#she’s meant to be pretty toned but i am lacking practice in that area so for now she is just skinny tho lol

[astererer]

🦄 👚 💞 🧠 for Aster, Vernon, and Kaz??

Ask meme here!!

Putting things under the cut because it got Long lmao

🦄 — something wonderfully unique! a headcanon about what my muse believes sets them apart from others in their life?

Aster

Her life experience is different enough from other people’s that it makes her feel one of a kind at best, like a bit of an outsider looking in at worst. She hasn’t really met anyone else that’s shared her experience of the Galar League, plus dropping out of school early due to constant travelling at a young age has also caused her to feel a bit isolated socially. Not that she’s insecure about it, she just acknowledges that her situation was a bit unusual compared to most.

Kaz

Genuinely believes he’s the most handsome man on the planet. He’ll acknowledge other people are hot, but Kaz sees himself as a cut above the rest. Even when his face is busted from getting into fights he still has the confidence to act like he’s the hottest person in the room.

Vernon

Doesn’t see himself as anything particularly unique or special, instead he views his pokemon as the exceptional ones. Doesn’t matter that they aren’t good at battling and are just companions (except Roddy, who’s a Working Bird), he has the best ones. His special little guys :))

👚 — pretty in pink! for a headcanon about my muse’s wardrobe looks like and what their favourite colour to wear is.

Aster

I have drawn some of Aster’s outfits before!! they can be found in her tag, but I’ll stick them all here too :)) Green and orange hair is from her old design/when she was living in Nacrene City, but she still wears the same clothes!! Outfit repeater and proud of it lmao

Generally prefers vintage clothes, her wardrobe has elements of the 60s, 70s, 90s and 2000s. Likes low rise pants and skirts, and her hemlines short. Wears boots almost exclusively as far as footwear goes. At work, she prefers wearing stuff that’s comfortable, easy to move in and doesn’t matter if it gets dirty. For favourite colours to wear, she goes for deep reds, oranges and browns.

Kaz

Still working on a proper wardrobe ref for Kaz, but for now here’s some examples lifted off pinterest for the sort of stuff he wears:

On a day to day basis he dresses in outfits that are kind of edgy, dark colours and details like chains, studded belts and silver jewellery. When playing shows with his band, he goes very flashy. Effeminate and revealing, he dresses to keep the audience’s eyes on him and look sexy. Favourite colour to wear is purple.

Vernon

Like with Aster, I’ve drawn some outfits for Vernon before!!

Used to lack a sense of style until he got sick of Aster roasting his outfits over facetime and gave into her demands to “fix”. his wardrobe. He currently wears a mix of a few things he already had and some stuff Aster found for him online. Unsurprisingly, her more retro influence has rubbed off on him. Not very confident in experimenting with accessories, but he can’t really go wrong with just jeans and a decent shirt. Likes shades of green in his outfits.

💞 — you stole my heart! for a romantic headcanon from my muse’s past, or even potentially from their present.

Aster

Been on dates here and there but never had a long term relationship before arriving in Unova, it just isn’t convenient when you’re travelling and the other party might not want to leave their home region when you’re ready to explore somewhere new. Tried long distance with someone she met in Sinnoh, who wanted to stay in Hearthome City, but once Aster left for Alola things fizzled out on her end within a month. She felt bad at first, but got over it quickly.

Kaz

Not a lot of romantic experience here, though when he was a teenager and the band was just starting out, Kaz dated someone who became infatuated with him after seeing him on stage a few times. He wasn’t really interested in this groupie, just wanted to soak up their attention (and maybe use the relationship as an opportunity to have sex for the first time). Things ended abruptly when he got bored and told them to fuck off.

Vernon

Had a boyfriend when he was in his last couple years of school. It was a pretty normal, if awkward, first relationship for both of them. Vernon was the one who got dumped, though it was mostly mutual. The boyfriend was about to go to university in another city and wanted a fresh start (read: get drunk and be promiscuous during freshers week without cheating on someone). Vernon had already started his training to become a cabbie pretty much the moment school ended for them, and had less and less free time to spend with his boyfriend anyway, so while disappointed he figured it would be for the best if they parted ways. Have not spoken to one another since.

🧠 — brain vs. brawn! a headcanon of two times in my muse’s life: one where they used their intellect, and one where they used their physical strength or skills.

Aster

Intellect: Aster would be put to the test by her mother in childhood, in that she’d frequently be taken to art museums and galleries, then the two of them would talk about the stuff on display and what Aster thought about them. This ‘mother daughter bonding time’ would cause Aster to think harder than usual about certain artworks, especially more abstract ones that don’t really look like anything specific. Caused her critical thinking skills to improve a whole bunch.

Strength: While living with Romy, Aster would occasionally help out with various things that involved heavy lifting. Packing and transporting Romy’s sculptures for exhibitions or helping set up sound equipment when Kaz’s band would play at the apartment for rehearsals or parties. This was on top of working at the Route 3 Daycare, which is a hands-on job in itself handling other people’s pokemon.

Kaz

Intellect: Usually not very smart, but very good with a guitar. Plays by ear, messes around with alternative tuning methods and varying time signatures etc. Can’t write lyrics for shit but could probably come up with very complex instrumentals or solos given the chance.

Strength: Uses his physical strength all the time. To beat people up. Also uses his strength to wrestle with his pokemon for fun. A regular human can’t really compete with an Electivire in a sparring match, but that’s not going to stop Kaz from trying.

Vernon

Intellect: Read the entirety of James Joyce’s Ulysses and managed to make sense of it. Or the pokemon world’s equivalent of that book. He didn’t have an annotated copy so spent a lot of time looking up the relevant historical context and doing his own research to help pull the text apart more easily. Took a long time but finishing the book felt like a major achievement.

Strength: Flying on the back of a Corviknight all night requires a lot of stamina and physical strength. Flying at high altitudes while in the open air for extended periods of time while also straddling a giant bird can be exhausting, and just being able to stay on the saddle at the same time requires above average strength lest the cabbie be sent flying off their Corviknight’s back during turbulence. It’s actually a pretty dangerous occupation to go into.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Spilled Pearls

- Chapter 20 - ao3 -

“Your brother has been acting strange,” Lan Yueheng said, his voice drifting in through the open door. 

He was crouched down in the dirt, happily gathering a small harvest from the plants he’d grown outside Lan Qiren’s window. Most of the materials he used for his alchemy experiments he obtained from the specialized fields in the Cloud Recesses, but there were some variants that the sect members in charge of those fields disfavored on account of certain pharmacological side effects associated with them. Lan Yueheng had prevailed on his friendship with Lan Qiren to beg, at some considerable length, that he be allowed to grow those variants in the area near Lan Qiren’s rooms – he’d argued that no one would ever think to check there on account of Lan Qiren’s rule-abiding reputation.

Lan Qiren had pointed out that there were no actual rules against growing those plants - they were only disfavored, not disallowed - thereby rendering the entire issue with people checking for it moot, but Lan Yueheng had insisted and eventually he’d yielded.

Let Lan Yueheng grow his nightmare plants wherever he liked. What did he care? He wasn’t using that patch of land for anything in particular, and it was nice to have a reason to see Lan Yueheng on a regular basis.

“Strange how?” Lan Qiren asked, finishing off the final stroke of a painting. He didn’t like it, but then again, he never liked any of the paintings he did for himself – they were too stiff and unfeeling, in his view, lacking spirit and movement no matter what he tried. His favorite painting was still the antique Wen Ruohan had left on his wall all that time ago, a lively little landscape with burnt edges suggesting that it had been hastily recovered from a fire at some point; he’d never replaced any of the things his sworn brother had gotten for him.

“I’m not sure how to describe it. Just strange,” Lan Yueheng said. “I don’t know how many people have noticed yet, him being pretty standoffish and above-it-all at the best of times, but it’s not the usual sort of thing for him.”

Lan Yueheng was like Lan Qiren; they were good at noticing patterns, however bad they were at figuring out the meanings behind it. If Lan Yueheng said it wasn’t normal, it probably wasn’t.

Lan Qiren rubbed at his forehead, suppressing the desire to go figure out the problem right away. “I don’t think I can help,” he said instead. “He doesn’t like to see me, remember?”

“He’s important to the sect,” Lan Yueheng said peaceably, and Lan Qiren loved him all over again for not saying he’s still your brother. “You might not like him, but you like the sect. So you have to help figure it out.”

Lan Qiren did not like it when Lan Yueheng was right about things. It gave him a strange itchy feeling of dissatisfaction.  

“Someone else could figure it out,” he argued. “He’s sect leader now, remember? His well-being is everyone’s responsibility.”

“But you’re the one who’s good at figuring out weird stuff.”

“Do not tell lies,” Lan Qiren grumbled, but he still put away his things and went to see his brother – who wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Any of the places he was supposed to be.

That was strange.

Lan Qiren’s brother was talented and powerful, skilled and meticulous; he was too proud of his status and accomplishments to shirk work. Whatever had drawn him away must have been very compelling indeed – or so Lan Qiren thought.

He wasn’t expecting, when he finally tracked down his brother through a tracker spell utilized on an old comb, to find him walking through the forest alongside a young woman, sword at his side as if he were night-hunting.

“I am night-hunting,” he said when Lan Qiren asked him. “I’m escorting Mistress He.”

Lan Qiren turned to look at the girl.

She smiled at him in a perfunctory sort of fashion. She was beautiful in a way that reminded Lan Qiren a little of Cangse Sanren, though her looks were very different – more refined and elegant, more delicate and less down-to-earth, thoroughly lacking the vaguely unsettling undertones so characteristic of Baoshan Sanren’s disciple, but no less lovely in her own way. 

“Qingheng-jun was just showing me the lay of the land,” she said coolly. “If you need him to return, of course, I won’t keep him.”

“There’s nothing else I need to do,” he said at once, which was such a blatant lie that Lan Qiren’s jaw dropped.

The girl glanced over at him and looked amused, saluting briefly: “He Kexin, a rogue cultivator,” she introduced herself. She shouldn’t have needed to; per etiquette, Lan Qiren’s brother should have introduced them, but he was clearly too far into his own world to care for such niceties. “And you are…?”

“Gusu Lan sect’s Lan Qiren,” Lan Qiren said on automatic, returning the salute. “I’m – his brother.”

“Oh?” she said. “In that case, you must have plenty to talk about. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be much night-hunting here, so I’ll be leaving.”

Lan Qiren’s brother saluted deeply. “I hope to see you again soon, Mistress He.” His voice was gentler than Lan Qiren had ever heard it.

She waved a careless hand in half-hearted agreement as she went, but Lan Qiren’s brother stared after her departing figure until she was out of sight. Only when she was fully gone did he turn away, and when he did, he turned only in order to glare at Lan Qiren.

“Why did you interrupt us?” he asked, and his voice had gone back to its usual cold remove. “We were finally spending some time together alone, without those friends of hers crowding in and bothering us.”

Lan Qiren glanced in the direction that He Kexin had gone. “I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference,” he said hesitantly. “If you’re alone or with her friends, I mean. I don’t think – I don’t think that she likes you all that much.”

Lan Qiren had no natural social skills, not like his brother, who was charming enough to draw most people in despite or perhaps because of his cool and distant demeanor, but in sheer self-defense he had worked very hard to categorize and identify a variety of unspoken signals utilized by people in order to try to figure out logically what he couldn’t do intuitively. While he was still terrible at identifying indications of positive interest of any sort, as Cangse Sanren was always teasing him, he had gotten much better at detecting negative signs that indicated disinterest, indifference, or boredom.

“She likes me well enough,” his brother said, his tone oddly defensive. “She’s reserved, that’s all – you really can’t tell who she secretly likes or doesn’t. She’s a brilliant cultivator, sharp as a blade and clever as anything; it’s no wonder that she’s kind to others in equal measure as well…”

“But -”

“She makes me feel free,” his brother said, cutting him off. “She’s just - she’s smart and she’s talented and she’s fearless, unrestrained and untamed. There’s nothing weighing her down or holding her back. She bears no expectations and no pressure, and nothing has ever forced her, molded her development in this way or that; she lives her life just drifting on the breeze, complete untethered, and when I’m with her I feel the same, and I’ve never felt that way…”

He trailed off, eyes oddly dreamy, and then suddenly he seemed to come back to himself and remember to whom he was speaking. “Anyway, what do you know about women, Qiren? You’re as frigid as an icicle hanging in the window or a mountain lake in midwinter.”

Lan Qiren acknowledged the point, but he didn’t see its relevance. “If she doesn’t like you, she doesn’t like you,” he pointed out. “There’s nothing you can do about it –”

“Are you saying there’s nothing you actually wanted from me?” his brother interrupted, voice sharp now, almost angry. “Your presence is neither wanted nor needed here. Leave at once.”

“No, it’s just – you weren’t at the hanshi, and there’s work to be done.”

“So what? I’ll do it later.”

“You’re sect leader now. You have duties,” Lan Qiren said. “You can’t just go out night-hunting whenever you wish –”

“You said it yourself, I’m sect leader - me, and me alone!” his brother snapped. “From what I recall, that makes me the one who gives the orders, not you. Now get lost!”

Lan Qiren blinked, shocked at the fierceness of the rebuke, and watched as his brother strode away – in the direction He Kexin had gone, rather than back towards the Cloud Recesses.

This, he thought to himself, is a problem.

It was, too. His brother abandoned his duties more and more often, avid in his pursuit of He Kexin, who he had invited to stay for a while at the Cloud Recesses with the friends she was travelling with. She did, as he’d said, seem to like him well enough, but it seemed clear that her regard was far more cursory than his own - and not just to Lan Qiren, either.

Lan Qiren was roped in by the elders to help do some of the work his brother was neglecting, at first a little and then more. It got in the way of his own preparations, and started getting on his nerves, too.

“You don’t understand,” one of his teachers told him when he tried to resist the notion of spending a large chunk of his time on sect paperwork instead of practicing music. “Love, for our sect, is a powerful thing. When it comes unexpectedly, it is wild and irresistible, like a river bursting through a dam and overflowing its banks. It’s no surprise that your brother is so focused on winning his bride – and all for the best, too. He has to have heirs to inherit one day.”

Lan Qiren didn’t disagree with that, naturally. He certainly didn’t want to be stuck being his brother’s heir any longer than he had to. It was only…

“Just because he’s in love with her doesn’t mean she’s going to be his bride,” he said, and wondered a little spitefully why it was just assumed that he didn’t understand what it meant to love someone. Just because he didn’t feel it the same way as they did didn’t make his heart any less a Lan. “I don’t know why you’re all being so stubborn about this. A woman knows her own mind - just because he offers himself doesn’t mean she has to accept.”

“Stop saying such inauspicious things,” his teacher scolded. “You should be wishing your brother luck, instead.”

“He doesn’t need luck,” another teacher, the one for swordsmanship, put in. “He needs more of a backbone. Doesn’t she have a father he can talk to?”

That started up another debate on the relevance of the opinion of the young in setting their own marriages, an old classic, and Lan Qiren sighed and took his leave. He winced when he realized that his brother was not far away, standing with He Kexin in one of the nearby gardens – at his brother’s cultivation level, there was little chance he hadn’t heard the subject of their conversation, and indeed his glare indicated that he had. He Kexin wasn’t looking his way, but Lan Qiren suspected she might’ve heard some as well.

His suspicions were borne out the next day, much to his misfortune.

“Mistress He!” he exclaimed, groping around wildly for his clothing. He’d been humming his way through a new stanza while taking a bath, having taken a day off to wash his hair, only to turn around and see her standing there in the middle of his quarters. “What are you – I’m not dressed – these are my rooms!”

“I know,” she said, not moving.

Lan Qiren decided his dignity was more important than his health and reached out to yank his clothing into the bath with him, ignoring how they got heavy and soaked with water; he pulled on his inner robes and, once attired, he clambered out, rather annoyed. Just because He Kexin was a rogue cultivator didn’t excuse her from knowing manners, and just because she was his brother’s favorite, granted the freedom to wander wherever she would within the Cloud Recesses, didn’t give her the right to violate his privacy. “Mistress He –”

“You’re cute,” she said, and he stared at her, aghast. “Not quite as handsome as your brother, nowhere near as charming, and the way you drone on is rather annoying, but at least you have some respect for a woman’s wishes, and that face of yours isn’t bad. You’re not courting anyone at present, is that right?”

“I’m not,” he said, taken aback. “But what –”

“Good,” she said, and the next thing he knew she was in his arms, trying to kiss him. It was only through his quick reaction that he was able to turn his face away and avoid it.

“Mistress – Mistress He!”

“Keep your voice down,” she said, sounding amused even as she groped him in an intimate place. “It’s part of the plan, eventually, but it’d still be a pity for us to get caught before we get to the fun part.”

“I don’t – I’m not – I don’t want – let go of me!”

“Are you a virgin?” she laughed. “For shame, a man of your age. Just relax, you’ll like it soon enough –”

Lan Qiren’s brother had described He Kexin as a brilliant cultivator, and he’d been right; for all that she was a rogue cultivator, lacking the resources of a Great Sect, she was talented and promising, a powerful sword cultivator in her own right, and her grip on Lan Qiren’s body was relentless.

Lan Qiren tried first to get away from her without harming her, but she wouldn’t let go of him, pulling open his robes and even burying her teeth into his throat – that was the straw too far for him; he whistled a series of notes, short and sharp, the burst of qi shocking her grip loose, and then he threw her as far away from him as he could, knocking her into the opposite wall.

“Kexin!”

Lan Qiren turned: it was his brother rushing in through his door, falling down to his knees in front of her to examine her to make sure she wasn’t injured, and then turning to look at Lan Qiren, his eyes aflame with rage.

Lan Qiren glanced down at himself: robes askew and sopping wet, scratches on his chest and a bite on his neck.

“No,” he said, abruptly realizing how he must look, how they must look. Part of the plan, He Kexin had said; she must have known that her brother wouldn’t leave her alone for very long, and she’d clearly intended on using Lan Qiren as a means to get his brother to give up on his pursuit. Very few men would continue to chase a woman that spurned them for their own younger brother, especially one they didn’t much like. “It’s not – I didn’t –” Denial wasn’t going to help. “Do not succumb to rage!”

“Do not engage in debauchery,” his brother snapped back, rising to his feet. “Do not break faith!”

Lan Qiren took a step back, and then another. “Do not make assumptions about others.”

His brother wasn’t listening, though, and Lan Qiren found himself slammed against his own wall, held up and strangled by his own collar, his favorite painting falling to the ground from the force of it.

“How dare you,” his brother hissed, his eyes red. “How dare you touch her –”

“I didn’t! She was the one who –”

The next slam of Lan Qiren’s body against the wall jarred his teeth so hard that he bit his tongue to bleeding, and knocked his brain all around his skull. His brother was still talking, he thought, but he couldn’t hear him over the ringing in his ears. It belatedly occurred to him that using the same excuse as every rapist in history – she was asking for it, she was the one who initiated, it was all her – was probably not a good idea, even if in his case it was actually true.

He opened his mouth to try to defend himself, but his brother’s fist hit his stomach before he could speak, all the air knocking out of him.

“And then you – you hurt her –”

“Qingheng-jun, leave him be! It wasn’t him at all, you’re misunderstanding. I only wanted – ”

His brother threw him away, all his attention drawn away by his love, and Lan Qiren stumbled inelegantly on his way down, his feet slipping on the wet floor and tripping him up, and his head slammed hard against the corner of his bathtub as he fell down. As he sank to the floor, his vision going black, he thought blearily that the concussion he was undoubtedly going to have might even be worth it if only it meant that his brother would finally give up on his mad and hopeless pursuit of He Kexin already.

He did not.

[chasneedsamoustache]

A bard’s family reunion

It was already dark when Geralt, accompanied – as he had been for almost a month now – by the troubadour poet Jaskier, reached the inn that would serve as a welcome bed for the night. The pair had been on the road for long enough to be in need of a bed that was not made of branches and rocks and also, most certainly a hot bath, for they both stank.

The red-faced and ill-mannered innkeeper scowled at Geralt – almost a moment too long for the tired witcher before shrugging his shoulders and declaring there to be no room available. If it wasn't for the raucous in the adjoining room, which Geralt presumed to be the main area of the tavern, he may have argued with the man. Instead he lingered, assaulting the the innkeeper with his narrowed eyes, long enough for Jaskier – who had gotten fed up of waiting with the horses and paid a young child a penny to do the job for him – to enter.

At the sight of the bard with, as always, a lute on his back and for reasons that for once did not seem to the witcher to be about him or his mutated existence, the innkeeper suddenly lit up, snapped his fingers and proclaimed there to be a spare room as Jaskier was 'one of those lot'. Geralt took the key offered to him, caring not that the red-faced man was entirely mistaken as whatever was meant by 'that lot' could not apply to the bard who had not even heard of this town, let alone this inn.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Jaskier whispered to Geralt once they had handed their mounts over to the stable boy. “I'm sure we're going to get ourselves into some sort of trouble.”

