#Hopefully this will be a good ref for anyone looking for one

[thepaintdragon]

I tried editing the player's reflection to see if there was anything hidden in the shadows, and...

Bonus: Here's one of his feets

#slay the princess #slay the princess spoilers #This may explain why some versions of the princess become cat-like. #Hopefully this will be a good ref for anyone looking for one

[kelcemenow]

As The Snow Falls - Chapter 1.

Pairing Travis Kelce x Reader

Words 1007

Warnings Nothing much in this first chapter, just setting the scene!

CHAPTER 1

You took a deep lungful of cool, fresh air as you looked up at the beautiful wooden lodge in front of you. You dropped your bag next to your feet and shielded the bright sunlight from your eyes as you took in more of the sight.

A gentle squeeze of your shoulder interrupted you, "It's gorgeous isn't it?"

You smiled to Kylie, "Oh man, yeah. You're so lucky!"

"We don't get here as much as we'd like to but hopefully that will start to change." She raised her voice and leaned her head back towards her husband.

"Yeah, sure." Jason was struggling to carry the vast amount of luggage from the trunk, "Hey, honey? You wanna help me out here?"

Kylie laughed and jogged back to the truck before stopping and waving down another vehicle of vacationers, quickly disappearing in the opposite direction to guide them into the driveway. Jason hung his head and groaned.

"Hey, I got you." You smiled as you made your way closer to him, grabbing the handle of a bag that was slowly slipping from his grasp, "She's just excited!"

You had met Jason in your classes at college and you two quickly became close, forming a solid friendship group with friends Jasmine, Marc and Amie. You were all incredibly proud of Jason's successful football career and together, you would try to catch as many of his games as you could. Conflicting dates and locations would sometimes be a problem so you had all agreed to meet at least once a year for a big weekend reunion. It was Jason's turn this year to organise the trip this year and along with Kylie, arranged an incredible stay in their ski lodge in Vail.

"Yeah well, there'll be no skiing for me when I break my back carrying all of her junk!"

You laughed and grabbed a few more bags, placing them down in the snow at the door to the house.

"Hey girl!" Jasmine sang as she ran towards you with her arms outstretched.

You pulled her in for a tight hug, "Hi! How are you? It's been forever!"

As you pulled back, she brushed some hair from her face, "Oh, I know. I'm so busy with shoots and runways and brand deals, it's insane!"

"Well, you can tell me all about it over a drink later, why don't you bring your bags in and grab a room." You called out to her as she made her way back to the car. Your eyes landed on Amie and Marc who were chatting with Jason, so you walked back towards the truck.

"Honestly guys, it'll be fine." Jason mumbled.

You furrowed your brow, "What's up?"

Amie threw her arm around you, "Oh, just Princess Jasmine driving me crazy the whole way here."

"And speaking of driving, she didn't even touch the wheel. Me and Amie had to do it all. 13 hours, Y/N...13 hours." Marc rolled his eyes.

You giggled, "Oh, come on guys, was she that bad?"

"Fashion week this, photoshoot that...I saved people's lives at work last week but do I brag about that?" Amie shook her head.

Marc laughed as Jason handed you another bag.

"Drink, anyone?"

______________________________________________________________

You relaxed back into the large red leather Chesterfield armchair by the crackling fire, cradling a steaming mug of hot chocolate topped with a generous shot of rum.

"Well, I think you guys should've won, it wasn't a holding. The ref didn't make the right call at all." Marc shrugged his shoulders.

Kylie hissed through her teeth, "Oooh, don't let Trav hear you say that!"

"Yeah, it's a good job he can't make it this weekend." Jason took a sip of his drink as he pulled Kylie closer into him.

You smoothed your blanket down over your knees, "Oh, did you invite him?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be cool, but he's got some event or something tonight. It's a shame, it would have been cool." Jason said.

Amie wiggled her eyebrows, "It would have been cool for Y/N."

You sighed and took a large sip from your mug.

"Wait, what?" Kylie squealed.

You rolled your eyes, "It was one drunken kiss back in college, which can I remind everybody was, like, a century ago!"

Kylie giggled as Jason smiled at you, "Trav had a little crush back in the day."

The group laughed loudly and you could feel your cheeks burning, "Oh, stop it Jason! It wasn't a big deal, it was in a game of truth or dare and we were just kids!"

"Aww, leave Y/N alone!" Amie shouted above the clamour.

"Amie, you brought it up!" You laughed.

The sound of footsteps diverted your attention to the top of the staircase when Jasmine was adjusting her silk dressing gown.

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?"

Amie raised her eyebrows, "Maybe because you're wearing that! Go and put something on that will stop you from catching pneumonia."

Jasmine opened her gown as she descended the stairs to reveal a short silk chemise, her bottom lip protruding into a pout, "But it's cute!

You smiled and lifted your blanket, "Come on Jas, you can share my blanket."

"Thanks babe! So, what are we talking about?" She skipped over towards your chair and snuggled up next to you.

You opened your mouth before anyone else could, "Oh, just Jason's brother Travis who can't make it this weekend."

Jasmine lifted an eyebrow and looked over to Jason, "I didn't know you had a brother?"

Marc lifted his head from the back of the couch, "You really do live in your own little world, don't you?"

A gust of cold air flew into the room as the front door opened and a tall, broad man stepped in. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a black beanie hat, a smartly trimmed beard adorning his chin. Jason immediately leapt up from the couch and ran towards him as your heart skipped a beat.

"Alright now! Y'all can't have a party without me!"

______________________________________________________________

Yet again, this was going to be a one-shot but my brain couldn't behave so this will most likely be a big old series! The photo just fuelled something in me! Don't forget to let me know if you would like to be on my Taglist!

Taglist @rd14 @dandelionwrites8 @keiva1000 @fantasywritersstuff @caelipartem @anacarangel @she-lives-in-her-dreams @kkrenae @kristencochefski1125 @countrygirl120983 @charmed2000 @nouis-bum @cixrosie @delicateearthquakellama @wordsaresimple-imnot @amylouwho9 @queenisa17 @talicat713 @luvvtrent @purecinnamonextract @savaneafricaine @caelipartem @beyxgrande @caitdaniels @ezgirl1108 @vir-tual @lightsoutstyles @macey234 @s294749w @kelcemesoftly @calirindo @livinginmyfantasies @bernelflo @secretmywritingfictionlawyer @killatravtramp @there-goes-thefighter @unicornblueberry @calirindo @tjkelce87 @kristinamae093 @kmc1989 @ajbird18

#travis kelce x reader #travis kelce imagine #kelce x reader #nfl imagine #original story #travis kelce fic #travis kelce #travis kelce fluff #nfl fluff #travis kelce smut #travis kelce angst #nfl smut #nfl angst #nfl fic

[rococospade]

Have some Letho attempts, in oil paints(!)

Art, life and cat updates under the cut.

Art update:

I’ve opened commissions again for the next two months (October-November 2023). The last one in my queue is nearly finished, and I’m excited to share it — though I’ll have to crop the tumblr version substantially. I’ve also been working on tutorial content for digital painting. Monie’s been poking me for years to do one on sheer fabric, and I’m trying to edit that between other tasks. I’ve thought about doing one for scars as well — is there anything you struggle with that you’d be interested to see a tutorial or tip-sheet for?

In terms of personal work I’ve struggled to connect with my digital painting in the last few months, so I’ve been working more with traditional mediums. I love watercolour, I’ve been fiddling with my oil pastels since I don’t want them to go bad (they keep for about 3 years past opening, apparently) and I’ve wanted to try oil painting for years. Last week I finally took the leap and bought some water soluble oil paints: pictured above is my first attempt with them.

Oil paints are slippery little bastards — I had a teacher tell me “it’s like painting with colourful mud” over a decade ago when discussing them, and that sort of prepared me. I finally get it. They move constantly, even if it looks dry it’s likely not, I have no idea what I’m doing, disposal is a pain, I am wrong at every step, and I love them. Oil painting looks so cool! It’s so much easier to rework than acrylics! This is not always a good thing! I’m having a great time :)

Naturally, upon getting a new and notoriously difficult medium, I dispensed with looking up guides (surely things I watched or read months and years ago are sufficient for right now?) and sat down to screw around with the paints a few evenings ago. This resulted in a muddy mess even with a limited palette, but I’m a toxic goblin who doesn’t learn, so I shrugged and started working with the muddy tones to try and fix it.

@silverscalestudios was kind enough to give me a quick and dirty explanation on workflow when they found out what I was doing. Thank you again for that! I spent a while last night reading about various forms of underpainting because of you, and will give brunaille a try. I knew underpaintings were a thing but I didn’t know *why* or how important they really are — it didn’t occur to me the oil colours would be so transparent. Hopefully the next picture will be a little bit neater as a result of your intervention — thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about it!

I found some useful videos on YouTube as well, but I’m struggling with colour temperature shifts. Some studies might be in order.

As usual I’m not satisfied with anything I do for long. My current goals are to learn more of the body’s simplified muscle groups, simplify my compositions more, and make more illustrations with character interaction as the focus. Also, I guess, to gain some competence with the mediums I’m playing with — but that’s a bonus more than a goal. Oil pastels especially are just so pleasant to work with that even if I hate the result, the process is too enjoyable to complain. And failure is how we learn.

Potentially useful tip, buried for anyone who read this far: assign yourself studies for the projects you’re currently working on. This took me far too long to learn, but if you struggle with doing general studies for the sake of them, do them to prep for a specific painting instead. If you suspect something will be difficult (the hand gesture, the colour scheme, lighting, expression, whatever) grab or make some ref and doing a couple of studies, so you can fail quickly and make ugly versions. It’s a huge timesaver when it comes to the final piece. My big, detailed paintings usually take 10-20 hours, so I’d like to get any difficult elements sorted before I start whenever possible.

For an example of studies for a painting: the four roughly scribbled Letho’s in coloured pencil on this post — those were done after I had my composition sketched onto the canvas, to figure out what I wanted to do for colours. And I’m glad I did! I tried the analogous scheme on a whim, and if I hadn’t done this study, I’d have played it safe and gone with a mostly neutral palette. Next time I’ll also do some lighting studies so I have a detailed plan for those before I start painting. Traditional media in general involves a lot more concrete planning than digital, and working with it is underscoring how many bad habits I have — especially with massively reworking paintings mid-process.

I did have a photo reference I was using for this painting (one of the images from the rogue warrior reference pack by Noah Bradley) with the lighting and hair modified to try to resemble something I’d seen another digital artist do, and by awkwardly tilting an asaro head in my kitchen to figure out how the lighting would work. There’s a relatively common lighting scheme in anime-esque art where just the tip of the nose is lit. It’s cute, but playing with the asaro head, I found that the top half of the area around the mouth should also catch at least a bit of light. The lighting ended up being repainted into something more standard for this, but you can see the triangle of light on the upper mouth area in the wips.

Life update:

Well, it was a nice run, but spouse and I finally caught corona last month >< that was horrible. I got lucky, in that I only had for a week or so and it was a mild case. Now I’ve mostly recovered except for a cough. “Mild” is still probably the sickest I’ve been in my life. Do not recommend. Will be going for the booster as soon as I’m able to, I do not want that shit ever again.

I’ve been doing a bunch of new things like sashiko (satisfying), trying to make pie crust (hard! But delicious, and the ingredients are cheap enough that I don’t cry over failure. Please give making pie crust a try, if you haven’t, it’s really not that complicated — the recipe I’m using only calls for 3-4 ingredients, and it’s so versatile. We’ve had like four quiches in the last week and a half) and trying to cook more. Adulting is hard. I’m also considering more decorative embroidery attempts, because I’m reentering my goth phase and want to customise my clothes with little mushrooms and skulls :) it would be cute.

About the cats:

Cloud is cancer-free! She has to get rechecks every three months, but the little monster made it. She celebrates by trying to sleep with her butthole on my face, which is terrible. I love her dearly. I wish she would stop with the butthole thing though.

Sheik is currently taking her turn as the cat with medical problems. She couldn’t eat for a few days and the vet rushed us in when we called. The vet came in and informed me that she wasn’t eating… because she had gas. It’s in her small intestine, which isn’t supposed to have gas in it for cats? Good job, you little weirdo. She’s getting further checks or it this month.

We also adopted an adolescent cat. He’s bonded very well with Tez, whom our other cats — well, they don’t hate him, but they’re a bit aloof. Tez is very big and a bit like a bowling ball with teeth, and most of our cats are old (or Jetta, who is full of bitter hate) and do not appreciate being tackled by said bowling ball. The kitten loves him, and Tez seems much happier for the company. He’s more gentle with kittens than adults. Not all of the cats are thrilled, but our oldest queens have accepted the kitten, so it should be smoother sailing from here. Unfortunately they like to play at 8am, so I am suddenly on an adult sleep schedule for the first time since working from home. Nothing like a teenage cat launching himself onto your abdomen to get the day started :) They were yelling at each other as I typed this, but now he’s laying beside me like a prince. … and attacking my cardigan. Nevermind.

Currently trying to find more ways to install cat climbs and enrichment, since we’re running out of corners for cat trees. Debating the merits of a cat run — we have very tall walls, which is neat but also I don’t trust these guys not to fall off. If we could spring for a modular system that would be neat.

