#i am also however making necklaces to give away to people at the con | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

monstermaster13 · 2 years

Text

TftW: Spicing Up Ethan Scary Spice TG. ~~~~ Sometimes in this world when you can't give you have to take and Ethan was one of the people that used that philosophy the most. Ethan Throllop was a con artist through and through and also a bit of a leech, a leech in the sense that due to not possessing any cds or video games of his own, he would ask others for their games and CDs and would never give them back once he borrowed them, the last time he did that it was Nathan and well…Nathan told him off, telling him he should't be mooching from people at all. This time however though he was trying to get a copy of a game that Sarah had called Mad Scientist, a game where you make your own monster, what he didn't know though that Sarah made it up and she had a surprise for him.

You see Sarah had fallen victim to a were-celebrity epidemic as of recent and she had been turning into Geri Halliwell/Ginger Spice on a regular basis but she kept it a secret from her friends and even from Ethan, that is until now when she confronted him in his garage, Ethan felt confident he would get the game he had asked for her for but she had other plans and those plans were rather spicy ones as she waltzed over to him. 'Ethan…it's time I told you the truth about what's going on', she spoke up.

"There's no Mad Scientist game is there…"

"Yes…but more than that. There's something I want to ask you…"

"And what is that?"

"I know you want a lot of games and that's way you con people into giving you theirs but still, do you know what I want?"

"No…I don't…"

"Do you know what I want? What I really really want?"

"Huh…why are you?"

"Quoting a Spice Girls song? Well..it's because…I am one."

"What?"

Sarah's appearance slowly morphed into that of Geri Halliwell as she also gained Geri's voice, her clothing slowly transforming into a Union Jack dress as she seductively walked around him, flirting with him and licking her lips..it was lie she now a huge crush on Ethan, but then she revealed that what she wanted, what she really wanted was for him to join her and to become a fellow Spice Girl. Ethan backed away as the red-headed spice girl danced around him and then kissed him, her kiss transferring a lot of energy into his body, he jolted back a few more times just in time to see the moon rising from behind the clouds.

He panicked as he felt his body slowly beginning to alter and contort, his slightly dirty skin was smoothening and softening as it darkened to an ebony brown color as his chest and torso slowly lengthened, slimming and also developing a bit of lean musculature, Geri chuckled a little bit as this was happening. His blue tank top slowly turning dark yellow and developing a leopard skin texture as his arms lengthened and his hands slowly shrank down in size, his fingernails lengthening, as Geri began to encourage him to embrace the transformation as she described it..she was basically spicing up his life by giving him the chance to join her. 'You can do it, show me the spice girl I know you are' she cheered him on.

'But i'm not a Spice Girl…i'm not..' He objected as his jeans gained the same pattern as his top and his stomach slimmed, his legs lengthening as his feet shrank down while his boots became platforms with animal-print designs on them and his hips inflated, his privates retracting and reforming into the womanish variant as his back arched. He felt a tingling sensation as two formations known as breasts slowly developed on his chest, his shoulders folded inward as he felt his hair with his hands…his hair which normally was a dirty blond was turning dark brownish and also lengthening, becoming frizzy and curly, his neckline lengthened as a tribal necklace materialized around it. His mind was already starting to alter as he was thinking about those songs…he couldn't help but dance and sing along to them, he was entranced by the songs and instinctively sang along to them. He was remembering the songs lyrics as well and their titles, 'Mama', 'Too Much', 'Wannabe', 'Who Do You Think You Are' 'Say You'll Be There' and more.

His eyebrows thinned as his eyes widened, eyelashes blossoming around them as white eye-makeup was applied around them and his features softened, his cheekbones sharpened as his lips plumped up and his teeth brightened, instinctively he stuck his tongue out as a piercing of sorts popped into place, his jawline softened as features slowly morphed and contorted themselves into those of an ebony songstress but not just any songstress but Mel B, as in Scary Spice as his voice altered and feminized, also becoming fierce and gruff sounding and gaining an English accent. Which suited his or her new appearance rather well, his or rather her personality shifted as well…becoming fierce and free-spirited but also spunky and more than a little bit flirty, becoming Scary's personality as his voice had become hers. Within a few seconds later, the new Mel B hugged Geri as the process completed itself, she was now and always would be…Melanie Brown, or 'Scary' as she was so often called. She made a roaring facial expression as Geri clapped and cheered her on.

Just then Stephanie and her boyfriend Thomas Sheppard were going for a jog and both Melanie and Geri got an idea, they brought Thomas and Stephanie over and bonded with them. Melanie B made her way over to Thomas and flirted with him, taking note of his football jersey and his signature colors…and that's when she put her devious plan into action, she seduced Thomas and kissed him just like Geri had done earlier, transferring her powers and aura into him and in addition to that transforming him into a fellow Spice Girl, and fittingly to go with his reputation for being a sports style he was transformed into Melanie Chisholm/Sporty Spice, even gaining Sporty's ponytail as well. It didn't take long for Sporty's personality to influence Thomas and take over him.

Geri hugged Stephanie and knowing that she was a model, that gave her the perfect idea. She transferred her energy into Stephanie's body along with aura, Stephanie's form and aura slowly melded with the aura and form of Victoria Beckham/Posh Spice as she transformed into her, and Posh's personality traits fused with Stephanie's, turning her completely into Victoria/Posh Spice. Victoria hurried over along with Mel C and they got another idea as they saw Paulie running by, Paulie was always the naive and innocent one and thus to them…he would make a perfect Emma and so that's what they did.

Melanie C tossed Paulie a stuffed koala and a massive bag with beanie babies inside, and while he he was hesitant at first, he had no problem ripping open the bag and hugging all the beanie babies. 'Aaaaw…look at them, they're all so adorable. Can I have them? Please?' He asked sweetly. 'Of course you can. They're all yours'. He grabbed the stuffed koala and hugged it, a feeling of warmth slowly influenced him as his appearance slowly altered into that of Emma Bunton, his voice also changing to match and his personality altered in the process, Emma/Baby's personality fused with his own one and took over, turning him into Emma completely. Emma hugged the koala and a few of the beanie babies as she looked over at Victoria, the two Mels, and Geri.

"Now we're all together again…what do you think we should do next?"

"Let's invite some of our friends over for a concert…"

"That's brilliant…let's get to it."

Geri decided to take charge of the operation and decided to set up the concert at the local concert hall that was just a few blocks away from Morgoth's supernatural store and they decided to pitch in and throw the concert, they invited all of their friends including Nathan and a few other companions of theirs as they set up their concert and prepared for it, not that they needed to of course since they were the Spice Girls and everything. The five girls watched as people parked outside the concert hall's main entrance and brought tickets for the show. Emma was the most excited of all, even more so than Mel C.

And thus with that the reunion had officially kicked off and the Spice Girls were back in action once again, proving that they were bigger and better than ever before and were taking names and kicking butt. Of course they were more than ecstatic to be performing together and entertaining new generations of fans, and spicing up everybody's lives in the process. As for what happened later, the Spice Girls paid a visit to Nathan and Melanie Sanders the koala-girl, Nathan was delighted and ecstatic to meet them since he was a huge fan of them and had always been part of the Spice fandom ever since the early 90's.

Remember, my friend..if you can't give, then sometimes you really shouldn't take. Not all of these type of people are bad, they just need a little bit of 'spice' in their life in more ways than one. Sometimes we all need someone to spice up up lives, even if we think that we don't, it never hurts to try. And it never hurts to find out who your inner Spice Girl is either. Everyone has an inner Spice Girl, and it doesn't hurt to discover who it is. I guess what they want, what they really want, what they really really want is more than a bit of zig-a-zig-ah.

0 notes

hongism · 3 years

Text

Hi! So I'm that one anon that once asked if moc Joong's class had been confirmed but I was a bit shy to talk about my speculations but it was mentioned in one ask so here I am

hi bestie!!! im answering separately since this is gonna be SUPER LONG BUT!!! let’s get into this bc these are so fun for me to answer and respond to 😎

First of all, we know for sure he is not a berserker because no red eyes=no berserker and Joong has been described more than once as having dark eyes. He is not an elitist either because while it hasn't been straight up denied (I think?) it has been implied more than once, like I read somewhere that him and Yeo had quite a bit of clashing because of Yeo's way of thinking as an elitist, but an even more giving point is that the people who participated in the mutiny claimed to want a more capable, ELITIST leader.

so YES and YES, these are the two definitive classes that hongjoong has been proven to NOT be. you hit the nail on the head with the reasons for both too and yeo did mention at one point that he’s the only ‘true elitist’ on the crew, and he said that for a v specific reason bc i was trying to drop more hints about hongjoong’s identity there.

He is probably not an spectre either because I don't think he would have a reason to hide it or not use his abilities (unless there is some trauma or other reason to hide it), and that takes us to the two last classes that he is most likely to be

this is a really good point. there’s not really any evidence against him being a spectre, but just based on logic alone, it’s just like you said. if there are no internal reasons, then why would he be so mum about being a spectre? and we’ve never seen him use any sort of abilities either, so it’s hard to reconcile that he might be a spectre

First of all, normie. On one side it would make sense why he was looked down by the rest of the crew during the mutiny. It could also be a bit of a plot twist that one of the most feared pirate captains is actually a normie, bUt then we have San's ring, he said that it amplifies class abilities, but normies don't have any,,,,I'll come back for that after discussing about him being a siren. It would explain a lot of things, why he hides it, how he took over the ship even if he was a slave (thanks siren abilities) AND we know that he wants to find the treasure for something more than just find it, what if he wants to find more sirens to help them or to be with more of his kind? On the downside...why hasn't he gone to the dreamscape? Apparently sometimes sirens don't really control whether they go or not, they just wake up there. Like with yn I kind of get it, he almost never sleeps and she hasn't been on the ship for more than a few months at most, but Woo? I don't think they haven't been alseep at the same time on the time they have lived together. I don't mention Hwa because I'm pretty sure he would know if our lil captain was a siren. Then again, he seems to have investigated quite a bit about sirens, has he found a way to block the dreamscape?

now onto the last two options which are probably the most viable right now! normie and siren... i think there are pros and cons to each side, and there are lots of ways you could look at the Bigger Picture of it all, and there are bits and pieces that could imply it going either way. and while i’m not saying this to confirm or deny anything, we do have information from daichi all the way back in the first act about ‘someone dangerous being nearby’, and up until this point, we still don’t know who that is or what that is. could it be hongjoong? if it were, why would it be him? could it be seonghwa or wooyoung? why would it be them? then we have the dreamscape. we’ve never seen him there. we know wooyoung and y/n can reach each other from VERY far away, but keep in mind that y/n could only reach seonghwa when she was right next to him in bed. the only person she’s seen who she wasn’t in ultra close proximity with was wooyoung, and those were special circumstances. as for woo: if he knew what hongjoong was (in this theory, a siren) - would he say anything? is he lying when he says seonghwa is the only one he’s known? or is hongjoong secluded enough on the ship to a point where he knows no one in the dreamscape can reach him? and if anyone is going to know, it would be seonghwa, and we haven’t heard anything from him yet. another interesting anecdote is that hongjoong already has tattoos, we’ve seen his chest tattoos before but we’ve not seen his back which would be the most telling part. and lastly... according to seonghwa, hongjoong is the most knowledgeable person on sirens aside from the scholar that hongjoong knows, so who’s to say hongjoong doesn’t know some other things or has his own set of abilities IF he’s a siren?

Now going back to the ring...we know it amplifies class abilities with the wearer's energy and can conduct it through physical contact, but how exactly does it work? Does it store an user's energy or it just works with accessible energy? Can it work between different classes or only in the same class when it comes to contact? Those could be very important points because if it stores an user's energy + works between different classes, yn would have used San's energy with the door even if Joong was a normie. If it only conducts the energy between the same class then Joong would be a siren too. Then again, if he was a normie, why would San give it to him in the arena? Regardless of if it stores the wearer's energy or if it does not, he would find no use to it without abilities of his own. This also makes me think that San knows what he is or at least that he is not a normie, unless he had just given it to him blindly and Hongjoong being like "😀 well I'm a normie so I can't use it but thanks anyway"

as for the ring, i know i didn’t get into it super deep, and i wanted to delve deeper but the timing was a little narrow because of the time sensitive nature of their mission, so i couldn’t spend a TON of time on it but! i wrote this little ‘entry’ in my notes about conductors:

conductors: small trinkets (ranging from necklaces to hairpins to rings) that allow the wearer to conduct the natural energy stored in the body into a shared storage. these trinkets can be used to do one of two things: be an ‘amplifier’ and allow the wearer to amplify their own natural powers while draining from the self’s energy storage, or, option two, to act as a ‘conductor’ for an outside source.

in the event of the second option, the wearer’s body operates as the ‘shared storage’. the trinket pushes the energy out into an outside source, typically through physical contact, and that energy in turn flows into the secondary source. this method is doubly as draining as the first because the wearer is pushing their natural energy into a secondary source that demands much more than just using it as an amplifier. however, this allows for a special phenomenon where even Normies can be used as sources of energy to conduct between two sources. the natural energy storage levels of a Normie are significantly lower than all other classes, making this method both inhumane in military practice as well as dangerous even in practical settings.

SO! all that to give a rather simple answer of, hongjoong having the conductor one way or the other can’t really be the most telling in terms of his class. it could go either way, and it could mean that he’s a siren or that he’s a normie, or even that san had other implications in giving the ring over to hongjoong at the time!

Aaaa this was long but I have been thinking about that for a while so let's see how close I am from the truth 😭😭

i can’t give you a straight yes or no on whether you’re 100% spot on or not, but i can say that you’re certainly thinking about the right things and you’ve got your EVIDENCE! 🤓

#mists of celeste #moc: spoilers

5 notes · View notes

chuckbass-love · 4 years

Text

Why Him? | Ransom Drysdale | Part 14

A/N : Just finished a Loki one shot, it’ll be posted tomorrow and i’m so proud of it.

Disclaimer: My work is not to be posted anywhere else other than my Tumblr, Wattpad and Ao3. However, reblogs are welcome.

No smut in this one unfortunately but i really enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope you guys love it as much as i do.

Why Him? MASTERLIST

Ransom’s POV

“It was lovely to see you again Claudia, and you Ransom” grandad says as we all say our goodbyes. “You too, thank you for having us” Claudia hugs him before bidding farewell to my parents. “Hope to see you again soon” they say and we wave to them as we get into my car. “They love you” i beam as i start driving away. “I love them too” she admits. “So it’s 5:30pm now. We have to meet them around 7 ish. I think we should get ready when we get home” i suggest and she nods. “Sure thing babe” i place my hand on her thigh, squeezing it slightly.

“Are you okay?” a hint of worry in her voice “I’m fine doll, don’t sweat it” she shrugs before turning the radio on in the car and bopping her head to the music. To tell the truth, i’m shitting it. I’ve never had to meet a girls friends before, my ex didn’t have many and the few she did have she didn’t want me to meet because she was worried that being with me would ruin her reputation. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

We get back home and she runs inside and up the stairs to choose an outfit. I follow closely behind her since i need to change too. “Okay, this dress or that one?” she holds up a little black dress and a knee length body-con dress that would accentuate her features perfectly.

“The red one” she shakes her head, unsure “The red one, trust me” she walks over to me on the bed and she straddles me. “What are you doing doll?” i raise my brows “Just can’t keep my hands off of you that’s all” i pull her face closer to mine and kiss her. I swipe my tongue across her bottom lip and she opens her mouth, letting me in. We both get lost in the kiss and eventually i pull away. “We don’t have time for this now baby” she gets off of me in a huff.

“Someone sure is sulky when they don’t get their way huh?” i stand up and head into the closet, she follows. “I just, i can’t stop thinking about how good you fucked me this morning, my pussy is still sore” fuck.

“Well maybe later we can do it again. If you behave that is” i wink and she bites her bottom lip. I start changing in front of her and she whistles as i pull my shirt off. “Quit it, i’m not a piece of meat doll” she throws her head back laughing. “No, you’re a god. A sex god at that” she’s making it real difficult to be able to control myself.

I finish getting changed, i’m wearing a white shirt, which i rarely wear. My usual slacks and a grey cardigan which i can just take off when we get there. Just as i’m about to leave the closet, i remember something. The love egg. Time for some fun.

“Hey baby, come here” i call out and soon enough she wonders in, all innocent looking.

“Before you change, i’ve got something for you” i was gonna surprise her with the diamond necklace but that’s for another occasion. Since she’s been nagging for my dick, i’ll make her earn it for later. I hold up the toy and dangle it in front of her, her jaw drops. “Bend over” she does and i rub her pussy a little, also making sure to lube up the egg, no need to lube her up since her pussy is always soaked for me. I work it in and she gasps. “That’s it, keep it in there until we get home. You understand” she nods “I have all the control though doll” her eyes widen at the sight of the little remote in my hand. “No moaning either, got it?” she nods once again and she starts to change.

As she finishes getting ready, she turn to me and i hold her hand, twirling her around. “So beautiful” i’m in awe of her. I can’t help but feel extremely lucky.

We head out to the beamer and i drive us to the bar to meet her friends. I start tapping my fingers on the steering wheel whenever we come to a red light. “Babe, calm down. It’ll be fine i promise” she leans over to place a kiss onto my cheek, to give me some reassurance.

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

“Darcy” she yells in excitement as we enter the bar and she sees her friends. She holds my hand and leads me to through the crowd. This is the same bar that we met at a couple of weeks ago. Funny how one night changed our lives. We reach the back of the bar and her friends are sat in a booth. They all file out of the booth to greet me.

“Hi, i’m Ransom” i smile, reaching out to shake hands but Darcy pulls me into a hug. “So you’re the one that’s got this one over here all love struck” Claudia gives Darcy a nudge as if to say ‘shush’. I chuckle as i reach Luke “I’m Luke, that’s Darcy and this is James but i think you’ve spoken to him before. It’s nice to meet you” he gives me a hug and then so does James. We all take our seats in the booth, i sit next to Claudia. Opposite James, Darcy and Luke.

I reach my hand into my coat pocket to where the remote is and i press the first button, turning it on. Claudia jolts slightly “What’s wrong?” Luke asks, a look of confusion on his face but she waves it off. “Just accidentally knocked my knee against the table, no biggie” tonight is going to be a lot of fun.

“Wait so your grandad is Harlan Thrombey?” Darcy’s mouth is practically on the ground. “Yeah, Claudia told me and my family that you’re a big fan and he said he’d love to meet you” she squeals “You did not” Claudia laughs. “I did. You know i got you girl” they both start smiling at each other. Brownie points to me.

“So Luke, I know you like cars and well Ransom here has a beamer” he stares at her “Shut up, i’ve always wanted to ride in one. I know, not the best dream but you have to let me tag along in it one day man” i shake his hand “You’re on, i know a track we can race it on if you’re up for it” his eyes go wide as he sips his beer. “For sure, i’m down” i look over at Claudia as i press the second button on the remote, she starts biting at her lip. It’s working.

Tonight is going perfect, i’m getting along so well with all of them. We have loads in common which is great plus i know at the end of the night that Claudia will be like putty in my hands, she’ll be soaked for me. Just how i like her.

I order more drinks, getting myself a non-alcoholic beer since i’m driving and i get chatting to James about interior design. Claudia told him about my house and he said he’s looking for inspiration for his new home that he’s just purchased.

“Seriously though, you’re welcome to come and look around, maybe it’ll give you some ideas. I can even set you up with my mother too, she helped me with most of it and she’s very good at that sort of thing” we sip at our drinks and continue to chat about everything and anything. Claudia excuses herself to go to the toilet, Darcy follows. Just me and the guys now.

James’s POV

“So now she’s gone, we have to know man. What are your intentions?” Luke quizzes and i nod in agreement to his question. “If i’m being honest, i’m never like this with women but she’s different you know. I truly believe that she’s the one” me and Luke smile from ear to ear, in pure happiness at Ransom’s response. Claudia has been hurt before like most people and we just want the best for her. I can tell that Ransom has a past but what matters the most now is how he treats Claudia.

