#zio draws something

[skullsobs]

I spent a concerning amount of time on this

#zio draws something #<- only putting it in the good art tag because i put effort into this shitpost #doodle #digital art #simon petrikov #heavy weapons guy #iyami #dr mccoy #leonard bones mccoy #not doing their fandom tags bcs i would rather die

[zionanelequaso]

I’m taking art requests please quench my thirst to draw please please please

I’m also taking art reqs for fandoms I’m not in as long as they’re not from a weird ass fandom

#zio bleps #tagging this with my fandoms so that people that are also in my fandoms can go ‘oh maybe this person can draw a ship i like’ or something #regretevator #Dave’s fun algebra class #Garrett’s funny animal game #alex basics in biology and zoology #advanced education with viktor strobovski #billys basic educational game #splatoon #captains basic adventure in a broken underwater ship #deltarune #Dave and Bambi #pizza tower #dnb #uhhhh i think that’s it #oh yeah #dave and bambi golden apple #kirby dave #the amazing digital circus

[peakyswritings]

Heart, Body and Soul || Tommy Shelby x OC

PART III

Summary: Tommy makes up his mind about who it his that he’s going to marry. An unwanted encounter rattles Nina, and leaves Tommy with questions.

Warnings: mentions of arranged marriage, slow-burn, small age-gap (Tommy’s 30, Nina is in her early 20s), time-typical misogyny, drinking, smoking, mentions of drugs, mentions of violence, English is not my first language.

A/N: here’s the third chapter! I got a bit carried away with this one, and I hope you’ll like it. Here and there in the series there will be some sentences taken from the show. At the end of the chapter, you’ll find the translation of a few Italian sentences. Feedback is always appreciated☀️

PREVIOUS PART

SERIES MASTERLIST

Gif credit

Dividers credit

The first few days following Tommy Shelby’s arrival were probably the busiest the Ferrante family had ever lived. Among lunches, dinners, nosy relatives and business meetings, no one had a moment’s rest, not even Tommy himself. The guest had been occupied by countless meetings with Vincenzo and Mario Ferrante, aiming to draw up a plan of action to take down Sabini. However, he had not openly declared his intention to court one of the girls yet, keeping everybody on edge. Nina had a suspicion that he took pleasure in keeping them waiting, enjoying that bit of control. Or maybe it was part of some kind of plan. Whether it was strategy or pure entertainment, it was working.

Sitting at the breakfast table, she tried to capture fragments of the conversation that was going on between Tommy Shelby and her father in the next room, but their voices were too low for her to pick up their words. The rattles of pots and pans caused by her mother surely didn’t help. After an indefinite amount of time, they made their way into the kitchen, apparently ready to go out.

“Nina,” her father addressed her, making her raise her head from her breakfast. “Mr. Shelby is coming with you and your mother to the city.” He announced, gesturing towards the guest. “He has something to do, and he’ll need someone to translate for him.”

Nina had to hold back a snort at her father’s words. She had totally forgotten she had promised her mother she’d go to the city with her to help her with the groceries, and now that she had to be Tommy Shelby’s personal translator, she wanted to go even less. However, she nodded in agreement, knowing all too well there was no point in protesting, especially with her father.

Satisfied by her answer, Vincenzo walked up to her to place a kiss on her head. “Grazie. Ci vediamo dopo, vado a parlare con zio Mario.” (“Thank you. I’ll see you later, I’m going to talk to uncle Mario.”)

Her gaze followed him as he said goodbye to her mother and moved to leave the room, but not before whispering something in the gangster’s hear. Once her husband was gone, Maria Ferrante smiled and gestured towards the table, encouraging Tommy to have breakfast, her lack of English making it impossible for her to formulate a single sentence. He nodded in thanks and sat on a chair, opting for a cup of coffee. Silence fell in the room, only broken by the clattering noise of the utensils. Nina couldn’t help but notice how neat he looked, even in the early hours of the morning, already dressed and freshly shaved, and she suddenly felt somewhat self-conscious about her disheveled hair and house clothes. It wasn’t like she cared about what he thought of her, but showing herself like that made her feel like she was at something of a disadvantage. Off guard, even.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mother glancing at them from time to time, unsuccessfully trying to be subtle as she waited for them to interact in some way. A sigh escaped her lips as she poured herself some coffee, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the situation.

She was well aware about her mother’s hopes and wishes. The prospect of having an unmarried daughter was terrifying, not only because marriage was a woman’s duty, but also because women didn’t get far in life without a man taking care of them. Moreover, the village was starting to talk. Older women speculated about Nina’s behaviour, about the reasons behind it, about where her fierceness would lead. If word about a possible dishonour spread, the whole family would be ruined. But it was also a matter of pride. If Tommy Shelby chose to marry Nina, it would be a victory against Aunt Rita and her beautiful, perfect daughter.

Just as she was about to get up to go and get ready, a dark shadow whipped past her head from above and landed softly on the ground without a sound. Tommy’s head snapped towards the spot where the shadow had landed, and Nina almost chocked on her coffee, already knowing that all hell would break loose as soon as she saw her black cat standing in the middle of the room. She was quick to put her cup back on the table, but before she could intervene, her mother let out a scream, waving the rag she had in her hand against the animal, a long series of Italian curses leaving her lips. Nina placed her hand in front of her mouth, trying her best not to laugh as the cat stared at the woman with his bright yellow eyes, an imperturbable look on his little face, but as soon as she caught sight of Tommy Shelby’s stunned expression all of her efforts to suppress her laughter failed.

Her mother glared at her, crossing to her to hit the back of her head with the rug. “Fai sparire quella bestia.” She spat out, before turning on her heels and leaving the room.

Winston had a habit of snuggling on tall cabinets, in the dark, where no one could see him, just to jump out at the least suitable times - that is, when Maria Ferrante was there. That cat terrified her, not only because she was scared of cats in general, but especially since he was a black one. When her daughter years prior brought that bad omen inside her house, she even threatened to leave. Sometimes, Nina wondered if the cat was doing it out of spite, somehow sensing that her mother hated him with all her being.

Nina watched as the Winston sat next to the table, starting to lick his paws as if nothing happened, then she glanced at Tommy, who had seemingly recollected himself after that burst of chaos. He stretched his hand out to the cat, which stopped his movements to follow him with his eyes, his little body slightly stiffening.

For a moment, just for a moment, Nina considered staying silent and let him risk his fingers, but her good nature took over. “He’ll scratch you.” She warned him. “He only lets me pet him.”

Tommy withdrew his hand, furrowing his brows. “It didn’t seem like he wanted to scratch.”

That’s the point, she thought to herself as she grabbed her cup again and leaned with her back against the chair. “Don’t trust him. He lets you get close and, when you least expect it, he attacks.” She explained, shifting her eyes in the direction of the cat. “He seems cute, but he’s feral.”

“Reminds me of someone.” He quietly murmured, and if the room hadn’t been so silent she wouldn’t have even heard him. But she did, and she was struck speechless by his statement. His eyes shined with amusement at her baffled face, clearly proud about the fact that he had finally managed to dumbfound her.

Was it a compliment? An insult? Was he just having fun? Nina couldn’t read him, and it only made her more nervous. But she quickly regained her composure, unwilling to give him too much satisfaction. She emptied her cup and put it on the table, clearing her throat. “I’ll get ready, and then we can go.” She changed the subject, getting up from her chair.

Tommy mirrored her action, and before she could leave the kitchen, his voice stopped her. “Do you have whiskey?”

She turned around, shifting her gaze between the clock on the wall and the man in front of her. She opened her mouth to say something, astonished by his peculiar choice of breakfast, but again, words failed her. Deciding that it wasn’t her business, she took a bottle and a glass out of a cabinet and placed them on the table, before walking out of the room.

Tommy Shelby undoubtedly wasn’t an ordinary man.

Tommy wasn’t so sure that the place where the Ferrante’s personal driver had taken them could be actually called city. There were a few shops, and even a public square with a small church, but it was kind of empty, and it was still within the limits of the village. He figured that “city” was probably their way of referring to the area outside the outskirts, where the whole family lived to keep a low profile while conducting the business in the big cities.

