#there are so many gold moments this chapter but this one’s just so funny to me

[richardsikens-secretlovechild]

james “god i wish he’d stab me🙏🏾‼️” potter gotta be my favourite character of all times

this man just walking around with a knife kink and regulus is just so sure it’s trauma and it’s killing me☠️

crimson rivers jegulus:

regulus: i love daggers but i’m going to do my best to keep them away from james because i think him getting stabbed traumatized him and i love him and never want him to be afraid around me🙁❤️

james: oh you’re putting away the dagger:((?

do you have to??:(((

GET A GRIP SIR😭

[obriengf]

24 Crayons || Stiles Stilinski x Reader

Summary: A boy met a girl in the midst of innocence, and formed a friendship that would last the ages. Words: 1.1k Warnings: omg just cuteness to the max Notes: written in third person, remaining chapters set in first person!

part one of TWENTY FOUR - a stiles stilinski series (masterlist)

Innocence was the simplicity of a sunny day; the way the light warmed skin and caught reflections in a twinkling gleam. It was the gentle hum of a small Californian town, filled with buzzing townsfolk in suburban settings and singing birds that found sanctuary in the surrounding wilderness. It was the floral scent of garden-lined sidewalks that was encapsulated within a plethora of beautiful flowers. But most of all, on this very particular day, innocence was the budding friendship between two children on their first day of kindergarten. Brown, doe-like eyes, peered upward as lips jutted out in a pout. They belonged to a young boy as nerves overtook his small body, worried about being alone and away from his parents. His hands were small as they gripped onto the pant legs of his father before cementing his little feet to the pavement below. He was refusing to move; head shaking, frown quivering, cheek rubbing against khaki-coloured material. "Stiles, honey..." A tender voice cooed, a woman with dark brown hair and the sweetest of smiles now moving to crouch to his level. She was among the shining light of the sun, ethereal glows highlighting her frame before a hand with a loving touch cupped the young boy's face. "You'll have the best time, I promise. Once you make some friends, you will love it here." "B-but you and dad are my friends!"

The woman's gaze saddened as they flickered up toward her husband, a mutual conversation of silent expressions and empathy. With a tender pat to her shoulder, the woman stood, instead replaced by a man with kind eyes and a gold badge that glimmered in the light. Stiles' focus moved to the word 'Deputy' as his small finger dragged over the engraving on the golden metal, his sobs quietening only in the slightest.

"Do you want to see the special big boy present we got for your first day, bud?" The man spoke with a gentle tone before being met with a sniffle and hesitant head nod from his son. He was careful as he dug through the spiderman backpack in front of him, his facial features contorting with funny expressions to make Stiles laugh. The sound of happiness made the man sigh with contentment as he pulled out a yellow box - colours, one of every rainbow shade, were lined up perfectly and ready for a creative imagination.

"Crayons!" Any prior sense of despair had dissipated as the boy's eyes grew, childlike wonder and jovial sounds now becoming his persona in the way his parents had always known him. The box was grasped with delicate fingers before small arms were thrown behind the father's neck, holding him in a loving embrace.

The man smiled. All surroundings slowly faded as this family of three stood within their bubble of perfection - of love, and purity. Everything was right in the world, and nothing could stand in their way.

Stiles stood off to the side; his senses were on alert, nervousness working through his small frame as he overlooked the large classroom and the many bodies that took up its space. He was too shy to speak to anyone, and he felt as if the room began to close in on him the longer he isolated himself. He dreamed of being back in the arms of his father, to be looking up at his mother's graceful smile that made all the scary moments go away. Everybody seemed to have someone and Stiles had never felt so alone.

It wasn't until he looked across to the far side of the room - past the children playing with their toys, and his new teacher talking to other adults that he didn't know - that he spotted another that seemed as lonely as he did. She had her back turned to him, but he could tell that she was sad by the way her pencil moved slowly over the page in front of her.

Little feet padded with caution as Stiles made his way toward her, the box his father gave him clutched tightly to his chest as a reminder that he was a big boy now and that alone was enough to give him some courage.

He cleared his throat, voice quiet as he peered over her shoulder, "Can I sit with you?"

Her head shot up with surprise to hear another voice, body turning quickly to see a young boy with the biggest brown eyes she'd ever seen. She nodded eagerly, pushing the chair beside her out for him to drop beside her. Stiles felt relief, his smile wide with anticipation as he stuck his hand out - something his father taught him when saying hello to new people. The girl looked at him funny before she smiled too, her hand sliding against his easily.

"Hi, my name is Mieczyslaw!" He spoke quickly, the sound of his name amusing as it came from his young squeaky voice. It didn't make it any easier to understand with the tooth missing from his bottom row, either.

Her head tilted, lashes fluttering as she thought of what he said. The girl hummed, "Mich.. ca.. slor?"

Stiles laughed loudly, his grin growing wider, if even possible. The boy nodded, "Kinda, but it's okay, it's hard to say sometimes."

The girl giggled along with him, her body turning further in her seat until she was facing him front on. "That's a funny name!"

"It's my grampa's name.." He started, shuffling closer to the girl, "But you can call me Stiles! Erry'one calls me that."

"Okay, Stiles. That's a funny name too!" She followed his earlier sentiment as her small hand was thrown toward him, ready for another shake, "I'm Y/n."

He took it gladly, "I like that name, it's pretty. Y/n."

A red hue dusted her cheeks, a mix of excitement and happiness as she found someone to talk to. And he was someone that made her laugh, which she liked most of all.

Stiles wasn't afraid as he put his box of crayons on the table between them, a sense of pride filling him as he saw her eyes widen in amazement. He patted the top, "My dad and mom gave me these."

"Wow! And you got the big box too, with all the good colors!"

Stiles' smile never faltered, and he knew that he liked you straight away. You were going to be a good friend. "Yeah! I haven't opened 'em yet. Did you wanna color with me?!"

That was the beginning of an unbreakable friendship, the first chapter in the lives of you and Stiles Stilinski.

[brothebro]

Any dp/dc fic recs?

of course! Honestly, i love so many of them and I'll try to include as many as i can in my list here! The Undead Lockpicking series by Milaley: In which Danny has a lockpicking youtube channel and he lockpicks the Watchtower. Hilarious, excellent 10/10

The Bat Trap by Threee: Honestly a good ol twin switcheroo with many funny moments but also a lot of delicious angst! (a Damian & Danny twins au) Just, chef's kiss!

GLXY:PSSNGR by socraticat: Danny takes the place of his alternate universe self who lives with vlad in Gotham after vlad killed his parents. Muchas angst, lots of worldbuilding and fantastic action!

A second life by Die_Erlkonigin6083:Kid Danny who has memories from a past life and currently is Dick Grayson's clone baby (and a bunch of others but mostly Dick's) Adorable 100/10 recommend>

lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood by halfagone (milkywxy): Epic. Dad!Lex and and dimensional travel son!Danny. Sweet and super well-executed Cass/Danny. 10/10 i need to catch up with the latest chappies but it's so freaking good I am aaaaaa

Rooftop Express by EmeraldsAndAmethyst: Danny/Jason. Awesome af. Crime lord Jason ftw! Danny is a (supernatural)delivery boy and professional enigma in Gotham

Our Empty Graves by suomifae: Hazmat Suit, no one knows au! Danny/Jason in which Danny finds himself helping out in Jason's gang. Very cool story building, ideas and execution. Im literally screaming in every chapter. so so good!

bloodlines by halfagone (milkywxy): Danny is Diana's and Bruce's son. He of course doesn't know that. There's a prophesy involved that says Danny will end the world, Diana finds out accidentally about it and finds out she has a son (memory wipe shenanigans) and GOSH. There's so much awesome stuff happening and it's a pleasure to see them piece together the facts. 10/10 Diana rocks

Summons by DizzlyPuzzled: Ghost king Danny in which because he's underage his father gets summoned in his stead. Bruce would very much like to know why he keeps getting yote through summoning circles. Just the right amount of funny, family fluff and angst.

If You Give a Bat a Burger by Cielle_Noire: BOI I HAVE NO WORDS. the plot in this is thiccc and juicy and delicious and the mystery is the cherry on top! Danny lives in Gotham, does some ghostly sigil stuff around to protect Gothamites from bad ghosts, it backfires, we don't know why. Red duck candles are involved. The Batkids are chaos. and im here eating popcorn because it's all super entertaining to watch unfold. 100/10 jessica's duck candle

Friendly neighborhood vigilante by Elizabehta_Beilschmidt: Jazz/Jason THE FIC. honestly one of the best Anger Management fics i've ever read. Love the way Communication between partners is portrayed here and how they overcome the hurdles despite the shitshow that is both their lives (affectionate). 10/10 would read again

Danny Fenton: Dead and Loving It by HyperKid: You need an ao3 account for this one, go go go go make one because it's super worth it! Jason/Danny. They meet at the graveyard, your honour! They actively mess with Bruce and the rest of the Batkids! Gala Shenanigans! What else can i say? Go read!

Worm Off the String by TourettesDog: I am licherally dying of laughter. Peak comedy. Danny/Tim ft little baby man Danny who Tim thinks is Danny's weird af pet. Honestly, so GOOD. 100/10 comedy gold.

Press Heart to Subscribe by Die_Erlkonigin6083: A Danny/Damian fic in which Danny is a streamer and Damian watches his stream. Super cute, well executed, 100/10 sweetness scale

Imprint by Hashtag_DriveBy: Babes i dunno what to tell you. I've done fanart of this fic. De-aged baby Danny and DadHood. Human-ish Fright Knight and Excellent friend Roy. Guys seriously. SO SO SO SO GOOD. 100/10 I wanna see the kid reveal to the batfam and am vibrating out of existence imagining scenarios. - There are more but I can't possibly list them all in one go, I'll make another fic rec list later 💙

[ursawastricked]

Distracting: Part 4

You have infected most of Viktors thought by now. And unfortunately he can not find solace in his own home, not when his growing “collection” he realizes, contains a remnant of you that he had forgotten about..and the distraction follows him further then just his brain.

Wordcount: 3,081 (I had too much fun)

THIS CHAPTER IS 18+ MDNI

Warnings: Pining, cute memories, Smut, Solo Viktor, Male masterbation, Viktor being soft and oh so distracted

It wasn't uncommon for Viktor to be locked in his room after returning home, however he was much more annoyed at the current moment then he would usually be.

Now, on any other occasion, one where he found himself stuck between his desk and his bed, he would just continue to his desk. But no, instead he had been standing in the center of his empty room, starting an increasingly aggravating item in his possession.

He held the light weight glass in his grasp, leaned over it while sitting cross legged on his floor..somewhat, his bad leg was stretched out in front of him, it had been aching since he jumped to grab you earlier, another event he was planning on ignoring. He tilted his head as he turned over the glass in his hand, he had not yet noticed the light gold trim at the edge of it, nor the chiseled texture of the handle..it was clearly expensive which only worsened the guilt of having it. He wondered momentarily if he would be in trouble if they came looking for it, however people probably stole from those parties all the time. He knew they did, because at your first ever banquet, he had caught you slipping one of the china plates in your bag.

Viktor chuckled lightly, you were so quick to try and drag him into your scheme after he had caught you. At that point he had only known you about a month, and you had just started being actively social in the lab, mostly with Jayce, however you had said your fair share of ‘good mornings’, ‘goodnights’. It was charming, in a childish kind of way, and despite not assisting you, he hadn’t said anything and you still had the plate in your cabinet. He had seen it when you had invited him and Jayce over for some dinner. He ate off it, but didn’t comment on it, you winked at him and he smiled..

He leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling and analyzing that night as a whole, he recalled dinner, eating, drinking a bit..yes he definitely remembered drinking, because he had woken up in his own bed the next day with the same pain he imagined was felt after falling from a building, all settled in his skull. Lucky for him, he had beat Jayce to the chance of blacking out, so Jayce had gotten the honor of carrying him home. He had spent most of that day dragging himself between his bed and the bathroom, taking many showers, lots of vomit, and lots of sleeping. He had somehow ended up still with one of your scarves in his bed after he had passed out. He had learned from Jayce after asking about it, that he in his inebriated state, had put it on and tied it around his head to do what he thought was a very funny impression of you, but was actually a lot of gibberish and him not being able to stop laughing.

Did he..ever give that back to you? He wasn't sure..but as he stared at the lipstain on the champagne glass again, despite how faded it was after he had secretly drank from it during the nights, he had wondered if you missed it. After all, the cold season would be coming soon, and he couldn't stand the idea of you shivering because he had drunkenly stolen another thing from you..maybe you had a point, maybe he was a little bit of a kleptomaniac.

He groaned as he stood from the floor, grabbing his cane and pulling himself to stand. With a bit of effort he was able to leave his room and head to the hall closet, where he and Jayce kept their winter coats and such when it wasn't cold. With his free hand, he tugged the sliding door to the side and began to filter through the thick collection of fabric that was hanging in the far too small closet. It was truly ridiculous how many things Jayce chose to keep in this thing..but soon enough he had found it. A long, thickly knitted crimson scarf, squishy too the touch and clearly well loved as it was a little beaten up at the ends, or at least he hoped, if moths had eaten away at it while it was in his care, he would be quick to pay for a new one and spend the rest of the cold season trying to make up for ruining your property. He pulled it from its hanging state, feeling the weight of it settle against his palm as he inspected it for any details that would cause him worry, he couldn't remember if he had vomited on it, but either way, it would be polite to wash it before returning it. He sighed, throwing it over his shoulder so he could close the closet..when it hit him.

It wasn't gentle, it was an intense waft of smell that hit his senses. It was honey, lavender..the slight alteration of an oaky, maybe smokey smell that he then recognized as your perfume. He paused, closing the door to shamefully lift the fabric to his nose, not sure if he had any control over the carnal motion of holding it to his skin and inhaling deeply. He had missed the hint of caramel, the kind you always put in your coffee, and probably had spilt on this very scarf. His eyes were closed, senses blurring as the sensation of buzzing settled in his chest and let loose a sigh from him, one he would have hidden if he had noticed Jayce down the hall, apron tied on and holding a spatula covered in fudge from the brownies he had insisted on making that night.

“Vik, what's that you got there? Is it cold in here?” He asked, over the giggling noise of Mel who had arrived without warning to Viktor. She too came into the corner of Viktor Gaze as he yanked away your scarf from his nose and closed the closet the rest of the way.

“No..just remembered something..and wanted to check,” he replied, lazily glancing between Jayce and Mel as he crept toward his room, tossing the deliciously scented scarf too his bed before closing his bedroom door and standing facing it for a moment..He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but the buzzing in his belly had subsided only partly, and he could feel his body craving another huff of what he had just discovered. However he instead moved toward the kitchen, it was better to not feed into something that felt addicting.

He limped into the shared kitchen, seeing Jayce still stirring a bowl of fudgy brown putty, and his..guest as Viktor would put it..lounging on the stool, looking over Jayces work. She turned to smile at Viktor, and he gave his best attempt, despite how aggravating it was to be surprised with company when you didn't want to be.

“Viktor dearest, I couldn't help but notice that scarf you were holding down there,” she hummed, twirling glass of wine in her hand, a much less pretty glass then his he would note, “It looks a bit like the one your other lab assistant work..what was their name?” He was quick to spit your name back at her, almost instantly, like he was waiting for someone to ask. Mel glanced at him, a little spooked, “Yes..yes them. I saw them wearing the Yule ball, is that it?” she asked, sipping his wine with the elegance of a queen.

