#and to try and browse without an account again

[wanderingmind867]

I sometimes feel like I don't follow enough new people on here. I follow like one new person every few months, max. I'm being a little hyperbolic when i say that, but that's definitely how my brain will spin things for me. It's a mess. This is why I sometimes don't feel like i'm very good with social media sometimes. My brain just seems to love making me feel insecure. And I hate that, but I also know it's a fact of my life at this point.

Even when I think social media is bad for me though, I still can't bring myself to tell my dad I have 14,000+ posts on here. The goal is to tell him eventually, but i keep putting it off because i feel guilty i never told him in the first place, and i'm scared i'll feel i broke his trust (probably because my dad is my only friend and i'm dependent on him, my brain has blown this way out of proportion). I also couldn't bring myself to delete this account, either. Even when I get down and think it's not the best for me, i can't get rid of it.

Really, the ideal would just be having an option to browse anonymously (without my account). Then I could possibly ignore the internal pressure to post. Maybe if i ever get my old tablet fixed, i could do this. But if that option remains off the table, my only option for now is to keep making long vent posts like these. sigh...

[local-dragon-haunt]

hey! i’m an artist and i was wondering what about the httyd crossover art made it obviously AI. i’m trying to get better at recognizing AI versus real art and i totally would have just not clocked that.

Hey! This is TOTALLY okay to not have recognized it, because I DIDN'T AT FIRST, EITHER. Unfortunately there’s no real foolproof way to distinguish real art from the fake stuff. However I have noticed a general rule of thumb while browsing these last few months.

So this is the AI generated image I used as inspiration. I will not be tagging the account that posted it because I do not condone bullying of any type, but it’s important to mention that this was part of a set of images:

This is important because one of the BIGGEST things you can use to your advantage is context clues. This is the thing that clued me in: right off the bat we can see that there is NO consistency between these three images. The art style and outfits change with every generated image. They're vaguely related (I.E. characters that resemble the Big Four are on some sort of adventure?) and that's about it. Going to the account in question proved that all they posted were AI generated images. All of which have many red flags, but for clarity's sake we'll stick with the one that I used.

The first thing that caught my eye was this???? Amorphous Blob in the background. Which is obviously supposed to be knights or a dragon or something.

Again, context clues come into play here. Artists will draw everything With A Purpose. And if what they're drawing is fanart, you are going to recognize most of what you see in the image. Even if there are mistakes.

In the context of this image, it looks like the Four are supposed to be running from these people. The thing that drew my attention to it was the fact that I Didn't Recognize The Villains, and this is because there is nothing to recognize. These shapes aren't Drago, or Grimmel, or Pitch, or any other villain we usually associate with ROTBTD. They're just Amorphous Blobs that are vaguely villain shaped.

Which brings me to my second point:

Do you see the way they're standing? There is no purpose to this. It throws the entire image off. Your eye is drawn to the Amorphous Villain Blobs in the background, and these characters are not reacting to them one bit.

Now I'm not saying that all images have to have a story behind them, but if this were created by a person, it clearly would have had one. Our group here is not telling a story, they are posing.

This is because the AI does not see the image as a whole, but as two separate components: the setting, and the description of the characters that the prompter dictates. I.E. "Merida from Brave, Jack Frost from ROTG, Rapunzel from Tangled, and Hiccup from HTTYD standing next to each other"

Now obviously the most pressing part of this prompt are the characters themselves. So the AI prioritizes that and tries to spit out something that WE recognize as "Merida from Brave, Jack Frost from ROTG, Rapunzel from Tangled, and Hiccup from HTTYD standing next to each other".

This, more times than not, is going to end up with this stagnant posing. Because AI cannot create, it can only emulate. And even then, it still can't do it right. Case in point:

This is not Hiccup. The AI totally thinks this is Eugene Fitzherbert. Look at the pose. The facial structure. The goatee. The smirk. The outfits. He's always next to Raps. Why does he have a quiver? Where's Toothless? His braids? His scar??

HE HAS BOTH OF HIS LEGS.

The AI. Cannot even get the most important part of it's prompt correct.

And that's just the beginning. Here:

More amorphous shapes.

So these are obviously supposed to be utility belts, but I mean. Look at them. The perspective is all off. There are useless straps. I don't even know what that cluster behind Jack's left arm is supposed to be.

This is a prime example of AI emulating without understanding structure.

You can see this particularly in Jack, between his hands, the "tassels" of his tunic, and the odd wrinkles of his boots. There's just not any structure here whatsoever.

Lastly, AI CANNOT CREATE PATTERNS.

Here are the side-by-sides of the shit I had to deal with when redesigning their outfits. Please someone acknowledge this. This killed me inside. THIS is most recognizable to me, and usually what I look for first if I'm wary about an art piece. These clusterfuck bunches of color. I hate them. I hate them so. much.

Anyways here's some other miscellaneous things I've noticed:

Danny Phantom Eyes

???? Thumb? (and random sword sheath)

Collarbone Necklace (corset from hell)

No Staff :( No Bow :(

What is that.

So yeah. Truly the best thing to do is to just. study it. A lot of times you aren't gonna notice anything just looking at the big picture, you need to zoom in and focus on the little details. Obviously I'm not like an expert in AI or anything, but I do have a degree in animation practices and I'm. You know. A human being. So.

In conclusion:

(Y'all should totally reblog my redesign of this btw)

[yueichihara]

"Shut up!" - LaDS reactions.

LaDS boys reacting to you screaming at them to shut up.

Summary: How hard can it be to ask for a little peace and quiet when you're finally having a little bit of time for yourself? But they dismiss your request and have the audacity to pester you even further.

These are short stories, about a tired MC who keeps being called out to work, and whenever they're free they go out with the boys and spend no time to chill at home to recharge. So they snap.

cw: snapping at sylus, fluff, special appearance by our favourite twins

the word count just kept growing omg, I need to make justice for xavier

Tags: @sxremmie

Xavier - pt. 1 - 637 words

Rafayel - pt. 2 - 944 words

Caleb - pt. 3 - 952 words

Zayne - pt. 4 - 1,090 words

Sylus - pt. 5 - 1,080 words

It’d been half an hour since Sylus turned up at your apartment, making himself comfortable next to you at the dining room table as you browse through the internet. It was a special sales weekend, focused on electronic devices and you were looking for a new games console. Your birthday last month was fully funded by the hunter’s association and now you were left with some cash you were able to save.

Sylus had his elbow on the table, his chin resting on his hand as he focused on what you were doing. His other arm lounged over the back of your seat, his fingers brushing against your spine every now and then, making you jolt. He had yet to tell you the reason for his visit, ignoring your curious looks and questioning. 

As you kept browsing, you opened new tabs with the different consoles you found fitting, taking into account both the specifications you were looking for and your budget. Every now and then you opened one ad you liked, only to find out it’s way out of your league. Still, you went through the description so that you made sure what you were looking for. 

This is how you came across the new SX 3000, the newest console from the same company that launched the one you were trying to replace. It was slim and elegant, in an obsidian colour. Its specifications matched your requirements, and the price… way out of your budget. 

You let out a sigh as you moved the cursor over the x to close the tab. Sylus’ fingers brush your spine again and stay there. “That one looks good.” You look over at him and scoff.

“Sure, in another life.” This time, instead of closing the tab, you liked the publication and moved over to keep browsing. You hear Sylus sigh this time, but he says nothing. This repeats a few times as you come across different consoles that are way too pricey. Sylus’ remarks only frustrate you further. Of course it would be easy for him to get one, even for you if you just let your pride aside and asked him to buy you one. But life wasn’t that easy and you weren’t that kind of person. You wanted something good that would let you relieve stress, but also something that you worked hard for. You’d talked to Sylus about this before, and he understood your point of view, but sometimes his need to please you just washed over everything else. 

The SX 3000 appears again in another page, and you skim over the different choices without paying it any mind. “That one would look really good next to your gaming set-up. It even matches the style.”

Feeling frustrated, you close your notebook with force, slightly flinching hoping you don’t have to redirect your budget to a new device now. “Sylus, shut up!” You stand up and look over at him, completely unbothered at your outburst, almost as if he was waiting for it. 

His only reaction is a lift of his brow. “You’re being fussy.”

“And you are being a pain in the ass. If you came over just to bother me, you can go back now.” You grab the notebook and take it over to the charging station when the doorbell rings. “Ugh, what now?”

As you move to the door, Sylus talks. “You might want to get your temper in check before you open the door.” You look back and stick out your tongue at him before hastily opening the door. 

Standing next to each other, holding something at their backs as if they were planning something mischievous, were Luke and Kieran. With a frown, you move away to let them come in, only to have them shove something in your hands on their way in. Your confusion intensifies as you close the door but it soon turns into a furious frown as it scans the box with a bow on top. You storm over to Sylus, ignoring the twins. “I told you I didn’t want it.” Shoving the box into Sylus’ lap, you step away to go calm yourself in your room, but he catches your hand and pulls you over. “Hey!” He grabs your other hand and puts the box with the SX 3000 back in your arms, holding them to keep you from letting it go. 

“This isn’t from me.” He stands, looking over at the twins who look puzzled at your reaction. 

“Uhm,” Luke starts, rubbing his mask as if he were rubbing his temple. “this is a gift from us.”

“Yeah,” Continues Kieran, tilting his head. “since we couldn’t get you something for your birthday, we thought to get you something you really wanted.”

“You mentioned you were planning on replacing your console the last time you were over at the base.” Luke adds on.

“And we thought this would be a great opportunity to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” Kieran says, crossing his arms over his chest and looking smug.

Luke puts one arm around his brother’s shoulder, looking just as smug as he continues. “And for being our friend.” Every fiber of your being ached for these two, warming your heart and making you hold the box tighter to you. “We asked Boss to keep you busy as we retrieved the console from the store, it only arrived today!”

Putting the box on the table, you go over to them and give them a big hug. “Thank you so much, it means so much to me. Both of you mean a lot to me.” They move away and shyly clear their throats as they mumble things like “same” and “you, too”. “How about you help me set this up over there?” They light up and take the console over to the gaming set-up as you turn over to Sylus.

Crossing your arms, you see him leaning on the table doing the same, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “I thought you didn’t need it.”

“I don’t.” You say moving closer, but as soon as you reach him you let out a deep sigh and lean your head on his shoulder. “But I can’t say no to them when they look so happy, can I?” 

You feel his head rest over yours. “Who could?”

“I’m sorry for getting mad at you and telling you to shut up.”

“Apology accepted. Now go over there before they unplug something they shouldn’t.”

[stvrkeysgal]

kiss me — rafe cameron

pairing: bsf!rafe x f!reader

warnings: none, just fluff (not proofread !!!)

taglist: @jadastarkey @tillysslife @hrtsforstrkysblog @hoefordrewstarkey @ladyatwalmart @drewssgirl

๑ masterlist

it was supposed to be a harmless move, really. more like a "come-and-go" situation. kiss rafe, risk it all or get over it.

or at least that's what you thought.

——♡——

today was an ordinary tuesday—sunny skies, fluffy clouds scattered all over the sky as if to say the weather was perfect. it sure was, but the storm of emotions brewing in your mind definitely wasn't.

for as long as you've known, you always had feelings for rafe. being childhood friends and tied at the hip wasn't of help, either.

he was the first boy to ever defend you from kids picking on you, the first who saw you cry, the first who saw who you really were.

the first boy you've ever loved.

so risking it would either be a hit or miss.

——♡——

rafe was sitting on your couch, phone in hand while his arms rested around your shoulders. a romcom played on the tv—one you've seen many times (without him) but somehow it seemed like static compared to the roaring thoughts inside your head.

his thumb rubbed your shoulder softly—the action done absent-mindedly while he browsed through his phone. "soooo," he says, not looking up from the screen. "still wanted that purse you saw last week?"

"you don't have to spend anything on me," you reply, eyes glued to the screeen. "i just looked at it. wasn't even that pretty." lie.

"too late," rafe says, clicking his phone a few times before setting it on the spot beside him. "already bought it."

"you did not!" you say, fully turning to look at him. "you're welcome, sweetheart." your arms immediately wrap around his body, fully engulfing him for a hug. "thank you, rafe. you really didn't have to do it."

"i wanted to. had to loosen up my bank account anyway." you smack his chest playfully, rolling your eyes while moving closer towards rafe. "whatever you say, cameron."

——♡——

"this is so predictable," rafe says, rolling his eyes at the movie. "he says sorry, she doesn't believe him. she leaves, he makes a grand gesture, they get back together." you gave him a side glance, still paying attention to the movie.

as if on cue, the scene comes up. the character lifts the girl up, kisses her in the middle of the rain. "see?" rafe looks at you, a smirk plastered on his face. "same ending. how many times have you even watched this?"

"i don't know, honestly," you shrug, adjusting your position. "one, two, five, i forgot."

"jesus." rafe reaches out for the remote, turning the tv off. the screen turns black. everything goes silent, but not your thoughts. "okay so now that god-awful movie's out, what do you wanna do?" rafe leans down on the couch, arms resting behind his head while his eyes meet yours.

"your call. you turned off the goddamn tv." he scoffs, stares at the ceiling for the moment before sitting up again. "no shit. that was boring."

"this is boring."

"what is?"

"doing nothing."

"nothing is boring if it's with you."

time passed by like a blur, more conversations drifting back and forth between the two of you.

you and rafe sat in comfortable silence, your head leaning on his shoulder while his arms returned to yours. "you know what?" you say. "you're right. this isn't boring."

"told you," he chuckles, lips curling into a smile while his eyes drift to your face. "i'm a fun person. you're a fun person. thought you knew that by now."

"sure. you're fun. you hate romcoms, you don't like romance. or listening to great music." he scoffs, pinching your shoulder lightly which earns him a squeal. "not my fault i don't like your stuff. it's too..." you raise an eyebrow, urging him to go on. "girly. god, i hate that stuff."

"buzzkill."

"i'm your buzzkill."

"ew."

without warning, rafe's fingers move to your waist, tickling you while you break into fits of laughter. "get off!" you squeal, giggling while you try to push him off you.

rafe lets up after a while, sitting up once again while his hand move back to your shoulder.

——♡——

more time passed with the two of you laughing over things, shitty people or basically talking shit about different matters.

his hand eventually moved from your shoulder to your waist, keeping you ground and steady. your breath hitches, eyes moving up to meet his.

your heart beats against your chest, heartbeat suddenly ringing in your ears.

"what are we doing?" he asks, breathless while his eyes drift from your eyes to your lips. "i don't know," you reply, voice somehow as quiet as his.

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—your mind freezes at this moment, body going still at the thought of being this close to rafe.

without thinking twice, you lean in to kiss him. soft at first—hesitant.

you pull away after a few seconds, eyes wide and body trembling from what just happened. "did you just..." rafe seems to be stunned as well, seeing that he mirrored your expression. lips parted, chest moving fast from breathing too hard.

"i'm sorry—" his lips meet yours again, this time harder. more intense. you kiss him back, catching up with his pace while your hands move up to cup his face.

"you don't know how long i've wanted to do that." rafe says, pulling away just slightly before crashing his lips back on yours.

minutes seemed to turn into seconds with the way he was kissing you. fast, full of longing, pent up with emotions bottled up for a long time. "thought you were gonna push me away, actually." you smile against his lips, before softly kissing him once again.

"never. i love you too much for that." rafe's arms tightened around your waist, keeping you close to him.

"good. because i love you too."

a/n: OH MY GOOOOODDDD IDK WHAT TO FEEL ABT THIS 😭 honestly this was on my drafts for so long i nearly forgot abt it. anywaaaaayyyyy thank u guys for almost 700 followers i'm sobbing :')

[meanbossart]

Ok, so, I love your work (clearly as I am also a Patreon member). I have A Novel Experience open in one of my many ADHD tabs (so many tabs *sob*) and I very much want to read it. The problem that I seem to be having is that my OCD brain knows there is so much previous content (the game) that I NEED to know before I read it and I don’t know where to find that content? Or if you’ve even written it down? Is your in game journey somewhere that I haven’t noticed? Or is there just not a fully written account? If it is somewhere, I’d love to read it, please point me in the right direction!

Hey! Well, playing the game (or at least watching a walkthrough of it) and understanding the Dark Urge storyline is kind of required for ANE. You will be very lost otherwise.

Knowing every detail about DU drow's campaign, on the other hand, is absolutely not required to enjoy it - or at least I don't think it is, and I have definitely had people read through it without having prior exposure to this blog. Events are referenced with proper context, there's instances of backstory exposition, and information is fed to you (in a hopefully organic manner) throughout the course of the first few chapters. Indeed, you won't learn about every little minute occurrence or DU drow's opinions about every single person he met throughout the game - but that's what the #du drow lore tag is for and hardly ever relevant to the plot. You learn about his character THROUGH reading ANE as well as you would through browsing the asks in this blog!

BUT, If it eases yours or anyone else's conscience, here's a quick list of some significant events from the game - once again, many of these are either revealed throughout the course of the fic or entirely irrelevant (most are, I'd argue), but I guess it might be fun flavor-text all the same.

