#I've posted them wearing suits together so this is only fair

[mus1ca1]

dress shopping

#I've posted them wearing suits together so this is only fair #getchu a couple that can do BOTH #I think wrench does not like having her legs restricted hence the talllll leg slits lol #gotta be able to move and skate and kneel at all times in case something happens and she needs to spring into action #this is the Only Dress She Owns probably #stex #rust repair #rustheal #starlight express #don't be weird about rusty wearing a dress btw. clothing is a rare occasion so trains wear whatever they want #rustywrench

[cattamouche]

> my own interpretation of modern scara. ☄. *. ⋆

a/n: hello! I'm brand new here. writing on here has been something I've been wanting to do for a really long time so I finally created an account and put some thoughts together for my first post. it's not anything big, but it's something to get me started on here. hope u enjoy :')

✧ I know everyone likes him with an emo/goth style, but I think the elegant/pretty type of clothes he wears in game would translate over to real life quite well. Obviously he wouldn't wear the same exact clothes, but he would stick with a more elegant style rather than an emo one.

✧ He would definitely be the type of guy that has an extremely small amount of friends. I imagine him being very picky with the people he hangs out with, and despite him presenting himself as nicely as possible, his dismissive and uninterested attitude and personality would push most people away. It would be a miracle if anyone was willing to befriend him after that horrid first impression, but as long as he still has those close friends, he doesn't care about making new ones. He has a quality over quantity type of mindset for pretty much all things.

✧ Would take a while to get him to open up to you, but once you do break down those walls he's very sweet and caring. Loves his friends but is not good at showing it at all, gets embarrassed at the thought of outwardly showing his affection or appreciation for someone without the addition of a stupid remark. It's just not something he's used to, so serious affection would only be reserved for a potential partner- if he ever even managed to get to that point with someone anyway. It's hard for him, cut him some slack.

✧ As a student, I think he would take uni/college very seriously. He acts dismissive and uninterested in academics but he does put in a lot of work. You'll be miserable working with him in group projects because he'd be overly critical of your work and tell you to change things constantly, he's a perfectionist so putting up with him would be exhausting. He can be insufferable but by god will you get an A on your project. There's no way he's handing in a pile of shit with his name on it.

✧ In terms of hobbies and talents, I honestly think anything would suit him. I can imagine Ei being the type of parent to sign him up for any instrument lesson from an early age, piano, violin, chello, you name it, he has experience with a lot. Likes to play video games in his free time as well. I can't see him as the type of guy that's glued to his screen 24/7 but he's definitely spent a decent amount of his time on games. And his perfectionism doesn't just end at his studies, it applies to his hobbies too. He's the type of person that puts in a lot of effort to get all the achievements for his favorite games. Had various different consoles growing up. Has a preference for handhelds because he can take them anywhere and play a little something whenever he's bored.

✧ He's organized to a T. Of course, he does have those occasional days where his mental health is exceptionally bad, so that's the only time you'll see him a mess, and he gets extremely embarrassed about it. He cares a lot about his image, so anyone seeing him at his lowest would have to take the state they saw him in to the grave.

✧ He's a cat person. No one's surprised. He wouldn't have his own pets past those 2 goldfish he won at a fair when he was young, but when he sees strays on the street he will go out of his way to go to the nearest store and buy them some canned food. If he sees them often enough on his route, he will start carrying around little treats for them knowing he'll see them out and about. What do you mean going that specific direction is only slowing him down. No he's not going out of his way to see his little friends, it's a shortcut. You don't know what you're talking about.

Overall, in my eyes, he would just be a guy with a bit of spice. Someone that just has trouble making friends and keeping his attitude in check.

#english isnt my first language hey #the ending is kinda abrupt but idc #i love him #scaramouche x reader #modern scaramouche #modern scara #wanderer x reader #idrk what im supposed to be tagging this as tbh #scaramouche x you #scaramouche x y/n #? how do i get to my target audience bc this isnt even an x reader but like. this is the type of stuff u guys read right

[complexsaviour]

Milgram 4th Anniversary Art Analysis Part 1/3: Mikoto, Kazui, Shidou and Fuuta

I'm going to post these in a few parts since my analyses ended up getting so long...oops. Here's the first! Please let me know if I've slipped up at all or if you have anything to add.

Mikoto

Mikoto is standing very straight and to attention with his feet together, in the same way that he carefully curates his public persona and tries his best not to stand out. His suit jacket seems to be fully done up, all neatly and presentably, and he's similarly removed his stud earrings. Trying his best to come across as unproblematic, respectful and polite. But he's also standing a bit like a corpse in a coffin, holding his flowers like a dead man in his grave. This is probably related to Mikoto's associations with the Death tarot card (which does not in fact signify death but a new beginning — rebirth in a way) and his VD being titled 'John Doe' (that is, the placeholder name for an unidentified dead body) — perhaps a part of him died when his alter John was born? But that part of him was also reborn as someone bolder and stronger...Mikoto could also be considered a dead man walking, perhaps, working himself to death...he holds his bouquet in front of him in full view, just as he presents himself and his supposed crime since he has no memory of it — believing he has nothing to hide, trying to come across as trustworthy.

Kazui

Kazui is standing in contrapposto as he often does, only leaning his weight on half of his body — refusing to lean into both sides of himself. He also has his jacket half buttoned up, affording it a slightly more casual visual effect, and I think his tie is slightly loosened (half loosened?) in keeping with his half/half theme and general deliberately casual approach to most things. As seen in Cat and in other artwork of him, he is wearing a waistcoat underneath his suit jacket. I find it interesting that Kazui is consistently depicted with that extra layer in formalwear. Maybe I'm reading into things too much, but I wonder if it's to do with his devotion to trying to fulfil a masculine ideal — the three piece suit is often considered one of the most masculine forms of attire. It's also often associated with performance imagery, like the magic tricks we saw him doing in Cat. Unlike the others, he insists on that extra layer beneath his jacket — almost as if just to make sure he's really playing his role to the best of his ability. An extra layer of constriction, even beneath his jacket...anyways, he holds his bouquet with one hand — with only half of himself — sort of nonchalantly. His pose sort of reminds me of the way an actor might hold a prop he is planning to gesture with, which brings to mind Kazui's performative nature. Kazui holds his bouquet in front of himself, but his holding it with one hand makes it sort of feel like he's holding back a little. He isn't exactly outright presenting it to the viewer like some of the characters do, but he's also not actively trying to hide it (anymore?), which seems to be his attitude to the circumstances of his supposed crime as well — just as he implored us to find out and uncover the truth about him in his second voice drama.

Shidou

Shidou's body language is more open and relaxed than Mikoto and Kazui's, sort of reminiscent of the way his sprite's body language opened up in Trial 2 when he settled into his saviour/healer role in the second season. I also get the impression that his tie is the least loose of the five male characters, though I'm not exactly a tie expert — very intentional and meticulous, just like Shidou and his actions. Like Mikoto and Haruka, his buttons are all done up as far as I can tell (it's sort of difficult to see behind his bouquet to be fair, but that seems in character). I think this reflects how the three of them have a more decisive and resolute attitude to their crimes: while Mikoto insists he didn't do anything, both Haruka and Shidou admitted to killing from the very beginning, and all three of them were initially very accepting of their circumstances (albeit because Mikoto was in denial). Haruka and Shidou already committed to dressing up for the funeral from the very start— they both accepted their circumstances wholeheartedly, at least to begin with. Interestingly, he's the only one whose jacket is double breasted. I looked into this to see if there might be any particular significance to this choice, but I don't think I found anything of particular note except that it makes him stand out a bit, kind of like his straitjacket design's turtleneck style collar and long coat do. Double breasted jackets are associated with the navy, but I don't think that has much relevance to him as a character. As for Shidou's bouquet, he holds it just like a baby, cradling it close to himself with a sort of parental tenderness. It's in full view of the spectator and he makes no pretence about it. I think this reflects his attitude to his victims and to his crime — perhaps it implies that he considers his own children his victims, too? But I could also see this just reflecting his general attitude to lives — at least those of other people anyhow.

Fuuta

Fuuta's pose sort of reminds me of how a petulant teenager might stand at the funeral of a distant relative, irritated by the proceedings. It's quite open, like Shidou's, but much more defiantly so, leaning back slightly on one leg as if to challenge the viewer — sort of like a 'so what?' — much like he acted in Trial 1. He's not making much of an attempt to present himself formally or respectfully — his jacket is only half done up and his tie is the loosest of all the five male characters, one hand stuffed into his trouser pocket. I think this reflects Fuuta's general tendency to chafe against convention and expectations, but also his initial refusal to accept his circumstances and responsibility. He holds his bouquet behind himself but largely visible — refusing to accept responsibility or be open with the viewer, but still self-aware enough that it's not exactly hidden — I think this reflects how he acts standoffish but ultimately is only really superficially in denial. He does hold his bouquet a little like a weapon, but he doesn't seem fully committed — he's not really holding it like he's seriously trying to threaten anyone. He's the only one who isn't smiling at all, which is just like him.

#milgram #milgram project #ミルグラム #analysis #character analysis #mikoto kayano #milgram john #kazui mukuhara #shidou kirisaki #fuuta kajiyama

[northoftheroad]

What did The Flying Graysons look like?

I've wanted to post about what John and Mary Grayson looked like for a while. There are a lot of material to look through, even when I've kept to the world of comics (not connected to animated shows), but here we are with an overview. I had to collect the panels on picture sheets; it will mean low picture quality, but at least you can see where to find them.

John and Mary pop up in many flashbacks, but they never get enough attention to cement their appearance. Everyone knows Martha Wayne wore a string of (evidently fake, since there are no knots) pearls when she was killed, right? But what Dick's parents' outfits when they were killed looked like is impossible to say. (To be fair, they are almost always drawn with dark hair.)  

John and Mary only existed as pretty small figures in three panels before Dick became Robin in Detective Comics # 38. John wears a red top and blue shorts, Mary a green bra and shorts (and you have to be male to think that would work...). The next time I can remember The Flying Graysons (TFG for short) on panel is Batman # 32, where Mary wears a red bra/shorts and Dick and John black and red shorts.

It goes without saying that TFG’s costumes will eventually be modelled from Dick's Robin and Nightwing suits – not the other way around. Hence, they sometimes perform in red, green and/or yellow, and sometimes in blue. But that will take several decades – until then, their outfits are drawn in varying colours.

The idea that Robin's red, green and yellow came from The Flying Graysons was introduced in the storyline Batman Year Three (Batman vol 1 # 436–439, 1989). (Bruce made the suit.) In 2005, Nightwing Year One, a storyline in Nightwing vol 2 # 101–106 that contains hardly anything of value, if you ask me, retconned the original Nightwing suit to be inspired by one of John’s circus suits.

The New 52 (2011–2016) pretty exclusively pushed the idea that the Graysons performed in Nightwing-like suits. Maybe because Dick hardly had time to be Robin in that continuity? 

While in Rebirth (from 2016), the Graysons have been shown as ardent clothes-changers. They've been performing in red/green/yellow, blue with Nightwing-like colour blocking, all red, and in green suits with a yellow G. The latter design comes from the separate continuity in All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (ASBAR, an out-of-continuity book that you might as well ignore if you ask me) and why it has been incorporated into the main continuity is anybody's guess. I have considered whether it was a clever hint to the reader that Dick's memories were false, but the acrobat family have been drawn in ASBAR costumes even when it has been clear it's not false memories.

The latest appearance I can think of was in Nightwing vol 4 # 82. John and Mary perform in red and green suits with a yellow G before they're together; years later, with Dick, they wear red outfits and green bracelets. (Though a couple of issues earlier, we see a poster of them in slightly different costumes – presumably imitating the look from Year One / Robin Annual # 4).

I had intended to stick to comics... But creators of canon pick and choose inspiration, just as fanfiction writers do... In Batman The Animated Series "Robin's Reckoning" (1993), the Graysons' suits have a yellow pattern on the chest. Something similar turns up in several later comics. Robin Annual # 4, Birds of Prey # 8, Batman: The Dark Knight vol 2 # 9, to name a few.

Footnote. You've noticed by now that this post is about clothes. But there's also a lack of consistency regarding the Graysons’ background/ethnicity. 

