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highqueenofelfhame · 1 year

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a/n: if you've been here for awhile or read through my masterlist, you might remember this one. it became a fan favorite but it was written when i first entered the fandom and there have been things i wanted done differently. things i wanted to rewrite or write better. so i'm doing it. it'll be the same story you love, if you love it, just better, longer, more thought out. a lot will stay the same but alot will change. if yu're wondering what the fuck i'm talking about, a rough version of this story exits on my masterlist titled "all i ask of you." anyway. i hope you enjoy this.

rowaelin // 5.8k words // masterlist

Sweat trickled in little streams down his back, gluing the tan, standard-issue shirt he wore to every dip and curve of his torso. On most assignments, Rowan Whitethorn didn't mind his uniform. Generally speaking, the material was lightweight enough in most climates that they stayed comfortable. The boots were heavy, sure, but they were comfortable.

In the middle of the desert, he hated all of it. The best time of the day was when he took it off to duck under a cold shower, then crawled into bed in nothing but his undershorts. Unfortunately for him, that was a long way off. The sun scorched them to the bone, and the slight breeze did nothing but send sand whirling through the air.

When Rowan got out of the Red Desert, he never wanted to see a single grain of sand ever again.

He walked down the street to the two small houses they used as a base. If anything, they were more akin to rundown shacks in a shanty town, but it worked. One was used for communications, and all their tech was set up throughout various rooms. They took turns on night watch, monitoring the cameras and comms for anything that looked amiss.

The other house was where they ate, bathed, and slept. Nobody had a semblance of privacy here, save for the shitty little bathroom. All the men but Lorcan doubled up in the rooms and slept on glorified cots every night, often mumbling to their roommates to stop tossing and turning. Their beds tended to creak and groan with every subtle movement. On bad days, tension soared until they inevitably went outside to beat each other senseless in the form of hand-to-hand combat practice.

The houses were on the outskirts of an impoverished chunk of land that couldn't even be considered a village at this point, though once upon a time, it had been a well-populated township. Now there were just rundown buildings and dilapidated houses that people crammed into for shelter. Less than two thousand people remained living in the desolate stretch of desert. All of them were skin and bones, the malnourished ghosts of who they used to be.

Over their last few months of being abandoned in the Red Desert, they learned that the breadwinners of the family, usually men, pedaled bicycles to the surrounding towns for work. A few of them were forced to walk, which was a feat in itself– the closest town was ten miles away and would take them well over two hours to arrive. Rowan had also learned, mainly from the children, that the ones that walked stayed in cheap inns during the week if they could afford it. Everything else was funneled into food and any other necessities they required, including running water that they really only used to cook and bathe.

Most of the women homeschooled their children to the best of their ability. Generally, they could read, write, and perform basic math. Much else was lost due to the lack of accessible tools for anything beyond that. Rowan had an intense respect for the people that dwelled here and did their best with what they had.

On the other hand, he could kill every government official who continued to leave these people behind. There was no excuse for such an extreme display of poverty in this day and age. It was made worse by how kind the people were. They lived in the worst conditions they had ever seen, yet still found joy in the little things.

Case in point: a few of the kids that Rowan gave the candy from his MREs to were chasing a soccer ball around the makeshift pitch Fenrys had built for them. He and his twin brother, Connall, were playing with the gaggle of teenage boys and girls, their bright laughter chipping away at his frozen heart. It had been long since anything had threatened to thaw his frozen core, but those children whooping and hollering got to him.

Rowan lifted a hand in greeting, shaking his head but offering a tight smile when they shouted for him to join them. If Lorcan hadn't summoned him, he probably would have. They had done a fat lot of nothing today besides trying to stay out of the sun. Rowan had only left the communications house less than an hour ago to stretch his legs.

Once inside, he found Lorcan sitting at the desk in the room they considered their office. It wasn't much more than a couple of chairs and a folding table, but it got the job done. Rowan rapped his knuckles against the door frame as he entered and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest.

"You wanted to see me?" There was no point in bothering with formalities unless people outside the Cadre were around. They rarely pulled rank amongst themselves. Rowan was second in command, but they usually viewed it as a partnership more than anything else.

"Yep," Lorcan exhaled, putting his pen down and bracing his arms on the edge of the table. Every muscle in his face was tense, down to the feathering of his jaw as he eyed Rowan. This didn't bode well. Whatever he was about to say wasn't good. There was no light hiding in the shadows of his dark eyes. Lorcan had a shit poker face when it came to bad news. With a jerk of his chin, he added, "Sit down."

"What happened?" Rowan slid into one of the folding chairs across from him and braced his hands on his knees.

"We're going to be a team of six again, starting tomorrow morning." That was all? That didn't seem like the tragedy he looked ready to drop on Rowan's head.

They used to be a group of six until Gavriel retired last year, and they still weren't used to being down to five men. While each of them brought forth their strengths and balanced out their weaknesses, an even number of people made things easier on missions because everyone could be paired off into two teams. During their last few, they had all wished for that extra body. Having another person would be great, especially if he was skilled enough to keep up with the rest of them.

Though several special ops units existed in the Terrasen Navy, Rowan's was the most elite and the smallest. Every other team had at least a dozen men assigned to it, but it wasn't necessary with the Cadre, the name Rowan's ex bestowed upon them. All of them were over six feet tall and corded with muscle. What they lacked in numbers, they made up for in skill. There was a reason they didn't push to replace Gavriel when he retired. Nobody else was a match for them in any capacity and would have been in the way more than anything else.

"Why don't you look happy about it?" Rowan asked, relaxing a bit and leaning back in his chair. Lorcan looked like he was grinding his teeth to dust and savoring the pain that came with it.

"Because I'm not."

"You had to approve it. He must be good enough to hold his own with the rest of us." His commander wouldn't accept anyone unless he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could do his job with expert precision.

Lorcan scratched his jaw, nails scraping against the stubble he hadn't bothered to shave away that morning as he said, "It’s not a he.”

Rowan’s blood turned to ice in his veins so quickly that he shivered for the first time in several months. Every hair on his body stood at attention, skin pebbling down his arms, shaking his head in a single sharp movement as he ground out, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know who she was. Her name had been whispered up and down the grapevine over the last few years as she quickly climbed the ranks. At this point, she was almost as decorated as he was, and he had been at it for three years longer. Thousands of women served in the various military branches, but only one had ever been good enough to break the glass ceiling and become a Ghost Leopard.

The Ghost Leopards were Terrasen’s most elite special operations unit. No other military group came close to the skill and drive they had. Most people didn’t even try to join— the physical, mental, and emotional strength demanded was too much for many to handle. Rowan’s unit was the best the Ghost Leopards had to offer.

Rowan knew she had been part of two different ops teams, but never in a million years did he think she would join his own. Not because she wasn’t good enough. There was no question in his mind that she didn’t belong. Lorcan disliked the woman on a good day, yet he had approved her joining the Cadre after putting personal bias aside.

No, she had definitely earned it; he could admit that much. Rowan had just doubted that she would ever want to share any amount of oxygen with him ever again. Her assignment to the Cadre likely hadn’t been her own idea. Whoever initiated it must well and truly detest Rowan, though. The gods were playing a cruel, sick joke on him.

Lorcan’s features were frozen with tension, lips curling at the corners in distaste as he said, “Aelin Galathynius arrives tomorrow.”

~*~

All five men stood in a straight line, feet shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind their backs. They had decided on the dressed-down version of their uniform, foregoing the over shirts with patches, ranks, and names on them. They each wore the same tan t-shirt tucked into pants in a multi camouflage pattern in shades of brown. It perfectly matched the sandy ocean they were trapped in.

Heavy black boots anchored Rowan to the ground while they watched the helicopter land a few hundred yards away, kicking up enough dust that they were all happy about the sunglasses and camouflage balaclavas they wore. Without them, the sand would be in every fucking orifice for days on end.

The newest member of their team finally hopped out, landing with feline grace. To anyone else, she would have been unrecognizable with her face and eyes covered. Not even her hair peeked out as she walked toward them, heaving her bags higher on her shoulder. Rowan would know her anywhere, though.

It wasn’t until the helicopter returned to the skies and the dust settled that she finally pulled her balaclava down around her neck to expose her face. The aviator-style sunglasses stayed perched on her nose, and though her hair was slicked back into a bun at the nape of her neck, the golden strands still shimmered in the sun. The only difference in her uniform was that she wore her blouse with the sleeves rolled up and over her elbows. Seeing her like this made his vision cloudy at the edges, the memory of their first meeting creeping to the forefront of his mind. He forcefully shoved it away.

The sixty seconds it took her to be within ten feet of them seemed to happen too quickly and in slow motion all at the same time. No emotion flickered over her face, not even her mouth, which usually wore a smirk. Aelin Galathynius was all business.

Hearing her name multiple times in the last twenty-four hours had his mind twisted around itself in a tight knot he couldn’t unwind. Typically, everyone avoided bringing her up when they could, yet now he was seeing her in the flesh for the first time in years. With his heart trying to break his ribs, he was surprised that he heard Lorcan call her by her last name when she stopped before him.

It probably killed her to do it, but she saluted him the way she would any other commander. Lorcan gave her a nod in return, and her body relaxed. Aelin’s bags slid from her shoulders and landed with a thud on the ground at her feet. Rowan heard her sigh for the first time in ages as her hands dropped to her hips, and she gave them all a once-over.

Light and mischief danced in her fiery blue gaze until she looked at him. Any semblance of emotion flickered out like he’d extinguished the fire that burned within. It wasn’t the first time he had seen her eyes look so damn empty when turned on him. Her dead gaze yanked him two and half years in the past, holding him at gunpoint as he remembered the first time she had ever looked at him that way.

“I promise. Okay?” Rowan’s hands held Aelin’s cheeks like she was the most precious thing in the world to him because she was. It didn’t matter what he said or did, though. That heavy sadness wouldn’t dissipate, and she wouldn’t look at him.

“Rowan, I told you–”

“Baby, it’s the last one, and then I’ll take a job in the city, and it won’t be like this anymore. It’s going to get better, and we’re going to be okay.” He only had minutes left with her, and he hated wasting it like this. It would have been better spent sharing kisses or with him exploring her body to prove how much he loved her. Instead, when they woke up, Aelin had retreated so deeply within herself that he didn’t feel like he could reach her.

“You’ve said twice now that it was going to be the last time. When is it actually going to be the last time, Rowan?” Gods, he really didn’t want to fight with her before he left.

“This is the last deployment I’m going to make,” he swore, and he meant it. He’d already told his commander, and as much as he had hated it, at the end of the day, Lorcan understood. “I don’t want to fight with you right now.”

“I wanted you to stay and pick me for once, so I guess neither of us is getting what we want, are we?” The look in her eyes wasn’t one he’d ever received from her. There was no warmth of love, just a distant chill that felt so tangible goosebumps crawled along his skin.

“Aelin,” he sighed, tugging her until he could wrap his arms around her even though she tried to resist. At complete odds with her expressions and words, her arms tightened around his waist, and she fisted his jacket in her hands. Like this was their hardest goodbye yet, she refused to let him go.

They stood like that for several minutes, Rowan’s lips pressed to the top of her head while he breathed in her scent one more time. Nothing ever came close to how much he missed her when he was gone. Every deployment, he took something of hers with him, falling asleep to the faint scent of jasmine until time washed away any sign of its owner.

“You’re going to be late,” she finally said, pulling back and wiping her face with the back of her wrist.

“This is the last time,” he swore for a final time, taking her face between his palms and wiping at her cheeks. Aelin nodded, eyes fixed somewhere over his shoulder.

“Yeah. Okay.” The goodbyes were always hard, but this time was different. A warning bell was chiming in the back of his head, but he pushed it aside. They made it through everything else over the last five years, and they would pull through this, too.

“I love you.” Rowan kissed her, his heart shattering at the feel of her quivering mouth against his. A sob slipped out of her lips, her shoulders caving in. Aelin shook her head, letting it fall to read against his chest. “Hey. We’re okay.”

They were. It was an argument they’d had over and over for the last few years. While Aelin loved active duty, she had taken a desk job a few months ago when they had agreed that when Rowan got back from his last deployment, it was his last. Lorcan had begged him for one more tour because Gavriel was talking about retiring, and he didn’t want to lose them both at the same time. The day Rowan returned and told his girlfriend he was doing one last twelve month deployment, it immediately became a fight that wouldn’t end.

Aelin was twenty-six and genuinely loved her job, but she had wanted to start planning their future. Rowan was twenty-nine, and while he did want those things, he still wanted to keep building his legacy and rake in every ounce of glory while he still could. He wanted nothing more than Aelin, and he knew they could stick it out for one more year. They were strong enough to handle anything thrown at them. Of that, he was absolutely certain.

While the fighting had led to a lot of high tension in their house, they still loved each other at the end of the day. Even when it was hard, and they went months without hearing each other’s voices or seeing one another, they shared such a rare, blinding love that nothing could fracture it.

“I love you,” he said once more, kissing her trembling lips and wiping her tears away.

“I love you, too.” But her eyes didn’t meet his, and it was the image of her crying in the foyer that chased him into fitful sleep every night after.

~*~

“Aelin Galathynius,” Fenrys drawled, shaking his head as he took her in. Over the formalities of the situation, Aelin pulled off her sunglasses and dropped into a low bow with her arms spread wide. As soon as she pulled her eyes from Rowan and looked at their mutual best friend, she grinned.

“At your service,” she crooned with a wink. Down the line, Rowan snorted and turned on his heel, just about stomping the entire way back to the house. Aelin’s eyes rolled, and Fenrys held his arms open for a hug. With a squeal and a joyous giggle, she ran for him and leaped into his waiting arms.

“As soon as Salvaterre said we were getting a sixth again, I fucking knew it was you.” His voice was low in her ear as he spun them in a circle, finally putting her feet back on land so she could hug Connall and Vaughan. Aelin made no effort to further engage in conversation with Lorcan. They tolerated each other on a good day, and he was still watching Rowan as he disappeared into what she assumed was their living quarters.

“I missed you the most out of everyone,” she told Fen as he hefted her bags over one shoulder and threw his other arm around her to lead her toward the house.

“Even more than you missed Whitethorn?” It was a joke, one that wasn’t rewarded with laughter but by a swift jab to his ribs. He winced, lips pulling into a harsh frown. Aelin couldn’t help it. She smiled.

“Is he still being a bitter asshole?”

“Worse, if you can believe it,” Connall chimed in. A sigh was desperate to creep out of her lips, but she swallowed it down. She knew when she got the assignment that it wouldn’t be easy for her, Rowan, or anyone that had to be in close proximity to them. Aelin also knew that she could check the baggage at the door when it came down to doing their jobs. In their downtime, however… She was making no promises.

“We cleared out a room for you. Fenrys can show you which one,” Lorcan shot over his shoulder as he walked past them, headed toward the house next to the one Rowan had entered.

