#and i kind of want to chop it shorter to see if that helps (it won't)

[cappurrccino]

the problem with trying to look for haircut reffos is that every picture is like "oh there's a ton of styling and products that went into that, there's no way to know what it'll look like if you don't do that every day"

#//juri speaks #i am so! sick! of the frizz and the fluff #and i kind of want to chop it shorter to see if that helps (it won't) #but i'm also like. terrified the stylist will give me something that doesn't work right #bc i don't know hair terms and don't know what to ask for #and i know that i like. simply will never be able to style my hair like they do #nor can i handle any of the 500-step wavy hair care routines that are everywhere online #''soak your hair in a bucket then add 30 products then diffuse upside down with low cool air until dry'' like. #do y'all have anything else to do during the day or is it just 8h of hair care #aaaaaaaaaauuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhh #i've made myself despondent once again so i guess i'll go... idk make biscuits for dinner later or smth. maybe baking will cheer me up

[mayullla]

Title: Creature's Infatuation

Character(s): Doppelganger (Unnamed character/original work) Summary: The servants didn't know that their abusive noble was switched for a monster that looked like him. You forced to marry him knew tho, that he created everything to have you in his arms. Tags/Warnings: Yandere!monster, fem!reader, yandere!monster x noble!reader, general yandere themes, manipulation, brainwashing, blackmail, forced feminization, noncon pet play, forced intimacy, imprisonment, tentacles, 1.2k words

Author's Note: This is an old one-shot of mine that I didn't post for a long time inspired the yandere viscount so it is similar to it.

You didn't know how dangerous monsters could be… that some could turn into humans and blend into the crowd and you would be none the wiser.

If you were wiser… if you knew what would happen to you… you would hesitate even just a little, even just a second to help anyone who you saw in need. Maybe then you would not be locked up in this horrible mansion after selling yourself to pay off your noble aristocratic family debt.

You were nothing but a slave to him, with his affection and sick love, he kept you by his side. Nobody could know what happened here when everything was covered by thick curtains and dimmed lights. The servants here were nothing more than puppets. Their minds, which this monster had eaten just a little bit, placed itself, done just to get ever so closer to you and keep you locked here. He manipulated their thoughts while letting them think that they were still human.

You glared at the mansion, you glared at him who had caused you this suffering. Yet for the sake of something precious, you would give up that aristocratic pride, swallowing it down as you begged him to spare your family from their downfall. You said that you would give him anything he wants. 

And all he wanted was you.

He told you that he would give you everything when he only did the opposite. What he said was nothing more than food that was taken away from you the moment you rebelled over the fantasies he had in his head.

He made you wear many costumes, dresses, and outfits, each and every one an arrow to your pride as he held your waist from the back dreamily looking at the mirror of you and him, telling you his disgusting and vile thoughts he was imagining when he first saw those clothes, how he imagined them on you.

The dresses that you usually wore were taken away the first day you signed the contract that you would be forever his. "Boring and lackluster," he told you. He would dress you with finer fabrics and silks that would make him excited to see, unlike the “dull and humble” dresses that you wore. It was unbefitting for you, he told you the first day, but you did see them later locked in a chest. Why he kept them, you didn't even want to know, not after you realized how perverted he was.

Gems and pearls of all kinds of accessories were also sewn into your new clothes. You were sure they would make a duchess or even a princess green with envy. He had gotten you almost all the latest trends that he fancied, which was almost all except the ones where much was covered.

Maid clothes that were more flamboyant, more revealing with a shorter shirt too short to even be appropriate. He had a particular fondness for lacy details, the more delicate the better.

Sometimes he would make you wear dog ears or cat ears, making you wear a collar as he cooed condescendingly, stroking your hair as he ordered you to get down and put your chin on his knee or forced you to sit on his lap.

Sometimes having you wear costumed shoes with heels too high to walk on. Barely able to walk on them, he would carry you, dreaming of how this was how a prince would carry his pretty princess. You wanted nothing more than to rip them off your feet, but with thick buckles and locks, it was practically impossible to take them off unless you chopped your feet.

To him, you became his pet, maid, princess, and whatever else perverted thing he managed to think up. Everything that happened in the mansion would never go out. The maids and servants didn't seem to care much about you, nor did they ever realize that the noble they served and some adored was a monster.

That the person they once thought to be him was long gone, rotting in some ditch as the monster took on his role just to make a situation that fits.

All they cared about was that their master had changed for the better, so in love with his wife that he shopped for all the violent acts he had done in the past. Not understanding that this was all wrong. Not knowing that he had control over their minds, that in reality, they were nothing more than lifeless husks made to believe that they were alive and that whatever he was doing to you was nothing more than normal.

From how he would lock you in a room as punishment, or how he would force you to feed him on his lap with overly revealing attire unfit for a noblewoman as he continued to be so fond of you.

Some days he would ask you if you loved him, loved him as much as he does to the point of obsession. The hurt in his eyes as he held you tighter asking what you wanted that would make you happy, "Why don't you love me as much as I do?" He would ask, as you watched tentacles move around the desk writing papers that were related to work. Tentacles that were connected to his back.

He pulled you closer to him, arms holding your waist tight, already forced to sit on his lap against your chest to touch his, which forced you to look up at him, unable to look anywhere else. Even if you were able to, it would be a bad decision to do so when he got angry.

Just as much as he loved dressing you up, you also have watched him morph many times, into something or someone else to make whatever fantasy even more real. The doors locked so that no one could come in, the windows shut so that no one could see through, and the lights but only from the flickering candle. "Do you want me to look like your lover? Would you love me more if I looked like him?" He asked, pulling your thigh closer to him, as you watched him morph, becoming nothing more than black goop to the man who you once loved.

The soft smile on his lips and the brightness of his eyes made you think that he finally loved you. It fluttered your heart but also sent shivers down your spine, as you knew that this wasn't your crush.

He was desperate for your love, yet at the same time, he was sadistic, forcing you to love him. There were days when he threatened you to stay by his side, unless you wanted to go out of the room or mansion naked, or face something worse. Your only choice was to stay there or hold his arm like a love-sick wife who loved him just as much as he loved her.

You felt gross, so vile, by this monster parading as a human and also forcing you to love him. But he didn't care, as long as he could see that you loved him and were by his side, playing by whatever whims he had in the bedroom or office. You were the person he had fallen in love with when he sneaked into the town of humans. You were kinder than anyone he had met. He had fallen in love with you that day and would do anything to keep you with him. He would even kill and take over the body of a noble just to get closer to you.

So long as you belonged to him.

#yandere #yandere imagines #tw yandere #yandere writing #yandere scenarios #yandere oneshot #yandere x reader #yandere doppelganger #yandere monster #monster x reader #yandere monster x reader #monster lover #yandere oc #yandere original work #yandere original character #yandere blog #yandere concept #yandere exophilia #yandere terato #yandere tetrophilia

[messier51]

In reference to your tags on the food that makes life worth living post - what are chicken squares???

They're kind of like chicken salad sandwiches but wrapped up and baked in crescent roll dough.

They are very delicious.

[image description: four baked chicken squares still on the pan. they aren't very square but the crescent roll dough is nicely browned and they're covered in browned stuffing bits]

At the risk of sounding like a food blogger, these are the food that I'd ask for when given a choice for my birthday. These are kind of an ultimate comfort food nostalgia thing for me. I use an altered version of my grandma's recipe (I measure with my heart, I am so sorry gramma but it turns out just fine this way, and no extra mushrooms) which is below vvvv. There IS a recipe online, on the Official Pillsbury Website (https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/savory-crescent-chicken-squares/) from one of their contests. The name on the recipe is not my grandma, but the location is not far from where she lived. My grandma's recipe is better (obviously) but they're very similar and the version at the link is half the size if you want to try it but don't want to do math or something.

Part of the reason for making the full 8-sandwich version from my grandma's recipe is that it uses a full modern 8oz package of cream cheese (instead of the 3oz version that used to be common I guess?), and then you do not put the other half back in your fridge and forget about it until it gets moldy. If that's too much food, the chicken squares freeze really well! Just bake them for slightly shorter (I do it about 20 minutes) and then stick them in a freezer bag in the freezer until you want to eat them. They just need to be re-baked!

Chicken Squares Recipe (from aj's grandma)

Filling:

1 8oz package of softened cream cheese

1/2 stick butter (that's 1/4 cup) (recipe says "or margarine" lol) melted (you use the other half of it below)

4 cups cooked cubed chicken (this can be approximate. One rotisserie chicken or so. Leftover turkey works great! Canned chicken would probably be good too. My sister does hers with mushrooms for vegetarian reasons but I have no clue how to do that. You can adjust this though! It's super forgiving.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 Tbsp milk (that's 1/4 cup)

4 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp chopped chives or onion. (Or like, as much as you want. If you like onion, more onion is really good in this. I have used half a large onion, a whole bundle of green onions, whatever looks good. 3 Tbsp is not enough imo, but if you're not into onions, then maybe ignore me)

2 8oz cans of refrigerated crescent rolls.

Sauce:

1 can chicken broth

2 cans cream of mushroom and/or cream of chicken soup

1 pint cream, half and half, or milk

sauteed fresh or canned mushrooms

Topping:

Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Dressing (not the cubed kind) (you can use whatever breadcrumbs you have but the seasonings are really good! Sage, thyme, rosemary, poultry seasonings, whatever.)

The other half of your stick of butter

Instructions:

Cream the cream cheese (a stand mixer is helpful for this) and beat in 1/2 stick of melted butter. Beat until smooth.

Add chicken, onion, salt, pepper, milk, lemon juice. (Order doesn't really matter.) Mix well.

Separate 1 package of crescent dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal 2 triangles together. Pat out dough to make thinner and larger (make it sorta square if you cant). (See alternate options below*)

Place about 1/2 cup filling into the center of each dough rectangle. Pull the 4 corners to the center. Twist slightly and pinch together, and pinch the sides that came together to seal. (It's totally ok if they're not perfect. They filling isn't gonna go anywhere.)

[4 unbaked chicken squares on a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat. Three of them are sealed and kind of lumpy, the fourth is still laying out as a square-ish shape of dough with a scoop of filling in the middle. It's got a lot of green onions in it.]

Repeat with your second roll of rolls.

Melt other 1/2 stick of butter in a shallow bowl or pie plate and fill a 2nd shallow bowl with the stuffing/dressing/herbed seasoned bread crumbs.

Set out a cookie pan (I like to line them with parchment paper but it's fine if you don't, they won't stick).

Carefully lift one sandwich packet. Dip both sides(!) in butter and then in the stuffing. Place on the cookie sheet. (Sometimes I wear gloves for this step, your fingers WILL get gooey. You want the bread crumbs sticking out all over, it'll be delicious.)

Repeat for the rest of them.

[four unbaked chicken squares coated in butter and stuffing bread crumbs on a cookie sheet, ready to go into the oven]

Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes (or at 375 for about half an hour if you live on top of a mountain like me). They should be golden brown when they're done (see photos at top and bottom of the post).

You can partially bake and freeze or refrigerate for later!

Prepare sauce:

(I'm going to be honest I don't bother. Sometimes I make a can of cream of mushroom soup in the microwave and pour it on top. It's good! But it's way too much for just a me, and it doesn't freeze as well.)

Sauté mushrooms in about 1/4 cup of butter (sorry that's another half stick of butter, that wasn't in the list above)

Heat chicken broth and cans of soup.

Mix in mushrooms

Simmer until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and add cream right before use. DO NOT boil after adding cream.

To serve, ladle mushroom sauce over each chicken square on plate.

[a baked chicken square in a shallow bowl swimming in cream of mushroom soup]

*Alternatives to trying to make squares out of crescent dough:

Supposedly it works with dinner roll dough too but I don't remember ever doing that.

Buy the sheets of crescent dough, which makes it a little less likely to split along the diagonal where you tried to smoosh them together.

Make little roll ups! Spoon filling onto large side of the crescent roll triangle and roll up just like you would if you were making it without filling (this is also really good with jam or nutella js). You can still dip them in the butter and dressing, they turn out great! You get a bigger bread to filling ratio, so you might need more rolls for the same amount of filling. Bake time is a little shorter though, keep an eye on them. They're cute though!

[three chicken roll ups(?) on a plate]

[baked chicken squares and roll ups on parchment paper-covered cookie sheets sitting on the stove]

So, go forth and eat chicken squares. I've got some in my freezer that I made after thanksgiving with my leftover turkey, I'm going to eat some on Monday for my birthday meal, as is traditional.

#replying to asks #chicken squares #recipe #idk if i would call these specifically a midwestern food but they have that vibe to them #cream cheese is so delicious #the filling is safe to eat too so you're just baking the crescent roll dough and heating up the insides #i took pics one of the more recent times i made them bc every time i mention these people go 'what' #lmao #now i have a whole post i can just link to in the future #random personal stuff #sorta

[spine-buster]

just friends, pt. 2

aka, another time it could have happened again

gif credit @/besthimbomachine

Length: 3704 words Summary: It's New Year's Eve. Tyson and Hazel's favourite holiday is New Year's Eve. A beautiful dress doesn't quite help any New Year's resolutions. A/N: This series is slowly taking over my mind. This is some more blue balls for you all before we finally get to a sequel.

31 December 2019

Hazel took time to get ready for AEW’s New Year’s Eve party; she took time shaving and exfoliating in the shower, lathering herself in lotion, curling her hair, applying her makeup, slipping into her dress.  She took time looking at herself in the mirror, happy with how she looked.  It took a while to get here, literally and figuratively, but judging by the colour of her dress and the slit that reached up her thigh, she was, firmly, here.  Happy.

The party was to be held in TIAA Bank Arena for the entire roster, and while she knew she wasn’t running late, she knew Tyson would be. 

Can you hurry your ass up?

Perfection takes time, hunny

You are the worst person alive

Hazel snorted to herself at Tyson’s text, if only because she could picture so perfectly him saying it in person, too – if he were ever on time.  Regardless, she waited out in the hotel lobby, scrolling through her phone.  She saw some personal stories posted from some other friends already at TIAA Bank Arena, seeing all the decorations, the bar set up, and the hors d’oeuvres already being served.  She was starving.  If Tyson made her miss the hors d’oeuvres, she was going to kill him.

Her instincts told her to look up, and when she did, she saw Tyson walking towards her wearing a nice button up shirt and a pair of pressed slacks that fit him perfectly.  He looked good, but to Hazel, he always did, even though she couldn’t say it out loud.  She thanked the Lord it looked like he scrubbed all the spray tan off too, and trimmed his beard so it wasn’t too scraggly.  Sometimes she thought it looked so, and she made sure to tell him.  ‘It looks better when it’s shorter, Ty,’ she’d tell him, and usually within twelve hours it would be at a length she loved.  It was kind of like when he told her how he liked her long hair, how he didn’t want her to cut it again after she had chopped most of it off into a long bob a few years ago now.  Hazel went for regular trims so her hair was healthy and grew it out to a length that cascaded down her back.

Okay, so maybe they did say it out loud from time to time.

“Did you order the Uber?” she asked when he was close, but he didn’t answer.  She waited patiently for a response, but didn’t get one.  Tyson didn’t respond because his eyes were travelling from her face down her body, the dress accentuating every beautiful curve and line.  “Kenneth!”

He snapped out of it.  “What?!”

“You’re going to make me miss the hors d’oeuvres,” she said.

“No I’m not,” he said.  “The Uber’s two minutes away.  Let’s go wait outside.”

He walked behind her, watching her ass in the dress.  He had to think of the smell of his hockey team’s locker room from 20 years ago to prevent himself from getting a fucking erection in the lobby of a hotel.  He wanted to punch himself for thinking what he was; for thinking about what he wanted to do to her in that dress.  The things he could get away with.  The things she’d let him get away with.

If it was the right time.

“You look great by the way,” he said nonchalantly, barely making eye contact with her as they stood outside waiting for the Uber to pull up to the door.

“Yeah, thanks,” Hazel was almost bashful, running her hands down the fabric that covered the front of her thighs.  “You don’t—you don’t think it’s too m—”

“Nah, no way,” he cut her off, shaking his head vehemently.  “Everything…you just, you look incredible, Haze.”

“Thanks, Ty.  I mean it.”

He looked at her finally, a small smile on his face.  “If any of the guys hit on you tonight, you’ll know why.”

Before Hazel could say that none of the guys would hit on her as long as he was around (except for Austin, probably, and even then it would be as a joke), and before she could blurt out something stupid like “I wish you’d be the one to hit on me,’, their Uber rolled up in front of them.  She climbed into the back, trying to get her dress not to bunch up too much.  Tyson hopped in after her, staying behind the passenger seat.  “TIAA Bank Arena, please,” Tyson said to the driver before looking out the window to distract himself.

***

At the party, Tyson didn’t appreciate how he and Hazel were separated.  She had been whisked away early on and he watched her order gin and tonic with lime from the bar.  He hung out with some of the guys but the eye he kept on her in the dress was near constant.  New Year’s was his favourite holiday and he wanted to spoil himself by staring at her – sue him. He wanted to spoil himself in more ways, but he knew he couldn’t.  It was getting harder the more he saw her smile, the more he saw her laugh, the more he saw her cheeks flush red and her smile get wider as the night passed, taking pictures and laughing at jokes and singing along with the music.

For what it was worth, Hazel noticed.  She noticed Tyson’s eyes on her almost the entire night, stuck on her as she giggled and smiled and sipped her drink.  She could tease him all night if she really wanted to, and she knew it.  But instead of doing that – instead of teasing him more than she already was – she decided to whisk herself away to the bathroom, if only to cool herself down and reapply her lipstick. 

As she bent over the vanity to reapply her lipstick in the mirror, the door opened and in walked Tyson.  He stared at her through the mirror, smiling as he shut the door behind him and leaned against it.  “Hey,” his voice was soft.

“Hey you.”

“You okay?” Tyson asked quietly.

“Of course,” Hazel nodded.  She picked up her glass filled with ice and a lime.  “This is water.”

“It is?”

“I keep asking the bartender to fill it with just tonic water,” she revealed, smiling.  “You know how I always like to remember New Year’s.”

Tyson couldn’t help but smile at her little scheme, pushing himself away from the door and taking the few steps towards her.  “Yeah.  Of course.  Just like me.”

“We promised, didn’t we?” she maintained direct eye contact with him through the mirror.

“We did,” he said, remembering their conversation and promise in Tokyo all those years ago. His hand went to her waist, without warning. Then it snaked around, his hand resting on her lower belly. Hazel looked at him through the mirror. “Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?” his voice was low.

A smile broke out on her face; one she could barely conceal. “Mhmm,” she nodded her head quickly. She placed her hand over his, intertwining their fingers slightly. “You’re getting real handsy, Ty.”

“Sorry,” he didn’t mean it.

“You don’t have to apologize. You just have to…be careful.”

“Of what?”

“Yourself,” she deadpanned, biting her bottom lip mischievously.  “You’re your own worst enemy sometimes, you know that?”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Smirking at each other through the mirror, Tyson slowly pulled his hand away from her, but didn’t step away from her body.  “Are you having fun?”

“The most fun,” Hazel closed her lipstick, turning around so she was finally facing him and not looking at him through a mirror.  “You know how much I love all these rapscallions.  Are you?”

“Now I am.”

***

When there was about five minutes to go, the waitresses and caterers began pouring the champagne into the flutes.  Hazel watched as each one filled up one by one, everybody gathering together to watch the final minutes.  As the champagne was passed around, Hazel accepted her flute graciously.  Tyson, of course, politely declined. 

“Can I have his?” she asked the waitress, who was more than willing to oblige.

With two champagne flutes in her hands, the final minutes were dwindling.  Tyson stood beside her, watching on, a smile on his face.  The excitement in the air was palpable.  The countdown was always the best part.  And when the last minute of the year hit, he watched as Hazel performed an excited jig. 

Then, thirty seconds left.  They both turned towards the TV again, counting down with the growing number of their friends shouting out the numbers.  Tyson grew more and more emphatic with his screaming of the numbers the closer they got.  Hazel screamed along, careful not to spill her champagne.

Five!...Four!...Three!...Two!...One!...Haaaaaappy New Year!

Hazel screamed along with everyone else, raising her hands with the champagne flutes up in the air for dramatic effect.  Tyson was screaming along with everyone and clapping his hands.  She could see Austin and Britt already sharing a New Year’s kiss, and a few others, too.  She brought the first of the champagne flutes to her lips to drink, to suppress what she really wanted to do.  Hopefully the moment would pass.

When she looked into Tyson’s eyes after downing the second flute, she saw everything she loved about him; everything she was so desperate to have but desperate to keep hidden, to keep locked away in some small compartment within her.  “Happy New Year, Ty.”

His smile was soft, but light, and genuine.  “Happy New Year, Haze.”

***

It was nearing two in the morning by the time Tyson and Hazel decided to call it a night.  There were still plenty of people at the party, and they were still all giggly and smiley, but they wanted to go back to the hotel.  Tyson ordered the taxi as Hazel said goodbye to everyone, kissing everyone’s cheek and hugging them tight.  When they left the venue, Tyson walked behind her again, watching her hips and ass move in her dress. 

The car pulled up in no time.  Hazel crouched into the taxi first, shifting all the way over to the other side.  She could immediately feel how cool the air was in the car, in such contrast to the humidity outside.  As Tyson climbed in after her, her body shivered.  “Hyatt Regency, please,” she said to the driver, watching as Tyson close the door behind him.