Claudia’s POV

“So, what do you think?” i ask Darcy, a cubicle separating us. “He’s lovely babes, i approve. He seems to be making you happy, am i right?” i gush at the thought of my man. “I am, i’m genuinely happy for the first time in a long time” i giggle as i feel the egg vibrate more inside of me. That fucker. I have every right to tease him when we get back out there. We finish up and head back out to the guys. I strut up to Ransom and sit down, making sure to flash him a cheeky wink. “I wanna dance, you guys coming?” i suggest but they wave me off. Darcy decides to join me though.

We walk over to the dance floor, i make sure to walk extra sexy, as i know Ransom’s eyes are fixed upon my figure. The song Please Me by Bruno Mars and Cardi B comes on, perfect song for what i’m about to do. I feel the vibrations go up a notch as i sway my hips to the music.

‘Please me baby, turn around and just tease me baby’

The music goes and i slut drop to the floor with Darcy, my ass in full view of Ransom’s eyes. I know i’m looking sexy and it’s clearly getting to him. I start grinding my hips in a circle as i move up and down, i turn my head and glance over my shoulder at him. He’s covering his crotch and i see him holding the remote. I wink at him again and the vibrations get more intense. Luckily for me, he can’t hear the quiet moan slip out of my mouth.

The song Privacy by Chris Brown comes on next and i get more freaky with my moves, Darcy follows my lead as we start grinding on each other. That’ll send him right over the edge. Minutes later i feel a hand on my waist, i turn around to find Ransom.

“Hi baby” i whisper in his ear and he glares at me, hunger in his eyes. “What the fuck are you playing at” he growls into my ear as i wrap my arms loosely around his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about daddy” i give him my puppy dog eyes and bite my lip in an innocent manner. I can see i’m driving him crazy. I turn around so my ass is pushed against his crotch.

‘Partition’ by Beyonce comes on, time starts going really slow. All the couples in the bar start grinding on each other. Me and Ransom are no exception. I push my ass back even more and i swirl my hips round in circles. I feel his breath on the back of my neck. “You’re really pushing me now doll” this is what he gets for denying me sex earlier and forcing me to wear this vibrator inside of me. It’s time i teased him for once.

“Someone is gonna get it when they get home” the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, just what i wanted. He thinks he’s getting sex tonight and i have him right where i want him. “We’ll see about that daddy” i lean my head back, resting it on his pecks and leaning up slightly so he can hear me. I stop grinding and walk off of the dance floor to go to the bar, ordering some shots. He follows me.

Ransom’s POV

“I think you’ve had enough doll” that doesn’t stop her though. She pays and takes two shots, one after the other. She then heads back to the booth, me and Darcy join her.

“I think we should get off now, this one has had one too many” i chuckle, nodding my head towards Claudia who is drunk. “Spoil sport” she scoffs and we all laugh. “It was so nice to meet you” they all say, accidentally in unison as we leave the bar. I hug them all and we part ways. I help Claudia into the passenger seat before jogging round to the driver’s side.

We’re halfway home and Claudia is just sat there in the passenger seat, giggling away to herself. “Doll, you really should know better than to tease me like that” i tap away at the steering wheel, wishing i could get home quicker. “You deserved it” i roll my eyes as i speed up, trying to get home faster.

I pull up and help her into the house. My staff left hours ago. “You’re about to learn a lesson princess” she raises her brows, pushing me off of her. She manages to get away from me and get upstairs as i head into the kitchen to get her some water.

“FUCK” i yell as i run after her with a bottle of water. “Unlock the door NOW” i snap as she locks it just before i get there. “No” i can hear her giggling again. I keep knocking in hopes that she’ll unlock it “Quit the games now doll” she sighs. “You wanna have sex baby? Well too bad” there’s that famous laugh of hers again.

I stop hearing any noise in the bedroom as i press my ear to the door. “Babe” i call out and i get no answer. Shit, i have a spare key for the bedroom door. I head downstairs and into my office. I open my desk drawer to find it. Ah here it is. I race back upstairs and immediately unlock the door. To my surprise though, there she is. Fast asleep on the bed. Snoring slightly. She looks adorable like this. She can’t sleep in that dress and those heels though. I lift her up slightly and do my best to undress her without waking her.

I leave her in her panties and i pull the covers over her body. I’ll have to get that toy out of her in the morning and leave her to sleep for now in peace. She’ll get her punishment tomorrow.

27 notes · View notes

threadofdestiny · 4 years

Text

The opportunities we may take

(The Picture was a comission I odered from a friend. Check her out -> Fantasiamind_art)

SinbadxOC

Soulmate AU

Part 11

Praise our glorious king

---Sindria's castle---

The first thing that came to her mind when Salome woke up the next morning, was that she hadn't slept as deeply the past few days as she had the previous night. She couldn't remember when she got so tired that she actually fell asleep yesterday, but she had been able to sleep until after the sun raised over the horizon. Accordingly, she felt far more relaxed today, than all the previous days combined. She would probably have slept some more if she hadn't heard the dull voices of people discussing something she couldn`t comprehend through her door. This made her slowly regain consciousness, but not enough for her to start to worry about the sounds outside her room.

With a sigh she snuggled deeper into her blanket, breathing in the smell of sea salt and oriental spices, still not ready to wake up completely. The smell lulled her in so perfectly, like it was made for her to get relaxed in an instant, when she was surrounded by it. Thinking nothing of it, she slowly drifted back to sleep after she managed to block out the sounds outside her room. However, this relaxation did not last long because Salome's eyes opened in surprise, when she felt a muscular arm suddenly wrap around her slim waist, before her body was pulled against a hard, well-toned chest afterwards. Startled she looked into the mans sleeping face, realizing that it was the king of sindria that snuggled her against his body. He was lying on her own pillow, a few centimeters away from her. She gasped in surprise when she realized that it was his smell that had lulled her in. Blushing, she glanced over his relaxed features, completely perplexed that the King of Sindria was lying next to her in her new bed. If her heart hadn't started beating wildly beforehand, it would certainly have done so at this point at it's latest. Long forgotten was the tiredness that had been in Salome's limbs until a few moments ago, now pondering over various thoughts which flooded her mind. Why was Sinbad lying next to her? Hadn't he planned to go back to his own room? Had she fallen asleep before he had left the room? Why couldn't she remember? At some point in the night Sinbad must have slipped under her covers because his legs were entwined with hers, keeping her from being able to move away from him. But if she was being honest, she wasn't sure if she wanted to move away from him either way. His closeness made her feel incredibly secure, but at the same time also at least as nervous, because she had never been in such an intimate embrace with another person, who wasn´t a family member. In the end it strangely felt like she belonged there in the security of his arms. Was it because of the bond they shared? Just how strong was it actually?

When Sinbad ran his hand over her spine, her breath caught again. Her body reacted with an incredibly strong shiver that ran down her back, while it also ensured that the fine hairs on her skin rose up all over her frame at the same time. Swallowing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to calm her heartbeat. Footsteps and soft cursing could be heard outside her room, but the farther the people went away from it, the quieter their voices got. Salome was to distracted to notice what was happening outside of her chambers. She watched him carefully when she felt Sinbad start to stir next to her. Alarmed and with heated cheeks, she observed him how he slowly opened his eyes, before his pupils turned to the young woman, a little disoriented. They watched each other in silence for a few moments, until she suddenly felt his hand dig into the fabric of her nightgown, grasping her firmly for a moment. Shuddering again, Salome winced and sat up abruptly, slowly pushing the man's hand off of her torso. "What are you doing here, Sinbad?" Asked the young woman, while she nervously pulled the blanket up over her chest. When she discovered that Sinbad's torso was naked, by stealing her blanked from him, she blushed even more. Sinbad cleared his throat as he ran his hand through his messy hair and looked apologetically at the dark-haired woman. "I must have fallen asleep. My appologies!" He replied, yawning, before giving her a careful smile. For some reason, a satisfied expression spread across his features after he looked at the young woman for a moment. Salome, however, was too bewildered by the fact that the man next to her was mostly bare, asking herself how he undressed himself, if he had fallen asleep by acident. But before she could ask him, he took the opportunity to speek up: “I'm glad that you look much more rested this morning. I have to admit that I helped a little...”, the King of Sindria admitted and guiltily stroking the ring on his right hand. Forgetting her previous train of thought, the young woman's gaze wandered to Zepar's vessel when she realized why she had suddenly become so tired yesterday. Sinbad had told her what his Djinns could do on the ship a few days ago, but she hadn't expected Zepar to be that powerful. She hadn't even noticed that the man had used his sound djinn on her.

Salome observed how the Rukh fluttering around Zepar's ring, chirping happily, while she pondered over her revelation about the subject. After a short moment the young woman began to nod slowly. "I see ..." she murmured as she raised her eyes again, to give the man a questioning look: "But why?" "I saw that you have hardly slept in the past few days and wanted to help out. Are you angry with me?” Sinbad asked carefully, while watching her closely. Salome was silent for a moment, thinking about his question, before she slowly shook her head: "No ... I don't think so. After all, you meant well...", she started to answer, but paused briefly when she heard Sinbad exhale quietly before she continued:"But, I would be glad if you didn't do things like that without my consent!“, she added in a calm but firm voice.

Sinbad nodded in acceptance before he sank back into the pillow and smiled mischievously at her. "I haven't slept so well in a long time! There is nothing better than waking up next to a pretty lady.”, He cheekily tried to change the subject, whereupon Salome had to laugh, shaking her head at his antics. With a smile she pulled her legs up to her body before wrapping her arms around her knees. With a sigh, she put her head on her arms and looked down at the man next to her. "Now at least I have a clue why Yamraiha had warned me about you. You don't even have the decency to stay fully clothed, let alone leave my bed when I fell asleep.” The young girl chided before swinging her blanket over his head to cover him jokingly, while she tried to hide her blush. "How am I supposed to think that you fell asleep by accident, if you had the time to undress yourself?" Continued Salome while she watched with a smile as the man pulled the blanket from his head, to look up at her with a pouting expression, "It wasn't like that. I really do fell asleep by accident. I have a habit of undressing myself in my sleep. I'm doing it subconsciously, I swear!” Sinbad explained as he sat up again, letting the blanked pool over his lap. She was aware that her cheeks were still red due to his nakedness, but she tried not to show how impressed she was by it. Salome raised her eyebrows doubtfully, but couldn't help smiling when she saw that he was trying to convince her of his statements with a puppy-eyed look.

Outside her room, the swearing and hurried steps became louder again, this time managing to alert Salome and Sinbad. Now that Salome had heard the noises in her full consciousness, she recognized the voice of the king's consultant, who seemed to be looking for the king himself. Immediately Salome glanced at Sinbad, who was already began to climb out of her bed, cursing silently and hurrying to gather his things together. Salome also got up to help him when it knocked against her door. "Miss Salome? Are you already awake?” Came Ja'far's dulled voice through the wood.

"Y-yes. O-one moment, please!“, she answered hastily while she pressed Sinbad's turban and his necklaces in his arms, before she led him towards the balcony. Just before he let himself be pushed out of her room, Sinbad turned around to whisper softly to the young woman: "May I come back tonight?" Surprised, Salome paused briefly and looked up at the young king in disbelief . "You want to come back to me tonight? You do know that's not very respectable, do you?" Salome asked in a low voice, shaking her head, before speaking again after glancing at her door in panic:" But this is really not the right time to discuss something like that!", she added and began to push him out of her room again.

Sinbad stepped outside and took a careful look over the balcony to make sure no one could see them from their position before turning back to Salome:"Actually, I don't really care. I want to spend more time alone with you!”, He replied quietly, grabbing her arm to keep her from turning away.

"Please?" he added in a low whisper. Salome looked up at the purple-haired man, not knowing how to react. Should she let him? She had allowed it last night, but should she allow him to do so again? What if people noticed and interpreted something wrong? But is there something to interpret in their behavior at all? What should she interpret in his request?

"Miss Salome, is everything alright? I am sorry to disturb you, but it's quite urgent!” Echoed Ja'far's voice from the hallway as he knocked again. Flinching, she looked over her shoulder in panic. Her heart was pounding wildly against her chest as she hastily searched for her voice to answer.

"Just another moment, please!" She called hurriedly as she looked up at Sinbad again and bit her lip nervously. Sinbad looked at her and waited to see if she agreed or not. Not bothering that his consultant urged to open the door to her room. Nodding hesitantly, she chewed on her lower lip before pulling her wrist out of his loosening hand.

"All right, you can come back tonight. But you should really go now!”, She whispered before turning around and closing the balcony doors behind her without another word. She hurried to the door to open it a crack. Out of breath and with flushed cheeks, she greeted a rather stressed Ja'far. His pale skin was also flushed, but not out of shame, but from walking around in a haste. Clearing his throat, Ja'far studied the young woman's appearance discreetly without appearing suggestive. There was something disparaging in his gaze, as if he knew very well that she had something to hide. However, he tried to hide it with an apologetic smile when, shortly afterwards, he started to say a gentle greeting: “My apologies, Miss Salome. I hope I have not woken you up, but I have to ask you whether you have heard of his Majesty this morning because he is not to be found at the moment."

Swallowing, Salome considered how best to answer him without embarrassing herself. Not that she was fundamentally uncomfortable that Sinbad had been in her room a short time ago, but he was the king and was known for being a womanizer. She didn't want people in this castle to get the wrong impression of her. But should she really be lying about it? Did she have to be ashamed that Sinbad had been with her? They didn't do something indecent after all. Pondering over the subject, she peered over Ja'far's shoulder to see if there was anyone else nearby, but she could only see a few guards a little further away who were patrolling the hallways. "I'm sorry. He's not here, sir!”, she dodged cautiously, hoping to get away by dancing around the subject without having to lie. Ja'far frowned for a moment as he adjusted his keffiyeh. At the very moment when the advisor wanted to start a new question, Sinbad appeared at the end of the corridor and greeted his friend from afar, as if he hadn't slipped out of her room before.

"Ahh, good morning Ja'far. I was wondering if you were already looking for me!“, The king greeted his friend calmly as he ran his hand through his purple hair. Turning away from Salome, the king's adviser looked up at Sinbad with flashing eyes as he accused him with a finger: "Where have you been?" “Oh, I've done a little exercise and now I wanted to freshen up for the day.”, Sinbad lied without blinking an eye and topped it all off by greeting Salome with a curt nod, as if he wanted to wish her a good morning. The young woman almost started to laugh, becouse the situation seemed so absurd to her, but she caught herself quickly enough and cleared her throat for a moment before speaking up:“Well ... well, I would go back into my room to freshen up, if I am no longer needed.” Immediately, Ja'far's aggressive stance changed as he turned to her and bowed slightly.

"Of course, Miss Salome. Please excuse the disturbance!“, the ash-blonde man apologized before nodding one last time to say goodbye. Glad to have gotten off lightly, Salome closed the door before turning around with a sigh, leaning her weight against the sturdy wood for a few seconds.

After that, a small smile stole on her lips until she finally started to laugh softly. This place was bursting with vitality. It was really hard not to be comfortable in Sindria. Inspired by this thought, Salome went deeper into her rooms until she came to a stop in front of her bed with the aim of turning to the chest that stowed her clothes. Smiling as she opened the chest to pull out one of her robes, she wondered how to spend the day. Maybe she should ask Malik if he would like to explore the city with her?

When Salome thoughtfully closed the lid, she caught sight of something golden that flashed between her blankets. Curiously, she dropped her thoughts for a moment while the young woman came closer to the sheets in surprise to pull out a golden sword, which turned out to be Baal's vessel. She immediately remembered how Sinbad had put the sword between them and apparently accidentally left it there. With a smile, she stroked the symbol of the eight-pointed star that shone on the sword scabbard as she approached the window of her balcony doors to take a look outside.

For a moment she watched the people outside the castle walls decorating the streets with various garlands, indicating that the maharajan was near.

"Hmm, maybe I get the opportunity to bring you back to your king, baal!"

It seemed that Sinbad and Salome had slept through the regular time for breakfast, so it was no wonder that Ja'far had searched in an angry haze for his king. After all, a king certainly had a lot of tasks to do. Salome, who had no urgent tasks yet, had made her way to the dining room, hoping to get something to eat without having to make more work for the staff. On the way there she had met Masrur, who had led her to the kitchen, after she told him about her plans, where he went to steal a few little snacks, before sitting down with her in one of the gardens.

It was pleasant to be in Masrur's presence. The younger teenager had a very calm personality, He may did not speak much, but was incredibly friendly and helpful. It was easy to sit next to him and to enjoy the silence. Despite this, Salome had used the time together to learn from him what Sinbad's and his general's daily routine would look like today, before taking a few hours to work on her Djinn control. There she had learned that the king and his generals would be courting in the afternoon to hear the concerns of Sindria's residents. She had spent some time thinking about whether to take Sinbad's sword to the throne room in between or later, but no matter how she turned the thoughts in her head, it seemed too sensational or inappropriate. But since hearing about the upcoming event, the Rukh seemed to be convinced that she should also be there. So she decided to ask Masrur if the court would be a public event and if she could actually attend to it. So it happened that a few hours later she actually found herself in the throne room, where she had settled on the edge of the room next to an open balcony door, on a chaise lounge, to watch the king and his generals work from background. Malik had accompanied her in silence and sat down next to her with a book in his hands. His appearance had caused quite a stir among the residents of Sindria when they entered the hall, but Malik seemed to put it off with his calm manner while skilfully ignoring the looks and whispers.

Her brother's head was lowered toward his reading material most of the time, while his eyes were still covered by his mask. Only in more interesting cases did he temporarily raise his head, indicating that he was following the conversation for the moment. Salome, however, sometimes found it difficult to follow the discussions of the generals, since the Rukh repeatedly responded to the requests and questions of the people and shared their knowledge with the young woman. Rubbing her temples, Salome watched her brother raise his head again when two traders emerged from the crowd.

One accused the other of having spoiled his wine to destroy his business. His counterpart denied this and tried to explain that the accuser wanted to harm him, but the latter put one piece of evidence after the other and thus invalidated the statements made by the accused merchant.

Frowning, Salome listened to the rukh, her eyes on the two men before she turned to her brother, shaking her head in denial. "The accuser is lying!" She whispered in shock as she clenched her fingers in dismay in her lap. Malik turned to his sister in surprise before buzzing thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, then you should inform the king.", he replied calmly before turning back to the arguing traders. Pondering how best to share this information with Sinbad without causing a sensation, she looked at the King of Sindria with a thoughtful expression. She heard the other trader vehemently deny that he had done anything, but unfortunately all the evidence seemed to speak against him, which is why the generals began to think about the punishments he would face for his crimes. Sinbad sat leaning against his throne the whole time, thoughtfully rubbing his chin, while keeping his silence. Panic spread through Salome, at the thought that the man would be wrongly accused, which is why she eventually threw away any discomfort to cause a stir, and stood up abruptly to quickly reach the pedestal on which the king and his generals lingered. Surprised, Sinbad looked to the side when he noticed in his peripheral corner that someone was hurrying towards the rows of seats of the Sindrian leadership. A low murmur broke out in the crowd as the young woman fell into a deep curtsey before the first step of the pedestal, while respectfully lowering her head for a brief moment. Perplexed, the generals began to remain silent as they watched Sinbad look down at the young woman, who slowly raised her eyes again, silently asking for allowance to come closer. Blushing, Salome felt the soft murmur spread in the hall and now all eyes seemed to lay upon her. The two traders also stared at her in shock, but she tried to ignore all of this to concentrate only on the king, who reached out for her and indicated that she was allowed to approach him. To late to turn back now, the young woman immediately got up and climbed the stairs just to lower herself on the floor next to his throne, before she locked her gaze with the king.

"I am sorry!" She whispered quietly as he leaned over and shook his head smiling to indicate that she didn't have to apologize.

"What can I do for you, my dear?" He asked casually, as if they weren't surrounded by innumerable prying eyes at this moment.