If you’re getting two cats, pro tip: get two with similar coat patterns but different sizes. You will hate yourself. It’s very funny, and you can disorient any house guests!

#Rococo rambles #personal #rococospade art #Long post

[sang8262]

AKI Update - Lore Summary and thoughts

following all the LORE that AKI's update brought us, and in eager anticipation of Ed's release, i wanted to make sure i had my facts organized before starting to speculate and what not

this post is a summary of key info from World Tour, but also AKI's arcade and Master skill/ bond conversations... so inevitably has become one of those loooooong posts lmao;;; spoiler warnings obviously! and take things with a hefty pinch of salt (as anyone should, when talking about JP...):

---- TL;DR

MY GUESS, IMO: is that JP is planning on reviving Shadaloo under the name of Neo Shadaloo, but is not trying to bring back Bison. He's planning on using Ed -- potentially to make Ed the new boss of the organization.

FANG, and his student AKI, are working on reviving Shadaloo as well, but are at odds with JP. Based on FANG's dedication to Bison, FANG and JP must disagree on who should lead the organization. It's still unclear what, exactly, JP would gain by making Ed the new boss, or how he'd benefit from bringing back Shadaloo at all (considering he did not seem to approve of their methods). But we can never be sure with this guy can we...

---- And a clarification: Within the world of SF6 so far, characters use the terms "remnants of Shadaloo" and "Neo Shadaloo" to refer to the same exact group, that being ex-Shadaloo goons working under JP's orders. We are currently unsure what this has to do with the 'Neo Shadaloo' group from SFV, that Ed and Falke leads. The following recap, basically the whole reason I needed to be so thorough in this post particularly, is to show what led me to this (frustrating and confusing) conclusion.

So anyway: ----

A quick recap of World Tour, regarding Bosch and Shadaloo.

((You're good to skip to past the screenshots if you already know about how Bosch got his Psycho Power, and JP/ Shadaloo's relationship to the tournaments)): 1. Bosch is part of the Resistance in Nayshall. Their plan is disrupting the Suval'hal Martial Arts Tournament to prevent the shady money laundering going on behind scenes, and hopefully, take out JP as well. 2. Bosch (and the Avatar) gets caught up in the Tournament, after being targeted by Juri. She's revealed to have been hired by 'remnants of Shadaloo', likely unbeknownst to her. 3. Bosch is captured by 'the enemy', but was given a chance to live because of his strength and will. He received "physical modifications" and enters the tournament in hopes of taking down JP during the awards ceremony. 4. Later, the Avatar wins the underground tournament in Nayshall's Lowlands and formally enters the Suval'hal Tournament as Metro City's representative. 5. Bosch is confirmed a fellow seeded fighter, but it's revealed he's representing a group calling themselves "Neo Shadaloo", cited as 'remnants looking to bring back Shadaloo'. 6. And just in case you didn't know, JP is the one behind forcing the Suval'hal Tournament to continue in Nayshall as a means to launder money. And he knows about Bosch's failure as a host for Psycho Power. He's likely the one who gave it to Bosch in the first place, considering he does the same to the Avatar. ----

And here are some screenshots where I pulled this info from just so it's there as ref:

---- SO WITH all that out of the way, the important bit is that:

In universe, "Neo Shadaloo" and "remnants of Shadaloo" are used rather interchangeably. Both refer to 'group of people with previous connections to Shadaloo, and are trying to bring back the organization'. This is... terribly confusing and raises some eyebrows since Ed and Falke's group is also called Neo Shadaloo. But their goals couldn't be further from the above: they broke free from Bison's grasp despite being experimented on to be his vessels. And, though they use Psycho Power, they'd never use it to harm others, let alone bring back Dictator. ---- The big question is: what the hell is JP planning?! Is it truly to bring back the organization and Bison? And is the use of the name 'Neo Shadaloo' intentional? What are his connections to Ed and/ or AKI? Now, thanks to AKI's update, we have the TINIEST bit more info to make speculations on:

----

AKI Arcade and WT Master content!!!

Brought with us some really wonderful characterization and background for AKI herself, which I loved!! Unfortunately, I'm skipping all that and focusing only on her connections to Shadaloo and JP;;; ----

Starting with her arcade mode: JP is her final boss! AKI's been tasked by her master (Fang Fei, or F.A.N.G., idk why they changed his name) to track down the remains of Shadaloo and find out what they're planning... and eliminate any obstacles to their own goals. This leads her to JP, and it reveals some interesting things:

She asks JP: "The remains of Shadaloo, experimental subjects like Ed... We know where all that money you have laundered is being funneled." In typical JP fashion he claims he hasn't the slightest clue what she's talking about, but does admit he's "acting as a treasurer of sorts. And all [he's] done is distribute the funds left by that organization accordingly".

AKI leaves JP with a warning that she can end his life whenever her master desires, and to "Leave the revival of the organization to the master".

Not the biggest surprise that FANG wants to bring back Bison, but it IS more shocking that it implies JP is also trying to revive Shadaloo! In JP's own Master/ bond conversations in World Tour, he does seem to find Bison's methods incomprehensible, brash, and far too violent for his tastes. Yet he also admires Bison's strength, and wanted to see the world from his point of view. Badly enough to obtain Psycho Power for himself.... We should remember this man lies as easily as he breathes, so we can't be 100% sure whether he 'likes' Bison or not, or whether JP wants to revive him.

From all this, my guess is that JP very well might be planning to bring back Shadaloo as an organization... but, not necessarily also bring back Bison. Because why else would FANG, Bison's biggest fan, find JP's efforts a hinderance? Otherwise, they'd be working together instead of having AKI threaten JP's life. And this is better supported as we look at the 2nd quest AKI gives us as we level up her Master skill:

She gives us this quest: "A.K.I.'s 'master' is curious about Shadaloo's current state and believes tracking down active remnants of the organization may provide some insight. But who could this mysterious 'master' be?" We need to "Talk to the contact in Nayshall while wearing a Shadaloo Soldier Helmet", essentially posing as a member of Shadaloo to get info out of their goons. And this is what the 3 members we track down have to say (the Avatar is Number 13 btw):

The summary is that: 1. The remnants of Shadaloo want to make Ed their new boss of the organization. 2. Definite confirmation that JP was the chief financial officer for Shadaloo. He's been using funds to restore Shadaloo bases near Nayshall, and is tracking down Ed/ trying to get him on board so that "Neo Shadaloo will be back for real". We come to the end of the quest by reporting back to AKI, and bringing her (adorable) report letter to Fang Fei:

So I think FANG's furious response is clear evidence that JP must not be reviving Bison. What JP's plans are with Ed, and why he even wants to bring back Shadaloo (as Neo Shadaloo apparently?) is... is unclear. Obviously we'll get more info once Ed is released, and I'm quite sure he wants NOTHING to do with neither JP nor FANG's plans.

---- Speculative Rants! Pinch of salt, heavily recommended!

Honestly, this is less of a speculation and more like, me complaining about JP lmao. Frankly it's quite hard to guess anything too interesting, since I or anyone else for that matter, has any clue what motivates JP to do... like, anything he does at all????

I keep saying this but seriously, what is his deal?! He's the head of a world recognized NGO, been publicly recognized and rewarded for his philanthropy, acts deathly allergic to both conflict and unnecessary attention, and even wields Psycho Power with no apparent negative effects quite SKILLFULLY at that.

He has an observant, analytical personality that finds morbid entertainment in The Human Condition™ and Struggle™, and is incredibly hard working for someone who finds meaning in nothing I might hazard a guess that he enjoys creating problems and situations to spectate how people act in response. It might be that he simply enjoys the thrill of getting away with crime, since he clearly doesn't want to be held responsible nor credited for any misdeeds.

But I still feel like he has some greater, more tangible plan. Something more than merely creating chaos as "light entertainment", as he often puts it. In fact, he doesn't particularly care about what becomes of his victims (Ken, Luke, Bosch, even the Avatar so long as we don't get in the way of his nondescript """"plans""""), so it's not even purely about causing suffering for the sake of it. He HAS goals just. Really really obscure ones.

But I'm also frustrated because... Why go after Ed? Surely he must know that Ed disapproves of Bison's cruelty, and would definitely disagree with JP's own amoral activities. I'm strongly speculating that JP doesn't want to use Ed as a vessel for Bison (otherwise, FANG wouldn't have been so upset), so what other reason could JP have in making Ed the leader of Neo Shadaloo?

---- In closing:

We just won't know... UNTIL ED RELEASES! I'm looking forward to his arcade and World Tour stuff to finally shed some light on what the hell is going on. This all felt a bit futile to 'analyze', since it didn't quite reveal as much as I'd hoped in the end.

But we'll see where Capcom takes the story! I only hope that JP doesn't end up disappointing in the end, that's probably my biggest fear right now;;; His whole allure is the mastermind, the schemer, the devilishly charismatic guy who gets away with it. He's "lost" to the Avatar once already, but he.. didn't "lose", yknow? He's a bit untouchable right now, and I want his defeat to be interesting!!! But how can we have a satisfying victory over an antagonist we understand so little about?!?!

Anyway. Long post is long. Everyone who's survived all this rabble, thanks for your time and attention <3 !!

#jp rambles #i once again lose my mind talking about sf6 story #i need ANSWERS CAPCOM #i need ed to be playable NOW

[chirpbudgie]

introducing my stanley for rawts: gidget!!!!!!! his name was from his narrator so he decided to change it :-) like stanford, he loooooves learning but his narrator got after him for asking questions. for now i did some writing about him……(kept falling asleep writing it, FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!!!!) and later? who knows.!!! i have a ref almost done which i’ll probably post later under the rawts tag. as well as a bunch of other facts and like. half a drabble that i can talk abt. but i will prolly just make a separate post! ok i’m rambling hello to @queenburd and @charmemes

some inspiration drawn from Satisfied by Pansychic27213 on ao3 but when am i not inspired by that.

The Parable had been tense for some time now. Stanley wasn’t keeping track, but the narrator probably was. He was petty like that. But it’s not like he was allowed to have time to himself to cool off, because why would that be a good idea?

(The narrator didn’t do anything unless it was his idea.)

“Come on! You can do it, Stanley.” His tone was patronizing. Of course the son of a bitch would turn up his volume. It’s not like Stanley’s feelings mattered or anything. He never respected boundaries unless he was in a good mood.

Stanley reminded himself to unclench his jaw and it popped when he did. He stepped through the left door. Hopefully, if he stayed quiet and played peacemaker for a while the narrator would stop trying to get a rise out of him.

(No broom closet. Comfort is off limits right now so it isn’t taken away again.)

He pretended to be surprised in the meeting room. Stanley stifled a sigh in the bosses office while the monologue continued, but still acted thoughtful and put a random code in before the real one. Looked around a little, raised his eyebrows, furrowed them.

And he pretended to look surprised when the elevator opened. He did not need to pretend to be surprised when he caught movement in the corner of his vision and tripped on a wire. Obviously the narrator moved it, but a wave of fear washed over him when he thought about giving a response.

(Okay, so he wouldn’t give fake reactions. He was just trying to play along; usually it’s appreciated. Use your words, narrator—what are you, three?)

The narrator’s voice was still cranked up and echoed in the large chamber, bless his heart. Stanley gripped the hem of his shirt as he walked and his senses buzzed unpleasantly.

(He was not going to have a meltdown this soon after their fight. He wasn’t. Not a sensory one, anyway. He’d rather go down from his own choices.)

His fear had finally receded to anger again and the button panel was his victim. The narrator didn’t care how hard he punched it, since it was obviously made of something strong. (He’d love to determine what exactly, but he didn’t have a magnet. Wasn’t allowed one, after…)

(He couldn’t remember. Didn’t want to, anyway.)

With the telltale buzz of the monitor shutting down, Stanley could make out the narration again. He sighed with relief. Now that the volume was normal, he listened in (out of politeness, but still).

“Stanley reflected on how many puzzles still lay unsolved. Where had his co-workers gone? How had he been freed from the machines grasp? What other mysteries did this strange building hold?” The narrator’s voice was mocking when he asked the questions and it was grating like nails on a chalkboard. The voice he always used to mock Stanley. Anger bubbled up again. Maybe his co-workers had left because they couldn’t stand the sheer disrespect of this guy. They should’ve taken him with; subjecting him to this was a fate worse than death.

“But as sunlight streamed into the chamber, he realized none of this mattered to him. For it was not knowledge, or even power, he had been seeking, but happiness. Perhaps his goal had not been to understand, but to let go.”

Stay calm, Stanley. Deep breaths. Don’t let him get a reaction out of you.

“No longer would anyone tell him where to go, what to do, or how to feel. Whatever life he lives, it will be his. And that was all he needed to know. It was, perhaps, the only thing worth knowing. Stanley stepped-“

Stanley kicked the door as hard as he could before it disappeared beneath the floor and the echoing boom drowned out the voice. This motherfucker wanted to irritate him sooooo bad. Well, he did it. Happy?

{Boohoo}, Stanley emphasized his middle fingers in the sign. {Someone doesn’t want to address his plot-holes. I’ve been trying to be nice here, and here you go probably SPITTING all over yourself as you talk. Haven’t you ever heard, “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all?”}

The silence was deafening. He could practically see “the outside” change hues to an ugly yellow, warping and melting. He pushed back the fear that resurfaced and let the rage boil in him.