As the taxi driver signalled to rejoin the road, Tyson moved so he was in the middle seat, practically in her seat.  Then, his hand went straight to her thigh, where the slit of her dress exposed as much leg as it could.  Her eyebrows rose playfully.  “What d’you think you’re doing?” she asked playfully.

“What?” he asked non-chalant, the smallest of smirks building on his face.  “Not like my hand’s never been there before.  Plus, you shivered.  Body heat is paramount.”

Between training and matches, and between, well…he wasn’t technically wrong.  But he still knew he was pushing it, and Hazel knew he was pushing it too.  While she appreciated the physical touch – she always did with Tyson – she knew it wasn’t the right or the best thing to do.  “Oh Tyson,” she chastised him, leaning back against the window.  “You know what would be even better?” she asked as her hand went to lay on top of his on her thigh, their fingers slightly intertwining.

His hand attempted to go higher, closer to her core, but she stopped him.  “What’s that?” he asked.

“If you gave me a foot massage.”

He pretend gagged and she laughed out, knowing that he hated anything to do with feet.  “Now why the fuck would I do that?”

“Cause you love me,” she said.  “And these heels are awful.”

“They look great.”

“Beautiful but awful.”

“Why don’t you just take them off?”

She rolled her eyes.  Men.  “The first rule of heels is you can’t take them off until it’s the end of the night.  Your feet won’t fit back in them if you do, and it actually becomes more painful to walk in them again.”

Tyson shook his head.  “Beauty is pain, I guess.”

“So I guess I’m not getting a foot massage, huh?” she smiled.

“No chance.”

They chatted and joked for the short ride back to the hotel, wishing the driver a Happy New Year and tipping generously with cash so he didn’t have to claim it.  The second Tyson’s hand left her thigh and his body left her side, she felt the loss.  She hated admitting so.  She buried the feeling again as she stepped out of the car.  But before Hazel could even shut the door, Tyson’s hands were on her again.

Except this time, he lifted her up dramatically into a fireman’s carry.  She yelped loudly, acutely aware that despite her dress still being on and the fabric covering everything it needed to cover, her ass was in the air.  “Tyson!”

“Oh will you stop,” he mimicked Gorilla Monsoon perfectly.  “You said your feet hurt!”  He began walking towards the door and through the foyer.  Hazel could feel her body heat up from embarrassment as she saw the concierge look at them.  What a sight to see at two in the morning.  She was thankful that nobody else was lingering around.  “Better than walking, huh?”

“Can you at least carry me like a normal person so my ass isn’t in the air?”

Carefully, so as to not tear at her dress, they transitioned like they were in the ring in-between wrestling moves, and eventually, Tyson was carrying her bridal style.  She pressed the button for the elevator before looking into his eyes and cradling his face in her hand.  “Hey Tys?”

“Hmm”?

“Thanks for carrying me.”

“I’d do anything for you.  You know that.”

“I know that, but your back is bad.”

“Doesn’t matter.  Your feet hurt.”

Her heart swelled.  Tyson had always been so good to her, and her to him, but she revelled in this sweet moment as much as she could.  It was only when Tyson’s face started to get closer did her heart begin fluttering instead of swelling.  “Ty…” she whispered. 

“You smell delectable,” he mumbled. 

“That’s Jo Malone for you,” she tried to joke, even though she knew it wouldn’t hit.  Tyson’s mind was somewhere else as she dug through her purse for their room key.  She shoved it into the reader, the little light turning green before she opened the door for them.  Tyson carried her into the room without even looking where he was going, the hair on his beard tickling the sensitive skin on her neck.  She couldn’t help but smile and giggle.  “Ty…”

“Let me put you on the bed,” his voice was husky all of a sudden.  He placed her down on the bed but followed her down, his face still in the crook of her neck, his body looming over hers.  “Christ, Hazel…”

Even though she was smiling, and even though almost every inch of her wanted this and could have had so, so much fun with it, she couldn’t.  Trouble – that’s what this was.  They could get into a lot of trouble this way.  “That’s not the best idea, Ty,” Hazel whispered as she felt Tyson’s nose on her décolletage, on her clavicle, on her neck.  She knew his lips were next.

“Why not?”

She giggled.  “You already felt up my thigh in the taxi.  You just want to because you’re hyped from the party.  New Year’s has always been your favourite holiday.”

“Our favourite holiday.”

“Regardless,” she smiled to herself like a Cheshire cat, “you shouldn’t do much more, Ty.  It wouldn’t be right.”

He knew she was right, fuck he knew she was right, but he gritted his teeth and bit his tongue.  ‘Yes it would be right’ he thought.  ‘Anything we do is right.  Anything we’ve ever done has been right.  It’s been right because it’s been with each other.’  He dislodged himself from her neck and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of the hotel room.  “It’s that dress, too,” he said to mask everything he was feeling, in a tone that covered any agony with humour.

Hazel’s smile didn’t leave her face.  “It’s always the dress, huh?”

Tyson stayed silent, continuing to stare at the ceiling, trying to collect his thoughts.  His arm was up above his head, the back of his hand resting on his forehead.  “Sorry Hazel,” his voice was soft and low.

“You don’t have to apologize.  I just don’t want you doing something you’ll regret later.”

‘But I won’t regret it’ he thought to himself.  “Yeah, yeah,” he nodded slightly.  “Thanks for always looking out for me, Haze.”

“You know I always will.”

Both of them took deep breaths, staring up at the ceiling as they lay in bed.  Tyson couldn’t get the images out of his mind of Hazel at the party posing for photos, laughing, her legs glistening in the light.  Her beautiful smile that took up half her face.  The shine of her hair down her back.   Fuck.

He felt Hazel shift beside him.  When he looked over, she had lifted her knee to her chest, stretching to grab the buckle of her heels.  The material of her dress rode up her thighs, exposing more of her skin.  They came off one by one, with Hazel haphazardly throwing them to the side on the floor.  He watched as she pushed herself up, sitting on the edge of the bed, her back now facing him.  He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Hey Tys?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you unzip me?”

He shot up, but tried not to look too eager.  He moved so he was directly behind her, watching as she gathered her hair over one shoulder.  He grabbed the small zipper of her dress with his big hands.  He took his sweet ass time pulling it down; Hazel knew he would.  A part of her wanted to tease him so badly, only because she knew she had the power to at the moment.

When he was finished, he didn’t say anything.  Instead, Hazel sensed it and she stood up from the bed, not bothering to look back at him.  He watched her as she walked through the room, watched as she reached her suitcase and promptly dropped her dress to the floor, leaving her in only her underwear in front of him.  He caught glimpses of the curves of her breasts as she threw her hair up in a ponytail and dug through her suitcase to find her pyjamas.  His mind took him back to Tokyo and it was like a magic trick how he could remember the feeling of them in his hands when they made love.

Hazel went into the washroom and closed the door behind her, and Tyson knew it was so she could wash off her makeup.  The memories of the night they’d just had flooded his mind, interspersed with memories of Tokyo.  Her dress.  The first time she wore one of his t-shirts after crashing at his apartment in Shinjuku.  Her being backstage after the G1 Climax.  Her laughing at his dumb joke at the bar.  Her lips around the straw of her drink.  Her hand over his when he grabbed at her thigh inside the taxi.

When Hazel got out of the washroom, clean-faced and with her hair in a bun, she noticed Tyson laying back down on the bed, still in his clothes from the party.  When she moved closer, she realized that instead of using the time she was in the bathroom to change, he hadn’t.  Now, he sleeping in his pants and shirt, an arm draped across his chest.  He looked so peaceful in his slumber Hazel almost didn’t want to disturb him.  But she knew what she had to do.

She crawled onto the bed slowly, making sure not to disturb him, and began to pull his belt out of the loop and unbuckle it.  When she tugged slightly, he moved his arm, and it wasn’t until she unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them did he groggily open his eyes.  “Hazel?” he asked.

“Let’s go to sleep.”

Considering what he had been thinking of before he fell asleep, he wasn’t sure if this was reality or a dream.  The fact that her hands were near his crotch was enough to make him confused.  “What’re you—”

“You can’t sleep in your party clothes, Tys.  Lift your hips for me.”

He did as he was told, and felt Hazel pulling his pants down, all the way down, until he was left in his boxers.  She moved to his shirt and started unbuttoning it for him.  In his mental haze of still not knowing if this was a dream or reality, he bought his hand up and placed it over hers.  She stopped and looked at him.  “I’d do anything for you,” he whispered softly.

A smile spread across her face.  “I’d do anything for you too.  Let me take this off you now, okay?”

Her hands were soft as they glided across his chest and up to his broad shoulders to push his shirt back.  It came off easily.  Hazel noticed Tyson’s heavy eyes.  “Get your head on a pillow, Tys.  You’ll be more comfortable.”

He pushed himself back and settled himself; meanwhile, Hazel pulled back the covers, got underneath them, and pulled them over their bodies.  She snuggled into his back, his body heat radiating onto her.  She paused for a moment, her lack of judgement winning out against her better judgement as she placed three kisses along Tyson’s shoulder.  She dragged her lips along his skin between them, making sure her lips lingered on his skin when she was done.  “That okay?”

He groaned slightly in response, nodding his head.  “That feels so nice,” he sighed out.

Hazel couldn’t help but appreciate the sentiment.  “Let’s go to sleep, Tys.  Tomorrow when we wake up there’ll be a whole new year of memories we can make together.”

Always together.

#kenny omega #kenny omega imagine #kenny omega fic #kenny omega fan fic #kenny omega blurb #aew #aew imagine #aew fic #aew fan fic #aew blurb #kenny omega x oc #kenny omega x ofc #kenny omega x original character #kenny omega x original female character

[inkdemonapologist]

Ok. A hypothetical scenario if you'll indulge me. You are a casting director on the movie. You are familiar with the material and you are asked to present some actors to the crew- *besides JK Simmons who everybody thinks should play Joey I guess?* who do you suggest and for what role?

I don't know any actors other than The Guy With The Cool Lips Who Played Scarecrow That One Time, so setting me up as casting director would be a questionable decision! I feel like the very tiny amount we know about this movie also makes this difficult; like, am I casting Sammy in 1932, Sammy in 1946, Ink Sammy, all three?

So, rather than picking specific famous people, some broader thoughts on what elements to prioritise?? as hypothetical casting director. For sake of this exercise we're going to take this all very seriously and pretend that the writing for this movie is already great lmao.

Joey: Ironically for the first BatIM character to get a canon human appearance, I think Joey's acting chops are more important than his looks; as long as makeup can do a decent moustache and the voice is good, the energy is what will really sell him. Joey Drew is both VERY important to get right and also the most complex character in the Bendy Franchise, but he's also really really easy to turn into a stereotype, and I feel like this implication of "obviously he should be played by the guy who played J Jonah Jameson" kinda speaks to how easy it is to see just one side of him. Joey is simultaneously ruthless but also disarmingly charming, likeable but also punchable, confident but also pathetically insecure, genuine but also manipulative -- it seems like a tricky energy to nail. If he doesn't have a sharpness to him, that Curiosity Where Empathy Should Be element, you've erased a really important part of the man behind so many nightmares; if he's a cartoon evil capitalist, then everyone who believes in his dreams looks stupid for falling for something so obvious. Whoever plays him has to be able to get in his head AND ALSO convey that nuance. But if you have the luxury of nitpicking appearance after that, I think it's worth noting that Joey doesn't look the way he's trying to look. I keep saying I'm obsessed with his overbite in BatDR, but like:

See? Henry's the one with that aggressive strong jaw facial structure. Compared to him, even this less-aged Joey has facial structure more like mine, with a weaker chin that gives the impression of an overbite and a shorter face (which, to be clear, are attractive traits, but they are definitely not the Stereotypical Energy for this character archetype) -- he just knows how to carry himself to give off that j jonah jameson energy. I think attention to that kind of detail would also help him be his own fascinating character instead of just shoving him into an existing archetype.

Henry: If it's Ink Henry, his vibes are the most important. This character is famously non-emotive, often to an inappropriate extent, and frankly I think whoever plays him should keep that as part of his character. Henry strikes me as someone who wants to be kind but he's so, so tired, and just looking at this guy needs to sell that because Henry's actual behaviour and dialogue won't.

If it's Actually Worked In The Studio Henry, then I think his voice and appearance need to be SPOT. ON. so that they can play him a little differently and it still works rather than just not feeling like Henry. If he sounds like a perfect Henry but he has more energy, he's still quiet but he's more confident, he's not the follower Joey tried to sell him as... that would be such a neat thing to leave as an implied reveal for fans -- that the Henry we know is either a dishonest representation, or changed by his experiences, and is actually a bit different from the man Joey worked with.

Susie: they won't do this because they're cowards, but I personally think Susie would be such a good candidate for protagonist of a Bendy movie..... anyway if human Susie is in it, she doesn't have a canon appearance so you have a lot of freedom here. Most important thing is that She Has The Range; she needs to be able to be both believably naive and starry-eyed in a likeable way rather than coming across as desperate or annoying, and she ALSO needs to have a ruthless energy in her so that her later Womens Wrongs don't come out of nowhere. If Twisted Alice AND Susie both make appearances, I'm torn on whether they should be played by the same person... it could be cool if they were, since then you could see a lot of Susie in Alice even when she's behaving VERY DIFFERENTLY, which I think would humanise Alice in a good way (and also humanise Susie as more than just a Sweet Naive Girl Who Was Tricked)

Either way Twisted Alice NEEDS TO BE HOT. IM NOT JOKING I THINK THIS IS THE PRIORITY. Yes yes half her face is melting, but her vibes are UNIRONICALLY "hot and evil and wants to vivisect someone." Like, it would also be nice to get someone who can play her with dimension, with an implication that she has reason to be a cartoon evil sexy person who flies into a shrieking rage beyond just women be crazy (which is kind of what she is in the games), but also, she IS a cartoon evil sexy person and you CAN'T lose that; she needs to be able to pull off EVIL AND HOT with half her face gone without it feeling like a parody. Lesbians in the audience need to fan themselves. ITS VERY IMPORTANT.

I don't have a ton of thoughts about Allison. We have a pretty specific physical description of her human self. She needs to have enough ethereal poise to justify the lovesick way she is described in every novel lmao. Allison Angel, though, is where I would put a priority of Needs A Character Actor i think; she's a fairly major character but it's so hard to get a good handle on what she actually like..... wants or feels beyond Helping The Protagonist and Being A Good Person, but if she could really sell the bits and pieces so well you believe it, so that she really seems like she's been harshened by the brutal world she lives in but genuinely values a hope she won't let go of, it could make the character really good.

Sammy.............. Well, it's hard to not be biased. But human Sammy has no canon appearance, so I think you can't go wrong there as long as you pick someone who could conceivably be described as "pointy", and I PERSONALLY think based on the little crumbs of description we've gotten that a human Sammy should be fairly distinctive and intense, attractive in a Strange way - but I think the really really important thing for Sammy (ink or human) is his vocal performance. This is a character who took off in popularity in large part because of a couple of really compellingly delivered monologues; Sammy's voice NEEDS to be right, especially when he's speaking quietly. I think physicality in the sense of How He Moves is ALSO really important for him; Sammy's wiggle-fingers in game and constantly odd descriptions in the novels and complete lack of personal space in both all imply that he moves Strangely, and I do think he should have an unsettling Renfield energy, but it's also so easy for Character Who Is Losing His Mind to get portrayed so over-the-top that it becomes goofy or unbelievable or weird for the sake of being "creepy". Sammy's energy shouldn't be Insane Batman Villain, it should be Doomed Guy In A Lovecraft Story -- it's just that nobody but him is in a lovecraft story.

there are other characters but I think these are all the ones i have thoughts on

#also in an ideal world human sammy's actor would be autistic #its not important but sammys so defined by Not Fitting and Not Being Understood #that i think that insight could rly add some intangible humanity to him #anyway #i know you have questions you always do

[amandayoungsclit]

Amanda Young x afab reader

18+ minors dni

Warnings // explicit content & smut

Word count: 1,938

Summary: You meet Amanda Young at a party and it just goes from there.

A/n - Hey guys, this is my first time posting this kind of stuff on here. I hope you enjoy!

People trickle in and by the time it's eleven thirty at least fifty people are at the party. Almost everyone in the house are drunk, high, or both, but you decide to stay sober.

As your friends are taking shots around you, you notice a girl with long brown hair and about your height walk past the kitchen with a guy who has shorter brown hair. You stare at her for a little bit until your friends want you to take a couple Polaroids with them.

You tape the developed film onto the fridge and you hear your friend Cecilia exclaim someone's name.

"Adam!!" Cecilia says and hugs Adam tightly, "Do you want to take a shot?"

"Yeah! I missed you," Adam says while pulling back from the hug. "Oh, this is my roommate Amanda."

"Hi Amanda!" Cecilia says, "want a shot?"

"Hah yeah," Amanda says and Cecilia pours a shot for Amanda, Adam, and your two other friends. They toast and tap their cups on the counter.

You look at Amanda to get a good look at her face, and it doesn't register that she's staring at you back until she puts the cup down and licks her lips. You look away quickly because you feel weird now.

"Let's go dance!!" Cecilia says and you all walk to the dance floor.

The party lasts for a couple more hours with a few more people still talking to one another. You look around at your friends and they're all talking to someone so you turn to go upstairs and you see Amanda standing by the stairs.

"Hey," Amanda says. Her arms are crossed and she's leaning against the wall of the stairs.

"Hi," you say, "you're Amanda?"

"Yeah, and your name?" Amanda says as she holds her hand out.

"My name is y/n," you say as you shake her hand.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," Amanda smiles and you smile back at her and you blush, but she can't see it because the lights are dim.

"Thank you," you say shyly.

You and Amanda talk for thirty more minutes until Adam drunkenly stumbles into Amanda asking if they could go back to the apartment.

“I guess we’d better go,” Amanda says while an arm is wrapped around Adam holding him up.

“I’ll walk you guys out,” you say. You unlock the door and help Amanda support Adam as you guys walk to her car. “Are you okay to drive?”

“Oh, yeah I’m fine,” Amanda throws her hand out, “I had one shot like two hours ago.”

You and Amanda put Adam in the car and you both walk to the drivers side.

“So I guess I’ll see you around?” Amanda says and you half-smile at her.

“Unfortunately I don’t live here,” you say.

“Could I get your number?” Amanda asks and you hand her your phone and she adds her contact in there. She gives you your phone back with a flirty grin on her face.

“I’ll see you when I see you,” Amanda says above a whisper and kisses your cheek lightly. She gets in the car and you can barely process what happened. You smile at each other, and she takes off. You stand outside for a minute more touching your cheek where she just kissed you.

***

The next day, you and Amanda were texting all day and you two decided to have a date at her apartment since you were leaving in the morning and didn’t know when you’d be back. Amanda picks you up from your friends house and it only takes a few minutes to get to her apartment. She opens the door and throws her keys on the table in the walkway.

“Is Adam here?” you ask while taking your shoes off.

“Nope, he’s at the university doing a lab,” Amanda says as she kicks her shoes off. “I’ll get started on making dinner.”

Amanda leads you into the kitchen and she pours a glass of wine for both of you and gets the ingredients out of the fridge.

“I was thinking of watching a movie while we eat dinner,” Amanda says as she’s chopping the vegetables. “Do you want to find something to watch?”

“Yeah, any particular genre in mind?” you ask while turning on the TV.

“Anything is fine. I want to watch something you really like,” you look back at Amanda and she’s looking back at you with a soft smile.

You click through the movies on Netflix until your eyes land on Titanic and your chest swells up with joy.

“I’m choosing Titanic,” you say and Amanda laughs in response,“What is it with lesbians being obsessed with that ship?”

“I don’t think it’s the ship, I think it’s Kate Winslet,” you say and you sip on your wine at the island.

“I bet you know every fact about the Titanic,” Amanda says teasingly. “Is it true that the Titanic was secretly switched with another ship?”

You groan and roll your eyes at what she says and she laughs at you. “No it wasn’t.”

You and Amanda talk as she makes dinner. When she’s almost finished you set up the place you’re going to sit. You put the pillows from the couch on the floor in front of the couch and you pull the coffee table closer. Amanda puts the plates down on the coffee table while you grab the wine and glasses. You both sit on the pillows and start to eat your food while watching Titanic.

“Do you mind if we skip the first thirty minutes? All they do is explore the sunken ship and I just want to see Rose,” you say and Amanda laughs.

“Yes, you can.”

You pause Titanic and you help Amanda wash the dishes. You both clean up the kitchen until it’s spotless.

“Where’s the restroom?” you ask and Amanda points to a door down the hall. You use the restroom and do some cleaning up and you walk out. You notice a room next to the bathroom and it’s obviously Amanda’s room because of the darker atmosphere.

“Is that your room by the bathroom?” you ask as you walk back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, do you wanna go see it?” she asks and you nod. Your mind goes a million miles a minute when she grabs your wrist and leads you to her room.

She gives you a room tour and you both keep talking while on your stomachs and holding yourselves up by your arms. You don’t miss the way Amanda’s eyes flick down to your lips every few minutes. A comfortable silence takes over and the tension in the room is starting to become unbearable.

