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missmeasured · 2 years

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Happy Halloween! I'm giving out The Stars on the Staircase bonus chapters!

Hello lovely readers! This Halloween I am handing out candy and that candy is three bonus chapters for Stars on The Staircase! I'm gonna put out one per day this weekend and one on Halloween Monday! Read here or on Ao3

Severus/Reader - Explicit

This chapter would fit in after the winter break chapters and before her finals. Without further ado the bonus chapter is below the cut.

Today's chapter is called: Cheering for Daddy

When I heard his alarm clock ring I groaned into my pillow. His alarm only went off on Quidditch Saturdays. I hated Quidditch days. They meant immediately getting up and going to breakfast. Sure, we were up later than a week day but I was still tired and I hated not having my Saturday morning with him.

“Wake up, little nymph. We’ve got to go to Breakfast.” He says after he has been up and moving for a few minutes and I remain motionless.

“Why did you make me stay up so late on a Quidditch night?” I groan.

I was enjoying myself… while forcing you to enjoy yourself.” I can hear his smirk in it even with my eyes closed and my face shoved into a pillow.

“Five orgasms is too many orgasms. I’m exhausted.” I protest.

He grabs me by the hips and pulls me across the bed. I squeal, laughing with surprise and delight as suddenly his lips are right under my ear. “If you stopped making such nice faces and noises during them I wouldn’t be so intent on extracting them from you.”

“I want to sleep here till noon.”

“Well I suppose you could, but then you would miss my team winning, which would make daddy very disappointed.”

“How disappointed?”

“Extremely.”

“I suppose I have no choice then.”

“Up. Dress warm, lots of layers. If you leave early I’ll notice and I will have to come through that fireplace and punish you for every minute the game goes on after you leave.”

“I hate Quidditch…” I mutter as I sit up, looking around for my nightgown.

“I think your clothes are in the sitting room. I’ll get them.”

“Oh yeah… I forgot that it started out there.”

“I’m offended.”

“About?”

“You're forgetting the first one, on the sofa.”

“Severus, I remember it now, but I got a little foggy on details after three.”

“Three was a very very… good one.” He acquiesced as he returned with my clothing. I didn’t feel like getting dressed twice so I shrugged into the oversized cardigan without putting clothes on underneath, holding all the rest of my clothes in my arms and putting on the slippers I had worn.

As I collected my socks, panties still damp from last night and jammed them into my pockets I saw him smirking at me. “Yes?” I inquire at his gaze.

“You look so naughty like that.” He pulls my rumpled clothes out of my arms, making me spin in my cardigan, which barely covers all my private places. Not that they need covering from him. I’m fairly sure he has seen every inch. The more I try to hide my body from him the more he becomes intent to explore. He pulls me in and we hug, his hands rubbing my back. One slides down to squeeze my halfway exposed rear end. “See you at breakfast.” He says into my hair before he leaves the hug and is out the door.

Alone, I consider the amount of punishment I would receive if I climbed back into this bed. How mad could he be if he came back to find me still naked and waiting for him? I weighed the options and decided I would rather not find out if he would be upset.

I went through the fireplace to my room. I choose my clothes with sleepy eyes, throwing a silent tantrum inside my head at being vertical when I wanted so badly to be horizontal. I chose three sweaters to layer on, and wool tights with wool socks over them that went up to my knees. I throw my outer cloak and a plaid wool blanket in my house colours into a bag and shuffled out to find my friends and go to breakfast.

On the way down to the pitch I can already tell the weather is going to be absolutely miserable. It’s snowing, practically blizzarding but it’s Slytherin versus Gryffindor and both of those heads of house are too proud to ask the other to call it off because of the weather.

Both of my close girlfriends have boys they have begun dating. I’m already a fifth wheel by the time we leave the doors to the castle. I look for Severus and I can’t see him anywhere on the path down to the pitch, he’s probably alerady checking in with his team.

That’s when I hear Flitwick behind us. I spin and crane my neck to see him. He is boring some poor girl to tears. I can see her face as she searches hopelessly for friends that she is losing rapidly as she keeps stride with Flitwick. I excuse myself from my friends and cut in, allowing the auburn haired girl who had been stuck with him to flee as I purposefully interrupt their conversation.

I have a plan I need Flitwick for. I choose my question carefully. Something that he can talk about at length and I have supplementary questions to keep him going should he be brief. My goal is to keep him talking all the way down the path. When we reach the stands if he isn’t done speaking there is a little chance he will ask me to come sit with him in the teacher’s box.

I am squealing with internal delight as Flitwick talks and talks all the way up to the teacher’s box. When we get up there it’s fairly full already but there is a quite noticeable space on either side of the two in the front row, Snape and McGonagall. Probably no one wishes to sit beside the rivals as things may get heated in spite of the whipping cold wind. Someone had put up a charm to keep it off slightly.

Flitwick gets sidelined by Sprout and tells me to choose seats. I am quick as a bunny down those steps and onto the bench beside Severus. “Hello daddy, fancy meeting you here.” I send him mentally as I take my seat.

Severus turns and takes me in as Flitwick sits down on my other side, continuing where he left off about the duration of charms spells that come from single words as opposed to chanted verses. “How have you managed this? You calculating little minx.”

“It’s quite simply done, I just asked Filius a question I knew he could not answer completely between the door of the castle and the pitch.”

“You are very devious, darling.”

“I only come to matches because you want me to. If I must cheer for daddy I want to do so at his side.”

Professor Sprout wanted to sit beside Filius and the space is limited so now there is a great shuffle down the plank of wood. It is at this point that I am both happily pressed against my lover and unhappily finally noticed by McGonagall.

“Professor Snape, did you bring a guest to the match today? I did not see her before now.”

“No, she's mine Minerva. We are having a rather fascinating discussion about charms, didn’t want to cut it short.” Filius leaned out to inform.

“Does that mean you intended to talk through the game, Filius?” Snape asked in his usual tone of disapproval. Gods, sometimes when he came over all stern and monotone I just wanted to climb into his lap. I’m never quite sure what is wrong with me that the more severe he is the more I get all wound up by him.

“Don’t worry, Severus. I will keep it brief.” Flitwick titters.

“Unlikely.” Minerva mutters.

Sprout is producing a flask and pouring liquid into small cups. I’m told to pass them down the line. As I turn to Severus to pass to them he says “What on earth is this, Pomona?” Severus takes them and passes one to McGonagall.

“For warmth!” Sprout answers.

“What the devil is in it?” Minerva is sniffing it cautiously.

“Does it matter? Just something I whipped up. I don't have an ingredients list for you ingrates.” She answers, Filius has downed his already and is motioning for a refill.

“It matters. I’m not having this debate again.” Severus eyed it suspiciously, dipped a fingertip and licked it. “Minevera I think it’s almost all whiskey. Drink at your own peril. You know how she likes her plant additives in drinks that would be fine without tampering.”

“I’m drinking it, but if I end up in the hospital wing I will not be amused.” Minerva warns before downing hers.

Severus hands his cup back to me. “I’ll pass, thank you.” He announces.

I try to hand it to Filius who motions to me that I should drink it with quiet mischief.

“Filius, I saw that.” Minerva barks from the other end of the bench.

“They are no fun, those two.” Filius whispers conspiratorially. I would tend to disagree. I think Severus is plenty of fun. You just wouldn’t know it to look at him. I visit the memory of being tied up last night, vibration driving me near mad and his sparingly applied fingers driving me slowly towards my fourth climax in a game only he seems to know the rules to. I certainly had fun. I had had so much fun I had to beg to stop having it so very much.

“You had better lock those thoughts up, little nymph.”

“Or what? I’ll be dreadfully bored during the game if I don’t think about something.”

“Think about Slytherin winning.”

“What makes you happier: Slytherin winning at Quidditch or our Friday nights?”

“Don’t make me choose.”

“I am offended.”

“Oh don’t be. They are mine and as I take pride in them, you are mine and I take pride in you. You both bring me joy in different ways.”

“Awe that was awfully sentimental, Severus.”

“I don’t think it’s overly sappy to acknowledge that you put me in a good mood, pet. It's only a fact, you can’t paint it with some emotional brush.”

“I make you proud?”

“Oh Merlin, what have I done?”

“Said too much, I’m afraid. I'll be incorrigible. Smug with your pride. I think I’ve begun to crawl under all that black and get under your skin too.” At first I think he is distracted from our conversation by the beginning of the game but then his hand finds mine under my blanket and gives it a squeeze. I have to bite back my grin. I fight to either pay attention to the game or to Filius.

I see why people had left the seats beside Severus and Minerva as a last choice. They are up and down constantly, to cheer or to yell as the case may be. The blanket I had spread over my lap is constantly being accidentally tugged off or else sat on. I’m only annoyed because I only just get accustomed to his warmth and then he is jumping up to see a call made by the referee in better detail or worse to fight with McGonagall about something. It is clear there is friendship underneath their competitive streaks; only friends would be so comfortable with the kind of insults they throw at each other with a smile.

When they launch themselves up again to peer down over the edge of the tower to see a call below I sigh a little and rub the right side of my body as it feels suddenly cold. “Can you stay still? I need your warm.”

“Darling I would happily let you sit under my cloak with me if things were different.”

“On your lap?”

“Even in a world where we could freely be seeing each other, that would be bold.”

“It’s just where I want to be.”

“I’ve called you mouse before but really you have the personality of a lap cat.”

“I like nothing more than to curl up in your lap and be scratched behind the ears.”

“As I recall, this morning someone was complaining about being scratched a little too much behind the ears. Yet now you seem eager to get back in my lap?”

“If the choices are to be petted or watch Quidditch the choice is easy.”

The weather gets worse and worse. It is positively blizzarding at an hour into the game and the score has tied off at 120 for each team. Both heads of house are loath to be the one to suggest that maybe they take the tie as a moment to suggest a rematch or cancellation. The stands start to empty out as the weather gets progressively nastier and the game stays staunchly at that tie. When Flickwick announces his lack of interest in remaining “Well, my dear shall we head back together?”

“No, I’m sort of invested in the outcome now.” I lie. I glance at Severus, who is looking at the pitch, I catch McGonagall raising an eyebrow as I tell Filius I’d like to stay.

With half the staff gone, it makes no sense for me to stay plastered against him except that he is warm and the idea of sitting on the bench already gone cold where Filius had left was not appealing. A few minutes later I look around us and find that Severus, Minerva, and I are in fact the only ones in this stand at all. Then the tie gets broken in Gryffindor’s favour.

“We should call this off, the weather is too dangerous.” Minerva suggests as the play winds up again.

“You are just trying to keep that ten point lead.” Severus accuses light heartedly.

“We can just rematch, I don’t give a fig for the ten points.” Minerva insists.

“You are scared we are about to get the snitch you know my seeker is better than yours when it comes down to it.” The Head of Slytherin teases her.

“Severus, this is ridiculous! I can barely see the quaffle let alone a snitch!” Just as she said it the score tied up again. They looked at each other stiffly.

“Alright. Rematch.” Severus conceded.

They used to sonorus charm to announce the rematch. Minerva turns to us and flicks her eyes between us. “I’ll leave you to walk your… companion back to school.” McGonagall announced before walking up the steps and beginning her descent to the field level.

“I’m sorry your team didn’t get to add a victory to its record today.” I tell Severus.

“You stayed till the end like I asked you.”

“I did.”

“Let’s go.” He stands and takes my hand, leading me down the stairs of the pitch tower. We only make it down two landings when I find myself pushed against the wall. Snogging him in places other than his bedroom makes my heart race. The blanket I had in my hands seems to be on the ground. Had my arms fallen slack as he pulled my face up to his? I chide myself for being so helpless when he turned his attention to me.

When Severus kissed me it was always so exact. I would follow his lead. He used his tongue very sparingly and usually to great effect. To say it surprised me when he kissed me so deeply here of all places would be an understatement. Blood went rushing to my core as he took possession of my mouth in this cold wooden stairwell.

I was having one of those moments where I felt like I was such a slut for him. As his kiss made me turn into an easily seduced mess, already wet for him again when I had had so much pleasure last night. I should be fully sated, why does he have this effect on me?

Minerva interrupted us with a throat clearing. We broke apart hastily, caught red lipped, so to speak. She was above us on the stairs somehow. “Sorry to interrupt, Severus, but your Captain has asked to speak with you. I ascended up by magic to retrieve you in case you were distracted and I find I was correct to have done so.” That’s why we hadn’t heard her coming, she must have magically ascended up through the central column of the stairwell. She smirks knowingly and walks down past us. “Really Severus, you’re as bad as the students, snogging in a stairwell…” She tuts as she makes her way down once more.

He turns back to me, I’m still trapped against the wall. “Meet me in my room shortly. I’m not done with you.” He instructs before leaving me breathless with one last kiss and then he is gone, his footsteps so fast down the stairs I lean over the railing and watch the trails of his black cloak as he winds his way quickly down the tower.

I awkwardly catch up to McGonagall as I make my up to the school. She invites me to join her bubble blocking the snow storm I gratefully step in, with some amount of discomfort as she had just caught Severus and I making out aggressively.

“How are things?” She asks after a few moments of silent walking.

“Good.” I answer by wrote, without thinking about anything overmuch.

“I meant specifically with you and our potion’s master.”

“I was including him in my assessment.” I laugh uncomfortably.

“With honesty, I confess I do not want any details but I do want to make sure everything is…”

“Professor, let me save you the awkward sentence and say I believe we are all good, on the fronts of secrecy, him treating me right and also in the realm of pregnancy prevention. Is that the bulk of it?” I ask.

“Yes, I suppose those are the main points I should check in with you about. The only other being are you still happy with your situation?”

“Yes. Quite.”

“Are you very sure? I can put an end to it if you are not comfortable.”

“I am very comfortable, Professor. At least, when I’m with him I am. Do you know what it’s like to age up and be confined to live with teenagers at all hours?”

“Well I have lived with students for some number of decades but I suppose I have at least my own quarters and the staff room for refuge. Are they driving you mad?”

“Only the boys. I find I can still talk to my friends well enough but the boys seem to be children to me now.”

“The curse of their sex, I’m afraid. Eternally childish.” She smiles.

“How are you, Professor?” I ask her back.

“Well… I am quite well. I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“Well… in honesty over the last few years I had become very close friends with one person in particular. He has been a little distracted this year with someone else.” She glances sidelong at me.

“Oh… Severus?”

“Yes. I’m only kidding with you really, it’s not like I ever really notice his absence. I haven’t the foggiest idea when you two see each other, it's just that when he is present he is often somewhere else in his mind.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“No, don't apologise, dear. At the very least I catch him smiling. I never used to see him smiling apropos of nothing. Nowadays he is so frequently smiling at something or other in his head that I can’t bring myself to be angry about the two of you. He needed something to bring him back to the land of the living, when he first started teaching it was like we had another ghost on staff. He was so vacant. He has come around these past ten years but it’s only now I am starting to realise which parts of him were still missing.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He is quite changed. I only hope he will not miss you when you are gone.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“What are you two talking about in there?” We turn, in the wind, outside the charm is Severus. His cloak and hair whipping about in the storm, he has caught up to us and the teams are down the path a piece.

“The weather.” Minerva says as she casts off the charm when we cross the threshold of the courtyard. Severus looks us both over suspiciously. We move briskly over to the doors and get inside as soon as possible. We are all chilled to the bone.

“I look forward to the rematch, Minerva.” He nods. “If you are done chatting I’m going to steal this one. See you at dinner.” He pulls me away and I watch Minerva’s disapproving face as he takes my hand in far too public a place and guides me toward the stairs to the dungeon.

As we pass the Slytherin common room we can hear the post quidditch party happening as if it was a victory even though it had been declared a tie, and most of the spectators had come in to break into the butterbeer long before the game was called off.

We are barely through his sitting room door before I am being kissed again. When I finally extricate my lips I ask “Is it the fresh air or something else making you act like this?”

“Why must you always question me when I’m affectionate? Is it not enough to be wanted so desperately? You must force me to say how happy you make me?” He asks.

“It’s pleasant to know the reasons someone feels such urgency to kiss you. Or to take my hand in front of McGonagall when I could have gone to my room and floo’d here without her knowing.”

“Please. She just caught us kissing like a couple of hormonal teenagers. The hand holding was nothing.”

“It was a very public location, dearest professor.”

“Somedays I like you being my little secret and others I am inexplicably eager to have you known to be mine.”

“We can’t.”

“I’m well aware. I was just getting Minerva’s hackles up. If I can’t beat her at Quidditch I can rub her fur the wrong direction.”

“A very Slytherin thing to say.”

“I am Head of Slytherin, pet.”

“I am well aware.”

“Are you?” His lip curls with something, he steps toward me.

“Yes.” I breathe.

“Well… Take off your cloak, you are staying a while.” He reaches out his hand for it.

“I am?” I toy with the clasp, not breaking eye contact.

“Yes.” His fingers twitch as I fumble with it.

“Well… As you wish.” I hand it over. He throws it over the back of the sofa.

“I’ll take that jumper as well.” He steps toward me again.

I swallow hard. I pull that wool garment over my head and hand it over, stepping backward.

He advances a single step again. “The next sweater too, Miss.”

I find myself swallowing hard as I unbutton it and try to separate it from my under layers, it sparks as the fibres pull against each other in the cold dry winter air. When I give it over it I accidentally shock him too as I give it.

“You and your sparks…” he breathes.

“Mine? I would tend to call them… ours.” I step away again, unsure where I am planning on going in this very small sitting room. Is he going to chase me around the sofa?

The hand comes out again. “That one too.”

“I will be cold.” I argue.

“I will warm you. Hand. It. Over.” I peel off the last one. I am left in nothing but a lace bra. The cold dungeon air makes my nipples hard as soon as it swirls around my mostly naked torso, or maybe it’s from him. His words, his games. How would I ever know? I try to hand it to him but he is a little out of my reach. I give my ground to put it in his hand and he is quick, too quick as he takes my wrist and pulls me into him. His freezing, snow covered cloak chills my flesh and I yelp and try to pull back.

“Undo my cloak, pet.” He instructs. I shiver and do it, unclasping him and reaching up to shove it off his shoulders. I throw it onto the sofa with everything else. He is staring at me and I stare back, I take his scarf as well.

“What about this?” I run my fingers over his cassock, fingers trailing over the column of buttons and stopping where the top of his trousers kissed the lowest button.

“Take off the rest of yours, then you may take mine.”

I move over and sit in his reading chair, take off my boots, the long wool socks coated in snow, the wool tights and at last the skirt. In my undergarments I stood again, flinching as I stepped on chunks of snow from my socks. “Are you sure?” I ask as I approach. “It’s the middle of the day what if-”

“I am not opening this door for anything less than an accidental decapitation.” He promises. As I start his buttons his cold hands come up to my back and slide down my body, making me shiver. When I undo the cuff of his cassock, a necessary step I had learned, in order to actually get it off of him, his other hand slips between my thighs and squeezes my leg, high enough that he is brushing my knickers but barely touching me. My breath goes shakey.

When I’m done with the ones on the first wrist I have to reach down and wrap my hands around his wrist between my legs to reach the ones on the other wrist. I accidentally pull him up and he touches my knickers. “Naughty. Not yet.” He scolds, smacking me on the behind with his other hand. He moves a way to sit on the sofa on top of all of our discarded clothing. “My boots, darling.”

I kneel to untie them. There is snow on the rug and I try to brush it out of the way before I have to be on it but he says “Is my little princess going to melt if snow touches her sensitive knees?” He is being sarcastic and when I look up at him I can tell he is just playing the impatient master. There are no teeth in it.

“I will endeavour to persevere.” I tell him with a hint of cheek. His hand comes down and palms the side of my face before curling those fingers under my chin and making me look up at him.

“You’ve braved the cold on my orders for hours already, surely you can take a few moments more for me.” I nod, and when his thumb crosses over my lips I lick it playfully. He surprises me by sliding it into my mouth. I close my lips around it and suck him gently. He inhales sharply and withdraws it. “Boots, my little minx. One thing at a time.” He scolds.

As I successfully remove each one I get a showering of snow over my bare legs. I can’t help but hiss and brush it off me. I’ve barely removed the second one when he is pulling me up by the elbows to kiss him again. I lean in, unbuttoning his shirt while we kiss. My hands find the top of his trousers and he releases me.

I unbutton them slowly, looking at him waiting for him to boss me around some more. It pet him through his drawers for a long few seconds before I reach in to retrieve him. His flesh here feels so hot against my hand. I grasp him tightly, there is a glistening wetness at the tip and I bend to lick it off.

He is quietly panting as I lick him in different places. I keep looking up for reassurance. It’s been over a month since the first and only time he let me do this. I worry that I am not good at it, but he is kind of moaning as his hand pets my hair. I barely take him in my mouth when he groans and says “I need you too badly to take this kind of attention.”

I don’t take him out of my mouth yet. “I came a lot last night. You can come this way today.” As I sink as low as I can on his cock.

“Precious one, stop.” He whimpers. I do as he asks, rising away from him.

“If I’m bad at it, you could tell me-”

“You’re not, dearest. I just need you in another way right now.”

“Which way?”

“Bent over the sofa arm. I’ve been thinking about it all morning. Indulge me.”

“Don’t I always?” I ask, standing and moving around to the side of the sofa, still a little put off that he wanted me to stop. I wish he would just tell me what it is I am doing wrong with my mouth.

