#(they like to live in remote snowy areas)

[stil-lindigo]

ashes to ashes.

a short comic about the day Ash was born.

Ash's story

Red and Wolf's story

notes:

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[joelswritingmistress]

You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 13

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible.

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader

I was exhausted and exhilarated and it wasn’t even noon. A part of me was still wondering if I would wake up and this would all be a dream.

“I know you probably did your own exploring while I was gone,” he said with playful accusation, raising his eyebrows with a smirk once we were back to the main level and fully clothed. “But if you’d like a tour, I can show you around.”

My stomach sank just a bit. I shook my head. “I wasn’t snooping.”

“It’s okay,” Dr. Miller chuckled lightly, “I told you to make yourself at home.” He looked me directly in my eyes, “How far did you get?”

“Oh, uh..” There was no way I was about to lie to him. He would have known. I could tell he was in that human lie detector mode again, feeling me out, seeing if he could actually trust me. “I saw the pool table from the kitchen so I went in there and I couldn’t help but check out your library. I actually picked up a book and I hope I placed it back in the right spot.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He cleared his throat and led me by the hand again. “There’s another pool out back.” Dr. Miller walked us toward a set of French doors that opened up from the kitchen out back, where a light snow had begun to fall, covering a dark green pool cover.

I glanced around the area, eying what appeared to be an outdoor kitchen and bar and a little pool house to the right and left, respectfully. A black fence surrounded the area and beyond a grassy backyard behind the pool area were a collection of bare trees. In the distance I could tell there was a drop off, lined with oversized boulders and rocks.

We crossed into another living room space that appeared more casual than the one where I had made out with Dr. Miller on the couch the night before. This room had an oversized sectional couch that oozed with comfort. In the center was a giant, square coffee table with a rustic, wooden top and above it hung what appeared to be a chandelier made from deer antlers. The peaked ceiling was a pale wood, giving it a cabinesque feel with dark, wooden beams that crossed from wall to wall beneath. On either side of the triangular peak were two rectangle sky lights giving view to the overcast, snowy morning. A third, stone fireplace sat at the far end with what appeared to be a buffalo’s head mounted on the wall.

Dr. Miller placed his hands on my shoulders from behind and I swallowed hard. We both stared out a pair of windows to the left and right of the fireplace that gave a view of the snowfall. I shuddered when I felt his fingers dig into the muscles of my neck and he began to massage the area.

“This is beautiful,” I spoke, taking in the brightly lit surroundings that were offset by the first snow fall of the winter.

Dr. Miller’s phone made a subtle beeping noise, three consecutive beeps to be exact, and he suddenly froze and reached into the pocket of his pants.

I could tell from the look on his face that something was up. His fingers danced along the screen for a few seconds and then he looked back up to me.

“What’s wrong?” I could see that his expression had changed.

He reached for the remote that sat on an end table beside the short end of the sectional. “Get comfortable.” Dr. Miller reached for a cozy, plaid blanket on the back of the couch and walked me around to sit down.

I raised my eyebrows , “Okay. Are you going somewhere?” I sensed that would be his next revelation and already felt disappointed. I didn’t want to be away from him. I knew that was selfish, childish even; but I didn’t care. My face might as well have gone into a full pout.

“Just for a few minutes,” Dr. Miller explained.

“Okay.” I cleared my throat and couldn’t help but pry. “What was the notification? A text?”

He shook his head. “No.”

There wasn’t another woman, right? I immediately felt jealous and it was as if he could read my mind.

“It wasn't a message from anyone,” Dr. Miller explained. He sighed and squatted before me where I sat on the couch, placing a hand on my ankle. “I have to go take care of something.”

His phone jingled again and he kept it planted face down against his thigh. My curiosity piqued even more. I felt like word vomit was about to come out of my mouth and it would leave all of my inner insecurities completely transparent.

“Does it have to do with another.. umm.. someone else? Another woman?” I stuttered the words out but I had to know. I hated myself for asking.

Dr. Miller smiled and then walked his hands up the couch cushions and planted a steamy kiss on my lips. He then pecked them chastely and remained close as he spoke.

“There are no other women.”

I swallowed hard and let out a sigh against his lips.

“And I'm going to have to demand there are no other men in your life as long as you're with me.”

My eyes snapped open and I stared back at him. He held a little smirk but his voice hardened just a bite as he spoke the words. I smiled back.

“There are no other men.”

“Good,” Dr. Miller spoke against my lips now. “As of right now, you're all mine until further notice.”

I smiled again and closed my eyes as he kissed me again, resting a hand on his bearded cheek.

“But I do have to go take care of something. It won't take long.”

“Okay,” I said. I still wanted to dig deeper into whatever business he had to tend to but I didn't. For now, I could live with whatever was going on as long as it didn't involve someone else.

Dr. Miller pushed the power button on the remote and handed it to me. “Don't go anywhere.” He winked and wandered away, making me grin.

I listened for a moment as I heard the jingle of keys and then the opening and closing of the front door. A second later I heard a robotic voice sound off stating: House alarm on.

Being alone in the oversized living room felt odd because of the unfamiliarity of it all, but I couldn't deny that I was perfectly content beneath the warm blanket as I sunk into the cushions a little deeper, laying my head back.

I can get used to this, I thought.

I began to scroll through the stations, landing on the local news and weather to get in touch with how much snow was to be expected. I knew I should have been more in tune with that sort of thing.

The five day forecast was plastered across the screen as a voice narrated from behind the camera.

“We're anticipating two to three inches of snowfall, though by rush hour the precipitation is expected to stop. If you don't have to be on the roads before five o'clock, stay home. If you are out and about, drive slow.”

I glanced out the window at the big, chunky flakes that left the ground almost completely covered. I didn't know where Dr. Miller was off to but I hoped he wasn't going far.

“And onto our next story, two local women have been found dead on the campus of Woodbridge University. One of them was a student there, and no suspects are currently in police custody. Police are urging residents to travel in groups whenever possible, and while no town-wide curfew has been set, it is crucial for students on campus to abide by the curfew set by the Woodbridge University Police.” A woman spoke directly into the camera with one of the main stone buildings on campus in the background.

“It's really scary,” a young woman spoke into a microphone. She sported a winter hat with a blue W in the center. “You just can't be too careful. We have to look out for each other.”

“I can't believe this is happening here,” another student commented.

I shook my head and shuddered, suddenly worried for Tori. It had only been one night but she was at the house alone and the news triggered a reason to reach out to her.

My eyes searched the immediate area but I quickly realized my phone was still on a charger in the bedroom. For the first time in my adult life, I hadn't even thought about my phone for hours on end.

I tossed the blanket to the side and crossed back through the house and up the windy staircase. I had the urge to open the two closed doors as I passed by but I didn't dare.

The phone sat where I had left it on the nightstand, plugged in and fully charged. I began thumbing the screen, finding our last messages from earlier in the morning.

Hey, I wrote, Just checking in because of everything that's happening with the girls in town. Please be safe! I won't be home for a few days.

I slipped the phone into the pocket of my lounge pants and smiled to myself as I glanced upon the tossed about sheets on the oversized bed. I still hadn't had time to process everything.

With a sigh I left the room and peaked in through the open office door. I could picture Dr. Miller sitting there with his glasses and a stack of papers, licking his fingers as he flipped from paper to paper.

In the back corner of the room there were a collection of small screens, each with a black and white image.

Cameras. I knew it.

I looked over my shoulder before wandering across the carpeted floor. All of the images were broadcasting the exterior of the home from every angle possible. The two interior cameras gave a few of the collection of cars inside the garage.

At least they aren't inside. Still, I didn't rule out that he might have one or two hiding out somewhere.

The view of the main gates showed what appeared to be an idling black SUV. I couldn't tell if it was him at first but Dr. Miller stood beside it, speaking with whoever was in the driver’s seat.

Who could that be? I wondered. An arm extended out the window and extended a white package of some sort to Dr. Miller, who accepted it and tucked it into the back of his pants.

An envelope. That's what it was.

I shuddered and hurried back downstairs, not at all knowing what to make of the exchange.

Secrets. I knew Dr. Miller had secrets but what were his? Fear definitely made its way into the depths of my heart and soul, but all of my other emotions teamed up and continued to push the fear down so deep that I barely felt it.

I was captivated. Enthralled. Infatuated. I was oversexed with desire and blinded by all of my feelings for him. Fear, currently, didn't hold any weight. Recognizing that in itself was scary - but I wasn't in the mood for logic, not when this amazing dark fairytale was explicitly in my lap.

With my adrenaline spiked and my longing for Dr. Miller’s return in full effect, I tiptoed my way back downstairs, tucked myself neatly beneath the blanket and waited for him patiently. Like a good girl would do.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT CHAPTER

@untamedheart81 @suttonspuds@cesspitoflove @michilandcof @grogusmum @morallyinept @akah565 @brittmb115 @magpiepills @poodlebae @gobaaby-blog-blog @mermaidgirl30 @mandijo17

[thomasschabot]

bet all i have on that furrowed brow

jakob chychrun x fem!oc

isobel has a workplace crush and healthy dose of loneliness that jakob is more than willing to cure

word count: 3.1k

warnings: mentions of spending the holidays alone, cursing, partial nudity, alcohol consumption

a/n: for @wyattjohnston 🩷 thank you so much for putting together yet another incredibly successful event, and for giving me the best gift of all - getting to write for you! i hope you enjoy x (we're just pretending hockey works like american football and the sens have a bye week over christmas okay? okay!) many wonderful thanks to @matthewtkachuk for singing my praises via text and fluffing up my ego

The string of days between Christmas and New Years always feels like purgatory. One holiday bleeds slowly into the next, and there’s a general consensus no one knows what day it is or how long it’s been since they ate something moderately healthy. For most it’s time well spent with family and friends, but for Isobel it’s a sentence to near solitary confinement. She has no family remotely close, few friends, and is much too stubborn to take up her co-workers’ invitations to join them on holiday getaways to ski chalets or sandy beaches. Isobel refuses to be more of an inconvenience than she already feels like she is, but it isn’t necessarily best for her mental health.

She spends as much time as possible at work, researching rising social media trends to present to the team and making sure all paperwork is up-to-date. The team will be able to start with their best foot forward in the new year, something Isobel is extremely proud of, and it keeps her going into the office even when she’d much prefer to stay in bed and wallow in the intense loneliness she feels. There isn’t a pressure to produce new deliverables, which is a slight stress relief. The analytics department isn’t needed as much with the bye week and most of the incoming reports can be run by Isobel alone. A number of years ago the NHL implemented bye weeks in addition to the all-star break, which allows each team to not have scheduled games during the regular season. This year Ottawa got lucky, with their break over the Christmas holidays, and players and support staff alike took the opportunity to get the hell out of the snowy capital.

As far as Isobel’s aware, very few members of the Senators organization stayed in the area. From social media she could see co-workers posting from almost every continent, enjoying all the world has to offer. Many roster players were in tropical destinations, hungry to get away from the ice and snow that ruled much of their daily lives. Claude Giroux has taken his family to the Caribbean and posts a rare snapshot of his young boys enjoying the water. Brady, ever the gracious captain, has taken what seems like half the team home with him to St. Louis in order to cheer on his sister’s university tournament being hosted in the same city. Only Jakob’s whereabouts are unknown, his absence from her life palpable, but Isobel’s sure he isn’t in Ottawa. Why would he be? There are a thousand different people and places vying for his attention, and one of them was sure to be the lucky winner. 

It’s her most guarded secret, the fact that Isobel has an almost debilitating crush on who is technically a co-worker, but she’s also sure everyone has figured it out, even Jakob himself. Working with professional athletes means there’s a serious lack of personal boundaries, and one’s private life isn’t exactly private, no matter how well guarded they may be. The boys Isobel works with will stop at nothing short of blackmail to get information out of her, even if it’s only ever used for in-house teasing. No one has said anything yet, which she’s incredibly grateful for, but Isobel can’t help but think it’s the main topic of conversation when she’s not around. 

The suburbs of Ottawa are desolate as Isobel winds through the streets to the Canadian Tire Centre. No car is on the road except her own, and there is only one in the parking lot when she pulls in. Badge in hand, Isobel treks up the steps and pulls open the large door at the back of the arena, one that isn’t used by anyone except members of the organization. Jamie, one of the building’s security guards, is face down in a book — it must have been his sedan parked beside her own sensible compact SUV. 

“Isobel Walker,” he says, surprised to see another person. The offices were open upon a technicality in contracts that is now grandfathered in, but it’s likely Jamie hasn’t seen anyone since he started his shift.  “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready with friends? The New Year's festivities start in a few hours.”

Isobel shakes her head. “Just wanted to square away a few things before the weekend. Besides, it’s not like I have anything better to do. It’s just me this year.”

The attentive man doesn’t miss the sad downturn in her voice, or the longing for companionship in Isobel’s eyes. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll get invited somewhere.” Jamie sounds resolute in the statement, but she knows it must be easy for him to think when once his shift is over he’ll return home to a wife and kids. When Isobel is done putting in work there’ll be no one waiting at home. 

The elevator dings then, signalling its availability to deliver a human to the floor where the data and analytics department is located. Isobel waves goodbye in an almost timid fashion, insisting she’ll take good care of herself and promising to at least look into doing something. Nothing will come of it, this she’s sure of, but a small white lie has never hurt anyone. In fact, Isobel deals almost exclusively in little white lies, whether it be to scouts who want to hear a specific player is doing bad so they feel less guilty about not advising the general manager to draft them or to teammates when they ask what she’s doing on the weekends. Telling Jamie one more won’t cause the world to fall apart. Isobel is sure of it.

Her cubicle is tucked just inside the glass doors that shelter the front office from the rest of the floor, but Isobel doesn't head there. Instead, she tiptoes through the space until the corkboard of Senators and their individual season stats is right in front of her. The photo of Jakob immediately catches her attention — not an official headshot but instead a picture from the charity gala last season — and Isobel notices it’s a cropped version of one she has on her desk. In the photo he’s posing with the analytics staff, goofy smile plastered on his face as he stands three people from Isobel. She also remembers that in the photo she’s not looking at the camera, but at him. Eventually she forces herself to stop looking at the gorgeous specimen that is Jakob Chychrun and accomplish what she intended to do. Taking one last look, Isobel places a distant memory that their eyes had locked seconds after the camera’s shutter went off. 

