#i also hard guessed on gin's blush color

[artykeldeo]

i travel across skies and seas of endless possibilities and yet you've caught my eye like how stars exist to die

my brain was joking about how wells and gin would be a good couple bc they both have scars over their eyes. then i genuinely thought abt it.,, and one thing led to another

wells is my oc gin!sans belongs to @dreemurr-skelememer

[pillow-anime-talk]

traditional & maternal s/o.

synopsis: You as a beautiful, traditionally dressed and perfectly behaved woman who shows maternal behavior towards your partner’s subordinates.

# tags: headcanons; current relationships; mature!reader; romance; fluff; slice of life; sfw

includes: female reader ft. yukichi fukuzawa, ougai mori & francis scott key fitzgerald {bsd}

— YUKICHI

↘ Fukuzawa is also a traditional man, so when he met you for the first time, he was genuinely delighted with your grace and your way of speaking. Your delicate tone of voice and perception of the world made a huge, positive impression on him. On top of that, you were really beautiful, and your flowery yukata perfectly highlighted your pretty smile, eye color and hair.

↘ You were adults, so your feelings towards each other were slow and mature. However, when you finally got into a relationship, shortly after that, you lived together in a beautiful old minka with a huge engawa, where you loved to relax and talk about his day at work or plans for the future.

↘ You made the most delicious tea in the whole world and you were a great housewife who loved to cook, bake and take care of others. Yukichi was even happier when you brought to home a homeless little kitten with a twisted paw one day. You took care of him together, considering the pet as your first baby.

↘ More than six months after you moved in together, you visited your partner at the Agency for the first time. Fukuzawa talked to you about his subordinates more than once, showed you their photos and always smiled slightly. And when Kyouka – who was wearing traditional Japanese clothes just like you – joined the Armed Detective Agency the man said that you two looked quite similar.

↘ When on that day, you crossed the area of the building and then knocked on the wooden door, you sighed a little, a bit stressful about meeting new people. Shortly thereafter, a tall, blonde-haired boy with a green notebook in his hand appeared on your doorstep and greeted you. You bowed as well, and then with his consent, you entered the office.

↘ “Have you had an appointment on any case, Lady? How can I help you?” Kunikida asked in a polite tone, and you shook your head.

↘ “I came privately. I made some mochi for you, kids.” You responded warmly. Your person immediately interested Ranpo, Atsushi and Dazai. “Ah, I didn’t introduce myself, I’m so sorry. I am Y/N Y/L/N. Nice to meet you all. Also thank you for taking care of our beautiful city.”

↘ “... How did I deserve to meet such a wonderf...” Osamu began with a broad smile, but the newspaper that hit him on the head silenced his happy lips immediately.

↘ “Stop scaring my partner, Dazai.” Fukuzawa walked towards you, standing next to your figure. “Something happened that you came?”

↘ “Oh, no, Yukichi. I just wanted to meet your almost adopted children.” You smiled at everyone in the room. “And I’ve done too much mochi.” You added when you went to one of the desks to lay out the colorful sweets. The members of the Agency were fascinated with you from the first second.

↘ Yosano was really happy to see her President with a woman who was so perfect for him. Kyouka immediately saw her deceased mother in you and held your yukata with each subsequent meeting, following you step by step. Naomi and Kirako loved hearing your stories and always asked you for tasty recipes. Atsushi, Kenji and Ranpo were your little babies to you, while Jun’ichirou was like your eldest son. Kunikida, on the other hand, was terribly ashamed of you, but finally overcame his shyness, stating that you were a wonderful woman and the future wife of his master. Dazai liked you, of course; even though you often scolded him because of his behavior, he still adored you and respected your person very much.

↘ Your beloved was more than pleased to see that you had such a good relation with his subordinates. You even had great contacts with Fukuzawa’s mentor, Mr. Natsume. It all confirmed Yukichi’s thoughts that you were the best woman he could ever meet.

— OUGAI

↘ Mori wasn’t surprised that another woman around him dressed in traditional kimonos and tied her hair in beautiful buns or braids. After all, he had Kouyou under his command, and before that, also had the sweet Kyouka.

↘ However, what got you all his attention is your kindness and dedication to others.

↘ Neither you, nor Ougai, nor even Elise will forget the day when three of you met in the middle of the street and at the same moment a thief ran out of the bank and his hand with the gun was automatically directed towards Elise who standing next to you. You covered her with your own body, fearing that a stranger would hurt her, but luckily nothing like that came, because Mori personally knocked him out and then calmed your terrified thoughts.

↘ He sincerely thanked you, then suggested a walk and a coffee in a nearby bar. Elise held your warm hand all the way and you were literally the first person the girl liked and trusted so quickly. I think she saw the mother in you, though she shouldn’t have thought so, since she was only Mori’s ability.

↘ But now we are here, a few weeks later, when you recognized the girl as your beloved daughter, and at the same time you became the wife of the boss of the Port Mafia, knowing very well what could happen to you.

↘ But even that, your relationship was really nice and warm; the man finally had someone to come back to, he had someone to talk to about something more than just work, he could cuddle someone and watch a movie or cook a delicious dinner together. Additionally, Elise could finally feel like a real, normal girl and could protect someone more than her own creator. They were both sincerely in love with you, albeit on different levels of this feeling.

↘ Your meeting the rest of the Mafia members was totally unplanned, because one afternoon your beloved husband called you to ask for important documents that he left in a locker, in his office, in your shared small apartment. Of course, you agreed to bring them to him, and on the way to the building you also went to the bakery to buy him and the cute girl something sweet to eat; you chose tiny fruit tarts and a few donuts.

↘ Ten minutes later, you entered the huge building very calmly, looking around to find an elevator or stairs. When you moved another few steps, you immediately stopped when the figure of blonde-haired Elise with a huge syringe appeared in front of you, and a black-haired – unknown to you – boy was thrown hard against the nearest wall.

↘ “Akutagawa senpai!”

↘ Your eyes widened when Elise hugged your stomach, covered by flowery, long yukata. You were still looking at the boy lying next to the white wall, who a second ago wanted to overpower you, probably considering you a threat from outside. You understood it perfectly well, after all, the Mafia had many enemies.

↘ “... Don’t touch my okaa-san!” The girl screamed, squeezing your body a little tighter. You touched her smol head, stroking the blonde locks, and smiled warmly.

↘ “Elise, my honey, you shouldn’t treat others like that, okay?” You asked softly, to which the girl nodded uncertainly. The security staff next to you, as well as Akutagawa and Higuchi, were shocked by Elise’s polite behavior towards your person. Who were you? “Where’s Ougai, my honey?”

↘ “He’ll be here soon. I was faster than him because I sensed you entering the building. I just wanted to say hi.” She replied with a blush and you laughed softly. “It’s for me?” She asked suddenly, pointing her finger at a paper bag with the smell of icing and kiwi. You nodded and handed her the brown bag full of sweets, then headed towards the still-lying boy and woman with the two guns in her hands.

↘ “Are you okay? I’m so sorry to cause the confusion, I didn’t want to look suspicious.” You whispered, stroking his head while guessing that the Mafia man in front of you is quite young. “Does something hurt you?”

↘ “... Oh, Y/N-chan, what happened?” Finally Ougai came downstairs and you smiled once again.

↘ “There was a little misunderstanding, but it’s okay now.” You answered softly, patting the twenty-year-old’s dark hair one more time. Ryuunosuke found your touch really soothing.

↘ “B-Boss...! Excuse m-me, but...!”

↘ “Hmm. I guess, all of you have already met my lovely wife?” He asked rhetorically, walking up to you, helping you to get up and kissing your forehead. “Be nice to her, otherwise you know what awaits you.”

↘ Akutagawa and Higuchi nodded slowly, swallowing the saliva in their mouths. The boy was really glad that day that Elise had stopped him, because it could end up really... bad.

↘ Needless to say, you gradually got to know more and more people and every member of the Port Mafia liked you; you were especially close to Kouyou, Gin and Yumeno, who became another baby to love for you. And also, despite the first meeting, Akutagawa adored you very very very much. You spoiled him as much as your daughter.

— FRANCIS

↘ Fitzgerald met you in the store when he was at one of the many sales. You watched him with a soft laugh as he selected pots and other cheap things.

↘ Of course he noticed you quickly; how could he not do that? Your traditional, long kimono and breathtaking hairstyle immediately caught his eye, as did your warm expression and amused, shiny eyes. So he replied with a big, manly smile, then started a conversation about how delighted he was with the items here and their prices. You two talked for a long time that day, and in meantime, he invited you for coffee at the nearest coffee shop.

↘ (Of course you had to take him there and teach him to use the menu card because he never has been in the cafe, lmao.)

↘ After eating a sweet, delicious cake and drinking a warm drink, you left the small building and moved on, still talking about your life and plans for the coming days. In the middle of Yokohama city, both of you found Miss Alcott who looking in shock at her leader who was so kind and affectionate turning towards a woman he had barely known.

↘ Louisa, as a great mind, immediately stated that you are a really good human, full of warmth, empathy and respect for other people. All of this was even more true when you offered two newly met people to use your own home to devise a plan for their actions to regain their good name, social status and money. Francis was more than grateful and Louisa genuinely happy that she didn’t have to rent something ugly and dingy.

↘ They stayed with you for more than a few days, and you, as a good housewife, continued to delight them with your tasty meals, desserts and scented tea.

↘ The natural course of things was that the man fell in love with you. However, before confessing his love to you, he first wanted to earn to ensure you a decent life; as his future, wonderful wife.

↘ That’s why he first returned as ‘The Great Fitzgerald’ and then as the man who took your heart and promised to treat you like a Queen.

↘ Of course you agreed; not for money or gifts, but only for him and his honest heart, because the whole situation has brought you closer to each other like nothing else. You supported him very much in his return and you were really proud and glad when Francis came to you one day in a fancy suit, took you in his arms and sincerely thanked you for the last weeks of support.

↘ Shortly after that, you became a couple and later, you became his fiancée. The man thought you were just his personal guardian angel and your getting to know each other was simply planned by fate.

↘ Miss Alcott was more than happy to see you two smiling and so beautifully in love.

↘ Now all you have been waiting for is a wedding and the enlargement of your little family.

[slyttherins]

Unexpected flame (part 2) | Fred Weasley x Sirius Black’s daughter

December 1994

Ginny had joined Juliet in Luna in their Ravenclaw dorm to get ready for the Yule ball together. Their ball gowns were neatly hanged on the wall to prevent creases or getting dirty while doing each other's hair and makeup. Luna was on hair duty and Juliet took charge of the makeup, not trusting Luna with it, being a bit too creative with the brushes and liners. There was nothing wrong with her creativity, but neither girls fancied overly colorful eyeshadows on their Yule ball pictures.

''I can't believe you got a date and not us!'' Juliet gushed as she applied a pink shadow to Ginny's eyes, the light shade complimenting her dress nicely. ''Neville will lose his words when he'll see you.''

Luna nodded in agreement. She looked like a pretty porcelain doll in her pink and mint dress. This style of dress could easily look childish, but Ginny wore it beautifully.

''It's platonic between Neville and I,'' the redhead reminded, having no feelings for the botanical lover. ''Besides, if he hadn't asked me to accompany him, I couldn't have come to the ball.''

''Does he know that it's platonic?'' Luna asked, lying down with her upper half hanging off her bed as she added more glitters to her look. Why was she always doing things upside down?

''Yeah... I mean, I didn't say-''

Juliet shook her head disapprovingly as she continued her work. ''You gotta tell him, Gin. Boys aren't good at guessing feelings, they need to be told what to do. Tell Neville or else he'll get ideas.''

''But I don't want to hurt his feelings or make it awkward between us.''

''If you wait, it'll get more awkward.''

Ginny sighed, knowing that Juliet was right. ''Boys are complicated.''

Juliet laughed and Luna agreed, getting up to go put on her dress. It was a delicate purple color with ruffles. Lots of ruffles. She did a twirl for the girls, showing off her whole look. She looked like a cute fairy.

''It was my mother's dress,'' Luna told them, smoothing the front of her skirt to tame the ruffles.

''It looks lovely, Luna,'' Ginny said, finally able to open her eyes.

The blonde thanked her. ''Shall we get to the dance?''

.

Parties were rare at Hogwarts, but the Yule Ball was a complete success.

The Weird Sisters were playing on the stage as students - and professors - danced, truly having fun and letting loose. Professors were battling to have a dance with Dumbledore while Professor Flitwick was crowd surfing and having the time of his life.

Juliet brought a hand to her mouth as Ginny did a wilder move, gasping and laughing before joining hands and going back to jumping together and moving their hips.

Beside them, Neville was trying his best, being better at proper ballroom dancing, and was accidently bumping into other students and apologizing every five minutes. He even managed to step on Luna's foot. Oh Neville...

''Hello girlies,'' Fred said, sneaking behind them. He had somehow become even taller and was now one headfull taller than both girls. ''Are you having a great night?''

''We were before you showed up,'' Ginny replied, making a face at her brother. ''I'm gonna get a drink. Do I get you one too?'' she asked Juliet.

''Please.''

''Where's your date?'' Juliet asked Fred, not seeing Angelina nearby.

''With her friends. Being someone's date doesn't mean being attached to each other's hip for the whole night. Where's your Romeo?''

Juliet almost rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time someone used that reference for a joke. Although it was old and done, she wasn't bothered by it knowing Fred meant it in a soft teasing way.

''Over there,'' Juliet replied, pointing at the blonde girl in a soft lavender colored dress who was dancing by herself, moving her arms for some unique moves.

''Luna?''

She hummed. ''Best to go with your best friend than a random guy who might ruin your night.'' Juliet glanced at Harry and Ron who sat at the tables, sulking and being complete dicks to their dates. She felt bad for the Patil twins.

Fred followed her eyes and shook his head. ''They're idiots.''

A slower song started and the crowd dissipated a little, taking a break from dancing to grab drinks and snacks.

''Well, if you'd like, I could be your partner for one dance,'' Fred suggested with an inviting smile. He extended his hand like they had been shown in class and Juliet took it and followed him into the crowd of slow dancing people.

At first, it felt strange. Dancing with Fred. They started slow and formal, following the classic steps of a slow dance, until Fred decided to add some spices and made her twirl, the bottom of her dress flowing as she turned on herself.

They stood out amongst the other couples, but they didn't mind. They were having fun. Fred even attempted for a dip, but went too far down and almost caused Juliet to fall and topple on the floor. She bursted out laughing as she held onto the tall redhead, clutching to his white shirt to prevent another slip.

''Are you okay?'' he asked, truly feeling bad.

Juliet nodded. ''Yes, yes,'' she assured. ''I thought you asked me to dance, Weasley. Not kiss the bloody floor.''

Fred laughed and apologized again.

.

When the song ended, they noticed that some students had started to leave the great hall and had headed to their common room. Not feeling tired yet, they went to a table and sat down. They also got their own drinks seeing as Ginny had somehow forgot, now dancing with Neville.

''Crazy how we go to the same school, but haven't spoken since last Christmas,'' Fred stated, taking a sip of his drink. He had tried to steal one of the alcoholic beverages at the refreshment table, but Professor McGonagall was too close to said table to not get caught.

The raven haired girl frowned. Had it? Time fly so fast.

''So, tell me. What changed in a year, Juliet Lupin Black?''

''Well, I’ve met my father now.'' A smile formed on her lips without realizing it.

''You have?'' Fred asked with a grin, sounding genuinely happy for her.

Juliet nodded. ''Briefly.''

''How was it?''

''Emotional and...strange. I don't know how to describe it.'' She paused, smile falling as her mind going to the dark side effects of Sirius' time in Azkaban. ''Azkaban did a number on him. It changes people, it does things to their mind, but he's slowly becoming his old self again. Or, a new version of it.''

''That place is vile, it makes people go bonkers. I'm happy to know he's recovering.''

''According to Remus, being an animagus saved him. Dementors don't feel and recognise animal emotions in the same way as human emotions.''

''If you don’t mind me asking, where is he now? Hiding, I bet.''

She shrugged honestly. ''I don’t know. Remus knows. He’s with him as we are speaking. I wanted to come along, but they said it was safer for me to stay at school and that I shouldn't miss the Yule ball.''

As she spoke, Fred's eyes were on her, watching the way her glossy lips moved and how her hair cascaded on her shoulder and back. She looked beautiful tonight. Her dress was rather simple compared to everyone else's - a royal blue number with a slit on the leg -, but it was still beautiful. Simplicity is sometimes better.

''It would've been a shame to not wear that dress,'' he let slipped.

