#cheers! one day ill draw more of that funny little series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

slutforsilverfoxes · 8 months

Note

ok i dont know if you do requests or not but this is just something thats been ricocheting around in my head for days and i need to get it out before my brain completely rots. whether or not you want to write it is up to you i just really needed to share this with a hotch lover.

nonbau!reader knowing that the team have a really tough local case their all working overtime on and deciding to try to cheer them up and destress them a bit so she spend a few hours cooking this amazing delicious meal because she knows they'll probably just get takeout. so she swings by the bau around 6ish with the food and the whole team flock around her and around hugging her and thanking her and immediately digging in.

hotch notices from his office and comes down looking way grouchier than normal and hes like "excuse me we have a case to work on im not sure why youre all standing around when theres work to be done. and r why are you here distracting my team they need to focus" before going back into his office and the team is shook bc aaron has NEVER spoken to you like that before. and youre highkey offended like ?? i spent hours of my time doing a nice thing and im getting bitched at like im his subordinate??

but then you slam your purse down on jjs desk, take your earrings out and put your hair up in a ponytail and youre like "give me 15 minutes and ill have that attitude sorted put no problem." before marching away into hotchs office locking the door and drawing the shades and derek and emily are crying laughing cause they know exactly whats about to happen but reid is confused like ??? is she gonna fight with him? why did she put her hair up? whats so funny? and pen and jj have to explain that you went up there to give him a bj and hes just like?!?! AT WORK?!?? and rossi is just watching the shenanigans unfold like 🤭🤭

and you do eventually come back down from his office wiping your mouth on the back of your hand and your hair is significantly more ruffled than before and hotch looks subdued and even a little embarrassed and he just mutters a quiet apology to the team before grabbing a plate of the food you brought (which is actually his favorite meal of yours) before kissing you and thanking you for coming to see him.

My oh my, do I love the way your mind works 😈 Thank you for this request (& for your patience as I took 84 years to write it)! I hope you enjoy 🖤

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x wife!reader

(-indicates reader's texts)

__________

A rapid series of buzzes on the table beside you has you pulling your attention away from the sizable dent you’ve made in the stack of thesis papers to be graded for your class. You exchange your favorite pen for your phone, unlocking the screen to find several texts from your closest friend sent in quick succession:

5:49pm SOS

5:49pm (Save Our Stomachs)

5:50pm Pls we’ve been going in circles on this case and he’s in a Mood

You can’t help but smile at the he in question, your stoic, stalwart husband- and your friend’s unit chief. You fire back a response:

-5:50pm Em :( Is he holed up in his office?

5:50pm You know it

-5:51pm Classic 🙄 Lucky for youuuu I’m already making dinner for my favorite people!

The oven timer beeps as if to punctuate your statement, and you rise from your spot at the kitchen table while typing out another message.

-5:51pm Scratch that- it’s ready. Be there asap rocky

-5:51pm Be brave little soldier 🫡

5:53pm You’re my fucking hero

You gather enough plates and cutlery to dish up dinner to the team of agents, then pack them up alongside the foil-covered Pyrex container fresh out of the oven. Deciding against changing out of your yoga pants and your boyfriend’s old law school t-shirt, you pluck the pencil out of your bun that was holding your hair up and toss it onto the table, snag your keys, and make your way out to the car.

The drive into the city is a relatively short one, given that most of the traffic is heading in the opposite direction at this time on a Friday evening. You navigate your way into the parking garage, then head upstairs with your precious cargo.

“Evening, Mrs. Hotchner,” your favorite security guard greets you as you step out of the elevator, and you flash him a smile with a greeting in return. “Come grab a plate when you’re done your rounds,” you call over your shoulder, and his answering grin tells you he’ll be patrolling the floor a little faster than usual tonight.

Four heads pop up from their desks at the sound of the glass double doors opening, shoulders sagging with relief when they spot your bright smile and the telltale bag in your hand that means dinner is served. Derek’s quick to jump up and help you with the heavy container as Emily, Spencer, and JJ follow the two of you into the round table room, animatedly filling you in on their day. JJ’s fingers fly across her screen, and Penelope is rounding the doorway from the back hallway by the time you make it upstairs and start setting up, arms outstretched to pull you into a hug while declaring, “You’re my favorite Hotchner, did you know that?”

“We both know I come second to Jack,” you joke, and Emily lets out a happy groan as she digs into her meal, professing, “You’re at least tied now.”

A pair of solid hands lands on your shoulders from behind, and you feel the familiar scratchiness of Dave’s beard pressing kisses to your cheeks in greeting. “What would we do without you?”

With a laugh, you turn to offer him a helping and answer, “Simply perish.”

Your heart swells as the team settles down around the table enjoying the home cooked meal, but there’s one very obvious absence. A glance at your husband’s office reveals the door is still closed, the room dark save for a glow through the open blinds that you know is from his little desk lamp. Deciding to give him a few more minutes of solitude before barging in and demanding that he take a break to eat, you join your friends at the table to tell them about the senior prank your students recently pulled in an attempt to give their minds a reprieve from their current case.

“I bet you Morgan did stuff like that all the time,” JJ accuses amid catching her breath from laughing at the story about the two chickens released on the top floor, cleverly labeled one and three.

Derek smiles back, ready to take credit, but Emily cuts in with, “A psychological prank like that sounds more like something Spence would do.”

“C’mon now, pretty boy wouldn’t want to inconvenience his teacher,” Derek teases, eliciting a pout from the youngest of the team who counters with, “Hey, I won that prank war against-”

“What’s going on here?”

A hush falls over the room at the sound of Aaron’s voice, the question itself seemingly innocent but its intention clearly to reprimand. Five pairs of eyes drop downward, leaving only you and Dave making eye contact, the older man mouthing an empathetic, Busted, in your direction.

Unbothered, you swivel in your chair to meet your husband’s gaze with a cherubic smile, your voice positively dripping in honey. “Mom’s feeding the kids because Dad forgot that sustenance is important for your brain and body. Now c’mon, take a break and-”

“Does it seem like I have time for that right now?”

Your eyebrows shoot up at his tone, and you drop the teasing lilt to your voice. “Aar, I just wanted you guys to-”

“Go home, Y/N, please,” he requests quietly, pressing his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose with a soft exhale. “We can’t afford to be distracted right now. Everybody finish up and get back to work.” He turns on his heel and returns to his office without so much as a hello or goodbye or thank you, my love, for being so thoughtful and taking care of us directed your way.

Once his footfalls have receded, the entire group releases a collective breath as if they’ve just escaped being chewed out by the principal- at your expense. When you turn back around, you’re met with expressions of shock that reflect your own, like the kids literally just witnessed their dad being mean to their mom for the first time.

“You know how Aaron gets with a case,” Dave tries to soothe your ruffled feathers, and JJ jumps in with, “I’m sure he didn’t mean to come off like that, Y/N, he’s just-”

“Stressed?” you finish her thought for her. You rise abruptly from your chair, dropping your purse on the table with a resounding thud before digging through it to find a spare hair tie. “I know he is. And I also know my husband did not just say that to my face,” you grumble under your breath, combing your fingers through your hair to pull it into a quick ponytail while continuing your tirade. “After I spent hours making a meal between doing my own work? No sir, uh uh, SSA Hotchner. That man needs to relax.”

Spencer leans over to Derek while you carry on quietly cursing their boss for his attitude and asks, “Should we be concerned?”

Derek lets out a snicker before answering, “Maybe for Hotch’s di-”

“Dignity!” JJ cuts in with a sharp look at her colleague, trying and failing to suppress her own smile.

