#and that little lullaby sounding bit at the end is so easy to play and sounds so cool and it's rly satisfying

[joyridingmp3]

sleep: learnt ✅

#this song is so fucking fun to play #I know it's an easier song to learn but I lvoe it so much #it also taught me a lot about new chords and strumming rhythms and changing between chords super fast #and some fun palm muting #omg i love this sooo much #mine #and that little lullaby sounding bit at the end is so easy to play and sounds so cool and it's rly satisfying #kissing ray toro so passionately on the mouth

[not-poignant]

Raphael has a very poetic and grandiose way of speaking that is absolutely not the norm for day-to-day life. How do you get in the mindset to come up with his dialogues? They're perfection and I just can't even imagine how long it would take to do one paragraph of the way he talks, but you're writing an entire story with him...

Oh I love this question because I can answer it, lol sadlkjfsda

Okay so, Raphael's character is tough for me.

Normally I do a lot of dialogue research before starting to write a character in fanfiction and original fiction, but Raphael actually gets proportionately very few lines that really show his full emotional range (compared to say, Astarion), and he's got an incredibly specific way of talking that sounds similar to Astarion but at the same time is very different.

They share enough similarities (calling people darling and dear for example) that it's easy to fall into the trap of giving them the same 'voice.'

I find Astarion's voice a lot easier to 'get' and I feel like I can hear him better when I'm writing him. But Raphael I'm taking into emotional spaces we simply never see in the game, and then I have to really guess how he'd sound (like coming up with the idea that the theatricality vanishes when Raphael is genuinely panicking).

I ended up listening to a lot of interviews with Andrew Wincott, the Voice Actor for Raphael who is an incredible actor and extremely articulate. He was very clear in one of his interviews that one of the reasons he was selected to play Raphael was because, in part, he already sounded like him. Obviously there's differences / skill in changing cadence and more, but for the most part, Andrew Wincott uses similar vocabulary and talks in a similar manner to Raphael naturally, so I had an abundance of interviews that I could then listen to in order to get a feel for Raphael's voice. I picked the things that felt more 'Raphael' and added them to my dialogue notes.

I often have to go back and edit Raphael's dialogue. Sometimes it's very simple things, I had him say 'much more' in the chapter I'm editing right now, and I edited it to 'far more' because I think he'd just phrase it like that. Sometimes I expand a sentence into an entire paragraph.

I've also leaned a lot from Korilla's transcripts in the game, which have been super useful. They really cement, more than anything, how much he loves lullabies, nursery rhymes, children's tales and more.

HOW TO DO DIALOGUE RESEARCH:-

If you're new to dialogue research, it mostly involves listening to - and watching a character and then literally taking notes of how they talk. The things you observe are:

The tone of their voice - Fast or slow. Loud or soft. Musical or flat. Theatrical or matter-of-fact. High or low. Questioning or complete statements. Considered or hedging (i.e. very well constructed sentences, or a lot of pauses, ellipses, broken sentences). Rambling or concise.

How often they talk - Some characters actually say a lot with very little. Raphael is actually a lot of observation and facial expressions and eyebrow movements in between his dialogue. Little smirks, hand gestures and more. Do they interrupt or let people finish their sentences? Are they comfortable with silence? I find Raphael oscillates between long theatrical paragraphs, single sentences or words, and then a lot of silence. He's actually not very conversational, in that you can have a conversation with him, but I doubt he'd see the point of two hours of small-talk. (At this point you might be realising that dialogue research is also character research, how a character talks tells you so much about a character.)

The words (and metaphors/subjects) they use - This is a big one and I'm going to break this down a little bit more:

How they pause if they don't know what to say. Is it 'um' 'uh' 'ah' 'hm' 'mm' 'mn' or nothing at all (or something else) because they've mastered self-control over their dialogue? If Raphael says 'ah' he does so on purpose.

Filler words. Things like characters saying 'like' in a sentence. 'He was like, 'I can't believe it'' etc. This is very similar to how they pause, but it's the things people say to get from point A to point B. People who don't do this have often had training or think very hard about what they're going to say before they say it. But people say 'like' or 'and then' or 'well' or 'i realised that' or 'i thought that' etc. to carry them on. Some are more acceptable than others (people do just have realisations for example).

Profanity. How often do they swear, and how intentional is it? Some characters only swear when they get hurt or stub their toe or get angry. Some characters swear all the time for fun. Some characters only use some swear words and not others. Be specific. Be aware that some swear words are cultural! This includes blasphemy. In Faerun they use 'gods' and 'gods damn it' more often than we use 'god' or 'oh my god.'

Vulgarity. This is useful for Raphael (and Astarion) because he's very happy to be vulgar. This is like... how comfortable are they talking about sex, about sexual subjects, being crude, being seductive, flirtatious? And if they use it, do they use vulgarity to shock, seduce, scare, threaten, or for humour?

Salutations and farewells. How do they greet people? Silence? A calm hello? (A lot of greetings are omitted in dialogue but this is still good to know). How do they say hello, goodbye. How does that change between friends and enemies and strangers?

Single word sentences. This might sound weird, but sometimes when a character hears something that shocks them, or needs to acknowledge something, they may say anything from 'huh' to 'yeah' to 'fuck' to 'okay' to 'all right' to 'sure' to 'go on' to 'indeed' to just laughing out loud. The list goes on. Raphael is team 'indeed' lmao.

Sentence structure. Raphael's sentence structure is - when he's most comfortable - gently provoking, teasing, vaguely threatening, and makes liberal use of simile, metaphor, fairy tale, rhyme, sayings, colloquialisms and more. Raphael talks like someone who knows someone could quote him at any moment lmao. But from here, how a character structures their sentences can be helpful to know. Go back to 'the tone of their voice.' Those notes will give you an idea of structure.

Emotionality. How emotional are they? Do they have rage rants? Joyful giggling dialogue? Do they infodump with little emotion? Or with sheer excitement? Does their dialogue feel fake or real? Opaque or transparent? Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves, and others will never be able to say 'I love you' in anything other than actions. Raphael's emotionality in dialogue is more present in his anger and irritation, and also when he feels triumphant and/or turned on.

The symbols, sayings, colloquialisms and metaphors themselves. Not all characters use these. But some people/characters will talk through analogies, colloquialisms. This is actually Raphael's biggest dialogue departure from Astarion, imho, aside from the fact that Astarion is a lot more emotional with his dialogue.

Take into account their culture, ethnicity, conceits, upbringing, education and the people they're close to:

This one is vital. Firstly, some people tend to 'absorb' elements of those around them. A person raised by affluent people will often 'sound affluent' and a person raised in poverty will often have dialogue that reflects this and if they don't there will be reasons for that. It might be a conceit (some people self-teach themselves different accents), it might be education, it might be training, it might be the subculture/s they've entered into, and so on.

~

When doing this research, you'll end up with a kind of master-list of actual words and probably some sentences you've written down, along with a lot of notes. You can also do this for any original characters you're making at all, you're just then making it up based on the character, and this research will also give in many ways the shape of the character.

It's a fun exercise and I highly recommend everyone tries it literally for people who don't exist and also observe your friends and family, and do a dialogue cheat sheet for some of them. It's pretty eye-opening! Even one page will teach you more than nothing at all. You can go deep and write many pages, or you can do what I do and keep it lean at 2 pages. Anyone who struggles with characterisation I suggest at least try this exercise, because anyone can put on a YouTube video and/or streaming service or even a favourite Tiktoker and start doing dialogue research! It's a way of building a character from the top down while also getting information about their foundations.

#asks and answers #pia on dialogue #pia on characterisation #pia on writing #reference #on writing #writing techniques #writing advice #dodgy advice #i might just take the second 'how to' part and make it its own post #but anyway here's how to do it!

[callsigns-haze]

You love letters in jail...

Pairing: Rhysand x reader Warning: This chapter contains explicit sexual content and emotional turmoil SMUT. Summary: In a moment of passion and vulnerability, Rhysand implores YN to stay with him, but she grapples with the weight of her responsibilities as High Lady of the Court of the Lost Gods.

Song I kinda used is Prison for life because 🎶I'm a feminist, obviously But I wouldn't really mind him savin' me And I know that I'm fine without a man But I think I would like his protection I'm just bein' honest, can't change what I like I'll never forget it, he told me one night If anybody hurts you, hah I'm goin' to prison for life🎶

This can be read alone or with Prison for life.

As YN lay nestled against Rhysand's chest, the gentle rise and fall of his breath soothing her like a lullaby, she couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over her. His fingers traced lazy patterns through her hair, each touch sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine as she reveled in the intimacy of their shared moment.

"So," Rhysand murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent warmth flooding through her veins, "about earlier..."

YN tilted her head up to meet his gaze, her heart fluttering at the playful glint in his eyes. "Oh, you mean when you swooped in to save me from certain doom?" she teased, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Rhysand chuckled, the sound vibrating against her skin like a gentle caress. "Yes, that," he replied, his tone light with amusement. "I couldn't just let you get eaten by that thing, now could I?"

YN laughed, the sound melodic and carefree in the quiet of the room. "I suppose not," she conceded, her fingers tracing idle patterns against his chest. "But you didn't have to make such a dramatic entrance."

Rhysand raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "Oh, but where's the fun in that?" he countered, his voice tinged with amusement. "Besides, I thought you liked a little bit of drama in your life."

YN chuckled, leaning in to press a soft kiss against his chest. "Only when it's accompanied by a dashing hero," she teased, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Rhysand grinned, his fingers tangling gently in her hair as he pulled her closer. "Well, lucky for you, you've got the most dashing hero of them all," he replied, his voice soft with affection.

As they lay together in the quiet warmth of the night, their laughter mingling with the soft rustle of the sheets, YN couldn't help but feel grateful for the easy banter and playful teasing that defined their relationship. In Rhysand's arms, she felt safe, cherished, and utterly, completely loved—a feeling she never wanted to end.

As the conversation shifted to more lighthearted topics, YN found herself tracing lazy circles on Rhysand's chest, her mind drifting to the moments they shared, both playful and profound.

"You know," Rhysand began, his voice low and contemplative, "I never thought I'd find someone who could match my wit and sarcasm quite like you do."

YN chuckled softly, the sound muffled against his skin. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" she teased, her lips curving into a playful smile.

Rhysand's laughter rumbled beneath her, a warm vibration that sent a flutter of warmth through her chest. "Take it however you like," he replied, his tone teasing. "But I have to admit, it's refreshing to have someone who can keep up with me."

As they bantered back and forth, their conversation meandering through topics both trivial and profound, YN couldn't help but marvel at the easy rapport they shared. With Rhysand, she felt seen, understood, and accepted for who she truly was—a feeling that filled her with a sense of joy and contentment unlike anything she had ever known.

Feeling a surge of desire coursing through her veins, YN lifted herself from where she lay against Rhysand's chest, her eyes locking with his as she straddled him, a playful grin dancing on her lips. Leaning down, she captured his mouth in a passionate kiss, her lips molding to his with a fierce hunger that left them both breathless.

Rhysand responded eagerly, his arms wrapping around her waist as he deepened the kiss, his fingers tangling in her hair as he pulled her closer. Their bodies pressed together, a symphony of heat and desire as they lost themselves in the intensity of their shared passion.

As their kisses grew more fervent, YN felt a fire igniting within her, a primal need that burned hotter with each passing moment. She trailed kisses along Rhysand's jawline, down his neck, reveling in the taste and feel of him beneath her touch.

With a low growl of desire, Rhysand flipped them over, pinning YN beneath him as he claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Their bodies moved together in perfect harmony, each touch igniting sparks of pleasure that danced along their skin.

As their lips fervently explored one another, Rhysand's voice, husky with desire, broke through the haze of passion. "Lift your hips for me," he murmured against her lips, his words sending a shiver of anticipation down YN's spine.

With a breathless nod, YN complied, arching her back as she lifted her hips to meet his touch. Rhysand's hands traced a path of fire along her curves, his lips trailing kisses along her neck and collarbone before descending lower, capturing her breast in a hungry kiss.

As Rhysand's lips teased and tantalized her sensitive skin, YN's breath hitched in her throat, her fingers tangling in his hair as she surrendered to the waves of pleasure coursing through her. Each flick of his tongue, each gentle nip of his teeth, sent sparks of ecstasy dancing along her nerves, drawing soft gasps of pleasure from her lips.

With a low growl of desire, Rhysand's hands trailed down her body, his touch setting her ablaze as he worshipped her with a reverence that left her breathless. Lost in the intoxicating whirlwind of sensation, YN gave herself over completely to the moment, her heart soaring as she melted into the exquisite pleasure of Rhysand's touch.

As their bodies melded together in a passionate embrace, Rhysand's desire for YN grew more intense, his need for her undeniable. With a deep, primal hunger burning within him, he guided himself to her slick entrance, the anticipation of their union sending a surge of electricity coursing through both of them.

With a shared gasp of ecstasy, Rhysand slowly entered YN, inch by tantalizing inch, his length stretching her slick walls as they merged together in a union of pure bliss. The sensation of him filling her completely sent waves of pleasure crashing over her, her body arching against his in a silent plea for more.

As Rhysand began to move, his thrusts slow and deliberate at first, YN clung to him desperately, her nails digging into his back as she surrendered herself to the intoxicating rhythm of their lovemaking. Each thrust sent sparks of ecstasy shooting through her veins, her senses overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of their connection.

Lost in the throes of passion, Rhysand and YN moved together as one, their bodies moving in perfect harmony as they chased the pinnacle of pleasure. With each thrust, each gasp, they drew closer to the edge, their passion building like a wildfire raging out of control.

And then, with a shared cry of ecstasy, they tumbled over the edge together, their bodies convulsing in the throes of release as they were consumed by the sheer intensity of their love. In that moment of pure bliss, nothing else mattered but the two of them, locked together in a timeless embrace as they soared to heights of pleasure they had never known before.

As they lay together, their bodies still trembling with the echoes of their passion, Rhysand's arms wrapped around her in a tender embrace. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, his voice soft and filled with emotion as he spoke.

"Stay with me," he whispered, his words a plea wrapped in longing. "Don't go back to the Court of the Lost Gods. Stay here, with me."

YN's heart fluttered at his words, torn between the love she felt for Rhysand and the responsibilities that awaited her back at the court. She searched his eyes, seeing the depth of his affection reflected in their depths, and felt her resolve waver.

But as she opened her mouth to respond, she found herself at a loss for words. The weight of her duties pressed down upon her like a heavy burden, reminding her of the obligations she had sworn to uphold as High Lady.

"I... I don't know," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper as uncertainty gnawed at her heart. "I want to stay with you, Rhys. But I have responsibilities back at the court. I can't just abandon them."

Rhysand's expression softened, his fingers brushing gently against her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her tenderly. "I understand," he said, his voice filled with quiet understanding. "But know that my heart will always be here, waiting for you. No matter what path you choose, I'll be here, ready to love you with everything I am."

Tears pricked at the corners of YN's eyes as she gazed into Rhysand's eyes, overwhelmed by the depth of his love and devotion. In that moment, she realized that no matter where life's journey took her, she would always carry Rhysand's love with her, a beacon of hope guiding her through even the darkest of times.

With a trembling smile, she reached out to take his hand, intertwining their fingers together in a silent promise. "Thank you, Rhys," she whispered, her voice filled with love and gratitude. "For everything."

And as they lay together in the quiet embrace of the night, their hearts entwined in a bond that transcended time and space, YN knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, she would face them with Rhysand by her side, their love a light to guide them through the darkness.

Tagging some:

@callsign-magnolia

@kmc1989

@djs8891

@hardballoonlove

@callsign-dexter

@senawashere

@hookslove1592

@rosiahills22

@marvel-molly

#acotar x reader #rhys x reader #rhysand x reader #acotar x you #acotar x y/n #rhys x y/n #rhys x you #rhysand x y/n #rhysand x you #rhysand smut #rhys smut #acotar smut

[androgynousblackbox]

Welcome to Hazbin Vale. 13 [Radioapple, Appleradio]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqazV4hbu8E The song that Anthony refers to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmcQTfyziUI The lullaby that Alastor plays for Charlie.]

"Who is ready for some pizza rolls? I know you are, baby, sorry to keep you waiting.

I will see what else we have around here… Oh, Alastor, you had some pasta too."

"Niffty wanted to make some crafts with it and forgot about it. Cook all that you want, darling."

"So… Not to question the radio man with the weird ass radio powers that us mere mortals can't even begind to understand, but is there any reason why there was blasting of that romantic music just now? It just was so loud that we heard it up to here."

"I have no idea what you mean. Must have been the radio doing that automatically while I was having a shower. Nobody cares to hear about that, of course."

"Mmmm, is that so? Are you sure you weren't intending to hide anything more interesting than that? You know, I just can't help to notice that you and Luci suddenly look a lot more relaxed now.

Hah, there it is, that static sound thingy! I recognize that shit from your broadcast! That is a yes then! Holy shit, you waste no time. Hey, I don't blame you for that either, considering the circunstances.

Care to share some details?"

"Do you always need to do that thing with your mouth that you call talking?"

"I mean, I can do other things with it, but I suppose someone else has that role covered."

"Did you happen to forget who I am?"

"Oh, I remember. You are the guy who shook hands with Husky to keep both of us safe until this shit is over if we brought you these two. So you can threaten all you like, I know you can't do shit about it, babe.

Don't take it so personal, smiley face. This is just a little bit of payback for my grandpa.

And my own satisfaction too. Who is the top and who is the bottom? Come on, don't you think your listeners are dying to know? Did you got on your knees or…?"

"Husker, control your companion."

"I am not doing shit for you anymore. And I wouldn't do it either even if we weren't on this mess. Anthony can do whatever he wants."

"Thanks, hon. I knew there was a reason I let you get to third base on the first date."

"But I also want to make note that hearing about the sex life of this shithead is the last thing I want to do, so I am not engaging on this conversation at all."

"Boo, you are no fun.

Hey, Alie, want to hear about our first date? I, unlike other people, can be very generous with details."

"I suppose it must be easy to be generous when it comes to something that nobody cares about anyway."

"You will be surprised."

"Daddy."

"Yes, my little princess? The food will be ready on a bit. Are you hungry?"

"When are we going back home?"

"I… Honey, we… uh…"

"Soon enough, dear. You saw all that fog out there. It's truly dangerous to get outside while it's up so we all must stay here until it clears."

"Are you coming with us too, Alie?"

"Of course. I am getting out of here with you at the same time. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Take it from me, Charlie dear. Doesn't matter how much you love your job, nothing beats getting back home at the end of the day."

"But we are all together now so we can make it fun here too!"

"Indeed, that is very true, little one. But before that we should get you some actual food. You poor thing must not have eaten anything since this morning. I can hear that tummy rumbling from here."

"No, you can't! Don't lie, Alie!"

"Well, I am at least. Maybe I confused my rumbling with yours.

What was that, Lucifer darling? Do you need help with the plates? Don't mind if I do. How about you are a responsible girl and clear the table before lunch, dear? Anthony can help you out.

