#but still...wild that someone picked up on that when i didnt even intend for it to be a part of the meaning

[realnielsbohr]

i made a project abt. like. the different parts of my life from like 13 to now and abt how im entering into a new era of my life or w/e for my design class. and during critiques someone said they thought it represented exploration of gender presentation and the struggles that come with that and its like.... i didnt even do that on purpose how did u pick up on my transgender aura

[maybeonedayillfindout]

Oh, to be a mysterious old book collector that goes by Mr Valentine even though no one knows my real name or whether im a man or a woman. I wear half moon glasses with a gold rim and am never seen wearing anything other than an immaculately put together outfit of a long coat, a dress shirt and some worn dark green pants, maybe some suspenders, that fits my aesthetic perfectly. I have been fascinated with books since i was little, and worked as a librarian and delivery boy for most of my twenties, until the untimely death of my grandfather (who was always a little peculiar) leaves me with a small fortune and a large mansion full to the brim with trinkets and collectibles. I sell the house and use some of the money to buy a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. I keep as many of the trinkets as i can. After that i travel around in search of first edition plays or poem translations never published or a fascinating set of letters in an exchange between forbidden lovers in the 1800s. I collect a very very large collection of pieces of writing through the ages that i keep in my little cottage safehouse. I travel to france to london to moscow to japan, and once even to argentina and egypt. I go on ships and trains exclusively because thats where you can find things you didnt even know you where looking for. The day i turn sixty five i find a letter that leads me down a rabbit hole and i end up uncovering a decades old conspiracy that is still going to this day. I spend a decade following the trail, storing everything i find back in my little house in the woods, until one day i trust the wrong person and realise ive gotten poisoned. In my last moments i leave a note that i put in a book that i send in a little cart down the river Volga, which is frozen (im in moscow at the time). I hobble to the red square and die curled up near the ice rink. Ive always liked moscow during winter. My murderers think theyve put a stop to my knowledge but what they dont know is that ive left my cottage, and everything in it, to an old friend who has never gotten married, who ive always had a bit of a soft spot for. She learns of my death and mourns at least a little inside for the rest of her life. When she dies of old age she leaves my collection to her young granddaughter, who is so quiet and unbothered by anything that people call her peculiar in that way that implies something much more severe. When she finds out about the cottage she is delighted and moves there as soon as shes done with her education, intending to write biographies and historical non fiction using the resources i amassed, but not three years into her stay she hears a knock on her door during a storm and opens it warily only to find a bedraggled, lanky girl trying her best to cove a very old book from the rain who speaks in a heavy russian accent and begs to be let in so she can explain who she is. The girl lets her in and gives her a blanket and hot chocolate and listens to her tell a wild story about finding a book under a bridge and taking it and then having to run from someone who happened to see her carry it and started following her home, eventually resulting in her having to leave the country out of fear of being stalked, and finding an address disguised as a riddle in the book she picked up and deciding to go there. Her and the granddaughter become fast friends even though one speaks mostly in russian and the other in french, and then they both uncover the conspiracy and are forced out of the cottage into an adventure that they will never forget, during which they find out a lot more about my life and also fall in love. They survive and live the rest of their lives traveling, like i did, following trail after trail. They die in peace, leaving everything in their will to a young mother they see almost as a daughter and my legacy continues and grows through mother after daughter after granddaughter after lover. Centuries down the line, my grave is wrapped in pink lilies and blue forget-me-nots

[standingappablog]

My interpretation of Toni and Shelbys relationship.

I am re-watching the wilds and I wanna talk about a few things I missed in my first viewing. 

Toni

Starting off in episode one, which I think a lot of us picked up on the gay vibe from both of them, was Tonis front with shelby at the beginning of the show. All talk, and takes no shit. But you can spot her flustered moment easily when Shelby puts her hands on her shoulders and when she begins to sing (while she pees yes lol) But you can just SEE IT on her face. This quickly subsides though as not long after Toni lets a tree branch fly back in her face.

The writers also try confuse you and make you think the reason why Toni  dislikes Shelby so much (at least untill episode 6 before the homophobia) is becuase of her possibly stealing her best friend away. Which of course played a part in it too.

The scenes of her looking at Martha and shelby was a common 0occurrence. You notice though, in most scenes how Martha is sort of out focus and in the backround while shelby takes up most of the shot. Indicating that shelby is the person Tonis gaze is fixed on.

I think the reason why Toni so strongly disliked Shelby in the beginning  is becuase she found herself attracted to her, which she obviously didnt like. With shelby having this happy go lucky optimistic front, and all the jesus talk really clashed with her pretty pesimistic personality. Not to mention how Toni thinks Shelby is extreamly privileged,which in a lot of aspects of her life she is. Considerably more after you find out Tonis backstory. So with that knowledge of her backround you could see why she would assume her life is better than hers. I mean she is a rich white girl from texas, so her assumption wasnt unreasonable. To Toni the idea of liking someone like Shelby is unexpected for her, so she does as much as possible to push her away. Explaining why she was pretty rude to her for the first half of the series. 

Along with Shelbys little “westburo baptist” moment Toni got pretty angry (rightly so) and this probably solidified the irationality of thease feelings she had for Shelby. Giving her even more of a reason to dislike her.

 Despite this Toni finds it in herself to try cheer her up when the two run into each other in the woods after Shelbys biggest insecurity is revealed by leahs theories. Tonis feelings for Shelby are on view a little bit here. Beforehand she barely could interact with her without expressing her dislike for Shelby.

 Though the mood shifts again after Shelby brings up the subject of her views on being gay.

Right up until shelby kisses her, Toni outwardly berates Shelby on how medieval her veiws are, and what a priveleged life she leads. She tells her on this island they are free, and Shelby takes this opportunity to show who she really is.

The kiss the two share as we all saw was in no way one sided, Toni does kiss her back. Obvioiusly this shocks Toni, as well as shelby herself. WIth shelby running off as she tries to escape what she just did with a girl who she thought hated her.

You immideatly see Toni run after her. Her feelings for this girl who Toni thought hated who she was where reciprocated. In this moment her whole attitude towards Shelby changes as she begins to understand why she is the way she is.

Shelby

Shelbys sexuality was pretty obvious to many of the LGBT viewers, we have all been there, obviously not the religious cult part, but putting up a front, hiding who we are. So it was easy to tell that she was gay from the beggining. Its also pretty common in the media to portray a closeted LGBT person like this. The question was how the writers where going to go about revealing the fact that she is gay.

You notice Shelbys attempts to be friendly towards Toni pretty early on with inviting her out to the first exhibition. Of course we all know it ends with her getting a branch to the face. But when questioned about the cut on her temple, she doesnt reveal that Toni was the one who caused it. 

Though as we all know as Shelby begins to become friends with Martha, Toni becomes increasingly more hostile towards her. Probably shattering the hopes of being friends. So we see less of Shelbys perspective of the relestionship between the two from her, and more from Toni. The two become pretty bitter with each other after the shelter building contest, the tension rising pretty quickly, although it seems that Toni is always the one who initiates the fights they have. Even after Toni destroys the hut and storms off, Shelby goes to find her and still tries to have a friendly conversation, possibly she went to comfort her, but of course we know from watching Toni interact with those around her she only initates in deep conversation with those she trusts, and the weird feelings she has for Shelby probably didnt help. 

Fast forward to episode six and Shelby has her little moment when the others are joking around with the shellfish. Of course this one isnt as subtle as previous scenes but it shows Shelbys internalized homophobia.The gestures Toni demonstrated made her uncomfortable becuase she knew thats who she was, the idea of being gay freaked her out, so she did the only thing to stop it. To lash out and reveal how she truely felt about herself. She proably never intended on revealing this, becuase really she doesnt hate the fact that Toni is gay. She hated the fact that she is gay herself. This probably shattered any hope of frienship with Toni after this incedent. (She also mentioned to martha afterwards that she knew it would happen, this revealation pushed everyone away from her considerably for the rest of the season)

When everyone begins to get sick, we see Shelby desperatly trying to prove to everyone and Toni that, she doesnt hate her. Ofcourse we knew by now that the two felt something for each other. In a way this was Shelbys feelings acting out. Her romantic feelings yes, but mostly guilt.Ignoring the others offers to let them give her the pill, instead she desperatly overcomes Tonis pride. Making her take the pill  forcably, so that she would stay alive.

Just before the two share their first kiss, shelby finally opens up about how miserable she finds her life. Toni as we know with a troubled backround claims that she cant “out sad” her. The only thing that Toni has that Shelby doesnt is freedom. Toni seeing the solution around them points out she is more free than ever and that moment you see the contemplation in her face, you can almost see whats going on in her mind just before she leans in and impulsively kisses Toni.

She then runs, obviously horrified with herself. The immeanse internalised homohpbia making her feel ashamed for following her heart.

I honestly loved watching this couple come together, their chemistry and writing was great and super intriuging to watch. I am glad a rewatched it again, there was a few things I missed out on in the first veiwing becuase i was too busy chanting “kiss! kiss! kiss!” everytime they appeared on screen together. This is completley my interpretation of their releationship and how the scenes are done, I honestly could be completley wrong and they are as they are shown to be on the surface. I just really enjoy delving deep into the motives and feelings of characters I enjoy watching. :)

*Edit* My apologies if this is written bad! At the time when I wrote this I was extremely tired. I hadn't slept the night before and I was just back from a full day of school.

[aria-chicken-flugget]

MC reacts to The Brothers (+Undateables)

In a crop top ~ yum

For @beelzebubs1trulove and for me too ngl

*NSFW* ish / undertones - these turned into mini drabbles ?? Lol?? Sorry??

The Brothers

~

Lucifer 🔥

He freezes, his eyes narrow slits as they focus on you

“You want me to wear a what?”

You’d have to be very close to make that kind of request of him if he’s never worn one

He’s anxious it would damage his pride and so would vehemently dismiss the idea

“Luci ~” you’d lilt, winding your arms around his tense shoulders from behind, distracting him from his work

He knew that lilt. That lilt for when you wanted something quite specific. You were hellbent to get what you wanted

Consider the interest of this Sadist TM piqued as you toy with his raven locks, coyly starting cat and mouse teasing

“My answer was no.” “Was is a conditional, so that means there’s room for debate.”

He’d smirk at your coy and almost sly attitude, swiveling around so that he could grip your hips,

“You’re as troublesome as ever, twisting my words to suit your desires.” “:)”

You’d give him That Smile TM, when you wanted something. How could he refuse?

“And what if i refuse? What will you surrender to me in compensation?”

You’d bite your lip - he’s cracking, considering it

I’ll let you imagine what you’d be willing to do in compensation lol

He’d tighten his grip on your hips at the insinuation, your sweet words caressing the shell of his ear

It took everything he had not to demand payment up front, if you catch my drift

He’d ensure you swore not to tell a soul (nor demon ofc) no one. This would be private for you and no one else, or he won’t do it not even if you begged.

You’d stay true to your word, desperate to see him in the crop... you were not disappointed

You were leisurely atop his sheets when he finally revealed himself with a distinct cough, to clear his throat and make his presence known

Your jaw dropped. The Crop was an inky black and appeared to be water woven silk, one shoulder sliding down.

His cheeks tinged rouge as he brought himself to look you in the eye, a silent plea for you to say something. Anything.

You swallowed a golf ball sized lump as you rose from the sheets, approaching tentatively, finger tips mindlessly stroking the fabric

You could feel his abdominal muscles clench from underneath the satin fabric, a sharp breath in from his handsome lips

He quickly grew quite fond of your reaction to the clothing item, and how the events of that evening took a turn for the unexpected

Would most definitely wear it again when he wanted you and may try another

Mammon 💵

Makes a sound akin to a “guh!” at your request

Is certain he misheard, until you ask again

“What d’ya think ya talkin’ about, huh? Askin’ me to wear a thing like that...” BLUSH

“But you don’t mind a bit of skin, you’re a model!” “T-that’s not -“ “AND your demon form?! Hello?!” “Hey! That’s not the point!”

The point is, it’s because it’s you asking and his imagination takes him to naughty places due to your request

You’d have to wait a few days before bringing it up again, asking sweetly

He’d be unable to look at you, a blushing and stuttering mess if you tried putting your arms around him to ask

“Why’d ya keep askin’ me somethin’ like that, huh? Quit it...” you’d let go, a little disheartened

“Hey, wait!” He’d unintentionally holler, stumbling after you

As you turn back around, you thread your fingers through his snow white hair, “Come to my room?”

His Adam’s apple would bob uncontrollably as he swallowed, offering a faint nod before snapping back into his usual self

“Ya better not ask this of the others.”

He’d come to your room, bright red and at the door, unable to walk in further

You’d calm him down, casually patting your bed, “What are you doing over there? Come on.” With an easy laugh

He’s won over pretty quickly and at ease

He’s lying on his front atop your sheets, on his D.D.D when you hover over his back, palms either side of his shoulders. He freezes

“Mammon?” You’d call sweetly, brightening the tips of his ears

“Can you please wear this for me?”

You’d ask in a soft whine, making it nearly impossible for him to form a coherent thought, let alone turn you down again

Despite actually wanting to do as you’d asked from the beginning

Your arms ensnaring him in place so he can’t run away, “You’d look so good in it, you should model it for Majolish.”

He can’t get much more blushy or flustered than when you start talking to him like that, he’s a goner

He finally relents, and returns wearing the Crop you picked out for him. Your eyes shamelessly trail his perfect form, far from disappointed

His chin angled towards the floor as he flushes, he’ll snap, “Quit lookin’ at me like that, would ya?”