You pause in the doorway, squaring your shoulders before turning back to the team to say, “You guys eat. Enjoy. I’ll take care of your boss.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Emily snorts out, clearly amused. Laughter, applause, and a distinct wolf whistle courtesy of Derek follow you down the carpeted walkway to your husband’s office.

-----(Read Behind Closed Doors here!)-----

When you return to the round table room several not-so-subtle minutes later, you’re greeted by a bunch of giddy smiles, a knowing look from Rossi, and Spencer’s pink-tinged cheek since he’s refusing to make eye contact with you. “All better,” you announce proudly, dropping into a chair before tugging the hair tie from your now slightly tangled locks and combing your fingers through a few persistent knots. “Everybody good and full?”

“Some more than oth-”

You cut your sharp gaze over to Derek and he mimes zipping his mouth shut, a smirk still playing at his lips.

“What he means to say,” Pen huffs, slapping his shoulder, “is thank you so much for dinner, sweetie.”

“It was my pleasure,” you answer genuinely. “You know I love taking care of you guys.”

“And we’re very lucky you do,” your husband’s baritone voice rumbles from the doorway behind you. You turn to find a sufficiently chastened Aaron entering the room, and you offer him your cheek when he places his hands on your shoulders and bends to press a kiss to your smiling face. “I, uh, just wanted to apologize for my earlier-”

“Temper tantrum?” you offer, and Aaron squeezes your shoulders in warning before continuing, “Outburst. I let the stress of the case get the best of me and neglected my duties to prioritize the health of this team. Luckily, my darling wife is always there to make up for my shortcomings.”

You catch your best friend’s eye and shoot her an exaggerated wink at your husband’s word choice, forcing Emily to cover up a laugh with a cough. Aaron’s hand slides over to the nape of your neck, and you know you’re in for it once this case is over.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

__________

AH tags 🖤 @gothwifehotchner @iyv-ray24 @mrs-ssa-hotch @criminalskies @callm3c0nfus3d

580 notes · View notes

jellyfishdooter · 5 years

Photo

LISTEN

I HAVE VERY LOW IMPULSE CONTROL

In spite of the current community fire I give you this Rise of the Guardians AU

Character explanations/ mini story under the cut

So after watching Rise of the Guardians (one of my fav animated movies) I got the idea for an AU where the egos are like the Guardians of the JSE community.

Their designs are based off/ inspired by the characters in the movie but instead of just drawing the egos as those characters, I more so let them inspire re-creations of their outfits/ powers

Chase: Jack Frost- Guardian of Family

In the beginning he doesn’t see himself as a guardian. He’s a screw up, a washout. But even through his depression he tries to make others happy before himself. He does this by having fun and trying to get those in the community to join in with him! It’s later on that he realizes he has a part to play and that his is making sure everyone is still together as one big community. He’s here to remind us that in troubling times that we all have each other- that we’re all family.

JBM: Santa- Guardian of Hope

Being the super hero of the group, it’s JBM’s job to protect the innocent and give off the appearance of being something people can depend upon- someone who can protect everyone from danger. He helps the community become strong and makes them laugh along the way (even if he has to make a fool of himself to do it, he loves our smiles)- he gives them hope.

Marvin: Tooth Fairy- Guardian of Creativity (Sams: small Tooth Fairies)

Much like tooth fairy in the movie, it’s Marvin’s job to collect fanart/ fanworks and store them so when the community forgets all that they have built together, he shows them. Not only that, he inspires the content creators and represents their passion for their art. And it’s what he protects. (Along with the help of the little Sams who are the ones who actually collects and re-distributes it so everyone can see what they’ve made.)

Jameson: Sandman- Guardian of Positivity

Arguably one of the most important guardians of the community, JJ is there to remind people the importance of PMA. In his own quiet ways, he encourages the members to think on the bright side- or is just there to give hugs and be there for them. Whenever someone is in such a dark place, he uses his powers to show them that they still have so much potential and that they’re not alone. He give them a light in a dark place to hold onto. (Yes, he uses sign language AND the sand symbols for those who don’t understand sign)

Schneep: Bunny- Guardian of Health

Being the good doctor of the group, he’s there to remind the community to take care of themselves. Yes he may be a lil aggressive in the way he gives out advice, but for a lot of people they need their butts a little kicks to get them moving to help themselves. But not only physical health, he’s also willing to sit down and talk about mental health and analyze what the problem is/ works to help you understand how to improve yourself.

Anti: The Boogieman- “Guardian” of Fear and Chaos

And last but not least, our dear little firestarter. For so LONG he’s waited, waited to be in the spotlight. Before the other egos show up it was just him and it was delicious. He had so much power as he fed off of our fears, insecurities, and of course the headcanons and theories we made about him. But then Jack HAD to make more egos and fill the community with positivity and light. So he sunk back and waited for his opportunity- he waited for his powers to grow strong in the background. And with all of the hints being dropped and community fueling the fire in a continuous positive feedback loop, he gains more and more strength every day. He reminds the community not everything is peachy and rosy. That there are awful things in the world and how you’re just a tiny ripple in a storming ocean. Insignificant. He doesn’t want to stamp out the community- that would be counterproductive. No he just wants them to feel fear for the channel- that nothing is safe anymore- at any turn he could be there. And with that everything always comes back to him.

And sooner or later, the others will fade away...

Extra Headcanons/ Tidbits:

Before they were all guardians they were other people. (TW: death and suicide mentions) -Anti was a reckless criminal and one night his “friends” betrayed him, leaving him behind which wound up being the end of him. They were running from the police and were trying to jump a tall fence when his comrades left the struggling man behind to take the fall. He did in more ways than one. -JBM was just a regular dude, but he sacrificed himself to save a kid getting hit by a bus in the city. Even though he was about to die he kept asking if the kid was okay. The medics told him he saved them and that’s all he needed to hear. -Marvin was a street magician in his time. He did tricks to cheer up people sitting on the sidewalk/ sitting alone and talked to them about their passions. Later the same people would come back and tell him about the new job they got or the current project they were working on. He pulled a teen off the side of a bridge and a local cop mistook it for him attacking her and.. well.. things escalated quickly -Henrik was an upstanding surgeon. He saved lives every day in his career. Even though his wife and child left him, he worked every day to become a better doctor and continued to save people. And after the surgeries he would personally counsel the patients to make sure they were okay physically and mentally. But one day.. they didn’t have a matching organ for the patient on standby.. and he knew he matched the credentials. -Jameson was a small movie star in his time. And when he wasn’t filming he went down in quiet to lift the spirits of homeless children and teens. He would put on small performances and then go around to each of them and comfort them if they said it was okay. He made sure by the end of his visit they were all in high spirit. But one day the filming studio caught fire. The smoke damaged his lungs so he couldn’t call out before the building collapsed. -And Chase... He had a loving wife and two kids who he cared for with his life. He vowed to himself to protect them, even though his wife turned into a bitch as the years went on. One night they were walking home from a day at the amusement park and Chase got jumped with his kids nearby. The criminal threatened to kill the kids if Chase didn’t comply. So to protect them, he did as the criminal said, handing over his wallet and watch and phone. And when the criminal was about to kill one of them anyway, instinct took over and Chase knocked the man down and knocked him out- but when he fell the gun went off

The lights on the globe are the septiclights, each one representing a person in the community

Instead of holidays, the guardians help in the background of charity livestreams and videos to give them that little extra spark.

Sean is the equivalent of the Man in the Moon

The extra fan-made egos (like Robbie, Shawn, Angus, and Bing) are still around, they just aren’t the big guardians.