Walking next to Nina, Tommy took advantage of their proximity to take in the details of her face. She had an interesting kind of beauty, her features were sharp, but harmonious as a whole. Her brown irises shone with a golden hue in the sunlight, and were framed by long, thick lashes. She had pulled her long black hair into a braid, exposing her delicate neck. Her tanned skin seemed soft, even velvety, and some irrational part of him wondered how it would feel to brush his fingers against it.

He pushed back the thought, shifting his gaze just in time for her not to notice that he had been observing her. He had to admit that Nina aroused his curiosity, for one reason or another, and he would have sworn that she felt the same way about him. He was not unaware of the glances she stole him from time to time, when she thought he wasn’t looking. She studied him just as much as he studied her.

“What is it that you have to do, Mr Shelby?” Nina’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts, her question reminding him that it wasn’t her the girl he was supposed to keep his attention on.

Tommy sucked in a breath, the words he was about to say felt heavy on this tongue. “I need to buy a gift for your cousin. Today I’ll start courting her.”

Saying it out loud made it even more real. Until that moment, that marriage had felt like something that wouldn’t happen to him, like something he was setting up for someone else. Now Tommy was starting to realise how much his life was going to change, and that thought was almost suffocating.

“It’s about time.” She raised her eyebrows, a hint of mischief in her voice. “Finally we’ll be able to sleep at night.”

“What, you were so scared I’d choose you that you couldn’t sleep?” He squinted his eyes, the ghost of a smirk playing on his face.

“Yes, I was terrified.” She nodded, taking on a fake serious tone.

He was about to retort, when Maria Ferrante called her daughter from behind, making them stop in their tracks. Too caught up in their bickering, they hadn’t noticed that Nina’s mother had fallen far behind. A guy Tommy had never seen before was now walking next to her, amiably allowing her to lean on his arm.

“Nina, guarda chi c’è.” She slightly raised her voice, motioning her to get closer.

Tommy watched in confusion as Nina’s expression changed, the slight clenching of her jaw hardening her features, her whole body tensing. She didn’t obey to her mother’s request, choosing to wait for them to approach her instead. She kept her gaze fixated on the young man, staying silent even when he came close to them, Maria still on his arm with a big smile on her face. She told them something in Italian, sending a meaningful glance to her daughter, before leaving the three of them alone to walk into a shop.

Tension filled the air as Nina glared at him, visibly annoyed by the grin on his face. An unmistakable glint of malice sparkled in his dark eyes, mixed with an emotion that Tommy couldn’t quite recognise. And it seemed that the more she scowled, the more his grin widened. Tommy was already familiar with the hostility Nina was capable of, but the look in her eyes was nothing like the one she had given him the day they had met, or the ones she reserved him when he said something she didn’t like. It wasn’t simple distrust, or suspiciousness. No, it was much more than that. It was personal. She seemed repelled by his presence.

And Nina was repelled. Because she knew that behind the pleasant face, the charm and the good manners, Stefano Spinietta was a disgusting person. He was the son of one of her father’s business partners, the boss of another mafia family, which operated both in Sicily and in New York. In the last few years, Stefano had been very clear about his intentions towards Nina, and he had taken too many liberties with her, to the point where she had found herself in the position of putting a knife to his throat. But the threat didn’t have the intended effect; if anything, it only made him more relentless.

Stefano looked at Tommy as if he had just noticed his presence, before turning to her again. “Non mi presenti?” He asked, leaning towards her.

“Non parla italiano. Vattene.” She said shortly, eager to put an end to that encounter.

“Ah.” He said, as if he had finally understood something. “È il gangster.”

Nina was about to speak, but the words died in her throat. She didn’t want to fuel the conversation, and there was nothing she could say that would convince him to just leave. And Tommy’s piercing gaze kept her from being too obvious about how upset she actually was. Stefano wasn’t doing anything improper, after all, and she didn’t want to make a scene for nothing.

The sound of a clacson made them turn their head to the road. Stefano’s brother stopped his car next to them, leaning out the window. “Sali.” He gestured towards his brother, and Nina had to restrain herself from exhaling a sigh of relief. Giving them one last look, Stefano jerked his head in goodbye and got into the car, before disappearing down the road.

Probably sensing her irritation, Tommy took his case out of the pocket of his jacket, offering her a cigarette. Being an occasional smoker, she hesitated at first, but then she placed one between her lips, hoping that it would soothe her nerves. Tommy took a match and lit it for her, before lighting one for himself. She took a long drag, and although she wasn’t really used to the taste, it did help a bit.

Tommy puffed out the smoke, asking the question that had been burning on his tongue for a while. “Who was that?”

“No one important.” She shrugged, flicking the ashes.

He nodded, understanding that it was her way of telling him not to inquire further. But although it wasn’t his business, he couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve possibly made her mood darken like that. Being a man, he knew the look on that guy’s face all too well, but he could tell there was something more to that.

Nina suddenly threw her cigarette away, regaining her composure. “Don’t you have a gift to buy?”

That same day before lunch, Tommy Shelby gave Agnese the beautiful, expensive necklace he had bought for her, and the whole family knew he had made up his mind. She wore it proudly, with a radiant look on her face, well aware that this was only the beginning. Now they would start to get to know each other, to spend time together, albeit always accompanied by some of the female relatives. Then, when the right time came, a proposal would come, and she’d have what she had been wishing for all her life.

At the lunch, she sat next to Tommy, under the delighted eyes of her mother and aunts. They hadn’t had the chance to talk much until then, but Agnese could already tell she would’ve grown to care for that man. He was handsome, charming, he had decent manners. Despite his reputation, he didn’t seem cruel and he had been respectful towards her in their few interactions.

As for Tommy, Agnese’s beauty hadn’t left him unimpressed. She was a beautiful young woman, and more than once he had to scold himself for letting his eyes wander over the soft, generous curves. Her full, rosy cheeks were particularly pretty, especially when they took on a red shade of bashfulness. She gave the impression of being a gentle and sweet girl, and although he knew he probably wouldn’t be able to love her, with time he might learn to feel some kind of affection towards her.

He glanced over at Nina, who was playing with the food in her plate, scarcely paying attention to conversation going on around her. The light breeze of the garden stirred the few strands of hair that had escaped from her braid, making them brush delicately against her face. She extended a hand in the direction of a bottle of red wine, but it was out of her reach, and she struggled to grab it among the great number of plates, bowls and bottles laying on the table. Apparently being the only one to notice her difficulty, Tommy handed her the bottle, their hands accidentally brushing in the process. It was the smallest touch, barely perceptible, but it was enough for them to lock eyes. He let his fingers linger against hers for a moment, a brief moment that seemed to stretch into infinity, then, as if they had burned themselves, they both retired their hands abruptly. He cleared his throat, bringing his attention back to Agnese, hoping she wouldn’t notice he hadn’t been listening to what she was saying.

Nina poured herself a glass of wine, wishing the alcohol would numb the turmoil of emotions going on inside her. The encounter with Stefano, her aunts’ and cousins’ judgmental stares, the empty conversations, the way everybody acted overjoyed as if they hadn’t been on the brink of a war until just a week before with the very man they were welcoming into the family. Everything was becoming too much, and the only thing she wanted to do was to get up and run to the safety of her room. But she took a deep breath and stayed where she was, knowing that it would ruin the mood. She didn’t need to give her family yet another reason to resent her.

So she was patient, and sooner than she though the lunch was over. The routine was always the same - the women cleaning up, the men smoking, discussing business, and playing cards -, but this time, Nina didn’t even bother to get angry about it. She didn’t have the energy to deal with another negative emotion. She’d help around, and then lock herself in her room, or maybe go for a walk. It was a happy day for Agnese, and she didn’t want to spoil it with her sulking.

In the afternoon, when Tommy and Agnese went out for a walk, with the women of the family walking a few steps behind them, Nina took refuge in her father’s office. It almost felt like a sanctuary, sacred and untouchable, but even though no one was allowed in there without his permission, she never really cared to follow that rule. She found comfort in the dim light and the mahogany furniture, in the smell of books and cigars, in the ticking of the old pendulum clock standing in a corner of the room. It reminded her of a time when she used to sit at her father’s desk, drawing or doing her homework as he read through his papers, and they just enjoyed each other’s presence. It was a simpler time. Or at least, it was for a while. Because even then, she had to face the scourge of being a woman. Because she was seen as a girl before being seen as a child. And she could never understand why she had to fight to stay at school, why her, her cousins and her female friends were expected to retire after elementary school to stay at home and learn how to take care of the house. Why her brothers never had such problems. What she was quick to understand, was that the world wasn’t kind to women, that somehow being a girl meant being less smart, less strong, less capable. That gentle and nurturing were the only things she would ever be allowed to be.