A light blush coated Juliet's cheeks, flattered by the easily swung compliment. She hadn't expected such compliment from Fred, but smiled and thanked him politely. ''You don't look bad yourself, Weasley,'' she returned, nodding at the slim black bow at the collar and the warm toned waist coat that matched his ginger hair. It was the first time she saw him wearing something else that his school robes or hand-knitted sweaters.

He grinned smugly.

From afar, Angelina's friends parted with their dates and regaining the dancefloor. She looked around, beautiful as always, most likely searching for her date. Weasleys usually weren't too hard to spot in a crowd.

Fred caught her in his peripheral vision and downed the last of his drink before standing. ''Ah, I gotta go. Angelina must be looking for me.''

As much as Juliet wished to talk longer with him, Fred had a date awaiting and she didn't want to take more time from Angelina. ''Don't let her kiss the floor,'' she teased, watching Fred leave.

He walked backward and chuckled. ''I'll try.''

[idkhow-you-found-me-writing]

Missing Sun

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073550

Ted missed the sun. The warmth it gave xem. The way xyr eyes hurt everytime xe, oh so foolishly, attempted to stare at it for an almost concerning amount of time. Just, all of the feelings that came along with the sun shining upon the Earth or, maybe even more importantly, Ted in particular. 

That was, of course, a statement of the most ridiculous nature. Xe lived in San Dimas; Ted was pretty sure the last time xe saw a single cloud up in the sky was last year. The Burning touch of sunlight was just as much part of the landscape as that cliffs near town. Both of them were totally equal in their invariably. 

And yet, here Ted was. Laying on the floor of xyr room, shivering from something akin to cold. Although xe has somehow managed to never in xyr whole life set foot in Alaska, xe couldn’t be so sure about that now. Ted couldn’t be so sure about many things at the moment. It was only the cold that managed to stay there with xem.

Ted made an attempt to open xyr eyes. Xe wanted-. No, that wasn't the correct word here to use. It didn’t reveal the desperation that stood behind that statement. It wasn’t a simple wish. It was more of a necessity than anything else. Xe had to see if the rays of sunshine were still able to blind xem completely. If they hadn't run away three days ago alongside xyr most excellent partner. If it wasn’t Ted who was running away by the virtue of not going after him, making the distance between them bigger and bigger with every second spent on doing nothing to lessen it. 

The attempt turned up to be a successful one. Soft light coming from the window allowed xem to see the world once more. Now xe could watch xemself laying still, still in the xyr room. Dreadful thoughts of Alaska completely disappeared from xyr head. That, however, wasn’t enough to scare away the chill that settled deep down in xyr bones. Ted stood up. Xe just needed to be closer to the sun, that’s it.

Leaning on the frame of said window, Ted glanced at the view outside. Seeing the presence of clear blue sky was the most comforting. However, there was still something not right about this. Xe turned xyr eyes towards polaroid pictures of Bill and xem, strewn around the window ledge for a second and then back at the sky. What these things lacked was authenticy. All Ted was able to see were shadows of the original selves. Xe couldn’t stay in this place any longer, xe decided.

Finding the strength to go out of the house has been the most troublesome for a very long time. Possibly even predating that one time when xe tried to find a totally excellent birthday gift for the most esteemed associate of xyrs without his knowledge. Maybe their hearts weren’t meant to be locked away from each other, no matter the significance of the problem at hand. Ted agreed with this sentiment. Xe did it now, just as xe has done it during that fight, three days ago. Nevertheless, the words of explanation for xyr odd behaviour were too heavy to carry out at the time. Ted wished to believe that this changed, however xe couldn’t be totally centrain. 

As it turned out, standing on the pathway did little to no help. Even after changing xyr surroundings, everything remained morbidly muted in its lack of any vibrant colors. Ted began walking aimlessly, setting xemself on a quest to rediscover life in California. A task much harder than some would most probably expect.

After a while, Ted found xemself on the way to Bill’s home. That revelation in and on itself was as surprising as it was not. Since the day they have met each other for the first time, there was always some mysterious force drawing one to the other. When Ted had learnt about magnets, xe couldn’t help but to make a connection here. Although xyr laughed at the idea they both ate matching magnets, Ted couldn’t regret telling him that. There was little thing xe would be able to regret if it made Bill as much as smile. 

Xe looked at the house in front of xyr eyes. Simple wooden door has never seemed so imposing before. Breathe in. Breathe out. And three headshakes for a good measure. There, Ted was ready to face the most cherished colleague of xyrs again. Xe rang the bell. 

Just as xe was starting to get second thoughts about this whole journey, the door was opened. Before Ted could muster, not even an apology, just a simple greeting, Bill tackled xem into a tight hug. Xe automatically leaned into it, totally forgetting why xe was nervous about this confrontacion in the first place. They just stood there for a while, hugging one another, the desperation slipping through the strength of their embraces. Finally, the world shifted back onto the right tracks. 

“I missed you the greatest amount, dude.” Bill might have broken the silence between them but not the skin contact. “The last three days were totally non-non-non-heinous. Not seeing you caused me the most serious break of heart.”

“My most sincere apologies, dearest boyfriend of mine.” With the reality settling in once more, previously muted emotions came crashing down onto Ted. There were tears running down xyr face, making Bill’s crop top all wet. “It was the last of my intentions to be a source of this bogus feeling.”

Bill gave his most outstanding acquaintance a much needed moment to let it all out. Ted was in a state of the greatest appreciation of how considerate xyr best friend could be. After calming a little down, he spoke again. 

“Ted?”

“Yeah, Bill?” 

Their voices were barely louder than a whisper, delicate tones gently applied like a medicine over a somewhat fresh wound. 

“it's totally not my objective to partake in any odious action of pressuring you to do something. You don’t have to tell me what made you so upset that night. I was just worried about you, dude.” Bill has never in his life sounded more genuine. If Ted hadn’t been set on explaining everything to him before, xe would have changed xyr mind based on hearing this declaration alone. There was no reason to hide it from him.

“It’s totally cool, dude. It was just my dad again. You are aware that his remarks can leave a person the most tormented.” 

Bill stiffened at that and then immediately made himself relax. To say that he was merely aware of the ways John Logan managed to affect negatively his oldest offspring was inadequate to say the least. Bill wasn’t the greatest mathematician in history, however he also didn’t have to be one to know that things like this happened all too often in the Logan household. He began to slowly brush Ted’s hair with his fingers. This action was qually comforting for both of them.

“It was nothing about Alaska, not this time. He-” Ted cut xemself off here. As if the next words were too horrifying to say out loud. Nevertheless, xe knew xe had to continue. “He told me that I will never be enough. Not for him, not for our most bodacious band. Not even for you, dude.”

Another pause. Each word felt heavier on xyr tongue and left nothing but acid after escaping xyr mouth. It was the most revolting torture to go through. Bill must have sensed a new wave of tears creeping in as he chose this exact moment to give his response to all of this.

“That has to be the most untruthful statement I’ve ever heard, dude.” He quickly reassured his companion. “There is no way you would ever be not enough for me. Besides, you know what Rufus said, we’re totally going to be rockstars who will unite the whole world, Ted!”

This is where normally both of them would air-guitar. Maybe add a little “Excellent!” to the mix too. Bill sure did want to. However, due to the fact that this activity was severely more complicated while hugging, he settled for giving Ted a small kiss on the head. The occasions to do this while standing up were pretty rare so Bill guessed that it wasn’t too bad either. After seeing his beloved partner blush, Bill even thought of it as worthy of calling it stellar.

Nevertheless, what was significantly less stellar was the fact that Bill’s legs were starting to ache after standing on the toes for such a long time. With a great regret, he moved away from Ted. Atypically long embrace between the two was replated with a much simpler act of hand holding. 

“You are totally right, the most triumphant friend of mine. Nevertheless, it can be hard to remember when your own parental unit feeds you the most contrary of opinions. I think I would rather start cooking normal things like mom did, you know.”

“Bogus.” The most triumphant companion of Bill solemnly nodded in agreement. Yes, it was totally bogus, no questions about that. The atmosphere changed back to more pensive. “But I have an idea!”

“What is it, Bill?” Ted perked up at this. Xe has always believed that Bill was just like his ideas- the most excellent.

“I’ll just have to remind you this each time your dad says something that’s totally not true.” He was pretty proud of himself for this one. In his humble opinion, his most recent of plans was totally righteous and impossible to fail.

“Dude! Your most recent of plans was totally righteous and impossible to fail.”

Although it was already late afternoon, Ted had an odd feeling as if the sun had just begun to shine when Bill ginned at xem. They air-guitared in synth to celebrate this most spectacular turn of events. Ted glanced at the sun in front of xem. This time, it didn’t hurt to do it at all. 

[notbecauseofvictories]

Brontide - Aziraphale (because I agree, Good Omens fandom is too nice and does not appreciate how terrifying the idea of angels is)

brontide — the low rumbling of distant thunder.

Crowley did not often think about Aziraphale as an angel.

….of course he was an angel, and Crowley did derive a certain amount of pleasure in reminding him. Occasionally he even slipped into the Latin, angelus, but Latin was very In at the moment and particularly among the Oxfordshire set. The learnèd men were calling each other uxor and deliciae in those days, as they got up to naughty things under academic dress. So it was not very strange for the handsome lecturer, with his consumptive poet’s aspect and ill-favored coloring, to so lovingly address the Professor of Assyriology—especially when the Professor spoke of ancient Assyria with such  endearment and fond remembrance, as though recalling a particularly pleasant holiday. Such undue passion made him very attractive, all agreed.

“Crowley,” the Professor of Assyriology said in chastisement whenever the Lecturer dared such endearment, though the Professor was blushing as he said so. (‘Crowley’ was not the name the lecturer gave to his students, but they could forgive such a lapse with the excuse of fondness.) 

“Yes, angel?” the Lecturer always replied, with feigned innocence and a smile that had too many teeth in it. It put some in mind of a snake, the Lecturer’s smile. But the Professor would smile in return, an indulgent sort of smile that let this familiarity pass, unremarked-upon; and all the Professor’s students would sigh, for a not-insignificant number of them were violently in love with the Professor of Assyriology, and knew that so long as the Professor smiled at the Lecturer in that way, they had no hope of encroaching upon his affections. 

It made a great many of them distraught, pale with love and prone to quoting Catulus Caesar and Martial’s epigrams, but the Professor of Assyriology did not notice. When Aziraphale thought about his students, it was regarding their showing a knowledge of the Gospels in Greek, the Thirty-Nine Articles, and Joseph Butler’s Analogy of Religion; it was only Crowley who called him ‘angel’ and knew the truth of it, and that was all Aziraphale cared for.

Still and despite all this; Crowley did not think of Aziraphale as an angel. Not in the traditional sense of sparking beryl wheels and too many eyes, those heads of lions and goats and dragons and all quarreling amongst themselves. Of course that was what angels were, for Crowley remembered what had been in Heaven. But from the first (the First, there in Eden) Aziraphale had been a soft and pleasant fixture, fleshen and rounded and too much of the world to ever make Crowley think of his own origins. Aziraphale was not of that wellspring, nothing like what Crowley had left behind, with its strange and terrible inhabitants. An angel, as Crowley remembered the word, was not the stuff that made up Aziraphale.

In truth, he preferred this Oxfordshire understanding: Aziraphale as a man he wrote long letters to, maintained a certain kind of fondness for, and sometimes (when they were gin-drunk, smiling in the light of a streetlamp) thought very hard about kissing. it was an unasked-for, undeserved blessing, to be so in love in such a soft, human way. ‘Angel’ was then only an endearment, and Crowley clung to the reassurance of it, for to think of Aziraphale discorporate—huge and hard as light, fearsome as the dawn, cruel as justice—was beyond thinking.

He’d had a sword, once.

(Crowley didn’t like to think of it.)

This also meant that Crowley was ill-equipped when he met Aziraphale on the battlefield, as the angel was trying vainly to turn aside the BSAC and Crowley was in Johannesburg to sow general discord. Rhodes had been easy—a hunger for fame, a greed easily exploited and a harkening to power that did not need stoking. Crowley had barely got the words out, and then he was inducted into the British South Africa Company. A minimal amount of fuss, little tempting involved, just the way A.J. Crowley liked it. But Aziraphale had been… 

(Aziraphale had been there at Sodom and Gomorrah. Aziraphale had overseen the deaths of the firstborn in Egypt. Aziraphale had stood beside Raphael as Adam and Eve, then Seth, Cain, Abel, and all their children, were turned away from the gates to Eden; as they were told: no. Aziraphale had always been more pitiless than Crowley in these matters.)

When it came, Crowley wasn’t sure whether the humans in his party could even see it. All that vastness, static electricity and pressure gathering like an oncoming storm, but tinged with righteousness as pure and painful as holy water. Long before Aziraphale appeared, it was there in his advance guard. And though Crowley did not ordinarily think of Aziraphale as an angel, he came as one—crackling into sight like a shard of divine retribution. (At the gates of Eden he’d had a sword, and it had burned; Crowley remembered at last.)

“CROWLEY,” the storm that was Azirphale said before it struck, its voice tender enough that it only shattered his eardrums. The black blood of it slid down Crowley’s jaw, leaving him dizzied, cringing. “YOU SHOULD GO.”

“I…” Crowley breathed, and then he nodded. (It was a good thing, he thought suddenly, to be a demon; no one on his side questioned cowardice.) “All right, then,” he said, ducking his head. And with that Crowley ran, and hid, and the holiness of Aziraphale broke over that part of the world like rain.

When Crowley came out again, most of the humans were all gone and dead, but Aziraphale was sitting there in the canteen, picking at the food with a little moue of disappointment. “Such abysmal cookery!” Aziraphale cried, as though this was the worst of the day, that the Transvaal cook could not do a proper fry up without his third and fifth fingers, which he had lost in the fighting. “Crowley, look at this, is it not a crime?”

Crowley picked his way over the corpses, their hands and legs splayed over all that needless, pooling blood. He looked down at Aziraphale’s plate and thought to himself that it did look a dog’s mess, but so were the bodies lying in the street, where actual dogs, thin street-mongrels, had taken to tearing them apart. “Sure,” Crowley said absently. “Yes.”

Aziraphale eyed him—Crowley could feel him looking—but he did not say anything. Instead, Aziraphale pushed the plate of mash towards Crowley, who collapsed into the seat across from him. They both of them picked at it silently, until the sounds of the shelling, the fighting and dying, died away. Even then, they ate burst, oversweet tomatoes; they talked of the music they missed, of London, of the time before. It was all very awful, especially the food. Every bite Crowley swallowed tasted of static electricity, ozone, and cupric.

He swallowed each mouthful deliberately, and Aziraphale’s eyes—all of them, the others not quite having faded from his wrists, his throat—watched him. Aziraphale’s smile was painful, taut. “I am sorry, my dear,” he said, though Crowley had watched him rain down righteousness and would venture to guess he wasn’t.

“’s all right,” Crowley mumbled.

“I am,” Aziraphale said again, more insistently.

It felt strange, to be on the other end of a desperate desire for forgiveness. Crowley wasn’t sure what to do with it. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not in any place to judge.”

But Aziraphale did not look mollified at this. Instead, he pushed the plate towards Crowley. “Have some more,” he said, and in his voice were the harmonics of the celestial spheres, like Crowley needed to be bribed into it—as though Aziraphale looking at him, with his many, many eyes gradually fading and the roundness and redness returning to his cheeks, was not enough.

Crowley ate. After, he was sick into the dust beside a grave—mostly because he felt he ought to be after so much grief, such rich foods. Aziraphale, to his credit, stood beside Crowley as he retched, absently rubbing his back.

[cesabutterflywrites]

The Duke of the Bay: Part 2

If you want to be put on a taglist for this please let me know!

[Spotify Playlist] [Youtube Playlist]

First Part, Ao3 Link, Next Part

Warnings: Guns, threats, alcohol, homosexual slang used pejoratively and positively, internalized homophobia ask me to add any if need be

Chapter Word Count: 2875

Summary: Patton O’Hearty was a great detective. Most people didn’t take him for one at first glance, especially when he dressed casual. He was abnormally chipper; he thought everything was the cat’s pajamas. He had a smile for everyone he met. He was always tipping his hat at the dames and gents when he walked the streets of the Bay Area.

The only person he could never catch was the leader of the planted mob in Emeryville, nicknamed The Duke. The Duke was good at hiding his dealings and joints well, and he rarely had a snitch in his ranks. The few who tried, well, somehow they disappeared before they could give the police any substantial information. He was well hidden, but popular among the residents of the town. People talked boldly of his rambunctious parties, never revealing the locations though. He was hard to catch, to say the least.

So what happens, when instead, the detective is the one that’s caught?

-

Logan closed his eyes in frustration. “Damn it.” 

“That’s no way to talk in the presence of young ladies,” Lola purred next to them. 