ACT 1: -He kills Lae'zel very early in the game. -he saves Mayrina. -He kills Barcus. -He kills Minthara, saves Halsin and helps the tieflings in act 1. He did not help Kagha or unravel her shadowdruid scheme. -He didn't spend the night with anyone at the tiefling party. -He did not visit the creche or go through mountain pass at all. -Astarion's romance triggered late in act 1. He first tells him about being vampire through dialogue after they had sex, and only after that did he try to bite him during a long rest. (Apparently a bug and no longer possible to pull off since patches, but this is the "canonical" order of events for DU drow's story.) -He sides with the duergar mercenaries at grymforge, kills Neere, and lets the gnomes die/remain enslaved.

Act 2: -He was supportive of Shadowheart and her DJ aspirations, though not ecstatic about it. -I got a bug where Gale kept coming onto me despite not being in a romance with him. This is also canon. -He didn't kill Isobel nor let her be kidnapped by Marcus. -He didn't save the imprisoned tieflings or gnomes. -He killed Yurgur after Astarion struck up a deal with Raphael. -He never met Araj. -He let Shadowheart make her own choice during the Nightsong's face-off and she spares her. -He didn't help Halsin cure the land and left him behind. -He recruited Jaheira. -He stomps the Astral Tadpole dead.

Act 3: -He's always antagonistic towards The Emperor. -He helps Shadowheart kill Viconia and she chooses to sacrifice her parents. -He is opposed to Gale pursuing the crown of Karsus. -He strikes up a deal with Gortash. -He convinces Wyll to break his contract AND saves his father from the Iron Throne. -He convinces Astarion to not Ascend and the Spawn are all freed and sent into the Underdark. -He saves Minsc and goes through the whole Nine-Fingers thing (clueless all throughout but hey, he likes Jaheira.) -He steals the Orphic hammer from Raphael's house. -He kills Gortash. -Yenna is the one that gets kidnapped, she dies at Orin's altar. -DU drow refuses Bhaal's gift after killing Orin, dies, and is resurrected by Withers. -He frees Orpheus and makes him turn into a Mindflayer. -Him, Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale kill the Netherbrain. -DU drow kills Orpheus. -Karlach dies at the docks. -Gale restores the crown and Ascends to Godhood (In ANE, this is a process that takes time - so he is not the God of Ambition yet in that timeline.)

Also, I completed the game prior to the Epilogue Party Patch and do not consider anything said or done in it to be canonical in ANE's timeline.

[loveriotss]

haiii if possible, could u do the bf! hcs + txts with izuku with someone who's personality is like ai from oshi no ko if not it's totally fine still tysm :3

HCS + TXTS WITH HIM AS YOUR BOYFRIEND ⸻ izuku midoriya

INCLUDES — gn! reader, fluff, crack, headcannons, social media au

main masterlist — mha masterlist ༊*·˚

: ̗̀➛ click here to read other character versions

THE MOST SWEETEST BF EVER!!!!

will send you a good morning and night message everyday.

you know how he tends to ramble irl? he does the same thing on text! he’d just keep typing and typing and wouldn’t even realize how lengthy the message has gotten until he sent it.

chronically online.

all that time spent on social media keeping up with all might updates slowly progressed to him knowing internet references and brain rot.

he won’t use it as much in his speech though. he tries to but overthinks it and ends up going against it, scared that he may have gotten the meaning wrong.

he enjoys spending time with you, just him and you on a cute little date like checking out new all might merch, going to arcades, browsing through bookstores or spa/self care dates in the dorms.

all this helps relax the two of you from the stress of school and hero activities. 

he also asks you to spar with him and sometimes y'all use quirks.

this gets you both a sufficient training done and a bonus for izuku as he can take notes in his hero journal. 

if you ever got even the slightest scratch during these fights he would completely panic and would keep apologizing over and over again.

will make sure you’re okay and comfortable even hours later when you’re about to go to bed

he prefers calls over texts because he likes how close he can your voice when on the phone.

his instagram has little snippets of his life. just normal things like daily life, hangouts, school life etc.

he posts you too! on special days and also out of the blue when he secretly takes pictures of you on dates.

he has another account dedicated to all might.

he will always like and comment on your posts no matter what they may be.

NOTE — hi nonniee im sorry for the lateass post ive been prepping for school since my summer break's almost over 😭. i tried implementing ai's personality into reader as much as i can and it was a bit hard but i hope you like it!! (ps: i actually died making the all might parts)

©loveriotss — all rights reserved to me. please don’t try to copy/steal my work. please do not use any of my ideas/translate my work without my permission.

[crushh-existz]

Streamer Ellie HCs

Warnings: lower case intended..., NOT proofread at all..., its actually so shit so shh

-loser!ellie who made it through freshman and sophmore year of being a complete loner other than Jesse and Dina keeping her company but even then, she had absolutely no classes with them after freshman year.

-loser!ellie mid sophmore year she got bored and streamed her playing filled fortnite squads (it took her 4 hours trying to set it up with the most grainy ass camera she could find from joel that he used when he worked in customer service. she also got 10 views MAX!!)

-loser!ellie she looked back at the footage after school one day and her ass went onto capcut and put the most stupidest clips she could find of herself and posted it on one of her many alt accounts on tiktok.

after rewatching that bitch at least 20 times and giggling her ass off, she went to bed swaddled in her dino sheets

she didn't even realize she had fallen asleep at around 2 am and woke up super late, forgetting her phone at home

-loser!ellie had to sit through all her classes bored as FUCKK without her brawl stars to get through her boring classes (dont ask it was the stupidest mobile game i could think of and idk anything abt it) and the only game that wasn't locked away by GoGuardian was slope.io (her highscore is 23)

-loser!ellie went about her day as jolly as one who is drowning in assignments could be. she hung out with jesse and dina at lunch and surviving her last two periods before walking home humming her favorite songs pretending she has her phone and wired headphones (that most definately need to be retired after 6 years of torture, half of which were from joel using them)

once she actually got home, kicking off her butchered converse onto her bedroom floor as she flopped onto her bed

-loser!ellie finally got to open her phone to browse through her notifications and streaks dina for some reason made her keep, she noticed a fat chunk of them being from tiktok

at first she thought it was just jesse getting home early and sending her posts but it was actually from her stupid capcut video (she didnt even remove the watermark at the end)

her video for some reason blew up.. she literally flew up to sit on her bed scrolling through all the comments.

"wait why r u actually funny"

"mind you this is my first impression of u"

"why is ur camera quality worse than my dead grandmas health.."

"in my mind we're actually bestfriends come out im in ur closet."

of course among that, theres also random hate comments like

"this pmo" and petty shit like that.

she giggled by replying to them with the most stupidest things

@/player222schesticals im js a natural arent i

@/user283678383257819 i hope it lasts

@/therealauthormorgan911 erm tell her dust i said hi

@/divaa283628 how'd u know i was a scissor sister dafauq

-streamer!ellie immediatly after she called dina "DUDE IM FLIPPING FAMOUS"

dina thought she was high off her ass and told her yeah right before hanging up on her ass.

ellie then proceeded to send a link to her alt and dina was actually blown away

"woah els.. you should pay me to be your manager."

-streamer!ellie laughed in her face (she asked dina to manage her shit a week later)

-loser!ellie's following grew and she branched her gaming to other things, mostly shorter story games that she finds off steam for 1 cent. every so often the game is actually really good with life changing plot (ellie's bawling by the end of it)

obviously she still plays stupid shooter games like fortnite and OW but she's too scared to touch COD (too many sweats she says)

-streamer!ellie absolutely LOVES to troll on GTA with Jesse it's literally her favorite thing to do EVERRR!!! the public js eats it up like candy, putting her in comps whenever she would accidently blow herself up or something (again dont know anything about this game at ALLL!!!)

-loser!ellie absolutely loves scowering tiktok for stupid little edits of herself and saving them all

she's quite cocky behind the screen and loves interacting w/ her community online but gets so awkward when she gets recognized in public or at school for the few audio clips of her going viral (it's okay cuz dina and jesse help her through it!!)

--

A/N: okay chat these were just heehees and haahaas bro. i randomly decided to do it and I thought it was funny and lowk sat there and actually wrote w/o stopping.. tbh there was more to this but like i cringed and deleted all that but i liked it up until this point. there were probably part 2 if i figure out what to write and probably x reader version too FHEIWF anyway its fr shit but this was js for funsies ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

[ririright]

“Hayden vs. Technology: PeePaw Mode Activated”

Husband! Hayden x Wife Reader (Headcannons)

Part. 1 — Part. 2 — Part. 3

✦ His phone is always on full brightness.

At night, it’s like a flashlight in bed.

You wake up to see him scrolling, his face lit up like a ghost.

“Babe, can you turn that down?”

“But then I can’t see it!”

✦ His phone has a pop socket with a Star Wars design.

He’s got a little Darth Vader helmet on it, and he loves showing it off.

“Look, it’s functional and cool.”

He fidgets with it constantly, flipping it in his hand while he talks.

✦ He scrolls with his pointer finger.

The phone is held way out, almost at arm’s length, reading glasses on.

He squints, tapping so carefully like the screen is going to bite him.

“You know you can use your thumb, right?”

“I’ve got it. I’m a pro.”

✦ He used to have a wallet phone case.

Sometimes he looks at his pop socket and sighs.

“Back in the day, I had everything in one place. Cards, phone, ID. Now it’s all separate.”

When you got him a wallet case once, he tried it again but said it was “too bulky now.”

✦ He insists Instagram and TikTok are the same.

“It’s just videos and pictures, right?”

You try to explain the differences, and he waves you off.

“Next thing, they’ll make one called SnapTok or InstaBook.”

✦ He forgets he’s on his private Instagram.

Sometimes he’ll panic, thinking he’s accidentally posted something.

“Wait, did everyone see that?!”

You have to remind him his account is private, and only you and a few friends can see it.

✦ He has a habit of accidentally liking old posts.

Scrolling through your profile, he’ll accidentally like a picture from four years ago.

“Oh no. Oh no. Do they know I did that?”

“Hayden, it’s my account.”

“Oh. Right. Well… it’s still a good picture.”

✦ He has a notification obsession.

Any little red dot on his screen drives him crazy.

“I’ve got three notifications… but what are they?”

Even if it’s a game he hasn’t played in months, he has to clear it.

✦ He tries to read small text without his glasses.

Squints, stretches his phone even further away.

You hand him his glasses, and he groans.

“I swear I could see just fine yesterday.”

✦ He follows the most random accounts.

He’s got a mix of Star Wars fan pages, farm animal rescue accounts, and a few sock enthusiast pages.

“Look, this guy reviews socks. I knew I wasn’t the only one.”

✦ He uses the search bar instead of exploring.

Doesn’t browse the feed. Just types in what he’s looking for.

“Why would I scroll for hours? I just want to see ducks today.”

✦ He keeps his ringer on, but it’s always on maximum volume.

So even if it’s just a notification, it’s like a tiny explosion.

His text tone is a lightsaber hum, which makes you jump every time.

[alotofpockets]

I'll follow you everywhere | Natasha Romanoff

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: You’re on the run with your wife Natasha, when she receives a small box with red vials with a picture of a young Natasha and Yelena attached.

Warnings: Scenes from Black Widow used. Weapons, wounds, explosives, and a car crash. A/n: This is a repost from one of my old accounts.

Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 2.3K

You were browsing the shelves of the local supermarket in the small town in Norway where your current safe house was located. Natasha and the rest of the Avengers that weren’t already arrested were on the run. As her wife you weren’t letting her go on her own. You offered to go into town on your first night to get some food and other necessities as the chances of you getting recognized were way smaller than her being recognized by the locals, as her picture amongst those of the other rogue Avengers were shown on the news all over the world.

With all the supplies, you drive back to the trailer. You carry the bags inside and are met with Natasha staring at a box with something glowing inside of it. “What’s that?” You ask, oblivious to the contents of the box. Natasha turns around holding out a picture. You step closer to take a look at the photobooth picture in her hand, there are two young girls hugging, both wearing big smiles on their faces. You  recognize a young Natasha, but don’t recognize the younger blonde girl. “Yelena?” You question. Natasha had told you about her sister, but you’d never seen a picture of the girl. 

Natasha nods her head, eyes wide. “She’s in trouble y/n, I need to go to Budapest. I need to help her.” Natasha turns around, and starts putting on her shoes, while you grab a bag and put some clothes from the both of you in it. “What are you doing?” Natasha asks. “I’m grabbing some clothes.” You say with a confused look on your face, thinking it was obvious what you were doing. “I know that, I mean why are you packing your clothes?”

Once again you’re confused, “Because I’ll need clothes to wear too?” Natasha’s confusion clears as she realizes what’s going on. “Baby, you can’t go with me. I don’t know what’s out there. It’s too dangerous, I can’t risk you getting hurt.” 

“Darling, I’m coming with you, whether it’s dangerous or not. The day I married you, I promised you in my vows that I would always follow you everywhere. I intend on keeping that promise, so I’m coming with you. You don’t have to do this alone.” Natasha knows there is no use for arguing with you when you’ve already made up your mind, so she lets you continue packing. Within an hour you’ve made it to the train station, boarding the train to Budapest. 

When you got to the safe house Natasha told you to wait outside while she tried prying the lock of the door open. A voice from within the apartment was heard, “I know you’re out there.” Natasha took a big sigh, unlocking the lock and grabbing her gun. “I know you know I’m out here.” She responds, before opening the door.

It stayed quiet on the other side of the door while you waited patiently for Natasha to deem the apartment safe for you to enter. You knew it must be weird for her to see Yelena again, especially because it had been so long since they had seen each other. Natasha didn’t even know if she could trust her. You understood that, so you waited. The quietness was interrupted by the sound of things slamming into walls. Natasha was the strongest person and most skilled fighter you knew, you know she could handle herself. Nonetheless you were worried.

The sounds kept getting louder and louder. You were trying to focus on Natasha’s voice to hear if she was okay. Until you notice a red dot appear on your chest. You weren’t trained on any of this, but you knew that a red dot is most likely a sniper rifle pointing at you. Without thinking you opened the door to the safe house and walked into the room. You turn around to see Natasha and Yelena laying on the floor out of breath, with a white curtain laying around them. 

As soon as Yelena sees you in the corner of her eyes, she reaches for her gun and points it at you, “Don’t move.” She says to you, then she turns to Natasha, “You said truce, what is this?” Natasha is quick to answer. “Easy, Yelena, that’s my wife.” Yelena slowly lowers the weapon while repeating the word, “Wife?” 

You interrupt the conversation, “Yes, wife. No time for further explanation. There are snipers on the roof, one was aiming at me just a second ago out in the hall.” Natasha stands up quickly, moving in between you and the window. 

"Stay on my hip." Natasha tells you as she moves away from the window. Always standing in between you and the outside wall. The three of you move into a backroom where Yelena grabs the box of red vials and some ammo for her gun. "Come on, we can get on the roof from the window." 

As she opens the window, the front door is kicked in. "Go, I'll be right behind you." Yelena says while running back in. Natasha climbs out of the window and helps you out as well. Yelena comes running towards the window, followed by a large explosion. "The switch, good thinking." Natasha compliments her sister. 

"Where are we going?" Natasha asks. "West side, I have a motorcycle there but it won't fit us all." - "Lead the way, we'll see when we get there." Yelena starts running and Natasha nudges you to follow Yelena. She makes sure you're in between them at all times. Especially because two widows were following you. You had some distance on them, but as long as they were carrying weapons, distance didn't mean safety.

You got to the motorcycle, and there is no way it's going to fit three. Yelena grabs her gun and stops a nearby car, "Get out." She yells pointing the gun at the driver. He walks out with his hands up. Yelena gets behind the wheel but Natasha is quick to tell her to move over to the passenger seat and tells you to get in the back. 

Natasha starts driving away, but you're quickly followed by widows on motorcycles, shooting at the car. “Duck.” They say in unison as the back window is about to break. Luckily you are quick to respond and none of you get hurt. 

You're driving around like maniacs. Yelena was basically hanging out of the window and now the car was missing a door, but at least it took one of the widows out. All of a sudden the rest of the widows disappeared, which none of you saw as a good sign.

Your instincts were right. An armored car makes its way around the corner. When it starts picking up speed it just crashes right into the cars of the oncoming traffic and parked cars. And if it wasn't scary enough, the roof of the car opened and a fully armored person appeared with a bow and arrow. When you realized it wasn't just any arrow being aimed at you, but an explosive one it was already too late.

The arrow exploded and the car was pushed into the air. It rolled a couple of times before landing upside down into a train station entry. Natasha was quick to get out of the car and pulled you and Yelena out. Since Yelena had no door on her side anymore something had cut her arm open, but other than that none of you were injured. 

Natasha quickly tied a scarf around Yelena’s arm, because you had to move. There was no way this armored assassin or the widows were going to give up any time soon. Natasha led you all to a place she once hid with Clint, where you hid out as you saw them walking right past your location.

For Natasha and Yelena this was part of their jobs, so they had gotten used to the rush and adrenaline that came with being chased. That wasn't the case for you though. When you made it into the airshaft your adrenaline started slowly fading, making you realize just how crazy this was. Natasha was quick to notice your upcoming panic attack, and came to your aid quickly, she was able to help calm your breathing down before it turned into a full on attack. Once you’re fully calmed down Natasha turns to Yelena, “Who the hell was that?”

“Dreykov’s special project, they can mimic anyone they've ever seen. It’s like fighting a mirror. Dreykov only deploys them for top priority missions.” Natasha’s mind is trying to wrap around what Yelena just told her, “This doesn’t make any sense.” She says. All these years Natasha thought that she had killed Dreykov, but Yelena explained how that wasn’t the case. 