Since he is not doing anything at all except eating my chocolate."

"Mmm? I mean, sure, no problem.

Let's put all your crayons on their boxes and nevermind, your dogs just ate them all."

"Dazzle and Razzle can't eat, but can have my things inside of them. Want to see me opening their belly? I think I have some candy in there…"

"H-hey, Al, thank you for… I don't know what happened, I just froze there."

"Don't mentioned it. In my line work it is convenient to quickly think things to talk about on the fly. A minute of unnecesary silence is the dead of radio so I have to avoid it at all cost. Nobody wants to tune in just to hear the static."

"I don't know, I am starting to get used to it. It's kinda cute how you only do that when you get flustered or nervous about something.

I didn't understand it at first, but once I started to pay attention as to when it happened it became so obvious.

I mean it as a compliment, Al."

"It's not like I can control it either, so I am glad at least someone likes it."

"And the music?"

"What about the music?"

"The music during the shows. Was that also you or you didn't really control that?"

"Apparently it was all me. But I am myself just now realizing that."

"I liked them. That song that sounded when you talked about our first date I heard it all the time in the office."

"Well, then, if you ever happened to have a petition…"

"CAN I HAVE THE DUCKTALES SONG?!

Please, Alie, I want the ducktales song!"

"It's a show that she likes. But it's kinda modern so I don't know if… Oh, you can do that."

"If it was ever transmitted through radio waves, it's mine for the taking now."

"What a weirdly especific and useless power is that."

"Is that what you think, Husker?"

"Did…

Did you just…

Did you really just used a fart noise for when I sat down? What are you, twelve?!"

"Me? I didn't do anything at all. It must be the age catching up to you, old friend. That is what a bunch of donuts will do to you."

"I DON'T EVEN LIKE DONUTS THAT MUCH!"

"You don't?!

Aah!

Were you ordering all those donuts as a excuse to talk to me?!

Aww, Husky!"

"Can we change the subject already?!"

"What a real party pooper, right, Charlie?"

"Alright, enough toilet humor in front of the food now. Careful, these ones are hot. These ones I took out first so they cool down and my Charlie can take them no problem."

"Thanks, papa!"

"Everything for you, baby. Do you want more juice?"

"Yes, please."

"Here you go. Is it good?"

"Mmm!"

"Huh. You were right, Lucifer. Food do taste better when we are togehter.

Minus some unexpected guests."

"Did you say anything? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the huge favor we did for you! Risking our lives and all, but no biggie! You are welcome by the way!"

"That is a good point.

Thank you.

Even if it was also on your best self interest, I appreciate what you did."

"Oh! I didn't actually think you would say that. You are… actually welcome?

Husky, it's weird when he is nice."

"Right?"

"Alie is always nice to me and papa."

"Was he nice when he dumped your papa?

Uuh, sorry, I don't know why I said that.

That is not my business at all. Forget I said anything."

"No, no, it's fair. Small town, everyone is going to talk, I understand.

I did hurt Lucifer, that was my fault. I did apologize for it and plan to make ammends the best way I can while we are here. I am sorry."

"I-it's okay.

Don't get me wrong, it sucked. A lot. But… of everything that could be happening today, I am glad this is happening."

"Papa is like a tomato!"

"Or a lovely apple."

"You shut up. And you, little missy, are too honest for your own good."

"No, papa, no tickles!"

"Yes, tickles! You have to learn to not make certain comments about your elders! Are you going to learn your manners now?"

"No!"

"Are you going to be a delinquent now? My little danger ducking?"

"Yes! Danger duckling is cool!"

"Oh, Alastor, what happened to my sweet little girl? If only she were here to enjoy the cookies I found on the counter and happened to be her favorites…. I guess they will go to waste now, how awful…"

"Wait, no, I want cookies, papa! I can be danger duckling and also nice!"

"Mmm. Well, if someone can manage that, I suppose it could be my Charlie. I just need to eat your cheeks to be sure and see if you are still nice. Nom nom nom."

"Papa is silly!"

"No, you are silly."

"You are silly!"

"You are the silliest baby girl that has ever existed and that is final."

"Can Alie be silly too?"

"He was born silly, sweetie."

"Yay!"

"I think I am going to fucking vomit."

"Oh shush you, Husky. It's nice. Wish I had a dad like that growing up."

"Well, since everyone is done, let me pick up the plates. I think there is some ice cream on the…"

"Alastor?"

"Wow, what the fuck is up with the lights? Should they do that?

Should his eyes do that exorcist shit?"

"Alastor.

Honey."

"The last listener is gone.

The generators were activated.

We should have… a few hours left."

"Welp. That blows. Fuck."

"There is an empty room that used to be an office on the second floor at the end of the hallway. If you want… privacy, it's there. Just lock the door."

"Papa? What is happening?"

"Uh…"

"Darling. Breath."

"D-didn't.

Didn't you hear, sweetie?

Alastor said that we will just have to stay here a few more hours. Then we can go home. How about after eating you and I go take a nap? The couch on Alastor's studio can be turned into a bed."

"Does it? I didn't know that.

You mean I slept under a desk when I could have used a real bed all along.

Wonderful."

"Well, honey, there is a little thing known as the internet that might have helped you out there with that one. They come on this little convenient things called cellphone that regular people use! I know! Weird but true!

What do you say, sweetie? You must be so tired after today."

"Mmm, a little."

"Then that is what we will do.

Still want to eat the cookies? Yes? Then you can have those. You were about to say something about ice cream on the fridge, Alastor?"

"Yes. Yes, I think I have some left.

Rosie left it the last time. Chocolate with strawberry."

"Can I have too?"

"Didn't you say you weren't a sweet kind of guy?"

"I changed my mind. Stuff happened and now I want ice cream. Is that a crime?"

"Husker?"

"I am good. Enjoy yourselves. Kiddo.

It was nice meeting you. Your dad is a good guy.

I… um… I hope this town treated you well. All things considered."

"It did.

All things considered.

Thank you… for your service.

I will have a bit of those chocolate brandy, though."

"Be my guest, shorty."

"And you, Alastor?"

"I am fine. I don't actually think eating anything else would do me any good right now."

"Are you getting sick?"

"Darling."

"Oh. Sorry, stupid question."

"It's okay. I just hope you all enjoyed it."

"Serve me all chocolate, radio man. And a ton of adult juice on top. Perfect.

Let's go, Husky."

"You are going already?"

"Yep. No offense to any of you, but I want to spend whatever hours we have left with my boyfriend. And I know you are the same.

If there is another side at the end of this, I wouldn't mind meeting you all there.

I am sorry I don't have anything better than that.

Good luck or whatever."

"Papa, the cookies, the cookies!"

"Of course, honey. You have been a good girl so… good girls can have ice cream and cookies as dessert.

Is it good?"

"It's the best, daddy! Thank you, Alie!"

"You are very much welcome, Charlie."

"Can we have this as dessert tomorrow too?"

"Of course, dear. Anything you want.

Ready, love?"

"I guess so. Let's go put you to bed, sweetie.

You wouldn't have any covers or blankets around here?"

"I didn't know I had a bed so, no. But I have a long coat that could work just as well.

There we go. It should be nice and cozy enough"

"Tired, baby?"

"Yeah.

Can Alie put some nice music to sleep?"

"Sure.

This is a spanish lullaby. I don't understand a word of it but it sounds nice, doesn't it? Do you like it, Charlie?"

"Yeh. It's pretty."

"Take a rest, sweetie. We will be right here with you."

"Mmm."

"Are you sleeping, darling?"

"No. I don't think I can.

Alastor.

I missed you a lot."

"I love you."

"You realize it's the first time you say it, right? Of course you would save it for the literal last moment. Bastard."

"Yes."

"You are so emotionally constipated that is unreal."

"Mmm."

"And I never asked it either, did you notice?

Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you are so terrible pretending that you don't.

The fact you think you were ever slick is the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life.

You are like a wet slug pretending that it's a dry rock.

Leaving your trail of love everywhere and then acting as if it isn't there.

Everyone could see it.

That is why I never asked you to.

Even your friend Rosie asked me one time when was the wedding."

"When it would have happen?"

"What?"

"The wedding. When you would have liked having it?"

"Really? You want to talk about that now?"

"Why not?

You can offer other subject if you want."

"I don't know.

Maybe Autumn. Not too old, not too cold. We could have walked down the aisle with the cracking of leaves in a nice open space."

"That sounds lovely.

To tell you the truth I never thought of a wedding.

I just thought you would always be there. Right at my side. We would grow up old and raise Charlie together. It would just happen. Naturally. There was no other way.

Even as I knew it couldn't be."

"With you killing on the side and trying not to stain my floor with the blood of your victims?"

"Darling, I never stained not even my own floors. Please, have a little more faith in me."

"Oh, sorry that I am not familiarized with your way of killing people. How rude of me to think it could get messy sometimes."

"Apology accepted."

"Jackass."

"And you want to marry that jackass. What does that say about you?"

"That I have bad taste in men?"

"Perhaps.

I on the other hand find my own taste impeccable."

"Do you have any idea how irritating that is?

You say shit that are annoying one second and the next say the smoothest thing. I hate it."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't.

How are you holding up?"

"My vision is getting blurry. Oh."

"Your voice is… changing. It sounds like coming from an old radio. Is that bad? I don't know what it means."

"I think it means we have less time now."

"Charlie…"

"Let her sleep. Let it be nothing but a dream for her. Just a long blink."

"I know you said it wasn't going to hurt, but I am scared."

"Lucifer. If we ever see each other again, would you like to know about all of this? Would you like to remember me?"

"While you are another Alastor? In another world?"

"Y-yes."

"I… I think so. No, I would definitely would.

We had good moments. I would like to remember those. Do you think we could do that?"

"Give me your hand.

If we do ever see each other again, I will bring your memories of this life back to you.

But I will only do it if you touch my hand again."

"What is happening?"

"It's a deal?"

"I… yes."

"Then it's done.

Good night."

"Good night, Alastor."

#appleradio #radioapple #duckiedeer #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel alastor #lucifer x alastor #huskerdust #i am hispanic and i am not afraid of abusing that right by inserting hispanic shit on everything i can #THIS IS NOT THE ENDING THERE IS STILL AN EPILOGUE AND I SWEAR IT'S HAPPY

[retrogamechampion]

ROM Flashing Music (Seibu SPI System)

Arcade history time!

In the mid '90s, a company called Seibu Kaihatsu put together a special arcade machine board called the "Seibu SPI System." With it, an arcade operator could simply change out a handful of game cartridges in one machine rather than plunk down money on new boards or cabinets.

There were 7 total games made to work with this board, most famously titles in the "Raiden Fighters" SHMUP series:

When you switched out a game cartridge, the system would then need to flash the ROM of that game, loading it into the board before it was ready to play. That would take an average of about 3-10 minutes.

A cool, totally-not-needed-yet-really-sweet-bonus feature is that 6 of these 7 games played a tune while the ROM was flashing. Such an incredibly awesome, very Japanese thing to do - Give bored arcade operators something to listen to while they set up their machine.

I'd like to share the entire collection of these songs with you - While they may not be groundbreaking as a whole, a few of them are honestly really, really good retro game tracks that should not be lost to obscurity!

I'll start you off with this laid back, Jazzy song from "Raiden Fighters Jet" that sounds like what you hear when you press the "Bossa Nova" button on an old synthesizer keyboard.

This track from "Viper Phase 1" is just a delicious, somber little lullaby that could easily be playing during the sad backstory of a character from a 16 bit Squaresoft RPG.

Short and sweet, this tiny ditty plays a few times while the very short flashing for "Battle Balls" happens.

Low and rumbling with fast-paced drums and techno stingers, this "Raiden Fighters" track had to be exciting to hear while a whole new generation of promising SHMUP goodness was making its way into your arcade.

For the radically named sequel "Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive," the previous song was just mixed a bit more full and complex, though the high-ends in the song are insufferably loud to me. This is my least favorite out of the six just because of that.

Don't worry, though, I saved the best for last to heal up your ears:

This was the first ROM flashing song I heard, when I was testing out my arcade game set a ways back. It's for the romance/sexytime mahjong game "E-Jong High School."

While I had to wait quite some time for this particular flashing, ththis track made it a serene experience. It's just so peaceful and chill... Honestly, I was kind of bummed when the timer got down to 000 and the game started. Thankfully, the music is easy to preserve! :)

Hopefully you enjoyed at least one of these to make your day a little more awesome.

Every single one of these games' soundtracks were made by Go Sato, a very busy Japanese composer (check that link for the big body of work). The exception is "Raiden Fighters Jet," which was composed by Yasuhiro Hashimoto.

However, after listening to the ROM flashing song for Jet, I have an inkling that the track was made by Go Sato as well.

More recently, Go composed the music for Cotton Rock 'n' Roll!

Here is a picture of Go with a cuddly friend (Go is the one on the left):

#go sato #vgm #video game music #seibu spi system #seibu #arcade games #arcade game #arcade #game history #gaming history #preservation #retro games #retro gaming #ost #soundtrack #retro #raiden #shmup #shmups #look at that big ol' puffy frog

[jhoudiey]

Crowley and Floyd... bonding? Oh dear. A Fic I commissioned from @raven-at-the-writing-desk about Crowley and Floyd running into each other while searching for the perfect gift for Yoru's birthday!

Rating: G

Word Count: 4450

Characters: Dire Crowley, Floyd Leech, Yoru Crowley (mentioned)

Winter had settled on Night Raven College like a thick wool blanket.

An overcast gray sky overlooked icy streets dimly lit by snow laden lamp posts. The entire campus was solemn, smothered in a deafening silence and a shower of snowflakes.

The cold season had a coy way of playing with time. It stole away the days and made the light scarce. Blink, and entire weeks may have already skipped by like feet on the frozen ground. As the seconds and the sun retreated, so, too, did the creatures that resided in the winter of Twisted Wonderland.

Seeking the warmth and the comfort of a blazing fire and full bellies, they’d stow away in their rooms and dens. Cups of warm beverages in tow as they watched the drifting bales of white falling down into the world. Nestled under safe covers, wrapped in the lullaby of a whistling, chilling wind, they’d slip into a deep slumber, dreaming of sugarplums, cocoa, and peppermint candies.

Not a creature stirred, not even a—

Mouse?

Crowley froze, his hand hovering over the doorknob. Ears alert and piqued.

From within the attic came a cacophony. Rattling, ruffling. Things breaking and smashing against hard surfaces. It sounded like a brawl was brewing in there—or a murder, short of bloodcurdling screams, was underway.

Whatever it was that was making that racket, it certainly was not a mouse.

Why, that shouldn’t be, the headmaster thought, his brow creasing. While it was true that his little Nugget had a tendency to get rowdy (especially in her worst of moods), he was sure that she had excused herself that day to tend to the campus crows.

The perfect moment to sneak into her room and pry away all the shining secrets and hidden wonders that had collected in her hideaway. How very kind of him to do.

Crowley pressed an arm flush against the slightly ajar door and slowly eased it open. Its hinges quietly squealed in protest—the blasted things needed a good oiling—but it was easily drowned out by something slamming, accompanies by the groans of a mysterious intruder.

The scene unfolded before him like a picture in a pop-up storybook.

The room looked like it had been ransacked, then turned upside down and back upright. 

Books, clothes, and dark bedding were strewn across the floor—truthfully, nothing abnormal for his Nugget—but every drawer had been torn open, their contents flying free. Loose sheets rained down like broad white feathers, writing implements rolling across the rickety wooden floors and shredded remains of a bird’s nest. Pots had toppled over, spilling soil onto the shelf they lined.

The iced windows had been thrown open, inviting in a bitter winter breeze which kicked up all the fallen items, the forgotten pages. Despite this, the room reeked of apples. Cloying at times, tart at others, the aroma leaked from smashed bottles and unscrewed tubs. The room was wrapped in the memory of frostbitten fruits.

And there, standing in the center of it all, was the criminal in question.

One Floyd Leech, snow caught in his teal hair, a black stripe of it wet and sticking to his profile, as he pored through a notebook. He wore a bored expression, not startling one bit as his attention landed on Crowley, who stood at the threshold with a gaping jaw.

Floyd suddenly grinned, heterochromatic eyes lighting up as he let the notebook in his hands tumble to his feet. He lazily drew himself up, leaning back against a desk.

“Ne, what’re you doing here, headmaster? Shouldn’t you be off crashing classes or doing busy work or something?”

Crowley bristled at the easy tone the eel had adopted. Always too lax, too familiar. “Is it a crime to walk around in my own house?”

Floyd gave a raspy laugh. “Ehehehe, all your feathers are standing on end. You really should just chill out.”

Then, having already lost interest, he returned to digging around at the desk, carelessly flipping through another notebook. Floyd was only about halfway through when it was unceremoniously snatched out of his hands by golden talons.

“I should be the one asking the questions here!” Crowley crowed, crushing the pages of the notebook in his palm. “How are you in my home, Floyd Leech-kun?! You’re meant to be in lecture at this very moment!”

“Mm? I got bored of class, so I dipped. It was easy to climb in through the window.”

“That is NOT the issue at hand!! You cannot just break and enter a private residence whenever you please…!! Furthermore, what in the Seven makes you think it’s a dandy idea to catapult yourself into a lady’s nest and search through her belongings?!”

Floyd was completely unfazed by the scolding. “Isn’t that what you’re doing too, teach? You didn’t even knock.”

A squawk erupted out from Crowley at the accusation. He was but a bird ensnared in a predator’s trap, and Floyd knew it.

The merman’s mouth curved into a sly smile. “Barging into Fugu-chan’s room without warning ain’t exactly a good look for ya.”

“Wh-What!! You take that back…!! How dare you call my Nugget such a preposterous nickname! How dare you besmirch my magnanimous nature and my good name!”

“Dude, like ‘Nugget’ is any better–and seriously no one buys any of that stuff.” Floyd rolled his eyes, but the teasing glint never quite left them. “Wouldja rather I call her Yoru in front of you, daaad?”

Crowley’s heart caught in his throat. Flashes of both hot and cold fissured through him, pulling him in both directions. Intense anger and icy annoyance coiling at his fingertips.

Instead of making a proper rebuttal, Crowley hastily seized his student by the shoulders and steered him toward the exit. Floyd plodded along, but sent the headmaster a half amused look.

“Out, OUT!!” Crowley cried. He attempted to usher the boy through the door frame–but like the leech that he was, he hunkered down and held fast, lanky form lingering at the threshold.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me, like it or not.”

“And perhaps I would deign to entertain your silly, fickle notions of ‘fun’, were it any time but now,” Crowley countered frostily. “Tomorrow is a most important date, and I shan’t be late for it on account of you!!”

“Tomorrow?” Floyd tilted his head. “But tomorrow’s…”

There it was again: the overfamiliarity settling on his face, and a gleam to his olive and gold irises. A slight glee, a playfulness, as if regarding a loved one.

