#have been away from this account for a wee bit :)

[scotianostra]

On 20th May 685 The Picts won a decisive Battle , in present-day Angus, known as The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere.

A wee bit longer post than I normally give you, but it is a great story, the first part tells us how a battle against The Angles helped shape the country we now know as Scotland, the second is a tale from the twentieth century, both stories are connected, read on and enjoy.........

Known as 'Picti' by the Romans, meaning 'Painted Ones' in Latin, these northern tribes constituted the largest kingdom in Dark Age Scotland. They repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles, creating a true north-south divide on the British Isles, only to disappear from history by the end of the first millennium - swallowed whole by the history of another group, the Gaels. Together they created the Kingdom of Alba.

The Picts took part in one of the most decisive battles in Scottish history - the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Dunnichen). If the Picts had lost, Scotland might never have existed. For the Angles of Northumbria it was simply a disaster - ending their domination of Scotland.

The Battle of Dun Nechtain was fought on this day in 685 AD and is one of the best recorded events in Dark Age Scotland.

The Kingdom of the Angles under King Oswui had rapidly expanded north, moving their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay. Since 653 AD many of the major groups of people in Scotland - Britons, Gaels and much of Pictland - had been subject to the overlordship of King Oswui. In 672 AD, after the death of Oswui, the Picts rose against their overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.

The new King of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, wasted no time in wreaking revenge on the Picts. The Picts were massacred at a battle near the town of Grangemouth, where the rivers Carron and Avon meet. According to Northumbrian sources, so many Picts died they could walk dry-shod across both rivers. By 681 AD Ecgfrith had founded a bishopric at Abercorn on the southern shore of the Forth - a symbol of Northumbria's secure grip over the Picts.

The defeated Picts took Bridei, son of Bili, as the king of a much depleted Pictland. King Bridei was actually the cousin of his mortal enemy, King Ecgfrith of the Angles, but, in true Dark Age fashion, this didn't diminish their mutual desire to destroy each other. An almighty battle was on the cards.

The Chronicle of Holyrood gives us an account of the battle: "In the year 685 King Ecgfrith rashly led an army to waste the province of the Picts, although many of his friends opposed it...and through the enemy's feigning flight he was led into the defiles of inaccessible mountains, and annihilated, with great part of his forces he had brought with him." However, we need to keep in mind this account was written hundreds of years after the event.

The Angles were advancing up Strathmore, probably aiming for the Pictish fortress of Dunnottar, when they fell into Bridei's trap. Sighting a Pictish warband, the Angles set off in pursuit, then, as they came over the cleft in Dunnichen Hill, they found themselves confronted by the main body of the Pictish army. Caught between the Picts and the loch below the hill, the Angles bravely faced their doom.

The politcal map was altered. The Picts, Gaels and many Britons were freed from Northumbrian overlordship. Gaelic poets as far away as Ireland celebrated the battle's outcome. The Pictish frontier returned to the River Forth near Edinburgh and the Bishop of Abercorn fled, never to return. The Angles never fully recovered as major force in Scotland.

It is no coincidence that the Picts mysterious disappearance occurs at the same time as the creation of the kingdom of Alba. For many years Gaelic influence in Pictland had been on the rise. The Gaelic religion of Christianity had spread throughout Pictish lands and with it many Gaelic traditions. Furthermore, through a mixture of conquest and inter-marriage Gaelic or Gaelicised royalty had succeeded to the Pictish throne (a notable example of this being Kenneth MacAlpin).

Finally in 878 AD the Pictish king, Áed, was murdered and replaced by a Gael - Giric. Giric accelerated the Gaelic takeover of Pictish politics during his reign making the Gaelic language and traditions commonplace. Even after Giric was finally deposed in 889 AD future Pictish kings such as Donald and Constantine embraced Gaelic culture. By 900 AD Pictland ceased to exist. The reign of Donald is listed in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba as a king of Alba. Pictland and Dál Riata had gone and in their place Alba - a Gaelic word for Scotland - was created. In this simple listing in an obscure book Scotland has its origins.

Fast forward over 12 hundred years to the 2nd January 1950, and a woman called Miss E.F. Smith, described as a spinster, was driving home from a party in Brechin at about 2am. Her car had skidded into a ditch 2 miles outside the area due to the treacherous road conditions. She still had another 8 miles to go so she continued her journey on foot. She felt oddly nervous as she walked along the minor road west of the A932, then she saw a number of strange lights in the distance near Dunnichen Hill. Turning south towards the village, she noticed figure in the field to her right, part of Drummietermont Farm. Each figure carried a flaming red torch in its left hand and they seemed to be searching the ground for something.

Miss Smith then saw shapes on the ground exactly like dead bodies. The figure nearest to her stooped down and examined several of these ‘corpses’, turning them over and back again, as if looking for recognisable faces. This scene lasted for around ten minutes, with Miss Smith’s dog barking throughout. Eventually she simply walked away. She only realised that the whole event was peculiar when she woke up next day and thought about it. Later she gave details of the experience to the Society for Psychical Research. She reported that the searchers wore garb like body stockings, along with tunics and flattened oval helmets. They appeared to be moving around the edge of the vanished mere, the shape of which was later traced by archaeological investigation.

Although this post battle manifestation has not been repeated. some motorists passing through Dunnichen on misty nights have caught sight of fleeting human forms which vanish before their cars hit them.

There is some skepticism as to how real Miss Smith’s sighting was. She was travelling very late at night and had already walked a number of miles, not to mention suffering a trauma from skidding her car into a ditch. The vision could have been brought about as a result of exhaustion and the effects of the cold. However, the fact that it occurred at the exact site of the Battle of Nechtansmere seems to be too much of a coincidence and it is unlikely that the woman’s dog would react to something that occurred only in his owner’s mind.

The pictures are of Pictish stones from around Aberlemno that perhaps tell the story of the battle.

[s-sugustar]

1-800-SUGAR!

synopsis : after an injury caused him to retire at an early age, aizawa has a lot of money in his bank account that was hardly ever used in his prime time; so why not splurge it on someone else?

pairings: yandere sugardaddy!aizawa x black!fem!reader

content warning : nothing yet.

word count : 2.2k

It has been a few months since Aizawa was no longer a hero. After the fight with Shigaraki, the sleep deprived man had no choice but to sever his leg from the rest of his body in order to stop the decay from spreading. Although immobilizing him to an extent, Aizawa still had the perks of being a UA teacher to his students.

Instead of fighting crime late at night into the wee hours of the morning, Aizawa finds himself catching on things he hadn't been able to do or complete for some time. This included reading literature, taking care of his plants and gaining much more rest than he had before.

It felt refreshing, he felt renewed but a small flicker of want called out to him. Of course, Aizawa had no idea what it could possibly be. Aizawa felt hopeless, like nothing could fill this growing void that garbled inside of him. It wasn't until one day that Hisashi, Aizawa's closest friend figured out what has made him so drained.

It was a night out for both Aizawa and Yamada; a bit unfortunate that Midnight wasn't able to attend due to a last-minute mission that required her assistance. Instead of crying over one less friend, they both decided to head out to a bar nearby. As the two settled down and ordered drinks, Hisashi started off the conversation. Gleefully updating Aizawa on the outer world things since Aizawa chose to move away from the world heroics and politics.

“So what have you been up to since you have all this time in the world now?” Haisahi questined, his drink in one hand and his chin laid flat on his open palm facing toward Aizawa. The man in question huffed, downing the cup of whiskey he had ordered earlier. “Not much. Other than school and reading a few literature books here and there.” Hisashi raised an eyebrow which caused the raven haired man to sigh in annoyance. “No Hisashi, there’s no ‘special person’ in my life.” Shouta commented, earning a dramatic groan from the blond next time.

After Aizawa left the heroic life, Hisashi pestered the man to find something that would take up most of his time, rather than sleep, working out and reading books. More so, Hisashi hinted at him getting into a relationship, but Aizawa quickly shot down the idea; claiming that him getting into a relationship of some sorts wouldn’t help him in any form or fashion so Hisashi pestered on. Aizawa never really had any love life as others would call it; in all honesty, he wasn;t interested in such trivial things.

A friendship seemed as pleasant as a relationship so what’s the big idea about a relationship? Was it the status, the wants and needs of being held? Aizawa never focused too long on such things, they were always on the back burner for him.

“I know you said you didn’t want a relationship of some sorts but have you tired being a sugar daddy?” Hisashi asked, a malicious smile on his face when he saw the way Aizawa’s eyes widen before coughing up the drink he had just downed. The poor man barely caught his breath before sneering at Hisashi, who seemed to have a blast at his misfortune. “Why is that even an idea for me? “ Aizawa asked, not bothering to stress of hte reason Hisashi thoughts this was a good idea in the first place.

“Oh come on, I mean, it isn’t a relationship as you said you had no interest in but you know, you have allllll that money sitting peacefully in your bank account and with me knowing the type of person you are, you won’t spend a red cent unless it is absolutely necessary for you to. So why not give the sugar daddy thing a try. Just for one week. If you don’t like it then we can totally stop whenever you are ready.” Hisashi voiced, giving Aizawa the option to opt out if he isn’t feeling it.”

With many thoughts running through his head , Aizawa stared at the empty glass in his hand before quietly answering, “I’ll think about it.” Hisashi squealed in delight, causing some of the others in the bar to look at him for a brief moment before turning back to whatever they were doing.

The alarm from your phone went off around 6:30 a.m. causing you to groan. The yawn that fell from your lips was a testament to how tired you were from your last shift. You stretched your limbs before moving from your position in your bed. After fixing your bed, you made your way over to your closet, pulling out your uniform from inside. The cold shower washed off any remaining tiredness that was in your body, soothing your skin and pushing your mind into a work state.

After locking your door, you made your way out of the apartment and onto the street, quickly checking your watch to see that you only had half an hour to get to work. ‘Shit.’ you thought, you ran over down to the metro station which was only a couple minutes away from your home. Hopping on, you placed your headphones into your ears, shuffling your playlist as you were on your way to work.

Upon entering, you quickly went over to your locker, the small tabby cat sticker that you had placed on it when you first came to work there. After pushing your bag into your locker, you quickly grabbed your apron before heading over to the cashier to start your day. You worked in a pastry shop as a source of retaining money. You first started it off as a way to pay off your student debt, but after a while and a bit of saving, you were able to move out and move into your own space.

Now it wasn’t massive or anything, but it was good enough for you to reside in. As you greeted customers with a smile and cashed in their orders. When it was close to your lunch hour, you exchanged with your other co-worker. After taking off your apron , you clocked out before grabbing your phone and heading down to a cafe nearby. As silly as it sounds, there was a small cafe nearby that you normally venture to during your lunch break. It was a small cute cat cafe that you heard about from some people back at where you worked.

You were cashing out an order when you heard Maxi, a chubby girl, who;s entire aesthetic was surrounded by barbie and white lace was gushing to her girlfriend Ana, who had been the complete opposite to Maxi; arm tattoos, piercings almost everywhere and bubble-pink hair. Without noticing, you tuned into their conversation. “Come on Ana, it’s super duper cute and they have cute cats there too. And I know how much you adore cats. It’s called Cat’s Haven you know, the people that own it, bring in rescued cats and give them a place to live.”

You zoned out after hearing about the cats, focusing on the customer that was in front of you. When it was time for your lunch hour, you handed over before going over to Maxi who was rolling the dough. “Hey Maxi, I uh, overheard you this morning talking about the new cat cafe that opened recently, I didn’t mean to listen in on your conversation I just -”, you were interrupted when Maxi shook her head at you before answering. “Oh, no worries. I kind of figured you would tune in since I do recall you telling me that you love cats.” She gushed, handing over the rolled dough to her girlfriend before facing you.

“You remember where the old flower shop that Ms.Hatti once had?”, you nodded your head in agreement, remembering the times when you would go over there after you finished work and bought daisies for your mother on your way to home. A bittersweet memory when you think about it; mainly because your mother hadn’t been interested in much of anything pertaining to you during that time, even up until now. Ridding yourself of those negative emotions, you zoned in on what Maxi was saying, pushing away those negative thoughts that tried to force themselves inside the centre of your present state. After you were given directions, you thanked Maxi before heading out to the cafe.

Outside was a bit warmer than you had expected, so you pulled off your cardigan and wrapped it aroumd your waist, tying the sleeves to the front so that it wouldn’t fall. Once you got closer to the cafe, you could hear the slight buzz and chatter from those who were nearby. The feeling surrounding the cafe was that of newness and solitude.

As you entered the cafe, the bell jingled once you opened the door, alerting customers as well as workers. A comfortable buzz fell through the air as you entered, small meows and soft purrs filled the air . You looked around at the variety of cats that were all over the cafe. Small and big, different types varying from american bobtail to balinese.

Your heart warmed at the sight before spotting a lone maine coon resting near on a table near the back of the cafe; an empty booth where the lone cat rested. You were close to approaching when one of the waitresses stopped you. “ I know where you are going and i would advise you not to, “ she paused before continuing, “ that particular cat isn’t one we let customers interact with because of previous incidents. She’s known to be aggressive towards customers. Unfortunately, we can’t giver her back to the shelter so we just advise customers to steer clear from her.” You nodded in agreement, taking in the lady’s words but still hell bent on going after her. You thanked the waitress before walking over to the same table that you were warned of.

You slowed your actions, making sure not to startle the cat. Once you sat down, it seems that the cat that laid before you noticed your presence; so in return, she sat up and hissed in your direction, probably hoping that you would leave her alone, but you stayed. With a bright smile on your face, you pulled out a few treats from the little cat bag you were given when you entered.

Placing a small treat on the table for the orange cat, not bothering to annoy her. You stayed silent as the cat whose name you learned was Cinnamon, stared you down for while before slowly moving to the treat you had placed on the table. “Atta girl.” you whispered, silently placing down another treat for her to pick up. Many customers watched in awe and adoration of how you handled the cat.

As she ate, you watched in silence, barely resisting the urge to pet her. In a calm and cool environment, both you and the cat sat in silence, not bothering to intrude on one another’s presence but merely enjoying the low noise with hardly any interaction; other than you slowly feeding her treats, time and time again.