You can’t help it. The loose white T with tiger print looked so much hotter on him than you expected

You got it cause you thought he’d look so cute in it... which of course, he did but... his exposed torso, coupled with his lean bisceps folding as he waited for you to speak, had made it all the more difficult to do so.

You’d hum in approval, quick to slide your hands under it to make contact with his bare skin if he’d let you

If you were tactless about it, he’d growl. No touchy lol

But if you got him into the right mood, well

He’d gasp in surprise, uttering your name as you roamed his body with your hands

Fingertips ghosting over his lips to hide his vulnerability, as you grip his hips towards you

Things would get a little more heated than intended, but neither of you were complaining

Next time he was more confident and wore a mesh one for you to tear off, he did That Growl TM as you did and it sent you

Levi 👾

Oh boy haha, good luck with that lol

Reacts worse than Mammon

“W-w-wear a C-crop Top?! Me?!”

Instant nosebleed lol

You’d have to get him in the mood, boy won’t just do it out if nowhere. Ever.

His self consciousness would mean it would take A LOT of coaxing. A lot, a lot.

But he would do anything if you were having a little dom-sub play, and it was your turn to dom

Given that he was comfortable enough to do that with you anyway, what’s a little crop in comparison?

“Think of it as a little cosplay...” you’d whisper seductively, hot and damp against his ear before nibbling at his lobe

He’d almost whimper at the request now that you have him where you want him

He’d flush harder than any of the brothers, obvi

“W-what do you want me to do?” teeth sunk into his lower lip as he peered up at you, playing along. AAAAHHHHHH

Your soft hands at his chest, before slowly lifting the hem of his shirt, only breaking eye contact when necessary

He would be speechless watching you

no more hiding, no more excuses. He wants you, like this. He’s not so nervous anymore

You didnt want him to feel too self conscious, so you got him a loose fitting neon crop with a black mesh to go over it

His anxiety had melted away but he was still a little self conscious, you’d have to coax him out a bit more

Would actually really love the feel of the top and the mesh did make him feel better

You thought his body was perfect, literally God given ha ha and wanted him to show it off more

You made sure to say as much, making his heart swell.

you wet your lips at his new clothes, making him flush harder and his hands creep to his face again

You gently removed his hands from his face, “Don’t shy away, you have a perfect body... i love it”

May day may day Levi is dying from loss of blood at the nose

Similarly to Lucifer, you may have to coax him with some promises of gameplay/concert tickets/cosplay and roleplay

“Does... this mean I get to see you in one too?”

His dominant side comes out real fast when you wear a teasingly revealing number, crop and thigh high stockings

He is a goner

Just the thought of someone else possibly seeing you this way darkened his expression

You are in for a wild night w this Dark Horse TM lolol

This side you didn’t often see exhilarated you

You silently thanked your idea for the crop tops

Stay safe kids ahha

Satan 📚

His face would flush, hand flying to his chest, “Excuse me?”

Careful Satan, your Lucifer is showing

You’d thread your fingers through his hair as he’s reading. It’s a risk, sometimes he melts into your touch - other times, well -

“If you’re trying to please me, you’re doing it all wrong.”

His blonde brows would frown, before going back to his book.

You’d huff - what to try next? #Take2 I guess...

You’d hum, sinking onto his lap to straddle his thighs. He’d tense his frame from under you, fingertips whitening on the book he held between your chests

He’d blush, unable to look at you for a moment as you’d try asking again,

“For me? Please?” Voice up an octave to sound cute, rubbing soothing circles into the taut muscles at his shoulders

“Why would you want me to do that?” He’s flushing harder now, less resolve in his voice. Bingo.

“I think you’d look really good...” fingertips trailing to his bowtie, eliciting a nervous chuckle from his throat

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, human.” He almost stuttered. Your seductive eyes would meet his with a coy smile, “please?”

“You really are cruel.” He’d say so quietly as though admitting to a great sin. Your teasing would stop immediately, smile faltering

With gentle fingertips you’d encourage his chin towards you, sincerity in your eyes, “What’s wrong?”

His brilliant emerald orbs searching yours, “If we were to do what you’re insinuating, i’d want it to be more.”

You gasped, realisation hitting you like a smack to the face. Your form relaxed above him, gently carressing his beautiful face,

“What makes you think that I don’t want more?”

You’d brush your lips against his in a gentle carress, winning him over

He’d have to be close enough/comfortable enough in your relationship to do it for you

He feels vulnerable without clothes covering him quite well, even in his demon form

So he’d want you to keep this private and would find it really hard to forgive you if you betrayed that trust, especially to Lucifer

Knowing this, the first time he tried it for you you’d helped him pick out one that was loose, comfortable and longer in the sleeves - revealing his lower abdomen in a tease.

It was green to match his eyes. His eyes searched yours for your thoughts.

The first thing you wanted to do was graze your hands at his exposed hips, his breath caught at your actions

“You look ... so sexy.” You’d praise in a hoarse whisper, he’d make a choking noise

Quickly gaining confidence as your hands roam tentatively at his hips, he’d smirk

“You better enjoy this whilst you can, I won’t be doing it again.”

You’d find a way to convince him into it again, dont worry lol

Asmodeus 💋

Bold of you to assume he isn’t wearing one right now

You two have just come back from a well deserved shopping spree ‘for making it through a particularly boring student council meeting’

Asmo’s wearing a crop that barely covers his chest, skin tight, revealing his perfectly sculpted shoulders

He said it was “‘cause it was hot that day!” even though there is no sun in the Devildom

You two were on your way back to The House of Lamentation when he caught you stealing surreptitious peeks

He’d smirk, “Take a photo of me, it’ll last longer.”

You’d laugh, but your blush would give you away

He’d shift his bags to one hand so that he could hold yours, “Come on, honey - it’s time for our fashion show.”

You’d ask him to go first just so you could gawk at him and his stupidly perfect body

He would not complain - even though you’d already seen the outfits, you wanted to see him in them again

If you were feeling particularly confident, you’d pluck out the small bag containing the crop you bought for him as a surprise

He’d squeal with delight, “Ooh for me? What is it?” You’d deny his snatching grasp with a teasing tut, “It’s a surprise - i want you to wear it tonight.”

His eyes would glaze over with anticipation as he’d hum, shifting slightly, “Watch what you say, you know anything can set me off.”

You’d giggle and he’d add with a pompous air, “If it’s ugly, i’m not wearing it.”

When night came and you’d revealed the crop, he gaped. He was very pleasantly surprised.

It was a maroon, lace number, long sleeved and high collar - it was surprisingly high fashion

You thought I was gonna give him some BDSM leather didn’t you? You cheeky thing you

He slid into it effortlessly with another hum of approval, “ooh i love it, thank you.” Planting a chaste kiss to your cheek

Warmth spread through your chest, he must really love it if he wasn’t trying to immediately come onto you

He flushed, rubbing soothing circles into the back of your hand. His adams apple bobbed as he shifted, “You always know what to do to drive my heart wild, don’t you?”

You’d plant a sweet, lingering kiss on his soft lips and share a surprisingly tender night with him

Variety is the spice of life after all, so he had many many more crop tops to satiate your curiosity

“Your turn ;)”

Beelzebub 🍔

Has probably worn a cropped, sleeveless hoodie to work out in

He doesn’t show off his body but is far from self conscious, he works hard for what he’s got

When you ask him to wear one, poor baby won’t see it that way

“Uh, sure okay, why not?”

Would whip out a cropped T-shirt and change infront of you, honey i know, i feel hot just thinking about it

He’d turn to you with That Smile TM coupled with his sweet chuckle, “‘Like this one?”

You’d probably get him to try a bunch on just to see him change lol

If he had the time, which for you he usually did, he’d have no problem being your doll to play dress up with lol

Literally would just let you dress him, as long as the boy has a snack he’s gucci

You quite liked the sleeveless hoodie crop, knowing he works out in it gave it that edge

He’d be comfy, smiling brightly as he’d wrap his big arms around you

You aren’t complaining, you get to feel those abs lolol

If you were feeling confident, you’d roam your hands under the hem, or your hands would wander south -

He’d flush, brows raised slightly, suddenly realising where your thoughts were headed

“So you really like this one, huh?” He’d smile, palms resting comfortably at the small of your back

You’d nod, chewing your bottom lip. His smiling lips would meet yours sweetly, before scooping you up in his arms

Your legs around his waist like a koala, you’d smile, tugging at the drawstrings, “I wanna see you in this more often.”

“Come to the gym with me.” “Lol no.”

“I’d rather see you out of it anyway.” He’d blush as he held you, whispering your name like a blessing

He’d be loving and tender, surprisingly flushed as you’d worship his toned form under that crop

You’d have to try to keep cool if he wore it out, not only would it attract a lot of attention but he wouldn’t really realise

Jealousy wouldn’t really be the problem, it would be more to do with you not gawking at him all day lol

He’d ask you to wear one for him, too, making you flush with anticipation

Would tug at it with his teeth.

You explode

Belphegor 😴

You’d tend to the flyaways of his thick bangs, his head on your lap as your soft hands lull him to sleep

“Belphie?” “Hmm?” “Can I ask you something?” “Sure.”

You’d grow quiet, teeth sinking to your lower lip as you suddenly felt anxious to ask

He’d prop himself up with a yawn, at attention with dark brows,

“What is it?” It can’t be that bad, he thought

You’d realised as you were in the quiet if that attic that you’d only ever seen him in loose fitting and soft clothes

Your flustered cheeks would grow warmer at the thought of him in a tight crop...

His fingertips would caress your chin as gentle as the breeze, the depths of his eyes swimming, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

You’d eventually utter, “I was wondering if you’d wear something for me... just to try it.”

His brows would raise in surprise, that wasn’t what he thought you’d say at all

At your darting eyes, he quickly melted into a suggestive smile, “What is it you want me to wear?”

His expression would harden slightly as you said ‘tight’, but he was surprisingly willing to hear you out

When you showed him what you had in mind, he was surprised once more, “huh... this one?” “MmmHmm.” “Sure.” “:D”

He’d shrug, much like Beel he’d have no qualms changing in front of you, which surprised you some

You were not complaining though...

It was an off the shoulder number, tight but not constrictive, just well fitted. Perfectly

You found yourself having to slam your jaw shut after gaping in surprise at his lean torso

He appeared almost bored until he noticed your state, his hand creeping to his cheek, “Like what you see, MC?”

He wanted to hear you say it out loud

‘Cause Damn... yes, yes you did like it

You couldn’t bring yourself to look away, getting more than you’d bargained for - your imagination didnt hold a candle to the real deal

“Come here.” He’d beckon, tearing you from your reverie

He’d hold you close, somewhere in your mind you’d register that you hadn’t seen this much skin of his... your cheeks heated at the thought for some reason

“I want you in one.” He’d say unabashedly, eyes pirecing yours

You’d gasp, trying not to think of a double meaning

His hands would roam your body with a hum when you did, rather enjoying it himself - suddenly understanding the appeal

Would tear yours

~

I hope you enjoyed these as much as i enjoyed writing them lolol - when i do the Undateables lol stop it i will link the posts! Due to the nature of these HCs, i will NOT be posting for Luke, obviously. I’ll probs edit these but have them for now! ✨

[winterscaptain]

i loved hotch’s top 3 parent moments, but what are his top 3 most defeated moments & how do the kids/mom help him cope/feel better

ooooh these got REALLY long so they’re going under a cut (they’re basically three drabbles so i included the ajf tag list (whoops))

a joyful future masterlist

1.

aaron comes back home from very long day full of infuriating people and politics, and isaac has left everything all over the living room floor. he trips on something (probably shoes) and breaks. he doesn’t get mean or anything, but his bark is definitely harsher than he intended. isaac is so so upset, and he holes himself up in his room. aaron feels awful, instantly. mom runs interference, and spends some time in the dark with isaac so he can calm down with minimal stimulus. when isaac is ready, mom goes back into the living room and finds aaron distraught, his head in his hands. 

“i promised myself i wasn’t going to become my father.” 

mom just wraps around him like a koala and is like “you’re not. you just had a bad day. for god’s sake, jack snapped at me over something ridiculous yesterday, and isaac and soph got into a knock-down drag-out fight last week about a puzzle while caro was simultaneously throwing a tantrum about fruit snacks. we’re all allowed to have bad days, and you can make it right. he’s a smart kid - just tell him what’s going on and remind him that you’re not upset with him and that you love him.” 

aaron goes to isaac’s door, knocks, and waits for isaac to tell him he can come in. aaron sits at the foot of his bed, waiting. they sit in the dark for a long time, and isaac eventually crawls into aaron’s lap. his dad tells him everything that happened in his day at work, and rounded it all off with “it was wrong of me to get upset with you, little man. it wasn’t your fault, and i love you more than anything, all the time, no matter what. i’m so sorry, and i hope you can forgive me.”

“i can.” 

mom walks in later to find them asleep, aaron propped against the headboard with his ankles crossed, isaac sprawled across his chest. 