"The trader who accuses the other is lying...", she whispered so quietly that only he and maybe Ja'far and Masrur, who were both sitting next to the king, could have heard her voice. Realization flashed in Sinbad's eyes as a mischievous grin crept onto his lips as he leaned closer to Salome. "Did the rukh told to you that?", he asked surprisingly satisfied, as if he had already known. Salome nodded cautiously as she watched Sinbad cast a triumphant look at Ja'far, who then nodded, before turning to Yamraiha to whisper something in her ear. Sinbad, as casual as before, leaned back in his throne, grabbing the young woman's hand to stop her from going away, while he turned his attention gravely back to the two traders. Salome discreetly tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, which Sinbad prevented without blinking, so she had no choice but to kneel next to him for the time being.

What was he doing? Why didn't he let her go? Confused and at the same time incredibly embarrassed, she looked up at Sinbad questioningly, but he didn't pay attention to her.

The two gentlemen bowed immediately, when they noticed that their king's attention was on them again.

"Well, you, Mr. Yasir, accuse Mr. Fahad of destroying a large part of your wine supply a few days ago by putting some of his herbs in the wine barrels, making them inedible?"

"Yes, your majesty!", The merchant named Yasir lied quite credibly, lifting up a cloth with the local herbs to reaffirm his statement. Fahad, the herb-trader shook his head desperately, when Sinbad suddenly turned to Yamraiha, who stood up eagerly and cleared her throat: “Now the evidence clearly speaks against Mr. Fahad. Everything that Mr. Yasir had said had refuted your statements...“, the young magician began, halting in front of the steps that lead from the pedestal. The poor herb-trader looked to the side, in a lost manner, before Yamraiha started to continue her speech:“Nevertheless, we would like to play it safe and would perform a ritual that can show us exactly what had happened. It can be used to identify whether or not you are actually the culprit.”

"WHAT? Why this all of a sudden? He has already been found guilty! Everything is already completely plausible?!”, snapped the wine merchant, while the herb-trader suddenly began to look more hopeful.

"To perform the ritual, I only need a small amount of blood from both of you. A cut in the finger is all it takes.", she explained way to motivated, while she walked towards Fahad, who was already willing to come to give her the sample, while he murmured in relief:"Of course, Lady Yamraiha!"

"I refuse to allow myself to be part of such magic tricks. The evidence has been completely clear. This is not necessary!”, complained the angry wine-merchant with a reddening head, while he impulsively throwing his hands in the air. Suddenly it seemed as if sweat was forming on the man's forehead, when Sinbad addressed him with a serious look:“Well, what is needed is up to me and not you. If you have nothing to hide, such a test shouldn't be a problem!"

The wine merchant hesitated, taking a step back as his gaze shifted wildly between the other trader, his king and Yamraiha, until his eyes finally landed on Salome, who was still kneeling on the ground next to Sinbad. Angrily, he pointed his finger at the young woman before he started cursing furiously: “This woman whispered this to you, right? How could she have known that? Nobody saw us doing it! WITCH!"

Flinching, Salome's eyes widened as she looked with a puzzled expression at the wine merchant. The man immediately fell silent when Sinbad rose dangerously slow from his throne, pulling Salome to her feet as well.

"This young lady didn't tell me anything I didn't know already, Mr. Yasir!" Sinbad said firmly. Surprised, Salomes head snapped in Sinbad's direction, completely shocked to hear these words from his mouth. The king, however, did not pay attention to Salome at that moment, while he waved to his guards casually. "Take this man away!" Sinbad said sturdily, before turning to the herb merchant: "You have been cleared! I will order men to determine what exactly lies behind this story.”

Overwhelmed by the turn of events, most of the community remained silent. Only a few whispered softly to their neighbor, not understanding how the tides could have turned so quickly.

The herb-trader nodded immediately after bowing several times to thank his king:“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, your majesty. Thank you very much!", The man repeated again and again before turning his gaze to Salome, thanking her too:"I would also like to thank you, as well. You too were convinced of my innocence, milady!“, he breathed.

Salome was about to tell him that it was not worth mentioning, when Sinbad spoke again, adressing the people who were present: “My loyal friends. Let me seize the moment and introduce you to the latest addition to our ranks!” Tense silence spread across the room as they waited for their king to continue speaking. An uneasy feeling spread through Salome when she noticed how the rukh started to flutter wildly around them. When she realized what Sinbad was up to, she turned to him, to shook her head with wide eyes. The rukh were telling her, what he was going to do and she wasn't sure if she was ready for what to come.

"No ..." she breathed, but Sinbad, who honored his title as the man who shaped destiny according to his needs, calmly ignored the young woman protests, as he laid his hands gently but firmly on her shoulders, to turn her body to his citizens. “Many people from Sindria originally come from the fallen island of Dalmasca. Some of you are probably standing here in front of us. We look back with sadness in our hearts at the tragedy that occurred seven years ago and commemorate the sacrifices that each of you had to make. But today I can proudly announce to you here and now that the holy Solomon has blessed us! The lady of the rukh has returned! Please greet her with me, Lady Salome!”

Speechlessly, she looked at the partly shocked, partly uncomprehending expressions in the crowd, before she turned her head over her shoulder to stare at the King of Sindria. Sinbad however, looked down upon his people with triumph in his eyes. A loud murmur broke out in the ranks of the people when suddenly an old lady came out and pointed at the young girl with a trembling hand: "I knew it. I recognized you immediately when you entered the room, but I didn't want to trust my old eyes. The prophetess has returned and is now standing with our chosen king!"

Salome's heart was racing, when she turned her head back to the crowd, looking at the old hag as she watched other people emerge from the crowd. Loud emotional murmurs and praises gradually filled the huge hall. "The lady of the rukh!" "Is she really the prophetess?" The people who didn't come from Dalmasca looked around in confusion and watched the spectacle that was taking place in front of them. Some of the ignorant asked former citizens of Dalmasca what was happening at the moment when suddenly some magicians working under the guidance of Yamraiha broke from the masses and fell on their knees in front of the platform. An older magician, who was in the middle of the group, pulled out a gold amulet with an eight-pointed star under the collar of his robe, while his younger companions imitated him.

"Praise our King Sinbad! He was most blessed by Solomon himself who sended his beloved prophetess back to this earth!" Exclaimed the oldest magician, who seems to be a former priest of Solomons temple, before his colleagues and the other former citizens of Dalmasca agreed:"Praise King Sinbad. Praise Solomon. Praise the Lady of the Rukh. Cheers to the glorious Sindria!" Speechless, Salome pressed her hands to her chest as she let her gaze wander over the numerous people when her gaze fell on Malik, who was just as shocked and speechless at the turn of events. A tremendous number of Rukh gathered around Sinbad and Salome as if Solomon himself wanted to celebrate with them, but Salome was too overwhelmed to think clearly. Did the Rukh know that this was going to happen? Looking for answers that the Rukh did not want to give her, she turned back to Sinbad, who smiled smugly at her. It was then that she remembered that he had announced that he knew the wine merchant had been lying. Had he actually known that she would try to help the other man? Did he realize that the rukh would tell her about the lie? Was he just waiting for the right moment to drop this revelation? A look in his satisfied, golden eyes, was all she needed to get the answer to her last questions. Yes, the reader of the waves had clearly expected this and deliberately took the opportunity to bind her and the former citizens of Dalmasca further to him. The only question she couldn't answer was: why did he saw to take such a step?

#Sinbad #sinbad magi #Adventures of Sinbad #magi #magi labyrinth of magic #magi kingdom of magic #SinbadxOC #not the artist of the Picture

15 notes · View notes

dimeforhispocket · 5 years

Text

Choice

Nafla x fem!reader

Rating: Explicit

Genre: Fluff, smut

Word count: 5.5k

Summary: The crew is on tour. Nafla enjoys the groupie lifestyle

Notes: you can also read on my AO3

The best way to wind down after a concert performance is to turn up at a private table. The MKIT Rain crew had just finished another stop along the tour and was hooked up with a spot at one of the better clubs in the city, as recommended by the organizer for this stop.

And it’s not a bad joint at all. The club is at full capacity, the line out the door goes down the block, the DJ is dropping and mixing good shit, and the drinks are appropriately expensive. It’s not a super exclusive club, but the crowd and atmosphere clearly justify the club’s popularity.

What better way to turn up at the table than with five different shots of liquor? Not even half an hour into the after party, the boys are already slurring their words and letting their bodies move of their own accord. Bloo, ever the moodmaker of the group, is recording videos and pouring more drinks without pause, so everyone follows up on the shots.

And just when it hits around 1am, Nafla is feeling good, uninhibited. Ready to dance a little. And he’s been on the lookout for a girl to write a hit single about all night. So far, there have been many prospective pretty faces, and more than a few flirty winks and waves over at the table, but he wasn’t feeling anyone yet.

There was one girl, though, who had caught all of their attention earlier when she had stumbled up to their section and asked for another drink. That was before she realized that she was at the wrong table. “Oh shit, sorry my bad. My table’s over…” You had turned around and scoped the room until you landed on the table at the section just next to theirs. “Oh! Right there! Haha!”

Nafla hadn’t noticed you in the crowd, but after you had appeared and disappeared before them, you became an invariable presence he couldn’t help turning to look back at every so often. Since your table was literally right there. You’re a pretty, little thing. Dressed simply in black high-rise jeans and a dark short-sleeved crop top, with a long, silver necklace dangling down the front of your chest.

Surprising how you didn’t stand out earlier among all these tiny dresses and high heels in your more casual outfit, but as Nafla watches you on the dance floor, he can tell you stand out in a different way. You look like you’re genuinely having a great time just dancing with your friends, barely paying a glance to all the guys who try to approach you and your group. It’s a nice authenticity that he appreciates in you, compared to a lot of the other club goers who are looking more to impress people.

Especially the crew. Girls have approached the table several times, asking them to join the dance floor, and some guys have even offered to buy them an extra bottle for their table, or invited them to their own table. Nafla and the guys thanked them, but turned most of the offers down, preferring to just sit and vibe in their own little space.

But then a song comes on that draws Nafla’s attention back to you. Or rather, to your ass. Because damn, you know how to roll it to this beat. From there, he’s transfixed. He literally has the perfect view from up here where you’re dancing between the center and the side of the crowd so you can enjoy the atmosphere but easily return to your table. And you are really enjoying yourself.

The way you just glide your body around in waves with a big smile on your face, it’s fun just watching you. When you start grinding on your friends, he thinks he can find the ambition to do a little more than sit and drink tonight. “I’m gonna go dance.” He announces before stepping down from their table’s section and diving into the crowd towards you.

And whether it’s a coincidence or just perfectly timed fate, just as Nafla slides into your space, you lose your balance a bit and he catches you by the waist. “Whoa! Hahaha, thank you.” You giggle into his ear.

“No problem.” He smiles back.

That’s when you do a bit of a double take. You blink slowly like you’re trying to make sense of something before you lean in to his ear to ask, “Aren’t you like… Nafla?”

It’s his turn to laugh. So you do know him, but you hadn’t recognized him earlier or something? “Yeah, I am.”

“Holy shit, dude, I like… really like your music.” You profess, “What the hell are you doing h-- Oh no, wait! You guys had your concert tonight, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, we did. It was real fun. Great crowd.” He finds himself kind of enjoying how close you have to put your faces together in order to talk to and hear each other.

“No kidding? Ugh! I wanted to go, but it’s my friend’s birthday tonight.” You explain and proceed to introduce him to your friends as a rapper that you ‘really, really like.’

They all exchange greetings and just continue to dance when you turn back to him, “Were you on your way to the bathroom or something? Sorry I kinda just fell on you there.”

“Nah, it’s cool.” He smiles and moves to put his hand on your hip, “Actually, I came out here to dance with you.”

Now that gets a reaction out of you. Wide eyes and you wring your neck back an inch in surprise. “Really. All these fine ladies out here tonight, and you wanna dance with me?” You scoff at him with a raised eyebrow.

Nafla shrugs at that, unable to explain his choice. He just knows that you caught his attention and he came to you on impulse, “Yeah. Why not?”

You narrow your eyes at him, still a little suspicious, then exchange a look with your friends before conceding to him. Your arms are around his shoulders for a portion of the next song, but they quickly move down his arms as you continue to move your hips along to the flow of the song that’s playing.

Actually, you both move around a lot for a number of songs, and sometimes Nafla’s hands aren’t even on you. But whenever a more sensual comes on, you back up into his chest and let him rest his hands on your hips as you roll your talented ass against him. Maybe the mood and the alcohol and your body are getting to him, but you get more and more attractive every minute. Enough so that some twenty something minutes later, Nafla knows he doesn’t want anyone else at this club tonight.

However, you break the spell when your friends pull you away from him for a quick discussion. After some nods, the other girls head back towards their table, and you turn around to relay the plan to Nafla, “So we’re gonna migrate over to a karaoke bar soon. Would you and your friends be interested in joining?”

Good question. He really doesn’t want to let you go for the night, but he can’t leave his friends. “I’ll ask.” He says, and just in case, he lets his hands roam down to your pert ass and gives it a much-anticipated squeeze.

You let out a cute squeal and giggle as you jump into him from the touch, and run your hands slowly down his arms from his shoulders, reacting warmly him. He squeezes just once more for the road before letting go and taking your hand, letting you lead the way back to the tables.

Needless to say, the guys are kind of speechless when he returns to the table in your tow. Everyone gives him pleasantly surprised looks as they flit between you and him and your connected hands. He tries not to look too shy about it.

“Hi!” You introduce yourself, and wow, how did Nafla literally forget to ask your name? “My friends are right at this table over here. We’re headed over to a swanky karaoke bar, and I told Nafla that you’re all free to join us!” You have to shout at them in order to be heard over the music. Nafla also leans in to fill a couple of the guys in using Korean.

“If you wanna stay here, that’s cool too!” You reassure them, “This club doesn’t close until five tonight.”

You lean in to tell Nafla that you’ll leave them to discuss for a bit while you grab your jacket from the table and sip at the last of your bottles. So MKIT Rain gathers around at the table, waiting for Nafla’s deliberation. “So do you wanna go?” Loopy is the one to ask.

“Can we?” He looks around hopefully at the crew members and managers.

“You have a free day tomorrow. That’s why we’re out tonight.” Megan offers, “But still, I’d be careful. We don’t know them.”

“I kind of want to go though.” Nafla says it rather casually, but his intention is still loud and clear to the rest of the group.

After exchanging a few more looks and pros and cons to deliberate, they settle for the green light. “Alright, alright. Let’s go, so Nick can finally get some pussy tonight.” Bloo announces.

“Shut the fuck up.” Nafla smacks his arm with a scoff, glad that your table is far enough that you probably didn’t hear that.

When your party makes to leave, you tell Nafla the name of the bar and show him the address on the map of your phone. And you leave them with a wink and promise of meeting them there. Nafla’s heart is beating a little faster than usual, and it’s not because of the alcohol this time.

The MKIT Rain crew take a while longer to get to the place because they actually took two cars there and had to find parking while you and your friends just went with ride sharing. But luckily, you had waited for them outside and led them into the incredibly large room that you had all reserved.

It’s got long booth seats along two walls that meet at the corner, and a large table in front of them. The other side has another long couch and a couple of extra stools and chairs around a long coffee table. The ceiling is dimly lit despite having a plethora of lightbulbs, and a colorful disco ball, and the tv on the wall is definitely at least one hundred inches in diameter. This really is quite a swanky place. With the price of a table at the club, and booking this fancy karaoke room, Nafla supposes you and your friends all pulling all the stops for this birthday bash.

You do another brief introduction, telling all your friends about how they’re a hip hop crew that you’re fond of and telling MKIT Rain that it’s your friend’s birthday. Some of them mention how they know of a couple different members or their songs, but it’s clear you’re probably the most knowledgeable fan in the party. You let everyone settle down and pick food and drinks to order from the place’s menu. It’s all done on a touch-screen tablet attached to the wall, which is another impressive feature this place has.

You’re kind of acting as the host of the group, which Nafla admires, but he’s still kind of waiting to get your attention again. Eventually, you settle down on the seat adjacent to him on a chair close to the booth. “Pardon me if I do something weird, but I am kinda lit right now.” You giggle.

You have definitely had plenty to drink tonight, but Nafla likes you like this. You lean in towards him more because you need your arms on the table to support your weight, and there’s an eternal goofy smile on your face whenever he says something that can just barely qualify as a humorous quip.

Your friends are at the mic without delay, and either they don’t mind partying this hard around people they just met, or they’re too drunk to care. Going off of the types of fun and supportive personalities your friend group has, Nafla would say it’s a bit of both. His friends at least seem to be having a good time. Some of them are even up and singing or dancing to the songs together.

You all stay there for about two hours, and Nafla enjoys every minute of it. Talking to you, listening to you sing a few more songs, drinking with you. It gets even better when you squeeze over to sit next to him and lean part of your weight against him. Your words get loopy and happy and sleepy, and it’s super fucking cute. And you may be drunk, but you are definitely still flirting with him back and forth throughout the evening. In fact, you had even picked one of his songs to sing along to and you were pretty good. So you were true to your word that you really did like his music.

A significant highlight of the evening is when someone picks a song that was actually playing at the club earlier. The same song that Nafla had watched you roll your fine ass to before deciding to march up to you. And you dance and sing with the very same sex appeal as you did in the club. You had even pulled him out of his seat to flirt with him using your body this time.

His friends were louder than yours when you dragged a hand down his chest in waves as you started dancing lower into a squat in front of his crotch. It was a short-lived moment because you had just as quickly made your way back up to eye level, but that didn’t stop you from turning and grinding back into him a verse later like you were still at the club. He felt like he could have floated up to the moon; this was the best life he could be living.

Around 5am, everyone’s feeling muggy and tired, so they all start filing out of the karaoke room and gathering outside of the entrance. Megan is the one who offers to pay for half of the karaoke fee for the evening, but your friends insist that it’s fine. “You’re [Name]’s favorite rappers, or something like that. We’re so glad you decided to join us tonight. Y’all are fucking lit!” The birthday girl slurs before walking along the line of crew members to high-five them all.

Everyone says their last goodbyes and goodnights. Nafla has kept you hugged to his side since you all left the karaoke room, and he murmurs into your ear, “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

Your hum almost sounds like a purr as you roll your neck up to whisper back the best thing he’s ever heard, “Does that mean it’s over?”

He has to force his spine to hold back the shiver threatening to run down his entire body, at least long enough for him to give you the name of the hotel he’s staying at, “Meet me in the lobby?”

Nafla can tell that everyone is curiously watching and waiting for you two to finish up, but they let him have his moment since you’re giggling so happily. You wrap your arms around him in a full frontal hug to share a secret, “One hour. I’ll be there.”

Nafla has spent a lot of his time waiting before. Waiting in lines, waiting for flights, waiting for shows, waiting to release new music, waiting to listen to new music, waiting for inspiration to hit, all of that shit. He’s spent hours and hours waiting for whatever it may have been, and he’s always prided himself in his patience.

But this hour he spends waiting for you, getting back to the hotel, tidying up his room, showering and changing, making sure everything is presentable… This hour feels like one of the longest he’s ever had to wait for anything. Or anyone.

He runs out of things to do, so he just heads down to the lobby ten minutes early, too excited to stay holed up in his room while waiting for you. But lucky for him, you show up just minutes after he finds a seat.

And wow. How is it that you’re even more eye-catching outside of the club? You’ve changed into a cropped red hoodie with black and white checkered sleeves, and paired it with some black athletic shorts. You’ve also got a pair of casual sneakers on, and you’ve washed off your makeup. Though it looks like you still did a little touch-up around your eyes, as you get closer to him.

“Hey,” He greets you in a bright, but soft voice.

“Hey.” You smile back, “Thanks for waiting up.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” He leads you by the waist toward the elevator to head up to his room.

The two of you make idle chitchat about what you’ve done since you last saw each other, and Nafla offers you a drink when you enter his room.

“Water’d be great, thanks.” You place your small bag down on the nightstand and have a seat at the foot of his bed.

Nafla hands you your water bottle and sits right up beside you, leaving barely an inch of space between you. After a few gulps, you close the bottle and set it down on the floor, “You sobered up yet?”

“Almost.” He sighs in a soft voice. He’s halfway between buzzed and tired. “You?”

“Still a little buzzed, but I’m feeling good.” You lean in and bump your shoulder with his.

He laughs. You’re freaking cute. He can’t help himself. “I’m glad you came over.” He leans in to slide a hand across the bed behind you to reach for your hip.