“Can I kiss you?” Amanda asks, her voice barely above a whisper. You nod and she puts her hand behind your neck and brings you to her lips. The kiss is chaste, but you quickly deepen it and you can feel her tongue prodding at your lips. She slips her tongue inside your mouth and you lightly moan.

You’re on your back and she straddles your waist and your fingernails drag slightly up her back and back down. She breaks the kiss and starts kissing down your neck. She licks and slightly sucks on your neck making you moan a little louder.

“Amanda,” you moan, and you feel her hands go under your shirt and her fingernails lightly dragging over your stomach. You sit up and take off your shirt and Amanda starts kissing your collarbone and down to your chest.

“Can I take this off?” she points at your bra and you nod. She reaches behind you and unhooks your bra strap and throws it off to the side. Her mouth immediately goes to your nipple as her other hand palms your other breast and she rolls your nipple with her fingers. You lay back down on the bed as she plays with your breasts and your hands go beneath her shirt and your fingernails drag over her hips. She sits up and takes her own shirt off and to your surprise she’s not wearing a bra.

You reach up and grab her left breast and she moans and grinds her hips onto yours. She leans back down and kisses you deeply as you’re still palming her breast and rolling her nipple in between your fingers.

“I need you,” you whisper in Amanda’s ear and you feel her smile against your neck.

“Someone’s impatient,” she says and her hand goes down and teases the edge of your pants. You buck your hips making her hand go more into your pants and she sits up and takes your pants and underwear off in one motion.

“Fuck,” she whispers as she slides her fingers teasingly through your folds. She leans down and kisses your neck some more and teases your clit by lightly rubbing it in circles.

“Can I?” Amanda whispers into your ear and kisses the skin under it.

“Fuck me Amanda,” you say and she slides one finger in your pussy and you moan loudly. Amanda let’s you adjust and starts to move faster while rubbing your clit with her thumb.

“More please,” you moan and she adds another finger. Your hips roll up to meet the thrusts of her fingers and Amanda picks up the pace a little bit.

“You’re so hot,” Amanda pants against your ear and you moan louder and you feel the swirl in your belly and your muscles start to tense.

You wrap your arm around Amanda’s waist and put your other hand in her hair and pull her closer to you. Your release hits you and you cry out. Amanda helps you ride out your orgasm by stimulating you until you go limp.

“Fuck,” you pant and Amanda slowly pulls out her fingers and brings them to her mouth to taste you. She stares at you while she does it and you grab the back of her neck and you kiss her deeply. You slip your tongue into her mouth tasting yourself and she moans.

“I want to taste you,” you say breathlessly as you break the kiss. You get on top of her and she unbuttons her pants and you slide them off. You swirl your tongue around one of her nipples and then you kiss down her belly and get to the edge of her underwear.

“Take it off,” Amanda says and you pull down her black lacy underwear. You slide back up Amanda’s body and you kiss up her neck until you get to her ear.

“I want you to sit on my face,” you whisper.

“Okay,” Amanda whispers back and you lay down and she straddles your waist. You pull her up to your face by grabbing her butt and she sits. You lick from her entrance to her clit and you feel her thighs tense around your head and she moans. You moan back in response and you suck her clit into your mouth and she moans louder and starts grinding on your face.

You tighten your arms around her thighs as she moves more and you slip a finger into her pussy. You can feel her thighs shake around your head and she grinds her hips jaggedly and she cries out. She rides out her orgasm and flops down beside you trying to catch her breath. You lick your lips and she looks over at you and starts smiling. You smile back and she scoots closer and puts her arms around you and kisses your temple.

“Let’s go pee,” you say and lead her to the bathroom.

#amanda young x reader #amanda young #saw fanfic #dead by daylight #dbd #saw franchise #saw iii #I’m obsessed with Titanic sorry #no one ever pees after having sex in fanfic #amandayoungsclit

[snaillamp]

The Lord of the Storm

Thank you @i-eat-worlds for the fantastic title! They do wonderful work! ********************************************************************

Mads drove his car along the rocky dirt road, cringing at every bump and jolt. His red Camry was not enjoying traveling over the rocks at all. He sighed in relief as he spotted the lighthouse in the distance, standing tall on the cliff edge. It was quite a tall one actually, considering Tower 9 a few hours down the road was a short, stout tower.

The car finally reached the flat area where the lighthouse was. The red and white striped tower reached up into the sky, and there was a long, wooden shed across the yard from it. There was an open section, some kind of tool shed and working area, and another section with a door, sealed off to the outside world. Mads sighed, he would see it all at some point this week.

As he was about to get out of the car, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Fumbling it out, he looked at the number, it was the motel he was staying at in town, just over an hour away from the lighthouse. It was a military town, pretty much everyone who worked there was a coast guard, and the ones who weren’t were either married to one, or had been farming the area for decades.

“Mr Vestergaard?” The young woman asked. “Speaking.” Mads replied, pursing his lips. This didn’t sound good...

“I’m so sorry, Mr Vestergaard, we’ve double booked your room, and there’s actually no more vacancies at this motel.” Mads sighed in annoyance. “Thank you for letting me know.” He hung up, not willing to listen to what their solution would be. He would just sleep in his car.

Getting out, he heard the unmistakable sound of someone cutting wood, the thud of the axe slicing through the log, and the grunt of the woodcutter as they wielded the axe in question. Perhaps the lighthouse keeper? This one was apparently pretty young, according to the notes on his clipboard, that he grabbed and sat in his lap as the thought.

Mads hadn’t done this job for more than a few years. He was now taking over from Soren, his boss, who had decided to change careers and become a baker of all things.

He’d never had the chance to visit this side of the country, his job had been inspecting other buildings owned by the coast guard, closer to Copenhagen. Now he had been given Soren’s caseload and had to travel all over Denmark, inspecting all these places. It was nice. All the staff were very friendly and generous in these places. Maybe this lighthouse keeper would be generous enough to lend him some blankets.

Speaking of the keeper, where were they?

Following the grunting and chopping sounds, they found a guy behind the shed, a small pile of wood beside him. His long black hair was stuck to his back, shining with sweat. There was a black cloth beside him, probably a shirt, that he seemed to have shed as he worked. He wore baggy pants, they looked like combat pants of some kind, with tall, black boots. Maybe this guy was ex military? Would make sense.

Going around the man, carefully avoiding the axe, Mads waved. The guy was a little shorter than he was, but made of muscle, he looked like he could snap Mads in half if he wanted to. The guy’s grey eyes flicked to him as Mads froze, staring at the scars going down his face and covering his forearms…

The man let the axe dangle by his side as he straightened a little, turning to face Mads. He had broad shoulders, that rose and fell as he panted, wiping the sweat off his brow and reaching for his shirt on the ground. He shrugged it on, keeping his distance, eyes carefully watching him as he swept his wet hair up into a ponytail.

“Can I help you?” He panted, chest expanding as he caught his breath. It made him look even bigger. Mads didn’t know what to say. This man was not what he’d expected, and the scars… He couldn’t stop staring at the one trailing down the man’s face.

The man seemed to notice, clenching his jaw and quirking his lip, making the scar move slightly. Mads gasped, averting his eyes and looking down, embarrassed. “Umm, I’m with the Danish Coast Guard… I’m here to inspect the lighthouse for a week.” He glanced up at the man, who looked him up and down, before exhaling slightly out of his nose, seemingly frustrated.

That’s when Mads glanced down at his notes and noticed the message at the top… Call ahead!!!! Super important!!!!! He does not appreciate people turning up unannounced. He will be so much harder to work with.

“Fuck…” He breathed. Soren had left him notes on how to win the trust of each lighthouse keeper. He was examining their way of life for a week after all, it wouldn’t be… pleasant. He’d already fucked it up.

The man, Enjar, turned and placed the axe against the shed, shrugging the shirt on, lifting the hem and wiping his sweaty face, sighing. “Where’s Soren?” His voice was soft and quiet, not something Mads had expected. “He’s no longer working for us. I’m Mads Vestergaard, I’ve taken over his caseload.” Enjar grunted in reply, turning and walking away.

“Great.” Mads muttered. “Just great. Good start Mads.” ~~

Enjar had been chopping wood when a man had appeared in his peripheral vision. He was a tall, lanky guy, well groomed beard and thinning brown hair. He looked about 40 something, was wearing a nice suit and leather shoes, unsuitable for this area, and was carrying a clipboard.

He looked like he’d walked straight out of a fancy office in Copenhagen, and right now he was staring at Enjar, mouth slightly ajar, fixated on his scars. Enjar rolled his eyes, grimacing as the man realised he was staring. He mumbled something about being from the coast guard…

‘Oh shit was that this week? Fuck…’ Enjar groaned internally. Every three years, an inspector from the coast guard came to inspect all the buildings they owned in the area, and they were apparently up to his tower.

The coast guard had bought it decades ago as something for veterans to do when they retired, but no one had wanted to do it, and they were desperate for a keeper, not wanting to build a new unmanned tower, so Enjar had been selected out of all the applicants… Because he was the only applicant.

Ever since, he’d been harassed by Soren, the inspector for this area, who he’d actually come to not mind. He was nice to Enjar and didn’t stare at his scars like this guy did. “Where’s Soren?” The man, apparently Mads, informed Enjar that Soren wasn’t with them anymore.

Enjar grunted in slight annoyance, walking away. Soren always gave him a heads up, he knew how uncomfortable Enjar was with people turning up at his door unannounced, especially after the whole thing with the escaped prisoners. Soren had actually checked in on him after he’d heard, which was nice.

Walking around the shed, he found a red Camry, covered in dust. This guy had no idea what he was doing.

Grabbing the wheelbarrow from inside the shed, wheeling it around to grab the wood. He wheeled it around, stacking the wood and wheeling it away, Mads following pathetically behind him. “Listen, I’m sorry that I didn’t call ahead. I should’ve, I just… I forgot… My room at the motel in town got double booked and I just got so distracted.”

Enjar had began stacking the wood beside his cabin, ignoring the man. He couldn’t care less about what excuse this guy had. Finishing stacking the wood, Enjar got up, tossing his head to get his hair out of the way, and turning to look at Mads. He nodded once, walking away again to grab the axe and put it away.

Mads watched him as he walked into his cabin, opening the door and holding it open. “Well?” He asked, looking at him. Mads realised what he was doing, and quickly followed him inside. Enjar sat on a kitchen chair, undoing his shoes, then getting up and placing them by the door, then going to his room. He grabbed some new clothes, changing into some lose shorts and a singlet.

It had been colder this morning, but now, since he’d been chopping wood and working outside all day, he’d warmed up. Pulling two mugs out of the cupboard, he got to work making tea, something he’d started to buy and actually, quite enjoy. He supposed he was finally becoming a boring adult.

Once it finished steeping, Enjar set a cup down in front of Mads, before going and standing at the kitchen window, looking out to the ocean in the distance for a while, before going back to the table, sitting in silence and sipping the tea. He looked past Mads, at the window on the other side of the stone cabin, right beneath his brand new sofa. It was nice, boxy and cushy, and a comfortable, dark grey colour. It blended in well with the rest of the cabin. Anna had helped him pick it.

“Thank you for the tea. It’s quite nice.” Mads said quietly. He stared into the tea, before glancing up at Enjar, who continued ignoring him. “I suppose I should go over what I’m going to d-”

“I know what you’re going to do.” Enjar interrupted, tossing back the rest of his team and then leaving the mug in the sink. He walked back into his room, finding a loose jacket and his running shoes, going to the kitchen and filling a water bottle and grabbing the radio. “I’m going for a run.” He spoke low and quiet, annoyed at Mads’ presence. He needed to decompress a bit before interacting with this guy.

Leaving the cabin, he set off into the warm afternoon, running down the trail towards Misty Lake. The lake was a 40 minute hike from the lighthouse, which was good for a day walk, but he didn’t feel like running all the way there that afternoon. Instead, he went to the halfway mark, turning around and running back home.

As he breathed, he thought.

He couldn’t just be a dick to this inspector, but he was always scared of them. They could decide that he wasn’t safe in the lighthouse, and kick him out, and he couldn’t lose this place. It was his sanctuary. A place he had healed, he’d have nowhere to go and no place to work… He didn’t know what he would do with himself if he couldn’t work in the lighthouse.

This place kept him sane and sober, his mind was busy with plenty of things to do, from checking the weather every day and turning the light on and off, he could occasionally hunt deer and foxes when they got a bit out of control, hike, abseil and explore caves, surf and fish…

This place was paradise…

He couldn’t lose it. Squeezing his eyes shut too force the tears back in, he figured he’d vent to Matt about it, and be as polite and civil as he could to Mads, though he’d probably already put his foot it that relationship. He could at least try and repair it, but knowing what some of these guys were like, they could take offense easily, and he’d heard stories of inspectors fucking over lighthouse keepers or staff at stations when they felt like they had been offended.

He’d left his phone in the cabin, it had decent signal, but the surrounding area didn’t, so he’d text Matt later. For now, he ran along the trail, and back up towards the lighthouse, spotting it in the distance.

~~

Mads sat in the empty cabin for a while. Enjar seemed hospitable at least, the tea was actually quite nice. It tasted fruity, like mint and… peach? Either way, it was quite tasty. However he feared that Enjar didn’t like him. He wasn’t really rude, but standoffish, maybe masking awkwardness behind a scowl?

Maybe, because he lived in the middle of nowhere, and apparently went to town once every week or two according to the notes, he probably just didn’t have any social skills. A lot of the lighthouse keepers didn’t. The guy was trying, at least... He’d invited Mads inside and made him tea, but he seemed to prefer to be alone.

Getting up, Mads decided to get his bearings, and look around. He glanced into the bedroom, the unmade bed and previously worn clothes strewn on the ground, and the small desk in the corner, with an older looking laptop in the corner. The desk had a few little knik-knacks on it too. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom, with a shower, toilet and sink. It was quite bare, with an old bathroom mat crumpled next to the shower.

Going back down the short hallway to the main cabin, there was a door to his right, which, upon opening, lead to the stairs up to the light's gallery. Walking into the main room, he stopped in front of the front door, facing the lighthouse door and looking at the cabin. The was a cupboard across the room, its back against the back wall to the left the lighthouse door.

Following the wall to the left of the front door, was the sofa along the wall, next to it, a small table with an old radio on it and then the wall with the front door. To the right of the front door was a fireplace, then the and the kitchen, which had a bench along the right wall, then turned into cupboards that curled around, forming the hallway to the bedroom. There was a small bench, mostly just for cupboard space

It was small, but cute. It felt quite homely, with the nice wooden kitchen table in the centre of the kitchen, and light flooding in from the large windows. Enjar had little trinkets around, pretty sea glass and rocks, even a bird skull. The door opened behind him, Mads leaping out of the way as Enjar himself walked in. His was breathing hard, sweat pouring off his skin. The lighthouse keeper walked straight to the bathroom, and Mads heard the sound of the shower begin. The man was in there for a few minutes, before he wandered out, rubbing his hair with a towel, before walking out to the shed.

Soon he came back, collapsing onto the sofa and sighing. He let his head tilt back for a moment, inhaling deeply, then looking at Mads.

“You can take the bed, I’ll sleep here.” Mads froze from where he was standing by the dining table.

“Excuse me?” Enjar grimaced as he stood from the sofa, going to his bedroom and coming back with soft blankets and quilts.

“You said you didn’t have anywhere to stay, but I don’t mind you staying here. Take my bed I’m fine on here.” Enjar dropped the pile of bedding down.

A small puff of dust curled over the fabrics as Enjar turned to the man, who went red. “Oh, no, no. I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that! I’ll take the couch. You stay in your bed, Mr…” Mads glanced at the notes he’d left on the table next to the empty mug, embarrassed he'd already forgotten the guy's last name...

“Nielsen…”

Enjar stared at him blankly, tired. “Enjar is fine.” He replied flatly, walking out of the room and returning with a pillow and taking the blankets outside. Mads heard a strange sound, glancing outside and seeing Enjar cleaning the blankets of dust...

Enjar was willing to sleep in dusty blankets and quilts, but he was not letting a guest sleep in them, Mads felt touched.

~~

Enjar flitted around the cabin, cleaning, making his bed and collecting his dirty laundry off his bedroom floor. He didn’t leave much there, but he had a tendency to shed the day’s clothes onto the floor and pick them up the next day.

Soon the cabin was in better shape, slightly cleaner at least. It relaxed Enjar a bit, to at least seem a bit organised. He wasn’t used to people except Anna, Matt and Charlotte visiting, and none of them cared if he left sweaty shirts on the ground next to an unmade bed.

He set to work making dinner, throwing together what he had for a good meal. He ate enough, but he didn’t feast, but now the inspector was here, he pulled together a hearty meal for two.

Setting the steaming fresh fish he’d caught yesterday, along with creamy mashed potatoes and various, steaming veggies, straight from a frozen bag, but Mads didn’t need to know that. Mad had been walking around, peaking in cupboards and checking things off his list, before sitting at the dining table and scribbling some notes in a notepad. He looked up when Enjar set the plate down in front of him at one end of the table, Enjar taking the head at the other end, waiting for him to begin eating.

~~

Mads looked up from his notes as the lighthouse keeper set the plate down in front of him, before going to the other end of the table and sitting down and seemingly ignoring him. Each hand came to rest on the edge of each side of the table, making the already imposing man even more imposing. Mads glanced at his arms, looking at the muscle, he wasn’t a body builder by any means, but he had decent enough definition to prove to Mads this guy meant business, and could probably swish his head like a grape. But, ignoring his figure, Mads instead studied his face as he began to eat.

His movements were slow and gentle, tired, blue-grey eyes filled with thoughts, and a strand of black hair dangled into his face. It had escaped from the loose ponytail he promptly pulled out, letting his hair free and over his shoulders. With a gentle movement, he tucked it behind his ears and shoulders, fingers brushing the scar on his face as he did.

Mads looked at it again, studying each bend and curve as it sliced across his face. It seemed to have nicked a little of his eyebrow off, and the scar tissue even separated the corner of his lip from the rest.

Along with the forearms, Mads wondered where the scars had come from, until he noticed Enjar had stopped eating. He was staring at him from across the table, fork hovering just above the plate. His jaw moved as he chewed slightly on the food in his mouth, waiting for Mads to realise he’d noticed the staring…

Again…

Mads blushed, quickly averting his eyes again. He stared at his plate, cutting the fish and listening as the wind began to roar around the cabin. He didn’t even notice Enjar had left, until he looked up at the sound of a door closing, and saw him reemerge into the room from the door that lead to the lighthouse stairs, wearing a thin blue-grey jumper. He must’ve turned on the light.

Mads watching him walk quietly over to his food, resuming his meal. He tucked another strand of hair behind his ear absentmindedly, finishing his meal and shaping his fork along it to get some of the dregs. Mads went back to his food, only for Enjar’s quiet voice to speak up.

“You know, if you want to look at them, you can just ask.”

Mads stopped, reflexively asking “What?” as Enjar looked up at him. The man’s eyes seemed to bore into his own, but they weren’t angry, just tired…

Enjar sighed and pulled down a sleeve, revealing his impressive slashes striping his forearms like a tigerprint. He pulled his other sleeve down, resting his arms on the table and tossing his head slightly so that his facial scar was in better view. Mads noticed how it even tookout a small section out of his hairline…

His arms, amid patches of normal skin and hair were his scars, slightly lighter than his own skin tone. It looked like someone had taken a knife to his arms whilst he’d shielded his face, which had obviously turned out well for him.

The scars looked deep, and were probably quite painful, at least when he’d got them. Mads couldn’t help but imagine the man in front of him holed up in a hospital bed, bandages wrapping his arms and face. He leaned in a little to look for a moment more, before Enjar yanked his sleeves down, getting up and taking their now empty plates to the sink and beginning to clean them.

The inspector sat in awkward silence, as the lighthouse keeper cleaned his plate, drying it and setting it back with the others. Mads noticed Enjar owned four plates, four bowls, about 8 mugs that he could count, and a couple of drinking glasses. He seemed to have only a few pairs of cutlery too, but then again, it made sense, he lived on his own.

He needed to read Soren’s notes on this guy, he was all sorts of mysterious.

~~

Enjar observed the inspector as he was lost in thought from his corner in the kitchen. He watched as the guy seemingly glanced at him, and then went back to gazing off absentmindedly.

Enjar sighed quietly, going to his room and grabbing a towel, setting it on top of the blankets that the inspector had insisted on using. Not that Enjar minded. When Anna brought Jonas to visit occasionally, Enjar would always relocate to the sofa so his sister and nephew could be comfortable and together.

The new sofa was actually just as comfortable, and way less gross smelling than the other one that had collapsed under him a few months ago. It was nice to rest on such a plush, fresh couch, the cushions fluffy and the smell of ‘new sofa’ if that was even a smell, way better than the decades old thing he’d had before.

He smiled softly at the inspector. “Bathroom is down the hall and directly to the left. Don’t worry about my room.” He yawned slightly, retiring to his bedroom, the man following him with the towel.

Enjar ignored him, shrugging off his jumper and pulling off his shirt as Mads rushed through, not looking at the lighthouse keeper for more than a second before closing the bathroom door. Enjar waited until he heard the shower begin to change into some long pyjama pants, quickly hiding his dirty clothes in a basket in his closet, before quickly going to his desk and logging into his laptop. He didn't even bother sitting down.