Logan jumped, and glared at the girls. “I don’t think someone who goes to places like this and dances as  provocatively as you counts as a lady.” 

Patton shot Logan a warning glance. He didn’t need more enemies in the room. Logan’s face quickly fell in shame. “I’m sorry, Lola. That was unkind of me.” 

Lola threw her head back and laughed. “Please, sugar, that’s the manliest you’ve acted all night. For a moment I thought you were a fairy,” she leaned in with a wink, “You know...a pansy.” 

Logan’s face flushed red. He sputtered like a broken faucet, unable to form a coherent response. “N-no! I’m not!” He vehemently denied. 

“Hey, don’t sweat it if you are, honey,” Alice tried to soothe, “We’re not exactly straight, ourselves.” 

Logan looked at them curiously, “You mean…?” 

Lola smirked, “If anyone asks, we’re cousins.” 

“Then why- then how come-what?” Logan’s brow was furrowed, trying to understand what they were trying to get up to. The girls just smiled at him. He looked desperately at Patton.  “Do you know what they’re saying?” 

“I think they’re trying to say that they're lesbians; kissing pals,” he winked at their blushing faces. “Though, I still think you’re a bit too young to know for sure, Alice.” 

Alice jutted her pointed chin in defiance, “I’m sixteen,” 

Logan choked on nothing, starting to cough in disbelief. Patton reached an arm out to steady him, but he was denied. Logan seemed to be having a rough time adjusting to the swinger’s life for the night. 

Patton ignored him, turning back to the girls. “Why were you dancing with us, then?” he asked for his speechless friend. 

Lola looked at Alice and shrugged, “I still like men, but Alice makes me feel things no man has been able to.” 

Alice smiled fondly and nuzzled into her partner’s cheek. “Same here, Lola. There’s something soft about a woman’s touch that a man can’t remake.” 

Patton watched them carefully. “Aren’t you asking for trouble, flaunting that around?” 

“I’m surprised you haven’t noticed sooner, considering you’re one of the Duke’s friends,” Lola remarked, “Look around the room. There’s a reason this place is so well guarded.” 

Logan put his fist in his mouth, trying to keep up. “So you mean the Duke…?” 

“Doesn’t mind dropping the pins and letting his hair down,” Lola filled in. “So, neither of you are…?” 

It was Patton’s turn to blush, aware of no longer being an outsider watching a circus performance. 

He never gave it much thought. All he wanted was to make the world a better place. He never imagined how he’d settle down, or who with. He just expected it to happen one day. 

“I suppose I never gave it much thought,” Patton muttered. He looked at Logan who was staring intently at the floor. “But I know I don’t mind folks who are. My parents raised me to be a loving man, which includes men who love men.” 

Logan looked up at him, eyes conveying a secret bit of gratefulness. Patton just smiled encouragingly. He had his suspicions, but he knew Logan was a good detective no matter what. That was all that mattered, and in that moment there was an even bigger matter that was more important than discussing various sexualities. 

“Say, girls, what did you mean when you asked about us being the Duke’s friends and being...queer?” The word felt weird to say out loud, especially in reference to himself. It wasn’t bad. Just a little bit different. 

Lola giggled as Alice blushed then said, “We just thought, well, usually he only has special guests when they’re his arm pieces. We’re sorry for assuming.”

Patton took his fake glasses off to wipe the sweat off of his face. He felt the urge to get another gin, but he knew he needed his senses sharp so he could be prepared for talking to the Duke. He also felt a bit hungry.

“No worries, ladies. I think Mr. James and I need to go get something to eat, I’m famished.” He dipped his head as they smiled politely. 

He and Logan made their way to the table next to the bar, and grabbed some plates of food. They made their way to the dining tables in the room next door. There were a few couples in the room, and the music was less loud in there. Patton was keenly aware of Mr. Doris who entered the room behind them. He felt those intense eyes staring straight through his skull. 

He tried to ignore it while he ate with his companion. “So, what’s the attack plan?” 

Logan thought as he chewed. “Maybe we just go along, and if our lives get in danger we use our guns. They haven’t confiscated them from us yet.” 

“What if that was part of the trap?” Patton asked. “And further, why would the Duke lure us in? Why not have us kidnapped like he’s done with others?” 

Logan shuddered, “I don’t know, Pat, and I don’t want to consider that at this moment. We’ll save the why’s for later. We need to focus on gathering enough evidence, and getting out of here alive.” 

Patton just nodded. “So where do we go from here?” 

“I don’t know,” Logan muttered, tossing his fork down when he finished his meal, “There are a lot more questions than answers. Frankly, my mind is still spinning from that drink.” 

“It was barely half a glass of gin, Logan,” Patton snickered, “I’ve had worse.” 

Logan raised his eyebrow. “When?” 

“Before the prohibition,” he waved dismissively, “My pops used to let me have a bit of whiskey every Saturday night.” 

Logan tutted, “No wonder you’re so cheerful. There’s silly juice in your blood.” 

Patton laughed, “Yeah, well, I am Irish.” 

The moment of brevity disappeared as a shadow loomed over them. Mr. Doris, their guardian of the evening, loomed over them. “The Duke will see you now.” 

-----

Logan was put into a separate waiting room upstairs as Patton was led to an office down the hall.

He gasped as he entered the room. The office was full of oddities. The shelves had bizarre jars full of mysterious colored horrors. There were stuffed animal mounts hanging on the wall, along with a few posters with graphic depictions of murders and scantily clad people of both sexes. 

“How professional, “ he remarked in a high pitch as he walked in. 

The Duke smiled behind his desk, “Thank you. I like to keep my office cozy.” He looked at his henchman, “Go wait by the door, Mr. Doris. I’ll call if he pulls a gun on me,” he winked at Patton. 

The scarred man just nodded, glaring at Patton as he left to guard the door. Patton gulped nervously. 

“Come in, detective, sit. Make yourself comfortable.” The Duke gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. 

Patton considered briefly before deciding to sit. The chair was surprisingly comfortable, but he didn’t let himself relax fully. He stared at the most dangerous criminal in the Bay. He was on guard, suspicious that the Duke would order him to be killed at any moment. 

“Why did you bring us here, Duke?” he asked with narrowed eyes. 

The man behind the desk snickered, “Oh, detective, please tell me you’re more creative than that? Try a different question. Something more...interesting.” 

Patton tilted his head in confusion. What was this man’s deal? “Uh...okay,” he spoke hesitantly, “Rumor has it you drop pins…?” 

The Duke guffawed, “Oh, there’s one I haven’t heard! Thank you!” He kept giggling as he spoke, “I’m sorry, it’s just, the usual gets so boring sometimes. ‘Why am I here?’ ‘What do you want from me?’ ‘Are you gonna kill me?’” Remus rolled his eyes, “But to answer your question, yes, I let my hair down.” 

He raised a brow at Patton seductively, “Does that bother you, good detective?” 

“No, Duke,” he said honestly, “That’s not why I’m on your tail.” 

“Oh, I wish you were on my tail,” the man sighed with a dreamy smile, “I bet you’d be a good one.” 

Patton blushed, “Just get to the point.” 

“Right,” The Duke slammed the desk. “I want you, your partner, and your other copper friends to lay off my people. Just turn a blind eye, and in reward we’ll take care of you.” 

“What if I refuse?” Patton asked warily. 

“Well, I guess I’ll have to run and hide deeper in the shadows,” the villain smirked. “If you want me, come and get me. Have fun trying, at least.” He spread his arms out. 

“You won’t kill us?” the detective asked in disbelief. “You won’t make us disappear?” 

“No,” the Duke truthfully told with his eyes wide, “I guess I won’t…” but he leaned forward with a wicked grin. “But you’ll never be able to lay a hand on me as I take over the town.” 

Patton stayed silent, considering his options. He could pretend to agree to the demands, and warn the captain in his next report. However, the Duke seemed smart. He’d probably have eyes and ears out anyways to know if any funny business was going on. Patton was starting to believe that Logan was right after all. Someone on the force was bought off already, just to get the Duke close enough to the lead detectives on his case.

The Duke stood up from behind the desk to lean over Patton, who blushed at the proximity. There was no denying the villain was handsome, and there was something seductive about the way he looked at Patton. Like a hungry wolf who cornered his prey. Patton shivered in dangerous delight. He tried to shake the lustful feelings coming over his body. His conversation with the young girls downstairs was playing through his mind. 

‘I never gave it much thought’, he had said then. Well, suddenly, he was giving it a lot of thought at that moment. The Duke must be a magician of some sorts, or that gin was stronger than he initially thought.

The man was staring at him, waiting for an answer. He looked like the devil before he was cast down to earth. He was beautiful, especially since Patton could look at him up close. His face was sculpted perfectly, and his grin was a mockery of purity. He was well kept, but looked like he could go feral at any moment. That only increased the seductive, dark aura he radiated. 

Patton shifted uncomfortably under the gaze. He didn’t really enjoy the way he was being looked at, mainly because it made him want to gaze back as intensely and succumb to his proposal…

He chose to focus on the case at hand. “You said you’d take care of us?” You’d take care of me?

The Duke tapped his chin in thought, “I didn’t expect you to cave in so quickly, Detective O’Hearty. I thought you were selfless. At least that’s the word on the street.” 

“Maybe I’m tired of being a slave to unreturned good deeds,” Patton lied. He had a plan forming, and it required getting the man’s guard down.

“Well, you’ll still be a slave if you work for me,” the Duke smirked, “But a willing one after time.

“Back to the subject of your benefits. Your precinct will be receiving an anonymous donation of 5% of our profits. My guys won’t interfere with any investigation outside of our operation, and maybe we can help you out but turning in some of our criminal rivals. Every now and then we might need your help, and you, along with your partner, will be at my personal disposal” 

Patton deflated. Those conditions were really good. Was this how cops turned? The mobsters sent in gifts and seducers to prey on the weakness of men. He  could end up doing a lot of good if they worked together, and really, they weren’t doing much harm to anyone except with their own criminals in their world. 

No. No, it was wrong. He pledged to uphold the law, to enforce a certain code of morals that kept the public safe. The man standing in front of him was a murderer, he was a psycho. He was clearly deranged. He was charming, and used his charm to nearly get Patton to budge. 

He needed to get out of there, but safely. The Duke made it clear that he may not be leaving alive, but he needed some time to think. An idea formed in his head. He was slightly disgusted with himself, but it had a larger chance of working than any other option. 

He stood up and took off his fake spectacles. He leaned in the Duke’s personal space to set them on the dark mahogany desk. He then stayed to look down at the grinning man. Two could play a Devil’s game. 

He played with the black tie that was set against the light green dress shirt. He heard the shorter man’s breath hitch. He leaned in a bit closer, setting his thigh discreetly between the shorter man’s legs. He lowered his voice to an unnatural pitch. 

“Tell, me, Duke,” he leaned in to whisper in the man’s ear, “Did you really suspect that I’d be squeaky clean?” 

Putting on the act was easier than it should have been, and a part of Patton panicked. He kept his cool, giving just a bit into his own budding desires to keep it all seeming authentic. 

He let go of the tie, choosing to use that hand to lean on the desk, subtly trapping the breathless man beneath him. He hesitantly bent in to stroke his nose along the soft neck of the criminal. 

“I think a part of you suspected who I really am,” he pressed his body further, completely molding him against the shorter man. He smiled in triumph as he heard a tantalizing moan slip from the mustached mouth. 

“Part of you knew my own sinful desires, didn’t you? You didn’t call me here for business,” he swallowed his nerves to kiss the soft skin below the earlobe he was speaking half-truths into. 

“No, I didn’t,” the Duke squirmed. 

Patton was intrigued.  He hadn’t expected such a powerful man to become so easily undone. He pulled away from his assault on the man’s neck to look into the man’s eyes, to see the truth. 

The truth in the crazy eyes he had made him momentarily forget all he ever learned in Sunday School. The nearly black eyes burned with heated desire. Patton felt some fear, with all that chaos was focused on him, he would surely break. He felt strange, completely out of his body. What was he doing?

The criminal pulled Patton in by his tie and they were kissing. Patton knew he let the scenario go too far by then. It felt so good, though. There was something more grizzly about kissing another man, and frankly the tickle of the mustache added to the appeal of the moment. He kissed back, shouting to himself that it was just to keep up appearances.

He needed to leave, before he tossed all his morals out the window. 

He pulled away, “Give me some time to think about your offer? As appealing as it is, I need to keep up appearances.” 

The Duke smiled maniacally, “My dear detective, but of course!” 

Patton tried to pull himself off of the other quickly, however the Duke gripped his hip and held him in place. Patton gasped as the man’s hand wandered across his waist. Then, he realized too late, that his gun had been pulled on him. 

He looked down in betrayal and shock, he had thought he was succeeding in getting underneath the man’s skin. 

“Don’t look so surprised, my dear detective, I didn’t get up to the top by my pretty looks. I do have some bit of intelligence,” he gestured to have Patton sit back onto the chair. “Though, let me tell you, with that little show you put on, I nearly did lose my marbles.” 

The Duke licked his lips and moaned rather loudly, “You’re a good actor. That surely will haunt my dreams tonight,” he looked to the door and called his henchman back in. 

Mr. Doris came back in, the permanent scowl on his face made him look like a sort of reptile to Patton. He walked to stand guard behind Patton, placing a yellow gloved hand firmly on the detective’s shoulder. Patton flinched at the touch, chastising himself for what he had sacrificed...only to fail.

Shortly after another younger, smaller guard brought Logan in. Logan was resisting, though it was futile. The kid had a good grip, and shoved the other detective into the seat beside Patton. He has unruly black hair, darker skin, and a hateful look in his eyes. He mimicked the other guard’s grip by having his own hand on Logan’s collarbone.

The Duke moved back behind his desk, grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. “Well, gentlemen, let’s talk business.” 

-

-

-

-

TAGLIST: @littlestr

Let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist of this story!

[proxyartsblog]

Fallout Equestria ( Country Roads)

By proxyart.

{The introduction}

(68 years after the mega spells)

(A group of Caravan ponies and a group of Talons sit around a campfire in the forest of  West Virgineigh in the shadow the the stable 76 ruins .  It's cold out and the two groups sit making small talk and trading stories. After a while a pony started to notice a odd member of the talon group)

A shy young blue unicorn spoke up , she had a soft timid voice. "um m..mr Griffin... how ... uh no um why is... your back legs different from the other Griffins?" Her ears dropped as he looked Over at her.

"I'm a hippogriff" said the smooth looking avian, he was quite pretty, with his lovely golden feathers and creamy tan coat , he spoke with a unique accent, something from the old world the blue unicorn thought.

"F..forgive me but a what?" She said with a puzzled shakey voice.

(He smiled and sat up.)

"A hippogriff my dear filly" the smooth voice said, he spoke like a pony, " you don't know do you? " he asked.

(The blue unicorn shook her head.)

" no sorry I'm not aware of Griffins or anything to do with the talons " she blushes brightly noticing them stare.

(The hippogriff's beak gives a friendly smile as he steps into the fire light.)

"My name is Apple Gin, and I am not a normal creature, no matter how you look at it, I'm the descend of a earth pony who throw out all odds service the mega spells and fell in love with a Griffin , from her and their love my mother was born , my mother was a miracle my grandfather said, a foal that shouldn't exist but somehow did."

(Apple Gin saw the curiosity growing in the eyes of the young filly.)

"You want to know more don't you? " he asked with a croaked smile.

(The blue unicorn nodded happily, no longer the shy blue filly she was , this girl got closer to hear every word he spoke. )

"Please tell me what happened?!" The filly gidded as she clopped her hoofs excitedly.

Apple Gin sighed and sat back on his haunches. " so you want to know the story of my ancestor the the legendary stable 76? "  he asked.

She smiled sweetly and nodded " yes!" She paused for a moment  "I mean yes please mr. Gin sir"

Apple Gin gave her a odd look and sighed happily, " Gin is fine... so where to start this story? ... it's a long one to tell "

(The blue pony thought for a moment then with a smile.)

"I got all night... better then dealing with them swamp crawlers or mega beasts... right Gin ?"

(Apple Gin smiled )

"Yes ma'am " he started to tell his grandmother's story.

"To tell this tale we must start off 25 years after the war... 25 years after the mega spells dropped and all of equestria was plunged Into Darkness".

(War ... war never changes.... )

[End holotape prologue. ]

☆◇♧♡♤☆◇♧♡♤☆◇♡♧♤☆

[Chapter one] country roads.

[Memory orb holotape begin]

(A song started to play over the PA system of the stable, followed by a older mare's voice)

(A inebriated orange and creamy caramel colored earth pony falls out of her bed woken by the loudly playing music and that mare's voice, she looked around her stable room and realized it was very quiet, too quiet, there was a huge party just yesterday, and today was her 25th birthday, the day she was also supposed to leave the stable as well.)