“Stanley. Stepped. Through. The. Door.” The narrator’s poorly concealed fury made his guts churn.

{Stop antagonizing me, I thought I was the protagonist. Isn’t that, like, one of the first rules of storytelling? You already have a conflict, you can’t make me another one out of nowhere.}

The reset felt more like a punch.

He was now in the Serious Room, which had long ago been revamped for solitary confinement. “TIMEOUT” was written in red blocky letters on one of the concrete walls, but it was the only feature remaining.

Fuck, he was in big trouble. He knows exactly what his punishment is going to be.

———

The Narrator relaxed as the restrictions of a human body melted away.

The last Parable had been rougher than he’d hoped. Just a little time to himself would be nice, or even some time with his Stanley. But he had a job to do and by god, he’ll do it.

This Stanley, he noted, did not seem to be… present. He stumbled through the halls—toward the freedom ending each time—with wide, glazed over eyes and the bucket clutched to his chest. This narrator did not seem particularly cruel, even encouraging him softly along the way. When he looked closely, this narrator’s presence was concentrated around Stanley like a blanket.

It was the fourth or fifth run that Stanley seemed to come back to himself. He didn’t stand up from his chair, disgust and guilt curling out from him in thick waves. The Narrator reeled a little, not expecting such strong emotions just from the surface. Stanley still held the bucket, apparently allowed to keep it between resets, but kept a poker face. The other narrator had receded some too, he noted.

“Are you feeling better, Stanley?” This narrator spoke. There was no softness like before, just down-to-business.

A burst of disgust billowed from Stanley again (strong enough to make The Narrator gag a little, despite his incorporeality). The office worker nodded weakly but didn’t lift his eyes from the ground.

“Good. Get on with it when you’re ready, I’ll wait out here. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

Stanley shudders suddenly and The Narrator feels a hazy memory. “it’s my fault,” echoes in his mind, but it feels more like a reassurance than a fact.

This Stanley is too fragile right now, The Narrator realizes. It hurts to step back and deny the poor man a hug, but he very likely wouldn’t be able to handle it in this… brainwashed state.

He still looks dazed when he completes the freedom ending again, but seems more aware after another reset and hides in the broom closet.

So it’s a drop in the bucket (figuratively) to soundproof the small room. It’s wiser for The Narrator to stay hidden from the other until he knows the extent of his seemingly unpredictable behavior.

Stanley startles at the sound of shoes hitting the ground. He stares at the new man with his hands up, but can’t seem to form anything to say. He rocks a little from his position on the floor.

That’s alright, of course. The Narrator will give him all the time he needs.

{Who?} Stanley finally manages before frantically sitting on his hands.

“I’m The Narrator of a different Stanley,” he begins, speaking softly. It’s a little hard on his knees, but he sits down on the floor too. This Stanley feels like a scared, cornered animal. “I’m going to help you leave. Would you like some company in the meantime?”

Stanley squirms a little. He has so many questions that they’re practically forced into The Narrator’s head, but he only nods. His expression is conflicted.

“Let’s see…” Wow, that is a lot, he’ll go in order. “I’m not completely sure how I’m here either. I can exist outside of this body, but most Stanleys seem to prefer I use it when we first meet. No, I created it-“

{Are you reading my mind?!} Stanley signs frantically. His mouth has dropped wide open.

“You might as well be handing them to me on sticky-notes, dear boy,” he chuckles. “I’m only listening to the surface level.”

But Stanley shrinks back. {Sorry, I hope it’s not too many questions. My narrator doesn’t do that.} He wrings his hands together and looks everywhere else.

He’s panicking, The Narrator realizes. Stanley is fearful of asking. It makes him want to cry and hold this poor man until he’s never afraid again.

He pulls himself to sit next to the office worker and holds his hand. “I don’t mind—in fact, I enjoy it very much. Ask to your hearts content.”

This Stanley wears his heart on his sleeve, it seems, and the sudden emotions hit him like a brick. It’s almost overstimulating at first.

Stanley takes a deep breath, shaky. {Thank you,} he fumbles. He wants to say more, but he doesn’t want to unlink their hands. Touch-starvation is one hell of a drug and he thinks he’ll start crying if he lets go.

Even with the reassurance, an unspoken question rests on his fingers. He finally looks back at The Narrator, who has a welcoming smile on his face. “Of course, whatever you want.”

He shuffles closer gingerly, like if he moves too fast The Narrator might leave. The older man bridges the divide and Stanley is settled in his lap.

“I’ll tell you if I’m uncomfortable,” he hums and Stanley relaxes. He curls up, resting his head against The Narrator’s shoulder. A hand begins to rub his back and he takes a deep breath again, this time in relief.

His own narrator is a ticking time bomb—he’s had to learn to switch gears fast. And that probably sped up the process of him getting here, in such a vulnerable position, but he doesn’t mind all that much. In fact, this is the first time in a long time that he’s been able to remember what hope is truly like.

But the thoughts bleed out of him like sand through a sieve. He doesn’t fight it like he always does. He’s never been truly comforted like this, it’s so earnest—there’s no fear that his coping mechanism will be exploited. That he’ll be exploited for the story.

Stanley has plenty of questions, but he can ask them later. When he remembers them.

(The Narrator notes that Stanley’s contentment is an emotion that feels stale. Like a stuffed animal that’s been moved around, but hasn’t been played with in years; dust collecting deep and thick in the fur.)

#chirping #repeat and write this story #tsp #the stanley parable #tsp oc ? #hrmmmm #anyways #gidget is just a little guy in a big world #he just wants to be held. the narrator indulges him #gidget rawts

[lackablazeical]

Hello!

A. Why does Cuddle's teeth get bigger every time I see her

B. Her eyes also are getting bigger I think

C. Will we ever get a cuddles and raph fusion and the other duo? I think it would be fun for cuddles and raph's fusion to be a complete plush toy body with plush spikes yet the scars are like hard and burnt fabric that has similar texture to Raph's skin, like how some plushes have pure hard thread for details like noses and small scars!

D. I understand your stance on proship is a full no, and I respect that 100%, proshippers can die in a pit. But I'm curious, why do you depict minors in such abusive relationships? I mean, I understand that this is your au and creative liberties know no bounds however concept wise I am fascinated! These are late teens, 15 - 17 last I saw on the ref sheets, yet they are put into extremely gorey and torturous situations and abusive to others, including family. My question is what inspired you to make such a dark ass au? The concept and designs are beautiful, but what inspired you to make it go so dark for minor aged characters? Logically speaking I don't think I could ever see these characters behave this way before seeing your au, and I don't mean to sound rude at all! I do adore your au and characters and writing style, I'm just so curious how you decided to put these young characters in such terrible life positions. It's similar to the torture extent of Like Father Like Son, putting child/teenaged characters into situations that you would see in someone's deepest fears or in a rated R film. Why did you choose to do that? And again, I'm genuinely asking, because even as a horror fanatic, I can't see anyone putting characters to such harmful extremes. /genq

Hi!

A/B: I am inconsistent and don't put effort into drawing her cus I Do Not Like Drawing Her 💃💃💃💃 (I have a design for her the works that I like a lot more that hopefully WILL be more consistent lol, I am so sorry to any miss cuddles enjoyers)

C. Yes!!!! There are gonna be Donnida and Rizu (Raph+Chizu) fusions, then after that I was hopefully planning to do some other combos!!! But omg YES that would be so cute IWHIWJF Raph with little button eyes, ill take 10 please

D. Yes, absolutely completely against proship, I fucking hate proshippers, they all need to choke on forks, yes.

As for your actual question, a few different reasons.

One, I just. Didn't really care to change their ages very much from actual canon. I'm a minor as well (16) so I tend to have characters that are around my age LOL. It's just never crossed my mind that. The minor characters being involved in dark things would like. Add to the horror, I guess? Maybe cus I'm one of said minors IAHWIEBF I have no idea.

Two, I just. Like dark topics LOL. Always have. My interests involve bondage, taxidermy, body horror, etc etc. I just put a lot of that into my work, I love drawing gore and making art w/ dark themes (even bigger bonus if it means I also get to contrast it w/ bright visuals) addams family as a concept is honestly quite dark when you look closer at some of the jokes and situations, I'm just not very good at comedy so that kinda got lost which is a 'my bad' moment

Three, i didn't want to make light of specific topics so I keep and present them dark (for example, Leo stalking Usagi. I'm not gonna make light of stalking and abuse to keep a more lighthearted tone. I'm just not. So. Yeah). I think it's in bad taste to present certain things like that more comically, and I'll take the L of diverting from the source material a lot for it.

I wouldn't compare it to LFLS really! Lfls is a wonderful fanfic made by a wonderful person, but I think. What we try to achieve and the points/ideas we present are very very different, ya know? Hers is angst with a point, I'm just here to get groovy/j

I like the dark topics and I like presenting them as such, ISHDIFBFJ. Maybe it's just my low-empathy talking, but I like what I've done and I'm gonna keep improving it! I just. Idk, I enjoy it. About as simple as that!

I did at least try to go for some difference then other 'dark turtle' AUs I've seen! No hate to any of them, they get all the hearts and flowers from me, I just wanted something different and hopefully. Achieved that! Yay! :D

#blaze's answers

[flowerbloom-arts]

Has it been two years already since I first posted about the Muddler? Goodness gracious. Imagine drawing the same character for two years and making atleast one finished piece of them on a monthly basis haha can't be me.

Anyway, something something this fandom means alot to me something something.

Seriously though it's kinda crazy how much I've done within these 2 years and I'm still obsessed with the same ol' mutt within that time. There's been alot of ups and downs just with any year, I've made things, I did stuff, fictional little guys and mutuals are the only ones keeping me sane, the usual. In celebration I made new refs for Muddler! There are a few more versions of him I tend to draw but I'll draw those when I need them - for now I'm just gonna settle for these two (and thank goodness because the original ref redo was a hassle to work with so hopefully I've made it more convenient this time)

Looking at my art journey, there's certainly a reason why hindsight is known to have 20/20 vision. There's alot of ~weirdness~ going on in the second year (especially the first half) and I probably almost certainly will see the art for next year the same way. His design has stayed extremely consistent but the way I drew his face and proportions were eehhhh... Sometimes I wonder why I thought it looked good when I made it, you know?

This isn't to say I feel bad for making those pieces and not noticing the glaring issues at the time, they're very much pivotal to my art journey and my current vision of them is a sign that I really HAVE improved. And I'm happy with myself and my art as-is, weirdness I'll notice in the future and all.

I managed to get this far with few critique of my work and just being very obsessive and I'm kinda proud of that, there's been more obvious improvements in the way I draw characters like the Moomins, Hemulens and Hodgkins and I honestly feel great about that. Art has always been my primary fixation since I could hold a pencil and I really don't want to suck the joy out of it by being too critical of it, whether it comes from myself or others, and the thought of bringing content to those who enjoy the things I do but can't find it from anyone else is always a comfort in the back of my mind.

Here's to future endeavors in my career!

#moomins #moominvalley #art #muddler #moomin muddler #the muddler

[silvertherogue715]

Hey. It's been a hot minute since i've posted any art. I really just post for myself, but i felt especially proud of the progress ive made over the course of (many) months designing the Sunstar of my BrainrotAU. Feel free to disregard! I'm just gonna ramble. Art will be included in the 'keep reading' section though.

I didn't want to deal with uploading the actual art files, and just used snippet to capture pieces of my art instead. The pictures could be irregularly large or small as a result--I don't have a good way to control then when using snippet. Sorry! Some old art of Sunstar.exe (not in order):

So, as you can see above, a lot of blue. It's kind of overpowering, honestly, and it took me a while to figure out I needed to start making changes to his color palette.

This was his first half body reference sheet. A ton of blue. Also my only REF of him with his back showing. I haven't updated his back design yet, but the final product will be much different.

Eventually, I decided to make his shoulder-braiser things orange instead of blue, as well as the sun-like gem on his helmet. I also started working out any built-in flaws I wanted to force his character to work around--like his hands being constantly on fire, or extremely hot. This just means he has to be extremely careful touching anything or anyone. It's not something he can just "turn off". Also, I think this was my first attempt at a proper full body design for him. It's fine for a second first attempt, and I was happy with it for a few months, but eventually I started thinking it shared the bulky OG robot master traits, rather than the 'netnavi' look I was wanting.

I started tinkering with his colors again, but only made minor changes. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what was 'off' to me without a proper full body to experiment on, but I very rarely have the willpower to make one. Some of these expression snippets were more helpful for me to use to at least get a read on exactly how expressive he can be in the AU, if he wanted to. Another big thing this helped me realize was how limited his expressions felt with the current colors (like his eyelashes), especially with how dark his face was. It made his nose/mouth harder to see. I end up making it a lighter shade in future doodles. Oh, and I wanted to start integrating pieces of Duo.exe's design into him as well--like the flat nose.