Viktor had almost forgotten about the Yule ball. Though now that he thought about it, you had worn it then, that was until you took it off and had revealed a golden collar around your neck..purely decorative, however he now wondered if you often wore things like that–

‘Stop that,’ he silently chastised himself, clearing his thirst to give a real answer, “Yes..they had lent it to me a while back..I wanted to pack it in my bag so I can return it” he murrmered, leaning over the sink and filling his usual cup with water.

Jayce giggled lightly, clearly amused by his next words before even saying them, “You gonna write a note for when you return it?” he asked, Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “Maybe some hearts, an invitation to steal yours next?” he teased, sending heat fast to Viktors face. His hand gripped the cup, avoiding anyones gaze as he stepped to the side,

“Of course not! Why would I ever offer that?” he huffed,

“One of your shirts would fit them pretty nice, don’t you think?” Jayce purred, only barely avoiding the water that spilled from Viktors mouth when he had missed his sip at the thought of you wearing his shirt, all sleepy and comfy, hiding yourself in his clothes,

“You..are an evil man Jayce Talis, a vile and disgusting creature–” Viktor choked, wiping his chin from the spittle that had fallen down it, turning his face away from Mel as she stared at the pair.

Viktor wasn't lucky enough it seems, as he had caught a smirk of understanding spread on mels painted lips. “Has our Viktor found himself a little playmate?” she hummed,

Jayce nodded, mouthing an exaggerated ‘Oh yeah’ which resulted in the hard thump of Viktors cane against his shin. Jayce yelped, hopping on one leg and holding his injured one and settling his forehead against the counter,

“I do not have a ‘playmate” Viktor grunted, tucking his cane back under his arm,

“Are you going to wash it at least? The scarf?” Jayce panted, settling his leg back down and leaning into Mel as she rubbed his shoulder for comfort, like he was a wounded puppy.

“Of course,” Viktor insisted, turning and making his way back down the hallway too retrieve it,

Jayce leaned down the hall as he went, “Hey uh, Mel is gonna sleep over, ok?”

“I assumed,” He yelled back, slipping into his room and closing the door.

As much as he planned to get right to your scarf, he had gotten distracted with what he thought would be a quick adjustment to his notes. He looked up to notice he had somehow ended up filling what was left of his notebook..he sighed, rubbing his temple and lifting himself toward his bed. He needed to sleep, so he tripped what was tight around his form, and rolled into his mattress. He laid on his side, and let out a deep sigh as he settled into the soft sheets..he was much more annoyed to hear the muffled noise of Mel and Jayce on the other side of the wall. He inhaled deeply, covering his head with his hands and trying to block out any further signs of their intense “conversation”.

His breath hitched as the feeling of his back hitting the bedroom door, your form standing close, blocking him from moving away. His gaze was lingering on your face, a bit disheveled from the rush into the apartment. He sighed, cupping your face as you tuck your body closer to him, the velvet of your vest brushing against his chest.

“Janna..your so lovely,” he huffed,

“You're so beautiful Viktor..” You whisper in reply, only to be cut off by the weight of Viktors lips colliding with yours. You both pant into each other, Viktor wrapping his arms tightly around your hip and using the other to cup your jaw, and keep your lips locked in a passionate embrace. Your combined weight sends you both tumbling to the bed. You land almost perfectly, Viktor slotted between your legs and pressing his weight into your pelvis. You let out a pathetic whimper as Viktor grabbed hold of your thigh and tucked it over his hip. He pulled his lips away briefly to mutter your name, 

“Your perfection..ever since that party..with that lovely gown..I can't stop thinking about you, about everything you do..” He panted between kisses to your impossibly soft lips, and when he couldn't handle muffling your sounds any longer, he pressed his lips into your throat, greedily licking at your sweat dappled skin as if he would die of thirst. You moan out his name as he rolls himself into you, groaning at the sensation of your plush behind against his bulge.

Your nosies only continued to spill from your throat, each shriller than the next, until he swore you began to sound like the creaking of his bed frame..

The creak of said bedframe is what met him when he fluttered his eyes open and found that rather than your, in his words, ‘Plush behind’, he had dug his hips into one of his pillows..He grunted, pulling himself to sit up and rubbing his face drearily. His brain was foggy, another groan from his bed sending a shutter down his spine and into his hips.

He didn't want to look, but like a drone, his chin dropped to his chest and he was met with the unmistakable outline of his throbbing cock, pressing against the fabric of his  boxers. He sighed, falling back to the mattress and combing through his hair with his hand, until he felt a soft texture crush his fingertips. He turned his gaze lazily, his gaze caught on a familiar crimson color. ‘Your damn scarf..’

He reached for it, flushing a bit in the cheeks as he brought it to his face..another instinctual move he had no control over. He deeply inhaled, feeling the smell trickle down his lungs into his stomach. He shuttered lightly, opening his eyes lazily and staring off at the cieling as the sickening feeling of shame flooded into his barely conscious mind. He knew it wouldn't go away, you wouldn't leave his mind, and because of it, his little..not so little, problem would also remain stubbornly active.

He closed his eyes again, maybe if he didnt see the scarf he would feel less guilty about the effect it was having. His hand pressed the fabric closer to his face, the other free hand slowly sneaking over his hip bone and causing him to involuntarily jut upward. He exhaled that first deep breath as the weight of his hand settled against his bulge and sent a muted humm of pleasure into his thighs. He took another moment to move again, a moment to at least settle on what to think about. Of course the only thing in his mind at the moment was you, that excited look on your face from the dream, the way your hair felt between his fingers as he kissed you..his hand slipped beneath his waistband, hurrying top push them down enough that he would ease the ache of his cock that was needily pressing into the now tight fabric. His grasp was light as he held himself, feeling the weight against his palm and considering himself for a moment..

Your voice invaded his imagination, a scripted coo into his ear, a fantasy of your sing songy tone, ‘excited Viktor?~’

His grip tightened around his shaft, he made one slow pass over it, making him inhale sharply through his teeth. He pressed your scarf to his mouth, taking in another intoxicating breath of you, his hand starting its slow, lazy pace as he squeezed his cock lightly with each stroke.

The scarf proved extremely effective in muffling his moan, one he didn't plan on, brought out as he pictured your hand rather than his, rubbing a bit faster. He felt a slight burn, lifting his hand away from his shaft for only so he could drag his tongue over his palm, giving himself a fair bit of saliva to better lube himself up with, before bringing it back to his cock and returning to a less lazy pace. The heat of his saliva brings an image of your perfect lips pressing into him, against his throat, against his hips, his cock.

His hip twitched into his tightening grip, sending an increasingly shocking amount of sensation through his stomach. He was shivering, the smell, your smell was all he could breathe in. It was as addictive as he anticipated it to be, sweet, strong, the intensity of pleasure it brought him was humiliating, especially knowing how much more noticeable it would be when he had to see you tomorrow. He wasn't sure how he would handle seeing you tomorrow.

You had smiled 15 times yesterday, the number tripled after he had touched you..oh and that touch was exquisite. HIs hand quickened, his breath was heavier, and he could feel the rumble of his groans as they sank into the soft fabric against his lips. Janna, he wanted to touch you again. With one touch, he had earned the luxury of knowing that, for a fact, your waist was as soft as he hoped..and the feeling..the squish of your flesh..it was enough to send a whimper from his throat. A shivering sensation spread down into his hips, his thumb pressing teasingly against the swollen head of his cock. He was shaking now, the weight of your body against his palm, he squeezed tighter around his shaft, his pace quickly becoming irregular. He groaned into the scarf, whining helplessly into the soft yarn, sighing shakily. His hips thrusted into his fist, greedily pushing himself toward the edge. He gritted his teeth, arching his back against the mattress as one last memory of you flooded into his psyche..the slight smile on your face after he let go of you, the little lean you made to chase him after it, the smallest sign of your returned affection.

He whimpered your name, the scarf not able to hide it as he held it tight to his chest, and white hot pleasure coursed through his body, down into his stomach and shooting through his hips as warm cum freckled his bare stomach.

His body collapsed into the mattress, his breath heavy and desperate, his release cooling soothingly against his belly as he fluttered his eyes open and started up into the night.

How was he going to look at you tommorow..

He couldn't figure it out in the morning..for now he reached over to his bedside table, gripping cold glass and sipping from the last remnants of your stained glass.

[penny-hartzs]

Let's talk more fashion: who are your top ten fictional characters with the best style 🥰

Right off the bat I have to go with Carrie Bradshaw. She annoyed me to no end for most of the series (apart from that one episode where she went to a house party and someone stole her shoes and she insisted that the guests pay her back for them) but I'd be lying if I said that her outfits don't continue to be iconic and they are always going to be a huge chapter of costume design and fashion. Patricia Field really is THAT woman.

2. Rachel Green my forever girl has to be number 2. I love so many things about her style and how it evolves throughout the seasons. In the early days it was jeans, T-Shirts and overalls but in such a chic and 90's way and then as she starts working in fashion and growing more into a more grownup version of herself she has an amazing office wardrobe that I still take inspo from. I also love all her slip dresses.

3. Meave Maisel. I started watching The Marvelous Mrs Maisel mainly because of the clothes and the fact that it was written by Amy Sherman Palladino and I stayed for as long as I did for the clothes as well. I believe the plot got a bit tired and the creators got distracted by the fact that the budget kept getting bigger so therefore they thought the show should be getting flashier instead of more human and funny but you'll never catch me complaining about the costumes because, well look at them!

4. Lisa Fremont. LISTEN. The costumes in this movie (which is Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock) are my Roman Empire. Especially the black and white dress combined with Grace Kelly's incredible beauty makes it one of the most iconic fashion moments in cinema history and we should give Edith Head (the costume designer) her flowers.

5. Fran Fine. It took me a while to realize what an absolute fashion icon this woman is because I didn't watch The Nanny as a kid or teenager (I still haven't watched all of it and I plan on making it right eventually) but omg the absolute serve after serve after serve AFTER SERVE. Plus, that body is bodying. And a special mention to this particular outfit which is all of my dreams coming true:

6. Issa from Insecure

This show's entire costume department deserved all the Emmys, Oscars, Tonys, just everything but Issa's style was always my absolute favorite because it was so versatile and reflected on her character journey as well. Plus I loved the fact that even when she had a casual look on, there were still so many smart details about it. Argh I miss Insecure so much I need Issa Rae back on my screen immediately.

7. Daisy Jones. This character has had a tight grip on my heart ever since I read the book and I knew I'd love her when I watched the tv adaptation but I didn't expect to love her to the point I spent all of last spring trying to find pieces to recreate her entire cool girl hippy wardrobe. And also I just have to mention this "gold dust woman" moment because it was arguably the most iconic outfit of them all

8. Holly Golightly

I don't think I need to say too much about her to be honest do I? Audrey Hepburn is literally a work of art, in this movie and in general. My maybe somewhat unpopular opinion is that the pink outfit is my favorite one :')

Honourable mentions:

Monica Geller/ Blair Waldorf/ Cher Horowitz/ Zoe from Grownish (I hate the show though)/ Devi from Never Have I Ever/ Hilary Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

[silvysartfulness]

writing pattern tag game

thank you to @ameliarating for tagging me!

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 posted fics and see if there’s a pattern.

1. It was still dark when he woke up, but this dark had stars in it. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 56)

2. It's a sad thing to die alone far from home, Xiao Xingchen had told the old villager earlier, because he knew it was. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 55)

3. Bleeding out, chopped up like some badly butchered animal, Xue Yang dies in the dirt. (Under The Wheel)

4. “It's not a ghost,” Xue Yang said, sounding bored. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 54)

5. It could almost have been amusing, the way Xue Yang's moods swung wildly between almost ingratiating friendliness one moment, to glaring sullen murder at him again the next. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 53)

6. He surfaced from sleep completely ensnared in a tangle of limbs, confused for several long moments until the memories of last night clicked into place, and a wave of aching fondness made his breath catch. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 52)

7. The day had gone from crazy to something beyond surreal, and it felt like his mind had just given up and shut down halfway through, unable to really keep up anymore. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 51)

8. It was funny, in a way that actually really wasn't, how much easier flirting up a willing stranger to burn off some excess energy had been before - younger, brighter, sporting ostentatious Jin gold.... Having two arms. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 50)

9. Even in half-sleep Xue Yang could tell that the day would be unpleasantly hot and humid, and he was still a bit sore after last night's Night Hunt, but Xiao Xingchen was a comfortable enough pillow and so everything was as it should be. (Heaven Has A Road chapter 49)

10. “Jiangzai is here to see you.” (Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea)

I really appreciate Amelia asking me to do this with chapters as well as fics! Many Heaven chapters are 10k+ long, so could almost count as fics in their own right length-wise if you squint? 🤔😭

I think a pattern for opening lines for me is instantly establishing a mood, often by juxtapositioning concepts or words that clash or contradict, or just give a bit of emotional slap!

Xiao Xingchen knows firsthand what it’s like to die far from home. Xue Yang talks about something as extraordinary as ghosts and sounds bored. Xue Yang talking about sexy flirting and bringing up his mutilated arm in a single sentence, Song Lan wearily finding Xue Yang being friendly vs. murderous almost ‘amusing’.

Also throwing in stark phrasing like “butchered” or "dies in the dirt" or “ensnared” or other loaded words or subjects to grab the reader’s attention! Though I also really like more quietly poetic phrasing like the “this dark had stars in it”. 💚

Apparently I also like opening on a Xue Yang pov? At least looking back at these, though I do try to make a conscious effort to mix it up a bit!

Thank you so much for tagging me! I’m asking @fromaliminalspace @ebonykain @heretherebebookdragons and anyone else who wants to to join in on the fun! And if you don’t have enough/any published fics, just go with your wips! 😁

[thetonethetollandthethunder]

Scythe chapter 11-15

You know the drill!! Cmon!!!

—

Chapter 11!!

-I always forget the conclave’s have names,,,

-The thing is, you can never blame these people for fighting back, it’s human nature, but OUGH the consequences of human nature are so devastating

-But just imagine the guilt you’d feel, your husband got killed and you get immune from the same fate for a whole year. That’s just prime for survivors guilt

-Also the fact that Faraday told the family the man didn’t resist is just testament to his kindness and compassion

-“The sanctity of the law…And the wisdom to know when it must be broken.” *Stares at Goddard*

-MILK SCENE, I unironically love this scene even tho I think it’s really funny

-Also I genuinely don’t know how ppl drink milk b4 bed, is that even a real thing? How does that make you sleepy??

-Also good on Faraday!! Don’t waste shit!!!

-Apparently all the Scythe Rings are white but I refuse to acknowledge that, they’re all multicolored and each color relates to the scythe in some way <3

-That ring security system Faraday has going on is sick as fuck tho ngl

-“Now let’s see how long it takes Rowan to go for the ring.” I love himmmm, he’s fun!!! He can be fun!!

-Tonist mention!! I love the Tonists <33

-Nice chapter!! Gives more depth to Faraday!!

—

Chapter 12!!

-Rowan and Citra’s test are approaching!!!

-The idea of having to hold yourself back in life because you’re afraid of being killed is actually terrifying—

-Also same Rowan, I hate studying too

-“Rowan concluded that not knowing was more terrifying than knowing.” If I remember correctly what the consequence is then that is CERTAIN true

-I LOVE Citra and Rowan’s banter here!! You can see their chemistry early on!!

-UGH I WONT LIST OUT ALL THE MOMENT BUT THEYRE SO CUTE!!!

-Cute chapter! Lots of Citran moments!

—

Chapter 13!!

-“I’m a human being, not a mole.” Faraday is soooo fun sometimes like so fun and endearing???