"Shit... ouch my head, I swear one day I'll stop drinking " she always said it but she never has, after all she owed her cutie mark to alcohol, all the members of her father's family did, it was a family tradition and Apple whiskey wasn't going to be the pony to end a family tradition!

(She looked at goodmorning stable-tec window with its happy  little birds and smiling sun, the stable colt smiled back at her reminding her she was late. )

"Good morning stable 76, this is the Overmare , I hope you all enjoyed the party last night, even those who might have over overindulged and overslept. But it's time to get up and get out there, we've been locked away long enough."

(She listened to the Overmare speech as she brushed her teeth and combed her mane, it didn't do anything to help, her mane and tail was a knotted mess of curls and knots, she had tried to keep her hair nice but since mother died Whiskey had a hard time with managing it.)

"Stupid mane... ouch! How am I supposed to brush this mess if I'm not a unicorn!?" She yelled frustrated by her lack of magic or her mothers hair dresser bot.

(Her mother was a robotics engineer, the best in equestria or so others told her. The stable was full of the best and brightest members of equestria and many of the ponies onces worked for stable-tec or rob-co, some were doctors and musicians, others were bankers, scientist, farmers, painters, chefs and more, if they were the best they were in 76!, and the offspring, the children of the generation of genius ponies? Why they were told daily that they were going to save equestria... and the world, that day was today... and Apple wasn't running to the stable door like the others had.)

(A robot brought Apple whiskey her pipbuck, it had a big 76 Pip‑buck 2000 in blue and silver numbers on it with the ugly brown and tan pipbuck casing , Apple placed it on her fetlock and began to adjust to it's weight, Apple thought her pipbuck was very ugly and useless, all she ever used it for was the radio and keeping track of other ponies. )

"Stupid heavy thing..." said Apple.

"Oh miss Apple I thought you'd never wake up" said the floating mr. Handy.

(The over mare's voice pulsed for a moment or two then continued )

"Today is Reclamation day, I kn..."( the voice was drowned out for a bit.)

"What? Why? " Apple whiskey asked.

"Why its Reclamation day don't you remember? Most of the stable is already gone ." Said the robot.

"All ready gone?! But its only..." Apple looked at the time. " Half past noon! How could you let me over sleep so long!?" She started to ran to get her stuff packed .

( the Overmare's voice started again)

"It maybe time to leave but I'll always remember the day you all entered stable 76, you come from everywhere walk of life, every pony race, color and creed, but you all share one very important trait, you are equestrias best and brightest but more importantly you will always be my family."

(The broadcast ended)

"Wow Overmare ... I wonder if the old mare is still here? ... would make sense that the Overmare would be last to leave right?" Apple got all the things she wanted to take with her.

(Apple whiskey packed a large saddlebag with 5 bottles of purified water, 3 stem packs, 2 boxes of big-mac and cheese, 1 picture of her parents, a hoof pistol and a hoof full of bullets,  2 Med-X , 2 healing potions, 1 sparkle cola cherry and 4 bottles of her famous Apple whiskey and the recipe so no one else could make it .)

"Miss Apple you mustn't forget about you're camp " said the Mr handy.

"My camp? What is that? ... you mean my still bot? " Apple asked.

(The Mr. handy looked insulted by her calling that metal pot a robot)

"No miss apple not that busted excuse for bolts.... the camp unit is you're home away from home miss... " he handed her the rather small box .

"This is a camp?" She looked complex.

"You need a home base out there. The Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform is designed to give you one." Said the handy.

"So this will help me serve? Good to know... uh ok " Apple took the camp and stored it in her saddlebags.

"Wow it fits a lot... one day I'll learn how it carries all my junk..." she was impressed by the bags, she thought it had to be part of the stable-tec spell Matrix.

(Apple strapped the saddlebags to her back and holstered her pistol. )

"Ok looks like that's everything Handy...what will you do onces I'm gone?" She asked.

(The mr. Handy hovered around and brought her a tiny mr. handy statuette.)

"Miss Apple please take care of yourself... I'll be here , I must lock up the stable and once I do life support will be turned off... no living creature will be able to close the stable door." The handy said .

( Apple looked sad but she understood she would never seen the first friend she had again, tears fell down her pale caramel coat.)

"Good bye old friend " Apple gave the bot a quick nuzzle and a kind smile.

(Apple set out her room and into the corredores of the stable, the gray drury walls of the stable gave her a bit of comfort, she was very nervous about leaving, if it was up to Apple whiskey she would have stayed there until she died un old mare with many grand foals running through the many hall's. )

(As Apple walked past the Overmare's office she popped her head in to say goodbye however the office was completely empty of life.)

"Overmare!... eh? ... nuna?... " Apple walked around her desk and sat in the big chair, it smelled so nice , the smell of foal hood memories.

(The Overmare loved to let the foals play in her office while their parents worked their various jobs in the stable. Her happiness memories were learning how to be a Overmare from the only grandmother she would ever know. )

"Overmare... I guess I'll never get to say goodbye to her..." Apple saw that her terminal was still on, normally she wouldn't snoop but she was as rather nosy filly .

(Apple clicked her hoof to the keyboard and  ejected a holotape from the Overmare's office terminal)

"What in the seven?... a holotape? " she wondered if it was a goodbye from the Overmare.

"Overmare what could you be up to?" Apple noticed the holotape port in the side of her pipbuck, she put the holotape in .

(The holotape started to play)

"Overmare's log, or should I say, direct communication. Because whoever is listening to this had the moxy to try to find out where I've gone." It paused for a moment.

"But I'm glad you did. Truth is, I need your help. I've been given a task, and... I've decided to break protocol and tell you what it is. Because If there's one thing I've learned in these past few years, it's that we need to rely on each other." It paused for a moment.

"There were three active mega spell silos in Virgineigh before the Balefire Bombs fell. They blew up the Equestria before. We can't let it happen again. So we've got to locate and secure all of the silos, or die trying. Hopefully the former. Hmph." It paused for a moment.

"But it's been twenty-five years. I just don't know what we're going to find out there. Or where to start... My directive was to go to the nearest population center and assess the situation. I'll set up a C.A.M.P. on the way once I get my bearings. Find me there." The holotape stopped.

(Apple felt confused as she tried to figure out and take in all the information she just heard.  Apple wasn't exactly sure what she could do to help her but if the Overmare needed her she would try her best to find her and help... not because of Stable tec but for the only grandmother she had... the pony who called her family. )

"Looks like we are going out there after all..."  she thought to herself.

(Apple started to wake out when she stopped at the Overmare's bedroom door, she had took the time to make her bed and straighten her room, maybe she should have cleaned up her room before as well but she didn't want the handy bots to have nothing to do for all time.)

"Wow Overmare you really need to relax... hehehe " Apple said with a giggle.

(She smiled at the handy bots that met her at the hatch to the stable door.)

"Goodbye handys...  I wish you all the best, look after the stable for everypony. " Apple hugged the sliver handy bot.

"Goodbye miss apple, and we will look after your sill bot... even if we think it's a waste of technology and fermented grains." Said the mr. handy.

(Apple smiled, she whipped her eyes.)

"I'll miss all of you so much " Apple tried not to cry as she walked thought the stable entrance and stepped out into the world beyond .

[End of holotape chapter one.]

https://my.w.tt/JCjbulc9R5

[1stunseeliefaelass]

Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited

Chapter 26: Hauntings Ancient and New

"To be honest...I want to protect the ones I care about. And my Mama calls our home a tavern, but it's really a brothel. My Mama and the girls mean a lot to me, they were there for me when no one else was. Seeing the abuse some of those girls endured....just made me want to protect them. Mi familia." Arn tells her after some thought.

"That's a very honorable virtue you have. I hope you get to see your family again." Anna replies taking his hand.

Arn feels a warmth he's been missing for a long while. Course then his stomach interrupts that for him. He turns bright red as Anna giggles at the massive growl that comes from it. Luckily their food comes on down soon enough. Anna begins savoring her meal of lamb chops happily, whilst Arn enjoys a juicy steak inside broth. Arn's eyes widen as he savors the first bite, before he begins devouring it quickly. He stops halfway into it though as Anna is holding back the urge to giggle again. That and he can sense a possible boot about to be thrown his way. So he cleans up his manners and begins eating slowly like Anna is doing. He then chooses to pay for the meal to be a gentleman, since he has money from his arena winnings. Anna is thankful but decides to pay for a dessert for both of them to share. A pretty hefty ice cream sundae clearly made for two. Anna gets all giddy each time their spoons come close. Arn then gets an idea and asks if she'd like a bite of the ice cream flavor on his side. Anna nods accepting it, and lights up with delight as he spoon feeds her the bite. Her ears flitting to and fro to Arn's own delight. He's then surprised by Anna doing the same for him. His tail pops out and wags a little bit as he accepts the bite, then her smile makes his ears flit as hers are doing. Anna sees his tail is out and decides to reveal hers too, feeling comfortable enough around him. Oddly enough, it's got a cream colored tip that looks a bit like a heart. Arn can't help but comment on it.

"That is kinda cute."

Blushing a little Anna tells him, "Really? I used to get bullied for it."

"At least you have some color. Mine is just black.", Arn says raising his tail to show her.

"The guys who teased me probably would've liked you. They were all for solid colors, and compared me to a fox."

"I likely would've made them eat their words. Plenty of girls I knew had pretty fur colors." Arn states with conviction.

"Really? Shame we only met today. Would've enjoyed such a sweet protector."

Arn chuckles before saying, "And I probably would've liked having such a beauty for company, a f-friend even...if n-not more."

Anna giggles and blushes hard, "You really think I'm pretty?"

"Yes. Y-you're pretty. B-beautiful even!" Arn quickly shouts in extreme nervousness before holding his mouth shut.

Anna is surprised by that proclamation of course, "Oh wow....that's...gotta be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Arn flattens his ears and tucks his tail as he gets a bit more embarrassed, "I'm sure there's been other people who t-t-t-thought so."

"Actually aside from my parents and family, not really. Although.....if you're saying that....does it mean that you like.....that I'm your....eh uhm......you know your....c-c-crush I guess?" Anna inquires shyly as her own ears flatten too.

He is silent for a while before he finally replies, "I guess so."

Nergal suddenly comes up asking, "Do you wish to have a bit chardonnay, brandy, or bourbon? Or maybe a nice shot of gin? Or maybe you two lovebirds....wait sorry no... would you two adolescents like some absinthe?"

All of sudden Esmie pops in, "Oh no you don't amigo, get over here."

"I'm sorry but I'm assisting." Nergal explains before she jumps up and grabs him by the ear.

As the two begin bickering a bit, Anna glances at Arn before motioning away from the area. She then finally whispers to him as he doesn't get it.

"Let's get out of here."

Arn gets a moment of realization before quickly nodding and vacating with her right away. Esmie doesn't notice they're gone until Nergal chuckles a bit to himself.

"Wait....where did they go?"

"My work here is done." Nergal states before turning to walk off with Esmie still on his ear.

"Usted hijo de puta!" Esmie shouts before smacking him across the face, to no reaction whatsoever from him.

"Hmhmhmhm....That won't do much good. Now let's get going so that the couple can enjoy themselves. And also....kindly remove yourself from my ear. I'm not into rabbit foot bling." Nergal simply tells her.

"Oh calla ojete." Esmie tells him annoyed before letting go finally.

Nergal just laughs at her, "Question? Do you have anyone in your life? Aside from your son, any other man in your life?"

"I do not. As a businesswoman, I lack the time most other ladies have. It would benefit Arn to have a male presence in his life sure, but the regular bounty hunters from the local guild would likely do just fine. They're all good men, the lot of them. Although that Sygr fellow is.....actually nevermind. Forget I said anything." Esmie explains.

"So are you into giants yourself?"

"Shut. It." Esmie tells him a bit miffed.

"Already pushing buttons? Hmm, usually it takes longer. Perhaps what I said wasn't appropriate then. Maybe Sygr just reminds you of someone. You did say your friend, Arn's Father Argus, was a demon didn't you?"

"Watch it."

"Just how close were you two?" Nergal asks her, knowing full well what's coming.

Esmie about goes into her full form, but just as quickly holds back. Placing her hands on a nearby bench as she takes a few deep breaths. Finally she looks back at Nergal when she's absolutely sure she won't explode, "It's none of your business, not a story for you. Now leave it be."

"What kind of nightmare happened with you? Do tell, I'm rather interested. You tell, I tell. Simple enough?" Nergal questions her sitting down on that very bench.

"Argus and I were always friends. It never went further.....although I sometimes wish it did. I enjoyed his company, his personality, and even his appearance. But I knew better than to be a homewrecker. So when Argus began speaking of Clawdette, I let him have her. I never once got in their way, even viewed Clawdette as an older sister of sorts. She was tough, no nonsense, and while somewhat feral she was still caring. I was never jealous of her, not once. Their deaths both hit me harder than I care to admit. I kept it hidden from Arn as he grew, but I couldn't hold it together forever. Not all the time. You've no idea how many times I drank myself stupid over them. Or how much worse it got after Arn was taken away from me. I try to be strong, only to end up back in the pit."

"What's that like? The pit? I've never been in it, at least to my current knowledge."

"When I say pit, I mean depression. That feeling of just pure emptiness. Like nothing has meaning. That feeling that keeps you up at night, the feeling you get that ensures you don't want to leave your bed in the morning. You just become so indifferent to almost everything and everyone. You stop paying attention to what's around you. You wallow in your own self pity, pain, suffering, or whatever may have brought you to that ever swallowing pit of despair."

"Well then, I guess I was born in this pit." Nergal responds simply.

Esmie gets a shocked expression and immediately questions, "How is that even possible? To be born into perpetual depression?"

"Try being born without the capability to express emotions properly. With them being distant or none existent at times. Them being overbearing almost difficult to handle. To have a need that you know will never be fulfilled. Knowing someone loves you, but you cannot love them back. But you must try, or else your purpose is no longer necessary in your eyes. Or seeking someone's approval, that you'll never get. I dunno if that's a pit but, it somewhat fits your description."

"Sounds like a mix of that and borderline sociopathy. Course I could just not know you well enough yet. You said you knew someone loves you at least, even if loving them is damn near impossible. So do you perhaps have the ability to express things like compassion or empathy?", Esmie inquires calmly.

"Based on what I can remember, compassion is an interesting emotion. It's....it's hard to describe. To feel remorse for something that is insignificant or is that incorrect?"

"You're way off. Remorse is to put it simply, feeling bad for something you have done. Compassion is just being kind and the ability to be that way. Giving kindness for the sake of it and for the sake of others. Sometimes even yourself to feel good for the day." Esmie explains.

"Ah I see....I have found I can be kind. At least according to the woman I share a bed with. If you count tree roots as a bed anyway." Nergal states before noticing Esmie's weird expression, "She's a Dryad."

"Oh ok, now I get it. But Dryads can read others extremely well, better than most demons I daresay. If she says you're kind, then surely she's correct. Does she tell you you're anything else? That you have certain things to you that you may not notice?"

"She tells I'm often cold and distant, and yet warm and close. It's very strange. I'm a very messed up individual by your standards. I need to go find some food of my own now though. Why don't you think upon the Sygr situation, I'm going to a tavern and probably going to make a man question his drinking problems." Nergal explains before walking off.

Esmie is unsure of what to make of the situation but decides to consider how being with Sygr might pan out for her. Where as Morgen and Death have finally returned for the books she requested. As expected, there was precious little. In fact the 'book' itself, was incredibly small and shaped like a heptagon with a seven pointed star etched on the front cover for a design. The cover was simply a darkened leather with pages that looked extremely old. Even the language it was written in baffled Morgen.

"I'm sorry miss, but this is all I could find. I'd have told you it's contents if I could read the language. But it's not one I know." The elder pixie librarian told her.

"It's quite alright. I half expected there'd be nothing. Oh well, we'll just bring these back to our carriage for now. Thank you...oh and of course here's money to replace their vacant spaces."

Death then picks up the heavy box of spellbooks and other books in general and heads out to drop it off at the carriage. Morgen stays behind to pay for it all of course. Then she joins Death outside.

"Sorry to make you do that heavy lifting. Hopefully you're healed enough after every...."

"Believe me I'm fine."

Morgen then looks back towards the old path and shudders, "I severely doubt those guards are though."

"Yeah but we likely would've had to kill them ourselves if they weren't hollow statues now. Let's just be glad we were spared an unneeded fight. So I'm guessing the language of the book is unknown to you as well?"

"I've looked through it, and I can't say I recall it's meaning. I feel like I should know what it's saying and yet I don't." Morgen expresses a bit discouraged.