A single realization dawned in the cold quiet between the headmaster and his student. The sun rising upon a sheet of ice, and the glittering glare of snow that followed.

“My word,” Crowley gasped, drawing a shallow breath, “could it be that…”

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

A trip into the local town later, the headmaster was grinning from pointed ear to pointed ear and giving himself a presumptuous pat on the back.

Hohohoh! What a brilliant brain I have! Crowley, you old diamond in the rough, you!

He lowered his head to a rack of jewelry in a display case, just as entranced by the hypnotic shine of jewels and chains as he was with himself. His smug reflection bounced back at him.

“It appears that our motives are one and the same, my dear boy! Neither of us wishes to be tardy with Nugget’s birthday gift, yes?” Crowley had cooed, wrapping an arm around Floyd’s. “What say we kill two birds with one stone and combine our efforts?

“We’ll provide a single present while counting it as one from both of us! Fufufu. That’s more money saved and the hassle of finding our own gifts avoided!”

“Ew, stop,” his student had replied, looking vaguely disgusted as he tried to wrench himself away. “You’re being weird. Did the spirit of Azul’s greed possess you for a sec or something?”

“Oh, don’t be that way!! Come along, we’ve got a plethora of shops to look over, and not a moment to waste!!”

“Eeeeeh?”

So the serendipitous story had gone, with the duo darting from shop to shop and browsing all the various wares. (Floyd, more often than not, lagged behind or got distracted by other offerings). Alas, they had yet to stumble across a good gift—but Crowley clung on to hope.

He allowed himself another pleased chuckle. Vanity illuminated his beady little eyes, as if gems had been inlaid into them, the same as the spread of jewelry before him.

“Floyd Leech-kun!” Crowley called, looking back over his shoulder, “Take a look! What do you think of these as…”

But there was no one where the eel had been just mere minutes before. 

Crowley startled. He whipped his head around the store, surveying the knick knacks for teal streaked with black. The headmaster found it nestled in a corner by a stand of novelty sunglasses. With a sigh, Crowley briskly made his way over.

Floyd turned to face him, sending the headmaster jolting back with another shock to his heart.

The boy wore a garish set of frames. A simple black, but with big, bushy false eyebrows mounted at the tops of the rims, and where the glasses would normally sit on one’s natural nose was a big, bulbous, and pink triangle–a caricature of a nose. Jutting out of his mouth was a stick of peppermint candy, which he slurped with great relish.

“Took you long enough,” Floyd said, sweeping off the joke glasses and replacing them with a different pair. The new ones were a bright blue with tinted lenses, decorated with sharks in the corners of the rims. “Hey, check out what I bought! Cool, right?”

“No, it is NOT ‘cool’ for you to wander off and spend your savings left and right on personal items!” Crowley shot him an exasperated glare. “If this keeps up, you won’t have any funds leftover for Nugget’s present! You’ve been no help with cutting down on our potential options, either.”

He groaned deeply, staring down into the palms of his taloned hands. “Oooh! Are the youth of today truly so self-absorbed, selfish, and prideful? Is there no faith left to be had in their humanity? Oh, woe is me!”

Floyd snapped his peppermint stick in half. His fingers were left sugary and sticky as he popped the broken part back into his mouth. “All that melodrama’s not my problem anyway.”

“How rude…! To think that children in this day and age don’t even hold an ounce of respect for their elders…” Crowley sniffled fakely. “It’s already bad enough that you’ve completely lost all interest in searching for a gift, then reject the idea of offering aid to me… Are you the sort that would abandon the elderly in need of help crossing the road as well?!”

“Tch, you’re really getting on my nerves, Gramps.” Floyd’s expression dropped, his brows drawing together. A lilt had slipped into his voice, deep and dark and dangerous. “I’m sick of being dragged all over the place. How about you butt out of my business and try lookin’ in a mirror for once?”

“GRAMPS?!”

Crowley exclaimed the word louder than he had meant to, causing the jewelry to tremble and attracting stares from fellow customers. (A nearby woman shielded her child’s eyes and directed them to look away from “the crazy bird man”.) The headmaster blushed behind his mask, cutting a dry glance away.

A small standing mirror, propped up for customers to gaze at themselves modeling baubles, captured him in its face. His expression, a silent slice of his character.

Crowley stopped.

In spite of its size, the mirror was a beautiful one. His reflection was arced by metal which was painted in ebony black, and finished off with a dusting that granted it a pearlescent sheen and a smooth touch.

It seemed to move, telling an intricate story as Crowley’s eyes followed the curve of the frame. Amid twisting leaves and the cover of night was a murder of crows. Roosting, gorging on apples, seeking comfort in one another.

It was absolutely perfect.

Crowley picked the mirror up, careful not to scratch its surface with his sharp nails. Waving a hand, he immediately summoned a sales associate. 

“This,” Crowley murmured, gingerly placing the item in their hands. Then he reached into his cloak and produced a card from within the depths of the nebulous fabric and set it on top of the mirror. “I would very much like to purchase this. Please have it wrapped up in a gift box.”

“Of course, sir.” The store employee nodded and scurried off with the mirror and the card in tow.

Floyd frowned after them as they rang Crowey up. “Eeeh, you just ended up picking something without me anyway.”

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have had to make the executive decision to do so if someone had been a little more cooperative.”

“I don’t get why you had me come with you at all.” Floyd furrowed his brow. Slightly frustrated. “I would’ve been okay on my own.”

“I don’t doubt it, but this was specifically meant to be a collaborative effort,” Crowley pointed out, folding his arms. “I expected better of you, young man.”

Floyd scoffed and pushed away from the wall, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Whatever. I’m outta here.”

The headmaster made no effort to stop him from exiting the store. He stared hard at the wall where Floyd had been, mouth pinched like a beak.

It had truthfully always been some degree of awkward between him and his students, but nowhere was that awkwardness made more painfully apparent than when he was forced to engage with Floyd. What was any parent to do when they were trapped with their child’s significant other? The one to steal away his beloved daughter from the nest he had so lovingly built for the two of them?

Crowley never quite knew what to do, what to say, to him. The line between educator and pupil was already difficult enough to tread, and a road that he had not yet mastered–and here he was, being thrusted into a dilemma ten times as challenging to navigate: father-in-law and boyfriend.

He was at the boundary, uncertain of when and if he should intrude at all. Too used to what he already had, and too afraid to relinquish it, letting it spread its wings and find its own way in the world.

… His Nugget was growing up so fast.

“... ir. Sir?”

Crowley tensed.

The sales associate cleared their throat, holding out a bag with satin ribbon handles. “Your purchase. Your receipt and card are inside.”

“Oh, thank you.” He dazedly accepted it. 

The weight of the mirror humbled his strength and dragged his arm toward the ground. It carried with him as he shuffled to the door, swinging it open with his free arm and welcoming in a burst of wintery crisp evergreen into the shop’s otherwise spiced nutmeg interior.

There was something melancholy to be said about abandoning the cozy warmth for an unforgiving, unrelenting snowstorm and windchill. Comfort willingly traded for discomfort. A necessary sacrifice made.

Crowley expelled a breath as he crossed outside.

Something cold and hard and white shot at him. He didn’t have enough time to react before it made a harsh impact with his face, freezing his features in place.

Crowley hurriedly shook off the attack—the snowball that had pelted him—only to be met with a trill from his assailant.

“Ahahahah!! I totally nailed ya!” came Floyd’s throaty laugh. Beside him was a pile of incriminating ammo, and another snowball in his hands. The shark sunglasses bobbed on his head, as if hitching a ride on wild waves. “You shoulda kept your guard up!”

“I beg your pardon?!” Crowley wiped his face clean of stray shards of ice and bits of snow. “Our errand is complete. You will cease this tomfoolery at once and return to campus!”

Floyd’s reply was short and simple and punctuated with a shrug. “Don’t feel like it. This is waaay more fun~”

“You’d best retract your wor—”

“Oops, my hand slipped.”

It had very obviously not slipped, but Floyd pantomimed tripping anyway, letting the snowball fly from his hand. It rocketed like a shooting star tearing up the night sky, this time pelting Crowleyin the chest. The next, the back of his hand, and the third knocked off his top hat, nailing it into the slush-covered sidewalks.

The headmaster gritted his teeth and dug his heels into the ground. His arms up to shield himself from each blow. “Now see here…!!”

Floyd’s icy onslaught continued, marked by his gleeful cackling. “I’ve already got my eyes wide open. You sure you’re a crow, headmaster? Cuz all I see’s a frozen chicken too scared to fight back.”

“Grk…!”

It won’t do to retaliate against a child, reasoned Crowley’s better half.

Show him what for, hissed the other (not-as-yasashii kind) half. He’ll regret ever crossing you and showing such disrespect toward an instructor!

“Ahahah, the headmaster’s a chicken, a chicken! Bwaaaaak bwak bwak bwak bwak bwak!!”

Crowley’s patience snapped.

“That is… ENOUGH!!”

He flung his cane up. Then, all at once, every single snowball hung in the air, rigged up in invisible cages.

But the movement of his body, too fast, too swift.

The bag with the satin handle–and the mirror inside–launched into the air from that violent flick of his wrist. Time slowed to a crawl as the bag and its contents fell, fell, fell… followed by a devastatingly loud CRACK.

Realization kicked in, and Crowley dropped to his knees, not caring that his pant legs would get dirty and cold and wet. The suspended snowballs splattered onto the streets, making their own graves.

To his horror, digging through the bag yielded only a beautiful frame. The reflective face embedded within was broken beyond belief. So many ugly, jagged fragments and shining splinters shifted through his fingers. So many of him staring back in dismay.

Floyd whistled. “Guess that’s seven years of bad luck.”

“You think this is funny, do you?” Crowley’s hands balled into fists in his lap.

“Hilarious, actually.” Floyd failed to hide his smile (or rather, he made no attempt to).

“Have yourself a grand old time, then.”

The headmaster abruptly stood, tossing the remains of the mirror shards at his feet. His usual whimsy and jovial tone was nowhere in sight as he coolly straightened his lapels and brushed the snow from his feathers. The grip tightening on his walking stick. “We shall see who gets the last laugh.”

“Is that a challenge?” Curiosity had crept into Floyd’s voice, his lazy eyes lifting into slivers of intrigue.

“I would never consider using offensive magic against a precious student of mine!! I’m offended that you would even suggest such a thing,” Crowley insisted, placing a hand over his heart, and an appalled gasp from his lips. “But should a student refuse to step back into the classroom, and instead choose to remain off campus…”

Fwoosh.

Crowley raised his cane up in an elegant arc. The shoveled snow surrounding them sparkled, charged with the faint navy glow of his magic. Bit by bit, the snow floated upward, collecting at a singular meeting point in the sky. Gathering into a massive, monstrous beast of a snowball that titaned over them.

Floyd went slack-jawed.

The snowball casted a shadow over Crowley’s sunny smile.

“… I will have no choice but to shepherd them back to school with the appropriate disciplinary measures,” he chirped, “for I am so very kind.”

The bewilderment seemed to last for mere seconds Floyd’s features before he vigorously shook it off. Sparks flew, turning embers into a raging fire, a burning passion, within him.

“Heh. Now you’re speaking my language!!”

Crowley held his student’s—no, his opponent’s—gaze.

“Ne, headmaster. You and me, let’s have a fight.” Floyd cracked his knuckles, his face gleaming with delight. “Let’s see who wins.”

“You’re a hundred years too early to be making that sort of demand,” he huffed, not breaking eye contact, “but, as an esteemed educator, it falls upon me to teach you the natural order of this world.

Crowley let the snowball drop, and the world exploded into a vision of pure white.

When the veil lifted, Floyd was gone.

Another disappearing act for the slippery eel.

Crowley narrowed his eyes, scanning his surroundings in search for the boy. His ears strained, hearing heightened. A soft, scuffed sound emanated from above.

He craned his head, his gaze tilting skyward.

Gold.

Black.

Teal.

Floyd was on top of the gift store. Had he scuttled up a drain pipe like a primate? Used something as leverage to rocket up there?

Crowley gritted his teeth.

“Get down here this instant!!” he shouted, shaking a fist at the young man.

“Make me!!”

“Oh, I will…! You have my word on that!”

“Oh-kaaaay~ Catch me if you can!”

And with that, Floyd took off like a bullet. Crowley nestled deeper into the recesses of his cloak and followed in hot pursuit. His cape fluttered behind him as though he were some sort of superhero—but Crowley felt less than super in the mindless goose chase.

Floyd had the advantage in terms of speed, with his lanky, lithe body. Up above, he had a good view of the town, and the crow that trailed him.

Conjured snowball after conjured snowball aimed themselves at their moving target, intent on knocking Floyd off balance, and onto his ass. Yet the eel expertly skipped across the rooftops and slid to pick up speed. The windchill, a sharpened knife against his cheeks.

From one to the next, he raced and raced until he was at the end of a row of buildings, met with a dead end, a large pile of shoveled snow.

Crowley skidded to a halt, both mortified and out of breath. His breath crystallized with each painful inhale and exhale.

Floyd gave him a knowing grin. Flung his arms out, staring down the like of rooftops he had traversed. The wind at his back.

Crowley lurched forward.

“Don’t—”

Floyd fell backwards with a crazed cackle.

The headmaster dove, arms outstretched. His arms connected, hooking with Floyd’s heavy body as it crashed down.

They were both tackled by gravity and sent tumbling into the snow. The one caught, Floyd, easily rolled off of his savior, shark sunglasses flying off him and into the slushy streets. The catcher, Crowley, sprawled out on his back with a choked gasp. (His vigor was NOT what it used to be.)

His gaze tilted skyward, staring up at a gray film of sleet and snow. Prim and unassuming, the color of something slow and steady.

The snowflakes that drifted onto his skin melted like wax exposed to a too-close sun. His heart was pumping hard, his blood buzzing, from the chase. His insides burned, tingling from exhaustion.

Exhilarating.

Simply exhilarating.

When was the last time he had felt so alive? When had he had this much fun? He couldn’t recall.

A snicker.

Crowley instinctively turned his head to the side, finding Floyd already sitting up and looking back at the imprint he had left in the snow. It was a vague outline of his body from the impact, all 191 centimeters of it.

Imperfect—but Floyd didn’t care. He belted out a laugh, relishing in the imperfection of his snow angel. Sounds and sights fracturing and reforming again in the blink of an eye.

He had nothing to his name, and yet he acted as if he had everything. A poor man, wealthy with experience and adventures.

Crowley didn’t understand.

He was at the cusp of a discovery, dazzled by its disarming gleam.

“You didn’t manage to hit me, so I win,” Floyd beamed, his heterochromatic eyes meeting Crowley’s. “Hehe. How’s it feel to lose to your own student? Must be really embarrassi—”

It suddenly clicked.

Crowley bolted up, an exclamation at his lips. “THAT’S IT!!”

“Huh? What’s it?”

The headmaster wrapped his arms around Floyd and shook him excitedly. The merman’s black stripe of hair and earring bounced erratically, his head lolling.

“Don’t you see, my dear boy? The gift, the gift!”

Floyd grimaced, shaking the crow off of him. “The broken mirror? You can’t exactly give that as a birthday present.”

“But of course not!” Crowley smiled broadly, clapping Floyd’s back. “Look in the mirror for yourself! We will not purchase the gifts, we will be the gifts themselves!!”

Floyd quirked a brow and spoke with no filter. “... Is this a weird roleplay thing? Cuz I’m so not into it.”

“No, no!!” Crowley flailed his arms, making as though to dispel whatever misconceptions were floating around in his student’s mind. “That’s completely incorrect!

“You see, I’ve been enlightened! What is important in a gift is not the amount of money spent on it, nor the amount of time spent hunting it down! It’s quality, not quantity that counts–and what could possibly be better than spending precious quality time with loved ones?”

He twirled his cane, whistling as he swept up his hat from the ground and replaced it atop his hair. “We’ll have a candlelit dinner on the eve of her birthday! It needn’t be fancy, but there will be good food, good wine, and good company to keep us warm well into the night!

“… By the way, feel free to bring a dish of your own to contribute to the meal! Think of it like a potluck!”

Floyd stared at him. 

“… Aren’t you just covering up for not having enough money for a replacement gift now? You’re cheaping out on those dinner plans too, and it isn’t exactly subtle~”

“Ohohohoh…! I haven’t the faintest clue what you mean!!” Crowley’s anxious laughter didn’t help his case. 

“Man, all this mushy feel-good stuff’s gross. It’s like some after-school special.” Floyd puffed out his cheeks in a pout. “I liked you better when you were throwing fists. Can we go back to that?”

“Certainly not!! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a celebratory dinner party to plan!! As for you, all you need bring is yourself for the occasion. That should be simple enough instruction for you, yes?”

“Still feels like you’re making this waaay too complicated.”

“Grkk! I won’t be condescended to by my own pupil, of all people!!”

“Whatever you say then.”

Their banter carried into the crisp winter air, set upon curtains of white, billowing breath. The words dissipated as easily as ice crystals exposed to sunlight, but the feelings in them would forever remain.

All the anger, the sorrow, and the joy of the sea and the sky, coming to understand one another just a bit more than they had before.

#dire crowley #floyd leech #twst oc #yoru crowley #twisted wonderland oc #twst #twisted wonderland #dumb and dumber #disney twisted wonderland #twisute oc #twst floyd #twst wonderland #disney twst #twst crowley #commission #nrc #nightraven college

[cosmicdreamt]

🌙 s𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬.

✨ TAGGED BY: @tximidity​ and @smokes-and-bullets​​​

✨ TAGGING: YOU​

1. what does your muse smell like?

Lavender, vanilla, and mint. Those are the main notes of her skincare and perfumes. The floral aspects of it aren’t too strong and the vanilla is closer to a musky/spicy one than a super sweet one. It’s very pleasant and calming with the smallest bit of bite. There’ll also be added notes of coffee and baked goods if you happen to meet her on days she works at the café. 

2. what do your muse’s hands feel like?

They’re fairly dainty and soft overall, but if you feel her fingers individually her index, thumb, and inner middle finger on her right hand have rougher spots due to her constant usage of a pencil/pen/paintbrush because of her art. It’s a very intimate thing very few people would notice unless they paid super close attention to her despite her loving to hold hands with those she’s close to. The rough spots are easy to miss due to being in very specific spots on one hand in particular.

3. what does your muse usually eat in a day?

She usually eats three meals a day thanks to her work schedule (along with dessert of course). She likes to eat a heavy and balanced breakfast and lighter but still balanced lunches and dinner. She prefers chicken over red meat, eggs, rice, fruits like bananas, strawberries and grapes, spinach salads, seasoned veggies, corn, robust cheeses, vinaigrettes - she tries to eat well enough without sacrificing too much flavor. 

4. does your muse have a good singing voice?

Absolutely! She sang ever since she was little and has an ethereal alto sound. She can belt it at karaoke if need be but she prefers softer - dare I say solemn - songs to sing. I’d describe her singing voice similar to a lullaby that makes you feel a little nostalgic. A little lonely, a little sad, a little calm and at peace. Like a wondering spirit trying to find her home and whose emotions you can feel deep in your soul. Voiceclaim singing example

5. does your muse have any bad habits or nervous ticks?