⭑⭒⭑

It’s long past sunset when Isobel returns home, and there’s no sense trying to scramble downtown to an overcrowded bar. She hadn’t been planning on it anyways despite what she told the only person she’s interacted with in a week. Things at the office didn’t take long to complete, despite the frequent distraction of Jakob’s gorgeous portrait in the background, but Isobel couldn’t bring herself to return to her empty home. Since the conversation with Jamie in the lobby she’s been dreading the silence that would greet her when the door rocked on its hinges. Instead of immediately returning home, Isobel drives eastward towards more connected areas of the city and marvels at the tourists in town to ring in the new year surrounded by history. Each street sign passed amalgamated into a mushed series in her brain, and once she could no longer tell what was real or imaginary Isobel turned and headed for home. 

As expected, the modest craftsman house Isobel occupies is dark and silent and lonely, as well as a million other words she can’t think of to encapsulate how isolated she feels. If she had been thinking clearly Isobel would have picked up take out on the drive back, but she wasn't in a completely sound frame of mind, therefore being resigned to heating up three day old broccoli pasta and drinking room temperature beer. She can’t even be bothered to change into comfortable clothing, instead throwing her blouse and slacks over the back of a dining room chair seconds before crashing onto the worn leather sofa inherited from a college roommate nearly a decade ago but that she can’t seem to get rid of. 

The television turns on at the press of a button, and Isobel briefly watches the sports highlights for updates on potential trade targets before deciding she’s done more than enough work for the day and switching to a New Years special. This one seems to be taking place in New York, a place she’s never been nor cared for, but at the moment Isobel would give anything to be there amongst the suffocating crowd. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so earth-shatteringly alone. 

Hours pass by and more beers are consumed, but Isobel can’t seem to reach the buzz she’s so desperately chasing. The performances and countdowns meld together but if questioned there wouldn’t be a detail missing from her recollection. No one could do that inebriated, further proving that getting drunk isn’t in the cards for her tonight. A chill settles over the room and Isobel struggles to wrangle a throw blanket free from its perch on the back of the couch. Though comfortable, sitting in only undergarments doesn’t provide much protection against the drafty windows she should call a repairman about. Some pop star, whom she doesn't particularly care about, is thanking fans for helping them reach a milestone this past calendar year and she zone out. Nothing and everything floats through Isobel’s brain all at once, swimming in circles and causing a beautiful confusion. 

The dull thud of a fist against the front door shakes Isobel from her stupor and possible slumber. Panic encroaches and her sharp survival instincts set in — the baseball bat normally kept in the corner of the living room grabbed and work clothes are haphazardly tossed over frame. The person on the other side of the wood slab is the last person she’s expecting to see, and the fact he’s standing there with a sheepish smile is astounding. Jakob Chychrun is on her doorstep, shifting his weight between the balls of his feet and carrying a large bottle of expensive champagne and a bag of garlic bread. 

“Hi.”

“Can I help you, Jakob?” she asks, but immediately backpedals when she realizes how ill-tempered the tone of the words made her seem. “I just wasn’t expecting any visitors and am wholly unprepared.”

He smiles even more, as though Isobel can actually solve a problem he’s been faced with, and gestures to the objects in his hands like it’s obvious. “Jamie mentioned you were spending the evening alone when I went into the rink this afternoon, and I had no plans, so I thought we could watch the dumb special programs and drown our sorrows in alcohol.”

The answer is so Jakob, so perfect and friendly and warm, Isobel can’t help but return his grin. “I told him I’d look into going out. What are you doing in the city?”

“I wanted a relaxing week.”

Isobel arches her eyebrow. “The beach isn’t relaxing?”

“Not as much as staying at home.”

“Oh.”

Jakob doesn’t skip a beat in bringing conversation back to his original proposition. “Well sweetheart, what do you say?”

All the air leaves her lungs at the pet name, but she manages to nod semi-enthusiastically and move to the side. Jakob slips off his shoes while Isobel closes the door and treads into the living space carefully, inspecting-without-inspecting the decor. She quickly plays the role of gracious hostess, getting her handsome guest a crystal flute and asking if he’d like anything to eat. Jakob declines, saying he had leftovers before coming over, and urges her to sit down and ‘stop fluttering around like a hummingbird’. She obliges, turning to face him and tucking her legs underneath her center of gravity.

Jakob rakes his eyes over Isobel, once, then a second time, before coughing rather aggressively. It rings through the quiet like a gunshot and nearly makes her jump. Unsure of what could have caused such a reaction, she looks down to find the previously hastily buttoned shirt has shifted, revealing a rather large patch of red lace that hints at what’s underneath. Surely that can’t be the reason the normally suave man across from her is a blushing mess?

He respectfully looks away while she adjusts, and Isobel finishes quickly before placing a tentative hand on her shoulder to let her know everything is back to normal. She’s desperate to dissuade any awkwardness. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Jakob laughs, but it comes out a little strangled. “Happens to the best of us. Well not me, in that exact way, but I’ve been caught in my fair share of wardrobe malfunctions.”

Isobel focuses extremely hard on not thinking about what that means, and unsure of where to go from the moment that was somehow vulnerable and impersonal at the same time, she reaches across Jakon to grab the bottle of champagne and doesn't even bother getting a glass. The cool liquid does wonders to soothe the fire in her insides, exacerbated by the fact that Jakob came to her, wanted to spend time with her. Some alcohol misses Isobel’s mouth, dribbles down her chin, but before she can even lift the bottle from her lips it’s being wiped away. 

It’s Jakob, she realizes, stroking his thumb across her skin tenderly and making sure there isn’t an opportunity for the champagne to stain the silk button up that she can never remember to take to the dry cleaners. Clouds immediately form in her mind and Isobel closes her eyes — this has to be a dream. An incredibly elaborate fantasy. Under no circumstance is Jakob Chychrun sitting on her couch staring at her with longing and centimetres away from her lips. She must have fallen asleep, and her dreams are vivid due to the beer. 

“Iso, sweetheart, hey,” Jakob says barely above a whisper, eyebrow furrowed with concern and the slightest bit of amusement. “You alright?”

Her eyelids flutter open, a bit heavy from all the alcohol she’s consumed, but her gaze is met with his blue eyes so close to her own and his fingers fiddling with the hem of her pants. Apparently this is in fact real life, and while Isobel had been trying to convince herself otherwise she’d missed Jakob inching closer and resting his forehead against her own. 

“Yeah,” she sputters, nearly choking on air for the second time that evening. “I drank a bit before you got here and I think it’s all catching up to me.”

Jakob smiles softly, like he already confirmed this, and it’s then she clues in to the fact there are four empty beer bottles on the coffee table. “Are you drunk?”

Laughter trickles from her lips. “I wish,” Isobel confesses, “It would make the loneliness a lot easier to ignore.”

Again, Jakob smiles like he understands. It’s a bit surreal, the way the two of them are so similar, but Isobel can’t help but enjoy learning about him  through these small glances. If she could keep her cool around the man for longer periods than the handful of minutes long interaction they’d shared, Isobel is almost sure they’d be friends, but the universe is cruel and unyielding. She’s destined to never know Jakob all that well, watching from the sidelines as he jokes with Brady and Tim, marvelling at his beauty and resigning herself to the fact he’ll never be yours. 

“Can I kiss you?”

The question steals every ounce of air from Isobel’s lungs. Jakob is looking at her intently, studying her features for clues or transgressions he unknowingly committed. She’s never been good at keeping her emotions steeled away, and Isobel knows everything is splayed on her face for him to decipher if he wants to. The most prominent one is shock. Isobel is beyond surprised he’s asking the one thing that’s been on the tip of her tongue  and whispering in her mind for years. 

“Are —” she struggles to find the words she wants to say. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

It’s Jakob’s turn to laugh. It’s a beautiful sound, his deep rumbles as he nods his head, and Isobel does her best to imprint it to memory. If this is the last time she’ll ever hear it she wants to give herself the best shot at remembering. 

“Pretty damn sure, sweetheart. I’ve wanted to do it since I joined the team.”

Isobel is now beyond shocked. “You’ve wanted to kiss me for three years?”

Jakob smiles in a way that allows it to reach his eyes. Beautiful, Isobel thinks, but doesn’t allow herself much time to focus on it, too eager to catch his next words. “Four if you count the time I got lost when Arizona was the visiting team and you held the door for me to get back to the locker rooms. You were wearing a black turtleneck that made your eyes look even more angelic than normal. I didn’t know that at the time, of course, but I did know I wanted to kiss you senseless.”

“Fuck me, you never thought to say anything when I was so clearly pining after you?” she whispers, emboldened and growing more confident under the confession and moving even closer until her lips are so close to Jakob’s she can feel the breath he inhales. 

It takes a moment, but Isobel gains the courage to tilt her head slightly upwards and slot her lips against Jakob’s. Time stops with the flourish of a cheesy romance novel, though she can’t find it in her to groan internally even if she would under normal circumstances. Nothing about what’s happening is normal, however. Kissing Jakob is perfect in ways Isobel could never accurately describe — all plump lips and gentle touches and whispered sweet nothings. She never wants it to end, but eventually he pulls back. 

He doesn’t stray far, just tucks her into his side with a hint of possession if Isobel squints , and cards his fingers through the matted ends of her hair. Jakob seems to have quite an affinity for the strands, allowing them to keep his attention while Isobel processes the fact that the man she’s been secretly in love with for years has also been in love with her for just as long.

“You know,” she says breathlessly, still in a surreal state from the kiss, “Maybe ringing in the new year won’t be so lonely after all.” 

Jakob giggles in the same warm and gleeful way that made Isobel fall in love with him all those years ago. “I hope not.”

The pair of them spend the remaining hours of the night eating, drinking, and talking about what the future holds. When the television program begins the countdown Jakob looks at Isobel with a gleam in his eyes, and waits until the ball drops to kiss her into the next year.

⭑⭒⭑

enjoy this fic? give it a reblog :)

[aonoexpat]

20-08-2023 (1/2)

After my last post, I was very grateful to be given a helping hand by some wonderful people from Te Whanganui-a-tara. Really lovely friends reached out and put me in contact with their family members in Ōtautahi, to set me up with a warm bed, a hot shower and a washing machine for a couple of nights. I am eternally grateful for the quick and effective way in which they guided me to such welcoming homes, and for the family members in question who took me in without a second thought, and treated me as one of their own. It was very nice to have some people to talk to again, and to escape the cold nights so comfortably. There's so much unconditional kindness out there if only we have the courage to ask for it, and I'm so glad I could accept it ❤️ I cuddled with Oscar the cat to my heart's desire, and they even let me tag along to their local raffle night, where I won a lil voucher :)

I also spent one afternoon in Ōtautahi hanging out with a fellow van-dweller, and we went to Uprising, a very cool and creative bouldering gym! We spent a lot of time just sitting on the mats and chatting about our respective experiences as solo travelers, which was very valuable to me.

After my recharging visits, I met up with a German woman who had responded to a facebook (I know, blehhh 🤮) post of mine saying I was looking for travel buddies. We connected over our mutual love for Dutch apple spread, and had some on bread for lunch in a parking lot before teaming up and driving out to Akaroa, a quaint little town out on Horomaka. The scenery out there was absolutely breathtaking, and reignited some of my wanderlust:

We took a quick trip the next morning to visit a pretty little waterfall, and then drove the scenic summit road back! We only stopped to take plenty of pictures, and once to wait for a stray cow to get out of the road 😅

After a short rest stop we continued on our way to the Hakatere Lakes. I'm so grateful that she shared this recommendation with me, because I wouldn't have had the slightest clue that this area was worth a visit without her. I also doubt I'd have had the guts to visit on my own, because it was quite a remote place, the way there including a lot of unpaved roads. Everybody says that one of the most stunning things about Te Waipounamu is the fact that you can drive for 20 minutes and be in a completely different landscape, and I really felt that on this drive. We went from idyllic rolling green hills to harsh, snowy, mountainous surroundings in what seemed like no time at all. We drove past a shepherd who was just gathering all his sheep for the night with his three dogs, and I genuinely clapped a hand to my mouth as we cleared the last hill in the road and caught sight of beautiful Lake Heron!

We spent a couple of minutes there to take in the view, but then quickly moved on because the chilling wind was hard to bear. A little ways down another unpaved road was a campsite right by Lake Clearwater, and we set up shop there for the night. By then the lush grass had given way to dryer, more barren ground, again making us feel like we had traveled to a whole new biome. It was already freezing before the sun had even gone down, so we both filled up our hot water bottles and crawled into bed for an early night.

The next morning we drove further up the road, and around every next curve the valley just opened up to more and more mountains, left and right, far and wide. It felt like we were leaving the land of the living and entering some sort of expansive, rugged, untamed world. We spent the morning hiking up to Mount Sunday, which was apparently a film location for Edoras, the capital of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy! I couldn't quite find the right angle to replicate the shots from the movie, but that didn't spoil the fun. I will be adding this hike to my top three, because of the 360° panorama of snowy splendour 🤩

Feeling fulfilled for completing a big hike so early in the morning, we got back behind our respective wheels and fueled up before heading to Lake Takapō:

Suddenly we were surrounded by people again, which was quite the shift from the morning we had had. We got some hot drinks to warm up, did some shopping, and decided to just keep going and head to the next lake: Pukaki!

We found a beautiful little campsite by a minor lake called Poaka, and enjoyed the sunset before once again retreating into our cars to escape the freezing cold.

----- I'm uploading all this through the web editor which (only) allows me to add 30 pictures per post, so I will continue this in a part 2! -----

[officialbobbarker]

Prologue: The Search

An excerpt from a story I've been dabbling at. It starts with a flashback of a character searching for someone, and then ambiguously hints they might have passed. During the rest of the story, the reader is unsure whether the quarry is alive or dead.

In the remote regions of the North, nestled in a valley deep in the mountains, lies the village of Marquette.  Very small and relatively unknown to all but the most experienced travelers, snowfall blocks all roads to the area for nearly half the year. A fjord provides fishermen in the area with means for self sufficiency and with a water route to the greater Bastian Sea, though that route is very rarely used. The entrance to the fjord is narrow, making it inaccessible to all but the smallest watercraft. Shan-Dow, a larger port on the Bastian Sea many miles south, provides sufficient supply of fish and trade to the outside world, making the trip to Marquette unnecessary to most. The village is almost entirely isolated from the outside world. 

But like many quiet places in the world, Marquette was significant to all who lived there, and significant to me, once I made the complicated journey to it. Marquette is not where my story begins, but it is where it seemingly ended. Or, to be more accurate, it’s a few miles southeast of where it ended.

Although I found the town pleasant enough, Marquette would have remained wholly inconsequential to my story were it not for the large natural hot spring that lies three and a half miles northwest of the village. A deep-running chasm in the earth’s crust heats a stream as it travels down a wooded mountainside. The pools at the bottom of the mountain are the only real reason Marquette gets visitors at all. 