In Batman Year Three, Mary tells Dick her grandfather ran away to the circus when he was nine, so she never had a home of her own (Batman vol 1 # 436). Then he was retconned as having a Romani parent (to the best of my knowledge, it was first mentioned in 2000). The one comic arc where that is essential to the story is quite problematic; you get the impression that the writer (Devin Grayson) did it... to be able to exoticise Dick and have Bruce talk like a racist...?

(There is also Booster Gold vol 2 # 25 (2009), where the time-traveling Booster Gold lets Dick/Batman go back 15 years in time to see himself and his parents. In a house. Surrounded by snow. Which is, by the way, contrary to what Dick said in an issue of Nightwing vol 2 # 54, that his family always stayed in Florida in the winter.)

The New 52 Court of Owls storyline (2011-2012) gave Dick a great paternal grandmother from the Gotham elite (Amelia Crowne), and great grandfather William Cobb seems to have an average, working-class (probably British, if you go by his surname) background. Consequently, Dick's mom ought to be the Romani parent (ignoring that one or both parents could have a mixed ethnic background, which is pretty normal if your family has lived in the USA for some generations). But in "Grayson # 1", Dick's dad is called John "Giovanni" Grayson; to my knowledge, that's the only story where John has been called Giovanni, and I'm not sure if the writers (King and Seeley) intended to imply that he was Romani? 

However, in Nightwing vol 4 # 8, Mary Lloyd, Dick's mother, seems to be Romani (at least partly growing up in France). She talks about "her people" to John. (Lloyd is a Welsh surname, by the way.) Mary is portrayed as kind of a wild kid who steals, albeit with good intentions, which seems to feed into stereotypes once more...

#Dick Grayson #Robin #Nightwing #Batman #the flying graysons

[wildflowerteas]

hella has officially joined the tsp book club! part 2 of our reactions pending lmao those were some very intense hours

if this was an irl socratic circle i would pay to be a fly on the wall. I FUCKED UP BY ADDING TWO MARGARETS THATS MY BAD. they'll be distinguished in upcoming dialogue. Brown goes by 'Maggie' n_n. Precinct 1 breakroom has seen some things. Also, yes! The DA prosecutes for the state! In a civil dispute, it's person to person going before a judge. But in criminal cases, the government is trying to put you away, not receive money/fair compensation for damages, so the DA does that work.

Your flabbers will be gasted 😭 might need to start using that.

BEAST tag is there for a reason! I only tagged it 'beast skk' so that people wouldn't expect the same dynamics or roles for the other characters ( like akutagawa sibling dynamic ), but of course, if skk is beast-au inspired it would naturally affect a few of the characters closest to them as well. Also, Skk is slowly but surely devolving into the aesthetic of their BEAST counterparts. Dazai hasn't been written in that brown coat for a good while now. The white suit at the New Year's party was also a deliberate choice.

never seen or read All my Sons all the way through, but i've encounted this quote in the wild:

“...he'll come back. We all come back, Kate. These private little revolutions always die. The compromise is always made. In a peculiar way. Frank is right-- every man does have a star. The star of one's honesty. And you spend your life groping for it, but once it's out it never lights again. I don't think he went very far. He probably just wanted to be alone to watch his star go out.”

---and i absolutely loved it and have been influenced by it.

i would be sat for that essay honestly.

. . . yes. it's the same diner. implied only, but i do have art in the drafts of skk on a case-date of milkshakes and files with skk in the same seats to parallel it.

Kouyou's assimilation!!!!! I can't believe Rori noticed that!! yes, she's almost always mentioned in a kimono, tying an obi, or wearing her haori, and even needed Chuuya to translate for her during their first years together. but she's changing. super excited to introduce the Kouyou of the present ( yes, she's alive ).

Agatha Christie was. self indulgent.

Yep! Jouno! 😭 The hunting dogs have been in my notes-app plot web since the very beginning when I decided to write tachihara into this. Since I'm translating the insane post-war politics of canon BSD into this au, they were naturally going to find themselves written into it.

TV girl .. . save me TV girl.... taking what's not yours is tsp skk i will be adding this to my on-loop writing roster.

THE JOUNO/DAZAI DIALOGUE HELLA 😭 I ACTUALLY CHOKED.

Unlike canon, TSP fyodor would, in fact die if you shot him. Not that I'm planning on writing that . . .

Jouno and Chuuya was lovely to write. They will be interacting again, unfortunately, so expect some introductions to the other members of the hunting dogs as well.

Dazai in the spotlight for once! Now he knows what it's like to be under the stagelight with Chuuya in the audience.

Kousano! Yeah that ship is preparing to set sail. Whether it's still afloat is the question. A question that hasn't been answered by Miss Medical Examiner's presence in the 1978 timeline. Yet.

#ask

[toaster-selfships]

2, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, & 15 with lightning!!

SCREAMS!! EEEK SO MANY!!! /positive

I love answering so many fun questions thank you so much!!!!!!

--obligatory mention that I humanize them, so it's all written in the context of them as, well, humans--

Putting this under a read more because my ability to yammer and yap is like no other. I don't think it's truly THAT long but, it feels necessary 😅(future Kane here..ermm..definitely lengthy! Shamelessly lengthy..)

2. Whats their go-to order at a cafe? What's yours?

L.ighting would definitely get some complex, vibrant looking drink, particularly sweet ones. Fun coffee's that have a lot of syrup flavoring/sugar/creamer in them, or milkshakes that have so many toppings on them that you might as well get a spoon for it. KEY component is that it's always something cold. Don't think I've ever seen him with a hot drink ever, unless you count slurping a bowl of soup.

I stick to like the same coffee every time. Some dark roast coffee with a fair amount of sugar and hazelnut creamer in it. Maybe sometimes that vanilla syrup instead of hazelnut. I think I'm a bit particular when it comes to coffee cause I have to have very specific amounts so the flavor is the way I like it, so I don't stray far out of the same place with the same order. If it's a new place we're going to and they don't offer sugar/creamer packets for your coffee then I'll probably just grab some snack/food if they offer any so I don't gotta go through a whole hassel.

6. They gave you a gift!! What is it?

Definitely some or his merchandise that he goes out of his way to sign with a fun marker that's like glittery or some bold color like silver or gold or purple. Probably a sweater or such that has the same design as his racing suit. Though I'd probably get worried about damaging it and only ever wear it around the house! Haha

9. Do you have any AUs for your selfship? Tell me about them!!

Technically!! It's a whole story that I really should make a post about some day😅 but basically I kinda have a different story/AU for how I meet each character, and the role/job I play/have is just about always different. Technically, all of them could be tied together in one big chronological order, kinda like some elaborate G.ame Theory video, but I typicalllyyy think of them as separate, with occasional exceptions and things.

But! The whole(watered down version) story for how I met L.ightning is that because of my super strong love for racing, I ended up trying to(and succeeding) getting hired as a pit crew member, and got put on L.ightning's team and got to work with him. He was a pain in the ass rookie to have to work with(not that I was any less of a rookie myself), but I liked him, nonetheless, and I knew he had a soft side to him. I ended up getting lost with him during the whole R.adiator Springs shebang, and got stuck with him from then on.

10. What's one thing you like that you think your f/o would also enjoy?

Asides from the more outright choice of, well, racing related things, I definitely think L.ightning would be someone that is really into Legos. I only really care much for particular Lego sets like the flowers/botanical ones, or the ones that are different vehicles and things, but 100% we'd make a date night(s) out of picking out Lego sets we like together and then building them together.

13. Who is the most influential person on your f/o's life?

There's the very obvious choice of picking D.oc, but the more I thought about it, the more the answers got kinda complex for me! D.oc definitely played the main role is turning L.ightning around and changing his attitude, but I think everyone in R.adiator Springs kinda influenced him in different ways.

Then there's the more obscure answer that..not really anyone knows about! But, to make a long story short,(I don't even remember the darn name), but when L.ightning was racing the the training achedemy, before he even got to racing in the big leagues and things, one of his friends betrayed him and, to be quick about it, was the reason L.ightning even got the name L.ightning and also played a hand in helping L.ightning have his big break through in getting to race in bigger leagues! YES this is technically canonical(whether you want to include the books as canonical or not is to each their own, especially depending on some books you can very much tell who did help with the movie and who wasn't even filled in on the plot of the movie so it's almost a pick and choose thing), and YES, if you like to count the books as canonical, L.ightning on a camping trip reveals a personal private story to S.arge, F.illmore, and M.ater about how he got the name L.ightning, and his 'original'(if that's the right word for it?) Name was Montgomery. I have a digital copy of said book and can fetch screenshots if yall think I'm pulling your leg🫡

14. Do you and your f/o share any hobbies?

Certainly! I don't have a whole list off the top of my head, but we definitely have the same taste in playing games together, whether it be video games or board games, I mentioned the Legos earlier, going out and just exploring things...OH! OH!! And 100% the whole dinosaur thing. L.ightning(canonically, I say once more, as if I give a darn to canon and don't avidly preach about bending it to however you please and partake in such actions myself) lovesssss dinosaurs! Even goes to a museum with M.ater about one! And proceeds to have the most blatant display of neurodivergance-y if I've ever seen one. He also watches documentaries and stuff on them. And I love dinosaurs, and I love documentaries!! So there's definitely that.

15. Badly describe your selfship!!

"I love you regaurdless of your past trauma/experiences and you are safe to be vulnerable around me and to be your authentic self without any masking, and without any repercussions." Count 1/??? hundred

#made my day with all these questions to answer you dont even know it!!! aaaa!!!! #oh joy!! #using this as an excuse to unapologetically go on tangents so if it is long then GOOD /half joking #i know i have the humanization thingy written in my pinned post but. thats why its obligatory!! XD #okay. slighhtly future me here. MAYBE I GOT A BIT TOO CARRIED AWAY.....but we are looking over and past that😅😅 #i say canonically like I give a darn about canon UAHDJAHDJAHDJA #im a preacher of bending canon to how you want it XD #king of perenthasis over here. i know XD #if you read this whole post youre getting free stickers of your personal choice teehee

[bramblesramblesintoshambles]

The Eclipse Dungeon

-Art by Alexey Karelin (Art Station).

Hey everyone, I made a little dungeon for 13th Age. Fair warning I've not had a chance to test this out mechanics wise, but with the second edition being worked on I figured I'd post this. I highly recommend this system for anyone who finds Pathfinder "too crunchy" its relatively simple and abstract but has a lot of cool little mechanics you can use.

To set the scene for The Eclipse Dungeon. Your party (Level 1 recommending 3+ players) have been asked to investigate a dungeon underneath strange ruins which were recently discovered. Unlike other castles from forgotten eras, there are no signs of undead or diabolical intent. In fact, you could scarcely call it a castle. A few mushroom shaped towers connected by a hollow wall, strange mixtures of architecture far older than any of the current icons. Their catacombs lay bear of dead, with only a tunnel leading deep underneath remaining there. At its end, a platform which descends, by magic, into the dungeon your adventurers will face. No monsters, undead, or even ordinary folk have attacked them yet.

So, above is a map with a layout for the dungeon, but I figured I should do my best to explain the key first. A purple heart simply marks the locations where enemies appear, not their quantity. However a larger purple heart does indicate a greater challenge. Gold circles represent key items, which are pieces used in the resolution of various puzzles throughout each maze. The blue squares mark the locations of the puzzles themselves, or more accurately where they can be finished. Red lines indicate barriers which can be opened or locked depending on how they are interacted with. A puzzle or key item will indicate which door is unlocked. The ascent points marked indicate your exit from this dungeon.

Puzzle 1

When the PCs arrive in the dungeon they encounter three barriers and an opening to the South-East maze. Above it is writing which no individual party member can read. To decipher it requires a difficult (16+) Intelligence check from a character, adding background skills if applicable. On a normal (11+) result, Human and Elf characters can each determine part of this message. Human characters read: "Long ago... sun and... clung together... kingdoms into". Meanwhile elves read: "... the... the moon... plunging two... darkness". A character with the Linguist feat only requires a normal (11+) Intelligence check to translate it. If they are an elf or human reduce this to an easy (6+) check instead. The full message is "Long ago the sun and the moon clung together plunging two kingdoms into darkness".

