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bowieandqueen11 · 3 months

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Distraction / Dracule Mihawk Imagine

Request: Hello! I was wondering if I could request a Mihawk x Reader that’s kinda enemies to lovers. I’m super in love with the whole ‘they hate each other but their constant bickering is bordering on blatant flirting’. Thank you so much ^~^

Babes you are so right!! This is so sweet oh my goodness!! :) Sorry if this is really OOC, its my first time writing for Mihawk!

This was fun to write, but it took me a while - so if you liked it, or if you want a follow on, please leave a comment!

Warning: a little strong language, mentions of knives!

(I do not own One Piece or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @bangnyfes.)

☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°

The exhale that left your nose at the sound of his voice would have been squally enough to shatter stone.

It had only been a meagre three days of uninterrupted peace before the cursed Dracule Mihawk arrived. Three. Days. True, your Captain and your fellow Red Haired Pirates had spent most of the hours here celebrating: emptying your dwindling crate supplies of poor Lucky Roux's lamb legs, unloading all the bottles of sweet liquor graciously donated to Shanks (or wily guerdoned by a female admirer off the coast of Syrup Village), and dripping every bottle dry until half the crew was splayed out on hammocks, and the other half was link-armed dancing underneath the endless ocean of drifting stars.

'For someone who's supposed to be a lookout, your observational skills are... well, decidedly more lacking than a sea cow's.'

As much as you loved Shanks, sometimes you wanted to grab his shoulders and give him a hard shake, trying to wipe that shrewd smile off his face. You hadn't even been granted any time to properly wake up; you had flung your arm over your squinting eyes, desperately trying to figure out why there was a looming shadow growing on the edge of your vision. Turned out, that as soon as that blasted coffin-shaped cruiser had come cruising past the white shores of Shank's base island, the man had nearly tripped over his feet to come leer over you like a grinning meerkat.

Look out duty? He had put you on look out duty!? With the brutish, blazing sun scorching across your bedraggled head? With the salty spray of the spring sea stretching its foamy fingers up across the shore and chilling your feet on this dusty, forgotten pocket of the East Blue? With the infuriating, pestering, testing, teasing Dracule Mihawk? Part of you was exasperated: you had been hoping for at least a week of recuperation before Shanks sailed off again for Yukiryu Island. Another part of you was dissatisfied that it had taken the swordsman so long to show up.

You hum in response as Mihawk's lengthening shadow shudders across your eyelids; feeling the cool chill that followed the flick of his coat around his boots, you don't even bother to open your eye and glare at the man. Instead, you dig your heels further down into the wet grains: legs stretched out and arms crossed tightly around your chest, lounging against the cragged edge of mossy crevice behind your back.

'I noticed you', you reply after a moment of pregnant silence. You fidget, trying your best not to give away the fact that your back was starting to ache from staying so *nonchalantly* perched in this position; to not give the man any ammunition. It really, really did not help your pride that his piercing eyes seemed to be mocking you with the way they glance obviously down the curved outline of your spine. Casting it away as vicarious embarrassment, Mihawk is almost ashamed with the burning realisation that his eyes had been trained over the years to be almost painfully conscious of your every miniscule mannerism.

'I just didn't think it was the effort to open my eyes', you sigh, tilting your head back towards the sun-strengthened field of bright blue swaying across the far yonder. 'There's no threat nearby. Unless-', you beckon your hand out towards the tapering shoreline, 'you count some of the cockles Beckman might stand on with his bare feet.'

'That's why the Captain's always wearing sandals!', you hear echo out from the mouth of the cave looming to your right, followed by the teetering sound of uproarious laughter. Despite the noise of your rancorous crewmates, Mihaw's golden eyes never waver: their piercing intensity focused solely on the edge of your irises as you finally, with a displeased twist of your lips, blink your gaze over to settle firmly on his own.

'I passed at least three Marine vessels during my jaunt over to your little...shack.' The swordsman's head cocks in your direction: his voice is low. Guarded. Unwavering. But you're getting to him. You know you're getting to him. Trying to wash down the waves of heat that begin to flood your vexed cheeks, you curse yourself for being able to read even his most minute idiosyncracies: the way his left eyebrow raises almost a tenth of an inch when he's struck by mild amusement.

'Shack? Shack!' You kick your bare foot off the slippery edge of the lapped rock and take a step out onto the gorge of beach stretching between you and Mihawk, swinging your arms out by your sides. 'Why Dracule, can't you see this is the last refuge of the East Blue - you dare scorn an abode teeming with luxury, good-will, and free booze!'

Another exuberant cheer rings out from Lucky Roux, as the unmistakable sound of two tankards slamming together, followed by a faint slosh and cry of outrage from Yasopp follow in quick procession.

The only hint that Mihawk has heard them is the slight narrowing of his eyes.

'It's not your fault, Hawk-Eyes.' You try to stifle your facetious smirk, instead placing your back against the rock again and fidgeting as if settling back for another snooze. Tipping the edge of your straw hat down to cover your eyes, you duck your chin into your neck and close your eyes, knowing the blatant disregard for Dracule would drive him mad.

'Suppose your eye sight isn't quite what it used to be, considering your advanced age and all.'

The clamour of your crew drowns in your ears by the pause that follows; too obdurate to flick an eye open and observe Mihawk's indignant reaction, you instead allow the sound of out-of-tune shanty singing to be replaced with the almost still whisper of the waves. Of the slight hiss of the balled sun, as it throws down its rays and coats you in nothing but the icy tendrils of Mihawk's obstinate silhouette. Of his sharp suspire twanging in your ear, as his pointed footsteps shift the earthen grains guarding you from his propinquity.

Of his gravelly voice, nearly making you knock the hat off your head as it suddenly flows past your ear.

The sunlight floods your eyes when they finally open, until you can barely see Mihawk: just the flaxen outline of his being as he comes floating up towards you: phantom like, and yet more imposing and colossal than the threat of a thousand Marine ships protruding their helms your way.

'Enough with the pleasantries. I believe I have something that may be of interest to you.'

He reaches into the inner lining of his coat, withdrawing a rolled up piece of parchment. Although you're intrigued, all you dare to do is look inquisitively between Mihawk's outreaching hand, and distrustfully back to his unwavering stare.

Wow, he really was close. You could almost see your reflection in the immaculately polished glaze of Yoru, still strapped on his back; as it turned out, that back just happened to be jutting your way. Mihawk's spine is almost completely arching over your reclining torso, almost blotting out the fringes of the sun, his head bowing as if observing rather flighty prey. Realising you're still stubborn as always: far too headstrong to trust him, or to place your fingers anywhere that could cause you to come into contact with his skin, he sighs and unrolls the treasure map with a flick of his wrist.

You did your best to hold back your snort. Really, you did.

'What, exactly, do you think the Captain will want with a scrappy looking, filth covered, mud covered, blood covered-'

'I didn't say Shanks. I said you. Although your Captain may have been a valiant opponent many years ago, he's now half the man he used to be. '

You chew the inside of your lip, finally rolling on the balls of your feet and coming to a full stand in front of the swordsman; Mihawk, almost unconsciously, straightens his own spine in return.

'You find me valiant, ey?'

He pierces you with the most grating stare he can muster.

'I find you wanting.'

The tang of salt seething off the bubbling sea could do nothing to burn away the fizzling want and joint annoyance banging against your ribcage, nor could the cool pinch of the jagged stone distract you from how restless you were feeling with Mihawk leaning so close.

'I bet I could find this treasure before you with my eyes blindfolded and my hands tied behind my back.'

The tangy breeze curls the strands of hair loosened behind his right ear, and by all the wishes in the world did you want so badly to tuck it back into place.

'Careful now, turtle.' He takes another step forward, effectively pinning you between the cove wall and his rigid chest. For the first time since your injudicious acquaintance with the warlord, you could feel it beat... no, feel it slam almost erratically. It seemed to jolt so ferociously against his pec, if he weren't restraining himself from taking another step forward and diminishing you completely, you would have been able to feel it against the unbuttoned cotton of your shirt. 'You've been spending far too much time around Shanks. We wouldn't want to step on that shell and have it crack.'

'You want to go out searching for treasure... you? With a map that looks like it's been pulled out of a goldfish's behind.'

He takes that final step forward, and as the buckle of his belt hits against the top of your groin, you find your obstinate bearing falter far faster than you were proud to admit.