-“Destroyed back in the age of mortality by something called ‘terrorism’.” OKAY SO YES THIS DOES GIVE US A LOT TO THINK ABOUT IN TERMS OF WHAT PEOPLE HERE KNOW ABOUT THE AGE OF MORTALITY BUT ALSO THAT IS RLLY FUCKING FUNNY SOOO

-I too hate walking at 6:30 am (I go to public school in America)

-“I have found that with the Scythedom, it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” He is iconic yall

-“What’s the worst they could do?” Things said before disasters—

-“Running the gauntlet” Like walking the red carpet!

-“Scythes wished to be seen as the many faces of light, not of darkness.” And soon they will be! Yk, just right after the plague—

-SCYTHE CURIE OMG OMG!!

-OO now they’re seeing scythe goddard ohoho I LOVE HAVING FORESIGHT

-Citra would cringe at the fact she at one point dazzled by goddard

-Rowan don’t be fatphobic /j

-I like that the conclave’s are pretty boring for the most part, makes it feel more realistic

-I love how only when Citra becomes a Scythe does she begin to understand these rituals, shows how much she grows

-OHOHO we got goddards fuckin note bullshit! Citra is gonna hear allll about that when she becomes a scythe

-Love how Chomsky is basically described as “as white as anyone could be” lmaoo token white man

-also gun lobby, nothing to say about it just…Gun lobby

-Rowan starting to talk like faraday is GOLD

-Again I love Citra and Rowan’s banter

-SCYTHE CURIE

-The idea of the weaponsmaster being a infomercial salesman is SOO funny i need to use that in my scythe oc shit

-Also that digital poison sounds fucking TERRIFYING

-The Scythes not liking the term ‘victim’ is rlly interesting to me, shows they really think of themselves as these faces of light

-Neal I don’t think you know what feminine hygiene products sound like—

-Hand of midas shit but even MORE horrifying!!

-I am terrible with names I saw Scythe Mandela and thought he was Scythe Possuelo and I have no idea why

-Who names their child Ransom??

-VERY good and long chapter!! Two more to go!!

—

Chapter 14!!

-OOO the test scene!! One of my favorites!!

-SCYTHE CURIE

-Again what is with the shit names??? Jacory??

-OHH you do NOT interrupt scythe curie girl you are FUCKED

-Oh Citra you’re gonna revisit the worst thing you’ve ever done REALLL soon

-ROWAN LOSING ON PURPOSE FOR CITRA IS SOOOO!!!

-GODDAMN IT RAND I LOVE YOU BUT STOP

-AND THE TENSION THICKENS WITH THE ADDED RULE OF THEM HAVING TO KILL THE OTHER OH MY GOD ITS STILL GOOD MAN!!

-We all want a relationship with the thunderhead Curie

-Very good chapter that adds to the stakes of the story!! One more to go!!!

—

Chapter 15!!!

-God the shock and confusion and how upset they all are really captivates this conversation

-And you see that eventually Rowan is very willing to die at the hands of Citra, that’s how much he loves her like UGHH

-“Scythes were supposed to be above the petty,” oh citra you have no idea bby girl,,

-Hash pales!!!

-THE KISS SCENE

-Ive already went in depth about why I love this scene in my Citran analysis post but UGH I LOVE ITT

-Liar!! You are totally in love rowan!!

-GODDARD THE BASTARD

-God he is such a fucking dick i hate himmm

-Very good chapter :)

—

AND THATS THE NEXT 5!!! Next time we’ll do chapters 16-20!

[incendio22]

FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL

Chapter 9: Quidditch Try-Outs

Normally the try-outs happen in early September, but given last year's prohibition of quidditch Headmaster Black decided that the try-outs would take place in mid-October. A month had passed and Ominis had not come closer to figuring the prophecy out. Since classes weren't taking up all of my time, I had plenty of hours to practice duelling in the Undercroft as well as improving my skills on the broom. At this point, I was a more than solid flyer and Imelda had even let me practice as a keeper which I had gotten better and better at.

It is October 11th and as I step out on the quidditch field I am surrounded by other Slytherin students that are trying out for the team. You can barely see more than 10 metres ahead due to the heavy fog and massive raindrops that are covering the castle. Some second and third-years are warming up on their brooms while some people are trying to catch the snitch, unsuccessfully. This isn't looking hopeful for Slytherin, I think.

''Y/n!'' It's Imelda's highly pitched voice coming from the centre of the field. ''I'm so glad you're trying out. With you on our team, we might actually have a chance at winning this year's quidditch cup!''

''You convinced me after all that training. This, however, isn't looking too hopeful.'' I say and nod towards the younger Slytherin students trying to chase the snitch.

Imelda is wrinkling her nose and gives me a funny look. As a matter of fact, she is growing on me and I do not despise her nearly as much as I used to. She sighs and presses her thumb and index finger on her nasal bone.

''Don't get started.'' She says angrily as if she's on the verge of a breakdown. ''But I have seen you. You're a fast flyer. And your vision is solid. Maybe you'll make the cut for seeker.''

I had never spent much time thinking about which position I would want to have, but keeper is the one I feel most comfortable with. Finally, Imelda announces that it's my turn to try out. She lets me protect the goals, which I do successfully. But before I touch the ground she stops me. She holds the golden snitch in her hand.

''I want to see how well you do as a seeker.'' She releases her firm gold of the snitch and it quickly finds its way somewhere in the fog, nowhere to be seen. ''Off you go! Find it!''

I take off, trying to see but my attempts are unsuccessful. Eventually, when it feels as if my face is gonna fall off from the cold I see it. After having it within eyesight for a moment, I manage to catch it and get down on the ground. I hold it in front of Imelda proudly. She looks even more proud than me.

''Well done.'' She actually looks impressed.

She announces that try-outs are over and she will announce later tonight who made it on the team and who didn't.

The day passes and it takes me a solid few hours to get the heat back up. I'm wearing my warmest sweater as I make my way towards the common room. On the way I pick up a hot cup of tea, not really because I want to drink it but because I need to get my fingers warm. The Slytherin common room is cold naturally, but right now it feels colder than ever.

I see Imelda standing in front of the massive windows facing the Black Lake, surrounded by almost every Slytherin student. You can feel the tension in the air - The nervosity, the pride. I recognize many of them from earlier today, at the quidditch field. Sebastian is sitting in a couch with his face buried deep into a book, seeming completely unaware that the entire house of Slytherin is standing next to him. It always fascinated me how he could just disappear into a book like that, letting it consume his entire surroundings. As Imelda announces the positions for chasers, beater and keeper I don't hear my name. This means that I either didn't make the cut, or I'm becoming our new seeker.

''And our last announcement is for our new seeker...'' She is letting the tension build up and everyone seems most excited to hear about this specific position. Finally she breaks the silence. ''Welcome our new seeker - Y/n!''

Everyone is applauding and cheering, but I don't care about their praise. I look at Sebastian and for the first time since I arrived he looks up from his book and stands up, clapping and cheering. My face lights up with joy and I run over to him. He holds out his arms and I hug him. His arms lifts me up firmly and spins me around. I feel dizzy from the euphoric feelings that are running through my body. I'm not sure if it's his touch, or the fact that I managed to get the most desired position on the team.

''Not bad for a new girl.'' He says and grins. ''Sporty and good at duelling? You never stop surprising me.''

''I have more layers than that.'' I say with a cocky tone. ''You just don't know all of them yet.''

''Is that so?'' He tilts his head, still grinning but also looking a bit intrigued. ''Well, then I simply must be enlightened.''

''I'm rather good at potions.'' I say and he looks confused and surprised.

''I'm aware of that. Are you telling me that you're actually not full of surprises, Y/n?'' He mocks me. ''Are you telling me that I actually  do read you like a book?''

I shake my head frustratedly. He pulls me away and leads me out into the castle corridor.

''Have you heard about the Room of Requirement?'' He asks as soon as we leave the common room.

I nod.

''Then I demand you show me yours. If it is what I expect, you owe me one. If it's not, then I guess I owe you one.'' He says and starts leading the way.

When we enter the Room of Requirement, my room, and his muth falls to the floor when he sees the walls covered in books. Almost all of them are unread and untouched, but they still impress him. Above us, the sky full of stars shows itself through the glass ceiling and he also notices the balcony with a grand telescope. He actually looks surprised.

''I have to admit, this is not what I expected.'' He says. ''Didn't know you were into astronomy this much.''

''The stars and the universe always fascinated me.'' I say. ''There's so much out there that we know nothing about. It just gets me every time.''

''I get it. It's the same way for me when it comes to books.'' He says in an understanding voice. ''I guess I owe you one, then. Anytime, new girl.''

[mangoshorthand]

No Hard Feelings- [Five Hargreeves x F Reader]. Ch8

SUMMARY: You're Five's latest assassination target, but things don't go to plan and now he wants you as his fuckbuddy. Funny how what we want and what we need are rarely in line. (Five's physically aged up). Obvious smut warning but there's plot too, I swear! Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five- Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve

In this chapter: After a fraught previous evening, it seems like a normal workday.

Work drama and romantic dinners below. Proceed at your own risk.

Chapter 8: Dinner With Miss Jane

Charlie is not, in fact, your superior; you are both Senior Account Managers. Despite this, he has a tendency to behave as if this isn’t the case

This morning, you arrived at the office with a double espresso in hand, trying to stave off the symptoms of the broken sleep you got last night. Your mood was not improved by a message from your boss, Joe.

Hi, Charlie said you wanted to grow your client portfolio so he sent over some of his end-of-lifers for me to pass on: mostly >10k contracts but if you can get them to renew it would be great experience!

Either Joseph is an idiot or doing a very good impression of it. Charlie has essentially dumped his no-hope clients on you so that it doesn’t affect his team’s metrics when they eventually drop off the books at the end of the quarter. You seethe for the barest of moments before an idea strikes: you’ve got the capacity…why not make this backfire? After many false starts, you message him back:

Good morning Joe, thanks for this. I know Charlie can struggle with converting clients so my team can donate capacity and take these on.

Is this petty and passive aggressive? Yes. Yes it is. You get to work, furiously, schmoozing the new clients with a vengeance, hatred for Charlie fuelling your skills. It's a good distraction too- if it were just a normal day, you might spend it brooding over Five. You've kept his note about your TV. You keep scolding yourself for the sentimental weakness but you couldn't bring yourself to dispose of it: something told you it might be the last you see of him.

Mike and the investigator sit in the darkened office, staring at the latter’s laptop. 

“That’s the same kid?”

"I'm as sure as I can be.”

Two images are displayed side by side on the screen. Mike squints and leans in: in one, a grainy security cam still, the young man stands smilingly in front of the motel service desk, just seconds before smashing the mirror he’d used to kill his dead brother’s only son. In the other, a picture snapped by the investigator, the man is in motion on the street and about to enter a building.

“Looks like the same fucking suit,” mumbles Mike, tapping his single gold incisor with a stubby fingernail. He sits in his desk chair, leaning forward and scrutinizing the images. He still wears a black armband for Chet. His sister-in-law hasn't left the house since the funeral- when Chet was laid to rest beside his father. Soon the tombstone would read:

ROBERT CHARLES MONROE 01. 01. 1965 - 08. 20. 2018 Beloved Husband, Father, Son and Brother And also his son CHESTER “CHET” MONROE 03. 19. 1999- 10. 19. 2025 Loved and missed by all their family.

Mike sighs as the investigator shows him a completely filled notebook.

"I’ll tell you, Mr Monroe. He’s a tough guy to follow. Slippery bastard. Walks into buildings and never walks out. One minute he's beside you and the next he’s halfway down the street. It's the only reason it’s taken this long. I still have no idea where he lives. But he seems to have one reliable pattern."

The investigator flicks through a folder of images. The man is seen strolling into and out of the same apartment block from different angles.

“He seems to go there most Tuesdays, Thursdays and sometimes Monday. He walks in before eight PM and leaves before midnight at the latest. I’ve isolated a specific apartment." 

He hands a folded post-it note to his client and continues. 

“If we want more information on him, I think that’s where we’ll find it.”

Mike ponders.

“I’ll take it from here.”

 Before you left for lunch, you were able to renew one of Charlie's apparently 'no hope' clients, (a firm called Granger Roberts). You’d found the key stakeholder, Mimi, extremely open to your sales patter. From her tone, her problem had been with Charlie himself rather than the company's offerings. Through subtle implicature, you were able to express your own attitude towards him and you'd hit it off extremely quickly.

After that single conversation, you'd been able to persuade her to renew her contract and had a meeting set up with her to discuss a possible move to a higher level of service. When the confirmatory email came through, Joe had paid a visit to your desk and congratulated you while Charlie looked on, trying to look as if he were proud of your 'progress' rather than seething at your success.

Settling back to work after your lunch break, your satisfied glow is interrupted when Christine comes back from the office door holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Delivery for you!” her eyes twinkle, “They said there wasn’t a card but they’re beautiful. Secret admirer?”

“It must be,” you smile, taking the flowers from her. 

They are beautiful. It’s a modestly sized bunch but the purple hyacinth, bright white roses and tulips are perfectly arranged. 

A few other people comment as you place the flowers on your desk, still wrapped in their own vase. It seems like Five is determined to replace everything he broke last night. Attracted by a slight commotion in which he is not the center of attention, Charlie sidles over, ever ready to ruin a good thing.

“Pretty tragic,” he says, in that joke-but-not-a-joke tone that makes you want to punch him through a wall, “sending yourself flowers.” 

He laughs and smiles as if to say ‘just banter’.

Your messaging app pings. It's Christine:

Just ignore the dickhead.

You smile over at her. 

Flowers under your arm, you get in the elevator at five-fifteen. Just as the doors have nearly closed, a hand shoots through the gap and they reopen to allow Charlie to enter.

“Hi.” he says, stepping in beside you and re-pressing the first floor button. You offer him a polite smile. As the elevator hums and descends, he says:

“Nice job with Granger Roberts.”

“Thanks,” you say, shortly.

After a few seconds, he speaks again:

“You know. I’ve got nothing better to do tonight. I could take you out.”

You suppress a derisive snort: “No thanks.”

“You're not my usual type but I wouldn’t be ashamed to have you on my arm.”

You scoff in disbelief. Is he negging you? What is this, 2016?

“Honestly, I’d rather pluck out my own eyeballs.”

He laughs incredulously as the doors pull open and you stalk out, trying to put as much distance as possible in between you and him.

As you march across the parking lot, you nearly fall when you crash straight into Five as he steps out from behind a parked car. He instinctively reaches out to steady you. 

“Hi.”

“Hi...sorry.” you reply, unsure what else to say.

He’s neat and tidy again. A clean suit, tie and hair immaculate. He’s wearing cologne. He nods at the flowers,

“Do you like them?”

“Y-yes,” you falter slightly.

"The language of flowers”, he explains, trying to inhabit his usual confidence but clearly wrongfooted, “it’s one of those stupid things our Dad made us learn...but I brought this too,” he holds out a wrapped red rose with a half shrug, “the meaning's a little more self-explanatory.”

Your eyes move from the rose to his. They're embarrassed, as vulnerable as they were last night. The hand not held out to you is deep in his jacket pocket. He looks uneasy but oddly determined. As you take it, he opens his mouth to speak.

“More flowers?” comes Charlie’s mocking voice, forestalling Five as he catches up to you. “Aren’t you the lucky girl?” With a look at Five, he winks: “What did you do wrong?”

“Fuck off Charlie”, you say, with emphasis, “I won’t tell you again.”

He laughs, coming to a stop and sizing up Five, who reciprocates, moving towards him casually, slightly hip-shot. He surveys Charlie as if discovering an unpleasant but pathetic-looking insect under a rock. Charlie glances back at you, mocking smile still in place.