The woods surrounding the pools are paradisaical. Tall pines provide shelter from wind while being spaced far enough apart to let in sunlight. The undergrowth seems to grow inexplicably without thorns or briars. The pine needles and mulch are surprisingly soft underfoot, and walking barefoot here seems more natural than anywhere else. The springs keep the air comfortably warm through the snowy winter months. Animals here are skittish due to the rarity of visitors, but it’s not uncommon to catch a glimpse of a hare, woodpecker, doe, or even a massive bull moose visiting the spring from time to time.

The springs themselves are pristine. Clear mountain water pools in small stone basins at regular intervals along the stream. The water is the perfect temperature: warm, and not so hot that you couldn’t lounge for hours. Most importantly, if you ever do make the trek up to them, you’ll likely have the pools to yourself.

The area around the pools is said to be closer to the spiritual realm than the rest of the world, which couldn’t help but believe. I’ve never had much time for spirits (who does now-adays?) and other than the occasional will-o-the-wisp, they’ve never bothered to make themselves known to me. Usually I prefer it this way, but while I explored the lower mountainside around the pools, a feeling and energy were constantly present: this was not like any other place. I kept my eyes peeled for wisps, ghoul-lights, jackalopes and every other fantasy I’d heard of.

One spirit is known to everyone in the area, and this apparition is also the easiest to find. If you travel up the stream, the  landscape grows harsher, the pools grow hotter, and majestic views of the valley and bay that house the village become visible. At the very top of the stream, just before the trail leading to the mountain summit, sits “The Pool of the Lady.” You may have heard it referred to as “The Lady’s Bathtub” (the more common name among outsiders). Even if you’ve never heard these names, you’ve most certainly heard of this pool. Marquette is an older village than most people realize, and the story of the spring dates back farther than we have written record of.

The story will sound familiar to you. Once every moon, during the full moon, a beautiful woman emerges from the spring to bathe. Her hair is said to be a rich, dark brown that falls nearly to her knees. Her eyes change color, depending on who is telling the story. But all storytellers agree that they look as if they could see directly into your soul. Her lips are light pink and full. She moves like a branch in the wind.

The only name given to her is by the first inhabitants of the valley, “Nizhoni.” Beautiful.

Although locals insist she bears no ill will towards mortals, her pool is supposed to be littered with the corpses of any who hoped to catch a glimpse of the spirit. Taken with her beauty, they join her in the pool and swim with her until their muscles fail from exhaustion and they join the hosts below. I’ve been told that all similar legends; sirens, succubi, naiads, and temptresses, are corruptions of her. I thought this was merely a bit of local pride, until I heard the theory corroborated by a scholar as far south as Huddington.

The purpose of my trip north was not to catch a glimpse of Nizhoni, though she is important to my story. I was in search of one of her visitors. Her last confirmed visitor, in fact. I was in pursuit of a man who’s story had taken me hundreds of miles and months of research to sort out. After following a tip from a deckhand in Bourlon, I found myself at Marquette’s only inn, chatting with the bartender.

“Aye, I remember him.” He looked over my head as he spoke, as if he had to think hard on my question. Or maybe he was looking to the door, hoping for a customer who would order more expensive drinks. I was sipping on a cheap ale and the bar was completely empty except for the two of us.

“He must have come through, 4... 5 seasons back.” I wasn’t surprised that the bartender remembered back that far. A place like this would only get a handful of outsiders each year. “I remember because he looked like a scholar type, and they always come in summer when the universities let out. So I thought it was weird he would show up so late in the season.”

“Did he seem weird in other ways?” I prodded carefully.

“Not really, to tell you the truth.” He looked directly at me for a second with a glance that seemed almost apologetic, then looked back to the door. “We get his type now and then in the summer. Students who want to tell their friends they saw the Lady or professors thinking they can study something like her.” He picked up a glass and began polishing it to keep his hands busy. I sat silently for a second and contemplated excusing myself. It was clear the bartender had more on his mind. I was glad I didn’t, as moments later, the bartender seemed to decide there was no chance of another customer coming into the sparse taphouse, and he might as well enjoy gossiping about a stranger. He placed down the glass and gave me his full attention as he continued.

“I guess it was weird how sincere he seemed about seeing her... even out of town folks will usually know to show up at the wrong time of the month.”

“That way they can go up without worrying about seeing her and drowning themselves in her pool. She only comes out at the full moon, so just come at the wrong time of the month and there’s no risk. Most won’t even make the trek up to her pool, just lounge around in the lower pools. When they go back to university they’ll tell everyone how lovely she is and how hard it was to escape, but they never even saw her. It’s been a while since we’ve had a crazy like your friend who actually drowned himself up there.”

“So he did drown himself then?” I was crestfallen, but partially relieved. My work was almost over.

“Almost definitely, if he really went up there.” The bartender pulled a face that was meant to be sympathetic, but clearly said he didn’t have much sympathy to share with ignorant tourists. “I didn’t see him come back through the town at least. The full moon was last week, so if you really want to, you could probably hike up and see his body, it’d still be there. Just don’t try to get it out of the spring, and don’t take any of the stuff people have left by the side, even if it did belong to your friend. People like to leave it up there. Kind of a gift, a shrine really, to the Lady. You won’t get much kindness around here if we find out you’ve been taking her stuff.” He fixed me with a stern look.

“Of course,” I said quickly. My appearance must have declined more than I realized recently if I looked like I would pilfer a mass grave. “He was just a friend. I’m looking into what happened to him for his family,” I lied.

The bartender returned his attention to the door and polishing his glass, satisfied with my answer. “He had a family? That’s too bad. Sad what a girl will push people to do.” He said this with a finality that told me this was all he had to say.

I pulled out a small notebook and flipped through it. A year of travels, wasted, just like that. I looked back through my notes, until I realized what the bartender had just said. I got his attention again, which wasn’t hard, as I was still the only one in the room.

“Sorry, did you say a girl pushed him to go to the spring? You mean the Lady, right?”

“The Lady?” The bartender put down his glass and laughed loudly. “The Lady is not a girl, she’s a spirit.” He shook his head as if to say ‘look at this stupid outsider.'

I stared blankly back, I didn’t really see the distinction. “But, you mentioned a girl...”

“There was a girl too. Didn’t I say that? Not with him, but he kept talking about her. She wasn’t in the bar with him, so I don’t know anything about her other than what he said.”

“What did he say about her?” I pulled out a pen, ready to take notes. Would someone searching for a friend take notes like this? Probably not, but the bartender didn’t seem to care.

“The usual heartbroken lover stuff. At first it seemed like she had rejected him, because he was all broken up about her. But the drunker he got... I’m not sure, he might have rejected her.” The bartender scratched his chin, thoughtfully, then shrugged.

“Did he describe what she looked like?”

“No, other than drunk ramblings about her beauty and fine features and all that. He wanted to forget about her, so he went to the springs. Not a bad choice I guess. At least the Lady makes the pain quick.”

“And you didn’t see the girl before or after he left?”

“She didn’t come in here at least, or I would have given her a piece of my mind for driving the poor lad to death like that. But this is the only inn in town, so I would have seen her if she went anywhere.”

I sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking through the new information. The bartender went back to polishing glasses, and he whistled quietly while he worked. What to do about the girl? My quarry was almost certainly dead, but I had been instructed to close all leads. 

I dropped a few extra coins on the bar and stood up abruptly. “I should go confirm that he went up there so I can tell his folks. I’ll be careful not to touch anything. Thanks again.”

The bartender grunted and nodded to me, sweeping the coins into a small purse and already watching the door again. The off season for travelers must be rough on the inn. I shouldered my pack and walked out of the dim barroom into the early afternoon light. I squinted a bit as I collected my bearings and headed northwest.

[carsforsaleaus]

Why SUVs are Becoming a Popular Choice in the Cars for Sale Market?

In the ever-evolving world of cars for sale Dubbo, one type of vehicle has been steadily gaining popularity: the SUV. With their versatile nature, enhanced safety features, all-weather capability, off-road performance, and modern technology, SUVs have become a top choice for buyers in the market. 

In this blog post, we will explore why SUVs are increasingly becoming the preferred option when it comes to cars for sale.

Versatility and Spaciousness

When it comes to considering cars for sale Dubbo, one of the key factors that buyers often prioritise is interior space. SUVs excel in this area, offering ample room for both passengers and cargo. With their larger dimensions and higher rooflines, SUVs are well-suited for families, road trips, and hauling loads of various sizes.

One of the reasons for their versatility is the presence of foldable seats, which allow for customisable seating and cargo configurations. This means that SUV owners can easily transform their vehicle from a people carrier to a cargo haulier, depending on their needs. Additionally, SUVs often come with large storage compartments, providing ample room for luggage, groceries, or any other items that need to be transported.

Enhanced Safety Features

Safety is a paramount concern when it comes to cars for sale, and SUVs are known for their advanced safety features. Many SUV models are equipped with blind-spot monitoring, which alerts drivers to vehicles in their blind spots, reducing the risk of accidents during lane changes.

Collision avoidance systems are another common safety feature found in SUVs. These systems use sensors and cameras to detect potential collisions and can autonomously apply the brakes to prevent or mitigate the impact. Multiple airbags are also standard in SUVs, providing added protection for both the driver and passengers in the event of a collision.

The availability of these safety features has contributed to the rising popularity of SUVs among buyers. The peace of mind that comes with knowing that you and your loved ones are protected on the road is a significant factor in the decision-making process.

All-Weather Capability

Another advantage that SUVs have over other cars for sale is their superior traction control, making them suitable for various weather conditions. SUVs with all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive systems offer enhanced stability on wet or snowy roads, providing better grip and control.

This all-weather capability makes SUVs an attractive choice for buyers who live in areas with unpredictable weather patterns. Whether it's driving through heavy rain or navigating icy roads, SUVs can handle challenging conditions with ease. This capability gives drivers the confidence to go on their daily commute or embark on long road trips, regardless of the weather.

Off-Road Performance

For adventure enthusiasts or those seeking cars for sale with off-road capabilities, SUVs are the obvious choice. Designed to handle rough terrains and off-road adventures, SUVs come equipped with features that enhance their off-road performance.

One such feature is high ground clearance, which allows SUVs to clear obstacles like rocks and logs without getting stuck. Rugged suspension systems are also common in SUVs, enabling them to absorb impacts and maintain stability on uneven surfaces. Additionally, many SUV models offer specialised driving modes for off-road conditions, such as mud, sand, or rocky terrain.

These off-road capabilities make SUVs ideal for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy camping, hiking, or exploring remote areas. With an SUV, they can confidently venture off the beaten path, knowing that their vehicle is built to handle the challenges that lie ahead.

Modern Technology and Comfort

In addition to their practicality, SUVs also offer a wide range of modern technology and comfort features. Many SUV models come equipped with touchscreen infotainment systems that provide easy access to navigation, entertainment, and communication features. Smartphone integration allows drivers to seamlessly connect their devices to the vehicle, enabling hands-free calling, music streaming, and access to various apps.

Comfort is another aspect where SUVs shine. With their spacious interiors, plush seating, and adjustable seating positions, SUVs offer a comfortable ride for both the driver and passengers. Improved ride quality is achieved through advanced suspension systems, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable driving experience, even on long journeys.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, SUVs have become a popular choice in the cars for sale Dubbo market due to their versatility, enhanced safety features, all-weather capability, off-road performance, and modern technology. With their ample interior space, SUVs can accommodate the needs of families, road trippers, and cargo hauliers alike. 

The advanced safety features found in SUVs provide drivers with peace of mind, while their all-weather capability ensures a safe and secure ride in various weather conditions. For adventure enthusiasts, SUVs offer off-road performance that allows them to explore new horizons with confidence. Lastly, the modern technology and comfort features found in SUVs make for an enjoyable and connected driving experience.

Next time you're in the market for a new car, consider an SUV. With their versatility, safety, capability, performance, and technology, SUVs offer a well-rounded package that caters to a wide range of needs and preferences. 

So, whether you're a family-oriented driver, an outdoor enthusiast, or someone who simply appreciates comfort and convenience, there's an SUV out there that will meet your requirements. 

Source By : Why SUVs are Becoming a Popular Choice in the Cars for Sale Market?

[codyontheroad2023]

Intro: Why I'm heading out.

It's January 2023, and just a few months short of my 9 year anniversary with Colorado, I'm building out a RAM Promaster 1500 for full time living. The van will hold everything I own, and have a full electrical system, kitchen, bed, bathroom, and gear nook. Like plenty of adventure-minded people, I vaguely fantasized for years about the ability to travel full time. Some logistical complications seemed insurmountable, until I got a job in tech that is permanently fully remote. I indulged this fantasy more and more, wondering what it would be like to wake up every single day with a new horizon. I'm entirely untethered; no romantic relationship (by design, but more on that later), no pets, a livable income. I love mountains. I love wilderness. I love mountains and wilderness the way most people love their partners and families. I could write a full memoir detailing the ways that the wilderness and the mountains and the high desert have brought me to live in an indescribable way, but there will be time later for those reflections. I have a happy life based in Denver. I travel to the mountains on my weekends and have a great time, and then I come back to a house with my best friends, in a neighborhood with parks and cafe and friendly people. I have a small but mighty community in the metro area of people I love, but after the last four years of living mid-city, I couldn't be more clear on the right path for me. I am the best version of myself in less populated places, with beautiful sunrises and wildlife nearby. I am excited about traveling and exploring what life is like in small towns with access to nature, and I spend all of my waking time daydreaming about all of the places I need to try to see while I can - every hilly, serene dirt road or winding mountain pass that I can ride my bike on, every alpine lake where I can watch for moose and alpenglow reflections, every red dirt desert trail or sandy coastal trail where I can go for a jog, every summit to humble me and heal my exhausted brain with awe. There is nothing keeping me from trying my hand at this dream. I was never meant for a more traditional life, and I've been happy to fill my spare time with adventure over the last decade, but it's time for me to step into the next great unknown chapter. I am going to live in a van, where I can work full time from campgrounds or scenic overlooks or tiny independent coffee shops in a new village each day. I am going to live in a van, so I can drive around to all of my bucket list places on the continent and when I roll up in a town that looks promising, or has access to something I'd like to see more of, I can simply decide to make a life there until it's time to move on again. I am going to live in a van to take full advantage of the freedom I've got, to learn how to really create a whole and fulfilling and exciting life as a solitary person, and to meet and learn about all of people, communities, and wonderful places that I can. I've got a written journal for myself, but family often asks for updates; I wanted to start building a blog for the small handful of folks out there who might be interested to see what I'm up to and where I'm at. For now, I'd like to make a very very long post detailing, essentially, "what I've been up to" for the past several years. I always had a mind to create a blog and keep track of it all. While I wait for my van to be ready for it's first trip, I think a reflection on all of the things I've had so far to be grateful for sounds like a wonderful way to spend a snowy Sunday.

