#Czech Small Arms

[snailspng]

Trinkets from my home as PNGs, part 5.

(1. Guatemalan wooden carnival mask, 2. Hippo eating an arm, 3. Mineral specimen (vanadinite?), 4. Ring that says "blood donor" in Czech, 5. Tiny picture frame (made of toothpicks) with the first photo of a black hole, 6. Mortar bomb shell I found in a forest, 7. Poker dice, 8. "Universum - det oändligt stora och det oändligt lilla" (the infinitely big and the infinitely small) vintage book, 9. Russian wooden urn.)

[pretty-little-mind33]

Pietro Maxmioff x fem!reader

Summary: You don't want to share a bed with Pietro. He wants nothing more than to share one with you.

Prompt: one bed - "Don't bite your lip, bite mine."

Warnings: again, I use Czech as 'Sokovian', swearing, flirty!pietro, anxious!reader

PIETRO MAXIMOFF MASTERLIST

BLURB MASTERLIST

"Which asshole gave Pietro and me a room with only one bed!" you hiss, standing in the small living corner that is in the hotel, your arms crossed.

Steve and Tony glance up from their m friendly game of pool while Natasha smirks from where she is on the couch. Wanda, who is watching Steve and Tony's game, laughs and you snap your head around to glare at her. 

"What's so funny? Can't I switch with you? He's your brother!"

Wanda shakes her head, still smiling. "Rooms are rooms."

You huff. You're not stupid. Everyone on the team thinks you and Pietro have some romantic thing going on, which means they'd most likely done this on purpose.

"Well, fuck you all," you say and storm back into the elevator, angrily making your way up to your hotel room again. 

You open the door and almost slam into Pietro, who is walking out of the bathroom, with only a towel loosely hung around his hips.

He curses in Sokovian as his eyes widen. "Miláček (Sweetheart)," he says, finally registering it's only you, and that familiar annoying play-boy smirk curls his lips. 

"I leave you alone for barely five minutes and you've already finished your shower?" you ask in disbelief, ignoring how water still drips down his torso and over his toned abs.

Pietro makes it so damn hard to be mad at him when he looks this good. 

"I'm quick," he shrugs and walks by you, ruffling your hair with a grin. He turns and walks into the main room, calling out behind him, "Plus, now you have more time to shower yourself. You're welcome, Princezna (Princess)."

You roll your eyes and storm into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you as you pretend you're not completely flustered by him or his pet names. 

Once you've finished your shower, you leave the bathroom dressed in your pajamas. Your hair is dried and brushed and your skin smells like the vanilla body wash you'd used.

Pietro is lying on the right side of the bed, his arms folded behind his head as he watches a comedy movie and chuckles along. 

He perks up when he sees you and smiles. "Hey, drahoušek (darling)," he says, his voice hoarse and raspy. 

"That's three," you hum and walk over cautiously, sitting on the other end of the queen-sized bed, staring at Pietro like he's some scary unknown. "You have any more cheesy pet names I can't understand up your sleeve, Maximoff?" 

Pietro chuckles, very amused. "How do you know they're cheesy if you can't understand them, moje srdce (my heart)."

You narrow your eyes at him defiantly. "I just know," you say. "I know you."

Pietro hums and looks at you, his silver hair falling over his icy blue eyes for a moment. "Wanna finish the movie?" he asks. 

You shake your head and climb under the blanket. You hear Pietro's laugh and then he turns off the T.V. He speeds up to turn off the lights, tucking himself into the bed next to you in a blur. His body feels so warm, so close, and your head spins as you try to stay as far away from him as possible. You hate these feelings. You hate them more than anything. 

"Princezna (Princess)?"

You tense. 

"Y-yeah?"

You hear the shifting of sheets and then he's even closer, his hand coming up from behind to brush some strands of your hair as his fingertips then linger on your cheek. "Look at me, will you?" he asks seriously. 

You hesitate, not wanting to turn around. Pietro hums again and whispers something in Sokovian in your ear. His breath is warm on your skin and as if in a trance, you turn around. Your noses almost touch, causing your eyes to widen. The curtains aren't drawn closed so you can see him easily in the moonlight. 

He's gorgeous. 

You bite your lip, the action almost uncontrollable. 

Pietro's gaze hardens and without much thinking, he leans in and takes your chin in his hand, kissing your lips. In the process, he opens your mouth to disconnect your teeth from your lips as he deepens the kiss. As startled as you are, you kiss him back and pull him closer to you. No lips have ever felt softer than his.

Pietro pulls away after a moment and grins. "Don't bite your lip, next time drahoušek (darling), bite mine." 

His words cause you to halt, your body feeling weak as you look at him with wide eyes and a shiver runs through you when his thumb traces your lips.

You find yourself nodding, your shyness appearing as you realize Pietro fucking Maxmioff had just kissed you—while in the same bed—you know have to share.

Pietro is looking at you like he adores you, his eyes tracing every blemish and insecurity on your face with a look that makes your heart flutter.

"I like you," he tells you. "A lot." 

Your mind is unable to conjure up any coherent words but it's screaming at you to return the feelings. 

"You don't need to tell me now, Princezna (Princess)," he whispers and kisses your forehead. "Miluji tě (I love you)," he adds, knowing you can't understand him. His arm wraps around you and you let him, nuzzling into him. His chest fills with pride.

Your mind has only calmed down a little, or calmed down enough, that the one thing you can think is thank god for the team and their weird sense of intuition. 

tags: @tansgirlfriend, @princesssunderworld, @lqrlei, @brokeaesthetic, @sayitlikethecheese

[enterwittyjokehere]

In this one, jealousy killed your cat part 2

Round two, FIGHT!

[Tomas vrbada (smoke) x reader smut]

⚠️ Warnings

[Czech terms of endearment, however, i do not speak czech.]

[Senorsed swearing]

[Heavy smut 18+ only]

[Body worship]

"Let me know when you're ready for round two." Tomas sprawled out on the bed, neglecting his twitching c*ck.

You laid beside him, holding yourself in an attempt to catch your breath. Your heart rate slowed, and your breathing became more regulated, you rolled over, seeing Tomas staring at you.

The way Tomas looked at you was comparable to how a kid looks at a shooting star, full of wonder and like it's the most beautiful thing he's laid his eyes on.

Tomas' grey eyes, heavily dilated, still filled with so much lust and desire. He crained his neck, allowing him to place three kisses to your forehead.

"You ready, my love?" You asked, your partners eyes widened.

"Yes." He said, nodding, he quickly moved closer to you. He first, placed a kiss to your already sore cl*itors, making you wince. He then took his best two fingers, the middle and ring, inserting them into you, his fingers were much larger than your own.

It had been so long since you had been stretched to such a degree, he pumped his fingers in and out, already you felt a building pressure in your lower stomach. You covered your mouth, to not disturb your house guests, as small swears left your mouth.

While your lover pumped his hand, he slipped another finger in, making three. When they moved inside of you, you moaned and gasped uncontrollably. He then removed them, licking them off, the sweet and sticky substance being like candy to Tomas.

Tomas had been holding back, his aching c*ck twitched as the veins were much more prominent now. The pink tip leaking precum, that rolled down the base of his shaft, before dripping off.

"Miláčku, tell me if you need to stop, or if it's too much." He said, rubbing your cheek with his calloused hand. "It's been a while, so I'm excited but communicate, okay?"

You nodded, biting your lip, Tomas was by no means huge, but he was pretty decent for most of the guys you had been with. Even though his length was nothing to scoff at, his girth was what was addictive, the way he stretched you out no matter how much foreplay you had.

You had missed having a life with him, you missed the sloppy morning s*x before breakfast or the quickies you would have in the bathroom of madam Bo's. How Bi Han would scold him when he had hickies showing under his grey gi.

You winced as he tunnled into you, stopping and waiting, your hands had found his muscular back. Holding tightly onto his shoulder blades for support as, he struggled to stay still letting you adjust.

You took deep breaths and tried not to squirm, you tapped him on the shoulder, letting him know he could move.

Almost instantly he began to ravage your small body, his pelvis slapping against your body, in way you were worried would leave bruises.

Earlier you hadn't recognized his actions for your loving and charming boyfriend. Now, however, Tomas Vrbada was replaced with a hungry, h*rny animal. Senselessly humping and rocking into you, it hurt but it was also the best feeling in the world.

"I honestly can't believe you thought I would ever f*ck this up." He said, in between grunts, "You're the only goddess worthy of my worship."

He moved his mouth to your chest, suckling on your nipple. The other one, in his hand, being teased relentlessly, you moaned out his name.

"Keep doing that, please." He said, "oh I wish, Kitana and Johnny could see this, I bet they'd be so jealous."

He rutted into you hard, the pressure already a almost too much to bare, on the verge of your second orgasm. You dug you fingernails into the back of Tomas' arms, scrapping the skin as his blood hit the cool air of the room.

The sounds you and him made, you moaning his name over and over again, accompanied by him stammering on in his native tounge and the slapping sound of your bodies becoming one, the whole room was music to his ears.

You finally hit your second climax, letting out a prolonged noise of pleasure while your lover continued to f*ck you, your walls tightening around him. He rutted into you, thursts becoming sloppy and shallow as he came into you. Falling onto your body, he held you close.

"I don't want you to go." You said, you face in his neck.

"I wouldn't if I didn't have to." He said, his arms tightening around you protectively.