Woe, Sunterra doodle be upon ye. I need to finish this some day, but a big thing this helped me identify were: 1.) I desperately need to work on poses. 2.) I needed to figure out how to give Sunstar a "soft" look. In the expressions practice above, this was one of his faces i really struggled to get down. Still working on that. 3.) Another reminder he was too clunky to match a normal Navi design. Terra looks much more 'navi'-like. I needed to do a whole ass reboot for Sunstar from top-down. Anyway! The most recent stuff will be below. A few (bad) attempts:

And then I basically went "screw it" and went goblin mode at a full body attempt. Here's what I finally ended up with :")

For now I've decided to stick with a (mostly) cool/silver base with some warm orange and yellows mixed in in (hopefully) unobtrusive ways. Maybe this will change in the future, but for now I'm happy with his design :)

The orange on the bottom of his cape is meant to be a fire-y design, but I'm too tired to refine it (or anything else) further. Hopefully I'll have more art to update. eventually.

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking around, lol.

#my art #brainrotau #mmbnau #stardroids #sunstar #megamansunstar #sketch #doodle #megaman #mega man battle network

[herbcitty]

tagged by @patrickztump thanks! =)

favorite color: Green also, I like grass greens =)

last song: according to spotify, night changes by one direction, but I think it was actually ho ho hopefully by the Maine.

currently reading: a 600k fic. It’s a het romance and I still haven’t decided if I hate it or not 200k in. Very much Not my usual, I avoid het romances like this on purpose usually, but the author of another fic I simply adored ages ago recommended it so I thought I’d try it. It barely counts as fic beyond being in the setting tbh, the canon characters are all massively wildly out of character but the non-canon oc main girl is compelling. Stupid love triangle nonsense tho sweet best friend with growing distance bc Circumstances or his disowned bad boy womaniser brother, trying to play it like a Romeo and Juliet situation when it’s So Not because you’re all rich aristocracy and play by the rules of it! Throws in some unrealistic would-be deadly animal attacks occasionally, which could go completely different angles and doesn’t (a queer fic would be leaping into monsterfucking implications and whathaveyou here. This doesn’t even think to look at it with a feminist lens). I’m sure I’m about to get to the good bit soon (best friend guy is desperate to join a gang, author is doing a terrible job of getting into his motivations for that when yknow. Most compassionate people would not. OC main is entirely blind to said politics even existing despite that being why bad boy brother was disowned, and that they’re yknow, out there killing people). Also the amount of sex everyone is eluded to be having is unreal, especially in such an aristocratic setting with its parent-chosen marriage-as-business-agreement approach. I’ve read worse honestly and if I didn’t spend all day thinking about it wanting to know what happens I would chuck it in.

last text sent: "ready at the gate now"

last text received: "what time are u gonna be home"

last thing eaten: harvest snaps chickpea crisps, sour cream and chives flavour. Bought them one other time and enjoyed them, very disappointed this time.

last thing purchased: bought pitapit for dinner last weekend, never had it before and it was very nice.

last tv series: uuhhhh,,, it has been so long I couldn’t tell you.

last movie: I think it was a marvel movie in cinema, one about a woman. Captain marvel, maybe? Idk, years ago.

currently working on: still my tapestry. Currently might be a bit of a stretch, haven’t actually sewed since before Christmas on it. 🙈 found I forgot to purchase the next colour I wanted to work on somehow and then the one I had planned wasn’t right and didn’t fit with the others (I handpicked the lot from digital colour charts bc the ones actually on the canvas were Wrong to my ref picture and Ugly; I’m surprised it hadn’t happened earlier), and then the one shop in the country that sells those cottons hasn’t had the one other green they carry that will have to do in stock since (should be back soon, they reckoned March restock). Still got loads of other colours to work on but it’s blown my motivation.

no pressure tagging: @seassidess, @fenrir-flamekeeper, @kurai0423dreams, @delor-art and anyone else who sees this and wants to!

#herbcitty meows

[blackdagger456]

Lets Talk About: RWBY Volume 9 News & Expectations

Alright, so...RWBY Volume 9 is coming on the 18th of Janurary after a VERY long time of hiatus. Hell i thought it was going to be linger consider the movies they’re trying to do but lo and behold I was surprised.

Kinda wish it was a pleasant one though.

Now, let me be very clear that i’m not here to rain on anyones parade. I’ve seen many people be excited for both the announcement date and the trailer and i’m happy for them. I’m happy that RWBY is coming back...but i have to be honest and say i’m not excited for a number of reasons.

Let’s get the short one out of the way and talk briefly about the animation. i know the team is being dumbed down and for what’s happened it looks great but I can’t just sit here and lie and say it lookd amazing. It looks—it looks weird, especially when you pause at some moments. Taking a second and third look and the grove Ruby walks through you can tell that the plants look off and when she’s sliding down that stairway it looks off too be it a still shot or animated.

Hopefully there’s improvements before the season comes out but we’ll have to wait and see.

Now onto the big one, I am NOT on board with the setting/plot of this volume. I’m sorry but once again I gotta be honest.

I am not into this Alice and Wonderland thing they’re doing, it takes me out of the world too much and it ain’t really what I came for. The fantasy references have always been ironic or subtle or purposely in your face but never did it take central stage for this story.

Examples of this would be: Ozpin or Oz as in the Wizard of Oz, Salem references the Salem Withctrials and Glynda Goodwitch another ref to Oz.

These were fun little references me and my own group of friends enjoyed but that’s all they were. References in a world that was all its own and i’m not saying that it’s still not its own but come on—they ripping TOO much from Alice In Wonderland.

They even have the damned cat for gods sake.

Then there’s the talkin animals and i’m sorry but I didn’t come to RWBY to feel like i’m in a disney movie. I feel like how Yang seemed to feel in the trailer just bloody not in the mood/done.

Then there’s the fact that it isn’t just RWBY here but Jaune as well. I cannot TELL you how loud me and my friend groaned when we saw him fall. I’m pretty neutral on Jaune in the canon and FNDM but i was hoping it to just be a volume focusing on the girls again. A return to form with just them, just them focusing in their relationship and developing on their own.

Jaune doesn’t need to be here with them in my opinion. Keeping him with his team and the others seems like a much better choice. We already have Neo with them and I know with the trailer they’re showing they’re going to be asking questions and dealing with Rubys mindset and probably have her breakdown which tbh she needs one.

I’m of the opinion that Ruby has been holding everything on her shoulders, her team wasn’t exactly helping with some of their actions, and every time she seems to have things handled shit gets worse and she’s left to be positive and lead. She needs a GOOD breakdown to grow and i feel like that’s going to happen in this volume.

But once again we don’t need Jaune here to help her through that when all of her team fell with her and we don’t need it to be in a literal Alice In Wonderland setting.

I came to RWBY to watch people fight monsters in an expanding story that made us realize the Grimm weren’t the only threat which up till this point is what I got. It has and still does have its faults that i’ve both analyzed and criticized and praised. I wish they did more with Raven, I wish they expanded more on her and didn’t reduce her as they did post V3, i wish they didn’t take certain avenues with the story, i wish they did more with the White Fang, I wish they didn’t make some of the choices they did with Blake, i wish Whitley was expanded more with Weiss and i wish they put in more effort to make Ozpin grey.

I wish they developed Ironwoods turn more and I wish they didn’t make RWBY personalities switch sometimes or paint them as always in the right when it is very clear that they aren’t. But that’s a thing for amother tome the point is that even with all of these faults RWBY still had its many positives.

I like the fights.

I like the story.

I liked the characters both in canon and fanon interpretations.

I love the community that the story has helped create.

I love the world of RWBY but this? This doesn’t feel like the world of RWBY. It feels like it’s going to be filler, a season full of it and maybe there’ll be elements that make it bearable or prove me wrong which is why i’m giving it a chance but my points, at least to me, are valid.

I hope this volume proves me wrong but right now? Right now i’m just not feelin the excitement I know I used to get.

#blackdagger 456 #rwby #rwby v9 #rwby volume 9 #analysis #jaune arc #team rwby #yang xiao long #ozpin #rwby ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake bellodona #salem #rwby salem

[ikoni-dweebs]

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!

Hi! I'm Aelita-Gracidea, (She/Her/Any) one of the champion rank reps from Ikoni! So umm... guess I'd better tell you guys a bit about me!

Like I said, I'm from Ikoni which is like, whole other side of the continent from Unova for ref. That's where I made my pokemon journey and ultimately became a champion rank member of our league!

Here's my team! Hopefully I'll have pictures for you eventually, but for now I'll just list them.

Anubis - A Lucario and my starter. He likes to think he's the "mature" one of the group, but he's not fooling anyone.

Titania - A Gardevoir and the actual mature one, though she tends to be a bit shy.

Maximon - My very mischievous Gengar. Loves hiding in shadows and popping out to scare people among other pranks.

The Sisters - Yeah, I'm lumping them together because, ever since they evolved they kind of act as a single unit. You've got Mab the Meowscarada, Kólga the Primarina, and Baba Yaga (usually shortened to Babi) the Delphox. They are some of the most devious girls you ever saw, and stick together like glue. You hurt one of them you've made an enemy out of all of them!

Janus - last but not least, my Xweilous, Janus. They have a deficiency that makes them non-aggressive and which means they don't like to battle but I decided to keep them anyway since most people aren't going to really want a Xweilous that doesn't battle. They'll never evolve, but they seem happy enough.

Anyway, that's about it from me for now! I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Bill Fanboys DNI!!!!!

Images will be updated as I make more art for it.

Please note that, I am not actually good at competitive, so any asks to Aelita regarding advice there will be purely lore and vibes based. Do not take any of Aelita's advice into actual Pokemon Competitions. You will probably lose, lol

Aelita character posts and replies will have the tag #ShayminFan

#Pokemon #Pkmn irl #Ikoni #ShayminFan

[pathfinderunlocked]

Unlocked Minor Reaper - CR10 Undead

A Pathfinder Unlocked version of the Minor Reaper.

Artwork by ChrisOzFulton on DeviantArt.

We’re continuing the Unlocked Monster series of monsters with a redesigned version of the Grim Reaper’s minions, which it sends out to hunt down and kill specific targets.  Unlocked Monsters are my attempts to make more mechanically engaging versions of official Pathfinder monsters.

I would have been perfectly happy to use the Minor Reaper from Paizo’s Carrion Crown adventure path as written if it didn’t suck so badly.  One of the bigger problems it has is conveying what the heck is going on to the players.  If it’s attacked by anyone but its target, it creates a new reaper which goes after its attacker... but not until its next turn, which makes it really hard for players to connect the cause with the effect.  There’s also no way for players to know which PC each reaper is targeting until it attacks someone, which means you have to leave each new one alone for an entire round.

A secondary problem is that any martial character who isn’t fighting a Minor Reaper is unable to do anything except just stand there.  Spellcasters might be able to cast buffs on the characters who are being targeted but the rest of the party can’t do anything.  They can’t even use combat maneuvers or aid another checks to help the reaper’s main target, since the Minor Reaper creates a new reaper in response to any attack, not just damage.

Aside from making its mechanics more obvious to the players, I also limited the number of reapers it can summon, so that after the other PCs kill the summoned reaper, they can actually attack the original main target instead of leaving and making a sandwich.  Plus I gave it some ranged abilities, because geez.

I also forced them to focus much more intently on their sole target and ignore all other threats.  This behavior was strongly implied in the original text but there were no specific rules for it.  Because of this behavior, I gave them the lawful alignment.  They follow the commands of their master absolutely, after all, whether that’s a Grim Reaper or a necromancer.

The end result of all this should hopefully be a battle that feels more like a puzzle and less like a series of infinite reapers.  It’s a little stronger than the original, but the original was underpowered for its CR, relying too much on its summoning.

Minor Reaper - CR 10

This tall, cloaked figure stares out from the black hood that covers its head. It wields an enormous scythe in its skeletal, bone-white hands, looking as though it is freezing the very air around it.

XP 9,600 LE Medium undead (evil, extraplanar) Init +9 Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +18

DEFENSE

AC 22, touch 15, flat-footed 24 (+5 Dex, +7 natural) hp 127 (15d8+60) Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +9 DR 5/cold iron or good Immune cold, undead traits

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk scythe +15/+10/+5 (2d4+3/×4 plus death touch) Ranged mwk composite longbow +17/+12/+7 (1d8+2/x3 plus death touch) Special Attacks fear cone (30 ft., DC 20), reaper’s mark

Spell-like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +14)     1/day—Finger of Death (DC 20; see text)

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 20, Con —, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 17 Base Atk +11; CMB +16 (+18 to overrun and reposition); CMD 28 (30 vs. overrun and reposition) Feats Agile Maneuvers, Improved Initiative, Improved Overrun, Improved Reposition, Point Blank Shot, Toughness, Weapon Focus (scythe) Skills Climb +11, Intimidate +16, Perception +18, Stealth +22 SQ sole target Languages Common, Infernal, Necril Gear mwk composite longbow (+2 strength), mwk scythe, 100 arrows

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Death Touch (Su) Creatures hit by either a lesser reaper’s touch attack or by a weapon wielded by a lesser reaper must succeed at a DC 20 Fortitude save or gain 1d4 negative levels.  The save DC is Charisma-based.  A humanoid slain by a reaper’s death touch is consumed in unholy fire and has its remains destroyed as the destruction spell.  This is a death effect.

Sole Target (Su) Each minor reaper is assigned a specific target by the reaper that summoned it or the necromancer that commands it.  It attempts to kill that target at the exclusion of all other foes, dealing with other attackers only once its sole target is dead (though it may use abilities such as combat maneuvers or its fear cone to get past other creatures, and may attack them directly if doing so doesn’t interfere with going after its sole target, such as with attacks of opportunity).