It was couple minutes before your lunch time was up so you decided to finish your treat before giving Cinnamon the rest of her treats before getting up to leave. Once you stood, you gathered all that had been yours and started towards the door.

Before you could leave, you were stopped by the same waitress who had warned you earlier. In awe and amazement at how easily you handled the fiesty cat, she gave you a warm smile, almost begging you to come back more oftern and tame the said cat.

“You must be some sort of cat whisperer,” she started, “I’ve never seen someone tame that cat as how you did, even more so stand aroundher for so long.” she mentioned, looking back at the said cat who rested quietly on the table, looking through the window at the birds outside. You giggled at the compliment before shaking your head. “I’m no cat whisperer, I’ve just had experience with cats like her before.” you smiled before making your way theough the door back to your job.

Now weeks after, going to the cat cafe had been a routine for you, once your lunch started, you quickly took off your apron and made a bee line straight to the cafe, only sitting wherever Cinnamon had been. You weren’t the only one who the cat had tolerated. Apparently, there was some other person who was able to do just as you did with the cat. Were you jealous, somewhat; since you did want that particular cat all to yourself but you didn’t catch a hissy fit over such things.

As you sat quietly in the booth, patiently waiting on your order, you watched as Cinnamon pushed her head against the palm of your hand, you chuckled before combing your hands through her fur, sighing at the vibrations her fluffy body made.

You really weren’t paying attention to your surroundings when it came to other people; you were a bit too engrossed by the fluffball in front of you. “So you’re the other ‘cat whisperer’ I’ve heard others talking about.”

A/n: it’s been awhile. Not as good but i’m getting back there.

[astonmartinii]

F1 ASKS!

i saw this tag floating around and wanted to let yall get to know me better since i’ve been doing this a while and have only really spoken in the form of authors notes! also im not going to tag anyone so just do it if you wanna!

who is your favourite driver?

i think for anyone who has read anything i’ve ever written it’s probably a bit obvious but max verstappen! what can i say little me was told we’re supporting red bull and here was this little charmer (emphasis on little who let that child get into an F1 car)

do you have other favourite drivers?

also based on my writing you can probably tell that my top three are max, charles and oscar! however, i will also say that alex is a close fourth for me (he’s also very nice irl). also as for retired drivers i think the mamma mia series is a bit of a spoiler but i love jenson, seb and kimi

who is your least favourite driver?

i used to say i didn’t dislike anyone on the grid - that was a lie. i’ll still write for anyone within reason but you can also probably tell with how in detail the back and forth is on certain pieces that i am really not a fan of sainz, actually people who get yelled at while i write them would argue it’s more than “not really being a fan of” but i am fake and i have maintained that if i meet him at silverstone (which i very nearly did last year) ill tell him im his biggest fan! also not the biggest fan of like pierre he’s just kinda there for me and a wee bit too cringey ALSO what you may not be able to guess from how i write him… im not really a fan of lando! ive really, really tried especially after his win but he just kinda rubs me the wrong way (i was immediately proven right with the trump comments lol). people say i should pull for him cause he’s from bristol which is where i live but he’s from glastonbury babe - also ive done a few swimming competitions at the school he went to a WOAH baby has so much money.

do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?

i mostly pull for drivers but like i guess i like red bull? well i did. i love max so i would follow him everywhere but i did like red bull as well as a team (i like alex, danny and checo so that also helps) but this whole protection of christian horner shtick is really disappointing so id say im a driver person.

if you like teams, who do you pull for?

like i said red bull were the team id pick if i HAD to follow a team - i support chelsea so i cant handle even more disappointment if i followed ferrari and also i only like charles there and they’re the source of all of his misfortune so …

how long have you been into F1?

so my family has always been into F1, my cousin karts and my uncle is a mechanic and makes karts on the side but i had always been more into football cause i could actually go to that with my dad - and also for young me who didn’t know what the fuck a strategy was it seemed kinda boring. but i’d say from maybe 2016ish i started watching it more regularly (hence the max stanship). my mum loves it and her first love in the sport was mark webber which is why we like red bull. but yeah i remember watching max’s first win and was like MUM I WANT THAT ONE (and i have technically met him? idk we made eye contact when his taxi nearly ran over my foot)

what got you into F1?

my mum! i love her and she’s just as much a passionate fan (and hater when appropriate) so it’s a nice thing to do together - especially because me and my dad are season ticket holders at chelsea so spend a lot of time together doing that so this is like my sport time with my mum (along with the olympics that’s our shit we’re very excited for the swimming). so i guess it was being around her watching it and listening to her and my dad argue about it! my mum is an ardent seb supporter and my dad is like a twitter account away from being in teamLH so canada 2018 (2019?) was VERY entertaining. also my uncle loves it so he likes that im proper into it (like have a sports journalism degree) and so we always chat about it - he’s trying to recruit me into motogp next

do you enjoy fanfic/RPF?

i mean i’ve written so much i must love it. lol jokes i do enjoy it and i feel like it helps me like people more (case in point: when i was trying to make myself enjoy the lando win i just read my own fics of him LOL)

but also its something fun to do that’s also creative and has helped me make new friends from all over

how do you view new fans?

ugh i hate the hate new fans get like not everyone can be born into loving a sport? if anything the more people that watch and love the sport the more money it’ll make? idk this whole superiority complex some fans have is just so unneeded for the sport and we all know why is majorly directed at girls. i do fear that some of the new fan behaviours could border on worrying - waiting outside hotels and ambushing drivers is stalking actually!

but overall im always happy to have new people in a sport - a bigger community is always good and new fans bring new perspectives which is good as older fans may just be desensitised to “normal” things in the sport but new eyes can remind them - hey halos are the best thing to happen to F1 and red flags in heavy rain are necessary.

if you could take over as any team principal for any team who would it be and why?

i know i previously dunked on ferrari but there needs to be an intervention because my girly max already has three championships and i need charles to get at least one so i can die happy - then ill move to mclaren, kick zak brown up the ass get a piastri championship and bounce (honourary race with willams or whatever team alex is with cause i need all three 2019 rookies to be race winners)

are your friends and family into F1 as well?

i feel like my other answers answered this but yeah! i also recently reconnected with an old primary school friend who is also really into it. i went to a sports uni so basically everyone there liked it as well (which means me and a friend did trek to the F1 arcade at 4am to watch aus 23 where she had a public meltdown over sainz (i enjoyed it)). also ive made a couple friends through working at races!

are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?

i always am! i am a year out of uni and working from home with all my home friends still at uni after taking gap years so i am big time lonely so always feel free to slide into my messages!

[duskspring]

Gifts - Dew/Everyone

Domestic December - Day 10

Summary: Dew gets the pack gifts for the season

Content (do let me know if I forgot anything!): Slightly anxious Dew, fluff, some quick kisses, talk of gender exploration and euphoria in relation to Rain

Word count: ~3.5k

A/N: Some parts of this fic are inspired by some headcanons I've posted before [My Main Masterlist]

The night was loud and unholy. The entire ghoul pack had gathered in their common room, celebrating the end of year festivities. Movies had been watched, board games played and so, so much alcohol consumed. It had, by all accounts, been a great night. But not for Dewdrop.

Yes, he’d been having a lot of fun, but there was a part of him distracted. He’d had an edge of anxiety all night, waiting for the right moment to resolve it. He knew he couldn’t wait much longer, since the night was starting to reach its natural conclusion in those wee hours of the morning.

He sat on a chair on the side of the room, leg bouncing. Two strong arms suddenly came down to lean on his shoulders from behind. He’d recognize those arms anywhere.

“What’s the matter, Droplet?” Swiss asked, “You’ve been a nervous wreck all night.” 

“I’m not.” Dew argued unconvinsingly, before sighing. He knew he needed to just get it over with.

He stood up without another word, moving to his room. Swiss immediately followed him in concern.

“Hey, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean-”

“Nothing’s wrong, Swiss. I just need to grab something,” He stopped his stride, turning to Swiss with an almost pleading look in his eyes, “Please just wait here for a second.”

The multi ghoul was confused, but didn’t want to overstep. He subtly nodded a few times, “Alright.” He took a step backwards, his eyes staying on Dew, before turning back to the rest of the pack.

On shaky legs, Dew quickly made his way to his room. He had two plastic shopping bags waiting there for him, as well as a little separate package on his desk and another item off to the side for later. He put the separate one in his pocket before picking up the bags and marching back. He couldn’t stop now. If he just kept walking and got this over with, it'd be done. It wasn’t a big deal. Worst case scenario, the thought was still there, right?

“Ooh, whatcha got there?” Aurora asked the second he walked in. All eyes turned to him and he froze.

Just get it over with.

“Find out for yourself.” He said dismissively, putting the bags down and plopping himself down on the couch.

Aurora immediately crawled towards the bags. Half of the pack came a little closer as well, while the other half sat back, though still curious and anticipating.

Aurora dug through the first bag, grabbing the first thing she could get her claws on. She examined the wrapped package, soon spotting the name ‘Mountain’ written in Dew’s messy handwriting.

“Mounty, it’s for you.” She announced, throwing it over her shoulder without looking away from the bag.

Cirrus luckily caught it, passing it to Mountain. He looked at Dew in pleasant surprise, looking at the little flat square in his palm. The wrapping was messy, even on such a small present.

“Can I open it?” He asked dew.

“It’s your life. Do what you want.” The fire ghoul’s anxiety was getting worse, making him act dismissive as if it would distance him from the gifts.

He delicately unwrapped the package, without tearing the dotted paper. The first thing he was met with was an empty rectangle of cardboard. He turned it around, causing dew, who was paying very close attention, to bring his legs up against his chest.

Mountain looked over the cardboard a second, then third time, wanting to make sure he was reading it all correctly. There was a bit of text on there, next to a shitty doodle of a flower and what he could only assume was supposed to be Dew, all made with black permanent marker. The words were hard to make out.

“Exchangeable for one… at- attemoon?”

“For one afternoon of help in the garden.” Dew quickly mumbled in explanation.

Mountain looked up in surprise, “You hate the garden.” He noted.

“Well, if you don’t like it you could just say so!” The fire ghoul said defensively, his anxiety reaching its peak.

Mountain’s expression softened, “Dew… Thank you.” He got up, awkwardly bending over to wrap his arms around his packmate.

Dew was shaking like crazy, ready to cry at the positive reaction.

Meanwhile, Aurora had thrown a few more packages over her shoulder. Rain, Aether and Cirrus all got theirs. The little multi ghoulette huffed as she reached the bottom of the first bag, quickly moving onto the next. After throwing something to Phantom, she finally reached her own. She squealed in excitement, forgetting the few people that still hadn’t gotten their own and immediately violently unwrapping hers.

She found herself holding a small ziplock baggie. She saw Sunshine’s face, photoshopped onto a sun through it, quickly opening it up to investigate. It quickly became obvious that she was holding a little pile of different kinds of stickers. Apart from the Sunshine one, there were stickers based on everyone in the pack, all shitilly photoshopped in some relation from their element or name. There were stickers further referencing inside jokes, as well as some logos from Aurora’s favorite bands.

“Dewy, these are awesome!” She giggled, happily shaking her hands.

Cumulus came closer to her to look at the stickers, giggling at them herself, “Did you make these yourself?” She asked him.

Mountain pulled away so Dew could answer. He did so with a nod, “Aurora likes stickers. Easy.” Coming up with and putting together all the designs had actually been a nightmare, but he would never admit to that. He had zero regret, seeing Aurora’s reaction.

Based on the ghoulette’s excitement, everyone quickly dug into their own gifts. Cumulus handed out the few that hadn’t reached their reciprocate yet, including her own.

Phantom’s gift has a funny texture, only upping his curiosity. He rushed to unpack his, gasping and stuttering in excitement when he saw what it was. He could barely hold on to it with how much his hands shook.

“Whatcha got there, buddy?” Swiss asked, smiling at Phantom’s excitement.

Dew let out a sigh of relief. He’d been perhaps most nervous about Phantom’s gift, thinking it wasn’t good enough. Too lame or cheap, not personal enough. Seeing the quintessence ghoul’s eyes light up forced every last bit of anxiety to leave him.

The gift had indeed been simple, a little bat shaped fidget toy. You could spin its head around in circles, pull its wings back and forth and squish its little feet. Phantom immediately went to town on it, unresponsive to most outside stimuli.

Cumulus went next. Unwrapping her gift gracefully, much like Mountain had done. Her heart swelled as her hands grasped a book. Not just any book, but a photo album.

“Dew…” She said his name in adoration, flipping through the pages. Most pictures had been made by her. They were all labelled with a date and the place or situation in which they were taken. It was separated into three chapters: tour, home and Cumulus. The first chapter included photos from the stage, backstage and the tourbus. The second showed all the various shenanigans the pack experienced at the abbey. But it was the third that was most meaningful to Cumulus. She didn’t have a lot of pictures of herself, always being the one to take them of others. But Dew had somehow gathered just about every good picture ever taken of her, even some she had never seen before.

Cumulus quickly pushed the book into Cirrus’s hands, afraid she’d cry all over it. She sniffled, still seated on the ground. She made grabby hands to Dew, beckoning him over into her arms. The two entered a crushing hug while the book was passed around to everyone in the room, laughing and reminiscing.

“You fuckhead, really?!” Sunshine yelled in good spirit at Dew, holding up the book on a page containing a very unflattering picture of her napping on the tour bus. Drool leaked out the corner of her mouth, Swiss and Phantom posing next to her, pointing at the lewd drawings they’d made on her cheeks.

“It’s a good picture.” Dew argued with a smile, earning him a pillow to the face.

Sunshine rushed over in his disorientation, straddling his chest and miming punching him in the face a few times. They both laughed, Sunshine getting off of him again.

“Didn’t even get me a gift.” She mumbled, although her smile faltered a little. She’d been one of only two who didn’t have a gift in the bag. She was confused and hurt, but didn’t want to make a scene and risk ruining it for everyone else.

Dew looked at her face, silently reaching into his pocket and sliding her the little gift he’d kept separately in his pocket with a wink.

