#deviantchronicles

John and Ororo: 

At first blush this is kind of an odd ship. 

Mostly because John is just...a mess. A big ol’ mess of bad choices fueled by good intentions or good choices fueled by bad intentions. It’s a mix. The here comes Ororo! Take no shit. Gorgeous as hell. Knows herself and her powers. 

So you think about it and it just somehow becomes this beautiful relationship that works. 

And for some reason when I think of them I think of those big storms off the coast of an active volcano.

Harry and Evelyn: 

I’m such a sucker for tol and smol, first off. There’s just something so very amusing about that big of a height difference. 

Both Harry and Evelyn are closed off in their own ways (both for very good reasons) and sometimes not all that great at the whole communicating thing because of it. They’re both witty, sarcastic, and mystical in their own ways. 

But my gosh the amount of heart that those two have. Either of them hear about something big, ugly, and evil that needs dealing with and they’re there. 

Harry and Nadav: 

In which Harry is the short one in the relationship!

One thing I love here is the fact that both of them could very easily go the route of all around awfulness. Harry’s known the taste of dark magic and evil. Nadav is used to people being wary of him whether glamoured or unglamoured. 

They’d have every reason to be jerks. But they’re not. They choose not to be. And that’s something that’s so important and so genuine. Especially considering the fact that they’re both men. 

unprompted ask | always accepting ! 

He is not sure whether it was the general mistrust he bears inside him or the blade gripped in his palm that had prompted such a reassurance, but he takes it with as many grains of salt as it would need to make a ring around himself. 

Not that he is prone to insulting Fae nobility with such superstitious frivolities, but he isn’t exactly accustomed to receiving them unexpectedly. There are processes to be adhered to, after all, and the Fair Folk could usually be counted on, if nothing else, to abide by courtly laws. The Courts could, at least. And though Loki is momentarily surprised, it only takes him a moment to recognise his guest and understand the reason for her lack of decorum. 

              “ I bid you welcome, Lady Crossroads. ”  He flashes a grin, and then flexes the hand the dagger had occupied not a moment before, and lets it fall to his side as he dips his head in acknowledgement. His tongue is clever and his eyes mistrustful and keen, but she will be hard-pressed to catch him in a lie.

It wasn’t the first walk of shame Cadfael had had, and undoubtedly would not be the last, but it was one that ended in more tension than usual when he finally slunk in to the shop. It was pre-opening hours, so he got the coffee machine warming up and headed upstairs to shower and let his dad know he was back. Wilhelm met him on the landing.

“Did you forget how to use your handy, boy? All night!” Wilhelm shook his own phone in Cad’s face, his eyes looking weary and a bit sunken. “All night I was trying to reach you! Nadav called me after you left, said you were upset, so I thought, surely this boy will come home and speak to his father about what he learned!”

“Dad… look, I just—”

“No answer, just voicemail. No texts. Nothing. You are not a teenager anymore!”

“Dad… please settle down.”

“And now you come back, smelling of alcohol and — I don’t know what. Where were you? Where did you sleep?” Wilhelm reached up and cupped his face in both hands, which, Cad realized now, were shaking faintly. “Why did you not call me? Just one text, that is all I ask!”

“….I’m sorry, Dad,” Cad said, and meant it. The old man’s eyes were red, the closest he’d seen him come to crying since Marlies’ funeral. Wilhelm’s mouth pulled in a straight, tense line, then he seemed to deflate a bit.

“I am afraid for you, my son.”

“Dad… I’m a grown adult. This isn’t the first time I’ve stayed out.” He paused, looking at the old man, his brow furrowing. “…What are you so afraid of? What did that— what did Nadav say to you?”

Wilhelm exhaled, letting his hands slide to Cadfael’s shoulders. He gripped them tightly, almost to a painful point.

“There are… things your mother and I should have told you. Every year that went by, we thought, maybe this is the year. Maybe he is old enough now. And every year, we couldn’t do it.” He shook his head, not even seeming to see the grown man before him, but rather, the child he remembered. “‘Let him be innocent, just one more year’, I said, every time, and she always agreed.”

“Dad, I’m not innocent.”

“You should not be burdened with what we did — what we had to do. It wasn’t fair to do that to you!”