There are two tapestries in this maze, at locations 2 and 3. The tapestry at location 2 shows an army of dark elves wearing silver armour. Additionally, there are empty armour suits being controlled by a Drow Mage in the tapestry. She wields a black iron sword edged in silver alongside her wand. This Drow Queen stands at the back of her people. Meanwhile, the tapestry at location 3 shows human warriors led by a figure in golden armour. These soldiers are surrounded by golden light, fighting despite grievous injuries. The Human King wields a staff of gold weaved with bone white wood from which thorns grow. The Drow Queen tapestry is close to location 1, which contains a golden orb; their first key item. Location 3 is close to location 4, which contains their second key item; a silver disk. These can then be taken to the blue square for this maze.

-Art from the Britannica website.

In the final room, there are two statues. One is of the Elf Queen, the other of the Human King. Both have their weapons pointed at each other, however their eyes are shielded against a pillar between the pair of them. In this pillar is a circular indentation, the golden orb glows warmly when placed in there. After this, they must place the disk over that orb to simulate an eclipse. The disk and orb grow dark, all light within pushed to their edges which hurts to look at. This opens the gate into the Western labyrinth, where they will find the second puzzle of this dungeon.

On their way back out players will find new tapestries at 4.5. Hanging to the left of the exit from this maze is a tapestry of the Drow Queen, to the right is the Human King. Above the head of the Drow Queen is the left half of the eclipse, and she now commands animated armours against a hoard of undead. She now wields a staff which was once belonged to an enemy. In her hand what was once pale wood is silver coiled against gold, their briars curling up and around an onyx disk. Similarly, the Human King is posed beneath the other half of that eclipse with gold bathed soldiers battling monsters of various kinds. He has pierced through the heart of a demon with what was once her sword, which is now golden edged with silver and has an onyx in its pommel. A normal (11+) Intelligence check, including applicable background skills, will inform a PC that the events depicted here are ancient. Specifically, they learn this takes place in the mythic age and depict "The Blinding Night". A decade long eclipse which caused monsters, demons, and undead to become more active. On a 16+ they have heard of the Eclipse Royals, mythic rulers of a hybrid kingdom between a nation of moon worshipping Dark Elves and sun worshipping humans.

This is getting enormous so I'll continue this is subsequent posts. Please follow if you want to see the rest of this dungeon.

#13th age #ttrpg #dungeon meshi #tabletop #homebrew #game master #fantasy #fiction

[sollucets]

I saw you asking for touch prompts and okay. Imagine. Aye having a nightmare + touch prompt 5 and 28. Maybe? If you want to write a little something!

hi nonny :')! i made a little post about it right after getting this ask, but i've written something that i'd consider to be close to the more obvious interpretation of this prompt already, in on our way up ch5, so i did take this a little to the left of that, but i think it still suits

5 (feeling their pulse) + 28 (reaching for each other in the dark) from this list for my lil event; around 700 words of soft/sad/sleepy akkaye, rated t for trauma nightmares :')

💜

Akk wakes abruptly in the middle of the night. His room is pitch-black, the soft sound of the waves the only thing he can hear, and — 

He reaches out to the other side of the bed, blindly, fingers searching for a body that should be there, and finds nothing. 

Blearily, Akk gets up, throws a sheet over his bare shoulders, and goes out the door. His room is separate entirely from the rest of the house, and if he were going there he’d need to wear real clothes to cross part of the beach. But he isn’t, because as he’d expected, he finds Aye sitting on the steps, hands hooked around his knees, looking tiny in one of Akk’s sleep shirts. 

Carefully in deference to his own half-awake state, Akk descends the couple stairs to his boyfriend then drops heavily down next to him. Aye, who apparently had headphones in, startles and turns to look at him with wide eyes. 

Akk frowns at him, still barely awake enough for words.

“What are you doing up?” Aye asks quietly, pulling one headphone out. He has prominently visible eyebags.

“You’re gone,” mumbles Akk.  

Aye’s expression does something funny, maybe a little wistful and maybe a little achingly fond, and he sighs. “I’m sorry. I— had a nightmare. I didn't want to wake you."

“Yeah,” says Akk, who’d also expected that. He frees a hand from its sheet cage to take one of Aye’s. “Okay now?” 

Aye looks down at their hands, gently running his thumb back and forth over Akk’s skin, and doesn’t answer. 

It’s fair. If it was all okay, Aye would be back inside where he’s supposed to be already. Akk leans their shoulders together and tries to think. 

They’re on break, school out after term exams for a little while. Aye has been visiting Akk’s parents, coming out on the boats with them and trying his best to help with the catch and holding Akk’s hand in public. It’s good, it’s easy, it’s — impossible, he thinks sometimes. Like there should be a catch to being so happy. Like there should be a punishment.

Only for him, though. Never for Aye, not like this. This is the second nightmare this week; the first time only Akk had woken, laying silent in bed and watching Aye toss and turn and call alternately for Akk and for someone who’d never hear him. From looking it up, Akk knew better than to wake him if he didn’t have to; all he could do was inch close enough to hold him, careful and soft, and try not to cry. 

When Aye hadn't seemed to remember in the morning, he hadn't said anything. He hadn’t wanted Aye to feel bad about it, or like he was ruining their vacation. But maybe he really should’ve, because it looks like that happened anyway. He should’ve said something so Aye could know it was fine, that Akk is fine with it, that he’ll carry this without complaint. 

None of that has any path to make it out of his mouth here in the dark, sleep fogging his brain and his throat, so Akk just holds his hand tighter and says, “Don’t leave unless you want to, next time."

“Next time,” repeats Aye, bitterly, then sighs. “Okay. I’m sorry.” 

Aye feels a little colder than he should be against him. Akk untangles their hands long enough to drape the sheet over both of them, then scoots down enough on the step to put his head on Aye’s shoulder and holds out his hand palm-up between them. “Don’t be sorry,” he says, warm and held and sleepy again. “Be my pillow.” 

Snorting, Aye leans into him, letting their heads rest together. “Spoiled,” he murmurs, tired and warm. “You missed me that much?” 

Normally, this is the kind of thing Akk has to deny as part of their forever game of chase, but he can’t remember why that’s important right now, so he just says, “Yes.” 

“Baby,” says Aye with a near-silent laugh and takes his hand back, grip warm. “It’s okay. I missed you too.” 

They go silent. Akk closes his eyes. Faintly, he feels Aye’s thumb running over his pulse point, in time with a rhythm he can hear thudding in his own ears. He wonders if it was him who died in Aye’s dreams this time, resents himself for haunting them, hopes it’s enough to sit together and love him and weather it. 

He holds on. It seems like it could be. It seems like it will be.

#the eclipse #akkayan #my fic tag #arbitrary milestone prompts #this is not the followup to last prompt that i promised you may notice #but i'm filling these in mostly chronological order so. #this is the way it must be #this was SO easy to write haha. i am a master champion at gentle emotional distress surrounding sleeping it is my firmly established niche

[lucas-grey]

Ambrose Island

So, after playing the map now for a while, it's time to write my first impressions and a first Review about it so far. There will be spoilers ahead!

First of all, this location is full Lucas Grey fan service! I'm sorry shippers, but I hope you will get your chance with Freelancer ❤️ But Ambrose Island is clearly Grey's level! IOI shows again, that they listen to their fans. After several YouTube videos, Blogposts and other posts on Reddit and the Hitman Forum from fans complaining about Grey's early death, they finally brought him back!

He has the most lines, and here is something that it's a bit of a pity: All lines I have found from 47 so far are reused. Diana has some lines in the opening cinematics, but in the location itself, Grey is our only handler and he guides us through the map.

The whole thing is set during the two month episode between Whittleton Creek and Sgail, and at the beginning, we see our dream team together again on that ship in the North Sea.

So let's start with the opening cinematic! It is similar to the ingame cinematics we know from Hitman 3. The lip synch is good, but the facial expressions are a bit wooden, more like in the cinematics we had in Haven and New York. But what counts is what happens and after they went a bit OOC (in my opinion) in Hitman 3, they show here how good they actually can write chracters.

I loved the little teasing between Grey and Diana! They are so cute together, in a mischievous way.

Diana: "I've seen the man's file. What did you expect would happen?"

Grey: "It's not like I had much choice, seeing as all my best lieutenants were killed by you two."

Diana: "Fair point."

This is GOLD!

The cinematic also gives us a deeper look on what kind of a person Grey is. He hired Noel Crest, one of our targets, to have an eye on the militia while he's away. But Crest turned away from the militia, disregarded Grey's order and formed a group of ruthless thieves, running around and killing people, no matter who they are.

Grey shows much regret, and again it is shown how broken he is. He tries to correct his mistakes he made in the past, maybe still hoping for a better future. Damn... 🥺

Grey: "He is my responsibility. My mistake."

I'm not crying, you are!

Grey asks Diana and 47, to "correct" this mistake, because with his next heist, Crest could warn the Constant and destroying the plans to kidnap him.

So here we are, on Ambrose Island, and what can I say? I love it! It is acutally bigger than I thought, considering that the level is for free. And it's not as I first thought, that it is Colorado 2.0 and that the whole map is a restricted area. There is a village near the beach, where you can walk around freely, a little jungle part and than there is the restricted section in some ruins and behind the village.

The default suit 47 wears and we can unlock at lvl 20 is a reskin of the tactical wetsuit and it's hot! Even if it's a reskin, I still love the more military look of it.

I can't say so much about the targets for now, because I haven't seen much of them. But I was strolling around the island and damn, there are so many things that are fun to play! A slap contest, hello? I slapped the whole village! You can also find the Buccaneer suit and some interesting items. I don't want to spoiler too much, go and discover the huge island, it's so much fun!

I am a bit sad about the missing new lines by 47 (Mister Bateson, were you busy?), because I was hoping for some brother-content between him and Grey. But there is one little hint I want to share with you, because it's kinda cute!

We can find an old acquaintance on the Island: Agent Smith. He is trapped in a cage and when we find him and he starts talking to 47, you can clearly hear Grey smiling when he says: "Heh... friend of yours, 47?" Tell me what you want, but you can almost hear the little jealously in his voice 😅

Of course, there are some things IOI could have done better. But I will not talk about these now, I am too thankful that they brought Grey back and kinda made his mission.

I can't wait to explore it more, so prepare for new screenshots and Reviews and more stuff about the level in the next days! Have fun playing it and tell me what you think about it in the comments or write me a message! I can’t wait to hear your opinions ❤️

#hitman #hitman 3 #hitman 3 year 2 #ambrose island #lucas grey #agent 47 #diana burnwood #olivia hall

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Hey, I just found your blog and I really love your writing! Could you do the first time romanced male companions (specifically Danse, Gage, and Maccready) are shown very sweet, soft forms of affection (like caressing their face, playing with their hair, etc)?

(I noticed you havent written anything with Gage, so I understand if you dont do him btw :))

Romanced! Male! FO4 Companions react to the first time they are shown soft forms of affection.

Hi, did you order some teeth-rotting fluff? Maybe? Well, that's what you got. I honestly felt like it was only fair after the angst of my last post, so here you are my loves, enjoy!

If someone you want to see isn't on here, please let me know, cuz I would love to do all the companions for this amazing prompt at some point. And as far as Gage goes, I am totally willing to write for him, I've just never had him as a companion before, so I don't usually add him by default. Anyways, hopefully he isn't too out of character, I really tried to do some research into his character and dialogue and junk, but sometimes that can only get you so far. 🤷‍♀️

Any who, thank you so much for the ask! I loved this achingly sweet prompt!

Danse:

     "Alright, let's get this all off of you." Sole knocked their hand against the front of Danse's power armor, noting the dents and holes littering the surface. He simply grunted in agreement as he took a few steps closer to the power armor station in the driveway of Sole's Sanctuary home.

"Look, I know you're more worried about your armor than you are yourself, but you took a lot of direct hits back there. I just want to make sure you're okay." Sole heard the distinct screech of hinges as Danse stepped out of his armor, and they took a quick look at him, eyes searching for any sign of blood on his flight suit. They gestured for him to accompany them into the house, and he followed close behind as they crossed the threshold into the living room. Sole pulled out a kitchen chair and waved to it, suggesting the ex-soldier take a seat, as they grabbed a couple of purified waters for the pair.