With the slow wifi, he finally managed to get the page up to check the weather, to see when he’d need to turn off the light, when Mads stepped out of his bathroom. His hair was still a little wet as he nodded once at Enjar, breaking his gaze quickly, rushing through the cabin and going out to the car.

He returned with a suitcase, which he opened, laying out some comfy looking pyjamas. Enjar nodded at him from across the cabin, shutting his bedroom door and sliding into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Apart from a few quiet moans and twitches, he managed to sleep through the night quite well, which was good, considering his habit of waking up screaming...

~~

Mads heard Enjar’s door click shut, the light from his room disappearing from under his door almost instantly. Mads made sure he was safe to change, before he climbed onto the sofa and got comfortable, remembering only then he had to turn out the light.

He spied an electrical power point in the kitchen, quickly going over and plugging in his phone, which was desperately clinging onto battery life, and then turning out the cabin light. He plunged the building into complete darkness, the familiar streetlights and apartment complexes, unable to share a warm, orange haze into the windows for Mads assisting him to be able to see.

Stumbling through the cabin, he found the sofa and snuggled down finally, sighing. He could occasionally catch a faint snore from his companion, which made him smile. Enjar was at least sleeping well. He’d been nice, sharing his food with Mads at dinner. Mads was afraid he’d offended the man by staring at him though…

Enjar seemed familiar with the situation. It made sense, of course people would stare at him and that massive scar carving up his face...

As he fell asleep, he grimaced. He hoped Enjar liked him. He was starting to become fond of the odd lighthouse keeper’s gentle movements and soft, quiet, deep voice.

~~ Enjar sighed as his least favourite part of the day began.

Waking up.

But next was his favourite part of the day, rolling over with a quiet groan and going back to sleep.

Within minutes, his right arm fell limply from the edge of the bed, soft, breathy snores filling the room as he continued to sleep. He always woke up at least an hour before his alarm went off, and this day was no exception, but he’d always take any extra shut eye he could get.

Suddenly a loud, grating alarm awoke him. Not his alarm though, that damn inspector’s. Lifting his face from against the pillow it had been smooshed in, Enjar wiped a tiny bot of drool from his face, turning to glare at the door, before flopping heavily back down and shutting his eyes. He’d managed to fall half asleep, body half dangling out of bed when he heard the door open quietly. His body was asleep enough to not move, but Enjar did become vaguely aware of a quiet knock, then the sound of Mads creeping to his bathroom, careful not to wake him…

Little did he know.

When he opened his eyes later, he looked at his alarm clock. He had two minutes until it went off. He stared at it until it did, before begrudgingly dragging himself out of his warm, soft, comfortable bed, with soft linen sheets and quilts. He sighed as the comforting weight lifted off his body. The day had officially begun.

~~

Mads awoke to his loud alarm clock, a blaring beep on his phone. He jerked awake, quickly turning it off, scared to wake his host. He sat in silence for a few minutes, listening as his stomach tied itself in knots. Enjar didn’t seem to be stir.

Sighing in relief, Mads stood, his joints popping as he stretched, quickly getting dressed and looking at his watch. 5:30, he had plenty of time to get his day planned, and he might even be able to squeeze in a cigarette or two as well. He’d been hankering for some all day yesterday, but with the drive and then the whole motel debacle, he’d not had the time to fish them out of his luggage.

Digging through his bags, he found the brand new box he’d bought especially for this trip, putting it in his shirt pocket, before grimacing. He really needed to wee, but he didn’t want to wake Enjar. Though, if the loud alarm ripping through the lighthouse hadn’t woken him, creeping quickly through his room surely wouldn’t.

Going to the man’s door, Mads hesitated for a second, listening… Nothing yet. He had another thought.

'What if Enjar is getting dressed?'

It would be bad enough to wake the man up, but to walk in on him naked? Mads might as well throw himself off the tower then and there. He shook his head. He was being silly, he could just knock, make sure there was no answer, and then go.

So he knocked quietly and quickly. There was no sound…

Opening the door a crack, Mads saw Enjar face down, back rising and falling slowly… and still fast asleep. The blankets were piled onto his legs, strewn over his waist and leaving his bare shoulders exposed to the cold morning air. Strands of black hair rested on top of the skin, and Mads could see his scarred arms in full view. His left arm was resting on the pillow, the crook of his elbow aligned with the top of his head, his forearm resting against it, hand gently holding the corner of his pillow. His right arm was dangling over the side of the bed, knuckles a few inches from the floor, fingers gently curled slightly as his shoulders rose and fell. His right foot also peeked out from under the sheets.

Mads looked at his arms once more, his face was mostly covered in his thick, long hair, but he could see a little of the scar, intersecting with his lip, that was quirked ever so slightly. He must be having a nice dream…

Mads tore his eyes away, going to the bathroom and creeping out of the room. He snuck out of the cabin to open his fresh box of cigarettes, lighting one excitedly and breathing in the harsh smoke. Enjar eventually emerged from the cabin, back in his running gear and took off into the early morning mist, without even looking at Mads as he went by.

Mads watched his silhouette disappear into the distance, sighing and going back inside, putting his butts of in the sink and throwing them in the bin.

~~

When Enjar returned from his run, he made breakfast, offering Mads some eggs, but he turned them down. Enjar shrugged, making his usual breakfast, before heading out to the shed to workout in his home gym. He’d built it carefully over the years, it was way better than driving all the way to town, just to be gawked at the entire time. He set to work, lifting his weights, moving his body and training his muscles until his body ached and he felt dizzy. Walking back to the cabin, feeling a little high, he went up the tower and turned off the light. It was too bright for it now…

Seeing Mads going through some paperwork at the cabin when he came down, Enjar sighed. “Did you need anything?” Mads looked up, “Not right now, thank you.”

Nodding, Enjar left him to his papers, the lighthouse keeper instead digging out his tool kit to go and crawl under his car. He’d been hearing a strange sound and was worried there was a fluid leak somewhere… He fiddled around, and eventually found a hose, which as he yanked free, spewed thick, black oil onto his shirt. Sighing in annoyance, Enjar continued fiddling, fixing what he could and finally emerging from underneath the hot car after about 40 minutes.

He noticed Mads had come outside and was sitting on one of his dining chairs, scribbling notes. Enjar ignored him, going into the shed to pit his tools away, before going inside to change. The silence between them was thick as his boots crunched along the gravel paths, Enjar eyeing Mads suspiciously as he went inside to wash the grease off his chest and face… and hands… and elbows… and some how his left ankle?

Once he was squeaky clean, he made lunch, throwing together two sandwiches with his slightly stale bread, and then carrying one out to Mads. On the way, he made a quick detour, grabbing the book he’d been reading recently and bringing it with him. It was starting to get good, and there was nothing better than reading in the shade of the tower on a hot day…

He looked up as Mads stood, going into the shed and poking around. He seemed to be ticking off things. Enjar watched as he examined everything. The lighthouse keeper always maintained the shed, keeping to the protocol. The first aid kit and fire extinguisher were accessible and he kept all his guns locked away inside the gym, the ammunition kept in an old safe on the other side of the shed… All per protocol.

Mads came over after a while and asked him to open the safes, Enjar grunting softly as he eased off the ground and walking away, coming back with the keys he kept in his desk drawers.

Opening all the safes, Mads looked at them, ticking off more and then letting him lock them all up again. Enjar returned the keys and went back to his book as Mads packed away his things, disappearing into the cabin and emerging in touristy hiking gear.

“I might go for a walk now that I’ve finished today. Where do you recommend?”

“Misty Lake, go that way, ’s about a… two… two and a half hour round trip. Three if you’re slow.” Mads chuckled at Enajr’s joke, whilst Enjar didn’t even look up from the pages as he flicked to the next one.

Mads nodded slowly, “Well, expect me back in 3 hours then!” He tried to joke back, but Enjar just lifted a hand in a silent wave, eyes never leaving the words on the pages in front of him.

~~

Mads came back a sweaty mess 3 hours later, huffing and puffing, with a big smile on his face. “You were… right… That place… is spectacular… I’ll have to do… that one… again…” Enjar snapped the book shut, nodding and smiling softly, looking at the sky. “Time for the light soon.”

Mads nodded, looking at the sky as it began to dim a little, golden hour waking up and sending beautiful amber light across Enjar’s face, lighting up his eyes as if they were magic, and kissing his skin with a beautiful golden glow. Even his hair shone as he stood up, the scars shining a little in the light. Mads was struck by how beautiful he looked for a moment, only for Enjar to step back into the shadow, the bags returning under his tired eyes, hair and skin becoming dull.

His energy was somber, tired, but kind… Mads hoped the man was warming up to him a little. He was beginning to like the mysterious lighthouse keeper…

Enjar watched Mads enter the cabin. “You can shower if you want. Use anything in the shower, it’s fine with me.”

Mads nodded, grabbing his towel and finding some clean clothes, watching the lighthouse keeper begin to climb the stairs to the lighthouse gallery.

Going into the bathroom, Mads looked around.

It was small rectangular room, with painted walls, white tiles climbing up to halfway up the wall, the plaster pained creamy white, now yellowed with age, and probably cigarette smoke. Small, off white tiles covered the floor, some a little cracked.

A toilet was tucked into the corner, to its’ left, a small cabinet with doors, probably with some more towels stacked inside, and some various bathroom things on top. Hair ties, a hair brush, deodorant… the things you’d expect to find in a bathroom. Opening the cupboard, purely out of curiosity, Mads found the bottom shelf stacked with towels, as expected, and the top cluttered with things.

Two bottles of expensive looking cologne were shoved at the back, barely used. Opening one, Mads sniffed it. It smelled quite nice, musky with a slightly floral undertone… The other smelled strongly of… something woody, like a pine forest or something. Next to the cologne, there was an old bottle of black nail polish and an eyeliner, probably left by an ex… Enjar didn’t seem gay enough to be a nail painter or eyeliner wearer… But he did live alone in a lighthouse… and the long hair… Maybe Mads was stereotyping too much. Straight guys could paint they nails and wear eyeliner if they wanted to.

Beside those things, more hair ties, a bag of bobby pins, and a nice comb, the handle coming a sharp point for carving through hair to section it. Mads frowned, he usually found copious amounts of condoms in lighthouse bathrooms, but Enjar seemed to be pretty neat and straight laced…

Maybe he was gay? But every gay guy he knew used…

Shaking his head, Mads kept snooping. A small box of bandaids, nail clippers and a glass nail file… more hair ties… a box of unopened hand soap, it looked nice. Enjar seemed to like simple but nice things. Mads smirked at the thought. He always liked going through the lighthouse keeper’s bathrooms. You could learn so much about a person.

It was weird, sure, but never about being creepy, just curiosity about how they lived… Finding a few bent bobby pins, another hair tie, expensive aftershave, some expensive razors, a couple boxes of unopened toothpaste a packet of toothbrushes, Mads shut the cabinet, looking to the left and seeing the sink. It was unremarkable, a toothbrush and toothpaste perched on the right edge, a small, dirty mirror attached to the wall above the sink and a razor on the right edge of the sink.

Behind Mads was the shower, taking up the rest of the space. Inside it was a small shelf, various bottles stacked on it, the shower curtain also white. Spots of mould had started to appear on it. Looking up at the slightly rusty looking shower head, Mads shut the bathroom door, locking it and stacking his stuff on the closed toilet lid.

Then he got into the shower, turning it on, causing the piping to shudder behind the wall, and began examining the bottles. There was another razor and shaving cream, a bottle of shampoo and another of conditioner, both mint, jojoba and something Mads couldn’t say scented.

Squirting a drop of the shampoo into his hand he smelled it, it smelt quite pleasant, a minty, fresh and almost fruity scent filling his sinuses. The conditioner was much the same. Next to them, a bottle of a clear body wash, coloured slightly pink. Applying some to his hand, Mads sniffed it, eyebrows raising in surprise at the rosewater scent.

Enjar didn’t strike him as a rosewater kind of guy, or a flowery guy in general… But Mads supposed that he shouldn’t make assumptions about people. Lighthouse keepers were always similar, big buff, gruff men, usually older and very… masculine. Enjar fitted some of that, for sure, he definitely worked out he was quite the muscular guy, but he wasn’t particularly big or tall or gruff, instead very introverted and gentle, really.

And he was young and scarred…

Thinking about the scars again, Mads cleaned himself in the water. What happened to such a young man to get so scarred?

The water pressure was pitiful, he remembered in his notes about the maintenance submissions Enjar had put in that it was one he kept asking to have fixed, but no one ever did…

Maybe Mads could get that sorted, it was actually quite annoying to try and shower in.

Finishing up, Mads stepped out of the shower, drying off and getting dressed. When he carried his things back to the couch in the cabin, Enjar was sitting at the dining room table, texting. He looked up when he saw Mads enter, and smiled softly, the right unscarred side of his face moving slightly more than his left, scarred side. It made his smile slightly wonky.

Smiling back, Mads pulled the box of cigarettes out of his pocket. “I’m just gonna have a few of these.” He said as he showed Enjar, who nodded, returning to his texting wordlessly.

~~

Enjar climbed the stairs of the tower slowly, feeling pretty flat. He was running out of energy for the day. Climbing to the top of the tower, he turned on the light, and began the long journey back down. When he reached the bottom, he pulled out his phone, texting Matt.

E: Inspectors here. Seems like a new guy. He’s alright but I don’t know about him. Nervous he’s gonna kick me out

A few minutes later, Matt replied.

M: Damnn. It’ll be okay big guy, you always pass with flying colours.

E: I know but still… He’s nice… been in the shower a while tho… hope he doesn’t use all the hot water :/

M: I’ll swing by tomr and say hi then we can go hang at the beach for the afternoon.

E: Sounds good. He just came back. He’s going to smoke.

M: Hmm sounds like a fun guy

E: Yeah. Gonna make dinner cya

M: Bye. Good luck dude

Sighing heavily, Enjar groaned slightly as he eased up. He’d had a long day, and wanted nothing more than to chuck on some headphones and fall asleep for a couple hours whilst metal music soothed his aching mind. The loud guitars and heavy drums had always enchanted him, but after… everything… He found that the music became a therapy for him…

The noise taking over his mind, quieting down the voices and memories.

He looked up absentmindedly as Mads walked back into the cabin, smelling like cigarettes and cheap body spray. He nodded at Enjar, sitting down at the table and peering over at the book that Enjar had been reading earlier, the one he’d also absentmindedly tossed on the table. It was a decent book, the poetry and prose inside not bad, but then again, some of it was genuinely horrendous.

“Sailor’s Laments… Poetry from the sea to sand…” Mads read aloud, Enjar returning back to the dinner he’d forgotten he’d started making in his hazy thoughts.

’I need to dig up those headphones…’ He thought to himself, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“You uhhh, didn’t strike me as the poetry type.” Enjar looked out the kitchen window as he continued absentmindedly cutting vegetables. “How so?” He sounded bored, his flat, dry answer maybe coming across a bit to harsh. “I don’t know… You’re a rough and tough kinda guy, not uhhh, soft enough for poetry…? Sorry, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean to be rude… I guess I’m just trying to figure you out, ya know?” Enjar went back to chopping the vegetables. He hadn’t notice the knife he was using had stopped halfway through the potato he’d been slicing after Mads’ comment.

“Maybe there’s nothing to figure out…” He replied dryly. “Maybe I just like poetry.”

Mads sat in awkward silence for a moment. “It’s just…. How do I say this? Lighthouse keepers are all pretty… similar. Older men, divorced or widowed, with bad habits, drugs, drinking, gambling, sex, what have you.” Enjar smirked a little, Mads had just described Johaan, the previous lighthouse keeper to a T.

“You’re just… different. They all have walls up, but they come down so fast, when they realise they can talk to me… That I can be a friend… An… An ear for all their thoughts and words that only they usually hear. Your walls, they’re taller, thicker, rougher… They haven’t come down.”

He looked at Enjar, who dropped the chopped potatoes into the pot he was using. The lighthouse keeper could feel his eyes trying to drill through his ‘walls’, which only made Enjar more stubborn and determined to keep them up.

“Maybe they don’t come down for a reason.” He answered tersely, leaving the kitchen and beginning to dig around his room. He needed those headphones.

As found them, smiling thankfully when they connected with half a battery remaining, turning on the first song he saw and sighing in relief as heavy drums and screaming voices ripped through his ears. This was a good one.

Returning to the kitchen, Mads seemed to get the message when he saw the headphones and the glare Enjar was wearing. He knew he was pushing too far.

“Sorry.” He apologised, Enjar ignoring him, focusing on his soup. His head nodded slightly to the beat, until he couldn’t anymore. He could feel Mads watching him… He needed some space.

Ripping off the headphones, he walked outside into the dusk, trying to control his breath. The cold night air brushed his skin, sending a ripple of chills over it. He needed to sit down, he felt a little light headed. Taking a deep breath, he began walking to the shed, where he could lock himself in the gym and calm down alone…

He fumbled his way through to the bench press, taking a seat, before lying down and closing his eyes. He knew Mads wasn’t trying to get on his nerves. He just wanted to be friends… Enjar just intimidated him a little… But the guy didn’t stop pushing his buttons…

After a few moments of thinking things through, the anxiety dissipating, he sat up, making his way out of the gym and back to the cabin. He was in the mood for some calming, warm potato soup.

Re-entering the cabin, he sighed, looking to Mads, who seemed worried. “Sorry… I just, I needed a minute.” He smiled softly, trying to calm the nervous man. “No, I should apologise, I shouldn’t have intruded.” Enjar shook his head as he served up the soup.

“It’s fine, you were just trying to be friendly… I’m not the uh, most social person… I like my peace and quiet.”

Mads nodded. “I’ve never been good at people. I’m too much too fast, I try not to be, but I’m too curious.” Enjar handed him a bowl. “I can’t exactly say I’ve been particularly welcoming…”

Mads shook his head. “No! No! You’ve been great. Not everyone is as generous as you, trust me.” Enjar smirked. “That so?” He asked into his soup. It was good, but needed some salt. Getting up to get it, he began hunting through the cupboards, not remembering which one he’d put it in.

“Yeah, some keepers are jerks. One guy dumped a bucket of fish guts all over me once.” Enjar shot Mads a glance. “What did you do?” Mads sighed. “I have no idea. I think he didn’t like me snooping around. Apparently he was doing some pretty hard drugs and gambling a bit too much, so he may have just been trying to scare me off.

I was actually scared I’d pissed you off, turning up unannounced yesterday… You look like you could pop my head like a grape.”

Enjar made an amused face, somewhere between a smirk and an eye roll. “Yeah, my head popping days are over…” He looked distantly past Mads, before returning to his food. “So you’re ex-military?” Enjar shrugged, “Something like that. I was in a team that bridged the gap between the cops and military. We were brought in when the SWAT teams needed a little extra power or when the army needed a little more of a… legal touch.

We arrested terrorist and murderers basically, until… the team was disbanded after a mission went sour. It was only supposed to be a trial taskforce, and the trial ended pretty…”

Enjar held up his arms. “I was lucky to walk away with my life. The rest of my team didn’t. Then I ended up here… This place… It keeps me sane.” Mads looked a little shocked at Enjar suddenly revealing all this information.

’Better now than constant staring later…’ He reasoned. “How ‘bout you? How’d you end up doing… this?” Enjar gestured at Mads with his spoon, with a mouth slightly too full of soup as he spoke.

“Oh, uhh, just looking for a change. The military wasn’t my thing, my dad forced me into it, so I took the first desk job I could. It’s nice though, I live in Copenhagen with my partner most of the time and travel when I need. Life’s… good.” Enjar nodded.

“Do you have someone? A boyfriend maybe?” Mads asked, Enjar looked up confused. “No?” His eyebrows drew closer together as the lighthouse keeper squinted slightly, confused.

Mads went red, shovelling his mouth with soup, chewing and swallowing quickly as it burned him slightly. “I just thought, you know, most lighthouse keepers have a thing on the side… Trust me… I’ve seen more than my fair share of what they get up to… And more than a few are hiding their true selves…”

Enjar snorted. “No, despite popular belief, I’m not into guys… Or girls… Or… anyone… I’m happy by myself.” Mads nodded. He knew what this was. “Asexual then?”

Enjar nearly choked on his soup. He wasn’t used to people asking if he was ace. It usually involved several minutes of explaining, only to result in the person thinking he just hadn’t met the right person. “Yeah… actually.” Mads beamed, holding up his right hand. “Same!”

On the middle finger of his right hand sat a small, black ring, gleaming dully in the light. “I’ve never actually met another ace person!” Mads seemed more excited now, smiling, genuinely happy. It made Enjar feel even more tired. “Well, now you have.” Enjar smiled back politely, before returning to his food.

They talked a little for the rest of the meal, Mads talking about his partner and their job in as a teacher, his friends and funny lighthouse stories. Enjar nodded along until they were finished clearing up again as Mads went to brush his teeth, before going to bed. Mads was actually growing on him. He was a funny guy… Enjar however, was exhausted, he could tell it wasn’t going to be a good night… He could only hope that he didn’t wake up screaming from a nightmare.

That would be so fun.

~~

Mads sighed as he lay on the sofa, getting comfy under the warm quilt covers. The cabin was quite cold, even for summer. Enjar’s door clicked shut, and minutes later, the light under the door went out, the cabin descending into dark, heavy silence.