Her father giving her permission to finish school had ignited a spark of hope inside her, hope that things might be different for her, that she could have something more than a family and a house to take care of, that maybe being a wife and a mother wasn’t everything that a woman was fit for. But that spark had been extinguished when she wasn’t allowed to get into university, or to have a part in the family business, not even in the legal side. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to despise her father, the deep affection she felt towards him was stronger than any kind of resentment. He had always loved and protected her, and he still did.

Sitting on one of the soft chairs with a book in her hands and Winston curled up in her lap, Nina found it hard to concentrate on the words she was reading. She blankly stared at the pages, her mind wandering somewhere else. The sound of the door opening cut through her thoughts, making her raise her head from the book.

Her father stopped in the doorway, putting on an expression that meant to be reproachful, but that was made useless by the softness in his eyes. He actually expected to find her there. His daughter didn’t move from her spot, knowing all too well that he wouldn’t kick her out. He had never done that, and he wouldn’t start now. It was not a secret that Vincenzo had a soft spot for that daughter who was so much like him, which made him overlook behaviours that most fathers wouldn’t accept from their daughters.

He sat on his chair behind the desk, folded his hands in front of him and looked at her, with the air of someone who wanted to say something but didn’t know how. Nina stroked the cat, tension rising inside her as she waited for him to speak.

“I talked with Spinietta.” He started, distractedly rubbing his hands. “Actually, I also talked with his son, Stefano.”

Nina gritted her teeth at the sound of his name, hoping that her father would stop beating around the bush and tell her what was going on already.

Vincenzo exhaled the breath he didn’t even notice he was holding, before straightening his back and going straight to the point. “He wants to marry you.”

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach at his words. She blinked, trying to process the words he had just told her, hoping that she had heard wrong, or that it was a misunderstanding. Before she could formulate a coherent sentence, her father spoke again.

“I told him no.” He reassured her. “That at least for now, you don’t want to get married.”

“Good, because I have no intention of marrying-”

“Let me finish.” Her father sternly interrupted her, making her clench her jaw. “I told him no.” He repeated, his tone getting softer again. “But I think you need to start thinking about your future.”

Nina shook her head in disbelief, feeling the heat of anger rising to the back of her neck and spreading on her cheeks. She knew that this moment would come, but a part of her was starting to believe that at least her father would leave her alone.

“It would be good for business, Nina.” He leaned back in his chair, speaking to her as he would to a child. “And he’s a good guy.”

She scoffed, putting the book aside as she got up from her chair. Winston mewed in protest after being dropped so harshly on the ground, and if Nina hadn’t been so enraged, she would’ve felt guilty for forgetting about him. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking her father straight in the eyes. “I am not marrying him.”

Vincenzo nodded, knowing that trying to reason with her would be of no use in that moment. He would wait for her anger to wear down, then he would try to compromise. He didn’t want to fight with his daughter, and he didn’t want her to think he was trying to control her because he wanted her out of the house. They would talk again, maybe after his niece’s marriage, when everybody would be calmer. She would understand that he had her best interests at heart.

Nina walked up to the door, eager to leave that place that had become hostile to her.

“You don’t have to decide now.” Her father’s voice sounded behind her. “Just think about it.”

Laying in his bed, Tommy stared at the ceiling above him, taking deep breaths. The moonlight shining through the open window dimly illuminated the room, casting shadows on the walls. He closed his eyes, hoping that the night breeze would lull him back to sleep, but the shovels wouldn’t stop banging against the wall, keeping him on edge, threatening to break through. Green eyes hunted his dreams. Murderous green eyes, ferocious green eyes, scared green eyes, dying green eyes. A grey man with green eyes, coming for him. It was a matter of time.

He sat up, rubbing his face. On nights like those, he regretted not having opium or whiskey in his room to help him get through them. His throat was so parched it almost burned, and he found himself in an urgent need for water.

He silently exited the room, trying not to make any sound as he went down the stairs in the darkness. A strange noise came to his ears as he got closer to the kitchen, and from the living room he was in he could see that the light was on. When he walked through the door, Nina was facing the counter, fumbling with a kettle. Before Tommy could make his presence known, she turned around, flinching and dropping the knife she was holding.

“Shit.” She hissed, picking up the knife from the floor. She raised her gaze on him, her pupils still flaring, but she relaxed as soon as her brain registered who it was that was standing in front of her. “You scared me.” She mumbled, throwing the knife in the sink.

“I’m sorry.” He held back the smirk threatening to make its way on his face. “I just needed some water.” He explained, walking further into the room.

“Help yourself.” She took a glass from the cupboard and handed it to him, before pointing at the jug on the table.

Tommy poured himself a glass of water, and sighed with relief when the liquid ran down his burning throat. It wasn’t whiskey, but it was better than nothing.

“I was making myself a cup tea, do you want some?”

Tommy raised an eyebrow, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Do you always drink tea at this ungodly hour?” He teased her, taking a seat at the table.

“Only when I can’t sleep.” She replied, grabbing two cups nevertheless. “Are you always up that this ungodly hour?”

“Only when I can’t sleep.”

The room was filled with silence as Nina put the kettle on. The events of the day had troubled her so much that her mind wouldn’t let her sleep, racing without cease. Even though she’d never admit it to herself, a part of her was glad that Tommy was there, that she wasn’t alone with the thoughts inside her head. She sat on a chair in front of him as she waited for the water to heat, resting with her chin on her hand.

After pondering for a few seconds, Tommy squinted his eyes, pointing at her. “I spoke to your cousins, today, and they said some interesting things about you.” He leaned with his back against the chair.

“They do like talking about me.” She joked, mimicking his movement and crossing her arms over her chest. “What did they tell you?”

“That you’re a witch.” He revealed with a mocking tone in his voice. “And that I shouldn’t get on your bad side.”

A look of surprise crossed Nina’s features, mixed with something that Tommy couldn’t quite read. She shook her head, and an incredulous laugh escaped her lips. “So they still think that.” She said, more to herself than to him.

“Why is that?” He furrowed his brows, an amused smile appearing on his face.

“When I was a child there was a girl my age, in the village, we didn’t get along really well.” She started to explain. “She even pulled my braids, once. One day, while she was running around the school courtyard, I stood there whispering to myself: ‘fall, fall’.” She whispered the last two words, the corner of her lips slightly turning upwards. “She actually fell and scraped her knees. My cousins and some of their friends heard me, and word started spreading around that I could lay curses. When a few years later I found Winston, they just came to the conclusion that I was a witch. They thought he was sent by the devil or something.”

If there was one thing that her whole family believed in, it was superstition. For the first few weeks after Nina had taken the black cat in, her aunt Rita wouldn’t even enter their house. But now, calling her a witch was probably the only way of explaining to themselves her behaviour.

“They used to say the same thing about me when I was a boy, you know.” Tommy confessed, seemingly getting lost in some distant memory. “That I had the power to lay curses.” His blue eyes rested on her, shining with a mischievous glint that broke through his ever-unmoved expression. “Only that I didn’t go around with a black cat, but with a screwdriver and a blade.”

For the first time since Nina had met him, Tommy Shelby seemed human. He was always so cold and unfazed that one could hardly tell that he had any emotion at all. That childhood memory seemed to have awakened something in him, but it was something so ephemeral that it went away as quickly as it came, and soon it was as if it was never there.

She got up to turn off the stove, then proceeded put some tea leaves in the cups. “How do you drink your tea?”

“Black.”

“Of course.” She teased him, not really expecting a different answer. She carefully poured the water into the cups, trying not to burn herself in the process. She could feel Tommy’s gaze on her, and it surely didn’t help. Sometimes it felt like he could stare right into her soul.

“So what can I do to get on your good side, eh?” His husky voice broke the silence again.

Nina grabbed a lemon from the basket on the counter, then she placed it on the table along with a knife. “You can start by making yourself useful.”

