#i loved the pinned so much i had to make a bigger ver as a set

[yumeka-sxf]

My thoughts on Spy x Family: EYES ONLY Guidebook (English ver) - part 1

I finished reading through my copy of the English version of the SxF manga guidebook "EYES ONLY." There's tons of fantastic information about the series, but I wanted to share my thoughts/commentary on parts that were the most interesting to me. Since there's so much content to cover, I'll be dividing it into a few different posts. Also, rather than go in the order of the book's sections, I decided to group the content based on topic. This first post will cover Endo's comments about the characters individually, as well as information about Garden.

Endo's Q&As and comments about the characters

Loid:

I like that Endo provides a reason for why Loid wears a WISE logo pin as it's something more than one fan of the series has questioned! And I totally agree with Lin about his "lack of distinctive features." Compared to so many other anime characters, especially shonen main characters, Loid's design is so plain, particularly in his hair and clothes. At least in his spy outfit he has a gun to make him a little flashier, but when he's in his casual clothes, he literally just looks like "some guy," haha. But that also makes sense for his character.

I love how Endo gave specific numbers for comparing Loid and Yor's strength (Yor: 10, Loid: 6-7)

Anya:

I did notice what Endo is talking about how Anya's design changed over time. But that can be said for all the characters really, and it's definitely not uncommon for manga-ka's styles to evolve as they get a better feel for their characters and world.

He mentions the classical language thing that was also brought up in chapter 42. Definitely makes me think that will somehow tie into her backstory.

Speaking of Anya's backstory, there was this little excerpt about the researchers at the lab. So one thing we can say for sure about her past is that she was not treated well there at all (which has been hinted at in the series).

Endo also discussed the origin of Anya's pink hair (namely, there really isn't any origin, lol).

Yor:

Interesting that he spent the most time designing Yor, and also about the origin of her stilettoes. And his apology to the cosplayers for that bonus feature about Yor's hair, haha.

I had to chuckle when he said they can't measure her strength because she keeps breaking the instruments! Also the fact that she hasn't learned how to make a single successful meal since the stew…Endo is such a savage sometimes, lol. But keep in mind that this book was originally published over a year ago, and obviously we know from recent chapters that her cooking is improving. I also like that he mentions that she has left witnesses to her work, like in Extra Mission 2. I wonder if that will be a bigger plot point somewhere down the line.

Like Anya having pink hair, Endo expresses some regret about making Yor an assassin (but his laugh makes it clear he's not terribly hung up about it!)

Bond:

I know some people are bothered by the fact that Yor is Bond's least favorite. But I think Bond's (initial) dislike for her originated from the chapter where he assumes he would have died from her cooking. Also the fact that Anya put the idea in his head that she would "murder" him if he did something she didn't like, like shun her food (which is obviously heavily exaggerated). But again, this book was published over a year ago, and the most recent chapter revealed that he definitely doesn't dislike her even if she's not his favorite. It's perfectly normal for pets to have family members they prefer over others for whatever reason.

Franky:

I love that Franky does charity work. I hope we'll see that in a future chapter.

Fiona:

It's interesting that he ranks Fiona's combat ability so low, especially when you consider what she did to Wheeler in the recent arc. But to me, that wasn't so much a display of combat prowess as it was totally raw, uninhibited willpower.

Yuri:

I love his blunt answer about whether Yuri has other interests besides Yor. Also intriguing that he mentions Nightfall when discussing Yuri's combat ability…maybe those two will meet eventually?

Information about Garden

Since Garden is still such a mysterious entity in the SxF universe, I tried to gather everything about them that the book mentions.

It's interesting that Yor sees Shopkeeper as her mentor since he taught her survival skills in her youth. The book also raises the question about how Yor found Garden in the first place…maybe something Endo will expand on in the future?

So the information Franky gives us about Garden is exaggerated? Gah, that just makes them even more mysterious!

The above was a cool bit of trivia...so it seems like the secret police might know more about Garden than WISE. Perhaps Yuri will find out about Yor's real identity before Twilight?

Continue to Part 2 ->

[pumafrommars]

Aggression-Reducing Landscape Painting

699 words

A03 Ver

Poppy watched in disappointment Barb breaking her fourth paint brush. The stick with the soft end broke into two pieces and fell on the forest floor next to it's poor predecessors.

"Barb it's not gonna work if you keep mistreating the materials." Poppy pointed out. In return she got a mean glare, it was easily ignored as Poppy went to look at her own painting. She had painted a field of flowers with a few animals scattered here and there.

Looking back over at Barb's painting, it was..well.. different!

"I told you this isn't my thing, I know you're trying to help but this is honestly making me angrier." Barb took a few steps back with- what Poppy deemed - an exaggerated sigh, arms limp at her sides, ears pinned down in annoyance and eyes rolling to show her lack of enthusiasm.

Poppy stood up from her foldable chair and faced Barb. "Well, maybe painting isn't your thing. Is there any sort of art you like?" This time Poppy could actually see Barb thing. Unlike most rock trolls Barb was very expressive, especially with her face.

Pulling in the back of her Mohawk she let out a small breath. "Do you have.. charcoal sticks?"

Oh! Poppy wasn't expecting that. But the pink haired queen quickly nodded and ran over to her backpack nearby that she had set down earlier. This spot was a little aways from Pop Village but not too far away from the perimeter line. Grabbing some charcoal sticks she walked back over to Barb who seemed grateful.

Poppy watched as she threw her current canvas behind her and plop and new one into place. Seeing that she was actually putting in effort, Poppy went back to her own painting.

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

Barb swallowed as she stared at her now finished painting. It was the flower patch in front of her as the foreground and the trees and rest of the forest as the background.

She glanced at Poppy's painting, it was bright, colorful and full of life. Barb's eyes immediately shot back to her own painting, before she could tear up the painting caused from all the anxiety filling her chest, she heard Poppy gasp. Now the pop troll was standing beside her, oddly quick and a little confusing to Barb but she didn't comment.

"Barb it's beautiful!" Poppy gasped out again. Fiddling with her spiked bracelets Barb looked down at the grass, frown on her face except at the very corner of her lip where a smile seemed to pull with all it's might. "It's nothing special." She answered with a shrug.

Out of the corner of her eye Barb could see Poppy take a step closer to the painting, inspecting it like it was an important letter from another kingdom. "Nothing special? You shade better than I do! And I've been painting my entire life." A small snort escaped the pop queen and Barb had to physically look away until her blush died down.

"I think King Thrash would love this."

Barbs ears- or more like ear - perked up as she finally looked at Poppy. "You're..just saying that." But when Poppy grabbed both of Barbs hands and held them in front of her chest, then gave her the happiest look of all time, a small spark in Barbs chest lit. "No! I mean it! Honestly I'm surprised you hadn't pursued this before."

She could only hold so much eye contact with Poppy before she had to look away, all her positivity was getting to her; Barb wasn't so sure she liked it. "Well..I have when I have the time. I only started in my early teens though." If Poppy could let out a bigger gasp then she would. And did. Right in front of Barb and her precious ears. "Oh sugar that's so cool! We have to do this more oftenohandwecanbringsnacksand-"

"Poppy!"

The pop troll stop quickly snapped her mouth shut. "I think once in a while it wouldn't hurt." Barb slightly caved, but that's all it took for Poppy to become a dog whistle from how much high pitched squealing she was doing.

Maybe this girls painting day wasn't so bad after all.

[mrpenguinpants]

Childe: First Kiss HCs

I tend to make things gender neutral by not putting in pronouns and just using “you” but you can definitely read this as female^^ But I completely agree, I love this boy so much. He’s my favourite character to play (im so sorry razor) until Xiao comes out. I literally have a genshin team named “waiting for xiao” and it’s just Childe and Zhongli haha. 

---

Today’s appreciation post goes to childes-starconch. Fitting that this is a Childe fic but ty for your support^^ I always notice you pop up as soon as I post a fic and I really enjoy seeing you. Hopefully you read this since tumblr won’t let me tag people, for whatever reason I don’t know anymore, but just saying hey, I see you 💕💕

---

I’m just gonna piggy back off my last Childe fic. I’m sorry. 

Semi Part 1:  Fiance HCs [honestly, one of my favourites haha] 

Xiao Ver:  First Kiss HCs

Venti & Kaeya: Mistletoe HCs

Venti, Xingqiu, and Razor: Kissing HCs

[Masterlist]

---

[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji​  @mikeysbike​ @unionwitch​ @musekala​ @twistedsunnshiii​ @stanzastic​ @akaasea​ @xoneaboveallx​ @adoring-ghost​ @asheseiler​ @childelover​@youaskedfurret​ @snowy224 

@youaskedfurret​ @diaxfeliz​ @wintergreen-aix​ @dandelily​ @thegayrubberducky​ @lovelykittycatmeow​ @yuunoagivesmelife​  @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos​ @strwbrry-lia    @tigerpriestess 

For some reason I can’t @ certain people. I’m talking to tumblr about it. 

---

Childe: First Kiss HCs

Childe was never one to shy away from affection, be it holding your hand in his or wrapping an arm around you, he was always happy to be close to you. He was always a bit territorial which lead to some embarrassing situations for you but it was from a good place in his heart. But when it came to public kisses, he preferred to keep it between you two. It felt too private of a moment that he didn’t want to broadcast to the rest of the Fatui, especially to the other Harbingers. That is to say, if he actually kissed you in the first place. For all the two braincells Childe had, one was fighting and the other was protecting his loved ones, just imagining kissing you was too much for him and he needed to go find some poor recruit and beat his inner problems out. The Fatui recruitment process would always dwindled down during his inner turmoil sessions that Scaramouche himself, had to throw his goddamn hat at Tartaglia, and yell at him to hurry up and fix his problem. It was clogging up the air. 

When he tried to think about it, it shouldn’t be this hard to simply lean in for a kiss. But it was his first and while Childe might run into whatever danger or prospect of a fight without a second thought, he didn’t want to ruin it. What if he accidently bonked his forehead with yours? He should remove his mask then right? Just in case? He’s only given forehead and cheek kisses to his younger siblings so it should be the same right? Yeah he could do this, this was just another battle for Tartaglia to conquer! 