He stands and follows me pushing me down between my shoulder blades as his cock nudges into the backs of my thighs. He pulls my knickers down my legs and I step out of them. “Let’s see, are you ready for me?” He asks before finding my entrance with his fingers. I groan as he easily slides into me. “I knew it. You say you are sated and yet, here you are dripping wet for me yet again.” He fingers me while he says it and I can’t help but moan at his words and his touch as usual.

I get the fleeting wonderance of what on earth I would have thought if I had known in my earlier years as his student that one day he would grab my hand and our lives would take this very strange turn. That I would feel like an instrument specially tuned for Professor Snape’s skilled playing. He never failed to make me positively hum in bliss and it was almost disconcerting the way he knew how to press my buttons. I had to frequently remind myself that he had spent several weeks hearing my every thought and if that doesn’t give a man a leg up on understanding his lover, what would? Still, there were times, like now, I wondered how much of it just came from inside him. How did he know that the mere act of telling me to undress him would make me all desperate for him.

Suddenly it was the head of his cock pressing into my entrance instead of those skilled fingers and I found my soreness from last night hardly registered as I was prodded open. One of his hands slid up my neck and into my hair, pulling it by the roots and making me moan as he pulled back. The other hand wrapped around under me and teased my clit as he worked his way into me.

“You see, darling. As much as I would love to come in your beautiful mouth.” He said as he thrust forward, slamming in deep and making me gasp in pleasure. “I might not be able to do this for the rest of the week.” He said, withdrawing and slamming home again in between sentences. “Given the choice.” Oh. Please.Yes. “I would rather listen to you come.” Oh. Fuck. Merlin. “It pleases me more.” Full. So Very Full . “To feel you go pieces around my cock.” Daddy. Please. Yes . “I hear those thoughts, little nymph. Say them outloud.” He demands.

When I first open my mouth nothing but noises fall out. He is fucking me so throughly I can’t even make my mouth form words. “Tell daddy what you’re feeling.” He purrs.

“So good.” I managed to squeak out some english.

“Are you going to come for me?” He asks. Clearly I cannot elaborate as much as he would maybe like me to.

“Yes.” I whimper. “Yes, yes….oh. Fuck. Daddy I’m- I’m gonna.” my phrase breaks up as I reach that peak and he is groaning in my ear and filling me with his orgasm and falling down against me, both of us over the arm of the sofa. I am crushed by the weight of him and yet I don’t mind. I am only now aware of how many freezing water droplets of melted snow are on the cloak I have fallen onto.

I feel my legs shaking, under him. With his weight on me he is so deeply embedded inside me and his twitching cock makes me shudder anew. He still has a hand in my hair and he turns my head so he is panting into my ear, his lips kissing my neck. “Shall we go warm up in the bath together, pet?” He whispers eventually.

I agree as I always do and soon enough we are in his bathtub, my head happily reclined on his chest. “I’m afraid I’m going to fall asleep on you.” I yawn on the last few words as if saying out loud brought my body’s attention to it.

“Don’t you go falling asleep on me and trapping me in the tub. Think how pruned I will get waiting for you to wake up.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with waking me up this morning.” I say sarcastically.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with staying up late last night.” He teased back.

“McGonagall told me you two are fairly close.”

“Over the years I suppose a certain trust has developed between us. A tentative understanding that we are intelligent and the rest of the staff are best decided on a case by case basis.” He jokes.

“I think you didn’t want to tell her about us in the beginning because you didn’t want to ruin your friendship. You were more worried about what she would think of you than Albus.” I speculate out loud, and because I don’t have to face him I am more bold than I would be otherwise.

“Well she found us anyway, didn’t she.” He murmurs. He is avoiding answering, something I’ve started mentally tracking because at first I didn’t notice his deflections. He was a master of distraction I had come to learn.

“Well it seems like she still thinks of you as a friend...” I lead.

“Is that what she said to you?” He asks.

“She said she’s happy to see you happy.”

“Mmhmm” he hums into my ear and his hands slide around my body. I do not take the bait of his distraction.

“Are you?” I prod.

“Am I what?”

“Happy?”

“I’ve never really felt qualified to say…” He says quietly. “I suppose I am happier than I was. But- There are times I feel just as miserable as ever, worse even.”

“I make it worse?” I ask.

“No. I make it worse. Worrying about old troubles in addition to worrying about you.”

“What are you worrying about me for?”

“For example, in moments like this I worry I am isolating you from your friends and that at some point you will be missing one too many times and it will drive a wedge into your friendships and make things hard for you. You need more friends than just me.”

“I think you might be my best friend, Severus.” I admit, closing my hands over his around my belly. “Is that…” I’m not sure how to finish, too much, too weird?

He kisses the top of my head. “Shall we get matching jewellery or tattoos?” he asks, nibbling under my ear at the end of the question making me smile and flinch as it kind of tickles.

“What else do you worry about me for?”

“Don’t make me list it you will think me quite mad”

“But I want to tell you to stop worrying about the things and how do I know what to tell you to stop worrying about if you don’t tell me the things?”

“Suffice it to say that I shall not cease to worry even if I gave you an itemised list and you responded in a long form essay. So we are about as well off not having the conversation as having it.”

“Deflecting…”

“Well it’s time to get out.”

“Capital D deflecting.” I say as I stand and drip.

“Maybe I should worry that you’ll lose friends not from spending too much time with me but by annoying them with personal questions.” He tries to pass this off as teasing sarcasm and it fails. I hear the real feeling behind it too clearly.

“Didn’t mean to annoy you, Sev.” I mutter, shrugging into a bathrobe and leaving the room. He catches me just before I put floo powder into his fireplace.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He tries in his usual imperious tone but I can see through it right now.

“I’ll give you some space… I didn’t mean to-” I am trying not to be hurt but it’s ot working. I figure escape is better than confronting him.

“Did I say I want that? No, what I want is for you to come to bed because you and I are going to have a little nap together before dinner.”

“What if someone needs you?”

“I tell them I’m unwell. I would rather spend time with you.” He smiles, drawing me away from the fireplace. He pulls back the bedding and steers me into the bed, bathrobe and all. “To revisit our conversation before I turned back into the grumpy bastard everyone else well remembers I am. Yes. You make me happy. I am grateful to have your friendship” He gets in the bed and kneels on top of me and kisses me, his hair drips a little on me, he dried it so hastily.

“I’m sorry. I know I can be so closed off about things. I hear myself being a prick and I can’t quite help it, I’m not used to someone caring enough to ask. Forgive me, will you darling? It was not my intention to hurt your feelings.” He pulled my hand to his lips, kissed my knuckles and slipped his fingers inside the arm of my robe, touching the sensitive underside of my arm so lightly and delicately that I smile at this small affection.

“I will forgive you if you are the big spoon for our nap.” I offer.

“When have I ever not been the big spoon?” He asks as he slips in beside me.”Come here my little teaspoon and you can finally have your nap you have been griping about.”

I settle in with a smile. I don’t think I even sleep during our nap, I just bask in being tucked into his warmth and appreciate the time he has found for this Saturday snuggle.

#The Stars on the Staircase #SOTS #missmeasured #severus snape #fanfiction #severus snape fanfiction #severus snape fic #severus x reader #pro snape #snape community #snape fanfiction #professor severus snape #snapedom #snaddy

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arvandus · 3 years

Text

Icarus (Overhaul x F!Reader)

Ah yes, once again so late on this. This one gave me grief because the characters kept deviating from what I had originally planned. >.< But I worked through it, and here we are.

This is for the BNHarem's “On The Job” Collab for May, which you can find here.

Also, don’t judge my super simple title headings for my fics 😂 I always do these late at night when I should be asleep, so generic background with fancy text is the best I got to offer.

Trigger Warnings: 18+ ONLY! 1 instance of aggression/abuse (hair grabbing/pulling - nonsexual), unprotected sex (fun in fiction, dumb IRL), mutual masturbation, overstimulation, bondage via quirk abuse, degradation...

I think that about covers it. Once again, I’m terrible at TWs so let me know if I missed anything or if anything is inaccurate. 😬 I just kinda write what I want and don’t really think about the labels when I’m doing it.

Pairing: Overhaul x F!Reader

Word Count: 8281

You hadn’t meant to get caught. Really, you weren’t even sure what had possessed you to do it in the first place. Desperation? Horniness? Stupidity?

All of the above?

All you knew was that it was a poor decision brought forth by the gradual culmination of a single annoying, unavoidable fact: you were disgustingly, shamefully, sinfully attracted to Kai Chisaki.

You weren’t exactly sure how or when it started. There was no “aha” moment, no “big bang” of desire. Instead, it was subtle, gradually coating your unsuspecting mind like layers of sediment. A shiver down your spine when he spoke your name. The quickening of your pulse at the briefest of eye contact. And the ever-growing presence of intrusive, curious thoughts.

Like his hands. You always noticed them, the white of his gloves drawing your attention like a beacon whenever he was within eyesight. They were dangerous hands, deadly weapons that you’d seen in action firsthand. They were a thing to be feared and avoided. But some strange part of you couldn’t help but wonder... what did they feel like? You imagined they’d be soft and perfectly manicured, oddly delicate for such a violent man; gentle hands packed with destructive power.

Or his lips. They were always covered by his mask. You never, ever saw him without it. You imagined what your name would look like on them as he spoke, how they’d feel on your skin. Would his lips also be soft? How about his kisses? Would they be cautious and controlled, or rough and hungry?

It didn’t help that he was, in his own way, very attractive. Just like how his dangerous hands were hidden within innocent white gloves, he was the devil hidden behind a pretty face. A sharp, beautiful jawline. Smooth porcelain skin. A crown of auburn red hair, closely cropped, but still long enough to run fingers through.

You bet that part of him was soft too.

The one part of him that wasn’t soft were his eyes. They were beautiful, certainly… as gold as Heaven’s gates and framed in long, perfect lashes. But they lacked the warmth of Heaven. Instead, they spoke of cold arrogance. And if you stared into them long enough, you could see a barely contained disgust lurking beneath their haughty exterior.

The disgust didn’t bother you, not anymore. Everyone disgusted Chisaki, and everyone in the Shie Hassaikai knew it. He even made his closest confidants, some he’d known since childhood, wear masks so he wouldn’t share the same air with them.

He had you wear a mask too, of course. Simple and white, it covered only your lower face, much like his own. That much you were grateful for, considering some of the masks you’d seen others wearing. Your only explanation for the slightly less coverage was that your secretarial position made you a frequent point of contact for those outside of the organization. You handled incoming calls, visitors, and scheduled meetings between Chisaki and his affiliates. No doubt he wanted to ensure you were making a good impression while still operating within his mysophobic requirements.

First impressions were everything to Kai. Even more so since he took the Boss’s place under dubious circumstances. Still, his long-held reputation for extremist thinking and violence preceded him, and not everyone was in support of his unexpected promotion. As a result, many people within the organization parted ways following Chisaki’s rise to power... and soon after they mysteriously went missing, never to be heard from or located again. You had no doubt that it was Chisaki tying up loose ends by sealing loose lips. After all, they say the mouth is the source of disaster. And Chisaki valued confidentiality above all else.

The message he sent was clear: adapt or die. When given such colorful options, the choice on whether to go or stay became a simple one.

So, you adapted. As long as you followed orders, kept your eyes down and your mouth shut, you were safe. After all, it was better to be the right hand of the devil than to be in his path. The only person you really had to fear was Chisaki himself, and you knew him well enough by now to know how to stay on his good side.

And all in all, it really wasn’t all that bad. Sure, you had to orchestrate the occasional clean-up when he disposed of someone who displeased him. But that wasn’t much different than what you’d dealt with when you worked for the Boss, either. Sure, the aftermath was messier and it happened far more often. But violence was violence, and when you worked with the Yakuza long enough, you got used to it. And despite the odd working conditions and ever-present undertone of danger, you remained good at your job. As such, Chisaki brooked no complaint. He tolerated you, and you tolerated him. Interactions were brief, words exchanged were polite and respectful even though they lacked warmth. But it was just a job, right? You didn’t need warmth.

So why did you feel so dissatisfied? Why did you constantly feel that something was missing, a longing you couldn’t entirely describe?

The need only ever waned when Chisaki was in your presence, whether it was to discuss upcoming meetings or simply passing by your desk to get to his office. The dissatisfaction would melt away into a warmth that extended deep into your fingertips whenever the cold-hearted man bothered to look you in the eyes. And when he wasn’t looking at you? It was like being thrown into a winter blizzard, the aching cold returning to pull the corners of your mouth down into a silent frown.

You craved his attention. It was shameful and pathetic and you could only imagine the scorn he’d give you if he knew, but you didn’t care. To be graced with the attention of a man who cared for no one brought a different kind of satisfaction. The rare treats of attention Chisaki did grant you, whether intended or not, scratched an itch that only he could scratch.

As time passed, the intrusive thoughts became more frequent, evolving from odd curiosities to shameless lust. They began to occupy your dreams, forcing you awake with a hot ache between your legs. That was when you really began to realize how in deep you were. It wasn’t just a simple “attraction.” You wanted him. At first you tried to deny and ignore, suppress and excuse. After all, this was Overhaul. Wanting him was like wanting the sun in your hand, and just as dangerous. Apparently though, it made little difference to your hormone-addled brain. It didn’t help that the secretive, forbidden thoughts brought their own special addictive flavor of the taboo.

You began to act different in front of him. Nothing too obvious, of course. After all, you knew Chisaki wasn’t the type to indulge in desperate women. To be honest, you weren’t even sure Chisaki indulged in women at all. All you did know was that whenever women tried to gain his favor through flirtation, Chisaki quickly and harshly shut it down.

So, it was little things... the extra second to release a paper from your grip after he’d grabbed it, the lingering of a glance. You didn’t so much change the style of your attire – skirts and blouses were already the norm for your position – but you changed the colors. A blouse that matched the purple feathery softness of his jacket, golden jewelry that matched his eyes. Little messages waiting in secret to be picked up, yet subtle enough that they could be excused as nothing more than coincidence. It was risky, but the thrill of the game gave you an outlet for your roiling feelings. In the end though, it made no difference. There was nothing about you that seemed important enough to turn Chisaki’s head more than was professionally necessary.

Which is where the state of things were when you found yourself alone in his office one evening. You had thought he was still working at the time. You’d stepped away to shred some incriminating documents and burn the scraps in the kiln outside. It was your last task for the day, so you’d entered Chisaki’s office to announce your departure for the evening. Except when you entered, the space was empty, with all traces of him gone. No papers remained on his desk. His gloves and plague mask were gone. With an annoyed huff you had stood there, bothered that you’d missed him.

Quietly, you walked to his desk, and gently caressed the mahogany wood. It was immaculate of course, free of dirt and fingerprints. You knew it would be because he cleaned his space every evening before he left, and you cleaned it every morning before he arrived.

You sighed as you retrieved the paper towels and cleaning solution. No harm in giving it a second scrub to save yourself some time tomorrow morning. It wasn’t like anyone would be foolish enough to enter this space without Chisaki present anyway.

You should have just left it at that. But as you walked around his desk to wipe the surface with the damp towel, your bare legs just below your skirt bumped his chair. Soft leather, still warm from where he had sat, greeted your exposed skin.

That should have been your first clue.

But your mental alarms never sounded. Instead, you figured you had just missed him.

You should have just left, but you didn’t. The warmth on the chair was enticing you. He was gone, right? Left for the evening. What harm could it do to indulge just a little bit? With your heart pounding with excitement, you carefully sat down in the warm leather. Immediately the scent of Chisaki’s body wash and clean clothes cradled you.

That should have been your second clue.

But you were already too wrapped up in your enjoyment. You relished in the sensations, leaning back as you closed your eyes. It was the closest you’d ever felt to him, as if his very presence was there with you. Your desire purred deep in your gut at receiving its first nibble of satisfaction. If you closed your eyes, you could pretend he was there, holding you.

Your kept your eyes closed as your imagination began to take root like weeds in your mind, making your skin feel hot. Your fingers grazed the inside of your thigh, dipping beneath your skirt while your heart pounded. What if those were his fingers? The vision combined with the sensations of touch and smell were delicious, and you wanted more. You dragged the pads of your fingertips up even higher, your arm starting to push your skirt up with it. Your legs parted easily, as you let out a shaky breath.

You shouldn’t be doing this. Not here of all places. But there was something so sinfully satisfying about it, the danger only heightening the sensations. After all, the reward was only as great as the risk it took to earn it. And this was the highest risk you could take, short of literally throwing yourself at him. Besides, it wasn’t like your fantasies were ever going to come true. Maybe satisfying yourself - right here, right now – would be enough to finally give you the peace of mind you needed.

And dear God, did you need it. You could already feel the heat growing in your loins, the moisture dampening your panties. Your fingers finally brushed against the warm cotton fabric covering your sex and you let out a soft gasp.

What Chisaki didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. He was gone, right? And you were going to clean up any traces of your little visit before you left. He’d be none the wiser.

Your fingers slipped beneath your underwear to meet the hot, slick flesh of your folds, your clit already plump and ready with arousal. You knew it wouldn’t take you long to cum, but you wanted to enjoy this, to savor it as the only opportunity you’d get. You certainly weren’t going to do this again.

So, you teased yourself, fingertips softly dragging slow circles around your entrance before dipping in. A shaky moan left your lips, the quickening of your breaths matching the racing of your heart. In and out you dragged your fingers, relishing in your sleek, sensitive walls, occasionally breaking your rhythm to spread your juices over your swollen labia. You revisited your clit and stifled your moan with a bite of your lip as you began to slowly massage it with practiced skill. It felt so fucking good. The scent of yourself mingled with the scent of Chisaki, and you spread your legs wider, leaning back farther into the seat. You could feel the surge beginning to swell, and you knew it would be soon. Vivid fantasies danced on the inside of your eyelids, and you were fully enthralled, fingers skimming fast circles over your swollen bud as your other hand began to massage your breast through your blouse.

“Fuuuuuckk....Kai....” You moaned.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The familiar voice made you jump so hard, you nearly fell out of the chair as your eyes flew wide open.

There was Kai Chisaki, staring down at you from across the desk – his desk. And there were you, sitting in his chair, spread eagle.

Your breath was knocked out of you and you felt light-headed with panic. You caught sight of the shoji screen behind him, wide open to the evening air.

FUCK. Of course. You forgot to check outside. He must have stepped out for some fresh air before returning to his office.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. You hadn’t heard him enter. How long had he been standing there??

“I asked you a question.” The man seethed through his plague mask. His gloved hands were clenched into angry fists, and his eyes... eyes that you’d always craved to see you... well, they saw you now, and you were terrified.

Immediately, you closed your legs and stood up from his chair. Your mouth babbled soundlessly before your voice finally came, tight and small.

“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

“I didn’t ask for an apology.” He hissed.

“I know, I’m sorry.” You blubbered.

“Come. Here.” Chisaki demanded.

You obeyed, struggling to adjust your skirt as you approached him from around his desk.

“I didn’t tell you to touch your clothes.” His tone was quiet and constrained yet sharp as a razor’s edge, each word uttered with meticulous precision.

You stared at him in shock as you slowly removed your hands from your rumpled clothing. His eyes raked over you, top to bottom, and left you feeling... exposed.

“Look at you...” he grumbled. “Disgusting.”

His mask was unnerving, blocking the lower half of his face and keeping you from being able to fully read his facial expression. His gold eyes were threatening – predatory like a wolf.

He was going to kill you. You knew it was coming. He’d killed others for far less. But you weren’t ready for it. You didn’t want to die.

You dropped to your knees and bowed low in front of him, shrinking yourself to fit beneath his harsh glare. “Please, Mr. Chisaki-“

“Overhaul.”

“Overhaul!” you corrected, as you bowed your head lower to the ground. “Please forgive me. I meant no disrespect.”

“No disrespect?” he sneered. “You debase yourself in my seat, my place of business, and claim no disrespect??”

His left hand reached forward at lightning speed and grabbed you by your hair, forcing your head back until you were looking him straight up at him. You winced against his harsh hold on you, yet clenched your teeth in an effort to keep your silence. He glared down at you as his next words came out through what you could clearly hear as clenched teeth.

“Clean it up.”

With that, he shoved you away from him. On shaking, clumsy legs you pushed yourself to your feet and made your way back to his desk, your skin hot with shame and your ears ringing.

You did as he commanded, grabbing the cleaning solution and spraying his seat before carefully, meticulously, wiping every inch of the rich leather. Minutes passed in silence as you made sure that no spot went unnoticed, even ensuring that the table was once again cleaned as well. By the time you had finished, Kai’s temper seemed to have dwindled to a simmering flame. His hands were no longer clenched in fists at his sides. Instead, they were tucked deep into his pockets as he supervised you. It did little to comfort you though... you knew that Chisaki’s reflexes were faster than you could dodge. He’d catch you before you even reached the door.

Not that you’d try to. You knew better.

When the chair was finally pristine, you disposed of the last of the soiled paper towels in the wastebin and returned the cleaning solution to its home. The task was done, but you didn’t stop. You picked up the trash can with the intent of disposing of its contents; you knew Chisaki wouldn’t want it sitting in his office.

It was all to buy you time. Time to figure out what to say or what do to convince Chisaki to spare your life. But you didn’t even make it to the door before Chisaki’s voice halted your retreat.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I... I was just...” you stammered.

“I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

You swallowed and set down the trashcan. He approached you slowly, until he was a mere few inches from you. He was so close that you could smell his cleanliness and see the pupils of his eyes dilate as he stared at you. Slowly, he grabbed the mask that was covering your mouth and nose and removed it from your head. You stopped breathing.