Tommy frowned, looking at her in confusion. “What’s the lemon for?”

“The tea.” Her eyebrows furrowed as well, his perplexity leaving her as confused as him.

“You put lemon in your tea?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I drink it with an awful lot of lemon and an awful lot of honey.”

“Sounds terrible.” He murmured.

“You have whiskey for breakfast.” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re in no position to judge.”

“I guess I’m not.” He conceded, tilting his head. He watched as she turned her back on him again, walking towards the counter. She had a quick wit, he had to give her that. He rolled up the sleeves of his undershirt, then he grabbed the knife and started cutting the lemon in half for her, grinning to himself.

In front of their steaming cups of tea, Nina and Tommy found themselves talking about anything and everything, not even fully acknowledging the time going by. Conversation flowed easily between them, and it helped them forget the very troubles that had kept them awake and brought them in that kitchen, even if just for that night. Maybe it was because they both needed it, or maybe because late nights were made for bringing down walls and sharing secrets that couldn’t see the daylight. Maybe it was because it is only in the deepest darkness that one’s true self can no longer be hidden.

But eventually, their night had to come to an end. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, they exchanged the last few words. Nina’s face suddenly got serious, and she hesitated a bit before speaking again. “Just… be good to her, alright?” She asked him, her voice laced with worry.

She didn’t need to say the name for Tommy to understand who she was referring to. He nodded, and when his eyes met her brown irises, everything became clear. She never hated him. All that time, she had been trying to protect herself, and the people she loved.

As if scared by her own vulnerability, Nina recollected herself, her gaze hardening again. “Yeah, you better do, ‘cause if you don’t, I’ll come all the way to fucking Birmingham to kick your ass.”

Tommy held back a smile, still impressed by her boldness. “You have my word.”

“Good.” She nodded, taking a few steps back. For a few moments, neither of them said anything, waiting for the other to be the first one to go. Deciding it was time to go back to bed, Nina glanced at Tommy one last time. “Goodnight, Mr Shelby.” She said, making to leave.

“Nina,” he called to her, and the sound of her name rolled off his lips so naturally that it was hard to believe he had never pronounced it.

She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him again.

“Call me Tommy.”

“Fai sparire quella bestia”: “take that beast out of my sight.”

“Nina, guarda chi c’è”: “Nina, look who’s here.”

“Non mi presenti?”: “you won’t introduce me?”

“Non parla italiano. Vattene”: “he doesn’t speak Italian. Go away.”

“È il gangster”: “he’s the gangster.”

NEXT PART

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Tommy Shelby tag list: @50svibes

#peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders fics #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x oc #heart body and soul

[azk-gnarpy]

since im getting more followers im gonna do a stupid fucking intro thing :3

Hello! I’m @zionanelequaso, and im the creator of what seems to be the very first ask Gnarpy blog. Wowie…

PLEASE NO NSFW QUESTIONS. GNARPY WOULD BE 16 IF XE WERE AN EARTHLING.

PLEASE USE TONE TAGS AND THINGS. I CANT UNDERSTAND TONES THROUGH TEXT THAT WELL, SO IT WOUKD BE VERY HELPFUL!

PFP CREDIT: @/beastwhimsy

Magic and emoji anons are very much allowed!!

basic dni. I will block you if you contribute to the list. sorry!

Just a warning, I WILL use my headcanons on Gnarpy, so xe won’t be as mean. sorry if you don’t like that 💔💔💔

Gnarpy uses any pronouns, so for instance xe wouldn’t care if you referred to them as it or he.

I use mostly she/her, but I don’t mind anything else. Check my pinned intro on my main blog for more :3

You can also ask me questions about the gnarpster!!! Just say something like “question for Zio”, or something like that.

Almost anything is allowed to be honest. Just be niceys, and I will answer your question!

Ask box will probably be open all of the time. I’m not expecting that many questions.

I may respond with drawings, I may not. Please do not be angry if I don’t. Drawing is hard :(

and yeah that’s about it! this is prone to be updated.

anons so far:

-🛏️

-😺

-🛰️

-😋

-🌾

-🧦

-🧃

-🧠🎧

-💡Lampert 💡

-Glueeater2000

-⭐️

-GX

-🍊

-🥕🐈‍⬛

-🌈⭐️

-💥 dumb fuck 💥

- 🍭

-🥀

-dr refanonlex

-rawr anon

-Pest anon

(this entire post is ooc if you’re confused!!)

#gnarpy #regretevator gnarpy #ask gnarpy #ooc post #regretevator #introductory post #introduction #intro post #blog intro #pinned intro

[temtamtom]

Any thoughts on Seborga?

Ohhh I love love love him. He's my little guy. My rotten soldier. My sweet cheese. My good-time boy.

I didn't care about him all that much until I visited the town of Seborga last year (I was in the area and wanted to drop by). I started thinking about him a lot more after that, and here we are now. I can't have modern Itabros or Itafam content without Sebby, it just wouldn't be the same 😔

This post might get a lil' lengthy as usual, so I'll put my headcanons and thoughts under "read more":

I feel like he's under-utilized in the brother/family dynamic, which is a shame. He's an interesting contrast to his brothers, who've been around for thousands of years and experienced so many hardships. He's very young and still a little naive to the reality of nationhood. His brothers kept him sheltered throughout his upbringing so he could have an easy, happy childhood. Lord knows it was messy for Romano and Feliciano. They didn't want that for Sebastiano.

Since Seborga is in the region of Liguria, I think he was given to Genova(/Liguria) first as a baby. Genova, who isn't very good at caring for others and knows it, immediately called up Feliciano. One thing led to another, and Seborga soon became part of their family. Sebby and Genova have a relationship but not as brothers. Maybe Sebby sees him more as a close family friend/"zio" type of person. Someone he can turn to for advice when he doesn't want his brothers to get involved in his problems.

The first few years of his life were very nerve-wracking. I have a headcanon that he aged scarily fast for a nation, on par with a human. They weren't sure if he would keep aging and eventually die off, and they didn't calm down until the late 70s/early 80s when his growing slowed to a halt. There was also a lot of debate about what sort of relationship they should have with Seborga. They were raising him from infancy, so were they his parents? Is one technically more of a "parent" than the other? What about just being brothers? Yeah, brothers sound better. Brothers but with more Nuance(TM).

Romano and Feli received an extensive education as children, so it felt obvious that Sebby should attend school as much as possible. Due to their living and working arrangements, Seborga went to school in Rome and consequently picked up a lot of Roman mannerisms. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Genova every time he saw the kid ("Look at what you've done to this Ligurian boy! He's Roman!")

Onto one of my favourite dynamics within the family- Romano and Sebby's dynamic. Grumpy boomer big brother and his baby brother who likes getting on his nerves at every opportunity but, goddamnit, that's his weird baby brother and he still loves him to pieces. I'm a big softie for some loving-big-bro-'mano content. That man will look out for his family I just know it. His doors are always open for Seborga and there will always be food on the table for him, no matter what. Even if Seborga likes to grind his gears.

Seborga grew up reading a lot of comics! He started with the more kid-friendly ones like Disney comics (Paperino, Topolino, etc.) and soon graduated to things like TEX (one of Romano's favourites) and Dylan Dog. As a child, he'd draw his own little comic strips and characters- a hobby that Feliciano actively encouraged.

One of his closest friends is Monaco. Seborga is very close to the French border, and while I was in the area, I got the chance to visit Monaco for a day. The drive was quite easy and relatively quick, so it's not hard to imagine that they would've struck up a friendship since they're quite close! One thing that I enjoy about this friendship is the Uptown Girl/Downtown Boy dynamic they'd have ❤️ I don't know, I just think they're lovely

I'll stop here, but. Yeah. I just think he's neat! A lovely fella

#hws seborga #hws romano #hws veneziano #hetalia headcanons #hws genova #hws monaco #telegram for tem #temmie thoughts

[ask-mach]

Hihi hello!! I’m Zio, the owner of @azk-gnarpy and @zionanelequaso! Most info there also applies to here…wowie!! uhhhh I like Mach so I made her an askblog…

PLEASE USE TONE TAGS AND THINGS. I CANT UNDERSTAND TONES THROUGH TEXT THAT WELL, SO IT WOUKD BE VERY HELPFUL!