'I find myself bored, and you may provide a fleeting distraction.'

The trimmed hair coating his jaw feels warm as it glides across the side of your cheek, but you still can't help but tremble. His voice: gruff and warm as it rumbles a devastating gale across the side of your nose nearly makes your breath hitch. Nearly. But just the mere thought: the mere tremble of your pulse point as you tried to swallow back down your pride as its slippery tendrils latched and slithered its way up the back of your throat was enough to give the game away.

Your thighs tremble as his leg slid up against between your calves, and you gave yourself away completely.

Mihawk's lips turn up at the edges, and the bastard had the audacity to pin your chin between his thumb and pointer finger. Imperturbed, as if unsnarling a feeble swallow's wings clipped by a wild springe, the man looming over your torso raises your face. Closer and closer and closer: his unbreaking gaze almost unnerving. Almost. If it hadn't been for that glint of delight festering in the corner of his swirls.

'Why bother, then?', you swallow thickly. 'If it's not a challenge.'

'I may find it fun.' His hand drops down to your collar bone: his grip firm, resolute, surprisingly warm as his fingertips constrict at the feel of your bare skin.

'No, really', you manage to pant out between laboured breaths, shaking your head out to try and stop yourself from becoming distracted by the racy feeling beginning to ball in the pit of your stomach.

He was playing you, you thought, biting down on your tongue and pretending the pressure of his thumb pad faintly pressing down on the strip of skin just above your left breast wasn't making you go lightheaded. He was toying with you. Snap out of it!

'Tell me the truth, and I'll do it. Why are you really here?'

'Perhaps I just like to see you squirm, like a little rabbit...', his hand rises from his side to slide up the inside of your wrist almost painstakingly slowly, his words dying out once he's encircled the bone with his vice-like grip. The next utterance is caught only by your ear as a whisper in the wind. 'Caught in my snare.'

Although he doesn't cut off your airway - he would never do anything to outright cause you physical harm - the finger still resting on collar bone crawls across your throat. His finger nails scratch like pinpricks from sharpened knives as he claws over your pulse point, before running the side of his finger back underneath your chin.

He looks almost... contemplative, as his eyes dart furtively down to linger over the top seam of your lip.

It's the first time, during all your years of solicitous enmity, that you had ever seen him distracted.

Using the opportunity, you manage to break free of his trance - of his hold on you. Grabbing onto his sleeve, you tug him towards you with all the force shaking through your burning body, appreciating the slight widening of his eyes in surprise as you slam his back against the wall of rock. You press yourself against the taut, constricting muscles of his abdomen, holding one hand firmly against his waist. The other snakes around to pin his wrist against the scrap of trouser by his hip, every cell in your bodies ablaze as he flexes his fingers. They curl into a ball over his fist, dangerously close to brushing across the back of your hand.

He could move you, of course. If he wanted to, he could flick you off him like a stray piece of sand, dusting you off as if you weighed as much as a handful of pebbles.

But he gave it away. God, how hard he had been trying not to: how hard he was trying to stop his body from flushing an increasingly paler shade of white at how mortified he was. How infuriated he was. How ensnared he was.

He didn't move. He gave himself away completely.

All he did was tilt his head back, and half-smiled expectantly at the sound of your dagger being sheathed from its thigh-scabbard; he was intrigued by the way you jutted its tip just below his Adam's apple, tilting his face to meet the steel.

'Don't forget, I still owe you for that time on the Nammu Isles.'

He tuts, eyes shining dangerously in the glare. 'Are you talking about the time I saved your pathetic life?'

You jut your chin forward, imposing your face against his own. 'I mean the time you took my bounty. You better stop talking, oh mighty warlord of the sea, before I shave that pretty little moustache off hair by hair.'

For a moment, there's nothing but the rhythmic brush of his breath against the pursed lines of your full lips: the odd jolt of the tip of his nose hitting against your own as he observes like with the intensity and rigidness of a man possessed.

Without breaking eye contact, he makes as if to lean forward and kiss you, but instead butts his elbow into your stomach and uses your doubled-over state to swipe the knife out of your fingers.

'You may have that back, if you win.' He toys with it, almost looking teasing as he tucks the small blade into his breast pocket.

'I'll take your sword, too.' You wipe your hand across your mouth before placing your palms on your knees, smiling up at the swordsman. You would be damned, if after all this time, you would give him the satisfaction of seeing how flustered he made you.

He bows his head, trying in vain to hide his amusement. He does, however, slap at the hand that's tentatively reaching behind his back, subtly trying to latch on to the hilt of jaded Yoru.

'Of course, if you win. Such a shame that you never stood a chance.'

'I look forward to wielding that sword', you hum in a sing-song tone as you creak your back up again, placing one hand on your hip and your other pointer finger ostentatiously on your chin. Raising your eyes to the sky, you pretend to think deeply as watch two seagulls squawk, stream and tumble past each other, darting through the streaming white clouds. 'I bet I could make some delicious Aburaage with it.'

'And if I win, I look forward to taking that awful hat from you.'

Looking on in disbelief, Shanks shakes his head and tilts back to face the rest of his slack-jaw, gobsmacked crew.

'Right, bets on boys. Which of our beloved numbskulls will be the first to make a move?'

'I mean, he couldn't be more obvious!', Yasopp chimes in, fiddling some loose berries out of his trouser pockets and slamming down into his Captain's awaiting hands. 'I bet he drew that map himself!'

Benn Beckman rolls his eyes, but joins in with the circling chorus of laughter as Shanks slaps his arm against his back. 'It is the fourth time this month he's shown up with a map for Y/n.'

'Well, no matter what happens-', Shanks replies, squatting down onto his hammock again and distractedly counting through the coins he's collected, 'we have to be thankful to Y/n! After all, all proceeds and winnings will be going towards restocking our drink supplies!'

#one piece #one piece imagine #mihawk #mihawk imagine #mihawk x reader #dracule mihawk #dracule mihawk imagine #dracule mihawk x reader #opla #shanks #red haired shanks #shanks imagine #opla imagine

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eisforeidolon · 3 months

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Question: What episode are you guys most proud of, that you just made and you really knew this is something special?

Jared: What episode are we most proud of that we made - of Supernatural?

Question: Of any show.

Jared: I'll go with Supernatural because we've got some Supernatural family members up here. What episode - I guess I'll start - sorry, I hear a little "Eeeeeeeeeeee" Was E.T. just up here? Why are we hearing "Eeeeeeeee" - just kidding, kidding. I think for me, this may seem obvious, the episode I'm most proud of and the most difficult episode to shoot was the series finale. It was rough. It was really rough. And it was a weird - I think when the COVID strike happened, we got - Jensen and I got sent home from Canada on Friday March 13th, Friday the 13th, appropriately, of 2020 because they thought they were going to shut the borders down. So they were like, get across the border, go see your family, we don't know what's going on, you know, there's a worldwide pandemic. And so we had the scripts by then, we had the last two scripts of the series and we got home and didn't go back to Vancouver until August 1st-ish? So I had four months - and a half - to sit there and read through the dialogue, I couldn't read through the scene, the barn scene especially, without crying. And so I'd like go - yeah, we have a little treadmill at our house - and so I had nothing else to do, I'd be like hey Genevieve can you take the kids for a second, I'm gonna go and just get a little run in and read through the episodes. And she's like, yeah, do it. So I'd go and I'd come back and my face would be all puffy and red, and she'd be like, oh shit, are you okay? Like, thinking I got bad news about a friend with COVID or something, and I'd be like yeah, just read the finale, it's cool, it's cool. Yeah, so that was very difficult. But I was very proud of that and it was very heartbreaking as well. Guys and gals?

[Julian Richings talks about being proud he was able to hit his mark in the big boat of a car Death drove in his intro, Sam Smith talks about all the little missing pieces character moments of Mary in Absence, and Alaina Huffman reminisces about getting "to kick the shit out of Crowley" and how great Mark Sheppard is.]