But whenever he would see you or you would both sit and bask in each other’s presences. He couldn’t bring himself to initiate something or heck, even looking at your face made him a bit hot under the collar in sub-zero temperatures. He can almost hear Scaramouche and Signora laughing maniacally at him behind their hands. He’s the youngest of the Harbingers, he should get a “get out of jail for free” card that all youngest children have whenever they get into trouble. But in this case it’s murder. He quickly slaps his cheeks to get his mind off fighting for one second which startles you beside him. 

The first time you’ve seen Childe shy was when he first confessed to you, stuttering that he liked you and just really badly wanted to hold your hand without using the frost of Sneznaya as an excuse. You flushed pink but nodded that you returned his feeling and slipped your hand in his. Whatever shyness Childe had was quickly wiped off his face and he cheered and brought you in for an eskimo kiss. Rubbing your nose with his as he laughed in joy, the tips of his ears and cheeks still coloured pink. You always hold that memory dear to your heart because not only was it the start of your relationship, it was the first time you felt you were staring at Ajax. Not Childe. Not Tartaglia. Just Ajax. 

But now, you’re not to sure what to call this. Lately he seemed to be out of it, always staring off into space or frowning at some poor poor snowmen that did not deserve that much pressure.  Was being a harbinger starting to take it’s toll on him? Did something terrible happen to his family or was the Tsaritsa being too hard on him? You were beginning to get concerned because you’ve never seen this much mental turmoil in him. This never really happened before and he usually bounced back pretty fast. Would it be better if you left him be and he sorted it out himself? Would it be better if you asked? 

Childe is startled out of his thoughts of possible committed murder because he’s too scared to ask his own partner if kissing was something they could do, when he felt your hand slowly nudge his. No matter how many times he holds your hand, you’re always warm. It could be snow storming outside and the only heater he would need would be you. He offers a small but warm smile as he laces his fingers with yours. He remembers when you first started going out he was so scared about boundaries and what was okay. Brushing your fingers together and overall, not doing a good job at saying he wanted to hold hands that even he cringes slightly at his younger self - even though it wasn’t that long ago and he’s doing it again just with kisses - but now he borderline clings to you like some overgrown animal. Scaramouche’s words, not his. 

It’s still evening in Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa herself seems to be taking a vacation because there’s only a light snow falling down between the two of you. You’re both sitting outside his house while his family is inside, warm and having fun playing games. He breathes in, closes his eyes, and let’s the world fade away just a second. He slowly brings his other hand to cup your cheek, his hands are always numb and the tiny pin pricks are dancing on his fingers again before they fade away too, and guides you towards him so he can place a small kiss on your fore head. Then tilts your face to the side so he can kiss your cheek. Brings his nose near yours to nuzzle against. Then hesitates when his lips hover above yours. 

“Ajax is there something bothering you?” you ask softly, you’re so close to each other that all you can see is him. The small puffs of breathe you both take bounce off each other’s face before evaporating into the air. You never really took the time to appreciate Ajax’s bright blue eyes. His pupil from this distance seems to be slitted too. 

“Hm? Ah no, of course not. Where did you get that idea?” he tries to laugh it off and tries to move back before you quickly bring your hand to the back of his head and nudge him forward so he stays in place. It wasn’t like him to run away from something, it was really starting to bother you what could get Ajax of all people to retreat from something. 

“You know if there’s anything that’s bothering you, you can talk to me right?” you asked as you brought both your hands to cup his face as you softly rubbed circles just under his ear. He closed his eyes and hmmed happily at your actions and nuzzled further into your hand before turning his head inward to kiss your palm. Before relaxing and parting his eyelids half way as he seemed to be back in concentration mode. Before awkwardly saying what was troubling him these past few days. 

“So wait, you mean to tell me that this entire time I was worried about you. How out of it you were and how many fights you’ve been getting into. Was because you wanted a kiss?” you asked dumfounded as he pouted but nodded. You sighed but bonked your foreheads together softly, “You’re such an idiot....C’mere.” 

“Wha-” 

You grab the scarf on his harbinger uniform and tug him forward as your lips slot over his. You kiss him hard and for a few seconds as Ajax just stares at you as his brain tries to catch up, before his eyes seem to dilate and he kisses you back just as hard. All his past worries are quickly thrown out the window as slowly pushes you on your back, cushioned by the soft snow, as he basks in the feeling. It’s a bit sloppy given this is both your first kisses but that’s what adds to the charm. You both have to separate at some point for oxygen but Childe looks like he’s ready to dive in again. 

“One more,” he pants as he goes in for another but you quickly place your hand in the way so he ends up kissing your palm. He whines but you chuckle at him, place a small kiss on the back of your palm of where his lips would be, and push him off you. You’re both still outside his families home and you aren’t in the mood to be caught in this kind of position. Especially not in front of his younger siblings. He rests his cheek on your shoulder and looks at you, trying to make his eyes bigger and look like a kicked puppy. You sigh as you give a small pet on his head, running your fingers through your hair. What a troublesome partner you’ve gotten. 

“Alright, one more.” 

---

My entire taglist was just made for the  “Enemies” to “Lovers” post and I still haven’t started hehe. Trust me, it’s coming. I’ve got requests for it and we’re slowly getting there. The entire time I’m writing this I’m just thinking “honey..no, that’s not how this works.” God you’re so dumb. I hate you. You’re my favourite character. Pour one out for Xiao, I was going to make this a crack fic too but ended up making it somewhat serious. 

So yeah, xiao is a cat and childe is a fox. In other news, water is wet. But I did actually google fox behaviors just for this shitpost. ALRIGHT TIME TO SPIN THE WHEEL OF “WILL TUMBLR BE NICE TO ME?” OR DO I NEED TO DOUBLE REPOST AGAIN. 

[tei0101]

a sakuatsu fic

tags: exes to lovers, married skts, inspired by captain holt and kevin’s kiss

ao3 ver. | unedited twt thread ver.

“You what?” Miya Osamu couldn’t help but raise his voice when he heard his twin spouting stupid shit. Only the counter and the wooden spatula he was holding was preventing him from strangling the annoying blonde in front of him.

“I’m not talking to you.” Atsumu turned his direction back to Rintarou, his twin’s boyfriend of sixteen years, as he continued eating his onigiri. “So, I was saying一”

Osamu shoved another onigiri on his twin’s mouth. “Why the fuck do you need to make a Grindr profile? I thought the couple’s counselling was going well.”

“First of all, I could’ve died一”

“But you didn’t.” Rin said as a matter of factly then, kissed his boyfriend on his left cheek. “Gotta pick up the new batch of tuna in the market. Will be back in an hour.”

“Ugh! Have some respect!” Trying to throw his chopstick at the love birds, which he failed miserably, resulted in a fake gagging just to show his disdain because why not?

As soon as Rintarou left the shop, it became quiet until there was a soft sniffle. “It was okay, at f-first ‘til一”He started crying, tears and snot. Thank god Osamu was quick enough to pat his twin’s head as an act of comfort. “T-the psychologist told me一sniff一 to have more time. And I was like, excuse you doctor, you’re not paying for my rent and medication!”

“Ssh, it’s alright. Did you explain to them your side?”

“No! How could I when the gorgeous bastard agreed and pointed out that I barely have time for sex let alone weekly dates!” More sniffles, more wailing.

It wasn’t his fault, not entirely. True, that ever since he got assigned to a bigger project, he rarely had time. Blame the architect firm for sending him to Aomori! Blame the expensive rent in Tokyo with its boxed apartment. Blame his ADHD and its fucking caviar price meds.

Blamed everything and he ended up losing the love of his life.

After several threatening texts to Rintarou and excessive pleading that his life depended on this fucking finally, he was ready to thread the waters and catch some big fish with tight fitted pants and black turtleneck to add some mysterious effect.

10 minutes!

The guy, Akiteru, was already 10 minutes late.

“It’s okay, you’re just used to Omi’s timeliness.” Atsumu murmured under his breath, chanting it like a spell.

“Miya?”

Dirty blonde? Check.

Beige trousers? Check.

Suede loafers? Check.

Long nails? Check.

Atsumu was baffled. How could someone check all his run-towards-the-exit-asap list.

First, there could only be one blonde in the relationship. Beige trousers made him icky like a melted popsicle in summer time. Suede? Hard to fucking clean, it should be forbidden. Leather was popular for a reason! Long fucking nails?!

Atsumu was about to faint. Or burst. Or scream. It didn’t matter. The moment his date went to the restroom, he immediately paid for his drink and immediately ran for his sanity.

Of course, he sent one last message to the guy before deleting the app.

Sorry, forgot to tell you I’m allergic to suede and alcohol. Thanks for your time.

- Miya A.

//

“So…?” Rintarou wiggled his eyebrows, taunting Atsumu before whispering something to his boyfriend’s ear.

“Nothing! And stop talking behind my back, I’m literally sitting in front of you guys!”

“Jealous.”

“Green-eyed monster.”

Atsumu sighed because no matter how good he lied to his co-workers about his date that ended bragging for three whole days, unfortunately, he could never fool his twin.

“What should I do…?” It sounded more sad? Ah, dejected. Defeated. Like a loser.

How could he think that a dating app and a date in the bar could make him forget about the one and only Sakusa Kiyoomi. Four years of pinning since high school. Another five years of dating, learning, familiarizing and memorizing every single non-hypoallergenic sanitzer there was in the market. And three and a half years of being married, sharing a house, their love and life.

How stupid could he be?

No one could replace Kiyoomi in his life. Not that he wanted to. He just…he just wanted to give him a better life. Bigger house. A backyard and a big dog. Europe trips.

Things he couldn’t give him when he was a broke college student and a struggling 24 year old competing to get a job in the most sought-after architecture firm in Tokyo.

He just simply wanted to give him the life he deserved.

So what went wrong?

“You know he loves you, right?” Osamu broke the silence. “You’ve known each other for years. Do you think he’s the type of person to give up easily?”

“B-but, I hurt him, Samu. Made him cry.”

“Like it’s the first time? Remember when you had your first fight? Outside my dormand you were carrying his shirts and hoodies in a plastic bag, ready to throw it in his face in case he asked for a break up?”

Atsumu remembered it all too well.

Last year of uni. He spent the night at Rin’s dorm because he caught Kiyoomi talking to a girl after turning him down for a date. He was crying the whole night. Asking if he was worth it. If Kiyoomi actually loved him in the first place. If everything they had was real.