“As long as that trouble happens in the morning, after a good nights sleep, I am not going to begrudge a little nuisance.”

“Says you, dear witcher, when it was only upon my own entering the establishment that we were permitted a room and thus it is I who will be in trouble for falsely taking up residence in some other poor fools room!”

“Worry not until you are at least bathed and fed, Jaskier.” Geralt said wearily. “Fed being the priority right now, my stomach is an empty cavern and I fear a monster has taken residence there as it is growling rather loudly.”

The troubadour sighed and gave in, his own stomach empty, he agreed that at least they should eat before they were chucked out onto the street for being imposters.

They entered the main section of the inn, Geralt led but paused when greeted by a room packed to the rafters of merry makers, young and old and of a variety of wealth that the witcher had certainly not expected out here in the countryside. Jaskier appeared beside him, looking equally disheartened at the lack of available seating.

The crowd, bristling with excitement, seemed to be centred on a small area with a raised wooden platform that looked to be stage, although it was currently empty of whatever or rather whomever had drawn such a large gathering. Waves of excited whispers and louder giggles passed over the crowd, ignored entirely by the two men who were still scouring the room for even a small space on a crowded bench.

“Perhaps we ought to take a meal in our room.” Jaskier said, having to practically shout to be heard over the hubbub. Geralt turned to his friend with a frown that begged him to repeat himself. Despite being able to hear the bard clearly if he whispered in a hail storm, he had not being paying attention. “I say, pehaps-”

Jaskier stopped mid-sentence, his face turned pale and twitched it's way into a grimace, the likes of which Geralt had never seen on the bard before. Nose wrinkled, Jaskier turned on his heel and made for the exit, announcing that, under no circumstances, could he stay in this place a moment longer. He cried out when the witcher grabbed him by the shoulder, eager to remind him that this was the only warm bed within a days ride.

“You don't understand.” Hissed Jaskier, squirming free of the witcher's grip.

“It matters not how you have wronged-”

“This is worse, we must leave and quickly!”

“Julian!” Too late, Jaskier blanched again and fell back against Geralt in his usual dramatics – although Geralt was not entirely sure it had not been a genuine faint this time for his friend's face was ugly with sickness and fear before the fellow who had called his name, his real name.

“Julian what on earth are you being so ridiculous for?” He approached, dressed as eccentrically, perhaps more so, than the bard who had returned to an upright position. “Oh forgive me, I forgot you don't use that name in public. Jaskier, I'm so glad you've made it! Everyone will be excited, for they were determined you had not even received the numerous invitations sent to you the even more numerous places you have been sighted in recent months. Indeed I believe I have some money to collect as it was only I who placed a wager in favour of your attendance. I thought that innkeeper had given the room we had kept for you, just in case, away to some imposter! ”

“No.” Jaskier's voice was not much more than a wheeze. He looked from Geralt to the room, desperately looking for an escape, for the fellow was blocking his exit.“No.”

“I beg your pardon?” The fellow, who, had precisely the same cornflower blue eyes and chin, and, though his nose was a different shape entirely, could only be Jaskier's brother, perhaps cousin, but brother was much more likely, such was there resemblance in face and mannerism. Geralt found himself raising an eyebrow. “What on earth do you mean by no?”

“Wh-what do you mean by invitation? I received no such thing.” The witcher thought that perhaps he had, but since he squirrelled away any word from his family, which was always the very last thing Jaskier was willing to discuss, he presumed any invitation was lost in the pile of unopened letters the bard thought Geralt did not know about.

“Then this is a happy coincidence! Destiny! Wonderous are the gods who have brought you here on the day of our great reunion!”

“Reunion?” Geralt smiled unpleasantly and Jaskier glared equally as hideously at him.

“Yes friend! Do not worry, brother-mine, it matters not that as usual your manners are lacking, for this man needs no introduction. White hair, yellow eyes, two swords! He could only be Geralt of Rivia! The white wolf! The witcher! The source of all the ballads and such that have made my dear brother famous across these lands. A good friend I believe and thus a friend to us all and certainly welcome at our table for the festivities!

“To answer your question, good witcher, this week is a grand celebration, a reunion of now all of the siblings of Lettenhove, in honour of our good father's birthday, rest his soul. We have commandeered this fine tavern and indeed the town hall and will be playing every night from now until midsummer – Papa's actual birthday if you would believe it – where we shall host a mighty feast and concert!”

“And, if it's not too rude to ask, for my dear Jaskier has failed to inform me of any of his familial relations,” Another, even more hideous glare was earned for the most subtle of Geralt's sarcastic tones, known only to Jaskier for being sarcastic and taken entirely sincerely by anyone else. “How many siblings are you?”

“Fourteen, including Ju- ah Jaskier here and myself.” When Geralt coughed, choking on his own surprise, Jaskier himself stepped in.

“We do not, of course all have the same mother.” He said sneeringly, the sneer was directed at Geralt alone.

“Of course, can you imagine such a poor lady?”

“No, Papa was, as I am, quite the ladies man and a good deal of my siblings were born outside of wedlock. Once he did marry, he remained faithful, I might add, for I do not wish you to think poorly of the man.”

“No, though I do wonder if there is more of us out there.”

“By the gods, John, I hope not!” Jaskier shuddered, finally naming the man in front of him. “I shall explain, dear witcher, but first, brother-mine, I am in incredible need of a drink and whatever passes for food in a place such as this.”

“Certainly! Of course, how rude of me! Come this way!” John waved his hand, much in the same way as Jaskier did when he led Geralt, sweeping and extravagantly. The witcher wondered who learned the technique from who.

Once seated on possibly the most packed table, filled with not only platters of roast meats, steaming fish and an assortment of bread and vegetable dishes, ale tankards and dull goblets full of wine that Geralt immediately knew had corked long ago, but also with at least seven of Jaskier's siblings. Their faces a strange mixture of the bard's familiar features and some that were not nearly as familiar nor pleasant, yet suited each face well. All had the same cornflower blue eyes and all were fixed on either the witcher or his friend, who by all accounts was sulking.

Another sibling had drawn the attention of most of the crowd that filled the rest of the tavern, sitting on stage with a lute, she sung gracefully and played just as well as Jaskier himself. A few, mostly young women of varying levels of beauty, still had their eyes on the table at which Geralt now sat. Eyes on the handsome men there, Jaskier still apparently judged as the most beautiful as most now gazed longingly at him, despite the grimace on his face.

He ignored them all until his friend elbowed him gently, knowing a pretty face or two would soon improve his mood – which it did, tremendously, the bard's grin quickly returned to his face as his winks sent women swooning and blushing. Geralt himself was simply relishing in not being the centre of attention and disgust, there were far too many pleasant young men and indeed women at the table for anyone to notice him and his yellow eyes, let alone be disgusted by them. Save one girl, when Geralt met her gaze, she smiled and nodded faintly to him.

“And now, dear friend, I shall endeavour to explain my peculiar family.” Jaskier interrupted the exchange, now feeling merrier having quickly emptying two mugs of beer, a third in a hand he swung about to draw attention. “My Papa, Joshua Austin Pankratz, seventh Viscount of Lettenhove, like myself -”

“And your all of your siblings.” A woman who looked to be in her early thirties with the same soft curl as Jaskier in her auburn hair, holding a babe in one hand and a turkey leg in the other, interrupted. Geralt had the impression that this was not the first time she had had to remind Jaskier to include more than just himself.

“Yes, like myself and all of my wonderful siblings was a bard, a troubadour, a poet, a man of music and although talented with many an instrument, favoured, like myself and my siblings, the lute. Before his own father passed away, he roamed the countryside and courts, playing to much applause and gaining fame which rivals my own. He also found his way to the bed of many a woman and some of those women provided him with gifts in the form of my older brothers and sisters.” A few of the men and women in the middle of the table nodded, one, the redhead with the babe, rolled her eyes so viciously she appeared to strain them. Jaskier ignored her.

“Papa,” Jaskier continued. “Was most unhappy when he was forced to give up his life as a bard and return to the family estate in Lettenhove to settle down as the Viscount. Soon after he wed my lovely mother, may she rest peacefully.”

“If your lord father had to settle down, then why are you still wondering the countryside like a pauper?” Geralt asked and his friend sneered again, turning his head from Geralt's raised eyebrows and questioning gaze.

“Our dear brother,” Said John, chuckling as he bit into a rather large slice of spiced pork pie, which caused him to choke, spluttering astonishingly elegantly into a handkerchief until the man beside him gave him a rather firm smack on the shoulders. “Thank you Johan – where was I? Oh yes, our brother, himself now the Viscount of Lettenhove, has a rather splendid advantage that our dear departed Papa did not. Juli- oh pox, do forgive me brother, Jaskier here, has a wealth of siblings with whom he shares the responsibilities that come with his title, leaving him Viscount in name only for most of the year, whilst we all take turns in running our little corner of the world. All of us except Jennifer, who is still too young, that is.”

“How did you trick your family into such an arrangement?” Geralt directed the question to his friend.

“Oh, before Papa passed away, we all took turns in threatening to give up the title and pass it on to the next sibling until all that was left was poor little Jennifer, at the time was still inside her mother's belly. A late surprise that one, didn't know Papa still had it in him. Anyway, it was he that suggested that, although I, being the oldest son borne of marriage, would officially be the Viscount, we split the responsibility – bastard or not. Works out to less than a month a year, which in order to keep our land and our money and so on, really isn't that much hassle, even for a group of travelling poets. ”

“Quite so.” John agreed, as did a few of the others.

“Come to think of it, who's in charge if you are all here?” Jaskier asked with a strangely concerned tone.

“Oh, Jac's husband, just for the week.” John replied.

“I suppose that is fine.” Sniffed Jaskier. “So anyway, we take it turns to, you know, be the Viscount, in order of age. Johan is the oldest, sat beside John there, then Judith at the end of the table, John, who you know, Jessica, currently performing and younger only by a few months, Jemima, born of my mother but before she wed my father, who is over there with a babe. How many have you now, dear sister?”

“Fetty here is the fith.”

“Goodness, are you also trying to create enough children for an orchestra?” Jemima scowled but was distracted by patting the babe back to sleep.

“Yes Geralt, our dear father realised at some point that a few more children and he may well have his own little troupe or orchestra. The joke is that we all turned out to love the lute and the lute alone.”

“Except for Jennifer.”

“Indeed, except for Jennifer who plays,” The bard let out a sigh which was echoed by a few of more vibrantly dressed siblings. “the triangle.”

A snotty-nosed and rather mucky girl, who could be no older than eight or nine, sat on the end of the table, grinned suddenly and it was only then that Geralt saw the resemblance to Jaskier. She snuffled her nose, which was in desperate need of wiping, and held up said instrument. A piece of thin metal bent into the shape of a triangle, hanging from a string. The girl hit it with a metal stick, rather triumphantly and Geralt smiled at her for ignoring her siblings sighs and being proud of her own talents. Johan beside her patted her on the back and pulled a rag from his pocket for her to wipe her little nose on.

“So after Jemima,” Jaskier was now determined to finish his explanations. “Came myself. Then, Jacob, Jacqueline, Jasper, who is doing a terrible job of wooing that poor lady over yonder, and Jane, beside me.

“And then, my dearest darling mother sadly left this world, the pox took her. Papa was most unhappy for a long time, until he found Sasha, whom he wed after some time, much to all of our relief. Afterwards came Joel and Jeremiah and finally, our very, very late little egg, Jennifer.” Jennifer grinned again, puffing up proudly as if she had planned her own conception.

The evening continued and amidst eating and drinking and bouts of applause, Geralt heard more and more about Jaskier's family. A hundred different tales from when they were young, including the day Jennifer was born and they all stood on the battlements with their father and played their lutes in unison until they were shouted down by the nursemaid for disturbing the new baby. It did however, become a tradition that they met once a year and played together on the battlements, now joined by little Jennifer who hit her triangle enthusiastically in time with the others.

The witcher heard other stories, from all the siblings, who came and went, sometimes in large groups, back and forth from the stage. Family squabbles and disagreements, silly spats and fights – some of which were still unresolved –  as well as many adventures they had happily shared and heart warming tales of happy times.

Stories of rule as Viscount, and of when Jaskier had vanished for almost an entire year, which turned out to be entirely Geralt's fault. He was forgiven but warned not to occupy his friend's time in late spring again. He heard too, happy stories of love and siblings supporting one another and soon Geralt understood the family to, despite Jaskier's half-hearted protests, truly care for one another.

Jaskier himself, now rather drunk on beer and corked wine, seemed to be the biggest champion of all his siblings, cheering them on and arguing – sometimes a little too aggressively – with them when he was praised above them. Truly, it seemed to Geralt that he loved them dearly, each and every one. Even if the bard ended up as the butt of many a joke, now released of any pretence, he laughed along side his siblings, heartedly and with no sign of sourness.

At one point Jaskier announced that he had in fact received the invitation and had pushed Geralt to come through here, despite pretending to have no knowledge of this place, when indeed he knew it to be the only inn around and that, by the time they reached it, Geralt would be sick of sleeping outside. The witcher himself laughed most heartedly, declaring that he had been played most cunningly, which in that moment he realised he had. He even joined in with the applause when Jaskier stood up and bowed to the cheers and laughter of his siblings for tricking a witcher.

When the dawn approached, Geralt had the pleasure of carrying Jaskier to bed. He was surprised that all the siblings, even Jennifer – though she had been asleep on Johan's lap for many hours – stayed until the innkeeper told them he must prepare for the day that had already arrived. It was only when they were on the stairs and finally alone, that Geralt asked Jaskier why he had hidden his family for so long and why even when they had arrived, he had tried to run.

“I want to be Jaskier, not Julian Alfred Pankratz, when I'm with you. And I thought that if you met my family that would change.” The bard said, his speech so slurred that Geralt could only just understand what he was saying. “They're good people, a good family, but I dislike that I'm a Viscount. I'm a bard, Geralt! A bard and only a bard! I've only used my title to get you out of trouble – like that time they caught you swindling the crown because of that red haired witch.” Geralt met Jaskier's blurred gaze and his friend began to giggle. “What I'm saying is,” He dribbled when his laughter had subsided. “The person you are friends with is Jaskier, troubadour, poet, womaniser, a man whom doesn't have a family with fourteen siblings and an increasing number of nieces and nephews. A man who can stand tall on his achievements, unique and talented and not one of many and not even the best among them.”

Jaskier's voice grew quiet and Geralt shook his head at such a notion.

“Dear friend, for you are truly my friend, perhaps the only true friend I have. Not because of your musical talent, nor your proficiency at bedding women and certainly not because you are a man without a family – though I did have you down as an only child, I must admit. No, dear, dear Jaskier, you are my friend for many reasons, your courage for one. You have been to places and taken part in things more dangerous than any normal man and from what I gather, certainly any of your siblings would readily involve themselves in. You have also saved me more times and in more ways than I can count. You are loyal, a horrible wretch, hilarious and utterly unique and with qualities I cannot even put into words, for I am no poet, but all of which make you my very dear friend and that will not change whether you are lonesome Jaskier or Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, one of fourteen or even a hundred siblings, all of whom play the lute with the exception of Jennifer who plays the triangle. You are my friend Jaskier, and always will be.”

The bard looked at Geralt with eyes shimmering with tears and, just as Geralt though he would speak, Jaskier turned his head an vomited into a plant pot.

[riseofnightwing]

Overwhelmed Feels - Dick Grayson Imagine

summary/request: can you write One where the readr is totally overwhelmed and stressed and Dick (Not in a relationship) let her rest in his arms smutty please if you can

pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader

Notes: Anony, i’m sorry the delay, I’m back at college and i’m trying to do both in the best way i can. I hope you like it, thank you for requesting, i’m very happy to accept the requestsxxxx

Warnings: smut

My head was about to explode, it had been the most stressful day on Tower for me. Dick was gone for Gotham City to meet Damian for a week and the job stuff was all on my shoulders, after all, they trusted me to keep going with this when our leader was out. 

I admired Dick a lot, for doing this and taking all of that to himself everyday, even though I would never speak it out loud to him, not because he didn’t deserve to hear, but because I was too shy about everything related to him to do this.

Seeing people die if a little step in the mission -that you planned- went wrong, dealing with teenagers and his feelings without counting your own, training them  and even dealing with everyone’s egos, making a tower function perfectly and a hundred things that i wouldn’t be able to list here..it’s not an easy job.

Earlier that night

“Jason, Rose, the guys are all in the training room already, let’s go?”  I said beating on Jay’s door knowing Rose would be there, since they were pretty much together lately.

I was almost leaving when someone opened the door

“I don’t think so” I heard the girl’s voice behind me and turned to look at her without understanding what she meant

“I’m sorry?” I asked her 

“We’ve been training all this week without going out to a mission, Dick left us to do i don’t know what out there and we keep training to what? Rounds?” She said in a pretty annoyed tone.

I listened to her attonished. 

“Rose, I don’t think it’s like this, we’re only going to rounds because there isn’t any mission for us to solve. Dick had to leave so he would do his own missions with Batman and that’s all. Training is never over, you may be new here but you should know it..”

“Oh, of course, you always have the lines to protect boy wonder. I don’t care, we’re not going” she cutted me, talking for her and Jason who didn’t open his mouth any minute and they got into the room again, leaving me without words outside the door.

--

It was 3am and the titans were all asleep, the living room was dark and I was sitting on the couch only with the light of the fireplace helping me fight the cold of san francisco, and my anxiety taking my mind. Wasn’t I being a good leader? Was it too much for me to deal with?

I cried because I didn’t know what to do anymore, this feeling of not being enough, the weight on my shoulders. I was breaking and I didn’t want to admit.

“Y/n?” I heard a well known voice, it was Dick. 

He was back, I was so into my head that I didn’t listen to the elevator door opening. 

“Dick? You’re back already?” I said cleaning the tears that streamed down my face and getting up

He left his bags in the ground, walking to me with a concerned look

“I finished my mission with Damian so I got back earlier.” he said looking right in my eyes. “are you okay?”

“I am, I was just” I tried to keep going with my sentence but the lump in my throat got in the way and i cried again

“Come here” he got closer, taking me into his arms, which I accepted gently.

The warmth of his embrace made me lean my head in his receptive chest while his arms holded me and he placed his chin on the top of my head, i didn’t want leave so soon, 

“It’s okay to break.” he said in his particular tone of voice

“I’m not going to break.” I couldn’t admit that the pressure made the worst of me come up. The weakness that I used to hide so well.

“I’m back. We can do this together, okay? I know I gave you a lot to deal, but you don’t have to do it all by yourself again. I’m here”

He said and I only cried more.

“I should have done it better, Dick. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I know you did it well, that’s why I trusted you to do it.“

“How do you even do that?” I asked him, breaking the hug and sitting down on the couch. 

“It’s too much, I know. I only do that because maybe my mind is already too fucked up and maybe it’s harder to hit me, but it also gets heavy to me sometimes so I understand what you are being through.”

I was ashamed, I was showing the man I loved my weakest state and he was just there, trying to support me.

“Don’t do this to yourself.” He touched my face while he looked in my eyes.

“It feels a little less worse now that you’re here.” I didn’t care about my words anymore, not in this moment. 

He listened to me and when I thought that I wouldn’t have an answer, he kissed me. I put my left hand on his face and he caught me by my waist and I was now, sitting on his lap. The kiss wasn’t urgent, it was gentle, as if he wanted to explore every spot of my mouth, of my lips.

Dick’s kiss was healing, his touch had the right intensity to make me tremble. He pushed me closer and I went, tangling my hand through his hair, enjoying the incredible sensation of feeling complete.

“I don’t think I can ever forget this taste” he said in your ear, with a low tone of voice, referring to the taste of your kiss.

“You won’t have to” you answered spreading kisses on his neck

In a move, Dick switched your positions, laying you on the couch while he was on top of you.

“Dick, what if they see us?” You asked him, trying to focus 

“They are asleep” he whispered in your ear before biting it’s lobe.

He kissed me again, intensifying it after pulling me by my neck. I took off his shirt, pulling it off without caring if it would break a button or not and threw it as far as I could for neither of us to even think about stopping it all. 

He put his hands on my shirts, also taking off, and in my bra as I shivered at his touch on my back, but I didn't care, much less to stop kissing him. He wanted that ... For ages.

 Without further ado, Dick tore off my bra and gradually stopped kissing me to watch my breasts. He gave a malicious smile and looked at me, whose lips were parted to try to breathe better, after a few seconds, he decided to stop curling up.

Without waiting for anything else, Dick let his desire guide him once and for all: he lifted his lips to one of my breasts and sucked it willingly, making me throw my head back and hold a moan. I had nothing else to do, or at least I didn't know, but to enjoy that wonderful sensation. I felt my stomach churn slightly, felt the excitement start to take over, felt every hair on my body stand on with every touch that he gave me. 