“Never had you down as a cougar.”

Before you can respond, Five does it for you, voice deceptively light.

“She told you to fuck off,” though he doesn’t quite square up, he’s clearly ready for however this might turn, body angled to block Charlie's view of you, “I’d suggest you listen to her.”

Charlie just laughs, “Why so defensive, kid? Can't get pussy your own age?”

You know what’s coming. In a fluid, lightning-fast movement, Five's right elbow pulls back and swipes Charlie squarely across the face, knocking him off his feet in the direction of the blow's momentum. On the ground now, he howls with pain and holds his head. You shouldn't be enjoying this.

“My n-nose! My fucking nose!”

Five turns to you, sweeping at his jacket sleeve to dab a fleck of Charlie’s blood from the forearm. He holds out his other arm. Without thinking, you take it and he leads you away, leaving Charlie to writhe.

After a few minutes’ leisurely walk, Five says, “You gave me a lot to think about. May I take you to dinner?”

“It’s Friday,” you say, weakly.

“Yes but, assuming you’re not busy, I was hoping to talk.”

He takes you to a rooftop bar and restaurant in the city. He hasn’t made a reservation, but the concierge, greeting Five with a hearty handshake and a slap on the forearm, promises to fit him in within thirty minutes.This, only a couple of weeks before Christmas, seems like a real favor.

You go to wait in the bar and Five exchanges a friendly nod with the bartender as he pulls out a chair for you. The restaurant is sleek and modern, but not ostentatious. From what you could see on tables as you passed, the food appears good quality: presented nicely but without the smears and garnishings that denote haute cuisine.

Five insists you try the Bordeaux, though he himself sticks to seltzer water throughout the evening. Although he’s clearly still staving off the effects of a monster hangover, he’s attentive, charming and an excellent conversation partner. He’s effortlessly suave; in contrast to last night, his hair sits perfectly in place.

The Bordeaux really is good.

“How do you know so much about picking wine? Didn’t you spend most of your life scavenging canned food?”

“Glad you asked,” he smiles, idly running his index finger around the rim of his glass, “One of the only things to survive an apocalypse? Cellars. And what do you put in a wine cellar? Only the best wine.”

He chuckles reminiscently, “Last night was nothing. We used to drink our way through magnums of the stuff.”

At this passing reference to Dolores, he looks down before abruptly changing the subject.

“So, back in the parking lot, whose nose did I break?”

You regale him with stories about Charlie; his general chauvinism,  infuriating attitude and particularly about his antics offloading his clients today.

“So, essentially, I’m stuck with four more clients with about three months left to get them to renew after they’ve already got sick of Charlie.”

“You renewed one though? Not bad for a couple of hours of work. Do you like your job? You seem good at it.”

“Yeah, I like it well enough. I’m good at persuading people.” 

Five grins here, as if he knows all too well what you’re talking about. 

“It sometimes feels a little empty though. Working for ‘the man’, you know?”

He nods. “Tell me about it. A bureaucratic nightmare?"

“More overly corporate. There are nice people there, don’t misunderstand me, but there’s so much backstabbing and little bits of sex-discrimination that get pushed under the rug.”

He tilts his head and raises a brow, inviting elaboration.

You tell him about the conversation in the elevator and he laughs disbelievingly, shaking his head.

“Want me to go back Monday and break his teeth too?” 

As your laughter subsides, he becomes thoughtful. Staring into his glass, he says: “I guess I’ve treated you worse."

You stare at your glass too. You can’t lie to him. You can maybe forgive, but forgetting isn’t within your power.

“Maybe…but at least you know what to do with a clitoris. I wouldn’t trust Charlie to know where it is.”

He smiles but then his mind seems to drift. Absent-mindedly, he removes his jacket. When he resumes speaking, he seems to be on a different train of thought.

“I was…so young. And I knew nothing. Hey, maybe I still don’t. We were home-schooled. That mad old bastard taught me all the quickest ways to kill a woman before I even started noticing them. Can you imagine coming out of that with typical sexual pathology?”

Honestly, you can’t. He leans forward, raising his eyes but lowering his voice.

“For the first few years on my own, I was obsessed. Going through puberty the first time with nobody. No first kiss, no prom night. It was just Dolores and that was before she started talking to me properly.

We lived in a library that was mostly still there. I read anything about sex that I could get my hands on. Everything I could get, thinking about how it would feel to touch a real woman or anyone ever again. It got to the point where I was cross-referencing erotica and old cosmos with medical journals to work out what would actually turn a woman on. It was all I did. If it’s been written about sex pre 2019, I’ve studied it and probably jerked off over it.”

He shakes off some of his intensity, laughs and gives a self-effacing smile.

“But Dolores…she loved romance. One of the first things she recommended was Anna Karenina. It pulled me out of my rut... She always knew what I needed and when. I’ve always loved reading, but romance…I guess it was such a different world from the one I was trapped in.”

He smiles guiltily and checks his watch.

“Our table should be ready soon. If you still want to eat with me? After…that?”

You smile, “Of course I do.”

After you’re seated with food ordered, Five loosens his tie and clears his throat. He reaches for the small basket on your table and grabs a seeded bread roll. Holding it tight, he takes a deep breath.

“After everything that happened, I don’t expect you to want to see me again. Tonight? Just something better to remember me by.”

He doesn’t meet your eye but seems otherwise calm and confident. Only his hands betray great tension. He shreds the bread roll compulsively, crumbs falling onto his side plate.

“Is that what you want?” you ask, full of trembling energy.

“It’s probably for the best,” he says, quietly.. 

“But is it what you want?” you push. 

There was something in his voice: a fraction of regret. You watch him now, as he seeks out a sunflower seed with his nails and rolls it between his fingers for a moment. 

“No.” he murmurs, at last. 

You stifle a sigh of relief. Neither do you; despite everything. As he continues to decimate the bread roll, you decide:

“Then things have to change,” he looks up, face registering vague surprise, “first off, you need to leave that bread alone. It’s suffered enough.”

He drops it on the side plate, brushing off his hands and flashing a self-conscious smile. As he shifts in his seat and fully meets your eyes, you continue to take the reins.

“Like I said last night, I need more intimacy afterwards.”

“And I’d like to give that to you.”

“-And if you ever make me feel physically threatened again, like last night or when we met, I never want to see you again. No more chances.”

He nods eagerly, “Agreed."

“If you can promise never to make me regret this," you look into his face, hoping you convey your firmness, "then we can carry on pretty much as before.”

Five eyes the bread roll again and makes another attempt at cockiness.

“One problem. I don’t think I can go on as before.”

You wait.

“I think I want more.”

He meets your gaze again. His eyes are especially emerald and clear tonight. 

“It's a real bitch, but it turns out I can’t just fuck you without developing feelings," he looks at you softly and reaches his hand across the table. Tentatively, you extend yours and he covers it with his own.  "I guess I freaked out last night because part of me knew but didn't want to accept it. I can’t pretend I can bring much to a... relationship -you know what I am- but I can promise to listen to you and learn.”

At this point, your appetizers arrive, clearly to Five’s annoyance. The server seems to take forever. Five tries, with strained politeness, to dismiss him as quickly as possible. After he finally leaves, you say:

"What about Dolores?"

He sighs, "I got two ways of thinking on it. First, you were kind of right. She didn't challenge me like a real woman could and…continuing to stay faithful to her, especially when I've lost her, is just...it's just hiding from real life."

He takes a sip of his drink, steadying himself,  "And second, I think that plenty of people move on after having long relationships. It doesn't make what we had any lesser. She'd want me to be happy."

He swipes at his head, sweeping at neat hair that isn't in his eyes.

You nod your understanding before continuing, still in slight disbelief.

“So..." you begin, fingering your fork nervously, "what would this look like?”

“More like…this,” he says, gesturing between the two of you. “if you want. Dates, romance, exclusivity, just hanging out. You know, properly courting.”

You stop, the first forkful of food part way to your mouth.

“…courting?”

Immediately, he clamors to take the word back but you talk over him, laughing hard.

“Well, who knew I had the honor of fingerblasting Miss Jane Austen herself?”

He stops talking. One eyebrow raises. Then he smiles. And now he laughs, at first in contained barks and then fully. Soon he's leaning back in the chair, reddening face screwed into painful lines. It wasn’t the funniest joke, but it broke the tension and he’s laughing harder than you’ve ever seen him. This is surely him at his cutest and your heart swells. His helpless laughter is infectious and now you laugh because he can’t stop.

You’re starting to attract the attention of other diners. With difficulty,  you gain control of yourselves and subside into sniggers.

After dinner, you’re out on the street. He holds the bouquet and you the rose. His other arm is draped comfortably around your waist.

He leans his head into yours, “Are you sure about this? I don’t think I would be in your position.”

“Maybe you don’t give people enough credit.”

“Perhaps.”

He stops, guiding you to the inner sidewalk. He tucks the bouquet under his arm, brings one hand fully to your cheek and the other to your neck, fingers on your chin and jaw.

"Can I kiss you?" he murmurs.

You nod. 

He brings his face towards you until you can see his every eyelash. His smallest finger traces over your lips. It gives you an unexpected frisson. There's no cockiness or cynicism now; only earnestness. His lips part and he sighs as he brings his lips to yours. At first, they're dry but, as his tension breaks, they become soft with your shared tenderness. The kiss is chaste, his hunger there, but controlled. It's not like any other he's given you. He's not possessing you, or trying to take you, he's cherishing. 

Breaking the kiss, he leans his forehead against yours, eyes still closed. When he speaks, his voice is just above a whisper.

“I think we should say goodbye for tonight.”

"No. Come home with me.”

"God, I want to..."

"Then do."

He takes a few moments, his cheek turning to rub yours.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

"Then my place is nearer.”

He takes your hand and leads you away.

Tag list: (lmk if you want to join) @dilfjohhny , @sunsunhe, @w4stedtr4sh,@nevbrooke-555

Masterpost

Alternatively, join me on A03.  Here is a link to the whole series

[ladey]

When I Brush Your Hair | Chapter 2

Jinx x Fem!Reader 🌙🦋🎀

Word count: 4.3k

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

"How many do you got now?" Dorothy asks humorously, chin resting on her hand with a wine glass placed in front of her. Y/n juts her tongue out against the inside of her cheek and looks off into space. Dorothy chuckles.

"As long as you let me borrow them, girl." Her raspy laugh travels through the room as Y/n smiles at her.

"Sure, Dora." She sighs and looks down at the pallet in front of her. The design is evidently high-end; royal blue crystalline surface with gold design cutouts along the sides of it. Her fingers trace the smooth edge as her mind wanders again. She feels kinda bad; usually she's so much more lively and engaged when visiting her aunt. She hopes she isn't being too boring or depressing. She's aware of the kind of job she has too. So she likes to think she can be a sort of relief and sense of home for her. However her aunt's voice halts her running thoughts with an unexpected question.

"So that white haired boy, ey? You two a little duo?" Her voice is teasing, but Y/n can detect a sense of actual curiosity.

Oh...!

Y/n jumps back in her chair with a look on her face that resembles revolt.

"Ew, no! Gross. Just the thought makes me wanna vomit!" She gags as Dorothy laughs at her, shifting in her seat to pull out a long skinny cigar from her pocket.

"Coulda thought you had a little crush on him. You're with him all the time with that other girl— what's her name again?" Dorothy asks while she lights up her cigar. Y/n doesn't immediately answer at first. Her mind wanders and she feels a funny feeling in her stomach.

"N-no. And it's Powder." She answers vexed. She narrows her eyes, feeling almost offended that she'd forget her best friend. She wasn't sure why though.

"Oh my apologies." Dorothy chuckles with a trail of smoke leaving her lips, feigning defense.

"Whatever." Y/n gets up from her seat and walks around while her eyes flit around for the smelly sticks her aunt keeps in a jar.

"Where are the smelly stick thingy's?"

"The incense is in my room on the night stand." When Y/n comes back with the jar in her hands, she's smiling mischievously.

"You got the lavender ones."

"Yup, you can take em' out of your bag now."

-

About a month has passed since then. Not much has changed. The weather is slowly getting warmer, which Y/n is exuberant about.

Except now it's a late Saturday night. The Last Drop is filled to the brim with visitors seated at the tables holding vast amounts of different concoctions of alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol.

That's what Y/n, Power & Ekko are trying to steal at the moment.

Not too long ago, the three were sitting outside on a couple of discarded barrels and crates left at the side of the building. They were getting bored of playing the same card games over and over again, when Ekko brought up the epic idea of sneaking into the bar to steal a bottle of alcohol. Powder was reluctant at first, and   Y/n was having an internal battle with herself about trying to be more "grown-up and live a little."

But in the end, the two girls gave in. Because why not? You only live this life once. Plus they're bored, this could be fun; sneaking around. Growing up Y/n always really enjoyed exploring the smaller hidden areas of the Undercity, crawling through secret doors and windows into other buildings to find out where it would take her. Her excitement would soar whenever Ekko told her about a new area he found while out doing whatever he did.

Now the three of them look through the glass door, peering at the people surrounding the bar, and at Vander who's currently leaning on the bar chatting with folks.

"Okay, we need some sort of distraction." Ekko whispers.

"Can't we just ask Mylo to get something for us? I think he'd be willing-"

"Are you stupid?" Ekko cuts Y/n off before she can finish. She crosses her arms with a pout.

"It was just a suggestion..." Y/n mumbles. Ekko sighs.

"We don't wanna risk anything."

"He'd probably end up keeping it for himself, anyway." Powder scoffs rolling her eyes. Ekko agrees.

"Yeah. We need someone to distract Vander while another sneaks behind the counter and gets the goods." He peers into the bar then looks back at the two girls.

"I'll distract. As for the sneaking... The smallest needs to do it." There's silence when Powder and Ekko stare at Y/n. She looks at both of them bewildered.

"Oh, c'mon!?" She exclaims as she throws her arms in the air. Powder giggles at her and Ekko gives her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry shortstack." Y/n just sighs defeated.

"When I give you the thumbs up that's your signal. Be quick and don't get caught." He then opens the door and shoves them inside.

"As for Powder, you can come with me. I have an idea on how we can cause a little mayhem..." His face and tone scream mischief as he rubs his hands together.

"O-okay." The two head off in the opposite direction and Y/n veers over to the left side of the room.

She wonders what Ekko could have planned. It's sometimes a mystery with him. Although he always keeps her informed, the ideas he comes up with can sometimes get risky and chaotic in some way. Not to mention they've gotten caught a handful of times over the years. He's agile but clumsy.

Y/n slowly makes her way over to the far end of the bar, being mindful to stay hidden behind crowds. A part of her is scolding her about looking too suspicious while another is yelling at her to just keep going and ignore her nerves. In the meantime she stays standing beside a pillar a few feet away from the bar, where Vander continues to chat and pour people drinks. She tries to look at the bottles stored behind the counter, eyes flitting over the array of alcohol, when she hears a loud laugh on her right. Her head automatically whips around at the noise and her eyes land on some middle aged man sitting at a table smiling patronizingly at her as he lifts a drink up to his lips.

She hopes to whatever's out there that he doesn't ruin their plan.

Only a minute or two passes when she spots Ekko and Power walking between a couple of small crowds. Their eyes are searching around the room when they finally land on Y/n. Who is smiling at them, but it looks more like a grimace. They stop some 12 feet away from the bar, then Ekko gives her a nod and turns around to face Powder, who stands timidly behind him with fidgety hands. That's when Y/n takes notice of the bag around her shoulder.