Mitch Pileggi: I'm gonna keep it with Supernatural, because I've been so fortunate to have such a long career and I can't remember most of it, so I couldn't remember moments from it. Probably the hugest, one of the hugest moments of my life was the day that I met Jared Padalecki. And, I mean, I've got the job, so I don't need to say that. Yeah, he ain't gonna fire me. So it was huge, I met an individual that has been so giving and so - to my family, to me and to my family and everybody around us on the show that we're doing now. I have to say that the show that we're doing now is my favorite show that I've ever done in the forty plus years of my career. Without a question, without a doubt, if you haven't seen it, start watching, please. But I think as far as Supernatural, I didn't understand most of what that character was doing and I'm still trying to figure it out. So, I mean even Bob Singer was like, what the hell is going on with those Campbells? So. But I have to say, the scene that I had with Jensen where he turns into the Yellow Eyed Demon was a blast. I had so much fun. I got to get up and sniff on Jensen real good and it was fun, I really enjoyed doing it. And just - like for both of them, when I met both of them, I think I took Jensen aside about four days working on the show and I said I just want to say that you two guys have got your heads screwed on right. Keep it that way, because this business can really twist you up and it hasn't done it to this day, so.

#supernatural panel #albuquerque comic con 2024

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loz-3 · 9 months

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The Huntress: Summer Fun

Pairing : Loki x female reader Word Count : 1.2k Tags/Warnings : language, fluff Notes : I finally got my ideas together and wrote a second part! Read the first part here - part one

"I will return, mark my words."

And he did. A couple times over the winter months, and several more come spring. The more Loki visited, the more you felt yourself falling for the god. Usually, you were on your best behavior, keeping your inner most thoughts about him to yourself, but as of late you'd been slipping...

...he had offered to help around the yard so you asked him to chop wood for the stove. The only caveat you had was that he had to do it manually (no seidr), thinking there'd be no way he'd agree. Loki had surprised you and had done half a cord of wood in a remarkably short amount of time. When he finished, however, he had peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt and asked to use your shower. Which you, of course, obliged but not before you had greedily run your gaze down his chest. "Do you enjoy the view?" he has asked, and you had found yourself saying and thinking two completely different things.

"Nah, I'm really not that into lumberjacks." 'Holy shit, the things I'd do to you...'

Loki had snickered, acting again if he had indeed heard both versions. Directing him to the clean towels drying on the line, you stumbled out an excuse to not follow him into the cabin. "I…umm...should probably fold the rest of the laundry anyways."...

...There were some things just better left to the imagination. He was a god, you weren't. His life was fast-paced, yours wasn't. He had major responsabilities, you didn't. Plus, the friendship that had blossomed over the past months was wonderful, and there was no way you wanted to jeopardize that by saying or doing something that would chase him away.

Summer had arrived, hot and humid. The air felt thick and cloying, with no breeze for reprieve. After spending most of the day under the shade of a large tree in your yard, you made the decision to wander down to the river that flowed through your property. Tramping past the dark ferns and long grass, the oasis of cool, flowing water would be very welcome on your skin.

Back in the cabin, your phone buzzed. A message popped up on the screen 'Apologies for the lack of notice, I cannot handle another moment with these people. I shall arrive within the hour. - L'. He would not receive a response, however, as you had already left the yard.

Loki watched for your answer to his pending arrival. Usually, you would respond within a few minutes, but today the minutes ticked by and the message hadn't even been marked as 'read'. He bounced one leg anxiously, silently urging the jet to fly faster. "Sir," the pilot called out from the cockpit, "we're just overhead. You know the drill, give the compound a call when you need a pickup."

"Yes, yes. Just land and be gone, I have better things to attend to." Loki dismissably addressed the pilot, who quickly opened the hatch once the jet touched down. Peering around at the empty (but undisturbed) yard, Loki exited the jet without a backwards glance. The door closed behind him and just as quickly as it had arrived, the jet took off.

Loki had moved towards the front door of your cabin. There were no signs of struggle or anything else malicious. The windows were open, so he let himself in, calling out for you. No answer. His keen eyes took in the phone and unread message sitting on the counter. "Hmm...my darling, where could you have gone?"

He stepped back outside, checking if your vehicle was in the garage. Which it was. ‘Odd’ he thought, completing a circuit around the yard, ending at the cabin. A sudden thought crossed Loki’s mind and he rushed back inside. On the wall, you had a massive map that showed the borders of your property. The river was clearly marked and a short distance down the main trail. “Ahh, I’d wager you’re escaping the heat.”

Loki strode out of the door, closing it gently behind him. Finding his bearings, he started down the trail, listening keenly ahead for sounds of water…and you. It didn’t take him long before the faint sounds of splashing and your humming reached his ears. He slowed his pace, sauntering silently up behind you. “Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just jump in?”

"Holy crap, Loki! Don't sneak up on me like that!" You had nearly launched yourself into the water, "I didn't plan on a swim today. No swimwear or anything."

"Who said anything about swimwear?" Loki asked as he helped you to your feet. He gripped your arm, paused for a split second, then proceded to push you backwards towards the river and let go. You flailed, wheeling your arms to get your balance back, but it was no use. With a splash, you toppled into the shallow water.

Cackling, you brought yourself back to upright. The river was only chest deep, so you could easily stand in the clear, cool water. "Wow...not fair!" you exclaimed, still laughing from the shock "Give me a proper hand out of here, please?"

He reached down, crouching and extending his arms so you took the opportunity he presented. Using the riverbank as a brace for your legs, you grabbed both of his arms at the elbows and pulled. After some resistance, Loki plunged face-first into the river and ended up just as wet as you. "Now THAT was fair!"

"Hrmpf" he disagreed with a smile, pushing his now-wet hair back and out of his face. Turning away from him, you pushed yourself up onto the riverbank. There was about half a foot of height between the surface of the water and the grass-topped bank, you had to hop and use your arms to get out.

Loki watched from the water, his eyes catching on the way your soaking clothes clinged to your hips... your waist... your breasts. The cool water did nothing to alleviate the wash of heat that coursed through his veins. He stood, averting his gaze and followed your path up and out of the river, turning away from the hand you had extended to him.

'Oh.' you thought, gathering up your things to head towards home 'and here I thought we were having fun...?'

"Oh, we are!"

Loki answered your unspoken question. You froze dead in your tracks. Furrowing your brow, you glanced up, taking in the fleeting panic that flashed across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but you spoke first. "You...you just answered my thought." you stated. He nodded, so you continued, "Sooo all the times before. The things I couldn't...wouldn't say to you aloud...?" he nodded again, that miscevious look of his creeping up his face.

"Well, fuck... I ...." you stalked away from him a quick pace. Loki stopped, waiting patiently for you to compose yourself. Six paces out, you paused, whirling mid-stride and briskly advanced on him. You stood on your toes, reaching up and wound your fingers through his damp hair. You pulled. He abided, crashing his lips to yours.

"And I suppose if you're still coming back to visit...?" You asked, breaking apart to catch your breath.

He answered, saying the words against your lips "...then perhaps I feel the same."

You laughed, "I'm glad we're on the same page, tho we should probably get out of these wet clothes..."

"I thought you'd never ask."

Tag list: @navs-bhat @lokixryss

#loki #loki laufeyson #fanfic #fanfiction #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki x f!reader #loki x y/n #loki x you #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki fluff

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quality-purple-trash · 4 months

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hi @shsl-box-worshipper! i am your @codesecretsanta from this year and i apologize for the delay - finals were rough, holidays were a whirlwind, and I didn't quite have the time to reference and sketch before crimmas ^^

you may find your gift below the cut :> art + some accompanying musings that may be fun to read

the cool news is that i may have discovered backgrounds and some intentionally sketchy work to create a sense of unease. I hope anyway LOL. apologies for not being able to give body horror - there wasn't really anything I could think of with the main cast

But there is such an inherent horror within the show and soooo much of it focuses on Aelita that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to draw something with that in mind. That sense of constantly being hunted by something you can't even see? Something you sacrificed your ability to detect naturally for the ability to live in the real world? Aelita's entire existence and backstory as a whole - understanding you are an AI that someone has long abandoned to then realizing that, no, you were a real person and through technology bordering magic you've lost decades of your life.

The Hermitage I've always imagined as having the worst aura. You know how sometimes, you walk into a building, and you know something bad happened there? You can't wait to get out? Like that. A deep energy of wrongness permeates the only place on Earth that Aelita can claim is home.

We know she has nightmares. We know a little bit about what they are, but we don't know how she continues to cope after the end, where there should be no more threat of XANA. I think it's safe to assume that fear that something invisible could hurt your friends, your peers, your world... that doesn't go away. Not even knowing what was sacrificed to save you. You would always feel hunted. The knots on trees become the eye that's always permeated your life, and they are all watching you, because you've always been the keystone to its existence. How do you escape something that your destiny is so unwillingly yet inescapably tied to?