It was like the world itself had gone to sleep…

No light pollution or traffic for miles in any direction, just nature and silence, the hushing waves on the cliffs below the only thing whispering in his mind… He couldn’t sleep though. He began to think. Enjar seemed to be warming up a little bit, which was good. He just liked to keep people at a distance. Mads was fine with that, he wasn’t looking to make best friends with him, but at least felt okay now, sure that he hadn’t pissed him off too much.

A couple of hours ticked by as Mads thought about his partner, Al, all on their lonesome. He wondered if they’d seen that play they were excited for… He should call them tomorrow, if there was phone signal… It wasn’t great out here…

“Shit.” He whispered. He felt a little inkling in his abdomen… He needed to piss. He looked at the hallway, the hallway that lead to the toilet… And a sleeping Enjar. Not wanting to wake him, Mads tried to ignore the growing pressure until he couldn’t… He had to go to the toilet desperately.

Getting up he crept as silently to the door of Enjar’s bedroom as he could, grabbing onto the door handle and hesitating. He could hear a very quiet grunt and the sound of movement, and then a grunt… a sigh… silence…

Cracking open the door, he glanced at Enjar, looking at the slight silhouette of his shoulder rising and falling slowly as he breathed long, sleepy breaths. He moaned slightly in his sleep, his left arm dangling off the edge of the bed twitching a little.

He was slumped on his right side, left arm slung over his body and off the edge of the bed, his right arm curled close to his chest, holding the blanket tightly. Mads crept silently past him as he moaned again, twitching again, this time his whole body. He flopped onto his back, his breaths growing faster as he whined in his sleep. Mads continued to the bathroom, shutting the door and switching on the light.

The buzz of the exposed lightbulb hurt his eyes, now that they’d been accustomed to the dark, but he continued to the toilet, sighing in relief as he managed to get there just in time…

He could hear a louder, deeper groan from Enjar behind the door.

’Poor guy… Mustn’t be having a good dream’ Mads thought as he washed his hands, debating on whether he should wake the keeper up.

Then again, he didn’t wake to make him cranky by waking him… As he opened the door, flicking the light off, he saw Enjar roll onto his front, groaning softly before seeming to settle. Problem solved then, no need to wake him up.

Mads stumbled through the room, his night vision less good now he’d been in the light. He slipped from the room. It was probably best to leave him on his own, he probably wouldn’t appreciate being watched as he slept. Shutting the door, Mads padded back to the sofa, tucking himself in, and finally drifting of to sleep.

He was awoken by a low, deep groan that quickly turned into a loud cry, like Enjar was in pain. A second scream ripped through the peaceful cabin, and a third, only of that one to awkwardly cut off with a gasp. Mads shut his eyes again, as he heard Enjar get up from the creaky bed and shuffle to the kitchen. He cracked open an eye as he noticed Enjar hovering in the hallway, seemingly making sure he was still asleep.

Mads kept still, watching him carefully, noticing the keeper’s skin shining with sweat in the moonlight, his chest heaving a little as he panted. His hands shook as he fumbled around in the dark kitchen, as quietly as possible, before finding a cup.

His quivering hands filled it with water, and he sat at the kitchen bench for a while, sipping it, taking deep breaths and occasionally glancing at Mads. Mads remained still, not wanting to embarrass the man.

Eventually, he heard Enjar whisper to himself, “Okay… Come on, you’re okay… Time to go back to bed. He can’t get you here… This is safe.” He gulped, his moonlit figure looking haunted and pale… Mads watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed nervously, shaking out his hands with a sigh and going back to his room. Mads lay awake for a while, but heard nothing more from Enjar, eventually drifting off again…

~~

Enjar shot up in bed, heart pounding in his ears, chest heaving as he gasped, cutting off a scream. He’d been asleep on his front, and jerked awake, pushing himself up onto his forearms, shaking like a leaf. His hair was stuck to his back, sweat all over his exposed skin…

He blinked, gasping again…

Rolling over, he sat up, putting his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes… but every time he closed them he saw the blade coming down onto his arms, slicing them… the mask being pressed roughly on his face… The cold, empty feeling of bleeding out… Of dying... He relived that day again and again…

Getting up shakily, he shuffled into the cabin, hoping he hadn’t woken Mads. Pausing for a moment, he stood, hovering in the hallway and watching as his guest seemed to continue slumbering peacefully, none the wiser to his screaming.

Walking over to the sink, he got a glass of water, drinking it to give his hands something to do as he talked himself through it all… He was okay. Glancing at Mads again, Enjar got up and put the glass in the sink, shuffling back to bed and pulling the blankets over him. He stared out the dark window, listening to the ocean below, but couldn’t fall back to sleep.

He must have drifted off, but every time he did, his body felt like it was suddenly hurtling backwards down a rollercoaster, and he’d wake up with a jerk.

His eyes felt heavy, his mind numb as the dusky morning light soon filled the cabin, and he eased out of bed. He’d shower, make a coffee and go for a short run.

Clear his head.

Turning on the shower, listening to the pipes rattle angrily behind the wall, he stood under the shower head, looking at it and waiting for it to come out. A rumble vibrated deep within the wall, and suddenly a hot spray of water came spewing out, hitting Enjar directly in the face.

“Ugh!” He exclaimed, shielding his eyes from the onslaught of water, stepping back for a moment.

’So… It’s going to be one of those days huh?’ He thought to himself as he stepped into the steaming water. He stood there for a moment, bracing his forearms against the wall of the shower, just under the shower head, and let the water flow down his back.

His back was tight, all his muscles wound tightly from the nightmares, as he hung his head, trying to relax. His hair fell heavily over his shoulders and back, sticking to him in a matted, weeping mess. He’d have to wait for it to dry before he could brush it.

Sighing, Enjar straightened, picking up his body wash and lathering it over his shoulders and chest, then down his arms, legs, stomach and neck. He massaged the nice smelling soap into every inch of skin he could reach, before taking his time to wash it all off, massaging his sore muscles as he did.

He started at his neck, rubbing it gently, head tilted back as a small smile ghosted over his lips. He needed this. Massaging his chest and shoulders next, he stretched, cleaning his arms and then his stomach and back, before bending over and rubbing down his poor legs. He’d been working out relentlessly recently, it was time to give his poor body a break anyway…

Today could be a chill day, to avoid anything shitty happening.

A stream of ice cold water splashed over Enjar’s naked back, causing him to jump back and squeak in shock, goosebumps already rippling over his skin. His body shivered as he braced himself, stepping into the abrasively cold water so he could reach the taps to turn it off.

The water ceased, leaving him dripping and cold, standing in the shower with silence blanketing the steamy air around him as he stared at his feet, feeling quite exposed, despite being behind a shower curtain.

Pulling the curtain back, he reached for the nearest towel, shivering. He rubbed himself dry, before drying off his sopping wet hair. The only thing on his mind right now was a nice hot coffee, perfect to warm up with…

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he shuffled to the cabin, forgetting Mads was sleeping there and went about making the coffee. He was braced against the bench, staring at nothing qne fighting the tiredness seeping into his heavy eyelids, when he heard a shuffling sound.

He turned his head, slightly dazed, only to catch sight of Mads, sitting up on the couch looking very embarrassed. He was averting his gaze, Enjar forgetting for a moment that he was nearly naked in front of this almost complete stranger in his sleep deprived haze…

It suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. “Oh! Sorry, I uh… Want coffee?” He asked awkwardly, as he quickly poured his own mug, trying to ignore the sensation of his cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Mads declined, opting for a smoke instead, as Enjar quickly scurried back to his room to put on some pants. He was sitting at the dining table in some comfortable shorts and a hoodie, the zip open, exposing his naked chest. He hadn’t had the energy to put on a shirt, so this had to make do. Mads reentered the cabin, nodding awkwardly at Enjar, before sitting on the sofa and beginning to scroll through his phone.

Enjar didn’t have the energy for his run now. He just sat there, drinking his coffee, barely able to keep his eyes open as he finished the dregs. He offered Mads one again, “Want coffee?” the keeper mumbled, forgetting he’d already asked.

Luckily Mads had changed his mind. “Sure.” He looked up from his phone, smiling. Enjar made the coffee, pouring the hot water into the mug, watching the instant granules at the bottom unleash small brown tendrils that curled gently in the water for a second, before the rest of the barrage of water snuffed them out, like they were never there…

Enjar swallowed as he remembered his comrades, snuffed out, buried on wooden boxes draped in flags, like they never existed...

“Milk and sugar?” He asked quietly, voice gravelly and wavering ever so slightly. He shoved his hands in the hoodie pockets as Mads looked up again. “Milk, make it a light coffee, oh, and 3 sugars.”

Enjar fixed the coffee, before leaving it on the table beside the radio and looking up at the stairs. He groaned quietly, beginning the long ascent to the top of the tower to turn the light off…

~~

Mads had awoken to clinking and cupboards closing in the kitchen, then the sound of a kettle boiling. He opened his eyes, seeing Enjar slumped over the kitchen bench, head hanging heavily as his wet hair rested over his shoulders, all the muscles in his back tense as he stared at nothing.

There were dark shadows under his eyes, and his haunted expression told Mads that he hadn’t slept much last night. However, the inspector soon tried to distract himself, not wanting to appear as if he was drinking in the lighthouse keeper’s body, as he was wearing nothing, except a towel wrapped low around his waist.

Enjar seemed to snap out of his daze as Mads moved, quickly going red and offering Mads coffee, which he declined. He figured he’d go get a hit of nicotine, leaving Enjar some privacy to get himself together for a minute.

Finishing his cigarette, he snuffed it out and returned to find Enjar slouched at the dining room table, nursing his coffee, both hands wrapped around the mug. Mads went back to the sofa, and smiled as he saw he had two bars of signal.

He sent Al a text, wishing them well and hoping they’d been having a good week, and that he loved them. Enjar asked if he wanted a coffee again, already making it. Mads agreed, coffee sounded nice.

He waited as Enjar boiled the water, the instant coffee obliterated in the water, before milk and three sugars followed. Enjar walked almost silently across the room, before gazing at the door and sighing, then beginning his daily journey to the top of the tower.

When he came back down he went straight back to bed, Mads walking by the doorway briefly to check the keeper was okay. He was slumped on his side in bed, staring out the window, arms laid beside him. He his eyes shone, like they were brimming with tears, but those tears never fell.

Mads left him alone, going about his day, doing his checklists and inspections. He only had the interview to do now. He had a feeling, given the previous interviews he’d seen with Enjar, it was going to be annoying. The lighthouse keeper had a tendency to say nothing at all, maybe a one word answer if he was feeling generous, the rest of the answers sassy remarks. Something told Mads Enjar wasn't in a sassy mood today.

Enjar stayed in bed all morning…

At midday, Mads was assessing the paint on the lighthouse when he saw Enjar emerge and begin cleaning the windows of the gallery. He polished each one to perfection, before disappearing inside. Mads was interested to see how good of a good job he’d done, the keepers having a habit of half-assing the gallery windows at the best of times, however when he’d finally climbed the stairs, he found each window basically spotless.

Enjar was sprawled on the ground under the light, fiddling with the mechanism, wearing a stained white singlet and some oily cargo pants. His light maintenance clothes, by the state of them. His scarred arm suddenly reached out from the mechanism, streaked in a black gunky grease, a gloved hand feeling around for a can of lubricant.

Mads picked it up and handed it to him, kneeling down and just managing to see the outline of a greasy man in the the chamber of the light mechanism, a small headlamp strapped to his forehead.

“Are you qualified to do the mechanics of your light? I don’t remember seeing that in your notes.” Mads probed suspiscously. It was dangerous for lighthouse keepers to mess around with the gears and mechanics of their lights, especially if they had no idea what they were doing. Not that that stopped them...

The light moved, shining on Enjar’s stomach as he looked out of the darkness. “Oh, you’re here. Uh… yeah, I did my mech training, oh, three months ago. Finally decided to fix this shit box myself, I’ve put reports in to maintenance for years and they never went anywhere. Besides, not like I have anything else to do.” Mads nodded.

The notes were notorious for being outdated, but he was glad Enjar at least knew somewhat what he was doing. “Can you see what’s wrong?” Mads asked curiously. The light disappeared back into the mechanism, and Enjar grunted, shifting slightly.

“I think it’s a build up of grease and rust. The central gear is probably older than me.” He grunted again, his body rocking slightly as he huffed. With a final groan, an awful grinding sound came from within the light mechanism. Enjar shimmied out, wiping his face, a streak of oil on his cheek smearing as he plonked a large, rusted gear on the ground. His hair had presumably been tied back in a messy pony tail, but now strands were hanging down by his face, his fingers tucking them back as he sighed. “I’ll have to see if Johaan ever hoarded a replacement away in the storage cupboard.” He panted, groaning as he got up from the ground and disappearing down the ladder.

He emerged a while later with some cans of stuff, and various other tools, brushes and sandpaper, by the looks of things. “Nope, gonna have to clean it.” He grumbled, picking up the thick, heavy gear and carrying it down to the workshop at the midway point of the tower. He began cleaning off the grime and rust, sanding some of it down, until the gear resembled a gear a bit more, rather than a puddle of black goo.

Mads followed him back up as he slid under the light again, clinking and banging echoing inside the light, until Enjar’s hand reached out from inside. “Spanner?” He asked, his body curling to reach it as Mads handed him a spanner laying nearby.

Enjar let out a half grunt, half sigh as he set back to work, and soon wriggled free from the light, going over to the control box and hitting a big red button. There was a loud, mechanical grinding sound for a second, before the light began to rotate smoothly and almost soundlessly around. “Nice…” Enjar panted, smiling in relief. He looked proud of himself, sweat staining the singlet as he rested his hands on his hips, chest puffed up slightly in pride.

He checked the light still turned on, before packing away his tools. He still looked very proud of himself. “It’s uh, good to see you’re doing a bit better now.” Mads began tentatively, as he watched Enjar freeze. “Sometimes I just need a little time to myself to reminisce.” He answered, voice low and cold as he packed away his tool box and left the room. Mads got the message, that was a no go subject.

Enjar made them a very late lunch, and Mads set out his paperwork, sighing. “When do you want to do the interview?” He asked. Enjar knew the drill. 7 days of inspectors poking around, and at some point they had to interview the lighthouse keeper, assessing their physical and mental health, and also how they felt in general about operations, get some feedback.

Enjar looked at Mads, his blue eyes piercing Mads’ own.

“Whenever.” He spoke quietly, Mads getting a shiver down his spine. Enjar sure could look scary when he was trying to be, or maybe when he wasn’t… Either way, no keeper was ever thrilled about having their brains picked by an office worker from the city.

“I mean, we can get it out of the way now, that way you can relax for the last four days whilst I do my final assessments.”

Enjar leaned back in the chair he was in, eyes flicking slightly as he seemed to eye every inch of Mads. “Okay.” He sounded fine with it, leaning forward attentively as Mads began his questionnaire. “So this is the workplace capability assessment, you are not required to answer any question if you are not comfortable tom but it is recommended that you do. Do you understand?”

He looked at Enjar.

“Yes.”

Mads nodded, clicking his pen on. “Alrighty then, 1. Do you feel physically capable of working in the lighthouse?” Mads’ eyes flicked to Enjar, who nodded once. “Yes.”

“2. Do you feel mentally capable of working in the lighthouse?” “Yes.”

~~

“24. Last one. Is there any changes you would make to the assistance we provide you in maintaining the lighthouse?” Mads looked up at Enjar, who looked bored out of his mind. They were on their 4th assessment, at least this one was short, the one before was 78 questions long.

“Yeah, provide some assistance. My plumbing is shit, my light hardly works and this place is falling apart. I put in requests for maintenance and they disappear into the ether. The only reason it’s functional is cause I fix it all myself, and I don’t even get compensated half the time, even if I put in requests."

Mads scribbled everything down diligently. He cringed, knowing nothing would come of this. The coast guard neglected all the lighthouses more than they should… Enjar’s pleas would too disappear into a random beige filing cabinet, in a random room, in a random building, never looked at again, until they were fished out in 10 years and shredded so more paperwork could take its’ place.

At that moment, a knock interrupted them.

Enjar looked up tiredly, answering the door to a tall, sandy blonde man. “Hey dude!” The guy exclaimed, wrapping Enjar in a one-armed hug and pounding his back once. He was wearing a coast guard uniform, and looking tired after a day at work. “How you feeling, man?” He asked more gently as he caught Enjar’s tired gaze. He suddenly looked more concerned. “Fine.” Enjar mumbled, blinking slowly. The man finally realised the Mads was there, smiling at stepping forward.

“Matthew Kindberg, I’m stationed down at Osprey 1.” Mads nodded, that was his next stop, checking out the Coast Guard base, about 40 minutes down the road from this lonely lighthouse.

“Mads.” Mads introduced himself back, as Enjar seemed to retreat into the corner of the room. “Hey, I brought my new gloves, wanna try ‘em out? Get that blood pumping?” Matthew asked Enjar, who groaned tiredly.

“No…” He moaned, as Matthew walked over to him, watching his shorter friend slouch and toss back his head as Matthew annoyed him.

“Pleaaaase.” Matthew begged. Enjar sighed, nodding. “Let me change.” He muttered, gesturing at his still stained clothes.

He reemerged a few moments later in some workout gear, comfortable looking shorts and a baggy t-shirt. He had some old boxing gloves tucked under his arm.

“Lets go.”

Enjar nodded, following his friend out to the yard, the coast guard was shedding his shirt and going to his car. He waited slightly impatiently as Enjar tied his hair back into a ponytail as they went into the lawn in front of the lighthouse.

Mads watched as Matthew revealed some new boxing gloves from his car, along with a pair of pads, which Enjar took, bracing himself as Matthew began to pummel them. Enjar barely moved, his muscle bound body more of a brick wall as Matthew struck the pads again and again.

Occasionally Enjar would swipe at Matthew, interrupting his pattern, causing him to duck and weave as he hit the pads. Soon he was red in the face, panting and covered in sweat. He’d done pretty well, his punches had power and he was agile, avoiding Enjar’s jabs. The men switched, Enjar also shedding his shirt and tossing it on the grass. He raised his fists, ready, his biceps bulging slightly as he bent his arms, preparing to strike. He unleashed a flurry of punches, powerful and fast, forcing Matthew too brace against them a bit harder than Enjar had had to for his.

Matthew was strong, his muscle well built, he had to be, if he was in the coast guard, but he was taller and less bulky than Enjar, who was short and seemingly made of muscle.

Mads observed him, examining Enjar more closely. Enjar definitely skilled, each muscle moved in unison, working together to move his body like a machine, efficient and strong… Mads wished he could be like that. He went to the gym twice a week, but his smoking and various dietary habits were catching up to him.

He wasn’t as fit as 20 years ago. Enjar was 12 years younger than him, and completely different. Matthew was presumably the same… They looked good compared to Mads, who stared at his stomach. It was looking a little rounder these days. He looked up at Enjar, who grunted as he finally finished pummelling the pads, chest heaving as he shook out the pent up energy.

“How you feeling?” Matthew asked as they picked up their shirts and slid them back on. “Better.” Enjar mumbled.

“Seeeeeee, I knew you just needed to get those stresses out.” Enjar looked tired, but lighter. He nodded, “Want a ginger beer?” Matthew nodded as Enjar went inside, reemerging with three ice cold ginger beers, sharing them with the other two men. Clinking them together, they sat in the dying afternoon light on the grass, watching the ocean as the sun got closer towards the waterline.

They chatted about things, Matthew gushing about the work drama, Enjar listening intently. He was smirking and laughing as the coast guard filled him in on the recent developments of another guard, Gunnar, trying and failing miserably to flirt with the new secretary girl.

“And he tried the dorkiest attempt at a pickup line I’ve ever heard… Oh what was it? Oh, yeah! “Hey, I can’t find my phone can you call it?” And this girl smiles and picks up the office phone and hands it to him!” Enjar began to laugh so hard tears welled up in his eyes.

“And she couldn’t figure out why he wanted her to call it on her phone, so he had to call his own phone in front of her, and cause he was stupid it was in his back pocket! So he has to pull it out and play it off that he forgot. Oh, you should’ve seen his face En, I’ve never seen that kid go so beet red. I was afraid he’d faint!”

Enjar wiped his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. “Gunnar… You idiot.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Tell him I wish him luck, and if he ever needs to look cool, I’ll make sure to reminisce loudly about how he single handedly saved my life from a perforated appendix.”

Matthew laughed, shooting Enjar a look. “I seem to remember that story differently.” Enjar shrugged, “I gotta uphold the bro code. Make him look good, ya know?” Matthew shook his head. “You’re a piece of work you bastard.” He looked at his watch. “Anyway, I’d better let you guys go. Char will be waiting for dinner, it’s my turn this week and I have no idea what to do.”

Enjar rolled his eyes. “Enchiladas.” Matthew froze. “You know that’s not a half bad idea…” Enjar smirked as Matthew thanked him, rushing off to his car. “She’d texted me about craving enchiladas this morning.” He explained to Mads.

Mads nodded, smiling at the lighthouse keeper. He really was a piece of work, but seemed to really care about his friends. Mads was starting to understand him better… Enjar’s walls were finally starting to come down, and Mads was glad. He suspected that Enjar was more lonely than he let on, and he definitely saw Matthew as a brother, sad to see him leave so soon.