After a while the women decided the coast was clear, and left the vents of the train station to get cleaned up. The three of you ended up at a small convenience store and bought some necessities for cleaning wounds, and some painkillers, since the flipping of the car had an effect on all three of you. You took the supplies to a restaurant nearby where Natasha helped Yelena clean up the wound and they talked amongst themselves to catch up. 

“Where are you gonna go after this?” Natasha asks after learning that Yelena had been under the influence of Dreykov’s control and was just freed of it recently. “I don’t know.” Yelena answers. “I don’t really have anywhere to go back to. So, I guess anywhere” Nat puts her drink down but before she can say anything Yelena says, “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Natasha says. Yelena laughs, “Oh, you’re going to give me some big hero speech, I can feel it.” Both you and Natasha laugh at that. “Speeches aren’t really her thing.” You share with Yelena letting her in on the look shared between you and your wife. “Exactly, and it was more like an invitation.” Yelena thinks for a moment, “To go to the Red Room and kill Dreykov, even though the Red Room is impossible to find and Dreykov is too slippery to kill?” Natasha smirks before saying, “Yeah.”

“That sounds like a shitload of work.” Yelena points out. “Yup, it could be fun though.” Natasha adds and Yelena agrees. “You saw where he put the keys?” These two were truly on the same wavelength you realized as Yelena answered, “Top drawer, green cabinet.” And with that you were on the road. Natasha called Rick Mason, the contractor she regularly worked with that she needed a jet. When you arrived at the agreed location a shitty old broken down helicopter stood on the field. 

“I said we needed a jet.” Natasha says as Rick walks out of the helicopter. “Yeah and you know what you didn’t give me? Time or money. I am not made of jets.” He was funny, just like Yelena said, you could see why Nat would keep working with him. Rick showed all the supplies that Natasha asked for before Natasha turned to you. 

“Darling, I know what you said before and I very much appreciate you for sticking to the vows and following me everywhere, but this is as far as I will allow you to come along on this journey, okay? This is going to be a very dangerous mission and I am not able to keep the promise I made to you in our vows, the promise to always keep you safe. With Dreykov in the picture, I cannot risk it, which is why I asked Rick to take you to a safe house for the time being.” You told her it was okay and that you understood, you thought today had been scary enough and you were for sure not built or trained to live that kind of life. You would only hold them back, and you realized that in this situation that could cost you not only your life but also theirs. 

You hugged Natasha for a long time before letting go and walking over to Yelena. “I never expected these to be the circumstances that I would meet my sister in law, but nonetheless it was a pleasure meeting you, Yelena. Please keep her safe, I really need her to come back to me.” Yelena put a reassuring hand on your shoulder, “I will.”

The two of you joined back with Nat and Rick. Before they got on the helicopter you said, “Oh, and, Yelena, you will always have a place to go to with me and Nat. We might be on the run at the moment too, but you are more than welcome to join us.” With an appreciative nod Yelena entered the helicopter and after Natasha sent you a reassuring smile she did as well. Rick led you to the car and drove you to the safe house he had arranged for you.

It had been a couple of days and you had started to settle in when you heard a knock on your door. At first it scared you, but your worries eased when you heard a familiar voice, “Baby, it’s okay, it’s me.” You practically ran to the door, opening it to see a couple more people than just Natasha. 

Natasha ushered everyone inside and hugged you tight, she was relieved to know you were okay. When she stepped back Yelena gave you a small hug too, “I promised I’d keep her safe.” She whispers in your ear. Then Natasha introduced you to the two unfamiliar faces. “Darling, these are Alexei and Melina, they are my parents. Remember the family I told you about from Ohio?” You nodded. “Alexei, Melina, this is my wife, y/n.” You held out your hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Can I get anyone something? You all look like you could use some food.” 

“That would be wonderful, sweetheart.” Melina says. “And some vodka!” Alexei adds, which makes everyone laugh. You prepare a meal for the family as you watch Natasha with them. You smile at how happy she looks, she never had any family besides the Avengers, this is what she had always wanted. And this might not be your house, but with everyone surrounding the table it felt like home.

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider leaving a tip 💗

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

We're going straight to the point here (Jade's Dream):

So for Jade's Dream, we find ourselves in a place called a Submarine Volcano

Floyd says that he's jealous of Silver's UM, because it sounds fun even if he can only do it in his sleep. Silver also thinks that someone like Floyd could easily master his UM, but Jamil just tells him that Floyd would simply turn people's dreams into nightmares 😭

That's when the volcano started going off and Floyd turned into his merform just in time to save us. Because it turns out that the vents on the volcano can release hot water and smoke that contains toxins that are not good for the body, which causes the others what's Jade doing at a place like this.

Floyd asks Idia to give the others mermaid forms but Idia told him that he can't because he would have to create everything from scratch because he has no knowledge about mermaid anatomy, but Floyd just accepts and turns his bioluminescence on

He's doing something called "Counter Illumination", it's used as a way to camouflage from predators by emitting light that resembles the surface. It's also used to communicate to other mermaids and they use it to hide as well, it can also be used to hunt prey.

That's when we find Jade with Azul, who's finding precious metal in the area, they find one but it's stuck in a crack

Ok so apparently Jade likes seeing people suffer in this lmao, but the face Azul makes in this takes me out like wtf is this 😭 (he got burned while trying to grab the metal)

While watching all of this happen, Silver gets reminded of Ruggie, who looks for coins in the vending machine and Floyd just says that even though Azul loves valuable things, he wouldn't go THAT far (he thinks)

That's when Jade calls for Dream! Floyd and THE FACE IS JUST SO STUPID I CAN'T AHAHAHAHAHAHA

Floyd's just like "wtf do i always look this clueless to Jade?" and Yuu is given the option to roast Floyd lmao but yeah we can see that Jade simply dreams of all 3 of them having fun and them listening to Jade's interest

But Floyd wasn't having it, so he proceeds to attack the group. Let's just say Floyd is not happy, and Dream! Azul's confused as to why there are two Floyds that look exactly like each other and Floyd's just like "what do you mean this guy's like a mirror" about his dream self 😭

(yooo these spot the difference games are getting harder than i thought)

Dream! Azul tells Jade to not be fooled by the new Floyd, because the "real" has always been a lovely and charming person, like the fake is pretty much just gaslighting Jade and Jade believes the fake. Floyd gets upset about his brother leaving him, so he attacks both of the fakes but Jade comes in to protect them and they just start fighting

Idia believes that the reason why Jade isn't waking up is not because of his imagination, but rather, his strong beliefs in his mind basically refusing to listen to anyone. Floyd mentions that Jade refuses to listen to their parents. But basically, if Jade refuses to listen, then Floyd will simply let him sleep peacefully

And yeah the fight still goes on and no one has a clue on how to stop it, until Sebek gets the bright idea of using Living Bolt on them and you can say, it was super effective

(By the way one of the accounts I'm browsing through to make these is @/acesuuu on twitter, check them out for their translations btw their thread helped me find the missing info I lacked)

It seems that Sebek's electroshock therapy actually worked, as Jade is starting to recollect some things. But Dream! Azul literally just comes in and pushes Floyd out of the way 😭Dream! Azul asks how his "cute subordinate" is doing and Dream! Floyd is just saying that he can't live without him. That causes Jade to wake up, because he knows damn well they would never say that

Jade defeats both of the fakes and once that was done Floyd approaches him knowing that he's awake...and they proceed to fight again 💀. But they stop and Jade soon hugs Floyd while apologizing to the others about their "sibling quarrel" (which to the others, is way more than that)

Ortho then shows the video to Jade, who agress that the dream's happy ending seems boring. They're aware that the next dream they're going to is Azul, and everyone is just assuming that capitalism is taking over the world in that dream. Before they traveled, Grim complained that they're struggling to fit cuz the Tweels and Sebek are built like closets 😭

And that's it for Jade's Dream, I was supposed to post this yesterday but it was already late in the evening, so to the next day we go

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Next: Azul's Dream Previous: Floyd's Dream

[darksigns-exe]

soft, gentle stranger - vampire!jolly x f! reader

warnings: Swearing, oral sex (f receiving), vampires, blood

word count: 3.5k

masterlist | series masterlist | taglist sign-up

dividers by: @saradika-graphics

You’re still not sure whose house you’re in. Your friend had dragged you along to this pre-Halloween party without really telling you where you’re going or who the host is. One thing is sure, though, this place doesn’t belong to any of your friends. You’d seen the place a few times. A grand, Victorian place set upon a small hill, nestled between towering fir trees. 

It had always given you a weird feeling. 

Something about it was off. 

Now that you were inside, the feeling had only gotten worse. You had felt watched from the moment you had entered the foyer. The bodysuit you’d gone for didn’t exactly help. The little bit of liquid courage did very little to stop you from tugging at the spandex fabric. Eyes seem to follow you as you move through the crowded room, but when you try to find them, everyone seems to be occupied with themselves. Between the pounding music and the moving bodies, you can hardly tell who is paying attention to what. 

All you’ve been told is that you were to stay on the lower level, so you don’t see an issue with fleeing into the kitchen for a little breather and a refill of your drink. Unfortunately, this place seems to be much more confusing than you had anticipated. You were so sure that you’d taken this path earlier when you’d first picked up the now empty glass in your hand. Surely, you’d just made a wrong turn somewhere.  You push through another door, hoping that this one would reveal the kitchen. But you’re once again faced with another room. 

Tall bookshelves line the walls of this one. The scent of old books and leather fills your senses. You wander deeper into the room and your search for the kitchen is forgotten. The gilded titles capture your attention. You browse through the titles, but don’t quite dare to pull one of the volumes out of the shelf. 

“Fascinating, aren’t they?” someone speaks from behind you. 

You whip around, heart pounding in your chest. 

He leans against the closed double door, blocking you from leaving the room. The stranger has an amused smile on his face, watching you rather intently. You can hardly tear your eyes away from him. His dark hair is pulled into a tight bun behind his head and even though there is a trace of warmth in his eyes, the intensity of his glare makes you shrink into yourself.

“Go on, have a closer look.”

“I don’t want to overstep.” you reply hesitantly.

“The owner won’t mind. This is a library – not a museum.” 

You turn back to the shelf in front of you. When you take the time to properly inspect the titles, you find that most of the ones in your direct field of vision are folklore themed. Further to the side, you find accounts of historical events, volumes of poetry and collected works of authors you’d never even heard of. 

“Do you know the owner?” you find yourself asking. 

“Very well.”

You jump at how close he suddenly is. You can sense him behind you, towering over you in a most intimidating way. He is practically pressing against your back, but there’s no brush of breath against your skin, no warmth that drifts off him. 

“Why don’t you flip through one?” he asks, his voice low and rumbling in your ear. 

With trembling fingers, you pull one of the books from the shelf. You hadn’t checked which book you had selected. 

You open the tome to a random page and find yourself faced with lines upon lines of narrow text. You flip through a few more pages until you stumble across what appears to be an anatomical diagram. The creature is foreign to you. The skull looks human enough, but the canine teeth are elongated and sharp. It isn’t until you read the caption that you understand what you are seeing. 

The Vampyre

An involuntary shiver runs through you, and you can’t stop yourself from having a physical reaction. You know, of course, that vampires don’t exist, and you’re sure that it’s just the vibe of the house and the proximity of this stranger that makes you react this way. 

Your eyes skim over the page, catching only a few words. Your mind races. Behind you, you feel him draw in a deep breath. 

“Nothing will happen without your express consent.” he speaks softly, “You may leave whenever you want. But if you allow me in – ”

Y0u know that the responsible thing would be to leave. As intriguing as this all is, something beckons you to be cautious. And despite all that, you find yourself leaning against him. In response, arms wrap around your middle. 

“Say it, dear one.” he’s close enough for his breath to brush against your skin, “Do you want this?”

You don’t have to debate your answer for long, quickly finding yourself answering, “Yes.” 

His face presses into the side of your neck, drawing in another breath, almost as if he was trying to smell you. 

“I hoped that you would say that.” he sighs, arms briefly tightening around you, “I’ve been looking for a good moment to approach you since you arrived here.” 

The confession makes you realise that you’ve actually been watched. It hadn’t been just an odd feeling, someone had been following your every move since you and your friend had arrived at this party. 

“So many people have come to this house, but none of them have been as enticing as you.” he reaches past you to take the book from your hands, “I didn’t expect such a treat to walk through my door tonight.” 

“Will you tell me your name?” you ask shakily. 

A low laugh sounds from him, rumbling through his and your chest. 

“You can call me Joakim.” he replies, still amused at your question. 

You give him your name in return, even if it feels as if you’re signing a piece of you away. 

He repeats it, and you have to admit that hearing him say your name like that ignites some kind of spark in your belly. 

“You’re awfully nervous.” he states then, “There is no need for you to be frightened, dear one, or do you think that something bad will happen?”

There’s a dangerous edge to his voice, not quite threatening, but definitely not innocent. 

You need a moment to gather your thoughts before you can formulate a reply. And even then, you stumble across the words

“I just don’t do this very often.”, you stutter. 

“Aren’t you a sweet thing.” He laughs, “Let me repeat, nothing will happen without your express consent. Good or otherwise. I’m not a monster, after all. Look at me, dear one.” 

His hold on you eases, allowing you to turn around. 

“Should you wish to leave at any point, you are free to do so. All you have to do is say so.” the sincerity in his voice eases your worry, “Now, let me show you how good I can make you feel.”

Your heart skips more than a few beats at that. His hand drifts down across your belly, coming to cup your centre. You squirm at his touch, even though it is dampened by the fabric of your bodysuit and tights. They drift lower, trying to find the snaps that hold the fabric together. You gasp when they release. 

“You’re such a sweet thing, such a delectable treat.” He breathes against your skin, “You walk into this place so blissfully unaware of what you’re getting yourself into. Did your friend even tell you why they brought you here?”

The words make your head spin. At the same time, the hand between your thighs presses up against you, drawing an already needy whine from you. 

“They didn’t, did they?” He clicks his tongue, “Typical.”

You can’t deny that fear has settled into your spine by now. You can’t tell if this is a shtick or — surely it’s just him playing up the costume. 

Teeth graze against the side of your neck, “My dear, you mustn’t be afraid. I told you that nothing will happen without your consent. Since your friend forgot to tell you why you are here, allow me to explain.”

His hold on you releases, and he carefully spins you around. The expression on his face is suddenly very earnest. 

“Your friend promised you a field of flowers and proceeded to lead you into the lion’s den instead. I will have a word with them, this is not how we handle ourselves here.” Joakim brushes the backs of his fingers against your cheek, “You, my dear, were brought here as an offering to the more nocturnal guests of this function. It is a shame that you were invited here under false pretences. The least they could have done is let you know what you were walking into.”

Finally find your voice again, then, “When you say nocturnal — what does that mean?”

“I think you know what I mean.”

His eyes flit back to the bookshelf behind you. 

The Vampyre 

His sudden appearance, the feeling that you were being watched, it all made sense now. The realisation must have been obvious on your face as a wicked smile works its way onto his face. 

“I have seen many, many people walk through this door. None of them were as captivating as you.” His fingers trace across your cheek, “Now, my dearest, knowing all of that, what do you say?”

Instead of giving him a verbal reply, you pull him forward by the lapel of his jacket. He gives a rumbling laugh, before he meets you in a searing kiss. 

Joakim guides you towards the table in the centre of the room, helping you hop on top of it. He crowds his way between your thighs, lips immediately finding their way back to your neck. When his teeth scrape against your skin this time, you know what it really means. 

“Your offering will not go unrewarded, my dearest.” he speaks, coming up to look at you again, “You will have my eternal gratitude if you let me taste you.” 

Logical reason says that you should run for the hills. And despite being aware of the potential danger you find yourself, you cannot deny the allure of it – him. Finding yourself tangled up with a vampire out of all things was the last thing you had expected from this night. When you had left your apartment hours earlier, you had anticipated getting hit on, or perhaps hooking up with one of the other partygoers. This is so very far from anything you could have imagined. 

“Please.” you find yourself replying with a sigh. 

You can’t describe the smile on his face as anything other than dangerous, but you know that no real danger awaits you – not with the promise of his gratitude. 

“I promise that you will not regret giving me your trust.” there’s just enough warmth in his voice to make you believe him. 

Your breath catches in your throat when he sinks to his knees in front of you. His hands push your thighs apart – as if you would not part them willingly for him. The tights that still covers your underwear are ripped just a moment later, and you are bared to him entirely. 

His fingers trail up the insides of your thighs, with his lips following just behind them. A single finger traces across your opening, giving you something of a taste of what’s to come. Before long, his lips seal across your already sensitive clit. Your head tips back immediately. Unable to bring yourself to look at him, you allow yourself to become fully submerged in the attention he gives you. The feeling of his tongue lavishing across your folds makes your head spin. He’s meticulous, paying close attention to every minute sound you make. A whine breaks from your lips when he slowly eases a single finger into you. Your hand flies into his hair, desperate to find some kind of purchases – some kind of grip on reality. 

Joakim is relentless, though. 

One finger soon becomes two as he continues to work you closer and closer towards your climax. Eventually, you force yourself to look at him. When you do, you find him already looking up at you. You find a sense of what you can only describe as admiration on his face. And it’s only then that his lips leave you for the first time. 

“You’re even more gorgeous like this, my darling. Trusting me so easily, even when you know what I am.” he presses a kiss against the inside of your thigh, “Can you finish like this or do you need more?”