2.

when the girls are older, maybe 14 or 15, he puts his foot down about an out-of-town concert with a friend and their older brother. the concert is a few days away, and sophia mentions it over dinner. 

without really meaning to, he goes into full drill sergeant mode and gets a little too specific about all the things that could go wrong. it was very clear in the moment that the topic was not up for discussion, that he was not under any circumstances going to allow the girls to go to a concert a couple hours away with only a nineteen year-old college sophomore as a supervisor. 

it turns into one of those “i hate you you never let me do anything” teenager moments. sophia gets up and shuts herself in the garage with the treadmill and runs until she’s tired, showering and going straight into her room without a word or glance in his direction. caroline really quietly sets her napkin on the table, and leaves out the back door, headed for the porch swing that faces the back of the property. she, too, goes to bed without saying goodnight. 

mom doesn’t say anything in the moment, and they finish dinner with the boys (isaac, now 16 or 17, and elliot, now 10 or 11) and get them ready to wind down for the night. when they settle into bed, he starts to doubt himself. 

“i was too hard on them, wasnt i?” 

before mom can answer, aaron gets a call from jack (now 26 or 27) on his cell. he tells him that sophia tattled to him about the concert, and he didnt mention this to them, but he’d be okay taking the day off work to take them and their friends, and even find a spot to stay overnight so they aren’t out driving late.

mom eavesdrops. aaron tells jack to hold on a second, and mutes him. mom says that would be a good compromise and reminds him that they aren’t little anymore, and they can mostly fend for themselves (thanks to a few weeks’ worth of self-defense with derek over the summer). “i know it’s hard, honey. i can’t say i’m wild about it either, but if jack goes, i’d feel a lot better about that than the alternatives.”

he sighs, kisses her, and tells jack that would be alright. “i’ll go down the hall and tell them.”

“have some sucking up to do, old man?”

aaron just rolls his eyes and hangs up before walking down the hall. he knocks on the door, and two flat “what”s come from the other side of the door. he opens it, and finds caroline and sophia facing each other from their beds on either side of the room. he could tell they were talking shit, the set of their mouths giving them away. 

they’re looking at him like he’s goddamn war criminal. he pulls caro’s desk chair and sits backward on it in between the ends of their beds. “your brother has very graciously offered to take friday off of work to take you and your friends to the concert and spend the night in norfolk with you.” 

“so, you’re letting us go?” 

he tries not to let the biting resentment in sophia’s tone get to him. “i am. i’m sorry for coming down hard on you at dinner. it was wrong of me, and i understand that it could feel like i don’t trust your judgement. i do.” he looks at them each in turn. “it just freaks me out a little that you’re getting older a lot faster than i thought you would.” 

caro’s lip wobbles, and she throws her covers back and crosses to him, giving him a hug. “thank you. we’ll be good, i promise.” 

“i know, my little love.” 

it takes him a little while to get back into sophia’s good graces, but when he picks them up from jack’s apartment at the end of the weekend, she can’t stop talking about how much fun she had. he’s pretty sure he’s forgiven. 

3. 

its when he first starts dating mom that jack starts to act out. he’s usually a really well-tempered kid, but sometimes he’d snap at her or withdraw and it made her feel awful. there were definitely a couple of nights were he’d snap at her over something small and she would retreat to the back bedroom to take a minute. it wore on aaron to tell her that she wasn’t an imposition, that she wasn’t replacing haley, that she isn’t his second choice or ‘the backup’

they both have this moment of total defeat - they’ve known each other for so long, and jack has known her most of his life, but the change in relationship status really brought up a lot of stuff for the kiddo. 

mom comes around faster, learning to understand that jack is just adjusting and having trouble with the idea that there’s a semi-permanent female figure in his life, and that his dad’s attention is divided. thus, when aaron inevitably breaks down about it, she’s there. 

“i feel selfish. maybe i shouldn’t have -”

“aaron. we are doing everything we can to make this an easy adjustment for him, but it’s difficult.”

“but nothing’s changed! you’ve been here for five years.” 

“love, everything’s changed, and we’ve only been dating for a couple of months. that’s a lot for someone who’s barely seven. you’re not selfish, you’re not a bad parent. you haven’t made a bad judgement call. he’s just really young and is having trouble handling these very big changes in his home landscape.” 

so aaron finds a therapist for jack to see twice a week, figuring it was a good idea anyway with all the trauma he may or may not remember. it’s still sucky for a while, but as jack starts implementing the coping mechanisms he learns and mom takes on a role closer to a peer or friend than a parent, things get a lot easier. 

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @fics-ilike @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @angelsbabey @gublergirls @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @vintagecaptainspidey @micaiahmoonheart @ogmilkis @thatreallyis-americas-ass @marvels-agents100 @newtslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @joemazzello-imagines @pinkdiamond1016 @sebbybaby0 @pan-pride-12 @hotchlinebling @lee-rin-ah @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @emmice9 @nohalohoseok @giveusbackourbucky @bauslut @yourlovelynewsbian @sparklingkeylimepie @aili28 @kingandrear @reader4027 @spnobsessedmemes @rogers-mouth @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @hotchnersgoddess @buckybau @phoenixfyre374 @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandi-ass-prentiss @songbird400 @dontkissthewriter @ellyhotchner @a-dorky-book-keeper @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @ahopelessromantic @violentvulgarvolatile @andreasworlsboring101 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst  @lcvischmitt 

[jellisdraws]

WIP Whenever

I was tagged by @pigeontheoneandonly , thanks so much! I’ll tag you back ;D as well as @thedarksideofseokanori @eldritchblaast @alexandrintea and anyone who wants to share!

Ive shared pieces of this on here before, but this is a bit updated. From my CyberFantasy WIP

*          *          *

Chapter 1: Jack rips a hole in the Universe. ( part 1)

Date:561 Post Unification.

Location: Raxxis Hyperlane Gate.

While the prospect of using arcano-tech to warp a starcruiser halfway across known space might be exciting to some, Jack found her attention far more consumed with the Corpro-bots trying to kill her.

The starcruiser was slowly jockeying it's position up in the traffic heading towards the Hypergate, and Jack could see ships of all different sizes out the long thin windows, idling in empty vacuum as they waited for their turn to warp to their intended destinations. Raxxis station itself spun endlessly around the superstructure of the Gate - this was somehow vital to the operation of portal technology, beyond just providing artificial gravity- but Jack couldn't remember why; it wasn't important at the moment anyway. She hustled down the aisle past the innumerable sleep pods, rubbing blood away from her stinging neck. The bots had ambushed her and had tried to inject a virus into her implant, fortunately her firewalls were up to date and after a few seconds of flickering vision full of alert messages, she had shut down the invasive program, cut her way free of the black bag they had been stuffing her in and had slipped her captors. 

As she ran she cycled programs in the background of her implant, searching the files for anything that might help her fend off her attackers. Corpro-bot’s might be slow, but they were relentless and built out of the most durable stuff fabricated in the combined universe. She had no illusions who would win in a straight up fight; she was going to have to be clever about this. A glance out the window showed the Gate and the station growing ever closer, The purple glow of the swirling Aether tinting the steel and chrome hallway she found herself in.  She jogged lightly down the aisle, feet making an uneven sound as they impacted the floor. Even years after her reconstruction and physical therapy, she didn't enjoy the vibration and feeling of her prosthetic pressing up into her hip with every other step. She arrived at the end of the aisle, sidled up to the airlock and slammed the open button. The door opened with a hiss to reveal a Corpro-bot, looming over her small frame. ‘Well fuck.’ Looking like a seven foot tall living suit of armor, it’s ceramic plates slid noiselessly over it's inner mechanisms as it turned to face her. As it faced her she could see the small purple flare of light beneath the round solitary lens that dominated most of where the things ‘face’ would be. She could hear the slight whirring and watched as the lens focused on her. The bot’s arms cradled a compact submachine gun.

Jack’s momentary shock turned to indignation as she spotted the gun.

“Well thats fucking bullshit!” Jack said pointing angrily at the weapon, “The Starline made me stow mine!”

“You are being detained for 251 counts of corporate espionage against  the Harmonic’s Agricorp, comply or this unit will be forced to terminate,” came a tinny voice from the bot’s chest. 

“No!”Jack argued, still mentally cycling her program chips, “I’m pissed!  What provision did you invoke to get that piece of hardware on here? That’s some underhanded shit!”

“Your location has been logged with the other units, they are converging now. Will you comply?”

“Will I-? Have you been listening to me at all? I know my rights under the espionage regulations act of P.U. 545, and I’m invoking my right to a level playing field!”

“You- what?” the voice emanating from the Corpro-bots chest seemed to lose a veneer of it's robotic professionalism, “Ma’am, I assure you, Harmonic’s Agricorp is fully within it's right to use deadly force to detain you, even if that involves bringing class D weapons onto a privately held starship.”

Jack scowled, eyebrows drawing together over inky black eyes and she advanced angrily on the robot, the very picture of righteous indignation, “I’ve committed no violent crime! Chemical injections causing unconsciousness or jamming needles i’ll happily contend with, but this? This is beyond the pale! Your brandishing of a firearm is an egregious-”

“Stop!” The gun was leveled towards her chest. At this range the chance of a miss would be nonexistent, “Ma’am your protection against deadly force was nullified when you snuck a class C hidden weapon aboard this vessel. Now will you comply?”

Jack stared at the bot for a long moment, mouth open, “Oh.” “ You all did your research didnt you?” A shit-eating grin split her lips as the mask of surprise slid from her face, “Well that makes this part a bit more awkward.” 

Hand to hand fighting programs spun up in her cyberbrain as she launched herself towards the corpro-bots left side,  spinning and slamming her flat palm against the gun, the alloy of her prosthetic right arm clacking heavily against the plastics of the weapon with superhuman force. The weapon jerked as the bots heavy arm was shifted by the blow and it's finger tightened releasing a loud burp and a short spray of bullets harmlessly into the corridor and one of the sleeping pods. Releasing the gun with one arm the bot swung at her, the mechanical arm denting the bulkhead with an ominous creak as Jack ducked the wild attack. With a swift flip of her mechanical wrist her hand folded back into the confines of her arm and the eight inch Aether-Infused titanium blade sprung forth which she used to carve through the arm holding the gun. A swift slash cut deep into the ceramic armor and severed runic connections inside causing the weapon to fall, clattering to the ground. A tinny curse exploded from the bot’s chest as it attempted to grab her; she spun away, blade sweeping up to carve a sparking trail through the lens of the Corpro-bot’s face. 

“Better luck next time chrome do-ohshit”Her gloating was cut short as the bot’s long arm lashed out and caught her in the chest, slamming her down the hallway to impact a sleeping pod and careen to the floor. ‘So they armored up the faceplate since last time… ow.’

Heavy footsteps made their faltering way toward her as she groaned on her back, feeling pretty sure she had just broken something expensive. ‘Though to be fair,’ she mused,‘most parts of me are, anymore.’ She rolled to her feet and barely got her arms up to block another heavy swing, her arm-blade slicing into the assaulting limb, wrenching free as the bot pulled back. In that split second Jack used her mechanical leg to leap, far more quickly than any organic limb could achieve, and punched the blade deep into the armor of the Corpro-bot’s chest. 

It crashed back onto the floor, pulling her with it and nearly knocking her breath from her. Sparks flew as the tinny voice began to speak and  arcano-tech began to whir to a halt, indicating she had severed something vital. ‘That was close.’

“Destruction of property has been added to your docket, and use of deadly force will be employed by all uni-” the voice cut to static before the whole machine whirred to stop, the violet aetheric glow fading to blackness. 

Jack stood and made her way over to the sleeper pod, which was riddled with bullet holes. Silence from within. She opened the hatch, expecting the gore-splashed worst, but to her welcome surprise found the pod empty. A sigh of relief. That was not something she needed on her conscience. 

As she closed the pod the light swoosh of a door opening down the aisle caused her head to jerk that way, inky eyes scanning frantically. Two, three, four more corprobots filing down towards her, heavy feet clanking on the hard floor. The lead bot raised it's weapon. ‘Time to go!’

Tinny voices called out after her but Jack wasn't listening. She began to backpedal towards the door, casting a sending spell from her neural communicator. A ringing began in her ear as her call connected. “Cmon, Cmon!” She urged, rushing through the portal and into the next cabin of the starliner. A burst of gunfire behind her, bullets whistling by, the sharp crack of a ricochet. Someone screamed to her left but she was too busy sprinting for her life. The ringing persisted. “C’mon! Pick up! Pick up!” the old fashioned ringtone continued to mercilessly mock her. She risked a look over her shoulder. The corpro-bots were running after her, a phalanx of arcano-tech out for her blood. And they were gaining.  

“Oh, not good.” She said, picking a corner at random and bolting down the hallway there.

“What's not good?” came a sleepy voice in her ear, “Do you know what time it is?”

“OCK! Oh thank fuck. I need an exit route, now.”

“Are you sure it can't wait? It's like 4th cycle before sun up.” Oculus said around a yawn.

“I'm being shot at!”

“I’ll take that as a no.” 

“OCK!”

Another yawn, “Ok I'm pulling it up now. Which Starliner did you take?”

Jack ducked down another corridor, “The Solar-Phantom cruiser Dauntless. Booked under the name Maribel Park.”

“Pulling you up. Wait, I’m seeing you stowed a side-arm? You had a gun, and you gave it up? The most accomplished agent of corporate espionage in the Unified systems, knowingly being chased by a crazed farming cult, and you stowed your firearm? For this I lose sleep?”

“I - actually that's fair,” She edged down to the corner and peeked around. Nothing. She slipped across as the tapping of runic keys came through the spell-link. 

“Wait really?”Surprise tinged the rough voice in her ear, the clicking of keys paused.

“No. Fuck off Ock. I didn't have the cash to pay for a fake license on the fly and the guards wouldn't take bribes. The new security bots in star ports have integrity programs installed, what an annoying world we live in. Just find me an exit, please. If I live, I’ll buy you those noodles you like.”