“I don’t need special treatment just because I’m a woman!” Lorcan merely waved dismissively over his shoulder and slammed the front door behind him.

“I promise there is no special treatment here in Hela’s fucking armpit,” Vaughan mumbled, nudging her with his shoulder as he brushed past. Indeed, it seemed their living quarters were a far cry from her house in Orynth. Not that the barracks or living situations on special missions were ever anything to write home about, but this was particularly shoddy.

Fenrys led her inside, gesturing to each fixture in the common areas and trying to sell them for far more than their worth. It wasn’t the worst place Aelin had ever lived in her decade-long career in the military, but his jokes had her in stitches by the time he led her to her ‘bedroom.’

Really, it was more of an oversized closet with a cot, a chair for a nightstand, and a single light operated by a cord that dangled from the ceiling. Someone had put a small fan on top of the chair that she turned on to test the airflow. Beneath the cot was just enough space for her to slide her bags, and the door shut almost all the way. It refused to latch, but you win some and lose some. It wasn’t the worst and definitely beat sleeping outside or sharing a room with any of the boys. Aelin had spent enough time with military men to know they smelled horrible.

Not that she smelled like jasmine at all hours of the day, but the women tended to try a little harder than the men did. It didn’t matter that she knew all of them personally. Maybe it was a little sexist, but she stood firm in the idea that women cared a little more about body odor than men.

After the grand tour was finished and she’d peeked into the guys' rooms, they walked back toward the kitchen. Aelin had arrived much later than planned, and Rowan was already preparing his MRE for dinner. The others quickly followed suit, and Fenrys knelt on the ground to dig through the box.

“Alright, we’ve got spaghetti with meat sauce, chili mac, a chicken stew, regular mac and cheese, and lemon pepper tuna.”

“Chili mac,” she said, firm in her decision. It was one of the best ones, and with their supplies looking a little low, she didn’t know how it was even an option.

Fenrys handed her the dinner, and she quickly removed all the contents. Along with the main entree, it held a few other snack items ranging from a beef jerky stick to a packet of Sour Patch Kids and a few things in between. She hummed contentedly at the fruit punch powder packet that she would most definitely add to her water.

Aelin was forced to sidle up next to Rowan to fill her pouch with water to activate the one-time-use heater that came with the meals. He said nothing as their shoulders brushed until she was finished, folding her pouch over to avoid spillage. Aelin handed her food off to Fenrys while she relocated everything else to the small table that would barely hold them all. By the time she retrieved it and took her seat, Rowan was already in his chair.

Because she simply couldn’t pass up on the opportunity, she sat next to him, not bothering to avoid their knees knocking or shoulders bumping as she settled. Again, he said nothing. Just stabbed at his own pouch of beef and barbecue and pretended she wasn’t there.

“Are you going to give me the silent treatment?” Aelin nudged his elbow with hers, tilting her head to look at him. Rowan finally relented and gave her a sidelong glance.

The others, including Lorcan, were claiming their seats. To their credit, it seemed that they were trying not to eavesdrop, but that was impossible in this house. Lorcan, however, looked ready to jump between them and dispel a fight that would leave two of his incredible assets licking their wounds.

“I was thinking about it,” Rowan replied tersely, not looking up as he shoved a bite into his mouth. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing for the last few years?”

“Ah, so Connall was right then.” Bitter asshole to his very core, apparently. Fenrys snickered at her remark beside her while Rowan tensed. Aelin could have been sitting up against a concrete wall and wouldn’t have known the difference.

“What are you missing most about civilian life?” Fen asked, likely an attempt to prevent a verbal sparring match. He popped a skittle into his mouth and settled back in his rickety chair.

“I barely remember what it’s like at this point, to be honest.” It was the truth. Aelin had thrown herself so thoroughly into work that she was only home for a few days at a time. The longest she’d been home was for a month last summer. There were days when she didn’t know what to do with herself and days when her mattress felt too soft, or the food too indulgent. Aelin pondered, mouth twisting to the side. “Usually, I would say long, hot showers. But I don’t think I’ll be craving any sort of heat while we’re here. Probably my nightgowns. I can handle everything else, but sleeping in silk is wildly underrated.”

“Can you not share intimate details while we’re eating?” Rowan grumbled. Aelin whipped her head around to look at him, her brow furrowed.

“Intimate details, my ass. You’ve literally been inside me. I don’t think it gets more intimate than that.” Had she chosen nightgowns specifically to wiggle her way under Rowan’s skin? Maybe. But it didn’t make his reaction any less stupid. “How the hell is sleepwear an intimate detail?”

Rowan opened his mouth to respond, but Lorcan beat him to the punch, looking for all the world like he should have told them to put Aelin in someone else’s company as he said, “On the topic of civilian life–”

“Please tell me we’re leaving this godsforsaken place,” Fenrys cut in, eyes wide and pleading.

“I just flew halfway around the world, and we’re leaving?” Aelin felt as exasperated as she sounded. It was a long way to travel to just turn around and head right back. She wasn’t eager to be cooped back up on any sort of aircraft so soon.

“In three days,” Lorcan confirmed, shifting in his seat to pull a roll of paper from his back pocket that he dropped into the middle of the table. Six pairs of eyes peered down, scanning the words even though it was upside down for Fenrys, Aelin, and Rowan. “I didn’t find out until this morning, or we would have waited for you to join us then.”

“What’s going on?”

“Since we’ve been monitoring the border here for months and nothing is happening, we’re more useful elsewhere. Another unit will be stationed here while we go to Rifthold.”

“What’s happening in Rifthold?” Rowan asked, leaning back in his chair. Aelin did the same while taking a swig of fruit punch, eyeing the unused drink packet from Rowan’s meal kit. It was grape, and she knew he wouldn’t drink it because it was too sweet. Maybe she could steal it when he wasn’t paying attention.

“A threat on the Crown Prince of Adarlan’s life.” Lorcan’s tone lacked inflection. He could have been talking about the weather.

“I’m all for preventing an assassination, but we’re the Terrasen military. Why are we getting sent in for this?” Vaughan had a point. A good one, too. Not that any of them were really complaining. Going back to civilization would be a damn vacation for them, the boys more than Aelin. She hadn’t been hiding in a shack in the desert for the last four months.

“Because all signs point to it happening at the summer ball, and our President, along with a dozen high-ranking officials from our government, will be in attendance. Preventing the Prince’s assassination will save their lives, too.” Everyone murmured their agreement. “We don’t know where it came from, though. Our source is unclear on that, which will be the trickier part. All signs point to it being an inside job right now because things have been intense between the king and his oldest son.”

“Dorian has been speaking out against a lot of his father’s policies. The king can’t do damage control fast enough. It was all over the papers when I was in Orynth last month. As quickly as the king puts out one fire, Dorian starts another. ‘Inside sources,’” Aelin added air quotes with her fingers for emphasis, “Claim that the king is getting really fed up. It’s causing a lot of unrest and protests among the people. More of them seem to agree with the prince than the king. It would make sense for it to be his doing.”

“That,” Fenrys drawled, holding one finger, “Is fucked up.”

“It is,” Aelin agreed. “But things have always appeared to be rocky between them.”

“We’ll be going undercover for a while. Adarlan’s government isn’t asking for assistance on the issue, probably because they’re starting it to begin with. But we aren’t willing to risk their version of ‘taking care of things.’ And if it comes down to it, President Galathynius–” Lorcan’s eyes shot to Aelin when mentioning her uncle, “–would rather save the prince’s life and risk tension with Adarlan over it.”

“Considering the King of Adarlan is a sexist, racist piece of shit, I don’t blame him,” Connall mused, letting his hair out of the bun it had been in since Aelin arrived. She agreed with her uncle. Dorian did as much as he could as a prince, but as king… He would pave the way to a better world.

“Do we have covers yet?” Rowan leaned forward, reaching for the stack of papers Lorcan had presented to them. As he sifted through them, Aelin noticed the commander’s face getting tighter with every page Rowan skimmed. Her brow furrowed as she looked over her ex-boyfriend’s broad shoulder.

“You two…” Lorcan hesitated. Almost like he was dreading the news he was about to bestow upon them. “The four of us will be blending in with the commoners. Our base will be a large manor set far enough out that nobody will notice we all congregate together.”

Beside her, Rowan went utterly rigid. If she thought he was tense before, it was nothing compared to now. The tendons in his neck were ready to snap. She swore she could see his pulse pounding in his neck as a vein protruded in the center of his forehead.

“No,” Rowan said, shaking his head and throwing the papers on the table. Confused, Aelin snatched them up to read them herself. Fenrys leaned in to read along with her, one of his fingers tracing down the edge of the page.

“It wasn’t my call,” Lorcan said defensively, right as her eyes landed on the incriminating words that had Rowan’s body taut as a bowstring.

“This better be a fucking joke,” she spat, pushing out of her chair and rising to her feet. It had to be a joke, a prank, a hazing for joining their stupid little boyband. The harsh lines on her commander’s face said it was anything but. “Married? Out of all five of you to make me pretend to be married to, it’s Rowan that gets picked?”

“We don’t know how dangerous of a situation we’re walking into.” Lorcan tried to sound calm, but his eyes darted between the former couple like they might burn down the world out of spite. Aelin was considering it. “Rowan is the best of us at hand-to-hand combat should you ever need the defense–”

“I can fight for myself. I can protect myself. Fenrys could protect me just as well as Rowan if that were truly a concern.” It was risky to shout at her commander so much, especially on her first day, but Aelin was just past the point of caring. Every fuck she might be able to give was caught in a tornado of sand, plowing through the desert in the complete opposite direction.

“You know better than anyone that Rowan has skill sets that would work well while masquerading as a Duke, just like you do for being a Duchess. Fenrys is too loud-mouthed, and the other two lack the general composure to pretend to be royal. Rowan always has the quiet, dignified mask in his back pocket. He can talk his way out of–”

“I don’t care,” she hissed, taking several steps from the table.

“Ace…” Fenrys said quietly, leaning back in his chair to grab her hand. “Lorcan has a point.”

“I know he does.” Aelin’s voice was muffled while she rubbed at her face. Nobody objected or disagreed with Lorcan’s mild insults because it was the truth. Sometimes, Fen didn’t know when to shut up, and while Vaughan and Connall could easily look the part, they were missing something that Rowan just had naturally.

When he walked into a room, he carried himself like he was important. Unlike typical royals, it wasn’t because he was looking down his nose at anyone but because he almost commanded respect from everyone. Rowan, as a royal, wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. Aelin knew that. She just wished she had more of a heads-up before getting thrown into something that hit a little too close to home where their former relationship was concerned.

“I’m sorry for yelling.” Her eyes met Lorcan’s, and he shrugged. Now was not the time for him to assume she couldn’t do her job because she was an emotional woman. It was sexist bullshit, to begin with, but her time in the military told her it’s what they all thought of the women. No matter how hard they trained or how many times they proved themselves, women were silly, emotional creatures that couldn’t handle anything.

“I expected it. I know it won’t be easy for either of you.” Aelin couldn’t hide the surprise on her face. Not the raised brows or the way her mouth parted at his words. Maybe she undersold him. Just a little. “Rowan?”

“Yeah.” The word was flat. Seeing his face wasn’t necessary to know his eyes were probably as vacant as he sounded.

“Can you handle it?”

“Don’t really have a choice, do I?”

No, they didn’t have a choice, but if it would save multiple lives, they would manage. Their tumultuous past would stay where it belonged when they were in public and doing their jobs. Maybe they would even find a way to be civil by the end of it. There was also the possibility of everything going up in flames, one violent explosion at a time until everything was burned and nobody was marked safe from the fallout.

Aelin really wasn’t sure which one it would be.

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blackjackkent · 15 days

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oh my god, I want to hear all about Hec and Karlach married hahahaha

More Hec/Karlach content, you say? :D :D

Y'all spoil me tremendously with this sort of encouragement. XD

(This is a response to my tag novel on this post about what people's Tavs/Durges would wear to their wedding.)

I really s2g I am going to write this Avernus fic at some point which I fully intend to be a longish collection of one-shots eventually leading to Karlach and Hector having a happily-ever-after which would include all this. (I have the first chapter of another Jaheira-related fic in the cooker rn and then the Avernus fic's first chapter will be up next; I'm trying to rotate my longfics a bit. XD ) So... this is all obviously subject to change based on how that fic eventually plays out.

However, with this minute bit of prompting I will indulge myself in some weapons-grade Hector/Karlach Fluff anyway. :D This is less a full fic and more some random snippets/headcanons about them getting married and afterwards.

-----

They have a first official "commitment" to each other, sometime after arriving in Avernus. Once they're safely installed in the House of Hope as their headquarters and start settling in for the long-haul war against Zariel, they take some time to themselves in an abandoned wing of the building and make private vows to each other. (Think something like this scene from Aerie's romance in ToB.) Neither of them calls it a marriage, but deep down they both know they mean it just as strongly.

It's kind of a tossup that they will leave Avernus until right before they do; their several years of guerilla warfare in the Hells culminates in a massive multipart raid on Zariels' main headquarters; Zariel is killed along with a number of her main lieutenants, and the group gets away with a defecting infernal blacksmith and blueprints for upgrades to Karlach's heart that will allow her to finally return home.

(It's Cespenar. The infernal blacksmith is Cespenar. @rhysintherain generously donated this idea and I'm not letting go of it. XD )

Their first few weeks back in the Material Plane are spent reconnecting with friends, finding a place to live in the city, and generally being a bit shell-shocked that they actually made it out, but eventually they start trying to make real plans for the future.

They're both huge saps, and Karlach has been denied so many traditional life events because of her time in the Hells, so even though they're basically already married, Hector definitely makes a big deal out of the proposal. He STUDIES the subject deeply to try and do it right, combing through all of Baldur's Gates libraries for examples of romantic gestures, and enlists Wyll's help.

(Wyll has shipped them aggressively this whole time and is super excited about the romance of it all. I haven't decided on the details of who, but he also got involved with someone during their time in the Hells so he's not alone either, bc Wyll deserves nice things to happen to him also. <3)

With Wyll's help, Hector arranges a trip outside the city to an inn that sits on a very tall hilltop. He does his "official" proposal while they're having a picnic at a spot that has a beautiful view of the entire city, from the Outer City on in. It's super romantic and they're both giant saps about it. They both cry. (And then have sex behind some nearby bushes in a lovestruck haze.)

They don't really plan a huge ceremony. Mostly it's about having all their friends there (even dragging Lae'zel back from the Astral), and making the same commitment publicly that they made privately years earlier.

Karlach becomes oddly nervous about it as the event draws closer. She has a very slight superstitious streak and is still after all these years gunshy of how her life went so fast to shit all at once, and part of her feels like making it "official" is asking for something bad to happen. Hector spends a lot of time being comforting and reassuring her.