~~

Enjar had spent the morning in bed, trying to stop himself from bursting into tears over… all of the usual. Eventually he heard Mads leave, presumably doing more checks around the lighthouse. Enjar pulled out his phone, scrolling through the apps. He didn’t use social media and the news was depressing, and he knew Charlotte, Matt’s wife was having a day off to get a scan, so he figured he’d ask how that went.

E: Hey C: Hey En! :D

E: I take it the scan went well

C: Baby is happy and healthy. It’s gonna be a big one! Got Matthews genes I think

E: Lol

C: You ok?

E: Eh the usual

C: Take it easy then, En. Matt said he was coming over in the afternoon?

E: Yeah C: That’s good. Don’t keep him too long will you? Its his turn for dinner

E: What’s he planning? Spaghetti again?

C: I genuinely think its the only thing he knows how to cook. God what I wouldn’t give for a spicy enchilada right now

E: You didnt strike me as a Mexican fan

C: Hey, I appreciate Mexican. Its good E: It is.

C: I gotta go, look after yourself today 🫂

E: You too

Sighing, Enjar dragged himself out of bed, getting dressed and looking around. He made a mental list of what he had to do that day and was already behind… The least he could do was clean the gallery windows, they needed doing, and if Mads was grading stuff…

Changing into his maintenance clothes, a white tank top and some old cargo pants that smelled of gear lubricant and oil, he got ready to go up the tower, grabbing his bucked and soap on the way.

He cleaned the windows well, because he might as well do it right the first time… As he cleaned his mind began wandering, he should finally have a crack at that damn light.

He noticed Mads had joined him, and swallowing an annoyed groan, continued his work. Mads asked him some distracting questions, but he didn’t care. Getting the problem gear out of the mechanism, he carried it downstairs and got to work methodically cleaning it… It was quite… meditative.

Once he was finished with his day, he waited around for Matthew to show up. He was beginning to feel antsy. He needed to vent to someone… He could’ve cried when his best friend finally showed up… Only to suggest they try boxing…

Enjar groaned, he’d never been good at boxing… He knew how to but he wasn’t the biggest fan of it, but despite his protests, Matthew dragged him out into the yard to throw some punches. Matthew had always been good at boxing, Enjar was always impressed at his agility, his power and technique. Enjar was more of a brute force kinda guy. He just hit things hard until they stopped moving.

He was decently okay at dodging any of Matthew’s jabs now, but a few years ago, a seal could’ve dodged more than him. Matthew was fun to train with. He always made it entertaining by saying stupid things, and Enjar did enjoy swiping at him. Soon, however it was his turn.

Slipping on the gloves, Enjar began punching, feeling his blood boil and all the stress of the day spill out into his punches. “Good job, good power!” Matthew grunted, steadying himself against Enjar’s blows.

“Feet a bit more apart, there you go. Good job.” Enjar threw more,

“Good, relax your shoulders, drop them down... Good. There you go!” Enjar did one final punch, hitting the right pad pretty hard, sending Matthew stumbling a little backwards.

He picked up his shirt, feeling quite warm in the afternoon mugginess. There must be a storm on the horizon. He’d check that later. Right now, he was craving an ice cold ginger beer. He grabbed three, offering one to the other two men, before they all sat and watched golden hour bloom.

As Matthew left, Enjar slipped inside, quickly logging onto the weather maps and confirming his suspicions, a storm was due tomorrow night, and it was cold, with the warm summer air, that meant a lot of mist…

Yay...

He went around the cabin making dinner, feeling lighter after punching things for a while. Mads seemed to be tired though, Enjar couldn’t help but wonder if he had maybe kept the poor inspector awake with his screaming last night after all. Best not to bring it up…

“Jeez, its sticky tonight.” Mads complained, slipping into a singlet. Enjar nodded.

“Rain’s coming.”

The man looked at him from across the room. “How do you know?” Enjar smirked, “The air, I can smell it coming, I also feel it, deep in my scars…” Mads looked at him in awe, mouth slightly open.

“Woah.” He breathed.

“I also looked at the weather report.” Enjar finished, grinning wickedly.

Mads burst out into laughter, shaking his head. “So you can’t actually feel it in your scars?” Enjar shrugged. “Some days I can a little, has to be a big storm, maybe its something to do with the pressure in the air? They go purple on really cold days though.” Mads nodded in interest.

Enjar worked quickly to finish dinner, serving up what he had left. “I’ll have to buy food soon, if I can’t find anything to hunt or fish.” Mads looked up from the cooked fish he was eating. “You fished this?” Enjar nodded.

“I try to avoid going into town where I can. Its a long drive and… I don’t really like people.” Enjar signed, tucking a strand of hair out of his face. “Oh?” Mads pushed. “I don’t mind the stares, but its the people walking up to me, brushing past me… I just prefer to be alone. I’m way more social now than I was year ago though…” Mads nodded.

“It must be hard sometimes though, being alone.” Enjar shrugged. “Sometimes. Matt is always around to check on me though. I swear he can read my mind. Some days I just sleep the whole day and I’m good. Some days the coast guards invite me to the bar in town, which is good fun.

I won a best hair competition once. 1st place for the most luscious locks, they said. But some days I don’t go, I’m sober and being in a bar is sorta… The smell just gets me.” Mads’ eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t know you were sober.” Enjar nodded. “I quit when I moved in. My drinking was bad… I put my sister through a lot… She was the one who dealt with me at my worst, found me when I uh…” He swallowed.

“Anyway, I’ve been sober for a while now.”

They sat in silence for a moment, before Enjar changed the subject.

“You slept well last night?” Mads looked up, nodding. “Yeah, like a baby.” Enjar seemed to relax a bit. “Good. I uh, I was up and down a lot, I just hoped I didn’t wake you.” Mads nodded quickly, “No, no. I didn’t hear a thing.” Enjar nodded again.

That was good.

They went to be soon after, both tired. Enjar collapsed into the soft sheets, sighing as he passed out almost instantly. It was so warm, he had stripped the bed of most of its covers, wearing only underwear to bed, which he didn’t mind, but he still felt very exposed and vulnerable… Hopefully it wouldn’t trigger any nightmares…

It was just one of those nights. He slept pretty soundly, waking up in the early hours of the morning with a groan, grabbing a heavy blanket and pulling it over himself, and going back to sleep.

He awoke again to a rumble of thunder and rain gently pelting the window. He was feeling pretty warm and cozy in bed, but knew he’d have to get up to put some clothes on. Wincing as he did, he dressed in some comfortable sweatpants and a massive baggy T-shirt, climbing back into bed to warm his numb hands. His circulation had never been good in his hands and feet, but after he copped a machete to the forearms, it had gotten even worse.

The lighthouse keeper smiled, he loved rainy days… the sound of the rain on the roof and windows… rumble of thunder and thrashing sea… and he got to sleep all day if he wanted. Soon he was snoring quietly, sprawled on front across is bed like a starfish, hair spread across his face and back.

Mads crept into the room at one point to go to the bathroom, showering and coming back out, noticing the lighthouse keeper was still in the exact same position as before. He hummed in his sleep a little, a cute little contented sound, lip quirking into a smile.

Mads wondered what he was dreaming about…

~~

Enjar lay on the grass watching Jonas play, squealing and running around. He watched as his little nephew ran over to him and wrapped his little arms around Enjar’s neck. Enjar kissed his cheek and ran his hands through the boy’s hair, Anna laughing somewhere from behind him… “I gotta go to work now, buddy. See you soon.” Enjar said, waving. Jonas nodded waving goodbye…

~~

As Enjar woke up, he groaned, curling up a little. He didn’t want to get up, but figured it was time to be a good host to Mads…Peeling himself up from the sheets, he got up, sweeping his messy hair into an equally messy bun and walking out into the cabin. It was just going 9:30 am.

Mads was still snoozing on the sofa, so Enjar went about his morning making a coffee and some toast. Mads seemed to wake up soon after, and they went about their days, mostly ignoring each other. Enjar curled up in bed with a comfortable jumper and hot coffee, reading his book.

He’d been reading a poem as he ate lunch in the kitchen, when he noticed Mads reading over his shoulder. “Is it any good?” Enjar shrugged, “Yeah, it’s okay…” He felt a little self conscious Mads had been reading his book.

“Read it, I wanna hear.” Enjar sighed, looking at the words. “Okay...

The Lord of the Storm, by Friedrich Muller.

His watchful eyes Gaze over horizon, Fingers pulling back the waves, His fists hammering on the clouds like drums, Igniting the sky, set ablaze.

A good captain respects him, Wise ones avoid his gaze, And the greedy ones, Meet his ire, In hail, sleet and rain.

So leave him to his frightful rage Total control over the waves. And make sure to avoid his cloudy cage, For you will not escape his wrath unscathed.

But should you meet His watery gaze, Know him, And call his name...

The Lord of the Storm He has no mercy, His eyes strike the soul With fear in their wake. His hair whirls wildly around the sky, The air thick enough to break.

And his booming, ragged wails, Erupt the silence of the night. There is no use, Trying to win this fight.

The angry waves thrown over decks, Lighting striking in the night. As the sky itself quakes, The Lord showing his wrath, To all the forsaken vessels, Unlucky enough to cross his path.

So stay fast and true, Through rain And his screams, And let him pass over your heads, As he leaves you in peace to weep.

Or better yet, Leave him be, Let him travel on his way, On wide berth and strong breeze,

Lest he claim your soul, And drag you down, To the deep.”

He finished the poem, shrugging.

“The rhythm is a bit off, but it’s not bad.” Enjar finished, however Mads looked entranced. “That was… Wow…”

Enjar kept reading, finishing the book and leaving it on his desk, logging onto the computer. The storm showed no signs of letting up as the wind howled, and the maps showed a heavy splattering of extremely heavy rain incoming. It was only going to get worse. It seemed the Lord of the Storm was paying him a visit.

Hooray…

The day was good though, Mads seemed to be satisfied with his job and Enjar was nice and cozy, so everyone won.

They had some left overs of the potato soup Enjar had managed to split between them enough for a meal, and both men went to bed early with full stomachs and a content mind…

~~

Mads awoke to a loud yell and a radio blaring voices at the end of the sofa. He glanced at Enjar who was pulling a baggy orange dry suit on. “Mads!” Mads sat up, confused. “Huh…? What’s happening…?” Enjar zipped up the suit and began throwing a harness on over his chest and waist, clipping it all together and then what looked like a deflated floatation device over the top.

He rushed across the room, clipping the hand held radio to his belt, and looked at Mads. “It’s bad. How trained up are you on water rescues?” Mads’ mind was reeling as Enjar walked back across the room, grabbing some rope from the cupboard next to the door to the tower.

“Uh, not for a while…” Mads rubbed his eyes as Enjar nodded. “Can you drive a boat?” Mads yawned. “Wha- kaaiiiiyh?” “Fishing boat.” “Yeah, I can…” “Good, get into warm gear, whatever you have, and meet me at the car in 3.”

The adrenaline was beginning to kick in. “What happened?” Mads asked as Enjar strode towards the front door. “Ship collision. Freighters.” Enjar answered with a glance over his shoulder, before disappearing into the rain. Mads snapped into action.

Soon they were in Enjar’s land cruiser, hurting through the torrential rain almost blind. They could barely see a foot in front of them, but Enjar seemed to be managing just fine. They had driven for about 5 minutes, when the lighthouse keeper suddenly stopped the car, getting out and walking towards a small boat after grabbing his ropes.

He helped Mads get in, pushing it out and hopping in himself, then took control of the engine, his arm yanking on the ignition cord. It roared to life and they sped quite fast out of the small fjord. As they came around the headland, Mads could see the lighthouse above them, the powerful light piercing the rain as they navigated through the rocky outcrops and angrily thrashing waves.

Soon they were surrounded by nothing except darkness, but Enjar forced the small boat to keep going as they neared the lights by the water that had begun to emerge from the mist.

“That’s the Base!” Enjar yelled as the sped up to it, docking near the boats already in the water. They neared one of the boats, commanded by a fierce looking, short woman, a young guy and Matthew, all in their orange drysuits.

“Mann! Where do you want me?!” Enjar yelled. She looked over at him, eyes lighting up in relief. “Hop on!” She replied, Mads and Enjar getting aboard, the boat speeding out towards the darkness. The waves were rougher, the boat skipping over the surface of a few as they crossed another headland and turned out to the open sea. Around them were coast guard vessels, racing towards the mist.

After what felt like forever, they neared the site of the incident. It was chaos. One of the massive freighters had been speared by the other, and now both were listing badly. There were small splashing flecks in the ice cold, churning waves…

People…

Mann steered the boat towards the site, Enjar yelling at Mads to pick a side over but he was frozen from adrenaline and shock. The wind whirled around them as Enjar grabbed his shoulders, the search lights all around them illuminating his face as his black hair whirled around him wildly, his blue eyes meeting Mads’ own, and stared deep into his soul.

“Get it together!” He shook the man gently… Mads was entranced for half a second but the sharp shadows and bright lights cast across Enjar’s face, making him look… ethereal as his hair whirled around him.

Like… he was the Lord of the Storm.

Mads nodded, his mind kicking into gear and taking over, Enjar tying his hair back as they neared a splashing body. Enjar reached out for the man desperately paddling in the water, pulling him on board. Mads helped a young man pull another desperate man into the boat. They managed to cram six passengers in before turning around and getting the shivering wet men back to the Base.

Turning out again, they hauled a woman from the water after throwing her a rope, her skin ghostly white, tinged with blue. Then, pulled another man out and then another.

Then they got a big guy. Enjar caught him, and Mads watched the lighthouse keeper brace himself as he let the chubby man grab onto his forearms. He was a heavy guy, and even heavier now he was wet. His fingers cling to Enjar’s forearms as the shorter man pulled, crying out as if he was in pain. The boat tilted slightly, and the man tumbled in, sending it rocking. Enjar fell backwards, landing heavily on his back, panting and cradling his left arm.

Mads helped the big man up as the boat began speeding back, when the Mann turned around. “En, you should send your little friend inside to help warm people up.”

“You heard the lady!” Enjar yelled over the howling wind and rain. Mads obliged, quite happy to shed his thin rain coat and go somewhere warm.

Enjar helped people out of the boats as they were herded into the Base, waving at Mads and jumping back into the big rescue boat with who Mads had learned were Matthew and the young failed flirt, Gunnar. Mads watched them disappear into the darkness. They’d seen a few bodies in the water, he wondered how long it was going to take to get everyone…

There were going to be bodies.

~~

Enjar spotted the fat man in the water, paddling, cold and tired. He cried out in fear, Mann steering the boat towards him. Enjar leapt forwards, reaching out for the man and feeling his cold, weak grip clamp onto his forearms. He began to pull him up. The guy was already heavy, but the added weight of the water on his thick, warm clothing made him even heavier.

Enjar grunted as he slowly lifted the guy, only to feel his scar tissue pulling painfully… He’d never felt this sensation before, but suddenly became worried his scars would split open from deep inside… He didn’t notice he was crying out in pain as he finally hauled the guy in and fell backwards, lightheaded from pain…

His scars ached…

Pounded...

Throbbed...

They hurt badly, like they had been ripped open from deep inside.

Cradling his worst arm to his body, he heard Mann tell Mads to go inside as they went back, his scars still aching and throbbing down in the deepest layers of his skin, near the bone. The rain was making them all shiver in their dry suits as they continued to look for people, hauling up the bodies they could.

They began driving around the now eerily silence scene, only the wind, rain and waves howling in their ears. It was a grim scene… They had collected a few frozen bodies when they heard a weak, desperate cry for help far away from them. Everyone looked into the darkness as they saw the spec of a figure paddling desperately towards them… He was struggling to stay afloat, if they didn’t get to him… They would be fishing out another body.

“Help me!” He screamed desperately, as Mann grimaced. She steered the boat towards him, but they weren’t going to get there fast enough, especially navigating the debris.

“We have to help him!” Gunnar begged Mann, who’s eyes were fixed on water. “I’m trying.” They continued, getting agonisingly closer to the man as he continued to scream for help, the coast guards looking up and seeing that they were being tossed further to the guy, who was getting weaker and quieter… He was sinking down below the waves…

“En.” Matthew pleaded, knowing exactly what his best friend was thinking as he saw his jaw tighten. “Enjar.”

Enjar glanced at him as the man let out a weak cry, unable to make any words form, just a scream of terror.

“Screw this.” Enjar muttered, walking to the edge of the boat.

“En.” Matthew snapped, knowing exactly what his best friend was thinking as he saw his jaw tighten.

“Tie on first.”

Enjar glanced at his friend as the man let out a weak cry, unable to make any words form, just a scream of terror, and nodded, grabbing the rope Matthew was offering him and clipping himself on. Then, without a second thought, Enjar dived into the abrasive, salty water.

His drysuit kept him warm enough as he swam to the now almost unconscious guy, battling the waves as his friends watched on in horror… His arms hurt so badly as he fought the thrashing waves, rain beating down loudly on his skull and the water around him, air thick and humid as a wave hit him in the face, Enjar gritting his teeth through the pain.

The three silhouettes watched as Enjar was thrown against a nearby rock, causing him to see stars for a second, just as the young man dipped below the water.

He didn’t resurface.

Pushing off the rock, Enjar grabbed him, Gunnar and Matt yanking on the rope clipped to his waist as he fought the churning waves back to the boat. “There we go, nearly there.” He grunted as Matthew and Gunnar pulled him in.

They hauled the two men up onto the deck, Enjar collapsing onto the floor, shivering. The crew helped him up, Gunnar wrapping a blanket around the shivering man he’d rescued, Enjar shivering himself. “That was stupid, Nielson. Brave, but stupid.” Mann said, looking at the lighthouse keeper with a proud, but stressed expression.

At that second, a radio call crackled up. “All ships back to Base. This storm is too rough. Abort mission.”

~~

The coast guards all went back to Base to warm up, a grim silence settling over them. Enjar curled on the ground, freezing and numb to his bones. By the time they got back to Base, he was barely able to move. All of them were freezing, but Enjar was jittery, his bones rattling inside him… His mind was set on one thing… warmth… He was so numb his strained arms had even stopped hurting…

They all crawled out of the boat onto the jetty as it finally reached the docking point. Enjar was the last to crawl out, unable to stand he was shaking so much… Matthew and Gunnar slung their arms under him as they helped him stagger inside, all four of the crew quaking in their boots. Mann disappeared off into the crowds somewhere, but Matthew and Gunnar brought Enjar over to the blankets, where they all stripped of their drysuits to their waists and wrapped themselves in blankets, ending up slumped against a wall.

Enjar’s wet hair was stuck to his face, hair tie ripped from his tangles in the ocean fray. He tucked some soaked strands away, closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall behind him as he sighed. He couldn’t get warm and his mind was so fuzzy…

Mads walked up to him with hot tea. “You look like shit.” He half joked, his smile faltering as Enjar didn’t move. His skin was pale, lips blue and he was still… not shivering at all. His tops of his hands rested on the ground, fingers curled over his almost ghostly white palms, completely still. Matthew turned, looking concerned, gently shaking his friend’s shoulder.

Enjar’s head lolled forward, but he remained unconscious. “En?” Matthew said, his voice heightening in alarm. “En!” He shook Enjar harder, causing him to jerk slightly and groan. “Hey man, tea’s here…” Matthew sighed in relief. Enjar’s tired eyes looked up at Mads, who was smiling in relief, and reached for the tea with shaking hands. His winced as he took the mug, sipping the hot tea and sighing as it settled in his stomach, looking down at his arms, which were marked with hand shaped bruises from the people he’d rescued.

The sight nearly made him drop his mug, which Matthew took from him when he noticed the distant look in his eye.

“Hey En, you okay?” Enjar stared at the handprints on his scars with wide eyes, shaking in horror. Matthew adjusted the blanket over him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, noticing how his best friend flinched slightly. “Shh, you’re okay. You’re safe…” Enjar nodded, gulping and reaching for his tea, weakly sipping it, even though he’d lost his appetite.

He gagged slightly, rushing past people to the bathroom, where he shut the stall door with shaking hands. Collapsing to his knees he threw up his guts as sweat poured down his brow. He sensed someone behind him, and flinched, gasping in fear as fingers collected his hair back and rubbed his back.

“St-stop…” He stuttered, as the hands left him. “You okay?” Matthew asked him. Enjar didn’t know how answer. Matthew understood. “Wanna try find somewhere to try and sleep it off?” Enjar shook his head. “Can’t sleep.” The world was swaying as his ears began to ring. He was vaguely aware of the fact someone helped him stand and walk away. Soon he was back in the hustle and bustle of the Base, dragged through by someone as he tried to wriggle free. “I’m here En. It’s just me.”

Matthew.

He was going to keep him safe.

Enjar heard a door close and some cold, hard flat ground met him.

He heard talking, a woman… Mann. She was talking to Matthew.

“Is he alright?”