[haylanmakesstuff]

Day 30 (day 3,329)

Today was Haylan’s no good, very bad, terribly rotten day. Did I wake up? It’s hard to say, because I kept snoozing and was in a fog of fatigue all day. It lasted ALL DAY. Perhaps the physical and mental fatigue had finally caught up to me after 30 days on the road and a lot of hiking. Maybe my body just couldn’t handle whatever was going on inside and checked out. Added with not sleeping well, I was a hollow vessel all day, and seriously grumpy, to boot. This trip wouldn’t be at all possible if it weren’t for finally, after more than 2 years of searching, finding a prescription that works for me. I’ve received the news that I may not be able to be on it much longer though, so let’s hope the rest of the trip goes better than today.

We had talked about going kayaking this morning since we had been hiking a lot, and my arms needed the work out, but we found out the only kayak/canoe rentals are at the lodge, which is a 4 mile hike in and out. I did not have that in me, and even if I did, we could hike it and they may not have any available for Husband to go without me. Plans had to change.

We drove to Cascade Pass, a dirt road with access to snowy, alpine areas, and Hidden Falls Rd, a beautiful forest drive, but didn’t do anything at either trailhead since they were packed beyond imagination, and I wasn’t remotely capable of hiking today. I could barely walk to the bathroom. Glad we didn’t do the hike to the kayaks.

I fell asleep a few times in the car. My head was splitting, and my neck could barely hold my head up. A thoracic pain that appears sometimes for hours, sometimes for months, nagged my back shoulder blade area. My kneecaps were sore, pains plagued my abdomen, my lower back’s arthritis was rearing its fiery head, and the cartilage loss in my feet felt like I was walking in shoes with nail insoles. Basically, this sucked.

We sat at the visitor center awhile replanning out trip. I love that a place like North Cascades exists, but I felt very trapped here as someone who has a limited ability. We had the rest of the week here and I can’t kayak, I can’t hike, I’ve done the overlooks, lazed by a lake, and feel like I’m trapped in a paradise I can’t explore, and you know what they say, “Never tease a weasel or pull it by its tail”. Husband was gracious and understood, and it was his idea to switch gears and do something entirely different.

At this visitor center, I earned my Junior Angler badge. I dedicate this badge to Josh P. Thanks for supporting my fundraiser and for always keeping open arms for us. You have always showed us aloha, and I will always remember spending time with your beautiful Siamese cat with the gold tooth, because who can forget a Siamese cat with a gold tooth?? I hope we will get to live on the same island again one day.

We had a fire that night, and not wanting to waste the day, we decided to make a rainforest/vintage dress photo shoot in the woods. Because, why not? It may have been hard physically, but it certainly made me feel better about my major FOMO (fear of missing out). So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I end this post with my favorite shots. Enjoy my vanity!

Haylan

[ajaymoditravels]

Top 5 Leh Ladakh Offbeat Locations

Famous places around the world are known for certain things. But, for the most part, there are more such places than meets the eye. The best example would be Ladakh. Yes, I know that the pictures of Lake Ladakh shown in the movie 3 Idiots and Khardung Lama may have crossed your mind. This is where the problem lies. In search of diamonds, we ignore rubies, sapphires and sapphires. By this metaphor I mean that many people go to Ladakh for the three places which are most famous to them, but fail to find the places which are not so famous. And, the real attraction of Ladakh is in these small and remote places. Explore more about the trek in Ladakh. With this blog, I hope to tell you about the places to explore in the region that you must make a point to visit. Let's find amazing offbeat destinations in Ladakh.

Zanskar Valley - Adventure hub of Ladakh

It would not be wrong to say that Zanskar Valley is the best place for adventure lovers in Ladakh. If you like to splash with water as well as speed, you should go rafting on the Zanskar River. The rafting area from Remala to the confluence of the river Indus with Nimmu is more than 155 km long. You will climb high rapids and white waters, experience rapid landings, soak in cold water and pass through valleys. The valley between the barren and snowy mountains feels like a different world, in summer it is so colorful and green that you forget for a while that you are really in Ladakh.

The Zanskar River freezes in December and January and gives you the ultimate opportunity to trek on the frozen river which is widely known as Chadar Trek. It is counted among the most challenging tracks in India.

Uleytokpo - Campsite with a view

About 60 km from Leh city, Uletokpo is a camping ground on the banks of the river Indus. If you do not want to live in the city and want a quiet place then this is the right place for you. The only constant sound here will be of the river, and if you are lucky, of the regional birds as well. Accommodation in a tent or a suitable cottage is readily available. Imagine waking up to the naturally lit, brown rocks. Feel like having a picnic? You don't have to go anywhere because the grass in Uletokpo in summer is juicy enough for you to sit on it and enjoy a relaxing lunch or tea. You also have the option of sightseeing in the area.

Sumur - Visit the monastery, go hiking

The most notable site here is the Samastanling Gompa, a brand new monastery built in 1841. Well, it may not be really new, but compared to other monasteries in Ladakh it is 16th or 17th century. I don't know if it's well maintained or just well built, but it looks almost as good as new. Inside, you will be amazed to see bright and colorful wall paintings of various deities. You will also see large scroll pictures on silk cloth, depicting certain types of religious symbols. Coming to the part of hiking, there are numerous roads that lead to small villages even at higher altitudes. So, if you prefer hard mountaineering, you can definitely follow the trail from here.

Panamik - Relaxation of warmth before the icy cold heights of Siachen

Another of those small villages in the Nubra Valley, Panama, is about 55 km from the town of Diskit. The village is unique in that it is home to a hot sulfur spring, in stark contrast to the mind-numbing cold Siachen Glacier, just a few kilometers away. Panamik is the last village you can visit in the Nubra Valley because for obvious reasons citizens are not allowed on the glacier. So, you can have plenty of time to spend in the village, and I suggest you take this opportunity to bathe in the hot springs. According to beliefs, it has medicinal properties, which is able to eliminate various diseases. The bath complex has separate pools for men and women as well as shower cubicles. A dip in therapeutic springs is a great way to relieve you of the symptoms of stress or any height illness.

Upshi - A Quaint Resting Spot

Upshi village is located on the Leh-Manali highway and is reached after descending from Taglang Lathi. If you are tired of long distance travel or altitude sickness, you can stay here for the night anyway. Upashi has numerous budget hotels, guest houses and campsites for you to spend the night. Thick, long-haired Changthangi goats are commonly found in the area. The locals literally pamper these animals almost daily by cleaning their fur, making them nice and shiny. Highly demanded and expensive pashmina shawls are made from their wool. If you have the time, you must visit the numerous monasteries nearby. Stoke, Hemis, Thixi and Shena monastery or Gompas are within 55 km from the village.

Whether you are on a road trip in Ladakh or visiting places of interest in general, you will need a break. You may suffer from altitude sickness here and get tired sooner than usual. Therefore, you will feel the need to relax, which you should never ignore. One of the best places to relax in Ladakh is the hot springs of Chumathang. This is a natural pool on the banks of the river Indus, from which springs of hot sulfur-filled water flow. You can see the water slowly sliding into the fast flowing river. You can just sit in a pool and say goodbye to your troubles. If you are trekking in this region, these springs will be especially relaxing.

Now, next time you go to Ladakh, eat common places and try the above sites. This will give you a new perspective on the region, its culture, natural beauty and people.

[queensoybean0724]

Succession Chapter 3 (Karl Heisenberg/female reader) Resident Evil Village fanfic

Here’s chapter 3!  I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Succession Chapter 3

Characters: Karl Heisenberg, female reader

Rating: PG-13 for language and possible kidnapping trigger warning (this is a slow burn, but it will get sexy and spicy later on)

Summary: you discover a long lost relative has died and made you his sole beneficiary.  While flying to collect your inheritance, you crash in a village in Romania.

Author’s Notes: I do not own the characters from Resident Evil Village.  This is a work of fiction.  Anything remotely similar to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter 3

“Stop squirming!” Heisenberg growled as you kicked your legs and bucked your body.  Uttering a curse under his breath, he slung his hammer to the ground, whirled your body to face him, and threw you over his shoulder, picking up the hammer and dragging it in the snow.

You did not know where he was taking you.  It felt as if he had been carrying you for a good fifteen minutes.  The scenery going by was the same as what was at the crash site: nothing but snow and dead trees.  You pushed your hands to his back and tried to look around desperately for another person to call for help.  Unable to find any source of assistance, you did the only thing you could...kick your legs and beat your fists against his back.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” Heisenberg laughed, his grip on your legs tightening.  His voice held such confidence and self-assurance that you wanted to slap the fuck out of him.

You looked down to the ground and noticed that the snow and dirt gave way to cobblestones.  Looking around, you saw that he was walking across a bridge.  To your left were mountains with a cascading waterfall.  The wind caught sprays of mist and you felt the ice cold stinging your face.  

“Home sweet home, pussycat!” Heisenberg bellowed.  You heard the opening of a gate as you tried to turn around to see where he was taking you.  

“Put me down!” you shrieked, swinging your leg forward and kicking him square in the stomach.  A loud oomph rushed from his mouth and he lurched forward, dropping you forcefully on your ass.  Pain shot up your body.  You squirmed and cursed as you grabbed your butt, rubbing the pained area.

“Come on,” Heisenberg said, grabbing your arm and pulling you up, “you can’t just lie on the ground all day!”  

You tried to dig your heels into the ground to stop him when you looked up and saw the building before you.  A bleak factory with tall smoke stacks stood like a monstrosity with the snowy mountains in the background.  An array of scrap metal littered the grounds around the building.  Heisenberg pulled you towards a pair of sliding doors in the front.

Despite the fact that you and Heisenberg had yet to reach the building, the doors opened on their own.  The distant sounds of chains and metal could be heard deep inside of the factory and you wondered if there were others working.  Maybe someone would feel sympathy towards you and help you escape or call for help.  He pulled you over the threshold and into his factory.

With a sudden quickness, you jerked away from his grasp and tried to make a break for the doors.  They swiftly shut and trapped you inside.  You looked around wildly as Heisenberg laughed before you, knowing that you were stuck.  Not one to give up so easily, you spotted stairs going down to the lower level and you ran towards them.

“Ugh...I don’t have time for this shit!!” you heard Heisenberg yell behind you, but you were already halfway down the stairs and rushing to get as much distance between you and him as you could.

Your adrenaline was pumping as you turned a corner and ran down a dark hallway.  You couldn’t hear the man behind you, which had you hoping that you were able to hide from him and come out once the coast was clear.

The steel stairs and walkways were a labyrinth as you looked for an open door that led to an empty room.  There had to be someone in this place that you could convince to help you.  Hell, you were so close to becoming three million dollars richer...if they helped you, you could reward them handsomely.  But not before having this psychopath Heisenberg brought up on kidnapping charges.  

“Pussycat…” you heard in a sing-song voice coming around the corner, “...please come out and play…”

Your heart hammered in your chest as you ran down the hallway towards a door.  You opened the door and before you stood a metal walkway suspended in the air.  It went on for several feet before stopping at another closed door.  Slowly shutting the door behind you, you turned and started running across, your hands on the railings.  

Movement along with the sounds of cogs turning and chains rattling brought your attention to your left.  Your feet came to a halt and your eyes widened.  

Were those...bodies?

Lifeless bodies were hanging from a large metal wheel, turning around and around.  More bodies hung suspended from hooks as they moved along on an assembly line...lines that went up and down, right and left.  There had to be hundreds of bodies in this place.

“Jesus Christ!” you murmured, your hands gripping the railing.

“How do you like my army?”

Your head whipped around to find Heisenberg slamming the door shut behind him, slowly making his way towards you.  “Ah, yes...hundreds of men...waiting to become unbeatable, glorious works of art…”

“What the fuck is this place??” you spat at him, walking backwards.

Heisenberg looked at the bodies, his gloved hand sliding across the railing as he walked closer to you.  “You have no idea where you are, darling…” he responded, turning his attention to you, “...this place...well, perhaps death would have been better for you…”

“Stay away from me,” you muttered, turning around and running as fast as you could towards the door on the other side of the walkway.  You could hear the steady stomp of Heisenberg’s boots as he got closer and closer.  Gripping the door handle, you pulled as hard as you could, but the door did not budge.  You cursed and yelled, pulling and turning the handle.

Heisenberg’s arms went around your body and pulled you away from the door.  You kicked and screamed, struggling to get away.

“You are becoming quite a pain in my ass!” Heisenberg bellowed, pulling you back across the walkway, “should I have left you shivering in the snow, fresh meat for the lycans?”

“Let go of me!!” you screamed.  The two of you were back at the first door as he hauled you against his side, grunting as he carried you down a different corridor.  Your fingers tried to grip at his arm, pulling at his trenchcoat.  You swung your arms up towards his head, but he was quick to dodge your limbs.

He came up to a door and kicked it open, slinging your body inside.  You fell to the floor and rolled into the room.  “Sit tight, doll face,” Heisenberg grinned, “I’ll check in on you soon…”  And before you could get to your feet and run towards him, he closed and locked the door.

“Let me out!” you screamed as you banged your fists on the door.  You were met with silence and with a huff, you turned around.  The room wasn’t large.  A cot was against the wall.  There was a stall on the other side with a toilet.  Two metal chairs sat side by side against the wall to your left.  To your right was a metal sink.  You went to the sink and turned on the water.  Upon close inspection, it seemed clear and clean.  Leaning down, you gulped mouthfuls of water.  You didn’t realize until that moment just how thirsty you were.

You stood and gasped for air.  What the fuck is going on, you thought to yourself.  Your plane crashed, you were chased by werewolf-like men and a mutant hunchback, and now you were locked away in a factory by some hammer wielding psychopath.  Would you ever be able to escape?  If anyone located the crash and saw that there were no survivors, would they just suspect that you were one of those dead and not come looking for you?

For the first time since the crash, you allowed the weight of the world to flow over you.  And as you laid down on the cot, you finally allowed yourself to break down into quiet sobs.

*

The sudden opening of the metal door woke you and made you sit up straight on the cot.  Your heartbeat instantly accelerated as you looked and saw Heisenberg standing in the doorway with a tray of food in his hand.

“Rise and shine, darling!” Heisenberg greeted in a jovial tone.  He walked over to the sink and rested the tray across it, turning his attention away from you.  Standing from the cot, you watched as he took the empty glass from the tray and filled it with water from the tap.