"Would it not also be wise to assess your wounds? I was the one wearing power armor, you were practically defenseless out there." He said as they approached him, clearly scrutinizing his form for any signs of injury.

"I was not, since you kept stepping in front of me every time I left my cover to take a shot. You took all the wounds for me." They told him as they gathered some of their meager medical supplies together on the kitchen table.

"Alright, come on soldier, you know the drill." Sole turned their attention from the table to him as he began to unzip the top of his flight suit, sighing exasperatedly and pulling the material off his shoulders, wrenching his arms free as he let the top of the suit fall to his waist. Though Sole had certainly seen the man shirtless before, he still didn't meet their gaze as they began to examine his chest and arms.

"Any points of concern?" They asked as they began their examination in earnest. His gaze shifted sideways in thought, before he shook his head.

They drew a hand over one large bruise on his chest, and felt him tense at the contact, inhaling sharply as Sole's hand moved to another spot of concern, further down on his abdomen. The man's battered body was littered with welts and bruises, but otherwise he seemed unhurt. Sole gave a sigh of relief, bringing their hand to rest on his arm. They opened their mouth to give him their verdict, but stopped abruptly as their fingers brushed a wetness on his bicep. Sole turned their attention to the spot, noticing the blood draining down the back of his arm beneath a bullet wound.

"Shit, one got you." They told him, grabbing a towel to dab at the wound. He hissed as the rough fabric brushed over the puncture in his arm, and Sole tried to soften their movements.

"It looks like it just grazed you, thankfully." They told him, as they inspected the wound, searching for any signs of an embedded bullet. "Why didn't you say anything? It must hurt."

"I don't know, it honestly doesn't feel much worse than a few of the others."

"Mhm, okay, whatever you say, tough guy." They smiled at him, eyebrows still creased upwards in concern, despite their teasing tone.

Sole treated the wound as best they could, but knew that staving off infection would be the hardest part of the healing process. As they glanced down at their handiwork, cream colored bandages wrapped around the bulk of his upper arm, Sole felt the need to express in some way that they had finished tending to him. Resting one hand on Danse's shoulder, they leaned their head in, pressing a light kiss to his arm, just above the wound itself. They felt him flinch away sharply in uncertainty at the action.

"Sorry," Sole whispered, "It's just something we used to do before the bombs fell. It always seemed to make me feel better, so I just--"

"No, wait." They heard him say softly, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. Please. Keep going." A small smile spread to Sole's lips as they brought them down to his arm again. From there, they moved to the welt on his chest, then the one on his ribcage, and up to the bruise on his neck, their mouth pressing softly over the tender marks. As Sole's breath fanned warmly over his exposed skin, they couldn't help but grin slightly as they noticed small goosebumps begin to trail behind their soothing movements. Sole looked up as they heard a sigh escape Danse's mouth, and noticed that he had closed his eyes, a tranquil expression resting loosely on his face.

As they ran out of spots to draw their affection to, Sole found themself moving upwards, wondering if there were any areas of concern on his face. Perhaps… just this one area needed their attention. Sole brought their head forwards, pressing their lips to his own, and nearly laughed into the kiss as they saw his eyes fly open in surprise, only to flutter to a close once more as he relaxed into the contact. In the next moment, they pulled away from him, if only to catch a glimpse of the pink hue that was surely spreading over his cheeks, to find that they had miscalculated. The blush didn't stop at his cheeks, no, the crimson hue adorned his whole face, even going so far as to spread down to his chest, where it seemed to mask a few of the discolored bruises beneath his neck. Their eyes returned to meet his as they heard him clear his throat.

"So that, ah, will help the wounds heal at an accelerated rate?" Certainly that's not a smugness I hear in his voice, right?

"Oh, yes. Most definitely." They said with a playful grin.

"That's, ahem, that's good."

"So, perhaps we should … make this a regular appointment. At least until you've fully recovered."

"Yes. I think that would be… wise." He looked away sheepishly before turning his gaze back to them, an uncharacteristic glint of mischief shining in his honey-brown eyes.

"Should we… I mean, shall I inspect you for any injuries now?" He asked tentatively. Now it was Sole's turn to blush.

Deacon:

     Sole gazed longingly at their partner as he walked a few paces in front of them, willing him to fall back, to draw nearer to them, to talk with them, to touch them, to do anything but what he was doing now.

The pair had been officially dating for three weeks at this point, and yet, Sole felt as though their relationship had remained ultimately unchanged. The night the two had confessed their feelings for each other had been… slow, and almost painful as Deacon struggled with the subject matter of the conversation. Sole knew it was difficult for him to open up, and hell, after all he's been through, they didn't blame him. It had been no easy feat for them to be open about their feelings as well, so they felt that they could empathize with their companion to a certain degree.

They had been happy, even relieved to take things slow, but now it had been nearly a month and nothing was different. Sole felt ready for a committed romantic relationship, and yet, Deacon still felt like he couldn't even take off his sunglasses around them. They wanted to be close to him, to really speak with him, to have someone they could connect with, that they could be intimate and vulnerable with, and they just weren't sure if they could ever have that with Deacon. And that scared the hell out of them, because, truth be told, there was no one else they wanted that with.

Now felt like a good time to test the waters though. The pair were alone, strolling leisurely through the woods on their way back to Sanctuary after a Railroad job well done. The light wind created an orchestra of soft brushing sounds as it swept through the meager leaves adorning the branches above them, there was a peaceful quiet, a kind of serenity that gave Sole courage.

With a few quicker steps, Sole came into stride beside Deacon as he kept moving forward, gaze trained on the trail ahead. They let their arm swing down, their fingers brushing his hand as they walked. Their partner seemed to pull his arm slightly away from them, but otherwise, he paid the movement no mind. Maybe that wasn't clear enough.

Sole went in again, this time their hand caught his on a downswing, holding firmly to keep the contact, but trying not to seem too forceful. He stopped in his tracks, his hand remaining limp in their grasp, before he pulled it away. To his credit, he was gentle as he did so, but his movement left little room for debate. Sole looked down at their own hand, feeling slightly embarrassed before tilting their eyeline up to meet his gaze. He smiled apologetically at them, knowing full well that his action couldn't have made them feel good. Sole nodded to him in acknowledgement. So handholding is a 'no,' got it. They turned back to face the path again, setting off ahead of their companion in the direction of Sanctuary. Lost in thought, Sole continued trekking along, noting the sound of Deacon's footfalls beside them as they kept their eyes trained on the road.

The pair continued walking in silence, and just as Sole felt as though they needed to break it, they felt a brush against their hand. They held it in place, waiting to see what would happen next if they let him make the movements of his own accord. They heard Deacon clear his throat as his hand kept contact with theirs, his pinky finger extending out to wrap around their own as their hands continued to sway slightly as they walked.

Sole beamed, peeking over to see Deacon's own little half-smile, accompanied by a muted flush at the apples of his cheeks.

I think we've made some good progress here today.

Gage:

     Sole paced around the main room of Fizztop Grille, wearing nothing but an oversized shirt and underwear as they tried desperately to get Gage's attention. They had felt like shit all day and had tried everything to get the raider to focus on them. Made him a drink, sighed loudly towards him, tried to get him to engage in conversation, tried to tell him how bad they were feeling, they even continued removing their clothes with him in the room, but he just continued cleaning his damn rifle. Sole approached the side of the bar, making sure to remain in his line of sight, as they bent down seductively, acting as though they were perusing the bottom shelf of the bar for a beverage. Even that didn't work. I'll have to take drastic measures.

Sole turned their attention to where he laid back on the couch, examining the sharp, shining edge of the blade of his combat knife. Guess he finished with his gun.

They made their way towards him, and still he didn't look over at them. When they reached the couch, he let a hand fall to the ground, still grasping the knife as he finally set his eyes on Sole. At that, they collapsed directly onto his body, knocking the wind out of him as they made contact, their chest flush to his own, face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Oof, shit boss, what's this for?"

"Please, Gage. I've felt like absolute shit all day, and you haven't said a damn word to me. I need you."

"Oh? You need me, huh?" They heard the mischief in his voice as he brought one hand over to grasp at their ass, the combat knife clattering to the floor as his other hand ran up Sole's bare back underneath their shirt.

"No." Sole whined, "not like that. I just told you, I feel like shit. I don't know what it is, I feel cold and achy. And I know I must sound like a little bitch, but can you just… I don't know, do something about it?"

He hummed at them, and Sole was sure he'd say something gruff, or do nothing at all. Even since establishing their relationship, the pair had rarely shown the other any sort of… romantic affection.

So, Sole nearly yelped in surprise as he shifted them over so they were resting more comfortably beside him, half of their body still draped over his. He left one arm firmly wrapped around their shoulders, pulling their body to press against him as his other arm came up to wrap around their waist, keeping them enveloped in his tight embrace. Though the adjustment was gruff, his leathery hand was nothing short of tender as he rubbed up and down their back, reveling in the feel of Sole's breath as it fanned warmly over his neck.

"Mm, this better?" He asked, his voice soft and low. Sole nodded to him, their forehead bumping into his jaw. They felt him turn his head at the new contact, tilting downward to press a kiss to their brow before speaking again.

"Good."

Sole relaxed further into his body, the warmth of him seeming to seep into their soul. Who the hell is this, and where has he been all this time?

"Look, as much as I, ahem, love this, and I do," He whispered almost too quietly for Sole to hear, even with their close proximity, "If you tell anyone about it, this is the last time it'll happen. Got it?"

Sole laughed at that quietly, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck.

"You know… I was going to say the same thing."

"Good. Glad we're on the same page then, boss."

"Me too." They said, bringing their head up to kiss him on the cheek before falling back against his chest. Gage's lip quirked upwards as he smiled at their affectionate gesture. Damn. I've gotta do this more often. He thought, a warmth blossoming outwards from his chest as he held Sole firmly to him.

Hancock:

     Sole laid their head back against the pillows, their chest still heaving from the exertion of the night as they heard the soft padding of footsteps draw closer. They felt the mattress divot and give way slightly beside them as Hancock crawled back into the bed. He brought a hand up to rest on their stomach as he pressed his ruined lips to their cheek. At the feel of their sweat-swathed skin, the ghoul withdrew his hand from their abdomen, not wanting them to be uncomfortable, given the stuffiness of the Old State House. The pair laid silently for a while, side-by-side as they listened to their breath finally begin to slow to a more relaxed pace.

As their body began to cool, Sole found themself wanting to be closer to their partner again, craving the warmth that his body would bring pressed against theirs. They shifted onto their side, eyes softening at the sight of him, as they realized Hancock had been gazing at them lovingly since the moment he had gotten back into bed with them.

"You're gorgeous." He said softly, dark eyes glistening in the gloom of the State House bedroom.

"You're not so bad yourself." Sole whispered, drawing a hand upwards to caress his cheek, running their fingers soothingly along his jaw as their thumb stroked his cheekbone. His eyes seemed to close involuntarily at the contact, and he turned his head to kiss the palm of their hand. Sole smiled, bringing their fingers down to run over the line of his mouth as he tried to capture each individual digit in a kiss before they could be drawn away. They ran their fingers around the marred skin of his face in an attempt to touch as much of him as they could with one hand, and yet, his lips continued to follow suit. Sole giggled at the little game they had started, watching with half-lidded eyes as he moved his head about in an effort to keep his mouth in contact with their hand.

"You like teasing me, huh?" He said at the sounds of mirth spilling from Sole's lips.

"Well, you make it so easy." They brought their hand to dangle above his face, and his brow furrowed at the loss of contact.

"Yeah, well, you just know that I'd do anything for you, don't you?" He said lowly as he brought his own hand up to capture Sole's, letting his fingers fall into the spaces between theirs. He drew their hands downward, pressing one final kiss to the back of Sole's hand before releasing it from his grip; instead, sliding his hand over their arm until he had it pressed against their back. From there, he increased the pressure, urging Sole to scoot closer to him. When they obliged, he slid over so they could rest upon his chest, letting out a sigh as the scent of them drifted to his ruined nose. He set his sights on Sole's face once more, still flushed slightly from the exerting events of the evening, their eyes closed peacefully, their hair messily framing their enchanting features. God, they're perfect.