If they were tho... Robbie- Guardian of Innocence, Shawn- Guardian of Voice, Angus- Guardian of... idk, Protection? Or maybe head cannons lol, Bing- Guardian of Online Connections

When too much of the community becomes afraid/ depressed, the guardian’s form changes (like in the movie) before they disappear -JBM: Becomes weaker, probably needs his glasses to see again, basically turned into a comicbook nerd -Marvin: Loses a lot of his color, magic goes away, turns into a cat? -Henrik: Hands continuously shake, gains a stutter so people can hardly understand him, becomes super paranoid/ closed off -JJ: His colors fade to black and white, it’s really hard to summon his powers, always about to cry/ wants to scream -Chase: Goes into a low state of depression, isolates himself a lot -Anti: His bravado diminishes- basically turns into an edgy teen with spasms instead of actual glitches, wound on his neck closes.

Like in the movie there’s a point where Anti takes over (like right now) and everyone’s powers start to fade

To make this angsty(er) he manages to kill JJ and he disappears, along with the light of positivity in the community.

Chase blames himself for not being fast enough to save him

To turn thing around Henrik suggests a charity livestream to promote a mental health organization. So they all work together to prep

A young community member somehow gets into Henrik’s realm

Memes and shenanigans ensue

“We spend all our time trying to protect the community, we don’t HAVE TIME-... for the community..?”

Chase runs off after young familiar voices calling out for their daddy

Chase ends up in Anti’s realm of fear(the opening is in the woods under an abandoned computer desk). It’s a series of twisted hallways bathed in red light and entire walls of glitching computer screens that cast weird shadows

When Chase gets out he realizes all the equipment is destroyed and he wasn’t there to help

Henrik blames Chase and sad dad runs off.

The community is plunged into a state of fire and fear and there’s no positivity anywhere to be found.

Except one last light...

A fan is talking to a Sam plushie, saying that yeah they understand why the stream COULD have been cancelled.. but everything in their life is just so dark they were really looking forward to it.

Chase finds them and uses his powers to make images of septic lights and funny moments in Jack’s videos

They realize it’s Chase who’s doing it and can see him

All the egos fight Anti with the help of a few community members beside them- giving them power to fight back.

The members bring back JJ

JJ kicks the ever living shit out of Anti with the help of the others beside him Okay I think I’ll stop here XD If you read all this... wowie!

334 notes · View notes

kumolearnsjap · 4 years

Text

Common Words

単語（たんご）: Word, vocabulary

言葉（ことば）: Word(s)

字（じ）: Character, letter, word

名詞（めいし）：Noun

アルバイト：Part-time job

一緒に（いっしょに）：Together, at the same time

一回（いっかい）：Once; one time, round, game, bout, inning

意味（いみ）：Meaning, significance

嘘（うそ）：Lie

上手く（うまく）：Skilfully

エコ：Eco-friendly

��顔（えがお）：Smile, smiling face

絵（え）：Picture, drawing, painting, sketch

お風呂（おふろ）：Bath

終わり（おわり）：The end

応援（おうえん）：Cheering, support, help

お釣り（おつり）：Change (i.e. money), balance

お互い（おたがい）：Mutual, reciprocal, each other

家事（かじ）：Housework, family affairs, domestic chores

壁（かべ）: Wall, barrier

階（かい）:Storey, floor, stairs

角（かど）: Corner

考え（かんがえ）: Thinking, thought, ideas, intention

海外（かいがい）: Abroad, foreign, overseas

回復（かいふく）: Recovery (e.g. from an illness), restoration

記憶（きおく）: Memory, recollection

気温（きおん）: Temperature

気合・気合い（きあい）: Encouragement, fighting spirit, spirit

切手（きって）: Postage stamp, merchandise certificate

キャラクター: Character (in a play, show)

禁煙席（きんえんせき）: Non-smoking seat

機会（きかい）: Chance, opportunity

クーポン: Coupon

癖（くせ）: (Bad) habit, peculiarity, kink

どう：How, in what way

氷（こおり）：Ice

間違い（まちがい）：Mistake

情報（じょうほう）：Information

興味（きょうみ）：Interest (in something)

インターネット：Internet

仕事（しごと）：Job

S/M/L サイズ：Small/medium/large (size)

文字（もじ）：Letter (of alphabet), character

機械（きかい）：Machine

氏名（しめい）：Name

注射（ちゅうしゃ）：Injection

ニュース：News

新聞（しんぶん）：Newspaper

手術（しゅじゅつ）：Operation

電話番号（でんわばんごう）：Phone number

ニキビ：Pimple

どうか：Please, somehow or other

ポケット：Pocket

政治（せいじ）：Politics

コンセント：Power outlet

処方箋（しょほうせん）：Prescription

値段（ねだん）：Price

問題（もんだい）：Problem

決して（けっして）: Never, by no means, indisputably, decidedly

怪我（けが）: Injury

景色（けしき）: Scenery, scene, view, landscape

敬語（けいご）: Honorific, term of respect

経験（けいけん）: Experience

検査（けんさ）: Inspection (e.g. customs, factory), examination, scan (e.g. MRI, PET, etc.)

健康診断（けんこうしんだん）: Physical examination

コース: Course

高級感（こうきゅうかん）: Luxurious

声（こえ）: Voice

行動（こうどう）: Action, conduct, behaviour

交差点（こうさてん）: Intersection, crossing

後半（こうはん）: Latter half

交換（こうかん）: Exchange, interchange, replacement

児（こ）: Child, young (animal), young woman, bird egg

質問（しつもん）：Question

小テスト（しょうてすと）：Quiz

予約（よやく）：Reservation

道（みち）：Road, street, way, path

給料（きゅうりょう）：Salary

セール：Sale

ソース：Sauce, source

座席（ざせき）：Seat

シートベルト：Seat belt

二番（にばん）：Second

具合（ぐあい）：Condition, state, manner, health

煙（けむり）：Smoke

きっと：Surely, undoubtedly, almost certainly, most likely

セロテープ：Tape

温度（おんど）：Temperature

ターミナル：Terminal

テスト：Test

携帯メール：Text message

物（もの）：Thing

三番（さんばん）：Third

時刻表（じこくひょう）：Timetable

チップ：Tip

下線（かせん）：Underline, underscore

人生（じんせい）：(Human) life

後半（こうはん）:　Latter half

とても：Very

ビザ：Visa

よく：Nicely, properly, well, skilfully

何故（なぜ）：Why, how

窓（まど）：Window

無線（むせん）：Wireless

皺（しわ）：Wrinkle, crease, ripple

ガス：Gas

学期末（がっきまつ）: End of the school term

ギア: Gear

逆に（ぎゃくに）: Conversely, on the contrary

行儀（ぎょうぎ）: Manners, behaviour

ごみ: Trash, garbage, rubbish, refuse

賛成（さんせい）: Agree, approval, agreement, support, favour

サークル: Unofficial club activities, circle, club

仕草（しぐさ）: Action, acting, gesture, treatment, behaviour

試験（しけん）: Examination, test, study, trial, experiment

システム: System

信仰心（しんこうしん）: Faith, devotion, belief

出身（しゅっしん）: Person's origin (town, city, country, institution etc)

侵略（しんりゃく）: Invasion, aggression, raid

試合（しあい）: Match, game, contest

出国（しゅっこく）: Leaving a country, departure from a country

書道（しょどう）: Calligraphy

締め（しめ）: Summing up

象徴（しょうちょう）: Symbol

習得（しゅうとく）: Learning, acquisition, master (e.g. a skill/language)

視点（してん）: Opinion, point of view, visual point

紹介（しょうかい）: Introduction, referral

趣味（しゅみ）: Hobby, pastime, tastes, preference, liking

集団（しゅうだん）: Group, mass

少し（すこし）: Small quantity, little, few

スイッチ: Switch

セット：Set, set meal

センス: Sense, good taste (for music, style, tact etc.)