Dick was slowly lowering his lips to my belly, making me sigh and let my body fall on the couch, he was following the path until he reached the zipper of the jeans that I wore, when opening the button, he smirked. I rested my body on both arms and stared at him as he slowly lowered his pants.. I noticed how excited Dick's gaze was, I felt the urge to jump out of that. The best thing about it was knowing that all that desire was all for me and that I returned all of it in equal measure.

 I blew out a louder breath as I felt his lips on one of my thighs and threw my head back again while Dick created a path from my thigh to my groin.

 Dick then finally pulled my panties down and took one of his fingers to my intimacy to lightly massage my clitoris. I bit my lower lip and contracted my belly, feeling even more moist and wanting to have it once and for all.

 He moved just one finger to torture me in circles, making me dizzy with excitement. Dick had lowered his lips to my neck and bit down there, making me release a heavier sigh. I moved my hips down in an attempt to make him understand what I really wanted, but he was too focused on his slow, wet kisses near my breasts.

I uncrossed my legs from Dick’s hips, helping him down that damn piece of cloth once for all. Our lips came together in a completely desperate way and Dick took me by the hip, lifting me slightly from the couch. We didn't even remember that we should protect ourselves or anything because we were completely desperate.  I Could feel my intimacy throbbing again and, seeing Dick like that and his cock fully erect in front of me, made me feel a chill going through my body and I bit my lip hard. 

Dick held me tighter and positioned himself at my entrance. We met each other's eyes and I forced my body in a way that slid over Dick's, but without leaving the couch completely. Dick closed his eyes and sighed as he held me tightly now by the waist. 

Our bodies clashed with force and speed, groans echoed throughout the room and again that whole sensation took over my body, perhaps twice this time; he lacked air and his entire body burned. 

Dick threw his head back and closed his eyes as he pulled my body to meet his. I no longer spared a moan and didn't even need to, both of us didn't care about the people inside that tower anymore. Dick pressed my body tighter against his and moved away for a few seconds, he squeezed my waist tighter, causing me a bit of pain, which had been totally ignored, and I let out a loud moan as I felt much closer to reaching my orgasm. 

The man pulled his practically entire member out of me and penetrated me harder at once, causing me to moan loudly and reach her maximum. He closed his eyes tightly and moved faster, making me moan even more. He was close. I started to move too, making their bodies clash more. Dick threw his head back as he tightened his grip on my waist and let out a husky groan. I felt my legs tremble and Dick was still holding my waist, as if he were recovering too. 

He got off me, using the little space that remained in the couch to lay by my side, leaning his head in the area of my breasts. He pulled out a thin blanket that covered the sofa on which we were lying, using it to cover both of us while he switched the positions to make me place my head on his warm chest.

“I love you. I’m not saying this to hear it back, but i want you to know that I do” 

he said and you smiled softly at him, every bad feeling you felt earlier was gone now, giving place to a beautiful feeling in your chest.

“You need to know that I love you too and that I’ve felt like this for a thousand times.”

He kissed me, pulling me closer in a hug while I nestled into his arms, hopefully we'd be waking up before any of the titans could see us.

[crossoversfics]

Boy Genius (Chapter 2)

(Spencer Reid x Malcolm Bright)

Dani was glancing over Edrisa’s notes when she noticed the two suits standing in the doorway. She closed the folder and stuck out her hand, “Detective Dani Powell I assume you guys are with the Feds?”

The blonde took her hand first, “Jennifer Jareau, and this is Emily Prentiss.”

Dani shook Prentiss’ hand, “Nice to meet you both, Lieutenant Arroyo told me you guys would be coming. Edrisa, our ME, is washing up, she’ll be back in a sec to give us an update on the vics.”

Prentiss smiled at her, but Dani noticed her eyes were looking her over not unlike Bright at times. She wasn’t fond of being profiled and now they had a whole pack of them to deal with.

“How long have you been a cop?” Jareau asked.

“About six years, ma’am.” That was all she was going to say. No need to give them more information. 

“Oh please, just call me Jennifer or JJ.” She smiled.

Dani nodded, “Sure, you can call me Dani.” 

The dark haired one, Emily, gestured to the notes in Dani’s hand, “May I?”

“Of course.” Dani handed the folder over.

“It says here that there was several shallow incisions around the pelvic area of both victims. That’s consistent with previous victims but we never did determine why.” Emily looked up at JJ.

“No, because there wasn’t direct evidence of sexual assault or even a sexual component with any of the victims.” JJ glanced around the room.

A thought occurred to Dani, “I’m assuming you guys probably came to the same conclusion that we did about the burning? Its at least in some part a forensic countermeasure.” 

Emily closed the folder, “Yes, but we also believe he has some form of pyromania. He wants us to think it’s for practical reasons but he most likely was neglected as a child.”

“Or physically abused. Maybe with fire somehow.” JJ added.

“He could have been burned with cigarettes. I’ve seen it way too much around here.” Dani knew her tone betrayed sadness and maybe even a little hurt but she hoped they would think it was from the job. 

“Actually, that’s a very good observation, Dani!” 

Dani smiled in spite of herself, she knew that voice anywhere, “Edrisa, I was beginning to think you ran off.”

Edrisa’s wide eyed stare got even wider if that was possible, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was working on something for Bright.” Her mouth formed a rather large O, “Is that who you thought I ran off with?” She giggled, “You know our relationship is strictly professional. Unless he were to be gentleman about it then maybe I would reconsider.” 

“Edrisa,” Dani interrupted slightly harsher then she meant, “That’s not at all what I was talking about.” She looked at JJ and Emily with as much of a straight face as she could manage, “Agents Jareau and Prentiss this is our ME, Edrisa Tenaka.”

Fortunately, they both seemed simply amused at the situation. They shook a rather sheepish Edrisa’s hand. Dani grabbed the folder once again, “So Edrisa what did you find?”

That was all it took to get Edrisa on track, “Well, my initial report didn’t contain much because of the extensive damage to the skin. After we got them back here I was able to determine that they had been dead for several days and that they had been held in captivity for some time.”

“What makes you say that?” Emily asked sounding curious.

Edrisa lifted the sheet covering one of the victims, “Well the damage, although extensive, left patches on their backs that were almost untouched. My guess is they were being burned from the top only and it was working its way through them. The skin on the back is very pale and lacks vitamin D. They were malnourished and had old scars underneath newer cuts. I’d say they were held for a solid month or so.”

“What about the teeth?” JJ asked, “If this is Dr. Arthur this is the first time he has ever disfigured the face.”

“Yes, that bit was rather interesting,” Edrisa put on a pair of gloves and opened the victims mouth, “At first it just looked like he had pulled them all out but then I got in closer and I found fragments of tooth stuck in the gums at odd angles.”

“What caused it do you think?” JJ frowned.

“Edrisa, were they crushed?” Dani looked at the ME.

“That would be my conclusion.” Edrisa grinned at her.

“So he’s crushing the teeth and then pulling out the pieces? That doesn’t make sense.” Emily ran her gaze over the body.

“What if they weren’t pulled out?” Dani turned to both of the agents, “they’re sticking out in some places at the weirdest angles. What if he crushes them and then leaves them in there to fall out on their own?”

JJ blinked and her jaw dropped slightly.

“What is it, JJ?” Emily prodded.

JJ shook her head, “I think I know what he’s doing.”

                                                               ~ 

Reid followed Morgan through the mass of reporters as they made their way to the crime scene.

“Sir! Sir! Are you with the FBI?”

A voice stood out and it was very close to him. Reid turned and saw a young strawberry blonde woman holding a microphone as close as she could reach.

“Sir, my name is Ainsley Whitly and the people of New York want an answer if they should be worried about their safety.” 

Reid leaned into the microphone, “No comment.” With that he turned on his heel and caught up with Morgan. 

“I thought I’d lost you there, pretty boy.” Morgan’s blinding white grin spread across his face.

Reid gave him a confused look, “I don’t get lost.” 

Morgan’s smile went away as quick as it came, “Ok never mind, I don’t want a run down of how well you know every street and corner of the city lets get inside.”

There were lots of cops making a makeshift lane through the terminal over to where the bodies had been found. As they approached one of the guys standing over the scene went to greet them.

“Detective JT Tarmel.”

Morgan shook his outstretched hand, “SSA Derek Morgan and this is Dr. Spencer Reid.”

The detective extended his hand to Reid, but Morgan stopped him, “Don’t bother, he’s a bit of a germaphobe.” 

“If being a germaphobe means that I am distinctly aware of 1,500 different types of bacteria that live on every square inch of any given person’s hands then yes I’m a germaphobe.” Reid retorted.

The detective looked slightly confused, “Oh boy, you have yourself one of those.”

“He’s our boy genius.” Morgan chuckled.

“Well then he and Bright should get along just fine.” Detective Tarmel replied still looking Reid over.

Wanting the subject to be off of him and finding it oddly off-putting to hear someone else being called ‘boy genius’ Reid interjected, “And who is Bright?”

“Malcolm Bright. He’s over there.” The detective pointed to a lone man standing with his back to them. Tarmel continued, “He’s our profiler and a bit of an acquired taste.” He waved to his companion, “Hey Bright, come over here.”

[queen-scribbles]

You Know Me Well

(27. Unkempt for @31daysofwayhaven)

Now with art!

---

By the third time Abigail glanced out the station’s front window, she’d dropped any pretense of being subtle.

As had Tina, who was blatantly grinning at her when she looked back over. “Hot date?”

Abigail chuckled quietly. “By my standards, yeah. Not sure you’d count it th’ same,” she teased. 

“I am who I am,” Tina laughed. “And you are who you are. Which, in this case, is absolutely smitten.”

Abigail smiled as she shrugged and made no effort to deny it. She didn’t quite have the heart to clarify her “hot date” was with a book; Nate was just coming by to walk her home.

“Hey, I would be, too, if my boyfriend looked like that,” Tina said, nudging Abigail with her elbow. “No judgment here. I can finish this paperwork on my own if you’d rather wait outside for him.”

“I don’t mind-” Abigail started to protest.

“And neither do I, or I wouldn’t have offered,” Tina grinned. “It’s not exactly like we’re swamped tonight; I’ll have plenty of time, and your shift is just about done.” Her grin widened into something almost Cheshire. “Besides, you’re so distracted checking for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome every ten seconds, I may as well be doing it on my own.”

Abigail’s face warmed at the friendly needling. “Sorry. This is th’ first chance we gotten t’ spend time together since makin’ it official. Aside from the carnival,” she amended, smile pulling her lips as she twisted one finger in a lock of hair and tugged it slightly. “I may be just a bit excited, yeah?”

“Oh, just a bit?” Tina teased, then made a shooing motion toward the front door.  “Far be it from me to stand in the way of romance. Go await your Prince Charming, Detective Jenings. I can handle this.”

Abigail only wavered another second before taking her up on it. “Thanks, Tina.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tina winked. “I know you’d do the same for me.”

“Anytime,” Abigail said, and she meant it. “You can keep workin’ in here if y’want,” she offered as she turned off her computer. “I think I can trust ya with my desk.”

“At least more than whoever’s responsible for that,” Tina said with a smirk. She nodded at the still-duct-taped corner and it was all Abigail could do to bite back a laugh.

“I would hope,” was all she said. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Night, AJ,” Tina said, fluttering one hand in a goodbye wave.

“Night.” She debated gathering her hair back in a ponytail as she headed for the door. It looked breezy, no point in letting her hair get messier than it had to. But she found herself, for once, without a hair band around her wrist and had to settle for hoping it wouldn’t be too windy.

Sure enough, a late spring breeze bustled down the street just as she stepped outside and sent a shiver up her spine. My one problem with spring, she thought wryly. I never remember how much it cools in the evening. The blouse she’d selected this morning had been fine then, even without her typical waistcoat, but now proved... a bit lacking. Once the breeze passed, however, it was tolerable, and she leaned back against the sun-warmed brick of the station wall to wait for Nate.

She hadn’t been there more than a few minutes before he came into view, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket and a smile catching his lips when he saw her.

“Hello, Abigail,” he greeted her warmly, and there was an entire sonnet just in how he said her name. “Apologies if I’m late.”

“Nah,” she assured him with a bashful smile, pushing away from the wall. “Tina shooed me out early ‘cause I was too distracted t’ be any help. Three guesses why.” 

“I would like to hope I only need one,” Nate said with a laugh, slipping his hand out of one pocket to reach for hers.

Abigail laced her fingers with his and didn’t even try to hold back her grin. “Yeah, me, too.You know me well.”

His brow furrowed slightly and he pulled her closer. “Are you warm enough? Your hands are chilly.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, hoping she was right. “It’s just th’ breeze, yeah? While we’re walkin’ shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Alright, I’ll trust your judgment, AJ.” A long smile curved Nate’s lips. “Just let me know if you need help warming up.” His tone was innocent, but there was mischief sparkling in his eyes that had a flush spreading over her face.

“I-I’ll do that,” she squeaked, ducking her head as she scuffed one boot against the sidewalk.

“Sorry, was that too forward?” He gave a quiet, apologetic laugh as they started walking.

“Y’did almost sound like Mason there for a moment,” Abigail teased, then giggled when he grimaced. “I didn’t mind, I’m just still not used to it, yeah?” She tilted her head back so she could meet his eyes, her face still warm. “Havin’ someone who’ll say that sorta thing t’ me.”

“Ah.” Nate smiled and squeezed her hand. “I never mean to make you uncomfortable, AJ.”

“And ya don’t,” she promised. She kicked a pebble and watched it skitter into the street. “Ever. I’m just... still adjustin’.”

“Noted. I shall keep that in mind and ration those statements accordingly,” he said with a chuckle.

“Grand,” she managed around the butterflies in her chest, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they walked.

By the time they reached the edge of the woods, sunset was painting the sky in earnest and Abigail was definitely regretting not having a jacket. Another breeze skittered by and sent a shiver dancing up her spine as it tousled her hair, her grip reflexively tightening around Nate’s hand.

“AJ.” He tugged her to a halt, then slipped his hand free of hers so he could shrug off his jacket and hold it out toward her. “You look cold.”

She hesitated, despite the goosebumps prickling up her arms. “Maybe a bit, yeah.”

“Well, then.” He wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.

Abigail bit her lip as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. It was much too big, of course, the sleeves coming practically to her fingertips and the hem to mid-thigh. But it was comfortable, and soft, and warm. And it smelled like him, a realization that was hardly surprising but still had her eyes fluttering briefly closed when it struck.

Nate chuckled and took her hand again, his fingers warm as they wrapped around hers. “Better?”

“Much, thanks.” Abigail looked up to flash a shy smile. “Are you gonna be alright?”

“I’ll manage,” he said with a smile. “I am wearing other layers, after all.”

“Yeah, but...” She instinctively pressed close at another, stronger breeze, even if she was well-ensconced against the chill. “I hate for you t’ be the one payin’ for me gettin’ tricked by the warm mornin’ an’ not grabbin’ a jacket-”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be fine, AJ. I promise.”

In the spirit of fairness, there was really only one answer she could give. “Alright, then.” He’d trusted her on this score, she could return the favor. She still walked close enough for their arms to touch as they resumed course through the woods.

“How was your day?” Nate asked, slipping his free hand into his pocket.

“Oh, fine.” Abigail twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Work was busy, but nothing excitin’.” She wrinkled her nose. “Lotsa paperwork. That sort of thing...” She let her hand fall, and the jacket sleeve almost completely covered it when it swung at her side. “How ‘bout you?”

“Pretty much the usual,” Nate said with a shrug. “Patrols, paperwork of my own”--he sidestepped closer to her avoiding a branch--”though I did spar with Adam for a bit.”

“Yeah?” Abigail arched a brow in surprise.

“His choice, not mine,” Nate laughed. “Mason and Felix were on patrol at the time and Adam was... not in the mood to wait.”

“And you’d never leave a friend in the lurch,” she finished with a smile. 

One he matched. “You know me well. It’s good to keep in practice, even if that’s not my preferred method for settling conflicts.”

“Almost wish I’d been there t’ watch.” The words tumbled out in a mutter before she could catch them at the mental image, and Abigail dropped her gaze to her boots as her face flushed to the ears. That wasn’t s’pposed to be out loud, you great ninny!

Nate laughed and squeezed her hand. “Your presence would have considerably lessened the sting of defeat,” he said lightly.

She couldn’t help a giggle, knowing he didn’t mind terribly that this particular area was not his forte. “Didja use books instead, since I wasn’t there?”

He laughed again, the sound warming her clean down to her toes. “You do know me well, Abigail.”

“That’s not a hard one,” she demurred, before glancing up. “But I hope I do. Know y’well, I mean.” She stumbled a little over a root and had to look down. “I surely want to.” It was almost more frank than she’d meant to be, and she left her gaze on her feet even after steadying herself.

“AJ.” Nate waited until she looked up. “There are few things that would please me more than us getting to know each other even better. As I mentioned, I want to learn everything about you.”

“Terribly unexcitin’ as that experience’ll be,” Abigail said, one side of her mouth tugging in a self-deprecating smirk.

“Oh, I disagree,” Nate countered warmly, and she couldn’t stop the smile that curved her lips, proud that she managed to hold his gaze this time. It did still take a couple tries to make her voice work.

 “You’re off to a grand start,” she finally murmured, a soft chuckle following the words. “An’ I wanna learn all about you, too, yeah?” She wrinkled her nose.  “Even if there is a good bit more for me t’ get through.”

Something hesitant flickered in Nate’s eyes, but it was gone just as fast, and his laugh was genuine. “All the more reason for us to spend as much time together as possible.” They both tensed as another breeze emphasized the growing evening chill. “Though perhaps somewhere more... sheltered,” he clarified with a smile.

Abigail laughed. “Sounds good t’ me.”

“So, what are your plans for the evening?” Nate asked as they stepped free of the woods and back onto the sidewalk.

“Extremely comfortable clothes an’ losin’ m’self in a book,” she replied promptly, then bit her lip and decided to gamble on asking. “Assumin’ you’re not free to stay for a while...?”

“I truly wish I could,” Nate said with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair. “But there’s a meeting...”

“It’s fine,” Abigail reassured him, squeezing his hand. “Just figured it couldn’t hurt t’ ask.”

He nodded. “Knowing that’s something you want is... gratifying, even if our schedules don’t allow it,” he agreed. “So, this book. Something new, or an old favorite?”

“Old favorite,” she said, slowing her steps to stretch out the short remaining distance to her building. “With work so busy right now, I don’t have it in me t’ start somethin’ new, yeah?”

Nate laughed softly with a smile that said he knew what she was doing as he checked his stride even further to match hers. “I understand. You just want the comfort of something familiar, especially in your leisure time.”

“You know me well,” Abigail nodded in turn, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand. “There’s so little of it right now,” she added with a rueful chuckle.  “Hafta be picky how I spend it.”

“In that case, I’m especially honored by your invitation and regretful I couldn’t accept it,” Nate said as they drew to a stop in from of her building.

“Eh, there’ll be other times,” she said. The breeze whipped loose red curls across her face as she looked up at him. “In theory, at least,” she added wryly, reaching up to try and tame the unkempt locks.

He laughed and their hands brushed as he reached to tuck the windblown hair behind her ear. “Hope does spring eternal.”

Abigail giggled, then bit her lip when his touch lingered against her cheek. “Still wish y’ could stay now,” she murmured, gaze locked with his.

“As do I,” Nate admitted softly.

She wasn’t sure which of them moved first; him leaning down or her pushing up on her toes, but the resulting kiss was wonderfully gentle and soft. Almost chaste. Her hands dug into his t-shirt for balance, and his fingers--carefully--slid into her hair.

His phone beeped in the same moment hers buzzed and they both let out frustrated groans as they broke apart.

“It’s probably a reminder about the meeting,” Nate said, not even bothering to look, his eyes still fixed on hers. “Adam knew of my plans” --he brushed a wayward curl from her forehead again-- “and likely worried I’d wind up distracted.” He traced his thumb along her lower lip and chuckled. “He’s not wrong...”

Abigail’s face warmed and she smiled. “Mine’s prob’ly Tina bein’ a busybody.” She raked a hand into her hair to hold it back from her face. “I’ll check inside.”

He nodded and brushed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Enjoy your book.”

“I will,” she said, even though she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to focus on it now. “Oh, wait!” She grabbed his arm as he started to leave. “Your jacket.” She shrugged it off to hand back, shoulders hunching against the abrupt temperature change. “Thanks again for lettin’ me borrow it.”

She left off how tempting it was to keep; warm and soft and smelling of him.

“You are most welcome,” Nate said as he slipped it back on. “And thank you for remembering.”

“‘Course.” Abigail nodded. “G’night, Nate.”

He smiled fondly. “Goodnight, AJ.” His gaze dropped to her lips and he leaned in for one last quick kiss before he headed off down the street.

Abigail sighed as she watched him go, catching the lingering scent of leather and cologne. The goosebumps prickling up her arms drove her inside before she was truly ready, but at least there was a good book waiting for her.