Death pauses as he's tying the box down and gently places a hand under her chin. He then lifts her face up, "Hey now, don't get discouraged. Perhaps it's part of your memories, and you just haven't reached that part yet. So what if you don't recall? Memory is rarely perfect, sometimes it's even wrong all together. Now...where is everyone?"

"Thank you Death. And I don't know." Morgen replies looking around a bit confused before continuing, "Maybe we could just rest in the carriage for now? Wait until everyone is back."

"Or perhaps we could actually do something else around the village for a bit. A simple walk perhaps?" Death suggests offering his arm.

Morgen snickered softly but wrapped her arm in his, "Look at you being all open to enjoying social activities Mr. Antisocial."

"Said Ms. Social Butterfly, who wanted to rest in the carriage for the rest of the day." Death points out.

Morgen rolls her eyes as Death chuckles a bit. They walk past the tavern Nergal's in and notice a man looking very much drained. Then a few more are seen as they pass it by. They decide to avoid the tavern for now and focus on enjoying the walk together. Course they do stop for a bit of dinner as well. Morgen mostly tells Death a few of the nicer stories about her childhood as he listens intently. Course she does eventually coax him into telling a few stories himself. Such as any about how he met his friends and a few regarding his family members. Ultimately the two enjoy each other's company.

Arn and Anna meanwhile had decided to go see the secret place Anna mentioned before. After following an ancient looking pathway with ivy and other plants covering it, Arn saw it. A ruined castle like fortress that had clearly seen a battle once. One that was a massacre from what he could gather as he observed the skeletal remains of knights around him. What he didn't expect, was that he only saw knights of Uther's kingdom. No other combatants' bodies lay around there. Either none of the enemy died, they were each other's enemies for some reason, or something different happened. Arn briefly thought he could hear the sounds of the men's battle cries and deaths in the air around him.

Anna's voice suddenly pierced through to him, "Hey Arn, you ok over there? You kinda spaced out for a second."

"Yeah I'm fine.", Arn replied before focusing on her and avoiding the skeletons.

The two then began to enter the ruins proper. Arn found the fact that there were more skeletons inside to be VERY disconcerting. Course Anna came up to him and held his hand.

"It's ok, they're not gonna come to life I promise. They never have. Yeah they're a little scary at night but they're just remains...right?" Anna told him with a bit of nervousness.

"Well let's not try to disturb them. I get the feeling they didn't die peacefully.", Arn says even wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

Anna blushes after a slight jump but quickly tells him, "Yeah uhm...let's not disturb them. The main building is my favorite place, it's got lots of interesting things in there."

"Right." Arn responds as she guides him to the main building.

The two then enter and the foyer holds many hallways that have been ravaged by both fires and time. Anna only leads him down the main one though, as it's the least cluttered. It leads to massive double doors and the two find ancient stairs behind them. They manage to hold up surprisingly, but Arn is still nervous about it as they go up. Finally at the top, Anna pulls him by the hand to a specific room. On the door of it are many intricate designs pertaining to the moon, night sky, and stars. The name plaque that was once on it was broken off at the intial, an M. Inside the room was a gorgeous bed that looked WAY too pristine for such an derelict place. In fact, most of the room looked to be in mostly good condition. Aside from occasional broken small items across the floor. Arn also sees a portrait that's torn in a specific place, lifting the torn part up, he sees an eerily familiar face.

Anna notes his reaction and comes over, "Something wrong?"

Arn shakes his head and drops the torn piece, "Nothing...just an old painting."

"Right. Well I guess the white haired lady is very pretty huh? I always wonder who she was. She always seems so happy in that portrait with the other knights. Do you think she had a good life? Or do you perhaps think more cynically than me?"

"I don't know...but she does look very happy." Arn states simply.

He does smirk a bit however. Knowing that despite everything, Morgen still has days when she smiles just as brightly.

Anna of course picks up a nearby book and hugs it, "This is her journal, at least I think it is. I know you're not supposed to read them, but....it's been such an inspiration for me. I wish I could've met her. Everyone always says she was a kind woman when I ask them. That she was always willing to help those who needed her. While not as good in fight as her fellow knights, she'd use her magic to defend and heal all she could."

Arn thinks for a minute before saying, "You speak of her like she was your role model."

"She is in a way. Do you wanna see her armor? It's still all nice and shiny. It's in this walk in closet over here." Anna asks as she hurries over to the doors.

Arn follows her and is in awe with her when he sees it, "Looks like it never saw a day of wear."

He feels however in the back of his mind that something is amiss, but can't quite place it. Instead he looks upon the set in more awe. The designs are as intricate as they come, which makes sense given that Morgen is a princess. The theme surprised him however, white and silvery blue for the colors with unicorn styled ornaments on it. Hanging off the pauldrons were tiny white unicorn horns on thin chains. The helm of sorts had a short unicorn horn attached to the front, the horn itself being cresent shaped. Aside from those decals, were moon and night designs mixed with scenes of unicorns that looked straight out of vintage paintings. Little do he or Anna know however, that a certain spirit has been stirred by their presence. Anna however keeps Arn busy so they remain oblivious as he approaches the room slowly.

"Her armor is just so beautiful, I'll bet when she wore it she was even more beautiful as a result."

"I'm sure she would...Anna...I have something to say..." Arn starts to say when he suddenly notices something in the armor, a reflection behind them of a figure. He suddenly shouts, "Get Behind Me!", drawing his long knife and putting Anna behind him to face the figure.

They find a ghostly knight before them who asks them two simple questions, "Why have you come? What do you want with this place?"

"What's it to you?", Arn responds making sure Anna is safely behind him.

"I once lived in these halls. I served the lady whose room and closet you're currently standing in. I defend this place even in death from intruders who would do harm here. So I will ask once more, and once only. WHY HAVE YOU COME AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?" The knight booms down at them.

Arn growls before he finally answers, "We didn't mean any harm. We were just looking around, nothing was taken."

"You will leave then, now. I see no reason for you to remain in this place of death. Nor do I see why you..." The knight explains before pointing at Anna, "...need to keep coming back here after tonight."

Anna protests of course, "Uh please....I've never taken anything. I always leaves things where they belong."

"Yet you continue to VIOLATE the privacy of my fair lady. Something she valued highly above most things aside from her duties to this realm."

"She inspires me! I never meant any harm! I love her story and if anything looked too personal I wouldn't read it. I always skipped those more personal bits." Anna pleads.

"Your intent may not have been bad. But I cannot let this slight go. I can only forgive it if you leave and never return. There's nothing here for the living, not anymore."

Arn however has his own two gilt to give, "What do you know of your lady? What she has become?"

"Who are you to ask me that? A child of wolf and....something else. Something....older. Far older than me."

Arn grits his teeth, "Watch what you say ghost."

"I have no obligation to you. I'm already dead so your threats mean nothing boy. Besides, even a young wolf from the arena is no match for the dead. Especially a knight who has disciplined himself in combat when compared to a savage gladiator."

"I WARNED YOU!" Arn shouts before charging the ghost.

The knight sighs before simply grabbing him by his head. With this act he slams Arn into the ground once before releasing him, "That will be your only warning child. Leave now while I'm still in a decent mood. I won't harm you further so long as you follow my instructions."

Arn gets up and growls before going to charge again. Anna however grabs his arm, "Stop it. Let's just go.....even if it means....I can't come back anymore..."

Arn notes her voice cracks and sees her beginning to cry. He relents, but tells the knight, "This is not over. You will see reason yet."

"And yet you failed to until just now? Believe me. There's nothing left to this folly. Just leave." The knight replies simply.

Anna then leads Arn away to leave the area, whilst the spirit remains in the room. His lonely vigil ever present, even in his demise.

Arn hugs Anna as they walk away outside, "I'm so sorry Anna. It's probably my fault he's being so harsh to you. But I promise I'll make sure you can keep going back there whenever you wish."

"How....how can you promise that?" Anna inquires as she sobs.

"Let's just say, I know somebody he'll have to listen to." Arn tells her.

"About what he said....the knight. What was he talking about?"

"Uhm....well you know I'm Werewolf. But the other part of me....it's something even scarier. I don't want to discuss it, but a lot of people hate the race my Father came from."

Anna looks at him sadly, "Oh. That sounds pretty shitty of them."

"People have good reasons to hate the race. But not everyone in the race was or is a bad person. At least Mama says my Father certainly was always better than his kin usually were."

Anna finds herself confused, but ultimately continues to question him, "What about the other part? Where he compared you to a gladiator?"

"I was in.......the arena...until recently. I was captured as a child....and forced to fight most of my life. Fighting at an early age has its privilege....and its price." Arn tells her reluctantly.

Anna looks horrified, which Arn expected, what he wasn't expecting is why she was horrified, "How much have you suffered?"

"More than I care to describe Anna. Anyway, can we...change the subject at least? Please? I really, REALLY don't like talking about this. Lot of bad memories from that place still haunt me." Arn implores of her.

"Oh of course. Sorry to bring that up."

"It's ok. You deserved to know. I kinda owed you for getting us kicked out of there." Arn replies.

"I don't blame you Arn. It wasn't your fault. I should've known I wouldn't be welcome." Anna tells him softly as her tears slowly begin to dry.

"Now let's go talk to that person I think will talk some sense into him."

Esmie soon spots the two and immediately hurries to Arn, "What happened niño? Why is your nose bloody?"

"I'm fine Mama, just a grumpy old ghost. I need to talk to Morgen about him in fact. Where is she?"

"On a walk with Death. They're actually nearly back from what I can see. Why don't you head back to the carriage. I suspect we'll be leaving soo.."

"Mama please, just a bit longer. Besides, it may take a while for Morgen to help us out." Arn protests to her.

Esmie sighs at him, "And what could she possibly need to help you with niño?"

"The ghost that apparently fucked up my nose. He's guarding the place we were at and is being an ass. Especially in regards to Anna. I promised I'd help her continue to be able to keep going back to her favorite place. It's really important to her Mama. Please."

Esmie thinks silently for a moment before hearing Death question her, "Why is it that Arn looks like he was hit recently?"

"Arn actually has something to tell you and Morgen. It involves the thing that did this to him." Esmie explains simply, to Arn's relief.

"Really? Well out with it then, what happened?" Death asks.

"A ghost is haunting the ruins Anna brought me to. He was pissed off and has banished Anna from ever going back. But the ruins should have significance to Miss Morgen, and the ghost knight claims he served her. So I figure maybe he'll listen to reason if Morgen talks to him." Arn tells him.

"Was he vengeful?"

"I don't think so. He only bashed me into the ground once, and I.....kinda...was a.....a dick....I deserved it." Arn admits rubbing his neck.

Death facepalms, "What did you do?"

"Charged at him because he provoked me."

He then sighs, "Of course you did."

Morgen inquires of Arn however, "You said he was a knight, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Pray tell, why banish Anna when it was you who attacked?" Morgen asks calmly.

Anna then timidly steps forward, "I sometimes g-go into an old room there....it has a journal t-t-that I'm guessing is yours.....I'm so sorry for reading it. It just inspired me so much."

Morgen pulls the young girl into a hug as she begins crying, "Easy there my dear. Granted I'd not recommend reading anymore journals. But I do not mind that you read mine. In fact, I'm glad those dismal pages inspired you in some way. Is this really why he's denying further entrance?"

Anna can only nod and sniffles a bit. Causing Morgen to gently stroke her head in a Motherly way. Death can tell by the look in her eye, and on her face, that somebody is getting a stern talking to now.

"You're actually going to talk to that spirit?" Death questions her.

"Yes. For her sake and the sake of others who may go there. The only beings I don't want there, are anyone that would steal from it or cause harm to the place. We're going."

Death sighs to himself, "I suppose I better come with you then. Just in case either his spirit, or someone else's has a vengeful moment."

Morgen nods and lets Death follow her. They come along the path and Death soon begins to feel the agony of many dead beings. Clearly a battle had taken place and he sees just how right he is when he and Morgen reach the fort. Morgen walks around the bodies a bit lost looking as Death starts hearing the voices of those who died in the battle. Course he knows he wouldn't normally hear it unless the area was haunted. He then finally goes over to Morgen as she's examining a body.

"Are you alright?"

"I knew these people...all of them....they fought...and....d-died...for me that day..." Morgen tells him with a crack in her tone.

Death helps her up from the ground before gently holding her, "You don't have to be here Morgen. I'm sure Arn and the girl will understand given your connection to the tragedy here."

"It was MORE than just a tragedy. This was a MASSACRE. All because I was spending more of my time here than at home. Away from HIM." Morgen says with a bit of anger mixed into the sadness.

"You say that as if you believe it's..."

"It WAS MY FAULT!" Morgen shouts at him.

Death remains calm though, knowing full well how overwhelming a haunting can be on someone within it's radius. Mentally, physically, and even emotionally. He gently strokes Morgen's head and tells her, "This wasn't your fault. These men chose to defend you, because you were WORTH saving. Because you ARE worth saving."

Morgen looks up at him in surprise and goes to reply before someone else speaks up, "He is right my lady. I knew the risks, we all did. Even those who survived this horror knew. Only very few of us did. I and those who remain upon these grounds never doubted you. The Reaper speaks true, you are and always were worth saving to all of us."

The two look upon the ghostly knight and Morgen asks him, "Tell me...how long have you remained here? How long has it been since we last spoke....Sir Alphonse?"

"Not yet long enough for you to have forgotten me it seems." Alphonse tells her simply.

"Your voice is as distinct as I recall it to be. As are your manners with guests it seems."

"You're speaking of the boy and girl from earlier?"

"Yes, I am. I can understand you wanting to defend me and any of my things that remain here. But I cannot let you bully or harm people. Especially those under my protection. Besides, the girl Anna doesn't strike me as ill intended. She can keep coming here if she so chooses as I see it. Do I make myself clear on that?" Morgen states authoritatively.

"Transparently your highness. Forgive my transgression, I only meant to keep your secrets as just that, secrets. I remember how important privacy was to you."

Morgen only sighs, "I forgive you, but I will say that I'm at least trying to work on telling people things that need to be said."

"Good. Perhaps you'd like to see what remains here? And take what you were unable to?" Alphonse asks her.

"I suppose I can. Assuming either of us can carry it all."

"As I lived to serve you, I can aid you in this as well my fair lady. No offense to your companion of course." Alphonse states.

"Pardon?" Death questions him.

"I would assume she chose you for companionship given the way you held her a moment ago. Not to mention the way you spoke to her."

"I....uh.....fair enough." Death says awkwardly.

"It seems I'm right to assume then. Given your reaction. Anyway, just this way, and be mindful. The place is old enough to be falling apart because of more than just unrepaired, burnt wood."

"Hmm, well lead on." Death replies with Morgen following alongside him.

Morgen is amazed at how well kept her old room appears aside from a few fallen objects, "How is this room so pristine?"

"A certain....'pest' who keeps coming back. And no I don't speak of the girl."

"There have been other visitors?" Death inquires.

"Yes only a few though. Usually the villagers will leave flowers on occasion to commemorate all we did for them. It's...always a good sight everytime they hold their memorial festival too. So I don't bother the villagers usually. I only got cross with Anna because she was reading your journal and learning secrets of yours. However, there is one man I keep tryng to turn away. He always comes by every few nights hoping I'll miss him. Occasionally he does escape my notice, with some small 'trinket' or two as well."

"That explains why you were so quick to judge Anna. Even so, would I know this person?" Morgen inquires.

"You would. One of your 'suitors' from some years back."

Morgen facepalms next, "I THOUGHT I made it VERY clear as to why I called things off between us."

Death then looks at her shocked, "Wait let me get this straight, you have an ex?"

"Yes. I had hoped he got it through his head though."

"Clearly not if he's sneaking in here and making off with your property." Death expresses with a bit of sarcasm to his tone.

Morgen shakes her head in annoyance before walking out of the room for a moment. Course she hears something that annoys her even more once she's out the door. With her eye twitching, Morgen seeks out the source of the noise. Only to find a cloaked figure coming through a window down the hall.

"Aleyn, what are you doing?"

The figure freezes a bit before turning around slowly, "Morgen? Is that you?"

"Who else would I be Aleyn?"

"I don't know that ghost that hates my guts?"

"Gee I wonder why he would hate you. There a reason you keep coming here to take little things I own?"

"You never came back until now. I suspected you never would after what happened. I had hoped you wouldn't either." Aleyn tells her before freezing again.

"Excuse me?"

"Look Morgen maybe we could talk about it more in a place that isn't haunted by an angry ghost?"

Morgen eyes him suspiciously for a moment, but finally tells him, "Fine. But you're helping bring what's left of my things here to my carriage. And if you say a SINGLE WORD against my current companion, you'll be walking home instead of 'talking privately'."

