dust Settles’

2nd: Kate Abernathy-’Doomed’

2nd: Gianna Garwacki-’Epiphany’

2nd: Brecklyn Brown-’Fall On Me’

2nd: Cambry Bethke-’Sacred Space’

3rd: Hudson Pletcher-’Forged Imitation’

3rd: Madison Morita-’Lily of the Valley’

3rd: Paroma Pillay-’You’re Gonna Be Okay’

4th: Sarah Linn-’Under the Skin’

4th: Audrey Berg-’Schim’

4th: Ellie Tostenrude-’Mirror of the Mind’

4th: Grace Lundbom-’Filter’

4th: Hallie Hanes-’Escalate’

5th: William Huguet-’Sinister Heart’

5th: Sofia Ulloa-’Rainy Days and Mondays’

5th: Trista Brackin-’Marathon’

5th: Laila McGuire-’Albatross’

6th: Isabella Ferrara-’The Choir’

6th: Kieran Holmes-’Hear The Bells’

6th: Camille Reynolds-’Breakout’

7th: Nicole Larson-’Absence of Light’

7th: Fayeth Tippett-’Initiate’

7th: Gracie Booth-’Nature of Life’

7th: Jenna Laurent-’Regenerative’

8th: Arden Peterson-’To This Day’

8th: Avery Pesson-’Make My Cry’

8th: Rylie Rios-’Lost Without You’

8th: Rhylan Robicheaux-’An Evening I Will Not Forget’

9th: Kendall Wenmohs-’Carry You’

9th: Braden Ward-’Drilling An Ocean’

9th: Tessa Horsley-’Reflections’

9th: Reagan Wright-’Unearth’

10th: Libby Jo Parsons-’Free’

10th: Mason Ward-’Stones’

10th: Trent Grappe-’White’

Senior Solo

1st: Sarah Bratby-’Paracosm’

1st: Onye Stevenson-’Sleep’

2nd: Sophia Seymour-’Broken’

2nd: Elizabeth Perry-’Still Standing’

2nd: Damaris Salazar-’Unraveling’

3rd: Charlee Fagan-’Veils’

3rd: Selena Hamilton-’Keep An Eye Out’

3rd: Morgan Manning-’Change Gonna Come’

4th: Natalie Wong-’Tributary’

4th: Jaycee Mya Piper-’Happiness’

4th: Madi Autry-’A Face I Used to Know’

5th: Olivia Abadie-’Drawn To You’

5th: Alexa Williams-’Lost’

5th: Lainey Myers-’You Are The Reason’

6th: Camry Blackhurst-’Airstrike’

6th: Amelia Bradford-’Weightless’

7th: Carissa Dowling-’Lonely’

7th: Kaylie Wood-’The Shift’

8th: Camryn Guarino-’Shout’

8th: Presley Gouge-’Shadow Self’

8th: Isabel Ulloa-’Rose In Flames’

8th: Nyla Staes-’Let Go’

9th: Taelynn Ritchie-’If You Could Do It Again’

9th: Hayden Folse-’Particles’

9th: Sarah Hladky-’Swim’

9th: McKenzie Shaffer-’Whispers’

10th: Caroline Cottrell-’Let Him Go’

10th: Sophia Burns-’Rewind’

10th: Madison Morris-’She Used To Be Mine’

NUbie Duo/Trio

1st: Main Street Dance-’Glow’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: Project 21-’I Am The Cute One’

2nd: Machita Dance Company-’Let’s Do It’

3rd: The Dance Kollective-’Reflection’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Both of Us’

2nd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Pace of Change’

3rd: Modern Conceptions of Dance-’Deuterium’

3rd: Artistic Dance Project-’Spies’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’At Least For Now’

1st: Dance Institute-’Comme Les Anges Volent’

2nd: Main Street Dance-’Destinations’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Alter Ego’

3rd: The Dance Kollective-’Ascending’

3rd: Dance Du Coeur-’Hiding Place’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Exhumed’

1st: Artistic Soul Dance Company-’Sunder’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’I Don’t Believe In Us’

3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Wild Love’

NUbie Group

1st: Machita Dance Company-’Land of 1000 Dances’

2nd: Dance Graphics-’Boogie Fever’

3rd: Main Street Dance-’Mom’

Mini Group

1st: Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre-’We Love to Bebop’

2nd: Lancaster Dance Academy-’Want You Back’

3rd: Lancaster Dance Academy-’A Children’s Dream’

Junior Group

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Dreaming’

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Give Me More’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Like Lovers Do’

2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Scapegoat’

3rd: Dance Du Coeur-’Wind It Up!’