“That sounds more like the girl I know! Ah- ok, so blueprints. Looking though now, It seems you have two real options. Go find your gun-”

“Really Ock?” 

“Let me finish sheesh. Or get to the bridge and get through the Gate before they can black bag you. The warp should play enough havoc with their power sources to give you a shot of getting off that tub. Bots need to shield their arcane cores to remain functional during Gate travel, which means-

“If I can get the ship into warp before they expect it, I can fry them and dust out before they know what hit them! You’re a genius Ock!” 

“That's why they pay me the big bucks, little miss. Just remember that you need to-”

But Jack wasn't listening. She had already hung up and shifted direction, running down the hall full tilt as mechanical feet pounded onto the steel floor after her.

‘Now it gets fun.’

[mythiica]

Reader x Oliver Knight - To Charm a Woman

Title: To Charm a Woman

Fandom: Ikemen Revolution

Character: Oliver Knight

Genre: tbh its crack and im trash, romance, slight angst (barely any), fluff

Warnings: Strong language

Intended Gender Audience: Female Audience

Word Count: 1899 words

Other comments: didnt know what to write for him at first but then i thought of a friend who likes him and this was too perfect~ and holy crap this turned out a lot longer than i thought it would, especially for something that was meant to be a crack???

Blanc slides onto the couch next Oliver, smiling slyly. “Now, you tell me…”

          Oliver dog tags the page he is reading and closes the book slightly, giving Blanc his attention. “What do you want, Carrot Cakes?”

         “You’ve been eyeing (Y/n) lately. Do you like her?”

         He blinks for a moment and throws the book at Blanc before jumping off of the couch. Pointing a finger at the white-haired man, Oliver shoulds in response, “No! Why would you thin-”

         But Blanc leans forward, resting his chin on his palms. “No?”

         Oliver tries to hold his ground and musters all of his conviction. “N-”

         “So then, the locket you’ve been working on… is for someone else?”

         He stops in his tracks, caught completely off guard by the question. How did Blanc know about it? Oliver thought that he had been rather good at hiding the gift, but obviously Blanc had been snooping around his work station.

         “No, it’s for… her, but it’s meant to be a memory for her to take back! She’ll be leaving in a few days. Do you think she’ll forget about us?

         Blanc smiles again. “Of course not. Nonetheless, I believe you should tell her how you feel.”

         Oliver pouts and glares at Blanc. “Even if I did like her, I wouldn’t know how to tell her.” He crosses his arms over his chest and turns away. “You wouldn’t know how to help anyways. What do you know about courting women?”

         The white-haired man simply smiles slyly again. “What gives you that impression~?” Now, Oliver is ready to leave, but Blanc coaxes him back. “I could help you, Oliver. Otherwise, you’re hopeless.”

Step One: Make Her Notice You

Oliver sees you in the garden outside the house, crouching and picking out weeds from the flower beds. The sun has yet to dip over the horizon, but it’s nearly time for his curse to change him. Dusty rose light crowns your hair with a glowing halo, making Oliver pause in his steps to look at you. The evening breeze pulls on the edge of your skirt, so you pat it down to tame it.

         Before he has a chance to process what’s happening, he transforms. It catches him off guard, and once in his adult form, he slips on a towel. He tumbles to the ground, his lanky legs flying upwards. Oliver lands with a hollow thud, and manages to bump his head against the cabinet behind him.

         You heard the noise through the open window, and having been startled by it, you ran to investigate. Once inside, you find Oliver rubbing his head with one hand as the other holds onto the edge of the sink.

“What happened?” you demand as you reach out to help him.

         He swats your hand away. “I just fell. Leave me alone.”

         You click your tongue at him. “Don’t be like that. I’ll get some ice.”

         He tries to protest again, but you’re already preparing a small ice pack for him. Oliver scolds himself mentally, wishing he had been more graceful about it. This really wasn’t how Blanc suggested that he get your attention. Sitting down at the table, he massages the spot where he hit his head, praying that it wouldn’t swell up or bruise.

         “Hands away, let me help,” you say gently, sitting next to him.

         “I can hold an ice pack myself,” Oliver deadpans, trying to take it from you.

         “Ah yes, just like you can stand up straight without falling, right?”

         Oliver glares at you, but lowers his hands, allowing you to hold the ice pack to his forehead. He wears the scowl for a while, but it eventually fades when he catches you with furrowed brows. “What is it?”

         “Nothing,” you reply casually.

         “Tell me,” he half whines, half demands.

         “I think when you fell, some of your brain must have come out because you’re staring at me more that usual.”

         Oliver stands up abruptly, taking the ice from you, and storms off, leaving you to laugh alone.

Step Two: Give her compliments

“Wow, you actually don’t look like a piglet today,” Oliver comments as he sits down at the table to eat. He turns his attention to a book after making the comment. It’s just before sunrise, so he hasn’t had the chance to change back yet.

         You blink, processing the information before you react, grabbing a spoon and whacking him on the head. “Piglets are cute! How dare you insult me?”

         Oliver holds his head, rubbing the spot and yells back at you, “How do you find that an insult?! And why do you have to hit me there, I was previously injured!”

         “Maybe if I push the bruise back inside, you’ll find some better compliments.”

         “Maybe if you didn’t look like a wild animal, I’d have som,-”

         Your eyes narrow and you’re ready to lunge at him, but just as you’re about to attack, Oliver changes into his younger self.

         “Ha! You wouldn’t hit a child, would you?”

         In response, you flick the tip of his nose and leave the room with his book. “You think too highly of me, Oli!” you call behind your shoulder as you head into the other room.

Step Three: Ask for her opinion

“Which feather do you think matches the hat more?” Oliver asks, holding up two relatively similar-looking feathers. One simply has a bit more of a shine to it. In the light, the one on the left also seems to be a bit more blue.

         You tip your head to the side and raise an eyebrow. “They look… the same?”

         Oliver throws his hands up in annoyance. “Are you blind? This one has a reflective coat on it, but this one is completely matte. Furthermore, this one,” he shakes his left hand, “is a completely different shade than the other. Not to mention that it’s also much more voluminous.”

         You can’t help but laugh at how passionate he is about feathers.

         “I don’t know. You pick. You’re going to wear it anyways.”

         Oliver pouts slightly, wishing you had just given him an answer.

         You huff, stand up, and pad over to his work station, admiring all of the feathers sprawled out on the table. After a moment, you pick up a golden feather and hand it to Oliver.

         “This?!”

         “Yeah, it’s pretty.”

         “But it doesn’t even match. The hat is silver!”

         You shrug. “You asked for my opinion, short cakes. That’s what I got.”

Step Four: Try to make her a little bit jealous

“So, Blanc and I will be headed out to the market to look for some items. Don’t burn the house down while we’re gone,” Oliver informs you as he reaches for his hooded cape. “It shouldn’t take us longer than an hour, but we might stop by the Neutral zone for a few minutes as well.”

         “Alright, bring me back some desserts or something, I’m starving!”

         Oliver glares at your indifference, so he clears his throat and continues. “Actually, we might stay out late longer. A new bar opened up in town, and we were thinking of going to see how good it is.”

         “Don’t get too drunk, or you’ll be a ray of sunshine tomorrow,” you reply, still not looking up from your book.

         “I wonder if they’ll have women there-”

         This catches your attention, so you look at him. “Why? You want something to ogle at while you drink? I didn’t realize you were into that, Oli. Whatever floats your boat.”

         Blanc waves and opens the door. “Come now, Oliver, we best be off if we want to meet the pretty ladies at the bar!”

         “Oh hush, Cotton Tail!”

Step Five: Give her a gift

Oliver knocks on your door and waits for a response before coming inside. You’re sitting on the windowsill, looking outside at the stars. It’s a beautiful night, and you were admiring the sky. He lingers in the doorway for a moment before entering.

         “Aren’t you scared of falling out of the house?” he asks bluntly, sitting on the chair in the corner.

         You raise an eyebrow and stand up. As you close the window, you scold him. “You really know how to start a conversation, Oliver. What do you want at this time of night? I thought you were Blanc.”

         “Why would I be Blanc?”

         Nodding at the window, he sees the large, nearly full moon outside. “Oh…”

         “I assumed he would tell me about the plan for tomorrow night, but I guess he’ll wait until morning.”

         Oliver runs a hand through his hair and exhales slowly.

         “Hm?” you ask, look at him with large eyes. “Is something wrong?”

         “No. I just wanted to give you this before you left.” Oliver pulls out a small box from his jacket pocket and throws it at you. You catch it easily and pull on the ribbon keeping it closed. You’re expecting a prank – like a rock or a note saying you’re a piglet, but instead, you’re amazed to find a beautiful pendant in the shape of a heart winking at you. In the center, a gem similar to the ones on his jacket sparkled in the candle light.

         “So when you go back, you can at least remember this place.”

         You’re struggling to find words, and Oliver panics. “Do you not like it?” He stands up and walks towards you, only for you to run and leap into his arms, wrapping your own hands around his neck to hug him tightly.

         “Are you thick? I love it. It’s beautiful… you didn’t have to though.”

         Oliver tenses at your hug and doesn’t know what to do with his hands. “W-What do you mean ‘I didn’t have to’?”

         You smile innocently. “I’m not going back. Not tomorrow at least.”

         His jaw almost falls to the ground. “Then why did you say that about leaving?” Oliver demands. “And why aren’t you leaving?”

         “Blanc warned me about falling in love while I’m here. He said that if I did, then I wouldn’t be able to return to my home. Despite his, I ended up falling for someone.”

         Oliver deflates as he hears this. You loved someone?

         “I really think something happened to you when you fell and hit your head. Either than, or you’re absolutely oblivious to the really obvious fact that it’s you, Oliver.”

         “W-What?”

         Knowing that he wouldn’t understand words, you step on your tiptoes and cup his face before kissing him. Just like when you hugged him, he’s tense and doesn’t know how to respond to your affection, but after a moment, he places his hands on your waist and pulls you closer. He reciprocates the kiss, hoping that you’d understand his feelings as well from it.

         When you pull back, you smile happily and spin around, holding the necklace up. “Help me with it will you?”

         “Don’t you want to talk about this more?” Oliver blushes slightly, but clips the chain in place anyways.

         You spin back around and tap your lip with a finger. “Oh, right, you’re also really obvious. Did Blanc try to give you advice or something? Because the past few days, you’ve been acting really weird.”

         Oliver growls as his blush darkens. “No.”

         “You’re so cute when you’re angry! Like a grumpy shrimp!”

         “I’ll show you a grumpy shrimp-” he yells as he starts to chase you around the room.

[killapunk]

the weirdest, NO, evilest, person i have every worked for

no real names are used in this piece. i refer to other weirdos and freaks throughout, sorry its a long read (i didnt intend for this) but its one of those things ya gotta settle into and believe me its a wild ride. this saga covers over three years of drama btw.

tw: mental health mentioned (inc panic attacks), chronic illness mentioned and mild sex references 

i am going to single out jess. shes more evil than a weirdo but weirdo nonetheless. pete is a secondary weirdo in this saga.

i work in retail for a long time. a fashion store to be precise. i started out in one store but transferred when i started studying at uni and remained there for the majority of the retail career. during my time there i had three managers, the longest one, who is also a fucking weirdo was pete. now before i worked with pete, before he transferred to our store. i didnt like pete when i started working with him, he annoyed the fuck outta me. but my life circumstances changed and my mental health issues got very bad AND i was diagnosed with cfs so i had to disclose it w him. turns out… he was fucking mental too, very understanding, super chill. we liked the same shit. great boss. 11/10 every time.

he would be my reference for every job ever…

…but. he started gettin involved w jess. now to jess. the main character in this piece.

jess had started at the company around the same time as me and we were always on the same level until the last year or so. jess was a bit older than the average age of staff at the store (17-20) and was 23 when this drama started. she had a college diploma, went onto do something semi-successful but related to her HND. but blew all her money, moved back into her parents and started working at the store part time and then onto full time. she was like…the perfect retail girl? small, cute, slim, bubbly… always looked cool in her uniform. customers loved the fuck out of her. 

jess had a bf when i first started and pete had a longstanding gf. jess and her bf ended things abt 4 or 5 months before pete and his gf. but i remember they started gettin cushy around about this time. im not sure if its cos im v sympathetic towards pete (a true kind soul who i hold v dearly in my heart) but even tho youd be thinking ‘boss abuses his power’ …jess was and still is fuckin manipulative and he has longstanding mental health issues and i just think she sorta got the ball rollin’. pete and his gf didn’t seem on good terms, i dunno the full story but it seemed like they should have broken a long time before the did.

i think the fortnight before pete and his gf broke up they were spotted hanging out together near where she lived. it was this hush hush thing that everyone giggled abt cos there was at the time talk they were fuckin. when it got out, after his breakup jess said she was ‘just being a friend’ cos he was ‘going through a tough time’. 

jess got promoted to keyholder even though she didnt really (at the time) have the skills or confidence to be a keyholder. and then she started to try and fuckin control the work. back during this time, everyone who worked at the store, minus literally 3 people, had worked for the company for at least a year. the store ran very well, we were always in profit. nothing went wrong. but. she started changing processes because it 'made things easier when she was opening’. like. she made everyone tally the amount of people they served in the fitting room in one box and tally the amount of things people left behind so she could make a sales chart. idk if that’s normal in other stores but like? it was just nuts and impossible to do.we always put deliveries away out the package but not folded in a particular way. she made everyone tag and (where relevant) hang items bc she had to pick everything in the morning. 