This really is a horror show, if you think about it a little too hard. Perhaps Aelita is the final girl.

bonus songs that i associate w horror-themed aelita for your enjoyment:

You're at the Party - Lemon Demon

party panic - Robopup

Don't Look Back - The Dear Hunter

Born in a Flash - Mother Mother

Special Death - Mirah

Hey Kids - Molina

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to reach out if you wanna discuss anything related :> passionate abt this subject thank you for the prompt

#code secret santa #code lyoko aelita #code lyoko #aelita schaeffer

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cheapsweets · 5 months

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The titanic Choglaem

My response to this week's Bestiaryposting challenge from The Maniculum!

Unlike the other challenges, I didn't have a clear idea how this was going to look until I sat down to this - I was in a little bit of a rush,

It's a pen and ink drawing (dark sepia ink, and a sailor fude nib) over a very loose pencil sketch mostly to get the proportions right. I wanted to do more ink drawing because I figure it'll encourage me to learn, and there are a few spots where I managed to smudge the ink with my fingers, and the ventral scales look a little wonky (clearly I need to use more references!). If I'd had more time I might have drawn more scale detail, as snake scales are really cool, but I had fun and (hopefully) learned a bit! :D

Reasoning below the cut...

"The Choglaem is bigger than all other snakes or all other living things on earth." - large snek! This immediately made me think of Titanoboa (while cool, I'm not convinced bestiary writers would have been familiar with Palaeocene megafauna) and the fabled Sucuriju of the Amazon rainforest (a massively over-exagerated anaconda). I can't think of many creatures in nature or myth (apart from lions and rocs, respectively) that eat elephants, so this was going to be interesting...

"The Choglaem, it is said, is often drawn forth from caves into the open air, causing the air to become turbulent." - I wasn't sure how to represent this, and the other behaviour at the same time. Maybe I should have included some dramatic clouds or other atmospheric phenomena; I'm going to be interested to see how everyone else tackled this element!

"The Choglaem has a crest, a small mouth, and narrow blow-holes through which it breathes and puts forth its tongue." - For the crest, I felt I had two options; either something resembling the Naga of south east Asia, or spines like an oarfish - I went with the latter. I didn't want to give it a hood, since it notes below that this creature is non-venomous, and for the same reason I decided not to give it a cockerel's crest and wattle (associated with both the anecdotal crested cobra, and of course the cockatrice...)

We also have the tips of the snake's tongue poking out of its nostrils. As for the mouth, if it's going to be eating elephants (!) I'm not convinced the mouth can be that small, so I figured that from the front, with the jaws closed, it looks like it has a small, dainty mouth (at least until it opens it...!

"Its strength lies not in its teeth but in its tail, and it kills with a blow rather than a bite. It is free from poison. They say that it does not need poison to kill things, because it kills anything around which it wraps its tail." - Now if I was being smarter, I would have looked at the difference in anatomy between colubrid and non-colubrid snakes (including boas and pythons) - I'm way more familiar with colubrid snakes, having kept a garter snake years ago!

Reading this paragraph back, I missed that it seems to whack creatures with its tail; that would have been fun (KA-POW!), but it made sense to lean more towards the constrictor-side of things in terms of illustrating the hunting behaviour.

"From the Choglaem not even the elephant, with its huge size, is safe. For lurking on paths along which elephants are accustomed to pass, the Choglaem knots its tail around their legs and kills them by suffocation." - I figured we'd have some stylised trees on either side to represent the elephant trail, and a somewhat startled looking elephant starting to get knotted up...!

I also thought I'd try putting a simple border on the picture to frame it this time round (an idea that I've definitely stolen from a number of the other awesome participants in these challenges!).

I'm looking forward to seeing what this creature ends up being :)

#Choglaem #maniculum bestiaryposting #my art #bestiaryposting

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amarriageoftrueminds · 1 year

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Ik your probly tired of hearing about the mcu and its fans but I just remembered that some on Twitter argued that it was ok that peggy carter or cyintha glass to exist in the mcu because that's one less nazi.

Like how do you miss understand a very important part of history and not understand why it's problematic to have a character who was a nazi be good this is the whole reason I don't like mcu zemo and peggy carter because I feels like it's ignoring a part of history.

Uugh. Twitter.

To say MCU Peggy is one fewer Nazi is uhhhh. Incorrect.

Because: they didn't JUST take the character design of Cynthia and leave all her Nazi behaviour in the comics.

MCU Peggy's Nazi behaviour is NOT just a one-off retconned thing from the WS movie, and exhibited nowhere else. She is linked to the hiring of multiple foundational Hydra members in SHIELD.

(Arnim Zola, shown three times if we're including other universes so it's definitely an intrinsic part of her character; she, alone, job interviewed Werner Reinhardt; she, personally, alone, hired Johann Fennhoff when he was pretending to be good, because she is The World's Most Rubbish Spy... (Fun fact, that means if you killed Peggy off in 1945 then Bucky would never have been turned into the Winter Soldier, since she hired both Hydra members responsible for his torture/mind-control!) ...Mitchell Carson, and since the Winter Soldier program seems to be linked with the early Red Room, then her buddy Dorothy Underwood the Black Widow also counts! And as the saying goes: if you have 10 people at the table and one Nazi, then you have 10 Nazis.)

...And now they've bought the comics and changed comics-Peggy to match comics-Cynthia/MCU-Peggy, their solution to all this is to claim Peggy simply didn't know Hydra were in SHIELD.

W o w.

IIRC, new-comics Peggy calls Bucky "insane" for questioning her integrity (right before she viciously attacks him of course, like an innocent person?? uhh… authoritarian much?) and she describes the mere suggestion of her knowing about Hydra as being "unthinkable".

(Well now, to be fair, everything is unthinkable when you're an idiot.)

So that's the MCU's retconned fix for this: not even claiming she didn't do it, just saying she was incompetent and oblivious for decades before. Which is also: nonsense.

Because Zola was in her bunker. Her photo and office were 1 short elevator ride away from his. He was on the front page of the news. Even if she were illiterate, he was still in the photo!

Who did she think Howard was talking about all those years, whenever he mentioned Arnim?? Where did she think he was getting all this tesseract-based innovation from, the fairies??

Most damning of all, in CATWS as soon as Steve comes sniffing round, telling her he's having second thoughts about SHIELD, her response is to laugh at him, tell him he's being melodramatic, and then that he should not focus on the past (eg. which "we" rather mucked up, she admits… that's the Royal we!) And days later Zola is free to try and kill Steve for the second time. Even when she's supposed to be demented, she's still conveniently covering her own ass!

The problem goes right back to the comics...

It was a colossal tin-eared giant oozing dick of a move to pair off Captain America, the Hitler-punching Jewish Golem, with a Nazi character in the first place.

That, and giving a Nazi character a chance to 'redeem' themselves, is directly antithetical to what Steve was created to represent, and so disrespectful of a choice for a Jewish creation (let alone one created with the specific purpose of encouraging anti-Fascism) that it's bordering on antisemitism imo. No one in their right mind would believe this specific set of Jewish creators could be cool with that.

Also, the belief (you can kind of tell they had in the Cynthia comic) that a Nazi killing another Nazi somehow makes that killed Nazi less of a Nazi?? Like, Red Skull killed her so she must be okay?? Uhh, no??

(The Agent Carter s1 book also tries to push the idea that Cynthia died to save Steve, which is - again - nonsense. If you look at the panels, all she did is throw Steve his shield in Red Skull's presence, and Red Skull shot her because he was annoyed. She didn't leap in between them or anything!)

And, to draw on that Nazi character at all, when there are multiple Cap love interests they could've used - many of them brunette too, if they were stuck with brunette casting - including at least one Jewish woman?? MCU were drawing on the Ultimates run, where iirc his love interest was a Betsy Ross (brunette!) who could easily have been swapped out for the Betty Ross from the Hulk movies who they already had on-tap, as it were.

Picking Cynthia was just an unnecessary, unethical move. That character should've been avoided at all costs, not seen as inspiration fodder (doubly so, to avoid associations with Julia Koenig, another brunette Nazi villainess - AKA Kreigerfrau - who was also was present in Project Rebirth in the comics and stole superserum for herself, like multiple villains and MCU Peggy!)