"Promise you and the brothers will come visit me soon?" You spoke, your small voice muffled against his skin.

"I will try, except me and Kuai Liang aren't on speaking terms with Bi han right now..." he ran his hand over your soft hair.

"What? Why?" You asked, turning your face towards his.

"It's a long story... I'll write you about it, okay."

"Ok." You said, as You began to drift asleep.

You woke up, Tomas stood in the corner of your room, putting his gi back on.

"You're really leaving again?" You said, not mad just a little disappointed.

"Yeah, I have to. Lord Liu Kang is expecting us." He spoke, walking over to the bed. Kneeling into the mattress, he placed several kisses all over your face, "I miss you already, my heart."

"Tomas, were never really that far apart." You spoke, reminding him of the reason for his pet name.

Your lover placed a hand on his chest, "yeah, I guess you're right."

"And you already said, you and Kaui Liang will come visit me soon." You laughed, rolling over.

"Of course, baby." He said, leaning over you to kiss the side of your neck, "I made coffee, there's half a pot still in there."

"I love you." You spoke, looking into his grey eyes.

"As do I, Miláčku."

With that, Tomas left, meeting up with his friends who were waiting patiently in the they had been left in.

"How'd it go lover boy?" Johnny teased.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, johnny?"

"Oh, like we didn't hear all that." He spoke up, making faces to mock Tomas, "I didn't even know your girlfriend could swear like that."

"By the way, you were listening Johnny, it seemed like you enjoyed it." Kitana spoke, poking fun at cage's behavior.

[anza-redstar]

Previously from the P.G. Wodehouse archives, there was comedy about Sherlock Holmes returning and comedy about characters from classic literature talking like Americans. I am now more delighted than I can say to bring you comedy about Sherlock Holmes returning and talking like an American:

THE PRODIGAL. Punch, September 23, 1903 [It is rumoured that Sherlock Holmes, when he reappears, will figure in a series of stories of American origin.] I met him in the Strand. It was really the most extraordinary likeness. Had I not known that he lay at the bottom of a dem’d moist unpleasant waterfall, I should have said that it was Sherlock Holmes himself who stood before me. I had almost made up my mind to speak to him, when he spoke to me. “Pardon me, stranger,” he said, “can you tell where I get a car for Victoria?” I told him. “Do you know,” I said, “You are astonishingly like an old friend of mine. A Mr. Sherlock Holmes.” “My name,” he said coolly. I staggered back, nearly upsetting a policeman. Then I seized him by the arm, dragged him into an A.B.C. shop, and sat him down at a table. “You are Sherlock Holmes!” I cried. “Correct. Sherlock P. Holmes of Neh Yark City, U.S.A. That’s me every time, I guess.” “Holmes!” I clutched him fervently to my bosom. “Don’t you remember me? You must remember me.” “Name of——?” he queried. “Watson. Dr. Watson.” “Wal, darn my skin if I didn’t surmise I’d seen you before somewhere. Watson! Crimes, so it is. Oh, this is slick. Yes, Sir. This is my shout. Liquor up at my ex-pense, if you please. What’s your poison?” I said I would have a small milk. “Why, the last I saw of you, Holmes——” I began. “Guess you didn’t see the last of me, sirree.” “But you did fall down the waterfall?” “Why, yes.” “Then how did you escape?” “Why, I fell over with Moriarty. The cuss was weightier than me some, so he fell underneath. If two humans fall over a precipice, I calkilate it’s the one with the most avoir-du-pois that falls underneath. Conse-quently I was only con-siderable shaken, while Moriarty handed in his checks.” “Then you weren’t killed?” “My dear Watson, how——? No. Guess I sur-vived. But, say, how are all the old folks at home? How’s Sir Henry Baskerville?” “Very well. He has introduced base-ball into the West Country.” “And the hound? Ah, but I remember, we shot him.” “No. He wasn’t really dead. He recovered, turned over a new leaf, and is now doing capitally out Battersea way.” Just then a look of anxiety passed over my friend’s face. I asked the reason. “It’s like this,” he said; “I’ve been in the U-nited States so long now, tracking down the toughs there, that I reckon I’ve ac-quired the Amurrican accent some. Say, do you think the public will object?” “Holmes,” I said, “it wouldn’t matter if you talked Czech or Chinese. You’ve come back. That’s all we care about.” “It’s a perfect cinch,” said Holmes, with a happy smile.

[bihansthot]

Hello 👋 😃

May I ask for a request for Smoke?

Drunk fem!reader tells Smoke that she has a huge crush on him.

How would he react?

You giggle and reach for your drink, your cheeks feel hot and you can’t tell if it’s because of the alcohol or because of your company. You’re out with your crush and his older brothers, you had known the three of them since childhood and often saw them when they came to your father’s store for supplies. You couldn’t begin to remember how long you had had a crush on the silver-haired hunk, easily since you were 7 maybe 8 but you never had the courage to confess to him. You feel brave tonight, you have your girls with you and the alcohol you’ve been consuming all night seems to make this doable finally. Your bestie gives you an encouraging smile and nudges you not so subtly before whispering loudly, “tell him.”

“Tell who, what?” Bi-Han antagonistically chuckles, easily reading your body language, he knew you had a crush on his brother, he’d known for years. Hell everyone knew but Tomas himself, Tomas remained blissfully unaware.

“Brother don’t tease, if she’s not ready to say she’s not ready it’s not your place to say,” Kuai Liang chastises his older brother before draining his drink.

“T-Tomas, can I, can I talk to you for a minute,” you reply, ignoring Bi-Han’s childish teasing, “alone,” you add eyeing the balcony outside Madam Bo’s Tea House.

“Of course y/n,” Tomas replies, his cheeks colored with a hint of a blush as he stands up and accompanies you outside.

“10 bucks says she chickens out again,” Bi-Han turns to his table mates pressing the bill onto the table.

“I’ll take that,” one of your friends replies giggling wildly.

Thankfully the two of you are well out of earshot and you have no clue what they’re up to, you turn to the tall, well-built Czech and take a deep breath. “Tomas, I, I don’t know how to say this, I’ve tried so many times but I just never get the words right,” you hesitate, dancing around the proverbial elephant in the room.

“Let me guess, you have a crush on Bi-Han and want my help getting him to ask you out, right?” Tomas replies rather dejectedly, his shoulders slumping with the familiarity of the situation.

“Wha-what?! No!! Not at all! It’s you I have a crush on! It’s always been you, ever since I was a little girl I’ve been crazy about you!” You blurt everything out in a rush as you panic to try and get him to believe you.

His beautiful silver eyes light up and blink rapidly, “wait? Did you say it’s me you have a crush on? Not Bi-Han? Not Kuai Liang, it’s me you want? Me?” Tomas repeats over and over as if in complete disbelief.

“Yes! It’s you! I’m crazy for you! I just, well you never seem to notice me so I’ve been so afraid to tell you,” you look down at the floor, suddenly feeling small and self-conscious.

“Y/n this is the best! I’m crazy about you too, I just never said anything because I thought you liked Bi-Han!” He laughs and pulls you into a hug, it’s soft and warm and almost overwhelming.

You make a face, “Bi-Han? No way! He’s soooo arrogant, I can’t stand guys like him, besides Sol is in love with him, I only have eyes for you.” You tentatively wrap your arms around Smoke’s well-muscled body feeling light-headed and giddy.

Tomas tips your head up as he leans down and closes the distance between your lips. His lips are soft and gentle as he softly pries your mouth open and slips his tongue inside. Smoke’s hesitant tongue brushes against yours before curling pleasurably around yours.

You shake with a mixture of adrenaline and arousal as you finally share your first kiss with your longtime crush. You’re unsure what to do so you let him take the lead as he coaxes your head to the side so he can deepen the kiss. When he finally pulls away you’re left breathless and elated, “wow, I, wow, talk about a first kiss.”

“First of many I hope,” Tomas replies, cheeks flushed deeply.

“I’d like that,” you whisper shyly, still clinging to his flawless body.

“We should get back, they’ll be talking about us for sure,” Tomas starts as he reluctantly lets you go in favor of holding your hand.

“Yeah,” you reply too happy to care about your friends, you had finally confessed and he felt the same way, things couldn’t get better.

“You owe me $10 Bi-Han!” Sol shouts triumphantly as you and Smoke make your way back to the table hand in hand.

“Irritating little brat,” Bi-Han growls before reluctantly paying up, deep down though he’s happy for the two of you.

“Congratulations to the happy couple,” Kuai Liang chimes in raising his glass as you all take a shot of your baijiu.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur but you couldn’t care less, you finally got the man of your dreams.

[spicybeefnoodles]

being silly

summary: based off that one @d3rpydoods animatic on raiden and smoke

warnings: none :)

Raiden sat underneath a large cherry blossom tree, occasionally brushing away the flower petals that fell onto his book, and ran his fingers through Tomas’s silver hair. The assassin had laid his head onto Raiden’s lap earlier, essentially trapping him to the spot. Not that Raiden wanted to be anywhere else. It was one of those rare days where neither of them had duties to oversee. With Raiden being Earthrealm’s champion and Tomas being the 2nd in command of the new Shirai Ryu, the two of them rarely had time for themselves. But, perhaps the waiting was worth it. Tomas had brought a picnic basket full of both of their favorite foods, there was a slight breeze that kept the heat away from the both of them, and neither Kuai Liang nor Kung Lao were bothering them. They had fed each other pastries, caught up on the many different things that Liu Kang or Kuai Liang sent their way, and they were both now relaxing under the shade of the tree.