There was something... electric in the air. You could feel it on your skin, making your hairs stand on end and your flesh tighten with goosebumps. His eyes peered at you intently, taking in every subtlety of your face. Your lips, your eyes, your skin... and beneath the weight of his stare, you could feel the fear start to transform, replaced by something else entirely. Something familiar that’d been plaguing you for months, lighting your veins with fire and threatening to incinerate you if it wasn’t released. After all, part of his allure was the danger. And he hadn’t killed you yet, which meant... something.

Chisaki’s gaze began to wander beyond just your face, taking in your still rumpled clothes. The top couple buttons of your blouse were undone, exposing the skin of your neck and the edges of your bra. Your skirt was still askew, and although he couldn’t see it, you became acutely aware of your still-damp underwear trapped between your folds from when you had hastily closed your legs earlier. You stared back at him, waiting for him to do something, say something.

And that’s when you noticed it... a faint flush across his pale cheeks, peaking out from beneath his mask. His chest was rising and falling with each breath, and it was as if he were contemplating something, silently weighing a decision in his closed-off mind.

A strange bubbling sensation began to build within your chest, foreign and oddly out of place.

Hope.

Finally, Chisaki spoke, his voice unusually calm considering the trouble you were in. “Follow me.”

Not one to disobey him, you did as he requested as he made his way over to his desk and sat down in his chair. Then, with an open hand, he gestured at his desk.

“Sit.”

Confusion.

“W-What??” you stuttered.

“I said sit.” He replied.

You did as Chisaki commanded, fitting yourself between his legs and his desk before hopping up slightly onto the surface you’d just cleaned. You were right in front of him now, your hands in your lap and your ankles crossed as you realized just how perfect this arrangement was for him to see directly up your skirt. You worried your lip between your teeth as you watched him assess you. His elbow was resting on the armrest of his chair, his fingers supporting his face along the jawline as he stared at you with his head cocked at an angle. If it were any other situation, you’d say he looked almost bored... but the glint in his eyes spoke of something else entirely.

“Continue.” He stated.

“What? What do you mean?” you asked.

His eyes stared at you knowingly. “You didn’t get to cum, did you?” You shook your head, stunned at his words. “Continue.” He repeated.

“Right here?”

“Where else? It was good enough for you earlier.” His tone dropped slightly as his eyes narrowed. “Continue.”

Your heart pounded in your ears as you uncrossed your ankles, and with shaky hands began to trace your fingers up your thighs just as you had done before. Except this time, the experience was entirely different. Instead of closing your eyes like before, you kept them open to stare at your observer, watching for his reaction. So many times you’d fantasized about this... about his eyes being on you and only you... and you weren’t going to miss a moment of it.

With your eyes locked on each other, you inched your way up to the space between your thighs, your legs parting to grant you access. Chisaki didn’t look down. Not right away, at least. Instead, he continued to watch your face, his body still and silent. With the heat of his gaze on you, you finally reached your center where your warmth greeted you. It was still slick from earlier, your fingers sliding easily along your labia as you began to tease yourself for the second time that evening. You let out slow, shaky breaths as your fingers rubbed slow, lazy circles over your glossy lips.

Chisaki still didn’t break his gaze from your eyes, and a part of you wanted him to. You wanted him to acknowledge what you were offering him and know that he liked it. A small, devious smirk found itself on your lips as you pulled your fingers away from your pussy to show him the evidence of your arousal stretched across your fingers. It caught his attention just briefly, eyes flicking to your display, before he watched you lick the glistening strands from your fingertips, the soft sounds of your sucking filling the empty, quiet room.

Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, and the smirk on your face widened. Soon your fingers were back between your legs, massaging your clit again as your skin began to feel flush with heat. Round and round the pads of your fingers went, with painstaking slowness that you drew out just for him. You wanted to show him how good his presence made you feel. You wanted him to see how badly you wanted him. Your lips became more swollen, your clit more sensitive. Already you could start to feel the tension build. It was almost too easy, your body ready to surrender at the drop of a hat. But you weren’t going to let it happen, not yet at least. You wanted to draw this out, to savor it in case it never happened again.

With half-lidded eyes you stared at him as you parted you folds for him, fully exposing yourself. For the first time, his eyes drifted from your face to stare directly at your desire for him – your tight hole open and waiting, every inch of your swollen cunt drenched in glistening arousal. Chisaki was captivated and you felt your blood surge. You needed more. With your fingers still spreading yourself open, you dipped your middle digit into your tight heat. Pleasure bloomed within you and a soft groan vibrated from the back of your throat. With each draw of your fingers, your breaths quickened, your back arching as the tension began to build.

You struggled to keep your eyes open, to watch Chisaki as you brought yourself closer to orgasm, but it became increasingly difficult. You were single-focused now, chasing your much-needed release with each plunge of your finger into your soft depths. Your body accommodated it welcomingly, and so you added a second, once again relishing in the renewed stretch that caressed your inner walls. The faster you pumped your fingers, the better it felt until your nerves were singing that familiar hum. You flowed seamlessly into the final phase, your wet fingers leaving your entrance in favor of rubbing hard, fast circles over your clit. The finish line was in sight now as your body sprinted with tense, aching muscles and breathy moans.

You came with a gasp, back arching and thighs twitching as you rode out your orgasm. As you neared the end of it, you dipped your fingers in one last time as your walls gave one last final spasm of pleasure. Gradually the wave of your euphoria calmed, returning to the gentle, lapping waters of desire that still moved within you to the rhythm of your heartbeat.

You opened your eyes to see Chisaki still staring at you silently, his eyes once again locked onto yours. The flush across his cheeks was very much apparent now, yet his posture remained unmoved. Still, out of curiosity, you dared a quick glance down to his lap to see his hand strategically placed over the bulge in his pants. Was he trying to hide it? Because he was failing. Or was he stroking himself through his clothes when you weren’t looking?

“Again.” He ordered.

Your eyes bulged. “Again?”

He didn’t bother to answer, instead waiting silently. You were a bird trapped in the golden cage of his eyes as your mind struggled to recover enough from the hazy aftereffects of your orgasm to think straight. He wanted you to do it again?

At first you were hesitant. You knew your body was still sensitive from what had just transpired. But then again… your eyes stared at Chisaki’s crotch again as he waited for you. No doubt he saw you staring, yet he did nothing, said nothing. It almost felt like an invitation… or a dare. Do it again and see what happens.

Fuck. You’d already gotten under his skin... might as well see how deep you could go.

Between your orgasm only moments before and the juices still coating your pussy, the sensations of your touch at first felt almost... numb. Except for your clit. That part was still sensitive, making your muscles twitch and your breath hitch in your throat as you moved your fingers over it experimentally. You kept your touch gentle at first, careful to give your body time to respond as you reawakened the lust that still lurked in your core. With dark eyes you began to stroke yourself for him again, pulling soft pleasurable moans from your gently parted lips. It was definitely more intense this time, and you could already tell that this next orgasm would surpass the one before it. Still, you drew it out as you watched Chisaki. Or, more specifically, watched his free hand.

It didn’t take long... you watched his fingers grip around his hard-on through his pants, his hand slowly moving up and down his restricted length. You bit your lip at the sight and immediately felt a generous wave of hot arousal bloom between your legs, your nipples hardening achingly. It wasn’t enough to capsize you into ecstasy, but it certainly pulled a needy whimper from your lips.

You dipped your fingers into yourself, feeling your walls flutter as you imagined what it would feel like to have Chisaki inside of you. With each curl of your fingers the heat grew, like the sun reaching its zenith. You wanted it. You wanted to cum so badly. But you wanted to see him even more. So, you neglected your puffy clit in favor of unbuttoning your blouse just enough to grant you access to your sensitive breasts. You pushed aside the cup of your bra to free the plump flesh, the bud at its center tightly puckered. With deft fingers you massaged the soft skin before rolling the nipple slowly between your fingers, pulling more soft gasps and gentle hums from your lips. The more you groaned and teased yourself, the more Chisaki stroked himself as he watched you, his eyes glowing with hunger.

It wasn’t until you began to lose yourself, your eyes beginning to drift closed as you moaned and whined to the ebb and flow of your pleasure, that your patience was finally rewarded.

You could hear it over the sounds of your lewdity – the ‘click click click’ of a zipper being pulled down. You opened your eyes, not even attempting to hide your eagerness, as Chisaki freed his cock from his pants.

It was beautiful just like the rest of him; long with a slight curve, its tip red and shining with precum. Veins stood out in relief, trailing his length like vines, thick and beautiful. You swallowed at the sight of it, desperately wanting to know what it would feel like to have that in you.

You hadn’t realized your own movements had frozen until Chisaki’s smooth voice cut through your thoughts.

“I didn’t tell you to stop.” He said, as cool and professional as ever as if he didn’t currently sit before you with his dick in his hand.

He was gloating, you knew it... your stunned silence at the sight of his cock stroked his ego just as much as you touching yourself for him did. And you knew that, above all else, Chisaki loved to have his ego stroked.

“Y-yes Mr. Chisaki...” you whispered, before your fingers began moving again.

You continued to stroke and play, penetrate and rub as you watched him take his long cock in his hand and begin long, steady strokes. Even now, he still kept his gloves on, and somehow that made his every move even hotter. He was no longer propping his face up with his other hand. Now, he was sitting up straight, eyes on your needy cunt as you put on your show for him. You could see it, the tension in his temple that came and went, hear the ragged, quick draws of his breaths through his mask. Your own arousal grew in response, egged on by him searching for his own sweet relief at the lewd sight of you. It blossomed like a watered seed as you drank in the man in front of you – his hand pumping, precum dripping.

It was the push your sensitive body needed. You came surprisingly fast, your orgasm crashing over your body with greater intensity than the first. Moans and gasps ripped from your throat as your body spasmed, and you made no effort to quell your cries, too consumed by your own pleasure. With eyes squeezed shut, your hips rocked as you grinded yourself against your hand, your entire body singing in unbridled bliss.

You were given no respite. As soon as the pleasure eased just enough for your hips to still, Chisaki spoke.

“Again.”

Your eyes, still closed, flew open to look at him with incredulity. You weren’t even recovered yet, your cunt still twitching with the aftershocks of pleasure. You knew that touching yourself without some sort of break was going to lead you down a jagged, torturous road of overstimulation. It made your legs start to close up instinctually in denial.

Your mouth moved silently before you pushed the words out. “B-But... I can’t....”

Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, his brows lowering... and along the edge of his mask, you could see his cheeks lift slightly. He was smirking at you. Cruelly.

“You can, and you will.” He said. A wave of his fingers told you to reopen your legs for him, and you did, slowly, as if you were a puppet on strings. “Again.” He repeated.

Chisaki took a moment to remove the glove from his stroking hand before giving his cock a couple more languid strokes. You stared at the exposed skin in awe. It was everything you imagined it’d be... pale, smooth, nails clean and perfectly trimmed. Between his hard cock and his ungloved hand, you stared in shameless longing as an excited chill coursed down your spine. Maybe… maybe if you were good…

You swallowed the dryness in your throat and returned your fingers to your core, flinching as you brushed against your sore, overstimulated clit. Chisaki returned to pleasuring himself as you performed for him, his hand pumping steadily. Watching him masturbate to you was delicious. He didn’t rush, instead opting to taking his time, his hand moving smoothly from base to tip, occasionally pausing to run his precum over the head, the shine glinting in the light. You subconsciously licked your lips, wondering what it would taste like. Would you lick it from his tip? Or his finger? Maybe both?

You matched your pace with his, letting his own strokes guide your hand. The synchrony made your pussy ache more than ever, even as your body screamed for freedom – a break from the constant wave of stimulation that you were subjecting yourself to. It made you feel closer to him, more connected - as if he were a part of your pleasure without actually touching you.

But dear God, you desperately you wanted him to touch you.

He continued his strokes, slow and easy. Whether it was for him or for you, you weren’t sure... you weren’t even sure if he was aware that you were pacing yourself with him. His speed gradually quickened, the muscles of his forearms tensed and twitching as he pumped his hard cock with growing fervor. It was the hottest thing you’d ever seen, his eyes starting to roll back in his head as he began to lose himself to the pleasure, legs twitching slightly as he came close... Your heart pounded with excited anticipation as you dipped your fingers into your core, feeling your walls flutter with need. It was happening... he was going to cum...

But he never did. Instead, his pace began to slow as his eyes refocused on you. That was when you realized….

Chisaki wasn’t trying to cum yet… he was edging himself.

Maybe he was waiting for you. Or maybe he had his own agenda. But either way, it was clear to you that he was delaying his orgasm.

The hypocrite.

Still, you wanted to please him. You wanted to give him want he wanted, because then maybe he could give you what you really wanted. But no matter how hard you tried, no matter how fucking hot the entire situation was, your own orgasm evaded you.

It was more than just the repeated orgasms and overstimulation. The real issue was that your fingers no longer satisfied. Not after seeing what he had to offer, and certainly not after seeing how horny you made him. You wanted him to touch you, to put his hands on you, to feel his cock in you... A frustrated whine escaped your lips as you felt your resolve break.

“Please, Mr. Chisaki...” you begged. Chisaki’s eyes left your open pussy to lock with yours. Their golden depths burned holes into you, and you licked your lips under the heat of his stare. “Please touch me...”

Chisaki froze mid-stroke. “Touch you?” He said it as if the idea repulsed him, yet his eyes betrayed him as he looked back down between your open legs.

“Please,” You begged. “Don’t you want to?”

His brow was deeply furrowed, and you knew he was having his internal debate, just as he’d had before. After all, what you were asking was no small order. You knew how he felt about touch. No doubt he would have already been balls deep in you had it not been an issue for him.

But that was why you begged. And pleaded. And groveled. Anything to make him set aside his golden rule, even if just for one night.

“Please...” you whined one last time. “I’ll do anything. I need you, Kai...”

Something about you using his given name did something. His eyes widened slightly, his flush reaching down to his exposed neck. Then his eyes narrowed, as he stood from his seat. You watched with a mix of excitement and trepidation as he carefully removed his jacket and loosened his white tie. He towered over you, his stare pinning you somewhere between his contempt and his hunger as he undid the cuffs of his black shirt and rolled up his sleeves to the elbows. It made your pussy throb and your heart pound as you stared back at him, completely vulnerable. He stepped forward slightly, filling the space between your legs with his presence. Even just the graze of his pants against the inside of your knee was enough to set off fireworks on your skin, causing your breath to hitch in your throat. His cock was still out and hard, mere inches from your tight, needy cunt, and it took every ounce of willpower not to scoot down and close the gap between you.

You waited.

“Touch you...” he muttered through his mask, his voice low.

Chisaki’s eyes raked over you, taking in every inch of you. Your trembling, parted lips and large pupils; your exposed breast with its perky, hard nipple; your swollen and glossy cunt framed in ruined underwear that was carelessly shoved aside; the sweat from your thighs coating his desk.

“So fucking filthy.” He breathed. The profanity sounded strange on his lips, almost more like a prayer than an insult.

He stared at one of your thighs as he slowly placed a warm, gloved hand on it. You reacted immediately, gasping at his touch, and his eyes darted to yours.

“...And needy.” He added.

From your peripheral you could see his other hand grip his cock and begin to pump it. You tried to watch... you wanted to watch. But the heat of his hand on your thigh made nearly everything else fade away until it was all you cared about. Your breaths began to come in hot pants as your body trembled beneath him.

“I didn’t realize that you were so desperate for me.” He said calmly as he continued to stroke himself. His gloved hand squeezed your soft flesh until you were moaning from the mixture of pleasure and pain. “Pathetic.”

You were pathetic. But you didn’t care. You’d say anything, do anything, just to have him keep touching you. And if he wanted you to beg? To cry? To humiliate yourself to earn his cock? You’d do that too.

His hand slowly eased its grip as it began to move up, up, up until his thumb nestled in the crook of your thigh, just shy of your sensitive, swollen folds. Your hand immediately made way for his as you laid down completely onto his desk, your world spinning. A warmth fell over you like a blanket, every fiber of your being pulsing at a low hum; you were a glass vibrating at a frequency just shy of shattering.

Chisaki’s voice floated through your haze like a faraway song carried on the wind. “You were so eager at first. So willing to shame yourself – shame me – to get what you wanted.” He scoffed. “Now you can’t even do as I say.”

You could feel his thigh twitch against yours as he began to pump himself faster. His cock was so close to your pussy that it was torturous. It made you want to cry. You could feel the warmth of fresh juices begin to flow from you, coating your entrance in invitation, as you prayed to all the gods above and below for him to enter you without mercy.

But it never came. And his hand never ventured further. Slowly, your thoughts trickled back ever so slightly, and you realized he was waiting for you to speak. Slowly, around a heavy tongue, you made clumsy words. “I... I’m sorry...I’m trying... is hard...”

Chisaki tsked. “You’re afraid. Afraid of pushing past your limits. So now I’m going to help you.”

His gloved thumb crossed the threshold to your swollen bud, and your world exploded into color as a sharp zing of pleasure erupted from between your legs. You cried out, your body spasming, hips writhing to escape his touch. It was too much...

“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

Then he did something you didn’t expect – his bare hand released his cock and slammed down onto the desk. The surface rippled beneath you, transforming until smooth arches of dark mahogany wrapped themselves over your arms, effectively pinning you down.

Your heart pounded wildly in your chest, your breaths coming out in quick, panicked gasps.

“Kai!” you protested.

He bent over you and grabbed your jaw in his gloved hand, his plague doctor mask inches from your face. “You wanted me to touch you,” he whispered. “Now you’re going to get what you asked for.”

The look in his eyes wasn’t as controlled as before. Sure, the disgust and hunger were still there. But there were more emotions now, peaking through the cracks of his practiced façade. Anger, contempt, fear, desire, longing... and something else; something wild and unhinged.

Something within him was on the verge of breaking, of being set free, and you were the one responsible.

He straightened himself up and returned his gloved hand to your sopping core, his cock once again in his bare hand. His thumb found its home again, nestled firmly against your engorged clit.

He wasn’t gentle, he wasn’t slow. Instead, his thumb ran swift, relentless circles, the digit igniting every frayed nerve. Each swipe had you crying out as wave after wave of sharp, jagged pleasure assaulted you, without so much as a second of recovery in between. And as Chisaki raced you towards that inevitable cliff, his own hand pumped himself hard and fast. His strokes began to become erratic, his composure slowly slipping as you began to unravel before him, your whines and cries luring him to follow you to the point of no return. You could feel his own legs began to spasm against your inner thighs, his hips beginning to jut forward with each drag of his palm along his hard shaft. The gap between your two bodies began to close, until you could feel the tip of him brush against your core. In that instant, you came undone beneath him with his name spilling from your drooling lips.

The temptation was too much. He entered you as you came, his cock burying itself within your clenching walls with a single thrust. Your legs wrapped around him instantly as your body exploded into a mess of tears, shrieks, and trembles. With one hand on your hip and one working your clit, he fucked you through your orgasm as you cried and panted, his own grunts joining your one-person symphony as you felt every fiber of your being shatter with white hot pleasure. It was all-consuming, disorienting. You weren’t even sure you were a person anymore. You could feel nothing else, see nothing else except the man inside of you, hovering over you, filling your existence.

It didn’t stop. Even after you were a blubbering mess, tears streaming down your cheeks, your thighs and cunt sore, Chisaki kept going, his cock reaching new depths as it dragged against your spasming, sensitive walls. His breaths were heavy, each pant labored until he ripped his mask off his face. It was like a switch had been flipped, changing Chisaki from a man in control to nearly animalistic. Teeth bared, sweat beading across his forehead, golden eyes absolutely feral. His thrusts took you past your orgasm, unrelenting, and you cried and babbled for him to stop, it was too much, your body couldn’t take anymore. But even as your string of incoherent words begged for the end, your body spoke of a different kind of freedom, your legs tightening around Chisaki’s waist in an effort to pull him impossibly deeper into you.

Chisaki snarled, releasing his hand from your cunt as he continued to fuck you, and removed his remaining glove with his teeth. Suddenly, the white fabric was being shoved into your mouth, gagging your broken words behind its white cotton that smelled and tasted of you.

“Shut up.” He growled.

You could see the hives breaking out across his damp, flushed skin now at the contact, but it no longer seemed to matter to him. And it didn’t matter to you either. You were wrapped up delirium, your eyes glossing over and rolling into your head with each drive of Chisaki’s hips. Your hips couldn’t even keep up with his thrusts anymore; his movements were too rough, too fast. All you could do was lay there and receive him as he pounded you without restraint. That familiar knot was forming again, a dark beast built from the broken pieces of the last. It was a terrifying thing, a formidable presence that you felt building within yourself that would surely decimate you.

“This is what you really wanted, isn’t it?” Chisaki grunted through clenched teeth. “You wanted me to fuck you senseless, to ruin this tight pussy of yours like the greedy, selfish bitch you are.”

His words washed over you and you gave the faintest of nods, your mouth still gagged.

“So, you’re going to take what I give you. You’re going to cum when I say, as often as I say.” His cock hit deep as his thumb gave a final press against your clit. “Now.”

You screamed around the cotton in your mouth, back arching and arms straining against the wood trapping you as the tension finally erupted. It tore through your veins, making your fluids gush and your pussy clench like a vice around Chisaki’s pumping cock. Not a moment later, you heard him groan followed by the hot sensation of his cum coating your walls. It only enhanced the waves of pleasure still wrecking you and your pussy milked him greedily as he emptied himself in you.