Even if it felt more than a little like a consolation prize now.

[ultradiplr]

First Impressions

A SFW Sigma & OC fanfiction

Tags: Sigma, OC: Uahi (H453), mentions of death and regret, sort of Talon Sigma mention?

A/N No fluff, no smut, just a little practice at writing Sigma, its been a very long time since I’ve written so go easy on me!

Sigma sat alone in his room, well his lab, well not entirely a lab. It was a studio apartment as well, lab and apartment, not much different from when he was….. It was his home inside of this building inside of the ground. Well partially in the… it wasn’t important. What was important was that he was mostly alone, doing work, and counting down the seconds until the next guard came to watch him.

Endless shifts of guards. Talon Guards. Here to keep him safe. Keep his research safe really. Whether they actually cared about his person however he’d never know or care particularly. They watched, behind a mask similar to his experimental one, with tightly layered kevlar and metal suits holding loaded guns, treating him neither coldly or warmly, regarding him like a job. And he was. He was not their company, not a friend to converse with or a stranger to regard warmly as even a coworker, he was simply him. Subject Sigma. A job.

He didn’t care really, the people from… before…. Treated him like a job as well. No… no they didn’t. They treated him like an experiment. Like a thing to be observed. A thing to be tested. To be strapped down and used and….. No, he can’t get into it, not now, not while he’s working tonight. Or else it’d be another lost night of spiraling. These people here, the guards, at least they weren’t watching him for scientific research, weren’t strapping him down and forcing that melody into his room, weren’t keeping him confined and broken. These guards were just… here, with him, casually. This was their job. At least he could be okay with that.

“H453, for shift change.” A voice cut through the silence of the room and the rambling in his brain, he looked at the wall at a digital clock, strange was it off-

“H453 you’re five minutes early.” Sigma turned to look at the area besides his door to his lab.

A small glass encased room within the room, very small, almost like an old gate attendant box, with a control panel within it. The guard sat on a stool looking tired from his posture, and the new one sent to relieve him for the night stood in the booth’s own doorway, separate from the lab’s real one.

“Are you complaining?” They asked, the one standing.

“Nope.” Said the one sitting as they stood and sidestepped the new guard, “He’s all yours.” 

Sigma turned away then, pulling his attention back to his research, or at least back to his mind where he could think for a moment. H453, that was new, what happened to O657? Usually O657 was here after J223, and when O657 wasn’t here T784 was. Was there new scheduling? He’d been told there were new staff earlier this week but he’d assumed it was for the technical team, and not the guard. What on earth happened to O657? He quite liked them, when they fell asleep they didn’t snore. And when they were awake they’d hum tunes. And there was that one time they warned him about instruments about to fall off a table and he thought that was rather nice. Who was this new person who-

“Good Morning” A voice, a clear voice, not spat out from the speakers of a mask, asked him from the box, and he jumped a little.

He looked back at them, or rather her, firstly surprised at being addressed so directly, and again at the disregard at protocol as he saw clearly her face, she had taken her Talon issued headgear off. She was mature, or at least looked to be, pronounced grey hairs filling her black tied back bun of hair. She looked tired, which was fair considering the time… the time! He looked at her and back at the clock, god, MIDNIGHT.

A hand rose to his face and pinched his nose and rubbed his eyes, he’d been working for a solid twelve hours since his last break, and hadn’t eaten in just as long. He sighed and looked back at her, giving her a raised brow, before staunchly ignoring her greeting and floating over to a kitchen of sorts in this cavernous room.

“Kitchen” being a generous term for it, it was a table with an electric teapot used to make hot water on it, a few boxes of various teas, and a handful of instant foods made with adding hot water. He was allowed to make his own food, though the pickings were slim, not a fresh piece of fruit, vegetable or meat in sight, processed and packaged meals were his whole life, though he couldn’t complain really, better than the tube stuff… much better. 

“Or you can just ignore me.” He heard her mumble rather loudly, obviously meaning for him to hear.

He made a noise to acknowledge that he heard her, opening up a bowl of instant noodles, and pouring in hot water and flavoring.

“Instant noodles, I had the same dinner.” He heard her speak, again, as he watched the noodles cook in front of him, “You’d think they’d splurge a little more on at least name brands.” she attempted to joke.

Truth be told, he was surprised at her attempts to be somewhat friendly, more than the last few, though he did remember some of them being friendly… before…. Before a large hiring of new guards…. New guards….. Every few months there were always new people, all more quiet than the last.

He cut his thought off early from that, not wanting to say to himself why that was, best to move on from that. Sacrifices could reasonably be made in the name of science after all…

“You always this quiet or should I be alarmed?” She asked casually, but the tone of annoyance was not lost on him.

“I am tired.” He answered without turning toward her, fixated on the bubbles rising between the instant noodles breaking up, though he was afraid it came off more intense then he meant for it to be, considering he heard it echoing in the room, his voice louder than he realized.

He heard her scoff and then the squeak of the stool as she settled more back, “Sorry, i’ll be quiet.” she said, and though she sounded sincere, no doubt she was a bit…. Annoyed.

He frowned to himself, squeezing his lips into a thin line and wearing an intense expression as he mixed the now softened noodles around. He disliked how this first impression went, how awkward it must be for her to be stuck in a room with a giant floating man who refuses to talk to you. Though that wasn’t his fault, was it? She should have known he wasn’t the “talkative” type...  well he used to be…. He used to be a lot of things…. But he wasn’t anymore was he?

He shook his head as memories of summits and meetings and lunches began to flood his mind, he disliked thinking of before in such personal detail, in ways where he can feel like he was there, because sometimes it feels like he is….. And that scared him.

“You are fine, I am just tired, I have been up all day.” He says softly, noting the lack of echo, good, he’s at an acceptable volume, “Though I would think you know that.” He said, trying to make light of the situation as he picked up the warm bowl in his hands and floated back to his work table.

“Something like that, the briefing for this station is pretty long.” she said plainly, it seems he’d have to do better if she was going back to her previous tone.

“I would not be surprised, it seems they send a new guard here every other week.” He sat above his work station, comfortable lounging as he picked and ate his food slowly, hunger not overshadowing hard set eating habits.

“Considering the casualties, I wouldn’t be surprised, they’re down to pulling veterans.” She yawned with a stretch, the metal, plastic and kevlar scraping together, much too loud for his liking, even above his slurping.

The word casualties hung in the air, although she said it so nonchalantly, it stuck to the inside of his skull. He disliked the word greatly, murders would be more fitting a small voice in the back of his head would whisper, bodies another would say, fools yet another would say, roadblocks, the price of success, the price of science, the price of humanity….

Before he knew it he was staring down at an empty bowl, completely empty, no soup no noodles, he blinked and then he felt a splash of hot to warm water splash his face as his bowl was suddenly full again.

He yelped as he got drenched with his own floating meal and suddenly touched the ground, standing tall on his own two feet as he trudged over to the meager sink and dumped his food in it, frustrated and upset.

“Get out, I will be going to bed.” he said harshly, his echoing voice barely puncturing his own racing thoughts, already stomping to his bed within the same room.

He stood beside his bed, focusing on the object, grounding himself as he touched the soft fabric to make like he was getting in. Some part of him noticed the sound of the shifting of her suit gear as she got up and the sound of the guard box’s door opening and shutting.

He got into bed and listened to the murmurings subsiding as he stared at the wall, the lights shut off about thirty minutes later, reasoned that him not moving was a sign of sleep while in reality he just focused on a small crack in the wall. Minuscule really, looks more like a dent, a chip in the paint even. Bigger than it had been during his first few weeks, a month ago he had focused hard on the crack and it had grown. The show of strength had scared him greatly and he had not attempted it again. But it stayed here, this crack, reminding him of how powerful he had become. More permanent than any guard, more permanent than the countless others he must have hurt, even more permanent than the fleeting memories and achievements he had made before… before he became this.

He blinked, one, twice, three times, slower and slower, and before long he drifted to sleep, his dreams filled with space and floating shapes and theoretical lines and vectors and math unknowable and incomprehensible. 

[bangchanshehe]

The Boogeyman pt. 2

Summary: You were constantly having the same reoccurring dream over and over again and your friends told you that it meant nothing. But as your nights became more strange as days passed by you knew that it was more than a dream. much, much more. You tried every night to stop the bizarre dreams from occurring in the same sequence to try to find out more about who or what was controlling them. But when you came face to face with the demon in your dreams in real life, you realized that what he had been telling you all along was true. There is no escape.

??? X Reader

Word Count: 3k

The rest of your morning passed as usual. You made your coffee at 6:30 am sharp, you did your hair and makeup and got dressed and made your way to work. The only difference between your morning and other people’s mornings is that you had only slept for 6 hours. You sighed to yourself once you were parked in the work garage and checked your reflection in the rear view mirror.

Fucking eye bags. You cursed under your breath.

You could tell that physically the lack of sleep was starting to get to you. You no longer had naturally dewy, well rested skin. Your eye bags had grown exponentially, and your mood. Most of all… your mood had taken a turn for the worse.

In your precinct you were always known as the most serious investigator, but lately a few co-workers had added some extra vocabulary to your name. detective “bitch-face”, was your favorite as of yet. You gathered up your bag, threw your keys and phone inside and held onto your coffee cup with a death grip as you prepared yourself for another day of mind-numbing work.

You had barely clocked in and sat your things down at your desk when your boss called you into his office. You rolled your eyes and mentally shifted into your role as a well mannered subordinate, before you stalked off to his office. You knocked twice on his glass door before welcoming yourself in.

“you wanted to see me?” you asked him with a straight face although you knew what he was calling you into his office for

“yes, take a seat y/n” he commanded in an authoritative tone

You obliged him and tried to make yourself comfortable in the stiff chairs.

“I know that you are having some trouble in dealing with the suicide cases y/n.” he started and you let out a sigh “I think that we need to put this case to rest not only for our sake but also for the family’s sakes” he leaned forward at his desk and spoke softer to you “simply put there is nothing further to investigate, and there is no sign of foul play in either of these women’s cases.”

You knew that the correct and polite thing to do would be to agree with your boss, but you had a hunch that you couldn’t get rid of. And you knew that if it was you in those women’s shoes, that you would want for someone to try their best for you.

“all do respect sir, ill have to disagree” you started “I’ve spoken to the families and neither of them mention mental illness or indication of suicide. Their work life, social life and financial stability was solid. There was no reason for those women to have motivation to take their own life. I’ve already –“

“let me stop you right there” your boss interrupted you mid-sentence. “we don’t know for sure that these women weren’t suffering from any mental illness. We cant say that they didn’t commit suicide just because they were perfect on paper.” He shook his head in disagreement

“sir, I’ve spoken with the medical examiner and they say that there is no sign of natural death….” You gave him a stern look and he gave you one back “these women essentially just dropped dead. Nothing in their system, nothing wrong with their health. It doesn’t make any sense!”

“I want you to dismiss the case.” He said firmly

“if either of these women were your daughter or wife, would you want someone else to just dismiss the case sir?” you asked him

He paused for a long while giving you a pointed glare before finally looking down at his desk and back up at you again. “y/n, I am going to give you one more week to work on this case. Either you bring me more evidence that this was a homicide by that time, or we dismiss the case. Is that understood?” he asked you

“yes sir! I appreciate it sir!” you said with a small smile, happy that you had talked him into giving you some more time.

You walked out of his office with more motivation than ever to help these women and their families. You made your way back to your desk, unpacked your files and looked back over their cases, starting with the basics.

Looking over the autopsy results the women seemed to be perfectly healthy beings with nothing in their system other than an sleeping aid.

You didn’t find that the fact that they might need help with falling asleep strange, but if you were going to produce results by the end of the week you had to cross all of your t’s and dot all of your I’s. starting with a call to a medical examiner.

You picked up the phone and dialed the examiner less than hopeful to find anything of significance but unwilling for the case to be dropped without finding any further answers.  

“hello, this is examiner song speaking. How can I help you?” a friendly and familiar voice answered

“Hi, Mr. Song this is detective Y/N speaking. I have a few questions for you in regards to the double suicide case. Are you free right now?” you asked him as friendly as possible hoping it would gain you the favor

“oh! Sure ask away!” he said as chipper as ever

“I see from the report that both of the women were both using a sleeping aid and I was wondering if the dose that they had in their system was typical and if you had any other information on this medication?”

He hummed for a moment “the amount still left in the blood stream was pretty typical for a sleep medication, particularly if they had taken it that night. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of drug abuse or abnormalities. However, I don’t know too much about the medication other than its prescription and you have to have some serious sleep insomnia to get prescribed it.” he mentioned

You quickly scribbled down the name of the drug on a piece of paper and thanked the examiner before you hung up the phone. Looking back over the files for the women you quickly look up their family physician’s number only to find that the women both go to the same doctor.

You wrote the number down underneath the name of the medication and stuck in on your computer monitor. You highly doubted that it was a strong lead to pursue since doctor song said the levels look normal and decided to save it for later.

You restlessly looked over your notes and files calling anyone who you think would have any additional information on the women, before you finally noticed that it was close to 11.

You pulled out your phone and text your best friend who was a practicing therapist in your area. You had met her because of work and ever since then you were glued to each other. You smiled to yourself remembering how comfortable it was for the two of you when you had first met. It was like you had just met your best friend who you hadn’t seen for a while and had a ton to catch up on.

The entire reason that you were there to begin with was because you were injured on the job and was told to go as a part of probation until you were “better again”, which was short for do your required 3 appointments for an hour and you’ll be cleared to be back on the force again. But the two of you were so close that you met often after your standard three meetings. Only this time you often met at a bar, after business hours for the both of you.

Hey, want to get Mexican food for lunch around 12? You sent here knowing that she was done with her standard 10-11 appointment. You had looked away for only a moment before you had heard your phone vibrate.

ABSOLUTELY! I have the craziest story to tell you when I get there! Get ready!

You laughed quietly at her text. She always had some crazy story to tell you about her clients. Was it technically legal for her to do so? No, not really. But she was at least responsible to change the names and places in her stories so that at least identities were protected. Plus, since she worked strictly with more upscale clientele, she heard a lot of stories about wild affairs, extravagant parties and occasionally a celebrity gone bad.

You locked your phone and put it down on your desk hoping that within the next 45 minutes you’ll be on a better track then you currently were.

  “so you would never believe what happened today!” your friend started off excitedly from across the table, drink in hand “my typical 10 o’clock canceled on me today… whatever, no big deal. But come 9:50ish I get this message from the receptionist that a certain very attractive celebrity wanted to book a same day appointment with me if at all possible. So I’m all ‘hell yeah! Get his ass in here!’ and when he came into my room he told me this story about how he drunkenly married a woman from a foreign country, spent the next three amazing weeks with her in paradise and now she’s gone and he’s completely torn apart from it” she said like it was the wildest news she had ever heard

You stared at her from across the table wondering where she was going to go with her story. Unamused or impressed with what she was telling you

“and I mean like full blown ugly crying in my office over this girl. He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture after picture of her proclaiming that she was the most attractive woman he’d ever met. And eventually at the very end he said that he had received a message from her saying that she was pregnant with another man’s child and wanted to be with him to raise the baby” she stopped to take a breath “I mean the poor guy was really losing his marbles over this chick. But as he’s walking out of the building I literally see him eye fucking some chick and then without a word she just gets into his car and they drive off together to do god knows what!” she finally finished

You raised your eyebrows at her and gave her a look of disbelief. You wouldn’t have believed your ears if it weren’t for the fact that you had some of your own run ins with celebrities or word of celebrities in her office.

“that’s so crazy!” you said confused over such behavior.  “hey I have a question for you about a medication and I have no clue if you’ll actually know anything about it.” you said pulling out your sticky note with the name scribbled across the top

She leaned over to look at the name and immediately perked up. “oh yeah I prescribe that pretty often to patients who need help sleeping.” She said before looking up to you “why? Are you looking into a new sleep medication?”

You sighed and put the note away. “well I found it through a case and had never heard of it, so I figured I’d ask. Is it any good?” you asked her

She scoffed and giggled “it’s the best thing that anyone has invented since bread.” She said “fuck all of the older sleep medications. This one is the best. Plus… there’s a little more that goes into it than just getting the drug from a store. You take a questionnaire and they give you an at home test so they can create it to be designed more for what you need.”

Your eyes went wide and you sat back in your chair happy to hear about how good the medicine was. Whatever the price was you would be willing to pay for a decent night’s sleep again.

You pulled out your phone and googled the drug, and scheduling was much simpler than you thought, you made an appointment for 5:30 so you could go straight after work.

“thank you my sweet, sweet friend. I’ll see you later!” you said with a smile on your face shoving one last tortilla chip in your face before you ran to your car so you could get back to the office on time.

  The rest of the shift went by terribly slow and you were actually itching to get out of your chair come five o’clock. You had done literally everything that you could have to cover your basics with the case but everything seemed to run into a dead end.

You quickly packed up your belongings and raced out the door so you wouldn’t be late for your appointment. You were as giddy as a school girl to find something that might finally help you feel like a normal human being again. and as soon as you pulled up to the offices for the drug you smiled.

Utopia Inc. you read to yourself, before getting out of the car and walking towards the doors.

Once inside you were impressed with how comfortable and yet clean the offices were. You took a seat in a chair and began reading over the paperwork and questionnaire.

Are you getting more than 5 hours of rest? No.

Do you have trouble falling asleep? No.

Do you have trouble staying asleep? Yes.

On a scale of one to ten how would you rate your average nights rest? 4

Are you currently using any other sleep-inducing medications? No.

What is the average time that you sleep in one night? 4-5 hours

You sighed as you looked over the remaining questions. You couldn’t even remember the last time that you had a decent nights sleep and you were more than anxious to have that back. But the questions were a little dull. You were hoping that the questions would be a little more in depth than the traditional sleep surveys you’ve done in the past.

As you filled out the remaining few questions your name was called by a nurse and you quickly stood and approached her.

“please come this way miss Y/l/n” She said opening a door and walking down a long hallway full of doors. She stopped in front of a office and held the door open for you “ go ahead and have a seat, and the doctor will be ready in just a moment”

You thanked her and took a seat in the stiff looking chair. You read the posters on the walls and looked around the room while you waited, bored and nervous all at once.

Knock, knock.

Your head snapped up and a friendly looking man walked into the room.  He peaked his head into the room and gave you a warm smile before introducing himself.

“hi y/n! my name is Jongho and ill be taking care of your sleep test and diagnosis.” He held out his hand for you to shake and you accepted with a smile “I already looked over your questionnaire and it looks like you have some symptoms of severe sleep insomnia” he explained

“which I have some good news and some bad news with that. Unfortunately there is no cure for sleep insomnia, however after we run some sleep tests on you we can get an idea of what kind of medicine you need to regulate your sleeping patterns” he explained to you very calmly and coolly.

Knock, knock.

The two of you turned your head to see who the new intruder was in the room and you were surprised when you saw a very attractive man walk into the room with a bright smile. Jongho was surprised as well by the new guest in the room and looked back over to you with a smile only to give the man a curious glare.

“hello my name is Hongjoong!” the man said extending his hand “ill be assisting doctor choi”

“y/n” you said taking his hand

You couldn’t help but notice the strange way that the physician looked to the man before he looked back at you with an awkward smile. For some reason it made you feel unsettled

“right, so all you have to do is turn on this device and put it on your finger as you sleep for the next week and it will record all of the information that we need. From there once we look at the reports we will form a diagnosis and get you the perfect medication to help you out. Re-testing can occur at any time if you feel that the diagnosis was incorrect and you need a different medication. Any questions?” he asked you with a smile

You shook your head and jongho smiled back at you. He gave you a bag with the necessary equipment and a packet with questions and answers on insomnia. He scheduled an appointment for a week from now and you were completely ready to go home. He shook your hand one last time before you left the office and on your way out Hongjoong stopped you.

He handed you a business card and you accepted it.  it was simple with his name, email and phone number  on the card. “please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or difficulty during the tests”

You looked him over once more noticing how differently he was dressed compared to doctor Choi who was in a white medical gown and business casual clothes. He was wearing a suit that looked like it cost a fortune and he had the air around him like he was a man who didn’t work with people all day long. he seemed impatient, guarded and utterly too perfect.

you smiled at him once before leaving the long hallway and entering the reception area once more. happy like a child on Christmas you carried the box to your car and set it down carefully in the passenger seat as if it were a precious treasure. You looked back up at the building one last time before you pulled away and smiled. Hopefully this would be the answers to your prayers and help you start a happier and healthier chapter in your life.

[wolfhuntsmoon]

Sarah Rogers pt 2: or, how baby!Steve imbibed a fuck-you attitude with his mother’s milk

Okay, so after looking at Sarah’s backstory, how she met Joseph and had Steve and decided to go to America, I couldn’t stop thinking about: what next? The MCU wiki is VERY thin on the ground with detail, and she’s so interesting! Plus, this is, like, one of the most criminally underdeveloped sources for Steve Rogers’ character, as I mentioned in pt 1. So, what can we reasonably source from the time to fill in the gaps?