Raiden removed his hand from Tomas’s hair and licked his thumb to turn the page of his book. It was some old novel that Liu Kang had recommended, saying that he would enjoy the book, and Liu Kang was correct. But, Raiden figured with Liu Kang creating everything, he would know exactly Raiden’s taste in books. The champion looked down once again to admire his boyfriend. Tomas always looked so beautiful, even with his eyes closed, and the champion wished that the two of them had more time for each other. Tucking Tomas’s growing hair behind his ear, Raiden went back to his book, letting the words bring his mind back to a peaceful lull.

After a few minutes, the Earthrealm Champion looked up from his book when he felt Tomas rise up from his position and turn over to trap Raiden’s legs underneath his stomach. There was a small pout on the Czech man’s lips, and Raiden wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss the man senseless. However, he refrained from doing so when he saw the questioning look in Tomas’s eyes.

“Would you still love me?” His boyfriend asked.

Raiden blinked in surprise, a bemused expression falling onto his face. He struggled not to laugh for a moment, but got his composure enough together to ask, “...if what?” Tomas threw himself onto Raiden’s chest dramatically, and Raiden let go of the book to hold his distressed boyfriend in his arms.

“No! That was the question!” Tomas whined, jutting his lip out even further in an attempt to look as pouty and adorable as possible. Raiden felt his heart stutter for a second.

“What prompted the question, love?” Raiden asked, rubbing the back of Tomas’s back as the man buried his face into Raiden’s chest. The silver-haired man muttered something incomprehensible into the white fabric of Raiden’s robe, and Raiden quirked his eyebrow up.

“What was that?”

“I just saw something online, and you were supposed to say yes. Something about you always loving me or whatever” Tomas lifted his head, a red flush on his cheeks, but he kept his gaze averted from Raiden’s eyes. Raiden smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Tomas’s forehead.

“Don’t be silly. Of course I would still love you. No matter what.” The Earthrealm Champion answered, bringing the assassin up to straddle his hips so that they could properly kiss. Tomas melted into the touch and brought up his hand to cradle the nape of Raiden’s neck as their lips moved against each other. A tender feeling arose, one that curled low in Raiden’s stomach and filled him with a warmth one would feel after settling next to a fire after a long day of working. After a few seconds, Tomas pulled away from Raiden’s embrace, and Raiden simply let his hands rest on Tomas’s hips as the assassin sat in his lap.

“Would you like to finish this book with me?” Raiden removed his hand and picked up the book by his side, and Tomas nodded. The silver-haired man turned around, his back comfortably flush against the champion’s chest, and Raiden continued from where he had left off. Soon enough, the raven-haired man noticed that Tomas had drifted off to sleep again, and Raiden smiled. Pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s temple, Raiden continued to read. He wouldn’t trade this for the world.

[astarion-approves]

The Waiter

'There stood the most gorgeous man Tav had ever seen in their life. Tall with pale skin, ruby red eyes, and hair as white as snow. There was a certain air about him, it felt like being charmed into bed without so much as speaking a single word in return.'

The reader falls in love with their waiter in the Czech Republic.

Modern day 'reader' x Astarion. 1.7k words

Slightly NSFT (no actual sex or descriptive sex), excessive second hand embarrassment, reader is a moron, some Czech, third person.

Thank you to @chenziee for your help on this. I only speak English and she was an absolute saint to translate some dialogue for me.

Keep reading for the full story.

The Czech Republic was seemingly a little peaceful country compared to America, but the food was… interesting to say the least. Time after time, Tav found themselves in search of something familiar to have during their vacation. They ended up spending more time having fruit, cheese, and wine than anything else.

Finally, their friend, Eliška, put her foot down, dragging Tav to a traditional restaurant and insisting they try the food that her country has to offer.

“I warned you before you came to visit,” the friend said with a soft laugh as they were both seated at a small circular table. “I knew you wouldn’t like our food.”

Tav crossed their arms over their chest in defense. “It’s not my fault all your food looks so…” They gestured to a plate being carried out from the kitchen, something that looked like raw dough covered in a brown gravy with some form of meat and cabbage next to it. “Whatever the hell that is.”

“Vepřo knedlo zelo,” Eliška spoke quickly, the foreign language beautiful but words Tav didn’t understand. “It’s roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut.”

Tav shrugged. “That doesn’t sound bad. I guess I could get that.”

“Nope,” Eliška shook her head and opened the menu that was sitting on the table. “I’ll be picking for you.”

“Oh shit,” Tav grabbed their own menu, hoping to see what monstrosity their friend might order for them.

But of course it was all in Czech.

“Anything but blood sausage, please.”

Eliška snorted but continued flipping through the menu, a menu with no pictures of course.

While she browsed you stared at what you assumed was the wine menu, ‘Víno’ was one of the only words Tav managed to learn thus far and being drunk on vacation was their plan for most of the trip anyway.

“Dobrý den. Máte vybráno?”

Tav looked up from their menu, their eyes meeting with the waiter, and they felt as if they’d been kicked in the chest.

There stood the most gorgeous man Tav had ever seen in their life. Tall with pale skin, ruby red eyes, and hair as white as snow. There was a certain air about him, it felt like being charmed into bed without so much as speaking a single word in return.

Tav leaned forward in their chair, trying to figure out if those red eyes were just a pair of contact lenses. He tilted his head and raised a single brow at them.

Fuck—that was adorable.

Tav looked to their friend, who was still studying the menu. They mumbled something to the waiter, which Tav assumed was ‘just a second.’ The waiter nodded and turned to leave—

“Is he on the menu?” Tav blurted out before the waiter was outside of ear shot. “Because I want a bite of that."

“Jesus Christ, Tav.” Eliška swung the menu across the table, successfully hitting Tav on the side of their head. “Don’t just say shit like that!”

“It’s not like he speaks English anyway!” Tav defended. They’ve only been in the Czech Republic for a few days but besides their friend and other tourists they haven’t come across many non-native English speakers that could understand Tav’s version of English. Plus, only much younger people seemed to be learning English, while their waiter looked to be in his early 40s. “Anyone who speaks English here can’t understand me, we’re fine. I speak too quickly, remember?”

Eliška glared at Tav. “You only say that because I do all the talking. Please just.. try to hold your tongue. You could offend him.”

Tav held their hands up. “No promises.”

Soon the waiter returned, carrying two glasses, one in each hand. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, exposing his strong forearms riddled with thick veins. Tav sat back in their chair and just watched as the man put a glass down in front of them. How could forearms be that sexy?

“We need a new waiter, I’m going to melt just by looking at this man.”

“Tav,” Eliška hissed. “Shut the fuck up.”

He looked between the two of you in confusion before speaking, “Vybrali jste?”

“Dvakrát tlačenku s chlebem, džbán s vodou a sedmičku rulandy červené, prosím,” Eliška replied quickly, refusing to look at Tav while they spoke.

The waiter nodded, scribbling into a notepad with what Tav assumed was Eliška’s order.

“Did you get wine? If not put him in a tall glass for me—“

Eliška kicked Tav under the table, making them gasp in pain. Those heels were vicious.

“Ask him what his name is, I want to know what name I’m going to be dreaming of tonight.”

“Tav—“

“Oh my god we should ask him to take a picture with us to celebrate my first traditional meal—“

“Tav, stop—“

“Oh yes, kind sir, in my country waiters do take their shirts off for photos, it’s perfectly normal—“

“Tav, so help me god—“

“What’s ‘please fuck me’ in Czech?”

“‘Fuck’ is pretty fucking universal word, you idiot.”

“Just ask him his name, please?” Tav put their hands together, begging their friend for this one favor. This one obnoxious, ridiculous favor.

Eliška sighed and turned to the waiter, who still stood there looking confused but seemingly entertained at their interaction. “Já se moc omlouvám, mojeho kamaráda by hrozně zajímalo... Jak se jmenujete?”

The waiter chuckled, putting his notepad away and turning to Tav. He crouched down, putting himself at eye level with Tav. “Astarion,” he spoke slowly, softly, his voice deep and calm. Those red eyes stared back at Tav with ease, glimmering with amusement.

“Oh,” Tav breathed out. “Fuck, even his name is gorgeous… Astarion.”

Astarion smiled and stood back up, then Eliška thanked him and finally let him leave the table, the waiter pausing to look back at their table once before going into the kitchen.

“Astarion,” Tav repeated the name, enjoying the way it felt on their tongue. “Astarion—“

“Mhm, and not a common name in Czech at all, Tav.”

“Sounds Czech to me.”

“It’s not—“

“Oh he’s coming back!” Tav was grinning at his return, excited to see him again so soon, and carrying a bottle of red wine.”

Astarion opened the bottle with ease, pouring some into a glass and handing it to Eliška to be tested. She lightly twirled the glass before taking a small sip. But Tav wasn’t even paying attention to what she thought of the wine. They were more interested in watching Astarion as they worked.

“He opened the bottle so easily, Eliška. It's official. I'm in love.”

Eliška hummed and took another sip of the wine. “It’s literally his job to open bottles all day, Tav.”

“Bet he’s skilled with those long fingers then.”