If a creature attacks a minor reaper targeting another creature, once per hour that minor reaper may immediately summon another minor reaper as an immediate action to battle the interceding creature unless the interloper is already in battle with a minor reaper of its own, in which case the ability is wasted.  If a minor reaper does not or cannot use this ability immediately after being attacked, it must wait until it is attacked once again in order to do so.

When a minor reaper is summoned, the minor reaper that summoned it must audibly speak in Necril to tell it which creature to target; without this instruction, it will not attack except to defend itself.  This summon has a duration of 1 hour.  A summoned minor reaper cannot use its own Sole Target ability to summon additional minor reapers.  If a summoned minor reaper kills the target it was summoned to face, the summon ends early and it disappears.

Reaper’s Mark (Su) As a swift action, a minor reaper can point at its sole target and speak in Necril to verbally designate that target as its foe.  The minor reaper gains a +2 insight bonus to hit the target, always knows the target’s precise location, and can use Finger of Death against the target.  This effect lasts for 24 hours.  A minor reaper can only have a reaper’s mark active against a single creature; using it on a new creature ends the previous effect.

Finger of Death (Sp) A minor reaper can cast Finger of Death, but only against a target it has marked with Reaper’s Mark.  Doing so is a one-round action instead of a standard action.  A minor reaper cannot cast Finger of Death on the same round as it uses Reaper’s Mark.

Fatal Shot (Ex) As a full-round action, a minor reaper can fire a single arrow at a target that is infused with deadly power.  This attack gains a +4 bonus to hit and deals double damage.  A minor reaper suffers a -2 penalty to AC for 1 round after using this ability.

#D&D #pathfinder 1e #undead #extraplanar #evil

[justsomeectoplasm]

Hiya! I'd love to enter into the Ori children ask event! I've been lurking for a bit and this is so cool so I wanted to hop in! Thank you so much in advance if you choose to do mine!!! -Koda

Also warning it's a long ask ^^'

Information requested:

Skykid Info:

Name/Pronouns: Kodiak—He/Him

Height: Chibi XL (this is his height vs. a tall person)

Personality:

At first, he's shy, timid, easily spooked. Quiet and always aware of what's going on around him.

Once he gets to know you? A goofball that you'll wish you never met. Loyal, happy-go-lucky. Too trusting for his own good. A creature of pride, he will try to impress anyone he considers a mentor or a teacher and will go to any lengths to accomplish this task.

When feeling hurt or wanting to get away from everyone, he'll go find something to distract himself with, dangerous or not (but mostly dangerous). He'll either go krill dodge, leap off of the citadel without opening his cape until the last possible second or go wade through polluted waters.

Backstory:

Instead of waking up in the Isle, Kodiak woke up in the middle of the Windpaths on one of the middle islands by the Forest entrance. Navigator found him and carried him back to the island, causing Kodiak to form a sort of parent/mentor attachment to him. (Navi didn't ask for this but eventually was happy as he had someone else to guide and teach how to fly).

He made his way through the realms from the Windpath entrances, everytime bringing back wax and little trinkets that he found to show the spirits (this always concerned the Spirit Guide, but Builder and Chimesmith loved it so she never said anything) as his way of speaking in love was gift giving. Navi gave him a smaller version of his cape and goggles as a celebration gift after Kodiak finished going through Wasteland for the first time (he dodged a krill doing it, astounding Navi in the process and making him proud).

Other Notes:

Originally being from the Windpaths, he has eartufts that grew as he got better with flight and has a pet bird named Hikaru- his first friend in the Windpaths (they met from Hikaru flying out of a pot and smacking him in the face knocking them both down) who lives in his nest of hair. He is horrible at sliding fast as he's more coordinated in the air than on the ground, not the best swimmer but not the worst either.

Kingdom: Not sure; most seem like they would interest him to a degree.

Scenario: Thankfully this is optional because *I have too many*.

Have some ref pics of him (and by some I mean two more):

Since no kingdom was added, I'm placing your skykid in a random kingdom. The kingdom I'll place your skykid in is: Oops! It seems the portal towards Lifeno malfunctioned! Your skykid has instead traveled towards: Faewild.

" 'Shoot' was the first thing Kodiak thought when he woke up. Maybe it was a bad idea trying to rapidly fly around home and accidentally fly into a portal.

And now he's....honestly Kodiak doesn't know where he is. This looks like Lifeno kingdom, but at the same time not? He did travel to each kingdom, but this one is certainly new. It's dark, but some strange bugs are glowing, lightning up the whole small forest. The mushrooms are huge and they could feel the light in the air.

This is not Lifeno kingdom. The forest does not have this much magic in the ground. Kodiak could feel the little gem in his chest beating.

Welp.

Guess it's best to start looking for his friends Most have probably by now entered the portal to look for him, so hopefully he might find them soon."

• Thanks to Kodiak's observant eye, they noticed the abundance of magic in this forest. More than what he was use to, it made him wary of where he was. Hikari started glowing brighter though, and is happily chirping away on Kodiaks' head.

• Continuing to travel through the forest, Kodiak found a small...village? The houses are in the trees and the lamps are lit, but there is no one in the streets (maybe because he's on the outskirts? He doesn't know.) The whole place reminds Kodiak of the assembly treehouse and the windpaths and wave of nostalgia reaches him, remembering his friends whom he dearly miss in the realms.

• "Oh? An ori child? Kodiak almost jumped out of his cape when a voice suddenly spoke. He turns around to find a fae staring down at him. They were carrying an umbrella, but it looked almost as if the stars and planets were swimming around it. It reminded him of orbit in a way.

• Realising he wasn't answering the fae, Kodiak sputtered out a greeting, timidly looking down at his feet. The fae stared blankly at him, before giving a smile and laughing softly. They kneeled down to his height.

• "It's quite an honour to meet your kind. Say, what do you say on joining me? There's a feast happening at the center of the village." Their voice is somehow soft and calm, like parent. Despite Hikari's wary tweets, a feast and a party does sound fun.

• Agreeing to the fae's request, they took Kodiak's hand and lead him to the center of the village. As they draw near the center, Kodiak could hear the cheerful music and the sounds of laughther. The feasts bright lights illuminating the night sky. Delicious food lined up on a long table while the fae dance and sing.

• As the fae's warmly welcomes Kodiak, his timid personality fades away and he soons enjoys the feast, often singing melodious songs using his rare ori child voice and telling tall tales of his adventures in the sky kingdom for the laughing fae. The fae gave him food and complimented his ear tufts, the colours impressing even high ranked fae.

• But as time went on, Kodiak started to grow more weary. How long has he been here? An hour? Two hours?

• The knawing feeling of disturbance rocked his chest. As he goes up to the fae, his small stature easily allowing him to walk under the table unnoticed, he heard the fae talking to someone else. "Who knew I would find an ori child wandering around the outskirts of our village? What luck!"

"Just imagine how much the court will pay us for a song. The Queen will be delighted to hear that an ori child tookr residence here. Did you hear how he can sing? It sounded like an angel!"

"Indeed. Although we need to keep him here. I might be able to offer him a home here, but we might need to get rid of that bird he has. They were quite the nuisance since they didn't let me go near enough to place the seal.

•.......huh?

• Hikari became restless. The feast's music became eerie, the laughter stinging Kodiaks' ears. Fear rocked in his chest, his heart beating on the sound of the drums. He needs to get out of here. NOW.

• Kodiak immediately sat down and meditated, not hesitating to return back home. He could care less if the fae hated him. He could care less if he can't return to this place. He did not want to become some walking and talking puppet for the fae.

• As he returned, he found his friends at home. All looked at him wide eyed before immediately hugging him, all of them worried out of their minds.

• Kodiak closed his eyes, happy to be back home

Additional headcannons

• Turns out that the feast Kodiak attended was manipulating time. What felt like hours had passed in the faewild, months had gone by in the real world. So he was a little distorted when he escaped.

• He has a severe distrust of fae, once mistaking an elf for a fae and accidentally be passive agressive towards them. He later became friends with them (somehow??)

• Some creatures native to the fae wild followed Kodiak the entire time he was traveling. Some birds even made friends with Hikari.

• Although his experience with the kingdom was mostly sour, the Faewilds iz probably the closest thing that is similar to the wind paths for Kodiak, so whenever he ends up in them, he avoids the fae villages and just vibes in the forest away from the fae.

#sky children of the light #sky cotl #the ori children au #Sorry if this had a bit of a dark turn! #I saw faewilds and Kodiaks trusting nature and thought #Ah I see :-) #long post

[legitlaur]

lightweight // harry styles boxer au pt. 1

boxer!harry x reader

Warnings: language, nsfw content (in future parts), violence

word count: 5k

summary: Harry Styles is a notorious boxer in London. He has been in a funk for a while and can’t stay focused in training or matches. One day he sees you. You change his perspective, and however the universe blesses Harry because he keeps bumping into you. 

a/n: this is a disclaimer if anything. All boxing and medical references are sourced from google. I don’t know much about either. But please enjoy some boxer!harry because he is currently my favorite harry

Sweat was dripping down my face, my hair was sticking to my forehead and my head wasn’t in the right mindset. I kept my hands up, I was playing defense this morning.

“Harry!” My coach, Sam, barked but not fast enough.

A gloved fist swung around and smacked me in the face.

I grunted in pain but stood my ground.

“Get over here man.” Sam shook his head in disappointment.

I walked across the ring to the broody man. I rested my arms on the ropes and opened my mouth wide. I was about to get a lecture and I wasn’t in the mood.

Sam took my mouthguard out and started pouring water down my throat. “What’s your problem today? You’re not hitting a single combination, and even on defense you’re getting the shit beaten out of you.”

A lecture.

“I know.” I panted, “I can’t focus today, something is going on. I, I. I just don’t know what.”

“Hmm. Why don’t you take a 15-minute break? Go outside, hopefully, the fresh air will do you good.” Sam untied my gloves and pulled them off.

I ducked under the ropes back onto the carpet of the gym. Even with my back turned to him I knew Sam was shaking his head in disappointment, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have any big fights lined up for the next few months, I was just training for the off-season. He must have noticed there was definitely something going on because he never let me have anything more than a quick water break.

A few people were in the bathroom when I walked in, but they left without saying a word once I made eye contact with them.

They feared me, as they should.

I was Harry Styles, one of the best boxers in London.

Some people liked to call it fear, others liked to call it respect. I didn’t care what it was, so long as I was in the ring winning.

I looked in the mirror of the rusted bathroom. My hair was getting too long, Sam was going to start getting on me to go to the barbers. I took out the little ponytail that rested at the crown of my head, it was coming apart and this was a shit practice anyway. A few curls landed in front of my eyes, I ran my hands through my sweat-soaked hair trying to push it out of my eyes.

“Make yourself worth it!” I repeated to myself.

I stared at my opponent. His hair covering half his face, his eyes had less determination in them. The bruise on his right cheek was finally healing. He looked tired, sad, and weak. Nothing like a champion.

I was staring at myself.

Somehow, I had become my biggest competition. My mindset was all wrong. I didn’t have the motivation and drive I had when I put on my first set of boxing gloves. The spark burned out. Something was missing.

I slapped my face and shook my head. After bouncing around a few times I left the bathroom and went straight to the front door of the building. I could hear the busy London streets before I pushed the door open.

A cool breeze hit my bare chest. I walked a few feet away from the gym to clear my head. I had my hands resting behind my head as I inhaled and exhaled the polluted London air.

I looked around at the people walking past. Most of them were either giving me a weird look because I was walking around shirtless in the street with both hands wrapped. Others knew who I was and were nodding at me.

My head was spinning, I wasn’t sure what was happening. I felt like I was overheating but freezing at the same time. The sounds of traffic were making me panic, I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs. Something was wrong with me.

When my eyes landed on you, it left like the biggest fist to the gut I’d ever taken. The air that I couldn’t inhale was somehow knocked out of me.

You were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen before. When you walked past me, it wasn’t the confusion, fear, or respect that you gave me. No, you gave me pity.

I looked into your eyes and felt peace and passion all at once. There was a mutual understanding of what I was going through. Even if I wasn’t sure what it was. I felt like we were staring into each other’s souls.

I turned around as you walked right past me. Not even giving me a second thought. Why would you?

I tried to keep my eyes on you for as long as possible, but you turned the corner before you could blend into the crowd. I was pretty certain a woman with your beauty and confidence would never blend into a crowd.

I pinched the bridge of my nose when you disappeared. I knew the chances of me seeing you again were slim to none. I never had much luck in my life, except maybe boxing.

You. The bizarre angel sent from heaven above to show me pity.

I didn’t even realize pity was what I needed until you showed it to me. I wasn’t sure how you’d shown it to me, there had been nothing but eye contact.

A dreary man in a suit bumped into me. “Watch where you’re going, man.” He gave me a disgusted look. It was probably deserved after my sweat got all over his blue blazer.

“Sorry," I muttered as I walked back into the gym. Sam was sitting at the front desk with his hand covering his face. He was getting more and more frustrated with me. My practices hadn’t been great recently, and neither of us knew how to fix whatever problem I was clearly having.

I didn’t know what came over me or why the next words came out of my mouth, but I had a feeling I would regret them soon enough.