“No idea. He’s freaked out and I don’t know why. He’s got these big bruises on his hands, he’s freezing…”

Enjar curled up, hugging his naked waist as he sobbed. A warm blanket landed over him, and his shaking hands gripped it, holding it over his eyes. The memories flashed before his eyes for forever… His arms aching like the day they were cut…

~~

Matthew watched as Enjar’s body slowly began to still, and he was asleep. Finally, at peace. Mann’s office was the perfect place for him to calm down. But it worried Matthew, he’d never seen his best friend that freaked out and traumatised before… Then he remembered, Enjar had told him about the hands… The doctors had held him down, their hand shaped bruises on his arms and legs… his chest and neck and face…

Enjar had been triggered when the memory was unearthed. It suddenly all clicked together, and Matthew brought a hand to his mouth as he sank to the ground beside Enjar, tucking the hair out of his face and waiting for him to wake up. He was exhausted, he couldn’t imaging how Enjar felt… He noticed one of his arms tucked by his head. Some of the scars looked swollen. Matthew almost didn’t want Enjar to wake up just yet so he wouldn’t deal with the pain… But Enjar was already stirring… He woke up looking groggy, rubbing his eyes and wincing as he looked at his arms, quickly looking away. “Do you want me to get a bandage for them? So you don’t have to see?” Enjar shook his head. “Too similar…” He shivered. “I just want clothes.” Matthew nodded, Mann already disappearing to find him some. She returned with a sweaty smelling, grey jumper and some slightly too small sweatpants. Enjar gratefully changed into them, ignoring the fact the slightly too tight sweatpants rose to above his ankles, and his legs filled out the fabric snuggly. He didn’t mind, he could at least feel normal.

Matthew watched him carefully, as they went back out into the fray, Enjar insisting on continuing to help. He ended up handing out blankets to the crews of the boats, which was actually Gunnars job, but he’d taken to talking to the secretary he’d been crushing on, still with his dry suit hanging off his hips, flexing his abs slightly too obviously, leaving little to the imagination. At lease she at least seemed to be into it. Enjar smirked tiredly, deciding to have some fun and get his mind off things. Walking over to Gunnar and he wrapped his shoulders in a blanket. “Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold Gunnar, then might finally be my turn to rescue you from being sick.” Enjar glanced quickly at the girl, who looked intrigued. “Oh, you don’t know? Gunnar saved my life a while back. I had bad appendicitis and collapsed. He was the one who found me and kept me awake until I got to the hospital.” Gunnar looked down, going a little pink. “Dude, I’m trying to do you a solid, you gotta keep your chin up and have confidence.” Enjar murmured under his breath, just enough so that the girl couldn’t tell. Gunnar looked up with an embarrassed smile, nodding as he shuffled in place. “I uh, I did do that, yeah…”

Enjar saw Matthew grinning from nearby. He sauntered over, looking Gunnar up and down. “Don’t tell me, Enjar is regaining the time Gunnar saved his life, isn’t he?” Enjar smiled at his friend. “Yup.” With that, he plonked the pile of blankets down in Gunnar’s hands, Matthew doing the same to the girl. “He can give her all the details as you hand out more blankets.” Matthew added, Enjar snorting and patting the young man on the back. “You got this.” From across the room, Mads watched the tired, haggard looking lighthouse keeper smile his strange, lopsided smile, patting the young coast guard on the back and walk off for some tea. Despite the haunted look in his eye, he seemed… genuinely happy… Mads smiled as he continued to refill tea cups, watching the lighthouse keeper among his comrades…

~~

Enjar collapsed into bed with a tired groan. It was 6 am, and they’d only just managed to get back to the lighthouse. Mads had practically collapsed onto the couch the second they got through the door.

Enjar stripped off the smelly, badly fitting clothes and got dressed into something fresh. He tried not to look at his arms, that Maria, the medic had said looked injured, the scar tissue possibly tearing a little from dragging people out for hours.

But as he passed out, he smiled, knowing he’d done a job well done, and that there were 37 men and women alive because of him and the coast guards…

Mads thought to himself as he passed in and out of consciousness about the day he’d had, the adrenaline rush he hadn’t felt in a long time…

Enjar deserved so much more help than what he asked for, maintaining the lighthouse and jumping into help whenever someone needed him without a second thought. The truth was, no one in his department respected the lighthouse keepers. They felt like they were rude, weird, lazy old men with no lives or family…

But Enjar was none of that. He was brave and strong, and deep down, very soft and kind. His hard exterior just a wall to protect a very delicate and gentle person. Seeing him gently feeding a man his tea when his hands were too injured to hold the mug, despite Enjar’s own abused arms, watching him give up his blanket for a woman who didn’t get one.

How he laughed and joked through the horrible evening with his coast guard brothers and sisters, raising spirits when everyone was in shock…

He was inspired by this man, in a way no one had inspired him before. His dedication to his job instilled a new energy into Mads to fight for the keepers he went to see…

But only least after he'd had at least 15 hours of sleep and 7 triple shot espressos straight into his bloodstream…

#snaillamp #whump #whumpblr #whump writing #whumpee #whump oc #enjar oc #original post #this was a long one ahhaha

[narastories]

This autumn is all about getting back to older things I love, isn't that right? So Kuroshitsuji. I have so many thoughts about re-reading it now as an adult. I was in high school when I first read/watched it and it was pretty new then. I had the intention of making this post shorter and more snappy but I don't actually want to attract the wrong kind of attention with it, if you know what I mean, so let me ramble.

Personally, if you know me, you won't be surprised that I love how... (I almost used a word I hate here)... deliciously subversive everything is. I love the characters and as I mentioned how adult the humor is.

However, I couldn't help but imagine someone who might be in their teens, grew up with today's morality police internet culture, and then hears about Kuroshitsuji for the first time next year when the new anime season comes out. And then they might go and read the manga from the beginning. People are going to have a terrible time lol

For the uninitiated: the entirety of the Black Butler manga is very easy to find in English online for free. This version is what is known as a scanlation: someone took the original manga, scanned it, and then created a fan translation to English and overlaid it on the images. It's awesome, because it takes years to publish an original English translation and because poor high school students can't afford it. My intention is not to shame the scanlators at all, I support fandom activities wholeheartedly.

The tiny bit of issue I have is that this early 2000's translation has some things that will make you shudder in 2023. Especially about gender. That was what prompted my curiosity to get the kindle original of the second volume just to compare if it was as... unfortunate as the fan version. It's better. You could nitpick it, but it's better.

The left is the free version the right is the original. This was the panel that made me cringe.

So, my point is: if you are very sensitive about this sort of wording maybe buy the originals. No shade either way, just make sure you're having a good time if you are consuming media for entertainment.

But I guess, even if you read the originals there is no way around some things that fandom antis will have an absolute field day with, I can already tell.

Ciel, apparently, according to canon, age 12. Even if you don't ship him with his demon butler (which I think already has been canceled as a ship, you know how it goes)... there are panels where they are intentionally in very compromising positions.

No, let me rephrase that: if you don't ship them, this shit will make you feel uncomfortable. Personally, I'm eating it up, of course.

I mean look at them. (And this is uh a relatively tame one.) In my opinion, their power dynamic is what makes the whole manga/anime so enjoyable. But I can already see the fandom bloodbath lmao

Then there is Grell. I think if you can't love her at her worst you don't deserve her at her best, personally. Still, she's a trans woman who chops up prostitutes with her girlfriend. And gets misgendered all the time.

Anyway, I don't know where I'm going with this. I love Kuroshitsuji. It's beautifully drawn and extremely funny. And people are going to lose their shit over it even before Ciel gets to say "fag".

#nara rambles #don't mind me #I know most of you don't go there #I can see how a lot of stuff would turn people off #but there are real treasures to be found if you are willing to sort through the rubbish

[qwerty-between-the-lines]

Leo does cooking

Hephaestus TV announcer: Welcome to Chef Leo's Kitchen Antics. We take you live to the kitchen at Camp Half-Blood. Now... here is... Chef Leo Valdez!

(canned applause plays as Leo comes out waving with a grin)

Leo: Welcome back to Chef Leo's. I'm totally fixing you up with tacos, burgers, casseroles, cookies, you name it...

(canned applause)

Leo: Today I'm going to demonstrate how we demigods get meat good and tender. Then we'll be baking a pizza casserole and finishing it off with fresh juice. Now, I have here a couple of steaks. You'll probably want to use a meat mallet, but if you happen to have super strength like us demigods, there is a shorter way.

(Leo pulls tray with steaks in front of him.

Leo: (makes a fist) First, the trick is to think about someone or something who really ticks you off. For me, that's Gaea. Then you want to punch the meat hard, but not so hard it becomes a pancake. Just pretend that your kind of slowly dishing out punishment to your enemies. Like so...

(Leo gives steak three calculated punches in different spots)

Leo: ...and now our steak is tenderized, so let's move on to our juice. I have here some oranges and some pineapples. I recommend doing your oranges first. You can just twist the oranges. Almost like you're wringing them out.

Leo: (wringing out seven oranges in a blender) For me it kind of helps to think about some monster I've fought, and how much I'd like to twist their neck.

Leo: (Leo twisting last orange) We met these wild cyclopes in Detroit once. Every time I think about it, I just wanna, but enough of that.

(Leo grabs pineapple)

Leo: Then for cutting the pineapple, you can use a large cleaving knife, or canned pineapple chunks will also do. Of course, if you were watching a few weeks ago and you ordered Chef Leo's Wonder Slicer, this will be almost effortless for you.

(Leo places pineapple aside)

Leo: (dumping bowl of pineapples in blender) I pre-sliced these just before the show. They're still good and fresh. Our oranges are already juiced, so you only need to run the blender for about fifteen seconds, though I suggest longer. It'll give your juice a nice pureed pineapple texture. Now for our casserole.

(Leo pulls over a casserole dish)

Leo: The fantastic thing about doing pizza this way is you don't have to go through the trouble of making a dough. You can enjoy pizza in a casserole without all those preservatives and fillers you'll get from a restaurant pizza. I'll be doing classic pepperoni, but you can use any of the toppings you'd prefer on a pizza. Now I don't suggest trying some of the things you'll be seeing me do in this segment unless you have fire powers, and you're good at controlling them. First, I'll start with fresh oregano.

(Leo holds hand over oregano)

Leo: The effect we're going for is dry enough to crumble. I kind of have a very light flame going across the palm of my hand, that I'm holding just above the oregano to give it enough heat to dehydrate. I'm being very careful not to set this oregano on fire. You can use a dehydrating oven on a medium low setting, or just use storebought oregano seasoning if that's easier for you.

Leo: Alright, I'm taking my hand away. I give my dehydrated oregano a few forceful, well-aimed karate chops. Kooowah!

Leo: As you can see, the oregano now has a perfect almost powdery texture. I'm going to dump my oregano in this bowl and add in some marinara sauce. I prefer Demeter's Harvest marinara, but you can use whatever you're used to. Add a few pinches of salt. Give your marinara mix a stir and place it aside.

Leo: Again, do not try this at home unless you have well-controlled fire powers.

(Leo sticks his pointer finger into a pot of elbow noodles and water)

Leo: Most of you will probably just want to boil them on a stove. If you have fire powers, you can ignite a flame on the end of the finger that will set them to boiling very quickly, as you can see here. I'm giving them the maximum amount of heat without them scorching or falling apart.

(Leo removes finger)

Leo: I'll just chop up this pepperoni with my Wonder Slicer.

(Knife starts chopping on its own with perfect precision)

Leo: With that done, we want to pour our elbow noodles into the casserole dish first. Then we want to layer that with our marinara blend, which we'll layer with our pepperoni. Finally - we'll add a blend of mozzarella and parmesan to the top. I like to go wild with mine and cover it.

(Leo stretches out hands over dish. Flames begin hitting the top of the casserole)

Leo: You'll want to bake it at 250 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. This will go great with your juice and steak. You'll have a nice satisfying dinner ready to go.

Leo: (smiles) Until I see you again, here on Chef Leo's!

#books #movies #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo hoo toa #leo valdez #demigods #fire #hephaestus #cooking #chef #text post

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: ACA Top 10 Disney Heroes

A little bit of a shorter post, but there will certainly be some longer ones coming, don't you worry about that!

Released in September 2017 (just a little over a month after the Moana Medley), this was J None's 3rd collaboration with Voiceplay as a featured guest (after the Scars To Your Beautiful/All Time Low mashup and Something Just Like This). Not that you'd be able to tell if not for the title, because 1, J None fit right in with the group since day 1 imo, and 2, he's on the left-most position in the back row, rather than the centred position that guest artists usually take when VP are in their 3-2 configuration for a video (if you want more of me rambling about vocalist positionings in Voiceplay videos, go check out this post if you haven't already)

When Voiceplay do an Aca Top 10 Medley. you can basically guarantee that they will be wearing thematically-appropriate shirts/outfits.

J is wearing a Hercules shirt (especially fitting since he start off the video singing Go The Distance (which VP eventually did a full cover of in 2021 with EJ Cardona)), Earl is wearing a Moana shirt, featuring Pua, Eli is wearing a Little Mermaid shirt (you can't really see it in this shot but it's got a faded picture of Ariel on it), Geoff is wearing an Aladdin shirt with the Genie (I think he took lead on Friend Like Me for the Aladdin medley on VP's Once Upon An Ever After album?), and Layne is wearing a Lion King shirt with Mufasa on it! (So basically Eli and J are the only ones wearing shirts featuring actual protagonists 😆

Basically don't take your eyes off of J, Earl, and Eli during the One Jump Ahead section. Earl points at Eli on "riff-raff", at J None on "street rat", and at Layne on "scoundrel" (though J points over to Eli 😁). Then Earl and J pretend to do karate-chops (and/or some sort of wrestling-style elbow move), while Eli is Concerned(tm).

J with the hilarious and almost creepy face expressions on "just a little snack guys!", followed immediately by Earl pretending to rip apart his shirt on "rip him open..." (I would get screenshots but it's a lot in only a few seconds!)

I know I'm only supposed to be talking about visuals here, but I cannot help but express my love for Geoff's lead vocals on Colours Of The Wind here <3

(Also no hair study for this video, as it's not super different to the Moana Medley (a little flatter maybe))

Earl and J play-flirting with the camera/audience at the start of Reflection is kind of adorable ngl

The others all reacting to Eli's extended riff at the end of Reflection ("What? Xtina for life!")

"Legs are required for jumping, dancing!"

"See the line where the sky meets the sea, it calls me!" (it's calling J and Earl apparently - literally!) (those two are just absolute clowns this whole video, I love it)

Just realized that I'm pretty sure J is subtly doing the "bunny ears" gesture on Geoff at "number 2!" 😂

J could not be any more Extra with his head turns on "everybody look left!" and "everybody look right!" during I Just Can't Wait To Be King XD

"Everywhere you look I'm, standing in the spotlight!"

The reaction of the other four to Geoff singing Let It Go (in a beautiful bari-tenor(?) voice might I add) (Let👏Him👏Sing👏It!👏)

Man I love these idiots <3

#voiceplay #acapella #aca top 10 disney heroes #disney #geoff castellucci #eli jacobson #layne stein #j none #earl elkins jr #earl elkins #acaplaya analysis #voiceplay visuals

[trash-gobby]

🦇 Dwayne Fluff Alphabet 🦇

FLUFF ALPHABET TEMPLATE CREATED BY @snk-warriors

Link to Fluff Alphabet Here

Summary: Some more TLB fluff alphabet headcanons while I continue to write. This time with Dwayne!

Pairing: Dwayne X GN!Reader

Character: Dwayne, Reader, Laddie Thompson

Link: The Lost Boys

RATING: PG

⚠️Warnings!: None.

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

✨ Dwayne is obsessed with the idea of taking you to a biker racing convention. He loves the atmosphere and wants you to join him on that kind of adventure

✨ He’s also super into going for long rides with you and talking shop if your into cars and bikes

✨ He’s also just into sitting around on the beach at a bonfire and having a quiet one-on-one conversation. He loves hearing you talk.

✨ Also loves doing beachside and boardwalk activities with you and Laddie. It’s great seeing you and Laddie getting along so well

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

✨Qualities which Dwayne finds beautiful in a partner at empathy and patience.

✨Physically he’s really attracted to striking eyes which have a very piercing gaze and shorter hair.

✨ He also really loves a partner who is a good listener since he doesn’t feel like he can vent to the other boys when they’re annoying him. Dwayne likes that you don’t judge and just listen to his complaints while providing good comforting words when needed.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

✨Dwayne is the best man to have around during a crisis, whether emotional or otherwise.

✨He’ll know when you need him to calm you or just sit with you if that’s what you desire.

✨Amazing at understanding and setting boundaries that make you feel comfortable with talking to him about just about anything.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

✨ Dwayne is a very family-oriented individual. He wants to grow the boys small gang into a big vampire Brady Bunch, and he’d love to do that with you.

✨ In my headcanon of the TLB universe vampires are infertile. That won’t stop Dwayne from wanting to adop kids. However, if your not interested he’ll respect your wishes, but it’s something he’d love to do if your down.

✨Also loves the idea of opening a chop shop or motorcycle shop with you. He hasn’t brought up the idea to the boys yet because it’s something he wants to do on his own and doesn’t want to hurt their feelings by excluding them from being a part of the business in a larger aspect.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

✨Dwayne is by no means passive, but he’s not a super domineering or controlling partner either.

✨He likes balance in partnership. Sometimes he’ll take the lead and sometimes you will.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

✨Dwayne tries to avoid getting to the point in a disagreement where it becomes a full on fight.

✨He’ll try to deescalate things as much as possible and make compromises where you need them.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

✨Every day that Dwayne spends with you he’s grateful that he found his person.

✨ He’s even told you, whispering it in your ear as you all sit around in the cave hanging out and shooting the shit.

✨ He also likes to show his gratitude through getting you small gifts that have meaning significant to your relationship. For example a beautiful shiny seashell which he’d made into a wind chime which you’d both found wandering the beach together on one of your first dates.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

✨ Dwayne is a pretty open book with you because to him honesty and communication is key to a good relationship.

✨ He’ll tell you about some things which he wouldn’t even bring up to the other boys. To him your like his safe space/person to open up about his little anxieties about.

✨ However, he does keep some of the darker secrets of his past to himself as there are some things which even he doesn’t really want to share with you or anyone for that matter.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

✨ Being with you has allowed Dwayne to feel more comfortable coming out of his shell. He feels he can talk more with you and encouraged to be a bit less stoic and silent by your presence.

✨ You also allow him to feel like he can be a bit more selfish sometimes (in a good way). Sometimes he ends up doing everything for the other boys and is the group mother. You helped him realize he needs to set boundaries and put his foot down about taking on to much responsibility in the group.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

✨ Dwayne isn’t one to get jealous easily. He trusts you and knows that even though someone else may flirt with you, they don’t stand a chance. You love/care for him and wouldn’t return the sentiment of the other person.

✨ If for some reason he does end up feeling jealous, he will likely try to bottle it up for some time and deal with it on his own until he feels like he can talk to you about it.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

✨ Dwayne is a really good kisser… like a REALLY good kisser.

✨ He takes into account your comfort level and what kind of kissing you enjoy in order to make you get the most out of the experience, as well as him.

✨ He loves running his hands through/over your hair and cradling your face while he presses his lips to yours.

✨ Your first kiss occured while you guys were on the bus heading back from a date. He asked if he could kiss you goodnight and you nodded in agreement, finding him asking consent to be sweet and thoughtful. Then he leaned in and you experienced a kiss which you would describe as laced with passion and fireworks. It was perfect.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

✨ When Dwayne realises he is in love with you, he’s going to wait a little bit to confess his love to you. He won’t be sure if you will return his feelings and wants to see if the feeling will pass or stay forever.

✨ When he’s gotten over this phase of bottling his feelings up, he’ll confess his love to you and ask if you feel the same while sitting together on the beach looking up at the stars.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

✨ When it comes to marriage Dwayne is more interested then many of the other boys. He’d be totally open to getting married to you, but he isn’t really interested in the spectacle of a giant white wedding.

✨ If you guys were going to have a service he would want it to be small, with only extremely close friends/family.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

✨ After your second date going to see a re-screening of Casablanca, Dwayne started calling you “kid” jokingly, like the main protagonist calls his love interest in the movie (“He’s looking at you-”). It started as a joke, but then ended up sticking.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

✨ Dwayne is pretty subtle on his feelings when he’s in love. He tries to keep it on the down-low, but to those who know him well, like the boys and you, its obvious. Just the way he looks at you with so much love in his eyes makes it clear.

✨ He expresses his feelings through spending time with you and wanting to be near you. Whether you guys are snuggling in the cave on the couch and talking to each other in hushed voices, or going for long walks on the beach.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

✨ Dwayne isn’t one for massive PDA. He’s cool with kissing you in public, but he’s not gonna get super hot-and-heavy.

✨ One some occasions he may makeout with you on a bench or if your sitting on the beach together, but wouldn’t take it any further then that.

✨ He isn’t embarrassed about being physical in public, he’d just rather do some things privately.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

✨ If you have younger siblings, Dwayne is amazing with them. So much so that when you need a babysitter you/your parents are more than happy to let him watch them.

✨ He’s also really good with your parent(s)/guardian(s) and can charm them even if they think his physical appearance is rather intimidating or gives off a punk vibe they may not find appealing.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

✨ Dwayne is a very creative romantic. He loves making you little crochet things all the time to make you happy when your down or when its a special occasion.