NO NSFW QUESTIONS PLEASE. I AM A MINOR.

Headcanons are added…go away if you no no like >:(

You can also ask me questions about the mach!!! Just say something like “question for Zio”, or something like that.

I use mostly she/xe, but any pronouns are fine. Check my main blog for more :3

Emoji and magic anons are allowed!!

just be niceys and I’ll answer ur question!

IC asks would be cool…

Ask box will probably be open all of the time. I’m not expecting that many questions.

I may respond with drawings, I may not. Please do not be angry if I don’t. Drawing is hard :(

Info!!!

• Mach’s last name is Nützlich, since Mach in german means “Make yourself”, and Nützlich means useful!! :3 (yea ik it’s not the exact translation I’m just being gooberous)

• Mach uses She/He

• Mach is half German, but has an American acccent

#mach regretevator #mach #regretevator mach #regretevator #ooc post #ask blog #ask mach

[egonspenglerishot]

Just popped into my head, Terzo being a dad after being forcibly retired

“The monsters gone and your papas here”

.

.

.

.

Sei shot up in her large bed, a nightmare had woken her and she teased up. She hiccuped and tried to stay strong like her papa said to, but she couldn’t help it. She let out a rather loud echoed sob, luckily Terzo had a baby monitor in his room.

He rushed to her room, only in his boxers and a very baggy tshirt he’d stolen from Omega. He rushed to the bed and sat down.

“Oh my dearest Figlia shhhhh it’s ok, what happened, can you tell papa?”

Sei looked up at her fathers paintless face. She sniffled slightly and snuggled into his chest, hiccuping and letting the tears fall.

“N…nightmare…y…you and a…all my Zios g…got really hurt because of s…something big and like a dark shadow.”

Terzo looked down at her and chuckled kissing her forehead. He wiped her tears away and sat fully on the bed putting Sei inbetween his legs when he was sat criss cross. She looked up at him confused at first until he began running his fingers through her hair.

“The monsters gone and your Papas here”

He smiled drawing random patterns with his finger on her arm. He knew it would calm her, it always calmed him. And that’s how his prime mover would destress him.

She mumbled something and he chuckled kissing her forehead, humming Mary on a Cross to help her sleep (yes it helps her). Once she settled he laid her back down and stayed beside her. He soon fell asleep himself, later being found by Copia in the morning for the monthly unholy mass.

Fin

#the band ghost fanfiction #the band ghost fic #the band ghost #ghost band oc #cardinal copia #papa Terzo #retired Terzo

[artsy-hobbitses]

Headcanon that Sideswipe and Strongarm’s girls are total daddy’s girls and when they found out he rarely got gifts or much love from his parents, the girl made it their mission to spoil their daddy with so much love and handmade gifts or such; drawings and paintings they made, they found a pretty and shiny rock in the backyard they want him to have, or a pretty seashell they found at the beach. Always telling him that he is the best daddy and that they love him so much, they never outgrew it either even as adults they are still shameless in letting their family know how much they love them. It melts his heart.

Oh definitely. I imagine there was actually a bit of a quarrel, because these girls are curious, and the Lambros parents are unfortunately VERY alive, are still toxic towards their sons and feel quite entitled to money + grandchildren, so there was definitely a point of time in the girls' early lives that those two stalked/met them away from their parents and introduced themselves as the girls' grandparents and tried to get the girls out of school to come with them (Selestine, the more astute twin, refused to go with them/held on to the more trusting Solaris when they tried to press the matter).

Until Sideswipe chased them off after an argument erupted between them, and there was a very awkward trip back home where Solaris asks why they weren't allowed to see their grandparents/why Papa was mean to them, they seemed nice?

Trying to explain that They Really Aren't without going into specifics runs into a wall when she sullenly shoots back something like "We wouldn't know, we've never met them, you've never let us meet them, why can we see Zio Tullio but not grandparents?" and while Sides and Strongarm/Stella are calling their school to make sure that only they + Sunny + Strongarm's mother are allowed to take these kids from school, Sunny sits with them/tries to explain why their grandparents are Bad News.

He doesn't go into the the nitty-gritty of it (Times where Sides was beaten for stuff Sunny only got a scolding for, times where Sides went to bed hungry because there's only food enough for three tonight, he won't die if he waits till the pay comes in tomorrow won't he? And how Sunny would sneak stuff up for him until Sunny got sick of it and was like, either you make that food stretch out for four, or he's going upstairs too), but the girls do get a sense that their Papa was not loved by them, still isn't loved by them, and doesn't want to risk the chance that they would make his girls feel the same way he did around them.

The girls never ask him about it ever since, and always let him know he's loved.

#inbox #save for later

[sillyandquest]

I've been doodling a lot of turtles lately. These are the results.

Just some Rise boys, specifically, the Mutant Mashup boys. I started off with Donnie in like a crouching pose for funsies but thought soon after, "huh, what if I just practice drawing his expressions from the show?" Now look at em.

Some musings below the cut if you wanna read.

Their markings aren't set in stone, I can't decide between diamonds for Raph or something closer to those concept ninpo markings on Twitter for him. Leo is already pretty decked out with markings so not much to add there. Aside from maybe two more stripes that grow up to the corners of his mouth as he ages, or maybe extra stripes on his legs, Leo's pretty much set. Mikey's in the same boat, though I like to add extra spots for flavor. I had a little more fun with Donnie's marks. I liked the thought of him having a mark over his nose, it kinda looks like a bandaid which I enjoy. Plus I gave him some marks on his face that kinda match Leo's y'know, disaster twins and all. I intended to give him a mark on his neck for his "unemotional bad boy image," but I kept forgetting to add it and just decided to scrap it.

Since I shared the Rise kiddos, I'll just add the 2012 boys. Consider it an early reference for their face markings.

These boys I didn't use references for so they are off model quite a bit. The doodles were only meant to show their markings anyway so they'll do for now.

Since these boys are technically quadruplets, I decided to give them matching/mirrored marking placements and all their markings relate to their elemental ninpo. DaVinci's got a cloud on his right cheek which is opposite to Sanzio's, who's got a fire mark on his left cheek. Niccolo's got a splotchy marking on his right eye, completely opposite to Simoni's lightning bolt mark on his left eye. I'm not totally sold on Simon's eye mark and am probably gonna tweak it a bit.

Also, I didn't realize it but Zio and Nico have the same smile. Same with Vin and Simon.

Final note: I do still want to make them look like TMNT 2012 to an extent, so more practice and more references to come.

That should be all, I've got a few doodles that I wanna explain in another post but they gotta wait until I'm more rested. This one was just an explanation.

Stay safe y'all!!

#rottmnt #mutant mashup au #tmnt 2012

[wall-legion]