“This is good.” you reply breathlessly. 

Another kiss to your thigh, “Good. Just let me make you feel good.”

He returns to his previous efforts, burying his face between your thighs once more. This time, you can’t keep yourself upright and slowly lower yourself onto the surface of the table. The overwhelming ecstasy takes over your mind bit by bit. 

Your breathless sighs quickly develop into shameless moans. One hand returns to his hair, keeping him attached to you as best as you can. The other trails up your own body until it covers your breast. Through the fabric, you can barely feel your own touch, but it’s enough to make your back arch off the table. You’re sure that you can hear Joakim moan against your folds when your pussy clenches around his fingers. And it only seems to make him double down on his efforts. 

It’s not long before you can feel yourself getting dangerously close to the edge of your climax. And when it hits you, it seems to ripple through you like endless waves. His unyielding touch drives you through it, pushing you ever higher. You can’t bring yourself to worry about the noise you’re making. With the party still raging outside the library, you’re sure that no one will hear what is happening in here. 

Joakim doesn’t seem to be satisfied with feeling you finish just once, and remains where he is until pleasure overwhelms you once again. Only then do his lips detach from you. He remains on his knees for a while longer, with his fingers tracing indistinguishable patters against the skin of your thigh. 

Your chest still heaves with laboured breaths when he rises to his feet again. You watch as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, cleaning the residue of your climax from his skin. He looks at you for a long while, seemingly just as affected by the whole thing as you are. 

“Thank you, my dearest.” he says softly. 

Joakim places his hand atop your thigh, his thumb idly drifting across your skin. He reaches out to you, helping you sit up once again. 

You feel yourself shudder in the chill air of the library. You had been so occupied that you had barely noticed how cold the room actually way. 

He notices immediately.

 “Come with me.” he offers quickly. 

Joakim guides you towards the settee by the large window on the far side of the room. The hand he has placed on the small of your back is incredibly comforting. As soon as you’ve sat down, he places a thick, knit blanket across your shoulders. 

“I will have them bring out something to eat for you.” He sits down next to you, shifting so that he can look at you properly, “You know what comes next, right?”

Suddenly you feel a little insecure about the whole thing. 

What if this was just a ploy after all? 

“The – blood?” you ask hesitantly. 

He nods, “I promise that it will only sting a little, after that you’ll feel a little dizzy. But I’ll be right here, nothing bad will happen to you.” Joakim takes your hands into his, “If you wish to leave now, you may. I will not hold it against you.”

You consider your options for a moment. 

Leaving now might mean that you’ll never see him again, and you can’t imagine that. 

“I want to stay.” you say then, feeling surprisingly firm in your decision. 

He smiles softly, “I hoped that you would say that. Come a little closer, will you?”

You scoot closer and find yourself ushered into his lap. 

“Lean your head back, dear.” 

You do as he asks, tilting your head back just enough for him to be able to reach your neck. His lips find your skin once again, placing the gentlest kisses there. Joakim places a hand behind your head, keeping it in place so carefully. He pulls back for a moment before you feel it for the first time. Sharp teeth graze against your skin, and you can’t stop the whimper that falls from you. 

Joakim’s hand soothes against your side, keeping you just distracted enough to stop you from moving when his fangs sink into your skin. 

A gasp falls from you. 

The sensation is so dizzying. 

You can feel a trickle of your own blood run down your neck until it pools in the dip of your clavicle. The hand at the back of your hand combs through your hair. But the sensation slowly fades into the background as your mind begins to swim. You can’t tell if you should stop him, or if this is just a normal part of this. You force your eyes open just to find the room swimming. 

You reach out, placing your hand against his forearm, hoping that the touch will reach him. Joakim doesn’t react immediately. It takes another squeeze of your hand for him to pull away. 

You catch a glimpse of his tongue darting out to catch a droplet of blood that threatens to escape him. You hadn’t noticed it before, but seeing him now – after he had fed on you – he looks a lot more refreshed, the gentle creases in his skin have smoothed out and there’s an undeniable light in his eyes. 

His head drops nevertheless, “I’m sorry dear, if it had not been for your intervention – I have never tasted anyone as sweet as you. Please forgive me.” 

You place a shaking hand against his cheek, silently giving him the forgiveness he’d asked for. Despite all of that, you feel impossibly faint and a moment later your vision goes dark. 

You wake to an empty room. It’s richly decorated in reds and golds, lush green plants placed in various places. Heavy curtains obscure the outside world from your vision and really there is not telling what time of day it is. 

The bed you find yourself in is softer than anything you’ve felt before, and you’re sure that the pillows and duvet are filled with real down. You have no idea how much time has passed since – the events of the previous night flood back into your mind. Your fingers find the side of your neck and with that the two circular marks that, without a doubt, prove what had happened. 

Your body feels impossibly heavy when you lift yourself out of bed. It’s only now that you realise that someone had dressed you in a soft set of pyjamas. From the bed, you make your way towards the large mirror that covers a good part of the wall in front of the bed. You briefly wonder why a vampire would keep mirrors in his home when he had no obvious use for them. 

Glancing at your reflection, you can’t detect any immediate changes to your appearance, except for the two marks and a few bruises that litter your skin in several places. 

You don’t immediately notice Joakim entering the room to your left. Although you can’t see anything in the mirror, you can feel his arms wrapping around your middle. Looking across your shoulder, you confirm that he is, in fact, standing behind you.

“Did you sleep alright?” he asks then, “You passed out last night. It felt only right to let you rest here, considering that it was my fault.” 

“I don’t think I’ve slept this good in ages.” 

His laugh rumbles through your chest, “Good. Would you like to have breakfast?” 

“Please. I feel like I’m starving.” 

His arms tighten around you, “Take all the time you need. I will await you downstairs.” Joakim places a gentle kiss against your cheek, “We will discuss everything else then.” 

You can’t bring yourself to question how the clothes that you find laid out for you are the perfect size, or why the perfume on the dresser is the same one you usually wear. And it doesn’t surprise you that the breakfast spread you find downstairs is exactly to your liking, too. 

Over breakfast, Joakim answers every little question you throw his way without ever giving you the feeling that it’s a silly question. He assures you that the bite would not turn you, which eases your worries quite a bit. 

“Will you return to me, dear?” he asks when you’re ready to leave. 

You don’t know where this will lead you, but you know that you cannot stay away from him. Even when you know so little about him, you cannot imagine yourself not returning here. 

Nothing in you is willing to say no to him. 

“Of course I will.” you finally reply, “I will always come back.” 

taglist: @deathblacksmoke @circle-with-me @sitkowski @ladyveronikawrites @baddestomens

@malice-ov-mercy @chels3a-smile @ferduttini @somebodyels3 @itsafullmoon

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@thisbicc @blackveilomens @sorrowsofsilence

[michaelmilligan]

The Jonmartin manifesto no one asked for but needed to get out

So, I've not been in the tma fandom for long yet, having only listened to it for the first time a few months ago. But from browsing the Jonmartin (and teaholding and jmart) tag regularly, it seems to me like most jonmartin shippers fall into one of these two categories:

They would find each other in every universe; or

It's a miracle they even got together in this universe

(Obviously, that's an oversimplification, and people who express one view in one post can easily hold a different view at another time - these are fictional characters we're talking about after all, and headcanons don't need to be consistent and can even contradict each other. This is just the general vibe I got so far.)

Anyway, I wanted to add my own two cents on the topic, because while I understand where both of these views are coming from, I think neither of them is ultimately correct.

(Putting the rest under a read more - be warned that this is NOT a spoiler-free post, so if you haven't finished listening to TMA yet and you want a spoiler-free experience, you probably shouldn't read this.)

So, before we get to my own opinion, let's first look at where the two options I mentioned above come from, shall we?

"They would find each other in every universe"

Obviously, this view is highly romantic - star-crossed lovers, finding each other again and again. It is both a good foundational basis for AUs, and a ray of hope in the face of the tragedy that is the tma finale.

Of course, concerning the finale, this is a rather different take than concerning AUs (since it would mean the very same characters finding each other again in a different world, not fundamentally different characters, shaped by said other world, also finding each other). And maybe when people express this view, they mean more the finale fix-its than AUs, though I suspect that plenty of people mean both.

It's a nice, comforting thought. And don't we all need some comfort after the finale? Yes, we certainly do. (Except for the people who read only hurt without comfort and angst, I guess. You do you, and I'm glad you're having fun, but personally I do desperately need some comfort, lmao.)

Is this view supported by canon though?

Cynical minds would say no, and personally I'm more inclined to agree with them, though as I've said, for me the truth lies outside of those two rigid stances (somewhere in between, I suppose).

I don't see much in canon which points to Jon and Martin falling in love under any circumstances/in any universe, especially considering their... let's say difficult relationships at the start of the show. But of course we must also take into account the specific circumstances in canon (more on that below) and interpretations vary, and I do very much enjoy AUs, so I'm certainly not trying to throw shade if you're on this side of the 'divide'.

Mostly, I think there CAN be other circumstances in which those two get together, outside the canon ones. (I'm writing a canon-divergent jonmartin fic myself, lol.) Let's get into that while we look at the other view, shall we.

"It's a miracle they even got together in this one"

Ah, the Martin-approved stance. One could say 'well, they literally said it in canon' and be done with it. However, that would require us to believe that the opinions of the characters are always true and correct, which. Lmao. We only have to listen to season 2 of tma to know that this is very much not the case.

And even if S5 Martin is not S2 Jon at the height of his paranoia, he's still very much a man shaped by his own life and experiences. I'm sure he would call himself a realist, but he honestly seems more like a pessimist to me. Which is understandable, given his life, and his association with the Lonely, which has often been (in my opinion accurately) compared to depression.

The thing is, Jon did treat Martin horribly in S1, and then he admittedly treated everyone horribly in S2. It was only in the course of S3 that their relationship got more, let's say, equal, with Jon no longer thinking Martin would be 'contributing nothing but delays'. (And then of course we have S4, which I LOVE even though it hurts me deeply. Then again, that's the whole show. And, obviously, S5 my beloved.)

So. Jon seemed to hate Martin in S1, while Martin was arguably already in love with the man. (Arguably. We do know that he acted catty to Basira in S2, so it's reasonable to assume that he started liking him at some point in S1, or even before the show started.) Then a lot of traumatic things happened, and they got together.

This means it must be the traumatic things that made them compatible, right? Just like Martin says in S5?

Well, one could see it that way. Jon certainly changed over the seasons, coming off his high horse and such. (In S5, he arguably gets back on it quite a bit, but then he IS the Eye's specialest little princess in a world that's literally ruled by it. And also he is slowly losing his grip on his own humanity. But I digress.)

And I do think that the trauma channeled a lot of those changes - the first time we see Jon being actually emotionally open (something he still struggles with over all seasons, because people don't just change fundamentally that quickly) is during Prentiss' attack on the Institute. They're in a situation where they might reasonably die (they even expect it, because they don't know that Elias is just rubbing his greedy little paws as he waits for things to get worse before he saves them with the gas).

I do think that moment could have been a big turning point for Jon and Martin, if it hadn't been immediately followed with the discovery of Gertrude's body, and Jon's subsequent descent into paranoia. Jon opened up, and also saw that Martin was rather competent during the attack, which could have led to them becoming closer, respectively having at least something like a normal work relationship.

But then Jon got paranoid and interpreted everything he saw negatively, including Martin's competence, which was twisted in his mind to 'What if he's just been pretending to be incompetent and is actually an evil agent out to kill the archivist'.

(Big sigh.)

Anyway, before I lose myself in the red string as well: Yes, Jon seems to 'mellow' over the seasons, especially with regard to Martin, at the same time that he's going through terribly traumatic events.

But does that mean that it's actually the trauma that's changing him and his relationships? Partly, certainly, but I would argue that trauma doesn't make you nicer or kinder. It might make you realise some things, but that doesn't mean that you can't realise those things in other ways.

And does it means that they couldn't have come together if they had met under different circumstances? Also not necessarily! I would even argue that the specific circumstances they met under were detrimental to Jon's first impression of Martin. And yes, this goes beyond the dog story.

So let's try and dissect their relationship from the start.

A theory of... something like nuance, or whatever

The starting situation

(Yes, I did have to use a Supernatural gif, thank you for asking. No, I will not apologise. <3)

Alright. So let's start with what we actually know about Jon and Martin's first meeting. Obviously, there's the dog story, though as far as I know that's not 'canon' because it wasn't actually in the podcast. I still like it, and think it adds another reason to Jon's behaviour, though I don't necessarily think it's necessary, because Jon already had lots of other reasons to tell himself that Martin wasn't worth his time.

1.1. Jon has issues. More at 11.

First of all, we learn throughout the podcast that Jon doesn't actually have any qualifications to lead an archive. He's probably 29 when the show starts (in 2016, going by the fandom wiki stating that he was born in 1987, which is reasonable given everything we learn about his age).

So, he's 29 and suddenly appointed, after four years of working in one department, to become the head of a completely different department. He does not have a degree that would give him credentials for leading an archive, nor are we told that he has ever even worked in an archive. For all we know, and that he knows, he is woefully underqualified. (This is also, I think, highlighted in S2 when Jon threatens to resign, only to then be baffled by Elias saying that he would be difficult to replace. Elias means something completely different than his skill set as an archivist with a lower case 'a', presumably, but then Jon doesn't know that.)

This means that Jon is in a highly stressful position, because he's trying to do a job he doesn't actually know how to do, while also trying not to let on that he doesn't know how to do it!

It doesn't help that Jon is also terribly scared of what all might be lurking in the shadows (or even in the light), as he himself admits during the Prentiss attack. He is extremely high-strung from day one, basically a wet chihuahua shaking in a slight breeze, while trying to seem like a strong bulldog.

We also know that Jon asked for two people to be his assistants: Tim and Sasha. They both worked in research, and Sasha also briefly worked in artefact storage, making them both qualified to help Jon with following up on statements. But I think more than their qualifications, Jon probably requested them because he knew and got along with them.

Imagine: Your boss tells you that he's promoting you into a position you're not qualified for and which you have no real clue how to do. Wouldn't you rather have people around you who you're already friendly with, and who are likely to cut you some slack if you're not perfect on day one? I know I would!

1.2. Elias is a little shit and I want to kill him with hammers (affectionately)

And then Elias transfers Martin.

I'm going off the dog story again, because again, I like it, and I think it does fit neatly into canon. If this story is to be believed, Elias neither asked nor did he tell Jon that he was giving him another assistant. He apparently simply told Martin 'you work at the archives now, congratulations' and then went back to his office to smile smugly to himself.

This is a VERY bad start for a working relationship, because not only does Martin come in unannounced, this also comes off as Elias not respecting Jon, or potentially even sending someone to report back to Elias (because Martin is the only one who doesn't have an established rapport with Jon).

Jon never verbalises this suspicion, so maybe this is too much interpretation on my part, but in any case it's cause for a lot of resentment on Jon's part, and since he can't exactly let it out on Elias (who is rarely there, anyway), he simply lets it out on Martin.

He finds reasons to do so, of course, insulting his work and all that. It's probably easy, especially in the beginning, because not unlike Jon, Martin doesn't have any qualifications to work in an archive! He worked at the library before, and we know that his degree is made up (which we can only assume Elias knows, considering he can know almost anything).

(I actually find the question on why Elias transferred Martin in the first place extremely interesting, and might get into that in another post. But this one is already too long, lmao.)

1.3. Martin is too nice, aka Jon has even more issues

This is mostly my personal headcanon, though I do feel it fits Jon's character - which is that he doesn't know how to deal with nice people.

Not kind people. Not friendly people. But nice people.

People who do things seemingly out of the mere goodness of their heart. Like bringing their mean boss tea when he never asked them to do that. Like being friendly even in the face of insults. Someone who constantly takes himself back in favour of other people and their opinions.

People like Martin is appearing to be. Appearing, because Martin isn't actually like that. He does have his opinions, and he could probably grumble up a storm in S1 about Jon, but Jon is his BOSS, and so he plays.

Martin also IS genuinely a nice person most of the time (when he's not on a revenge rampage, making his boyfriend murder people). He doesn't have to do nice things for Jon like bring him tea in S2. But he does. Because that's Martin's way of trying to reach out, to show other people that he means no harm (and that he can be useful).

(I also think that Jon's snappish behaviour, where Martin never quite knows what will set the man off, might remind him off his mum, but again I digress. :))

But I think Jon doesn't know how to deal with that, because even when he's not in the height of paranoia, he still suspects that people who are THAT nice (especially when they have no reason to be nice because he's being an arsehole to them) have a secret agenda. This is playing into what I said under 2 (the part that might be too much interpretation on my side lol), because if Jon suspects that Martin is reporting back to Elias, or is at least someone who would not be friendly if he found out that Jon doesn't know what he's doing, then he can't allow himself to relax around him, and he certainly can't allow himself to be lulled into false security (as Jon would think) around him.

Tl;dr on this point: I think Jon is wary of Martin's niceness because he thinks he might be fishing for gossip/anything he can use against Jon. And even if he isn't, Jon thinks he would be likely to use anything he learns against Jon, because they weren't friends to begin with, and Jon's behaviour has made them anything but that.

(We have to remember that this is the guy who says in S2 that he knows what it's like to 'lack the respect of one's peers', aka the kid who got bullied by at least one older kid, and likely had no or very few friends - plus he believes in the supernatural, which doesn't exactly lend itself well to getting academic respect.)