she became friends w most of the girls, including one of the supervisors. they ruled the workplace. it was a total gossip mill. she gaslit the fuck outta people. one already less-popular girl at work ended up quitting cos she kept blaming her for fuck ups, she kept getting write ups and it was impating her mental health. she spun people against her. less popular girl spoke up and called her a bully and jess acted all defensive and said she wasn’t a bully bc shed been bullied before? jess continued to fuck up the workplace. next she turned on two people in her own clique. one tbh, i think she was jealous of bc jess had always wanted to be a teacher and this gal was training to be one. the other girl was v like jess, just not a bitch… strongwilled, liked control. anyway, drama got to the point where they had to quit. waay too much drama for this textpost. at this point others started to notice n work became hostile. jess moved her girlgang clique to one of the original clique girls, a different supervisor and the other two full time staff members.

pete obv didn’t listen to people coming to him, as store manager being like… hey… there’s this major clique problem and he’d be like ‘nah everyone is just friends, jess is a bit insecure but yno things are good, people quit, its just retail. fuck it.’ jess accused everyone who didn’t get on w her as being a terrible person. those legit words. like. if someone said it was a shame x, y or z left shed rebut, nah they were shit at their job, they were a shit person. honestly. EVERYONE. was a bad person. even the nicest people in the world were the worst person, the worst at the job. she was a good person, she liked the good people. she HAD BEEN BULLIED AND WOULD NEVER BULLY. she threw the anxiety word around a lot.

once we had a staff night out and i got left alone with jess and pete at the end of the night in this terrible lil bar as i waited for someone to pick me up. this is a good point to mention jess was always weirdly jealous cos i was close to pete. fucking ridic considering he was 14 years older than me and you know my fucking boss??? this night, i was sitting right next to pete, we were both drinking, jess wasn’t (cos she likes to be in control, she even said it), he had his arm around me and was whispering something into my ear that was such a non-thing i don’t even remember. she got her phone out, started texting. he excused himself and when he returned he sat beside her. it was fucking nuts. i couldn’t believe my eyes. we had to basically carry pete out of the bar. jess said to me she was gonna drive him home cos it was on the way to hers (spoiler! it was not!). myself and pete did the open the next day. he came in wearing the same clothes. i mean, he could have just passed out and had to rush to work when he woke up. but. this guy went out a lot. he never repeated an outfit. i think jess took advantage of a very drunk him. similarly, on another night out, jess promised to drive someone home. said person got too drunk and thew up. jess refused to take them home and called them embarrassing, she gave the space in her car to pete.

i had a major bad evening shift at work concerning another staff member, kaylee. a gal who just rubbed me up the wrong way, and who didn’t like me. ill never know why but it was just one of those things where anytime i was on shift w her she would nitpick and bitch about me and just… make me feel not v good. she was possibly the laziest and rudest person i had ever worked with but someone got away with it?

i used her as a way to talk to pete about the general problems in the store (jess). and…it was fuckin surreal. i told him abt kaylee. i told him i thought jess was controlling but kinda laid off a bit like ‘i get she thinks shes doing it for good’ etc. i padded it out w a few other rly petty issues abt the store. i was actually really upset, kinda numb from life to properly let out my emotions. and then. he started cry on me. like this full-on grown man having a panic attack in front of me when i was 19, fucked on diazepam i should have never been prescribed. to this day i visualise it. me and pete were v close at this point, and like, he didn’t mention jess too much – asked me about the other girl and other issues when i came to him. we spoke about personal shit, all but jess. i kinda wonder if he didn’t have the panic attack if i would have told him his under the radar relationship w her was not on?

and then. pete sold me out in the name of jess. idk the full ins and outta everything but he had to confront the drama once and for all cos our figures were so low so he decided to blame it all on kaylee. from my understanding of the situ from a lot of ‘he said she said’ bs, pete had this big meeting w kaylee. was like. 1. do ur job right and 2. stop being rude and unapproachable. the thing is, although kaylee is rude shes one of these ppl who most ppl really liked, not in a jess/regina george theyre scared of you way but…like they thought she was a tv character and she was funny and honest. so i think she confronted some obvious allies, and jess told her, according to another staff member, that i complained about her. after hearing this i obvious went to pete and tbh, acted pretty dramatic (cos if you haven’t fucking learned already THIS STORE WAS FULL OF DRAMA QUEENS). as soon as i heard, i started texting him angrily on his day off. i remember folding something in the fitting rooms and he came up to give me a hug and i was like ‘HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TELL OTHER PEOPLE MY BUSINESS’. i confronted jess, in a lighter tone, cos i obv told pete (half) what i felt about her. jess played the fucking innocent role. like, she said something along the lines of ‘we’re both close to pete n he was so worried that when me, you and kaylee did those shifts together that something would go wrong. so he told me to keep an eye on things and that’s all i told kaylee cos she wasn’t sure why she was being targeted when so many people in this store are treating people badly. i didn’t say you reported her or anything, honestly!!!!’ queue more bs.

after this, jess didn’t bother with me but was never explicit about hating me. if there was a convo going on and i tried to join in she scolded at me for being nosey. if i was unwell (i have cfs) shed moan ‘jokingly’ that i always had to be ill. i think she ripped on me once cos i said i was late for a hand-in at uni.

her next real victim, however, was jack, my best friend in store and our supervisor. jack was getting fucked over in his supervisor role bc pete would schedule jess for anything managerial. jess started a rumour that pete didn’t trust jack bc jack fucked it at a meeting w the other stores (semi true but fucking up a meeting isn’t the end of the world). like. anything jack would be, jess would be on him. by this point 50% of the staff that were around at the start of the story HAD LEFT. jess had driven people out and had the new ones all up her arse.

pete quit. it was sudden.

not long later, facebook popped up with a fuckin ‘pete is in a relationship with jess’ status and pete has never spoken to me again. i left shortly after that, although our new manager was lovely i felt like i was working for jess.

jack ended up GETTING DEMOTED, by petes replacement who had no idea what a shitstorm she was getting herself into. the new manager PROMOTED jess and demoted jack bc she was doing all the supervisor jobs whilst jack was only doing midshifts. he didnt get shafted to the lowest pay and was instead given the title ‘trainer and authorised opener/closer’ whilst still doing the same fucking job. he transferred out, cos that shit is fucking degrading and within, like two months he was put back up his rightful position. yay for my forever work bestie. I

feel like this has been going on for too long now. i think this doesn’t do her justice. like…i cant believe someone who is NOW 26 and who got what she wanted after manipulating a mentally ill man caused so much drama and pain and tension in a fucking clothes store.

fucking horrid. im reading this completely exhausted and so i cant say much but i just feel like these people are always the ones who come out on top, and its so fucked up. im really sorry you had to deal with so many unpleasant people, and your friend as well. 

i swear mediocrity and asskissing is what gets you anywhere in this world, and manipulative cunts like this jess woman take full advantage of that. it’s pretty scary, honestly. amazing how far drama can go, huh. this is why i have trust issues.

i still hope she gets her ass kicked by life, though. there has to be some sort of karmic justice somewhere

i also feel like i should say that there’s always going to be people who won’t like you for some reason. even if you don’t do anything wrong and even though everyone else thinks they’re great. no idea why this happens, but all i can say is there’s really nothing you can do. so FUCK EM (in the most metaphorical sense as they don’t deserve you giving them the time of day)

[keyaanthom91]

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[darkdarkmydesire]

I really hope it wasn't (just an experiment)

Chapter 6:

"Do you want to get popcorn?", Clayx asked, arm wrapped around Alec.

" Sure, I'll pay.", he smiled up at the taller boy, as the couple made their way to the queue.

Alec and Calyx had been dating for a little over two weeks. They had been on numerous 'official dates' and a few lazy ones, spent indoors. Albeit, today they had decided on a traditional movie on the big screen.

As they stood in line, from his spot slightly behind Calyx, Alec looked over his boyfriend. The word was still foreign on Alec's tongue. Calyx was wearing a stormy grey jeans under a pale green t - shirt, which emphasised his pale eyes. It had been the feature that had first draw Alec to him. Even niw, Calyx was a great boyfriend, caring and fun to be with. They both had moved their lives to fit each other fairly easily. With them spending lunches in school library together, or with friends, alternating between Calyx's trio and Alec's group. Perhaps a bit awkward on Calyx's friend's part, but they could work around that. Everything was going smoothly, it was nothing like being with Magnus, where Alec was swept away from one emotion to the next. Alec's and Magnus's something had been like hurricane. Wild and thrilling, filled with equal amounts of pain and pleasure. The pair had also gained attention in school as the mirroring couple, not due to their personalities, which were thoughtful and sweet to each other, but because of their looks.

Alec's dark hair and hazel eyes were a direct contrast to Calyx's pale eyes and light hair. Being in a relationship with Calyx was calm, pleasant. Alec's relaxed tenor, had been obvious to Izzy and Jace too, the serenity was due to Calyx and Alec having had no petty squabbles. The relationship consisted of kissing and holding hands, even dry humping each other twice, but had always stopped there.

Alec wasn't going to succumb to wild passion again, is what he told himself, never truly asking himself if there was any indication of a wild passion towards Calyx. Magnus on the other hand, had coincidentally vanished the first three days of Alec's relationship, drivng Alec insane with worry, as no one seemed to know where he was. It was only when Magnus had texted the second day into said disappearance, that Alec had calmed down. It had been a simple sentence:

Broke my phone, am sick, will see you.

Alec had immediately responded, asking if he needed anything, only to be called by Ragnor, "It's my phone. Dont use it as a way station.", he growled, before clicking the phone off and blocking Alec's number.

Aggrieved, but helpless, Alec had left Magnus to his own devices. While, a day later, he had slid back into Alec's newly changed routine seamlessly, the whole endeavour forgotten shortly. -------------------------------+--

As Magnus sat in his arm chair, staring at the view, Ragnor stormed over, snatching the glass of whisky and something stronger from his hands.

" Magnus that's enough.", he snapped, "You can't keep destroying yourself over that boy.".

" I'm fine.", Magnus drawled, waving away his green obsessed friend's concern.

"It's just liquid courage.", he said, picking his way over the apartment. Reaching the table scattered with alcoholic bottles, he picked up various ones and began mixing a cloudy concoction. " I'll just be sipping tonight, I promise.", he added, sipping the drink, then proceeding to wrinkle his nose and adding more whisky.

Magnus thought he had done pretty well, considering circumstances. After all, he had seen the man he loved in someone's else's arms. In someone else's mouth. That day, a few weeks ago, he had walked all the way home, opened his cabinet and swallowed his miseries. Ragnor had found him the next afternoon, leaning against the very same cabinet, legs outstretched, griping a bottle of expensive wine, as he sat with salty tracks mapping his face. Melancholy and extremely drunk, Magnus had spilled everything onto Ragnor in return for the silence his friend would give. Which he immediately got, because Ragnor didn't say a word, just gently hauled Magnus into bed, prying the bottle from his grip and clicking off the lights. "Sleep you drunken fool." Magnus had given himself two more days to wallow in self pity, during which he had hastily patched up his tattered heart,and henceforth gotten on with life. After all the result had been the obvious end to his own shortcomings. Magnus had pushed Alec away. It was only fair he let Alec move on.

The preceding events brought them here, some minutes prior to the journey they were to traverse in order to reach a newly opened club/ bar: The Institute. The reason for this colloquial affair was of course, the mutual get together of platonic friends. Platonic friends which included Alec and his boyfriend.

-------------------------------+--

Alec once again , stood under flashing lights and pounding music. Surveying the club, a species that Alec had successfully avoided for more, or less nineteen years. Yet here he was, in the span of a few months frequenting the haunt of a similar brand. This brand, however, was restrained in comparison to Pandemonium. It had none of the overzealous allure, or heady attraction.

Alec sat in a booth next to Calyx, eyes flicking over the entrance for the rest of his group. He had on a black t - shirt that clung to his skin, over artfully frayed blue jeans revealing slivers of toned lower thighs, while his hair was arranged in an out of the bottle, bed head look. He told himself he was searching for all the awaited members of his usual entourage.

As said entourage came into view, Alec's eyes automatically fell on Magnus. He had put in extra effort. Wearing a finely meshed, netted tank top, Magnus had left nothing to the imagination. His hands were adorned in wrist length leather gloves, while black leather pants clung to his skin outlining each curve and hollow. Alec clenched his hands, coolly reminding himself of his boyfriend. Magnus's arms supported the usual twine bracelets and his hair was streaked with glittery purple. Face done up in a peacock theme, designs arched around his eyes like a mask. It was a composition of varying hues of greens, blues and golds, placing Magnus's eyes at the center of attention. Trapping all who dared gaze directly into their depths. He was merely assessing, Alec reaasured himself as he bacame aware of his own lengthy stare. Proving a point to himself he glanced at the rest in order to asses them too. Try as he mighg hiis mind recorded nothing.

Guiltily, Alec looked back, as Calyx squeezed his thigh a little harder than necessary. "Want to dance?", he asked abruptly, already pulling Calyx into the crowd. He could not have Magnus in front of him, he did not know why and did not linger on the thought. Hence, that is how the night went for Alec, who flashed guarded smiles and the occasional surprised laughter, which Magnus had pried from him by recalling an amusing anecdote, or repeating an exaggerated joke. Alec found these bursts of laughter were always accompanied by a twinge of pain, which only deepened as the night wore on. -------------------------------+--

The night was even more torturous than Magnus had imagined, with Alec wearing that thin cloth. With his boyfriend looking straight at Magnus before leaning closer, touching his bicep, neck and thigh. Magnus ground his teeth, his control was undoubtedly unraveling. And it was all it took for Magnus to keep for smashing Calyx's teeth in. Picking up on Magnus's deteriorating mood, Ragnor soon excused them both, muttering about the need to finish a paper due in tomorrow for their joint class. Nevertheless, all Magnus saw was Alec's wide eyes and flushed face, as Calyx swept a tongue over his lip and licked the drop of wine. While. Looking. At. Magnus. Magnus began to tremble with rage. How dare he taunt him?