You turn to meet his gaze that weighs heavier by the second, and your breath fans across his mouth as you say, “I’m glad you picked me tonight.” The room stills and Nafla is about to lean in for a kiss when you ask, “Can I ask why?”

That trips him up a little bit, but he halts his advances to pull back an inch, “Why?” His voice is gravelly from anticipation, and he doesn’t miss how you bite your inner lip at the sound of it.

“Yeah. Why me?” You manage to murmur back, fighting to keep your eyes on his instead of on his mouth. “You could probably have had whoe~ver you wanted, but you chose me. Why’s that?”

“It isn’t obvious?” He furrows his eyebrows a little bit, scoffing out a small laugh, “You’re fucking sexy.” He move his face forward towards yours just an inch, emphasizing himself. “So natural. I like how you dance. You don’t try too hard, and you didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. That’s so sexy to me.”

He can’t help leaning in just a bit more as his continues, getting desperate for a taste of your lips. He can smell hints of a fruity balm coming off your lips, but he wants a taste for himself. “Not to mention,” he adds, placing his hand low on your back, “You sure know how to move this ass of yours.”

“Hm.” You sound delightedly flattered, and your smile matches. That’s when you run a hand down Nafla’s thigh, redirecting his attention for just a moment, “Can I sit here?”

Oh shit, he’s so ready for this. He wants you to hit him with all you got. “Yeah, ‘course.”

So you stand only briefly to place yourself on Nafla’s lap, sitting adjacent to him with your legs hanging over his right thigh. He can hear your soft breathing as you lean in close and run your fingers along his shoulder and arm. Your ass is as soft and supple as he remembers from when he last touched it in the club. But he’s more than happy to let his hands roam and re-familiarize himself with the feeling.

You seem to be doing the same with your fingertips along his jawline, and you keep staring at him like you’re really trying to take in the fact that you’re here with him. He can understand the awe, but he really wants to kiss you already.

Finally, though, finally you lean in and meet him halfway. And your lips are just as soft and pert as your ass, absolutely perfect. You twist your torso a bit to wrap your arms around his neck and press your chests together, letting your lips come more comfortably together.

You’re good at this, he can tell. He lets it stay pretty equal at the start, but he’s eager to do more before morning comes, so he slips you some tongue a bit sooner. You accept it wholeheartedly and part your lips to let him in deeper. He kisses and licks into your mouth until you moan a little. And then he tilts his head and adjusts his approach until you moan again.

You’re starting to get a little frisky with the way you tug insistently at his shirt, which he likes. Maybe he can wait just a little longer if you’re gonna start acting needy. He wonders if you’ll get whiny or demanding if he draws it out longer, so he moves his hands up your bare skin from your waist to explore what’s underneath your hoodie.

Which, to his pleasant surprise, is nothing. He pulls away just enough to see your full expression and tease a bit, “Left your bra at home?”

You shrug, playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck, “Figured I didn’t need it.”

“You leave anything else back there?” He glides one hand back down towards your ass, bursting to know if there’s a matching set beneath your shorts.

You cock your head with a cheeky smile curling at your lips, “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

Fucking sexy.

You can probably tell he’s thinking that by the way he slams his mouth back into yours with a newfound ferocity. Wrapping his arms around your waist and knees, he lifts you over to lie on the bed. Before he leans back down to kiss you again, he removes his shirt and lets you have a brief glimpse of what he’s packing underneath.

He likes the satisfied smirk on your face, and he matches it with his own cocky chuckle before resting his weight on top of you to kiss you again. This time, he wastes no second asserting himself against your mouth.

“Mmh!” You squeak against him when he takes hold of your lip and bites a bit. Your breaths are getting shorter and faster as he makes his way down your neck and collarbones, kissing all the way down to your waist before he reaches your shorts.

He is not disappointed. The only thing he sees when he pulls them down off your legs is a nice, damp pussy. There’s only one way he can think of expressing how delighted he is to see this. Without another word, he kisses at your inner thighs and right at the center of your legs before licking up a seam of that alluring wetness.

“Oh!” You sigh into the air, your fingers sliding into his hair. He’s glad he washed it tonight. It was worth the slight fading.

Now, Nafla wouldn’t call himself a pussy-eating champ, but he does pride himself on how well he uses his tongue. He built a whole career on it, after all. And when he goes down on you, he makes damn sure that you like it.

He tastes a shallow lick, just dipping between your outer lips. Then another lick, just about an inch deeper. And then another, even further inside you, where he can start to taste the essence of you. He wants to go deeper still, to where the most potent flavor of you rests. He wants your aftertaste to last on his tongue until tomorrow.

Just to make sure you’re feeling it, he licks deeper and arches his tongue up high before dragging it out, so that the tip of it will brush at your clit as he pulls it away. Just before he comes back in to suck at it. He is absolutely relishing in your little gasps, and he likes the view down here, where your face appears in intervals behind your puffing chest.

When you lift your head to look down at him though, he didn’t expect that expression on your face to shoot right down to his dick. Just seeing you coiled up in the tension he’s building in you with his mouth has him officially hard.

“Ohhh… Nafla…”

Okay never mind, that has him officially hard. He’s listened to your voice all night, but it’s absolutely nothing compared to how you sound right now. Grainy and weak for him, because of him, calling out for him.

“That’s enough, just get inside me.” You demand. “But grab a condom from my bag first.”

He pulls back with a chuckle, wiping at his face before heeding your request. And he is more than pleased to see an adequate number of packets in your bag. In fact, he just grabs the entire string of them. He’s sure you’ll both be able to make use of them for the next few hours.

In the time he takes to open one packet and slip the rubber on, you’ve thrown your top off to the side and scooted up right to sit right at the center of his bed, back straight and legs crossed neatly in front of you. You’ve got your hands placed in the small space inside your legs, and god knows your tits looks fucking good squeezed between your biceps like that as you arch forward with that expectant vixen smile.

“Heh.” He scoffs out an amused chuckle as he kicks his pants away, “Fucking dime piece right there.”

He’s on top of you in seconds, his forearms planted by your head on the mattress as he kisses you hard. Maybe he can communicate to you how hot he is for you without words. You moan back and wrap your arms and legs around him to bring him closer, and he absolutely loves rubbing against the heat of your skin.

He moves down to kiss along your neck to let you breathe after a hot minute, and you pull him closer still when you use your hand to press him into you by the back of his head, “Agh!” You moan, beginning to grind up against him. “Nafla, please.”

“You want it already?” He chuckles against your neck, grinding back up against you. And damn, the heat between your is legs enticing.

“Mm, I do~” You hum, running your hand down his neck. Then lifting your head to get closer to his ear, “What about you? Don’t you wanna fuck me?” You drag out the last two syllables just enough for him to lose a little bit of himself. It’s a feeling similar to when he gets a high off of shot of vodka when he slips a finger inside of you. A new warmth feels like it runs right through his body.

“You bet the fuck I do.” He answers in a low growl, moving his finger in and out of your slick lips, “Been thinking about this beautiful ass all night.” He gives your butt a small smack with his free hand.

“Well,” you smile, reaching down to wrap your fingers around his hard shaft, “The feeling’s mutual.”

The friction from your hand, even with the condom on, is absolutely delicious. He adds another finger to start pumping into you. Neither of you exchange many more words as he continues working you open, adding another finger before you seem ready to rip him a new one if he’s not inside you soon.

He gets the feeling. So finally, he pulls his fingers out and lines his tip with your opening, meeting your eyes one more time to confirm that you’re ready before he slowly pushes in.

You both moan in sync. You sound as delighted at the insertion as he feels, because you feel fucking good. “Damn,” he hisses. He starts moving back out and slowly back in, watching for your reactions.

“Mm!” You hum low and loud, with a huge smile on your face as you arch your neck back. “That’s good, keep going. A little harder.”

And so a little harder he goes. He bottoms out with a little more force than he had earlier, and your resounding shout is one filled with joyous laughter. He thrusts again, and it’s the same smiling shout, “Yes! Keep going.”

You sigh as he keeps up that pace and begins to move faster, dragging his cock in and out of you at what feels like 100 bpm. He kind of loves how he can hear the smile in your moaning even if he can’t see, which he can’t because you’ve pulled his head into your neck with your arms. So he takes advantage of the position with a couple teasing sucks at your skin, painting it the same hue as his hair.

At some point, your legs around his waist grip for dear life as he starts pumping more urgently, racing towards the peak. It’s not hard with the way you squeeze around his dick like you’ve got something to lose, and with all the noises you make as he continues to fuck you silly. He can’t tell if you’re just humoring him or if he’s really just hitting you in all the right spots.

Soon, Nafla can feel himself approaching that sweet peak of pleasure, but he doesn’t want to come just yet. Slowing his hips down, he pulls out of you and tells you to turn over. And you already seem to know the deal. You lie on your chest and hike your knees up, sticking your ass right where he wants it to be. “Fuck yeah…” he smiles, giving you a few light spanks.

“Mmm… come fuck me, daddy.” You whine into the sheets, shaking your ass back and forth to demand his attention.

“Here I come, beautiful.” He warns you with only a hand on your back as he aims himself back to your center. He slips right back inside you without resistance, thanks to your increasingly wet cunt, but the feeling is different from this position for sure. It’s like he can feel a whole new circuit inside of you, and it’s just as good as earlier. And this view right here, with your fine behind pressing right up against his hips, like it’s hiding his dick inside of you, “Ugh…..” he can’t help groaning.

“Ah!”

And spanking.

Yet as much as he likes imprinting his favorite color all over you, he knows he wants more. He wants to feel your ass in his hands. So he grabs at your cheeks with each hand and squeezes and massages before gliding up to grip your waist.

Holding tight, he resumes his earlier languid, but slowly rising pace of thrusts. He feels like he could go even deeper from this new position, so he angles his body so he can push much, much farther inside of you. Your low groans and clenching walls only encourage him further.

The rest of the fucking is rather mindless. His hips do most of the work without him needing to think about it, and his hand reaches down to search for your clit on its own. He can already feel himself approaching his orgasm again as you start to clench harder around him and announce your own peak.

“Agh— Agh!” Your pussy pulses around him in uncontrolled fervency as you come, which only serves to make Nafla come faster. Seconds after you do.

But neither of you stop moving. You’re breathing heavy and he’s moaning hard, but you’re still grinding and rolling your ass back up against him, moving his cock all around inside of you. And he still rolls his hips right back into you, riding out these waves of white pleasure like he’s surfing you. There is nothing greater than this feeling right now, and you make it even better.

You wait a beat. Then you tell him, “Again.”

And Nafla is loathe to pull himself out of you to dispose of and replace the condom, but the small chore is worth the great reward. He gets to turn around and see you waiting for him in another cute, naked pose, ready to spread your legs for him again.

“You ready for more?” He approaches you with a new condom wrapped around his new erection.

Instead of answering, you just languidly stroke at your inner thighs and spread around the wetness coming from between your legs, “Why don’t you come and find out?”

Don’t mind if he does.

#nafla x reader #nafla #nicholas choi #khiphop scenario #mkit rain #anybody else lit tf up from ice king #i would burn and condense my whole soul into the size of a diamond if it mean he'd even stare at me at a jewelry shop for a few seconds #nutfla #mine

81 notes · View notes

darksideofparis · 5 years

Text

Some writing I’ve been working on..

This is from an as yet untitled Criminal Minds Hotch/OC. And yes, it was inspired by the TV show, Castle.

Takes place in season 2 between ‘The Boogeyman’ and ‘North Mammon’.

Also, this is a rough draft so forgive me if some stuff seems off! And, yes, I AM working on ‘Pros and Cons’. This is just to get Delaney’s voice out of my head for a little while. :)

The sound of a door opening jarred Delaney out of her flashback. Her eyes darted to Agent Hotchner, now holding a small stack of files. She eyed him as he took the seat across from her.

For his part, Hotch was also eyeing her. He suspected, going off her physical appearance alone, that most people did. Delaney Tyler was unquestionably an attractive woman. She had dirty blonde hair that hung several inches past her shoulders. Her face was heart-shaped and nearly dominated by her big brown eyes. ‘Doe eyes’, Hotch thought they were called.

As evidenced by where he’d found her, Delaney was dressed for a party. She wore a long-sleeved royal blue dress with a laced-up front. The revealing front dipped down to just above Delaney’s belly-button, perfectly showing off her cleavage and a nice glimpse of her breasts. Her shoes were five-inch snakeskin patterned stilettos. Her only jewelry consisted of a pair of dangly black crown earrings. Her other accessory, a pair of oversized black Gucci sunglasses, rested on the table beside her.

Her face had been made up but not extravagantly so. Her eyeshadow was neutral, serving only to accent her large eyes and her lips were painted a vivid, but not overly bright, shade of red. It had been presumably chosen so as not to look too harsh against her pale, porcelain skin. Overall, her appearance, while extremely daring, was also remarkably classy. An interesting contradiction, in Hotch’s opinion.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Tyler,” he said as he opened a file. “You know most bestselling authors don’t have a rap sheet.” Keeping one eye on Delaney, he perused the contents Garcia had dug up. “Public intoxication in October 1996.” He looked up. “You’d have been what? Fifteen? Sixteen?”

Delaney’s lips were pinched. “Fifteen,” she said coolly. “I was at a friend’s Halloween party. Neighbors complained about the noise, cops showed up.”

“Yes, it says here the neighbors were complaining specifically about you standing on the sidewalk singing ‘Neon Moon’ at the top of your lungs.” Hotch raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Never heard that song before, Agent Hotchner? That’s a shame. It’s one of Brooks & Dunn’s best. I’d be happy to sing it for you, if you like.” Delaney gave him her mega-watt grin. She highly doubted this man, whose countenance was as cool as a cucumber, would take her up on her admittedly ridiculous offer, but she couldn’t help herself. The guy was hot.

Not to mention, but she didn’t really want to dwell on that particular memory. It wasn’t one of her favorites. The circumstances behind her arrest that night were occasionally too much to bear thinking about.

“I’ll pass,” was Hotch’s dry response. He went to the next arrest. “December 1996. Taken into custody at a movie theater for suspected public intoxication, no alcohol involved.”

Delaney put her hands in her lap. She didn’t want Agent Hotchner seeing them start to shake. “They let me go. Didn’t even do a drug test. I reacted badly to the movie I went to see. I shouldn’t have gone to see Scream. The events of which it was based on were still pretty fresh in my mind.”

This surprised Hotch. He remembered when that movie came out. Most people who weren’t law enforcement hadn’t dwelled on the real life murder spree that had inspired Scream’s screenwriter. “The Gainesville Ripper? That freaked you out so much?”

Delaney shrugged, though she was inwardly sighing with relief that Agent Hotchner had bought the lie – at least the no drugs in her system part. “My parents are university professors. Nowhere near Florida, but the murders did disturb me at the time. I was scared a copycat would start up where my parents worked.”

“I see.” And he did, probably much more than Delaney Tyler wanted him to. Her story about being freaked out by Scream because it had been based on real events she worried somehow impacting her parents had a ring of truth about it. But she was holding something back. He suspected it had to do with the ‘suspected public intoxication’ the police hadn’t bothered testing.

He also hadn’t failed to notice her putting her hands in her lap. That action seemed to indicate she was trying to hide something.

“Her hands are shaking, Hotch,” Morgan informed him via earpiece.

“Classic sign of anger,” Gideon remarked.

Hotch noted their observations, but continued with the arrest record. “Then quite a few truancies, and then in April 1997, arrested for heroin possession.”

Delaney clenched her hands into fists, though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She could feel her shoulders starting to tremble as well. So much for hiding it, she thought dryly. “I was not in a good place at the time.” The words were spoken slowly but even Delaney could hear the unsteadiness in them. She had no doubt Agent Hotchner could as well.

Hotch didn’t give anything away, but Delaney’s response was telling. She was clearly annoyed about her past teenage arrests being brought up, but this arrest in particular was causing her to literally shake with rage.

“Why are you even talking about this?” Delaney demanded. She didn’t even care that she was nearly shouting. “You didn’t bring me here to read me the riot act on things I did a decade ago! You brought me here to discuss murders.” She let out a scoff. “Where did you even get those records anyway? If you’ll care to look, you’ll note I was put in rehab after that last arrest. The judge dropped the charges and expunged my record after I got clean.”

“We have a very good technical analyst.”

Delaney looked like she was about to say something scathing in response, but she surprised Hotch by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She sat like this for a few seconds before slowly exhaling. After another moment, she opened her eyes. The big brown orbs stared right into his.

“You have not answered my question, Agent Hotchner.” Her words were slightly clipped, but spoken in a much calmer tone. “Why are we talking about an expunged arrest record from ten years ago? You said you wanted to speak to me about some murders.”

After staring at her for one long moment, Hotch grabbed the second file. He slid a photo across the table. “Jenny Kavanagh,” he said as Delaney studied the photo. It was a standard DMV photo, showing a pretty young woman in her late twenties with long, platinum blonde hair, brown eyes, and dimples on each cheek. She wore a simple green t-shirt and a necklace with the astrological symbol for Leo as the charm.

Delaney suddenly felt a sickening feeling in her stomach. “What happened to her?” she asked as she slid the photo away.

Hotch produced another photo. “She was found two weeks ago like this.” Jenny Kavanagh was now lying on her couch, eyes closed and arms crossed over her chest in the classic coffin position. Perched atop her pristine white blouse was a single white card with the words My Sincerest Condolences written on it in black cursive.

“Your Condolence Card,” Delaney gasped. Her doe eyes were huge as she stared first at the photo, then at Hotch, then back at the photo. She swallowed thickly before saying, “I’m guessing no outward cause of death except for a puncture wound on the back of her neck?

“Correct,” Hotch nodded. His eyes didn’t move from her. It was very hard to fake genuine concern for victims, especially people you’d never met. However, Delaney Tyler’s eyes were wide and unblinking. She stared at Jenny’s face, as though willing her eyes to open and show that everything was alright.

There was no way Delaney Tyler committed the murder of Jenny Kavanagh. Nor the others, if Hotch’s profiling was right.

Wordlessly, he slid another DMV photograph across the table. “Brian Tanaka.” The young man was barely out of his teens. His hair was cut in a bowl style and he wore a sweatshirt from the University of Florida. Before Delaney could really study him, she was being handed another photo. “Metro police found him like this straight out of Love to Hatred Turn’d about three hours ago.”

In terms of ways to die, Brian Tanaka had drawn the short straw. Delaney winced at the image of him lying on his back on a dark wooden floor, presumably in his apartment, limbs spread akimbo and an absolutely terrified look on his face. The reason for his terror was the gaping hole in his chest. Delaney knew without having to ask that his heart had been removed while he was alive. She glanced at his wrists. Ligature marks, presumably from the rope used to restrain him.

Just like in the book.

“Looks as though I have a fan,” she observed.

“A deranged one, yes,” Hotch confirmed.

Delaney suddenly looked up and smiled broadly. “Oh, I don’t think you’re deranged, Agent Hotchner. Far from it, actually.”

Hotch blinked, then blinked again. “Excuse me?”

Delaney’s smile grew. She knew exactly what he’d meant, but really, how could she resist? The man was hot with a capital H.

Aloud, she said, “Oh, come on, Agent Hotchner. Love to Hatred Turn’d? A Siren takes the hearts of the men she sleeps with to sustain her so she can continue living on dry land?” Delaney snorted. “I only wrote that ‘cause I needed rent money. The story sucks and I know it. Only die-hard Delaney Tyler fans read that.”

Hotch struggled to maintain his composure. Admittedly, this wasn’t a difficult thing for him to do, but damn if Delaney Tyler wasn’t making a dent in his stoic armor. Instead of rising to her bait, he asked, “Have you ever met Ms. Kavanagh or Mr. Tanaka before? Book signing? Charity event?”

Delaney studied the DMV photos again. Try as she might, there wasn’t a single flicker of recognition for either victim. “No, I’m sorry. It’s possible at a book signing, but I sign so many books during those, it’s impossible to remember everyone’s faces or names.” She gave him another grin. “But I assure you, I’d definitely remember yours.”