1.4. They were fucked from the start, your honour

Basically what the meme says, but yeah. The they were put in practically guaranteed that Jon would be wary of Martin, and that Martin would be trying extra hard to make friends with him, which in turn would make Jon even more wary/hostile.

And Elias made it worse, either knowingly or by negligence (not telling Jon about transferring Martin).

If we add the whole dog story to it... they were fucked. I do actually wonder if, assuming we take the dog story as canon, Elias actually somehow managed to set that up. Or whether he was at least cackling (sorry, smiling ever so silently, but smugly) in his office as it happened, or whenever he ended up knowing that it happened.

2. Yes, we've had one starting point, but what about second starting point?

As we have established above, the starting situation for Jon and Martin was... not ideal. So, would they have gotten together easily given a different starting point, like in a cute coffee shop AU?

Eh.

It's true that the specific situation they were in made it a lot harder for them to actually communicate and see each other as they are than it had to be. That doesn't mean that a different situation would have made it easy, though.

Their personalities still make it hard, though, as even without the added stress of a new job, Jon is still a little chihuahua shaking in the corner, who tries to make up for it by barking at everyone, and Martin is still the guy trying to approach him with treats and getting his hand bitten.

There are certainly specific situation that could make it easier, especially if Jon isn't scared as hell, and has maybe already learned that not everyone who does something nice for him wants to just pull on his strings. (Yes, I do think that the thing that makes Martin, according to Annabelle, suited for the Web, is the thing that put Jon on edge at the beginning. I don't know if this was intended at all, but it makes me cackle.)

The beauty of fanfic is that we can do whatever the hell we want. But I think the most fun thing an AU author can do is think 'What would have to happen, in this specific scenario, for these two to get over themselves and get together?'

Excursion: Martin, my beloved depressed blorbo who I am certainly not projecting on, haha

Because it IS both of them who need to get over themselves. Of course Jon's issues are the most obvious, and I've certainly expanded on them enough. But Martin also has a problem, and it's that he's constantly hiding his true feelings and opinions, especially anger and fear.

That makes sense, perhaps, in a workplace, though considering he's dealing with a walking, talking worm hive and a stalker boss... Let's just say it probably would have helped Tim, too, if Martin hadn't been so desperate to make everyone be friends again.

Because Martin is always TRYING to make everything better for everyone, but he's actually not helping anyone. Being nice to Jon and bringing him tea doesn't help battle his paranoia. And trying to tell Tim not to be so angry at Jon, and can't they all be friends, doesn't actually help Tim with his anger.

All Martin is essentially doing is making himself small and saying 'let's get along, pretty please' every now and then. I don't know if it would have helped if he had expressed his own fears and anger, and maybe Jon would have misconstrued that as well, too deep in his paranoia already. But at least Tim might have realised that he was not alone in all this. (His biggest problem, as he says in S2, is that he feels that no one has his back, which I think at least partly results from no one expressing the same anger, aka no one validating his feelings.)

Anyway! (Jon voice) Excursion ends.

3. (To the melody of 'What shall we do with the drunken sailor') What shall we do with these total idiots?

So, how ARE these two going to get together, if they're so woefully unequipped to deal with each other?

Well, first we need to give Martin a good helping of self-confidence. Then we need to kind of give Jon the same, since his problem ALSO is that he's unsure of himself, he just tries to make other people small to cover it up, instead of making himself small. (And isn't that a funny thing to do for someone who we know was bullied. To become a bully himself. Oh, the snake, biting its own tail...)

The easy answer is, of course: You can come up with your own version, get creative. <3

The more complex answer is: A lot of stuff, probably. Jon and Martin will certainly need time to get to know each other, and of course it depends on what situation you put them in to start. But there will be misunderstandings, and there will be hurt feelings, and I am going to soak it up all like a particularly slowburn-greedy sponge.

I feel like there are probably five million ways to get them together, and some might be cute and fluffy (if they go to therapy first, I guess, lol) and many will be full of tears. <3 (Jon voice) And I want to see them all on my desk by Friday! So get to it!

In all seriousness though, yeah, I think there's not one right way for them to get together (though canon did it well imo). But it's also a little more complex than we might give it credit to (very much including me).

4. So what now?

I don't know. I'm not your dad. Write a fic. Draw a picture. Put down your own thoughts on the matter. Or take a shower and clean up your room, young Padawan!

(Though actually, if you've read this post from start to finish in one session, what you should probably do is get up and stretch and get some water.)

And above all! And this is imperative.

Have a good day. <3

[fortisfilia]

Promised Part 13 - Tom Riddle x reader

Info: This is a rewrite of a story I've posted on my old account years ago. If it sounds familiar, that might be why :)

Summary: In this story, Tom didn't grow up as an orphan, but with his grandfather and uncle. Reader's sister got very sick and the Gaunts offer their help. But not without asking for something in return.

Warnings: Arranged marriage

Word count: 3k

Masterpost | Masterlist | Part 12 | Part 14

Part 13 - Pranks and proper Paybacks

The quill in your hand scratched lightly over the parchment as you were taking notes for Astronomy in the library. It was quiet, as usual, except for the occasional questions and thereof resulting explanations between Ben and Camille. She helped him study for his upcoming Herbology exam, for which he clearly hadn’t revised enough yet. Silly boy.

Tom was there too and sat next to you, completing the quartet round the table. He tried his best not to hiss at them every time Ben asked something. You noticed from the corner of your eye, how he gulped down every thought that built up in his head when another word poured from Ben’s mouth. It was amusing seeing Tom battling with himself to keep his cool. He still didn’t like Ben very much and would much rather study with you alone. But the fact that he had voluntarily sat down with the three of you, tried to behave and didn’t yell at Ben whenever he opened his mouth, was a sign that he probably didn’t hate him as much as he pretended to.

“So, about the Fluxweed again,” Ben whispered, browsing through his book. “How many days does it have to grow?”

Camille was about to answer when Tom pressed his palm against his forehead and exhaled dramatically. “Sixteen, Ben. It’s sixteen. She’s told you that three times at least.”

Ben took a quick look at Tom, while still fumbling through the book. “I know, mate. I just can’t memorise it. Why do I even need to know that?”

Tom flung a piece of parchment toward him, pointing at the empty sheet. “Write it down, then. There are some things you must know. Get over it.”

“Alright, alright,” Ben grinned, apparently not caring about Tom’s tone at all. “I’ll write it down, see? Fluxweed takes thirteen days to grow. Happy now?”

“Sixteen,” Camille, Tom and you sighed in unison.

“Oh.” He crossed out the number and sloppily wrote the correct one above it. “Sixteen then.”

Camille and you chuckled to yourselves while Tom only shook his head slightly, his eyes back inside his own book. Ben certainly was careless, or to be more precise, a lot more careless than Camille, Tom and you when it came to grades. The way he talked about homework and even exams was astonishing. He hadn’t even studied for his O.W.L. in Care for Magical Creatures in his fifth year, and he still got an ‘Exceeds Expectations’. Or so he had told you. He'd always found a way to talk his way out of things, unsurprisingly. Teachers really seemed to like him. Or rather do anything to stop him from talking once in a while. 

“Oh, wait,” Ben said again.

“Just read your book,” Tom grunted.

“No, hang on.”

Ben stood up and stretched his arm out quickly, reaching and grasping for something to your left. You all turned your heads and saw him catching something that had been flying right at you.

“I might be bad at Herbology. But you’re lucky I’m a bloody good Seeker,” he said and twisted the thin thing between his fingers.

“What is it?” Camille asked. “Let me see.”

Ben put the thing down on the desk, still pressing his index finger on top of it. “It’s a quill. I think it’s jinxed. It was flying on its own and headed right for your face,” he said and looked at you. “Still wants to, I can feel it moving.”

The grey quill twitched eagerly beneath Ben’s hand, trying to escape and pointed its sharp tip right at you, ready to pierce into your skin. 

“Not again,” you mumbled.

“Again?” 

Things, odd things, had been happening during the week. Someone had played some pranks and antics on you. You hadn’t found out who it was yet, but it certainly had become pesky. On Monday, someone had left you a note that said Professor Merrythought wanted a word with you. Once you had arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, however, you were met with a confused teacher and had a hard time explaining yourself. Tuesday, someone had poured Rash Powder over your dinner. You had almost taken a bite but thankfully had noticed the unfamiliar smell in time. Wednesday was more subtle. There had been puddles and slippery spots everywhere you stepped. Avoiding them had been a tedious task. And now, on Thursday, this. The quill didn’t look like it could badly injure you, but its vivid nature was a sign for a hex, rather than a jinx. No matter who it was, all those things did tear on your nerves. Not only because the pranks got to you, but because there was a possibility someone had been following you without you noticing. Every time you had gone to the Come and Go Room you had turned around and checked if someone was behind you, just in case. That was the exhausting part.

“Just some pranks,” you explained. “I don’t know who or why, but it’s getting fairly ridiculous.”

“Could someone”-Ben puffed-“stop this thing? It’s trying to escape.”

Tom pointed his wand directly at the quill and rolled his wrist. It lit up for a fraction of a second and crumbled to dust right after.

“Ouch,” Ben yelped and fanned his hand through the air hastily before putting his index inside his mouth. “Thanks, mate.”

Tom smirked, partly for the spell he had just cast and partly for burning Ben’s fingertip. “Anytime, mate.”

Camille dragged her finger through the ashes, took a good look at them and rubbed it off between her index and her thumb. “Who would do that?”

“I don’t know,” you answered.

“Avery and Lestrange again, perhaps?”

“Unlikely,” Tom said. “I checked on them some days ago. They’re still with Carpe most of the time, scrubbing the floors and polishing trophies. And besides, they wouldn’t dare.”

“Who else could it be then?” Camille asked as she blew the remaining ashes off the desk with a quick cleaning spell.

The four of you exchanged looks around the table. “To be honest,” Tom began. “I was suspecting you for a while, Ben.”

“Me?” Ben asked wide-eyed. “Why would I do that? I just stopped that quill.”

“‘I’m aware, I’ve seen that now.”

Camille hummed, deep in thought. “Wait,” she said. “What about Freda? Freda Morris.”

“The head girl?” Ben asked.

“Yes,” she said. “She was so jealous at Slughorn’s party, wasn’t she?”

Tom looked at you, biting on the inside of his lower lip, then nodded. “That doesn’t sound too far-fetched.”

“I wouldn’t have thought she’d be so creative,” you said while picking up your books. “Well, I’ll keep an eye on her then.”

Once you had gathered your things, you got up and waited for Tom to do the same.

“Where are you going?” Camille asked. “It’s not even seven yet.”

“I have to,” you stopped yourself. You had to tend to the potion in the Come and Go Room again. Needless to say, you couldn’t tell them that. “I have to go and look after Nagini. The snake. She’s shedding at the moment. Talk to you soon.”

“Let us know if something else happens,” Camille said and waved you goodbye. 

Tom followed you silently. Of course, they didn’t ask him why he had to come and check on Nagini as well. The perks of being intimidating. Apart from this, Camille and Ben surely didn’t mind studying without him nagging all the time.

On your way out, right when you left the library and headed toward the grand staircase, Tom and you were halted by another student. Platinum blonde and blue-eyed, Abraxas Malfoy, who was one of Tom’s ever so devious sycophants, locked eyes with him. 

“Tom,” he greeted and stopped right in his tracks.

“Abraxas,” Tom replied.

Oh, what did he want now? There wasn’t a lot of time until the potion had to be stirred, so hopefully Malfoy wouldn’t keep you from going any longer.

“So,” Abraxas began. “I’ve seen, you like to keep new company these days.”

Tom frowned and looked over his shoulder. Clearly, Abraxas didn’t mean you. “What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything,” he said and chortled a sour laugh. “I’m just observing. You’re dealing with mudbloods now?”

He was talking about Ben. Malfoy and Tom’s other ‘friends’ had probably seen you in the library together. Or in the Three Broomsticks, some weeks ago. Abraxas must have felt really brave to talk to the head boy in this way. His chest was swollen with pride and the glint in his gaze spoke more than he could have ever said. He was out to get something from this conversation.

Tom only exhaled sharply and stared back at Malfoy, unconcerned about his reproach. “And how come that’s any of your business, exactly?”

“Oh, it isn’t of course,” Abraxas answered. “I was just surprised. Shocked even.”

“I do apologize,” Tom sneered, clicking his tongue in fake sympathy. “That the gathering of other people, who don’t concern you in the slightest, has ruined your precious day.”

Abraxas stared back at him, obviously trying hard to keep calm. His smile still sat neatly on his face; it was his eyes that betrayed him. “No need to worry about me. I merely started thinking, daydreaming, that your Grandfather might not appreciate that.”

Tom took a step closer, his nostrils flared for a moment and a vein on his neck stood out. “Abraxas,” he whispered so spitefully, it almost sounded like he was talking in Parseltongue, words spilling out of him like pure venom. “I’d advise you to worry about your own life. Because if you don’t, wouldn’t it be tragic if your Mother found out what happened last year at your house? When the maid left and never came back? What was the reason again? If only I remembered. Oh, I do.”

Malfoy’s expression changed momentarily, his head sunk and his eyes darted across the floor, trying hard to think of what to answer.

“Do we understand each other?” Tom asked.

Abraxas nodded, lips thin and full of fury. He instinctively retracted and took a step back, keeping his head low and looked up at Tom through knitted brows.

“Good,” Tom said and left Malfoy standing there. 

Continuing to walk to the grand staircase, he appeared like nothing but a casual chat between two friends had just happened. 

“Well,” you said after Abraxas was out of earshot. “That was interesting.”

“They’re all so stupid, sometimes I wonder how they’ve lived this long,” Tom replied. “I have dirt on every single one of them. And they try to blackmail me. Ridiculous.”

“Idiots indeed,” you shook your head. “Do I want to know what happened to the maid?”

“You don’t. It’s a long, repulsive story.”

No doubt it was. Abraxas was known for his dreadful ways and how he had tormented younger students ever since. He wasn’t like Avery or Lestrange, a dumb follower, who had Hippogriff crap for brains. No, he was mindful, awfully aware of his surroundings and constantly seemed to brood about his next step. He reminded you of Marvolo, they both had the same aura, cold and demeaning, always looking for ways to take advantage of other people’s misery. It was no surprise that he had tried to intimidate Tom, maybe even pass him in their hierarchy by threatening to tell everyone about his association with a muggle-born. But he hadn’t thought it through. Tom Riddle wasn’t one to mess with and he had just made that crystal clear. Ben might have not been his friend, but still, he hadn’t let Abraxas speak ill of him.

“I wouldn’t have thought you liked Ben,” you said once you turned another corner.

Tom opened his mouth and looked at you in disbelief for a moment, as if you had just insulted him, before he started talking. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, it just seemed like it. You came to his defence so quickly. That’s why I assumed.”

“This wasn’t about Hilt. It was about me, Marvolo and that bootlicker Malfoy.”

“Whatever you say,” you grinned while Tom rolled his eyes.

Friday evolved to be the worst day of the week. Not only had you almost gotten detention for falling victim to a Knockback jinx during Defence Against the Dark Arts if Camille hadn’t come to your rescue. Professor Merrythought still hadn’t forgotten about your visit on Monday and thought you were trying to disturb her lesson again. But in addition, your curriculum almost hindered you from tending to your potion completely. It had become nearly impossible to handle everything at once. Your classes, homework, studying for the N.E.W.T.s, taking care of the antidote and on top of all that, those stupid pranks. It had been draining and your body ached for a bit of rest. 

On your way to Tom’s dorm, when the sun had already set and you were finally done with everything for the day, you heard the clink of a door handle turning behind you. It almost had gone overheard, the only thing you wanted to do was sit down for a moment and unwind, even if only for an hour. You had already reached the door to Tom’s room and could have just entered to forget about the world for a while. But there was this unsettling feeling inside of you and Camille’s words from the library ran through your head again. You turned around. And thank Merlin you did.

Freda Morris stood in her door frame, smirking with her wand pointed right at you. She must have been taken by surprise, it didn’t seem like she had expected you to look at her. Her wand sank in an instant before she hid it behind her back.

“You,” you muttered, taking some steps her way. “It was you all week, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, mocking you with a smile.

“Just admit it at least. Coward. You know exactly what I’m talking about and you were just trying to do it again, weren’t you?”

Freda shook her head and put a strand of hair behind her ear with her skinny fingers. “I’m head girl, dear. I would never do anything to harm another student if that is what you’re implying. I don’t know what could have given you the idea.”

“Oh shut up,” you spat. “Head girl, yes. An awful excuse for one at best.”

The door behind you opened and Tom appeared from inside. He looked out into the hallway frowning. “What’s all that noise about?”

“Your fiancée’s throwing a fit.”

“Camille was right,” you said, still not taking your eyes off Freda. “It was her. The note, the quill and everything else. I just caught her right in the act.”

Freda heaved one single, shrill laugh at your words and straightened her posture. “I just told you, I would never do such things.”

“What were you doing then? Pointing your wand at me, when I have my back turned on you.”

She pondered, taken aback, while she looked at Tom beside you until her grin appeared back on her face. “You’re imagining things. I was just leaving my room to go and talk to Professor Dippet. That’s when you started to yell at me for no reason.”

“Liar!”

She didn’t lower herself to even look at you anymore. Instead, she looked at Tom. “Is this really what you look for in a woman? Hysterical and hostile? I would have thought you had better taste.”