Sole felt their cheek squish against the firmness of Hancock's chest as they smiled into him, reveling in the feel of his heartbeat as it pounded strongly beneath them. They moved their head, tilting it downwards slightly as they pressed a kiss to the center of his bare chest, feeling him release a breath as their soft lips made contact with his skin.

Man, how did I ever get so lucky? The pair thought in unison as, together, they drifted off peacefully, still wrapped in the other's warm embrace.

MacCready:

     The merc sighed deeply as he collapsed onto the couch in the living room of Sole's home in Sanctuary, dropping his bag next to him as he let his hat fall over his eyes.

Sole smiled affectionately as they came in behind him. They began to unload their pack, listening as MacCready started to snore softly. It had been a long trip, and a good few weeks since they'd been back at Sanctuary, so they certainly couldn't blame him for passing out so easily. Actually, that sounds like a wonderful idea.

Sole meandered back to their bedroom and readied themself for some much needed sleep, hoping MacCready would find his way back there eventually. When he didn't, Sole walked back to the living room, folding their arms over their chest as they looked at their partner; eyes closed from underneath his hat, mouth hanging open as he snoozed contently. They slowly made their way to him, hands descending to work on loosening the laces of his boots, before pulling them off of his tired feet. Next they took a few steps forward and gently removed his hat from its place over his eyes. His snoring never ceased as Sole knelt next to him, bringing their fingers up to smooth through his soft brown hair, their fingers lightly brushing the locks away from his face.

Sole felt torn, on the one hand, they felt like they never wanted this moment to end, it was so serene and lovely. But at the same time, Sole desperately needed sleep themself, so the other part of them willed him to wake and join them in the bedroom. In the next instance, the merc took in an exceptionally loud breath, jolting himself awake, much to Sole's amusement. They giggled at him as he sleepily peered around in confusion.

"What just happened?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes.

"You were snoring so loud that you woke yourself up." Sole said, still chuckling to themself as they stood up, their fatigue making the situation much more humorous than it probably was.

"But… were you touching me?"

"I was trying to coax you awake. I wanna go to bed." He looked confused for a moment, still blinking away some of his grogginess.

"And I wanted you to come with me. I know you've never slept in the bed here, but… now that we're, well, you know, I just--"

"Oh!" MacCready shot up into a sitting position, and prepared to get off the couch, "I… yeah, I would like that. Sorry, still uh, getting used to all this again." A blush rose to his cheeks as he spoke, and he looked down at his feet after swinging them around to stand.

"What happened to my shoes?" He looked over at Sole questioningly as he stood and began to follow them down the hall.

"They're out there, I just… took them off for you."

"O-oh, thanks."

Sole settled themself on one side of the bed as MacCready almost tentatively crawled under the covers beside them, adjusting himself as he tried to get comfortable on the plush mattress. Sole closed their eyes, nearly drifting off into sleep with each passing moment, until MacCready's incessant shifting brought them back to consciousness.

"Just relax, sweetie." They told him, shifting onto their side and bringing their fingers back up to run through his hair once more. They heard him gasp for a moment at the contact, but kept up with their soothing movements, smiling to themself as they heard him sigh softly. He leaned his head into the contact, and before Sole could ask him if he enjoyed the gesture, they heard quiet snores spill from his lips as he drifted off once again, with Sole following close behind.

Nick:

     Sole made their way back to the office portion of the agency, wiping their eyes as they looked to the clock on Nick's desk. 2:34am. Yuck.

The synth was hunched over, eyes moving along the lines of the case file clasped in his hands.

"And what are you doing up, hmm?" He asked without looking up from the page. Instead of answering verbally, Sole drew closer to him, bringing their right hand up to brush against his left cheek, encouraging him to look over at them. To their surprise, Nick pulled away from their touch quickly, but still turned his glowing eyes to meet theirs. Sole could see the ridge above his eyes creased upwards as he noticed the hurt etched on their face at his action.

"Careful there, doll. I just don't want you to hurt yourself. I've got some sharp edges over here."

"You think I don't know that?" They hadn't meant for the words to come out the way they did, but they were tired and irritable. It's how they always felt when they woke up and he wasn't beside them. And of course they knew he didn't sleep, so they can't blame him for being unused to this trend they've tried to establish, but… surely he'd rather be laying beside them, rather than working at a desk all night. Right? Their uncertainty must have been plain on their face, for now Nick seemed to peer at them sympathetically, despite their gruff tone with him.

He brought his good hand up to their face, returning the gesture they had just tried to make towards him, his thumb stroking lightly over their cheek.

"You want me to come to bed? Is that it?" Sole nodded sleepily, pressing further into his touch, his synthetic hand feeling soothingly cool over their heated skin.

"Alright. No more work tonight, you got it." Sole smiled at that, and Nick let his hand smooth down past their jaw, down their neck, and over their shoulders as he brought his arm around them. The pair made their way to the bed in the corner of the agency, Nick moving ahead of Sole so he could lift the covers up as they crawled beneath them. Sole peered up at him with half lidded eyes as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders, his hands reached for a softer, buttonless long sleeve which he brought down over his head.

Now, he made his way to the bed, sliding under the covers and bringing one arm up to rest on the tops of the pillows, an invitation for Sole to fill the space below. And they certainly obliged, curling themselves up beside him with one arm thrown over his abdomen as their cheek rested on his chest. They felt his arm fall from its place on the pillows to wrap around them, and their eyes fluttered shut as they listened to his whirring heartbeat, smoothing their hand up and down his body contently as they nuzzled deeper into him. They reveled at the softness of his shirt beneath their fingers and cheek. He really thinks of everything, doesn't he? No wonder he's a detective.

"How much can you feel when I do this?" Sole asked quietly as they continued rubbing his chest with their hand.

"Mm, I can feel every little bit, sweetheart. It's wonderful, you've got a real talent there." Sole giggled at him, and they could've sworn they heard a distinct quickening of the synth's heartbeat for a moment.

"I'm being serious, love. I mean, do you even like when I touch you like this?"

"Honestly? There's nothing on this earth that makes me happier."

Preston:

     Sole kept their gaze trained on the minuteman as he checked in with each of the settlers, moving from person to person, speaking softly, and comforting each one. He had to be exhausted, after all, it was them who had driven off the mutants in the attack on Sunshine Tidings; and yet, all his attention was on helping the people around him. They waited patiently as he at last checked in with the settlement's doctor, ensuring any wounded were on their way to recovery, and as he finally turned to look at Sole, they had moved to stand directly beside him, bringing a hand up to his shoulder and rubbing softly as they urged him towards the guest house near the entrance to the settlement.

"C'mon, Lieutenant, it's time you got some rest."

"And you, General." He said, falling in line behind them as they made their way onto the porch, and into the front door of the house. Preston shrugged off his coat as he stepped into the room, and pulled his hat from his head, tossing both onto the dresser as he took a seat on the bed and began undoing his boot laces. Sole took off their own overcoat and bits of the leather armor they were wearing, before turning back to their companion, who was still seated, just staring ahead with tired eyes. Even as Sole walked to the other side of the bed and settled themself atop the mattress, Preston didn't budge. They gave him a moment, testing to see if he would try and relax beside them, but he still sat on the edge of the mattress, facing towards the door, eyes trained on the wall. Sole moved upwards into a sitting position, and crawled along the mattress towards their partner, they stopped behind him and brought their hands up to rest on his shoulders.

"Wh--? Oh, um…" the minuteman tensed, and turned his head to look back at Sole.

"Is this alright?" They asked him as they began to rub his shoulders firmly with their fingers, trying to work some of the stress from his body.

"Well, yes. Definitely, but you know, you don't have to-- oh? Ah." Sole pressed harder as their adept fingers worked at the knot they found in his shoulder, and Preston sighed in relief as he felt it begin to loosen up.

Sole continued their movements and watched as Preston's head slowly lowered as he settled into a more relaxed state. He rolled his shoulders against their ministrations, releasing a few deep breaths as he felt the tension ebb away from his muscles. They carried on this way until Sole felt as the hardness beneath his skin began to melt away, leaving the area feeling loose and pliant against their firm contact. Another sigh escaped their partner as the massage left his shoulders feeling light and fuzzy, as though they had fallen asleep. Sole leaned into him, resting their chin on Preston's shoulder as they spoke softly into his ear,

"Come here, hon. Come lay down."

"Mm, don't have to ask me twice." His voice came out groggily, as though he'd just been asleep, and Sole smiled at the pleasant sound. They began to sink down onto the mattress themself, one hand remaining on his shoulder, pulling slightly as they urged him down beside them. He followed without hesitation, collapsing onto his back with another sigh of satisfaction.

"Thank you, love. I didn't know how much I needed that." He said, head tilted back against the pillows as his eyes fell closed. Sole just hummed in response, and lazily, Preston brought an arm over to wrap around them, drawing their body to press against his.

"And, if you want, I could return the favor." Though Sole had closed their eyes, they felt them roll beneath their lids as they smiled, releasing a breath in mock exasperation at their partner's incessant selflessness.

"No, sweetie. You can do me a favor by just trying to get some rest."

X6-88:

     "Sir/ma'am, we both know that sleeping is not my strong suit."

"Please, X, just call me Sole now, you're driving me crazy with all of these formalities."

"Forgive me. It's as they say, old habits die hard."

"Well, can you just at least try to sleep? If nothing else, it helps me."

X6's eyes narrowed at them. First they insisted I remove my sunglasses during our 'down time,' now I need to sleep what, at least 5 hours every night too? Relationships are strange. But I suppose, if it helps them sleep...

"If you say so." He said, shifting from his seated position on the bed to lay down beside them. Sole scooted closer to him, resting their head against his shoulder, and bringing their arm to lay over his firm chest. As Sole tried to relax into him, they felt X6's muscles remain taught beneath his skin, as though he were still poised for a fight. Sole sighed in exasperation. They had known that this relationship wouldn't come all that naturally to the courser, and they were prepared to be patient with him. But sometimes it really seemed like he just… didn't enjoy romantic gestures of any kind, and if that was the case… well, Sole didn't want to force the man to remain with them if he felt uncomfortable. But maybe he just needs to relax a little more…

"I'd like to try something." They told him. X6 hesitated, waiting to hear more before answering. At Sole's lack of clarification, he gave in.

"Alright."

Sole shifted so that they were laying on their stomach, their side pressed against his body as they looked up at him.

"Is it okay if I touch your face?" He looked away from them in thought, silver eyes practically glowing in the darkness of the bedroom as his brows drew over them in confusion at their request. After a moment of contemplation, his gaze shot back to meet Sole's own eyes before he nodded at them.

Tentatively, Sole reached their hand up until the tips of two fingers lightly brushed over his cheekbone. X6 kept very still, staring ahead as they stroked upwards, tracing lines softly over his smooth facial skin. They brought their fingers up and around his eye socket, across his forehead, down the side of his face, over his chin, back up to pass along the bridge of his nose, and over to the other side, where they repeated the pattern.

"Close your eyes." They whispered to him, and he did as they suggested without question. They felt his facial muscles slowly begin to relax as Sole's fingers continued tracing shapes over their smooth canvas. They weren't sure how long they kept up these movements, but soon enough they found themself drifting off into sleep, their hand falling to rest near the crook of X6’s neck. Before their dreams could claim them, Sole felt warm, calloused fingers glide over the arm still resting on their companion's chest, stroking slowly over their skin. A satisfied breath passed through their lips as they smiled weakly at the feel of the gentle contact.

"Goodnight, Sole." He whispered, and they barely caught the words before passing into dreamland.

This Prompt with FO3 M!Companions

This Prompt with FONV M!Companions

#fallout #fallout companions #fallout companions reacts #fallout companions reactions #fallout 4 #fallout 4 companions reacts #fallout 4 companions #fallout 4 companions reactions #fo4 companions #fo4 #fallout danse #paladin danse #danse #fallout deacon #deacon #porter gage #fallout hancock #hancock #john hancock #fallout maccready #rj maccready #nick valentine #fallout nick valentine #fallout preston #preston garvey #x6 88 #sole survivor #thank you for the ask! #ily <3

[kae-karo]

Cool so I've actually been thinking about this. You know the suit shop / nerd store post? You tagged that as Kaeluc and only if you want to I need you to elaborate.