The comedown felt like it would never arrive. Your nerves still sang too loudly, the aches echoed too deep. But finally, Chisaki’s hips stuttered to a stop and your own body lay limp beneath him. It felt like you were submerged under water, every sense dulled or muted, as you stared hazily at the ceiling. Chisaki was still in you, his dick twitching sensitively each time your body gave a weak aftershock. You had thought he would pull out, leave you there like the ruined mess you were to go clean himself up. Now doubt he’d return to his senses any moment and be repulsed by what transpired.

But he never did. Instead, he braced himself over you, his heavy, hot breaths coating your exposed skin as he settled through his own comedown while you warmed his cock. You felt the desk ripple beneath you and suddenly your arms were freed from their restraints, the wooden surface back to its original state. A moment later, he filled your view as he leaned over you, and you had a brief moment of panic, wondering if you were next. Was he going to overhaul you now? After all, he got what he wanted...

But he never did that either. Instead, he removed the glove from your mouth as his eyes traced over your face, marking every feature, every nuance. Your parted, chapped lips... your glossy, sweat-stained skin... the exhaustion in your eyes... His thumb came up to wipe away at the tears drying along your cheekbones before running the smooth pad over your lower lip.

Then he did something you didn’t anticipate, something that surprised you above all else. He bent down and captured your mouth with his, his wet tongue gliding into your stunned, open mouth. It was strangely slow, uncharacteristically tender, and entirely unexpected. The fog you’d been swimming in a moment before lifted slightly, and you began to kiss him back, your arm wrapping up around his shoulders before tangling your fingers into his damp, auburn locks at the base of his neck.

Whatever it was, it was short-lived. He brought a hand up to grasp the hand you had around his neck, his fingers twining with yours as he placed your hand back down on the desk, pinning you within his hold. He pulled away from the kiss and stared down at you with a dark smirk tugging the corners of his wet lips. And his eyes... his eyes burned gold like the sun. Not a beautiful, gentle gold that kissed open delicate flowers and melted winter snow. No, this was a force of unrelenting destruction, the kind that burned deserts, scorched forests... and melted wax wings.

You were Icarus, fueled by foolishness and arrogance. You’d flown too close, fueled by a false sense of confidence that you could handle whatever it was that lurked within him, that your lust was enough to match his. But you were quickly learning you couldn’t. His fire burned too hot, his hunger too deep. He was going to devour you until there was nothing left. And really, what did you expect from a man who denied himself every human urge in his quest for perfection?

��The sun could never be controlled.

And Pandora’s box can never be closed.

Slowly, he lowered his face next to yours until you could feel his lips brush against the shell of your ear.

“Again.”

#overhaul x reader #Kai Chisaki x reader #overhaul smut #mha smut #bnha smut #tw:bondage #tw:masturbation #tw:degradation #tw:overstimulation #tw:aggression #bnharem collab

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mymarifae · 2 years

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people are theorizing about Dess being still around and trapped in the game files or otherwise just missing but... tbh I kinda wonder what we're gonna do if it turns out all of that was just a red herring and she really, truly IS dead :S

i won't say it's not possible at all, because... to be honest there's no real indication of what's going on in canon just yet. but a couple things:

- straight up i don't think boiling her down to a red herring would be fitting at all. of course, this isn't my story, but i think this would be a pretty poor direction to take it. i don't foresee any application of this that i would be happy with, and overall, i have faith in toby's writing, so.

- we don't know dess. but her absence is very palpable all the same. it takes skill and a lot effort to create a noticeable absence with a character that your readers/viewers/players/literally whatever have never met. which is why i strongly suspect there is something deeper to her disappearance. it feels more like there was a hiccup, a mistake - she was meant to be around, but she ended up somewhere the universe didn't intend for her to be. like, stumbling out of bounds and ending up in the script for the whole experiment, split across time and space like a certain doctor...

and to just kinda discuss the topic further:

it's a pretty damn safe bet that her disappearance has something to do with the bunker, and kris was with her. annnnd we're already in Millie's Insane Conclusions territory, because lately i've been wondering if dess is the one opening the fountain in that video that queen was obsessed with. i've always immediately thrown out the idea of it being kris, because i feel like that video is also the source of their fountain-opening knowledge. but what if they were the one behind the camera, recording?

i often see the idea that we're eventually going to have a fountain and a dark world inside the bunker. and like, yeah. but what if also there's already one in there? one that dess opened, and subsequently disappeared into? (where did she learn how to open fountains? listen. idk. inherent cool older sister knowledge or something) what if that's why the balance between light and dark is at jeopardy? two dark fountains is fine, especially if one is sealed within ~24 hours. but if there's a third, inaccessible one that's been left to fester and grow for years...

alternatively, throw my video idea out the fucking window. dess didn't open the bunker fountain, but maybe it's like. the oldest fountain. the Original. the one that connects all the dark worlds or something. and she just kinda stumbled across it somehow. maybe the bunker wasn't always locked. of course the first thing she's gonna do is rush to show it noelle and kris and asriel

and like - i'm stubborn. i'm very dead set on that possible parallel between dess and berdly in the snowgrave route. they both go Missing after a terrible, terrible snowstorm (but someone knows where they really are). so i've strung these two concepts together in a sort of mess of like.

one winter night, dess and her three bestie siblings sneak out. because she has something cool to show them. it's snowing. the closer they get to the bunker, the harder it starts to come down. but dess isn't concerned at all; they can just wait it out in the dark world. asriel is apprehensive, but he doesn't want to turn around and leave dess out in the snow alone. so he tugs little noelle and kris along and follows her. at the same time, one of their parents notices all four of them are missing, and a haphazard search party is sent out into what is now a blizzard

dess sprints ahead to the bunker, and asriel loses sight of her due to the snow. he yells at her to come back, and she yells no, it's just right here. noelle tears herself from asriel's grip and rushes in the direction of dess's voice. kris follows their best friend. asriel is screaming. again, low visibility because of how much snow there is. and the howling wind makes it sound like dess is calling from every direction. little noelle and kris also separate, but kris finds themself stumbling face first near the big doors of the bunker. they look up, they see dess's big fearless grin, and they watch her fall backwards through the open doors into an all-consuming darkness

they're cold and stiff, and shocked, and confused. they lay there in the snow for a long time, looking into the darkness, before finally, slowly, getting up. their feet are numb, but they take a few tentative steps towards the bunker, and before they can fall through, asgore's big warm paws scoop them up. he's yelling a lot. they feel too fuzzy to really understand what he's saying. it's all a blur - rudy appears, his nose glowing like a beacon and an equally frozen stiff noelle cradled in his arms, his voice hoarse from screaming dess's name; asriel is somewhere nearby, crying; they're teleported to the soft warmth of their home and wrapped up in so many blankets and frantic kisses and hugs from their mother; they're sleepy.

but they can distinctly remember dess falling into the ether, confident and excited.

of course asgore and rudy can't find her in the woods. asgore has to Pick Up rudy and forcibly drag him home and then block him from going back out there. freezing to death himself won't do her any good.

kris tries to explain. they try to tell the adults what they saw. it's written off as the confused frostbite dream of a young child. no matter how much they insist, no one takes them seriously. but they know what they saw, and their determination to make sense of it is what leads them down the path of occult studying and fountain-opening and time god possession. and later, someone goes by the bunker, briefly peers inside, and then locks the doors tight. yeah, it was a little dark in there, but it's a bunker. it's supposed to be dark, probably. but now dess can't leave.

so, if the bunker fountain works as a sort of connecting point to all the other dark worlds, she’s spent the last few years wandering through them, (and leaving behind small traces of herself...) looking for another way out. but you gotta have that rip in the fabric of reality in order to be able to freely travel between light and dark, and dark worlds exist in a very strange limbo state until a fountain is formed. they exist as we know and love them, but they’re also still just an abandoned classroom or an unused computer lab. so dess also has to contend with being in that same state of existence and nonexistence.

until recently, there just wasn’t any way out. but now fountains are being opened again. it’s just unfortunate that someone keeps closing them back up before she can make it through

#am i like even remotely close to being correct? oh absolutely not. but until the rest of deltarune comes out this is MY WORLD etc love and l #papyrus is the knight theories are dead to me. dess is the knight. whatever #no i'm not being serious i am pretty certain that kris is the one who opened the other fountains BUT #dess opening them from the inside in an attempt to fucking get out is a fun idea. if nothing else #mailbox #we make things up here. we have fun here

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swampgallows · 2 years

Text

The State of Things at blizzard aside, heroes of the storm has been a “dead game” for several years now. it’s blizzard’s answer to a genre spawned from within one of its own games—a MOBA, originally fan-created as a custom map titled “war of the ancients” in blizzard’s warcraft 3. unlike popular albeit more complex mobas, HotS has the advantage of being more user-accessible with no items, shared exp, simplified talent trees, and a character list populated by their world-renowned IPs. at blizzcon 2018 their first in-universe hero, Orphea, was announced, complete with a fully-animated hybrid 2d/3d cinematic trailer and potential for HotS to expand as a franchise with more original characters and lore. but shortly after, in december of 2018, blizzard discontinued HotS esports and content generation for the game slowed to a trickle; for instance, the most recent winter seasonal event lasted well into summer (24 weeks) and the event that followed eclipsed it at 29 weeks.

I mention all of this just to say that, as a result, a niche community has built up around those who still enjoy the game. while the “true” game lies in quick match, i mainly play vs AI as a way to chill out while listening to music or podcasts. i end up seeing the same names over and over again, and we start to recognize each other. HotS also has a perk of giving bonus xp if youre partied up with friends, so there’s incentive to add people and group up with them again in the future. compared to the splintering in world of warcraft, seeing my regulars during late night hots binges was a reprieve from my other depleted social circles and communities.

within the last few months i made a friend. J was planning to buy an exp boost and “dive hard” with me in the week between christmas and new years, but didn’t show. last week during exams J said one of the students had tested positive for covid, so i naturally feared the worst. tonight, i got a response:

[removed for privacy]

we will probably still keep in touch; this is more of just a reflection on, well, i suppose the aforementioned State of Things. i want to keep in mind our conversation that followed and let it inspire me to return to the things that i love, even if i’m not very good and i’m all alone. creating something, whether petty or pithy, is better than stagnating, floundering, wallowing.

i dont have a poetic end to this. just wondering how difficult it will be to remove all the shrapnel, and how long it will take to recover.

#blathering #ok to rb #hots #heroes of the storm

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0aurelion-sol0 · 3 years

Text

"There's no place like gnome."

Stranger Things 3: The Game.

Gnomes 1-10. 🧙‍♂️

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

It's no secret that the Duffers take a lot of inspirations from Pop Culture. From the most well known movies to the more obscure comics, they are always able to sneak a reference somewhere everytime. And they are also able to make it connected to the story.

I've bragged about how the Stranger Things expanded universe in media is one of the best out there compared to many others. I think that the Duffers, the writers or people in the highest places of the marketing are really paying attention to what comes out of the ST franchise because there is no way to have such content with so many details without someone looking into them.

And ST3: The Game is a very good example of that.

So let's start! The first 10 Gnomes out of 50 that you have to find in the game.

BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW!

"There's elements that could please those who makes metas/analyzes or theories. Especially things related to possible future plot points, easter eggs, references in previous seasons mainly season 3 like unsolved mysteries or unanswered questions and for future seasons such as season 4 like foreshadowing or teasers, trailers or as of lately the sneak peek."

If you have anything you'd like to add, might think I have missed or think it might be referencing something else don't hesitate to share it by commenting or reblogging.

(Say thanks to @hawkinsschoolcounselor for having helped me with some of them. )

_____________________________

Gnome #1: Johnny

"He's here... with an axe."

Overall plot:

"The film's central character is Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the isolated historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Wintering over with Jack are his wife, Wendy Torrance, and young son, Danny Torrance. Danny is gifted with "the shining", psychic abilities that enable him to see into the hotel's horrific past. The hotel cook, Dick Hallorann, also has this ability and is able to communicate with Danny telepathically. The hotel had a previous winter caretaker who went insane and killed his family and himself. After a winter storm leaves the Torrances snowbound, Jack's sanity deteriorates due to the influence of the supernatural forces that inhabit the hotel, placing his wife and son in danger."

So I assume a lot of you know The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. A movie which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Stephen King in 1977.

There's a lot of things that could have served as an inspiration for ST.

A boy/child who has psychic abilities = Eleven has psychic abilities such as telekinesis. Will has his True Sight which consist in seeing what the MF was seeing and feeling.

Now there's also the theme of family and parenthood that is also a big theme in Stranger Things. Especially abusive parenthood such as Brenner, Lonnie and even Hopper to a smaller degree.

In Shining, Jack tries to kill his family with an axe due to supernatural forces that are in the hotel but there's a difference between King and Kubrick. While King specifically said that Jack was heavily influenced by the Hotel, Kubrick shows that Jack always had that sinister violence in him even before they arrived at the hotel.

It's interesting to draw a parallel to Billy and Will, both characters called William who tried to kill their families and other people while being possessed. But Billy compared to Will was shown to have been abusive even before that. Dacre Montgomery also said that he was inspired by Jack Nicholson's performance in the Shining for his character Billy.

Joyce and Jonathan were shown to get ready to fight the monsters by taking an axe.

It's also interesting to note that Jack dies in the snow while a blizzard is happening outside the hotel. Much like the storm of the Mindflayer who is in the Upside Down, the same Mindflayer who "likes it cold". While in the book, the Overlook explodes and burn.

(Cold vs Fire much like everything Upside Down related not liking Fire.)

Also "Johnny" = "Jonathan", it's kind of similar and Jonathan did wield an axe before. Maybe this is teasing parts of Jonathan storyline next seasons ?

The gnome was also found in Mike's basement, Mike who wants to be a writer when he's older just like Jack.

Let's just hope that Jonathan and Mike don't get the same fate as Jack.

_____________________________

Gnome #2: Christine

"Two bright, beaming lights for eyes."

Overall plot:

"Written by Bill Phillips and based on Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same title, the movie follows the changes in the lives of Arnie Cunningham, an awkward and unpopular teenager, his friends, his family, and his teenage enemies in Rockbridge, California after Arnie buys a classic red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine, licence number CQB 241, a car that seems to have a jealous, possessive personality – and a mind of its own, which has a bad influence on Arnie. After working on a car in a junkyard owned by Will Darnell, Arnie drops his glasses, starts dressing like a 1950's greaser and develops an arrogant and paranoid personality. He than decides to invite and date the most beautiful girl in highschool, Leigh, who will soon become the next victim of Christine."

I was actually quite surprised by how this story parallels Stranger Things a lot.

First off, Christine is very much like The Mindflayer, a dangerous supernatural being set out to destroy anyone who is in her way, the people who tries to take the things that she thinks belongs to her or threatens her. This is very much relevant to The Mindflayer who after being hurt by the Fire created by the Hawkins Lab was upset and attacked everyone he could. Or as Will putted "Not me, everyone else."

This is very much like Christine who tried to kill Leigh because she was taking her place in the life of Arnie. Christine also tried to kill the bullies of Arnie who after a conflit with him, tried to destroy the car which angered Christine heavily.

The Mindflayer has been described someone who views himself as superior to other species and wants to conquer them, even if it's not his real "goal", the description fits anyone who is possessive and paranoid.

Both the MF and Christine are associated with the color red. Red storm = red color of the car.

Arnie ressembles Will and Billy alot. Will is an awkward and unpopular teenager who after being possessed by the Mindflayer became very different and more violent. Billy was shown to be paranoid, jealous, violent and his look even ressembles the one Arnie takes after repairing Christine.

Both of these boys have the same name as Will Darnell, the owner of a junkyard. Just like the boys in Season 1 who takes shelter in a junkyard, or in season 2 where they fight the Demodogs.

Billy dies, killed by the Mindflayer just like Arnie who was completely possessed by Christine who tried to kill Leigh and Dennis, his best friend after they tried to destroy the car when they realised the supernatural nature of it.

Billy's car ressembles a lot Christine with those lights on. Especially with shots like in the Void or at Starcourt during the night.

Chrissy, a new character that will be in season 4, the most popular girl in Hawkins High like Leigh, has a name that is the diminutive of Christine. It is said that under the perfect surface lies a dark secret. Much like the car Christine, while a beauty is actually a dangerous supernatural being. We'll see if the both of them actually connects in the show.

Also it is set in California where Billy and Max come from and has been rumored by many people due to set leaks (The Surfer Boy Pizza Van.) that it is where the Byers went. I won't get into it in this post but this could be a tease or hint of that IF the set leaks ARE true and not fake to mess with people and the fandom.

Arnie also dies in a car crash having been completely possessed by the evil powers of Christine which is something we see in the sneak peek of ST4. It also reminds of Carrie who has a bully named Chris who she kills in a car crash with her boyfriend Billy aka William.

So will someone die from that car crash ? Who is it ? Chrissy, Joyce, Lonnie ? We can only speculate.

The gnome is also found outside the Wheeler's house where Karen lives near the community pool where Billy works and where the car of Billy is located during the first few chapters of the game. Again, a "bad boy" hitting on the beautiful girl in town. (with a lot of creepy subtext all over it.)

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Gnome #3: Doc

"Always mumbling something about being late."

Overall plot:

"Set in 1985, in the town of Hill Valley, California, the story follows Marty McFly, a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Doctor Emmett "Doc" Brown. Trapped in the past, Marty inadvertently prevents his future parents' meeting—threatening his very existence—and is forced to reconcile the pair and somehow get back to the future."

So I don't think I need to explain why this is here given how much it has been shown and mentioned in season 3. But few things are interesting here, the fact that California is mentioned is a big deal for me again. I know you are aware of the set leaks just as I am aware, if we can trust them than this could be a hint of that location.

Next, we have the theme of Time. Now ever since ST4 was announced, clocks and times have been a key feature in the promotion. Who know what this might mean but again, we're not going to develop that in the post.

There is also the whole funny scenes of Robin realising that indeed Marty's mother had tried to "bang" her own son. Now given the nature of the shown, certain images in the show during certain events and certain stories, you know to what it connects and to which theories it connects. Won't develop further on it but it can be used as an element that can go into those theories.

The gnome is also found outside of Starcourt Mall where Robin and Steve talk about "Back to the Future". It is also where Billy has his "Back to te Future" moment with his car going extremely fast just like the DeLorean.

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Gnome #4: Indiana

"Master of Adventure."

Overall plot:

"After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by desperate villagers to find a mystical stone and rescue their children from a Thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritualistic human sacrifice in honor of the goddess, Kali."

Fun fact, on Twitter for ST3 promo, a parody poster of this same movie has been posted here of the official ST account.

Jim is obviously Indiana Jones, the look speaks for itself and when he is in the Tunnels in season 2, there's a lot of Indiana Jones imagery.

And of course Kali as 008, a Hindu goddess but as we will see here, it parallels more the Mindflayer.

In 1935, Indiana Jones survives a murder attempt by Lao Che, a crime boss in Shanghai who has hired him to retrieve the remains of Emperor Nurhaci. With his young orphaned Chinese sidekick, Short Round, and the nightclub singer, Willie Scott, in tow, Indy flees Shanghai on a cargo aircraft. While the three of them are asleep, the pilots (employed by Lao Che) dump the fuel and escape via parachute, leaving the plane to crash over the Himalayas. The three narrowly manage to survive by jumping out of the plane on an inflatable raft.

(I wonder if this could be something we see in season 4 with Hopper where he tries to escape on a plane and ends up crashing somewhere or is betrayed by someone who he asked the help of. Now it's a trio and in season 3, Jim, Joyce, Alexei and Murray are the main group that fits this trio. Jim for all the fighting and crazy shit, Joyce and Alexei are kind of like Short Round, they are the sidekicks of Hopper. Murray the role of Willie Scott since she speaks Chinese and him Russian and that Jim just like Indy finds annoying sometimes. Alexei is also kind of like Willie since he kinda goes along with them.

But if we also look at season 2, El is alot like Short Round since she is kind of an orphan too and has a father figure later on. It could also be Will since Hopper is with him a lot of times through season 2. Also Willie did felt out of her element like Alexei because of course he is Russian. Willie in itself doesn't have a lot in common with Joyce but still it's another connection to Will since she has a name close to the one of her sons. Something that does fit a bit more is Jim and Hopper both escaping death, of course Hopper at the end of season 3 but also during season 3 at the farm where he's being shot at by Gregori and than the car doesn't work and explodes and they have to make their way through the forest.

Willie Scott could also be referenced when El disguise herself as this pretty blonde girl in season 1.

Now however, Scoop Troops does fit certain parts of these trio. All the fighting with Steve like Indiana Jones but Robin got his brain because she cracked the code. Dustin and Erica are kinda like short round (especially Dustin who has kind of the same hat as short round.) and are referenced with all the others as children by Robin. Steve doesn't feel in his element like Willie with the three of them who are nerds just like Erica who also doesn't want to accept it. And Robin just like Willie speaks some languages.)

They ride down the mountain slopes and fall into a raging river, eventually arriving at the village of Mayapore in northern India. The villagers plead for their aid in retrieving the sacred stone (shivalinga) stolen from their shrine, along with their missing children, by evil forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. Indy agrees to do so, hypothesizing that the stone is one of the five Sankara stones given by the gods to help humanity fight evil. (It's kinda like Alexei who turns his back on the Russians, for his life of course and agrees to help Hopper close the gate to save Hawkins and their kids before monsters start to appear or may attack one of their kids. Now the stone could be something similar to the promethium or the two keys who opens the gate and is a highly valuable ressource. It also may be the Flayed who are needed to create the monster for the Mindflayer.)