Eliška ignored Tav and put her glass down. She spoke to Astarion, who filled the glasses and placed the bottle down between them.

Soon Astarion was leaving again, only to return shortly and carrying two plates to their table. Tav smiled as the meal was placed in front of them—

But the smile dropped into a frown when they looked from Astarion’s handsome face to the plate he just set down.

“What in the fuck did you order us?”

Eliška snorted into her wine, breaking into a laugh as she watched Tav stare at their meal in shock. “It’s domácí tlačenka.”

“Eliška, this looks like if you took bologna and made it evil.” Tav poked at the meat with a fork, unsure of how to proceed.

“Try it,” Eliška replied. “You’ll like it.”

“Astarion,” Tav looked away from their plate and to the now grinning waiter, at least he was being entertained by the silly picky American. “My future husband, can you believe she’s trying to make me eat this?”

“No.”

“See!” Tav pushed their plate away, refusing to try the dish. “Even this handsome god of a man doesn’t like it.”

“Uhhhh… Tav—“ Eliška tried to speak before being cut off by them.

“You can eat this weird ass dish, meanwhile I’m going to drag Astarion to the nearest hotel and let him be my meal instead,” Tav said and laughed at their own joke.

Eliška just stared at Tav in horror. “Tav… you need to stop speaking now.”

“Stop worrying,” Tav said and rolled their eyes. “He doesn’t understand me. Right, Astarion?”

“Right.”

“Just like I said, Eliška. He doesn’t speak a single word of English.”

“Not a single word,” Astarion said with a nod.

“Tav, please... take a second and think—“ Eliška grimaced as Tav cut her off once again. This time the woman keeping her mouth shut.

“I could go on for hours with everything playing through my mind right now with this man—“

“Oh my, please do tell.“

Tav laughed and turned their focus onto the waiter, who simply smiled back at them. “I’m here for two more weeks on vacation but I don’t want to see the sun again. I want you in my hotel room, fucking me until I can’t walk, fucking me until I forget my own name, fucking me until I lose sense of time and the Czech government comes to find me because I’ve been reported missing—“

“That is an awful lot of sex, not that I’m opposed to it—“

“I’m going to drag you back home with me, just so I can wake up every morning and see the most handsome creature in the world lying next to me every day of the rest for my life.”

“How romantic.”

“Then I’ll marry you and we’ll be together forever.”

“Fine. But only if we continue living here. American healthcare is a joke.”

Tav laughed and turned back to Eliška, smirking at them in a ‘I told you so’ kind of way.

“See? He doesn’t speak any English.”

“Tav… You are an absolute fucking moron.”

“What—“

Astarion hummed, drawing Tav’s attention back to himself.. “I can’t miss work, but I do get off in two hours. Let’s try a date first, before we get married. Alright?”

Astarion turned and left, the waiter laughing to himself as he disappeared into the kitchen once more.

“Wait…” Tav looked from the kitchen and to Eliška. “Did he just speak English?”

Eliška just shook her head in disbelief.

[lilacliquors]

pairing: smoke x reader

word count: 1005

notes: on the eleventh day of ficmas, lilacliquors gave to me ... visiting smoke's home country for christmas! (there's a tiny bit of angst but not in the way you think besties!)

tomas had always been such a hard worker, not one for taking too many breaks. but this year for the holidays, you had worked something out with kuai liang, and you were going to force your husband to rest this holiday season. it had taken some careful planning, but you had managed to set up a week long trip back to the czech republic, tomas’s home country. he had expressed a desire to go back, so this year, you would be spending christmas in prague.

it didn’t take much convincing to get him to go. in fact, this might have been the first time he’d ever been excited about taking a break. and after many ‘thank yous’ and appreciative kisses, he was finally ready to pack and go on this trip. you had never seen him so excited, except on your wedding day, and it warmed your heart to see the appreciation for your efforts. he was always eager to tell you and show you how much you meant to him, but something about this felt different. it was like … he had another purpose for going, not just to celebrate the holidays.

when you arrived, it was christmas eve, and you checked into the home you had been able to rent out. it had been decorated for your stay, and it felt like a cozy little place. the lights glowed faintly, adding a warmth to the main room, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“this is amazing,” tomas breathed, looking around. “you outdid yourself this year, truly.”

“you’ve earned a little vacation, you know,” you said, wrapping your arms around his middle. “you work so damn hard, it’s a wonder you don’t collapse most days.”

“rebuilding a clan takes time. but if it makes you feel better, kauai liang and i have agreed to try and split the duties a bit more evenly now. i no longer feel the need to prove myself … he and i are brothers, and always will be,” he said, and you smiled at him.

“mhm, that does make me feel better. now, what would you like to do on this beautiful christmas eve?” you asked, and he looked to the window in thought. snow had begun to drift down, sticking to the ground little bit by little bit. you watched his face, and then he turned back to look at you, tilting his head slightly.

“i’d like to go for a walk. you look so beautiful with snow in your hair, i’d hate to pass this opportunity up,” he said.

you felt your cheeks warm, but you obliged, dressing in warmer clothes and allowing him to take the lead. it had been a long time since he’d been in prague, but it was like it never left him. he took your hand in his and began down the road, making sure to keep you close so you could stay warm.

“it’s so beautiful out,” you said softly, brushing a bit of snow from your hair.

“mhm, it is,” he replied, squeezing your hand.

you looked around at the buildings, admiring the architecture, and the way the snow dusted the rooftops. a few of the buildings reminded you of castles, and your eyes widened as you got closer. this was becoming just as much of a treat for you as it was a gift for him, and you couldn’t believe you finally got to see such a beautiful city.

“this is just so amazing,” you said, letting go of his hand to turn in a small circle, taking in the sights.

“i’m glad you think so. but … before we head back, there’s something else i’d like to do. an old czech tradition,” tomas said, reaching for your hand again. you obliged and took it, allowing him to lead you a bit farther from the city. the snow falling around you seemed to muffle the sounds of the world, yet the silence was comforting as you walked. you wanted to ask where he was taking you, but the look on his face was one of solemn determination. so, you kept quiet, and soon, you reached the gates of a cemetery. you were puzzled for a moment, but you followed him in, walking next to him in silence. he kept leading you until he stopped at three headstones, two larger ones with a smaller one in the middle. he let go of your hand and crouched down, brushing the snow from the stones with a gentle hand. you leaned in a bit to read them, and a soft breath escaped you.

these were the graves of his parents and sister. 

you set a hand on his shoulder as he bowed his head, and he brought one hand up to hold yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. you were both quiet for a few moments longer, and then he stood, wrapped his arm around your shoulders, and led you from the cemetery and back to the main roads.

“thank you for this,” he said as you walked back to the rented home. “I’ve been hoping to pay my respects soon, but i never had the time to get away. this … this means more than you could ever know.”

“you’re welcome, tomas,” you replied, rubbing his back gently. “i just wish we could have gotten you here sooner.”

“i prefer this more. it’s actually czech tradition to visit the graves of loved ones, to remember them during this time. it’s bittersweet, it reminds us that life is short, but it also reminds us to cherish the time we have with our living loved ones. and there’s no one i’d rather spend my holidays with than you,” he said, pressing a kiss to your temple. 

you smiled and let your head rest on his shoulder as you walked, and you tilted your head up to feel the snow on your face.

“i love you very much,” you said softly, and he smiled down at you.

“i love you, too. so very much.”

[spasmsofthought]

still waters (scott forrester x f!reader)

Hi!! FBI International is one of my favorite shows and Scott Forrester has intrigued me from the start. I know this is a small fandom, but it's a show that brings me great joy. Something about episode 3x6 just really hit me and I ending up writing this. Please like, comment, & reblog! Enjoy!! xoxo

+++

"If this doesn't get better fast," You mutter just over your breath. "I'm going to end up punching someone."

There's not enough volume to your statement for Detective Novak to overhear, but it slips out just loud enough that Scott perks up and turns his gaze towards you as he walks by you on his way down the hallway. You barely succeed in covering the dark look you were about to throw the Czech officer.

He raises his eyebrows, "Do I need to send you out on a walk too?" His hand points in the direction Vo just went out of the local precinct, following his orders to cool off.

You can't help it. It's not as if you can shut your feelings off and just be analytical about this. Cameron may be running point on this case because of her own experience in helping assault survivors and her newly, and rightly earned, seniority on the Fly Team, but you have just as much stake in this developing case as her. There's a reason Scott made sure you were here with him and Vo and not with Raines or Garretson.

Detective Novak chooses to make her exit silently as she passes around you and Scott.

You breathe out a heavy exhale and hold his gaze for a moment, "No."

You lean back for support as cross your arms and bend one of your legs to put your foot against the wall and stare at the green paint across from you. Disassociating is better than letting tears cloud your vision. Anything is better than getting sucked into that black hole again.

Scott steps into your space instead of retreating, forcing you to place your foot on the ground and straighten your posture. He takes another step forward until there is very little space between the two of you.

"I know that you lead with your heart," His voice is just barely over a whisper and brushing against your cheeks. His focus on you is intense and all-consuming. "But right now, I need your head in this too."