The Space Between

It had been a long day at the soap shop, and everyone was exhausted by the time the sign was flipped to "closed". So many people had stopped in to pick up last minute gifts, and many were not as patient as they could have been about the shop being low or out of products at that point in the day. "Does anyone want to actually go out and celebrate tonight?" Leyya asked as she watched Odetta come into the back and slouch into a chair. "Sheesh, kill the vibe more." This came from the meerkat perched in a tube near the ceiling. "No one asked you, Cepir. And you lost your stupid hat." "Ah! My fez!" From the other end of the table, Zojja shook her head and laughed. "Don't let him wind you up like that. Besides, there's still time to freshen up. Soon as Sheridan's done, one of us can." "Don't worry about me." Odetta finally looked up from where she had collapsed onto the table, head on her folded arms. "I'm not going anywhere but to bed with the leftover scones and tea." Zojja glanced from Odetta to Leyya, as the other asura shrugged. "But what about Zio and Iialli..?" "He's new, so of course he got assigned duty tonight. And Iialli is busy at Pheazza's because a ship came in with new inventory." "I see..." Leyya looked up as Mabon drifted in from the kitchen, sporting an apron that read "Mursaat do it Unseen". "Mabon, what are your and Sheridan's plans?" "Oh, nothing complicated. I plan on enchanting myself to look like a sylvari so we draw less attention, then wine and sweets on the beach. Why?" He looked at Odetta as she groaned softly. "...have I said something to offend?" "No, because that sounds wonderful!" Odetta sat up. "What about you two?" she asked while gesturing at the two asura. "Oh, we'll be heading to the Grand Piazza for an event! A combination fig tasting from an orchard in Cantha and lecture about mutualism!" "Don't think about it," Leyya muttered. "Why?" Odetta just stared at Leyya, face full of confusion. "You don't... oh. You don't know. Never mind. We'll bring you back some figs if we can." Odetta frowned, both at Leyya and at Zojja as she muffled a snort of laughter. "Okay. Thank you. I think." At that point, Sheridan came all but tumbling down the stairs and beamed as they caught sight of Mabon. "I'm ready!" "I should say," Mabon replied with a chuckle. "You're certainly eager." "You two have a good time," Odetta said as she made herself smile. "It sounds like you're in for a lovely night." "Thank you Odetta." Sheridan stopped briefly to give the woman a hug, as Mabon worked his magic to transfigure himself into a tall male sylvari with silvery birch skin. "We'll see you later!" "We should be off as well." Zojja got up from her seat. "Don't want to be late, after all." Leyya reached out to pat Odetta's hand. "I'm sure you'll have a nice evening in spite of everything," she said. "Chin up." Odetta watched them depart, locked the door behind them, and then set herself to cleaning the shop. Once that was done, she retreated into the kitchen to finally make herself tea, only to hear someone knocking. "You gonna get it?" She sighed before looking up at Cepir, who was lounging in his 'kitchen globe', an orb that Mabon had crafted and added to the pipe network so he could be included when everyone gathered in there. "I am considering it." "Well consider faster. They're knocking hard enough to rattle the walls." She rolled her eyes, but went to the door. She unlocked it and pulled it open hard, eyes shut while raising her voice. "We are closed-" "Even for Valentine's gifts?" She finally opened her eyes. Iialli was smirking and holding a box of chocolates, while Zio was standing over her and grinning as well, a bouquet held in his hands. "I... I thought you two had work," she finally managed. "Phee said she would manage without me. Can't speak for him." "I let the Zio charm do the work for me." Odetta folded her arms across her chest. "So you're in trouble." "Probably." He started to turn away. "Do you want the flowers or not, princess?" She grinned for the first time in hours. "Get in here, you two."

#gw2 short story #odetta swanheart #gw2 valentine's day

[wetwaluigi]

I wonder now, what are your Zeti OCs + Idris's voice headcanon, WetWaluigi? What would they be and Where Did they come from?

OOOOH FUN QUESTION good question i wrote these down somewhere (grim helped me with some of the hard ones)

currently i have- zolus- roger clark as arthur morgan zovvie- richard horvitz as crimson zroxxy- elizabeth maxwell as hollyberry cookie zoray- chuck huber as android 17 zio- john chancer as snufkin zinerva- eartha kitt as yzma aaand my bunny whisker- david tennant as scrooge mcduck

notes: i dont think ill ever find a perfect voice for zovvie, crim is the closest so far but i wish i could something that sounds slightly russian and also a bit shrill then ones like zoray and zio both sound much older than the closest voice counterparts i could find also this could become harshly outdated its just what i have rn anyway ty for the question, i usually take forever for questions because i usually draw something but i dont NEED to draw something here so HA edit: forgot to add i dont have a voice for zixzo yet!! i will update if i find something squeaky and energetic and crackly

#zeti oc #zeti #cheap marble dining tables #whisker the rabbit #zolus the zeti #zovvie #zroxxy #zoray #ziomis #zinerva #i will not clog the deadly six tags with this one

[skullsobs]

did some amanda doodles instead of homework :P

#sawposting #saw #saw franchise #saw iii #saw 3 #saw fanart #amanda young #saw movies #fanart #digital art #ask to tag #zio draws something #kissgn. her

[zionanelequaso]

*whistle sfx*

#zios art #spike kirby dave #spike dfac #shitpost #dfac #kirby dave #shitpost drawing #josh hutcherson #josh hutcherson whistle #whistle edit #can you blow my whistle baby #or something #it’s so funny what the fuck

[cophene]

𝐏𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎 | vento aureo; r. nero ending.

✦.⁺ checkered tables.

table of contents

pairing : vento aureo x gn reader summary : a college student tries getting the attention of some of the most admired and attractive people on campus, only to get caught up with stands and vigilante groups in the process. notes : modern au, multi-chapter fic, sfw, doesn’t follow canon plot word count : 2.5k+

═ ☆. AFTER FIVE MINUTES, Y/N BEGAN to think they'd been stood up. It wasn't that big of a deal considering they were still in the front lobby of the dorm and heading back to their room would've taken five minutes. It was just that (y/n) hadn't pegged him as the type to make plans and then bounce.

He had said that the next time they ate together would just be the two of them. That had been accompanied with some dumb excuse about his friends being damn annoying.

They sighed soundlessly down at their shoes, turning to take the elevator. A minute later, they let out an ungodly screech as something tugged at their arm.

"You son of a bitch," (y/n) muttered, smiling sheepishly at the startled glances and eyebrows cast their way. They pinched at the seemingly empty space beside them, grimly satisfied when they heard a hiss of pain.

"I'd say I'm sorry, but that would be lying."

(Y/n) squinted. They could barely see the outline of his body, made invisible by the particles of iron.

"You've been practicing, haven't you?"

In response, Risotto took their hand and led them out of the dorms. Infuriatingly, he didn't allow himself to come back into view until a couple of blocks later, where the street was quieter. (Y/n) knew they looked ridiculous being led by an invisible arm. Maybe that was Risotto's plan.

Risotto was wearing grey jeans and white canvas shoes. An open short sleeve button up bared a close-fitting tee and the silver chain at his throat. (Y/n) found themselves getting distracted by his well-built chest and forearms.

God, his forearms.

Risotto had the grace not to comment on (y/n)'s staring. Their hands still linked, he led them down a section of Naples they'd never been to before.

The restaurant was simple, seeming not to want to draw attention to itself or seem more important than it was. It was tucked among other family-run businesses and buildings lovingly weathered by people and the elements. The seating area was lit by soft fairy lights strung over the outdoor rafters and the glow of the restaurant's interior. A checkered red-and-white tablecloth patterned all of the outdoor tables, blending in with the dark wood of the chairs and centrepieces. The trimmed hedges and curling vines wrapped along the wooden beams made (y/n) feel like they were at a garden party, lulled by the scent of growing things and sweet air. Laughter and muted chatter floated up to the evening sky, a comforting ambience.

The owner of the restaurant was a small, bearded man with deep laugh lines and a round belly. He surprised (y/n) by sweeping Risotto into a bear hug, lifting his feet clear off the ground. The tips of Risotto's ears turned adorably red, but (y/n) didn't have time to tease before they were being squeezed into a hug too.

"Oh, sorry about that, sweetheart. I probably should've asked first," the man said, seeing (y/n)'s flustered expression.

They laughed lightly. "It's fine, signore. It's lovely to meet you."

Risotto readjusted his beanie gone askew. "(Y/n), this is my uncle. Zio, this is my friend, (y/n)."

They might have been imagining the slight emphasis Risotto put on the word "friend". Risotto's uncle didn't take the hint, pushing the two of them to the outdoor dining area. As was customary of adults in the presence of what they thought was "young love", there was plenty of eyebrow-wiggling and meaningful looks.

Risotto's mortification was hilarious. (Y/n) wished he would bring them here all the time.

Risotto's uncle did the honours of serving their meal himself. He made (y/n) laugh with his relentless teasing, only backing away with his hands up when Risotto threatened to leave.

"Aw, don't make your uncle leave," (y/n) said.

"He's insufferable," Risotto said, but he smiled.

"You mean he's an amazing cook." (Y/n) had to close their eyes to savour the pasta. Perfectly al dente, with a meaty sauce that exploded with rich spices.

"That's probably why he has a new lady friend every week when he looks like a troll."

"I heard that!" his uncle called from inside.

"This is nice," (y/n) said, with a smile in Risotto's uncle's direction. "I didn't think you'd bring me to a place like this."

Risotto's eyebrow twitched. He hadn't missed the sardonic note in (y/n)'s voice.

"Where did you think I was bringing you?"

(Y/n) took a sip of their water. It was fragrant, sweetened by the lemons, strawberries and mint leaves (y/n) had seen soaking in the pitcher. They shrugged, smirking a little under the glass. It was just that this little restaurant was uncharacteristically romantic for Risotto.