Ignoring the snickering in his earpiece, Hotch reached into the file again. He saw Delaney’s eyes widen and her face become paler than it already was. He could practically hear her thoughts. Dear God, another one?! “Dominic Cavalleri. High school softball coach. Do you recognize him?”

Dominic Cavalleri’s DMV photo could have come straight out of a fashion magazine. He had tousled sandy brown hair, shining blue-green eyes, and the kind of tan that came not from a salon but from spending time outdoors. There was a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks, giving him a kind of boyish charm. Overall, Dominic Cavalleri was one good looking man.

Delaney smiled appreciatively at the photo but it dimmed as she remembered he was now dead. Dead because some lunatic was running around killing people like she did in her books. “How did he die?” she asked quietly.

Hotch’s expression revealed none of his inner revulsion and slight nausea as he gave her the crime scene photo. “A Scythe for Schuyler. Three weeks ago.”

Delaney took one look at the photo and immediately whirled away with a gasp. Shutting her eyes, she did her best to block out the image she’d just seen. Dominic Cavalleri’s body had been lying on the floor of what was presumably his apartment. His head was several feet away, having rolled partway under a leather couch. The scythe that had sliced his head off lay right next to his body.

“Are you okay?” Hotch asked as Delaney put a hand over her mouth. “Do you need a trash-can-,”

Delaney hastily swallowed back the bourbon threatening to make a reappearance. “I’m fine,” she said, voice slightly strangled. “Just . . . just give me a minute.”

Delaney tucked her head between her knees. She wasn’t sure if there was any scientific basis on this position curbing nausea, but right now, she figured there was no harm in trying.

As she breathed in and out slowly and evenly, just like the rehab therapist had taught her, Delaney’s mind whirled over this latest information. Not only was someone killing people the way she did in her books, they’d chosen A Scythe for Schuyler as one of them. Her breathing grew a touch harsher. Her eyes narrowed. How dare they! She thought.

When she rose back up, Hotch noticed an immediate change in her demeanor. Delaney’s jaw was tightly clenched, enough to where he could see a muscle in her cheek twitching. Her eyes flashed with barely concealed anger. She clasped her hands together. Her French-tipped nails rather resembled claws.

“Interesting,” Gideon mused. “She was upset about the other murders, but this one has her really incensed.”

“Almost like it’s affected her personally,” Morgan added. “More personally than it has already.”

“Is everything alright?” Hotch asked. His tone held a touch of wariness.

“I’m fine,” Delaney said, her words curt.

Hotch inwardly snorted. Yeah, right. “You really don’t seem to be,” he said, not unkindly. “There’s a muscle in your jaw ticking. In the past minute, your heartbeat has accelerated and your hands have started shaking. I suspect that’s why you put them in your lap earlier and have them clasped together now, to keep me from noticing.”

Delaney’s mouth falling open proved he was right. She gaped at him as he went on. “It’s a clear sign of anger. Interestingly, you haven’t reacted like this to any of the other murders I’ve showed you. Upset, certainly, but not this . . . infuriated.”

Delaney tightened the grip on her hands. Not that it would do much good, but maybe it would keep Agent Hotchner from commenting on them again. How did he even notice that? She wondered. She would have noticed it in someone, but she had trained herself to notice body language and behavior. Do FBI agents study it? None of the ones she’d seen on TV had, but then again, that was television. This was real life.

“I wrote A Scythe for Schuyler at a pretty low point in my life.” She kept eye contact with Agent Hotchner, making sure that, if he did study body language, he would know she was telling the truth. “It was . . . cathartic, I guess you could say.”

“About someone important to you?” Hotch asked. There was a little itch in his brain, but for the life of him he didn’t know what it was about.

Delaney’s eyes became slightly moist. “Very important,” she said softly. She averted her eyes for a moment. When she looked back up, they were clear.

“So what exactly is it you do?” she asked.

Hotch stared at her. His brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m an FBI agent . . .?”

“Yes, I know that,” Delaney said with a roll of her eyes. “But you’re clearly not some run of the mill FBI agent since you noticed all the minute aspects of my body language and what they meant in reference to my emotions.”

“You’re right,” Hotch nodded. “I’m a profiler with the Bureau’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.”

“Never heard of it.”

“We profile criminals. Basically, by studying the particulars of a crime scene as well as the victims – also called victimology – we can tell law enforcement officials who, exactly, they should be looking for.”

Delaney was amazed. This man could actually study a crime scene and come up with an idea of who had committed it? “So . . . you’re like Sherlock Holmes,” she summarized. “You can tell if someone committed a crime in an organized fashion or a crazed one, why their particular victim was targeted the same way Holmes could tell that Dr. Watson had a clumsy, careless maid.”

Hotch couldn’t quite keep a small smile from appearing. “I’ve never heard anyone liken it in that way, but yes, if you like.”

Any other time, Delaney would have made a remark about his smile, maybe a little come-on about offering her assistance in getting him to smile by use of other, more intimate activities, but she didn’t for two very good reasons. One, there was this case to concentrate on. Finding out who the hell was copying her crime scenes and why was far more important than her getting laid.

And two, she had just noticed the gleaming gold ring on Agent Hotchner’s third index finger.

Typical, she mentally groused. All the good-looking ones are either married or gay.

“So if you can give a profile of a criminal based on the crime scene and victimology, why bring me in?”

Hotch silently thanked God for his poker face as he said, “We wanted you to see if there was anything in these photos that might tip you off on anyone who would do this.”

“I can’t think of anyone I know doing this.” Delaney studied Brian Tanaka’s crime scene photo. Unlike Dominic’s, this crime scene she had no problem scrutinizing.

There was, she thought, something off about this photo. Something to do with the crime itself? Delaney wasn’t sure. Her brain was more preoccupied in replaying Agent Hotchner’s words. For some reason, she suspected that he hadn’t been telling her the whole truth. It wasn’t anything in his body language or his expression; the man would have no difficulty in cleaning up Vegas if he ever set his mind to it.

No, it was something else. Something Delaney couldn’t name. Maybe it was the writer part of her brain, the part that said that in every scene she wrote where things were going great, there had to be some kind of catch involved.

She decided to test it.

“Of course, I highly doubt you brought me in just to act as a consultant.” She glanced up from the pictures just in time to see the startled look on Hotch’s face. She smirked. Two for two on surprising, she thought victoriously.

Again, Hotch struggled to maintain his composure. How does she keep doing that? He wondered. He pushed that thought to the backburner and forced himself to focus on the matter at hand. “That’s right,” he said simply.

He expected Delaney to react with indignation, expressing contempt and fury for them having the audacity to consider her a suspect, but was once again shocked when she merely shrugged and went back to studying Brian Tanaka’s crime scene photo. Hotch stared at her for a few moments. “You’re not upset?” he finally asked.

“No. In fact,” Delaney looked up, “I’m impressed. In cases like this, your first suspect should be the creator of what the crime is based on. Gotta check and make sure the author isn’t some Catherine Tramell wannabe.”

Hotch frowned. “Who?”

Delaney stared at him. “Catherine Tramell?” she repeated. Seeing Hotch’s blank look, she added, “Played by Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct? Crazy author who kills people, then writes the murders into her books? Has a lot of hot as hell sex with Michael Douglas? During interrogation, she infamously crosses her legs and shows off her bare vul-,”

“We’re getting off track,” Hotch cut in. Delaney noted with a bit of amusement that the tips of his ears were a little pink from the word she had been about to utter.

“Right,” Delaney nodded, but she couldn’t resist adding, “Too bad my skirt’s too long to do what Sharon Stone did.” She turned back to the photos and smirked at the sound of Hotch choking on air.

As Hotch struggled to get the provocative images Delaney had painted out of his head, he heard a bunch of snickering in his ear-piece. “I like this girl,” Gideon was chuckling.

“Me too,” Morgan agreed. “Can we keep her?”

“H-have you ever received any disturbing letters?”

“Most of my fan-mail is disturbing. I haven’t read it since a few months after Your Condolence Card came out.” Delaney grimaced. “At nineteen years old, I was understandably freaked out by how many marriage proposals I was receiving from ex-cons. And I’m guessing the reason you’re asking is because you think whoever did this might be trying to contact me?”

Rather than being surprised again, Hotch was impressed. Delaney was incredibly intuitive to the team’s thought processes. Must be the writer part of her. “It happens a lot in cases like these.”

“I’ll tell my editor to deliver all my fan mail from the last six months here in the morning,” Delaney promised. “Or do you want it from further back than that?”

“Six months should be fine. We’ll let your editor know otherwise. And speaking of your editor . . . Would he happen to be a tall man in his early fifties with a slight French accent wearing . . . um . . .”

“Wearing a bright red suit and a red and white plaid fedora? Kinda looks like a pimp?”

“I . . . I wouldn’t have said it exactly like that . . .”

Delaney chuckled. He’s so adorable when flustered. She wished she could keep being the one to do that to him, but alas, he was married. Lucky girl. “Don’t worry, Agent Hotchner, you wouldn’t be the first to think that, nor will you be the last. I’m guessing he’s outside?”

“Insisted on waiting for you.”

With a nod, Delaney stood. Hotch did the same. “Well, if that’s everything . . .” Delaney trailed off as she watched him place the crime scene and DMV photos back in the file.

“Yes, I believe so.” His voice was a bit curt, in full-on ‘official’ mode. “Thank you for your help, Ms. Tyler.”

“I only wish I could’ve done more.”

#delaney #delaney tyler series #hotch/oc #criminal minds #sneak peek

3 notes · View notes

tarysande · 6 years

Note

I was curious do you think Cain was a sociopath I read an article about how a sociopath 'loves' and it reminded me of him do you think this is what the writers were going for or am I way off?

I think there’s a lot of evidence to support that read on his character and I feel with at least some small amount of confidence that his character description probably included the word. In fact, I think Pierce may even have been a psychopath. (Pysch researchers tend to think psychopaths are born, while sociopathy results from childhood trauma. More on this later!)

Sociopaths and psychopaths fall under the shared umbrella of antisocial personality disorder.

According to the DSM V (psychiatry’s diagnostic bible), the following criteria is listed for antisocial personality disorder:

Persistent patterns of disregard and violation of the rights of others, present since the age of 15 and consisting of at least three of the following resulting in hurting, mistreating, and/or stealing from someone:

Disrespect and failure to conform to lawful behavior resulting in repeated arrests.

Persistent deceitfulness, using aliases, and lying to con others for personal gain.

Impulsive and unable to plan.

Easily irritated, aggressive and prone to repeated physical altercations and assaults.

Reckless, disregarding the safety of others and one’s self.

Persistently irresponsible, inability to maintain consistent work behavior and/or honor financial obligations.

Indifferent rationalization without remorse.

I don’t know about you, but I see a lot of Cain/Pierce/Sinnerman there, no?

So, let’s try to parse Cain a little given what we know because we were told and what we can infer by observation or reading between the lines.

Biblically, we know Cain killed his brother Abel because he was angry that God liked Abel’s sacrifice better. Cain then lied about it (to God; ballsy, but ultimately a bad choice). I want to talk about something, though, that people who didn’t once win Sunday School Jeopardy! (it’s true) might not know: Cain wasn’t marked and punished because he killed his brother. Because Cain was a farmer (and proud of it), God punished him by cursing him so the soil would no longer give him strength. He could no longer do what made him happiest and brought him the most satisfaction. Dying is easy; living without being able to fulfill your purpose is harsh. To this, Cain replied, “Well then, I’ll just hide from your presence and wander until someone kills me; life’s not worth living without farming,” and God said, “Y’think it’s that easy, do you? Have this mark so everyone’ll know that, in killing you, they bring My vengeance upon them sevenfold.”

Murder is bad. Trying to wriggle out of what God deems to be appropriate punishment for it is far worse. Defying God’s judgment is the crime for which Cain is punished with the mark.

(Where have we seen that before? But that’s the subject for a different essay.)

So, if we assume that Lucifer’s writers were pulling from Biblical ‘canon,’ we’ve already got a little sociopathy happening. Cain kills his brother because Abel got a better report card from God and he can’t stand that (he’s the elder brother, after all). He feels no remorse, no guilt (and Pierce says as much to Lucifer; it’s a driving part of his personality from the beginning), and no empathy. He lies to protect himself. His response to being punished is not “I’m sorry for what I did,” it’s “How dare you take my things away from me.” It’s selfish and self-centered.

Also from the DSM V:

Persistent pathological personality traits:

Antagonism

Manipulative - frequent use of deceit, subterfuge, charm, seduction, and ingratiation to achieve personal goals.

Deceit - lies and fraudulent representation of self, embellishment and lying when relating events.

Callous - cold, uncaring, and indifferent to the feelings of others, lack of remorse for the hurt they cause to others, aggressive and sadistic.

Hostile - aggressive and angry at perceived slights and insults, vengeful and mean.

Disinhibition

Irresponsible - failure to honor obligations, lack of respect for promises made and agreements.

Impulsive - acts on momentary stimulus, no planning, inability to plan.

Risk Behavior - denies personal danger, engages in dangerous activity to one’s self and others, engages in risk behaviors to stave off boredom.

Now, here’s where Pierce appears psychopathic: psychopaths plan. They engage in criminal behavior in a way that minimizes personal risk. They have plans and contingency plans to ensure they are not caught. (SINNERMAN.) A psychopath is better able to dissociate from their actions (”It was an accident. He deserved it. He was an asshat.”) ((Sidebar: that Abel’s in Hell proves Abel felt guilt and remorse, unlike his brother. It’s not that Abel ‘deserved it’–he just had deeper feelings than Cain.)

I don’t think it takes much to see these actions and responses paralleled in Pierce’s behavior, right from the beginning of the season when he doesn’t care about anyone in the precinct; he only knows about them in the context of what they can do for him. He lies constantly and always to protect himself. He throws Chloe (multiple times) into danger to test his theories. He shows no empathy for anyone at at any point (remember, if any of the post-Abel grief was real, it was because he still thought Abel was going to help him get what he wanted; it wasn’t about loving his brother). He rejects Chloe until he witnesses the moment between Chloe and Lucifer at Lux. Pierce had several opportunities to start a relationship with Chloe earlier but he didn’t take them because a relationship wasn’t necessary for his plans.

Cain is utterly and entirely focused on himself. When he does enter into a relationship with Chloe, it’s for selfish reasons; he says as much to the waitress. To a sociopath, true love is focused on the self, power (seen in the Sinnerman), and playing/winning his game of life. When Pierce decided to “woo” Chloe, he relied on every cliche in the book: romantic dinner, roses, declarations of love. It was like he looked up “romance” in the dictionary and awkwardly followed the steps laid out. Or, in this case, asked Ella and she told him what Chloe liked, what Chloe wanted, and what Chloe felt was missing from her life (especially vis a vis the heartbreak with Lucifer). And Chloe, because of said heartbreak and because she has some serious love-related self-esteem issues (different essay!!) fell for it. Because she wanted to feel loved, wanted to feel lovable.

Several of Pierce’s behaviors in “love” often occur with sociopaths and one of them is moving quickly: declaring “love,” wanting to get married very fast. Another is resenting time spent with family and friends (or, I suppose, wearing a bullet necklace); sociopaths are often possessive and demanding. Did he ever love Chloe? I don’t think so, personally. I saw no indication he was capable of real love, sacrificial love, love that puts someone else first sometimes. I think he loved feeling like he’d “won” the game of stealing Chloe from Lucifer (Cain is often shown emulating Lucifer, such as with providing favors, but I don’t think he ever cares about what he’s giving to the other person: he’s entirely focused on how beholden the person will have to feel to him. It’s about power. Chloe is about power. Being a Lieutenant with friends in high places is about power. Being the Sinnerman is about power). Perhaps, yes, that moment he lost his mark was the first time in thousands of years he felt bad, a pang of momentary guilt. It did not, however, take him long to return to manipulating Chloe and improvising a plan so he could “win” again.

Finally: look guys, that rock collection was serial killer creepy AF. Okay? The rock he killed his brother with was definitely there. Those were trophies. He took them with him to his creepy sewer/warehouse hidey-hole.

So, before I leave you, here’s something interesting for people to think about: the Lucifer we meet in Season 1? Go look at that list of pathological personality traits again. Lucifer’s a walking checklist for sociopathy/APD (the Cain & Lucifer parallels are definitely material for more thought!). As the show goes on, we start to realize that a lot of Lucifer’s issues are rooted in early (and extremely extended) trauma (which is what psych researchers believe is the root of sociopathy; Lucifer wasn’t born that way, while it’s implied Cain was). Only, Lucifer changes. He learns. It’s slow and he takes steps backward as often as he steps forward. Only his active choices and steps toward change, only the fact that he slowly begins to see things from a little outside himself, only the fact that he is willing to admit he makes mistakes or doesn’t actually know everything and work with an actual therapist, and that he is doggedly devoted to not lying is what sets him apart and allows him to be someone sympathetic and capable of change—it’s why Chloe, and the audience, can love him and hope the best for him. Though they may seem small, that Lucifer is making changes at all is monumental. Psychologically speaking, the deck is really stacked against him.

What I’m saying here is that Dr. Linda Martin is going to write the most epic case study in the history of psychology at some point. She’s gonna make millions. And she deserves it!

(Speaking of different essays, someone remind me to talk about the parallels between Amenadiel & Lucifer and Cain & Abel at some point because they’re fascinating… and also they illuminate why Amenadiel can be redeemed but Cain couldn’t.)

128 notes · View notes

mdwatchestv · 6 years

Text

The Magicians 3x10 + 3x11: What Even Are the Rules

Hi, I know, I know I missed a week. It was too late to watch ten, and then eleven was out, and then we just entered total despair free fall. Now here I am Tuesday trying to pick up all the pieces and figure out how I'm going to fit two plot-busting episodes into one reasonably lengthed missive. But I will take up this quest with all the misguided dedication of Beast!Quentin. These episodes were very different in style but Julia's storyline took center stage in both of them, which means maybe I was right to group them together and everything's going to be okay.

We go into 3x10 with only TWO keys left to find and four episodes to find them in, sounds pretty achievable! Q and his current sidekicks, Alice and Josh, learn the next key is in the throne room at Fillory, hey we know where that is! But this retrieval task is made more complicated by the recent overthrow of Eliot and Margo. Our royal pair have taken up residence on their new friend the Muntjac, who can now take to the skies! Also the Muntjac must have a fabulous wardrobe because that Margo's magenta corset and Eliot's sparkly muumuu (?) were to die (Wed morning edit: these outfits were in 3x11 but I was really excited to talk about them) . Q and co somehow hike through Fillory, get all the goss, and then board the ship in the sky. This all happens off screen so I guess we’re not supposed to worry about it. They conveniently deliver the plot point that Fillory is at war with Loria and the Stone Kingdom, due to the violent incompetency of Tick Dick Pickwick. Eliot and Margo springing into action to figure out how to save their kingdom was a nice character moment for them, and marked how far the two have come. While the rest of the Children of Earth are technically also Kings and Queens, they have mostly been vanity titles. Margo and Eliot meanwhile have taken responsibility for something bigger than themselves (for the first time really), and now are showing a selfless devotion to it, which is a pleasing arc for their characters. Anyway they are still Margo and Eliot so they defend Fillory the only ways they know how: with lies, threats and sex. God bless them.

While Josh, Quentin and Alice solve a Zelda puzzle in the Fillory throne room, Quentin finally confronts Alice on why she's suddenly so invested in their quest. Alice reveals she is working for the Library, who also has a vested interest in seeing magic restored. This makes sense because as we learned previously the Library's magic is being fueled by ground up fairy bones! A grim and non-renewable resource. However the Library is also shady af so Q is right to be suspish of Alice (who is shady in general). Anyway the key isn't there, and the quest is a bust.