So: I said in my previous post Sarah likely arrives in January/February of 1918. This is because in those days, travel times were long, conditions were VERY poor and you did not want to be heavily pregnant on a cheap ship to America with the conditions on board. Plus, in those days there was no guarantee a ship company would even sell you a ticket if you were visibly pregnant. It did happen, but was risky for the company, so you could never be sure. Sarah would have left asap once she made a decision. 

The journey itself would have taken about 3-4 weeks. First she would have had to travel to London, because nothing would have been leaving to America from the French or Belgian coastline, as a) most of it was too close to the war and b) the bits that weren’t wouldn’t have been profitable. Travel to London from Passchendaele would have taken a few days to a week, given the mud and absolute priority troops and military materials were given on all journeys. This map here shows it took between 7-10 days to arrive in New York from London (by ship, no flights until the late 1920s/1930s) in 1914 before the outbreak of the war. I mentioned how at this point the German U-boats were basically sinking anything they found not flying a German flag, which made this journey pretty hazardous, even with the newly introduced (and very effective) protection of the convoy system. If Sarah was travelling on a fast convoy (less likely as they were primarily for troop ships) it would have taken about a week. Slower moving convoys carrying mostly cargo might have taken 2 weeks, even 2 and a half weeks if the weather was bad. Convoys, by the way, were where groups of ships were clustered together and escorted across the Atlantic by a combination of naval ships bristling with every explosive known to man, and navy ships disguised to look like harmless merchant cargo ships but ALSO bristling with every explosive known to man, to prevent U-boats sinking them. And also attack U-boats when they turned up. Not if. When. As you may be imagining, these journeys often contained lots of Things Going Boom and people Dying in Unpleasant Ways. Sarah would have been told by literally everyone she knew that this was a stupid, near-lethal decision, and that she should just NOT. But Sarah being Sarah, ignored this in the pursuit of what she felt was right and best for her and her baby... that doesn’t sound familiar at all, does it?

Okay, so she’s made it through the journey to the iconic Ellis Island. The next problem was that Immigration to the USA was incredibly curtailed by 1918, compared to the levels of immigration to the US prior to WWI beginning. In this, Sarah was lucky. Prior to WWI, on average between 1900-1914 about 1 million immigrants arrived into the US each year. In 1918, roughly 110,000 did - Sarah being one of them. I’ve said before that she would have had an easier time getting passage on a ship in the first place because she was comparatively better off on a nurse’s wage and was a middle class professional. More than that, most travel was reserved for the military - and Sarah likely had connections, being the wife of an American soldier, which made it easier for her to gain passage on a ship. (More on this later.)

Her status and profession is also very important for explaining how Sarah gained entry to the US, because by the end of WWI, the open door policy of the 19th and early 20th century had been solidly shut. The open-door policy had essentially allowed anyone who could pass a very basic medical and legal check free entry to reside in the USA, and the Ellis Island museum has a very good description of just how cursory these checks were - they were nicknamed the ‘six second physicals’. 98% of immigrants passed straight away, and a only a very small percentage of the remainder were put on a ship back to their country of origin. But by the outbreak of WWI, politicians and the public had become uneasy about this. Mostly due to racial concerns - Chinese immigration was the first to be restricted in 1882 with the Chinese Exclusion Act. Japanese immigrants were targeted in 1907 and all Asian immigrants in 1917. (I see a lot of posts on tumblr talking about how immigration restrictions in the US began by denying Jewish refugees entry in the 1930s, which... is wrong. So, so wrong. But anyway.) Here is a contemporary cartoon showing a pretty good summary of attitudes to immigration by the time Sarah would have been travelling:

(The 3% refers to immigration restrictions put in place by Congress AFTER the war, btw.)

But the US wasn’t just worried about one continent’s people! Or even ‘just’ non-whites! Oh no... they were also VERY worried about the ‘wrong sort’ of white immigrant too. Namely, anyone from southern and eastern Europe, and the Irish. 

The discrimination against the Irish is an interesting one, because on the face of it, the Irish were the kind of immigrants the US wanted - north and western Europeans. But here’s where eugenics and pseudoscience come along and fuck things up for a lot of people. Part of the reason why the US was suspicious of southern and eastern Europeans was political - that they harboured a tendency towards violent revolutions, communism and anarchy. The Irish, after the violence of the 1916 Easter Rising and the fact that a not-insignificant number of violent revolutionaries tried to facilitate a German invasion of Ireland (and then unionists ran guns during the war through Kriegsmarine U-boat dropoffs on the Irish coast in... defence???? Idk either.), came to be included in this politically radical group. That’s the first strike.

The second strike came from the fact Irish had the British working against them. In those days, British media and culture really set the tone for the rest of the world. Remember, the US was not a world superpower yet - this is when Britain is at the height of its power, ruling 20% of the world’s people and 25% of its land surface by 1924. Britannia really did rule the waves, and much of the world’s culture, at this point. Hollywood, and American ‘soft power’ had yet to develop into the behemoth it is now. British culture persistently depicted the Irish as subhuman, ape-like, feckless, uncivilised and dangerous, as you can clearly see here:

The top one is from 1866, and the second one from 1849. Both were cartoons published in Punch Magazine, which was the pre-eminent social and political publication that EVERYONE read in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It also played a huge role in shaping social attitudes, and you can see more of its, and others, views on the Irish in these excellent galleries. The rest of the British media was the same - almost universally negative views of the Irish, which filtered across the Atlantic over time. And seemed to be vindicated by events like the 1916 Easter Rising, and before that a long running number of secret societies the British kept discovering, plotting revolution against their rule. The whole ‘kiss me I’m Irish’, dying the Hudson green on St Patrick’s day, ‘omg I love an Irish accent’ thing? Didn’t happen until the latter half, or really the last quarter, of the twentieth century. The Irish were pretty much persona non grata when Sarah was alive. Part of the explanation for this came from the idea that the Irish were a part of a lesser race, their Celtic origins leading to a lack of judgement, predisposition to alcoholism and hotheadedness, and passionate outbursts which meant you needed to treat them more like children. Conveniently enough for the British, this explanation meant you didn’t need to treat your subjects like equals, deserving of the vote, or indeed with anything except violence and condescension. Ha. Funny that.

But anyway, back to America.

Third strike: the Irish were Catholic, as Sarah would have been. Only the very richest in society were Protestant, because they were descended from British settlers. Both the British and the US governments of the time viewed Catholicism with deep suspicion, partly for historical reasons (Martin Luther, 1517 and all that jazz) but ALSO because the Catholic Church remained a vastly powerful institution which could and did command the loyalties of people more than the national government, and this represented a dangerous fifth column within the nation state. Most of north and western Europe was Protestant, unlike the south and east which was predominantly Catholic (with the exception of France. But hey, they’re the French. No big.) so the Irish being 99% Catholic was yet another reason they got lumped in with the other ‘undesireables’. 

Not a small part of this was caused by the fact that the Irish had been immigrating to America in vast numbers ever since the Great Famine (aka the Potato Famine/Blight) to the tune of and average of c450,000 Irish per decade between 1850-1900. That is... a LOT. Like, New York’s population in 1890 had only just hit 2.5 million! Ireland’s population TODAY is 5 million! So by the end of WWI, there was already a sense that Too Many Irish were here, particularly since the Irish tended, like most immigrant communities, to move into certain areas in large numbers via family groups and connections. Sarah would have been no exception to this, which I’ll explore more in pt 3 later. It was a very common practice in this period for a man to go to America and work, then bring his family and extended family over. Or for young relations to go and live with family already in America if there was no work in Ireland - which there wasn’t, the Irish economy being subsistence agriculture and not a lot else. 

All of this together means that when Sarah arrives in Jan/Feb of 1918? She’d get a pretty rough welcome at Ellis Island (still used for incoming immigrants until new legislation establishing a visa system in 1924 went through and basically made it redundant.) and beyond.

Below is a pic of an Ellis Island arrival card, just because it’s cool:

These tightened restrictions resulted in not just health checks, but intelligence tests and ‘mental fitness’ tests, which if failed, could result in the immigrant being sent back to their country of origin. However, Sarah would have made it through okay, because she had good English, her profession and likely her marriage cert and references from Joseph Rogers’ commanding officer to speed her passage. She may even have had family connections already in New York or America, but for the reasons outlined in my previous post, probably wasn’t in contact with them. Or if she did contact them, was likely to be ignored and ostracised. Because patriarchy, yay.

But ironically? Getting into America was the easy part. I know, I know, unbelievable, especially when you consider she was PREGNANT during this. I mean, can you imagine enduring morning sickness and all the other joys of pregnancy on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic in WINTER, in danger of sinking from a U-Boat torpedo at any moment? Can you? Can you??? Sarah Rogers came up against an immense set of obstacles just to get into America and just fucking ploughed through them like they were tissue paper. Which explains a LOT about Steve Rogers, that’s for sure.

Join me next time for pt 3, where I explore Sarah’s living and working situation after she arrives and we all learn to be even more in awe of how fucking metal she was.

[akitokihojo]

Nothing’s Changed

I am officially participating in @inukag-week, and on the fluffiest day in existence! I’m so proud of how this came out okay!? I just love happy shit so much!

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

She hadn't expected almost everyone all at once. She hadn't expected the huge welcome, and the surprised faces, and the questions, and she definitely hadn't expected to be yanked away from the warmth of Inuyasha's solid hand against the small of her back by the young, overly-excited fox kit that wanted the pleasure of showing Kaede and Rin that she'd returned. While Kagome was practically inebriated by elation at seeing everybody, and wanted to catch up with them all just as badly, she couldn't help but feel at a loss for words.

The well had finally opened after three long years. Three long, agonizingly tedious, uneventful, lack luster years. When they say you don't know what you have until you've lost it, they aren't kidding. Kagome hadn't realized how she'd already made her home in this era until she was in the present with her family with no way back. The question had always been in the forefront of her mind during their travels; what would she do once Naraku was defeated and the Sacred Jewel was complete once more? Would it be weird if she decided to stay here with everyone she'd grown so close to? Was she supposed to go home and finish school and get a job and make a future with a man that wasn't Inuyasha.

Someone that wasn't Inuyasha.

The thought had always pained her. She fell hard for the hanyou pretty early on, there was no lying to herself about that. So, when she lost him, she knew exactly what that meant. It was more painful than being trapped in the darkness all those days with nothing but hope to sustain her, more painful than having the jewel ripped from her abdomen by Mistress Centipede when it all started, more painful than that overbearing feeling of insecurity that had her thinking she didn't belong with everyone here in the first place when her powers were sealed by Magatsuhi. She knew what she had with Inuyasha as she continued to fall hopelessly and irrevocably in love with him, because she never wanted to take a single moment for granted. Their "future," so to say, was never set in stone, and she was well aware that whatever they were, whatever their relationship had managed to become, was considered one giant grey area. She knew there was a chance that they weren't actually going to end up together, but somewhere along the way she'd subconsciously created a home in his shelter.

When it was stolen from right beneath her feet, Kagome felt like she was wandering aimlessly. She was in the modern day, her own time, attending the high school she worked so hard to get into with her childhood friends, and yet she felt so displaced. There was no sense of closure until she finally forced herself to accept that her window would never be opened in the middle of the night by the half demon sneaking in to stay over. She couldn't properly get in the right mindset for the courses she was taking until she finally asked her grandpa to "seal" the well with his sutra's, the powerless slips of paper providing a sort of placebo effect. It helped her get by. It helped her sleep just a little better at night.

But it never took the thoughts of him away.

There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of Inuyasha and what could be taking place on his side of the well. Was he taking care of himself, or pushing his body too far as per usual? Were demon attacks still as wild and sporadic as they were before, or had things calmed down substantially since the jewel was destroyed? Was he okay? Was he happy? Was his heart as full as she hoped it to be?

The moment her brown eyes collided with his curious, hopeful, ember irises as she strenuously climbed up the inside of the well, her heart skipped a beat. It wasn't one of those cliche, teen movie, heart-stopper moments where you see the love of your life and everything is right in the world as you fall in love all over again. There was a three year gap where anything and everything could have changed. The heart skip was physically painful, building up a thick lump in the middle of her throat and causing her already-strained, out-of-shape arm muscles to falter and burn as she froze in place along the dirt wall. She was both ecstatic and terrified. Her body was trembling, even after he effortlessly pulled her out and into his arms, the surge of adrenaline racing through her veins making it almost impossible to still her heart, or stand in place, or think clearly, or talk without, what felt like, the goofiest smile on her face.

Then she was surrounded by almost all of the faces she'd missed so unexplainably much as she was quickly welcomed home, and just as swiftly pulled away from the half demon she so desperately needed to be by.

"Come on, Kagome! Kaede and Rin will want to see you, too!"

"Oh, um..." She didn't have the heart to take her hand back from the young, excited boy whose intentions, in this moment, were pure. Though, when she looked back at Inuyasha and noticed his slightly disappointed features, the smile he had to put effort behind, and the small droop of his ears, there was another painful wrench at her heart. Their moment was brisk and interrupted, and it was so much more vital right now to have a minute alone with Inuyasha than it was to immediately catch up with everyone. What could she say, though? How could she muffle Shippo's obvious joy, or take the unexpected and surprising moment from anyone else? She should feel grateful that everyone was so happy to see her, but the driving force to her return was all she could selfishly think about.

"Hey, Shippo," Miroku said, stopping the young fox demon before he got too far as he set the two girls down at his feet. "I think there will be plenty of time to tell everyone of Kagome's return. For the meantime, how about we let her reacquaint herself?"

"Reacquaint herself? What's there to reacquaint to?"

"Oh, my young, innocent friend. Someday soon you'll understand subtlety."

"How about we catch up with you later, Kagome?" Sango smiled as Shippo's tiny grasp finally released their friend and allowed her to stand up straight. She nodded eagerly, her grin growing wider as they all turned to walk back through the forest, one of the little girls taking the kit's hand and leading him off with them.

"Come on. Before they change their mind." Inuyasha murmured, gesturing towards the trees in the opposite direction. Kagome happily followed, their strides matching up as they paced through the familiar woods, the homey smell of fires burning to warm up huts and heat up dinner wafting over from the village and gracing her nose. That was one of the scents she never appreciated enough, lighting her up with nostalgia.

As they got further away from the well, Inuyasha and Kagome began walking just a little closer, their knuckles occasionally brushing along the way. It was so peaceful, quiet, yet Kagome's heart was racing a mile a minute. She could hear the thunderous beating from behind her own ribcage, and repeatedly wished she could calm down before Inuyasha caught on to how nervous she really was.

"So," He spoke, his head dropping back as his eyes followed up the length of the Tree of Ages. His pace slowed to a stop as they entered the small clearing, his gaze never falling back down to hers. "How long until you have to go back? Are you still fighting off those exams or whatever?"

"Actually, no." She smiled, sauntering over to feel the bark of the tree with her fingertips. "I completed school. I don't have to take another math or history tests ever again."

There was a brief silence. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it was riding the line. It was obvious neither quite knew where things stood.

"Besides," Kagome breathed, peaking back at Inuyasha. He was looking at her now, his eyes holding an emotion she couldn't read yet. "I think the well may be closed for good."

His brow flinched, as if to ask what she meant, so she answered as steadily as she could.

"The well was sealed. It didn't work for three years- almost to the day. I tried over and over to get through-"

"So did I."

"And then suddenly it opened. I think... I think it was a one-time deal. Here or there.”

"You chose to come back?"

Kagome nodded.

"Knowing there was a chance you couldn't see your family again?"

Again, she nodded, still unable to read his emotions.

Inuyasha gave a soft chuckle, his lips curving crookedly. "You idiot."

"I'd- uh- I'd like to stay. If that's okay with you."

Another chuckle, a little louder that time as he took a single step closer. "It's not like we've got much of a choice. Besides, who the hell am I to turn you away?"

Kagome couldn't help the smile pinching her cheeks, her fingers quivering from the pace of the roaring blood her heart was pumping a little too hastily. There was a thumping sound in her ears and an overwhelming fluttering sensation in her abdomen, making it difficult not to bounce from foot-to-foot, but she was somehow managing.

"I could always try to jump through." She shrugged jokingly.

"Fat chance." Despite the gentle smile, Inuyasha's tone held a hint of intensity, stepping in once more. "You think I'd let you?"

It was Kagome's turn to step inward now, unable to bite back the apprehension. She wanted to touch him so badly, wanted to feel his skin like she'd grazed the bark. He was in front of her, meager feet separating them, but unless she had the constant, physical proof that they were together, she was afraid she'd wake from her dream. Still, this wasn't something to rush. It was too simple to think they could just pick up where they'd left off three years ago. Wasn't it?

"I-uh," It was almost embarrassing how hard it was to talk. “I-I really wanted to see you, Inuyasha."

His face grew serious, the smile gone as his throat tensed to swallow hard, unmoving from his spot. The muscles at the crook of his jaw stiffened as he inhaled slowly, the purple beads he'd always hated gently bumping against one another while his chest rose and finally fell with the exhale.

"Are you really here to stay?"

"Mhm."

"Then I'll make sure to keep you safe. I'll protect you. Just like before." A step closer. "Nothing's changed, Kagome."

The words sent a rush of searing heat through every inch of her body, the fluttering in her tummy becoming wild, making her feel light on her feet. "Nothing's changed." She quietly echoed as she closed the gap, balancing on the tips of her toes as she pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

She couldn't fight off the giggles that came as she landed back on her heels, her euphoria finally overflowing. Inuyasha was laughing too as his hands found her cheeks, his fingers sliding back through her raven hair and pulling her in for more. They both smiled through each kiss and peck, happy, laughing, grabbing and holding each other impossibly closer, relishing in their heat, hardly breathing but neither cared. It was beautiful and wonderful and so liberating to be held captive by his mouth as their kisses grew deeper and his thumbs caressed her cheeks to wipe away her joyful tears.

If anyone had the audacity to ask Kagome what she was feeling right now, at this very moment in time, she wouldn't be able to do anything other than laugh-exceptionally harder than she already had been. It was indescribable. This emotion, or abundance of so, wasn't meant to have a word for it. If you knew it, you were one of the lucky ones to experience it. If not, then she could only hope that you one day would.

Inuyasha steadied himself to the best of his off-kilter abilities, taking in a deep breath through his nose as he gently danced his lips over Kagome's for one last, tantalizing, heart-stopping, painful-yet-agonizingly tender kiss, looking into her eyes as he pulled away. And then they laughed some more, unable nor wanting to contain their happiness in such a time. Why should they? They'd waited so long for this. He swept some hair behind her ears, more particularly the loose strands that stuck to the places that tears had soaked, and wrapped his arms around Kagome's waist, burying his face in her neck as he took in her sweet, heavenly scent.

"You're back." He whispered.

"I'm back."

[omgviolette12]

After hours - Chapter 3 A professor Loki Fanfic

Previous Chapter

Summary: Evelyn Monroe has been a TA for professor Laufeyson’s Calculus course for four months now. He was known to be quite strict, but that never deterred her from applying for the position in order to be close to the man she had been secretly pining for. One evening, she returns to his office after opening hours… and with her bountiful luck, she walks in on something not meant to be seen. 

Chapters: 3/?

Words: 2178

Tags: @milkymaidme @dangertoozmanykids101 @alexakeyloveloki  @little-moonbeam-666  @marvel-ous-fics @clovermariear @lynnesm

If you’d like to be added, let me know. I’ve also posted this on AO3

_____________

“...I am unsure as to why you are prostrating in front of my door, but perhaps we could discuss matters... inside?”

With every fiber of her being, Evelyn desperately wanted to get up and hightail it down the hallway. But she remained glued to the floor, staring squarely at the two imposing feet in front of her. Cold sweat began to form at the base of her back, and she feared her heart was about to burst out of her chest with the way it was beating.

Evelyn cursed her luck. Why did he decide to leave his office now?  

She shot up clumsily to her feet, nearly bucking her already injured nose against his hard chest. Thankfully, he stepped back before she did.

Evelyn adjusted her dress, dusting off imaginary dirt as she clutched the letter in a tight grip.

She then proceeded to enter his office with hesitant, stiff steps, avoiding his gaze with a lowered head.

She could hear him sigh audibly, shutting the door behind him before moving around her to sit behind his desk.

An awkward silence descended upon the room, alongside a tension so thick she could cut it with a knife.

Evelyn remained standing, hands clammy with sweat as she looked at anything but Professor Laufeyson. It was as if suddenly, the vintage furniture in his office became immensely interesting. The green wallpaper had a pretty pattern to it as well-

The clearing of his throat breached the silence, then the sound of his voice reverberated throughout the room, “Would you please just...sit? You aren’t a stranger, Miss Monroe.”