Sunshine immediately thought she knew what it might be, covering the package with her hand so no one could see. When everyone seemed distracted, she moved her legs up and unwrapped the gift behind them without looking down. She examined it with her hands, having a hard time not reacting. Quickly she let her eyes drift down, nearly screaming when she saw the lighter in her hands.

All the lighters she used to own had been confiscated for… reasons. And she technically wasn’t allowed to get any new ones.

She turned to Dew with a devious smirk, making him regret the gift almost instantly. But when she shuffled over and put her arm around his shoulders and rested her head against it, he knew it’d been a good call. He felt a lot calmer already, excited to witness the rest unpacking.

Cirrus went next. She tried opening it carefully, before just tearing it apart when it was taking too long. Her gift was one of the few in a proper cardboard box, also being the biggest. It carried the name of a clothing brand she was vaguely aware of.

She looked at Dew with squinted eyes. Curious, suspicious.

She opened it up to indeed be met with a sleek deep blue fabric. She picked and held it up, realizing there was another part of the same color in the box as well.

No way.

“Dew.” She stressed his name, putting her arms down again.

“Yes, dear?” He asked with a grin.

“Dew.” She looked again. It was unmistakable. He’d gotten her a suit. A full, fancy, proper suit, “I complained about not having a suit last week, how did you-”

“Guess I just know you really well.” His dismissive attitude came back with a shrug, not mentioning the fact that he’d run around town in a blind panic trying to get it on time during the busy season.

“I…” She struggled to find the words to express her gratitude.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Put it on!” Sunshine hyped her up.

Cirrus’ eyes lit up, throwing the jacket back down in the box and rushing out the room with it all.

“Alright, alright, now I’m done waiting,” Swiss said, looking straight at Dew, “I assume you haven’t forgotten about me.” There hadn’t been a gift for him in the bags either, but he knew better than to assume Dew didn’t get him anything.

The fire ghoul nodded, “One second.” And left the room.

His feet produced quick taps through the hallway, even though he was wearing socks. He hadn’t been able to bring Swiss’ gift in earlier, since it couldn’t really be wrapped.

“Dewdrop,” Right as he was about to pick it up, Cirrus’ voice came from behind him. He turned to the doorway, greeted by the sight of Cirrus in her brand new, impeccably sharp suit.

“I’m so glad it fits.” Was the first thing he said.

The ghoulette took quick strides towards him, hugging his head into her chest. She could be quite reserved sometimes, so she was glad to have caught Dew on his own.

“It looks great. Thank you so much. I love it.” Her voice shook a little with the sincerity it carried.

Dew stood semi awkwardly when she pulled back, “Phew,” He said stoically, though he did mean it and she knew that, “Guess you should show it to the rest then. I’ll be right behind.”

Cirrus nodded enthusiastically, skipping her way back to the rest of the pack.

Dew let out another relieved breath when she was out of sight. He really didn’t know why he'd been so scared to begin with. He knew his packmates well.

He could hear the excited oh’s and ah’s from the common room and knew he shouldn’t keep Swiss waiting too much longer. He waited another half a minute so Cirrus could have her moment, before picking up the gift and making his own way back.

“You did not!” Since Swiss’ gift wasn’t wrapped he could see clear as day what it was right off the bat.

“Maybe I did. Why don’t you have some fun with it?” Dew teased, holding out a very distinct guitar. At least it was distinct to Swiss.

He would recognize that damn thing anywhere. It was the first guitar he’d ever learned to play on, never allowed to take it on tour. When he returned from his first set of shows he was told he wouldn’t need the old model anymore, since it was best for him to get used to what he always used on stage. He’d never seen it again after that and a sentimental part of him had always missed it. But it was undeniable. This was the exact guitar.

The multi ghoul had never stood up so fast, making his way to Dew and practically yanking the instrument from his hands.

He inspected it, as if there was any doubt it was the right one.

“Hey, I know that! I learned to play with that thing.” Phantom mentioned.

“And it’s good that you did,” Dew interjected, “cause that’s how I figured out where they stored it. Don’t tell anyone.” The last sentence was said very quickly, giving Swiss a serious look that revealed that Dew did, in fact, steal the guitar.

Swiss looked at him with the same adoration he’d been shown earlier, but even more intense, “I cannot thank you enough.” The multi ghoul’s voice was low, soft. He’d never meant something this much in this life.

It almost caught Dew off guard, only able to nod and smile in response.

While Swiss excitedly moved to play a song, Aether had made his way to Dew’s side and led him back to one of the couches with a hand on his shoulder. Their legs touched when they sat down, making Dew move his head to Aether’s shoulder like Sunshine had done with him before.

“Should I be scared?” The quintessence ghoul asked half-jokingly, holding up the little box his gift resided in.

Dew shrugged, “Depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“Do you trust me?” Aether exhaled a laugh. Dew knew damn well he trusted him, he just wanted to hear him say it. He played this game a lot.

“Well, alright, alright. I trust you. Let’s see.” He removed the wrapping paper, not afraid to tear it but also not doing so in an aggressive manner.

He thought his eyes would bulge out of his skull with how wide they opened. Whatever he’d been expecting was nothing like this.

The little black ring box felt smooth in his hands, “I didn’t know you were so into human customs.” Aether smirked at Dew. The fire ghoul looked a little confused, until his friend clarified, “Are you asking me to marry you?” He already knew the answer was no, but it was fun to tease.

Dew scoffed, but couldn’t hide his smile, “You wish.”

Aether finally opened the box. The ring was a silver band, with dark purple waves decorating it all around.

“Saw it at a store, back in Cincinnati. It reminded me of quintessence, so I thought-”

The fire ghoul was cut off with a quick kiss on his lips. Aether’s face was so full of adoration, it made them both feel crazy.

“Four months,” Aether realized, “You’ve been sitting on this, and managed to keep it a secret, for four months.”

“I take it you like it.” Dew looked away from Aether’s face for a moment, a little bit of insecurity still lingering.

Aether forced him to look back with a hand on his chin, “It is perfect,” He kissed him again, “I just wish I got you something in return.”

“Please, don’t worry about it.” He nearly begged. Giving gifts had already been a struggle, let alone receiving them.

Aether dropped down, his head resting in Dew’s lap. He smiled up at him, fitting the ring onto his finger.

That left only one. Rain had waited with his gift, wanting to properly see everyone else’s reaction before getting caught up himself.

His was only a little smaller than Cirrus’ had been. He didn’t want to expect anything, afraid of being disappointed if he did. But he had a hunch. He tried not to focus on it, yet he couldn’t help a part of him hoping he was correct.

“Open it up already, I’m tired!” Aurora encouraged him, getting a poke in the ribs from Cirrus.

Rain took a breath, telling himself he'd be thankful either way. Because he would be. His heart swelled at the events of the evening, how much thought Dew had put into each and every single gift, finding things he knew everyone would like. And Dew knew him very well, right? Yes, he did, but Rain still scolded himself for his hope and expectation.

A strip of the wrapping paper tore away slowly, revealing the cardboard box underneath. Rain let out a shaky breath, forcing the rest of it out of the way.

Swiss jokingly started drum rolling with his hands on his legs, the rest of the room slowly joining in. It only made Rain take more time. He felt exposed with all eyes on him. What if he had an unfavorable reaction?

There truly only was one way to find out. He opened the box. His tense muscles relaxed in an instant. He knew exactly what it was. And god dammit he had guessed correctly.

Dew had not been anxious in the slightest about Rain’s gift, already knowing he’d love it. Although he hadn’t counted on Rain doubling over his gift, tears streaming down his face with a quiet sob.

The rest of the room couldn’t see the gift, some stares and raised eyebrows making their way towards Dew. But his face was confident, a small smile reassuring everyone that Rain’s reaction must be of joy.

The fire ghoul got up, knowing Rain would want to hug or kiss or fuck him on the spot. The second his ass touched the couch, Rain clung onto him, his cries somehow managing to sound overjoyed indeed.

The gift may not have seemed like a lot to most people. It was a blue ankle length dress with glitters on the top part and flowers embroidered on the skirt.

But it meant the world to Rain. He’d been wearing skirts more often, mostly in the privacy of his own room. It wasn’t that he feared judgement, he knew the other ghouls, as well as the siblings, would never look at him differently for it. But he just wanted to explore and experiment a bit at his own pace. Dew was the only person he’d discussed this with in detail, having shown him this exact dress. He’d been wanting to get it really bad for a while but always felt like something was holding him back.

Not anymore.

“No pressure,” Dew whispered into Rain’s hair, “but I’d love to see you in it some time.”

The water ghoul looked up, quickly wiping the tears off his face. He smiled, hurriedly getting up and running out with the box like Cirrus had done before.

“What was it? What was it?” Phantom quickly asked.

“Give him just a minute and you’ll see.” Dew responded.

Indeed a minute later, Rain shyly stepped back into the room. There was definite excitement for everyone, some showing it more strongly than others.

“Give us a twirl!” Cumulus encouraged, causing Rain to do just that.

He felt majestic in it. A fairytale princess come to life straight out of a storybook. It was euphoric, “How did you know my size?” He asked Dew.

“I don’t know if you realize, but I’m pretty familiar with your body.” He explained.

Rain smiled wider, walking up to Dew and picking him up right off of the couch. He twirled around again, with him in his arms this time.

“Thank you so much. This really means the world.”

“Everyone say ‘thank you, Dew’.” Aether said.

A big chorus of thank you’s sounded through the common room. Phantom came up to Dew, still suspended in Rain’s arms, and joined their hug. Soon enough it was a group hug with the whole pack.

Dew had already stopped worrying, but the reinforcement of everyone’s gratitude made him feel even sillier for ever worrying in the first place. He loved his fellow ghouls and they clearly loved him back.

[My Main Masterlist | Domestic December Masterlist]

[stxrmylxve]

Hi hi :DD

So I just found ur account and I rlly rlly like ur works!! I have this brainrot recently abt a TR prompt. I keep seeing people write abt the boys coming into s/o's house through the window in the wee hours and stuff, but what if it was reverse¿ idk I've never rlly seen a fic like that.

So can I request a fic where the baji trio (or Chifuyu only if it's too much) react to their s/o (gn but preferably female) sneaking in through their window at random times? (NO NOT IN THE CREEPY WAY)

Like for example Chifuyu finished whatever he was doing and goes back to his room and suddenly BAM s/o appeared out of nowhere, playing with Peke J. And it gets to often to the point that they even look foreward to it.

Maybe a bit crackish and fluffy? Bonus points if reader is a bit aloof and just makes themselves at home, not seeing a problem with what they're doing haha

Thank u and sorry if it was too specific, it's my first time requesting and I hope u will also enjoy writing this! 🙇‍♀️

I’m so glad you like my stuff^^ I get so worried when all I get are reblogs and no true feedback lol, thanks for that! Ofc, I don’t mind doing the trio!

Chifuyu:

He stumbles out into the kitchen, setting his manga down to momentarily stray away to grab a glass of water before scooping it back up to head back to his room. A sound makes him look up from his book, quirking his brow before thinking nothing of it and continuing up the stairs.

He walks into his room, shivering by a sudden gust of wind as he looks up with furrowed brows, his expression changing when he sees you sitting on the carpet sifting through his magazines with Peke J in your lap purring.

“Uh.. hey?” he greets, sliding the awkward magazines away as you looked up with a smile.

“figured you needed company.” you say as you slide up to sit on top of his bed, forcing Peke J to move up with you as you looked up at the ceiling.

“You couldn’t just use the front door? Like normal people do?”

“No.”

Baji:

He huffs as he looses the match in his game, throwing his controller onto his bed as he leans back in his chair, groaning as he brushes through his hair.

“Lost again?” you interupt his pity party, hanging half inside the window as you wiggled in the rest of yourself as you plopped on his bed.

“Only because some dumbass shorted us on supplies. Why ya’ here babe?” he averts the conversation, momentarily looking at your peeking bra before peppering your face with little pecks as you giggled.

“No reason, I was bored and was walking the streets and came across some hot guy’s house. I figured it would be nice to see what he was about, but his open window was calling me inside.” he rolled his eyes at the remark, only taking into account the ‘hot guy’ part as a small grin formed on his face.

“You think I’m hot?”

Kazutora:

You slipped inside his room, glancing at the clock that read ‘10:19pm’ on it with a frown. He was still up, but he had been in bed recently since the sheets were already undone and wrinkled.

You slipped under the covers as you reached up to pull the window closed, huffing when you had to sit up to do it. Kazutora came back into the room, setting his drink down as he eyed you.

“What’cha up to?” he asks, scaring the life out of you as you turned to facr his shadowed figure in the dark.

“It was cold in my room. And… I had a nightmare.” you said quietly as you shivered, his room not proving to be any better than your own.

“So you came all the way up the street to meet me for warmth and comfort? Dedicated.” he comments as he takes a sip of his drink and crawls next to you, stretching out with a small yet satisfied sigh.

[thenewfuture]

Based on the latest DT episode, what do you think's going on here?

Well, let's find out shall we?

So we finally get to dissecting Nico's attempted murder attempt on Ace a few episodes ago. And before we get into all that I gotta say, Teruko got a better memory than me. Even putting aside the year and a half long hiatus, Teruko remembers all of the evidence and state of the gym from like the two minutes, not even, she got to investigate the scene, two days ago! Teruko, you don't remember how you got most of your scars, but you remember some dang tape and wire on a fan from a relatively quick glance. Make it make sense, make it make sense!

So she goes over a quick recap of the evidence and attempts to press Nico for more information, but before she can do that...

Here comes Mama Bear Hu. And I just gotta say this real quick, I don't mean to rant about this, or even compare too much....but I don't like Hu. I mean I don't hate her and she's not even my least favorite member of this cast or anything. But I can't give Hu anymore than the lukewarm,

"Oh Hu? Oh....sh-she's nice. She's....nice. Y-Y'know, she's just so......nice.... She's there a-and just so.....so......nice....."