And when he was going down the stairs, with the plastic bag full of his boyfriend’s clothes, he saw Kiyoomi standing outside the dorm, cheeks stained with tears and a bouquet of white lilies on his hand.

A symbol of devotion.

“You think Omi’s going to run under the rain, shouting my一”

“Miya Atsumu!” That was his name, coming from a familiar voice.

He stood up from the couch and as he was looking from the window of his twin’s second floor apartment, he saw a dark figure standing outside the building.

Just like before.

Umbrella and slippers be damned. All he was thinking was to get to the door as soon as possible一

“Miya Atsumu! Miya! Atsu, please…”

They said it only happens in the movie, a kiss under the rain that is.

They said it only exists in Nancy Meyers movies.

He was no Nancy Meyers or in a romance film but everything felt right, even magical.

The wet kiss. The tears hiding under the rain drops.

The quiet I love yous. The warm hug amidst the cold winds blowing harshly. The several sorrrys shared between another kiss.

How their hands trembled at the touch of each other’s skin. How their hearts were about to burst simply because their love for each other was so much.

“Com'on lovebirds! You’re both gonna get sick!” And just like that, Suna was again standing by the door. Osamu was behind him, chin perched on his shoulder.

“I love you.”

“No matter what.”

- fin.

[egg-emperor]

Even more details about the Eggman of my casino au (guess that's what we're calling it) because I have so much I want to share and I can't hold it back any longer! You can see the rest of the info I've shared of it so far here.

So in this post, I mentioned he has a golden tooth and how there's a story behind it that he doesn't like to tell. Well, he lost it when he was punched in the face by someone he wronged in the past. It was so fast that he couldn't defend himself and his perfect set of teeth got ruined after decades of taking great care of them. He won the fight but was heartbroken by his loss. He quickly had it replaced with real expensive gold so he still had something to show off and he's never gone too far without bodyguards nearby ever since.

Like main universe Eggman, he can actually fight and he's just as strong. It's even rarer for him but when he resorts to it, he's brutal and people regret underestimating him. That's how he made it out alive after the situation where his tooth was knocked out. He wears golden knuckle dusters to make his punches stronger and brings them to dangerous places at night so he's always prepared. He also keeps a gun on him and it's pink OF COURSE dhbdfbdsjsgd

Although his intelligence isn't widely known in this AU, he's much smarter than people think. Just like main universe Eggman, he uses it to be sly and cunning. That's why he makes so many smart business moves and is so successful. Even on the occasions that people know a bit more about him than the general public and have speculation or insight into his ulterior motives, they still can't turn down his business offers because they're just too good.

No one that knows him merely for his casinos has any idea what his true goal is because he's great at hiding it. His extreme narcissism is obvious because he's so full of himself and he slaps his pink logo on everything but it doesn't stop them from visiting his casinos and bringing in money. They think that's all he does it for because he doesn't hide his greed with the way he finds every opportunity to capitalize and flaunts his wealth. While it is something he's always after, it just plays a part in something much bigger.

The truth is, he wants power and world domination just the same, only his biggest internet and strategies are different than the main universe Eggman's. He also has more patience for it to be a steady long-term process as he builds his way up with his secret operations. As for what he runs beside his casinos- I have the ideas but won't share them until I've got more of the details down. Until then, they'll have to remain a secret to you too. XD

Like I mentioned briefly in my other post, he's great at sugarcoating and sweet-talking his way into getting what he wants. He can lie his way through everything and play up a convincing act. He also knows how to work up the charm to be extra persuasive. The more gullible and vulnerable the person is, the more he can take advantage of them but he's good at outsmarting anyone. He can always trick or persuade them to work with him but it's not guaranteed to end well.

Although he's aware of the risks from a lot of experience, he remains certain and daring enough to try regardless, so he never feels fear or holds back because of it. There's no challenge too great for him and he's determined to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Even if that means working with people he hates, doing certain favors for them (and vice versa), or even threatening and forcing them to obey him and do exactly as he says.

Most of the unlucky instances where it's ended with trouble were his fault because of the way he talks behind business partners' backs. Not everyone keeps their lips sealed about secrets he's shared and shit he talks like he hopes and some have overheard him too. Even while making deals and planning work, he scowls and sticks his tongue out at those he hates every time they turn away. He also whispers about them to Orbot and Cubot and laughs about how foolish they are for thinking it's all genuine.

He's very flirtatious with many of his male clients/customers/business partners as a part of being persuasive and so he can get extra special perks in the deals he makes with them. Sometimes he only plays it up until they've shaken hands on it and get to work but it can escalate and lead to flings if they pursue him during the time they're working together. I love how this was already guessed before I even shared it but I suppose it was obvious since I love it when he's such a tease lmfao

Like main universe Eggman, he likes to be independent and free so he's not interested in commitment and is never too serious with them, he just wants to have fun until the dealing is done. Most of his partners understand this but a few hearts might get broken because how couldn't one get attached to such a handsome and interesting man? Or they get pissed off or fall out with him due to his trickery but he teases them like "But you still think I'm sexy, right? >:)" and they hate it, especially if they still can't deny it!

Also, while main universe Eggman is a vers/switch too, this Eggman is actually primarily a bottom/sub. Have fun imagining how that might be until I finally share the details on one of my future blogs that are coming very soon lol

He used to refuse to disclose his sexuality but people quickly realize he's not straight with the way he boldly shows attraction and flirts with guys that are working with him, either as partners or guards. He later became open about it and wears pride pins on his blazer during pride month. But he still mostly keeps relationships private because he doesn't want people to think they're serious. But so far, everyone can tell that he has something going on with Zavok.

Those that he's wronged have a burning hatred for him and want him dead. He has a lot of enemies, he's been jumped a few times, and has had multiple brushes with death. Security at his place is tight with all his robots and cameras and he also has a lot of the big strong power type characters as his guards, some of which he flirts and messes around with. His group of guards includes characters like Zavok, Big, Vector, Axel, and Bark. Some end up having the same feelings and grudges against him as their main universe selves and quit later on.

Despite his enemies knowing just how rotten and sneaky he is, the details of his secret operations never get out to the general public because most of it happens underground. He has multiple false identities that he can easily detach himself from, making it harder to identify him as the culprit and have any evidence against his real name. He also knows how to threaten people into keeping silent and quickly resorts to it whenever necessary. If they still don't, he has ways of making them 'disappear.' >:)

Plus, those that would be brave enough to share the truth can't actually show their faces in public because everyone is aware of their criminal statuses and would never believe their word against the seemingly convincing and credible Eggman. When he says he has nothing to do with their illegal practices, they believe him. He's mastered living his double life and can always cheat his way out of paying any consequences! Aside from that one time where he had to pay with the loss of a tooth... but still! XD

[morbidanthem]

-> Prompt HERE <- By: @otpprompts

(( A/N: Here is the other part, again, I’m trying to clear out my Google Docs. I will probably upload this to my AO3... maybe. IDK yet. ))

Continuity - Boku no Hero Academia

Character(s) - Mirio Togata, Fem!Reader, Shouta Aizawa Parring - Fem!Reader/Mirio Togata Genre - Fluffy Rating - M for Mature Warning - Cursing, Implied Heavy Petting

Word Count - 2,183

➡️ [ Izuku Midoriya Ver. Here ] ⬅️

✏️Written 06/13/20 - ??/??/20✏️

Mirio Togata

“Oi, there is a surprise Dorm Inspection in Five Minutes!” You heard a loud feminine voice shout, it was coming from right outside of your dorm room door, and you took notice that they hadn't even bothered to knock on the door.

You ignored the shouting though, as the sound was nothing more than an annoying muffle that was easily tuned out.

No...

You were too focused on what was going on on top of you to really care about what the voices in the hallway were screeching to you.

The one and only boy scout, Mirio Togata, had you pinned hard to your mattress while his strong hands gripping your wrists above your head as you whimpered under him in submission.

He didn't seem to pay any mind to the voices in the hallway either, as he groaned into your mouth at the warm feeling he was experiencing in his core, as you began to defy his display of dominance by sliding your tounge around his to try and wrestle the control he had over you.

You wanted to break free from the grip he had on your wrists, but even without his quirk, he was still able to over power you with his physical strength.

It drove you wild, as you felt a shiver jolt down your entire body and through your spine.

It was pure ecstasy.

Moments like these were so few and far in between… you don't think you'll ever get your fill of Mirio Togata.

“Hey! You and your Boy Toy need to throw some clothes on and separate before the Teachers or Class Rep. catches you!” The snickering singsong voice shouted again, this time banging loudly on the locked door.

You grunted uncomfortably as he pulled away from your lips a little too quickly, causing a small pop to reverberate through the room from the sheer force of separation between the two of you.

"Ugh, OK! Thank you, Nini!" You shouted in response, as Mirio looked down at you with a quizzical expression on his face.

You couldn't help but memorize the flush on his face so deliciously mixed with the color of his slightly swollen lips.

"This boy will be the death of me."

"Didn't we just have a Dorm Inspection last week?" Mirio asked, moving to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand, while he began to sit up straight. He was still straddling your hips, as you both strain to listen to the incoherent yelling that was going on through the door.

'Dude! Help me hide my stash!'

'Does anyone remember if we were allowed to have snacks in our rooms or not?'

'Ok, but how much trouble will I get if my room is trashed?'

"You have enough time to fix your room, right?" You asked, as you tapped Mirio's thigh to get his attention back onto you.

"Yeah, besides some dirty laundry on the floor, I'm good." He smiled, shifting his weight off of you, so that he was sitting next to you. You yawned and stretched as you sat up, watching Mirio trying to piece together a puzzle in his mind.

"I wonder why they keep doing inspections so frequently like this..." He hummed loudly, placing a hand on his chin, with a very cute thoughtful look on his face.

"Probably because of me." You sighed, stretching your legs as you stood up.

How long had you two been "napping'' anyway?

An hour?

Who knows.

"What?" Mirio asked, watching you with so much interest in his gaze, as you began to clean your ruffled aperance.

You casually tried to smooth out the wrinkles on your tank top, and shifted your lounge pants so that they sat on your hips once more, instead of down past your thighs… When has he had time to pull your pants down?

"Haru is absolutely hellbent on catching me doing something wrong." You spoke, with a very nonchalant tone to your voice, while you turned to help fix Mirio's disheveled appearance as well. "He hasn't forgiven me 'ruining' his chance to date you, you know."