Without thinking, you made a break for the open door.  Your focus was on escape and you didn’t notice when Heisenberg’s left hand made a twisting motion, the cot flipping onto its side, and swinging around the room, sliding between you and the door.  You yelped and halted your retreat so as not to run straight into the bed.  Your eyes flew between the cot and Heisenberg, not able to believe what you just saw.

“Don’t you think for one second you can stop running and just sit the fuck down?!” he growled as he turned to face you, “here I am, bringing you food, making sure you are well taken care of, and you can’t rest for two seconds!!”

“How did you do that??” you asked.  Heisenberg shut the door and uprighted the cot, pulling it back to where it was.

“Magic,” he muttered under his breath, “seriously...Y/N, is it?  I’m sure you’re starving.  Just sit and eat something…”  He picked up the tray and placed it on the cot, patting the mattress beside it.  He walked past you towards one of the chairs and sat down.  You moved in time with him, moving closer to the food...but only in order to keep space between the two of you.

The smell of the stew hit your nostrils and your stomach growled loudly.  It did smell nice and you had to admit that you were incredibly hungry.  You begrudgingly moved to the bed, sat down, and brought the tray to your lap.  You picked up the spoon and dug in.

As you ate, your eyes moved from the bowl of stew to Heisenberg and back again.  You watched as he reached into the inner pocket of his trenchcoat, pulled out a cigar, and lit it with a lighter he took from another pocket in the coat.  He puffed on the cigar, leaning his head back and expelling a cloud of smoke up in the air.  The aroma wafted through the room.  

You didn’t say anything, but you always thought the smell of cigar smoke was intoxicating.

Heisenberg rested his arm across the other chair next to him and lifted his leg, putting his foot to rest on the opposite knee.  His eyes never left yours.

As you ate quietly, you took in your captor.  His boots, his clothing, the hat, and the sunglasses.  Gloves covered his hands.  His hair was long, coming to rest at chin level.  His short beard was the same shade as his hair, brown with hints of gray peppered in between.  If he hadn’t kidnapped you from the wreckage of the plane, you might have found him attractive.

Once you finished eating, you placed the tray on the cot next to you and finished your glass of water.

“How was it?” Heisenberg asked, motioning to the tray with his cigar.

“Good…” you mumbled, “...why am I here?  And how did you move this cot??  What the fuck is going on??”

Heisenberg puffed on his cigar again before standing from the chair and walking towards you.  “All will be revealed in due time.”  He took your arm in his free hand and pulled you from the bed and towards the door.

“Now where are we going?!?!” you asked, feelings of fear, dread, and disbelief surging through you once again.

“You have proven you can’t be trusted on your own,” Heisenberg said, “you’re staying in my living quarters with me…”

[101flavoursofweird]

hi there, I'm here because I'm having feels about Layton. I know that Bronev was some evil motherfucker, but I don't think he was a terrible/abusive dad before Targent kidnapped him. Do you have any headcanons about what preTargent!Bronev family was like?

I’m sorry this has taken a little while to write!

Leon has no surviving blood relatives and neither does Rachel... What other reason could there be for the Laytons coming in to adopt one of the brothers? Other than social services not existing in the Layton world

Leon proposed to Rachel with a silver ring that had a blue gem in its centre. Rachel would ask whether the gem was a diamond or sapphire, but Leon would jokingly never confirm. The gem was actually from a (deactivated) Azran crystal.

Rachel was a photographer (Where do you think Emmy got her first camera?), and the Bronev family home was filled with her photos. She would often ask Leon to be her MODEL.

Before Leon Bronev became dangerously involved with his Azran research, I can see him being a good, albeit easily distracted, dad, much like Layton is with Flora.

Leon miiight have accidentally left his kids in the car, but it was just one time when he was exhausted after work and anyway, Hershel managed to get out of the car with Theodore. Rachel was not impressed.

It could get very snowy in the hilly area where the Bronevs lived. On snow days, they would go out sledging or attempt to build igloos.

In their remote little village, the Bronev family were known as a ‘nice family of archaeology nut heads’. They weren’t exactly reclusive, but the family kept to themselves.

For years, Hershel begged his dad to let them adopt a dog, but Leon refused because they wouldn’t have time to look after a dog. Then one day, much to their sons’ joy and Rachel’s disgust, Leon comes home with two ferrets. “My colleague… He was going to have them put down. I had to do something—!” Leon doesn’t think that ferrets will require a lot of exercise and attention. How wrong he is…

The Bronevs would often go on ‘family outings’ to archaeology sites, with a picnic. They might even end up camping— though, Leon can’t put up a tent to save his life. While roasting marshmallows around the fire, Leon would tell his family tales from the Azran civilisation.

That coin toss game Bronev uses to test Layton in his office during AL is a game from Layton’s early years. Leon would play it with his sons for fun, and that’s mainly why Layton is able to beat him during AL.

Hershel (Desmond) gets his love of reading from his father. Before Leon became utterly obsessed with Azran texts, he spent part of his time reading classic spy novels. He would watch the movie adaptations with Rachel.

Rachel gifted Leon that brown flatcap we see him wearing in the AL credits pictures.

One year, before Spectre’s Call, a young man with spiky blonde hair and a flatcap turns up late at Layton’s class. The student (Carmine) is apologetic, but Layton is left shaken by their encounter. Layton is certain the two of them have never met, but why does he seem so familiar…?

At some point after Azran Legacy, Desmond Sycamore sends Layton an old photo of the Bronev family. That’s when it finally clicks for Layton. For the first time, Layton gets a glimpse of a younger Bronev— smiling with short spiky blonde hair poking out from under his flatcap.

[mask131]

A look at RE: Village horror tropes and four lords

Note that this can be debunked at any time. A lot of stuff we know for sure, others are speculations and theories based on the trailers and promos.

So... Resident Evil: Village is a huge love letter to Gothic horror, to the Universal Horror Classics movies, to the Hammer Horror and the entire fictional landscape created by those works, while tying them in the science-fiction-like setting of the franchise. All the supernatural monsters seem to actually be mutants suffering from a strand or another of the mutating virus reinvented so many times in the franchise, or maybe hosts to primal parasites (such as Las Plagas). This is however unknown yet, since we saw people literaly turn into swarms of flies... they'll need an explanation for this. But after all, the black mold of the last game was absolutely horrific, so who knows what they will invent.

Anyway... The game takes place in a remote village in an unnamed Eastern Europe country. This village is the archetypal horror village. Eastern Europe is a given location. The weather is often foggy and rainy, the sky seems perpetually gray, there are dreary, desolated lands, and snowy mountains, old-fashionned houses and scarecrows everywhere... The village is also shown to be very recluse, the villagers not trusting the "outsiders" and visibly having their own private little cult around the "benevolent" figure of Mother Miranda.

The most interesting feature of the game is, of course, its villains. The four houses of villains in fact (and no, I'm not talking Harry Potter here). The village is dominated by four "houses" made of four (presumably all noble) families that control the entire area. Turns out those nobles are actually mutants of some sort, and villains who not only turned on their villagers but also are part of some sort of obscure, evil, creepy cult centered around... you guessed it, Mother Miranda, who intends to perform a strange "ritual".

[ I put “presumably” here because while they are identified as houses and lords, putting them at upper-class, and two live in a castle and a manor, hinting at wealthy and aristocratic backgrounds, some like Heisenberg do not seem aristocratic or upper class at all, which might imply the four houses are maybe simply the four most powerful and wealthiest families of the village – the house Heisenberg being more akin to the steel, railway, oil and robber barons of the 19th century]

   On top of all the four houses embodying the Gothic archetype of the decadent, degenerate, perverse and monstrous noble families, each of the four “lords” of the village was designed to bring a different flavor and types of horror archetypes in mind. So let’s check what we already know.

# The first of the houses, the one we know the most about, is House Dimitrescu. They live in the Castle Dimitrescu, your classic old Gothic castle – though this one is much more luxurious and well-kept than usual –, and they seem to be the most important of the four houses. They are very clearly an homage to the vampire lore, especially to Dracula (after all, their name is Romanian in origin). House Dimitrescu is made of blood-sucking mutants who are visibly very sensitive to sunlight. They produce a wine called “Sanguis Virginis” (Virgin Blood), and given how they capture maidens in dungeons and visibly have an active torture chamber, you can imagine what kind of “wine” it is. Similarly, they are also seen eating human flesh.

The Lord of this house is Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, a 2m90 tall pale woman dressed like in the 1930s, who can sprout extremely long claws akin to blades. As the leader of House Dimitrescu, she is obviously a Dracula reference: she drinks blood, has the vampire pallor and visibly does not age (given that the game demos happen several decades from each other). The designers of the game also explained that they got inspiration from two other female entities: Morticia Addams from the Addams Family (as the elegant but creepy matriarch of a Gothic/horrifying family) and Hachishaku-sama, an urban legend in Japan about an eight-feet tall monstrous woman with black hair, a hat and a white dress. Lady Dimitrescu has three “daughters” that are an obvious reference to the three “brides” of Dracula – they are dressed all in black (as opposed to the brides, all in white), they use tools to harm their victims (knives and sickles) and they actually have the ability to turn into a swarm of flying insects (which is a reference to the transformations of classical vampires into animals or fog). Interestingly, the designer team referred to them as “witches”, which actually explains why they are dressed in black and wield creepy tools such as sickles (usually associated with druids and other ancient magic practionners). They are called Cassandra, the sadistic middle child, Daniela, the youngest and most delusional, and Bela, the quiet and strong eldest daughter (this third name being another obvious vampire reference). It is also quite interesting that the designer team went with Greek-originated names (Alcina, Cassandra, even Dimitrescu is a Romanian version of an originally Greek name).

The rest of the house is made of bat-like mutants flying around the castle (obvious vampire references) and hooded grotesque ghouls armed with sickles lurking deep in the castle (which is also a nice reference to the original vampires, the legendary and folkloric ones, before literature came, the grotesque zombie-like monsters).

Their house symbol is… a cross made of flowers and leaves, with swords behind? I honestly do not know how to interpret this… Oh yes, and I forgot to add that the claws of Lady Dimitrescu were inspired by those of the Homonculi “Lust”, from the world-renowned manga and anime “Fullmetal Alchemist” – the parallel is even stronger when you realize the same woman voices the two characters.

 # The second of the houses is Heisenberg. Dimitrescu was Romanian, Heisenberg is a German surname. Some have tied this to Werner Heisenberg, a famous physicist who developed quantum physics and the nuclear program of the Germans in WWII – however people link this only to the fact that the Heinseberg House owns the large factory which seems to have been the economical center of the village’s life. Many people have rather pointed out that the German origins might be a parallel to Professor Van Helsing.

Indeed, the head of the house, Karl Heisenberg, has an outfit very similar to the one that became associated with the typical modern vampire hunters (the most relevant of these examples being the 2004 movie “Van Helsing”), but also plays as an homage to one of the costumes worn by Dracula in London during Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. Karl Heisenberg is the most human-looking of the four Lords of the village, and seems to be supernatural in his abilities (such as carrying an extremely heavy and large hammer, or visibly using magnetism to make metal pieces float). However many consider that the shaggy, bearded giant wielding a hammer is Karl’s monstrous form. This giant being is a clear homage to German folklore here – not the traditional Gothic or early horror movies culture, but rather German gravures, illustrations and legends. The German mythology (which was equal to the Nordic mythology) was filled with bearded gods and dwarves, with hammer-wielding creatures (against gods, such as Thor, and dwarves) as well as with giants – and the monster seen in the trailers look strikingly like some of the illustrations or gravures of Germanic mythological tales. Others have identified the giant as a rendition of the Leshy, a giant spirit of nature guarding forests and commanding animals in Slavic mythology – though Heinsenberg is noted to be German-based. Finally, Heisenberg is noted to be in search of “entertainment” and turns killing into a “game”. A hunting game of course… This brings to mind another classic of horror, though not truly Gothic: the “man hunter” archetype started with

House Heinsenberg is visibly tied to the “Lycans”, aka Resident Evil’s version of werewolves. Destructive, savage and meat-hungry humanoids with feral/animalistic/wolf-like traits, and who can “infect” and turn other people by biting them. Scenes also showed that the Factory is actively working at mass producing an army of some sort, and we have seen some humanoids with strange equipment, weapons and other electric parts included in their body. As a result, House Heinsenberg might also be based on the myth of Frankenstein – except here they would mass-create pieced-together creatures.

We can note that Lady Dimitrescu mentions Heisenberg as her “little brother”, though other times she also refers to him as “Heisenberg”, implying some sort of distant familial relationship (maybe they are half-siblings?). Given that these are four noble houses, it wouldn’t be so strange for them to be all related, the nobles marrying each other to unite their hold over the region. The Heinsenberg symbol is a horse head in the center of a horseshoe. This all implies a notion of work and labor, horses being the typical labor-horses (and were used in early times of industry and factories), while horseshoes are one of the typical products of smiths.

 # We do not know much about House Moreau. They own the reservoir of the village, and thus their water supply. Moreau is a French name, and might be a very obvious reference to the “Island of Dr. Moreau”, a story about a mad scientist turning animals into humanoids and breeding human-animals hybrids. This ties well with the symbol of the House, which is a mermaid, half-woman half-fish.

House Moreau also has a clear “water monster”/”water horror” theme going on. We see some sort of mutated whale or monstrous fish in the reservoir, and the head of the house, Salvatore Moreau was according to the designers based on the “merman” idea. Indeed, he is seen to have barnacles on his coat and webbed hands and feet. Some consider “merman” to be an homage to the Creature of the Black Lagoon, others rather point out the Merman in “Cabin in the Woods” (it is true that Salvatore looks a lot more like the Merman in Cabin in the Woods than the Black Lagoon monster, however the Merman was in turn based on the Creature of the Black Lagoon, so the circle comes full). Salvatore was also designed to be the most repulsive character imaginable, giving him crooked, distorted teeth, an unnatural skin-color, a pronounced hunchback and a boil-covered (throat? goiter?). This calls to mind all the “Igor” like characters, the deformed servants in Gothic horror. His repulsive appearance and crown of bones also come to mind imagery related to “ghouls” in modern day.

Interestingly, while Moreau is French of origin, Salvatore is an Italian name, possibly linking this House to the fourth one…

 # House Beneviento, the last of the four houses. The house we know the least about. Benevento is an Italian surname, completing our tour of Europe (Dimitrescu=Eastern Europe ; Moreau= Western Europe ; Heisenberg=Central/Northern Europe ; Beneviento=Southern Europe), and seems to be a direct reference to the “Witches of Benevento”, a belief about secret gathering of witches dating back to the 13th century.