The trio receive a warm welcome at Pankot Palace and are allowed to stay for the night as guests, attending a lavish, but revolting, banquet hosted by the young Maharajah. The officials rebuff Indy's theory that the Thuggee cult is responsible for their troubles. Later that night, Indy is attacked by an assassin. After Indy kills him, he discovers a series of tunnels hidden behind a statue and sets out to explore them, overcoming a number of booby-traps.

(This could be like when Hopper, Joyce and Murray disguised themselves as Russian soldiers but was than discovered by Grigori who attacks them.

The tunnels could be both groups discovering that there is a secret russian base underground and a gate which explains why there are monsters again in Hawkins but it also be the Source, Brimborn Steel Works, where the Mindflayer is lurking underground where he has cult-like followers who makes sacrifices for him to grow bigger and bigger.

It's also like the Tunnels in season 2 who explains why the soil of Hawkins seemed to literally rot. )

The trio reach an underground temple where the Thuggees worship Kali with human sacrifice. They discover that the Thuggees now possess three of the Sankara stones and have enslaved the children to search for the last two, hidden in the palace catacombs. As Indy tries to retrieve the stones, he, Willie, and Shorty are captured. Thuggee high priest Mola Ram forces Indy to drink a potion that puts him into a trance-like state in which he mindlessly serves the cult. (It's very much like Robin and Steve who after discovering the gate are catched by the Russians and than drugged to answer their questions. But also like the Flayed who drinks the chemicals and serves the Mindflayer like a mindless cult.)

Willie is prepared for sacrifice, while Shorty is put to work in the mines with the other children. Shorty escapes and returns to the temple, where he first frees Indy and, later, the Maharajah from the effects of the potion. Indy saves Willie and retrieves the stones. After freeing the children, Indy fights a hulking overseer and leaves him to be killed by a rock crusher. (Basically Dustin saves Steve and Robin. Willie being prepared for sacrifice is kind of like El prepared for sacrifice by Billy in 3x08 but also frees Billy from the effects of the Mindflayer by making him remember his mother, a pretty blonde woman like Willie and sacrifices himself. And Hopper fights Gregori, a "hulking overseer" and kills him.)

The trio escape from the temple, pursued by Thuggees, and barely escape Mola Ram's attempt to flood them out. They are again ambushed by Mola Ram and his henchmen on a rope bridge above a crocodile-infested river. Indy cuts the bridge, causing several of the henchmen to fall to the crocodiles and leaving the survivors to hang on for their lives. As Mola Ram and Indy struggle, Indy invokes the name of Shiva, causing the stones to glow red-hot and burn through Indy's satchel. Two of them fall out; Mola Ram tries to catch the third, but burns his hand and falls from the bridge and into the river, where he, too, is eaten by the crocodiles. (This can be connected to all the kids fighting in Hawkins with the Spider Monster. But the bridge could also fit for the key in the secret base where Hopper and Gregori fights. The gruesome death of Mola Ram is similar to the gruesome death that Gregori has.)

Indy catches the stone safely and climbs up just as a company of British Indian Army riflemen, sent by the Maharajah, arrive and open fire against the Thuggees to drive them away; the surviving Thuggees are soon cornered and arrested by more soldiers. Indy, Willie, and Shorty return safely to Mayapore with the stone and the missing children. (While it may end well in the movie, we know Billy and multiple people die, the Thuggees unlike the Russians have been captured while the Russians where all able to flee before the US Army arrives and Hopper is presumed dead. Only the children in both stories are alive but are probably traumatized for life.)

All in all we can see that this movie might have had a big influence on the plot of season 3 through many characters and more. It may have some hints about possible events for Hopper in season 4 or even beyond but that's about it for. It's a nice package of comparaisons and references though.

The gnome is found in the Hawkins Community Pool where Billy is. The same Billy who obeys mindlessly the Mindflayer and sacrifices people to it. Just like the Thuggees with Kali.

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Gnome #5: Chunk

"Posed in some odd dance maneuver."

Overall plot:

"In the film, a band of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves."

So first, let's get this out of the way, Sean Astin who play Bob Newby, our beloved who plays a character named Mikey.

The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.

I wonder if this might hint at some Season 4 plot right here. The Hawkins gang faces the threat of Hawkins becoming a literal ghost down and might need to find something to save it. Also Willy like William, again Will is still there.

The Goonies include optimist lead Goonie Mikey Walsh, his older brother Brandon, the inventive Data, the talkative Mouth, and the overweight klutz Chunk.

Rummaging through the Walshes' attic, they come across a 1632 doubloon and an old treasure map purporting to lead to the treasure of legendary pirate "One-Eyed Willy", believed to be located somewhere nearby. Mikey considers One-Eyed Willy to be the original Goonie. (It kinda reminds me of Mike who got mad at Max in season 2 and told her they didn't need another party member. And he mentionned Will first right after him.)

The kids overpower and bind Brandon and make their way to an abandoned restaurant on the coast that coincides with the map; Brandon soon follows alongside Andy, a cheerleader with a crush on him ( there has been cheerleaders that have been reported in season 4 such as Chrissy.); and Stef, Andy's friend. The group quickly discovers the derelict restaurant is a hideout of the Fratelli crime family: Francis, Jake, and their mother. (Maybe it is both a reference to the Russians in season 3 who have a hideout under the mall who have many restaurants. Or the Lab who OBVIOUSLY does a lot of illegal activities. )

The Goonies find a tunnel in the basement and follow it (like the tunnels made by the Mindflayer in season 2), but when Chunk flags down a motorist to go to the sheriff’s station, he gets abducted by the assailants and imprisoned with their hulking, deformed, younger brother Sloth. (This is obviously like Dustin who befriends Dart in season 2, a literal Demogorgon in the making.)

The Fratellis interrogate Chunk until he reveals where the Goonies have gone, and begin pursuit. Chunk is left behind with Sloth, but befriends him. After Sloth frees both of them, Chunk calls the sheriff, and both follow the trail of the Fratellis. (This is very reminiscent of Hopper in season 1 who gets interrogated by Lab agents or Steve and Robin by the Russians.)

The Goonies evade several deadly booby traps along the tunnels, while staying ahead of the Fratellis. Finally, they reach the grotto where Willy's pirate ship, the Inferno, is anchored. (Will also has a ship, the rainbow ship he drew for Joyce, also Inferno literally means Hell just like what Hawkins has been called.)

The group discovers the ship is filled with treasure, and they start filling their pockets, but Mikey warns them not to take any on a set of scales in front of Willy, considering that to be their tribute to him. As they leave the ship, the assailants appear and strip them of their loot. They start to bind the Goonies and make them walk the plank, until Chunk arrives with Sloth and distracts the assailants long enough for the Goonies to jump overboard and swim to safety. (It's the opposite of the season 2 finale, where Dustin has to distract Dart so that the other could pass through the tunnels.)

The Fratellis proceed to grab all the treasure they can, including those on Willy's scales; this triggers another booby trap that causes the grotto to cave in. With Sloth's help, the Goonies and Fratellis barely escape.

The two groups emerge on Astoria's beach, where they reunite with the Goonies' families and the police. The Fratellis are arrested, but Chunk prevents Sloth from also being taken; he invites Sloth to live with him, which Sloth accepts. ("Unfortunately", Dart compared to Sloth probably died.)

As the kids describe their adventure to their parents, the Walshes' housekeeper, Rosalita, discovers that Mikey's marble bag is filled with gems he took from the ship and had not been seized by the Fratellis. Mikey's father triumphantly rips up the foreclosure papers, declaring they have enough money to negate the foreclosure. As the Goonies celebrate, they see the Inferno, having broken free of the grotto, sailing off on its own in the distance. (Could it be hinting at a possible happy ending for Stranger Things ?)

So Fratellis, is similar to fratello which means "brother, fellow, neighbor" which perhaps could be a reference to the Mindflayer who is kind of our neighbor since he is basically in the same places but in the Upside Down. The Mindflayer also has been paralleled to Billy and other abusive father figures. Billy who is the brother of Max. He has also been paralleled to Kali through his anger and him attacking people who hurted him or might hurt him. Could in itself The Mindflayer should be taken or seen as some sort of family figure ? Maybe him being always associated with Will The Wise especially in 2x04 or someone who has the name Will like Billy is a connection. The same Billy who also parallels Russians who just like the Fratellis have secret hideouts.

Though the Fratellis are more motivated by greed which fits Brenner, Lonnie (who tried to use his son's death to gain money.) or Russians most.

Now Willy, Willy is a captain. Maybe it could be hinting at the fact that Will has more importance to the story than we think. There's also Inferno, "Hell" which is Hawkins but also the name of the ship. And Will has a rainbow ship... Could Hawkins be the ship of Will where his adventures are taking place ?

As for the dance... well as you've seen upper in the post: it's the "Truffle Shuffle Dance". It's something that Chunk has to do before entering Mikey's house. It's similar to what Dustin do at the beginning of season 1 to the bullies when he makes his bones crack due to his medical condition, cleidocranial dysplasia.

As for where this gnome is located, it's in Weathertop where Cerebro is located which is fitting since Dustin has a lot of Goonies as inspiration for his character.

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Gnome #6: Elvis

"He's not dead!"

"Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy." - Wikipedia.

It is a lot known that people in the 80's thought that Elvis Presley was still alive due to his status and the aura he had as a celebrity. However, no matter how appealing this myth may be, he died of an excessive usage of prescription drugs which reminds me of Nancy who said she thought Tom was on drugs when he fired her and Jonathan while he an the Flayed were drinking chemicals. He also died in 1977, the same year "Heroes" by David Bowie came out which is a song that was used two times when we thought a character died when he was actually alive which are Will and Hopper. Will and Hopper both have a lot of rock in their Spotify playlist.

Also, I personally think that Steve has kind of an Elvis Presley aura to him especially in season 1. After all, Steve has a nickname "King Steve" and Elvis Presley is often nicknamed "The King" and both were popular with girls.

Fun fact: Dacre Montgomery who plays Billy who literally becomes the new "King" of Hawkins will play in the biographical music drama "Elvis" about Elvis Presley where he will play a character called "Steve Binder".

Also actor David Harbour also got married with singer Lily Allen by Elvis in Las Vegas.

It's also found hidden behind bushes near the Public Library. Maybe indicating that Elvis is still out there in the world and hiding.

Which also may be a reference to Brenner who has a similar haircut but also about the novel "Suspicious Minds", a prequel of ST taking place in the Lab when Brenner was doing his sinister experiments which is the same title as one of the songs of Elvis. Like Elvis, Brenner is still out there, hiding in Hawkins.

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Gnome #7: Jack

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull gnome."

Again another reference to Shining. So what you are seeing here is a proverb, it means: "It means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring."

In Shining, it represents Jack's slow descent into madness. But it could be a reference to Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy who all work their asses off and don't take a lot of time for themselves and so don't have the time to explore anything else than work which also cause for them not to be there when Will got kidnapped. It may also represent Jonathan's words to Nancy in season 1 where he "called out" the boring life she will have and that she will live like her parents so in this case the proverb becomes about societal norms.

Mike just like Jack is an aspiring writer, Mike just like other members of his family falls into these societal norms that are expected like work and overworking in this instance which makes them boring in the eyes of people like Jonathan. "No play" may also reference D&D which Mike started to ignore in season 3 and worried more pointless and superficial things.

Again, hope it doesn't foreshadow anything for these two characters.

This gnome is found in the Library which is fitting considering Jack wants to be a writer.

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Gnome #8: Flynn (Flynn Rider from "Tangled" (2010))

"Looks like he rides well."

Overall plot of Tangled (2010):

"The film tells the story of Rapunzel, a lost, young princess with magical long blonde hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower. Against her abusive foster mother's wishes who kidnappee her when she was young, she accepts the aid of an intruder to take her out into the world which she has never seen."

This story is literally what the boys was arguing about at the end of season 1.

1)The lost knight...

Flynn Rider is actually the son of a king and queen that were from a kingdom that got destroyed by a powerful opal. He was evacuated and placed in an orphanage. He made his reputation as thief.

So Mike and El both parallels this guy, well Mike is a palladin in D&D and he is the son of a wealthy family so he is basically a night. El however also lost her parents like him and has more attributes of a knight in season 1 than Mike.

Flynn is arrogant, which Mike can be a bit sometimes but the both of them can be extremely courageous and care a lot about the people they care about though they are not very strong, nor athletic. Maybe Flynn a bit more.

Also fun coincidence Flynn = Finn, the name of the actor who plays Mike. (almost the same name).

Both him and El run into each other in the woods. Just like Flynn who discover Rapunzel while trying to enter Rapunzel's tower but is knocked out by her who is none other than the...

2)The proud princess...

Well first Rapunzel = Eleven. Both of these girls have magical powers and are used by an abusive and evil parental figure who needs them for their own interest, Mother Gothel used the powers of Rapunzel to stay young forever (like an addiction, a drug) and Martin Brenner aka "Papa". They are both locked away somewhere. El in the lab and Rapunzel in the tower which they both seeked to escape out of. Both believed that these parental figures loved them while it was not true. El also has long blond hair in season 1 like Rapunzel. And both quickly form a relationship with a boy they just met. Both don't know who their real parents are and wants to find them. While Rapunzel has long blonde hair, El had a shaved head.

Also in season 2, El is locked in a cabin in the woods because of Hopper because he believe it is not safe out there which is exactly what Mother Gothel tells Rapunzel. Just like her El disobeys and seeks to discover who her true parents are.

Rapunzel seeks to know what are those floating lights that always appear on her birthday, it is actually her parents who are the king and queen of a kingdom not so far away that do that every year hoping one day she will come back to her. She is a "lost princess". It is very similar to Terry Ives who was communicating through the lights to El.

Rapunzel's power comes out of something that is also connected to something famous in ST.

3) Weird flowers in the cave...

Rapunzel's power come from a flower called "Sundrop flower". = Sunflower which is said by Terry Ives.

This flower can pretty much heal anything including mortal wounds. The Queen got pregnant with Rapunzel but was also terribly sick so she took this flower to heal herself and while doing so, Rapunzel got this ability.

This is very reminiscent of Terry Ives who was pregnant with El and took part in the MKUltra experiences that gave her these powers including certain drugs. She is also "ill" in a way as she is now stuck in a loop. At least from what we saw.

But Rapunzel also parallels another character.

Will Byers. Will could communicate through lights to his mother, just like the parents of Rapunzel and Terry Ives.

The weird flowers could be referencing the sort of vines that entered inside of him in the Upside Down which gave him his "now-memories".

Both had abusive parental figure that would lock them somewhere for whatever reason. (Lonnie with Will in his trunk.)

(Also Hopper may have tried to separate Mike and El but he wasn't like what a Lonnie or Brenner would have been. This is why yes, the situation in season 2 parallels but Hopper truly wished good for El while Brenner and Mother Gothel didn't care for any of these two.)

Same is for Lonnie, he doesn't care about Will.

Since Will is a cleric, both him and Rapunzel have the same time of power. Powers that El doesn't have:

To heal the sick and injured

To revive the dead

To work as a shield

Given this story, it may hint at the fact that Brenner and Lonnie may try to take El and Will for their own greed and purposes.

Since Rapunzel parallels both Will and El, you know what that means for Flynn who parallels Mike.

Flynn in the movie is stabbed by Mother Gothel and dies before cutting the hair of Rapunzel killing Mother Gothel in the process. Rapunzel mourns him and one of his tears heal him.

If Flynn parallels Mike, than something bad could happen to him. If Will does have powers and has feelings for Mike, a supposed death may reveal his powers.

And if he has the same powers as his cleric role, than he could heal those who get hurt or even bring the dead back to life.

If Lonnie sees Mike around Will, given he is homophobic. He may try to hurt him so that he doesn't go near Will again which could lead to him being in grave danger.

Of course all of that is just speculation.

This gnome was found on the parking lot of Starcourt where El decided to break up with Mike and we saw Will smiling in the background.

Also I don't know but... "Looks like he rides well", I mean there's certain undertones to that which are... I don't know how to process that but from what you've just read, Mike apparently rides well. I mean I have nothing against gay sex jokes but still...

Even if it's unintentional, it's how it'll sound on the internet.

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Gnome #9: David

"At 399, he's the oldest gnome around."

So this gnome was already in the first ST official mobile game. And this reminds me a lot of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit but also and of course; Dungeons & Dragons.

The World of David the Gnome, originally titled David, el Gnomo (also known as David, the Gnome), is a Spanish animated television series based on the children's book The Secret Book of Gnomes, by the Dutch author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet. The series was originally created in Spain by BRB Internacional (who were also responsible for the Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds franchise (Like Dart in season 2 and Mike, Lucas and Dustin where very much like the Three Musketeers in season 1.) and other cartoons such as Bobobobs and Around the World with Willy Fog)

The series presents the gnomes as a kind species, of 15 centimetres (6 inches) of height, and between 250 and 300 grams (8 and 10 ounces) of weight depending on gnome body mass. According to their habitat, different types of gnomes are distinguished: the ones of the forest, the ones of the garden, the ones of the farm, the ones of the house, the ones of the dunes, those of Siberia (David = David Harbour = Hopper = Hopper is in Russia), and nomadic "gypsy" gnomes (commonly looked down upon by other gnomes). A gnome's lifespan is usually 400 years, though there is one example of a couple in the Balkans living 550 years.

Gnomes such as the main characters live in pairs in comfortable caves or holes under trees [kinda like Hobbits] (in their case in the company of a pair of mice and a cricket). Their diet is mostly vegetarian. They are helped by the animals of the forest (kinda like Radagast who is the password to Castle Byers who is located in the woods) when travelling long distances or when they need to arrive quickly at a specific location. Gnomes work in various ways to repair the damage inevitably caused by humans. They also have the power of telepathy and mind control. (kinda like El or the Mindflayer, or even Galadriel in The Lord Of The Rings.)

Their main enemies are the trolls, malevolent and clumsy creatures who always make trouble for the other inhabitants of the forest, as well as gnome poachers. They have supernatural powers that are really strong but they have a weakness, if the sunlight gets on them, they turn to stone.(could be referencing all the Upside Down creatures who don't like sunlight and everything hot.) [Also very much like the Hobbit.] Also one of the trolls was voiced by someone who had the name Henderson, like Dustin Henderson. I also think it references a comic where some bullies attack Will and Mike calls them trolls.

Here are the most important characters:

David is a gnome of the forest. David is 399 years old, making him the oldest gnome around (since gnomes live no more than 400 years exactly, except Franklin, the gnome from the west, who lived 550 years), although he possesses exceptional constitution. David is a doctor, and he uses his knowledge of many fields, such as hypnosis and acupuncture, to heal his patients, usually animals, such as his faithful friend Swift the fox, or other gnomes. David also befriends a bird that, when he whistles, immediately arrives to quickly transport him to wherever necessary. For longer trips, he sometimes travels in a basket attached to the neck of the bird. (It may be a reference to clerics who are known to heal their allies and travelling with birds reminds me of Gandald who sometimes has the help of Eagles in some stories.)

Paul is David's twin brother. Not only does Paul have a normal moustache in contrast to David's handlebar moustache but his jumper is a darker shade of blue, he has a bigger nose, his gnome hat is dark blue whereas David's is red, and his trousers and boots are an inverse of David's: David's trousers are brown and his boots are beige, while Paul wears beige trousers and dark boots. (Of course this is a reference to Will and El who have been compared a lot of times throughout the show and who a lot of people in the fandom consider them siblings and twins, Will has a lot of Red in his wardrobe while El has a lot of blue.)

This gnome was found in a secret Russian base underground in Weathertop where Dustin discovers the Russian transmission coming from their main base located under the mall like a cave (like where gnome lives.). There are also gnomes in Siberia and having the name David, the name of Hopper's actor creates a connection since right now Hopper is in Russia. It may also be a nod to the group of kids who are all little gnomes running around the forest with their magical powers.

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Gnome #10: Baskin

"Robin's favorite gnome."

Now this is a funny one.

This is a reference to the famous Baskin-Robbins which is a chain of ice cream restaurants that did special ice creams for Season 3 because of Scoops Ahoy. It is Robin's favorite gnome because they literally share the same name.

Baskin could also be a reference to the film of the same name where Five police officers, Remzi, Arda, Yavuz, Apo, and Seyfi, are dining at a restaurant, during which they have a discussion. Their meal is interrupted when they receive a distress call from Inceagac, a town known for being the focus of strange rumors. During the trip Seyfi has a terrifying vision of a bloody figure and accidentally drives their van into the water. Stranded, the officers eventually make their way to Inceagac, where they find themselves in an abandoned building (back in the Ottoman days, this used to be a police station), captured by cult members and are subjected to a number of increasingly bizarre and surreal scenarios. In the end, they realize they have all inadvertently wandered into Hell.

It has alot of similiraties with stories like Silent Hills or Hellraiser, two stories that inspired Stranger Things especially Hellraiser for Stranger Things 4. And it fully embraces the satanic imagery and themes which is something we are going to see with the satanic panic and also has the theme of time, dreams and visions.

We'll see how much season 4 decides to use those sort of elements in the show.