Teen Group

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Tap Is Life’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Killing Me Softly’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’The Heaven Complex’

2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Truth’

3rd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Hymne a l’amour’

Senior Group

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Before I Go’

2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’Letting Go’

3rd: The Dance Kollective-’Give Me Love’

NUbie Line

1st: The Movement Dance Academy-’Crazy In Love’

2nd: Rios Dance-’Anaconda’

Mini Line

1st: Machita Dance Company-’In The Convent’

2nd: Dance Graphics-’Cover Girl’

3rd: Dance Graphics-’Like Jesus’

Junior Line

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Handful of Keys’

2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’Bright Horses’

2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Small Hours’

3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’War Child’

Teen Line

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Greed’

2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Leave Me My Name’

2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Sing It Back’

2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Somewhere’

3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Trust Me Again’

NUbie Extended Line

1st: The Movement Dance Academy-’Strut’

Mini Extended Line

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Blow, Gabriel, Blow’

2nd: Main Street Dance-’Bom Bom Bom’

Junior Extended Line

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Reasonable Doubt’

2nd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Knock On Wood’

3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Mean Girls’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Can’t Pretend’

2nd: Dance De Coeur-’Takeoff’

3rd: The Dance Kollective-’Goliath’

3rd: Tari’s School of Dance-’The Hive’

Senior Extended Line

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Knocking On Heavens Door’

2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’GO!’

Teen Production

1st: Dance Institute-’Valse Romantique’

2nd: Dance Graphics-’What’s Poppin’

3rd: Main Street Dance-’Work Me Down’

High Scores by Performance Division:

NUbie Jazz

1st: Machita Dance Company-’Land of 1000 Dances’ 2nd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Crazy In Love’ 2nd: Dance Graphics-’Boogie Fever’ 3rd: Main Street Dance-’Mom’

NUbie Hip-Hop

1st: The Movement Dance Academy-’Strut’ 2nd: Rios Dance-’Anaconda’

NUbie Lyrical

1st: Modern Conceptions of Dance-’Ashes’

Mini Jazz

1st: Lancaster Dance Academy-’Want You Back’ 2nd: Machita Dance Company-’Shake; 3rd: Dance Graphics-’Glamorous Life’

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Avant Dance LLC-’Bad to the Bone’ 2nd: Main Street Dance-’Cruising Cuties’

Mini Tap

1st: Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre-’We Love to Bebop’ 2nd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Blow, Gabriel, Blow’ 3rd: Main Street Dance-’All Aboard’

Mini Contemporary

1st: Lancaster Dance Academy-’A Children’s Dream’ 2nd: Avant Dance LLC-’La Vie En Rose’ 3rd: Dance Institute-’And So It Begins’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Center Stage Performing Arts Studio-’Happiness’ 2nd: Lancaster Dance Academy-’Sparrow’ 3rd: Dance Graphics-’Salvation’

Mini Musical Theatre

1st: Machita Dance Company-’In The Convent’ 2nd: Dance Graphics-’It’s Party Time’ 3rd: Dance Graphics-’Stupid Cupid’

Junior Jazz

1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Wind It Up!’ 2nd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Knock On Wood’ 3rd: Dance Graphics-’Tip Toe’

Junior Ballet

1st: Collective Dance Artistry-’Promenade’ 2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’Marco Polo’

Junior Tap

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Handful of Keys’ 2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’Finesse’ 3rd: Avant Dance LLC-’Seville’

Junior Contemporary

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Give Me More’ 1st: The Dance Kollective-’Dreaming’ 2nd: Dance Du Coeur-’Scapegoat’ 3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Unraveling’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Bright Horses’ 1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Small Hours’ 2nd: The Movement Dance Academy-’War Child’ 3rd: Dance Graphics-’The Light That Never Fails’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Reasonable Doubt’ 2nd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Mean Girls’

Junior Specialty

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Like Lovers Do’ 2nd: Main Street Dance-’1977′ 3rd: Paloma Limas & Company-’My Way’