House Beneviento owns a large manor (another classic of Gothic horror, some have considered it to be a hint at them being related to ghost, their manor being a haunted house) with, according to the map, a Grim-Reaper like figure nearby (again, a death reference). The appearance of the House’s leader, Donna Beneviento, might be a reference to the recent return of popularity of the “Woman in Black” figure, thanks to the movies of the same name – indeed Donna is entirely dressed in a black mourning outfit, her veil hiding her face. Donna Beneviento is forever accompanied by Angie, a ventriloquist puppet… that is not only insanely creepy and looking like a demented corpse-bride, but also able to move and speak on its own (many people theorize it is some sort of animatronic). Angie is evidently a reference to the trope of the “evil dummy” and “creepy puppet”, popularized so much by “Annabelle” recently – though her wedding dress is also a nod to the “creepy bride” in horror. The idea of the ghostly puppeteer linked to a creepy house also reminds me of the horror movie “Dead Silence”.

The symbol of House Beneviento is a sun with a seemingly male face, and a moon crescent with a female face. What does it mean? We are not sure yet. The Beneviento house could be as much about ghosts as witches or something else entirely…

So to recap it all. House Dimitrescu: Dracula and vampires, with touches of witches. House Heisenberg: Van Helsing + Werewolves + Frankenstein (in fact this seems to be a huge reference to the Van Helsing movie, which had Dracula, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster and all the like). Also influences from Germanic giants (which makes sense given that the first Gothic novel ever, the Castle of Otranto, had a supernatural giant-ghost-like creature) House Moreau: "Merman", aka sea and water horror + Igor-like deformed Gothic men (his official description explicitely says he hides from the town, refering to the typical Gothic trope of the deformed monster hiding from regular people). House Beneviento: Creepy puppets. Maybe witches or ghosts? All of that being said, the Duke also deserves a mention. He is not part of the four houses, and he is quite benevolent towards the protagonist, despite being a local. However his title and appearance indicates an upper-rank, similar to the four Houses, and his body (not only very tall but also suffering from morbid obesity) fits with the aesthetic of the deformed and grotesque upper-class. Plus he also appears inside the castle of Lady Dimitrescu, that he seemingly knows quite well - but he is clearly a human, even having garlic around his "shop"/Emporium in the Dimitrescu castle.

[sparkie96]

Sneak Peek at the Next Chapter of "Pantoran Diplomacy"

“And here is your room, your majesty.” A servant said to Obi-Wan with a bow, “Though, it is only temporary. Once you and the Chairman are married, you will be moved to his chambers.” 

They had touched down on the Pantoran Moon around dinnertime, Obi-Wan having been dressed in his snowsuit and snow booties, as well as his hat and goggles on the way here in preparation for the frigid and snowy conditions. Though it had been the equivalent of the Time of the Summer Solstice on Coruscant, it was currently the Time of the Winter Solstice on Pantora. Though, Winter here was more like that of the snow planet Hoth than like that of Coruscant’s or even Alderaan’s Winters. 

So, it was a very noticeable and nerve shocking contrast when he went from the warm, semi-crowded ship, to the frigid and bone chilling cold of the outside world, to the warm and cozy air of the palace to which he was going to be calling his home from now on. 

Obi-Wan looked around at his sleeping quarters, the room much larger than that of his rooms at the Temple. Sith’s Hell, he could probably fit his, Anakin’s and Ahsoka’s quarters in this room alone. It had a decent view of the city below as well as the vast valleys and hills beyond, seeing the mountainous terrain in the distance. 

The room itself was made of smooth white stone floors, columns, and walls. The columns had intricate whirls of gold embroidery with the blue imprints of what Obi-Wan assumed was the flower of the Pantoran Crest, a plant that looked like a mix of a Magnolia and a Primula. A large bed sat in the middle of the room, where four columns made up the corners of it. It was definitely bigger than his own bed back home, dressed with shades of blue shimmersilks and pillows. Fabrics hung from the ceiling above the bed in a sort of canopy. There was a holoscreen on the wall opposite the bed, but it didn’t seem to work at that moment, Obi-Wan testing the remote and then the button on the screen. 

There was a dresser underneath the screen and parallel to that was the vanity, a giant mirror there, in case he needed it. A chaise lounge was next to the bed, one needing to take a step down to get to the “living area” of the bedroom. In front of that was a coffee table and next to the chaise was a giant plant with fan-like green leaves and a strong, wooden trunk or body. In the center of the ceiling was a giant crystal chandelier, the lighting giving the chandelier a glittery, rainbow look. There was a plate of treats and a teapot and teacup waiting for him on the coffee table. The whirling gold patterns and flowers were all over the white and silver of the furniture.

Overall, the room was too much and too…tacky for Obi-Wan’s taste. It was much too complex and overwhelming for his liking, now yearning for his simple and plain rooms back at the temple. 

“Is it to your liking, your Majesty?” The servant asked, taking Obi-Wan’s coat, hat and goggles as the Omega began to strip out of his outfit with the exception of his undertunic, pants and socks. 

“It’s…a bit much, if I’m being completely honest.” He admitted, making a face at the decorum, “I’m not one for flashy rooms or decor.”

“Apologies, your Majesty. I will bring it up with the Chairman…though he may be insulted. He had a lot of input when it came to decorating and renovating the rooms in the palace.” 

“Right…” Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head, “Perhaps it is best to not say anything then. For your sake and mine.”   

[miracleonice87]

38 with Mat

from the Winter/Christmas Writing Prompts list

38. “You’re under the mistletoe so stop stalling and just kiss.” 🎄

quick note: this one is prob a bit longer than the others will be. I just L O V E writing Sydney and Marty as secondary characters in Mat stories.

quick warnings: swearing, alcohol, super snowy powdery Christmas fluff

and, just for fun, song pairing: mistletoe by Justin Bieber (obviously)

_____

There really was no place like home.

After moving away to Los Angeles to attend USC for both undergrad and grad studies, you were finally back in New York. You hadn’t been able to resist the pull — it was almost as if, from all the way across the continent, you could feel the Atlantic tide receding and pulling you home along with it. For better or for worse, you belonged to the Empire State.

Sydney, your lifelong best friend and a New Yorker herself, was beyond ecstatic, as she had recently gotten engaged to her longtime boyfriend Matt, a hockey player, and named you her maid of honor. Planning a wedding — not to mention showers and bachelorette festivities — would be far easier, and far more fun, with you in the same zip code. Since moving back six weeks ago, you’d spent about ninety percent of your time with Sydney by your side, making up for lost time with the woman who had long been your other half.

So sweet, right? There was just one problem. Sydney wouldn’t stop trying to set you up with guys. She was insistent that you’d been single for too long — you’d broken up with your college sweetheart by the end of your senior year — and she made it her mission for you to find love again. And she, on her own, was bad enough — she’d already hooked you up with so many friends of friends that you’d lost count, and none had been interesting enough for a second date — but her fiancé conspiring right along with her made resisting them that much more difficult.

This particular night, she had lured you to the home she shared with Matt under the guise of having dinner with her family, when in reality, she was throwing a Christmas dinner party for Matt’s closest friends on the team. All of whom had — and brought — significant others. Except for one. What a coincidence.

Also coincidentally, his name was Mat, too, or so you were told — you didn’t quite believe Syd’s Matt when he told you that upon introducing the two of you.

“Mat with one ’t,’” he announced, one arm slung around Mat’s shoulders. The handsome, dark-haired man swallowed thickly and gave you his best polite smile — it was in that moment that you realized beyond a shadow of a doubt this was yet another set up.

Matt made a lame excuse about needing to check on Sydney in the kitchen and snuck away after some brief pleasantries, but not before blatantly nudging your much-smaller frame toward New Mat. You gave Matt a menacing glare before recovering, standing a safe distance away from New Mat, leaning against the wooden beam behind you to keep you steady.

“So, Mat with one ’t,’ how long have you played with the ever-obnoxious Matty?” you asked, trying to play it cool.

Mat laughed easily. Damn, he had a nice laugh — the kind that made his pretty eyes crinkle at the corners. Nice hair. Nice teeth — perfect fucking teeth. Wasn’t he supposed to be a hockey player? Wait, what was he saying? Something about Seattle, and the draft, and… now you were lost. You nodded slowly with a forced smile as you tried your hardest to focus on what he was saying. He was just so goddamn pretty.

Thankfully, Sydney’s call from the kitchen saved you from the embarrassment of not having heard a word this poor boy had spoken.

“Dinner’s ready! I’m really type A, as you all know, so I made little placecards for everyone at the table,” she announced to the group of ten, hands clasped before her as Matt snaked an arm around her from behind and smiled proudly.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Mat mused. “Shall we?”

You threw him a grin and nodded, turning your back to him and making your way to the dining room.

On your way, you paused in front of your dear friend just long enough to grumble, “Assigned seats? Really, Syd?”

She clapped enthusiastically and smacked your ass as you passed her. “Yep! See you in there, champ!” she exclaimed as you heard frantic whispers exchanged between Mat and Matt. You couldn’t hold back your snicker, and as you glanced over your shoulder, Mat gave you a strained smile. You shook your head bemusedly and turned to the table to find that, to no one’s surprise, you and Mat were indeed to be seated side by side at one end of the table. You cleared your throat and nodded toward the cards bearing your names.

“Subtle, no?” you joked, causing Mat to blush pink. He choked out, “Ah, yeah. You gotta love them.” Then, he pulled out your chair and motioned for you to take a seat, which, as luck would have it, Sydney and Matt caught just in time because they were bringing in the food on serving dishes at that very moment. Their eyes sparkled and Sydney looked like she may self-destruct out of sheer joy as you sat down and thanked Mat. You gave her an icy look and she visibly retreated, holding herself back from making a complete scene.

“Okay, dig in!” she said instead as she sat down across from you.

Dinner was incredible, as usual — while your talents lacked in the cooking area, Sydney had always been an outstanding chef. Even more, you enjoyed the conversation, which was mostly inclusive of everyone at the table, save for the occasional chirp Mat secretly muttered in your ear about Matt or Anders, making you cover your mouth with your hand to stifle a giggle as Sydney looked on smugly. Meanwhile, whenever you and Sydney would say the exact same thing at the same moment or finish the other’s sentence, Mat would look to Marty, who would only raise his eyebrows and nod, confirming Mat’s suspicion that these two were always this in sync. Mat found it endearing. He adored Syd — if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have agreed to come here tonight when she told him, “There’s someone I want you to meet…” — and already, he saw countless similarities in the two of you.

After he’d helped you clear the plates and load the dishwasher for your hosts, you and Mat settled onto a couch in the farthest corner of the living room, near the Christmas tree, while the others gathered in the center of the space, loudly entertaining themselves. As you curled your feet underneath yourself, you didn’t miss how Sydney reached for a nearby remote and slowly flickered on the fireplace right beside you and Mat. Yet again, you shot her a killer look that she pretended not to see as Mat smiled, amused at how flustered you were by Sydney trying to further set the mood.

“So how long have you known Syd?” he asked as he took another swig from his beer bottle, attempting to get you back on track. “Has to be a while. I swear I’ve never seen two friends who were more alike.”

You tucked some hair behind your ear and let out a breathy chuckle. With anyone else, you were ever prepared to skirt that question and quickly move on to another subject. But with Mat, it was nice knowing you really didn’t have to.

“Yeah, my whole life, actually,” you answered, a smile on your face at the thought. Your eyes flickered up to his as you added, “My dad played for the Jets... with Boomer while he was there.”

Mat’s brows quirked noticeably, but not in the familiar way that made you feel like he was about to ask you to FaceTime your dad or get an autograph from him. Because he was a professional athlete himself — which was ironic because you’d sworn up and down your whole life that, because of the lifestyle you saw your dad and his teammates, not to mention their families, lead, you’d never fall for anyone who played sports for a living. Even when Sydney insisted with a shrug after settling down with Matt, “It’s not that bad.”

“No way,” Mat said with a casual laugh. “That’s awesome. What position did he play?”

“Uh, receiver,” you replied. “So he and Boomer were tight. Our moms hit it off right off the bat and have been best friends since. Since then, we’ve always vacationed together, ended up living in the same neighborhood after they both retired. I’m three years younger than Syd and I was basically like her shadow. Still am, I guess,” you added with a smile.

Mat nodded, his eyes never leaving your face as you told the familiar tale. “I think that’s awesome though,” he spoke. “You guys could be sisters I feel like. You act just like her. Plus Marty says you’re the only friend of hers who’s kicked him out of bed so you could sleep with her.”

You threw a hand to your chest and your head back laughing at that, and Mat’s heart soared at being able to elicit such a reaction from you himself. You pointed a gold-polished index finger at him and admitted, “He tells no lies on that one.”

Just then, you caught Mat’s unabashed gaze, which had shifted from well-mannered and nonchalant into something deeper, something... affectionate. You swallowed, casting a downward glance at your lap, and swirled the ice cubes in your otherwise empty highball glass.

“I need a refill,” you said with a nervous giggle. “You want anything?”

Mat looked all too pleased with himself at your offer, and he nodded. “Sure, yeah, another beer would be great. Thank you,” he said. You smiled and nodded as you turned away and headed for the kitchen.

Ever the subtle one, once again, Sydney, who had been shamelessly watching the two of you from her perch in Matt’s lap across the room, stumbled over Jax’s paw as she bolted to the kitchen island where you now stood. You blinked at her wildly and said, “May I help you, Sydney Irene? You nearly wounded your poor dog.”

“So,” Sydney sang, ignoring your question completely as she leaned back against the kitchen counter, propping her palms on the edge and looking much more smooth than she had just a moment ago. She waggled her eyebrows at you before continuing. “Whadd’ya think? He’s cute, right?”

You scoffed. “Sydney—“ you began in a warning tone as you reached for the rum, but were interrupted before you could speak another word.

“If you hate him, it was Matt’s idea,” she deadpanned, then allowed a mischievous grin to stretch along her painted red lips as she cocked her head. “But if you like him, it was mine.”

You rolled your eyes as you poured yourself another rum ginger, ignoring the flush you could feel creeping up your chest and neck under Sydney’s scrutiny.

“You’re blushing! You do like him!” Syd squealed as she poked at your side, thankfully making an attempt to stay quiet as the guys, Mat included, carried on noisy shenanigans in the family room before you.

“Sydney, stop! I just met him,” you tried to argue, turning away from her. It was Sydney’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Like that matters. I fell for Matt like—“ she snapped her fingers for dramatic effect, “—that. And look at us now.”

You pursed your lips to the side. You couldn’t exactly argue that. With no quick comeback coming to mind, you stirred your drink, took three generous gulps — as Sydney watched, wide-eyed — and licked your lips before sighing at her.