She reminds me of Mahiru, and not in the good way. And there's no better example of this than in the two trials, and more-so here. Hu defends the people she likes or is close with and will try to deflect any and all sorts of criticism or contradicting points brought up to them when they've done something wrong. I understand that she considers Nico a friend, but these are some insane mental gymnastics you're partaking in to even say that it's not Nico's fault they almost committed murder. J and Charles point this out to her that she shouldn't defend a murderer as she's being nothing but a nuisance so far. Nico's an adult and Hu, as well as the fandom, needs to stop babying them; they can and need to be held accountable for their actions.

So we do go over Nico's murder in depth. And from we're seeing, it does seem to be similar to Arei's case of drop hanging. Getting a tool to lift up the victim before hanging them. I also really do like the Closing Argument style here because it essentially going over a murder plot, so it makes sense to put it here. And it even has an Act.0 because this is the prequel to the case we're working on now and this one never got finished. This proves that someone had to have knowledge of Nico's crime in order to kill Arei.

And so with that out of the way, how are our not victim and not killer doing.

Ooof. That's not good. Now this brings up an interesting and unique dynamic here. Ace is upset, rightfully so, because Nico tried to kill him and he's not even apologizing for it. To add insult to injury; no one has defended or backed Ace up yet. Remember how only moments ago Hu was ready and willing to defend Nico. Where's Ace's support? Nowhere to be found! Everyone before this point has only gotten on Ace's case for being a loud jerk, and again; they have good reason to. But when Ace actually does bring up good points like exposing David and being just a wee bit 'miffed' about Nico's plot, he's still being met with insults and beratement. And Nico, a slap on the wrist essentially. Only the finest hypocrisy here being served at the Despair Time Studios Mess-hall folks.

And on the other side of the spectrum is Nico. They know what they did was wrong, fully aware of what this entailed, and still tried to go through with it. Nico's actions and planning go beyond a spur of the moment killing, they were trying to escape and frame someone else for it. And what could Nico say at this moment? Saying 'sorry' isn't going to cut it or mean jack squat now that they've been exposed like this. This act will haunt them for the rest of the game.

It's kind of like a scenario that I, and many others, would have liked to have been explored in the DanganRonpa series. Having a killer live amongst the cast getting away with their murder. I'm sure you all remember that one rule in V3 where only the first murder counts, and what it would potentially have been like if Kiyo didn't kill Angie, but only Tenko instead. And so they would just have to deal with the fact that one of their friends is gone unnecessarily, and they can't do anything about it because of the rules. It's kinda the same thing here, I'm really interested to see where Ace and Nico go from here knowing full well what happened and how they're going to move on from that, if at all.

But I'm side tracking here. So Teruko realizes that the tape that Nico used and Arei's killer used could have only come from the gym, and it was missing the next day. If you all remember that funny little moment Rose and Teruko had at the gym at that time, this is where it finally comes into play. Rose is doubting herself and her head for being unreliable at times, and just look at what happens next.

LOOK AT THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! THAT'S THAT GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE!

Teruko comes to Rose's aid saying that her distrusing of others this chapter has caused her also to make multiple mistakes in this trial. So while Teruko is still going to keep up her guard and look at things logically, she is still going to try and believe in others again. Attempting to find a happy medium.

GRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHH! I LOVE BELIEF AND DOUBT THEMES!!!!

Buuuuuuuut, this means that the tape could have only been taken during a very short timeframe as MonoTV hadn't replaced it yet,and with only a little pool of people from that timeframe, our two biggest suspects are....

Ace and Eden.

From here on it's a matter of determining who among these two is the least guilty. Hu brings up that because the rule of the BDA going off from three innocent peole discovering the body, that means that Eden is off the hook.

But the atomsphere must have gotten a little too cheery because here comes our boy, the fallen star antagonist himself, David, with some new surprising information!

David is saying that he saw the body first, implying that Eden no longer counts towards that total and she is still a suspect.

.....This is a complete fucking lie by the way, I assure you. Like, sir, no one is falling for this. But it's not about him seeing the body, it's merely the idea of him seeing the body, or some other third party seeing it before Eden that brings her back into the suspect spotlight again. And when asked why he would do such a thing, David simply goes...

David the emboidement of distruuuuuuust~

And with no one left on her side, most of the cast goes back to accusing Eden. Eden is crying, tears streaming down her face, asking, BEGGING for anyone to believe in her and come help.

.....And Teruko decides that to do that. While Eden is a suspect, she'll interrogate Ace for now and simply.......trust, in Eden for now.

Eden the embodiement of truuuuuuuuust~

So that's that for now. Me personally, while I could see it being Ace I have another suspect in mind.....

Hu.

And I'm not saying this because I dislike her or anything. I'm just saying that if the killer had to have knowledge of Nico's crime, I can imagine Nico going to Hu and telling her the gist of things. As for why Hu would do it in the first place? I'm not sure. She has as much reason as Ace does.

But what will happen next? That'll be determined on Friday! So see you then!

-Mod

[run-me-through-but-not-like-that]

What if Izzy and the reader also attended the fancy party from episode 5? Izzy would hate dressing up, but the reader might be into Izzy's look, maybe even give him a reward for playing along~ (like pulling him into a closet during the party... Do ships have closets? They should, for making out with small angry men)

Every ship should have a mandatory 'to make out with small angry men' closet.

Proper Fun:

Plenty of ‘appropriate ensembles’ had been offered up by Bonnet, and each had Izzy turning his nose up at them as his stomach turned. There was no chance he was getting forced into one of those monstrosities, even Edward was holding back his laughter. Izzy truly thought he was going to have an aneurysm when Bonnet brought out the pastel options.

When Edward had announced some of the crew were going to some high class boat party, Izzy had told him it was a terrible idea but he would not be deterred. Then Edward had insisted that Izzy join them and he was certain that it couldn’t get worse.

If you hadn't been there, Izzy would have probably ended up committing some sort of murder suicide. You had seen the absolute disaster taking place and stepped in, taking over the whole affair. Only letting Stede offer advice when it came to what garments would be expected at such a party.

There hadn’t been a black option, which you had really been looking for to make Izzy the most comfortable, but you had spotted a dark blue ensemble. It was perfectly regal enough to satisfy Stede and Edward, but understated enough to satisfy Izzy.

When you had brought it out of the closet and suggested it, Izzy had begrudgingly accepted. It was the lesser of the many evils offered to him, and he knew that. 

The outfit was bad enough but letting Frenchie and Wee John tailor the suit to fit him was somehow more humiliating.

Once everyone had their outfits picked out and adjusted accordingly, Izzy was the last to dress. Edward had dressed first and Izzy had put the bows in his beard and hair while you and Stede dressed. Then, it was Izzy’s turn.

The first mate emerged from the secret close, dressed in his new suit and grumbling to himself. You couldn’t help but smile. Sure, it wasn’t something Izzy would normally wear and he was scowling, but he also looked rather dashing.

“You look great, Iz!” Edward beamed at his lifelong friend, sincere in his compliments. He loved dressing up in all these fine fabrics, and he couldn’t see how somebody wouldn’t enjoy it. Surely, Izzy didn’t hate it as much as said, right?

“Certainly an upgrade from your usual attire,” Stede agreed, looking rather pleased with himself, before turning to you, “excellent choice, the colour suits him well, I think.”

Izzy just scoffed and muttered to himself, pulling on the stupid frilly cravat so that he could breathe properly.

You purposely ignored Stede, even though you knew he meant well. “I think you look wonderful, Izzy,” you complimented.

He really hadn’t been happy about attending this party. It wasn’t really your scene, you’d never associated with Stede’s class of people, but you were a little excited just to do something new and different. Izzy could be a bit of a dick but you couldn’t really blame him considering the circumstances that brought him aboard the Revenge, so you had promised to stay by his side and give him excuses to leave and not talk to people.

“All of you, and I cannot stress this enough, fuck off,” Izzy seethed, tugging at his costume again.

-

The boat ride over to the other ship was only a little painful, with Stede filling you all in on anything you might need to know while Izzy sulked about the whole thing.

Boarding the ship went as smoothly as you could have expected. Izzy was grumbling to himself once again, Edward had introduced himself as Jeff the accountant and kindly introduced Izzy as Basilica, his assistant.

You had taken Izzy’s arm and pulled him away before he could stab the man at the door, leading him inside. You gave the other party goers a polite smile and nod as you passed them, but avoided too much interaction until Izzy wasn’t scowling to himself.

Eventually the two of you had settled in a quiet corner of the main room that you had deemed suitable. Edward was more eager to partake among the other patrons, thriving on the attention. Seemingly enjoying himself among the high society types, but it hadn’t slipped your notice that Izzy was watching him with a concerned expression.

“Relax. For once, I think Stede is the most experienced and prepared for this situation. He’ll look after Edward and if that fails, we’ll burn the damn ship down together,” you promised.

Izzy actually huffed a little laugh to himself. He supposed you were right, these were Bonnet’s people, a world that he didn’t understand, and perhaps he could just keep an eye on things from a distance for now. And Edward did seem like he was having fun…

Plus, burning the ship down would be easier with two people and you were offering. “I grow fonder of you every day.”

You grinned to yourself, Izzy was joking, playing around. He wasn’t relaxed by any means but maybe you could work on that a little. After all, you were at a party and they were supposed to be fun.

“I didn’t realise you were such a romantic,” you teased, “or is that just Basilica?”

“Fucking Edward,” Izzy grumbled.

“I think you mean Jeff, but I understand the sentiment,” you nodded in understanding.

You looked around the room again. You and Izzy had thought the costumes Stede had picked out for everyone were a bit much, but they were nothing compared to some of the things the other people here were wearing.

Fuck this, you were supposed to be at a party. “Alright, let’s at least try to have some fun messing with some posh folks,” you decided. Izzy could hear your determination.

Izzy hummed to himself, he couldn’t see how any of this was fun. “How do you suggest doing that?” he asked.

“A bit of a fuckery?” you proposed.

“...keep speaking,” Izzy looked at you out of the corner of his eye, the slightest hint of interest in his expression. 

You smirked to yourself. Sure, the fuckeries were more Edward’s thing, he just had the mind for it, but Izzy couldn’t deny that he often enjoyed them.

“Nothing flashy. We play our roles, just two high society types enjoying a night of debauchery. Show these twats how it’s really done, maybe pick a pocket or two?”

“...suppose we could do that,” Izzy hummed. “But no trouble, Edward was…looking forward to this.”

You couldn’t help but feel fond of him, caring about Edward actually enjoying himself. He could be a prickly bastard but when he cared, he did it with his whole being. He wanted his friend to have fun, probably the only reason he was actually here, hadn’t drawn blood over the whole idea in the first place.

“I have a feeling those two are going to be the ones who end up causing the trouble,” you  both watched Edward and Stede mingling, Edward sharing anecdotes, Stede never leaving his side. “How about we start with a dance?” you suggested.

Izzy heaved a sigh but then squared his shoulders, his expression hardening slightly with determination. He moved so that he was standing in front of you, one hand held behind his back while he held his other out for you to take.

You bit back your smile, trying to get into character. “Ask properly, Basilica,” you tutted.

Izzy rolled his eyes but asked, “wanna dance?”

“How charmingly quaint,” you mused, putting on your best fancy voice

“Shut the fuck up,” Izzy’s voice lacked any real bite or malice. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was amused.

You grinned and placed your hand in his, the two of you walking over to where other pairs were dancing.

Izzy kept your hand clasped in his as you placed your other hand on his shoulder, his other hand at your waist. Positioned all proper like.

“You actually know how to dance,” you were stating, not asking. Sure, he was stiff and clearly unpractised, but he seemed to know how he should stand, how it should look.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Izzy huffed but you just raised an eyebrow at him, it was a very fair question in your opinion. He just sighed before explaining. “Never was much into it, saw it though. During my time in the navy.”

“Well, show me what you learnt, Officer Basilica,” your hand slipped further up his shoulder, brushing against his collar.

“Admiral,” Izzy corrected, properly playing along this time. You knew he had probably never become an admiral during his time in the navy, he didn’t talk about his past much but you had gathered that he had joined his first ship young and had still been fairly young when he became a pirate.

“An admiral?” you repeated with a faux impressed gasp.

Izzy smiled a little at the exaggerated look of awe on your face. Maybe this evening wouldn’t be a complete nightmare.

The two of you danced among the crowd, Izzy knew the moves but conducted them stiffly, you didn’t know them well but happily let him lead. Neither of you were as practised as the other dancers and that got you a few looks. Normally Izzy would either shrink away or lash out at the blatant judgement, but you held him still and close, got him to just focus on you and he actually ended up…enjoying himself to some extent. You were having fun, and that encouraged him to keep going and ignore the people around you.

The song came to an end, also putting an end to the dance. Izzy stepped back, one of his hands in his. He bowed at the waist and pressed a kiss to your knuckles, holding your gaze with his own. 

Okay, that was genuinely charming. You could only smile at him with genuine awe this time, you couldn’t help but swoon just a little at the gentlemanly act.

“Now, I think we’ve earned some drinks,” you kept Izzy’s hand in your own, leading him over to a man with a tray of champagne glasses.

You released Izzy’s hand to grab two glasses, thanking the man, before turning back to him. Izzy accepted one of the drinks, holding his arm out for you to take. You smiled graciously and looped your arm through his, letting him lead you back to a quiet corner where you could observe the room.

“Do these twats actually enjoy all of this?” Izzy questioned. 

Everyone had smiles, everyone seemed to know each other and like each other, but even Izzy could tell that all of it was fake. It was almost as if they were challenging each other. It was all of that…passive aggression, or whatever it was that Bonnet called it. Izzy hated it, preferred when people just said what they meant. He had a feeling that if everyone on this ship spoke their mind, there would be a massacre.

“I think so, in their own way. Probably just like bragging or whatever it is they do to feel superior,” you shrugged, sipping from your glass.

“It’s fucking torture. I mean those lot, they’re laughing…about what? What was so fucking funny?” Izzy asked, nodding towards one of the groups that were laughing among themselves.

“They’re supposed to laugh. It’s all just…acting.” These weren’t the circles you normally found yourself in but you had known people like this, plus Stede had told you enough about the people he grew up around for you to have some sense of how it works. “See him?” you used your glass to gesture towards two men sharing quiet conversation.