"There's a reason I never completed my J.D.," You begin. His gaze doesn't waver. Scott is dialed in on you. You remember what your mother used to say to you as a girl, Still waters run deep, darling. You haven't even begun to reach the bottom of him yet. "I went with law enforcement because I know how easy it is for a girl like Ali to get lost in the red tape. I'm less frustrated with the fact that rape and assault laws are criminally behind here and more frustrated with the fact that I come from a country that doesn't hold the moral high ground. Change a few details and circumstances, and we're in the States on the same 'ole merry-go-round with the same kind of ending."

You take a breath. There's a moment of silence as Scott looks at you, somehow knowing that you aren't finished.

"And as much as you empathize, as much as you apply your knowledge from working cases like these for years, you will never 100% understand what it will mean for Ali when you go in there and tell her that her only two options are to either be arraigned for assault and kicked out of a country before she receives the justice she is owed or take down a social media post that is her only viable option for recourse right now."

You squeeze your eyes shut and bring your palms against your face for a moment. You feel Scott lean in. You push the tears back, but they linger just slightly.

When you open your eyes, his face is just centimeters away, "I get that this is our only move right now, but we're supposed to be pushing for better options now. We're supposed to be breaking ground, not just calling out the breaks in the pavement and watching someone else trip over them."

One of Scott's hands lightly brushes over your hair, trailing around your ear and then landing on your shoulder for a second. "I know."

He reaches down to squeeze your hand, "I know."

You breathe the same air for a solitary moment before you both know you need to move onto your responsibilities.

"I'll call Andre and Megan and update them." You nod at him, moving to step away, but he holds you against him for one heartbeat, two. Your breath catches.

"We'll talk next steps after I discuss with Ali."

"Okay."

"Okay," Scott says. His thumb brushes against the fabric of your trousers resting on your waist before he steps back and makes his way down the hallway to Ali's cell.

You give yourself a moment to breathe.

[heavy-swing]

FFXIV Write 2024 - Prompt #6 - Halcyon

Content Warnings: None

Spoiler Warnings: None

Summary: A young Aelita Tirasch jumps at the chance to spend some time with the coolest person on Etheirys (her mom, Lunya), and her mom jumps at the chance to share a bit of what she left behind in Bozja. Small note: I've started lightly borrowing words from Slovak or Czech as a stand-in for a "Bozjan" language, so in this story, "milacik" translates to "sweetheart". Check it out below or on Ao3:

“So you're telling me you got everything done already?”

“Yep,” Aelita replied, ticking each item off on her fingers as she said it. “Made my bed, swept the kitchen, watered the plants outside and added the fertilizer, too.” She hoped the extra emphasis didn't go unnoticed.

“And it's just a coincidence that it got done right before your mother is due to go into town, I bet,” Jaromir replied, seeing right through his daughter's plan. Aelita avoided making eye contact, hoping that her choice of when to do her chores wouldn't override the fact that she had still done them.

“Well, if all your chores are finished, then there's no reason to keep you around here.” Aelita just about exploded with joy. 

“Thank you, papa!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his waist in a big hug. She came up to about his chest now, and every passing year meant she gained a little bit more ground. Jaromir knew they'd be seeing eye to eye sooner rather than later, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it. 

“You're welcome, my star. I've got one condition for you, though–”

“Always listen to mama,” Aelita finished, interrupting him. “Of course I will!”

“I still have to say it, even if you already know.”

Aelita rolled her eyes, playing up her annoyance. “Do you? I'm twelve summers now, I'm not a kid!” 

“True, true. But just because you're not a kid doesn't mean you're not my little star!” It was Jaromir’s turn to squeeze his daughter in a most embarrassing hug. Aelita was just thankful they were inside, away from anyone who might witness this indignity.

Just as Jaromir released his hold, Lunya walked in through the door, tool bag slung over shoulder and her hair tied back with a bandana. “One more for Limsa, then?” “Mama!” Aelita exclaimed, running over to her bed to grab the bag she’d packed for the journey, full of her own tools and a couple snacks for the road (it was mostly snacks). She dashed back over to her mother’s side at the door. “Ready when you are!” “No time like the present, then!” Lunya turned her focus to her husband. “I’ll be back in time for supper, and if I see any half-decent fish in the markets, I’ll bring them with.” Jaromir crossed the room to give her a quick kiss. “Okay, I’ll see you then, milacik.”

“Love you too,” she replied, noticing Aelita standing impatiently just outside the front door, staring at her. “All right, all right, it’s time to go, my little star!” She took Aelita’s hand in her own and they started down the road that would eventually lead to Limsa Lominsa and the forge of Naldiq & Vymelli’s. — “Excited to see the city today, are we?” Lunya asked. They were a good ways from home, but Limsa was still small in the distance.

“Mhm! I’m excited to see where you go to work. Everything you talk about when we’re practicing at home sounds so cool… well besides the metal, I guess!” Aelita replied, her face hardly big enough to contain her grin. “That’s true, it does get very hot! This workshop is… well, it’s a lot better than anything near the house, but…” Lunya trailed off, falling back into old memories. “But?” “...I know it might be boastful to say, so I need you to keep this between you and me. Think you can do that?” Aelita mimed zipping up her lips and throwing away an invisible key. “Okay, well… the workshop in Limsa is nice, but… the one I had in the old city was better, no question.” They stopped and moved off the side of the road to a boulder with room for both of them to sit on. “The furnaces were always the right temperature, I had every tool you could think of, and I got to spend day after day doing what I loved with people I cared about. And it was mine. My own little place where I got to set the rules.” Lunya looked wistfully towards the ocean, an unspoken longing to return to those better days in her eyes, and that expression had Aelita transfixed. “All yours? You mean you were the boss, all by yourself?” “That’s right, all me.” “Not even papa could boss you around?” “Not even papa.” Aelita’s face was pure awe. “I want to be the boss someday. Have a huuuuuuge shop, all to myself, and everyone in it has to do what I say!” “You will, my star, I know it.” Lunya smiled warmly at her daughter, trying to ignore the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. “You might even get to see that old shop, someday. If…” she trailed off, gathering her resolve. “...Not if, but when we all make it back to Bozja. To the old city.” 

She shook herself out of the melancholy stroll down memory lane she’d unintentionally stumbled into. “But first things first: you can’t have your own shop if you don’t practice, so let’s get going, okay? Then I can show you what a real forgemaster looks like!” Lunya made sure to do her best bicep flexing pose for Aelita, who was unsurprisingly over the moon. My mama’s the best! Aelita thought to herself as Lunya took her hand and they got back on the road together, forging a path straight to Limsa.

[dresden-syndrome]

What is Gunther's favourite interrogation or rehabilitation method?

✨Thanks for asking! Sorry it took quite a time to get to answer. I'm feeling generous today so you get a whole list instead of just one :)

Comrade Günther's favorite discipline, conditioning and interrogation methods (mostly used on his personal property):

🔸 A firm grab by the chin, arm, throat or shoulder. Often done deliberately rough to cause pain in the process, accompanied by his deep, rough, commanding tone.

🔸 On the other hand, slowly, gently stroking the face or neck. Ideally on a thoroughly restrained whumpee. May come as not even a method at first but the purpose isn't to inflict pain or distress; the humiliation, the feeling of defeat when Erhardt treats them like a small tame animal, surely helps to break.

🔸 Stepping on a whumpee with uniform boots on. Resting his full body weight as his leather boot presses on their back or chest. In cases of more defiant behavior, additional steps on arms and legs work well. A classic boot to the neck, looking down at his poor whumpee as they're too weak to crawl away.

🔸 Forcing to look directly in the eyes. Especially when a whumpee is already in pain. Especially when the whumpee is more of a strong-spirited type, not willing to show their submission or vulnerability. Erhardt's prisoners (as well as his 1963 Czech uprising trophy) cannot just hide their distress by looking away the whole time.

🔸 Dragging by the arm or ankle across the prison floor. (For Radím, dragging by the leather collar across the State Security administration office floor).

🔸 Bringing the whumpee down on their knees. Forcing them to stay like that until his permission to move. Works great with all of the above.

🔸 Or just holding the whumpee tight, grabbing their hands behind the back, leaving them no room to fight. Standing still in that position without saying a word, waiting for his whumpee's fighty mood to pass. Letting other officers to do their job.

🔸 Teasing the whumpee over their helplessness, talking to them in an overtly condescending way. Stating it clear they have no choice or escape here. It's not "submit or die". It's "you WILL submit".

🔸 Tying up in really humiliating positions. Interrogating them while making demeaning comments, continuing the ongoing torture or leaving them alone for a while - door unlocked, for the officers to see.

🔸 Trailing fingers down the fresh, raw, aching wounds. Or digging/beating into them with a force. Or both.

🔸 Cigarette burns. Improperly put out cigs in the ashtrays are quite a fire hazard. Cigs thoroughly rubbed into the soft class 3-4 offender's skin aren't. Comrade Günther doesn't fool around when it comes to fire safety. Prisoner safety? Not so much.

🔸 Whipping. An old classic. Detainment unit prisoners starting from class 2 get whipped strapped to a wall, a pole or a bench. Radím gets whipped on Erhardt's lap.

🔸 Food deprivation. A first step in class 3 and 4 offender detainment, given the fact many of them are coming ready to confess all of their thoughtcrimes after a first hungry day.

🔸 While Erhardt tends not to use sleep deprivation when interrogating (that answer art with Radím being sleep deprived showed his primary interrogations in Prague), he would often wait untill a detainee falls asleep and shake them up into an unexpected interrogation in the middle of the night. Or day.