“Well, fine,” you grumbled as you opened the fridge and grabbed a fresh beer for Mat. “Let’s not keep the boy waiting then.” You sashayed away from your friend who, spinning away from you, quickly squeezed her eyes shut and crossed her fingers before turning back and following behind you.

Mat thanked you profusely for the drink as you returned to him. Now he sat among his teammates, and Sydney sat back in Matt’s lap as you took the seat beside Mat on the opposite couch. You noticed how he immediately leaned back and comfortably stretched his arm across the cushion behind you, and you’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t inch a little closer then. It briefly occurred to you that you were drawn to him in the very same way you’d been drawn back home not long ago.

He felt like home. Already.

And soon, after a few hours more of merrymaking, Mat never leaving your side, the other couples had all headed for home. You four who remained had played several rounds of euchre and sang and danced to half a dozen Christmas carols before you realized how late it was. Knowing you’d had too much rum and wouldn’t be fit to drive, you’d already established that you’d stay in Sydney’s guest room — or maybe kick Matt out of the master. Regardless, you were staying put. But Mat, reluctantly, was leaving — the boys had practice in the morning.

“I guess I should go,” Mat sighed after a long round of goodbyes. Matt and Sydney gave him one last hug and retreated to the far side of the spacious room, aiming, of course, to leave the two of you to your own goodbye.

You nodded. “I guess you should,” you said, caught off guard by the twinge of sadness in your tone. “I’ll walk you out.” Mat smiled and turned toward the front door, and your heart truly may have skipped an actual beat when he glanced back at you and reached his hand out for you to grab. You did so, biting down on your smiling bottom lip as you followed him down the hall into the entryway, acutely aware that, if Sydney and Matt were indeed watching — of which you had no doubt — they could still clearly see you.

But when Mat pulled on his shoes and stood up straight again, stepping slowly, so slowly, closer to you, all you could think about was how hard your heart was thumping against your ribcage. You looked up at him in anticipation, and he smoothed his hands down the sleeves of your sweater softly.

“I had a really, really nice time tonight, you know,” Mat spoke. You had to remind yourself to breathe as the sincerity of his voice flooded your senses and his warm, honey-flecked eyes pierced through you. “Tonight was honestly the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

You beamed — how could you not? “Yeah?” you asked incredulously. Mat nodded.

“Yeah. In fact,” he cleared his throat. “I was wondering if maybe, uh, you’d want to go to dinner with me sometime. Like maybe this Sunday night, after we play?”

You felt yourself grinning like an idiot, yet had no control.

“Yeah,” you finally answered. “Yes. Of course. I’d love that.”

Mat blew out a long breath and chuckled nervously. “Thank God,” he added as you both dissolved into a fit of giggles. You stepped closer to him and smelled his clean, woodsy cologne, inadvertently breathing it in. Mat came nearer, too, and tentatively reached his hands around to your lower back. “It’s a date then,” he spoke, his voice lower now, gravelly. You swallowed — hard — and gave a nod.

“It’s a date,” you echoed.

You simply stood in one another’s presence for a few long moments, smiling giddily at each other, before Mat sighed once more and glanced toward the door.

“I really don’t wanna go, but I—“

“No! Syd, just leave them be,” Matt suddenly whispered sharply to his fiancé — who seemed to have literally leapt up from the couch — though there was no point in whispering at all because you still heard him loud and clear. Jumping up behind Sydney, Matt easily wrapped her in his arms and clapped his hand over her mouth just as she started to speak.

After wrestling for control of Matt’s hand, she finally pulled it away just long enough to call out, “You’re under the mistletoe so stop stalling and just kiss already!”

With one final “shush!”, Matt covered her mouth once more, though his entire body was wracking with silent laughter.

“Goodnight, kids!” Matt said tersely as he all but manhandled Sydney down the opposite hallway into their bedroom, the two of them erupting with laughter the second they closed the door.

You rolled your jaw and looked above you and Mat to find that, yes, indeed, there hung a very Sydney-like crystal ornament adorned with glittery mistletoe, suspended from the archway.

“Un-fucking-believable,” you muttered, resting your head against Mat’s chest as you both laughed anxiously.

But a moment later, Mat’s voice rumbled in his chest. “Hey...” he spoke. You took that as your invitation to look up at him, and when you did, you found him gazing at you even more tenderly than he had before.

“I mean, since there’s mistletoe and all.. would it be okay if I kissed you?” he asked. His hand found your cheek and you grasped his fingers in your own.

“Well,” you began, leaning further into him. “Only since there’s mistletoe.”

Mat breathed a chuckle and whispered, “Okay, good,” before his lips found yours in a toe-curling, snow-melting, heart-growing, hell of a Christmas movie kiss that you both found yourselves smiling into by the end.

“Wow,” was somehow all you could whisper when you finally pulled away for air.

“Yeah,” Mat agreed simply. “Wow.”

“It worked!” You heard the muffled squeal from behind Sydney’s closed door.

You rolled your eyes once again, hating Sydney in that moment, as Mat snickered and leaned in for another kiss.

Little did you know that a few years later, your dear, meddling Sydney would stand up at your side in front of a ballroom filled with your and Mat’s family and dearest friends and proudly tell the story of that cold late-December night when your love story with Mat began.

[firstofficerwiggles]

Dress Code, Part 2

Link to Part 1, Part 3 (T rated), Part 3 (M rated)

Pairing: Din Djarin x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Some swearing, Jealous!Din, sexy dancing, touching

Summary: You continue to challenge Din about what you choose to wear. Pretty fluffy overall. Plans for a Part 3.

Word Count: ~4200

Author’s Note: I am not good at making up planet names so I will admit to totally stealing these. Eridani is the name of a real star and Alastria and Chantil are both from Star Trek. Also again a little hint of Ed Sheeran in the dancing scene.

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“Are you serious? More snow?” Your voice is incredulous as you fly over the frosted winter landscape of the planet Alastria. It’s been two weeks since you won your wager against the Mandalorian and you haven’t had any opportunity to wear anything that he could consider even remotely revealing. First he took you to Hoth, and although you and the child had a great time playing in the snow, you spent the whole time covered in sweaters and a giant parka. You had laughed it off though, enjoying his cleverness at finding a way to circumvent your win. But then, he had dragged you to Eridani and Chantil each one colder than the next. Plus to add to his diabolical plan, he has purposely been keeping the Razor Crest’s internal temperature low in order to ‘save on fuel’ so you can’t even wear your lighter clothes on board. You’ve been so covered up you might as well be wearing your own suit of beskar.

You suppose it hasn’t been all that bad though, you begrudgingly admit to yourself. The three of you have been spending more time together as you’ve been traveling. Lately it seems like Din always finds a way to be around you and the child. In the past he’s preferred his pilot’s seat while flying even with the autopilot engaged, but now he seems to find little projects to do wherever you are. Like the evening you were cuddled up with the baby telling him various fairy tales and Din had sat near you both spending the whole time cleaning the same blaster. Or when you were baking cookies, and he had decided to reorganize some supplies that happened to be right next to where you were working. Finally, the other day he had even thrown off the pretense of being busy and joined in and helped you and the child build a blanket fort in the hull. As the baby napped on a pile of pillows inside the fort, Din had stayed with you in there, just resting for once while you both had the chance.

With all of this closeness, you had hoped there might be some movement on the romantic front between the two of you, but there hasn’t been anything definitive in that area. You must have replayed him calling you ‘sweetheart’ a million times in your head, but he hasn’t said anything like that again. You’ve tried to show him how interested you are, wearing your necklace everyday so he can see it, smiling at him as much as possible, teasing him, and going so far as to touch him with little brushes of your hand, a pat on the shoulder, or even a squeeze of his arm whenever you get the opportunity. He seems receptive enough to your flirting, yet he’s given you so little response you wonder if he’s realized what you’re trying to do.

The Mandalorian’s voice brings you out of your musing, “I thought we could visit my old mentor, Davi. His town might be in the mountains, but it’s nice, I think you’ll like it, despite the cold.” He smirks a little under his helmet. He knows he should probably feel a bit guilty at the tour of icy worlds he’s been giving you, but honestly, he’s been enjoying getting under your skin each time you land on another freezing planet and he hears you sigh over having to bundle up again. He should probably admit to himself that he does miss seeing your dresses, but you look cute even under all those layers. Plus he was right, your necklace looks good with all of those sweaters and heavy knits you’ve been forced to wear.

“Who is Davi?” you ask, curious to know more about Din’s past.

“He sponsored me when I first joined the guild. I was his apprentice for two years before I starting hunting my own bounties.” Din tells you. “He’s retired now, and he lives with his niece, Isa. I think you’ll like them both.”

Even with the snow and ice, you can see that Davi and Isa’s town is charming, and you enjoy the quaint buildings with their pretty trim. It reminds you of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child in the winter. The majestic mountains make for a stunning backdrop too and you are glad that Din brought you here. He notices the happy light in your eyes as he says, “I knew you’d like it here,” rather smugly.

“Yes, yes, you know everything,” you reply, rolling your eyes only slightly at him.

You arrive at a brightly lit home that oozes warmth and coziness from its frosty windows, and when Davi throws open the door, you receive a cordial welcome that makes you feel like he is your old friend too. Davi is thrilled to see Din and even more delighted to meet you and the baby. Even though Din has introduced you as his friend, Davi teases the Mandalorian about finally meeting his lovely family. Davi’s niece, Isa is also quite pleased to meet you and she even hugs you in greeting. She’s a pretty young woman in her early 20s with bright eyes and a cheerful smile.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she tells you excitedly, “I thought I was in for another ‘guy’s visit’ having to hear all of their old hunting tales again.”

“Oh come on, Isa, you love that story about the crazy Gungan we had to chase through the swamp,” Davi reminds her with a laugh.

“Sure, maybe the first 100 times I heard it,” Isa retorts. “I’m looking forward to some quality girl time instead.”

“That sounds great,” you tell her. You have been living in a heavily testosterone-laden climate and it has been forever since you’ve had the opportunity to hang out with another woman and just do ‘girl’ things. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’d love to go shopping and maybe get our hair styled too?” She suggests, “There’s this great party tonight and I wanna look fabulous!”

“Count me in!” you reply enthusiastically. You look over at Din for a moment though, hoping he’s not going to insist that he needs to accompany you shopping like he usually does. But he’s obviously comfortable here and he just gives you a small nod. “Let’s go now.”

Isa notices your exchange with interest, but doesn’t say anything, yet. She can’t wait to get you alone though and grill you all about your relationship with the mysterious warrior. You head back out into the snowy streets with Isa chatting excitedly about the shops and the fantastic salon that she’ll be taking you to. You arrive at a store with many party dresses, they’re beautiful but most of them are a bit risqué too. You’re just starting to look when Isa interrupts you with “Ok, spill, I want to hear all about you and Mando.”

“There’s not much to tell, I’m the nanny to his foundling.” You try to tell her, but your cheeks flush and she knows there’s more.

“Oh c’mon, I can tell you’re not ‘just-the-nanny’,” she laughs lightly. “He’s never ever brought a woman to meet Davi before.”

“Well, a few weeks ago I thought there was more starting to happen between the two of us,” you say and then tell her about the necklace and your silly wager. “I really thought that was leading to something…” you trail off and shrug, “but I guess not?”

“What?!? There is definitely something happening,” Isa asserts. “That was super romantic of him to buy you that necklace, and he clearly gets jealous of other men paying attention to you. He likes you.” She says it like it’s a fact. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Maker, I do, so much, probably too much,” you admit to Isa. “He’s the best man I’ve ever known. I know he seems rough and dangerous, and he can be, but he is also very kind, respectful, and considerate. You should see how gentle and soft he can be with the child. I don’t even care that I’ve never seen his face.”

“Your whole face lights up when you talk about him,” Isa is beaming at you. “I think you need to tell him how much you care.”

“But if he doesn’t feel the same way, it will just make everything awkward and weird.” You want to believe Isa, that Mando reciprocates your feelings, but the alternative scares you too much.

“He feels the same way.” She is confident about that. “But, maybe you could just give him a little push, feel him out more,” she says, raising an eyebrow at you.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Let’s find you a killer dress and make sure he takes you to this party tonight.” Isa turns back to the dresses pulling out several that are very sexy. “It’s in the hot springs caverns and it’s warm and steamy in there all the time,” Isa explains.

“Wait, so no bundling up?” you ask hopefully.

“Just for the walk there, but once we’re inside you’ll be plenty warm. So, we’re going find you something that shows plenty of skin,” Isa declares.

Gathering a pile of garments, Isa pulls you to the dressing rooms and then you both try on several looks that range from seductive to downright lascivious. She is partial to an electric blue dress that is tight on her figure and has several cutouts exposing various sections of her skin. The dress you find is surprise, surprise, silver, in a halter style. The bodice is tight fitting with a deep vee that ends just at the top of your stomach before flaring out into a flirty mini skirt looking like molten metal is pouring off of your hips. Your back is almost totally bare save for two delicate straps that cross over one another to hold the bodice in place. It is a lot more skin than you normally show, but you have to admit you look great. Light winks off of your necklace and you smile to yourself thinking about how your Mandalorian might react to seeing you like this.

“That’s the one!” Isa announces handing you a pair of strappy stilettos to try on with the dress. They are the perfect final touch. The rest of your time with Isa passes quickly in a happy haze of hair styling and gossip. She tells you about her friends and the guy she wants to impress. You’re really looking forward to tonight, but you’re worried, “How are we going to convince Mando to go to this party?” you wonder to Isa, “It’s not really his thing.”

“Leave everything to me.” Isa sounds like she is up for the challenge.

You and Isa return to her home giggling cheerfully about your big plans for the evening. Din loves seeing you so happy, his only regret is that you can’t have more days like this one. He had a long talk with Davi about all that has happened since he first found the child and the dangerous path it has thrust all three of you on. Fortunately for Din, his old mentor is more tactful than his niece merely providing a friendly ear as Din lists all of his concerns for your life with him. Davi can tell that Din cares for you more than he is admitting, but he doesn’t push the point. Instead, he calmly suggests that you appear to be able to meet the trials of living with a bounty hunter, otherwise you probably would have left by now. Din nodded in agreement to that, making Davi smile knowingly to himself.

As you sit down to dinner with everyone, Isa chats animatedly about your fun day together and suggests that you prolong your visit by a few days. Din, who ate his own meal in private beforehand, seems amenable to the idea, this town is fairly remote and only Greef Karga remembers Mando’s connection to Davi. As Isa talks, she manages to casually bring up the party to her uncle. Din is only half-listening as he is focused on the baby actually eating his food and not playing with it, until Isa says, “And you don’t have to worry about our safety, Uncle, because Mando will be there to watch over us!”

“Wait, what are you saying?” Din’s head snaps up.