Oh she has PLEANTY if you pay attention. Her biggest bad habit is the fact that she talks too damn much. Neff is an introvert and tends to keep to herself most times, so when she finally does get to speak she will talk your ear off and then feel self conscious about it afterwards. You can tell she’s particularly nervous, however, if she starts playing with the ends of her hair or starts playing with/picking at her fingers. She’ll also avoid eye contact because to her the eyes give away everything.

6. what does your muse usually look like / wear?

She’s the big tiddy alt gf LMAO. She’s almost always in dark colors, tattoos, piercings, dark makeup. Her style is a mix of hipster, alternative, and witchy with an emphasis of blacks and purples with galaxy/celestial prints and lace. She dresses more casual and comfy at home with oversized tees, tanks, sweats, leggings, shorts, or just underwear - usually in black, white or grey.

When she works at the café she’s always in a button down and either pants or a skirt with kitten heels or flats depending on the day. Black and white. Hair up and out of the way. 

7. is your muse affectionate? how much? how so?

EXTREMELY. She loves giving hugs, holding hands, kisses, leaning against people, so long as they’re comfortable with it she will do it. She especially loves caressing faces and, if you’re a lover, caressing lips. She’s just as affectionate platonically as she is romantically, she just (obviously) does certain things more/differently for romantic partners. Small intimate things, big intimate things, she just enjoys being close with people in whatever ways they’re comfortable with. 

8. what position does your muse sleep in?

She’s a belly sleeper mostly. On her stomach with her hands under her pillow and head to either side. That or she’ll have her upper half twisted to the side while the lower half lays flat down. She can’t lay on her back at all cause she just feels like gravity is against her ( iykyk ), so stomach and sides are her ideal.

9. could you hear your muse in the hallway from another room?

Normally? No. Neff’s voice is deeper and fairly soft. She usually speaks calmly though not monotonous. But if she’s more emotional about something than usual you might be able to hear her if you were closer to the door that leads to the hall. It’s not impossible for her to get loud but it doesn’t happen as often as one would think.

#⋡☆《dash games》—playing hide and seek in the forest #⋡☆《info》—who I am now who am I now

[touy-touy-two]

random hc:

-///-

sleepy edition

dabi:

- he just kinda zones out when he’s sleepy. you can talk to him but his mind is elsewhere.

- he has night terrors so he tries to avoid sleeping as much as he can. it’s pretty easy for him tho, he struggles to fall asleep.

-if he’s been doing well, he can sleep but keeps waking up throughout the night because of nightmares

-if he hasn’t, he goes without sleeping for a couple days. but he has to sleep eventually. so he ends up collapsing and sleeping for hours.

- he listens to music as he’s falling asleep. which takes hours.

- he can’t sleep if it’s not completely dark. even the light from his window doesn’t let him sleep. he has suuuuper dark curtains now tho.

-sleeps on his stomach without a blanket. blankets are too warm. plus, he moves a lot in his sleep so it would end up on the floor anyway

- sleep talks when he’s stressed

toga:

- cute sleepy. yawns a lot and rubs her eyes cutely. if you’re near her she’ll want you to cuddle her

- likes to watch satisfying videos or asmr before sleeping

- hums or sings herself a lullaby. imagining a mother singing to her

- she’s a light sleeper

- sleeps on her side cuddling one of her many pillows

- covers her ears with her blanket. sounds wake her up easily and she gets paranoid when she hears noises, thinking someone is gonna get her

- she’s kind of scared of sleeping alone, she’s paranoid hero’s will get her while she’s asleep

- she can lucid dream. she learnt to do it because she was tired of always having bad dreams

tomura:

- gets kinda cranky. don’t talk to him, he wants to sleep.

- doesn’t dream. he used to when he was very little but now he just... can’t

- stays up playing video games until 3 am. he likes to play games like star dew or animal crossing to get him sleepy

- if he doesn’t fall asleep on his computer or in his chair, he sleeps on his back

- when he falls asleep he does not move, he just...stays like that all night

- he needs to have a light on in his room. so sometimes he just keeps his tv on all night

- has a corgi plush. he takes such good care of it

- talks to his corgi about his day. it’s nice to have someone to talk to. makes him feel a bit less lonely...

#my hcs #sorry it’s so long #sleepy edition

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 11 June 1953

Okay, I think this is actually coronation week, as we see the return of the coronation song we saw, in another version, and another new, relevant song. Also, another version of Terry's theme from Limelight, but that's less coronation-relevant and more just a thing that happened.

Coronation Rag - Winifred Atwell (peaked at No. 5)

So, this is basically the same song as the last Winifred Atwell offering, Britannia Rag. A medley of vaguely patriotic songs, all done in a ragtime sort of style.

It's maybe quicker? I certainly can appreciate the raw skill involved in playing quite that many notes that quickly. But otherwise, I've not much new to add.

The "pub" style piano gets grating very quickly, but there is a bit where it lends the lower notes a sort of fuzz that sounds like a swarm of bees. Not necessarily intentional, but slightly cool.

In desperation for something to say, I googled this song to see if there were any interesting stories about it and found only one rather sad BBC Radio 2 write-up, that even says that "Truth be told, Coronation Rag isn’t a spectacular piece of music or even one of Winifred’s best-loved tunes." Which just about sums up Coronation Rag.

I guess I said it last time, but it's cool that one of the big hits celebrating the Queen's coronation was from a Trinidadian black woman who'd moved to Britain - the Commonwealth taking a starring role in the post-Windrush fifties! That surely says something about Britain's changing national identity and values, right?

In a Golden Coach (There's a Heart of Gold) - Dickie Valentine (7)

And we're back to this song, this time by Dickie Valentine. I think I quite liked his last outing, but I'm not sure he can save this song, which is, like last time, historically interesting, but musically quite dull.

Dickie's version is slicker, and has been jazzed up with more instruments, which I like. It feels a higher-quality affair, with some vaguely patriotic brass, and some of the strings at the end that are really quite slick and smooth. There's also a fabulous bit of dreamy xylophone (celeste?) in the introduction, which was a fun surprise.

Unfortunately, you've also lost what made the last version interesting, which was the spoken-word introduction. Its loss makes the song feel a bit more modern, but much less interesting, at least to me. I don't always love spoken-word bits in songs - in fact, I often dislike them - but for this song, which is so tied to historical events, it felt right, like a newscaster offering commentary.

And when Dickie starts singing, I have to actively stifle a yawn. There's a reason I was so focussed on the instrumentation. Dickie sings so slowly, and enunciates so carefully, and I just can't get past it, especially when the lyrics are so safe and sugary. Yawn.

Actually, this would be a great lullaby, genuinely. I think if I had a baby in 1953, I would play this version to put them to sleep.

Terry's Theme from Limelight - Ron Goodwin (3)

This repeat appearance, on the other hand, is probably an improvement on Frank Chackfield's cover.

I said on that song that it felt familiar, like something I might have heard on Classic FM in the background - I suspect, hearing this version, that I might have just been recognising Ron Goodwin's version, which is, compared to Frank's version, a much higher-quality affair.

Whereas Frank's cover came from the hazy world of light music and orchestral easy listening, Ron's has some genuine classical heft to it. I couldn't say why this is the case, except that it just feels like it has more textural variation, with the quieter bits hitting less hard and the louder bits hitting harder, so that the theme, when it comes back in after the quiet bits, feels genuinely magnificent.

It also gives more individual instruments moments to shine. I can hear individual violins making a break for it with the counterpart while the cellos take up the theme, or flutes going off on a little fanciful twiddly bit, or a harp plinging away as some oboes cut across and the horns prop it all up. I like it, the orchestra feels like an orchestra should, all individual personalities and quirks!

I assumed, given all this, that Ron Goodwin's version might be the original, but no. Neither Ron nor Frank were the originators of this song. Which means I can legitimately play the "who did it better" game - and while Frank's version wasn't bad, per se, I do think Ron's is superior.

Well, that was a repetitive collection of hits. We had Winifred Atwell's repeat of her previous hit, then a cover of an already dull song, then a cover of an instrumental. At least they were all reasonably different, I guess, but I can't say I was thrilled when I realised what I had lined up today. Still, my favourite is pretty clear, at least in my mind...

Favourite song of the bunch: Terry's Theme from Limelight

#uk charts #1953 #winifred atwell #dickie valentine #ron goodwin

[chiitaku]

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Ok, I know, I’m rather late on this one, seeing as this game came out in 2017 and it’s near the end of 2022.  I played this on the Nintendo Switch, but it also came out on the Wii U.

To start off, the art direction of the game is amazing,  When I opened up the game on my tv screen, I was blown away by how rich and realistic the world of Hyrule looked.  For the most part, when you’re playing you’re exploring the countryside, on foot, horseback or paraglider (I did most of the first and third; I kept running into hills that horses couldn’t climb).  But you can still run into something that really gives off the fantasy of Hyrule.  A few days ago I was at Lake Hylia tracking down a Zora’s wife and suddenly the enormous lightning dragon Farosh just casually comes out of the water and takes to the skies.  

Moving on to music.  Like the art, it’s also amazing and never seems over-bearing.  There’s some callbacks in the songs to older songs like Zelda’s Lullaby, which is nice for anyone that played any of the older games.

The voice acting!  The game has voice acting!  Granted in cutscenes and during certain battle sequences, but still, voice acting in the Legend of Zelda!  Otherwise, you still have the rather dramatic sounds from people in typical conversation.  However, back to voice acting.  The voice actors did great work in bringing the characters to life.  Hearing Revali (Champion of the Rito) teasing me while I was trying to take back the Divine Beasts Vah Medoh.  Did I mention the callbacks?  There’s more callbacks.  If you notice the names of the Divine Beasts in the game, they’re named after the sages, though one of them has had their name rearranged.  

The fighting system is pretty typical, though you have some more stuff to play with like Parry, Perfect Guard, and Flurry Rush.  I never really got the real hang of those skills, but I still beat the game.  Perfect Guard IS a good way to help defend and defeat Guardians with their own lasers, so I would suggest learning that better if you can.  Anyway, you hack, slash, have a variety of weapons of differing ranges and weights.  Oh yeah, and your weapons and shields BREAK.  Even the Master Sword itself goes down for a little bit.  This made for some distressing incidents while I was playing the game.  I definitely found that I had to run away rather than take on everything I came across which was a very different approach than how I handled other Zelda games.

Regarding LARGER threats like the Divine Beasts, the battles where you had to disable them enough for you to get inside them were a lot of fun and were pretty easy to follow.  There are also Field Bosses that you can conquer, but they require some planning (when fighting Molduga, Bomb Arrows were my best friend).  There are also Lynel, which... no, just no.  I was forced to interact with a few of those things and each time I noped out of the area as soon as I got what I needed.  Those things are death incarnate.  Nope nope nope.  You get locked in a room with one in Hyrule Castle.  Thank Hylia there were open windows in that room.  Seeing that, I instantly ran for the walls and climbed out the windows because I was NOT doing that fight.  If anyone who is reading this has conquered one of those monsters, you have my respect.  

Now this game is the longest Zelda games I’ve ever played to the point I got burned out after getting the Master Sword.  What?  You want to know what it takes to get the Master Sword?  Ok, so mostly importantly, you need 13 hearts to pull out the Master Sword.  To increase your hearts and stamina you have to complete these mini dungeons called Shrines and then take four Spirit Orbs (you get ONE as a reward from each shrine) to a Goddess Hylia statue and that increases one or the other.  Provided you don’t get a Heart when you encounter King Rhoam, you have to explore 52 shrines total (all spread across different regions and terrains) to get the required hearts.  THAT IS A LOT OF WORK.  A lot of time too and a lot of changing which shrines to conquer if you’re not strong enough for a Moderate or Strong combat challenge.  So, pace yourself with the game, you’ll be playing it a while.

Cooking was a welcome mechanic.  You find animals, kill them, take their meat and throw it in a pot with some veggies and mushrooms and you got food.  There are recipes too, but I just basically just winged cooking throughout most of the game.  However, you have to follow some recipes to make elixirs, Hearty Lizards are your best friend.  If you see Beedle selling them, scoop them up.  One of those and a Moblin Horn make the strongest potion in the game and you will need those.  You will also need potions or certain food buffs to explore the different regions, so you don’t freeze or cook to death.  Your armor/clothing will also be taken into account for these areas.

Anyway, the game overall is a lot of fun.  The game was much more challenging than any previous one I played and they managed it without a time limit battle (I’M LOOKING AT YOU, IMPRISONED FROM SKYWARD SWORD.  TO HELL WITH YOU, PINEAPPLE DEMON).  Even though it came out in 2017, it’s still an AMAZING game that anyone should pick up and give a play. 10/10.

#game review

[watermelonlovershigh]

Single Dad Harry & His Daughter Rose (journey through life)

This was requested by this anon (instead of the daughter being just one of the ages you suggested, i decided to just incorporate all the ages, like a timeline of her life.)

AN: from now on, i think i'm going to use a random name generator for child names in my fics (like i did with this one). that way the name is random and with no thought. unless someone requests a name to be used.

This story contains: completely narration, no dialog, dad goals

{ dad!harry - singledad!harry - became a dad at 17 years old }

word count: 1320

Harry's journey of taking care and raising his daughter Rose as a single father.

Ever since Harry became a single dad, his life had been anything but easy. When his daughter Rose (named after his rose tattoo) was a baby, her mum completely left them, saying she didn't want to be a mother yet and it was a mistake to have not used protection. Especially when it was a one-night stand and that person was a celebrity. She had Rose (not finding it in her to go through with an abortion) and days later gave her baby to Harry, and that was the last time Rose ever saw her mother and Harry ever saw his baby's mama.

When Rose was a baby, Harry was the one that got up at all hours of the night to make her bottles, beings she had no way of breastfeeding. Most of the time on the One Direction tour bus because that's where he and his bandmates stayed while on the road touring. He'd also burp her and change her dirty diapers. Rub her little tummy when it ached. The rest of One Direction didn't always like being woken up to a crying baby, but at the end of the day, knew how special Rose was to Harry and supported him through everything.

His bandmates would often babysit Rose when Harry had to go into the recording booth and record his parts of their songs. Louis was the one who acted as a mother figure in her life (beings he grew up taking care of his younger sisters), like doing nightly feedings when Harry was sleep deprived. Or give Rose a bath in the little baby tub they bought for the bus when Harry was just busy in general. Niall being the silly guy, loved to make Rose laugh when she was being a bit moody. And Zayn and Liam were the protectors and kept Rose out from harms way.

When One Direction went on hiatus, Harry didn't have all the help he once had when living with four other people. At that point, Rose was three so it wasn't as hard to take care of her as it was when she was a baby, but still quite difficult for him being a single dad. She was potty trained and eating all regular foods. Though she'd sometimes still wanted a bottle of warm milk to help her fall asleep at night.

Harry would make Rose breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the two of them each day. He'd give her baths and washed her curly hair, sometimes making a soap Mohawk from the shampoo just to make her laugh. He'd read Rose bedtime stories and sing her lullabies. And though Harry tried to enforce Rose to sleep in her own bed like a big girl, he'd always cave in when she gave her daddy puppy dog eyes and a wobbly lip, as though she was about to cry. So often Rose ended up in her daddy's bed and Harry held her close, loving the feeling of knowing his daughter was safe and sound in his embrace.

Years went by and Harry sent Rose to kindergarten. Much to his disliking because he'd miss being with her through-out the day. He'd get up with her every morning and styled her hair to the best of his abilities. Sometimes not being able to accomplish what Rose requested and feeling terrible. Times like that was when he wished Rose had a mother or mother figure. Harry would pack Rose a lunch to take to school and help her with her homework when she got home at the end of each day.

Harry went to every school play Rose was in (she loved preforming just like her daddy) and every PTA meeting the school held. Though he juggled being a international popstar, Harry always put his daughter first no matter what. He helped her with any school projects she'd have and Harry even went and chatted to the principle when Rose complained that some kids were being mean to her. He was a super dad, doing it all.

When Rose turned ten, Harry decided she was old enough to go on tour with him. He hadn't properly toured since One Directions last tour (just doing local gigs here and there) and that had been years from that point in their lives. Harry wanted to wait a few years and give Rose somewhat of a normal childhood with stability, hence why she attended public school in her adolescents.

Harry hired an on-the-road teacher to have as Roses homeschooling teacher that'd stay on his tour bus as they traveled. His number one priority was making sure she got her education over anything else. Harry paid for extra security guards to protect Rose when she went out, beings some fans went a little crazy. Harry had his assistant watch her when he was busy in the studio or doing interviews. Life was hard at times and yes Harry wished Rose still had a mother, but wouldn't have traded his life experiences of being a single dad for nothing. It truly helped him mature faster and appreciate live to the fullest.

Two years later at age twelve, Rose became a women. Well she started her period and matured like a women. Because all she'd ever known was living with her dad and not really having many women figures in her life, telling Harry she started her period wasn't that bad. Rose was fortunately home when her period had started and walked into the living room where her dad was sipping a glass of wine and informed him she was menstruating.

In the twelve years of Roses life, Harry knew that that day was coming. The day she'd start her period. He was only regretting that day because his little girl wouldn't be so little anymore, but wasn't hoping that day wouldn't ever come because he knew how important it was for a women to have one. Harry grew up with a house full of women so periods were a natural and easy topic to discuss. He hugged Rose, congratulated her, and immediately drove her to the local pharmacy to purchase some pads and tampon (and chocolate + a heating pad).

Between the ages of twelve and Roses current age of sixteen, life went as well as it could have gone for Harry and her. Unlike most teenage girls, Harry raised a good and respectful young lady. Rose doesn't like to go out and party like some of her friends do. She'd much rather stay at home and spend time with her dad. She's a daddies girl after all. Rightfully so because to her, her dad was the only one who truly loved her and cared for her, unlike her dead-beat mother.

As for Harry, he's still single. He's had a few flings through-out the years and a couple one-night stands, but he hasn't meet anyone that felt like a keeper. Or someone who he felt would love his daughter the way she deserved to be loved and treated. Harry doesn't tour as much anymore because of his age (not due to fan loss because he still has millions of fans. fans that love to call Harry a dilf.) and Rose is back attending a public school in London. They often visit her dad's ex bandmates and Rose loves them all dearly. They helped raise her as a baby and feel like secondary father figures to her.

Sometimes Rose wishes she still had a mum. A women in her life that she could have womanly conversations with and chat about her love interest to. Even just to say she had a mum because when her friends chat about their mums, she feels left out and sad. But truth be told, she almost thinks her life was meant to turn out like it did. Her and her dad Harry make a great father/daughter duo and she wouldn't trade the connection they have for anything in this world. Even if it was for a mum that loved her.