所為（せい）：Fault, cause, reason

存在（そんざい）：Existence, being

尊重（そんちょう）：Respect, esteem, regard

冗談（じょうだん）: Joke, jest, funny story

実（じつ）: Reality, truth, sincerity, honesty

字幕（じまく）: Subtitles

上下（じょうげ）: Up and down, top and bottom, high and low, above and below, upper and lower ends, upside-down

人口（じんこう）: Population

実写化（じっしゃか）: Live-action adaptation

状態（じょうたい）: Current status, condition, situation, circumstances, state

状況（じょうきょう）: State of affairs (around you), situation, circumstances

ずっと：Continuously in some state (for a long time, distance)

ずつ: Apiece, each, at a time, piece by piece

全部（ぜんぶ）: All, entire, whole, altogether

是非（ぜひ）: Certainly, without fail, right and wrong, pros and cons

担当（たんとう）: (In) charge (of an area of responsibility, but not necessarily supervision of staff)

畳（たたみ）: Tatami, Japanese straw mat

調子（ちょうし）: Tune, tone, condition

ちょっと: Just a little, somewhat, rather

挑戦（ちょうせん）: Challenge

ちゃんと: Perfectly, properly, exactly

力（ちから）: Force, strength, might, capability

ツイッター: Twitter

次（つぎ）: Next, following, subsequent

常に（つねに）: Always, constantly

手当（てあて）: Salary, pay, compensation, allowance, benefit

程度（ていど）: Degree, amount, grade, standard, extent

提出（ていしゅつ）: Presentation, submission, filing

床の間（とこのま）: Tokonoma, alcove where art or flowers are displayed

トリック: Trick

特に（とくに）: Particularly, especially

とにかく: Anyway, somehow or other, generally speaking, in any case

登校（とうこう）: Attendance (at school), going to school

等身大（とうしんだい）: Life-size(d)

到着（とうちゃく）: Arrival

だらだら: In drops, dripping, trickling, flowing, sluggishly, endlessly, slowly

電気（でんき）: (Electric) light, electricity

どれ: Which (of three or more), whichever, any, well, now, let me see

どんな: What kind of, what

度（ど）: Degrees, time (e.g. three times, each time etc.), occurrence

何方（どちら）: Where; which way, direction, one (esp. of two alternatives)

どうも: Much (thanks), very (sorry), quite (regret)

眺め（ながめ）: Scene, view, prospect, outlook

無し（なし）: Without

何人（なんにん）: How many? (people)

何度も（なんども）: Many times over, often

なかなか: Very, considerably, easily, fairly, quite, rather

悪循環（あくじゅんかん）: Vicious circle

にこにこ: Smile, smiling from ear to ear

認識（にんしき）: Recognition, cognisance

抜き（ぬき）: Without, not including

ネタ: Joke material, punchline, contents, proof

マスコミ: Mass communications (abbreviation), media

満開（まんかい）: Full bloom

まず: First (of all), to start with, about, almost, anyway, well, now

周り（まわり）: Circumference, perimeter, surroundings, edge, neighbourhood

見た目（みため）: Appearance

耳元（みみもと）: Close to the ear, (in) one's ear

見通し（みとおし）: Perspective, forecast, outlook, prediction, insight

無料（むりょう）: Free of charge

向こう（みこう）: Opposite side, opposite direction, the other party

目覚まし（めざまし）: Opening one's eyes, keeping one's eyes open

名言（めいげん）: Wise/famous sayings, quote

名簿（めいぼ）: Register/list of names, roll, register

物事（ものごと）: Things, everything

元々（もともと）: Originally, by nature, from the start

話し（はなし）: Talk, speech, chat, story, conversation, discussions

早く（はやく）: Early, soon, quickly, swiftly, rapidly, fast

半額（はんがく）: Half; half amount, fare, price

初めて（はじめて）: For the first time

派（は）: Clique, school, type of person

流行り（はやり）: Trend, fashion, craze, fad

班（はん）: Group, part, team, [military] squad, section

独り・一人（ひとり）: One person, alone, solitary

暇（ひま）: Spare time, leisure, time off, day off, vacation, holiday

火（ひ）: Fire, flame, blaze

日向（ひなた）: Sunny place, in the sun

一口（ひとくち）: A bite, mouthful, sip, one word

フロント: Front, front desk, receptionist

普通（ふつう）：Normal, ordinary, general, usual, usually, generally, normally

文化（ぶんか）: Culture, civilisation

他（ほか）: Other (places and things), the rest

本当（ほんと）: Truth, reality

本当に（ほんとに）: Truly, really

骨（ほね）: Bone, frame, backbone

埃（ほこり）: Dust

ほとんど: Mostly, nearly, practically, all but, just about, almost, hardly

法律（ほうりつ）: Law

番（ばん）: Number (in a series), (one's) turn

罰（ばつ）: Penalty, punishment, retribution

部分（ぶぶん）: Portion, section, part

弁（べん）: Accent, dialect, speech

プロポーズ: (Marriage) proposal

理由（りゆう）：Reason, pretext, motive

料理（りょうり）: Cooking, cuisine

理論（りろん）: Theory

理解（りかい）: Understanding, comprehension, appreciation, sympathy

レントゲン: X-Ray

約束（やくそく）: Arrangement, promise, appointment, pact, engagement

夢（ゆめ）: Dream

雪だるま（ゆきだるま）: Snowman

ゆっくり: Slowly, at ease

予定（よてい）: Plans, arrangement, schedule, program, expectation, estimate

余裕（よゆう）: Surplus, margin, room, time, allowance

用事（ようじ）: Tasks, errand, business (to take care of), affairs, engagement

予想（よそう）: Expectation, anticipation, prediction, forecast

様子（ようす）: State, situation, circumstances, appearance, look

わいわい: Noisily, noisy crowd

着々（ちゃくちゃく）: Steadily

成功（せいこう）：Hit, success

宿泊（しゅくはく）：Lodging, accommodation

先（さき）: Previous, some time ago, front, ahead

一度（いちど）：Once, temporarily, for a moment

世話（せわ）：Looking after, help, aid, assistance

らしい：Seeming..., appearing..., -ish

仲良く（なかよく）：On good terms with, getting along well with

影響（えいきょう）：Influence, effect

#vocabulary #common words #to be updated

0 notes

books-on-the-brain · 7 years

Note

So I used to read a whole bunch, but then I took a small break so that I could have an actual social life. Now I'm trying to get back into it but I've tried to... I just can't get into it. Do you have any suggestions of what I could do to get back into wanting to read more?

bI relate to this SO. MUCH. It’s always hard to find a good reading/life balance, since reading can often be a very isolating activity. It’s also really difficult around this time of year for younger readers, too, since a lot of us are getting back into the swing of it with school and such and find that we have much less time to be reading what we want. So without further ado…

How I cure “reader’s block”/being in a book rut!!!

1) First of all, there’s literally no shame in reading something because it’s short and you know you can get through it, or reading something you might consider a “beach read.” If it’s less daunting for you to pick up a 70-page romance novella than Tolstoy that is perfectly!!! okay!!! What matters is that you’re still reading and it’s making you happy, not that you have gained all the answers to the universe by reading a dry and endless classic.

2) Another good option is to reread something you know you really love/want to revisit. I find it’s typically easier to read something for the second or third time and if it’s been a while, then you’ll still be surprised by little things here and there and get the warm nostalgia fuzzies. For me, one of my old favorites to revisit is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I always read it at the beginning of the summer when I’m switching from all academic reading to personal reading (f i n a l l y) because I’m familiar enough with the story that it goes pretty quickly, but I still really love it.