She looked up briefly at the chair situated in front of his desk. Almost instantly, distracting images of professor Laufeyson and that woman began to flit quickly inside her mind’s eye. Naked and panting, the tangible smell of sex, their unified moans -

“No. I’m good. I’m not staying long anyway.” Her reply came out much harsher and clipped than intended, but she honestly didn’t want to sit near a desk where another female had just gotten her back blown out by her professor.

Professor Laufeyson merely sighed at her answer, and she took it as him conceding to her stance. But she was wrong.

“Evelyn. Look at me.”

The severity of his voice commanded such strong obedience from Evelyn, that she all but snapped her head up to attention - her wide, hazel eyes instantly meeting the cold, blue ones of her professor.

“ I insist that you sit. I would like to speak with you, face to face, as an adult.”

Slightly scared of what would happen if she didn’t, she obliged his request. Although, she made sure the chair was a comfortable distance away from the desk - which was a pretty wide margin.

If he was hurt by the way she scorned him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he met her gaze head on - not one flicker of embarrassment or shame in sight. Whatever terror or humiliation she saw in his eyes that night, seemed like an illusion.

“… First, I would like to explain-”

“I’m not telling anyone.” Evelyn cut him off abruptly, catching both herself and her professor off guard.

“ I-I mean, I told my sis, but she doesn’t go here, and um, uh, my momma ain’t raise no snitch, so please don’t worry about anyone else finding out. Because it’s none of my business. Zip Zip. Quiet as a mouse.”

Evelyn had the bad habit of babbling when she was nervous, and she seriously wished her mouth didn’t exist at that moment. However, it continued to have a life of its own as her words shot out rapidly, barely giving her professor a chance to speak.

“Evelyn, listen to-”

“ - And I came to...to tell you I can’t be your TA anymore. I uh...wrote a letter. I’ll accept an incomplete grade or something. I’ll try to talk about it with my...um... adviser...so yeah.”

Without another word, Evelyn got up from her chair to head straight for the door. If she stayed for another moment, she feared she would die from sheer, overwhelming embarrassment. It’s like all coherent thought fled from her whenever she was in the presence of this man.

She barely managed to open the door when it was shut back roughly with a loud bang!

Evelyn stood still in shock as the scent of her professor overwhelmed her senses - one large hand beside her head kept the door firmly shut, as his breath fanned against her neck.

Ho..holy crapping shit!

“I said listen to me, for God’s sake woman!”

Although his voice remained stern, she could hear a bit of pleading to it as well.

Evelyn couldn’t trust her voice to speak anyway, so she remained silent - hands pressed against her chest in a defensive posture.

He’s so close, he’s so close, holy...please back the heck up!

She was practically hyperventilating at this point, and she was pretty sure she was about to faint.

“Evelyn? Evelyn, please...look at me.”

He turned her around by the shoulder, and he could see that her brown skin was flushed red, sweat forming at the brows.

She was now facing his chest. He smelled really, really good, and when she looked up...his sharp blue eyes laced with concern bore into her being.

Evelyn had never, ever been this close to a man before. Much less one she liked. She never cared for a relationship and preferred to focus on her education. But now...her lack of experience was really biting her in the ass.

Yep. Definitely going to faint. Fuck my life.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, before she was met with darkness.

_____________

The first thing Evelyn felt, was pure warmth. She felt so comfortable and at peace, that she didn't want to move. Or wake up.

She nuzzled her face further into this warmth, as a soothing caress went up and down her back, then alongside her waist. It felt really good, and Evelyn was pretty much a melted puddle of goodness at this point.

The tantalizing scent of her professor filled her nostrils - sandalwood, lavender, whatever the hell it was that men wore these days lulled Evelyn deeper into -

Wait...wait a minute…

…. professor?

Evelyn's eyes shot open as her sleep-addled mind began to gain awareness.

Two long, strong arms trapped her in an embrace, as she slept comfortably on the lap of professor Laufeyson.

Her face had been burrowed into his neck, and he had a possessive grip on her hip and arm as he caressed both idly.

What..what in the ducking fuck is goin' on??!

Evelyn was freaking out mentally at this point, but she was too scared to move. She had fainted, which was embarrassing enough. But how in the world did she end up in her professor's lap of all places?

They were still within the confines of his office from what she could see, and that he had settled them on the couch that was in the far corner of the room.

It was rarely used, however, and she recalled having to dust it off on multiple occasions. It was taking up space, and she always wondered why he even bothered to keep it there.

Well...it obviously came in handy now.

But she was confused as to why he didn't just leave her on the couch until she woke up, and took to holding her instead.

She could no longer ponder over it however, as the deep rumbling of her professor's voice through his chest startled the wits right out of her.

" Since you are awake...perhaps we could now continue our conversation?"

Evelyn merely let out a high pitched 'mhmm!'

At the moment, she couldn’t even speak if she wanted to. If her anxiety was bad before, it shot up several more levels.

All she could think about was the fact that she was actually sitting in his lap. And that he was touching her. It was a wonder she hadn’t fainted again. Her dress had also ridden up quite a bit because of the way he was touching her, but she didn’t want to draw attention to that area by adjusting it.

He exhaled above her, continuing his soothing ministrations against her hip and shoulder, " I...I apologize for startling you. If I had known you were so...weak hearted, I would not have done that. But I couldn't just watch you leave when I hadn't even begun to speak my part."

His tone had shifted drastically from the stern, cold professor she had become used to. It was calming...and gentle.  And gentle was never a word she thought could be attached to this man. Well, the more you know…

"That night… I didn't expect for anyone, least of all you, to be there. I was sure the door was locked, but I was sorely mistaken. I… I apologize sincerely for what you had to see, and for how I treated you. It is no excuse, but I was quite panicked."

So...it hadn't been a trick of the eyes. He was just as embarrassed about it as I was. But…

"Who...who was she?" Evelyn blurted out the first thing that came to mind, and once again wished she could bite off her own tongue.

She felt him stiffen significantly against her, before he gave a cool, distant reply, " I'm afraid that isn't any of your business. You have no need to concern yourself with her."

The words left her mouth before she could stop herself, " But..but she looked really familiar. She was around my skin tone, had a similar hairstyle, and she was around my… my...height…"

Those were… a lot of my's...

Now that Evelyn thought about it...the only reason she entered his office was that she thought she heard her name. Very clearly.

She was a bit on the slow side when it came to these things, so it took a while before she could put two and two together.

Wait...no, that couldn't be. I'm definitely tripping. Am I overthinking shit? She...was she? -

"Perhaps it is time for you to head home."

He shifted her off his lap quite suddenly, and she was ashamed to say she was getting quite aroused comfortable sitting there.

She watched him with wide eyes as he got up, and began to take his long overcoat from the hanger, “You were out for approximately half an hour, and it has gotten quite late. I will take you home.”

Evelyn knew if she pursued the question, he’d most likely get irritated with her. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility...

“Uh...but is she a student here? Or.. or…”

“ Evelyn.”

He turned around to look at her, his eyes glacier, “I will not repeat myself.”

Well yikes… okay then…

Seeing her expression, he sighed in resignation, “No, she is not a student. Please leave it at that.”

Evelyn got up silently from the couch, picking up her cardigan before slipping on her flats, “Yeah… um...sorry. I don’t live far from campus, so I can just walk-”

“When I said that I would take you home, it wasn’t a question.”

He opened the door, waiting for her to step out. “After you.”

The drive back in his car had been mostly silent so far, and Evelyn had no intention of breaking it. She was drained both physically and mentally, and she was glad she had no classes the next day.

But she could see from her periphery that he stole glances at her from time to time, like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

It wasn’t often that her professor was lost for words, so she was curious as to what he wanted to say. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long, “...I understand if your decision is solidified, regarding being my TA. However...I would be extremely grateful if you were to remain. I… I value your presence.”

Evelyn looked back at him hesitantly, “But...I thought I was doing badly anyway...that’s why I got you that cake, since I felt terrible about it.”

At the mention of the cake, her professor surprised her with a warm chuckle, “Regardless of the circumstances, I appreciate the thought very much. On that note, TAs do not have midterm evals usually- I had just wanted to scare you into attending meetings more consistently.”

Evelyn was baffled for multiple reasons -  First, was that he chuckled. And second, was that he basically lied to her so she could come by more often.

Don’t let it get to your head...he definitely isn’t interested. I’m his student, he was just looking out for me, like always.

But then... why would he use my name that night? And that lady was practically my twin…

Long after he had dropped her home, and she had settled beneath the covers of her bed, thoughts along those lines continued to plague her mind.

___________

A/N: Please, do not hesitate to let me know what you think! It feeds into my drive~

[valilaghari-ffxiv]

lfrp/about vali laghari

full name.  vali laghari. pronunciation. valley lah-ghar-ee. nicknames. enchantress, the perfumer, the empath.  height. 5 fulms, 8 ilms, excluding her ears.  age. 25. zodiac. leo. languages. common, thavnairian, conversational far eastern. 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.  raven black. eye colour.  pale lilac purple.  skin tone.  a warm, medium brown with rosy undertones.  body type.  of elegant bearing, with a natural, curvy hourglass shape.  accent. a light and educated hannish accent.  dominant hand. ambidextrous.  posture. nigh regal. the posture of a woman with a deep level of self respect and large amount of confidence.  scars. fading scars that surround both of her ankles, but more heavily her left ankle. tattoos.  none that are permanent; the occasional henna on her hands and ankles.  most noticeable features. her pale eyes amongst her dark complexion, the small beauty mark beneath her eye, a bounty of dark waves, eyes that seem to see right through you. 

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth.  thavnair.  hometown.  radz-at-han.  birth weight/height. slightly small for a viera.  manner of birth. natural home birth.  first words. ‘bye.’  siblings.  none. parents:  daskha (mother, deceased), pratyush (father, deceased).  parental involvement. dashka and pratyush both were deeply involved in the raising of their child. though commonly thought to be odd because of their viera heritage, they were doting parents for the early part of vali’s childhood. for the first ten years of her life, she enjoyed wealth, a fine and expensive education, and a happy home life, where she learned alchemy under the tutelage of her mother. when an accident befell her parents and she lost them both, however, vali was cast into the streets to fend for herself, finding a mother figure in another alchemist residing in the capitol of thavnair. she is tight-lipped on the subject of both her birth parents and her found-family -- or anything regarding her personal life. 

ADULT LIFE

Occupation. a former dancer and slave, now a skilled perfumer. less an occupation, but a skill: psychometric and intuitive empath.  Current residence. traveling.  Close friends. few. she prefers to keep people at a distance.  relationship status. single. rumors of her being widowed flit around the capitol.  financial status. from riches to rags to riches again, vali makes a very comfortable living for herself and uses it to enjoy the finer parts of life.  vices. secrets, breaking hearts, the occasional indulgence of recreational drugs, stubbornness, dabbling in some chaotic trickster god-esque behaviors with her alchemy and perfumes. 

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  heterosexual.  romantic orientation.   heterosexual.  preferred emotional role.  submissive | dominant | switch  |  unsure preferred sexual role.  submissive  |  dominant  |  switch |  sex repulsed libido. healthy, bordering on high.  turn on’s. physically and emotionally strong men, sensual whispers, tall men, intelligence, physical touch to sensitive areas of the body, knowing someone is attracted to her.  Turn off’s. lack of a spine, lying and liars, crudeness of nature, physically distant, cruel or unkind people, any sort of degradation between her and her partner.  love language. touch, with words as a close second.  relationship tendencies.  a loyal creature, as well as doting. not much is known about vali’s relationship tendencies, but she is protective of those she cares for and keeps a lover on their toes. if she comes to love you, you have her heart entirely. absent minded touches, quiet, affectionate words of affirmation and reassurance. independent and will need time to herself, but will always be happy to come back to you after taking time to decompress. a good listener. 

MISCELLANEOUS.

hobbies to pass the time.  knowing things, practicing her craft, dancing, training her abilities as a psychometric empath, tending to her plants and flowers.  mental illnesses. PTSD fueled anxiety and depression that she medicates for. physical illnesses. none, to her knowledge.  left or right brained. an even split.  fears. people finding out details about her past, losing her sense of smell, losing her abilities as an empath, getting too close to anyone, appearing vulnerable.  self confidence level. outwardly, extremely high. inwardly... still pretty high, though she isn’t without her own secret insecurities.  vulnerabilities. a soft spot for children and for animals, stronger reactions than she’d like to seeing injustices, knowing too much too quickly about a person, knowing too much in general.

RP HOOKS. 

- open to discussion. 

- vali is thavnairian born, but has begun to travel around eorzea selling her perfumes. these perfumes are often benign, but there are whispers of the scents she creates with ‘special’ properties. curious as to what these properties are? seek her out, and she may tell you - for a price.

- her abilities as a psychometric empath give her special understanding and looks into the past of people, rooms, and objects alike. while this is not an ability i will use without explicit OOC consent, it is a large part of her character. if you think this is an avenue you’d like to explore - whether it be to help your character unlock forgotten memories for themselves or for other things then vali is your girl. the same is to be said for her abilities as an intuitive empath. i will not use it without OOC consent, but they do allow her to tell if someone is lying to her, IC.

- vali is a very new character for me, and so i am very open to whatever hooks that you may have in mind! her past as a slave could come back to haunt her, and how she escaped. she is a beautiful and clearly foreign young woman in a new land, and is certainly meant to be eye catching. if you’d like to get to know her, shoot me a message here on tumblr and we can figure something out!

- friendships, rivalries, business partners, crushes, romances, and everything in between are all things i’m looking forward to exploring with vali. 

- darker themes of RP are a-okay with me, including violence, gore, obsession, stalking, horror, as well as sexual themes. please know, though, that i am not going to ERP with you for the sake of ERP, and i do not do permanent death, injury, or disfigurement for my characters unless it is a specific plot point originally planned by me. 

OOC.

- i am over the age of 18!

- i am very friendly, but am not willing to immediately hand out my discord. however, if we RP and click, chances are that i’ll offer it to you. the best way to communicate with me is either by sending me a DM here on tumblr or whispering me in-game on Audrey Wells, Sarah Hawke, or Vali Laghari. 

- i am on the Crystal Data Center! 

- thank you for reading!!! <3

[thetravelerwrites]

Ironblood Interspecies Daycare

Rating: Teen Relationship: Male Orc x Female Human Additional Tags: Exophilia, Orc boyfriend, Daycare, POV First Person, First Person Perspective, Male Reader Content Warnings: Kids, Children, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Disowned Words: 5035

An orc running a daycare takes on a new employee and feels an immediate attraction to her, having to struggle with his own feelings of inadequacy to get close to her. Commission for @ban23​. 

The Traveler's Masterlist

You might think that running a daycare would be a weird job for an orc, but orcs are a clan-oriented people. Caring for and watching over the young is sort of ingrained in our nature. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Of course, since my daycare is open to all species, we have quite a few kids. There are a lot of human-only care centers, orc-only, fae-only, and so on. They’re usually pricey and exclusive, so an interspecies daycare that takes lower income families was a boon to the community.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t take all the kids whose parents applied, which made me feel terrible. According to the law, there had to be one care worker per five children, and I only had four employees plus myself. I was hoping to expand, but I was having trouble finding more caregivers.

It wasn’t for a lack of wanting to pay more people, it was more a lack of experience. I didn’t hire weekend babysitters; I only hired people with professional experience in child care, whether it’s a degree or a teaching position or several years of homecare, like a nanny or au pair, accompanied with references that were nothing short of glowing. Just because these children came from poor families was no reason to think they deserved anything less than the best.

Thankfully, there was a new applicant with a degree in child psychology with a special focus on interspecies relations, and spent four years as a school counselor. She was also a registered nurse. She sounded perfect, and if hiring her meant we could take more kids, then that was all the better.

I had scheduled her interview after close of the business day, when all the kids had gone home. I always tried to be in the back when the parents arrived; some of the moms were… handsy.

After closing, the five of us gathered in the back area for coffee and so the others could grab their personal belongings to go home.

“Ms. Jones keeps asking if you’re single,” Jacob said as he grabbed his things from his personal cubby.

“Mrs. Peterson, too,” Said Emily, wrapping a scarf around her neck. “I swear she’s gonna start camping out near the front door to ambush you when you leave.”

“Please, Karen from the grocery store has been leaving notes with her weekly fees. I keep giving them to Jukah and he keeps throwing them away.”

“They’re wildly inappropriate and very graphic,” I said, sipping coffee and looking over invoices.

“Really? Oh, damn,” Jacob said. “If that’s the case, I’m going to keep them from now on, then. I’m not above living vicariously.”

“Why don’t you ask one of them out, Jukah? They’re clearly into you, and there’s no shortage of options,” Emily asked, putting on her coat. She was the only other person besides me who worked here that wasn’t human. She was a bright blue kobold with dark spikes along her jaw and two sets of horns. Her tail was smooth, however, and dragged the ground when she walked. She often let the smaller children ride on it to make them laugh.

“They’re too pushy,” I replied dismissively.

“I thought orcs liked pushy women,” She said.

“That’s a gross stereotype and you’re wrong for saying it,” You said playfully. “Different orcs have different tastes, just like everyone. I don’t push you toward every buff bodybuilder I see, do I?”

“Gross,” Emily said, her face scrunched up.

“See? Because I know you like skinny weirdos,” I told her, laughing.

She laughed too. “You’re right. I can’t even lie about it.”

“So what kind of woman do you like?” Esther asked me. She was the grandma of my employees, having been a pediatric nurse for decades and started working at the daycare because she refused to retire.

“Why are you people so interested in my love life all of a sudden?” I protested.

“Because it’s weird that all these women are literally throwing themselves at you and you’re not interested in even trying with one of them,” Kody said. Kody was non-binary and was a big help in teaching the kids to be respectful to each other.

“I keep my work life and my personal life separate,” I said simply. “End of story.”

To be honest, I really didn’t know why these women found me so appealing. By orc standards, I was considered extremely ugly. I’m about a foot and a half too short for an orc, and even though all orcs are born with a natural muscle tone, I was way too skinny. My tusks are too small, though that’s actually fine for my line of work. I even file down and cap them, just to be sure I don’t accidentally gore a kid when I pick them up. I don’t wear my hair long the way other orcs do, in braids or plaits; I keep it short so the kids can’t pull on it. I even catch flack because of my eye color, a flat turquoise, which is exceedingly rare among orcs.

It wasn’t just my looks that made me unusual among my people. I’d grown up in a typical stronghold, but I’m quiet, introverted, and self-conscious. I’ve never felt the same sort of personal pride that other orcs feel in being an orc. I don’t hunt or fight or spend my time in other typical orcish pursuits. Timidness and a lack hubris are seen as personality defects for my people. In the eyes of other orcs, I might as well be human, and that’s in no way a compliment.

My only redeeming features were my skin, which was the deep, dark forest green found most attractive among my kind, and my natural ability and instinct to care for and teach the young, which is a high priority in orcish culture. That’s probably the only reason I wasn’t thrown out before I came of age. When I was old enough, however, I left the stronghold with no intent to return, and I’ve never regretted that decision.

So, these womens’ attention, especially the more aggressive ones, is baffling to me. I’m nothing special, in fact, I’m downright substandard, so this new-found attention was jarring.

“Just think about it, man,” Emily said. “You’re a nice guy. It’s a shame for you to be alone.”

“Guys, seriously, stop worrying about me. I don’t need to have a girlfriend to be happy. Now git,” I said, waving my hands. “I have an interview to conduct in thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kody said. “Whatever you say, Boss.”

I shooed them out and started cleaning up the play area. I enjoyed the time alone in the daycare after work. It gave me time to think about ways of improving the atmosphere for the kids. It was always good to have new things for them to do or they’d get bored and tear the place apart.

I heard the front door open as I was stacking tiny chairs and a voice say, “Hi. Are you Jukah Ironblood?”

“Yes, I am. Can I help you?” I called over my shoulder without turning.

“I’m Briauna Ramos, I’m here for the interview.”

“Oh!” I said more animatedly. “Of course, come in, I’ll be right with you, let me just finish up here.”

“No hurry,” She said pleasantly, closing the door.

I picked up the last of the chairs, stacked them, and turned. And stopped in my tracks.

The woman standing patiently at the door with a expectant smile on her face was petite with thick thighs and a cute little belly, wearing a flowing yellow top with black jean leggings that did nothing to hide these features. Her skin was a deep brown and her amber-colored eyes were wide, framed in long, black lashes. Her hair was silky, wavy, a little fluffy, and fell to her shoulders. She wore a small barrette in the shape of a bee to keep it out of her eyes.

She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my entire goddamn life.

“Something wrong?” She asked, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.

I realized I’d been standing with my mouth open for about a solid minute and shut it so quickly that my teeth clicked.

“No, sorry, um… please,” I said, gesturing at the door to my office. Once there, I sat at my desk and motioned for her to take the chair on the opposite side. She lay her coat over the back and sat down, pressing her her cold fingers together and putting them between her thighs to warm them. I tried my best not to stare at her thighs. I wanted to put my own hands between them and feel how warm…

I mentally slapped myself back into reality. Stop it.