Masterlist (regular smut, fluff & sicfics)

My Favorite Harry Styles Fics MASTERLIST

Harry Styles Series One Shots Masterlist (for my one shots that go with a series universe)

Harry Styles blurbs, concepts, & short stories Masterlist- (short writing with little to no dialog)

#harry styles #dad!harry #singledad!harry #dad #single dad #single parent harry styles #single parent #harry styles blurb #blurb #harry styles fanfictions #fanfiction #harry styles short story #ddm #daddy daughter moments #harry styles request #requested #anon request #thank you anon

[skinnyducky]

lullaby (pt. 2 to cherry) // v.h.

This part went through so many changes. Originally, they weren't getting back together but I ultimately decided for Y/n to take Vinnie back because I'm a sucker for happy endings and second chances. Kinda came out longer than I wanted it too, but meh. This part is heavily inspired by the song "Lullaby" by Mariah Carey. Other than that, I hope you enjoy!

link to part 1

Word Count: 2219, unedited

WARNING: language, mentions of partying, alcohol, drugs, and a very fluffy yet cheesy ending.

---------

It had been a few months since you and Vinnie had bid your goodbyes. Within those months, you were doing great. You had aced your first semester classes, you just moved into your apartment, and you were at the highlight of your life. The only thing you lacked was someone to bask in the happiness with. To say you missed Vinnie was an understatement, but you were too prideful to actually tell yourself that.

You tried dating again, but no one could hold a candle to your Vinnie. Plus, you hadn’t been keeping up with him on social media or anything, so you didn’t know if he had moved on and forgotten you. You didn’t want to reopen old wounds, so you refrained from contacting him.

But little did you know, not a day went by that Vinnie didn’t think about you. He constantly thought about what he did, beating himself up for even having the thought of another girl while he was with you. But he didn’t know what to do. Your relationship was dying, and none of you bothered to even talk about it. So, to him, he thought there was nothing that he could do…thus causing him to do what he did. Thankfully, he didn’t go too far with the girl, but still…he knew what he did was terrible.

Dating for him was pretty much impossible. Much similar to your situation, there was no one who could fill your shoes. The way you danced around in his head during the day and ruled his dreams at night…no one could do that for him. You were one of a kind, and with as many offers he got, he was torn that none of them were from you. He was a funk…a really bad one.

His friends and housemates took notice of this and being the best friends they were, they decided to drag him out of the house and to a party at Triller Compound because that’s what every heartbroken friend needed when they’re down. To be surrounded by booze, loud music, and sweaty people…oh yeah, that’s what he definitely needed right at this moment.

“C’mon, at least smile a little bit.” Alex said, looking back the upset boy through the rearview mirror.

“Smile about what? Going to some party that I didn’t even want to go to.”

“You seriously need to get over, Y/n.” Thomas sighed, turning to Vinnie from the passenger seat. “What happened between to you two happened for a reason. You just gotta let it go.”

Mia scoffed from beside Vinnie and slapped Thomas on the shoulder. “Thomas, it’s not that easy!”

“I’m just saying, if it were me, I wouldn’t be all upset and everything.”

“So, you’re saying if we broke up…you wouldn’t be sad?” Mia responded sharply, obviously joking.

Thomas nearly choked, looking back at his girlfriend. “I-I’m not saying that. I mean, if…it’s just that…it’s different, okay. He cheated.”

“Did you have to bring that up?” Mia rolled her eyes and turned to Vinnie. “Don’t listen to him, okay. It was your relationship, and sure you messed it up, but…you still can be sad about it. I think.”

Vinnie huffed and stayed silent, no bothering to listen to anyone. He didn’t need people reminding him of his mistakes, that was the whole reason why he was being a downer. He just couldn’t forgive himself. There were no ounce of words or speeches that anyone could give him that would make him feel better. This was just something that he’d have to get over with time.

It was only minutes before they pulled up to the packed mansion and stumbled out of Alex’s car, Vinnie being the last out. He watched as his friends rushed to the house before heading inside. Upon entering the house, scenes of people grinding and drinking came into his sights. The sound of trap music filled his ears as the strong stench of weed brushed across his nose. He sneered before walking to the backyard. He scanned the area for any sober person he knew, hoping to find someone to complain about his situation to.

As he searched, his eyes landed on a familiar head of y/h/c hair. He furrowed his brows, trying to get a better view of the person. “That can’t be who I think it is,” he thought to himself as he moved in closer.

That was when you looked to side, and he caught a glimpse of your profile. His heart nearly stopped beating the minute he saw your face. He breathed hitched in his threat as he tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. He never thought he’d see you again, yet here you were…just a few feet away from him. He had forgotten the fact that you two had mutual acquaintances, so it came to no surprise that you’d come to this party.

Vinnie watched as you threw you head back in laughter at something one of your friend’s said. There wasn’t much he could do but stare at you. He didn’t know what to do. It’d be risky to even think you’d want to talk to him, so he refrained from walking up to you. He didn’t want to bring up painful memories. It was a good thing you hadn’t seen him yet.

---------

“You’re joking!” You smiled. “Come to think of it though, Bryce would be the one to try and drink tequila off your tits.”

Your friend, Y/bff/n snorted, “I know right!? I was like…sir, I am not that kind of a girl. Please have a good night.”

The two of you continued to laugh at her situation before you heard her go silent. You calmed yourself down, looking at her shocked face. Confused, you followed her eyes and turned around to see what had her so shook up. At that moment, your eyes met the very person you had least expected to see tonight…

Vinnie.

He was staring right back at you. The minute he realized you were looking back at him, he nearly freaked out. He attempted to look around, playing as if he hadn’t been eyeing you, but you had already caught him in the act.

“Is that…?”

“Vinnie, yep. That’s him.” You said, placing a hand on your hip. “I wonder what he’s doing here.”

Y/bff/n snickered. “It’s a party, Y/n.”

“I know that, but I honestly didn’t expect him to be here tonight.”

You two watched the boy look around frantically and you couldn’t help but smile a bit. You missed him and judging from the sight in front of you…it seemed as if he did too. But still, you were a bit out of the loop. Who’s to say he hasn’t already moved on. You couldn’t intrude on his happiness, that wouldn’t be fair.

“You should go talk to him.” Y/bff/n said.

You looked at her with your eyebrows raised. “You really think so?”

“It’s obvious he’s still into you, babes. And considering the fact you’ve been looking at him with those goo-goo eyes, I think you’re still into him too.”

“I don’t know, Y/bff/n. I mean…what if he’s seeing someone else.”

“There’s no way. If he’s trying that hard to pretend that he wasn’t just staring at you, he’s still hung up on you. And, even if he is seeing someone, that doesn’t mean you can’t just go and talk to him.”

You shrugged. “I guess you’re right.”

“Atta girl. Oh, and on your way back, make sure you grab me one of those little mini cakes. I’ve been craving one since we got here.”

Rolling your eyes at the foolish girl, you proceeded to leave her side and head over to Vinnie. The moment he saw you, he practically froze. You could tell he was nervous; his awkward stance and wide eyes told it all.

Within seconds, you stood before the boy, a slight grin on your face.

“Hey, Vinnie.” You greeted, placing your arms behind your back.

“Y/n, didn’t see you there!” He laughed. “Well, I did see you there but like, I wasn’t watching you or anything…yeah, totally wasn’t watching you.”

Your smile grew wider. “Yeah, sure. So, how’ve you been?”

“Good, uh…definitely good. You?”

“Um, my classes are going well, and I just got a new place…so, can’t complain.”

“That’s dope, Y/n. Glad to hear you’re doing good.”

You nodded, looking down at your feet. “Same to you. I’m sure you’re, y’know…enjoying everything with your girlfriend.”

Vinnie looked at you with a puzzled expression, your statement taking him back a bit. To be honest, he couldn’t be surprised that you thought he’d be taken by now because he thought the same about you. However, at the same time, with the way he was acting right now, he was shocked you didn’t realize he was still head-over-heels for you.

“I don’t, um…I’m not seeing anyone.”

You grinned to yourself, trying to keep your cool as you tilted your head at him. “I’m sorry, I just thought you’d be with someone.”

“It’s fine. I definitely get it. To be honest, I thought you’d be here with someone.”

“Technically, I am.” You replied.

It was at that moment Vinnie felt his heart explode and despair run through his system. He weakly put on a happy face, shooting you a thumbs up.

“That’s g-great.”

“Yeah, Y/bff/n just was dying to come with me. She’s been begging to go to one of these parties, so I thought why not?”

“Oh,” Vinnie breathed, feeling his heart piece itself back together. “So, you’re not seeing anyone?”

You shook your head. “Not right now. I’ve been on a few dates and stuff, but no one has ever made me feel like y-”

You stopped yourself, locking your lips together to keep that last word from leaving your mouth. You didn’t know why, but something in you didn’t want you sharing your feelings with Vinnie. Maybe it was the small ounce of hurt that clung to your heart like a child from Vinnie’s infidelity. Or maybe it was the slight fear that he may not want to get back together. There were so many thoughts in your head, all speaking at once. It was so loud, that you didn’t even catch what Vinnie had said to you.

“…and-…Y/n? You listening?” He tapped you gently, bringing you out of your head.

“Sorry about that. I was in my head for a moment. What were you saying?”

“I was just saying that I’m sorry for what I did. I was just so confused on where we stood in our relationship, not saying that it justifies my actions, but instead of coming to talk to you, I went and…well, did what I did. Believe me, I never meant to hurt you, and I totally understand if you don’t forgive me.”

You sighed, “I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t know where our relationship was headed either. Honestly, I was planning to break up with you that night.”

“And I ended up giving you even more of a reason to do so.”

You both laughed before meeting each other’s eyes.

“I wish we had talked about it, y’know? Communicated and all of that suff. It would’ve saved us both a heap of heartache.” You continued. “I can’t lie, even though life has been good, it sucks not being able to share it with you.”

Vinnie smirked, taking your hands in his. “Y/n, ever since we broke up…I haven’t been able to think about anything but you. I hadn’t streamed, I barely left the house…I couldn’t do anything. I just didn’t know how to function without you. You have such a hold over me…I didn’t know how to get over you.”

“I guess this whole goodbye thing really wasn’t a good idea after all.”

“No, I think it was. I think it happened for a reason. That reason being, so we can fall in love all over again.”

At this point, you were a smiling mess and there was nothing you could do to hide it. Vinnie wasn’t any better, you could tell he was in pain by the way he hadn’t stopped showing his pearly whites. It clear to both of you now that you two were still in love, if not more than before.

“That’s so sweet, Vin.” You said. “But also, cheesy. You were always the sappy one in the relationship.”

“As if, Miss Hopeless Romantic. I’m not the one who freaks out over Valentine’s Day.”

“Mmhm, sure you don’t.”

The two of you stood there for minute in silence, your hands entangled, and your gazes planted on each other. It felt good, and it was almost as if all that hurt…that fear…it was completely gone and now replaced with passion and security.

“Y/n, I know you probably have some resentment towards me, but I love you too much to care. So, if you’re willing and there’s enough forgiveness in your heart…I wanna restart, right from the beginning.”

Without much thought or hesitation, you said, “We can restart. For sure.”

“Well, in that case…Hi, I’m Vinnie.”

You smiled as the feeling of love washed over you. To say you were happy was an understatement, you were in paradise. Life was great, and now you had your boy back to share it with.

“Nice to meet you, Vinnie. I’m Y/n.”

#vinnie hacker imagine #vinnie x reader #vinnie hacker #vinnie hacker x reader

[mercy-burning]

Love Birds

Part of Mercy’s 1k Celebration: A collection of Spencer Reid x Reader requests to celebrate 1,000 followers.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Some meddling from the BAU helps Reader and Spencer come to their senses. Category: FLUFF Warnings: None really, just brief mentions of sex, some kissing, implied smut, mutual pining, and the word ‘damn’ at the end I guess? Word Count: 3.2k

Full Request: “...a blurb? Where the sexual tension between reader and spencer is very high and everybody is like ‘get a room’ so when they finally do it spencer tells penelope and reader tell emily so the next day penelope gives him those strawberries in chocolate that say ‘best dick ever’ and emily gives reader a cake that say ‘i finally get sex’ and reader and spencer are so embarrassed” —Anonymous

MASTERLIST | 1K MASTERLIST

NOTE: Gotta love some good, ol’ fashioned BAU meddling, am I right? 😂 I took the prompt and made it just a little different, but I hope it’s still okay! Hopefully the overall vibe is still what you imagined 🥰

***

Everyone was watching them. Truthfully, it was a wonder they hadn't noticed by now, but that was most likely to be expected from two people who were obviously in love with each other and still hadn't done anything about it yet.

Three years now. That's how long it had been since Y/N joined the team, and from the first day, she and Spencer were glued at the hip. She was the only one who actively listened to and laughed at his long, obscure jokes, and as their friendship blossomed, he stared following her around like a lovesick puppy. It was sickly-sweet, truth be told.

And the longer it went on, the longer they danced around the inevitable, the more fed-up the BAU got.

Currently, Spencer and Y/N were reading a book together. Like, they were actually reading together, sitting side by side while they took turns reading aloud. They did it every day when they came into work, and when they finished one book, the other person would pick the next one.

"I want to say it's annoying, but it's actually kind of sweet," JJ pointed out, peering through the blinds in Hotch's office, where they all gathered to spy on their friends.

"Yeah, but they've been doing it for almost two years," Emily stated. "You'd think that by now they'd have at least kissed..."

"Maybe they have and they just... haven't said anything?"

Penelope piped in this time, shaking her head. "No, Y/N would have told me, she tells me everything. And I mean everything."

"Well, what about Reid? Has he said anything to you?" JJ asked, turning to Derek.

He sighed. "No. But you know how he is, if he could avoid telling me anything at all about his love life, he would. And he has."

"Well, maybe you should say something to him," Emily suggested.

"You know he'll just shut me down and deny it."

"Then Garcia should do it."

She thought about it for a second before turning to Derek. "I am excellent at getting information out of people."

Suddenly the door opened, and everyone turned around to see Hotch entering his office, stopping for a second to take them all in before closing the door behind him.

"Sir, we can explain—" Penelope started.

Hotch held up a hand and made his way to his desk. "You're spying on them, aren't you?"

A quiet chorus of mumbled 'yes' and 'yes, sir's sounded through the room before he actually sat down with the most miniscule of smiles.

"I'd say to make sure you all leave one at a time so they don't catch on, but something tells me they wouldn't notice anyway."

***

A few hours later, the team made their way to the jet in little groups.

Firstly, Penelope pulled Spencer away into her office for a 'special meeting' that he was only slightly concerned about. But when she finally closed the door, he found it was nothing like what he expected to hear.

The first words out of her mouth were, "When are you going to tell her?"

"I'm... I'm sorry?"

Her face scrunched as she pointed a finger at him. "Don't play dumb with me, 187, I may not be a profiler, but I know love when I see it. You and Y/N are perfect for each other, and you guys are literally driving us mad with the sexual tension."

"I—Garcia, we're just friends, I... I don't..."

"Look, you've got a plane to catch, so I'm not gonna keep you any longer, but everyone can see it, Reid. You two? You're practically soulmates."

He really didn't know what to say after that. So he wordlessly turned and made his way to the jet alone, thinking the entire way there about what Penelope had said.

Soulmates? Love? Sexual tension?

Of course he'd always thought Y/N was pretty. And there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was the one person on the team he knew he could come to when he had something he was excited to share, because she was always down to hear him talk. And... he never really realized it until now, but it always warmed the deepest parts of his soul when he saw how her eyes lit up at the chance to hear him talk—to just listen to what he had to say.

He thought back to every time they read together, how her leg always brushed against his and how it always seemed to comfort him. How her voice when she read aloud always seemed to put him in a trance, like a lullaby. She was his warm place, his safety net...

But... that was totally normal for friendships, right? More often than not, platonic friendships carried that warm familiarity that also came with romantic ones. It wasn't uncommon.

Still, it set off an explosion of fireworks in Spencer's stomach to just think about sitting next to her on the jet.

Meanwhile, everyone else was there, going through some files on the case when Emily sat down in front of Y/N and cleared her throat.

"What's up?" Y/N asked politely with a small smile.

"Nothing, it just... I saw you and, uh... Dr. Reid looked pretty comfy this morning."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, uh... Were we reading too loud? We've been trying to keep it quieter because we figured it was a bit unconventional—"

"No, no," Emily laughed, thinking to herself how absolutely perfect they were for each other. "I mean... You were really close... Like maybe you're... into him."

"O—oh... Well, I—I don't... Um..."

With another laugh, Emily reached her hand out to reassure her. "I'm not trying to put you on the spot, Y/N, it's just that we've all... noticed how close you guys have gotten over the years and it looked like maybe you two..."

"Oh! Oh, no, uh... We—we're not together or anything, I... He's my best friend. That's all."

By the redness that colored Y/N's cheeks, Emily wasn't buying it one bit. Yet, she indulged her, nodding and patting the little table in front of her before getting up to move to a different section. "If you say so."

She walked away, leaving Y/N with a newfound... tension within her that she couldn't really shake. And it only amplified when Spencer walked onto the jet and took his usual seat next to her.

They greeted each other with small waves, but something felt off. And when his hand brushed up against her leg on accident, she felt a light buzz course through her veins, like some type of switch had been flipped.

It's only because of what Emily said, Y/N thought. She just got in my head, that's all this is.

But the longer the day went on, after landing in Idaho and setting up at the precinct, the buzz only amplified. Every time he said her name, she felt it kick up, and likewise, whenever she said his, he felt the thrum of his chest get heavier.

Everyone could tell, too, though they seemed rather amused by it all. While Y/N and Spencer were out at the ME's office, Emily, JJ, and Derek sat at the table in their temporary office and talked it over.

"I actually feel kinda bad," JJ said. "I mean... It seems like they're just being awkward around each other now..."

"That's not a bad thing... It just means they're finally starting to come to their senses," Emily countered with a wave of her hand. "They'll be fine."

Derek scoffed with a smile. "Yeah, I give it 'til the end of the case. Without work to distract themselves from each other, there's no way they won't say something."

Sure enough, the topics of conversation walked through the door just then, immediately putting distance between themselves on opposite sides of the table. And before anyone could say anything else, Spencer jumped the gun, going into detail on what they discovered about the case.

***

"We won't be heading home until tomorrow morning, so I booked us all rooms at the hotel on main street. I'll give you your keys when we get there. Good work, everyone, get some rest."

Hotch disappeared into the night, leaving the rest of the team to pack up a few things in their office before following him.

Y/N chatted happily with JJ, but deep inside she was nervous. Because everyone had been acting strange all day, pairing her and Spencer up every chance they got, and it was impossible to miss all the fake 'I wasn't looking at you guys' stares into space that they all constantly adorned.

Not to mention the fact that ever since Emily even brought it up to her, Spencer also seemed nervous around her. Their whole dynamic had been thrown off, and now she could barely look at him without immediately looking away and wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Now that the thought has been planted in her head, it's all she can think about, and it's very distracting. And knowing how... interested her friends seem to be in her predicament, the biggest fear she has at the moment is that she and Spencer will be rooming together.