They have a night wedding. This is Karlach's idea - she knows Hector has missed the moonlight and its associated connection with Selune in all the time they've spent in the Hells, even though he'd never complain about it, so she ensures that their wedding will be under the night sky on a night when the moon will be full or near so.

He insists, as a counterpoint, that she picks the location - she decides on a place in the Outer City near where she grew up, against the water.

Father Enric, the Abbot from Hector's monastery, travels to the city to officiate. There's no best man/maid of honor concept, but all of their companions from the Absolute adventure are lined up as part of the ceremony, as well as a few friends made during the campaign in Avernus.

The ringbearer is Buddy the owlbear, bearing the rings very carefully on a pillow resting on his head.

Wyll and Shadowheart take the lead on dressing the couple, neither of whom have the faintest clue how to put together an ensemble. (I spent way too long getting these screenshots so please appreciate how pretty my babies look. XD )

Karlach, contrary to all expectations, really enjoys getting gussied up in a dress and looking pretty; it's not an everyday thing for her but she enjoys it. Hector, conversely, feels INCREDIBLY out of his element in the fancy jacket Wyll arranges for him. Wyll teases him quite a bit about it while they're waiting for the ceremony to start.

The absolute cutest part of the whole ceremony, by unanimous vote from everyone present, is that they do the whole thing where the bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other before the ceremony. Jaheira and Shadowheart hang out with Karlach helping her get ready, and Wyll and Halsin hang out with Hector, and both groups report back later that their charges repeatedly tried to escape custody to go find each other early.

When Hector does finally see her as the ceremony is starting, he goes completely slackjawed and just stares at her like he cannot believe his luck.

Karlach forgets her lines halfway through the vows and just kisses him anyway. Hector remembers them all perfectly (of course) - he just forgets to speak when it's his turn because he's so busy looking at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes. He keeps trying to go for his usual super-composed vibe and just failing utterly.

All in all it's just a massive sap-fest. Both of them feel like they've earned it, though, after everything they've been through. (Hector does feel a little embarrassed that Enric sees him acting like such a dope and not showing any of his usual self-discipline. Enric thinks it's sweet though.)

They have a big party at a local tavern afterwards, one Karlach hung out at as a teenager all the time. The innkeeper still remembers her and gives them drinks on the house and everyone gets sloshed off their asses. Hector and Karlach try to dance and both of them are pretty not great at it but neither seems to much care.

They get back home at about four in the morning, still trashed. Both of them are exhausted and ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice, but Karlach mumbles something jokingly about not wanting to miss out on her wedding night. So they end up kind of curling up together and having drowsy, tipsy, super-soft sex, drifting in and out of sleep, extremely happy.

Neither of them really can think of anywhere they'd rather be, nor do they have a day job to take a vacation from, so they don't really have a honeymoon. But nobody sees hide nor hair of them after the ceremony for a good week. XD

Bonus nose squish kiss:

#hector carlisle #bg3 fic #karlach #karlach cliffgate #karlach x tav #tav x karlach #bg3 tav #custom tav #bg3 oc #bg3 fluff #i had too much fun with this XD #ty for the ask anon!#i may come up with more to add to this in the future haha #i always love talking about these two <3

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upsidedownwanderer · 2 months

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Howdy!! I don’t know how you found this account, but pretty cool that you did! Here’s my main if you’re interested

I am Astrophel—commonly known as Astro or Xurkit—and this is a side blog where I talk about The Upturned! Yeah I already do that on my main blog, but this digs into the stuff that I feel too embarrassed to share to the population! which is just. “hey what if I made my own story off an already canon one”

#wandering rambles - off topic posts

#upsidedownwanderer - story stuff. I am too lazy to put it all into separate tags

Below are character descriptions! Ocs included </33

Mr. Me Avi - The Traveler (he/they)

A lone soul who found the Upturned Inn by luck. Although their face is always unemotional, they’re easily irritable. Their mood consists of passive aggressive muttering or screaming at the nearest moving thing from fear. His anger is never sudden, instead it build ups over encounters—he’s actually quite polite at first. A few years in the apocalypse does that to you.

Ikabod Kee - The Receptionist (he/him)

A chipper snake-like soul that is stationed at the front desk of the Upturned Inn. He’s always in a good mood, and it’s hard to crack the smile on his face! A bit loud from time to time, but that’s out of excitement over seeing another face.

Shrimp - The Anomaly (it/he)

A soul locked away in one of the asylum rooms. Doesn’t show much emotion either, only reacting to toys or food. Ik occasionally calls it “Artie.”

Sobbergritch - The Inventor (he/him)

The current owner of the Upturned Inn. Hasn’t been seen or found in a long time, as it’s been told he’s in the deepest parts of the hotel. Rarely will he interrupt conversations between Avi and Ik, and the reason why is unknown. It’s hard to tell if there’s malicious intent.

The Horseman - Death (they/he/it)

A myth to many, a man to few. Guests of the inn speak of a glowing figure on horseback guiding those out of the rain, therefore out of the afterlife. They have many titles: “Death,” “The Lone Rider,” “The Morning,” but we don’t know his actual name.

OCS!! Because they’re fun and this is MY story /j

The Widow (she/her)

A soul that sulks in her own room day and night. According to guests, she still mourns over the loss of her husband, stating that “although he left me for another woman, I still love him..” When she’s not sobbing over a man, she’s very comforting to be around. A motherly figure despite having no children.

Critter (he/him)

A lil chuckler that prefers to follow the crowd. Even when showing clear excitement about something, he seems to stay quiet, as he’s afraid of bringing attention to himself. Calls Ik quite often—the two apparently see each other as family.

Flauna (they/them)

A caterpillar-like soul that’s trapped in a floor overgrown by flora. The vines of roses seem to not let anything in or out unless you’re using the elevator. A kind soul even in loneliness. If they aren’t talking about flowers, they’re probably talking about their husband. (❤️ - Sobbergritch)

Ides (any/all)

A mysterious figure that trudges through the forest outside of the Inn. Critter and Widow have found a way to leave their floors without being caught, and have met with xim before. It’s hard to fully tell what xey look like, as her body is constantly shifting into different silhouette, but you’ll always manage to find his looking eyes.

Lars (they/he/it) (belongs to @fiowersfield)

A bug like humanoid that has been lost in the afterlife for a while! they dont have a specific place where they stay at and keep wandering around, mostly following lights that they see. they are interested in the stars and usually look up at them sometimes when they get too lost in the woods. as a hobby they "draw" ( doodles in dirt ) as a way to spend some time. usually pretty nice but mostly confused because they dont think a lot. (❤️ - The Horseman)

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cooliofango · 1 year

Text

Happy Birthday, Lin!

Twilight x Lin

@hylias-gremlin

—————

A little oneshot to say happy birthday to a new friend! I know you said that you didn’t do much on your birthday but I figured this could be the least I can do for you! A little oc insert with your comfort character to send you birthday wishes should do, right?

Happy Birthday hun! 🥳🎉

—————

The town was bustling with joy and emotion that day. The streets and the square were full with people going back and forth between stalls of food and trinkets of all kinds. The yells of the sellers echoed though the air as they tried to catch the attention of their buyers.

Lin wished she could see them some more and admire the appearance of the square a little longer. Yet she was quite literally blind to it all at the moment. “Can you let me see, now?” The girl protested with playful annoyance.

“Not yet!” The one behind her spoke with amusement as he continued to hold his hands over her eyes. If she hadn’t been with him, Lin would have to take a short guessing game to figure out which Link it was.

“I’m going to end up actually blind if this keeps up any longer, Twilight!”

“Almost there— I promise!” Twilight laughed at her joking protests with each guided step the both of them took.

Where they were going was a complete mystery to Lin. She trusted Twilight, of course. It wasn’t enough to stop the slight anxious confusion building in her chest, however.

There wasn’t any new source of sound for a few more seconds until the sound of a door opening filled her ears. “We’re going inside?” Lin laughed light heartedly. She could feel and hear the land beneath her change from the stone pathways outside to the wooden floorboards of what she could assume was the Inn. It still smelled of firewood— curtesy or the fireplace in the center of the left wall— and food from when people ordered it.

The people in the room quickly began to quiet down, someone shushing a few stragglers who’s voices lingered at the end. “What’s going on..?” Lin spoke suspiciously, her hands reaching to grab onto Twilight’s wrists.

“Three..” Twilight began, “Two..” Lin tensed with anticipation as she released his wrists, “One!”

“Happy Birthday!!”

It took a short moment for Lin’s eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness after Twilight removed his hands.

A few of the inn’s tables were pushed together towards the back wall of the room. Food covered most of the table— including a lot of Lin’s favorites! But what stood in the center was a beautifully decorated cake. The icing was a pure white with Silent Princess’s made out of icing around the desert. They practically glittered under the candle light that burned both on the walls of the inn and on the cake itself.

Underneath the table were boxes wrapped in thin, shiny paper with bows tying it to the exterior. There seemed to be eight, all ranging in size, shape, and color.

Each Link stood around the table too, smiles on their faces. They were clearly the owners of the conjoined celebratory phrase spoken earlier. Time, Sky, Hyrule, and Legend stood to the right while Warrior, Wild, Wind, and Four all stood on the left. Some posed in a gesture, hands outstretched to make the surprise factor more appealing. Others stood in a more neutral position or with their arms casually crossed over their chest as they looked at Lin.

The girl froze at the sight, barely noticing Twilight come around to the front of her with a hand resting on her shoulder. “Happy Birthday, Lin!” He was practically smiling from ear to ear, “I know you said you didn’t care too much for your birthday, but we all figured it would be worth it to celebrate. We made sure to—“

He cut himself off when he noticed the tears slowly going down her cheeks in small streams. Despite this, there was a smile tugged to her lips and a soft blush gracing her cheeks. Twilight opened his mouth to speak his worries, but was soon interrupted.

“Thank you…” Lin laughed at herself. She raised the back of her hand to wipe her cheeks dry. Why was she crying? This was the first time in a while, if not the first time ever, she had friends to throw her a surprise party like this. It looked beautiful to her— from the food, to the decorations, gifts, and, finally, who she was with.

The chatter started back up rather quickly. Most of the Links approached her with a little bit of concern, but mostly to start enjoying the party as soon as possible.

The first thing that everyone did was eat, everyone seating themselves at the tables provided to enjoy the food together. Everyone seemed to slow down after a while. They didn’t want to get full on just the food when there was cake to be had as well. Twilight was the one who cut the cake for everyone— he made sure to cut out one of the flowers for Lin to enjoy.

Next was presents. Wind was the most eager to get her to open his present first. The box was small and thin, about the size of a large book. It was wrapped in purple paper and a light blue bow sat on top of it. It was a hand sewn shirt in the similar lobster pattern as his own, although it was in her favorite color instead of the light blue he currently wore.

Then it was Four’s gift. His box was thin— though not as thin as Wind’s— and long in length. The box had his signature four colors with a black bow to pull it together. Inside was a sword that Lin had been asking him to make for a while now. The blade shined under the light and the handle had a comfortable grip.

To pair with this, the next gift was a shield, casted with Lin’s favorite animal in shining silver. It came in a thicker box about the same length as Wind’s— maybe a bit longer. The dark blue wrapped box came from Warriors, although Four helped make it.

Legend’s box was small and could rest in Lin’s palm easily— it was clearly a ring. It was wrapped with red wrapping with a blue bow. Everyone seemed to recognize it as one of Legend’s magic rings— they were surprised he gave her one. It was the red ring, knowing to double the damage you do to an enemy you’re fighting. The ring was one of his most used ones and one of his more useful ones as well, which made it more surprising that he gifted it away.

Time passed over his present with a lax smile. It was nice to know the Old Man was enjoying himself as well during this little party. The box was more cubed than the others, golden wrap covering the box. The Keaton Mask laid within. It was one Lin seemed to take interest in when everyone was showing off masks that they owned, and it wouldn’t cause harm to give it away, so Time decided to gift it to you.

Sky was next to give Lin a gift wrapped in yellow wrapping paper and a white bow. It was the exact same shape as Wind’s gift box, but what was inside it was a white cloth with blue stitched designs on it. It was just like his own, but it had the same design the shield she previously got had. The fabric was extra soft in her touch.

Wild’s gift box also was a similar shape to Wind and Sky’s, but it was thicker and wrapped in green wrapping paper. In this case, it was an actual book. Inside were recipes of the meals he’s made— it was a little long due to how many there were, but it was helpful.

The final gift box came from Hyrule, it being a purple, rectangular box. It was tall and a bit thin as it stood upright. Inside were blue candles. Hyrule explained that they were used as both weapons and to see in the dark.

Lin sat the box aside, originally assuming that it was the last of the wonderful gifts she received from her friends. It was a thought that quickly vanished as Twilight finally approached with his own gift.

In his hand was a small, magenta colored, velvet satchel. The bottom weighed down a bit as he picked it up by the string and held it out to her. “I figured we could save mine for last,” His tone laced with slight amusement as the bag dangled from his fingers, “I’m a bit surprised you didn’t notice me grab this while we were out earlier, though.”

Lin stared at him confused, “You got me something while we were out in the market?” Her hands closed over the bag and pulled it from Twilight’s grasp. It wasn’t really heavy, but there was a noticeable weight in her palm now from whatever was inside.

“Yeah,” As Twilight began to speak, Lin started opening the bag, “It may not be something really useful like how most everyone else got you, but you seemed to like it a lot when we passed by the stand, so I figured I’d get it for you.”

Lin held up the crystal necklace she had saw at a jewelry stand that morning. It was a cloudy blue color with silver metal swirls holding it into the base. It hung on a silver chain and it shone gently on the light as well. Carved in the base was her initial. The necklace was simple yet beautiful.

Looking back up at Twilight, she smiled, “I love it!”

His shoulders visibly relaxed and a warm pink hue spread along his cheeks. He was relieved that his intuition was right, and as she put the necklace on, he came to like it as well. It was beautiful on her.

“Happy Birthday, Lin.”

—————

Aaand done! I hope you like it! Sorry if some parts seemed to drag on or if it’s not the best but I wanted to go with something cute~

#happy birthdayyyy!!#🥳🎉🎂#I hope you like your present 💕#linked universe #linked universe oc #linkeduniverse #loz #loz oc #the legend of zelda oc #legend of zelda oc #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda #twilight princess #lu twilight #loz tp #loz twilight princess

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liloinkoink · 1 year

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i love your writing agh. ive always wondered what your process is- like, on starting to write a fic, do you set up notes for the universe or the scene or do you just write jump in and build on the first draft? i just think that stuff is interesting to talk about

ooh thanks for asking! it's a really fun question i would be happy to answer. i will say, there's really two main ways i approach writing, so i'll tell you about both. im going ot mostly use lamplight pieces as an example since lamplight is on my mind, but feel free to ask me abt other fic as well

.....im gonna readmore this bc otherwise itll be long, but the tl;dr of my process is a focus on the question "what's the point?"

so, point. usually when i write something, i try to have an outline, but i rarely stick to them exactly. take 20 questions from lamplight (picked bc its like, 500 words, so if you dont know it its a quick read). i didnt make an outline for this one bc it's so short, but if i did, id have probably said something like...

ren and martyn traveling sometime in the middle of the plot. introduce the way they communicate--lighting up for yes/happiness, dimming for no/displeasure. make it clear the fire is ren despite the fact martyn isn't using his name, include the fact ren is a god (but martyn is still martyn about this), include martyn's armor being enchanted by ren

what im doing with this outline is three things. one, the literal plot. two, the details i think are most important to include, three (and most vitally) the purpose of the scene.

as i said, to me, the most important question in planning writing (or in writing in general) is "what's the point?"