You could have sworn you've had this conversation with him, but judging by the surprised expression on his face, you've probably forgotten to mention it.

"No! I didn't know that!" He replied, shocked, as you ran your fingers through his hair to try and brush out the knots that had formed in it earlier.

"Huh, it must've slipped my mind,I forgot to tell you that part." You laughed, sending him a cheeky smile as you continued. "He has a huge crush on you, and is mad at me because, because I quote- 'dug my claws into your heart and refused to let go'."

"That's… there is a lot to unpack here…" He mumbled, turning his gaze to look at the floor.

God, when he is all distracted in thought like that, you would have loved to just grab the back of his head and pull him in close until your lips swallowed his in another passionate kiss… but, getting any more intimate can cause the clean-up to take a lot more time than the Five Minute warning you just got.

Good thing the two of you didn't get very far in that time.

Because, you honesty might not have been able to stop had he gotten your pants further down your hip.

"God, Mirio, you really are oblivious." You laughed out loud, as you brought yourself back to reality, by standing in front of him and smoothing out the wrinkles on his short.

Instinctively, he placed his hands on your hips, as you continued to grooming him while he sat on your bed. He couldn't help but huff at your words though, a cute pout replacing his once quizzical expression, as he turned his face up to look into your eyes.

You can see he had questions he wanted to ask, as that curious glint never left his gaze.

You don't have time, really, you don't have time to stand here and fix his appearance either… but you just can't seem to keep your hands to yourself when you were around him.

"Wait… So what does calling a surprise inspection have to do with you, though?" He asked, pulling you into a hug, as you giggled and patted at the back of his shoulders.

"I am offended right now, I can't believe you forget about El Perro!" You spoke in a dramatic tone, a mock hurt present in your voice as you couldn't help but tease him. "Dios Mio! I am hurt! Hurt on El Perro's behalf." You laughed as you felt Mirio's shoulder shake under your grip, as he began to chuckle as well.

"I did, actually. He is so quiet that I forget he lives in here too." He said, turning his head to look at your closed closet door, with his trademark smile back on his face.

"That's how I've gotten away with having him for so long. Not even my Mom knew I had him, she would have kicked my ass if she ever found out." You chuckled, as you pulled away from Mirio's grasp, to meander over to softly pull your closet door open.

There he was, El Perro, the infamous Black and Tan Teacup Chihuahua.

The dog himself was no bigger than 2 pounds, and could easily fit in the palm of your hands. He was a short hair, and had the cutest bug eyes you've ever laid your eyes on.

He wagged his tail happily, as you went and picked him up off of his pillow, to hold him against your chest, as his tail wagged happily at the affection you were showing him. Your fingers caressed through his long soft fur, as he begins to pant as his tail wags harder.

You cooed at him, saying how cute he was, as you handed him off to Mirio so that you can go through the routine of hiding the evidence the dog leavea behind.

You heard Mirio laughing in the background, as you went to work by hiding the dog's bed and food dishes that were on a small dresser in your closet.

You began by unceremoniously shoving his bed and blankets into a large pillow case, quickly shaping it to make it look like a rather terribly lumpy pillow. But that was the whole plan though, as when the teacher looked into your closet, they would just assume that it was shoved in the closet because it was uncomfortable to sleep with.

His food was already hidden in a cereal box that you had, it was cleverly placed next to other various snack foods that you were allowed to keep in your dorm for midnight snacking. His water bowl was collapsed, and was easily clipped to your backpack that was hanging up next to your clothes, so it looked like something that you would use for hiking.

You were an expert at this by now, and if your Mother was never able to catch you, then it was far beyond the reach of the nosey Class Representative and his gaggle of teachers.

Five minutes... two minutes after your messing around was done, was more than enough time to hide the evidence that you had a dog in the dorms.

The final piece to complete your charade, was a baggy black sweater that you slipped on over your tank top, just as there was a loyd knock on your door.

"Hey, it's inspection time, open up." You heard a bored voice speak, as you quickly took the dog from Mirio's hands, and gently slid him into the pocket of your sweater.

El Perro was used to being in your pockets, so it took him no time to settle and be still, as you placed your arms through the pocket of your sweater as the teacher walked in.

"Aizawa? You're inspecting the 3rd Year Dorms?" You blurted out in shock, as you unlocked and opened the door to let the tired looking teacher into your room.

He always seemed to have bad bags under his eyes.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Your Teacher is off, having an exciting weekend…" He mumbled flatly, as you and Mirio stood off to the side as he began his inspection by opening up the drawers to your dresser.

He really looked tired, more so than usual, which made him not really inspect much of anything.

You could tell he just wanted to get this over with, as his eyes lazily roam around the room.

"You're not off having an exciting weekend as well?" You chided, as he slid the closet door open, while he scanned the small nook.

He didn't answer your sarcastic question.

He didn't even really acknowledge you'd actually said anything.

He also didn't say anything about all the snacks you had stashed in there… but, he probably didn't really care about that.

That isn't what he was looking for.

"Your Class Rep. wanted to call an emergency search. He was convinced I would find something amiss in here." Aizawa mumbled, mostly to himself, as he slid the door shut slowly as he turned to face the two of you. "What did you do to the poor kid?"

"M-Me? C'mon Aizawa, I didn't do anything..." You muttered, flabbergasted he would accuse you of anything, as you gave El Perro a little squeeze in your pocket.

"Right." He said, rolling his eyes at your feigned ignorance. "Just make sure you're behaving in here, no… after hour dorm visits."

"Of course!" You laughed loudly, spoke a little too quickly, and if you were to ask Aizawa's opinion he would look further into why you both had the door locked before he came… but he had so many more dorms to check that day, he just nodded and walked out. "Your Dorm Check is coming up soon, Togata, you should head over there now so I don't have to wait for you."

"Right! I'll be there!" Mirio said, watching Aizawa turn and leave the room, as he intentionally left the door wide open.

"Why does everyone think I'm the instigator?" You huffed with a scowl on your face, as you turned to face Mirio, who had a big smile plastered on his face.

"What?" You laughed, his smile infectious, as you pushed him on his chest lightly.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how much of an instigator you are." He laughed too, as you playfully slapped him across the chest.

"Tch, whatever!' You tutted, as you tried to push him out of your dorm.

He barely budged.

"Go away, Lemillion, lest you fail your dorm check for making Aizawa wait."

He just laughed again as he turned to leave your room, but not without giving you his trademark goofy smile and a small wave.

You waved back, as you watched him disappear out into the hallway.

'Girl, that boy is going to get you into trouble if you're not careful.' You thought to yourself, as you closed the door as you went back into your dorm.

[thebladeblaster]

Digimon Tamer ZERO (ver.2) Chapter 1 The Digimon Phenomenon (part 2)

“Oh, really I didn’t think he’d be that interested.”, Izaki said.

“Shin gave it to him about two weeks ago when he helped him and you know I can’t imagine someone like Aichi just letting a poor defenseless Digimon uncared for.”, Miwa explained.

“Yeah, I can definitely imagine that. Knowing him that Digimon is probably drowning in affection.”, Izaki replied with a chuckle.

“Knowing him he probably has a ultimate already!”, Morikawa said angrily.

“That’s probably true Aichi does tend to learn rather quickly. So, how about it wanna pick one up to battle Aichi, Kai?”, Miwa said.

“Hmph...”, was Kai’s only response.

“That’s probably a yes and you know it would be interesting to see you two have a different kind of battle.”, Miwa replied.

“Okay! I’m gonna find Aichi and crush him!”, Morikawa decided raising his fists.

“Well, you gonna find him first. He’s been pretty aloof lately maybe Kai’s finally rubbing off on him.”, Izaki replied.

“I think he’s still a bit moody after everything. That’s probably why Shin gave him the Digimon. Misaki is the others are giving him some space for a bit.”, Miwa said as Kai looked over to him again.

“Yeah, he was pretty sad about Kourin...”, Izaki replied.

“Oh my dear Kourin! If only I knew where she was then I could reignite her memories!”, Morikawa shouted.

“Maybe, we can try holding a big surprise party cheer him up?”, Miwa suggested.

“With cake!”, Morikawa said.

“All parties have cakes.”, Izaki replied sweat dropping.

In the digital world...

“Not this again!!!Ah!!!”, two Digimon screamed as the ran from fire being shot at them.

They were both small. The shorter one was white and wore a pink strap. The taller one was yellow it had two rabbit-like ears and closed eyes. It wore red pants.

They were running from a red dragon-like Digimon. It had a metal helmet and claws along with a serpent like tail with no legs. It had two massive purple wings and purple hair on its head and along its back.

They panicked more as the Digimon also shot missiles at them.

Eventually the two Digimon were cornered as the dragon Digimon breathed fire enveloping the two.

“That’s what happens to those who don’t submit to the demon lords!”, the dragon Digimon said.

It’s golden eyes widened as in the flames it saw a silhouette of a bigger humanoid Digimon with horns, wings, and glowing red eyes. It stumbled back as the fire dissipated revealing a Digimon clad in white dragon-like armor. It had light purple skin and demonic wings. It had bits on gold on its armor and red orbs on the palm of its claw-like hands. It’s red eyes were on the dragon Digimon striking fear into it. The two Digimon from before were behind it cowering.

“I-Is that Dynasmon!? I thought he was dead!”, the white Digimon questioned frightened.

“Well, the didn’t Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon reboot the digital world?”, the yellow Digimon questioned.

“Ah! That’s right!”, the white Digimon replied.

“D-Dynasmon!? W-wait I serve the demon lords we’re on the same side!”, the dragon said shakily.

“Me on the same side as a quivering weakling like you? Don’t make me laugh! Dragon‘s Roar!”, Dynasmon replied as if raised its hand and shot a beam of energy at the dragon Digimon killing it instantly causing it to dissolve into data.

“We’ve gotta hide or he’s gonna kill us.”, the white Digimon whispered.

“I’m not interested in weak Digimon like you two. Maybe if you guys had the kid who could transform into Emperor Greymon. He’s not here is he?”, Dynasmon said as he looked at the quivering Digimon.

“N-No! He’s been gone for years!”, the white Digimon replied.

“Then, I have no interest in you two.”, Dynasmon said as he flew off.

The two Digimon sighed in relief as the mega level Digimon flew off.

In the human world...