Aleyn laughed nervously, "Right....heheh...wait you've moved on?"

"I have. What of it?"

"Oh eh...nothing....something to talk about in our private talk later."

Morgen gets suspicious of him all the more but lets him follow her. When he and Death see each other, Death gives a judgmental stare whilst Aleyn gulps.

"Ha-have you come to take his soul?" Aleyn asks nervously pointing at Alphonse.

Alphonse facepalms, "Can I kill him now?"

"No, he's useful for now. Besides I can't afford to make anymore enemies. Having Uther's ire is bad enough." Morgen says.

"So it's true? You ran away from home again? Is it also true that you took Arthur as well?"

Morgen nearly defends herself but Death speaks up, "Her Uncle got her and Arthur out whilst I was rescued by Barrcus. A far better Father to her than Uther ever will be. And given you seem to have sympathy for Uther, does that make me the better man of the two of us?"

"Watch your tongue you son of a whore! You don't know her like I do!"

"Says the man who probably has her underwear tucked away in his bedroom, among other little things of Morgen's. Stalker much?" Death says sarcastically.

"How DARE you? I would NEVER do something so uncouth as to take a woman's undergarments."

"Then what did you take? It had to have been small enough for your shrimpy arms to carry." Death inquires smirking a bit.

Aleyn growls before saying, "That's none of your business."

"Maybe not but it's certainly mine." Morgen tells him firmly.

"Ah....uhhhh....right....well your perfume...some of your make-up that you rarely ever wore....I NEVER WORE IT MYSELF!" Aleyn quickly replies nervously.

"Uh huh. What else?"

"I actually found the wedding dress you would've worn to our wedding and...."

"OK HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! You are NOT about to tell us you do some fucked up role-playing involving that dress are you?" Death asks sounding concerned.

"NO! Now if you DON'T MIND I shall explain. I just keep it around my home as I figure you probably won't want it. Or if you ever did, I'd have it in pristine condition for you." Aleyn admits.

"Aleyn, you've no reason to keep it. Sell it or give it away. I never liked that dress anyway. Uther picked it out and it just....didn't suit me."

"You looked like a goddess in it."

"A goddess about to raped by Zeus himself maybe." Morgen retorts sarcastically.

Death actually laughs and questions them both, "Just what did this dress look like? I must know now. Just to sate my curiosity."

"Are you sure Horseman? I remember that eyesore way too well, personally I'd rather go through my death all over again than see Morgen walk down the aisle with that HORRIBLE 'dress'." Alphonse states firmly.

Morgen reluctantly shows him with her memories and Death laughs even more, "Hahahaha! I didn't think you could refine sexuality.....Hahahahahahahaha! Seriously seeing that dress reminds me of The Great Gatsby!"

Morgen snickers at that, "Come to think of it, I think it was around the twenties when Aleyn and Uther found that dress." She can only laugh as Death nearly hits the floor.

Even Alphonse laughs with them before Aleyn defensively asks Death, "Well then BARBARIAN, what would YOU have her wear? What wedding dress could you see her in?"

"Technically it's bad luck..huff haaaah...to see one's bride before the wedding...huuuuuuh ahhhh...so I can't really imagine it...now can I?" Death says sarcastically as he catches his breath.

"Cut the sarcasm and just answer damn you!"

"Fine then if you insist that much ya creep." Death tells him a bit annoyed before answering, "If I must give an opinion, sure I could see her in a strapless. But honestly a silvery blue would absolutely make her pop with beauty. She's called the Moon Witch is she not, why not make her rival the moon itself on such an occasion? It would definitely give the saying 'I love you to the moon and back' quite the new meaning I'd say."

Morgen's eyes light up at Death's words and she shyly inquires, "So does that mean you...?"

"Yes."

"I didn't even fini..."

"You didn't need to. I've heard similar questions before. Trust me, I know what you were about to ask. You wanted to know if what I said means I find you as beautiful as the moon, if not more so. Am I correct?"

Morgen blushes, "As always, you're perceptive."

"Heheh..It seems I've been lacking in that department with the romance side of things though lately. If anything I say things by accident." Death admits rubbing his neck with a chuckle.

Aleyn only groaned before muttering, "At least I actually tried and KNEW what I was saying."

Death growls briefly in annoyance before saying, "At least I can learn. The question is can you?"

"If you two are quite done measuring each other's dicks, the lady will likely need help removing her things from here." Alphonse told them both in equal annoyance.

He then grabs them both by their heads and tosses them into the room, "There, now they can do it themselves."

"Gladly, once we have a list." Death expresses simply as he gets up.

Morgen comes into the room to make a list onto a crystal. She only grabs one thing from inside the room, a tiny ornate chest. She then hands the crystal to the gentlemen to collect everything. Death naturally tries to be civil about it so they can be quick about it. Only for Aleyn to volunteer to carry everything.

"Look I'm done with the whole being stupid can you just...NOT?! Like please...THINK."

"I'm not doing anything but volunteering my help." Aleyn protests.

"Genius, she gave us an inventory crystal with a list on it, to put the stuff into it. It's really not that complicated. You don't have to do any heavy lifting. You're not impressing..."

"Just SHUSH. I can handle this, I WILL handle this in fact. Now what's the first thing?"

Death sighs shaking his head, "The contents of that chest there. Again you don't have to carry...."

"Shut up damn it! I said I'll handle this."

"Ok, fine. Have fun with that. I'm going to do the practical thing in the meantime. Let me know when you're done being a moron."

"Excuse me young fellow..."

"Y-young? EhEH...ehAH! Your stupidity is obviously showing itself." Death tells him sarcastically yet again.

Aleyn grumbles to himself as he tries lifting the chest, or dragging it. Death meanwhile goes about to room to collect what he can. He starts with a few small things around the room, then moves onto the wardrobe. He collects everything in there with ease whilst using the crystal's magic. Course he does pause a moment to observe her armor set.

"I have to ask...why?" Death inquires of Morgen after coming back out from the wardrobe.

Morgen notices him pointing and comes over to see what it is this time. When realizing it's her old armor she's looks at him with her eye twitching ever so slightly, "And what exactly is wrong with it?"

Death, sensing this probably should've been saved for later cautiously responds with, "I just want to know what was going on while this was being made. It looks fine, but it's....so ornate. It looks like it belongs more in ceremonies than it does on the fields of battle."

"I am a mage more than a swordswoman admittedly."

"STILL. That's....a LOT of detail for a set used in battle. Even for a mage. Usually mages want armor that isn't heavy. I mean look at me, I don't wear heavy plate very often, if ever. I don't even wear chest plates usually. The most armor I have is my kilts, which occasionally come with plate. Either way, the way I fight and cast spells requires that I'm able to move. So I need to accommodate myself by using armor that gives me more mobility. Though I wouldn't recommend not wearing anything up top. I only do so because I can get away with it through my healing ability." Death tells her before chuckling a bit towards the end.

"Bare in mind that ONE I am a Princess, and TWO, that Uther was the among those who wanted to see my design ideas BEFORE it was ever made. You can probably imagine some things got added in."

"Right. Anyway I know a place that makes far better armor for combat and for mages. We'll have to go there later. After all this madness. For now shall I keep letting that one dig his own grave or shall I just put the chest in the crystal?" Death states.

"Please do get it into the crystal. Before he passes out due to lack of oxygen."

"Heh, may be a little late for that. His brain already lacks a little bit of it." Death says laughing a bit before Morgen's slight glare shuts him up. "Oh come on I was just kidding."

[descendantofthesparrow]

Part of Your World- Harry Hook x Reader – part 8

a rewrite of @bluediamondsevie x reader that they wrote for me

 summary: a who doesn’t love the Disney World, well, (y/n) especially loves descendants, and one day, as she dances in her kitchen getting ready to head out. 17-year-old (y/n) becomes part of that world, now a certain blue-eyed pirate meets the girl from a world where he is a fictional character and he has an actor named Thomas Doherty.

  Key:

 h/c- hair color

 e/c- eye color

 h/l- hair length

 s/c- skin color

 y/n- your name

 your stuff

 ----

You awoke to harry curled up next to you, face buried in your shoulder, arms around your waist, and legs tangled. You pulled slightly back and mentally made a ‘daww’ sound, Harry was so cute asleep!!! From his messy bed head to his curled up shoulders.

You smiled and untangled yourself from him and grabbed your clothes and rushed into the bathroom, fifteen minutes later you emerged fresh-faced and fully geared.

You walked to the door, but glanced back at Harrys sleeping face, biting your lip you walked back to the bed and shyly kissed his forehead. Blushing furiously you rushed out the room, not seeing Harry flop onto his back, face crimson and hands covering his face. He groaned out in frustration.

“I am’ so doomed”

-

You walked into the chip shop and deposited your sword into the check and made your way to the long table, walking around sitting in between gil and Desiree, Uma came out from the back and tossed a tray in front of you. You immediately devouring it, you were starving after the events of yesterday.

“(y/n)” Uma called you, you hummed and held up a finger, telling her to wait a moment. You swallowed your fish sticks and looked over at her.

“yeah, Uma?”

“I need you to go on Harry's pay route, I always have one of the other crew members go when…you know what happens”

“kay, I’ll be back soon”

You stuffed the rest of the fries in your mouth and retrieved your sword setting on Harrys Wednesday pay route. As you enter the market place, you noticed all the isle people staring at you with worry, fear, and awe. And every step you took, people jumped out of your way, not wanting for you to chop off their limbs, raising an eyebrow you looked around, all the adults, they were afraid of you!

You twisted around and saw gonzo making a deal with a market dealer, trying to get the fresher apples, you strutted over to him and the dealer paled and pushed the apples into gonzos arms, hurriedly backing away and looking at his apples.

You and gonzo glanced and each other and shrugged. Both of you walked down the alleys, you stopping to grab money for the route. As you saw more and more people staring at you in fear, you asked gonzo a question.

“yo Gonzo, why is everyone looking at me like that?” he chuckled and tossed you an apple, you caught it and bit into it, the chip shops food not doing enough to fill your stomach.

“Captain Hooks cabin boy just spread the word that the (h/c) girl with a crimson jacket in Uma’s crew dismembered his captain, as you are the newest member, people have assumed and you’re officially the most badass girl on the Isle.”

“why would they say that?”

“girl, you took down captain hook, one of the most feared villains on the Isle, you deserve that title” you made an ‘oh’ sound and nodded, continuing the pay route with Gonzo trailing behind you.

“though people are saying you should take Uma’s place” you made a face at the suggestion, you would never do that, you respected Uma to much to take her place, besides she was much scarier than you were.

“uh, no. not happening, Uma is way more suited for leadership, also! She's a fucking sea demigoddess! I not going to try to challenge her, shed fucking kick my ass!”

“pfft, good point! Haha! …wait Uma’s a demigod?!”

You stopped in your tracks, staring at gonzo as if he grew two heads, but he kept staring at you with a confused face, you realized that even Uma probably didn’t know she was the granddaughter of position.

“By Odin's beard, yall know nothing!” you threw your hands in the air and walked away, gonzo cackling all the while,

“by Odin's beard? When did you start saying that?”

“shut up it’s a thing I picked up from Harry! He's Scottish remember”

Gonzo snickered and waved you off, heading in the other direction. You pouted and looked around, you made it to the last destination on your route, curl up and dye.

You smiled, today was Dizzy’s shift, well at least her hairstyle shifts, this was gonna be easy.

“Hey, Dizzy!” you smiled at the hyper 13-year-old, she squealed at the sight of you and almost knocked you over with her tackle hug

“hi (y/n)! did you come for a haircut?!”

“Sorry sweetie, but something happened and I have to do Harry's route, you know the drill.”

“ *sigh* I know, but at least your nicer about it, Harrys…mean” you giggle with the girl, yeah that’s Harry to a T, at least to most people.

“he can be”

Dizzy fished out the money from the cash register and handed it over to you, you took about 70% of it and handed the rest back to dizzy, she giggled and placed it back in the cash register.

“you wanna know something?”

“Ohh gossip, do tell”

“Harry always stares at you when you're not looking! I think he has a crush on you~!” your face flushed pink, Harry? Having a crush on you? Not possible.

“im having a hard time believing that diz”

“whatever you say~ he loves you~!”

“keep telling your self that, I gotta go, stay safe!” you ruffled the girl's hair and turned to exit the salon, hearing dizzy’s teasing behind you

“Harry and (y/n) sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-“

Her voice faded into background noise, you sighed sadly, you wished Harry was crushing on you, but…he liked Uma, a demigod, daughter of Ursula, he would rather her over you, a human girl, daughter of (mother/father) and (mother/father), just a boring human girl with no exiting back story.

‘if only Dizzy, if only’

---

You re-entered the chip shop, heading over to Uma and giving her the money, she nodded and pocketed it.

“nice job (y/n), did you enjoy your walk around?” you shrugged and scratched the back of your head.

“I guess, people literally jumped out of my way when I was doing the route”

“well consider-“

“I know I know, I amputated captain hook limbs, it makes sense why’d they do that” you and Uma laughed for a moment, before moving into a comfortable silence.

“(y/n)?” you hummed and softly smiled at her, she smiled back.

“thank you, I think people are going to be leaving both Harry and my crew alone from now on” you ginned and tugged on her arm, surprising her with a tight hug, she was stiff for a moment before melting into your warm and safe embrace.

“it was my honor Cap’n”

---

You and Harry sat in the shared room, you sitting on the bed, Harry in the hammock, Harry glanced at you every few seconds, trying to gather courage.

“lass?” you hummed and looked up at him, he was twidling his fingers in nervousness.

“yeah harry?”

“could- could I sleep in the bed with ye again? I don’t feel…” you mentally cursed Hook and gave a reassuring smile to harry

“I know, and sure, I don’t mind” Harry grinned at you, and you both sat in silence  for about 30 mins, and you walked into the bathroom to change, but when you came out, you saw scars rippling across Harrys back, your breath hitched, Harry turned to you, fear and shame forming on his face. He back away from you.

“(y/n)! yer weren’t supposed to see-“ you rushed forward and crashed into Harry's chest, burning hot tears streaming down your face

“what are ye-“ you hugged him tight and spoke in a broken voice

“I will never let this happen again, to you or anybody else” your voice cracked with emotion, making Harry realize something, his own tears came, and you both sunk to the floor and sat in eachothers embrace

“…thank ye (y/n)”

‘fuck I’m definitely in love’

 --end of part 8--

Comment or message me for part 9

 taglist:

@namelesslosers

and imma tag @crazybutconfidentaf because you seem to love the fic :p

[advernia]

fic: time has a place (in our little space)

— the seven of hearts and alice the second: a glimpse of the ticking hours between doctor and a young woman, with bottles of alcohol lost along the way.

1: spoiler warning for those who haven’t gone through kyle's route! said spoilers are just vague references to some of the route's events, but still tread lightly folks (°∀°)b

X I I

The clock strikes midnight when the Seven of Hearts stretches his arms over his head and decides that it's time to bust out a drink from his stash - the soft sigh and narrowed gaze coming from Alice the Second could've spelled either disapproval or disappointment (or even both simultaneously), but she walks over to the sofa where he sat anyway with two small glass cups in her hands.

                                            I

The drink he pulls out of his stash is a thin bottle of gin, and this is what she says to him as the clock struck one -

You know, I still think it isn't professional to keep a stash here in the infirmary.

He snorts at that, looking at her rather pointedly -

Say that again when you can admit that you're not hiding anything in the white cabinet just behind us - third drawer, rightmost side, innermost portion.

Her shoulders jump and her eyes widen at his words, and he chuckles at her reaction. 

    I I

She attempts to explain herself first, stating that it was the Jack of Hearts who gave it to her earlier but she wasn't able to find a brief moment or a place to set it aside properly since there were already patients coming in, but the Seven of Hearts cuts in and tells her that she shouldn't even bother hiding unnecessary stuff in the drawers and that she should just bring it out; so by the time the clock had struck two and he had poured some gin in their cups, she brings out a plate of fish chips from the aforementioned drawer with a slight blush on her cheeks.

        I I I

The flush in his face is threatening to color the entirety of his cheeks with a hue that rivals that of his hair by the time the clock strikes three, and that's her signal to take his glass away from him - he pouts and grabs at her like a child would, and the words that escape his lips make some sort of pity blossom in a part of her heart:

Why would you take my only source of happiness away from me? he moaned, golden eyes glimmering bright.

She doesn't buy it anyway, and proceeds to take the bottle of gin away from the table - and away from his twitching fingers. 

            I V

She's done cleaning up after their drinking session when the clock strikes four and before she's to make her way back to her room, she decides to see if she can wake him: he's not sprawled out on the couch but sitting on it, what a miracle, so she has easy access to both his shoulders to shake him awake - hopefully, the task wouldn't prove as difficult as it seemed.