20 questions had a lot of different driving points, since i was trying to introduce basically the entire concept of the au in a short amount of words. ren's mode of communication, status as a god, and allusions to his powers, plus his relationship to martyn, their general situation... when i opened notes to write 20 questions, i asked "why am i telling you this? what's the point of writing this?" and the answer was "introduce lamplight," so that's what this fic was.

in most of my oneshots, the point is usually some emotion im trying to evoke or an analytical idea i want to share. the points are, honestly, usually what i start with when planning these. theyre me going i need you to understand this, so how am i going to tell it to you? the point of the rhythm of cold fists for example is that i think scar threw the finale fight, so i was trying to examine what would have lead him to make that decision.

(this is the oneshot i thought was quickest to explain the point of, originally i picked a different one and this paragraph was MUCH longer)

in longer stuff i usually keep notes like.... an upcoming lamplight piece (if you dont mind spoilers) im considering is this

first few days of traveling, before the inn scene and ren is in a lanter. martyn accidentally drops ren into water/a river. establish ren's fire cant be put out + ren and martyn have a more comfortable relationship than normal paladins and gods (cuz other paladins would Not get away with this). martyn's trying to decide if he's fine with following ren and being able to laugh this off is how he does that

so ive asked myself: whats the point of this scene? well, martyn is trying to figure out if he likes ren or not in the first week of meeting him, or if swearing himself to ren in a moment of desperation was equal to / worse than the place they were escaping. he cant talk to ren and find out ren's a decent guy, so hes going to have to find out through an accidental test of ren's character: royally fucking up as a paladin and seeing how the god hes following handles it. its also establishing a worldbuilding detail (ren cant be put out) on top of defining their relationship. lots of points being made here in both this specific instance and the world/plot at large

for all this ive said abt lamplight and outlines... none of lamplight until this week has had outlines. ive been mostly just jumping into my third life fic with no plan, driven literally EXCLUSIVELY by asking "what is the point?" and a desperate need to answer it

often with unoutlined pieces, this is paired with a specific visual i want to achieve. the tavern piece was more visual than point driven, and the visual was... actually the idea of embers in the burning building surrounding martyn like fireflies. i abandoned that visual for the idea of ren materializing in the flame, however, bc once i thought of that it became the driving visual i needed to see realized instead

i actually abandon details like that a lot in my writing. ill plot a scene based on 10 details and 2 points, and ill change 9 of those details because i found different ones while the points don't really budge. honestly, i hardly even look at my outlines when im actively writing--ill reference them when i start a new scene, but theyre really more for organizing my thoughts into clear points. my missing or obstructed outline doesnt look anything at all like what ive written, but the points of the story are all in-tact.

...this is long enough as is so i wont talk abt my thoughts on first drafts and editing them, but i do have them. i hope this was interesting to you, bc i had a lot of fun thinking about it!

#oink asks #anonymous #lamplight au #(a little)#if you want an essay ask me the point of might be best to not look back #bc i typed a TON abt that and then went hm. thats not the Point of this ask

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lou-wilham · 1 year

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“What the fuck,” Rus muttered, her gaze fixed on the Moondale town sign. She’d said she’d never come back to this place. But that was the thing about where you grew up: it had the power to drag you back like the fucking Bermuda Triangle. And Rus would know—she’d been to the Bermuda Triangle four or five times in the years since she’d left Moondale behind. The particulars weren’t important. What was important was that Rus was sure she’d wind up there four or five more times before she died.

“Rus?” Nesta tilted their head, a piece of floppy black hair falling into their eyes. They looked just how Rus remembered them, and she still wasn’t sure how to feel about that. But she’d likely beg for Nesta’s skin care regime before the day was done.

“Nothing. Let’s just get this over with.” Rus shook herself and jerked her gaze back to the view through the windshield.

Moondale looked different and yet the same. It had sprawled out past the little dot on the coast where its founders had originally settled, up into the mountain beyond to include a ski lodge and even a few big-name hotels. Of that Rus was grateful; she didn’t think she could stay in one of the inns in town with the kids. Not if she wanted to keep the Board of Magic off her ass for more than a week.

Nesta was still glancing at her from the driver’s seat. Rus could feel those cunning eyes looking for . . . something. Maybe some sign of what Rus was thinking. They wouldn’t find anything. More than a decade spanned between them, and Rus had learned long ago to keep her thoughts tucked away where they couldn’t be used against her.

“I just can’t believe you became a realtor.” Rus tilted her head, letting a teasing smile tug up the corners of her mouth. It would hopefully be enough to keep Nesta from asking inconvenient questions.

Nesta shrugged, turning down one of the side roads off Main Street. They were headed toward the older part of town, the buildings around them changing from relatively modern retail to small suburban homes to Gothic-style houses that would make the Addams family jealous.

“How did your parents take it?” Rus pressed. Anything to ignore the way her stomach was writhing with nerves. She hoped she wouldn’t see anyone else she knew, not before she was settled. But in a town that hardly had more than a few thousand residents to boast, that was likely impossible. At least she’d be at work, so Rus could avoid that particular awkward encounter. “I mean . . . a cupid not becoming a matchmaker for the board? That’s—”

“I told them I didn’t think the board would be using matchmakers much longer,” Nesta said, and they sounded smug about it. Like they’d realized a new hairstyle would be trending long before anyone else could.

“And?” Rus had to know, because she could just imagine old man Holyore absolutely losing his shit at his child chucking tradition out the proverbial window. He might quiver right out of his beard.

“And they didn’t agree . . .” Nesta’s mouth twisted up into a knowing smirk, their eyes still firmly on the road. “At first.”

Well. That sounded like a story and a half. One they probably didn’t have time for, and it would likely require wine. Lots of wine. Rus snorted, rolling her eyes. “Okay, but a realtor though?”

“Why not? The same principles apply. It’s all about listening to harmonizing energies. And this house?” Nesta put the car in park outside of yet another Gothic-style house perched on the far end of one of Moondale’s more ancient-looking cemeteries. “It wants you, Rus.”

“Ew. Don’t make it sound creepy.” Rus huffed, her hand twitching to give Nesta a fond shove, but she resisted the urge. They weren’t friends like that, not anymore. So instead, she turned her attention to the house.

Rus blinked up at it. It looked like something out of Hansel and Gretel, with a small porch, three walk-out balconies off the rooms upstairs, and a legit tower. Or . . . maybe tower wasn’t the word for whatever that was, but Rus imagined the room on the first floor would be the perfect place to put a reading and playroom for the girls, and the second an ideal shrine for their parents’ tablets. The only thing was—

“Nesta, you are aware that this house is . . . pink, right?” Rus cocked her head. It wasn’t unbearably pink. It didn’t reek of Barbie Dreamhouse. But it was most definitely a shade of pastel that Rus was sure she’d never worn in her entire life.

“Lilac, actually. And what’s that saying about not judging a house by its siding color?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing.”

“You ready to see inside, or what?” Nesta asked, already reaching for the door to climb out.

Rus nodded dumbly, scrambling from the car to follow them through the little wrought iron gate and up the walk. The door opened onto a small foyer bedecked in black walls, and a little gray bench off to the side with hooks hanging above it for coats.

Nesta was saying something about the history of the house, and the remodeling, and something about all the furnishings coming with the place if that’s what she wanted, but Rus had largely stopped listening. Because the house—157 Mourning Moore—was exactly what Rus had always imagined when she’d thought of a home for herself. The walls were all black, but there was enough natural lighting about the place that it didn’t feel dark and gloomy. And there were pops of color here and there: A throw pillow on the bench in the foyer. Silver birch tree wallpaper in the study. A collection of velvet pillows in the strange round room of the tower that Rus had decided would make a great study and playroom. It was—

“Who’s watching the kids?”

“Huh?” Rus shook herself, tearing her eyes away from the frankly spectacular nursery. Aihuan was a little old for a crib, but that was an easy enough fix. She’d love the brightly painted forest critters on the black wallpaper. “Oh. Their Uncle Fernando. But I can’t leave them with him long, or by the time I get back they’ll have given him a makeover. Buzzcut included. Meiling is a menace.”

“Fernando?”

“Yeah. He’s one of the witches I met online. Good kid. Little awkward, but who isn’t these days? He’ll be moving in with us for a bit until we’re settled in and we can find him his own place.” Rus paced to the window. The view from the nursery was of Moondale, and not the cemetery. She’d have to check to make sure Meiling’s window didn’t overlook it either. Neither of her girls needed to see the spirits that were standing on the edge of the property looking up at the house. Even now, Rus could feel their gaze on her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Really, she’d thought the board had Rules about letting spirits languish without rest like that. But then . . . maybe they hadn’t had another medium in town since she’d left. And if those spirits weren’t doing anything other than just floating around, no one would notice them outside of a medium.

“Is he your . . . ?” Nesta drifted off, their perfectly plucked brows turning down to wrinkle in the middle.

Rus laughed. “Goddess no. We’re just friends. He’s good with the girls, though.”

“I see. Well. There’s still the attic.” Nesta gestured to the narrow stairs that led up to the last room in the house.

“Lead the way.” Rus gestured for Nesta to go first and followed them when they turned on their heel to head upstairs. She’d have to set wards to make sure the girls didn’t leave the house without her knowing if she wasn’t on the same floor as them. But what was magic for if not to keep her girls safe?

The little door at the top of the steps opened to a large bedroom with stripe charcoal on black wallpapered walls, an awkwardly cut ceiling, and a heavy-looking fourposter bed. In the one little nook in front of a window that overlooked the cemetery was a small desk, which would be perfect for Rus’s more . . . unsavory experiments. And opposite that was a small bathroom with a clawfoot tub, two tiny stand sinks, a toilet, and a plant in front of a window that would definitely not live to see the end of the week if Rus had anything to say about it.

“Okay. You’re right.” Rus laughed a little to herself as she turned to tip an imaginary hat to Nesta. “Me and this house are soulmates.”

“I hate to say I told you so—”

“No, you don’t.”

“I’ll go grab the paperwork out of the car. Meet me on the back porch. And feel free to look around the yard.”

“Is it screened in?”

“Would I show you a house with a porch that wasn’t?” Nesta winked, and then disappeared down the steps.

Rus went back into the bedroom and turned on her heel, looking around. It would need some personalization, but she could see herself being quite happy there. “Well,” she said to the house because places, like people, liked to be acknowledged. “I hope you’ll take good care of me and my girls.”

The house didn’t respond. They never did. But when Rus made her way past the nursery again, the crib had been swapped out for a little gray loft bed with a slide and a toy chest underneath. And, she supposed, that was enough of an answer.

The yard abutted two sides of the old cemetery, which seemed to have been built around the house instead of vice versa. Rus exhaled loudly, her breath pushing strands of chin-length bright pink hair out of her face.

“I’m going to have to do something about you, aren’t I?” she said more to herself than to the spirits toeing the line between the yard and the cemetery. There was no fence to distinguish one from the other, but it was clear where her yard ended and the graveyard began because the spirits wouldn’t cross the property line. “The worst part is, the board probably won’t even give me credit for it. They’ll attribute the lowered negative energy to like . . . their attempts to promote unity through more frequent clan and coven meetings or some shit.” Rus snorted, rolling her eyes.

“It’s warded.” Nesta slapped a manila folder down onto the back porch table.

“Hm?”

“The whole property is warded against malignant energies. That’s one of the selling points.”

“Who did the wards?” Rus sat in one of the wrought iron chairs and started flipping through the contract, pretending to read it. They both knew that was bullshit; Rus had never read paperwork a day in her life. But she liked to pretend she was an adult who considered big commitments like a house carefully.

“Crimson Tide Coven.”

“Of fucking course it was them.” Rus huffed. “You think Greer will be super pissed if I take them all down and put up my own?”

“Probably. But when was the last time you cared what Evander Greer thought? Plus, if you sign here”—Nesta tapped the paper with one neatly rounded fingernail—“it’ll be your property and there’s nothing anyone can say about it, not even the sheriff.”

“Doesn’t mean the board won’t try,” Rus grumbled, grabbing the pen to start signing her life away. “Wait.” She stopped halfway through the fourth page. “Did you just say sheriff?”

“Yeah. Sheriff Evander Greer.” Nesta tilted their head, but their mouth was twitching up at the corners.

Rus groaned, dropping forward to smack her head on the table. It hurt. But likely not as much as a run-in with Sheriff Greer would. “Remind me to stay out of his way for the next like . . . hundred years or so.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. I’m sure he’s not still holding a grudge because of the time you—”

Rus lifted her head just enough to raise one brow at Nesta.

“Well, maybe he is. But either way, you’ll be fine. I mean, you’ve got your girls, and the house, and the business. There won’t be time for you to stir up trouble.”

Rus continued to stare at them with the same brow lifted.

“I won’t tell him you’re back in town, and maybe he’ll never find out?” Nesta sagged.

“That’s all you had to say.” Rus sat up and went back to signing the papers. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come back, though. We could have gone . . . somewhere else.”

“Why did you come back?” Nesta pulled out a chair to sit across from her, their face suddenly open with curiosity.

“Moondale’s got a good school system for witches.” The lie slipped easily off her tongue. It wasn’t even really a lie—Moondale did have an excellent magical school system. But she was sure she could have found someplace equally as good in Europe if she’d wanted to. Or even taught the girls herself. But there was safety in a place as steeped in magic as Moondale was. The very earth the place was built on would give off enough ambient energy to hide Rus and her children. Or so she hoped.

“Fine. Keep your secrets.” Nesta leaned over to watch Rus scrawl her untidy signature across page after page of legalese.

Rus lifted the pen to shake out her hand where it had started to cramp when she finally got to the last page.

“So, are you going to see Azure?”

Rus’s hand jerked, the pen skittering and leaving a nasty mark across the page that she was sure Nesta would need to reprint. “What?”

“Azure Elwood. Are you going to go see her? Does she even know you’re moving back?”

“I’m pretty sure Az hates me,” Rus said, instead of telling Nesta that no, Az did not know she was moving back to Moondale. She finished the final signature with a flourish then pushed the folder over to Nesta for them to sign.