She watches their mouths move and Powder reach into her side bag who pulls out one of her bombs... Is this going where she thinks it's going? Powder hands it to Ekko then takes out a second one. They briefly look around scanning the room, and it's all Y/n sees before a group suddenly blocks them out of view. She curses under her breath and leans over to try and see past anyone. But it's no use.

She feels her heart begin to drop. What if she misses the queue? She doesn't want to disappoint them by failing what should be a simple role she was given. Should she just try and go get a bottle now? But what if she does end up given the opportunity to see her queue but misses it, all because she went too early and ends up screwing up the whole plan by making Vander catch her?

There's suddenly a boom resounding within the whole bar. There are shouts and screams coming from everyone in the near vicinity. And those observing from a distance watch on in shock and confusion. The people previously blocking Y/n's view are scurried away by what looks like a second blow of some sort of pink goopy substance. In that moment she catches the back of Ekko's figure and Powder slowly backing away as she looks around at the crowds with an as equally apprehensive face. She stays trained on Ekko, determined not to mess up when he hides his hand behind his back with a thumbs up.

Y/n had been so focused on the others that she didn't notice Vander staring at the scene unfold with a nearly dumbstruck look on his face before stomping off in the direction of the chaos. She wastes no time and makes her move.

Weaving between a couple of people, she makes it through the opening to the bar, making sure to stay crouched. Wanting to make this fast, her eyes zoom across the agglomeration of liquids and bottles; some bubbling or having some sort of odd object submerged inside. She feels herself beginning to get overwhelmed by it all. She has no idea what to grab, some literally look deadly.

In the heat of the moment, her hand reaches out for a square shaped bottle filled with a purple liquid; which she thought had looked pretty. She stays crouched as she peeks around the corner of the counter. Vander is still dealing with crowd control, and there seems to be a great deal of people standing around watching to use as cover. The geezer from earlier had stood from his seat and was now watching with his jaw slack and his drink spilling onto his shoes which he seems to completely fail to notice.

Standing up, Y/n begins to run. Letting out panicked noises as she clutches the bottle in her hand with a death grip. Squeezing through more people, she meets her friends half way who are waiting near the wall covered by some other folks.

And with a giddy triumphant lift of her hand holding the bottle, the three run to the exit and down the street, letting out laughs and giggles that echo through the foggy night air.

-

The three kids end up finding an empty grotty alleyway with a big dumpster and crates. They heave as they finally sit down to rest. Powder slides down the wall into a ball across from the dumpster, where Ekko leans back and looks up at Y/n. He gestures to the alcohol in her hand with a nod.

"Shall we?" Y/n slowly walks over to him while glancing down at the liquid inside.

"There were so many back there. I didn't know what was what so I grabbed this because I thought it looked pretty. I hope it's up to your expectations..." She rambles timidly. She saunters over to the crate beside Powder and jumps up onto it, sitting on her hands. Ekko turns the concoction around in his hands as he inspects it. His eyebrows suddenly shoot up.

"Plum vodka.. I hear that stuff hits." Ekko says with an eager expression. He pops the cork off with his teeth,  Y/n visibly cringing, and looks back up at the girls across from him.

"You still in?" Y/n purses her lips and looks down at Powder to her left; she looks up at her. Y/n shrugs with what she hopes looks like an encouraging smile. She sticks out her hand for Powder to take and the bluenette stands up. Ekko smiles wickedly and raises the bottle up in the air.

"Salud." The boy swings his head back and takes a big gulp. How he didn't spill it from his mouth was beyond Y/n. He immediately starts coughing as he pounds his fist against his chest, eyes watering as he tries to catch his breath. The two girls giggle as they watch their friend struggle.

"Holy shit-" He chokes out between coughs. He extends his arm out to Powder, almost desperate to get the thing away from him as soon as possible.

"Fair warning, it burns." He breathes out. Powder gently grabs it and looks into the funnel of the glass bottle, wearily examining the purple liquid before releasing a deep breath.

"You got this!" Y/n shouts softly, shaking a fist into the air. Powder smiles gratefully. Bringing the bottle up to her lips, she too takes a mouth full. She struggles to get it down at first, a bit dripping down her chin as her face screws up in disgust.

"Bleh! That's gross!" She covers her mouth and nearly bends over into a coughing fit. Y/n has to pat the poor girl's back. The bottle is shoved into her hand, the alcohol sloshing around and almost spilling into her lap. Ekko can be heard laughing, but it grows distant as Y/n stares at the bottle in her shaky hands.

She wants to do it. But she's scared of the outcome. Not that she's much of a pessimist; she loves doing sneaky things. But why does her anxiety have to be acting up now of all times? She's beginning to notice a pattern of fear and over-thinking as of recent; she wants to slap herself in the face over it. The other two did it! If they can why can't she!? Stick to your guns and just take a drink like it's juice.. Yeah! Pretend it's juice! She tips her head back and downs two gulps.

Even if it tastes like dog shit.

Y/n has to repress the urge to gag from the burning sensation travelling from her throat all the way down to her stomach. The others eye her with raised brows.

"Oh my god-" She says between coughs.

"Yeahh told ya." Ekko steps over and takes the drink back.

"Doesn't even taste like plums." Y/n says upset.

"Maybe we can try a different drink next time." Powder suggests, taking the other two by surprise. Ekko chuckles.

"Is the alcohol hitting you already?" The three laugh, and proceed to take turns having their share of the purple concoction.

-

It's been over an hour and all three of them are no doubt visibly intoxicated. Initially, the bottle had been filled nearly to the top. Now it sits discarded on the ground, a couple gulps away from being empty.

Powder is sitting against the large crate, and Y/n lays on her back on the ground. Both are laughing at Ekko who stands ahead of them, moving in odd and silly ways while making a hard attempt to resemble a scarf. They're now currently playing a game where they take turns guessing what they're pretending to be.

"A tissue."

"A unicorn!"

"A lion! RAAAA!" Y/n roars. Ekko huffs.

"You guys aren't even trying."

"Pfft I got no clue.. A kite?" Y/n guesses, a slur to her speech noticeable. Ekko sighs and stops what he's doing to stand awkwardly in the middle of the alleyway.

"C'mon you guys. I'm a scarf." He says, like it's the most obvious thing ever.

"How were we supposed to guess something like that?" Powder scoffs. Y/n slaps her hand against her forehead with a groan.

"It was kinda obvious."

"Scarfs are used in so many different ways. You could've demonstrated more. And much better than that." Y/n patronizes.

"Oh really? Like how?"

"Well-"

Before an argument can take over, a shadow coming from the entrance of the alleyway casts over them.

"Oi, what you lot think you're doin'?"

Sheer panic washes over all three of them.

Benzo stands with his arms crossed and a deathly glare shooting at them like lazers. The three kids make eye contact with each other, silently communicating.

"I heard about a couple of bombs going off in Vander's place. Think you have any idea what that could be about?" It's silent for a couple of seconds before Ekko hesitantly speaks up.

"Must've been a robber." Benzo loudly huffs.

"Off you go, boy. I should see you in your bed by the time I get home." Ekko wastes no time to speed off, stumbling into the wall as he passes Benzo. When he's out of sight he eyes the two girls with squinted eyes.

"Get on with it." He says simply. And the girls get up as quickly as their unsteady bodies allow them. Powder grabs the bottle that was beside her and hides it behind her back as she passes Benzo with a sickeningly sweet grin, trailing behind Y/n.

They survey their surroundings in fear that Benzo is still around before falling into a steady stroll down the empty side street. Neither have any idea what time it is, but both assume it must be early in the morning considering only the odd person is seen walking or standing outside smoking.

"That was so scary." Powder giggles, the bottle swinging with her arms. Y/n turns her head to look at her. Her figure is relaxed, much more carefree than the Powder she's familiar with. Although Y/n likes to think she has that effect on her whenever they're together no matter the situation.

"Yeahhh." Y/n says, elongating the last syllable and giggling too, stumbling over her feet a few times. Then Powder giggles again. And now both girls are having a small giggling fit and bumping into each other as they continue to bound down the street.

They very soon come across a ladder that leads them up to a rooftop. Y/n's foot slips when she almost reaches the top making her let out a frightened squeak.

"Here.." Powder reaches her arm down for Y/n to take her hand, and she hoists her up. They tumble onto the ground below them in a fit of giggles and don't even bother to get up, choosing to crawl over to the edge and lay down on their backs. Both are out of breath, and    Y/n groans.

"I'm so tired now." She says just above a whisper, eyes fluttering closed. She hears Powder hum in agreement and shift beside her. She suddenly feels something soft brush against her right hand but it's gone before she can even fully process it. Her cheeks warm and she opens her eyes.

"I wish I could see the stars from here." Y/n mumbles. Powder hums in agreement again. Y/n turns her head to look at her with a teasing smile.

"Why are you being all quiet now?" She can only see the side of Powder's face. She always thought she had such a pretty side profile. While lost in her thoughts, she ends up poking her cheek. This causes Powder to laugh, eyes closing as she grins.

"I don't know." She shrugs nonchalantly, voice airy. Y/n purses her lips then sighs, turning her head to look back up. There's only silence between the two girls as they stare up into the misty sky, watching as it dances around in the lights shining through the windows. A butterfly suddenly lands on Y/n's nose making her squeal, but it flutters away before she can swipe it away.

Y/n is suddenly heard giggling playfully making Powder look at her with furrowing brows, and Y/n is turning onto her side to face her.

"So Miss Powder. Do you.. have a crush?" Her tone sounds as though she's interviewing her. The blue haired girl beside her is startled by the question.

"Uh- What?!"

"I asked you if you have a crush. I was just thinking, even though we've been friends for so long you've never talked about people that you liked before." Y/n says thoughtfully. Powder thinks about it too for a moment as she turns so she's now facing Y/m as well.

"True. I guess neither of us have." Y/n nods at that. But then shes giddy and starts the dreadful discussion again.

"Sooo, do you?" She tries to pry. Powder shakes her head quickly with a funny look on her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm." Powder nods her head.

"I don't believe you. You're all rigid." Y/n laughs out loud, making Powder pout.

"C'monnn tell meee." She boops Powder's nose, making her scrunch her face with a giggle. Then all of a sudden, all foolishness is wiped from Y/n's face.

"You can be honest with me.." Powder bites her lip, a nervous tick of her's that Y/n had taken notice of the more she spent time with the girl.

"Is it a boy?"

"No."

"Is it a girl?"

"Do you have a crush on anybody Miss Candy?" Powder veers the topic onto Y/n instead, smiling triumphantly at the taken aback look on her face.

"Uh-" It felt like the air got punched out of her lungs.

Y/n should've expected that to be honest.

She always knew that she wanted to experience some sort of romance in her future, but she's only twelve. She never really thought too deeply about it before. Even so, she can recall certain moments where she felt some sort of attraction or "giddiness" that ones gets with a crush.

She thinks about Ekko; her visit at her aunt's house where she had that very awkward but very brief conversation about her "relationship" with him. Obviously, they have no relation of the sort. And she still feels the same since that day. So he's a no-go.

She thinks about Vi; who she's always viewed as a person of guidance and wise words. Strong words. Strong arms. Which she hopes to achieve someday possibly. She always liked tall girls, they made her feel safe and protected, that's all... But she can't lie to herself. Vi is a good looking girl and she knows that. There had been numerous times where she smiled softly at her and praised her for finally achieving something and she'd feel her face redden with faint butterflies in her stomach. In fact; when she first met her she couldn't stop smiling and would always have to turn the other way to force herself to stop.

But then her mind wanders to the girl laying in front of her, only inches away from her face. She considers Powder to be one of her closest and dearest friends. She barely remembers her life before she met her. She always was fascinated by her. She couldn't get over the fact that both her eyes and her hair were nearly the same shade of blue. Whenever shes with her she finds herself admiring a specific feature on her face, and her soft hair that she sometimes has the urge to run her hand through just for fun. Not to mention she loves it when they get into a teasing match that eventually ends up turning into a play fight. And lastly, there's no ignoring the racing of her heart the moment she first sees her on a brand new day.

Oh...

Powder is staring at her expectantly. Y/n is panicking. But she's saved by the bell when both girls lift their heads up at the sound of heavy foot steps approaching them.

"Where the hell have you guys been?!" Vi's wild voice immediately breaks the aura surrounding the two girls, and suddenly they're overcome with the feeling of being caught. They shoulda guessed she'd come looking for them. They stand up, Powder more quickly which causes her to stumble.

"I was worried sick! And your dad's been looking for you!" Her face expresses fear and worry. She's panting, seeming as though she's been running around for a while. She probably has.

Then Vi eyes the two of them with suspicion, noticing the dazed look in their eyes and the way they waver in their spots. And then her gaze travels down to the ground where the empty bottle lays forgotten. Ah..

Vi scoffs and has to look away as she takes a deep breath.

"Y'know? I can't believe you two sometimes. Come on." She guides them down the ladder, and soon they're making their way back to The Last Drop. Vi occasionally having to hold onto one of the girl's arms to prevent them from tipping over.

What happened back on the rooftop lingers in the back of both the girl's minds. But it would soon be pushed away to be forgotten until a very long time.

Chapter 3…

—

the actual plot starts next chapter. there you go.

fair warning though, evidently my chapters tend to end up being longer than i anticipate them to be. not to mention i intend to write a tiny bit more chapters about their childhood/teenhood before the time skip, just for relationship development and dynamic purposes. i want y'all to have a clear idea of it. just wanna let yk in case u start questioning why it seems to be a slow start.

(this book also may or may not be based off of my arcane dr. so idk how things are going to play out in the future just yet... we'll see).

[dragoncookies]

(PT 1) REREADING STELLARLUNE!

I am on a mission this summer to reread the entirety of Stellarlune, every last word, because I’m really just delusional and don’t want to believe my favorite childhood series is spiraling downward (even though it truly is). There’s still some gold in Stellarlune, quite a lot actually. 

SO, if you don’t want to reread stellarlune but still stay up to date you can follow me as I analyze this convoluted book. If you want, of course. 

(TW: all caps). 

(Sorry for grammar or spelling mistakes).

CHAPTERS 1-2:

Quick summary: Sophie finds the note, gets pissed at Grady for letting Keefe go and leaves her room to go to Elwin’s place with Sandor. Elwin and Ro are having a weird stuffed animal/exlir showdown, they have a long discussion about Keefe (go figure), then they call up Dex to figure out why Keefe freaked out and left. Dex clearly doesn’t want to tell them but they find out that Lex is talentless (it’s so sad). 

First of all can I just say OH MY GOSH the whole thing is about Keefe. Literally that is all anyone obsesses over for the first two chapters so far. Literally his health and safety is ALL SOPHIE OBSESSES WITH in her internal monologues. Is that even healthy...?

CHAPTER ONE:

Funny thing, CHAPTER ONE HAS MAD PARRELELS TO THE SOPHITZ FIGHT SCENE IN LEGACY. Like, I’m not even lying when I say that I got intense flashbacks to that scene because Grady was literally acting like Fitz in his mannerisms and the syntax was so similar and the dialogue rang so many bells. It was uncanny.

Fitz tends to drag his toe on the ground and run a hand down his face when he’s stressed, and in this chapter Grady would be doing things like “dragging the toe of his boot through he flowers woven into her carpet” 

and “Grady dragged a hand down his face”

I’m not even joking when I say that Grady said, “You trust me, don’t you?”.

There’s also a part in chapter one where it goes:

“’But I’ve never seen him so detirmined. Best I could do was...’

‘Was?’ Sophie prompted when he didn’t finish.”