“I think it’s a great idea!” Davi replies, delighted, “The ladies are all excited for you to take them to that party in the caverns tonight.”

“A party?” Din sounds like you are going to drag him to a deadly ambush. Except he feels more confident that he can handle the deadly ambush.

“Oh come on, you’re still a young man, you’ll have a wonderful time with these beautiful women. And I can take care of the little one,” Davi urges him, “after all he loves his Uncle Davi.” Davi tickles the child under the chin and receives a joyful coo in return.

“Please, Mando,” you give him your most hopeful look, “I promise we’ll have fun.”

Din sighs, but he knows he can’t say no when you’re looking at him like that, he’s not made of stone. “Alright.”

“Great! We’ll go get dressed!” Isa springs into action pulling you with her. You both manage to get ready in record time knowing that you don’t want to give Din any opportunity to back out on your plans. Before you leave her room though, both you and Isa make sure your cloaks are completely covering your outfits for the night. You caution Isa that if Din has even one inkling of what you have on, you won’t be going anywhere. You are thankful your cloak is so long that only the toes of your shoes peek out.

Isa leads you out of town towards the caverns and you see other young people heading in your direction. She discreetly stays ahead of you and Din the whole time under the guise of being the leader but mostly so you two are walking side by side. The new shoes are higher than anything you’ve worn for a while so you lean in and take Din’s arm. He seems to take this as perfectly natural and helps steady you on your feet. When you arrive at the caverns, balmy air hits you and you breathe it in welcoming the warmth. Isa ushers you in and leads you to a place where you can leave your cloaks. You can’t resist being a bit dramatic now that your big moment is here and you let your cloak drop from your shoulders in one fluid motion before handing it over. Then you do a small twirl to let the Mandalorian get a good look at you.

Din’s mouth goes completely dry and he feels like his heart skips several beats as he takes you in. He is thankful that his helmet hides his expression because there is no way he could hide the raw desire he is feeling right now. You look more gorgeous than he could have imagined. The silvery dress makes your curves sparkle alluringly and all he can think about is running his hands all over the silky looking material and then moving on to all of your soft exposed skin. Plus the color of the dress perfectly matches his armor, making it look like you belong with him. He feels as if all of the blood in his body is rushing to one sensitive spot and it’s making him slightly lightheaded. You are smiling at him expectantly, but he has forgotten how to speak. He has to clear his throat twice before he can ground out, “What is that?”

Ok, that wasn’t what you expected him to say. “It’s my new dress,” you retort, a little exasperated.

“That is not a dress. That is pieces of fabric pretending to be a dress.” He sounds frustrated and like he is trying to control himself.

“Hey, you remember our deal, you can’t say anything critical about my clothing.” You give him a pointed look.

“You look like walking sex.” He hisses at you.

“Well, I am going to take that as a compliment.” You flip your hair over your shoulder and huff off in the direction of Isa and a group of friends she has found. If Mando wants to be a fuddy-duddy all night, you’re going to let him. Isa is fun and you’re sure her friends will be too. You put your smile back on and square your shoulders in determination as you stride over towards them.

The caverns have been lit with several colorful lights which bounce off of the icy walls and the pools of hot steaming water. There’s a band playing music with a strong beat, a lively dance floor, and several servers circulating with fancy drinks. Isa cheerfully introduces you to her friends, one of whom is a handsome man with golden brown hair and a charming smile, named Guy. He seems to be a bit of a scoundrel, but when he voices how beautiful you are, you can’t help but be flattered. He’s telling you about his job as a pilot for a transport ship, trying to impress you with tales about near misses with ex-Imperials, when he notices the Mandalorian who is not-so-subtly invading your personal space.

Din had watched you walk away, a bit mesmerized by your swinging hips. Of course, by the time he gets his feet moving in your direction, some asshole is already flirting with you. He sees the man flash you a toothy smile and he even has the audacity to lean in and pick up your necklace, Din’s necklace, under the guise of admiring it, all the while staring blatantly at your breasts. Din hears his pulse roaring in his ears as he comes to loom over you and glare at this jerk.

“Hi, Mando,” you say a little sarcasm in your voice at the greeting, “meet Isa’s friend, Guy.”

“Guy?” Mando drawls out incredulously.

“Hey man, nice to meet you,” Guy is affable. “Didn’t catch your name?”

Mando just stares at him and then says, “Seriously, your name is Guy?”

“Guy was just telling me about making the Kuiper run in under 20 parsecs,” you break into the frosty exchange.

“Impossible,” is all Mando says drily.

“No, really,” Guy insists, “I managed to do it by skimming by a black hole.”

“It’s impossible,” Mando says again.

“Maybe you and Guy can trade piloting tips?” you say, adding a small chuckle to ease the tension.

“Not fucking interested.” Mando is being downright rude to him. You’ve never known him to act this way to someone who wasn’t a threat. Luckily, Isa comes to your rescue as she brings her friend Lisbeth over to meet Mando. He seems to come back to himself a bit and is polite as he greets Isa’s friend.

“Are you two together?” Guy questions you nodding his head in Din’s direction.

“Not like that,” you reply, “we’re just friends.” But you say it as if you don’t really believe it.

“You sure?” Guy smiles shrewdly at you.

“Well, he’s never said otherwise,” you conclude with a small shrug.

“In that case, how would you like to dance with me?” Guy holds out his hand to you and gives you a wink. You can’t help but glance back at Mando for a moment, but then turn your gaze back to Guy and say yes. You don’t imagine that Din will ask you to dance anyway as he seems determined to be a grump tonight, plus you’re pretty certain he doesn’t know how to dance.

Guy leads you to the crowded floor and you begin moving to the beat of the heart-pumping music. At first you’re just dancing next to Guy but then he starts closing the distance between you two and eventually puts his hands on your hips. He pulls you in a little closer to him but then suddenly he’s gone, being shoved away roughly by a beskar-clad arm.

“If you’re going to dance, you’re going to dance with me.” Mando tells you possessively. His hands replacing Guy’s on your hips, pulling you in close to him.

“Mando!” you squeak out in surprise at his abrupt appearance. “Is he ok?” You turn your head to look for Guy, embarrassed that Din has so rudely dismissed him.

“I don’t give a damn,” Din tells you as he reaches up and turns your chin so that you are looking back at him. Ironically, the lead singer of the band is belting out a warning to a woman not to fuck with his love. You face flushes as you look into the black visor of the helmet.

“I- I didn’t think you’d want to dance,” you stammer out, stunned by his actions.

“You didn’t give me a chance to ask you,” he replies and he begins to direct your hips to sway with his to the music. You move with him in a sultry pattern. You were wrong, Din does know how to dance. You move your arms up to encircle his neck as you let yourself relax into the movements, your bodies syncing together with the beat.

As the music changes a bit, he turns you in his arms and pulls you against him until you are flush with his body. You lean into his chest feeling the cool metal of his cuirass against your bare back and he dips his head down to your ear, and says “I like dancing with you.” His voice seems huskier than normal.

“I do too,” you tell him in reply. You’re feeling bolder now and you roll your hips over his and brush against something hard that is definitely not beskar. He groans deeply and then turns you around again so he can look in your eyes as he asks, “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

“I think I have some idea,” you say flirtatiously and give him a wink. He pulls you back into him with a growl and guides your body into a move so sensual it makes your head spin. His hands are on your bare back now and even though it’s only the leather of his gloves that touch you, the heat coming off of them is undeniable. You can’t resist telling him, “Your hands feel good on me.” He doesn’t say anything in reply but merely tightens his grip on you and then lets his hands explore more of your back.

You lose track of time as you focus only on the Mandalorian and the way you move together. You’ve both become quieter the more you dance as if you no longer can handle verbally teasing each other and just want to feel. Each song blends into the next, and it’s like you are the only two people in the room. A sonic charge could go off and you wouldn’t even notice. When the lights flicker to signal the end of the party, you’re surprised. It takes you a moment to come back to reality, you feel like you’ve just awoken from the middle of an intoxicating dream and your head is a little dizzy. Fortunately, Din seems more in control, and he guides you towards Isa and the exit. Isa! You completely forgot about her. When you reach her, she gives you a sneaky smile and hands you your cloak. As you take it from her, she leans in and whispers, “I told you so.” Din takes the cloak from your hands and places it around your shoulders covering you back up against the cold. Then he takes your hand in his and threads his fingers through yours as he leads you back out into the dark night. All three of you are quiet as you walk back to Isa’s home. When you arrive, Din tells Isa, “We won’t come in, we’ll just let the child sleep here and come back in the morning.”

“Not too early,” Isa says rather cheekily, “I’m sure you’ll need your rest.”

As you head back to the ship with Din, your stomach flips at the idea of being alone with him all night. You shiver a little in anticipation.

“Are you cold?” he asks, noticing the shiver.

“Only a little,” you tell him, not wanting to give away the real reason.

“Maybe you should be wearing more clothing,” Din says, but there is a teasing tone to his voice now.

You reach the ship and head inside. It’s a little chilly in there but not as bad as you thought it might be. You whisk your cloak off of you again, headless of the cold, wanting Din to see you in the dress again.

“I’ll make you a new deal,” he says, his helmet moving up and down as if he is looking you over. “I’ll take you to some warmer planets and I won’t complain about your clothing, but only if you promise to never wear that dress in public again.”

The dress has served its purpose, better than you could have anticipated. “Alright, it’s a deal,” you tell him with a smile.

“Although,” Din drawls out, “if you want to wear it again when we’re alone together, I’d like that.”

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Thank you for reading! I promise there will be a Part 3 (if I can, I’ll do one T rated and one M rated). Please let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

@sleepwithacommunist @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @rueblogsthings @mackycat11 @tv-zepeda @remmyswritings @dee-rosemary @boomtownboy @mandosboobiez @hoodjarin @haley7242

[softboywriting]

Baby On Board | Nathan Bateman | Ex Machina

Summary: You’re pregnant and due any day. Nathan is worried. [pregnancy] [soft Nathan] [F!readerxNathan] [no use of Y/N] [Swearing] [implied sexual relations] [Follow up to Surprise - fic listed in masterlist] 

Word Count: 1k

|Masterlist In Bio|

"You're fucking huge." Nathan says as you waddle into the living room one snowy morning in December.

Seven months pregnant and living with Nathan is truly a test of patience, sanity and will to live. He has his days, good and bad. Ever since you got pregnant he's been sober. He swore he would never touch the bottle again if he was going to be a father. He wouldn't be like his father and he realized he was going down that road very quickly. The first few weeks were a nightmare but you're happy for it in the long run.

"Good morning to you too."

He stands and meets you at the step down into the lowered sitting area, a hand on your back and a hand in yours as you take the two small steps down. "You're beautiful. I'm just always caught off guard but your swollen stomach. I'm sorry." He kisses your cheek, beard scratchy on your sensitive skin.

"Mmm. You're buttering me up."

"I could be." He goes for the bottle of lotion on the table. "Seriously though, do you want me to rub you down with the shea butter or can you do it?"

"I got it." You extend your arm and clench your hand in a grabby motion.

Nathan keeps the bottle and squeezes some of the creamy floral substance into his hand. "No, I'm gonna do it." He kneels before you, hands rubbing together to warm the lotion before he touches your massive stomach. "Gotta be a good daddy."

You roll your eyes at his choice of self appointed nickname. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope. I waited for you."

"How sweet."

"I try to be. I know this pregnancy hasn't been easy and I've been difficult for you." He rubs slow circles along your sides. "I'm sorry."

"Nathan, no, it's okay." You lay your hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to apologize again. I don't expect you to feel guilty every time I say how sweet you are."

"I've been thinking, how do we wanna do this?"

"Do what?"

"This." He pats your belly. "Have this baby. We're two hours from civilization, you're not supposed to fly."

"I thought we were having a birthing nurse come in. That's what we discussed right?"

Nathan nods. "Yeah, but what if something happens. I want you to have the best care possible. A whole fleet of doctors and nurses."

You take his hands into yours and he kisses them gently. "You're scared of losing me or the baby right?"

"Terrified. Everyday."

"I promise I'll be alright. If you don't want to do the nurse we can go into the city."

"But flying, you shouldn't. What if it induces an early labor?"

"Low altitude should be fine."

Nathan stands and paces the length of the fireplace. He is clearly torn up about this. You aren't nearly as worried as him. The chances of something going wrong are fairly slim considering your condition has been perfect for the entire pregnancy. Nathan stops, a hand on the mantle and he looks as if he's just had an idea.

"We could fly into the city now and I'll buy a place to stay until our little guy is ready."

"But your work. What will you do from a townhouse in the city huh?"

"I can work on things remotely. Coding and stuff."

"Oh please, you're hands on and in the middle of a build."

He crosses the room and sinks into the sofa next to you, arm going around your shoulders. "I put this baby in you, I'm gonna make damn sure it comes out without a hitch."

You laugh and lean your head back onto his arm. "You've changed so much since this all started."

"Yeah, I have." He kisses your cheek. "I have worked tirelessly for seven months to be better for you and think of you and this baby and not myself constantly."

"If I knew getting knocked up would make you more bearable I'd have fucked you day one."

Nathan chuckles. "Oh I'd have loved to have done that. You strung me along for so many months, I'm glad I got to put you in your place." He turns your face and he looks ready to turn you over the couch and teach you another lesson.

"My place huh?" You smirk, knowing he will hate it and want to punish you but he can't really do much.

"Don't start what you can't finish."

"I think maybe I could make it work with some pillows under me." You pat your chest. "Support my boobs and then-"

Nathan covers your mouth. "I'm not fucking you seven months pregnant."

You raise your eyebrows, trying to give him a sexy look.

"Stop it."

You opt for a pleading look. He pulls his hand away and you pout at him. "I thought you couldn't get enough of me."

"I can't. But I'm not gonna fuck you." He leans in and kisses your lips softly. "No matter how much I want to and how much you beg me."

"You're not going to? Really? You're not irritated that I am riling you up?"

"No. I am going to go make you breakfast now." He pushes up off the couch and you can see he's hard and straining against his boxer briefs beneath his lounge pants. He catches on to your starring immediately. "Don't say a word."

You motion to zip your mouth closed and smile.

Nathan leans over you, pulling your head forward and presses his lips to your forehead. "Love you, Kitten."

"Canitalk?" You murmur behind closed lips.

He hums approvingly.

"Love you too, daddy."

"Don't even."

You giggle and he pushes your head back playfully as he begins to walk away down into the kitchen. "I'm sorry! I couldn't resist! I love you!"

"Love you too!" He calls after him and you settle into the couch, knowing you've got him good and worked up. Oh the little joys in life, getting revenge for all the times he worked you up and left you to dry is one of them.

End

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