🔸 Or just randomly waking up, both depriving a whumpee of quality sleep and invoking the fear of an oncoming torture session which may or may not happen.

🔸 Electric shock torture, usually with a taser glove or a cattle prod. (Safely used on class 2, releasing them to a labor commune or just to a quiet far-away town without any signs of past torture to show)

🔸 Scraping the skin with a piece of sandpaper, leaving shallow but quite painful wounds

🔸 Intentional rope burning. Rubbing a plain rough rope against the skin until it starts to bleed.

🔸 Restraining whumpee's hands and shoving their head in the water. Watching them struggle for a thing as trivial as a single breath.

🔸 Slowly, sadistically poking the skin with a knife or a nail, wiping the tears of pain down their face.

🔸 Giving ideological theory books as the only source of prison entertainment. If such a book is found in a worse condition, a punishment will come.

🔸 Speaking of theory, occasionally walking up to the detainment cells and asking random questions regarding the books' contents and the general mandatory political literacy. Whip, beat or tase them for each wrong answer. (It's especially fun in the class 4 unit, where the prisoners would often throw an open fight, then be dragged in one of the rooms to learn their lessons).

🔸 Drugging the prisoners (class 3 and 4) into a foggy sedated state for subjecting them to hours of aggressive state propaganda.

🔸 Making to beg for mercy or forgiveness. For more defiant cases, forcing to display their loyalty to the EC Party.

🔸 Sudden shouts in the whumpee's face. Due to Erhardt's usual cold and calculated manner, seeing him reserting to loud angry threats is a truly frightening experience.

🔸 One of comrade Günther's all-time favorites: a gun into the mouth (illustrated below).

Art taglist because for some reason I had to put art in it: @painful-pooch @prismpanic @generic-whumperz @suspicious-whumping-egg

[scrunkalicious]

5 for the self ship kisses with Victor! Or any number or number combo you prefer!

HEY VIOLET!!! GANG LETZ IGNORE THAT IT TOOK ME LIKE A BAJILLION MONTHZ TO FINISH THIS EEERRMMMM,,,,

PROMPT 5 - CROWN OF THE HEAD KISS,,, WORD COUNT 1020

Today was a lazy day, for Marly sat on the small couch in her dorm, an open book in hand. Piltover’s academy had called off classes today due to construction and renovation in major areas of the building. Unfortunately for her, Professor Heimerdinger wanted Viktor to observe as the building was worked on, and Viktor didn’t want Marly around a construction site for a plethora of reasons. So she waited, curling up on the couch as she read. There wasn’t much else for her to do, as she had no schoolwork or anything she had in mind. 

Marly’s entire dorm was silent, even her birds didn’t mind enough to be making noise. There was no music playing like how things normally would be, and the dorm wasn’t as messy as usual. With a lazy day came a lazy mood, so Marly was still in her fuzzy pajamas from when she woke up.

Continuing to read, she heard four knocks on the door to her dorm then unlocking before finally being pulled open. Marly was aware of how, since Viktor was the assistant to the dean of the academy, he had a key that was able to unlock most of the rooms on school grounds. The soft clink of his metal cane against flooring along with light footsteps soon became audible. 

“Welcome back,” Marly acknowledged Viktor, briefly looking up before going back to her book. It seems that the combination of a good story and a slow day had significantly calmed her usually ecstatic demeanor. Viktor took off his shoes, putting them next to Marly’s. By the time he had come back, it was beginning to get dark outside. He went to sit on the couch next to Marly, and the inventor started undoing his tie and vest, folding them and setting the articles of clothing aside. Laying his cane against the side of the couch, he glanced over at Marly, he saw how she was heavily focused on her book. Viktor pursed his lips, wanting attention from the artist after all the construction maintenance he had to do. 

“Marly,” Viktor spoke up, nudging her shoulder slightly. He expected her to offer him an abundance of attention, like usual. It was strange to see her so calm. He furrowed his brow, nothing seemed wrong with her, perhaps it was just her mood.

“Hm?” Marly replied, keeping her eyes to the words on the pages. Viktor huffed, wanting much more than that. So, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently applied enough force so that she leaned back, eventually laying down on the couch. 

Though, Marly still held the book up, so Viktor moved to get closer to her. He placed his head in between her arms while they propped up her book, embracing her tightly as he lay against her. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, before speaking.

“Mahal ko,” he murmured into her neck, “Could you please put the book down?” Viktor asked, his voice almost whiny as he made the request. Marly raised her eyebrows as she heard him, and she closed the book, stretching her arm back to place it on a nearby table. She then wrapped her arms around Viktor as he lay on top of her torso and body. 

“Is this better, miláček?” Marly murmured, running her hands along his back gently. Viktor nodded his head, mumbling something incomprehensible against her skin. Her unexpected use of the Czech word sent shivers down his spine, and he sighed softly. 

“I take it that construction was tedious?” Marly inquired, to which Viktor nodded his head once more.

“It was a lot more messy than originally expected. Multiple classrooms will have to be closed off for some time,” he muttered, squeezing her slightly, before adding, “You’re wearing your soft pajamas. I like these ones,” Viktor nuzzled his head against her, rubbing her arm tenderly. 

Marly smiled softly, “Good job for you, since the rest of the school seems to be fine,” she praised lightly, “Perhaps you should change too, yes? That may help you feel better,” she suggested. Viktor thought for a moment, before nodding his head. Marly patted the back of his head softly, “There should be a pair of clothes of yours in the second drawer near the bed,” she told him. In both of their dorms, Marly and Viktor had some clothing of the other, in case they needed to change or wanted to stay the night. 

Viktor nodded his head, tentatively moving to get off of Marly, grabbing his cane as he headed towards where she had mentioned. Marly sighed, moving to sit up and lean back against the armrest of the couch. She waited for him to come back, listening to the subtle sounds coming from the other room. 

Soon Viktor walked back into the main room. Marly tilted her head, giggling at the sight of him in such soft clothing. She held out a hand to him as he got closer, slowly pulling him to sit down next to her. 

“I’m sorry that I didn’t take you with me today,” Viktor told her, leaning against her. In all honesty, he felt bad for not being able to bring her along. Though, he was aware that there was a big chance that she may have stumbled into a dangerous area, or been spooked by the loud noises. 

Marly tilted her head, before nodding, “It’s okay,” She started, “I understand,” She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back and shoulder gently. “And I’m sorry for not being as attentive as usual when you came back. “I understand,” Viktor murmured, grinning slightly as he returned her words back to her, “I’m aware your day was probably not as eventful as usual,” He shifted slightly, laying down as he pressed his face against her chest. Marly smiled softly, before pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. Pulling him closer, she sighed as she closed her eyes, allowing for the two to finally relax after a day of not being in one another’s company, quiet bliss filling the room. 

TAGLIST UNDER CUT,,, LMK IF YOU WANNA BE ADDED/REMOVED

@skyliv @h0t-p1nk-ch33tah-pr1nt @l0v3sickl0s3r @mirr0r-image @kiawren @mrsmunson1986 @chilapis LOVE YAAALL GANG 💜💜💜👽

[posters-for-palestine]

(Pictured:

Left - excerpt from Jusqu’a la Victoire, featured in a 1976 issue of Moroccan newspaper L’Opinion. The kufiya and kalashnikov roundel was used in a variety of Fatah issued media.

Right - the contemporary logo of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, featuring crossed M4a1 carbines)

I think it’s really interesting that, as the physical arsenal utilized by the various Palestinian resistance movements have changed over time, so has the weaponry they’ve chosen to integrate into their iconography. Whilst perusing posters and other media made by the resistance in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, one immediately notices the ubiquity of the kalashnikov (and to a lesser degree other small arms such as SKS rifles and Czech vz.26 or Polish PM63 Rak SMGs). On the contrary, one sees that in many modern insignia and propaganda (particularly those made around the time of or after the Second Intifada) M16 derivative rifles have become the standard. I’ve not yet read any history on the flow of war materiel that’s fueled the myriad crescendos of the struggle (I’m not sure if a decent work on the subject does, or even could, exist given that the nature of these things are clandestine for a reason), but I’d assume it’s a reflection of the drying-up of military support that was lent by the USSR and other Eastern Bloc nations, and the corollary shift to relying on weapons commandeered from IOF stocks and other NATO manufactured paraphernalia that’s been floating around the SWANA region after decades of imperialist wars. All that being said, though, certain organizations like the PFLP or Hezbollah still make prolific use of kalashnikov imagery, wether representative of material conditions or as a symbolic gesture I do not know, so it could simply be a preferential choice made by each faction.

[tamiisnthere]

Crossover Universe - Gepardia Town Lore

I have to say it was a bit of a chore to describe the town/city, but I enjoyed it I confess. Although I feel like it's not quite perfect as always.

The important thing I have to say is that visuals are concepts, because I have no idea exactly what this town and coat of arms should look like yet. Should there be something missing or you've got some idea, feel free to tell me. 😊

Enjoy! (⌒_⌒;)

Concept Coat of arms:

(made in Armoria by Azgaar)

About the town:

Population: around 4000, but the number is gradually increasing

Area: 20.43 km2 (square kilometres) | 7.89 sq mi

Highest Elevation: 131 m | 429.79 ft

Racial diversity: The most common races are humans and night elves, who make up nearly three-quarters of the city's population. In smaller numbers are trolls, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, taurens and several others.