“Hate isn’t the word I’d use.” Nesta closed the folder with a snap.

“What?” Rus frowned.

“What?” Nesta tilted their head, their nose crinkling up in an expression of innocence that no one who knew anything about Nesta Holyore would ever believe. “You can start moving in tomorrow. You’re keeping the furniture, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t have any of my own, so.” Rus stood, stretching out her neck from side to side where it had grown stiff from being hunched over the papers.

“All right then. I’ll have my crew come by and help out if you need it?”

“That’d be great. I have to finish opening up the shop tomorrow, and Fernando needs to be there to help wrangle the kids while we work.”

“You know, I never asked.” Nesta headed back through the house toward their car. “How old are your kids?”

“Aihuan will be four in October. And Meiling just turned thirteen. I’ve already got her signed up over at Moondale High.”

“Ah, so they’re . . .” Nesta drifted off, looking like they expected Rus to fill in the blank of what they were trying to say. But Rus had spent the last six months filling in the blank for people, and she wasn’t about to do that. Not here. Not anymore.

“They’re amazing,” Rus said. It didn’t matter if they weren’t hers biologically—they were hers in every way that counted.

“Right. Well, you can stay the night here if you want.” Nesta pulled a key from their pocket to hold out to Rus. “I’m sure the bedding is clean. The house generally takes care of all that.”

“Before you go, can you tell me what happened to the previous owners? I mean . . . it’s so well-behaved, I can’t imagine a magical family just up and leaving it.”

“Well,” Nesta said, a little smile crinkling their eyes as they looked back to the house. “It’s got a bit of a sassy streak. I guess the previous owners didn’t find that amusing. But I’m sure you’ll get along with it just fine.”

“A sassy streak?”

“You’ll see.” Nesta winked, and then they climbed into their car and pulled away from the curb without another word.

Rus crossed her arms over her chest and turned back to the house. The little cherry blossom out front was swaying gently, its orange and red leaves falling to the ground in a hush.

“You’re not going to give me any trouble, are you?” she asked the house.

The house didn’t respond.

“Didn’t think so.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Fernando. “Hey. You can bring the kids to the house. I’ll send over the address.”

“Do we need to bring the truck?” Fernando’s voice was soft on the other side of the line, but Rus could hear Aihuan squealing at something and Meiling talking probably too loud for the small hotel room.

“No. Nesta said they’ll send by movers to help us. We’ll deal with all that tomorrow. For tonight I’ll just order us a pizza, and we can rest. Do you need me to come help get them in the car?” A crow cawed, its black body swooping low over the cemetery to better assess the threat levels before Darcy came to rest on Rus’s shoulder, his talons digging into her thick hoodie. “Cause if not, I’ve got some cleaning up I need to do around here.”

“I don’t think so.” Fernando was smiling into the phone; Rus could hear it. “I think I’ve finally figured out Aihuan’s car seat.”

“If you need help, just ask Meiling. She knows what to do. I’ll have dinner waiting for you guys when you get here.”

“Is that Aunt Rus?” Meiling asked in the background.

“Yes.” Fernando pulled his face away from the phone, and Rus could imagine him turning the full softness of his smile onto Meiling.

“Did she get us a house?”

“Yes! I got you a house!” Rus shouted into the phone, her excitement unseating Darcy, who cast her an annoyed glance that she shrugged off. “The perfect house! You’re going to love it, A-Ling!”

“YEEEEEEEEES!” Meiling cheered. “Huaner! We have a house!”

“We have a house! We have a house! We have a house!” Aihuan shouted, feeding off her big sister’s excitement. It sounded like Fernando had put Rus on speaker.

“But that means you two need to help Uncle Nando get packed up and get over here so you can see your rooms.” Rus felt her cheeks aching from the smile that split her own face.

“Okay!” Meiling called, and then Rus could hear some commotion on the other end as she presumably got to work picking up all of Aihuan’s toys or maybe just shoving stuff into the oversized duffle Rus had left on the floor by the door.

“You sure you don’t need me to come help herd the cats?” Rus asked with a little laugh.

“No. I’ve got it covered.” Fernando’s shirt rustled against the phone as he too began to help packing. “I think you managed to get all the really important stuff into the car before you left.”

“Toys are important!” Aihuan shouted.

“Right, sorry, of course, Huaner. Anyway, we’ll see you there.” Then he hung up, and Rus was left standing on the porch of her new house, listening to the silence of it. Darcy settled on her shoulder again, giving his witch an affectionate nip to her ear. A gentle reminder.

Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn her head, and she saw the restless spirits on the edge of the graveyard again, turned milky in the fading light of early evening. “Right. Got to deal with them real quick before the girls get here.”

She tucked her phone into her back pocket and strode across the yard.

GRAB YOUR COPY

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lakehouse-loser · 2 years

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puppet headcanons!!!

ive been plannign this pos for weeks! now i have to wake up at like 7 tomorrow and its the middle of the night so perfect time for me to write it out!

i dont know how long this will be just a warning!!! this includes everything from the puppets' personalities to physical and behavioral quirks to relationships!

ok so generally i think all the puppets have personalities that are larger-than-life because they are puppets. generally symbols of childhood folly and entertainment. goofy ah puppets

Jester:

this bloke is much sweeter than we tend to give him credit for... sure hes a lil bitch but he will always be there for his friends. he has a surprising amount of strength and know-how as we see in some scenes of the films. when he displays emotions they are always comically overdramatic like the clown he is. he has a hard time displaying his sorrow, though. when he feels genuine sorrow he tries to mask it with his dramatic flair. blade, leech, and decapy can see when hes really feeling low though, and cheer him up when they detect that melancholy. jester's also super sarcastic. sarcasm is roughly 70% of his humor

Torch:

torch is like that one guy who WILL do ANYTHING. if he sees a wild animal he WILL try to pet it, if he sees an interesting plant he WILL try to eat it. even so, he wont do something unless he's absolutely convinced it will have a good outcome for him or his friends (this doesnt mean its true, he just thinks so). hes a little dumb but supremely kindhearted. he never understands jester's sarcasm or jokes and the others have to explain them to him. he has a very literal sense of humor. hes always expecting the best out of people, and can get disappointed very easily. he can only see in shades of red.

Blade: ok so lets get one thing straight torch and blade are boyfriends, blade is very nervous and jittery. he has nervous habits of twitching and fidgeting with stuff. he scratches up furniture like a cat when hes feeling uneasy or restless. hes sleepy a lot because hes always unconsciously keeping himself still, also he stays up late a lot spying on the current enemy. hes easily spooked. he's an awkward and clumsy guy, but he tries to be serious and stay on task. he notices everything. he can also only see black, white, and green. he and torch ponder the concept of color together a lot. he dreams about hands. he collects bones

Additional Blade and Torch Thoughts:

-they nap together often

-blade explains jester's jokes to torch all the time

-they try to cook together because knife+flamethrower, it doesnt work out and they have to throw their food in the sea because it is so foul

-they have a shared goal of someday getting onto the roof of the inn. they dont know what they want to do up there but they want to go

Pinhead: he is the big brother. hes usually very calm and patient and rarely raises his voice, usually only at jester or six. one of his eyes stays shut because of (good and understandable reason). his eyesight is not too keen. he thinks about pronouns sometimes, what are his pronouns. i know he likes trucks, hes probably taken one from an enemy before. hes trying to build a mechanism so he can drive it on his own. hes not a very big talker but hes known to take part in conversation when its needed. he carries the other guys (except torch, torch too big). he likes to give them piggyback rides. he has a secret passion for poetry and occasionally he will write some of his own. he doesnt think its very good but leech woman has read a few of his works and if you ask her she will write you a 5 page essay on how compelling and thought-provoking his words are. he can pick up things 10 times his size/weight like an ant

Sixshooter: always on the grind. he is an alpha male. he gets hella bitches. he loves doing target practice. he's actually responsible for a miscalculation of the local woodpecker population, because "damn theres so many holes in these trees, must be a lotta woodpeckers over here!" we all know he can climb like a motherfucker, he can probably go upside down too like a bug. i saw our friend mountain dew glowstick flavor say that he can stand on the ceiling and i agree. he could also swim well hypothetically, but he's too nervous to try that out. he watches workout videos and works along with them even though he is just a little puppet. he laughs at every one of jester's stupid jokes, and his laugh is BIG and LOUD. he giggles his cheeky little giggle very often as well.

Tunneler: truly an anomaly. truly an enigma. he once heard the myth of "digging to china" and it didnt go very well. He's jammed his drill multiple times from getting dirt and grime in it from digging so much. he doesnt think he needs to worry about it that much because he's a PUPPET, so he's basically IMMORTAL right????? he mixes leaves and dirt in puddles and pretends to make soup. he likes to hang out with sixshooter and jester and laugh at the goofy jokes they crack. here and there he'll crack one too, but its much stranger and usually will just be met with weird looks. "why did the chicken cross the road? ground beef wholesale." he's a little socially awkward, but he doesnt realize it. he's very easygoing and doesnt really notice as many issues or disturbances as blade does per say.

Decapitron: decapy is like that one guy in a cartoon that explains the moral of the episode to the other characters. like in sesame street, he'd be the human and the other puppets would be the, well, puppets. he's very nice and calm like pinhead, but he doesnt ever raise his voice, even at six or jester. he likes to problem-solve and do critical thinking. he loves figuring out new things. he approaches everything with a very open mind. since he's kind of like the messenger of andre he sometimes gets random flashbacks to things andre experienced. sometimes theyre nice but often times theyre memories of elsa's death or the burnt up puppet theater, and they'll shake him up for a few days. he doesn't usually talk about this issue to the others, though. he can see a very wide range of colors almost like a bee, and often talks to blade and torch about color since they have a limited spectrum.

Leech Woman: she is totally cool! she has a bit of an interest in fashion and sometimes makes her own outfits from found stuff around the inn. she sucks at cleaning, though. whenever she gets her clothes dirty she dunks them in the ocean and gets confused when they come out all sandy. she sometimes wakes up in a cold sweat, worried about the whereabouts of her leeches. the leech she puked back in '98... where is it now? she has a very strong hunger because of all the leeches. she has to feed them as well. often times when she's getting a dose of elixir she will put drops of animal blood in it to quench her neverending thirst. but because of all that weird magic nonsense, she'll act weird and goofy for a little bit after. its worth it though! proud mother of an infinite host of leeches.

Additional Decapitron and Leech Woman Thoughts: -decapitron will clean leech's clothes for her. a devoted househusband -they watch lightning storms together -sometimes they go out and dance together when it's rainy out -leech is the only guy decapy vents (amongus) to about his flashbacks -they take early morning walks together every sunday, rain or shine, sleet, snow, or hail.

Mephistopheles (i know hes not one of the main ones but..... he holds a special place in my heart.) this will be short because i dont know how much i have to say about him. he talks in a swedish accent all the time. he can manipulate fire (yeah this is based off the comics). his orb shows him cool stuff sometimes. he pirated sing 2 and is currently watching it via the orb. he knows a surprising amount about wine and alcohol even though he cannot drink it. he can only see in black and white, but he has no desire to learn about other colors. he sharpens and paints his stupid little fingernails every week, and polishes his horns every other day.

i hope you liked my headcanons they took some consideration. some of them i made up on the spot though

#puppet master #tunneler #jester #torch #leech woman #blade #sixshooter #puppet master movies #headcanons #pm hcs #mephistopheles

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amyonrails · 2 years

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U3 - The rural subway

After my fun walk along the very short U4 I decided to take on a much longer line. The U3. This line goes all the way from the south western edge of the city, straight into the western city center to cross it and terminate in the center of the eastern parts of Berlin. I started this journey in the outskirts in the borough of Zehlendorf.

So first I took the subway all the way to the southern terminus of Krumme Lanke which is named for a nearby, very bendy lake

[platforms of a train station; the sign for the U3 station Krumme Lanke hangs over a green bench; most of the platforms is covered in shade by a simple roof but some bright sunlight reaches the edges]

And yes, a lot of the southern part of this subway line does indeed run above ground. It stays in this kind of trench though so even on the streets right next to the track it is barely audible but still gives nice views onto the trains that pass by occasionally.

[an old class G subway snakes under a bridge over a switch; the bright BVG yellow the train is painted in is a stark contrast to the the green of trees and bushes around; the destination sign reads “Warschauer Straße”]

And it is very understandable that the line was built overground here. Most of the houses are single or two family and it almost feels like you are suddenly in a village somewhere in Brandenburg.

[a side street with single family houses lies in the shade of tall trees; a few cars are parked curbside]

Alongside the track runs a footpath for a long while and most of the time it feels like you are just having a stroll through a park. In a few places you encounter streets that need crossing. This is usually where the subway stations are.

A notable station on that way is Onkel Toms Hütte named for an inn that used to stand nearby which in turn was named after an anti-slavery novel. This stations is somewhat unique in design with two strip malls each running parallel to the platforms. I was not able to get a good picture of this, as there were too many people around I did not want to include in pictures on the internet, but someone on wikipedia got a nice picture from the platform to give you an impression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkel_Toms_H%C3%BCtte_(Berlin_U-Bahn)#/media/File:UbahnOtomshuette.JPG . I kinda like this design making the station the center of the neighborhood. You can easily go shopping a bit when you come home and it fills the station as a whole with a bit more life.

Even further along the line passes the Freie Universität (Free University), the largest of the three universities in Berlin. The station here used to be called Thielplatz but with the establishment of the university its name got changed to Freie Universität (Thielplatz). Always fun when brackets become necessary in station names. That day it was very quiet, but during lecture time lots of students would come here with the U-Bahn as free public transport is included when enrolling in a university in Berlin.

And the next station after that is another treat as well. The entrance building to Dahlem-Dorf (Dahlem village) has a wonderfully thatched roof that gives it a very rural old timey look.

[a small building with a thatched roof and half-timbered facade sits in the bright sun; some moss or lichen have grown on a part of the roof]

I can very much recommend visiting the Domäne Dahlem which is literally right across the street. It is an open air museum and farm which tries to preserve and teach about old techniques for farming and craftsmanship. There are farm animals, a smithy and fields where you can learn about different crops. A wonderful thing to have accessible to city children.

[a field with green crops]

[horses stand on a field grazing]

These are pretty much just highlights. There is so much more to see and explore along the way. And maybe I will get back to some things. But for now these are the first few stations along the U3 and there is still a long way to go.

#berlin #subway #ubahn

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ghostflowerdreams · 2 years

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Ghosts Films

It’s October! The month in which I watch even more horror movies than usual. Each year I tend to have a theme to help narrow down what to watch. So far I’ve done Zombie Films, Werewolf Films, Vampire Films and Slasher Films. This year’s theme will be the paranormal, specifically Ghosts.