And if they were that desperate to have Steve's love interest 'know' him before the serum, then they should've A) had her actually deign to speak to him in the movie, B) just picked a damn character who actually knew him before the serum! Like his fiancée Gail Richards!

But they wanted to water down Steve's motive for fighting Nazis (because he hates them and what they represent, which makes Disney uncomfy), and water down the homoerotic undertones of his devotion to Bucky (which makes Disney uncomfy; only gay villains, pls!) So they replaced it with 'wanting to be big so he can get a girl', so that MCU Peggy could seem important to him.

Then assuming (as that creepy dead-eyed fuck Kevin Feige heinously continues to do) that being short and disabled somehow therefore precluded Steve from having a lover is so... ugh, ableist and incel-y and again completely ignores the actual character of Steve, for whom women are not and never have been the main drive.

#toAyourQ #cynthia glass #long post #antipeggy #antisteggy #p*ggy meta #steggy is hydra trash party #mcu critical #julia koenig #mcu meta #meta #more on cynthia in the comics under the cut #my salt on this subject appears to be neverending lol #old ask #dat's me #also still suspicious that you get no results when you search my blog for eg. julia koenig #kreigerfrau #steve rogers #steve meta

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mischievous-misdirection · 10 months

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(@pxison - Yonji) - Strides bordering on a power walk, Yonji was headed back to collect something he had forgotten to bring with him for his afternoon training session. Something he'd been told by a certain nosy red head that it should've been kept with other equipment but he had insisted he might as well keep it seeing as he was the only one using it. Oversight certainly was a bitch and he definitely wasn't in the mood to get reprimanded on. His whole mood shifts when he reenters his now shared bedroom with Yorin as he spots them still unpacking a box he had seen earlier on when he'd initially left the room. The contents of which were curious and he didn't know what to make of most of them. Ranging from various sizes, shapes, and colors, there was a lot for Yonji to stand and gawk at trying to figure out what any of them meant. Were they decorations perhaps? "What's all this even for?" He asks as he is tempted enough to shuffle closer and hold one of said objects in a fist finding the material rather spongy and cool. Scanning more of the objects, it wasn't until he got to those more phallic in shape that dark eyes widen and dots seem to connect.

Truth be told they probably didn't need all of this … but where's the fun in that? This is probably the first time Yorin's been truly excited on Germa. Married sex life was good but it could be better and with the proper tools her Germa prince wouldn't know what to do with himself. However when Yonji does return she's only unpacked a fourth of the large crate, all of the toys needing a good wipe down and inspection for nicks after their travels.

Yorin's very tempted to ask their husband what he thinks they're for but can visibly see him string the thoughts together which earns him a very pleased laugh. "I suppose their marital aids now." Smiling, she reaches into a long box that had been open but not sorted and pulls out a white leather cat-o'-nine-tails to wave the toy around before smacking the straps against her upturned palm. "I have a lot of things we can play with." She smirks, dragging leather tails over lumpy bags still unopened. "You liked the sounding rods then you'll like the tuning fork ones I have around him somewhere." Dark eyes glance around, sure they saw them not five minutes before. "Oh, I also have these egg vibrates you might like too." The excitement is bubbling up in her voice again, usually easy smile practically beaming at the treasure trove of silicone and leather.

"What do you like? I've got nipple clamps, collars, sooo many vibrators and a swing in here I think?" Lips pucker trying to recall months ago when the box was packed. They hadn't really had this conversation but Yorin's dominant tendencies were far from ignorable in and out of the bedroom. "There's this really soft rope." Hand reaches into a black box to produce a nearly tied bundle. "We need to install some hard points around the room but I'm sure I have enough here to tie you up." Hands clap together as if the idea dawns on them just then. "Ooo I should buy some flesh lights, maybe a few cock rings too. That would definitely make edging you more fun."

Her mind is brimming with ideas and scenarios, voice fading away for a moment, eyes darting around then to Yonji to mentally take measurements and recall their past romps. How far could she push him? Was he patient enough for heavy bondage? Did he like mild pain play? Yorin had already made it a habit to tickle his hole when giving him head to plant the idea of exploring prostate play. They made vibrators just for that, didn't they? Eyes glitter with a predatory edge as they size up his muscled physique, he was clearly in danger.

#pxison #xxx🔞#lover boy 🧅🥒#(: you've got a storm coming onion man

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1863-project · 2 years

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I hope pokemon gives us that cool arson dinosaur as a friend.

If we got a Troodontid I would lose my mind.

Troodon itself is what we call a wastebasket taxon - they used to just sort of throw things into it if they didn't fit anywhere else. More recently, they've been sorted into more accurate places, so the term 'Troodon' is a tricky one to apply - but the overarching family, Troodontids, still carries the name. That's why the one we see in Prehistoric Planet is just referred to as a "Troodontid."

What we do know about them is that they generally had large eyes and, compared to their contemporaries, large brains. They were probably intelligent and capable of more complex hunting strategies, which is why we see the one in Prehistoric Planet intentionally using fire to hunt. They did a great job animating that - you can see the intelligence in its eyes. Troodontids' intelligence is why they were chosen in a certain children's show to operate the titular Dinosaur Train:

(They should have feathers in this show too, but I digress. Although they do tend to have some tufts when they take their hats off.)

Outside of Brachiosaurus, my all-time favorite dinosaur (it's held that title since I was 4), Troodontids are some of my favorite dinosaurs because of the sheer potential they had to do some really cool shit. I've recently been thinking about how fun it would be to have one as a pet (admittedly one that would need a lot of enrichment - big brains mean big boredom if they don't have things to do; ask anyone with a Border Collie). Most of them were pretty small, so it wouldn't be a space issue!

If Pokemon went this route I'd cry happy tears. I'd have my little friend and name him Mr. Conductor and we'd have a wonderful time.

#replies #Pokemon #Prehistoric Planet #Dinosaur Train #paleontology #Troodontids

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rubythecrimsonwriter · 6 months

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!!!!! I am so excited that we will get to see the story in some form eventually! ATC is one of my favorites because there has never been much like it, with all the cousins meeting early and just being ✨them✨ together and watching the chaos around them unfold so the idea that we get to see more of that someday is so aaaaaa<3!!!!! The rewrite outline looks so cool, also like it’s gonna be more canon compliant/ see how much can be changed behind the scenes w/o really effecting the main story and that’s always such a cool premise in a fic and I am So Excited, despite how different it’s going to be from original ATC.

Have an amazing day/night/timezone:)

For the first one, at least, I'm going to be focusing more on Thalia, Luke, and Jason during the first half. I actually really like Jason, which is uhh a controversial opinion, and the only reason why I think more people didn't like him was because we didn't get a five part series exploring his adventures first. We have a list of the notable stuff he's done canonically, at the end of TLH, and I think that'd be really fun to explore with Thalia and Luke quietly losing their minds lol.

I'd love to involve Percy more in the first part, but Sally went to extreme lengths to keep Percy with her and I don't think she'd give him up very easily. Canonically? It took a Fury, the Fates, and the Minotaur to separate them for the summer, and nothing less would do it again, not even some well meaning teens that have combat experience.

I'm toying with the idea to do away with Camp Half Blood's magical border entirely. Replacing Thalia's sacrifice with Clarisse seems a bit cheap to me, honestly, and when I first did it I wasn't sure what else to do--but it would give them an excuse to say, "no thank you," to staying at Camp. The border had been there for only five years prior to Percy arriving, probably less. Most of the older demigods probably remember the days before Thalia's sacrifice, canonically, and that's why there was quiet but mass panic about Thalia's tree dying in SoM.

The first part is the one that will stay the closest to canon. The farther we get into the story, the more it will diverge.

The Golden Fleece has already shown that it's a massive power source, enough that Thalia could part from the tree and still have the magical borders there. I'm kind of idly wondering if I should establish the borders during the rewrite of SoM, and what would motivate anyone to search it out. If the borders haven't established, and Clarisse yet lives, then Grover is no longer in disgrace and is not trying to risk his life to find Pan, though he might do it anyway. I'm thinking of running a quest for Jason concurrent with the SoM arc, and maybe he gets into trouble and that's when Thalia has to go rescue him and get the Golden Fleece. The narrative parallels would be delicious, but I'm still mulling it over, and it requires me to change bits of the first part too.