In the Legacy fight scene there were multiple moments when Sophie didn’t finish her sentence and Fitz finished it. Except now it’s Sophie finishing the sentence. She was the one who was frustrated and she was lowkey acting like Fitz did in the Legacy fight scene. Little reverse reverse moment.  

Do with this information what you will.

I never get tired of the Flori descriptions. In the first part of chapter one Shannon described her swaying to be like an autumn breeze, but at the end of chapter one she was described as swaying in a storm. Felt fitting.  

Also, 

someone get rid of Shannon’s ability to hit the Enter button, 

Please.

;)

CHAPTER TWO:

I forgot how unironically comical Sandor is. It might just be me, but I narrate things when I read occasionally so I would be reading his stuff aloud with the squeaky bunny voice and everything he says is so serious but the voice makes it lowkey funny. The first lines of chapter two were so goofy because Sandor was all “it’s exactly what I feared” and it’s just Elwin’s house. It’s funny for me to imagine okay. 

Chapter Two really highlights something in Sophie at this point: She is very unpractical. She’s a little dramatic but she refuses to listen to common sense and logic, and gets annoyed with anyone who tries to reason with her. She only listens to those who agree with her in that Keefe should have stayed. Like with Grady and Elwin she feels horribly betrayed, but connects with Ro because Ro wants to drop every current problem they’re all facing with the state of affairs in the elven world to find Keefe. When Dex (later in this chapter) points out Keefe might be safer in the lost cities Sophie gets mad and thinks “what’s wrong with everybody??” Like, Sophie please you’ve got bigger problems right now. Lowkey relatable ngl. 

Okay I might ruffle some feathers with this, but Ro only gets more and more annoying with every new book that comes out. She’s so unbelievably in everyone’s business it’s surprising she has the fanbase she does. I feel as though Shannon is TRYING to make her BLATANTLY disrespectful and everyone just eats it up more and more. First of all, she just exposes Keefe’s personal statement in front of everyone and it clearly makes Sophie uncomfortable, then talks about how she’s been wanting this to happen forever and just assumes Sophie feels the same way about Keefe that Keefe does Sophie. Like, what would Ro have done if Sophie genuinely didn’t like Keefe? She’s shoving her nose in a teenage relationship she has NO BUISNESS being in. Gosh Ro. Sorry that was critical...she’s just so invasive. Also, this is a fantasy series, the romance is becoming excessive. 

When Sophie calls up Dex, all I can say is oh my. Oh my. 

Dex has clearly been crying and looks real rough and Sophie’s just like “so why are you crying. You’ve been crying tell me why, don’t argue with me” and when I tell you I’ve never wanted to reach through the pages and slap someone more. He’s clearly hurt and all she can think about is how badly she needs to get Keefe back. She makes Dex reorganize his priorities in the middle of a grieving session for his sibling so she can make him try and find Keefe. SOPHIE. HE’S YOUR FRIEND. BE NICE. 

This entire conversation is also highlighting how lowkey hypocritical Sophie is (wow I’m absolutely bagging on the poor girl). She asks Dex “you trust me, don’t you?” when Grady literally asked her that a chapter ago and she got mad about it. She also tried to tease Dex a little to lighten the mood like Grady did a chapter ago when Sophie didn’t find it funny before. 

Then there’s the part where Dex really really REALLY doesn’t want anyone to know that Lex is talentless and Ro just goes “well i know what happened and I’m going to spill your secrets in ten second unless you tell her yourself” (paraphrasing). That is just. I hate to say it but that is absolutely disgusting. You don’t hold people’s sensitive and personal information over their head’s like that. Dex has been sobbing and there’s crashing coming from his end of the imparter from inside his house. His world has probably been flipped upside down, he’s shouting “STOP” and asking them not to prod anymore, and Ro just FORCES the information to come out of him one way or another. That’s sick. It’s underhandedly sick. Sophie goes along with it too, using some pathos type sappy speech to convince Dex why invading his privacy is important because guess what? Finding Keefe (a relatively useless task) is more important than Dex’s privacy. 

Then after Ro forces Dex to tell Sophie keefe’s new ability-detecting ability she makes it seem as though he’s overreacting. 

Put simply: poor Dex.

There’s emphasis on the obsession with elven abilities in this chapter. Ro repeatedly highlights how bizarre it is that elves are so infatuated with something that can only be useful half the time, and Dex’s grief over Lex not having an ability shows how HEAVY the elven prejudice runs. Like, it’s literally making him cry. He doesn’t even want to say it. That’s how important it is in elven society. Dex even says, “Abilities define us for the rest of our lives”. Yikes. Maybe this is an important concept to keep in mind...?

I love this part of the chapter, though, when Dex actually does tell Sophie about Lex:

“’Oh,’

The tiny word seemed to pulse, growing louder with every beat until the sound filled the enormous room.

So did the word none of them said. 

Talentless. 

More tears dripped down Dex’s cheeks, and Sophie felt her own eyes turn watery.”

Sad :(

Well, that’s all for now. If you read all of that, you’re a legend. Stay tuned for more chapters!

[hello-eeveev]

How to Rest Director's Commentary—Chapter 6

| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |

It’s here it’s here! The big finale!!!

This chapter is arguably my favorite of the whole fic (though choosing between them all is a bit like choosing a favorite child). It’s just so happy. It makes me so happy. It’s just so full of love, and I’m really excited to talk about it!

(spoiler warning for the entirety of How to Rest)

A couple of things happened to Caleb on the way home from the market.

Don’t ask me why I styled the opening sentence of this chapter after the Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; I could not tell you. I have never seen it, I don’t know what it’s about, but I did spend my teenage years obsessed enough with musical theater to have heard its name floated about and I dunno I think it’s got a nice mouthfeel.

“A message from Zivan Margolin,” [Astrid] said. “Welcome to Soltryce Academy, Professor Widogast. We look forward to working with you this fall.” She paused for a long moment before continuing, her voice softer, more sincere. “Congratulations, old friend.”

Astrid is not Margolin’s messenger, but I think she would not be completely out of the loop regarding Caleb’s hiring, what with the historic connection between Soltryce Academy and the Archmage of Civil Influence, and would be able to work her way into being the one to tell Caleb of his hiring if she wanted. And I wanted her to because 1) I love her, and 2) I like giving Astrid a little space to be human and to try to have a friendly relationship with Caleb again. I wanted her to switch off her formal voice and replace it with a more genuine one. Because she took up Ikithon’s position almost immediately after removing herself from under his thumb, it is more than likely that she is still splitting herself in two, though at least she has more control over this situation than the last. But she is trying to be more than the Volstrucker Ikithon made her, and giving Caleb some good news and congratulating him on it is part of that journey.

And I know that 25 words—only 3 of which are actually her own—are not nearly enough to explore all of that, but she has been a background player in this fic and I wanted her to make an appearance and unfortunately, every time she comes up, I have so many thoughts about her. Here’s a post about that.

Essek stood in the living room, turned away. His hand rested on the back of the couch, and the edges of his travelling cloak rustled in the sudden shift of air. He looked over his shoulder at Caleb’s entrance. The early evening light shone over his nose and hair and cheekbone, casting the edges of him in gold. He smiled.  “Hello, Caleb Widogast.”

Look at that dramatic entrance! What an image he strikes!! Handsome boy!!!

But on a functional level, this is one of those visual tropes that I like in TV and movies, and I think it aids the pacing to have a moment to slow down and take in the scene—Essek’s clothing, the time of day, how recently he arrived—before they rush at each other. It adds a little drama, builds some anticipation, it’s a good time.

Caleb always prepared Unseen Servant on market days.

One fun part of this chapter was considering what magic Caleb might use in his day-to-day, and I thought that Unseen Servant would be great for a scrawny wizard who would like to put his groceries away quickly so he can get back to nerd business. Would that I could do the same.

As they moved through the narrow spaces between table and cupboard, they nudged past each other in with soft touches to backs and hips and shoulders, the routine of it hardly a thought while they chatted about what had happened since they had seen each other last.

More often than not, How to Rest is about the little intimacies and the ways in which Essek and Caleb are growing their lives around each other. Compare how monumental every little touch was in Chapter 1 to it being a passing mention here while they catch up and do chores. There is so much love in being comfortable with another person. Even though this chapter has other bigger moments of romantic love, moments like these are not to be discounted either.

He had a house that he had lived in for over a year now. He knew the quickest path to and from the market, which he took with little variation and without fear of being followed. He had a spell he used specifically to help him put groceries away.

Much of How to Rest is also about settling in, finding and creating peace within your life, because with that comes rest, which is what Caleb and Essek have been desperately in need of for years. Not just the kind that restores spells slots, but the kind that lets you breathe and live (hi my name is eve and i live up to its meaning)

For Caleb, I think rest is found in routines and rituals, in security, and in magic both awe-inspiring and completely ordinary. So that’s what I gave him. mwah. love you, buddy. 

He knew which cupboard his oats belonged in and how to operate the Vault of Amber where he stored his milk so it wouldn’t spoil.

To the two commenters who independently needed to talk about Caleb keeping his milk in a Vault of Amber: I love you. I love you so much. It will never not make me laugh that—out of everything in this chapter—this line I wrote in about two seconds and didn’t think about again was enough to warrant two whole comments. It is genuinely so funny and delightful.

But to give you a breakdown of my thought process for this detail:

Vault of Amber has refrigeration properties.

It requires five pieces of amber that merge into one upon completion of the spell.

Bruh, can you imagine a refrigerator the size of a pebble???

His heart swelled with an emotion too big to breathe around. It was warm and light, and it ached, insisting that any distance from Essek was too far apart. Just in the other room wasn’t close enough; Caleb wanted to be near him for as long as their scant few hours would allow, to hold him and enjoy his company until he vanished into thin air once more.

Even though Caleb has accepted and made peace with their weird long distance relationship situation, it doesn’t fully remove the longing that comes with being apart or the intensity of the reuniting. And right now, Caleb is having a moment of realizing that despite the brevity of his visits, Essek has incorporated Caleb’s home and life into his own and that when Caleb said he wanted it to be a home base for Essek, Essek took that to heart. To put it into words a little earlier than Caleb does, right now he is feeling how much Essek loves him and how much he loves Essek, and it’s kind of a lot.  

“Hello, dear,” he said. “Hallo.”

Me when the wizards say hi: 🥺

Caleb nodded and dropped a kiss between Essek’s eyes, delighting in the way Essek laughed and squeezed them shut. He hoisted himself up and over the back of the couch and lowered himself onto the seat beside him.

It’s fun to write some playful, unserious moments for them, too. Silliness is essential to one’s health. 

“It is well-earned. I am very happy for you. In fact, I have something for this very occasion.” He pulled away to reach into his component pouch, and with a flourish of his free hand, his arcane chest appeared at his feet. He opened it and pulled out a thick, square-shaped bundle wrapped in crepe paper and twine. He held it out to Caleb. “Here. This is for you.”

THE OUTFIT!!!! I thought harder about this outfit than I have about any outfit for anything I’ve written and probably anything I’ve drawn. Fashion is something I find very interesting when it is presented to me (Bernadette Banner’s youtube channel was one of my 2020 binges), but is not so much something I consider much of my own accord. But I wanted this outfit to have a lot of meaning. I wanted it to be built of things Essek picked up during his travels because he was thinking about him. Caleb mentioned once that he needed a new wardrobe for teaching and Essek took that on as a sidequest. I did a lot of research in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount and on the internet to find inspiration for what each piece would look like and where in Wildemount it would come from.

I wanted the textiles to be mostly wool, cotton, and linen, but with a few silk details. More practical fabrics because they are, well, practical. And Caleb is the son of farmers. But some silk because he is allowed to be a bit fancy. Everything is of extremely high quality. It is what he deserves.

I didn’t want it to be reds, maroons, and browns because while Caleb looks great in those colors, he has plenty of them already. Something cooler would contrast nicely with the reds in his hair and bring out the blue of his eyes.

So let’s break down each piece (in order of appearance, not of purchase):

…a coat made from a dark forest green tweed and lined with silk […] and dark brown trousers of the same make as the coat.

Both of these pieces were commissioned and purchased in Yrrosa, which is a town located in a snowy part of the Zemni Fields. With this information, I figured that it isn’t a wild assumption that they might raise sheep there and use their wool for textile. While it isn’t the richest town, it doesn’t seem to be exceedingly poor either, so I imagine that Essek was able to find a good tailor with some fine tweeds to make Caleb’s coat and trousers.

…a white linen shirt with traditional Zemnian whitework embroidery on the collar and cuffs.

The shirt was the first garment Essek purchased once he got the idea. After that first date, he went down to Feolinn and bought a plain white linen shirt to be a staple in Caleb’s wardrobe. Later, whether it was through Caleb or his own travels, Essek learned of the style of whitework embroidery practiced in more rural areas of the Zemni Fields and decided to have someone embroider the shirt with that style.

There wasn’t time to describe the whitework in detail, but I was inspired by Schwalm whitework, which is a style of embroidery that originated in the early 19th century in Germany. I think it is so so beautiful and I really wanted to include it somehow. Here is an article that gives you an overview of Schwalm whitework and some examples, and here is an image of a men’s shirt that helped me place the embroidery.

…a waistcoat made of rich purple brocade.

The waistcoat is from Nicodranas. The Menagerie Coast and the Concord were not involved in the War of Ash and Light, so I imagine Essek feels a bit freer to commission something with a bit of Dynasty flair here than anywhere else. 

When Essek was in Nicodranas, I fancy the idea of him consulting with Veth (and maybe Jester if he catches her there?) about the gift, and Veth, knowing that Essek would have limited funds and always being willing to spend money on Caleb, decided to split the costs with Essek. Maybe she knows a good tailor in the city, or maybe she brought Essek to Marion to find one. Veth is probably the best chance at sneakily getting Caleb’s measurements, or at least getting them without suspicion.

I didn’t specify a design for the brocade, so nothing’s set in stone, but I think it could be fun if there were some geometric elements to it. Or even if it had the more naturalistic patterns most brocades seem to have, they could be grouped in a way that evokes a pentagonal shape, like the face of a dodecahedron. 

…a set of bronze cufflinks with an intricately carved dodecahedron on each face. […] Caleb held it up to the light, and as he turned it, the metal suddenly seemed to turn purple and a rainbow of colors shimmered across its surface, like oil on top of water. He rolled the cufflink between his fingers and watched as the color shifted—gold to purple, purple to gold.

Gwardan, my beloved! An elvish city in a temperate area near the mountains and not far from the ocean with a unique and beautiful artistic tradition!! I need to go there!!!

I took some liberty with the description of steamcast metal, as it is only described as having a ‘prismatic shimmer’ and I needed more detail for how close and intimate the narration is during this section. So I thought about prisms refracting light and creating rainbows, then about rainbows in oil slicks and how metal reflects light and color and lenticular prints and iridescence. Then I decided on bronze because I think it’s a beautiful metal and purple because it is the best color. 

Caleb shucked off his clothes and began changing right there in the living room. Essek shook his head and turned his gaze upwards. Caleb didn’t care if Essek saw him in his smallclothes, but he wouldn’t begrudge him his sense of modesty. 

Essek is not embarrassed, per se. He would have had to get over that pretty quick during their wizards’ Aeor trip, what with close quarters, infrequent privacy, and relying on each other for medical care. It’s really nothing he hasn’t seen before. 

But like, there’s a time and a place for getting undressed, and Essek doesn’t consider the middle of the living room one of them. And even if it were, what else is he supposed to do with his eyes? Close them? Stare? Awkward. 