U ASKED FOR IT and tagging @epistemologys with whom i discussed this in great detail lmaoooo - also, for context (x)

some thoughts/hcs in no particular order:

kaeya as the video game/nerd store employee, diluc as the suit shop employee

kaeya def goes over at Some point for the actual purpose of getting himself fitted for a suit (for smth innocuous) - this leads to diluc panicking for 2 reasons 1 he thinks it's cause kaeya's going on a Date with someone and 2 kaeya looks really fuckin hot in a suit

kaeya mostly normally wears ripped skinny jeans + whatever logo tshirt they make him wear (think like...whatever they sell in the shop is considered fair game for uniform purposes) on occasion, he wears the traditionally women's cut shirts they have for sale, either with very low v-necks or wide scoop necks. this drives diluc absolutely up the wall bc he should nOT BE ALLOWED TO SHOW SO MUCH

(in the aforementioned situation diluc actually has to go elsewhere or take the excuse to help a customer caue if he spends too long staring at kaeyas collarbones he might actually perish)

kaeya has been ogling the suit store ppl for a while, lowkey fantasizing abt how they all must be so gentlemanly and really kaeya's kinda sick of all the shitty ppl he's dated (the exception to this is rosaria, with whom he parted amicably and they are still gaming buddies)

in the land of literally not safe for work: they absolutely hook up in one of the suit fitting rooms at some point. probably many points.

bonus points if they're hooking up BEFORE actually 'officially' dating. double bonus points if their first "date" is at the mall food court, aka the first time they hung out intentionally one on one and didn't have sex

their first outside-the-mall date, they're both trying so hard to make the other person comfy that they end up deciding to wear clothing they think the other would like more...aka kaeya shows up in a suit and diluc shows up in jeans and a tshirt sldkfjlsdfk

another funny first date idea - both of them trying hard to impress and/or to take the other on the date they think they'd like best: kaeya takes diluc to a super fancy restaurant (he had to pull a few strings to get a reservation), diluc takes kaeya to an arcade. best served together, where they go to dinner in formal attire then head over to the arcade that way lmao

at some point during their courting/pining stage, kaeya helps a customer at diluc's suit store pick out a very nice outfit - the manager sees it happen and asks kaeya if he'd like to apply. diluc is ready to hand over the paperwork lmao

edit: i should add that anyone who wants to is free to run with the idea for fic/art/etc! alas, i doubt this is ever something i'd end up writing myself, but if anyone else takes the core of the idea and runs with it, i'd love to see what you come up with! so please if you do, feel free to share with me or tag me so i can see!

#genshin #kaeluc #luckae #ask #rainbowrider1290

[its5amandimbored]

Part two of my fowl twins memes/review/reaction Ok so I reread all the artemis fowl books and made memes on them which you can find down here (I'll be keeping the fowl twins stuff in there too, just to keep everything together)

Artemis fowl memes

I basically decided to blindly read the fowl twins and react to it and talk about while also sprinkling in some memes

Find the first part here

Previous

Also you probably shouldn't see this until you've read the book or be prepared for spoilers. Fair warning.

I will say I think myles is much more immature then artemis. He's trying way to hard to be "adult" and that's a very childish trait. Artemis was like that due to trauma. He was forced as a child to refer to his dad as "father" and be professional, even setting up appointments via email to see his father and have "buisness meetings" when he was 10. He had to greet his father with a formal, firm handshake. And he wore a suit after his father was proclaimed missing assumed dead, due to the trauma of loosing his father and having been brainwashed by his father that he was to be the "man of the house" and take charge and be in control of the finances and the manor. He stole the lemur and even kidnapped holly due to the last words his father ever told him was talking about how he had to save the family and make sure they're money didn't go. He had to watch his family's money go down until they didn't even have enough to pay for any staff including butler (which by the way it is mentioned butler continues to be with artemis without pay for a bit and I'm telling you he doesn't see that as a job. He was going to take care of that child money or no money) and watch his mother go into insanity along with deal with his father being probably dead. That stuff changed him. He was always a genius but his childhood how he was raised and what happened is what made him into the suit wearing, mature, almost adult like, person we see in the books. He was forced to grow up. He doesnt act like this because he doesn't want to be childish hell we even see him in the 6th book wishing he could've had a normal childhood and had, had the chance to be childish.

But myles wears a suit just to copy his brother and disregards childish things just because. There's really no reason other then he believes genius=adult. He seems very immature and very childish. This is one of the reasons I wanted to see artemis in the books. Wouldn't it be fascinating to see him talk to his brother in the second or third book and explain to him why what he was doing was childish. And why myles had to learn to grow up and embrace who he is and what he likes instead of just acting like what he thought was the "proper adult" myles even tries to be someone he's not. He makes the comment that he shouldn't be so "dramatic" because it's the "enemy of science" but that's part of who he is. Even artemis never denied that part of himself. He was a dramatic little shit and not only aknowleded it several times but truly loved that part of himself. Because artemis was never trying to be an adult or mature he just was like that due to his life. I'd love to see artemis and myles talk and see this interaction but I guess we won't. Still salty about that.

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Teddy when seeing a whole ass island straight up disappearing:

Like he was way to nonchalant about this

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I just find it cute that artemis was like "sure y'all can just fly around my house and train :)" the lep are like "we create zones far away from human civilization where fairies can we can train and fly around. Oh and there's one by the house of the guy who kidnapped one of us. Yea he caused some chaos in our life for a few years and anytime the end of the world was happening it was safe to assume he was somewhere nearby and yea we had no problems until he came and caused all the problems but he also like saved us a bunch of time so we're good now. We spy on him, he spies on us. he uses our technology, we train around his house. He's our bud." Like you guys have a very weird relationship

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Ok. So I've just been introduced to our magical main character... And it's a hybrid (very interesting. I did wonder while reading the original if they were ever going to address like fairies and pixies or something coming together to have a baby because I mean you can't tell me that never happened. So I'm glad they're actually addressing that here and giving some information on it) named lazuli. And she's blue. A blue skinned girl who can fly named lazuli... I'm just going to tell you guys right now all I'm gonna see in my head every single time I imagine this character is

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I'm really glad they're going over the different perspectives on artemis fowl. Like some people would trust him like he has saved countless lives due to his quick thinking and did become a good guy by the end and has helped fairies more then hurt them and even sacrificed himself for them. But some people wouldn't. At the end of the day he did kidnap a fairy, steal fairy technology which then got stolen by a horrible person who could've destroyed fairy civilization, manipulate and trick his way into getting a copy of their sacred book and put them in danger multiple times. I've seen a post talking about how fairies would view artemis after the series that I really liked over here plus some amazing art on it over here

Definitely give those a look but this reminded me of those

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Myles is such a little shit and I love it. This is definitely the type of prank artemis fowl's little brother would play. Also would love to imagine one day artemis if in space and realizes what his code means and realizes what myles did and just in the middle of space butler can see his face go like

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I will say I didn't like that they kind of dumbed up beckett. Like I thought he was going to be like butler or mulch, like not the smartest person In the room (to be fair the other ones in the room are foaly, artemis and myles. All certified geniuses) but still really smart and clever and able to keep up and think of their own plans. Like this is the kid who at 4 years old tricked his genius twin brother into giving him the code to open Artemis' room and sneak around. The kid who again at four years old was able to listen to butler, learn a move and perfect it to use his body's momentum to stun opal even if it was only temporarily. Like he was a clever and smart kid at 4 and for the most part able to keep up with his twin brother. His personality and interests may haven been very different and he may not have been a genius but that wasn't to say he was dumb either. He also doesn't even act or sound like an 11 year old. I've dealt with a lot of kids and beckett is behaving more like a 5 year old. I understand him not acting like artemis who was forced to grow up and mature, or myles whos trying really hard to act grown up and is very intelligent, but I was expecting a clever 11 year old, not a cosmo from fairly odd parents type of character. I'm still in the first few chapters so maybe we'll see him shine later but so far I'd like to see more of beckett's intelligence.

Next

#artemis fowl #artemis fowl memes #the fowl twins #myles fowl #beckett fowl #lazuli heitz

[athenawrites-stuff]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Pairings: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, Fighting, Use of curse words, and shouting.

Word count: 1.8k + words

*

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy’s lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi’s p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

“Smash her head Dan!” The man behind him yelled.

This ‘Dan’ went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don’t get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don’t give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

“Y-You- You killed them!”

Is he that dumb?

“Correction, I didn’t. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm.” I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

“S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!” He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

“You wanna know who the real monster is?” I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

“It’s you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it’s you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human.”

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

“I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right.”

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni’s guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

“What have you done?!” A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

“Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—”

“You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!”

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

“Now let’s not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student.” A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

“What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean’s son?!”

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

“Ma'am they are—” I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

“Helpmehelpmehelpme!” He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. “I don’t know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!”

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

“Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your” —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— “ buddies over there!”

“She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—”

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed…irritated?

Oh no. At me?

“I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here.” He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. “What she’s speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first.”

“And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?” Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was…foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I’ll do?

“How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?” An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university’s formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. “And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions.”

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

“Now then, Miss…?”

“Blackbell.”

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and… astonishment?

She cleared her throat “Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean’s office, along with your, companion.”

Weird.

“Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you.” She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

“Uh. Hi?”

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. “Hi.”

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

“I uh, uhm. Are you mad?”

With his brow raised, “Why would I be?”

Yeah why would he be?

“I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask.” I stuttered, “You see I—”

“You two! Start moving before I force you to.” A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

“We’ll talk later, Pearl. For now let’s get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won’t expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean’s son afterall.”

“Yeah… Thanks. We should.. go.” I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how…nice, yeah that’s the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

*************************************

Thank you for reading<3

I've already written Chapters 1-6 so stay tuned and check them out in my pinned post. Stay safe and healthy!

#monster x human #fiction #monster #monster x reader #orc #orc x reader #orc x human #orc x oc #terato #terato writing #exophilia #my writing #reader insert #original work #orc lover #monster lover #college au #monster romance #series #art #writing is art #orc boyfriend #monster boyfriend

[hello-mojo]

[Ok so the following is a story, (Rise Above This was was a working title) I was working on this completely on my own and I was quite excited about it. I actually had tried to plot out the progression and main plot points, and a few other notes for things I needed to look up and research to mesh the timelines a bit better. I hadn't gotten around to it though and now... well I don't know if I'll ever bring myself to write fanfiction anymore. I loved this story premise though and had such Hope's for it... ah well. The first chapter was completed but there was supposed to be so much more.. Frances having accidental magic and then getting sick and Healer Harry to save her... ah well. If you like the fic let me know, if you want to adopt it, comment.

Oh one other thing... not all the songs are actually nirvana songs, there's a pearl jam song used too but I was looking for songs in the right genre that seemed to work for the plot. It's all fair in fanfic right?

Anyhooty... I doubt I'll post the stories that were completed on my main profile as I orphaned them and they can still be viewedon archive just look up my old. Penname CagedNTorn.

For unfinished stuff I had oh let's see... 3 different charlie/Draco fics I was working on, one that was all but complete... I had a draco/spike crossover fic, plus there was the sailormooon/Harry Potter crossover... that was actually a Drarry fic too, there were a bunch of things that I'll likely never finish. So I'll post them by and by.

Do let me know if there's a better place to post the plot bunnies that are up for grabs.

Now I've blathered enough so here's the first chapter of Rise that can be adopted if someone is interested in finishing it.]

Rise Above This

Draco was backstage at the place he was playing that night.  He sat tuning his guitar wearing ripped jeans and a white long sleeve thermal t-shirt with thumb holes burnt in and also a mohair sweater he was particularly comfortable in.   Western Washington state was wet and cold pretty much all the time.  

This didn't really bother the English man though as England had similar weather.   He'd grown his hair out and had it cut shaggy and it hung in his eyes perpetually now but he didn't care.  It drove his mother nuts whenever she came to visit.  

Narcissa still hadn't quite gotten the hang of blending in with muggles but she was getting better.   She was sitting nearby chattering about her trip to France.   She was wearing faded bluejeans and a fitted corset top that she'd bought in paris.  She also had a posh cashmere sweater on where most of the kids were wearing flannel and converse sneakers, just like Draco. 

She had her long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.   Draco smiled at her as she nattered-on about wines and the latest runway fashions.  At least he still had her.  Pansy was floating around somewhere too, probably flirting with someone.   