(And this is why I'm doing outlines first this time 😅)

(Suddenly realizing I'm going to need a red string conspiracy board to keep track of all the moving players during all of this lmao)

Like during ATC, things would really heat up during TTC rewrite. Now you have five of the six Big Three Kids, and they're suddenly realizing what exactly is going on with their power spiderweb thing. I'd also really like to highlight Thalia's struggle with power, and have at least one supervillain moment where you can truly see the trained, dangerous daughter of Thunder. The Ophiotaurus, especially, was canonically a powerful lure for her, and she's already made her annoyance with Olympus frighteningly clear.

(If Percy regularly frightens people, demigods, and gods, without even trying to, Thalia can definitely do it on purpose. I will enjoy that more than I probably should tbh.)

My timer is up so I need to go back to restoring my window, but do send me more asks, or reblog this with something, I will absolutely talk to you more about my thoughts on the rewrite, and it helps me figure stuff out too. 💜💜

#all together cousins #asks answered

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wolves-etc · 1 year

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thoughts on The Last Of Us episode one, largely in the order I had them:

[thoughts on: 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9]

(I have some spoilers from tumblr, a vague awareness of the older gays & younger gays situations, and a friend's recommendation that I'd really like this show. I didn't realise how evocative this would be in a mid-pandemic world. the show quickly set me right.)

— all kudos and respect to mr "I have an opportunity to infodump to a crowd about disturbing fungal diseases and I am going to make the most of it." loses points for warning people about hypothetical future dangers while actively smoking at them.

— the views we get of the crowd and the host during the second half of his speech are interesting - they're so still, all rapt attention, while he's talking about humans made puppets. it's unsettling.

— and the visuals during the theme music? gross. the guy who recommended this to me is squicked out by fungus. I may have used the words "wetly unfurling" while confronting him about this.

— I'm struck by the apparent ritual of joel setting his alarm, sleeping through it or ignoring it, and having to be alerted by his daughter anyway. he's a mess. (<3)

— there's something very real and unsanitised about their home environment. sarah's presumably not the worst cook in the house, but still they're eating eggshell. there's takeaway in the fridge that tommy sniffs before having any (though I wish he didn't decide against it then put it back.)

— and joel's shirt is on inside-out. bless him.

— sarah and joel passive-aggressively siccing the neighbours on each other is bitchy and great

— the first glimpse of the unrest of the pandemic being someone visibly panicking, closing the shop, herding sarah out, telling her to go straight home? I'm trying not to do too much real-life comparing. but that's ouch.

— we have a dog!! a border collie!! mercy I love you I am giving you up for dead given the genre we're in but I very much hope to be proven wrong <3

— "three nails plus one cross equals four-given." please, please tell me people don't speak like that. lie if you must

— the mental shift from "that blurry old lady in the background needs medical attention" to "oh. oh this is a horror show, the characters just don't know that yet, oh no" was a fun one

— "and you were never gonna [get the watch fixed] for yourself" OH BOY

— it's functional depression vibes in joel and it's intense. he won't get the watch fixed for himself, and he probably wouldn't celebrate his birthday for himself either - I'd buy that the pancakes could have been more for sarah than him, but then she insists on cake, and he doesn't suggest anything he'd enjoy better. still, he seems willing to make an effort because she wants to, and that's nice.

— that moment, sitting down to watch a movie together, sarah falling asleep against him? joel's a mess, but he has a good relationship with his daughter, and that's refreshing to see. there's real love there.

— mercy is a very good dog and sarah COULD DO WITH MORE ANXIETY SLASH SURVIVAL INSTINCT, FRANKLY,

— and we get the first glimpse of joel being brutal and unhesitating when it's called for. the sense that he's already made a shift in thinking that sarah's slower to - she's scared, crying, not yet really believing that it was necessary.

— sarah in the back of the car being smart enough to put together - given what she knows - that any one of them could be infected. it's awful.

— "[they've] got a kid, joel." "so have we. keep driving." fuck

— (how must that feel for sarah? if she's the thing to be protected, it must be her fault.)

— okay the infected's too-quick movements and bird-like head tilts? very "inhuman software on human hardware." it's cool.

— this scene here, though. there's a lot here. they're saved, in the nick of time, by a soldier. the soldier receives orders that he has to double-check. joel calls him sir, says please don't, has to know what's coming. it's unfair and it's horrible and there's nothing he can do.

— and I had a lot of thoughts about that. about how the US military - quite aside from the huge wrongs it does to other countries - promises people to chance to do some good, and to be a part of a family, and betrays them on both counts. leaves its soldiers with trauma and no way to manage it. leaves them, perhaps, with chronic depression, in a job I don't even want to speculate about because neither the military nor construction work are kind to the body. it's betrayal on top of betrayal as standard. and it's cruel, very cruel, that the military betrays joel again here. (edit for reasons and for at least one "article" possibly lying to me)

— and it's a fucking needless way for sarah to die. fuck.

— okay. okay.

— we get this little reminder that the birds, the trees, the sunlight, they all keep going. no matter what goes on with humans. and I, for one, find that comforting.

— and that comfort is VERY NEEDED because holy shit it's twenty years later and joel barely even hesitates to throw a bound child's body onto the fire. (practical and brutal, when it's needed. I don't even want to wonder whether he's done it before.)

— he's still wearing his broken watch and he is very much not okay.

— tess is all steel. I'm a little scared of her as a person and I love her as a character. what the fuck are they both up to that they can handle criminal dealings like this.

— "I promised him you wouldn't hurt him, but I would very much like for you to hurt him." CLEAR AND TO THE POINT.

— no but that's a lot of fun though. clear communication, what seems like no real lies when she's negotiating with her captor, just a forthright attitude that's so easy to believe and a comfortable willingness to mislead him.

— "you don't have a fucking ear on your fucking head" would be a fun way to accuse someone of not listening

— "y'all talk it through, but please remember that I'm bleeding out." I LIKE MARLENE

— and here we see joel's fight response to trauma, which will, I hope, serve him well. that flashback was evil though.

— what the FUCK is the expression on ellie's face. is that awe. is that delight. miss, you're very fucked up, do you know that

things I expected: ellie being a murder child; joel being a traumatised badass with a soft spot for her. did NOT expect ellie to be THAT much of a murder child, or joel's soft spot to be that well-armoured. this is gonna be interesting to see.

and I didn't expect tess, who's interesting, and scary in her own right, and rugged in a way women aren't generally allowed to be in the zombie genre. this was a really pleasant surprise.

#the last of us hbo #the last of us spoilers #tlou spoilers #angst tag #orig #at the time of polishing I have actually seen and loved the next episode too #remains to be seen whether I'm gonna tidy up my thoughts for each one but I'll try #just don't look too deeply into the tangent about the military and we'll all be fine <3

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skizzix-the-best-mage · 7 months

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I really feel like I've rediscovered the minature wargaming hobby as of late. I was starting to doubt if I even enjoyed the hobby for a while but I think it just turns out I was really not enjoying 40k. Don't get me wrong. Its fine. I just don't want to play it every week.

But going forth and playing Infinity really reinvigorated my love of the hobby. It has a lot of decision points and due to the ARO system you always feel engaged in what is happening. I also just love how much tweaking and tuning I get to do by knowing missions in advance. Ive yet to bring the same list twice, now part of that is trying to learn what I like and dont like in faction but still I have a lot of brewing opportunities.

I recently picked up Marvel Crisis protocol as a side game and fell in love. Heres the thing I give bordering on zero fucks about Marvel, like I grew up on the xmen animated series but that is basically it, didn't watch any of the mcu. But even without that, the game is just a fun beer and pretzel sort of wargame. It reminds me a lot of Heroscape in that the rules are simple but the meat comes from the characters and the combat is basically the same. I would also say MCP is probably a really good gateway game for people because it is light and fast, as well as list construction at least semi casually is pretty much take the people in affiliation you like. Though I am sure you can make some kindof gross stuff by splashing out of faction characters. Like recently I've been runing Ebony Maw with Magneto and its pretty damn good.

The game just oozes flavor though, one of my favorite bits is throwing terrain and characters. Its a source of guarenteed damage and usually doesnt take an action so its actually good as well.

Aaaaaah I just love wargaming again, I wish I had more money and time because I want to play more stuff, honestly people hit me up to demo me your cool wargames on tts or something I just want to try stuff.