Covering up his jealousy, Magnus gave the group a dramatic wink, intending to rile Calyx, never once looking back he sauntered off, hips swaying more prominently than they usually did. -------------------------------+--

Hearing Calyx slam the glass on the table, Alec jerked his eyes back, blushing in humiliation. He had been staring at Magnus's retreating form. Alec was a asshole, he'd had his boyfriend next to him and had been staring at another guy - at Magnus.

"So you're obviously not over Magnus, are you?", Calyx demanded, voice hard. Alec opened his mouth to deny his statement, but stopped, unsure. The sudden pause and heavy silence was statement enough.

" I can't believe I let you string me along. I liked you Alec.", he said voice breaking slightly. The pain he saw reflected in Calyx's eyes shamed Alec, especially as all he felt was relief. Relief that someone had voiced the thought clanging in his brain for months. " I like you too, just not- I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you.", he said. Shame and disgust at his own cowardice roiled in Alec's stomach, threaghtening to rip him apart, or maybe it was the drinks - he couldnt tell. He didn't know what he was doing, why he was feeling this way.

Ignoring Alec's pleading, guilt ridden expression, Calyx slide out of the booth, disgusted. But, as Alec tried to stand, to folliw after him. To do what,he didnt know. Alec realised he was drunk, the drink he had been sipping all night had been stronger than it looked. He found the room swaying under his feet. -------------------------------+--

Magnus had just received an unusual call, from Calyx, of all people. Yelling about how Magnus could "choke on your happily ever after, you pompous bastard". Sighing bitterly, Magnus gave a self depreciating laugh, because of course, this is exactly how he had imagined his happily ever after. What was wrong with this man? What did Alec see in this self absorbed imbecile? Although, perhaps - .

It couldn't be. Had Alec ...

Striding through the park, Magnus walked towards the direction of the club. He had come to cool off here, because the memories of Alec in his apartment had threatened to overwhelm him, but this had been an interesting developement. He wasn't that naive to think it may be anything more than a lovers quarrell, but that asshole had possibly left Alec in the club alone, when he clearly had been drinking more than usual. A drunk Alec. Alone. Swearing Magnus picked up his pace. Rounding each corner and crossing each road recklessly, or maybe Calyx hadnt left Alec and Magnus was hurrying to meet an empty booth with yet more memories of Alec, but Magnus still went, because there was a chance he had. No matter how unlikely, or small, if Alec need help, Magnus would be there for him. He hadn't realised he had begun running, until he came to a stop at the entrance of the club. Breath heaving, eyes wild as he looked around. His panic retreated, as he spotted Alec leaning against the booth they had occupied. Though the man beside him was unrecognisable and as Magnus pushed through the crowd, his suspicion froze to a cold, brittle anger...

The man hadn't been speaking to Alec, but attempting to force a kiss on him.< -------------------------------+--

The assailant's hand was a brand around Alec's waist as he used the other to thrust up Alec's shirt. Grunting, Alec struggled, but the alcohol had a grip as firm as the man's. As he leaned ever closer musty, cigarette coated breath hitting Alec's face, Alec thrashed with all his might. Why had he drank so much? He didn't want this. He didn't want this. He didn't want this.

In the midst of panic, Alec tumbled backwards, as another man seemingly shrouded in shadows pulled his attacker off, before pushing the man to the ground. The newcomer punched his face with a violent ferocity. The man was possessed with rage, his fists a storm. At first Alec thought he had something to do with the bleeding man under him. A past grudge, a debt, or something. Although as Alec inched closer he saw: a flash if glittery hair, a wink of a sapphire stone, a gimpse of leather gloves. It was Magnus.

"Hey!", Alec shouted, " Magnus that's enough. Magnus!", as he somewhat woozily trying to pull Magnus off the bleeding sack of meat underneath him Not that Alec minded if he made it through tonight alive. But the man lay: face bruised and bloody, moaning in pain and Alec was pretty sure, Magnus would not be let off lightly, no matter what the incentive, if caught by authorities - which by the looks of hovering bar keep became a distinctive possibility. Granted Alec's "pulling off" was little more than a feeble, albeit consistent tug. Alec was extremely drunk, a little more than extremely - extremely, extremely drunk. Giving the man one last shove, Magnus pushed off him. Turning to cup the back of Alec's head in his leather clad hands, he crushed Alec against his chest. Alec was too stunned to do anything, this night had been a rush of emotion. His eyes burnt and throat clogged with bile, as he recalled the helplessness of the moments before. Winding his arms around Magnus, he twisted his hands in Magnus's shirt, breathing raggedly. As wretched as this night had been, Alec wanted to remember each second of it - for once he did care. A lot of a lot. Alec was not the only one surprised, Magnus had not known he was capable of such blinding rage, such violence. " You came back?", he whispered voice cracking, slurring. "You came back? I thought - , You came back?" Both knew Alec referred to more than just the club, but that was a conversation for a more sober participant. Cutting through Alec's repetitive ramblings, which had begun to sound more like statements than questions, Magnus held on tighter. "Always.", he whispered, pressing Alec closer . " Always, Alexander, always.". The words became a promise that hung like effervescent lanterns in the air. Enveloping them both in a golden glow.

To anyone passing by, it seemed as if a man stood supporting his drunk friend, surrounded by a crowd of curious on lookers, drunkards and an unconscious body, but really Magnus stood under a blanket of stars, entangled in the arms of someone he had come to love, someone who had, hopefully, come to love him back.

"Maaagnus, you're baack. I love you, you know. Isn't that funny?" Despite the offhand delivery, Magnus's heart tugged in happiness and fondness over Alec's whinny tone. It bordered on accusative, Alec had clearly drunk a lot and it seemed there was no more adrenaline to rebuff the effects. Much to his amusement, Alec seemed to be feeling the said increasing effects.

"I know, darling.", he murmured.

"Whatnoiloveyoutoo?", Alec mumbled, face morphing into an exaggerated frown, as he jerked his head from Magnus's shoulder to peer at the Magnus's face.

" I do, I just want to say it when you'll remember, that's all."

Reaching up, Alec patted Magnus's hair, "Glittery, I like glitter.", he nodded sagely. Magnus stifled a laugh. How he had gone from semi - decent talk to this in the span of a few minutes, Magnus had no idea, although one thing was sure. It seemed Alec was drunk.

[dir-khummel]

No Peace of Mind || PARA

Who: Kurt & Harlan ( @joieharlan )

Where: Kurt’s Apartment & Edgewater Park Beach

When: February 16th, 2020

Notes/Triggers: NSFW. The Valentine charity auction said ‘platonic date.’ Kurt and Harlan’s was anything but...

It had been two days since Kurt saw Harlan. And in those two days, he had a lot to think about. He had to think about his plan, what he wanted in life, if perhaps it was time to finally let go of his last rope of childhood innocence. He had gotten tattoos, he quit his Broadway dream, and now, he could cross 'casual sex' off his bucket list. And Harlan being his first? Kurt couldn't think of a better first partner to have this journey with. The knock on his apartment door signaled the arrival of his 'platonic' date. Kurt opened the door, leaning against it and smirking at the new arrival. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Harlan didn't know what was going on for sure. He just knew that Kurt bought a date with him which meant the boy wanted to see him more. Smiling as he dressed, he was more then ready for the night. His truck was filled with all he'd need and now to pick up Kurt. Coming to his room, Harlan was dressed in his jeans, boots, button up and jacket. "I could say the same for you. You ready? Hope you're dressed warm."

"Warm?" Kurt reached for the coat hook nearby, grabbing a heavier jacket before smiling. '"Now I'm ready." He stepped out, closing and locking his apartment door, making their way toward the parking lot. "So, can I get a hint now? Or are you still forcing me to wait to find out what you're up to?"

Harlan took his hand as he walked. He was sure that they both knew this wasn't just some platonic date as it was suppose to be. "You'll see, it wont take too long and I think you might like it, well I hope you like it." Opening the door to his pickup so Kurt could get in then getting in himself. With belts on, he pulled out of the parking lot and out to the interstate.

Kurt hummed when Harlan took his hand again, smiling as they walked to his truck , getting inside and starting whatever journey Harlan had in store. He settled in and watched as they traveled outside the city, watching buildings turn into trees. "Okay, you are really confusing me; where are we going?"

Harlan didn't respond at first. He did once they were driving onto the shore, the sun starting to set. "I thought we could have a fire on the beach, make some smores and cuddle under the stars in the back of the pickup. Finding a good spot, he pulled off and got out. "Looks good to me, private and all"

Kurt's eyes lit up when Harlan finally confessed his plans for their evening. He smiled wide, doing a small, quiet clap in celebration. "That sounds amazing!" Kurt watched as Harlan got out of the truck after finding a good spot, Kurt stepping out and looking out over the scenery, glancing at the sky, then back at the other man. "You sure know how to treat someone, don't you?"

"What can I say? You deserve to have everything at your finger tips. Not just some play thing. I was brought up that if you're gonna take someone on a date, you should them the world and you give it to them." Harlan pulling out some wood from the backseat and starting fire to keep them warm. "A true gentleman knows how to treat a person in public. Behind closed doors well, all bets off." Winking to Kurt then.

Kurt laughed, both at the absurd flirting, and the gentleman-like treatment Harlan was giving him. He watched Harlan do all the heavy lifting, enjoying the sight before him, relaxing. "I am sure we both know by now, behind closed doors, I am the peak of gentleman. I say please, thank you, the whole deal."

"You are." Harlan chuckled, getting out the basket with the food in it and a blanket. He came to sit on it with Kurt and offer him another if he wanted it. Sitting there with him, the sun was slowly dropping in the horizon. Harlan put on his cowboy hat with a content sigh. "I missed the sunsets."

The silence that enveloped them as the sun went done was relaxing and welcome. It was clear the two of them were simply enjoying the moment and each other, watching the sun set, listening to the fire crackle, and just be. Kurt angled his head to the side. "Why's that?"

"Where I grew up, its all sky and rollin hills. So I miss it some times, seeing it over the grass as the wild horses run. I think you'd like it there." His hand slipping into Kurt's. He didn't want to go there but part of him wanted to as well. "Listen, I know we're not much beyond friends, but I'm also sure that I wasn't the only one that felt something Friday night. Am I right?"

Kurt shrugged his shoulders, looking out at the beautiful sky. "I don't know. I used to think Ohio was only that stuff, it's part of why I left for New York. Yet, I found my back here. Sometimes, going home could be just what you need." Kurt's heart jumped in his chest as the conversation turned more serious, Kurt biting his lip. "That was-" He stopped a second, pulling his legs up and under himself. "That was my first time very being sexual with anyone I hadn't dated for like, months. It was freeing, but new and scary all at the same time..."

"Ohio is home for you huh?" Harlan smiled a bit. "I don't know for sure what your past is and really, I don't need to know if you don't want to tell me, its your past. Just, I think if Dante is your ex, then he's your ex for a reason. Something didnt fit and going backwards, its just going to hold you back." Leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Wanna makes some smores?"

"I grew up here, waiting for the day to leave. I left, and when things got hard, I knew where to go," Kurt admitted, looking down at the fire and  shaking his head. "I thought I had a reason. It was so clear back then. But now I'm older, hopefully wiser. I look back at what happened and realize, I was the one to blame for everything falling apart, not him." Kurt smiled when Harlan kissed his cheek, returning the favor and pecking his lips before he pulled to far away. "Yes, actually, that sounds amazing."

Harlan grabbed the roasting sticks he had and put marshmallows on them handing one to Kurt. "Well alright, still think you had a reason for it but you know I'm not the type to press something. I just want to enjoy the time I have with you as much as I can." His free arm wrapping Kurt's waist.

Kurt took the roasting stick, moving closer to Harlan, leaning his head on his shoulder. "...I wish it was just that simple. I am coming to the realization that I don't do simple." Kurt looked up at Harlan, a genuine, soft smile on his face. "Thank you, for all this."

"You're welcome." Harlan leaning in this time to kiss him softly. "I know you say you don't do simple but you could. Just means you have to know what you want and go for it. You might get hurt but the right person, well they're worth the risk." Pecking his lips softly. "You're worth the risk."

Harlan's lips on his were nothing like Dante. Dante was fierce and passionate; every movement was a note in a crashing symphony. Harlan was slow and free-flowing, like the babbling of a stream on mossy rocks. Harlan was easy to kiss, easy to melt into. Kurt let his marshmallow catch fire before bringing it back up, watching it burn before blowing it out. "...Am I a risk for you?"

"Only because I really care for you and not sure if it's just me. I like this time with you kind of don't want it to end. " Harlan admitted as he ate his own marshmallow. He didn't want to admit to it, but it was true. "So am I alone there?”

Kurt sighed, popping the burnt marshmallow into his mouth and lookg Harlan dead on. "I'm having fun with you, in a way I haven't ever had fun before. This feels different, it isn't like other guys I've dated. It's new, and I like that about you." Kurt stopped, holding Harlan's hand a little tighter. "That's the honest truth."