The need to go up to her and slap her across the face seemed almost unbearable. Your hands were balled into fists and it took all your might not to take out your wand and pay her back everything she had done to you, times ten. Tom on the other hand stayed calm and smiled weakly while looking back at her.

“Don’t worry about my taste, Freda,” he said. “I’d rather worry about your memory. Maybe you haven’t been informed, which would be very unfortunate seeing that you are head girl, but Professor Dippet isn’t in Hogwarts today. He’s been called in by the Wizengamot. How could you have been on your way to him then?”

Freda’s smile faltered, her eyes darting back and forth between Tom and you. “I must have not gotten his owl then.”

“Certainly,” Tom said. “I want a word. Now.”

“No,” you intervened and he stopped his movements to look at you. “I can do this myself.”

Tom stepped back with a small smirk on his face. Freda was in for a treat. You walked up to her until there was only a hand’s breadth of space between your faces.

“Listen now,” you said, your heart pumping strongly inside your chest. “I don’t know what you were thinking. If you were thinking. But I swear, if you ever play another of your pranks on me again, I-”

“You what?” she asked and shoved you by the shoulder. “Do you think I’m scared of you?”

The moment she had touched you, you felt something moving by your feet. Nagini had slithered out through Tom’s open door and hissed louder than you had ever heard before. Freda gasped and took several steps backwards, startled by the snake. Nagini placed herself between the two of you and reared up, looking as huge and aggressive as ever. Her hisses were meant for one person only and when you looked back at Tom, you recognised that he wasn’t talking to the snake. She had come to your defence on her own.

“Take that thing away,” Freda yelled. “Make it stop.”

“Or what?” you asked. “You might have not been scared of me yet, but I promise you, give me one more reason and you will be.”

She didn’t dare answer, still looking down at Nagini in utmost panic and trying to foresee every move the snake was about to make. You savoured on the sight for a moment, fervently enjoying how Freda fumbled for the doorknob behind herself.

“Come Nagini,” you then said as you turned around. “Leave her alone. For now.”

Masterpost | Masterlist | Part 14

Tags: @ariachaos @daardyrnitta

[victoria-daydreams]

Compliments to the Chef

AN: It's here people! I floated the idea and you all demanded it be written. Don't care if there's any inaccuracies about fine dining culture or rules, we're all here for Chef Luca. If you commented on my original post I went ahead and tagged you. I wrote this on my phone because I'm on vacation so excuse any typos or errors.

Taglist: @chiddybangchiddy @emjayewrites @ay0nha @adorabubblesblog @ayoarticulate @blowmymbackout

Word Count: 4.4k

Prompt: Thinking thoughts about writing a fic with Chef Luca from The Bear involving an black!oc/black!reader on a study abroad trip in Copenhagen and them falling for each other.

"How do you even function in this weather?"

The coldness of December in Copenhagen could be quite unbearable at times. In her thick peacoat, Dannie shivered as snow gently fell to the ground in large, fluffy clusters. The tingle of cold air on her golden brown skin felt as if someone was jabbing needles all over her body. It was an unfathomably cold evening and Dannie began to wonder if this outing was worth it.

Aya, a native to the country, only laughed and tugged at the thick knitted scarf around her neck. "You want my scarf?" she questioned, smirking at the American.

Glancing at her friend, red-cheeked from the cold, with snow falling in her dark, springy curls, Dannie shook her head.

"Don't think that will change me freezing my ass off," Dannie retorted, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to maintain some warmth.

Aya laughed again in response, "Come on, we're almost there," she said, linking her arm with Dannie.

Dannie's teeth clattered as the cold wind continued to permeate her coat and her wool sweater. Stiffly, she walked with Aya, her shoes crunching loudly against the snowy cobblestones underfoot. Despite the frigid temperature and the feeling of being frozen to the bone, it was beautiful day in the capital of Denmark. As far as the eye could see, picturesque buildings lined the streets in colorful rows. The vibrant colors of the architecture reminded Dannie of cakes and other tasty pastries. The two women passed by cafes which littered the narrow streets of the snowy city, filled with tourists and locals of all ethnicities and nationalities.

Finally, they arrived at the restaurant, its name written in Danish. Savory scents and muted conversations greeted Dannie as Aya spoke with the host about her reservation. Without a doubt, this was the most expensive restaurant she'd ever been to in her life just based off the interior. After taking their coats, the host showed Aya and Dannie to their table, which offered a splendid view of Copenhagen. A glass of water was poured for her followed by a menu being placed into her hands. Browsing the menu, Dannie's eyes nearly bulged at the prices of dessert alone.

"Aya, why does a desert cost damn near an arm and a leg?" Dannie asked, her brows raising in disbelief.

"Because it’s 'fine dining'," Aya explained simply. "Don't stress about prices tonight," she reassured, with a dismissive hand wave. "It's your birthday, I'm treating you remember?" she reminded.

"Aya, I love you, but I'm helping you pay for this," Dannie stated firmly, placing her hand over her heart. "I refuse to let you break your bank account over a tiny portion of food and dessert," she added jokingly.

"Aya?" a British voice called.

Dannie's eyes flitted over Aya's shoulder to see man dressed in a fitted navy blue shirt and black slacks with a black apron tied around his neck. Aya turned in her chair, her face lighting in recognition.

"Luka! Hej!" she exclaimed, waving him over.

Approaching their table, Dannie realized that this Luca was nothing short of a heartthrob. Strikingly warm blue eyes, tousled blond hair, and not to mention his wide and undeniably strong frame.

"It is so good to see you here again!" Luca said, smiling at her.

Playfully she rolled her eyes, "You don’t know how long I remained on the waiting list to eat here again," she quipped, standing up to give him a quick hug.

"I see you brought a friend this time," he noted, as Aya pulled away from him.

"Yes! This is Dannie, she's studying abroad here and today is her 26th birthday, so we're celebrating!" Aya introduced excitedly. "Dannie, this is Luca, my chef friend I've been telling you so much about!" she said, gesturing towards him.

Dannie gave him a shy smile and offered her hand to shake as Aya sat down.

"A pleasure to meet you Luca, I’ve heard so much about you," Dannie said, her voice laced with the warm southern twang she was born with.

"First, a happy birthday is in order, I cannot think of a better place to attend for such a special occasion," he responded, mirroring her smile. "And hopefully Aya here has only been saying good things," he joked, glancing at her before reaching for Dannie's hand.

The moment their hands brushed against each other, Dannie felt Luca slightly jump at the sensation.

"Good god, your hands are freezing," Luca commented, letting out a chuckle and moving his right hand to the other side of hers. "You need a warm drink in you," he said, in that thick accent of his sending a shiver down her spine.

"Well, I wouldn’t mind a hot chocolate, if a fine dining establishment like this can manage it?" Dannie suggested, enjoying the heat from his hands engulfing her own.

Luca's mouth curled upward and nodded, "Yeah, I think I can manage that just fine," he assured, rubbing small circles against her skin. "I'm sure the kitchen has everything I need for this special request," he informed. "Anything for you—as friend of Aya's," he added quickly.

If Dannie’s was not mistaken, there was a hint of red he saw on the man's lightly freckled cheeks.

"I will be sure to get that out you, Dannie," he promised.

"Thank you Chef Luca,"

Reluctantly, Dannie pulled her hand from his grasp. Silence lingered between them for a moment and blue eyes stared unblinking into dark brown eyes. His intense eyes sent another pleasurable shiver down Dannie’s spine. That look…God, it made the temperature in the room increase by at least five degrees. Aya sharply cleared her throat, snapping them from their heated gaze.

"Right," Luca began, clearing his throat himself. "One hot chocolate coming right up for the birthday girl," he said, with a grin before leaving for the kitchen.

Dannie watched his form retreat. Luca went to rub the back of his neck, clearly feeling sheepish. Three quick snaps drew Dannie’s attention back in front of her to Aya grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Girllll," Aya sung, her eyebrows raised high. "What was that?" she asked, leaning her body forward. "Did I just inadvertently play matchmaker? Is this love at the first sight?" she questioned.

"Listen, it may not be love at first sight, but…” Dannie answered, taking both of Aya's hand. "The spirit of Tamera has fully possessed my body!" she joked, causing both of them to quietly squeal together and lightly stomp their feet on the floor.

~~~x~~~

An hour later

"This has been one of the best meals I have ever tasted in my entire life," Dannie stated, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

Aya hummed in agreement, "Including the specially made hot chocolate?" she asked teasingly, wriggling her eyebrows.

"Yes, the hot chocolate too," Dannie agreed with exasperation, rolling her eyes and laughing.

"Maybe we should send our compliments to the chef, personally," Aya suggested, a mischievous expression on her face.

"No!" Dannie whispered, her face growing hot at the mere thought of Luca coming back to the table.

"Why the fuck not?" she whispered back. "You two were practically eye fucking each other in front of me earlier," she pointed out.

"Okay, but—"

"Excuse me," Aya called, cutting Dannie off and a maître d' promptly was at their table. "The dessert was absolutely phenomenal. My friend here would like to personally send her compliments to the chef who made it," she explained, a barely hidden smirk on her lips.

"Of course, ma'am,"

Feeling utterly mortified, Dannie had taken to hiding her face behind her hand.

"Why would you do that?" Dannie asked, her hand sliding down to cover half her mouth.

"Come on, you’ll thank me later," Aya dismissed, picking up her wine glass. "You and Luca would be such a hot couple together," she said, before sipping her dry red.

"Really?" Dannie asked skeptically.

"Yes bitch!" Aya responded, almost in disbelief she had to answer that.

Dannie grabbed her own wine glass and raised it to her lips, thinking of Luca. His warm demeanor was definitely an attractive trait, as well as his prowess in baking such delicious treats. Any woman with a pulse will find that trait irresistible in a man.

"I was told I've been summoned,"

The sound of a British accent instantly snapped from Dannie from her musings and straighten up her posture. Looking up, Luca was at their table and smiling at the two of them, his hands folded behind his back.

"Yes, hello Chef Luca!" Aya greeted, with a knowing grin. "The dessert was to die for!" she complimented. "Dannie and I just had to tell you in person. Right Dannie?" she asked, nodding encouragingly.

"Everything was superb, Chef Luca," Dannie agreed, "Thank you,"

"You're very welcome and thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it," he said.

"Before you go Luca, could you tell the maître d we're ready for the check?" Aya said.

"Ah, yes the check," he replied. "I already have it here," he informed, unfolding his arms and giving the little black book to Dannie.

Opening the book, let out a small gasp of surprise. The receipt showed a balance of zero.

"Are you kidding me?" Dannie asked, glancing back up at him.

"The chef heard it's your first time in Copenhagen, wanted to make this an unforgettable experience," Luca explained.

"Job well done, I'll say," Dannie retorted, chuckling a little. "I fear wherever I go next in Copenhagen nothing will hold a candle to this,"

"Well, I know my way around the city pretty well," Luca began. "I can show you some spots that will blow you away, if you’ll let me," he offered, smiling shyly.

Dannie nodded vigorously with a smile, "That would be amazing, Luca. Thank you," she said, mindlessly playing with her ginger dyed hair.

Luca’a face seemed to brighten and a faint blush starting to cross his cheeks, "Saturday?" he questioned.

Dannie took the pen from the checkbook and wrote her phone number on the receipt.

"Saturday,"

~~~x~~~

Saturday

Dannie loved farmers markets. There was always just a magical feel when she visited one. Now, compound that with the fact that she was in a different country during Christmastime and she might as well been in Winter Wonderland. Above, the sun shone uninhibited in a perfect, cloudless blue sky. With a gentle breeze, snow from the ground and buildings swirled past Dannie as tiny crystals. She could not envision a more perfect day for a first date.

"I think you're a mind reader Luca," Dannie said, stealing a glance at him. "I absolutely adore farmers markets," she informed, with a smile.

"I promised I'd show you the best spots in the city, didn't I?" he reminded, their arms brushing against each other as they walked side by side.

She nodded, "You did," she agreed. "Keeping promises, a good quality to possess. I like that in a man," she stated, their arms brushing again.

Luca smirked, "Noted," he said, smoothly lacing his fingers with hers.

Dannie’s heart fluttered, her chest blossoming with warmth. She could've just melted right into a puddle at that very moment. They made their way deeper into the busy market, walking through the narrow lane as the mouthwatering aroma of roasted chestnuts and mulled wine was soon thick in the air.

Along a few connecting streets, each road was dedicated to different vendors. One street was filled with paintings and handmade jewelry. Another street had fresh produce and jams. While a different different part of the market was selling hot food based on scent alone from how strong it was.

"You know," Luca began. "Aya said you were studying abroad, but you never said what for," he said.

She chuckled, "You're right, we knew you were needed in the kitchen, so our conversation was pretty limited," Dannie recalled, with a nod. "History, that’s what's I’m here. I’m a history major,"

"Ooh, not my best subject," he mentioned, laughing lightly. "History class use to always put me to sleep," he joked.

"Why does everyone say that!" Dannie exclaimed lightly, laughing a little. "You mean to tell me there was never a time period you learned about and just became obsessed with it?" she asked,

"I became obsessed with baking at a young age," he answered. "You, on the other hand, are a true history buff. I can tell just by how excited you’re getting," he stated. "So, tell me, what are your favorite periods to study?" he asked.

"It’s World War I followed by the Roaring 20s, then World War II, lastly the 50s and 60s," Dannie listed, using her free hand to count them off. "I dabble in The Gilded Age as well," she added, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know something within me just gravitated to those periods the moment I learned about them in school. I think it’s mainly the aesthetics, fashion, and music," she explained, smiling softly. "To be clear though, I would never want to live through those eras. The world is hostile enough to Black people as it is. I can hardly imagine what it was like back then," she finished, raising a finger.

When Luca didn't reply after a beat, Dannie began to internally panic thinking she said something wrong.

"Oh no, did I kill the vibe?" Dannie asked, with a horrified expression. "I swear every time I speak about my love of history it always somehow results in vibe killing,"

"No, no," Luca reassured. "I'm just admiring how cute you are nerding out over history, I do the same when it comes to cooking," he explained, with a grin.

"Well, join me in my cuteness and tell me what made you nerd out over cooking," Dannie said, playfully bumping his shoulder.

"I fear the amount of time that would take would consume our whole date," Luca joked.

"And I want to hear every second of it," Dannie said. "I'm dying to know how the man next to me became the esteemed Chef Luca,"

"Alright, you asked for it," he said, letting out a chuckle.

Listening with her full attention, Dannie learned from Luca how at a very young age he’s always had a passion for cooking and because of that he was able to hone in on his skills. Of course, this led to Luca thinking he was ‘the shit’ by the time he got to culinary school, carrying a major chip on his shoulder. That chip stayed him as he progressed into his career until he was unintentionally humbled by another chef after witnessing their skills in the kitchen. Without working with this chef, Luca swears he would not be where he is now had it not been from him.

"So, a slice of humble pie did the trick, huh?" Dannie concluded, her tone teasing.

"Yeah, yeah it did," Luca admitted, laughing and nodding his head. "You can either choose to accept it or deny it. Luckily, I accepted it and changed the course of my career," he went on.

They crossed into the main of the market, stumbling upon the Christmas market . The massive space was filled with all sorts of food vendors, stalls, vendor kiosks, and there was even a petting zoo with a variety of farm animals. At the center of it all, a gigantic Christmas tree stood, towering above everything in the square. The freshly cut pine tree was covered in lights, garland, and ornate ornaments.

"This will always be my favorite time of the year," Dannie sighed wistfully, admiring the lights and decorations around them.

"I remember spending my first Christmas here in Copenhagen," Luca mentioned. "It felt like I was in a movie," he added.

"If it snows on Christmas Day, that would just put the icing on top of the cake,"

He turned to look at her, "You know what, an idea just popped into my head,"

"What?"

"Has anyone ever made you dessert from scratch?"

"Yeah, some family members of mine, but never like a romantic partner or anything like that," she answered, and the realization dawned on her. "Wait—are you offering to do that for me?"

"I am," he nodded. "You mentioned cake and the gears in my mind started turning," hestated. "Plus, all the ingredients I would need are all around me,"

"Making a girl feel special, that must be your superpower Luca," Dannie joked.

“Not just any girl. I like to make you, feel special Dannie,” he corrected, squeezing her hand.

She giggled, "If you’re making dessert from scratch, chances are I won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor tonight,"

"Guess you'll have to come back to my place again tomorrow then," Luca suggested, smirking slightly. "Come on," he said, leading her the nearest stall.

For the next thirty minutes, Dannie and Luca shopped at the farmers market, grabbing everything necessary for the surprise dessert Luca was going to make. Instead of the usual 'divide and conquer' tactic, they remained together, tackling neighboring stalls at the same time. After two laps around the market, Dannie and Luca were at there final stalls. Luca was at a strawberry vendor a few stalls down, while Dannie waited at a honey seller’s. Shifting the weight between her feet, Dannie could feel her feet start to grow tired from walking. Another minute passed before the older woman handed her the jar of honey with a smile.

"Is there anything else you and your boyfriend are interested in purchasing?" the older woman questioned, still wearing a kind smile.

Boyfriend. The term nearly makes her choke on her water she was drinking.

"Oh no, we’re not—" Dannie began, but stopped herself. "Thank you for the honey, ma'am," she finished, nodding her head and placing it in her canvas tote bag.