“Schedule me for a fight.”

Sam's head popped up. His eyes were wide. “What?”

We both knew me getting in the ring for an actual fight right now would end with me in the hospital. I didn’t care, if anything I hoped it would inspire me to find some form of inspiration.

“I want to fight someone! Anyone!” I reiterated as I walked up to my coach.

“Are you sure you wanna do that? We both know you’re not ready for a real fight.” Sam offered.

I wasn’t sure, hell maybe this was suicide. I shrugged, “Why not? I haven’t had a real fight in months and it’s starting to show. The fans are losing interest.”

Sam nodded, “That’s true. Maybe this will get you out of the funk you’ve been in.”

“So you’ll schedule me for something soon?” I was getting a little too eager.

“Yes, but if I don’t think you’re ready for it I’m pulling you out.” He was already on his phone, probably trying to find me a decent opponent that wouldn’t ruin my title.

-

A week later I was in the locker room of the York Hall. I was getting my hands wrapped in preparation for my match that evening. I could hear the audience through the cinder block walls. Word had spread that Harry Styles was going to be back in the ring tonight. People from all over London were coming to see me fight. I had an audience, now all I needed was to put on a show.

Once Sam gave me a quick pep talk and I was in my gloves I threw on my robe. I waited for my walk-out song to start. It was my cue to head out to the ring.

The song “Death May Die” began, dramatic violin blasted through the speakers I stood up straight and walked out into the arena. The crowd erupted into cheers when they saw me. I kept my stoic face and didn’t interact with the fans at all. It was part of my act. Harry Styles was someone to fear after all.

Once I climbed up into the ring my team took off my robe and tried to get my adrenaline pumping. They pushed my mouthguard up against my teeth and climbed out of the ring.

“In the middle.” The ref called out.

I turned to face my opponent. Jack ‘JawBreaker’ Jones. He walked out to Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Jawbreaker’ a little too pretentious if you ask me.

He was 6’1 and 150 pounds. His long blonde was tied back into a bun, I wasn’t sure how he managed to have such long hair while boxing. It was nearly impossible for me. I had long hair for a few years, but when I got serious about my boxing career I had to chop it off. Jones was rather tan for a Londoner, and he was chiseled out. From what I’d seen and heard he was a good boxer too. This would be an interesting match.

The plan to win was simple. Sam and I knew I had the better cardio, so we strategized that I would go with defense and tire Jones out. When he started getting too tired to keep trying for the offense I would knock him out.

We made eye contact, tapped gloves, and started the match. There were five rounds, each for three minutes.

Once the bell rang Jones and I started dancing around each other. Waiting to see who would make the first move. I did my best to keep my distance and not let him back me into the ropes. I had a longer wingspan than him, which meant I could be further away and still land a punch.

Finally, Jones threw a punch. I ducked and spun out of the way, keeping myself away from the ropes. He got closer again and jabbed me in the ribs. I fought back, swinging an uppercut to his face, and landing it right on his nose. Blood started dripping down his nose. I knew I didn’t break it, but I’d had a similar injury and I knew his head was pounding right now.

The bell rang through the arena. I finally heard the crowd again, realizing they were there watching. Just as fast as the round started, it ended and I was back in my corner on my stool guzzling water and listening to Sam tell me to go for Jones’ jaw.

Once the break was over, Jones and I were staring into each other’s eyes to start round two. So far he wasn’t wearing down as we anticipated. His cardio was pretty decent. The round started and Jones immediately landed three punches to my side. I groaned in pain but kept standing. I couldn’t let this wanna-be boxer beat me.

I inhaled deeply through my nose, my torso ached as the oxygen reached my lungs. I landed three or four punches to his side and arms, but Jones kept his hands up to guard his face the entire time.

We were in the fourth of five rounds, and I was out of it. I barely made it through the third round. I was up against the ropes getting the shit beat out of me. All I could do was keep my hands up to try and protect my face.

I had a busted-up lip, slip-open eye brown, and definitely a bruised rib. I had to take the defensive side this round. Jones had landed enough blows for the ref to call the match and the judges to easily declare him the winner.

I threw a few here and there as we bounced around the ring, but he was landing just as many punches. Before I knew it, I was back up against the ropes. My eyes were hardly open, I was trying to keep my gloves up but my arms were so tired and sore I couldn’t raise them high enough to keep my face out of the line of fire. My knees were beginning to wobble, I was going to blackout any second.

I turned my head slightly, that’s when I saw you again. In a crowd of hundreds of people, I saw you. Everyone else was a blur, you lit up like a Christmas tree. Your eyes caught my attention like a firework in the middle of a blizzard. You looked frightened but the concern and pity were screaming at me through your dilated pupils.

I don’t know how, but I felt an adrenaline rush kick in. I threw punch after punch right into Jones’s face.

Make yourself worth it!

With my mantra in my head, and you in the crowd I knew I had to finish off ‘Jawbreaker’. I flipped us, he was backed up into the corner against the ropes and I was slamming my gloves into his face, really going hard on his jaw again and again. The ref stepped in and pushed me off Jones.

I gave them a little space while the ref gave him his eight-second stand. When the ref yelled six, Jones fell to the floor. His knees gave out and his head crashed against the mat.

The crowd went wild and started screaming. There were chants of my name and boos from every corner. I went back to Sam, he took out my mouthguard and untied my gloves. Once my hands were free he had me follow a pen with my eyes. It was harder to stay focused on the pen than I cared to admit, but it wasn’t because my head was pounding from the beating I’d endured. It was because you were somewhere in the audience and I had to find you.

I’d won. Even in my darkest months I still had some grit in me. Perhaps it was only because my eyes somehow found yours in my weakest moment, or maybe it was the fighter in me finally resurfacing. The moment I thought I would end up on the mat with a concussion I ended up getting my arm lifted into the air and called a champion.

The title ‘Best Boxer in London’ still rang true.

I ran into the locker room, not bothering with any post-fight interviews or fan interactions. I wanted to get okayed by the paramedics, get showered, and get into the crowd to find you. I had to find you.

My legs were bouncing up and down while the paramedics cleaned up my cuts, and stitched me up. They took a look at my ribs and told me to take it easy for the next few days. My eyes were fine but I did have a gnarly black eye forming on my right eye.

The paramedics finally left, it had taken everything in me to let them take their time with the stitches and checking for a concussion. I flexed my hand muscles and frowned at the light purple bruising on my knuckles. Once I was alone in the locker room I stripped and limped into the shower. The hot water seared against my aching muscles, but I had a feeling this would be the only warm shower I had until I was able to get back into the gym.

Once the water ran clear again and was no longer slightly red, I hopped out of the shower and dried myself in record time. I was dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, and back in the arena before Jones left the ring. He still had doctors looking at him.

The number of people still in the arena dwindled significantly from when I had won. I could only pray that you hadn’t left yet. Maybe with some grace from God, you would be waiting out the traffic of leaving York Hall.

I scrambled through the groups of people congregating together. I couldn’t describe you to anyone, I didn’t know your distinct features. All I knew was that when I saw you, I would know it was you.

I looked and looked, but you were nowhere to be found. I sighed through my nose and dragged my feet back into the locker room to grab my bag.

“Awesome job Harry, I don’t know how you managed to pull through in that last round. I was certain Jones was going to knock you out.” Sam pulled me in for a hug.

I wrapped my arms around him and patted his back then released him. I went to my locker and grabbed my duffle bag. “I had a random burst of energy I guess.” I shrugged and left the room before Sam could ask me any more questions.

I’d won a fight when I was at my weakest. Normally all I wanted to do was go get my earnings and spend most of it at the bar or club to celebrate. Today, I just wanted to find you. I wasn’t sure why you were so important, or why you had such an impact on me, but I needed to find out. I was determined to find out.

I went to the back office where I found myself at the end of every match. The bright lights in there burned my sensitive eyes. Inside the ring, the light was bright but the rest of the arena was pretty dark. I only ever focused on my opponent, the light was never an issue.

“Styles! Congrats man, that was an epic fight.” Jeremy, the owner of York Hall (and also the guy who organized all these matches) greeted me as I opened the office door.

I nodded, “Thanks, Jeremy.”

The tall skinny man stood up from his desk, “You know you brought in quite a fanbase tonight.” He picked up a thick white envelope and handed it to me, “There’s your cut. $1500.”

“$1500? I fucking won man, that fight was worth $2000 easy.” I threw my only good hand up in the air, “I knocked out ‘Jawbreaker’!” I raised my voice but added a sarcastic flare to Jones’ stage name.

Jeremy only shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you, Harry. The business has been slow lately. Maybe it’s time to find some other way to make money if this isn’t enough for you.”

I grabbed the envelope, stuffed it into my hoodie pocket, and left the office before I did something I would regret.

I was fuming when I went down the stairs. I needed to get out of York Hall. This day had been a complete shit show, and on top of it all, I was getting paid absolutely nothing. Not to mention I had rent due, and Sam was expecting his next paycheck soon. $1500 wasn’t going to cut it.

I huffed as I pushed the doors open and walked out into the dark and muggy London nightlife.

“Took ya long enough.” A voice called out.

“Excuse -” I began to yell but clamped my mouth shut when I turned and saw who spoke. It was you.

You were leaning against the street lamp post on the corner. You were wrapped up in an oversized black trench coat, and your hair fell perfectly at your shoulders.

“Excuse me?” I finished the phrase and started walking closer to you.

“Knocking him out in the fourth round, when you should have knocked him out at the beginning of the third. Your head is out of the game, Lightweight.” You stated matter-of-factly.

“Lightweight? Is that meant to be some kind of insult?” I mused.

You shrugged, “What do you think?”

What did I think?

Only that the universe really thought I deserved something good in my life right now, because I was standing less than a foot away from the girl that had been stuck in my mind since the day I first laid my eyes on you.

I cleared my throat, “Have we met before?” It was a trick question, one you shouldn’t know the answer to. I wasn’t even sure if I knew the answer. We’d never officially met, I’d just been seeing you in my mind over and over again.

“Not officially.” You shook your head. “I’m y/n, y/l/n and I already know who you are. The infamous Harry Styles ‘Best Boxer in London’.” You used finger quotes on the last half of my name.

“What’s with the finger quotes?” I mimicked your actions.

“The best boxer in London should have knocked ‘Jawbreaker’ out in the third round. Not gotten his ass handed to him before a weak knockout at the end of the fourth.” You explained.

My lips formed a thin line, as much as I hated to admit it (even to myself) you were right. Sam worked hard to make sure I was guaranteed a win, but I almost lost.

“How do you know so much about boxing, y/n?” I tried out your name for the first time. It felt good rolling off my tongue. It was a beautiful and eloquent name for a beautiful and graceful woman. Very fitting.

You shrugged your shoulders nonchalantly, “I’ve been in the ring here and there.”

You’d boxed.

“I’d love to see you in action sometime,” I smirked.

“I suppose something could be arranged.” You stepped out into the street and lifted your arm in the air. Hailing a taxi. When a small black taxi pulled off and stopped you opened the door. “If we meet again, Lightweight.”

The taxi door slammed after you climbed in. I had a pit in my stomach when I watched the taxi drive off into the night. My initial thoughts were that I’d never see you again, but I’d thought the same the first time I saw you. Then against all odds, I somehow spotted you in the crowd at my weakest moment in the match; and I bumped into you while you were waiting for a taxi. I had a feeling I would see you again when I least expected it.

I didn’t see you again. Not for a long time. The morning after my fight with Jawbreaker every headline read something along the lines of:

JawBreaker gets his Jaw Broken by Harry Styles the Best Boxer in London

Sam called me and was freaking out. Apparently, I broke Jones’ jaw during the knockout. The media went crazy, and I was blowing up on the internet. I took the next two weeks off to recover - doctor's orders.

When I finally was able to go back to the gym Sam had me doing press and interviews instead of training. He kept telling me I had to have a name in the media to have fights to train for. I understood what he meant, but I had become a local celebrity overnight. I couldn’t even go into a local coffee shop without someone asking for a photo or autograph.

I’d come up with the tough scary guy persona to avoid this. I didn’t want to interact with people. I absolutely loved my fans, but most of these people weren’t boxing fans. They saw my knockout on social media somewhere and thought it was cool. They were not real fans, they were the trend followers.

After a month of not being in the gym, I finally had to sit Sam down and tell him he had to start doing what I paid him to do. Train me. He agreed and got me in the gym the next morning.

I spent another few months doing the most intense training of my life. Not to mention I now had a fight every other week. These random guys kept showing up at York Hall telling Jeremy that they could beat me.

They were easy fights, and they kept the cash coming in. I hadn’t had this many zeros in my bank account since I went bankrupt in college. Only this time, there was no negative sign.

I was in the best shape of my life, and my head was finally getting back in the game. I did everything I could to keep myself busy. When I wasn’t busy, I would start to think and get in my own head. That’s how I got to my dark place only months before.

Today I was finishing up my last set of weights before ending my workout with a quick sparking session with one of the gym’s trainers.

Once I put all the weights away properly and wiped the sweat off my neck and hands I went upstairs to the ring. When I got up there I heard a sparring match in progress.

Two women were in the ring. I couldn’t see much of their faces. Only what they were wearing and their skill. The faster and more agile girl wore a black sports bra and matching black shorts. She was able to throw a lot of punches, but the ones she did land were weak.