The teens from before were now sitting inside Card Capital. They looked over to see countless kids battling in various games the ones that seemed the most prevalent were Cardfight Vanguard and Digimon. Misaki was behind the counter reading a book as usual. When the teens first walked in she peered up for a moment expectantly before going back to reading her book.

Kai looked down at the red V pet on the table intensely.

“Good thing it can’t see you or that poor Digimon would be petrified.”, Izaki said with a chuckle.

“I’m glad you finally came around to playing Digimon, Kai. And all it took was mentioning your rival.”, Miwa said coyly.

“Hmph...it’s a new challenge.”, Kai replied.

“I’m not surprised Kai is going for a dragon especially one of the hardest ones to get.”, Izaki said.

“Well, you know Kai loves his dragons. He probably chose that one because it reminded him of Dragonic Overlord.”, Miwa replied.

“Speaking of what kind of Digimon does Aichi have?”, Izaki asked as Kai turned his attention to Miwa as well.

“Well, I know which Digimon he’s going for. I don’t know if he has it yet or anything or even what stage it’s at.”, Miwa replied.

“What did he choose?”, Izaki asked.

“Well, let’s just say much like Kai over there he chose one that reminded him of his avatar.”, Miwa answered coyly.

“Something like Blaster Blade huh? It’s probably some knight digimon though there’s a lot of those...”, Izaki replied.

“Well, that at least narrows things down.”, Miwa replied.

“Wait! You don’t think he’s The Blaster is he? Now, that I think about it The Blaster sounds a lot like Blaster Blade. Not to mention their partner is apparently Knightmon.”, Izaki questioned.

“Maybe? Who knows.”, Miwa said cryptically.

“It’s The Blaster!”, Morikawa shouted as he pointed to his V pet and they saw a battle was about to start.

The other three looked at the V pet it said Great Ninja Master vs The Blaster.

“You called yourself Great Ninja Master?”, Izaki questioned sweat dropping.

The device then showed the players Digimon. Morikawa’s Sukamon and The Blaster’s...Dynasmon.

“Oh, crap The Blaster’s Digimon has become a mega!?”, Izaki gasped.

“This is gonna be a murder stomp...”, Miwa commented sweat dropping.

In the digital world...

“Really, a Sukamon the other tamers besides my master are really pathetic.”, Dynasmon said snickering.

Sukamon was a Digimon that was yellow poop. It had cartoonish teen and skinny arms. It had red eyes and a big tongue.

“Who the heck are you shiny dude?”, Sukamon questioned as Dynasmon growled in disgust at it.

In the human world...

“It’s party time! Get that jerk Sukamon!”, Morikawa ordered as he pushed the buttons quickly.

Sukamon threw its poop at Dynasmon who effortlessly dodged.

“I think your a bit outmatched here dude.”, Izaki said sweating nervously.

In the digital world...

“How unfortunate these online battles as they are called don’t allow me to kill the other Digimon.”, Dynasmon complained as he simply raised up his hand and shot a beam of energy not even bothering to call out the attack name.

In the real world...

Sukamon hit the ground defeated as its hp bar hit zero and it fainted.

“One hit kill oof...You wanna take a crack at him next Izaki?”, Miwa said chuckling.

“No way, he’d obliterate me.”, Izaki refused as he raised his hands and shook his head.

“He’s still on let’s see how strong a mega Digimon is.”, Miwa said as he challenged The Blaster.

Kai looked over Miwa’s shoulder as the battle started.

In the digital world...

“This is a bit better...Hopefully you’ll be a bit more fun.”, Dynasmon said as he turned to Groundramon.

Groundramon was a green dragon Digimon with four legs and two arms where it’s wings would normally be. It’s tail was tipped with a spiked ball and it had a row of red spikes along its back. Groundramon tensed as it eyed the mega level Digimon.

“I don’t care if your mega! I’m gotta demolish you!”, Groundramon growled entering a fighting stance before charging at Dynasmon.

Dynasmon raised its fists as Groundramon swung its spiked tail.

“Megaton Hammer Crush!”, Groundramon called out.

It’s attack caused a dust cloud as it grinned cockily. It suddenly flinched as it felt it’s tail be grabbed. The dust dispersed to reveal Dynasmon holding its tail. It sweated nervously as Dynasmon swung it around by its tail as if it was weightless. It ended up crashing into some trees as it was swung before it was was thrown at a mountain.

In the human world...

“Oh, crap this guy means business!”, Miwa gasped as he hastily clicked the buttons.

Groundramon’s massive back hands outstretched out grabbing onto some trees, cushioning and stopping itself right before hitting the mountain.

“Woah! That was awesome Miwa!”, Izaki said as they noticed some kids crowding around.

“Your the guy fighting The Blaster?!”, one questioned.

“Yeah, this guy’s tough if I wasn’t careful he would instantly knocked out my Digimon. Though he has made it disoriented which isn’t good.”, Miwa replied.

“Avenge Sukamon, Miwa!”, Morikawa called out.

In the digital world...

Groundramon stumbled a bit as it tried to regain its bearings.

“Oh, so you will make this fun?”, Dynasmon questioned.

Groundramon growled angrily as it dug it’s way into the dirt. Dynasmon looked around for where Groundramon would strike. It stumbled a bit as fissures started forming in the ground.

“So, that’s your plan...”, Dynasmon said as it flew up.

In the human world...

“Dang it! Giga Crack missed! Though he is distracted!”, Miwa said as Morikawa, Izaki, and the kids cheered him on.

In the digital world...

Groundramon came up from behind Dynasmon and pinned it in its claws on its back trying to crush him.

“Scrap Claw! Get it because you’ll soon be scrap!”, Groundramon said.

Groundramon suddenly heard laughter as it noticed that Dynasmon’s health had barely dropped.

“Now way that impossible no Digimon could possibly survive my Scrap Claw?!”, Groundramon gasped as it squeezed tighter.

“Nice trick.”, Dynasmon said as it grabbed Groundramon arms and pried itself free.

Groundramon paled as Dynasmon looked back at him.

“However your tricks won’t work on me.”, Dynasmon said as it threw off Groundramon’s arms punched it hard sending it crashing down.

In the human world...

“Woah, it dealt that much damage from just a normal blow!? It took out over half Groundramon’s health!”, Izaki gasped.

“Mega Digimon really are strong! I can’t wait till Groundramon becomes a mega!”, Miwa said as he sweated nervously.

“How can he deal that much damage with a normal attack he must be cheating!”, Morikawa growled.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch it off guard again. Which along with its flight makes Giga Crack useless. Scrap Claw barley did anything and he caught Megaton Hammer Cush.”, Miwa thought.

In the digital world...

Dynasmon hovered over where Groundramon crashed.

“Aren’t you going to get up? I held back so that attack didn’t instantly wipe you out.”, Dynasmon asked.

Groundramon struggled up glaring at Dynasmon.

“What the heck is with that freak?! He’s a data type I should have the advantage even if he is mega!”, Groundramon thought.

“Do you intend to continue fighting?”, Dynasmon asked as Groundramon growled.

“I’ll get you!”, Groundramon roared as it charged Dynasmon swinging its tail and claws at him.

“Hmm...my new master really is such a softy they want me to end this already. Though, I will admit your struggle does look quite pathetic so I understand putting you out of your misery. My master desires it so it shall be so!”, Dynasmon said as it then held out its hand in front of Groundramon.

“What the heck are you blabbing about your stupid shiny jerk!”, Groundramon yelled.

“You should be honored to receive this mercy from my master! Dragon’s Roar!”, Dynasmon called out as a beam of light hit Groundramon.

In the human world...

“Looks like I lost.”, Miwa slumped seeing Groundramon’s hp hit zero.

The kids walked off afterwards.

“Seriously, to think The Blaster has a mega maybe he will become number 1.”, Izaki said.

“Looks like that match has Kai fired up.”, Miwa said as he looked at Kai clicking his V pet with a a intense look which was kinda menacing.

Izaki sweat dropped as he looked towards Kai imagining a fiery aura around the brunette.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be left in the dust. It’s time to train Tyrannomon!”, Izaki said.

“That Dynasmon really had quite the attitude...”, Morikawa grumbled.

“To be fair you can give your Digimon commands in battle but you can’t control what they say.”, Miwa replied.

[zehypocriticaloath]

Teeny, tiny sweaters

(Challenge idea given by @redheadrecon. Thanks!)

---

“Rrrk. Rrrk.”

“Now, now. Don’t be fussy. You don’t get to choose what I pick.”

“Rrrk! Rrr, rawk, rawk!”

“You know damn well that the color suits you. It accents your feathers, brings out the sheen in them. Don’t give me that sort of squawking tone.”

“Damn! Damn!”

“Insolent child!”

Aldous clicked his knitting needles together, creating a small little clacking noise that did bring the squabbling, spoiled raven to attention. He pinned the unruly member of his unkindness with a rather piercing, stern stare, mouth set in an austere frown.

Roderick. The little insolent asshole. Always had been, always would be. Worse than Poe! Poe had humor to his rascally ways. Roderick was an ass, outright and to be sure. And he was loud. Loud and annoying. Surely he would make the house fall down around them with his squawking and shrieking.

He watched the scolded raven duck behind his elder one, Poe, their leader in their so called corvid family. Poe looked a bit smug as Roderick took to preening his left wing, as if to sulkily make himself look better despite his bruised ego. Ah, and yes, the wing! It was popping out of an expertly knitted and fitted.... sweater.

Yes, a sweater. In fact, they were all sporting sweaters. Annabel, Lenore, Roderick and Poe-- they were all wearing nice, warm sweaters that Aldous had lovingly knit for them. Each one was fitted perfectly from the softest yarn he had on hand, with holes for their wings. And each one displayed a different color and semi-festive pattern, the designs varying depending on their personalities.

Roderick, of course, had the most garish one of them all, complete with the knitted visage of a tongue-waggling Krampus marching along the bands of color. But the strange color choice and chosen image was, more or less, punishment for his, as Aldous had put it, “insolent” ways. Still, the chosen colors did make his particular ashen-oily sheen of his feathers pop out. Aldous was a professional when it came to choosing colors to further enhance someone’s appearance. Abelärd may have been the master artist in the family but, by God, Aldous gave him a run for his money when it came to making clothing.