History: A few residents from the capital, Ashte'quel, decided to leave and find a new home in the southeast as the city began to become overpopulated. A small group wandered through Wildebeest's Plains, struggling to survive. They were fleeing from lions, hyenas and occasionally theropod dinosaurs and finding water in the barren savannah was difficult.

One night a giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) came to their camp, and amazingly, unlike the other predators, it was friendly to the travelers and guided them to their new home. It helped them find water, food and safe places to camp.

The journey took 38 days, the exhausted travelers made their way through the Cheetah's Valley to the coast where was the best soil for growing crops and they settled there. But after that the cheetah disappeared and no one ever saw it again.

Travelers mourned over it and in its honour, the Czech artist František Burian named their new home Gepardia and built the statue of that giant cheetah that still stands in the town square today. Since then, in general, the cheetah has become the sacred animal not only of Gepardia, but also of the whole island.

About 380 years later, a queen of Havaykia named Inya Lunabloom proclaimed Gepardia as a town.

Architecture: The architecture is similar from the Middle East and Africa (mainly Morocco, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania). Thanks to these types of buildings, residents are simply protected from the great summer heat. It's mixed between medieval and modern architecture.

Culture: The culture in Gepardia is diverse since many immigrants are living there. Most of the residents are huge nature enthusiasts and educate the public about conservation. Districts and quarters of the town are named after recently extinct animals from Earth. Festivals such as the Lunar Festival, which is mainly celebrated by night elves and taurens, and the Day of Freedom, which celebrates their liberation from the wars and cruelty of their former homes and worlds.

Cuisine: It is very diverse, but some of the favourites are Asian, Italian and Slovak cuisine. The most popular dish in town is the Slovak dish: Egg-coated bread in several ways.

Religion: It's diverse, but there are mostly atheists and believers who worship Mother Nature. The Night Elves believe that Thansuokria's moon is their goddess Elune from Azeroth, who is watching them. The bodies of the deceased are cremated to ashes, which are placed into urns and placed in underground cemeteries, which some incorrectly call catacombs. In late autumn, relatives of the deceased go to visit their urn. Havaykians believe that souls are indestructible and live forever in their own afterlife world and can travel through all universes freely.

Sport: Badminton and baseball are the town's most popular sports. The National Badminton Championships are organised every year. Gepardia's most famous baseball team is called the Swift Turtles, who have won the National Baseball Three-Week Tournament four times, which is played every three years in the late spring.

Transport: There are no cars in Havaykia, instead there are animals like horses, sabercats and dinosaurs that are suitable for traveling on land. They either are mounted or they pull carriages. In the town they walk on foot or take the train, which has tracks above the ground to avoid accidents. The seas are traveled by boats and ships (obviously). The newest added transport is the subway, which resides underground of the island and travels quickly and safely to distant towns and cities. There is no cost for transportation at all.

Criminality: Although Gepardia has the lowest crime rate on the island, there are still issues. Alcohol, cigarettes and similar drugs are very limited and gambling is strictly illegal in Gepardia. The guardians of the town are called Sentinels, who mostly solve problems like good cops without violence, but are still armed Kaldorei soldiers. Unfortunately since the Assassins and Templars got into Gepardia and the Sentinels were replaced by the Templar Knights, the crime rate has gradually increased as the two factions fight each other there. The prisoners are taken into the capital, where the prison is guarded by the Wardens.

Other informations:

The financial currency in Havaykia are cooper, silver and gold coins.

In general Havaykia and Gepardia strive to enable inhabitants to live a healthy and happy life.

Politicians and civilians are legally equal, and if a politician has extremist views at the polls, they are immediately voted out.

Healthcare is not paid, most doctors work for the passion of helping others, but of course they are paid by the government as long as they do an excellent job.

The maximum working time is 6 hours and 4 people per 24 hours. Taxes and insurance are paid only once a year and surprisingly it is not expensive. Wealthy residents have a so-called financial limit for example they can have a maximum of 100,000 golds and the extra is donated to poorer households and charities. This prevents unemployment and homelessness.

Ads don't exist at all in Havaykia because it's annoying for everyone.

Map and additional information:

Made on Medieval Fantasy City Generator by Watabou

Xerces Blue Butterfly Wood: Meadow park, which is named after an earth-extinct species of blue butterfly. Mostly it is a resting place for locals and tourists, but during the holidays there are festivals.

Nightjar Market District: Named after a small nocturnal bird that just happens to be common on the Earth, but some believe the district is actually named after a critically endangered (potentially extinct) species of nightjar called the Jamaican poorwill (Siphonorhis americana). This is a popular place to shop in the town, where farmers and traders sell their quality goods. There is also an assassin bureau where Altaïr and Malik work.

Thylacine District: Named after the extinct carnivorous marsupial. Although it is the smallest district of the town, the richest residents live there. The isolated building in the south of town was once an orphanage, which later moved into Giant Gecko Quarter. Badminton tournaments will be played in the southern part of the district.

Passenger Pigeon Park: A forest park where there are actually huge flocks of passenger pigeons and other species of pigeons and doves.

Gepardia Fortress: Home to the Mayor and their family who is protected by walls and Sentinels. That's where the lawsuits happen. It's the oldest building in the town.

Giant Gecko Quarter: A quarter named after the largest species of extinct gecko. There are kindergarten to high school, children's hospital and later orphanage.

Golden Toad District: The largest district and named for an extinct toad. There live most of the residents and hotels and pensions for tourists. There are the best restaurants, interesting monuments and a hospital. Naya and her father Mayur are living there.

Baiji Harbour: A harbour named after a possibly extinct freshwater dolphin. Ships transport resources into and from the capital, and tourists travel here. It was at this harbor that the Assassins stepped foot on Havaykia's land for the first time.

Gepardia Museum: It's built in front of the town square and contains the University of Natural Sciences and the administration.

Map in 3D:

Made on City Viewer by Watabou

Mayor Nythelar Evensky:

"This new town is not built for money, power or rulers! But it's only built for its people!"

Nythelar Evensky was born in Falahnaar to a night elf mother and human father. Since childhood he was bullied by the other Kaldorei children since he is half elf and half human, but still he believed that he in one day change society for the better at least somewhere else.

In his early twenties, he moved to Gepardia, where he immediately fell in love with the place. Years later, as Gepardia was becoming a town, he campaigned for mayor. He promised a better future for the residents of the newly formed town, and he won the election as a result. After that he fulfilled all his promises and for that the people of Gepardia respected and loved him.

Only years later, Robert de Sablé and the Templars arrived in the town and warned the mayor of the assassins who planned to kill him and take over Gepardia, heading for a dictatorship. This made Nythelar paranoid and he had no choice but to allow the Templar's guards to patrol the town so that they could protect the civilians while the town Sentinels guarded him in the castle.

Yet he doesn't realize he made a mistake…

[wackyharpy]

Hello, guys!

Today is an important day for me and my country, and I feel that I can't stay silent and don't share what I've already lived out.

On the 24th of February 2022, russia started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It's been going on for two years so far, and it's been ten years since russia waged the war in 2014 when it occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Crimean peninsula.

You may know that I'm Ukrainian, I have written the country of my origin in my bio, I don't hide this information. I'm proud to be a citizen of Ukraine, the country of brave people. And I'd like to share my story with you, because I feel that I need to do this, I must do this.

On this day, in 2022, I was woken up by my mum. She was crying and said that russians were on our territories, they'd already bombed some cities. I remember the feeling I had that time, it's so difficult to describe, but the feeling is still vivid. Something just exploded inside of me, and the sudden realization of death came to my mind. I understood that any day, any moment could have been the last for me, for my family, friends, beloved ones. And as I was an already grown-up human, I had to stay calm, not to panic. But you can't even know how difficult it is to explain to a small child what a war is, and what can happen (I have a small brother).

The most dreadful night in my life was the first night of the war. I couldn't sleep normally. And then... I don't even know how to explain. This feeling. It's like you want to vomit, to cry, to shout, to run, to hide, to do something, but you can't because of sudden fear, and terror. I felt sick, probably a hightened temperature, I felt hot, and cold at the same time. It happened when I heard the first air alert at night. You know, it's so difficult to grab, with trembling arms, things you need, documents, and then run to the shelter. The legs couldn't even move properly. I realized that I may have never seen my house the next morning, or my district where I lived.

And it was like that every single day, and night. I saw what was the panic attack for the first time. My mother had it. She couldn't move and speak, and eat, and drink. She was just lying, and staring at one place. And it was like that for several days. Now I feel so sorry, so ashamed of myself that I couldn't help her at those times. But I didn't know how. I was so scared, I had to look after my brother, to do something not to become mad.

You know, I had been thinking about death, not even once, not twice. Plenty of times. At times, I'm still thinking about it. And because of it, it's difficult to hope, to make plans for the future because there could be no future. And I'm so afraid of it. I believe in our victory, but still some doubts are eating me alive. And I can't stand this feeling.

I had been thinking about killing people in order to protect myself. About what I would do if I saw enemies on my street. I had been thinking about how it was to be tortured, to be raped. I remember making a decision to commit suicide if something like that would be about to happen to me.

In summer 2023, I had opportunity to visit Germany and Czech Republic. I'm so grateful to those who support Ukraine, who understand what is happening now. I'm so grateful to the world, to every person who didn't remain silent when this genocide started. We still need your support, your help. Please, don't be indifferent. We live on the same planet, let's be humans, let's not permit such atrocities to happen.