As they got into separate cars and headed to the hotel, she fiddled with her thumbs, picking at the chipped nail polish and hoping that she'll get to rest easy.

And as Hotch handed out room keys in the lobby, she felt her heartbeat pick up, Emily and JJ sharing a key and Derek walking off with his own.

And then he said the one thing she was afraid of, and it almost froze her completely.

"I was only able to get two rooms with double beds, so you guys will have to share, if that's alright."

At that point Y/N would have rather shared a bed with Rossi, because that would have been less awkward. But she and Spencer both nodded, he took the key, and they both silently made their way to the room, keeping their heads low.

Even as they finally stepped into the room the air felt fragile, like one wrong move could break it and send them into space, where there wasn't enough breathable oxygen to keep them alive. And much like in the office today, they kept their distance on opposite sides of the room, separated by the bed.

It was Spencer who broke the silence first.

"I can take the floor if you want..."

The small, sweet way he said it almost made her heart shatter. "O—oh no, you don't have to. That would be silly."

"Are you sure? Because I can—"

"No, it's okay, really. I don't mind."

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, before Y/N's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she turned around to answer the call.

As she walked into the bathroom, answering, "Hi, Mom," before shutting the door, Spencer let out a long breath and rubbed his eyes, wondering how he was going to get through the night. He also wondered if Penelope had talked to Y/N as well, because this awkwardness they were experiencing was most certainly double-sided. And if that was the case, did that mean... she was in love with him, too? Firstly, was he even sure he was in love with her in the first place?

Maybe a little, he decided, thinking back to practically every single moment they've ever spent together. And as he quickly changed into pajamas and situated himself in bed, he thought about what it would be like to kiss her. Is that something he would want to do? Could he see himself kissing her over and over again for the rest of his life?

He had his answer when she walked out of the bathroom, wearing shorts and a tank top, her hair out of its ponytail and cascading down her shoulders as she plopped her phone down on the chair in the corner of the room and walked to the bed.

He tried to look away, but he couldn't. And he was thankful in a way for this newfound uneasy air between them, because she refused to look at him, and it gave him all the clearance he needed to follow her trail around the room.

But when she finally settled into bed, and as he felt her weight dip beside him, Spencer looked down at his lap. He was afraid the close proximity would give him away.

She cracked open a book and read in silence for a few seconds before she turned to him. "Did... Is this distracting? I can stop and we can just go to sleep if you're tired..."

"Oh, n—no, it's not distracting. You're fine. I was, um... I was going to grab a book of my own anyway."

He swung his leg over to get out of bed, but Y/N stopped him. "Well, um... I, uh... I know we're already in the middle of a different book, but if you wanted to, we could, um... read this one together? I—I think you'd like it, it's about the—"

"Sure. I—I'd um... I'd like that. Whatever it's about, I'm sure I'll like it. Y—you know, since you said it was good. You have good taste, so I t—trust your judgement."

He was just rambling now, and hearing Y/N laugh a little, he internally berated himself for letting it get awkward again.

Nevertheless, she opened up the covers to get underneath, and slowly scooted closer to him. Once their knees touched, they both jumped a little, but Spencer cleared his throat and Y/N busied herself by trying to find the first page, neither of them commenting on the obvious shock of butterflies that shot through both of their insides at the tiniest contact.

"Do you mind if I start?" she asked softly, turning her head slightly to the side so she could see him. He nodded, giving her the go ahead, and she turned to the page, focusing on the words in front of her.

Unsurprisingly, it was easy for them to get into a familiar groove. They took turns reading each few pages, and stopped in between to discuss things they'd read. It also wasn't surprising to find that they gradually got closer, their arms and legs now completely touching side by side and their faces dangerously close as they leaned down to read.

Spencer had just finished reading a chapter, reaching out to turn the page, and Y/N seemed to have the same thought, because her hand collided with his in a way that left no room for subtlety, or drawback to avoid that it even happened. Their pinkies interlocked, and Y/N found herself entranced by the curves and peaks of his hand. How each of his fingers slightly twitched at the contact, and how prominent the veins in his forearm were.

Her heartbeat picked up, and his did, too, as he focused on how tightly her pinkie was curling around his own, desperate not to let go.

"Y/N," he whispered. It wasn't a question, nor a warning, but it rolled off his tongue softly as if it was the sweetest word he'd ever had the pleasure to say. It was just one little word, her first name, conveyed with such adoration and obvious pining that he was afraid he'd scared her away.

But she held his pinkie tight, the book resting open beneath them on their adjoined knees, and then looked over at him.

And her eyes held the same weight as her name on his lips.

It was unclear of who moved first, but it happened so fast that surely it didn't matter. In a flash, their lips were joining in soft desperation, and rather than locking pinkies, Y/N shifted her hand to weave all their fingers together. The squeeze he gave her hand made her sigh against his mouth, and it was all the most relieving thing in the world.

After she pulled away, he chased her face for a second, not wanting it to end. But his eyes flew open and when he saw her staring back at him, her lips slightly puffed and her eyes almost hungry, he knew he didn't have to worry about the moment ending any time soon.

The book was long forgotten right then, tossed across the room somewhere as their clothes soon followed.

***

"So, how do you think the love birds got along last night?" Emily asked to no one in particular as the group gathered in the lobby.

Derek snickered. "If they came to their senses, I'm sure they got along just fine."

Everyone laughed at that, just as said love birds made their way to the lobby.

"Sleep well?" JJ asked, obviously trying not to smirk.

"Mhm," they both mumbled in response.

They were going to leave it alone, but that's when Rossi showed up, peering over in Spencer's direction. Then he pointed briefly to his neck. "You got a little something there, genius."

Everyone clapped excitedly, Emily letting out a low whistle and Derek rounding it off with a loud and proud, "Atta boy!"

The redness on both Y/N and Spencer's faces didn't clear up the entire way home.

And after the text that Emily sent out to Penelope, it was looking like it might get even worse.

***

"Welcome home, my beautiful family! Come on, I have something special for everyone in the round-table room."

Penelope led the way, Y/N and Spencer bringing up the rear.

"I'm sorry about this morning," she whispered. "I really didn't even notice I'd made a mark, I—"

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I... I guess they kinda knew we'd get to that point eventually anyway."

"Yeah... I just wish it wouldn't have happened so soon, you know? We're never gonna live this down."

She wasn't expecting him to lace his fingers with hers, and the action made her smile.

They'd fallen a bit behind, so when they finally caught up to everyone in the room, it was terrifying to see them all with knowing, mischievous smiles. And before Y/N could explain, Spencer started speaking.

"Okay, okay, yes. Y/N and I... finally... got together last night. But you can't make it weird, and I'm not going to let you make it weird, because—"

"Ohh, it's a little late for that, boy wonder," Garcia said, giggly and holding out a cake box.

Spencer and Y/N looked at each other briefly before taking a look, immediately gasping and going red.

It was a small cake, shaped like a heart with a red trim of frosting around it. And right in the middle, in pretty red cursive, were the words, "We finally had sex!"

"Penelope!" Y/N whined and shoved her face into Spencer's chest, the heat radiating off her face like a space heater on high blast.

The howling laughter that erupted from everyone else in the room was something neither of them would forget.

But even through the curtain of embarrassment, Y/N and Spencer both knew that beyond it awaited a very promising relationship, especially with friends who supported them. Even if that support manifested in rather... enthusiastic ways.

And, despite the initial embarrassment of it all, the cake tasted pretty damn good.

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#mercy 1k celebration #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x reader fluff

[heniareth]

I was really curious about what your opinions on the DAO companions are :) I know we have talked about some, but I'd love to hear more and about the others as well :D I hope it's ok to pose this as an ask :)

Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun. This might be a long one tho. Mind you, this is not the finished version of the answer. I'd like to link stuff and add a cut, but rn that's not possible. I'll update it when I can.

Edit: I have updated it ^^

Let's go alphabetically bc why not.

Alistair:

Sweet guy. So sweet. There was a moment when I was hard pressed chosing between him and Zevran (alas, Zevran won). Also, he's weirdly tall according to the wiki? How did I not notice that before?

Let's get a bit more serious now, Alistair is a great guy. The only reason he's not the hero of the story is because he doesn't want to. He has all the qualities of a leader: he's good at dealing with conflict (as evident with the conversation with the mage at the beginning. He gets where he wants to get without antagonizing the mage, but without allowing him to trample all over him). He's a solid tactitian and knows how to make allies (he suggests to use the Grey Warden treaties, after all). I bet if he was in the leadership position, he'd even not bicker with Morrigan. His moral code is pretty tight; some might say too tight, but I think it's less about the moral code and more about learning to judge people by their actions, not by the labels they fit into (Morrigan is a proud apostate and therefore bad. Wynne is a humble circle mage and therefore good). He also has a bit of a black-and-white way of seeing the world. I empathize a lot with Alistair, especially with his experience with the Chantry and his subsequent reluctance to deal with it. I really wish I had gotten to know more about concrete experiences he had during his training as templar, but he seems reluctant to talk about it (gee, I wonder why).

Since I've only played the game once, I haven't really picked up on Arl Eamon's abuse towards him, which apparently exists (Isolde, however... I mean, even if he were Eamon's illegitimate son, he's a kid, ma'am, he didn't exactly get to chose his parents. So that's so not okay). Alistair's way of speaking about them both, however, is either sign that he has not come within a hundred miles of acknowledging how much it hurt him, or that he's already gone through the whole process and has decided to forgive them. The latter shows a very strong character; yes, he relies on the approval and leadership of others, he has his issues, but he's already started working on them.

That being said, irl Alistair would be like a little brother to me. I'd tease him relentlessly (all in good fun and I promise to stop if it makes him uncomfortable, but he's just so teasable). I still wish the videogame gave him the chance to take important decisions for himself. But that, of course, would somewhat defeat the point of the game.

Leliana:

Another sweet, sweet person. Her singing voice is amazing. Her belief in the Maker inspires me (I'm a religious person and seeing religious characters represented in a positive light is Very Cool. It's also sometimes a source of discomfort, because the Church has done a lot of very messed up stuff and positive representation can sometimes veer into apologetics for things that should not be excused, but that's a whole other can of worms. The bottom line is that religious characters sometimes work for me and other times don't and Leliana works for me very much bc she's an outsider inside the Chantry).

Leliana is best friend material, tbh. I'd love to get to know her irl, discuss theology and philosophy and maybe even politics? She makes mistakes and has prejudices, but, tbh, so do I. And I do get the feeling that she tries her best to learn. From the times she intervenes in a conversation between the Warden and an NPC, she shows herself to be compassionate and open to the needs of others. What I get from her character is that she genuinely wants to help, which is something that I adore of her. I suspect that she sometimes has a hard time deciding wether she's a good person or not. She has killed and seduced and worked for a morally dubious person, and she doesn't show the same nonchalance about it as Zevran (though they both do discuss their line of work in very... professional terms). This is, however, more of a headcanon than actual factual canon.

I also very much enjoy her girly side, like her interest in shoes and dresses. She's one badass woman who also looses her cool about the latest fashions in Val Royeaux. I like that. Between her and Alistair, a non human noble Warden has as good a help to navigate the Fereldan court as they're going to get. Leliana is also, I can't forget that, clever and insightful. It'd be easy to write her off as the innocent chantry girl, but she's so much more than that. Her kindness is paired with foresight, I think. She knows that taking on the trouble to help now can go a long way in the future. I just have a lot of respect for her.

Loghain:

This one's gonna be short bc I didn't recruit him. He's an amazing villain and would probably be a great Warden as well. He reminds me of Denerhor from LOTR; once a hero/stewart of his people, ambition and desperation have driven them both down a terrible path. I have also only little idea about his past. People say he lost a lot, and I believe it wholeheartedly; it doesn't excuse the fact that he plunged the country into a civil war in the middle of a Blight. I don't have a lot of sympathy for short-sighted politicians. I wish he hadn't made himself regent. That's what I take away from his character.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention that really impressed me was his death. I had Alistair duel him (that was a rough duel), and then it kinda just jumped to a cutscene of my Warden nodding and Alistair executing him. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kill Loghain, and less so in front of Anora. But what impressed me was that Loghain just accepted it. That takes a whole lot of guts. Compare that to Howe's death, and how he screams out that he deserved (more, probably, or anything but death) and it's crystal clear who the more noble of the two is. Loghain strikes me as very lawful neutral, and any neutral alignment has the particularity that it can be dragged towards good or bad, sometimes without the characters noticing it (which is interesting from a DnD perspective; neutral is often concieved of as just as stable as good or evil, but that may not be true. But that's a different post). Anyway, Loghain's death was impactful.

Morrigan:

I could kick myself for not maxing out her approval in the first play-through. I got to enjoy a bit of her friendship by the end of it and boy was even that little bit worth it. Friendship with Morrigan is something that is hard-won. It's all the more precious because of that.

Morrigan is full of paradoxes, I think. She's incredibly wise in some ways, yet also very short-sighted (”just kill them, don't solve their problems”. Morrigan, dear, I'm not going to gain a lot of allies if I kill everybody who poses a problem to me). She is so intelligent, but emotionally... not so. She knows so much about some things, and very little about the next. She's incredibly wilful and knows what she wants, but follows Flemeth's orders all the time through. She hungers for power and independence, yet craves closeness, but won't allow herself to have it. She asks you to prove yourself to her and is extremely critical of your actions, I think, because she's afraid. She bites the hand that feeds her because it might hit her next.

Like with Eamon, I haven't managed to catch the undercurrent of abuse that seems to permeate Flemeth's relationship with Morrigan. Except there are signs, because there must be something Morrigan is scared of and who has instilled all that rage in her, and that's Flemeth. Also, she clearly hates/does not care about her and wants her dead (unless killing Flemeth was part of Flemeth's plan as well? Hm.)

Morrigan is that one person who you are nice to, continuously, because nobody else is. And suddenly she becomes less cold. And then friendly. And suddenly you're asking yourself why everybody hates her, because she's a really good friend! I just wish the other companions came to a similar conclusion, especially Alistair and Wynne.

Oghren:

They did this man dirty. He has such great lines and I'm convinced he was a great person before Branka disappeared. He has that dwarven warrior spirit, and while he looks like Gimli, some of his most impactful lines remind me of Dwalin or even Thorin Oakenshield himself. He could be so noble had he gotten some character development, damnit!

Oghren as he is written is somewhat disgusting. I hate the lechering comments and the drunkenness. And still, I don't hate him because of those amazing lines he has when he's actually sober. It's frustrating and I'll give him that character development myself if the game won't. I strongly associate the song Whiskey Lullaby with him, bc that's how he would have ended up if the Warden hadn't taken him along (warning: the song talks about suicide and alcoholism). Like I said, they could have done such cool things with his character. As he is written now... it's just sad. Moments of lucidity drowned in alcohol and creepy jokes. As you can see, I don't blame the character for either. The alcoholism happens all too often irl. The creepy jokes... I put that one on the writers' tab.

I actually think Oghren could have been a great mentor figure (I know, I shock myself as well sometimes). Next to the Grey Wardens, the ones who know most about fighting darkspawn are the dwarves because they have to deal with them constantly. Especially a warrior caste dwarf like Oghren could have brought a lot of that invaluable knowledge to the team, especially since there are no Grey Wardens in Ferelden but two extremely green recruits. Next, you get the chance to give Oghren the command of the teammates you leave behind in the battle of Denerim with the reason that he has lead men into battle before. Where did that suddenly come from? Oghren should have been right up there telling my Warden that they were doing this wrong, that they needed more food (and booze) and a confident leader to keep the armies they've called together going. Oghren should have been able to tell my civilian city elf who got recruited into the Grey Wardens a six months ago how one leads an army. How one presents oneself to inspire confidence, how one doesn't crack under the pressure, how one gets the leaders of said armies (some who hate each others guts i.e. Dalish elves and humans) to work together. And, last but not least, Oghren could have had a great story about grief. This is a man who has lost most of what made him (and what he hasn't lost he's spilling down the drain with every mug of ale). This is a man who, if you take him into the Deep Roads, has to see what his wife did to his family, how his wife got absolutely obsessed, and can be forced to kill said wife or watch her die. All Wardens loose their home and families at the start of the story. It would really have rounded the whole narrative out if the Warden and Oghren could have recognised their grief in each other and hashed it out somehow. Such as it is, Oghren is a depressed drunkard and there is nothing we can do about that. I find that frustrating.

Rascal (a.k.a. Dog):

Best boy. 100/10. I wish we had gotten to see the reaction of the different origins to the mabari (because elves probably have a whole different experience with them from mages or humans. And dwarves just... I think they straight up have none? XD). Other than that, no complaints. The name Rascal was the one I gave my dog because you have to be a right rascal to survive what he did and play the pranks he plays. Smartest breed in the world indeed.

Shale:

Shale is one of those characters that I recruited rather late in the game, so I haven't had the chance to explore their personality and worldview, really. I didn't even get to take them to the Deep Roads (this will be ammended in playthrough nr. 2). As such, I don't have particularly strong opinions on them (or her? The wiki refers to Shale as 'it', but that sounds weird). But, because I know so little about Shale, I have a lot of questions. First, what were they like before they were a golem? Shayle, as she was called then, was the best warrior of her time if I remember correctly. Why did she become a golem? Was it to be able to eternally protect her people? Was the sarcasm the golem Shale exhibits also part of the dwarven warrior Shayle or did that come later (if for thirty years you have nobody to talk to but yourself, you better be entertaining. And I can imagine how it could make somebody terribly jaded as well).

Next, how attached is Shale to their golem form, exactly? According to the banter, they infinitely prefer it to a squishy fleshy form. If that is the case, however, why go to Tevinter to try and become a squishy dwarf again? It's not like that process could be reversed if they wanted to become a golem again; if Shale survives to the end of the game, the Anvil of the Void is destroyed and Caridin is dead. Was the whole spiel about their indestructible form a façade? It might have been, but not because Shale actually disliked their form. I think it would have more to do with the loss of their memories and with the very invasive experiments and alterations of Shale's body made by the mage Wilhelm. The loss of memories means that Shale is unable to remember life as a fleshy creature. They might be deflecting by pretending that they didn't care for that experience anyway because of the superiority of their golem form. The modifications made to their form by Wilhelm would have alienated them from their body. In light of this, it's significant that Shale asks the Warden to decorate their form with crystals.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation. I may have easily missed or forgotten details that would disprove the above thoughts. All in all, I like Shale and I hope we meet them again in DA4 (given that it's mostly set in Tevinter). It's a liking from a respectful distance, because Shale is tall and made out of rock and also way more experienced than I will ever be (they are literally the oldest member of the Warden's little Blight fighting squad).