Not a lot of people knew that Aldous was fond of sewing and knitting. It was a hobby he didn’t speak of. Not a single soul on that base had bared witness to his hidden trove of goodies-- a trunk packed with yarns of varying softness, displaying a wide gamut of colors and hues. Tucked in along with the yarn were packs of sewing needles, swatches of fabric and knitting hooks; threads, and patches, and anything else one could imagine one hiding in an artsy-crafty trunk.

All in all, the reason for his love of sewing and his ability to create clothing was only due to the undying patience and love of his mother.

Long ago, the twins had watched their father languish in his long-term illness before he finally succumbed to his withering cancer. After a proper time of grieving, the household was thrown into a state of chaotic flux. The twins’ mother, Giselle, had taken on most of the chores, trying to keep up with everything in her life. When she came to the conclusion that she couldn’t balance the books and do everything around the house, she came up with an ingenious idea.

Giselle Haswell wanted to make sure that her boys would not go through life helpless.

She purposely taught them how to clean the house proper, sanitizing counters and scrubbing the tub to a spotless sheen. She taught them how to do their own laundry, going as far as teaching them how to make their own soap. She taught them how to make meals for the family (often making batches of food bigger than what the three could eat, just so they could donate the ‘leftovers’ to the poorer families on the street). She showed them how to can food for later, how to create a budget and a shopping list. Above all, she taught them the domestic side of life. Always a believer that one could make do and thrive if they truly applied themselves, she worked hard to help make her boys confident in their activities and tasks.

Of course... the twins varied in their strengths and weaknesses, and she doled out certain roles to each as a result. She wanted the boys to take on a set routine of chores, always allowing them to, yes, make mistakes, but to always ask questions on how to better do a task. She refused to hold their hands, but she was always there on the sidelines, ready to offer advice.

As a result, Aldous found his passion in patching up clothes and making clothes. He was an avid learner, picking up techniques on sewing and stitching faster than his younger twin. At such a young age he showed excellent technique and form with even the fancier side of stitching, enjoying the challenge of embroidery. As such, he was given the duty of patching worn out clothing and making things from time to time, in order to save the family much needed money.

All of his knowledge as a kid helped him many times in his life. From fixing up clothing that he didn’t want to throw out to quickly creating perfect, tightly secure stitching for his patient’s wounds, fresh from the smoke-strewn battlefields of the second war.

Now, of course, he put his skills to use... knitting tiny sweaters for his unkindness and, now, the rat named Amour.

Poe watched with amusement as Aldous fussed and grumbled over the rat’s measurements. Still smug from Roderick’s recent scolding, the large raven perched upon his favorite little spot, his claws hooked into the eye sockets of the skull residing, with a place of honor, on his master’s desk (it was the skull belonging to Aldous’ old friend, Rasputin). The raven was looking dashing in his particular sweater. It was a soft but respectable light gray, the yarn flecked with little specks of black. Quite nice. The softest Aldous had on hand. What really made the raven stand out was his given pattern. It was a rather comical lump of coal on the chest, with the back reading ‘I’m an asshole’  in German.

“I don’t...” Aldous ran a hand through his hair, his face screwed up in concentration. Before him sat the little white rat, its nose twitching in anticipation. Next to him was a little lump of brown yarn in the vague shape of an itty, bitty sweater. “I’m not sure this will work. Your measurements are so small. I am used to working with ravens.”

The rat, as if understanding, cocked its head at the strange man. It looked as if it were considering what the man was saying to him, trying to make sense of the complexity, if not absurdity, of a rat-sized sweater.

Gingerly picking up the small sweater, Aldous looked down at his handiwork. Yes, a brown yarn had been chosen, but it was rather nice. A milk chocolate brown, not at all dark. He even knitted a tiny little s’more on the back of the sweater. A little inside joke, he chuckled in his own amusement. A little white rat wrapped up in a tiny brown sweater, just like a little roasted marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers.

Rubbing his thumb over the material, he felt a bit better with what he was doing. It was soft. Really soft. And he was sure it would compliment the rat along with keeping it warm. He knew the infirmary was warm right now, but he also knew power outages did happen. He loved the little rat. He cared about it. And if the heat did happen to go out, or Amour got a little chilly in the middle of the night...

No, he didn’t want to think what would happen.

“Alright, Amour. Are you ready to try this on?”

The rat on his desk squeaked inquisitively as the man held the small sweater out to him. Nose twitching once more, it daintily sniffed at the material. Was it food? Was it some new plaything for it to chew through?

With care, Aldous began to slip the sweater over the little rat’s head. At first all seemed to go well. The endearing little rodent didn’t panic, and wasn’t squirming or moving all that much. It was well behaved, just standing there, trusting Aldous enough to do what he wanted to do.

It took a fair bit of wiggling the sweater onto his model’s furry body, but he managed to get it on. After a bit of adjustment, Aldous sat back in his chair, rather proud of himself.

The s’mores-sweatered rat looked absolutely adorable.

“Ah, look at you! ” A deranged smile spread across the man’s face as he rubbed his hands together, almost devious in his delight. “You look very warm! Very cute! Ver--- wait. Hold on.”

Panic must have set in, for the rat, once a perfect little model for the Medic, was now beginning to back up in a little circle. It kept reversing unto itself, bumping into anything and everything that happened to be on Aldous’ desk. Tiny little squeaks began to sound from the struggling rodent, its cries causing the Medic alarm.

Look what you’ve done.

Aldous hissed to himself, trying to block out the nasty, vile but all too familiar voice that rose up from the depths of his mind, like a serpent prepared to strike the finishing blow.

You’re going to kill it. Give it a heart attack. And then what will people think of you?

“Amour,” the Medic gasped out, gently trying to coax the rat into ceasing by scooping it up. It only wiggled out of his hand, returning to its frenzied thrashing. “Calm down-- calm down! Stop! You’re going to--!”

Oops, there goes its head. Amour pulled his head right through the hole for the neck, and now it was this awkward little furred lump with a sweater on it, reversing in a wobbly, wonky circle, without a visible head.

Aldous tried to calm the little rat, but his efforts were in vain. His unkindness cawing out in amusement only provoked the little rat’s panic further, causing the unholy squeaking to reach a grand crescendo.

“Stop! Stop, stop, STOP! You’re going to hurt yourself! I don’t want that! I want to keep you--”

Pop!

Aldous felt his stopped heart skip back to life as relief flooded over him. With a comical little vibe to it, the tiny rat had wiggled completely out of the sweater, shedding it like a snake would shed old skin. He let out the breath he had been holding in, and his tense shoulders beginning to loosen up.

“...A--Amour? Amour, ssh, it’s alright.” He reached out to touch the rat, but it didn’t seem to respond to physical contact. “I am so very sorry. I did not mean to scare you. I--”

Confused, Aldous halted his actions of picking up the rat. Instead he watched, with mounting curiosity, as the rat sniffed the shed sweater with a renewed sense of interest.

A minute passed as the rodent checked the sweater out before, carefully, stepping onto it. With a few well placed shuffling motions, the rat fluffed it up into just the right little pile... for a nest.

“...Huh.” A small, relieved smile began to drift along his face. Aldous shook his head. “Not what I had in mind but... it’ll do to keep you warm at night. Until I knit you a bigger one, that is.”

The sweater for the rat was a complete failure. But hey, it made a rather nice, plush bed for the rodent.

[mypinkportfolio]

Tradução de Conto

The curtains

(M. R. James. In: The Locked Room)

 Mr. James Denton's greatest love in life was books, old ones most of all. His collection grew bigger and bigger every year, but he lived in his aunt's house, and she was not very happy about this.

Mr. Denton was in London one day to buy furniture for the new house which he and his aunt were building, and he was on his way to a shop to choose the curtains. His way took him, quite by chance, past one of the best bookshops in London, and he could not stop himself going in, just for a quick look, as he told himself.

He was just walking round the shop, looking at all the different books, when he noticed a small collection of books on the part of England that he came from, Warwickshire. He spent the next half an hour looking through these and finally decided to buy one that really interested him, called “The Diary of Mr. Poynter, 1710”. He paid for the book and then, looking at his watch, he realized that he had very little time before his train back to Warwickshire left, and he had to rush to the station. He just caught the train.

That night, his aunt questioned him about his trip to London and was very interested to hear about the furniture which was going to arrive soon. Her nephew described everything in detail, but still she was not satisfied. 'And what about the curtains, James?' she asked. 'Did you go to...?' Suddenly James remembered. 'Oh dear, oh dear,' he said, ‘that’s the one thing I missed. I am so sorry. You see, I was on my way there when, quite by chance, I passed Robins.’ 'Not Robins the bookshop, I hope,' cried his aunt. 'Don't tell me you've bought more horrible old books, James.'

'Well, only one,' he said, feeling a bit guilty, 'and it's a very interesting one, a diary of someone who used to live not far from here…' But he could see that his aunt was not really listening.

'You can't go to London again before next Thursday,' she was saying, 'and really, James, until we decide on the curtains, there's nothing more we can do.

Luckily, she decided to go to bed soon after that and James was left alone with his new book, which he read until the early hours of the morning. He found this diary, with its stories of everyday life at that time, very interesting. The next day was Sunday. After church, James and his aunt sat in the living room together. Is this the old book that made you forget my curtains?' asked his aunt, picking it up. 'Well, it doesn't look very good…, The Diary of Mr. Poynter. Huh!' But she opened the book and looked at a few pages. Suddenly, much to his surprise, she began to show some interest. 'Look at this. James,' she said. 'Isn't it lovely?' It was a small piece of paper, pinned to one of the pages of the diary. On it was a beautiful drawing, made up of curving lines, which somehow caught the eye. 'Well, why don't we get it copied for the curtains if you like it so much?' he suggested, hoping that she would forgive him for his bad memory of the day before in London. His aunt agreed and the very next day, James took the piece of paper to a company in the nearest town, who agreed to copy it and make it into curtains.

About a month later, James was called in to inspect the work and was extremely pleased with the result. 'Was it a difficult job?' he asked the manager.

'Not too difficult, sir. But, to tell you the truth, the artist who did the work was very unhappy about it - he said there was something bad in the drawing, sir.' James was thoughtful but still he chose the colors for the curtains and then returned home.

A few weeks later, the curtains were ready and a man came to hang them in several rooms of the new house, one of which was James's bedroom. That night he found that he could not stop looking at them and, although it was a still night, he was almost sure that the curtains were moving and that someone was watching him from behind them. He told himself that this was impossible and not to be so stupid. He explained to himself that the effect was caused by the curving lines on the curtains, which looked just like long, curling black hair.