Harlan would take that. He wasn't looking to make things complicated. He had learned his whole life that things like this should be simple and easy, if it wasnt then it wasn't right. Squeezing his hand back, Harlan smiled to him. "I'll take it."

Kurt leaned up, placing his lips against Harlan's this time slowly, methodically. This was his 'thank you', in his own personal way. When Kurt sensed the opportunity, he slipped his tongue into Harlan's mouth, testing new territory. Kurt was not sure how far Harlan intended to go, but Kurt's conscience wasn't stopping him yet, so he continued on.

Harlan looked over, kissing him back as Kurt pressed their lips together. He smiled in the kiss, a hand moving to back of the boy's neck. With a tongue touch, he parted his lips to let their tongues dance together. Humming some, he was fine with this, wanting this really.

Kurt’s newfound sexual freedom seemed to be working in his favor, based on Harlan’s reaction. He was receptive, reading Kurt like a book for what he wanted in that moment. Kurt, with a curious slowness, slid his hand across Harlan’s belt, pulling away from the kiss a few inches. “We played it safe last time, how safe are we going to be this time?” Kurt asked, his voice barely going above a whisper.

Harlan grinned to him. "Sorry, darlin, you might have to spell it out for me what you're wanting to do. You know how much I've done with a guy." Kissing behind his ear, Harlan whispered then. "Or maybe this time I can make you moan and scream my name in pleasure."

Kurt laughed softly, the laugh turning into a moan when Harlan whispered into his ear. He moved his hand front Harlan's belt line, up his back, gripping his shirt. "That sounds amazing," Kurt responded, smirking to himself. "Is this another one of those 'Harlan has a secret surprise' situations? Do I have to guess what you have in mind?"

Harlan easily moved Kurt to his lap. Whispering to his ear once more. "You can guess but I'm not sure if what you're thinking is the same as I am." Gripping him and pulling him closer as he kissed him and along his jaw. Sure it was sexual in a way but it was so much more too.

Kurt leaned over Harlan, letting him have fun reign of whatever he could touch; it only seemed fair after what Kurt did before. While Harlan had his way, kissing and groping, Kurt let his mind wanted to what he could have in mind. "W-well, you said you never have gotten far with another guy- It's all a matter of what you want, really! The last thing I want to do, is go too far..."

Harlan smiled. "I'm thankful for that. Not sure how ready I am to go that far." he admitted to him. Wondering if his lack of experience would hinder things for them. Hand sliding over Kurt's chest, he came down to palm the boy through his pants. "Someone is eager, arent ya darlin?"

Kurt smiled back, but it broke open as Harlan's hands traversed his chest, finding their way to his very clear arousal. He hummed, shifting his hips as a confirmation that he was okay with this. "Well, you had me around your finger at 'scream in pleasure.' That kind of talk melts me."

"So you like dirty talk huh?" Harlan standing and keeping Kurt in his arms, wrapping the boy's legs around him as he held him by his ass. Grabbing their things so that it was a bit easier, he opened the cab of the truck and set Kurt on the seat, tossing the blanket and food in. He rubbed his growing cock through his pants, sucking on his neck now. Harlan was going to make damn sure it was known that Kurt had someone, someone better, taking care of him. "Gonna take your pants down now." he told him, flicking the button open. "Lift your hips, babe."

Kurt gasped as Harlan lifted him up, wrapping his arms around the other man’s shoulders to stay upright, the manhandling making his engine rev even harder. Kurt laid back in the cab of the truck, letting Harlan touch him anyway he wanted. There was something deliciously trashy about getting sexual in the back of a truck, and for moment, Kurt hoped God was watching to see it. He lifted his hips and let Harlan pull his jeans down, revealing the silky skin underneath, a devilish smirk on his lips; he went commando for this very reason.

Harlan took in the look of the boy's freed cock. He licked his lips a bit, and pulled Kurt so his ass was on the edge of the seat as he stood outside of the it. Leaning down, Harlan started to stroke and licked the head of his member. His eyes ever locked on Kurt's face.

Kurt's voice let out a mewl when Harlan took hold of him, sliding him to the edge of the seat. This was so dangerous, out in the open like this; anyone just walking by could see what they were doing! Kurt's face was an instant pink, the thought of a public display setting off warning signs in his head. This was another first, another thing he had never done before, and another thing he had with Harlan he didn't have with anyone else. With that reassuring thought, he reached and ran his fingers in Harlan's hair, pupils blown out in arousal.

Harlan pressed into his touch. He knew he wasn't going to be as good at this as Kurt was but he was going to do what he could. Sucking down more of his cock, he bobbed a bit, licking the head with each bob. Harlan smiling around him, his hand stroked what wasn't in his mouth. Wanting to repay him and give him all he deserved.

Kurt's head fell back as Harlan took his cock into his mouth, the warm heat stealing Kurt's breath away. Every exhale was a sigh or a moan, every pause in his voice was to catch his breath. Kurt couldn't keep quiet, his toes curling in his shoes. It took a few minutes, but eventually, Kurt's hold on Harlan's hair tightened, and he leaned up again, biting his lip. "I-I can't last." Kurt said softly, his free hand gripping the seat for leverage.

Pulling off with a pop, Harlan smirked and licked just the head. "Then dont, I think I can handle it." Though he didn't know if he could, he'd try. The way Kurt had responded to him, it was enough to make him want and need to come as well but this was about the other boy, the older boy. It was about making him have nothing but pure pleasure from him. Sucking him back down, Harlan rested his free hand on Kurt's thigh, rubbing the inner part softly.

Kurt was never good at predicting when he was going to come. It usually came all at once, in one wave, and this was no different. No sooner did Harlan's mouth suck back onto his cock, and was over the bridge. He went silent a few seconds, only for his voice to come back in soft pants and exasperated breaths. He fell onto his back on the seat, eyes closed as he sat there, enjoying the rippling waves of pleasure, feeling like he was floating.

Harlan did his best to get it all, but he knew he wasn't going to be that good yet. Cleaning Kurt off, he put his pants back and wiped his mouth clean as he looked to the other man. Seeing him so spent, it was something of beauty. He couldn't help where his thoughts went, it was  new place for him but he did enjoy the thoughts there. "How did I do?" he finally asked.

Kurt continued to bask in his post-orgasm glow, watching Harlan out him back together. He hummed at his question, smiling at him and opening his eyes again. "Good, really, really good," Kurt admitted, waving Harlan closer with the back of his hand, leaning up to kiss him, slowly, carefully.

Harlan climbed into the truck a bit, kissing him back. He smiled there, moving Kurt to have him on his lap as they kissed. Parting some, he nuzzled along his jaw. "Alright, I'll admit it, I do like you. I know its quick but I know I need to be honest. Something about you makes it hard to want to let you go."

Kurt sighed and relaxed as he was brought back into Harlan's lap, those solid, firm hands on him so welcoming and warm. He was not sure how to take Harlan's confession, Kurt pulling away and looking Harlan straight on. "So, knowing that... How could you react so calmly when you heard about me and Dante? How much do you about... well, about us?"

"Because as far as I know, its not mutual. I mean I know you enjoy being with me but you're not catching feelings so its your life. It will stop me from doing more then what we've done though. I may play around but sex, thats for the person I'm with. I don't know much but like I said, hes your ex for a reason. Even if it was you that ended it, you ended it for a reason." Caressing his cheek, Harlan smiled softly. "I cant be mad at you for doin it when you're not mine but I can show you that there are much better people out there for you."

Kurt leaned his head into Harlan's touch, his eyes watering a bit the more he spoke. This was why he avoided this, it was all so messy and complicated; Harlan was right. He wasn't catching feelings, but it still felt so damn good to be with him like this. Still, this wasn't fair, not to himself, not to Dante, and especially not to Harlan. He deserved to know the truth. Kurt shook his head, looking outside the truck, then back at Harlan, his shoulders raised. "I was going to marry him," Kurt admitted. "Fresh out of high school, first time on my own, and I met him. He proposed, I said yes. Then, I abandoned him, out of nowhere. Just, left him hanging. I didn't even leave a note..." Kurt smiled, not in happiness but in pathetic sadness. "That's what you're falling for..."

Harlan listened to the story, then cupped his cheek. "So you weren't ready and it wasn't right for you. He isn't right for you. I know you want to say you were too young or some other reason but even if thats true, it doesnt change that you left him. Some part of you knew he wasnt right." Kissing his forehead. "I'm catching feelings for someone that did what was right for himself, nothing wrong with that."

Kurt let out a broken sigh; he couldn't tell if it was relief or grief, so he let it pass. "But we were young, we were different people- I've overthought it so much, and I feel so guilty now that he is here." Kurt stopped a moment, touching Harlan's cheek and rubbing his thumb against his jaw. "How is this fair to you? I don't want to string you along, but I feel like, no matter which direction I go in, someone is going to get hurt. Which is why I'm sitting in this complicated middle; no one gets hurt is nothing changes..."

Harlan didn't like this next part but he had to say it. "Kurt, I've spoke my piece. You can try and come up with all these reasons as to why you did it but in the end, none of them matter because you did it. You left. You left, you got away and you didn't look back until he made you look back by coming here. That means something...as for hurting me. I think you're hurting everyone by just not making a choice, you're hurtin him, me and mostly you. Its not fair to you that you're not with one person that will give you all that you crave." Kissing his nose. "Just think about what I'm saying, please. Promise me you'll think about  it all"

He was right. Harlan was absolutely right. What he was doing was doing more damage than good, and at the end of it all, Kurt just felt torn and broken. The liberation he was feeling was short lived and fleeting, but the heartbreaking truth was he was on a destructive path no one came out of clean. Kurt rested his forehead against Harlan's, breathing in through his nose. "...I will. I'll think about it."

"Good. Now you want to watch the stars in the back of the truck with me?" Asking with a soft smile, fingers lacing with Kurt's now. He had spoke his peace about it all, it was on Kurt. Harlan could only hope he'd make the right choice, one that showed he knew he deserved better then to go backwards.

"Yes, please, something to get my mind off all of that," Kurt said, hopping off of Harlan's lap an outside the truck, making sure his clothing was back in order from their escapades before looking out at the sky. "That is one good thing about being out here. You see more stars than anywhere else."

Harlan grabbed the blanket and nodded. He moved to jump into the back and helped Kurt into it as well. He had strapped down a matress for them to lie on. "Yeah, its pretty and nice." Cuddling Kurt close as they wrapped in the blanket together.

Kurt curled into Harlan's hold as they laid in the bed of the truck, the sounds of the fire making for excellent ambiance against the star-lit sky. After laying there a while, just enjoying the silence, Kurt turned to Harlan slowly. "Thank you, for everything you're doing. This was an great, ah... Well, the auction was for a 'platonic' date, but I'll just call it a date."

Harlan smiled, holding him a bit closer. "I think I can agree to that. " He chuckled softly and rubbed his side softly. "Also no need to thank me, I didn't do much work, just showed you more of the world around you"

[isaacathom]

thooough kevlar is supposed to stop bullets, ya. so in theory, even if the Captain had managed to get the shot off, Esther could have still been reasonably fine. understandably shaken and probably bruised, but fine. of course that also depends on what GUN the Captain actually has? like ive basically been working off something thats not remotely automatic. no burst fire. basically a semi auto. a rifle would be ideal except that the scenario is is close quarters, making a rifle pretty fucking stupid, so it has to be some sort of handgun. raising the question Why does he have a handgun if the military is expected to be at range, and how did he get the scenario to let him get so close as to invalidate his rifle?

also he probably would actually have an auto of some kind, but for dramatic purposes id rather not? simply because then its far more difficult for him to be disarmed without basically killing Esther in the meantime. if its semi-auto, then in theory he can fire one shot that misses and then be disarmed before a second bullet can be fired. if he has an auto, you squeeze the trigger and youve already launched a small volley and even if Seora bends the goddamn world to stop it, at LEAST one would likely hit Esther, not to speak of the multitude more bullets that could then be fired between the initial trigger pull and the disarm from Seora. so for dramatic purposes he cannot have an automatic. like a full auto.

which then means the actual circumstances surrounding the shot have to be changed in order for him to even be capable of using his semi auto rifle with any confidence. which works fine, i suppose. maybe the reasoning behind the military having semi autos rather than full autos is because they’d likely want to be picking off combatants at range with a /degree/ of stealth. considering in general the combatants are Blue Mages that’d be pretty important. the moment they’re alerted, you basically can’t really get them as easily. immediate dirt wall, immediate scalding hot guns, etc. toasty. so like.... i guess like sniper rifles???? except theyre just.... regular rifles..... yknow actually that doesnt make a fuck ton of sense. hold on. uh.

actually, one important thing re: guns is that they were likely invented AFTER the schism and after any fighting between the two countries. so the guns would never have actually been used for their intended purpose, that being to shoot Dusk Maidens before they can use magic. So they are unlikely to have been field tested in the practical sense. plus theres the fact that metals are rare in the Light Kingdom, so they might have been limited in terms of just how much progression they could make on this front. so since there hasnt been open warfare since like 300 years ago, the military’s non-sword equipment is probably Pretty Ordinary. technologically behind the times relative to the rest, mostly due to the structure of the kingdom separating Maidens from crafts. unlike the Dark Kingdom, which likely has a stronger technological basis, with stronger and more advanced weaponry, armor, etc, especially if its derived from metallic substances. more “organic” substances would be the realm of the Light Kingdom. so its a bit complicated. so the light kingdom probably has these older style of guns because they decided, well, the guns dont matter TOO bad as long as theyve got decent range and dont break. we’ll focus our limited metallic resources onto things like phones and shit.