The thing about me is that I’m not really phase by a lot of horror movies. They don’t scare me unless it’s a stupid jump scare which is more of a knee-jerk reaction of something unexpected. But the very few movies that have manage to get to me are those centered around hauntings. Even worst if they’re base on a true story.

I’m pretty excited to dive into this since I’m usually reluctant to watch them in the first place. I’m focusing only on films that I haven’t ever seen before, even if they’ll been out for years. This isn’t in any particular order either.

1408 (2007) -- is an American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name. It is directed by Mikael Håfström and stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows Mike Enslin, an author who investigates allegedly haunted houses and rents the titular room 1408 at a New York City hotel. Although skeptical of the paranormal, he is soon trapped in the room where he experiences bizarre events.

It's a simple, but an effective thriller and this horror is definitely more psychological than scary. I enjoyed it and thought it was a neat concept because it does something different than the usual ‘oh, look it’s a scary ghost’ that most horror movies do.

The Innkeepers (2011) -- is an American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Ti West. It stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis. Its plot follows two employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn who, during its last weekend of operations, attempt to document the alleged supernatural activity in the building.

It’s fine. I like the atmosphere, but it’s very slow paced and the horror is too low key for me to find it all that scary. It is nice to see a film that isn’t all about gore, special effects, and trying to scare you constantly, but it’s just not for me. Some people may like this. Just beware that there is a few loud-noise jump scares if you’re using headphones or earphones. I really hated it when the audio unexpectedly gets loud enough to cause physical discomfort.

The Canal (2014) -- is an Irish horror film that was directed and written by Ivan Kavanagh. The film stars Rupert Evans as a father investigating a horrific murder that took place in his home in the early 1900s.

It’s okay, nothing groundbreaking though. I liked the pacing and the atmosphere, but I found it very predictable. That’s because there's only so many directions that a horror film like this can go in. Is it an evil entity possession? Mental illness? Is it an actual monster or person behind it?

Even if It’s predictable, if the story is done well enough it should leave you with a sense of dread and goosebumps at not knowing for sure which is it. Unfortunely, this film didn’t invoke any dread, goosebumps or fear in me. It’s just an okay film.

Don’t Listen (2020) -- is also known as Voces is a Spanish supernatural horror film directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández. The movie follows a man who after the inexplicable death of his young son in their new home begins to experience ghostly phenomena, prompting him to seek the help of a paranormal expert.

Well, there’s two reasons I picked this movie. I want to expand my horror palette by watching more foreign movies. And I’m also trying to learn Spanish. I’m happy to report that I was able to understand half of it without relying too much on the English subtitles.

It’s good, but it didn’t scare me. I went into this expecting one thing and it turned out to be something else. That’s not a bad thing. I just don’t know whether to still include this in the list or not. I suppose me saying that is a hint in itself that’s not entire what you think it is..

Also, as a heads up because it caught me off guard. There’s several cats seen dead. You don’t see how it happens, just that they’re all hanging gruesomely from a tree around the 53 minute mark.

We Are Still Here (2015) -- is an American horror film written and directed by Ted Geoghegan and starring Andrew Sensenig and Barbara Crampton as grieving parents who find themselves the focus of an attack by vengeful spirits.

It’s great! The film didn’t waste any time and dive right into the spooks. It’s not scary for me, but it was still fun and entertaining to watch.

Housebound (2014) -- is a New Zealand horror comedy film written, edited, and directed by Gerard Johnstone. It is his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Morgana O'Reilly as a woman sentenced to house arrest in a potentially haunted house.

It’s great! It’s a perfect mixed of horror and comedy. I had fun watching it and would definitely recommend, especially when you want something that’s not so heavy on the horror.

The Devil's Backbone (2001) -- is also known as El Espinazo del Diablo is a Spanish gothic horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro, and written by del Toro, David Muñoz, and Antonio Trashorras. The film is set in Spain, 1939, during the final year of the Spanish Civil War.

After losing his father, 10-year-old Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucia School, which shelters orphans of the Republican militia and politicians, and is taken in by the steely headmistress, Carmen, and the kindly professor, Casares. Soon after his arrival, Carlos has a run-in with the violent caretaker, Jacinto. Gradually, Carlos uncovers the secrets of the school, including the youthful ghost that wanders the grounds.

It’s more sad than frightening. Sure, it’s advertise as a horror movie, but it’s actually a melodrama. There’s still ghost(s), but they’re not the main focus point. I’ve heard that this film is a spiritual companion piece to his Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and I can see why.

It shares similar themes and is also set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, a brutal conflict that turned ordinary men into monsters. The Devil’s Backbone is great, but I prefer Pan’s Labyrinth a whole lot more because I feel like it goes to a another level.

The Cellar (2022) -- is an Irish-Belgian supernatural horror film written and directed by Brendan Muldowney and starring Elisha Cuthbert and Eoin Macken. It follows a family whose daughter disappears in the cellar of the large estate they have just moved into.

I enjoyed it! At first I thought it was going be a typical haunted house story with maybe a demonic possession thrown in. But no, it pleasantly surprised me by going in another direction and I wasn’t expecting it at all: cosmic horror.

When it hit that point, it got me so excited and I was like yiss. I wanna know more. Some of my excitement fizzed out when the other layer was revealed, but not enough to ruin the whole thing.

I’m surprised there aren’t more people talking about this movie. So I looked it up and I don’t know why the critics are being so harsh on it with their ratings and reviews. It’s not 2-stars or trash. I’ve seen terrible films and this isn’t it. It’s not perfect. There are some parts that could’ve have been trimmed down, removed or improved upon, but for being filmed during COVID, in which wearing mask, social distancing and quarantine was in full effect, it turned out pretty decent.

Give the film some slack. They made do with the situation, their low-budget and time constraints. Oh, I didn’t find it scary, but I still enjoyed it. It’s not everyday I get surprised with elements of cosmic horror in a film.

His House (2020) -- is an British horror thriller film written and directed by Remi Weekes from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. It stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith. The film tells the story of a refugee couple from South Sudan, struggling to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.

It’s definitely not a 'scary' movie by any means, but it effectively uses elements of horror. I still very much enjoyed it! It’s a multi-layered horror film that’s not just about a haunted house. It takes you on an interesting journey about grief, guilt, immigrant experience and the on-going refugee crisis. It’s a really well-done film and with great performances from Mosaku and Dirisu. I would recommend!

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) -- is an American supernatural horror film produced by Gold Circle Films and directed by Peter Cornwell. The film is alleged to be about Carmen Snedeker and her family, though Ray Garton, author of In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting (1992), has publicly distanced himself from the accuracy of the events he depicted in the book.

The film's story follows the fictional Campbells as they move into a house (a former mortuary) to mitigate the strains of travel on their cancer-stricken son, Matt. The family soon becomes haunted by violent and traumatic events from supernatural forces occupying the house.

Eh, it’s okay. Throughout the entire movie I kept getting the sense that it was familiar. I was drawing a blank, but it wasn’t until halfway into movie that I remembered it.

This is the problem with including older movies onto my watch list and not keeping track of what I’ve seen already. If it's terrible, boring, or doesn’t bring something new to the genre. I will forget it.

Also, this is one of those movies where you have to constantly adjust the volume. I really hate it when the dialogue is super low, so you increase it only for the loud jump scare noise to nearly blast your ears out.

Note: What’s interesting is I went into this thinking I’m going to be scared, only to realize that none of these movies have managed to do so. I don’t know if it’s because I got a higher tolerance to spooky things now or if it’s because I’ve seen everything and it’s hard to be scared of something when you know what’s going to happen next (or can correctly predict it).

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alvadee · 2 years

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a long time ago i found this quote in a, i guess memoir, by a well known gay author (passed away in 2019). that was also for a long time one of the very few things i knew about Vic’s gay life

“Victor Buono liked the bar at the Gallery Inn, on Santa Monica Boulevard, and was about as pleasant a drinking companion as you could ask for, smart, funny, and unpretentious. We passed many a rainy afternoon sipping the grape and discussing old movies and stars. Victor’s talent was huge, but so was his size and that was a handicap to stardom, though he did a lot of theater work in Los Angeles, including a sparkling Falstaff at the Ahmanson.”

sadly that’s literally all he said about him, it’s basically just a name drop. i mean i am sad how little it is but happy how positive he too talks about him given how scandalous and gossipy the sex life of movie stars usually is discussed i’m glad that Vic’s time at that bar sounds pretty chill and not sleazy at all.

i started to look what i can still find about the gallery inn. it seems the “laurel tavern” is now in that building which apparently hasn’t changed much. i could find stuff like menus and their matchboxes but i haven’t found photos yet from it in the 70s when Vic would have gone there. also haven’t found much info how the in group talked about it back then. just the more neutral advertisements that at the most implicate that gay men are welcome. what i found out is that apparently the food was very good there, the crowd was older (30+) and the staff always good looking. seemed like a more low-key bar, no kink, no drag shows, etc. i only read about Valentine’s 2 for 1 dinner deals and new years parties where the waiters would be scantily clad.

well, anyway that’s how i ended up reading gay newspapers now from the 70s and marvel at the old ads, leather pics, personal ads, the letters page, etc. i don’t even get how allosexual straight dating works so reading how the 70s gays thought and dated is fascinating. also the slang (”tricking out” for getting sex outside of a relationship).

#alvadee's shit #vb

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whitepolaris · 3 months

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Does Jesse James Haunt the Talbott Tavern?

Here's a real slice of Americana, and a severely spook-ridden one to boot. The Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, built in 1779, is the oldest stagecoach-stop tavern and hotel in the United States. This building was well known as a must-visit place for anyone who happened to be passing through the area. Because of its central location at the junction of major stagecoach dirt roads, it was visited by practically everyone who traveled cross-country or to the frontier.

The main tavern area is preserved, looking as it did then, with only a few modifications and modernizations. Everyone from presidents to kings to outlaws made camp here: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, William Henry Harrison, King Louis-Phillippe of France, Jesse James, Daniel Boone, and many more.

Although Jesse James's ghost is claimed by some to walk these halls, we see no reason to believe that he should haunt a tavern just because he used to drink here. Ghostly activity predates his death, and in fact, James himself may have been a paranormal experience at the tavern. One night he claimed that he saw the murals painted on the walls of an upstairs room coming to life, and in his panic he shot the walls full of holes. Then again, he may just have been hallucinating on a bad batch of bourbon.

Ghosts of children have been prevalent here over the years, as well as ghosts of mysterious old men in antiquated clothing and of a woman said to be a suicide victim. She hung herself with a rope suspended from the main tavern's chandelier. Although that chandelier, which once held candles, has been retrofitted with electricity, it is still in use today.

The eerie upstairs hallways have been so many ghost sightings that the staff have become accustomed to them. Manager Jonathan Mattingly noted one guest who complained about the children laughing and running in and out of the room next door. "I had to break it to him that there were other guests in the hotel that night," says Mattingly, "and certainly no children in the building." A small display in the upstairs foyer alerts guests to the potential for such hauntings, so caveat emptor: Don't ring the front deck if you hear the pitter-patter of little (dead) feet.

Aside from the woman who took her own life, who's responsible for all these spirits shuffling around the tavern? Although it's almost a certainly that people died of illnesses and were murdered on the premises in the violent and chaotic frontier days of the eighteenth century, the most likely answer lies within two nearby buildings.

The McLean House

This handsome old circa-1812 brick building was once a post office and also a hospital that no doubt saw a lot of suffering, pain, and death, especially during the Civil War. Today it's a bed-and-breakfast.

The Jail's Inn

The city jail was conveniently located right next door to the tavern, and nowadays you can sleep here too. The structures of the jail cells have been left in their rustic and grim state, but fixed up somewhat and made into a very unusual inn. Original jailhouse graffiti still exists in some spots (including an elaborately painted winning poker hand). There's definitely a frightening and oppressive air to the building. You can't forget that you're in a jailhouse where so many troubled souls lived and died over the span of two centuries. The Jailer's Inn is owned and operated by a local attorney who's happy to give tours to the curious. Like the Talbott Tavern, the inn is increasingly popular for "ghost tourism."

A fire broke out upstairs of the Talbott Tavern in 1998, and destroyed the old wall murals that Jesse James shot with lead. Though the paintings may be ruined, the bullet holes are still there in the wall f or all to see. It has been speculated that the fire could have been supernatural as well. Renovations are still ongoing, but whoever is working there will usually be glad to take you up to what is now called the Jesse James Room for a peek at the outlaw's handiwork.

#type read #weird kentucky #long ass read #decided not to type up a story because it's way too fucking long

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kaylawilliams-photography-516 · 7 months

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Photographers

Brendan Kitto

Further consideration of some of Brendans work led me to looking through his black and white work.

Below are some of the photos from his website and instagram that intrigued me.

A lot of his photos have a key element > lack of people. They feel very still and airy. There are a lot of building, some landscape, compositions that are very well balanced and framed.

As an approach to documentative photography, it's a style I can see myself considering including moving forward.

An idea I had for telling the story of where I am in the world was to go and shoot some photos back in the town I grew up in, Clarks Beach. As a way of considering that my present also comes from a past. Just as something to consider more than anything and again what I will explore over break.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3017009/last-house-standing-a-photog-captures-the-lonely-signs-of-gentrification

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nzg.12349

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jessjustplay · 2 years

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16 Likes & Dislikes about Final Fantasy II

I loved Final Fantasy I and I was excited to play the 2nd game in the series. When I first started playing Final Fantasy II, I thought the game was going to be just like FF1. I was right, but also very wrong! While both games have many similarities (like graphics or the same FF theme of "the world is in trouble"), I think their differences is what helps each game stand alone.

There were things I liked and disliked about Final Fantasy II, but overall, I really enjoyed the game! It was challenging but fun and that's exactly what made the final boss win feel extra great! With that said, here is a list of things I liked and disliked about the 2nd Final Fantasy game.

8 Things I Liked/Loved:

1. I loved that when an enemy dies, the attack still goes to another enemy. In FF1, if your target dies, then the character "misses" their hit. It was so annoying - I'm glad they changed that in FF2!

2. I liked the speed-up function inside the dungeons. If we could do this in FF1, I wasn't aware of it.

3. I liked that the shop music doesn't change inside villages. FF1's shop music was lowkey annoying, lol.

4. I loved the "Town" theme itself - it is one of the prettiest town themes in the series! I'm glad it plays throughout the villages, including the buildings you can enter.

5. I loved that the characters had their own personalities in this game. Each person we met was so different and it was fun getting to know them. I really liked Maria, Gus/Guy, and Leila!

6. I loved the magic system and that all of my characters, regardless of "class", were able to learn the same magic abilities. It reminded me a lot of the Materia system from Final Fantasy VII.

7. I LOVED that we could save on the world map! It was still tough not being able to save inside dungeons, but being able to save on a world map right outside a dungeon was so much nicer than having to find my way back to an inn.