The next day, a friend of James's came to stay and after dinner they sat up late, talking and laughing. At last they decided to go to bed and James showed his friend to the guest room, which was just along from his own. James, though, did not want to go to bed immediately and sat in the chair by the fire in his room, reading. He fell asleep for a few minutes and, when he woke, he realized that something was in the room with him. Putting out his hand, he felt something covered in hair and thought it was his dog, who always followed him everywhere. 'How did you get in here? I thought I left you downstairs,' he said, looking down. To his horror, he found it was not his little dog, but something almost human. He jumped and screamed and, as he did, the face of the thing came up towards him: no eyes, no nose, no mouth; only hair. He screamed again and rushed to the door, but was so frightened that he could not get it open. He felt the thing touch his back and start to tear at his shirt. At last the door flew open and he rushed to his friends’ room, terrified and breathing hard.

The next morning, early, James went away to the seaside for a few days to try to forget about his horrible experience. He took with him The Diary of Mr. Poynter. He wanted to read it again carefully to find out anything he could about the pattern pinned on to the page. When he turned to that part of the book he found that there were several pieces of paper stuck one on top of the other. He carefully pulled off the first two and found this story, written by Mr. Poynter in 1707.

'Old Mr. Casbury of Acrington told me this day of young Sir Everard Charlett, at that time a student of University College. The young man drank too much and broke the law many times, but because he was from an important family, the university never did anything about it. He used to wear his hair very long and curling down his neck and he wore unusual, colorful clothes. His behavior made his father very unhappy. One day, they found young Sir Everard dead in his room, with all his hair pulled out. No one could explain why or how he died, but the strangest thing was that, the day after he died, the body disappeared completely, leaving only a pile of long, curling black hair on the floor of his room. His father kept some of this hair and had drawings made of it, part of which I have pinned to this page.'

This is the strange story behind the curtains. Before he returned home, James Denton ordered his servants to take them all down and burn them.

 As Cortinas

(M. R. James. In: The Locked Room)

O maior amor da vida de James Denton eram livros, sobretudo os antigos. Sua coleção crescia a cada ano, mas ele morava na casa de sua tia, e ela não estava muito contente com isso.

O Sr. Denton estava em Londres um dia para comprar móveis para a nova casa que ele e sua tia estavam construindo, e ele estava a caminho de uma loja para escolher as cortinas. O caminho o levou, por acaso, para uma das melhores livrarias em Londres, e ele não conseguiu evitar entrar, apenas para uma olhada rápida, como ele disse a si mesmo.

Ele estava andando pela loja, olhando para diferentes livros, quando notou uma pequena coleção de livros sobre a parte da Inglaterra de onde veio, Warwickshire. Passou a meia hora seguinte olhando e finalmente decidiu comprar um que realmente o interessou, chamado "O Diário de Sr. Poynter, 1710". Pagou pelo livro e depois, olhando para seu relógio, percebeu que tinha muito pouco tempo antes que o trem de volta para Warwickshire saísse, e ele teria que correr até a estação. Ele pegou o trem por pouco.

Naquela noite, sua tia o questionou sobre sua viagem para Londres e estava muito interessada em saber sobre a mobília que chegaria em breve. O sobrinho descreveu tudo em detalhes, mas ainda assim ela não estava satisfeita.

- E as cortinas, James?, ela perguntou. - Você foi ao...?

De repente, James se lembrou.

- Ah querida, ah querida, ele disse. - Essa foi a única coisa que esqueci. Desculpe-me. Veja bem, eu estava a caminho quando, por acaso, passei pela Robins.

- Não Robins, a livraria, eu espero!, exclamou sua tia. - Não me diga que você comprou mais livros velhos e horríveis, James.

 - Bem, apenas um, ele disse, sentindo-se um pouco culpado. - E é um muito interessante, um diário de alguém que morava não muito longe daqui... Mas ele podia ver que sua tia não estava realmente ouvindo.

- Você não pode ir a Londres novamente até a próxima quinta-feira, ela estava dizendo. - E sério, James, até que decidamos sobre as cortinas, não há mais nada que possamos fazer.

Por sorte, ela decidiu ir dormir logo depois e James ficou sozinho com seu novo livro, que ele leu até a madrugada. Ele achou aquele diário, com histórias da vida cotidiana daquela época, muito interessante. O dia seguinte era domingo. Depois da igreja, James e sua tia sentaram-se juntos na sala de estar.

- Este é o livro antigo que fez você esquecer minhas cortinas?,  perguntou sua tia, pegando-o. - Bem, não parece muito bom... O Diário de Sr. Poynter. Hã?

Mas ela abriu o livro e olhou algumas páginas. De repente, para a surpresa dele, ela começou a mostrar algum interesse.

- Veja isso, James, ela disse. - Não é adorável?

Era um pequeno pedaço de papel, preso a uma das páginas do diário. Nele tinha um lindo desenho, composto de linhas curvas que, de alguma forma, chamavam a atenção.

- Bem, por que não copiamos o desenho para as cortinas, já que você gostou tanto?, ele sugeriu, esperando que ela o perdoasse por sua má memória no dia anterior em Londres.

Sua tia concordou e, no dia seguinte, James levou o papel para uma empresa na cidade mais próxima, que concordou em copiá-lo e transformá-lo em cortinas.

Cerca de um mês depois, James foi chamado para inspecionar o trabalho e ficou extremamente satisfeito com o resultado.

- Foi um trabalho difícil?, ele perguntou ao gerente.

- Não muito difícil, senhor.

Mas, para falar a verdade, o artista que fez o trabalho era muito infeliz – ele disse que havia algo ruim no desenho, senhor."

James ficou pensativo, mas ainda assim ele escolheu as cores para as cortinas e então voltou para casa.

Algumas semanas depois, as cortinas estavam prontas e um homem foi pendurá-las em diversos cômodos da casa nova; um deles sendo o quarto de James. Naquela noite, descobriu que não conseguia parar de olhar para elas e, embora fosse uma noite quieta, ele tinha quase certeza que as cortinas estavam se movendo e alguém estava observando-o por trás delas. Ele disse a si mesmo que isso era impossível e para não ser tão burro. Explicou a si mesmo que o efeito era causado pelas linhas curvas nas cortinas, que pareciam longos cabelos pretos e enrolados.

No dia seguinte, um amigo de James tinha vindo passar a noite e, depois do jantar, ficaram sentados até tarde, conversando e rindo. Finalmente, eles decidiram ir dormir e James mostrou a seu amigo o quarto de hóspedes, que era bem na frente do seu.

James, no entanto, não queria ir dormir imediatamente e sentou-se na cadeira perto da lareira em seu quarto, lendo. Adormeceu por alguns minutos e, quando acordou, percebeu que alguma coisa estava no quarto com ele. Levantando a sua mão, ele sentiu algo coberto em pelos e pensou que era seu cachorro, que sempre o seguia em todo lugar.

- Como você entrou aqui? Eu pensei que tinha te deixado lá embaixo!, ele disse, olhando para baixo.

Para seu espanto, percebeu que não era seu cachorrinho, mas algo quase humano. Ele pulou e gritou e, ao fazer isso, o rosto da coisa foi em direção a ele: sem olhos, sem nariz, sem boca; apenas cabelo. Gritou novamente e correu para a porta, mas estava tão assustado que não conseguia abri-la. Sentiu a coisa tocar suas costas e rasgar sua camisa. Finalmente, a porta se abriu e ele correu para o quarto de seu amigo, aterrorizado e respirando com dificuldade.

Na manhã seguinte, logo cedo, James foi para o litoral por uns dias para tentar esquecer sua horrível experiência. Ele levou consigo “O Diário do Sr. Poynter”, pois queria ler novamente com cuidado, para descobrir qualquer coisa que pudesse sobre o desenho anexado à página.

Quando chegou nessa parte do livro, descobriu que havia vários pedaços de papel colados um em cima do outro. Cuidadosamente descolou os dois primeiros e encontrou esta história, escrita pelo Sr. Poynter em 1707.

"O velho Sr. Casbury de Acrington falou-me esses dias sobre o jovem Sr. Everard Charllet, naquela época um estudante da University College. O jovem bebia demais e infringiu a lei várias vezes, mas porque ele era de uma família importante, a universidade nunca fez nada sobre isso. Ele costumava usar o cabelo muito longo e curvando-se sobre pescoço e usava roupas atípicas e coloridas. Seu comportamento desagradava muito seu pai. Um dia, encontraram o jovem Sr. Everard morto em seu quarto, com todo o seu cabelo arrancado. Ninguém conseguia explicar por que ou como ele morreu, mas a coisa mais estranha era que, um dia depois de sua morte, o corpo desapareceu completamente, ficando apenas um amontoado de cabelos pretos, ondulados e compridos no chão de seu quarto. Seu pai guardou um pouco do cabelo e fez desenhos com ele, partes dos quais eu anexei a essa página."

Essa é a estranha história por trás das cortinas. Antes de voltar para casa, James Denton ordenou que seus empregados retirassem e queimassem todas elas.

[crownvetch92]

Light Eternal Chapter 4

Caeweth awoke to the sound of her sister Ingle babbling.  Bright golden eyes staring directly into hers.  Caeweth groaned, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“What’s the matter little sister,” Caeweth whispered, “Can’t sleep?”

“S-s-sis,” Ingle stammered clumsily.

Ingle proceeded to nuzzle little Caeweth, sniffing at one particular spot on her chest, curiosity leading her to poke at it with her sharp claw.

“Ow, Hey!” Caeweth loudly whispered, “That… actually hurt.”

Caeweth looked down to see a section of skin on her chest, no bigger than her palm, was glowing blue.  The lump was hard, like a stone, and sat firmly against her sternum.

Before long her other two sisters awoke, babbling curiously.  Caeweth grabbed a blanket, trying to keep the glow a secret as she quietly snuck to the natural spring, Ingle, Frasil, and Levin in tow.  The glow became brighter and a dull pain began to throb in her chest.  With a bright flash of blue light, the object emerged, much to the amazement of her dragon sisters.  It was a stone, a round, smooth, dark blue colored stone embedded in her chest.

Taloned feet clicked on the cave floor behind the children.