“Sure,” Izzy nodded, wondering what you were getting at.

“He came in with that woman over there,” you told him. You had seen them walk in together, hadn’t thought much of it at the time, of course.

“So what?” Izzy looked at you curiously, if not a little impatiently.

“So?” you tutted, like the answer was obvious. “He’s clearly fucking that guy,” you gestured towards the two men again.

“I mean, obviously,” Izzy rolled his eyes. They weren’t as subtle as they probably thought they were. “She probably knows about it, though.”

“But like I said, it’s all just acting. And they all fucking suck,” you shrugged.

Izzy chuckled before finishing his glass.

“Alright,” he nodded thoughtfully, deciding on a new game to play. “What do you think about those three?” he asked, pointing towards another group.

The two of you ended up huddled together in the corner, bitching about the other guests and speculating about their possible gossip. Grabbing fresh glasses of champagne whenever somebody with a tray walked by.

The two of you were actually beginning to have proper fun, laughing between yourselves, when the sound of a clinking glass sounded throughout the room. Some man in some ridiculous looking suit started making a speech and immediately put a damper on your whole evening.

“Alright, it’s getting unbearable now,” Izzy complained, rolling his eyes at whatever the man was talking about.

You had to agree. “Let’s take a walk,” you gave a small tug to his arm before slipping out of the room together.

The two of you wandered around the inside of the ship for a little while, mostly while Izzy complained about how gaudy everything was.

“Here,” you brought Izzy to a halt, grabbing a door by the handle. “Let’s have some real fun,” you smirked, pulling the door open.

Izzy frowned a little in confusion but didn’t put up any fight as you tugged him into a small storage closet. “You’re joking, right?” he questioned, just a little disapprovingly, as you clicked the door shut.

You heaved a dramatic sigh, reaching for the door again. “I suppose we can go and listen to the speeches…they’ll probably still be speaking.” 

Izzy caught you by the arm, pulling you back towards him. You settled back against a wall, raising an eyebrow at him. “I think we’re perfectly fine right here.”

You couldn’t agree more as you grabbed hold of that frilly cravat he hated so much, pulling him close and capturing his mouth with your own. Izzy returned your kiss, starting slow as you found a comfortable enough spot against the wall. Izzy hummed against your lips as you pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He parted his lips more than happily as your tongue traced the seam of them.

Izzy pressed closer and you shifted until you were able to slip a leg between each other, bodies rolling together. Only parting for a short moment to laugh when a broom fell and clattered against the floor.

You buried a hand in Izzy’s hair, giving it a gentle tug, earning you a sweet little moan from the man. Just to tease him a little further, you nipped at his bottom lip, smiling against his mouth when he surged closer for more.

-

“Where could they have gotten too?” Oluwande whisper-yelled as he and Frenchie rushed around the ship, searching for the missing crew members. “They couldn’t have left the ship, right?”

“Nah, Izzy wouldn’t leave Edward aboard a strange ship…I don’t think,” Frenchie frowned a little. Actually, Izzy was very likely to leave if he had enough of the other guests, but Frenchie trusted that you wouldn’t leave without at least telling one of them.

“Yeah but, Stede and Edward said they hadn’t seen either of them since they came in.”

Frenchie opened his mouth to speak, to insist they would find you both, but was interrupted by a clattering sound coming from the door beside them. The clattering was then followed by a thump and hushed voices.

The two men looked at each other before throwing the door open. “There you are!” Frenchie grinned at you both. At least Oluwande had the decency to look embarrassed by what they had walked in on.

“What the fuck?” Izzy seethed, jumping away from you at the sudden intrusion, hand going for his knife until he realised how was standing in the doorway. No real threat.

“We have to go,” Oluwande told you both, averting his gaze politely. It wasn’t like the two of you were undressed, just a little flustered and mussed up. Still, it was thoughtful of him.

“What’s…is something burning?” you moved towards the door, now able to smell smoke coming from somewhere.

“We’re leaving,” Oluwande nodded.

“Kind of an emergency,” Frenchie shrugged.

“What did those fuckers do?” Izzy questioned under his breath as the four of you hurried through the ship and up to the deck, Izzy fixing his hair and you straightening out your clothes before you had to face your captains.

“Long story, I'm sure they’ll explain,” Oluwande assured, sounding like he wasn’t completely sure what had happened before the fire.

The four of you met Stede and Edward on the deck as they readied a dingy. “Ah, wonderful. We really should be going,” Stede clapped his hands together, looking a little nervous.

“You should have been there, mate!” Edward grinned at Izzy as he threw an arm around Stede’s shoulders. “Stede’s a fucking lunatic, it was brilliant!”

“Let’s just fucking go before we burn with these fucking twats,” Izzy huffed. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t the one making everyone return to the Revenge early.

For once, everyone agreed with Izzy and found nothing to argue with him about, the lot of you piling into the dingy and rowing away. You and Izzy sat at the back of the dingy, watching the flaming ship slowly get further away.

“So…how’d you rate the party?” you asked quietly, leaning in closer to Izzy to keep your conversation between the two of you. The others were distracted by their own conversations anyway.

“...suppose it wasn’t too bad,” Izzy conceded with a sigh. You just rolled your eyes fondly, perfectly aware that he had ended up enjoying himself. “Plus the ship burnt down and I didn’t even have to lift a finger,” he smirked to himself.

“Well, I had fun,” you shrugged, knocking your shoulder against his.

Izzy smiled softly to himself, “...yeah, me too.”

[lucaaazd]

Snippet of a (not so) little Aruani story I’ve been working on. I love it so much and it’s helped me through some real trying times. Don’t have an ao3 account yet so thought I’d share a chapter on here :)

Premise: A decade after the Rumbling, Armin and Mikasa share a rare moment away from their families in the shade of their childhood tree. Armin opens up about his struggles to connect with one of his children, which leads him down a path of remembrance and reflection.

Ships: primarily Aruani, but a lottttt of other ships get a cameo as well. Eremika, Jeankasa, Jeanpiku, Mikannie, Reijean & more !

TW: (just in this chapter) mentions of abuse

Canon-compliant 💚

“

Life happens.

Annie told him not to worry. She told him how years of physical and emotional abuse, compounded by the multitude of medical experiments Marley conducted on her had likely rendered her infertile.

Looking back, Armin realized he wanted to believe her more than he really did. Why risk it? It’s not like him. He’d read books about the human body and its resilient, unpredictable nature, especially when it comes to the uterus. He remembered flipping through some vividly illustrated pages fervorously at the ripe age of twelve when the librarian with the broken nose caught him, threatening to tie him up for the bit of inappropriate reading he’s doing. The town of Liana, an idle green village tucked away in the thickets of elms and cedars native to Northwestern Wall Rose, wasn’t exactly sizable. Armin often sought shelter in the only library in an hour’s horse ride, which was affiliated with the prestigious Askatu Institute of Science and Liberal Arts. He might have even gone to college if not for what happened to their hometown. Gran was already gone. No one cared if he read a couple books he’s too young for.

Still, ten years later, he’d let Annie lead him into those dark, unused train cars at the wee hours of dawn, words like fallopian tubes and ovulation burnt into his retina. How lame. Was he supposed to be thinking of those when the hand around his was soft and warm and he could feel the urgency in the way it squeezed and tugged him?

Armin's one of those boys who didn’t hit that growth spurt till about 15, with tiny prepubescent shoulders and a squeaky voice that stayed that way when everyone else was going through changes. Annie on the other hand - pretty much everyone had found themselves stealing glances at her at one point or another when they were kids, including Armin. There’s things he’d never even told Mikasa or Eren, including the time when he took it one step too far.

It was way before they became soldiers. He was eleven. He didn’t even know her name. All he knew was that she was an orphan with no one looking out for her. He just wanted to make sure she’s okay.

At least that’s what he told himself.

Him and Annie had reached the unspoken agreement of feigned forgetfulness regarding their encounters, if you could even call them that, back in those days.

One of the first nights after their enlistment, some dude made a tipsy remark along the lines of: “What’s her name again? Elaine? Right, Annie. Annie’s just cool man. There’s just something cool about her.” There was always a lot going on in the mess hall due to certain recruits still getting the hang of respectful communal living, but that comment in particular stood out against the rest. In all the wolf whistles, laughter and murmurs of agreement that ensued, Armin kept his mouth shut. He was kinda hoping they were talking about some other Annie. Come to think of it, he’s not even sure her name was Annie. It definitely wasn’t Elaine. She’d talked maybe twice since their first day and when she did, she was quiet like a mouse.

He couldn’t even remember that dude’s name or face now. He had a feeling he never figured out what exactly was cool about Annie. Probably squashed under her foot like a fly in Stohess. Soldiers from all three factions, including a lot of their fellow cadets, perished that day.

Still, a good number of well-intentioned admirers refused to believe Annie was a cold-blooded mass murderer long after her cover was blown. The rest harbored a justifiable burning hatred towards her based on the conclusion that she’s an insane, sadistic psycho bitch who deserved to get cut up slowly.

Armin knew for a fact that Annie herself leaned towards the second theory, no matter how much she tried to make it seem otherwise. He knew that since the day he watched her hungrily from his hiding spot behind a willow tree as a child, wonder decaying into horror when he realized what she was doing. He knew when she broke down into a manic fit of laughter at the mouth of the underground passageway he had hoped to lure her into. His initial trepidation bubbled into anger, then disgust, then a burning desire to see her bonded and gagged and find out exactly what lay behind those hollow, listless pupils. Her story, one he pieced together with what little could be extracted from her obstinate silence, was punctuated with way too many contradictions for one cohesive meaning to be teased out.

The art of deceiving was not a specialty of hers, hence the muteness. In that way and many other ways, she’s not at all like Reiner or Bertolt, who spewed out lie after lie with all the ingredients of a good story, combining fair quantities of truth and well-phrased speculation with a sprinkling of theatrical alterations to stir the flavors. It took Armin hours of studying Annie’s unresponsive form in the crystal, opening up time and unrolling it to its full length so that he could single out a quiet scoff, the clenching of a fist, replaying the moment frame by frame for signs of mental fissure or psychosomaticism. He kept descending the stairs to the basement where she was held captive, long after spectators’ footsteps grew farther and fewer in between and eventually diminished to the echo of one lone pair of boots, his own.

.”

This chapter is very stream of consciousness but I promise it’s not all gonna be like this 😭 anyways, if u made it this far, cheers and have a good day 💚

Luca 💚

[ya-so-im-here]

Moonlight Company

Writer: Me, I have it published under my Wattpad account TheNinjaOfCake22

Fandom: The Hobbit

Ship: Bilbo x Thorin (Bagginshield)

Link: https://www.wattpad.com/859244660-ultimate-bagginshield-collection-120-one-shot

----------------------------------------------------

It was late and all  Bilbo could think of was lying in his own bed back in Bag End, but the truth was he was lying on a bedroll that currently had pebbles and sticks jabbing at his back as he attempted to sleep. Since the journey began Bilbo was not sleeping well, he was too used to having a bed that was his own, and he missed it greatly. It was another one of his comforts of home he missed as well as his books, his garden, his armchair, and his food. While traveling with dwarfs a whole lot of em were told by Balin they had to ration their food, which resulted in Bilbo eating a lot less food than he was used to.

    Though he was grateful,  the dwarves did not need to invite him on their journey, it was not as though there was anything waiting for him once they reached their destination, there was for the others. Which caused him mild discomfort because he really didn't belong, this was not his journey, Erebor was not for him to reclaim and it was not his people who were suffering without a home. It was the dwarves, it was their journey, not Bilbo's.

    Though the dwarves were very welcoming and they often talked with Bilbo asking him questions about the Shire and the livelihood of Hobbits which made Bilbo feel more welcomed, however, Thorin never talked to him, and he rarely looked at Bilbo.  Which caused him to feel unwelcome and a bit nervous that Thorin may force him to turn back because he couldn't stand the Hobbit being present.

    Though Bilbo doubted  Thorin would do that with Gandalf around, yet, the truth was Gandalf often ventured off on his own leaving Bilbo behind with the dwarfs, and it was at those times that Bilbo feared Thorin most. The leading dwarf had a temper and when things went against his wishes his voice would deepen in anger, it was those times Bilbo attempted to stay far from  Thorin's line of sight so as to not be the target of his rage.

    As much as he felt he did not belong on this particular adventure, he wanted to be here. He would not deny that he had always been an adventurous Hobbit, ever since he was a wee halfling. He'd travel to the end of the Shire on his own adventures, climbing trees, and traveling through the crops of the local farms. And when the days would draw close he'd return to his mother  Belladonna Took and tell her of his many adventures. It was the Took part of him that arose the need for adventure, but he grew up a Baggins,  yes a respectable and non-adventurous Baggins.

    But he would not lie that the journey had awoken the Took side within him, and he craved for this journey, never had he seen such sights; for Middle Earth was far more beautiful than he ever imagined.

    Bilbo rolled over onto his side when another pebble jabbed into his ribs, he sat up in mild aggravation. Yes, he loved the sensation of being on an adventure, but he truly did miss his bed. Bilbo looked around the campsite, all the dwarfs were asleep, except for Bofur and Bifur they were on watch both on different parts of the site keeping a close watch. Deciding he was going on a walk Bilbo slowly crept from his bedroll and slowly headed towards the bushes to keep hidden from both Bifur and Bofur, he didn't feel like talking to anyone tonight.

    Slowly and quietly the  Hobbit sneaked past the watching eyes of the dwarves, without causing any commotion of any sort, Bilbo was greatly proud of himself. While on his journey he had become rather good at sneaking about unseen, it was a skill he did not entirely realize he possessed, it was quite helpful.

    Now away from the campsite full of sleeping dwarves Bilbo meandered about, he felt rejuvenated by the moon as it slipped beams of silver light past the dark clouds of the night, the stars glistened and the nature surrounding  Bilbo was peaceful and quiet. 