Meanwhile in the real world, Julia is still on her mission to save the enslaved fairies, and Fen has just discovered emojis. Julia entreats the Fairy Queen to come with her and help free her kinfolk, but it’s Fen's passionate plea that finally sways the Queen into coming. We learn that fairies used to live freely on Earth until Magicians killed them all for their delicious bones. Typical. Julia's plan is to present the Fairy Queen as a slave (complete with Death Necklace), in order to get her to her people and free them. However this plan is complicated by the fact there is no way to remove the necklaces except via beheading. And since the Jaime Ray Newman family has received a large order for fairy bone (likely from The Library that just lost much of their supply), heads are gonna ROLL. Our heroines discover the fairies are held captive by a fairy deal brokered by Dust, who long ago made the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow the OG Fairy Queen (our FQ's mama) to escape Earth. Our current Queen decides to break this deal, freeing her people, and brutally slaughtering the Newman's (except for Jaime Ray who escapes).

The Fairy Queen laments to Julia that now the fairy's deals will mean nothing since one was broken, but I was a bit confused by this as how is anyone going to know? Like yeah they broke one deal, but pretty much all the humans aware of that are dead, and unless Jaime Ray is writing a breaking news story for The Fillorian Times, I don't really see the ish. Queenie also tells Julia that the fairies have a Quest Key, but it's sort of being used to prop up the whole Fairy World so no one can have it. I feel like our crafty Magicians are going to find a way to get it though, probably by integrating fairies back onto Earth or Fillory-at-large. What's for sure is that this side quest has muddied the morality waters when it comes to the fairy species. Rather than being cut-and-dry baddies, they are victims of greedy humans and they just want to find a home of their own. I foresee a tentative truce with the reinstated rulers of Fillory in our future. Also many Margo scowls.

Gah so much happened in this episode (as in all episodes) but there was one more important thing! Penny has been sulkily shelving away down in the Underworld library (I guess Kady has gone to look for him tho? She was conspicuously absent from these two eps) and attempting to find a way out. He does con a dead guy into giving him his Metro Card to the pig that takes you out of the Underworld and presumably to Heaven or Hell (what even IS The Magicians), but before he can use it he is pulled aside for a come to Jesus talk by Hades! Hades is the second Greek/Roman inspired god we have met this season (the first being Bacchus), and he is here to keep it real with Penny. He essentially tells Penny that if Penny stays in the Underworld, he will have a much more glorious destiny than if he returns to his sucky friends on the surface. Penny seems to take this advice to heart as he joins the local Library book club, and dessert-fancier group. As the season has gone on, and Julia's powers have ramped up, the mention of gods, the god-touched, and the appearance of gods themselves has been steadily increasing. I feel like in the quest for magic, Hades will not be the last mythological face we see.

OKAY NEXT EPISODE. IF YOU WERE SKIPPING 3x10 HERE BEGINNITH 3x11.

A lot of wild stuff went down in 3x10, but 3x11 was another helping of full on Magicians crazy-time. Once again Julia and Josh (of all people) are the central characters, which is refreshing seeing as how they haven't received a lot of lead story time ESPECIALLY not as a couple (Julia/Josh, pick your shipper name). This episode these two new best friends take a journey into the wild unknown, aka the 23rd Magicians timeline! In season one it was established that there are (at least) 40 timelines in the world of the show (due to a time loop created by...too boring, you remember). This is both insane and totally genius as it is a built in way for the show to bounce into a completely new world, with alternate storylines, whenever it wants. Characters can die, hook-up, become werewolves, anything is possible! As is the case here when 23 Josh (aka Dick Josh) pulls regular Josh and Julia into their timeline. Here, 23's Beast is essentially immortal and powered by a KEY. The J's decide to pull their weight for once and go after the 7th key on their own, consequences be damned!

As we learned from Season 2 when 23 Alice was summoned into timeline 40, 23 is a pretty f'd up universe. Mostly all of our beloved character's have been brutally killed, and the Beast rules unchallenged. However there is one thing that 23 has that’s worth all of these tragedies and that is KACEY ROHL!!!! My beautiful hedge witch queen lives on in timeline 23! She is just as goth, brash, bitchy, and perfect as I remember. Sure she is missing her signature power pony, but I will survive. She has teamed up with Dick Josh (who has Lasik, a cool jacket, and also werewolf herpes) in a last ditch effort to take out the Beast. Julia and Josh also run into in-love-with-Julia Penny, and GHOST MARGO AND ELIOT. Although one of the strengths of the Magicians is the unexpected fun and character building that comes from different pairings (Josh/Julia, Julia/Fen, Quentin/Penny, etc) there is one couple that should and shall never be parted. Even in bloody horrible death this gruesome twosome shall not be struck from each other's side. I loved the ultimate horror of Eliot being responsible for Margo's hideous death, truly scary! Also half-a-face Margo is still absolutely sickening. Cocks indeed.

However the biggest twist in this world is that their Beast is no longer Martin Chatwin, but Quentin! And to be honest, a much, much hotter Quentin. No one else thirsty for soulless Beast!Q? Honestly seeing him cut down Alice mid-whine was...extremely satisfying. But how did this happen? Well in Season 2 after 23 Alice was brought briefly to talk with 40 Q, she became obsessed with seeing her Q again. She even sold her soul in order to bring him back to life, albeit shadeless. Yes shadeless Beast Quentin is a ruthless, violent, killer, but goshdarnit he's a pretty fun time. Julia cleverly defeats him by lending him her shade, and once Q is back in possession of the full gamut of his shame, guilt, anxiety, and depression, it is but a matter of moments before he kills himself. Cheery. Anyway Julia takes the key and uses it to return her and Josh to their own timeline. But on top of their return 23 Penny and Marina ALSO go through to timeline 40. Historically in fiction timeline mixing is almost always a terrible idea, but Kacey Rohl back in our lives is worth the risk. Also we are entering a sort of Midsummer Night's Dream world here where there are two Penny's, one who is alive and loves Julia, and one who is dead-ish and loves Kady. Cray!

Misc thoughts from the episode:

I am really not getting the Dean Fogg storyline, it kind of feels like they don't know what to do with this character anymore. He's not even a comic relief as his addiction storylines feel more sad than wry. If there is nothing else to be done with this character, I think time to let him loose.

Also what is the 'Quickening'? 23 Josh had become a dick and isolated himself because he was in fear of the 'Quickening' which would kill all those around him. I assumed he was referring to turning into a werewolf (via the herpes), but it seems like this is something that could happen to regular Josh too? I kept up with a LOT this episode, but this aspect escaped me. If you have a clearer understanding, holla at cha girl.

Only two more episodes and ONE more unattainable fairy key to go!

In Kacey Rohl we trust, MD

23 notes · View notes

nomanicsdak · 4 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://manicdak.com/the-face-of-boeetia/

THE FACE OF BOE(etia)

Riddle Me This

I have to talk to a man called Gorgias (who may be this Gorgias?) here in Boeotia. I’m just going to assume this is pronounced like gorgeous before I can hear anybody pronounce it! (Update: it’s not, but I’m still going with it.)

Hello, Gorgias!

After defeating a huntress camp, we find Gorgias in a weirdly modern looking ruin. In it is also the Sphynx. Apparently this quest has something to do with Pythagoras, so maybe it has to do with finding the relics I’m supposed to be finding. Who knew this was a main quest? I probably could have figured that out by looking at my menu, but who wants to do that?

Anyhows, I have an amulet that I am supposed to be finding the matching half of? Seriously, did I just doze off when I met Pythagoras? Because I remember none of this! Haha, anyway, Gorgias is worried about his Pibos, which is not a colourful euphemism, but the name of his missing apprentice. Pibos has the other half of the amulet, I guess. How ‘BFFs’ of them.

I find his body not far away. A creature killed him! Also, it ate the amulet. Why would it eat the amulet and not the guy? Maybe all that heavy metal gave it indigestion. I recover the goods from a lion’s belly in any case and head on back to give Gorgias the bad news. He’s going to be so sad. However, this amulet is the key to awakening the Sphyinx, so— I won’t feel so bad if the Sphyinx comes to life! It probably won’t though; I’m guessing it will trigger some kind of treasure door or doom puzzle or something.

Is this the Real Life?

Okay, well—the statue of the Sphinx and Gorgias disappeared before I could even get there to test my theory. I try to insert the amulet anyway, but the game tells me to come back at night. Why are you giving away all your secrets, game? It would have taken me a thousand years to figure that out on my own! Anyway, I meditate for a while, come back at night and—

HOLY SHIT, the Sphynx did come to life! I am delighted and terrified. Is it reality, or is Alexios having some sort of fever dream? Let’s see what she has to say!

She has a challenge for me of some kind and is totally not here for my awe. Which, to be honest, Alexios probably shouldn’t be that awed. We already found like, three Cyclopses, one should be dead triangle dad, and Athena 4 Real. Literal Sphynx is just another day in life really.

Is This Just Fantasy?

Oh no. She has riddles.

Well, they are all pretty easy, and when I solve them and touch some symbols on the wall she disintegrates and I capture a giant golden feather inside some kind of ancient Greek Pokeball. For my efforts, I get a Sphynx figurehead for my boat!

Sorry, snakes. She is way cooler!

Sibling? Rivalry!

Okay, Sphynx quest done and done, now time to see what I’m supposed to be doing to help out Sparta per King’s request. This cannot possibly be as fun or ridiculous as the Olympics, alas. I am only proven correct when I arrive and the general in charge is my step-bro??? or actual bro? TBH, I am confused about who exactly this dude is to Alexios, but I do know he thinks I killed dear old dad. Naturally, he punches me in the face on sight. Cool.

OMG!

Well, we have some words, but he gives me a mission anyway and what I have to do is kill Boetian champions, so off we go!

The map tells me to head to Thebes for the one called Drakon, but I can’t find where there at is, so I go to the nearest big city which is actually Thebes! Good guess, self. Here I will be doing a bunch of quests and clearing out all the locations!

In the first spot I come away with a mace called Boetian Rhapsody. Worthy of note because, Heh. Whilst I’m in this pause screen checking out my gear, I also find a most terrifying mask. Where the hell did I get this thing???! Also, since I often talk about the cult family tree, here’s a screen shot of it. I’m just checking these guys off as I roam around. I should probably make a point of it after I finish this quest though, because I need to upgrade my spear so I can upgrade everything else with my unused points.

Cult Family Tree. Also, why does that dude on the top right branch look like the ghost from He Man?

NIPS

Next, I head towards the gym, because this is what the game is telling me I should do. Here I find Melanippos, who is worried about his one true love—Drakon. The dude I’ve been hired to assassin. On the scale of things I want to do, proving myself to my a-hole brother rates very much below reuniting these lovebirds. Let’s see if I get a choice in the matter.

Ok, so Nips over here wants to create a love potion and smear it all over the inside of Drakon’s armor so it gradually seeps into his skin, guaranteeing eternal love. Eternal poisoning is more like it. On the one hand he is wearing a Rod of Asclepius necklace, so maybe he won’t be accidentally coating the armor with hemlock or something. On the other hand, this is just a terrible idea. You can’t make people love you, bro.

The Unintentional Saboteur

Of course, I agree to find the herbalist who has the ingredients for him. Alexios asks about how vulnerable Drakon’s going to be while he doesn’t have his armor, and the answer is, very.

I see you, game, sussing out the tips on defeating Drakon. Here Nips is, giving away vital information directly to an assassin.

We’ll see how it shakes out.

Here are some more clues:

The herbs are red hot so Drakon’s affections will sizzle. Rowwwr!

How did he and Nips meet? Well, Nips wanted to become the best, so he wanted to train with the best. “But the only muscle he worked on was his heart.”

Please don’t make me kill this dude.

The last bit of info that I get is that Drakon might be at the training ground.

Okay, off to find this herbalist!

I am not surprised to find her farm surrounded by bandits. I get rid of them and talk to the herbalist. Apparently, Nips has been after this for a while. This is kind worrying. Also worrying is the singing he engages in when I get back. I get the feeling that maybe Drakon is not as into Nips as he is into Drakon. Like, did I just enable a stalker? In any case, Alexios double makes sure that Drakon will be without his armor for a time, but none of this helps in finding him.

Oh well. On to the next quest.

HORSING AROUND & HIPPOKRATES

I’m going to help this merchant get his goods, and his horse back from some soldiers. This too leads back to Drakon, who will be mad if he can’t get his oil for his back. Also another clue: Drakon prefers the flammable oil.

Dudes, you are making his defeat too easy. Loose lips sink ships after all.

Hippokrates’ Meds Bring All the Boys to the Yard

I get the horse back for the merchant and get another clue about the location of the training grounds. There is still one more quest that will presumably aid in my task. I have to go save and rescue a hunting party from a terrible beast for Hippokrates, who is here for some reason. I thought I left him to deal with the Plague back in Athens?

Anyway, I find two bears fighting over this poor hunter with the rest of the party dead. I stun the bears until the brown bear goes down. The white bear on the other hand just runs away. Do I get to complete the quest if the mega bear is still on the loose? I guess we’ll find out.

The answer is yes. I avoid mega bear whilst carrying the injured man back to bald ole ‘Krates. Incidentally, Alexios really hates these Thebans who sided with Xerxes. He keeps muttering at them for being cowards under his breath as part of the ambient dialog. I guess you can’t totally take the Spartan out of the mysthios.

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL…

It turns out Hippokrates is having a crisis of faith. The injured guy will survive if treated, but Hippokrates might not want to do that. You see, this fella is a slave trader who hurts and tortures people for a living, you see. Bro. Why did you send me out to save the dude? I could have just let the bears eat him!

Now I have to make choices instead!

I mean—Do no harm, right? I don’t want to be responsible for the Hippocratic Oath not being invented. Of course, this would be a really weird choice for a professional assassin to make. I’m out here stabbin’ all the time. I mean, Hippokrates could always just hire me to ease is conscience.

LOL, on second thought, actually I don’t have a choice.

Save him for the $$$, or save him because it’s the right thing to do are the actual choices now that I’m done ruminating on the pros and cons and actually re-read the text.

Save him for the right reasons, Hippokrates. Alexios offers to free the slaves at least and Hippokrates just runs with it. He wants to rehab the slave trader and show him the error of his ways. Well, good luck with that, pal. I have some people to free!

Swimming with the Puppies

So, they are located east of the river in the Malanippos’s camp. Nips has a camp??? Did he escape from there? I’m so confused. Let’s go there and see if we can’t figure things out. The good news is that I free the slaves and also find out Drakon is nearby so I don’t have to expend brain energy misreading the map. Also, one of the attack dogs fell into the water. So now there is an aquatic dog down there glitching, which is hilarious. Luckly, it doesn’t try to fight me underwater.

Anyway, I free the slaves and talk to their leader. I don’t remember anything she said now, but I return to Hippokrates and he is still really bummed out that the bad guy is going to live. This quest did not, however, give me any more clues on how to beat Drakon.

I guess that means it’s time to defeat him now! Let’s get to it!

I see how it’s going to go though when I reach my destination. There’s no talking to him. I approach; he attacks. At least that’s going to ease my conscious about this task. Hopefully I will never have to see poor Nips again though.

With that finished, I am lost.

I have three other champions to defeat and the only clue the quest gives me is that I must defeat them.

Where are they? Are they all in Thebes? Would that be too easy?

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL…part 2

Well, Hippokrates has another quest for me, so maybe if I help him out it might give me some clues.

It does not.

I arrive at some house and Hippokrates is fretting because the old man there wants his help to die. He’s old and in pain and wants his son to take over business before their rivals can take advantage of his frailty. Hippokrates, on the other hand, wants to study his disease in hopes of learning some more medicine that can help others.

I agree to help him take out the rivals and lo! I have already beaten them apparently. I love a quest that is finished before I even start it! The guy still wants Hippokrates help though, so I agree to speak on his behalf. I try to convince him to do the man this favor, but Hippokrates does not want to hear about morality form an assassin. Fair enough, my man. Fair enough.

Hippokrates and His Potential Lab Rat

Well, I guess that’s that for now. I will fetch the Hemlock that has been requested of me and see where it goes from there. Also, it’s worth noting, I suppose, that in game, Alexios knows that this is poison. Hippokrates thinks it will work great to ease the man’s pain in the correct dosage though.

It’s taking a really long time for the cut scene to load which is a bit worrying. When it does, Hippokrates is giving me the power to decide how much Hemlock to add. This was a bad idea, dude. Why are you tasking me with this, you’re the doctor??? I guess he’s just going to have to be mad at me then.

Later, I choose not to lie to my friend and tell him that I did what he couldn’t do, and that it isn’t right to keep the poor guy alive and suffering just so he can be a lab rat… And Hippokrates agrees with me, but he still wanted to do it anyway. Instead, he just tells me of his plans to travel the world now and learn from other doctors around the lands. Will we ever meet again? Perhaps, I mean, I will be playing this game until my golden years, so who knows?

I have to leave this man’s house now though, because his family keeps coming in and gasping at my weaponry.

WHO’S THE CHAMPION NOW?

I manage to figure out that I had to select the specific champion I want to defeat in order to get instructions on how to find them, so I select the next one on the list. She is much harder than the first guy, because nobody is around to drop hints about how much she likes flammable oil and will be particularly vulnerable because some rando is rubbing love potion inside of her armor. Also, she has two companions raining down arrows on me.

I managed to defeat her once I get her alone, and come to find out she is a cultist! Two birds, one stone. Nice!

On to the next!

Bears, Atop Tents, in the Moonlight

I go to find him and instead of getting to do the deed myself, I find that dear old Wolf dad has done it for me. I thought I told him to gtfo??? (PS. What happens if Alexios dumps dad off the cliff in the beginning? Does he survive anyway? Would I have to beat the third champion myself?? Would I have to fight my un-brother?) Oh, well, I tell him to go to my bro and give him leadership advice. Maybe this will get the dude off my back and he can stop punching me?

I guess I still have to finish the champion quest though, so let’s find the last one!

She is a hunter and has a bear. I stun the bear and then deal with her. I also find a tomb on my way back to my bro, so I complete that location too.

Back at Bro’s camp…his name is Stentor, so I can stop calling him that.

Stentor is predictably unhappy to see me. I mean, what did he expect? Alexios to die, obviously, but my job is the direct opposite of that. And I’m good at it, so sorry, not sorry, Stent.

In any case, now I have to compete in one of those melee battles, which I am also very good at. I shall return triumphant…eventually. First I head to the armorer, because at least I’ve learned that lesson. I only have enough leather to upgrade my tunic though. Once I’m geared up, The battle still proves to be too much for me, so I decide to blow up some more grain silos and take out the leader of Thebes in hopes of weakening Athens a bit. Turns out this does not help. I do eventually win the day, and when I get back to Stentor, the dude is less than grateful.

Stentor Hasn’t the Time

In fact, he still wants to kill me, and I still don’t know if I’m related to him. We bicker like siblings anyway. Luckily, before we can cross swords and after I try to talk Stentor out of it, dear old dad decides to make an appearance. Took you long enough, dude.

Stentor still hates me, but at least I don’t have to kill him just yet. With that, Boetia is on Sparta’s side and I have to find a new quest. Dad warns me that there’s a ‘shadow over Sparta’, and I don’t want to deal with that until I have to. Let’s go hunting instead. I need to upgrade my snake bottoms.

HOUSEKEEPING

We’re heading back to the arena for some cultists! I want to upgrade my spear already! Luckily, the cultist I have to defeat is only level 29 and I’m about 15 levels above that now, so nice. Skoura is there also, for sage wisdom about the arena and also to make me suspicious.

He has a daughter and she’s the reason he’s now just the gate guard. They lost touch…or she’s dead? I dunno, either way he looks very sad. We will perhaps get his entire story when I finish this quest, but alas, I am not equipped to fight the rest of the arena participants, so I’m off to find the final cultist I need to do the next spear upgrade! He’s off the coast of Andros, so it looks like we’re in for another naval battle.

Unluckily for me, there’s about four other pirate ships around this cultist’s boat. I try to just go for the cultist right off the bat, but his whole fleet just converges on me and sinks my ship about three times before I decide that this is definitely the wrong strategy.

Instead, I pick off the smaller boats one by one and that does the trick.

It is still not enough to upgrade my spear. I am frustrated looking for this information on my pause screen, so I just look it up online. I need nine shards to upgrade and I only have seven. I need two more guys, so I pick out the weakest ones, who are only one level below me at this point.