Not soon after, Luca appeared next to her carrying his own bag of groceries. Automatically, his hand came to rest on her lower back.

"Do we everything we need?" he asked.

"I believe so," Dannie replied, with a nod. "Can't wait for you to wow me again in a more intimate setting this time,"

"I aim to please, love,"

"A fucking pet name? Pick me up from the goddamn floor!" Dannie thought.

Grinning, she linked her arm with his, "Next time, instead you baking for me, I want to be apart of the baking process," Dannie informed.

"You’re already planning for a next time?" he questioned, arching his brow.

"Of course, do you know how rare it is to find a man who has a passion for baking?" she quipped, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"Back to my place?"

"Lead the way," Dannie encouraged, and Luca guided her out the farmers market

~~~x~~~

"I cannot wait to eat this cheesecake," Dannie said, leaning back on the counter and crossing her arms. "Too bad I have to wait until tomorrow to get a slice," she pouted playfully.

"We can have a slice of it over afternoon tea," Luca suggested, carefully placing the cheesecake into the refrigerator.

Dannie rolled her eyes, "Ugh, god you’re so disgustingly British," she teased.

He closed the door to the fridge, "Hey, don’t knock it until you try it," he retorted, pointing the tip of the wine bottle at her that he grabbed.

"I'll have you know, my drink of choice is a strong coffee," Dannie informed, lightly digging her index finger into his pec. It took everything in her to keep a straight face feeling the firmness of the muscle. "Not black coffee though, I'm not a serial killer," she clarified, laughing lightly which he shared. "But because you're so cute, I'm willing to try it for you," Dannie conceded, booping the tip of his nose.

"You'll thank me for expanding your palette," he quipped, causing her to roll her eyes again. "If you would be so kind to get the glasses, love,"

"Since you asked so nicely," Dannie said, moving over to the overhead cupboard.

Grabbing two wine glass, she turned back around just in time to get a perfect view of Luca's back. His shirt was just tight enough that she could watch the flex of Luca's muscles in his biceps and shoulders underneath the fabric.

"So goddamn strong," Dannie thought. "I wonder what it would feel like to have that grip around my hips or my ne—"

The cork escaped the bottle's hold with an echoing pop, snapping Dannie from her impure thoughts.

"You okay back there?" Luca asked.

She cleared her throat, "Yeah, totally," she answered, finally walking back over. "I didn't want to startle you as you opened the wine," she explained, placing the glasses down.

Filling both glasses, Luca handed her a glass first and then picked up his own.

"Cheers," Luca said, tilting his glass.

"Cheers," Dannie echoed, clinking their glasses together and sipping their wine in unison.

Lowering his glass, Luca’s gaze fell back on Dannie.

"After our afternoon tea and cheesecake, how would you feel going to the National Gallery of Denmark with me?" she wondered, swirling her wine around in one hand while the other reached for a blueberry left over in a bowl.

"I would love that,"

"It’s a date then," Dannie smiled, dipping the berry into the bowl of whipped cream and popping it into her mouth.

Pure bliss swept over her face at the sweet and tangy flavor flooding her taste buds.

"Fuck that was so good," Dannie laughed, shaking her head when Luca leaned in towards her. She swallowed. "Luca?" she asked, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

"Sorry, you…you got a little something…" he trailed off. "Right," he continued softly, reaching out with his thumb and gently wiping leftover whipped cream from the corner of her mouth. His thumb drew across her bottom lip. "There," he finished, dragging her lips apart slightly.

Dannie couldn't move from her spot, and from the looks neither could Luca.

"Silly me, I’m such a slob," she said, the words coming out in one soft breath.

He removed his thumb from her lips, "No, you’re fine," Luca responded, before bringing his glass back to his mouth and quickly downing the rest of his drink. Clearing his throat, he placed the cup back down on the counter. "It might not be the cheesecake, but might I offer you the best strawberry you'll ever eat?" he asked, regaining his usual warm demeanor.

Dannie smirked, throwing back the rest of her wine as well, "You may, since you forbade me from eating any earlier," she reminded, putting her glass down.

Luca grinned, plucking a freshly washed strawberry from the bowl and gently pressed it against Dannie's lips. The move caused a giggle to bubble within her chest and her face to flush with heat. Opening her mouth, Dannie bit down into the perfectly proportioned fruit in Luca's fingers which moved a little. The sweet juices filled her mouth, a drop of it escaping from a corner of her lips.

"How was that?" he asked, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Mmm," Dannie hummed in satisfaction, closing her eyes and nodding. She waited a moment after swallowing her first bite, still relishing the nectar of the fruit, before speaking. "Certainly the juiciest strawberry I've ever eaten," she responded, wiping the corners of her mouth with the back of her finger. "You flinched slightly when I bit into it," she pointed out, making Luca chuckle.

"I was hoping you wouldn’t notice,"

"Don't worry, I don’t bite..." Dannie promised, her voice dropping a pitch. Instantly, Luca's cheeks flared red at her words. "Unless, you want me to," she teased, and leaned forward to bite into the remaining strawberry.

"Fuck me..." Luca breathed.

Smiling coyly, Dannie turned her back to Luca and started to walk over to the living room. Suddenly, a pair of warm, strong hands gripped her waist and spun her back around. Luca's face was expressionless, but his pupils had darkened considerably and flickered over her face. Dannie met his stare through hooded eyes, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. The tension between them was palpable and it hung thick, making the soft and shallow breaths from both of them more pronounced. Luca ran his hand across her lower back before pulling her closer, dipping his head towards her.

The little space remaining between the two sent Dannie's heartbeat into overdrive. Their faces were barely an inch from each other. Her eyes dropped to his lips, slowly making their way back up her his by way of his jawline. It was as if a dam broke. Within a blink of the eye, Luca pressed his mouth against Dannie's. Inhaling sharply, any and all thoughts flew from her head at the feeling of his lips. Dannie softly moaned into the kiss, her eyes closing while her fingers found their way to grip on Luca's blond locks. Eagerly, she returned the kiss as he walked her back until her lower back was pressed into the edge of the granite countertop.

"God, you're so beautiful," he huffed out before leaning back down to kiss her roughly.

Luca's palms slipped beneath Dannie's sweater to glide across her warm skin, his lips nipping hungrily at her lower lip. Only heavy breathing and the smacking of lips filled the air of the kitchen. With practiced ease, Luca wedged his leg between her own while his left hand skirted around her midsection until it he hooked her leg around his hip. Dannie's hands gently made their way to unbutton Luca's shirt, finally being able to fully appreciate the taut muscles underneath her fingers.

Another moan fell from Dannie, this one breathier than before. His body responded, grounding himself into her. Moving his mouth to the corner of hers, Luca's lips trailed down her neck, peppering open mouthed kisses down her jaw and neck. Dannie could only pant his name in quick, short gasps.

"Luca…Luca…." she breathed, her head thrown back.

Slowly, he drew back from her, forcing Dannie to open her eyes and lift her head up. Staring into his smoldering eyes, Dannie was mesmerized by the flush that stained Luca’s cheeks and neck, not to mention his swollen lips. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, both their breathing labored.She felt herself chasing his lips as he withdrew. Luca wrapped his arms around her thighs and effortlessly lifted her onto the cool countertop.

"You're too good at this," Dannie commented breathlessly, before capturing his lips in another slow, languid kiss. "I bet there has been many girls in this same position," she suggested, kissing him again while her hands busied themselves with undoing his belt.

"Not on the island darling," he whispered, running his tongue along the slope of where her neck curved into her shoulder, making her shudder uncontrollably.

"No one has had the pleasure of christening this?" Dannie questioned, slowly dragging her legs up to wrap around his waist.

"Until now, no," Luca answered, his face retreating from her neck. "Would you like to do the honors?" he asked, smirking at her.

Her legs tightened around his hips, "Yes Chef,"

[demifiendrsa]

Valve has released a 20th anniversary update for Half-Life 2.

Half-Life 2 with Episode 1 & 2 are free to own on Steam until November 18, 2024 10AM PT / 1PM ET.

Overview

BRAND NEW INTERVIEWS WITH THE HALF-LIFE 2 DEV TEAM!

Our Half-Life 1 25th anniversary documentary went so well that we invited Secret Tape back to make another one—this time focusing on Half-Life 2. And it's about a lot more than just the making of a game. Running out of money. Getting hacked, and an early version being leaked online. Being sued by our publisher. Trying to build Steam. It's all in there!

THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY UPDATE FOR HALF-LIFE 2 INCLUDES:

EPISODE ONE AND TWO EXPANSIONS IN THE BOX

Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.

HALF-LIFE 2 DEVELOPER COMMENTARY

When we shipped "Lost Coast" a year after Half-Life 2, we included an interactive developer commentary mode to offer interested players a deep dive into the new technology that inspired the demo. We did it again for every Half-Life and Portal game afterwards, but Half-Life 2 itself never had commentary... until now. We got the original HL2 team back together to record brand new commentary tracks for the whole game.

STEAM WORKSHOP SUPPORT

Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu!

STEAM GAME RECORDING

Preserve your precious memories of City 17 with the help of Steam! Take a look at the Game Recording timeline in your Steam Overlay for event markers that commemorate big and surprising moments in your playthrough.

UPDATED GAME CONTENT

Every map in Half-Life 2 has been looked over by Valve level designers to fix longstanding bugs, restore content and features lost to time, and improve the quality of a few things like lightmap resolution and fog:

Fixed pops, holes in the world, fading-out and disappearing objects across the game.

Rebalanced the lighting across Half-Life 2 to account for playing with HDR on or off, using the original release as reference.

Cleaner, smoother horizon lines thanks to new radial fog!

Added higher-resolution lightmaps across the game!

Removed green glow from the G-Man model’s eyes in the opening of the game, and restored the reflective glint as seen in the original release.

Fixed missing grass sprites and blacked-out models throughout the game!

UPDATED GRAPHICS SETTINGS

Choose either the original launch day blood and fire effects, or those created for the episodes, when playing the Half-Life 2 base game!

Play with only the highest detail models in High Quality mode!

Get smoother lightmap shadows at Very High shader detail, thanks to new bicubic lightmap filtering!

GAMEPAD, INPUT, AND STEAM DECK UPDATES

Gamepad controls have been updated to match the Half-Life 1 anniversary update.

Aim Assistance has gotten an overhaul making it feel better to use, and there are more configuration options available. Aim Assistance can be enabled separately for gamepad or mouse/keyboard input. The amount of assistance can be tuned up and down, and it’s no longer tied to a skill setting. Want to play on Hard with high aim assist, or Easy with it off? Knock yourself out.

The Steam Deck main menu has been updated with all of today’s additions including the Episodes, Workshop, and new input configuration. The Steam Deck version of the main menu will also appear when you play Half-Life 2 on a PC running Big Picture Mode.

LONG-LOST LOOKS INTO HALF-LIFE 2'S DEVELOPMENT

WATCH OLD VIDEOS FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF HALF-LIFE 2

We rescued these old demos from the hard drives of ancient computers scattered around the office, and are offering them up as high quality videos:

E3 2003

The demo that revealed Half-Life 2 and the Source engine to the world. This was previously only available as shakycam recorded from our E3 booth, now available as direct capture.

E3 2002

We built this demo to bring to E3 a year earlier, and then decided at the last minute we weren’t ready to show the game. 20 years later, we’re okay with you seeing this stuff.

SIGGRAPH 2000

Also known as the “Free TVs” demo, this was shown at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference, hot on the heels of the release of the original Half-Life. This is the highest quality video we’ve still got from this era of Half-Life 2’s development.

RE-RAISING THE BAR

A NEW EDITION OF RAISING THE BAR IS COMING BACK INTO PRINT IN 2025, EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE HALF-LIFE 2 EPISODES

Nearly two decades since it first went out of print, Raising the Bar is set to return with an expanded second edition—offering a comprehensive look into the creation of the Half-Life 2. Originally published in 2004, this book captured the story of Half-Life 2's development but missed the episodic content that followed.

This new edition concludes the Half-Life 2 development story, with never-before-seen concept art from Episode One and Episode Two, along with ideas and experiments for the third episode that never came to be.

---

Looking for something to read right now? The Final Hours of Half-Life 2 was written twenty years ago by Geoff Keighley after spending time in Valve's offices during... you guessed it.

---

BUG FIXES AND CHANGE NOTES

Content

Added 3.5 hours of Developer Commentary by members of the Half-Life 2 team.

Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two are now playable from the Half-Life 2 main menu.

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been added to the Extras menu.

Added Steam Workshop support. Play entire campaigns or replace weapons, enemies, UI, and more with content created by the community.

Added custom Steam Game Recording gameplay events and phases throughout the game.

Rendering and Graphics

Fixed issues causing props or entire maps to be fully bright or fully dark depending on settings.

Added bicubic filtering for lightmaps to produce smoother shadows. It can be enabled by setting Shader Detail to Very High.

Fixed missing grass detail sprites in many maps.

Added settings to enable Classic Effects that were originally in Half-Life 2. These effects can also be enabled using r_classic_blood or r_classic_fire.

Added support for radial fog.

Specular reflectivity has been adjusted throughout Half-Life 2 to better match the original release.

Updated models for the Crossbow and RPG weapons to support ultrawide displays.

Fixed camera clipping into vehicles at high FOV settings.

Fixed lambda cache indicators and other decals vanishing when backtracking through map transitions.

Setting Model Detail to High will now always display the highest detail version of a model and never swap for a lower level-of-detail.

Set Antialiasing to 4x MSAA by default.

Fixed teeth shader rendering fully white on some GPUs.

UI and Options

The UI now scales to support higher resolutions.

Launching the game in Steam Big Picture mode will now use the gamepad-friendly UI previously available on Steam Deck. You can also launch this mode with the "-gamepadui" launch option.

The High Dynamic Range setting has been moved to the main Video settings page.

Commentary mode can now be enabled on the New Game screen.

Fixed display of greyscale art for locked achievement icons to match their behavior in steam.

Improved legibility of gamepad button icons.

Button hints will now prefer to display standard face buttons and trigger icons only. This behavior can be disabled with the "sc_prefer_basic_origin_hints" convar.

Replaced instances of system fonts like Verdana throughout the UI with a new font, GorDIN.

Added a new font renderer that provides more consistent rendering between platforms.

Fixed edges of certain font characters being cut off with antialiasing enabled.

Fixed scrollbars and button animations using inverted colors.

Removed the non-functional "Use 'bloom' effect when available" setting.

Added Rich Presence info while playing Half-Life 2.

Input

Updated the default Steam Input configuration.

Added a Gamepad settings menu.

Added the ability to select a weapon selection UI style while using a gamepad.

Added settings for separate Aim-Assist modes for mouse/keyboard and gamepad. The new Aim-Assist "Enhanced" mode now attempts to track enemies and snap-to-target while driving vehicles.

If using toggle crouch, pressing sprint will now make the player stand.

Legacy joystick settings have been removed from the Mouse settings menu.

Gameplay

Reduced chances of birds getting stuck in the world.

Fixed Combine crouching behavior during door assault scene.

Fixed Combine not firing in some cases during the finale.

Game sounds and music now pause while the game is paused.

Fix crash that can occur if the player gets too far ahead of the helicopter in canals.

Fixed Dr. Breen not looking at the camera in certain broadcasts.

Fixed smooth friction sounds not playing.

General Map Updates

Full HDR lighting and tonemapping pass across every map in Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch.

Increased lightmap resolution in most maps.

Adjusted rendering distances across the game so details and objects remain visible much further away.

Removed Far-Z clip plane from most maps.

Increased window and door fade distances.

Improved lighting and world detail inconsistencies during many map transitions.

Tuned fog and skyboxes for every map with water on the horizon for better horizon blending.

Replaced instances of simple reflective water with fully reflective water in nearly every map.

Fixed many instances of floating props across the game.

Sewed up holes, aligned textures, and fixed seams on many displacements throughout the game.

Swapped some distant trees out for higher detail models.

Enabled shadows on many static props that were missing them.

Added glow sprites to all lights that were missing them.

Fixed lightmapping for many large static prop structures.

Added simple rooftop geometry to background buildings that were missing them.

Added background displacement geometry to areas which are now exposed by removed the clipping plane.

Specific Map Updates

The introduction sequence has been adjusted to closely match the original sequence, including fixing specular highlights on the G-Man's eyes.

Fixed various texture seams on train station wall

All fences now properly cast shadows.

Fixed issues with level transitions setting fog values improperly.

Removed emissive value from base of lighting prop which was glowing in strange places.

Fixed a bug with Eli's idle animations during the teleport sequence.

Fixed lightmapping of train cars in Red Letter Day and Route Kanal.

Fixed a rendering bug in Route Kanal where world geometry would pop in and out of view when looking down the tracks.

Aligned pipe and canal wall textures in a few areas to reduce seams and misalignment in Route Kanal.

Added and adjusted canal wall brushes where level geometry was conspicuously missing.

Adjusted brightness and falloff of ambient lights in darker sections of the canals.

Added small grates as dim light sources of ambient light in a few places in the canals.

Fixed an issue where the splash for Manhack Matt's jump into the water would be out of sync.

Fixed a bug where the large brick smokestacks were popping in and out depending on the player's position in Water Hazard.