Sten:

Sten is another person I'd keep a respectful distance from physically. That seems to be the what he would prefer, at least. I've enjoyed his character a lot, especially because he seems pretty clear-cut at first, but slowly lets the nuance of his person show (gruff and stoic, but then he has an eye for art, a sweet tooth and he likes cute animals). It's also very interesting that there's no moment when you learn "the truth" about him the way you do with Zevran or Leliana. There's no big reveal about his life under the Qun before coming to Ferelden. He says he was sent to monitor the Blight, but honestly? If neither Ferelden nor Orlais knew there was a Blight, how could the Qunari know? I think he's lying, and he takes his secrets back with him when he leaves Ferelden. And yet I think I know him enough to say that a Warden who has become friends with him has nothing to fear from Sten.

One thing I find very interesting about Sten is how he thinks. His conversation about how women can't be soldiers has been analysed a lot on this page I think. He seems to be arguing based on a different paradigma than the one the Warden has. He also seems to have a very clear-cut view of the world. What is fascinating to me is that, when arguing with the Warden and learning about their culture, he is not necessarily becoming more lax about his worldview. I think it's more likely that he is expanding his paradigma, the structure of thought through which he understands the world. I don't think that he is now convinced that women can be warriors as well. I think he rather understands that, in Ferelden, the relationship between occupation and gender is different than under the Qun. Which of the two he thinks is more right or more agreeable, I have no idea. I'm also not very interested in that. But I find it fascinating how he always seems to be looking on quietly, gathering data, classifying it and trying to fit it into his understanding of how the world works. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his original party was a scouting party to see how vulnerable Ferelden was at that moment to outside forces. One thing I don't understand with all of this is why he urges the Warden to meet the Blight head on. No smart soldier would suggest that, except if they are foolishly proud (and Sten doesn't seem like that kind of guy tbh). I get that the Warden takes way longer to gather allies than expected because they first have to solve all of their allies' problems. But surely Sten sees the need to have allies? Is he just that impatient? Does he have a death wish (à la, I lost my sword and am without honour, better to die sooner than later and in glorious battle)? Was he his group's previous commander and is he now having trouble following somebody else's orders? Or maybe it's his way to make sure the Warden knows what they are doing? To push them into becoming the self-assured commander their allies will need once they're all gathered? I really don't know. I like the last option best, however.

For me, Sten is my fellow, more experienced soldier. Like Alistair, he can potentially be the Warden's brother in arms, but he's definitely the older brother here. He probably doesn't take kindly to tearful confessions of how hard everything is, but I feel like he's otherwise a solid rock to lean on. I feel like the Warden can trust him to do what is necessary and count on him no matter what, especially after they get his sword back. His devotion from that point on is honestly so powerful.

Wynne:

Wynne was such a support for my Warden (except with the whole conversation about love vs. duty and that she may have to choose between Zevran and ending the Blight and that she should therefore break up with him. Wynne had a point. Astala was so not willing to sacrifice her relationship with Zevran. But the whole conversation came at a point where she was already so disillusioned that she blew up in Wynne's face (”can i please just have one (1) nice thing????”)). But all in all, Wynne is great.

She has a lot of flaws. She was very marked by her life in the Cricle and, for all her age, she has little experience living outside of it. She is also a conformist despite her strong moral core. In a way, her ability to find peace with her lot in life impresses me deeply because it speaks to a lot of strength of character. Sadly, however, strength can be ill applied and used to suppress. I think she has convinced herself that the Chantry is right under (almost) all circumstances to be able to rationalize the life that mages live. She's had her son taken away from her as a baby and an apprentice killed. Her reaction seems to have been to convince herself that this was right, or for the greater good (and now I'm thinking about the Guardian's question at the temple of Andraste's Ashes; are you wise or do you just repeat what others have told you? The answer is not as clear-cut as it might be). This is why she is so irritated by Zevran and Morrigan. By aligning herself with the Chantry, she is, in her eyes, good. Zevran and Morrigan are not; they do not conform to Chantry morality and they defend themselves tooth and nails against somebody who would try and convert them. This is something Wynne never allowed herself to do; she always did the "right" thing and it has cost her so much. I'm not saying she was right (it would probably have done her some good to rebel from time to time, and to trust her own gut instinct more), but in light of this, it hardly surprises me that she's so judgamental. She has to be, or she would be forced to confront all the evil she has not fought against all those years and all the hurt that has been caused to her by the very institution she protects (and thank God she only tries to argue and can appreciate it when people have found a good life outside of her comfort zone. If she tried to convince by force or, for example, drag her former apprentice back to the Circle... boy oh boy that would get ugly). If you think about it, Wynne really is a good example for what happens if you live by a philosophy of always choosing the lesser evil.

Something that I keep forgetting over her grandmotherly and dignified character is how damn powerful she is. She has escaped the carnage at Ostagar; HOW!? She protected those mage apprentices in the Circle tower for God knows how long. In the battle of Denerim, she wades through an army and comes out alive on the other side. The wiki lists her age at 40, I think, but that doesn't make a lick of sense unless 75 years of age are the Fereldan equivalent to 100. This lady, about whom people make grandmother jokes, did all that. It's impressive.

Zevran:

You know, I would really love to know what Wynne thinks about the events at Kirkwall in DA2. It might be a disaster for her, or it might pave the way for one last bit of character development. She certainly didn't want to return to the Circle after fighting the Blight. That may be an indicator of some change in her stance on the Circle of Magi.

Edit: I forgot that she is what the Circle considers a literal abomination! Holy cow, how could I forget that?? Anyway, her conversation about what being an abomination means is so... heartbreaking, actually. It's so tentative. So careful. "Am I an abomination? Am I the same thing that has killed my students? The same thing as Uldred? Am I lost and damned? Did I invite this spirit in? Is this my fault?" Like wow, Wynne is going through something huge right there. I love it. I have to continue playing the game to see what it ends up as, but it's fascinating and such a huge thing that she allows the Warden in on that.

Ah, Zevran, my beloved (he has stolen my heart so much it's not even funny anymore). He's funny, he's charming, he's so so loyal and it breaks my heart. Zevran is the one about whom I've read most meta: these three wonderful posts for instance, as well as this one about his possible lack of scars, and this one about his lack of freedom. All of these have influenced my opinion of him and they are great reads.

I have talked about Zevran with you before, so I'll just skip to the new stuff. I have come to conclusion that Zevran is an artist at heart. This is totally not biased by the fact that I also do art, but hear me out. One of his preferred gifts are bars of silver and gold. While those have the obvious utility of basically functioning as money (they can be sold to any silversmith or goldsmith and their value is pretty stable through time and in different countries), there's also this from his codex: "Zevran shows an affinity for the finer things in life—hardly surprising for an Antivan Crow—but his appreciation can be more poetic than he lets on. A simple bar of refined silver or gold, uncomplicated by a craftsman's hammer, is elegantly valuable." Tell me that is not an artist's eye that sees that gold and sees the beauty in it. Then, there's also the meta about Zevran the Seducer which I linked above and link here again. It talks specifically about how he lets himself enjoy the target and be seen in his enjoyment. Tell me that is not an artist's eye that beholds the beauty of something he is set out to destroy. Even his talk about his assassinations show this. He talks about it as an art, the way somebody would talk about the brutal intervention in stone that produces a sculpture. Yes, it's a rationalization of the act of killing and yes killing is still wrong. But he doesn't go on about it on a moral tangent the way Alistair or Wynne would (”this person was bad, killing them was necessary”) or even through the argument of survival like Morrigan would (”it was either them or me and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be me”). He talks about the pleasure of a job well done, of the satisfaction of striking the precise point and executing a plan to the perfection so as to minimize chances of discovery and to make a clean death possible. And pleasure in seeing and in doing, this I firmly believe, is absolutely fundamental for an artist.

My favourite part about my Warden and Zevran as a pairing is that Zevran precisely brings out that ability to take your pleasures as they come and to really savour them. Fighting the Blight is tough; it's so important to find good things amidst the chaos to stay sane. If Astala saves Zevran from himself by offering him a place to stay and a purpose, Zevran saves Astala from herself by keeping her from running herself into the ground trying to save the world.

There are some things I don't like about Zev. The incessant flirting, for example, sometimes makes me uncomfortable (it becomes enjoyable for me once the Warden and him are in a relationship, but before that? Nah, no thanks). I wish he would also leave the other female characters alone (and there's so many more shameless comments of his aimed at Morrigan, Leliana or Wynne than at Alistair or maybe even Sten).

---

And that's my take on the Origins companions (this was rather long. Whew ^^' I hope it was still readable and that you enjoyed it!!) Thank you so much for the ask!! It's been a joy thinking about this. I was worrying at first that the less prominent companions like Sten or Shale wouldn't get as much content but... well XD

#dao #dragon age #da: o #dragon age meta #dragon age headcanons #dragon age origins #da:o #da: origins #dragon age: origins #zevran #zevran arainai #alistair #alistair theirin #morrigan #leliana #sten #oghren #loghain #dog #barkspawn #wynne #shale

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Evan’s 6✩ Inspiration: Twilight Facet [暮光之境] Date Translation (END 5+6: Heart-throb)

“I offer you my hand, my heart, my everything; are you willing to believe me?”

*Light and Night Master-list | Evan’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *6✩ Inspirations have 6 Endings!! *CG Image used with permission from 蓝咕咕 ☆ *Evan’s tag will be #For Night, For Revolution

✥ Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ✩Light & Night★

it was the perfect time for a lunchtime nap. I…

✩ E5 LIGHT: Ask about his other bedtime habits ✩

I leaned closer to Evan out of curiosity.

MC: Then, do you have anything else prepared other than the aromatherapy? Or… are there any other rules about this stuff set in place?

Evan pauses for a moment, not saying anything.

His eyes were bright, but also as deep as an abyss. It made me tempted to venture further into it, yet I didn't dare proceed any more than half a step.

After staying in place for a few seconds, I suddenly came to the startling realization of just how close I was to him. My body couldn't help but stiffen as I carefully retracted my neck as I inched backwards.

I leaned so close to him and even asked him such a personal question. Will he think that I'm…

Evan: Are you really that interested in these things?

MC: I just wanted to understand you a little more…

I was so embarrassed that I didn't look at him at all. I kept my head lowered, my face a burning mess.

Evan chuckled lightly. His voice was as deep as ever, and it felt pleasant to the ears.

Evan: Then, I'm glad that you're the one who's trying to understand me.

Evan: But, they're all merely small habits that have followed me through childhood. Take this for example…

He picked up the delicate, yet exquisite cup, shaking the red liquid within.

Evan: This here’s called Hereafter. I started drinking it ever since I was a kid, and it has stuck with me ever since. Now, I need this to sleep.

Evan: I wasn't willing to, at first;  but I slowly got used to it.

I nodded in understanding. After thinking about it for a while, I picked up the teapot and filled his cup with more of said drink.

MC: Then you should finish these off properly.

Evan: Very well.

He picked up the cup and took a sip before pausing. He looked at me a little hesitantly, a conflicted expression on his face.

MC: ...Why are you looking at me like that?

Evan: This is… a little too thick.

MC: Ah! I forgot to add water to it earlier. Sorry, sorry…

I quickly added hot water into his cup and stirred it before handing it back to him. However, his brow furrowed a little after just a sip.

Evan: It's a little too hot now.

MC: I'll blow on it for you!

I took the cup over from him without another word, blowing gently on it. It was only after I'd done it a couple of times that I heard a sudden laugh coming from him.

I froze, looking back at him in suspicion.

He was unable to wipe the smile off his face, leaning affectionately into the sofa as he observed me. His eyes sparkled with glee.

MC: ...You…

I looked at the cup and back to him again. Something clicked in my head.

Is he doing this on purpose?

He chuckled lightly, swiftly taking the cup from my grasp and gracefully downing it in one fell swoop.

Evan: Thank you. Now everything's in place.

MC: ……

He's DEFINITELY doing it on purpose!

I helped him close the curtains after he’d finished up his special drink.

MC: Is there anything else that you'd like prepared, Sir?

Evan looked at me, hesitating for a while before shaking his head.

Evan: That's all there is. Thank you.

I glanced at his dark red tie.

MC: How about I help you take off your tie then? I'm sure it'll be uncomfortable to sleep in.

Evan: ……

MC: ……

An awkward silence lapsed between us. It took some time before the realization that I’d just said something really inappropriate hit me...

I hurriedly averted my gaze away from his tie.

MC: Ahaha… What nonsense am I spouting now…

Evan: Sure.

MC: Huh?

Evan: I'll have to trouble you to help me get it off then. Thank you.

MC: ...Okay.

A warm smile slowly filtered into his orbs as he removed his gold-rimmed glasses. He slowly stood up from his reclining position and moved to stand before me.

He was tall and his shadow almost completely enveloped me. My breathing involuntarily stuttered.

I raised my head and reached upwards, carefully starting to work the knot out.

Looks like he did his tie with an exceptionally complicated knot today. I had a go at it for quite some time, but to no avail.

Evan: Is it hard to undo?

MC: A-A little… Erm, could you… bend down a little?

Evan: Alright… Looks like it was a lack of consideration on my part.

He gave an apologetic smile, moving closer to me and leaning further down.

That slightly smiling face of his suddenly drew up close. My brain blanked out, and I could do nothing but stare dumbly at him.

Evan: Will this do?

MC: ……

My breath hitched in my throat. I hurriedly averted my gaze, frantically nodding as I reached out to have another go at his tie.

However, the knot didn't budge at all no matter how hard I tried. It was almost as if the thing had a grudge on me. I couldn't help but feel a little upset at my futile efforts.

Evan: Looks like this doesn't work either. Then, how about...

The words had only just left his mouth when he suddenly reached over. He wrapped his arm around my waist and hoisted me up!

MC: !!!

I jolted. Startled by the sudden movement, I instinctively clung to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and earning another chuckle from him.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Carrying me, Evan retreated a couple of steps backwards. He seated himself on the side of the bed with me sitting sideways atop his thigh. He held my hand and brought it up to his collar which was already loose and dishevelled.

MC: Evan…

Evan: It should be much easier now. Try again?

There was a pleasantly warm smile on his face, but it was hard to ignore the firm chest pressed up to my palm, rising and falling in time with his breathing.

This is all to undo his tie, right? Still, this position is a little…

I bit my lip and tried to calm my rapid breathing. I tentatively moved a little, only to feel his entire body suddenly stiffen in response.

I stiffened as well, freezing in place. I didn't dare move an inch.

It was a few seconds later that his voice sounded in my ears again.

Evan: Are you going to start?

MC: ...Yeah.

I tried my hardest to shelve the wild thought that had taken refuge in my head as my trembling hands took hold of his tie once more.

After composing myself, I was soon able to undo his tie. I also helped him unbutton the first button of his dress shirt.

And just like that, his pretty and prominent collarbones were revealed to my eye. Going further up was his adam's apple that bobbed ever so occasionally. And going further down would be his chest, which my hand was currently pressed against, rising and falling with his every breath.

The muscles beneath my touch were firm but relaxed, rippling beneath his skin as if waiting for the perfect chance to come into play. This side of Evan was one unknown to me; one that screamed danger. Yet, it was still deadly attractive. I couldn't stop my face from flushing scarlet once more.

MC: Um… your tie's undone now… You can rest easy

Evan: I'm in no hurry. Besides, this makes up the last of my bedtime habits.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Evan: Now, how about you tell me about your bedtime habits?

MC: My bedtime habits?

I stared into his deep orbs. The ghost of a familiar melody sounded by my ears, soft and gentle.

It was the song that my grandmother used to sing to me before bed as a kid. Recalling these softened my heart and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

MC: My grandmother used to hum to me.

Evan: A lullaby?

MC: Yup! But not just lullabies! Sometimes it's a traditional folk song, and sometimes it’s a western nursery rhyme.

MC: I recall there being one with really odd lyrics about how a leopard fell in love with a foxface rabbitfish.

MC: The foxface rabbitfish asked the leopard if it wanted to go down to the sea and see how it was like. The leopard agreed.

MC: And then they both lived happily ever after together at the bottom of the sea.

MC: Strange, isn’t it? I mean, how can a leopard live under the sea?

Evan: ...What if it's possible?

MC: Huh?

I looked towards Evan. His eyes were slightly drooping, his eyelashes casting small shadows upon his features. I couldn’t read his expressions all that well.

It was a while before he looked back at me again. This time, with his beautiful eyes fully open, and the corners of his lips curled into his usual smile.

Evan: Can you sing it to me?

MC: Yeah… Sure thing.

I softly sang him that weird nursery rhyme of mine, again and again, in a never-ending loop.

I didn’t know how many times I sang the whole rhyme in succession; but just as I stopped once more at the part where the foxface rabbitfish asked the leopard whether it wanted to visit the sea, Evan’s head suddenly fell onto the crook of my neck.

MC: !!

The nursery rhyme came to an abrupt stop as my ears were slowly filled with another sound.

It was the sound of his long and steady breathing, gently sounding in my ears. Soon, it permeated through my thin clothes, melting into my skin. His hair was soft and a little ticklish as it brushed against my neck, making my heart pound in unrest.

Our surroundings were silent, with only the soft crackling of the fireplace and the intoxicating fragrance that wafted in the air.

It felt like it was going to be a long, long time before this nap was over.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

it was the perfect time for a lunchtime nap. I…

★ E6 NIGHT: Don't hold him up from his afternoon nap ★

It just so happens that it's the perfect time for a lunchtime nap now…

MC: Am I getting in the way of your rest? I'll wait for you out in the hall then. Have a good nap!

With that said, I moved to head out to the hall. However, I hadn't yet gotten a step further before Evan caught me by the wrist.

Evan: Wait.

The unique temperature of his body slowly spreads upon my skin. His touch brought about a slight coolness, momentarily freezing me in place.

MC: ...What's up?

I secretly peeked at the hand he used to hold onto mine. His fingers were pale and long, but there was an undeniable strength behind them. It unwittingly made people a little nervous.

Evan: I was just going to tell you that I don't intend to take an afternoon nap at all today. But what I do have, is an important document that needs my signature.

MC: Uh… I'll still wait for you out in the hall?

Evan: You can just stay here.

MC: Won't I disturb you?

Evan: You won't. I'm more worried that you'd find it boring here.

Evan: The other door in my room connects to my Study. You can go there and kill time if you feel bored.

Now that he mentions it… I do recall seeing a heavy wooden door on the other side of his bedroom…

MC: Ohh… I'll go check out your Study then!

Evan: Sure. I'll go look for you once I'm done.

MC: Okey-dokey!

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A step into the study was all it took for me to be completely blown away by what awaited inside.

MC: Jesus Christ. These bookshelves span several walls… Who in the world has this many books in their study? It’s kind of amazing in its own right...

And it wasn’t just the bookshelves. There was also a large projector screen on the other end of the study that nearly covered the entire wall.

MC: I’d probably disrupt his work if I watch a movie here… Guess I’ll be better off looking for a book.

But rather than searching the shelves in search of a book, the thought of just what books he'd have in here intrigued me further.

MC: Wow, the bottom few shelves are filled with the biographies of famous people, mystery novels, travel guides… He even has picture books here!