Well this gnome is easy to find. It's in the Scoops Ahoy parlor next to Robin. USS Butterscotch seems to be very popular there

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Gnomes 11 - 20 coming soon.

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forcefully-awoken · 3 years

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this was requested by @waitforitillwritemywayout for my 1k event!

tamaki x reader

cw for alcohol consumption

tamaki comes over one night, drinks are poured, and so are feelings.

Drunk words are sober thoughts!

The phrase comes to you unbidden as you watch Tamaki take another shot, color rushing to his cheeks immediately after. You would have thought your best friend would be red all over but it’s only the apples of his cheeks that are, bright and glowing. He passes you one and you shoot back the bright pink liquid without a second thought. It burns down your throat, leaving a cloyingly sweet aftertaste.

“Let’s play a game!” Tamaki grabs your hand, drawing a blush to your own face that has nothing to do with alcohol. You withdraw your hand, not noticing the frown that flickers over his face for a split second, too busy adjusting yourself on his couch so your knees are no longer touching. There’s a smile on his face when you finally look back up at him.

“Okay, but you pick!” The alcohol hasn’t slurred your speech but it’s certainly affected your mind. You feel loose, your judgement impaired in the softest of ways. All you can do is trace Tamaki’s face, about to get lost in his eyes when-

“What about truth or dare?” If you were in a clearer state of mind you would decline his offer, too worried about the things that might slip out of your mouth without you realizing but right now? It sounds like harmless fun, any consequences are far from your mind. You nod a bit too enthusiastically, and you swear you can feel your brain rattle around in your skull.

“Pick, truth or dare,” You have no idea what you’ll ask him, so sure your shy friend will pick truth.

“Dare me, darling,” The pet name reaches your brain before anything else, hitching your breath before you realize what he’s asked. You didn’t have a dare planned either, and now you can’t quite think, and so you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.

“I dare you to.. call your crush and ask them out!” You blurt out the dare and immediately the air leaves the room. You have no idea what would possess you to say this. To watch the man you have a crush on call someone else and ask them out? You think you might die, right there on Tamaki’s couch, and then he would have to explain to the police why you were dead on his couch, and that would be a whole thing-

“I… don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tamaki says, cutting off your anxious train of thought. His voice sounds incredibly sober now, and his eyes are trained on a spot on the floor in front of him. You’re not sure why the request is affecting him so much in this way but guilt crawls up your gut, and spills out of your mouth.

“I’m so sorry, it was an infantile dare, I can’t believe I asked it,” Your words are slurred as you try to rush out your apology, desperate in your need to make him understand, to bring the smile back to his face as quickly as possible. He still won’t look at you even as you continue on, “Obviously you don’t have to call Mirio I’m sure he’s on patrol now anyways.”

“What?” Tamaki’s head snaps towards you so fast you’re sure he has whiplash now, but there’s only confusion written on his face as he slowly asks, “You think I have a crush on Mirio?”

“Yes? I thought it was obvious,” When Tamaki says nothing you continue on, “I see the way you two are with each other. You call him the sun. And your hero name is Suneater. Which is, like, very scandalous if you think about it too much.”

“Please stop talking.” Tamaki has his head in his hands now, and you decide, in your drunken state, that patting him on the back is the best way to console him. That is, until your hand is about halfway through the motion and his own hand reaches up to grab your wrist.

“I don’t have a crush on Mirio,” His voice is strangled in embarrassment, his eyes finally meeting yours. He looks down to where his hand holds onto your wrist, his fingers wrapped around it completely, holding onto you gently. “I have a crush on you.”

The confession falls between the two of you as soft as the first snow of winter. You don’t speak, scared that it will melt away just as fast, scared that the moment will shatter and you’ll be left with nothing but ice. Your eyes finally meet his, and now you do get lost in them, different scenarios playing out, all of them with him right by your side.

“Well, that’s a coincidence,” You start, breaking off to bite your lip. The liquid courage is fading fast and you want to get the words out before the night ends. “I have a crush on you too.”

It’s a blizzard when he kisses you. He’s got you pressed against the couch, and you can feel Tamaki everywhere. His arms hold you tightly, like he’s afraid you might run, and in response your hands tangle into his hair to hold him just as tight. You can feel years of repressed emotion in his lips, in the desperation of them. He doesn’t let you breathe, breaking away from the kiss to press his lips to your neck, to your collarbone, his body shaking as he takes you in.

“Maybe, oh!” You break off again with a whine when his fingers start to inch their way up your shirt, “Maybe we should talk about this?”

“We can talk after,” Tamaki says, stressing the last word but his fingers stop their crawl, “What do we need to talk about right now?”

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” You whisper out, and his face is right in front of yours again, as serious as sin. One of his hands comes up to cup your cheek, pressing his forehead to yours. He feels impossibly close now, as if he’s trying to absorb you, to use his quirk to become you.

“I do.”

You don’t talk much for the rest of the night, after that.

#cw alcohol consumption #tamaki amajiki #tamaki x reader #tamaki fluff #tamaki amajiki x reader #bnha fic

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whorphydice · 3 years

Text

Change

Welcome to the renaissance, have a fic.

Real talk, this is not in one of my major AUs because I wanted to do something general at first. So, here you go, some Orphydice.

More coming soon.

One, Two, Three, Four

Tomato, Tomato, Peach, Tomato

It should be enough, it has to be enough. That’s what she repeats to herself, as she stacks jar after jar. Recounting after recounting, time after time.

“We have enough.” She repeats her mantra, out loud this time, as she replaces the

final glass jar into the cabinet. “We have to have enough, it has to be enough.”

It’s an endless game, an endless worry.

Eurydice grips her well patched sweater tighter, pulling it closer around her small frame. The end of summer breeze catches her dark hair, brushing it back over her shoulders where it just meets the top of her shoulder blades. She lets out a heavy sigh as her dark eyes scan the shelves again. The shelves are nearly as full of supply as her eyes are with worry. “We have enough.”

“We do.” The gentle voice comes from behind her at the same time long arms wrap around her waist, coming to rest on the slight curve at her hips. His face presses into the curve of her neck, breathing in the scent of her. “It’s not like it was, the weather is kinder.”

It was not the weather itself that was kinder, but rather the gods who controlled the fate of seasons were at ease, and at ease because of Orpheus himself.

“But what if it isn’t” It comes out as a whisper, rather than the confident tone she intended, relaying her lack of confidence.She freezes for a second, worried that he will take this to mean she doesn’t believe in him. “What if they change their minds.” It was never about Orpheus, no. She had more faith in the poet who changed the world than in anything else, but Gods, Gods were fickle. Gods were cruel. It wouldn’t take her by surprise, to wake to a storm so fierce it shatters the remnants of their already cracked windows. It wouldn’t take her by surprise, to see they had fallen into displeasure with each other once more. It wouldn’t take her by surprise, if they left the mortal world to suffer the consequences.

“Then we change them back.” It’s a simple statement, and she can hear the smile in his voice as he says it, can feel the way his cheeks lift into the smile against her neck.

“I’m serious, Orpheus.” Eurydice turns in his arms, her hands rest on his forearms as they fall from her waist. “What if things are exactly the way there were before, what if midway through winter we’re choosing between food or firewood, what if-“

“We won’t have to, Eurydice, look at me-“ He cradles her cheeks in his hands, gingerly tipping her face so that while they were not eye level, they could look into the eyes of the other. “It could be the worst storm in our lives, it could be the worst winter you’ve ever seen, and Eurydice I will never let you go without. Not again. We will have enough, Eurydice, because you are enough. And as long as I’ve got that.. I’ll find food. We can cut down half a forest for firewood. As long as I have you.. I can find the rest.”

Eurydice squeezes her eyes shut and can only nod, afraid her voice and tears would betray her, afraid they would reveal the very real fear that consumes her any time the wind blows. Instead, she leans in to bury her face against his chest, the comforting feeling of his hand brushing over her hair steadying the pounding she feels in her chest. If he can feel the warmness of her tears against his shirt he is kind enough not to mention it. Fear is not something she wants to admit to feeling.

Nothing changes after all. The phrase, it haunts Eurydice, even as Orpheus shows more than ever his capability to listen to her needs. Even when Orpheus shows day in and day out that he is trying, when he promises that he will always listen to what she needs. Even when the pantry is stocked at the woodpile grows, even when she can see the change in the way the weather shifts gradually and gently season to season… change is unpredictable.

“We can fix the windows.” He offers, breaking her from her reverie. His hand runs over her arm as he looks around their tiny home, carefully observing any deficiency.

She sniffles, leaning back to look up at him. “What? The windows?” She cocks her head as she catches the window in her view. The cracks are enough that water can trickle down their wall during the heavier summer storms, but not so much so that autumn leaves could pile at their bedroom floor.

“We can patch them. Keep the cold out. And I can start patching up the blankets- oh! Wait right here.” He slips away with a smile on his face, crossing the short distance across the length of their studio home to the chest at the foot of their mattress. He pushes the quilted blankets that rest on top of it aside, so that he can dig deep inside of it. Orpheus reaches the bottom, hands wrapped around a well worn, torn wool jacket that had once kept Eurydice warm on the most bitter winter nights. It’s seen better days, but as he approaches her with it stretched out in front of him, recognition fills her face as her deep eyes widen in a mix of shock and disbelief.

“Is that- where did you find that?” She grips the fabric with one hand, pulling it against her chest in awe. “The fates they took it from me, when they took our things in the bag-“

“I never did find the bag.” He admits, a red tint filling his cheeks gradually. “But I had found it.. before Mr. Hermes told me how to find you. I kept it, for when I got you home..” He fiddles with his suspenders, almost nervously, as he recounts to her his decision to keep something that had once belonged to her. “And I had lost you, but I knew, when I got you back… I couldn’t not keep something that had once been yours.”

She hears the words he says, though she is so distracted by the gesture that the words are nearly lost on her. This jacket, as worn and torn as it was, had kept her alive. It had been her blanket during a sleet storm when she slept under a bridge. A pillow, when her only mattress was the cold concrete of an alleyway street. It may not look like much, but to Eurydice, it had been her lifeline. She flips it in her arms to run over the buttons, and when she goes to touch the empty spot where the first button had fallen off in a blizzard years prior, she is treated by a little silver button secured with red string in an X shape over the center of the attachment. This wasn’t her work. Neither was the patch she now recognized on the sleeve of the jacket, covering a whole she could recall in her struggle against fate, sewn on with the same red yarn-like thread. “I didn’t- this isn’t-“

“Oh I um… I fixed it. I hope that’s okay… I just didn’t want you to get it back and for it to be too-“ He is cut off when he is tugged by a suspender to her level and her lips catch his in a deliberate, but intense kiss. When she pulls away from him, his cheeks are now substantially pink, but for the first time that afternoon a smile graces her face.

“Thank you, Orpheus. I never thought- thank you.” He had promised to keep her warm, after all. Eurydice knew that no, this old wool coat was not going to put food on their table. It was not going to fuel a fire when a winter storm raged on outside their door. It was not going to bring a paycheck home. Yet, this jacket, stolen from her by fate, was hope. Maybe things could change, after all.

#hadestown #hadestown au #hadestown fic #orphydice #orpheus and eurydice #orphydice fic

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sparkkeyper · 4 years

Text

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Word Count: 3,797

Warnings: None

Summary: Old habits die hard. Crowley and Aziraphale’s habits are very, very old. Building their own side is difficult when 6000 years of instincts won’t shut up.

(Originally very loosely-based on the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" but then it kind of did its own thing, haha. I was originally going to post this for Advent Omens but uhhh you can see that didn’t quite happen. Written as ace but you can read it however you want, really. Guess what fools, it’s Soft Boi hours again!)

(Now on AO3!)

-----------

The snow had started early in the day. When Aziraphale arrived at the Mayfair flat it was just a dusting. But the flurry had become a proper snowfall, and then quickly decided 'go big or go home' and transitioned into a flat-out storm.

This didn't phase the two immortals in the slightest, of course. If anything, the swirling flakes outside made it feel even cozier inside. Crowley's sleek, minimalist flat had grown a fireplace for the occasion, and a very surprised new chimney on the roof of the building found itself venting smoke that somehow managed to bypass three floors.

They sat together on the plush sofa (obtained at Aziraphale's insistence several months prior, on the grounds that he wasn't going to continue coming over if there was nowhere comfortable to sit, and Crowley couldn't have that) and drank wine and talked and laughed and reveled in the feeling of being cozy and warm on a cold, blustery day.

Time had traveled on in the usual manner since Armageddon failed to happen. The two of them were unwinding slowly. Thousands of years of looking over shoulders did not evaporate in an evening, benevolent Antichrist or no, and 'our side' was a concept they were still carefully exploring. But what a glorious exploration it was.

There was no limit to the amount of time they could spend together. It was a dizzying concept that they were both adjusting to, but one that carried a thrill through it all the same. Crowley had been sorely tempted to buy tickets to every concert, play, and musical revue London had to offer and do nothing but attend shows for the foreseeable future, the two of them together. In public. He very well might have done too, if Aziraphale hadn't talked him down amid giddy chuckles. "We have time," Aziraphale had reminded him, and Crowley was ecstatic to realize that it was true.

He had relented to two a week.

It was elating. They stood closer together, they sat beside each other on public transportation rather than one behind the other, they gave each other teasing nudges with elbows.

And sometimes - when they were both at least a bottle in - one of them might even bump their hand against the other's, and fingers might intertwine, and an electric tingle would flood Crowley like a live thing, and most importantly neither would pull away for at least two solid minutes and oh wasn't that alone worth saving the world for?

Crowley spent a previously-unheard-of amount of time at the bookshop and Aziraphale's face always lit up like the sun whenever he walked in. He arrived early, stayed late, sometimes didn't bother going home at all, often showed up with wine or snacks, and they were together and it was wonderful. He had fallen asleep on the bookshop couch in the past, but these months he got the impression that Aziraphale had zoned the piece of furniture as specifically his. There was a permanent place set aside for him in Aziraphale's home, in Aziraphale's life. It made a warmth pool in his stomach to think about it despite the creeping winter chill.

Aziraphale had begun to visit Crowley's flat in return. The angel had never once set foot in the place until the night after the airfield - Crowley had never given him the address, to be fair - but now that permission had been granted Aziraphale was here increasingly often. It was so like the easy evenings at the bookshop, just with more austere surroundings. Music, alcohol, debates and memories and slightly drunken speculation. The occasional temporary twining of fingers. It was good.

It was overwhelming sometimes, this new 'good'.

Aziraphale always left the flat at the end of the evening, usually around ten. He had no reservations whatsoever about chatting until dawn in the bookshop but the flat was a new environment, Crowley supposed. Possibly something to do with propriety.

Possibly something to do with thousands of years of distance that they were both still figuring out how to cross.

But that was Aziraphale, all right: as slow and steady as a glacier when it came to his set, comfortable ways. So much had changed in the past few months and the angel had had to adapt quickly. Crowley didn't begrudge him taking a few things slow. Old habits were hard to break and their habits were very, very old.

Crowley understood well how shadows could linger even in the bright daylight. It was all well and good to say he was off Hell's payroll. It was another thing entirely when instinct crept up on him screaming that he needed to watch his back, to sit a row behind Aziraphale on the bus, to have forty excuses ready for when Dagon came auditing. It took considerable effort to override those instincts and remind himself that 'together' was okay. It was allowed. And still he'd so far only managed to turn the volume down on them, not silence them completely. He didn't know if he ever would. Crowley didn't doubt Aziraphale had similar instincts of his own. If the angel felt better setting himself a curfew, Crowley certainly wasn't going to judge.

But tonight they were here, and warm, and sheltered from the blizzard. As 'retro' had begun to slide back into style, Crowley had picked up a sleek addition to his stereo system that was at once a record turntable, radio, tape deck, and CD player, with added Bluetooth capability for good measure. Strains of Vivaldi swam through the room from a vinyl, mingling with the crackling of the fire and the clinking of wine glasses. Aziraphale was settled deeply into the sofa, his posture several steps short of perfect which was how Crowley knew he was truly relaxed. Crowley, as per usual, was draped over the couch like he'd never seen one before in his life, as though he had too many limbs and didn't know what to do with them all. It was good.

Life was good.

It was a little after ten when Aziraphale spoke up. "It's getting late." His voice was a bit distant as he looked out the window, snow glinting in the reflected light as it fell. "I suppose I ought to be going."

There was a note of regret to his voice, a lack of conviction in his eyes, that Crowley had learned to read over the long years of the Arrangement. A smile pulled at the corner of the demon's mouth, covered up easily by another sip of wine. It was a very old game they played, treading carefully along the outside edges of things that could not or should not be said aloud. Expectations, angelic ones in particular, built a lot of barriers. Aziraphale wanted something that wasn't allowed him - or wasn't supposed to be allowed him - and couldn't bring himself to reach out and grasp it. It was Crowley's job to find ways for him to justify the forbidden something to himself.

In the subtle language they shared, the angel was asking Crowley to tempt him, and how could Crowley pass up a request like that?

"Awfully cold out there," the demon drawled, gesturing languidly toward the window with his wine glass. "Snowing like nobody's business. Wind and ice and subzero chill. Terrible night to be out in."

"I'm sure it's not so bad."

"Not so bad? It's been raging for hours! Look at it! It's knee-high! You expect me to try and drive my poor car out in that mess?"

Aziraphale raised an eyebrow at the demon. "Ah yes. Imagine if humans invented other forms of transportation aside from your horrid car."

The demon's argument was all bluff and they both knew it. The Bentley could slice through the snowdrifts like a hot knife through butter if Crowley wanted it to. It wasn't the strength of the argument that mattered - it was whether or not Aziraphale could twist it to bypass the metaphorical roadblocks. Crowley rose to the challenge by sprawling back on the sofa with a smirk. "Other forms of transportation? You mean a bus, in weather like that? And good luck finding a cab out there, angel. City's practically shut down."

Aziraphale stood, giving his back a tentative stretch. "I could walk, of course. I've done it loads of times. It doesn't take much more than twenty minutes, not counting the care that has to be taken for ice."

"Walk, he says!" Crowley tossed back the remainder of his wine like a shot glass. "Think of it - the first angel in history to catch pneumonia! Bad job I'm not working for Hell anymore; they'd give me an award!"

"If doing those temptations in Qashliq for you didn't give me pneumonia, I'm quite sure nothing will."

"Are you ever going to let that go? It was over four hundred years ago!"

"It was February in Siberia, no I will not."

"Suppose you did stay a bit longer," Crowley ventured, changing tactics. It was a risk, coming at the problem from such a direct angle when they were both so used to ghosting along edges. "Bookshop wouldn't go anywhere, would it?"

Aziraphale blinked at the abrupt transition. "Well no, I shouldn't think so. It's just...I mean if I don't return home someone might notice of course and well...people will talk."

Crowley leaned forward over his knees, seriously. "Angel. When, in two hundred years in that bookshop, have you ever given a single fuck what your human neighbours think?"

Aziraphale drew himself up with a huff, and Crowley was delighted to see familiar indignation winning out over nerves. "I am an upstanding member of the community, I'll have you know. And it's not just my neighbours, of course - it's yours as well. That little old lady who lives on the floor below, for example. She always gives me that look when I pass her in the lift."

"What look?"

"You know! That look! Like she thinks she knows what's going on between the two of us."

The demon grinned like a Cheshire cat and gave a suggestive wiggle of his shoulders just for the expression it painted across the angel's face. "You're worried that my neighbours are going to think you and I took a tumble in the sheets?"

"They already suspect! Or at least she suspects." Aziraphale was trying so hard to keep a straight face, but mirth glinted behind his eyes. "Do you know what she said to me as she was getting out of the lift the other day? 'Don't forget to use protection; you don't know where he's been!'"

Crowley howled, leaning so far back in his laughter that he fell off the couch.

"I don't know what's more outlandish, the idea that we're in here having a lurid physical affair or the idea that I don't know exactly where you've been."

Crowley wiped his eyes dry and held out a hand so the angel could help pull him up from the floor. "Remind me to miracle her fridge so that all her milk keeps past its date. 'Don't know where he's been' indeed."

Aziraphale fought to get his own smile under control, for the sake of his argument if nothing else. "Yes, but it just goes to show, Crowley, people do notice. And they will talk, I'm sure of it."

"Let them," he waved it off. "I've seen tissue paper with more durability than human gossip. It'll all get forgotten in a day or two." Crowley leaned over and refilled both glasses.

"Right. I suppose it will." The angel took a tentative sip and sat back into the sofa again. "Silly thing to get worked up about, really."

On a regular night that might have been the end of it. They'd had their verbal tennis, they'd had a laugh, and Aziraphale had accepted another drink. But try as he might, the angel couldn't seem to settle. There was a stiffness, a tension to his spine that would not unwind. He fidgeted with the stemware, shooting furtive glances at the window, the fireplace, the clock.

The ceiling.

The final notes of Vivaldi faded out, leaving the room in silence, and Crowley rose to swap the record. The discomfort radiating off the angel was almost palpable and it made his own spine crawl. "Aziraphale--"

"Only, the wind really looks dreadful," Aziraphale blurted out, jolting to his feet and crossing to the window. "I really ought to go before it gets worse."

"Can't get much worse than it is, I think," Crowley countered carefully. "Best stay where it's warm."

"I don't..." Aziraphale stared out at the London skyline, nearly invisible in the storm. Pale fingers worried absently at the hem of his waistcoat. His mouth was down to a thin line and there was quite a lot behind his eyes. He looked pained. "I shouldn't impose."