    Bilbo wandered about getting farther and farther from the campsite, but he cared not, for just as frightening it was in the dark, it was beautiful and so quiet. While dwarves slept they snored or yammered in their sleep, it was never quiet with em around, and the silence of the night was the peace Bilbo needed. It helped him get lost within his thoughts, though he got much more lost than he had realized, and not only in his thoughts.

     While he was thinking he forgot which way he had come from, and the hobbit stopped walking and looked around himself, the fire from the campsite was still lit, but the hobbit was too far to see it. Bilbo began walking back to where he believed he came from, but nothing quite looked familiar. Panic began to rise from his stomach and it began to fuzzy up his brain as he tried to think of where he came from, when Bilbo remembered that before they set camp there was a cliff side where they set camp. this thought of remembrance brought the halfling relief as he walked through the trees to the cliffside.

    Bilbo continued to try and fight the rising fear as he looked around for any sign of the cliffside, he did not know quite what direction to go, but he told himself he was alright for even if he couldn't see the fire, he knew that the dwarves would be able to find him. But that thought quickly awoke a much worse thought. "What if Thorin believes I left, and they all leave me" This happening was too probable for him not to worry, it happened continuously whenever Bilbo would fall behind or no one knew quite where he was Thorin would announce that Bilbo had left them.

    But never once did Bilbo purposely leave them, well at least not until tonight when he went for his walk. Panic claimed his mind and forgetting all the peace he once had from the night, was gone. Bilbo began to run pushing past all the tree branches and pushes looking for the campsite.

    Bilbo was about to scream out for the dwarfs for both Bofur and Bifur were awake perhaps there was a chance they would hear him, Bilbo pushed through more branches and past bushes when he found the cliffside.

    The moon was before him bright and vibrant and just as quickly as panic took over him, the feeling of calm took hold. His stress vanished as he stared out into the distance the moon shimmered above the great view of Middle-Earth. Bilbo stepped forth from the brush staring longingly at the view, it was stunning one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen, more beautiful than any story he had heard of Middle-Earth grand locations. Bilbo meandered out from behind all the shrubbery when he noticed he wasn't alone, he quickly bolted back into the bushes but it was already too late, he had been seen.

    "It's too late to hide, I know you're there. Come out" Bilbo obeyed the deep voice he had learned to know, Thorin was sitting on the edge of the cliffside looking out onto the wilderness of Middle-Earth just as Bilbo previously was. Bilbo walked up to Thorin and sat beside the dwarf, Thorin didn't turn to look, he knew it was Bilbo. The two sat in silence for a bit neither saying anything, just simply staring out unto the world and when silence was disturbed it was by Thorin himself.

    "Are you afraid of me?" his voice was deep as usual but it sounded softer than usual, he wasn't asking to tease, it was pure curiosity.

    "In a way" he responded softly, he didn't look at Thorin as he said it but he had noticed the movement of his head as he turned to face the hobbit.

    "Do you mind If I ask why?" he questioned, Bilbo waited a few seconds before he turned to face him, his eyes shimmering from the pale light of the moon as he stared at me almost pleading but definitely damaged.

    "It's not that I'm afraid of the sight of you nor of you as a person" Bilbo paused thinking through his answer "You have much on your shoulders and it causes you to... say what you think often without thinking. I'm not used to that, hobbits are never so upfront. they don't directly say what they don't like or how they want you to leave, and they don't insult you so openly." Bilbo paused a moment and Thorin attempted to say something but Bilbo continued the attempt "What I suppose I mean is, I'm afraid of what you think of me, of what you'll say to me. I know you don't like me you've had no issue in saying so" Bilbo stopped there and turned to look at the view once more.

     The world seemed to fall quiet for a moment as the two stared out into the world both grasping the words spoken before Thorin turned to face Bilbo once more with sorrow evident in his eyes.

     "I never meant what I said" Bilbo turned to face Thorin at that and both of their eyes met as Bilbo waited for Thorin to say more. "I did doubt your ability to keep up with us as well as your skills to find the Arkenstone, but only in the beginning. After the event with the trolls, I knew that I was glad you were with us and I didn't want you to leave the company even though I still said those things I didn't mean it." Bilbo sat there for a moment trying to grasp all that Thorin had said it took him a moment to even believe it, Thorin didn't hate him?

     "I..." Bilbo paused again thinking "I thought you hated me and that the only reason I was still here was because you were too afraid of Gandalf to send me away" Bilbo chuckled lightly at the last part which triggered Thorin to laugh a bit too, it was a sight Bilbo had never seen before.

     "Well yes I am a bit afraid of him, though don't tell anyone." the two both laughed at that "I didn't send you away because I didn't want you to leave" The two smiled finally seeming to be on the same page and finally on the path to perhaps being friends.

     "I never wanted to leave either, even after what you said and I didn't want to leave. I thought about it, but I knew I wanted to stay here with the company" Both Bilbo and Thorin stared out into the wilderness of Middle-Earth both having bonded on a deeper level, perhaps in the morning when they set out again, Bilbo would go out of his way to ride next to Thorin.

[archerlullaby]

HELLO FRENS I AM BACK WITH juuuust a wee bit of TIME CONTENT. I love this man. So. Much. SO…I decided I would indulge myself with a bit of angsty hurt/comfort with the resident hero dad who is just worried about his sons, particularly the one who turns into a wolf ( or rather, the son is worried about his dad). @cricketflour ‘s angsty Time and Twilight piece was the brainworm for this one, so go check them out! Anyways……. HERE YA HAVE IT, FOLKS!

Fade Away

Time doesn’t remember his armor being this heavy. Sure, it can be a hassle at times, but it’s never heavy. His eye flutters open and, to his surprise, is met with…dark. Pitch. Black. Dark. And if there’s one thing the Hero of Time hates, it’s darkness.

Time tries heave in a breath, but is left gasping when the weight of his armor does not give way. No, no! Something’s wrong! He thinks. Panicking, he begins to glance around, straining his good eye, trying to see something, anything! His breaths begin to wheeze and he stops, forcing himself to calm down and take account of his situation. Last thing he remembers was…exploring some type of ruins in Wild’s Hyrule? Yes, that was it. He had seen something in one of the passageways and the next thing he knew the floor opened beneath him and…nothing. Time sighs. He loves the kid, but he hates his Hyrule.

He shakes himself out of those thoughts and continues to take note of his predicament. His internal clock tells him its exactly 9:39 at night, approximately two hours before what he last remembered. He grimaces. That’s a long time to be out. Taking into account his physical state, his face is pressed against something soft and cool, earthy smelling. Dirt. He notes that he has a slight headache. Maybe hit his head on the way down? Further along his body, he takes note of his left hand pressed under his chest and his right is pressed palm down against what feels like rock, cool and damp against his fingertips. His legs? There, but numb and tingly. Pins and needles are shooting from his lower back to his legs and he begins to panic once again, breaths coming in tight, labored gasps. A dawning horror begins to root itself in his fuzzy thoughts, and it brings him back to one, simple notion: My armor is never this heavy! The dread settles like a pit in his stomach. As he tries to lurch himself upwards, his fears are confirmed with the crushing weight of something heavy his back. Wait, what had happened to the rest of the boys? Are they okay? What if they’re trapped like he is, or worse? He gasps, trying to wiggle out from under the weight, fingers scrabbling at the dirt floor of his prison.

“Goddesses!” He curses, “I fought the fucking moon, and here I am getting beat by a rock!” Determination grits his teeth and furrows his brow as he tries to force his right hand free. I’m not giving up, not like this! He wiggles a few more times until a shower of dirt and pebbles dusts his hair. He ceases his struggling, fearing what would happen if he were to continue. He takes a few breaths as deep as he could, closing his eye against the encompassing darkness. As he calmed himself, he begins to notice a sound, that of running water off to his left. A…cave? Wild spoke about how, when the-what was it called? Time huffs. Doesn’t matter. When those floating islands nearly fell out of the sky, Wild had explained how caves opened up around his Hyrule. This must be one of them. When he fell, he must have brought part of the ceiling with him. Just his luck.

“Well, at least my head isn’t under there,” he laughed to himself darkly, “Would have been one hell of a headache!” And it can’t be too heavy, he thinks. I can still breathe a little bit. His mind races, trying to figure out his next move, when the sound of water is broken by the sound of something else shuffling in the darkness. Time does his best to quiet his breath, unsure of what could be lurking in the caves.

“Hnngh, fuck that hurt.”

Time’s eye widens in the darkness, trying desperately to see where that familiar, twangy voice came from.

“Twilight?” He hisses, turning his head desperately towards the noise. “Twi? Twi, talk to me. Are you alright?” A groan echos through the darkness.

“Dandy,” The other hero replies. Time could cry in relief. He hears more shuffling, then footsteps as Twilight gets to his feet. “Where ya at, Old Man?”

“Here! Under-” he pauses to take a couple of fast breaths, the weight seemingly heavier by the minute, “Under here!”

The footsteps draw closer, until they are nearly at his face.

“Shit…Time…” Twilight pauses. “I’m going to try and get you out from under there, just hang tight.” Time breaths a short sigh of relief.

“Thanks,” he replies hoarsely. Though he wouldn’t admit it, the knowledge of not being alone down in this place is enough to put a lump of emotion in his throat. He felt a prickly and uncomfortably warm wave wash over him, the unique feeling of Twilight’s dark magic working in close proximity, but it was quickly replaced with a cold snout pressing at his cheek. Time feels himself calm a considerable amount at the feeling.

“I think I’m laying mostly on dirt, though rock begins at about my waist. You think you can dig me out?” Twilight huffs as if to show how offended he is at being asked such a simple question. Regardless, he begins to carefully dig around Time, doing his best not to shift too much earth for fear of the stone above shifting. Luck was on their side, for once, as Twilight continues and the rock showed no sign of falling further. Finally, Time is able to start to move his arms enough to wiggle himself a little forward, enough that he could breathe again. He feels like a drowning man breaking the surface of the water, the damp, stale air soothing his lungs as he gasps. Twilight shifts back.

“I think I can pull you out if you give me your arms,” he says, placing a hand upon Time’s left arm. Time could cry in relief.

“Yes, here,” he wriggles his right arm out from his side and grasps Twilight’s forearm.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

With a grunt, Twilight heaves Time out from under the stone slab, dragging him a few paces away before setting his arms gently back on the ground. Time groans, rolling onto his back as he hears Twilight sit down heavily next to him. He grits his teeth as the pins and needles feeling in his legs increase to a burn as feeling starts to trickle back. He sighs, a wave of relief washing over him. The Rancher is the first to speak.

“Din’s tits, I hate the dark.”

Time laughs.

“It runs in the family,” he replies, reaching out in the darkness to search for his protege. He finds his leg and pats it appreciatively. “Thanks, kid.”

Twilight huffs again.

“You’re really working hard to turn into Shade, y’know that?”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. Listen, I’ve lost my lamp, and I couldn’t find your bag of trinkets, so I’m going to stay as wolf until we get some light in here. Maybe I will be able to keep us from walking off a cliff or something.” Before Time could respond, A rush of magic encompasses the air, and then smell of wet dog invades his senses. He sighs.

“Listen, Twi, that’s not a good way to deal with your feelings.”

Wolfie growls and snaps his teeth in contempt. After a moment, he feels the wolf nudging his arm, trying to get him up. Time sits up, pressing a palm to his temple to try and ease the persistent drumming that has begun to make itself known. Wolfie nudges him again, nipping lightly at his elbow.

“Take it easy, I’m doing my best here.” The burning in his legs has all but disappeared, yet they remain weak and shaky as he tries to hoist himself up from a sit. Wolfie wiggles his way under Time’s hand and he uses the extra support to get steady on his feet. Keeping his hand gripped tightly in the thick fur, Time begins to shuffle along next to Wolfie, the two of them making their way step by step in the darkness.

Time wished he could say he lost track of, well, time, but he counts exactly twelve minutes before they made it to the source of the water, and since then had been following it down stream for fifty-four minutes and seven seconds. And, for those sixty-six minutes and seven seconds, his head had become increasingly more painful and his limbs had become increasingly more heavy-feeling. It was after another five minutes or so that Time realized he could begin to make out the shapes of the rocks at his feet and the glimmer of the cold water running to his left.

“Twi…the light,” Time mutters, the mere movement of his jaw aggravating his headache. As the two turn the corner, a cluster of glowing stones light up the tunnel in front of them. Time nearly laughs, feeling awash in the relief of seeing the soft blue glow the odd-looking stone cluster emits. The stones are dotted down the way, providing a dim, cold light to the dark stone. He lets go of Wolfie’s fur and slides down the side of the tunnel to sit tiredly against it. Wolfie approaches Time with a sniff, and dissolves into a cloud of darkness, leaving Twilight kneeling before him.

“Time, I could smell blood as Wolfie, but you didn’t tell me it was this bad,” Twilight says. Time almost teases him about being the one to speak when he literally almost died a few months ago, but the look in Twilight’s eyes gives him pause.

“I don’t know what the damage looks like. This place isn’t exactly littered with mirrors,” Time chuckles, trying to lighten the mood. Twilight doesn’t react and only looks at him worriedly. Time sighs. “C’mon, Rancher, you’re making me nervous, looking at me like that.” Twilight shakes his head.

“We need to get out of here. I’m sure this river opens up somewhere.” Twilight grabs Time’s arm and hoists it over his shoulder, lugging Time up in the process.

“Easy! You don’t have to treat me like one of your farm goats, Twi!”

“Then get your feet under you, Old Man. I have no qualms about throwing you over my shoulders,” he shoots back, the hint of a laugh dancing on the edge of his voice.

The two trudge on, step after step, minute after minute. The rushing water seems to bleed into the dim light, swirling together in a dizzying sort of dance that made Time’s head spin. He focuses on breathing and forcing out the thought of what feels like a hot iron band around his skull. At some point, Time startles when he realizes he can’t recall exactly how long they’ve been traveling. Oh. Oh no. He feels his feet catch on a ledge of rock, and he almost brings the both of them tumbling to the ground.

“Time!” Twilight exclaims, righting them as quickly as he could. Time groans.