#skizzix says #marvel crisis protocol #ramblings #infinitythegame #wargaming

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shaunsummers · 8 months

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Belated Birthday Times at Tammy & Dick's

Casey had offered to take Tek out to dinner after she got back from Richmond, but that plan changed once they started texting. She'd only met her parents twice, but the final judgement was that they were 'weird, but cool' and Tek was open to seeing them. Once she knew they had a pool, too, it was over. And once her parents found out, they were already planning an entire birthday meal. So, the house it was.

Truthfully, she was kind of glad the choice was for an evening in. Casey knew she was going to have to be in Williamsburg for the summer—it wasn't like the college would let her camp in the dorms—but it still felt off, being here. For obvious reasons, but, too, she'd kind of fallen away from everyone. Most didn't stay in Williamsburg anyways, and the ones who did were all apparently crashing at Rebel's these days. Which was...a bit problematic. Even still, she had isolated so thoroughly before that no one probably thought of her past graduation. Besides Quinn, maybe. And even trying to go to places and do things she used to, a lot of them were intimately fused with memories. She'd still go regardless; it was something she was working on, trying to give new meaning to the old, but it wasn't an art perfected. Not by a long shot. She'd spent much of her time at home already, so if Tek wanted to hang out here, she wouldn't protest.

"Your friends are at the door!" Casey could hear her mom calling from downstairs, and she knew if she hadn't been helping her dad cook, all of them would be getting the jaws of life by now. Stuffing a sliver of paper between the pages of her book—Tek said they'd be here by 4, but that was an hour ago—she closes it to rise off of her bed and head down.

"Dinner should be ready soon, but let them know they're welcome to any drinks or snacks we have. Just don't let them lose their appetite!" Surely enough, her mom was dusted with spatters of flour and had a rolling pin clutched tight in her hands; also, in a display bordering on violence, was aggressively rolling out a large ball of dough on the counter.

"Can do, mom." Casey shoots her a small smile before shuffling for the door. "Hey, guys." Upon its opening, Tek was already beaming up at her, backpack slung over one shoulder; she definitely took the pool thing as seriously as cancer.

"Hey, Casey!" Tek beams, moving in for the hug with no delay. "I brought swimming trunks. And friends! Well, one friend, and my lady. That's Rebel, she's my girlfriend."

"Really?" Casey inquires, poorly attempting to seem surprised, but she wasn't. Not at all. Tek talked about her so much, and once you entered every-story-suddenly-has-relevance-to-a-specific-person territory, there was no hiding it from anyone. "Well, congratulations." She glances at Rebel with a small, knowing smile, warring with the part of her that wanted to say 'It's about time!', but instead stuffs it down. But, to be fair, they'd been playing the lesbian 'Pine from Afar' trope for way too long. So, good on them.

"Thank you! She did a bunch of cute stuff for my birthday—and everyone else, too—and was just looking so cute in her Spider Gwen costume that she web shot me right in the heart. It was fun! Wish you coulda been there."

Casey lets out a light laugh in the silly explanation, but she expected no less from Tek. She'd never have thought they'd work up a friendship like they had, but she'd come to understand the charm that so easily seemed to cast a spell on everyone else. It had, in the very least, pulled her out of the darkness in her own head many times. "Yeah, sorry about that. I already made plans a while before the day, so I couldn't back out." She wouldn't have gone, anyway, but thank god for having the perfect excuse to keep from explaining why.

"That's okay! Just means I get a whole extra birthday, and I don't blame you for wanting to see your lady. And you're all gussied up! A present for the eyeballs." Tek compliments, and realizing she'd been holding onto Casey the whole time, releases her to take a step back and look her over. "Did ya just get back?" She insinuates a bevy of reasons for Casey's attire with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Like, two days ago." Casey rolls her eyes with a small laugh. "Don't get your hopes up." True, she did put in a little extra effort, but considering that she spent most of her days in sweatpants and the free Georgia Tech t-shirts she'd gotten from shirt cannons and school festivals, it was a good enough excuse to have an easier time looking in the mirror.

"Just curious." Tek grins. "But you do look good!" And she did. All they were doing was hanging around at the house, but she had a white crop-top with lemons patterned over it—matching the one earring of a golden lemon dangling on a chain from her ear—loosely surrounded by an oversized lavender button-up and mint-green, high waisted shorts that matched the leaves. Little glints of gold shone at her ear, at the small chain around her neck, and at her wrist. She was even wearing makeup! It definitely seemed like she was trying to impress, but she did always tend to carefully curate her outfits, even before.

"I am gonna poke you to spill the deets, but we can talk about this mystery lady later." They had been prattling a little with Rebel and Siren just hanging in there, so Tek swivels to make introductions. "You know the peeps! Rebel and Siren, Casey. Casey, Rebel and Siren."

"They're not total strangers." Casey retorts in mild humor. Sure, it'd been a while since she'd seen Rebel, and even longer since she'd seen Siren, but it wasn't as if she'd forgotten them. "From what I hear, your girlfriend's been getting into illicit activities with my parents." Her gaze travels to Rebel, then. "They don't need encouragement." She teasingly scolds before landing on Siren. "And it's nice to see you. I didn't know you still lived here."

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birlwrites · 2 years

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scrapbook snippet: the ice prince

this is a preview, really, because i'm showing you evan's thought process a few handfuls of chapters down the line as opposed to the current point in ttdl. nonetheless, i felt like posting it now lol.

so: we give evan a chance to tell us what he thinks. truthfully? .......mayhaps.

The title of 'Slytherin ice prince' is a recurring one, or at least that's what Evan has gathered from the way his family talks about their time at Hogwarts.

There's no formal decision process—everyone just knows. Slytherin doesn't always have one, although Katherine says Lucius Malfoy thought (mistakenly) that it was him. But Malfoy apparently wears authority like full plate armor, intimidating but clunky. Ten or so years ago, it was a Zabini; twenty years before that, it would have been Abraxas Malfoy if not for some unknown who apparently charmed him into losing the cool exterior. Before that, it was a Nott, and before that, a Pierce, if there's any merit to the stories from Evan's older relatives.

It's never been a Rosier, but that's not a surprise. Rosiers aren't cool or aloof. They're charming, mercurial, even melodramatic. It's a fun way to move through the world, but it used to grate on Evan, knowing that by virtue of his name he was destined to be seen as flighty, shallow, better as a dinner guest than a political ally.

He's used to the idea now. It has its merits.

It wasn't always that way, though. For a short while, Evan wanted to be serious—refused to add to his house's reputation, kept a straight face whenever possible, tried to persuade himself that he didn't care about fun things. When he was little, he'd even vaguely entertained the idea of being the first Rosier ice prince. (Which, in hindsight, probably should have tipped him off that he was a boy, but whatever. He put it together eventually.)

Then he'd met Regulus Black and thrown that idea right out the window.

Everyone just knows, and Evan knew. Even at five years old, bookish and introverted bordering on antisocial, Regulus carried himself like royalty. (Which was hilarious to Evan at the time, because every time a group of children their age would be put in a room together while their parents had lunch or tea, other children would flock to Regulus, which interfered with his reading and made him very snappish. But after a while Regulus stopped snapping, and eventually he stopped sneaking books with him everywhere he went as well. Sometimes Evan misses that Regulus who openly hated being forced to take his nose out of a book, especially when it meant interacting with other people.)

So when Regulus started forming his own personal third side of the war, Evan knew instantly that the Junior Death Eater League or whatever they call themselves (which is probably not the Junior Death Eater League) stood no chance. Regulus would siphon off all of their recruits for himself and leave Mulciber and his friends in the dust, rejected and embarrassed.

It wasn't a move Evan had expected from Regulus of all people. Barty's always itching for a way to get back at his father, and Evan was fully expecting him, at least, to dive wholeheartedly into the Death Eaters. Regulus himself doesn't like getting his hands dirty. Yet there they were, shaking the very bedrock of politics—not just for Slytherin, and not just for Hogwarts, but for the entirety of the British magical world.

Naturally, Evan was suspicious. The question that's been instilled in him since he was old enough to understand it is 'why bother?' Inaction is easier than action, and in this case, it is certainly much safer.

So. Why bother?

Because Slytherin is dominated by the kind of people whose ambitions extend to a Wizengamot seat or a certain number of Galleons in a bank vault or seeing their face on magazine covers. Ambitious, yes, but not the type of people who have books written about them. Not the type of people whose names pass into legend. Not like Regulus, clawing his way to a destiny of his own making.

(And partially of Evan's making, if he gets his way.)