3) In a similar vein, I find it really fun when I don’t want to sit down and read seriously to go back to some of my old favorites from childhood! For example, I loved the Deltora books by Emily Rodda when I was a kid and had some fun the other day going back through some of them and reminiscing. It has the potential to remind you of your love for stories and also in my case, it reminded my why I fell in love with fantasy at a young age and why I’m still so passionate about it! Reading children’s/middle grade/YA books is always acceptable and so much fun at any age.

4) This Barnes and Noble Reader article also suggests reading about books if you can’t actually read a book. As they explain it, find book blogs (like those on tumblr!) that speak to your interests and get you excited about picking up books. Other people’s enthusiasm goes a long way in encouraging you to also pick up a book to read!

5) If you can, find other avid readers and friends who you feel comfortable sitting in silence with! One of my favorite memories ever is sitting on my friend’s back porch and trading the books of the KARE First Love manga series back and forth. We played peaceful music in the background and so we were spending time as friends AND getting reading done. This lead us to discuss our favorite scenes and how we felt about certain translations (literally just because we like how to guy asked the main girl out in the online scantalation better than the printed book rip). But we ended up really getting into this series that in all honesty is kind of silly (despite the soft spot I have in my heart for it) and we joke about it all the time. Reading and socializing in one!

6) And speaking of manga…it’s always a great bridge for getting back into reading when it’s been a while, as are graphic novels! If you haven’t ever tried manga or graphic novels and don’t think it’s your rap at least give them a chance! I thought I hated them until I read Fullmetal Alchemist and fell in l o v e! You’re getting a story and doing some reading, but the pictures really help to ease you in so that you’re not necessarily devoting the same attention that you would be with a novel that’s just pages of text. As such, each volume is pretty quick depending on how long you linger on the drawings. If you already do love manga/graphic novels, then try picking up a new series you’ve been interesting in or rereading a series you already know you like!

Here are some graphic novel recommendations!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (a story that does a fun take on the idea of the “bad guy” - it actually gave me way more feels than expected, and I loved the art style)

The new Ms. Marvel series written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona (so do not confuse this with the old Ms. Marvel, this one is better in my opinion because our hero is your average teenage Muslim girl living in Jersey City and it’s refreshing, amazing, adds diversity to the typically white/male dominated world of superheroes, and I am unabashedly in love with one of the main characters, Bruno)

Umbrella Academy written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Ba (this does another more twisted/dark take on the idea of the superhero story, if that’s something more up your alley. It’s the first book of a series I’ve really been loving lately, plus I trust Gerard Way’s taste in comics unequivocally and he wrote it so that’s a yes in my book!)

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (the intertwining stories of an American-Chinese boy trying to figure out his place in the world and the Monkey King of Chinese fable)

I did not include a special section for manga recommendations because most of what I read is probably not the sort of stuff to dive into after having reader’s block. Overall, the realm of shoujo might be a good place to look (things like Skip Beat!, Blue Spring Ride, Fruits Basket, and Kimi ni Todoke. Ouran High School Host Club and Dengeki Daisy were ones I really enjoyed too.)I also recently read Orange which is a fairly short series and easy to read - I loved it but major depression/suicide/mental illness tws there.In terms of shonen, Hunter x Hunter would be a good one because not only is it amazing, but it’s broken up into shorter yet very distinct story arcs which I feel would be easier if you’re trying to get back into reading. If someone has some more recs tho, please add!

7) Another variation of manga/graphic novels is online webtoons, which are basically digitized comics. I have recently discovered them and think they’re the best. things. ever. If you’re like me and you have a horrible habit of lying in bed scrolling absently through your phone before going to bed and after waking up, this might be good for you. I have slowly been replacing my mindless Facebook scrolling with scrolling through webtoons, which has been so amazing for my mental health! My favorite app is literally just called Webtoon or maybe Line Webtoon (the icon in the app store is a green speech bubble that says “Webtoon”).

For most webtoons, chapters are generally pretty short so it doesn’t take a lot of focus but once again, you’re still reading, and you’re still getting a good story, all while laying fetal position like you might while scrolling through Facebook or texting people before bed. Not to mention you’re supporting amazingly talented artists/individuals who are oftentimes not published and doing this for fun or with the hopes of eventually being published, so you can say you followed them from the start! Also since they update only a few times a week, it gives you something to look forward to on random days.

Here are my favorite story-oriented webtoons currently:

Assassin Roommate by Monica Gallagher. Super cute and quirky romance with a great female lead, also really great in terms of body diversity, and LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON I LOOK FORWARD TO TUESDAYS, THE DREADFUL DAY AFTER MONDAY

My Dear Cold-Blooded King by limelight. Just started this but it seems pretty cool??? The author has paired up with a musician so all the chapters have music which is lit af if I do say so myself

Silk and Briar by paragoing-paragon. I think this is on hiatus but it’s shaping up to be a brilliantly-constructed fantasy story with some crazy twists and turns

instantmiso’s stuff is also really popular (Where Tangents Meet and Siren’s Lament). It’s not as much up my alley as it is pretty fluffy romance and I’m not crazy about the writing, but she is an incredibly talented artist and has great music with her chapters. Her stuff is super good for an easy read without a ton of brain power/commitment, but I say that with immense respect for her talent and abilities!

Cheese in the Trap by soonkki. This was also made into a K-Drama so I read the series and threw a little watch-party with some of my friends from my Korean class! Super good series and another great way to enjoy reading AND be social!

Here are the webtoons that are more “Sunday newspaper funnies” style, where each chapter is a mini story:

Bluechair by Shen (this is WILDLY popular and I totally see why!!! These are hilarious and have cheered me up on many a rough night!!!)

Sapphie: The One-Eyed Cat by joho (feel-good, cute comic about cats that’s also pretty funny. I shamelessly read like a hundred chapters in one sitting.)

If none of this is appealing to you, there is always the audio option! If the actual act of your eyes scanning the page is difficult because you can’t focus on anything, there are a lot of options in this realm!

8) Local libraries usually have an audiobook section that is deeply neglected, but holds some secret treasures! Whenever I go on roadtrips, I always pick up two or three before I head out. They’re also perfect for when you do mindless tasks like sorting/folding laundry, walking a dog if you have one, waiting in long lines, or on your commute to and from school or work or any other similar activities.

What’s cool is you can search for audiobooks based both on books you actually want to read, and whoever is narrating it. I know Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz had a super popular audiobook because Lin Manuel Miranda narrated it. If you want to pay, Audible is one of the most popular paid platforms for audiobooks. I haven’t personally used it, but it seems to be quite successful. One way or another, audiobooks are a good way to get back into reading without having to budget extra time to sit down with a book.

9) Podcasts can also help if you haven’t already explored those and are open to! Not all podcasts are TED talks, or political debates, or generally academic, or whatever they are stereotyped as. There are a ton that feel just like audiobooks, or at the very least like a play without any visuals. There’s a script and there’s a story and I know it’s helped me ease back into a mindset that preps me for reading because much like audiobooks you can listen to them all the time (I do so while cooking dinner and walking to classes) and it helps your mind switch from reality to the world of a story with relative ease if that makes sense. I’m pretty new to podcasts myself so don’t have a ton to recommend, but here’s what I’ve been enjoying….