“Quiet, Rancher. Gotta headache,” he mumbles, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth. He feels Twilight heave him closer, wrapping his free arm around Time’s waist and nearly carrying his weight. Time feels bad. “S’too heavy. Don’t gotta d’it f’me.” Twilight only holds him tighter.

Goddesses above, he was tired. When did he get so tired? Were they moving again? What’s that noise? Crickets? They’re too loud. Time squints his eye open and shuts it immediately, the light of the full moon sending a searing pain into his head.

“Damned moon,” He mutters. He couldn’t feel his legs again. Who was touching him? He struggles away from the iron grip encompassing his waist. “No…leave go me…” Ohhh, he feels nauseous. So very nauseous. He lurches to the side and empties his stomach. What’s that noise? A voice? It’s too loud. It’s all too loud, and he’s tired, and his head hurts, and if this person could STOP FUCKING TALKING-

“Time, Time please, you need to stay awake. I…I don’t have a red potion, or a fairy, or anything! Just hold on a while longer. Please…I can’t lose you like this Old Man, not like this,” the voice says, and Time can hear a certain anguish behind it that makes him sad, though he can’t begin to figure out why. He is no longer on the ground, his feet dangling in the air and a warmth at his chest. His chin rests on something inexplicably soft.

“Whaa…”

He can hear a steady thumping that jolts in cadence with his head. Malon must be working on the new cucco coop she said she’d build, though Time can’t figure out for the life of him why she’s up this early.

“Malon, cantcha wait ‘till later to build that thing?”

A quiet sob reaches his ears. Oh no, no, no. That won’t do.

“Mal, s’kay, I’ll help ya! Don’t cry, please don’t cry!” Time lurches forward, dry heaving, as there’s nothing left in his stomach. His world spins, and all goes quiet.

He wasn’t sure where he was. He wasn’t moving. He couldn’t move. There was a cold touch at his cheek. A hand, wiping at something on his face. He then hears it, a shuddering breath. Opening his eyes, a blurred figure moves right in front of his face. Blinking a couple times, the figure comes into somewhat of a focus.

“Twi?”

The boy’s hands were shaking. He could feel them tremble on his cheek.

“Time, dad, please. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never seen it this bad. You seemed alright before, what’s going on?”

“Twi…I don’t…I don’t know,” he manages to make out.

“Your head, you had to have gotten hit on the head, but I’ve never seen someone act this bad before!”

Time uses what’s little left of his strength to reach out, touching Twilight’s face. His hand comes back wet.

“M’sorry, don’t mean to make you cry, Rancher,” he whisper. Twilight catches his hand as it drops.

“You’re gonna be okay Time. By Hylia, I will make sure you are okay.”

The next time he wakes up, his head doesn’t hurt nearly as bad, though it is still quite painful. His chest hurts like a Goron is sitting on it. He groans and lifts his hand to unbuckle the straps of his armor, but is surprised to merely find the soft cloth of his tunic instead.

“What? Who? My armor?” He mumbles. A hand grasping his, a eucalyptus cool washes over his body. Magic.

“Time? Time, can you hear me?”

“Rulie?” He whispers. Voices blend into the background, mixing with the jumping light dancing behind the eyelid of his good eye. The hand settles itself on his forehead, sending a wave of relief through his body as the pain behind his forehead eases to a dull ache, similar to the ones he gets after a long fight.

“I’m here. You’re going to be alright.” Hyrule’s voice is soft, softer than it usually is, and sounds strained, like someone exhausted. Time finally manages to force his eyes open, meeting Hyrule’s soft, honey-colored ones.

“Rulie.”

Hyrule smiles gently but doesn’t speak, one hand on Time’s head and the other on his chest. There are deep purple circles under the healer’s eyes, and his brow is drawn taut and focused. Another figure moves in Time’s peripheral.

“Twilight,” Time whispers as he comes into focus. His eyes are red and puffy. “What happened?”

Twilight coughs and gathers himself, his facial expression back to his normal neutral look.

“You nearly died. I managed to drag your heavy ass back to camp after getting out of that cave. By the time we made it here you were shaking uncontrollably. Sky had a red potion on him, thank the goddess, and Wild had a fairy. Hyrule did the rest of the work.”

“Oh, Twi…” Time trails off, the pain in Twilight’s eyes adamant. Hyrule interrupts.

“Your brain was swelling. It happens when you get hit on the head too hard. You’ll be fine within a day or so. I will heal what I can,” Hyrule explains, standing from his position at Time’s side. “But for the meantime, you should get some rest. It’s safe to do that now.” Hyrule nods at Twilight and leaves the two alone. Twilight’s gaze is heavy, and Time almost wishes he were back under that stone slab.

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that—”

Twilight lurches forward, grabbing onto Time like a lifeline, burying his face in Time’s neck. Though Twilight did not make a single noise, Time could feel tears drip onto his shoulder.

“Don’t you dare ever do something so stupid like goin’ off by yourself like that again, Old Man. Ya hear me?”

Time nods, encompassing Twilight with a hug.

“I promise, I’ll be more careful. But why did you follow me?”

Twilight huffs.

“I saw ya, goin’ down that passageway by yourself, and I had a bad feeling. Before I could call out to you, the floor gave way and we both tumbled down. You were the unlucky one,” he says, his voice thick with emotion.

“Once I got you back to camp, the others said they saw us fall. Your bag of stuff got caught on an outcropping you bounced off of, and you had the right mind to throw your sword away so you wouldn’t fall on it. Wild climbed down and grabbed both of them.”

Time sighed, thankful for Wild’s boldness when it comes to steep cliffs and endless drops. He turned to meet Twilight’s eyes.

“Are you alright, cub?”

Twilight opens his mouth like he wants to say something, then seems to think better of it and nod his head.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m okay now that you’re okay,” he replies hoarsely. Time decides not to press. Instead, he pulls Twilight down into a bear hug.

“I love you, son,” he whispers. Twilight falls into the hug with a sniffle that’s barely audible.

“Love ya too, dad.”

[risu5waffles]

Who, or What, is a risuko?

Tagged by@candybagcj , transfemme Alan Wake. Alaina? Would that be Alaina?

Who were you named after?

Like most trans gals, i'm named after myself. i honestly didn't realize it would work out to be squirrel girl until it was far too late. i was just thinking i was being clever wiv bilingual numbers puns.

Last time you cried?

i don't remember, and this is honestly a bit of a problem for me. i kinda feel like it would be a healthier if i could just have a good, honest cry for once. Oh! Wait, i do remember! But it's not really a public consumption story, sorry.

Do you have kids?

No. Steps were taken. There are a few folx in my community young enough to be my kids, and i only hope i have been a positive parental-adjacent person in their lives. That's an honest hope, they're good kids (tho', i think the youngest of that lot is a whole-ass adult now. How time flies).

What sports do you play/did you play?

Zilch, nada, none. Not very sporty, me. i tried a couple when i was a real wee squirrel, but none of them really stuck. i do like biking around and walking, so i'm not completely inactive.

Do you use Sarcasm?

Not as much as i used to, honestly. i've made an effort to get out of the habit. Partly because it doesn't really track well in Japanese, and partly because i think Whedon-esque/mst3k-style 90's snark is a bane. i'm well tired of social masks, and happy to be quit of them (medical masks, tho', those are great).

First thing you notice about people?

Fashion and ink, how they hold their bodies. My aversion to looking at people's faces has only gotten worse as i've gotten older.

Do you have any talents?

i was a dab hand at embalming way back in the day, and i can still walk through all the steps in my head.

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Or, hear me out, scary movies wiv happy endings. i'm not against a total party wipe, and can appreciate them when they're done well. But i do like it when we can over come the metaphorical horrors, it happens so seldom in meatspace, you know? Also, i am morally obligated to mention here that the 1988 version of The Blob is one of the best movies ever, and is both scary and has a happy ending.

Where were you born?

i'm adopted, so i couldn't tell you wiv any real granularity. Blacksburg Virginia, US is as close as i can get you. Not a big city, tho', can't be that many hospitals. Unless i was born in a ditch. i'd honestly like it if i were a ditchwater baby.

What are your hobbies?

Creating in LittleBigPlanet (full series); wiv the official servers for 3 being down i've gone back to 1 & 2 to see how well i can do in those Create Modes; it's been fun. Trying to work up the courage to jailbreak my ps3 to get on the private servers, but fucking up my console or account isn't an expense i can really afford at the mo.

Do you have any pets?

i have a rat skeleton named Sydney who i rescued from a school i was demolishing (as part of a job, mind you. i didn't just rock up to some random school and start wailing away wiv a crowbar). i love her dearly, and have only fed her blood the couple of times.

How tall are you?

Oh! i just had a medical checkup, so i know this one; i am officially 178cm and some change.

What was your favourite subject in school?

Forensic Science in uni. We got to handle bones. i got to read through Spitz & Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death. My prof had an entirely healthy fascination wiv kaiju (this was prior to coming to Japan, and in the 90's, so a bit more unusual than if i'd gone to school here).

Dream Job?

Embalming. Or at least something involving corpses. i get the dead way better than i get the living. And no corpse has ever called me fag (pejorative).

Who to tag, who to tag. Hrmm @soupum & @jacechaotic , but only to the extent you want to answer any of this, of course!

[scotianostra]

William Playfair the Scottish engineer and political economist was born on September 22nd 1759.

I read one article about Playfair that describes him as "a kind of Forrest Gump of the Enlightenment" perhaps a bit harsh, I would say he was a bit of a polymath, another source in my opinion is more accurate, Playfair is without doubt to many of you out there "the most famous man you have never heard of" he rubbed shoulders with the era’s many giants, switching careers at the drop of a hat, and throwing himself headlong into history-changing events, from the storming of the Bastille to the settling of the American West.

William had a lot to live up to, his brothers were architect James Playfair and mathematician John Playfair, his father passed away when he was 13 and it was left to John to lead the family and his education.

After serving his apprenticeship with Andrew Meikle, the inventor of the threshing machine, William Playfair became draftsman and personal assistant to James Watt at the Boulton and Watt steam engine factory in Soho, Birmingham then seems to have just wander from one trade to another, the way Gump wandered through life, so you can see where the analogy comes from.

William, was, during his adult life, (takes a deep breath) a millwright, engineer, draftsman, accountant, inventor, silversmith, merchant, investment broker, economist, statistician, pamphleteer, translator, publicist, land speculator, convict, banker, ardent royalist, editor, blackmailer and journalist.

Okay they are not all jobs, but they do put you in the picture a wee bit on the character of the man I think.

Most interestingly in my opinion was his time as a spy in France during the Revolution and was on the scene during the storming of the Bastille. He even helps trigger the first major political scandal in the newly formed United States, a land speculation gone bad involving Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson.

To go into all of this man's adventurers would take too long, instead I will just tell you that the one thing he did, that has been a part of all your lives, in one way or another, is he invented the graph. Before William invented the graph you had to read through pages of statistics to find things out, the graph, you "get it" in a glance.

In 1786, he published "The Commercial and Political Atlas" , a compendium of bar and line charts representing different European countries’ imports, exports, wages, and other trends for which he had the data handy. As the man himself explained, “Men of high rank, or active business, can only pay attention to outlines… It is hoped that, with the Assistance of these Charts, such information will be got without the fatigue and trouble of studying the particulars.” he went on “No study is less alluring or more dry and tedious than statistics, unless the mind and imagination are set to work,” in the book’s introduction.

His old boss Watt, was sent a copy of the Commercial Atlas for review, and wasn't impressed, called the book “mere plummery” and its author “a Rascal.”

To finish I must say that he was a rather humble man and actually gave credit for the invention to his brother writing, "John taught me to know that whatever can be expressed in numbers, may be represented by lines,” Playfair wrote much later, in the introduction to one of his books of diagrams. “To the best and most affectionate of brothers, I owe the invention of these Charts.”

He was never a success in his lifetime and was seen as a ditherer by Watt.

William Playfair died in 1823, in poverty and relative obscurity, banned from any good society. Slowly, over the next century or so, the supply of readily available data grew—as did the the public’s appetite for it. Bar, line and pie charts began trickling into newspapers and textbooks. Two hundred years later, as we barrel forward into the Information Age, you can’t click a link without stumbling upon some kind of data visualisation.

The next time you come across a graph, remember, like many other notable inventions in our history, take pride in that it was the work of a Scot that gave us these easy to read information "pictures".

You can find more on William Playfair here https://www.atlasobscura.com/.../the-scottish-scoundrel...

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hi! I've been a fan of KHR for almost 11 years now and blogs like yours are honestly one of the main things that keep my love for it alive so i just wanted to say thank you so much for posting all your stuff~ You can ignore this part if you want but is it ok to request for aesthetics headcanons and/or ideal female partner headcanons for Giotto from KHR? Anyways, I hope you have so many happy and fun days ahead of you!

Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, you beautiful anon! I really appreciated the heck out of this message and have reread it often. I’m so glad that you like my posts and that it helps keep you in love with KHR and I get what you mean. The stuff the fandom puts out really helps keep me in love with the fandom, along with at least yearly rereads. And I definitely cannot ignore any part of this message 😊 I’m more than happy to do these for you! I’m sorry if the answers are a bit shorter than my norm or not quite up to snuff, but I tried my hardest and hope that you’ll enjoy!

AESTHETICS

Sunsets on a summer night, the sky streaked with pinks and orange. Soft laughter among friends. Pocket watches ticking away seconds and minutes. Reinvention. Justice – cloth covering blind eyes, scales at even. Second chances. Acceptance that takes away all loneliness. Big suppers with friends, glasses of wine raised in a toast, conversations that last into the wee hours of the morning. A hand outstretched to those in need. Love everlasting. Trust and wonder in the world. Fate. Eternity. Generational inheritance.

IDEAL PARTNER HEADCANONS

I mention every time that I do ideal partner headcanons that I don’t really dwell on physical traits. With Giotto, I do this even less and it’s because I really am convinced that Giotto is someone who wouldn’t take looks into account when it comes to who he gets into relationships with, at least not as much as most other people would. He does have to be physically attracted to someone to get into a relationship with them, but Giotto is someone who can easily find the beauty in others, even those who most others would not consider pretty. The people Giotto becomes romantically interested in, the people he dates or the person he eventually ends up marrying don’t have to be traditionally pretty. In fact, they’re often not. Giotto is someone who finds so much beauty in the smaller things – the sound of someone’s voice, how their smile lights up their face, how pretty their eyes are and how expressive they are, how their movements are so graceful, how dainty their hands are, things like that. In Giotto’s mind, he’s never met someone who was truly ugly all the way through.