One is on a boat that I can’t find, and the other I have to face during a melee battle while fighting for Athens. I head towards this area, which hasn’t been uncovered on the map yet. Hopefully there will be some juicy quests over here, and maybe one of those statues I’m supposed to be looking for for my sculptor friend. You remember? The paranoid one I hooked back up with in Olympia, who thinks the cult is leaving him clues?

HOW BOARING

After a few tries at this, I give up. Maybe if I weaken Sparta’s hold on the area that will help a bit, but I can’t find the leader. Instead of noodling around the area, I decided it would be a great time to take out that demon boar from earlier, since it’s just across the water from where I am.

This turns out to be a bad strategy also. How is the first legendary animal the most difficult??? I head back into town after dying a few times. I am absolutely determined to upgrade my bow at least. I do that, and also replace an inscription on one of my weapons to make me even more venomous. I promise, I did not set out in this game to transform into a snake.

I also go to the store to spend my special currency. I buy the phantom steed masthead because it looks pretty cool.

With my poison bow in hand, I head back to the boar and finally defeat him! Like…this quest is one of those that’s slotted in one of the first areas of the game that you’re clearly supposed to leave open until later in the game after you’ve leveled up, right?? Or am I just that good at this game? Because I return to Daphnae and she gives me a legendary bow and some sweet ghostly arrows that do more damage. Imagine if I had those at the start of the game?

I also get the option of heart dialogs with her, but I’m so annoyed that she gave me this quest, that I ignore them. I wasn’t going to when this whole thing started, but, well…being tossed around by a demon pig ad infinitum definitely is a mood killer.

Also, She’s Kinda Rude–

It is time to head back to the melee for the cultist, but when I arrive, it is no longer available! I guess I will have to find the leader after all and burn stuff down after all!

So, I spend the majority of the next bit just wandering around trying to find the damn leader so I can trigger the battle again. I also upgrade my gear as much as possible. This time it takes me three tries to take out the cultist dude that appears on the battlefield. I don’t win the battle, but the guy doesn’t respawn after I lose it, so I will leave it and move on.

I find the final cultist that I’ve identified on the map (There are more, I just haven’t unmasked them yet.) He’s a boat guy, so I even get to equip my new ghostly steed masthead! I am able to take him down pretty easily, but I don’t get to fight him or get the boat treasure because I sink it with my battering power.

I am all hyped up on success and my newly upgraded spear! I head on over the hill to that Cyclops lair! I have to say my confidence is completely unfounded, so Cyclops hunting is right back off the list of quests I want to tackle.

There’s not a lot to do unless I go back to Brasidas and my mom to continue on with my main quest, so I just run around doing question marks. Me and Barny wax poetic about our home ports on the boat at one point, but he doesn’t want to tell me his own origin story.

ERRING ON THE SIDE OF GODS

Now we are on the isle of Kythera. Home of some ominous sounding purple thing. (It is dye… the ominous purple thing is dye.) There are a bunch of undiscovered locations and some new sidequest! yay! (I’m sure I will come to regret that ‘yay’ soon)

I go to complete a fort and accidentally stumble upon my first quest: There is a guy named Empedokles yammering about how the guards stole his robe and that he is a God. I let him out so he will shut up, and this gives me a quest.

At Least He’s a Respectful God

I meet up with him later and he is stubbornly sticking to his story of Godliness. I tell him I believe him, just because I don’t want to risk it. I already met a ghost Sphynx. I am not taking any chances even though this dude seems bonkers. I agree to go meet his Godly siblings for a dinner date after I retrieve the key to his God house from the guards.

I think my instincts are good this time, because I go to select this quest in my menu and it’s a main quest. How??? Why??? I am curious now, let’s go meet this guy right away.

I go to the forgotten island to meet him and immediately fall into a sinkhole. Cool beans. This is going great already! I meet E where he’s ranting and raving at a crumbling door about hearing the gods inside. They sound more like a trapped bear that is going to eat me. Should I further indulge this guy’s ranting?

I choose to indulge him. Alexios isn’t going to go as far as to actually believe him, but we know there’s some damn thing inside. Let’s see what it is!

Awww, shit. It’s a cyclops. A cyclops which just straight up squishes E. Damn. I should have told him to wait outside. Well, now I’m stuck inside with this thing, so I have to fight it. The good news is that it’s much easier than the one on spear island. I do exhaust almost every one of my arrows. I do get a cool cyclops eye for my troubles though.

EWWWW

I now wander around filling out more question marks. I find a legendary bear, which was way easier to defeat than I expected. Also, looking at the quest and there’s another boar? WHY? I head back to Aphrodite’s island for more quests and I what should I happen upon but a random Spartan soldier who thinks I killed Stentor.

Well. That’s a hell of a way to find out your brother is dead. What in the actual F, game? I know he was a douche, but— In any case, I am tasked to kill the actual mercenary who did the deed and it turns out that I already did that. Huh. You see, I’ve been trying to get my bounty up for that trophy, but I can’t seem to get it over 3 assassins no matter how many other mercenaries I take out. At one point I had all three of them and a chicken chasing after me.

Next Time: my chicken fears are coming back to haunt me!????

#assassin's creed #Assassin's Creed #Games #Odyssey

1 note · View note

childoftheempire · 7 years

Text

a sense of adventure 2/4 (DJxOC)

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4

The other man crouches down near me. He also checks for a heartbeat, without success. “He must’ve collapsed during the last fireworks. He had a heart c-c-condition, I think.” He delicately closes Mr Rosario’s eyelids.

I feel the blood rushing in my ears. With Mr Rosario dead, I must find a new way to earn the money to travel back to Coruscant. I can easily afford the trip but I need to be able to survive without working for a while. I turn to look at the strange man. Suddenly the thought occurs to me that if someone finds us both in the room, looking at the wealthy man’s corpse, I can get into trouble. The man looks suspicious enough and many people don’t like girls like me.

Obviously, the man has reached the same conclusions. He stares at my necklace with great concern.

“Who gave you that?” He gestures at the piece of jewellery.

“It’s not mine, Rosario lent it to me,” I say. “Costs a little fortune. I should leave it here; I don’t want any trouble.”

The look on his face is priceless. “What? You can’t pass an occasion like that. Keep it or sell it, whatever, and if you don’t want it, give it to me! I thought the Pearl would have a little more b-b-brain behind the pretty looks!”

“Yeah,” I say angrily, “but I’m not a thief! What’s the point of working so hard if you get sent to jail?”

He smirks a little at this. “Oh, but jail is not as bad as you think it is, believe me.” This is it, I should leave as soon as possible, get as much distance as I can between that man and me. I get up, turn back on my heels and leap towards the door. I grab the handle and push as hard as I can. The door opens, but I hear a ting behind me and it suddenly closes, knocking me on the ground. I have to get up but the world is spinning too much. I fall back on the soft carpet, cold metal pressed against my forehead.

“Don’t do this with me, doll,” the man growls. “Wouldn’t want your pretty b-b-body lying cold near Rosario’s.”

I whimper a little; my head has collided with the durasteel lining the door. The room slowly stops spinning around me and I start to shiver.

“Getting cold, huh? Fancy me warming you up?” he asks, his eyes glinting, his left arm landing high on my thigh as his right one holds the handgun. But this is a game I can play.

“Only if you’ve got enough credits, darling,” I answer, trying to make my smile as mischievous as possible.

I am used to this. I have seen all types of men, all have different ways to flirt with me, and I usually keep my head clear enough to answer back the way they unconsciously want me to. But this man is different. For a reason I am yet to find, his feral look troubles me and I struggle to think clearly. I know I have to think quickly, but the heat of his hand makes my thoughts dance in my head and I am unable to grasp one. A little unsettled at my inability to think coherently while staring back at him, I try to focus on his clothes. Judging by the state of his coat, the man probably sleeps in the streets.

“Is that a promise?”

The gun reminds me that I don’t have much choice if I don’t want my brains spilled on that beautiful carpet. “Sure,” I say. “But I doubt that you could afford it.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he says, finally removing the gun from my skin.

I straighten up, then make the move to reach for my dress. What did I just bargain for? I try to think back on it, straining to fight the dizziness at the mere thought of his hand on my bare skin, when we hear voices in the corridor.

“Anyone there? Open, it’s the police!”

I look at the man in alarm, so afraid that they are coming for us.

“How do they know?” I whisper, my voice shaking.

“Rosario probably had a health chip somewhere. It’s common here; it alerts the police if you’re dead or about to die.” The man does not look concerned at all. I hear a knocking, but it’s not on the door, and a few moments later a muted low voice answers. “What do you want? No, I’m not dead!”

The man lets out a little laugh. “It’s Firenze! They’ve messed up the rooms, l-l-like me. Get dressed, they’ll be coming here just after.”

“Right,” I mumble. I fetch the dress and begin slipping it on. “So, how exactly do you plan to get out?” I ask a little angrily, retrieving my purse. How can he stay so calm?

He doesn’t answer but leads me to the smaller bedroom. He crouches down at the right side of the bed, turns the lower drawer button in a full rotation then pushes it hard. Behind us, the bookshelf slowly moves to the right in a deep rumble, leaving a hole leading to the darkness. The man steps into the hole. Full of surprises, indeed! Secret passageways are often only known to the staff of the hotel; they are very useful in case of emergencies. “Come on, it’s going to c-cclose in seconds,” he tells me, without looking back to see if I am following him. I hurry after him.

Moments after I go in, the bookshelf returns to its initial place and we are left in the dark. “My heels!” I murmur. “I’ve left them in the living room!” I bite my lips, ashamed. How could I have forgotten my shoes! But the man only shakes his head. “It’s too late to get them. You’ll have to go barefoot.” A twinkle shines in his eyes. “But I can carry you, of course.” I don’t answer.

The ground is uneven and littered with unknown objects, some bearing a striking resemblance to a cluster of broken glass bottles. A few feet before us, there is a junction. The left corridor is lightened and the door can be seen. The right one, however, is plunged in darkness and seems to be descending. “Where to?” I ask.

“To the right,” he answers without any doubt. “But mind the stairs. They’re made of wood and full of s-s-splinters.”

“Wood stairs?” I echo, slightly surprised. I have not seen those for at least a decade. Stairs have been made of durable materials for millennia, and lifts are even more common.

“Historical b-b-building, remember?” he answers, then walks forward. I can only take one step when I feel something piercing through the skin of my foot. “Damn!” I say, quite unnerved at my forgetfulness. Stupid heels! If only they had been comfortable shoes, I would not have felt the need to discard them. I cautiously examine the ground with my other foot, but my toes only meet broken glass. Walking there without shoes would be a very stupid idea. I am sure the man has taken this way on purpose. “Hey, you!” I call, my voice trembling ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t mind to be carried.”

“Now, that’s something reasonable,” the man says, his tone delighted. There is now enough light for me to make out his broad silhouette. He turns back on his heels and ascends the few stairs. When he is near enough, he lifts me from the ground as if I were a paper doll, and I look away, afraid that he will see the heat rising to my face as his hand rest at the small of my back. I lock mine behind his collar, careful not to touch his skin and he begins walking down the stairs.

“You smell horrible,” I say. It is true, though he mainly smells of gasoline and fresh paint.

“Hey, I can still d-d-drop you here,” he says in an offended voice, but I can see the whiteness of his teeth as he smiles.

“What’s your name?” I ask. I hate when people know me but I don’t know them. “You can call me DJ,” he answers, without hesitating.

It is obviously a fake name but I don’t press the matter further. After all, he only knows my own scene name. When I leave this place, Jezebel, the Pearl of Canto Bight will only be a memory.

The silence stretches a little. I only hear the sound of DJ’s footsteps on the wooden stairs and the sound of his breathing.

“So, what about Firenze? You weren’t about to kill him, were you?” I ask, hoping to break the awkward silence.

He laughs. “If only! The man’s a bastard. Broke my hand last time we played poker.”

Mr Firenze is also a very wealthy firearm company shareholder. I am a bit intrigued by the fact that a man like DJ would play cards with one of the richest man in the galaxy. “You played with him? How so?”

“That was about a year ago. We’d been doing a con t-t-together, but he kept whining like a little girl, saying that he was afraid to lose whatever influence he had on the market. One day we were playing together, and I pulled a little trick on him. He must’ve have been tipped because he saw right through me and broke my hand right there at the casino. Bastard! As if his little c-c-credits meant anything to him! He’s got enough money for a lifetime or three.”

“So you wanted revenge?”

He nods. “I’d been away for a year, but I came b-b-back last week and he was there, so I thought, here’s my chance. I only wanted to scare him a little and maybe lower his benefits by a f-f-few zeros.”

“It’s not like he even needs it anyway.”

“Parties cost a lot, you know.”

“Yeah, and all the money flowing here makes my head spin.”

“But you live among them.”

“I’m so disgusted when I see all those gold chandeliers and linen towels. How can the people here look at themselves in the mirror while children are starving right under their eyes? This planet’s a mess.”

“And that’s the difference b-b-between me and you. Right, that’s a lot of money, but there’s no need to be ashamed of it if you’ve earned it fair and square; and if you haven’t, then it’s your business!”

“Okay, but what about the dying people? It’s just not right to throw elaborate parties when others barely earn enough to feed themselves!”

“Yet here you are, wearing a diamond necklace, in your designer dress. Tell me you’d rather be sweeping the streets c-c-covered in dirt.”

Cannot he see it? It is not fair to earn that much! “That’s not the point!” I cry.

“It is the point.”

“Yeah… I don’t know, that much money feels indecent to me.”

“But you need it, and you wouldn’t throw it away if someone handed it to you on a g-g-gold platter. You’ve got to face the reality, doll. People like you, they’re damn hypocrites.”

“Why?”

“You blame rich people because they have money, but you want to be rich yourself.”

“I don’t want to be rich!” I protest loudly. “I only want enough money for my family.”

“Sure, b-b-but your family will want money too for their friends, and their friends will want your money for their own friends. In the end, it’s all the same: the wealthier, the better. Besides, I don’t know any poor people down here who d-d-doesn’t dream of winning the jackpot.” He grins a crooked smile at me.

“Anyway, it’s not fair to show off,” I pout.

“Life’s not fair, sweetheart.”

He has a point.

#sw #star wars #dj sw #dj star wars #benicio del toro #fanfiction #tlj #the last jedi #star wars tlj

4 notes · View notes

seven-oomen · 4 years

Text

So I hope you’re feeling better, and have managed to cool down finally. A year or two ago, the A/C in my apartment kept going out, to the point where finally they had to just replace the whole unit, and there were days when the temp inside would hit nearly 33 degrees (according to Google’s conversion chart.) As someone also very much built for colder climes, I was about ready to murder someone, but that would have required too much movement and energy expenditure. So I know just how indescribably miserable that feeling is. (Frankly if I ended up in Eur at any point, I would probably also cave and buy some sort of A/C, too. Give me cold over hot any day. I can always add more layers, I can only take off so many.) Also, I hope you’re feeling better in general after therapy, and that it was at least helpful and cathartic, if super difficult and heavy.

I’m sorry your game turned out disappointing. I’d seen a few memes pop up on Facebook with no real context that now make a lot more sense. I think sometimes a sequel that just doesn’t quite live up to expectations can be worse than if it’s just a trainwreck from the start, because you can visualize how it might have been if only…

I did have one more thought on the HP front (oh god, why? how? I was never really even in that fandom…) I can’t remember enough details right now to be certain if Durmstrang was more generically Eastern European coded or if it was more specific to certain countries, but I thought it wouldn’t necessarily be entirely out of the question that Noah could be a student there. Chris in Beauxbatons is a no- brainer. And Hale is already a British last name. Basically, what I’m saying is Tri-Wizard Tournament, except they’re fucking. (Which given what little I know about the HP fandom, that is probably not the first time someone’s said that…)

And I see we’re just going right for the feels with that flashback, huh? XD Why do I have the feeling that there’s going to be a corresponding scene in the current timeline as a callback that will just make it hurt even more? (My heart says Stiles or Malia singing it to Ben, my head says anything is good, really) And now I can look forward to imagining John’s ghost lovingly Gibbs-smacking the three of them upside the head any time they start getting angsty about how the other two feel. Do you have any FCs for (young) Claudia or her father (I think there were already at least a couple different actresses, so I consider her fair game)? Or Julio? And having a visual for him now makes me think of the flashback in Ch.6 where he was treating their injuries, wondering if he and Mieczyslaw ever did go to have a “chat” with Elias, if there was a specific event that lead to that particular incident between Chris, Noah, and Elias, and where Peter was during all that (and who kept him from “helping” his father with his visit)?

Oh, one more for the sibling prank pile: when I was in high school/college, a lot of times when I’d be over at this one friend’s house, we’d be downstairs playing video games with her little sister and/or brother (by which I mean, they would be playing GoldenEye or Perfect Dark, and I would just be dying a lot because I’m beyond terrible at FPS), if we were playing music “too loud” (usually No Doubt or Garbage, or later on, AFI), her older brother would go upstairs to his room and start blasting Queen or Pink Floyd at top volume to try and drown us out, like some kind of Stereo Cold War (instead of using headphones, or asking us to turn it down, or something else logical.) It definitely made for some interesting mash-ups, and I always had to fight down the urge to ask him “…you know we like those bands, too, right? Like, if you’re trying to dissuade us or irritate us, you’re doing it wrong…" Long story short, I could totally see Stiles and Jackson doing something like this, until one of their dads gets so frustrated they start blasting some of the most teenager repelling music they can think of to make them stop. Peter: “You think this Spice Girls mix is painful? Keep it up and you’ll learn that I know where Chris keeps the Nickleback CDs he doesn’t think we know about.”

This was originally gonna be part of my review, but I wasn’t sure how long it might get, so I saved it for one of these. So I know in a previous chat you mentioned Peter’s wedding day was one of the happiest of his life, and I know Chris calls them his husbands, while Noah said Peter’d been “practically proposing”, so I was wondering would they be considered engaged at this point, or actually married (like, werewolf married or something)? Because I am entirely here for some kind of ceremony once shit calms down a bit. I can’t see Peter resisting the chance to get both his boys into fancy suits to show off just how lucky he is. And they could work all the kids into the ceremony in different roles, all of them dressed up, too, but allowed to style it based on their personality and preferences. Think about all the photoshoot opportunities. Not sure who would be the best choice for officiant, because I’m not sure who may or may not have popped up by that point in the story. I feel like the most appropriate setting (based on present knowledge) would be the Nemeton. Second option would be the back yard of the house once it’s been rebuilt, depending how far in the future that is and how long they want to wait to make it official (Or other locations, what ever feels the most right.) Imagine Melissa (lovingly) roasting the everloving shit out of them in a speech. T H E D A N C I N G… Just, like, a huge celebration of the fact that they made it through. And don’t forget the honeymoon… Them at very least getting a room in some super luxe hotel, even if they don’t want to go too terribly far away because of the kids. Champagne, huge shower stall and Jacuzzi tub, giant bed with 1000ct sheets, balcony with a hot tub, just, like, all the nicest, fanciest luxuries. (And because I apparently can’t get enough of them teasing Peter to distraction) At the end of the night they all stumble into the bedroom, and get Peter sitting down on a chair or bench facing the bed. They loosely tie his wrists behind him with the tie he’d been wearing, and slowly unbutton his shirt and slide it down to wrap around them as well (they all know it hasn’t a chance of holding him, that’s not the point) before backing away out of reach and going to work on each other’s suits. Eventually they’re down to just their necklaces, dress shirts, and an extra surprise they had made for their husband; matching Chantilly lace panties specially handwoven with a triskelion pattern (I was thinking maybe out of lilies-of-the-valley, because for some reason I felt like Peter was a May baby, and that’s the birth flower for that month, and also I feel that would curve into the Hale spirals fairly easily and nicely. And while I like the idea that it’s traditionally black, this one has a lovely blue shift threaded through it that would look AMAZING on them), and featuring thin triple side ties made from silk in shades of blue to match their eyes (‘cause maybe he won’t rip it if he can just untie it?). Peter’s brain would just keep blue screening and rebooting as he tried to process everything, while they turn and crawl up the bed (giving a hell of a view as they go), turning back to him as they lean up against each other, trying to mock pout through their smirks like “Won’t you join us, husband? It’s lonely up here without you." His shirt just ends up confetti sized shreds of white cotton (or silk?) floating gently down to the floor as he surges up the bed at literal supernatural speed so fast he almost bounces off the headboard, trying to figure out a way to tackle both of them at once. (…Holy shit, I cannot believe I just actually wrote all that out. Apologies if it went a little far, as per usual, I may have gotten carried away. In my defense, speculating about it kept me from murdering the guy who decided to open and start "testing” our dog whistles because he insisted the last one he got didn’t work, so.) Actually, that also reminds me, we know that Derek has a triskelion tattoo, do you think Peter does as well? Or gets one at some point? Do you think Noah or Chris would ever get one, as a sign of pack loyalty, since the Hales are the ones that took them in when their own families cast them out? (And also, that’s definitely a mark that’s not going to fade away, but also does not carry the risk of accidental turning.) Where would any of them have/get them?