MC: I never knew that he reads such a wide array of books. I wonder if the upper shelves will yield any new discoveries?

I took the stepladder that was placed not too far off and climbed up on it. I excitedly continued my perusal of what books his shelves offered. After a considerable amount of effort, I managed to pull out a thin and old book from amongst a couple of thick books on the history of music.

MC: “Jane Eyre”? Huh…? Was “Jane Eyre” supposed to be this thin, again? And it looks pretty well-thumbed too...

Curious, I opened it.

This was an incomplete copy of "Jane Eyre". There were thick scars on the spine of the book, formed from having its pages torn out. Someone had ripped out nearly ¾ of the book's contents.

Flipping it open, the very first page detailed the part where Jane Eyre wished to leave Thornfield Hall after learning that Rochester was about to get married. Conflicted with her turmoil of emotions, Jane walks to Mr. Rochester's orchard. She'd intended to sneak away as if she was never there, only to be halted by Rochester. And in the end, they finally managed to understand their true feelings for each other under the moonlight, in the eventide breeze that was tinged with the fragrance of jasmine interlaced with roses.

But why does this book start from here? What happened to all the content in front?

Evan: What book is it that has gotten you so engrossed?

MC: !

The low voice that suddenly sounded by my ear made my breathing hitch. Turning around, I hurriedly hid the book behind my back, just like how one would when the teacher found out that they were secretly reading a book in class.

Evan, dressed only in a white dress shirt, was looking at me with a smile that reached his eyes. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and the warmth in his eyes that were normally hidden behind the lenses now faced me in full force.

MC: ...You… You're done with work?

Evan smiled, reaching out to help me adjust the hemline of my skirt that had gotten slightly rumpled.

Evan: Yes. So, what were you reading?

MC: This.

I brought the book I'd hidden behind me back out front.

Evan: Jane Eyre.

His low and pleasantly smooth voice intonated, seemingly touching my very heart. It was like magic; one that miraculously made my heart race.

Evan looked back up at me after reading the title. He had a knowing look in his eyes that was soon disrupted by a flicker of mischief.

I didn't know why, but I didn't quite dare to look up at him right now.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Evan: “I believe you must leave now. I am sorry, but I believe indeed you must.”

MC: Huh? ...O-Oh, I’ll leave now…

Evan: “Exactly, precisely: with your usual acuteness, you have hit the nail straight on the head.”

This… sounds like the lines I’ve just read in “Jane Eyre”...?

Deep down, Jane truthfully didn't want to leave. However, Mr. Rochester had already arranged everything for her departure.

Her job, her destination, and even her future to come.

Evan: “Do you like Ireland? ...You’ll like Ireland, I think.”

He spoke with a low voice, looking at me with a sort of seriousness that I’d never seen before.

It felt as if that line wasn’t from Rochester, directed to Jane; but rather, from Evan to me.

Confounded, I slowly opened my mouth to respond to him.

MC: “It is a long way off, sir. Not the voyage, but the distance: and then the sea is a barrier—”

Evan: "From what, hm?”

MC: “From England and from Thornfield: and一 From you, Sir.”

The words had just left my lips when Evan reached a hand out, bringing it up to my waist. Just a little bit of strength behind his fingertips was all it took for him to hoist me upwards, pressing my upper body closer to him.

Suddenly, the distance between us disappeared. We were so close that our breaths intermingled.

Evan: “I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you— especially when you are near me, as now.”

Evan: “Are you anything akin to me, do you think?”

He gazed at me, his breath brushing across my skin in a manner as intoxicating as wine, effectively sending my rationality out of the window.

I gaped in an attempt to say something. However, my words were eviscerated into nothing by the deep red hue in his eyes.

We stared at each other as we stood within the tall and large study filled with the scent of ink. It felt like we were nothing but the small minuscule dust particles that filtered in with the sun’s rays.

So small, so minuscule that it was almost non-existent; yet still able to hang onto the other, while adrift, fluttering all the same.

Evan: “I offer you my hand, my heart, my everything.”

Evan: “Are you willing to believe me?”

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

My heart thudded heavily in my chest. It felt as if time had come to a stand-still.

I lost myself in the moment, forgetting who I was or where I was. The only thing I wanted to do now was to entrust my heart to him in all its genuineness, and to stay in this beautiful and pleasant moment forever.

According to the story, this was when Jane and Rochester finally gained a mutual understanding of their emotions for each other, sharing a long passionate kiss.

Evan's eyes lowered, coming to a slight close. His fine lashes fluttered downwards as the pale yellow light illuminated his face, casting small beautiful shadows upon his features. He slightly turned his head, the breath that had been one with mine shifting. It brushed against my face, hot and ticklish.

My body seemingly loses the ability to move, and all I could do was stare dumbfoundedly at the face with well-defined features slowly advancing closer.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

At the very last second, I hurriedly covered my face with the book that I'd let rest against my chest in a desperate act.

And in turn, blocking off what could have happened; something that was capable of making my heart stop beating right then and there.

The air was filled with a moment of silence that was soon broken by Evan's laughter.

MC: You…

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

I slowly and carefully lowered the book that'd been covering my face. I watched as Evan lowered his head, leaning it against the crook of my neck as he laughed, shoulders quaking in his mirth.

MC: Stop… stop laughing at me…

Evan: Okay, no laughing.

Evan: ...I'm really happy, (Y/n).

Evan's laughter slowly died off, but his head remained firmly planted onto my shoulder. I quietly relished in the moment of intimate contact with burning cheeks.

MC: Erm… Why’s this book missing so many pages?

Evan: This belonged to my mother. It was already in this state when I first saw it.

Oh, so that’s how it is. Then… perhaps it’s because his mother liked how brave Jane was in this part of the story?

MC: She dared defy; she dared to love.

Evan: Yes. Although, I think my mother will definitely like you much more if she had the chance to meet you.

MC: But… I’m nowhere near as brave as Jane.

He gave a small chuckle before letting go of my shoulder, watching me with a profound look in his eyes. It was as if the Evan that had been reciting Mr. Rochester’s lines had made a comeback.

In the same manner, as Rochester would gaze affectionately at Jane… No. No, that wasn’t it… Those eyes, that gaze… It was Evan who was looking at me so.

Reflected within his orbs were twin silhouettes of me.

He patted my head, his low and intoxicating voice taking on a slightly far-away tone, yet still managing to grace my ears.

Evan: My liking you has absolutely nothing to do with “Jane Eyre”.

Evan: You are (Y/n), and I am Evan. Nothing more, nothing less.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

Time flew past.

The glow of the sunset had begun to set in when Aunt Wang finally sent up my dry-cleaned clothes.

Seeing her so busy, I couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret at being the cause of it.

MC: I've brought so much trouble for them both… I should do something to thank them well next time!

Evan looked at me and closed the book in his hand.

Evan: They're usually the only ones here, so it'll do them a little good to be busy once in a while.

Evan: Having something to do would also make it feel all the more fulfilling.

MC: Mmhm… But I can't help but feel like they're already busy even without us, and now that we're here…

MC: Plus Uncle Chen looked like he was in a huge hurry when I took upon the task of sending the drink for him. It was like he was here for a moment, and gone like the wind in the next.

A flicker of doubt appears on Evan's face upon hearing this.

Evan: Is he truly that busy?

MC: Yeah, he is… He had to rush here to deliver your drink, and he also had to rush over to give the fireplace a change of coal.

MC: Plus, this is also one huge place. Even with the two of them here, they must be pretty busy keeping this place all neat and tidy.

Evan: They do have their work cut out for them, but…

Evan: I seem to recall that we do have scheduled professionals who come by to take care of the fireplace here, so there's no need for either of them to do it themselves.

MC: ...Huh? But he said…

A strange thought suddenly struck me, the realization making the words die in my throat.

Did Uncle Chen make me… bring Evan's drink to him on purpose?

I stared at Evan, absolutely dumbfounded.

He didn't say anything either, only chuckling lightly after a few seconds.

Evan: I suppose, sometimes, having a fireplace at home isn't all that bad.

He'd said it all so naturally, yet I couldn't help but feel like there was something a little off about it. Especially when it came to the word "fireplace". It unwittingly made me recall how oddly Uncle Chen and Aunt were acting… and their ambiguous smiles.

I silently adverted my gaze, biting on my lips as I spoke in barely a whisper.

MC: I'm definitely not getting a fireplace installed in my house next time…

Evan: Hm?

MC: Oh, nothing… nothing! I was just talking to myself!

Evan: That so?

Evan drew both of his arms up to his jaw, propping his chin on it as his heavy gaze fell upon my being.

Under the light of the setting sun, his expression was one of calm contentment and warmth.

He smiled, his voice a low baritone.

Evan: Your wish is my command. No fireplaces in the future.

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✥ Choose another Ending:

END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]  

END 2 + 3 | Choice: Approach [亲近] ⊹Touch⊹

END 4 | Choice: Listen [倾听] ❖ASMR

END 5 + 6 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ✩Light & Night★

❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Revolution⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: Prologue

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #陆沉 #Evan #For Night For Revolution #暮光之境 #Twilight Facet

[lemonandpeachess]

Small Moments

Pairing: Wrecker x Female Reader

Rating: G

Word Count:2,220

Summary: You and the squad have a little bit of downtime before completing a job from Cid. This time allow you to think ahead for the future of the squad, and of Omega. 

AN: I hope you all enjoy! This is my first bit of writing in a long time so we’re keeping it pretty simple. xx

Gif credits to the owner <3 

The noise was no stranger to you, the deep and seemingly endless drumming above your head. An icy coolness slips into your skin underneath your clothes, your eyes slipping shut at the sensation. While for the most part you enjoy your time on the ship with your crew and it feels just as much of a home as you could ask for, it did have its drawbacks. The closest thing to a simple rainfall you got to experience while cruising through space were meteor showers, and landing in the middle of one of those was not the most relaxing experience. You feel a small, hand wrap itself into your own, giving it a small squeeze. Your eyes cast down and you smile at the sweet brown eyes peering up at you from beneath wet, blonde curls. Omega has her hood over her head, holding down the side with her opposite hand against the wind.

“I sort of missed the rain (y/n).” She says, looking up at the sky and smiling, the raindrops sprinkling down on the two of you. You lift your head back up, sticking out your tongue. Omega looks at you, her brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”

“Catching raindrops. You can do it with snowflakes too. We used to do it on my home planet when I was small.” The tiny clone follows your actions, laughing as she lets go of your hand and makes a show of running around you, catching the water droplets from above.

You were thankful that for both the sake of you and the squad, and for Omega herself, that she had taken the business of being a part of the team so seriously. The young one dove into everything that was ever handed to her, from Hunter’s hand to hand combat routines, to Tech and Echo’s near constant technological learning. She was a fighter, and a determined one at that.

Your heart was heavy at times however, thinking about how she was still a child. She should be able to enjoy the things children enjoy. The sweet, small things that with adulthood and the burdens of growing up, we all tended to forget and appreciate. You took it upon yourself to make your training for Omega to be how enjoy things she could not before, to make her feel like she wasn’t restricted, or stripped of her curiosity. You encouraged it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, my data shows that the atmosphere on this planet coupled with the local vegetation means excessive consumption of precipitation could lead to harmful side effects.” Tech says as he walks past, guiding his scanner around you as he too gets off the ship. You purse your lips and look down at your small companion once more, chuckling.

“Bit of rain won’t hurt you.” Hunter says as he comes up behind the two of you, handing Omega her small backpack you had found for her at a market during your last job for Cid. You wanted her to have something of her own and found some amenities to put in it as well. Some new fresh clothes, and a small toolkit among other things, including her beloved clone trooper doll. “We should get inside though. Cid said we can stay at her camp here before we continue to the other side of the planet for the exchange tomorrow. We can’t proceed until late morning at least. Best to get some rest while we can.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice Sarge.” Wrecker yells from the belly of the ship. You hear his footsteps as he barrels down the gangway and feel him join you both. He grabs your own pack from your shoulder and puts it over his own, its size shrinking against his broad form. “You and the kid take your time, beautiful. I can take our stuff inside.”

“Wreck I can take that, it’s just a few things.” You laugh, grabbing for your pack. He dodges your efforts and keeps walking forward, turning to wink at you as he follows his brothers. You huff out another laugh and lead Omega towards the cleared path in the forest. “Well, I guess I’ll just escort you then my lady. I’ll get you settled in in Hunter’s room before I join them so we can go over the mission details for tomorrow.”

“Can’t I be there? I want to know what’s going on tomorrow too!” Omega asks, her shoulders slumping down a moment under her cloak. You squeeze her hand and nod.

“Alright Omega, you can come with me. We’ll drop your pack off and then find our way. Just be weary. I’m not sure what kind of mission this will be or what Hunter’s plans for you are. This may be one you need to sit out, for all I know the both of us might be sticking behind. You’re a part of the squad so I see no issue of you being there. Just be ready to play the part Hunter and the others have planned.” You tell her. Thankfully, Hunter had begun to allow her a little more freedom with her involvement in missions. There were still runs Cid sent you on however that weren’t worth the risk.

“I promise I will!” She says, saluting you. You look ahead as a clearing broke out of the path and you see a glassed-in observatory style station come into view. It looked like a two-story home, perfectly rectangular in shape. The walls were made completely of glass, save for the metal framing around the edges and planforms, holding the building above the ground. You imagined the views of the forest were breathtaking from inside. You had to give it to her, Cid had taste. 

“(y/n)? Can I ask just one question before we go in?”

“Go on Omega, I’m listening.” You answer, still looking towards your quarters for the night.

“What are snowflakes?” ***** You sigh as you enter the code to your keypad Wrecker directly behind you as you all retired to your rooms after the mission briefing. Omega left in happy spirits with Hunter as he had a part for her to play in this mission, the situation being a simple drop-off of supplies with payment, nothing too messy. Since Omega had paid off all your debt with Cid, you were able to stick to more low-profile jobs while you figured out a new plan regarding Omega’s safety and the unsettling end of the war.

“The kid seemed happy that she has a job to do with us. I like when she’s able to come out in the field with us.” Wrecker says, starting to take off his uniform. You cross your arms over your chest, still a little chilled from the rain as you look out. You were right before, as the whole building, including your room, was surrounded by windows. Thick, one-way, bulletproof windows, as Tech made sure to point out, given who owned it. It really was a beautiful sight.

The view made it easy to look out into the forest, the leaves on the branches, bright from the rain and crisp air. The foliage swayed back and forth with the wind, creating the most soothing hushing sound, mother natures lullaby. Accompanied of course by what had to be some type of owls, their deep calls coming from their nests in the surrounding trees. Open space had a soothing effect to most. It’s infinite darkness with specks of light, but to you, it was far too quiet. No outside noises penetrated the thick hull of the Havoc Marauder, only the synthetic beeps and whirs of the engines going off in the night could soothe you in the deafening moments.

“I know that ain’t true, you smacked me in the face with your pillow the other night cause you said I was snorin’ too loudly.” Wrecker points out, lifting his chest piece over his head, his upper body now free of the extra weight. You hadn’t realized that you were thinking out loud, though you often did it around Wrecker. He was your partner, for a couple years now. Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, and Echo you trusted with your life. With Wrecker, you trusted him with your life and your heart. You take his chest piece from his hand and set it in the trunk he had carried in along with your bag. “

That is different!” You laugh, coming back to take the final pieces of his suit, leaving him just in his black thermal set. You lay the final piece into the trunk and sit on a chair that faces the windows. “This place reminds me of things I love. The birds, the trees, the smell of the rain. You can’t find that in space big guy. I’m glad we’re able to take Omega with us to these different planets and worlds. It’s important she knows about the world and everything in it. Good and bad. I just try my bests to let her see the good to remember during those bad times. She’s going to have to fight for a lot in her life, an unfair amount…”

“Hey, listen-“You feel Wrecker stand behind you, putting one hand on your shoulder and gesturing for your other one. You put your hand in his and bring the warm top side of his to your lips, kissing it gently. His hands dwarfed your own, as he did most parts of you. You were always safe when you were with him, and you knew if he wasn’t near, it wouldn’t take much to have him barreling towards you at any moment when you needed him. “We’re gonna look after Omega. We made it this far, I’ll stand in front of anyone that tries to hurt her… Or take her away.”

“I know you would Wreck, we all would. She just adores and admires you all.” You say, his fingers grazing your cheek as you speak. You were honest too. If your run in with the bounty hunters wasn’t enough, you knew in your heart that child was probably the most protected thing in the galaxy.

“She likes you a lot too ya know. She tells me all the time.”

“Does she?” You smile to yourself. The word ‘love’ was seldom used around the ship, usually only regarding Mantell mix by a select few. The feeling was always present of course, the brothers all loved each other, and as the time went on, it extended to both yourself and Omega as well. Wrecker had told you after he told you he loved you for the first time in your relationship, that it was the first time he had said it to someone in such a way.

“She does. She thinks your beautiful, and smart and kind. I like her, she’s a smart kid.” Wrecker lets go of your hand and comes around to the front of your chair. You barely have a moment to look up before he picks you up into his arms like you were nothing, carrying you to the plush bed that was made up in the middle of the room. He sets you down gently and crawls into bed with you. 

“Cause I think you’re beautiful, kind, and smart too.”

You laugh and prop yourself up a little more as Wrecker settles beside you, who is also sitting up to look at you. You extend your hand and cradle his face in your hand, your thumb brushing along his cheekbone. Before you can reply you feel a yawn manifest in your throat before it escapes, your hand covering your mouth as you try and keep your gaze on your favourite trooper.

“Am I that boring?” He chuckles. You swing your legs back over the edge of the bed, starting to unhook your boots. Wrecker gets up from the bed again and walks to your pack, grabbing your sleep pants from it.

“No Wreck of course not. I’m sorry, I just feel really tired suddenly.” You reply, pulling off your boots and setting them beside the bed, keeping them close just in case. You feel his hands slip under your shirt and you let him lift the fabric from your body, leaving you in just a worn sports bra. As you wiggle out of your tactical pants, he hands you the black sweatpants and you slip them on, relishing in the feel of the soft fabric. You never seem to realize how tired your body is until you properly stop for a moment.

“It’s okay baby, it’s been a while since we had a break. Even when we do, you’re always doing something for us, or for Omega.” He says, joining you in bed again. You lay back on his chest, relaxing into him as you look out the array of windows and out into the wilderness around you. You wished you had time to explore more, and to enjoy your time there, but you could already feel sleep tugging you down, not being helped by Wrecker’s fingers grazing up and down you arm.

“I know- but I still wish we had some extra time. We haven’t had a lot of time together either, just the two of us. I’m sorry I’m wasting it.” You sigh, fingers dancing over his chest.

“Don’t worry (y/n).”  Wrecker takes his arm around you and rolls you onto his chest, almost laying you almost on top of him, kissing that spot on your neck that makes your heart thrum. “There’s always the morning. You know how much I like breakfast.”

#bad batch x reader #wrecker x reader #wrecker #female reader #lapbadbatch #fluff