Regulus isn't the type to settle. Not for second best, not for spare, not for mediocrity most of all.

That's 'why bother.'

The point is, Evan's always known Regulus is the prince. All Evan needs to do is make sure there's a place for him in the court. As for what he'll do with it... the beauty is that really, he can do whatever he wants.

Such is the merit of being a flighty, shallow dinner guest. No one pays attention to what he might be doing under the table.

#dark lord wip #birl's scrapbook #birl writes #hp

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teddybasmanov · 1 year

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Orc/elven prince thingy (drabble??)

inspired by the beginning/premise of this (very NSFW) roleplay. I should have probably posted this on the NSFW side blog, but it'd be completely ignored there and I know people here to suffer.

The premise, so that you don't have to listen/read anything on GWAG: rulers of an elven kingdom started to mess with the orcs (who presumably live somewhere on the borders) - taxing, fining, restricting their moments etc. Orcs tried to negotiate, but their words fell on deaf ears. So, a chief of an orc tribe kidnaps an elven prince to make his parents pay attention to their demands.

In the original roleplay the prince is silly and scared, which is fine, but I want him to be a politician. And for him to have trouble with his parents, of course. (Slightly inspired by a whole bunch of stuff and also my beloved Elven Prince series (still very NSFW).)

TW: kidnapping, threats of violence, mentions of fantasy racism.

Notes: I just had to get it out of my head, almost unedited.

Word count: around 600.

The scene - the orc chief's tent, the prince has his hands tied together (I'm not sure if he's supposed to be tied to a chair or not, but it's not important), the chief enters with a smug look on his face, expecting the captive to be panicking, but...

"Good evening, noble chief, to what to I owe the honour?" the prince turns to the entrance and respectfully bows his head.

The orc is a little surprised but tries not to show it: "To your parents' stupidity and stubbornness, princeling," he chuckles, expecting a disagreement, but he isn't met with one.

"I presume this concerns the latest," the elf makes the tiniest pause, choosing a word, "developments in the orc policies in the kingdom."

"Yeah, it concerns," the chief is making fun of the elf, "your parents pushing us around and ignoring us."

"And what exactly is your plan, if I might inquire, noble chief?" the prince remains uncharacteristically calm.

"Rough you up and demand your parents attention," the orc says bluntly.

"I'm afraid I'd have to disappoint you, but you'll just be making their majesties a big favour, or even two," the elf says without breaking eye-contact.

"How?" the chief breaths out, moving closer and towering over the prince, who's holding back a shudder.

"You see, noble chief, they aren't happy with both of us. You and your people weren't silently accepting mistreatment and I haven't been agreeing with their policies for a while and 'behaving as a proper elven heir should'. So, by having me here, you give them a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - launch a crusade against you and find my body in the ruins of your camp," the elf explains.

"Why would they want you dead? Why not just have another heir? And why would you be dead in the first place - I wasn't planning on killing you," the orc is very confused.

"Due to longevity elves can't have more than one child - the rulers are supposed to be an example to their people. And lately, leaving the kingdom in my hands has become their worst nightmare," the prince huffs bitterly, "Oh, and who said you'd be the one to kill me? No one would pay attention in the heat of battle."

The orc chief stares at the elven prince in disbelief. In orcish culture hurting a child - moreover your child - is one of the worst crimes. They stand in silence for a bit.

"And what do you suggest, prince?" the orc is so surprised, he forgets to be deprecating.

"Have you already sent a messenger to the capital?" the elf asks, cool and collected, as if nothing happened.

"No, why?"

"If you're willing to work with me, noble chief, we can turn this situation into an opportunity for both of us," the prince gives a small smile, "You didn't kidnap me - I came here myself to help work out a solution of the latest problems with the kingdom racial policies," the orc raises an eyebrow, interested, "We'll make an official statement to the elven people and then I can offer myself as an ambassador and a negotiator on the orcs' side. That'll help us push their majesties and, hopefully, earn us an ally in each other."

The chief give the elf another long look.

"Well, if we are to be allies," he reaches towards the bindings, "here," with one swift motion of an orcish knife the elf's hands are free.

"Introductions are in order," he extends his hand for a handshake, "Lorzub, chief of the orcish tribes of the north."

The prince readily returns the gesture.

#gwag #grinningpup #writing #fanfic #orc/elf #mlm fantasy #orc fiction #I don't know how to tag it #and then they become allies and friends and fall in love and then when the prince becomes the king they definitely get married #and they fuck nasty of course

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firstaidspray · 2 years

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WIP DAY

Tagged by @confidentandgood to share a WIP today!! Thanks!! 💖

This is a little piece of my fic for The Quarry where my oc Ruby finally learns Chris's secret...and not in a fun way, although this excerpt may make it seem like it would be. Here we see Chris give Ruby an item that will be very important in her journey as a member of the Hackett family.

"You look so beautiful in that dress."

His words came with a smile of genuine adoration, visible even in his eyes. They glittered under the warm lights of the restaurant and the lit candle at the center of their table. Both of his hands were clasped over one of hers, and her other hand was nervously toying with the silver chandelier earrings she wore.

"Oh, this old thing?" Ruby asked, using her free hand to wave dismissively. "It's alright on me."

Chris's smile widened and he shook his head. "No, really, green is your color. Your parents should've named you 'Emerald' instead of 'Ruby.'"

This made her giggle a bit, as corny as it was. Ruby's face began to heat up with blush that matched the stone she was named for, and the back of her neck felt hot, too. Despite having been dating Chris Hackett for six months, this night being their anniversary, every time he complimented her she reacted like it was the first time.

"I guess it is kind of ironic," Ruby admitted, flipping the ends of her auburn bob over her shoulder, attempting to cool her neck, "being named after a red gem, and my favorite color is green. I mean, I do like the gem I'm named for but still, it's funny."

Both laughed together, feeling like teenagers in love. Chris hadn't felt like this about anyone since his late wife, and even then it seemed his love for Ruby was stronger, more intense. It helped that Caleb and Kaylee liked her, too, and that they even accidentally called her "mom" on a few occasions, which both Ruby and Chris found cute.

Chris finally began to feel like his family was whole and normal.

"So, um…" Chris began, removing his hands from Ruby's and scratching the back of his head, "you know we've been together for six months."

Ruby nodded and smiled a bright, wide smile. "Yep, six months exactly!"

"These have been the best six months of my life, Ruby," Chris said, though his voice had a nervousness to it. "I love you so, so much, and…there's something I'd like to give you."

From his pocket beneath the table, Chris pulled out a dark blue velvet box, clearly a jewelry box. He offered it to Ruby across the table, and she took it in trembling, excited hands. Her fingers pried it open with slight difficulty due to her emotions making them shake, but once she opened it, her mouth dropped.

"Oh, Chris…" She gasped, "it's so beautiful!"

Nestled in the jewelry box was a silver bracelet, consisting of an adjustable chain and a rather large, shining charm, which was a heart-cut ruby set in silver backing with small diamonds bordering it. It sparkled in the restaurant's lights, sending out little flecks of light. All Ruby could do was smile and move her gaze back and forth from the gift and the man who gave it to her.

Chris took one of her wrists in his hand and pulled the bracelet from the box with the other. "Here," he said, "let me put it on for you."

Ruby watched with adoration as Chris unclasped the jewelry and draped it over her right wrist, then clasped it back again at a setting tight enough to prevent slipping but loose enough to be comfortable. Even so, the charm was so heavy that it hung down on what little slack the chain had.

"Oh my God," Ruby gasped, turning her wrist over and over to look at how the bracelet looked on her. "Chris, I can't thank you enough, it's gorgeous. I didn't realize that six months was a milestone worthy of gifts, so I didn't get you anything, I'm so sorry…"

Chris shook his head and took her right hand in his own, pulling it to his lips and planting a gentle kiss on the back of it. "Don't worry about that, honey. You don't need to get me anything. I've had it for a while, I just thought tonight would be a good night to finally give it to you."

Still smiling like an idiot, Ruby leaned her cheek into her free hand and cast her eyes down, noticing that familiar warmth wash over her. The warmth of feeling truly loved and adored. Their sweet moment was interrupted, though, when the waiter arrived at their table.

"Hello, so sorry about the wait. Can I start you two off with a drink?"

#my ocs #my writing #wip day #ruby h #chris hackett #chris hackett x oc #the quarry oc #the quarry #x: the beauty and the beast

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