                V

Her voice rings in his head, and what also registers in his hazy consciousness is the feeling of his body being shrouded in something and the words goodnight: the words are a fleeting whisper, a breeze to his ears, and something just tells him to hold on, hold on before it disappears -

And that he does: he extends an arm and just reaches out, hand wide open, fingers stretched as far as they can go to the direction of that voice and they prove successful in their task - he takes hold of something warm and familiar against his skin, and he gathers all the strength he has left to pull it close as the clock struck five.

                    V I

(She finally falls asleep just minutes after the clock strikes six, with her hand still wrapped in his and her head resting snugly on his shoulder - somehow, the warmth of his body beside hers and the mingling scents of antiseptic and lime made the issue of propriety bubble away from her mind, so she resigned herself to stop struggling away from his grip because in the first place, she already found a sense of comfort in his company days ago - 

 - and she sincerely hoped that the Seven of Hearts, in some way or another, felt the same about her presence, too.)

                        V I I

When he wakes up to the clock striking seven, he realizes that he has slept on the couch sitting upright; or as upright as he could - his body aches from sleeping in such a position, but when he sees that his assistant had done the same beside him, with her head resting on his numb shoulder; he squeezes her hand and relishes in the thought that he's not the only one going to be complaining about muscle pain later.

                            V I I I

The Ace of Hearts doesn't exactly get why Alice the Second occasionally winced as she moved her head (even in the smallest of angles), but he does (he really, really does) know the reason why the Seven of Hearts kept complaining about muscle pains for the umpteenth time (again) - and so after breakfast, when the trio have stepped out of the dining area as the clock struck eight; the Ace asks Alice -

Did you have a hard time sleeping last night?

She visibly flinches and beside her, the Seven of Hearts' lips curl upwards -

Awww, would you look at that, he says with a lilt in his voice, she's got muscle pains!

I certainly do not!

                                I X

It's the Jack of Hearts' troop up for morning training again, so the Seven of Hearts and Alice the Second return to the infirmary as soon as the clock struck nine: before anyone would rush in explaining how they got their injury or mourning about something broken or just lamenting about their sorry state in general, the latter takes a deep breath before she turned around to face the former -

Say, Kyle? she says, and he looks up from his book casually.

Yeah?

Thank you, she breathes, for lending me your shoulder.

He blinks once, twice; before a lazy grin slips onto his lips, and into his features.

                                    X

The clock had already struck ten but the line of patients, as he jokingly mumbled to himself, was still as long as a lock of her hair - she shakes her head and hits him playfully on the shoulder before asking him what she could do now to help their current patient, a middle-aged soldier who had a mass of purple bruising on his upper forearm. The Seven of Hearts nods at her and says -

Get me an ice pack. After that, grab five more thick towels, a roll of stockinette, a pair of gloves, then go to that kettle over there; it still has some water - check its temperature: if it's lukewarm, boil it for a bit then pour some in a basin; don't fill it up to the brim and set it beside me to cool down. If the water's still hot, you can just pour some in the basin and set it aside immediately. Oh right, the basins are...

... in the left-hand shelf, bottom compartment, she finished with a vigorous nod. So: ice pack, five thick towels, a stockinette roll, gloves, basin of water - check temperature; if lukewarm I should boil then pour, if hot I'll just pour - is that right?

With nothing in her hands but with a gaze that demanded affirmation, she waited with bated breath - and all he could do was grin.

Not bad, he mumbles - and she smiles at him before taking off. 

                                        X I

The middle-aged soldier is permitted to go a little later after the clock had struck eleven, with a secured sling supporting the cast in his arm: before he leaves, he stands tall and proclaims his utmost gratitude to the Seven of Hearts and Alice the Second in a booming voice - the former just waves casually and tells the soldier to take it easy, while the latter states that she just offered assistance. The soldier shakes his head and says to her, however -

Assistant you may be, Alice, but you should take pride in your work, he declares. I may be just one of the many soldiers under the Jack of Hearts, but under his wing, I pride myself in being able to help in his and the Red Army's efforts in making Cradle a better place. It may seem arrogant of me - but I believe that even minor efforts count in a bigger picture... just like your assistance can help save lives.

The soldier salutes with a small smile on his face, then turns around to leave.

                                            X I I

The infirmary usually closes for lunch break when the clock strikes twelve, but the Red Army's doctor and assistant finish treating their last patient a couple of minutes past that time: when the pair is left alone in silence, the Seven of Hearts swivels his chair to face Alice the Second, who blinks at the sudden action and squeaks -

What is it?

Crouch down a bit, will you?

Her lips curve downwards but she complies anyway: while crouching she's within better reach without much effort, so he puts his hand on top of her head and moves his hand back and forth in a languid motion, the strands of her blonde hair soft against his fingers.

The sensation is familiar - somewhat enjoyable, somewhat calming yet very vexing all the same, so her mouth opens to say something about manners; because a man shouldn't just ruffle a lady's hair like he would to a dog, but their eyes meet: their faces are not that far apart from each other so she can see that the smile on his lips reaches his eyes, and his direct gaze set on her holds so much warmth.

A sudden heat flows through her face like a flood so she looks down at her hands that now grip at her skirt, lips still quivering -

- but not a single word is voiced.

                                                I

The lunch they have is fulfilling to their stomachs but brief to their bodies, and the Seven of Hearts bemoans this to Alice the Second as they walk back to the infirmary minutes before the clock struck one: he explains that while the food is good (but the drinks are better), there's not enough time to properly digest and appreciate what they've eaten if their break only spans for an hour then it's back to work they go - listening to him ramble about his explanation as she washed some towels, she lets out a laugh but says nothing in reply.

Oh, but I guess lunch tastes better than usual nowadays.

How so?

You're right there, eating happily beside me, he grins. I've always thought that dining hall's too wide for just one person.

    I I

The Jack of Hearts visits the infirmary exactly as the clock strikes two, and when he sees the doctor by his desk but no assistant in sight, he casually says:

Ah, has she finally managed to escape your clutches?

The Seven of Hearts snorts and shakes his head - 

Last time I checked, you were the one with the name 'Gentle Demon'. Why are you painting me in your image?

Come now - it was just a jest. That aside... where has Alice gone to?

The doctor gestures to the closed curtains of the infirmary's ward, so the Jack of Hearts walks over to the said area to part the curtains slightly: there he sees the woman he was looking for sitting on a chair set by an open window, head and arm resting on the windowsill with a book on her lap; eyes closed and breathing in a steady rhythm.

Ah. What a shame for her to be asleep.

She fell asleep just minutes before you came in.

Oh? And you didn't bother to at least ward her from the cold?

Huh? But doesn't she look comfortable enough?

The Jack of Hearts let out a laugh as he took off the sheets from the nearest cot to carefully settle over Alice's shoulders.

Forget I asked. I was expecting too much of you, it seems.

        I I I

The two ranking officers share a conversation about the Red Army's current situation and also about a certain someone's training regimen which leaves the Jack of Hearts utterly perplexed on who could be the subject of the Seven of Hearts' ire (who would ever dare get on the good doctor's nerves, he says, while said doctor rolls his eyes), and it lasts until the Jack of Hearts decides that he has overstayed his welcome - he leaves a bag containing two jelly doughnuts right in the center of the Seven of Hearts' desk with a smile, leaving the infirmary just as the clock struck three. 

The Seven of Hearts scowls at the gift, taking the bag and walking over to where Alice the Second still lay fast asleep - he sets the bag on the windowsill then proceeds to close the windows as quietly as possible, and when he's done he spares a glance at his assistant: eyes land on her mussed hair first, covering a good portion of her face enough to make him wonder if she could still breathe.

So carefully he extends his hand toward her, fingers moving as gently as they could to brush the strands of her hair away from her face. He uncovers her eyes first, and the slightly darkened color of the skin under her eyes catches his attention: he recalls that they did sort of sleep late last night, so maybe he was at fault for that -

- but still, she stayed by his side all the while.

A ghost of a smile begins to grace his lips, and he decides to watch over her a little longer.

            I V

Alice the Second wakes up to see that the sky outside was no longer in vivid shades of blue but now stained in orange, red, and yellow hues; and that's enough to make her rise quickly from her seat, throw the book that she was reading onto the nearest cot, then pull aside the white curtains separating the ward from the infirmary in a flurry, just in time to see the Seven of Hearts about to take a swig from his mug, glasses perched upon his nose and expression dumbfounded, until -

- he just burst out in peals of laughter, drops of water spilling out from his cup and onto his clothes -

Wha- what's so funny!

Y-your hair, he manages to wheeze out, it - wow, just look at it go - looks like birds just nested in there-

H-hey! You don't have to laugh that hard!

And so doctor and assistant continued their banter - and by the time the clock had struck four, the Red Army's infirmary was painted completely in the warm sunset hues and mingling laughter.

                V

With night approaching and little to no soldiers dropping by the infirmary, the Seven of Hearts calls it a day when the clock strikes five - with a nod, Alice the Second stands up and begins to gather any tools left behind on the trolleys and desks then placing them all together in one basin set by the sink. She's about to grab the kettle when she sees him take out his medical bag, so she says:

Don't forget that Zero asked for a roll of bandages!

Got it. Thanks for the reminder.

Jonah mentioned that if we had some salve to spare, he'd like a bottle for himself, too.

Ah, that. Most likely he isn't going to use it for himself, but oh well.

And there's an ice pack ready in the ice box, if you need it.

Oh? Someone's well prepared.

That's because you - and other people - need it.

He chuckles as he picks up the aforementioned items, storing the extra bandage roll and antiseptic in a separate pocket then wrapping the ice pack in two towels before setting it carefully inside his bag. After making sure that everything was in place he zippers the bag shut and slings it over his shoulder, walking towards the door and about to leave but not before he -

I'll be back, he calls out before closing the door behind him.

I'll be waiting, she replies, seeing him off with a smile.

                    V I 

These are the things that Alice the Second does while the Seven of Hearts is away from the infirmary:

She washes any and every medical implement used within the day - first, she lets everything she gathered settle in a basin of hot water for a minute to sterilize them; then she brushes each tool carefully with soap. After rinsing, she wipes everything with a towel then puts each tool away in certain cabinets. 

While she's at it, she also takes down the towels and gloves hanging on the standing rack not far from the sink; ensures that they are dry, folds them, and also puts them away in their respective drawers.

She tidies up the rest of the infirmary, starting from the medicine cabinets to the doctor's desk to the rest of the cabinets then finally, the ward. Ointments and assorted salves are placed back in the shelves, books and papers are neatly set aside, and any used beds are remade.

She grabs a broom and sweeps the infirmary clean; going around once, then twice until she's satisfied. She even hums a tune while she's at it, her skirts swirling around her legs as she swept every nook and cranny with practiced ease.

The thing she does not do, however, is to escape - she is on her lonesome and every avenue was open to her, whether it be the door or the windows. Perhaps a clear layout of the Red Army's headquarters has imprinted itself well in her mind considering the length of her stay, but she makes no indication of leaving and instead, she waits. She waits, even if the clock had struck six and the minutes continued to pass by.

Just like she had told the Seven of Hearts.

With nothing else to see, the King of Hearts waves his hand in the darkness of his room and the image of the infirmary becomes wisps of smoke, just as his eyes reverted back to their blue hue.

                        V I I

The Seven of Hearts and Alice the Second's company for dinner tonight happens to be the Queen of Hearts, who permitted them to eat with him given that they would not be rambunctious to the point that they would spoil his dessert. The latter takes note of that and sits two chairs away from the Queen while the former just sprawls himself on the seat next to her, not paying any heed to the warning and instead mourns out for ale. He also effectively ignores the looks of distaste coming from both the Queen and Alice upon being served with said drink, draining his glass in a couple of gulps.

With a satisfied grin, he turns to Alice and says with a voice thick with ale and suggestion -

Come by my room later, yeah? We have some unfinished business tonight.

Silence.

The clock struck seven.

The unfinished business that the Seven of Hearts was referring to was making a comfortable bed for his piglet Goo, which they talked about on their way to the dining hall: he knew that and Alice the Second somehow knew that he was referring to that, but -

- the Queen of Hearts, on the other hand -

Scandalous, he hissed with narrowed eyes, you are truly a man without a single shred of propriety...

W-wait! It's not what you think, I swear!

You would defend his loose tongue!?

Huh? Does that mean we ain't going to do it tonight -

Stop talking for a second!

                            V I I I 

... Got you!

Ah!

Short of breath but with some strength left in his arms, the Seven of Hearts manages to take hold of Alice the Second's wrist, using his grip to pull the rest of her body towards him with mixed results: she trips on her own feet so her head buries itself on his shoulder, and he has to wrap his other arm around her waist to keep her steady. The sheer proximity of their bodies makes her go as stiff as a board, but his voice is unfazed as he says:

I'm sorry about earlier, really.

They're outside, in the Red Army's garden - the dining hall misunderstanding had her bolting away out of embarrassment and strangely enough, he adamantly followed her with the sincere intent of asking her what was wrong: she began running and he did the same, she told him not follow and he asked why; until their chase somehow led them outside then in their current position.

A period of silence envelops them, and when the clock strikes eight, she finally mumbles into his shoulder -

... I'm not really mad.

Wha - really? Then why won't you show your face?

You said something incredibly embarrassing, that's why! I'm completely aware that you can be so tactless at times and I convinced myself to get used to you and your awkward way of phrasing things, but it's just unbelievable that you had to say something like that in front of Jonah, of all people! I'm glad he understood that we were planning nothing improper, but imagine if someone else heard you -

... Wow, you don't hold anything back, do you?

                                I X

Alice the Second, albeit grudgingly, finds it in her heart to forgive the Seven of Hearts once she had calmed herself - so when all is said and done, they walk back inside the Red Army headquarters with his initial grip on her wrist now a hold on her hand: it stays that way as they continue their walk through the corridors and up the stairs, and until she realizes that they were heading for her room.

It's only when they stand right in front of her room's door that he lets go of her, her hand; and that makes her frown -

Why are we here? she asks him, and he shrugs.

I thought you were worn out from all that running.

She blinks for a moment before laughing - if she recalled correctly, he was the one out of breath from chasing her, but she decides to keep that tidbit to herself.

I'm fine, really. We still have some time, so how about we just take Goo's measurements for today?

The clock in the hall chimes nine - smirking, he crosses his arms over his chest and mock sighs:

And to think that just an hour ago, you were rambling about how you didn't want to be seen with me...

H-hey! Don't you use my words against me!

                                    X

When they enter his room and light up a magic crystal, they find his pet piglet smack in the middle of the bed, snoring away like its life depended on it: while the Seven of Hearts had sudden images of pork roast flashing through his mind, Alice the Second had walked over to the bed; cooing over the pig as she carried it up and cradled it gently in her arms.

The clock strikes ten, but he doesn't move from where he stands and instead watches the spectacle in silence: he notes how much a smile can do to her features; how it would make the blue of her eyes go warm and bright, how it would make her appear softer and noticeably more feminine, how it perfectly represented the very level of happiness she was feeling -

Yeah, you really do look better like that, he says all of a sudden.

What do you mean? she asks as she looked up at him.

The corners of his lips lift themselves up lazily as he says -

A smile suits you, that's what I'm saying.

She flusters, soft pinks dusting cheeks her quickly -

Didn't we just have a talk on how to be careful when you phrase things!?

Oh right, we did, didn't we? Sorry.

At least be a little more sincere about it!

                                        X I

The piglet had been measured and they've already gone over the remaining details about the pig's bed, but Alice the Second still finds herself seated in the sofa of the Seven of Hearts' room, a book about herbs in her hand. He mentioned that they would be picking herbs again tomorrow but they'd be getting them from the Central Quarter, so he encouraged her to read up a little to familiarize herself with other herbs not growing in the Red Army's gardens or in Cradle itself - granted, there were some herbs listed in the book that she had never seen in London as well, so they were of interest, but...

... She also found herself throwing occasional glances at he who was hunched at his desk again, a quill in his hand and a thick tome in the other. The clock had already struck eleven and yet he continued on with his studies without stopping, while she, on the other hand; felt that a moment of respite for her eyes was sorely needed. Setting the book aside for a moment, she stretches her arms over her head and begins to go over the day's events -

- only to end up blushing out of sheer embarrassment: she covers her face in her hands, shaking her head while mumbling to herself repeatedly like a madman for what seemed like minutes; but still...

... a smile, for whatever reason, still dances its way onto her lips.

                                            X I I

The clock strikes midnight when Seven of Hearts carries the sleeping Alice the Second in his arms, laying her down as gently as possible in his bed in order not to rouse her. As he pulls the sheets over her body, he hears her mumble something about doughnuts - he recalls the Jack of Hearts' gift earlier that afternoon, and he shakes his head.