Podcasts to look into:

Anything written by Mac Rogers. That includes The Message, Afterlife, and Steal the Stars. Personally, I like Steal the Stars and The Message more that Afterlife. They’re all sci-fi stories that are generally told from one perspective but you get to know amazing characters and I was not expecting the twists and turns. And Steal the Stars is still coming out so jump on the bandwagon now lol

The Adventure Zone from Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy at My Brother, My Brother and Me (another podcast which I have not listened to). The Adventure Zone is actually them playing Dungeons and Dragons, but they’re funny as all get out (the last place I lived had a communal kitchen for dozens of people and I was always laughing like and idiot while listening to this and making dinner and I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was nuts). Eventually the Dungeon Master gets super into the story telling and they script some of it with cool music. It’s really amazing and has a nice balance between story/characters but also the element of “real people” as they’re a bunch of brothers and they’re dad all just having fun. It’s a good bridge to getting back into reading.

Welcome to Nightvale is always a classic. It’s a bit trippy for me but tons of people enjoy it. The same team also produced a podcast called Alice Isn’t Dead. I honestly know nothing about it but one of my friends always raves about it, so it has his vote!

10) And okay so here’s my last suggestion. It might feel like a bit of a cop-out because I guess it kind of is, but it often works for me. So here it is. Sometimes it just helps to sit down and remember why you like to read in the first place. The fact that you’re actively trying to get back into it isn’t meaningless. It’s a very willful decision. So what is driving you? Maybe it’s because…

reading is an escape or a way for you to cope with difficult things in your life. This can be anything from mental illness, to school/work stress, to relationship dissatisfaction, difficult family or economic situations. Maybe you just are bored of our planet earth. Sometimes you might just need to be transported into another world for whatever reason and that is totally okay.

or reading inspires you to live your best life. Maybe there’s some character in a book you love that you look up to and aspire to be. Remember that passion you had when you were first getting to know that character, and that sense of being understood or finding a role model. Maybe you want to go on an adventure as wild as that character went on and that’s your idea of living your best life. Whatever the reason is, this sort of inspiration is a powerful emotion that books make us feel and sometimes that’s also a good reason to reread a book that’s inspired you.

and I don’t know, maybe you’re a writer yourself and you draw inspiration from reading in that sense. The more you read, the more you learn about what sort of writing you like and don’t like, and you grow stronger in your craft. Good readers help make good writers (but also don’t take that to mean that if you happen to be a writer and you’ve been in a book rut for a long time that you own skills are waning. we all get in book ruts and that’s okay. maybe it’s time to seek out a new source of inspiration in a different genre or new writer)

or perhaps you simply love stories. Maybe you breathe stories like other people breathe air and you can’t imagine that side of you not existing. If you’re one of these people, that makes reader’s block twice as hard. But that doesn’t mean that if you’re not turning pages that you’re not absorbing stories. Take it slowly and ease back into it with things I already mentioned like podcasts and webtoons.

One way or another, you’ll find your way back. Maybe this post will spark something. Maybe it won’t, and it will take another few months for you to really feel gungho about reading again. That’s all okay. Take your time. Enjoy being with friends and other activities. Do what’s healthiest and what works best for you. And eventually you’ll get back to reading a ton. However it happens, I wish you the best of luck!

#ask #asks #amazingdanseptiplier #bookworm #book worm #reading #books #booklr #recommendations #book recs #readers block #advice #literature #podcasts #manga #graphic novels #audio books #my post #mine

9 notes · View notes

techouspeaks · 7 years

Text

Classic Reviews: Ruby Gloom

I take a look at the bright side of the dark side as I review Ruby Gloom!

I was gonna do other things. In fact, I was going to go swimming today but decided to just chill out. Since I have been watching the show lately I decided, “Hell with it! I’ll give my thoughts about!” Before we do, I’ll go ahead and explain what Ruby Gloom is about. It was a Canadian show back in 2006, based on a apparel franchise of the same name. The franchise mainly revolved around this goth girl name Ruby Gloom.

Ironically the clothing had Ruby as well a typical goth girl. She’s kinda mopey, doesn’t smile that much but with a cute edge to it. Sorta like how Monster High started out. Creepy but with a cute, fashionable edge to appeal to young girls. Sometimes the apparel would also include her love interest Skull Boy, which was another early character that would show up in the series and of course, her black cat, Doom Kitty.

The most ironic part is that in the actual show, Ruby is anything but depressing and mopey! She’s actually the exact opposite. She’s kind and constantly optimistic, always “looking at the bright side of the dark side”.

The show itself is just random episodes that you pretty much can switch around any order, with only the exception of episodes that may introduce characters like Boo Boo or Mr.Buns and of course, season finally episodes that string into two parters. The episodes are of Ruby and her friends, usually focusing on particular friend for that episode, with Ruby just trying to help them, if she shows up at all. Yeah, there’s actually times where she may not show up despite being the title character. Other times, they may have a special guest character that may show up in later episodes and the episode will focus on them.

The characters are pretty likable and they’re all unique enough to stand out on their own. You have Iris who is a cyclops girl that’s energetic and constantly getting into trouble or at times, endangering the other characters. Though, she doesn’t do it on purpose. She’s just adventurous and naive. Misery, who is often a favorite among fans, that as her name suggests is constantly miserable because bad things constantly happen to her. She gets struck by lightning, gets terrible illnesses but at the same time there’s a charm and they poke fun of it. She even helped her friends survive Friday the 13th. The only day when nothing bad happens to her, but at the price, bad stuff happens to her friends. And how she kinda misses the misery because she’s grown so accustom to it.

Poe is kinda annoying and if you took him out, I wouldn’t miss him all that much. He’s not bad. He’s just not as interesting as the other characters and he kinda plays a part of the show I don’t like or don’t think works, which I will get to in a sec. Also, I don’t think I recall any episode where Poe was actually useful, a side from pushing Skull Boy into acting as a love heroic towards Ruby.

Scaredy Bat is adorable! I dunno if his accent is offensive or not. I didn’t have an issue but with people’s sensitivities these days, I dunno. I didn’t find him bad. He can be kinda annoying but he’s not anywhere near annoying as Poe is and he does actually do more than Poe does. That and I just love bats especially shown a bit more positive. (For the most part, aside from the accent, I guess.)

Frank and Len, who are two brothers that are basically conjoined twins. They share one body and aren’t the brightest of the bunch, with Frank being a little smarter than Len. They often get into trouble. Sometimes their trouble will be the main focus, but more often then not, they’re usually a side gag to keep the episode a bit more light hearted during dramatic or less actiony times. They’re not exactly my favorite but I stomach them okay. They get a chuckle out of me once in a while.

Then you have Skull Boy, who is my favorite character. He’s a jack of all trades, mainly because he wants to find out who is his family. He doesn’t know where he comes from and I really had wish they did an episode about how Ruby and the gang meet him. In fact, shoot, that would have been the most interesting of all the episodes. How they all meet! You kinda feel for Skull Boy because you do seem to wonder if he lost all his memories, including of his family when either he died or if skeletons in this world are born? They kinda establish he’s dead but when a character nearly does die, they shocked by it so it kinda makes you wonder if skeletons and ghosts are another race or are they dead people in this world?

In terms of personality, I like how laid back and down to earth he is. He’s adventurous and his inventions will cause problems when he’s the center focus of the episode, but it doesn’t take long to get him grounded and there’s kinda naive and most of all innocence to him. You can tell why he’s called a “boy” and not a man because he’s just so innocent, sweet and curious. I also love his voice too. I think the actor does a pretty good job capturing his personality.

And yes, I’m one of those fans that ship him with Ruby a lot. They’re just so sweet and again innocent. There’s nothing sexual or dirty about it. It’s just a cute crush but they have great chemistry and you can tell the feeling is mutual, even when they don’t admit up front about it. They get close to it in some episodes but it’s brushed off quick. Which I think is best because that’s not what the series is about. It’s about good friends, solving problems and living or in some ways, unliving their unlife.