Essek was still paying attention; once Caleb had put on his new trousers and buttoned his shirt up halfway, Essek moved in front of him and placed his hands in the path of Caleb’s. Instead of moving on to the next button, Caleb’s hands alighted on Essek’s wrists and followed them up as Essek deftly and delicately fastened each button. He turned the collar down and smoothed the fabric over Caleb’s shoulders and down his arms, then took Caleb’s hands and lifted them to chest level. He tapped his index finger against the back of Caleb’s hand, and a box floated between them.

Bruh 🥺

The closeness and the intimacy. This section is almost the entire reason for the non-sexual intimacy tag because it’s just so—

It’s not what I think of as obviously romantic, but that’s what makes it romantic. If that makes sense? Maybe it’s not even romantic at all. It’s just comfortable. Content. Caring. But it’s still intense and meaningful, even if it doesn’t have the same heart-pounding excitement of their early relationship. 

I have always loved the way writers, romance writers in particular, are able to slow down scenes and convey that feeling of tunnel vision that comes when you’re near someone you like. There has to be an attention to detail and a keen visualization that can be hard to achieve sometimes. You can’t fudge things or handwave them away like you might when the narration is quicker or more distant. Everything must feel deliberate but natural. It’s not always easy, but when it’s pulled off, it’s great. I’m very proud of the writing I did here. 

“In the winter maybe, when the semester is over, we can go and celebrate. If it is safe for you, of course.” Essek pressed a kiss to Caleb’s cheek. “I shall plan on it.”

Caleb is hedging around making a definitive plan, worried about pressuring Essek on accident and not wanting to set himself up for disappointment. But Essek is fully ready to make a plan because he knows where he’s going to be come winter and he’s dropping a little hint as to what his news might be (but Caleb doesn’t have any context for this and misses it.) 

but I didn’t miss it >:)

readers, you must know that every time I do a little foreshadowing or allusion or implication, I am tapping my fingertips together and ehehe-ing like the least threatening cartoon villain. this is enrichment for me. 

Caleb turned around and took a step back, holding his arms away from his sides to show off the whole outfit.

Modeling is a skill that Caleb does not possess. 

Essek looked him over from head to toe, his mouth pressed into a line as he considered. When his eyes met Caleb’s again, his expression softened, and Caleb caught a glimpse of his lower lip caught against a sharp tooth. “You look very beautiful.” Caleb’s breath caught, and heat crept from beneath his collar all the way up to his cheeks. He cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment to regain his composure.

Caleb was asking how the outfit looked on him, but instead Essek compliments his whole self, and it’s so unexpected and so flattering that Caleb bluescreens a little bit.

And if I am remembering correctly, this is the first time either of them have outwardly called the other beautiful, or any compliment of the like, even though they have thought it often. Essek has implied it, by complimenting his outfit in Chapter 1 and his hair and eyes in Chapter 3, but now he’s saying it directly and without shame. I don’t think Caleb is necessarily cognizant of of all that, but he has a subconscious understanding and definitely feels its impact. 

“Archmage Becke has insinuated to me that Ludinus has become engaged in a new project that has diverted his attention away from me entirely.”

This is great news for Essek! Bad news for Exandria because Ludinus decided that the moon and killing the gods was more important than his former co-conspirator who’s hardly shown his face in the last two years. 

I’m not sure if the timing works out (based on the little bit of digging I did just now, it doesn’t seem to), but I like to think that this is when Liliana showed up to the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus’s plans really started to take shape. Uh-oh!

“For the time being, if I am careful, I am a free man. And I’ve grown rather tired of running from place to place.”

Essek: I’m tired. 

The Avatar: The Last Airbender super fan sleeper agent in my head, activated: THEN YOU SHOULD REST. A MAN NEEDS HIS REST.

“So…” He trailed off, his eyes searching Caleb’s—eager still, but brimming with an unspoken question. “If you will have me, I would like to spend the time I have here. With you.”

Essek is excited and he knows Caleb will be excited, which is why he feels comfortable showing up unannounced with the intention to stay, but he is still exercising caution. He’s trying to gauge if this is still something Caleb wants now that he is presented with the reality of it. It is. He’s not guaranteeing that forever is a sure thing, but for now, for as long as possible, he can be here. 

His vision was fixed on Essek, here in the living room with his back to the front door, as if he had just come home after a long day, and Caleb was sent reeling with the realization that maybe he had.

That’s right, a visual framing in this written medium!!! Positioning the POV so that the front door is behind Essek to reinforce the idea that he has come home. 

“Welcome home, Essek.” Essek’s eyes glistened. “It is good to be home, Caleb Widogast.”

HE’S HOME. THEY'RE HOME. TOGETHER! WITH EACH OTHER!!! I AM PUNCHING THE WALLS!!!

“I love you,” Essek said. “I hope you know that.” Caleb stilled. It was a held breath, finally released. The resolution of a chord.  I love you.  An expected ending—the natural transition into the next refrain, but no less beautiful for it.  I love you.

I love a music metaphor. I love music! You know when there’s a chord or a progression that has tension and you can hear how that should resolve? And then it does? That’s good stuff. And I thought it would be a good comparison to the feeling in this scene. As I said when I discussed Essek’s “oh” moment last chapter, I never intended for love to take either of them by surprise, but even so, it doesn’t lessen the impact of the realization. Good music can feel a lot like that. Like, of course that makes sense to the ear, but you still get chills or you gotta move your body because it resonates. Big fan of resonance. As a physical concept and as an emotional one. 

The feeling had lain dormant for so long, but now, acknowledged and given a name, it bloomed throughout Caleb’s entire body and reached for the light that was Essek. He followed it forward, nuzzling Essek’s cheek, catching the corner of Essek’s lips with his own. “I love you,” he murmured. Essek leaned into the touch. “And I love you.”

Caleb has loved Essek for a while now, but naming it and expressing it—and knowing that it is returned—he experiences it with more clarity. It’s not necessarily of a greater intensity than the moment near the start of the chapter, but it is a different experience of it. Instead of a longing ache or a yearning, he is filled with elation because Essek is in love with him and he is in love with Essek. He knows this now, and when he reaches for him, Essek will be there.

Essek was silent, his face still in a way that usually meant he was working through some new emotion. It occurred to Caleb that this was perhaps the first place Essek had had of his own, to do with as he pleased, since his towers in Rosohna. He stepped beside Essek and placed a hand between his shoulder blades. Essek took a deep breath. “This is wonderful, Caleb. Thank you.”

My purpose in giving Essek his own room as opposed to sharing with Caleb was initially to keep continuity with On the Nature of Attraction, yes, but then I had to think about why I made that choice in the first place, and it’s more than just narrative convenience. Essek is a known introvert, and in my experience as an introvert (with a generous helping of neurodivergence that I dump onto Essek without specificity), having a place I can retreat to where I can decompress without the presence of other people, even people whom I like immensely, is beneficial to my health and well-being. I’m sure Caleb enjoys that privacy and would want Essek to have it as well. 

Essek has been travelling from place to place for the better part of the last year, and prior to that, he was in charge of a very small outpost in the middle of nowhere. The lack of a place for himself and to himself is destabilizing. And with the fact that he must keep his identity secret everywhere he goes, there is a lot of importance in having a space that is not just where he can be alone, but that is representative of himself as well. I think that is key in making the house feel like Essek’s home too, not just Caleb’s. 

“It is no Tower, but it is permanent, and it is safe, and it is yours.”

I decided against the Tower making an appearance in this last chapter for several reasons. First, there is the practical: a room being reliant on you casting a 7th level spell every day will be inconsistent. The Tower is a luxury that I’m sure Caleb uses often, but there may very well be days where he uses up his high level spell slots or wants to save them for emergencies and in those cases, it is worth it to have a real, physical space that he is comfortable in. This leads me to the second reason, which is that part of the point of Essek creating a home here is for consistency and the security that comes with that. Can he have that if he is relying on Caleb to create and design his space on a daily basis?

“Are you tutoring tomorrow?” “I am.” A pit formed in his stomach.  “But you have only just gotten here. I can reschedule it, if you’d like.” Essek shook his head. “No need. I will be here when you return.”

Here, that instinct to make Essek the absolute number one priority, to the detriment of everything else, crops up, an understandable reaction to Essek popping in without much notice or time to spare. But that’s not the case anymore. Caleb will see Essek when he wakes tomorrow and when comes home after work. And the same will happen tomorrow, and for as many days as they are able. 

At the end of the hall, before splitting off into their separate rooms, they stopped. It was a scene that had played out dozens of times before, but now—instead of the pats on arms and short hugs of Aeor, or the bittersweet goodbyes before an indefinite separation—Caleb took Essek by the hand and pulled him close.

And here we are, bringing this story to a close by bringing it full circle. It is another parting, yes, but the angst of previous partings is gone. The separation is only a few feet and a couple hours. Lingering at the doorway is an indulgence they can freely partake in, without awkwardness or anxiety. They will go to bed and rest, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow, they will wake in a house that is theirs, where the person they love resides. 

asldfaslkdjfljskdfjlk How to Rest, my most dearly beloved! It has been such a joy to work on over the last year and a half, and I’m just… really proud of it. I had to talk about it because writing and wizards excite me and I wanted to share that excitement.

Thank you all who have read the fic and read the commentaries. I hope it’s been a fun journey for you as well!

[eaglefairy]

This is more like it! I finally have more to write about than just "we did sidequests"!

Started with a bang today, as Tranquil Morax locked on and started a battle immediately upon loading the game. I was expecting to hear the Sword Valley theme and nearly jumped out of my skin at instant You Will Know Our Names

Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my roommate has quite the abysmal talent for the platforming in this game. Mechonis Field has many edges just perfect for falling (or accidentally jumping...) off of so our progress is going slowly, to say the least

Ok confession time: I've only ever used sword drones on Fiora, so I had no idea what shield drones or gun drones did. Shield on just Fiora is...cool? I guess?? It happened to be useful in exactly the battle we tried it out in (Hush Chop moment) but we both agreed that we wouldn't use it again

Then we tried gun drones and now my roommate won't use anything else

I wasn't actually looking at the screen when she did it, so all I heard was a truly massive number of hit sounds and my roommate's gleeful cackling. (She showed it to me again and I can agree that it is in fact spectacular)

First-ever use of a fall defence gem recorded when my roommate (extremely fall-prone in-game as discussed) went down the great battle scar for items

31 H ETHER FRAMES

oh this is a mess. This is just terrible.

So to explain: joysticks are funny like that in when you're shopping, it's very easy to nudge a direction and buy the maximum number of equipment pieces when you meant to buy just one. So that was 1 million+ gold down the drain

And of course selling back to the shop does not give you what you paid for it so I was like "just reset, it autosaved when you discovered the machina refuge"

Well first she loaded the last manual save again as opposed to the last autosave, so there was that minor heart attack again

Upon loading the autosave we found ourselves...at the great battle scar. Not at the refuge. Apparently it doesn't autosave when you discover that secret area?

Well no problem, we can just go back. Two steps taken and Sharla is sailing off the edge of the Mechonis. I die laughing forever

My roommate's takeaway from the Sharla flashback cutscenes is that Reyn isn't Gadolt, he's better than Gadolt

Oh good news she's completely forgotten who Zanza is. Egil mentioned him in the chapter 14 intro cutscenes and she literally said "who's that?"

This is the point where Alvis first brings up the true Monado stuff while Shulk is dreaming in Memory Space and I can tell she didn't quite know what to think of it. She was definitely startled by Zanza being "the progenitor of the Homs"

What intrigued me though is the implication that Vanea might not actually know the truth about Zanza and Arglas. Of course, it's likely she's being purposely obtuse so as not to overload the party with information while they still don't trust her (or so that the writers don't give the game away to the audience too early)

Vanea's design is absolutely throwing my roommate off. (I am long since used to the robot titties so it doesn't faze me anymore. and it's definitely not worse than anything in the second game!)

And we finished the night by doing a little affinity grinding to get Sharla and Fiora and Fiora and Melia up to pink (but not, unfortunately, Sharla and Melia) and a little colony 6 reconstruction. Overall a very productive day!

[bluepandastarfish]

Chocolate Cake And Blood Wine: Chapter 1

A Lady D x OC

Living in the village was difficult.

As children we were all taught by a few village elders who had seen many examples of Mother Miranda and her 'gifts' but also punishments to those who did not follow her. We were split into girls and boys up until our 12 year of education where we were sent to marry or work, the boys were taught to farm and support their family. While us girls were taught how to cook, clean and how to look after their future children. All the while we were told that children were to be seen and not heard.

At the end of every learning day we would be brought together to pray and offer gifts to Mother Miranda despite the fact that the majority of us had never seen the deity ourselves. The woman had only ever shown her face during festivals or the birthdays of the 4 lords (except the Lord Moreau because the smell he brought with him was far too much for anyone but the lords to bare.)

I remember one of Lady Dimitrescus birthdays in particular, although I cannot specifically remember her age, where the weather had been incredibly walm and so her daughter's could come to the village as well. I was only 7 at the time but I remember quite clearly that while Mother Miranda was, loudly, chastising the lady for being late for her own birthday I ran away from my mother.

 

"Andrea!" I can hear mother hiss at me as I run toward the cake stall. She'll never catch me though I'm far to fast for those silly heels she wears. She's so stupid- she says a proper lady does not run. Lucky for me I'm not a lady yet.

I slip through the gaps between villagers and I can almost taste the cake when I turn back to check if mother has decided to follow me and-

"OWWWWWW" a high pitched voice wines, I've tripped and taken someone down with me… a triumph! I clamber to my knees to see who I had knocked over; 'maybe it's Oliver he always wines like a baby'. Although I'm slightly disappointed to find a strange mess of ginger hair and golden eyes staring up at me from the floor.

The people around us begin to get louder and briskly walk away towards the platform that holds the lords as me and this… I don't acctualy know what it is, stare at each other.

"I've never seen golden eyes before" I whisper as I mean into her face and stare her in the eyes, some people would think it's weird but I just want to know how I can get pretty good eyes like this… thing. "Why are they that colour? What are you because I read all about eye colors and no one has golden ones! Oh my goodness are you a fairy? One of the library books said fairy have golden eyes! But where are your wings? Are you pretending to be a fairy?!"

Although I expected it to admit to being a fairy or a fairy impersonator instead it starts giggling and kicks it's legs a bit. That's so rude! I bet if I told this things mother about how it laughed at me it would get told off so bad!

"Your not supposed to giggle! Stupid fairy-thing!" The thing just put it's hand over it's mouth for a moment before seeming to calm down. It took it's hand off it's mouth but still held a bewildered smile as it studied me with its, very pretty, gold eyes.

"Sorry tiny maiden, I didn't mean to laugh at you. But you're very funny" it then sits up on it's knees as well and now is taller then me,I don't like that at all. I stand and cross my arms over my chest as I glare at the laughing fairy thing. " And I'm not a fairy, I am a regular little human like you!" Well I find that incredibly hard to believe!

"No you can't be. humans can't have golden eyes because if they did I would have gotten some for myself." Speaking of getting something for myself I look over it's shoulder at the now deserted cake stall the chocolate cake look so amazing! "Anyway you better go fairy thing because I've got a date with that chocolate cake over there!" I March past it and don't turn around to see what it does as I approach the holy sweetness that is chocolate cake.

I come to find however, that the cake man has put a glass cover over the cake. Stupid! I can't move the glass, I'll drop it and then I'll cut myself and then I'll bleed out and die and it will all be because of the silly man who decided to hide his cakes behind glass! I kick the side of the stall and huff as angry tears gather in my eyes.

This is completely unfair.