Reaching under the sofa, he pulls out a bottle of white wine - the bottle is quickly opened as it is quickly consumed and discarded, and seconds later he settles himself under the sheets and beside her in the bed. He breathes in, and the various scents crowding in his room come flooding in: the peppermint plant on his bedside table, soap from the sheets, whiffs of herbs escaping from the cabinet, drifting touches of almond from the books in his desk, a little of that pork-like smell of Goo, and -

- a waft of something sweet but not cloying, of something unusual yet also comforting... just inches away.

Good job today, he whispers before closing his eyes.

                                                1: from ikerev's prologue alone, i already felt that i would like kyle as a character - reading his route now, i'm so happy my expectations were correct + goddamn son that mc??? her mindset / attitude + lines of thinking + internal conflicts & realizations (that i also wanted to see in other routes)??? holy shit fam, i like her characterization on kyle's route, bless.  2: following that this is just a self-indulgent fic so it's sort of a hot mess™ - i don't usually start writing a piece until i'm done reading a route/ending, but i'm just really happy with what i've read of the route + their dynamic, i dig... mc first and foremost developing genuine respect for kyle + admiring his determination to his profession??? slay me (*≧▽��) 3: on pt X (morning), i just like the idea that eventually mc would get so used to kyle barking orders at her to the point that she's trained herself to get used to his dictation, haha. kyle secretly feels proud of her when he realizes that she no longer needs to make use of the pen & paper to list down his orders lol. 4: on that note too, i'd like to believe that mc was able to adapt quickly to the pressure of the infirmary environment was bc she was employed in london's best confectionery: lotsa customers + demanding kids + orders coming left & right, so at least she knows how to work her way around the pressure - her problem, of course, is how to get around a medical setting. 5: on pt V (evening), i also like the idea of kyle checking up on the chosen thirteen, maybe at least four to three times a week, maybe? they usually don't need to go to the infirmary anyway, but kyle makes it a point to do maintenance on them, especially on lancelot & jonah - both can be incredibly stubborn and sometimes unreasonable to deal with when it comes to minor injuries bc they just shrug it off, lol. edgar and zero are careful, and honestly they probably do their own first aid. 6: tumblr can't get the spacings like a03 does, but the spaces were set accordingly to the hours, lol. the top-light and bottom-heavy content distribution wasn't intentional, tho.

[infinitum-imaginaerum]

Well with spooky stage and fuckboi eyebrow from scentist in mind how about 34 I have a secret with your boy Ken, because damn dude can get saucy

34:“I have a secret.” | Ken

I DELETED AND REWROTE THE WHOLE THING I’M SORRY. lmao… I’m not sure I like this version any better but here it is anyway. I could have written a whole novel about this but I was like fhdjkshfsj these are supposed to be drabbles.  There’s also a super specific photo I wanted to use for this but I had to just link it here because you know how I am about formatting lmfao.  Don’t ask me why I linked that whole bit okay. 

It’s Christmas Time!

He had the most dazzling smile that would melt anyone’s heart and the kindest personality. He was tall and handsome and kind of quiet—he never gave anyone trouble and always tried to see the best in everyone and everything. He was the epitome of perfect, and he could have any girl he wanted if he would just ask.

He claimed he didn’t believe in dating because dating always meant feelings, and he was too afraid of the pain that came with all of that. All the girls pined after him in those days; it was almost gross to watch.

Ken had become a lot different since then. Now he had the appearance of the type of dude you just didn’t go around, the ones you never dared associate with because they just meant bad news. He lost that glimmer in his eyes, the dazzle in his smile—not that he ever showed it anymore. He seemed misunderstood, cliché as it was to say. He never talked to anyone anymore and was mostly on his own whenever anyone saw him around.

It kind of hurt, just seeing him, even here at a friend’s house party; a place you never thought you’d see him step foot in. You’d hardly seen him step foot anywhere since the lot of you graduated college. You sat silently, swirling your drink in your red plastic cup as you watched him. It was the first time since college you saw him flash that dazzling smile, at a girl he used to be close friends with back then. It put you somewhat at ease until he caught eyes with you.

Quickly, you looked away, trying to make it seem like you weren’t just staring at him, but his presence was crushing, especially as he approached you.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked you, pointing to the empty cushion of the loveseat you were sitting on, in prime view of the beer-pong tournament. Some people never changed.

“Only by you,” you replied, smiling up at him. He tentatively took a seat next to you, crossing his slender legs as he lounged. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time. How are you doing, Ken?” you asked him, without much room for things to get too awkward or to give you enough time to change your conviction.

He chuckled, but it was hardly genuine. You could tell he was trying to keep some things out of this conversation, but when he turned to face you, you had so many more questions. His face looked different—but not like age had changed it, different. It was hard to explain. There were a couple of deep scars through his left eyebrow, closest to you so when he turned his head, that’s what you saw first. They looked fairly fresh, considering the color of the scar tissue.

“A lot has changed,” he finally said, not really giving anything away except the obvious. You noted in your peripheral the way he gripped his plastic cup, almost crumpling it in his hand.

“Has your view on dating changed?” you asked him, mostly as a joke. You always had to laugh about it considering that most of the girls that were always after him were here, now with their long term significant others and off the market.

Ken seemed to find humor in it, because he laughed, and this time it was sincere. His gaze cast away from your face and down to your lap where you were cradling your cup. “I guess you could say that.”

You gave him a skeptical look, prodding for more.

“I’m a man,” he shrugged, “we’re all dirty beyond a relationship.”

You knew what he was implying and chuckled as an expected response before taking a swig of your drink. Small and awkward talk ensued after that, but neither of you wanted to leave knowing that there were much deeper layers to delve into with each other.

“You’re running empty. Can I get you something, so long as you promise to save my seat? I want to catch up.”

He nodded, offering you his cup, a drink, and agreeing to keep your seat. Ken opened up to you incredibly quickly after that, and the conversation began to flow better for quite some time. The two of you talked about anything and everything, essentially drowning out the party around you, especially as the beer-pong teams had died down. You were so absorbed by him, you hardly noticed the way he periodically touched your leg, or the way your body was opening up to him, or how close you had come to him.

At some point, his fingers were fiddling with yours, his gaze cast towards that to occupy his wandering while he listened to you talk. Everything that clicked with Ken felt like centuries of missed opportunities. He’d hardly touched the drink you brought him before this conversation ensued, and yours was much the same, cast aside on the end table to be completely focused on him.

For a moment, you took your attention away from him to check you watch for the time, particularly disturbed by the time and just how easily it had gone by talking to him. Your eyes darted around for your ride, who was nowhere to be found, until your gaze came back to him when he squeezed your hand.

“Do you need a ride home?” he asked you.

“Normally, I would say no, because the person typically in your position right now is some sleezy dude who doesn’t know how to leave someone alone when they’re not interested… but since I can’t seem to locate my counterpart… would you please?” you requested.

He grinned and in a moment whisked you to his car. The ride was almost silent, but you didn’t mind as you settled into his immaculate leather seat, enjoying not only the smoothness of his car, but how noiseless it was. It was fancy and new, top of the line luxury, so Ken must have become pretty successful in these few years after graduation.

There was a vacant space in the driveway of the small home you shared with your ride, so you suspected that she went home with whomever she hooked up with and wouldn’t be back until the next morning at the very earliest. Ken took the spot himself without confirming, but you were anticipating he was going to leave soon, so there wouldn’t be a problem.

Like a proper gentleman, he opened the door for you and extended a hand to help you out to walk you the rest of the way. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets as he walked half a step behind you until coming up to the front door, where you turned to him.

“I had… the best time talking with you tonight. It was nice to reconnect,” you smiled up at him and he returned the gesture. “Normally this is the part where whoever took me home—”

“Gets all over you?” he interrupted, noting your hesitancy about the situation after it had become slightly awkward. You weren’t accustomed to just saying goodbye and nothing happening, so this was strange.

You nodded. He hummed in response.

“I mean, we did hit it off,” you reassured him, garnering a small smirk as his gaze turned back to you. Slowly, he pulled a hand out of his pocket and brought it up to gently take your chin. His gaze captivated you in a way that made you feel almost numb.

“Are you anticipating a kiss?” he asked you.

His question was almost patronizing, and you couldn’t possibly have felt more stupid for expecting such an action. Your blush was out of frustration and embarrassment, but when you tried to turn your head away with your gaze, he wasn’t about to let you. His grip was tight on your chin, keeping you facing him.

You were about to speak to defend yourself, but before you could get any words out, your breath had choked them back in your tightening throat, Ken’s breath—a mix of mint and gin—was beating against your face as he leaned in, tilting his head to dodge your nose with his as he craned down to capture your lips. His lips were so warm and so soft, so full against yours, you sighed in disappointment when he pulled away much too soon. He watched your eyes flutter open.

“I’m sorry if you didn’t want—”

“Oh, I wanted to.”

“I don’t know what my problem is. I used to laugh at the girls that pined over you,” you openly admitted, grabbing fistfuls of his jacket when both of his hands unexpectedly took your hips to pin you up against the wall adjacent to your front door.

“A lot of things have changed in the years we’ve been apart,” he uttered to you, still very calm in appearance, though he had you pinned incredibly tightly to the wall. Your breath was almost caught in your throat entirely, your fists unable to grab the leather of his jacket tight enough as you stood nearly on your tippy-toes. His middle finger stroked a straight line under the middle of your chin, bringing your face up to his so he could press a soft kiss against your lips. “I’ve got a secret,” he whispered.

Your eyes widened, the way the color of his irises shifted from deep brown to a glowing green color, his lips pulled over his teeth revealing fangs behind them. He grinned at you like his next meal—literally. He could feel you hyperventilating, if he couldn’t hear it. Your blood pressure was through the roof, your veins almost bursting at the seams which only enticed him more. Your closed fists did their best to push him away, but he was way too strong for you, even as a hand reached up to cover your mouth, silencing your scream into his warm palm.

–

Your eyes snapped open with the jolt of your body, covered in a cold sweat, closing your empty fist which pushed against a warm chest. His sweet embrace tightened around you as he shifted under you, waking too.

He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he was cupping your head against his chest in an instant, hushing you, realizing that you had probably woken from a nightmare—it was easy to tell with your hyperventilating, your clammy skin and the way you jolted awake. Regulating your breathing was your first priority, listening to him sooth you as you tried to relax.

“Ken…” you whispered quietly, “I had the dream again…”

He hummed in response, “I thought so… You’ve been having it a lot lately. Don’t worry; I’m just me, as I’ve always been,” he soothed you.

You nodded, lifting your head from his chest to look into his dark eyes, the sweet almond shape that held dark chocolate orbs that never changed—they were always the same and always looked at you affectionately, especially when he smiled, like he was now.

“I’m definitely not a vampire,” he reminded you, stroking your hair away from your face to get a better look at you. You nodded, agreeing with him as he craned his neck up to affectionately kiss your cheek before you settled back into him, re-finding your comfortable position as he lulled you back to sleep in his human arms, against his human body, listening to his human heart.

[merdelain]

Krysos, Myrilean, Lhovi, & Quil: lavender, incense, soup, lace!

i’ll group these by question like i’ve done in the past!

Lavender: Name something that relaxes you.

Krysos: Oh, I dunno. Gardening, I guess? I like to see things grow and thrive, but I also get really upset if anything happens to my plants, so I guess it's not always relaxing.Mirilyien: Honey I never relax. I do not have time to relax, I am always workin'. I can be drinkin' all night long at the club and I'm workin'. It is hard work to be as fuckin' amazing as I am... But I guess I do take a break every now 'n then to pet a kitty cat, that's the one thing that breaks my concentration. I can't help myself around a kitty cat, they're just too sweet and perfect. I can't even be that perfect.Lhovi: Gin, haha. And good food, and Henry. And sex... I'll stop.Quil: Huh... Good music, I think. Nothin' more beautiful than a well-played violin. I'm not talkin' about myself, I love to listen to a real master, y'know -- I could get lost for hours listenin' to someone who really knows the instrument better than I probably know my own mind. Put me on a beach at sunset and give me a nocturne... bliss. That's true peace for me. No other paradise could ever compare.

Incense: List your three favorite scents.

Krysos: Hmm... Grass and wildflowers on a sunny day, like when you're out in a big field... Warm buttercream, you know how it smells when you don't wait long enough to cool the cake before you frost it... and... I think... soap bubbles, maybe? It smells clean and fun and bright.Mirilyien: Oh, y'know, I never really thought much about that. I don't know if I have three favorite scents... I kinda like the way a good eye shadow cake smells, when it's brand new, I guess, but it's not my favorite. Oh! You know what is, though? Have you ever smelled a li'l baby kitten's head? I can't describe it but you know exactly what I mean if you have. Grown-up kitty cats have a good smell too but it's not the same as a li'l baby kitten smell. Good gods above there's nothin' so perfect in all of creation as fresh clean li'l baby kitten smell.Lhovi: Um, let's see... Heady spring flowers, like hyacinth and rose... The sort of sweet, herbal, almost-dusty smell of incense, you know, when it's not burning... and... Um. I don't wanna sound weird, but... okay, so there's this smell, when someone's been wearing a nice cologne or scented soap, but now it's at the end of the day, and it's sort of mixed with just... their natural smell, I guess? Gods that sounds so weird when I say it, ugh. I'm sorry. It's just... it's nice, it's comforting to lay down with someone and smell that.Quil: The smell o' the beach -- y'know, salt air, warm sand, all that... Lemons an' herbs, and... that sorta cold, wet smell of bein' deep in a cave. It's a nostalgia thing.

Soup: Comfort food?

Krysos: Sweetcorn chowder! It's so nice and warm and creamy, very comforting. Especially with some fresh sweet & spicy cornbread on the side. Mirilyien: Okay, so. This ain't really a fancy food or anything like that, and it's kinda not something you just eat for fun, normally, but I don't care, I love it. It's called taece, they're these li'l smoky dried fish and you just crunch 'em up whole. They're usually a trail food, like somethin' you'd eat for travel, but I just love 'em. I could eat 'em all day.Lhovi: God, don't ask me that, I don't know where to start. I mean, anything is a comfort food if you want it bad enough, right? Haha... Um, okay, I'll try to think hard on it... Well, there's pepper cheese, it's a really common thing in Tethyr, it's sharp and spicy and it's got whole peppercorns in the rind. I love just about any cheese but this has a bit of a special place in my heart, being Tethyrian. And, of course, I'd have it with some honey and a good nut bread. And some roseapples if I could get some, but you have to import those from the heartlands, so probably not.Quil: Well, since comin' to the surface I've really grown to love the shellfish available up here, but if we're talkin' real comfort food -- there's this stew I used to have, made from cave crayfish and rothé brisket, usually with tubers and mushrooms. Gods, it's delicious. And a glass of Undermountain Alurlyath -- ah, gods, yes, heavenly stuff. Sweet and nutty and it glows, it glows! It's beautiful. Mama used to bring it in by the cask. Thank the Gods you can get it easy enough in Waterdeep.

Lace: Your favorite things to wear?

Krysos: I normally just wear my armor... but when I'm not wearing my armor I like overalls, short ones usually. I don't like long sleeves because I get too hot in the sun, so I usually roll them up or just wear short sleeves. I like cute soft colors, too, and I always have flowers in my hair but that's because I grow them there on purpose. I don't really wear dresses or anything like that, though. Not because I don't like them, but people tend to act like I'm a girl when I do so I just don't. Mirilyien: Good lord, I don't know if y'all have time to hear all this. Okay, so, I would describe my style as “elevated adventurer.” My favorite outfit: I got my tunic, sort of a coral blush, and my maroon capelet and my complimentary gloves and boots, and I always wear that with my cream undershirt and leggin's, my pink belt, and of course my big hat. It's all accented with gold, of course. The belt is practical, naturally, that's where I strap all the real gear. The tunic is real smart because I can put a leather chest plate underneath it without detractin' from the look. I wanna get together a really nice, really cute armor set that I could just wear out and it'd be like an outfit all by itself, but I ain't got the money right now.Lhovi: My favorite thing probably has to be the dress I made with the fabrics I got in the Feywild. It's so light and breezy and the iridescence is just beautiful... and it's so sheer but it still covers everything up well. And, because I made it myself, it has lots of room for my wings. People tend to really look when I wear that, but not in a way that upsets me -- it’s like everybody wants to talk to the girl in the magic dress. It makes me feel really pretty.Quil: Nice stuff, sharp stuff. Love my brocade vests, of course. A nice, crisp, plain-colored shirt underneath, maybe a tie. I like my pants dark with a nice subtle pinstripe. A sensible but fashionable boot. Never, ever dressed down, not me. I always look my best.