“Dad — Dad, I need you to calm down, you’re starting to scare me, now.”

Wilhelm blinked, looked him in the eyes, and for a moment it was like he was seeing him for the first time. Then, sadness softened his expression.

“Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I— no, not yet. Dad…” Cadfael reached up and settled a hand on the old man’s neck. “How about we keep the shop closed today? There was only a couple of appointments, I can call them, get them to reschedule—”

“No.” Wilhelm said, and some of his usual, grumpy tone had returned. “No, don’t speak nonsense. Anyway, I think I would prefer to keep my hands busy.” He paused, looking at him again in that weird, searching manner that sent an uneasy chill down Cadfael’s spine. “My son… you need to speak to Nadav again. Please. Listen to what he has to say. I won’t — I cannot protect you for much longer.”

“Dad…” Cadfael began to protest, but he trailed off, thinking about the thing he’d seen in the alley last night, and then what he saw even later, when Raziq was bare before him, his skin burning like a fever, the taste of him like spice and brimstone, the way his skin glinted like metal in the light — the moment he knew, whatever this man was, human, he was not. He let out a slow breath and nodded.

“Okay, Dad. I’m gonna get cleaned up, and then I’ll head over there.”

It was the most relieved he’d seen the old man look in a very long time.

It was another hour and a half before he arrived at the esoteric shop. He’d needed a few cups of coffee first, and out of a lingering sense of guilt had checked the website’s emails, made sure to schedule any new requests for later in the week. Wilhelm had practically chased him out the door by the time he’d set off, but he had showered and shaved and had clean clothes and a spare set of cotton gloves on, and was feeling, at least, a bit more human.

The bell jingled as he entered the shop, and this time he could hear the deep voice of the shopkeeper in his back room. He had someone back there, and their voices were low but judging by the tone, someone he was on relatively familiar terms with. Cad wondered, for a moment, if he should come back later, but he had a feeling he’d get an earful for it from Wilhelm, so he strode to the door of the room where Nadav had taken him yesterday and paused outside of it, clearing his throat loudly.

12. Do you have any rules for yourself when it comes to this blog?

It had been something of a slow day for the demon, meaning at this exact moment, he was pacing around his store, inspecting his wares and making extra sure that everything was clean and in order. As a result, he was somewhat startled by the bell above the door sounding, indicating someone had entered.

He turned on the spot and inspected the gentleman who had set foot in his store. He seemed... slightly off. Not like the usual people who just wandered in. He couldn’t tell if there was anything strange about him from a glance, but the slightly off feeling gave him a hint that this customer might be the sort who knew what he wanted.

“Like I am intimidated by that,” he snapped. His lithe fingers were surprisingly strong when they buried in Vidar’s shoulder and tugged. “Get back here, before you know it those gashes get infected and I ain’t waiting for Nadav to come and save me from here.”

He felt, perhaps, slightly bad about the wound being his fault, it had been his own precarious balancing on the cliff that had caused Vidar to tug him back, and, he didn’t know why, had caused Hal to try and push the large man away from him, just over the edge.

hardwiredweird said: [heated stare] from Nadav - @deviantchronicles​ (because nothing works right now)

Some sexual tension / attraction prompts

If Ororo had known becoming the sorcerer supreme's apprentice meant running his errands, she'd likely turned down Stephan's offer to awake the latent magic inherited from her mother's line. The insult of having the girl behind the counter attempt to scam her into purchasing a necklace that was supposedly enchanted to bring a restful night's sleep was enough to consider leaving all his package in this last store and flying back to Westchester. 

"The lavender oil this cord has been soaked in might help, but..." Ororo hummed knowingly, her eyes telling the young brunette her sale pitch was a waste of time and breath. Ororo's sense about what was and wasn't touched by magic had yet to fail her. "No, thank you." Achmed's teachings wouldn't allow the former thief to say more about it with tourists around. In a big city, one had to get creative when inking out a living, she could tolerate if not always respect a hustle when she stumbled on one, so long as no one got hurt. "I am only here for the herbs on this list, and-" 

Someone was staring at them from the back of the shop, staring at her Ororo realized when she looked over a shoulder. A stare that left heat trailing in the wake of dark eyes as they moved over every inch of visible form, seeming to consider what she'd look like without the sundress.