I started watching her opponent. She wore a white sports bra and lavender shorts. She was stronger and preferred to throw perfect punches. She landed every punch she threw. Overall the two of them were good boxers. I was impressed with what I’d seen.

Sam was a few feet in front of me watching. I closed the distance between us and crossed my arms across my chest. “Who are they?” I asked.

“Hannah Lee, and y/n y/l/n. They’ve been practicing here once or twice a week for a month now. They said it was just a fun workout, but I think with some serious training they could really be something.” Sam explained as he watched the match.

y/n y/l/n. There was no way. I knew you mentioned you’d been in the ring before, but seeing this sparring match. This was different.

“Did you say y/n y/l/n?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but the chances of someone with the exact same name as you sparring in the same gym as me were almost 50/50.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, you know her or something?”

“Not really. We met once, at the ‘Jawbreaker’ match. She called me Lightweight.” I smiled as the memory of you insulting me ran through my head.

“Sounds like y/n.” Sam chuckled.

Did he know you? Had you been right under my nose all these months and I’d been too self-centered to notice? Would you even want to talk to me? Was I worthy of you?

Make yourself worth it!

I reminded myself of my mantra.

Sam and I watched in silence as you and Hannah finished up your session. You ducked under the ropes, someone I didn’t recognize untied your gloves. Once your hands were free you grabbed a water bottle and downed it.

Sam walked up to you and started making a conversion, I stayed by the stairs. There was a pit in my stomach from just thinking about talking to you again. I wasn’t sure how it would go, I didn’t even know what I would say.

“Lightweight.” Your voice could bring me out of trance, but your voice calling me - even if it was that horrible nickname - was enough to end my life.

“Really? You coulda picked any name and you went with that one.” I quickly shook my head in disappointment while trying to keep my cool. I blinked a few times and refocused on reality.

You were standing in front of me, unwrapping your hands. This was the closest I’d been to you in decent lighting. Your eyes were still as electrifying as the last two times I’d stared into them. You had the kind of eyes that made people feel like you were peering into their souls.

Your eyes remained focused on the white tape you were unwrapping as you spoke, “Lightweight suits you,” you shrugged your shoulders.

“Long time no see. Looks like you finally got to see me in action.” You quoted my eager words to watch you in the ring months ago. “I figured I’d be running into you soon enough. This is where you train, no?”

“Yeah, it is.” I wasn’t sure what else to say, I was still stunned that you were here and even more so speechless that you were more than decent at boxing.

Words started tumbling out of my mouth before I could filter them. “When you said you’d been in the ring here and there I didn’t realize you really knew your way around the ring.”

You kept your head down but I could still see the small smile that grew on your face. “Maybe if you weren’t so busy being a hotshot media magnet you would get your ass back in the ring and train with the rookies.”

You’d noticed that I had been properly training in the last little while. Maybe you’d be able to convince Sam that I needed time working on combinations for matches, instead of working in front of cameras for the press.

I threw my hands up in the air dramatically, “You hear that Sam? I need to get back into the ring with the rookies!”

“Cut him some slack, you’re not his only client ya know.” You defended my coach.

“Wait, is- is Sam training you for a match?” I asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

You nodded, “I have a really small one this weekend, if you’re not too busy being ‘the Best Boxer in London’ you should swing by.” You used finger quotes for my title again. “It would be really motivating to have a ‘pro’ there.”

“What is it with you and your finger quotes when it comes to my skill?” I rolled my eyes.

You picked up a small duffle bag from the floor and walked past me towards the stairwell. “Buy me a smoothie and maybe I’ll tell you.”

#harry styles #harry styles fanficton #harry styles one shot #harry styles fluff #one direction #fanfiction #harry styles boxer #legitlaur #lightweight #harry styles x reader #boxer harry styles x boxer reader #harry styles x y/n

[moonyswriting]

Heart and Soul

@peggyrose19 and @wonder-womans-ex had their birthdays over a month back and I didnt manage to make them a gift. but I still wanted to make you something because I wont just drop it after I missed the day. so this is for you two. you are incredible and talented people and I'm honoured I get to call myself your friend. I hope you'll like it.

characters by @lumosinlove

thank you for beta reading @moonofthenight

Chapter 1

“Final seconds of the second period on the clock, Frank. The Saint’s going for the goal again, passing Tremblay and going straight in Nutty’s direction-”

“And that was a hit on Leo Knut, by the Hollow’s Saint’s winger Andrew Kline. And now, the expected punches follow. Marly, they could have really seen Logan and Finn coming, right?” “Definitely, Frank. No team likes it when someone fights with their goalie but these two seem to be particularly protective of our sunshine boy. Tremzy is already throwing punches at Ethan Bart and I can see O’Hara skating over to them.”

“Oh and here comes Luke. Throwing off his gloves and joining his teammates. Maybe with all those uncovered wrists we could actually get a chance to see some soulmate tattoos again. Last one spotted was Kasey Winter’s almost two years ago now, spelling out Natalie, the name of his girlfriend. They still seem to be going strong; I’m happy for them. That incident did however get most of the players to cover their wrists up,” Frank waited for a second before continuing, “How’s the fight? Looks like we got a big one tonight, eh?”

“It is! We’ve got three people from each team fighting at the moment, but the Refs are pulling them apart now. Coach Weasley doesn’t look too happy that his players are risking injuries for fights again. He’s calling a few over now and I do not want to be on the receiving end of Arthur’s wrath, believe me.”

“Same here, Marlene. Huh, that was weird. Did you see that?”

“It was. Loops just had to shake DV so he’d move. He had stared a hole into the ice and didn’t react to the Coach or his teammate. Haven’t seen him do that before. Hopefully, he’ll be fully focused again after the break.”

“I’m hoping it wasn’t a bad hit. The Lions really don’t need another injury right now.”

“Especially after only just getting Finn back from his small wrist injury that didn’t allow him to play the last two games.”

“Yeah. We’ll keep everyone updated of course. I’m sure he’s being checked right now.”

“In the meantime, there were some fantastic plays in there. It would be quite nice for the players to have a good game before some of them get to have a break.”

“Yes, All Star week is next week and we’ll be seeing a few of the Lions there, such as the newly wedded Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, but also last year's MVP Logan Tremblay, of course.”

“I’m excited Frank! We’ll be right back after a quick break for the second period.”

-

Luke was still feeling off after the fight, going through the questions Layla asked him on autopilot. No, he wasn’t hurt, there was neither pain there nor there, yes, he could still remember his address and full name.

Their new PT seemed at a loss. She could see that he was acting very strange and, honestly, she was getting worried about forgetting some usually obvious injuries for his behaviour. There was only so much a human could guess, so she simply asked.

“What happened out there, Deveaux?”

It took a moment for Luke to register he was being addressed, mumbling a “nothing” before continuing to stare at the wall. How stupid did this boy think she was? 

Letting out a sigh, she clarified, “I just need to know if you’re injured or not,” after a second of hesitation Kayla added, “but if there’s something bothering you or just occupying your thoughts, you can always go talk to Heather. She’s helped a few of your teammates too.”

She watched his expression while telling Luke. Some guys were embarrassed of going to therapy. There was no reason to be, of course. No one got shy about having the PT check on them but when it came to mental struggles, they somehow believed they have to handle it all alone. Society and the messed up way of thinking that they teach children, honestly. She was glad they at least had some people on the team who encouraged visiting Heather any time they saw someone struggling. She knew Sirius really did help them a lot by being so open about going to her office at least once a week.

There really was no way to tell how Luke thought about her proposal, he certainly seemed to be thinking, but there was no way to determine what about. Suddenly Luke broke the silence.

“Can I go?”

Since Layla hadn’t found any injuries and she couldn’t really do more than encourage him to visit Heather, she let him leave.

The brunette was out of the room the second after the words had left her mouth.

--

They had won. The locker room was already buzzing, the mandatory playlist echoing into the hallway. After their last game against the Saint’s, which they had lost, the whole team was even more excited about having won. There was even some kind of dance match between Logan and Sirius going on, not that Luke noticed. He had been a bit off for the rest of the game, much to the dismay of Coach Weasley. That got him to spend most of his time on the bench in the last period, but he didn’t mind. For once, hockey was not his main concern, not even during this game.

He had seen it. When number 7 had thrown off his gloves for the fight, there it had been in black cursive. A soulmate tattoo, spelling out “Luke”. Of course "Luke" didn’t necessarily mean Luke as in himself, but there was still a possibility.

A possibility that his soulmate was a Saint. A Saint. He would have been happy with almost anyone, but no, it had to be an ice hockey player. He didn't care about the gender. Luckily he wouldn't even have to hide a relationship between him and a potential boyfriend because of Remus and Sirius. But a Saint? Even in his thoughts, he knew he was whining. The real problem was that they would not only live miles apart and would have practically no time for each other half of the year, but they would be opponents. In ice hockey, the other team is the enemy. He couldn't befriend the enemy and he definitely couldn't date the enemy. Even if he wanted, he'd be blamed for not playing as hard as he could or making exceptions when it came to his hypothetical boyfriend.

So really, dating a Saint was not an option.

Still, his curiosity got the better of him. If this was really his soulmate, no matter how much he didn't want him to be, he had to know.

Standing up, he made his excuses and slipped into the hallway, running along until he got to the other team's locker room.

Great plan, idiot, what will you do now?! You can’t just go in and ask in front of everyone.

Then a group of people stepped out, each looking at Luke as if he had a kick-me sign on his forehead and as if they were considering it. Quite a few had walked past him and when one held open the door for his teammate, Luke could see that there were only three people left in the room. No time better than now, he told himself, gathering some of his Lion courage and walked straight inside.

“The fuck, Lion?!”, one of the players mumbled while he left the room too, shortly followed by the other player that wasn’t the one Luke had been looking for.

He took a deep breath. The tattoo wouldn't refer to him. Of course it wouldn't. Why would it be a Saint, really. Stepping closer to the boy lacing up his shoes, Luke's eyes met a pair of brown ones, looking up through gold curls.

“Why are you here?”, the other asked, narrowing his eyes and standing up to be on eye level with the Lion.

Oh, the charm of rivalry, always straight to the point, no need for formalities.

“Do you want to brag about catching up? Hate to break it to you, but you’re not in the lead and we’ll win the next one anyway.”

Even though his words sounded confident, he leaned back and knocked on the wood of the benches.

“No,” the brunette stated, looking him dead in the eyes. This boy had activated Luke's competitiveness so there was no turning back, “to both. We’ll just win as we did today. Last time was luck and you know it.”

The other raised an eyebrow at him. “The only thing that was luck last time was that you got a goal.”

The nerve this person had. Here he was, coming to actually try to talk to him and possibly get to know him to find out about the tattoo and just got insults in return. Luke was about to shoot something back when the door opened again.

“Babe, you coming?”

#thirty-first fic #1.5k words #audrey's birthday #aj's birthday #birthday #heart and soul #chaptered fic #luke deveaux #st tweedle #lumosinlove #relic keel #chapter 1 #soulmate au #enemies to lovers #saint #angst #birthday gift #<2k words

[blackmissfrizzle]

Safe

Characters: Angel Reyes x black!reader

Summary: A fight with your boyfriend leads you to hide a big secret from Angel

Warnings: Mentions of domestic violence, torture (nothing explicit), blood, violence, and swearing.

A/N: Shoutout to @starrynite7114​ for indulging me and all of my ideas. Thanks friend, you’re the best! Also, I’m really in love with this story, so I kinda got carried away and made it 3.2k words. Sorry guys! I hope you enjoy. 

Divider by: @firefly-graphics​

Of course, you would refuse to call anyone to come get you. Frankie’s job was never easy and why should it start now? Since, you were put in the cell, Frankie was trying to get you to call Angel, EZ, Miguel, or Nestor, but you refused to.

“Y/N, please!” Frankie was not above begging. He would do anything to get you to call any of your close friends. “They’re gonna find out either way and if they find out I didn’t let you tell them, they’re gonna kill me.”

“Frankie, stop being so dramatic. They’ll beat your ass, not kill you.” The deputy groaned and childishly stomped his feet. “I’m kidding. They won’t lay a finger on you. But if you’re scared of what they’ll do to you, what do you think they will do to Russell?”

Russell, your boyfriend, well your ex-boyfriend now was the reason you were sitting a jail cell. Something must have possessed him, because he was bold enough to punch you, but when you turned the tables and beat his ass, he actually called the cops on you. Then, the cops arrested you because Russell looked like the victim.

“I don’t understand why you’re protecting him. He put his hands on you.”

“And I beat his motherfucking ass. That doesn’t warrant his death. Now let me make my call.” Frankie threw up his hands and let you out of the cell. “Fucking finally!”

The only person you could call knowing they wouldn’t tell any of the Mayans (specifically Angel) and Miguel was Felipe. “Mija,” he whispered when he saw you. He tilted your head gently to inspect your new black eye.

“It looks worse than it feels.” You patted his hand and began walking to his truck. “You know you have to tell Angel.” Felipe began his spiel, commenting on how he couldn’t keep this from his son. “I will. Just give me some time.”