Her application was on the desk in front of me, and I riffled through the papers for a moment to collect my thoughts.

“You come highly recommended,” I said, attempting to keep my voice even. “Your references and credentials are incredible.”

“Thanks,” She said. “I’ve wanted to work in childcare my whole life. Working at the school was okay, but I actually didn’t have all that much to do. Most kids who need a counseling are already in therapy, and there wasn’t much need for a nurse most of the time, so I spent hours in my office with nothing to do. I want to work more directly with children. This daycare seems like a perfect place, especially since it caters to lower income families. They deserve the same degree of care as private facilities.”

I felt myself smile. “I completely agree. That’s why I only hire the best. And you’re pretty close to perfect for this job.”

She smiled with her whole face, and I found it hard to breathe. “Thanks. I’ve applied at a few places, but I like this place the most. The facility is large and clean, and the list of activities for the kids is diverse and stimulating. You seem like you really care about kids.”

“I do,” I said. “Providing a safe environment for them is my first priority.” I looked through her papers again. “We have a former nurse on our staff, but she’s no longer practicing, so your nursing status is great. We get all kinds of bumps and scrapes here.”

“I can imagine,” She laughed.

“Well,” I said with a tired sigh. “I’m satisfied with your experience and I think you’d be a good fit here. When would you like to start?”

“Well, I just moved to the area, and I’m getting my apartment unpacked. How about Monday?”

I nodded. “Sounds good to me.” I stood and held out my hand for a handshake. “Welcome to the team.”

She took my hand, shaking firmly, and it was like an electric shock passed from her into me, making my whole body tingle. I gulped and tried to keep my professional demeanor in place.

“Great, I can’t wait to start,” She said enthusiastically as she pulled her hand away and threw her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll see you Monday, Mr. Ironblood.”

“Oh, just Jukah, please. Formality goes out the window pretty quick in this place,” I said, laughing.

She laughed with me. I could listen to that laugh all day.

“Thanks again,” She said, and left. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help sneaking a peek at her ample rear as she walked away. I said down heavily at my desk and tried to calm myself.

Well, shit. So much for keeping my personal and professional lives separate.

She arrived early on Monday morning, before the others got in, and you had a few minutes to show her around.

“This is your personal cubby,” I told her, showing her a cubby on the lower shelf. “You can keep your phone with you in the common area, but try to use it as little as possible. If you have to take a phone call, either come back here or go outside.”

“Gotcha,” She said. She was wearing a powder blue sundress and darker blue leggings with her hair in a tight, fluffy ponytail two tendrils of hair hanging on either side of her face. She looked adorable.

The others wandered in shortly after the two of us put our things away and I introduced all of them. They greeted her politely and engaged her in light conversation, asking where she was from and how she was liking town so far, as they started on the coffee and pastries I brought in for them every day.

I had about fifteen minutes before the daycare opened, so I went to the waitlist to notify the families at the top that I could take them. A couple of people had already found accommodations, but the ones who hadn’t were overjoyed, two of them even asking if they could fill out the intake paperwork that day.

A paper plate with a pastry and a cup of coffee was placed in front of me. I looked up, and Briauna winked and smiled at me before returning to the back room.

Oh, god. This was bad. Love at first sight doesn’t exist, I told myself. She’s pretty and sweet, sure, but this is just an infatuation. Don’t even think about it. Didn’t you just tell your team that you didn’t need a girlfriend to be happy? Besides, dating a co-worker is always a bad idea. She probably wouldn’t be into you, anyway. Just get a grip and let it go.

The children began arriving, and I was out front to greet them, dodging the over-eager mothers as best I could. Kody, Emily, Jacob, Esther, and Briauna came out of the back when they heard the children’s voices. They quickly fell into their roles, including Briauna, helping the kids take off their jackets and instructing them to put their shoes and lunches in their cubbies.

I’d say only a third of the kids were human. The rest were a mix of orcs, fae, beast creatures, and even a little half-demon girl. Most of the children were between the ages of two and five, though we did have a couple that were under two years old, and they were mostly Esther’s responsibility. She was the best at handling the babies.

“Okay, little ones, sit in the circle and play the quiet game for a minute,” I said to the group, and they scrambled to find a spot in the big, red sitting circle in the middle of the room. “We’ve got a brand new friend who’s going to be helping us out from now on. Her name is Briauna.”

Briauna waved at them and said, “Nice to meet you!”

“I want you guys to be nice to her,” I continued, “And stay on your very best behavior, okay?”

“Yes, Kah-Kah,” said the chorus of little voices.

“Kah-Kah?” Briauna asked in an undertone. “That must go over well with the Spanish-speaking parents.”

I grinned. “We’ve all got nicknames. Emily is Emmy, Jacob is Jay-Jay, Esther is Essa, and Kody… well, Kody doesn’t have a nickname, but theirs is easy to pronounce, even for the littler ones. Just wait, I’m sure you’ll have your own by the end of the day.”

Sure enough, the children had started calling Briauna Na-Na by lunchtime.

“Told you,” I said as we began laying them down for their afternoon naps. She grinned at me with the tip of her tongue between her teeth. I felt like slapping myself after wondering what that tongue might feel like on mine.

Naptime was when we took lunch. One of us was assigned to sit with the kids as they slept so that the others could eat, and there was a rotating schedule. Today was Kody’s day. I made a note to add Briauna to the schedule later.

“So, how was your first day?” I asked her over my club sandwich.

“Amazing,” She said. “It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

“Yeah, the kids are great,” Emily said. “They almost make the pay worth it.” She grinned and stuck her forked tongue out of me. I reached out and whacked her spiny shoulder lightly.

“I wish I could pay all of you more,” I said a little regretfully. “We’re applying for low income care grant for businesses that involve children, and when the grant comes through, I’m hoping I can give you all bonuses.”

“Bonuses,” Jacob, Emily, and Esther all said in unison, like zombies.

Briauna shook her head and laughed softly. “Honestly, I don’t care about the money. Today was probably the best day of my professional career. If I didn’t need to eat, I’d do it for free. It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted. Kids deserve a good start, no matter who or what they are, or where they come from. I’m so happy to help do that for them.”

I stared at her in an awed silence, feeling as if my heart had taken up all the space in my chest, leaving no room for my lungs. There was no point in lying to myself anymore: I was head over heels in love with this woman.

I forced myself to look away from her, and ended up glancing at my other three co-workers, who had sudden knowing smirks on their faces. I scowled at them and lowered my eyes, eating to occupy my mouth so I wouldn’t have to answer questions.

Walking home that evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I knew myself well enough to know I’d never have the courage to just ask her out. I’ve never been that confident. All of my exes had asked me out, not the other way around. I thought about having someone ask her out for me, but I shook the thought out of my head with a grimace. This wasn’t high school. I was a goddamn adult and running my own business. I should be able to ask her out without a buffer.

Thinking that was easy, doing it was another thing entirely.

As I passed a novelty store, I stopped and looked in the window. There was a very tiny stuffed deer sitting in a little gift bag with chocolates cookies.

I stood there, staring at the stuffed deer. In the old days, orcs wanting to charm a mate would go through a courting ritual which usually involved hunting large game, like bears and deer and the like. I definitely wasn’t the hunting type, but… the point was to show your adoration through gifts, to show what you can provide for your mate. I certainly didn’t intend to leave dead animal on her doorstep, but I did want to offer her affection and companionship.

I ducked into the novelty store and bought the gift bag without really thinking about it. And now that I had it, I had no idea how to present it to her. I couldn’t just give it to her during work in front of the others; I was too self-conscious. I hadn’t seen her anywhere outside of work, so I couldn’t “accidentally” bump into her someplace else. I wasn’t going to show up at her house unannounced like a goddamn creep. I sighed, hoping I’d figure it out.

The next day, I was sure to get in before everyone else and hide the gift in my desk. As it happened, that day was my day to sit with the children during naptime. After the kids were sleeping and everyone went into the back room for lunch, I snuck quietly into my office, retrieved the gift, and slipped it into one of Briauna’s coat pockets.

After naptime, Briauna took out a book she’d brought from her own home and had all the little ones sitting in a semi-circle around her. She was naturally gifted at holding their attention. Well, not just theirs. I couldn’t stop staring at her.

I had put a high precedent on early education, so lessons on shapes, colors, numbers, and letters were a weekly thing. Not enough that it overloaded their still developing brains, but just enough to keep them engaged and help them retain the knowledge. We often did a flash card game with a points system, and the winner got a reward from the toy chest.

“You’re going to scare the kids if you keep making faces at Briauna like that,” Kody told me as they looked over the children’s worksheets.

I scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

Kody gave me a deadpan look. “Come on, man. I’m not blind. You’ve been staring at her all day. Hell, you practically drool. You’re really going to act like you’re not attracted to her?”

“Just drop it.”

Kody raised their hands in surrender, their eyebrows shooting up to their hairline. “Fine, fine.” They shook their head at you. “You’re a hot mess, you know that?”

“I’m more than aware, thank you,” I told them. Again, they shook their head and wandered off to set out the art supplies for creative time.

They rest of the day passed without incident. Briauna pulled on her coat without checking her pockets. I watched her with my heart in my throat as she left with the others. Kody shot me a meaningful look before following her out of the door.

The next morning, she came in with the giftbag in her hand.

“Who left this in my coat?” She asked.

“That was in your coat?” Emily said. “There’s no note or anything?”

“No, I found it in my pocket when I got home,” She said. “I thought maybe one of the kids put it in there, but the price tag on the bottom said it was, like, twenty bucks, and I don’t think toddlers keep that kind of cash on them.”

I winced internally. I’ll have to remember to take the tag off next time. I’d never done this before, so some mistakes were bound to happen. I’d have to be more careful in the future.

“So, which one of you gave me this? Jacob?”

Jacob snorted. “Girl, you cute and all, but I’m gay as the day is long. It was one of them,” He said, gesturing at the rest of us.

“Not me,” Kody, Esther, and Emily said in unison.

“What about you, Boss?” Emily asked.

I tried my best to look affronted. “Please, I spend enough money on coffee and donuts for you losers every day.”

“So, none of you are going to own up to this?” Briauna said. “Really?”

“Hell, maybe it was one of the kids, you don’t know,” Emily said.

Briauna rolled her eyes. “You guys are impossible.”

“You like it,” Kody said, grinning.

Two days later, a teddy bear and some caramels found their way into her pockets. A week after that, there was a stuffed tiger and gourmet hard candies.

On her day to sit with the kids at naptime, I brought her a coffee, and she whispered, “Who do you think is leaving me the presents?”

“Dunno,” I said. “Could be any of them, really. Well, except Jacob.”

“Not you, though,” She asked shrewdly.

“I’m your boss,” I said. “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

“I guess,” She said, shrugging. “But I thought you said formalities went out the window here.”

I gulped my heart down. Thankfully for my slowly crumbling facade of professionalism, the soft bell that alerted the end of naptime went off, and it was time to get the kids up for afternoon playtime outside.

That evening, while I was alone in my office, I was going through this months invoices while also looking at edible fruit and chocolate arrangements on my phone, when I saw my office door open. Kody stood there, leaning on the doorframe with their arms crossed.

Putting my phone face down and fixing a neutral expression on my face, I said, “What’s up?”

“Dude, do you really think I don’t know what you’re doing?” They said.

“I’m filing invoices,” I said.

“Come on, man, you know what I’m talking about. I know you’re the one leaving Briauna the gifts. Esther’s married, I’m asexual, and Briauna’s not Emily’s type. It has to be you. You’re not that slick.”

I sighed. I knew they’d caught me. “Are you going to tell Briauna?”

“No,” They said. “You are.”

“I can’t,” I said, scrubbing my face with my hands.

“And why not?”

“A lot of reasons,” I replied, reclining in my chair.

“Name one,” They said.

“I’m… weird.”

Kody laughed. “We’re all weird, Jukah.”

“It’s...” You sighed. “I doubt she’d even be into me. I’ve got… a lot of baggage, and not everyone is strong enough or willing to carry it with me. Trust me, I know. Every girlfriend I’ve had has seemed to buckle under the weight.”

“So you’re saying she’s not enough for you?”

“No!” I retorted, sitting up. “I’m saying I’m not enough for her. This place,” I gestured at the walls. “It’s all I’ve got. I’ve got no family, no friends besides my co-workers, no life outside of my work. Hell, I don’t even have my health. I’m a shit excuse for an orc. I mean, I’m too damn shy to ask a girl out. What does that tell you?”

“Maybe she likes shy guys,” Kody argued.

“Orcs aren’t supposed to be shy,” I said with a scowl.

Kody sighed in frustration. “Why are you so obsessed with what orcs are ‘supposed’ to be like?”

“You don’t understand, Kody,” I said with a return sigh. “I grew up in a stronghold, a traditional one. The pressure they put upon us to be the best orc possible was suffocating. I wasn’t the only one who who had to deal with it, but I was the only one who couldn’t live up to the expectation, the only one who didn’t grow up into the orc I should have been, and that has severe repercussions in orc communities. I was my stronghold’s biggest shame. None of my family speaks to me. My clan won’t even acknowledge my existence anymore; I’ve literally been erased from the book of clan lineages.”

“Dude… I do get it,” Kody said. “When I told my family that I was non-binary, asexual, wasn’t planning on having kids, wasn’t a Christian, and had no intention of taking over their business, they fucking lost it. I was their only kid and they had placed all their expectations for the future on me without asking me how I felt about it. They kicked me out, cut off my tuition, wrote me out of their will, refused to see me or take my calls. I went from working on a degree in medicine to living on a park bench. You were the one who gave me a chance. You gave all of us a chance.” They came in and laid a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t really give a shit what other orcs think of you, and you shouldn’t either. You’re worth so much more than they’d want you to believe.”

“Thanks, Kody,” I said. “It’s hard to undo an entire lifetime of being told you’re not enough.”

“I know,” They replied. “But do you really think Briauna is the kind of person who would think that? And if you do, why would you want to be with someone who does?”

“I don’t think she’s like that,” I said. “That’s one of the reasons I like her.”

“Then ask her out.”

I sighed sharply and ducked my head. “What if she says no and things are awkward, and she decides it’s too weird to work here? I’d have to kick out all the new kids we just took in,” I shook my head, resolved “I can’t do that. The kids come first.”

Kody groaned and rolled their eyes. “God, you are insufferable!” They walked to the door and leaned out. “Would you please come in here and put him out of my misery?”

To my complete shock and horror, Briauna walked in with a sheepish smile on her face.

I stared at Kody in disbelief. “Wow… you are… just… so fired.”

“Please, you need me,” They said, backing out of the room. “I’m basically your conscience.”

“You are the exact opposite of that thing.”

They laughed as they made to exit the building. “You kids have fun.”

Briauna stood there with one of the stuffed animals in her hands. “So it was you, then?”

I stood up and raked my hands through my hair. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? It was sweet. A little creepy, but mostly sweet.”

I snorted. “I wasn’t trying to be creepy. I just wanted to get your attention.”

“Well, it worked.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little stuffed bunny, something I hadn’t given her, and held it out to me. “Would this be enough to get your attention?”

I laughed and took it. “Yeah. And… maybe… dinner when you’re free?”

“I’m free now,” She said. “And there’s a curry place I’ve been dying to try since I moved here, but I’ve never had the chance to go.”

“That sounds perfect,” I said, grabbing my coat.

“Kody’s right, you know,” She said as I opened the door for her, stepping out into the chilly winter evening. “You shouldn’t care what people think about you. Well, except for me.”

“And what do you think about me?” I asked her.

She put her arm around my waist. “I think you’re really cute. I did the day we met. I was hoping the gift giver was you. And I think shy guys are adorable.” She lay her head on my chest. She was a short little thing. “I’m also hoping you won’t be too shy to kiss me goodnight.

I put my arm around her shoulder in return and lifted her face with my other hand. I kissed her softly and she pressed into it, parting her lips as if asking for more. My tongue reach out to toy with hers, and she moaned into my mouth. I pulled away, licking my lips.

“Dinner first,” I said, smiling.

She snorted. “You might regret that. It is curry.”

“I’ll take my chances,” I said, leading her down the street.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[mars-the-4th-planet]

Yuri Gagarin harasses a truck driver and talks about politics with Penny Polendina

Yuri landed on the firm Russian soil in a rural town next to a gas station. Well, not that firm, but firm enough. At least, that is what the 4th panzer Corp thought while they rolled through the area, but that is neither here nor there. "Vodka, nyet kaliningrad luftpanzer kozorvorisc niemcy?" She asked the gas station person politely.

Roughly translated the gas station persons response was "No we do not have plutonium fuel, thats not actually a planet therefore it cannot produce fuel!"

Yuri moped excessively until the gas station person handed her a small lump of uranium. "Look, you can have this okay? Maybe you can turn it into plutonium."

Yuri handed it back and shook her head. "I apologize for wasting your time comrade, please have a nice day in our glorious soviet union."

"Our wha-"

"Penny are you a communist or a filthy cappie?" Yuri asked her robot friend, surprised that she never asked this before.

Penny put two fingers together. "I dont know... I am not really into human politics... Personally I think that the best solution would be a society run by robotics like in New Polendine Mesopotamia. It brought peace and prosperity to an otherwise chaotic and violent region."

Yuri Gagarin rolled her eyes. "That is just a mechanically led puppet state overseen and funded by the United States of America."

"Yes but us Polendinas cannot be corrupted by greed or power lust and we always make calculated and empathetic decisions according to our makers... So..."

"Robots supercede the working class Penny, so a nation run by them is anti-worker by default!"

Penny shrugged, a bit nervous about the conversation and to change the subject she pointed at a Republic of Amazon truck and exclaimed "Hey look Yuri! I did not know they had amazons in Russia!"

Yuri frowned and popped up next to the truck man as he applied gas to his truck. "Hello anti-comrade, what are you shipping through my beautiful motherland?" She asked in Russian.

The truck man looked at her, puzzled. His eyes were bagged, his shoulders sagged, his skin was pale and his limbs seemed frail. The man was in bad shape, but that was to be expected of Amazon workers.

"Ma'am... No hablo Español.." He mumbled and continued with the gassing of his truck.

"What are you shipping in this truck for the foul corporation of the Republic of Amazon?" She asked again, in English. There was a slight threatening tone in her voice.

The man blinked. "Bread, ma'am."

Yuri narrowed her eyes. "Right. Give me your keys."

"Are your robbing me?"

"No. I have authority granted to me by the USSR to search any capitalist vehicle."

"My truck does not have a political idealogy ma'am..."

Yuri powered on her rocket and raised her fist. "Silence. Give me your keys in the name of the Soviet Union."

The man sighed. "The soviet union is dead ma'am."

Yuri was about to strike him, but Penny suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her back.

Penny moved in front of her. "Sir, I apologize for my friend. She is in much grief about the fall of the USSR."

The trucker put the gas nozzle up. "It's alright babe. I best be going now."

"BABE?!" Yuri Gagarin flared up. Literally. "You FOOL! This Penny belongs to ME!"

Startled, the trucker scampered back. "Wait! Fine, take the keys, I'm sorry!"

Yuri nodded and took them, and used the keys to unlock the back door. "Aha!"

"Oh... Oh my... Um" Yuri didnt know what to say about what she saw. "Where are you taking them?"

"C-China..." The trucker stammered.

Inside the truck were what appeared to be twenty humans wearing the yellow and white Amazon Prime uniforms, except they were lacking mouths and their heads had two colorful blue and pink horns or antenna (Yuri wasnt sure which) that were aerodynamic looking like the tail fins on the back of a plane. They curved up and swooped back. The strangest thing about them however was how they all looked pretty much the same. They all had pale skin and black hair, and the males among them were all tall and muscular. While the women were all small and slim and sleek. Every one of them had striking blue eyes that gleamed in the dark. One male was making hand motions but immediately stopped as Yuri Gagarin opened the door.

"Who... Or what... Are these people?" Yuri Gagarin asked. "How could you ship people packed in like this! Like property!"

"I honestly don't know ma'am please... I am just the driver... Amazon has my son in mandatory daycare and I had to take this job to save up for the fee to see him on weekends..."

"they have him in what?"

Penny explained because the trucker was clearly scared. "When Amazon employees complain about not having the time or money to properly care for their children, the Republic of Amazon files a statuate of neglect against them and takes their child into corporate custody. The parents can still visit their child, but it costs them a fee and the price is measured by the minute spent with them. Sometimes with a government permit the parents can get their child back, but only if they make a lawsuit about it and that is even more expensive."

The trucker started crying. "I miss my boy! Please, I know this transport is wrong but it pays well and I am saving everything to see him again! I havent eaten in three days!"

Yuri Gagarin sighed. "Typical abuse of the working class... We are clearly living in the worst timeline. So what are these people? Aliens?"

"I honestly have no idea..!" The man stammered, continuing to cry.