8. I really like how linear and complete the story feels. Just like with FF1, there is a problem and it needs to be fixed. The game is wrapped up nicely and it really feels like you completed a journey!

8 Things I Did Not Like

1. Poor Probability of Fleeing

For the most part, Flee would work effortlessly, but other times, it was impossible for my party to run away and it gave me major anxiety when I was close to dying!!

2. Limited Number of Item Inventory

We were only allowed to carry 63 items, that includes equipment, battle-only items, and key items. 63 sounds like an okay amount, but I found myself discarding a bunch of items a few times because I needed more space (and I wasn't around a Shop to sell them off).

3. The World Map Kinda Sucks

They tried to do a 3D sphere model of a world map, and it just didn't work. A standard flat map would have been much better.

4. Making Money in the Beginning Feels Impossible

Enemies drop very small amounts of money and there aren't enough treasure chests that can help. FF1 gave us a lot of money through treasure chests, but this one doesn't. It makes buying important items like Gold Needles and Ethers in the beginning very challenging! Thankfully, as you progress through the game, you start saving up more.

5. Stat Increase/Decrease

When a character gets stronger in one area (Intelligence), I think they get weaker in another (Strength). For example, if I have Maria casting a lot of magic, her Magic skill increases but her Strength/Attack decreases. I didn't like that.

6. Only 2 Items In Battle

I wish there was a full Item list available during battles. Having to set 2 items was a challenge because I didn't know what I would need! I usually just had each character carry 2 Ethers to help my already-full inventory. SIGH!

7. Leila Leaves 😢

I really liked Leila. She was my favorite "guest" party member and I'm sad she wasn't a permanent part of my team!! She was funny, so strong, and fast!

8. Inn Prices Change

The prices to rest an inn would change all the time depending on my health and MP. I didn't understand why it was happening at first, but then I learned that the less HP and MP I have, the more it costs to "charge" back up to full health. Kinda lame, in my opinion... but it wasn't the worst thing ever. I made a habit of healing up the most I could and that helped lower the rates.

#final fantasy ii #final fantasy #game review

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apompkwrites · 3 years

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reader impact || fan service scene: resting with you

series masterlist characters: diluc, xiao, zhongli genre: fluff summary: the creators of genshin impact have graciously gifted the players with a fan service scene featuring you! notes: i know dill's doesn't contain sleeping in your lap,,, i'm sorry but i hope you like what i provided :))

diluc -

diluc isn't one to have many sleep issues.

until the nightmares kick in.

whenever he can't sleep, he tends to just sit in his house.

it's always quiet.

not something you'd want after a nightmare, but he deals with it.

it's better than trying to expose himself to thousands or even millions of people.

but one night, after a particularly harsh nightmare, he remembers that the next day was supposed to be when he streams the newest genshin update.

but, he's already up...

and...

he probably will try to take a nap later today anyway...

soooo.

"i know it's a bit of an early, or late, stream but i was already awake."

his stream is definitely worried because this is the first time he streams at like 2:00 am.

he won't address it, though.

they don't need to know, anyway.

he pretty much tries to ignore any questions about his sleeping habits and opts to answer them very vaguely.

he is excited to play the update because he knows there's some more (name) content :))

he'll get everything done that he needs to do like commissions and events from them nice nice primogems.

and then here he is, ready to start the newest feature.

go to the angel's share.

ah yes, the place his character officially met you for the first time.

(he definitely has issues with interacting with patton before going inside)

the quest basically has diluc go around to collect more things needed for the winery.

pretty simple quest.

canonically, the quest takes the mc a few hours to complete because the materials are everywhere.

so a cutscene plays when he gets back to the dawn winery, which is where charles told him to bring the materials.

he walks inside and there you are.

greeting him with a brief nod and a wave of your hand.

mc drops the items on the table, ready to turn around and leave for another commission.

until you call out to him.

"ah, traveler."

mc turns back around and walks back to stand next to you.

you stand up from your chair and place a hand on their shoulder.

you stare at them for a moment.

"...i apologize. you must have been traveling for a long while to get the materials."

mc tries to wave you off.

"no, no. you'll hurt yourself. hm... come with me."

you literally CARRY MC TO A SPARE ROOM.

EXCUSE ME YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT SO CASUALLY?!?!?!

anyway, you pull up a chair next to the bed before placing the mc on the bed.

you simply sit in the chair, quietly stroking your thumb along the mc's arm.

"take a break. i'm sure the adventurer's guild will do just fine for now."

diluc is trying his hardest to hold back tears.

he just... really needed this.

xiao -

it's widely known amongst xiao's community that he has insomnia.

he talks about it a lot on how he has trouble sleeping and he even streams on the nights where it gets so bad he doesn't like being alone with his thoughts.

such is the case here where a new update drops and he's up and ready to play.

he greets everyone briefly as they enter the stream, rubbing his eyes and letting out small yawns every once in a while.

they always know when it's an especially hard night for him, so they come prepared with (name) emotes to try and cheer him up.

they don't have the heart to spoil him about the new update and what it includes.

of course, there will always be that one person who tries to spoil something.

the chat sees that and just spams (name) emotes to hide it.

and since xiao is pretty sleep deprived at this point, he doesn't notice.

now he's ready to actually play.

he'll complete his daily commissions and anything else he needs to get done before checking out the newest features.

he does know that there's a part in the update that features you :0

he doesn't know what the actual update is but he just knows that he'll be able to see you again :))

so he's going through the update, right?

just admiring you even if he's half asleep.

and here comes the part that actually almost put him to sleep right there.

his mc and you are walking down the streets of liyue and it's all dark.

there's a few lights here and there.

you two are walking down to the inn he had first met you at.

passing by the boss lady at the front counter.

walking up the stairs.

and there you two are, on the very balcony he ad first seen you on.

"...you seem tired."

his character doesn't say anything (as expected) but just rubs their eyes and nods.

pain is floating beside you two before going off towards the kitchen downstairs.

now it's just you two.

"you should take a rest."

your voice was so soft :))

you look around the balcony before sighing, taking a seat on the ground.

his character stares at you for a bit before you pat your legs.

"i told you to rest, didn't i?"

?!?!?!?!

YOU'RE TELLING HIM

TO LAY DOWN

ON YOUR LAP????

ASJHAKDHAK

ahem.

anyway.

his character takes a bit before finally letting their head rest in your lap.

he's thanking whoever animated this part because it's a POV shot from the mc.

he's just staring up at you.

you're looking down at him with the softest expression he's ever seen.

"...rest now. i won't let anything harm you."

his chat is freaking out.

he's almost asleep at this point.

life is good.

zhongli -

zhongli doesn't have a lot of sleep issues either...

if he did, he'd probably just drink some tea and try to sleep again.

he isn't the type of stream late at night/early in the morning.

because of this, he plays the newest update for genshin at his scheduled time.

some people who watch him are going to bed though, so it's late at night/early in the morning for them :)

he knows this and tries to tell his viewers to get proper rest.

"it isn't good for you to stay up so late."

he really cares about them :))

he's happy to talk to them though.

(he definitely knows people like his voice so he's happy to help them sleep by talking to them)

his daily objectives take longer considering he's taking the time to read to his viewers.

of course, all of the things he's reading are genshin based.

more specifically you, but they don't mind.

anyway, he FINALLY gets his stuff done.

now he's finally ready to start the new (name) quest.

he's like... one or two hours into the stream already.

but he doesn't mind longer stream, especially when it concerns you.

go to third round knockout

ah yes, the little restaurant you go to for stories about yourself.

and, of course, there you are sitting at your usual chair and drinking tea.

you invite him over to sit down, which causes another cutscene to play, talking more about your adventures as a god/dess.

and, to zhongli's delight, the quest fully begins.

the quest follows you and mc going around lie, exploring different areas while you talk about what you've done there in the years you've been alive.

it's a more chill quest that features lore and character building :))

and then you get to a more secluded spot in lieu.

just the two of you.

the sun has already set and the stars are shining down on the two of you.

zhongli isn't saying anything, reveling in the silence as if he were actually there, standing next to you.

and then your character takes a seat in the grass.

and mc follows suit, sitting beside you.

it isn't long before zhongli's character begins to drift off to sleep.

and that's when it happens.

you reach over and pull mc into your lap, your storytelling continuing as if nothing happened.

"this may be awkward, but i noticed you were falling asleep. go on ahead. i'll be happy to share my stories to help you rest."

zhongli, once again, isn't saying anything. he simply lets the cutscene play.

you're still recalling tales of your past, calmly telling them to whoever was listening.

it's calm and quiet.

and zhongli now knows why people love hearing him tell stories as they sleep.

because he is definitely getting that same sensation hearing you recall your past.

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boldlyvoid · 2 years

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Cowboy Like Me | Chapter Four: Perched in the Dark

Summary: Aaron Hotchner ends up in Georgia when he goes into witness protection with his son. Staying in the guest house behind a bed and breakfast in a town no one has ever heard of, run by the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.

Chapter Warnings: the retelling of past stories including; Infant death, breakups, fertility issues, miscarriages and talks of grief. smut, penetrative sex, oral (female receiving) let me know if i missed anything

Word Count: 4.7k

Masterlist

Spring has sprung in Evermory.

The snow melted long ago, Valentines' day brought the love and the rest of February flashed by like the flood in the fields. March, however, was the start of baby month on the farm.

The animals had started giving birth, so far they had 3 new baby goats, a new calf and at some point, between now and April there was going to be a new foal. However, the animals weren’t the only ones in complete baby fever.

Hiding in the stable, she has Aaron pressed against the pillar as they share a few kisses, his hands are in her back pockets and their chests pressed together. His beard is rough on her cheeks, her lips will no doubt be chapped later on that night, but she couldn’t get enough of him.

It’s soft and slow at first, building like a barn fire over time. He plays with the hem of her shirt, slowly slipping underneath to touch her skin with his mildly cold hands. Her hands wandered his shoulders, around to the nape of his neck and into his hair.

It’s beyond glorious to feel loved, to share something so sweet and personal with the man who’s weaselled her way into her heart after so many years of it being empty. She could only fill its vacancy with the inn for so long, but the rightful owner has finally come home.

When he starts to kiss down her neck, she can’t help but giggle, “hey, no lower, remember.”

He nods against her skin, “when you let me, I’m going to kiss every inch of you.”

She doesn’t mean to moan, burying her face in his necking kissing him back to make up for the embarrassment she felt, “what was that?”

“Nothing,” she whispers back, kissing right under his ear.

“My God, I love you,” he grabs a handful of her ass, tugging her in closer.

She giggles, “I love you, too, cowboy.”

It’s the truth, she’s not been able to stop reminding him and vice versa. She tells Jack the same thing daily when she tucks him in at night and when she sends him to the bus in the mornings, these two boys were her life now.

“Do you think I can show you how much soon?” He whispers with pleading eyes, “I still promise I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighs, “I know you’re mine. It’s more than that…”

He nods, “I’m sorry, it’s selfish, I just… god, you make me feel like a teenager again. I want to love you all night long and wake up beside you the next morning… I want every day into forever with you, you know that… right?”

She nods with a soft smile, “and I believe it, I’m just afraid once I say what I need to say, I can’t take it back and it’s not something I talk about with anyone… 3 people know what happened but all different parts, no one has the full story… I don’t want to scare you away.”

“It’s not bad, right?” He whispers, “I won’t want to kill anyone after?”

She shakes her head, “no, it’s just sad.” The tears well. “I don’t like telling it, I don’t want to, but I know I have to tell you eventually if I want to move on and be okay.”

“You don’t have to worry about me viewing you differently,” he’s honest. “You know the worst things I’ve done, it’s all in my file, and you love me more than anyone I know. I don’t think there is anything you could do to make me leave.”

She wipes her tears off her cheeks, “you’re lovely, you know that?”

He nods, “you tell me that a lot, you’re just as sweet. Actually, you’re about 200 times better than me, sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you…”

“You don’t always get what you deserve,” she teases, leaning in closer and pressing the tips of their noses together, “sometimes you get something better.”

“That’s why I love you,” he steals a kiss.

“What are you doing later tonight?” She pulls the trigger, today was as good a day as any to tell him the truth, there wasn’t a real downside to telling him, other than ugly crying in his presence, but she’ll never not feel loved by him.

“I have a phone call with a pretty girl around 10,” he teases, they talk until one of them falls asleep every night, no matter what.

“What if I sneak you inside and we have a talk in person?” She offers, even though he’s never been in her room before.

“Really?” He brightens up again, “like for a sleepover?”

She shrugs, “we’ll see.”

—

He’s nervous.

No about learning all the ins and outs of her past, but because the next step after this is sex. It’s been so long since he’s slept with someone, he knows he hasn’t forgotten but he wants to make it special.

He doesn’t know how to make it special when he’s unsure what scares her so much.

“Hey Ed,” Aaron pats his shoulder as he makes his presence known. “Can we talk?”

He nods, “sure thing, what’s goin’ on?”

“Uh,” he rubs his jaw as he looks away, “I need to ask you something… personal.”

“Yeah,” he springs right into dad mode, walking with Aaron towards the barn and away from listening ears. “What’s up?

“I’m incredibly in love with your daughter,” he announces with a small smile after.

“Are ya?” Ed lights right up.

He nods, blushing fiercely and turning away to hide his smile, “I don’t want to get into specifics, but uh— well, she’s going to tell me all the big life stuff she’s been through later today and I was wondering if you knew what her favourite flowers or chocolates are? I want her to feel comfortable and happy after it's all said and done.”

“Well,” he smiles right back, overjoyed for the both of them. “Her friend Willow owns the flower shop down the way, she’ll be able to help you in that area… I think as long as you listen and understand her feelings, you’ll win her over for sure.”

“Thank you,” he starts thinking of a plan right then and there.

He’s going to get her some flowers, he’ll get her dad to keep her busy after dinner while he lights candles and makes the living room all cozy for their chat. He’ll get her favourite wine, make a picnic of all her favourite snacks and comfort movie. He was going to make this as easy as possible for her, and even if it wasn’t easy, she’d be able to recover well.

“Do you think you can keep her busy after dinner, don’t let her into the main house till like 8?” Aaron asks.

“I sure can try,” Ed is so excited he reaches out for Aaron's shoulder and shakes it, “I’m so happy for you kids.”

“What else do we have to do here today?”

“Nothin’, go do what you’ve gotta do,” Ed smiles, “get goin’!”

“thank you,” Aaron taps his arm before heading away.

He doesn’t change, he hops in his truck with his muddy boots and takes his cowboy hat off. It was so funny to him how completely different his life was now, compared to last March.

The flower shop is right beside the bakery, he heads in there first for a coffee and grabs one for Willow as well, asking for a handful of sugar packets and some milk and cream in a to-go bag, he heads next door with a smile.

“Daren,” she lights right up when she sees him. “I still don’t have the seeds in that you ordered, yet.”