Teen Jazz

1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Last Dance’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Bringing It Back’ 3rd: The Movement Dance Academy-’Vibeology’

Teen Ballet

1st: Dance Institute-’Valse Romantique’ 2nd: Dance Institute-’Amore Argentine’ 3rd: Collective Dance Artistry-’Sylvia’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: Dance Graphics-’What’s Poppin’ 2nd: Tari’s School of Dance-’Fame and Fortune’ 3rd: Main Street Dance-’Pinky Ring’

Teen Tap

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Tap Is Life’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Killing Me Softly’ 3rd: Palm Valley Gymnastics and Dance-’Juice’

Teen Contemporary

1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Truth’ 1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Leave Me My Name’ 2nd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Hymne a l’amour’ 3rd: Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’The Path’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Dance Du Coeur-’Somewhere’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Remember Her’ 3rd: Creative Dance Studio-’Memory’ 3rd: Artistic Dance Project-’Journey’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: Modern Conceptions of Dance-’Don’t Rain On My Parade’ 2nd: Avant Dance LLC-’C’mon Everybody’

Teen Ballroom

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Boss’ 2nd: Rios Dance-’Azucar’

Teen Specialty

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Greed’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’The Heaven Complex’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Sing It Back’ 3rd: Collective Dance Artistry-’The One Who Goes Astray’

Senior Jazz

1st: Lancaster Dance Academy-’Gimmie Dat’ 2nd: Pivotal Academy of Dance-’Born This Way’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’GO!’

Senior Tap

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’I Wanna Dance’

Senior Contemporary

1st: The Dance Kollective-’Before I Go’ 2nd: Artistic Dance Project-’Mother’ 3rd: Main Street Dance-’9 Crimes’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Letting Go’ 2nd: The Dance Kollective-’Give Me Love’ 3rd: Dance Graphics-’Let You Know’

Senior Specialty

1st: Artistic Dance Project-’Knocking On Heavens Door’ 2nd: Texas Academy of Dance Arts-’You Always Hurt The One You Love’

Best NU Groups:

NUbie

The Movement Dance Academy-’Crazy In Love’

Machita Dance Company-’Land of 1000 Dances’

Dance Graphics-’Boogie Fever’

Mini

Dance Graphics-’Salvation’

Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Blow, Gabriel, Blow’

Machita Dance Company-’In The Convent’

Center Stage Performing Arts Studio-’Happiness’

Lancaster Dance Academy-’Want You Back’

Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre-’We Love to Bebop’

Junior

Dance Du Coeur-’Scapegoat’

Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Give Me More’

The Dance Kollective-’Dreaming’

Artistic Dance Project-’Bright Horses’

The Movement Dance Academy-’Unraveling’

Dance Du Coeur-’Small Hours’

Teen

Jean Leigh Academy of Dance-’Hymne a l’amour’

Artistic Dance Project-’Greed’

The Dance Kollective-’Tap Is Life’

Modern Conceptions of Dance-’Distortion’

Collective Dance Artistry-’The One Who Goes Astray’

Dance Du Coeur-’Somewhere’

Machita Dance Company-’Holding On’

Creative Dance Studio-’Memory’

Main Street Dance-’Crash Test Dummies’

Tari’s School of Dance-’The Hive’

Dance Institute-’Valse Romantique’

The Movement Dance Academy-’Trust Me Again’

Dance Graphics-’What’s Poppin’

Senior

Lancaster Dance Academy-’Humanity’

Texas Academy of Dance Arts-’Love Lost’

Main Street Dance-’9 Crimes’

The Dance Kollective-’Before I Go’

Artistic Dance Project-’Letting Go’

Studio Pick:

Dance Graphics-’What’s Poppin’

Lancaster Dance Academy-’Humanity’

Dance Institute-’Valse Romantique’

Artistic Dance Project-’Greed’

Collective Dance Artistry-’The One Who Goes Astray’

Avant Dance LLC-’Clap, Clap’

Modern Conceptions of Dance-’Distortion’

Dance Du Coeur-’Somewhere’

West Austin Dance Academy-’Missionary Man’

The Movement Dance Academy-’Trust Me Again’

The Dance Kollective-’Tap Is Life’

Main Street Dance-’Crash Test Dummies’

Machita Dance Company-’Holding On’