Here in the cheery atmosphere of his uncle's restaurant, Risotto was like a different person. Less angry and intense. It was crazy how different his red-black eyes looked when they were pulled up in a smile or creased with laughter.

(Y/n) didn't think they'd heard him laugh before. At least, not a laugh that wasn't cynical or mocking. He happened to a silent laugher, the bastard.

"Tell me how you first found your Stand's ability," (y/n) said.

It must have been the wrong thing to say. Risotto's good mood instantly dampened.

"It's ... it's not a story that will make you laugh, if that's what you were thinking."

"Tell me anyway," (y/n) said, growing serious.

Risotto fiddled with his fork. (Y/n) kept their gaze on him, realizing that they knew very little about Risotto aside from what he outwardly displayed on campus.

"My cousin was killed in a car accident a few months ago," he said. His voice was hushed, more to his plate than to (y/n).

The words pulled painfully on (y/n)'s chest. "I'm sorry," they said.

Risotto's words carried themselves in a sigh. "It was a drunk driver. My cousin was crossing the street when a truck barrelled him down. He died before he got to the hospital."

(Y/n) clenched their jaw. A death like that was stupid and could have prevented. It made them angry, and it obviously upset Risotto as well.

"They found the driver guilty," he continued. "Sentenced him to a few years in prison. That should've been enough, but..." His brow tightened.

"I remember watching him leave the courtroom. I was just so ... so ... I couldn't stand the sight of him. What did a few years in jail mean when he was still alive but my cousin wasn't? I kept wanting something else to happen to him. For him to pay somehow."

Risotto's hand went absently to his throat. "The thing with the razor blades. That's pretty new. When Metallica first appeared, the driver sprouted needles. They came up out of his skin, piercing through it. I didn't know it was me. I just stood there, slack-jawed as everyone else. I think that if I hadn't hesitated ... he would've died." The words came out as though Risotto had just come to the realization. He met (y/n)'s eyes. They said nothing. The weight of this memory settled upon the two of them, dark and heavy.

(Y/n) reached for his hand.

"What was your cousin like?"

"A complete asshole," Risotto answered without hesitation. The corners of his mouth turned up. "He was like a brother to me. He would say the stupidest shit, but somehow, he kept it real. He always said things the way they were. You could always trust him to lay it straight. I was kind of a hard-ass as a kid. I wouldn't have made any friends in the neighbourhood if it weren't for my cousin."

"Just when you were a kid?" (y/n) said with a quirked eyebrow.

"You know what I mean." Risotto's smile wavered at the edges. "I'll think about him at the randomest times. Something funny will happen or his favourite soccer team wins a game, and I'll find myself picking up my phone to talk to him. I wanted to tell him about you, when we first met."

"You mean, when you nearly slit my throat."

"For the last time, your throat is fine. I would never have hurt you."

"Sure, sure."

(Y/n) smiled at the memory. They'd thought Risotto was some street thug planning to kidnap them, with his red-black eyes and dressed all in black. If he tried something like that now, (y/n) probably would've knocked him flat with White Satin.

"What would you have told him?" (y/n) asked gently.

Risotto thought for a moment.

"Probably that you were a smartass who was going to get themself killed."

"Oh, but you still think that, don't you?"

"Maybe. Things are going to calm down now that Signor D's out of the picture. We'll just be dealing with regular douchebags and criminals. They'll be hard-pressed to do anything against your Stand."

White Satin. Since being discharged from the hospital, (y/n) hadn't tried to summon it. A part of them knew that they weren't quite ready yet, that their Stand wouldn't form completely. They weren't quite sure when or even if their Stand would ever be the same.

"How is your Stand?" Risotto asked.

"Not the same," said (y/n) honestly. "Maybe it's because I'm still recovering, but it's not even close to where it used to be." It wasn't as though the glimmering strands were gone for good, but (y/n) still missed seeing them, missed winding them idly around their fingers.

They missed their Stand hammock. And floating on it like a magic carpet. They hadn't had the chance to show anyone else that trick yet.

"It'll still be there," said Risotto, watching (y/n)'s face. "From what I can tell, your Stand is for life. It won't fade or anything like that."

His expression wasn't quite gentle, but it was softer than any other expression they'd seen him make before.

"Can I get you two dessert?" Risotto's uncle's deep voice floated over to their table.

Risotto straightened in his seat. "Zio, what time is it?"

"Uh, close to nine, Ris."

Risotto swore under his breath. He took out his wallet and pulled out a few banknotes to quickly to pay before gesturing for (y/n) to follow him back out on the street. (Y/n) followed him, confused, waving goodbye to his uncle.

"What's got you in a hurry?"

"You'll see when we get there."

The streetlights came on then, and Risotto led (y/n) through the pools of golden light. Naples was winding down for the day, shutters drawing closed and door locks clicking. The cars dwindled on the street, late-evening workers coming home to their families.

Looking around, (y/n) thought the street they were on seemed vaguely familiar. They couldn't be sure, though, with all of the shops closing.

Risotto stopped under an awning.

"Wait here," he told (y/n), slipping inside the store. (Y/n) stared at printed words on the glass boasting instant cashbacks. There was a whole lot of clutter displayed, wooden toys and wrought-iron statues and wide-eyed dolls. They could see a multitude of more items still being hung up on the wall behind the front counter. They looked ready to fall at a moment's notice.

What was it about this storefront that was nagging at them?

They stepped back a few steps, craning their neck to get a look at the store's name.

It wasn't a store. It was a pawnshop.

Now (y/n) was even more confused. Why the hell would Risotto go back here?

They waited for a few minutes outside, tempted to go in and see what Risotto was up to. When he finally reappeared, the smile on his face was scheming and vaguely self-satisfied.

(Y/n) looked him up and down. "What were you doing in there?" they asked suspiciously.

The lights in the pawnshop flicked off, leaving only the streetlights to illuminate the two of them under the awning. The side of Risotto's face was softly coloured, highlighting the line of his jaw and the curve of his cheekbones and brow. The hair that peeked out from underneath his beanie glowed a little, curling in wisps. If (y/n) were an artist, this was the exact moment they would have liked to capture.

"Risotto?"

"You remember that old man we thought owned this pawnshop at first?"

"Of course. He turned out to be an operative for Signor D, right?"

"Not quite. I've been back to this pawnshop a few times. Turns out that guy is a regular. He absolutely loves this place, so he decided to come in and run it while the owners were gone."

(Y/n) made a face. "That's not creepy at all."

"Yeah, can't say everything's alright upstairs."

(Y/n) smiled a little. "Where are you going with this?"

Risotto drew out a small box from his pocket. It was impossible to mistake it for anything else.

(Y/n)'s pulse thudded in their ears. They went very still.

A slim ring caught the light when he opened the box. It was faceted like a diamond, polished to a high shine.

(Y/n) tried to think up a snarky quip. Their brain decided to empty itself at that very moment.

"It goes on your pinky finger," Risotto said, with a wryness that suggested he'd known what (y/n) had been thinking. He picked the ring out of the box, waiting until (y/n) extended their hand to slip it onto their little finger. The ring was cool against their skin, a comforting weight.

"The old guy mentioned antique rings the first time we came here. The lady inside talked my ear off about all the previous owners of this ring and their good fortune and whatnot." Risotto rolled his eyes. "It seemed like something you would like. Which isn't to say you have to. It's not fun the first few days out of the hospital, so I wanted to do something nice, that's all."

"It is something I'd like," (y/n) said, turning their hand over to admire the ring. They let out a chuckle. "You had me in the first half, you know. I thought you were going to kneel and say something stupid."

"Would that have insulted you?"

"Of course it would have. We don't know each other all that well, you know."

Risotto shrugged. "We have time. That'll change."

The simple assurance in his voice made (y/n)'s heart skip a beat. In typical Risotto fashion, he turned away without saying anything else, heading back toward campus.

(Y/n) wondered why their little finger was tingling. Maybe it was just in their head.

But then the sensation grew stronger, and (y/n) gasped when the ring seemed to pull their hand through the air—

—right into Risotto's.

"You bastard!" (y/n) said laughingly. "This ring is made out of iron, isn't it?"