Ruby, last but not least is a likable character. I like how she is cheerful but she does have her limits and again, like Skull Boy, in fact a bit more than Skull Boy, she’s really grounded. Cheerful but calm. She’s helpful but sometimes she does get out of hand in it. She doesn’t usually push her way into things and knows when to back off and let her friends handle the situation, if they insist. Doom Kitty is also nice too and I like how she doesn’t talk but clearly can tell what she’s trying to say. I like it when shows do that. It’s very clever.

Now there are problems as you can imagine and yeah, they are distracting problems. One does have to do with Skull Boy, mainly with his accents. When he does an accent it’s just so cringe worthy. I know that it’s suppose to be written as funny but I dunno. I don’t find it offensive, I just find that they’re trying way too hard to make him funny, when he doesn’t need to be. You got Frank, Len, Iris and Misery as kinda comedic reliefs. At the same time, I guess its because if he wasn’t trying to be funny, he would either just be a typical cool guy that’s talented or just be another Ruby with opposite being less feminine and more boyish. I dunno, I just wish they had lost the accents and tried something that wasn’t trying too hard to make him funny.

And that’s the main issue I have with this series is that sometimes it does try a little hard to wink at the kids and be a little over the top goofy. I don’t expect the series to be serious, but more so do it to where it’s not so cringe worthy obvious. You can do comedy in a kid’s cartoon well and the comedy in this is just not for me, I guess. Aside from Misery’s dry humor.

Then again, that’s mostly a nitpick. It’s a very distracting nitpick but a nitpick none the less. The series does have good and welcoming characters, the adventures they get into are interesting. The animation is pretty good for old flash animation and I like some of the steampunk and goth themes they put into it. There is some good stuff and the distracting stuff doesn’t keep me from liking the show. If anything, I’ll watch or skip a little bit of it just to get to the parts that are really that good.

It’s a good series with lovable characters. It’s not perfect but it doesn’t need to be. It’s just a fun misadventures with great characters. I rate this series a good 7 1/2 Stars out of 10. Visit the dark side to see the bright side for yourself!

7 1/2 Stars

Level: Great!

Also, what is with Skull Boy’s design in the merchandise? Do they just don’t like drawing him like how he is in the series? He just looks so weird! They draw the other characters like how they are in the series.

#ruby gloom #monster high #goth #skull boy #tim burton #jack skellington #Classic Reviews

14 notes · View notes

mstigergun · 7 years

Text

OC Kiss Week, “the temple of pride”

OC Kiss Week, Day Three! (”A Surprise Kiss”)

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, JACK. So, Leonid Trevelyan and Tristran Lavellan (who I’ve chosen to run with in his alternate incarnation as Tristran Samahl from the Companion meme @neurotrophisfactors did -- linked earlier). On the one hand, this was hilarious to write, because Leonid is a bag of trash. On the other hand, Tristran is pure and good and Leonid is a corrupting force, and so I also felt slightly bad. Especially because of the blowjob joke at the end. OH WELL.

Set pre-Haven. All of the liberties taken with plot, lore, etc., etc., because I do what I want.

[~2500 words, because whoops]

the temple of pride

In his short and illustrious years, throughout which he has acquired no small amount of worldly knowledge, Leonid has come to realize several things.

The first is that everyone with a set of eyes and even a vague sense of what’s bound to be a good time will want to kiss him. Which is sensible, really: he’s always been wonderfully handsome, and he’s a great deal of fun, and even if the poor, beleaguered parties involved only manage to wrest a single kiss from him –

Ah, well. The stuff glorious memories are made of.

For them, really. Leonid can’t be bothered to remember all of the people he’s fucked, much less the innumerable number of people – from every blessed and wretched corner of Thedas – he’s kissed. In taverns or on street corners, in servants’ kitchens or on ballroom floors.

Once, he even kissed a city guard who thought Leonid’s public drunkenness was a little too drunken and much too public. Which had been all well and good: kissing while being very nearly arrested turned out to be as effective as a key to a lock in getting him out of trouble. Especially when kisses were followed with a terribly unsubtle mention of his family name and an additional… private moment or two.

So, yes. He understands that everyone would like to kiss him. Well, everyone with even a scrap of good taste.

The second thing Leonid realizes is that circumstance makes even the most circumspect of men a great deal more free in their affections. No one likes to be uncomfortable – which is why, in part, he’d been able to so efficiently fuck his way through Haven. A new man each night – sometimes more than one! – with what amounted to very little of Leonid’s usual eyelash fluttering and clever lines (or blunt suggestions that are inappropriate for any sort of public space, which has never stopped Leonid before – not once in his life).

When men are sad, or cold, or in unpleasant circumstance of any sort, Leonid is, he knows, the balm to that particular wound. He is a breath of fresh air, a sweet moment of amnesia and a reminder of much better things. It is, he has come to think, perhaps one of his life’s purposes: to be so truly spectacular a lover that he actually improves lives.

Why else would Andraste bless him with his face, or his particular talents? Her plan for the Herald was simple enough – save the world from being torn apart – and so Her plan for Leonid – save the world from being boring and save many men from not having a truly spectacular lover – might be less grand, true, but it is certainly no less important.

So, first, he understands that everyone would be fortunate to kiss him. Second, that misery – miserable places, wretched circumstance, ill-fitting clothes, a bad hand of cards – makes his particular abilities rather more effective.

And if ever he has been to a miserable place, the Forbidden Oasis is it: an Orlesian hellhole of rasping sand and too-bright skies that make sleeping off even part of a hangover impossible. The tunnels and pathways that twist around the oasis itself make as much sense as this whole blighted escapade, which is to say none. He nearly brings his own life to an inglorious halt when traversing a particularly rickety platform, and is only saved by the elf who’d been sent along to parse out whatever it is Solas’s stupid shards are for.

“Careful,” says the elf, his broad hand firm on Leonid’s bicep.

Leonid squints at him, his heart still fluttering from how very near he came – again – to falling from a ridiculous height and presumably breaking one of his limbs. The sun hangs in the sky behind Tristran, his ears a pair of broad and pointed shadows.

“I hardly need to be careful if you’re going to hover behind me and make sure I don’t die,” Leonid says, shrugging off the touch. “Which is, I can only assume, what we’re doing, as we haven’t gotten any closer to that blighted shard –” with an accusatory finger pointed to the glitter of light above them, on a platform that must require some sort of magic, or wings, or perhaps a gryphon, to reach – “in the past two hours of wandering around this Maker-forsaken dust pit.”

Tristran blinks his eyes, which, Leonid has to distantly admit, are a rather lovely golden brown, even in the shadows of the cliffs around them. Then, with a breezy sigh, “You caught me. It’s true: the shards are a ruse. The Herald really just wanted you to wander around, cursing and complaining, and I’m just here to keep you safe. With, you know,” he reaches one hand down, taps it against his leg, “my agility.”

Leonid snorts despite himself. He'd hate for the man to think he's funny, even if he is, but the endless hours of sunshine have addled Leonid’s brain and left him without his usual stoic good sense. A battle lost, then.

Leonid half-turns, casting a look toward the path below them. It had been full of Ventari earlier, before the Qunari mercenaries had cleared it out. “It’s why I’m testing you, with the nearly plunging to my death. Keep you on your toes. All five of them.”

“You’re too kind, Trevelyan. A paragon.” His voice is dry, but when Leonid glances back, Tristran’s mouth is tugged up at one corner. Amused.

“Yes, yes,” Leonid says with a wave of his hand, a little flush of pleasure prickling between his shoulders. “It’s not easy being this virtuous, you know. I can’t expect you to understand. All that time spent reading and writing reports – why, it’s a good thing you were paired with me today. How else would you understand what dutiful acquiescence looks like, when your nose is always buried in a book?”