"I just don't understand why you have to look so scruffy though darling.   You have such a lovely face!  Can't you at least comb your hair back?"  Narcissa was saying.   Draco rolled his eyes at her but gave her a shit-eating grin.  

"Because I like looking scruffy.  It pisses off the establishment.  Even if it didn't, I'd still do it.  Hiding myself away is comfortable."  Draco said, handing his guitar to a stagehand.  

"Besides, this grungy war refugee look suits him.  He's ridiculously hot."  Pansy stated with a grin as she sidled up to accompany Narcissa out front to watch the show.  Draco could already hear the crowd cheering as the lights went down.  Draco and the 2 other blokes, 1 squib and one muggleborn, all cast outs of the wizarding world lined up off stage.   They formed a circle and everyone put a hand in and they shook them, clapped and cried out their chant.    

"Music and ass, gas or grass.  We're here for a good time, not here for a long time.   Lets do this!"  Draco led the chant the guys all cheered and then took the stage.  Dave went first and started a drum beat, Krist was next and began the base-line.  Then Draco, carrying his electric guitar, went to the mic.  He never looked at the audience.   He wasn't here for them,  not really.  He was here for himself.   Because he had something to say.  Even if no one really understood him or interpreted his messages clearly.  

"Come as you are, as you were

As I want you to be

As a friend, as a friend

As an old enemy

Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memoria."   

He strummed the chords and sang the song not really looking at anyone.  He was trying quite unsuccessfully not to think about a certain messy haired brunette.   

After the war he'd had every single door slammed in his face.  Even the most menial of jobs wouldn't hire him.  Potter had kept his word and put in a good word for him and his mother but the blonde on stage really didn't know why he'd bothered.   No one in the Wizarding world wanted him or any other Slytherin around.   Dave was a muggleborn Slytherin in the year below Draco and had also been chased out.  

"Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memory."  

It was hard not to think of Potter when he sang this song because it was about him, at least mostly.  There was always a thinly veiled anti establishment opinion mixed in. The fans loved it though and he didn't really mind.  It’s not like Harry would ever show up and hear it.  He was too busy still saving the world,  having babies and whatever else it was that heros did.  Not Draco.  His long shaggy hair hung in his face as he sang the chorus, and shook his head.  Just one word.  Memory.   His best and worst thing.  His respite and the source of his nightmares.  

He finished off the song and they hit a heavy chord progression into the next song.  

"Load up on guns, bring your friends

It's fun to lose and to pretend

She's over bored and self assured

Oh no, I know a dirty word"  

The kids surged forward jumping up and down and shaking their heads as they raised their fists in the air and sang along.  

Draco had worked with Dave to put his thoughts on the war into muggle terms.  He thought they'd done pretty good honestly.  Even if they hadn't,  the teenagers in Seattle and California couldn't get enough.   He screamed the chorus and the kids screamed it with him.  

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now, entertain us

I feel stupid and contagious

Here we are now, entertain us

A mulatto

An albino

A mosquito

My libido

Yeah, hey, yay"  

Five years ago Draco had left the wizarding world and his mother behind.  Narcissa was more than able to take care of herself.   Draco wasn't concerned about her in that respect.   His father had been a lot of things but stupid had never been one of them.  Misguided certainly,  but not stupid.   

Luscious had moved money around in various accounts all over the world.  He'd taken Draco with him on nearly all of his business trips.  Draco had had many private tutors growing up and could speak French, English, Russian and German fluently.  He could read in several languages.  His father had insisted.  Draco learned to balance a ledger when most kids were learning to ride a bicycle.   

When the ministry had seized their accounts in Gringotts,  they hadn't even seized a tenth of the true fortune.   Draco hadn't needed to work.  He'd wanted to.  However no one would let him.  So he'd packed a duffle bag of casual clothes,  taken his muggle id and cards and left for America.  He'd covered his accent fairly well he thought, and if he came off sounding like a stoned southerner at times… no one pointed it out.  

He met Dave hanging around kings cross station panhandling.   The two 18 year olds decided to strike out together.   Draco and Dave were sitting together at some boardwalk in Seattle, Washington when Draco flipped his skateboard and saw a kid playing guitar near-by.   He'd been hooked from the first chord.  He'd bought them instruments and they taught themselves to play.  

"I think you'll all know this next one."  

Draco hit the distinctive chords and the kids in the audience squealed with delight.  This was more personal,  more singing than the growly screaming.   More about his feelings than anything else.   He hid in his hair not seeing anyone.   In his mind he tried to be back in that skatepark with scraped knees, just him and Dave.  

"What else should I be?

All apologies

What else should I say?

Everyone is gay

What else should I write?

I don't have the right

What else should I be?

All apologies."

He sang the words not looking at his mother, not caring about her reaction to that statement.   He'd forgotten she hadn’t heard this particular song before.   Well she had to find out sooner or later he supposed.   

"I wish I was like you

Easily amused

Find my nest of salt

Everything is my fault

I'll take all the blame

Aqua seafoam shame

Sunburn, freezer burn

Choking on the ashes of her enemy."  

Draco finished the song and the kids were crying out various songs they wanted to hear while cheering and clapping.  Draco loved it.  He lived for it.  They only had one more song to play.  It would end the show on a high note before the next band took the stage.  The next song he was about to play was about a lot of things.  Various parts of the war, Tom Riddles beginnings, the discrimination in the Wizarding world,  his own parents a bit.   In hindsight, Draco realized that he likely should have adjusted the set list a bit when he'd found out his mother was coming to the show.  'Too late to do anything about it now.' He thought to himself.   Maybe they'd finally have a real conversation for a change.  He set his guitar in a stand nearby and took a deep breath.  

"At home

Drawing pictures

Of mountain tops

With him on top

Lemon yellow sun

Arms raised in a V

And the dead lay in pools of maroon below."  

He shook his head, hiding in his hair and not seeing anyone.   Only Dave and Krist, only his guitar.   The kids screamed and jumped and sang along.  Draco thrashed around stage with them, just the microphone cord wrapped around his hand.  

"Daddy didn't give attention

Oh, to the fact that mommy didn't care

King Tommy the Wicked

Ruled his world

Tommy spoke in class today

Tommy spoke in class today" 

The guys backed him up intermittently on the chorus and the base thumped throughout the song, a steady heartbeat.  Draco couldn’t let himself worry about hurting his mother's feelings.   He sang what he needed to say.  He knew nothing was ever simple.  There were at least two sides to every story and a variety of contributing factors.   

"Clearly I remember

Pickin' on the boy

Seemed a harmless little fuck

But we unleashed a snake

Gnashed his teeth

And bit the recess lady's breast."

Draco knew the words painted a vivid picture.   He didn't care.   Maybe people would learn that bullying others for shit beyond their control was stupid and had far reaching consequences.   There were certainly a few chapters in his story that he'd like to rewrite.   

"How could I forget

And he hit me with a surprise left

My jaw left hurting

Dropped wide open

Just like the day

Oh, like the day I heard."  

There was no possible way he could make up for some of the shit he'd done.  He knew that.  He tried to just pass on the lessons.  Hoping that if he could even reach just one person,  it'd be worth it.  Exile in the muggle world.  They weren't so bad really.   Their fashions were quite fun, and much more functional than robes.  He missed making potions, doing magic.  It was a particular skill set that he was good at.  There was no place in the muggle world for magic.  He had to be even more careful now that they were getting really famous.   People were always watching him.  Hiding in the bushes, trying to sneak into his hotel room, everyone wanted pictures of him to sell to the press.  He couldn't risk anyone seeing him perform magic.  He did little things like casting stasis charms or heating up a hot beverage,  or casting a cooling charm on himself and the guy's.  He knew his mind was spiraling away from the uncomfortable conversation with his mother that he was anticipating after this.  

"Daddy didn't give affection, no!

And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear

King Tommy The Wicked

Ruled his world

Try to erase this (try to erase this)

From the blackboard." 

He knew his parents had loved him.  They had been very cold, and reserved in all things though.  His mother could be formidable when she wanted to be and his father was doting yet terrifying.   That was something about Tom Riddle's life that Draco had been able to understand.   Feeling alone, as if no one cared, no one understood you.  He knew how cruel kids could be,  because he had been the one leading the mockery in his day.  

He'd never once thought about what it might feel like on the other side of it.  Until he'd been on the receiving end of such mockery, ridicule and unfairness did he begin to re-think his actions as a snotty young man.  The crowd was going wild.  

Draco stood as the lights came up and he bowed with the guys.  They all smiled and waved to their fans.   Off stage, he saw his mother standing with Pansy.  Narcissa looked a mixture of hurt, worried and angry.  A reporter from MTV was there, shoving a microphone in his face.  Draco smiled his small smile,  just a turning up of the corners of his mouth really.   He answered all of the questions asked in a rare and rather lengthy interview,  glad for the temporary reprieve from his mother for the moment.   

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar set of green eyes and messy black hair, accompanied by none other than Hermione Granger and a regular. Analese Taylor was no stranger to Draco. She had been a fan since the band's boardwalk skate park days. Now that they were famous, she was their number one fan. The way Granger was clutching her arms, the strong resemblance between the two women, Draco could slap himself for not realizing what was so familiar about the girl. She had to be related to Granger, no other explanation.

Before he could really panic about the three familiar faces another familiar set of arms was thrown around his knees and a very delighted

"Daddy!" Rang through the room as his daughter Frances threw her arms around him. Draco glanced around for his soon to be ex wife. He spotted her nearby with arms crossed, looking furious. He sighed deeply as he scooped his daughter into his arms. The child was his whole world outside of his music. Draco glanced back towards Potter and Granger as his wife stormed over as the press and other onlookers were cleared out by Pansy.

#drarry #fanfic #fanfiction #story time #unfinished #abandoned #kurt cobain #nirvanna #draco malfoy #harry potter #frances bean cobain #alternate timeline #alternate universe #whatever #i dont even know #cannon divergence #draco fanfiction #grunge #secret identity #fix it of sorts #but not really #eventual smut #orphaned #dyslexic #i quit writing

[shi-daisy]

New Beginnings

Hello again my fellow shippers! Today's day three of Ulquihime week and I'm not gonna lie, this theme was giving me a bit of trouble, since I had an idea for it but used it last year with another prompt. So instead I just made a sort of sequel to that particular entry. If you don't want to go back and read that one I'll just give you a mini summary here.

Basically this is a canon divergent AU in which Orihime dosen't marry Ichigo and runs away from the wedding when she finds out he's not truly in love with her. After her escape she reunited with Ulquiorra and he helped calm her down. That's where the first prompt ended. So here's what would happen after. Hope you all like!

@ulquihimeweek

Ulquihime Week- Day 3- Reunion/Caught

New Beginnings

"Ulquiorra, you've been glued to that phone for almost three hours now. Please stop before you go blind." Halibel chided him.

"Leave him be Hali, he's still waiting for pet-sama to reply," Nnoitra told her. The comment earned him a cushion to the face, courtesy of Zommari.

"All of you be quiet! I am not waiting for a reply. Orihime answered already."

"Would ya look at that, Ulquiorra's finally getting some!"

Once he silenced Nnoitra with cushions Ulquiorra went back to the chat. It had been almost a month since he last saw Orihime.

After she ran away from her wedding and they met by chance, he had allowed her to spend the night in his house. The next day one of her friends came to pick her up, and the redhead promised to keep in touch with him. He hadn't seen her personally since, but they messaged each other very often. Last week however, the messages had abruptly stoped, and he'd gotten worried.

Today those worries ended, as Orihime not only wrote to him but she asked to meet him in a cafe tomorrow.

"She says she's got a surprise. Should that be concerning?"

Halibel was standing nearby. She chuckled at the question. "Not really. I'm sure she's just happy to finally see you. From what you tell me, the girl needed comfort desperately."

"I'm still enraged at Kurosaki for what he did. A part of me wants to get revenge."

"That's not gonna be possible. Unless you want to get smashed against the wall again." His friend replied sarcastically.

"A small price to pay, but the woman told me not to get in 'trouble' for her sake. So I won't interfere unless she asks."

"Good. It's nice to know someone in this house isn't a reckless moron." The green-eyed blonde glared at Nnoitra, who rolled his eyes.