meanwhile the dark kingdom would have a far greater industry for weapons, with their Warrior Maidens being Fucking Kitted Out. the actual Dusk Maidens among them wouldnt have guns (no real need, tbh) but the few human members would, they’d all have decent armor. the onl downside is that this tech is the only thing the dark has OVER the light, because they still lack in more organic resources like GD food. they’ve got a few farms clear of darkness that are responsible for a majority of organic produce, a few people manage to scrape out tiny farms in their homes, some people have come up with the idea to dig up piles of tainted dirt and place them in pots to then be cleansed, allowing them to grow shit like tomatoes or carrots or smth. meats are rare because the only consistent sources of animals are mountain dwelling, and over hunting probably already forced a few species to extinction. fish is still available on their limited coastline (the light kingdom kept almost all of the coast following the civil war) but its not ideal by any stretch and they certainly dont have ENOUGH of it.

uh shit so i guess like.... the light kingdom have great tech in terms of software and such, while the dark kingdom has stronger “practical tech” like industrial shit. we got good cars, we got good infrastructure (except in some particularly bad joints), got good weapons, etc. niice.

ok so then. light kingdom has shit guns, probably timelocked to a specific era. potentially circa a time JUST before the civil war, as that would have allowed the proto-dusk maidens to help in their creation and lay down the groundwork for their blueprint to be slowly adapted by the light kingdom. so thats like..... uh...... can that be semi auto???? i suppose with the use of magic itd be fairly uncomplicated for the advancement of tech to be faster than our own. so if the story itself takes place around 2000, even though in our world the first semi auto wasnt until the 1880s, with magic being present its not unfeasible for them to have been successfully made ~300 years ago, so the 1700s (perhaps late? or maybe just 200, so 1800s still, but earlier than us). except then following this there was the civil war and the separation of the two countries, separating the light kingdom and their human-exclusive military to these semi auto rifles that they couldnt really improve without significant expense. so theyre probably timelocked to the early 1900s? maybe up to around the M1 Garand? which is still a solid weapon, but not like, a machine gun or anything. whereas the dark could easily have continued tech progression past this point up to present day, so they’d have shit like..... uh... whats a really modern gun. idk. get shit like AR15s and M14s at any rate, or even just the AK47 (i couldnt remember that for the life of me, wild). though again, considering the fact that the majority of the military possessed magic, the extreme advancement of guns was definitely not a priority for the people, so i dont need to get /super/ modern. jsut modern enough to where you could easily fuck up a guy with an M1 Garand which wouldnt be difficult, surely. maybe even a lil further cback from the M1, w/e, shit like that.

however the lack of general gun usage from the Dark, and the general understanding from the light that their military is exclusively magical in nature (which was true for quite a while) light military protection is PURELY against magical shit. a human Warrior Maiden with a gun could very easily kill any number of light military troops, because they simply arent prepared for be fired upon. which would be a fun revelation at the climax for the Captain, when his troop headed for the castle’s main room is under a hail of fire and many of them are easily killed because No Fucking Shit, lads. meanwhile the dark military is aware of the solely human military and very capable of understanding the guns they use. they’d only need to recover a SINGLE gun from the troops (likely during the first failed attempt to recover Seora) to work out exactly what sort of defences they’d need in order to fight the light side safely, ie how many layers of the Good Stuff. really, provided the dark are prepared (they sure are) they would easily, at this stage, win a war. the only way to lose would be ambush, having their tech reverse engineered (a little tricky but technically possible) and running out of food. a quick war would easily favor them.

so then, in THIS case, that means when the Captain reaches the castle for the second time in his second brave quest to save the maiden Seora, his squad is substantially smaller than it was at the start. they specifically probably weren’t under fire, as they would have entered through the back rather than the through the dusk maiden army guarding the front gates. but its in the lead up, after the first shot WAS fired (by the light army under someones command, probably not the Captain’s specifically) that he wouldve lot a solid number. mild earthquakes, raging heat, bullets?????? the army basically served to divert attention while they dove the fuck for cover and his squad went ‘oh shit, time to go NOW’ and bolted for it. a few of them might have been shot as they ran. idk. good fun! then they get into the castle through the same entrance they used the LAST time (it was at least partially deliberately left open. there are folk waiting on the inside but theyre basically in shadows just in CASE)

so when the captain enters the room with Esther and Seora and the other small group of Dusk Maidens who are present, he is probably one of the few if not the only person in the room with a gun. his troops likely dropped theirs in the chaos (either from the quakes or the heat, or just general pants shitting terror). he’s got his gun out. everyones ready to fuck up, but noones firing off yet. he’s probably yelling something about it being Esther’s last chance to turn over Seora before more people are killed, Esther’s going all ‘yea cool but a) my troops are winning by all accounts and b) youre the idiot who didnt listen LAST time you came here! she doesnt want to go’ seora going ‘right. fuck you’ captain ‘>:o thats it!’ and then fires on Esther. Seora makes that first shot miss, but now the dusk maidens are fucking Ready to Fight and leap forward. before the captain can take a second shot at Esther, Seora and Esther disarm him (making the gun too hot to hold and then flinging it the fuck away with that Windy Business) and then that whole long fucking post from last night ensues. nice!

which is cool. but i THINK, looking at tech, the M1 miiiight be too strong for kevlar. might? im not positive. numbers are confusing and im bad at math. but i thiiiiiiiiiink its penetration velocity is too high for ordinary layers of kev. yea no theyre too high. hold up. we need to back up the semi auto time frame a little. plus, m1s can do 40-50 rounds a min, thats a few too many. oh bitch i can bring back the model 8, oh fuck yea, i love the model 8. oh perfect. mm yup thats a good one. ok so that means that roughly speaking, light kingdom gun advances stop in the early 1900s, with dark kingdom advancements continue up till around the 1950s. its a bit fiddly because the light probably did have resources left over from before the civil war that allowed them to continue development for a while, but if we basically stick to model 8 era (not 81, generally). but because the dark kingdom contained the majority of the experts (even if a number woulda eaten dust from that Dark Plague Nuke) they’re far closer to that M1 level. M1s, AKs, the fun shit, really. that shit and beyond. meaning that, in theory, sufficient layers of kevlar (approx 6-8?) could block a model 8 shot (at range, anyway) allowing for the dark to be Kitted The Fuck Out. niiiice.

i lost my train of thought because of my mum which is pretty bad because this post is incredibly stream of consciousness...... dammit.

uh tl;dr dark side better weapons, armour, and infrastructure. light side better organic industry (farming and fabrics, also glass shit). dark side has jack all food and relies on limited coastal fishing and a few specific mountain creatures plus their limited farmland.

gun? light kingdom stuck at arooooouuunnnnddd model 8 level tech. its a good gun, and it gets the job done, that job being to shoot maidens before they can fire back. it was developed before the civil war and proved instrumental in many of the fights. however, in the time SINCE then, they havent progressed at all. the dark kingdom has continued to progress, especially in terms of armour (w/ the goods like Kevlar available for all Warrior Maidens) and they have stuff closer to m1 garands. the dusk maidens dont typically use guns, but the human members of the Warrior Maidens are usually given them. for uh, obvious reasons.

unrelated aside - most of the gems used by the Light Kingdom are made of glass, due to the lack of actual gemstones on their side of the border. just sorta how it goes

[asweetescape-blog1]

2017//11//11

papa, dont hate me.

i dont call mama as often. mama makes me sad. she would talk about all the hardships and how lonely she felt after you left. i cant talk to mama for more than 30 minutes without tears forming in my eyes. i asked mama to leave the town, to get closer to her siblings so she wouldnt feel lonely. but mama said she couldnt leave you there alone. mama said who would come to visit papa if mama wasnt there? masdon and i are too far from papa. masnok will likely to work abroad again soon. no one will cut the wild grass and sweep the fallen leaves away for papa when papa used to make our garden clean. i am so sorry for not thinking thoroughly. i only think for myself: to make me feel less worried about mama; or, to put it bluntly, to make myself feel less guilty when i'm enjoying my life.

i finally land on my first full time job, pa. too late, i know. i shouldve done it sooner, so i could buy papa a new pair of loafers. i wanted to get papa an expensive watch, as papa never had one. i wanted to thank papa on the father's day for stopping by school when i forgot my tumbler. thank you for picking up my phone call at 3am during my transition period to uni when no one else would. thank you for spoiling me. i was so shameless and ungrateful to compare you to other people's father. i hate myself for hating youre getting old and sick. i regret it all.

i remember that one day when i was in elementary school. you stood there from my school fence, looking at me proudly when my name was called as the top scored student. or that satisfaction face when you were able to buy me stuff i didnt need but i forced to have. i also remember your sad and disappointed look when i made decisions the opposite of the values you taught me. i remember your face when we were singing together 18 years ago, and when you breathe your last air at the hospital. i remember it all.

will you be mad at me if you see what ive become now? do you even see me now? are you watching over me? over us?

my lecturer told me that there is this hollywood psychic named tyler henry. he said that when people die, they dont leave this world. their body rot but the soul remains. i dont know which one is true: tyler henry or the islamic teaching that i grew up with. i hope it's henry's. that way, papa wont be held accountable for whatever sin i commit in this world.

if youre watching over me, as i told you, you must know that i now have a full-time job. the job that i was dreaming of: corporate world in a big city's skyscraper. surprise surprise! it is far from magical. but i intend to survive. i'll take care of mama and akbar. i'll keep mama pretty for papa as i bought her skincare routine. i also took your place to buy her furniture. even though with six-month installment. well, you gotta walk before you run, right?

papa dont have to worry, i still remember my promise to get mama the range she desired. you know, that stove with oven underneath? i will make sure to buy that for her later.

papa please dont hate me.

i now have someone that i love very dearly and who loves me in return. he cares and protects me even when he's far away from me. dont hate me because i call him more often than i call mama, please? he makes me happy while mama makes me sad. im too selfish, and i shouldnt even try to defense myself for it. i know.

papa, my birthday is getting closer. i'm almost 23 and i havent done anything about it. i'm so sorry. please dont hate me because apparently i am not as smart as i thought i was in high school. i have yet to go abroad. my toefl score was so-so. i dont know where i'll be in five years. please dont hate me for my failure to meet your expectation.

for not being the daughter you were hoping for, and for taking the decision you least expected, please forgive me.

[dmellieon]

So i worked with veterans for a few years.

To me, John is absolutely reminiscent of a lot of the… slightly scarier vets? 

Like he absolutely is hyper vigilant

Like… people only picture that as like scared and eyes darting all over the place, panicky, but … it also manifests in a much… slower… more deliberate way of looking around. Walking into a room and taking a quick scan of it to pick out the best way to escape, the most likely looking people to start trouble, mood of the room so you know if you need to play it cool.

So he walks through the door, quick glare at everyone, then a forced smile as he loosens his posture and plays it cool. But the SECOND anything starts turning he isn’t remotely startled, just moves right towards that stack of beer bottles he noticed on his way in, palms it and positions himself where he needs to be in order to take someone out. When the situation cools he’s reluctant to put the bottle down, but he does it anyways. Either spends the rest of the evening hovering near the bottles or else purposely stays away from them, while being incredibly aware of how far away they are.

JOhn’s the type of vet that seems pretty much to be fine, but his family will say hes secretive and more intense than he used to be. 

John is the kind that stays completely calm and quiet while someone yells at him, but everything in the set of his jaw and the way he’s shifted his balance, screams out silently ‘please give me a reason, any reason, you have no idea who you’re picking a fight with’

i ADORE john but anytime i see a fic where he is nothing but sweet and understanding, all i can think is how much, to me, JOhn is playing the role of a civilian. He knows how to do it, and most people probably think he plays it flawlessly. 

(((sorry mycroft, you have no idea what you’re talking about. PTSD manifests in a lot of ways, and John’s particular version isn’t even rare)) 

[deliriouslylazyafternoons]

So i worked with veterans for a few years.

To me, John is absolutely reminiscent of a lot of the… slightly scarier vets? 

Like he absolutely is hyper vigilant

Like… people only picture that as like scared and eyes darting all over the place, panicky, but … it also manifests in a much… slower… more deliberate way of looking around. Walking into a room and taking a quick scan of it to pick out the best way to escape, the most likely looking people to start trouble, mood of the room so you know if you need to play it cool.

So he walks through the door, quick glare at everyone, then a forced smile as he loosens his posture and plays it cool. But the SECOND anything starts turning he isn’t remotely startled, just moves right towards that stack of beer bottles he noticed on his way in, palms it and positions himself where he needs to be in order to take someone out. When the situation cools he’s reluctant to put the bottle down, but he does it anyways. Either spends the rest of the evening hovering near the bottles or else purposely stays away from them, while being incredibly aware of how far away they are.

JOhn’s the type of vet that seems pretty much to be fine, but his family will say hes secretive and more intense than he used to be. 

John is the kind that stays completely calm and quiet while someone yells at him, but everything in the set of his jaw and the way he’s shifted his balance, screams out silently ‘please give me a reason, any reason, you have no idea who you’re picking a fight with’

i ADORE john but anytime i see a fic where he is nothing but sweet and understanding, all i can think is how much, to me, JOhn is playing the role of a civilian. He knows how to do it, and most people probably think he plays it flawlessly. 

(((sorry mycroft, you have no idea what you’re talking about. PTSD manifests in a lot of ways, and John’s particular version isn’t even rare))