“I can’t possibly imagine.”

A pause, as the pair of them look around the canyon, the curling pathways, the series of platforms and ladders that ultimately go nowhere..

“Maybe that tunnel?” Tristran suggests, leaning past Leonid to point at the dark space below them. And while the shadows are cool around them, he’s warm, as if he’s been baked in sunshine. Cured with firelight.

Leonid suppresses a little shiver. Instead, he nods. “So long as you deal with the spiders that will inevitably come crawling out of every blighted shadow. Do you know what spider innards do to my skin?”

And so onwards they go.

And although the elf doesn’t complain while they climb up and down what must be a hundred ladders, or while he does, indeed, kill a great number of giant spiders, or when they eventually retrieve the shard only to find that their way up cannot also be a way down and so spend the next hour sort out how to return to camp without, say, leaping on a passing giant and riding it toward the tents –

Well. Leonid knows what suppressed pain looks like. A tight mouth, twitching downward at its sides. Pale skin, even beneath all those freckles. Short and sharp breaths as they make their final walk toward camp. The merest hint of a limp.

And, really, Leonid thinks as he downs his ration of wine and sneaks around past the requisitions officer to get a second, he’s passable handsome, Tristran. Rather broad-shouldered for an elf. And he laughed at Leonid’s joke earlier by the fire, and so he must have at least an iota of good sense.

Leonid watches the researcher across the camp, feigning interest in the story one of the soldiers is regaling him with and being very careful to observe Tristran out of the corner of his eye as he downs his slightly sour wine. Tristran’s legs are stretched before him, one hand massaging the muscle just above his knee, the other paging thoughtfully through some dreadfully dusty tome.

“And so,” continues the soldier, “I told Bess not to fuss around with those ladders, not if she wanted us to be able to find our way back, but you know what Bess is like –”

“Hm.” He reaches out and plucks the soldier’s tin cup from her hand, replacing it with his empty vessel. “So you’ve said. In any case, I’ll be off. Things to do, you know. Letters. And things.”

She blinks up at him, but he’s on his feet and across the camp before her complaints about his thievery can reach him. Leonid edges around several of the small fires, sipping at his commandeered wine, until he draws to Tristran’s side.

“Just let me finish this passage,” says the elf, before Leonid can so much as get out a word. His finger – calloused, Leonid knows, and warm – traces a line of text, the skin of his forehead creasing with a thoughtful frown. Then, quiet and under his breath and said entirely and unacceptably to himself, “The spirit calmed, then elgar’arla, but…”

Maker help this sad elf. If ever there was a man in need of cheering, who could stand to be prised away from his blighted research and do something more fun than reading about lost elven temples and artifacts, then it is Tristran Samahl. And Leonid Trevelyan is quite naturally the one to do it. The fact that he rather likes the strength in Tristran’s hands, and the shape of his shoulders, and also is rather intrigued by his expressive mouth, is entirely beside the point.

“I need you for a moment,” says Leonid, plain. “Urgently.”

That wins his attention. “Of course,” Tristran says, closing his book and standing. The usual smile – slow and amused – is replaced with a more serious expression. Concerned. Noble, even.

Disgusting. If Leonid weren’t so inclined to be charitable, he might just shrug off the entire interaction.

But the night is young, and the next day bound to be as miserable as the last, and since the Qunari mercenaries are camped on the other side of the canyon – not, mind you, that he’s looking to repeat…

Leonid tilts his head to the side of camp, past a shallow brook to a small copse. Trees are few and far between in the wretched place, but do provide enough cover for a great number of things. As Leonid well knows. They splash across the water, climbing the small embankment to the trees, which curl into gnarled shadows around them.

Above, the sky is draped with stars – bright and cool after the blistering heat of the day. Leonid downs the last of his wine, tossing the cup at one of the trees. It pings off a low branch and thuds on the ground.

Tristran stands in the shadows, lined in the very distant light of the fire. His eyebrows inch up on his forehead. “So,” he starts.

“Shut up,” says Leonid, and then he steps forward and kisses Tristran, firm and certain. One hand catches the front of Tristran’s shirt, the other tucking itself firmly against the hot skin of his neck. For a moment, the world around them goes still – blessedly still – and the misery of the oasis dissolves into skin against skin, and warmth, and familiarity.

And just as Leonid is thinking that, even with the wooden leg, Tristran could very probably pin Leonid up against one of these trees, the elf pulls back.

“Right,” says Tristran, a little breathless. Leonid’s hand falls from his neck, and he squints at the elf in the dark. “This was, uh… Urgent?”

It’s said skeptically enough that Leonid feels heat flare underneath his skin, and not in the pleasant way.

“Well,” says Leonid. “Your leg hurts.”

The eyebrows crawl ever higher. The elf is all forehead. And shoulders, admittedly. And freckles, and broad hands. “It does that sometimes.” A beat, then, “Wait, are you – is this pity?”

“What?” asks Leonid, sharp. He scowls, blinking rapidly. “No, not at all! I don’t care about anyone else enough to pity them! But you’re in pain, and I’m bored because we’re stuck in the blighted desert in Orlais and –”

“You’re bored,” repeats Tristran.

Which is when Leonid remembers that, yes, while everyone wants to kiss him, and while people who are feeling especially down on their luck especially want to kiss him, there is a third truth he’s gleaned over the course of his illustrious youth: that things will invariably go sideways on him. And in this case sideways means kissing someone who doesn’t want to kiss you back, and then insulting him.

“Well, what,” Leonid cries, his hand dropping away. He folds his arms across his chest, something sour and stupid coiling beneath his ribs. Something fluttering and uncomfortable, like too many cups of coffee in the morning. “Did you expect me to say that I hauled you over here because I’ve fallen desperately in love with you after a day in the desert? That you’ve charmed me with your stupid books and jokes and swordplay?”

“Ah, no,” says Tristran, dry. “But then I wasn’t expecting you to haul me over here for a kiss either. Why? Have you fallen desperately in love with me after I valiantly saved your life?”

Leonid’s drawn half of a sharp breath with which to unleash a string of protestations when –

The elf’s stupid eyes are twinkling.

He finds this funny. He thinks –

“Oh, fuck off,” says Leonid, though the venom’s gone out of it. “I thought you could use a distraction.”

“As I said,” says Tristran, his lips in a lopsided grin as he leans easily against one of the trees, “you’re a paragon. So generous and thoughtful. Really, if I had to pick a word to describe you, it would be giving.”

Leonid snorts, rolling his eyes. But then –

It’s true that discomfort makes all the world more likely to seek comfort, and Leonid is unshockingly included in that. And the Forbidden Oasis is absolutely wretched, without anything resembling a redeeming trait beyond the fact that it’s not cold, and he hates wandering around looking for shards, and he hates how often he finds his thoughts settling on the Qunari mercenary camp, and –

His stare falls on Tristran again, steady. Thoughtful. “I can be giving,” Leonid says, slow. “And you did save my life today, even if it was mostly for your own battered sense of self-worth.”

“Right,” says Tristran, with a breathy laugh. “Really battered. I’m just standing over here, feeling sorry for myself. I wonder if anyone could help.”

Which is how Leonid ends up kissing him again. After all, one doesn’t just go around ignoring one’s calling.

Besides, if there is also a fourth thing Leonid knows, it’s this: when it comes to correcting a rare misstep, moving ever onward for the sake of his goals – namely, more men in his bed and fewer persistent thoughts of people he shouldn’t be thinking about – is always the better plan. After all, Leonid’s never had a hard time swallowing his pride when other, better things are on the table. Or in the desert. Whichever.

#ockiss17 #oc kiss week #tristran lavellan #leonid trevelyan #tana writes

5 notes · View notes