"You're not imposing if I'm offering."

"It isn't...it isn't right for me to stay!"

The demon set down the vinyl he was holding, something dangerous layering his words. "Says who?"

"I've been ignoring protocol too much as it is--"

Crowley gritted his teeth, a growl rising in his throat. "There is no protocol on our side!"

"I know!" Aziraphale snapped. There was a beat of silence and the anger in the angel's face melted as suddenly as it had come, leaving his expression frustrated and upset. He scrubbed a hand across his eyes, almost apologetically. "I...I really can't...surely you understand why I can't just..." He ran a hand through his hair helplessly, eyes darting to the ceiling.

The demon set his glass down and moved over to the window.

It was a very old game they played. Crowley was good at his job and Aziraphale was good at the mental gymnastics required to fit through some of the more dubious loopholes. But every now and then they still lost.

He positioned himself in front of the principality, forcing Aziraphale to look at him.

"Angel," he said quietly, as though someone might overhear. "If you want to head home, I'll take you. You know I will. I'd just rather it be because you want to rather than because they would want you to."

Aziraphale looked truly miserable. "Crowley, you've been a marvelous host, you really have, but...I'm so sorry, I..."

Crowley stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. For just a moment the demon's face was soft, genuine. A bit sad but still impossibly fond. "Don't be." He gave the shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It's late. Get your coat, angel, it's cold out there." He doused the fireplace with a wave and stretched his back out. "Give me a moment to sober up and I'll start the car."

Aziraphale sighed, clearly frustrated at a great many things, but headed for the coat rack while the demon forced the alcohol from his system. "It ought to be fine," he muttered as the wine bottles in the corner finished refilling. "It ought to be fine. I can't explain it, I..."

"It's like someone's standing too close inside your personal space," Crowley finished for him quietly, pulling a coat of his own from the ether. "Like you're driving on the motorway and you end up in the blind spot of a lorry. There's no great outward change but all of a sudden the hairs are up on the back of your neck and your skin is crawling. And you just have this overwhelming sense of this is not a good place to be, get out."

"Yes," Aziraphale murmured unsteadily. "Yes, that's it exactly." His eyes found Crowley's, apologetic, searching.

"It is what it is, angel," he assured him softly. "We have time."

A weight seemed to lift from Aziraphale's shoulders. "I...thank you. Truly." There were things unspoken that Crowley could hear beneath that simple phrase. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for being patient with me.

Don't say that, hesitated on the tip of Crowley's tongue. Instinct was, of course, very old and very strong. He swallowed down the words and searched for new ones to replace them.

"You're welcome," he said quietly. The syllables tasted foreign in his mouth.

There was silence in the flat as he buttoned up his coat. Despite the passing months they truly had only moved the barest steps away from where they had been.

They had so very far to go yet.

But it was true. They had time.

"Right." He tried to break the mood as casually as he could, slipping dark glasses on and turning his voice into something light and easy. "Shall we be off then? After you, angel."

The lift ride down was silent, subdued. Something complicated was warring behind the blue eyes and Crowley wasn't going to even begin to touch on it until they were in the car. Aziraphale's steps faltered as he reached the glass doors of the lobby, and Crowley was halfway down the outside stairs before he realized he wasn't following.

"Oi, you coming?"

Aziraphale stared down at the space beyond the door with a peculiar expression: uncertainty and determination and anger and hurt. "I - I don't..." There was a moment of indecision, of frantic debate on his face, then he backed quickly over to the lobby bench and sat down hard.

Crowley pulled his coat tighter about himself as the wind bit through his clothes and ducked back into the building.

Aziraphale held very still, eyes closed and fingers gripping the edge of the bench.

"Angel?"

"Give me a moment. Please."

Crowley paced a cautious half-circle around him, instinctively scanning the principality for damage and the storm beyond the glass wall for threats. Another old habit - nearly useless now but one he wasn't going to be able to drop any time soon. He sat down beside the angel and the lobby was quiet for a very, very long time.

"I think," murmured Aziraphale at last, "if it's all right with you, I'd like to stay."

Crowley studied him closely. "Are you sure?"

"No." Aziraphale met his gaze. "I haven't been sure of much of anything, recently. Not since Tadfield. But I do not want to be forced back to the bookshop tonight."

"Shouldn't force yourself to stay if you're only going to be miserable."

"It's not so bad down here, that's the silly thing. But for some reason the idea of going back upstairs is just..." He laughed wryly. "What a mess I've made of the evening."

"It was a fine evening," Crowley told him earnestly.

"I thought so too, at least until the end there." He straightened, and looked a bit more like himself to Crowley's eyes. "And it's my most sincere hope that, with some more wine and another record, it might be again. Give me a few minutes. I think I can work up to it."

The demon took his glasses off and studied him closely. The determination in those eyes, the set of that jaw, were so familiar they hurt. There was a nervousness there, but there was a stubbornness as well. Like the glacier: slow, steady, but deep down so, so strong.

Crowley reached behind himself and retrieved a pair of full wine glasses that suddenly and thoughtfully decided to exist. "You know, I reckon..." he said quietly, handing one to Aziraphale, "that these will taste just as good right here as they would upstairs."

Aziraphale blinked. Glanced from his glass to the demon to the lift and back again. And his expression softened considerably.

"And if music and wine is what it takes to hang onto your company for a little longer, I s'pose that's the sacrifice I'll have to make, won't I?" He sat his phone down beside him and with a few taps Mozart began to play from its speakers.

Aziraphale stared deep into his wine glass, a smile spreading across his face that he didn't seem quite ready to share with the world yet. "A little unorthodox, isn't it?"

"And?" Crowley shrugged. "Last I checked, there's no protocol on our side."

"So there isn't. Do you know, I think I like that about it."

The demon lowered his voice. "Say the word any time, you know. We'll go, no questions asked."

"I know." Aziraphale let out a long breath and settled back onto cushions that were suddenly far more plush than anything the lobby bench had seen before. "But at the moment I'd rather be here."

The storm howled beyond the glass wall but the central heating vent behind them kept any stray chills at bay. They sat in gentle silence for a long time.

Piano Sonata No. 14 wound through the room, mingling with the warmth and the wine to kindle a sense of calm: a concoction of human magic that miracles, for all their power, could never replicate. Clever things, those humans.

Crowley traced a finger around the rim of his glass. "Can I ask what changed your mind?" he asked softly.

Aziraphale gazed off into the distance for a moment before looking back to his companion. "It was the 'you're welcome', funnily enough. You've always objected so vehemently to being thanked before."

"Yeah, well..." Crowley took another sip of his drink so as not to meet Aziraphale's eyes. "Like being in the blind spot of a lorry."

Aziraphale nodded. "It's..." He trailed off. Took a swig of wine and swallowed it down hard, as though for courage. "It's a comfort," he admitted so quietly that Crowley had to strain to hear him. "To know that it's not just me."

Crowley pursed his lips. "Not by a long shot, no" he confessed, equally quiet.

"I know accepting gratitude doesn't come easy to you. But you managed, tonight."

"It isn't a footrace, angel. I'm not asking you to keep pace with me."

"I know that. And I'm grateful. It's just... seeing you be brave makes me feel like...like I can be as well."

That smile was tugging at the edge of Crowley's mouth again. He reached out and clinked the edge of his glass with Aziraphale's. "Course you can be. Always have been."

The angel smiled back at him, warm and glowing and grateful, just the faintest hint of pink darkening his cheeks. With a daring Crowley had only seen behind the safety of closed doors and wine bottles, he placed a hand on the bench between them, palm up.

Crowley took it.

Meeting him in the middle, as always.

"Careful, angel," the demon murmured in his ear. "Remember, you don't know where I've been."

Aziraphale gave an undignified snort into his wine glass and their laughter echoed throughout the lobby.

The storm raged cold outside, but here, in their own little in-between place, they were warm.

#good omens #good omens fic #ineffable husbands #my fic #my writing #soft husbands all the time #sneaking in under the deadline like a boss #asexual ineffable husbands #Good omens heaven is full of assholes #they'll be okay they just need a little time and practice

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Star Vs: Stump Day Review or The Why Are You Booing Tom He’s Right Holiday Special

Before we start a special credit to @jess-the-vampire who I discussed the episode with during the writing process and brought up a LOT of good points that ended up going into this review. She clearly hates it as much as I do and had even more good reasons for it. Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everybody! And today we got a big, fat, grotesque lump of coal to smash to pieces. And after a long, draining, if worth the effort scrooge review, and with this being something I needed to cross off my to do list this holiday season, I put this one here as I could use the cathariss of giving this steaming bowl of elephant piss a good thrashing. As you can tell unlike my usual reviews, I do not like this episode. This isn’t the FIRST i’ve not liked i’ve covered, but it is the first rather infamous one to me i’ve covered and not just a dead possum of an episode I ran into while reguarly covering an otherwise good show like “Quaraller’s Pass” or “Strife of the Party”. This one’s had it coming, making my top 8 worst christmas specials list last year, and while not the series worst outing, that’s a toss up between the finale and marco jr, it’s easily one of them. So while usually I like diving deeply into something good and picking apart while it’s good, if not ignoring any bad aspects, here i’m just going to take a hammer to this thing to explain why it dosen’t work and why it sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms. I might be overstating it a bit but probably not. Nothing really new has happened since the last episode so the only new thing to cover is why i’m doing the episode here instead of after Monster Bash. And the simple reason is that like the Ducktales Halloween and Christmas specials, this episode clearly does not take place in the same time frame of the episode before or after it, with the next episode, The Bog Beast of Bogabah, taking place the day after Monster Bash. It’s most likely they simply held this episode over till Christmas and it dosen’t really fit in AFTER the huge game changer that is monster bash, especailly since the next three episodes after this all take place in rapid sucession, two on the same day one the day after them. So yeah i’m doing this one first and putting it ahead of monster bash on my episode guide for clarity’s sake.

Good, so with all that settled, let’s unwrap this complete works of pauly shore shall we? We open on the titular Stump Day, essentially mewni’s christmas complete with Cocoa, carols and a gay couple and their equally adorable child. And Star, unsuprisingly is giddy for it as the actual chlidren, and wearing an adorable santaesque dress complete with horns on her santa hat. Seriously you cannot tell me tom didn’t get that for her. Fucking precious. Marco is more just confused and has his hood up and one of Star’s cousins asks uncle river to tell him the origin of stump day. River’s response.. is easily the best joke of the episode.

“(in a jolly tone) ha ha, you don’t tell me what to do”

He does so anyway though: Basically when settlers arrived on Mewni they found themselves cold and griping with each other, and soon found a blizzard had struck.. but by huddling together under a magic stump, they all learned to get along or something like that and now once a year everyone gathers in warmth and camraderie.. or else. Before Marco can understandably question what “or else” means in this context, Star butts in when one of her cousins chastises the younger one who asked river the question for beliviing and says he’s real. It’s a nice touch as it fits star perfectly to still belivie in mewni’s horrifying version of santa. I forgot just how adorable and likeable the character was before the final season shot that to hell. How her energy could be infectious and how Eden Sher really brought her all to the performance, which is still the performance of her career and hopefully like Rider Strong she’ll do more voice acting eventually. So that night as Star tucks in after wonderful night of sleep, and to avoid her dad’s usual drunken chorus of Tom Jones “Sex Bomb”, and gets woken up by Marco who leads her to the dining hall because a windows broken to fix it with magic. Star entirely buys this flimsy story.. but as Jess pointed out, and as I missed hence the credit up top... she dosen’t bring her wand. She.. dosen’t bring her wand.. to go fix something with magic. Now i’ll grant next season shows she CAN fully do magic without it, and while not as powerful like her mom still has plenty of punch behind it.. especially when she does the rainbow fist thing. But it’s still.. weird she dosen’t think to grab it and feels out of character. While Star’s learned by this point not to rely on it, and as we’ll see gives it up entirely, one of the few bits of her character development that actually sticks, it still seems resonable she’d take it with her wherever she goes.. and usually SHE DOES. And her jammies, which are also adorable, seem to have pockets so the animators had no reason to not just stuff it in one. It would’ve made their job harder yes.. but then don’t have marco use an excuse that directly requires it then and draws attention to the fact the wand is missing, and the fact you blatantly just hoped we’d forget about it as it’d ruin the climax.

It’s far from the worst thing in this episode..trust me we’re almost there. But this does bring me to a point.. so far the episode is GOOD. The comedy’s good, the setup for what’s about to happen is good, the holdiay setting is warm and inviting but weird enough to perfectly fit mewni, and River, much like his VA and homosexual talking boat portrayer Alan Tudyuk, is a national treasure as always. Whelp it’s all down hill from here bitches! Giddyup.

So Marco announces a SUPRISE PARTY! And everyone’s there: Tom, Kelly, Ponyhead, Starfan14... oh yeah this is the first ep i’ve coverd with Starfan14 isn’t it? Starfan14 is star’s insane fangirl, voiced by series creator Derfron Nercy herself, who star happily tolerates despite clearly wanting to wear her skin. We’ve all been there. Also Jackie is transparently missing, though at least it’s SOMEWHAT reasonable as she and marco broke up a few .. months ago? I mean it is winter on mewni for this episode but the end of season 4 and the series is set at the start of summer, yet months still pass.....

Confusing timeline aside, Jackie has every reason not to attend a party thrown by her ex for the girl who confesed she had feelings for said ex and it’s probably the only good decision Marco makes this entire episode that he wisely decided to give Jackie some space. And it says something a decision made entirely off screen that was probably because the creators genuinely forgot Jackie once she was out of the way so they could shift the love triangle stuff to Tom, Star and Marco instead of you know.. not doing that because most love triangles are annoying at best and utterly insufferable at worst. Case in point this episode but I can give out more about this aspect of things in a bit with more context.

And to his credit, and as Jess backed me up on, Marco’s gesture is genuinely throughtful.. at least to start with. He got her a choclate fountain, brought all of her friends, and geninely just thought Star never celebrated her birthday on her birthday because it was you know the same day as christmas. As someone whose birthday is a week before christmas, December 16th if you were curious, I understand the pain of having your birthday in the same month as christmas. Of having all your presents clustered at once and of having to manuver around a very stressful season, though it does sometimes have perks like getting to celebrate your birthday and christmas, it also means your birthday is secondary and always will be to most people due to proximity. And Star has hers ON mewman christmas, so it’s even worse. So from Marco’s perspective, TO START, his best friend constantly had to share her birthday with her faviorite holiday and just wanted to do something nice. SO FAR, he’s done nothing wrong and just means well. That’s... about to end. Star.. instead of being greatful.. starts muttering no before going on an manic rampage and destroying everything including hte band’s insturments. And apparnetly star’s gotten some flack for her behavior.. but I understand it. To her the stump is VERY real, and will be very angry if someone else celebrates so to her all she’s doing is saving her best friend from the holiday equilvent of the trees from evil dead, and when Marco asks about it she GENUINELY is sorry, getting he meant well, that he was being sweet, and that he did a lot of nice stuff for her.. she just can’t celebrate not because she loves the holiday but because again, from her persepctive, the stump will kill them all if they don’t support it. She is genuinly affraid for her friends lives and given she could go grab her wand and fight it, clearly thinks she, with all her CONSIDERABLE powers, cannot win this, and neither can tom whose powers are almost entirely fire based. Star is just trying to protect her friends from being horribly murdered. And she turns out to be entirely right about it so no, star was not a jerk here. A bit over the top, but she was not insensitive, she was not mean, she just didn’t want a party for understandable reasons.

So let’s get to actually insensitive shall we?! Marco’s reaction to this is at first confusion as he didn’t realize the stump was real, though Tom, Kelly and Pony are convinced it’s not. Also this episode implies Kelly is from mewni, but she turns out not to be so why she knows about the stump I genuinely don’t know. They think it’s just a baby thing.. though in Tom’s defense he dosen’t phrase it that way, thinks star still beliving is cute, which for a teenage boy finding out his girlfriend belivies in santa is very sweet and mature of him, and is trying to be nice about it even if he doesn’t believe. But Marco.. his response to his friend having a good reason for not wanting to have the party.. is to complain about how much effort he put into it and try to guilt and bribe her into having it by mentoining he got her faviorite cake flavor, rainbow. Just.. WOW. I’ve seen some bad turns from characters, but WOWWWWWW. Holy shit.. I mean at least other jerkass marco episodes before this had SOME reasoning to them. Sophmore Slump had him clearly sublimating his feelings for star combined with the usual obnoxiousness of someone having gone abroard for the first time, which as Letterkenny recently went into, the only thing worse is Stillborn Puppies. Nothing else.

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And with Lint Catcher while he was presumptive and not blameless.. river still outright lied to him. Here? It’s clear star dosen’t want this, cake can be refigirated, he only takes a loss on the choclate fountain and he could still just let everyone have some and say it’s for stump day to appease her. He dosen’t have to take a loss on this finacially or morally and there would be no harm done. But that’s.. not what HE wanted, not waht HE set up and he wants what HE wanted, which was to impress star with a thoughtful gesture. But that’s the thing bud: Gestures aren’t about you or what you get. Their about doint something nice for another fucking person. It’s the whole point of christmas and birthdays: To just give someone something to be ncie and to celebrate the day and them respectively. If she dosen’t WANT your gift for understandable reasons and isn’t being rude about it you don’t have any leg to stand on you seflish twatwaffle.

So already Marco is not coming off well.. and if you know this episode you know it gets worse. Oh god it gets worse. So first PONYHEAD of all people calls out Marco.. and for once, PONYHEAD, the most selfish, most unresonable and a character whose tolerablity varies on the episode, tells him he’s being selfish and is only pressing on because of his need to control things. So not only is Ponyhead right but the episode LIKELY wants you to feel she’s wrong because she’s pony which is not how this work as she knows star well and thus, while unaware she still belivied in the stump, which tracks as while it’s obvious she does Pony is so up her own whatever she has that functions as an ass, it’s understandable she’d miss some details. So no Pony’s right, and the fact PONY is one of the more resonable people in this episode is both a sign of the apocalypse, which is thankfully starting to recede, and a clear marker of just how bad Marco’s being if someone who torments him and disagrees with him out of principal is entirely right.

Oh but it gets worse as next up, Tom steps in and tries to get Marco to back out, admitting he told him this was a bad idea. Now granted Tom did mess up by not stepping in to stop this a bit.. but he A) didn’t know how much his girlfriend genuinely belivied in the stump and B) Probably assumed Marco meant well, as would I before he whined about not getting his way, and decided it was worth a try. So he’s not that bad, and while it is a bit ehhh to try and take back credit for this when he participated, it’s still minor and Marco is still being a huge dick who refuses to help shut things down when it’s clear the party is only causing star to have a panic attack and assault some humble marachi players. He sees nothing good is coming from this and just wants what star wants. Also it paints Marco in a worse light as he was warned about this, and was so obssed with making it a suprise party because that’s how his plan went, he refused to just.. talk to her about it. Hell he could’ve just casually asked “Why do you never celebrate your birthday on your birthday”. It’s an easy question, dosen’t give the game away and allows him to gage if this is a good idea or not BEFORE baking a cake , hiring a band and getting a chocolate fountain. Instead he just went ahead with it. And he did so.. because this ISN’T about making Star happy. This is abotu HIM making star happy. Him showing her how thoughtful, and considerate and sweet he is and how he’s always been there for her and how maybe she should be with him instead of Tom. I mean it just comes off that way.. he made it a suprise party because in his head that’s how it worked and she was super impresed and left tom that day to be with him in some elaborate fantasy. Granted the episode dosen’t say this.. but it sure as hell acccidently implies hte hell out of it by having marco act like a selfish ass who refuses to take what STAR wants into consideration, and just wants to get his fantasy back on track. What supports this to me is how he treats tom, you know one of his best friends: He, again, accuses him of forgetting.. then calls him a bad boyfriend.. a bad boyfriend for NOT wanting to force a celebration on his girlfriend she does not want, and for not forcing it on her. For you know GROWING AS A PERSON. Beacuse here’s the pickle pumpernickle: This thing Marco’s doing? Is exactly the kind of thing a pre-character development TOM did, that was rightfully framed as bad. Being controlling, wanting things to go JUST a certain way instead of letting them flow naturally, not getting the hint star isn’t intrested, and not caring about what she wants and only what you want. Marco is doing the same thing Tom used to do. And for starters i’ts already bad because you know MARCO WAS THE ONE WHO FINALLY GOT IT THROUGH TO TOM THAT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR WAS TOXIC AND SELFISH. But apparently when it’s Marco himself doing it it’s fine. If there was ever any clear evidence Marco regressed as a character, there it is. Him actively unelarning a lesson he taught someone else and then getting combative when that person rightly tries to call him out. Marco is just insufferable in this episode: He’s being selfish, creepy and posseive and he’s apparenlty supposed to, at least on some level BE RIGHT. But.. we will get to that. Consider a pin put in this rant.