“That’s okay,” he places her coffee on the counter with the extras for it, “I got this for you, didn’t know how you liked it so I got it all on the side.”

“Thank you, this is so nice,” she genuinely overwhelmed. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well,” he suddenly feels bashful. “Y/N and I are doing something special tonight and I wanted to get her some flowers, and I wanted your help creating the best bouquet for her.”

“Ah!” She squeals, something Aaron was getting used to with the women in this town. Whenever something good was happening, if someone they knew came back to town, when they saw each other at the grocery store on a random Tuesday in Hockley… they all squealed like that. “I’d love to!”

“Perfect,” he smiles right back, “I was thinking orange pink and blue, cause she reminds me of the morning sky.”

“You, Daren Colt, are a true romantic,” she swoons. “Y/N is so lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, how are things with you and you know…” he isn’t sure if she’s open and out or if Y/N wasn’t supposed to tell him about Dorothea.

“Good,” she smiles, “We talked the other day, I’m going to LA to spend a week with her in April… I was going to ask Y/N if she could come water the flowers once a day for me?”

“I can do it,” he offers, “what week in April, cause Mack has spring break and he could help.”

“The 9th to the 15th.”

“Perfect, drop a key off before you leave and we’ll take care of everything,” he agrees.

“You are too kind,” she’s grateful. “Let's get these flowers going.”

—

Her dad talks her ear off after dinner, helping her with the dishes while Aaron and Jack are off somewhere. She thinks it’s all a plan of sorts, sensing that the boys knew something she didn’t and it was bugging the piss out of her. Her dad was a gossip, she knew that, but the questions he was asking tonight were just ridiculous.

“So did you hear about Beyonce having twins…?”

“Okay,” she’s had enough, placing her dish towel down, “what’s going on, are you trying to stall me?”

He sighs, “Aaron’s setting up something in the main house for you, he wants me to keep you preoccupied.”

“Oh,” she drops the tuff guy act, feeling all warm and gooey inside as she filled up with love. “but, yeah, I did hear about her having twins… she’s very lucky.”

“So, you're tellin' him tonight?” He jumps right to the important question.

She nods, biting back a smirk, “you might want to stay somewhere else tonight… I’m asking him for another baby too.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Jack and I are watching a movie tonight and I’m putting him to bed, then I’ll be sleeping in the guest room,” Ed explains his plan.

“You really planned everything,” she’s so surprised. “You’re okay with all this?”

“You’re in your 30’s,” he reminds her. “I don’t care if you fuck the whole town or if you only sleep with him for a baby, live your life however you want, you deserve to do what makes you happiest.”

She can’t help but laugh, “you’re wild.”

“It’s why your mom loved me,” he smiles back fondly, “you’re so much like her, I’m really glad you finally have someone, and that it’s Aaron… he’s a wonderful man.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she wraps her arms around him and hugs him close. “I love you.”

“I love you, sweet pea,” he kisses her head like he did when she was a little girl.

They go back to cleaning and chatting, all while her mind keeps thinking of what Aaron could possibly be setting up in her house.

Jack's actually the one that comes to get her, he knocks on the door with a small bouquet of flowers and a smile, “dad’s ready for you whenever you are, mama.”

Her heart swoons as she goes in for a hug, he’s been calling her mama a lot recently. Holding him tight and close to her heart, where she wanted to keep him forever, “You are so sweet, just like your dad.”

“Can I put these in water for you?” He references to the flowers.

“Yeah, of course,” she pulls away and starts looking for a vase and filling it with sink water, “where do you think we should put these?”

“On the reception desk?” He suggests, taking the paper off the flowers and placing them carefully in the vase.

“Sounds like a plan,” she follows him through the doors and into the main entrance of the Inn.

He places them on the desk and smiles back at her, “there, now I have to go find grandpa Ed, we’re watching National Treasure tonight.”

It makes her laugh, that's a very odd choice for her dad, but they’ll love it. “Have fun, can I have a hug before you go?”

“Of course, mama,” he gives her a big hug, kissing her cheek before he pulls away, “have a good night.”

“You too, honey,” she watches him leave, she still has to lock everything up and then she’ll go find Aaron.

She’s nervous but so ready.

She walks in to find her living room full of candles, the fireplace going, blankets all over the floor and a nice picnic for the two of them to snack on later.

“Hi,” Aaron’s voice is soft and delicate, an indicator of how he wants tonight to be.

She’s overwhelmed, it’s a lot to take in and look at all at once, there are more flowers like the ones Jack brought her, in vases all over the room that looked brand new. “What is all this for?”

“When I tell someone a secret from my past, I sometimes wish I could do it in a kind and comfortable place, where nothing can hurt us and the past stays in the past, so I thought I’d make that for you,” he explains. “There are pillows and blankets to be safe, the fire for background noise, the candles are scented and the food is in case you want to eat your feelings away… I also have an assortment of movies in case you want to just forget it all and cuddle after.”

She walks right into his arms and holds him tight. Making a home in his heart was the most rewarding thing she’s ever done for herself, she was fully safe with him and she couldn’t be happier. “I love you, Aaron.”

“I love you, too,” he kisses the top of her head. “So where do you want to start? How should we do this?”

She tugs him to the ground, sitting together and facing one another as she smiles, “I want to tell you the story first before anything else tonight,” she explains, “I think it’s time you know.”

“I want you to know that it’s okay to cry and if you can’t get through it, I’m fine not knowing all of it,” he prefaces.

She sits up straight as she sucks in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she begins, “My mom’s best friend growing up had twin sons 3 months before I was born, Scott and Jeremy, and they were my best friends for my whole childhood.”

“I’m guessing there was a bet going for which one you’d pick to marry,” he lightens the mood and she manages to smile.

He knew how her town worked so well, he’s probably already profiled the whole story in his head and is now just waiting to see how much he got right on his own.

She nods, “yeah, but it was always going to be Jeremy, he was the sweet one. He was so quiet, he was always the one keeping us in line and making sure Scott and I never got hurt or arrested… he was overly cautious for the majority of his life.”

She hates that she can still remember his words like it was yesterday, “we all graduated together and took a year off to work while Scott went to school, he was going to work on the farm with my dad and he was content and happy with it. He never told me otherwise, he moved in, that was when we lived in the old house, before the extension, and we got engaged. But it was just me who was happy about it.”

Aaron gives her hand a squeeze while holding it, letting her know he’s still there for her and that as hard as it may feel, it’s not.

“We stopped wearing condoms a few months before the wedding, I thought it was going to take forever to get pregnant so why not get a head start,” her head bows as she thinks back to it, she didn’t regret it, she just wished it ended differently.

Aaron covers his mouth, knowing where this is going.

“I didn’t get pregnant right away, I didn’t know I was until he left town,” she admits it finally and it doesn’t hurt as bad as she thought. “He knew Dorothea was in Hollywood, she had done a few commercials at that point and was on days of our lives once, and suddenly he wanted that too. He sat me down and said he wasn’t happy, he wanted to go visit her and see how easy it could be to have a great life… he said he’d be back for the wedding but he wanted an escape.”

“I’m so sorry,” he can’t stay quiet anymore, moving in closer until he’s pulling her into his lap.

She gets comfortable, wrapping her legs around him and resting her hands on his shoulders before running her fingers through his hair gently.

“He wanted a great big life, and I knew that didn’t include me,” she whispers. “He told me he was settling for what he thought was right, but he wanted to be great, and so he got in his car and he left.”

“I’m—

“And he died before he made it to Arizona,” she cuts him off.

“I found out I was pregnant the morning he died, I thought I missed my period from the stress of him leaving and then I got really sick. And then I was sick the whole pregnancy… I was bedridden, I didn’t go anywhere, the only people who saw me were my Dad, the doctor and Rebekah. I wanted to just surprise everyone and show up at church with my son on a Sunday and blow everyone's mind when they saw Jeremy in his little face…”

“Haley lost 3 babies before Jack,” he shares, letting her know he can relate to the pain before she even has to say it. “It’s the worst pain in the world knowing there could have been more little people for me to love.”

She nods, letting the tears fall as she chokes on air, breaking down finally and burying her face in his shoulder. He holds her, letting her cry and feeling her pain on the inside. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

She takes a few deep breaths to calm down before pulling away, “I knew he was sick before I had him, I had the choice to terminate but I didn’t take it. I grew my baby as long as he needed and I held him in my arms until he took his last breath and I buried him by the old oak tree where we scattered his dad’s ashes. I wanted them to always be together.”

“I understand why you’ve never told anyone all this,” he praises, rubbing her arm gently and then cupping her face in his hands, “you’re so strong, that’s a very hard thing to go through and overcome.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, her voice almost gone from crying, “you made it easier to tell.”

“I’m always going to be here for you, you can tell me absolutely anything, forever,” he promises. “I mean it.”

“Do you want more kids?” She takes her chance, thinking that questions apply to that statement.

He nods, “when Haley and I got married, we wanted a whole gaggle of kids, enough to make a small hockey team, basically… Jack is my miracle baby, I never thought I’d get more than him.”

“That's a yes?” She’s hopeful.

“Yes,” he gives her a small smile, “I’m not sure if I’m still good for baby-making… I mean, I’m good at it, just… what if it doesn’t work?”

“That’s why I wanted to wait,” she admits, “if we try and it doesn’t work I’ll be sad, if god forbid it does work, I need to do a lot of testing… and I don’t think I can go through losing another baby.”

“Me either,” he’s honest with her. “I’m just surprised you’ve wanted a child this bad and you haven’t just gone and done it on your own?”

She shrugs, “I knew the town would love to help, and he would’ve been raised without a dad anyway… I just didn’t want to do it all alone again.”

“Please, have my baby so I don’t ever have to leave,” he begs, “I want a family with you, and yes Jack is enough for me if it doesn’t work out, but I can just imagine how amazing he’d be with a little brother or sister, I’d like to experience raising my kids the right way and show Jack what I wish I could’ve given him from the start. And I want you to mother my children… I think you’re already a great mother to Jack, I want to see who else we can make.”

“You’re a wonderful dad,” she reminds him, stroking his cheek gently as she stares into his eyes, “I want you to get me pregnant.”

“Now?” He teases, looking at her with raised brows.

She nods, “now…”

His hands are on her waist as she leans back, arching her back as she lays against the blankets. With one hand, he traces a line from her neck down between her breasts and towards the button of her jeans, then he presses a kiss to her sternum. He kisses her over her clothes until he reaches her neck, that's when he lays her down completely on the floor and hovers over her.

He made a promise that morning, that once she let him, he’d lay a kiss to every inch of her skin. He undresses her ever so slowly, unsure of where to start, she just watches him look at her with a smirk. He hovers, shirtless, over her, giving her the chance to run her hands over his biceps in a way to calm herself down.

He kisses her on the lips gently, “one,” he whispers, kissing her cheek, “two.” Her temple, “three.” Her forehead, and the same on the other side of her face. Down her neck, over her chest down to her belly button, it makes her giggle as she realizes just how serious he was. She gets a kiss on the tip of each finger and all the way up her arm to her shoulder, and down the other arm.

“You don’t have to keep going,” she whispers, wanting to move on to more than just kisses. She was desperate for him, and by the smile on his face, that was the thing he was going for.

He knew that gently paying attention to her body in such an intimate way was a good introduction to feeling fully safe with him, and therefore, aroused and ready for more. He was happy to oblige, pressing their chests together as he went in for another kiss on the lips and breathed her in.

She wrapped her legs around him, trapping him there while her hands laid on his cheeks, she hadn’t been this close to a man in so many years, she forgot how magnificent it felt.

The feeling of skin on skin, the building heat, the sweat behind her knees, how fast her heart could beat… it all felt so easy, so routine, she got lost in the way they fit together so effortlessly. Grinding together, she can feel how hard he is in his boxers, wanting to just jump right to the good part but also wanting to savour it.

He breaks their heated make-out session to kiss down her neck once more, “are you a foreplay person?” He whispers against her skin.

She nods, “I think so, it’s been a long time.”

He weasels his way between her already spread thighs, kissing the inside of each one before pulling her underwear off. He drags his beard along her inner thigh, nipping and sucking at the skin where her underwear once laid, he continues laying kisses to every inch of her that he sees. He finally spreads her open, kissing her clit before going in for a taste.

Her hands find his hair again, she holds on as he keeps going down on her, it’s so much better than she ever pictured it being with him. She writhes against the blankets, moaning into the darkness of the room and it makes him go even harder. He’s wild for her, full of lust and willing to do anything to please her to the fullest.

It’s easy to get lost in the feeling of his tongue on her, allowing him to bring her right to the edge and savour it as she cums with a gasp. Her grip on his hair tightens, riding the high as he keeps going. “Aaron, baby,” she’s breathless, “please?”

He looks up at her, grinning with accomplishment, “Please what?”

“Make love to me,” she whispers, begging with her eyes as she watches him sit on his knees.

Perched in the dark, she leans forward to be closer to him again, holding him so they’re chest to chest, “are you sure.”

“More than anything,” she looks from his eyes to his lips, colliding them once more. Her taste is still on his lips, he moans into her mouth at the way she grinds against him, wanting him inside her more than ever.

He lays her back on her back, slips out of his boxers and runs his cock along her folds, “ready?”

She just nods, reaching out to help him guide himself inside of her and then it happens. The magical feeling of him stretching her open, inch by inch he slips inside until they’re flush together again. He starts to lightly thrust, kissing the side of her neck and playing with her one breast, kneading it softly in his hand.

“I love you so much,” he pants in her ear as he picks up the pace.

She moans in response, it’s all so much and so wonderful, she wants to hit pause on the world and just live here for a while. It was everything she ever wanted and more. When she imagined the day they’d get to do this, it never occurred to her that this would be the best thing that ever happened to her, even if she didn’t get pregnant she wanted to feel this with him again and again, bringing back a new meaning to sex that she’s forgotten about all these years.

It’s not just a means to an end, it’s a bonding moment where two people are frozen in time, connected as one person and sharing the purest pleasure they could from one another. It’s peaceful, it’s their time, it’s everything.

“Right there,” she gasps out as she gets close, he keeps hitting all the right spots putting her right on the edge again.

“Cum for me, baby,” he whispers against her neck, pressing sloppy kisses there as he tries to keep the same rhythm.

She can tell he’s just as close, the way his hips sputter and his grip tightens. His breath is heavy and rigid, he’s so ready to give her his all when she wraps her legs around his back and changes the angle so he can go in deeper.

“Fuck,” he can’t take it anymore, pounding into her with more force, her legs start to quake as her orgasm builds.

She cums with a shout, sucking him in even deeper, Aaron stills as he finishes as well. The both of them scramble to feel the other, moaning contently together in a symphony of pleasure, the euphoric high of loving each other was never going to dissipate.

“You’re mine forever now,” he says between deep breaths.

And she hoped to god that their forevers were the same length of time.

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