The Reyes patriarch reluctantly agreed and went on to make sure you were feeling okay and safe. He even ignored your protests and walked you inside your home and quizzed you on how to shoot a gun properly. “I’m good, Felipe. I promise, girl scout’s honor.” His eyes roamed your house once more, checking for any threats. “Okay, mija. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.” Then he left you to wonder how you were going to avoid seeing Angel, someone you nearly see every day, until you were healed.

Angel was getting really worried now. He hadn’t seen you in a couple of days due to you being busy, but now you were missing Wednesday breakfast at Pop’s. You never missed those. Even if you were drunk or too tired, you would drag your ass over like a zombie just for that breakfast.

If you were missing breakfast because of Galindo, then he wouldn’t hesitate to tell him off. That man took too much of your time already. “You think something happen to Y/N? Maybe I’ll go over to check on her.” Angel asked his little brother.

“Relax Angel,” Felipe sits a cup of coffee in front of his eldest. “She’s probably just healing up.”

Angel spits out his coffee when the words finally register. “Healing?”

“Fuck,” Felipe mutters. “Healing? Pops, she’s healing from what?” Felipe explained everything to his sons. He told them how Russell hit you and when you defended yourself, he called the cops on you and you had to spend some time in jail.

Both Reyes brothers were pissed, but Angel more than EZ. He’s been in love with you since you were kids. “And you’re just fucking telling me now?!”

“I was giving her a chance to tell you herself. You know she’s as stubborn as you. She almost didn’t call me at all.” Felipe didn’t mind his son’s outburst, he completely understood it. He’s just as pissed at himself for keeping the secret so long (if you consider two days long).

EZ probably understood you a bit better than Angel, because you were both alike, so he could see why you didn’t tell them. That’s why he stopped Angel. He knew if Angel confronted you right now, that you would deflect and shut down. “Angel, not this way.” He pulled his brother back by the bicep.

“Then what do you fucking suggest, Ezekiel?” If EZ didn’t hurry up, he might just catch the hands that were meant for Russell. “Just hear me out. Let’s make a call and if you still wanna go then we’ll go.” After EZ explained exactly what he wanted to do, Angel calmed down significantly.

From the sink, Felipe watched his sons come together and well-meaningly plot against you. When the boys left, Felipe went to Marisol’s urn and pressed a kiss to it. “You think she’ll forgive me, mi vida?” Soon, he felt an overwhelming warmth and calmness. “Thank you, hermosa.”

You fidgeted with your sunglasses. Hopefully, Miguel wouldn’t comment on you wearing them in the house. If so, you’ll lie about having a hangover or something.

He gave you a couple of days off per your request but called you in for an emergency. He promised it would be quick and that you could go home promptly.

But then you saw the motorcycles. This wouldn’t be the first time you had to mediate between Miguel and the MC. They never spoke about anything illegal around you, but they did call on you to ease the tension. You were better than Marcus at switching in between the two and making them agreeable with each other.

Dealing with their drama was the least of your concerns. Not only do you have to lie to Miguel, but all of the Mayans as well. Plus, you had to deal with Angel, who you’ve been avoiding for the past two days. This was gonna be a challenge.

“Gentlemen,” you greeted everyone. At least they didn’t look like they were gonna kill each other. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s more like what can we do for you.” Miguel was at the table, chin in hand. “No one’s heard from you in a couple of days.”

They couldn’t possibly know. Could they? “Ah, you know this cold is kicking my ass. I’ve just been sleeping.”

Angel sat up a little straighter before leaning his elbows on his knees. “Hmm, and the sunglasses, querida?”

“Oh um, you know cough medicine plus whiskey equals a bad hangover.” All of the men looked like they didn’t believe you. Time to abort mission. “Um, well if there is nothing I can do, I’ll just go on home and get that much needed rest.”

You went to grab your purse, but you were no match against Angel’s long legs. He was in front of you lifting your glasses off. “Angel, no!”

If Angel was pissed about this earlier, now seeing you and your black eye, he was nuclear now. Fuck this, he thought. He was gonna go kill Russell right now.

Grabbing his wrist, you tried to stop him, but Angel was too strong. He slightly pushed you away, but when he heard you wince in pain it stopped him dead in his tracks.

This time it was Miguel’s turn to inspect your injuries. He lifted up your blouse and saw your bruised ribs. All of the men were in a commotion now, ready to ride out and string that motherfucker up.

“Querida,” Angel sighed and gently pulled you into a hug. You could feel his tears on your own cheek which made you shed some of your own. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bishop chimed in.

“Because it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Because it wasn’t a big deal?!” Miguel repeated, blown away by how nonchalant you were about this. “THAT PENDEJO HIT YOU! Don’t you think it’s a big deal?”

Oh shit, you don’t know if they’re more pissed at you or Russell at this point. “No, it is, but I handled it. Now he has to walk around town looking fucked up knowing I was the one who did it to him.”

Bishop tapped the table in anger. He could just shake you right now. “No, you should’ve called one of us the moment that pussy called the cops on you.”

“Hey, let’s not go insulting pussies! They take poundings most men couldn’t handle.” You weren’t going to allow Bishop to insult the thing they all loved sticking their dicks in.

“Y/N!” Miguel was beginning to get frustrated with you and your deflections. “Miguel!” You mimicked his tone. Nestor stepped in between you, to play ref. Even though you were Miguel’s assistant the two of you fought like siblings. “Okay, Y/N/N that’s enough.”

“Is it, Nestor?” You cocked your head to side, annoyed with being told what to do. “I come out of the comfort of my home thinking my help was needed, but instead I get ambushed!”

“Because you fucking lied!” Angel slammed his hand against the table, causing everyone even you to jump a little. “You let everyone believe you were okay when you were in pain.” His voice cracked slightly, thinking of how much worse you could’ve been. He always heard the horror stories of domestic violence and he promised himself that if something as ugly and vile would happen to anyone close to him, then that sorry excuse of a man would never walk the face of the earth again.

“Okay, I get it. You’re upset. But I handled it, there’s no need for any of you to get involved.” Honestly, you wouldn’t mind if they would just beat Russell’s ass, but that’s all you wanted. A simple (well maybe not so simple considering who these men are) beatdown. But you knew these men who you called family were. A threat to you was a threat to them and vice versa. Their pigheadedness wouldn’t allow it.  As you thought, they explained to you that an affront to you, an extension of the Mayans MC and the Galindo family was disrespect to them and that would not be tolerated.

However, by the grace of God and lots of negotiating techniques, you were able to come to some middle ground. They wouldn’t kill Russell, just make him wish they did. It was going good until a call came in from Russell’s sister Sienna. She was calling you all kinds of bitches, hoes, sluts, and claiming you as the mc’s whore, threatening you that her and a gang of her cousins were gonna jump you for fighting her brother. Conniving little bitch. He probably convinced all of his friends and family you were the aggressor and they would have no problem trying you.

When the phone call ended, you immediately try to place everything back right on track. “This changes nothing, okay?” Even though you could see that you lost them, you were gonna be in the fight of your life. “Really, Y/N? Now he’s lying on your name to his family and they’re ready to beat yo ass. Fuck that! What the fuck is wrong with you!?” Angel was fed up with you protecting Russell’s weak ass.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?!” Everything that happened over the past couple of days were finally bubbling over. “It’s all of you fucking alpha males with your machismo thinking I need protection. I’m not weak! I’m not some damsel in distress! I can handle my own damn problems.”

You grabbed your things and shoulder checked Angel on your way out, but you were stopped by one voice that had yet to speak up until now. “Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N!” It was a decibel below a yell, but it still held the same energy.

Marcus Alvarez was your dad’s best friend outside of Bishop. Your dad was his mechanic whenever Marcus came into Santo Padre and that how the quickly bonded with each other. Last year, when your dad died of a stroke, Marcus promised to keep an eye on you. “Sit down,” he ordered, and you quickly listened, knowing his tone tolerated no insubordination.

“You gotta teach me that.” Angel told the revered El Padrino, which earned him harsh glares from you, Marcus, and Bishop.

Alvarez ignored Angel and came to sit next to you. “No one is calling you weak, sweetheart. When you’re a real man, things like what that cabrón did really works you up. Add that you know the woman he did it to and it makes you bloodthirsty. Now if your dad were alive what do you think would happen?” He asked, his voice lighter and more conspiratorial.

Laughter bubbled up your throat. If your dad were alive this conversation wouldn’t even be happening. “Get that baseball bat and bash his knees in and that would be the least of it.” Marcus playfully shoved your shoulder. “You know it. So, you know what we gotta do?” You nodded your head, not liking it, but Russell was grown and should’ve known this would seal his fate.

“And after this could you please put Angel out of his misery? Bishop can’t take anymore of him walking around like a sad puppy dog.” Your eyes went to Angel who was indeed standing not too far away with his puppy dog eyes and fidgeting with his rings. “Yeah, I got you.” Your eyes stayed on Angel as you answered Alvarez. Suddenly, Angel got nervous under your warm stare and smile. He didn’t know what you could possibly be plotting with Alvarez.

Angel was granted his reprieve when you asked what the plan was, which sent everyone in a tizzy. There was a resounding no in the room as the men denied your request to be part of their revenge quest. “You can’t be there, Y/N. You need complete deniability.”  Miguel began to escort you out and you couldn’t even argue against that.

You knew now it wasn’t a woman thing. If they ever find out about his death or dig into his disappearance you would be suspect number one. So, you allowed Miguel to push you into the arms of his mother as him and the rest of the men planned who knows what.

Russell was smart. He knew word about what happened to you would get to the Mayans and Galindo, so naturally he went on the run.

It took them a little longer than they have liked to find him, but they did. Chasing Russell fueled them even more. By the time they got their hands on him, Russell knew he was a dead man.

Everyone gotten their pound of flesh when they caught Russell. Even Prissy Miguel (something Angel loved to call him behind his back) got his hands dirty.

The best was saved for last though. Angel stood back and watched his brothers and Miguel and his crew beat the dog shit out of Russell.

“What? You’re not gonna get in on this? You’re the whole reason why that whore got hit in the first place.” Russell glared or tried to glare at Angel through his swollen eyes. He thought if he poked the bear hard enough maybe just maybe the bear would go ballistic and end his life right then and there. He didn’t know how much more of this torture he could endure.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Angel was so caught up that Russell hit you that he didn’t bother to ask what led up to it. To him it didn’t matter because no man should ever put hands on a woman, but to hear he was the cause didn’t sit right with him.

“Of course, she didn’t tell you, dumb fucking slut.” Angel whacked him across his ribs with a baseball bat. “Watch your damn mouth! And start fucking talking.”

“Okay!” Russell cried out in agony. “She was breaking up with me to be with you! She said she couldn’t be with another person knowing she was in love with you.”

Angel stood there shocked. All this time he didn’t think you felt the same way about him and now he found out you got hurt because of your true feelings.

Coco could tell it would take a while for Angel to process that. He was always slow on the uptake when it came to you. So, Coco took his cigarette and burned holes into Russell’s skin. “So, what you’re saying is that Y/N was kind enough to let you down easy and not cheat on you. She told you the truth and you decided to hit her? That’s some weak ass shit!” Everyone was ready to take another hit, but they knew Russell wouldn’t last and that Angel should be the one to take him out.

Finally, Angel snaped out of it and went at Russell with the bat, making sure he broke his knees. “Fucking piece of shit!” Eventually, the baseball bat was forgotten, and Angel was beating Russell with his bare hands. Life left Russell awhile ago, but that didn’t stop Angel. His brothers literally had to pull him off the dead body.

“EZ get your brother cleaned up and make sure he’s calmed down before he goes see her.” Bishop ordered the new patch. Everyone else would stay behind for cleanup. “Got it, Prez.” EZ lightly shoved his brother, “C’mon Angel, let’s go get your girl.”

You had just gotten home from the movies and drinks with Emily. From how she wouldn’t take no for an answer you knew the guys had found Russell.

Chucking your heels across the room you made your way to your kitchen until you heard your door unlocking. The door opened and revealed Angel. You could tell he just showered by the little droplets of water still clinging to his hair.

“Angel, what are you doi-,” he caught off your question with his lips. He cradled your face as if you were the most precious thing ever.

“Do you love me?” He asked, out of breath like he wasn’t the one to just rock your world with a simple kiss. “Duh Angel, I love you. Why do you think I laugh at all your dumb jokes? You’re not that funny.”

“Ouch, querida that hurts.” He covered his heart in mock hurt. “Question is do you love me, Mr. Angel Ignacio Reyes?” You rested your palms on his chest and looked up at him expectantly.

Angel licked his lips in deep thought and ticked his head to the side. “I thought when I kissed the living daylights out of you it told you so.”

Backing away you patted his firm pecs. “Okay, chill your kiss wasn’t even all that.”

“Is that so?” A smile ghosted on Angel’s lips.

“Yup.” You deadpanned, crossing your arms across your chest. “Okay then.” Angel sighed before he chased you through your house.

All you could hear was Angel’s heavy feet, your giggles, and the occasional taunting. Finally, Angel caught you and sat you on your island. Loud giggles turned into soft chuckles. Soft chuckles turned into silent longing gazes with soft smiles. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Angel.”

Angel grabbed one of your hands and interlocked your fingers with his. “I’ll keep you safe.” Angel tilted your conjoined hands to kiss yours. You mimicked Angel’s action and did the same to his. “I know.”

The rest of the night you spent it where you felt the safest, in Angel’s arms.

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