“Vell I’ll be,” Estelle’s voice echoed in the cave chamber, “I never thought I vould ever see an emergence, let alone von so spectacular.”

Caeweth gulped and turned around, fully expecting to be in trouble.

“Don’t vorry, you are not in trouble,” Estelle cooed, “Now let me see.”

Estelle closely inspected the round stone.

“What is it?” Caeweth asked nervously.

“Your heart stone.  All night fae possess one, and it looks like yours is a blue moonstone.  See how it flashes?”

Caeweth looked at her reflection in the calm waters of the spring.  It did indeed flash brighter shades of blue when she moved.  Her sisters cooed in amazement.  Caeweth felt a surge of excitement.

“Does that mean I will get my powers soon?”

“Sveety, I don’t really know… Maybe?” Estelle answered, “All ze Night fae I have met are so secretive about their childhood, it is hard for me to say.”

“So these other Night Fae, what are they like?” Caeweth asked as Estelle ushered her and her sisters back to the nest, “Do they all have moonstones as their heart stones?”

“Zey are quiet folk,” Estelle answered, “I have not spoken to very many.  Now back to sleep, growing children need their rest.”

Caeweth’s mind was buzzing with thoughts about what just happened.  It was all so sudden, that ‘emergence’ Estelle mentioned.  What did it mean?  What is a heart stone?  How many other Night Fae are there?

She tossed and turned for what seemed like forever, until her eyes felt heavy, and the veil of sleep descended once again.

Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Forest of Eternal Night, a disturbingly handsome Night Fae gazed deeply into a crystal ball.  His midnight hair hung in a blue colored braid over his shoulder.  He wore an ornate blue and gold spider silk tunic with a deep V neck, revealing his shining green moonstone, and blue silk breeches.

“Whither art thou?” He muttered, orange eyes intensely gazing into the crystals smooth surface, “Emergling fairy…”

He tried to locate where the epicenter of the magic surge was.  He sat in a small room lined to the brim with books.  He waved his pale hand over the clear crystal’s surface.  He muttered to himself, deep in thought, flicking his translucent, lacy, white wings.

“Darling,” came a sweet sultry voice from the doorway, causing him to lose focus, “Castor, you’ve been at this for hours, Surely you can take a break and have a little fun.”

“Ariadne please,” Castor replied, “This is important.”

“What’s so important that you spend all day locked in a musty old room without little me?”  Ariadne pouted, flicking her sunset colored hair.

She wore an especially revealing pink silk dress that emphasized her ample chest, while the peach moonstone on her sternum glimmered pleasingly in the candle light.

“A Night Fae emergence was felt outside the Child Garden,” He replied flatly, “We need to find them before anything else does.  Their chances of survival sink lower every minute they remain outside our village walls.”

“Well they survived this long, they can wait a little longer.   Why don’t you take a little break with me?” she purred, her voice dripping with desire as she flicked her pink and yellow wings.

“With all due respects, my Queen, this emergling fae might not survive another hour, we really should…” his voice trailed off as Ariadne’s lips met with his.

Oh how he loved Ariadne’s sweet kisses, so soft and warm.  Yet, he often felt torn between serving his beautiful queen’s desires, and his loyalty to his own kind.  He adored her, he truly did, but her self centered demands became overwhelmingly oppressive, and all of her requests for lovemaking became too much for him to bear.  Not one night fae in the village, or even the kingdom, seemed happy at all with her constant demands.

“Well now,” Ariadne purred, “How do you feel?”

The crystal ball glowed brightly, revealing a second, weaker surge of power.

Thank the All Mother, He thought to himself.

“My lady,” Castor said quietly, “I really must find this night fae…”

The disappointment in Ariadne’s deep blue eyes was palpable.

“We will make love once I return, I promise.” He said before shapeshifting into a small, fluffy Scops owl before flying out the window.

“You better keep that promise!” She shouted angrily, stomping her fine pink slippers on the floor before crossing her arms and pouting, “What could be more important than serving your queen?!”

“Serving my people, keeping them safe…”  He muttered under his breath.

He flew through the forest, happy to take some time for himself.  He barely had a moment alone with her constant need for attention.  He sighed, happy to be free… at least for the moment.  He soared past patches of brightly glowing flowers, giant translucent glowing mushrooms, and patches of pale yellow glow moss.  Before long, he arrived at the mouth of a cave. located at the end of shallow ravine.  Glowing white flowers hung down from their vines along the sides of the cave entrance.  He perched on a nearby branch, well hidden from anybody exiting the cave.  He did not have to wait long before a 6 foot tall brown bat walked out, furiously rubbing her eyes with her spindly clawed hands, a small night fae child trailing close behind her.

“Vell zat vas… interesting,”  Estelle said, “Ve really need to verk on your magic.  Zat spell nearly blinded everyvon in ze cave.”

“I said I was sorry,” Caeweth said, rubbing her own eyes, “I didn’t think those orbs of light would explode like that.”

“Do not be sorry my little Caeveth,” Estelle reassured her, “I remember my first shape shift did not go vell at all.”

“What happened?”

“Sink of a lump of pitch black slime vith a mouth full of jagged sharp teeth… and too many eyes.”

“Oh…”

“Vas not a pretty sight, I assure you.”

Caeweth laughed merrily, a sound Castor had not heard years, at least not from anybody besides Ariadne.  He peeked around the tree trunk as three little whelping dragons bounded out of the cave.  Frasil happy tackled little Caeweth to the ground, causing Caeweth to yelp in surprise.  The two tumbled around, roughhousing and wrestling playfully under Estelle’s watchful gaze.  They all looked… happy… genuinely happy.

He felt torn: Yes the forest was dangerous for a small Night Fae child, but she looked completely happy and healthy, playing around with the whelping dragons.  It was clear she was well taken care of by someone, and would be devastated if she was ripped from their caring arms.

On the other hand, the village would provide better protection against the beasts that prowled the forest floor.  He could also find a mentor to help with her emerging magic.  Controlling magic was often difficult for young Night Fae, and she could get a proper education.  He sighed, unsure of how to proceed.  He unknowingly clacked his beak in frustration, drawing Estelle’s attention.  

Estelle’s ears twitched.  She sniffed the air, there was somebody, or something beyond her sight.  It didn’t smell of decay and dirt like a grave dog would, or of rancid blood like a skin walker, or of icy winds like a wendigo.  She heard the clacking again.  She followed the direction of the noise to find an owl.

“Who are you?” She snarled, spooking castor, “Vy are you here?”

Castor gulped.  Although shapeshifting mega bats were generally peaceful, they were very protective of their family units.

“A-Apologies ma’am,” Castor stammered, “I was just…”

“Leaving,” Estelle hissed, baring her sharp teeth.

“N-no,” Castor gulped, “Not until I know this little night fae is safe.”

“She is, now leave.”

“Estelle?” Caeweth surprised both Estelle and Castor, “What are you doing?”

“Adult talk my little sveety,” Estelle cooed, “Now go back to your sisters.”

“They are already here.”

The three little dragon whelps had followed Caeweth, peeking over her shoulder.  Caeweth looked at the fluffy scops owl.  Something looked vaguely familiar.  There was a slight green glow from beneath his feathers, barely noticeable to anybody else.  She approached Castor, at the behest of Estelle, and parted the feathers on the bird’s chest.  Castor recoiled, nearly falling off the low branch.

“A moonstone?”  Caeweth asked, “Estelle, I thought you said only night fae had them.”

“Vat are you?” Estelle growled, “Vy are you so interested in Caeveth?”

Castor tried to fly away, only to be hit with a cloud of smoke belched by Ingle, forcing him to land.  He sputtered and coughed, reverting to his Night Fae form.

“You are a Night Fae!” Caeweth exclaimed, “Just like me!”

“Clearly,” Estelle grumbled, pinning Castor to the ground with her clawed hand, “Vat is the meaning of this?  Vy are you here?”

“I told you before,” Castor replied, “I was here to check on the little Night Fae… Caeweth was it?  I just needed to know she was safe!”

“You ver here to take my little Caeveth away, vern’t you?”

“No!” Castor exclaimed, “I saw how happy she was, I believe she belongs here…”

“Vat…”

“I said she belongs here…”

Estelle removed her hand from Castor’s chest, much to his relief.

“You better not be lying,” Estelle snarled.

“No,” Castor said, “I won’t take her away, I swear.”

Castor got up to his feet, dusting himself off.  He looked at Caeweth, who was hiding behind Estelle’s leg.  An idea had formed in his mind:  With Caeweth’s magic emerging, she would have quite a bit of trouble learning to control it without proper instruction.  He could teach her about her own abilities, and let her stay with her little family.  It would be difficult splitting his duties even further, but this little Night Fae needed his help.

“How about this?” He said to Estelle, “I could teach little Caeweth about Night Fae magic, and she can stay here.  How about that?”

Estelle looked from Castor to Caeweth, and back again.  She thought about what she had said to Caeweth earlier, about not knowing how Night Fae magic worked.  She snorted in frustration, while watching the little dragons try to play with this stranger.

“Maybe it could work?” Caeweth said, breaking the silence, “I want to learn more about my own kind, and he said I don’t have to leave.”

“Alvight,” Estelle relented, “I agree.”

“Then it is settled,” Castor nodded before kneeling down before little Caeweth, “I will teach you all you need to know about your own kind, and your special powers.  My name is Castor.”

He patted little Caeweth’s head, “I will see you soon.”

Castor shifted to his owl form quickly, and flew off into the stygian darkness.  He mulled over his idea several times… What if Ariadne found out?  What if his lessons failed?  What if Caeweth advanced too quickly?  He landed in the same room from before, morphed back to his Night Fae self, and closed the window.  He winced as he heard Ariadne’s unstable footsteps approaching the door.

“What took you so looong,” she drunkenly whined as she slammed the door open, “I got sooooo lonely without you.”

Ariadne smelled of alcohol, and appeared visibly inebriated.

“It wasn’t that long,” Castor sighed, “Come, you must be exhausted.”

“I’m not tired,” she slurred, “You still owe *hic* me that promise.”

Castor escorted his drunken queen to her lavishly decorated bed chambers, where she clumsily stumbled and subsequently tripped, landing face first into her own plush bed.  She had passed out as soon as her face landed in the spider silk blankets, snoring loudly.

“Looks like that promise will have to wait,” He chuckled as he slipped into bed next to her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, “Good night, my queen.”