For Giotto, the things that matter the most in people are all the things on the inside. For him to get serious, to take an initial attraction to someone to wooing them and then getting into a relationship with them, Giotto places a huge value on the type of person someone is.

The most important thing for Giotto is that his lover and eventual life partner is someone who is truly kind. And it can’t be performative kindness, kindness only done to make themselves look better or to get something in return. He wants someone who truly cares about the people around them, who wants to make others lives better and happier.

However, he appreciates someone who has good boundaries and doesn’t allow others to just run over them. He sometimes struggles with that himself and having someone that close to him who can remind him that you have to be kind to yourself first, that it doesn’t diminish your kindness to say no, will be something he appreciates more than he can state.

Giotto lives his life in such a way that he really will need to have his partner share his beliefs, morals, and values. They are such a big part of what makes Giotto who he is, a big part of how he lives his life. He needs for his partner to share a similar sense of justice, along with a nonjudgmental attitude of others. After all, the people Giotto has around him are of such varied natures and even of different ethnicities. He needs a partner who doesn’t judge others based off of things like that, but actively looks for the good in those around them.

Because of how the Vongola got started and its technically illegal aspects, he also needs a partner who has that rebellious streak to them. Someone who isn’t afraid to break some laws if the laws are oppressive.

In terms of interpersonal stuff, Giotto really appreciates a partner who is trusting. He needs someone who isn’t jealous or clingy, who will understand that he has responsibilities and other bonds and will happily embrace those bonds and give him space and room to be around others without getting upset about it. He wants his partner to trust that he would never betray them in any sense.

He also really appreciates a supportive partner and someone who will help him keep his spirits up even when he’s feeling the pressure of his position and of the weight that everyone’s expectations puts on him sometime. He wants a partner whose very presence is like a soothing balm to his soul.

[kagedbird]

Wuh I am so sorry for not posting any Cicero AU stuff today, it completely slipped my mind because I was dealing with sleeping issues 😭 so glad I haven't started work yet, jeez. Everything has been a wee bit crazy and I've been really lacking in the creative drive department. (Everything's all written up, I just have to tag and post it.)

I will post some eps soon, I might just upload it all on Ao3 and link that, but I don't know— do you guys prefer it being on tumblr exclusively? My Ao3 is locked to those without an account so I can't guarantee everyone can read it if it's on there.

Also I. Really enjoy writing it but I've been super down on all things I make creative lately, so when I wrote the latest piece of it, I just. I don't know, I feel like people won't be super interested? This isn't meant to be a call for "ooh compliment me~" or anything I'm just really in my own head. The whole side blog thing was an attempt to get me out of it a little. Not sure if it worked tbh.

I'm really not sure where all the anxiety is coming from 🤔 maybe because I had to quit the job I really liked and now I'm in a wary state of unknown if I'll like the new job? Scared of the unknown? I don't feel like I am, but I've always had a hard time connecting to my emotions without them overwhelming me.

(It honestly might be the PMDD but it's supposed to go away after your period starts and it clearly has not. So I. Do not know.)

I'm just airing out my thoughts at this rate. Anyways. Sorry for the ramble. Please let me know what you'd like for the Cicero AU!

[with-love-from-hell]

Family Line

Fandom: Obey Me!

Characters Featured: Lucifer

Written for a GN!Mc, (you/yours, they/them pronouns used)

Genre: Hurt*/Comfort

Wc: ~1.2k

Cw: abusive parent (father), mentions of emotional and physical abuse, resentment and relationship grief, *leaning WAY into the hurt on this one, noted Mc has siblings

(Here is a version with my Mc, Storm)

》A/N: I wrote this fic with the song Family Line by Conan Gray playing.

Lucifer paced slowly down the hallway of the second floor of the House of Lamentation. The nightly routine to ensure all his brothers were still accounted for in the wee hours of the morning was tiring, but it was the last task he needed to complete before turning in himself for the night. As per usual, Asmo had just entered his room after spending a late night at the fall, and the sound of Levi cursing at one of his video games was occasionally heard in the distance.

The last room to check across the hall from his own was Mc’s. Usually, they slept rather well, going to bed earliest out of everyone in the house. Tonight though, something was off. Lucifer raised a brow as he approached the room, uncertain if he was actually seeing light shining from the underside of the door. As if sooner believing he would be going crazy, he checked his watch- seeing the clock showing 1:45am back at him.

Maybe they fell asleep doing homework, he posited, approaching their door curiously. He paused before knocking, trying to listen closely to the music playing from behind the thick wooden door.

“...I can’t forget, I can’t forgive you ‘cause now I’m scared that everyone I love will leave me...”

Lucifer frowned. The somber melody continued, telling a story of pain and suffering caused by the individuals a child is supposed to trust and feel loved by. After listening to a few more bars, he knocked on the door- hearing the music decrease in volume slightly. There was a short pause, and then the door slowly unlocked and opened.

Lucifer sucked in a terse breath, seeing the clear evidence of your woe worn plainly on your face. You refused to make eye contact with him, instead staring at the ground. “S-sorry, Lucifer. I’ll turn it down, I didn’t mean to keep you awake.”

Lucifer felt his heart squeeze in his chest. “Mc, is everything alright?”

You glanced up at him briefly before looking down again, your bottom lip trembling slightly as they desperately tried to hold back tears. After realizing there was no use being dishonest with the first borne, you shook their head.

Lucifer nodded, gesturing into the room. You stepped aside, wiping your eyes as he entered. You shut the door quietly behind him, pausing as he picked up your phone to look at the song you had been listening to. He scrolled down to the lyrics, reading them over carefully. With each line, his heart ached more and more- not only for you, but for himself.

“Why are you listening to this song?” Lucifer pondered aloud, turning to face you. “And why so late tonight?”

You sighed as you approached your bed, sinking down onto the push mattress. Lucifer quickly joined, watching your expressions carefully.

“I talked to him earlier tonight.” You stated flatly, trying to stop the shaking in your voice.

Lucifer raised a brow. “Your father?”

You nod, rubbing your forearm. “Yeah...”

“Ah- I’m assuming he gave you the usual- lectures, degradation, and insults?”

You scoffed. “Pretty much, yeah. But...” You paused, turning your head away from him.

Lucifer took your hand in his, squeezing it gently. “But?”

You take a deep breath. “It felt different today, I guess. Like, after seeing all of the texts in our group chat between him and my siblings happily sharing childhood pictures. Every single one of them, they were smiling and having fun.”

Lucifer nodded, squeezing their hand once more to reassure them that he was here.

“I...” they bit their lip, “...I couldn’t find a single one that brought back good memories. I look miserable in all of them- even the ones where I am smiling. It just makes me think...like...Is there something wrong with me..? Why does he treat me so terribly? What did I do to deserve..?”

You burst into tears, snatching your hand away from lucifer and covering your eyes to try to hide how shameful you felt for acting such a way in front of the Avatar of Pride. The pain you felt ran deep, the mixture of resentment, grief, hurt, insecurity, self-blame, and anger all overflowing out of you like a waterfall.

Lucifer felt his heart splinter as they sobbed, feeling the emotion flooding their aura with each shuddered breath and wail in agony. He inched closer, pulling them into a tight embrace. He rubbed their back as they cried into his chest, gripping the lapel of his vest tightly to ground themself.

As they cried, his mind wandered back to the song lyrics, reflecting on his own experience with his father. It was different than Mc’s experience, sure- but it’s not like Lucifer forgot the numerous lies he was told for the sake of manipulation, the way his own father would shame him or degrade him for anything he did that didn’t fit his “grand plan,” the over-the-top expectations that Lucifer tried to meet, but was never able to, the emotional distance...and he remembered the punishments far too vividly. Not only for him, but for his brothers as well.

Lucifer gripped your back, feeling tears threaten to spill from his own eyes as memories of the toxicity within his own family lineage. He closed his eyes, trying to regulate his breath as he rested his chin atop your trembling head.

You sat together like this for quite some time- not that either of you was really keeping track. When you had expelled all the tears your body could release, Lucifer finally said his piece.

“Mc, you did nothing to deserve such terrible treatment. A parent is supposed to love their children unconditionally, and your Father clearly failed in that moral duty.” Lucifer paused, taking a deep breath. “Nothing will change what has happened to you, or the fact that he still treats you this way, but I can assure you that you don’t deserve it- not one bit.”

You nodded somberly, though seemingly remained unconvinced. Lucifer rubbed his thumb across your shoulder as he waited for you to find the words to speak, allowing you to take as much time as you needed.

“I just...” you hiccupped, your breaths still slightly uneven. “I...I never got to have a dad- not like my siblings did. And I...I just wish I could have that. I want it so bad it h-hurts.”

Lucifer closed his eyes, taking another deep breath, though this time it was his turn to shed tears. You snap your attention to him and pressed a hand to Lucifer’s thigh, concerned over what you had said to produce such a reaction.

“I understand that feeling, Mc.” He murmured quietly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “And it’s something I don’t think I myself have properly addressed. Perhaps, while we should grieve the loss of a relationship that will never be, we should also keep close the individuals who cherish us for who we are- warts and all.”

You nod, chewing on his words.  Inching closer, you rest your head against his chest, finding comfort in his steady heartbeat. “Then...could you stay with me a little longer tonight, Luci? I don’t...I don’t think I want to be alone right now.”

Lucifer pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head, clutching you tighter to his chest. “Of course, my love. I’m not going anywhere.”

[fuzzydreamin]

Doing the Writer Bingo thing, considering myself tagged by @theartofblossoming because they said so

I got bingo twice!

Gonna tag @new-eyes-extra-colors @bokatan and @nukanaptime if yall haven't already done it - blank template is under the cut along with me talking about my answers and writing - feel free to ignore it if you want lol.

I don't actually have any of my fics public rn because I hid all of my old ones (they were HP and thats blech now), but I had... 13 fics, including a completed multichapter amongst a bunch of oneshots and abandoned starters, lol.

So I have had a Fanfiction.net account, but I never posted fic on there. I just read fic there. I also read fic on a bunch of other old sites that don't exist anymore and haven't for many years, but didn't have profiles on them. I don't even remember their names, I know some were primarily non-english sites that just happened to have some of their fics translated - some of the best fics honestly. I've only ever posted on Ao3 because it wasn't until I was basically done with highschool that I felt confident enough to write publicly.

Never had a wattpad phase. Never even read fics on it and I honestly click away if fic links lead there. I just don't like how it's set up.

My most popular oneshots were my two hard E rated smut fics, which rivaled by multi-chapter fic for a while but got overtaken by it while I wasn't looking, hah.

Some of the earliest writing I ever did was roleplay. I joined a Warrior Cats roleplay guild on the Neopets forum as a wee child. I didn't even know what Warriors was when I joined, I just wanted to play with cats. It introduced me to the series though, which became a big part of my life with reading and art. The roleplaying was fun for a bit but... well there were issues but I guess we were all kids. Didn't help that they were all American so I had to do weird hours to join events. I don't do a lot of roleplay overall, I've dipped my toes in again here and there but never anything dedicated. It's rather intimidating honestly.

I've never beta read anything or had a beta. I work entirely alone and prefer it that way. I just do it all myself and quadruple check everything and then freak out after posting and check again and again to pick up any small spelling mistakes that might've slipped past me.

Always been a nerd for researching. Sometimes I'll be researching something by my own whimsey and that'll become part of a fic after the fact, lol. I like when authors sprinkle in little bits of knowledge, and some of my favourite fics are ones that have me highlighting terms to look them up further.

I never actually had an outline for any of my old fics. I would just start typing up whatever came to mind at the time and post it when it felt ready. It's a miracle I finished a multichapter fic at all honestly. But I'd also be manic in my writing, being that I'd blast out one or even multiple chapters a day for a while and then randomly stop and not look at any of my fics for months or even years. I did begin to start fics with some outlines and collected thoughts later on, and I'm outlining so very much with my newer fic and not writing in a manic state anymore thanks to nearly a decade spent working on my mental health. I'm writing from a better place now, but I often look back at my old works and wonder if I haven't lost something over time due to the large break I took in creating, which is something that goes for my drawing too. Overall though I have a lot more hope for my future works being more planned/thought out and far superior to anything I've put out before - though I didn't get many complains on my old stuff, just a lot of very confused watchers who got overstuffed and then left in the lurch. Sorry.

The "anxiously waits for feedback" thing I think is something pretty much everyone feels when they put any work out there. I really get it with the immediate posting and having to double and triple check that I didn't misspell anything, or get something wrong, and that what I'm trying to say comes out clearly - as if people will point it out and laugh at me or something when I know they won't / haven't even had time to read it yet even though it's public. I've found it's best to just distance myself after posting and doing my doublecheck though, like just enjoying a game or an episode of something and trying to forget about it for a bit and avoid checking it too frequently. Like meditating, but with a distraction.

I have commissioned art for fics at least twice - but neither of the fics actually made it to the point were the art could be used. Oopsy. Was still fun getting the art.

So many unfinished and unpublished fics. I could probably complete that Danse/Butch smut oneshot I was doing back at new years...

"Editing and formatting is hell", I mean... I've mentioned my tendency to quadruple-billion-times check things twice now. This makes three.

Ideas in the middle of the night are the worst. I can't type shit out on my phone, it takes too long and I get frustrated (I'm also sleeping next to my partner and he'd question wtf I'm doing with a light on), and even if I try the ideas are already escaping like very agile moths. My condolence is that ideas that come when I'm half-asleep probably actually aren't that good anyway and just seem so to my sleep-addled self.

I don't need tea to write, but it definitely helps. That or an iced mocha. ... it's totally the effect of caffeine and sugar on the ADHD... I'll be bouncing up and down while I sit there but at least my fingers will be moving over the keys.