So Tom overreacts, and throws some fire at marco, which is genuinely wrong and Kelly’s right to call him out, and then headlocks him asking marco to say he’s a good boyfriend. Marco screams out ‘NEVVVEEEERRRR”

I just made this, by hapinstance, while watching the video I put up there. I.. I did not think i’d get to use this so soon but my god. Just my god that’s a terrible thing to say. So the party soon breaks down elsewhere as Kelly is mad at tom for.. understandable reasons again the guy she has a crush on was just nearly set on fire, even if i’m still on Tom’s side overall here, it’s still not right. Janna points out it’s probably because she has a crush on marco, which while acurate dosen’t mean she was wrong and Tad pops out to be upset about that. Even though you know you two are broken up and as Kelly points out he needs to move out. Pony is mad she’s not getting any attention and Starfan is mad because star’s mad. Star results to desperate measures, opening the windows to try and repeate the act of the settlers. She didn’t however count on the Janna factor as she throws the stump in the fire, which is in chracter. What’s not, and again I give Jess full credit for this one, is that everyone just starts.. warming around the stump and not caring like a bunch of jackasses not caring about their close friend, and in tom’s case, girlfriend’s feelings. Also tom and marco apparently stopped fighting just to be this stupid.

But naturally burning the symbolic stump is a bad idea and the real one attacks. Protip: If you live in a world of magical nonsense, maybe don’t discount the magic stump. Everyone’s captured, including moon and river, with River also being suprised and replying to Star’s annoyance at him not beliving with “Sweetie it’s a stump!”. Alan Tudyk is a god and I feel you all should acknowleddge that. But yeah everything seemsm to be bad but everyone apologizes, if not for the right things in Marco’s case, and Tom says “I’m sorry i’m a bad boyfriend!”. You .. you aren’t. You did nothing wrong. I feel like this is tom for the last agrivating 6 minutes of the episode

He did SOME THINGS wrong but he is NOT a bad boyfriend. He is throughtful, kind and while he has flaws, SO DOES STAR. He is not a bad boyfriend for not wanting to repeat past abusive actions! GAH. Let’s just get on with it. They all hold hands, they thiunk this is what made the stump go away but Star is sure it was just going to kill them, Moon and River have a thousand yard stare as they realize they both have to get repairs for this room now and do an extra big stump day next year to make sure it dosen’t come back. And Marco apologizes to star.. for not beliving her. Not for forcing this on her, not for causing all of this, not at all to tom, but for not beliving her while star FUCKING APOLOGIZES TO HIM. Pin removed, bullshit falling to the floor... Trunks if you would.

Thank you. Star DID NOTHING WRONG. Tom DID LESS WRONG THAN MARCO. WHY ARE THEY APOLOGIZING. Why is this little shithead getting everything he wants as the party happens after all, if a day later, and he gets to dance with star, while everyone else is painted as being in the wrong? That’s what makes this special so putrid: that MARCO is apparently in the right for doing the same , if on a smaller scale, manipulative shit tom used to do before he grew as a person, yet the episode sides with him, props him up and teases Starco. If it’s Starco it’s okay apparently and that’s.. not okay. You can’t .. build a ship on a character acting like a jackass. That’s not how this works. Marco was wrong, he was bad and he should FEEL bad. Instead he’s just a creepy jerk this entire episode, being entitled, manipulating star, screaming at tom.. and gets REWARDED FOR IT. Fuck this episode.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I believe I said Fuck this episode. This is easily one of star vs’ worst episode and much like the season after this episode it gets worse the more you think about it. I put it on my worst holiday episodes list for a reason.. and frankly even with the decent first 4 mintues it should be higher. It’s an unplesant mess that throughly ruins Marco’s character and takes him from a kind, upstanding, polite and bright young man to a creepy manpiulative jackasss. Fuck this episode and have a happy holidays.

#Star Vs the Forces of Evil #star butterfly #marco diaz #Tom lucitor #tomstar #starco #kelly #lilica ponyhead #starfan14 #christmas #holidays #holiday #stump day #bad episodes #reviews #animation

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fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan · 3 years

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About Time - Travis Konecny

For the @hockeynetwork Winter Gift Exchange I was given the super talented @princessphilly. I am sorry that this took so long to get out, I redid this at least 20 times. I changed everything I was writing about at least 5 times but this one had me smiling as I wrote it. I hope you enjoy a fluffy Travis Konecny snow story.

I hope 2021 brings you plenty of joy and happiness.

Snow is great, you could even say it is pretty. But this wasn't just snow, this was basically a blizzard. I brushed the snow out of my hair as I stepped into the lobby of my apartment building. I hadn’t been prepared for the snow to start so early, the weatherman had said it would start to snow around 6pm. Not the 2pm that it did start at, so I wasn’t ready with the proper snow gear to get home without slipping so I took an Uber home. I slipped in the lobby, wearing my heels from work. Kicking off my heels in the lobby felt weird but I wasn’t about to break my neck because the weather predictions were wrong.

Stepping into the elevator I hit the button for my floor and just leaned against the back wall of the elevator, just waiting for the doors to close when another person slipped in just before the doors started to move. His eyes immediately started looking me over before smirking and leaning on the wall next to me. “Ditched the footwear?” I finally realized it was my neighbor from across the hall that was in the elevator with me.

“Almost ate it in the lobby because of the slick shoes.” He nodded before the elevator jerked to a stop, lights flickering for a second. “Stupid storm.”

“Yeah, the wind is killer outside.” Luckily the elevator started up and quickly we were at our floor getting off before the power cut off again. “Have a good night.”

“You too.”

***

Travis: Almost got stuck in the elevator with her.

Nolan: So you actually had to talk to her? Not just stare at her through your peephole like a stalker?

Kevin: Are you upset that you didn’t get stuck?

Travis: Fuck you guys

Putting my phone on to charge, I went to shower. Thinking about what I would have done if we did get stuck. I had been looking at Kassandra from a distance for over a year now, running into her often but not building up the courage to talk to her much. Once my teammates discovered my crush, it was a prime chirping material. Thinking about her in the elevator, her dark brown hair damp and curly from the snow and her soft brown eyes that looked at me in alarm when the elevator stopped. Just as I was finishing up my shower the lights went out again.

I was hoping the power would start up again like it did in the elevator but it didn’t this time. I quickly dried off and threw on some sweats using my phone for light, cursing at myself for not listening to my mom who had told me time and time again to get some emergency supplies in case of a power outage.

After running into three pieces of furniture and realizing I had no food in the apartment I knew I needed to do something. And I knew what my teammates would say, this was a sign to go talk to Kassandra. And after banging my knee off of the kitchen island I knew I had to. Grabbing my phone and keys, I made my way across the hall to Kassandra’s door. I knocked before regretting it and thinking about running away. Before I could make my escape her door opened and she was standing there in a baggy shirt and leggings, hair in a messy bun. “Scared of the dark?”

“More like my feet can’t take any more damage from my furniture. And I should have listened to my mom to have an emergency kit.”

“Come on in, I have enough candles for a Bath and Body Works store and a gas range so I can still cook food. So if you don’t mind it smelling like Christmas in the middle of February and having grilled cheese for dinner, you are more than welcome to come in.”

“Thank you.” Following her into the apartment I was taking in her apartment, it was much homeier than mine. The candles all over the place gave the apartment a soft glow and it really did smell like Christmas.

“Were you supposed to have a game tonight?” I didn’t even realize that she knew that I played hockey. I had no clue what she did, I really didn’t know much about her.

“No, luckily it was just a practice day. Did work let you out early because of the snow?”

“They did but I was supposed to finish up a project when I got home but the power went out before I could start on it. So that won’t happen, I’m happy about it now but I’ll regret it when I have to stay late at work on Monday. But that is a future me problem.”

“What kind of work do you do?”

“I’m an architect, I do houses mainly but every couple of months I will be put on a big business project.” I nod and follow her into the kitchen, leaning on the side of her island. “I know it’s only 4, but would you like a beer? We can have a drink and play some board games if you want.”

“That sounds great.” She hands me a bottle before showing a massive collection of board games and let me pick. “How about Jenga?”

“Perfect.” Sitting down on the floor we set up the tower on her coffee table before getting into the game. As we played we chatted, talking about whatever popped into our mind. As I got to know more of her I was more and more fascinated by her. I lost Jenga when the tower crashed onto my lap and she stood up cheering. “Sorry, I can get really competitive. How about we get dinner ready?”

“Yeah. I would offer to help but I am a disaster in the kitchen.”

“Just keep me company, usually I listen to music while I cook so you need to be my entertainment.”

“That I can do.”

“Is grilled cheese okay?” I nodded, pulling up one of her stools so I would be closer to her. As she cooked I told her stories of my teammates. Dinner was done quickly and we ate before looking out her windows at the snow flying through the air. “It is really snowing.”

“Reminds me of home.”

“Do you want to just watch the snow fall for a while?” Kassandra looked a little embarrassed by her ask, but that sounded like the perfect way to end the night.

“That sounds perfect.” I offered to move her sofa so we could sit on there and look out the large windows that we had in both of our apartments. Kassandra curled into my side as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah.” We sat in silence for a while before I built up the courage to ask her out.

“Can I take you out to dinner some night? As in a date.” I could feel her smile into my side before she nodded.

“I would really like that. And I’m free most nights, so whenever you have a hockey free night.” I had a huge smile as we watched the snowflakes fall in silence. At one point I realized she had fallen asleep cuddled into me, I didn’t want to wake her so I was about to carry her down the hall when I saw in the group chat I had with Nolan and Kevin had become filled with them making fun of me and my hesitance to ask her out. I quickly snapped a picture of her asleep, curled into me, and gave them the middle finger in the picture. Once that was sent off, I pocketed my phone before scooping her up in my arms. I headed down the hall, finding her bedroom easily because our apartments were clones of each other. Pulling back the sheets, I laid her down and was backing up when her eyes sleepily opened.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Stay the night?” I nodded, getting into the bed next to her and pulling her close to me. We both fell asleep easily and it was the best night of sleep I had in a very long time.

***

Waking up to the feeling of arms around me I smiled when I opened my eyes to Travis sleeping next to me. He looked peaceful in his sleep so I managed to slip out of bed to see my digital clock blinking at me. The power was back and I was kind of bummed, Travis didn’t need to stay over any longer. I started coffee and started throwing away food that I wasn’t confident would still be safe to eat with the power having been out so long. When arms wrapped around me I couldn’t help but smile.

“Morning.”

“Hi. I would offer you breakfast, but I don’t want to give you food poisoning.”

“How about breakfast for a first date?”

“Dinners are my favorite kind of restaurant in the world. It’s the Jersey part of me that I will never get rid of. Give me 10 minutes to brush my teeth and stuff.”

“Sounds great.” He kissed my cheek before heading out and I knew I was blushing as I hurried to get ready.

***

The snowstorm was the best thing that could have happened, I finally was able to ask Kassadra out. Charging my phone while I brushed my teeth I saw I had a text from Kevin.

Kevin: About fucking time.

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dreamer213 · 3 years

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Broken machines: Lights the dark

Chapter 2 Beautiful Night

In dark quiet room a young man sits atop his bed waiting. The room itself is opulent and pristine, a queen size bed with silk sheets, oak wood floor, a gorgeous antique armoire full of designer clothing, a full length mirror, silver trend curtains, an ornately detailed desk, bookshelf filled with materials on business, culture, and the arts and even a bath en-suite. Truly a scene ripped straight from a magazine with it’s presentation and uniform coloring. Nothing but dark blues, grays, and whites as far as the eye could see, it gives off a very chic and vintage feel but such a cold color scheme leaves little room for light to enter. With darkness of night sky peeking through the window It is as though the room itself becomes like snow, beautiful and magnificent in appearance but cold and devoid of life. The same can be said for the boy, smooth white hair set neat and tidy in a simple but elegant cut, a long and slender figure with good posture and a gorgeous face with high cheek bones, full lips, a perfect jaw line, long lashes, and beautiful deep blue eyes. But behind those beautiful eyes lays a cold and empty stare, no youthful joy or warmth to speak of, just the cold stare of empty soul. If not for his breathing and movements he could be mistaken for a porcelain doll, left in it’s display never to be moved or play with but to be held up and admired. But that is not important right now. No, what matters right now is if Weiss’s found the back doors they left open for her and made her escape yet.

It’s been a while she should be long gone by now, if she hasn’t left yet it won’t be long before Father finds her then Gods know what he’ll will do. I mean getting caught trying to escape the city after nearly killing a defenseless woman at a public event over some unkind remarks. Cleaning up this mess is going to be hell on its own but if Father finds her trying to run away He’ll-

Whitley tenses up and grips his biceps through his sleeves, there’s a dazed look in his eyes. He closes his eyes, takes some deep breath, and calms himself.

No, I can’t think like that now. I have to believe that she followed through, that she ran away pre her usually sanctimonious behavior. I mean what did she think she was going to achieve by acting like that. Did she think that was going to change their minds? Did she really think that screaming like a child and losing control of her powers was going to do anything but cause chaos. If General Ironwood hadn’t been there we all could been killed by that monster. But no, even after fighting Grimm and seeing how terrifying they are first hand, she still never once gave a thought to what the consequences of her actions would be for anyone but herself. But then again that just might be who she is now. Doesn’t matter if she to her if she’s right or wrong, if she feels attacked she’ll just lash out either physical or verbal. With all her talk of restoring our family name I never thought she would do something like this. I never thought she would go this far but then again I never thought she’d treat me like an enemy. I try my best to engage with her whenever I could and she accuses me of wanting to her get disinherited and acts like I’ve stolen her role away from her. Really? She thought I would want the life both she and Winter ran away from the first chance they could. Seriously? What do I gain from her failure, living at home with a drunk for mother, a tyrant father, and a staff of people traumatized from working with them. Having my every move monitored and commanded by a man who cares more about money than human life. The enormous amount of work that comes with preparing to take over a company of such great magnitude and whatever grunt work Father doesn’t feel like doing. OH! Let’s not forget the fact that you’ll never truly be in charge as Father will surely keep you trapped under his heel until the day he dies! A life as puppet to a man whose dragged our family name through the dirt trapped in a house colder than the coldest of blizzard. Yes Weiss, I so desperately wanted you to run away to live your dreams so I could live your nightmare.

“WHERE IS SHE!!!” “WHERE DID THAT WORTHLESS BRAT GO!”

Whitley hears his father screaming down the hall, the screaming continues for almost an hour until it’s becomes clear that Weiss has escaped. For moment everything’s quite as though the entire manor has become frozen in time. But not long after the silence there’s a crash then another and another. The commotion grows louder and louder with every passing second until the shirks of manor staff become just loud as the havoc Jacques Schnee is wreaking.

Whitley: Looks like it’s time to clean up the mess.

Whitley gets up and walks out of his room towards the commotion. As he gets closer and closer as follows his father’s path of destruction. Broken glass, fallen paintings, and décor pieces smashed and scattered across the floor the halls are in shambles. When he finally reaches his father the situation is much worse than he expected. Jacques has completely lost his composure, he’s throwing things, screaming wildly, his face is beet red and his eyes are bulging. The servants are trying their best to calm down while trying to avoid getting hit. They try and try but nothing they do seems to calms him. As this struggle continues Whitley approaches them, he quietly walks up behind them. He stands there waiting for an opportunity to grab his father’s attention.

Jacques: AFTER EVERYTHING I’VE DONE FOR THAT UNGRATEFUL BITCH SHE DARED TO DEFY ME LIKE THIS!

Whitley: Father please, you need to calm down the stress isn’t good for—

Before he can get another word out an object goes flying past Whitley’s head. It was a small antique clock a gift from a business associate. His father Jacques Schnee, who was now facing him, had thrown it within an inch of his own son’s head. Jacques stalks over towards Whitley, getting closer and closer until he is standing over his son and stares directly into his eyes.

Jacques: What did you say?

Whitley: Stay calm, stay focused, you have to see this to an end before things get worse. I said you should calm down you shouldn’t be stressing yourself over such a minor issue. It’s not good for your health.

Jacques: And do tell me Whitley, how is your sister running away a “minor issue”.

Whitley: Well she’s already been disinherited and made a public spectacle of herself, there’s no real need for her to be at the manor anymore. That and when people ask about her and how she was punished you can say she was kick out and thrown to the streets for her awful behavior. For most that were present at that party the very idea of being cut off is the stuff of nightmares, hearing that the heiress to Schnee dust fortune got herself thrown out for her reckless mistakes should help calm the ruckus Weiss created.

For a moment everyone pauses, they hold their breath waiting for the elder Schnee’s reaction. After what feels like hours Jacques puts his hand above Whitley’s head. He brings it down and begins to slow pat his son’s head.

Jacques: Good job Whitley, you always have your mind in the right place when I need you to.

Whitley: Of course Father, I’m always thinking of what’s best for the Schnee legacy.

Jacques: Good, now then get this mess cleaned up I need to go have a talk with Klein. I just know that dog had a hand in this.

Whitley: Yes Father, I’ll have the staff get this up right away.

Jacques gives an approving nod then walks away. As soon as his step can no longer be heard and he is out of earshot the servants all breathe a sigh of relief and start cleaning up. Whitley walks down the hall, searching for someone. After roughly half an hour up and down the second floor Whitley finally finds the person he’s been looking for, Mary Shellor.

Mary Shellor has been working at the Schnee Manor for several years. When she first arrived no one expected her to last very long but to their surprise she acclimated to the environment rather quickly. She was also a very diligent worker, never making a mistake more then once. And because of her skill, not long after her hiring Mary was promoted to one of the most important and most difficult positions in the manor, Willow’s personal maid. She’d become Willow’s shadow following and serving her wherever she may go unless dismissed. During her first year as Willow’ maid also sought out and obtained another role, or rather a long term investment. You see after observing the family for a time it became clear to Mary which child would inherit the family fortune. The children, Winter, Weiss, and Whitley, had been raised quite incorrectly for their natures. Like wolves raised as show dogs ,they were trained to be obedient, intelligent, and outstanding but because of their strong willed and fierce natures they could never truly be tamed. First and second born were allowed enough freedom to want for more and seek an end to their captivity even if it meant losing everything. Eventuality they were able to beard their fangs and break free of their chains. But the third born, the son, was not allowed such opportunities, No Jacques had learned from his past mistakes he wasn’t letting this one get away. Whitley was kept closer, his chains made tighter, and cage made much smaller then his predecessors. And yet Mary could still see the wolf in him, though different from his sisters it was still there. Unlike his sisters he couldn’t attack or run from his situation so the boy did the only thing he could and did it well, he played along. He played the role of Father’s loyal dog so well that even his sister believed the act without question but unbeknownst to her or their father beneath that mask Whitley’s fangs were growing strap, he was waiting. Whitley knows when he’s at a disadvantage he knows when to act and when to retreat, he knows how to play games, the game of Atlas politics, his father’s games, and the games of the business world. The day Whitley would strike would be the day everything would be returned to a true Schnee, one who knew how to survive in this world, who knew the mistakes of the past and how not to repeat them. Mary wanted to be on the right side when that day came and so she became Whitley’s eyes and ears in and outside of the manor as long as he promised to keep her in mind when the time came. That was their argument one Mary never doubted would play out in her favor.

Whitley: Mary where’s Mother?

Mary: The Mistress has retreated to the library. After the shouting started she ran inside and hid. I asked her if there was anything I could do and she dismissed me.

Whitley: Thank you Mary, stay here I’ll be back in a moment.

Mary: Yes, Young master

Whitley walks pass her towards the library, once at the doors he pulls them open only to find that the lights are off and the scent of alcohol is heavy in the air. Whitley follow the scent deeper and deeper into the library, gagging slightly the closer he gets, as he draws nearer to the source he finds a trail of wine bottles.

Whitley: They’re all empty, she’s close.

He picks up the bottles as he follows the trail until he finds a blanket covered figure sitting on the floor tucked into a corner. Whitley puts the bottles down and slowly approaches the figure, small sobs escape it as he drew closer, he kneels down in front of them with his hands on his knees. He then gently pulls the blanket off the figure to reveal his mother Willow Schnee, sobbing and trembling beneath the blanket she’s wrapped herself in.

Whitley: It’s over Mother, Father’s gone back to his office. You can go back to your room now he won’t be coming out for some time.

Whitley holds out his hand towards Willow, with a shaky hand Willow grabs onto her son. Whitley grabs onto tightly, wraps his free arm around her shoulders and pulls her up. He steadies her as she gets on her feet, and guides her through the darkness and into the hallway. Once they’re out out of the library he hands Willow off to Mary.

Whitley: Take her back to her room she can barely walk, make sure to leave a bucket by her bed. And don’t let her have anything else tonight she has too much in her system already. She’s also left a good amount of empties on floor again, have someone clean those up before Father’s next reading hour.

Mary: Of course Young Master, we’ll have everything clean and in order before Master Jacques get up for breakfast.

Whitley:Thank you Mary , that will be all for tonight.

This was why Mary chose to put her faith in the boy, for as cold and defensive as Whitley was he was also incredibly loyal. Whenever the Master flew off the handle the Young Master would do everything in his power to calm him down and keep him calm for as long as possible. At first Mary thought this was more his loyal dog act but after a few more incidents it was clear what he was doing. Whitley would never sacrifice another’s safety for his own. His true purpose for playing the Master’s game was not to obtain power but peace and freedom from the chains that bind this manor and the people in it.

With that Mary and Willow depart towards Willow’s bedroom while Whitley retreats his own. Once there he closes the door behind himself and pressing his back against the door. He takes a deep breath then slumps down the door, gets into the fetal position and starts to sob. He cries and weeps for a long, long time, until his face is red and his voice horse. Once he finally he stops Whitley gets up and goes to his ensuite to clean himself up. After a long bath he puts on his sleepwear and lays down on his bed, he stares up at the ceiling until he finally succumbs to his own exhaustion and falls into a dreamless sleep.

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