"I only tried to fight a cop one time!"

Ulquiorra decided to ignore the bickering and concentrate on hid phone. Being a human might've gotten easier, but not dealing with his old comrades.

***

"Now remember, be nice, let her speak but don't stay too quiet, and for the love of all that's good just ask her out properly."

Halibel and Szayel had been helping him get ready for the meeting. Ulquiorra was still nervous, but he hoped for the best.

"You two are going to ruin his chances of scoring. He looks like he came out of a band Tesla likes."

"Says the man who looks like the lovechild of a sewer goblin and Slenderman." Szayel didn't even turn to look at Nnoitra as he finished brushing Ulquiorra's hair'. "Done! Now the princess won't take her eyes off of you."

"Thank you Szayel, thank you Halibel."

"At your service!"

"I'll get going then, I want to be early for our meeting."

"Just make sure that if you bring the cutie home, you put a sock in the door."

Ulquiorra ignored Nnoitra's comment. Letting Szayel deal with him.

"I'm beginning to understand why I am the only one with a boyfriend here," Szayel commented. "You need an intervention, Jirga."

"Me? You're the one dating Starrk!"

As the bickering began Ulquiorra headed for the door and waved goodbye to Halibel.

The cafe was near his house, and from what he could see it was not too busy. Orihime's hadn't arrived yet. He picked a table and was ready to sit down, until he noticed someone skating right towards him.

"Watch out!"

He recognized Orihime's voice, and caught her before she could crash into him.

"Orihime?"

"Hi Ulquiorra! It's been a while. You look great!"

When she smiled Ulquiorra went speechless. He recovered quickly, and let her sit with him.

"I take it you work here?"

"Yes. My friend Riruka is the manager and I've been working here for a week now. That's why it took me a bit to reply, sorry if you were worried."

"Don't apologize. I'm glad you've found a job you like. The uniform suits you as well."

"Really? I didn't think black was my color."

"To be fair, you look good in any clothes."

Orihime blushed from the compliment. "Thank you. So, what have you been up to? Are the others still around?"

He sighed. "Regrettably so, Cyan and Tesla moved out a while ago, and if Starrk proposes to Szayel soon then it's likely they'll move out as well."

Orihime giggled. "I know they drive you mad sometimes but I'd love to live in house that lively."

"Tell me that after you spent a week with Nnoitra as a roommate. Speaking of which, are you still rooming with Arisawa-san?"

"Not exactly, Tatsuki-chan is traveling due to competitions, but she did leave me the apartment. Once I get a place of my own I'll move out, being on Karakura it's a little draining."

He knew what she referred to, it was clear in her voice. Ulquiorra found it hard to hide his rage, still, he managed to calm down.

"You know that if you cannot stand to stay in Karakura any longer, you're more than welcome to stay with me."

"I know, and I'm incredibly grateful for that. But when I finally settle in Naruki, I want it to be on my own. I can't keep depending on others forever. Besides, you dealt with enough of my crying, that night, already."

Yes, that fateful night when they met again. It was supposed to be her wedding that to the man she loved, and instead, all she could do was cry.

And yet, a part of him was happy things turned out the way they did. That he got to see her again, and even establish a friendship. 'But at what cost? This isn't what she wanted and you know it.'

"Ulquiorra? Are you ok?"

Orihime must've noticed his change in mood, so he hid it away yet again. "I'm fine."

"You're thinking about the day we met again, aren't you?"

"My apologies. You probably don't even want to think about that night but I can't seem to let it go.

It's selfish of me to be happy about this when you lost the man you loved."

Orihime put her hand over his. "Ulquiorra, you're not the only one who's happy things turned out this way.

I did love Ichigo, and I was fully ready to marry him, I gave up college and internships to stay in Karakura with him, but he burned that away in just a moment. I refuse to be the one grieving.

He's the one who lost out on a devoted loving wife. Let him carry the grief if he has any at all.

I'm immensely happy to have gotten out when I did. My life's not going to be wasted on a loveless marriage, and I'm happy that you're a part of my new life. So don't be angry on my behalf."

Ulquiorra smiled. "I've always known you were a strong woman, but this is far more than I expected. You've grown a lot Orihime. You should be proud."

"Thank you. It’s nice to know that someone thinks of me as such.” Orihime smiled. “Now, let’s go onto more cheerful matters. I got you a gift! Here!"

She handed him a small dark blue box, Ulquiorra opened it to find a replica of the bracelet he had given her when they were enemies, only this bracelet was made to fit him.

"Do you like it? It's not real silver but it matches the one I have. So we can both wear them at the same time."

In the past six years he'd been a human Ulquiorra never felt moved to cry, until now. "I shall treasure it forever. Thank you." He immediately put it on, the bracelet was a perfect fit. "Now, I'll be the one to spoil you for a while."

***

The evening only had so many hours, but he intended to make good use of them all. After having a nice dinner at the cafe, he took Orihime to the movies. It was about a SciFi story he had yet to read, but seeing how happy Orihime was while watching he knew he made the right choice. After that he let her pick the activity.

"We could go skating. Would you like that?"

"I have no problems with that, but aren't you tired of skating at work?"

"Not really, I love doing it. Besides it's different when you skate carrying food and when you do it with a partner."

"Alright then, let's go to the skate park."

Relief washed over him when the park was almost empty. Truth to be told Ulquiorra wasn't proficient at any sport, including skating.

While Orihime was busy putting on her skates, he went over to nearby post and got a bouquet of hibiscus flowers.

When he got back she was done with her skates and had tied her orange hair into pigtails. He thought she looked even cuter.

"Here. I thought it would be fair to get you a gift as well." Ulquiorra handed her the bouquet.

Orihime was almost gentle when holding the flowers. She took a deep breath, enjoying the secent. "They're gorgeous, thank you. How did you know this was my favorite flower?"

"They're the flower on your headpins."

"True. I like that you always notice things like that. It's one of your best traits."

That made him flustered. It didn't matter how much time they spent together he would never get used to Orihime's cute compliments.

Once the the two were ready they headed for the track and began skating. His balance wasn't the best but thankfully he didn't slip.

"Ulquiorra."

"Yes?"

"Thanks for tonight. It's been the most fun I've had in a while."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, that almost made him fall. Orihime held on tightly to him.

"Caught ya!" she chuckled. "You don't skate much, do you?"

"Busted. I rarely do anything sporty. Although that's likely to change."

"Really?"

"Yes. If I am going to be spending time with you, I'll learn in no time."

"Are you asking me out?"

"I am. Would you accept this invitation?"

"Yes, absolutely."

#uhweek2019 #Ulquihime #orihime x ulquiorra #orihime inoue #ulquiorra schiffer #Reunion AU

[seatosomert]

What kit should you buy?

Ok, so you're probably expecting me to recommend cameras, tripods, lenses etc. I'm not gonna do that.

There is tonnes of content on YouTube etc to tell you all about that stuff.

So I'm going to keep it simple.

First, just scroll back up and spend a minute going through the images above. What do you notice?

I'm hoping what you'll notice are a few things.

I'm shooting different things within the images for different reasons or clients.

I have a fair few cameras (about 15 I think at my last count).

The cameras are all different. Why is that?

I'm carrying some kit on my person.

So, here is the thing.

You get to ask yourself the following questions.

What do I want to shoot?

How much kit do I want to carry?

Do I really need to carry all that kit?

So how much kit do I REALLY want to carry?

Do I want to generate an income from shooting?

Do I actually generate an income from shooting?

I have been a photographer for around 30 years now. Starting out as everyone does as a novice, then amateur, then enthusiast and progressed to a semi-pro (semi because I have another job I do I don't shoot full time but I do run my own photography and video business as well).

So my needs right now reflect the kit I buy. I've read loads of magazines with lovely flashy looking kit that I worked hard for to buy from my own day job wages. I spent a fortune. Then a year later, a new camera came out and my head was turned. Then I was lusting after that kit!

It's a never ending cycle where you can be bombarded with videos, reviews of kit and as you've probably learned,targeted adverts on Social Media.

Now my film cameras are purely a purist thing and I learned on film cameras from being a very young kid. So I am attracted to the nostalgia of it. Yes there is something about film that is so super difficult to replicate on digital, but do clients demand shoots on film? Nope!

Only one client ever asked for a shoot on medium format film on my Mamiya 645 pro camera. They had a specific look they were going for. It's expensive and it takes longer to turn the images around.

Clients want high quality media that can be manipulated by graphic designers for ad campaigns etc. And they want it quickly. So digital has to be the most efficient way to go.

I've bought kit that I've used once then stored it away for years! I've learned since then.

For several years now I only buy what I need to get the job done to the high standards that I set myself and that clients demand. If I need kit I may only use once, I'll borrow from a fellow pro shooter or I'll hire it.

So if you're not making money from your photography and unless you have more money than sense, don't waste your money on buying the best money can buy.

On saying that if you buy cheap 'tat' you'll be disappointed and buy twice.

Buy the kit you know you'll use often if you're a hobbyist, or if you want to take photos better than a smart phone can.

Remember also. You have to carry it.

I only buy stuff for my business now that I know I'm happy carrying and gets the job done. I'm fit and healthy but I'm also in my late 40s now and I've put my body through a lot of stuff over the years such as a motorbike accident, bashed about in full contact martial arts and other daft stuff, so wear and tear starts to kick in. Don't buy shit loads of kit that you'll have to carry and either injure yourself or just leave at home because it becomes a chore to carry it.

The best camera in the world is the one that is with you at the time. A £10k Leica with a Summicron lens sat at home in the drawer is useless at that point because it's not with you when you find that photographic opportunity.

So I have been switching out from DSLR to Mirrorless cameras for the last 2 years now. I'm not gonna harp on about what brands. It doesn't matter. Find what works for you.

Finally I'd like to share with you the two most important things that I've invested into my photography that supercede any fancy kit:-

Time and mentorship/lifelong learning.

Time and Mentorship.

By time I mean putting time into practising. No amount of YouTube tutorials or books will improve your photography if you're not putting the practice in. Shoot as often as you can. Practice with light, play with it.

Learn the limits of your kit and learn your own limitations and then fill the gaps by committing to learning for the long haul.

Not one successful photographer worth their salt believes they know it all. The world's best photographers have committed to life long learning.

Leads me onto the last thing.

I currently learn from many sources. Yes I'll admit, the odd YouTube video on editing techniques as software continues to develop. I'm a Pro member of the Photographer's Guild so I have access to all sorts of workshops and learning there.

I am a member of Karl Taylor Education and I've studied with Karl's many products for about 7 years now and I pay a subscription to access his classes.

I have paid to work with some leading industry photographers such as Gary Wallis from the London Photography Institute, Steve Howdle (Elinchrom Ambassador) and the Late Andrew Appleton (Former Photographers guild panel judge and very well respected photography coach and teacher).

I have developed connections with other professionals in my area and I will work with them on projects in and out of the studio.

We'll share tips and go out to other cities to shoot together or shoot together in the studio.

I'll take myself off to London for the day to shoot and I'll get into the less touristy areas of London to do this. It's a 200+ mile trip each way for me but I'll go to the effort of hopping down for the day several times a year.

The point I am trying to make here is there are always opportunities to learn. I have had to invest time and money into them all.

However, I've learned so much that when I look back it amazes me just how far I've come and what I have learned.

Just as with anything. Improving your skills requires time and commitment.

So to summarise:

Decide what you want to shoot and where and buy the camera and kit that suits that.

Travel as light as possible. Develop your knowledge before spending lots of money on more kit.

Find a mentor and ask them to help you. It might cost you money, it might not, but it's a worthwhile investment. It's massively accelerates your learning curve, cutting down your learning duration by years. If someone told you to learn your current job from YouTube videos and books how long would it take you to become proficient at it? Compared to on the job learning/training, learning from people around who are already experts at that job? It's the same principal when you work with a good mentor. Once you have the knowledge in it weighs nothing and the more you use what you've learned the stronger you become in you're art.

As usual, if this post has been of use to you, please hit the like button, subscribe for more content and fire any questions you have in the comments below.

Speak soon.

Regards.

Neil.

#whatkit #improving #Photographymentorship #whatcamerashouldibuy #whatphotographykit #learnphotography #learn photo editing #shouldibuyapropercamera