Penny shook her head. "They seem to have mostly human DNA. I would say they are genetically modified human beings made for servitude."

"Why don't they have mouths? How do they eat? What are those things on their heads?"

"I do not know the answers to the last two questions, Yuri my friend. But their lack of mouths is likely intended to keep in accordance with international law on the property rights on genetically modified life forms. If a creature is intelligent enough to speak like a human, it cannot be made into property. This does not apply to robots like me, because I am not a biological lifeform..." Penny added sadly. While she enjoyed her friendship with Yuri, she could not shake the fact that in her mind she was in servitude to her.

"That is rather disturbing, since they are probably just as sentient as you or me or this malnourished worker here." Yuri Gagarin said, and got up into the truck. "Hello comrades, my name is Yuri Gagarin. I believe that your time as chattel is over. Come with me, and we shall run down any who seek to oppress and exploit you. First we must make it to our secret communist headquarters, alright?"

They seemed scared by this, and backed away the best they could with how crowded it was in there. Amazon officials assigned to train these people were sure to really into the idea that any opportunity to escape was just a test, and that failing the test would result in horrible punishment. So they believed that Yuri Gagarin was just another setup to catch disloyals among them.

"Come on, let's go!" Yuri Gagarin insisted. "It is not often that I am optimistic about anything, but I am optimistic about saving you."

They did not budge.

"They are not the brightest beings in the bulb, are they Penny?"

"I think they are just scared Yuri my friend. But they are already in a big truck, why don't we just drive them there?"

"The truck could have a tracking beacon Penny."

Penny doubted that possibility. "You could be right, but my sensors do not detect one. Perhaps I could try to communicate to them that they are safe now?"

"Go ahead, but I don't know how you could do so better than me..." Yuri Gagarin moped.

Penny made a bunch of ASL hand signals to them, reassuring the people that they were safe and free to go now. She added that she was an EA-built robot unaffiliated with the corporate empire of Amazon, and so they had no reason to be afraid of her. For the most part they seemed unconvinced, because they were never taught sign language as that counted as a form of speech. The hand signals they made to each other was a simple code they made themselves, which was punishable whenever they were caught doing it.

Yuri Gagarins brief optimism about the situation seeped away. "Why does everything have go be so complicated and hard! Oh, woe is us!"

She grabbed Penny and held her for comfort. "Oh, my dear Penny! Do you see now the sins of capitalism?"

"To be fair Yuri my friend, many capitalist nations have placed an embargo on the Republic of Amazon for their treatment of their workers. And some other major companies refuse to do business with them. These genetically modified humans were on their way to a communist country anyway... So it is not merely capitalism at fault, but a few corrupt individuals who have a lot of power, and that is a recurring theme in every system. And I mean no disrepect to you by saying that!"

Yuri Gagarin held Pennys shoulders and looked at her eye to eye. She smiled. "You remind me of Freedom Sayori sometimes."

Penny frowned. "Sorry..."

"No no, I meant that as a compliment! I may dislike her beliefs, but I have... A strange respect for Sayori as a person. She is naive, but she is no hypocrite and practices the freedom and kindness she preaches."

Penny giggled. "Hehehe.. I think you like her Yuri!"

"What? No! Never!"

"We should get these people to safety now Yuri. The driver too. Even if there is a tracker, what can Amazon do against a Polendina and a Rocket Girl?"

Penny's sweet and determined smile brought some optimism back into Yuri. "You are right. I am prepared to fight for what I believe is right. Let us go, Penny, and bring some small justice to the world! Even if it is neglible in the larger picture!"

"That is the spirit Yuri!...I think..."

[whumpitywhumpwhump]

Whump Drabble

I had a 2hr flight today so I wrote this while I was in the air (these are just random characters that I made for this specific scenario)! Hope y'all enjoy!

--

The pain spiraled up from his hip with a renewed intensity. He bit back the groan that threatened to spill from his lips.

The fall had been nasty; the landing had been nastier. The crunch had been less than promising, and when Gabriel tried to roll onto his back, the spike of pain confirmed his fears. He felt the area with the pads of fingers.

Something shifted under his touch- he whimpered- something was definitely broken. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, bracing himself against the throbbing that was already starting up.

"Gabriel? Holy shit!" Vivian's voice reached him like a knife to the ear. Anyone else, he thought bitterly, I would rather have been stuck with literally anyone else.

She dropped to her knees beside him, brown eyes wide, curls swinging down around her face. If he didn't know better, he'd say she seemed concerned.

If he didn't know better, he wouldn't have ever agreed to do this mission with her. But he knew how bad The Wrangler was- what he could do to them, to their city. He knew this, and so he agreed to sneak up on his lair with Vivian.

He didn't agree to being caught, and chased across open desert by Wrangler's men, but he hardly had any choice in the matter.

He certainly didn't agree to climbing up a sheer cliff face with absolutely no rock climbing equipment or experience, or to falling off said cliff face and getting hurt. But as with many things today, his lack of agreement was irrelevant.

Now he had Vivian Johannes leaning over him, eyes huge with panic, and a potentially (probably) broken hip.

"Well, this isn't my idea of fun. Are you at least having a good time of it?" He forced a smile over his pained expression, cracking what he hoped came across as a joke. She blinked like he'd just spoken gibberish.

"Come on, admit it, you've always wanted to get me under you. Maybe not like this, but still." He wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke, knowing with certainty that she had never wanted any such thing. He'd bet dollars to doughnuts that Vivian despised him at least as much as his archnemesis, Bloodwing.

"How the hell are you joking right now?" Her voice was at least half a step higher than usual. "You literally just fell off a damn cliff!" She gestured up at said cliff.

"Oh, really? Hadn't noticed," he replied, still pushing calmness into his words, still keeping his tone as even as possible. His leg flashed intermittently hot and cold and numb, but he tried to push down the part of him that was scared by that. "Thanks for letting me know!"

She did not appreciate his sarcasm even a little bit. "Is this a joke to you? This is a serious mission Gabriel!"

Luckily for him, her voice seemed slightly more normal now. He needed that.

"Is it? Really? Why didn't you say so Halo?" He threw in her alias to really drive home how casual he was being. He almost never called her that- it required him to respect her as a hero, and he was almost never willing to admit to that.

Her brows furrowed, eyes flashing with something new. "Fine, joke all you want. See if the Wrangler appreciates your humor." She immediately hopped to get feet and started walking away.

He'd gone too far. Shit. "Viv, wait, please." He tried to turn his body in the direction she was stomping, but it pulled at his leg. Something scraped, and he was too slow to swallow the whimper that followed.

His words did nothing but that little sound stopped her in her tracks. She turned back to him, and he swallowed thickly. He hated letting her see the strain in his gaze, but it was getting harder to keep it quashed. His hip was really starting to hurt.

"Do you want me to help you or do you want to keep making stupid jokes Nightfox?" She managed to infuse his alias with a particular kind of venom that only she alone seemed to have mastered.

"Depends. Are you gonna freak out if I stop?" Her mouth practically fell open.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I've watched your work before, and you panic when you feel stuck somewhere. It means that on our left is an approaching horde of Wrangler's mean and on our right is a sheer cliff face so we are literally in between a rock-" he gestures to the cliff- "and a hard place." He points toward the open desert, wherein the approaching enemies were somewhere concealed.

"It means that I know you don't actually hate me or want me dead, which is why you came back for me instead the lair, and I know you don't really fancy leaving me here to die. I am cracking jokes like it's going out of style because I'm more than a little worried that if I don't distract you, you're gonna panic and we're both gonna die. Because, truthfully, it literally pains me to admit it, but I actually need your help."

He could have slapped her and she'd be less shocked. She just blinked, once, twice, mouth working.

"You... were trying to distract me?" The incredulity shone through her words. He just nodded, busy riding out a fresh wave of pain.

She came back over to his side, visibly calmer, and knelt down. She caught his gaze, eyes studying him for a minute.

"Is it bad?" There was no question what she was talking about. He bit the inside of his lip, looked down, then have a small nod.

His leg chose that moment to spasm, muscles clenching over injured bone, and Gabriel gasped. He took a slower, deeper breath, trying his damnedest to steady himself. He couldn't really afford to panic right now either.

"We can't stay here, Gabriel."

"I know." He did know- that's what scared him.

She glanced down at his leg, and he did too. His stomach twisted at the sight- the swelling was already pretty visible through the thin material of his pants.

"They're coming, we really need to go..." She paused, uncertain. She wasn't sure what to do here; she couldn't accurately judge just how screwed they were.

He refused to meet her gaze again, still staring down at his swollen joint. His voice was soft as he spoke. "Viv, I don't think I can stand like this, but..." He trailed off, partly because he had no idea what else to say and partly because he didn't want her to hear the tears starting to choke his voice.

She didn't say anything. That was somehow worse than whatever he expected. He couldn't take waiting in silence right now.

"Do you want me to try? Maybe I can?" Gabriel did not want to stand, not at all, but they needed to do something soon and it was all he could think of. His thoughts were a little occupied with the vicious throbbing at the moment.

"Are you sure?" Her voice was hesitant, almost as much as his tiny nod that followed. He held out a hand and she grabbed it silently.

A quick tug, and she pulled him to his feet. He shifted a little weight to his injured leg, paused a few seconds- not bad, not bad- bAD BAD BAD--

His leg crumpled underneath him and he dropped to the sand. A strained yelp tore out him. His hip twisted unnaturally as his weight landed on it, forcing further gasps of pain out of him.

Seconds later, a small hand was against his shoulder, grounding him. Brown eyes stared him down, inches away from his face.

"Gabe? You still with me?" His gaze must have gone unfocused for a few seconds. He nodded, taking a couple shallow breaths. He tried to focus on the expanding and deflating of his lungs instead of the ripples of agony coming off his hip.

"I guess, guess that's a no on the standing fr- front." He hated the tremble in his voice, but it couldn't be helped. The pain was bad and getting worse, and he didn't have the energy to bother hiding it anymore.

"Yeah, that's out." Her voice was low but even, her hand still resting on his shoulder. Actually, he realized, her hand was squeezing his shoulder slightly, in a gesture that was surprisingly kind for a woman who didn't even like him that much.

She chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. "I have an idea but you're not gonna like it." He narrowed his eyes, cocking an eyebrow.

"You seem pretty light, weight-wise, and I do have plenty of experience with carrying people out." His mind rapidly connected the dots. She had been a firefighter before turning hero, had carried people out of burning buildings, down ladders--she wanted to sling him over her shoulder.

He had to admit it was a good idea, but then he had to admit to himself how much it was going to hurt to be carried at that angle. He whined softly in the back of his throat- it surprised him; he hadn't meant to do that.

"Like I said, you won't like it. I know it'll hurt, but it's the best idea I've got. You got anything better?" She was asking out of courtesy-- he clearly didn't have any better ideas.

"Let's just get on with it." The words came out in a thick rasp, pain tightening his throat.

Her arms laced around him, getting a good grip. A second's pause, then she hefted him up.

The scream was involuntary-- he didn't even realize he was screaming for the first few seconds. The pain shooting out from his hip ratcheted up from horrendous to unbearable. The joint twinged at the angle it was forced to hold in order to hang over Vivian's shoulder-- muscles tightened, and couldn't properly release the tension. Fractured bone pulled away from cracked socket, swirling cracks into his voice as he moaned.

Black spots swirled across his vision, his own cries of pain rang in his ears. As he ran out of breath, he heard a voice under his own.

A steady stream of apologies and comforting words flooded into the air in the shape of Vivian's voice. She didn't let up on it for a second.

As he watched the sand passing under him grow hazy, he began to wonder if maybe, just possibly, Vivian didn't hate him quite as much as he thought.

"You'll be okay, Gabriel. I promise, I'm getting you out of here."

The pain swelled as their pace increased, and blackness swarmed his vision, ripping everything away with it.

--

Thanks for reading!

[mrslittletall]

Title: Frenzy (Chapter 4) Fandom: Bloodborne Characters: Laurence the first Vicar/Ludwig the Holy Blade Word Count: 1.816 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19858519/chapters/47260363 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/186445524569/title-frenzy-chapter-3-fandom-bloodborne

Summary: Laurence doesn't seem to get better...

When Ludwig woke up the next morning, Laurence hadn't stopped clinging to his arm.

Which also probably meant that he hadn't moved at all this night, he must feel sore. Ludwig shuffled around in the bed, carefully removed Laurence' arms of his own and put him into a sitting position.

Laurence still was motionless and unresponsive. The clinging to Ludwig's arm had been the most motion he had shown the past day.

“But that means you are still there...”, Ludwig murmured, while Laurence stared into the room.

Ludwig was aware, that he would need to get ready for his duties soon. He couldn't let Florence cover for him twice days in a row with a made up lie. He should get Laurence over to the infirmary.

Ludwig stood up and dressed himself before searching Laurence' cupboard for his usual church attire. When he found it, he pulled Laurence out of the bed and led him over to a chair.

“Let's make you presentable.”, he said, as he undressed Laurence' pyjama, gave him a fresh pair of drawers and slowly dressed him in the church attire, finishing with tying the holy shawl around Laurence' neck. Then, he picked up a brush to get some tidiness in Laurence' messed up bed hair.

Brushing Laurence' hair took some while, because the brush had to untangle quite a few knots. Ludwig didn't thought that this could be comfortable, but Laurence didn't complain or move. He was exactly like yesterday.

Had the movement just been some coincidence...?

No, that couldn't be it. It had to mean something. Maybe laying next to Laurence had reminded him of his usual sleeping position next to Ludwig.

After a while all the knots were untangled and Ludwig continued to brush Laurence' hair until it fell in soft waves on his shoulders.

Now that Laurence looked presentable enough, Ludwig just had to lead him to to bathroom and get some food and water into him before delivering him to the infirmary.

In hindsight, maybe Ludwig should have fed him before he dressed him, but he just made sure to bind a towel around Laurence so that he couldn't soil his clothes. After Laurence had been taken care off, Ludwig quickly scarfed down his own food and then rose Laurence to his feet, who he had parked sitting on the bed.

Laurence walked with him like usual. Ludwig made sure to be extra careful, so that Laurence wouldn't trip over anything that could lie in the way. Once they made it to the infirmary, Ludwig knocked, waiting for one of the doctors to open the door.

“Oh, it's you.”, the same doctor from yesterday had opened the door, their gaze on Laurence, who stood motionless next to Ludwig. “Any improvements or worsening?”

“No, not at all. He is the same as yesterday.”, Ludwig said. Well, technically there was an improvement, Laurence having cuddled up against him, but... there was no way he could say this without giving away their relationship.

He didn't even knew if it had been a coincidence or not.

“I have to attend to my duties, so I wanted to ask you to watch over him.”, Ludwig explained, carefully leading Laurence into the infirmary.

“Of course, we will take good care of him.”, the doctor said. Ludwig released Laurence' arm and watched how the doctor took it instead, talking to Laurence, leading him away.

With a sinking feeling in his heart, Ludwig took one last glance into Laurence' direction before turning around and leaving the infirmary.

---

Once it was time for his break, Ludwig ate as quickly as possible and then rushed to the infirmary. He knocked at the door, smoothing down the wrinkles in his clothes while he waited. Shortly after the door was opened a crack by the current doctor on duty.

“I... just wanted to check how Laurence is doing.”, Ludwig said and was allowed to step in as the door opened completely. Ludwig stepped in and caught of glimpse of Laurence and a nurse which carefully took care of a bloody nose.

“Did.. did something happen?”, Ludwig rushed over, worry in his voice, as he scanned Laurence for injuries. The only thing he spotted however was that the nose bleed had made a mess on his clothes.

“N.. not at all.”, the nurse replied, slightly started by Ludwig's sudden appearance. “Just one of his usual nosebleeds. We noticed it a bit late, so he bled all over himself. Sorry.” She scraped the ground with her foot. “He.. he isn't exactly able to tell us when he needs help.”

“I.. I know, sorry, I didn't want to accuse you of anything.”, Ludwig sighed. He looked a bit closer at Laurence. He had been put in a wheelchair, but other than the nosebleed, which had started to cease, he couldn't see any injuries. He pointed at the wheelchair. “Why this? He walks on his own if you just take his arm.”

“Ludwig, you are aware that you are almost 2 meters tall and he is tiny for you? Vicar Laurence may not be very tall, but it is still easier for a lot of us to move him around in a wheelchair. That's all.” The nurse gently cleaned the area around Laurence' nose and mouth where the blood had crusted. He just let himself cleaned up without protest, still staring.

“I am sorry...”, Ludwig said, kneeling next to Laurence to be more at his height, stroking over his hair.

“I wanted to try to feed him now. Did you already try it out? Did he eat?”, the nurse asked. “Sometimes people in a catatonic state downright refuse to eat, which can be quite a problem.”

“He did eat.”, Ludwig said. “I only tried out mush though. I doubt he would chew.”

The nurse nodded in acknowledgement of his words and returned with a bowl of soup. When Ludwig saw her placing Laurence at a table, the soup in front of him, her picking the spoon up, he intervened: “Um... could I do that, please?”

“Ludwig, I am an examined nurse. I am surely knowing how to feed an unresponsive patient without choking them. Besides, don't you need to return to your duties soon? You probably already know how long it takes to feed someone who can't move.”, the nurse said, in a pretty sharp tone. Ludwig shrank a bit under her words. He, as the holy blade, wasn't used that people talked back to him, but he also knew, she had a point. She was far better suited to take care of Laurence than him.

He still stared at her with wide, pleading eyes.

“..How about I show you the correct method?”, she proposed and Ludwig gladly took it.

After Ludwig had learned how to feed Laurence without actually choking him and also been shown a method how to give him a drink without soiling his clothes every time (the nurse just used a dropper), he talked with the doctor.

“So, the old blood didn't help.”, the doctor said.

Ludwig shook his head. “No, all it did was healing the scrapes and bruises he had suffered.” Ludwig had noticed it when he had cleaned Laurence up yesterday evening.

“We probably don't have to deal with a traditional injury or sickness then.”, the doctor glanced at Laurence. “I still think that his state is associated with some trauma, but...”

Ludwig didn't need to hear the rest of the unspoken sentence. With Laurence in that state it was impossible for him to tell them.

“Isn't there a medicine you can try out?”, Ludwig asked.

“Without knowing what he has? The old blood was our best bet, because it is a safe, easy healing method without any side effects. But if even that doesn't work...” The doctor sighed. “We will continue our research, but for now, all we can do is wait.”

Ludwig wasn't ready to give up yet. “And there isn't like.. a medicine that can be given to at least lessen his symptoms?”

“Sadly, no one has invented a medicine that can lessen catatonic symptoms yet.”

“...Understood.. Thank you for trying though. I need to return to my duties now.”

Ludwig stood up and walked over to Laurence to say his goodbyes. “Don't worry, I will come back later.”, he said with a stroke over his hair.

Was Laurence even able to worry? It was easy to assume that he wasn't there, but wasn't there also the possibility that he was fully aware of what was happening around him and he just was like.. trapped in his body?

Ludwig shuddered at the thought. He thoroughly hoped that Laurence was unaware of his state. That sounded too cruel.

---

After Ludwig was done with his duties, he practically rushed back to the infirmary to take Laurence back into his care. The nurse who had taken care of him earlier gladly led Ludwig to Laurence' position, who had been put near a window overlooking a portion of the town.

“So that he at least has something nice to say.”, the nurse explained.

Ludwig gently rose Laurence' to his feet and tugged at his arm so that he would walk with him. After a short while they arrived back at Laurence' room, where the first thing Ludwig did, was to dress Laurence into a pyjama, finally getting the blood stained clothes of him.

It occurred to Ludwig, that now Laurence had stained his clothes twice in a row because of his state. He felt a bit sorry for the laundry team having to deal with this mess. After Laurence clothes were changed, Ludwig gently tucked him into his bed.

Ludwig intended to spend the whole evening with Laurence and so he started with telling Laurence about his day, from the very beginning until he had taken Laurence back into his care. Laurence just stared blankly.

Once again, the lack of any response to his voice, made Ludwig's heart feel like breaking.

“Wait.. maybe... maybe you react to my music!”, Ludwig suddenly exclaimed, leaving the room to fetch his violin.

After all, Ludwig playing the violin was how he even noticed that Laurence had been interested in him, not missing any of the concerts he liked to give for the church members.

Ludwig spent the whole evening practically giving Laurence a private concert, but.. to no avail.

Hopefully Ludwig managed to at least ease Laurence' suffering. If he was aware of his surroundings, hearing a nice violin concert of his boyfriend surely was nicer than nothing.

“Let's get you to the bathroom and then clean you up.”, Ludwig murmured as he scooped Laurence out of the bed, gently putting him on his feet.

This night, Laurence clung to Ludwig's arm again. (Author's note: Oh gee, you guys still think the old blood doesn't have any side effects. Oh, the IRONY.) Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/186584382229/title-frenzy-chapter-5-fandom-bloodborne