Added missing cables to utility poles in various canal maps.

Fixed lighting and shadows on the dock and electric tower outside of Black Mesa East.

Added displacements and water plane to 3D skybox near the dam entrance to replace simple brush cliff face.

Fixed the lighting on the rocks and props in and around the Ravenholm graveyard.

Fixed players being able to trap themselves in the graveyard by closing the gate after Gregori would open it.

Added radial fog to all coast maps in the Highway 17 chapter.

Removed area portals from many of the smaller structures along Highway 17.

Fixed a crash that would occur if you parked the buggy in certain areas before entering the bridge level.

Fixed a bug where Vortigaunts could fall through the world.

Added simple 3D skybox representation of the next map visible from the top of the lighthouse in Sandtraps.

Fixed lighting issues during the basement flare sequence in Nova Prospekt.

Added additional geometry to various windows throughout the levels to cast more detailed shadows in Nova Prospekt.

Fixed a bug in teleport sequence in Entanglement ending too early leaving Gordon and Alyx standing around while the teleporter reached its destination.

Fixed the catwalk explosion detonating at the wrong time in Anticitizen One.

Fixed the building dome having no polygons on the outstide in Follow Freeman.

Fixed the ship visibly flying through the building dome in Follow Freeman.

Fixed Barney being left behind during a level transition or nagging the player too early to "roll a grenade" in Follow Freeman.

Improved resolution of portal render texture during finale.

Added soundscape to all menu background maps

Darkened parts of the skyboxes that fall behind Half-Life 2 logo to help with text legibility.

Added geometry to menu background maps for Ultrawide support.

Added smoke to the Ravenholm and Follow Freeman background maps.

Fixed a bug where you could hear the player's bones break in the Citadel menu background map.

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Fixes

Fixed player model selection in the options menu.

Fixed slam not being able to be detonated if you were too close to a wall

Fixed view bob with the SMG equipped.

Fixed using the Gravity Gun to yo-yo grenades, sometimes causing the server to disconnect or crash.

Fixed missing sound effects for the Gravity Gun.

Fixed characters playing a missing animation when switching weapons while jumping and moving.

Fix weapons being invisible when being given another weapon of the same class.

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Maps

Increased player spawn point count in many maps.

Fixed prop placement in maps that would allow players to escape the world.

Fixed floating props in dm_runoff.

Fixed the area portal on the blast door in dm_runoff causing the world to no longer render when the door was shut.

Added geometry to many maps where the player could see outside of bounds.

Fixed several areas where the player could see out of the world.

Moved the blue barrels in dm_resistance that you could pick up with the Gravity Gun through the chainlink doors.

Other

Improved quality of the Valve intro movie when launching the game.

Fixed playback of the the post-credits movie at the end of Episode One and the intro movie at the start of Episode Two.

The achievements for Episode One and Two have been added to Half-Life 2. When launching the game it will attempt to read data from installed standalone Episodes to re-grant those duplicated achievements.

Hammer: Show detail sprite preview on non-displacement surfaces.

Hammer: Fixed bug where orphaned entities added additional data on each map load.

Hammer: Fixed the ability to render cubemaps.

Hammer: Increased many limits for BSP data. Models 1024 -> 2048, Brushes 8192 -> 16384, TexInfo 12288 -> 16384, TexData 2048 -> 8096, DispInfo 2048 -> 8096.

Added save_transition_music convar that allows streaming music to continue to play in between level transitions.

Localization files updated.

Miscellaneous security fixes.

Notes

The previous version of the game has been archived to a publicly visible Beta branch named "steam_legacy", with the description "Pre-20th Anniversary Build." If a mod or feature is behaving in an unexpected way, you may need to run this archived build until the issue is resolved in the default build.

With the Episodes and Lost Coast now contained within Half-Life 2 itself, we'll be reducing the visibility of the standalone versions on the Steam Store. The old standalone applications will remain available to ensure community projects that rely on them still function properly but they will now appear within the Tools menu on your Steam Library.

WALLPAPERS

Celebrate 20 years of Half-life 2 by decorating your desktop and mobile phone.

HALF-LIFE 2 SOUNDTRACKS

[ghastimart]

oh god, see me

so all the scrapped ending content keeps making me sad. good thing i have an au where happy endings are the inevitable! didn't feel like posting this to ao3 yet so if you don't have context to the ocs mentioned / used don't think too hard about it.

Sebastian reunites with Mama Solace after years of separation and coverups.

words; 2,662

Things had settled into a state of calm. 

P.AI.nter, decidedly, liked the Aquarium. After hours, he was allowed to roam - a makeshift body on wheels allowing him to take the elevator down and cart around as he desired, painting scenes from the tanks and the waterpark, going up to the roof to catch sunrises and sunsets and clear nights. 

Anything, anything was better than the cold and unfeeling gray of the Blacksite’s halls. They felt so much happier – despite Sebastian’s warnings and misgivings about the Ministry, their trust had proven well-placed so far.

Everyone seemed happier, really. Viorel had managed to call his dad when they made landfall and wept on the phone. Cephei had seemed intrigued by all the things land had to offer, running around with Echo whenever the park was closed to poke around. Millie had been relearning to dance on her new legs, Tobias and Elliot – already inseparable – had made a habit of camping out around every corner of the place, treating every night like date night as if making up for lost time. And Audie, of course, had been over the moon to be back in their element, socializing with all the staff at the Aquarium to catch up on what they’d missed.

So that left Sebastian. Sebastian, who still hadn’t fully taken his ease ever since they arrived onsite. Sebastian, who always eyed the staff that had been taking care of them with a critical eye, who growled whenever one of the doctors approached a member of their hodgepodge “family” unexpectedly. Sebastian, who refused to let himself relax, anticipating another betrayal. 

“One of us has to be vigilant,” He’d grunted in reply one day when P.AI.nter asked why he was so on-edge; “The Ministry is no different from Urbanshade. I don’t trust it, and I won’t let us get hurt again.”

Still, it felt unfair. They’d been there for half a month by this point, readjusting to living on the surface, waiting for the proper procedures to play out between the Ministry and Urbanshade to guarantee they wouldn’t be hunted down or “reclaimed”. At the Aquarium, at the very least, they were protected - Director Hart assured them of that much, so Sebastian deserved to relax. 

But how?

His own abilities were still woefully limited, in the body he had currently. He thought about what they could do, rather than what they couldn’t; what Sebastian had longed for most in their time underwater. And a memory came to mind.

They’d never told Sebastian, but on more than one occasion, they’d caught a breakdown on the cameras – watching silently as he curled up in the far corner of a room he’d been scavenging in, or simply fled to, and wept, calling out for his mother in a state of weakness he wanted no-one to see. 

His mother, then. Surely it couldn’t be hard, now that they were connected to the internet again. Humming with certainty, P.AI.nter began to browse the web, windows popping open and closed on their screen as they sat in the corner of the group’s shared room, alone for now. It was dinner, after all – and he, being the only one without a stomach to fill, decided to skip it in favour of his brainstorming. Circuitstorming. Whatsoever it was called – a good move, because he could move in secret like this. 

Articles about the arrest. Interviews. Names – his sister’s. Her Facebook. Contacts, and –

There she was. 

… Now what?

He grunted to themself, puzzling over the question. It had been so long, would she really bite a stranger messaging her saying, “Hey, your son’s alive! Come get him!”? 

It seemed foolish to try, but he had no other starting point. So, making up a quick burner account, he opened a private message to her and shot it off.

> Mrs.Solace? You don’t know me, but I know your son. He’s alive. Would you like to meet him?

—

“Sebastian?”

His earfin flicked as he emerged from the water, shaking out his hair. Audie hopped out beside him, sitting on the edge of the pool. The dolphins continued to swirl around his tail, occasionally nosing at him to try and instigate play again until he hauled himself fully out and slapped the surface with his tailfin to make them disperse. 

Director Hart stood in the entryway to the room, seeming troubled as she approached them, and he grimaced. 

“Did Echo get stuck somewhere again? Cephei said they were watching them,” He huffed impatiently; “Go bother it for –”

“No, Sebastian, it’s… We have a visitor asking for you.”

“What?”

Him and Audie’s voices answered in unison, both of them stiffening as their minds jumped to the worst. He glanced down to them, jerking his head. 

Urbanshade – it has to be Urbanshade.

“Get everyone in the room.”

“Right.”

As they collected a towel and hurried off, he faced Director Hart, growling lowly.

“What do they want?”

“It’s… A woman, Sebastian, I don’t think she’s the threat you think she is,” The Director spoke slowly, searching his gaze; “Wayland’s taken her to one of the conference rooms to wait for now. She was very insistent that you were here.”

“You told her I wasn’t, right?”

“Of course. That's the procedure. But she started making more of a scene.”

“Fuck.”

As he dried himself off as well, throwing his clothes back on, she received a message on her phone, and read it quickly, her brow furrowing.

“... Oh.”

“What now?”

“Audie wants you in the room. You - oh.”

At her softer, more knowing sound, he furrowed his brow, his tail lashing with agitation. She paused, then looked back up at him with a nod, clearing her throat.

“Come find me in the employee lobby when you’re ready.”

With nothing more, she turned and left. He paused for a moment, puzzling it out for a moment before he grunted and made his way upstairs, checking himself to make sure his tail didn’t dent the walls as he went.

—

“You what.”

P.AI.nter flinched as Sebastian snarled, standing at his full height, his shoulders brushing the ceiling as the rest of the polycule shuffled around nervously. 

“I just – you’ve always wanted to see her again! Haven’t you?!”

“You don’t get to be the one to decide that! Fuck, P.AI.nter!”

His anger gave way to panic as he drew a claw through his hair, his tail lashing and knocking over a chair. Cephei and Echo flinched from the noise, and Elliot growled in turn, leaning forward to press a hand against Sebastian’s tail.

“Hey. They were only trying to do something nice.” 

“I just –”

He broke off with a sound that sounded somewhere between a snarl and a whine, shaking his head and coiling around the room restlessly, his hands shaking. The rest of the team watched with worry and sympathy, waiting until he finally stilled before they moved again.

He lowered himself down at a gentle tug against his shirt, enjoying the warmth of Audie’s hands against his face first, then Tobias and Elliot on either side after, running their own fingers through his hair to ease him down. 

“... I can’t see her like this,” He croaked; “I’m not…”

A million words went unsaid, and he shook his head.

“... What if she’s scared of me?”

“She won’t be,” Millie said from her perch on the bed, so sure.

“What if she doesn’t recognize me?”

“She will,” Viorel insisted from beside P.AI.nter’s desk, also confident in his words.

“How do you know?”

He opened his eyes to meet Audie’s gaze, and they were the one who smiled at him, squishing his cheeks gently.

“Because she loved you enough to come now. Don’t keep her waiting anymore, Sebaba.”

Conflicting emotions haunted his chest and mind as he took the elevator minutes later, coiled into a ball. Though they’d all asked if he wanted company, he’d denied it – this task was herculean enough without his partners looming over his shoulder to watch the inevitable breakdown. 

As the doors opened and doctors breezed by, Director Hart was standing in the lobby, perking up at his approach. He swallowed, trying to keep his tail from doing anxious knots as he nodded.

Wordless, she led the way. 

This hallway, he knew, led to a veterinary entrance to the Aquarium, but a left turn before that brought them to the conference rooms. He counted three doors before she stopped and knocked on the door. Some hushed words were exchanged, and Wayland came out, nodding respectfully at Sebastian as he passed by. Director Hart turned to Sebastian proper after that, holding the door handle for a moment.

“I’ll be waiting just outside whenever you’re ready.”

“Sure… Thanks, I guess.”

With a nod from her, she opened the door, and he hesitated before slithering inside slowly, keeping the light on his esca out for now.

His mother stood up the moment she watched him enter. She had not aged gracefully – the stress and grief of the past decade had taken its toll. She looked exhausted, haunted and haggard. 

Her eyes were wide as she took him in. He watched as she looked him up and down, absorbing how much he’d changed. How inhuman he was.

Surely, He thought, She doesn’t recognize this. How could she?

He hated this.

Every moment he dreamed of just being home again, eating one of her meals, hugging her one last time, it had been undercut by what he’d become. Not just in the sense of his mutations, though that played a massive part. 

No, he’d been an innocent man when he last saw his mother. Now, there was blood on his hands, and not every kill had been necessary. 

So here he was; a monster by every definition, hunching his shoulders as he met eyes with the woman who’d given him life in the first, who he’d wanted to see - who now, he would give anything to avoid.

She stepped forward, and reached out. Against his better judgment, he lowered himself to meet her touch, the tears gathering in his eyes from the first moment her hands graced his face.

“Mijo,” She said, the word dripping with grief and love, and suddenly Sebastian was a child again.

“Mamá.”

He was much larger than her now, but that didn’t stop his mother from pulling him to her chest and holding him as close as he could while he utterly shattered in her arms, sobs wracking his body. All three of his own arms wrapped around her, loose – too frightened of his own strength, but just as frightened to let go of her, in case this was just an illusion after all.

He’d hallucinated before. But not now, not as her hands curled into his hair and brushed it into place just like she used to.

“Oh, my baby,” She whispered; “What did they do to you, Sebastian? My poor baby boy…”

“How –” He choked up, shuddering, his eyes screwed up; “ – How did you know it was – it was me? I’m nothing like… I’m not who I was.”

“How could I not?”

She pulled back –  the gesture felt like pulling broken glass from his skin, but he allowed it so he could meet her gaze – and she held his face tightly between her hands, her expression intense and serious.

“I would know you the second I saw you no matter what happened, mijo, you’re my son. That hasn’t changed.”

“... God.”

More tears spilled down his cheeks, and he pulled his mother a little closer, shutting his eyes. His ears flicked as she brushed his hair out of his face. A touch he’d longed for for so long, a touch he couldn’t get enough of, he never would.

—

“How do you think they’re doing in there?”

“Just fine,” Viorel assured P.AI.nter, patting the top of his monitor as the group sat down at their usual table; “We’d definitely know by now if it went badly. It’s been years – give them some time.”

“Mmh…”

The AI’s fans had been humming at maximum since the confrontation before Sebastian left, all too anxious that they’d done the wrong thing. Despite everyone’s attempts to assure him otherwise, P.AI.nter couldn’t help stressing. 

It wouldn’t be the first time it had miscalculated a gesture. But to do it over something so heavy felt – it felt –

“Stop overthinking.”

He yelped as Echo flicked his screen, switching gears to glare down at them grumpily.

“Hey! I am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!!”

“Jesus, here they go again,” Millie sighed as Tobias snickered, reaching over to tug Echo away. 

“Guys?”

Everyone halted and perked to attention at Sebastian’s voice, eyes widening and shoulders squaring as they noticed the woman standing beside him. He fidgeted, uncharacteristically bashful as he wrung his hands together, his ears twitching and flapping while the woman looked from person to person. 

“This is, uh… Hm. I’d, uh, like you to meet my mom.”

“Oh!”

Audie and Cephei’s tails both started to wag, and the former stood up abruptly to offer a little bow of respect that Echo mimicked uncertainly. 

“Mrs. Solace! It’s a pleasure!”

Similar words were offered around the table, and Sebastian coughed softly, leaning down to speak to her directly – pointing out each person as he introduced them.

“That’s Tobias and Elliot, Viorel, Millie, Audie, Cephei, Echo, and P.AI.nter. They’re er… Family, I guess, that I met underwater.”

“Mrs.Solace!”

P.AI.nter hurried over, their wheels squeaking on the cafeteria floor as they met her gaze for the first time – and while taken aback by his rushed approach, she didn’t seem offput, merely blinking as he smiled awkwardly.

“It’s me – I was – I’m the one who messaged you! That was me!”

“Oh – oh! That was you! I – I owe you a lot, then, don’t I?”

“No, no! It was my pleasure,” He practically squeaked out, beaming at her properly now; “I – I wanted to help you two reunite. It means everything to me that you came.”

“Why… Did you come?”

Sebastian tilted his head as he finally posed that question, quirking a brow at his mother.

“I mean – some shady nameless guy messages you saying he knows about your missing adult kid, and you fly halfway across the world? Should I be worried?”

“Ay – have some respect,” She tsked, swatting his arm lightly and earning a laugh from a few of his partners at the table; “I didn’t believe him blindly.”

“She really didn’t. There was a lot of skepticism and questioning,” P.AI.nter agreed. Sebastian simply grunted, his tail thumping softly against the ground as he accepted that answer. 

“Good evening friends! I see we have another face joining us for dinner – any allergies or sensitivities we should be aware of, ma’am?”

Elaine – Chef Nichols – smiled as she stepped over to the table, clipboard in hand, and Mrs. Solace shook her head, smiling.

“Oh, no, nothing that I know of!”

“That’s my favourite thing to hear! Alright, squishies, what’ll it be?”

“Actually –”

Sebastian started, then hesitated, fidgeting with his jabbot for a moment as he looked down at his mom.

“... I don’t want to ask too much of you, mamá, but… Can you… Can you make some of your empanadas? It’s… I really missed them, and –”

“Ay, mijo... Of course. Why don’t we make them together?” 

His ears wiggled as she snagged one of his hands, and he nodded with a creeping smile. Elaine squeaked with joy, eagerly inviting them into the kitchen. 

P.AI.nter returned to their spot as chatter broke out amongst those who remained at the table, watching Sebastian and his mother dance around Elaine and Giselle behind the counter. For the first time, Sebastian seemed genuinely at ease and happy, and it made P.AI.nter feel warmer.

Viorel nudged him, earning a grunt.

“Told ya.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m just glad he’s happy.”

“You and me both.”