✨ He’s also the kind of guy to make you things and create events for dates which cater to your interests or a mutual interest you share (i.e. renting out a bar, creating hanging solar system/constellation inspired theme in order to impress you for your birthday).

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

✨ Dwayne is a fantastic person to have in your corner for anything. He’s super supportive of your creative choices, hobbies and career choices.

✨ He will try help you when asked, even if he doesn’t know what your doing or have any experience.

✨ Is not one to crowd you if your wanting space to complete certain goals.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

✨ Although Dwayne likes adding creativity to the things you do together, he does like a certain level of predictable ebb and flow.

✨ He likes being able to have a routine with you because it allows him to feel comfort and organize his other responsibilities in order to be there for you.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

✨ Super empathetic partner.

✨ He is really understanding of your problems and pain, trying to see your perspective even if he doesn’t have the same lived experience as you.

✨ He tries to be empathetic by listening to everything you need to say and be supportive of you sharing your problems and feelings.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

✨ Dwayne’s relationship with you is extremely important. He puts it on par with his relationship with the boys (whom he considers family).

✨ The only relationship he cherishes more is with Laddie, who he sees a younger brother.

✨ When it comes to material things and career/hobbies, Dwayne sees you as more important, as he puts more stock in relationships then hobbies or career paths.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

✨ Really likes it when you braid his hair. It relaxes him and he loves the way you do it.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

✨ Dwayne is quite affectionate. It really depends on his mood how affectionate he is.

✨ Some days Dwayne just wants to lie with your head in his lap while you both read, and other days he’ll be more all over you with kisses.

✨ He also takes into account how you feel about physical affection.

✨ Dwayne doesn’t see physical affection as always the most important thing in a relationship, and if your not interested in/don’t desire physical affection to a certain degree, he is totally cool with that.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

✨ Dwayne is really good about being apart from you. Sure he will miss you if your away for a long time, but he won’t be completely unstable, pining for you for hours.

✨ He knows your going to be back eventually, and is perfectly fine sending you letters if your traveling/living in another country, talking over the phone, etc.

✨ He’ll stay loyal and wait until your able to return. Although once you do he may be waaay more excited than you’d think.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

✨ Dwayne sets healthy limits/lengths he’ll go for the relationship. At least more so then the other boys.

✨ If he’s truly fallen for you though, there is nothing he won’t do for you in order to protect you and show his love. He can be a bit overprotective though.

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #tlb 1987 #lost boys #dwayne lost boys #dwayne tlb #dwayne the lost boys #lost boys dwayne #dwayne fluff alphabet #dwayne x reader #dwayne lost boys x reader #lost boys 1987 #fluff #fluff alphabet #x reader #gn reader #trash gobby headcanons

[sunderedazem]

WoLposting on main for what (and how) he's doing after Endwalker-

He's starting with changing his hairstyle from the long braid with bangs to a shorter ponytail/shaggy bob cut after Endwalker because it feels like. The end of an era. And he's mourning losing his friends' constant presence, a little (even if he and G'raha are now courting and being idiot catboys about it). It's just. Cutting away what was out of grief. He's losing the Scions, at least ostensibly, because they're all splitting up and going different ways, and he's. A lot lost without them.

But also the haircut is because he doesn't want to be some folk hero and only that. Like he's cool with it, but also- he wants time to be Corrain, to figure out who Corrain is. He became the Warrior of Light when he was seventeen and has been that ever since, and before that was just a Keeper foundling in Gridania trying to complete a conjurer apprenticeship so he could get citizenship - he hasn't had the time to figure out what he wants. And sure, being adopted by Edmont and House Fortemps helped - he had a home and a family and a nation finally, even if he's sort of in the same sort-of son category Haurchefant was - but he's got little snippets of Azem's memory bleeding through, he knows there's a wanderlust in him that won't settle, and he needs Corrain de Fortemps to be someone who has the space to find out who he is. And for that he can't be clocked as the WoL everywhere he goes!

So he takes a knife and chops off his braid and then Y'shtola and Krile find him sitting in front of a mirror with this awful fluffy mess and help him shape it better, and when it's long enough to put up he just ties it back in a ponytail. And he just- wanders aimlessly. He helps G'raha a lot, they're definitely dating in a Halone-sanctioned way lmao, and he trails around visiting Scions.

And he's almost invisible. The people who know who he is know Corrain and not just the Warrior of Light, and now the bards' stories don't describe him perfectly and- he's got space to breathe. Space to discover he genuinely likes archaeology and researching bygone eras and writing about them, space to go around and record the mechanical particulars of his forays into ancient ruins and alternate worlds and etc, space to polish his knowledge about foraging and botany and learn how to travel with cookware only and make meals from the land rather than carry food with him-

And all of this to say he finds that - outside of being the Warrior of Light - he genuinely likes the kind of adventuring that comes with learning opportunities. He likes studying the things he's found, likes the challenge of discovery in the first place. He likes the kind of work the Students of Baldesion do, likes working with scholars. (especially G'raha. Nobody saw that coming 🙄) And more than all that- he's genuinely good at it. He gets to realize a lot of his own archaeological/adventuring skill, while supplemented by time-period experts, is in fact it's own branch of knowledge.

So by the time Dawntrail kicks off - I think he's fully considering trying to write a thesis on it, and maybe try to see if Sharlayan would give him an Archon's mark about it. Sure- he's not a Sharlayan citizen, he has strong ties to Ishgard in the vein of being an adopted son of one of the four high houses. But he's also openly dancing circles around G'raha and Artoirel is definitely interested in having a no-inheritance-threat adopted baby brother with a foothold in Sharlayan and- well, House Fortemps approved of G'raha already anyway, they're expecting that to happen.

He's definitely found himself in a lot of ways by the time the next expansion will kick off. Of course part of that is being an actual adult and a twenty-something instead of a teenager, but also- coming to terms with being nine-fourteenths of Azem, coming to terms with defining himself rather than letting what he can do define him, coming to the realization that he's allowed to like what he does and who he is.

That the hope he found in Ultima Thule is actually allowed to feel like his own, and it's not selfish of him to feel that way. That he's allowed to live for himself.

And. Like damn. Finally! but also I'm proud of him. He turns out alright in the end.

Excited to start Dawntrail with this version of Corrain. He's just so much less- desperate to prove something. He proved everything he needed to prove to himself already. And now he finally just adventure for adventure's sake.

#ffxiv wol #ffxiv #wol posting #wolposting #corrain gealai #ffxiv corrain #teenage WoLs are. a special kind of fucked-up. babies.... #but he turns out okay. he's okay. and he knows it #post-endwalker plot for the Boy #he's sixteen when he joins the adventurers' guild #and he's twenty-two when he's done recovering from all his injuries from Ultima Thule #i know “canon” says all that was wirhin a year but. nah #five years #anyway this means G'raha meets an almost 18 year old Corrain and is like ??? #and then meets him again when he's almost twenty one three hundred years later #and is just immediately like “Didn't think there'd be a glowup like THIS O////O oh no. thank the 12 half of me is crystal” #corrain #corrain meanwhile has been like “🥺 😍 cute boy...” since the Crystal Tower raids lmao

[fan-burns]

Little late, but here’s my take on a Swap!Au for Robots! It’s still a WIP, so bare with me!

(Shout out to @kalifiah and @themadauthorshatter for their Swap and Dead End Friends Au respectively, since their takes on the idea inspired me to make my own!)

Main differences:

-Ratchet was built in Rivet Town and had Madame and Monsieur Gasket to raise him.

-Madame Gasket in particular is known for her loving and passionate personality, with Monsieur Gasket being a pure sweetheart for all to enjoy. He was also known for needing constant repairs. Despite this, he keeps up his optimism.

-Ratchet messed up his leg when he was 17. I’m still working on what happened, but whatever happened wasn’t catastrophic, so he built himself a crutch to save money. He can’t really run with it, so the magnetized chance scene is way shorter then in the movie.

-Ratchet never cared for the sleek and shiny upgrades, much to his parents joy. He works with his dad at Gunks’s to help pay for repairs.

-Like cannon Rodney, he picked up tinkering after learning about Bigweld. Unlike Rodney, however, Ratchet also looked into becoming a repair bot for a career so he could simply repair his dad himself and save money.

-Ratchet used an old vase to make the wonderbot (you can actually see her in the sketch). She’s pretty chatty, even if she can only talk in bleeps and squeaks.

-Ratchet’s story isn’t much different from this point on, he goes to the city, meets the rusties, saves the day, etc. Only real notable difference is that he’s kind of a dumbass. He’s got zero sense of self preservation and it shows. He also kinda falls for the villain like a chad and has to deal with that sob story.

-Rodney, however, oh boy that’s an entirely different story.

-His parents own the Chop Shop, with his mother in charge and his father taking the role of caregiver to Rodney. Herb is still Herb here, but takes cannon Monsieur’s “Bye son, good luck with your dastardly plans!” Personality to a whole new level.

-Herb’s pretty laid back about the whole evil plan thing as long as his son is home in time for dinner. That, and his morning coffee. (Morning oil? Coolant?)

-Rodney’s mom (Lydia I think?) acts as a creeper Madam Gasket. Lots inspiration from The Other Mother from Coraline (we’ll see a full body someday). Other than that, she isn’t entirely fleshed out yet, so I’ll definitely make separate posts for each of the characters.

-Out of everyone in this Au, Rodney has changed completely. He’s seductive, manipulative, and is the brains behind the business. When he wants something, he’ll get it one way or another. It doesn’t help that he’s currently in charge of one of the largest companies in the city. He’s in charge and he fucking knows it.

-He’s also known to do a lot of model work during his free time, so he’s got a whole arsenal of upgrades and heels (yes he has heels in this Au) for him to run the runway with and to flex. If you’re gonna sell something, why not advertise it yourself?

I’m still working on this Au, so any comments or feedback would help me out and I’d really appreciate it in the long run.

✨~Ciao! ✨

#Robots 2005 #rodney copperbottom #Au #swap au #Ratchet #traditional art #digital art #robots movie

[addictedtostorytelling]

I'm still not sure what to make of the conversation Sara and Greg have about his first days as a CSI, specifically when they are talking about how he didn't throw up in his first autopsy. What is the deeper meaning? Is she simply just reassuring him of his placement?

hi, anon!

so i've actually fic'd my take on that conversation (from sara's perspective) here, if you're interested in reading it.

just search for the words "for the rest of the night, sara holes up in evidence, finishing her paperwork and waiting for the sunrise." that's where the scene starts.

otherwise, shorter answer:

she's basically trying to cheer him up and give him a pep talk when he's doubting himself.

she comes in to congratulate him on his accomplishment but finds him in a subdued and existential mood, freaked out by his close encounter with death and clearly questioning his chops as a criminalist.

it's almost like she can see the gears turning in his head. he's sitting there going, "if i can't handle one little autopsy, how can i do this job?", thinking he's made a big mistake by transitioning from lab rat to field mouse.

sensing that he needs reassurance, she takes two tacks: one is to be light and playful with him to cheer him up, and the other is to be honest about her own experience as a rookie so that he knows he's not the only person to have ever been thrown off his game by an autopsy.

when she admits to him that she puked at her first post, it helps him to realize that a) there's no shame in him having the reaction he's having (particularly as she is one of the toughest people he knows and has never been squeamish for as long as they've been acquainted), and, b) if she can bounce back from that kind of "performance" and go on to have a long, successful career in criminalistics, so can he.

that's why he sounds heartened when he notes that, unlike her, he didn't puke.

and that's why she tells him, "way to go, tough guy"

—because he's got what it takes.

he just needs to believe in himself.

that said, even with his concerns about his own fitness to be a csi assuaged, greg is still kind of wigged out just on an existential level about death itself—hence his comments about the emptiness of the body.

so at that point, sara drops some real knowledge on him, telling him that though death is inevitable, what really matters is what one does with their life before they die.

she wants to remind greg that he has a choice: he has aptitudes and knowledge and skills which give him the propensity to be an excellent criminalist. so how is he going to use them? what is he going to do? how is he going to help people?

he has a chance to do something meaningful.

and isn't that what he wants for himself? isn't that why he decided to get out of the lab to begin with?

so that's the thought she leaves him with.

and, ultimately, it does help.

greg does feel better after talking to her—about himself, about the job, and about being one of the living who speaks for the dead.

honestly, i love this scene because it is such a good illustration of sara and greg's friendship dynamic and because sara is such an excellent mentor/trainer here. she says the exact right thing to help greg remember why he wanted to switch to field forensics in the first place.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #anon #asks: csi #** #my meta #meta: csi #meta: sara #meta: greg #brotp: i came here for you #let's talk shop #05x02 #csiverse

[chaos-event-horizon]

"Well obviously you're going to live here now!"

The older villain fought off a chuckle as he watched Rian expertly chop up vegetables for dinner, talking to Midoriya as if everything he said should just be a given fact of the universe. "See, kid? Told you we'd have a place for you. Now that you hold the true torch of One For All, it'd be best if you stayed here more permanently."

The emerald haired teen fidgeted, but his eyes were clear and determined. "I have no problem with that. My mother probably wouldn't notice for at least a week... And I like it here. I just don't wanna invade your space."

The brunette at the kitchen counter snorted. "Oh, you're totally invading our space. But that's not really a bad thing. You might just get the two of us to be responsible adults."

"Babe, I'll have you know that I'm very responsible!"

"Says your empty energy drink can collection," Rian quipped, dumping the vegetables into a wok with oil and seasoning, then turning around. "We also might want to consider getting you a disguise of some kind, for now... That hair of yours really stands out. I can help you go blonde, if you want. Going lighter will help more than going darker."

"I'm okay with that."

Toshinori nodded. "We'll round up a costume and stage name for you too. Once you get used to One For All, you should consider debuting as a villain. We'll get more of my people on your side that way, to back you up and be willing to listen to you."

"Of course, All Might."

The blonde chuckled. "I told ya kid... Call me 'Toshinori' when it's just us three. Or I guess 'Yagi' if you insist on being formal."

"Izuku..." Rian said softly, stirring the seasoned vegetables before sitting at the table. "I know it's probably awkward... But you should also consider coming up with a new civilian name. Keeping your personal name might be okay, but... If your mother does end up reporting you missing, a new name will be just as important as a new look."

The teen thought about it then nodded. "Well... I might as well go all in, since I'll be blonde anyway," he mumbled, and to his credit, was only blushing a little as he looked up at his mentor. "Izuku Yagi sound okay, sir?"

~

The blonde looked shocked, but Rian laughed. "Sounds perfect to me, Izuku," the younger adult said, patting his husband's hand before getting back to cooking. "Now... What was the other thing you guys wanted to talk about?"

Mentor and mentee eyed one another. The play was to soften things up with the discussion of Izuku living here since Rian was bound to agree and be into it... But that was before he started making stir fry.

They would both rather die than put that stir fry in jeopardy.

"Y-yeah! Is... Uh... Is it still cool if the guys come over, even though I uh... Am supposed to be in hiding?" Izuku asked. Toshinori would have praised his quick thinking, if his voice hadn't been so squeaky.

Rian snorted. "Now see... You know better than to think I'd say no to that. What's really the problem?"

Toshinori thought fast. "Since I'll be training our uh... Surprise new son, He and I will be away from home a few times a week so I can help him get used to his quirk away from prying eyes."

"Hmm... Yeah, no, that's another obvious one," the shorter man said, sighing. "Okay, I get it, the stir fry is sacred... But you're going to tell me after dinner, or both of you are sleeping at the bar."

The other two glanced at one another again, then Toshinori sighed as the brunette brought the food to the table. "Yes dear."

"Love you babe!"

The blonde chuckled, imagining there being a forth Yagi sitting at the table. "Love you too, Kitten."

#smitespace #this counts as lore. #look at my majestic adopted sons

[rsmrymnt-tea]

Hii<3 asking about how Dola feels abt Belphegor >_> and also how they would feel abt...Sally..!

Belphie!!! Cracks knuckles bc I feel like I'm gonna talk about like... Canon divergence dhjkgfd (sorry for rubber ducking on your ask+eventually going on and on on Sally's sdhfjksd working mostly off of my imagination since you don't talk about them enough!! >.<)

So like... Of course this is like, the roughest start of them all, even more so because Dola doesn't go up to see him on her second day in the Devildom like MC does in canon? As curious as she is, hearing a disembodied voice call for help in the a house full of demons is idiot behavior she refuses to do. So Lilith has to do a little interfering so that Belphie's attempts at trying to get to her work (in her canon they don't meet in the attic until much later; they first meet in her dreams where he terrorizes her for a bit until she gives in and talks in exchange for some peace).

They sort of... Surprisingly get along while they're dream chatting? Begrudgingly since he's just always there pestering her about progress on making the pacts while also sort of looking for someone to talk to in a way, so he's the most consistent constant company she has. And if she wants a good night of sleep she has to like, not upset him, so they're both pretty annoyed at each other until something distracts them from it. Their talks kind of err on the side of her updating him about stuff that happened, how his brothers are, which eventually starts getting the chance of him ranting to her and her helping him work through his feelings.

And things go well enough! It leads to her eventually getting up the attic while Lucifer's away (I'll bring you some of that sushi you like if you'll leave me alone tomorrow night) and he goes into a crisis of whether he actually *gags* likes a human.

Post-Incident uh, things are pretty rough. He's mainly saved from her never forgiving him by her coming to the conclusion that Diavolo and Barbatos knew everything was going to happen and played a part in planning it + him offering a pact in exchange for a shot at forgiveness (bc her avoiding him was making shit kinda rough for him in the HoL). Then from there it slowly goes back to them being pretty chill with each other? He does put effort into making things better between them, which she sees and accepts as points in his favor.

(idk why but I'm inclined to say he had like, a pretty longtime crush on her...? That only Beel knew about.)

Tbh they don't spend that much time together unless it's in a group with the other brothers. Dola's very anti-sloth as a person plus combined with how Belphie spends a lot of time asleep there's not a lot of times they can hang out one-on-one. Unless he hangs out in the same room as her while she's working on something, or is the one to join her whenever she needs to go out to do some nature studies for art thingz. He's probably had her teach him how to make good art and it goes... not that well shjkfhgjkfg

They're like... Idk how to word it. It's chill, simple company that's pretty laid back, but sometimes they get deep if they're alone somewhere private...? Sort of the same as how they were while he was still in the attic, but now they both update each other on what they've been doing when they're not hanging out together with the company of the others. They talk shit about the royals often and get into the occasional argument about whether Dola overworks herself or not (spoiler, she kinda does.)

He also knows his baby brother card doesn't work on her but tries anyway, then she rubs it in that it doesn't work.

AAAAAAAA okay that's a lot. time for Sally!! Which is probably shorter since I don't know her too well

Okay so for Sally I'm gonna set up a scene lmao. Let's say they meet in Goetia for the first time when Asmo takes Dola there to get her hair rescued after messily chopping something like 12 inches off mid-breakdown (canon). She knows she looks like a mess and sticks out among everyone there, probably.

When it's her turn to get up there and get her hair done, she's probably been watching Sally work for a while since I imagine they're pretty standout among the Goetia staff as well. Very good fashion, mentally taking down notes. Probably unknowingly helps set Dola up into a future goth of some form (or at least wears predominantly black and yes Sally is canon in Dola's canon now oh yes it's happening)

The death aura v death aura probably cancel out into Dola thinking Sally's really chill? Easy to talk to, can trust them with her hair. Sally's totally not the vibe she was expecting when Asmo set up the appointment. Would Sally initiate small talk? :o

Whether or not they do, Dola would come out of it pleased and contemplating having her hair bleached and colored. From then on she becomes a regular client whenever she has to get her hair done while in the Devildom (and later on just in general once she knows how to teleport. Sally gets to do whatever they want with immortal Dola's hair once it starts going out pure white every few months.)

Also I have no idea what etiquette is but I like thinking that they start hanging out outside of the salon because Dola ends up being Sally's last client of the day and it's too early to head home or they conversation's really nice so they go and grab some sort of drink of choice somewhere... Or like just walk around aimlessly when the streets are quiet while they have a chat >w<

Which is where I think Dola would start like, talking more and bring up more stuff that she has in common with Sally? I can see Dola enjoying having someone other than Satan and Lucifer to discuss art with since I imagine Sally's tastes and takes to be different from theirs, and that since I think Sally actually makes art it adds a whole new layer to their conversations, y'know? Like it's always different when the person gets it from a maker/creator standpoint.

Oooh plus Dola updated Sally on all the human world stuff, art and fashion and all? Feel like she'd enjoy coaxing whatever excitement she can get out of Sally

Oml imagine Sally being the one to start Dola off on getting together a new wardrobe during her first in the Devildom once she's finally had enough of her hoodies and jeans?? Beating Asmo to the punch? This is becoming like... Headcanons about those two more than Dola's thoughts but still sdhfk I feel like the fact that Dola would let them take her shopping says a lot >w<

You know what? Dola needs friends outside of the brothers and Solomon ahjsk this is fun

Send me a character and I'll tell you how my one OC feels about them (or if you somehow remember the names of my other rarely mentioned OCs, you can ask about them too lmao

#chat & colloquy #baalism #wow sorry went on and on on this one for sure and not quite sure if i ansdwered the assignment right for sally #asmo pointing at them and saying i made them friends while satan shakes him like 'well how am i supposed to hang out with dola now' #dolasach #familiar strangers