Now, I got used to war. But it sounds insane because it's not normal to get used to such shit. I'm still studying, writing my thesis currently, grateful to Ukrainian army forces for their protection. And I hope, every single day I hope that there will be the end of it. Hope, I will be alive, see the victory, and experience it along with other Ukrainians.

And for you I wish all the happiness in life, and most importantly peaceful sky above your heads. I'm here, on tumblr, I will post my fics, write for you as I love you all, adore when you comment, and reblog.

Here, I want to share several pics of what happened in my city on the 14th of July 2022. russians launched several missiles and they fell in the center of Vinnytsia. The day before I was right in this place, and now I realize that if I had been there on the 14th, I would have been dead now.

[jjtheclown555]

The Beauty of Death

tw. minor descriptions of blood, passive suicidal ideation

content. nikolai went hunting, bringing reader back to his home not knowing that they are the incarnation of death

pairings. vampire!nikolai x death!reader

word count. 1.7k words

a/n. i would like to thank vari (if they see this) for the idea and gabs (if they see this) for helping me figure out where to go with the story. I wrote reader as being czech because I like to project (it's not heavily shown, just 2 pet names are in czech). Finally, I'm pretty sure reader is gender neutral but if there are any implications of reader being female please let me know so I can edit it.

Right as his fangs sunk into your skin, blood pulsing against his tongue, he pulled himself away. The crimson on his lips wasn’t warm like a human—providing heat to his forever-cold body—nor was it sweet like many other women he had taken blood from. Your blood was bitter, a poison that caused him to jolt, coughing it up with urgency.

You sit up on white sheets that had been stained with red, watching as Nikolai kneels on the ground, hunching over where he had crashed in his haste. He spits the last of your blood up, a few red drops landing on your feet. You curl your legs into your chest, eyebrows knitting together in concern about the man kneeling before you.

Nikolai glances up, face scrunching at the smell of your blood dripping from the wound he made on your neck. He stares as your hand moves to the bite mark, gently touching it and moving your blood-stained fingers in view. You smear it between your fingers, watching as it spreads along your hand. Nikolai watches, taking your hand and bringing it close, almost touching your blood to his lips once more.

“What are you?” He asks, grin surfacing with a raised brow. “Neither your blood nor your scent is that of a human. Your blood is painful. I’ve had the blood of hundreds but none have ever hurt.” He runs his thumb over your fingers, looking at the blood contrasting his pale skin. You watch as Nikolai gently plays with your hand before he looks up at you once more, forming eye contact and tilting his head as he awaits your answer. 

You reach your other arm towards him, helping him get up and sit next to you on the bed. “You said you like quizzes when you first brought me here, yes?” Nikolai begins nodding vigorously, his grin widening until you’re convinced he couldn’t possibly smile wider. “Then how about I give you three guesses to figure out what I am? Your best three guesses.” Laughter rings out and Nikolai claps his hands a few times before standing before you. He taps his chin and lets out small questioning noises.

“Another undead perhaps?” You immediately shake your head.

“Hmm. Do you take really poor care of your body?” A second

wrong answer.

He looks disappointed that he hasn’t figured it out, pouting at you. He deeply breathes, “I need to make this last one count!” You let out a small hum as you watch him pace. Nikolai scratches his head, observing you. Looking you up and down, walking around the bed to see every angle for a hint. Right as he begins analyzing you up close, his eyes instantly light up as he walks back in front of you. He does a slight spin, bowing theatrically. He tilts his head up to meet your eyes and shouts, “Aha! I think I know! You’re some kind of god, aren’t you?”

You smile, nodding your head. “Correct, Nikolai.” He cheers, fangs showing as he shouts praises for himself. He couldn’t look happier about being right. He grips your shoulders and asks question after question about what you do, how you got here, and why you’re among unholy creatures. You chuckle at his excitement, “Well to begin, I am death-”

“Like Mara? From the myths?”

You nod and he gazes at you, eyes widened in amazement. “Yes, but my name will suit me just fine.” Your lips turn up at the sight of his intrigue. “As for why I’m here, I enjoy watching the living up close. I don’t influence people's deaths—that would be needlessly cruel—but observing others and watching as they step closer and closer to their collection to the underworld is a bit of a hobby. And how I’m here,” You pause for a moment before your lips quirk up in a sly smile. “Do you really think a god couldn’t go wherever they please?”

Nikolai lets out a small chuckle, “I suppose you can do anything you want, can’t you?” He sits next to you, the bed shaking slightly under his weight. “I’m in the presence of a god, that’s something I never expected to happen in this neverending lifetime.” He inhales the scent of your blood again, a slight twinge pulling at his features as he attempts not to make a face of repulsion. “Is your blood going to be what finally kills me?”

“It won’t.” You say shuffling back to lay back against the mattress. “Not much went into your system. Were you to continue drinking despite the taste, you may have died from it if not you’d fall quite ill while I’d remain unaffected.” He hums along, kicking his legs back and forth and he processes your explanation. He bites his lip, a small amount of blood pooling from it that he quickly licks away. “I suppose you’ll have to continue hunting for food, láska, as I’m sure you’ve noticed my blood will not suffice.” 

He glances at you before pulling himself over you, caging you between his arms. “I figured the blood of a god would be heavenly, the sweetest I’d ever taste, I suppose I was wrong.” As Nikolai speaks, you look over him hovering above you. You notice every detail from the scar on his eye to the smile lines curling down his cheeks to the build of his body. For a moment, you tune him out, focusing on his strange, cold beauty. In an instant, your eyes trail up to his lips and without thinking you quickly peck them as his sentence ends. He’s startled, allowing you to shove him off of you, laughing to yourself. 

His eyes widen, mouth falling agape while his brain slowly clicks together what had happened. “The look on your face!” You cry out as laughter rings through your throat. Nikolai doesn’t respond, for a moment he is completely speechless and you fill the empty noise from him with your hysterics. He softens up as he recognizes the peck. His breathing slows as he finally processes what you had done. 

“What the hell was that for?” He shouts out, tone exasperated.

“Humour, of course.”

Nikolai huffs, “So you find it funny to mock me?” He rolls his eyes and you click your tongue. Your head tilts at his question, vaguely offended at how he took it. “You think I’m mocking you?” He nods, a disgraced pout on his face. “That’s not how I wanted you to feel in the slightest! I apologize if I offended you, it wasn’t my intention.” You smile, fidgeting with your fingers. Nikolai can’t help but notice how awkward you seem for that of a god. “You looked pretty and I wanted to do something unexpected. I intended for you to laugh with me but I suppose I read you wrong.”

His lips quiver and a cackle emits from him. “You just wanted to make me laugh? That’s so cute! You’re so adorable.” Your eyes waver and he smirks at your faulty expression. “Am I making you lose your composure? A vampire, a being of sin, with a god?” He looks down at the wound on your neck once more before meeting your eyes. “Sorry, I’m going on and you’re still bleeding. I should probably clean you up.”

You watch Nikolai get up and leave the room. You wait a few minutes for him to return, kicking your legs back and forth and humming to yourself. You see him come back in with a wet cloth so you sit up and stretch a little as he reaches over and wipes the crimson that stains your neck and fingers. “Sorry, I don’t have any bandages so this will have to do.” 

He’s unusually soft. You think. In the last few hours since you met, you saw Nikolai as a very eccentric man, always keeping you on your toes but in this moment he’s quiet, gentle, sweet even.

“Do you know what I want more than anything?” He asks, pulling you out of your trance. You tilt your head, asking what it is he wishes for. “Freedom.” A soft twitch of his lips doesn’t go unnoticed by you as the cloth continues to glide against your skin. “I wish to know what it takes to reach that freedom, to be as free as a dove flying through the skies rather than one trapped within a golden cage. I attempted to rid myself of my emotions, I killed the loved ones who trapped me in that cage…” He hesitates, “I killed my dearest friend, the only one who understood me truly.” You don’t know how to feel, whether to feel pity, or empathy, or to remain indifferent. “Even after all of that, I still feel trapped by my humanity. After hundreds of years in this world, trying to free myself, I’m still stuck in that cage.”

“Would death free me?”

Your heart cracks, you swear you can feel it. You swear you can hear it. A twinge and a small breaking noise. You know there are ways for vampires to be killed and you’re sure he knows too. You fear for him. You see death daily. You enjoy witnessing as people reach the inevitable, but you can feel that the two of you meeting may have shifted his death date. “Death can’t free you. All death will do is trap you further, leaving you in the underworld for the rest of eternity…” You trail off and silence falls between you both. It’s deafening, neither of you can bear it. You’re the one to break it though, with a quick statement, the kind that leaves him thinking everything and nothing all at once. “Your freedom shouldn’t be in spite of your emotions or your love. Your freedom should be a piece of it.” You cup his cheeks, “So fly, můj milovaný, like those doves you love so much.” You kiss his cheek. It’s cold. But it feels nice. “Your freedom is close. I can feel it.”

You get off the bed, slow steps reaching the doorway where, for a second, you turn back to him. “I should go, Nikolai, but you can just call my name if you want to see me again.” You walk out the door and he hears you skip down the hall, loud thumps as you walk down the stairs. “Okay, Mara-” A short pause before he whispers out. “I mean, Y/N, moya ptashka.”