And re: review responses, etc. Don’t worry if you don’t want to reveal too much ahead of time. I generally figure a lot of what I mention is stuff that has a good chance of just coming up later in the story. I’m equally happy with the previews we do get and with waiting patiently (I swear I can) for things to be revealed in future chapters.

Oh, and the cosplay! (Sorry, meant to mention that earlier but I got…distracted…) If you do ever get the chance to do that one that would be amazing! By the time I got into TW I wasn’t getting to cons very much any more, so I’ve never really seen anyone cosplaying any TW characters, at least obviously. And we so rarely got to see any of Peter’s beta shift as it was. I will say that the Hale boys are some of my faves for fandom inspired fashion (basically where it’s not specifically a costume and most regular people wouldn’t get it but I know. I’ve done it with a number of characters over the years.) I have several henleys in colors that feel appropriate to the show’s wardrobe, that if I’m in the mood I’ll pair with some dark jeans and boots or black chucks. It lets me express my fannish inclinations with less risk of anyone getting all judge-y about it. I, however, can’t get away with wearing them with quite as few buttons done up as they do, there tend to be laws about that sort of thing. I also have a cute floral dress that works really well for a Lydia inspired look, and plans for similar, slightly more obvious, versions for Raven (Teen Titans) and Black Canary, should I ever manage to get to a convention again (I’m much more prone to costumes that are adaptations over exact accuracy. Nobody wants to see me in a spandex suit, not even me.) But yes, full support and encouragement on the cosplay! That look is definitely one that would catch attention.

Final unexpected segue: Many, MANY years ago we carried a product at work that was an anti-mating spray (yes, that’s spelled correctly). It was intended for unspayed females that went into heat to help keep interested males away. Many were the customers that bought it without paying attention who thought it would help with grooming. I just thought it was one of the funniest things I’d ever heard of, and that was long before I knew anything about omegaverse fic. Can you imagine something like that in a traditional a/b/o story? XD I still think about that product every so often (no idea if they even still make anything like that), and wanted to share the hilarity.

Wow, just realized that it’s like 3am. Jesus, I’ve been rambling a while. But I think that was everything? Anyway I’m going to attempt to go to bed, and pretend I didn’t just write more almost porn. (There’s a quote from the movie Noises Off! [another fave, highly recommend if you’ve not seen it], where a character is referring to her ability to remember lines, and says “Well, it’s like a slot machine up here.” *gestures vaguely at her head* “I, I open my mouth, and I never know what’s going to come out; three oranges, or two lemons and a banana." And I feel like that’s an accurate description of my posting style.)

For the FC I do, for teenage Claudia: Davina Claire (but imagine the brown eyes)

For Adult Claudia the actress Joey Honsa:

And for Claudia’s dad (I’m not awake enough to copy Miech’s name fully): Gary Oldman

And Julio Delgado: Santiago Calbrera

Fucking tumblr... I had entire sections typed out during work but my phone freaked out and now it’s gone and I can retype it all over a again... am angry >:(

Anyway, yeah I’m doing a lot better, ac’s on, I got drinks and shit. And I’m trying to rock my Reese’s pieces tank with Harry Potter booty shorts.

I’m gonna try and answer the most important things I wrote down and work from there.

And now I can look forward to imagining John’s ghost lovingly Gibbs-smacking the three of them upside the head any time they start getting angsty about how the other two feel.

There was a lot of Gibbs-smacking back when John was watching over them. Although he made sure to never freak out Chris and instead go for the ‘abby kisses’ on the temple and forehead whenever Chris did the right thing or was particularly vulnerable.

I also have this headcanon that John took care of Allison and Jackson for the first week or two because Chris just couldn’t. He felt alone at almost 18, just went through pure hell to deliver two babies he doesn’t really know. He loves them, he does, he’s just-, he doesn’t know how to feel. So John steps in and teaches him how to be a parent. It takes a bit of time but by the time Jackson and Allison are a week old, Chris is fully on board and would die for them in a heartbeat. And John just looks at him with this pride in his eyes and kisses his forehead. “I’m proud of you.” It’s the first time Chris hears that from a father figure.

And having a visual for him now makes me think of the flashback in Ch.6 where he was treating their injuries, wondering if he and Mieczyslaw ever did go to have a “chat” with Elias, if there was a specific event that lead to that particular incident between Chris, Noah, and Elias, and where Peter was during all that (and who kept him from “helping” his father with his visit)?

This I will address in the prequel, and maybe a very short teaser flashback.

And I was going to close this story with a wedding, a honeymoon, and a pack run at the end. ^^ And holy shit the panties idea is fucking golden.

I could not focus on my work today XD. What an image please do give me more if you think of them ^^. It’s a lovely idea to have Chris and Noah dressed in lacy triskelion panties while having Peter ‘bound’ in a chair. They’re making out, they’re all having fun. And Peter’s hard, like he’s trying so hard to be a good boy for them but holy shit if they keep making out like that, all bets are off. What a fantastic image. Although probably not the best when trying to work XD. (I don’t mind.)

Actually, that also reminds me, we know that Derek has a triskelion tattoo, do you think Peter does as well? Or gets one at some point? Do you think Noah or Chris would ever get one, as a sign of pack loyalty, since the Hales are the ones that took them in when their own families cast them out? (And also, that’s definitely a mark that’s not going to fade away, but also does not carry the risk of accidental turning.) Where would any of them have/get them?

He do! All the Hales do, it’s a coming off age thing for the wolves and some humans get them as well to show solidarity with their wolf siblings.

John had a tattoo on his left pectoral. His wife Kathryn had hers on her right shoulder. Nathaniel had one between his shoulder blades out of solidarity to his wolf brethren. (He was born human). Talia had hers on the right side of her abdomen just above her hip bone. Merlia had a tramp stamp triskelion. Peter has his over his heart. (The top of the spiral can be seen peeking through some of his deeper v-necks.)

Laura had hers on her left shoulder. Derek has his between the shoulder blades in honor of his oldest uncle. Chris gets his on his left pectoral after he’s had his youngest child. (In honor of John) Noah gets his on his right pectoral as a mirror image after he’s had his youngest twins. (They talked about it before hand where they’d get them.)

Malia gets hers on her left wrist. Stiles on his right wrist in solidarity. Both of them on the inside. Jackson gets his just below his right collarbone. Allison gets hers just below her left collarbone. Ben gets his on his left arm when he’s old enough.

Not sure about the others but it’ll come to me.

Can you imagine something like that in a traditional a/b/o story? XD I still think about that product every so often (no idea if they even still make anything like that), and wanted to share the hilarity.

I am wheezing. That’d be so fucking funny XD Anti-Alpha! Alpha be gone! Spray the horny away! (Okay I’ll stop.)

But now I am imagining Stiles making a prank like that where he just gives his pops (Noah) a spray bottle for christmas that says: Spray the horny away! And has a photoshopped picture of Peter on it with a red cross through it.

They have a good laugh about it.

#creativity he wrote #ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #submission #anonymous

0 notes

bobbi-stork · 5 years

Text

Choosing the ideal security cameras

Use the Blink XT as well as the Swann Bullet Camera as examples. The two let you watch a streaming feed on your cellphone where ever you own an internet connection, however , Ring Spotlight will not warn you whenever a potential security and safety concern happens (for instance whenever the built-in receptors detect movements, etc.), although the View will give you a huge amount of customizability so that you can obtain warns whenever an issue happens, if that is what you're looking for. It may appear to be a limited variance, however if you are going the particular stand-alone DIY wireless security camera option, some of those messages will be the sole method to estimate real-time tracking (not including checking live stream all day). DIY regularly implies that, in contrast to Protect America and also other service providers, there is absolutely no qualified professional watching service lurking behind your current security camera. Meaning, for much better or even worse, it'll be your choice to consult the cops you may notice a person breaking in to your house. If you can't get the alternative to get a notice when a safety and security situation happens, you may without difficulty miss the one time that a burglar steal that costly piece of necklaces. I am not saying that there is no room for security cameras as safety measures supplements, but they are actually most beneficial limited to viewing in over a cat each day to ensure your favorite sweater have not turned into a chew up doll. Benefits of security cameras

DETER Criminal offenses

This is actually the greatest and also the most obvious benefit of installing surveillance cameras. Every time they are placed, you'll be able to see their unique result on many people almost immediately. Even when they're located privately, you will definitely start sensing a sense of safety, that is certainly important.

MONITOR SCENARIOS Plus Actions

It's very not difficult to work with home security camera equipment as they can be put anywhere you want to on condition that you can find a source of energy nearby. One can choose from virtually all sizes and styles; some are very small sufficient to get concealed in plants, pictures, photo frames, etc. Depending upon your expectations you can aquire either hidden camcorders or mountable models. Do not ever enable any person or anything dubious out of your sight utilizing surveillance cameras. And although it is suggested that you keep away from purchasing fake video security cameras, I simply cannot pressure enough over the value of correcting true ip camera for a sturdy reliability measure. Criminals are sensible and dummy security camera systems present on their own away, thus thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s seriously silly of them.

GATHER The evidence

Adding ip camera positiioned in strategic areas is beneficial when you have to keep track of behavior and also thoughts of people as well as in the event. Today's security cameras are not only seen built with good quality video features, but audio at the same time. The sharp graphics in conjunction with faultless audio causes them to be more practical than in the past in tracking a number of incidents. This is very good while confronting a lawful problem, where the eye witness might have left behind a particular important information or simply might be delivering with an reliable account of the things truly took place. With a home security camera, your legalised government bodies can easily see the particular series of situations when they truly unfolded.

Just How Much Should You Really Invest in a new Surveillance Camera?

More than ever, surveillance equipment can be purchased in several different types expenses to provide a feeling of safety toward a massive amount home-owners. The typical expense of an alarm system plus set up can be $1,335. With the variances throughout types and excellence of video security cameras, the installation usually varies in between $659 and $2,000. Hard wired products are less costly for parts however a lot more for installment, by $165-$210 each security camera, in contrast to the wi-fi counterparts. The best news: setting up any sort of device will save charges for home owners insurance. There's a couple of choices to make: wireless network or hard wired and also Internet protocol or CCTV. Nonetheless, a great many other variables bring about a final installation. A large number of equipment contain many cameras utilizing often cloud (NVR) or on-site (DVR) storage. From time to time these folks include movements detectors, improved quality, professional following, as well as night vision features. Improved options lead to higher sophistication, and increased charges. In the end, your needs and needs and wants must shape the final cost. Year after year, ip camera selling prices have got fell, forcing them to be an inexpensive basic need. An average home alarm system design and installation will cost you just about $2500. However the price tag with respect to qualified setting up could vary greatly according to solution variety and volume of security cameras. Along with devices prices, each individual surveillance camera will probably range from $75 to $150 regarding professional setting up. A process developed for Do-it-yourself design and installation will set you back merely time, if you possess tools. Whether you turn out traveling all the DIY route or simply having a expert, a preliminary consultation will help you fully grasp your personal exact expectations according to the requirements of your residence. A scheduled visit is typically zero cost. The size and type is based on many criteria. Cabled Product

youtube

Although setting up runs beyond wi-fi averaging about $165 to $190 for each surveillance camera, the elements connected with cabled systems tend to be cheap. Because holes is going to be drilled, wiring added, as well as canal implemented, hiring a contractor is generally needed. Beyond the advance investment, the one problem is permanent zones. The positives could possibly overshadow the cons. Wired systems cannot be broken in to remotely, jampacked, and have absolutely electricity inbuilt ? generally along with power supply backups intended for energy black outs.

Wireless network Model

Wifi products are easy to place, driving them to be the selection for Build it yourself homemade projects. A DIY install will charge you for free with the help of specialist work only about $75 every single video surveillance equipment. They are also easy to move and generally offer you remote accessibility. Negative aspects comprise of zero special source of energy and ought to generally be placed within your residence's wi-fi range to operate correctly. They generally possess reduced quality as compared to hard-wired brethren and can be broken into from another location. Wireless devices are usually subject to connection interference.

0 notes

noendgame2 · 6 years

Text

LAD 16

Tabrina jerked up, startled by the room’s lack of familiarity. Silva rolled to the left on top of Tura, who squirmed out from under her. Then they all laid there with their eyes shut, not speaking, trying to cope with the fact it was morning.

“Is anyone really asleep?” Tabrina finally asked.

“I guess we have to get up,” Silva replied, not opening her eyes.

Sunlight streamed into the room on golden overload.

Tabrina looked at the door. “If I do not get to breakfast soon someone will be looking for me, if they aren’t already.”

She did not add the fact they were probably tearing the Temple apart trying to find Tura.

The High Priestess sat up in the down-filled bed and sighed. She had not slept more than two hours. Opening her eyes was torture. She could have used her powers to increase her vitality, but she needed to hold them back in reserve. Who knew what could happen next? The poor priestess would have to rely on the time-honored traditions of perkyleaf tea and circadian rhythms.

Silva groaned as she crawled off the back of the bed followed by Tabrina. The Seeker grabbed a standard Temple robe and handed it to her new friend. That would get her down the hall and into her room, where she could change into her day clothes.

Tabrina pulled on the robe as she leaned over Tura. “I have to go now, Tura. I want you to stay with my friend, Silva. She will take care of you until I get back.”

Tura gave Tabrina a sleepy grin. The young girl was giving off a soft white glow. Tabrina frowned. It was the first time she had noticed it. There was an ornate chain around the child’s neck. Then it struck her.

The Amulet of protection!

The High Priestess swallowed her eruption of emotions. She smiled sweetly down at her younger counterpart. “Tura, sweetie, where did you get the pretty necklace?” she asked.

“You gave it to me.”

The Water Mage’s eyes went wide. “When did I do that?” she finally asked.

“Last night before the bad men came. Can we go to breakfast now?”

Silva was standing next to Tabrina, staring down in shock at the amulet from High Priestess’ story. Tabrina touched Silva gently on the elbow. She did not want to frighten Tura. That would not be good for anyone right now.

“It’s really pretty, isn’t it Silva?” Tabrina asked.

Silva looked over at Tabrina, who nodded slightly. The young Seeker then also smiled down at Tura. “Uh, yeah, it’s real pretty, Tura.”

“Do you want to see it?” asked the miniscule Air Mage.

“No!” they both said at once.

“Why don’t we save that until I get back,” Tabrina suggested.

Tura just shrugged in return.

Tabrina would have to deal with this later. Her eyebrows went up to gain Tura’s attention. “I’ve got to go, sugar bulb. I want you to stay here for a little while with my friend Silva,” she requested. “Can you do that?”

Tabrina put her hand on the simply hand-carved pollywood door. She looked at her friends sitting on the bed and shook her head. “You two, no nonsense, do you understand? Tura, I want you to sit quietly in this room and mind Silva. I’ll be back as soon as I can with some food.”

She looked at Silva adding, “And for goodness sakes don’t ask her to do any tricks, okay?”

Silva slowly nodded, “You’ll be careful, right?”

“Yes. Really, do you two think you can keep from burning down the Temple until I get back?”

“Yes, Your Holiness” Silva answered.

“Yeah,” Tura agreed as she bit into another galoppsees boobomb.

“Gods! What am I doing?” Tabrina muttered as she left the room.

When Tabrina returned sometime later from breakfast, she knocked on Silva’s door. There was a sudden sound, like a dozen marbles spilling across the floor. After a few moments, the door opened a crack, and then flew wide.

“High Priestess, please come in.” Silva looked harried.

Tabrina entered the room. Tura came crawling out from her hiding place under the bed. She rushed over to Tabrina, who was looking at the room with growing dismay. Half of the dresser was now unfinished, as if someone had stained the left side but not the right. Purple, glossy marbles covered the floor.

However, the star of the show was definitely a small, moth-shaped whirlwind drifting over the bed.

“Goodness!” Tabrina raised her hand while reaching out with her mind. The moth eluded her psychic grasp as it circled the room a couple of times.

Tura giggled.

Tabrina looked at her sternly. “Stop that right now, young lady.”

Tura pouted. Tabrina slowly moved her fingers, weaving a series of fine blue vines around the tiny living whirlwind. She then carefully herded it outside the window, where it instantly dissipated.

The High Priestess turned back to the others. They both looked down.

Tabrina snickered. She had grown up in the Temple at Sil Malar baby-sitting the Gifted, who always lived under the oppressive shadow of the Watchers. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right, okay? We have a lot to discuss,” she said as she let out her breath.

“I’m hungry,” Tura complained.

Tabrina sat a sack of food she was holding on the dresser and got to work unpacking things.

“What about the Inquest?” the Seeker asked. “What’s going on out there? People have been running up and down the hallway all morning! I was terrified someone might come in!”

The High Priestess smiled. “I’m afraid the Inquest won’t be held today. Right now, the Temple is in quite a disarray, as you can imagine, but nothing for you two to worry about here in this room. I seriously do not think anyone is going to bother us for a while. I told them downstairs I had a bad case of the droops. I made quite a show of it, and I even managed to throw up on a Watcher! As you know the droops are highly contagious, and I made sure they knew you have them, too. I’m here so you can take care of me, and they sent some food back in case we couldn’t get out for a couple of days.”

“How terrible,” tsked Silva.

Tabrina turned to the little girl, “I managed to get us some chuckleberrys for our gloozmeal, Tura.”

“Oh boy!” the child cried.

The transplendent Marketplace in Tovinaar was Hawk’s home, playground, and fortress. He wandered through the largest marketplace in all of Toren, having no problem steering clear of the hordes of brave Royal Guardsmen and fierce Guild mercenaries who were always there to prevent trouble. Hawk, godson of Frack, avoided eye contact with those in power, as the devilishly charming boy delightfully went about his daily business of hustling, conning, and slyly stealing from the duller guests of the colorful Market. He made sure never to crop the local flora and fauna. It was part of the unwritten contract between the slightly more honest dealers of the Marketplace in their innumerable, multi-varied vendor booths and people such as himself.

The young thief wandered idly across the market working the crowds, when suddenly someone shoved him from behind and something cold splashed against his face.

“Hey!” he shouted, swinging around, but there was no sign of the culprit in the ever-moving crowd of shoppers. A couple of farmers were staring at him, but when he looked at them, they turned politely away to continue their shopping.

It was then Hawk noticed a blue stain on his left shoulder. When he wiped his hand across his dark curly hair and olive-skinned face, it came away blue. The substance had the unmistakable, strong odor of growlgen, a wood stain produced from scraping the leaves of the killerback trees that grew far to the south of Tovinaar. The stain was as bright and smelly when wet, as it was hard to scrub off when dry. He slowly looked down at himself.

This was a disaster! It was never good for the likes of him to stand out in the Marketplace, and these were his good beggar clothes! He had to get home as soon as possible and change. Moving as quickly as he could through the crowd, Hawk made his way from the organized avenues of vendor’s stalls into a much less populated part of the Market.

The blue-clad thief continued his sinuous journey home until he reached a set of stables close to the abandoned cellar where he lived, silently passing through an archway into Ransom Square.

Suddenly a large contingent of the King’s Guardsmen began to pour into the open square. Several of them were pointing at him. Instantly he realized this had all been set up! One of Ranganaar’s informants had splashed the dye on him, making him a marked man!

He swung around; ready to retrace his steps, but the other side was now blocked by Watchers. It seems the marksman had double-crossed the Potan by collecting double pay, turning Hawk over to the Watchers at the same time!

#@AndAwayWeGo

0 notes