I feel a gloved hand on my shoulder and shrug it off as I huff again. " do you need help tiny maiden?" The same high pitched fairy voice questions. "I can use my magical fairy powers if you'd Like?" That instantly stops me from crying as I who around and face her with a big grin.

"I knew it!- I won't tell anyone don't worry! I'll even share my cake with you if you help me!" the fairy laughed slightly before pulling the glove off her hand in front of her face.

Suddenly her hand flew away and became lots of tiny bugs! My mouth opened as wide as it could but snapped shut quickly as I diddnt want to catch any of the fairy fly friends. The fairy looked up to the cake and narrowed her eyes like she was concentrating as I turned to watch the flys as well. All of the fly surrounded the bottom of the glass cover and slowly lifted it up off the table and next to it on the empty part of the stool.

The fly drifted back to her hand and became her hand again. Silence insured as she put her leather glove back on and stared at me waiting for my reaction, almost nervously.

"HOLY-" She covered my mouth with the hand that turned into fly and smiled widely using the other hand to being a finger to her lips telling me to be quiet. Normally I don't listen to people but I kinda owe this fairy for getting me the cake.

She removed her hand from my mouth and lowered her other back to her side as she leaned down to my level. "We've gotta be quiet tiny maiden, my mother has very good hearing and she might think something's going on if she hears shouting" This just raises even more questions that my tiny brain can't comprehend.

Instead of telling the fairy that I don't care if her mother can hear me, I just nod slowly and whisper "would you like some chocolate cake fairy?" She pushes her lips together and furrows her eyebrows a bit.

"Fairys can't eat chocolate tiny maiden." What can I give her in return now? I only have a chocolate cake to give her. "But don't worry I have an idea! How about you promise to be my friend forever instead?!" She was far to exited about that idea for my liking.

"I'm not so sure fairy" she looked quite upset now " forever is a very long time, I might have to check with my mother if that's alright first- oh but I can't I promised I wouldn't tell anyone! Oh no what-" she giggled softly breaking my speech.

"Don't over think it tiny maiden. How about we tell each other our names first! That's what friends do isn't it?" I stare blankly at her because don't really have many friends unless you count my chocolate cake, but I'm about to eat that and I don't think you're supposed to eat your friends. "Well my books say that they do so lets do that" she holds out her hand sideways down to me and straightens her back. "Hello human child, my name is Daniela and I would like to be your friend" after a moment of silence she waves her hand up and down a bit and tells me "now you have to do it back".

I sigh and she smiles as I place my hand in hers "hello Daniela , my name is Andrea and i accept your offer of being friends" I shake her hand slightly and smile a bit up at her. She grins at me and shakes my hand with much more enthusieasum, but then goes still and turns her head to the side.

She groans and looks down at me with a small smile still on her face "sorry tiny- Andrea but I need to go my sister is calling for me, can you get home by yourself or do you need to be at the celebration?" To be honest I think my mother will have given up on me by now so I just turn around and carefully take the chocolate cake in my arms before turning back to her But looking at my chocolate cake, mouth watering.

"No, should be ok I know my way back thank you Daniela" as I look up I see she is no longer standing in front of me- in fact she's nowhere around me when I turn my head. But I'm not worried because I have my delicious cake baby to eat, so I skip home to devour my stolen good.

 

I look back on that memory now and think how lucky I had been. Since I was taken up to the castle to work I have been told of Lady Danielas various mood swings. Although I probably shouldn't take the other girl's words for the truth, most of the maids are so scared that they make up ridiculous stories (like how lady dimitrescu supposedly sleeps hanging from the ceiling like a bat).

I have been working here for only a month and a half which is apparently the expectancy for most of us, according to Ioana who's been working here almost 30 years. She's about the only one who's nice to me apart from the wood chopping guy but he is never allowed inside- under penalty of death. So I don't get to talk to him much unless I'm picking something up from him, he does buy things I need from the duke from time to time which Is very much appreciated.

The Ladies themselves haven't really caused me any harm yet. I think the closest I got was when I was about to enter lady Cassandra's bedroom to rekindle the fire and another girl who had been cleaning ran out with half her face practically scratched off.

That was in my first week. After that I was pretty sure the head maid didn't like me because the other new girls did menial tasks or stayed out of sight of the ladies until their first month was over (while I was sent headfirst into Lady Cassandra's bedroom). This incident also made me become extra fearful to avoid being seen by any of the ladies which, now I think of it, may be the cause of them never harming me; they simply don't know I exist.

Anyway, tomorow is the day I have the worst jobs on my schedule:

 

Breakfast 6:30-7

Polish banisters in main hall

Change bedsheets in lady Bella's bedroom

Lunch 11:30-12:30

Clean maids bathrooms

Help prepare ladies dinner

Dinner 6-7

Curfew 7

 

It's never too difficult, the time management is the worst part. Most of the time I end up missing the majority of lunch because the banisters in the main hall never look quite clean enough, but that's fine I just have more food at dinner.

Tomorow will go as well as any other Wednesday has, I'm sure of it.

[unethicalmorals]

Looking at the March spawn ratings like my damn life depends on it

Brackens have a spawn rate of 20.92%, so the thing that killed the Thumper could potentially be a very large Bracken, but Brackens don't usually maul their Pray. So unless this Bracken was particularly pissed off at the thumper, it might be crossed off as the potential killer

The thumper could've also potentially been cannibalized! But why would the bigger Thumper take only the head and leave the rest of the body? Also how would it have left a gold ingot? I'll probably cross off another thumper as the killer

Ghost don't typically spawn on March, plus they target people with low sanity levels, and a Thumper is just a weird little animal, no sanity to lose. So, no ghost (I support ghost Robin brutalizing Thumpers though good for her)

Maybe a Coil-Head? They are known for somehow removing people's arms and heads, though the thumper doesn't have a coil in its neck so likely not. Unless the coil-head just decided to leave gold this time for whatever reason

Nutcrakers have a pretty low spawn rate but still higher than a Jester. Though, probably wouldn't remove a Thumpers whole head, unless it was just really mad and kept shooting the thumper until it's head was completely eviscerated, which is a funny visual (What did the Thumper ever do to you Nutcracker?😭)

There can only be 1 Jester in a facility at a time, so unless you intend to ignore spawn counts given the magic of fanfic, I don't think it was a Jester. Unless it was the same Jester currently hunting Rabbit, but I'm pretty sure the Rabbit situation and Bishop/Pink situation are happening at the same time

So far, I think the most likely candidate is a very big, very angry Bracken. But who knows! Maybe a hydrodere absorbed it's head! I'm excited either way‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Anyways V50, yummy, delicious, I have a love-hate relationship with the Butler. On one hand, he's kinda goofy, on the other, he is the only thing in the entire game that genuinely Freaks me out like get the FUCK. AWAY FROM ME IMMEDIATELY. DECREPIT LITTLE FUCKIN THING DEAR GOD-- THE MUSIC DOES NOT HELP‼️‼️‼️‼️

Man-made horrors are fine, sexy even. Put a fuck-ugly puppeted corpse with a knife? Awful, disgusting, I won't sleep for weeks

I think it's mechanics are neat though. It will literally look around a little bit before pulling out it's knife and charging at you😭😭😭 and the fact it just goes back to sweeping if someone else comes by while it's chasing you like okay you little shit fuck off (affectionate) (also extremely derogatory)

Old birds though I love them so much, I want to see the crew chased by one it would be so funny (for me. Absolutely not them. Maybe Pink actually-)

I'd like to think Bishop would be absolutely Giddy to see a bigass robot at first, taking a moment to admire its design. He wants to know how it's inner workings function so bad!!!!! But then it starts shooting missiles at him and playing the crying baby sound and Bishop immediately just "😃😀😦😰 what the fuck"

-Watcher

Hehe, there are so many things that it could be,, I wonder what has the potential to kill a Thumper, especially to eviscerate it in such a way,, 🤭

I love the exploration you've gone into figuring out the March monster,, AAhh!! 😊😉 Your final guess is pretty in line with what my friends have guessed too!! :D

So far the top guesses are; - Bracken - Nutcracker - Me, apparently????

However, we won't get the answer until we finally reach that chapter!! Here's a quick sketch in the meantime ♥ 😌

YESS v50 ‼️‼️‼️ I'M IN LOVE WITH IT GRRR I have a love-hate relationship with the Butler too-- On one hand,, a fucked up little guy filled with hornets!!! 😁 BUT HE IS INCREDIBLY UNNERVING 🥺 (shaking hands with you 😭🤝) I like that you can hear the bugs buzzing inside when you get too close 👀👀👀 ((I DO NOT LIKE THE MUSIC HOWEVER)) When you kill him too it is quite,,, HMM 😬😒😬 ANYWAY--

The Old Birds bring out the robot-fucker in me 😌I love them so much,, I love those clunky ass things,, the single flashlight eye oh my god,,, And they incinerate you completely when they grab you?? 👀👀👀 (I'm sorry)

(Pink needs more enrichment and if the crew are subjected to horrors in the process?? Then so be it. Pink is willing to make that sacrifice~)

Bishop would LOVE to figure out the mechanisms of the Old Birds, he would be all over their inactive forms!! ((He would freak out when it activates and proceed to go through the five stages of grief simultaneously upon hearing those baby crying sounds)) <- Incredibly fucked up thing of the Old Birds to do btw,, who does that,, baby crying sounds while killing you-- ohmygod I love them 🥺

Here's a Pink waving at Rabbit as a bonus, courtesy of Porsha 😌

[a-cosmic-elf]

💖😈🤡✨

Thank you so much for this ask! It might be a little long, so I’m going to pop it under a cut. 🥰

💖 What made you start writing?

Spite! lol No, I kid. It kind of was, though, if only to shut down people who write on gamerant etc about plot holes in the source material.

Plot holes? What plot holes?

*fills them with ocs*

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Yes. Chapter 13 of Absolution. It’s not just the cataclysmic reveal of truth that tears my little group apart. There’s also a coded message that might be annoying to those who wishing to unravel. Tbh, I hope none of them do break it, it’s a massive spoiler. I hope maybe a reader might one day get to the end of the story, and then go back and solve it. (Of course, that means I have to finish the story first! lol).

Or perhaps, re-read the entire fic and swear at me in the comments for all the foreshadowing they hadn’t noticed before. Absolution is seeped in it. For example, I heavily allude to one of my OC’s real origins in the second chapter, someone did once comment ‘oh, this is giving me [redacted] vibes’ and that was a massive win for me. It was so hard not to either confirm or deny their suspicions, I was bursting at the seams!!

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Yes! Here is a snippet from my Ghost fic The Sundering. It’s a medieval au, of sorts, where I transformed ‘Special Ghoul’ into a Cicero-inspired, creepy court Jester. He’s under a strong enchantment and his control words are ‘Isn’t there somewhere else you should be, Special?’ Hence why he cut’s Copia off in this exchange before Copia can use it to dismiss him.

This exchange always makes me laugh, due to all the Ghost lyrics and poems about rats that I wove into the dialogue, and the bit about the twins, so funny 😆

What just happened?

Out in the dark hallway, Copia lent against the closed door, he clutched his hand to his chest, his heart raced. It took a few moments for him to collect himself.

Finally, with a deep breath, he made for the stairs, only to find his way blocked by the all too familiar silhouette of a Ghoul. It laughed maniacally and sang,

“Anything like the sound of a rat
Makes my heart go pit-a-pat!"

Copia’s mood sank, from the pinnacle to the pit, indeed, he thought.

A Jester-Ghoul emerged from the shadows, clad from head to foot in blue and gold, the only Ghoul whose gold mask bore a face with a twisted smile, the many bells on his ridiculous costume ringing as he approached and continued to quote at Copia, in mocking tones.

“Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about the house at night.”

Copia sighed, “What do you want, Special? Isn’t there-”

“Hush, motherfucker, I was just getting to the best bit.” The Jester-Ghoul snapped suddenly out of character, then he practically slithered across the space between them and continued,

“they nibble things they shouldn’t touch,
and no one seems to like them much…”

Fixing Copia with those big green eyes he breathed in deeply and added, “But I’ve always liked the scent of him, like elderflowers and Juniper Sin!”

Copia couldn’t help but flinch. He had long suspected that Special was also half-demon, and somehow related to the Emeritus brothers. But he had never been able to prove it. A hybrid of sorts? Perhaps Nihil had managed to impregnate a Ghoul? He wondered. There was certainly something different about this one. He was a wildcard, to whom the normal rules didn’t seem to apply. Copia was always careful around him and took whatever Special said with a truckload of salt.

“Well, well… If it isn’t the little rat fiend,” Special exclaimed, giving up on his failed performance. “Been confessing your sins to Papa?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” grumbled Copia and attempted to push past him.

The Jester-Ghoul stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, and said with no small amount of mirth, “funny how such a lie escapes lips painted with the truth.”

Copia reached up and wiped Papa’s paint away with the back of his hand, irritated at having been caught out by the Ghoul, he replaced his mask.

Special giggled like a schoolboy, then all of a sudden, as if some kind of spell broke, his demeanour changed. “I wouldn’t get too attached if I were you,” the Jester-Ghoul said darkly. “These Papas… the Emeritus’... they never last.”

“Oh?” Replied Copia, “Something tells me this one is different.”

“You are gravely mistaken. Tonight a challenge will be issued. Events have been set in motion that will see the rat become a king.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” scoffed Copia, “Who told you that?”

“Oh, our missing problem child.”

Omega, thought Copia. One of the Ghouls had been missing for weeks, his disappearance had caused quite a stir, “also one of the most talented and beloved amongst our followers,” he replied.

“Who thinks his horse can talk,” said Special sarcastically, as if he didn’t also possess a few toys in the attic, adding a small mocking laugh to prove the point.

The Cardinal huffed, “Oh all horses can talk you idiot, all animals do, it’s just a case of whether you chose to hear,” countered Copia, he wasn’t going to stand here and listen to any more of Special’s ravings, he'd heard enough and began to walk away.

“By the way, The twins wanted me to give you a message,” Special said.

This just gets better, and better, thought the Cardinal with dismay. The twins were another little anomaly in the Church. Often thought to be the unholy spawn of Special and some unfortunate Sister of Sin. They always spoke in unison and possessed the power of foresight. Truly demonic children, everyone feared them.

“Oh, yes? And what do the little devils want?”

“They said,” and Special quoted, “KACB EKIB RUO TNAW EW AIPOC LLET”, in a voice that was uncannily similar to the little darlings.

Copia let out an involuntary shudder.

Recently, the twins had ridden their tricycle over the Cardinal’s favourite flower patch in the ornamental gardens. He had confiscated the offending contraption, and in retaliation, they had broken into his room and stolen his favourite pet rat. Copia hadn’t had time to find out what the little hellspawn had done with him before they were sent away, to stay with the old sister who lived in a small lodge by the gates of the estate, so not to scare the festival-goers.

“You tell them to return Jimi, unharmed, and I will think about it.” The Cardinal told the Jester-Ghoul as he reached the top of the stairs. “Now, isn’t there somewhere else you should be, Special?”

The Jester-Ghoul gave a flamboyant bow, then turned on his heels and skipped away down the hall singing, “And should we reap the whirlwind, boy, there’s no need to despair.
Amid the rubble and the filth, the rat will still be there!”

Mad little man, thought Copia, as he made his way down the stairs.

.🖤

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

Aw, thanks! Erm… I love the amount of research I end up putting into even the silliest of smut fics.

The level of lore-knowledge that has gone into Absolution is at super lore-master geek level.

Some readers have trouble separating what I’ve written from canon.

I think that’s my biggest achievement in fic.

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