Risotto squeezed their hand tightly in response.

table of contents

#pseuminova #jjba #jjba x reader #jjba fanfic #vento aureo #vento aureo x reader #golden wind #golden wind x reader #gender neutral reader #modern au

[imustbenuts]

thoughts about the conception of Tokyo Mirage Sessions from a meta perspective, and why it's not as zany as it seems.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, a rpg game spawned from crossing Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei really sounds out of place. at a first glance, the visuals are glitzy and the persona anime combat and presentation looks absurd, and TMS sounds like it just... doesn't fit as a FE game, right? heck, it probably barely fits as a SMT game.

mixing the two series sounds like trying to mix oil and water, which doesn't really work as evident by the pitiful sales figure.

except... they actually do have way too much in common. and TMS is fire emblem storytelling in some part.

FE presents itself like a tactical (western) medieval trpg, but it has a thick layer of eastern religion/culture embedded into its story telling. Naga, a recurring Divine Dragon, is a character based off a class deities in buddhist cosmology sharing the same name. there's a lot of soft Mandate of Heaven concept that goes on in nearly every series, and once in a while there's some buddhist named weapons too.

theres also this piece written by beej which highlights what the concept of Three Houses/Hopes is centered around. but long and short of it, Byleth is functionally a Bodhisattva in FE3H.

anyway, it's pretty buddhist, if not at least very eastern.

meanwhile, Shin Megami Tensei, a series about summoning gods and all that, also center around extreme cosmology story telling, leaning more towards the eastern side. theres always a lot of themes about death and rebirth and things happening in a cyclical nature in those series.

also, extremely buddhist.

now, about Tokyo Mirage Sessions and the core concept it centers around.

神楽 Kagura.

in TMS, we play as a bunch of idols singing and dancing with their performas to fight against mirages. sounds silly especially when watching them prance around before getting Chrom to cast a zio, but what they're effectively doing is something called Kagura 神楽, which can be translated as God-Entertainment.

kagura is a shinto ceremonial dance.

the aim of this ceremony is to 1) purify the gods, and also 2) to call down the gods to posses the shaman, often a female, in order for them to receive oracles. it was originally part of a divination ritual, but over time Kagura became a form of entertainment as well.

still, it must be silly to think of the FE characters as Gods in the context of TMS, bc these characters are at best *ahem* idols and not at all rulers of a proper domain of so and so.

honestly, calling any of these mirages a deity feels like a joke. they are lovable characters that we talk about, write fanfics and draw fanarts over.

but what if, these characters arent the true target of TMS' Kagura performance?

what if, the whole entirety of TMS' soundtrack, dancing, music, glamor and storytelling, topped off with a orchestration render of Fire Emblem's theme at its finale, wasn't meant for Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei?

what if, these Gods TMS was trying to entertain through its Kagura were actually us, the players?

they might be taking the idea of the customer is god and pushing that several parallel dimensions ahead in 5d chess where nobody seems to realize it

#fire emblem #tokyo mirage sessions fe #meta bullshit go #ramble

[siderealscribblings]

do you have any trivia/headcanons for our mr. dorky detective and his totally-evil-and-sexy-clown entourage?

DO I?

Put under the cut because this is gonna stretch everyone's dash to infinity otherwise.

Akechi Goro

Image Song: Confess by Divide Music

Gun nut; absolute firearm enthusiast/borderline fetishist 

Middling artistic talent but keeps trying for some reason

Cannot sleep unless absolutely encased in body pillows 

Hates: Dental chairs, the ocean, worms, mochi, Maruki

Likes sweets to a degree that is unusual for most Japanese men 

Intelligent but easily baited into behaving emotionally

Bisexual trash fire

Yoshizawa Sumire

Image Song: Rebel Yell Cinematic Version

College gymnast (COULD HAVE GONE PRO IF SHE HADN'T JOINED S.E.E.S)

Looks meek as hell but cannot be budged once she's decided on a course of action

Last Yoshizawa living 

Likes gardening, tacky romance novels/video games, gardening

Hates: Bitter chocolate, duck meat, dark liquors

Killer poker face; a menace at cards

Received the same combat training her sister received but hasn't used it as much

The Phantom Thieves (In General)

Image Song: The Cult of Dionysus

Co-dependent as fuck

It would take a week to explain how their tangled web of relationships interact with one another

Attached in a way that would unnerve most people

Will roast one another but turn downright murderous if someone outside their clique thinks they can get away with the same

Body Count numbers in the thousands

Strong individually but each Thief multiplies their teammates' power

Low-level emotive senses; can easily discern their teammates emotions 

Low-level psychic connection; can sense each other's vibes

Clingy as fuck; will gravitate towards one another if left to their own devices

Can share pain/pleasure/other basic sensations

Can control their elemental abilities to let out as little or as much as they please

Joker

Image Song: Red Right Hand (Nick Cage and the Bad Seeds)

Team Role: Gang Leader, A-Team leader, strategist, greaseman, lockpicker, seductress

Magic: Eiha, Physical skills

McNally Official Lockpicking Skills

Supernaturally stealthy

Knife pervert

Never shuts up

Ships his partners

Actively seeks out alliances with other demons/manikins 

Is thought by most demons to be a loud-mouthed idiot; this is entirely by design

Workaholic and relentlessly ambitious when it comes to bettering his gang's fortunes

Service-Top/persistent tease

Queen

Image Song: Lion (Saint Mesa)

Team Role: Underboss, consigliere, B-Team leader, enforcer, strategist

Magic: Frei, Physical, Healing

Barehanded brawler

Anxious as all hell and will make it your problem if you try and hurt what's hers

Questions the hell out of Joker privately but unwaveringly backs him up in public

Plays "bad cop" to Panther's "good cop" 

Guarded and suspicious of everyone that crosses her path 

Bottom as hell/wants to be taken care of

Panther

Image Song: Theme of Scanty & Kneesocks

Team Role: Social terrorist, seductress, chief medic, demolitions 

Magic, Agi, Charm, Healing 

Can unbutton someone's shirt with her whip without drawing blood (and has) 

Worst shot on the team

Purrs like a cat when pleased

Also bites like a cat for shits and giggles

Queen's emotional support animal 

Skull's demo team partner 

The Most Top/uses Charm recreationally 

Skull

Image Song: I Am Electric 

Team Role: Grunt, brute strength, frontline fighter, tank, demolition

Magic: Zio, Physical, minor minor healing skills picked up from Panther

Uses a bat but skilled at dealing damage with random garbage he finds on the street 

Gets hurt the most, gets hurt the worst, is the only one happy to have it that way

Face of a pitbull, soul of a golden retriever 

Team Mom tendencies 

Switch/does what Panther tells him to do

Fox

Image Song: Kirisute Gomen

Team Role: Hunter, frontline fighter, ranged fighter, art forger

Magic: Bufu, physical

Goemon level swordmaster

Looks intimidating; usually just spacing out and thinking about something unrelated when people think he's giving them the evil eye

Oracle's parallel play buddy

Most gifted hunter; frequently brings home magatsuhi for the others to feast on

Gymnast physique/fox-ears and tail

Shell-shocked

Switch, but downright feral about it

Oracle

Image Song: West Side Lane

Team Role: Technical god, hackerman, jester 

Magic: Support skills, short-ranged teleportation, area control

Gremlin master; sends artificially-sapient programs into systems to do her work for her

Can hack your pregnancy test using a calculator 

Barely understands how her own abilities work but seems to be able to bullshit her way through most technical systems

Funds mortal world enterprises through credit card fraud, embezzlement, and devising predatory gacha games 

Was kidnapped briefly by Baal resulting in the slaughter of several thousand demons and the complete collapse of the Yosuga faction as her team fought to get her back

Actually the most powerful member of the team but isn't aware of the extent of her abilities yet

Colossal Brat

Noir

Image Song: Play Violin - Frenchcore

Team Role: Psychic Support, demo team captain, precog

Magic: Psio, support

Just happy to be here :) 

Perfectly sane, thanks for asking :)

Completely dispassionate in fights, despite the carnage she's capable of

Brutally, brutally honest and barely attempts to lie

Pre-emotive; can't see the future but gets strong feelings about things 

Soft dom

#devil summoner akechi goro vs the phantom thieves